Update 1.1

Hey Guys, I just came back from Penang yesterday. I've already brought some of my things here to KL like my files, books, stationary, extra t-shirts and etc. I'm actually in the computer lab right now. I WAS supposed to have an 8 o'clock class but then there was a completely ridiculous overhaul in our timetable which apparently happened just last night, and obviously I wasn't aware of it. So, for the moment, I have no idea what to do except to wait until I get my hands on the new timetable. I hope there are no major changes coz I kinda liked the old schedule.

On another note, I finished the book 'Flowers for Algernon'. It's a good book. With a sad ending. So i'm planning to read the recently released Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows soon, which by the way I got at Tesco Ampang on the release date for 69.90 while the major bookstores were selling it 40 ringgit more expensive. When I got there that day with Sophia and Radie, we saw like this big shelf stocked with the said books. There were a few of the staff surrounding the shelf. The weird thing was that there was no one in sight grabbing the books. So, Sophia and I were like "Are we allowed to buy them?" Yeah, it was pretty unusual coz I had images of all the books being sold out or people queuing up in endless lines just to rest their hands on the book. But there were none, nada, elek. No one was even looking at the damn thing. Sad case.

Anyway, i've got some more assignments rolling in and i'd better start to work on then already. Currently, I have to do some reading up on 'ceramics' for my Building Materials class. I know I haven't been studying for about 6 months and it's gonna take a while for me to get into the studious mode again. But now having gotten most of my stationary and books, I can probably start to organise my lecture notes and information and start jotting down details and notes. The only thing which really bugs me is the fact that I have to learn how to sketch. I'm not good in sketching but in this course, it is almost mandatory do have some form of drawing skills since sometimes, we have to do on-site sketches which is a little daunting but hopefully, i'll be able to succeed.

PS: I've officially gotten exempted for the Moral Ed. and English 1 classes which rocks! Yay! No more Moral! WOOT!

*Coming Up Next: The Islamic Museum trip & Orientation Night.

Update 1.0

Okay, so this week, assignments are in. Tension is increasing. And the need to fork out more money for my shopping my art supplies is imminent. The malls here have unleashed a SALE-ZILLA where discounts and promotions are ample but that doesn't have anything to do with academia, so forget what I said. Nevertheless, everything is going well. Except i've got to learn on my own to sketch coz i'm not a good artist. We will undoubtedly have on-site sketching, so i've got to buckle up and face it head-on. Our first site visit is coming up this Thursday and we're gonna go to the National Islamic Museum (I have no idea where that is).

Oh i've taken a few photos of my friends and I and here they are:

~ L-R: Jonathan, Radiah, Sophia & Felicia


~ Jon, Radie & me

That's all I have for now, there's more to come. So, the Harry Potter book is out. Thank heavens I didn't not pre-order it at any of the bookshops. Instead, i bought it in Tesco where they purposely marked down the price about 40 ringgit cheaper than the selling price in the other bookstores. So I got mine for only 70 ringgit which is great. I'm letting Jayme read it first. I've got to finish another book first anyway.

Apart from that, i'm gonna be coming back on Saturday and will only be staying for one night in Penang. My only intention is to get a couple of things to KL like some of the stationary which I left at home. And also to renew my driving license which expires TODAY!!! I'll be switching to the competant license dee. But I think i'll still leave my 'P' sticker on the car...for fun.

Okay guys, I need a little advice here. For my upcoming 'Celebrity-Themed Orientation Night', what or who should I dress up as? Remember, the theme is celebrity. Or should I just not dress up at all and just go in a t-shirt and jeans? Any suggestions?

I'm a smoker...

A second hand smoker that is. Like about nearly 40% of the students here suck on that cancer stick everyday. Especially in the courtyard which is kinda like the outdoor food court. I would try to stay as far away from Mr/Ms Cigarette McSmokey because cigarette smoke smells really bad. Usually I try to eat indoors and try to stay in the air-conditoned areas which prohibit smoking. But at the end of the day, my clothes still smell kinda smokey. I wish they'd just quit already!

I guess most of the KL students pick up this habit from being frequently exposed to the media and the smoking culture. Some are also under the impression that smoking is "cool". Well, i'm here to tell you future-lung-cancer-patients that it's the complete opposite of cool. It's nasty. So if you wanna take a drag on that fucking foul, tar-containing, teeth-yellowing, carbon monoxide-producing, heart disease and emphesema causing stick of ciga-yuck, please go do it in an enclosed room so that you can breathe in all of that smokey goodness you love to expose your alveoli to. Either that, or you can take that little friend of yours and shove it up your little %*^$#%*&!!!!!

