The world through a lens

Apple iPod Touch 2nd Gen Part 1.

2009-06-18T10:39:00.001+08:00

Hey guys! How's everyone doing? :)

Anyway,today I thought I'd write a review of the 2nd gen. iPod Touch. Bought this gadget dubbed as the 'Funnest iPod Ever' 2 weeks ago while on holiday with my fam in Singapore. So I've had 2 weeks to explore n evaluate the things I like n the things I don't like about the latest iPod in the market. So read through if ur interested,if not then go read something else ;p

First off,I'd like to explain the differences between the 1st gen and the 2nd gen of the iPod Touch. The 2nd gen has a thicker body,but due to its curvaceous back,it feels thinner than it actually is. The screen is brighter,with a slight yellow tint and the battery lasts longer than the 1st gen. And the biggest difference is the addition of onboard speaker and physical volume buttons. There are some more minor differences such as faster processing speed,smaller package,thats about it. So now lets get back to business :D

Design

The iPod Touch looks very stylish with a black facia with chrome accents around the front. There's only a handful of buttons to play with,the Home button,the Power buttol n the volume button. The back is full mirror chrome finish and looks fabolous. But as with most iPods,the finish is very prone to scratches so if u don't use any casing,be prepared to look at the back as if it had been bruised by Wolverine,ouch! So here's some pics of the iPod Touch:

Looks nice huh? Trust me,it looks much much nicer in person. And part of the reason is the absolutely gorgeous screen. The screen measures 3.5" in size,with a high resolution of 480 x 320 pixels. The screen is super sharp,super bright and is suprisingly useable in clear daylight.

Viewing Photos

Due to the great screen incorporated into the iPod Touch,viewing photos is a pleasure. With storage options of 8GB,16GB,or 32GB, there's plenty of room for u to store pictures in the iPod. Pictures look great on the iPod,and scrolling with ur finger feels remarkably natural. Slide ur finger sideways to scroll to the next/previous picture,double tap to zoom in,or u can even 'pinch' the screen to zoom manually. It really feels good and responsive,and the pictures load instantly,unlike some media players. U can also play a slideshow of the pictures,complete with music if u want. Furthermore,u can instantly email any photos with a tap on the screen. Awesome!

Listening to Music

As with any iPod , the essence of the iPod touch is listening to music. The sound quality is fantastic! It's much better than the iPod Shuffle,which has a lot of noise and the sound quality doesn't really improve regardless of the quality of ur earphones. The iPod Touch is not noisy in anyway,and u do notice the difference using a quality pair of earphones. I would also like to note that the Apple earphones provided in the package is crap,maybe that's because I prefer in-ear earphones. Anyway,the sound quality is stunning, n slightly better than my N95 8GB. It has quite a bit more bass, and the instruments sound a bit clearer.

The music interface on the iPod Touch looks classy, and displays the album cover of the song u're listening to. And u can also configure it to display lyrics of the song on screen so u can sing along,very neat! Here's a screenshot of Greenday's new album while listening to their hot song Know Your Enemy :

Watching Videos

One of the most beneficial thing of the widescreen display of the iPod Touch is watching videos and movies. It's great watching movies on the iPod Touch,with great resolution and smooth framerates. One nice thing about the movie playback is the iPod remembers ur progress on the movie,and will resume from that point onwards on ur next viewing. All in all,watching videos n movies on the iPod Touch is a pleasure and should be one of the reasons to buy this gadget.

Youtube and Safari

Yes, for the first time in iPod's history , the iPod Touch has a built-in WiFi antenna that work in 802.11b and 802.11g networks. Sadly, it doesn't support 802.11n but that's not such a big deal. The inclusion of the WiFi capability is what attracted me to the iPod Touch. Yes, my N95 has WiFi built-in but somehow the iPod Touch's Wifi seem to be faster and much more stable.

With the inclusion of Wifi, Apple has also included a Youtube application in the iPod Touch. Interestingly it feels the same as if u were to watch Youtube on ur computer. The videos load quickly, and looks great. The only thing I don't quite like about it is that the comments are not viewable like it is if u were using Youtube on the computer.

Using Apple's native browser, the Safari to surf the internet is a bliss. Webpages look great, and looks the same like on the computer. How far mobile internet browsing has come in the last few years. The controls are intuitive as always, double tap to zoom on a particular part of the page, and scrolling with ur finger. And a major plus is the ability to have multiple pages at at time, again bridging the gap between mobile browsing and computer browsing. Way to go, Apple!

So that's basically it for Part One. In Part Two I'll talk about stuffs u can do with ur iPod such as installing games, apps, and a process called Jailbreak. Stay tuned :)

Future SPM Candidates!! Listen up!

