Praise the Lord :)

2010-02-22T06:00:00.000-08:00

Here's to a new beginning.

Rip Pauley

2010-02-05T06:09:00.000-08:00

A tribute to Pauley Fuemana, part of the band OMC which I only recently found out stood for Otara Millionaires Club.

Sad but true, the lad was only 40.

Just found out on the Herald that he was declared bankrupt in 2006. Anyways, the lad will be missed by alot of people, seemed very down to earth.

A couple of photos courtesy of the NZ Herald.

Last but not least, enjoy the classic. He did release another single with Lucy Lawless, quite low key but still enjoyable, here.

Manchester City

2010-01-29T07:04:00.001-08:00

This post is courtesy of Wikipedia, and sure had me laughing out loud! It was too good Not to post!

It is about Manchester City's Chairman, Garry Cook. Recently he had said prior to the 2nd leg of the Carling Cup being played, Manchester City were leading 2-1 against Manchester United that it was a CERTAINTY that City would win and go to the final. Surprise surprise United beat them 3-1 in the 2nd leg to win 4-3 overall! There are quite a few more stories that goes to his capacity for telling porkies but hey what's below was good enough.

Enjoy

Career

Cook worked at sports were giants Nike for 12 years, working his way up to head of the Nike project "Brand Opportunism", before leaving Nike in June 2008 to take over as CEO of Manchester City. Although he’d been a resident of the USA since 1985, and spent four years in Amsterdam, Garry currently lives in a f*****g dreamworld. He’s an experienced liar, with experience at covering up child slavery at Nike, making him ideal for a deluded Manchester City.

Nike

Cook says he moved to the U.S in 1996 and started working for Nike eleven years earlier in 1985, presumably using a DeLorean DMC-12 travelling at 88 miles per hour. He would spend 12 years at Nike where he would become president of the very successful Brand Jordan, Cook says that he worked very closely with basketball superstar Michael Jordan while working at Nike. But then, he also told everyone that his dad is Thor, Norse god of thunder.

Manchester City

This attracted the interest of former Manchester City owner and civil rights campaigner Thaksin Shinawatra, who contacted Cook about becoming CEO of the club after the departure of Alistair Campbell, who was sacked for not telling enough lies. Cook accepted the offer and was appointed CEO of the club in May 2008.

One of Cook's first tasks with his new club was to find a new manager after Sven Goran-Eriksson had been dismissed; he targeted Herbert Chapman of 1930's Arsenal. After finding out that he'd been dead for 74 years, he reluctantly settled on Mark Hughes of Blackburn Rovers. On 4 June 2008, Hughes signed a three-thousand year deal with the club, the fool.^[1] On the day Hughes was unveiled to the media, Cook couldn't hide his delight, stating, "I am delighted to welcome Mark on board. In our view he is the brightest young manager in the game and he was our number one target for the manager's job. Honest."

2008/09 Season

Cook's new task was player recruitment,^[2] and he did deals for Tal Ben-Haim, Jo, Vincent Kompany, Pablo Zabaleta and Shaun Wright-Phillips but failed in a bid for Roy Race, who doesn't actually exist.

However, this was all overshadowed when on 1 September, City were taken over by the Abu Dhabi United Group; within a few hours of news of the takeover Cook completed the transfer of Brazil international Robinho to the club from Real Madrid for a British transfer record of £32.5 million. Cook suggested that the signing ceremony was watched by 10 billion people. Critics pointed out that this figure is some 3.5 billion more people than actually exist, but Cook simply stated that it reflected the magnitude of the news.

After the arrival of the new Abu Dhabi based owners many thought that they would opt for their own CEO but they decided to keep Cook on after being impressed by his vision for the club, the fools. They did, however, appoint a new chairman, Sheikh Yabhouti, who replaced the outgoing Thaksin Shinawatra.

After the 2009 January transfer window opened Cook sealed deals for Wayne Bridge, Craig Bellamy, Shay Given and Nigel de Jong. However, he failed in a world record bid to bring Pele to the club, blaming the breakdown in negotiations on Santos, stating, "If you want my personal opinion they bottled it, He clearly was for sale but we never got to meet with the player, the behaviour of Santos got in the way." Santos replied by pointing out that Pele retired from football more than thiry years ago.

Cook also did much work away from transfers introducing the "I'm From Manchester, Honest" campaign where supporters of the club write in their opinions of why Stockport is actually in Manchester & that they shouldn't go to watch County instead, these have then been placed around the interior of the stadium. Many fans have contributed to this including the likes of Ricky Hatton.

2009/10 Season

After City finished 10th in Cook's first season with the club, Garry suggested that they actually finished 0th, because they're morally better than everyone else.

He went about bringing in further targets of Mark Hughes. In the summer of 2009 Cook brought in Gareth Barry, Roque Santa Cruz, Stuart Taylor, Carlos Tevez, Emmanuel Adebayor, Kolo Toure, [[Joleon Lescott],] Dougie from McFly and Sylvinho to the club. During this period Cook also built his own team of complete charlatans around him with Brian Marwood joining the club amongst others as part of Cooks team.

Along with Khaldoon Al Mubarak, Cook has seen the complete overhaul of the club's training base Carrington and scheduled a 2009 summer tour of the Moon where the squad met Marvin the Martian and played the Arctic Monkeys in the Vodacom Challenge.

He made a gaffe by welcoming Uwe Rosler to the Manchester United Hall of Fame instead of the Manchester City Hall of Fame and was booed by Manchester City fans, although that didn't actually happen because City fans are the most loyal in the world and never boo. He wrote apology letters to 70,000,000,000,000 Manchester City supporters clubs.

On 19th December 2009, Mark Hughes was relieved of his duties as City's manager after just 200 untruths in twelve games, about half the required amount. It is understood that Cook and Marwood played a large part in convincing chairman Al-Mubarak that Hughes wasn't the man to take City forward based on what Cook managed to achieve on Championship Manager 01/02; former Inter Milan manager Roberto Mancini was appointed as his replacement, the fool.

Personal life

Cook is married tp Girls Aloud and is a keen player of Golf amongst where he regularly competes against Adolf Hitler, Bananaman and Richard Blackwood. Garry invented the colour yellow.

References

^ McNulty, Phil (4 June 2008). "Hughes becomes Man City manager". BBC Sport. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/man_city/7431155.stm. Retrieved 4 June 2008.
^ Oscroft, Tim (4 June 2008). "Manchester City appoint Mark Hughes". www.mcfc.co.uk. http://www.mcfc.co.uk/default.sps?pagegid={DBD12D53-8346-431D-A04F-5D0F8664DE80}&newsid=6610904. Retrieved 4 June 2008.

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garry_Cook_(CEO)"

Shuffle Up & Deal!

2010-01-28T07:54:00.000-08:00

I just took part in a 10 player satelite event at Uncle's and lo and behold I actually won it! Now I've gotten a seat into the Mega Satelite which would have cost $125, for free. Unfortunately I was playing with the missus and had the bad luck of knocking her out. She played really well though, ended up third, but that is poker.

For me I had some really really good hands. One hand in particular I was dealt K K, and another chap who was with a big stack raised, I re-raised and he shoved all in. I Insta (this is a new word i think, or it could be short for instant hehe) called it, and he showed A Q. Thankfully my Kings held up and it was all downhill from there.

I guess it hasn't really sunk in yet, but I sure had fun and hope to get a seat at the main event... fingers n toes crossed! =)

Had a few callbacks for some jobs today as well, so shall see where that goes in time.

Its 5am and probably time for bed, for some reason I really can't sleep early, which will need to change once that primo job comes along... any day now.. :)

Enjoy the weekend and remember TGIF! =)

The Bigger Picture

2010-01-14T06:28:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to All!

Hope that everyone had a nice Christmas and New Year's. I had my cigar and watched the fireworks with my Whisky in the other hand. Bliss :)

Sad to say that things back home have turned a little crap lately, with the attacks on the churches. All over the word Allah. Long story, I think the link I have attached shows roughly both sides of the arguments, though you can't really say the other side had much of an argument... just 'confusion'. Sad but true.

All this when I have been contemplating going back to Malaysia... possibly for good. Anyhoo, food for thought i guess.

The link to youtube, here

'enjoy' the link. It had me going "WTF" a few times indeed!

Would you?

2009-11-18T16:54:00.000-08:00

Something interesting happened recently. A friend gave me a gift. Turns out it was cash. It was a substantial amount, considering I wasn't expecting it at all. Common courtesy would be to turn it down. But it was insisted upon that I take it. Regardless, for me I would rather someone take me out to dinner than give me cash as a token of gratitude. Don't get me wrong I sure do appreciate it, but in this day and age save the cash especially in a recession :)

On a side note, Uncle Sky has been good to me lately so no complaints there. Also started an excel spreadsheet to monitor my 'ups and downs', You'l be pleased to know I am up up up! hehe.

Anyhoo, to those that don't know, not too long ago I decided to call it quits at the current dependable job. Decided that it was time for change, and boy was it! Only problem is that unemployment is now at 6.5%, not great trust me. So I have been job hunting with some moderate success but nothing much to note. Regardless, shall persevere and move on. So heres hoping that with the amount of applications I sent recently (double figures, but it is to be expected, the job market is a toughie at the mo) that some good news filters down.

What else... OH yeah... congrats to the All Whites... in the World Cup yo!! Represent! That will surely make watching the World Cup even more exciting. Here's hoping that the Kiwi's can get some goals... and who knows maybe even a point!!!

More good news, the Premier League resumes this weekend! Alle-freaking-Luia! Can't say United have been playing the free flowing football as I'm used to but, it will take time. Replacing Ronaldo and Twatface(tevez) will take time, though any team would miss ronaldo, the other twat not so.. he can rot in Citeh for all I care :)

Last but not least, shout out to my homie Chef Gjin, and she's got a new blog.... yay! Kudos too, enjoy reading it madamouselle. Perhaps when we catch up next... u can impart some much needed cooking knowledge on the Takeout King =)

Cheerio.. till the next update... who knows when that will be... :)

Kids these days...

2009-07-09T20:55:00.000-07:00

The following questions were set in last year's NCEA level 1 examinations.

These are genuine answers from 16 year old pupils who all live in one of our major NZ cities

Q. Name the four seasons
A. Salt, pepper, mustard and vinegar

Q. Explain one of the processes by which water can be made safe to drink
A. Flirtation makes water safe to drink because it removes large pollutants like grit, sand, dead sheep and canoeists

Q. What guarantees may a mortgage company insist on
A. If you are buying a house they will insist that you are well endowed

Q. In a democratic society, how important are elections
A. Very important. Sex can only happen when a male gets an election

Q. What happens to your body as you age
A. When you get old, so do your bowels and you get intercontinental

Q. What happens to a boy when he reaches puberty
A. He says goodbye to his boyhood and looks forward to his adultery

Q. Name a major disease associated with cigarettes
A. Premature death

Q. What is artificial insemination
A. When the farmer does it to the bull instead of the cow

Q How can you delay milk turning sour
A. Keep it in the cow

Q. How are the main parts of the body categorised (eg the abdomen)
A. The body is consisted into 3 parts - the brainium, the borax and the abdominal cavity.
The brainium contains the brain, the borax contains the heart and lungs and the abdominal cavity contains the five bowels: A,E,I,O and U

Q What is the fibula
A. A small lie

Q. What does 'varicose' mean
A. Nearby

Q. What is the most common form of birth control
A. Most people prevent contraception by wearing a condominium

Q. Give the meaning of the term 'Caesarean section'
A. The caesarean section is a district in Rome

Q. What is a seizure
A. A Roman Emperor

Q. What is a terminal illness
A. When you are sick at the airport

Q. Use the word 'judicious' in a sentence to show you understand its meaning

A. Hands that judicious can be soft as your face

Q What does the word 'benign' mean
A. Benign is what you will be after you be eight

Q What is a turbine
A. Something an Arab or Shreik wears on his head

Hit The Road...

2009-06-09T14:01:00.000-07:00

Jack

Shock...

2009-06-04T14:25:00.000-07:00

I was pretty shocked to hear this. Remember watching the Kung Fu the legend continues back in the day and most recently the Kill Bill movies which I loved!

Rest in peace my man, a bit sad that you might have taken your own life but hey to each its own. A bit more disturbing was in the details of that, but I'l let you read the article and concur or disagree.

In other news, work has been crazy busy. No not busy, CRAZY busy! One of the branches in Australia is having to administer 9 day work fortnights and retrenching some of the redundant staff. Me thinks Auckland branch is not too far off that 9 day option. Helps that I have some leave available. It probably will get worse for the economy before it gets better, so hang on tight!

Can't believe that the football season is over... not good. Withdrawal symptoms starting to show slowly. Subject is in need of a season review for Manchester United 2008/2009.

Add that to the fact it has been ridiculously cold that your nuts become a NUT! Not cool, that and winter isn't officially here yet... greeaaatt.

New additional to the household, Jack. Picture to come shortly. Very cheeky and cute. Crate training is in store for the lil one soon.

Labyrinthitis

2009-04-28T15:32:00.000-07:00

It was last Saturday that I had the misfortune of experiencing the condition above. Not very pleasant I must say. Most Saturdays I would be up by 9-10 or so when I woke up about 12/1 and almost instantly fell back on the bed I was like... whoaaah Nelly! Dizzyness galore, and thought maybe I just needed more rest... so back to bed and next thing I know I was getting a phone call about 3pm! The missus was like WHERE ARE YOU?... I had slept through my FIVE alarms I set. Managed to steady myself, picked up the missus and got some more rest. It seemed like whenever I lay down or moved to fast... helloo dizzyness. It was like being totally wasted without any alcohol! Sunday wasn't any better, and Monday I managed to drag myself to work but was talked into seeing the doctor. So walked next door to the doctor which I haven't been in the last 2-3 years!

The doc was friendly enough, wasn't there for more than 10 minutes. Her advise was the best, just keep doing what you're doing! No medication, which was alright too.

Suprising got a $20 discount for signing up with the clinic, hey never say no too cheaper medical advice. Apparently I was meant to pay $60 and for some reason or another in 3 months time if I came back again it would be $40, but I wasn't complaining ya know.

Took Tuesday off just to recover fully, only concern I had was the doctor said more rest wouldn't make a difference and let me tell you IT DID!. Wikipedia said rest would help, doctor said it wouldn't. I suppose to each its own. Back at work now, but would say I'm at 90% capacity, as opposed to Monday when I was at 60%.

From Wiki

"Labyrinthitis is a balance disorder. It is an inflammatory process affecting the labyrinths that house the vestibular system (which sense changes in head position) of the inner ear.

In addition to balance control problems, a labyrinthitis patient may encounter hearing loss and tinnitus. Labyrinthitis is usually caused by a virus, but it can also arise from bacterial infection, head injury, extreme stress, an allergy or as a reaction to a particular medicine. Both bacterial and viral labyrinthitis can cause permanent hearing loss, although this is rare."

Suprisingly, when it came to 3 days of CONTINUOUS poker, I was just fine and dandy. Funny that! =) Some would call that dedication to the cause, others.... an Addiction. I shall go with ....dedication.... for now.

Unfuckingbelievable!!

2009-04-05T09:59:00.000-07:00

Its 5am, and I have probably just watched one of the most thrilling games of football in a while. Manchester United v Aston Villa. Already missing the top 2 strikers and top 2 defenders United started well and went ahead 1-0. But credit where credit is due, Villa were matching United stride for stride and it wasn't too much of a suprise when they equalised. Then, shock...horror they took the lead in the second half. 10 minutes to go, Ronaldo pops up with his second to tie the match up. Then the 2nd half substitute Macheda who on his DEBUT, on the 92nd minute... scores an absolute peach of a goal to win in. In between all that, I probably had about 3-4 minor heartattacks!

All in all, I am thoroughly pleased. It has been a bitch of a month, losing to liverpool then fulham. Needless to say, United had to win this game and we have. Now we press on, hope we twat Porto on Tuesday.

Are you watching Benitez! =)

A Long Time Kambing

2009-04-02T18:13:00.000-07:00

It has been ages and I really mean AGES since I have had a Friday to really just Chill da hell out at work. So naturally after some paperwork tidy up, the next LONG thing on my list has been to update the blog. There there, I haven't discarded you, Plus even Nats & Astrid have popped by every now and then to make sure you were still alive... AND you were!! Phew :)

Anyhoo, Who hasn't wanted to get a Nintendo Wii. I know I have, looks cool plus as every other 'big boned' person says... you can even get some exercise on it! (and not just with your thumbs eh!)

That said a poor chap in Ingerlund passed away playing the Nintendo Wii, turns out he had a Syndrome called, Sudden Adult Death Syndrome. When I first read that I thought, wow what a cool made up disease. But apparently it is real and it kills 500 people a year! Not quite AIDS and Cancer you say, but still not something I would wish upon anyone. Apparently it's also known as
Sudden Arrhythmia Death Syndrome.

Why do people do the things they do? A Moron in Washington decided to pay his bill this way. I mean really?? Come on dude, was it really necessary? I think not.

Oh and for those who haven't seen Ricky Gervais stand up comedy, Out of England, GO WATCH IT! Hopefully you like his sense of humour, it was very entertaining.

Also saw the movie Watchmen a few weeks back, man was that strange and kinda interesting. It was very long, just under 3 hours, some bits were a bit too draggy but overally it was like a different take on superheroes. That said, I could have used some of the good ol quality Malaysian censorship board for this movie. If you watch the uncensored version (I am presuming the one shown in Malaysia, if it was shown would have been censored) you will see what I mean. I could have really done without those scenes! Truly could have, I think the movie would have a little better had they managed to cover up a little.

