Arrested by the Corrupted 23rd May 2005

20th May, I picked Irene up and go to my place for Alias. Wanted to open a bank account before going back home. Tried the Maybank in Relau as it's nearer to my place, it uses 2 shop lots, so i believe it's large enough to be customer friendly. I prefer banks which helps me to fill in forms, and help me bypass some procedural hassle. Walked into the bank expecting a good service, but the officer on the desk ask me to go to the counter. At the counter, the lady told me i can't open a bank account there cause my Identification Card's address is in Ayer Itam. I can only open a bank account if i've changed my address in my IC, or i've some utility bills with my name written on it. What???

I try to explain to the lady that Bumiputera Commerce (another bank) does not give me so much trouble. In actual fact, the officer help me to certified the bankbook so that i can draw money from other banks other than the one which issues me the bankbook. You know how this old shuttlecork lady replied? "Bumi Maybank ke?" !`#$% What i was trying to say is just that other banks can do it, why you want to be different? Do you have too much customers that you can treat them rudely?

I don't understand why, it's so ridiculous! Let's say a family moved to a new place, do you expect all the different utility bills are in the name of different people? What crap is that? "Protocols"? "Rules"? Argh!!! I din get angry, i just feel funny. I walked out the door feeling more like to laugh than to get mad at them.

So I tried to ask the other Maybank near Sunshine Square. When I crossed a junction, i got stopped by a police. He did not explain why he stop me but asked for my IC first. I was very sure i wasn't speeding, and i did nothing wrong. I refused to hand over my IC, then only he explains that i'm not suppose to turn over a double line. It's juz a simple offence, and he's there to ask for "Duit Kopi", corrupted policeman. He even spit out "Tak mau bagi duit kopi ke?". What happens with the Anti Coruption Agency? What happens with the Clean Malaysia campaign?

To verify what he says is true, i walk back to the junction and have a look. When i come back , i saw a few cars making the same turning but they are being "forgiven" and drove away. Why is he picking on me? "I suka lepas, lepas lah!" (I do what i like) It's like they are the law, and nothing goes above them. Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? There's no other reason for police to hide under the tree, and to stop the traffic. "on duty my ass!" as if they have a duty warrant. I was shouting out and scolding all the way. He kinda get pissed off, and start getting a handcuff out from his passenger seat, threatening to get me to the police station.

After a long quarrel, i called my dad up, he asked me to hand in the IC. I'll rather get an official summon then paying the corrupted. According to the news, these Anti Corruption Agents might be watching, if caught trying to bribe a policeman, i'll get twice the punishment. These police are also suppose to be from a radius of 12km, meaning if they are police from other headquaters, they are not suppose to stop anyone. They don't have the right to do so.

What i learnt today is that i've to apologize first if i meet up with these people. And if he insists in wanting duit kopi, i'll have to ask for his identification. Only a blue police identification card can stop a car. If it's a white, he can't. If he's using a red identification card, this police is being suspended from duty.

After the angry meeting with these corrupted, the Sunshine Square Maybank division also gives me the same response. Why my life is so miserable, unfortunate and terrible today?

There's a meeting with some PhotoKrazzies, a group of photographers from forums i join. It's the first meeting with photographers since i got my D70s, and it's also the first meeting with new faces in penang. Learnt a lot from them, from how to use an external flash, how to use SB-600 as a slave flash, tried out the performance of both Tamron and Sigma zoom lens. The 70-300mm Macro lens. It's both sub RM1000 lens which performs well, depending on the skill a person possess. Those lens are rather slow in low light condition, but that's what to expect from small apertures.

All in all, these people are friendly, and love to hang out with them again.

Ever heard about this place? I don't think all Penangites heard about it also. It's my first time up there, though i've heard about it from my parents for quite some time now. There is a good panaromic view up there and they serve Thai Food for dinner.

Went up there around 6pm, just nice for me to be there for the sunset. Sadly, the sky is not on my side today, the clouds starts to cover up the clear blue sky when i was on my way into the car.

