Best TV Series of 2012

Here are what I think the best TV series that I have watched this year. In no particular order:

Fringe

Fringe is like X-Files but way cooler. The series follows Olivia Dunham, Peter Bishop and Walter Bishop, members of a FBI 'Fringe Division' team. Sounds like X-Files right? Well, Fringe delves more around parallel universe, time travel and advanced scientific theories that are very-very interesting. There's new surprise and twist in every episode that once you started watching you could not stop. Made by the creator of Alias and Lost, J.J Abrams, Fringe is by far the best science fiction series that I've seen in recent times.

Mad Men

Set in the 1960s, Mad Men tells the story of Don Draper who works at the fictional Sterling Cooper advertising agency in New York City. The plot focuses on the business of the agency as well as the personal lives of the characters and depicts the changing moods and social behavior of 1960s America.

What do I love about Mad Men? Everything! The acting, visual style, costume design and the historical authenticity of 1960s America. Don Draper (Jon Hamm) just oozes sexual appeal. Every guy wants to be like Don Draper and every woman wants to be with him. He's like the epitome of coolness. Mad Men is in it's fifth season now and this is one TV show you won't want to miss.

Breaking Bad

Breaking Bad is the story of Walter White, a struggling high school chemistry teacher who was diagnosed with a deadly lung cancer. He turns to a life of crime, producing and selling methamphetamine with a former student, Jesse Pinkman with the aim of securing his family's financial future before he dies. Apparently Walter is so good at making meth that his drug becomes very popular among the drug dealers and junkies. Soon Walter made so much money that he was able to pay for his cancer treatment with a few millions left to spare. But of course running a very successful meth production is not without its troubles. That's when this story gets very interesting. I don't want to spoil the story for you so you'll have to watch it for yourself.

Breaking Bad teaches me that learning and being very good in chemistry can make you very rich and successful in life. It also taught me the proper way to deal drugs and what not to do to avoid being busted by the cops. Really educational stuff.

Sherlock

Now I have watched a couple of Sherlock Holmes movies and TV series before but they were largely shit compared to the contemporary update of the 2010 Sherlock series made by BBC. For one thing it was set in present time Britain and another, Benedict Cumberbatch breaths a whole new life into the Sherlock Holmes character. The producers aspired to produce a modern-day version of Conan Doyle's stories in which Sherlock uses today's technologies to find things out and solve crime.

If you are a fan of Sherlock Holmes or stuff that makes you think a bit then Sherlock is definitely a must watch. The show is 90 minutes long but there are only 6 episodes so far and the third season won't come out until later next year.

Modern Family

Modern Family revolves around 3 American families. In one family there is Jay Prichett who is married to a much younger woman, Gloria who already has a son named Manny. The second family is Jay's daughter who married Phil Dunphy and they have 3 children Haley, Alex and Luke. Jay has a son, Mitchell who is gay and lives with his partner Cameron and they adopted a Vietnamese baby named Lily.

What do I like about this show? Well, it is truly funny! I have quite a high standard when it comes to comedies and most so-called comedies you see on TV today is totally crap. Modern Family however never fails to make me laugh at least a few times in every episode. Too bad you won't see this series on local TV any time soon you know because of the gay couple. But hey, you know where to get them regardless, right?

The Walking Dead

Imagine waking up from a coma one day to find the world dominated by flesh-eating zombies. That's what happened to deputy sherriff Rick Grimes in The Walking Dead which is based on the comic book series of the same name. I'm sure you have watched a few zombies flick before but they don't make them as good as this one. The zombies are so real and the suspense and twist in every episode is so thrilling, you'd be hanging by the edge of your seat. I can't praise this TV series enough, just go watch it already!

Community

Previously I said Modern Family was funny. Community is a bit like that but 10 times funnier. The series follows a group of students at a community college in the fictional town of Greendale, Colorado. I love how the show uses meta-humor and pop culture references, often parodying film and television cliches and tropes. And who doesn't love Troy and Abed. Those two are absolutely hillarious.