Haven't had a chance to go watch Slumdog Millionaraire yet but that is on the list, looking forward for Transformers 2 and *cough cough...Megan Fox. =)

And that is a good way to end the blog, with Megan Fox. Here to a Legend... wait for it... wait for it.. DARY weekend!

Laterz.

Men Can Multitask

2009-04-02T17:22:00.000-07:00

On the 7th Day, he rested...

2009-03-18T15:36:00.000-07:00

Why am I comparing myself to God? Oh I'm so not, but providing today's squash goes according to plans, I will playing for 4... yes FOUR consecutive days. My poor back, Wed's excursions sure took its toll. All the usual flick's and 'OMG' drop shots just didn't come off! Hehe, good to know I'm only human. Had to do a bit of pilates last night but at least its much better now. My colleague did suggest I take a break, but resting is for sissies! Lols, yeah so therefore I prob am one!

Anyhoo, meant to be playing for an hour todaywith the manwhore aka Jayweena. Should be good. I need to get back into more REGULAR exercise. Seeing as I do despise running, I would rather play badminton for 4 hours than run! Bleh. Speaking of baddy, sure miss that, these days its all squashy or is that squeshy! Yes as you can tell, its almost lunch time and Prev needs his nutrients. Choices of a sandwich or sushi today. Seeing as I had sushi y'day, today shall be sandwich Thursday.

On a side note, Uncle was calling me last week, and I can feel the urge to give in on Friday! It's been more than a month since my last profit taking, so I am understandably having the shakes! ehhe. But my motto, and unless I win Lotto shall be go in with X amount and no rebuying. That said I would love to try Omaha, the buy in though is substantially more.

Prev foresee's a See saw Friday, at Casa de Uncle's.

Complaint Letter

2009-03-18T15:29:00.000-07:00

Ladies & Gents, THIS is how you write a complaint letter. Also helps if you try reading this with a slight Indian Accent!

Enjoy... =)

P.S. There are more images included on the link, don't forget to check them out as you read it!

Priorities

2009-03-18T15:11:00.000-07:00

Seems like just yesterday I started writing on zee blog, and next thing you know busy at work, other commitments and before you know it there's a three month gap!

Lots of things going on, some really tragic. Found out not too long ago that my uncle passed away. That was a total shock to me and so so tragic. Uncle Lenny, was Instrumental in my coming to NZ. For those that don't know, prior to coming to Auckland in July 01, I was on my wee lil way (yes I have put on alot of weight in the last 8 years! Frick! (as the scrubs chic says! hehe) to India! Also had the option of going to Scotland but thats another story for another day. Anyways, good ol Uncle Lenny suggested and rightly so said NZ would be the best option for me. Long story short, the following month I was in NZ, living with his brother in law's family. He was a great man, very funny, sensible, respected and smart. And I am very grateful that I am in NZ, and he is a big part of that reason. He will be missed.....Terribly. And as my cousin said, he was only 56. I will remember all those family visits back n forth from Ipoh (where he and the family lived) and Pee Jay where casa de Prev un familia was. Life is unfair, but ultimately.... it's God's Will. So with that in mind, Rest in Peace Uncle Lenny... You will ALWAYS be remembered.

Tis the Season to be Grateful

2008-12-07T19:22:00.000-08:00

First of all a Merry Christmas to anyone still out there! Hehe, and a Happy New Year with 09 just around the corner.

Can't believe how time flies, 2008 is almost finito I have hardly blogged in the last 5-6 months. Appreciated the uber patient people who still come to view it though! =) Believe you me, I have been meaning to, just never gotten around to it.

Hopefully everyone who was entitled to a payrise and bonuses for the year was happy with what they got. Not that I like to be the bearer of the bad news, if not already obvious for some, the good ol economic cycle is finally coming through to lil NZ and next year is going to be hard hard times ahead. As we are further away from most countries, we are only starting to see companies fall over, more people getting declared bankrupt. With that also we may see a few of the good ol get rich quick pyramid schemes popping up. Already in the Herald there was a ATM skimming scandal where customers of the National Bank and just recently some BNZ as well where their money was taken. I thought this was already dealt with when this first popped up a while ago, but I guess not as apparently the total so far has been in the hundreds of thousands and increasing. So just beware of what's going on out there at the moment.

As for me, looking forward to resuming some squash in 2009, and hopefully some football and perhaps even... dare I say it... BADMINTON! Man I miss that soo much, but these days trying to find people to play REGULARLY is like trying to get Malaysia to admit the country is in dire straits, ain't gonna happen if you know what I mean.

Anyhoo, hopefully that this is a better start to the blog for the future year and hopefully everyone does not lose their job security. Speaking of, my colleague's sister in the UK, had to take a .... deep breath... $10,000.00 POUND pay cut!

So heres to buying stocks on the cheap as it would be a good time to buy if you have the spare cash and watch out for that oil price! Me thinks mid next year it may start going up again, again its to be expected... its all in that cycle.

Alritey, Im off, getting picked up today and the missus is here.

Laters and Take care all.

Prev =)

Food Glorious Food!

2008-09-14T14:28:00.000-07:00

Nothing like having not one but TWO absolutely delicious meals on the weekend, and all on one day to boot!

On Saturday as the Missus was having her driving test in Manukau, thought it best to have a drive around there so she was a bit familiar with the roads, surroundings etc. Once that was done, and we were fairly hungry, spotted a bunch of shops and thought we would check it out.

Saw a pub which kinda looked closed from the outside but was definitely open, The Bog. Setting wasn't to bad, though it has a 'nice' mix of pokies and TAB for the avid gambler, not that I am mind.

Service was ok, considering after we were told to grab a seat no one came by to take out order, apart from that no real dramas.

The Missus ordered the Chicken breast with potatoes and I got the Steak with Eggs and Chips. Both were very good, tasty and most definitely FILLING! Oh and seeing as we ordered the garlic bread to come out WITH the mains and it didn't, because we were so hungry and busy devouring our mains we forgot about it until it was time to pay the bill. So with the trusty Entertainment Book voucher in hand, the bill came to a whopping 30 plus bucks. Hehe, definitely a good value price and quality and yes quantity wise.

Overall rating Prev says an 8 outta 10.

Worth going back again even Without the voucher me thinks. May try the Parnell branch next time around.

After this meal, it was off to football for a run around. Let me say at the time running around was the LAST thing on my mind with the super duper filling meal i just ate. But the weather was good and enjoyed it. Even the Missus came along, and helped set up a goal! hehe Watch out Ronaldo!

After that it was time for a rest and THEN on to the next place. Thai House on Ponsonby Road. We had actually been there before, but wanted to go back again.

We got the Crab Meat Fried Rice, Garlic Snapper and Tofu Ginger. Mucho Amore! It was sooo good. Ate until we were stuffed, but man it was a superb meal, and it was sooooo tasty.

It was a little more pricey compared to lunch, but considering we got fish I reckon it was a reasonable price for dinner, just hovering around the 70 buckaroo mark.

Overall Prev says it deserves a minimum of 9/9.5 outta 10 (which is also code for HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!! =) )

After that, alot of eating should have resulted in a walk of some sorts, but when poker calls it is quite hard to say no. Was a decent game, had a couple of newer chaps there who made me think twice about certain hands, which is what you should do it poker. Always put the decision back on the other player, that's the beauty of No limit Hold Em. All in all was good fun, even had some Swiss Chocolates there courtesy of the Shaunmeister! =)

Here's to MORE sunny days! It's been long overdue I tell ya!

The Compassionate Lawyer

2008-09-10T20:51:00.000-07:00

I just couldn't resist with this one, had to post it up.

The Compassionate lawyer

One afternoon a lawyer was riding in his stretch limousine when he saw two men along the roadside eating grass.

Disturbed, he ordered his driver to stop, and he got out to investigate.

He asked one of the men, 'Why are you eating grass?'
'We don't have any money for food,' the poor man replied.

'We have no choice. We have to eat grass.'

'Well, then, you can come with me to my house and I'll feed you' the lawyer said.

'But sir, I have a wife and two children with me.

They are over there, under that tree'

'Bring them along' the lawyer replied. Turning to the other poor man he stated, 'You come with us also.'

The second man, in a pitiful voice then said, 'But sir,I also have a wife and SIX children with me!'

'Bring them all as well,' the lawyer answered.

They all entered the car, which was no easy task, even for a car as large as the stretch limousine was.

Once underway, one of the poor fellows turned to the lawyer and said,

'Sir, you are too kind. Thank you for taking all of us with you.'

The lawyer replied, 'Glad to do it. You'll really love my place. The grass is almost a foot high.'

The Dangers of Procrastinating....

2008-09-07T20:01:00.000-07:00

......................

Oh yeah that right, I'm meant to post something today! Lols, apologies to the patient people who have been checking up on the blog only to find some jokes (which I thought were hilarious btw).

Just to sum up the sheer amount of things I have meant to blog about... here goes

1) Trip to the Zoo this year
2) Dave n Gjin's Farewell pictures
3) Of jigsaws and AVG
4) Malaysia, Politics & Bribery
5) Bloggers' Posting Quirks that annoy the buhjeebus outta me
6) Premier League has resumed, THERE IS A GOD!! ( Reckon God is a Football fanatic btw and yes he is a Manchester United fan) =)
7) Nat's Bday

I am sure there is a few more things to go over, but at least people can get the jist of things for NOW. It sure is funny how time flies, one minute you're staring at the seal in the zoo, next thing you know its been months since you were 'MEANT' to blog about it!

Hehe, better to post something 'relevant' than nothing at all innit. =)

AND IF you're a little bored and are in NEW ZEALAND. Call this number 0800 24 68 70 and let me stress... LISTEN to option 4. Note I said LISTEN and not PRESS it! (ehem Mr. Liu, next time read the text properly bro!) =)

How NOT to start a cover letter

2008-08-21T21:24:00.000-07:00

"Mother always said Baby Jesus has a plan for every person in Christendom. I believe His plan for me was that I become your Assistant North Eastern Regional Manager of Sales Development, New Media."

"A team player. A natural leader. A big-picture visionary. A details-oriented individual. A fine piece of ass. I’m all these and oh so much more."

"I’ve got skills. Mad skills."

"I despise everything that your company represents. But I love your competitive salaries and comprehensive benefits package. So clearly I’m torn."

"I’m not one for making threats. So please excuse the awkwardness of this letter."

"In the words of the Insane Clown Posse…"

"I’ll do anything for a Klondike bar. Anything."

"Please note that this job request is contingent on tonight’s Mega Lotto drawing."

"Working for your company would be the twelfth best thing that could happen to me."

"I never thought it would come to this. Me, asking someone like you for a job."

"When I saw your ad in the classifieds I immediately thought, ‘Hey, that looks like a good way to kill two or three years of my life.’"

"Clearly if I had something other than deli wrapping paper to write this on I would have used it so don’t even start."

"Ever since I was a kid I longed for a career in medical supply sales. Christ, what a freak of a nine-year-old I was."

"I know you’re looking for a self-starter, but I beg you to reconsider."

"Do you guys like to party?"

"As I write my ninth cover letter to you in as many days, I can’t help but wonder why haven’t you called. Are you ill?"

"I believe I possess the essential job qualifications, experience and commitmentthat you not only seek but also demand for this significant position. I shit you not."

"Turn around. Slowly."

(c) Francesco aka Genius! =)

Things to Accomplish before you turn 40

2008-08-21T19:41:00.000-07:00

• Write the Great American Book Review on Amazon.com

• Earn a PhD. in air conditioning and refrigeration.

• Travel to a wildlife preserve operated by Six Flags.

• Have a threesome for Scrabble or DVD rental.

• See the pyramids for what they really are on the Discovery Channel.

• Learn another language is hard to master…or even converse in above a preschool level.

• Reorganize my priorities by deliciousness.

• Try new things by finally opening and playing my Atari "Basic Math" cartridge.

• See more of the U.S. through various business flight connections.

• Start exercising my options about which gym to join.

• Perform a one-man play, while drunk, at a friend’s Christmas party.

• Learn to play an instrument, like the tambourine or triangle.

• Fall in love with a television character.

• Backpack across Auckland CBD.

• Study art by way of museum gift shop postcards.

• Create my own small company letterhead.

• Write, produce and direct a movie about my cat.

• Go cliff diving, skydiving or mountain climbing out of necessity to escape an angry mob.

• Learn to appreciate opera references in old Bugs Bunny cartoons.

• Remove the clutter in my life through delinquent payments.

• Achieve greater spiritual enlightenment by starting less fights on the supermarket checkout line.

• Not only come to terms with your shortcomings but also embrace them as valid excuses.

Hee hee, Francesco mucho gracias again. =)

Burglar

2008-08-04T21:25:00.000-07:00

A burglar broke into a house and shone his torchlight around the living room. As he was looking around to see what he can take, he heard a voice say "Jesus is watching you". He turned around, panicking. He saw nothing and tried to calm down.

Before long, he heard the voice again "Jesus is watching you". SHIT! He really jumped this time. He went around the room carefully and entered the kitchen where his light shone on a parrot.

He asked the parrot "Were you talking to me?"

The parrot answered "Yes I was"

The burglar asked "Who the fuck are you & why are you talking to me?"

The parrot answered "I am Moses"

"Aren't you Jesus? And what sort of idiot would give a parrot the stupid name Moses?"

The parrot answered "The same idiot who named their Rottweiler Jesus"

Impulse Spending

2008-07-14T21:12:00.000-07:00

I found a brilliant article, can't really say it affects me in day to day life... BUT who hasn't made a purchase then down the line went.... Hmmmn If only I had waited or something along those lines.

The article I read (which I shall attach shortly) is called the 30 day Rule. Simply put if you have identified an item or ITEMS that would be good, handy, cool or just downright a must have, then there are some steps to see whether or not you really need it.

" The 30-day rule is a simple method to control impulse spending. Here’s how it works:

Whenever you feel the urge to splurge — whether it’s for new shoes, a new videogame, or a new car — force yourself to stop. If you’re already holding the item, put it back. Leave the store.
When you get home, take a piece of paper and write down the name of the item, the store where you found it, and the price. Also write down the date.
Now post this note someplace obvious: a calendar, the fridge, a bulletin board. (I use a text file on my computer.)
For the next thirty days, think whether you really want the item, but do not buy it.
If, at the end of a month, the urge is still there, then consider purchasing it. (But do not use credit to do so.)

That’s all there is to it. But it’s surprisingly effective. The 30-day rule works especially well because you aren’t actually denying yourself — you’re simply delaying gratification. This rule has another advantage: it gives you a chance to research the item you want to purchase. This can save you from grief."

The name of the blog I got it from is called Get Rich Slowly and I have included it in my favourites! =)

Dududududu, very happy as there is squash on again tonight as well, yeah yeah! Back to back games... A man couldn't ask for more. Oh well I could, but i'd wait 30 days first ;)

Iphones

2008-07-13T18:39:00.000-07:00

With the release of the Iphone in NZ, there are heaps of people (me included) who really want to get the phone. Though the thought of paying from what I read upwards of 300 buckaroos a month on top of the purchase price of $199, does NOT appeal for some reason, funny that eh Vodafone! Man they must be raking it in at the moment. I wonder what the actual cost and total mark up being charged....Pfft

Anyhoo, managed to find some of these cool and funny photos from Geekculture, thought I'd share as well.

Enjoy

Popularity wins, screw the ridiculous amount of monthly payments!

This was cruel, unfortunately you can relate to it .... :|

My Favourite! hee hee... Poor LG phone, there there... =)

Why Men are happier than Women

2008-07-09T20:20:00.000-07:00

NICKNAMES
If Laura, Kate and Sarah go out for lunch, they will call each other Laura, Kate and Sarah .
If Mike, Dave and John go out, they will affectionately refer to each other as Fat Boy, Godzilla and Four-eyes.

EATING OUT
When the bill arrives, Mike, Dave and John will each throw in $20, even though it's only for $32.50.
None of them will have anything smaller and none will actually admit they want change back.
When the girls get their bill, out come the pocket calculators.

MONEY
A man will pay $2 for a $1 item he needs.
A woman will pay $1 for a $2 item that she doesn't need but it's on sale.

BATHROOMS
A man has six items in his bathroom: toothbrush and toothpaste, shaving cream, razor, a bar of soap, and a towel.
The average number of items in the typical woman's bathroom is 337.
A man would not be able to identify more than 20 of these items.

ARGUMENTS
A woman has the last word in any argument.
Anything a man says after that is the beginning of a new argument.

CATS
Women love cats.
Men say they love cats, but when women aren't looking, men kick cats.

FUTURE
A woman worries about the future until she gets a husband.
A man never worries about the future until he gets a wife.

SUCCESS
A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend.
A successful woman is one who can find such a man.

MARRIAGE
A woman marries a man expecting he will change, but he doesn't.
A man marries a woman expecting that she won't change, but she does.

DRESSING UP
A woman will dress up to go shopping, water the plants, empty the bins, answer the phone, read a book, and get the post.
A man will dress up for weddings and funerals.

NATURAL
Men wake up as good-looking as they went to bed.
Women somehow deteriorate during the night.

