Quadrant II activities, NOW!

(@BlackBerry)

The eagle has landed!

And this eagle is sleeeeepy!

Yawn.
(@BlackBerry)

All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go.

Sitting in plane now, waiting to fly to Dhaka for the week.

Will waste some time deconstructing yesterday's poker game.

See you in four hours.
(@BlackBerry)

My kingdom for a Google Wave invite! Shiny, soooo shiny!

Shiny, shiny, shiny!

I'm swooning right now.

Google Wave will combine instant messenging, emailing, forums, discussions, collaborations, photo album sharing, wiki, blogging and comments all in one platform or mobile platform.

"LIVE" conversations, collaborations and editing. Playback function to see a whole conversation play out, to be able to see not only what a person commented, but also when.

Drag and drop files, pictures and links RIGHT INTO your discussion aka email aka IM aka document aka presentation aka WIKI!

Imagine having participants from all over the world contributing to a single piece of work. Presentations, workshops, research! Different time zones but anyone can get updated imediately and jump into any discussion.

This will be perfect for our very global network!

Right now, I have all these applications open at once:

Windows Live Messenger (on standalone and Bberry)
Windows Outlook (on standalone), pushmail (on Bberry)
Box.net (on standalone), mobile Box.net (on Bberry)
Blogspot (on standalone), mobile Blogspot (on Bberry)
Facebook (on standalone), mobile Facebook (on Bberry)
Twitter (on standalone), mobile Twitter (on Bberry)
Other assorted MS documents.

There might be a chance all these will be all-in-one. For a standalone AND a mobile!

Ugh, my heart's all aflutter.

Someone send me a Google Wave INVITE, please!
(@BlackBerry)

"Masters of Science Fiction" Little Brother (2007)

"The ABC network pulled this from its broadcast schedule because of the adult nature of a gang rape attempt of a young girl and then her murder by corrupt police officers."

Science Fiction has hit mainstream with this series, thank you very much.

Episodes
A Clean Escape
Writer: John Kessel
Director: Mark Rydell (On Golden Pond)

The Awakening
Writer: Howard Fast
Director: Michael Petroni (Till Human Voices Wake Us)

Jerry Was a Man
Writer: Robert A. Heinlein
Director: Michael Tolkin

The Discarded
Writer: Harlan Ellison
Director: Jonathan Frakes <-- !!!

Little Brother
Writer: Walter Mosley
Director: Darnell Martin

Watchbird
Writer: Robert Sheckley
Director: Harold Becker

Meanwhile, on Facebook, I saw one of my friends post this:

... is still looking for that special 30 something female with a quirky sense of humour, a love of red wine, beer, old skool martinis and gooood tequila, passionate about well assembled food, graphic novels, U2, RHCP and progressive house. must enjoy the muppets & monty python and appreciate random outbursts of sci-fi geekage. non-dog lovers need not apply. experience in handling up to 80 kgs of drunken mischief is a plus.

Gee, I'll apply. Let's see now.

Special - Yeah, I've been told I am special. Usually by my teachers. Usually followed by the word 'needs'.
30 something - For a few more years, I still qualify!
Female - Trust me.
Quirky sense of humour - Si Si! And that's not just my cup!
Love of red wine - I do favour white, though.
Beer - Hello? Beer!! Cheap beer Tuesdays!
Old skool martinis - When you have the time, let me tell you all about the perfect gin martini.
Goood tequila - Don't judge me. I can still drink tequila despite the lost years.
Passionate about well assembled food - I harbour secret thoughts about being a food anthropologist, and *cough* I'm a food technologist by training. Well assembled food AND food assembly!
Graphic novels - Check!
U2, RHCP and progressive house - one out of three is not bad!
Muppets - And now Pigs in Space. Starring the ever handsome Link Hogwash, the illustrious first mate Miss Piggy, and the scientist Dr Jullius Strangepork. Our story begins when.....
Monty Python - John Cleese was the first person I followed on Twitter. Yes, I cyberstalk him.
Geekage - I usually alienate people with my geekage.
Dog lover - Must be affectionate and intelligent. The dogs, too.
80 kgs of drunken mischief - Check!

Whoa! I am pretty desirable.

I'll be on the prowl now. Rwoar!

All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go!

Ouch.

My heart nearly exploded, lifting my suitcase into the car trunk.

About 2 hours to go before my flight.

Wellington, here I come!

Next post will be about yesterday, a great day of:
Vroom vroom
Glug glug
Shuffle clink.

