Okay okay, I cried, there, happy?

I did not know how powerful the movie can be! It was already late, I should be sleeping, but I watched a short clip and I could not stop!

There there, don't cry my baby! Seems to be talking to me :'(

The place is also near Salzburg, where the movie “The Sound of Music” was filmed, so if you’re going to that place anytime soon for a vacation, please remember to add this place to one of your “must-visit” locations.

You'll fall off the bike too if you suddenly see this sign!

Apparently English speaking tourists going to the place has a lot more idea than just taking pictures. There was one occasion where a total of 4 stolen signs in one night! Boy, that beat my record! (Whoops!) Eventually the signs were later replaced with permanent posts that were welded with concrete to the ground and bolted in place. Even CCTVs were installed to prevent people from making indecent acts in front of the signs! That bad huh?!

Wait, there’s more, how about that place called Anus, Pussy, Condom in France, a couple of Climax, Intercourse  in US and Dildo in Newfoundland? Some people have weird sense of humour…..

You see, I have now changed job, since 1st July. I am no longer working in Cyberjaya, and I loved the place! (The town, NOT the workplace) Now my new company is located in Midvalley. I have been pondering for a very very long time whether or not to work at that place. Transportation was, and IS, the only obstacle that repels me away. I have tried to wear a positive mindset, but that obviously did not work.

My first day there started rather well. Mei Fen dropped me off at the KTM Kommuter station in Serdang. opposite the Mines early in the morning at about 7:50 am. I bought the RM60 monthly return pass, and in no time I was in the train. It was still good, there was no pushing or shoving, everyone was very civilized. I can still breathe, I can feel a slight cool breeze coming from the air-cond vent. This isn’t so bad after all.

My new colleague who also happen to stay in Serdang and takes the KTM to work everyday told me that the morning commute is still bearable, it’s the evening trip back to Serdang that I should watch out for.

And boy was he right. On my first day evening back home, there were a lot more people standing at Platform 2 waiting for the train compared to the morning trip. Where did all the people come from? It was stuffy as hell, I had to hold my breath for 20 full minutes of pure agony before the train stopped in Serdang.

I still have not found the optimum time to leave the office. Yesterday, the second day of work, the trip back was even more horrendous! I was standing in what seems like hundreds and hundreds of people on the platform. Even that did not even begin to describe what a horrible experience that I was about to go through for the next 25 minutes!

The first thing that sends a cold shiver down my spine was the announcement on the PA system, “Tren seterusnya akan sampai pada pukul 7:06 minit malam. Tren ini amat sesak”. * Gulp, did I hear that correctly? I have never hear any announcement of that nature before. Could it be that my ears are playing tricks on me? “The next train that comes at 7:06 pm is very VERY congested” Oh no, he is even stressing the word VERY! This can’t be good, I mumbled under my breath. I better enjoy the stuffy air on the platform while I still can!

In about 2 minutes, the train screeched to a stop on the platform. I can hear the groans of the other passengers on the platform on seeing the sardine-packed coach. Shit, how am I gonna go inside the train? I was about to give up hope. If I can’t go in this one, I’ll just wait for the next train, I naively thought to myself. The door opened, about a dozen people squeezed their way through us, and before the last passenger alighted from the door, a sudden force gushed from behind our backs! Turning back to wait for the next train was not even an option. So there I was involuntarily shoved into the train. There was no time for you to think, you could only try to maintain balance not to trip over and get squashed by the stampede. The train door closed, much to the dismay of hundreds of others still trapped on the outside. They should count their blessing, I thought. Being on the inside of the train is actually the wrong side of the train!

The train slowly jerked forward. Unlike my morning trips, I had no need to hold on to any hand rails. My handrails are the many sweaty bodies around me. Smelly men, helpless young ladies, old aunties, the poor Malay girl. These are all the total strangers whom I had to privilege to exchange my bodily fluids with, through our skins. The old auntie behind me complained that something hard is pushing against her shoulder, and her friend asked her to push me back. How rude! It’s like, do I have a fucking choice? My laptop is inside my bag, and does it look like I have a huge empty space right in front of me, and that I am only pushing you just for the sake of it? These old aunties can be so damn inconsiderate! Don’t let me see you again, I’ll push you even more, and this time not only with my bag!

