Post Raya Syndrome...

Assalamualaikum my friends... hope you had a fun and safe raya. Wow, has it been 2 weeks already. Feels just like yesterday that all of us were rushing to do our last minute shopping before the big day. And now, most of us are thinking... why oh why did we have to spend that much?? 'Iatah nama nya belanja setahun sekali ni...' as the Kristal FM BIBD advert clutters in my mind. Speak for yourself buddy, I'm not alone when I say that we don't only go shopping once a year!!! Anyways, that out of my system its back to my Hari Raya tales. 1st off... Hari Raya eve.. Mrs. SandMan was still busy at my in-laws doing her final 'Kek Raya' preparations. As for me, I was busy cleaning the car as no respectable washer would accept any more 'orders'. So it was up to me with my new air compressor... hehehe. Anyways, raya eve was as usual 'meriah'. Who said it was too early to go raya'ing'. As usual, went to my uncle's place just next door as he is now the eldest in the family. Back home around 10pm and started the house compound cleaning. Yup, you read right... It's no fun if you do it any earlier, don't you agree. It won't be raya if you don't do everything last minute. As for previous years, Jame' Asr is the destination for Sembahyang Raya. It just feels grand to sembahyang raya di sana... heheheh.

Anyways, morning raya won't be complete without visiting Babu at her final resting place at Makam Di-Raja in Mile 1. I still miss her... Tears came running down as I recited the Tahlil for Babu and the rest of the family members who had left us. But as the saying goes, Life goes on.... Back from 'kubur', we headed off to my parent's house for 'light' breakfast. Antah ah? Sudah tau inda puasa atu lapar saja tia pulang. But I had to control myself, as it is always on the 1st day of raya you tend to visit the little boys' room the most.. To be fair to Mrs. SandMan, we headed off to my in-laws in the afternoon in Kg. Ayer. Personally, the atmosphere there is more lively and more 'meriah' compared on land. It may be because they are just a very close neet community in Kg. Ayer. Even your next door neighbour visits you on the 1st day. I could go on and on with the Raya thing. But I'll stop di sini dulu. I don't want to go ramble non stop, because you guys might get bored. Anyways, raya is still in the air so I'll post a few more Raya adventures when I get the chance to. For the mean time, enjoy the remaining 2 weeks of raya guys... Next stop for me is the Empire Driving range....

Selamat Hari Raya...

Assalamualaikum, how time flies when you're having fun. Has it been a month (29 days to be precise) of fasting already? Evidently it is... I'll certainly miss Ramadhan. I don't know how to put it, but there's something in the air when 'Puasa' rolls by. Maybe its the fasting, 'stadiuming', late night gym (and golf) and the Hari Raya shopping. I pray to Allah the Al-Mighty that my family, friends and of course myself be able to enjoy Ramadhan again next year and many more years to come.. InsyaAllah. To all my Muslim visitors, readers or what ever they call blog readers heheheh.... I wish you all Selamat Hari Raya, Maaf Zahir Batin.... Now its time to 'main badil!!!!!' God help us....

40 years of Majestic Reign...

Alhamdulillah, today is a day that will be remembered as a milestone in our beloved country as we all celebrate the 40th year His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah ascended the throne. Eventhough the celebrations to commemorate this aupicious occassion is low key (out of respect for the fasting month) but the celebrations are not without its grand scale. Thanks giving prayers were held last night (4th October 2007). With the main focus being held at Jame' Asr Hassanel Bolqiah. However, prior to this, recitation of the holy Quran (Tedarus) have been held for the past couple of days. In my opinion, this is a more suitable way of celebrating His Majesty's 40th anniversary being puasa and all. And by the way, just in case I don't update my blog anytime soon, I wish everyone SELAMAT HARI RAYA, Maaf Zahir Batin... May this year's Hari Raya bring you banyak duit raya and sakit parut hehehe.

Fade, slice, shank...

