Bigger than Sliced bread

2012

2012-01-01T19:04:00.001+08:00

I'm not dead if any of you guys are wondering.

I've just had a full on two years of big fish to fry.

I'll try update more this year. But don't count too much on it, it's going to be another year of career climbing and little more.

Anyways a quick review of 2011 from the resolutions I actually penned.

1. Finish all the Green Belt Forms. That doesn't mean get my Blue Belt. Just finish all the green ones. So i got GBT, Tigerfork and Doublehooks. 1 every four months. Do-able. Missed out on double hooks. Still...not bad all things considered.

2. No yakking from booze. Sickness from sea, bacteria and food is fine. Hahahahahahaa.

3. See the four letters of ADFS added onto my name. Should be easy. Should be done end of this month. So fail again

4. Save another $10k. Whether in shares or cash. Doesn't matter. Nobody could ever think how much i blew the f%$k out of this goal. I slaughtered this.

I know it doesn't really look like i did very well but trust me, i had an awesome 2011. It was the year of the rabbit and i really made it mine. I'll think up a few more resolutions over the next few days and you guys can enjoy anticipating that.

Hope you all had a brilliant 2011 like i did and an even better 2012.

A-la-la-la-n

Mega Mix

2011-05-15T22:41:00.001+08:00

This will get me through Monday.

1. Almonds (high quality grade only)
2. Blue berries
3. Pistachio kernels
4. Australian Apricots
5. Raw cashews
6. W H I T E C H O C O L A T E
7. Mixed well

A-la-la-la-n

A Scene From a Movie I dreamed

2011-04-02T23:02:00.000+08:00

Just something i was thinking/dreaming of and thought i would share.

They sat under the stars. In one hand, he held hers, in the other he reached for a neatly folded piece of paper in his dinner jacket.

"I wrote you this song"
"Please, sing it for me?"
"I would love to"

And so he sang it to her.

A-la-la-la-n

Obsessions Right Now

2011-03-30T22:57:00.003+08:00

Pens that are 0.7 or below. Even 0.7 on the Uuniball Signo Fine UM-120 is too thick on some days. But it writes beuatifully.
Anything related to Koi fish.
Brooskfield shirts. I check their online shop everyday, eagerly awaiting for it to open.
Typography. Loving the h e l v e t i c a font too much to be healthy. I will also be moving everything to helvetica font.
Leadership. Been devouring wiki-articles and autobiographies on leaders. The overall trend? Leaders piss people off and don't care.

A-la-la-la-n

Twin Win!

2011-03-20T23:25:00.000+08:00

[Two candy in one!]

A-la-la-la-n

You could park another car there

2011-02-07T21:35:00.002+08:00

Was in Mount Lawley the other day on some errand and saw this lovely lady park. I thought you could put a 747 in that.

Had to take a snap for you all.

Been missing me haven't you ?

I plan on embarking on a super mega training regime where by the end of 3 months, i want my washing to be done on my abs. It starts tomorrow.

I'll keep you fanatics updated on my progress.

A-la-la-la-n

Meet Master Monopoly Man mAlan

2011-01-03T21:48:00.000+08:00

Alliteration is always fun. Especially when it doesn't make sense.

Today was a day to play monopoly. And the lesson i want to teach you all today is that even when you have the shitty Purple Pall Mall set, you're in jail, the train stations are split between 3 players, the Picadilly set has been taken, Mayfair and Parklane are charging $1m just to rent; it's not over.

I managed to come from that situation and sweep the game out from my opponents. It was quite a surprising game as many did not see it (duh) and we didn't scream and threaten to kill each other like we normally did.

I remember back as a kid, we use to play and we had some crazy rules. Didn't need a colour set to build, can only build if you land on your own property, four hotels on a property is a possibility, utilities and stations were the worse things ever and screaming and shouting at each other for ???

Even then we didn't give up. IOU to the banks and each other was the currency we traded in. And even now, with this new Monopoly Revolution (times HAVE changed) and proper rules we don't give up.

Don't give up. That's the theme for 2011.

A-la-la-la-n

2011 Resolutions

2011-01-02T21:49:00.000+08:00

Well seeing as i didn't even bother to make resolutions for 2010, i don't even have to review them.

How much win is that?

Too much.

Anyways, resolutions for this year.

1. Finish all the Green Belt Forms. That doesn't mean get my Blue Belt. Just finish all the green ones. So i got GBT, Tigerfork and Doublehooks. 1 every four months. Do-able.

2. No yakking from booze. Sickness from sea, bacteria and food is fine

3. See the four letters of ADFS added onto my name. Should be easy,

4. Save another $10k. Whether in shares or cash. Doesn't matter.

2011 will be the year of the Rabbit!

A-la-la-lan

2011

2011-01-01T18:41:00.000+08:00

I'm bacccccck!

Back with friends!

Watch this space and watch this revival kids.

A-la-la-la-n

Genius bar is neither genius nor a bar

2010-09-01T21:52:00.004+08:00

Some of you might know that I recently had problems with my iPhone

I decided that it was time to go to the experts and went to the Genius Bar in Perth with my booking and praying they could fix things.

While the "Genius" tried to restore my dear phone, and he kept pushing me to buy a new iPhone and raved on and on about the iPad in an effort to sell me that too.

I knocked back his advances (pretty sure there were other advances too...) and patiently waited. Praying. Hoping. Begging. All the while my Genius was even so kind as to serve someone else while we waited for my restore. The Genius couldn't hold a conversation with me. ME. ME. ME. ME. M E.

After the restore failed and got the same error message, he suggested I just replace it. That's an original solution. His train of thought must have been like this:

Try a restore. Doesn't work. Sell the boy a new one.

Woohoo lah-di-f&%ing-dah. Did he not think I even try a restore?

Pretty dissappointed I said I would think about buying a new one because I can't go back to T9 anymore. Like seriously. How do people do it?

I was home last night moping and decided that I'd give it one last shot and went through YOUTUBE to find a solution.

Following an online video of this really fat guy...IT WORKS NOW!

[Genius Bar at work]

And wtf? No alcohol at a bar?!

A-la-la-la-n

Monopoly

2010-06-02T17:54:00.003+08:00

Played monopoly the other day and found this old sticky note in the box.

I must have had quite the monopoly.

7 rounds.

Hahahahaha

A-la-la-la-n

Saying the Right Things to Kids

2010-04-18T19:48:00.004+08:00

As many of you know I help teach a kung fu class full of kids that range from 4 - 12.

During class, I am their senior. My word is law. They must obey. Or they feel the wrath of "Low Horse Stance" and "Do 20 Push-Ups Properly". But after class, I am their older brother. I dispense my 23 years of wisdom. I poke fun at them. And they fetch me things :)

Anyways, I had an interesting conversation with one of these kids during a training session

Alan: How's school been Tom?
Tom: Duh...I don't have school. I'm on holidays.
Alan: That's right. It's Easter. How has it been?
Tom: Yeah not bad. A bit boring.
Alan: Ahh...that's ok. Enjoy it while it can. So Tom, how come your brother's or sister's don't join Yaolin?
Tom: I don't have any. I'm an only child.
Alan: That's ok. We (Alan gestures around to the other students at the school) can be your brothers and sisters.
Tom: That's cool!

I didn't think much of what I said. It was the truth and I don't rehearse these things. Little did I realise how much of an impact I have on these kids. A few days later at Buddha's Birthday, Tom's mum came to watch him and the school perform the dragon dance.

Before the dance, I was by myself and trying to get my shoes on when Tom's mum came up to me.

Tom's mum: Hi Alan!
Alan: Oh hey...
Tom's mum: I just wanted to say something to you.
Alan: Sure. What's up?
Tom's mum: The other day, Tom came running out of training with a big smile and was super excited.
Alan: Hahaha...he wasn't training that hard then.
Tom's mum: No no, he told me how you said you guys would be his brother's and sister's. It almost made me cry with joy at how sweet that was. I hope it doesn't embarrass you that was the perfect thing to say to him.
Alan: Oh! I meant every word. We are like family here.
Tom's mum: Thank you so much

I swear she wanted a hug but I was sitting down so she couldn't do it.

Kids ARE impressionable.

A-la-la-la-n

Chicken Rice Level of Goodness

2010-03-20T19:43:00.003+08:00

Here is my Chicken Rice Level of Goodness chart. Watch as it slowly grows and pictures are added.

1. Tak Chee
2. Newton Circle/Hawkers
3. Mishanghai
4. Chilliz

A-la-la-la-n

A New Story

2010-03-18T07:06:00.003+08:00

I think, it's time I started writing again. And I don't mean blogging. I mean prose fiction style. I love books, I love reading and I love the critique.

These last few years have been a slow decline in my creativity and edge and I think it's time for a new chapter. Or should I say chapters? It's time to get that hit counter ticking faster again.

Looking over this blog, I've seen how far I've come. A shame the last year was so dry.

A-la-la-la-n

Desperado Weetbix

2010-01-22T07:08:00.004+08:00

Why haven't i been blogging like i promised? Because I've been so freak-en hungry. Training has been killer because afterward I'm dead tired and there is no food around and reluctantly, I'll do about 4 weetbix every night. And it doesn't help either when i do like 10 - 12 in the morning.

Things are getting pretty desperate around here.

I've been eating a lot of cereal since mum has left. My brother's gilrfriend claims that my mum left food in the "freezer" and I need to "defrost" it and then "microwave". I have no idea what these terms are. But now the house is void of weetbix.We still got some Nutri-grain and Kellogs PLus or something which is quite tasty. Milk is also becoming dangerously low.

I'm gonna stick to the safety net of cereal with milk. Maybe I'll buy some fruits to make it slightly more interesting. I also need more cereal.

I got 10 more days of this?!? Or is it a week?!?!

God help me.

A-la-la-la-n

16 days without mum or 21 days?

2010-01-12T17:41:00.001+08:00

Tomorrow will mark the first day of my mum's trip to Sydney and leave my sister and I to fend for ourselves.

I plan to blog about it. There are gonna be 16-21 entries of my struggle for survival. I'll try take photos whenever I can to show you all the descent into debauchery and maddness.

It's been a while.

Also, new years resolutions are being finalised. I know this is gonna be a big year.

A-la-la-la-n

2009 Review

2010-01-02T17:45:00.002+08:00

So who's still hunting for sliced of Bigger than Sliced Bread?

Let's do a 2009 review to revive this blog of mine.

1. Social Life: Laugh more. Stress less. Be good to my friends and family. Help out those in need. I did this the best I could. I think so anyways.
1a. Don't yak. My body is a temple. I am going to keep it as pure as possible and try to not defile it. I tried to yak up a 1kg steak but it didn't happen. I don't recall any moments of mass yakkage either. So that's another tick.
1b. On that note; I want to explore my food challenges. Failed the 1kg Outback Jacks with 3 wedges and a handful of vegetables to go. God...i almost cried. I was so close.

2. Kung Fu: I want to be qualified for my Green Belt. Which means all the red belt forms must be done. MUST. MUST. MUST. Failed. I got to straight sword and stalled after that.
2a. Every Sunday I'm going to try do the Swan River. I know I can. I just need to make the time. 6am to 11am. Can! This will also stop me from heading out on Saturday night. This was absurd. I did this 3 times. Which is 49 times not enough.

3. Work Life: I better get started properly on my Career. Working at ANZ and doing my DFS with plans to eventually enter into FX and Super structures. Accomplished.
3a. Cutting out Red Bull completely after Chinese New Year.I sorta need it during Chinese New Year but afterwards. No more. My body is a temple. I'm liking that mantra. I had 4 red bulls last week I think. Failed.

4. Expand the Family Trust. It's not making enough money. It should be. More assets = more money = helping the Family. I want to help the Family. I am Family. It's common sense. This was quite a year for the Family Trust. I did well in increasing the income but yet to build on the assets. Had a few fights as well. Which I won. Sort of.

5. Finance: 10k in assets. $10 000 be it cash, shares or real estate. I can do this. I can do this. Accomplished. A bit too easy.
5a. Like Rudy and I discussed earlier; keep away from the credit card. It feels like somebody is just taking money from you. I'm going old school. Cash (and debit cards). With a 1.5k credit card debt at the moment, i'm calling fail. I must say, I mananged to clear the debt every single month bar Decemeber.

6. Blogging: At least once a week. This is so achievable if I fail then somebody kick me in the leg. BAHAHAHAHA! I needed 6 more entries to get the required 52.
6a. I will revive the Project 365. when I get the camera fixed. Camera didn't get fixed. No revival.

I'll do my 2010 resolutions in a few days.

A-la-la-la-n

Easy Come, Easy Go

2009-09-29T21:47:00.003+08:00

I use to love receiving real live snail mail as a kid. It made me feel so important that someone would physically put something into an envelope so that I would be notified of my misdeeds.

As I grew older, I grew to resent snail mail because 9/10 times it's bad news. Phone bills, internet bills, electric bills, water bills, infringements, reminders of unpaid bills and more bills.

I got hit hard by the most almighty of government agencies. ASIO? ASIS? ASIC? ATO? Medicare? RBA? DFAT?

No.

They are all weak and insignificant in comparison to the Almighty CentreLink.

