Friday, June 30, 2006

i'm so happy coz the pain leaves me today.

honestly? even if we fuck up, i'm not going to have to deal with this ball business for at least another year. or eight months. or whenever. i'm exhausted. i spent the whole night cutting up songs, and the best part is that people probably wouldn't notice or be aware of the effort taken. they'd probably comment on the poor selection of music or whatnot. to those detractors that i'm bound to face tonight, let me say this: you fuckers were meant to do it. all i was meant to do was to tell you how to do things, or at least help you get settled down. that's meant to be my job.

yes. i'm being agressive. meow. i haven't quiet slept. and i've got to go to college early. i've received 2 calls that've jolted me awake.

like, seriously, dudes. i am definitely going to be just a guest next year.

Thursday, June 29, 2006

jesus, jerome and james.

oh lord. tomorrow's the ball. and i've hardly gotten everything ready for everyone. i've still got to burn mp3s onto a CD. i've yet to compile the advertisers' graphics into a slideshow. and i've got to cut silver lace into small pieces for the programme booklet that's not even released yet. to top it off, i'm tired. and i've eaten something akin to 4 meals today. not a good sign.

i really hope everything pulls off well enough. it's hard convincing people that everything's brilliant when you're unsure of it yourself. but it should be okay.

i'm borrowing my aunt's megapixeled camera so i can hopefully get lots of pictures.

and i've stocked up on dunhill lights.

i am ready.

Monday, June 26, 2006

i might be big and fat, but i'm a coverboy.

find me in the latest issue of the business edition of courses now! magazine. my god. i look awful on it. and in it.

Sunday, June 25, 2006

(redux) the plot thickens.

mayorial ambitions for petaling jaya aside, i really do like staying in seputeh. it's proven to be a haven of sorts. if i have to make a transition between seputeh and staying in cheras indefinitely, i'd die. i really would. there're so many things to do here, and i've built up relationships with my friends here over donkey ages...it'd be a shame to see it all go. granted, they're probably all going to leave (i suppose i'll never have a ryan-marissa with rachel) and grow up and move away, but this place is home. my mother's place in cheras is boring, to say the least. all i did for the day was watch television and sleep every 2 hours or so. if not the bed, then her couch, which isn't as comfortable as the one in my room here. on the bright side, the maluri lrt station is just five minutes away by foot. and there're a lot of chinese tai chows around the corner. but still; i don't know anyone there, and there's no place to kick a football in. and if i attempted to jog, people would stare. almost everyone jogs in seputeh.

maybe it's an intracity culture clash of sorts, but i'm not moving there. hell, no.

why the sudden mention of this?

my mother reckons my father is going to bail on kuala lumpur...permanently. she's not the only one who's anticipating the move; my uncles feel that it's inevitable between my father instigates the beginning of the end and splits the Tais apart. (on a bizarre note, splitting thighs apart sounds sickly kinky, no?) at the same time, there're been reported sightings (on my mother's side) of the Lotus. yes, the Lotus was claimed to be in kuala lumpur, visiting my father's friends in bangsar, with my father in tow. how the Lotus got into kuala lumpur without my knowing, i can thank my father for...the man is an international man of mystery. he's one step short of a spy. and he keeps his linens clean, and never hangs them to dry (this is a figure of speech, my friends).

anyway, assuming my father's plan is to sell the house and elope with the Lotus, i'll have nowhere to go...aside from cheras. my mother thinks that it's futile to fight my father on this.

my father had already returned when i parked my mom's car. he's been back since yesterday, presumably...he knew that i hadn't returned home. when we were alone, i asked him if he was going to sell the house and he assured me that he wasn't...in a way, he gave me the impression that it was something my uncle had come up with by himself. then again, i should know better than to not trust/trust my father. confusing, isn't it? your parents are supposed to be the most open people towards you. yet you've got to question everything they say and do. everything you know might be wrong. or at least that's how it looks like for me.

i think i've got to ask the question about the selling of the house everyday, at least once. it's the only way to make my father realize that i'm genuinely concerned about it. i mean, everyone holds the opinion that daddy's about to pull off a michael caine (in relation to mike myers). and if he's selling the house because of the Lotus, then i can safely say that it isn't worth it. if i was more hedonistic, i'd probably wish my father would settle for a younger, nubile, flexier lass whom we could share. but that'd be plain wrong.

by the way, lynn, i hope you're reading this. you've invaded my dreams at least twice in the last four nights and it's becoming a bit...i can't find a word for this ("troubling" doesn't exactly come to mind). i still think that you should dump your quasiboyfriend and be with me, regardless of his new car. i might not be financially stable but i live next door and i can give you instant gratification that you wouldn't need a ride out for. thinking about it makes me want to ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh. just kidding. or am i?