The air inside! Ohhhh ….. *stuffy* don’t even begin to describe the suffocating crush inside. The stale air burns our throats and  lungs. There was a portion of the trip when the train will stop function for a short duration. It always happen between Salak Selatan and Bandar Tasik Selatan. During that outage, the air-cond would also stop function. On that fateful day when the air-cond stopped, instead of feeling worst, I did not feel anything. The air is already bad even with the air-cond, so turning off the air-cond does nothing to make any difference. They might as well save a bit of electricity and turn off the air-cond straight!

People come and go at the stations, but there are still a lot of people in the train. I saw a dude who closed his eyes, beads of sweat rolling down his cheek and nose. He has the expression of pain in his face. There was also another mother who brought his young boy along with him. As soon as the door closes behind them, the boy immediately cried. Can’t blame him, I would have cried too myself!

Gosh I wish it was just a nightmare, and I will wake up as soon as I blinked my eyes. I blinked, but I am still here in the train. Oh no, this is for real! And I will have to endure this for the entire duration of my tenure in Midvalley! PLEASE HELP ME!!!

7:00 am : I’m still not yet awake, so she kicked me up. I promised to go see how her typical day would look like.

7:34 am : Barely makes it out from Bandar Putra Permai. There is a terrible jam near the construction site where they are still building Giant. But then again, it is always jammed at the damn Serdang Interchange, with or without the Giant.

7:50 am : Still in MRR2, despite going rather hastily against the rest of the traffic. Suddenly realize she forgot to bring Kit Yan’s Twinkle Star uniform.

8:07 am : Arrived in Tadika Mutiara. Assembly already started, and Kit Yan had to endure the embarrassment of coming in late. Braved the dreaded traffic again to go to Pandan Indah, barely 5 km away, but feels like 50 km.

8:22 am : Arrived in Pandan Indah, had a quick breakfast, prepared everything for a tuition class at 9 am.

9:00 am till 10:50 am : TUITION!!

10:50 am : Drove back to pick up Kit Yan who is due to end at 11 am. Checked with the teacher which homework she has to do to pick up on her missing days on Tuesday and Wednesday. Drove all the way to Ampang to buy lunch packs. Cheapest lunch pack around.

11:54 am : Force Kit Yan to take a bath. Something is very wrong with the electrical system at the centre, called the electricians but they just refuse to come! Now the main receptionist area is without proper air-cond. Make the kids gobble up their food.

12:30 pm : Dropped Kit Yan at her nursery in Tadika Twinkle Star, proceed to drop off another kid. Had to use short cuts in the afternoon rush hour. She told me I was lucky, the weather is not so hot. I can’t imagine a much warmer afternoon than this! GULP!

12:35 pm : The kid did not finish his homework! He better finish it in the car before he reaches school. She had to teach AND drive at the same time! Talk about multi-tasking!

12:52 pm : Dropped him off at the school compound. I find the traffic rather messy, but she assured me, I ain’t seen nothing yet! And she was right, as I would soon find out. Had to park haphazardly by the roadside to wait for the other kid.

1:05 pm : Got the kid, now to the next school to pick up another one by the 九王爺 area. THAT IS A NIGHTMARE! The roads are small, the school buses squeeze through the tiny lanes! Picked up 3 more kids.

1:24 pm : Arrived at the centre, straight away got another class at 1:30 pm. Another teacher was on Annual Leave, so the centre had more students than teachers! Parents and students thronged the centre constantly for inquiries!

3:10 pm : Luckily the electrician finally shows up! Briefed him on what are the problems and he got on his way.

3:50 pm : Time to pick up Kit Yan. She seem so happy to see me! Good that the nursery confirmed my identity before I pick her up.

