The moment of my life!!!

Remember me mentioning that I was featured on TV in Hong Kong??
Well, Miss Vanko haven't sent me the video yet, but here's the video clip from you tube..



It's only a short clip of me....probably because my Cantonese was very bad for the rest of it.. (^_^;
They even forgot to mention my name....sigh.......

But damn, watching myself on TVB Hong Kong is a little embarrassing...haha.
Looking at the video again reminds me of how I struggled to come up with a reply, and when I did come up with one, the conversation have already progress and I have to think of a new one yet again. Sigh, if only I wasn't intoxicated with alcohol and remembered my Cantonese better...

"Each time I watch the video, I had to laugh...and skip your part. Just too funny...hahaha"
said my housemate. Me too, I just can't bring myself to see the video....it's embarrassing. Makes me wonder how those actor/actresses live their life watching themselves on TV....

Anyway, thanks to Min Ven for allerting me about this vid!!

Apple of my eye..

"An apple a day keeps the doctor away..."
-English proverb-

"But two apples a day make your friends curious on whether you are dieting or not."
-Randy's Words of Wisdom-

Lately, I have been adopting the style of eating fruits for lunch. Instead of eating a full meal of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats for lunch, I eat 2 apples, last week was persimmons. There's no specific reason to why I started eating fruits for lunch..it wasn't for health, it wasn't to keep two doctors away, and it wasn't because of money....I just felt like it. It's funny how eating fruits sparked all kinds of comments from my loyal-to-rice friends...

"EXACTLY which part of you is fat?" challenged a plump girl....

"So you are on diet, huh? Wanna look good for who??" teased a friend of mine who recently found herself a boyfriend...

"Nasi lah....NASI!!" and she bangs the table to make sure she was heard. hahaha...

Well, no I'm not on diet. I thought that I was being too nice to everyone, so, if one single apple can corrupt Adam and Eve, imagine what two apples a day could do to me!! I'd be a full fledge devil within a week! hahaha...


But no, I just felt like eating fruits. Oh, I eat properly for breakfast and dinner so.....Mom, if you are reading this, don't worry about me not getting enough food and developing gastric. Eating fruits is surprisingly filling, two is enough to sustain me till school ends. And they don't cause afternoon drowsiness caused by eating too much for lunch.

But as for apples keeping the doctor away, that's bullshit. I'm down with flu now even after eating so many apples. Well, either it's bullshit or Japan have more doctors than apples.

Now I'm a quest to find out which fruit really keeps the doctor away(cure my flu)...

PS: Have you heard the rumour about how you will sneeze when someone is gossiping about you? Maybe, since I started eating apples, people talk about me so much that I developed flu...

Old and dangerous...

So, what do you see in this picture? While most of you may see a sweet old lady, ripe with old age with a pocket full of candies to give to small kids, what her face is really showing is...

"Don't mess with me punk, or I'll beat the shit outta you!!"

All of us young, healthy and strong people have been taking the old for granted. Just because they are old, we automatically assume that they are harmless little angels with saggy wrinkles and head full of white hair....how wrong we are!!

The reality would be that Japanese old folks mostly dye their hair purple and they are far from harmless!!

Recently, Japan's crime rate have been rising....and, believe it or not, most of it(more than 60%) are caused by old folks. Yes, old people have been terrorizing the streets of Japan, especially in big cities like Tokyo. I know...it sounds nonsensical that old folks here manage to achieve what terrorist like Osama bin Laden failed to do in Japan.
Retirement must be hard on them....poor retired folks, they must have gotten so bored that they decided to do crime for fun. Either that or that they are taking their revenge at the young ones. Jealous at us being so youthful and skin as smooth as pearls...or whatever you use to compare smoothness with.



But no, of course that's not the real reason why old folks are making police officers busy..

Autumn is approaching fast, and that means the weather is getting colder. Homeless folks like the guy in the picture faces long, cold, cruel nights sleeping out on the streets. So, they commit crime so that the police arrests them and lock them up. In prison cells, they get heat, food and security...all the things that they wished for when they are out in the streets. While most commit petty crimes like shoplifting and eating without paying, some go to great lengths such as stabbing and slashing at random pedestrians to guarantee that they get a long stay in prison cells.

Once, A 78-year old lady was arrested for slashing two pedestrian. When asked why she did it, she said that if she got convicted and sent to jail, she can spend the cold winter comfortably with ease. She actually smiled when she was sentenced 3 months jail...