it's just disconcerting. yes, lynn's another great thing about seputeh, even though she's in fricking melbourne. but not to worry: there's also the all-new, uber-elusive girl in pink. she was passing by us the other day while we were knocking the ball around the road. she's not exactly hot. and she's taken. but it's good to know more people. i should muster up the courage to say hello. kah wee's initial (and only) line towards her was: "Have you seen my keys?" i had to drive him all the way back up to the field to get him to that point. at least he's made some sort of progress. a minimum amount, no less. from now on, the girl in pink will be known as "GIP". please note that most of these girls are signifcantly younger than i am. yet, this doesn't constitute as pedophilia in any way. stop snickering. especially you. the two Js.

tomorrow starts crunch week. the ball is on friday and now we've reached the real point of no return. everything has got to be done. i can't wait for the week to be over. once the ball is done, i can stretch my legs, and finish reading all the issues of ultimate spider-man thus far. i can then finish off crime and punishment, like i planned to a year ago. and hopefully, i can also play more ffx...i've been neglecting it in favour of fifa. may ann might be coming back next week, so that's something else to look forward to. if you can't run to oz, bring oz to you. an old klingon proverb, i hear.

i wish i could have one more day of the weekend.

Friday, June 23, 2006

(redux) seven days in sunny june.

my mother called me up last night to see how i was doing. i gave her the lowdown and she somehow persuaded me to hang out with her for the whole day tomorrow and to stay overnight at her place in cheras. call it a strange form of bribery on her part, but she's given me free access to her red kancil (red devil car, anyone?) until she needs it. she assured me that she didn't really need it in the following week, which led me question her judgement over the safety of public transportation.

i had the worst bus ride of my life yesterday. the bloody thing almost capsized while on its way to my campus. it was swaying for left to right, like a boat on turbulent waters...except there was no soft landing or splashing had it overturned. stupid putraline. somehow we manage to sweat it out in the hot sun, while it'd be a lot easier for the driver to just let the people onto the bus to spare them from the heat.

the last few days have been good. there was a turnaround of sorts in regards to the ball...people actually started buying tickets. one thing that sort of frightens me is the fact that most students might be doing it out of an act of skewered charity (RM 95 isn't exactly loose change); another thing is that if the ball doesn't pull off well enough, we're screwed. permanently. one more thing is that i might have to assume the role of floor manager. being in charge of everything should usually be left in the hands of a meticulous woman; it was last year, and it wasn't that bad.

i'm still worried that we don't have a ball-saving performance (i love the sound of that). the lecturers have agreed to do a little ditty for us but we still need that oomph factor...it feels like we don't have it yet. not to mention the fact that there's still a problem of 3 amps and a drum kit to solve. plus, i don't know if we have to use HELP's soundsystem, which would mean more money flying off. anyway, for those of you in the know, i was offered the following today. a good deal? you tell me.

(note: they're all rentals)
Tama Rockstar + 5 cymbals = RM 400 - RM 500
Laney 50W amp = RM 80
Marshall MG 30W amp = RM 80
Peavey 30W bass amp = RM 100

the deal came from afizul, a rep of sonic station studios. apparently they're quite reputable (the only person who could vouch for this was him), but from his pitch, they're the real deal. any thoughts? please advise. please.
---------------------------------------------
my mother had kindly deposited fifty bucks into my account a few days back. i should listen to voicemails more. so this morning, i did what any other person would do...withdraw all of it and subsequently spend RM 5 on a pack of dunhill light 14s. it's getting to me, i suppose: i'm officially back in the game. not that i regret it. since i'm a teetotaller of sorts, something's got to be used to take the edge of.

and i had a coke. it tasted good.

RM 22 was spent on a new network card (if any of you were wondering where i'd gone). funnily enough, despite the network card being fried, the motherboard always remains intact. i wonder when my luck'll run out.

i've also figured out how to cook efficiently. thaw whatever you have in your freezer and then put it in a frying pan. add rice to it, and voila: a meal. add pepper for taste.

tomorrow and sunday will be good. homecooked food not cooked by me. i'm a bitch of a son, but yes. i am thankful.
---------------------------------------------
my recent return to the world of public transport has led me across some strange finds on the ktm commuter train. what it lacks in punctuality, it makes up for with eye candy. my goodness. i should move to seremban and oogle at corporate working girls on the move (or any stop after seputeh). to be honest with you, i don't hate public transport that much...it's much cheaper than most places around the globe, and even the fare from kl sentral to the bangsar lrt station has managed to drop to RM 1. your tax dollars at work, my fellow malaysians. however...

it'd be great if they could add one more car to the commuter train. it'd also be nice if they could install fans at all lrt stops. as well as add more wall fans at the ktm waiting area at kl sentral.

also, it'd be nice if they could figure out how to upgrade the line so that one train doesn't have to wait for another to pass it by (a perfect example is how the rawang-bound train just parks itself near the control hut after the midvalley stop for the seremban-bound train). billions were saved by screwing us over for petrol. it'd be nice to know that they're being used where it counts. on the bright side, ktm is promoting a new station opening in kepong. yay.
---------------------------------------------
oh, joy. will be back on sunday.