4:15 pm : I forced Kit Yan to open her books. I flipped through her books and see which homework needs to be done. While I was teaching her, some other students approached me! They thought I am a teacher too and started bombarding questions at me! At first I just helped whenever I can, but later I suddenly became a teacher too! * Sigh * The centre was too deprived of teacher at that time, despite another 2 more teachers already turned up.

4:30 to 6:30 pm : The peak of activity! Boys shouting, running around. One refused to eat his lunch, yes at 5 pm! Lucky the air-cond came online, but there are still things the electrician needs to do. Parents called to pick up their kids too, so more people coming in and out!

7:00 pm : Things died down. The last teacher and student left. Kit Yan was already very tired. Waited till the electrician finishes.

8:00 pm : Turned off everything and locked the door. Went to meet an old friend Jacqualine in Mines. Kit Yan was so excited to see her.

9:50 pm : Left Mines, dropped Jacqualine at her home, and went home. As we approached Bandar Putra Permai, Kit Yan was already unconscious.

Last Saturday I brought the two of them to Berjaya Times Square. Just so that Hui Yan will not be so left out compared to her sister who goes to the kindies now. But I had a handful trying to control these two hyperactive monsters.

Nose digging at BTS

We had a short lunch at McDonald’s in BB Plaza. Real short lunch. Didn’t even have time to shop around that place.

Then we went back to BTS again, I wanted to show them the Cosmo’s World. But they being still little, we did not go inside the theme park.

Jumping at the end of the escalator after we left Cosmo's World

Later that night we went to have dinner in Sunway. I brought my father along. We wanted to go to Shogun, but we ended up in Hartz Chicken Buffet instead. Everywhere is fully booked, hard to find a decent place for dinner.

If I do this, my face will be stuck like this forever right? Cool!

The next day I thought I could have some peace and quiet at home with the kids while Mei Fen went shopping in MidValley. Bad assumption! At about 3 pm Mei Fen called me to bring the kids to Midvalley. There was a Toy Story 3 “meet the toys in person”! So we went there and waited in line to have our pictures taken! It was so cool meeting the toys in person!

Meet Buzz and Woody!

The kids didn’t seem as excited as ol’ daddy to meet the toys. Check out the expression of the kids!

Both of them don't seem to be so excited!

There was a toy story merchandise being sold there as well, but I must resist the temptation. These are very expensive stuffs!

Legos made into Toy Story 3 theme

More pictures at my album.

Yokohama A Drive, size 195/60/15

Let’s get one thing straight; I do not work for Yokohama, I do not own a tyre shop, and I gain no prizes for writing this recommendation for this tyre. I believe in this tyre because I have used it in my wife’s Wira before. Check this out, the two cars wearing the same shoes:

Yokos on two cars, all 8 tyres of them!

That’s how convinced I am! When I changed the Yokos on the Wira, my wife’s first impression to me was “This tyre is so much quieter!” Some would argue that all new tyres are quiet. However the Wira has done almost 15,000 km now, over a duration of 18 months. And now the noise is still very much acceptable! Also, I have compared it to similarly spec-ed Michelin and Bridgestone, both brands are priced at a much higher premium, way beyond reach for a poor bloke like me.

Deep grooves for water channeling

The cornering ability on both wet and dry is above average. I still managed to skid the Wira on a very challenging corner, but it took a lot of effort to do it. I doubt one can really make the tyre lose contact with the ground under normal circumstances. Even in rainy conditions, the tyre runs firmly on the ground and over puddles! Can’t say the same for the old Goodyear tyres!

Not all are good about this tyre. Being such a soft tyre, it loses it’s rubber to wear and tear very easily. The Yokos on the Wira has now developed small cracks and immature wear. But probably that is due to heavy usage of the car. No biggie, it’s almost time to change it anyway. Also the quietness is not very apparent when I changed it on the Altis, probably because the noise insulation on the Altis is so much better than the Wira, so I did not really feel any difference.

