I met a bunch of old schoolmates. To which two girls tapped me on the shoulder and, with an expression of shock and hand covering mouth, went, "Oh my God! ALBERT!"

I mockingly did the same back to them.

"You look so different!"

Ah yes, what could be more complimenting than girls acknowledging that I have:

1) eyebags
2) longer-than-a-schoolboy hair

They looked the same, just with different hairstyles. I was still taller than them. :)

Later, in a moment of silence, I pondered the previous meets with schoolmates I had not met for 3 years. Guys would go, "Haha you still look exaaactly the same. Never changed." (This was very recent, with my longer hair...)

Then I thought of a bunch of girls I bumped into KLCC. They said I looked very different, (and much better, at that!) even though that was much earlier in the year, and I was still visiting my Indian barber.

Conclusion?

Girls know what to say when they meet old acquiantances. "You look so different!"

Guys are unobservant idiots. "You look exactly the same!" (Except me lah, I could tell the difference... unless guys tend to change more after school or something.)

Edited 14:11 hours 18th November 2003: We also bumped into a church friend of a friend. Ironically, he was selling insurance! Odd. Faith is about optimism, while insurance is about pessimism.

I went to KLCC to meet up some friends. While waiting, I walked around Kinokuniya to discover wrapped books! Had my friend who once worked at MPH, wrapping books all day, found a better pay here?

You can't judge a book by its cover, but that's all they're letting me read.

After the rest left, I took a cab with KJ to Sungei Wang. On the way, the cabbie commented on those new taxis on the road. There were fancy ones like the van-like one (RM4 per entry instead of RM2). We both wondered what it would be like in such a cab.

We went up to Ezone at Low Yat Plaza and got slaughtered at Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast. The first map, that was. I forgot I was using the Light Side so I kept using Drain and Grip to no avail. :( The next few maps saw us ganging up and slashing bots and humans to a good fragcount. :)

Next up, we saw Unreal Tournament 2003 being played nearby, so we joined in a server and reaped. Really. They were using alternate fire (like the Pulse Gun's laser spray) but it seemed to have no effect on us. Rockets never seemed easier to lay, as we hopped. They were circle-strafing too, but for some reason we kept getting Killing Sprees. Even in teamplay maps, with us on one team, 3 to 4, we still beat them, with about 20-30 frags each, and single digits for the others. (50 was the team fraglimit). KJ only beat my frags in the last map, but he managed to join the server sooner.

By then, our two hours were up, or we'd be spawn-raping Battlefield 1942 games. :)

It seems that most cybercafe-goers can't handle 3D first-person-shooters other than Counter-Strike. :P

KJ then showed me his wonderful shortcut back from Sungei Wang to KLCC. (I never walked back to KLCC since I could get the bus home from there...)

He walked through the open-air car park opposite Starhill Plaza. The one with giant tomato sauce cans. It exited at Eden Garden Restaurant. We crossed the road to pass by Wisma UOA. From then, it was all familiar territory, but he surprised me again by walking through a car park before Mandarin Oriental Hotel. We entered KLCC via the starting point of the park's jogging track. All in, 15 minutes.

We met up with Dinesh, and we took a Cityliner bus to head nearer to Ampang Puteri Hospital. KJ, upon realizing it was our stop, rushed out. I didn't know what his rush was. What, were Cityliners more aggressive in Ampang?

(Edited 19:04 hours 18 November 2003: Dinesh and I later realized that we forgot to touch out our Touch And Go cards, resulting in a penalty! We kicked KJ for that.)

We took a cab up to Johnson's place for his birthday party. There was a small golf course on the left, as the cab went up the hill, going up anti-clockwise.

Three of us entered in awe, with at least five luxury cars with single digits for license plate numbers.

I went inside, and saw a tiger carpet with a head. I kicked the head. Ow! It was not stuffed. It was a plaster casted head.

The inside of the house had Chinese vases and oriental ornaments. The house had mirrors! I could imagine the disco lights coming down, and a fluffy pink bed for all the groovy kinkiness of Austin Powers.

On the way out to the barbecue pit, I saw a swimming pool. A swimming pool! I did not see that on my way in. There was also a raunchy Statue Of Liberty. She had liberty, alright.

Food was good, if not overcooked by master of ceremonies Shaz.

Met the overly philosophical Ed there, among many other familiar faces. We sat, we ate, we told stories.

Ayman crammed Quek, Kristin and me in his jeep. Who needs a motion master?

I got off at Ampang Park and flagged a taxi. By chance, it was the RM4-per-entry one! It was past midnight so I didn't kick a fuss. It had no front seat. There were two tires in the back, where there were two 'back' seats facing each other. He took the tires and placed them in the front.

It had a glass window between the passenger and driver seat, and a black tray in between to pass the money.

He reached my place at RM17.40. I handed him RM20 (I didn't ask about midnight charge.) I waited for the change.

(Translation of conversation in Malay.)

He: What, I haven't even counted the midnight charge!
Me: I thought you already set midnight charge in the meter, since the meter went up in 20 sen increments instead of the normal 10 sen...
He: No, it's RM4 per entry, and 20 sen increment during the daytime.
Me: Ohhh okay... thank you very much.

