"A great Jedi Master is leaving..."

... sad la...

"Miami Part 2"

Went to Miami Beach Penang again, this time with the proper camera... But it was hardly as peaceful as last time:

Waves coming one after another, high up the beach...

Slamming the rocks real hard!


But still managed to get some poses out......... :P

Cloudy day...

"My first case"

Remember back here,
http://jediwalker-leopard.blogspot.com/2007/10/very-productive-weekend.html

I mentioned that I was missing a whole 9 pieces of the latest Star Wars figures? Well, my good fellow SW collector, Ken went thru his contact list and found me one...

ONE CASE.

Whoa... a case is how the figures actually arrive to stores. Ken & co are hardcore SW collectors. They don't go hunting. They MAKE SURE they get all their stuff!

Lets see what we have here :P



Ordering a case by itself is the highest guarantee that you get what you want. The cost is *slightly* below retail suggested price (RSP). This case cost RM405, coming up to about RM33.75 per figure (compared to RSP of RM33.90). Yeah, jz tat few cents!


Ok, it's Wave 5 Revision 1

We have...

C-3PO & Salacious Crumb, Yoda & Kybuck, Roron Corobb

Anakin Skywalker, Darth Revan, Darth Malak

Pre-Cyborg Grievous, Hermi Odle, Concept Starkiller Hero

So what's left in the case? Actually, some lame repeats like

Death Star Trooper, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Concept Darth Vader

Damn lame man... I'm trying to sell these off in eBay with no luck so far.. That's the problem with buying in cases! (I have a suspicion that my case has been tampered with, the Wave5 Revision 1 that I saw in US sites have Stormtroopers instead of Obi-I-got-so-damn-many-Wan!)

Ken also helped me complete my set (and help himself get rid of excess stock!) by selling me these:

Concept Stormtrooper, M'iiyoom Onith and an old '06 Clone Sergeant!

Anyway, here's the status update on the Coin Album so far!

#1-#42 ! :D:D:D:D:D:D:D

There are 60 figures in this year's 30th Anniversary Collection. Not very far now!

Hopefully this will be the first time I complete the entire set! ('05 Revenge of the Sith was closest, I had 64/68! '06 one was pretty poor, I missed out more than 1/3)

Ok, these were actually last month's stock. What's for this month? :D

"Aiya...."

... didn't get promoted lagi... :-S

"Oh, what a pity!"

The past few days I had turned 'part-time' full vegetarian becoz of the Nine Emperor Gods festival in Penang. During this time, there are so many roadside stalls set up selling vegetarian meals. These stalls are very distinctive, using yellow as the main color. As usual, each time I saw it, I know a year has passed... haha.. Strangely, this is the first time I'm actually making a point to try. And I'm so glad I did!

After surveying the stalls (they were all over on both sides of the road), I noticed this particular one with an extraordinary amount of people.. should be good! And it sure was! Wow, don't let the number of people discourage you; the vegetable curry (the one usually served in temples, with cabbage, long beans, brinjal and 'tau-pok') was like totally out of this world!! It was so good, I went there for lunch and dinner for 4 days straight (yes, the Raya holidays... :P) Damn addictive, dunno got put what drugs inside... haha...

Today was the last day, I got a little caught up in work... by the time I reach there, all finish dy... sighhhhhh.... what a pity!

"There's also a Miami beach in Penang..."

... and it's at Batu Feringghi. Not exactly the nicest of beaches, but at least you won't have to hike 1 hour to get to it... just park by the roadside and walk there! :P

Found myself a nice spot, away from the crowd....




Some nice rock formations...

At 1pm it's pretty hot, though the water is pleasantly cooling :)

Photos taken using my handy V3i. But due to its poor quality, I had to use a photo editor to adjust the lighting and sharpness... *sigh* Miss my camera.......


Finally a 'syok-sendiri' picture!

Damn, it's lonely here................................

"Solitude..."