You might be wondering what the title has anything to do with my entry.. well, for the most part all of the above are golfing terms... and let me tell you, yesterday's golf round in RBGCC Jerudong exhibited all three. Was it me, my swing or what ever factor contributed to my dismall game yesterday.. I'll never know. But heck, I was someone who could not get the ball to go straight. Out of the 9 holes, the lads (Luq and Azmi) and I played yesterday, I only made 2 fairway hits!! I was in excellent form the night before at the Empire driving range, I even gave Azmi some driving tips. Hmmm.. maybe, just maybe... its Azmi's fault... He took all my golf powers!!! What powers??? hahaha.. I guess I'm just in denial. Oh well, that's golf for you. You might have a good game on 1 day, but you'll have a horrible game the next. Well enough of golf, let's talk about yesterday's sungkai.

My entourage and I went to the nearest sungkai place around RBGCC, which is Jerudong Polo Club. We were there around 6pm, if it were any other place it would be full but Jerudong Polo Club was an exception. The place was, how shall I put this.... empty. We were the 1st ones there. Can it be true? are all Bruneian not eating out during sungkai anymore??? I wish. Soon the patrons came, but not alot though. By the fast break (breakfast sounds like sarapan pagi to me hehehe) there were only about 20 people (us included) there. What was wrong, we wondered.... The ambiounce was great, the food above expectations... the price reasonable.... Finally it all came to mind... no marketing. That was what all of us thought. I had trouble even finding the phone number for the club. No advert in the papers, not even a mention on the radio. What a pity, dare I say it... The food was much better than Empire's... there I said it.. hehehe. Choices range from a hot plate station (this was awesome), rojak, noodle station, ambuyat, ambeng rice, etc. For $19/pax and a place like this, I really thought that this was a bargain. They even have sahur buffet priced at $12/pax from 10pm till 1am. I might bring the missus out for sahur one of these days. One of these days!!?? I'll probably take her out tonight... As I said, I am on a mission... a mission to gain weight... NOT!!!

We got 'Wii'ed...

Assalamualaikum guys... hope your Ramadhan is going well. As for me, tried my luck on a round of golf last Saturday at RBA Golf Course. All in all, wasn't very tiring as anticipated, maybe the weather had a hand in it... it was a mellow day, a perfect day for golf. Alhamdulillah, was able to 'hold on' to the fast till dusk and had an overkill sungkai session with Luq and Azmi at the Airport Restaurant. The food as usual was excellent. I would say the price of B$24/pax is worth every penny. An assortment of choices was provided, nganya inda cukup parut kan makan... hehehe.

Anyways, the golf didn't stop there. We had another round of 18 holes yesterday.. well virtually to be exact. As the title precisely says... we got 'Wii'ed!!! Azmi just got his hand on the PS3 beater... Nintendo Wii. It was quiet a surprise how the game play turned out to be. All this while most of us are used to sitting still with a controller doing the movements. Oh no, not with this baby... We tried our hands on boxing, tennis... and the 'piece de resistance' (lurus kah tu?? ;D) was Tiger Wood's 2007 PGA Tour Golf Game. Yup, even in the virtual world I was able to beat Luq and Azmi hands down... heheheh. Sorry guys, I was on a role kemarin atu. Even now I'm still feeling the twitch to make a virtual swing. Hey guys at Nintendo... I AM SOLD!!! I want one... well maybe after Raya...

Anyways, sungkai yesterday was another 'eating out' affair. Mrs. SandMan and I went to Empire Hotel to try out their Sungkai promotion. Hmmmm, I wouldn't say it was the best or maybe it was just me. But personally, I prefer the food at Airport Restaurant. I don't know why but the choice of food there is more suited to my taste buds compared to the one at The Atrium. Oh well, in the end the day I was full from all the food. I wonder, whether I'll lose or gain weight during the fasting month.. It is already evident its the latter rather than the former.... Need to go to the gym...

Ramadhan is here...