Hehe!

(@BlackBerry)

Legolas!

Finally, I am home!

Six days to recuperate from the last trip before I set off again.

I'm very excited about the next one, three weeks of fun and joy in Wellington and Auckland!

Lord of the Rings tour!

Legolas! Legolas! Legolas! LEGOLAS!

Oh, and maybe see where Frodo and Sam rolled around in the grass!

2 whole weeks in Wellington - what else is fun here?
Almost a week in Auckland - I need ideas!

What's the weather like, I wonder?

Which reminds me, I need to unpack and pack.
(@BlackBerry)

W...a...i...t.....i....n.....g....

Dear airport person,

Its 300pm, and I am standing at row K at the bangkok international airport.

I have been here since 220pm, and there is no staff in sight.

All counters are closed and only one seems open. But no one is manning it.

No one is around to help, no one knows what is happening.

So, what is happening?

I would like to check-in for my flight, please.

Thank you,
Your loyal customer (at least that's what my frequent flyer card tells me.)
(@BlackBerry)

Sushi, Sashimi and Yakitori, oh my!

When in Japan...

Crazy Japanese Cafe

On my second night in Tokyo, a Japanese talk show featured this cafe.

A theme cafe where all the waitresses are dressed in FRENCH MAID COSTUMES!

It looked incredibly cute, and all the french maid waitresses looked like anime characters!

I NEEDED TO SEE IT FOR MYSELF!

A few days later, we found the cafe. And sadly, no cameras are allowed in the cafe. I definately didn't want to be pummelled by the Japanese mafia, so I dared not even sneak a picture.

At least we got a picture of the banner in front of the cafe.

The funnest sofa ever!

At the lobby of Nai Lert hotel, the funnest sofa I've ever seen!

A whole stack of softest cushion balls, all stacked precariously on top of each other, in a pyramid.

Jump onto the sofa, and all the balls roll off, and you'd have to scamper around picking them up.

One by one, you have stack them up in the middle of the sofa.

Stand back and admire your handiwork.

Then dive onto the sofa again!

Fun!

The eagle has landed!

But not home.

From Tokyo to Bangkok. What a world of difference.

The moment the plane doors opened, I sneezed 6 times in a row.

Now waiting for my luggage to automagically appear.

A broken bag handle just passed me on the carousal. I'm worried.
(@BlackBerry)

Flight stewardess kept asking if we wanted chicken or the lamb lion for lunch. That's right, lion.

Rwar!

All the way from the front seat to the back of the cabin, I could hear her shrill voice going, "Chicken, beef or lamb lion?"
(@BlackBerry)

I'm coming home, I've done my time.

Home! Home! Home!

I've watched almost all movies on the plane.

Now for the foreign shows with bad subtitles.

Yay!
(@BlackBerry)

I've stopped counting. Is it wrong?

At Banana Joe's.

If you're around the area, gimme a message.
(@BlackBerry)

Blackthorn by the pints. Many many pints.

You have no idea how many edits this post took.

Seriously.
(@BlackBerry)

Braised beef tendon noodle + shrimp wanton soup

Chunks of soft, chewy beef tendon braised in soy sauce and served with the skinniest yet springy wanton noodles.
(HK$43)

Shrimp wantons swimming in delicious MSG soup.
(HK$27)

89, Hennessy Road. G/F, Wanchai, Hong Kong. (T: 2527 7476)

(@BlackBerry)

All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go!

At Changi, waiting for the boarding call.

To Hong Kong this time, will be eating lots.

I pre-emptively apologise for my food tweets.

Maybe even pics, if I learn how to operate chopsticks and a camera at the same time.

See you in a few hours!

(@BlackBerry)

At the airport. Waiting again.

Waiting.

Waiting.

Waiting.

Waiting.
(@BlackBerry)

Ugh! Remake of "Bodyguard"?!

Just heard on the taxi's radio -

Someone's remaking "Bodyguard" with Hugh Jackman!

Ugh!
(@BlackBerry)

Eagle has landed, again!

Short hop from Sydney to Melbourne.

Flight was supposed to be at 12 noon, was delayed.

Grrrr, Qantas.

Anyway, here I am! In Melbourne. Or as some people might say, "Melburm". *snortle*

Domestic airports are generally painless, since there are no long lines for immigration checks.

It was freezing last night in Sydney, I'm getting to be such a wuss. But secretly, I like the cold.

