2007 Retrospect

2007 highlights:

• Lang Tengah trip
• Nokia N95 Wireless Adventure
• Old hobby revitalised - Instant Classic Photography is born
• MLTR/Good Charlotte live (not related)
• Climbed Bukit Tabur
  
• Facebook
  
• Buying a DSLR
• James & Michelle's Wedding
• Primary School Reunion

2007 facts:

• 4 handphones used - SE P900-->XDAII Mini-->SEP910-->Nokia N95
• Almost destroyed my 6 year old laptop via 'the green tea incident'
• Was on reality television!
• Offered a couple of roles by Red Communications (but I couldn't make it due to work)
• The annihilation of the 'Lifestyle' team at work
  

Thank you Wei Wei

Thanks for the fun times, the hard times, for training me in 'chi mui' ways, helping out at work, and for being a good friend. Once a RAPR always a RAPR. :)

Merry Christmas 2007!

14 years in the making - We're all grown up!

Met up with some primary school friends whom I have not met in the past 14 years! Oh how the women have blossomed, and how the men are well...men. :) Despite fearing for my life before heading up those narrow stairs to La Bodega lounge in Bangsar Baru to meet these people, the reunion was a freaking blast! It was so nice meeting up with old childhood buddies and even those who I wasn't even close to (my 'smart kid-dumb kid' theory *wink* me being the latter). I hope that we do meet up again although some are working either in up north in Penang or down south in the Nu-water land of Singapore. Here's to you MPS peeps! *Cheers*

Can you guess which one of these ladies is my first ever crush..? *wink*

Class of '93 yo!

It was a busy day as I had an appointment with Andrea in the morning and a BBQ after the reunion. *Phew*

Andrea

MS @ the BBQ

For more pics, head on to http://www.flickr.com/brianjchong

The 2007 BCAs! Music Edition

The 2007 Bry! Choice Awards

Music in 2007 has been excellent. From rock, pop, hip hop, and all the way back, music definitely stood out this year. Here are the winners (9 awards):


R&B/Hip-Hop
Umbrella - Rihanna
The Way I Are - Timbaland
Because Of You - NeYo

Pop
The Sweet Escape - Gwen Stefani
Inconsolable - BSB
Gimme More - Britney Spears

Rock
Keep Your Hands Off My Girl - Good Charlotte
Broken Road - 12 Stones
Makes Me Wonder - Maroon 5

Honourable Mention
Bubbly - Colbie Caillat
Before It's Too Late - Goo Goo Dolls
Dance Floor Anthem - Good Charlotte

Anthem of 2007 - Umbrella - Rihanna

--

What's Bry's Choice for Best Movie of 2007? Stay tuned. :)

Wake up and smell the absurdity

After a recent rare visit to Starbucks, MS ordered a medium sized frappucino that cost a whopping RM14.50 before tax. 14.50??! I thought the large version cost about 12 bucks max yo! Since when did Starbucks (or whatever international 'coffee' conglomerate) raise their product prices?? Whislt bitching about the price raise and next year's petrol price increase and consequences, these 2 college looking girls with laptops left the outlet whilst letting the barista know that "Oh we'll be coming back here again tomorrow!". Umm...ok. Where the f*** do people get so much $$ to spend on frigging coffee?!? While I was in Ipoh last week, RM12 is all it took to cover 9 of our Ipoh white coffees from the ORIGINAL store itself! I mean like come on! I think it's time we start to realise just how much money we spend on silly little luxuries like coffee.

This small sized frappucino coffee product that Andrea bought cost RM14.18 after tax. Starbucks calls it 'Tall'.

...where it goes in the end

*Apologies to Y-Von who currently works at Starbucks :)

Off the beaten track

Sigh. 5 straight days of non-work pleasure and free time. Oh what a wonderful time it was. A 2 day trip to Ipoh for dinner with my brother's in-laws, waking up at 9am, then watch some TV and go back to sleep reminded me of good ol' college days. Sigh. But today, I'm back at work. Hmm... I miss my bed already. Am gonna be taking another stretch of leave on Christmas week. Woohoo! Wish I was going somewhere though. Hmm...