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

stiff upper lip.

i don't know what to write. i was trying to snare the spirit of human resilience, thus explaining why we're better than the animals, but at this precise moment, i can't see how we're any different from monkeys. we spend all our time arguing over who gets the bananas that we forget the whole point of being monkeys: we just are.

it's been a day where i wish that i wasn't me. and it's another day where i wish i had someone to talk to at home over how incredibly crappy my day has been. anyone, really. i won't divulge too much, but interestingly enough, things have gotten incredibly tense at home over the last two days. to quote john motson, you could cut that tension with a knife.

i leave the house thinking that things will get better in college and i end up leaving college thinking that things will be better at home. dah. wishful thinking can only get you so far. i can only say that a lifetime of bad parenting and extreme circumstances have led me to becoming a balanced personaility with a cool head in times of crisis. at least it shows in college. somehow.

but somehow, we all argue amongst ourselves over the bananas. that's what we do. it's what we're good at. i've managed to steer clear of it...i mean, even amongst family, why can't we all get along? do we always have to antagonize each other?

i remember this indian saying over how an indian could fuck around with another indian, but if someone non-indian were to fuck around with an indian, all the indians would fuck him over.

i wish my family had that level of camaderie. hell, i wish the people in college had that. in turn, it'd spread, the love would go around and the world would be in relative peace for a while. a perfect, perfect seed of an idea.

pay it forward. no, seriously. that haley joel osment movie had a point to it. let the love spread. i better stop before i get into my hippy mode.

there's nothing better than a good nap to get over those tuesday night blues.

Monday, June 19, 2006

the great white lark.

i had a dream about sleeping in a cockroach infested prison cell.

it wasn't pretty.

the day's been alright. with the amount of tickets remaining to be sold for the ball, i'm more than a little worried. usually i'd associate it with the last minute mentality that malaysians have, but i'm genuinely stressed out over the current situation. it's not easy selling...oh, say...100 tickets in 2 days. although the ball is a week away (give it two weeks if we're looking at this week and the week leading to next friday), this shouldn't happen. the current number of guests that we've confirmed with the hotel is 120, though i'm quite sure we have less than that.

i still say it's possible to sell everything off if we pull our pants up. there's really no choice but to do so.

aside from the astronomical task ahead, succeeding would make me proud in biblical proportions. sometimes i wonder why i relish challenges like these.

people think that i'm sort of an attention whore. and people target me for things going wrong because i'm the most obvious idiot, going around from class to class telling everyone to buy tickets. i mean, i am an attention whore, but the last thing i want is to make enemies in college without so much as lifting my finger. a guy came to pay up for the remainder of his deposit for his tickets today and said something to the extent of "you so populah-lah". normally, nobody would mind being popular, but i don't want to be associated that much. not that i'm not proud or anything, but it simply pins some sort of expectations upon me. and the thing is...nobody else really wants to take up what i do. the running around and being everyone's favourite idiot, i mean. call me less than modest, but i've been some sort of sick figurehead for all things fun and frivolous for the last two years while all i want to do is to find someone in the business department that i can talk about comics with.

it's like seth cohen suddenly becoming the center of attention for no apparent reason.

then again, i might be thinking highly of myself. which is usually the case.

(and if i was really popular, i'd get 1000 hits a day and sponsorship from a whole wide range of companies, and i'd never have to go to college ever again. such is a the power of blogging).

i was faced with a dilemma today. between cigarettes and food. so i bought both. not a terribly smart thing to do, but i wanted the cigarettes more than the food. not so good, is it? years of professing my ability to stay away from tabacco and when i don't have money, it comes down to the tobacco. fabulous. i'm doing such a great job. i'd rather have something that makes me fingers smelly and my teeth yellow as opposed to something solid in my stomach. then again, cigs last longer. and they make me look cool. no, seriously. it sounds terribly one-dimensional, but smoking does make you look cool. girls who say things like "oh, it's such a turn off" are lying because deep down inside, they want to know what it's like. and if they already do, they still think that there's some unexplainable appeal to it. cigarettes are also the world's best icebreaker. offer someone a cigarette and start a conversation. if they refuse the cigs, it's still not that bad.

i'm trying to justify buying a 20 pack of dunhill lights. bear with me.

ugh. i've been drained the last few days. lack of sleep for a wide variety of reasons: the ball, football, and funnily enough, the ultimate marvel universe. that stuff is amazing. i've never found so much joy in reading comics in a long while. and nick fury looks like samuel l. jackson. the story goes that marvel asked if they could base his character on him, and he agreed. so imagine seeing samuel l. jackson everywhere each month in whole line of comic books.

snakes on a motherfucking plane, motherfucker.

have a great evening.

