Merry Christmas 2011!

Hey there!
Alright, it's 25th December 2011, so today's officially Christmas Day.
Hence, to everyone out there, I'd just like to say...
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I hope 2011 has been an awesome and wonderful year for you guys. It certainly has been for me!

And I apologise for not blogging about Christmas Eve. I was so exhausted yesterday, and I desperately needed to rest, so I could only blog about Christmas Eve on Christmas Day itself...

Okay, basically, on Christmas Eve, I woke up at 8am, then I went to Sunway Pyramid. And honestly, I had a really great time there! One of the best times in my life, in fact! The Christmas decorations were beautiful, and for the first time ever, I actually managed to get a good seat at the TGV cinema complex ( something which is notoriously difficult to accomplish! ). Oh yeah, "Alvin and the Chipmunks 3: Chipwrecked" was awesome! Hehe! Go watch it, because I certainly enjoyed it! [ smiles ]
I was at Sunway Pyramid until 4pm. Then I went home to freshen myself up. A while later, my family and I were on our way to my uncle's house for a Christmas Dinner party. The dinner was great! There was turkey, spaghetti, and other types of tantalisingly delicious food. After the dinner, we ate "tang yuan" while watching the Grand Finale of X-Factor.

I stayed up until midnight. And yes, I DID plan to blog about Christmas Day as soon as the clock struck 12. But I couldn't, even if I wanted to. Why?
Reason: I was tired, duh!
So, the only thing that I could bring myself to do was to post "Merry Christmas" on Facebook before finally hitting the sack and calling it a day...

Well, that's it for Christmas Eve, a very wonderful ( but exhausting ) day for me!

Hmmm, I guess that's it for now.
Once again, merry Christmas everyone!

May the Force be with you...

Christmas is nigh...

Oh my, it's been quite a while since the last time I blogged!
If I'm not mistaken, my last post was about the English Language Society ( ELS ) Outing at Subang Parade. Which means I haven't updated my blog for a week already! Yikes!

Well, it's not that I don't want to blog. I really do! It's just that I don't like to post stuff that I deem unimportant. I usually blog about significant or interesting events in my life, nothing more. I don't go ranting about what I eat for lunch everyday, or my trips to the gym, et cetera... And ever since the ELS Outing until now, nothing interesting happened! Well, okay, fine, some stuff DID happen, but those stuff are simply not worth the effort to blog about. Hope you guys understand that, yeah?

Oh, and if you were observant enough, you might have noticed that I have been using Naruto pictures in my posts, instead of the normal Star Wars pictures. Yup, that includes the picture above ( a picture depicting Kakashi Hatake vs. Itachi Uchiha ). Well, ummm, there's a very, very simple reason for that...
I am undeniably a Naruto fan!
I don't know since when I was a fan, but the fact remains that I am one. Naruto is great, and I don't really care what the critics and Naruto-haters ( if any ) say about it. I enjoy watching Naruto and I'm proud to admit it! [ smiles ] It's all thanks to my brother, Alvyn, a die-hard Naruto fan. He's the one who introduced me to Naruto in the first place, and before I knew it, I was fully immersing myself into the Naruto universe...

Right, Christmas is nigh...
And honestly, I'm not expecting many Christmas presents this year. Yeah, I know, most people are under the impression that Christmas is all about the presents, Christmas trees, snow, more presents, Santa Claus, reindeer, holly, and even more presents.
But let us not forget the OTHER part of Christmas - kindness, love, and compassion for others. Tis' the season to be jolly, yes, but Christmas also represents the opportunity to strengthen bonds between people, including friends, family members, relatives and acquaintances. All the pretty presents, vibrant decorations, and festive cheer should "complement" this opportunity, not overshadow it! My point being that we should not forget about the true meaning of Christmas: forging and solidifying our "hubungan silaturahim" with other people. It's not merely about the presents, people!

Hmmm, okay, I think I've gone on long enough.
I'm just gonna add one more thing before I end this post. And this is quite important. Regarding my tertiary education, in fact...
After much debate and discussion, my parents and I have come to the conclusion that I will be continuing my studies at Sunway University College. As for the Pre-U course, I will be going for AUSMAT ( Australian Matriculation ). Well, I'm interested in furthering my studies in Australia, so the guys at Sunway recommended that I should enter the AUSMAT Pre-U programme...
And at last, I get my own room! I don't have to share a room with my brother anymore! Wahoo! And that means I won't have to put up with his unbearably loud snores any longer! [ smiles ]

Well, I guess that's it for now.

May the Force be with you...

ELS Outing at Subang Parade!

Hello there!
Well, the title says it all, doesn't it? [ smiles ]
This post is going to be about the SMKBJ ELS ( English Language Society ) Outing at Subang Parade...
All the ELS members were invited. Of course, as the former Vice President of the ELS, I was invited to join this outing, and definitely more than willing to attend!