With poor plans for the old folks, more is committing crime and prisons in Japan is turning into old folks home. It's kinda sad reading this on the papers...country as advanced as Japan would have problems such as this.

So, the next time you are out on the streets, ignore the spiky hair, blonde mohican style hair, young looking gangsters.....you'd want to beware of saggy lines and hunchbacks. If you see any old folks smiling kindly at you, RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!! Worst, if any old lady smile AND wave at you...RUN AND SCREAM FOR YOUR LIFE!!!!

Randy vs. Disney....

A remark by a friend today have had me thinking....what do other people think of me?

Today, during lunch, a bunch of my female friends were talking excitedly about attending Disney on Ice, which is to be held on the 25th October here in Niigata Prefecture. They were all discussing about which seats to take, who would be driving in whose car, which favorite character will be skating on Ice...
Then one of them saw me listening on them and innocently asked me if I want to join them...all I could do was smile when another said

"Randy and Disney on Ice? That's just IMPOSSIBLE!! It's so wrong..."

I'm sorry if I have given the tough guy/macho image but, I LIKE Disney...What? Tall, well built guys can't love Daisy Duck? Tough guys can't like Ariel the half-tuna? Macho man can't dance to the Mickey Mouse song? Don't get me wrong though, I'm not saying that I'm macho, tough guy....but I'm just making a point here. What is so weird about a full grown man lining up among small kids to take photos with Mickey Mouse? Disney don't discriminate right?
Yes, I admit that it's damn embarrassing to fight with kids to get a chance at photos....but....nothing wrong, right?

Long have I been understood.....but once again, I'm a sucker for cute cartoon characters. Especially the ones that I grew up watching.

If you really wanna know, I adore Donald Duck and I LOVE Ariel the Sardine.

One of Japan's greatest, The Nagaoka Fireworks Festival...

Now that autumn is approaching, and summer is but a warm memory, think it's bout time I write about what can be considered one of my fondest memory ever...

Summer....in Japan, there's only one thing in mind when summer approaches....and it is fireworks. Just like Chinese New Year in Malaysia, Japanese have their yearly festivals during summer and it is always accompanied by great displays of fireworks. And my place, Nagaoka, just happened to be the place to host one of the 3 biggest fireworks display in Japan. Internationally famous, the Nagaoka Fireworks Festival boasts 100,000 visitors each year....this year, they had 100,001 visitors. Oh, did I mention that this is my first visit to this event? I wonder who added to the number of visitors...

Now, I think I have decent skill in English Language but I don't think I'm good enough to actually describe the incredibly beautiful fireworks...so, here are some pictures...














FYI, This is "Hello Kitty" firework..




Well, actually, this event was held in August...and it's way past the expiry date, but I have a valid excuse...

You see, during the whole summer, I was busy going everywhere to perform taiko, including the Nagaoka Fireworks Festival. So, as a performing member, we were given VIP seatings during the fireworks display. Joining us on the same seatings that day, was this two very pretty girls(Yes, girls again...Randy is a boy with plenty of testosterone and no girlfriend, so...forgive him). They weren't part of the taiko team, so it was quite strange for them to share the same space as us....but of course, I didn't mind at all sharing seats with them. The moment the girls came, my team leader immediately turned to me..."Damn, those girls are pretty!!!"...but I was already starting to think of ways to break the ice and speak(Randy's dictionary defines speak as flirt) to(with) them....

Then I heard them speak in cantonese...

OK...sweet!! I understand cantonese, so there's my ice breaker..

*in cantonese*
Me : Hello...
Chics : Oh hello...wow, you understand cantonese!
Me : Well, I am Malaysian...
Chics : A Malaysian...wow, and you are part of the taiko team?
Me: Yes...erm....I umm...can you understand English?
*in English....I totally forgot how to speak in cantonese, although I still understand what was spoken*
Me : It's been a long time since I spoken in Cantonese...and my four years in Japan have not been kind towards my Cantonese....

What I learn from speaking to them was that they are actresses from Hong Kong, Vanko Wong Shuk Ling and....I forgot what the other one's name is. Vanko was the friendly one, the other one was quite a stuck up...so, didn't remember her name.

Yeah, "Wow" right? Who would have guessed they were actresses....

