butterfly

butterfly, originally uploaded by nadi0.

taking pictures of butterflies is a difficult task.

i suppose this would be the highlight of my boring long weekend.

:-)

yahooooooo!

spongebob @ sunset, originally uploaded by nadi0.

i obviously have too much time on my hands.

it was my last MBA class today. we break for a week, then i have my exams. and then, i'm done!!! (apart from the thesis..hehe)

the presentation went surprisingly well, despite us thinking that we had done a shit job. i guess we did get something right then...we all smiled when the professor said, "OK, this is another group that I think made really good suggestions, and have analyzed the case very well."

woohoo!

watching her cry

i watch her cry,
sympathizing for her newfound challenge.
and he kept on smiling,
but i know the fear he feels inside,
as the certain future becomes uncertain.

then she cries again,
and she told me that it has been like a dream.
i held her hand and told her to "be strong",
whatever that means to each of us.

i fought hard for her not to see my tears,
but as i walked away, the tears fall anyway.

Shiatt!!

Teka teki:
Kancil dengan Banana berselisih, what happens?

Answer:
Banana gets dents in her body.

Aaaargggghhhhhh!!!!

Hospital update - The one about the Hotshot doc

Man...new doctor for me today. The doc had a nasal voice, and spoke english in a funny way. I didn't like the way the doc told me, "well...your other counts are ok, but I don't like your white cell count. I donch wants to scare you or anything, but it could be a relapse you know. Now, you have two choices.you could do a bone marrow test, or you could come backs in a month and do another blood count. If I were you, i'd go for the bone marrow."

Suffice to say, that doc instantly made me uncomfortable. It must be the air of arrogance that was so strong inside the room that repelled me. Naturally, I asked where my doctors were; and the answer was, "Well, you better get used to it, because not all your previous doctors will be here forever you know. Plus we all here work as a team. Which is why I have to flips through your notebook here to see what has happened. So, tell me, why did the Doctors decide to inject you with your brother's lymphocytes last time?" haha...iyolah tu teamwork..

Wtf? Rasa nak terajang. Doctors have delivered me many bad news before...but never before they are certain. Never before they have numbers and lab reports before their eyes. And when they do, it never makes me feel angry. Sad, yes. But never angry. But this particular hot shot, yah, made me angry. Uncomfortable.

Well, I hope the low white cell count is only caused by my not feeling well yesterday, not due to a relapse. Hope the bone marrow biopsy will be OK..as the doc said, "Well, I donch want to waits too long..in case it somethings." yup..sempat lagi nak mengutuk. Hahaha..

WBC 2.3 - Lymphocytes 1.3
HB 12.2
Platelets 153,000

Anyway, I guess this is another reminder that we humans won't live forever, much as we want to. We hide our feelings, we suppress our emotions, we procrastinate, we forget to pray, we take things for granted. I say, from now on, everybody should seize their days, because you'll never know when you won't be around anymore. Tell the people who you care about that you love them, tell that crush how you feel, thank God for the blessings you have around you. And then, if you have the money, go out and buy that luxe item that you've been wanting all this while..be it an expensive designer handbag or a pro lens.

ala...like the Ronan Keating song tu...it goes like this"
if tomorrow never comes...
did i say how much i love you...
did i buy the lens i want..
that i thought of everyday
and dreamed of every night....
if tomorrow never comes...

Gotta get some vitamins now. Tata.

what's love got to do with it?

blue valentine, originally uploaded by nadi0.

absolutely nothing.
it's a bunga telur. hahaha.

i would turn my page pink, but i'm too lazy.

to those celebrating...Happy Valentine's Day. I'll be at the doctor's.

spot on

Sze punya, originally uploaded by nadi0.

i had my last monday class today. no more having to rush after work to school. and no more having to listen to lectures about how malaysians are so negative that we'll never amount to anything in life.

it took me more hours last night looking through my bird park photos than reading my journal articles. i ended up skimming through 5, and only properly reading one. it must be my lucky day today, because when he opened up my CD and randomly picked an article, he picked the one I actually read!! woohoo...! It was worthwhile spending the time editing the bird photos instead. hahaha..

the topic i chose was the power of blogs, and its possible usage within corporations. maybe i should write an entry about how the module didn't teach me much at all. muhaha..but i'll be kind lah since i'm so happy.

here's a picture of my friend's lens, taken from my home studio experiment...it has got nothing to do with this posting.

:-)

shooting birds

Peacock, originally uploaded by nadi0.

tired from doing my website assignment all day, i decided to go to the Lake Gardens. My drive by shooting attempts didn't produce satisfactory results, so i went to the bird park to shoot some birds instead. No worries, no blood was spilled.

hehe. more pictures on my flickr page.

yah. it's now 11.45pm, and i still have my journal articles to be read. I'm a master procrastinator..!! argh...!

talk to the hand...

talk to the hand..., originally uploaded by nadi0.

coz the head ain't in focus!!!

still have journal articles to read, group project to finish, a discussion at 11am tomorrow, ...and i'm still up doing nonsense. come to think of it, i was up the whole day doing nonsense, when there are still more immediate matters to be attended to.

i'm really not sure how buying two clamp spotlights from IKEA to build my home studio would help me answer my exam questions, but it sure is better than staying home, reading my textbooks!

just 3 more weeks, i need to focus!! i wish my head could focus like my camera does when it is set to a wide aperture; subject in sharp focus, and all distractions get blurred into the background. (paham ke korang analogy ni? hahaha)

bargh.

love....

...is when someone, or something, occupies your mind day and night, and it makes you feel good thinking about it.

or some might call it obsessive-compulsive. i call it love...passion...when you're deeply interested in something, or someone.

and by my definition, i think i'm in love. with something...or could it be a someone? he he he...

what's your definition of love?

diversion tactics

dang...i always find reasons to procrastinate whenever there's something important due, for example my individual project that's due this monday night that i haven't started. things that have been diverting my attention:

1. sudden addiction to surfing flickr
2. sudden need to reorganize the music on both my hard drives
3. sudden interest in editing and reorganizing all the photos on my hard drives

can spend all night editing photos, cannot spend even 5 minutes to read the journal articles...

help!

the last mile

obviously posting blog entries is much more interesting than finishing my MBA assignment.

i only have the CD to burn, and i'm too friggin' lazy to get my ass off the bed to get the CD-R. get up! get up!!!!

