The trip up NorthEast

The day after I recovered from my food poisoning, I had to go outstation. This time, I was to Kuantan. And not only that, the service calls from yesterday had backlogged to next week. Oh, Dear.

Anyway, the trip there is quite long and with an inaccurate speedo, it took me more than four hours to reach my destination. And by the time I had completed my tasks, it was about nearly eight in the evening. Rather than risk an overnight stay, I decided to drive back and stop by any R&R for dinner on the way. Big mistake as there weren't much food. By the time I came back, it was midnight again. And dinner was neing left out again........Sigh.

I wanted to have dinner in town but halfway out, most of the
area had no electricity. There were slight chaos on the road
but no naked people running about. And the shopping centre
closed because of that although Parkson Grand at the Basement
floor had partial electricity. Wasted my Rm1.50 parking fees

Then when I was about to reach the highway, there was a
funfair and I decided to take some crappy night shots

Nope, at quarter past eight, there were not much customer about

And trust me, I was not speeding, no sir!

The perils of working late

OK, fine. So sometimes I enjoy working late. So, sometimes, I will drive home and wallop the dinner kept for me. Yeah, right. I am lying. You can tell that even without using a lie-detector.

The thing was, now the company car has been changed. I am now driving the Kenari (Until the van is ready) again while the clerk drives a Hyundai Elantra (minus the Car Hi-HI, ha ha hah). So, after changing the car in KK (where my Boss nearly ran down and scared the shit out of my wife and kids by taking an illegal shortcut) we went to another customer (in the evening) for a site inspection. It was not completed until late at night because we need to go back to the office for further discussion.

Once that was out of the way, by the time I came back, it was way past midnight. And I was hungry since the only meal I had was about three in the afternoon. And as soon as I saw the left-overs (OK, so wife was a bit annoyed), I ate and ate and ate.

Yum-yum. The rice is cold.
Yum-yum. The nasi lemak tasted odd
Yum-yum. The Indian food I packed tasted out of this World
Yum-yum-yum

The next morning, after my fifth trip to the toilet, I was dizzy and cold. And I had to sleep/coma until three in the afternoon. Yup, shit happened. I got food poisoning and I lost kilos of bio-waste which miraculously multiplied inside my body overnight.

What time did I leave that night?

Federal Highway Upgrades

The Federal Highway, I think, was the first ever highway in Malaysia (that I could ever remember). It connects between Petaling Jaya and Kuala Lumpur. And I have been using it ever since I discovered that I could drive (legally) and there is a World out there outside the gates. Anyway, the Federal Highway is the most busiest road and it has its own characteristics:

1: When it rains, even a few drops, traffic will slow down
2: When there is an accident or people stopping their cars, curious people will cause a traffic jam
3: If you are stuck in a jam, the jam will move, albeit slowly
4: There is a certain stretch where accidents happen quite frequently.

So, the authorities have tried by using metal fencing. This did help in reducing roadkills but not on cars. And lately, for the past few months, they have now upgraded the metal fending to concrete blocks. At first, I thought it was just for temporary measure, until they start to cement the blocks together......

This was the stretch I was in, when taking the photos,
(from Right to Left, la)

Why do they want to do this? Because this stretch is prone to accidents
The first upgrade using metal fencing did not help. So......

Now they use concrete blocks. Ha ha ha ha!

And when you're at the top of the flyover, do be careful because there
is a small drain where, if you drive too closely, your tires might get
caught and you'll find your car running up against the concrete walls

For Pol

OK, I got something for Uncle Pol today. Who wants to help me?

You want to help me Kaelynn?

Wah, you so clever, hor. You see your sister's toys and you almost know how to use it

Here you go. I got for Uncle Pol three air beds. Two singles (RM24.90) with a built-in pump and one double (RM29.90) without any pump. They're heavy and it took me ages to get to the counter and pay for them. Are you ready, Kaelynn?

Ah, thank you, Dear. You can model for me now. But no saliva or bite marks, OK?

The secret to a healthy looking skin

Kristine has a nice smooth soft skin. Yeah, although she is just a small child but you too can have such skin. For today, she will show you how without buying all those expensive creams. etc. and insurance.

First, you need to scrub off the old skin. Presenting the Skin Peeler 3000

Make sure you go over the whole body at least three times

And yes, you can also use it as tongue cleaner/scraper

You have to do his everyday for the next fortnight. After that, (and if you have eaten all your vitamins and painkillers) new skin will come out. And for that soft feel, use some meat tenderisers.