They were here in Japan to do a travel program of some sort, and they are doing the story on Nagaoka Fireworks Festival....we chatted about a lot more stuff but...let's not bore you with them "juicy" conversation shall we?


From left : Stuck up girl, Vanko, and Malaysian guy who've forgotten cantonese....

Anyway, not long after, their manager approached me and explained that part of the travel program includes them meeting a "new friend" ...and they wanted me to be that "new friend". Wow, suddenly I'm to be casted on TV!! It's my 3rd time appearing on TV actually, so didn't really get nervous about it though...

You must all be thinking "Randy, you lucky bastard!!"...

but no, being on TV can be quite depressing and stressful. For example, I had to repeat the same conversation a few times cause' our voice wasn't loud enough...cause' the lightings was bad...cause' they wanted to wait for a firework to go up so that they get a good background as well...cause' the stuck up girl was being stuck up and wasn't talking. All kinds of funny reasons to do the same conversation...made me lost count of how many times I have to introduce myself...but all in all, it was a fun experience.

Not only I get to be in VIP seatings watching one of the biggest fireworks display in Japan, I get to be on TV in Hong Kong as well... The show will be aired at tomorrow on TVB HK....was gonna wait till she send me a video clip, that's why I waited so long to post this. But...nah, not gonna post the video here anyway.


Here's a polaroid we took together...and what a nice smile Vanko has...

Oh, did I mention she gave me her e-mail? Haha....nah, we're just friends now. She is only 18, but she's very matured and quite an interesting person to talk to. One of the few person in my life that I have the utmost respect for...

Anyway, hahhhh.....what a nice summer that was....

PS: I just remembered what the stuck-up girl's name was!! Her name is Katy Kung

Raya!!

Selamat Hari Raya Folks...

Yeah, yeah...I know. Raya was last Wednesday but the selfish Japanese government wouldn't make it a National Holiday, so us Nagaoka folks celebrated it today.

Raya in Japan have always meant celebrating it at the embassy....but after the food poisoning scare last year, embassy didn't make any open-house celebration this year. They made it instead at the Malaysian staff houses. If you ask me, they should have made it at the embassy...if anything go wrong we can always blame China for it...ha ha.

But lucky I'm studying in a University with many Malaysian folks...so, the atmosphere here is still great and full of festive air. Plus, folks here are pretty good cooks.


It's always a custom to pray and thank the lord for the food....
Living in Japan for so long,which means taking god for granted...I forgot that and I almost reach out for a cookie while they were praying. Lucky I stopped just in time...


Satay guys...the most blessed beings of the day...


A few of my close friends, namely Farhan, Nabilah, Umi, made these and I'm eternally grateful for them....

See that lonely fork in the Tupperware? I think they prepared it for the Chinese guest to use as everyone else seems to ignore it and just use their hands. I....I used my hands though. No reason to not behave like a real Malaysian here...


As if to remind ourselves that we're still in Japan, someone tried to be funny by making onigiri or rice balls...Oi! It's Raya-lah...it's ok if it's wrapped with daun pisang, but why the onigiri??

Gathered at a hall, we had a lot of food....satay, rendang, nasi kunyit, murtabak, and a variety of cookies which names are a mystery to me. After we had our fill, we had a long photo shoot session...everybody had their cameras with them, so one picture actually means 3 or 4 pictures. Photo sharing not part of Malaysian culture huh?
And I realized that, they like to take many picture with the same group of people. I helped a group of girls take pictures facing North, East, South, and West....and when I thought they were done, they started facing North East, South East....never ending, never fulfilled desire of having Randy take a picture of them. But it was a fun day, so I didn't mind indulging their needs...

Not long after photo session ended(finally), some started handing out plastic bags. Oh, time to leave....end of celebration.


Here's a picture of Calvin "Ta Pau" some rendang for dinner....always a heart-warming sight to see fellow Malaysians do that, just reminds you of home...

So that's it folks.....hope you had a nice Raya too...

Selamat Hari Raya!!

First ever hand massage...

Today was the anniversary of the establishment of NUT. So, as a proud student of NUT, I did the one thing every other proud people of the education system would do...


I got a haircut....

And I even add color to it!!

NUT must be sooo proud to have a student like me.