OFFSPRING
Ah, children. A woman knows all about her children. She knows about dentist appointments and romances, best friends, favourite foods, secret fears and hopes and dreams.
A man is vaguely aware of some short people living in the house.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
A married man should forget his mistakes.
There's no use in two people remembering the same thing.
------------
Hehe, I like the Offspring & Marriage ones =). Sure has been COLD of late I tell ya, only bright side is the sun shinning but even then its still Farking Cold! Brrrr
Times like this, I wish I was back in Malaysia.... Hot hot sun... =)

Floating Football Field!

2008-06-30T20:04:00.000-07:00

Looks Good

Airballs will be a problem if you can't swim...

Got this sent to me thouight it would be quite cool playing on it, but since we do have some "extra talented" people who go for power as opposed to accuracy... swimming to FETCH the ball may be a prerequisite me thinks. Oh and this was in Singapore apparently. Neat.

Wonder how much they would charge to play/swim to fetch!

Internal Memo

2008-06-29T19:50:00.000-07:00

AL QAIDA
OFFICE OF OSAMA BIN LADEN
CAVE 7422, TORA BORA, AFGANISTAN
INTERNAL MEMORANDUM

To all Jihadists,

Subject: The Cave (do not distribute outside the Organization)

Hi guys. We've all been putting in long hours recently but we've really come together as a group and I love that! However, while we continue to fight the infidels in this New Year, we can't forget to take care of the cave, and frankly I have a few concerns.

First of all, while it's good to be concerned about cruise missiles, we should be even more concerned about the dust in our cave. We want to avoid excessive dust inhalation (a health and safety issue), so we need to sweep the cave daily. I've done my bit on the cleaning - Rota .. have you? I've posted a sign-up sheet near the cave reception area (next to the halal toaster).

Second, it's not often I make a video address. But when I do, I'm trying to scare the shit out of most of the world's population, okay? That means that while we're taping, please do not ride your scooter in the background or keep doing the 'wassup' thing. Thanks.

Third - food. I bought a box of Dairylea recently. I clearly wrote "Ossy" on the front, and put it on the top shelf. Today, two of my Dairylea slices were gone. Consideration - that's all I'm saying.

Fourth, I'm not against team spirit and all that, but we must distance ourselves from the infidel's bat and ball games. Please do not chant "Ozzy, ozzy, ozzy, oi, oi, oi" when I ride past on the donkey. Thanks.

Fifth - graffiti. Whoever wrote "OSAMA FUCKS DONKEYS" on the group toilet wall -it's a lie. The donkey backed into me, whilst I was relieving myself at the edge of the mountain.

Sixth, the use of chickens is strictly for food. Assam - the old excuse that the 'chicken backed into me, whilst I was relieving myself at the edge of the mountain' will not be accepted in future (with donkeys, there is a grey area).

Finally, we've heard that there may be Western soldiers in disguise trying to infiltrate our ranks. I want to set up patrols to look for them. First patrol will be Omar, Muhammad, Abdul, Akbar and Dave.

Love you lots,
Group Hug.
Os.

PS - I'm sick of having "Osama Bed Linen" scribbled on my laundry bag. Cut it
out, it's not funny anymore.

----------

This was sent to me, but man was it hilarious! You can so relate especially in day to day office situations! Lols. Beautiful weather today as well =)

Married Life

2008-06-25T21:49:00.000-07:00

A couple had only been married for two weeks. The husband, although very much in love, couldn’t wait to go out on the town and party with his old buddies.

So, he said to his new wife, “Honey, I’ll be right back.” Where are you going, Coochy Coo?” asked the wife.

“I’m going to the bar, Pretty Face. I’m going to have a beer.” The wife said, “You want a beer, my love?” She opened the door to the refrigerator and showed him 25 different kinds of beer, brands from 12 different countries: Germany, Holland, Japan, India, etc.

The husband didn’t know what to do, and the only thing that he could think of saying was, “Yes, Lollipop…but at the bar…you know…they have frozen glasses… ”
He didn’t get to finish the sentence, because the wife interrupted him by saying, “You want a frozen glass, Puppy Face?” She took a huge beer mug out of the freezer, so frozen that she was getting chills just holding it.

The husband, looking a bit pale, said, “Yes, Tootsie Roll, but at the bar they have those hors d’oeuvres that are really delicious…I won’t be long. I’ll be right back. I promise. OK?”
“You want hors d’oeuvres, Poochie h?” She opened the oven and took out 5 dishes of different hors d’oeuvres: chicken wings, pigs in blankets, mushroom caps, and pork strips.

“But my sweet honey…at the bar….you know there’s swearing, dirty words and all that…”

“You want dirty words, Cutie Pie?…”LISTEN UP D*CKHEAD! SIT DOWN, SHUT THE F*CK UP, DRINK YOUR DAMN BEER IN YOUR DAMN FROZEN MUG, AND EAT YOUR F*CKIN’ HORS D’OEUVRES. BECAUSE YOUR MARRIED ASS ISN’T GOING TO A F*CKIN’ BAR! THAT SH*IT IS OVER… GOT IT, AS*HOLE?”

.…and they lived happily ever after.

That Monkey will Eat Anything

2008-06-25T21:25:00.000-07:00

A guy walks into a bar with his pet monkey, sits down and orders a drink. Shortly after, the monkey starts jumping all over the place and acting crazy. The monkey grabs some olives off the bar and eats them… grabs some sliced limes and eats them… then jumps up on the pool table, grabs the cue ball, sticks it in his mouth and swallows it whole.

The bartender screams at the guy, “Did you see what your monkey just did?” “No, what?” says the guy. “He just ate the cue ball off my pool table - whole!” says the bartender. “Yeah, that doesn’t surprise me, he eats everything in sight. Quite an appetite. I’ll pay for the cue ball and other things he ate.” He the finishes his drink, pays the bill, and leaves.

Two weeks later he’s back at the same bar again, monkey by his side as usual. He orders a drink and the monkey starts running around the bar again.

While the man is drinking, the monkey finds a maraschino cherry on the bar. He grabs it, sticks it up his butt, pulls it out, and eats it.

The bartender is disgusted. “Did you see what your monkey did?” “What this time?” asks the patron. “Well, he stuck a cherry up his butt, then pulled it out and ate it!” says the barkeeper.

“Yeah, that doesn’t surprise me,” replies the patron. “He still eats everything in sight, but ever since he ate that damn cue ball he measures it first!”

Kids are Quick

2008-06-15T18:56:00.000-07:00

Some good ones :)

TEACHER: Maria, go to the map and find North America ..
MARIA: Here it is.
TEACHER: Correct. Now class, who discovered America ?
CLASS: Maria.

TEACHER: John, why are you doing your math multiplication on the floor?
JOHN: You told me to do it without using tables.

TEACHER: Glenn, how do you spell 'crocodile?'
GLENN: K-R-O-K-O-D-I-A-L'
TEACHER: No, that's wrong
GLENN: Maybe it is wrong, but you asked me how I spell it.

TEACHER: Donald, what is the chemical formula for water?
DONALD: H I J K L M N O.
TEACHER: What are you talking about?
DONALD: Yesterday you said it's H to O.

TEACHER: Winnie, name one important thing we have today that we didn't have ten years ago.
WINNIE: Me!

TEACHER: Glen, why do you always get so dirty?
GLEN: Well, I'm a lot closer to the ground than you are.

TEACHER: Millie, give me a sentence starting with 'I.'
MILLIE: I is..
TEACHER: No, Millie..... Always say, 'I am.'
MILLIE: All right... 'I am the ninth letter of the alphabet.'

TEACHER: George Washington not only chopped down his father's cherry tree, but also admitted it. Now, Louie, do you know why his father didn't punish him?
LOUIS: Because George still had the axe in his hand.

TEACHER: Now, Simon, tell me frankly, do you say prayers before eating?
SIMON: No sir, I don't have to, my Mom is a good cook.

TEACHER: Clyde , your composition on 'My Dog' is exactly the same as your brother's. Did you copy his?
CLYDE : No, sir. It's the same dog.

TEACHER: Harold, what do you call a person who keeps on talking when people are no longer interested?
HAROLD: A teacher

Not Advisable...If you KNOW what I Mean :|

2008-06-15T18:49:00.000-07:00

It is important for men to remember that, as women grow older, it becomes harder for them to maintain the same quality of housekeeping as when they were younger. When you notice this, try not to yell at them. Some are oversensitive, and there's nothing worse than an oversensitive woman.

My name is Jeff. Let me relate how I handled the situation with my wife, Susie.

Since I retired several years ago, it has become necessary for Susie to get a full-time job along with her part-time job, both for extra income and for the health benefits that we needed.

Shortly after she started working, I noticed she was beginning to show her age. I usually get home from the golf club about the same time she gets home from work.

Although she knows how hungry I am, she almost always says she has to rest for half an hour or so before she starts dinner. I don't yell at her. Instead, I tell her to take her time and just wake me when she gets dinner on the table. I generally have lunch in the Men's Grill at the club so eating out is not reasonable. I'm ready for some home-cooked grub when I hit that door.

She used to do the dishes as soon as we finished eating. But now it's not unusual for them to sit on the table for several hours after dinner. I do what I can by diplomatically reminding her several times each evening that they won't clean themselves. I know she really appreciates this, as it does seem to motivate her to get them done before she goes to bed.

Another symptom of aging is complaining, I think. For example she will say that it is difficult for her to find time to pay the monthly bills during her lunch hour. But, boys, we take 'em for better or worse, so I just smile and offer encouragement. I tell her to stretch it out over two or even three days. That way she won't have to rush so much. I also remind her that missing lunch completely now and then wouldn't hurt her any (if you know what I mean). I like to think tact is one of my strong points.

When doing simple jobs, she seems to think she needs more rest periods. She had to take a break when she was only half finished mowing the yard. I try not to make a scene. I'm a fair man. I tell her to fix herself a nice, big, cold glass of freshly squeezed lemonade and just sit for a while. And, as long as she is making one for herself, she may as well make one for me too.

I know that I probably look like a saint in the way I support Susie. I'm not saying that showing this much consideration is easy. Many men will find it difficult. Some will find it impossible! Nobody knows better than I do how frustrating women get as they get older.

However, guys, even if you just use a little more tact and less criticism of your aging wife because of this article, I will consider that writing it was well worthwhile. After all, we are put on this earth to help each other.

Sincerely, Jeff

EDITOR'S NOTE:

Jeff died suddenly on March 1 of a perforated rectum. The police report says he was found with a Calloway extra long 50-inch Big Bertha Driver II golf club jammed up his rear end, with barely 20 cm of grip showing and a sledge hammer laying nearby.

His wife Susie was arrested and charged with murder. The all-woman jury took only 15 minutes to find her Not Guilty, accepting her defence that Jeff somehow, without looking, accidentally sat down on his golf club.

---------

Only if a guy is SUICIDAL, would he try those suggestions!! =)

Women, can't we live with them.... Can't live without em! Hopefully no one got offended by the joke... ;)

Coz if you did, build a bridge and get over it.

Fuel Savings

2008-06-12T15:00:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been thinking about either

1) Getting a bicycle
2) Getting a hybrid car
3) Winning Lotto so I don't have to stress about the EVER rising petrol prices. Which also negates option 1 and 2 in one fell swoop!

Anyhoo, got this sent today and thought I shall enlighten my loyal subjects! lols :)

I have undertaken a little test of my own over the last couple of weeks. . . (btw this is not my words, just from the dude who actually sent the email)

Last week I drove “Normally” – Not particularly fast but certainly not slowly

I averaged 11.3 litres / 100km
it took an average of 27 minutes for me to get to work in the morning

This week I used Economy Driving Tips from the AA (see below) – in particular, the use of a light throttle and gentle braking.

I averaged 8.7 litres / 100km
it took an average of 28 minutes for me to get to work in the morning

(random example provided) =)

That’s a 23% saving! For me that’s a saving of $92 per month or $1,104 per year. Applied across the Fresh Direct fleet (excluding trucks), that could translate to a saving of $31,000 per year.

Lewis Hamilton is fast because he is smooth. . . so you can still practise for your future F1 career.

Tips from the AA:

Avoid short trips

Walk to the dairy. About a third of New Zealand car trips are under two kilometers in length. A cut in unnecessary driving will reduce your fuel bills, mechanical wear on your engine and contribute to better air quality.

Drive smoothly

Make sure you accelerate smoothly. Change gear early (but don't labour the engine). If you drive an automatic, allow the transmission to change up early by accelerating on a light throttle. Don't accelerate hard from rest, but let the car move off gently.

Look ahead

Check what's happening, maintain a safe following distance and you'll keep at a more constant speed. Look ahead and ease off the pedal if the traffic lights are about to change, speed limit changes or traffic stops. It's better economically, to slow down early rather than brake late

Corner smoothly

Don't brake hard for corners and accelerate out. Slow gently, negotiate and exit the corner on a light throttle.

Make hills work for you

Lift off the throttle as you crest the hill and use the car's momentum to get you over the top. Build up speed before an uphill stretch.

Love your car! (this one I NEED to do more OFTEN, Sorry my 2nd baby!) :(

A little love goes a long way. Regular servicing, the right tyres for the conditions, correct tyre pressure and wheel alignment make a difference. A well-maintained car can use 10 to 20% less fuel than an inadequately maintained one.

Watch your air con

Only use air conditioning when absolutely necessary as it tends to eat fuel, up to 10% more in fact. Other features such as the rear window demist can also be a drain, so make sure you switch them off when they've done their job.

Keep your load down

Sounds obvious, but a heavier vehicle means the engine has to work harder. So take those golf clubs out of the boot after the game, remove the bike rack when you're not using it.

Reduce idling time

If you're going to be stationary for more than 30 seconds, switch your engine off.

Don't speed

Driving faster doesn't necessarily mean you'll get there meaningfully faster. By travelling at 100km/h instead of 110km/h you can cut around 13% off your fuel bill.

I thought some of that was quite handy, some of it was quite obvious as well!

Just a quick word to my fellow Msians having to pay RM 2.70 per litre of fuel. Prices went up from RM 1.92 to $2.70 in ONE NIGHT!! Fucking morons (btw thats you PM, petronas and everyone else responsible) It's already hard enough for ordinary folk to survive and a 30% increase (correction, its a 41% increase!) and at one go was so so so so so STUPID. I get that the country subsides their fuel, but HELLO have you heard of increasing it gradually?? Plus the fact that Petronas do not have their accounts made public makes it hard to judge where all the money is going. This from a country that EXPORTS petroleum btw!

And then theres the "patented" lies. Numerous denials that prices wont go up and then lo and behold it does! Seriously.. fucking Dimwitted twats!

Speaking of dimwitted twats, BP has this promotion where you get 4c of per litre. Im sure everyone knows about that. The last time I went there, I told random dimwitted twat that I wanted $50 on pump 3. What does the sooohh haaaii (dumbass) do? He puts it to pump 6? Fucking BP! So I had to move my car etc, fine. Gave him the dagger eyes! haha, but yeah i wasnt to happy... I hate incompetence, especially from dimwitted twats!

So I thought I had moved on when I went back to BP, this time in Mt Albert. btw the last BP trip I went was to Ponsonby. Anyhoo, this time I had the voucher which really would have saved me One measly dollar, hey a dollar is a dollar rite? WRONG... When you have sooohhh haii's who work there it doesn't. I paid $50 prepay for the pump... and then I go back to the car and Prev's pumping gas.... dududududududu... Prev doesnt really pay attention to the number BECAUSE he had prepaid remember. Then It seems to be taking a little longer than usual, Prev looks up in horror, it has gone to 57 blardy dollars! Prev Top's it off to 58 then trudges into the shop. Sheepish BP attendant goes... Oh I put it to the wrong pump! Which btw ensured my $1 savings went out the door! I prob should have kicked up a fuss, but I just couldnt be bothered at the time, was too tired after work etc.

So this is for you...

BRITISH FUCKING PETROLEUM....... TRAIN YOUR FUCKING STAFF PROPERLY!! Honest to god, ive seen Chimpanzees work better under training! Dimwitted twats! Special mention to SHELL Ponsonby who get the simple basics RIGHT! Honestly it is NOT that hard, its not rocket science FFS.

Rant over... =)

Prev has gone back to his happy place now...

The Genie

2008-06-11T16:34:00.000-07:00

A Husband takes his wife to play her first game of golf.....Of course, the wife promptly whacked her first shot right through the window of the biggest house adjacent to the course.

The husband cringed, 'I warned you to be careful! Now we'll have to go up there, find the owner, apologize and see how much your lousy drive is going to cost us.'

So the couple walked up to the house and knocked on the door. A warm voice said, 'Come on in.'

When they opened the door they saw the damage that was done: glass was all over the place, and a broken antique bottle was lying on its side near the broken window.

A man reclining on the couch asked, 'Are you the people that broke my window?'

'Uh...yeah, sir.. We're sure sorry about that,' the husband replied.

'Oh, no apology is necessary. Actually I want to thank you... You see, I'm a genie , and I've been trapped in that bottle for a thousand years.

Now that you've released me, I'm allowed to grant three wishes. I'll give you each one wish, but if you don't mind, I'll keep the last one for myself.'

'Wow, that's great!' the husband said. He pondered a moment and blurted out, 'I'd like a million dollars a year for the rest of my life.'

'No problem,' said the genie. 'You've got it, it's the least I can do. And I'll guarantee you a long, healthy life!'

'And now you, young lady, what do you want?' the genie asked.

