Tuesday, June 23, 2009

ANGELS & DEMONS - VERSI BUKU



Satu Kepuasan! Aku baru je habis baca buku Dan Brown - Angels & Demons. Lepas baca Author's Note baru aku tau yang Angels & Demons ni sebenarnya adalah adventure pertama Professor Robert Langdon sebelum The Da Vinci Code. Angels & Demons diterbitkan kali pertama pada tahun 2000, The Da Vinci Code pulak pada tahun 2003.

Sejak dulu aku memang suka tengok movie yang diadaptasi dari novel, dengan syarat cerita tu bukan berkisar cerita-cerita fantasi zaman naga terbang & ahli sihir macam Lords of The Rings atau Harry Potter. Selalunya aku suka ikut filem yang diadaptasi dari buku-buku John Grisham, Stephen King atau yang kurang menonjol, filem adaptasi dari buku Danielle Steel.

Oh ye, buku Angels & Demons ni sebenarnya buku terpakai yang aku beli dengan harga cuma RM8. Masih dalam keadaan yang baik cuma kalau korang tengok gambar, cover dia terkoyak sikit (sebab tu harga dia RM8 je). Anyway, kepada sesapa yang berminat nak beli buku terpakai bolehla ke website ni http://www.booklovers.bs.my/ untuk browse senarai buku dan order.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

CSI : FAREWELL GRISSOM!


After watching few episodes of CSI without Grissom, I just realized yesterday that CSI has lost its 'kick' without him. I have been a long time fan of CSI, collecting the CDs & DVDs, even watched the repeat episodes. I watched all CSI series but I prefer the original (LV) than the franchise series (Miami & New York). But now CSI Vegas is not the same anymore. Sedih betul. Last season, Sara quit, shocking tapi masih boleh terima lagi. This season Warwick pulak mati. Another shock. Then Grissom left. Seriously, CSI is so dull without Grissom.

Unlike Cik Nanie, all these while I never watch CSI because of Grissom. Apart from the fun of guessing who's the killer, I enjoyed watching how they collect and process the evidence using those high-tech gadgets/equipment, eventhough sometimes I wonder whether the real CSI team really use or have these kind of gadgets. Tau je lah cerita kat TV, kadang-kadang auta je lebih. I'd say that I love watching CSI to see how the team solve the case. From the early process of evidence collection to the crime scene/death analysis to the interrogation process with the suspects until they finally figure out the killer(s) identity, the storyline is always presented in a unique way. Most of the time, Grissom has been the one who 'crack' the mystery.

After watching yesterday episode, I see the remaining old team members and the new one as bland. Dulu aku ingat Dr Ray Langston ni akan ganti Grissom as supervisor, memandangkan his seniority and expetise. Lagipun, it was Grissom who offered him to join CSI. If that's the case, I think it may be interesting to watch how the new supervisor from 'similar field yet different industry' run the night shift lab. Grissom Vs Langston. How nice. Tapi dia ni jadi Level 1 CSI - level paling bawah pulak. Disesuaikan dengan watak lower level officer & watak orang baru, Dr Langston ni always seem unsure. Muka nampak takut-takut memanjang. Mungkin producer nak viewers nampak macam mana character ni berkembang kot.

Maybe it's just me la kan, but I view the character of Catherine Willows who replaced Grissom, not outstanding enough as a Supervisor. Don't know la whether the producer wanted her character to be that way or she is still trapped and so used to her previous role as Assistant Supervisor yang selama ni diovershadow by Grissom. No wonder this new team macam membosankan! It's just like a team without actual leader. To me, Grissom is the soul of the team and the series too. The new team mates, Dr Ray Langston & Riley Adams can't beat what CSI was like with its original team members. Well, what to do..it's life - everything changes and nothing stays the same forever. Despite aIl this, I will still continue watching CSI and see whether the producers can create magic once again with this new team.

Sayonara Grissom! You will be deeply missed!

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

HAPPY 33 MONTHS!


For your patience and love, for the ups and downs we endured together, for the laughters and tears we shared and for our journey ahead..

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

ANGELS & DEMONS


This movie is definately worth watching people! 5 stars! Lagi best dari The Da Vinci Code. I only read the first few pages of the book before I watch this movie, so I don't have a clue who the bad guy is. Tapi after years of practice by watching CSI, I can guess who is the villain right from the beginning of the movie.