Here are some pics from Ipoh.

From Dusk Til' Dawn

Ducks

Persiaran Bijih Timah, 30000, Ipoh

For more pictures, head on to http://www.flickr.com/brianjchong

Narcisism

Photographs

Sunset on my way home on the NPE

Ballon Bleu de Cartier @ Zeta Bar, Hilton KL

Christmas @ The Curve, Damansara

For more do head on to http://www.flickr.com/photos/brianjchong

All photographs were taken with a Nokia N95 (not that fancy 8GB version though)

A 'secret diary' on my day off

What a weird day it was. Am on leave today. Woke up at eleven. Started watching this new British TV show called "Secret Diary of a Call Girl" starring Billie Piper (the former singer) which was recommended to me by Geri (who's most of the time right about TV shows, although I didn't go for 'Desperate Housewives' nor 'Ugly Betty' yet). For those wanting some 'Sex & the City' (and then some), go download it. Parental discretion IS advised =).

After/While watching the three episodes (1 episode = 21 mins), I Facebooked, MSNed, and had Wan Tan Mee breakfast. Was supposed to go to the gym and recce some locations in Glenmarie and USJ but I couldn't as I went to sleep at about 1+ and woke up at 5.30. Crap. Yea, I keep saying I want to hibernate, but I wanted to get some stuff done today! Sigh.

Can't really remember what I dreamt about during my afternoon snooze but there was a scene where I was eating J.Co Donuts downstairs at home as someone bought back a box. Once awakening and the clock read 5.24pm, I got up went down, and there they were. A box of J.Co Donuts. What a weird day it was.

28 days and 4 weeks

Why do we get paid on the 28th of each month?

Hmm.. 28 days = 4 weeks. Hmm.. there are 52 weeks in a year, but if you calculate 4 weeks in a month, it comes up to 48 weeks. Do the missing 4 weeks go missing? Do we work for free on those 4 weeks? Hmm..

The usual answer is that it gets accumulated for our yearly bonuses, be it 1 month, 2 months, 3 months, whatever. But what if you DON'T get a bonus? Hmm.. A question that will be answered this coming Chinese New Year.

I for one have never received a bonus before, so it should be an exciting day. Reminds me of my first paycheck back in late late 1996. :)

*keeping fingers crossed til CNY08*

8 days.

Thats how many day of leave I have to take in December. 2 days shy of 2 weeks. Hmm... can't take em all in a stretch though. What a shame. Plus me and my pals gotta work on the 30th and 31st for some year end party at The Gardens. Sigh. Was plannin' to take the entire week from Christmas eve til next year off.

James' wedding is this weekend. I hope I don't screw up the photographs. This is it. The ultimate test.

Now to plan my 8 days.

My Personality Analysis

Temperament

Flexible

Nothing seems to bother you - you sail through life crisis free. It's not that your life doesn't have its ups and downs, it's just that you handle everything without unnecessary drama and antics. You approach each day fresh, not worrying about yesterday or tomorrow. You are confident that you can handle anything that comes your way and experience has shown that you are absolutely right about this.

Interests

Simple

You are continually pursuing a simpler and less complicated life - you don't allow yourself to fall victim to all of the "should do's" that society continually bombards you with. You are thoughtful about your life choices and think in terms of yourself, others and the world in which we live. You have a great sense that we are part of something much bigger and we must be good to others, if we want others and the world to be good to us.

Amusement

Thoughtful

You are easily stressed out and overwhelmed - you need to take care of yourself first and foremost. Because you tend to be self reflective, you know your limits quite well and must remember to not exceed those limits. When you overwhelm your life with obligations and responsibilities, you tend to shut down and go into yourself even further. Take some time to find your serenity and kick back your feet.