In my opinion, CentreLink is THE most powerful government agency in Australia. They will hunt you down and get you for anything and everything. They will scream and go kicking and bury you in paperwork before they pay you your rightful Youth/NewStart/Whatever Allowance. They will cross check with the ATO to make sure you are not rorting the system.

This is how they got me.

During my dodgy days working at the Establishment I always did a little bit of extra work for cash in hand. Little did I realise how un-dodgy it was and that some of my payments under the table were not so under the table and in fact, recorded and entered into the books.

Making them official.

As a brilliant result, CentreLink noticed that my Tax Return didn't match up with my declarations and is now forcing me to pay back $1100 immediately. Who remembers the lavish $900 you got from K-rudd this year? Or was it last year? My memory is too short but a lot of us got it. And now I return it with interest.

Easy come, easy go.

A-la-la-la-n

: o )

2009-09-29T15:56:00.001+08:00

I've noticed in professional services, a lot of people finish off emails with "Kind regards" or "Many thanks".

Sometimes even "Warm regards".

Today I got a strange one.

"Jess H%$#&y : o )"

Smiley face with a nose?

A-la-la-la-n

Obesity Epidemic in action

2009-09-07T17:58:00.003+08:00

Driving into work today, the obesity epidemic was the roar on the radio. Blah blah 1/3 Aussies are overweight, blame the parents for fat kids, blame the kids for being slack, Modern Asians don't eat all their rice, blah blah...BLAH!

Epidemic seemed a bit overkill for what i saw as easily curable with some fat camps and exercise.

Little did I know how bad the epidemic was.

As part of a semi-morning ritual I might go for a Redbull at IGA if I am feeling particularly lethargic before work. Yes it is terrible for you but then i will abstain from coffee and tea. And I don't do it all the time.

Today at IGA I saw a mum and her two kids doing shopping for their weekly groceries. The mum was all corporated up. Power suit, iPhone, heels to kill and makeup so heavy it would put Kabuki actors to shame. Her two kids, a boy and a girl, had the uniforms of some private school and I suspected they were getting a ride to school.

At the till, the boy ran up to the counter when everything had been put through and placed a can of whipped cream. The checkout chick looked at the mum for the all ok and she said sighed and nodded. The boy gleefully grinned.

The girl not wishing to be outdone got a huge bar of chocolate and followed suit. Her mum shook her head. And then...

The girl went beserk.

She screamed and cried within a 2 second time frame.

The mum tried to shush her but eventually gave in and put it through.

And yes, the girl stopped crying right away.

As they walked out, the boy was chugging down the whipped cream straight. Gross. And the girl was devouring the chocolate. This was 8.10 in the morning. The obesity epidemic was unfolding before me.

Incredible.

A-la-la-la-n

300

2009-09-07T07:51:00.002+08:00

Didn't even realise I was up to 300 posts.

Thanks for being there people. Going through a dry patch at the moment but be sure to stay tuned for updates.

A-la-la-la-n

The Road Ahead or the Road Behind

2009-08-28T23:01:00.002+08:00

Sometimes I think the fates must grin as we denounce them and insist,
The only reason we can’t win is the fates themselves have missed.
Yet, there lives on the ancient claim - we win or lose within ourselves,
The shining trophies on our shelves can never win tomorrow’s game.
So you and I know deeper down there is a chance to win the crown,
But when we fail to give our best, we simply haven’t met the test
Of giving all and saving none until the game is really won.
Of showing what is meant by grit, of fighting on when others quit,
Of playing through not letting up, it’s bearing down that wins the cup.
Of taking it and taking more until we gain the winning score,
Of dreaming there’s a goal ahead, of hoping when our dreams are dead,
Of praying when our hopes have fled. Yet, losing, not afraid to fall,
If bravely we have given all, for who can ask more of a man
than giving all, it seems to me, is not so far from - Victory.
And so the fates are seldom wrong, no matter how they twist and wind,
It’s you and I who make our fates, we open up or close the gates,
On the Road Ahead or the Road Behind.

A-la-la-la-n

Fantasy Adviser

2009-08-28T01:20:00.003+08:00

I just want you to all know I am going to be building a new blog over at Fantasy Adviser. In my role as a Fantasy Adviser, I want to provide you with advice on selecting your Fantasy Premier League team.

A-la-la-la-n

Just a bunch of stuff

2009-08-03T18:20:00.003+08:00

Completed the straight sword. One more and I'm prepared to undertake Green Belt grading.
Started playing indoor again. Haven't won a single game. Scored a few times though.
Devised a Fantasy Premier League team with Lampard, Gerrard and Arshavin. Jealous much Isaac?
Work work work. And on Saturday's too as I have chosen to stay with the guys that gave me my lucky break.
Watched 60 episodes of Naruto over 1 month. 60 more to go.
Started playing DotA again. Yes I know it's a bit sad but it's a good way to catch up with friends.
Started my DFS. Ready for the first exam.
Knee has been hurting terribly. Need to see a physio.
Bought a webcam. Bargained with the guy.
Had a Dry July. What a long July it was.
Need to update this blog. Watch this space.

A-la-la-la-n

Watch this space...

2009-07-06T10:20:00.001+08:00

[More than a tumbleweed...]

A-la-la-la-n

The Final 15 Seconds

2009-05-20T23:00:00.003+08:00

It was the final 15 seconds. They were 3 - 4 down. The scoreline was unjust on Him and His team. He had played a lung busting game. Chasing down every ball and winning it for His team. Urging them on. A constant thorn for the opposition. He showed no mercy. He asked for none.

But here it was. The final seconds of the match and they were losing.

The Enemy had possession.

He made a dash across the field and confronted the Attacker. He was spent. Even His legendary endurance was gone. He won the ball back for his team. He bustled pass the Attacker and passed it to the Playmaker. The Playmaker held onto the ball. Almost selfishly. No. The Playmaker wasn't being selfish. The Playmaker was waiting for Him to make a run.

And The Run came.

He was still deep in the field but He still made a bursting sprint down the flank before a sublime diagonal run across the field into the middle. He was quickly picked up by the Defender. The Defender stayed with Him. But He managed to keep his position and presented perfectly.

It was perfect.

It was The Run.

The Playmaker gave it a deft touch and the ball glided across the ground. Splitting open the Enemy like a blade. And came to His feet. Here it was. The last seconds. The final chance to get something from the game.

And He struck it beautifully at the goal...

Only for the ball to be pushed away by the Keeper and then cleared away by the Defender.

A-la-la-la-n

The Loss of my Teenhood

2009-05-17T22:31:00.004+08:00

Tonight, I tell you a story about loss and sacrifice.

I was cleaning up my room the other day (yes, I do this on occasions) in a bid to become more organised and less chaotic.

I had gotten to the dreaded part of my room known as "Under The Bed" where I have hoarded many memories from my 22 years of life.

It was here that I found The Red Folder. There is a reason why it's "The Red Folder" and not the red folder. This is where I kept my old Role Playing Game (RPG) character sheets. Back in high school I enjoyed spending some of my weekends playing as a Fighter, a Ventrue, a Toreador...

Yes. That's right. I played Dungeons & Dragons and The Masquerade and unashamedly loved it. I was a DnD Geek. In fact, as soon as I gazed upon these sheets I longed to play again. These sheets represented countless weekends staying up late and fighting...

dragons in dungeons -__-"

I quickly googled: "Dungeons and Dragons, Perth" in a hope to maybe find a new RPG group.

I had been longing to play again secretly for years now. Ever since high school graduation. But never before had I googled it so desperately.

THAT was when I knew the game was over.

I moved away from the computer, sat down on my bed and took a deep breath. I could not believe what I was about to do.

Then with another breath, I tore up those sheets. And then I tore those pieces again. And again. And finally again.

Those days are gone. Gone. I can now only look forward.

A-la-la-la-n

What a #ucker

2009-05-12T20:09:00.006+08:00

Today at indoor I was marking a fella on the other team pretty tightly. Nothing illegal. Just a hand on his shoulder to make sure he didn't have too much space on me. No holding of the shirt or pulling him back. You would see this sort of marking in EVERY game.

What a reaction from the fella. He tried to shake me a few times. He failed. He twist and turned. He failed.

His frustration boiled over in about 30 seconds after the initial placement. He then grabbed me and threw me to the ground. I'm all for niggling and winding up your foes, but make sure you can handle the consequences.

Fired up, I jumped up and went to confront him. The little #ucker ran away and protested that I had held him illegally. The reffs and their captain apologised but the #ucker wouldn't. I wasn't pleased. I wanted to hear the words from him. I called him to come over but he wouldn't come. I tried to approach him and get into his face but MY team mates stopped me -__-"

His unsportsman conduct went one step further when as the final whistle blew, he left the court without even shaking hands.

What a #ucker.

A-la-la-la-n

More study!?!?

2009-05-06T22:34:00.003+08:00

Boss: "Alan, you're gonna need to do your Diploma of Financial Services"
Alan: "So..."
Boss: "More study"
Alan: "Ugh..."

It's like they say, you finish uni with a degree and you don't even use it.

A-la-la-la-n

Z is for Zzzz Zzzz Zzzz

2009-04-29T17:00:00.003+08:00

I guess it's time I said goodbye to the "Zzzz" which in this case is the sleep ins.

I have finally found a job in the financial services industry. Which means no more bumming about as I charge around Perth causing countless levels of mischief. Destruction, tears, chaos, disorderly conduct...all should be coming to an end now.

Crap. I think I am finally growing up. Me!

I never use to plan for the future. I took things really easily and my plans have always been somewhat hazy. But now, I can finally see some clear direction and I can't wait any longer. I'm looking forward to good times ahead.

On an ending note, I have now officially finished my "26 posts in 26 days" which took me about 5 months to do. Not bad. Not bad at all.

Look forward to more high quality material.

A-la-la-la-n

Mister Bookseller/Gospodin Libar

2009-04-09T01:12:00.008+08:00

It might be 1.26 in the morning but I wanted to share this with you all. It's by Croatian writer Dark Macan. Enjoy it like I did.

YOU HAVE TO CLICK ON THE IMAGES.

A-la-la-la-n

Y is for Yellow

2009-03-06T12:55:00.009+09:00

Have you ever had something taken away from you undeservedly?

And then, have you just "let it go"?

We all have. And when we just "let it go" we make society a worse place for everybody else. Our cowardice, our yellow belly, our weakness to fight reinforces a social mentality of taking undeservedly.

This is wrong.

Last night at the movies, a bunch of my friends had reserved seats at the movies. A group of ten of us and its understandable we might just want to sit all together. Two beefcake bogans in singlets and tattoos were sitting right in the middle of our reserved seats.

There were two options which confronted me:

1. Leave them be.
2. Kick up a fuss.

If you've been a reader long enough or known me for more than 30 minutes, you can guess what I did.

I kicked up a fuss. I am a firm believer in being polite, chilvaric and a defender of the common good. I've said it once and I'll say it again.

Those seats were rightfully MINE. I paid $9 for them and I wanted to sit in them with my friends. In our capitalist society, I was right. And they were wrong. The fuss generated by my friends and I got the ENTIRE row to move along. We sat down comfortably and enjoyed our movie.

Now rewind back a little. Some of my other friends saw the argument which was brewing and they blanched at the confrontation. I'm sorry friends but when you hang with me, confrontation follows. Some of the others went to find other seats.

This is wrong.

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. -Edmund Burke

And those other friends let evil triumph. They were good men too. I personally know that they are chivalric and honorable. But they let evil win and reinforced a mentality of taking undeservedly.

Don't ever be yellow friends. Believe in what is yours rightfully. You make society a better place for everyone when you fight for what is right.

Oh...and Watchmen was awesome.

A-la-la-la-n

X is for Xenophobia

2009-03-04T10:45:00.002+09:00

Xenophobia is the fear of foreigners.

This 26 posts in 26 Days is really killing and cramping my style. I just want it to be OVER.

A-la-la-la-n

W is for Winter

2009-02-25T13:34:00.004+09:00

I sense that winter is upon us.

Poeple will love winter for different reasons. Some love it because they get to wooly warm clothes, others look forward to the return of the scarf, others love the dark clouds and thunder, and others love the weather it brings.

Why do I love winter?

Because I don't have to wash my car. Today it rained pretty hard and my car was looking dirty again. Thank you Mother Nature for cleaning it again.

A-la-la-la-n

V is for Vision

2009-02-24T22:58:00.003+09:00

I'm at a point in my life where the vision of the road is getting a little blurry.

I want to do so many things but going down many paths is as good route as going down none.

Hmmmm...

A-la-la-la-n

U is for Uhhhhh...Uhhhhh....Uhhhhhh

2009-02-22T22:00:00.001+09:00

Uhhhhh....

At least I'm back from the City of Churches.

A-la-la-la-n

T is for Temporary

2009-02-09T08:41:00.004+09:00

First and foremost, Happy Chinese New Year. The year of the Ox. Strength, fortitude and foresight be with you this year.

I am taking a Temporary Absence from making slices of bread for you all to devour simply because I've been busy an will be away in Adelaide for the next week or so.