I will be in Melbourne over the weekend. Will be doing touristy things.
(@BlackBerry)

Are horoscopes a science?

I almost kicked someone out of a workshop today.

He declared psychology was not a science, and that there was no proof that it is.

Rather than get drawn into a crazy conversation that the rest of the class would not be bothered about, I asked if he would accept years of peer review and robust research as proof?

No, he said.

So what would? I asked.

Horoscopes get years of peer review and robust research, too, he replied.

Yeah, but are horoscopes a science?
(@BlackBerry)

The eagle has landed!

In Sydney for a few days.

Played PeeVeeZee on the plane, non-stop.

Brains, more brains!
(@BlackBerry)

Its 6am, and I've been at the airport for an hour!

Yawn.
(@BlackBerry)

Is having a serious conversation.

And all I can hear is Pee Vee Zee's theme song going on and on.
People are walking past, and I imagine lobbing winter melons at them.

A couple is coming towards me, I start to plan where to place a potato mine.

Oh, conversation partner notices I am not paying attention.

Smile and nod, that's right, smile and nod.

Quick, set up that wall nut!
(@BlackBerry)

Is obsessing over PeeVeeZee.

That's right, gentle readers.

P v Z or Plants Vs Zombies.

A little late perhaps, but you know I love these kind of games.
And will be obsessing for a while.

Brains, more brains!
(@BlackBerry)

Saigon food tweet!

Threw my bags down, and practically ran out the hotel yelling, "PHO!!!"

Just ordered:

Pho Bo (Pho with beef). 38000 d
Bo Vien (Beef balls). 15000 d
Ca Phe Sua Da (iced coffee with condensed milk). 24000 d
Banh Flan (Cream Caramel). 12000 d

Exchange rate is approx S$50 to 530000 d.

So this meal's about 100000 d, or S$10.

Waiting for the coffee to drip impossibly slow down into condensed milk before I pour the whole thing over ice.

Beef balls arrived! 5 little bouncy beef balls in a clear broth.
Ok, can't talk, must eat.

This place is just around the corner from the hotel. Air-conditioned and clean.

I might just come by again!
(@BlackBerry)

The eagle has landed!

On the way to the hotel, in the hotel limo, greeted by an icy cold towel and bottled water.

Supposedly only 7 km away from the airport, but will take 40 minutes. "Traffic", my driver explains.

HCMC airport is spanking new, I got through immigration and picked up my luggage in 15 minutes.

Wow.

Many roadside hawkers with mystery food for sale!

Its a Sunday, the park is full of couples on benches, or groups of friends sitting in a circle on the grass.

Its right next to the heavily jammed road, I don't know how fresh the air can be.

Saigon has a very different feel to Hanoi.

I have always loved Hanoi; the weather, the liver pate and baguette, the old quarters and gentle people with restrained politeness.

Everywhere you looked, in Hanoi, you would see slim, long straight haired women in pristine white traditional dress.

That always made me smile, and sigh a happy little sigh.

I have been sitting here in the jam for the last half hour.

No smile, no happy little sigh.

Except marvel at the motorbikes weaving in and out of traffic- father, mother, son and daughter, all balanced precariously on one bike.

Oh dear, bike carrying baskets of melons just crashed into another bike carrying cartons of random goods.

No one is hurt, but melons are everywhere. Cracked open and crushed by other bikes and cars.

No one stops, the two riders pick up whatever they can salvage, and life goes on.

Still no smile, no happy little sigh.
(@BlackBerry)

All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go.

Well, just 3 bags.

One laptop bag with the laptop, passport, power cord, mouse, wireless pointer.

One hand carry bag with all my travel essentials; book, journal, keys, earphones, wet wipes, eye mask, charcoal pills, purse, card holder, 2 pens, electrolyte drink satchets, moisturiser, lip balm, vapex inhalent, vicks vapor rub, box of plasters, box of floss dental picks, 2 lighters, 2 tampons.

One check-in luggage with clothes, 30 stress balls of different colours, about one ream worth of paper (work), portable hard drive, 3 multipurpose plugs, phone charger, battery charger, camera, camera charger, contact lens solution, make up, toiletries, markers, marbles, name tag stickers, boots, zip locks.

Wow, this post took me the whole journey from my house to the plane.

Singapore Girl's giving me dirty looks.

No, not that way, just "turn the damn phone off" kinda way.

See you in Saigon!
(@BlackBerry)

All aboard!

You're so vain,
You probably think that this post is about you.
(@BlackBerry)

Is sick in Manila!

