hmmn....

Life is Good

2011-09-11T23:35:00.002-06:00

I feel like I've lost touch with this blog. It has been so long since I've written anything on here at all.

Life is good, I can't complain. Finally back in the work force again and working towards a solid future. I have someone I want to work on a future with. The future is always a work in progress, and the blueprint is finally set! I have been happier than ever and apparently it shows =).

I also finally found a career that is my calling and have the drive to expand and gain as much knowledge as I can with it. This industry is a lot more positive than the previous one. Every guest I've talked to are always happy and excited for their vacation. I get to share my own travelling experience with them, make recommendations, and also listen to their stories. Everyday I would meet different people who would tell me different stories. Life is about sharing experiences, and learning from different perspective.

I am happy I took the plunge and decided for a change. It has so far been a good decision. Now onwards to a better tomorrow, hopefully.

Grand Dynasty Seafood Restaurant

2011-04-02T14:44:00.011-06:00

On Friday April 1, 2011. Our Class was invited for lunch, at a newly opened Chinese seafood restaurant, Grand Dynasty Seafood Restaurant, in Burnaby, beside the Grand-Villa Casino and Delta hotel. Having said that, lunch at a Chinese Seafood Restaurant typically means that food served will be of the "Dim Sum" variety. The act of going to eat dim sum is called "Yum Cha" which translates to Drink Tea.

The first couple things noticed was that it has a smaller interior than your typical Chinese Seafood Restaurant, this might translate to better service and food quality as it would be a lot easier to handle the demand of the food. Also, each table cloth has Grand Dynasty's logo embroided in golden letters. Admittedly, this was the first time I've seen something like this on a table cloth.

Neatly folded napkins, double plate classy china setting welcomed us at the table. The difference? Most other seafood restaurant provide you with a basic white bowl, while the setting for this restaurant is intricate and detailed. Onwards to the food!!

Fried Daikon Radish. This restaurant's version of the dish is quite different in the sense that, aside from just frying the daikon radish, there were also little dried shrimp in it, giving it a hint of savoury goodness. It was very enjoyable!

Jellyfish. This jellyfish dish, was prepared a with a spicier kick to it, and it suits me just fine! The jellyfish was prepared perfectly, it wasn't hard chew on it at all and went down easy. Definitely have to try it

Marinated duck feet. This duck feet, like the jelly fish, was also wasn't overcooked, it was prepared flawlessly, there were no bones, and with a hint of spice, I could've eaten this all by myself.

Deep fried bean curd with salmon. Ok, this dish, was interesting. I wasn't the one doing the order, but when I took a bite into this one, I was expecting the normal shrimp, however, as I bit into it, the texture wasn't shrimp at all, but it was salmon fish! the fish wasn't overcooked, it was fresh, and the bean curd surrounding it was also marvellously deep fried. Bravo!

Shrimp dumpling, aka har gow. If you've been to dim sum places, you would know that, when you order this dish, it it impossible to get this out in one piece, and the pieces would be sticking to each other. However, at Grand Dynasty, I had no such problems, effortlessly, the shrimp dumpling was transported to my dish in one piece! The skin was moist, and the shrimp was juicy. There's really no need for me to describe it.

Steamed rice roll with deep fried fish paste. Having frequent dim sum places, I instantly thought, oh, there's "cha leung" which is steamed rice roll with chinese long donut, but where's the sauce? i took it anyways, and looked at it, only to realized it wasn't long donut inside. Being curious, I bit into it and realized its actually savoury, and fishy. I had to ask what it was and found out it was deep fried fish paste....need I say more?

Braised chicken feet. Another dim sum classic, the chicken feet was cooked perfectly, and there

wasn't much effort needed to get the bones off!

Steamed Egg Yolk Bun. This is one of my favourite dim sum dish. Sadly, it is also very hard to find in Vancouver. And when I saw this on the menu, I just had to get it! What is so special about this bun you ask? Check out the next picture!

When you bite into it, a lot of golden liquid just oozes out. That golden liquid would be egg yolk

with some custard feeling, it is a dessert bun. The yolk was still warm and flowy when we had it,

so it was freshly made! if you haven't had such a bun before, you will have to try it. I got greedy,

and had two of these to myself!

If I didn't tell you what this was, you would assume that this is the regular taro dumpling you would find everywhere. What if I told you this wasn't it, and if this was a dessert, would you believe me? What if I also told you, inside that deep fried shell, was the king of fruits, the durian, would that make your mouth watery? I appreciate the fact that Durian is not liked by some people, but coming from a tropical country, I had a lot of durian during my time, however, I never had it deep fried in a taro shell before. And let me tell you this, it was amazing! The durian is paste like inside the shell and the crunchy texture of the shell compliments the fresh durian paste!

On to the last little dish I have that afternoon. Mango Pudding. Now at this point, I was overwhelmed with so much surprises that, I don't think a simple Mango Pudding dessert can surprise me too much. WRONG! I have to admit, this is one of the best mango pudding dessert I've ever had. Reason being? look at the next picture.

What I found, as I make my first couple spoons was actual mango pieces in the pudding! without saying much, I went and finish my portion of it before most people. It was THAT good!

Grand Dynasty Seafood Restaurant provided my palate with a multitude of pleasant surprises. With a upscale feel and decor to it, it will make any food outing that much more special! I would definitely go back to this restaurant, and try some of the food that I didn't have this time around.

2011-02-01T23:25:00.002-07:00

Good Day.

I was looking at my blog, and realized I haven't added anything new in a long time! I'm thinking of making this semi industry related. Parts of it will still be my personal blog, while others would be my experiences in the professional world. Don't know where to begin yet and not sure what direction to take. But I will think this one out, and make a new entry sometime later.

Zombies

2010-11-09T23:55:00.005-07:00

So, I was reading my roommate's blog, and came across 3 interesting questions...

Fun things to ponder as you watch zombie related things…

1)Where would you go first for a zombie apocalypse

2)What would you do in an event of a zombie apocalypse

3)Would you kill your best friend if they turned into a zombie…

Thinking about it, I have decided to answer these questions for my blog entry.

1. During a zombie apocalypse, I would choose to go Costco. It is such a big place, wouldn't it be too dangerous to guard? But think about it, look at what Costco has to offer, it is one big box, with probably very limited exits. Just make sure you seal those exits and entrances really well, then you should be able to hang in there for quite some time. You will have tons of food, clothing, and weapons! and their shelves, in case zombies get in, you still have ample room to move about on the shelves. I would also re-decorate the place a little, so that things are more visible. Of course, you won't be stucked alone, make sure to have non-infected people with you, and hopefully, they are people you can get along with.

2. No, I will not kill myself right away, I would try and live until the very last moment, and if i have no other alternative, boom, a bullet to the head(hopefully).

3. Hopefully, I will not have to, or if I have to, I would kill them before they turn into a zombie. But, if all else fails, yes, I will shoot my best friend if they turn into a zombie.

With the way things are now, I wouldn't doubt if zombies will one day happen...haha, jk.

Hopefully, all my training playing left4dead and COD zombies will come in handy, if the zombie apocalypse actually happens.

Until then, stay out of trouble!

The move thus far....

2010-11-02T00:02:00.004-06:00

The jury is still out there for this one. Has this move been a good move?or just a bold one? One thing is for sure though, going back to school is a good idea. Sure, I'm kind of suffering and not getting used to the school life, but at the same time, I'm soaking up anything I can from working in a hotel, and going to school to learn about it.

For those who don't know already, I recently got accepted at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver for a 6 week posting at their HR department. Sure, I used to do HR and there might not be too many new things I'm learning, however, every HR department in every company is different, much less a whole different industry. Definitely soaking up as much there as I can. I'm also looking at this posting, as a step towards other departments in the hotel. I'll have the chance to do most of my practicum in that hotel, and if possible, I would welcome that opportunity. Fairmont is a very good hotel to work for.

The school I'm attending has very good connections, and more often than none, us students get invited to different functions that are not readily available to the general public and functions that are invite only. Recently, we were invited to attend the launch of Audi A8 and R8.

We were very fortunate to have attended this launch, in a 32 Million dollar penthouse in the Olympic Village area, complete with open bar, and a live band. The R8 and the A8 are both shown above respectively.

What else have I been doing in Vancouver? Well, the exploration has pretty much begun and trying new stuff, visiting new places....

Yes, you can't live in Vancouver without bringing an umbrella with you, and NO, that is not my umbrella, this is strictly for picture only.

It is fall season, and coming into winter, so I won't be seeing sunshine for a while, however, being by the water has a good feel to it, the places just seem so much bigger with water around!

As good as Vancouver is treating me, you know I still miss the peeps and fam in Edmonton! having moved here, it makes me realize one thing, its not the city that makes the person, its the company. I won't forget the people in Edmonton, but I'll also make an effort in creating a "Mike" of Vancouver.

Well, hope this update made sense, I'll try and write more next time, gotta keep this blog rolling! =)

Student again

2010-09-14T22:03:00.003-06:00

So, I'm a student again. After working the last 2 years and learning about the construction world, its pros and cons and what not, I've decided that the next step in life is to go back to school, and to pursue a new career path. I'm quite excited about the stuff that I will be learning and hopefully it'll turn out great.

Still only learning introductory stuff right now, so its kind of dry, but I believe things will pick up! Oh, I get to dress up everyday for school, which is kind of new and exciting, different from having to dress down to go to work on a construction site, that's something I have to get used to and hopefully quick.

Life in Vancouver is different when you're a student, no partying every night, no going out every night. It is an expensive city if you do not have any viable source of income. Video games and movies and tv shows will be the highlight of my life for the next couple months! That's one thing that I don't mind doing.

It has also been almost 3 years since I've opened up a textbook and read, the feeling is a little nostalgic! So, I am going back to read. Thought I would update this stale blog once in a while!

Cheerios,

Michael

Summer

2010-08-19T00:16:00.002-06:00

This summer has been an interesting one so far; also, it is coming to an end. With that having said, I'm quite excited for my move to Vancouver, going back to school and hopefully enjoy the city. I'll once again be a poor struggling student, in an expensive city. I have to change my habit of carefree-ness and I'll have to watch my spending. But the good thing is, I feel like I am more mature now, and will look at my finances properly, after all, I ain't young no more and its time to save the future, I am working my way there, give me time!

It doesn't look like I've done much this summer, but in a way, it has been quite relaxing, catching up on gaming, seeing some of the people I havent' seen in a while and renewing acquaintances. it has brought a lot of my old friends together, as well as making new ones! and for that, I'll miss Edmonton, I wonder if i could get edmonton to come to vancouver...that would be quite awesome!

Well, other than that...this is quite the boring post with not much updates.....

peace out for now

A new direction

2010-07-24T23:25:00.003-06:00

I am sure the news is out by now, but if it isn't yet, then here it is. I am embarking on a new journey! A fresh start, a new city! I requested for a layoff from work and is going back to school! (Shocking, I know). I'll be moving to Vancouver sometime in the next month for Hotel Management School. As you can probably imagine, I am really excited about it and can hardly wait. Just waiting for official acceptance letter, study permit and a place to live and I am set!

I know I haven't blogged for a while and I guess that's the biggest change in my life. Just enjoying the rest of the summer here in Edmonton, hopefully I'll get to see most people before I leave!

I've been in Edmonton for 10 years now, or rather 9 years and 11 months, there has been a lot of memories, met a lot of people. I might miss Edmonton a little, but I am also looking forward to a change in lifestyle and pace and see what is in store for me out there!

Wish me luck!!!

Game Addict

2010-04-28T15:29:00.003-06:00

You know you are a game addict when.....

1. You hear the sounds of an airplane and thinks that there's an enemy harrier on top of you and you get ready a stinger missile to shoot it down.

2. You go to pick up someone at the airport, sees the flight number as AC159 and thought about an AC 130 gunship

3. You go to bed, and images of enemies popping up and you shooting them is what filled your thoughts

4. You realized you didn't blink for 10 minutes and your eyes are dry

5. You walk to entry ways, you want to plant a claymore

6. You are playing golf, heard a helicopter flying above you, you pretend to take out your stinger missile, just like a harrier

7. You are driving and would be scanning rooftops of building for potential snipers.

actually...this is more of a modern warfare 2 addiction.

PS. some of the stuff listed did not happen to me...and I am sure there's a longer list out there somewhere....

Spring Time

2010-04-08T09:44:00.002-06:00

It's Spring time...which means it is time to clean the clusterf**k that is my place. Over Winter, I guess there has been a lot of things that have cluttered the place. So one weekend at a time, I am putting time in towards cleaning the place.

Kitchen took a lot of work, but I think it is not presentable again, although there are some parts that still needs cleaning or arranging. The fridge and Microwave are my next targets for the kitchen.

My room is a lot neater now compared to how it was 2 months ago, although not where I want it to be yet. There are still things lying around and I still need to buy some furniture for it.

Let's side track a little. Furniture and decorations are a work in progress, wait..i should stress, it is a SLOW work in progress. Juggling between wanting to decorate the interior of my house, paying bills, paying off debts, miscellaneous items, and saving money and trying to balance the finances for everything is proving again to be a hard thing too! Also, I don't go out enough to look at stuff to decide what to buy and also really picky and specific. Hence why my place is still quite barren, but it will get there.

And back on track...the next room to be cleaning is the "little storage room". That room is horrible! too many things lying around! So hopefully, this weekend will be sufficient to clean up that room.

What have Mike been doing lately? hmmm

- Modern Warfare 2 again. Ever since I started to play online with a friend almost 2 weeks ago, I've been hooked on it again, I've also found a couple other people to play online too...its bad, I even stopped playing FF13....

- Big Bang Theory. This show is too funny to not watch. Done Seasons 1 and 2, looking to wait for season 3 on Box set

wow, that's about it. I think I need a life...but this is cheap compared to going out! haha

hmmm...what else is there.... Lady Gaga is coming to town, I will be purchasing tickets to go watch that show. Going to U2 in June.

Golf season is upon us. Was at the driving range last weekend. Have to work on swing again, and get back to getting used to my set. Hope to hit the links soon enough! Still waiting for the streets to get cleaned before I start rollerblading.

I am seeing a chiropractor now, hopefully my back will feel better and wouldn't hurt after "strenuous" activities.

Joining an overnight Relay for Cancer with a couple friends. Should be a fun and exhausting activity. Been meaning to join the last 2 years, but I've been in Fort McMurray each time and missed it. So this year, I have committed myself to it and already joined it.

Haven't seen many movies this year yet, and falling behind. Normally, I would just buy the blu-ray. But with my recent committment to saving money, I've cut down my blu-ray purchases and this has hurt my movie watching ways, so until I get everything in order, there'll be no movies to be watched...boo!!

But anyways, enough boring anyone who reads this to death!

Peace love and respect

Video Games

2010-03-23T15:08:00.002-06:00

Recently, I've been hooked on playing video games again. And what better year to start gaming again but this year?

So far in 2010, these are the games I plan on playing, and in that order(hopefully)

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2- Campaign Completed, online ongoing

Assassin's Creed 2- Completed
Final Fantasy XIII- Currently playing
God of War III

Heavy Rain

Uncharted
Uncharted 2

Mass Effect

Mass Effect 2

Some of these games might be old, but I haven't played it yet, so I am going to check it out as soon as I can.

It might seem expensive, but playing video games is cheaper than going out, so this is going to be part of my saving money scheme. What better way is there?

Project Summer

2010-03-16T15:05:00.002-06:00

Summer is almost upon us. Still chilly out, but there's no stopping the warmness that is coming our way!

Having said that, this summer, I have two main agendas. I bought these rollerblades 2 years ago, and have hardly used them. So, this summer, I am going to start rollerblading again. It is high time I try and get back to exercising at the very least. Let's hope my back will hold up.

Golfing is also in my plans. I need to get better at it and it is absolutely addicting! My plans were to buy a new iron set this year, but, due to some bad financial planning on my part, that plan is no long feasible. So, its time to master the set I have and hopefully improve!

Getting into shape-ish through rollerblading and golfing is MY project summer.

Reflections

2010-03-07T19:07:00.001-07:00

2010 started off with a bang really. Going back home to Brunei for Chinese New Year and having see a lot of people who I have not seen in at least 5 years. It felt great catching up and all!

But, having said that, it also got me looking back/stepping back, to see what I have done with my life. I have a degree and a diploma. I have a job in the construction world where the pay is honestly quite good for just being out of school.

Where do I stand?

I enter a phase in life, where a lot of my peers are buying houses, getting engaged, getting married, these are the sorts of parties I get invited to nowadays, engagement parties, house warming parties, weddings. and it got me thinking,

What have I done with my life?

Am I happy doing what I am doing? Do I want to settle down in Edmonton? What is my calling?

As I take a step back and think about it, no, I am not entirely happy being in construction. It is a crude world where everyone is quite negative, working towards a deadline, and working yourself out of a job. It is not where I want to end up. I have been in Edmonton for almost 10 years now, I have met a lot of wonderful people, I have done a lot of fun things, I know this city really well. It is not a big place and the pace of life is quite laid back. I like a laid back pace, but also, a part of me would like to experience a faster pace life, just for experience. No, I do not want to settle down in Edmonton, not yet anyways. For those of you who know me, they would know about my interest in Hotels and the leisure/tourism industry. It has always fascinated me and people are always happy and what not there. Truthfully, I would love to start a new in the hotel industry, even if its from the bottom up. That is one of the options I am contemplating.

But right now, my efforts are going to be moved towards saving money. Should I want a change of environment or move back to Asia, I cannot go empty handed. I would need a good financial background to back me up. So for now, the goal is to save money while confirming what it is truly that I want to do.

2010-02-27T01:04:00.003-07:00

Sitting here in the Hotel Room, with no inclination to go out... It has been a very tiring 3 weeks of vacation and I think I am drained.

As many of you know, it has been 5 years since I've gone back home. There are very subtle changes for everyone, we, as a whole group, might not seem anymore mature than when we graduated from Form 5. But, individually, I think we have all matured and it was great seeing everyone =)

We had a lot of discussions naturally, and one that really stuck to me was that, this was the first time in a long time where mostly everyone who had gone out of brunei to pursue an education and a career returned. We all agreed that no matter how long we've all left, in the end, this place is Home. It might not have a lot to offer, but there's something about it that would make you want to extend your stay longer. No matter how long we've all left Brunei, there's a part of us that want to return someday.