ANYWAY, while I got my hair cut, the salon director graciously gave me a free hand massage service. Wow...she must have really liked me to have given me a free service like that. Guess that all my apple polishing was worth it....ehem...it's always good to say "I think you look cute!" to your hairdresser, especially if she's a woman. But then again, she really is cute...so all I did was spoke the truth　 (^_-)~☆

Hairdresser : How do you like your hair?
Me: Sorry, I can't see without my glasses...
Hairdresser : How bad is your eyesight?
Me : When I don't have my glasses on, everyone girl looks cute and guys handsome..
*Take note that I said "girl" instead of "woman" or "lady"...
Hairdresser : Here you go. *hands me glasses* So, I look less cute now that you have your glasses on??
Me : Nah...you, YOU still look cute after I put these on...(^_-)~☆

Ehem...there, truth spoken. Remember "nilai Kejujuran" back when we had "Pendidikan Moral"??

Anyway, that's not the main point of this post by the way...what I was trying to say was that I got my first ever hand massage. To make things worse, the lady who massaged my hands was a very very attractive lady.

"To make things worse? Isn't it 'To make things better??' " you might ask...

Well, like I said, this is my first ever hand massage...I just don't know how to react to all this. Plus, it's been a very long time since I have my hands held by a beautiful woman. And I kid you not when I say that it felt very good...both the massage, and being held by a pair of soft, beautiful hands. And not forgetting that the lady sat very close to me and I had to summon all my strength and will power to not keep staring at her while she massages my hands.

After a few heavenly minutes that seemed like hours, she was done.....with my left arm.

Now she gotta do my right arm...

This time, salon director started cutting my hair....having someone do my hair and hands at the same time is quite a new experience for me....and I have to be honest and say that I felt a little uncomfortable at this. I...I'm just not used to this, ya know. The salon director must have sensed my rigidness as she asked me how did I feel being treated like a prince.

All I could do was smile sheepishly as I could not think of any smart reply for her...attractive lady with soft hands laughed her cute laugh as she continues working magic on my hands.

Gosh...NOW I know why some people like massage so much...

Nanoindenting my way through University...

Nanoindentation....

That's the name of my research, and will be the one thing that will keep me busy for the rest of my life here in NUT. For those who feels lazy to click the Wikipedia link...it's a kind of test to find out strength and hardness of thin films of micrometer order. Constant force is applied on indenter and indentations of nanometer order will be made on thin films....surface area of indents are then calculated to find out mechanical properties. Recent test can also be applied to acquire tensile strength and yield strength.

An even simpler explanation will be I punch holes into a thin piece of film, then I see how big a hole I made....sounds simple right? Well, it is. My job is just to make it "sound" difficult, like the explanation above. Haha...if you have a difficult time trying to understand what I wrote above, then that means I'm doing a very good job.

Anyway...yeah, that's my job from now on.

SO, why would I want to write about something as boring as that? That was just like...sponge cake without cream on it...like plain yogurt without honey or sugar....like eating roti canai without dahl or curry.

Randy is NEVER without exaggeration and lies...

You see, yesterday my professor, me and a fellow researcher(Masters Student) had a meeting with a representative from Elionix, a Japanese company making nanoindenter devices(My University is doing a joint research with that company, so we have meetings every 2,3 weeks). We were meeting to discuss the next step to take in developing a new device. So, you now know that the research I'm doing is of quality as results of research will be used to develop a new device.

So, me being a Undergraduate, they were practically ignoring my presence as they thought that I was not up to their level. So discussions mainly went on between the Masters Student and that company rep.

Then came a time where he was discussing about a new indenter....given the required perimeters, he asked the Masters Student if he could acquire the measurements needed to design a new indenter....well, Masters Student humbly replied that he doesn't know....which surprised me a little bit as it is not that complicated to achieve. Anyway, getting no useful answer from Masters Student, that man turns to me instead and asked if I have any ideas on that...and I did have a few.

So, I laid out my ideas on how we could acquire the measurements needed....and suddenly, I was assigned to the job!! I mean...I got the research!! My professor bluntly pointed out that he need people who is capable to get it done....and assigns Masters Student to do other things instead.

Wow...they chose me, a Bachelor Undergraduate.... over a Masters Student!!!

Now, I'm not showing off here....well, maybe I am showing off....but damn, just can't help but feel proud for myself!! Haha...Shows that smarts only are useless without creativity...GO RANDY!!

Nut Fest 3 : Keyword "Nut"

Woke up to a brightly smiling sun, eager to to get the day on...