Alhamdullillah, another year has gone and Ramadhan Al-Mubarak is upon us once more. For me, this is the one month (besides from Syawal) that I look forward to. Comes the terawih prayers, tedarus heard from mosques and of course the long day fasting. Not that I'm complaining or anything, this is a good chance to lose those unwanted few kilos from the tummy heheheh. New baju melayu has been sent and expecting to be done by 1st week of October. Decided to be early this year, 'baik jua dih... nya orang kitani'. Went shopping with the Missus, my auntie and mum yesterday. They went nuts on me with the Bonia begs and shoes, but hey I don't mind. Its the only time that I get to spoil my three most important and loved people in this world. This out of the way, I can now concentrate on my own preparations for the month of Syawal (hmm, baru jua sehari dua puasa, udah tia kan raya!!! hahahah). Well, I guess the little kid in me is still excited for the upcoming Hari Raya. But, the one person I miss the most is my late grand mother. Its been 6 years you left this world to be by The Al-Mighty's side, but not a day has gone by without me thinking of you.. Babu, I love and miss you so much.. Al-Fatihah

So I Lied...

Birthday wishes to one of my best mates in the world, Mr. Azmi (have to call him that since he passed his recent exam). We had a blast last week at Airport Restaurant, well at least it was fun for Luq and me. Azmi's face when he saw it was his birthday cake brought out by the restaurant staff was priceless. Sorry mat, we could not help ourselves to surprise you last week.. heheheh. I just hope you'll forget our birthdays next year. As you said, ' revenge is going to be sweet!!!'. I hope he knows that he is more than a friend to us (do I sound gay?? I hope not!!), more like a 'small' brother (phew, good save). The inner circle would not be complete without him. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAT!!!

I'm a man of my word!!!

Handover...

Hi... Bahapa u? Heh?!! where the hell did that come from?? hehehe... Anyways, just a short post as I've been quiet busy with the preparation of the official handover of Pusat Pemulihan Belia in Subok scheduled at 1330 hrs. InsyaAllah, if everything goes to plan the Honourable Permenant Secretary of The Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport will be in attendance to officiate the handover. Two plus years in the making and the centre is finally ready to be handed over to JAPEM. Costing at an extimated B$17 million to built, construction began late 2004 and completed in November last year. This rehab centre in all its glory will be able to house a total of 300 occupants. Amnities such as a multi-purpose hall, dining hall, dormitories, classrooms, 2 suraus, etc. are some of the buildings comprised in the complex. Me being the Civil and Structural Engineer for the project, am very proud of it. Who says locals can't design such things?? Pics of the handover will be posted shortly... And by the way, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows was wicked. The story twist just blew me away. Was able to 'siap' ready the book last Saturday and after reading it I was left 'spellbound' (punt intended) with what JK Rowling came up for the last installment. 9/10 rating from me... EXPELLIAMUS!!

Deathly Hallows...

Hey guys.. As i said from yesterday's post, I'm almost done reading the last installment of the Harry Potter series. About a hundred pages to go and I'll be done. To tell you the truth, this will be the 1st ever book I plan to finish (hopefully) reading in my 30 years alive on this earth. Review so far, it is more than expected. People dying all round, curses thrown, dragons flying, etc. is all there in the book. But until I finish reading it, hopefully by this weekend I won't be able to give a full review. However, for those who wants to find out the greatest moments in the book, you guys can read HERE (Note: SPOILERS!!! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED)

Pirates of Ban 4...