The Big Bang Theory

Although I've heard of The Big Bang Theory sitcom before, I didn't grow to like them until recently. The story revolves around 4 stereotypical geeks and their normal girlfriend next door Penny. The geekiniess and intellect of the four guys is contrasted for comic effect with Penny's social skills and common sense. What I like about The Big Band Theory? It's geekiness that I somewhat could relate to and of course Sheldon Cooper. Who doesn't love Shelly?

Suits

I find law dramas to be for the most part, either super boring like Law & Order or simply silly like Ally McBeal. Suits however brings a totally different perspective and outtake for this genre. It's fresh, interesting and the courtroom scene doesn't last more than a minute.

Harvey Spector is like James Bond for lawyers - cool, cunning and sophisticated. Mike Ross, the young and sometimes naive but genius pseudo-lawyer has his own ways of winning the audience's heart. Law dramas will never be the same again after Suits.

Person Of Interest

This series revolves around a former CIA agent John Reese who was recruited by a mysterious billionaire (Harold Finch) to prevent violent crimes in New York City. Finch and his former partner created the Machine, a computer system which uses information taken from 24 hours surveillance from cameras of all kind to predict future terrorist attacks. Finch later discovered that the machines was predicting ordinary crimes as well and while the government was not interested in these results, he was determined to find a way to stop those predicted crimes. Kind of like Minority Report but for television.

That's why Finch hires Reese to condict surveillance and intervene as needed, using his kick-ass skills acquired in the military and CIA. Produced by J.J Abrams, I knew from the start that this TV series is just going to be awesome. Abrams has this golden touch when it comes to TV shows. I love the fast-paced plots, believable stories and the fact that no super powers or supernatural elements were introduced in this drama series. For once it's just brains and braun.

Dexter

Aaah, America's favorite serial-killer. Dexter Morgan is by day a harmless and seemingly boring bloof spatter pattern analyst for the Miami Police Department. But he also leads a secret life as a serial killer. Here you will learn how to stalk people, kill them in cold blood and most importantly how to dispose off the body properly. That is also why we might never see this series being aired on local TV. That's just too bad.

American Horror Story

This particular TV series is not for the faint-hearted. If you like really-really scary stuff, this one is definitely for you. The first season - Murder House follows the story of a family that moves into an old mansion that is haunted by its former (dead) inhabitants. In fact, most of the family that lived in the house will turn out invariably dead either murdered or by suicide. Best watched alone, at night and with your doors locked.

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How to create a wireless hotspot with your computer

Did you know you can share your Internet connection on your PC or laptop using a wireless USB dongle or onboard WiFi card? Mac users can easily turn on wireless sharing with a few clicks but for Windows it's a bit more complicated. You have to change a myriad of settings and they don't always work.

This is where Connectify comes in handy. This software allows you to create a wireless hotspot or access point using any WiFi card or dongle without any complicated instructions. Just enter a WiFi name, choose the Internet connection to share and you're done.

There's a free and Pro version of the software. With the free version, your WiFi name must start with Connectify while for the Pro version you can choose any SSID you want. The Pro version also comes with several more features like 3G Internet sharing and drag and drop file transfer.

Connectify Hotspot is available for download at their website.

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KidZania Kuala Lumpur

A few months ago I brought my kid to KidZania Kuala Lumpur. Basically KidZania is a place where kids can pretend to be grown-ups and do grown-up things like work and stuff. Yeah I find that's a silly idea at first and refuse to spend my hard-earned 90 ringgit there. Then after my kid kept asking me to go, I decided to give it a go.

KidZania Kuala Lumpur is located in Mutiara Damansara just next to IKEA & The Curve. You can't miss it, there's an Air Asia plane partially protruding from the building. It's open every day including public holidays. There's only a single session during weekdays 10:00 am to 5:00 pm while on weekends they're open from 10:00 am to 9:00 pm in 2 sessions. Entrance is RM55.00 for kids aged 4 to 17 and RM35.00 for adults. Yes you can just let you kids go free and crazy in there but usually you would want to keep an eye for them so in the end you end up paying and going in as well. Kids can go in alone by adults must be accompanied by a children to go in. Very clever.