2009-03-15T08:18:00.000+08:00

After the results I obtained on Thursday,I've had quite a few calls and smses from people all over the place,asking me for tips. It's quite hard to explain it in detail through SMS,so here are some of my recipes for success :)

First of all,lets look at urself,or ur attitude to be more specific. Sure,hard work and stuff makes a difference,but I believe the biggest factor is ur attitude. I'll explain more later. Do u have any friends that still have no idea what they want to do or what course to take,even months after finishing their SPM? Well I do,and I feel bad for these people,simply because it's much easier if u know what u want to do beforehand. So before u even think of scoring in SPM,take some time to consider what you'd like to do in the future. Talk to ur family,read on the internet,discuss with friends,anything! Just make sure once u've figured out what you field u want to take up,STICK WITH IT! this is very important,I see lots of people who have a new ambition every few months. So it's important to take ur time in this part,and be sure of what u want to do. Don't change it unless u really have to,for whatever reason. My reason for asking u to determine ur future plans is it makes it so much easier to work for it and make sure u achieve that goal. Once u've figured out what field ur interested in,the begin searching around for where u'd want to study it. Then ask for the minimum requirement to enable urself to qualify for that particular course. The last step isn't really important since u should be aiming to score as high as possible anyway,but above all it gives u a good target to aim at. For example,ever since I was little I knew I want to do something related to cars,and a few years down the road I settled on Automotive Engineering. Then the next part is finding out the best place to study AE,which is how I settled on Germany. Then my parents helped me out and looked for an institute that will allow me to study in Germany. After some searching,we found out about GMI (German-Malaysian Institute) and it's GAPP (German A-levels Preparatory Program) and that was my target for the last 2 years. And then come the task of finding out the minimum requirement to enrol in that program,which was 8A2s. See? Isn't that hard,is it? Once U know ur target and where u want to enrol,it makes it so much easier and automatically induce drive and motivation in urself :)

Next is setting standards for urself. People who know me well knows for a fact that I don't lose well. I'm a horrible,horrible loser. I can't stand coming in 2nd,nevermind in what aspect,studies,sports,even PlayStation games! (Ihsan knows that better than anyone haha). People who are succesful are those who expects so much from themselves,sometimes up to a level that other people think they're crazy! Alot of times in exams I curse myself for not scoring as high as I wanted,and my friends always say I should be thankful,and not moan for my already good result. Make no mistake,I AM thankful,but such is the standard I set for myself,I know I can do better. Most people don't have this,which I think is one of the reason why many people fall short. It's not hard,it doesn't take hard work at all! U just have to set a standard for urself,and aim to fulfill that standard. Don't set a standard that U know u will never achieve,instead set a target just above what u think is ur capability. Once u've set ur target,don't settle for anything else. People that don't set a high standard are the ones who just don't care what their results are,since they don't have a standard to live up to. So set ur standard,and aim to achieve that target and not settle for anything less.

The next steps are the more common ones. Well,for one u'll have to work hard. There's no way around it,if u want to succeed,u'll have to work hard to deserve it. Praying for success is one thing,working for it is another. God will not listen to ur prayers if u don't deserve it,so working hard is a neccesity,its a must! As for how to work hard,it's different for everyone. A lot of people say u need to have sort of a study schedule,so u'll have a specific time to study. Many people have this,I don't. I used to have it,but I found that I'm less effective when its time to study. So I ditched the timetable and made my study time alot more flexible. My way is to study as much as I can when I'm in great mood and have alot of energy in me and don't study at all when I'm stressed or exhausted. It's not rare to have me relax for a few days when I don't study at all,but I feel that I make the most of my study times so I feel it is more effective than just studying everyday,regardless of my mood or energy levels. Again,this is different from person to person,so anything is okay. As long as U work hard and know u have to do so,it's alright.

Next, take some time to assess what are ur weak points and what are ur good points. So sit down,open ur books,and find out what ur struggling with. Find those topics or sub-topics and mark them down. Then counsult ur teachers for help until ur comfortable with them. Then it's just a matter of putting it into practice and doing lots and lots of exercise. But bear in mind,u will also need to practice topics u feel ur already good with,but put more focus on the topics ur struggling with until u feel ur proficient in them. This way u won't have a weak point in any of ur subjects.

Then,it's just small steps from now on. For one,U need to be consistent with ur hard work. U can't study like mad for one month and then shut down completely the other and expect to succeed,it doesn't happen. Next,u'll have to have berkat from ur teachers. Without them,it doesn't matter how much u work,U won't succeed in that particular subject no matter what. So give ur teachers the respect they deserve,and don't let them lose their respect for u. Lastly,having worked ur butt off and tried ur best,it's time to turn to higher powers. It's time to pray and hope God listens to them. After that,just accept whatever the outcome is,knowing u'll have no regrets for u have given ur all :)

So,good luck to the future candidates! I wish u all the best :)

Disclaimer : I hold no responsibility for whatever result u obtain. Thank you :)

The Mother of ALL Mornings.