...

aight...i'm gonna get up and burn that CD now.

to my high-school mates...

anybody up for ED this 10th Feb?

buzz me aiight. i wanna go, but dowan to go alone la.

some of the best things in life are free...

sunset @ sungai besi, originally uploaded by nadi0.

1) that brilliant sunset today (did anybody see it?)

2) the ipaq I used to capture the sunset, since I didn't have a proper camera

haha.

ps: the sunset was so nice, that it took me 1.5 hours to reach
cyberjaya today, when it usually only takes me about 40 minutes. :-)
note to self: carry the little camera everywhere so you don't miss
stunning views like that!!

nadio machiavelli

here's an email i received a while ago..it was in regards to an MBA assignment that my group had to submit.

NB: Would anybody pls inform me, Is Nadia a prime Minister of any country where we live as illiterate people or she is the CEO of any organization where we are serving as 3rd / 4th graded employer? She should realize that, If we are not so, then she failed to show minimum courtesy in her last mail.

what i wrote in my last email was that if he didn't submit his portion, in all fairness, we would take his name off the group list. wasn't that courtesy enough, considering he hadn't done a single thing? he submitted his work 2 days later, 1 weeks after it was due, and he wrote about BMW. He obviously didn't read the case study, since it was actually about Mercedes!! When the assignment was over, he wrote an email to us, saying that he'd like to pull out of the team. Nobody bothered to reply his email.

Lesson learned: act like an illiterate, you get treated like an illiterate.

I know what i did sounded cruel, but here's something i read in Machiavelli's The Prince:

''A Prince should therefore disregard the reproach of being thought cruel where it enables him to keep his subjects united and loyal. For he who quells disorder by a very few signal examples will in the end be more merciful than he who from too great leniency permits things to take their course and so result in chaos and bloodshed, for these hurt the whole state, whereas the severity of the Prince injure individuals only.''

sometimes you need to be cruel to be kind. :-)

Juanes - La Camisa Negra

i can't get this bloody song out of my head.

Eye on Malaysia

Eye on Malaysia, originally uploaded by nadi0.

opssss...when i shot the moon, i was actually shooting this. terforgot pulak nak post. like i said, i'll have to go again and shoot it from another point where i can get the KL skyline in the frame.

gonna go watch Dreamgirls now. i heard it's good.

tataaa

weekend random thoughts

...i want to go take pictures in melaka, a famosa, the zoo, etc etc.

...u can spend lots of money to make the exterior look good, but it doesn't matter if it's still not properly working on the inside. i'm talking about my banana boat...hehe. well i guess it applies to other things in life as well, eh?

...4 more weeks to freedom from my MBA classes. but it still won't be over yet until my long-overdue thesis is finished. but at least i won't have to endure the weekly 3.5 hour "malaysians are a bunch of negative thinkers who have no hope to become successful" lectures.

...i want to go take pictures of the KL Eye again...from a different point of view.

...what's up with people who spell "buffday" instead of birthday? cute kah?

...Zinio is awesome.

...the moon, it's so round and beautiful tonight.

...time flies. i miss the last couple of weeks of my life. it was uncertain, nevertheless, it was beautiful.

...i want to go to Melaka...eh, did i already say that? oh ya i did.

...Radzlan's Work on Sundays is an excellent, catchy song. (lan, u better pay me for promoting your songs)

...i need to drink more water.

...need to hit Padini tomorrow to get more of those 50% khaki pants.

...bloody hell, it's 3.30 AM. this staying up habit of mine can't be good for my skin or my health..crap.

ciao.

cloudy moon

cloudy moon, originally uploaded by nadi0.

full moon,
cloudy sky,
awesome view.

wooohooo!!

fiat, originally uploaded by nadi0.

'nuff said.

hehe....Sze pointed out to me tho, that the paint shop sprayed my side mirrors all yellow instead of leaving the black matte strip intact...

gotta take it back to get that fixed.

otherwise...yay!

frustrated beyond repair

i know, some people who work with me sometimes think i am very the kerek. it's not kerekness, i promise. it's purely frustration, which comes off as being kerek.

gosh, i can't stand it when people still ask for non work-related thing from me when i have made it clear that i'm busy with work. really, which part of "sorry i can't do it right now coz i have office work to do" is not clear?

jeez.

i resolve...to eat properly

yesterday:
lunch - maggi goreng, nescafe ais
dinner - tuna sandwich, sirap limau ais

today:
breakfast - one quarter dunkin' donut, coffee
lunch - 2 digestive biscuits
tea break - 1 tuna puff
dinner - 3 spoons of rice, 1 spoon sambal ikan bilis, 1 spoon steamed fish, orange juice. at 11 pm.

not that I'm on a diet or anything..i suppose lately my hectic life has started to dictate my eating patterns. can't let that happen again.

Singapore @ Night

nightshot, originally uploaded by nadi0.

So I'm back from my cowboy plan mini-vacation. It was raining, so didn't get to do much other than roaming the shopping malls.

It was a breathtaking view, despite the continuous drizzle. I must have taken about 30 shots of this, but not a single one turned out to my satisfaction. Crap.

Spirits dampened with the rain,
Every photo opportunity made me remember.

:-)

:-(

i'm lost

i'm lost. I don't know where i'm at, literally. my gps keeps saying
"Acquiring Satellites."

doesn't matter. I will know I have arrived when I get there. sometimes
it's the destination that matters, eh? not the journey.

:-)

The One with All the Blogging

my top 10 most played mp3s on my Nano..i think i'm versatile, and a romantic. hihihi....

10. Radzlan - Smelly Pillow Ballad
9. Radzlan - Only Young Once
8. Flop Poppy - Pilu
7. Dygta - Maafkan (Acoustic)
6. Dewa - Perasaanku Tentang Perasaanku
5. Peterpan - Tak Bisakah
4. James Blunt - Goodbye My Lover
3. Samsons - Bukan Diriku
2. Spider - Buat Sang Puteri
1. John Petrucci - Wishful Thinking (takde lyrics..tapi jiwangz gila)

have a good weekend everyone...I'm going to try have a good one too. despite a looming MBA discussion coming up, on which I haven't started doing anything yet.

hospital update: lepas 2 hari i tried calling the hematology clinic to reschedule my appointment because I couldn't make it this week, I finally got a date, on Valentine's Day. Imagine that. Not that I usually do anything special for valentine's, but if i'm not mistaken, this was how I spent 14th February last year too. date with the docs. boohoo. hehee..takpe lah. all the fancy restaurants would be full anyway..hihihi.