'I'd like to own a gorgeous home complete with servants in every country in the world,' she said.

'Consider it done,' the genie said. 'And your homes will always be safe from fire, burglary and natural disasters!'

'And now,' the couple asked in unison, what's your wish, genie?'

'Well, since I've been trapped in that bottle and haven't been with a woman in more than a thousand years, my wish is to have sex with your wife.'

The husband looked at his wife and said, 'Gee, honey, you know we both now have a fortune, and all those houses.. What do you think?'

She mulled it over for a few moments and said, 'You know, you're right. Considering our good fortune, I guess I wouldn't mind, but what about you, honey?'

'You know I love you sweetheart,' said the husband. I 'd do the same for you!'

So the genie and the woman went upstairs where they spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying each other in every way.

After about three hours of non-stop sex, the genie rolled over and looked directly into her eyes and asked, How old are you and your husband?'

'Why, we're both 35,' she responded breathlessly.

' NO SH*T .' He said, 'Thirty-five years old and both of you still believe in genies?'

Movie Reviews..

2008-06-10T16:17:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time coming, but here's prev's Five Cents worth. Yup not two cents, coz Prev's opinions with worth More than double the standard review!! =) *(Prev accepts all major credit cards, but really if you need to, make the cheque out to CASH)

Let's start with the supposedly most eagerly awaited ummmn Quadology (Trilogy is for the third chapter, sequel is for the second, whats the fourth one called?) of the Indiana Jones Movie. Have to say I grew up on those movies, even had an ambition to be an archaeologist. Im sure that job position had HEAPS more applicants once the first few Indy movies first hit cinemas. Anyways, I had read two reviews prior to this, one was the glossy hollywood go watch it ten times version and the other was a significantly bad review. I decided to be fair and go watch it before I made any decisions for myself.

SPOILER alert!

Why o why o WHY! did spielerg n lucas think that having a UFO themed movie would make it better god only knows! The movie started off okay, Cate as the villian was quite good I thought, but there was a scene when Indy starts running atop em boxes and cue the very catchy Indy theme music.... Im sorry but I kinda cringed coz it was more like he was jogging (I knw hez getting old n all, but yeah).

Then there was the nuclear blast, ummmn hello it is supposed to obliterate EVERYTHING in its path and that would have included Indy. I dont buy the fridge kept him alive crap, coz if anyone hasn't forgetten there is the actual real life Nagasaki n Hiroshima to go by, and I DOUBT anyone of them went... Oh look its a bomb, lets go hide in a fridge where we will be safe!

That was bad enough, then there was the alien autopsy! Hello if I wanted aliens I would go watch the damn X files thank you very much! The rest of the movie was barely average and then there was the ending... you know I thought Matrix 3 was atrocious, but Indiana Jones took the damn piss! Only bright note was the fact that we watched it for free.... Not worth paying money for imho. Go "acquire" it from other means... SERIOUSLY!!

Overally verdict after giving it some more thought, a 3 outta 10, only being generous because of ALL the older indy movies!!

Just watched 21 last night, was pretty good I reckoned. Reckon it would be better if I hadnt watched the documentary as I knew what to expect. Brief synopsis courtesy of imdb.. "21" is the fact-based story about six MIT students who were trained to become experts in card counting and subsequently took Vegas casinos for millions in winnings. Don't want to spoil this one for anyone who want to go see it, so will just put a rating.
Overall will give it a 7.5 outta 10 =) Definitely watchable. For more details on how to "win" watch the documentary... was pretty darn good.

What else, what else... Oh yeah I have to admit I saw Jim Carrey plugging the Horton movie I was like pffft looks like a kids movie and didnt give it much thought. But after my partner got a copy through legal channels (of course!) I actually really enjoyed it, great movie and I had a good laugh as well which is always recommended.

Overall a 8 outta 10. If you have kids or younger siblings I'd recommend watching it with them good stuff.

Rewatched A Kinght's Tale as well the other day, some funny bits plus it is a bit sad that ol Heath passed away the way he did. Reckon the soundtrack was prob the best bit! hehe =)

Some previews that caught my attention, Dark Knight which is the sequel to Batman Begins. Saw a poster of the Hulk! Hehe didnt know there would be a sequel for that. Also saw the preview of that M. Night Shyamalan (if that's how its spelt!) movie, looked a bit out there but then again not suprising really.

Its been a while, but I finally have had two back to back cruisy days at work!! This is a rare thing with the workload and all so hence the NUMEROUS posts! hehe... When i get a chance will post up the bday pics etc... :)

I'l end with a line from 21, "Winner Winner, Chicken Dinner"!! =) (that's when you hit a blackjack btw)

Irish Farmer

2008-06-10T15:47:00.000-07:00

A farmer named Seamus had a car accident.

In court, the lorry company's hot-shot solicitor was questioning Seamus.

'Didn't you say to the Police at the scene of the accident, 'I'm fine?' asked the solicitor.

Seamus responded: 'Well, I'll tell you what happened. I had justloaded my favourite cow, Bessie, into the...

''I didn't ask for any details', the solicitor interrupted. 'Just Answer the question. Did you not say, at the scene of the accident,'I'm fine!'?'

Seamus said, 'Well, I had just got Bessie into the trailer and I was driving down the road....'

The solicitor interrupted again and said, 'Your Honour, I am trying to establish the fact that, at the scene of the accident, this man told the police on the scene that he was fine. Now several weeks afterthe accident, he is trying to sue my client. I believe he is a fraud.Please tell him to simply answer the question.

'By this time, the Judge was fairly interested in Seamus's answer andsaid to the solicitor: 'I'd like to hear what he has to say about his favourite cow, Bessie'.

Seamus thanked the Judge and proceeded. 'Well as I was saying, I had just loaded Bessie, my favourite cow, into the trailer and was driving her down the road when this huge lorry and trailer came through a stop sign and hit my trailer right in the side. I was thrown into one ditch and Bessie was thrown into the other. I was hurt, very bad like, and didn't want to move.

However, I could hear old Bessie moaning and groaning. I knew shewas in terrible shape just by her groans. Shortly after the accident, a policeman on a motorbike turned up. He could hear Bessie moaning and groaning so he went over to her. After he looked at her, and saw her condition, he took out his gun and shot her between the eyes.

Then the policeman came across the road, gun still in hand, looked at me, and said, 'How are you feeling?''

Now what the F*ck would you say?'

A Helping Hand...

2008-06-10T15:40:00.000-07:00

A man and his wife were awakened at 3:00 am by a loud pounding on the Door.

The man gets up and goes to the door where a drunken stranger, Standing in the pouring rain, is asking for a push.

'Not a chance,' says the husband, 'it is 3:00 in the morning!' He slams The door and returns to bed.

'Who was that?' asked his wife.

'Just some drunken guy asking for a push,' he answers.

'Did you help him?' she asks.

'No, I did not, it is 3:00 in the morning and it is pouring rain out There!'

'Well, you have a short memory,' says his wife. 'Can't you remember About three months ago when we broke down, and those two guys helped Us?

I think you should help him, and you should be ashamed of yourself!'

The man does as he is told, gets dressed, and goes out into the pounding Rain. He calls out into the dark, 'Hello, are you still there?'

'Yes,' comes back the answer.

'Do you still need a push?' calls out the husband.

'Yes, please!' comes the reply from the dark.

'Where are you?' asks the husband.

'Over here on the swing,' replied the drunk.

You Gotta love Drunk people! Lols =) Hee hee, have a great Wednesday...

Essex Girls

2008-06-10T15:30:00.000-07:00

Some of this may be a bit crude, so if anyone is easily offended STOP reading ... =) Actually its not that bad, but I like putting up some random warning hehe.

An Essex girl goes to the council to register for child benefit.
'How many children?' asks the council worker.
'10' replies the Essex girl.
'10?' says the council worker. 'What are their names?'
'Wayne, Wayne, Wayne, Wayne, Wayne, Wayne, Wayne, Wayne, Wayne and Wayne.'
'Doesn't that get confusing?'
'Naah...' says the Essex girl 'its great because if they are out playing in the street I just have to shout WAAYNE, YER DINNER'S READY, or WAAYNE GO TO BED NOW and they all do it...'
'What if you want to speak to one individually?' says the perturbed council worker.
'That's easy,' says the Essex girl... 'I just use their surnames.'

An Essex girl walks into the local dry cleaners. She places a garment on the counter.
'I'll be back tomorrow afternoon to pick up my dress.' she says.
'Come again?' says the clerk, cupping his ear.
'No' she replies. 'This time it's mayonnaise.'

Essex Girl enters a sex shop & asks for a vibrator.
The man says 'Choose from our range on the wall.'
She says 'I'll take the red one.'
The man replies 'That's a fire extinguisher.'

An Essex girl is involved in a nasty car crash and is trapped and bleeding. The paramedics soon arrive on site.
Medic: 'It's OK I'm a paramedic and I'm going to ask you some questions?'
Girl: 'OK'
Medic: 'What's your name?'
Girl: 'Sharon.'
Medic: 'OK Sharon, is this your car?'
Sharon: 'Yes.'
Medic: 'Where are you bleeding from?'
Sharon: 'Romford, mate.'

An Essex girl was driving down the A13 when her car phone rang. It was her boyfriend, urgently warning her, 'Treacle, I just heard on the news that there's a car going the wrong way on the A13. Please be careful!'
'It's not just one car!' said the Essex girl, 'There's f*cking hundreds of them!'

Another Essex girl was involved in a serious crash; there's Blood everywhere. The paramedics arrive and drag the girl out of the car till she's lying flat out on the ground.
Medic: 'OK, I'm going to check if you're concussed.'
Sharon: 'Ok.'
Medic: 'How many fingers am I putting up?'
Sharon: 'Oh my god, I'm paralysed from the waist down!'

An Essex girl and an Irish guy are in a bar when the Essex Girl notices something strange about the wellies the Irish guy is wearing. She says, 'Scuse me mate, I ain't being funny or nuffink, but why doz one of your wellies 'ave an L on it and the uva one's got an R on it?'
The Irish guy smiles, puts down his glass of Guinness and replies, 'Well, I'm a little bit tick you see. The one wit the R on it is for me right foot and the one wit the L is for me Left foot'
'Cor blimey', exclaims the Essex girl, 'So THATS why me knickers 'ave got C&A on them!'

My fav one has to be "driving the wrong way", hee hee :) Good stuff...

The International Council of Man Laws

2008-06-09T15:50:00.000-07:00

1. Under no circumstances may two men share an umbrella.

2. It is OK for a man to cry ONLY under the following circumstances:
(a) When a heroic dog dies to save its master.
(b) The moment Angelina Jolie starts unbuttoning her Blouse.
(c) After wrecking your boss's car.
(d) When she is using her teeth.

3. Any man who brings a camera to a stag night may be legally killed and eaten by his friends.

4. If you've known a guy for more than 24 hours, his sister is off limits forever unless you actually marry her.

5. Moaning about the brand of free beer in a mate's fridge is forbidden. However complain at will if the temperature is unsuitable.

6. No man shall ever be required to buy a birthday present for another man. In fact, even remembering your mate's birthday is strictly optional. At that point, you must celebrate at a strip bar of the birthday boy's choice.

7. In the mini-bus, the strongest bladder determines pit stops, not the weakest.

8. When stumbling upon other blokes watching a sporting event, you may ask the score of the game in progress, but you may never ask who's playing.

9. It is permissible to drink a fruity alcohol drink only when you're sunning on a tropical beach ... and it's delivered by a topless model and only when it's free.

10. Only in situations of moral and/or physical peril are you allowed to kick another guy in the nuts.

11. Unless you're in prison, never fight naked.

12. Friends don't let friends wear Speedos. Ever. Issue closed.

13. If a man's fly is down, that's his problem, you didn't see anything.

14. Women who claim they "love to watch sports" must be treated as spies until they demonstrate knowledge of the game and the ability to drink as much as the other sports watchers.

15. A man in the company of a hot, suggestively dressed woman must remain sober enough to fight.

16. Never hesitate to reach for the last beer or the last slice of pizza, but not both, that's just greedy.

17. Never allow a telephone conversation with a woman to go on longer than you are able to have sex with her. Keep a stopwatch by the phone. Hang up if necessary.

18. The morning after you and a girl who was formerly "just a friend" have carnal, drunken monkey sex. The fact that you're feeling weird and guilty is no reason for you not to nail each other again before the discussion occurs about what a big mistake it was.

19. It is acceptable for you to drive her car. It is not acceptable for her to drive yours.

20. Thou shall not buy a car in the colours of brown, pink, lime, green, yellow, orange or sky blue.

21. The girl who replies to the question "What do you want for Christmas?" with "If you loved me, you'd know what I want!" gets an Xbox 360 End of story.

22. There is no reason for guys to watch Ice Skating or Men's Gymnastics. Ever.

23. Never wear a man bag to work.

24. We've all heard about people having guts or balls. But do you really know the difference between them? In an effort to keep you informed, the definition of each is listed below:

"GUTS" is arriving home late after a night out with the guys, being assaulted by your wife with a broom, and having the guts to say, "are you still cleaning or are you flying somewhere?"

"BALLS" is coming home late after a night out with the guys smelling of perfume and beer, lipstick on your collar, slapping your wife square on the ass and having the balls to say, "You're next fatty!"

I hope this clears up any confusion, The International Council of Man Laws

Posted this up just for a laugh. Thought the Beer type in the Fridge, Speedos and fighting naked in prison were Hilarious!

Will He or Won't He?

2008-06-05T16:00:00.000-07:00

For those that don't know, Manchester United & speculation go hand in hand. Latest player we have been linked to, or rather latest played been linked with the opposition in this case is the ever friendly NOT Real Madrid is Cristiano Ronaldo.

Mind you it doesn't help the player's cause when he has said that playing in Spain and particularly for Read Madrid would be an honour.

Just remembered as well that young Ronaldo has been with us for 5 years now. IDEALLY I would prefer to have him stay on for at least another 2-3 years and then if he wanted to go fair enough. IF the transfer does end up going through and it may cost Madrid an arm and a leg if it does, the owners of United, the ever Friendly Glazers (not), have said they are going to play hardball which is good to see them take a stance.

United did develop him into the player that he is today, so getting monetary compensation won't be enough, IF we had to I'd take a couple of their players as well. =)

It;s going to be a long summer in the UK, but at least the Euro's start tomorrow! I shall leave you with a picture that had me laughing :)

Presenting, the RONALDOMETER!

A Recipe for DISASTER....

2008-06-03T20:34:00.000-07:00

If you're a guy and you dont know this... well you will find out the HARD WAY as listed below.

A man staggered into a hospital with a concussion, multiple bruises, two black eyes, and a five iron wrapped tightly around his throat.

Naturally, the Doctor asked him, 'What happened to you?'

'Well, I was having a quiet round of golf with my wife, when at a difficult hole; we both sliced our golf balls into a field of cattle.

We went to look for them and while I was looking around I noticed one of the cows had something white at its rear end 'I walked over, lifted its tail, and sure enough, there was a golf ball with my wife's monogram on it - stuck right in the middle of the cow's fanny.

Still holding the cow's tail up, I yelled to my wife, 'Hey, this looks like yours!''

'I don't remember much after that'

All in all, it was WORTH it!

2008-05-22T17:43:00.000-07:00

I have NEVER thought or felt that I could age Ten years, in 20 minutes... but by golly I sure did!

The inital plan was to watch the Champions League game in a pub near work. But with the timing, I just decided to watch it at home. Had already told the boss that I would be a bit late. Didn't think I would be an hour late, but hey sometimes you just gotta say fcuk it! =)

I was really excited and nervous the night before, only went to bed about 1am, and woke up at 6am. Made sure I had showered and was ready to go to work ONCE the game was over.

Most of the first half was brilliant, United dominating and scoring. A Wes Brown cross, headed in by Ronaldo! And just when I thought to myself as halftime approached, " A 1-0 lead to take into the break will be good"... cue mistake at the back, poor clearance from Rio, slip by Van der Sar and before you could say Who Ate All the Pies (its a joke for frank lampard n rooney) ... yup Lampard converts the easy chance.

So second half starts, and Chelsea are much better. Came out of the blocks firing. Drogba, Ballack and Lampard all had chances. Scores still even, everything matched and its the end of the second half.

Extra time, United are playing better in the first half of extra time, Giggsy has a freaking open goal literally but John "I dont Cry Terry" steps in to clear the goal bound effort!

Second half of extra time, still honours even when right on cue the Twat that is Drogba decides to slap Vidic (Stupid really, has he not heard the songs the United fans sing about Vida?)

Nemanja, whoa oh oh
Nemanja, whoa oh oh
He comes from Serbia
He'll fucking murder yer
Nemanja, whoa oh oh

And yes the ref sends him off, justice is sweeter when the other team's player Deserves to get sent off (See Mascherano against United, LOLS!)

Mind you, by extra time I couldnt sit down and had to pace up and down in the hall whilst watching the game. All the time, I was thinking... yup typical United.. We usually prefer to do things the hard way!

Hehe, penalties are up. I am now unbelieavably stressed out of my mind. First penalty by United is converted and honours are even on both end until Ronaldo Steps up to take his. Usually, if I was a gambling man ( and I am sometimes, within reason & risk), I would have put a friendly wager that he would have converted.