2009-03-15T07:25:00.000+08:00

12th of March was the fateful day,the day the whole nation has been waiting for. For those who don't know what I'm talking about,it was results day for the 2008 SPM takers. It was a day full of emotion,so read on :)

The morning started with Manchester United's Champions League 2nd leg match against Inter Milan. Hey,football if very important to me so just bear with me xD. Anyway,win the game,and we're through to the Quarter-finals. The game started around 3.45 a.m which didn't bother me much coz I couldn't really sleep the night before anyways,I'm sure the other SPM takers had the exact same problem. Those who didn't,Man! How did u get to sleep so easily? haha so,after the 1st leg,the game was perfectly poised with a scoreline of 0-0. It was a shame we couldn't score in the 1st leg,as we absolutely outplayed Inter. We made the Italian Champions look like amateurs. Thankfully enough,Nemanja Vidic scored in the 4th minute,and settled the nerves of everyone associated with Man Utd. At the half-hour mark,Inter finally settled in and begin to threaten us. Then the killer blow came when Cristiano Ronaldo scored early in the 2nd half. That was game over,and we comfortably saw the game out. The result made it 4 English teams in the Quarter-finals,again proving the superiority of the Barclays Premier League. So that was a succesful 1st part of my day. Still a long way to go though :)

It was around 6 when the game ended. So I tried to sleep while waiting for the inevitable. Again,I had trouble sleeping but managed to get some rest until around 9a.m. Then I took a shower and made a tuna sandwich for myself. After mama had served breakfast for the cats,we took off to school at around 10.45. The adrenaline rush was unbelievable! Ur mind starts thinking of the worst,ur body starts to shiver and sweat,it was nerve-wrecking! So then we arrived at school. Seeing my younger friends who are still in school and seeing my teachers made me all the more nervous. So I kept praying from the front gate until the school hall. It took a lot of effort to step into the hall haha seeing all the people inside,wondering how did I do. Then Reena greeted me first and she congratulated me. Funnily enough,that didn't ease my nervousness at all! haha next,Azhar and Imran also congratulated me. Still being nervous as before,I came up to the table where Pn. Jasmine n Meagan was sitting. Their expression-less face freaked the hell out of me! Then Pn. Jasmine calmly handed me my result slip. Then she asked me to fill my name in a list that said 'Straight As Students' at the top right hand site. Then it occured to me I did it! But too bad by the end of the day the list was only filled by my name. So then I went and hugged Mama,I think she knew the result even before I did! haha then I was greeted by congratulations from everyone,from my closest friends to people I only know by their name. Then I took a few moments alone to digest the emotions I've felt during the 5 minutes of madness. I must have looked pretty awful coz my friends said I looked like I scored straight Es! haha I was shocked to be honest. Of course I had hoped to score straight As,but I had never really thought what it would feel like to really achieve the feat. But the part I hate on days like these are the mixed emotions u feel. One moment ur delighted with ur result,the next moment u feel bad seeing ur friends in tears. I never really know what to say in these situations,but I'd like to say well done guys,especially to my classmates. We had the most wonderful of times together,and all of u deserved to score well,so well done! And for those that are still down from their results,don't worry. SPM is just a ticket to tertiary education. This is only the beginning,there's still a long way to go and alot of work still to be done. So cheer up! It's not all bad :)

So there u go,the eventful day of 12th March 2009. From the football in the early morning right through the rush of results handout,it was an amazing day full of emotions. Until next time,take care everyone! :)

New Bodyshell Done and Up for Grabs! :)

2009-02-19T17:04:00.001+08:00

Hello people! How are u guys? :D

Anyways,I don't have much to update other than the fact that I've just completed my latest bodyshell,the Mazda 6(the blue one) :)

In total this body took about 10+ hours from masking the body to airbrushing and placing the stickers for the finishing touch.

So that's it for today. Oh and both bodies are for sale if anyone is interested :)

After two years in the dark,its BACK!

2009-02-12T13:23:00.000+08:00

Hey guys! Wow it's been a while,hasn't it? I'm so sorry for the lack of updates recently. Reason being i haven't really been in the mood for blogging so i apologise for that. Anyhow,I'm doing fine so I hope you guys are too! :)

Regarding the title,well u must be wondering what the hell am I talking about? Well it's about my car. No no no,not a real car,my Radio-Controlled Car! Got you there,didn't I? hehe yea,this thing has been with me since the end of Standard 5. Can u imagine that? So that was like 6,7 years ago? Time really flies huh? Well it all started when my best buddy Irfan,bought one when we were in standard 5 if i'm not mistaken. So after school we would go back to his house n play around with the car. It was addictive! Like smoking! haha hold on there,don't get any ideas,I haven't smoke in my entire life and will continue to do so :) Anyways,after quite a number of sessions playing around with him,I had the urge to get one of my own. So at the end of the year,me and my parents went to the hobby shop in Atria Shopping Mall. I had no idea what car to get,so I left it to the shop owner to enlighten me. He advised me to get a Nitro(fuel,in other words)-fueled car. Reason being Nitro cars don't need to charge their batteries like Electric cars do. Nitro cars just need a refill of fuel and you're good to go. No such thing with battery-powered cars. Once ur batteries are flat,U'd have to wait for it to charge again. So after all the talking,we went and bought a Team Associated Nitro TC3. It looked pretty good,and it ran well too :)

