| what's so great about the holidays

Yesterday was my first official day off since I start working at Kenny Rogers Roasters on Wednesday. Made me realize how much Kenny Rogers have change and how working life has always remain the same and I'm reminded how the real world is like once again. Many other MMU'ians are spending their holiday rather relaxed. Many of my friends have plans to travel around Malaysia while others are even planning on going overseas and here I am, working to fill my bank with the much needed cold hard cash. Lucky them eh? Still, spending my holiday working ain't so bad after all. I'd rather work and gain some cash than do nothing and waste more cash. That's my conception, though wrong it may be. Though I do miss my traveling holidays. I like the idea of carrying my heavy haversack around and get to know other cultures and people. Yea, I'm definitely a traveling dude but unfortunately I can't afford such things - not now at least but inexorably I will, someday.

There are certain things I wanna do this holiday. Whether I do it or not depends on how busy I am with my work so it's really not a solid plan.

Number one : work out
Back in my old NS days I would wake up 6am in the morning to do some lame (but effective) exercises, train my body to be more resistant, do push-ups on my fists, and jog for 2kms. Sweet stuff I tell ya. Nothing beats jogging while the morning breeze brushes against my bald head, exhilarating. I've been slacking off a lot since those days and I intend to build myself up but unfortunately I'm working morning shifts, so we'll just have to see how the plan goes.

Number two : sports sports sports
I miss playing all those sports. I've been so busy in MMU, I hardly ever have the chance the go to the club to swing my racket. Ergo, this holiday I'm trying to plan to pick up my old skills in table tennis, badminton, soccer, basket ball, pool, and bowling. Not to mention increase my stamina in swimming and holding my breath underwater.

Number three : fooooood - sushi
I love sushi. Treat me sushi on my busiest working day and I'll ditch my boss just swallow some scrumptious smoked salmon and tempura or sink my teeth into the mouth-watering unagi (eel). Yeah~ That's the bomb I tell ya. So hopefully before the holiday is over, I'll get to treat myself to some sushi. Who ever who reads this blog, PLEASE TREAT ME WITH SOME SUSHI!! PITY DEAR OL' ANDREW BOY!!

Number four : haven't thought of it yet.. ahaks~

So that's it I guess. Though I doubt I'll be able to do any 2 of them, I do hope I can finish it off. Sure working is important and yes I do need the cash in my bank or else I won't survive in MMU, but I also wanna spend time doing stuff that I wanna do. A fight between my needs and wants - it never ends. Hope you dudes and dudettes spend your holidays wisely. Night peeps~

beat my green dragon! - the family mah jong rules

| F.E.A.R. - the hardship of getting it

the name says it all

On a rainy Friday evening, dated July 23rd 2004, time: 10.26pm, I posted a.. post on F.E.A.R., a promising FPS that was said to challenge the Half-Life series in its tracks. Forward a year, in the month of October, F.E.A.R. is finally out. So what is F.E.A.R. all about? What's with the amazing publicity and hype? Well, while trying not go away any spoilers of any sort, think of F.E.A.R. as Half-Life 2 without aliens and with better AI, blended in the world of The Ring. The Ring as in the japanese horror - no connection with Lord Of The Ring. bleh~

Mr Wilson, be afraid.. be very afraid..

Finding time to buy the newly release F.E.A.R. : Directors Edition DVD was quite an exciting as I am working morning shifts this whole week (and possibly throughout the whole month) and I couldn't wait to get my hands on the game. Initially, I went to Bukit Beruang's cd shop (support uni area first) but unfortunately, the dude doesn't have it yet. My next stop was my ex-regular place, Senyum Super (translated as Super Smile *sigh* malay names) in town and to my delight, not only do they have F.E.A.R. but also Black & White 2 on DVD too. Unfortunately, I am short on cash this whole month, ergo I used my LAST (note the bold font) 10 bucks to buy F.E.A.R.. Mann was I happy. Got home and switched on my com. Here's when things turn a little frustrating.

no Mr Wilson, no.. kill yourself.. no Mr Wilson..