A'kum all... I know, I know... it's been a while I've updated my blog. It has been a very hectic 2 months for me. Tender preperations for Package C and D for Ulu Temburong has kept me away from my beloved blog. Anyways, I wont bore you with the details, just take my word for it. Ok, the reason for this update.. the heavy rain last night. From the Gaile force winds on Monday evening, to lastnight's heavy down pour have affected me in some way or the other. But lastnight hit me big time... FLASH FLOOD at home!!! Yup, you read right... I've been up all night expecting the worst, and it all came true when me and the missus woke up to get ready for work. One look outside our bedroom window, law and behold... our house has been surrended with water... We were stranded on our very own island with no way to out. No more drain or small stream along the road, the road is the 'sungai'!!! Blimey, the last time this happened was 4 years ago. Hmmm, I thought the relevant authorities have upgraded all the drainage system within our vicinity and evidently it didn't work... As you guys can see from the pics, even my nephews were taking the day off from school 'enjoying' the sight of water all around them. I can't blame them, I had the same excitement when I was their age.. even older than them I was still splashing around the parking lot whenever we had flash floods at home. Anyways, back to the update... Alot has happended wihthin the life of SandMan, watched tons of movies, the MacBook Pro has been refreshed (pending stock availability... sigh), got my hands on the new Nokia E90, eyeing on a new sportsbike and I'm currently reading the last installment of Harry Potter. All will be elaborated further within my next update... Looking at the bright side, I'm off from work today... But, in the meantime..... all I can see is WATER...

Smiley Face

Site Inspection...

Hiya guys, just wanted to share this pic with you all. This was taken a few weeks back when The Director of Development, PWD (Front row-6th from the right) held a site inspection to one of our firm's project in Subok.

Autobots! Transform...

Thank Allah for HM's safety

Assalamualaikum guys. The title says it all. Click here to read more.

Sunday golf...

Royal Brunei Golf and Country Club

What the?? 

Getting ready

Azmi's Tee Shot

Always like a pro

A bit to the left I suppose

Hey guys, hope you had a wicked weekend. Either be it watching the AF5 finale or the FA cup finals. Congrates to all Chelsea fans for their win, and to Man U fans.. good luck next year. As for me, after a few months of hiatus playing golf in RBGCC, my entourage and I had a go at the 'hardest' course in Brunei yesterday afternoon. All in all, everyone performed to par (no punt intended). The best part of all was the weather. Luq keep stressing that the weather was perfect for golf, however our swings were not hehehe. We were there to give Luq support for his upcoming Lexus Invitational this sunday at the same course. Good luck to you bro, if yesterday was to go by i think you will do just fine. Azmi on the other hand, has improved dramatically from 6 months ago. Straight shots all round.. well done bro!! For yours truly, some minor adjustments are in order. I just hope the upcoming pro lessons can rectify the faults. Golf, as one of our local bloggers has put it is 'A Good Walk Spoiled'.

Update...

Assalamualikum guys... Sorry for not posting sooner, but I just didn't have the blogger's bug compared to earlier in the month. Anyways, played in the World Water Day Golf Tournament last Sunday at RBA Golf Club. And to say the least, my game... how shall I put this, was... CRAP!!! heheheh... Well, nothing to worry about, all in the name of fun. Over in the tech world, Apple has finally updated it MacBook laptops with faster speed CPU and bigger HD's. In my opinion this is a minimal update, since they left out Intel's Centrino Pro into the new releases. Oh well, I'm still waiting for the MacBook Pros to be updated (inda pulang lagi tahan ni masa ani... lama jua eh!!!). Another to watch out is Nokia's E90 Communicator which is scheduled to be shipped sometime next month. Got to find out this info while checking out the news and found out an avid fan in Indonesia purchased the very first unit for US$5,000. Yep, you read it right... US$5,000!!! Sadang-sadang jua inda sabar kan tedapat hahahah. To sign off, wishing you guys a fun weekend and wishing myself an advance birthday... oh wait, 10 days to go for that...

Smiley Face

Jobs vs. Gates

Need I say more...

Patiently waiting...