Passion

Physical

You are a cuddle bug - from a warm hug shared with your best friend to steamy sex with your partner, you enjoy every bit of human contact that you can get. You demonstrate your love for others most fluidly through physical one-on-one contact and you feel the most loved when you are being touched. You feel disconnected when you are physically isolated from others. You're a people person and a lover of all things human.

Raiding Cinemas Near You

I Want Schrooms

schroom(s):

An enjoyable drug that makes things hilarious and makes people's faces do crazy things.



--
i want.

Livin' the dream with The Supremes

Yesterday was yet another festive holiday (Deepavali/Diwali) in the country but we had to work for our biggest event this year; 'The Former Ladies of The Supremes' concert in Hilton KL. Call time was 8am but got there a little later. Bah. Work. Public Holiday. Bah!

Little did I know that I would be livin' the dream by the end of the night. :)

Was put in charge of assisting my client Corum Timepieces to keep track of their multi-digit worth of watches on the models assigned for the runway last night. OK, being 'backstage' where the models are at is cool (having done that last year at MIFA). Assign assign assign. Had to get their names one by one and tag the watches accordingly (we're talkin bout RM1.5m worth here). Off they went to the stage and did their stuff. Blah blah, they came back and had a 1 hour break during the performance from The Supremes (former ladies that is..).

It was not 'til the end of the night (the finale) at about 12am, that made the entire day worth it. As soon as the models were done and got back into the room (I had the task of retrieving watches before they leave), it was like mini pandemonium in there and it felt so damn surreal.

*BAM!*topless chick *BAM!*girl taking off her leggings *BAM!*another topless chick *BAM!*another girl who took off her bottom revealing g-string *BAM!*yet another topless chick! *BAM!*girl in front of me surrendering watch with nipple slip. While 'nipple-slipping' I was tapped form behind, I turned around and off goes this hot chinese model saying 'Excuse me could you please help me undo this?' *BAM!* I answered as 'gayly' as I could, 'Sure no problem'. *unhook-unhook* 'Thank you' she replied. *WHAM-BAM-GAWD-DAYMN!* Its not everyday you get a whole group of girls undressing before your very eyes.

I left the room a little dazed and blur wondering if I just imagined all that due to work stress and long hours. I did not.

*sheepish smile*

Down With The Sickness

Went to work even though I had a fever today. After an hour, I couldn't take it so I went to the doc and got an MC. After seeing the doc, Red Communications called me again saying that they're offering me the part of "random buff guy who goes out with a cheating gf". Daymn. only problem is, due to the damn event this Saturday, I won't be able to make the shoot. Sad. So close yet so far.

Another 'random buff guy' call

Red Communications called me again. They need a 'random buff guy' for 3R. They requested for some pictures of myself so I obliged. A few hours later they smsed me asking what my schedule is this weekend. Hmm..

Warholized

BJ "HardKnocks" VS Ivan Drago

THIS ONE'S FOR APOLLO!!

Gotta love the Facebook MMA Fighters application.

Lens War!

Tamron AF 17-50mm f/2.8 SP XR Di II LD Aspherical [IF]

RM1500

VS

RM1590

Sigma AF 24-70mm f/2.8 EX DG macro

"....next year Bry....next year"

An article on annual leave in UK

Most workers - whether part-time or full-time - are legally entitled to 4.8 weeks' paid annual leave. Additional annual leave may be agreed as part of a worker's contract.

A week's leave should allow workers to be away from work for a week - ie it should be the same amount of time as the working week. If a worker does a five-day week, he or she is entitled to 24 days leave. If he or she does a three-day week, the entitlement is 14.4 days leave. Employers can set the times that workers take their leave, for example for a Christmas shutdown. If a worker's employment ends, he or she has a right to be paid for the leave time due and not taken.

The Government plans to increase the annual leave entitlement from 4.8 weeks to 5.6 weeks from 1 April 2009. If you work a five-day week, your holiday entitlement will increase from 24 days to 28 days (pro rata for part-time staff). If you already get 5.6 weeks' leave, your leave entitlement will not change. The Work and Families Act will not create a legal right to have a paid day off on Bank Holidays and this remains a contractual matter.