Having said that, there's a part of me who would like to venture back here. I guess it is time to venture and see what kind of opportunity i would have, should I really decide to come back here....

until then, its time to focus and concentrate on life now. Let's see what happens....

5 Years

2010-02-01T08:50:00.000-07:00

It has almost been 5 years since I’ve last went back to Brunei. Seriously, time flies by way too quickly sometimes, I can still remember all the things I did when I went back last time. Hiking, late night food run, clubbing/karaoke/chatting till 7am, movies at “the mall”, getting my driving license in Brunei, etc. and speaking of which, I have no flipping clue where that driver license is now. Oh well, guess I’ll have to re-apply for one or maybe use the one I have here.

Now, I am about a week away from making my trip back, and I am excited as hell! And on top of that, it will be the first time in about 10 years that I am back in Asia for Chinese New Year. It is just different here; the atmosphere is definitely not the same! Although having 3 weeks off will drain my vacation bank, but hell, it’s definitely worth it.

I remember booking this vacation a couple months back thinking that it will not happen for a while. And now, here I am, thinking it’s only a week away. Woot!

I can hardly wait to stuff my face! See family members and my dear friends! Now, when I was booking my flights, that stupid kid didn’t try and blow up an airplane yet, and travelling through the United States was a great idea. But nooooo, he decided to try and blow up an airplane making life a lot harder for the rest of us!

But seriously, no carry-ons? Isn’t that a little TOO much? Check everything I have in the carry on if you have to, but to inconvenient long distance travelers, bah humbug! Good going kid!

This past weekend, I was at the Druid to celebrate a couple friends’ birthdays. A friend nailed it right on, when she uploaded some pictures and named the album 18 all over again. It actually felt like it; however, the following morning would be named, “I am too old for this”. Overall, a fun weekend and enough time for some rest on Sunday. 5 more working days before my scheduled trip, time to think of what to pack.

Motherland, Here I come!

One week done, 51 to go

2010-01-10T10:03:00.003-07:00

And this marks the end of the first week of the new year.

So far, been doing well with the New Year's Resolution, Only time I went out was the weekend, weekdays have been spent playing video games or catching up with the movies I have collected. So that's going well.

A new resolution I've decided to add was to obtain my CHRP designation this year. I plan on applying to HRIA sometime this week and then will register for the National Knowledge Exam(NKE) in May. It is 150 Multiple Choice Questions. It has been years since I've touched any studying materials, and to be honest, I am quite looking forward to studying, and taking notes again. hhaaha, such a nerd! =). So we shall see how that goes. Planning to study for it right after I come back from my trip to Asia.

First week at work is over. There's definitely some adjustments I gotta make, but otherwise, it isn't too bad, new people to get to know, and in a way, I have to prove myself once again, but that's given since it is a new place afterall. It's clobbering time!

One more month until my return to the Motherland!

2010-01-03T20:11:00.002-07:00

The Year that was.

2009 sure as hell started off awesome. Spent New Years in HongKong, and then two days later flew to Tokyo for a couple days and then back to HK again until the 18th. One of the funnest trip I've had for sure. There were a lot of new sights and a lot of new food and experiences; while it may seem like similar cultures, experiencing it is definitely a whole different story, I appreciate this trip for that. This is pretty much it for my January, other notable events would be Kingsley and Louis' birthday at Iron Horse.

I know February was quite forgettable as there wasn't much that happened aside from work. But I do believe that I booked my Montreal trip in February.

March. The first two weeks of March I somehow got Pneumonia; I have never felt so sick in my life. Couldn't make it to work for two days, and barely made it in for the third. I only went in because I had a flight to catch. Let's just say there wasn't much work done, I just mainly slept at work. I also remembered, the flight home was delayed around 3 hours and that definitely did not help things. When I finally made it back to Edmonton, paid the taxi driver an extra $5 to make a quick pitstop for chinese take out. Was about 5 minutes from home before I realized that I forgot my home keys in a bag back in Fort McMurray. Yeah...that wasn't a good day.

March was also when I visited Montreal for the first time. It did not feel like I was in Canada at all, there is a lot of European culture there and it was really beautiful. Now I haven't visited all cities in Canada yet, but I would consider staying there.

April- June. These are the summer months where I didn't do much, aside from a lot of partying? Really don't remember too much from it. End of June though, I made a trip to Vancouver. This isn't the first time I've been there, but thought I would make use of the site Charter and get a flight there for free! Really fun trip, and a lot of food was consumed. Japa Dog! mmmmmm

June - October. These months were pure working, no holidays. Only thing was a camping trip(Jasper) in August. Gourmet food while camping, only we can pull it off. Near the end of October, I remember I was close to having a meltdown and decided to take a couple days off just to relax.

November- My birthday + Eech's Bachelor Party + Danielle's Birthday

December- Site wind down = crazy busy.

(Yes, I kind of got lazy typing)

Shows I saw this year:

- Lion King Broadway

- Russell Peters

- Stand up comedy guy at the Fringe

- Oilers Game

This is pretty much it for significant events. I've missed quite a few things, but 2010 will make up for it! Bring on 2010!

2010-01-01T11:56:00.002-07:00

Good Day,

Now that 2009 is over, and 2010 is starting, it is going to be a whole new ball game! A new workplace, new people, new policies, new beginning.

I'll miss the people I've grown to know the past 2 years, I've made some pretty awesome people up on site. There's a lot of personalities for sure, Thank you everyone for helping me out and helping me grow as a person.

And I've said it before, my New Year's Resolution this year is to save money. Gone will be the days of carefree spending. It should be a dandy!

Well, I am keeping this short. Goodbye 2009, welcome 2010! Where will this year bring me? We shall see. I'll do a recap of 2009 soon.

2009-12-21T20:58:00.002-07:00

Good day. Michael is back in Edmonton, for good, at least for now! I am very happy at the moment. Nothing feels better than to be able to sleep in my own bed every night. Speaking of own bed, I am thinking of buying a new one! and putting the one i have at the moment into the guest room. A king sized bed sounds good! so the shopping around commences! Should be a good time.

And like I said before, with being back here, I made a pact with myself to change my lifestyle and to lead a more responsible lifestyle. So far I am doing well I think, and would like to keep this up. Also a good time to improve myself.

And to improve myself, its time to improve on the cooking skill. Recipe book time! haha. It is impossible for me to whip things up from scratch without any help. I am not that creative. Never really had to cook the last little bit because I stayed in camp, and back in edmonton only for a couple days. Now, its time to step it up! Good luck Mike! haha.

I apparently have quite the ambitious new year there, hopefully I can keep the momentum going! Wish me luck!

Over and Out

2009-12-17T20:01:00.002-07:00

Not sure what is with this song, but I like it quite a bit. Somewhat motivational.

2009-12-15T19:00:00.002-07:00

Another day done, another day closer to home. As much as I feel like the people of this site is like an external family and how much I might miss these people, I truly long to be offsite and want to be home. I know I don't deserve to complain as there were people who has worked more than I did and longer than I did.

I've had only 3 days off since November 24. In those days, there were really really long days, and then there were good days. But the best couple days were in the beginning of December, those were really fun days! But, its time to flip back to reality and back to the reality of work. As Nelly Furtado preaches, all good things come to an end. Or do it?

Going back to Edmonton, I have a lot of changes I need to make. There are habits I will have to stop and its time to tighten up the budget. I admit, I have been much of a spend thrift the last 2 years and have not saved up much. But, I think it is time for a change. As cheesy as it sounds, it is time to grow up, and be responsible with my money.

In a way, I guess this is a good time to decide this. As it is nearing the New Year again. I have one and only one resolution this year. To stop my spendthrift ways and to save up for a rainy day. I always make good on my promises, and I will be a little selfish this time. I promise myself to stay through to this resolution this year. To have a better life, I have to be a better person, its not too late to grow up! =)

2009-12-12T16:39:00.003-07:00

Hmm...I can get used to doing this daily. It is quite de-stressing =)

Weather today? a high of about -45? Thank Goodness I don't work outside! I really have a new found respect to all the guys and gals working outside in this weather! It is not for the weak of heart for sure.

The days have really been flying by in an alarming rate! Goes to show how busy the days are, to get things done and ready for the shutdown. Stacks and Stacks of termination notices are making their way to me, and I almost have no time to go through all of them, it just keeps getting bigger, but no matter, I will find time to finish them, even if I have to stay late(Most possibly tomorrow)

How about them Oilers? Out of no where, they are sporting a 5 game road winning streak! It is nice to see them pick up a couple of wins! We were definitely long overdue! It has been awesome December so far boys! Keep it up!!

Going out to town tonight for Dinner with the co-workers again! Should be another dandy! It is so different chilling with them outside work! It's Great!!

My boss brought me some EDO Japan today for lunch! I thought that was really awesome of him! It has been way too long since I've had rice! Woot Woot!! The asian in me is showing again! oops!

Anyways, I am signing out for now, survived yet another day. One Week to go.

2009-12-11T16:31:00.003-07:00

The days are going by fast! It feels so fast that I am actually damn exhausted by the end of the day. Picture me like this...After work, get on the bus(or a ride if someone has a truck) then walking to my room like a zombie, change, freshen up, yadda yadda, then walk like a zombie, to the dining room, eat my food like a zombie, and walk back to my room where I proceed to wind down(like a zombie)

What I need to do, is to somehow figure out a way, to have fun while working. I've been playing music, but that's not working out so well anymore! hmmmm

Although, I am slowly digging the idea of sitting at the reception desk, there's more people to talk to and it somewhat more fun. But damn is it hard to concentrate at times!

Just winding down right now and decided to just write, I've had a heck of a day, or a week!

I know it ain't much, but by the end of the work shift, I would've had 30 hours OT.

I managed to get my uncle to help me buy three games yesterday. Forza Motorsport 3, Assassin's Creed 2 and Guitar Hero 5! there will be games playing on my days off!

I might write more tomorrow as a little wind down...it does help! =)

2009-12-10T07:15:00.002-07:00

It feels like I am slowly slipping in updating this blog, just haven't find the time to do so. =(

Well, Alberta Winter has returned. It was a chilly -27 this morning. And the funny thing is, we come to work as if its usual. Kinda Scary when you think about it huh? We are so used to this weather that we are so complacent of it.

I have an interview today, the HR Director for our company is coming onto site to talk to the who of us who applied from up here. This would be the second time I have interviewed for this position as one was done a couple months ago. We shall see how it goes, I am not too confident as I feel that I have some other stuff in my mind that is clouding my judgment at times.

Flight back to Brunei is booked and paid for! I will be leaving Edmonton on February 8, 2010 and arrive in Brunei February 10, 2010! I can't wait. This is the first time since leaving in 2000 that I will be back for Chinese New Year, this is definitely long overdue. It will quite the Journey too as I will be flying from Edmonton --> LA --> Tokyo --> Singapore --> Brunei. Quite an interesting journey. I may be quite westernized these days, but I am still just a plain ol Asian deep down inside(or at least I would like to think so).

Personal life these days? Let's just say I am still the king of bad timing and that is the story of my life. But then again, come what may, and c'est la vie! I always look at the bright side of things, and this will not be an exception!

Christmas is just around the corner! Can you believe this? Just 11 months ago, I was having the time of my life in HongKong and Japan. How I miss being on Vacation, waking up every morning, and the only thing on my mind is..hmm..what to do today, and where to go today. The following months since then has been trying, stressful, lonely, etc. But the experience from work is one thing i can take away and say I survived!! Not to mention the amount of wonderful people I have met!

It has also been quite sad to see a lot of the co-workers leave. We see each other here the most and as cheesy as it sounds, we are like an extended family. At the end of the day, we still have our own lives, but what we shared here, no one else can take away from that. To those who bit the dust and going on to better things, cheers! this buds for you!

I am slated to return to Edmonton on the 19th! There will be some shopping that has to be done and people to see and catch up with. Hopefully a new position to start and a break to enjoy!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. =)

Michael

2009-11-11T20:00:00.002-07:00

It is official, I hate this site life. I might've been ok with it as first, but the long hours, and being away from the city has finally taken a toll. The work itself might be interesting, but the constant challenges and same problems day in and day out is quite frustrating. Sure, we are trying to change things and hope that they work, but this late in the project, can we really do anything?

To quote a famous person "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result". Is it really worth our mental capacity to try and change things? It is survival mode.

So, things are quite uncertain again, I might be out of a job as soon as 3 weeks later or a month, or maybe more. It seems like trying to find a definite answer is quite hard too. In a way, I am kind of looking forward to the end. Sure, I'll have to worry about finding another job and continuing my quest to become a Permanent Resident in Canada (it seems like this is a hard an long process) but to be honest, this job has really taken a toll on both my physical and mental capacity. It is getting harder and harder for me to wake up that Tuesday morning and flying onto site, leaving my other life on pause, while I work.

The last couple months, I have found myself to get cranky and annoyed a lot easier. My patience, which was once as great as that of the Great wall of China, has now really weathered to the strength of a thin string. So, I am really looking forward to go back to Edmonton, to rest, to re-focus and to re-discover the old me. I really dislike how I am the last year and a half.

It is time to go back to the very beginning of time, where I was a happy go lucky person, who doesn't think too much and just enjoy life. I need to believe again.

A part of me says this, do I need that permanent resident? Can't I just go travel Europe and work as I need be. Leave everything behind and just go and travel and backpack. That life is kind of appealing as well.

All in all, I have a lot to think about. What do I want to do in the New Year. Where I can go. Is Canada really the place I want to be in. The world is so big, there are so many opportunity.

I will let you know what I end up deciding.

2009-10-16T10:32:00.003-06:00

And we already have our first snowfall.

October is hardly half way done and we already have our first snowfall and the temperature has been dropping steadily too. I guess it is finally time to let go of whatever reality that it'll still be warm!

One thing I found myself enjoying was taking my book, going to a starbucks or any coffee shop, get a drink, sit on the couch, and just read like no one's business. Occasionally glancing up to see who is around and to people watch. It is a really relaxing lifestyle I think, well, people might find it an old person thing, but hell, nothing wrong with that right?

Transformers : Revenge of the Fallen is coming out on October 20, 2009. This goes without saying, but I'll be buying the Blu-ray version for this movie to be added to my ever growing Blu-Ray Collection. I could choose cheaper things to collect, but nothing better than collecting movies since I am an avid movie watcher.

Other Movies I want for my collection would be Angels and Demons as I didn't get to watch it in the theaters this summer. And I can't think of any right now, but mind you, it will grow!

In any case, that's all I have for now, life has been pretty stagnant!

2009-09-28T19:30:00.003-06:00

With the Blink of an eye, ok fine, maybe two blinks, Summer is now over and fall is upon us. The weather has changed for the colder now, grass is turning brown, leaves are turning a beautiful yellow and orange. It really doesn't matter what most people say about summer, but I still find Fall/Autumn to be my favourite season.

What is there to not like about the beautiful coloured leaves and the cooler weather? I come from a country where it is really hot all year round, of course I came to Canada for something cooler right? Ever heard of the saying becareful what you wish for? or biting off more than you can chew? well, that's what I get for coming here, the fall and spring might be cooler but the winter is really just way too much.

ok, i should stop babbling about that now. I get a week off the next time I come back to Edmonton, which is great because I really haven't had more than 4 days off at a time since January. It should be great just lying around and not doing much.

The main reason I am taking some days off is because I am going to watch Russel Peters and I can't wait! It should be a really good show! =)

There won't be any pictures for this post, I am still trying to find my Camera Charger and don't have the mood to upload pics from my Camera, that and I haven't really taken too many pictures lately. I am not too sure, these days, it seems like I just dont want to do anything at all. Almost rather just stay home than do anythign at all. Is this a change for the permanent? or just a phase? hmm, I wonder.

It has been 1.5 years since I've started going to site permanently, and I've been living this lifestyle since. I don't know how it feels to have a job in town anymore. Do I like this kind of lifestyle? or Do I want to find my social side again? That is really the decision I have to come to eventually.

Oh, another thing is that, My ticket back to Brunei is all but booked. February 9, 2010 to February 27, 2010. I can't wait, this is really been a long time coming! So, in order to save money, I have to keep this in mind and not spend money. Having said that, I will not go on any other trips until my Brunei trip, i need to have the money to spend.

I wonder how much changes there have been since I've last went back home? It should be pretty fun exploring the place again. I really look forward to going back and seeing everyone again.

2009-08-31T18:01:00.003-06:00

let's get a new entry going...

The summer is almost over now, although it didn't really feel like much of a summer at all. We were pretty much ridden by rain and nasty weather, but that's really expected as I am living in Alberta. Like my previous postings before, sometimes I do wish I was staying in British Columbia where its somewhat nicer.

Highlights of the summer:

Vancouver Trip

Camping

Golfing

wow, it does really seem sad as that's the only thing I can list out at this point in time. But its nothing like having fun with friends and family as well.

A new season is going to approach us now, fall. As sad as I make it sound that summer is over....Fall is really my favourite season. The leaves turn a nice orange colour, and the temperature a lot cooler than summer. I hate it when it gets too hot(otherwise I would go back to Brunei)

Speaking of Brunei, I hope to make a return to the motherland sometime in February 2010 for Chinese New Year, right now, I am still procrastinating in talking to a travel agent to find a right price to fly back and which route to take back. Then again, I have been procrastinating in a lot of things, I gotta mow the lawn too, which I totally forgot to do today, and it is honest to goodness forgetfulness.

Over the past little bit now...i find myself more and more antisocial. I realize this more and more, and I don't think I like this change in me. I somehow have to find a way to be theway I was. I want to catch up with old friends and maybe meet new ones. Its really been too long!

Looks like I'll be in the market looking for a new Driver, I broke the one that I have...time to shop around! =)

2009-07-25T08:01:00.003-06:00

My woes with saving money persists, and the reason? I made a little simple mistake, going shopping with a friend. Most people who knows me know that I am quite the impulsive shopper, if I see something I like, and the price is right, I would usually snag it and buy it, and which is why I have so many clothing in my closet.

As in my last blog, I am a Dom Rebel fan and there were some pieces left from their spring collection that were floating around and is on sale. I went into a store last Saturday, and this piece was staring at me, telling me to try it on.

This is the back of the shirt.

And this is the front. Vulgar, I know, but awesome!

So that was the purchase I made at the first store, went to another store, and saw this T-shirt that was on sale, I've been eyeing it for quite some time now and had always wanted it. So now that it is on sale, I quickly tried it on, and decided to buy it. It is a piece from Kid Robot.