A bit of a cop out post but ex-blogger Michelle from Hoarding Heirlooms has reincarnated herself into the blogger at Kisses and Punches which should sufficiently amuse you all while I'm away from the oven. She has also been added quietly added as another loaf of bread.

I'm going to speak more in baking references in the future.

EDIT: And I've also temporarily screwed up my sidebar.

A-la-la-la-n

S is for Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo

2009-01-19T00:34:00.004+09:00

Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo (also known as Puzzle Fighter) is my new obsession in video games. It ranks up there with Football Manager, CivIII and Tetris. That's how much I love this game. I know this so because I've been having dreams about it.

The bright colors, the characters, the blocks, the combos...

All this started at Jase's place, he has a PS3 (amongst a bunch of other stuff). It is the most powerful gaming console going around and he invited us all kindly over to play. And that is how i got addicted. Who cares if it can play Rainbow Seven or whatever. Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo.

[Addicted]

I even played it at kung fu when I was suppose to be cleaning up the School before Chine New Year. That's right, the kids have an Xbox360 with an emulator which provided half an hour of pure bliss.

On that note, only another week to CNY!

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

A-la-la-la-n

R is for Resolutions

2009-01-12T22:47:00.005+09:00

I'm a week and a half late but better late than never right?

Here are my 2009 Resolutions. I'm gonna dub this year: "All is mine in 2009". Lame? Corny? Or simply MOTIVATIONAL!

1. Social Life: Laugh more. Stress less. Be good to my friends and family. Help out those in need.
1a. Don't yak. My body is a temple. I am going to keep it as pure as possible and try to not defile it.
1b. On that note; I want to explore my food challenges.

2. Kung Fu: I want to be qualified for my Green Belt. Which means all the red belt forms must be done. MUST. MUST. MUST.
2a. Every Sunday I'm going to try do the Swan River. I know I can. I just need to make the time. 6am to 11am. Can! This will also stop me from heading out on Saturday night.

3. Work Life: I better get started properly on my Career.
3a. Cutting out Red Bull completely after Chinese New Year.I sorta need it during Chinese New Year but afterwards. No more. My body is a temple. I'm liking that mantra.

4. Expand the Family Trust. It's not making enough money. It should be. More assets = more money = helping the Family. I want to help the Family. I am Family. It's common sense.

5. Finance: 10k in assets. $10 000 be it cash, shares or real estate. I can do this. I can do this.
5a. Like Rudy and I discussed earlier; keep away from the credit card. It feels like somebody is just taking money from you. I'm going old school. Cash (and debit cards).

6. Blogging: At least once a week. This is so achievable if I fail then somebody kick me in the leg.
6a. I will revive the Project 365. when I get the camera fixed.

As you can see, my resolutions are a lot more simple. I've added it to the sidebar so I shan't forget.

It's going to be a great year.

A-la-la-la-n

Q is for Quay

2009-01-12T00:13:00.002+09:00

Quay.

It's not pronounced KWAY. It's pronounced KEY!

And that is how I got pass "q".

A-la-la-la-n

P is for Perseverance

2009-01-06T22:13:00.010+09:00

Perseverance. What is perseverance?

It is to persist steadfastly in pursuit of an undertaking, task, journey or mission in spite of distraction, difficulty, obstacles or discouragement.

Much like the NecessEXCESSity, I invented a roll which required similar like minded steadfastness and will power. I have plenty of both. I named it the Perseverance. Unlike the Bigger Than Sliced Bread Super Mega Happy Hour Fun Packed Roll, the Perseverance is more a statement of your ability to eat. Similar to a 1kg Steak or a Pounder.

A little about The Perseverance. It is a 750 gram roll filled with double the ingredients of the Bigger Than Sliced Bread Super Mega Happy Hour Fun Packed Roll. And it uses a roll which is H E A V Y. The idea came to me originally when I saw a Kalamata Olives and Sun dried tomato Sourdough bread (this bread is normally used for dunking in your soup, the heavier dough absorbs all the soup) and thought, I wonder if I could cut two slices through the middle and fill it full of ingredients and eat it.

Turns out I could.

Photos speak more than 1000 words. I have 9 000 words.

[Can't read what the scales say? I'll read it to you 735 grams.]

[Being the first ever Perseverance I ever made, I wasn't sure if I could eat it all, so I sliced the roll in half. After ingredients were added, it weighed 720 grams.]

[The Perseverance. Glorious.]

[Baby spinach, sun dried tomato, turkey, jarlsberg cheese, peppercorn mortadella, sour gherkins, salami, felino and aioli sauce. Two layers of that.]

[The first 3 bites. The best bites I might add.]

[For scale purposes, the roll was the height of a mug. It looks slightly smaller there because I had squeezed it as I ate it.]

[About a third left. This is the saddest part of the roll.]

[I almost cried here. About two bites left. In the background was the other half of the roll which I was making for my friend]

[Gone. T___T]

A few last words; the middle layer of bread was actually really good. It balanced out the copious amounts of ingredients really well. And my friend didn't even get through the last few bites. Soft.

Such ends the story of one of the greatest food challenges I've ever done.

A-la-la-la-n

2008 Review

2009-01-01T12:00:00.003+09:00

A slight break from the "26 Posts in 26 days"

I fare welled 2008 and I welcome 2009 in Northbridge last night with close friends. There was one defining moment of the night which I knew was when I was going to head home.

Alan: Hey mate, what's the cover charge tonight?
Bouncer: $5 but you're not gonna get in with those shoes.
(Bouncer sneers at Alan's AirForce 1's)
(Alan looks at Bouncers own shoes...they're probably from Target)
Alan: Mate, my shoes are worth more than yours! These are AirForce 1's!
Bouncer: Get out of the line
Jase: Another bridge burnt Alan

As if they won't let me walk in with AirForce 1's.

Let's review the year that has been and the many resolutions I suspect I failed at. Red was the resolution, black is the review.

1. Social Life: Keep to my word/commitments. I sometimes bite off more then I can chew and disappoint more people then if I had said "no" to begin with. So, I think if I say I'll do something, it's to be done. Achieved to a passable extent. Although, I will be the first to admit that towards the end of the year my word began to slip a little. And I did double-book a few parties with so many 21st on.
1a. I liked the theme of "Don't Yak" actually. It saves me quite a bit of moo-lah, so I'm gonna try keep that going this year. Or start it back up. I turned 21, give me a break.
1b. Start brewing my own range of beer :) Failed BUT I tried a few home made brews that friend's had made and they sucked. I don't like sucky beers.

2. Kung fu/Lion Dance Life: I'm gonna put it out there and say I want my green belt now. Although the red belt is quite dashing and has an air of gallivanting buccaneer, I think the green belt will be more "old world warrior". So at least an attempt at my green belt. Well, there was no green belt this year which was a bit sad. And I did lose my State Champion mantle but I am so much more mature and devoted to my kung fu and lion dance that I really did achieve this. Not to mention I am also picking up Dragon Dance as well.
2a. Since Josh isn't really a candidate for a ride to Margaret River since he got his road bike, I'm thinking I'm going to do 100km solo. I suppose in Josh's defence he is LCP (congrats) and has a lot on his dish already. Failed. Failed. Failed. Blame Josh leaving for Singapore. I took Rudy around the Swan...maybe he'll come to Margaret River with me?
2b. Running! I like to run a lot and will definitely be doing more of this. Uni runs in the morning for sure. Achieved. I ran almost every second day during uni.

3. Uni Life: as my last semester at uni, I'm gonna make it my best ever. I have found that it is impossible for me to attend lectures now. So...instead I'm going to attend ALL my tutorials. If I don't, consider this resolution failed. Achieved. I graduated didn't I?
3a. Since Uni is only going to be half the year, I think I'm going to also take up Beginners Chinese at Tafe. I've been dabbling a bit here and there by talking to my mum, but I want to become fluent. Failed. But I've been speaking in Cantonese more with mum in a bid to improve that.
3b. And I want to learn a European language as well. French of Italian? This isn't really big for me but it would be handy to have. Why did I even write this?
3c. Minimise coffee/red bull expenditure. I've thought about how much I spend on red bull/coffee and it amounts to A LOT. Don't believe me? You guys all think I'm naturally energetic? Think again. Achieved. Coffee and red bull reliance has been replaced by healthy sleep.

4. Home Life: is always a tricky issue with me. But this year, I'm going to do a lot of things for the Family. Not that I don't already, but I can do a bit more I reckon. Got the Family Trust all sorted out and now we wait upon two more signatures! Yay for me!
4a. Improve the living standards of my room. If you saw this, you would guarantee that I could survive the nuclear winter.

5. Money/Finance Life: Shirls wants to save 25k and Niss wants 10k? Those are impressive figures which I don't think I can match. So I'm going to shoot for a realistic approach of about 5k for myself. $417 a month? No problem!! This was sooooo easy to achieve. Set higher expectations!

6. Blogging Life: Obviously, I'll do my best to keep this blog alive. Not very many people know, but more then the odd occasion I've almost come to abandon this blog but decided last minute not to. So, expect LOTS of posts this year. At least one every 3 days. 54 posts. That's like one every 7 days. Can anyone say F A I L E D ?
6a. I WILL revive My Project 365. I have no excuse for it's sudden death (except maybe exams). But I WILL have it up and running so soon. F A I L E D

And that was how my resolutions fared for 2008.

Look forward to the 2009 Resolutions which will be much more realistic.

A-la-la-la-n

N is for NecessEXCESSity

2008-12-29T22:59:00.008+09:00

I took Rudy on the Swan River Ride that Josh took me on all those years ago (two actually).

I have dubbed it the NecessEXCESSity. It is necessarily excessive. Hence the awesome name. It even has sex in it. So it can also be NecesSEXCESSity. Necessarily excessive sex. But we are using the EXCESS version today.

Like Andy who whinged and cried before him, Rudy also did the same. In fact, Rudy did less of it then Josh or Andy did too and didn't even do the Brauton Hill like Josh and I did. The funiest thing would be this woman riding past him up a hill as he pushed it along.

Classic.

Then again, we had been riding since DIANELLA.

Here are many of his crybaby quotes. I dubb him CBCB. Crying Baby and Cramping Baby.

Rudy: I hate you Alan.
Rudy: Alan, are we there yet?'
Rudy: Ahhh! Cramp!
Rudy: You could've told me it was gonna be a marathon and not a "bike ride"
Rudy: Alan, are we there yet?
Rudy: I'm walking up that hill.
Rudy: This is the last hill right?
Rudy: You lied to me Alan, there are more hills.
Rudy: I've got a cramp!
Rudy: Alan, are we there yet?
Rudy: I hate you Alan.
Rudy: Alan, are we there yet?
Rudy: I hate you Alan.
Rudy: Alan, are we there yet?
Rudy: I might complain a lot but I won't quit.
Rudy: More hills?!
Rudy: F%$king hate hills!!
Rudy: I hate you Alan.
Rudy: Alan, are we there yet?
Rudy: Ahhh...beer never tasted better.
Rudy: I hate you Alan.

At least he bought me a pint afterward. That's right. After 5 hours of riding our push bikes around the Swan, we rode into the CBD and had a pint each for our dehydrated bodies.

NecessEXCESSity.

A-la-la-la-n

O is for Owes

2008-12-22T22:18:00.003+09:00

Many people frown upon the fact that I "selfishly" make Jase (Herman, The Destroyer of Carrots) drive me around everywhere. But just to clarify, he owes me for the many years I carted him around.

And he knows it too.

Alan says:
what was that?
Herman, The Destroyer of Carrots says:
5am @ james place fool
Alan says:
can u pick me up?
Alan says:
pleaseeeee
Herman, The Destroyer of Carrots says:
sdlfhiwegtu2i3knrlwesudv90y34 09 rwalkdnvls;dfnawje o;q3jhtnwaldfnsgw;ekt3q
Herman, The Destroyer of Carrots says:
*Y^# (*^#%()*#W()EREDGF#Y* Y4*O)#$Ygioehfsjkebrl2 eu9283tg97TQT% re863786(&T*&@%*$^%$#(8)&WRFbdsnfkvdg
Herman, The Destroyer of Carrots says:
fine

Don't think I'm ungrateful because I'm not.

A-la-la-la-n

Happy Holidays

2008-12-22T08:19:00.005+09:00

Herschel Shmoikel Pinkus Yerucham Krustofsky once said:

Have a Merry Christmas, a Happy Hanukkah, a kwaazy Kwanza, a tip-top Tet, and a solemn, dignified, Ramadan.

I wish you the same.

A-la-la-la-n

M is for Maturity

2008-12-15T15:45:00.005+09:00

This year was a year of maturity for me.

Or was it?

At training on Sunday, there are these two kids at training who are cousins. At 6 and 7, they are a year or so a part and fun to play tricks on. They look up to me as both a Senior and as an influence so it's always plenty of fun.

After one of them pull on my ears I decided I wanted some fun at their expense.