One small critique I have, is that when he usually has the chance to take a penalty, he does this stutter step which I think it a bit unfair and he slows down... waits for the keeper to dive and THEN put the penalty away. HUGE credit to Petr Cech, he just stood there and waited, and this time Ronaldo actually did the run up and STOPPED! So theres the both of them waiting for the other to move! Good on Cech for just standing and not diving, cue a poor penalty effort by Ronaldo.

By the 5th penalty, all Chelski needs to win is for John flipping Terry to score and I kid you not, my hand was on the remote ready to turn off the telly. He bloody slips at the vital moment and it hits the bars and goes out!

I do have to apologise to my neighbours for ALL the screaming hee hee. It was worth it. Up till the last penalty where if anyone else misses the other team takes the trophy. United have convered theirs, up steps Anelka.... Van der Sar sticks out a big right hand and cue a BIG BIG BIG scream from me and everyone else that Loves Manchester United with a passion! =)

Have to end this with some appropriate photos. Enjoy... Its still sinking in for me!

Very Cool Intro for the Final

Its been a While, but that's the prize at stake

Whooopsie!!

Wasn't long before the internet geeks got to work!

Another one for JT :)

Scholesy in the wars!
One Legend replacing Another
Just to add, the MINUTE united had won the game, the FIRST thing, ABSOLUTE first thing that scholesy did was to go Straight over and Console the Chelsea players. If that isnt the classiest, more noble, professional thing. I don't know what it! =) LEGEND = Scholesy!

Celebration Time!

Love this shot, everyone has just realised we won and are JUST about to run to Van der Sar!

Good on ya Edwin, his second CL trophy btw

It was "meant to be" hee hee

Thank you Sir Alex, in you we trust! :)

Carlitos with his daugher

Scholesy with his son

The new Record appearances by a Manchester United Player = soon to be SIR Ryan Giggs
Get in there! :)

Fantastic moment!

Spare a Thought...

2008-05-15T21:22:00.000-07:00

I was having a reasonably decent day, then found out that I had "forgotten" to make a bill payment. Though I still am adamant that I have paid it, nonetheless Im not one to shirk from my responsiblity. Anyhoo whilst being glum thinking of the amount that will exit my bank account, I remembered something that brought me back to reality.

Most of you would have read or watched the news of the earthquake in China. TENS of thousands of people have been killed, even more are MISSING. Watching the news last night, there was a feature on the husband praying that his pregnant wife could be rescued from their collapsed apartment block. It was hardly holding up but the fire department managed to put some loads barring equipment and they somehow managed to crawl through a small small space and get her out. Cue celebrations from the crowd, the husand and the fire department. Heck I was thrilled. Though the news reporter has said watch for the women in the background who were initially celebrating.

There were about 15-20 people gathered around and it turns out those women had their familes also stuck in the rubble etc.

What was really fucked up was (rightly or wrongly), the government or someone authoritative decided it was too unsafe and the extraction works were called off. Can you just imagine being told that your loved one is stuck in the building but nothing more can be done to help. Fuck me sideways, to say those women were gutted was an understatement. I truly felt their pain when there were crying and screaming.

I do hope that they managed to get them out safely, but with rescue operations, the longer it takes to find survivors its normally not for the lack of trying. Its usually the worst possible news.

Life sucks at times, but its what you make of it. I'm grateful my family is well, my partner is healthy and so am I. We have a roof over our head and I guess this is me just being grateful that I have the opportunity to live my own life, have family and friends that are all doing well and are healthy and safe.

To those people who lost their loved ones, my thoughts and prayers go out to you. Still hope that MORE survivors can be found...

Championes Championes!!

2008-05-13T22:06:00.001-07:00

It has been the most intense title race in a long time. Well the last time it came down to the wire was in 1999.

Considering the game was at 0200 Monday morning, i had no choice but to wake up and watch it, and boy was it intense. 1-0 after half an hour then the wait, because if the result was a draw United would and could have lost the title.

Enter Ryan Giggs, just before the 80th minute mark, comes on as a sub thus equaling the record apearances of the legendary Sir Bobby Charlton and yup even score the second goal to ensure the game was won and I would finally stop any more black hairs from turning GREY!!

Hardly watched that many games this season, but United have just oozed class. Next week is the Champions League final against Chelsea and that will be a cracker! Can't wait....

Ronaldo Scoring the penalty

Celebrating the goal with Carrick

From one Legend to another. Sir Bobby congratulating Sir Alex

IF the lad doesn't win the FIFA player of the year, well then I'd say it's rigged!

Party Time!

Congrats to the lads, it sure has been up and down season. Started very slowly this season. Remember some people coming up with the triangle joke. Hehe look whos laughing now! =)

Championes Championes! Ole Ole Ole!!

Till next thursday.

Sometimes you just know....

2008-05-08T16:20:00.000-07:00

When its your last day on the job

Who's going to clean up the mess?

Hehe, this was good.

I suppose I don't want to knw how this happened, unless of course the pilot left the handbrake OFF!!

Imagine if the pilot and crew repeated that on the flight! Lols

Thought this was quite good

This would be hilarious for the opposing fans

Enjoy the weekend people, minus the crappy weather for those of us in Auckland!

The Quest

2008-05-07T21:00:00.000-07:00

It was probably about couple months back that the missus n I decided we should try a new place to eat. Felt like something with a bit of a kick to it, so Indian or Thai. And we decided on Indian, seeing as we had already been to our favourite place a few times already which was Bollywood btw, we decided to try Shahi which was in the handy entertainment book and located nearby on Jervois Road.

From the outside it looked fairly smallish, but going inside there were only limited seats and it was upstairs. On top of which since we went on a public holiday, there was a blardy public holiday surcharge! So once we decided to dine in (bad mistake, should have just 'tapaued'), we then ordered.

The entree was so so a 5 out of 10 (being generous here), ordered the samosas. Then came the mains and papadums. For those that don't know, I am for lack of a better word a papadum fanatic! lols, this is true, I love em. Cook them whenever I can and judge restaurants on how well they make them. Lets just say theirs was poor. Mains were horrible and all in all I would give them a 2 out of 10 on the Prev rating scale. Not to mention the service was soooooo slow considering they only had 4 other tables to serve, it took a good part of 45 minutes..... yes forty five FREAKING minutes to get the food out to us!

I mentioned to the missus BEFORE we started eating, maybe we could just pay the full price and use the voucher next time.... rest assured once the food... or at least what we THOUGHT was the food came... out came the voucher.

Verdict: NEVER going back again. EVER!

Suprising fact, there are a fair few branches of Shahi all over Auckland as we found out driving through Remers (Remuera). Cue hysteria from me and the missus... people actually pay for that?? But hey we can only judge on the Ponsonby branch and lets just say atrocious is an
understatement.

Recommendation : Go to Bollywood, great food, good service. I'd go MUCH more often if not for the price. ..;)

Side news, Prev has moved.... wheee. Prev has ALOT of junk to get rid off.... booooo. Ultimately Prev is very happy =) Oh yeah to all those who were going to post me presents for my upcoming birthday (shameless promotion I know, sue me) you can get my address by asking me :).

Last but not least, a post for my second love (or first depending on which way you look at it ehhe just kidding baby, I love you), Manchester United! Going into the final week of the league it has without a doubt been the most stressful and exciting finish to a great league. Credit to Chelski for sticking with United right till the end (the jammy b'stards). Not to mention the final of the champions league on the 22nd of May over here! Doing the double this season would be just rewards for the team and not to mention a certain Cristiano Ronaldo. Well done son, credit where credit is due. Looking forward to the next couple of games. And eventually euro 2008! Time flies let me tell ya, thank god there is some football to watch after the 22nd, but I will be having some Serious Withdrawal Symptoms prior to the new season kicking off in July!

Viva la Man Utd! =)

A lil caffeine never killed anyone, Has It??

2008-03-05T18:25:00.000-08:00

Not too long ago, I mentioned we got a lovely coffee machine at work on a trial period. An unfortunately the malaysian in me coudln't resist all that FREE coffee! (& hot chocolates! though more coffee, as the hot chocs were diabetic central if you know what I mean)

Anyhooo, once we all got into a rhythm meaning not overdoing the intake of mostly free caffeine it was quite handy. Then, before you could say "Lost is much better this season" off went the freebies.

What am I getting at? We got a coffee machine at work again. Now I know what you're thinking, Mate.. Don't get addicted. To my credit, I have only had 2 cups of coffee today. Very restrained and I think its because the coffee is quite good that I don't need another cup until after lunch.

That said, seeing as the coffee is of a stronger brew and there are decent varieties to choose from I am probably ONE cup away from literally bouncing off the walls! =)

Should you bump into meet at the foodcourt during my lunchour and you find me talking really fast and more importantly not making any sense... Just Pause and then think .... Good Free Coffee!

On a side note, I won't be able to take part in Round the Bay next Saturday. Terribly gutted =(.

Probably hurt my calf more than a week ago rushing for subfootball and as I was late, didn't have any time to warm up. Then at badminton a few days later I felt a slight twinge.

Me being me, kept going and didn't suffer any repercussions up till squash on Tuesday night. Playing with my work colleagues and during the second set I was going for a nice forehand shot down the line and yup the calf pulled and tightened like you wouldn't believe. Stupidity took over and i kept playing, rested a bit more and tried stretching the calf. Once I got home after dinner, it was AGONY!! All I can say is thank GOD for DRUGS!! =)

Went to the pharmacy the next morning and let me just say a Big Thank You to the Makers of Voltaren Gel and Tablets! The calf is healing but I think the last thing I need will be a 9km run next Saturday. Though there will be a nice Barbie & Drinks at the boss' house afterwards to look forward to.

Till then, hope everyone is enjoying their week and the weather. Which annoys me btw, why is it that the weekday weather is usually Worse than the weekend.

What a load of bollox!!

2008-03-02T20:15:00.000-08:00

Malaysia has found nearly 9,000 people aged more than 100 on its electoral rolls as it heads for general elections next month, raising suspicions that the books are "contaminated" with dead voters.

The Election Commission has found the names of 8,666 registered voters with birth dates from a century or more ago, the New Straits Times said on Friday, quoting commission secretary Kamaruzaman Mohd Noor.

They included two 128-year-olds, the daily said.

"As far as the commission is concerned, as of December 31 last year, these voters are still alive," Kamaruzaman said.

Opposition groups have complained for years that the rolls are outdated and vulnerable to fraud.

The Election Commission says it relies on a dead voter's family or officials to notify it of the death and so rolls can be outdated, but it denies scope for electoral fraud whereby someone casts more than one ballot by impersonating a dead voter.

At the elections on March 8, the commission will for the first time use indelible ink to dye a voter's finger to ensure he or she cannot attempt to cast a second ballot undetected.

"We suspect that many among them had in fact passed away but that the commission has not yet struck off their names from the rolls," said Wong Chin Huat, of electoral-reform lobby group Bersih, which includes several opposition parties.

"This suggests a high degree of contamination in the rolls, which will make it easy for people to impersonate them on polling day," Wong added.Malaysia has 10.9 million voters and its population has a life expectancy of about 72 years for men and 76 for women.

Opposition party Parti-Islam Se-Malaysia, which first spotted the names of the two 128-year-old voters on the rolls of central Selangor state, said it was checking if they were still alive.

"We plan to apply to the Guinness Book of Records to list them as the world's oldest voters if they truly are still alive and kicking," said party spokesman Roslan Shahir said. (Reuters UK)

Article courtesy of one of my favourites.

Personally i doubt there are more than 500 people over the age of a 100 in Malaysia let alone 8,000. What more REGISTERED voters! Its so hard convincing the younger generation to vote, surely these senior SENIOR citizens are setting the right 'example'. Without their own knowledge I'd suspect!

Subtle ISA Example =)

2008-03-02T13:11:00.000-08:00

Saw this on Zorro's blog. Hee Hee. Not suprised though, in a country where positive criticism is taboo, nothing suprises me anymore...

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi goes to a primary school to talk about the corruption togther with all his tough looking bodyguards . After his talk, he offers question time.

One little boy puts up his hand and Abdullah asked, what is your name?

Liong

And what is your question, Liong?

I have 3 questions.

First, why did Malaysia Prime Minister open ceremony for his relatives Nasi Kandar in Australia?

Second, why many Indians wanted Samy Vellu to stepped down yet he is still their leader?

Third, why corruption is obvious now in Malaysia but not so before Mahathir stepped down?

What is the strategy difference to cover up?

Just then, the bell rings for recess. Abdullah Ahmad Badawi informs the kiddies that they will continue after recess.

When they resume Abdullah says, Ok where were we? Oh, thats right. Question time. Who has a question?

A different little boy raises his hand.
Abdullah points him out and asked him what is your name?

Linkam

And what is your question Linkam?

I have 5 questions.

First, why did Malaysia Prime Minister open ceremony for his relatives Nasi Kandar in Australia?

Second, why many Indians wanted Samy Velu to stepped down yet he is still their leader?

Third, why corruption is obvious now in Malaysia but not so before Mahathir stepped down? What is the strategy difference to cover up?

Fourth, why did the recess bell go 20 minutes early?

Fifth, where is Liong?

Office Dares

2008-02-27T19:23:00.000-08:00

Hehe, got emailed this and it probably has done its 'rounds' with the forwards but who cares. See whether anyone can garner the MOST amount of points!

ONE-POINT DARES:

Ignore the first five people who say 'good morning' toyou.
To signal the end of a conversation, clamp your hands over your ears and grimace.
Leave your fly open for one hour. If anyone points it out, say, "Sorry, I really prefer it this way".
Walk sideways to the photocopier.
While going in an elevator, gasp dramatically each time the doors open.
When in elevator with one other person, tap them on the shoulder and pretend it wasn't you.
Finish all your sentences with "In accordance with the prophecy..."
Don't use any punctuation.
Use your highlighter pen on the computer screen.

THREE-POINT DARES :

Say to your boss, "I like your style", wink, and shoot him with double-barreled fingers.
Kneel in front of the water cooler and drink directly from the nozzle.
Shout random numbers while someone is counting.
Everytime you get an email, shout ''e-mail''.
Put decaf in the coffee maker for 3 weeks. Once everyone is over his or her caffeine addictions, switch to espresso.
Keep hole punching your finger. Each time you do, shout,"dagnamit, it's happened again!". Then do it again.
Introduce yourself to a new colleague as "the office bicycle". Then wink and pout.
Call I.T. help desk and tell them that you can't seem to access any pornography web-sites.

FIVE-POINT DARES :

At the end of a meeting, suggest that, for once, it would be nice to conclude with the singing of the national anthem (extra points if you actually launch into it yourself).
Walk into a very busy person's office and while they watch you with growing irritation, turn the light switch on/off 10times.
For an hour, refer to everyone you speak to as "Bob".
Announce to everyone in a meeting that you "really have to go do a number two".
In a meeting or crowded situation, slap your forehead repeatedly and mutter, "Shut up,damn it, all of you just shut up!"
At lunchtime, get down on your knees and announce, "As God is my witness, I'll never go hungry again!"
During the course of a meeting, slowly edge your chair towards the door.
As often as possible, skip rather than walk.
Ask people what sex they are. Laugh hysterically after they answer.
Hump the photocopier. When someone spots you, stop and cough embarrassingly, then lean in to the machine and whisper loudly, "I'll call you tonight

Vote or DIE! lols...

2008-02-27T14:22:00.001-08:00

Did anyone else think that P.Diddy took it a lil over the top in the last elections in America?? Hehe, btw some excellent South Park episodes taking the piss as well. Love that show! Mmmmkay...

Anyhoo saw a link for Malaysians overseas who can vote, have a look and if it helps good... go and vote. If not, pass it on to others who can. This is one of the few opportunities to actually make a difference if you are registered to do so or know someone that is.

Vote or stop complaining i'd say! =)

Btw, did anyone see that horror tackle on Eduardo?? FMD!! (Fuck me Dead!) lols something I learnt when I was 15 doing a temp job. But seriously... get well soon eduardo.. those pics are NOT pleasant!

On a much more positive note, United Thrashing Newcastle... its like a right of passage now for most newcastle defenders... being humiliated by Mancs! =)

Flip Flop

2008-02-21T17:00:00.000-08:00

A term for me used for John Kerry when he lost the elections against Dubya (George Bush Jr). He would say one thing and then back track etc etc from what I can remember. But then again you do need competent people to run your campaign for you, Dubya had Karl Rove who was like a grand chessmaster orchestrating and even telling Dubya what to say.

What am I getting at? hehe Im a Gemini so bear with my train of thought. I found over the last 5 to 6 months my interest in Politics has increased alot and if you look at my favourites list on my IE at work, I have at least about 20-35 different blogs and new sites which I get my daily 'fix'. It probably wasn't more than a week ago when the Malaysia PM was asked whether he would be dissolving parliament on the 13th of Feb and rather than well I don't know, give the usual lawyer answer "No Comment" he said this.

Then what does he do, yup dissolves parliament and calls for a general election. Whoop dee freaking doo! How silly, naive and downright unprofessional can a LEADER of a country take things. Well it would appear quite low. It's really pathetic and sad that the basics aren't being done right, to say the least. Running a country should be straight forward in the sense that it should be run as a public listed company where you are responsible to the shareholders of the company. In this case the shareholders are the citizens of the country. Only problem in REALITY, the shareholders are mostly the members of the ruling government and the responsibilities are not of the common man.