Morning fellas... Nothing much to do at work this morning (ahh, its good to be the boss) so made the most of it by surfing the web. The daily essentials for me lately have been finding out our local, entertainment and last but not least anything Apple. Well, Apple Inc. to be exact... I've been patiently waiting to get my hands on a new laptop for quiet some time now, and I have my eye on the MacBook Pro since Apple released Boot Camp. There have been tons of reasons why I have hold off my purchase, one of them being the release of Mac's new OS, aka Leopard. And now I've added another reason to wait. Santa Rosa, aka Centrino Pro from Intel. Intel has claimed that this next generation of Core 2 Duo chip will improve battery life and also graphics capabilities. Well, only time will tell... Lenovo, LG, Sony, Asus, lalala.. have all released details of their Santa Rosa (RS) based lappies. Rumours are out like wild fire about Apple's offering being announced at their annual WWDC scheduled in June. I just hope that these rumours are right (you can never tell, but you never know...). MacBook Pros with SR Core 2 Duo, LED screens, bigger HD, better GPU, etc. are all the ramblings of a tech geck (me included). Luq (bless him) have put up with me for the past 6 months with my rants of why Apple is this, why it is that... Hmm, the saying is right.. If you can't beat them, join them... Now, even he is 'patiently' waiting to get his hands on a revamped or at least updated MBP. Sabar bro, we will get our hands on our precious!!! Unlike our 'fren' yang ada udah atu, screw him!!! He will soon find out the true power of the dark side (too much Star Wars reruns lately.. heheh). Anyways, in my opinion its been quiet a while that Apple has released updates for anything in their product line ie. iMac, mini, iPod, etc.

(Artist impression of 6th Generation iPod)

And oh yeah,speaking of iPod, there are rumours that a new touch screen (6G-iPod) will be announced soon. These are all speculations, but for an Apple fan, these are all the news we live for.. Ooo... my bank account will take a beating very very soon.. Ouch... Gracias!!!
Smiley Face

Wii.. No.. Gracias...

Morning guys, had the blog bug this morning so decided to post the earliest entry ever in the the domain's history.. (ooo such dramatics hahaha). Anyways, me and the missus had a quiet (not so) night in watching Mr. Bean's Holiday on DVD. Failing to watch it on the big scene when it was shown here, it was a long overdue screning for the both of us. The wait was shall we say.... very very worth the while. Rowan Atkinson was back to his best as the oddly mannered mumbling Mr. Bean. New and old revamped jokes were available throughout the movie. The old jokes were all but predictable but the new ones.. good heavens we were both laughing like hell hahaha... From the highway slow bike scene to the sleepy Bean in the Mini they were all hilarious. And not to forget Bean's rendition of a French opera singer somewhere in a quiet village in the Southern of France. It was a pleasent surprise and reminded on how funny Rowan Atkinson was and still is... So guys, don't miss out on this movie.. I guarantee you, you'll be pleasently surprised.. Gracias!!! (Note: The above review will only apply to fans of Mr. Bean heheheh)

Spidey 3...

It's been quite a while I've caught anything on the big screen, but last Saturday had a chance to watch Spiderman 3 (free tickets from InComm heheh)at The Empire Cinema. Expectations were high as the last Spidey movie was considered by many as the BEST comic book movie of all time. However, this time around it was a bit of a dissapointment. I'm not saying that it was a total mess, there were good CGI to go around and of course Venom was awesome. But 3 villains in a movie? Its too much to take even for me a comic fan boy. In my opinion, there were to many characters to concentrate on. With Peter/Spiderman trying his hands on being 'cool' (due to the symbiote), Mary Jane frustrated on her broadway carrier, Harry (New Goblin) going mental/revenge over the death of his father, Flint Marko (Sandman) trying to live with himself caused by the mistakes that he had done, Eddie Brock (Venom) being to the 'professional' photographer at the Buggle.... I can go on and on and on and on about the plot.. Action scenes were far apart, making me uneasy in my seat waiting for the next fight scene from the ample villains that we have in the movie. Leaving the cineplex I had the same feeling as I had after watching Superman Returns.. unsatisfied.. But hey who am I to say, Spiderman 3 will undoubtebly succeed at the box office (US$148 million over the weekend). However, we won't see many people return to the cinema to watch it twice as many did for Spiderman 2. All in all, 5/10 for the movie and 9.5/10 for VENOM!!!