Alan: Let's play a new game. I'm gonna pull on you ears and when it hurts too much, say STOP. Let's see who can go for the longest. Ready?
(Alan grabs 7-Year Old Kid's ears and starts to pull them)
Alan: 1...2...3...4...
7-Year Old Kid: OW! It hurts! Stop!
Alan: Ok, not bad. Your turn 6-Year Old.
6-Year Old Kid: Nah, I don't want to.
7-Year Old Kid: You have to! If you don't you're a scaredy cat! Are you a scaredy cat?
6-Year Old Kid: NO! Pull on my ears Alan!
(Alan grabs 6-Year Kids ears and starts to pull them)
Alan: Excellent. Ok ready? 1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...
(Ears start turning red)
Alan: Ok, that's more than enough.
6-Year Old Kid: I beat you 7-Year Old Kid! HA HA HA!
7-Year Old Kid: Hmph! That's not fair, you (points at Alan accusingly) didn't pull as hard!
Alan: Ok, I got a new and more fun game. Each of you grab one ear of the other and start to pull. Whoever says stop first loses. Whoever let's go loses. OK?
6 and 7 Year Old Kid: YEAH!
(6 and 7 Year Old Kid both grab each others ear and start to pull)
Alan: Ha ha ha ha...OMG! STOP! I said STOP NOW! Don't use both hands to grab his ears! Are you crazy!? You are NEVER ever to play this game again!
(6 and 7 Year Old Kid wander off...)

I stumbled upon them two minutes later to see that they were playing it again. Geeze...things can sometimes get out of hand.

Real mature, Alan. Real maturity.

A-la-la-la-n

L is for Laughs

2008-12-05T15:12:00.002+09:00

I do a lot of stupid and silly things. Mostly on impulse but there are occasions were I just back my game and do it deliberately.

Today was one of those days.

I was riding my bike up this "notorious" hill around my hood. The great thing about this hill is that no matter how many times I ride it I feel great as I turn into the bend and it finishes. The hill isn't actually very steep but just very long and you can fill the lactic acid burning as your ride.

The bad thing is that towards the peak of the hill I start to really slow down and the bend narrows. It would fit a car comfortably but with me riding they really need to slow down and wait for me to finish my ascent. The other thing is that I live around a lot of hoons and they like to use this hill to test their cars.

Anyways, today I was riding up this hill. I could hear the roar of a car coming behind me but I was at the peak and no matter what I did I couldn't speed up. The car would have to slow down.

Well, he didn't. He thought it would be cool to try to slip pass me at the narrow point.

As in tried to slip pass, he had to move towards the island curb. As his passenger shouted: "Get off the f%$king road d%$khead!", the driver hit the curb as he turned.

I laughed and yelled back: "Learn to f%$king drive!"

As he rounded the bend, I saw the distinct red lights of him slowing down. I'm not scared of anyone. As I rode pass, they cruised beside me and we had a very pleasant conversation.

Passenger: "What did you say?"
Alan: "Hahahahaha...what are you gonna do? Huh?"
Passenger: "F%$k you. Get a f%$king car!"
Alan: "Hahahahaha, keep driving mate"
Driver: "We'll come out of the car and beat you sh*tless, c%$t"
Alan: "Whatever"
(Driver revs his engine...*vroom vroom*...*vroom*, Alan rolls his eyes)

They cruised alongside me for a bit more shouting obscenities but never left their car. After a few more minutes they roared off.

I shook my head and just laughed.

A-la-la-la-n

K is for Korea

2008-11-27T22:58:00.007+09:00

I have a big affinity to Korea.

Well, ever since they brought all you can eat Korean food to Perth, I've become big on Korean food. I am a very devoted fan of Hana BBQ and smelling like Korean BBQ afterward is usually a mark of respect and power.

However, on the advice of my friend James, I decided to head into Victoria Park for an "alternative" Korean BBQ all you can eat. Rumors had it, that afterward you didn't smell like smoke and BBQ. For that alone, I had to go.

I rocked up to Seoul Buffet Korean BBQ at a modest hour. For four people, I expected a table. Alas I was denied! However thanks to my charisma and charm, we eventually got a table. Albeit a shocking one.

My first impression of the place was lovely decor. Such nice lighting and a nice wood tone as well. My second and lasting impression was: poor layout. It was really difficult to move around. Tables block tables, chairs block passage ways, buffet area is cramped and just like Hana BBQ; poor ventilation.

They need to fix this issue. N O W.

[There is a really difficult spot where the two buffet tables meet. And that's where the holy grail of marinated squid was. Fail layout.]

The service was pretty shocking. I swear none of the waiters spoke English. The water they served me wasn't even cold. Is that so hard? My wine that I wanted chilled for half an hour came back to me (after much pestering) was . . . un-chilled. The wine glasses were worse; finger prints and marks all over it. And to top it off the wine wasn't even placed into a chiller on our table.

As for the food; yes it passed. Only because I could eat everything. On top of the fact that they also do Steamboat at the same time. The marinated squid was particularly delightful and they also did lamb (which Hana BBQ doesn't). Otherwise; no difference.

The killing blow came at the bill. It was $37 bucks a head. $5 for corkage which I felt like debating considering the wine wasn't even chilled for me. Poor form. But I refrained from making a scene.

Unusual.

Overall? 3/10 all the points coming from all-you-can-eat and marinated squid. The lamb wasn't even that good. Stick to Hana BBQ. Harsh I know. But I'm a whale biologist; I tell it like it is.

And I still stunk of Korean BBQ afterwards.

A-la-la-la-n

J is for Jokes

2008-11-19T18:06:00.005+09:00

Went out with my dear friend Rudy the other day. I love practical jokes. This little prank of mine went more or less like this. We were in Myers near the cologne section.

Alan: Hey did you know Sean John has his own line of cologne?
Rudy: Huh?
Alan: Look!
(Alan picks it up as Rudy approaches. Before Rudy can react, Alan sprays a generous portion onto Rudy)
Alan: Dude, you seriously smell.
Rudy: Alan, this stuff reeks. It's really bad. Now I'm gonna have to change shirts tonight.
Alan: HAHAHAHAHA!
Rudy: What am I gonna tell Jana? She's probably gonna break up with me now.
Alan: Geeze...that does smell bad!

[HAHAHAHA!]

But at the end of the day, I can draw the line now. Sometimes, my jokes can get out of hand (geeze...there have been a few) but now I know when to stop.

A-la-la-la-n

I is for iPod

2008-11-16T21:15:00.002+09:00

Argh, where has it gone?

My iPod is currently floating around in the dump of my room and I can't find it. Apologies for the lack of updates. Had a whole load of crap which has happened and been super duper busy. Fear not; as soon as I find my iPod I'll get things rolling again.

Why is it the things we use most disappear the most?

A-la-la-la-n

H is for Haircut

2008-11-05T00:09:00.003+09:00

It's that time again when I need a bit of a haircut.

The back is looking a bit like the end of the party of the mullet, the fringe is somewhat losing it's spark and the spikes are waaaaaay long.

But I'm tempted to grow my hair long. After 2 years of having somewhat flair hair and almost monthly trips to get it cut, I am thinking I will just cut it one more time so that it will grow out nice and long.

And the other thing, I'm tempted to move away from hair salons and back to barbershops. I sort of miss the straight razor across the back of my neck. The "who-knows"-sexual hairdress does a good job but then my hair grows out almost monthly. But the 25 year old veteran barber knows one style (short on the sides, top, and back...and front), but I don't need a visit for months.

Not to mention the barber is almost 8 bucks cheaper.

A-la-la-la-n

G is for Gundam

2008-10-28T21:51:00.003+09:00

I have these two shirts which I picked up a few years back. They have Japanese style robots on them with Japanese writing. The robots are reminiscent of Gundam. And it is amazing at how much attention I get from animegeeks whenever I head out. Seriously.

[The shirts are all from Teratag; a UK based brand]

I'm not so much of an Animegeek, I just like the design. Foreign language, robots, comfy tees...what's not to like?

Today I had a particularly scary encounter.

I was at the petrol station and getting ready to pay.

Station Attendant: YO!!
(slightly surprised)
Alan: Number 4 thanks.
SA: TOTALLY! IS THAT GOING TO BE CASH OR CARD!?
Alan: Card thanks.
SA: SWIPE! NOT THAT WAY! THE OTHER WAY! YEAH!
(awkward silence as we wait for it to process)
SA: THAT'S A COOL SHIRT!
Alan: Thanks
SA: DID YOU GET IT HERE? I LOVE GUNDAM!
Alan: Errr...yeah...
(Oh god! P R O C E S S now!)
SA: IT'S DONE!
Alan: Can I get a receipt?
SA: YEAH MATE! THANK'S! COME AGAIN!

It might not sound so bad, but the guy had arms waving everywhere, speaking really loudly and looking at my shirt really intently. The awkward silence ranks up there as one of the worst ones for a while. It was as if having similar admiration of Japanese Mecha Culture made us buddies.

It does not.

A-la-la-la-n

F is for Fish

2008-10-27T22:38:00.002+09:00

Following on from my love of eggs, I also have a great dislike for fish. There is something fish which I just can't stand.

All other creatures of the sea I love and adore, but fish is in a class of dislike next to tofu. The bones make me choke as well. That's got to be enough reason.

Which is why tonight I howled in dissappointment at seeing dinner...

and then, I realised it was chicken.

A-la-la-la-n

E is for Eggs

2008-10-23T00:20:00.002+08:00

Everybody knows I love eggs. Specifically, I like boiled eggs.

Don't underestimate knowing this. One of the key figures in the history of my kung fu style used boiled eggs to be accepted as a disciple.

Keep it in mind.

A-la-la-la-n

D is for Dexter

2008-10-21T22:57:00.003+08:00

For many a month, I had heard many wonderful things about Dexter. Unbeknown to me, my brother had the whole first and second season floating around on his Macbook.

[Dexter and his crew]

After watching the pilot...

I have been thoroughly hooked.

I don't want to ruin it, but in the last 3 days I've chowed down almost 18 hours of it. It is THAT good. This is almost on par with Naruto in my first year holidays when I got through about 80 episodes in a week.

As a quick and general overview, Dexter explores some very dark issues and the result is it can be slightly disturbing (very graphic, blood, body parts etc). I particularly enjoy the exploration of the "Dark Passenger". A side of all of us that is dark and "evil" which we must resist.

The characters are good, the episodes have kept me interested and the acting is better than most series floating around. My verdict? 8/10. Probably a bit too serious for those who are squemish and kiddies, but it sure beats CSI: New-ami or Law & Order: Criminal-Victims-Unit.

A-la-la-la-n

C is for Congratulations

2008-10-20T19:13:00.002+08:00

The weekend was filled with a lot of milestones.

Congratulations to my cousin Giang and his new lovely wife Nhi for finally getting married after 14 years.

F O U R T E E N

That's a lot of dating. I think they started going out in first year uni? Wowzers...in first year uni, I didn't even have Asian friends.

And of course, congratulations to Noelle who enters the 21 year old club. She had a KTV thing at my "favorite" place in the world. sHits Studio.

But Congratulations to Noelle nonetheless. 21!

A-la-la-la-n

B is for Bastard!

2008-10-18T00:21:00.001+08:00

Bastard!

Got a parking ticket today. Scum of the earth inspector gave it to me while I was in a job interview.

You betcha I'm gonna dispute this. Bastards!

A-la-la-la-n

A is for Awful

2008-10-17T00:09:00.006+08:00

After reading over Pete's Sophomore Stories (he's a Med-Eng guy), I was similarly inspired to do the same thing. Mostly because my blog is in the twilight of its career and is trying to revive. And revive it shall! I also recommend people read his Moment in Life I Imagine. I will probably steal some of them when I direct my movie.

It's just Awful what has happened to my blog. So much neglect. It's sort of like gardening. I always plan to do it. But than when I do it, it's so much hard work. Maybe if I constantly look after this blog, it won't be so hard.

So look forward to the next 25 posts which will ALL BE AWESOME.

A-la-la-la-n

If

2008-10-13T22:07:00.002+08:00

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,
If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings--nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!
--Rudyard Kipling

If only I blogged more...

A-la-la-la-n

Sometimes, I am too awesome

2008-09-11T23:02:00.000+08:00

A very special somebody once told me that self-praise isn't praise.

Nonsense.

But I exhibited some of this "too awesomeness" in the last few days. Everybody in my family has laughed at me. I may as well tell the entire world.

It's my sister's birthday today and surprise surprise, a present was in order. And contrary to popular belief, I got her a present. Two to be price. One on a technicality. Technicality? Let me explain.

The first present I got her was season 1 of the OC DVD's. The second present was a necklace with a locket on the end. Nothing fancy. Quite simple and elegant. I hid it in a secret location in my house.

The problem is, a few days leading up to my sister's birthday...

I couldn't remember the exact location in my house where I hid that locket. I tore apart my room looking for it. And do you know what?

I still can't remember.

That's how awesome I am at hiding things. So awesome, I can't even remember. The person who hid them.

[Ahhh...2004; what an awesome year]

At least she liked the OC DVD's.

A-la-la-la-n

Minor announcement: Purged some links because of lack of updates. Update!

Alan’s Bigger Than Sliced Bread Super Mega Happy Hour Fun Packed Roll

2008-09-06T17:51:00.010+08:00

Alan’s Bigger Than Sliced Bread Super Mega Happy Hour Fun Packed Roll is my trademark roll. Today I made another one and forgot to share it with my mate. He was visibly upset as he watched me make it and drooled over it.