**ps: yup i really have got time to kill with all the blogging. :-) am at KLIA waiting for my flight out. ciao cincau!

Need...sleep...

Two nights.
Emotional in an empty hotel room.
Grey's anatomy.
Heroes.
Tired.
Can't wait.
Hihi..

bintulu

bintulu, originally uploaded by nadi0.

the dullness of Bintulu is further reinforced with this boring landscape shot. I don't even know whether that brown area on the horizon is the sea or just a big land of mud.

kekeke..jangan marah ok orang Bintulu.

When feeling down..

I've probably written something like this before. Anyway.

When feeling down, it helps to have friends in other countries to entertain you. It also helps to not have to worry too much about money coz it allows you to make decisions within a short timeframe.

Am now at the airport to go to work in another state. When I get back here i'm off to clear my head. Hmm..i'm just going to start right now.

I'm a farkin' idiot.

**afterthought @ 4PM

And I've come to realize that i'm a selfish one too.

Sometimes when you are faced with a problem, it's easy to point a finger and blame another person. But if you take a step back, you will realize that the only person to blame is yourself. You will feel better when you take this standpoint, because by nature, we humans are more forgiving to ourselves, rather than towards other people whom we "think" are deliberately messing with our lives. And to realize that people, in general, do not usually hurt each other on purpose. There must be a cause for it, unless you are unfortunate enough to stumble upon the occasional sadist.

geek talk

conversation with a friend i had today. private joke, i know...but to us it was damned funny.

friend: hehehe same thing been goin on. mcm incident lifecycle. hehehe
nadio: aha...should i raise a problem record?
friend: yes u shud. if u are the problem manager. it all depends on the problem manager
nadio: yup...tapi tak cukup manpower laaaa (alasan normal)
friend: hahahah
nadio: betul lah. rasa nye asik restore service as soon as possible je..tak analyse root cause
friend: hahahahahaha. sbb tu la, asik work around je. tak raise rfc...raise la rfc
nadio: yepppp
friend: pi change management
nadio: kadang2 dah raise rfc, dah approve, tapi kena invoke backout procedures..sebab change implementation fail
friend: laaaaaaa...tu change management tak btol..silap! change ngan release management kene work together
nadio: yupppp...main taram je. takde impact analysis.
friend: btoll..payah la ini mcm
nadio: ni dah tak comform tu ITIL best practices ni...bahaya, causing instability in the live environment
friend: hahahahahahah
nadio: ok. trending analysis dah buat...tapi tak take any action...
there's no room for continuous improvement
in order to reach CMM level 4, it is important to provide room for continuous improvement
friend: hahaha
nadio: teheeee
friend: busan ah nad
nadio: i nak post conversation ni dalam blog i boleh tak
friend: hahahaha boleh. caya
nadio: kewl gila

suf·fo·cate

v. suf·fo·cat·ed, suf·fo·cat·ing, suf·fo·cates

v. tr.

1. To kill or destroy by preventing access of air or oxygen.
2. To impair the respiration of; asphyxiate.
3. To cause discomfort to by or as if by cutting off the supply of fresh air.
4. To suppress the development, imagination, or creativity of; stifle: "The rigid formality of the place suffocated her" (Thackeray).

v. intr.

1. To die from lack of air or oxygen; be asphyxiated.
2. To feel discomfort from lack of fresh air.
3. To become or feel suppressed; be stifled.

American Heritage Dictionary

sometimes passion just ain't enough...

sometimes the passion for photography needs to be supplemented with expensive equipment. I was told that Ken Rockwell believes that this is the best convenience lens yet.

eyeing a Nikkor 18-200mm VR lens.

hope i get it!

feeeeeeeeeeeeeelllll......

Queueing for 1 dollar SD cards

Am at the launch of the digital mall in PJ. Arrived at 10am sharp and there was already a massive queue waiting to get in. The minister arrived at around 10.30am. Yada yada yada It's now already 11.40am, and we're still waiting for the lion dance to finish. Do the mall owners really believe that this crowd is here to see the lion dance and some hong kong star? Please la...just let us in!! I just want to grab some cheap geek stuff and go...argh!

**update:
i was pushed, shoved and stepped on while inside. it was pure madness. gave up, looked around for a bit, and bought a stylus before i left. it would have been damn good if i managed to get that 1 dollar pixma printer, though. hahaha.

on a separate note, i'm excited about my banana boat's facelift. went to see the bodykits just now, dayyeemmm it's gonna look so pretty! wooohoo!

The smallest things

was having a chat on the phone with a troubled friend just now, and it occurred to me that:

When you love and care about a person with all your heart, the smallest act that the person makes towards you, good or bad, intentional or not, can move a mountain of your emotions.

The antidote for that, my friend, is to evaluate whether it is worth the emotional turmoil you are being put through. If the answer is Yes, then, by all means, have some trust and hope for the best. If your answer is No, then I say...run as far away as you can, and never come back. Or at least just run as far as you can, because from that distance you will realize that you don't want to go back to where you came from anyway.

oops..have i caught the Bloginson Syndrome? macam active la pulak... :-)

mad about GPS

I've just discovered GPS on my mobile, and it rocks! nak pegi 7-Eleven pun pakai GPS. hihihi...

Latitude 3º 07’49” N
Longitude 101º 38’22” E
Altitude 177.0m above Sea Level

awesome stuff.

random irritations without substance

T referred me to Hannah Tan's website today, and I got mega-confused. What is she selling actually? Her talent, her body or is it ultimately, her brand? Wtf is a T-shake? Basic t-shakes and gentle t-shakes? Do people actually do this because of her? If you were to do a t-shake, what would you do it for? The site claims that she created the t-phenomena? Why am I not part of this phenomenon, if it really is a phenomenon? Why don't I see my little cousins, uncles and aunties and friends around me doing the t-shake? Am i really out of it?

I'll show you a new shake. It's called an f-shake.
Step 1: form a fist
Step 2: point it to your target audience as if you're going to punch them
Step 3: lift the middle finger, and shake your hand back and forth

hihihi....ok i'm just jealous coz Hannah Tan is damn hot. Sorry Tan!