--

Man, we're being freaking short changed here!! *fumes*

Sweet Slumber and a Yellow Bee

Ahhhhhh.. =)

*stretches*

Finally had a good 8 hours of sleep last night. I feel refreshed!! After months and months of shitty sleep, last night is something to repeat. My damn sleeping disorder must go! I gotta stop forcing myself to keep awake and just hit the sack. Yea, let's hope for a repeat tonight!

Finally finished America's Next Top Model (ANTM) Cycle 7 (i heart CariDee) and started on Grey's Anatomy (Season 4). Good to see that things are still interesting in Seattle Grace Hospital! :) ANTM Cycle 8 here I come!

Sunday was a really hot day and was invited by Adam of Tell magazine to shoot a Volkswagen Beetle in Putrajaya. What a sweet ass car it is. Reminds me of Ian's Cooper for a day.

An exclusive first-look at the VW Beetle gallery
http://www.flickr.com/photos/brianjchong

Something from Sigmund. Freud that is.

Five things are happening in your house at the same time.

1. The telephone is ringing!
2. The baby is crying!
3. Someone's knocking or calling you from the front door!
4. You hung the clothes out to dry and it is beginning to rain!
5. You left the tap on in the kitchen and the water is already overflowing!

In which sequence would you solve these problems?

Write the sequence and check below how your decisions were made.

BUT BE HONEST, THE FINDINGS ARE INTERESTING ......

My Answer:

2

5

4

3

1

Analysis:
Every individual point represents something in your life.
On the list you can see which meaning every point has:
1. Telephone represents Work
2. Baby represents Family
3. Door represents Friends
4. Clothes represent Money
5. Tap represents Love Life

Your chosen sequence determines the priorities in your life.

--

My first priority - Family.
My last Priority - Work.

Now that's a surprise. Haha.

Broken Road

Time, moves slowly while you're gone
I haven't heard your voice in quite some time
But I still see your face
I cannot erase the things you've done
And all the ways you kept me hangin' on

Now your gone
I've moved on
And I don't feel so sorry
Can't you see I'm bleeding
But I won't bleed anymore
I've held on
For so long
But I had to let you go
At the end of our broken road

I know, it hurts to hear the truth
Well maybe
I was never meant to be with you
And I cannot replace
The tears of disgrace
That run for you
Cause running from the truth is what you do

Now your gone
I've moved on
And I don't feel so sorry
Can't you see I'm bleeding
But I won't bleed anymore
I've held on
For so long
But I had to let you go
At the end of our broken road

I've held on
For so long
At the end of our broken road

Post Raya '07

Aih...
Raya holidays are over again. Today should have been a holiday but day 1 of Raya HAD to fall on a stinking Saturday. Crap @$$.

Don't feel like doing anything work related today. My horoscope for the day states: Today, do not commit yourself to doing something if you don't really want to do it. Way to go Aries! Better not tempt the Gods of horology. *snicker*

My 'team' in the office is now down to 2 individuals. How sad. Haih. Like Peyton in One Tree Hill used to say 'Everybody Leaves'. How true it is in this case. When I joined, the team used to number at 5. From seniors of 4 years experience like CS, to even newbies like Alexandra, 'Everybody Leaves'. Depressed days are here again! Whoopee!

Im bored. Can't wait for 5.30 so that I can hit the gym and go home to WWE tonight. HBK is back baby!

Sayonara Alexandra

Another one bites the dust...ah

"I hate going to the doctors"

I've always hated going to the clinic. When I was younger, I hated it due to yucky medicines and the rareness of an injection shot in the arm or ass. As I started working, I hated it because I hated sounding cheap to the doctor by asking him/her to give me an MC.