But now, I am opening it to the public so that they too may enjoy the greatness of its taste and the flavour packing punch it holds.

I warn you though, the theme of the Alan’s Bigger Than Sliced Bread Super Mega Happy Hour Fun Packed Roll is about powerful taste and jaw movements. Here we go! I've included justifications because sometimes you just want to KNOW why people put stuff in food. Who would have thought putting carrot into a cake would make a decent cake?

Ingredients and justifications:

1 Ciabatta Roll (pronounced cha-BAHT-ta)

The shell of the Alan’s Bigger Than Sliced Bread Super Mega Happy Hour Fun Packed Roll. The Ciabatta has a crunchy outta texture with a soft and somewhat lighter inner texture. It makes for a great base and is a big manly statement of the seriousness of your bread. I got my ciabatta from a New Norcia Bakery distributor so it was also sour dough. A bit tougher, but way WAY better. Triple bonus.

4 slices of Hungarian Salami (medium-thin thickness)

Salami is my cold meat of choice. It's not for the faint hearted (those "health conscious" people) but my heart is pumping pretty good and if the Italian couple who have been together for 46 years eat it, I think I can too. In it goes. I chose a slightly more spicy one today but you can go a milder one if you don't like a bit of extra bite. But if you go milder you aren't adhering to the theme of the Alan’s Bigger Than Sliced Bread Super Mega Happy Hour Fun Packed Roll. HTFU.

2 slices of italian Mortadella stuffed with peppercorns (thin thickness)

It is critical you only have two slices. Anymore and you won't taste anything but Mortadella. And you'll be missing out on the flavour packing satisfaction of the Alan’s Bigger Than Sliced Bread Super Mega Happy Hour Fun Packed Roll. Why did I add Mortadella? Just saying it is fun. Alot of our ingredients have more than three syllables so that we can really rip them off our tongues.

2 slices of Jarlsberg cheese (thin thickness and pronounced as YARLZ-berg)

In almost every movie with mice in it, they are after cheese that have holes in it. Do you see them stealing Kraft Thinly Sliced? Those mice are after Jarlsberg. And Jarlsberg is a great cheese for Alan’s Bigger Than Sliced Bread Super Mega Happy Hour Fun Packed Roll. The reason is because it has a long lasting taste and blends very well with the salami and roll. If you're a cheap ass you can go for Maasdam but the only person you're cheating is yourself (and me because you aren't making a Alan’s Bigger Than Sliced Bread Super Mega Happy Hour Fun Packed Roll).

4 Mammoth Kalamata Olives (diced)

Just like Mortadella, the name alone is suitable for the Alan’s Bigger Than Sliced Bread Super Mega Happy Hour Fun Packed Roll. The Kalamata olives give it a bit of tangy zest and saltiness which means you don't need no salt splashed into your roll. A fun fact for Kalamata Olives: Kalamata Olives have a protected designation of origin on them so that you can safely bet it's authentic and from Kalamata in Greece. Kalamata. I'll write it again so you can say it out loud again. Kalamata.

35 grams of Chilli Pesto

This stuff was spread onto the ciabatta roll to bring a bit more flavour in. It was designed to be a big subtle flavour which you would only realise after you finished a chomp of the Alan’s Bigger Than Sliced Bread Super Mega Happy Hour Fun Packed Roll. Don't get more then 50 grams or you'll ruin the taste of everything else.

Aioli sauce

Aioli sauce bring garlic and olive oil to the Alan’s Bigger Than Sliced Bread Super Mega Happy Hour Fun Packed Roll. It pushes us away from mayonnaise and towards something more zesty and just like Kalamata and Mortadela, you get to whip of those syllables. Like the chili pesto, don't spread too much as you'll then overpower the pesto.

Gourmet Salad

I couldn't find any pre-shredded salad at IGA so I just chucked this stuff in. Good choice I thought. The baby spinach combines sup rising well and rounds out the Alan’s Bigger Than Sliced Bread Super Mega Happy Hour Fun Packed Roll.

Method

Slice the ciabatta roll in half. Spread the chilli pesto onto the base and lay Jarlsberg on top. Careful place the salami onto the cheese and then lay the Mortadella on top. Lightly spread aioli sauce over the mortdella. Sprinkle olives (make sure you slice them up so you don't get pips!) and distribute the salad evenly. Again, lightly spread the aioli sauce.

Pack it down...and ENJOY!

[Alan’s Bigger Than Sliced Bread Super Mega Happy Hour Fun Packed Roll.]

It should take about 25 minutes to finish. And your jaws will get a solid workout but it taste bloody good!

A-la-la-la-n

Random Photos

2008-09-04T23:13:00.005+08:00

My phone is reaching max capacity these days and here are some photos I gathered over the last year or so which I thought I might share. Reminds me of setting up 365 again!

Enjoy!

[Can you see the boar?]

[Some person's park job. Not only did they park on the curb, they also parked against the flow of traffic!]

[My mum feeds me discount special rolls]

[This is Rudy getting trapped in a sea of motorcycles. It was hilarious seeing him do a 81 point turn to get out of it]

[I saw Calvin Harris live! Sure I hadn't heard of him before Goodvibes but hey!]

[I had a very majestic and beautiful mullet not too long ago]

[Fusion pretzels!]

[A small portion of the dust I swept from under my bed]

[A super long chinese new year firecracker. The green and silver thing is a Lion. One of the two that I did the blessing for]

Not even going to apologise for not updating. So there!

A-la-la-la-n

The Banana

2008-08-18T18:14:00.002+08:00

Today my mum threw a banana at me. Lobbed would be a more correct term but the fact of the matter remains the same. The lesson of never throwing food was broken for the first time in 21 years.

She has never thrown food at me. EVER.

And catching it I realised...

Geeze; if aliens from outer space just saw that, they would think I was a monkey. I sure felt like one.

Good banana too.

A-la-la-la-n

Glue

2008-08-08T11:05:00.005+08:00

I needed glue today to stick some things together I was making. I didn't want to buy any so I asked my mum for some. It was a mistake to go to my mum for it.

Alan: Hey mum, is there any glue in the house?
Mum: No. Do you need it?
Alan: If you don't have it, don't worry.
Mum: I can make you some glue.
Alan: No, please don't do that.
Mum: It will take five minutes.
Alan: No, seriously DO NOT MAKE IT.
Mum: It won't take long at all.
Alan: I said NO!
(Alan quickly moves to another room to avoid further discussion)

(Five minutes later...)

Mum: Here, I made the glue for you.
Alan: I said not to make it!
Mum: But it was so quick to make. Use it.
Alan: I don't need it anymore!
Mum: I'll just leave it here then.
Alan: !!!
Mum: I'm going out now
(Alan doesn't use it, he goes to his local news agency and picks up some glue for $1.23)

[Home made glue is not glue.]

It reminds me of my this diorama project I had in year 3 which I had to use this glue. That project was bad and I thought I had sufficiently repressed it. Here come the nightmares again...

A-la-la-la-n

Warm

2008-08-01T08:53:00.005+08:00

It's the depths of winter in Perth at the moment. We have been having outlandish weather with 14 highs and don't even get me started on the mornings. Rain, wind and sunshine can all happen in one day. I am seriously considering gloves and scarf but then again, it's not snowing. Harden up? It IS cold.

Since I've been studying for exams, I've been drinking a lot of coffee and redbull. Keep with me, this all flows on.

Coffee: espresso/long black and hot
Redbull: sugar free (it's cheaper) and cold

This morning I went for a redbull and then got down to some study. I left the redbull near my computer and forgot about it as I immersed myself in reformulated financial statements. I realised it wasn't finished and when I picked up the can I realised it was warm.

Not warm like tea warm, but more like a few degrees above room temperature. Basically, this ran through my mind:

"Should I drink it?"

"Yes, it's $2.49. That's money not to be wasted"

"No, it's warm. Warm redbull Alan."

"Yes, you have an exam."

"No, it will be like drinking cough medicine" (I hate medicine)

"Yes, it's cold outside. It'll be like drinking a lukewarm flat white with no milk"

"No, it's 8.47 in the morning"

"Yes, don't waste things"

The last two yes arguments probably tipped me over the edge. Shoulders shrugging, I went for the gulp.

Y U C K !

Still finished it though. And it didn't get better the closer I got to the bottom.

A-la-la-la-n

Word twister

2008-07-31T09:50:00.005+08:00

I love twisting words around and giving evasive and foggy answers.

My newest favorite line is:

"I am planning to plan something great"

Basically...I got nothing :)

Yet.

A-la-la-la-n

PS: Changed the template. And did away with the World of Alan (don't really have title to the World. Apparently everyone is happy with "Earth") and cut it down to Bigger than Sliced Bread. Back to my minmalist roots.

IE

2008-07-30T21:35:00.003+08:00

As I am currently studying for some exams and remembering formulas and doing questions. And with these exams, I've been coming across the term interest expense alot (yes, they are accounting exams).

I always write it down as "IE". And then it makes my mind wander to internet explorer.

And then from internet explorer, I have this vision of this guy exploring the internet like a jungle.

Then from the jungle, I think about Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad.

Then from Heart of Darkness I think about how Marlon Brando in Apoclapse Now looked very unlike Marlon Brandon in Street Car named Desire.

Then I think of that classic scene of "STELLLAAAAAAAAAA"

Damn...I wish I could go for some Stella Artois now.

And then from that I realise I am day dreaming.

FOCUS!

A-la-la-la-n

Fresh morning air

2008-07-29T08:37:00.002+08:00

I am back on the wasabi addiction. Result?

This morning the air was so fresh that my brain is hurting.

My sinus are so clear it hurts to take a deep breath through my nose.

A-la-la-la-n

Not paying GST

2008-07-23T11:53:00.008+08:00

This is not a review about Batman: The Dark Knight. You can find countless reviews which all reflect my own to a greater or lesser degree at other less reputable blogs. Basically, go and see it. Heath Ledger deserves a posthumous Oscar for his role and the next episode of Batman has alot of climbing to do.

One quick note before we get into the guts of this entry. I find it so embarrassing when people clap at the end of movies. It's just unnecessary. And I ridicule people who do. After the Dark Knight, there was an awkward clap going about which I didn't participate in. Until afterwards Rudy explained me why:

"I think people clapped because it's Heath Ledgers last performance. He did the role well. And also he's a Perth boy. Sort of like paying respects to him"

Ahhh...don't I feel bad now?

[I believe in Harvey Dent. More specifically, I believe that Aaron Eckhart did the role real justice after the atrocious performance of Tommy Lee Jones in that bad BAD Batman: Forever movie. I believe.]

So after Dark Knight, Rudy and I were famished and headed into Northbridge for some good ol' Uncle Billy Chinese Restaurant cuisine. As per usual we ate our fill and prepared to leave. Remember last time when I got a discount at Billy Lee's Chinese Restauran t? I was up for another go at this establishment too. And yes, they are two different restaurant with two very similar names. Uncle Billy's. Billy Lee's. Uncle Billy's. Billy Lee's. Uncle Billy's. Billy Lee's. Different.

It can get confusing when you organise a meet up.

I watched the waiter-guy tally my bill and he punched in the 3 dishes we ordered. Which came to 39 bucks. I have a sharp eye for numbers on calculators. And then he punched in an extra figure and it rocketed to 44 bucks.

I had to say it.

"40? Discount...?"

There was a tense half-second silence as Rudy cringed and the guy paused. His response:

"No, 44"

Or that's what I think we heard. I'm not sure. Rudy can swear he said something like that. But regardless and reluctantly we parted with two twenty's and a five.

But!

Then to our delight he gave us back the five.

He made some sort of waving motion to us and we hurried our cheap asses out the door. I flashed him an obligatory Sliced Bread smile and we stepped into the night. A definite improvement from last time. 10% discount. 10%. That can buy me alot of things.

That's right Johnny Howard. We didn't pay GST.

A-la-la-la-n

The Best and Worst Steak of my Life

2008-07-16T22:06:00.002+08:00

Make for a pretty catchy albumn title I would say, but the truth as well last night.

Last night was our going away dinner (I organised) for my good friend Kit. He is leaving the City of Light (Perth) for the City of Lights (Paris). And those are genuine nicknames. No joke. Wikipedia says so.

[Now tell me, which is the real City of Light(s)]

I like to do quite outlandish things so I thought we should do a 1kg Steak each; anybody who wasn't doing a kg, wasn't coming. So after about a solid two week planning, we met last night at Hippo Creek with the intention of leaving 1kg heavier.

[This reminds me of the TJ Eckleburg sign from Gatsby]

[251 West Coast Hwy]

We rocked up at Hippo Creek in Scarborough after a day of no eating. There was no way I was going to fit a fried kweoh teoh alongside with a 1kg Steak 6 hours later. Starving, we were seated, we ordered our dishes and we waited 45 minutes. Great service too and the place is wonderfully lit. But we were here for steak.

Finally our dishes arrived.

Between Rudy and myself, we set down a few rules so that the boys would finish the meal.