Overall, it's a very entertaining, past-paced movie - tak sempat nak rasa boring pun. Vatican City scenes memang superb. Kinda haunting yet breathtaking. Buildings architecture and views simply made me want to grab my camera and fly there. Rome memang dah lama jadi impian tempat untuk dilawat. Entah bila agaknya...

I don't want to write any other details of this movie. Go watch it yourself, guys! Don't forget to read the book as well!

Monday, May 18, 2009

BEVERLY HILLS 90210 & YEARS LATER



Bila Star World sibuk dengan promo pasal siri baru 90210 dengan pelakon-pelakon baru, aku sikit pun tak berminat nak tengok. Probably because I don't want to be reminded of how OLD I am now! Huhu! Cerita budak-budak high school ni macam dah tak menepati citarasa and sungguh tak relevan lagi. Original 90210 series ni popular masa aku kat secondary school which was berbelas tahun dulu. Bayangkanlah betapa lamanya sejak aku kelihatan comel memakai uniform sekolah.


New 90210 Casts


Anyway, ari tu aku sempat gak tengok siri baru ni (Actually terpaksa tengok - Cik Nanie yang conquer TV every Tuesday). Bolehlah. Jalan cerita lebih kurang je mcm dulu, issues pun sama - drugs, love, family problem, social problems, affairs, scandal bla bla bla. Typical teenage drama la kan. Tapi aku sebenarnya bukan nak cerita sangat pasal 90210 versi baru ni. Just terkenang balik zaman-zaman cerita asal Beverly Hills 90210 (title untuk siri baru ni just '90210' je rasanya) yang amat glamer dulu seglamer New Kids On The Block. Yess! hanya orang seangkatan aje yang tau. Just like NKOTB, everyone has their own favorite BH 90210 characters/actors/actresses. Kat plastik pembalut buku teks sekolah tu, kalau tak diletak poster 90210 mesti poster NKOTB. Itu belum tengok dinding bilik tido lagi..mak bapak yang tensen. Itupun kalau mak bapak diaorang jenis anti-tampal-poster-dalam-bilik-tido macam parents aku. Aku pun tak kisah sebab lagi suka conteng dinding dari tampal poster.

The 1990 Beverly Hills 90210 Casts

Cerita ni masa tu kiranya the first of its kind la, lepas siri ni meletup-letup barulah tumbuh TV series lain yang ala-ala mcm ni such as Melrose Place la, Dawson Creek la - yang penuh dengan pelakon-pelakon 'jambu'. Dulu aku takdelah minat sangat pun tapi ada masa-masa ikutlah jugak perkembangan especially masa kes cinta 3 ke 4 segi between Brenda Walsh (Shannon Doherty - agak popular as Prue Halliwell in Charmed), Dylan McKay (Luke Perry), Brandon Walsh (Jason Priestley) & Kelly Taylor (Jennie Garth) tu. Aku pulak minat dengan si Jennie Garth ni yang menurut mata aku, dalam semua casts 90210 masa tu dia yang paling cun. And of course la dalam conflict cinta segi-segi diaorang ni aku sokong Kelly dengan Dylan. Kenapa? Sebab Dylan tu nama dia dekat-dekat dengan nama aku kot? Muahaha!Tapi aku tak pernah pulak letak poster dia kat mana-mana. Minat konon!


The Lovely Jennie Garth @ Kelly Taylor - Dulu & Sekarang

Dalam siri baru ni, Jennie Garth aka Kelly Taylor still ada tapi as guest star je la. Dia actually ada anak dengan Dylan rupanye, haha..baru aku tau. Wah..wah.. character-character lama yang dulu students trang tang tang sekarang either dah kawin, beranak pinak or kembali single. Sama la macam budak-budak sekolah aku jugak. Haha! Seriously, after watching series after series dulu I still can't remember what happened to all the original characters in the end. Katanya nanti Donna Martin (Tori Spelling) & Brenda Walsh pun ada special appearance. Tempat melepak diaorang, Peach Pit tu pun nampak lagi hip sekarang sesuai la dengan zaman. Anyway, perkembangan watak-watak lama dalam siri baru ni setakat plot sampingan. Tak heran sebab cerita pun pasal budak-budak sekolah, pelakon lama yang dah tua pi jaga anak kat tepi sana.