Looking back over the years, right now it is a sad state of affairs. There is no transparency, freedom of speech, equality, basic human rights for everyone which includes the appaling way immigrants illegal and legal are treated. What the country practises racism, corruption, inequality, kulitfication (skin qualification) as opposed to actual Qualification where the person MOST QUALIFIED gets the job etc, and a whole LOT of other 'wonderful' things needs to be weeded out. Think of it like a tumour, the whole parasitic vile thing just needs to be cut out and then maybe there might be a chance of things improving for EVERYONE.

Hopefully at the very least come the elections on the 08/03/08 the govt does not retain its 2/3's majority. Thought I'l end with some nice pictures, as you know a Picture speaks a thousand words, well in this case i'l just let them speak for themselves =)

" Mannn, I shouldn't have hit those nightclubs last nite!"

" It is me or is the speaker really really boorriinnzzzzzz"

Everyone looks the way I Feel!!

"Another day another day dream! =) "

*Pictures courtesy of Howsy

Romantic Gesture or Waste of Money??

2008-02-18T18:02:00.000-08:00

Have a read through the article and post your thoughts....

Saw this on (howsy.blogspot.com)

For those who are lazy to scrawl through it, basically Joe in the article decided to 'pop the question' on Valentine's Day to his partner, which I assume is a fairly popular day for some people. Personally I don't subscribe to the ONE specific day to declare your love etc... waste of money really to an extent, plus its so commercialised.

Anyhoo, Joe board over there (In Msia) decided to spend (between 40-70k depending on which blogs you read) a fairly Large substantial amount to propose to his partner on a billboard.

I would guess some of the females would think its romantic (correct me if I'm wrong) but from My point of view its quite plain and simply a waste of A Lot of moolah!

Don't get me wrong, im all for romantic gestures and sweeping the girl off her feet etc (most days).

But when you spend what some people struggle to earn in a year on a billboard, when that money could have easily be used to invest in some shares, bonds heck even a downpayment for a property which if managed well and rented out over a period of time will generate income to pay for a few billboards, announcing the various kids that they might have in future ( naturally I pressume they want at least 3 kids, that way they can use the buy 2 get 1 free option being offered by most billboard enthusiasts!) :)

I suppose I would be keen to hear from both the guys and the girls P.O.V.

The ring cost about 14 big ones, which i suppose is alright seeing as she is going to be wearing it for the rest of her life (touch wood), the "formula" hehe for working out the standard ring for your partner ( mind you this is what I have HEARD and READ) so indulge me.. Take your current salary and times it by 3 or 5 (if you can afford it) and viola!

So the average joe on say 50k a year for arguments sake, about

4k a month x 3 = 12k

Some food for thought, what IF she had said NO? Im not being mean or anything, but having spent a large sum of cash on the billboard, god forbid she says no... dudududududu... Major "haii lat" or crapfest :P

I suppose at the end of the day if you spend enough time with your partner, buy her flowers (for no reason) and take her out to dinner, Valentine's Day is just another day, buying flowers & chocolates for the sake of it isn't the right way to go (personally), it should be because you want to and you want to brighten her day and make her feel special... =)

Happy Birthday Alison!!!

2008-02-07T14:07:00.000-08:00

With the time difference* ( and yes Im hopeless with the American hours) this should be be 'perfect' for my sis' wishes.

So let me see, 1-9-8-5, that means...2008 - 1985 = 23? lols Yeah of course it is! hehe

This shoutout is for my sister over in the States.... 23 already huh? Makes me feel a bit younger saying that for some reason lols... =) and no no ure not old, still very young and you have the whole world in front of you.

Good that we get the frequent emails from you with updates....

How is Brucey doing? that is if ure still calling bruce, Brucey.. (picture below)

Lets see, my sister .... I do have a distinct memory of getting a card for no apparent reason when you were young and I was probably about 10 or so... I remember the card was hand made and it said Best brother Ever (mind you hamish was still a baby so he still had some way to get to my level of brotherness!) =)

It was a very sweet and nice card and it was appreciated then and still is now.

Will let some pictures say the rest, but yeah you've been an amazing sister and always will be. The smarter one as well, kudos and its good that you get the chance to further your studies over in the states where you will do well.

Remember deep breaths whenever it gets to stressed and you find yourself under pressure. You can do ANYTHING you put your mind to.... so go for it! =)
I gotta go as Im writing this at work, though its after 4, and having a beer (hic).

But send my best to anselm ( if thats how you spell it) as well and remember you and Hamish are ALWAYS welcome here to live, or study or even come for a holiday! :)

With that, and the Stella kicking in ish, I shall leave with some nice photos of the whanau (family)

No One told me about the COLGATE ads, I was going for the too Cool for School look & Pulling it off I might add! :)
Okie, we weren't even TRYING to be cool, it just happened NATURALLY!
Anselm, Alison, Mum and the now Infamous BRUCEY!
Me caught between smiling and showing of my vampire fangs ;)
Paris, where DREAMS come true! lols :) (More like the ones that fill your tummy but still good food is GOOD FOOD!)

Family photo, prefer this one to the one where we all got dressed up and spent a while combing through to find that 'perfect' photo. This one was casual-ish and puurrrfectomundo if you ask me =)

Happy Belated Birthday Normeister! =)

2008-02-06T17:38:00.000-08:00

Told you I was getting old-ER.... hehe

Anyhoo this is a slightly overdue post for my couzzie bro Norman! Old man already mate... though age is just a number (that keeps INCREASING) lols... hope you had a good birthday and Tiff spoilt you rotten ;)

Just a few words about my mate, a truly genuine and good friend if there ever was one. Always open and honest so I can always count on him and a few others to put me on the straight and narrow if I ever strayed! ( though officially Im an ANGEL and thats my story n Im sticking to it!).

Lets see, I first got to know him in Form 1 when I joined the scouts * (Note I left it briefly, REJOINED... yes I rejoined and then passed everything and THEN did I leave for good). Norman was always and (still is) very passionate about the scouts and it was clear it would only be a matter of time before he became a Patrol Leader and then a Troup Leader.

My Distinct memories of the scouts are very clear, being in uniform back then we were not allowed to swear and I remember getting in that Saturday morning putting the ummmn 'neckerchief" on lols though I don't think its spelt that way *(Cue Norman to correct me pls) ta,
anyhoo as I was standing nearby the flags, a senior scout was cycling in on his BMX, and greeted me ( mind you I was Form 1 at the time)... his exact words were " Wassup Fucker" and there was me going, but wait a second he was in uniform and he SWORE! lols

The only OTHER memory of note, is the Infamous A-Tressle ( again Norman your spell check will be appreciatedmundo) . The task was to construct a gadjet which was shaped like an A and at the very top point there would be a small section which One foot might fit*(on a NON Slippery day). Needless to say building it was cool, getting it to the test route was simple enough, but then came the "TRANSPORTING of people task". Lo and behold the first person wasn't me (hehe bet you thought it was) but the SECOND one was.... There I was, breakfast deprived coldish as it had just rained earlier and I stepped up to "get transported" over. Getting one foot in was Okie, but the second well lets just say challenging for me at the very least. Limited space, heights, lack of brekkie and rain (drenched shoes and wood) was my downfall.... LITERALLY!!

Hehe, yeah I guess you just had to be there. There I was being transported over, when yeah it was slippery enough compounded with my fear of height and yup timmmmmbeeeerrrrr except it was me falling and as luck would have it there was a drain below.

LUCKILY for me, as I landed Face first... it JUST missed my eye by a whisker.

The next couple of hours was a blur to me, everyone rushed over and the Scout Master was panicked. They called my parents who took me to the doctor.
When I went in the following week for the troup meeting, the seniors were all a bit nervous as they didnt know what my parents feeling/views on the matter were and seeing as I was in their responsibility they would have liked to avoid any potential fallbacks. As soon as they saw me there were like so what did your parents say? Word for word, I told them they said very good.
Lols, but yeah they were stoked.

I'l end with a memory that for some reason I'l always remember. I used to have a mountain bike which I cycled to school everyday. There was this one time when Norman had to go visit one of the Scout Senior's and he asked if he could borrow my bike which I think I hesitated for a bit (lols, just kidding) but yeah lent it to him and waited for an hour plus and he never showed.
Seeing as I was hungry and didn't live to far away, I walked home. Had me some lunch and then Senor Norm showed up with me bike. As he brought it in he apologised, but I wasnt to bothered as the saying goes... no harm no foul. He then said to me, "hey if you wanna punch me go ahead, Take a swing!" I was like huh? He said yeah go for it, I was like ummmn Naah its all good mate. So dont ask me why, but thats the story I have burned into me memory from 15 years ago!! lols...

All in all, I'm very happy that he and Tiff have gotten registered... not long now before Normiff Juniors are going to be runnning around. Mahesh's turn will be next (hint hint!)
Last but not least some current-ish photos of my good fren. I am blessed to have known and continue to know some very genuine, honest people. And he is one of them.

Heres to Five kids (unless you want more), lots of properties and a long life with the family.

Take care of him Tiff, a good man Normeister is! =)

Norm @ Mamak
Mrs Norman, hehe Tiff & Norman @ Paris
Norm eating the Waiter as the food took to long to come... Lols, just kidding but thou shall not waste remember! :)
The bro's and their ho's (lols I kid again ladies, trying to be a gangsta but failing!) hehe :)
Last but not least, the very happy couple..... Altogether now....... AWWWWWWWW =)

Another Day, Another Story

2008-01-29T18:43:00.000-08:00

For those who don't know, a few months back former DPM Anwar Ibrahim released a footage of a prominent lawyer revealing that he influences who gets appointed as Senior Judges in Msia. Lovely Innit! :)

Anyhoo, the govt to cover their behinds set up a Royal Commission to investigate and lo n behold good ol lawyer involved came up with a classic line "It looks like me and sounds like me, but its not me" Full transcript and details here (http://www.sun2surf.com/article.cfm?id=20510)

Anyhoo, found this on a blog below and thought I would share... good stuff =)

Courtesy of Sophie's World

(http://sophiesworld-sophiesworld.blogspot.com/2008/01/lingam-defence.html)

Looks like I wrote this - did I?

By JAIME EE

MY fellow lawyers, citizens and other distinguished friends who may have been caught in an incriminating video or two - greetings. Welcome to our workshop titled: 'Never Say Die Even When Your Face Is Staring At You From The Video - henceforth known as the Lingam Defence.'

Now, this is a very interesting strategy, inspired not by a famous brand of chilli sauce, but by a well-known lawyer of the same name across the Causeway currently caught in a judge-fixing scandal. Upon watching a video allegedly of him talking on the phone and being asked to confirm his identity, he told the court, 'It looks like me, and the voice sounds like me,' but would not say if it was him, or not him, or even possibly him in the video.

Now, any armchair litigator or court kaypoh would pooh-pooh him for trying to pull a fast one. But, my friends, we who live by the mantra 'open to interpretation' have found this to be a ground-breaking defence that, with some modifications, can be used not just in court but in all manner of situations that require deflection of blame.

The focus of this workshop then, is to show you how to use the Lingam Defence in almost any scenario. For example, in the original case, it could subsequently be argued that if one does not look at oneself in the mirror all the time, it is entirely possible to look at a video and think 'that can't be me', especially if one's mental picture of oneself is 20kg lighter and with a more trendy hairstyle. Alternatively, one could also be struggling with philosophical issues, hence he could be referring to himself in the metaphysical sense as in 'Is that really me in the mirror? Or is that just someone else with the same face?'

Similarly, depending on what situation you find yourself in, the same principles can apply. Say, for example, you are presented with a video of yourself having sex with a florist-cum-personal friend. You could delay a public resignation by arguing, 'It looks like me and uh, sounds like me, wait a minute, oh wow, is that really me? Am I that athletic? I didn't know I could do that . . . no no that definitely can't be me. But you know, if it was me, I think I'm pretty hot. But I'm not saying it's me.'

Or, in another scenario where you are caught feeding monkeys in the nature reserve and are being fined $4,000. 'Sir, it may look like me and sound like I was feeding the monkeys, but have you considered the possibility that I was minding my own business when a monkey which did not like the bread someone else gave him, came and shoved it in my hand just before I was filmed? It sounds like I was saying 'here, monkey, have some bread', I was actually saying, 'Eee, monkey, loathsome breed'. Hence, I feel that you should send this tape to an overseas expert for verification and to prove that it was a human who taped it and not another monkey.'

Or, in the case of a chikungunya-carrying mosquito mistaken for a dengue-causing one: 'It looks like me and sounds like me, the resemblance is so uncanny that when I look in the mirror I try to swat myself.'

And there you have it. The Lingam Defence workshop - it looks and sounds like a workshop, but it may or may not have been one. We might offer more, but I can't confirm or deny it.

----------------------

Dududududududu.... brilliant! :)

Worst Jam.... EVER*

2008-01-29T14:24:00.000-08:00

In Auckland!

Decided to offer a friend a lift to the airport last week Friday, since Im always such a nice chap.

The plan was that I would get picked up about early 5ish, go get my car and then take him to the airport... leave by 5.30-5.45 at the very latest. Seeing that his domestic flight was at 7pm, that gave us more than enough time to get there. OR SO I THOUGHT!!

Took the motorway which was a bit clogged up, but that was normal for the time, then went to Gilles and take the usual airport route. Another jam once we passed newmarket so I thought yeah no worries should subside. Seeing as the latest we needed to get there was 6.30, the jam was SUPERBLY atrocious! You just knew it wasnt our day, especially since i txted my colleague who stayed on the same route we took. She left at 5, and at 6.45 she still hadn't reached home yet. Needless to say my mate was gutted and the missus was too.

Found out on the drive there that there had been a terrible accident which needed the car to be cut to get the people out of there.

On top of which, aparently a truck had broken down which ended up blocking one full lane on a two lane road.

Now I've been in some 'superb' jams in msia, even had the trusty honda overheat it was so bad... but yeah for Auckland's standards... this was hands down the worst one ever.

Aparently about 200 people had called up the Air New Zealand call centre regarding the jam.

Oh and we finally reached the airport at 7.21, and lo and behold we saw a plane taking off at the same time. But hey, at least he managed to get an early flight the following day. So it was bad, but not too disheartening.

Traffic jams in Msia though have been know to be much worse and I can attest to that, some shockers there, and if you owned a manual car like I did back then...boy o' boy it was not fun. Plus it wasn't good for the engine as well, keep going from 1st to 2nd to 1st again. That and the heat, especially if your car did have air conditioning, you could have your own Fear Factor episode!!

That said, the heat over the last couple of months has been increasing over here, winter was really cold ( the coldest in my 7 years here) and yes summer has been the hottest as well. Global warming I say :P

Warm weather though, means one thing..... BEACH baby!! :) Might head out this weekend for some soothing times ... woo hoo!!

Flat out...

2008-01-28T14:21:00.000-08:00

Is apparently an obscure movie made in 1996, did you know?

Anyhoo, FINALLY we found a flatmate.... after 2 months of interviewing and not to mention paying More rent then necessary, we got an Aussie chap who moved in not to long ago...

Relieved because after the first few weeks of my flatmate n I being a tad picky... well you should see some of them were just plain WEIRD!!... and some were alrite... we initially thought that we should get a female to help balance the flat etc. But alas, some times its the thought that counts innit...

On average.... we prob saw, chatted, talked about in great length about the benefits of the house, how central it is to the city, how well we are set up with SKY and broadband internet etc... all in all i can say we saw at least... 60-75 people. And from that list prob about 30-40 said they were keen! Mate it was an ordeal as it took soooo long to fill it, after we offered the room to someone they would find another place that they liked better and round n round we went...

Thankfully my flatmate offered to pay for half the rent of the unoccupied room till we found someone... Can return to my normal saving habits or there about at least :)

Oh and did i mention the new flattie has an awesome DVD collection? Scrubs season 1-6!! and lots more hehehe....

Anyways... its a tuesday and its not often that I would blog at work... so heres to a more common occurrence with a hopefully decreased work load...

Have a great week ppl!!

Psstt... another 4 day week next week with Waitangi Day :)

Oh and Go Man utd.... v Pompey! Rooney and Ronaldo to get on the scoresheet... You heard it here first!

RIP Uncle Lamby

2008-01-20T13:07:00.000-08:00

It's with Great Sadness that I write this brief post about my Uncle's passing.

It's been a couple weeks since I found out that my Uncle passed away in his sleep. Truly tragic and shocking news for me and most of all his family.

He has been a great uncle, father and friend. He will never be forgotten and will always be missed.

My uncle LOVED his chilli, Neil Diamond and his family. I always was and always will be in awe of his chilli eating, he would literally sit down with a bag of chilli padi ( yes them small POTENT ones) and quite often eat them raw! I still talk to my friends about that. And yes he sure did love Neil Diamond, an ardent lifelong fan if I ever saw one. Even when I went back last year, a few minutes after sitting down he brought out his Neil Diamond Memorabilia and was showing it to me and giving me updates about the man. He was very passionate about him.

He was also a very kind man, always very accommodating and was a loving and caring father and husband.

I remember the countless occasions when we dropped by to spend the weekend and he would always make sure everyone has eaten and was taken care off.

He was a devoted family man as well, and if anything the world could use more people like him. A hard worker and never one to shirk from his responsibilities. I for one am blessed to have known him as long as I have.

It's never easy losing a loved one, much more when it is your father and husband so I am sending my deepest and sincerest condolences to Aunty Amu, Neil, Marcia, Carrie Ann, Cynthia and Earnest.

Will say a prayer for him and the family and he will be missed terribly but always remembered.