On a separate note...lately with the floods in Johor and the launch of Visit Malaysia Year 2007, I hear a lot of people making comments about our Prime Minister's decision making skills. About how the government spends money on the Eye on Malaysia and those daily fireworks, while there are people suffering down south. I've always had a feeling that those comments were not justified, I just couldn't point out why. It came to me this morning. OK, the flood just came, and the plans for the tourism thing must have been in the pipeline for months before that. Do we expect the Prime Minister to stop all the plans because Johor was flooded? My view may be simplistic, but the country is not run by 1 person. That's why we have ministries, and offices that take care of different aspects of the country's development. Satu jaga tourism, satu jaga kebajikan, etc etc. If you were the big boss of a company, and you stop one big project because another project is in trouble, how do you think your project managers would feel? That all their efforts and plans have gone to waste, perhaps?

ok apa aku membebel ni. hari ni macam hari tak puas hati. hehehe..

ciao.

Selamat Awal Muharram.

WindowsXP shopping

got a list of UK winter sale links from my bro today. spent almost 3 hours online shopping, started with next.co.uk, lasenza.co.uk, urbanoutfitters.co.uk, asos.co.uk, hairhq.co.uk, and lots more. in and out i went of the sites, checking out cheap stuff i could waste my money on.

found a belt here, a handbag there, and clothes everywhere. biasa lah perempuan shopping, in the end didn't buy a damn thing. hehehe...am now at argos.co.uk checking out gadgets.

God bless the Internet.

On humans, needs and desires

My fascination with humanistic theories continues. I think Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a brilliant theory...Was scouring the net for my MBA assignment, and came across this piece of writing by John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market.

"When we are small children we are egocentric, concerned only about our own needs and desires. As we mature, we grow beyond this egocentrism and begin to care about others—our families, friends, communities, and countries. Our capacity to love can expand even further, to loving people from different races, religions, and countries—potentially to unlimited love for all people and even for other sentient creatures. This is our potential as human beings, to take joy in the flourishing of people everywhere."

I don't know much

Look at this face
I know the years are showing
Look at this life
I still don't know where it's going

I don't know much
But I know I love you
And that may be all I need to know

Aaaargh!!

Is it just me, or was google down tonight? Time orang nak buat research ni la dia nak down!

Am panicking. Draft group project due thursday night and I haven't done anything. Zero. Nil.

Can't get Radzlan's Work on Sundays out of my stinkin head. "lalala..u gotta give it up..u gonna lose your mind, if u wanna keep it up.." no idea what he's singing. Kekeke

Au revoir mes amies.
Sweet dreams.

Dreams

Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.

Langston Hughes (1902 - 1967)

Because getting what you want always starts with a dream. Speaking of dreams...the nightmare starts today. Will be busy in all aspects of life.

Argh.

Survey

doing a survey for an MBA assignment..hopefully i get some people reading my blog in the weekends. hehe...tolong la isi...ok! thanks.

dusk in KL

Sesekali balik lambat...

taken with my iPaq. man, at a time like this i wish i still had the Nokia 6600.

The heart, and the head

Why is that, despite being parts of the same person, the heart and the head act like two very different entities? The head yaks and yaks about what should be done...but the heart, ahh...it always turns around and does the opposite thing. Whatever makes it happiest, even for a moment. And the head keeps nagging, trying to inject some sense in the heart. Sometimes the head gives in, and follows the heart where it wants to go.

Ikut hati, mati
Ikut rasa, binasa
Ikut otak, botak.

p/s: for the first time in my life, I learned today that I am an inspiration to someone, in ways other than my fight with the previous illness. It felt wonderful.

Butterflies-in-my-stomach kind of wonderful. :-)

Barbie Cake!

Barbie Cake!, originally uploaded by nadi0.

what a long day.

1 drama.
2 birthday parties back to back. one 33 year old man, next a 2 year old princess.
1 IT support trip.
2 house visits

and i'm still up...wishing i had a birthday cake like this when i was 2.

happy birthday, arina darling!

p/s to the girls: photos will be uploaded post processing..will sms u when i do!

Bananarama - Love in the First Degree

dancer at a prom, originally uploaded by nadi0.

breakdancer, originally uploaded by nadi0.

not that the pictures have anything to do with the bananarama song...hehehe.

Two weeks in a row listening to Shanon's version of Love in the First Degree, now i can't get the tune out of my head! argh!

"..Baby only you can set me free
Coz I'm guilty
Guilty as I can be...
Come on baby can't you see
I stand accused of love in the first degree
Guilty..of love in the first degree.."

jiwangz karatz tahapz dewa - bak kata orang2 melayu di alam virtualz.

haha pt2

Life made another funny turn today while the previous turn was not over yet. This time i was half-expecting for the turn to happen, so it's ok lah.

It's interesting how the mind works. How the problems you're facing become bigger or smaller as your life gets simpler or more complicated.

Say, when you are generally happy, your biggest problem would be deciding where to eat, or your evil boss.

Or, when you've got problems in your head, and suddenly you're faced with something life-threatening, every other problem shrinks to the size of an atom, because now your only goal is to stay alive.

going out to find some lunch.

Ciao!

ps: no pictures la after new year. i'm taking a break until i find some inspiration.

haha

Life.

It makes funny turns when you least expect it, don't you think?

To keep too much of a watchful eye, you'll drown yourself in worry, and take away the joy. To live carefree, you run the risk of getting hurt along the way. Or the risk of getting some people asking you to be professional in a situation that is absolutely out of context. You all know my pet peeve, spelling and grammatical errors, and irrelevant word usage in sentences. Hihihi...

But that's life. You live and learn, and your life will be shaped by the way you react to those random situations in life. :-)

Happy new year! (eh i wished already kan...nevermind...there you go again)

Mad About Fireworks

Mad About Fireworks, originally uploaded by nadi0.

i'm sure there'll be loads of these showcased on the net soon....i got 12 more like these on my flickr. Was going to upload 38 shots, but I decided against it. Nanti la when fotopages is fast again. Gave up on fotopages for now...too damned slow.

This time last year, I was smiling on the outside, raging inside.
This time, I want to be smiling inside, outside, left and right.

Here's to a happy new year!

Cheers, everyone!