So then the fun began! It was hard at first,learning to tune the engine and stuff. The great thing about these cars,regardless of their power source are so tunable. It's like a real race car! Only exceptions being they don't cost millions and they're small enough to be played in front of your yard. So they're very adjustable,how the car turns into a corner,how it exits a corner,when to shift into second gear,they're all adjustable! And above all,they're massive fun! One run with serious RCs like mine and u'll be hooked. They're just so much more fun than the toys we used to play as kids. These cars mean business! And they're quick,really quick. How quick? Well I'm sure mine will out-accelerate any Ferraris to 100km/h. And if it hits u in the leg at top speed,be prepared to set up an appointment with the hospital :) Anyways,we racers don't just drive this cars up and down the street and just blast full throttle. What fun is that? Instead we play on the track and race with each other. And once in a while there'll be an organised race. That's where the real fun is :)

So there u go,the story from the very beginning. From then,I've been playing up until my PMR exams. Well,naturally I had to focus on my exams. Then,I don't know what happened but I didn't continue playing even until my SPM is over. Since now I don't have any school or exams to worry about,I've decided to start playing again. So two weeks ago,I opened up the box where the car was stored for the last 2 years. I was quite suprised to see the car still in excellent looking condition,I couldn't even spot a particle of dust. But really,these cars get dirty once u've ran a few tanks on the track. Tyre dust,dry leaves,nitro residue,even bugs! They all stick to the car. So I decided to strip down the car to it's bare bones,clean everything,rebuild it and then put it all back together. It took two weeks to complete the process,so it's not easy. But damn it's fun! Sure getting dirt onto ur hands ain't that fun,but the joy in knowing that ur car will run at its peak is nice to know. So yea,yesterday I completed the rebuild,charge everything up and planned to test it all today.

Today,I went for a little kick about at the football field for quite a lengthy time. Then I came back feeling exhausted with my legs barely alive. I took a shower and had my breakfast then it was time to fire this thing up. I was bloody nervous and scared that it wouldn't start up. So I prayed and prayed and prayed..

Putting the glow plug in,pushing down on the starter box,and VROOOM the engine was alive! I was ecstatic! So I played around for a while until the fuel ran out.

So there u go,after two years in the dark,THE BEAST IS ALIVE! :)

Goodbye Dubai and Welcome Home!

2009-01-03T18:54:00.000+08:00

After more than a month away in Dubai,me and Ihsan is finally back home (oh and Ihsan has been away for more than double my time). Home sweet home :)

It was the first time we were travelling alone without our parents,it was nice actually. The original plan was my mum will go back with us,but due to the mishap in Khasab,it was just the two of us. And to add to the excitement and responsibility,we had to take care of two young kids also travelling without their parents. In the end it wasn't such a hassle. The thing that was a hassle was all the waiting we had to do! Our flight MH0157 was scheduled to leave on 6.55 pm but we ended up leaving around 9 pm. The reason? Or shall I say reasons? Firstly,the delay was due to a passenger not turning up,even though his/her baggage was already checked into the plane. Then after a while,the captain said that we'd have to wait for about an hour due to technical problems. Had no idea what the problem was,but all that waiting and hoping wasn't fun at all! -.-'

So we arrived around 8am in the morning. Still with the two kids in our responsibility,we went claim our baggage and then said goodbye to them as we release them to their parents. And coming out of the airport,we saw Mama,Aunty Fayros,Mak Long and Khairil along with his parents. It's a weird feeling actually,and Khairil seemed amused to see us! haha what was that all about,dude? xD

Saying goodbye to Dubai,it's amazing how long we've been there without actually realising it. Time flies so fast,eh? Before you know it,you're back home. Dubai is a wonderful country,still progressing but for sure they'll be one of the very top countries in the near future. It had provided us with a mixture of good and also bad memories. But let's just forget the bad ones and cherish the good memories. Overall,it was a wonderful trip and it's nice to spend so much time with my dad after he moved to Dubai in April,so yea,it was a good,relaxing trip :)

Oh and I know I haven't been writing about my activities in Dubai lately,but that's due to the very slow internet connection preventing me from writing too much. So expect more writeups in the near future. Stay tuned :D

A Tribute to My Furry Family

2009-01-02T00:53:00.000+08:00

Cats. What do they mean to you? Well,to me my cats are part of my family. People say dogs are men's best friend,but in my mind cats are better. But then again,I've never had a dog and never will,so I can't really compare. Some people like cats,some people are just plain allergic to them haha of course i belong to the first group :)

Well,let's see. At the moment I have 9 cats living in their custom made house (yeah! That's how much they mean to us) back home. But throughout the years we've had a lot more than that,but as with every organism,they died. And we bury them around our house so you might say our house is a bit haunted haha xD

Anyways,it all started when we first moved into the house in 2002. We saw a cat there (Mummy) and I forgot what happened next but I guess we decided to take care of her since she's still with us! So it started with Mummy then it expanded into a big family. Here's a rundown of my cats :

1) Gebu! :)

Gebu is a persian breed and the only persian in the family. She's multi-coloured as well! Anyways Gebu is one of the more manja ones of the lot. She's very high maintenance,she even need surveillance before she can poop or pee. Apparently the others just want to fight with her. My mum thinks they're jealous coz Gebu gets the most attention,which I think is a fair statement. But she is really nice,and a good model in front of the camera! Sometimes when I'm down I let it all out to her and sometimes it seems as if she understands what I'm saying and meows at the right time almost all the time. An amazing cat she is :)

2) Mummy! :)

Mummy is naturally,the mum and the nanny of all my cats. She was our cat at the house. Looking back,it's amazing to think that it all started with her. But yea,she was the pioneer. And she's still going strong,after all these years. Mummy is shy,but she knows when to manja with us and knows when to just sleep. She's also a fantastic mother. She took care of all her children admirably,and if some human parents learn from her,I bet they'll be more good parents out there.