Kaelynn's trip to the Hospital

I just came to my Sister in Law's house yesterday evening because my wife took the kids there for a holiday break right after Kaelynn's Doctor appointment. This time, I was told, she screamed the house down. Normally, when the Doctor gave her some injections, she would quietly smile and think nothing of it. thank goodness, I could say, I was not there hwen it happened. ha ha ha ha

Kaelynn and her souvenir (left and right) from the Hospital

Goodies from the tTrip

These are some of the things I got in Lumut. Its not much but I just love going to old towns because their stocks do not move as fast as in the bigger towns or cities. So, sometimes, you can be lucky and get that old town you missed years ago.

(L-R) Funny water pistol, the almost original cap gun and a Digimon knockoff

I was interested in this shape. Never mind if the battery was dying and
most of the features do not work. Even the front connectors which lets
you connect to another Digi-mon device is just plastic. If I do have the
chance, I will gut it and put in LEDs. HA ha ha ha ha ha aha

This is how the cap gun looked like when I was young.

See the little metal flap in the middle? This is the one
which pushes the paper up, loading a new gunpowder
round. And I used to think that if I pulled the trigger
faster, flames/fireworks might shoot out of the barrel

Going home: Stopping by Teluk Intan

Before we go to Bidor for the famous duck noodles, we stopped by Teluk Intan (since it was on the way to Bidor from Sitiawan). And so, we went straight to the shop that sells Chee Cheong Fun. This was the shop that my wife used to go to whenever I wanted some. I was told there were three such shops in Teluk Intan. Once was somewhere in town, which I think was the one "Ho-chiak" TV program went and I tasted that one before, which was quite oily. The other was the "Sam Siew Yeh" which opened a shop (and thay had customer problems) and the third one was this. Just in 2003/4, before the new road was built, this shop has the most customers and in front of it, there was a Medan Selera too. But when the new road took most of the land, business really declined. You could say, by 80% as everyone went away.

I was interested in this shop because of the Chee Cheong Fun making machine which fascinated me long ago. This time, I used the advantage of placing the order for 15 packets to make them happy so that I could take some photos. The machine is largely a steamer with a conveyor belt running through it.

This is the CCF making machine. The trays are for the CCF liquid
which they will coat it with some oil, pour the CCF flour mixture
and also add some ingredients

This is what it looked like user the CCF machine, OK?

Once the steamers are ready, they young chap will flick the switch
which then activated the motor for the conveyor belt. He then takes
one of the tray and puts it into the machine in one end

When the steamed CCF comes out, it is quite solid and the other
buy then uses a scraper to make it into a roll where the lady then
uses a knife to cut it into pieces. This time, there were more "liew"
or ingredients for us. And the price is still RM2.40

The sideway trip at North

And after that, it was off to the customer who was located inside the Lumut Navy Base. Luckily for us, the stop by in Sitiawan wasn't taking too much time and we were able to make it before she leaves the office. Once done, it was time to go home...

By the time we came out, it was already quite dark.
Then we were stopped from going further because
the Navy guy told us that no cars or people were
allowed to moved until after the Sun has set. weird
But then, would you argue with a guy holding a Steyr?

As we were on the road without much food, it was time
to fill up. I just took a glass of Neslo because I was not
hungry after eating all those buns in the Highway. Luckily,
I had ebough cash with me as all the ATMs were full of
Govt servants as that day was payday, I think

But we did stop by to buy some foodstuff for the
Office to show how fun it was to go for outstation
service calls Ha ha ha I did notice a lot of flies
about and at first I thought this was cockles

But on closer look, it was La-la ( I dunno what you call it)

The trip up North

Once again, we're going up North. I must say it is a bit like a last minute trip because I was only informed the day before. Ph well, at least I do not have to drive since my Boss is going with me. I am still exhausted from Loctor's Wedding weekend. Not sure why, But I think its something to do with lack of sleep. Still, it was a nice trip up to Taiping. And luckily, the customer did not ask us to go up on Monday. It would not be funny because during the weekend, I was in Prai.

Throughout the whole journey, there were a lot of incidents from
accidents to Police/JPJ joint venture projects

And even the roadbuilders decided to join in as well since it was a nice day

But not everyone was working hard at their job

You asked me to come up all the way for this?!!

And by the time we finished, there was another call for us to drop by Sitiawan as the customer noticed that their guardhouse extension was not working.

Its keeps you going and going and going .....