Saturday, June 17, 2006

cockamanie can mean so many different things.

i might have a readership. i really don't know. if the only way of telling if your blog has touched people where it matters (i just had to put it that way) is through comments and tagboard posts, i must've touched them at all the wrong places. in other words: if i was a prostitute, i would've wanked a guy off until he was limp, without a payoff. not a very good prostitute, then.

bloggers are not writers. not in the traditional sense. i always had this opinion that people blog because they want some sort of outlet for their hidden creativity. some bloggers love anonymity and just let everything out without revealing who they are. other bloggers flirt with notoriety and have somehow picked up a mass following through doing so. and then there're those who've touched fame and are about to break through with just a little push. finally, we have those who've tried their best yet made no such impression, despite having blogged for years on end. like me.

granted, i don't really care if nobody reads what i've got to rant about. the truth is, i know there's always someone there who's picking this up as i go along. in a way, stunts like sending a letter to the menteri besar are done for fun, and hopefully to get someone to notice. but the question is, if someone notices...then what? i can't really base my popularity on the merits of performing cheap tricks, though that would be nice. some of us spend hours customizing our blogs in order for them to attract people. bollocks to you who says it's to individualize everything.

even if you're blogging under a pseudonym, you want people to read what you've got to say. you want people to see how miserable you are. you want people to see how happy you are. you just do. otherwise you would've kept it all inside, content to be where you are. we're never content. we've got a support group in our friends and family. but risking it all, for the whole world to see at a few keystrokes and mouseclicks...that's a whole different thing, isn't it? that's why we want to watermark photos on our blogs. it's why we want to label our names over everything. and it's why some of us (like me) want to ping other bloggers when something new comes up.

it's just human nature.

and we like it.

it's nothing to be ashamed about.

if you've been reading thus far; thank you for reading.

Thursday, June 15, 2006

broke, broker, broken.

i've never experienced abject poverty, though i understand what it feels like to be temporarily broke for a period of more than 2 weeks. despite this current dry patch i'm facing, the last time that this happened to me was around 2 years ago, and circumstances were a lot worst than they are now. i had no food in the freezer, and meals consisted around eating wholemeal bread with a variety of condiments. it's not that bad now. i've been keeping myself busy in the kitchen for the last few days, while waiting for my father's return. my uncle came to me today explaining that the newspaper delivery man has been asking for his monthly payment. sigh. on the bright side, the bills were just taken care of before my dad decided to go on his exodus, so we've got that side of life handled...they're not going to cut us off anytime soon.

i think.

it's not like i don't mind being broke and hungry, but it does bring about a bright side. for starters, i don't go out as much (if at all), and it saves me money...although i don't have money to save/spend to start off with. also, it allows me time to stay home and do some things that i normally wouldn't have time for: like cooking. i assessed my own fried rice last night and realized it was hideous. i looked up recipes and found out that i wasn't doing anything wrong; i've blamed the wok, and i'm going to try frying rice on the nonstick pan from this moment on. maybe tonight. also, not having money for a short period of time allows you the legitimate of asking friends for lifts to college (thank you, mr. lee!). i also lose weight as a direct result of not eating.

by this time some of you might be wondering why i don't ask my aunt for money. she's not as bad as she seems, but funnily enough, she's only nice to people when my father isn't around for 2 weeks or more. she's asked about my pills, as well as whether i've started the car. to answer the second question, my car won't start. but i've got jumper cables. if you'd like to help a poor man out, please drive your car over to my place and help me start my car. i'll treat you to a round or two of fifa. and i'll burn you internet porn for free. or the second season of lost, if you'd prefer.

i don't like asking my aunt for money. i've done so in the past and it was totally awkward. i didn't feel any shame for doing so, but after asking her, i did feel ashamed because she refused to help me out despite knowing that my dad would cover her back upon his return. it's too much trouble and hassle, and it's really complicated. if you're wondering why i don't ask my mom, it's mostly because the onus isn't on my mother anymore to do things like that. this really is my problem.

yes, my being broke (for now) is my own fault.

can i blame my father this once?

yes, it's my father's fault.

no-lah.

in all honesty, it just happens. and it's a good thing that we have food in the freezer...that nobody wants to cook besides me. we've got a few kilos of rice left, and enough rendang, prawn and bah kut teh powder and pork cubes to last us for another week. and situations like this make you go back to the eat to live aspect of things as opposed to the live to eat scenario. i'd love to go to mcd's and kfc right now, but i can only cook at home and live a bit more prudently (more than a bit, i'd say).

my aunt assumed that my father was going to come back sometime this week. we've got about 4 more days til the new weeks rears its head.

ah. the life of a bum.

but seriously, it'd be really nice if the car could start. sigh. i'm not poor; i'm just broke.

anyone want comics?

