The Nokia Wireless Adventure Was A BLAST!

The Nokia Wireless Adventure is OVER! *Sigh* After much loathing and anxiety, the 'adventure' was super duper fun and exciting! Cardio training came into good use as we had to run and move alot :).

KAKI SAMPAI MATI aka 2 members of 'Team 1'

Checked into JW Marriot, KL on Friday evening and had dinner at Jogoya Restaurant in Starhill. The place was like a maze. Couldn't really find my way the first time around. Food was pretty good (heck, for RM88++ it better be). The oysters were huge, although I didn't have any (yuck). The tiramisu and cheesecakes were fracking yummilicious! Argh. OKOK, that's dessert. The cheese snails and sashimi...ooo yes.. :).

So, during the dinner we were 'introduced' to our celebrity team leader (who Min and I hoped to be Hannah Tan..lol) but turned out to be TV host Aishah Sinclair (hey! no complaints there!) and our media partner who was Sarah Chan from KLue. Our team got along pretty well, no arguments or anything, which was great. Thank God for the two girls as they knew their way arund KL more than we did. Our team 'motto/warcry' was so err...eeeee. I hope they don't show it on TV. Argh. Malunye.. The uber cute Belinda Chee (who was the celeb for another team) remembers me! She even called me by name ~swoon~. =D After dinner, the newly formed TEAM 1, went off somewhere and got started with team strategy ;and had a good nights rest later on ;)

Our humble abode for 3 nights (mine's on the left...yes, i get the remote)

On things that happened on the adventure...WATCHTHESHOWTOFINDOUT~! =P

Capturing the soul of KL

After day 1's greuling activities, we were treated to a 'private' buffet in Westin. Our meals were f***ed up through out the day as we weren't eating so it was alright. :)

Meeting room at The Westin transformed into a posh dining area for participants and organisers

Here are some pics from the adventure!

After Day 1

Some 'joget' action from Day 2

In the middle of Petaling Street figuring out some clues (Min with Rambo cam which looks like it just fired a projectile)

Chinese calligraphy..hmm

Spot Aishah and Soon Min!

My 'cheat meal' of the week

Officially finishing fourth on the 2nd day (Team 1 - Grey)

Thanks to Min for picking lil ol' me to be his partner ;)

Oh yeah, I still have Aishah's umbrella in my car as she left it in our room..umm. No, thats not how it's supposed to sound. =P

Don't wanna spoil the show and tell everyone what happens so watch us on Wednesday, 20 June on 8TV (runs for 3 episodes)!! They better give us a copy of the showwww.

The final night (awards night) was pretty sweet as. Was held at The Third Floor in JW Marriot which was situated on the 3rd floor. Coincidence? I think not. :). Personally, fine dining ain't my cuppa teh tarik. Gimme burger and fries any day ;).

Le Menu

The N95-ed Third Floor

Nokia Boyz

Team 1 all squeeky clean and out of our gear

I swear to God, I didn't know she was married!

=D Belinda Chee and me

Even my ex college mate Wern Shen was a contestant

Chermaine Poo's team

Bry & some of the race marshalls

Kaki Sampai Mati (us) and (Prague winners) Efnalf

The organisers...and a few strays

Conclusion on sponsored value:
Jogoya buffet - RM88++
JW Marriot 3-night stay - RM1000?
Westin private buffet - RM50?
The Third Floor dinner - RM100?
Nokia N95 -RM3199

Estimated total value - RM4450? and TV time :)

not bad...not bad at all. :)

Team 1 on the 'Eye Of Malaysia'. Memories.

Nokia N95 Pros & Cons

After chilling with my new Nokia N95 mobile (hereby christened 'Athena') over the past week, here are what I think the pros and cons are of this RM3,199 phone.

Pros:

• WiFi enabled
• 5 megapixel camera kicks ass
• Music player
• +EAAC music file format (around 1.5MB per song)
• GPS (Global Positioning System)!
  
• light weight
• video editing
• ability to project onto TV
  

Cons:

• battery life sucks ass
• sluggish performance (camera taking reload, opening apps)
• video editing hangs
  
• not enough RAM

Hmm, the pros definitely outweight the cons, but should I sell off Athena now while she's still the hottest new thing around? Decisions decisions.

Salary increase for government servants

From The Star:

Salary increase for government servants from July 1

PUTRAJAYA: Civil servants nationwide cheered as the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced a pay increase and the doubling of cost of living allowances.