Ok, we've finally reached the long Raya holidays. But this year is unique. Not only am I not going back to Melaka (omg, i'm gonna miss all those rendang, ketupat!) but I am absolutely ALONE in Penang. Alone. Interesting. Raya is one of the occassions where we usually have our get-togethers, catching up on stories, gossips(!) and basically having fun. Can there be fun now that I am alone?? Maybe. It does get lonesome. But I am happy for once, in a long while, I have time to gather my thoughts and reflect on my life.

Much has happened in the years that I have been in Penang. A few of life's turning points happened during this time. Some happy, some sad. The one that had the most impact to me would be my father's passing in Nov 03. Although we could see it coming (he was diagnosed with cancer), we- I - stoicly refused to believe it. When it finally came, my sheltered life shattered. No more a boy. No where to hide. It was time to face life's harshest lessons. It was at this time that I was 'formally' introduced to Buddhism.



I remember receiving that fateful call on Sunday afternoon and rushing back to Melaka. We didn't sleep that night. There were other visitors in my home that I have not met before. My mother asked me to sit by the bedside. Everyone was chanting, "Amitofuo, Amitofuo, Amitofuo...". It is believed that sincere chanting of Amitofuo (or Amitabha) by a person at the moment of his death, would invoke one of the vows of the Buddha Amitabha, whence Amitabha would bring the person to the Land of Pure Bliss (something equivalent to a heaven), where one could be free to pursue enlightenment.

Such concepts were not familiar to me at that time but I chanted nonetheless. Early the next morning, my father breathed his last. The funeral was a 'Buddhist' funeral. I'm not an expert in such things, but we observed a vegetarian diet and so were the praying offerings as well. It was a simple yet beautiful funeral; no effigies were placed, only the yellow and red cloth and flowers. Sometimes when you see in the movies, they put the 'patung-patung' makes it look spooky, so I was glad it didn't turn out that way!



Such events force a person to look at things in a different way. It took another turning point 2 years later before my life was shaken upside down! It was April 05. I had been working for 2 years then. Boss (at that time) was telling me he'd submitted me for promotion. About time I say! I have been working my ass off for this project. Time to get what I deserve! They owe me man... I'm the man of the moment! Flattering talks had inflated my ego even more. When the names were announced, did I miss it? I didn't hear my name....

...

...

No... My name wasn't called...

...

How could it be? He promised!! My life came crashing down. It was so unfair! How could this happen? I am the best! I solved this problem! Me! Me!! ME!!! My anger simmered silently for 2 weeks. The manager did not even pick up the courage to tell me personally. Our eventual confrontation was devastating... He put up all sorts of words to placate and justify the situation. My ego was hurt. And the mind puts even more confusing and dark thoughts in my head. From a simple thing like promotion, it got worse. I often found myself idling in the office, going home early. At home, I just sat there. Staring at blank space. Inevitably, depression followed. By that time, I had lost all interest in the things I liked to do. There was only one thing on my mind... "why bother.... why try... after all, IT'S NO USE". Weeks turned into months and it got really bad. I was totally unmotivated to do ANYTHING. Really. Just felt like giving up.



Then, one of my close colleague left the office. Maybe it was the glowing words that was said about her during the farewell lunch. Maybe it was some divine help. I looked at her. I wanted to be like that. When I left office, I wanted people to shower me with praises too. And I wasn't going to get it whining all day! In that one instance, my mindset has changed. It's amazing to note how the mind affects our well-being. You *can* be sick just by thinking about it! The sun shone brighter than ever that day. And my spirits soared. I know what I have to do now! That promotion came the few months after that. The anger vanished almost instantly. And I now look back at it, amused how a simple event rids my heart of that heavy negative feeling. But there was one more lesson to be had till we reach today...