No Black Tie

Reza Salleh, originally uploaded by nadi0.

had nothing to do over the weekend, so I went. Shanon and Reza were as usual, awesome!

more photos available on my fotopages.

moody teddy

moody teddy, originally uploaded by nadi0.

what do you do when the Internet is slow?

find other projects to do...

like taking pictures of a teddy bear in a bad mood.

have a good long weekend!

to the shutterbugs...

i had too many photos on my hard disk, so one day i thought maybe i should try selling them. on my online searches, i found Shutterstock.com. They have a referral program...so if you guys want to sell your photos..you can try and check this out. Shutterstock.com pays u 25 cents for every photo downloaded.

too bad la paypal don't pay direct to Malaysian banks..so everytime I get paid, i will have to pay my bank the fee to cash a foreign cheque. doesn't hurt to try lah.

i can't wait to make my first 25 cents. hehehe...

if u all berminat...use la my referral code k.

check it out la...

happy shooting!

Seafood

all that food, just for two people. tamak gila tak ingat dunia.

Somehow the visit to my new apartment in PJ became a trip to Bagan Lalang..dunno how! for a few more pics, check out my flickr.

in action

in action, originally uploaded by nadi0.

Spent Monday and Wednesday night shooting barely 18 boys and girls at their proms...hence the lack of updates..hehe. Just went with my D50 with 50mm lens attached, and a tissue wrapped around my kit flash. Tak payah nak spend hundreds on a speedlight...hehe.

Can't release pictures of sexy girls and suited up boys...so there u go, a silhouette of T in action, dengan speedlight mahal dia.

Reunited...and it feels so good

After a 10 day trial separation, I was finally reunited with the banana boat. And for the first time in months, I was smiling when i took it on the highway. Fast and smooth, it no longer feels like it's going to drop dead in the middle of the road. Still a bit traumatized from the events of the last few months, i drove with a bit of reservation. Every time i slowed down and hit the clutch, I half expected that it would die, but it didn't. The alignment was readjusted, and i no longer have to hold the steering wheel to prevent it from going to the left.

I realize that I've missed it, a whole lot. Nevermind the fact that the body looks like it seriously need a respray, with those grey spots here and there.

I love it.

Thanks to baibon and sze who convinced not to give up.

:-)

ps: still have to do some funny manouver with the ignition, until i get the spare part.

The Leaning Tower of KL

The Leaning Tower of KL, originally uploaded by nadio.

Caught in the jam....

Au Revoir, Your Royal Chai-ness

Had a farewell party for the office diva today.

A change for him, a big loss to us.

Good luck man!

la lune

i had nothing better to do, so i captured 20 shots of the moon, and this was my best one.

ahahahaha

I took the long way to get to class today. Was already 10 minutes late when my classmate called me. I had just parked my car.

Mate: oi where are you?
Me: I just parked. Whatsup?
Mate: well, there are only two people in the class right now, and Dr A is really angry.
Me: well, yeah ok..i'm already here. See u soon, bye.

I'm now sitting in class waiting for the teacher, who apparently stormed out of the room a few minutes before I came.

Aha. Maybe now he will know how we feel when he finishes class an hour late. As the saying goes...do unto others etc etc. Show no respect for people's time, none will be shown to you. Learn to accept it je lah!!

Kekeke...padan muka is all I can say..

Potato PMS (Parsley, Mushroom, Spinach)

Garlic, mushrooms, chopped parsleys sauteed in olive oil
Add boiled Potatoes, wedged
Add spinach
Butter
Salt and pepper

Lin punya recipe.

Don't forget to put some salt when boiling the potatoes!

photos from the weekend

a lonely boat by the beach


a friend enjoying the sunset

baiki cermin kereta

i don't know why, but this banner hit a funny bone in me. hehehehehe...!

hmm...come to think of it, i laugh rather easily lately. maybe from too much sun last weekend.

could it be possible?

keh keh keh

Ahhhhhh...

Sometimes one needs to get away. A couple of good friends, a whole bunch of strangers who probably think i'm a weirdo with a camera. it's wonderful to be in a place so remote yet so self-sufficient, where you need not worry about chasing time. all your problems get blown away by the winds from the sea, and you only think about what to eat, then sleep, compose pictures in your head, and try your best to make those shots.

This is the most relaxed, rested and content i've felt in a few months. On the way back from dinner, I reminicsed about the last happiest moment I had - a few months ago in a car that was too small to fit five people. Everybody in the car was talking at the same time, when he looked across at me and mouthed "I love you." I just looked back and smiled, butterflies fluttering in my stomach. :-)

heh. will post some not-so-brilliant photos soon!

Property Matters

I bought an apartment about 4 years ago.

It's finally ready, after about a 630-day delay from the promised delivery date.

So I called the office to arrange for key collection...and guess what?

The officer asked me whether I know the amount that I will be compensated. I said, sure, it's whatever that was stated in the S&P, right?

Wrong.

She quoted me a number. It was about half of what I calculated based on the S&P.

Well, she was nice and all, and told me that if wish not to accept that offer, I can write a letter to so and so, the boss of her department. So I said OK, i will write the letter.

I asked her, "How can your company give just 50% of the agreed amount? Do you think that's fair? Coz I feel cheated!"

She said, "Well, that is what the company can afford to compensate."

Can afford? Can afford? Don't developers have any respect to legal agreements anymore? What is the extra money going to be used for? To maintain that big monster house on top of the hill in Damansara Perdana? Please. Give me a break.

I decided to purchase the unit because I trusted the developer's excellent reputation at the time. And the developer has failed me.

No need for me to mention the developer's name in here. We all know who that company is already. Blood-sucking bunch of monkeys.

3B - Banana Boat Berhantu

Yes widz, if u saw an ugly version of the Fiat, it must be mine. hahaha...I can't respray it right now coz it will destroy my cash flow. hehehe..

Anyway, i was parked somewhere in PJ last night while taking pictures by the roadside. When I finished, I thought I wouldn't be so poyo and decided to leave the camera inside the car before I go see my friends at the mamak.

I tried to lock the car, but I heard the spring go off, and the car didn't lock properly. I tried to turn the key again, on both doors, and the same thing happened.

So after 5 minutes of unsuccessfully trying to lock the car, I decided to just take the camera with me and leave the car unlocked. After taking the camera out, I tried to lock the car again, just in case. And guess what, IT WORKED!

Maybe the banana boat was trying to protect me. Dayemm the thing's got a soul, don't you think?!