One minor quirk I noticed that the A-Drive gives the Altis a totally different handling. It now handles sharp corners much better, lesser body roll due to much stiffer side walls. And dare I say too, the rolling resistance is slightly better compared to the NCT5. Previously I clocked only up to a maximum of 470 km on a tankful, but yesterday I managed 509.4 km before the low-fuel gauge lit up. That’s about 14 cents per km vs 13 cents per km. Not a huge difference, but noticeable in the long run.

So will I use it again in the future? If there are no other better alternatives in the same price bracket, this Yokohama will stay on as the perfect tyre for me.

The marathon began at 7 pm. It was free seating so it was a good idea to come early. But I choose to go have dinner first at Starbucks with Yan Yan. I don’t want her to complain of hunger in the middle of the show.

——– WARNING : slight plot revealed ———-

By now you should have already known what Toy Story 3 is about and seen bits and pieces of it all over the internet. So I would assume that you have already know what the main plot is. Andy is now all grown up and he has to decide how to manage his toys. Toy Story 3 begins with a really great dream sequence of a play scene of Andy with his toys, a mixture from the original Toy Story and Toy Story 2, but in this one, the play scene is more lively and elaborate! Death by Monkey rocks!!

The kid-rolling fun ends roughly 30 minutes into the show and took on a slightly more adult message when the toys are transported to a day care centre. Later they found out that the place is not what it seems, and they hatched an amazing escape plan. Good ol’ Woody, you can always count on him for his resourcefulness.

Over the years Pixar has improved by leaps and bounds technically. This is evident in its generous use of vast open spaces, incredibly detailed objects (even the trash bin looks beautiful!), and of course, the almost compulsory use of 3D in films nowadays. The only complain I have is that fast moving objects seems to exhibit ghosting effects using the goggles, and that it’s dimmer. And the fact that the tickets are free-seating, I was not sitting at a nominal position to enjoy the movie.

The entire story however, I felt was not all sweet and juicy, despite all the eye-candy. It carries a very dark sinister undertone, and deals with very heavy issues, like compelling moral question about immortality, friendship, and life’s inevitable separation and heart-breaks. Also this third Toy Story brings with it the occasional sexist remarks (nice legs-warmer, nice ass-cots), and a hole lot of whizz-bang fast action sequences. Not a very suitable movie for my 4-year-old Yan Yan, I personally feel.

I don’t remember watching an animation movie, or any movie for that matter, that made me feel so intense! The last time I felt this way was when Frodo and Sam were trapped in that lava field by the hill before they were rescued by Gandalf. I really felt the hopelessness, the struggle, and in the end, the peaceful realization projected by the toys, without even a single word uttered! I don’t think any life-actors would be able to pull it off so magnificently yet so simply! Amazing piece of animation work from the PIXAR team!

And in the end, the goodbyes were not only heart-breaking, it was painfully down-to-earth, no sweet mushy-mushy happy endings. That’s all I can say. I did not shed any tears, but my heart totally sank! Andy did a great performance in this one! Again, not a single word that conveys this feeling, it was all in the animation work. Brilliant work!

There was a lot of reference to the original Toy Story 1 and 2, such as the play sequence I mentioned, and also in the lines. Lotso the pink bear kinda reminds me of the Prospector in Toy Story 2, and there is also the touching moments of a previous owner abandoning her toy. Andy also gives Woody a piggy back ride, a wink to the original movie. These kinda scenes ties back beautifully with the entire franchise of Toy Story and doesn’t look like a sore addition most other sequels feel. Instead of sticking out, Toy Story 3 just blends in!

I have mentioned Lotso, but the other character worth mentioning is the “girlie toy” Ken. Ken provides most of the light moments of the show, but in the end he helped made everything right again. Sadly none of the other new characters portray much to help the plot. They are really forgettable.

I got the tickets for free, but I personally felt it was worth going to again, just to get the feel. Again I think we’ve got another winner from PIXAR this year! ~woot!~~

Four Buzz Lightyear tickets

We’re allowed to choose either Sunway or KLCC. Of course we choose Sunway since it’s nearer to us.

NO RECORDING! Oh sorry, I didn't know that!