Thought it would be fitting to end with A Neil Diamond Song.

HELLO AGAIN

Written by Neil Diamond and Alan Lindgren

Hello again, hello
Just called to say 'hello'
I couldn't sleep at all tonight
And I know it's late
But I couldn't wait

Hello, my friend, hello
Just called to let you know
I think about you every night
When I'm here alone
And you're there at home
Hello

Maybe it's been crazy
And maybe I'm to blame
But I put my heart above my head
We've been through it all
And you loved me just the same
And when you're not thereI just need to hear

Hello, my friend, hello
It's good to need you so
It's good to love you like I do
And to feel this way
When I hear you say
Hello

Hello, my friend, hello
Just called to let you know
I think about you every night
And I know it's late
But I couldn't wait
Hello

Entschuldigen Sie Bitte

2007-11-09T19:06:00.000-08:00

Loosely Translated.... You've my apologies... Hehe...

Yes, Yes I know they have found ancient and new creatures growing on my blog in my overdue absence.... Patience is a virtue people.

Shouldn't be long before my next post, but thanks for the concern hehe..

Have a great weekend!

Happy Birthday Bro!!

2007-08-18T21:49:00.000-07:00

Yeah this shoutout is for my bro, not all you homies, but my BRADAH! Hehe... Hope you're having a blast Hamish! :)

So let me see, 1986 huh...... dududududu (using my advanced calculus here) AHAH! 21!!

Hope you had a night to 'remember', which really means a night you CAN'T remember even if u tried!! =)

Also before I forget, congrats on the promotion aye! Good stuff... Now all you gotta do is apply to get promoted and you can keep climbing the corporate ladder.

Hehe, hope you are much Calmer these days behind the wheel. Remember take it easy, dont stress and let the other people get to you. Chiilllll bro..... hehe =)

Remember when mumsy was pregnant with you, hehe popsy asked me.... so would you like a baby brother or sister? Seeing as we already had Alison, my Instant response was a baby Brother! He was like why, Another instant response... To play FOOTBALL with! hehe though there isnt much of a lawn at the new place, we still make do, not forgetting the badminton games... yup over the gate! hehe... then having to go into the neighbours house to retrieve the shuttle when either one of us had a Wind assisted shot lols... Good times...

Oh yeah remember if you and Astrid ever wanted to come to NZ for a holiday, rest assured you guys have a place to stay....Anytime... And IF in a few years time you decide that uve had enough of Msia and want to give NZ a go, Id be more than happy to sponsor you.. ;) (oh and you too Alison) hehe

So yeah, this is a tribute to my lil bro, good kid. Loves Man Utd, his family, his missus and his friends. 21 mate, life's just starting for ya. Make the most of it! =)

Family photo

At Paris

A nightclub in Penang

One for all and all for one

Now this was a HARD shot, I was driving, took the camera out and kept my hand steady.. n what you can see is ZZZZZZZZZZZ ...hehe

Last but not least, the happy, cute, sweet and loving couple. Hamish n Astrid... Psst dont forget to invite me for ya wedding yeah.... hehe

Marketing

2007-08-18T03:26:00.001-07:00

(Courtesy of Kev's Blog, Cheers Mate)

Had me laughing, good stuff. =)

What is marketing?

1. You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and say: "I am very rich. Marry me! - That's Direct Marketing

2. You're at a party with a bunch of friends and see a gorgeous girl. One of your friends goes up to her and pointing at you says: "He's very rich. Marry him." -That's Advertising

3. You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and get her telephone number. The next day, you call and say: "Hi, I'm very rich. Marry me” - That's Telemarketing

4. You're at a party and see gorgeous girl. You get up and straighten your tie, you walk up to her and pour her a drink, you open the door (of the car) for her, pick up her bag after she drops it, offer her ride and then say: "By the way, I'm rich. Will you "Marry Me?" - That's Public Relations

5. You're at a party and see gorgeous girl. She walks up to you and says: "You are very rich. Will you marry me?" - That's Brand Recognition

6. You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and say: "I am very rich. Marry me!" She gives you a nice hard slap on your face. - That's Customer Feedback

7. You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and say: "I am very rich. Marry me!" And she introduces you to her husband. - That's demand and supply gap

8. You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and before you say anything, another person come and tell her: "I'm rich. Will you marry me?" and she goes with him - That's competition eating into your market share

9. You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and before you say: "I'm rich, Marry me!" your wife arrives. - That's restriction for entering new markets

An honest mechanic

2007-08-17T22:56:00.000-07:00

A myth? Haha, probably..

I've had a car for the last ummmn, 3 years I think now. Saw the ad while I was just about to go grocery shopping.

Managed to get the car for a reasonable price.... Problem started when I sent the car in for servicing. Okie the good thing about being in New Zealand is that you are required every 6 months by law to get a warrant of fitness for your vehicle. Now heres the problem. Seeing as I was recommended the mechanic by the seller, I thought whats the harm. And initially it was fine. One or two things that needed to be done and it was.

Just that later on, I kept getting the funny feeling that I was being taken for a ride. Personally I hate that.

Everytime I sent it in, there was something new that HAD to be done, & even though he was a MTA assured trader (something which gives mechanics credibility) I still wasn't happy. I suppose at the end of the day its peace of mind. How much would u pay for that?

Hehe, luckily I discovered the beauty of VTNZ, vehicle testing nz. Pay 40 plus bucks, and they do a through checkup for the car, and IF everything is good, they will give u a new warrant of fitness. Turns out I had to change the front right brake hose and put in a new front left parking light. Got it done today and wahlah! New warrant, and more IMPORTANTLY ..... Peace of Mind. Priceless. Lols, yeah someone can come up with a mastercard ad right about now.

Getting conned by your mechanic....$200.00, Fixing everything else and getting the warrant done about $140.00. Peace of mind.. priceless... For everything else theres Mastercard...

* Edit, Just realised the irony in that Ive actually been on visa for the last couple months! Sorry looks like I'l have to come up with a new ad, but in the meantime...VTNZ baby! =) dudududu

Duty of Care

2007-08-17T01:58:00.000-07:00

Random, but hey sue me lar.

Okie any lawyers or budding lawyers feel free to have a go with a couple of scenarios.

1) Walking along, you notice someone who was smoking and threw his cigarette onto the side of the road, happens that there are a few leafs and as you are walking back later you notice the house near said leafs on fire. Is the smoker at fault? Or should the homeowners pray that they are covered in the insurance policy?

2) Mr.X owns a vending machine. He approaches a vendor to store his machine there. Everything done and agreed upon is verbally. For arguments sake, profit sharing is worked out to 60% to Mr.X and 40% to the vendor. Fine and dandy... Vendor closes down, vending machine has been sold of to pay for the rent that was owed at the location. What are Mr.X's options? Can he still get back his machine? He has all necessary documentation in relation to ownership of machine.

Don't ask me, I was just thinking about it today. All positive feedback appreciated.

*Disclaimer: Every care has been taken to ensure the information on this site is accurate. All links and references to other websites, organisations or people not within Prev's Blog are provided for your convenience only, and should not be taken as an endorsement of those websites, organisations or people.

Aufwiedersehen

2007-08-17T01:20:00.001-07:00

Seems like a day for goodbyes. But I know better. This is dedicated to a good friend and colleague of mine. Nats.

15 months, since I joined and you have been very nice and friendly and yes caring. Cant believe I was a Little intimidated of you when I First met you. How times have changed.

We work together and have always gotten along, you will be missed. But also very very Happy that you got the job you wanted and have been searching for. =) Awesome!

Wish you all the very best and yes we still we meet up for lunch and the occasional poker game. Will make sure Ash invites you, don't worry.

Also good luck with your studies, your determination and hard work will see you through that, easy peasy.

Last but not least a couple of photos...

Tania n Nats

Nats n Me

Nats n Jared......awwww =)

Oh also thanks Jared n Nats for all em lifts home... mucho appreciato =)

In Memoriam

2007-08-16T22:49:00.001-07:00

Got a txt from my mum. Just found out that my Great Grandmother passed away yesterday in Kerala, India. She was 100 years old.

So I thought just remember her, in my own way. She was a very sharp lady. When my uncle visited her last year, she remembered Everyone's names. All her kids, all her grandkids. Every single one of them, not even forgetting the pet dog.

My mum was telling me, when we used pour her a drink, and yes drink of choice would be whiskey neat... which would explain my preference for it. She would always say its not strong enough, pour some more! =)

She also used to wear these really big gold earrings, ahh... she will be missed. ALOT.

Pity I dont have a photo, as its all back in Msia. But hey, I'l be waving to you from down here......

From all of us here, you will be missed,loved and never forgotten =)

You gotta know when to hold em....

2007-08-13T04:33:00.001-07:00

And when to FOLD em..

Yeah so its been about 2 years since it was that fateful night at Jo's hse where I had my first poker game. Still cant believe its been so long. Time flies when you're having fun I tell ya. I somehow got second. Beginners luck for sure. Remember being so lost it wasn't even funny. Was in a total daze, but remember being very very keen to learn more, and someone said recently with great chips comes great responsibility. Yeah I know, I know Dave's lameness must have rubbed off. Hehe just kidding bro.

Anyhoo, some of the guys at work were keen to have a poker night at work. So I volunteered to organize it and sent out the emails etc etc.

For those who don't know sometimes we have poker amongst friends, the buy in is a meagre $5 which is fair because the last thing you want amongst friends is handing over your car keys coz you got carried away at a poker game!

So I thought that would be a fair buy in to have at work, approached the boss and he goes "Prev, lets make it $20".

For most of the guys who took part that was reasonable for them. Fair enough.

Though since some of them had never played Texas Hold Em before, I took it upon myself to be tremendously patient and explain everything best I could. After a few rounds they started to get the hang of it, all in all was good night. My colleague was the only female presence there and the got second, I won an extra $1 and came in first. But importantly everyone mentioned that they had a great time.

So there might be a next time, and only thing different is I will probably make the buy in $10. That way we can get a few more people and if anyone loses, its $10 and you can still go home not feeling to bad with yourself.

Another encouraging sign was one of the managers was asking for tips on how to improve. Hehe, never saw myself as a poker mentor but I obliged and explained a few basics to him.

Quite happy with the overall outcome, only thing was lugging the priceless foldable poker table and chips to work. Yeah first time in 15 months that I drove to work, very bizarre let me tell you esp when I am used to taking about 15-20 minutes on my usual route. The drive was less than 5 minutes! But yeah, I wasn't going to take the table in the bus, hence the solution to drive.

As someone once said, poker is a marathon not a sprint. Hehe... Very true.

With that its time for Tuesdayitis, seeing that Mondayitis just 3 minutes from being officially over!. Phew...

Its already August! Where does all the time go, no really... where?

Hehe, gute nacht to all =)

Occidental

2007-08-13T04:03:00.001-07:00

So many things happening, just haven't had time to put it down I guess.

First things first, Bday COUPLE.... Happy Birthday!! To the very lovely n super friendly Yin n Shaun.

Think the first time I met Yin was at Dave's hse and she was his flatmate and a bunch of us ended up playing poker. Btw, Yin is a good poker player, so watch out! =)

Anyhoo, never realised the choice of venue for their bday gathering was very very cozy and comfy. Loved it.

Before I got there though, had the slight event of a poker game at work which I had organised. Probably will put something up in another post.

So yeah back to the bday party, lots of ppl turned out. Great stuff, and what was unique was they had a quiz on a laptop to see how well people actually knew Yin n Shaun. Nice...

Bought the couple a 'quick fuck'. No its not a one night stand with some random stranger, its a drink. Midori n Baileys to be exact. All in all a very non threatening drink, meaning its sweet n nice.

So yeah some pictures, the rest which for those who are keen can find it on

Nice group photo, Henry, Shaun, Gjin, Christine n Matt

Mag n Darren ( they left early for reasons that need not be explained... kids these days n all) Hehe just kidding bro.

A three quarter Shaun, me n Jo

The Couple with a SERIOUS pose... hehe

Aren't they just adorable.... =)

Oh yeah, the link for the rest of the photos are on here.

http://picasaweb.google.com/prev79/YinShaunSBday07

Happy Birthday Nats!

2007-08-04T00:46:00.000-07:00

Wanted to give a shout out to a cool, funny and sometimes a bit blur gurl, Natalie Wong. Happy Birthday chic! Hope you had a good time last night.

Met Nats through her other half Dave. Shes been a regular at the sometimes weekly poker nights as well. Always good value. Lovely person.

And yeah, you and Dave make such a cute, funny couple. Good stuff. Dududududu. =)
Some pictures from the Dinner at La Dolce Vita, food was very nice, cake was exquisite, the company just priceless.

The Happy Couple, Dave n Bday Gurl Nats

Darren, Kian, Jeanette, Nats n Dave

Me, Nats n Dave

Bday Gurl Blowing Her Candles Out

Thought I would end with this, Dave feeding his beloved a piece of cake.
Altogether now......awwwwwww. =)

Before I forget, more photos can be found here for those who are keen.

http://picasaweb.google.com/prev79/NatsDinnerAug07DolceVita

Toodles

Burp...

2007-08-03T23:24:00.000-07:00

We had our first social function for work at Wildfire Takapuna last week.

Coincidently there is a Wildfire in the Viaduct, why we didn't go there is a good question. Seeing as I'm part of the Social Club committee as well. Hehe, oh well no harm no foul.

If you haven't been to Wildfire and you are a vegetarian, I'd advise you Not to go. Simply because it was just fantastic for me. Different types of meat, from Ribs to Chicken to sausages. Yes there was some salad, which was good for the balance of the meal, but hey its was very nice. Not to mention drinks were also paid for. Only thing with that was the service was a bit slow with regards to drinks.

Yeah its kinda like the restaurant Halia in Malaysia where the waiters walk around with skewers of meat, come to your table and cut it for you. As much as you can eat, is basically as much as you will get put on your plate.

One thing which was a bit slack was the seating arrangements, because there were like ummmn 20 of us, it was at one long table. So unfortunately if you were sitting on one corner, tough luck trying to have a conversation with the other end. But hey you can do what I did, and just walk around chit chatting with everyone. Make sure no one feels left out.

And last but not least some pictures.

Tania n Nats

Miriam, Me n Shirley

Tanya n Karen

Tanswell, Nicola n Damian

Dave, Damian n Stuart

Finally....

2007-08-02T18:26:00.000-07:00

Or so I thought.

Decided to get myself a phone of trademe.co.nz. Reputable site, anyone can post what they want to sell.

Finally found what I was looking for and even won the auction. Which was great at the time. And this was my first trade mind you. So a few days go buy after I had deposited the cash and requested to be noftified that 1) they got the money and 2) they would be sending the phone..... Nothing. A week goes by and I wasnt to impressed so i called up. They call back the next day to say it was sent to the wrong state etc etc etc. Would I like a refund or the phone? REFUND thanks :P

The cheek of it all was when after I told them of their imcompetence, then only did they realise and apologise, the dude on the other end goes... "Oh btw could you please not give us a bad feedback"? I didnt say anything at the time.

So yesterday I decided to give my two cents on the matter. Here is what I wrote.

"Absolutely pathetic. Won the auction, requested email confirmation of notification of funds transfer being received. Nothing. Then ONE WEEK later, called up turns out phone was sent to Hamilton. Then only apology was received. Money refunded. Poor and Substandard. Avoid if possible."

I got a call and the dude left a message along the lines of whether I could review and edit it.
Decided if it was that important he would call back. Aparently it was, so he called just before I was about to go into a medidation session, yes we have medidation sessions twice a week at work, very relaxing.

Anyways, asked the dude because he said that there were some errors in my feedback comment. So I asked him, what was incorrect about it. Then he backtracks and says Oh no no, nothing was wrong. It was quite scathing is all. His excuse was there was a new guy at the time blah blah blah. I told him look, it was my first trade. I was not impressed and I wrote it as it was.

He even offered compensation, dvds or some vouchers hehe but I was steadfast. Refused it flatly. Plus I had to get in to the medidation session. So I basically told him i had to go and hung up. And no I wont be editing it =)

So yeah, I think it was a rarity that this happened, I will still use trademe. But will avoid this particular trader if possible.

Tribute

2007-07-31T01:08:00.000-07:00

21st July 1941 ( I think that is the year)

Anyways seeing as I did call my dad to wish him on his birthday last week, I thought it would be rather nice to say a few things bout my ol' man as well =)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY POPSY!

Hehe.

Let me see, its been 27 ummmn no I lie, 28 years. Man time flies. 28 years of being nurtured and looked after by my parents. Have to say, wouldnt swap you guys for ANYTHING in the world.

BESTEST DAD ever!

If theres one trait I think I inherited from my dad, i think that would be Patience. Not to mention having a positive outlook on life.

There was a time, a very low time in my life when lets just say the results surely did NOT speak for its self. My dad took me aside sat me down, and you know I was expecting the shelling of my life. But he just looked at me and said something along the lines of, dont worry, you can do Anything you put your mind to. I know you can do it.
Man i dont know about you but i was flabbergasted. Needless to say, I was in awe.

I have learnt so much from my dad, and mum. Priceless when I think back. Also to think my mum slaved over us 3 kids. Waking up early everyday, making our breakfast, cooking dinner, cleaning the house, washing the clothes. Sometimes being a housewife can be fairly underrated. Rest assured, Hamish, Alison and I truly appreciate everything that the BOTH of you have done throughout our lives.