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

king eric would know what to do.

ho hum.

back to normal. after the day-long elect tai! edition of the blog, i suppose it's time to get back to my mundane existence. i'll probably never serve in public office at this point.

there's been no reply from the state ministry. maybe they're seriously considering my proposal? i have to say, my prospects aren't good, but i'm definitely up for serving the people. i genuinely do like helping people, and it's always an added bonus to get a smile from someone's face. it's also a bonus when i get a bonus. but i don't help people solely for the bonus...the bonus is the bonus.

while we're on the subject of communities and the councils that don't do enough for them...the seputeh residents' association. i've been staying here for the last decade or so, yet i've never been to a single meeting. i learnt from a neighbour today that some people came by to survey an area of jungle close to my house. it's already developed heavily down here...berjaya's seputeh heights project is up my road, and i virtually stay next door to the hunza group's mutiara seputeh project.

i don't know if these two projects are a good example of sustainable development or if they're a perfect example of cronyism gone extreme. it's most likely a case of both. the thing is, how much weight does the seputeh residents' association carry in terms of being able to prevent projects like these from happening? can we convince the powers-that-be at the dbkl to stop new developments from coming up at seputeh? just backtrack to the foilage i was talking about earlier.

for the last few years, a large parcel of land behind my house (unrelated to the aforementioned developers) has been cleared repeatedly, only to be left fallow and for the fauna to grow back. this has happened repeatedly...the story goes that work has always bene stopped in the nick of time. i'm not sure why they can't just permanently save the site from further harm. closing the direct midvalley route is fine and dandy, but isn't there more at risk in losing one of the last green lungs of kuala lumpur?

granted, i haven't been informed at all in regards to what it is the association does. in fact, i might even be misinformed. but it doesn't take a incredibly perceptive person to note that things are going from dodgy to wonky around here. i suppose that i can thank the hunza group for putting up the basketball court. it's the least that they could do for taking away 15 acres of unspoilt land.

doesn't sound like much, but i can tell you that the land was better off left alone. some things just shouldn't be taken away. not to mention the fact that they're charging exorbitantly for their semi-Ds and bungalows; you could probably get a good bungalow in my area, and still have some change leftover to renovate it decently as opposed to getting one at the mutiara project. then again, you're paying for safety and the whole gated community vibe.

fascists.

no, i was kidding about the fascist part.

seputeh was so much better when it was left alone. isn't that why we have the residents' association? to convince everyone that enough is enough?

the power of the dollar (or in this context, the ringgit).

sometimes i wish the councils would do what's right, as opposed to what's good for their coffers.

we need eric cantona.

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

For a better PJ.

in a move that could actually jeopardise any seeds of a potential political future i may have from sprouting, i've sent a letter to dr. mohd khir toyo myself. i don't really know if he'd entertain the letter; he might not even read the mails himself, as opposed to having someone filter them out for him.

but, just to prove that i did the deed, for those unbelievers in you (it's an ego thing for me, i suppose).


there you go. though, yes, it's hard to prove on my part that the following was actually sent in.

anyhow. here's the message that i'd sent, unabridged.
--------------------------------

Dear Datuk Seri Dr. Khir Toyo,

My name is Tai Foo Hing, and I’m 23. I felt compelled to write you this letter when I read the article in the Star (“Termizi may be first mayor, says Dr Khir” – Metro, M4, Monday, June 12th 2006).

I state the following with all earnestness and sincerity.

Make me Petaling Jaya’s first mayor.

I am currently a student of HELP University College. My credentials are less than impressive…much less. It’s taken me over 5 years to receive my degree, which I’m still pursuing. However, despite my short attention span when it comes to academics, I am a sociable person, and I work well with people.

I have been President of my Business Council for over 1 and a half years, and I have vast experiences in terms of budgeting and, most importantly, willing to get my hands dirty to ensure the completion of tasks. I also like to think that I have empathy; an attribute that not so many people have in times like these. My father is a former Malaysian Ambassador (I can’t give you his name because he’d more than likely reprimand me for doing this), and my upbringing has reflected upon my personality. I believe that my unique insight into many matters makes me a valuable asset.

I know that being a Mayor is no tall order. But, no matter what position you’re in, you only need two things in order to be a good leader: initiative and vision (and maybe a steady flow of resources, but let’s just assume that the first two factors matter more).

I believe that I have both (the first two, not the last criterion). I am young, and although my views might be significantly more liberal than the current MPPJ (soon to be MPBJ) board, I am confident that I’ll be able to win the support of the people of Petaling Jaya.