Puke, swoon, moan, groan.

Bleagh.

I want my mummy. ):
(@BlackBerry)

The eagle has landed!

Ahh! Good ol' Manila!

Back in the land of smiles and the DVD mothership.

Decisions, decisions. Do I:
1. Spacehulk
2. Pool
3. Boots shopping
4. Meat-on-a-stick at Nanbantei

All the above for today!

And a quick glance at work prep for tomorrow.

Yay!
(@BlackBerry)

All my bags are packed. I'm ready to go!

Looking at the safety video, refering to the safety card.

Airbus A320-200

Only 12 seats in business class, the rest of the tiny plane is separated by a filmsy curtain.

I'm being politely asked to turn off all electronic equipment.

Quick note: I like TV series "Leverage"!

See you in 6 hours!
(@BlackBerry)

Boardgames

Meanwhile I had a very good weekend so far:

Cranium + Poker

Cranium is fun, Trivial Pursuit and Win-Lose-Or-Draw rolled into one fantastic game.

My Top 7 boardgames so far: (as much as I can remember)(not including card games)

1. Cosmic Encounter (Online)
2. Spacehulk(Free DOS version)
3. Talisman (PC game)
4. Betrayal at house on the hill
5. Bloodbowl (Online)
6. Nuke
7. Dungeon Quest

What is the meaning of life?

42

Or, remove toxic people from your life.

How do you know who are these people?

The next time you meet or talk to anyone, try to remember what is the first thing they say to you.

Toxic people will usually start with a passive aggressive statement to make you feel bad about yourself. Beware, though. Learn how to recognise this, subtlety is their forte.

Now, I need to explain myself.

Toxic people are not stupid people. We need stupid people in our lives, if anything, for entertainment.

Toxic people say or do things just to make you feel bad.

Do you:
1. Have that sickly, sinking feeling in your stomach,
2. Feel like life is being drained out of you,
3. Want to roll your eyes, but is too polite to,
4. Want to lunge across the room/table to backhand that person?

If "yes" to any of the above, then ask yourself this: "Do I need this toxic person in my life?"

Now if you can answer this, you have the meaning of life.

This is why there is so much ugliness in the world.

A comment on Facebook, response to MJ’s memorial on TV last night.

 

(Someone) at 05:15 on 08 July

I'm not so sure about that. Caught a little of it. Thought that it was too much fuss made of a life that doesn't seem to have been well spent from heaven's point of view. Jared, who had no clue who MJ was, asked if this guy was going to heaven...that is the crux of it, isn't it?

 

I immediately felt anger, and then sadness.

 

Sadness not for the woman who made the above comment, but sadness for her son. As a functioning adult in this world, do we not have the responsibility to ensure an environment free of fear for our children?

 

A child, beaten into submission by fear, not allowed to expand his mind, not given the chance to explore. Instead, he lives in constant reminder of heaven, and of course, hell.

 

Its a stretch, to assume all this from a Facebook comment.

 

I will end this rant with a quote.

 

Richard Dawkins

"With so many mindbytes to be downloaded, so many mental codons to be replicated, it is no wonder that child brains are gullible, open to almost any suggestion, vulnerable to subversion, easy prey to Moonies, Scientologists and nuns."

 

And this is why there is so much ugliness in the world.

Ouch! Just got jabbed my doctor.

No, I am not sick.

Just bloody allegic to dust mites.

He gave me a flu jab anyway.

I'm looking rather cool in this mask.

I think I'll keep it on for my drive back.

Hehe!
(@BlackBerry)

Sneezed 5 times in a row. Forced to sit at the doctor's waiting room with a silly mask on.

Sitting here with a mask on, with a room full of sick patients.

The damn mask is making me breathe deeply. I can imagine germs of all shapes and sizes invading my poor body.

Oh yucks, heavily coifed woman in plaid opposite me just picked her back teeth with her pinky.

Hey look, one of those old school eye charts.

5
94
260
3895
06248
630952
849r065
95046283
42883056

I think I might have the last line wrong.

Ugh! Woman in green scarf just sneezed three times in a row!

Stop breathing, stop breathing......

Gasp, gack! Stupidly took in a deep breath to compensate.

Bald guy at counter is trying to scam a larger bottle of cough syrup.

How mundane is this?

(@BlackBerry)

I demand yellow ribbons!

Waiting at Brisbane airport, my nose pressed against the cold glass window pane.