Alright, let's cut to the chase.
I rendezvoused with Darren ( ELS member ) near the MBO cinema complex at around 12.15 pm. He was with Afiq and Imran. Soon, Hazwan ( former President ), Hadri, Pn Thamil Selvi ( ELS advisor teacher ), Jia Hui, Rachel, Aaron, and other ELS members started to arrive. At around 1 pm, we had our lunch at a fast food restaurant called "Carls Jr", which was just beside the MBO cinema complex.

The best part? Pn Thamil actually paid for our meals! Okay, well, not ALL of us! Just the Form 5 former members ( Me and Hazwan ). Yup, that's right, we both got our meals on the house!
Hehe! Thanks, teacher! You're the greatest! [ smiles ]
Here are some pictures I took during lunch...

Mmm, Carls Jr. charbroiled burgers! 

My Carls Jr "Famous Star" burger... With cheese...

Well, I guess there's "some" truth in this statement, right?

Picture taken just for fun...

Behold, the ELS members!

Yeah, it was fun! We laughed, talked, ate, then laughed some more! Truly a momentous and joyous occasion that I will never forget!

Of course, as soon as everyone was done eating, Pn Thamil organised a little "ELS meeting". The objective: To discuss about the upcoming ELS plans and activities for the year 2012. I thought it was a great idea, because if the ELS members started planning now, then they would still have half a month of holidays to make preparations for next year. This will undoubtedly ensure the activities organised by the ELS next year will run smoothly... Hmmm, come to think of it, I'm certainly going to miss being the Vice President of ELS...

Anyway, after we said our farewells and goodbyes, the ELS members dispersed and went their separate ways. But since we were just beside the MBO cinema complex, some of us ( including me and Hazwan ), decided to watch a movie.

In this case, we made the decision to watch Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol. The movie would only start at 3.00pm, so we still had around half an hour to spare. Hazwan and I went to the MPH bookstore and browsed around, while Afiq, Aaron, Imran, and Rachel decided to go uhhh, shopping... At 2.50pm, we went back to the MBO complex, bought popcorn and drinks, and headed into the cinema.

Overall, MI4 was great! Awesome, in fact! Fortunately, I didn't really have to watch the previous Mission Impossible movies to understand the plot. Of course, I'm not going to blurt out the whole story-line of MI4 here. I'd hate to post "spoilers"!

So, I'm just going to recommend this movie to you guys. Seriously, it's a really good movie.

Go watch it!

 

Well, I guess that's all I can say about the outing...
It's late, I'm tired, and frankly, I don't intend to make this post a long one.
Conclusively, it was a great outing, and I had a really good time!

Okay, I guess that's it for now...

May the Force be with you...

Back From Thailand!

Hey, guys! I'm back from Thailand!
Well, I actually came back to Malaysia yesterday and around 5 or 6pm, and trust me, I wanted to blog as soon as I returned. But unfortunately, there were a whole lot important matters I had to attend to first.
For instance, I had to wash the dishes left in the kitchen sink ( they were in the sink since 5 days ago, before I left for Thailand! Ugh! ). Then, I had to unpack all my stuff, of course. And after that, I also had to post all the pictures I took at Thailand on Facebook. And before I knew it, it was time for dinner! After dinner, I had a whole new batch of dishes to wash!

 Considering the fact that my body was begging for some much needed rest, I mustered what little energy I had left to settle all the tasks stated above... Once I was finished doing all the stuff that needed to be done, I trudged to my bedroom, collapsed on my bed and had a nice short nap! Ahhh, what a relief!

After my nap, the pictures were already uploaded on Facebook. I wanted to blog, yes, but then I realised the special 2-hour season finale of the Challenger Muay Thai series was showing on AXN. My brother informed me about it. And hey, I love that TV show! So, I had to postpone my plans to update my blog... By the time the show finished, it was too late to blog, and so I had no choice but to hit the sack.

And here I am today. Fulfilling my duty to this blog. Updating it to prevent it from being blanketed by dust or surrounded with cobwebs. To all my beloved readers, I don't think I've mentioned this before, but the reasons why I blog are:
- because my blog is somewhat of a digital "diary", where I store my most important or relevant experiences, as well as the events that I've been through.
- merely for your reading pleasure, so you can get a little "glimpse" into my life...
- to hone my command of the English language, and to keep my writing skills sharp.

Alright, alright! Enough of that crap, yeah? Let's get back to the main topic: My vacation to Thailand! [ smiles ]
Honestly, I'm itching to get my hands on my Playstation 2 right now! Haha! ( Don't judge me! ) So, instead of explaining every detail about the Thailand trip, I'll try to simplify everything as best as I can.
Okay, here goes...