I am not sure but ever since I got my Fujifilm, I have taken a lot of photos and used a lot of Energiser E2 batteries. One thing aboutmy Fujifilm is that it uses four AA batteries and can usually last me for about 200 or so shots (I am not sure about this, though) before I struggle. Anyway, its been years now, and a set of these batteries would have set me back about RM13.00 each time. By using rechargable batteries, this would have helped my wallet. However, at the cost of RM160, my mind would then convince me to just go for the normal ones instead. Yeah, after so many years, I have wasted a lot for these batteries which needs to be thrown away once it is used.

Anyway, with my Wife's consent, I finally used my credit card to get one. I don't dare to check and cound all the photos I have taken just to see how much money I have wasted because I know its quite a lot. However, using a rechargable does have its own problems too. For one, I would have to remember to keep the batteries with me and not throw it away. Then, I must have spare in case the ones in the camera is exhausted midway. And not only that, I must wait at least eight hours to let it charge.

The pack comes with two 2500mAh batteries and if I need
to use it on my Fujifilm, I would need another two more

I chose this because I liked the casing. If it wasn't so expensive,
I would have bought two chargers and turn one into a Sci-Fi
prop or something

And if you do not need the 3-pin voltage adaptor, you
can just unplug it. Then the whole charger is a lot slimmer

Slide out the drawer and it can charge up to four AA
batteries. Pull the tab down and you can the use it
to charge four AAA batteries. Neat, eh?

Dunno

Me: So, where are your cameras?
Girl: Dunno. There is one in the front and another at the back of the office
Me: Which one is not working?
Girl: Dunno. I think its the one on the office
Me: OK, let's go have a look

[I asked he to bring me a ladder and when I climbed up...]

Me: Do you know who was working up here recently?
Girls: Dunno. We all never see anything
Me: OK, here is your problem. Someone pulled the cable too hard and it was yanked out of the circuit board
Girl: Waaa...... So, how much to repair or replace, ah?
Me: Dunno. I ask my girl to quote you lor

My mini-PKD

After seeing Blade Runner, I really wished I had one of the guns. Loosely coined as the PKD (in tribute to Philip K Dick, the author), it was one of those iconic movie weapons which I really wanted. However, since it is risky to get it from overseas, I finally got the chance, thanks to Carrefour.

For RM3.90, you have a Made in China PKD with two types
of bullets, a non-functioning walkie-talkie and a whistle

The gun can really fire two types of darts. The first trigger fires the
dart at the bottom and the second trigger fires the dart on top. But
the one I had was broken and so, the top does not fire anymore. And
the walkie-talkie is hollow soft plastic as well. I did not try the whistle
as I would look foolish doing this in the middle of the street

The PKD is small but then again, for RM3.90
what can I expect?

Screwing around

Try not to screw around to much or else you could
lose your head

Loctor's Wedding Part Six - Random Shootings

OK, here are some shots which I took while we're at Loctor's place.


The view from the lift lobby

Fishes swimming against the current at the ground Floor lobby
(I had to Ultraman them just in case)

Market for Rich People

On the way back, this Penang girl was quite aggressive
even though she was in the wrong

Loctor's Wedding Part Five - The Lunch

After the ceremony, it was time to go for lunch. But not before a simple photography session turned into a free for all where everyone wants to photograph or be photographed. This was when all the professional cameramen and part-timers came in. Wow.

At the restaurant, I was again, in charge of the music. Since I am not familiar with their mixer device, an Uncle came to help me as I was told specifically to play the first song in the CD when the Bride and Groom walks in. Once Uncle left, this young chap came in and tried to be an expert. He meddled with the console, tugged at the cables and pressing the play button all the time after I paused it again and again. Finally, he asked if it was a VCD. I told him with a "you stupid or what?" tone that this is a CD. And then he walked off, feeling embarassed while his stupid Captain looked from across the room, unable to do anything. Once the first song was played, it was time to change to a more "appropriate" CD. Things got boring until Loctor told me to use back the original CD which contained "proper" songs.

Still, we had a good time, without much interference from anyone. And because our table was not full, we ate and ate and ate. By the fourth couse, we were about to fall asleep ......

Nicholas's opinion about Loctor's Wedding

Nice or not? Unfortunately, my Fujifilm could not focus during
the critical moment. Haih. Wished I had a actual Digital SLR

During lunch, Loctor was making making his round
on every table, making sure everyone was OK. Just
look at his front pocket! Full of ang-pows

Loctor making his speech to thank everyone.
Everyone would have ran away if he did his
karaoke stuff. Even Mrs. Mayat would run

Loctor's Wedding Part Four - The Realisation

With the Pastor announcing their Marriage, it reality finally sank in for Loctor that he will never be free again. And Mrs. Mayat was so happy as she finally has a slave for life and she can scold him whenever she feels like it........