Abdullah said the pay rise could be given because of the economic growth of 5.6%, the effect of fuel prices, positive trends of Bursa Malaysia and improved tax collection.

More than one million civil servants and 557,033 pensioners are eligible for the increase.

Abdullah said the salary increase, effective July 1, is also needed to stop the brain drain from the public sector.

Among the things he announced were:

> Salaries to increase between 7.5% for senior management and 35% for category two support staff;

> 100% increase in cost of living allowance (Cola);

> Police and army personnel to get additional 20% on the increase; and

> Pensions will be adjusted accordingly.

--

After my recent 0% 'raise', I think I should contemplate working for the govt.

The Adventure Begins Soon!

From NST:

The Nokia Wireless Adventure in Asia-Pacific will occur simultaneously in six markets with India coming in a bit later. Each market will have its own module to have the public ‘discover’ their own city. “Yes, it’s useful for the traveller as you can load up the map and guides of wherever you’re visiting. But also it allows you to discover your own city on a day-to-day basis. Like, did you ever know there was an Agora Hotel in the middle of KL? Or the many thousands of restaurants you didn’t hear of before?” asked Wong. “It’s only through an actual experience that you can discover what the technology can do for you. That’s how Discover the Soul of KL came about. There’s clue-solving and tasks to complete and all involves the N95, so participants can experience the features of the phone firsthand. “Even if you don’t get to participate, at least you’ll be able to watch it on TV and see how the device is being utilised. We want to educate our consumers and with this two-day event, we want to showcase and highlight these elements,” she added.

The big surprise though, for those who have signed up at wirelessadventure.nokia.com.my is that the final 16, selected after auditions with 8TV, will be given the N95 for keeps instead of just the winners. But that’s no reason to not want to win the race. There’s still the all-expense trip to Rome and also the special prize for Best Video Editing which is a similar trip to Prague —- where you should be sure to pack your N95 as well.

So on May 26, eight pairs of participants will team up with eight journalists and eight celebrities to form, yes, eight teams that will vie in a battle of discovery. Time and quality of completed tasks will decide who gets to Discover Rome/Prague.
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From 1400 applicants, Soon Min and I (hereby known as 'Kaki Sampai Mati') were chosen to be part of the final 16 (after auditions). Daymn! I just hope we get Hannah Tan as our celebrity teammate. Heheh. If there are tasks like jumping off buildings and eating 'shite'. Then I'm screwed. Please don't kill me Soon Min. Besides we already have our RM3000 phones. *grin*

KAKI SAMPAI MATI....!! (BROTHERS 'TIL DEATH)
The pic that got us noticed

The prize for not doing anything yet :)

Because Of You

Want to, but I can’t help it
I love the way it feels,
It’s got me stuck between my fantasy and what is real
I need it when I want it, I want it when I don’t
Tell myself I’ll stop everyday, knowin’ that I won't

I got a problem and I don’t know what to do about it
Even if I did, I don’t know if I would quit but I doubt it
I’m taken by the thought of it, and I know this much is true
Baby, you have become my addiction, I’m so strung out on you
I can barely move but I like it

And it’s all because of you
And it’s all because…
Never get enough,
She’s the sweetest drug

Think of it every second
I can't get nothing done,
Only concern is the next time, I’m gonna get me some
Know I should stay away from, cause it's no good for me
I try and try but my obsession wont let me leave

I got a problem and I don’t know what to do about it
Even if I did, I don’t know if I would quit but I doubt it
I’m taken by the thought of it, and I know this much is true
Baby, you have become my addiction, I’m so strung out on you
I can barely move but I like it

And it’s all because of you (all because of you)
And it’s all because…
Never get enough,
She’s the sweetest drug

Ain’t no doubt, so strung out
Over you, over you, over you

Because of you,
And it’s all because of you,
Never get enough
She’s the sweetest drug, she’s the sweetest drug

Cyanide & Happiness @ Explosm.net

...To Be Loved

Listen up, turn it up and rock it out
party on, I wanna hear you scream and shout
this is real, as real as it gets
I came to get down to get some f**king respect
taking it back to hardcore level
you better be ready, put your pedal to the metal
taking it back to hardcore level
you better be ready, put your pedal to the metal.

Go!