You get your tickets on the ground floor. Tip: come on weekdays, weekends are always crowded. Then you go up a few levels using the escalator to the actual KidZania attractions.

At the entrance you will be greeted by the (fake) customs people in the arrival hall. Kinda like in an airport. There they'll give you an electronic bracelet as proof of purchase and also to track you and your kids inside the facility.

First thing first you must cash the mock check for KidZos, the currency they use in KidZania at the CIMB counter. You get like 50 Kidzos or something to use around the establishment and on the way out you deposit the balance at the counter again and they'll give you this CIMB debit/ATM card.

The facilities are spread across two levels and the place might look rather small at first sight. The reality is, there are over 60 establishment and 90 activities for your kids to do and they'll be overwhelmed with choices.

The fire department is a popular attraction and there's even a queue to get into the place.

You get to ride the fire engine around the place.

And help put out fire on a burning hotel.

Become a surgeon and perform CPR on a patient.

Be a radio DJ for an hour. You'll get a recording of your voice on radio in a CD.

Read news on TV an bash the Anwar Ibrahim and the opposition!



Climb a four-storey building.

Future computer engineers or slackers?

Artsy pansy people.

This where you learn to cook sardines #LOL

Crazy streets performers banging trash bins and pails.

Some attraction are not very popular. Unlike in real life, not many people want to work at TNB.

For tired or bored parents there's a nice little lounge where you can order drinks and rest on the sofa or surf on the Internet-enabled computers.

There's one praying room for Muslims but it is very small and well-hidden.

There's so much fun and educational things your kids could do and you might not get to do them all even if you spend the whole day there. My advise is come early and pack a lunch. Food is sold inside KidZania but they're a tad expensive for my liking.



Every hour or so the KidZania theme song will be played through the PA system and like robots the employees will sing and dance to the song. It's compulsory and those who did not dance will be fired on the spot! Okay maybe not fired but they'll get into trouble or something I presume. If you hang around until closing time at 5:00 pm, you get to watch the extended version of the song and dance where every staff dance together at the town square. Weird creepy stuff I tell you.

My verdict: KidZania is a pretty cool place to bring your school-going kids. Bringing toddlers or children below 7 would be rather pointless because they don't really understand the point of the attractions and how to do stuff. The entrance fee might be a little expensive for some but trust me it's worth every penny. For more information head on to their website for more information.
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Diary of a Starbucks partner

Last month I was a Starbucks employee for about 2 weeks. It was a short stint but still I learned much new experience. I think I have elaborated in length why I started to work there. Times were hard and my freelance job was not enough to make ends meet let alone pay all my bills. And they were many, my bills.

I worked at a Starbucks branch in a mall near Seri Kembangan. The mall was once a ghost town, hardly any people wants to come there. But under new management and much-improved facelift, the mall has now attracted bus load of customers and also tenants. It's a far cry from what it was during my uni days. You would not miss it. It's the one located next to a man-made lake that has sightseeing boats throughout the day.

I had to sit for an interview with the store manager first before I get to work there. Deana (not her real name) was a young mid twenties woman who you won't believe that she's already a Starbucks Store manager at her age. But then this is fast food industry and if you're really hardworking and you suck up to the right people, you'll have a bright future ahead of you not to mention you'll climb the corporate ladder very quickly.

But I digress. I'm sure she worked her way up with pure hard work. Anyway, apparently I made a pretty good impression at the interview that she decided to sign me up there and then. My training begins on the spot when she did the First Impression module with me right after the interview. It is basically to gauge and evaluate how well I would handle my work and the customers. I think I passed that too.

My first day at work, I got a pair of Starbucks t-shirt uniform, 2 caps and 2 aprons. Employees or rather "partners" as we like to call ourselves get to wear our own pants which should be dark colored but I saw many partners wear whatever they like regardless. My uniform was one size two small but I only get to change it 2 days later after I changed my bodyfit t-shirt at another store in Cheras.