At this stage, let me emphasize that I do not stay in PJ. I actually reside in Taman Seputeh, but that’s beside the point. I really do love Petaling Jaya, and if I were able to make it on my own, I’d most definitely purchase a residence there. In fact, I plan to when I’m older and much more financially stable. PJ is a fantastic place to raise a family in. It’s safe to say, I might die a happy old man there.

It’s a whole potpourri of cultures in PJ. Everyone lives in harmony. It’s not hard to see that PJ has grown and developed by leaps and bounds since its inception, and it’s hard not to imagine why it’s qualified for city status. PJ is a massive, self-sustaining area. In many ways, it’s already reached its saturation point..

Back to the crux of my message to you.

Sir, by placing emphasis of favour, or at least the impression of favour, upon the current president of the MPPJ to take the post of Mayor, certain parts of the public might view that you might quietly endorse the mismanagement of the MPPJ thus far. It’s been a controversial time, these last few months. The residents have been up in arms over what’s happened. The council is to provide for its ratepayers; their faith in the council has been tried, tested, stretched and abused. When it becomes a full-fledged city, will the Council still leave its citizens in the dark?

With a little over a week to go, it looks grim. You had so insightfully acknowledged that things at the MPPJ are less than peachy. I can understand the reasons for staying with the lesser of two evils. A new breed might be just as bad, if not worst. However, looking at the current state of things, how bad could it be?

Forgive me for the audacity of the statement on intent on my part of wanting to become Mayor. But if the current council and its head is kept intact, dare I say that any Tom, Dick or Harry can do a job just as good…or just as bad. If that’s the case, I would gladly offer my services to lead the efforts in helping to maintain and develop Petaling Jaya further.

I suggest that you let someone else, external from the MPPJ fray, take over. I’m not knowledgeable enough as to who might have the experience, but I do know that sometimes, a breath of fresh air is precisely that: a breath of fresh air. It’s time for a change, and only you can initiate it. I see no reason why you lack any vision. Selangor has done even better with you at the helm.

Help us out, Sir.

You might see me as another boisterous youth with a slightly disturbing sense of humour in sending you this message, and to an extent, you’d be correct. However, there is a real message here, nonetheless. There’re a lot of others like me, who fear that the community might be taken for a ride. And we’re all in Petaling Jaya.

Thank you for your time.

With deepest respect,

Yours sincerely,

Tai Foo Hing

-------------------------------------
yeah, yeah. i know what you're thinking: i'm doing it for the attention.

and d'you know what?

you're probably right, to an extent. this is some way of gaining due notoriety. lord knows i've tried everything else.

but there is a point to the message. there is a truth to it.

is this in vain? we'll find out soon enough. but you can still make it happen. i'm not a messiah; but i know a thing or two about helping people out.

send an e-mail to datuk seri dr mohd khir toyo!

tell him you want PJ to change for the better. and if you want...you can also mention my name there, too.

let's see where this takes us, yea?

a p.j. state of mind.

i love petaling jaya. amongst the things that i love about it:
  1. a good majority of its girls speak proper english and have proper diction.
  2. they look good, too.
  3. its drivers are intolerably considerate.
  4. a good mamak is always nearby.
  5. 1 utama.
  6. most of my friends stay around there.
  7. murni's, ming tien and my favourite bootlegged dvd joint.
  8. 3 out of 5 of my exes were pj based.
  9. it's just so nice, green and suburban.
-------------------------------------------
the last few months have brought about controversy for the municipal council of petaling jaya. it was revealed that there was a massive black hole in its accounts two years ago, and it's taxed its ratepayers at least 40% more this year than previous years.

as the township becomes a full-fledged city on June 20th, there is a high chance that datuk ahmad termizi puteh, the current president of the municipal council, will be the city's first mayor.

this won't do. the municipal council has come under fire for not doing its job: providing for its ratepayers and citizens. imagine what would happen if it became a city board? raised expectations with even more lowered results.

we want to see playgrounds repaired for our children to play on.

we want to see roads paved for painless commuting.

we want to see our parks restored --- we want more green.

petaling jaya is a beautiful place, definitely befitting of a city. but so much more can be done to improve it, and the incumbent administration is only hindering its development. it's primary interest is in deepening the pockets of the powers that be. it's quite obvious. the people have been shortchanged and cheated; there's this risk that this will continue for years to come.
-------------------------------------------
there's a way out of this.

let me be mayor.

i'll be the ears of the people. i'll be the voice of the people.

i'll make you love me, p.j...because i love you.

granted, i don't stay in petaling jaya. but what it needs is a fresh face. an outsider who loves it for what it is, but who can look at things objectively without letting emotions get in the way. i will work for the city's betterment.