Kid Robot Ninja!!

A friend of mine just got back from her Tokyo, Japan trip and this is what she bought me!!!

That's right, HADOUKEN!!

Some of my friends know me really well and know that I am nothing but a geek on the inside. Then again, I am as much of a geek on the inside as I am on the outside, and I am damn proud of it!

Next weekend, when I go back to Edmonton, is supposedly when the Dom Rebel Fall/Winter collection gets released! So, there'll be more money spending, but at least it'll be brand new stuff and it is justified as I have made a commitment beforehand about this and won't feel bad(actually, depending on which piece I buy, it might become quite expensive, gulp)

I am also starting a little Blu-Ray Collection, so far, it consists of True Blood Season 1 and Transformers 1. But it'll slowly grow. I love watching movie in HD now, don't think I can go back to crappy cinema filmed pirated copies. I am a collector of things and love original stuff, but that is a little price I pay I guess.

Anyways, that's all I have for now, until next time.

2009-07-12T12:49:00.002-06:00

The reason why I can't save money all too well. I am sure a lot of us have pondered about that from time to time.

For me, I think it is my inability to stop spending money. GAH!

Vacations:
In 2009, I've already been to a couple places which were at the top of my list the last little bit.

January - Hongkong, Shenzhen, and Tokyo
March - Montreal
June - Vancouver (a re-visit)

I used to think that vacation is all about shopping and walking around and partying! But the more places I go to, the more I've come to appreciate the sights and sounds of the place. Be it the natural settings or the man made buildings. I've learned to appreciate looking and examining and soaking up the atmosphere more than the shopping and the constant partying.

I am sure before the year is over, I would make more impulsive decision to visit some other places( I always do >.<).

February 2010, I will be making a trip back to Brunei. It has been almost 5 years since I've been back there, marking it the longest time I've been away from home. I truly miss the family and friends there along with the food. Now here's my dilemma, since I am taking time off to go back, and I dont go back that way often enough, should I stay there for 2 weeks and then make a trip to Austalia? or to Hongkong which is on the way home. I've been to HongKong and its a nice place and cheap, and I would have a place to stay, but I've been there. Australia would be expensive, but I've never been there and always wanted to go there too, but I also have friends there. So there's some thinking to do and some planning to be done!

But in any case, if i want to see more of the world, I will have to save up money, and I need to save up a lot too. So here's to hoping to save money! Starting from debt zero.

2009-07-10T10:54:00.005-06:00

It's that time again!

Good Morning!

I would like to say that, I think I am officially a Dom Rebel Whore-ish!

What is Dom Rebel you ask? They are a brand by designers from Montreal Canada. Now, Canada isn't really known to be the fashion capital of the world, and we haven't really have too much stylish stuff coming out from this country. When my friend(Chalez) introduced me to this brand, I quickly become very intrigued by it. They are unlike Affliction, Ed Hardy or Christian Audigier. These t-shirts are more stylish, bold, and vulgar than these Ed Hardies or Christian Audigiers. I am the proud owner of three t-shirts from them, 2 from the same line, 1 from an older line. Chalez and I have each made a commitment to purchase two pieces from their fall line which will debut in the beginning of August. When I get them, I'll post pics up!

Currently, I am reading "I hope they serve beer in hell" - Tucker Max. Have you ever read a book, where you have to stop and catch your breath from laughing? Well, that's what this book did to me, the guy is an asshole, but he is a freaking hilarious asshole! I seriously don't know how he gets away by writing such incriminating stories! If you haven't heard about him, google him right away cause its almost damn priceless!

My two new toys that i purchased this past weekend:

Hitachi Ultravision 42 inch Plasma HDTV
Acer Aspire One Netbook.

So now, I am Poor. Period.

2009-06-28T14:14:00.003-06:00

Good Afternoon.

How is everyone doing?

Vancouver was such a fun trip. It is a beautiful city and I love it there. Sometimes I wonder why I did not move there in the first place. How much different would my life be? But family obligations is definitely getting me tied down in Edmonton for the moment. I do not doubt that Vancouver is one of my destinations in the near future. For now, I will work and save money. Yes, it is time to seriously save up money. No longer can I afford this lifestyle of spending money freely. It is time I grow up and look towards the future and be responsible of my money. I know I've been saying that a lot, but I think this time, I am taking it seriously.

Work is going on as usual, the same challenges, the same problems. I am getting more and more practice doing stuff, so this is a good thing. I am more confident these days than when I first started.

Books wise, I am reading the Mortal Instrument Series, currently around half done Book 2, City of Ashes. Its about Mythical creatures, vampires, werewolves, faeries, shadowhunters and the likes. I've always been a sucker for such a genre. They fascinate me the most. Especially vampires and the concept of immortality. Really intrigues me, it makes for quite the philosophical conversation. Next book of course is Book 3, City of Glass.

TV Series wise, I am waiting for Season 5 of Grey's Anatomy to come out on DVD.
Too Many movies to list that I haven't seen.

Now I am too tired to write...so i'll just stop!

2009-06-13T07:42:00.002-06:00

Good Morning.

Have been really busy here at work, and it seems like forever since I've been here. But it is already the weekend and I think I can see the light at the end of the tunnel! Usually, after the weekend, it is the home stretch and things usually get easier then. My boss comes back on Tuesday and that'll help alleviate some of the things I've been doing. It sucks that your boss is your cross shift, it means that you'll be handling most of the stuff he's been doing and not knowing what half of them are, and people expect almost as much from you as they did from him and with less than half the knowledge that he possess. However, with that being said, I know I am getting a ton of priceless experience here and that is what keeps me going, I am a better person at this job now than when I started almost 11 months ago!

Word on the street is that there is a big announcement on Monday which concerns our company. Everyone have their own speculation as to what it is, and me, being me, am really curious about what it is all about, guess we'll find out Monday.

Another word on the street is that we'll be getting 8Gig Ipod Touch from Shell for hitting the 10million Man hour Loss Time Incident Free Milestone, if that is true, that will be so great! woohoo!

Hmmm, I am going to Vancouver next Wednesday! and it should be a fun little time, its always great just to be able to leave Edmonton and go travelling. I love vacations. Although Vancouver is a place I've been to lots, but I still love it and I haven't been back there for almost 2 years. The food is just amazing! and the shopping is so good! And honestly, Vancouver is one of the cities I would consider moving to once I have my PR. I mean, I have family in Edmonton and such, but I feel that I've done all I can in Edmonton and would like to venture elsewhere if possible!

and i guess, so much for saving money..for the first half anyways...

2009-05-31T08:01:00.005-06:00

Ok, So it's really been a while since I've written anything on here at all. Then again, ever since I've found Plurk, I've been using that as a mini blog instead and I find it almost too convenient!

But that still doesn't take away the satisfaction of writing some entries and I guess that's what I am really doing now.

It has been more than a year since I've started working out on sites. Although I've always complained about it and didn't like being so far away from friends and family, I have noticed that I've gained a lot of experiences doing this. Things that I can't learn just by being in the City. So in a way, I am thankful for being up here. My new boss has been really helpful, giving me a lot more work to do and by so, helping me grow, not only job wise, but life wise too, and for that, I am thankful as well.

Other than that, my social life is pretty much a flat line, i still hang out with my usual friends, but i haven't really met anyone interesting. I guess in a way, its more of a constant line more than a flatline, i still go out and have fun with the friends whom I treasure lots.

One feeling I haven't had for a long long while is one where I pursue a girl, the fun of the chase, doing things for her, you know? ah well, its not a feeling i dwell on a lot, but it sure would be nice to have someone to pursue.

Vacations wise, I will be heading to Vancouver from June 17(8pm or so) to June 22(leaving at 9am). So it'll be a nice couple days not spent in Edmonton(but then again, I hardly spend time in Edmonton as it is) but its always nice to travel to different cities! Other than Vancouver, I am making plans to go back to Brunei hopefully early next year. I just found out that a friend of mine is getting married in mid January and I would very much love to attend that wedding, my initial plans were to go back for Chinese New year. It all depends if i have the vacation stored up for it, and it will also mean our very initial plans of Miami in december might be in limbo too. So many places i want to go, so little time and money! =(

Speaking of money, I've turned over a new leaf and is totally committed to saving money now. I've decided to only spend money on necessities(home stuff) and some car stuff and that's it. No extra spending(or try to anyways). I have to admit, i am a freaking spend thrift, is there a way to cure spending?

2009-03-07T14:52:00.001-07:00

What time is it? Blog entry time!

Hump day at work, which means I am half way done my shift! Saturday marks the 5th day of my 10 day shift for those of you who do not know how to count or too lazy to count. ;)

Not much has been happening in my world, just the same old! Getting more and more anti social by the minute and not wanting to go out much at all!

Although, I am trying to change that! I don’t like the anti-social Mike, he has to go! I have to be more social, its more fun that way! hehe.

Last weekend, was ok, didn’t do much, although I finally cash in on that Christmas gift I got from my company. $150 for Sorrentino’s Italian Restaurant. The beauty of the Christmas gift is that, it also comes with a bottle of wine from the owner’s private cellar! When I show the waitress the coupon, she recognized it right away as the owner of company frequents it. She said she’ll choose the wine for us, Which is 2004 Zenato Amarone Veneto. It is truly an expensive wine. Very red in Colour and smells really good too. There is no aftertaste after drinking and goes down really easy, perhaps it is the best bottle of wine I’ve enjoyed. Downing that between 2 people was fantastic! We had two appetizers to start, Prince Edward Island steamed mussels and crab cakes, both very exquisite! Then we had a seafood fetuccine as a 2nd appetizer. Veal shanks and Sea Bass were the entrée. For dessert, we got a trio of Crème Brulee, which included White Chocolate(fav), Passionfruit and I forgot the last flavor. Now, through the excitement of getting ready and all, none of us remembered to bring a camera and as such, didn’t take any pictures.=(

That was the highlight of the weekend food wise. =( Hopefully next weekend when I am back, I get to go to another restaurant to try out some other stuff =).

Another highlight for the weekend was the Edmonton Car show. I had no intentions of buying a new car just yet as I am very satisfied with the one I have now, however, after seeing and sitting in the cars that were showcased, I had quite the itch to buy a new car! Haha, amongst some of the car I was interested in are the Audi A4, Nissan 370Z, Nissan Altima SE coupe, BMW 335xi, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X, etc. But I cannot justify myself buying a new car this year, the market and recession just doesn’t dictate myself buying a new car. So this summer, I will spend some money “modding” my car per se, adding new stuff to it and what not! It should be fun! I think its also time for an overall inspection on the car, it has been underperforming as of late.

Also saw Street Fighter: the legend of Chun Li over that weekend. It was seriously a bad movie! Even the fact that Kristen Kreuk was starring as Chun Li didn’t help the movie. The Street Fighter franchise has so much potential, and they come up with this excuse for a movie. Two words; Utter Disappointment!

Currently, I am playing Star Ocean: The Last Hope for the Xbox 360. It’s really like one of the old school Japan RPG, i.e., Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, etc where you would level up characters and what not. I really like such RPGs because I can spend a lot of time on it. Especially when I stay in camp and have nothing to do, this really helps me kill lots of time. Last night for example, I spent a good two hours playing before sleeping. When I look at the clock, it was 730 or so, then when I look at the clock again, it was 930. Already spent about 5 hours on it and I only started playing on Tuesday. Pretty good for staying in camp and sleeping early!

Anyways, I think that’s all I have this time…. Peace out for now!

2009-02-22T12:30:00.000-07:00

You know what would really stink up your breath?

Try having an egg salad sandwich with onions first thing in the morning! Yes, that’s right! Two very potent smells that you can eat. I told my co-workers that if I burp, I apologize ahead of time! Cause damn! They stink, I actually almost feel bad for eating such a meal in the morning, oh well, *burp*

Today another work day and another day in paradise indeed; it is snowing outside at the moment but fortunately, it is not too cold! Now that I think about it, I haven’t really seen or experienced a bad snow storm yet this winter, we are really having a mild winter this year! (Knock on wood). Winter is far from over and I might have just jinxed us all! Muhahahaha

It is funny how I feel sometimes. On Monday, I felt that I am ready to come back to work and almost excited to come back to work, and then I would wake up Tuesday morning at 430 and would then pack and leave with another heavy heart. Being up in Fort McMurray this much has really changed me. I’ve been on this very site since July 1, 2008 and its amazing how fast time flies! The site itself has undergone major changes since I’ve got here, and we can see the defined changes that have taken place. Buildings getting enclosed, things being built, and everyone working together! Of course, in any given projects, there are kinks and setbacks and this one project is not an exception. We have battled through our fair share of adversities and we are still chugging along! This project is a major undertaking for our company as this is one of the biggest projects we have done to date. We have over 1,000 Craft workers working and about 200 support staffs and everyone is trying their best to work as a well oiled machine! We are scheduled to finish this job by October 31, 2009, when we manage that; I think its time we all take a well deserved rest!

And here I am, on a Sunday, nearing the end of my shift. I will be home on Thursday night for another 4 days of R&R. How much of that will I get? Probably not too much as I have a few things to get done already.

- I really need a haircut
- Still hunting for that elusive Wine Rack/Coffee Table
- Clean up the house (Major cleaning)
- Organize bills and expenses
- Think of things to pimp my house?
- Start stocking up on board games
- Book hunting time!

I wonder how many of the above I will actually end up doing. Then again, I should be able to accomplish parts, if not, all of them given the amount of time I have on my hands on my days off. Trying to save money and wanting to go out proves to be an impossible task, however, if I only save the going out part for the night time, I should be able to do well, however, if I do that, how would I find that wine rack/coffee table. I think a trip to IKEA is in order this weekend! Better spend money at IKEA and get something useful at home than go shopping at the mall and pick up more clothing!

And speaking of clothing, a friend of mine helped me purchased a Dom Rebel T-shirt the other day! I saw it online and he was going to shop for some Dom Rebel stuff. He told me he saw that T-shirt and so I asked him to help me purchase it. It’s really awesome! But it also set me back quite a little! Can’t wait to see/wear it when I go back!! I will include a picture when I go back and get my hands on it!

I watched Step up 2: The streets the other night and it was a pretty good movie! The dance crews, music and everything pretty much blended up pretty well and enjoyed the little plot that they have too! The dancing was phenomenal and there were a couple of dances that were stuck to my head and I keep thinking about them! Truly a performance worth watching!

On the other hand, I saw Max Payne last night and let’s just say it was an hour of my life I had lost and will not get back! I played the game ages ago and thought it should be a good movie to watch. WRONG! I thought it was drawn out and the characters weren’t really developed that well, nor did the characters really have any connection to each other. Maybe the movie was a bit too ambitious but that was one movie I did not really enjoy!

And yes, I am going back to my movie watching ways because it’s been too long since I’ve really watched any movies. I have a ton to catch up, and all the time in camp to catch up! I guess I should add two things to my purchase list this weekend; S-Video cable and audio input.

There are so many things I want in life, and most of them cost money. I guess prioritizing is the only way to survive!

2009-02-09T15:36:00.000-07:00

I haven’t really blogged about anything interesting in ages and I doubt anyone would be reading my blog at this point in time anymore cause its so dull and what not.

I admit I do lack the creativity to write interesting stuff. But then again, my blog doesn’t really have an identity of its own. It’s just a place for me to write down random stuff when I feel like writing. Otherwise, I just leave it barren and it just sits there, waiting for the next time I feel like writing down anything at all.

I haven’t read any books lately, and I think there’s a trend here. I read more during the summer months than the winter months, still trying to find a reason for that. Maybe I get sleepy/tired more during winter months and have no desire to read. But fear not, I think my urge to read is coming back to me; I will buy some books this weekend, when I am back.

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. Couples must be excited because this is one time of the year where they can be all lovey dovey and get away with it! For singles, it might be a time to sulk, and a time to reflect upon why you do not have that significant other. What is the purpose of Valentine’s Day? Is the sole purpose just for vendors to charge atrocious prices for a dozen roses? Or give restaurants an opportunity reason to put those creative minds to work and come up with a set menu to appease these couples? Being the hopeless romantic that I probably am, I firmly believe that everyday should be Valentine’s Day! Anytime you spend with your significant other should be special, why should February 14 be anymore special than any other day? But knowing me, I would fall for the same scheme if I were not single, so I won’t preach what I don’t practice. I’ll just have to see it for the girl, to brag about her boyfriend and how wonderful he is to her! That’s right! That’s the main reason for Valentine’s Day! Bragging Rights!! =p

It’s been almost a month since I’ve returned from my Hong Kong and Tokyo trip. And I can honestly say I miss being on vacation. Waking up everyday, without having to worry about what to do or where to go or to worry about work at all is great! I sometimes with I can be paid to go travelling 365 days a year! I really enjoyed seeing new places and experiencing new cultures. No matter where you go, the culture is different! My next two destinations that are in the midst of some planning stage are Montreal and Toronto. I have always wanted to go to Montreal for a visit! The buildings and night life there is so much different from that of Edmonton, or so I heard, and I would really love to check it out. I’ve gone to Toronto before, but it was a couple years ago, and I have not yet learnt to appreciate travelling and seeing new things and it has been with my grandparents. I would really love to go check it out on my own terms and grounds, to see how I like it there. I’ve been to Vancouver and it’s such a wonderful city, I like it so much that I had thought about moving there. The only other town/city that I’ve stayed in Canada would be Fort McMurray, actually, it’s more like my home now more than anything seeing how I have spent the majority of my past year here, than I did in Edmonton.

I really wonder sometimes, how my life would be different, if I had spent the last year in Edmonton instead. Would I have saved up enough money to go to Hong Kong and Tokyo? I have a bad spending habit, and I should really force myself to change that in 2009 should I stand a chance to save any money at all. Being in Fort McMurray has forced me to not spend as much money which is just what I need in this trying time!

More wondering… if me working and having a life up here in Fort McMurray is turning me into an Anti-social. I am so used to seclusion now, so used to being by myself at night that I sometimes don’t even feel like going out or being sociable when I go back to Edmonton. Every night for 10 nights, I would go back to camp, have dinner by myself, sometimes with some co-workers if I happen to see them. Then I would go back to my room, play Xbox 360, or go online or watch some TV before I go to sleep at around 830 or 9pm. Then I would wake up the next day, and repeat the same things over again. The fact that I feel like staying indoors and not going out in Edmonton is a sign that I do prefer and also used to seclusion. Is there a way to get out of this vicious cycle?

