Jangan Pandang Belakang

farah low-key, originally uploaded by nadi0.

not that i'm saying that the subject in the portrait looks like a hantu...hehe. totally not.

i just came back from watching the much anticipated local horror film, Jangan Pandang Belakang. Everybody was too scared to watch it alone, so me and a few friends got together tonight especially to watch this film.

here's my review:

It's overrated, and wtf????

Heroes

finished watching the season finale of Heroes this morning, in my attempt to stay awake until it's time to get to work. The words of Mohinder Suresh at the end of the episode was very touching...i'm sure this paragraph is in blogs all over the world this week.

"we dream of hope, we dream of change, of fire, of love, of death...Then it happens, the dream becomes real. And the answer to this quest, this need to solve life's mysteries, finally shows itself , like the glowing light of a new dawn.

so much struggle for meaning, for purpose, and in the end we find it only in each other, our shared experience of the fantastic and the mundane. The simple human need to find a kindred, to connect, and to know in our hearts that we are not alone."

i am so going to be a zombie at work today.

...and Inzaghi scores....!!!

not that i watched the game. i went to check the score 85 minutes into the game, and found out that Inzaghi scored both the goals for Milan. yeehooo!

not that i follow the Champions League...hahaha.

I remember my college crush on Inzaghi, which made me took Italian for 2 semesters, in hope that the day I get to meet him in person, I will be able to at least have a civil conversation with him.

not that i ever got to meet him, but the A's i got for the two italian courses definitely bumped my CGPA at that time.

ok...i better go to sleep.

buona notte.

forza Inzaghi!

sunset @ Bukit Permai

vertical sunset @ Bukit Permai, originally uploaded by nadi0.

- one better sore eye
- one useless trip to the shopping mall
- one failed attempt to find the Ampang Lookout point

- one goal in life achieved.

driving through the rush hour today trying to look for the Ampang Lookout Point as described by Fariz brought me here, the Taman Bukit Permai Lookout Point. It didn't look promising at first, and just as i was about to get back into the car, the clouds started to part.

my eye is better now. i guess it's time to get back to work tomorrow.

boo hoo.

my eye

sunset @ damansara perdana, originally uploaded by nadi0.

somehow, i contracted an eye infection over the weekend. it got worse last night, all red and swollen. i think i might have to take another day off tomorrow so i don't infect people at work.

coincidentally, it's my right eye, the eye that is constantly on my viewfinder.

maybe it's time i got a disinfectant for my viewfinder.

arghh so itchy!

p/s: i don't know why i'm so bothered by something that i'm not even sure i want anymore. maybe i want it still? maybe i don't. i'm freakin' bothered, nevertheless.

eyes

eyes, originally uploaded by nadi0.

the original exposure was just begging to be processed into this.

look at those eyes.

model: Mrs. O

sunset @ KJ in HDR

sunset @ KJ in HDR, originally uploaded by nadi0.

another day, another HDR.

i'm going nuts. this addiction to HDR can be dangerous to my photo-taking skills. like i told Kichi, who cares what the original shot looks like when you can do a HDR later?

dang.

College sick

These days, when I attend talks and dialogue sessions on process improvement and quality, I keep hearing the words I used to hear in my college classes. Words and abbreviations like SEI, CMM, CMMi, maturity levels, etc.

Somehow hearing those words remind me of the indian food truck near Pitt Library (where they serve my favorite chicken tikka masala in the whole world), Kiva Han on Craig St, the pasta stand in the University Center and the Ponderosa buffet all the way in Monroeville.

Mmmph..yum!

the other side of sunrise

the other side of sunrise, originally uploaded by nadi0.

taken at Teluk Chempedak, the morning after my friends' wedding. Cloudy morning when I arrived at the beach, and it was still cloudy when I left to catch a couple more hours of sleep.

i'm going back to sleep, now that i've arrived in KL.

Miss Oh has now become Mrs Oh. Congratulations, you two!

Impossible is Nothing

Impossible is Nothing, originally uploaded by nadi0.

spent the evening in Bukit Malawati in Kuala Selangor, where the view is great and the monkeys are polite. I had no idea how far Kuala Selangor is from my house, so i let my GPS take me. damn it was far! hahahaa.. coming home was another thing, the roadsigns kept promising "Lebuhraya Guthrie" for over 20 kilometers, until i actually reached the highway.

here's a portrait of a silver-leaf monkey for you. i'm definitely going back to this place again...i didn't cover the Kuala Selangor Nature Park because by the time i reached the place, it had just closed for the day. :-( which was why i went up the hill to shoot (photograph) monkeys instead.