Let's talk about the food there now. They serve normal Thai food which have nothing to brag about, dad ordered the food just nice for the 5 of us. I wasn't really feeling well after the heat, packed temples, and the anger of waiting 2 hours sleeping on a sofa.

But good thing is i managed to get this "path of love" picture. It's actually a path built by cement in the shape of hearts. Juz add some contrast and adjust the curve to get this effect.

Waking up earlier then usual. Can't sleep these days, might be having too much time on bed that my brain is still active, yet my body lies in bed. Not a good thing though. Took my camera to an apartment nearby my house to take a few shots. Dad came along with me as he worried about my safety going up such a place with a RM3680 camera. Can't take good pictures as the light wasn't bright enough and i can't find the old tripod which came free with the JVC camcorder my dad owns.


Like the usual routine, first we fetch up my granny in Ayer Itam, then go to Por Tay High School to "shower/wash/baptise" buddha. This year, granny's younger sister came with us as well. Judge urself if they look alike. My granny is the one in red, while her younger sister is the one on brown. Dad met his old classmate when we're there. They chatted a long time, I thought she's my father's teacher or senior but when we get into the car dad told me she got cancer. It's such a sad incident, felt sorry for her though i don't really know her at all. Finally, i also feel glad that my parents are still very healthy, cheerful, and loving.

Next stop we go visit the Sleeping Buddha in town. There's a lot of people having their annual prayers there as well. In fact, the whole Penang is crowded with chinese driving out for prayers and taking the weekend off. Those from outstation also came back to the island, which makes the traffic situation worse.

The time is still early, and i tot of going to the "Milk Buddha" with Irene to change my wrist knot. It's disappointing though that i've to spend 2 hours waiting at her house when i'm so hot and not feeling really well. Went there, done my prayers and got her driving me back to my house in Sg Ara.

Went up Bukit Genting with her and my parents for dinner. Will talk about that place on my next post. Keep yourself updated.

Before i end for the day, here's some pictures i took on my house a couple of days ago. Hope you enjoy it. [New House in Sg. Ara]

I din realised it was Wesak Eve until Irene reminded me about that like 3 hours before I've to go to the temple near her house for annual "Wesak Eve Prayers".

I've been waiting for her all day, haven't been taking much meals (like the past few weeks) no wonder i loss so much weight. She's having an interview at Equatorial today (again ?!) with DELL. Luckily she don't want me to be there with her today. The interview starts at 10 in the morning and stretch through lunch till almost dinner. Pity my QQ as she have to skip lunch for the interview. Fortunate thing for her is that she managed to get through all the 3 stages. They offered her a position but she needs to wait a week for the exact placement and time to start work.

Talking about the prayers, it started by reading the chants which drags chinese characters for the longest time ever. It's already the new century, but they are still chanting like the good old days. The "spelling" translation written on the side were not those "han yu ping ying" that we learnt during our primary years.

I managed to take only a few pictures as Irene warned me not to take too much pictures in a holy place. Yet, if i din take pictures, i'll regret my trip there. The volunteers that worked that night were quite helpful, yet i think that by looking at the size of my camera, most people will juz let me snap assuming i'm a photo journalist.

After the chants, we have to light up the candle and follow the monks to walk around the park and continue chanting. We're suppose to walk 3 rounds around the temple, but this year they reduced it to only one round. Luckily i take a few shots while following the parade. Irene don't really agree with me at first, but she gave up after realising that this year they only walk one round. Not really proud of the pictures i've taken tonight, but just to share with you what a dSLR can do in low light condition. Lower noise, which means i can hand held the camera and shot without much camera shake.

[Photos on Wesak Day] taken with Nikon D70s

Star Wars fans have been waiting a long time for this finale. As for me, it's just another movie which have been given a very high expectations. Met up with Lincoln and his friends at Perangin Mall for the movie. He rang me up few days ago for the movie, haven't met him for a long time. Just to recall your memory, he's one of my best friends back in my alpha year, and still keep in touch today.