1. We are not leaving until all the steak is gone. All of it.
2. Including sides.
3. You cannot leave the table until we have all finished.

When the dishes finally came out, I made some short speech about enjoying the meal and honoring Kit. Then we got started.

Let me tell you now, the steak first piece of the steak was absolutely amazing. Juicy, tender, well flavored, tasted like it smelt...it WAS the best steak of my life to date. I savored it for about half a minute before I really dug deep for my inner lion and I began devouring it.

[1kg Steak!!! All gone! Click on it!]

I focused mainly on eating the steak, ignoring the sides because frankly it was just not on my mindset. I came from that steak and that was the priority. I did struggle a little with the steak towards the end but it all got down in the end.

[Rudy tore into it with gusto]

[Jase paced his ace (???) ]

[Kit wore a white wife-beater singlet out to a restaurant. Yep, and his going to France]

[DONE!!!]

[DONE!! After Rudy and me though]

The results of our steak fest and sides were (with some memorable quotes):

Rudy: 18 minutes - "I'm Mr. Alpha Male I can do another one. Without sides"
A-la-la-la-n: 32 minutes - "I just had the best and worst steak of my life"
Kit: 43 minutes - "I wear singlets out"
Jase: 55 minutes - "I weigh 57 kg and I'm punching out of weight division"

After I finished it felt like the best and worst steak of my life. All agreed. It was actually a bit of a shame to overeat and ruin the taste but at the same time it was soooo good. I highly recommend all the fella's to do it in their lifetime. Kit suggested we do it every six months!

We then had our pictures taken (if you finish the steak, you get your photos on the wall), talked a little as we rested and let Kit go to the bathroom. The walk to the car was particularly heavy.

[4kg heavier]

I am going to give Hippo's Creek a solid 8.5/10, I could find no fault with it. Maybe the wait for food was a little long but it wasn't unbearable and wasn't unreasonable considering it was 4kg.

The next challenge is the $300 Dim Sum at Emperor's Court. Apparently, the legend goes that if you can do it, then it's free. F R E E.

A-la-la-la-n

The Sliced Bread Guide to Hypermiling

2008-07-14T12:11:00.004+08:00

I recently read a report that fuel per litre might jump to $8 (sooner or later it will happen)

$8 ?!? I'm not even happy at the current $1.50ish per litre!

Anxiety attacks aside I began fervently researching ways of me saving money on fuel.

Unfortunately the majority of what I came up with was a) riding a bike and b) getting myself a Toyota Prius c) taking a bus. I found holes in all these arguments and even though a) I love riding my bike, I don't like wearing helmets b) i can't afford the Toyota Prius and c) I hate the bus. All legitimate reasons.

However I stumbled upon an ancient technique of...

Hypermiling!!

I now consider myself a nempimaniac (one who is obsessed with getting the best fuel economy from ones car). Hypermiling is the modification of driving habits to maximise fuel economy and I now present my guide so that we can all get the best bang for buck.

Let's get it started...

1. Minimisation:

a) Weight

Actually my whole life is starting to become minimalist as I purge my room of unnecessary junk. In the case of hypermiling minimisation is making the car lighter. Other then a few items of clothing in the boot, I've gotten rid of alot of junk in my car. Excess weigh consumes fuel.

I've also slimmed down to a 66kg frame so that my Civic doesn't need to carry that extra 6kg I normally have during the year. Yes, it's a tiny amount but every little bit counts.

b) Braking

I really really don't like to brake anymore. Instead, what I do now is I've been timing alot of red lights so that as soon as I see the red, I start coasting and time it (more or less) so that my car never has to stop fully. Accelerating when your car is moving slightly then at a complete stop is much more efficient. And yes; every little bit counts.

2. Physics:

a) Drafting

As soon as I'm on the road, I look for a nice big truck to drive behind. Why? Because it will break air drag for me and let's my car battle less air resistance. It probably is unsafe to be too close, so I keep a reasonable enough distance. Even at 30 metres, you will still get an 11 percent improvement (says Mythbusters). Aerodynamics and all that nonsense. Every little bit counts.

b) Speeds

After a bit of research, I stumbled upon this quote:

"Optimal efficiency can be expected while cruising with no stops, at minimal throttle and with the transmission in the highest gear"

It's reported between 55 km/hr to about 90km/hr, which suits fine for me. i just cruise around 60 km/hr trying to keep it in neutral and using routes that are mainly straight with no hills. For my manual Civic I've looked into when I should change gears when I'm accelerating from stop signs too. You should to for your own car. Every little bit counts.

c) Tire Pressure

Having tires at a factory specs can reduce rolling resistance. I'm pretty sure mine are already at factory specs but I will double check this later on. Basically; resistance is bad, reducing resistance is good. Savy? Every little bit counts.

d) Windows up

Windows must be up to reduce aerodynamic drag. For ventilation, just open the vents instead. This is important on freeways because drag hurts badly. Every little bit counts.

3. Miscellaneous:

a) Avoid Peak traffic

I am now very anti-driving during the periods of 8.00am - 9.30am and around 4.30pm - 6.00pm. Peak traffic is very bad. Stop. Start. Stop. Start. Stop. Start. Stop. Start. Stop. Start. Stop. Start. Stop. Start. Stop. Start. Get my drift? Every little bit counts.

b) Driving barefoot

When I can, I drive barefooted. It lets me be much more precise with the accelerator so that I can be more finesse with the speeds I want. It costs less to put shoes on (free) then to overev at every light (a dollar or so). Every little bit counts.

c) Avoiding Parallel Parking

I have now completely stopped parallel parking. The constant forward, back, forward, back EATS fuel. Unless of course I am totally confident I can do it in one go of reverse, then that nice spot outside of Metros is a no-no. Don't forget that getting out of parallel spots can also eat fuel as you go forward, back, forward and then back and then out. Every little bit counts.

d) Car pooling

Best way to save fuel ever. Get someone else to drive. For me, it's Jason. After a considerable 3 years of carting his mule ass around, he is finally paying me back for it. And it's the best thing ever. I am glad I have plenty of friends who live around me. Jason, Rudy, Kwun, Jason, Jason, Rudy, Jason, Rudy...ahh :) Every little bit counts.

That's all for today. All basic techniques which I am honing and when I am more confident, i will start doing the tougher techniques I've seen.

A-la-la-la-n

Everything is better when you were younger

2008-07-09T15:23:00.007+08:00

About 13 years ago, I read this really awesome book. I was in year 3 and it was (alongside the Eddings manuscripts) what really set me off on reading and enjoying to read. And yes, I had a slight fantasy to be a medieval fantasy writer myself. Even pop culture icons can be geeky.

Anyways, ever since year 10/11 I've been searching for this book. It was really hard because I couldn't remember the title, nor the character names, let alone the author. In fact, all I could remember was that it was a red cover, there was a panda in it and something about a pearl. And I could also remember that the panda was sitting on a throne.

But I knew it was an awesome book. It had cool pictures.

I would trawl through countless Google searches for this book whenever I had a nostalgic feeling of my youth. You know Google has pages that go 68? You do now. And whenever I was in bookstores I would do my very very best to find it. For the last six years I had resoundingly found nothing. Zilch. Zero.

Alot of my Google searches consistently came up with this stupid Panda in China, Red Panda's and Panda Fireworks. Google failed me. What hope did I have of finding this book? Do you understand? Google failed me. Google never fails. EVER (except all these projects).

A while ago and for no reason whatsoever, I remembered that there was an Emperor in this story. And *click* I knew the title! The Emperor's Panda!! I was shaking with delight when I Googled it...

AND FOUND IT!!!

[See the red cover!?! And look! The panda is sitting on a throne!]

Unfortunately the book was out of print and I couldn't get myself a brand new copy. Not even amazon.com had a copy. But this is 2008 people! When there is a will, there is a way! It was late. Very late into the night when I found a secondhand copy and it was only $4.99 (not including shipping costs)! Boo-yah!!!

Credit card whipped out I bought it. I didn't bother even to read the shipping costs (which was actually quite hefty...) and now I had to play the waiting game. 31 days shipping.

Well the month went slowly.

BUT YESTERDAY IT ARRIVED!!!!

And after reading it...

I was thoroughly and utterly disappointed.

It was good! But it wasn't this awe inspiring book that I had long considered an influential text on my life and would be featured as a guiding force in my auto-biography. No. It definitely wasn't that. I read it twice to be sure but the whole time I just couldn't immerse myself like eight year old Alan did.

All I could do was apply my year 12 literary criticisms to it. And my my, post-colonial reading just raged it's ugly head. The drawings were still pretty cool though.

I realised it was a case of me growing up. Like that time recently Josh and I watched Captain Planets; I was thoroughly not amused anymore. Or that time I ate ice cream for breakfast, nope not as fun. Or getting absolutely sloshed, nope not that fun. Sorta.

Everything is better when you were younger.

And we welcome Peter and his Sophomore Stories to my blog as well. His that asian guy that is everywhere. Yep. Real specific.

A-la-la-la-n

Quiz Filler

2008-07-08T19:24:00.006+08:00

Just a quick quiz to amuse myself. Stolen from Yuvina's Sound of Silence. That doesn't even make sense. How can silence make sound?

Do you drink more water or juice?
Water

Are you there for your friends?
Of course I am

If alcohol were banned, what would your reaction be?
I would not be happy. Not happy at all. I would start up a bootlegging business similar to Al Capone and run multiple speakeasy's. And have strippers. And blackjack!

When's the next time you will see the person you like?
Not soon enough.

Your view on drugs?
Different strokes for different folks

What's your favorite color?
Blue-ish

Do you get along with girls?
Sure I do. I love women!

Do you have someone of the opposite sex you can tell everything to?
I would think so. Sometimes, they don't want to know!

Do you get 8 hours of sleep everyday?
It varies day to day.

Are you a forgiving person?
I tend to hold a grudge for a bit. I like to make people squirm. But then I forgive eventually.

How is life going for you right now?
So-so, some minor improvements needed here and there.

Last person to comment you?
I think Kath was from the previous post.

Do you believe what comes around goes around?
My aunty use to say that to me and she didn't understand it. So it is one of those sayings which makes me angry.

Do you like steak?
Steak is the bread of life. Love steak. In fact, as we are writing I am planning a 1kg Steak adventure with some boys.

Are you a lover or a fighter?
I'm a lover, I'm a winner, I'm a fighter, Gonna set your soul on fire!

Who was the last person you ate with?
Family - dinner.

When was the last time you saw your dad?
A while ago...

What is your favorite thing to spend money on?
My friends!!!

*cough* SHOESSSSS *COUGH*

Are you mad about anything?
Yes, mad about yoouuuu ;) You? No, you! Not you! YOU!!!

What does the last thing in your inbox say?
Facebook - Nicky's back in town and brought Gatsby too.

Who was the last persons house you went to besides your own?
Blockhead's

Do you miss anyone?
From one end of the universe to the other end. The far end.

What are you looking forward to?
Mid-september

What's on your mind?
Japanese food. I know. Shameful.

What were you doing at noon yesterday?
Sleeping off watching Nadal beating Federrer.

The last text you received on your cell and who was it from?
You have 1 Missed Call etc etc etc

Do you sing in the shower?
Singing? More like off tuned talking loudly to a 'tune'

What did you last eat?
Noodles.

Are you the same person as you were at the beginning of 2008?
Nope, more grown up. Wiser.

Off to Jase's place to get me some Lord of Destruction action.

Rest assured people, the blog is inching itself back to Pop Culture Status.

A-la-la-la-n

I had a Mane

2008-06-26T21:37:00.005+08:00

I'm back! Bigger then sliced bread! A pop culture icon! A-la-la-la-n!

Yes: I had a HUGE hiatus from this blog. Why? Lack of inspiration following the highly successful Cheapskating Series. And of course, I've been busy with ALOT of things. But...I'm back now! And I'll endeavor to start updating again! Frequently!

Throughout this year I had been growing a very very luxurious and awesome mane. The style was business in the front, party at the back. Some people called it a mullet, I called it a mane. Some people were repulsed, others were attracted. Some people laughed, others were awed. My mum said it was cool.

[It was a symbol of the free spirited king of the jungle in me and my independence from the Man.]

[After a quick touch up]

Everyone said it looks gross (see the pictures?) and I got a job interview which meant I had to cut it. And I did. Not because of the petition but because I wanted a job. And no self respectable Graduate gets a job with a mane. Or mullet. Much to the relief of countless friends who were beginning to avoid me I got a barber to do it for me. I even bargained a cheaper haircut with him. That's right. Bargained with a barber. I'm not going to bother with photos of my more gentlemanly haircut.

But I regret cutting it. I wish I had it back. I really miss it when I'm having a kick of the footy and I feel the wind blowing through it. I miss the feeling of running my hands through it. Sounds sort of camp? Until you have a party in the back you will never understand.

And my neck is so cold now. Brrrrr...Perth is hardly ever this cold.

As for the job interview. Well, unluckily I didn't get it. It did open my eyes a bit more about what I want to do and how the interview process actually works. So I guess I'm better for it and stuff happens for a reason and all that stuff.

Here are two random photos that were on my phone which I though you might all enjoy.