I quickly got off before he could say anything. :)

This morning's lightning got me in action
I jumped and fear was my reaction
It flashed a pinkish red color
Before regular white light and thunder
Like God was taking a picture with red-eye reduction

I'd hate to be in Central Market now, running through the puddles as those people with umbrellas tread slowly, blocking my way.

Oh yes, I've sorta changed webhosts. Going to my Brinkster site will redirect automatically to my 1ASPHost site. Don't worry about changing your bookmarks. It's supposed to officially be http://www.xfresh.com/albert anyway. (I wonder how Google will react to this change, though...)

Oh yeah, you'd have to type your name and email again because all your old cookies won't work. :P

I had a double pass for My Boss's Daughter at GSC Midvalley, and I had a free Saturday with absolutely nothing to do.

And so, I called all possible fans of Ashton Kutcher. (Meaning them females.) At least 10 straight out could not make it, but 4 said they could and (hours) later could not.

At one point, false hope was so high, I felt like Thomas Edison when he found the right filament. Of course, the rain drowned all hope.

Like a curse it was! I did not believe in luck and fate and all that, but this was too ironic indeed. Today was supposed to be a Saturday. The easiest day to go out. The holiday season was on. Nature, however, was all against it.

In an awesome act-of-God, God meddlesomely knew that I had a college project to finish. I didn't even bump into anybody familiar in Midvalley!

It wasn't until I broke out of routine that I would break the spell. I was hungry, but not hungry enough for a greasing of fast food. I walked to Rotiboy, and I bumped into an ex-classmate from school!

"Albert!"

I didn't recognize him at first. A lot later I realized he was the Malay prefect who negotiated in Chinese with the gangsters. And here I was, a banana, unable to speak Chinese. He looked Chinese anyway.

I don't even remember ever trying the legendary Mexican Bun, so I asked how many would be nice for lunch. He sold me two for RM1.50. Later I found that one bun was RM1.50. :)

It was nice, strong smelling, collapsingly crunchy, and had sweet butter on one end. How do you tell which end is it, so you don't start there?

However, after two, I was full, and I didn't feel the same addiction that many have described.

/zimages/mexicanbun.jpg

(Please make sure your monitor is clean before you lick it.)

White noise in a black room
A choice that leads to doom
Random rhythm of helpless drops
Decorating the tiles of rooftops

It is harder to drown
The voices inside your crown
Silence said so much more
Than spoken thoughts we chose to ignore

Success! A converted convert
Someday I shall be an expert
Following in the footsteps
Of the one who gives me laps

I was supposed to meet up with Shaz in KL at 9:30pm to borrow his digital camera. He had college before that so I couldn't meet him earlier.

Instead of bumming around town walking alone as usual staring at people, I figured, why not break fast? I called 5 friends, all of which could not make it in the end.

Shaz's class was cancelled, so he could come a bit earlier. It was like fate. If only he would call and I would say I was eating dinner at One Utama, and that I'd only be in KL at 9:30pm. If only.

FOOD

We went to Hartz Chicken Buffet. I took loads of fried chicken and little biscuits. Refillable ice lemon tea is heaven, man. Unfortunately I didn't read all the signs and I took liver disguised as fried chicken! Eugh. Had to finish it, or I'd have to pay for it. :P

I O U

I was walking towards the bus stop, and I passed by Low Yat Plaza. In a weird Sixthseal kind of way, this blur-looking guy comes up to me, asking if I speak Chinese. We speak Malay.

Apparently, he needed RM24 to get a bus back to Banau, Negeri Sembilan. He showed me his IC and an empty wallet. He said his friend took his money.

I pointed to the police car parked across the street (at Sungei Wang) and told him to go report his friend. He then admitted that he owed his friend money. "Itu you punyer pasal", I said. It was his fault, him to blame.

He pleaded again, saying he would call me and mail me the money. I turned around to check my pocket (not very safe thing to do) and I gave him RM5. I told him to go ask some other people, since that was 'all I had'.

Shaz's digicam was in my pocket, but I figured it wouldn't be safe to let him know. He had a real authentic pitiful face though. :P

I hereby unleash the camboy in me! (Took quite a while since I wasn't photogenic today. :( )

/zimages/msnworry.jpg

I've updated my About Me! page again, with more updated links, like the derriere-kicking Rocket Queen, the beautifully sarcastic Jay, the graphically descriptive Sixthseal and some other 404s before. Some of them were meant to go back into the limelight anyway. :P

I miss you Patrick. The guy who wouldn't mind movie spoilers (well, he spoils movies for me!) He would spoil X-Men 2 by sitting next to me and pointing out which parts happen in the book adaptation of the movie.

Yes, I watched The Matrix: Revolutions yesterday at a press screening, and the fact that I can't tell anybody is killing me. If you watched the second one, this trilogy ender is a must. If not you'll probably be misguided by the idea of a Matrix in a Matrix and whatever other stories you've read on the Internet.

I cannot wait till it opens in the cinemas so I can fairly debate my points. In the meantime, I shall play Enter The Matrix again for more clues.

The virus has infected every file except FORMAT.COM, and that's the only program left. Even the diagnostics program is busted. You don't have any floppies, and there's no point in salvaging anything.

The spindle turns a full circle. You format, and reboot. The virus is gone, but so is FORMAT.COM. If you get infected again, you will never be cleaned again.

Uh, I'm being revolutionarily cryptic.