(i love u darlinnggg) hehehe.

Panning memanning...

after standing for 15 minutes by the LDP, jadi jugak akhirnya... :-)

deer..or something

171 shots at the National Zoo, and I think this was my only good one. I wish there was more contrast between the deer and the background.

mari kita sama-sama laungkan...

...merdeka!!!

...merdeka!!!

...merdeka!!!

after almost 4 months of thinking about not much else other than ITIL ITIL ITIL, i finally finished the 2nd paper today. it wasn't bad. in fact it was easier than the 1st paper. I walked out with a smile, silently praying for a pass.

now I wait. for the results.

if I get distinctions for both papers, i will buy everybody on the floor a cake. hehe...

what now?

finishing my long overdue MBA. the class last night was as expected, lots of work. I must say, for an instructor who claims to be a marketing specialist, he doesn't market his class very well. 4 students registered. 2 iranian ladies, a russian boy and myself. russian boy kinda cute (lari topic sekejap). and one of the first few things he said in class was, "make sure you don't make dates with your boyfriend or girlfriend on Monday nights because my classes end well beyond 9.30pm."

whatever laa dude...nyampah aku.

and for a guy who seems to portray himself as a perfectionist, he sure got spelling mistakes all over his slides. come on man, "paragraph" is not spelled as "paragrapg" and "journal" is not spelled as "jouranl"!!! kerja orang nak quality, kerja sendiri check dulu lah woi..ugh..10 points or nothing konon. blah lah. and then he said to me, "you think you're so smart, right?" maybe i am smart. so?

hehe sorry. emo sikit. i get a bit emotional when i see spelling errors. especially when they are splashed all over presentation slides. sheesh!!

here's one I found while sifting through the slides:
"How would you suggest Internet baking as a solution to the consumer problem?"

Internet baking? Internet baking????

i am sooo going to fix all those errors before i print the slides out.

ok la. relax first tonight. PS2 time! tata!

backyard safari

i found myself doing a backyard safari at my grandparents' house during the long raya break.

a hungry cat we call Milo, and a giant baby biawak.

yawn

i am tired

- less than 24 hours till my ITIL thang is over and done with.
- what to do after i finish tomorrow.
- where did i put my D50 eh?
- this library is the worst library on the planet.
- shit the marketing class is in 20 minutes.
- i better go.

ta! wish me luck.

argh pt 3

i was driving back from cyberjaya (yes, to fill up the form) and these thoughts were in my mind:

- when I could get the keropok lekor from Lan
- SLM terms and their meanings: service catalog, service level agreements, SL requirements, etc etc
- expanded incident lifecycle
- my mba class which is resuming on Monday
- if i'll ever be able to reach Cyberjaya by 6pm every monday and thursday
- T and myself and the whole situation we're both in at the mo'
- what to have for dinner
- maybe i should head back to KLCC and have dinner with some friends
- if i'll ever manage to study tonight, and keep my hands off the PS2 controller
- if i passed the Service Support paper last two weeks

when suddenly the mobile phone rang. i looked down for a split second to see who's calling when

BAMMMM!!!!!!

i knocked the car in front of me.

nice one Nadd. reaaaal nice.

now the banana boat looks like a rotten banana.

I'm ok though. The proton saga i hit went off unscathed.

maybe i shouldn't kutuk the banana boat so much. (i luv u darling..hehehe)

argh pt 2

dang.

I have to go all the way to Cyberjaya tomorrow to fill in an add/drop form at a certain school's MBA center.

The officer emailed me to ask me to come over and fill in the form.

I told her to email the soft copy to me so I can fill it up and fax it to them...since driving to Cyberjaya to fill in a form is a bit moronic from my point of view.

She said, sorry..they don't have a soft copy of the form.

ok...what kind of university calls itself the Multimedia University and do not have the soft copy of a form?? now registering for my classes will cost me about 25 bucks for gas and 1 hour on the road instead of 0 cent and 5 minutes of my time.

talk about cost inefficiency. bargh.

argh

sometimes u get yourself stuck between two people who have such strong feelings towards each other.

when another person's smallest words or actions give you such strong, uncontrollable reactions, could it mean that love is still in the air?

because to me, i can keep denying my feelings. but for as long as i care about every single detail that is happening in the ex's life, i am not over him. for as long as i want to find out how he feels, i am not over him. for as long as i take everything he does personally for or against me, i am not over him.

how the hell did i get stuck here? I am supposed to be learning about ITIL stuff, and I'm nowhere near ready at this point...and the exam is on Tuesday.

argh dah dah dah....!

letting go of burdens

sometimes i think just because i managed to overcome leukemia, I can get everything to go my way. hihi

this sounds so familiar. have i written about this before? if i have, too bad.

one example is my banana boat. it's my favourite car in the world. when i found out that i could actually afford it, i saved up for a year so i could afford the downpayment. when the money was enough...i went and got the car.

it gave me problems the first day i drove it. once that got sorted, i was really happy with it for quite some time. then it started breaking down again here and there. and i continued to put my effort and money into making the car work again.

it will work for a couple of months, then i'll face another problem. this year it became more unstable, going into the workshop almost every month. i never really complained, i told myself that i love this car...i'm going to make it work unless one day the money becomes a major constrain.

but lately the unreliability of the car has started to bother me more. i drive it around constantly wondering if it will break again soon. people tell me to just sell it and get a new one, but i entertain that idea with a heavy heart. i love that car. it's what i've always wanted...i reply to all my friends.

i have a feeling the car is going to disappoint me again soon. and i'll continue giving it what it needs, like a possessed lover.

wait...

the car can't disappoint me.

I disappoint myself with my choices.

Maybe one day i will come to my senses.

a song dedicated to my banana boat...taken from Radzlan's Smelly Pillow Ballad.
"lucky i'm lucky...to have met you...
maybe just maybe...you know it tooooo..!

someday...i'll drive you up into the ocean,
then would you believe in me...?"

hahaha.

Crazy Salesguy at Camera Shop

Was at a camera shop in DU on raya eve, looking for a UV filter for my zoom lens. Then I saw the SB800.

I asked him how much for the SB800 speedlight...knowing the market rate is plus minus RM1300.

He said, RM740.

I said, "What? Really?" and caught myself. I tested him. How about RM700 for the filter AND the SB800?

He said, "aah can can.."