While we only get to perform at noon yesterday, today we got the privilege to do the kick off!! Yes, that means we got to announce the start of Day 2 with the beatings of our drums. And clear skies means that we get to do it outside...yes Ai Jun(childhood friend of mine), I get to wow girls in my ridiculous shorts and chest revealing happi coat.

We practically played the same song as yesterday, so, no point putting up videos here...

The performance ended with applauds from the crowd....cheers me up every time. Two weeks of blistered hands and sore shoulders...only to receive claps from strangers. Yes, sometimes I myself wonder why do I even want to take the trouble to practice for days...shedding blood and sweat...only to receive meager claps from the crowd. But then again, thanks to my parents for giving me a simple mind, I quit thinking that hard and just continue on beating the drums...

Anyway, having performed yesterday and today, my job is done. Finally, I get to roam about....attend to the main event, the NUT Fest.




In collaboration with NUT Fest...we Malaysians decide to come up with Satay and PeaNUT sauce....see? it's not called NUT Fest for nothing...

The satay was...DELICIOUS!!! It was very very good...no offense, but thank my god that I'm not Islam and I don't have to fast. The Satay and kuah kacang was too good to give up. Spent more than 3000 yen buying just Satay and Air Bandung, the other thing we also put out to sell. Tasted so good that I forgave them for turning up late for preparation night...


I like to call him the Spokesperson for NUT....far as I know, he's the MC for any event organized by NUT. Be it Freshmen Orientation or Football Tricks Show, he's the man to look for....and yes, he is as nutty as he look.


Just like all Japanese Campus Fest, the "Guys in girl's dress competition" is a must. What the hell is wrong with these Japanese Guys....why would they want to embarrass themselves like that? Are they NUTS?? .....oh wait, they are...just like me...hehe.


Some show by the Karate Club...and just like what you see in the picture, they were doing plank breaking. Too bad they have a nutcase head coach....the coach had them break 5 planks stacked together. 5 PLANKS!!! Unless you are Chuck Norris, how can a hit-the-books-often guys break em' ?? Sigh...this otherwise cool show ended up being a somewhat scraped-knuckle-painful show. The crowd seems to love seeing blood on the planks though...


And this was the performance by a band called "Microphone too tall for the girl" Band...they were singing Yui songs. And they were...hmm....they need more practice.

And then it was 4 p.m ...time for the second performance by Taiko(Japanese Drum) Members. This time excluding newbies such as me. And let me tell you, the seniors' performance had much much more power and beauty than the one I did...

Enjoy...






This is happened to be my favorite of all...








Gotta love the part the guy's drum stick flew from his hands at 2.20 ...haha...

Nut Fest 2 : Rain rain go away...

Nut Fest unfortunately started with rain fall...

Gawd bless my blistered hands....

Why does it have to rain?? Now I have to perform my drums in the gymnasium...not to mention that people stay at home when it rains...

no....No...NO!! How can I let something like a little harmless rain fall to dampen my spirit!! I've practiced for 2 weeks for goodness sake!!

And here it is...the drum play that moved even the heart of the gods that they cried their holy tears(means that it rained harder)











So...what do you think of our drum play??

Nut Fest 1 : Culture differences...

Nagaoka University of Technology's Festival....or NUT Fest.

This festival was held last week on the 13th and 14th...but for me starts two weeks before the event as I busy growing blisters on my pitiful palm practicing drums. For two long weeks I've been practicing drums every day from 4 in the evening till 8 at night....trust me when I tell you it's tiring on both physical and mental state. Other than the gawd blessed blisters on my palm, I also "enjoyed" muscle pain and "seduced" by the everyday temptation of wanting to skip practice.

But how can I?

My seniors were all so hard working and dedicated to the practice that I feel bad skipping the practice...there's also a few times where I've been scolded for turning up at 4.03 pm...

Yeah, I was late for 3 minutes and I was scolded....3 MINUTES!!! What the hell?? I know that "Time is gold" but that's just an idiom, right? I don't owe my colleagues 22 karats of gold for being 3 minutes late....but one have to admire the punctuality and the dedication of the drum members.

So finally....the day before the event. My Uni was kind enough to give us the day off for us to prepare for the big event. So, I spent my Friday practicing drums from 9 morning till 6 evening...after that, I headed over to help other Malaysians with preparation as we were presenting a stall as well.