Been coughing like nobody's business since Friday (6 days ago) and finally decided to go to the doctor's this morning after some persuasion. The doc said that I had a slight fever and some bacteria that is causing my throat to regurgitate.

"Haih" I thought.

Was waiting for the doc to give me the green light for an automatic MC but she didnt say anything.

"Bah!" I thought.

Exited the room and waited for my meds to be ready. Was called up and proceeded to the counter.

"Blablabla after meals..blablabla 2 times a day" said the nurse.

I checked one of the medicines (liquid) and it states 'May Cause Drowsiness'.

"WTF?" I thought. "What if I was driving and dozed off and crashed and died and.." I continued in my head.

"45 ringgit" the nurse interrupted.

"RM45?!?!? What the heck happened to the usual RM30?!?" I continued rambling in my head.

Paid the RM45, walked on home, took a shower, drove to work, and here I am.

"I hate going to the doctors." I state.

A Gorgeous Girl At A Party

You see a gorgeous girl at a party.
You go up to her and say, "I am very
rich. Marry me!"
That's Direct Marketing

You 're at a party with a bunch of
friends and see a gorgeous girl.
One of your friends goes up to her and
pointing at you says, "He's very rich.
Marry him."
That's Advertising

You see a gorgeous girl at a party.
You go up to her and get her telephone
number.
The next day you call and say, "Hi,
I'm very rich. Marry me."
That's Telemarketing

You're at a party and see a gorgeous
girl.
You get up and straighten your tie;
you walk up to her and pour her a
drink.
You open the door for her, pick up her
bag after she drops it, offer her a
ride, and then say, "By the way, I'm
very rich "Will you marry me?"
That's Public Relations

You're at a party and see a gorgeous
girl.
She walks up to you and says, "You are
very rich, I want to marry you."
That's Brand Recognition

You see a gorgeous girl at a party.
You go up to her and say, "I'm rich.
Marry me"
She gives you a nice hard slap on your
face.
That's Customer Feedback

On Screen Bry

Two Sunday's ago, I helped Milk film a short demo trailer for his ambitious project "Post 2020" (i think) at Linus' house where he rented equipment like lights, a fan, and even a big greenscreen thingy. Haven't been on camera with Milk since the 'almost' award winning "The Defiled" at the MVAs which was like....3 years ago i think?

Filming in front of a greenscreen was fun. This must have been how Hayden Christensen felt while filming Star Wars II & III. I play a futuristic Malaysian cop who dodges bullets, walks atop a futuristic train, etc. Pretty short shoot for a trailer though. Hmm.. I wonder how it'll turn out, but knowing Milk, I'm sure the effects he puts in will kick ass.

Atop a speeding train

After making aquaintance with one of Linus' pals Sham, he asked if I could be an extra in HIS short film which was to be shot the following Saturday. I said "Sure". :)

Fast foward 1 week, I am handed the responsibility to portray a rich horny dude that tries to rape the protagonist's wife. Sweet. LOL. The camera equipment costs about RM100k. Daymn. The show is supposed to be submitted to Astro Kirana so I hope it gets green lit! :)

Mr. DOP (Director Of Photography) Linus Chung and brother Aaron

Will update with more pics from Sham's shoot later tonite or something. None of me in action though, as we needed to be quiet on set :).

The following Monday (2 days ago) someone from Red Communications (a local production house that did 'Gol & Gincu' & 'Realiti') called me whilst I was changing in the gym's locker room asking if I was free the next day between 12pm-6pm for a shoot as they needed a random buff guy for a drama (someone from Sham's shoot recommended me). I was like.."I ain't buff" =S. I couldn't make the date anyways as I have a day job. It felt good that someone from a company like that called though. *grin* I can't act for nuts but it does seem fun.

Another Burnout?

Came in to work as usual this morning and did the usual morning stuff like having brekkie with the gang, checking emails, etc. Felt like just another day when I was suddenly overcome by 'depression'. This sucks. What the hell triggered it?? Friday is supposed to be the grandest work day of the week! Could it be another burnout? I think I need a long vacation. NOW. =(

October Is Breast Cancer Awareness Month!