The movie has nothing to be shocked about, and the storyline is already heard over a thousand times before the show is screened. It's funny that a friend asks, "does Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader at the end? If that's the case I don't wanna watch dy~". "....." How to reply her? Hm... Guess sometimes people just don't want the actor to turn bad, not the character. It's a movie for X's sake! Not like the person really turns bad. Oh well...

Glad to meet up with Lincoln. He invited me to join him for the 1977 trilogy after the movie, but it's running late, and I don't feel well myself. So I offered to lend him my laptop, which is not in use since I'm playing with the desktop. Well, enjoy the show old pal.

Before the end, here's a test sent to me by my good mui mui, icymint_gal. I'm the Count Dooku...welcome to the Dark Side.

Quote: Learn to know the Dark Side of the Force, and you will
achieve a power greater than any Jedi

Remember how i always talk about the Canon's 350D for the past 2 months or so? Yet at the last minute, i've changed my mind to get Nikon's D70s. Reason?


- Tougher looking body
- Spot Metering
- Nikon lenses are cheaper compared to Canon Lens
- Included a lot more features only available on Canon EOS 20D and above
- Value for money
- Better kit lens, longer zoom range
- it sold out like hot cakes. Mine's the only unit left on the shelf

The person who sold me is not really honest with the price, yet I got those necessary stuffs from him. Luckily i din get those as I juz found out that he plan to earn RM200 more from a cheap lens he tried to "bundled" (a cheapo 70-300 G lens). I think he sold me over priced extra battery as well. Luckily i din get the whole package, he's like earning a whole lot from me. They earn more from foreign customers. Charging RM4000 for a D70s (I got it for RM3680, not the cheapest price around, yeah i know)

But overall, quite happy with the purchase. I mean, my decision on D70s compared with 350D. Other then the price tag, i think i won't be regretting much on choosing Nikon's system. Will share more photos and wut i learnt from the camera. So keep your eyes on the blog.

Btw...my friend told me that i've to learn everything again once i change from a digital compact to a digital SLR. If that's true, i'll have a lot to share with everyone of u.

Mummy complains a bit about the price tag. But she doesnt' really nag me lah. Juz asking me to find my FTP project as fast as possible. Dad also love the performance of the camera. Guess that's all of my report for the day. Good night world.

Oh yeah...just an insider joke. Why "welcome to the dark side"? That's because Nikons are considered the "Darth Vader" while the Canon's are the "Good Jedis" as Canon L lens are mostly white, while Nikon lenses are all black. So...Star Wars Episode III, this camera bought in conjunction to ur release. Haha....(not funny)

Woke up early, and my aunty brings us to their local taman to have a jog. The jogging path is shock absorbant, not like the path we have up in Air Itam Dam. The lake there is also beautiful. She showed me the location where she took the shot which won her a price. We have a nice walk around the taman, meeting up with some cute monkeys on the way as well.

Bought "Putu Mayung" from an indian stall. It's flour made into small strains like mee hoon, and eat with santan and brown sugar. Since i was "sweet talking" the seller, he gives me extra Gula Melaka, which is very rarely sold with Putu Mayung these days. Haha... my aunty complains that she never get it eventhough she is a regular customer. But hey...can't blame me for being cute rite? :P I've also tried the TauFuFa which is famous around Damansara. The tauge wake up at 3am in the morning to perpare the ingredients, driving his indonesian workers to various locations to sell while they themself are selling in the wet market. Business is so good their things aren't cheap.

After breakfast, we planned to visit all IKEA, IKANO Powerstation, and The Curve. But once we are in IKEA, we lost our minds and stayed there for almost 4 hours plus. There's a lot of good furniture for sale. But it's not good in terms of materials, but it's their concept, idea and design that sells. We're living in the Knowledge-based Society, so...the things sold here are mostly ideas on cheap wood. Dad might complain once i buy the things back, yet some of their furniture is not found available in shops all over Malaysia. I got this picture frame which is simple, elegant and affordable. I wonder why the other manufacturers spend their time making the frame looks complicated, and ugly. Some people like me prefer it to be nice and simple.