So, tired...sore all over my body, I headed over....only to find out that they are starting later at 8.30 p.m. Okay, FINE...that'll give me sometime to rest before working again...

After a good long shower, checked some of my mails, I cycled for 15 minutes to school again...reached at 8.35 p.m...

And guess what? NO ONE'S THERE!!!

Yeah, there were a few girls preparing kuah satay....but where's the rest of the guys who were supposed to come with the chicken and skewers??

And I waited...and waited...and waited...DAMN IT!! It's already 9.30!! Are they coming or not??

They finally showed up at 9.50 after I called them several times on the phone. And when they finally do arrive, they gave me a sorry excuse saying "Sorry-la Randy, I fell asleep"...

WHAT THE F'%$?!! I fell asleep?

Yes, I know, it's fasting season and I know that they have to get up early in the morning but...like Anwar said, Fasting season is no reason to slack off from things...

I had to struggle soooo hard not to lose my temper....you want my help, fine, I'll help but don't waste my time like this!!

Sigh...to think that my drum members scolded me for being 3 minutes late....and my Malaysian friends come in one hour late with a stupid smile on the face....

Patience Randy...patience.....

Taiko : Japanese Drum...

So...once again, why was I missing for so long? Was is a girl?....wished it was so....but no. I'm not that lucky. The picture below could probably explain why.


See how my fist was suspiciously wrapped in white bandages? And if you observe closely, you can see that they are also suspiciously dirty.....as if I've been in fights.....

Yes, you guessed it right...I've been practicing Japanese drum all along!! (Otherwise, why the title, right??)

It all started on the second day at University...I was walking towards the convenience store to get a drink when I heard Japanese Drums in play. When I turned to look, I saw a group of people beating various sizes of drums (which I later found out we're playing only 3 types). Everyone, hands moving along a single beat.

Such power...such elegance...such...spirit!

And that's when I decided that I want to join this circle. I want to be part of the group that displays such strength...a group that possess such unmoving spirit. So, I enlisted myself and have been practicing ever since..



The movie you see is the event where I debuted....at the early stages, the guy that stops halfway and says something in Japanese, that's me....heh heh.

I practiced weekly and more often than not, I suffer blisters and had to tape my hands so that I can continue practicing even though I have bleeding hands....as you'd probably guess by now, the practice sessions are tough. I confess that there are times where I felt like quitting as seniors aren't too polite when it comes to "commenting" on us newbies' performance.

And to think that no girls will ever like me now when they hold my "rough" hands....*sobs

But that day....that day when I finally get to perform in front of people......it was the most fulfilling day I've ever had. Although it was a performance at a small town with equally small crowd, about 30~40 people, I felt so much joy when I see people applauding to my performance.

All those blood and sweat...and skin too...they were worth it.....

And the best yet, I got to perform at one of the biggest events in Japan, the Nagaoka Summer Festival. I played on 2 of the 3 days festival. With thousands attending the first day, tens of thousands on the 2nd.....IT WAS EXHILARATING!!! I...I...I don't know how exactly to describe what I felt but I have NEVER felt such sense of accomplishment and joy getting to perform in front of so many people. I mean....there was so many people!!!
You see, summer time is special for the Japanese as that's when they have their yearly festival, so it means a lot to them...while others(foreigners) are just observers, me being able to be part of something special...I just don't know what to say.....

Too bad there aren't any picture or video as my housemate, Lai Chee Wei, stood on the wrong side of the crowd on the first day and he was too far away on the second day.

Sigh...such good friends I have.

But I guess that makes my experience much more special now that everything is chiseled in my memory. This might be the most memorable thing that I'll bring back with me once I get back....probably the best memory in my whole life....well, other than owning my own patent.

A place to call home

Tomorrow will be the 4th month since I've moved to my new place. So, I guess by now you are all wondering what kind of place am I living at, right?

Is it a bird's nest?

Is it a plane's hangar?

No, it's Superman-inspired, but normal apartment!!

Is this Superman joke any funny? See? Told you I lost my funny bone..

Anyway, I live in a foliage...


See? I wasn't lying when I said I live in a foliage..


Mi casa...I live on the second floor.