Finally, thought I might put up some nice photos of the Whanau (family) before I end.

This was taken right after Christmas Eve Mass, so yeah its on Xmas Day.

Like this one of Alison n Mumsy

Watch out, gangsta's in the House, y'all!

The family =)

Let me say, finding a photo with everyones eyes OPEN, was easier said than done! hehe but we got there in the end. Nice family portrait.

Squash

2007-07-12T15:41:00.000-07:00

Probably one of the best workouts you can get. In my humble opinion. Unfortunately over the last month the usual weekly football and badminton games have reduced through a whole different lot of circumstances. Needless to say, as someone mentioned, I have put on weight.

So the solution, apart from the usual sometimes frequent workouts I do at home, I joined up a squash league.

Quite interesting as the rules are you can only win points when you are serving. Kinda like the old badminton rules. And yes best of 5 set.

I played a South African lady, well she didnt look South African but you could tell by her accent. Something about playing the opposite sex in sports, especially singles I can almost never give my best coz I just feel bad about beating a girl. Some people have noticed it, some havent but yeah one of my quirks I guess.

What was strange was that after some initial really bad serves from me, I actually managed to play and to an extent out play her. To be fair she did have me running just about all over the court. All in all a good workout. Final score 10-8, 9-6, 9-6.

First set went to a tie break, something new I learned at 8-8 the receiver gets to decide if they want to play till 9 or 10. No such thing as winning by 2 points. Well in this league at least.

Have another game on sat morning at 9am! yes 9 am on a weekend, serves me right for not specifying a time. And another one on Sunday afternoon.

Forgot to add, the next day I felt the wrath. Didnt even know I could hurt in some places, hehe but like the saying goes, no pain no gain.

Have to say though I am enjoying it, might even start up a work squash league. There have been some interested chaps. And IF you havent tried squash doubles, man that is such good fun. Love it, just havent played doubles in too long.

TGIF baby! =)

You can take the Man out of Malaysia...

2007-07-12T14:59:00.000-07:00

Well you know the rest =)

Yeah so this week marked a new and improved workplace. Why? We got a coffee machine! So while most people would have one and call it a day, yours truly probably just caught up in the buzz of the machine and it being FREE couldnt resist to not only try the coffees but also the hot cholocates. Granted there were no marshmallows but hey beggars can't be chooses innit.

So what was the damage done? Man quite embarrassed actually. But at the end of Monday evening, I had had myself 5... yes Five coffees and 3 hot cholocates! Feeling quite bad, I made ammends on Tuesday, had 4 coffeees and 2 hot chocolates. By wednesday it was a more respectable amount, 3 coffees and 1 hot chocolate.

So yeah bewarned, whenever you offer a Malaysian free items 9 times out of 10 and yes sometimes 10 times out of 10 they WILL take you up on the offer.

Though one of the managers did their research and helped ease some of the guilt.

Here's what you have to remember to get your 'healthy' coffee fix:

1) Having a quality brew, such as a home-brewed expresso or cafe style latte, where the water is filtered without releasing harmful substances called diterpenes. The worst thing you can do to you system is to drink instant coffee.

2) Don't indulge in bad lifestyle habits many people adopt when drinking coffee, such as lighting up a ciggy with each cuppa. And don't overdo it - after all caffeine is a stimulant, so don't be suprised if 10 cups a day make you anxious or jittery, or give you heart palpitations.

3) Caffeine mucks around some people's blood sugar levels, so its best not to have the bulk of your coffee in the morning by none after early afternoon.

You can thank me later.

On the bright side, the weather has picked up. Let me tell you in my 6 years here, its has NEVER been as windy as it was on Tuesday! Thank god I got a lift home from my very nice colleague. Some places roofs were torn off the houses!

Last couple days has been cold, but at least the sun is up in fickle lil Auckland. Woo hoo :)

Wimbledon

2007-07-06T20:56:00.000-07:00

Have to say, hands down this is my favourite tennis tournament. Remember watching Sharapova winning it against Serena was it?

Yayneways, went to bed about 10.30 last night, was really tired but woke up at 4.30 or so for no apparent reason. Mind you its Saturday and most people would still be sleeping or just coming home from a good night out.

Turned the telly on and theres the only live game going. Marion Bartolli v Justine Henin (no more Hardene coz shes divorced now, right?)

It was 2-2 in the second set when I tuned in, Justine has swept Bartolli aside 6-1 in the first aparently. So I thought I might just fall asleep in the second n final set (at the time it seemed quite likely). Credit where credit is due, Bartolli upped her game and played the set of her life. Mind you what I found intriguing was that Except for her serve, EVERY shot or just about every shot was with both hands! She came into her own though, not giving up just because she got pummelled in the first set. Instead she buckled down and let me tell you, she had me cheering for her when it went to 5-5. She won 7-5 & would you believe it just about CRUSHED Justine in the final set 6-1.

A truly remarkable performance given that, this year Bartolli has lost 5 times in the First Round, 6 times in the Second Round and Justine on the other hand had just WON 5, yes FIVE titles!

So while I think Venus might just win in the final against Bartolli, I will be cheering for good ol Marion. Good on ya chic, keep it up!

On a side note, could this be Nadals' year? Hope not, hez a punk but a good player nonetheless. Clay aside, he is probably one of the Few players who could Realistically challenge Federer. Though hopefully they will meet in the final and make a game of it. Love watching a good game of tennis, still remember when Safin beat Federer in the semis of the Aussie Open, couple years back. One of the best games Ive seen. So yeah fingers crossed, good game for the finals of the men n womens and Roger n Bartolli to be crowned champions respectively.

Just another day

2007-07-06T20:33:00.000-07:00

Meant to write about this last week, but haven't had the time. Not to mention sleep. Sleeping patterns havent been to good over the past week. Had one night where I went to bed at 7pm! Yeah kid you not. Needless to say I was a well rested Prev the next day.

Yayneways, moving on from the 'stress ball saga'. Was in the lunch room at work when the National Manager walks in, has a brief chit chat then goes 'Prev, can I see you for a few minutes'? Needless to say my first reaction was Crap! Anyhoo, go in to the meeting and he went on to say he was impressed with my work etc. These are the kinda suprises I like. Hehe. What did suprise me was he wanted me to give a short presentation to the Business Development guys. Why?

Yeah aparently because of late I had been giving a few potential referrals in. What I normally do, on my way to work if there was a company I thought might benefit from our company I would just enter it into my phone. Little did I know that after a month of so I had about 15-20 companies in my lil ol Sharp. Coincidently there has been some 'potential' deals in place. Oh yeah not to forget that IF it comes through I get a tidy sum as well (pretax of course) good ol IRD are not gonna miss a chance to tax ya let me tell you! :P

So moving on, I did have some initial hesitation because I was going to talk to the Sales guys about what I was doing? Spoke to manager who assured me that I wouldnt be stepping on any shoes. So I did, good that they were very open minded, in fact they did say they could use all the help they could get. So with that in mind, I have kept up the good work so to speak.

Got a few pointers from them as well, so I might actually go out and just have a chat with some businesses, who knows. Whats the worse that could happen? I get more experience =)

Waterfront Cafe

2007-06-29T20:59:00.001-07:00

So TGIF, though it is Saturday. Always looking forward to the weekend, esp when you are working. Yeah Norman you can say I told you so. Hehe but when you're at uni, and once you start working Fridays will usually mean heading out into town. Especially when I started working, where EVERY Friday is work drinks and a slightly earlier finish. Used to go out lots, though as the YEAR has passed. Every once in a while will we head out, all sorts of irrelevant stuff. But needless to say when Ash asked Nats n Jared n Me to go join her at Waterfront, since her good friend Shiree (not sure how its spelt) had been in the UK for 18 months. Joined her we did, after drinking at work and at Foxes (hic). The food at Waterfront was awesome, ordered me Garlic Bread (btw baby, we are so going there!) it was awesome. Love my garlic bread, then had A porterhouse Medium Rare with Pepper sauce with a side of beer batten fries.

Also bought the Entertainment book recently, HEAPS and i mean HEAPS of discounts, vouchers etc. Yeah i forgot to bring it to the restaurant. Lols, its blardy big, so the NEXT time i plan to head out... rest assured I will have it with me. Ale! =)

Some of the pictures I took.

Shiree & Belinda

Nathan, Ash & Nats

Ash & Nats

Nats & Me

Funny Story, whilst going down in the lift with the rest on THEIR ciggy break. Naah I havent had one in YONKS, just go down coz it gets quite stuffy in the office sometimes.

Yayneways, in the lift

K: You should shave.
Me : Why, dont you like my beard K?

K: NOPE.
Me : Hehe love it, thanks for the honesty.

Though in my defence shes not the FIRST person to ummmn 'complain' about it. Hehe yesh baby, seeing as I have a presentation on Monday, the thought of going in all rugged did have a certain appeal. But common sense kicked in. As smooth as a babys bottom now :P

Oh yeah poker tonight, should be good. Will post some minor updates, especially of the food though. Hehe the menu was like wowzers! Dont ask what Im bringing, I offered to share with Dave n Gjin n they were nice enough to accept. =)

Happy Birthday Mahesh

2007-06-29T20:13:00.000-07:00

Meant to put this up yesterday, but since was out and all, best I do a small write up for my good friend Maheshwar. aka Mahesh aka Mash aka President of the Blue Club (Former President now, or so he says).

Seems just yesterday and Norman, You & me were attending good ol computer Class, and yes somebody Stole your crapperiffic slippers!! Strange that they left Normans' n Mine alone. What was an even funnier sight was you trying to cycle back home in that Racer bicycle of yours barefoot, with the spokes on the pedals!! Hehe and of course you moaning all the way home, me laughing of course.

Good times in Seaport High hehe.

That aside, you've been a good true mate. Been there in some pretty dark times and always there for a laugh as well. One true friend. Good on ya mate.

Thought I would also put up a few pictures, hehe you can shoot me later.

P.S. I think so might Shireen. ;)

The 'innocent' look. Ladies dont be fooled.

Ummmn Watch out David!

Picture of "Dementedaffair" in action
A few of my mates were suprised to hear i USED to have long hair, so ta dah! Yeah seems like ages ago, but good times nonetheless.

A more recent picture of the 3 Musketeers. Had a great time when I was back last year, thanks guys.

Cant believe we are all 28 now. Time flies, just grateful that you guys have been part of it going by =)

Shireen's Bday Pics

2007-06-23T08:43:00.000-07:00

CHEERS! Shireen and her mates having Jaiger shots. Bought her a galiano n Baileys shot later on which 'helped'.
Henry, Shireen, David (i think) and another friend
Awww, Shireen and Henry =)
Hehehe sorry Shir, have to. An 'after' shot. HAPPY BIRTHDAY btw! Hope you had a blast yeah. Till next year lols.

Dalai Lama Pics

2007-06-23T08:34:00.001-07:00

Quite small picture, but seated on the couch is the mayor of Auckland, Dick Hubbard. Coincidently, he was not meant to be seated there, but D (yes the Dalai Lama) INSISTED that he did. He was like You Sit There!! =) Laughing as he said it. His philosophy was he would treat anyone there like his own family. Fair enough D :)

Just realised this picture makes him look like a Dictator. Lols, but another funny story, because the lights were just to bright and hot he had to wear his cap. He just went, yeah i'l go and get this from the couch and inside a red bag.. Voila! A red cap. :) Wonder if Nike are considering sponsoring him? Seeing as Federer is already in the bag ;)

Now what was interesting, yeah I know the picture isnt the best, but if u look closely at the 'screen' notice the chap next to D. Thats his interpreter. Thats right, my only question was, what if he was just making shit up. I mean how would ordinary folk know eh? hehe. But naah he was good, and it was more 'big' words that IF D didnt know that he would consult the translator.

Double Standards

2007-06-18T00:30:00.000-07:00

I suppose this happens everywhere. Not suprised really.

Though I do take particular offense when say certain people get singled out unfairly when alot of other small immature similar things are happening at the same time.

My colleague and I got called in for a meeting regarding work, clients etc. Just for the record let me state PROUDLY that my work was always been up to scratch and I also take pride in it.

That being said, I am always open to positive criticism especially when I have made a mistake or if someone can show me a more efficient way to do things.

Anyways back to the meeting, it was going well I was making mental notes of anything to be done and providing feedback when queried. Though I had taken a sneak peak of the manager's notes before the meeting started, I just played along.

Aparently there was a complaint about me n my colleague. And I kid you not this is how ridiculous it was, I have a stress ball (yes there is one I use for poker as well) at work. Its a therapeutic thing, probably just psychological but still if i wanna throw it up in the AIR, I will thank you very much.

I have a habit good or bad I dont know of finishing all the work ahead of schedule. Occassionally this leaves me with some free time, which I then attend to such as surfing my football sites, checking mail etc and occassionally throwing it up in air.

Anyways somebody complained to a manager who complained to my manager... and round and round we go.

I mean honestly if you have a problem, is it so hard to come over and have a pleasant word? Hello, its not my first day on the job. Even if it was, grow a backbone and speak. We are ALL adults here. Geez.

I see people mucking around every now and then, its an office it will happen. Does that mean I go and see a manager every time it happens? NO. My philosophy is, do the job and do it well. The rest well truthfully doesnt really bother me. Though i do hate incompetence. But when push comes to shove and people start complaining over the smallest and most RIDICULOUS of things then well I may be nice, but I WILL bite back.

So what will happen tomorrow, you guessed it. I still will be using the stress ball. Throwing it up in the air. This time if there is a complaint, my colleague wisely decided to include the other manager in the meeting. No wonder the turnover here is quite high. Trivial nonsense amongst other things.

Why am I still here?

Good question. For the experience and that ALONE.

Come december or a few more trivial complaints then well, I intend to branch out. In fact there have been a few 'potential' jobs. But this time there needs to be more structure and growth involved. At least I can afford to be a Bit picky and so I should.

With that, I shall go make some soup and watch Criminal Intent.

Cant wait for tomorrow. =)

The Dalai Lama

2007-06-17T04:51:00.000-07:00

Hmmmn, lets see. Before I go into His Holiness (how cool is that anyways to be called Your Holiness). A big pat on the back for me. Ive created like a handful of blog accounts, but never has the time nor the patience to follow through.

Fear no more mere mortals, I shall post this FIRST post if it kills me. hehe.

Anyways, will put some pictures up this week.

Have to thank Carmen for inviting me to go along and see the Dalai Lama. Cant believe no one wanted to go, I mean come on!! Its the Dalai Lama. I keep hearing and reading so much about the dude, couldnt pass up the opportunity to actually see and listen to him live.

He is actually very down to earth, tremendously FUNNY (yes, he is like ummmn a Clean version of Borat!) lols.

Though it did drag on in the begining, overall I did enjoy it. It was packed actually, I was joking with Carmen coz it seemed like we were at a rock concert, i kid u not! Alas I didnt have my Free Tibet t-shirt with me, though my 'Saigon' shirt is at home, somehow that wont be the same eh Norman. (Pls direct any queries about the said shirt to Norman or Arman)

Also bought some sinus medication, for those who know me, as in really knw me. Well good on ya for putting up with my sniffing ( no i dont sniff glue) I have an almost constant blocked nose.... since well i was little. I have been to all the specialists in the world, tried all the tricks recommended by friends, relatives n so on. Needless to say by high school I just accepted it, though suprisingly it went away when i went back to Malaysia last year for a holiday! Must be used to the poluted air lols.

Off to bed, Monday 2moro.... woo hoo (not)... but a few more months before someone comes over... not saying who... but you might know her =) Yes thats you baby.

Prev

Praise the Lord :)

Rip Pauley

Manchester City

This post is courtesy of Wikipedia, and sure had me laughing out loud! It was too good Not to post!

Career

Nike

Manchester City

2008/09 Season

2009/10 Season

Personal life

References

Shuffle Up & Deal!

The Bigger Picture

Would you?

Kids these days...

Hit The Road...

Shock...

Labyrinthitis

Unfuckingbelievable!!

A Long Time Kambing

Men Can Multitask

On the 7th Day, he rested...

Complaint Letter

Priorities

Tis the Season to be Grateful

Food Glorious Food!

The Compassionate Lawyer

The Dangers of Procrastinating....

How NOT to start a cover letter

Things to Accomplish before you turn 40

Top 15 Must Read Books

Burglar

Impulse Spending

Iphones

Why Men are happier than Women

Floating Football Field!

Internal Memo

Married Life

That Monkey will Eat Anything

Kids are Quick

Not Advisable...If you KNOW what I Mean :|

Fuel Savings

The Genie

Movie Reviews..

Irish Farmer

A Helping Hand...

Essex Girls

The International Council of Man Laws

Will He or Won't He?

A Recipe for DISASTER....

All in all, it was WORTH it!

Spare a Thought...

Championes Championes!!

Sometimes you just know....

The Quest

A lil caffeine never killed anyone, Has It??

What a load of bollox!!

Subtle ISA Example =)

Office Dares

Vote or DIE! lols...

Flip Flop

Romantic Gesture or Waste of Money??

Happy Birthday Alison!!!

Happy Belated Birthday Normeister! =)

Another Day, Another Story

Worst Jam.... EVER*

Flat out...

RIP Uncle Lamby

Entschuldigen Sie Bitte

Happy Birthday Bro!!

Marketing

An honest mechanic

Duty of Care

Aufwiedersehen

In Memoriam

You gotta know when to hold em....

Occidental

Happy Birthday Nats!

Burp...