Regretted not coming to IKEA before designing my room. Their furniture here is cheaper and looks better. The furniture sold in most places are designed by Taiwanese while IKEA's products come from Swedish designers. The selection is so broad sometimes u wouldn't know what to buy unless u have a picture in mind. They also have some concept rooms for you to visit. The place is so comfortable me and Irene feel like wanting to stay there all day.

They have this coffee house in IKEA. The food is reasonably priced, and my aunty gave me a coupon to get a free cup of coffee. Drinks are free filled, and i drank 3 cups of capuccino. Irene pour herself a cup of soda. Haha...the bitter taste drove me nuts the last time i took a cup of soda in the airport. Surprisingly she managed to finish the whole cup of Soda.

While waiting for the shuttle to Kelana Jaya, we walked around Ikano Powerstation. The place is very large, must take another whole day to do serious shopping. There's a pet shop up there as well. Love those rabbits and cute little puppies. Hm...if only my mom let me breed them. Oh yeah, colorful parrots are for sale as well! Damansara Utama is a great place to shop, if i'm staying in TTDI, i don't think i'll have any money left in my account book anymore. I love this place! It's not crowded, comfortable, and the choices are enormous.

There's nothing worth mentioning for, or surprise about for a tour to Kuala Lumpur. People always assume that going the same place numerous time means there's nothing else to explore. I've been staying in Penang for 23 years, yet there's almost half of the island i haven't been to yet.

I went there to get a CompactFlash card for my "future" camera. Shopped around LowYat Plaza and managed to get one for RM299. Suppose to be selling around RM285, but in Penang, the shops charge RM385 and they don't store much CF cards. Irene got some E-Books which she wants to read before she can find a job.

Go to KLCC after that. Was planning to look for Ren Han, heard he's working there. Mana tau it's his off day today. :( too bad lah. It's already quite late when we reached there. Go get the Malaysian Philaharmonic Ochestra tickets before going anywhere else.

I found out that Petronas is not only Engineering and selling petrol. They contribute back to the society by sponsoring the F1 Race, Education (PetroSains), Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (Music), and Arts (Petronas Art Collection).

F1 Race and PetroSains is nothing new to me, so i'll juz skip that. Let's start with Petronas Art Collection. It's a gallery as big as the size of one football field. There's art pieces from local photographers. It is a display of 443 images which narrates the insights of our cultural history. Some of the photos are being comissioned, like the one taken for Petronas Corporate Calendar. The day when i was there, it's so coincident that one of the photographer is giving a talk. Arthur Teng is a self taught photographer who have been practicing over 20 years. Managed to stay there for 10 minutes to listen to him speaking. The speech is well prepared, and he knows what he's lecturering, the flow is quite smooth. The crowd flooded the petronas art collection hall. I was having my show at 6pm, and have to be seated at 5.45pm. Too bad can't stay longer to listen.

Now, back to our local Phiharmonic Ochestra. Have been reading about this place for years, but no chance to listen. Finally made a trip down to listen to them. It's cheaper for the weekdays, only RM 10 for a ticket. The concert hall is not as big as i imagine, but the atmosphere of an orchestra is there. Below is details of the show.

CHAMBER CONCERT
MPO Chamber Players

PROKOFIEV Quintet in G minor, Op.39
FAURÉ Piano Trio in D minor, Op.120
ROSSINI Cavatina
R STRAUSS Till Eulenspiegel Einmal Anders

The time is packed, so they cut off the piece by R Strauss. The first Quintet was played by 5 people, i don't understand their music, but sometimes people just love things they don't understand right? I just sit there, close my eyes on and off and move my head according to the melody. The piano trio comes in next. I think they are asians, most probably Thais or Malaysian. The third Cavatina is the best, coming in with all their instrument that i've never seen before. But i heard those instruments as background music on dramas. Now i can relate the sound to the instrument that makes it. :P The performance lasts only for an hour, feel it's kinda short. Might wanna come back for some other performance.