Walk in the front door and you will be greeted by bags of rubbish...Japanese tried to be funny by introducing the "collect different rubbish on different day" scheme. As a result, I always have rubbish lying around my home....
Oh, yeah, I actually separate rubbish and I recycle paper and plastic....and yes, I did not move the bags aside to create an "illusion" that I'm a very clean and rubbish clean fellow. Honest am I?


My study table....my chair which I strategically placed to partially cover the perverted wallpaper of my monitor...rows of novels(on the top shelf..hidden from pic)...my wardrobe which is HUGE!!...may not look so in the picture but trust me, it's big...and lastly, the trusty fan which have kept me cool in the summer heat..


As you can see...my bed....and also in the pic, the place where I throw my socks when I come home....wires and plastic bag of junk food lying around on the floor. Hmm...maybe I should be more discreet about my personal life.

Ahh....I remembered the day I first entered my new place. I mean, how could I forget? It was my birthday, it was cold(didn't own any heater yet), it was dark, I was alone...and I had to eat cold dinner on the freezing floor on my Birthday....alone...

How can I forget that!!

haha...just kidding. I was actually quite excited to finally have my own place...and I was more tired rather than feeling pathetic and lonely.

It's a very decent place as I chose comfort over price. The rent is 60000yen (Rm2000) per month ...I share with another guy, so I only pay half the amount. Other Malaysians opted for cheaper apartments and they pay a lot lesser, but I'm proud to say that I have the most decent looking place among all. If you think that I'm showing off....you're damn right I'm showing off!! Haha...I paid an extra amount for the right to show off.

A few of my juniors have been to my place and they find it nice...so, don't be shy to drop by for a visit anytime!!

Randy returns!!!

Yeah..yeah..I know, it's been a long time since I last blog.....and yes, this is not the first time I've been on a long hiatus. Sorry...

You see, after the last post i wrote, I had to move to a new place...and I had to wait a while before I get my internet connection. And then I was busy adjusting to life in my new place in Nagaoka.

And another BIG factor.....I lost my vibe. I lost my...words. After so long of not blogging, I just can't write anymore. My holidays started about a month ago, so I had plenty of time to write stuff...but I found myself just staring at the screen, unable to produce words....you may think that, that's just some excuse but those who knows me, know that I don't just report daily events....we have newspaper for that...I usually include my "personal opinion".

Anyway, I can't just not blog anymore now can I?

Jesus came back to life after 3 days, Buddhist believe in reincarnation, Anwar coming back into political world....even Britney Spears is releasing a new Album!! Britney Spears!!! After so many years! My blog deserve a comeback too don't you think??

But so many things have happened since Turkey and it's too much to write so, I'll just summarize it all up for this time..

March : Turkey
Have much much more to write about turkey but ...sorry guys. will try to write more about it in the future.

Early April : Moving to a new place...
Spent my loneliest Birthday ever. It was cold, I was alone, I ate TV dinner that night....not that I was sad or anything like that...but...okay, guess i was a little lonely.

Early to Mid April : Varsity life..
Started my life in University...joined Japanese drum team. Enjoying my life here at Uni as people here are more friendly and matured..

May~July : Exams..
Life was mainly plagued my exams and tests. Other than that I had experiment reports and more exams..

August : Japanese drum performance!!
I got to perform in front of tens of thousands of people!! Will write about it as something juicy happened as well!!

So, there you go...a short introduction before I get back to blogging again.

That's it for now. See you guys again tomorrow!!

Turkey 11 : From Asia to Europe..

Ever wondered where did Asia ends and Europe begins??

Where is that damn racist line that divides slit-eyes from large eyes with long lashes....flat nose from sharp nose...hairless chest from sexy hairy chest? Thank god for the not hairy chest though.

Well, the answer is this...


A river running through Turkey....one lone river that cleverly divides the East from West...Asia from Europe....


Not too clear but the yellow sign says "Welcome to Europe".

To get to the next destination, the Blue Mosque, we had to travel from continent to continent!!




You might think that, this is just one river and that there must be little or no difference at all on both banks....WRONG!! Crossing this river marks a significant cross from Asia to Europe. The buildings on the European side have taller, and significantly more buildings, of European Architecture of course...


Asia side have shorter, lesser buildings...less organized and built sporadically....


Old couple dating out under the sun....how sweet...but you don't see this on the Asia side....

The difference don't just lie with the buildings...even the people dress differently, drive different cars, acts differently! And to think that both side is separated by only one river...like crossing from Penang and Seberang Perai. Amazing and intriguely interesting.....