Random notes:
- I need to shave
- I need more 360 games
- I need to find something to do on the 14th
- I need to save money for rainy days
- I should count out the coins I have saved for rainy days
- I should really start working out
- I want to have a swagger

No one in the corner have swagger like us! Seriously, I really liked the performance of M.I.A., T.I., Kanye West, Jay-Z, and Lil Wayne. They are all successful in their own way, but to put them all on one stage, at the Grammy’s no less! The song really did justice to their performance too! Each of them really have a swagger to them and we could all just look in awe! On another note, I also saw the performance of Katy Perry. I shouldn’t be one to judge someone else’s singing because I can’t sing worth shit, but damn, Katy Perry can’t sing worth shit live! I swear my ears were bleeding while listening to her! She was so out of tone, but a positive from her show were her bouncing boobies!

Listening to hip hop music does have an affect on the drinks you want to try out. I’ve heard Whatever you like by TI so much that I actually went out and bought a bottle of Patron. Now, I am not a huge fan of tequila, but taking a sip of that Patron, it really goes down quite easy! It’s actually one of the smoother liquor I’ve ever taken!

My next purchase (hopefully this weekend) will be a wine rack! I have a couple bottles of wine sitting in my place that I think I should have a wine rack to put them in! Something cool and unique! The sad thing about decorating my house is that, I don’t stay there long enough to have any inclination to buy stuff for the house. But alas, my new year’s resolution is to save money and only spend money on the house and my car. So I will try and stick to that, and not spend any unnecessary money buying other stuff! All I need is just some willpower and I should be on my way. Well, that and I just have to look at my account and feel bad about myself! By the way, alcohol is not an unnecessary purchase! Ok…rephrase, double negatives are sometimes not that cool. Alcohol is a necessary purchase!

Anyways, I think this is where I sign off! Have a good time everyone!

2009-01-25T10:33:00.000-07:00

The last couple days in December and the first two weeks of January passed by in lightning speed. The first couple weeks in December was mostly spent in Fort McMurray for work and on my last shift I worked a couple days extra just to make sure there were no issues, although I still question the reasoning of me being there. Then one week was spent in Edmonton where I got to catch up with some friends, see my parents who were over here visiting. Then on December 29, 2008, I embarked on a journey out east, to two places I’ve always wanted to go pretty badly. And it was a journey with friends, one that I’ve not done much of.

Actually, come to think of it, I have not done much vacations period. Places I’ve been to are limited. I hear stories of someone’s travel and most of the time, I am envious. So I am glad I have some stories I can share to my family and friends. Below is a very brief account of that trip.

Destination Hong Kong and Tokyo were made well in advance, 2^nd quarter of 2008 to be exact. Once I had booked that ticket going to Hong Kong, I had known it’ll be good times, no matter how I look at it. I wasn’t too excited about it at first because it was a couple months before I get to go on vacation. However, as the date creeps nearer, my excitement grew, up until the point where the plane took off and land at the Hong Kong International Airport.

Was only in Hong Kong for 2 days before I had to leave the place again, temporarily, for the 2^nd destination of my vacation, Tokyo. Now, I have always been infatuated with the Japanese culture for the longest time and am quite excited to finally have the chance to visit the country.

Tokyo is quite the amazing city to be in, the shear amount of people jam packed in a city is amazing! Being born in Brunei and only being in Edmonton for a couple years, I’ve never experienced such a dense population. I was uncomfortable at first but slowly got used to it. Food, sights, other sights, and shopping in Tokyo was really fun and unique and good of course. I will not go into details of the things that has happened in the trip as that would take forever, just know that I’ve gotten to experience the culture of the Japanese people, a lot of them being very polite and nice and gentle, almost to the point where I feel bad not leaving a tip.

From Tokyo, I headed back to Hong Kong where I’ll be spending the week! Hong Kong has a similar population density as Tokyo, however, the people in Hong Kong aren’t as genuine nor gentle as the ones I had experienced in Tokyo, so again, I have to get myself assimilated into their way of life. Life as a Hong Kong person is always none stop and it’s a go go go, and a cutthroat environment to work in. I, for one, don’t think I am cut out to live there as I think I will get eaten alive! Otherwise, the food, shopping and stuff is as cheap as cheap can be! I’ve also found out that trying to spend all my money is apparently hard, when I don’t know what I am looking for!

Aside from Hong Kong and Tokyo, I also had the chance to visit a city in China, Shenzhen. Now, I’ve heard a lot of bad things about the city and I was hesistant at first, to follow my friend up there. However, upon disembarking the bus, it changed my view of the city right away. In my mind, Shenzhen is a run down city with a lot of shady places and buildings. It was totally opposite of what I had imagined. Towering skyscrapers, amazing architectural buildings would rival that of any city in Canada. I was pleasantly surprised with what I saw and I had a wonderful time in that city. Only spent a day and a night there in total, I would definitely like to revisit that city in the future, to explore more. Did I mention that shopping, eating in Shenzhen is cheaper than that of Hong Kong, and I already considered Hong Kong to be dirt cheap

When it was time to leave Hong Kong, yes, I did feel heavy hearted and sad that my Vacation is coming to an end(only because I know that when I return, I’ll be coming to Fort McMurray for work), on the other hand, I was also ready to come home. To be away from home for 18 days, and walking around so much, there was no chance to really stop and relax! I had thought to myself that I needed a vacation to just recover from this vacation! This trip has opened my eyes as to how other countries operate, how people from different style of life lives. I can say that I have absorbed a lot from this experience and its something I would share to everyone! It has also make me want to visit other places more and plan on travelling a lot more, because that’s where my interests lie, to see lots and lots of different places, and eat!

But to summarize this trip, I came, I played, I shopped, I ate, I saw! It was everything I had hoped for and even more.

2009-01-20T13:40:00.002-07:00

With a heavy heart, I woke up this morning, finished packing my things, and embarked on the waiting cab outside and got on my way to the Shell Aerocenter where I boarded the plane to head to Fort McMurray for work.

And thus ended was my Vacation, the vacation that we had planned for months before. 18 days, gone just like that, as if it were mere seconds!

Will keep this short, but will post a more detailed post later on.

I came, I played, I ate, I shopped, now I am a couple thousand dollars poorer, but happy at that.

To a better 2009!

2008-12-15T12:55:00.002-07:00

Tony Rich Project- Nobody Knows

Wish I'd told her how I felt, then maybe she'd be here right now, but
instead...
I pretended I'm glad you went away
These four walls closing more everyday
And I'm dyin' inside
And nobody knows it but me
Like a clown I put on a show
The pain is real even if nobody knows
And I'm cryin' inside
And nobody knows it but me
Why didn't I say, the things I needed to say
How could I let my angel get away
Now my world is just a tumblin' down
I can say it so clearly, but you're nowhere around
The nights are lonely, the days are so sad
And I just keep thinkin' about the love that we had
And I'm missin' you
And nobody know it but me
I carry a smile when I'm broken in two
And I'm nobody without someone like you
I'm tremblin' inside
And nobody knows it but me
I lie awake it's a quarter past three
I'm screamin' at night if I thought you'd hear me
Yeah, my heart is callin' you
And nobody knows it but me
How blue can I get, you could ask my heart
But like a jigsaw puzzle it's been torn all apart
A million words couldn't say just how I feel
A million years from now you know I'll be lovin' you still
The nights are lonely the days are so sad
And I just keep thinkin' about the love that we had
And I'm missin' you
And nobody knows it but me
Yeah, Ohh, uhh, whoa, omom,
Nobody, nobody, but me.....
Tomorrow morning I'm hittin' the dusty road
Gonna find you where ever, ever you might go
And I'm gonna unload my heart
And hope you come back to me
Yeah, sad when the nights are lonely...
The nights are lonely, the days are so sad
And I just keep thinkin' about the love that we had
And I'm missin' you
And nobody knows it but me...

2008-11-04T07:51:00.002-07:00

Wow, it has really been a while since i've blogged about anything.

I guess October was a bender of a month for me. I had a very screwed up work schedule and as such it has somewhat threw me off a little. Not getting the routine days off, but however, I did get quite a bit of rest and what not.

The biggest change for me at the moment at work is that my Boss quit, and as such will be doing a lot more. In a way, this is almost the best way for me to learn and gain more experience, this is really learning by the fire, so we shall see how I am able to hold the fort down.

The Oilers are doing ok, although not the best yet, but they are improving! Next game is tomorrow at 530! against Columbus! Oilers are 6-4-1 at the moment and that is by far not too bad considering how we could be so much worse off.

There has been a lot of things that have been going through my mind lately, but these are things that i will not be sharing on this blog. As much as I like to write all these things out and feel more relieved, I don't think I will do it this time around. Maybe another time.

Birthday is coming in a couple days, should be able to have some fun with it since I am back on days off. I'll post some pics of it if I take some.

Oooo...got the new Ipod Nano as a gift from the company for hitting 2million man hours on this project i am working on! ^.^, not sure yet if i'll be using it since I already have my own ipod that is two years old. But I wouldn't mind using it, will start uploading music on it when I buy a cover for it. Dont want to scratch this one!

Going to be a short and boring blog entry, I lack the creativity to spice it up!

2008-09-28T07:31:00.002-06:00

You know what time it is?

Can you guess?

It's not that hard!!!

HOCKEY IS BACK!!!

Oilers played 4 games in 4 nights last week, and are 1-1-2. Not too bad considering its 4 games in a row, which is almost unheardof, but its pre-season and we have lots of bodies to test out. I am pumped for the regular season! Over the summer, we have acquired some players who I think would be awesome for us. Lubomir Visnovsky, whom i've always liked the last 2 years or so, and always wished we could have him, is finally here!! Also, Erik Cole, whom I though was an awesome player(before his neck injury) is also here, tis will be an interesting season if we can have the right chemistry. Can't wait to watch games!! I have a life yet again!

Aside from that, not much else happening. Staying 2 extra days this shift, which means i'll be working 12 days straight. Which isn't really a big issue, and i get 6 days off after that, so that's always good. The bad thing is that, I have weird shifts this month and that puts a dampen into my Japanese class. After going to the first class, I'll be missing the next three. I feel kind of bad not showing up, but then again, this is one thing that is out of my control, so too bad I guess. I'll definitely have a lot to catch up, thank goodness its only $30.

Its about exactly three months till I get to fly to Hongkong! Can't wait!! First time going there and I've always wanted to go. Also going to Japan from Jan 2nd to Jan 7th! 5 days in Nippon! This is going to be quite the trip, but I shouldn't get too excited just yet, I have 3 months to get through first. And it's already been 4 months since my last vacation, Vegas seem like so long ago. I can hardly contain my excitement at times. The money saving for this trip is going well, almost done saving money for it, shouldn't be too long now.

By the way, on a note regarding my haircut, it was fixed the moment I arrived back in Edmonton. and Yes, I took the plane from site to Edmonton like that. I've gotten a lot of weird looks, and a guy actually asked to take a picture with me! -_-" definitely should've saved this hairstyle for halloween, it would be almost perfect for it.

6 more sleeps before I go back to Edmonton =)

Wonder if I will be able to get one more round of golf going before the season ends, i know its going to be wishful thinking, so not going to put too much hope in that. Might buy a pair of golf shoes next season.

Looking into my life, its really really boring, I work 10 days straight, not doing much at night during the 10 days off, watch tv, internet, sleep. Then I go back to edmonton, go out a lot, either party hard, or just chill with friends, then I come back again for 10 days, months go by so quickly without me accomplishing much. But at least I get to save some money this way and not spend it all! =)

K, and not to end my boring blog entry....peace

2008-09-25T14:04:00.003-06:00

Do not open your big mouth when there is an ongoing head shaving charity going on.

this is the result...of opening your mouth to raise money.

2008-09-01T09:56:00.007-06:00

As we enter the month of September, it almost marks the end of Summer.

During school times, this is true, because after the long weekend (Labour Day) it is time to head back to school, the daily grind of waking up and head to school where you would fall asleep during class, work on assignments and projects with friends or your group. However, how that I have started working, I don't even notice these things anymore. 8 months of the year has gone by, and we are entering the last quarter of the year.

A little recap of the Summer Months.

May

This was one really memorable month. With the bulk of my adventure happening here, not to mention money spending. During May, I made my first trip to VIVA LAS VEGAS! this was one of the funnest trip I've been on. I've talked about going to Vegas ever since turning 21, but this year was the only time a serious discussion and planning took place, and it took us all but 2 days to decide, research and book tickets. And the rest of it was history. 4 days and 4 nights in Vegas, truly good times.

Recap in PicturesVegas Summarized

Do you notice how weird this picture is?
Waiting for the Tram from a hotel I could not remember to The MIRAGE

Body English NightClub Inside Hardrock Cafe Hotel
Part of the Vegas Strip

Also in May, I attended the Kanye West glow in the dark concert, that in itself was basically 4 concerts in one, and one of the concerts I truly enjoyed, we shall not mention the trials and tribulations of getting to the concert, both me and the friend I went with. but overall, i think the both of us really enjoyed the concert, despite the big ego the kanye has, he does make up quite the show.

June

To be honest I actually do not quite remember what happened in June, everything was a little blur to me, but I do remember is at the end of June and our little Sylvan Lake trip. Unfortunately, I do not have pictures of that cause I didn't bring a camera and pictures from then has not been sent to me yet.

July

July was when I first started at this site that I am at now. And there wasn't much that I did at this point, except working and chilling when I get back. One of the trips we made was a trip to Calgary for the Stampede. Not much pictures to post on here so i wont post any.

August

Basically the same stuff as July and nothing but work. This is why time flies so fast for me. Work 10 days straight to get 4 days off, and repeat this twice and its a month. Before I know it, it'll be the end of the year and I'll be blogging about Christmas, New years and my trip to HongKong and Japan. One of the funner things that happened was a BBQ that we kind of planned, just cause it's summer and its always good to have outdoor events.

Me and my big mouth to volunteer to get rid of the cooler

So, my point is, time flies, before I know it, the summer has indeed come and passed, I don't remember much of what I did the past few months and it seemed like only yesterday when we celebrated the coming of the New Year. What will the fall and winter months bring? What lies ahead? Only time will tell.

Till then, let's hope for the best, and Operation Save Money is still an ongoing process.

2008-09-01T09:47:00.001-06:00

So I wrote this entry a while back, but never posted....i dont even remember what its about anymore....

I was DISCOVERED!!

By this guy at work (yes, I know you are probably going to be reading this entry). Funny how he found my blog though; he was actually looking for pictures of this camp we are staying at, and low and behold, he found my blog on Google. Why is Google so good at finding stuff? Geez, I was surprised when he told me he found my blog, and I thought the only way he would’ve found it if he was creeping Facebook (which I am sure he does). =p

Anyways, it has been a while since I’ve had an entry, but then again, not much going on anyways. Just work, play, work. Days, weeks and months go by quickly for me. Work 10 days and get to chill out for 4, so on and so forth, when you know it, it’ll be time for me to fly off to HK.

Another 4 months till I get to depart for that trip, don’t want to look forward to it yet because it’ll be one long wait, but I can’t help but look forward to it because there’s not much else to look forward to but my 4 days off; which is good in itself!

I NEED NEW MUSIC!

I need to watch more movies too, however, this might prove to be a good thing, by the time I get myself that TV, the Blu-rays for the movies I want to watch will hopefully be released, so that I can just buy the Blu-ray and enjoy the movie for the first time, instead of re-watching movies. Good Strategy indeed (In denial).

Edmonton’s summer is full of festivals, however, this year; I was only able to check out a handful of them. Amongst them were the Calgary Stampede (not even in Edmonton), Taste of Edmonton, and most likely the Fringe when I go back next weekend. I’ve missed Heritage Festival, street performers, Capital Ex. I remember I used to go to those just for the heck of going and chilling with friends, seems like it has been forever since I’ve gone and do stuff on a whim. I miss the days where I didn’t have a job and just did jack all day long, but I sure don’t miss not having money though.

2008-08-04T12:23:00.003-06:00

Only a couple days left...

before I finish yet another shift. This would be my third shift up here and I guess I can say that I've somewhat settled down over here. Gotten used to my routine, this shift has definitely gone by a lot quicker than other shifts. Before I know it, the weekend is gone and I am on the homestretch.

One sucky thing though,

Today is a statutory Holiday, Heritage days in Alberta or better known as Civic Holiday in BC. However, this time around, I am spending it up here on site at work. I think this is the first statutory holiday where I have I have to work. Then again, this doesn't feel any more different than a weekend for me, cause this is how I spend my days up here anyways, when I am at work, I try and not think about what I could've been doing and what not, so as far as I am concerned, this is just another day in the books!

Not much else is happening, leading a boring life when I am at work. Working the morning, then just watch tv or sleep at night. Still working on Prison Break season 1, watching that show really makes me realize that; no matter how much you plan, not everything will go according to plan. Things usually happen to sabotage what you have planned out, that's one thing that won't change.

Bank account is looking healthy again, however, when I go back this turnaround, I have to pay a bill that's going to be $400+. Gulp, that'll take a chunk off my savings again and set me back a little bit. But having to be up here at the Fort, really helps replenish my funds fast. I get two paycheques by the time I go back for my days off. And I swear, its not hard to figure out which days I am in camp and which days I am in town A sudden spike in money spent would mean I am in town.

But I will be cutting down on that too. with the attempts of saving money for my trip and all the big purchases I plan on getting. Save Save Save.

I know this is going to be a dull and mundane entry.

I lack creative genius nor do I strive to make this blog creative. Its just a place for me to write stuff down and kill time.

2008-07-24T08:38:00.003-06:00

Yet another book is done.

I've read so much this past few months that I almost couldn't remember which books I read...I'll write down all I can remember though.

Vincent Lam- BloodLetting & Miracolous Cures

Mitch Albom- for one more day

Mitch Albom- the five people you meet in heaven

Mark Haddon- The Curious incident of the dog in the night -time

Ellen Hopkin- Crank

Dean Koontz- The Good Guy

Christopher Moore- Coyote Blue

These are the books I remember reading, there might have been more but I could be wrong. I'll be purchasing more books when I have time or go shopping.

Home Bound!!