There will be an international performance by Lang Lang (Pianist) who Irene says is really good. Never heard bout the name before, must learn more music from her. She seemed to understand music more then me, naming me all the instruments that they played, which one is the toughest to blow, and what's there to appreciate. It's my idea to bring her there as she loves music, and I've never been there myself.

Kinoukuniya is our next stop. There's so much book i don't know where to start. There's all these comic which are featured on the newspaper, and all those reading materials with attractive topics. End up din buy a book as i wanted to save up for my photography expanses. :(

Stayed back at my aunty's home in TTDI. She just finished her renovation. The house looks bigger after the expansion. She won 2 photography competition which gives her free subscription of CLICK! She gave me a copy of the current issue. Thanks aunt!

Happy Mother's Day mummy. Promised Irene to have lunch with her family and her aunty's godmother. I wanted to spend time with my family instead, yet there's a lot to do this sunday. Went out right after i wake up. Bought a cake for my uncle's bday and another cake for my granny for mother's day. The pastry shop "Winter Orange" along Paya Terubong road give away free carnation on that day for every purchase of a cake. They also specially ordered the "Happy Mother's Day" pin. Got one from them.

Had lunch with Irene's family at Gurney's "Corner Club". Her aunty's godfamily is really friendly, talkative and knowledgeable. I wanna thank them for the meal they asked me to join them for. They serve all those food that I can usually find having served dinner that my father bring me to. As a thankyou note, me and Irene brought out the cake that we bought again in Winter Orange and share it with the table. She bought a flower for each of the mother on the table. I'm surprised by the way Irene managed to persuade others to get her wut she wants, the way she wants it.

Why your aunty have a godmother? That's the question i asked Irene. I found out that it's a common practice among Katolics, to make them closer, as a family. Ever new Katolic needs a godfamily to guide them thru the path to God. These are the details in religion that i don't get to understand. That's also why i can't understand why Jew, Christians and Muslims have to fight to get Jerusalem under their posession.

Chao Jie asked me to drive her and her bf, Daniel around today. Wasted my precious Mother's Day waiting for Daniel to arrive, waited for them at Tesco for few long hours, and disappointed my dad. But i'm glad that he finally settled down in one of the institution building along Green Lane.

I felt so sorry to dad. He cooked Crap Porridge ( one of my favourite) today, and invited grandma and grandpa over to our house to eat. He warmed the porridge up for me twice, and yet i'm not able to eat until middle of the night, where i've to eat alone. So sorry to my dearest mummy for not being able to stay home with her. Wut kinda bad boy i am, yet they still sayang me a lot. I only managed to buy her a secret recipe cheese cake, and a carnation. The carnation stills bloom well today (14th May)...guess that's how love shows - the flower blooms for days and not getting dry out. I love you Mum! Happy Mother's Day.

I'm not really into this movie. But went there anyway as Irene loved Orlando Bloom's performance. It was quite an ok movie, but too abstract for me. From the beginning till the end I can't really catch what message the script writer/producer/director... are trying to convey. Now I realised why there are times when people can't get the idea in sci-fi or physic related movies. I shouldn't have laughed at them back then. Luckily I watched this movie with Irene, since she won't be the type that laughs at my mistakes.

I won't be going into the story line of the movie, instead i'll be writing some of the quotes i learnt from the movie.

• They used to say Jerusalem is the place to ask for forgiveness, but for me it is now, here.
• Be without fear in the face of your enemies. Safeguard the helpless, even if it leads to your death; that is your oath. *Slap* and that's to make sure you'll remember. Rise a knight...rise a knight.

I love the *slap* part, and how Orlando Bloom knighted all the men in the castle. The combat part is okey, yet i hate the Malaysian Censorship board which filtered out all the slicing and head chopping scenes.