All this...European side. Asia side mostly have kebab shops..

How, why the government do this is a mystery I'd like to keep and never find out. But once again...the stark difference is so...amazing!! As if the one river acting like an impregnable invisible wall fortified by the stubbornness of communities wanting to retain old values and of communities wanting change and globalization.

The buildings, cars, lifestyle, clothes, culture, social norms....I almost expected the roads to changed from driver's side right, and driver's side left somewhere in the middle of the bridge.

This really is a cross from Asia to Europe.

Turkey 10: Turkish Carpet

"Turkish Carpets....the most famous in the world. Plenty of people from all over the world comes to Turkey just to buy these carpets! And they are hand woven, which makes them more special!!" *smiles :)*

says the Fat Basturk. Once again....him and his bragging. Why does he feel so proud at other people's achievement?? Sigh...and more than once I saw the owner giving him stares as he blares on and on about carpets....weren't the owner supposed to be giving the talks instead??

Anyway, the next visit was a carpet factory . Now you might think that a visit to the carpet factory may be boring and a waste of time....well, it is....but not a complete waste of time. After a short while...I mean, after Fat Basturk ran out of things to bullshit about, the owner took over the talking and FINALLY...something worth listening to.


The talk were quite informative and interesting, minus all the horribly misplaced sense of self satisfaction "someone" was doing earlier. Turkish carpets were and still are famous because they discarded most of modern technology and concentrate on the human skills when it comes to carpet making. And also because they weave in two knots instead of one knot, like carpets all over the world.
Two knot weave carpets are considerably stronger....and according to the guy, world's most powerful vacuum will not be able suck out any of the threads.

You may think "Wow....", but to me, it's really just another useless fact etched onto my brains forever.


All weaves are laboriously done by hands....one time consuming weaves at a time. That means that time consumed to finish a carpet increase in proportion to design and size. small ones like this takes a bout a month or two to complete.


This one takes 8 months to finish....and even big ones such as this is done by one person. Teamwork is actually a killer here. After a work such as this completes, the weaver's hands would be swollen, and since petite, small hands are favored to do this kind of work, she will be forced to take a break...



This guy is the specialist...he came out with a book, "10 ways you can boil your cute little silk worms"....a best seller in Turkey. With a sadistic smile on his face, he demonstrates how he can get the strands of silk from the cocoon....seems to me that he feels great pleasure and satisfaction for every possible moth that he kills.

"Eats a hole out of your jacket...this little buggers" says the man...


Later, we were guided to a hall with a number of carpets hung on the wall...

We were actually seated on the other side of the hall...was going to take a group photo when one of them said "The carpet on that side looks better!!" ....

silence pass....

They gave each other a knowing look...then suddenly, all of the started running across the hall!! The hall was actually thundering with the sound of their foot steps as they rushed across the hall...ignorant to everyone else who were looking.

And it was HI-LA-RIOUS!! Practically laughed my ass off when I saw them took flight and create a mini earthquake...laughed harder when I saw the surprise look on few of the Japanese as they stare in disbelieve...hahahahha...they were like　 (・_・;)

Priceless...


After the commotion and "after shocks" subsided, the owner and some of his workers start laying out carpets of various size and colors before our feet.


This was supposedly a rare piece...made with wool off white and black sheep. Apparently, black sheeps are rare...which made me think, "Black sheep of the family" actually meant that you are the special and treasured one in the family...not the weird one.

The reason all those carpets were laid out before us was because...well, marketing time. He didn't spend all his time talking to us about carpets for nothing!! And my....my...he is quite a talker...


I bought a carpet for myself. Cost me 10000 yen or Rm300 for this piece. Some of them said.....okay, Lim Chin Wooi(2nd guy from left from the group photo above) said that it was too expensive and not worth it....well, it may be so, but it reminds me of all the good times I had in Turkey, so I don't regret buying it at all!!

However, my housemate said that it resembles a prayer rug....yeah, why didn't it occur to me when I got it!! Still...I don't regret it..

Okay, having wasted both time and money here...time to move on and head to our hotel for the night. But before we leave...


Can't resist taking more pictures ...heh heh

Ehem....I didn't realize it at that time but looking at this picture again, it suspiciously looked like the leg was suspiciously positioned at a even more...
*cough*
suspicious
*cough*
place.