I said, "ok...i'll go to the bank to take out some money. u wait ahh"

As i was leaving, he chased me, he said, "Miss..soli...it's not RM740, it's actually RM 1040"

I said, "Ok..RM1000 for the filter AND SB800"

He said OK. I went to the bank and came back.

I tested him again, "My friend said RM1000 expensive la. RM850 can ah?"

He said, "aaa can can.."

Was this dude for real?

So i said, OK lah....pack it up boyy! I couldn't believe my luck. heeheehee..

Then he took the flash from the display cabinet, and informed me, as if our conversation in the past 15 minutes never happened, "ok miss, RM1599."

Nevermind the fact that the RM80 Hoya filter i came in for turned out to be out of stock and he showed me an RM40 alternative which he said was more expensive. (???)

When I reminded him what he agreed with me, he pursuaded me to pay using my credit card.

I told him to stop wasting other people's time and walked out empty handed. No flash, no filter. Just a wad of cash that ended up back in the bank.

He got a good scolding from him supervisor who profusely apologized to me.

aaah well. it was too good to be true anyway. haha.

Selamat Hari Raya, Crazy Salesguy!

Louis II

Test shot with a Nikon D80 and SB800 speedlight. Puas ati...

Selamat Hari Raya & Maaf Zahir Batin from Nadio.

btw, the paper i sat for last Tuesday was tough as hell. argh!

Sleepers

The future lay sparkling ahead...

...and we thought we would know each other forever.

Paper 1: Service Support

I.am.a.nervous.wreck.

I'm aiming for a distinction.

My brain is saturated with info that I'm not even sure I can recall when the time comes.
- KPIs and why
- possible challenges and how to overcome them
- issues to consider when planning for implementation
- process benefits, costs and possible problems
- process relationships

My biggest scare is that I give the perfect answer to the wrong question. Argggh!

I can't wait for this to be over.

Bonne chance, moi!

Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough

I was knee deep in sample examinations, process benefits, costs and possible problems when suddenly this song by Don Henley and Patti Smyth started playing in my head. And now i can't stop singing the tune despite how sad it sounds to me. Hopefully this tune will help when i get stuck answering the Service Support questions next Tuesday. Due to the lack of anything to write, i'll just copy and paste the lyrics to the song here. hehehe....sedih beb lagu ni! Dang...karaoke best jugak ni..hihi

Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough
- Don Henley & Patti Smyth

Now, I don't want to lose you, but I don't want to use you
just to have somebody by my side.
And I don't want to hate you, I don't want to take you
but I don't want to be the one to cry.

And that don't really matter to anyone anymore..
But like a fool I keep losing my place
and I keep seeing you walk through that door.

But there's a danger in loving somebody too much,
and it's sad when you know it's your heart you can't trust..
There's a reason why people don't stay where they are,
Baby, sometimes, love just aint enough.

Now, I could never change you, I don't want to blame you,
Baby, you don't have to take the fall,
Yes, I may have hurt you, but I did not desert you..
Maybe I just want to have it all.

It makes a sound like thunder
it makes me feel like rain..
And like a fool who will never see the truth,
I keep thinking something's gonna change.

And there's no way home, when it's late at night and you're all alone,
Are there things that you wanted to say?
And do you feel me beside you in your bed?
there beside you, where I used to lay?

And there's a danger in loving somebody too much,
and it's sad when you know it's your heart they can't touch,
There's a reason why people don't stay who they are,
Baby, sometimes, love just ain't enough..

Baby, sometimes, love... it just ain't enough.
Oh, Oh, Oh, No

Honey Cornflakes

I got tired of reading about Capacity Management and decided to make some of these. The first batch burnt but through continuous improvement, the subsequent batches got better and better.

:-)

My Thumb

This is my thumb. Ugly, innit?

I've had that rough patch for years, and I never really manage to let it heal properly. I pick and bite in an attempt to make it smoother, but I never succeed. Once in a blue moon I get the discipline to put on some lotion and gloves to let it heal. Then when it's about to heal, I get the itch to start picking on it again, and I'm back where I started - ugly, semi-bleeding thumb. And I tell myself, "nevermind, i'll just start again tomorrow." It's a really bad habit I haven't been able to kick out of my system for many years.

I am fully aware that I have to stop doing this to myself. I need to just let the dead cells form that thick crust on the rough patch so that it can fall off one day and reveal the beautiful, healed skin. But for me, waiting for it to heal is the most difficult thing to do.

I hope someday soon I will realize that leaving it be is the fastest way to make it better.

Moral of the story:
Sometimes it is much better to leave things as they are, rather than try to mess with them and make the situation worse.

Balada Bantal Busuk

dang...i can't get Lan's "Smelly Pillow Ballad" tune out of my head...! I really have no idea what he's singing about but the music sounds just so damn catchy. I believe i can sing it better though, but nevermind that. hihi

Watch out guys...this song is going to be a hit when it comes out. Not in a few months though..i got a copy coz i'm so nice to him.

Anyway, i came across Disaster yesterday. Disaster looked in fact, disastrous. Apart from losing my appetite, i think i did well facing it. Selamat Hari Raya, Disaster, and Maaf Zahir & Batin.

blog surfing last night...i saw a lot of postings about people who are having relationship issues. I also know a friend of mine who is in love with a person who can't seem to let go of the past, but at the same time doesn't seem to want to let go of the present. Tough shit my friend...good luck is all I can say.

Hep C update:
people have been asking what's up...i went to discuss with the gastro guy yesterday, and he said just because they detected the antibody it doesn't mean that I have the virus. So we have to run more tests to find out the details. This will be the last of my Hep C updates on this blog. Everything else will remain private. Thanks for the concern and well wishes, though. :-)

Ok. selamat berbuka!

Gastroente...blargh

Ok lemme try again.

I'm now at the hospital's Consultant Gastroenterologist's clinic to check my liver. G.A.S.T.R.O.E.N.T.E.R.O.L.O.G.I.S.T.

The biopsy on tuesday was as usual. Don't remember a thing other than the sedative injection and waking up with a somewhat sore back.

Core Resource Against Cancer

Donate your CPU power to find the cure against cancer!

Basically, your PC processer is used to generate all the permutations possible of human protein strands and its effect by the drug. If there's a match, then it's like a "hit". Then the drug component will be shortlisted for further testing...and hopefully they'll find the cure for cancer.