3) Salem! :)

Well,some of you might guess that the name was inspired by Sabrina's cat. In that case,you're spot on! Salem is sweet,and he looks like he's wearing a black tuxedo over a white shirt. He's as handsome as cats get! Salem is the most shy of the family,he's really very shy. And most of the time he sticks at one spot and stays there for all day long. Simba,Cheeky and Manja always want to get a piece of him,so he does get into a lot of fights. But he is sweet and manja,he likes to kiss our noses,a habit which runs in most of the family. Oh and like Gebu,Salem likes protected defaecation :)

4) Cutie! :)

She looks fierce huh? Haha somehow she looks fierce on photos but I can assure you she's as manja as it gets. She looks like a lion with white coat and a hint of orange here and there,a beautiful creature. Cutie likes to bite our fingers! Sometimes it seems as though she can bit them off! She really likes to play so once she's in hyper active mode,you better be able to keep up with her! Oh and she's one of the noisier ones,but her voice is so cute you can't help it but to smile :)

5) Cheeky! :)

Spot anything? Do u? Well I'll give you a hint,it's her eyes! They're different in colour! Aren't they just beautiful? Cheeky is blessed with those eyes and is one of only two cats in the family with those eyes. The other one is Kimi(her daughter) who has already passed away. Cheeky is a great mother,like her Mummy. One day the rain was falling heavily and she was with her kittens outside. And then she came to the house door and started meow-ing endlessly. I thought that was wierd so I went to check on the kittens. They were soaking wet! So I guess Cheeky was asking for us to help bring her kittens inside where it was dry. Who says cats aren't intelligent? :)

6) Ronaldo! :)

On the left is Ron,short for Ronaldo.I guess you're wondering why he has a footballer's name. Well the simple reason is he is a very good footballer! When he was a kitten he could play with a ball-shaped newspaper all day long! And he had skills and speed to boot! Ron has beautiful blue eyes and as with all the others,he is very manja. But he's also fierce at times. He doesn't welcome strangers very much,some people are scared by him! But really,he's great :)

7) Snowy! :)

I don't have a pic of Snowy at the moment,but he looks pretty much like Ron,except maybe he's a tiny bit more white and possess the same magnificent blue eyes. Snowy is the sibling of Salem,and like all brothers,they often fight and have a little sparring once in a while. It doesn't get violent though,it's just brotherly love. Oh and like Cutie,he likes to play with our hands! That's not all though,he also loves to play with our feet! :)

8) Manja! :)

Manja is well,manja! He's undoubtedly the most manja of the family. Sometimes he'll kiss our nose out of nowhere and sometimes he'll lie down between our legs. As manja as he is,Manja is also a tough guy. He certainly packs a punch and is more than a match for anyone. Oh and as the picture proves,Manja is an excellent model! :)

9) Simba! :)

As most of you will know,Simba is the name of the lion cub in Lion King. Simba looks quite like a lion and he behaves like one too! He's certainly the leader of the pack and more often than not,he shows who's boss. He likes to pick on Manja and fights with him on a regular basis but a lot of times you'll see both this guys sleeping next to each other and grooming each other. It's lovely to witness those moments,it's really sweet. Simba might be very fierce,but he is also manja,probably second only to Manja. Of all the others,he's the expert in kissing our noses. Long live the King! :)

10) Peach! :)

At the moment, I have no picture of Peach,sorry for that. Peach looks alot like Cutie,except that he's a guy. He is one of the most intelligent cats I know,and certainly one of the sweetest. He's also well behaved,so much so that he's the only one we regularly let into the house. He doesn't make a mess,and follows us wherever we go. When we sit on the floor,he'd come and sit in between our legs,a feat that only he has accomplished so far. Peach also has a GPS built-in! haha I'm kidding with that one but a lot of times Peach will go and tour the neighbourhood for a few days and then he'll come to the door,meow,and wait for us to open the door for him. Sadly,he never came back after his last tour,and we fear the worst for him. If he's still alive,I hope he's in good hands and if he's not,may he rest in peace. Whatever it is,thank you for all the joy you've brought to this family,for we will never forget having you as part of our family :)

So that's pretty much it,a tribute to my furry family. Well what can I say,I love all of you and I look forward to come home and see you guys again for I miss all of you so much over this month. See you guys in two days :)

Welcoming 2009 and Bidding Goodbye to 2008

2009-01-01T01:08:00.000+08:00

At the time of writing,I'm still stuck in 2008 while you guys in Malaysia are already stepping into 2009. Bloody time difference! So happy new year guys! :D

Looking forward to 2009,it is only natural to say goodbye to 2008. In doing that,I have mixed emotions that runs from one extreme to the other. On one hand,I'm more than happy(ecstatic is appropriate!) to say goodbye to the bad memories of 2008. On the other hand,I'm devastated to leave all the fantastic memories behind. I guess that's life,one moment you're blessed with the greatest of luck,the next moment you're hit with nothing but bad luck.

