Jun
22
2010
I was chatting with Rajiv yesterday when he made a joke that he won’t get himself anymore of Apple’s stuffs, like the iPad or iMac because it seems that those he knows who uses iPhone, iPad or iMac somehow starting to have problems with their eyes. I’ve heard of stories of how many iPhone users got injured because they were busy using it while walking on the streets but then again, it can happen to just about anyone, it’s all out of coincidence lah.
Sapna likes the iPhone so much and she have problem with her left eye, Karen had to undergo some serious eye examination after she got herself the iPhone and I, last week was attacked by a bird and injured my left eye after I got myself the iPad 3G. Rajiv, after his recent spinal injury has been quite superstitious or too cautious about everything around him that moves or breathes, and now decides that he won’t get himself an iPad no matter how cool the apps I demonstrated to him yesterday. Nevermind, that will be my challenge to convince him otherwise.
A poke into my eyes won’t stop me from indulging further into the world of “i” devices from Apple, I ain’t gonna fall for such superstitious kinda thingy la dey! :-)
Anyway, since my most recent injury has got something to do with birds, the most recent game which is the most popular downloaded apps in AppStore is also about birds. The app called AngryBirds, is now my most favorite game after Knights OnRush and Zombie Soccer. Aldin and Aliff loves the games too. iPad is the new gadget for our father and sons gaming session at home.
Jun
16
2010
Yesterday while walking back to Afif’s place, a bird suddenly attacked me. I was the only person on the street and there it was flying right straight at me.
I thought Aussie binge drinking culture is getting to their wildlife but apparently the bird, which was the Australian Magpie, is naturally aggressive or defensive during mating season. Yeah, thanks to Google and Wikipedia for the details since initially I wasn’t sure what sort of bird it was. This sounded so like the Titan triggerfish, attacking or giving warnings to passers-by. Now I’m starting to feel that it’s not only triggerfish that likes to attack me.
After the collision, there was just a slight sting in my left eye. After a few seconds, it feels much worse that I started running to the nearest store to get some clean bottled water to wash my eyes. The pain didn’t go away though, and I felt like there’s something in it. At home, I cleaned it with eyedrops and had an early night.
This morning when I woke up, I could hardly open my eye as it was swollen and really red all over. I called Rajiv to postpone our meeting and Afif sent me to the nearest GP for a check. The doctor was from Penang, we had a chat as he assessed my eyes. It was a corneal abrasion, near the iris but he said it wasn’t too bad to be worried about. He wrote a referral letter for me to see the Ophthalmologist and after a few phone calls he managed to get an appointment for tomorrow.
He, perhaps was trying to make me feel better, said there was another case quite a while ago where a magpie had pecked a girl’s eye and blinded her. I felt luckier, but better? I doubt it. We also talked about using technology to help people who are in need of medical care, so I told him about the iPhone app that I’m currently working on and trying to get him to subscribe, so in the future if anyone have any emergency in Perth the app will automatically suggests the nearest available GP clinic or hospital. Heh, still trying to promote my apps even when I could hardly see the person’s face whom I was talking to.
He administered eye drops that gave a numbing feeling and it felt fine after that. I went to a pharmacy and got my own eye drops based on the prescription he gave. Then, spent the whole day hanging around Perth, the one-eyed iPad toting geek browsing internet using Optus broadband. Oh yes, I luurrve the iPad 3G :-)
Now, as I write this blog, the eye feels a lot better. It’s still blurry and I hope it’s not a permanent thing else it’s going to be a problem for me. Anyway, this is it for now.. not feeling good and it’s freezing cold too. Off to bed early tonight.
Jun
13
2010
It’s midnight and the WorldCup match for Germany vs Australia is another few hours before it starts. I’m starting to feel sleepy already.
While waiting, I’ve been practicing the pentatonic scales and adjusted a bit of Bob Marley’s No Woman No Cry riff. I find practicing the scales much more fun than working my fingers on the chords, yeah I know that’s not the proper steps in learning how to play guitar, but I just want to play some music to fill up my idle (and sometimes boring) hours. I will learn the chord progression later, when I have more time and patience to practice them.
So, here’s my modified intro to Bob Marley’s song… there’s still a lot to work on, this is only the first part of the song’s intro riff.
No Woman No Cry improvisation, by Bob Leafy
G, A, B, G, C… B… A…
F… F#, E, D, C
G, A, B, G, C… B… A…
F… A#-A, F#, E, D, C
Then sing the song with the usual chords, until it’s time for the solo plucks… that, I’m still working on it. It’s a bit long and harder to figure it out, but hopefully one day I will be able to. I’m very sure that there’s already existing TABs in the internet for this, but I prefer if I could figure it out myself.
Till then. Leafy, plucking away….
Jun
11
2010
WorldCup is just around the corner, starting from tonight I think the mamak stalls and open bars will be filled with cheering crowds wearing all sorts of costumes supporting their favorite teams. Maybe not really today because it just started but more towards the end at quarter-finals and semi-finals. It’ll peak at the final and that’s when almost everything will be at a standstill.