3 more days off and back to work..boohoo!

The Future, I Am

The Future, I Am, originally uploaded by nadi0.

Happy Labor Day, everyone!

introducing Sean, my male model of the day.

heheheh.

lights, girls, action!

my last shot, originally uploaded by nadi0.

i went to the Ultimate Street Tuners Carnival last night, replacing a friend who was supposed to take photographs there. The cars were interesting, but the major attraction (i think) was the Dancing Girls! There were too many men with SLRs around, photographing the car models and the dancing girls. i would post up a picture of the crowd cheering, but i don't want any of the men to get into trouble. hehe. thank god i had my Photographer pass so I could walk freely in front of the stage to shoot, away from the sweaty men and the wild crowd.

the event went on until 1AM, but i left early because my feet were hurting from 3 hours of walking around in 2.5 inch heels with my photo gear. i usually do that when i'm taking pictures in large crowds to gain the height, but i guess considering the tarred parking lot, it was a bad choice.

so, you car tuning freaks...check out the event! it's at the Stadium Bukit Jalil Car Park B, and it ends tomorrow night! for more info, checkout their website here.

after sleeping at 6AM...

checking scores, originally uploaded by nadi0.

i woke up too early.

bothered by the noise coming from the school in front and incoming smses on my phone.

the person who was mc-ing the event was the noisiest bit, she had a laugh like a hyena. remind me to put on earplugs before going to sleep on the weekend next time.

a picture for you. the two MCs cackling about while the kids watch the people near the board update the scores. muddy day at the field today from the storm the night before.

i know it's going to be a bad day today.

A Leopard called Manja

thinking...what's for dinner?, originally uploaded by nadi0.

i went to the zoo on my day off, and spent 3 hours hanging about the big cats' enclosures. The puma gave birth to 3 cubs, unfortunately i came too late in the afternoon, so i missed it. The 3 cubs were the cutest things on earth! Attempted to take some pictures, but the cubs were too far away, so the pictures came out shaky..:-(

Lovely day.

more pictures of Manja the Leopard and Rocky the Bengal Tiger on my flickr.

i got punked

excerpt from thestar.com:

Millions lost in e-invest scam

PENANG: Thousands of people nationwide are believed to have lost several million ringgit in an Internet “investment” scheme known as buy-e-barrel which has closed down abruptly.

Investors have been unable to log onto their online accounts over the past two weeks.

read more here...

I'm not proud to declare that I am one of the thousands who were cheated. Not by e-barrel, but by another scheme at www.abbfund.com. Don't bother clicking on the link because it doesn't work anymore. How can a person like me get cheated like that? Hey, you never try, you never know. Now if you read my previous posting on the outrageous lawyer fees, you must think I'm crazy and contradicting. hehehe...

Why am I laughing? Because when i gave that money away, it was money I was prepared to lose (plus it wasn't that much). I remember writing it off in my books that day. Still, it doesn't stop me from wishing that the crook would get caught, rot in jail and in hell. The crook is probably vacationing in the Carribeans now, having a party. Lucky bastard.

all I can say is, it was a lesson learned for me.

Fashion on 1

Topshop Model, originally uploaded by nadi0.

woke up at 2.30pm, lazed in front of the TV and started to feel hungry about 1 hour later. so i got ready to go out, with no destination in mind, and camera bag in the backseat.

called a friend, who said he's on the way to One Utama, and i suddenly remembered The Fashion on 1 thing going on at OU and it's the last day today.

i took some pictures of very good looking men. among the many other photographers there, i had some inferiority complex looking at their canggih equipment, although i kept reminding myself that it's not the equipment, it's the subject, and the photographer that are more important. yeah, whatever...i still want that fast telephoto!

then i stopped by Damansara Perdana to capture the sunset, and after dinner came home to capture the moon.

what a day.

resting

sunset @ KJ, originally uploaded by nadi0.

here's my interpretation of the doctor's rest, relax and take a lot of vitamin C. chilling around my housing area photographing orange sunsets that remind me of enormous vitamin C pills.

lawyer2 yang outrageous

i am refinancing my home.

so part of the process is for the new bank's lawyers to request for a letter of undertaking from the old bank's lawyers. the old lawyers asked me to pay RM105 in "Professional Fees" in order to produce the letter.

come on....40-50 bucks, i can understand. But RM105?? what the fuck? i could buy a polarizing filter with that kind of money. dia kena draft balik ke letter tu? I'm sure there's already an available template where all they need to do is type in my name and several other details.

maybe i don't understand what goes on in the lawyers office, but from my point of view, mencekik darah betul.

friggin' outrageous.

bone marrow update

hi gang,

doc called me this morning and told me that my bone marrow is free from blast cells.