Overall,2008 was an awesome year! I had a lot of fun throughout the year. I also feel I've grown up more than ever during the last year. Probably my experience as a head boy had something to do with it. Nevertheless,it has helped me understand life better and be strong with whatever test and obstacles you'll have to navigate through in life. I've been blessed with lots of good luck this year,lots of strength,and most importantly,great health. So alhamdulillah for that :)

That's for the bright side. Now for the not-so-bright side. Well,as great as the year was,it was also tough as hell. I'm not gonna go into details here,but lets say it's been the toughest year in my life. But I've come through it still in one piece. Lets see what 2009 brings,eh? :)

One thing is for sure,2009 will be a year like no other. For one,there's no more school to go to! I always wanted for school to be over,but now that it has,I miss school very much. My mum often say that school time is the best period in one's life,and at the moment I'm finding it very hard to disagree with her. I'm gonna miss the teachers,and the moments I experience during school. Goodbye SMK Kelana Jaya and the people associated with it,for I will always be thankful for the memories and experience you've given me. Though you might not be the best school in town,you are blessed with great teachers and decent students. And forever you'll be in my mind.

Furthermore,some of us will be working and earning money for themselves. As for me,I'll be a freelance photographer and trying to earn some money from one of my greatest love,photography. And then the SPM results will be out,and who knows what that will bring. And after that,we will be looking to further our studies. Local,overseas,the options are endless. Man,we are growing up!

As for my friends,well what can I say? You guys have been the greatest gift I've ever had. From the friends from primary school to secondary school,I love you all! You guys have helped me to go through life n become a better man. From the bottom of my heart,thank you for everything and forgive me for my wrong doings. And undoubtedly,some of us will go our separate ways. Well,goodluck with all your endeavours and life journey ahead,for I will always pray for all of you :)

Well I guess thats it for today. And once more :

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!! :)

Car Heaven in Abu Dhabi Motorshow

2008-12-27T11:50:00.000+08:00

Hello people! How are you guys doing? Sorry for the lack of updates on my blog but the internet has been so damn slow it's even a struggle to load my blog! Screw those broken underground cables! -.-'

Moving on,last Sunday (the 21st December),we drove to Abu Dhabi. Reason for going there? To see the Abu Dhabi International Motorshow. Being the car freak I am, I wanted to go and witness how Abu Dhabi would handle organising a motorshow. How would it compare to the legendary Detroit show or our local Kuala Lumpur International Motorshow? I'd say they handled it pretty well. I have no idea how Detroit handles things but I can say that Abu Dhabi has handled the show better than KL ever did. So kudos to them :)
It was quite a long way to Abu Dhabi,about an hour and a half. So along the way we stopped by a mosque. Oh and calling it 'a mosque' is probably the most undersated statemend of the year. My god it's huge! It's probably the size of 5 normal mosques. And geez it is beautiful,although it's not fully completed yet. Have a look at the pics and judge for yourself :)

So then we went to the Motorshow itself. It was held in the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre. And guess what? Even that place isn't fully completed yet but still they manage to hold the motorshow. Damn these people are good! And the place was packed,even though it was the last day of the show. And yes,we had no option but to go on the last day after the passport incident -.-

Arriving at the place,we were greeted by the sheer size of the place! Damn it is huge! And with all the lights,it was blinding! And the cars are all awesome! There were everything,Ferraris,Lamborghinis,Porsches,heck! Even the rare Mclaren Mercedes SLR was there! For a car freak like me,it was heaven! Heh,i should probably stop,people don't like me rambling about cars haha xD
So to top it all off,here's some pics(expect more soon). Until next time,take care :)

Photography :)

2008-12-20T14:14:00.000+08:00

So,last night me and Ihsan went for a walk at the Marina n so here's some pictures :)

Pictures and nothing else :)

2008-12-19T16:01:00.000+08:00

Here are some pics from the last few days. As always,click on them for a bigger picture. And please note that my
pictures are copyrighted so please ask my permission before using them for anything. Thank you :)

Part 3 : Absolute disaster.

2008-12-19T15:04:00.000+08:00

So,what do we have so far? My mum lost her passport,we have to stay in Khasab and stayed there for quite a while.

Alright,lets look at the original plan. The plan was to go to Ras Al-Khaimah on sunday and rest for the day. Then the next day go to Khasab in Oman for the tour then go back to the hotel at the end of the day. Then on Tuesday we were supposed to go back to Dubai. But damn! How things turned for the worst.

So after the loss of the passport,the police had made a report to say it was their fault that the passport is missing. Then we had to fax the report to the Malaysia Embassy in Muscat so that they could issue an EC (Emergency Certificate) or a temporary passport. But,there was one problem. My mum didn't have any identification with her,not even her IC (it was in Dubai). So Abah and San got on the Khasab Tour and Travels (KTT) bus and head for Dubai to get the IC. Then,San decided to just stay home and not return to Khasab while my dad came back.