Whoa I'll never give in
Whoa I'll never give up
Whoa I'll never give in
And I just wanna be, wanna be loved
Whoa I'll never give in
Whoa I'll never give up
Whoa I'll never give in
And I just wanna be, wanna be loved

I want domination
I want your submission
I see you’re not resisting
To this temptation
I’ve got one confession
A love deprivation
I’ve got a jet black heart
It’s all f**ked up and it’s falling apart

I’ve got another confession
I fell to temptation
And there is no question
There was some connection
I’ve got to follow my heart
No matter how far
I’ve gotta roll the dice
Never look back and never think twice

Whoa I'll never give in
Whoa I'll never give up
Whoa I'll never give in
And I just wanna be, wanna be loved
Whoa I'll never give in
Whoa I'll never give up
Whoa I'll never give in
And I just wanna be, wanna be loved

Take your past and burn it up and let it go
Carry on; I’m stronger than you’ll ever know
That’s the deal; you get no respect
You’re gonna get yours
You better watch your f**king neck

Whoa I'll never give in
Whoa I'll never give up
Whoa I'll never give in
And I just wanna be, wanna be loved
Whoa I'll never give in
Whoa I'll never give up
Whoa I'll never give in
And I just wanna be, wanna be loved

Anatomy of a Bry Street Freefall

The dramatic drop in Bry stocks began yesterday when sharp declines in the Fashion market triggered a gender equities sell-off. News of a larger-than-expected drop in durable-goods orders heightened skittishness, even before the Female-gender markets opened.

By the end of the day, the Bry Jones industrial average had suffered its largest one-day decline in percentage since 2003, dropping 416.02, or 3.3 percent, to 12,216.24. The sharpest decline occurred shortly before 3 p.m., when the Bry dropped 200 points -- triggered by a fashion glitch that caused a backlog of trades to be calculated at nearly the same time.

In early trading, even as the Bry dropped 100 points, many analysts shrugged off the decline, saying such fluctuations were not surprising and were relatively small, given that the Bry has gained 10,000 points since the Black July crash of 2006.

Analysts and economists said a number of factors contributed to the market's slide. "It starts out with the Female-gender government saying they're going to crack down on speculators," said Mohd. Ashraf Abu Bakar.

Every sector was affected, but among the hardest hit were commodities, which were riding high based on the belief that demand from females would only grow. The materials, energy and technology sectors were also knocked down, while emerging-market companies and riskier small-cap stocks took a hit as investors fled to safer turf, such as bonds.

Some market strategists said they were holding off on buying, seeing a potential for larger drops. Others characterized the retreat as a long-overdue correction and good for a market still fundamentally strong. They said recent increases in oil prices, geopolitical events in Subang and growing concern about the subprime-mortgage market combined to set off the market downturn.

"The trick is for real investors not to overreact," Ian Yap said. "The last thing people want to do in this kind of environment is get off their long-term Brynancial plans."

Hold On To The Nights

Just when I believed I couldn't ever want for more
This ever changing world pushes me through another door
I saw you smile
And my mind could not erase the beauty of you face
Just for awhile
Won't you let me shelter you

Hold on to the nights
Hold on to the memories
I wish that I could give you something more
That I could be yours

How do we explain something that took us by surprise
Promises in vain, love that is real but in disguise
What happens now
Do we break another rule
Let our lovers play the fool
I don't know how
To stop feeling this way

Well, I think that I've been true to everybody else but me
And the way I feel about you makes my heart long to be free
Everytime I look into your eyes, I'm helplessly aware
That the someone I've been searching for is right there

Hold on to the nights

Chloe Begone! Introducing Candice!

I have gotten rid of Brycentral Chloe (the XDAII Mini) and have gone back to the brand I trust. :)

Behold.. Brycentral Candice (Sony Ericsson P910i)
(left; next to the original Brycentral Mobile)

Into The Blue - A Birthday Retreat~4D/3N (+ 1D/1N on bus)

The Redang Lang Resort 'port'

Ooooh.. what a good birthday/island break it was last week at Lang Tengah island in Terengganu. Got a lil' tan, a lil' burned, a lil' fat. Argh. My appetite seemed to have increased since then. I'm hungry even now. Cream crackers and coffee/tea were the compulsary post/pre snorkeling snack. Mmmm.. I can taste the semi soft and soaked crackers now...