In a couple hours, 6 hours to be exact! i'll be checking on for my plane ride home! Finally, after a grueling shift up here. However, as bad as it sounded, I really learnt a lot this shift. I was able to deal with a lot of things without consulting my boss. Slowly grasping what is necessary for me to say or make a decision. Mind you, this is only the 2nd shift I've been up here. to think about it. It's already a month since I've been up here. Time really flies!

And in no time, Summer will be over and winter will be here. Gosh, in a week's time will be August 2008. I still remember new years eve like it happened yesterday. And this coming new years eve, I'll be in HK and hopefully partying! I really can't wait!

A picture of me in a cowboy hat, taken at the Calgary Stampede. Howdy Pardner!

There, a picture of me to finish off this post with.

2008-07-20T08:44:00.005-06:00

New-ish Purchases.

JBL Reference headphones. Pretty as advertised. Sounds awesome so far, and it fits in my ears! love the sound of clear crisp music. Good Job JBL, well worth the money paid for them.

And as I said before, my new glasses are green! and green they are. These are not the best pics I took of them, maybe I'll add some when I get better ones. They are by a brand called Eye3. Quite a pricey pair of glasses. But thank you Benefits! it was all free. My Ghetto work cell phone is in the background >.<

2008-07-19T11:42:00.003-06:00

Safety!

There's nothing more important on a construction site safety. It is preached to us every morning, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year. And there's nothing that spells safety like wearing your Personal Protective equipment(PPE)

We have the Hard Hat and with reflective stripes AND your name, so we know who the hat belongs to.

Safety Stripes, or in my case, a vest with lots of reflective stripes. (Foremen and above gets this), I am labour relations, so I guess I get a vest.

Of course, there's the safety gloves. I scored these from another site, they are high impact gloves. I guess I don't need something that fancy, but they are cool.

Safety glasses. I got the black ones with some hook ups, pretty cool tone to it i guess. You can see my hands if you look carefully. I think I can wear these for Poker.

There's actually one other thing missing. Which I didn't take a picture yet. Will update that later.

2008-07-18T07:36:00.004-06:00

The weekend Part Deux.....

Our main objective to Calgary was for the Stampede, and after getting a little directions and figuring out where to park. We proceeded to Stampede grounds, bought tickets and headed in. It wasn't all too much different than Capital Ex, but since some of us has never been, we wanted to check it out anyways. The festivities, the crowd and what not. Tried my hand in some of the carnival games but wasn't successful. We took a number of pictures, but wasn't on my camera and I haven't gotten them yet >.<, so those will have to wait. After a long day, we checked into the hotel and rested a little before going for dinner.

Dinner

was to be at Gnocchi's Italian restaurant. PASTA! mmm....

Mussels and Clams. The sauce with bread was delish!Forgot the name of the salad, but it had onions, lettuce, tomatores, buffalo cheese, and the dressing is balsamic vinegar with some other stuff. Light and goodLinguine Al Pastatore. Seafood with tomato sauce. Lovely
Fettucine GiGi. Panchetta with some other stuff in Rose cream. My favourite dish of the night.

Saba with vegetables and risotto. The fish was cooked perfectly, nice and moist. Not dry at all.

Overall the food and atmosphere of this little italian restaurant is really good. I would go back there again. We also had a bottle of white wine and it was really good. Pinot Grigio was the bottle of choice. Sadly, I forgot to take a picture of it. But all is well.

What followed next was a couple of events that included getting lost and what not. So i will spare the details. We ended up drinking in the hotel room and called it a night.

Shopping

The next morning, we had some breakfast to eat at a local chinese place and went shopping at Chinook Mall. I got a jacket from Zara Man. Nothing out of the ordinary happened while shopping and after which, we proceeded to driving home.

Highway Traffic

Now, usually, it takes me about 2 hours and 30 mins give or take to drive from Calgary to Edmonton. However, this time around, we got caught in a huge traffic jam. About after 30-40 mins out of Calgary, traffic came to a sudden halt. and before we know it, we were stucked for almost a good hour. What happened was that, there was a huge accident some point ahead and it was apparently quite major. Little car Vs truck. Let's just say there wasn't much left of the little car. Driving in the heat, driving a standard, and being surrounded by so many cars really took a lot out of me and i was tired by the end of it. AND to top it off, after about 15 minutes of clearing that traffic, we drove into a storm, and traffic once again was slow. All in all, it took us a good 3 hours and 45 mins to get home from Calgary this time around. Really not the ideal time.

And now, I am back in Fort McMurray, grinding it out. 6 more days left, not too bad I guess.

2008-07-16T06:32:00.006-06:00

The Weekend

As most would know, last weekend was the weekend where I had off, after a 10 day Grind up at the Fort. So I was pretty much looking forward to the 4 days off of work.

And there's no way to kickoff the days off like going to a...

Football game!
Well, not football as in soccer, but football as in the more american type.

It was our own Edmonton Eskimos Vs the Toronto Argonauts. Now mind you, this is the first football game I've ever been to, so I wasn't sure what to expect. However, I had an awesome time! The home team ultimately won 47-28. One thing though, as it got late, thunderclouds were looming above, and staying true to Edmonton weather, it got really really cold, and we left with 5 minutes left in the game. We are so weaksauce.

Cheerleaders watching the game, waiting for something to cheer(some of them were pretty hot)

One of the action shots I took of the home team! GO ESKS!

During the game, I made plans with some other friends for some "siu yeh" or some bubbletea goodies as I haven't had dinner yet. Turns out, I had some instant noodles and bubbletea at our beloved Dream Tea House. Somehow, plans were made to go Karaoke afterwards. Mind you, this was at Midnight, and I woke up at 5AM earlier that morning. But alas, the 3 of us went karaoke and stayed there till about 2 before we called it a night. What a tiring start already.

Friday...
Ran some errands in the morning and helped with some stuff. Also had to run back to the Edmonton office to get some paperworks done, picked up my new glasses, got a haircut, bought some dinner and brought it to my grandparent's place for dinner. All this in 4 hours or so. Not too shabby I might add. Packed and got ready for the Calgary trip at night. So Friday was pretty much a write off for errands and chores and what not. Gah!

Saturday...
Woke up bright and early, check the car, load the car, and it was time to haul ass! Picked up a friend, had breakfast at McDonald's, then met up with 2 others to pick them up. And away we go. Took us about 2.5 hours to get to Calgary.

Close call...
on the way to Calgary though, I was going about 130-140 Km/hr on the highway. (speed limit is 110Km/hr). There were 3 cars ahead of me. Nissan Altima SE-R, Mazda 6 and my Nissan Sentra. Altima was going the fastest, then out of no where he slowed down and tuck back into the right lane, and the Mazda 6 just zoomed on. Not a minute later, I realized why the Altima tucked into the right lane and drove slower. There was a cop car right there on the median. As we(mazda 6 and I) passed, I saw the cop car turn on the siren and is getting ready to get out. So I tucked into the right lane and slowed down, looked at side mirror and saw the cop car zooming full speed ahead. I looked infront, and saw the Mazda6 continue on speeding like nothing happened. So out of no where, the cop car zoomed by and pulled over the Mazda 6....hahaha, close call for me, Mazda 6 became the scapegoat. As I pass by the Altima SE-R, I looked over, and we shared a good laugh.

Lunch
We had lunch at a Japanese place called Shikiji. They are known for their ramen and other noodles.

Miso Ramen

After which we proceeded to the Stampede....

To be continued....need to work now...

2008-07-07T14:04:00.003-06:00

It's just one of those days, two days in a row.

Is it possible, well, at a site where there are currently 500 men and women working, yeah, I guess it is possible. I am not at the liberty to divulge any information on anyone here, but man, it has been a heck of 2 days for me.

What I've learnt so far, shit can really hit the fan here. and really quickly too. At one moment, something bad will happen, then something good will come along to take the bad away, but always, almost always, that good thing will not last and its back to the shit holes.
This is honestly how i want to be right now. Hide my head in a hole, if i dont see you, you dont see me right? too bad this concept don't work so well in real life.

Calgary Is a GO!

Something to look forward to when i go back home for my days off. We will be making a 2 days trip to Calgary for the Calgary Stampede, so put on that cowboy hat cause its YEEHAW! time! HOWDY PARD'NER!

3 more sleeps

Till I fly back home for my days off. This site has had as much problems in 2 days as I had in CNRL, its amazing and beyond me how that can happen. But it doesn't surprise me at all. Then again, having all this issues and having only me here to deal with it(with consultations to boss and a lot of fine ppl), I am able to learn somethings at least, learning by the fire, there's no better way to go about it sometimes.

My blog is really lacking of pictures, I really need to upload some pictures from my phone, but didn't bring card reader up north, oops, else I could've blogged some. Ish ok, most likely will add some when I blog about Calgary. I.e. if I take any at all.

Bah, that's all for now....i don't want to fight this urge to sleep, but I am at work.....shiz

2008-07-04T15:24:00.002-06:00

My new purchase, that I did online,

JBL reference headphones - White. hehe, bought this baby online just now. I needed new headphones and was looking online for one, these ones were apparently the best bang for your buck. Hopefully it will arrive by the time I go back to Edmonton. ooo, I get to pick up my new glasses next friday as well! Happy!!!

Online shopping is such an awesome invention, but at the same time, its also so dangerous. For those who have not bought stuff before, well, its really really addicting! Once you start, you can't stop kind of deal. i've been buying stuff online for way too much now and lost track of how many things I've ordered online. The reason why I like buying stuff online is that they get delivered to your footsteps, and with gas prices nowadays, heck, you don't have to waste gas driving out to get it.

Some of my more favourite sites to purchase stuff from would include(but not limited to,)

Bestbuy
Amazon
Futureshop
Yesasia

However, as much as I like buying stuff online, I do like shopping at malls too! When it comes down to it, there's no better way to waste time than to go shopping. Clothings must be shopped at a store, for fittings and what not.

Speaking of clothings, I am starting a little jeans collection of my own.
Currently, I have 4 jeans that are considered "designer jeans"

- True Religion, Joey Super T- Light Prankster
- Rock and Republic- Taylor in Desecration Blue
- Evisu X Puma
- Nudie

It will only grow from here on in. Slowly, but definitely surely

2008-07-04T07:08:00.004-06:00

FURNISHING

Over the past little bit, been pondering what else I want for my place. I have come to the conclusion that there are a number of things I want to get for the place, to pimp it up so to speak.

So amongst the things I've some what have my eyes on (but will change decision given something else comes up) are these:The above is an IMFORS Coffee table from IKEA, it just looks simple and elegant and would fit nice right in the living room. This would be the first priority.

Like I have somewhat mentioned in my previous blog, I bought a PS3 a couple weeks back and my current TV is just not sufficient enough to play it and it hurts my eyes. Hence, I've chosen(as a maybe) this Sharp Aquos 37" 1080p LCD HDTV. It is big enough for my little living room and should be sufficient to run the ps3 and my soon to be blu ray movie collections.

Next on the list is a SUMO OMNI Bean Bag(not the woman on it). This one time, a long long time ago, I was at a chapters with a friend, just chilling and looking for books and what not, and they had this at one of the reading areas. So, being Mike, I went to sit on it to have a feel for it and it was actually quite comfortable, made a note of the name and found it online. It is quite pricey for a bean bag, but I am sure its worth it. Will think about this one.
A friend of mine emailed me a link yesterday cause she knew I was looking to furnish my place. This is an IZM designed BEAM Bed. And they are local to Edmonton too. It just simply looks good! and its always the bed I've always envisioned. However, just by looking at the design and quality, I am thinking this will cost me an arm and a leg to get.

I guess you can say this is my wish list, for myself, but knowing me, I'll most likely get 3 out of the 4 things that I've listed on here; when i've saved up enough money of course.

There are a couple other things I want which I didn't even start looking yet. They would be a Mini Bar a new carpet, a new couch, slowly equipping my kitchen, new stand for potentially new tv. This will be a huge work in progress and it'll take me a while to fully finish furnishing it. However, slowly, but surely, I'll get things done and set up.

Potential Calgary Stampede Trip

So talking to a couple friends, we kinda proposed the idea of going to Calgary for the Calgary Stampede the weekend I am back. This would be a good time to try and get out of town, since its summer, the sun is shinning, and there's no work to be done over the weekend. What better way to enjoy it than to go out of town, just for the heck of it. Again, since its the Calgary Stampede, chances are, it'll be packed with peeps from Edmonton heading there. And knowing most of my friends, they would be too lazy planning it, so it'll be me planning the thing. Hopefully it works out.

MOVIES I HAVE YET TO WATCH

Being the movie buff that I am, I actually haven't seen a lot of movies lately, due to my time in Fort McMurray and what not.

Amongst them are:
Ironman
Indiana Jones
Hancock
Wall-E
Harold and Kumar
You don't mess with the Zohan
And it looks like i'll be missing the premier of the Dark Knight

I am sure there are a couple movies I've missed since its summer and its movie galore time. So sad.

At least I got to watch Kungfu Panda, which I found to be pretty funny. Jack Black was good as always. Although, a chinese theme in Hollywood seem soo weird. But hey, it made me laugh, so I am ok with it. Overall, a satisfying movie experience.

2008-07-02T08:41:00.002-06:00

First Day back to Fort McMurray and it has already been a rough one.

First and foremost; I did not get confirmation of my flight until about 4pm-ish on Monday. But that’s ok, I already expected to fly out today so I had already started packing, just didn’t completely pack yet. It would be nice to know way ahead when I’ll be flying. Well, that said and done, I flew in and what not. Looked at the sky and its dark and gloomy, and even rained a little, the kicker is that, I forget that Fort McMurray is not Edmonton and did not bring a jacket, so I was pretty much freezing a little when I got here. The next bad thing that happened is that I do not have internet connection for some odd reason and cannot go online. So I am cold, hungry and bored; bad way to start my term in Fort McMurray. Once I get settled down, things will hopefully be a lot better.

Weekend that was….

This last weekend was a long weekend, and being the last long weekend before I leave for the Fort, I was going to make the most of it. And I think I did make the most of it.
Friday night was a more chilled one with some of my friends coming over and just chilled and talked and what not, before going out for a late night supper, nothing beats food at 2AM!

New Glasses!!

At noon on Saturday, I went for an eye Exam at a clinic where one of my friends works at, its called the Optometrists’ Clinic. Its home to a lot of expensive frames, some of the more expensive frames I’ve ever seen, they are all so nice, trendy and stylish though. I bought a pair that we kind of picked out 2 weeks ago; its silver and green, definitely something different, and fobby. Looking forward to pick it up when I go back to Edmonton on my turnaround. The best thing is, since I am friends with one of the girls there, they gave me a 10% discount, so nice!!
There’s nothing like celebrating the purchase of new glasses by having lunch at deluxe burger bar, one of my favourite restaurants/lounge in the city. I had mini kobe beef burgers and some salad with sweet potato fries…mmm, I forgot to take a picture of it, oopss. Next time.
After lunch, went with friend from eye clinic to Kingsway to shop and exchange some stuff, and we were basically able to kill about 2.5-3 hours just walking around there.
Drove two of my friends to the Airport for their trip to Vancouver/Seattle, so envious! I want to go on another vacation, but that’ll have to wait.
Saturday night was spent just resting until a couple friends came over and we headed out for a bit. We had to conserve some energy for the next day.

Sylvan Lake

Being that it was a long weekend for most of us, we decided to have an outing to Sylvan Lake, and knowing Albertans and our lack of big bodies of water, we knew Sylvan Lake is going to be packed. Hence, we decided to leave Edmonton early to try and get there early. We got there around 10, so that involved us leaving Edmonton at 830, and which involved me waking up at 615 to drive two other friends to our meet up point.
As expected, Sylvan Lake was packed full of people all size, age, gender, race, you name it. Our group consisted of 8 people, so it wasn’t too hard to find a decent spot, which we did. One of our friends brought her roommate along who’s new to Edmonton. It’s always good to meet new people and she’s an easy girl to get along with and definitely a lot of fun. We were in the sun and water a lot, and needless to say, I worked up a pretty good tan and I am darker than I already am. I bought a rubber rowing boat, that thing was worth the investment! We all had so much fun taking turns and rowing out to the lake. Rowing a boat isn’t as easy as it seems, but I thought I learnt reasonably well. After a whole day at the sun and what not, we finally called it a day and left at around 630, the drive home seemed like forever as I was pretty tired from the days’ activities. I passed out fairly early that night, fairly early was probably an understatement.

Golfing

We had a tee time booked on Monday afternoon for a 18- hole course in Riverbend. The course was called River Ridge. Its my first 18 hole outing in a long time, and on top of that, my first Par 72 outing in a Long time. Whoever says Golf isn’t a sport has not played golf, the concentration, and stamina needed to play an 18 hole outing is tremendous. I could hardly hit the ball after the 13th hole. So I had to tap out, that and my stomach wasn’t feeling too hot, so I decided to take a breather and call it quits. Driving a golf cart around is pretty fun stuff! We were like little kids in a candy store with those golf carts, they get abused so much.
The course itself was probably one of the hardest one I’ve played at, there were water everywhere and woods. I lost probably around 10 balls overall, not too bad considering how almost every course had water hazard. I definitely need to practice more. Golfing is indeed addicting, and frustrating.
Personally, I didn’t do as well as I had hoped, but considering some of my drives and approach, I know what I have to work on, mostly my shorter games…and hitting from the grass, hitting in the driving range posed no problem for me, it’s hitting from the grass that eats me up alive. Must practice.

Camp Room in Fort McMurray

I am living in yet another camp, this will be my fourth camp in about 3-4 months? Previous camps were Albian Village, Athatsbaca lodge, Calumet river lodge. This 4th camp is called Wapasu creek Lodge. And honestly, it might be the best camp room yet. I have an executive room this time around, so that means, double bed, flat screen tv, mini fridge, internet, my own bathroom, a leather arm chair. The food itself was amazing too, definitely one of the better camp food I’ve had. But that was only one night, let’s hope the rest of the nights’ food is just as good.
The only thing I have to complain about my room/camp is that I don’t have reception on my personal cell phone, so pretty much, the only way to get to me is by calling me or by internet, which I guess isn’t too bad. Otherwise, I am pretty sure I’ll enjoy my stay here. No expense for a good 10 days, definitely on the way to save up some money.

I’ve taken a few pictures using my phone, but the smart me didn’t bring a memory card reader, so I can’t upload any pictures, shall do that next time.

2008-06-26T08:08:00.003-06:00

My first Birdie!!