Life & Sundays

I don't know why I push myself so hard sometimes. I don't rest enough, I try to fill my daily schedule with as much activity as possible, and I worry over meager things at work (which I am doing right now). I hate Sundays because that means tomorrow is Monday. Sigh.

Took the day off last Friday and spent a few hours in Malacca for a short retreat. Twas a bloody hot day, but it was a very good and relaxing one.

Christ Church Melaka

Night market at Jonker Street

I don't want to worry over stupid plans and reports at work anymore. Especially 'certain ones'. I've realised that I am someone who really loathes 'plans', especially planning them. However, executing is not a problem. Sigh.

Life shouldn't be all about work work work and stress. It should be about living life to the full. So what am I doing? Do I need a change again? What is my passion? Whata do I want to do for the rest of my life? What makes me happy? My life seems to revolve around work, gym, and repeat.
Even gym is becoming a slight hindrance. Sigh.

I know some answers to that, but will it stay that way in the long run? I love taking photographs and am learning as much as I can. I have a long way to go but am loving every minute of it. Haven't even had enough time to write something in the Chronicles recently. Most of my time online the past week is spent on Facebook, Flickr, and America's Next Top Model (brilliant :)).

Met up with an old aquzintance recently and managed to get her to 'sign on' as Brytography's next top model. LOL. Esther was so easy to work with. We had a tiring but satisfying day out shooting at Bukit Jalil park. So many spots to see, so much to do. Didn't manage to finish the shoot proper due to time. That 11am sun is a killer.

An exclusive first look at Esther only at The Chronicles Of Bry

Head on to http://www.flickr.com/photos/brianjchong to see pictures from my Malacca visit and photoshoot of Esther on Saturday morning (which should be up soon).

San Fran 3rd Shot!

Another meeting at Menara Citibank heralded yet another visit to San Fran Coffee (3 in 3 days). wOOt. Had the Mocha this time. :)

These 'Sausage McMuffin' lookalike thingies look yummy. Hmmm...

San Fran Double Shot

Yesterday evening during a day out with Cherry and Lisa (it's work ok..), we ended the day with a visit to Lot 10's San Francisco Coffee. Hmm..can't recall when's the last time I set foot in SFC. While ordering our drinks, Lis pointed out one of their new fruity drinks, namely 'Berry Bryz'. Heh. Had to order it and have a go at my nicksake drink. Not surprisingly, it was good and lives up to its name. *wink*

This morning while waiting for my colleagues and bosses to arrive at a meeting in Menara Citibank, I patronized the SFC there and had a 'Coffee of the day'. Hmm.. That's two visits within 24 hours. Hmm.. I wonder if it was some mind trick that made me go there again, or maybe it was just convenient. Hmm..

In other news, 7-11 is now serving Fergie juice.

D to the E to the LICIOUS *Fergalicious*

Nubeo makes a Splash! debut

Newbies Nubeo timepieces have made their way to Malaysian shores. Ranging from Rm16k to over RM100+++, these watches look pretty damn good (not that my other fav. luxury watch brand doesnt ;)).

Gotta love that camouflage BlackJellyfish watch

Making their splishy splashy debut at Splash Poolside in Westin KL, I personally enjoyed the event which featured bikini clad models and *ahem* a very nice opening gambit (with wet models and all *wink*). Inspired by the models flair and presence, Lisa and I decided to model our watches as well.

Bry wears a Fossil BigTic timepiece with steel bracelet. Lisa has on a ladies Guess Steel timepiece

The founder of the brand, Ivan Castro is a really cool dude who was very accommodating and appreciative. No airs on this guy at all. His assitant, Malcolm was also very nice and shared a common interest with me, which is photography. He carries a Nikon D70 but has a D2X at home in Switzerland. Sigh. Will be looking forward to see this brand grow locally soon!

Ivan, Bry, & Malcolm