Had my first try at snorkeling. I havent really gone on an island vacation before (Penang and Singapore don't count). Lang Tengah was great. The sky and the sea was magnificent. Nothing much to do though, snorkeling was one of the only activities during the day (and jungle trekking which we did not go for). At night, it was either watching Astro, karaoke, the games area (bad pool/foosball table, carrom...).

The bus ride on Wednesday night was pretty alright. Took the Sani Express from the station near Putra Place (not sure on the name). Smooth sailing and a couple of stops along the way. In the morning, Ashraf wanted to intro us to some sweet ass Nasi Dagang for breakfast, but it seemed that we got there a little too early and had to settle for Roti Bakar and Milo O instead. We were later joined by a group of people from Long Adventure (at the airport stop). I guess it's some local organization that go on long adventures. =D. 'Candy Ho Hoi Sum' was the umm.. 'looker' of the group *grin*. Check out www.longadventure.com for more details. ;)

Bry, Ian, Meisu

The Gang w/o Ian

Bry & Meisu

A failed Street Fighter 2 'winning pose' cum sillohuette shot

I could say that I have 'sorta' overcome my fear of being in the deep end (as long as I have a life jacket on me!). Snorkeling is definitely something I wanna do again. Seeing a shark swim by in the open sea was pretty sweet (although I missed a zippy appearance of a turtle). Cut my middle finger on some coral (I blame myself as I was in a rather narrow area of rock and coral). Managed to poke a fish that didn't seem afraid at the Marine Park in Redang. Bloody nice place to snorkel by the way! Countless amounts of fishies everywhere and they don't seem bothered by the snorkeling humans that invade.

Sweet ass lighting, bad male model

Thanks to Geraldine, the six of us (Geri, Ashraf, Soon Min, Ian, Meisu, and myself) had a 'whale of a time' =) 4 CO alums and 2 partners. Heh.

CO Alumni 04/06 *wink*

Wallpaper potential

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Pictures courtesy of Ian. For more pictures, head on to i4n.fotopic.net

Western Bar

I was the happiest kid around when my dad got this for me. Can't remember when though. 1991,1992? I think it was my birthday.

XDA For Sale

XDAII Mini + 1Gb memory card = RM750*

Call 012-6696350 for best price
*will trade for Sony Ericsson P910

Bry sounding like Ah Beng

The Final Punchout

Punching out

....

The gang's all here...almost

The interns

Civilised

Uncicilised

Bry & Lis

2007 finally kicks in

Well, CNY07 is over and 2007 has finally kicked into full gear. *Pants* Gawd, what a horrid week it was last week. Late nights, flu, and missed gym sessions were the only things happening. Thank God that's over.

'The Phantom Of The Opera' preview thingy is done for too. That was pretty much the highlight of the horrible week.

Me & Choo posing by the bunting

Mags & I being 'wine-y'

Me...*pif*

Nads & Me

Lis & Me

PR Bry does his stuff

RAPRs & a Nij

Today is CS' final day after 4 years being a RAPR. *haih* Guess I better step up (eventually I have to anyway) and try to help fill the void in the office. But I'm sure I'll do fine as long as my colleagues are with me ;) Thanks for everything. The talks, the crap, the 'skin me alives' and 'vomit blood' :) They will be missed.

CS & I

Listen To Your Heart

I know theres something in the wake of your smile.
I get a notion from the look in your eyes, yea.
Youve built a love but that love falls apart.
Your little piece of heaven turns too dark.

Listen to your heart
When hes calling for you.
Listen to your heart
Theres nothing else you can do.
I dont know where youre going
And I dont know why,
But listen to your heart
Before you tell him goodbye.

Sometimes you wonder if this fight is worthwhile.
The precious moments are all lost in the tide, yea.
Theyre swept away and nothing is what is seems,
The feeling of belonging to your dreams.

And there are voices
That want to be heard.
So much to mention
But you cant find the words.
The scent of magic,
The beauty thats been
When love was wilder than the wind.

On My Mind

Let's make a date out of the cinema
Then stay out till early in the morning
I always like it cause we take it slow
While everyone around us seems so hurried

It feels familiar, cause I've been here before
When your words
Swept the ground right from under me
Remember when you were so insecure
Now you can't get your hands up off of me

But the time we spent was so short
Can't believe it's time to go again
You're always on my mind, all the time
On my mind, believe it

Can we pick it up where you left off
When you said you'll never get over me
I'll take for granted every roll off your tongue
Cause you're screaming out all your honesty

But the time we spent was so short
Can't believe it's time to go again
You're always on my mind, all the time
On my mind, believe it

Three Things I Found Out In The Last 12 Hours

1. I love red wine.
2. My O2 XDA Mini is a piece of shit.
3. Guns N' Roses' 'Appetite For Destruction' is a kick ass album to blast in the car when you're late to work.
   