This has been the weirdest golf experience for me yet I guess. We tee-ed off, didn't even make the 2nd green and rain came down upon us. So we looked for shelter for a good 10 minutes, and we started over. I played pretty much very badly the entire time, and apparently found my game the last two holes.

In the last hole, it was a straight par 3; using my 7-iron, I hit the ball pretty much straight up, and it actually hit the flag pole before landing on the green. I had about a 15ft putt. Now, I suck at putting, I can never putt for the life of me, but someone must have given me some luck cause I actually sank that putt for my first Birdie! All in all, I left a happy camper! It was a pretty good experience and I was actually jubilant. Now, my next goal, a hole in one(Yeah right!)

Fort McMurray
My transfer to the Albian Sands site in Fort McMurray is imminent. They are just figuring out whether the site will pay for my salary or will headoffice cover it. But looks like July 1, 2008 will be when I start at that site. It is a fairly new site and there'll be a lot of things to learn, and I do look forward to it! The only thing that sucks being up there on a 10/4 is that I don't get to see/spend time with friends and family as much, but I guess internet/phone helps with that.

Can't say that I am not used to it though, I've done it for a good 3 months before and I actually have gotten used to it somewhat. Besides, by being up there, I am able to save up money like no tomorrow. And right now, I guess that is quite important as there are a few things I am trying to save up for.

What am I saving up for?

Haha, quite a bit actually; In order of course.
- Coffee table
- Spending Money for Trip to Japan ( this might prove to be my hardest one)
- HDTV( to complement my PS3, and no, I didn't get it the other around)
- Couch
- MiniBar

I am going to make a pact to not buy one before successfully saving up for the current item. It is high time I start spending money on my place and making it look nice!

Car Bumper

So after about 7 months of me getting hit from behind, My car bumper is finally getting fixed up. I have to apologise to my dear car for procrastinating this long, but better late than never right? I'll be getting it back pretty soon here so I hope it looks brand spanking new! and then it'll be time to wash/polish up my little baby! It has endured some quite nasty rain and mud the past little while.

While my little baby is getting fixed up, I was given a Mazda3 to drive. I have to admit, that little bugger is a pretty comfortable ride, and with some of the features of a new car, makes me want to get a new car. But that is not feasible at the moment, so I might have to wait for a year or a year or two before I will consider that.

Dilemma

Now, for a guy, what's more important? A property or a nice ride? On one hand, who wouldn't want to live in a luxury condo, overlooking the rivervalley or a nice view and having what we call assets, and a condo/house would technically be a better investment, however, a condo/house would also cost 6 figures. On the other hand, who wouldn't want to have a nice car to drive around too, and a car, although not as good of an investment, in fact, a very lousy one at that(depreciation galore), would only cost about 5 figures.

So here's the dilemma, save up for property? or Car?

Am I really getting old?

Or is it just me? Gone were the days I can stay up till 2 or 3 just playing games and trying to finish it. Just the other day, I got home from work, had dinner, lie on the couch, and actually fell asleep for almost 2.5 hours. Needless to say, I could hardly turn my neck when I wake up. And normally, I won't be able to sleep for a while after that, but surprisingly, I fell asleep again at 11-ish and didn't wake up till the morning.

The fact that I can sleep so much, is that a sure sign of my being old? Oh man, its time to accept it, I can't stay up late voluntarily anymore, quarter life crisis is upon me!! x_X

2008-06-19T11:44:00.003-06:00

PS3 is in the books, now, all I need is a new HDTV that would make my eyes feel good.

Games that I want for PS3
- GTAIV
- HOT SHOTS GOLF
- Perhaps rock band

But before I buy more games, I need to finish the ones I have first. And I will finish it, by hook or by crook.

But aside from that, I think a new TV is a must to enjoy the capabilities of the PS3, but that might have to wait a bit as my budget is kinda shot and I need to save up money.

Looks like I am Fort McMurray bound again come July 1, 2008. I like it up there in a way because I get to save up money and I also get to rest. The saving money part is the big thing, I essentially go up there, get two paycheques and not spend a cent of it for 10 days, that's a lot of money saved really quickly, and I am looking forward to it.

I guess that's really all for now. Nothing much else going on in my life.

Save money, spend money on the house....pimp my house!!

2008-06-05T09:11:00.003-06:00

I tried as hard as i could to imitate that poster, but it looks like i was still off...haha

The freakingly awesome M&M's world

Drinks in Vegas Club is expensive....

I miss Vegas!!!

2008-05-29T10:14:00.002-06:00

Could this be true?
My term at CNRL is finally coming to an end, apparently. Well, I shouldn't use finally as I've only been up here for a couple months, there have been people up here for years. I have learnt quite a bit of things when I am here, a lot more things are so clear now that I will never have learnt if i was in head office only. I can safely say that I don't mind being here.

Kany West Concert is tonight! I think I will be a tad late for that, but should be fine! teehee! Can't wait for that to happen! Hopefully it will be a good concert. And this concert would mark the end of what was a crazy May.

Got tickets to the beckham game, but never made it cause i was in Fort Mc, then there was Vegas, and then now Kanye West.....good times indeed......

well, just finding things to write here, will make a post with lotsa pictures soon....

2008-05-24T06:57:00.004-06:00

Well now, the Trip that is to Las Vegas Nevada has now concluded, and I find myself sitting in an office in Fort McMurray again.

No longer will I see the Neon Lights shinning brightly, the posh hotels and what not. It is almost depressing, however, being up here, I am actually able to rest lots at nights, and save up money as I don't have to spend money. So there's always a positive side to things.

Got into Edmonton in the wee hours of Thursday Morning, found out my car wouldn't start, and all in all, didn't get into bed till 330AM, woke up at 630AM to get to work on time. Worked the whole day, then when I finally got home at around 515pm, I threw laundry into the washer, and slept till around 830pm. What a good sleep that was, so good that I thought it was 830AM the next day and freaked out cause I thought I missed my flight to Fort Mc, Alas, it was the PM and I was safe. A friend made his way to my place to pick up a pair of jeans I help him buy. Then at around midnight I went to a friend's place to give her the stuff I helped and bought for her. After all is said and done, I had about 3.5 hours of sleep again.

All that coupled with an average of 4-5 hours of sleep every night at Vegas = a very tired me. So Last night, I hit the sack at probably 630PM and woke up at 530AM..a good 11 hours of sleep.....that was sooo good. I might be doing that again today....you can't have too much sleep.

All in all, it was a fun and tiring trip, with lots of money spent. It is time to replenish that...hopefully it won't take me too long with me being up here, gotta spend wisely.

2008-05-09T08:31:00.003-06:00

One big thing I have to get used to when I am up in Fort McMurray is that; I will miss out on a lot of things that happen in Edmonton, birthdays and what not occassions. Its not like i am not included in it, sometimes, it sucks to know that you can't make it to something no matter how much you wanted to. But, I think I am already slowly getting used to it. In one way, I can save a lot of money not going out, but in a way, I can't help but think that this will sever the closeness I have with some friends.

But hey, sacrifices sometimes have to be made. I took this job because I needed it, and I have to come to Fort McMurray because my job entails it. So not much I can do about it but make the most of the situation. Make the money, gain the experience for an even better future.

Is this the lifestyle I want to lead? It's hard to say right now cause I just started my life up here. Its something new, its really different than Edmonton. And I do wonder if I can do this long term. Things up here are much more interesting and challenging too. Sure, its somewhat stressful sometimes, but most of the time its interesting at least.

2008-04-29T07:03:00.002-06:00

When you start counting down the days you are going home, that is when you know you are starting to get sick of being away.

Including today, there are 3 more days before i go back to Edmonton for a good 4 days break. Really looking forward to it, and hopefully, this time around, the weather would actually cooperate with me. I really want to hit some golf balls; it has been a while since I've swung a golf club. Getting jittery just thinking about it.

The countdown for Vegas has officially begun, there are 18 more days to go before the highly anticipated trip! And I've gotten word that my aunt in UK will be joining us. haha, this trip has just became more interesting.

My blog is lacking pictures as of late, I blame this on my desktop kinda going kaplunk on me, and the software for my phone is in there. I'll have to install that to my uber-ancient-almost-extinct laptop at home and hopefully it will work. Have to find a card reader for my digital camera so that I can import pics onto my uber-ancient-almost-extinct laptop too, I think there are quite a bit in there.

Movies which are coming out this summer I would like to check out:
- Ironman
- Indiana Jones
- Speed Racer
- Incredible Hulk
- Wanted
- Get Smart
- The Dark Knight

Wonder how many of those I can actually watch seeing how I am up on Fort McMurray so much. I am getting really sick of the eggs/sausage/beans/toast breakfast, it can't be healthy eating all those early in the morning everyday. So today, I changed that, had a croissant, oatmeal, and oranges for breakfast. I will be really hungry really soon, but I think I will gut it out, for the sake of health and losing some weight.

I don't get to watch Beckham =(. I will be in fort McMurray that week and don't come back till the Thursday after Beckham. So I dont get to watch him play. It's ok, I will get other chances I think. Then again, that week that I go back, will be the week I fly off to VEGAS! muhahahahahaha

2008-04-18T10:23:00.002-06:00

Yes, I am still alive…..
Hmm, I guess I’ve really been busy since I totally forgot that I do have a blog, and I haven’t been writing in it much.

Perhaps I’ll be writing on it more on here soon enough. I am apparently starting my shift schedule for the site next week. Up until now, I’ve been travelling back and forth each week, and frankly, that’s too tiring, even for me. So yeah. I am going to take this as a good way to learn things as I still have ways to go. It will be a fun experience I think. The camp I’ll be staying at isn’t the best one there, but I guess when I get used to it, it’s not too bad.

Aside from work, I’ve been really not up to much, just chilling, relaxing and trying to save up money to spend in Las Vegas. So far, that’s going well, I want to keep that up. Last week took a hit because of the amount of bills I had to pay, but that will be taken care of. When I go up to site, I don’t spend money, so from there, I should be able to save a lot. Also, the lack of using my car would cut down on gas severely.

If I do get a raise for going on site, then there are a few things I have my eyes on, and these include:
• A flat screen Plasma HDTV- Perhaps a sharp Aqueos - $1099
• PS3 40G- $399.99
• Desktop Computer
• Dresser for room
• Some furniture for the living room; Coffee table
• Things to hang on the wall
• Kitchen supplies
• Couch
• Etc

Now mind you, I won’t be buying these all in one go, cause that would be quite the hit, it’ll be over the days. Right now, my place is just too plain. I need to make it more homelike. But to do that, it’ll take some planning and budgeting. Mike will learn to do that and will succeed (hopefully)

That is my plan for the next couple months.

As of now, the money I am saving will be used in Vegas, so excited for the trip! Shopping wise, hmm, let’s try a list:
• True Religion Jeans
• William Rast Jeans(if they are cheap enough)
• Ralph Lauren Polo
• Burberry scarf and polo
• Christian Audigier wallet(maybe); else a Gucci clip
• Anything that I like and can get my hands on.

We also booked tickets for KA already, which is a cirque du soleii (sp?) performance.

2008-03-18T11:28:00.004-06:00

It has been a while since I've blogged, and I have some good reasons. No one checks my blog anyways, but hey, sometimes its nice to think that ppl do read it, but hey, I write a blog just to keep tabs of things sometimes, of what I do and what not, look back after a year and can go, ohh, so this is when this thing happened.

I have a very good reason for not writing in blogs. That is, I am finally coming up to Fort McMurray on a consistent basis. My current travelling schedule is this; Monday to Thursday--> Fort McMurray, and friday i am back in the Edmonton Office. This would mean I work 48 hours per week, because I work 10 hours per day in Fort Mc. The good thing is, I can bank those extra 8 hours, so every week I can bank a day off! That works well for me when i decide to take vacation.

Another good thing that is coming out of Fort McMurray is that I can save a lot of money just by being up here. I don't need to spend any money on food because that is provided by the camp. So technically, I should be able to save up some major dough. Problem is, I tend to be more inclined to spend money on the weekends, which is a bad thing. So I gotta try and limit that..

One song I am currently listening to is by Keane and is called Somewhere only we know. First heard this song while watching Grey's Anatomy and i thought it was a really nice song. One line from the song asks "where have all the simple things gone?" As we all grow older, we tend to think more complex, and sometimes, the solution is the simple things. =)

ooo, Another quote that I saw at one of my co-workers' office which i found to be quite..inspiring so to speak.

" Life is too short to wake up with regrets. Love the people who treat you right. Forget the ones who don't. Believe everything happens for a reason. If you have a chance, take it. If it changes your life, nobody said it was easy. They just said it was worth it."- Henry MacKay

A lot of times, all we do is dwell on the bad things that happen, asking what if; we tend to forget about the good things that happens, which is kinda silly because, wouldn't it be nicer and more fun if we think about the good times rather than the bad? which is why i like this quote. Life is really too short to ask what ifs. We should just make the most out of everyday. Things happen for a reason, just go with it.

Keane- Somewhere only we know

2008-02-05T11:08:00.000-07:00

How does one start the opening sentence of a blog entry? I’ve written my fair share of blog entries, and if there’s one thing that stumps me is the opening sentence. Sometimes it’s easy depending on the stuff you want to write, but other times, you’ll just be sitting here like I was pondering:,

“hmm, how should I start” , the generic “it has been a while”? or just go straight to the point? Is there a blogging for dummies book that would help me? Haha, actually, there probably is, they have everything for dummies!

But anyways, onwards….

As I was driving to work today, I saw the sunrise. Now, it’s not all the case where I get to see the sunrise, it’s either I am already in the office when the sunrise, or the sun has already risen when I start driving. As I have to drive east to get to the office, you can imagine how it’ll look like. It was quite the site and it sure put me at peace and I enjoyed the view. Now if only I can somehow catch sunset today, it will really put a good finish to the day.

I played two volleyball games for a friend’s team last night. It was really fun, I haven’t exercised in a while, and I know exercising and what not is on my New Years Resolution this year, and I do intend to follow it this year or try to. But anyways, we lost both games, but the first game was really close and I felt we did good. My knees and thighs are of course sore today, but it’s a good feeling, I haven’t felt sore for a while and it’s a good feeling! Now, if only I can pick up badminton again…

李聖傑- 光年

I really like this new song by 李聖傑 and another one in the same album would be 好想他, it is a very good song and quite soothing. That would be my latest recommendation. His new album is actually quite good! I like it!

Over the weekend, I also bought Grey’s Anatomy season 3. I finished the first two seasons, but never had a chance to watch the 3rd season, so I impulsively bought the boxset. It’s a good buy thus far, so good! I was watching it by myself, and I laughed out loud by myself >.< sigh.

Movies I am planning to watch at one point or another.

Cloverfield- Blairwitch project with monster, why not?
Jumper- Human teleportation, so much potentials!
Vantage Point- Conspiracy theory? Or a mystery?
Rambo- Rambo, enough said
Ironman- more comic book turn movie, how can I say no?
Wall-E- Pixar will never disappoint
The dark knight: its batman, and heath ledger’s legacy, this movie will be epic.
Wanted- Angelina jolie, assassin, curving bullets? YEAH!

Operation Destination Tokyo is on the go for December 2008. I really hope it somehow goes according to plan.

Things sometimes don’t work out the way you want them to, but at least you can say that you tried, and have no regrets =)

2008-02-01T14:23:00.000-07:00

Picking up blogging habit yet again, but kinda dong it at work. I can afford to when it is not busy. Things tend to happen quickly, and sometimes, there is nothing that we can do to help it or things are beyond our control. So, what do you do? Sulk and go to fetal position in the corner? Well, that would be it if you were an emo creature, otherwise, why close off yourself and sulk? Grab life by the horns and ride it!

Chinese New Year is in a week and I didn’t even know it was coming. Like every year, there’s no CNY atmosphere here whatsoever and frankly it sucks. How I long for a year where I can just go back during CNY. It has been a good 8 years now since I’ve celebrated CNY in an asian country where celebrations are rampant! Going from one friend’s house to the other, chilling, gambling(only ok during CNY), drinking, and receiving Money! ^.^ Oh, I did not mention about the amount of food we’ll be consuming over the time period eh? Now I think that’s the part I missed the most..mmmmmmmmm

On Friday, I finally found guitar Hero 3 for PS3!! And I was playing it over the weekend and what not, it’s a pretty damn addicting game!! Also on Friday, I finally got to try rockband! It is just as fun as guitar hero if not more fun cause of the drums and co-op value! Haha, the guitar isn’t as quality as the guitar hero ones, but I am sure that will improve if they make a rock band 2. I need to immerse myself with more rock songs, current and old cause there’s only a few that I recognize! And they are pretty good!
I know this is not apparent, but I am actually writing this blog on separate days because work got a bit busy and I couldn’t finish writing yesterday. A little update, my uncle found a will version of Guitar Hero III and I am going to be buying that off him! ^.^ I can’t wait to get my hands on it and play it!! *grins*

Feeling blissful….despite all that is happening…

2008-01-24T11:32:00.001-07:00

Yes, it has been more than three weeks since I’ve last written anything on here. The reason being, I’ve moved out from my uncle’s place and now living by myself. Do not have Internet set up yet, so can’t really go online at night, and that’s something I’ve missed doing. Why do I not write it at work you ask? Well you see, work has been uber busy and did not find any down time to type anything.

Updates?

Without even as much as flinching, 24 days of 2008 has already gone by. What have I accomplished in these 3 weeks or so aside from moving out? Well, I’ve worked quite a bit, made my first trip to Fort McMurray, which I shall elaborate later, made some progress regarding something I will not mention here. But all I can say is I’ve been happy how things have turned out thus far; there’s still more work to be done but I hope things turn out the way I hope it to be.
Some of the movies I’ve seen since last time:
Alvin and the Chipmunks
National Treasure 2
Sweeny Todd --> This was actually a gory musical, I didn’t expect the darkness that came with the movie, it was quite amazing.

The latest celebrity gossip out there is right now is the death of heath ledger. When I heard about that, first thing I thought of was, shit, that brokeback mountain actor died, then after talking to a friend, it dawned on me that Heath Ledger is also the new Joker for the Batman movie! So that movie would be his latest greatest, wonder what they are going to do with it.

I spent my last weekend at Fort McMurray for work. Let’s just say I don’t think I can work up there long term, it’s just not for me, I’ll get so depressed up there. So hopefully I just have to go a couple times a month and I’ll be happy. All you see there is a lot of workers and a lot of building and steel structure, although its quite cool though, both figuratively and literally.