Alhamdulillah. the last time i did a biopsy they detected 2% blast cells in the marrow. I was a bit worried about the percentage increasing to beyond 5% which is when the doctors will start worrying.

another long day at the hospital

...and a complete waste of time, i might add.

waited for over 5 hours to see the doctor, and it turned out that the clinic couldn't trace my bone marrow biopsy results. the nurses can't find it, and the lab said they have no record of it. so what was the big fat bandaid doing on my back 2 weeks ago?? crappetty crap. doc thinks i'm mad at her, which i am positively not. i'm freakin' angry at the system they are forced to deal with day in and day out. and this is not the first time it happened to me. really, what the hell is going on in there?

and what's with the 5 hour wait? ingat orang takde kerja lain nak buat ke? the stress level i have to endure waiting, dah lepas the level recommended by the doctor, i think!!

deep breaths...deep breaths....on a more positive note, my blood counts were back to normal today compared to 2 months ago. WBC 5.3, Hb 11.3, Platelets 178, alhamdulillah. The doctor told me to take the rest of the week off to rest at home to avoid getting any more viral infections from my surroundings.

let's hope that my bone marrow results are as good as my blood counts. :-)

ciao!

orange sunset @ Batu Dam

orange sunset @ Batu Dam, originally uploaded by nadi0.

In the hoo-ha of Pencarian Lelaki Maskulin, i totally forgot about where i went the day before.

Only 15 minutes away from the Batu Caves exit on MRR2, this serene place is perfect for relaxing. Bring a picnic mat, some books and just chill. Or in my case, take photographs la. hehe...

How to get there: From MRR2, exit at Batu Caves and drive towards Ulu Yam and Genting Highlands.

KL Skyline HDR

KL Skyline HDR, originally uploaded by nadi0.

After the event and some coffee, I went up to Level 9 of the parking lot to get a few shots of this to generate a HDR image. not bad, eh?

Riz - winner of Pencarian Lelaki Maskulin 2007

wooohoo!, originally uploaded by nadi0.

Held at Berjaya Times Square yesterday afternoon. Riz was selected via sms votes and judges as the winner of Pencarian Lelaki Maskulin 2007. He looked nervous and dazed throughout the event though...haha.

Wegra, myself, arianna, raz and her sisters and riz's parents all went to hand him some moral support. woohoo!

Congrats Riz!

HKL charging for parking

went to the hospital today for an abdominal ultrasound, and guess what? the hospital has started to charge for parking. First 15 minutes free, first 2 hours RM2, and RM 1 for subsequent hours.

which would've been a great idea if there were actually parking available. it looks slightly less crowded, the introduction of the parking fees probably weeded out the free-riders who were parking there for free and taking the LRT or Monorail to their workplace.

my abdominal organs look normal, the ultrasound lady told me. Alhamdulillah.

sunset @ Batu Caves

sunset @ Batu Caves, originally uploaded by nadi0.

for your viewing pleasure. i hope you like it!

gnite!

a pic for you...

moon over millenium bridge, originally uploaded by nadi0.

from me in my state of dis-inspiration (is that a word?)

can you tell what it is?

it's the moon peeping through the millenium bridge in putrajaya. yay!

the loveliest thing about going on these trips alone is the peace and quiet you get. though you get the occasional stranger trying to chat you up, asking questions about photography etc etc. hello, do i look like i drove all the way there to chat to people I don't know? but being the polite malay that i am, i layan aja lah...until i can find a reason to politely excuse myself, like, "ok...i'm going over there coz the moon looks bigger on that side. nice talking to you." hehehe.

gnite....

uninspired

fever, cold, cough.

have u ever faced one of those times where you feel uninspired? all you want to do is lie in bed. you're too lazy to write about anything, you can't be arsed to take any photographs, you eat but you're not actually eating, you work but you're not actually working, you watch TV but you're not actually concentrating on anything. the only things you actually do properly is sleep and laze on the couch.

man...i hope whatever bug that's eating me right now goes away soon. it feels like i've been sedated all week.

had my bone marrow biopsy yesterday. as usual the last thing i remember is the nurse injecting saline and dormicum. the next thing i remember was waking up on my couch at home with a sore back. hopefully the results come back as good as always.

adios.