It seems the dude that pirated the CD had to emulate the DVD in order to copy it, so I had to install their virtual cd emulator to "use" the DVD. Personally, I dislike virtual cds. Aside from the virtual cd crap, they gave me a list of instructions on how to use the F.E.A.R. DVD. Followed the instruction step by step and eventually I got into F.E.A.R.'s autorun setup. Here's comes the 2nd bummer, I don't have the CD Key and without it, I can't install the game. Dumb pirates were to lazy to search of a key generator before distributing the bloody game. Was quite pissed at it but I was able to find a keygen online. I love code crackers, they're the best. Generate a key, lo and behold, I'm able to install F.E.A.R.. The 3rd bummer is that I have keep using the emulator to play the game. Solution, find the no-dvd-crack. After a little searching from my regular source, I found my little no-dvd-crack for the game and now, I can play the game peacefully without any hassle but boy oh boy, it is so worth it.

say hello to Elma, your freak host through the game

Unlike DOOM3 that uses the in-your-face scare tactics, F.E.A.R. goes for the crawling-under-your-skin atmosphere which by the way is quite difficult to pull of for a game but the dudes at Vivendi and Monolith managed to do it. The first 30 minutes of game play gave me some serious goose bumps I tell ya. As a mild hardcore PC gamer, I really enjoy the graphics and sound tracks in the game. They really make good use of shadows man (damn you little freak girl). Not to mention the slow-motion John Woo ala Matrix gun fights with the most intelligent AI I've ever seen and fought against. I give this game 9.3/10, so gamers out there, do get this game to fill your holiday time! Nite peeps!

| redemption

Today was just the beginning, the beginning of how I would really spend the rest of my holiday. Yes boys and girls, Andrew Liu is sighted and confirmed to be working at the new Kenny Rogers Roasters branch on the 1st floor of Mahkota Parade. Quickly flock to Kenny Rogers to get your own limited Autographed-Meal by Andrew de-Man Liu himself!

way to go Tesco!

Talk about ego boost huh? But it's still true, phantom84 and wontdieone are working at KRR till the end of the holidays, unless of course, something else that's more important that work crops up. *winks* It's quite nostalgic walking in to MP with our full black attire. I told my bro that if we would close our eyes and walk into MP, we would sub-consciously enter the late KRR which now Burger King has taken over. Well, who are we to say anything to a company that can afford to pay that 300% increase in rental fees. Ooops~ I guess I shouldn't have said that. Now everyone will know why the food is so damn bloody expensive in MP these days. The big boss of MP is a tick that's sucking the life out of every store! No offence if you're the tick that's reading this. ahaks~

~You took the weight of the world on Your shoulders~

But truthfully, it was pretty sad to see the old place that my father opened (insert number) years ago torn down a few months after he retired. He did a good job maintaining that place throughout the old economic turbulence. Heck, I was even there to watch it build up slowly. *sigh* I feel old.

~You did it all for me. yes, You did it all for me~

Still, I gotta hand it to the new store, it looks more savvy then the old one. Even the ambiance is how KRR should be. It's either the place has a really great relaxing atmosphere or there are no customers. Hahahahaha~ That was a low-blow. My bad. But still, it felt good to return working in KRR. Even the old managers are happy that the "old crew" are back to give them a helping hand. The moment my brother and I stepped into KRR, everyone had high hopes on us and I could definitely feel the pressure of doing our best. After all, we are the Liu's of KRR. But when one of the new crews addressed me as "sir", my head blew up I realize how long have been in KRR, watching its life unfold. Man I feel old. Heh~

~because of what You've done i'm free~

But sometimes, the old memories that we reminisce so often should just remain forgotten and forgiven. I guess I have failed in that area. I came in hope for forgiveness, in hope for redemption. But I guess I'll never be forgiven by them for the things I've done. But I do know God's grace is sufficient for me and I pray that it will pull me through the rest of my life - He redeemed me. Got to keep on carrying the cross.. Got to keep on carrying the cross..

it's so true.. it's so true..

and you said I know that this will hurt
but if i don't break you heart then things will just get worse
if the burden seems too much to bear
remember, the end will justify the pain it took to get us there

| a malkavian's madness

taken from...
Vampire - The Masquerade : Bloodlines
the riddles of the Malkavian Primogen Grout

Perception at once shapes the Mind and rules over Time.
Time however erodes human Perception, and then in
turn warps the Mind. The Mind is capricious, having
various effects on Perception, Time, and the Mind
itself ... with harmony progress is made.