I’m no football/soccer fan, but when it comes to WorldCup I do watch them because they’re often interesting from the intensified efforts from each teams and their global supporters to claim the throne of world’s most popular and global sport. SiewChoo thinks that it would be either Italy, England or Spain that will win. Germany was my first choice as the winner but after giving it a moment of thought and studied the afternoon’s rainy clouds, wind direction, the fallen leaves and the chirping birds… I changed my mind and predicts that it would be either England, Brasil or France and chances are very high that Brasil will be the one walking home with the golden trophy.
I kinda like Cameroon and other underdogs though it’s very unlikely that they’ll ever get passed over the top teams but from the past matches, it was always interesting to see them play and giving their best shots. Anyway, in a few weeks we’ll see who will be the new bearer of the trophy.
My take…? Brasil! :-)
Jun
10
2010
It’s been a hectic week, with an average of 3 hours sleep each day. But in the end, the hard work paid off. The event was a success, well at least I got almost everything that I wanted from it and I’m thankful for having very hardworking and committed team members giving their best. The iPad was the center of attention as I expected and the innovative ideas I put forth was well accepted by everyone. Extremely tiring week but well worth it.
However, in between those daily madness I somehow managed to slot in a few happy-hour sessions with friends and flaunted the bad-ass side of me, releasing all the stress out. Almost everyday, when I reached home and before calling it a day, I would practice some riffs that I learned from Justin’s website and hopefully soon will be able to do a little bit of blues too. Gotta keep practicing the pentatonic scales until I can play it without looking at the frets.
The week is almost over now and I’m not quite sure what’s in store for me next week, but I hope it will be interesting and stress-free. Flights all booked and ETA approved, can’t wait to get my first 3G version of the iPad. There’re so many things I want to do with it, can’t stop scribbling them in my Moleskine and doing the countdown.
Jun
2
2010
While cruising lazily to work today, two mat rempits on a bike suddenly decided to swerve across my lane. My reflex was to avoid from hitting them as best as I could and hit the brake. Tyres screeching followed by a loud thump, must’ve been another car hitting me from behind.
The two idiots escaped stupid meaningless death and I saw them giggling over it as they sped away fleeing from the scene. It happened so fast. I honked and cursed at them as I stopped my car by the road side. I was relieved that nobody was injured or worse, died. Stupid mat rempits!
I walked out of the car and met the lady who hit me, we shared the same anger over the incident and both were glad that only the cars were damaged.
Phew….
May
31
2010
I went to Perhentian over the weekend, it’s been a long time since I dived the island that changed me. Once upon a time, I used to call it home (underwater). There’s not much to shout about, the dive sites are still intact as they used to be and Batu Layar site at Teluk Pauh has improved, the Staghorns that used to be covered with algae from the construction at the village have recovered and growing healthily.
Tokong Laut. Bottom Time : 55mins
Tokong Laut is still very much the same, Bamboo sharks and White-eyed morays sharing the same tiny crevices, thick school of Fusiliers, hunting Trevalies and divers circling the pinnacle getting excited over ordinary thing like a pink anemone. Well, it’s actually rather interesting because I’ve never seen a bright fluorescent pink anemone before. Awesome discovery. The same species (Button anemone) at Batu Layar were also the same color but reddish a bit because it’s shallower. I think it’s a seasonal thing, from time to time it changes color.
Terumbu Tiga. Bottom Time : 63mins
Terumbu Tiga still has its charm, mysterious and relaxing to dive. I didn’t get the chance to check the crevice that’s full of Hingebeak shrimps and also the Boxer shrimp because I was low on air at the end of dive, maybe due to lack of sleep. The extra-large Titan Triggerfish was still at the cave’s entrance, after all these years she’s still there not allowing me to get into the cave. I guess now she’s the official guardian of T3′s cave. The Janns Pipefish is still there but this time not in pairs, either her buddy was hiding under the crevice or got eaten up by other fish. It’s been almost two years since I first saw them there, and it’s still there yesterday at the same crevice. The Bumpheads didn’t make any appearance though Harvey was sure that he heard them munching the corals. I didn’t see the usual Napoleon wrasse and the resident Loggerhead turtle. Maybe I was there at the wrong time, these larger inhabitants roam in further distance than a Pipefish or shrimps.
Sugar Wreck. Bottom Time : 60mins
Sugar Wreck was diveable, no current and visibility was average. Enough to see some pelagics such as Mackerel. The Chevron barracudas were shy, the sleeping sharks etcetera. There were quite a lot of large boxfish but with horns, I’m not sure of its name so I just called it Horny boxfish. Inside the wreck, there’s an airtrap which all of us ascend and took a group photo.
The trip was short, tiring and sleepless but worth every minute of it. Now, starting to plan for next trip… thinking of Na Trang in Vietnam, some place new and uncharted. Not sure if it’s possible but if there’s time, then why not.
May
27
2010
I survived the long meeting yesterday and today, expected the worst but in the end it wasn’t so bad. I guess when I’ve invested almost every bits and pieces of me into something that I really believes in, I tend to be a bit edgy and paranoid.
For quite some time, I’ve been on my toes at least on three separate concurrent initiatives which consumed almost all of my time and energy from my loved ones and perhaps even from myself.
Some said, I’m very ambitious. A few said, I have too many things on my mind while there are some who said that I’m just the crazy guy who wouldn’t stop pushing the limits. But there are those who believe that I will make it, one day.
Will I make it? that’s something that I will find out in the near future.
Creative Common(sense)
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