my mandate is clear: i want petaling jaya to prosper and grow consistently, as its always done under the people --- not the council. i can't bring anything new to the table. but i will bring youth, vigour and virility.

petaling jaya doesn't need impotent steeds. it needs thoroughbred studs.

i am that thoroughbred stud that it needs.

petaling jaya is its people. the people who've worked hard. the man and woman on the street. it's home to a diversity of different cultures. petaling jaya is malaysia.
-------------------------------------------
you know what to do.

don't give the incumbents the power they don't deserve!

send an e-mail to datuk seri dr. mohd khir toyo.

tell him who you want to lead you into a new future.

thumbs up for tai, my friends. we can make a new future together.

petaling jaya.

because we can.

Monday, June 12, 2006

temporary obsessions - missy peregrym.

pretty?
missy coming out of an ice bath in Stick It. look at that stomach. damn.

Saturday, June 10, 2006

what's yellow, green and (sometimes) blue all over?



as paolo said, why'd they have to make the brazilian team look so good? props to cantona. he's essentially everywhere in all the joga bonito vids.

"believe me...you only make beautiful music if you know how to play in an orchestra".

priceless.



cantona makes this one worth the price of admission. does he not remind you of a zen french schwarzenegger?



now, this one. superb. superb. king cantona. listen to him.

Thursday, June 08, 2006

king joe.

i went to college today, but it sort of left me with an empty feeling. luckily enough, i was fortunate to pick a used copy of the sun up, whereupon dr. m lashing out at badawi and government as a whole caught my eye. antagonist or protagonist? who knows?

the masterful surprise has come up with a masterful strip. visit king joe, the perpetual highness and friends, if you've got the time. new strips come out everyday at around midnight.

i might even make a cameo in the strip if i behave well enough. notoriety strikes again!

paolo found a review of the la bodega gig. it's here at glaringnotebook.com, and you'll be looking for the last photo. i never realized that the hair on my face would be so...hairy. and i've been called a "church guy". tres ironique.

for those of you not particularly bothered, the photo's here, anyway.

lord, i'm big. not very reassuring. on the bright side, it might just be the hair, as these photos from genting attest to...i hope.

denise (rocking the V), me, jeffrey (flipping the Bird unknowingly) and pei pei. my chin's still flabby, but at least there's a face to see.

token darkened staircase vanity shot of brooding fat guy with water bottle.
-------------------------------------------------------------
there're other shots from that night, but they're just embarrasing. genting's always fun, but the Journey to Genting was terrible. with the MRR2 closed (thank you, Samy), we took a detour into the backroads of kepong which i'd never been thru before. it wasn't a pleasant experience, especially when it felt that the whole of kepong was going to genting along with us. about 40 minutes was added to an hour's journey. hardly pleasant. and i've always wondered if parents know that their children are hanging out at genting at weird hours? the number of short, stalkable lady younglings in genting's rather high, especially when they're hanging out with a bunch of jay chou lookalikes.

oooeerrr. fighting for daylight. more photos to come. sometime.

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

my phone's on Vibrate for you.

i feel a lot less guilty if my phone is left on silent. i have a legitimate reason for people not being able to reach me, as opposed to deliberately not answering calls even though i can hear a ringtone. it's not that i've been bombarded with calls for the last 2 days, but it's been refreshing not to hear the damn thing come alive. my apologies to anyone who's been trying to call me, but, hey...it's not like it was an emergency, right? right?

besides, not leaving the thing to ring has been brilliant. i feel refreshed. renewed. i should do it more often. i hate to admit it, but maybe my dad was right...there really isn't any need of a cellphone if you feel that there isn't any need of it.

and to tell you the truth, sometimes, just sometimes, i kind of enjoy making people feel that it's next to impossible to reach me so that they'd stop trying. i want to be the World's Most Impossible Guy to Reach. it ought to be fun. a cellphone is used for emergencies. or to receive and make calls from and to people whom you want to. most of the time, anyway.

i suppose that if i wasn't so selective in the people that i wanted to keep in touch with, i'd have a lot more friends...it's not like i've got a lot. but then, when you've only got space on your simcard for 100 names, there's always that time of day where you've got to perform maintenance. and i've done so for a few occasions. it's no wonder i don't recognize some of the numbers coming in.

or maybe i just don't bother.

but my apologies if i've missed your calls. keep your voicemails coming in. be persistent. keep on trying. and hope that it's on silent.

(or maybe i'm like Cloud: i don't want to be bugged, but i don't want to be alone...which is why i leave my phone with me despite never answering it. oooeerrr...what a comparison).