Happy Birthday bro...

Wishing one of my best bro/cuz/partner in crime a Happy Birthday. May you live long and prosper.. hmmm, sounds like a Vulcan... lets try this one, may the force be with you... hmm, macam Star Wars tia pulang.. how about this one? Finally we will reveal ourselves to the Jedi, finally we will have revenge.. heh!? what the hell am I blabbering about.. Anyways, Happy Birthday bro

Smiley Face

More than meets the eye...

My DNA, Visually?...

Read my VisualDNA™     Get your own VisualDNA™

A month later...

Well hello blog.. how have you been? How long has it been? what? a month?? heheh.. sorry for that guys, I have been very buzy for the past month or so with work and other stuff.. Anyways, life has been so so loh.. As of my previous 2 post, I went to Bangkok with the missus and I was right!! She did went 'nuts' with the shopping, but I don't blame her though.. siapa yang membawa ke sana? sendiri tangung lah heheheh. Anyways, I'll post our 'honeymoon' pics as soon as I upload them. Other than that, SandMan's life have been the usual stuff.. eat, sleep, gym, golf.. eat, sleep, gym, golf.. I hope you guys had a more productive month than I did... chao peeps. And by the way, what the hell is Apple thinking by delaying the launch of Leopard till October?!! Haven't you guys punished me enough by launching the iPhone here only next year!! Oh well, just had to get that out of my system
Smiley Face

Alhamdullillah...

A'kum guys.. I'll take this opportunity to send my congratulatory message to our Royal Couple (His Royal Highness The Crown Prince and Her Royal Highness Princess Sarah) on their new born son, YTMPM ‘Abdul Muntaqim. Alhamdullillah, it is an auspicious occasion for our beloved country that the future heir to the throne is with us. May Allah S.W.T bless His Majesty The Sultan and The Royal Family with prosperity and good health in the many years to come.. AMIN.. (Photo Courtesy: Hj Md Yusof of Infofoto)

sa nook jang leeuy...

Waiting in line for Imigration check upon arrival

Chatuchak Market

Mah Boon Krong 

Luq doing his usual bargaining

Ahhh... Zen..

'Original' Golf shirts

Hey guys, just got back from the long overdue Bangkok trip yesterday evening. My flight to Bangkok was on schedule (thank god) however we were delayed for our return flight back. But this time it was because of some 'security' check. Kudos to Captain Kleeman for his up to the minute update of the situation. Ok, back to the trip.. One word comes to mind... AWESOME!!! The newly opened, Suvarnabhumi Airport was impressive. 1st thought when we walked out of the aircraft was that the airport was still in the final completion stage but was impressive non the less. If you haven't been there, imagine KLIA but 4 times bigger. No golf this time as my cuz didn't bother to pack his golf set, but to compensate we went shopping crazy last Saturday. Went to the Chatuchak Weekend Market in the morning, and MBK in the afternoon. Due to the hectic 'shopping schedule' that we had, we didn't had time to go to other places ie. Siam Square, Siam Paragon, Central World Plaza, Thaniya Plaza (Golf Heaven heheh), etc. Luq went crazy when he finally got his hands on his car's head lights and other accessories in MBK. Had lunch in Zen Japanese Restaurant. The food was excellent as usual. Had my usual order of King Prawn Set Meal, and I had to say that I totally 'pigged out' while there. The one thing I don't want to look at is my weight after the weekend...hehehe. Went to Pat Pong in the evening to get some golf shirts and a few other 'original' items you can get your hands on there. A visit to Pat Pong is never complete without the traditional 'lepak' at the nearby Starbucks. Why oh why, hasn't anyone opened a Starbucks here, only god knows. I miss the Chocolate muffins already hahaha.. Anyways, no use crying over spilled milk... All in all, it was a terrific weekend with the usual empty wallets when you get back home. No worries, I'll be back to 'The Land of Smiles' in a fortnight, but this time the missus is coming along. All I know is, she has her eyes set on revenge.. Revenge to shop till she drops that is... hehehe.. Sorry Sayang, just had to say it..