Join the team my friend created. It's called "Core Resource Against Cancer." Click here to join and find out more.

The IBM team has 1,500 members... and about 11,000 years of CPU calculation...cool kan?

My Heart

Well call me a softie but that song My Heart that's always playing on the radio is just so damn jiwang.

"...bila kita mencintai yang lain,
Mungkinkah hati ini akan tegar,
Sebisa mungkin tak akan pernah,
Sayangku takkan hilang..."

Vocals not perfect, but the song...man..it makes me want to cry! Even worse, when I attempt to play it on the guitar, my eyes actually start to water..coz all the plucking really hurts my fingers. Heheheh. String murah kot...

Other things going on in my unglorious life:
- BMT this morning
- 15 more days to my certification exam...argh
- am now officially a fan of Radzlan. He plays at Giggers Art Café every Friday night. Catchy songs, untamed lyrics. He says chicks and dudes are all welcome! His gig details here & the cafe's details here.
- am thinking of opening a pet shop in my vicinity
- am thinking of a book title, after brother Kimster's suggestion
- am feeling a bit sick in the stomach after attempting to finish Syed's Nasi Bukhara

..if u love somebody would we be this strong...

Sambung jiwang...adios muchachos! i'll leave you with a glorious photo of the lobster mornay i had in Sydney..

food in thailand

Sempena bulan Ramadhan yang mulia ini, nikmatilah gambar juadah2 yang telah kumakan di Bangkok tempoh hari.

top left to right: Lobster, steamed fish, lobster
bottom left to right: fried eggs, honey roasted coconut, onion rings



hehe.

Ramadhan 1

1 down, 29 to go.

malam musika

went to see some friends perform at a café in Old Klang Road just now.

Lan played a few songs which turned out to be really
good...particularly his new one called 'Down the Drain.' Very the
fehlong....!

That open mic stuff really took my mind off things that are bothering me.

aaaiiight. heven't eaten since lunch...am gonna stuff my stomach now.

have a good weekend & selamat berpuase!

T.I.R.E.D.

One missed flight.

One long journey.

Two 2-hour long sessions, standing and talking.

One rushed journey back home.

I'm ready for the more subdued hours of Ramadhan.

Selamat berpuasa to all my muslim friends yang berpuasa. heh.


no more ERL for a while please!

buggeration

failed my Service Delivery mock exam from last month. 42% is pretty bad compared to last time.

no more wasting time after this. gotta crank it up within the next 6 weeks. argh!

aiight i'm off to go take pictures before i leave this city. I'll try out your suggestion kich.

Bangkok here i come!

Last trip.

Got my D50 with me this time. Must find time to take photos.

Hospital update: last visit counts were normal, but my hepatitis C screening came back positive. Have gone for repeat tests at the hospital and a private clinic. I hope they come back negative. If yes, it must be from the blood transfusions I got post-transplant. argh! Isn't the blood bank supposed to screen all the donor blood before transfusing to a patient??!!

I've lost that feeling...

...of satisfaction when you get that perfect contact of the club hitting the ball.

I'm talking about golf lah.

5 weeks ago everything was fine and dandy. I felt almost ready to go the green, now I have to start over. Darnit.

Two days and I still couldn't get my swing right. Must try again tomorrow.

Kenangan Terindah

lagu fevret gue buat masa ini...

bila yang tertulis untukku
adalah yang terbaik untukmu
kan kujadikan kau kenangan
yang terindah dalam hidupku

namun takkan mudah bagiku
meninggalkan jejak hidupku
yang telah terukir abadi
sebagai kenangan yang...terindah

- Samson, Kenangan Terindah

Checkup tomorrow morning...hope all is good.

photos from Sydney

The bridge at night. More photos at my fotopages.

There's something about Sydney, that I find very calming. Maybe it's the water that surrounds the city.

C'est la vie

They say the Sydney Opera House was designed based on the sails of the ships that went through the Sydney Harbour.

I was drowning in a stormy sea and a ship came by to save me. In that ship, there was an angel who showed me a calmer part of the ocean. It felt good. Until the angel decided it was time it helped another drowning soul.

So, away goes the ship, angel and all. That ship has sailed.

C'est la vie, the French would say, no?

Some pictures i took of the Opera House with my D50. The bottom pic was a test shot using my 70-300mm lens. No cropping business this time. :-)

personal space theory

I'm not a very big fan of crowds and noise. I get edgy when people stand too close to me in a queue. I can't stand it when if going through items on the shop rack and someone suddenly stands too close. Even worse if they accidentally touch me.

I always experience this with people who hail from the highly populated areas of asia. Just a moment ago a lady put all her stuff next to me and started to organize her shopping bags. It's a 5ft long empty bench, why the heck wouldn't she go to other side?! I stared at her and she stared back. Wtf?! Go away, woman! Don't let your shopping bags touch me!

Well my theory is that people coming from densely populated areas don't understand the concept of personal space because they grew up never knowing it exists. That's why they never seem to mind going on tour in large groups, where their guides could wave the flags while shouting to get everyone together. Argh.

Am going to lunch at the fish market again. The 25 dollars should last me until i fly home tonight, if i'm really careful with it.

Cheers!

to my two friends...

a loss is only a loss if you are silly enough to let it go without even trying.

if you are both lying on your bedroom floor crying your eyeballs out, then it's a sign to work it out!

sydney update: conference ended today, checked out of the hotel-with-a-view, and checked into a smaller hotel, which is cheap and big enough for me to sleep and watch some tv.

have been walking around Circular Quay taking pictures of the bridge and the Opera House. syok gila now i'm armed with my D50 and a tripod! will post pictures at the end of the week.

cheers, mate.

it's cold

It's cold here.Just spending the nights taking pictures of the Darling Harbour from my hotel room.

I'm going to read my textbook now, since it's way overdue and the exam is about 40 days away, boohoo..!

Sydney...

is as before, wonderful.

It between conference sessions, I stand at the window and stare outside, admiring the weather.

Biasalah..orang putih suka panas, orang melayu suka sejuk. hahaha.

Got a tripod setup in my hotel room, which has an amazing view of Darling Harbour and the Bridge.

Ok lah. looking for dinner..hungry..!

tata mates.

amsterdam...and more

Le Meridien Apollo, Amsterdam - overlooking a canal

visit my fotopages for more.