DAY 1:
- Arrived at Phuket International Airport.
- Went for City Tour at Old Phuket Town.
- Went to Phromthep Cape.
- Checked in at The Royal Paradise Hotel Phuket.

DAY 2:
- Took a boat ride through mangrove swamp, heading to Phang-Nga.
- Went to "James Bond" Island ( an island which was used as a location in one of the James Bond films )
- Went to Jungceylon Mall.
- Walked along Bang-La Road.
- Walked along the roadside of Patong Beach.

DAY 3:
- Went for Phuket Island Safari ( activities include ox cart riding, traditional farming presentation, visit to orchid gardens, Muay Thai / Thai boxing presentation, kayaking, elephant show and elephant riding )
- Checked in at Dewa Phuket Resort.
- Went to Nai Yang beach for dinner.

DAY 4:
- Explored the roadside of Nai Yang beach.
- Borrowed and watched 2 movies from the hotel, "Thor" and "Captain America".
- Went to Nai Yang Beach. Walked along the beach.
- Went swimming at the Resort's swimming pool.
- Dinner at one of the restaurants near Nai Yang beach.

DAY 5:
- Hmmm, honestly, nothing much happened during the 5th day. We just lazed around the hotel, then checked out and immediately headed for the airport.

Phew! And that's it! Simple, no? The whole story is a a bit more long-winded, and I had to shave of a few things, but overall, this is the stuff that happened during my trip to Thailand.
If you want, you can head over to my Facebook page and take a look at my photo album regarding this trip.
I tell you, the sunsets were amazing! One of the high points of my trip to Thailand, besides the food, which was tantalisingly delicious! Haha!

Well, I guess that's it about Thailand.

As a final note, since I passed the computer test for driving, I'm going for the Kursus Amali at the REDA centre tomorrow morning...
Oh, and as for National Service, I have been placed in the 1st batch ( starting January ) and my camp is located in Chenderiang, Perak... I don't really know what to say about this. Oh well...

Well, that's it for now...

May the Force be with you...

Off To Thailand!

Well, it's me again...
To tell you the truth, I'm really exhausted! In fact, I don't really have the energy to update my blog right now, after what I've been through today!
But, I still managed to drag myself to the computer and reluctantly force myself to click the "New Post" button on Blogger...
Anyway, I've got some important things to post about, and today's kind of like my last chance to do so ( You'll know why later... ).
[ Oh, I don't really have much time, so I'm gonna make this post as SHORT as possible, yeah? I'm sure that'll make a LOT of people happy! Ha! ]

Right, as I mentioned in my previous post, I'm going on a family vacation to Thailand tomorrow. I'll be there for 5 days, so I'll be back next Thursday...
Apparently, based on what I've heard from my parents, there's going to be elephant riding, Muay Thai performances, floating markets, a lot of buffet meals, and loads of other stuff. In fact, they even mentioned that the schedule is going to be so jam-packed with activities that we'll barely have time to rest!
Well, I've got a lot of "work" ahead of me! I predict that a large amount of pictures will be taken during this trip, even more pictures then my trip to China! Haha!
I'm super excited. Can't wait! [ smiles ]

Next, I went for my Ujian Memandu Bahagian I ( Teori ) today.
Ugh, it's a LONG, LONG story! Seriously! Even if I wanted to, I simply don't have the willpower to explain about it here!
Here's what happened ( simplified! ):
1. Went to the REDA ( Rakan Ehsan Driving Academy ) centre in Klang.
2. Shuttled to a MYEG centre ( Uhh, somewhere in Klang too??? )
3. Registered, took a seat, and waited for a very, very, very long time!!! ( Because there were a lot of other candidates there as well )
4. Finally entered the computer testing room.
5. Started doing test. At question number 5, the whole system crashed! Pffft! Luckily that didn't happen the second time through! Ugh!
6. Got immediate results ( I PASSED! Hehe! 47/50 questions correct... )
7. Waited for the van to bring me back to the REDA centre ( Ugh! More waiting! )
8. Finally returned to the REDA centre. Passed up my result slip, then made an appointment for my Pre-L Kursus.

After that, my father came to pick me up. We went back home, rested for a while, then we had to go out again! We went to Puchong for lunch, went to IOI Mall to purchase some necessary items, then we came back to Setia Alam. We went to the weekly "pasar malam" to buy some nasi lemak for breakfast, then we went to eat dinner at a steamboat place. Finally, at around 8pm, we reached home... Since I was practically out and about for the whole day, I was completely exhausted and drained of energy!

Well, I don't want to prolong my post any longer. Hee! [ smiles ]
So, I'm gonna stop here...
Farewell guys! This is Andrew, signing off...

May the Force be with you...