[I can write my name in pretzels. Can you!? I didn't think so]

[I chew alot of gum. With the wrappers, I make small building blocks to stack them on each other. I got up to five blocks! K O T U]

Be good!

A-la-la-la-n

History repeats itself

2008-05-09T20:32:00.003+08:00

Been awfully busy boys and girls. I think I might just re-launch 365 soon and have that to amuse you all. It was amusing wasn't it?

Just so swamped with uni and assignments. I think I have a combined total of 5000 words to submit in the next 12 days. Not fun at all. And Phil is coming back to. I better clean the room!!!

Oh...

and I broke a promise to someone very important. I said I wouldn't but I did it again. Again. I often why I make so many promises to this person. This person is so stupid to even agree to make promises. Promises that are broken. Again. Luckily this person is awfully forgiving to me. You might wonder who this person is?

This person is me :)

MSU Indoor is on again and we thrashed them 4 - Zip today. I can hear it all in your heads.

MSU Indoor AGAIN!? Three years now!!

But it's only for the rest of sem and I am going to pursue other endeavours *cough* Green belt *cough*. Plus; we got this very splendid boy who I am using to rest my awfully heavy hacking feet on. It's great!

A-la-la-la-n

You've got be to be joking

2008-05-04T21:43:00.002+08:00

Alan is having a quiet day in the library with iLectures, when suddenly something disturbs him:

"blah blah blah Incoterms FOB and CIF brigns a close to this lect..."

*sniff sniff*

*puzzled*

*head phones comes off*

*sniff sniff*

*frantic looking around*

*puzzled*

*S H O C K*

SHE WAS PUTTING HER NAIL POLISH ON IN THE LIBRARY?!?!?!

A-la-la-la-n

Everything is up for bargaining. Everything.

2008-04-29T00:54:00.004+08:00

It was Thursday night when Rudy, Sarah and myself went for dinner at Billy Lee's Chinese Restaurant. Ahh...Chinatown, what would I do at 1am in the morning?

Let's just leave it that the food was average but the staff are pretty nice. We aren't reviewing the place.

Tonight, Rudy also wanted me to shout him dinner because of the very devious trick I pulled on him the other day. Karma got me. I really didn't want to spend that much but I wanted to eat too. Conflicting feelings but the stomach won out.

Anyways; we had just finished our meal and the dude at the till was totalling up our bill.

Alan: So whats the damage mate?
Dude: Mmmmm...
(I had made up in my mind that I would NOT pay anything over 30 bucks for this meal.)
Alan: So?
Dude: One second...ok...$31.50
Alan: $30?
Dude: Ahhh...
Alan: C'mon...
Dude: OK...$30 it is then
Alan: Niiiiice
Rudy: Such a scrooge

$1.50 is like 5% discount. Yeah that's right! I got a discount at an asian food place. But I've actually heard that it's not uncommon for Asian people to bargain for food. Unfortuneately it's a weak position to bargain from because you've just consumed it and can't really say: "dont want it anymore"

Or can you...?

From now I am always gonna bargain at the dodgier joints. A minimum of 5% off everytime and I'm gonna up my starting discount to 20%. I know I can do it. When I get some proper courage, I'll start hitting the Western places too.

Be warned Restaurant Owners of Perth; Super Scrooge is on the horizon...

A-la-la-la-n

Day 7: Developing Scrooges Day

2008-04-22T00:00:00.003+08:00

Yes, today was THE last day of being a scrooge. I successfully lived of 15 bucks for the whole week which amazed me in no small way. It was like a rapid fire course of understanding the value of money in a week. Had to resist so many times from going out.

So, I celebrated today with over indulgence at the AIESEC Developing Leaders Day

- 2.5 B.M.T Subway Foot Long's
- 1 glass of Lemonade
- Notepads and pens

Net expenditure: Zero! Celebrated it being all over without spending a single cent!

I capitalised on the semi-career day feel and loaded up with some pads and free pen's. They will come in handy over the next week as I go into exam mode. I then really over-ate with the Subway (again!) but I felt it was necessary to get my bang-for-buck for the day.

So let's take a look overall how much I spent this week on a frugal way of life...

A grand total of: $6.31! That's a little bit over 90c a day. That is, if I recall correctly, a BUDGET SURPLUS!!!

I am pretty proud with that considering I actually lived quite well this week. I wonder if I could do a $10 thing but live even more frugally? I am also thinking of doing a $20 challenge where it will include bus fares, SMS/calls and fuel. I'm sure I can do them both...

On a final note, to help curb excessive expenditure around me I have found some good links for you all to check up on:

The Cheapskate Guide: 50 Tips for Frugal Living
Drastic Measures to Reduce Debt (a princess girl worked two jobs and lived in a car to pay off 11 maxed credit cards)
One man's trash is another man's dinner (this was more disturbing then helpful)

Now, where is the closest ATM. Alan wants a new pair of kicks, specifically: some Tiger Onitsuka!

Just jokes :)

What a week huh!?!?

A-la-la-la-n

Day 6: End of a State Champion

2008-04-20T22:05:00.003+08:00

Today I had to defend my state champion title (which was unsuccessful). The plus side was that I ate my fill and drank alot of fluids, all financed by my beloved kung fu school Yaolin.

- 1 Turkey Foot Long Subway
- 1 B.M.T Foot Long Subway
- 2 Gatorades
- 1 Redbull
- Some Lindt Choclate

Net Expenditure: Zero!

Really dissappointed with my performances today. Just wasn't feeling that great and I rapdily imploded after lunch time. Sucks. Notably I crippled Jason again. Like last time. And that other time. This time I gave him a good solid whack in the pinky with my stick. Looked mighty purple. I would have pictures but it didn't seem appropiate at the time.

Anyways, last day tomorrow and I reckon I should be able to scrape in another zero. Lunch provided by AIESEC! Can't wait for pay-day on Tuesday!

A-la-la-la-n

Day 5: 0.3% of net budget regained

2008-04-19T19:30:00.004+08:00

Saturday is a day of work for me. A solid 8.5 hours of labour which I cherish and love in a weird loathing sort of way. I had a meeting with the Big Boss. She sat me down with the Little Boss and asked me today what my plans were in relation to the Establishment once I graduated. Surprisingly for the both, I committed myself to another year working even once I get a full time job.

So similar to Shirlz, I plan to be working 6 days a week (if and only if) I get a job in Perth. Scary...but I need to fund alot of things these days. This week has been awfully tough on me.

Anyways; I bet you all have been waiting for the expenditure report. Today was particularly good.

- 1 Roll 60c (again!)
- Customer tipped me 5c (Keep the 5c!)

Total Expenditure: 55c

I resisted the evil urge of buying a newspaper today. $2.20! Nonsense! The West Australian on a Saturday is a load of bollocks. The tip from the customer was pretty nice too. I regained 0.3% of my weekly expenditure with that 5 cents.

On top of this, I also took only 15mins for my break. That's extra money right there.

So freaken tired now though. Need major rest as I have another State Champion title to win tomorrow.

A-la-la-la-n

Day 4: Bread and paper

2008-04-18T21:54:00.004+08:00

Broke my no expenditure streak of two days today. It's sad and true.

- 1 Roll 60c
- 1 Newspaper $1.20

Expenditure: $1.80

Was soooo hungry at work today. And thirsty. So thirsty. Had work really makes your mouth dry. Forgot to bring water from home and was very tempted to put my mouth underneath the leak in the ceiling to let water trickle into my mouth.

Then I realised tap water was free as well.

Had a roll for lunch. Filled it with plain nothingness. Yum! White bread. Tasted pretty good considering how hungry I was.

The newspaper was THE WORST IDEA POSSIBLE. I well and truly hate the West Australian. It makes me sick to the stomach with its poor journalism and craptacular "Opinion". Sports section is ok. But the rest of the paper is just filled with junk and adverts. So many adverts.

Makes me want to vomit. Blaaaaaaaaghhhh. Blagh.

Regretted it as soon as I handed over the $1.20. A shiny gold and silver coin for a crappy black and white hunk of words.

Having a quiet night in as I mentally prepare myself again for Tournament this Sunday.

A-la-la-la-n

Day 3: Gwang Zee mate

2008-04-17T23:00:00.004+08:00

Another good day of brilliant zero expenditure.

- Home lunch
- Drinks at the Tavern
- Drinks at Broken Hill
- Pizza (reimbursed)

Expenditure: ZERO. Brilliant!

The flipside of today was all the times I have shouted Josh. I got free drinks from today and it was like "repayment" of those times I had shouted him. That's Gwang Zee mate. Power of Gwan Zee. Obviously I speak of "gaunxi", thing that social tradition that Chinese people invented. It works something like: scratch my back, scratch your back.

Pizza was part of an AIESEC thing. So gonna get reimbursed.

And nothing beats home lunches. Yum. I am actually on a net profit now!

Doing well people!

A-la-la-la-n

Day 2: Trickery

2008-04-16T23:30:00.006+08:00

I successfully attained my goal of zero expenditure today!

- 1 banana
- Various fruits I've already forgotten
- Roll
- Drinks at the Tavern

Expenditure: ZERO

I run almost every second morning and normally I bring something to snack on. This time I forgot to take anything. However my running partner repaid my past kindness to him (I normally bring enough for two people) and gave me one of those eco-Bananas. Taste good? Damn right! Karma? Fo sho!

I also brought a packed lunch from home. Tasted good for many reasons. Mainly the fact my mum prepared it for me. It was an awesome roll which sadly ended too quickly. I need to slow down when I eat. Still packed lunches rocks. Like that time back in year 1 and then through to year 12

My cheapskate achievement of the day would still be tricking Rudy. Well, I wouldn't say I tricked him. I just suggested things and he drew his own conclusions. He bought drinks AND lunch which is a HUGE rarity in my social visits to the Tav.

Anyways, here is our I tricked him with the power of SMS/mobile:

Alan: Drinky drinky?
Rudy: In tute till 1 but join after
A: Kk...meet in SS Courtyard after

(Rudy comes to the SS Courtyard)

R: Drinks at the Tav?
A: Sure
R: Cool
A: Before we go I want you to know that I have no money to buy drinks nor food.
R: So basically I am buying it all
A: That's really up to you
R: What a hack
A: I didn't SAY I was buying drinks
R: Let's just go already
A: Awesome

I would also now like to say to Rudy: "You got scroooged!"

Cheapskating is tough work on the conscience.

A-la-la-la-n

Day 1: Over-expenduture and New Allies!

2008-04-15T21:51:00.007+08:00

Today's purchases:

- 1 HB Pencil 55c
- 1 HB Pencil 55c
- 1 Sharpener 58c
- Co-op Shop Discount -18c
- 1 Kettle Chips 100g $2.46 (I was so hungry I was delusional and I thought it said $1.46 -_-")

Net Expenditure: $3.96

Spent waaaaay too much.

Those chips really put a dent in my weekly wallet. Going to go for a nice big ZERO tomorrow.

It's going to be a tough week. Luckily, I've enlisted fellow scrooges Jase-the-Loveable-Loser (formerly known as "the Ace") and YummiliciousNiss. Who will be the biggest Scrooge?!

A-la-la-la-n

Living on $15

2008-04-15T08:03:00.006+08:00

...for a date?

...for dessert?

...for dinner?

...for a day?

...for two days?

...for three days?

No.

Living on $15 for the week.

Why? Lately, I've been spending money like no tomorrow. And considering that "tomorrow" I want to be out of Perth, this is not good. Flights cost money. Money has been like water in my hands.

No money = no flights = stuck in Perth = bad

I have a bit of a reputation as a Cheapskate. Always promoting Bang-for-buck, no-name brands and chiding those who spend too much (you know who you are). However, underneath all of this and on closer inspection, I do have my own excessive purchases (like my sneakers!!) and I dare not see the annual cost of my unnecessary food bill. Therefore I am perpetuating a false image. I hate false images. False images are hacks.

But the net result of all this spending is:

Work. Money goes into Bank account. Withdraw. Spend. Spend. Spend. Repeat.

There is more spend then work. Bad. I feel bad because Traditional Asians are notorious for their magnificent skills in budgeting, cutting cost corners and just basic Cheapskating abilities.

As you can see that Cheapskate reputation, I supposedly have, is really unfounded. So, I am going to see if I can do (on average) $2.15 a day!

It will hopefully revive my bank account (and blog as I document it all). I've already googled heaps of links on frugal living, borrowed a book on cheapskating and will get some tips from my uncle (King of the Cheapskates). I welcome extra tips and all.

So basic rules I'm setting down.

- $15 for the whole week
- Fuel doesn't count

Shall use all my charm and wits to do this.

[Scrooge McDuck: So cheap he doesn't even wear shoes. Socks will do him fine.]

And yes, yes...blog neglect. Cry me a river.

:)

Wish me luck (it starts today!)

A-la-la-la-n

33%ish work completed

2008-03-26T02:08:00.004+09:00

It's 2.09am and I have four tutes to prepare for tomorrow.

You can guess how much I have done.

So screwed.

Maybe my mentality of not going to lectures is finally backfiring on me.

Thanks to all who came along to my 21st. Thoroughly enjoyed myself, hopefully you enjoyed watching me run amok and loved all the presents.