007...

Morning guys, was on the web reading through google news when I saw this article. Just wanted to share it with you. Prof Rob Jenkins, of the University of Glasgow, and Prof Richard Wiseman, of the University of Hertfordshire, have employed a technique known as prototyping to produce a computer generated image of the perfect James Bond. In 1961 Fleming listed several Hollywood actors that he thought had the right facial characteristics to play Bond. Actors such as Cary Grant, David Niven, James Mason, Patrick McGoohan, Rex Harrison, Richard Burton and Stewart Granger were named by Ian Flemming as the the 'perfect' Bond. Looking at the picture, the 'guy' doesn't come close to any of the actors from Sean Connery to Daniel Craig who have played the suave spy through out the years. He looks more like Marlon Brando from the original Superman (1978) movie when he played Jor-El (Superman's biological father). Antah ah? what do you guys think?

Summary...

A'kum guys.. has it been 2 weeks (again..) since my last post. Antah ah? I just wonder who would ever want to read my blog.. heheh. Anyways, just wanted to update you guys on the happenings in SandMan's life for the past 2 weeks. As usual we start with golf (yawnnn). Had the chance to play in Miri (Eastwood Golf Course) and RBA Golf Course on 23rd and 24th February respectively (way to be patriotic mate hehehe). To my surprise, Eastwood Golf Course (EGC) has stay in chalets for those who plan to 'stay and play'. Rates are very affordable, starting from RM295/golfer per night and 18 holes golf game on their course. That's not bad in my opinion ;)

Oh before I forget, the handover of Packages A and B for Taman Negara Ulu Temburong was held on the 1st of March. Though it was a low key function held at the Forestry Department, everything went smoothly, Alhamdullillah. There to oficiate the handover was the Director of Forestry, Director of Developement (PWD) and the Project Consultant Team (Arkitek Bersatu, Adwan and Associates, Hamzah Hassan Consultant and Juruukur Bahan Utama - DLS). As from what I gather during the handover, there is a plan set out by Forestry Department to privatise the National Park. A good and smart move from them, with good marketing and branding hopefully our 'invisible' National Park will be a great asset to our tourism industry. Me and Mrs. SandMan got to celebrate our 6th year of our blessed union on the 4th of March. HAPPY ANNIVERSARY SAYANG.. I know I haven't been the perfect husband, but you know that you are the one and only for me :) Thank you for being there, through thick and thin, happiness and grivience... I LOVE YOU.. Speaking of which, Congrajulations are in order for our very own 'celebrity' DJ Jenny of Kristal FM for her wedding on the same day. May you live happily ever after with you beloved hubby. And finally, just got word form RBA that our tickets from last month (alum tah abis2 nya) have been reissued FOC.. WICKED!!! I don't want to jinx it this time around. I'll just wait to get there and back before I say anything more on the matter hehehe. Hope you guys had a good 2 weeks behind you, with the 23rd National Day Celebrations, Chinese New year and anything in between... NOTE TO SELF: DON'T WAIT 2 WEEKS TO UPDATE YOUR BLOG.. PEOPLE ARE ACTUALLY READING THEM :)

How you doin?