In the months and years to follow, I find myself trying to adopt a more positive outlook on life. Yet something was still missing. There is an emptiness that I cannot describe. It's like "what the heck am I doing with my life?? Am I supposed to just continue this life till it ends? What is my purpose?" This time, it didn't start with any significant event. One fine day I was just picking up this book. Buddhism for Dummies. Followed by Life of Buddha. And now I have the book, Awakening the Buddha Within. There are many things I still have not understood, but I have gained a wonderful treasure. I have taken the first step to learning Buddhism. The first step. The saying, "The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step"... now I *really* know what it means!



My frens, how much more negativity do we still want to project? Our journey here is like a flash of lightning. It will pass. With that realization, and a more focused purpose in life, I look forward to each day, each moment, with anticipation. The energy of the rising sun. The calm of the sunset. The soothing sound of sea waves. The peace of silence. I look forward to their beauty. Wake up. Go out. Open the window. See the break of dawn. It sets your spirits soaring. Breathe in. Feel the air flowing into your lungs. This is the wonder of life!

I want to share this beautiful feeling with you. It doesn't matter if you don't believe in Buddhism. It doesn't matter if your think your life is in shambles at the moment. Be mindful. Spread the joy of living. The joy of being one with the universe!

"TGI Friday's"

It's ...



Just RM39.90++ eh... Oookay...

Buffalo Wings... yummy................:P

Whitefish... ok only....

salmon~! Superb!

Smoothies...............:)

Promoting their 3 course meal, only RM39.90!!

Trying to be artistic

Check out the nunchakus!

It's her birthday!

Mud cake~~~~~~~~~~~

Look at the hot fudge............. (drooling)

and finally...


.....


.....





*fainted....*

"A photography lesson"

Night shots are particularly tricky to take due to the poor lighting condition. If not careful, the images usually turn out shaky, too dark, or with color that doesn't reflect the actual scenery.

Now, I'm beginning to take notice of some settings in my camera... yeah, after so long! :P

First, lets look at the shot below.



What do you think? Nice? I quite like it. This was shot using 'P mode', ISO set to 400, on a makeshift tripod (aka, I just put it on timer, on top of my car la...). The rest are set to Auto/Default.

Actually, if you look closely, you'll notice the noisy grain on the picture. Well, I looked up why this was so. Turns out,

"ISO is the number indicating a digital camera sensors sensitivity to light. The higher the sensitivity, the less light is needed to make an exposure. Unfortunately, the higher the number, the more noise. Changing ISO also changes the aperture and shutter speed."

Low ISO settings
ISO 50-100
More light needed
Less noise
More image detail
Larger aperture +/or longer shutter speed

High ISO settings
ISO 200 and above
Less light needed
Increased noise
Less image detail
Smaller aperture +/or faster shutter speed

Headache... I just remember this:

Night shot -> got tripod? Yes -> use low ISO, No -> use high ISO

Hope this is informative!

Some references:
http://www.photographyjam.com/articles/29/camera-basics-shutter-speed-aperture-and-iso
http://www.digicamhelp.com/camera-features/advanced-settings/iso.php

"Very productive weekend!"

Check tis out!!



It's the Concept Camaro 2008 Bumblebee!!!





This version is much cooler than the '74 Camaro! Can do lots of 'gaya' pose :D


And where did this come from...?



It's the Bumblebee 2-pack Target exclusive that I posted some time back! It really came to Malaysia!! And only RM109.90!

All hail Hasbro!

And now for the Star Wars news:



Obi-Wan and Alpha Trooper... They just arrived a few cases in TRU...

And our usual The 30th Anniversary Collection (TAC) continues...

Yoda&Kybuck, Han Solo (with torture rack), Lando Calrissian (in Smuggler Outfit)

General McQuarrie, 4-LOM, Concept Snowtrooper

all fresh from the box!

The only sour part is that my TAC collection has taken a massive blow... Figures #29 to #31 and #33-37 are missing! They only arrive in limited quantity and I missed out on them... :( Sad...I was really looking forward to them!


That should be it for this month...

Total damage for today: RM33.90*6+RM109.90+RM69.90 = RM383.20! *gasp*