There sits my plane, waiting for us to eagerly board.

Ooh! Boarding announcement! Home! Home, I say, HOME!

I grab my bag and happily roll towards the smiling attendant.

Ahh, Singapore Girl, you're a great way to fly.

(@BlackBerry)

Movies: A quick catch-up for the last three months.

Duplicity

****

*** for Clive Owen

* for plot, though a tad predictable

CIA agent and M15 agent meet, they had fun, she betrayed him.

They meet again, many years later.

Now they are corporate spies, how exciting!

“Stocks are down, porn is up.”

 

Transformers, Rise of the Fallen

*

** for Arcee

Minus * for the lousy script

At one point, I actually turned to my friend and asked, “are all scriptwriters dead?”

I cringed, I pouted, I whined, I imagined my own death.

The rape of Indiana Jones.

The mindless destruction of Star Wars.

The death of Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett and Transformers IN ONE DAY.

How will I get over this?

 

The Assassination of Jessie James by the coward Robert Ford

*****

*** for Brat Pitt

** for the snivelly Casey Affleck

 

Unfortunately for Transformers, I just watched this gem just a couple of days before.

 

The International

****

*** for Clive Owen

* for the fantastic shoot-out at the Guggenheim.

It doesn't rain but pour.

So they managed to KILL my second bag.

KILL.

It came out on the belt, barely hanging on to its last breath, handle swung over the side pathetically.

*sob*
(@BlackBerry)

Damnit, they fixed blazing orange on the sentinel robes.

Almost half an hour to patch WAR.
(@BlackBerry)

I better see yellow ribbons!

5am. Wake up.

6am. Leave hotel for airport. Taxi cost F$30.

645am. Taxi arrives at Suva airport. Argue with driver about a receipt.

700am. Finally got driver to issue a receipt.

710am. Got my boarding pass for flight to Nadi, but airline refuse to transfer my luggage all the way to Singapore. Ugh!

730am. Plane (ATR42-500) noisily starts its propellars and we are OUTTA here!

800am. Land at Nadi. Claim my baggage. Lug it to counter and stupidly forget to ask for an aisle seat. Grr! 4 hour flight! Double check to see if luggage will NOW go straight to Singapore. Yes!

9am. Flight leaves. I base the last two copies of Times. Encounter the new Kindle. I want one.

11.45am. Plane lands in Sydney at last. Still contemplating the Kindle.

1200pm. Wandered a bit, trying to remember where the damn lounge is. All airports (almost) look the same. Ah hah! I need to take a shuttle to the other wing!

1215pm. On shuttle. The guards seem more excited about the A380 than me. They insist the shuttle driver point it out to me on the way. Other passengers are giggling way too loudly.

1235pm. In lounge at last. Got my last boarding pass issued. Asked for an aisle seat, got mocked. Its an A380, dahling. They are ALL aisle seats. Duh. I have 3 hours to kill before the next 7 hour flight. Soon, very sooooooon.

(@BlackBerry)

They lost my bag. I am bag-less in Nadi.

I have no bag.

No training materials.

No clothes.

No toothbrush.

Nothing.

I should be panicking.

The airline people doesn't seem to be panicking.
(@BlackBerry)

Ugh. Part 2 of 3.

Just landed in Nadi.

One more flight to go.

I am so tired.
(@BlackBerry)

Damn you, Pacific Blue!

Says here on my ticket that I must be at their booth 90 min before boarding at 745am.

I've been standing in front of an EMPTY counter since 645am!

745am - still no one at the counter.

755am - finally got my boarding pass. But they can't issue my pass for the next transfer (Nadi > Suva).

I will need to collect my checked-in luggage, lug it through customs and then check in again to get it on the same flight as me.

Damn you! Damn it! Damn all!

Will be writing angry email to my travel agent for booking me on this flight. Grrr!

805am - flight has been delayed! Will I make it to Nadi in time for my transfer?
(@BlackBerry)

I'm so tired. Stupid body clock.

Its 5am, but its 7am here in Sydney.

I feel as if its 7pm now, and soon I'll be sleepy.

Groan.

Waiting to board my next flight.

Sydney > Nadi

Fun, fun.
(@BlackBerry)

Waiting to board again.

Changi > Sydney > Nadi > Suva

Total travel time (including transit) is almost 24 hours.

Joy oh joy.

Airport money changers do not stock up on Fijian dollars.

How could I have forgotten, considering last year's snafu?

I really should blog more.
(@BlackBerry)