Sam’s Blog

Just celebrated my birthday recently and I have to say it is a bang!  Took three days off from the office and got sun burn. Hahaha!  Turning 26 does not make me any wiser, nor does it make me look any older. Hehehe… Kidding!  Well… I would like to take this opportunity to thank the followings (sorry if I have left out your name) for the precious memory, and of course, the lovely gifts!  Love you all!!!

My sincere thank yous goes to… Mom, Dad, Mak Mak & Family, A. Lily, A. Jenny, U. Jonnie, Cuthbert Chia, Victor Hiu, Lidwina Chung, Sharon Teo, Wee Min Min, Eric Goh, Alison Loong, Jong Yew Hian, Sun Chung Chia, Chris Cheng, Tsan Ngee Jee, Grace Tan, Thomas Chan, Sola Lee, Carol Ujan, Lee Pak Fook, William Wang, Stella Lau, Amelia Jimbun, George Young, Patricia Nanny, Lorita Forance, Auguster Dawn, Dunstan Ang, Noresa Donald, Melissa Anne, Lu’s Family, and not forgetting all my friends who have touched me in one way or another.  Thanks, and without you all, I wont be the Samuel that I am today.  Love you all…

That’s me with my birthday cake…

I was in the generation where IRC and ICQ was a hot thing to use.  But those has somehow faded away and I went into Yahoo! Messenger.  Been using that for quite awhile and have been rejecting MSN Messenger.  Do not know why.  Perhaps I was just too loyal to Yahoo! Hahaha!  But within these two days, I have tried to step out from my little Yahoo! cocoon and ventured into the world of MSN Messenger and Skype!  Found out there are ok.  So now I have Yahoo! Messenger, MSN Messenger and Skype running simultaneously.  There goes my resources!  Here’s how my desktop looks like…

Went to the Rainforest World Music Festival 2005 with my colleagues on Saturday, 9th July.  Did not go for the whole three days though.  This was my debut attendance to this event.  Every year I keep telling myself that I want to go but never manage to get there.  But this year, I made it a point to get there.  And I have to add… there’s no regret.

I had great fun there, thanks to my colleagues!  There were lots of food, "drinks", and of course music.  Here’s a rundown and my evaluation of each performance during the Saturday’s show:

Marcin Ruminski (Poland) - Good bagpipe play! A great way to kick-start the show!

Faiz Ali Faiz (Pakistan) - I would consider this as scat music with a Pakistani flair.  However, many people got bored towards the end of this performance as it was too draggy and it lasted for more than ONE HOUR!  Too long!

Baun Lenjau (Sarawak) - Playing the nose flute.  Somehow, the sound does not really come out.  Perhaps she got a nose block that night.

Tabuh Pak Ainal (Sarawak) - Father and Son team playing drums (the small ones).  Not bad. Its a bit comedic as well.

Namgar (Buryatia) - Music from the era of the Ghengis Khan and the Mongolian Empire.  Not that bad but a bit draggy too.  Made quite a number of people leave the show.

Pertrona Martinez (Columbia) - Old lady singing hot and sizzling music.  She performed "bullerengue", which is an Afro-Columbian dance rhythm.  Now this group got my colleague and I dancing.  Two-Thumbs-Up!!!

Acquaragia Drom (Italy) - Was not really paying attention to this group as we were all still resting after the heavy dancing - thanks to Pertrona Martinez.  But their music is a little gypsy-ish.  Ok for my ears.

Old Spice Boys (Australia) - Interesting group playing music with the simplest musical instruments: ukulele, snare drum, and one-stringed teac-chest bass.  These boys from the down under really know how to make the most of their instrument.

Djamel Laroussi (Algeria) - It started off traditionally and I thought that this is going to be a bad ending for the night.  But after their first song, they went into their modern music!  Thank God!  They actually played traditional music mixed with modern and western idioms.  Once again, my colleagues and I went into the dancing mood… and its loose feet till the end of night (1:30 a.m. to be exact).

This is one experience I will never forget.  Thanks guys for making this event a memorable one for me.  And to end this blog, here’s a photo of us:

When there’s little thing you can do to kill time, you can always go for those funny (yet true at times) tests.  Today, I feature Dante’s Inferno Test!  According to this test, there are 10 levels you can go to when you die (apart from heaven, that is).  I managed to secure Level 2!  Hahaha!!!  Wanna give it a try?  If you wish to, just click here. 

Well… its the weekend. Time to rest and "rejuvenate".  Till we meet again, I leave you with my evaluation from Dante’s Inferno Test!

I was watching the pilot episode of Desperate Housewives last night on 8TV and it reminds me so much of Sex and the City.  Its basically a show about four chicks (don’t mind my language) showing their desperation in life. WARNING: Spoilers ahead! Stop reading this if you do not wish to get spoiled with what I am going to comment.  For the rest who does not mind… here goes… my perception of the desperate housewives…

Four gals… four desperation…

Bree Van De Kamp… the perfectionist. Everything must be picture perfect. To her, all the items has to be clean and in place, eats only home-cooked food which takes hours to prepare, and things must be done perfectly.  Her family members can’t stand her for being so perfect.  I really don’t see why not the husband wants a divorce.

Susan Mayer… the divorcee.  She seems to be quite a strong lady having to survive a divorce a year ago.  Her daughter seems to be very supportive of her and even took the initiative to find out about single men for her. She found one love… a love she had not had for a year… this time with a plumber. Can she clear her clog to get this guy?  Let’s find out together, shall we?

Lynette Scavo… the mother. What do you get if you mix one baby with three brats?  The life of Lynette Scavo.  Well… being a mother of four is not easy for sure.  Giving up her career to take care of four kids is really a big leap for her.  But hey… is not too bad as she is living in Wisteria Lane.  The garden of Eden of the modern world!

Gabrielle Solis… the one who wants everything, and wants it big!  This ex-model married a man who will give her all she wants.  But yet, she is never satisfied with him… so bad that her 17-year old gardener turns her on more than her better half. Watch out for more scene of jumping out of the windows… you’ll understand when you see it.

Well, that’s it.  My comments after the pilot episode.  So if you are interested, do catch it on 8TV every Tuesday @ 10:30pm.  If you miss the pilot episode, you can watch it again on Star World (Astro Channel 70) on Tuesday, 12th July 2005 @ 9:00pm.

All photos used courtesy of http://abc.go.com/

Its the weekend and I am in the office. (Sad ain’t it)… But I got to do what I got to do.  By the way, there were two big events happening at the building behind my college (at the Permata Carpark). The ICT Fair and the Car Show (or at least that is what I thought it is).  Noises (the combinations of at least ten car’s stereo at max volume fighting with each other, with regular car blowing) is pushing through the windows here. Thanks to that, it took me much longer to blog than usual. 

Oh well… I leave you with this interesting website: JobPredictor.com… Just click on it, participate, and tell me your ideal job in the comment section.  My ideal job is a Ping Pong Ball Inspector.  What’s yours?