I was supposed to get my watch today. I'm not sure what's wrong with those people in City Chain, getting the wrong chain for my watch. I'm not sure how many more weeks i've to wait to get my watch repaired again this time. Can't they just read properly? I want a metal chain, not a rubberish one. Broken the one that my friends gave me for my 22nd bday. So sad about it...need to pay another RM100 for the strap itself. Lesson learnt: never buy any adidas watch, as their strap are only of their particular sizes which you can't change it anywhere else other then send back to their factory in KL.

Got my computer today after the movie. Have been trying to tune the PC into my own liking. Used back the 14" CRT monitor that have not been used since my sister got herself a laptop. And the amplifier is the one i brought back from Melacca. Speakers? Old speakers from the Kenwood HiFi system that is kept in boxes since i moved to Sungai Ara. But the sound quality...magnificent...it's like two towers large compared with my 14" monitor.

I've worked on installing all the codecs for watching movies, and java platform as well. Yet i'm not sure why my computer can't access http://radioaktif.com yet my old computer can. If there's someone who knows wut setting i should use to access, please advice.

I think i had. With nothing to do during the holidays, i think i've been wasted a lot of precious time which my other friends opt to go back to melacca to attend the java class. I've also spent/wasted RM2500 for a CPU (gotta pay it this saturday) and RM150 for my car antenna. The CPU took longer to assemble then i thought. Penang really short of RAM it seems, how come they don't sell cheap 1GB RAM but instead i've to buy 2 512MB sticks to made up for it?

Might be going down KL next week to get some other stuffs. Might be checking out the price of camera, getting myself a good tripod, and at least a piece of 1GB CompactFlash card. That'll be another RM5k i think. And there's another LCD computer monitor in my shopping list...i think it'll have to be around RM1k.

Maybe i've been saving up too long dy, and since it's so hard for me to find a job, i spend more time thinking how to waste money. Haha...weird thing is parents do support me. I came out with the money myself eventhough they wanted to pay for those things that I wanted. They loved me so much, and i can't even give them good results, see how naughty I am.

When i was repairing my car's antenna (which was broken months ago), i've a good search around the new area i was staying in. Making big turn around the neighbourhood to see if there's good food, or some convinient shops which i can visit instead of driving all the way down town. Window shopped around Sunshine Square, which i think is worthwhile to get RM1 of shaded parking area. The departmental store was kept clean, i mean neat clean...not like BukitJambul Complex, nor Midlands Park that i visited few days go. My guess is that Sunshine Square is still earning a lot from weekend shoppers, as i only see a handful of shoppers when i was scrolling around. There's a sales going on there, if i'm a girl i'll go there and shop rather then queing with the other shoppers in town. I might wanna go Island Plaza one day, wanna see how the business is over there. but it's kinda outta place from where i stay.

I start getting used to Sungai Ara already, even though it's a bit outta town, but we have enough entertainment, and life sustaining goods here. Schools are also not a problem as there's a secondary school, a couple of primary, and INTI college is just nearby. Not that much pollution if my neighbours are not building their house, and traffic is smooth...if i'm using the correct way.

Oh yeah...saw some good MP3 players and speaker units in the shop which i went to fixed my car's radio antenna. A decent JVC player will cost me approx RM500, while a pair of speakers with tweeters will be around RM270. I'll need two sets of that to get stereo effect. That goes another RM1k. Shit!!! I've so much hunger to spend. Wut kinda work will I have to do to earn enough to fulfil all my desire?

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Bump into a few friends of mine back in secondary school for the past few days. Most of them which i don't remember their names but only remembered their faces. It's nothing to be proud of that i can't remember them while they still remember my name in full! I should look through the graduation magazine more often i guess.

That's one of the reason why i don't want to come back to Penang. Everytime i'm back, i'll meet up with the people i used to know in the past. Meeting up with them makes me think about all the sad things that i've been through back in the old days, and worse still, i don't know what i'm suppose to talk with them. I'll check up my graduation magazine, and list down the names of those i've met recently. Guess that's the least i can do for now.