My beloved Edmonton Oilers has done it again, they’ve gone from winning 4 straight, to winning once in last 5 games? Its sad that everytime we take one step forward, we have to take two back. Consistency is the main issue of them this year. Confidence and morale is probably low for them right now. I hope something changes and we somehow go on a streak.

Some things I’ve wanted to work on for myself is to not think too much into things. Thinking too much, either positively or negatively will sometimes result in undesirable things happening.

Trust yourself, trust your capabilities, trust in what you have done, and trust in someone else. Be confident!

One of the songs from the Killer’s new album. Tranquillize. I like it quite a bit actually.

One of the new discoveries that my friend supplied me http://www.crunchyroll.com , I think that’s one of the most productivity killing website out there. Streaming anime and Japanese drama, that is for the win really.

2008-01-01T10:43:00.000-07:00

Happy New Year....
And just like a gust of wind, 2007 has ended and now is the start of 2008. What new adventures would this year bring? I guess we'll find out exactly a year from now when I do this post again ^.^

The year that was.....
Some major things that happened in 2007 ( if I can remember them all):
- Got into my first major car accident, I wasn't driving though mind you
- Got new crowns for a little mishap back in December 06
- Got my Management diploma after deciding to go back to school for one more year
- Got my working visa signed for 2 years and now have a job
- Worked/helped out at some festivals in Edmonton: Taste of Edmonton, Folk Festival, Fringe
- A trip to Vancouver in the summer with some friends
*More to be added when I remember them*
*EDIT*
- Went to my first stand up comedy show at Comic Strip
- Drove to Vancouver in my own car for the first time, it was fun driving the mountains

2007 went by in flash for me, there are so many things that I think I did, but they are mostly just little things and what not. I definitely partied a lot more this year than all my other years combined. I guess sometimes there is stuff to do in Edmonton besides dream tea house. Just Jokes. But honestly though, I am glad that I blog sometimes so I can go back to the archives and read what I wrote about.

New Years Eve celebration was done at Courtyard Marriott, and it was fun. That's all I think I can say about that....it was a long night...but fun nonetheless.

Happy New Year and hope 2008 will bring to us all some sort of adventure!

2007-12-21T07:42:00.000-07:00

THREE WEEKS since my last post??? uhoh, Someone's dropping the ball!!

CHRISTMAS is around the corner!! Namely 4 days away, have I done all my Christmas shopping? Afraid not, I have a little less than 10 left!! But I usually work best under pressure, been like that the last couple years, so I think I can do it! haha....

Bought two Christmas Albums last night at an HMV by Impulse, Alvin and the Chipmunks Christmas Album and Frank Sinatra, yes, Frank Sinatra's Christmas Album.....

Couple days ago, was at my department's Christmas Party, it was really fun and chilled as it was only about 10 ppl or so. Totally enjoyed it. After that, I met up with a couple friends for a little stroll at the legislature, it was really nice with all the Christmas Lights and all, they needed some Christmas Music playing though, and that would make it that much nicer.

I kinda want to go skating, Skating Tmo, not hockey. It's been a while since I've done that and would be kinda nice to start again.

Speaking of hockey. The Edmonton Oilers, we can't seem to in regulation, but at least we are getting some extra points each night. We are not doing as bad as we were the beginning of the season. Now we have a healthy team ish, and I think its high time we do some damage!! GO OILERS GO!

Some of my friends are now on Vacation in HK and what not, I am so envious! Must be so fun to be travelling there at this time since it is getting cold here again. But it's ok, next year, hopefully February, I'll be at Vegas having fun! Always wanted to go there!!

Work has been quite nice, really chillaxed and easy going, although some of the work I am doing is tedious and boring, it has to get done.

hmm...
Some games I've been working on:
- Call of Duty 4 (PS3)
- Assassin's Creed (PS3)
- Zelda Phantom Hourglass(DS)
- Elite Beat Agent (DS)
Obviously with work and all going out and stuff, I don't have much time to work on these games much, but I am working on it slowly. Playing Phantom Hourglass more than the other ones because its handheld and I can pretty much bring it to places.

Speaking of games, I bought a new DS LITE. The Zelda Edition!! It's Gold in Colour and it has the link symbols in front... I <3 it a long time!!

Some Movies I am hoping I get to watch:
- I am Legend
- Alvin and the Chipmunks
- National Treasure 2
- August Rush
- The Golden Compass
- No Country for Old Men
- MAYBE (P.S. I love you)
That's quite a bit of movie to hack through, wonder how it is going to happen....they actually made another Alien Vs predator movie...WHY???

That's probably all I can think of right now, I'll add more if I think of any....

If I don't blog before Christmas, MERRY CHRISTMAS and a Happy New Year

2007-12-01T10:04:00.000-07:00

Back to watching movies....
After quite the long haul without watching much movies(It's not like there's a lot of blockbuster movie to watch anyways), I've been watching a few movies lately.

First movie I saw after the summer was Fred Claus. Yes, a Christmas Movie in November, quite an awesome idea no? hmm, the movie itself was ok I guess, can't expect much from a kids/christmas movie. Predictable and what not, however, it did give me some christmas spirit and I wanted to go shopping afterwards.....

Enchanted has a very old school disney feel to it, one of the more recent Disney movies to carry the themes of its old cartoons. I have to say, watching this movie really gave me nostalgic feeling. It's like I was transported back to my childhood and watched all these classic once again.

Dan in real life was not what we had expected it to be. With Steve Carrell(40 year old virgin) and Dane Cook (Good luck chuck), we thought it would be the senseless comedy that is usual to them. Apparently not, this movie was a lot more serious kind of comedy and I actually quite enjoyed it. However, it would be considered a chick flick, but hey, it was really funny regardless.

So, the last 3 movies i saw were chick flicks and a kids flick. Can't wait for National Treasure 2 to come out so that there's some action movies in the mix. Need some testosterone movies in my system.....

2007-11-26T22:45:00.000-07:00

Rest....

I haven't spent much time at home at all these few months, and today, I finally settled myself down to just stay at home and watch hockey. Two friends came over to watch the game, but generally, it was really chilling(literally too, so damn cold out there now, but I will get to that in a second). Oilers finally won 2 games in a row in a long time! And also in regulation too! Sure, it's nice watching all the shootout wins and the suspense, but really, for once I want to watch some hockey where we can dominate and win in regulation, i got the regulation win but not total domination, 50% aint so bad i guess. Next game is on Wednesday against Colorado. Go Oilers Go! We are coming back slowly but surely!!

Brrrrr, winter's here!!!!! But why does it have to come oh so sudden?? can't they like ease us in little by little?? =( I don't think i am built for winter. Had our first real snow fall today. And of course traffic is horrible and the roads are slippery. Mind you, I like driving in the snow when there's no cars around cause i can try and pull some silly/stupid stuff...but when there are obstacles around, its actually not fun. Speaking of obstacles. My car was one on the weekend. I got rear ended >.< by a shitty looking car at that =(. But fortunately it only damaged my bumper, or so i hope, gotta find time to have my car assessed too..sigh. But I am fine, and that's all that matters, and here I thought i might go one whole year without some kind of accident, i was a month away. =(

Work is going well, still learning the ropes so to speak. And I found out I'll be visiting the construction sites sooner than I thought. I am actually looking forward to it cause it is something new to experience!! However, I am not too thrilled about the location though. Fort McMurray is the destination. Hmm, why does typing this sound so familiar, have I already blogged about this?? it'll be funny if i already did, I guess we'll soon find out.

Was at a friend's birthday on Saturday, the amount of ppl who showed up to her birthday could almost match one of my other friend's birthday, that was an impressive feat. The birthday party proved to be quite the long one too as I didn't get home till about 5AM that night, I need a weekend just to recover from the weekend.

Sunday morning proved to be a long and tiring one....as I didnt have much energy left in me...however, I still went for an autography session where Cogliano and Gagner showed up! By the time it was all done..we were waiting for 2 hours in the cold! well worth it nonetheless. Sunday night was our secret santa draw amongst some friends, obviously i am not allowed to tell who i got, so i wont put it on here....we shall all find on saturday night when its time for our little xmas gathering!!!

2007-11-23T18:02:00.000-07:00

The week that was....
So, starting this past Monday, my life of an unemployed guy was officially over, gone were the days where I wake up looking forward to nothingness are finally behind me. What happens now? I have to wake up everyday at 0630 to get ready and go to work, I am somewhat contributing to the society, and also to rush hour traffic, that's something I do not forward to at all.

First week was quite boring/alot of information to know and get used to. Co-workers were really helpful. Although I do feel that I haven't been that productive, I think I attribute this to the extended holiday that I had the last couple of months. Starting next week, time to get my gear in and zoom for it!

What did I learn?
(1) A day without coffee is impossible. <3 Coffee
(2) Co-workers being spontaneously funny puts a smile on your face
(3) Bringing your pets to work can be fun for other co-workers(me)
(4) There's a lot of reading involved when you first start a job

I am already slowly grasping everything and things are beginning to make a lot more sense, I am sure when I see the things in practice, I'll know what it talks about right away!!

Amongst some of the things I have to do is to visit construction sites. Although its located up north where its uber cold, and I've heard stories about the town there, I am still looking forward to it because its something new and I think i might be able to learn from it somewhat. woohooo

I guess that's pretty much it for now....must work hard next week!! ^.^

2007-11-18T11:30:00.000-07:00

New Jay Chou song that I really like now

彩虹 (Rainbow)- Jay Chou

2007-11-13T18:45:00.000-07:00

Hmm, this past week has been quite the ruckus in a way...haha.....Wednesday was my birthday, and basically I had an alcoholic beverage everyday from Monday to Saturday, it was quite fun. Spent time with some friends which is always awesome. Got a Hugo Boss Money Clip which looks sleek and awesome! (thank you guys). I will take a picture of it and post it up sometime. haha, Also got the new Cranium Board game which is damn fun....new cards, new activities, what more can you ask for right? Can't wait for the booster pack for it to come out! haha such a geek but board games are ever lasting fun.

On Saturday, went to this steakhouse place downtown called Ruth's Chris. This is basically one of the best steak i've ever had in a while....talk about tenderness..mmmm
Its pure bliss....haha, and the sweet potato casserole that i ordered with it....omg...mmm...i wonder when the next time i'll be able to taste such exquiste steak.

So, my brother is now here...he gets about a month and a half of holidays before he starts school...so now here i am being a chauffer and bringing him to get his shit in gear...haha

I start work on the 19th! another 6 days before my social life ends, and my working life begins. I am quite excited about it actually....hopefully my co-workers are nice ppl, and i get along with them....money money money!! haha..jk jk....

that's all for now.....

2007-11-05T12:59:00.000-07:00

Finally, the news i've been waiting for has arrived. My start date: November 19 2007. Exactly two weeks from now. I guess now I have two choices: Get as much rest as possible now before I start the life of a workaholic because I think I tend to become one, or I party as hard as I can for 2 weeks before I can't do much partying...hmm....that's to be decided..

that's all for now, thought I should update this aspect of my life =)

2007-11-01T10:17:00.000-06:00

You've got a friend. Another one of Wong Fu's production short movies. In collaboration with a group called Far East Movement. This short movie moves away from their love story usual and moves to a different kind of relationship, Friendship. The ending song, You've got a friend is actually quite nice, i like it. All you have to know is you've got a friend =).

Part I

Part II

Part III

2007-11-01T00:08:00.000-06:00

I know I know, been neglecting to blog again, but really, i am sure no one checks anyways, so I am allowed to be lazy...hehehe

but anyways.....Last friday, I GOT MY WORK VISA!!! i was soo happy that I texted quite a few ppl...friends who are close to me know how much i wanted the work visa, and how much i wanted to stay. As much as i miss brunei, i've spent 7 years here, i've grown so used to this place and the ppl here that I dont think i can survive longterm back home. A vacation back in brunei would be awesome right about now, but that'll have to wait till i save up enough money. So thank you everyone for their trust in the government to give me my visa and the support! I really do appreciate it.

I haven't started working yet though, as my supervisor is still out of town, he will contact me when he gets back. I am a labour relations coordinator for JV drivers, what are my job descriptions? I have no idea yet, more about that to come later I guess.

I finished the casino drama I was watching earlier. It took me a total of about 5 days to finish it. Mind you, there were 2 of those days that I didn't go out or do much, hence I was able to "inhale" it in such a short amount of time.

This is the next drama i am watching.....currently in episode 12, there's 40 of them....it'll take me longer for sure to finish it..haha..i am not THAT bad...

Was in Calgary for 3 days and 2 nights this past weekend. It was a fun but tiring trip. Didn't do much, just chilled and what not...however, we did create quite the interesting pumpkin man in this restaurant we visited.
We even had a name for it, but I don't remember anymore...lol, see, when 4 bored/creative minds work together, things usually get interesting =)

I guess that's all I have for now.....haha, peace

2007-10-21T14:01:00.000-06:00

My life is still as it was couple months ago. Waiting seems to be the only thing I've been doing, and even more so now. I am now waiting for my work visa to be approved and given to me; then I can officially start work and stay in Canada for a bit more. If(and knock on wood) I do not get my work visa for some reason, then I'll have to go back to Brunei. Many people have been asking me if that's what I would like, but really, when it comes down to it, there's really no choice for me whether I like it or not. Even if I do not want to, I can't just force the government to let me stay. However, having said that, I really don't mind going back. I do have friends I miss there, and the food and my parents. And i did grow up there. So there's nothing bad about going back really.

On towards with Oilers. Sigh, I don't know what wrong with them. There are no coherrence, we can't pass, we can't make plays, we can't score. I am really worried about them now and it pains me to watch them, but yet I still do. Ryan Smyth will be making his comeback as an avalanche on tuesday, it'll be interesting to see how that turns out.

Yesterday was an interesting day, did a bit. Went for lunch, then me and a friend went to another friend's school to help her with some of the stuff she needs to prepare for her kids. Kinda like doing community service stuff I guess, haha, but time flies, we spent about 3 hours there and didn't even feel like it. of course this wasn't the first time we did something like that, but hey, always good to be contributing in one way or another. After which, we went to a friend's birthday dinner at tropika. There were a lot of ppl I didn't know..ahah, but the food was good....good ol south east asian food, how i have missed thou.

After dinner, we met up with a couple other friends at River Cree Resort and casino to catch the oilers' game. there was a draw for every oiler's away game. $500 for end of 1st and 2nd period and $1000 at the end of the 3rd. We figured, since we were gonna watch oilers play anyways. might as well win some money doing it. But what did we get out of it? Oilers losing and us not winning the draw. AND not to mention the amount of 2nd hand smoke we breathed in. After the game was done, we promptly went to a friend's place on the west side to watch tv, the break up was on and we watched that. After which everyone called it a night.

Productive and interesting saturday, one of the busier ones I've had in a while, and now here I am on a sunday afternoon, just lazying away, its awesome. I borrowed tiger woods 07 and the darkness from a friend, both PS3 games, and i've been playing tiger woods for a bit....i miss golfing..haha. Also copied about 300 gigs worth of chinese drama. Wow wee, i'll be busy on the computer...=)

Yes, I know this is a very blend entry with no colours and what not, but I am feeling lazy....humour me =)

2007-10-14T23:58:00.000-06:00

Chinese can do free running too!! and then some!

2007-10-10T14:07:00.001-06:00

Job Update

Went to the interview yesterday. Person said he'll get back to me on thursday with an offer letter, and what not. So things are going well, and if things goes well, i'll have one more hurdle to jump over. The Canadian Immigration, hopefully they'll provide me with a post grad work visa without fail (yn). SO that's the update for now. more to follow

2007-10-09T12:26:00.000-06:00

As I sit here, waiting for time to pass before I go to the interview that'll decide my fate in Canada. Am I feeling nervous? Hells no, I have already reserved to the fact that if this don't go well, I'll book my plane ticket, pack, spend the next 12 days here with family and friends before leaving back to my motherland. So more update on that later today I guess. Hour and a Half before I sit down for that interview.

This past weekend was a long weekend, and it was more happening than I would've liked it to be. Saturday night was pretty much a gong show while sunday night was quite chilled and lucky. Overall, it was a good weekend. I will not recap it as way too many things happened.

The Oilers are 2-1-0 right now, having lost to the Red Wings last night. I am beginning to think Brewsters is a bad place to watch Oilers hockey because we never seem to win when we watch it there. Next game is against the Minnesota Wild tomorrow at 6PM. Not sure if i'll be watching that, the wilds are so damn boring to watch, but knowing how big of an oilers fan I am, i'll most likely be watching it.

Added two more links to some blogs I read. First off is King's blog, she's one of my primary schoolmates, haven't had any contacts with her for a while now until a friend gave me her blog. She's a pretty good blogger, very entertaining to read and she recently won the best personal blog award in Brunei I believe. Second blog is that of Kenny Sia, he's a guy from kuching who blogs about anything and he travels a lot and I get to see pics of other places. haha

That's all for now as I will update about the Interview when I get home.......

2007-10-04T14:38:00.000-06:00

It's the start of a brand new season for the Edmonton Oilers today. A ton of new faces, and basically a new team. How will they fair? We shall see tonight. 7PM MST, against the San Jose Sharks. Go Oilers Go

2007-09-27T23:36:00.001-06:00

Hmmm, Blogging seems to be becoming part of my life again, though not as interesting as some of the blogs I read, but at least I make the effort of writing I guess.

Today was quite frustating, as I was once again told to wait for my fate. Went to the appointment/interview at JV Driver's. Apparently, one of the other person they want me to meet didn't go to work and isn't expected till next week. So I'll get a call either monday or tuesday for yet another interview either on wednesday/thursday/friday. Frustation to the max, but I guess everyone is just doing their job and I shouldn't complain but just wait patiently.

After the interview, I went shopping with a friend for another friend's birthday gift, after brainstorming on what to get her, we finally settled for a lululemon workout top and a Mug full of cats with a lid as her "teacher mug". Hopefully she liked it.

We went to Bulgogi House for dinner, there were 8 of us, so we decided to get their combination dinner for 8 ppl or more. I think they should've stressed the "or more" part because we weren't able to finish all those food for the life of us. Food there is actually worth the hype, it was really good and I enjoyed it.