The store was built by a hierarchy of partners. At the bottom there are half a dozen baristas, usually young people paid slightly above the average market price for a franchise store. Once you worked a year or so you get to rise one rung of the ladder to become a shift supervisor. This position pays slightly more but you'll have to do much of the administrative & operation works of the store. Then we have the assistant manager and the store manager. For small stores like ours it's just the store manager.

I think Adila (not her real name) was the first staff to say hi to me. She is a pretty young girl, no older than 20. She just finishes school and works full time at the store. She enthusiastic, industrious and goes to the gym almost everyday. How many 18 years old you know even goes to the gym? Not many I'm sure. During break she would eat something from the display, hang around and sometimes goes for a stroll along the mall. What she could possibly find interesting at this mall is anybody's guess. But don't be fooled by her petite but athletic body. Once you pisses her off she will have no qualms throwing curses at you. I know because I learned it the hard way. I guess it's quite normal for urban youth nowadays to be speaking like that. Me I still find it quite rude and uncalled for. Maybe I don't interact with teenagers much.

Sarah (not her real name of course) was slightly chubby young teenage barista. She is not unlike my cousin Fatin who would be quite beautiful if she's 15 kilos lighter. Maybe she should join Adila at the gym or something. I don't know whether it's because of her weight but she seems to look grumpy to me most of the time. Perhaps she does not welcome strangers like me easily. Besides, I was only going to be at that store for a while. While she does her job really well and was very friendly with the customers, it was not the case with me.

Jason wads the only non-muslim partner at the store so that made him kind of special. Unlike Sarah, he's quite friendly and warm and took his job seriously. He didn't complaint or make a face whenever I ask him how to make a particular beverage for the 7th million time. He likes to chat sometimes and was quite welcoming even to strangers like me. Nice fellow that Jason chap.

Azman was one of the two shift supervisors at the store. Like Jason, he was a friendly and warm fellow too. Never tire of teaching me how to do stuff and treats me with the utmost respect. At this store, the shift supervisors is the only managerial staffs available other than the store manager. So a partner like Azman was responsible with looking after the store during his shift which is either opening or closing. It's a big responsibility and they're paid well below the market average. Of course they do get certain privileges like extra food during breaks and the freedom to slack around during non-busy period but I think that's about it. I don't know what motivates him but he clocked in his fifth year at Starbucks last month.

Syifa (or her real name, Syarifah) was another shift supervisor at the store. Unlike Azman and Mel, Syifa was not very patient with new partners especially the old and slowpoke like me. After my first week she expected me to know how to make every beverage sold at the store and make a face whenever she had to help me make a beverage when I forgot. That is why I was not particularly fond of being in the same shift with her. Sometimes whenever my time's up, she would completely ignore me instead of telling me I can go home. It was as if she'd expected me to stay back until closing or something. I maybe a fresh and new worker, but I am not dumb. So after a few days, whenever my time's up I would exclaim loudly that I'd like to go home now which would force to respond and let me go.

My store manager was Mel, her real name could be Melati but I refuse to confirm or deny that for her privacy. She's a veteran Starbucks partner, starting very early in her life until now when she has three kids already. Mel seems like a cool gal. Very sporting and patient, especially with new partners. I don't know how her schedule was really like but she only came to work like 2 or 3 times a week, or at least that's how it seems. Perhaps being a long time senior partner does has its advantages. But the most unforgettable thing about Mel was when she cooly told me that they are not going to pay me my wages because I worked for like only two weeks, not the whole month, which was like really sucks? More on that later.

We have three shift at the store, opening, middle and closing just like my previous job at McDonald's. To be honest I prefer the opening shift because there's not too many customer in the morning, plus I get to go back early around 5-ish. Middle and closing shifts sucks because there's always a crowd in the evening and then I always rush to perform my prayers. Yes they actually do allow you to go pray if only for a while. The prayer room is on the third floor though and it's rather small for a mall of that size so they are always packed with people wanting to pray during weekends. That's why I try to get there as early as possible during weekends or else miss the chance to pray altogether.