*cool down*

Okay, i've calmed down... So today I went to one-utama (i've finally found KL people who can drive, YAY!) to check out this textbook which we're inclined to buy. It costs like one hundred and eighty freaking ringgit! That's insane!!! But it's like a must have book coz we're probably gonna be using it for the next 2 years. Plus, we've got to get some art and design paraphernalia which are required by students. That equals to a very very VERY expensive course. As if the college fees weren't enough, now we have to get reference books and art supplies and computer softwares and thing-a-ma-bobs and whatchamacallits...it's just really alarming! My coursemates made calculations and told me that we're actually paying like 36 ringgit per hour for the lessons! Ka-CHING!!!

Anyway, we cruised around KL-town to locate art supply shops and book stores just to check out and compare prices. Everything seems really expensive. Although, I think I might have some of the required stuff, but it's back home in Penang. So I think I really gotta go home and get all those things to KL.

Oh, and by the way, I have a semester break from the 20th till the 26th of August. I know, I know, it hasn't even been 2 months and i'm having a break dee. I thought about it that way too.



+ My New YouTube Obsession

I was YouTubing a couple of days ago and I came across this rad YouTube video series network entitled the 'Thread Bangers' which is hosted by a girl-guy duo. It's basically a series about D.I.Y. fashion and all things hand-made for both guys and girls. It features how-to segments and ideas and projects which can be done at home. Some projects involve sprucing up your old clothing pieces by adding embelishments or even literally ripping them apart to create something completely new! I thought it was freakin' awesome! And kinda inspirational too. Makes me wanna do things! Here are some sample videos from the series...check it out!:







*Coming Up Next: Photos...

Pictures as Promised

So, as promised...here are the pictures to show you the place i'm currently living in. I'm staying in the Mentari Court hostel which is just directly next to the college building. Keep in mind that it's a hostel...so, expectations shouldn't be high.

~ the external view of Mentari Court


~ the living room / dining area


~ the kitchen and bathroom (at the back)


~ my room: view 1


~ my room: view 2 (i've already gotten a bedside table from my sis *Thanks Jay!*)

So that's pretty much it. Not much, but i'll live. And here's a shot of how the college building looks like:

~ that's only one block of the building. Taylor's doesn't occupy the whole building.

Maybe next time i'll take a few pictures of the class rooms and campus area. But for now, this is all i've got.

Moving on, the other day while awaiting my parents and sister to arrive at the Seremban Parade Mall, I decided to have some ice-cream at McD. I had the Blue Sundae dessert. The ice cream was plain vanilla, but frankly, the blue gooey syrup tasted like a cross between cough medicine and mint mouthwash. But I was kinda hungry, so I finished it. It's just...who the hell sells medicine flavoured ice-cream? It's just bad. It may look tantilizing, but don't be fooled.

Review: Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix & Die Hard 4.0

*Updated!!!

I travelled to Seremban for Friday and Saturday to spend time with my sis and parents who were in town. But we travelled to KL on Saturday coz there's nothing much to do in Serenban. Again we visited the usual shopping malls, KLCC and 1 utama (in KL). Not much to shop nowadays. Nothing I really really want. So that's a recap of what i've been up to. Let's proceed with the reviews shall we?

+ Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix

As with most of the Harry Potter series, the book's always better. That's because most of the stuff featured in the book almost never makes it's way into the movie. But i'm not saying, you shouldn't watch it. The graphics in this series continually to improve with each installment. There's a lot more use of magic in this film especially in the major-magic-mania-fight scene near the end which looks really cool. Oh, and watching the movie also helps you see a clearer picture of things which are hard to imagine in the book.

So, if you're an ardent Harry Potter fan and you've read the books and watched all the films up till now, then definitely go watch it. And even if you're not such a huge fan, still go for it coz it's a pretty good movie to catch. But if you've never read the book, then you might get a little lost since in this movie, there's a lot going on at the same time. And by the way, the characters look all grown up now.

Meanwhile, you can enjoy this parody of Harry Potter which stars Lindsay Lohan!:



+ Live Free or Die Hard a.k.a. Die Hard 4.0

If you haven't seen any of the first three movies like me...don't worry, you won't get lost. The plot for each movie is different. It's only the concept and the main character which remains the same I guess. I would highly advise you to watch this movie though. It's seriously an action-packed film with almost ongoing explosions and car chase scenes and gun shoot-outs and fist fighting action and...well you get the picture. It'll put you on the edge of your seat! Bruce Willis's still as good an action star. I loved the car chases and helicopter explosions and...all of it! Thus, if you love action flicks, then go watch it. This movie IS the definition of ACTION.