Eddie Murphy getting married to himself?? What is the world coming to?? Now that's a sight to be seen.. Wait!! I did see it, last night to be exact. Well, in Norbit anyway.. It's the latest big screen release by the comic veteran. Got to go with the missus and the entourage (my cousin and best mate) along with their 'missus' (Girl Frens lah). High expectations all round from Mrs. SandMan and the rest of the gang. Knowing it to be a 'clone' movie of Nutty Professor 1&2(Mr. Murphy playing multi characters), all of us were waiting to have a great laugh fiesta (lurus kah inda tu spelling nya atu?, ah screw it..). Anyways, 15 minutes into the movie, the laughters came but not as often as we have expected. 3/4 through the movie I had a thought.. was it a comedy or an insult to our gravity challenged friends. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against them (being an obese person a good half of my adult life before I joined the gym), I felt that the comedic scene potrayed through out the movie is too demeaning. Even the rest of the gang agreed with me, getting laughs from other people's problem is not a good night out. All in all, 4/10 for the movie. The 1 good thing that came out of the night was that I get to spend it with the people whom I love and are very close to, Mrs. SandMan (love of my life), Luq (my cuz/best mate) and last but not least, Azmi (my other best mate/personal physician). Even though they brought along their 'hand bags' (Girl Frens agi heheh) along (heheh sorry mat..) but me and the missus didn't mind them tagging along. It felt like a triple date... oh yeah, back to the movie.. if you like laughting at other people's expense, watch it.. if not, don't even think of coming close to the cineplex.. even with a 10 feet pole.. One more thing, can't wait to watch Mr. Bean's Holiday though, at least that movie we are laughting with him and not AT him (I hope).. Gracias

You!! Guilty!!

Had a chance to check out the new cineplex in town (Seri Q-Lap) last Sunday (could have been in Bangkok.. still mad about that) and was quite impressed with the layout. Since this is the first time I ever stepped in the new mall (even though its only a stone throw away from my office), I was very eager to check out the place. 1st impression, it was a small buidling to be called a mall. Antah ah? maybe used to seeing malls being 'big' shooping complexes but Q-Lap mall has all the usual elements of a mall. Descent food court, shops and a supermarket and now a cinema.. Not bad.. Got to watch Ghost Rider there and 2 words comes to mind... AWESOME CGI!!! (well more than 2 words heheh) Not being a great fan of GR, I was a fan by the end of the movie.. or was I just a fan of the movie rather than the character?? Your typical comic book adaptation movie, hard core action, some what love story and the all too familiar 'sex sells' (in the form of Eva Mandes's cleavage) were present. I won't go into details of the movie, but all in all I give a 8.5/10 for the CGI but a 6/10 for the storyline. I have to agree with our very own local celebrity blogger (Rano). Nicholas Cage does not play a cool super hero's alter ego, apart from when he is Ghost Rider and not when he is plain ol' Johnny Blaze. A dare devil stunt man who loves coloured jelly beans and listens to The Carpenters?? Checky I would say, maybe the creators of GR wanted to inject some soul into the character, who knows?? Hey wait a minute? GR does not have a soul, he sold it to the devil... for love... ooooo...

Delayed, Postponed, Cancelled (Part 2)...

My oh my.. The never ending story of our cancelled trip took a different turn yesterday when my entourage and I (aseh.. heheh) went to RBA Main office to get our cancelled tickets sorted out. With endorsement letter in hand (given by RBA airport office), we were all but happy to go there to get at least our full reimbursement from the airline. However, it was a different story when the 'invisible' supervisor in charge at the main office declined to acknowledge our presence and that an administrative fee of $100 per ticket is still to be levied. Heh?? Was it just me, or the airline was the one who postponed and then cancelled the flight? After a few moments of verbal exchange with the counter staff, we were instructed to go back to RBA Airport office to clarify our letter and take it from there. What??!!! The last time I've checked, we were the paying customers and didn't plan to fly for free!!! Not wanting to make a scene, we reluctantly went back to the airport to sort things out. Upon arriving there, RBA staffs were more helpful and accomandating than the ones in BSB. They acknowledge that the cancelled trip were not our fault (obviously), and we were entitled to get full reimbursement of our tickets.. Thank god for that... In the end of the day, we got what we wanted, but had to 'work' quite hard to get it. My concern, is this an everyday occurance where there are no communication between the 2 offices or is this just a one time thing? I hope it's the latter.... Still very very sadden with RBA at the moment..