Chaos, like the Mind, can be understood only through
the scientific process. Order, however, is only as
good as Perception thereof. Time is the key that links
the two and bears witness their ebb and flow.

| a week away from a place called home

It's been a full week since I left home. No, I didn't run away nor was I kidnapped. Disappointed huh? ahaks~ And yes, I'm now at home in my room, all safe and sound, thank you for asking. bleh~ I'm sorry if I caused any of my fans out there to worry *koff*, I should've been more responsible to tell all of you that I was gonna be away for a week. Hahahhahahaa~ Yeah right..

~trace the shape of my heart..

Here's the summary, I was at MMUCF's Malacca Camp from Monday till Thursday, stayed on at Elaine's place till Sunday and there you go, a week away from home. Quite a short post eh? . . . You wish!

..till it becomes more familiar to Your eyes..

So what can I say about Malacca Camp? Only one word - illuminated.
MMUCF Malacca Camp 2005 : Illuminator
Venue : Golden Sands Port Dickson
Date : 10 - 13 October 2005
Speaker : Ps Joshua aka PJ
Special Guest : Edmund Smith (no relation with Agent Smith)

..been lost without You, cold without Your love..

On second thought, I have many more "words" to say about the camp. First off, Wayne, you petra for commanding such a great camp dude! Yea~ I'm gonna give credit to him only since he's the only guy who got the most beating. About the camp, the message was awesome, the worship was loud, the prayer was edifying, the beach was smooth, the sun was warm, the water was limited, but the food was great, my Angel turned out to be a shy timid girl *gasp!*, treated my Mortal with showering gifts, Redtards - one practice was close to perfection, knocked my head pretty hard (it still hurts), flashes from the cameras still lingers, and we had lots of fun. Also a very warm good bye to final year students, Billy Fei Mau, Tze Seong the Pirate, Sam Wise Gamgee, Agent Edmund Smith Cool Dude, Korean Dog Eater Deric, Coolest Guitarist JasonT, will seriously miss you guys. Well, that should sum up the camp.

..it's taken days and nights to make me realise~

What followed was a journey into the life of girl name Elaine Sua who welcomed us into her home with arms wide opened (think - Creed). She and her family showered us with love, affection and the much needed food attention. Her mom gave us a tantalized our taste buds with Blue Berry Cheese Tarts and the all awesomeness 10 full marks Hainanese Chicken Rice. Not to mention beating her 15 year old brother Asaph (pronounced Ae-saf) in table-tennis, bullying her 12 year old sister Esther, and playing around with her 8 year old cute lil' sister Abigail. Of all her family members, Abigail is the cutest lil' creature I've ever seen. You're a good sister, an obedient daughter and a great friend Elaine. Thank you.

~the eleventh hour quickly pass us by~

After going to Elaine's church on Sunday, GerX and I traveled back to Seremban where I would buy my 5pm bus ticket back to Malacca and try to recover from a week of fun and fellowship. Met GerX's parents, her cheerful dad and her ever-smiling mom. Wanted to meet her youngest bro but unfortunately, he was at some Chinese Chess club meeting or something like that. Chinese Chess.. I can't even win a proper English Chess game. ahaks~ I even got to see the super-manja side of GerX, it was very entertaining I assure you. Thanx ger for letting me bunk in your house for awhile. On a personal note, your parents are cuter than you mentioned before. Have a great holiday ger. Have a great holiday peeps! More pics at Deric the Dog Eater and Jason the Cool Un-Emo blogs.

artistic in the little room

had to make sure the ceiling is symmetrical

broke two of my lovely wife's strings - not the G-string

heart of worship - more than just the music

me, the laney man

crappy table tennis table that entertained us a little

the beautiful let down

i still look like crap with or without specs

the food was great Elaine

best buds in CF

say hello to my little friend

Elaine really spoilled us

GerX took modeling classes before