And don't forget,all this while we're still hoping the passport would turn up. Whoever got that passport and don't intend to return it,I wish that you get your payback for all the misery you have caused me,my family,the police and the nice KTT people. I really with you pay for this,for I will never forgive whoever got the passport and didn't have the intention to return it.

Then,Abah,the police and the KTT came up with a plan to get the EC from the Malaysian Embassy. So Abah would travel to the border near Fujeirah and meet up with a guy from the Embassy to get the passport. You'd think all is well set and done,wouldn't you? Haha how we wish.

So yesterday we were supposed to leave Oman for good and return to Dubai. So we left the hotel and got to the Oman border. We got through there pretty smooth,but then were stuck at the UAE border. The police simply wouldn't let us go through. Apparently,the EC is meant only for travelling back to your home country from where the EC was made. In other words,it's only for a journey from Muscat back to Malaysia. So the law says you can't go to another country on the way,in this case,the UAE. We were praying for their kindness but it was all in vain,they followed the rule very strictly. The most horrible part is that none of this was our fault,and suddenly our mum has to go back to Malaysia and stay there alone? My god this people. We are on holiday for God's sake! And now thanks,for ruining our perfectly good holiday.

Today,Abah and Mama will fly to Muscat at 3 p.m. The current plan is Abah will get a flight back to Dubai while Mama will fly back to Malaysia. Haizz what to do? I hate the last week. Maybe it's Allah's way of testing us and boy,You have tested us really hard. Let's hope there's a blessing in disguise for us. Trying to end this in a happy note,I'd like to thank the KTT for trying their very best to rectify this situation and let Mama back into Dubai and also for their hospitality. Thanks also to Oman Police for taking responsibility and trying their best to let Mama cross the border. In the end,it wasn't enough to get Mama back here in Dubai. Well,we couldn't do anything. So yea,that's it. Our holidays are ruined but we'll try to make the best of it.

Love you Mama <3. Saying goodbye to you was the hardest thing I've had to do and seeing you cry a couple of days ago was the most painful thing to see. I pray you'll be safe at home with guardiance from Allah. Please protect her,my God,please. After all she's been through,she deserves some luck now. So here we go now,the holiday that doesn't feel like one now :(

Part 2 : The turn around of events

2008-12-19T14:40:00.000+08:00

Alright,so are you done with part 1? Part 1 seemed pretty enjoyable,doesn’t it? Now is where things get ugly, really ugly.

If you had read part 1 properly, you’d notice I said we got one passport less at the border’s passport control. Well apparently,the police has mistakenly given it to someone else. I mean , what the hell? How can you mistaken my mum with someone else? For one, I bet the other person doesn’t look the same and second, I’m sure as hell that person isn’t from Malaysia. So yea, I can’t understand the logic either.

After that huge blunder by the police,the tour guys said that it was all going to be okay and that the police will find the missing passport. Haha yeah rite! After the tour in the sea,we returned to the dock only to receive news that the police hasn’t found the passport yet. And we suspect they never will. With the abundance of Filipinos and Indonesians here, I wouldn’t be surprised if the passport is in one of those hands. Heck,they could make a fortune from selling that thing. So best of luck to anyone who ‘stole’ the passport, I hope you get your payback for all the mess you have caused us.

Having made that atrocious calamity,the police and Khasab Tour and Travels provided us with accommodation. It was a nice hotel apartment of two rooms and two bathrooms. Also,we were given free meals at the hotel restaurant. And let me tell you this, I haven’t had free food that tasted so good! Reena says I’m the king of food,and as King, I whole-heartedly approve the foods served at this restaurant J Not only apartments and food were FOC,even a trip down to the supermarket is paid by the police!

So after all that bashing of the police, I have to take my hats off to them. After making that blunder, they have been searching tirelessly for the passport and provided us with accommodation and food. So yea,I respect them for that,even though they had made that blunder. So kudos to the police for taking responsibility for their own doing :)

Although if you think things are going to turn for the better,well I'm afraid it's not :(

Part 1 : The bittwersweet beginning.

2008-12-19T14:04:00.000+08:00

Hey guys,how are u all? Hope everyone is doing fine :)

Having arrived at Ras Al-Khaimah the day before, we were getting ready for a tour of Oman on Monday. The Khasab Travel and Tour van arrived at our hotel around 7.30 and
we were on the road for quite a while before reaching Oman.

Oman is located outside of the UAE so we had to cross the border. So it goes without saying that we had to pass passport control. So after the authorities had checked our passports,we received them back,albeit lacking one passport (more on that later). It was the start of the journey,albeit a shitty one.

Then,me and my brother signed up to rent a pair of flippers and goggles along with snorkels. Next,we got on the boat along with a few other tourists. It’s a nice boat,made of wood but beautifully decorated and even complete with a shower! At first,I was quite nervous of going out into the sea because I’m quite prone to sea-sickness. But thankfully, the sea was unbelievably calm that day,and none of us had any problems with sea-sickness.

Sailing off(it’s actually powered by an engine but baah!) , we were surrounded by hills,unusual ones at that. These hills are not like those hill you’d find in Malaysia where it is green and full of trees. Instead,they are barren hills with nothing but rocks and sand. It’s grey instead of green,but they are undoubtedly beautiful and a sight to behold.