Irene have another interview at Equatorial hotel today by JobStreet. She was rushing me to be fast, as she wants to be there early. She thinks that being early she might get to go back earlier. But end up the interview last more then 4 hours. JobStreet make them do a programming test and oral interview at the same day. Usually other companies separate these two tests on different days, which i feel it's really straineous for the interviewees.

Was kinda angry at first cause Irene only texted me around 4.30pm (after 2 hours), asking me to go and do my stuffs before fetching her again. What the hell? I've already been waiting for 2 hours, i'll rather wait another two then get into the After-Work traffic jam in town. I have my proof reading to do as well. And equatorial have nice seats and good ventilation for me to do my work. The only think i hate is that the flies come and distract my attention. I can't do anything to get those flies away. If only i know how to smoke, or addicted to smoke...things might be different.

After her interview she felt so guilty, but i can't hide up my disatisfied face. Don't have the mood to sayang her also. But i just can't help it being angry, keeping it up to myself is the best i can think of. Go Perangin again to place my deposit for the CPU. After a short discussion, here's the specifications that i got for RM2500.

- ASUS BareBone T2-P casing with 200w PSU
- Intel P4 Prescott 3.0GHz uP with HT
- Kingston 1GB DDR400 RAM
- Integrated Intel Extreme Graphics2 Acceleration
- Integrated ADI AD1888 SoundMax Chipset
- Integrated 10/100Mbps LAN Controller
- Western Digital 120GB Hard Disk Drive [7200 rpm/8MB]
- LG DVD burner 16x16

I'm not sure if it's a good bargain, and i haven't purchased LCD monitor yet. Still shopping for it as i don't quite trust the BenQ brand yet. And Samsung have been giving some people the problem.

Love this picture at the first glance. There's 14 levels of Dynamic Range shown in 7 pictures taken with different stops of light. The limits to photographers is that the camera sensor usually cannot interprete all the colors like how we can manage to do it in our brain. Hence, this picture really amazed me it's done using smth they called HDR. Will try it out once i got my CPU, cause my laptop doesn't even support Photoshop CS. Here's where i found the photo, you can get information from there too. [Luminious Landscape]

Anyway, here's a photo i tried out using Soft Focusing technique. The photo was taken in 极乐洞 when i was in Ipoh. By the way...i've tried applying a new signature on the picture, tell me what you think about it.

Chao Jie, a friend i knew since my foundation days had SMSed me continuously for the past fortnight asking me to help her look for an accomodation. The room is not for her, but for her boyfriend from Republic of Guinea. It was easy at first if her bf (Daniel) wanted to study in USM. I've asked my uncle who lectured there to get me the contact number of all the hostels in USM. They have 4 hostels, and MMU just have 2 lonely blocks.

Now that i've given her the number of all the hostels, Daniel changed his mind and opt to go further his studies in Sweden. End up all my past work is wasted. Today she came to Penang, hope that i can look for an accomodation for Daniel. She told me the sudden change of mine which shocked me. I don't really know about houses/rooms for rent in Penang, neither do i know where to start looking. So, bring her to Irene's place - which is what i usually do when i'm in trouble. Having a companion to brainstorm with me is better then having to encounter the problem all by myself. After making a few calls, there's still not much output.

Bring her to Olympia College, Inti as well as USM to look around if there's any notice posted up looking for roommates. All turns out "Only Chinese" or sorry...we don't accept black guys. Malaysians have this mentality that black people are related to crime. It's hard to change this type of thinking, even Irene's x-collegues during industrial training also doesn't want to stay with Daniel.

I don't know how to help her dy. I hope she can manage to find an accomodation for Daniel before end of the week, when he'll arrive.

p/s: Why Daniel still want to stay in Malaysian @ Penang when he's going to study in Sweden?
From my rough guess is that since ChaoJie is taking her industrial training in Penang, he wants to be here to accompany her. And another possibility is that his academic term not yet start, and his British visa expired, and he have to come back here. (he was an ex-student of MMU)