Zaman tu pulak memang zaman suka buat soundtrack album. Bersepah-sepah album soundtrack dari TV series atau filem. Yang aku ingat banyak lagu-lagu best dalam soundtrack 90210 ni - my favorites were Saving Forever For You (Shanice) & The Right Kind Of Love (Jeremy Jordan). Tak pernah dengar? Mesti korang lahir tahun 1980an ke atas. Tapi kan, kalau didengar balik lagu-lagu tahun 1990an dulu, rasa macam muzik arrangement dia tak penuh gitu. Macam very empty & hollow. Tak macam lagu-lagu sekarang yang meriah dengan segala macam bunyi. Kadang-kadang sampai tak perasan pun ada certain bunyi dalam lagu tu, bila pakai headphone and betul-betul concentrate baru terdengar. Takpun bila timbul certain isu yang kononnya ada bunyi tak sepatutnya dalam lagu tu, baru la terperasan.

Tak tau la whether popularity for the new 90210 ni macam dulu ke tak. Lagipun sekarang banyak channel TV, banyak TV series yang best-best and sumber entertainment lain pun banyak jugak. Tak macam zaman aku sekolah dulu. Masa tu mana ada Astro or internet ni. Itu pun kira nasib baik dok kat Johor, dapat channel Singapore & Indonesia. Adalah option sikit nak tengok program luar instead of tengok local channel yang asyik kena potong sana sini, kalau tak potong kerana scene-scene yang sensored mesti sebab nak kasi ngam-ngam panjang cerita dengan time slot. RTM la yang suka potong-potong scene. Tau-tau je cerita dah lompat sana sini. Kalau potong cerita P. Ramlee takpe lagi sebab dah biasa tengok, kalau cerita tak pernah tengok confirm aku tak paham. Sekarang ni aku tak sure la RTM buat macam tu lagi ke tak sebab dah bertahun-tahun tak bukak channel RTM. Hahaha!

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

FREE AT LAST!

Finally, I am officially an ex-employee of this company. Just like what I wrote in the previous post, this company is definately not what I imagined an MNC to be.

As mentioned earlier, there are many reasons for me to resign despite the good pay - I got almost 1K for my annual increment eventhough I have only been with the company for less than a year. Yes, I know I am a crazy fool. But I can't lie, dudes. Each day at work I feel that my actual capabilities, work experience and skills have been wasted. Coming from organizations that gave me the freedom and flexibilty on how to carry out my job effectively, being in a conservative & too controlled company definately not my cup of tea. And the fact that I have to work with a Director whose leadership and working style is really outdated, made me more certain that this is not my kind of working environment.

I know I am taking a very big risk to resign before I actually got another job offer. Looking at the current economic situation, only God knows how long I'll be unemployed. Haha! Survivor kan memang gila! But I am certain that I am doing the right thing. This is what I should have done earlier. Selagi tak resign, selagi tu aku tak boleh nak attend interview. Dah tu, macam mana nak cari kerja lain? Takpe, Survivor will definately survive. CHAIYOK!

At this moment, I feel soooo relieved. Before I started hunting for my next job, i could use couple of weeks to de-stress, clear my mind and of course ganti balik my much needed sleep!

Monday, May 4, 2009

WATER THEMEPARK@STARHILL JB

Last weekend I was in JB. Since anak-anak sedara aku yang comel pun balik sekali, memang sesuai kalau buat perkelahan keluarga. Budak-budak kan suka main air, mak & bapak budak lagilah suka. So we all went to La Stella Water Theme Park kat Starhill Golf Resort. Actually, aku dapat tau pun through Google. Sebelum tu tak pernah tau pun ada Waterpark kat situ. Teramat la dekat dengan rumah my parents.

Tak susah nak cari tempat ni. Kalau aku tak silap, masa Fab 5 kena organize Annual Dinner dulu, we all pernah datang survey Starhill ni. Tahun 2004 ke awal 2005, waterpark ni pun belum wujud lagi. Masa tu naik Iswara buruk company. Dahla berhimpit naik lima orang, takde aircond pulak. Haha! One of the unforgettable memories of Fab 5. (Macam tajuk album lagu pulak).