Orientation Ends...

Orientation is finally over. It was capped off by today's walking tour to Central Market and Petaling Street, both of which I previously know not of their existence. So I took the KTM and LRT to reach Central Market at 10 in the morning. I had to ask someone for directions just to make sure I was going in the right direction. Okay, the reason we were there was just to have a stroll around the area, soak in the variety of architecture, culture and life AND also to do a project. We were divided into groups and had to create a collage of the sites we visited. My team chose to do one of Petaling Street. So we were off...collecting materials, brochures, and snapping photos of the sights and scenes.

Petaling Street is Chinatown. But not a very grand one and it's not as well preserved as those i've been in other places. Throw in the humidity and the heat and you have a recipe for an icky-sticky adventure. But it wasn't all that uncomfortable. At least now I know how Petaling Street looks like.

Here are some of the snapshots I managed:

~ the archway at the entrance


~ the roofed area of Petaling Street


~ okay in this picture there is a man (in the red box) who was lying on the street with blood apparent on his mouth. But I think he's still alive. There were onlookers and the policeman was making a report. I took this shot quietly.


~ I like this picture I took of these Heliconias


~ the 5-feet walkway outside some shops


~ our group of 5 featuring 2 seniors who guided us, posing with our finished product

Okay, so our group didn't win anything for our project. Maybe it's coz we really rushed it and we didn't have a well planned-out theme. But at least it showed me how the people in the group co-operated and interacted with each other.

So that is the end of my orientation at Taylor's. There is an orientation dinner coming up and it's themed "Celebrity" o_O I guess i'll be attending it since I can get to eat dinner on that day...oh, and it's FREE. But then...who the hell am I supposed to dress up as?!?!

And F.Y.I. : my feet and butt are really really sore now. I walked so much today. After the Petaling Street visit, I went to KLCC to hang out with 2 friends and walked even more. My feet are about to fall off any moment now. Plus, I fell on my ka-booty a few times during the orientation games on Tuesday (which were enjoyable by the way).

*Coming Up Next: The New Harry Potter Film Review (Yes, i've already watched it...)

The hostel, the college and the people.

Let's see, I was supposed to edit a short clip of my move from Penang to KL coz I took some pictures and some video clips using my camera but the problem is that Movie Maker can't read the .MOV files created by my camera. So I guess it's back to just posting of regular pictures. But if you happen to know a specific codec or some software which allows me to convert .MOV files to .AVI, let me know. And it must be Vista-compatible too....I hate Windows.

So, my journey here was pretty uneventful. My dad drove me down and I got registered. Then they showed me to my hostel which i'm gonna be staying at for at least one year (due to the contract). It's been 3 days and here's what i've got to say so far:

+The Hostel
I'm staying at the Mentari Court hostel. Well...it's actually not a hostel per se. From what I know, the college had some arrangements made to rent out some of the flat units specifically to the students. The hostel is directly next to the college itself, so I can get there really fast. The rent is expensive though: Rm500. But it's got some facilities like a playground and a swimming pool. There are ample food stores around, especially the mamak stalls and indian food stalls. And there are sundry shops...plus, the Sunway Pyramid mall is approximately a 15 minute walk away. If I want to go to Seremban to visit my sister or to go to KL town, then there is the KTM which I could use. It's quite nearby, although I haven't exactly been there yet.

+My Unit & My Room
The unit i'm staying in is on the 9th floor. There are 3 rooms: 2 single rooms and a twin-sharing room which are all air-conditioned. I'm in the single room. There is a dining/sitting/common room, a small kitchen, a tiny bathroom and a minuscule washing area. But the good thing about this place is that I think there is a washer person who comes by to clean up the place (except the bedrooms) so the bathroom and common area is pretty clean. The kitchen is not as equipped as I hoped it would be. But at least it has a stove. Yesterday, my parents, sister and I went to IKEA and I managed to get a few things, so it's all good. My room is...okay, I guess. It's just slightly smaller than my room in Penang. But it looks about the same since my room in Penang is cluttered up with junk. Anyways, my room has the essential furniture: bed, table and wardrobe. And I bought a clothes stand thingy and i'm hoping to get a bedside table soon.