I'm polluting the environment

...with the nasty white smoke coming out of the exhaust of my banana boat. I don't know what else to do..my mechanic said I have to drive it for two weeks before he can complete the repairs from the timing belt snapping the other day.

Arghhhhhh....! Ok I already called Mechanic and told him I can't drive this thing like this. If someone were to drive in front of me with fog coming out of the exhaust, I would curse the driver and maybe scratch the car if I find it...hehe. (but don't scratch mine la..please..that baby has gone through enough!) Mechanic told me to send the car in tomorrow.

To the pedestrians, motorists and any cars behind me who had to endure the smoke, please accept my deepest apology. I promise you that I will get it fixed as soon as possible.

Btw, my friend's husband who was diagnosed with leukemia mid-last month passed away two nights ago from lung infection. He was a handsome young lad who had the future in front of him. May Allah bless his soul, Al-Fatihah. Sorry for the late info, the news was rather depressing for me, I had to digest it for a couple of days.

French Spiderman

French Spiderman, originally uploaded by nadi0.

being at the right place at the right time is definitely awesome! i don't usually bring my camera around, but i had it with me in the office today for an office farewell party (booohoo liza dah takde...), and the French Spiderman (Alain Robert) was right across from my window, trying to climb up the opposite tower.

my hands shook as i was snapping the pics, i was so scared that he would fall off!

here's the link to the picture i took that was published by Reuters. check it out! hihihi!!

exciting day for me....a depressing morning turned out to be a good day overall. ahh...life, eh?

Sunrise @ The Klang Gate Dam

Sunrise @ The Klang Gate Dam, originally uploaded by nadi0.

i couldn't believe that i actually woke up at 5AM to hike up a hill so i can a picture of this. the hike up was like hell! thank god for Kichi and gang who helped me up. hahahaa...i really need to exercise more...my muscles are so weak.

I stopped at a landing that was good enough for me to see the sun rise. After resting (for about an hour hahaha) i joined the guys who were further up experimenting with off-camera lighting. i'm glad i hiked up to join them..the experiment turned out to be great!

the hike back down was hell as well, but after it was over, i realized i had a really good time. the view was beautiful from up there on east when the sun was rising. There was a view of the KL skyline as well, but it was too foggy (or hazy?) to get a clean sharp image.

Thanks to Kichi who organized the trip. :-)

oh...happy birthday to me...it was yesterday. My birthday wishes from last year applies...i'm too lazy to make a list this year. haha. i can't even remember what they were...maybe something about being healthy and alive...i guess.

ciao!

sometimes...

we deserve to be sad.

beneath the smiling facade, people usually carry different things inside them. the sadness of seeing someone who used to be so close to you slide away, and your forcing yourself to feel the same way. the loss of the moments you used to share with each other, now only remains something only you yearn to share.

then you remember. for every person who makes you feel that way, there are probably 10 others around you who are more than willing to make your day.

but still, you think. it's not the same.

the laughing zaara

the laughing zaara, originally uploaded by nadi0.

hihihihihihi!!

this is zt2 and juke's little princess, zaara.

that's not her dad...that's Uncle Neng.

she's so cute!!!! everytime i look at this picture, i start to smile, and giggle by myself.

am i sounding crazy?

Linda Onn, her dress and the Academy Awards

wow, i can't believe an issue like this earned a spot on the Nation section of The Star! macam-macam....

DJ Linda Onn defends decision not to wear outfit to gala event

By SHEELA CHANDRAN

PETALING JAYA: Upon Linda Onn’s return from Los Angeles, the ERA fm deejay defended her decision not to wear the outfit designed by local designer Radzuan Radziwill for the 79th Academy Awards red carpet event which she had been earlier slated to co-host.

“It’s my body and it’s my say as to what I wear. It is a small issue over a dress,” said Linda during a phone interview yesterday.

read more here...

If you want to read from another point of view, check-out Suhaimi Sulaiman's posting on this.

I still don't understand why they made such a huge deal out of it.

D50 Kit for Sale

Selling off my Nikon D50.

Bought in December 2005, shuttercount +/- 20K.

Body + Kit Lens 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 + Hoya UV Filter

All in excellent condition, recently serviced.

Price: RM 1680 Firm.

Reason for selling: upgrading.

money money money....

When I first started working, I did a test that concluded that I am driven by money. I'm at the tribunal court waiting for the hearing for my LAD claim. At 8.00 AM. Which means that I had to wake up at 6.45 AM. To fight for my entitlement, which came up to quite a significant amount given the 18-month delay.