Another thing similarly grey but miles away in terms of beauty,are the dolphins. Yes,dolphins! I didn’t expect to see dolphins in this part of the world. But we saw quite a few of them and had a few shots of these marvelous creatures. That being said,they were quite shy and didn’t really do the classic dolphin stunts such as jumping out of the water,so good pictures were hard to come by. Nevertheless,we enjoyed the sight of them having fun in the sea.

Around 12.00 o’clock,the tour guide anchored the ship near the shore and they started to prepare for lunch. They had also given us some time to have a dive in the 3-meter deep sea. Having rented the equipments earlier,me and Ihsan decided to take a swim in the sea. So we jumped in the water and immediately,sea water rushed into my mouth and my God it was as painful as it was salty. Recovering from that moment,I then had a quick swim but that was almost impossible as the goggles were leaking saltwater into my eyes. Damn,it was painful. Ihsan were having similar troubles and after a few minutes of suffering,we decided to get out of the water. Perhaps a little bit more experience would have helped us,but nonetheless,it was quite an interesting experience.

Welcome to Ras Al-Khaimah!

2008-12-15T01:08:00.000+08:00

Hey guys! (For the second time today xD)

Around 11 a.m. this morning me and my family set out on our trip to Ras Al-Khaimah. It took roughly 2 hours to get there from our apartment in Jumeirah Beach Residence in Dubai.

Well,to be frank,I have no idea where is Ras Al-Khaimah haha I slept all the way and woke up while my mum and dad were scrambling to find where is our hotel. So yea,I haven't got a clue as to where this place is. But the name is nice,and the name Ras reminds me of a certain someone :)

After a few minutes,we finally found the Hilton hotel. So we checked in and relaxed in our room and have a nice bath. Here's how the hotel looks at night.

Apologies for the night pictures. Didn't really remember to snap some pics while
it was still daytime. Anyhow,the night was really pretty and the waters looked awesome,you can see perfect reflections on the surface of the water.

It really was a pleasant view and the sky looked awesome. Didn't manage to catch the sunset but still caught the wonderful colours in the sky. Photographers call these time the 'Golden Hours' and the views you see during this times are truly spectacular. Here are some pics from a few hours ago(click on them for a big view).

So,that's pretty much it. Tommorow we'll be heading to Oman on a tour ride so that'll be pretty fun. Stay tuned for more pictures from United Arab Emirates . Until then,take care of yourself and your loved ones :)

Dubai,I have arrived!.

2008-12-14T12:15:00.000+08:00

Yes,I've been here for quite a while actually haha but have just created this blog. And yea,I've got a lot of catching up to do -.-

I arrived here on the 29th of November after leaving Kuala Lumpur on the 28th. Finishing my SPM exams,I was excited and happy but at the same time,I dread the thought having to leave my beloved friends back home ( I miss u guys). But thankfully,I got to bring Khairil along,so that spared the pain a little bit. It's a shame Sharul couldn't tag along with us,but it was beyond our control really. Boy,we'd have so much fun if the three of us were here :)

Anyways,after saying goodbyes to Sharul n his family n also Khairil's family,we got on the plane. It was a long 6 and a half hours flight. Pretty boring to tell u the truth and the airplane was quite smaller than usual for some reason. I sat beside Khairil while my mum sat in the row behind. It was a pretty tiring and stressful day so I didn't do much besides sleeping almost all the way to Dubai. Heck,I didn't even watch any of the on-flight entertainment! Now that's a first! xD

Six and a half hours later,we arrived at Dubai International Airport. It's a beautiful airport (sorry,no photos) and as with most things here,looks expensive. We were pretty lost at first,and after what seemed like miles of walking,we finally got out of the airport. There,we were greeted by my dad n Ihsan. So after the greetings and hugs,we got in the car and drove home. We got lost at first haha but finally arrived at my dad's apartment in Jumeirah Beach Residence. It's a beautiful place,and very near to the beach.

On the left is a picture of one of the apartments on our first day out. Apparently clouds don't appear often here but it's been quite cloudy since we arrive here. Bad luck or good? Haha I'd say it's good xP

So then we went to the beach on one of the days
and I got this image of the Sun about to set. Not the best image by any means,but one of the only ones I have so far.

Oh and have I mentioned that Dubai is a very nice place to see exotic cars? Don't believe me? Well this car was seen in the parking lot of our apartment. For those of u who are less enthusiastic about cars than I am,this is a Lamborghini Gallardo. In other words,it's very quick,very pretty and above all,very $$$. These people really have money to burn! Good luck finding one of these in Malaysia :)

So that's pretty much it for today. Will be off to Ras Al-Khaimah in a couple of hours and will update soon with stuffs from that trip. In the meantime,I'd like to wish Khairil Welcome Home to Malaysia.

Sign of things to come :

Until then,have a gud day people! :)

Welcome to my blog!

2008-12-13T16:11:00.000+08:00

First of all,Welcome to my blog =)

I hope you guys will enjoy my blog n keep coming back for more =D