My job description includes everything from preparing beverages, serving food, cleaning tables, stock up the supplies from the store, doing the dishes, cleaning the place and of course serving the customers. I have worked four years at McDonald's before so I have no qualms doing those sort of things. In fact I expected them to be something like that. It is just that, the feeling doing these sort of job when you're 20 and when you're 30 is significantly different. At 20 you're young, full of energy, eager and enthusiastic to be doing a part time job while you finish your studies. At 30, you'll feel like every day is a chore, you can't wait for your shift to finish and working 6 days a week is not how you'd like to spend the rest of your working life as. You have no time to do things you love and you have little time to spend with your family. For me personally, I feel that I have a higher purpose in this world rather than working at a fast food joint with near minimum wage pay. I definitely feel I ought to do something that compliments my skills.

During my short two weeks stint as a Starbucks partner, I did learn a whole lot of new things about coffee and Starbucks specifically. I learn that there are two different typed if coffee which are arabica and robusta where the former grows at higher altitude, tastes better thus garner more demand from coffee producers. I learn about the many different blends of coffee coming from various regions in the world. And of course I managed to learn a few things about being a Starbucks partner. They were pretty much standard to every other quick service franchise including the silly rule that says male employee must be clean-shaven. God I hate that rule. I look weird with my little beard gone. Pay-wise, Starbucks does pay you just slightly above average salary. Full time partners are paid a fixed monthly salary starting from RM1250 depending on which store you work. That might not sound much for you but when you are struggling to make ends meet every month, something is definitely more than nothing.

So for two weeks, I tried to learn as much as possible, as quickly as I could. Did you know that are over a thousand different variation of drinks that you can make at Starbucks? Me, I had trouble memorizing even the basic two dozens beverage on the menu let alone the rest of them. At least I can't seem to memorize most of them quickly enough. No wonder shift supervisor Syifa was not very pleased of me. Before I worked there at Starbucks, I have never tried any of their drinks. Seriously. I just thought RM10 is way too much for a cup of coffee no matter how good they are. I bet for every 10 ringgit you spend at Starbucks, 5 ringgit you pay is just for the brand alone. Breaks are the part of my shift that I look forward to. Regular baristas get to have 2 beverage of any kind for 6 hours shift or more plus one food item that costs not more than 8 ringgit (I think). So for two weeks, I tried to have as many different types of beverage as possible from the plain English breakfast tea to the limited time only seasonal beverages. They were good for some times but in the long run, those drinks could be your one way ticket to diabetes or obesity. You have no idea how much sugar and calories they have in those drinks. It's a lot, trust me. The meals that I get to eat consist of sandwiches and pastries which were never enough to make me feel full. Sometimes I had to go to the food court next door to get a fulfilling lunch. Breaks only last a meager 50 minutes so you had to do everything in that short time frame - eat, rest, pray, pee etcetera. At Starbucks, they don't expect you to slack around for long. Unless of course you're the manager or shift supervisor.

After 10 days, I decided I'm not cut into this kind of work anymore. You simply have no (meaningful) life working at a fast food joint. It's all work and no play. If you start very young and climb up the career ladder along the way, that's fine. But if you only joined at 30, you're gonna get very disillusioned and tired really quick. So after like 2 weeks on the job, I tendered my resignation letter to the manager. About month later I called my former store manager asking about my pay. Imagine my surprise when she casually said since I did not work for the entire month, they are not going to pay me anything. I spent the entire 2 weeks working from morning to evening according to my schedule without fail, driving my car to the store and working my ass off at the store and they are not going to pay me shit. I decided to take this matter straight to the top so I got hold of Vincent Tan's email and wrote an email to HR with a copy to Vincent explaining my predicament.