Sunday, June 04, 2006

three days in three minutes : part one.

friday night: went to the impiana. had a food testing session in preparation for the ball. the food was good. fucking good. even better than the shangri-la's, maybe. my car was left the in kpd car park for 11 hours as we went up to genting. the girls were freezing. the guys were fine. the girls looked great. wanted one of them...but not the one you're thinking of. kidding. or am i?

saturday: met up with my mother for the first time in three months and helped her fix a rosary to no avail. played excessive amounts of ffx-2 after realizing the appeal of seeing rikku change dressspheres every round of the fight. played a bit of football only to find myself huffing and puffing away. listened to more incessant bitching about how bad christianity is. relatives took pity on me being christianish and bought me fried rice in a box for dinner. started to worry over my current financial dilemma. pitched an idea about going to sydney to may ann and we both loved it. am thinking about the gonzo amounts of fun i can enjoy if my father agrees to ship me there for a couple of weeks. kidding. or am i?

sunday: realized that my father has been missing for over a week, 3 days past the date that he said he was coming back. prayed that my father didn't destroy the perdana. then prayed for his well-being as well. played ffx-2. went out for lunch but came back after realizing our favourite coffee shop was closed for the day. came home and made minestrone campbell's soup. prepped a pack of indomee. played even more ffx-2 in between switching the modem on and off every 10 minutes to secure a connection. played football with a bunch of indians from bangsar. one indian subsequently shot me in the right ear and i'm temporarily deaf. am even more worried about my financial status as i don't have enough for a day's worth of public transport to go to college. contemplated getting a job. then laughed. father not back yet. dangerously low on cash. deaf in one ear. obsessed with nubile videogame vixen. kidding. or am i?

Friday, June 02, 2006

i used to pump my faith in worship.

my aunt and uncle love the da vinci code because they believe it debunks everything that christianity's about, regardless of the fact that it really does take an overdose of creative license with everything it discusses. they hate christianity with such a zeal and zest that it's borderline neurotic. it's not that they've got anything against organized religion...they confess to and detail the greatness that is buddhism whilst conveniently never going for classes or visiting temples.

previously, the family didn't really have any religious preferences of inclinations. my father wore a buddha around his neck during his time in brazil but it's not like he's a deeply religion man, either. i'm not sure what got them into the whole buddhism gig, but i'm pretty sure that i can blame richard gere to an extent.

if you'd hear the things that they had to say about christianity, it'd break your heart...even if you weren't christian. they say the things they do with the full knowledge that i'm christianish...that's right, christianish. i'd be happy taking my aunt's head (which has swollen due to her unjustifiably large ego) and ripping it off her neck, and then stuffing it down my uncle's throat for being somebody who can't really think for himself.

being disrespectful towards another's beliefs. it runs rampant today. i'm pretty sure buddhists are peaceloving potheads who wouldn't hurt a blade of grass. i'll never really know. if my relatives' perceptions towards the belief systems of others can be so easily swayed by scewered misconceptions and the lack of understanding or comprehension over how God can help...then i can act the same way and say that most buddhists are wasting their time worshipping a dead prince who gained enlightenment like how newton did under the apple tree. and your dead prince hardly looked like keanu reeves in little buddha. he was a smelly indian. and we know that us chinese folks hate being subservient to black, smelly indians.

i could say all that. in fact, i just did. if you feel offended by it, don't take it out on me. take it out on the zealots who've suddenly multiplied everywhere. i don't have enough faith to stand up for what i believe in but i'm quite sure that there're a lot of people who are.

i'll probably achieve nirvana (and i don't mean the band) sooner than those miscreants.

sigh.

give it up to those who conveniently use (a profound lack of) religion as a convenient tool to deal with their own unfathomable, repressed feelings towards others.

you bigots make my day.

i'll never really be good enough for you.

i managed to catch moonshine last night, which was a powerpacked version of the la bodega gigs. funnily enough, the same people whom i saw at troubadours were there as well, oddstars and broken scar included. a bigger crowd, better sound, swirling lighting and the mass adoration of potential (hot) groupies. my goodness. due to the size of the venue, most of the bands up that night sounded fuller than what we could get at la bodega.

then again, la bodega's is a lot more intimate, and it could be said that those who pop by there are really interested in the music. having your event at a bigger bistro at a shopping mall doesn't necessarily mean that everyone's there for you...which is quite unfortunate.

despite my pleas, i doubt that paolo and edwin would be willing to reunite. at least not yet. which is quite sad.

the world awaits.

....

just a little add-on.

potential band names that nobody would like: don't hesitate to add your own.

the civil service

cocksure
federal highway

don't hesitate to add your own.

....

sorry to have left you and stanley there, lez....really am. i will make it up to you! or you can leave before i perform next. which really would describe the level of showmanship i apply. but uh...you know you don't want to do that.

....

right?

Thursday, June 01, 2006

things that make me smile: part one.

joss stone in a bikini makes me smile.