Would I have woken up this early if it was over a RM100 claim? Probably not.

I guess, after all I have been through, i am still driven by money...

...what?

Money can buy you things that make you happy! Temporarily, if not permanently.

what tarot card are you?

as seen on daus' blog. told you i'm a genius.

You are The Moon

Hope, expectation, Bright promises.

The Moon is a card of magic and mystery - when prominent you know that nothing is as it seems, particularly when it concerns relationships. All logic is thrown out the window.

The Moon is all about visions and illusions, madness, genius and poetry. This is a card that has to do with sleep, and so with both dreams and nightmares. It is a scary card in that it warns that there might be hidden enemies, tricks and falsehoods. But it should also be remembered that this is a card of great creativity, of powerful magic, primal feelings and intuition. You may be going through a time of emotional and mental trial; if you have any past mental problems, you must be vigilant in taking your medication but avoid drugs or alcohol, as abuse of either will cause them irreparable damage. This time however, can also result in great creativity, psychic powers, visions and insight. You can and should trust your intuition.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

one down...one to go.

as it turned out, the paper wasn't that easy. but i found some funny things in the paper.

during the exam review, the teacher warned us, "do not try to ask any questions to the invigilator. if you do, i will deduct five points from your total score." OK...whatever dude...

so, i was at my seat...and the invigilator said, "you can now start reading your questions..please make sure that the number of pages is the same as what is stated on the cover page."

so i read..

INSTRUCTIONS TO STUDENTS
1. This Question paper consists of FIVE pages (excluding the cover page) with FOUR Questions only.

i counted the sheets.

eh...why only four meh? if i ask a question, will i get 5 points deducted for nothing? so i left it, when i saw there were four questions at the back anyway.

spent 10 minutes reading and rereading the questions. making sure that i don't get mislead by grammatical errors. here's one question, verbatim.

Question. 4.
What approach did the company take to implementing the system in term of resources and organizational structure, given the strategic vision of the senior manager? What types of information you think a marketing executives need?

trying to read past the errors was one thing. trying to figure out which "company" the question was referring to was another, since question 1 referred to the company in the case, question 2 referred to TMNet and question 3 referred to AT&T.

really, shouldn't they have someone who vets through the examination questions before they get printed? jeez...

you're wondering how i did? i walked out after 2 hours and 15 minutes...i couldn't see myself writing anything else until 11pm.

i just hope i get through this.

last minute woman

5 more hours to go till my Multimedia Mocketing final.

i've been sitting in this cafe in cyberjaya for the past 3 hours, "reading" my slides...in between surfing and chatting. i'm expecting to be brain dead when the exam finishes at 11pm tonight. so friends, standby to pick me up from the campus OK!

5 more chapters to browse through. yes, browse. because here's the dilemma. the teacher said that if he finds that our answers are following what the book says, he's going to deduct points. cheh. so maybe it's better if i didn't read much. plus the slides are full of grammatical errors anyway and i am struggling to understand the sentences.

wish me luck!

ps: yea, i think i'm so smart, making fun of the class. i hope i don't get below a B minus. heheee.

more reasons....

grey lotus, originally uploaded by nadi0.

to procrastinate.

exam tomorrow, and i haven't read a single thing. downloaded my exam slip only to discover that the exam will start at 8pm instead of 6pm..woohoo! which gives me two extra hours...

da bling bling thing

da bling bling thing, originally uploaded by nadi0.

a dream is a wish your heart makes...

this is one of the many dream cars of a 6 year old boy i know.

it must be liberating to have dreams that are uninhibited by financial constraints, public perception and impossibilities.

holy crap!

uh-oh....

bsc -> rasta -> flickr surfing -> editing photos -> research about close up filters -> amazon and ebay surfing -> kenrockwell.com -> blog hopping -> imdb.com....

----> 5AM!

shite.

Uptown turned Cowboytown

Uptown turned Cowboytown, originally uploaded by nadi0.

Too laid back...

Perhaps too much peace and quiet can be detrimental to a person's well being. This boredom is eating me from inside...there's nothing else to do in KL. Well, unless you want to hit the shopping malls...! I'm running out of procrastination reasons, so i'm chilling out listening to music, while attempting to write my 4 page strategic analysis.

Can't wait for Wednesday to come, so I can resume my bitching about the traffic and the noise.

....just finding things to complain about. muhahaha.

Happy Chinese New Year!

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..