About a week later I got a call from Starbucks HR explaining to me how my salary is calculated. The good news is, they are going to pay me my wages. The bad news is since I didn't complete the entire month working day, they're only going to pay me in pro-rate, my entitled wages. Altogether they paid me 200 ringgit for 2 weeks' work. To be honest, 200 ringgit is nothing to shout about but the important thing is I get paid for my work no matter how little. You know who works and does not get paid? Slaves. Yes, only slaves do work and get paid nothing. I don't care if they pay me 20 or 200 ringgit, as long as I get paid for every second I worked there. And the moral of the story here is, knowing the Big Boss contact information will get you a long way in this kind of shit.


Working at Starbucks, even for 2 weeks is a valuable experience for me. I get to learn lots of stuff, meet new people, see all kinds of customer behavior and get to taste many different kinds of Starbucks beverage (which is not a big deal really). After quitting there, I become extra motivated to get a real, well-paying job that suits my experience and expertise. Thankfully just after a month leaving Starbucks, I was hired as an IT staff in a private school in KL. Starbucks is a cool brand that makes good coffee and all but since they are like really expensive and the store manager where I work tried to screw me, I don't think I wanna step foot in any of their stores ever again. So long Starbucks.
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1Q84 Review

1Q84 is the latest book that I've read to date. I bought it with my free student voucher last year and only finishes it last week. It's really thick at 928 pages. That's why I took so long to finish reading it, on and off for a year.

I have never read Haruki Murakami's work before. I heard he's like a celebrity writer or something in Japan. While browsing for a book to spend my 200 ringgit voucher on, I read a few pages of 1Q84 and found it to be quite interesting. So I bought it for RM98.00.

The book tells a story of two persons, Aomame and Tengo which begin when Aomame climb down an emergency escape staircase next to a highway. Little that she now, the staircase led to a parallel world where there's two moon on the sky.

Now for the review. Murakami write very long and intricate details on every main character in the book. Sometimes he would write an entire chapter just telling about how Aomame enter a hotel and make her way to the 10th floor. If they make a movie out of this book, it's gonna be a short one because they script writer will have to condense everything in the book.

I find the book interesting for the first 500 pages. Then it started to drag too long, especially how Aomame and Tengo only get to meet in the final chapter of the book. I can't imagine how the Little People ought to look like but in my head I usually picture the seven dwarves in Snow White. That is also why I find the air chrysalis concept to be rather preposterous. Yeah I know this is a work of fiction but I feel Murakami failed to create a more cool or interesting concept.

Overall, I think 1Q84 is a decent effort by Haruki Murakami He spent four years finishing it. The introduction was interesting, the arch was okay but the ending was a bit anti-climax. I expected a grand finishing, something spectacular like maybe Ushikawa was Tengo's father or something. Instead they main characters made cross over leisurely to the real word and they lived happily ever after. Cliche.

This might just be my last paperback. Reading on my tablet is so much better. It's lighter and I can read anywhere, anytime including in the dark. Hello technology, so long tree-killers.

Verdict: ★★★

My cousin's wedding

Last month I went to my cousin's wedding in Bandar Utama. She was the only girl in her sibling of six so her wedding was extra special. The wedding took place at the One Club golf resort in Bandar Utama. I was invited since I am her cousin (duh).

Actually I will not mention any names here since I don't want to hurt anybody's feelings or anything. Who knows someone might get offended about what I write here. Last time I blogged about her engagement, it came out top on Google search and I think I was being too blunt in my writing. I don't want that awkward you know when we actually meet during Raya or whatever. So, no names. Then why blog at all? Well, since this blog rating has gone down the drain and almost nobody reads this blog anymore so what the heck right?

Here I am posing with my family in an all green theme. My grandma specifically told me to get something green for my cousin's wedding so we did. About 3 weeks from the wedding I found out the theme was actually cream. Well, that's too bad. And in the morning I asked my mom if it's alright to just wear sandals to the ceremony and what everybody else was wearing. She said okay, just wear anything and show up. Guess what? Everybody else wore proper shoes and I stood out like a sore thumb in green and sandals. Remind me not to trust anything my mom said again.