+The College
Taylors college isn't like INTI coz the building does not only comprise of the college. Classrooms and lecture rooms are scattered around on different floors in a H-shaped building (from an aerial view). There are also stores and food outlets in the building as well as other companies.

+The Orientation
It's not over yet. Yup, it takes up like 4 days including last Friday, today, tomorrow and Wednesday. I won't be getting my timetable until Wednesday. The orientation on Friday was alright. There were the inevitable talks and lectures on how to be a good student. Then we were given a tour of the campus by the seniors. A photography session and finally an ice-breaking attempt by the seniors via team games. Today, we had another lecture and were given a tour of the Library. And while i'm on that, the Library is on the 10th freaking floor. The orientation continues tomorrow and the day after that and i'm expecting a whole lot more mundane lectures on do's and don'ts and plentiful of awkward introduction sessions. Just great...


+The People
So far i've only met 2 of my housemates. The third one's not checked in yet. And I haven't actually got to know them yet coz they're out all the time and i've got my orientation. My coursemates come from a variety of backgrounds. There are people from all over Malaysia and also foreigners. Some as far as Africa. Apparently, there's this person from Tanzania who's a fashion designer o.O I haven't gotten myself into any specific group yet, but as soon as class starts, I reckon i'll probably start to get myself into one. Hopefully people from KL, so they know their way around....even better someone who drives in KL!

Goodbye My Friends

Today's my last day here in Penang. As of tomorrow, i'll embark on the next phase of my student life. I'll be heading down to Kuala Lumpur in the morning and will get registered in Taylor's School of Architecture. Wish me luck! I guess this will probably be my last post from Penang for now. I will resume posting again as soon as I get settled down there. I still have lotsa packing to do. So, I would like to say goodbye to my friends in Penang, but don't worry, i'll still return during the holidays and breaks and we can hang out then!

I originally wanted to put up some of my favourite photos of my friends in Penang, but there were too many to upload...so I thought why not try a video?

Enjoy!



I hope you like the video. It was something I whipped up at the last minute.

Goodbye Guys!

PS: Packing is harder than I thought. I think i'm gonna go into an insanity streak soon. Save me!

Review: Transformers & Surf's Up

So i've been going out like everyday for the past week. I've dined out a lot and hung out with the people...the nice people that is. I've watched two movies since my last update and in this post, i'm going to review those movies!

+Transformers

Okay, I have to admit that I did not have high hopes for this particular movie. Hell, I wasn't even sure whether I wanted to watch it. I was supposed to watch Fantastic 4 with Jeffery that day but we ended up watching Transformers since the screening for Fantastic 4 was not in good timing. I ain't a huge Transformers fan but this movie is capable of making me into a Transformers Obsessed Fanatic! Infact, while driving home, I was hoping my car would start to transform in to one of them Transformers robots! Yes, it's THAT great! How could it not be since each frame of the Computer Generated Imagery takes a whopping 38 hours to make and edit! WOW! The graphics, especially when the Transformers morph, is seriously, and I mean seriously THE BEST DAMN THING i've seen. I was like "HOLY CRAP!!!" The actors, Shia LeBeouf, Josh Duhamel, Megan Fox, Tyrese and etc. played their roles well.


So if you haven't watched the movie....WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU STILL DOING HERE!?!? Move that BUTT of yours and get into a seat for the very next screening of Transformers in a cinema near you! GO, I MEAN IT!!! I declare it the BEST movie i've seen this year, so far. It'll be worth every penny you pay for it! Good work Michael Bay!


+Surf's Up


Okay, I had even lower hopes for this movie. Well because the whole penguin thing is getting a little old...for me anyways. And again, I wasn't actually planning to catch this flick in the first place but as it turns out, the movie Zhi Xiang, Kah Whai and I originally planned to watch (Live Free or Die Hard) did not have any screening time. God, what's up with me and bad timing!?!? I swear, the next time i'm so checking out the screening times before I go there.


Anyways, the movie was not extremely impressive. The animation/graphics was pretty deft. The waves on the shores look extremely genuine and the facial expressions of the penguins were good enough to convey emotions. The story line was a little predictable though. But what sets this animated movie apart from others is the fact that the entire movie is brought to you in the form of a TV interview/on-going commentary, as if you were watching a live surfing competition. That makes it more refreshing. It's got some pretty good humour in it and not those typical slap-stick jokes. It's an okay film to watch but if you missed it, it wouldn't be the end of the world.

Coming Up Next: Goodbye My Friends