Masa aku & family sampai, aku tengok yang datang semua mengangkut golf clubs. Tak nampak pun ada unsur-unsur air. Kena register & bayar entrance fee kat opis dulu. Terperanjat gak aku bila kakak yang jaga counter tu baik & friendly. Sekarang ni kalau berurusan dengan orang-orang kat counter apapun, susah nak jumpa yang murah senyum, berbudi bahasa & ada customer service skill yang bagus, kan? We all kena bayar RM15.75 seorang untuk bayaran masuk. Tapi budak-budak bawah umur 4 tahun & orang dewasa 55 tahun ke atas FREE, So cuma aku, Cik Nanie, my brother and wife dia je kena bayaran masuk. Okla kan - jimat. Kalau nak murah datang weekdays RM10++ je. Lepas tu we all dibagi tag, kena pakai sepanjang ada kat dalam tu. Selagi tak koyak, selagi tu boleh la keluar masuk dari parking atau golf course ke area water themepark ni.

Jalan masuk ke Waterpark area. Tiang-tiang besar tu
buat aku terasa macam kat Rom la pulak.

Pakai jangan tak pakai

Tempat dia tak besar mana pun. Setakat nak bawak budak-budak & diri sendiri main air tu boleh la. Lagipun tak crowded sangat, memang menepati citarasa aku yang anti-sosial ni. Ada satu pool besar & ada satu pool khas untuk budak-budak. Ada banyak kerusi-kerusi malas untuk family nak letak barang & lepak-lepak. Free jugak. Masa aku pegi Bali tahun lepas, sempat main air & bercanda kat pasiran Dreamland Beach, kononnya salah satu daripada pantai tercantik kat Bali. Kat situ pun ada banyak beach chair macam ni disediakan betul-betul atas pasir tepi laut, tapi banyak 'ulat-ulat' yang mengejar nak sewakan kerusi tu kat para pelancong. Masa time aku diaorang nak charge Rp30,000 untuk satu kerusi (lebih kurang RM11-12). Boleh la kalau nak bargain, tapi lagi baik aku letak barang atas batu and duduk atas pasir - FOC! Memang dasar cheapskate!

Pool untuk dewasa. Siap ada pasir.

Pool budak-budak


Untuk mereka yang suka melompat, kat sini ada trampoline. Silalah melompat beramai-ramai. Peratikan gambar kat bawah. Trampoline ni nampak macam nak rebah je kan? Tapi, lepas budak-budak ni turun, ada satu geng mamat-mamat yang sekali naik melompat 4,5 orang. Trampoline ni tetap tak jatuh. Baru la aku confident nak try. Oh ye, kat sini pun ada satu water slide yang turun pakai inflatable tube tu. Yang tak logiknya, takde pun staff dia yang jaga kat tempat 'berlepas' tu. So pandai-pandai sendiri la camne nak turun especially orang yang belakang sekali. Kalau try nak 'berlepas' sendiri, confirm sangkut punye.


Malangnya we tak dapat nak bedal makanan yang dibawa dari rumah. Bukan main banyak makanan we all buat - ayam goreng, kebab, nasi lemak, buah2, air sejuk, airpanas, sandwich etc tapi malangnya just like any other theme park kat Malaysia ni, no outside food allowed. Lu lapar nak makan, lu beli kat kedai gua. Akhirnya, bekal makanan yang banyak-banyak tadi tu dijadikan dinner we all malam tu.

Lama jugak berendam, sampai Riz anak sedara aku yang memang suka main air tu pun taknak balik. Cuaca ari tu memang panas giler. Kulit aku yang memang pantang kena panas sudah semestinya legam.

Kesimpulannya, tempat ni ok & berbaloi la untuk orang-orang yang tinggal tak jauh dari area Kempas especially those yang tak tau nak gi mana masa cuti or tak kisah kena keluar at least RM10++ satu kepala just untuk main air & pasir. Itu tak termasuk makan minum lagi. Tapi harga makanan kat dalam ni boleh kata reasonable & affordable la. At least ada water slide & trampoline kan. Kalau gi piknik kat laut or waterfall pun cuma dapat main air je. Nak gi Wet World kat Batu Pahat pun jauh, nak kena bayar tol/minyak lagi. Ini jelah lokasi berendam terdekat yang tak crowded sangat.