The hall at One Club Bandar Utama was huge and spacious. A fitting venue for the richest people in my family. Well, the groom does come from a well-off family so no surprise here.

Naturally family members from both sides came to the wedding. Here are my uncle and aunt who came all the way from Pasir Mas. The funny thing is 80% of my family members came from within Selangor where they make a living instead of Kelantan. Funny? No?

Close family members have something to do today, tasks were assigned months in advance. I got the exciting job of filming the wedding with a video camera. Well, actually more of a backup video camera guy because her brother is also filming the event with his camera, not to mention 2 more professional video filming crew.

I arrived around 11:00 PM. The bride and groom didn't arrive until late in the afternoon in a big shiny Mercedes. Ah I remember on my wedding day I went to the bride's house in a big and shiny Proton Wira. Fond memories. So basically I spent a few hours waiting for them to come. I when they did arrive, we waited another hour for them just to come out of the car.



Before you start calling me a jerk, bear in mind that I was not feeling very well that day. It was the beginning of my week-long fever. The bloody hall was freezing cold and I had a throbbing headache to boot. Waiting for hours for them to come didn't exactly help. It was really a miserable day for me and if it wasn't for my uncle who'd done so much for me, I wouldn't have come.

Adam & Mia was assigned to be two of the flower kids. We only got a red and cream dress for Mia instead of all-white like everybody else and we can't afford to buy a new one so... nevermind.



Anyway, the bride and groom arrived in their most charming wedding dresses. I thought my cousin looks better during her engagement than on her wedding day. Somehow the make-up artist seems to overdo it. But hey, who am I to judge right?

Today I also get to meet my relative from Kedah that I have never met before. They were my mother's half sisters and brothers from the same father, my deceased grandfather. Maybe we should go visit them some day. Right.

And look we've even got a ninja in the house!(Just kidding Faiz!). Do you know how hard it is for someone who's covered like that to eat at public functions? Most of the time they'll just skip eating at all. That's why my sister in law here doesn't usually come to such events unless it is really necessary.

So I took about an hour long video and excused myself to leave around 4-ish. By that time I could hardly stay awake due to fatigue. It is unfortunate that I was having the worst fever in the last 5 years or so that day. I would like to take this opportunity to wish all the best to my cousin and her husband. I'm sure long distance marriage would be hard at first for you guys but Malacca isn't all that far and you can always get together on weekend. Congratulations.
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Casa Riana Family Day

Last weekend we had a little family day here in Casa Riana apartment where I live. It was organized by the Joint Management Board members and the cool people of Casa Riana.

Like any Family Day, we had fun & games and many activities throughout the day. In the morning we started off with a coloring contest and then some games for the children.

Most of the kids were very eager to participate in the games. So much that we didn't have enough places for everyone.

One thing for sure, my neighbors took this Family Day games seriously. Looking at their competitiveness it's like they're playing in the Olympics or something. Nevermind that the prizes are some hampers or usually some cheap plastic containers.

But that's okay. From another perspective it shows that the people of Casa Riana are generally very sporting and supportive of communal activities such as these.

In the evening we had a little karaoke singing contest. My heart yearns to join this contest and sing in front of everybody but my mind said "are you kidding me? In front of all those judgemental people? I'd rather die and go to heaven!".

In the end I just sat there enjoying the show with my neighbors. Some of the contestant were quite good actually but the others are mostly crap. There's a reason why most of us don't sing for a living. Still I must say at least they've got balls to be singing in public.

We also had some barbecue dinner on the park courtesy of the organizer and the sponsors. Of course since there were so many of us, we could only sample a little bit of the chicken each. Still since we didn't contribute a single cent to the event, we couldn't complain.

I must commend the organizer and the committee members for their hard work and effort to make this inaugral Family Day a success. It's nice to see my neighbors getting to know each other since in normal circumstances we barely have time to say hi to each other. I hope the committee would organize more activities like this in the future so that the citizens of Casa Riana would become one harmony & close-knit community.