The Green Tea Incident

Looks like green tea has other benefits as well. Late December last year (2006), during one of the lazy hazy days at work, catastrophe struck. I spilled almost half a mug of my lukewarm OSK Green Tea on my laptop's (aka Judith). I thought to myself, "Oh shit, this is it...this is goodbye. After almost six years, this is it." Judith froze. The music that was playing was abruptly cut off. I quickly took out the power plug and ejected the battery.

Judith (February 2007)

After attempts of drying/draining her, I still thought she would have been a lost cause. However, after some advice from Kamil and Faizul (who I called). Judith managed to be switched on the following day, although once Windows booted up, the laptop hanged permanently. I gave it another day of drying and finally she worked as well as she did before. :) Question is, did the green tea ingredients save Judith? :)

Thus I now recommend OSK Green Tea for office consumption and Toshiba laptops for optimum durability ;)

My daily drink at work; OSK Green Tea (available in Giant) :)

Brycentral Mobile v2.0

Brycentral Mobile

About a month ago, I accidently shattered my Sony Ericcson P900's screen while playing with parallel bars at a park near Maria's house during her 'tunang-ing' makan. Sigh. After consulting the Sony Ericcson shop, they said it would cost RM695 to repair it. After almost deciding to do it, I changed my mind and got myself a new 'used' phone.

Brycentral Mobile (aka Chloe)

Bought the XDA Mini from Gadgets Junction in Subang Parade a few weeks ago for RM1200 (inclusive of a leather case and 1GB SD card). Pretty good I guess. MeiSu had to haggle with the guy in order for us to get the best condition one there. There were about 20-odd XDA Minis lying around with kinks and dents. Luckily MeiSu was there to save the day. :) I miss my P900. It's still functional albeit the screen. Anyone wanna fork out 700 bucks for a P900?

Nine get to watch Heroes "first"

In The Star newspaper today.


Monday January 29, 2007

Nine get to watch Heroes first

PETALING JAYA: Ahead of its debut on Malaysian television, the Golden Globe-nominated series, Heroes, were shown to a group of lucky students here.

The Saturday preview marked the start of many activities that will be held for tertiary students and Sixth Formers, the target readers of R.AGE, the youth pullout of The Star.

The nine students picked to watch the show were the first batch to enjoy the private screening room at the recently-launched R.AGE @ Star Deck at Menara Star here.

There was a discussion on the show after the screening and the youngsters will now get a chance to write a review of the film, which will be published in the Wednesday edition of R.AGE.

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You people never heard of BitTorrent before? Geez. Newsworthy my ass.

Geographical Melancholy

I frickin' miss Gold Coast, Queensland.

The First Low Down Of '07

I suddenly fell ill mid last week. It wasn't the usual sickness of mine where my nose would be exploding every ten seconds. This time my nose was more or less dry. Struck a high fever, dizzyness, and cough. Geez. What the hell happened? Was sick the following five days. Today is the sixth day. I seem to be fine now. Not 100%, but functional.

Coming back to work today is a little...ok, pretty damn depressing. Why? Let's see.

• missed a whole week of gym
• been trapped in my own home
• missed Becky & Wei Wei's last days at work
• missed the office belated Christmas party

Bloody hell.

First & Last Picture of 2006

1 January 2006

31 December 2006

Highlights of 2K6

• new job
• Cameron Highlands
  
• Singapore
  
• Brisbane
• quarter life crisis

Resolutions for 2K7

• consume less sugary stuff
• sleep by 12am from Sunday to Thursdays
  

A New Year Wish

brianjchong.blogspot.com would like to wish everyone a happy 2007 and many thanks to those who have contributed and made my 2006 a fantastic year which are full of memories and fun (you know who you are).


Now TM, please get broadband up and running again as I cant download my sh*t!

2006 Bry Choice Awards

The 2006 Bry Choice Awards

Best Song (2 Awards)


The All-American Rejects - Dirty Little Secret


Hinder - Lips Of An Angel

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Best Movie (2 Awards)


Click

The Fast And The Furious: Tokyo Drift