Proton Saga 2008

I must say that I was pretty inpressed with the design of this car, nice front n back & the 'Honda City-esque' body (the 1.3L limit is a big bummer though) . We shall unltimately see it's reviews soon. RM39K 'only'. Hmm.. what's the catch now :)

It's unfortunate that Proton printed probably thousands of promotional plates saying 'A New SAGA Begin'. Did you guys save a lot by cutting off 1 character at the end? Nah... probably just some idiot who doesn't know proper England. Sheesh. ;)

Way to go with the tagline dudes!

Movie log: The Final Countdown / Evan Almighty

The Final Countdown - 4 stars

+ : Time travel always kicks ass

- : A tad slow & dated







Evan Almighty - 2 1/2 stars

+ : Steve Carrell

- : Predictable

The 2007 BCAs! Movie Edition

The 2007 BCAs! Movie Edition

The 2007 Bry! Choice Awards

After some delay, here are my top 2 movies of 2007! And no, Transformers didn't make the cut.

Movie log: The Outsiders

The Outsiders - 3 stars

+ : Nostalgic feel
What a cast!

- : -

Movie log: American Gangster

American Gangster - 4 1/2 stars

+ : Superb acting/directing/story

- : Where's Joe Pesci? Haha

Thanks Andrea!

Thanks for all your help Andrea! Gonna take a while for me to find a replacement slave!!

KFC's Triple XL Burger

What a farce! Don't order this.

Movie log: Epic Movie

Epic Movie - 2 1/2 stars

+ : Improvement over 'Date Movie'

- : Gets a too dumb after awhile

MPS/LaBodega once more

LaBodega Telawi. An ex-MPS students magnet.

Movie log: The Simpsons Movie / AVP2

The Simpsons Movie - 2 1/2 stars

+ : An easy watch

- : Should've come out years ago






Aliens vs. Predator 2 - 2 stars

+ : 80s cult value

- : Its crap

12 hours at The Curve/Cineleisure/Ikano

Went to watch 'Alvin & The Chipmunks' with the MPS (primary school) gang yesterday and chilled at The Curve/Cineleisure/Ikano for approx 12 hours. Must've been a new record yet! Ever since the 'reunion' few weeks ago, I found it simply AMAZING on how us 'strangers' whom have not seen nor talked to eachother for 14 years could click and hangout so easily. Meeting up again in mid-week for some LaBodega live music action. See ya then peeps!

@Secret Recipe, Curve

Rain rain go away...

Picking seats...

Outside The Apartment

90210 buddy Tania & Std 6 missing man Adzhar

Tammy, my 'former' swimming buddy *wink*

Oh I remember the times Steph and I fought to get good grades in Std. 4...:P

Movie log: National Treasure: Book Of Secrets

National Treasure: Book Of Secrets - 3 1/2 stars

+ : Superb fourth quarter
Fast paced
'Edge of seat' action

- : Too formulatic

Movie log: Alvin & The Chipmunks

Alvin & The Chipmunks - 2 1/2 stars

+ : Cute

- : No Alvin & The Chipmunks' theme song
Chippettes? Hmm..
Predictable

Movie log: Redline

Redline - 1 1/2 stars

+ : The beautiful people

- : European/American supercars...bleh
Almost unknown cast
Lame characters

Movie log: Licence To Wed

Licence To Wed - 3 1/2 stars

+ : Funny
Entertaining

- : (none that I can nitpick)

Movie log: Deliverance / 28 Weeks Later / Balls Of Fury

Starting this year, I wanna try keeping a movie log (with ratings out of 5) online to see how many movies I watch this year. Hmm... Here go the first log entries:


Deliverance - 4 stars

+: Class acting
"Dueling Banjos"
Good storytelling
Shocking

-: 70s film style (now thats not really a minus is it?)





28 Weeks Later - 3 stars

+: Scary
Tight editing
Nice blood and makeup

-: 4th quarter seems a little off




Balls Of Fury - 3 stars


+: Maggie Q
Def Leppard soundtrack
Funny

-: Throw in Adam Sandler or Will Ferrell!





Wah..3 movies in one day...cool.. okok I started Deliverance the day before and completed it after. Heh.

Oh yeah, HAPPY NEW YEAR Y'ALL!

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.