Our "dessert" was dream tea house. As we weren't too crazy about finding parking on whyte, so the other obvious choice is dream tea house. Had a hot chrysanthenum tea and shared a shaved ice with another friend.

And now here I am, bored as usual, and just typing away. There are some stuff I am thinking about, but I am not willing to share in this blog, but all will be well. Something just doesn't feel right.......

Its been a while since I've written a blog entry that actually recaps my day, mostly because sometimes I do so much that I am too lazy to recap everything, or if I don't do anything and just chill at home and there's nothing to recap. Today seemed to be a moderate day and recapping it was easy. Yes, this entry will be in plain old black cause I am too lazy to "colourize" it......

2007-09-26T11:45:00.000-06:00

hmm, my stupid thought of the day.

Brother. How would you normally pronounce that? Bra-ther right? BUT, when you take away the -ther, you are left with bro, and we pronounce it as BRO. Why is this? why don't we pronounce it as BRA? I guess if its bra, then lines like bro's before ho's won't really work. Bra's before Bra's(ladies underwear) doesn't really have the same effect I don't think. That's my thought of the day I think

2007-09-25T15:16:00.000-06:00

Chinese Drama yet again. After holding back to watching this series i've been slowly downloading. I saw 4 episodes of it so far. 岁月风云 is about the trials and tribulation a family and everyone connected with this family making it big. Entrepeuneurs who started out with nothing, then making it big, and then only to fall again and to start the process all over again. Might sound typical, but the way the stories go is actually quite intense. Haven't seen a drama with so much twists as this for a while now, so this is refreshing, and hard to watch too..haha

Also last night, watched the premiere to the second season of Heroes. I think my expectations of questions to be answered was a bit premature, cause instead of answering questions, it presented even more questions. But overall, a solid premiere, keeps me in the loops so far.

2007-09-24T12:40:00.001-06:00

Today, I brought my grandma to a clinic for an appointment thing. And while waiting for her, I was reading the TIME magazine. One of the articles made a comment about how 1,500 inmates made a video to the song Thriller by Michael Jackson and it's shown on youtube. So me, being the nosy fellow that I am came home and decided to watch it.

Amazing! is one word I can use to describe it. Amazing in the sense that they got 1,500 inmates at a phillipino Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center to all dance in unison AND not create any sorts of commotion. Keep in mind, this is also not a punishment. Astounding! I don't think inmates here in North America can pull off something like this. Dittos for the inmates that were in the video!

By the way, this video has generated more than 6,700,000 views!!!!

2007-09-22T10:22:00.000-06:00

Compilation of me Wish List

First and foremost:

A Dell 22" Widescreen Flat panel Monitor. The monitor I am using now is a 19" CRT monitor, talk about obsolete technology. When/If I get my job, this will probably be one of the first things I am getting.

Although I don't have a picture of what it looks like yet, but I would like to purchase rims for my car. It already has a spoiler, remote start, tinted window, so I guess the next logical choice would be rims. It's either that, or a stereo deck, which I doubt I'll get. This purchase would probably have to wait till next spring because winter is here, there's no point in installing new rims.

Not much material wise, but the next item on my wishlist is a trip. Right now, the top 3 places I would like to visit are Hongkong, Japan and Taiwan respectively. Those 3 places, preferably, should be a trip of their own so that I can stay at one place for as long as possible and explore it to my heart's content.

That's all I can think of right now. I will add more as I think of some more

2007-09-19T10:41:00.000-06:00

I stole this from a friend, hahaha. So true for people who can relate to this, or who understands it =)

2007-09-18T14:24:00.000-06:00

Movies

I haven't seen a lot of movies lately. Only every now and then. Saw No Reservations ages ago, which is somewhat of a chick flick. Actually, who am I kidding, its a full blown chick flick. But then again, I am one of many guys who don't mind chick flicks, they are funny in their own way, and cute too and no, I am not 60% female nor am I gay, I just enjoy movies a lot. This movie was quite entertaining, I thought there would be more emphasis on food, but there was enough to make my taste bud active. Overall, a good movie, recommended.

After all the hype and good things I heard about Superbad, I finally went and saw it sunday night with a couple friends. And the movie was what it was hyped up to be. HILARIOUS! better than knocked up I reckoned. Kept me entertained throughout the movie, I am very happy that I went and saw it. I will watch it again for sure.

Other movies I want to watch:
Rush Hour 3 --> Jacky Chan and Chris Tucker, in France
Good Luck Chuck --> Jessica Alba and Dane Cook, enough said
Resident Evil: Extinction --> Zombie's ass kicking
Gameplan --> The Rock Vs little girl, and no tmo, don't even go there!
Stardust --> Highly recommended by a friend, must find someone to watch with

And in an effort to unbland this blog, I am going to try and use more colour. Not sure how well that'll work.

Music

Now, I am not the most up to date when it comes to music, but lately, been listening to Stronger. This is by far not a new song, and not the greatest song in the hip hop world, but it is quite catchy. I am slowly getting sick of it because they play it so much, but this is for now.

Another song that's been playing on my IPOD. its nothing new, but I just like the beat to it. haha

Downloaded a couple new Chinese albums today.
張信哲- 雪國八月
Twins- Twins party( Sa 版 & Gil 版)
信-我就是我--> which is 99.8% done but I can't ge tthe last 0.2% to download, argh!!

Hockey

Guess what time it is? That's right! Hockey is almost back in town! Finally had some fix of hockey after a long drought from the summer. First off, saw the Edmonton Oilers Rookies Vs University of Alberta Golden Bear. The Golden Bears won the game, but this is not suprising as they've always faired well against the Oilers Rookies, that and they've been together longer than the Rookie team. Entertaining game nonetheless.

Aside from that was also the Joey Moss Cup, which was played on Sunday. This is the intersquad scrimmage game. All proceeds from the game goes to Joey Moss's family and a charity organization. Hemsky scored a hat trick and got 5 points. So happy to watch hockey again. Oilers also unveiled their new jersey during that game. Despite mix reviews, I actually grew to like the jersey a lot. When I get a job, I'll be sure to purchase one right away.

Preseason started last night for the Edmonton Oilers, we won the game 5-4. And in less than a month, the real season starts. Perhaps if Druid still has 10 cent wings night, you'll find me there having wings and watching oilers hockey. =)

Peace out for now

2007-09-13T23:28:00.000-06:00

Way too long without a post...haha..the laziness has taken over.

Updates since last time...
-Finished with festival stuff, it has been a good experience. Gave me the inside scoop of doing the festivals, met some really nice people working these things, and I sure had fun.

-Went to Vancouver for 5 days. Driving the mountains is sure a lot more interesting than driving on long straights stretches of road. Also, driving 10-11 hours straight isn't as bad as it sounds, although the next day i slept quite a bit. Vancouver itself was fun, a lot of walking, shopping, and just good stories that will never get old....haha, I will embed a video which I uploaded on youtube at the end of this entry.

- I got tickets to Pittsburgh Vs Edmonton game in December, so i really hope i can stay for that...

- Job hunting has gone to critical status, I got my extended visa today, and I have an actual deadline now. October 21st 2007, sigh....

- NHL 08 is fun

- So youtube is not working at the moment, so I will embed the video another time
*edit*
- Wish me luck

2007-08-27T12:36:00.000-06:00

testing the video function

2007-08-15T21:59:00.000-06:00

Hello,

It has been almost a month since i've updated anything on my blog, so be prepared for a long blog, as least as long as I feel like typing...lol,

hmm, what has happened since the last time I blogged? I guess a lot of things, but I guess i'll start off with the festivals that i am doing for a friend. Helped his restaurant out at the taste of edmonton, which was 10 days long, and I worked 108 hours during that time, it was sickening, actually, beyond sickening. However, it was fun though, met some cool people and had a taste of doing the festivals instead of visiting them. Kinda gives me a different perspective to the festivals.

I also finally bought a new phone. The Sony Ericsson K800I. After I decided to buy a new phone, i was researching and looking around for a phone, Nokia N-Series are nice, but they were too expensive, so I happen upon the K800I, an older model, but yet still packs a punch in functions and affordable price.

My new little baby"

I also bought three new books:

Twilight- Stephenie Meyer

You suck- Christopher Moore

Bloodsucking Fiends- Christopher Moore

Ifinished reading twilight last night. It wasn't what I expected, but the vampire concept seems to be more interesting. I didnt' like the ending that much but I found out there's a sequel to it, so I think that would be my next purchase. I started on You suck today, so far it's good. I like Christopher moore's humour, they are my kind of humour cause i find myself laughing out loud while reading it, it should be an interesting read.

Continuing on with my spending craze, which is bad, I bought a new game for the PS3 too,

I kinda played the Xbox360 version, but i never finished it, so i thought to play the one for PS3, cause reviews have been good. its a clean and solid game, i am definitely having fun with it.

Saw Bourne Ultimatum last night, this was one of the newer movies I saw. the last movie before that was harry potter. Bourne was good as always, a lot of actions and what not, clever twists, but the only thing i didn't like about it was how they tried some of the shots, kinda weird, i guess they were testing things out. It was a good try nonetheless, better luck next time?

Speaking of Harry Potter, I finished the last book, it was really cool!! At least one of the parts, makes me want to watch the movie right now. Kinda sad that the series is done, I always had so much fun reading the book, I'll read it again in a few months.

So fringe starts tomorrow, and I'll be helping out again for the next 10 days, wish me luck!

2007-07-18T09:39:00.000-06:00

The weekend proved to be more eventful than I would've thought. Went to dragon's head par 3 golf course on friday, I started out pretty good, and then on the 5th and 6th hole, I lost like 5 balls and my game went downwards!! =( damn water and trees...i shall conquer you!!

Saturday went to two friend's going away party and another friend's bachelor party, so that was kinda hectic yet fun....

Sunday we went to Calgary to catch the last day of the Stampede, it was quite fun, water ride was refreshing from the intense heat. And on our way back, there was a thunderstorm, i was half expecting a tornado because of the hot day we just had. Driving a Ford Explorer and having strong wind blowing from the side isn't the easiest to control as I've came to experience...i'll stick with my compact car..hehe

Today, I'll start heloing a friend out for Taste of Edmonton, it is set up day and the first day starts tomorrow. Korean Village =)

Ohh...I kinda started reading the 6th book again on friday, just for fun, I only intended to read parts of it to remind myself what happened, and without any notice, I finish reading the whole book yesterday....and now I seriously can't wait for the 7th book..so many questions to be answered still.... yes, you may call me a geek =)

2007-07-12T23:24:00.000-06:00

Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix

On Tuesday night, well, more like early Wednesday Morning, we saw Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix. It was the first midnight screening for any movie that I've been to, and moreover, it was HARRY POTTER, so I was extra excited! Got to the teather at 9.30PM, to join a couple of friends who were already lining up. There were already 60+ ppl lined up infront of us, I wonder what time they started lining up at. 2.5 hours of lining up is the most I've done for any movie, I remember lining up for 1.5 hours for Transformers and Pirates of Carribean II.

Anyways, the movie. I personally liked it, however, I thought they could've done a better job, they made it almost like there is no flow to the storyline, maybe it's cause I read the book and is extra biased. I am sure they did the best they could to accomodate everything in the book. The movie is still good nonetheless, we saw it on IMAX, so the last 20 mins was in 3D, which was cool!

Interview went well I think, however, I was supposed to get a call back today, but I never did. So, me trying to be more proactive in things, decided to call them to check. They didn't have a decision yet and the person said he'll call me in a couple of hours, which he never did, so if anything i'll get a call tomorrow, hopefully. Sigh....things were looking up, and then now......

Edmonton Oilers signed Sheldon Souray to a 5 years 27 Million deal today, I was very happy to see such a big signing by the Oilers, now I am very excited for this coming season!!
!!!Go Edmonton Oilers Go!!!

Currently listening to 手放开, haha, such a good song, just so happens that its playing on my playlist now....

2007-07-08T10:45:00.000-06:00

So, I've been lazy and not blogging. What gives? haha, at this point, there's way too many stuff that happen to do a play by play...So we'll just leave that.

Marketing Project is due on Saturday, I am doing the compiling of our work, and I don't have the drive to do anything right now, I wonder why that is, haha. I blame it on the nice summer days. However, at times, it got a little too hot here that I just want to stay indoors and hide from the sun. Example, On Thursday, it was about 32 degrees out, and since my uncle is cleaning out the garage, I can't park my car inside. And it was just outside the whole day. When it was time for me to go to class, opened the car door, and holy shit, its like an oven in there, black car and summer is not that good of a combination >.<

Saw a lot of movies lately/this week...
Last Saturday- Ratouile(sp?)
Wednesday- Transformers
Friday- Live free or Die Hard
Saturday- Knocked up
Next Tuesday midnight- Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix

Having said that, I think I pretty much watched my "must watch" list for the summer, the rest of the movies, are a to watch, but not a must watch basis, if you get what I mean.

Will be helping out a friend for Taste of Edmonton, it should be fun...and hot..haha..Edmonton Summer.

One of my Uncles said he is going to send my resume to a company in Singapore, I wouldn't mind if a job opportunity comes up there, its close to home, however, that would defeat the purpose of me trying to stay here, so we shall see what happens. Nothing might even happen actually.

Job situation is still a work in progress, applying to more and trying to follow-up with them more too...

That's all for now =)

2007-06-21T11:55:00.001-06:00

Song has been playing in my head.....

2007-06-20T22:47:00.001-06:00

About a week after I bought Christopher Moore's A Dirty Job, I finished reading it. It's quite a funny read actually, and I totally enjoyed reading it. Part of the ending was predictable, but there were a few that I went "interesting". Overall, I would recommend this book.

Weekend was quite normal, nothing too special. Watched some friend's ice hockey league game on Friday and Monday. They lost friday's game with a minute or so remaining, but the more than made up for that on the Monday game. Total Domination would best describe the game. Oh, Monday's game was held at quite a far and ghetto arena, it's called Icebox. And its at 215st and 108Ave. haha...wayyyy west.

Silver Surfer

Watched Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Pretty good movie, if you compare it to the first movie. It got me entertained. I didn't read the comic, so I can't comment on how well it was protrayed with respect to the comic, but taking the entertainment value of it, its an enjoyable movie. They showed the Harry Potter trailer before this movie, it was the first time I saw that trailer, and it actually looked quite good. I didn't like book 5 that much, so we'll see if I liked the movie. I wouldn't bother reading the 5th book again.....

Summer is all about watching movies I find. Although there's a lot of outdoor activities that can be done, but yet, all the good blockbuster movies seem to come out during summer time, tempting us all to spend money indoor instead of enjoying summer for free, hmm..marketing scheme perhaps?

Speaking of Marketing, I started my night class marketing course. It'll run from June 12 to July 21st. Most of my classmates are older working people, this will be an interesting course.

One of my friends started his own blogspot a few days ago, I wish him good luck with the world of blogging, It can get quite addicting.

Song playing currently on my Itunes: Saber Rider Theme...ah good times. For those of you who don't know what that is..here are a few pics that might jock your memory a little.....

I watched this when I was a kid, man it sure brings back good times, time to search for it on youtube when I am done with this entry.....

It seems like my job situation is still a work in progress, people do not like picking up their phones and what not around here it seems. More job applications are going to be made tomorrow it seems like. Is looking for a job really that hard? I really wonder sometimes....

Was basically at home the whole day today, but was out for a bit earlier in the afternoon on an errand. A relative is going back to brunei, so obviously there are stuff to be sent back to my brother including the grad photos from last year. We sent a batch by mail once, but it got lost i reckon cause my parents never got it. Let's hope this batch gets there safe and sound. Also, I saw a chinese movie

It literary translate to black fist. But the official title is Fatal Contact. Its a martial art movie. Very typical, nothing special except for the fighting I guess. The ending was not what I expected. So that was a pleasant surprise. Otherwise, a very forgettable movie.

July 14th seems like it'll be a busy night. I am invited to a friend's going away party, and today I found out I was invited to another friend's bachelor party on the same night. I will not miss the going away party for sure as he is a close and good friend, but also, I haven't seen my friend who's getting married for a long time, so I'll just have to make a little time for him =) Congrats to him by the way on getting married! =)

2007-06-13T11:51:00.000-06:00

Here I am, Wednesday noon time, not knowing what to do, and feeling the urge to somewhat write something. haha, I woke up today being worried, about my job situation. Did I not put enough effort into applying jobs? Am I applying for the wrong jobs? Why aren't I getting any replies? Why do I feel like I am so lazy? And with that in mind, I got off my bed, came to the computer, and went on workopolis.com and applied for more jobs. I have a sinking feeling that those might all be in vain, but we'll see what happens. Right now, the thought of going back to brunei actually doesn't sound too bad.......

I played my first 18 holes in golf on friday. It was a 5 hour round. Really exhausting, expensive and fun. I enjoyed it a whole lot! But i'll need more practice and my own golf set if i want to actually do well. That will come if i find a job.

Also played a card game called Bang! on Saturday. It was a fun game to play, somewhat munchkin like, but not really. Highly recommended card/board game.

Bought a book yesterday....

Got a few recommendations to read this book, so I bought it. Read the first couple chapters, was quite funny, so I have the urge to go on reading. I'll write about how it is after I am done. Funny how I start a book when I have to start school....sigh, only me...

Went to some of my friend's convocation the last 2 days. Just taking pictures and what not. Really reminded me of when I convocated, it was a fun filled day of just taking pics and what not. Its a happy occation as awell as the dread of finding a job if you haven't already. After sitting through the 2 hours or so of hearing ppl's names, it's always great to come outside to take pictures with family and friends.

Last night, i went to a friend's going away/graduation thing. I've known her for a bout 4 years or so now. Got to know her while volunteering for International Students Orientation a.k.a. Transitions. Those were really fun days, and something I'll never forget for a long long time. Hope You have fun with your future outings and Good luck.

Also Last Night, I went to watch....

This was so much better than Ocean's Twelve. Maybe because I went in without much hype, unlike the 2nd installment. All in all, I enjoyed watching this one, laughed a bit with a bit of what the heck? So i recommend this if you have been watching the francise.

With that said, time for an updated movies to watch list(those I really intend to watch)
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
Knocked up
Transformers
Live or Die Hard
Good Luck Chuck
Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix
Surf's up

2007-06-13T11:50:00.000-06:00

Just a Nice Guy- Part 3

2007-06-11T11:30:00.000-06:00

Just a Nice Guy Part I

Just a Nice Guy Part II