This blog is beginning to rot; but Danial has begun his own which some of you might find interesting. I have some awesome posts in the works. Just need some time working on them. And as luck would ahve it; I just screwed up the side links. i will fix it all later.

Later. Later. Later. That's what I say about alot of things. "Fix it later" "Yeah, will do it later" "See you later" "Can we do it later?" "Laters"

I am going insane. Sooner or later.

Back to FATP (pronounced as Fat-Pee) and BAV. Cool acronyms. Uncool units.

A-la-la-la-n

The Curse of the Black Honda Civic

2008-03-16T12:45:00.003+09:00

As many of you are well awares, I am the driver of a very sleek stock-model Honda Civic. My car has often been described as elegant and dignified. It's lack of flair (compared to Azn RiceB0i Skylines/Supra's) can often make it look more menancing as I tailgate people and more often then not, I need to roll my eyes as "b0i's" rev their engines next to me at red lights.

But remember; it's just black and a stock model.

However, I have always felt that the car is somewhat cursed. It just draws bad things to it.

Originally, it was my brother's and he had a few "issues" with it but he then left for another country and it passed into my hands. In my own hands, I have confirmed that the car is cursed. In the past year or more I have been driving, I have stumbled across this timeline of events:

It all started in South Perth at a friend's place. I had left my car perfectly fine in a parking bay and about half an hour later; a guy comes up to my friend's place and more or less claims responsibility for his wife scratching the crap out of my car. Although he paid for it and all...the real issue was the hassle it caused me. After I got the scars done...
Down on Harbourne street in Wembley, a very very young red headed 17 year old P-Plater thought going 80 in a 50 zone during PEAK HOUR would be fun. SMASH! My trunk was smashed to bits and had to deal with the hassle of insurance paperwork and weeks without my car. When I fixed that...
The back left hand lights refused to function properly. Once I got that fixed...
My passenger side window made this annoying squeaky noise every time the window came down. WTF? Warranty covered my cursed ass but then...
The great fella's at the repair centre thought it would be funny not to put my door together properly and i was missing a rather important piece. That was ok because by then...
The driver's side window experienced the SAME thing. I was closing in on accepting that the car was cursed...
Especially when on Saturday, my car got broken into (second time actually because first time my brother owned the car) and although nothing was stolen I am now facing the same sort of hassles again!

This weekened has been pretty rotten I must say. Let's hope tonight get's better.

Oh yeah, turned 21 on Thursday. Woohoo to me and woohoo to Richo Thacho who hit a quarter-century last Tuesday.

A-la-la-la-n

gag

2008-02-29T23:19:00.006+09:00

As part of working the great Establishment (after hearing about people losing their jobs from naming their work and bad mouthing them, I've decided to stop doing such thing), and one of the most senior coolie's I was subjected to pleb duties yesterday and was forced to clean the Fridge. Drawing straws is not fair. Rigged. All the time.

The Fridge is a small room, no bigger then a modest bathroom, which houses all the cheese and fetta's sold at the Establishment. Some would even call the Fridge a "cool room" but I like to call it, the Fridge. It also provides us coolie's a means to store our jams, spreads, vegetables, lunches etc etc.

You might be able to see where this is leading, so I warn you now: Continue only if you are brave of heart, strong of stomach and foolhardy of head. Or maybe because even your Mum reads this.

Alot of us workers at the Establishment are hoarders. We don't like to waste and we really think that everything is store able in the Fridge to be called upon at a latter date. I read somewhere that if you freeze/cool something it last longer right?

Wrong.

So wrong.

As I cleaned through the depths of the Fridge, I discovered things which would make grown men cry. GROWN MEN!

Kurtz said it best: The horror! The horror!

A quick sidetrack; it reminds me of the last days of year 11 and I was cleaning out my locker and stumbled upon a fishy smell. I reached into the back of my locked and found a peach...which had been sitting in there for a WHOLE year and fermented to the point where it began to smell like fish.

That was gross and it's a different story.

Anyways...

I decided pictures do more justice then words.

Last warning...

[Tomato Gross-a-lato. This was about 2.5 weeks old. The girl that cooked it up said: "Chuck it...now!"]

[ It's a bad picture but you can probably see the mold on it. The guy that bought it said: "But is it expired yet?" I chucked it before he could take a wift and prevent me from doing so. MOLD. Even I have my limits.]

[This was the masterpiece. The Big Boss is Lord of the Hoarders. He had bought discount sushi (ie: sushi which is close to due date) and LEFT it in the Fridge for about a month. I don't know if you can see but, there was FUR growing on it.]

Who's glad I'm back writing?

A-la-la-la-n

Absurdly Lazy

2008-02-27T19:22:00.002+09:00

Yeah yeah, long time no update.

February has traditionally been a very busy month for me as I cavalier around Perth with the Yaolin crew for Chinese New Year and celebrate heaps of birthdays and what not.

Also went to Goodvibes and caught Kanye West. If I can be bothered, I'll get some photo's up.

Being a tad lazy for the time being, but I'll pick up the slack in a few days. It's just too darn hot.

A-la-la-la-n

That tingling feeling again...

2008-02-03T23:30:00.000+09:00

It's almost the beginning of the Chinese New Year, which sends tingles to the tips of my fingers and toes and makes me giddy from excitement.

Been training plenty these past few weeks, as this year the school is really stepping up a gear. I have more or less hit my peak fittness levels, as such I hope you guys can all come down and catch me at some point while you see me atop one of the greatest peaks of Traditional Asian Heritage. That which is known as Mt. Lion Dance.

I've listed some performances that I would like to see myself at. If that made any sense...

And you of course. Nothing like support from friends/family/randoms to cheer you on!

Money St Temple (Money St, Northbridge): This is one of my favourite temples in Perth. The altar to Guan Yu and Buddha has always slightly awed me. It also reminds me of this temple in Vietnam where my brother almost killed me, true story. You can catch me here on the 6th at around 6ish. The dance might not actually be that long, but it's always important to get down to a temple during the CNY eve. Make a temple appearance here or at...

Fo Kuang Shan Temple (Guildford Rd, Maylands): One of the most aesthetically designed temples in Perth. It's just so easy on the eyes and if you come down on the 6th at around 10.30ish, you'll also get to catch Yaolin wheeling out 6 lions. It's a really good one to catch. Even my mum is watching me for this one. Or so she said...

Billy Lee's/Singapore Restaurant (Chinatown, Northbridge): These dances are always the best dances to watch I reckon. The alleyway gets really packed as everyone oogles on. That slighty ealier then the FKS peformance at 9.30ish, so all you kiddies can come watch this one. Even though it's in Northbridge =/ There is also another on the 17th at 9.30 which will be very awesome to watch. In fact were there pretty much every night at 9.30...but the two I mentioned I highly recommend.

Saigon Cafe (James St, Northbridge): This dance sends the biggest tingles down my spine every single year. There is something about it which really sets me alight and after a day and a half of CNY I am really fired up for this dance. The crowd really gathers on James St and the atmosphere rivals those really tight dances in Chinatown. Catch me here on the 8th at 7.30

Spencer Village (Thornlie?): It's hard to describe this dance. But from a personal point of view, I feel it's a testament to a lion dancer's endurance and stamina. For two lucky partnerships, this can be a 20 minute lion dance. That's a loooooong time. Worth seeing me come out of a lion like i just had a shower. 3pm on the 10th is when the firecrackers go off.

Pot Black (James St, Northbridge): Northbridge, Saturday night, Potblack, James St. All words synomnous with dodgy aZn's with dodgy over-sized jeans and "dress singlets". Not on the 16th at 9pm though! The Potblack dance is one of the best to watch simply because of all the pretty lights. I strongly recommend watching this dance because it's got 5 lions. More lions = more luck = more fun

We are doing heaps in restaurants from Northbridge Chinese Restaurant though to Shun Fung on the river, and since Perth is so small I might catch you there anyways.

Hope to see you at these performances. Or SMS/buzz me for more.

A-la-la-la-n

Restaurant Review: Ciao Italia

2008-02-02T13:15:00.000+09:00

For all that I rant and rave on about Traditional Asian Heritage and the death of it, I feel I also have a strong affinity towards all things Italian. As such I strive to find good Italian places to eat at. I know where all the good Chinese places to eat are. Italian is what I search for!

For the past two years, I've been hearing rave reviews about this small place on Mill Point road which goes by the name of Ciao Italia. And for the last two years I've not had a chance to go because of bad luck, public holidays or a huge HUGE line.

I've been FOUR times and everytime I've not even managed to eat there. Smelled the delicious food, but alas...not tasted it. FOUR times.

I DID finally to get myself and friends a table on Thursday night. And I'm going to say I was thoroughly impressed. Ciao Italia has a policy of "no bookings" which draws quite a line outside. Luckily we got in a bit earlier and our late wasn't too bad. This line has denied me once before.

Once we got inside, the place was absolutely packed to the rafters. Almost every table is taken and you get a real feel of cramped Italian lifestyle while you eat. I loved it. There is a real buzz in the air and the wood fired pizza's made me even more hungry then I normally am.

Now for the food...

We ordered; the restaurant signature dish typically named: "Ciao Italia", the Panna e’Funghi and the Penne - Vodka. We also got the Siciliana Pizza and the Calzone.

Waited patiently...

When the food came out. I was drooooling. The dish sizes are HUGE for the price your paying. I know restaurants which give you less then a QUARTER of the size what Ciao Italia served me. I unfortunenately forgot my camera but trust me, the dishes are HUGE.

Safe to say, the food was so so soooo good.

It felt like two years of Italian food had exploded in my mouth. All dishes were good but I would say that the Penne - Vodka had a distinct taste to it which I couldn't quite place my finger on. The Vodka must have done something to my taste buds.

Service wise, the Italian dudes who serve you are really friendly and playful. I'm not good at Italian but while we were waiting for our dishes he pointed to our table and shouted something. A junior waiter would scurry off and hey! presto! our dishes started to roll out. You can tell they are doing what they've wanted to do.

Another really crazy thing about their service was their water refill.

Stay with me.

A certain hack, who was pouring the water didn't pour me a glass and then hid the bottle from me by taking it off the table. About two seconds later a waiter popped up and placed a new bottle on the table.

That's service.

They even joke around with you and wear old school suspenders/bracers. The ones that keep up your pants. And pull it off so marvelously. Ahhh...I wish I was Italian.

[Top: Buffon (gk), Materazzi, Toni, Grosso, Totti
Bottom: Gattuso, Pirlo, Camoranesi, Chung (c), Zambrotta, Perrotta]

I had a weird thought while eating about their evacuation method because somehow I don't think they have one. For example, if the woodfired pizza cooker-oven suddely belched fire and the placed started smoking...the panic would be bad because it's so cramped and chairs are EVERYWHERE.

Meh...

A small price to pay for great food and good service. And pricewise? Awesome bang-for-buck.

I'll give these place a solid 8.5/10; I'll be going back in winter when Italian food makes more sense. I can find little to critique except that it is a tad cramped and even at 177cm, I was yearning for more leg room.

Ciao!

A-la-la-la-n

Accidental Innuendo

2008-01-27T13:49:00.000+09:00

Alan: Ok that coffee comes to $28.50
Female Customer: Thanks
Alan: Will you be grinding today?
Female Customer: Sure am
Alan: Do you need help?
Female Customer: Yes please
(giggles all round as we both realise innuendo)

A-la-la-la-n

(away)

2008-01-23T22:40:00.000+09:00

Hullo world!! I'm feeling cheery today!! Must have been a great week :)

First off, general announcements:

So I've been away on Conference this last week and a half or so which means I haven't had time to blog or be around in general. Missing me?

I can safely say Conference was a roaring success and plenty of fun. Met lots of new people and strengthened alot of friendships. Very happy I helped organise it.

I discovered during Conference that I can eat about 20 Weet-bix for brekky and still fit room for lunch and dinner. It made quite a few people sick just watching me demolish so many, but hey...I'm a hungry guy.

As for now, my days are now going to be filled with training for Chinese New Year which is making me sort of giddy as always. Training very hard to get back into peak shape. Almost there! Make sure you all come down and watch me perform during CNY.

I'm a better lion dancer then Jase.

Speaking of which, need to get to sleep because I'm going to Burswood at 5am to watch my awesome team beat his bunch of relegation ponces.

Off to sleep :)

A-la-la-la-n

Milk is so important

2008-01-08T00:35:00.000+09:00

Another one of my resolutions I forgot to write down is "to eat healthy". I already eat healthy, so resolution achieved. But I'm going to take it one step further and stay away from all fast food joints. Macca's, HJ's and KFC are the unholy trinity which won't be going near the sacred temple that my body is.

So in a bid to get myself started on my resolutions and saving for 5k, I decided to try make my own muesli breakfast which will save me some dollars on the copious amounts of Just Right I already eat.

[Quick lesson: Bang for buck people. Bulk foods saves you money because you buy amounts that you want.
Not that I pay for my own cereal though. But I paid for the ingredients of my own muesli. Hmmmm...]

The point is, I woke up at a decent hour to foray into the kitchen to mix up my own special brand of muesli. I was actually pretty excited and I'm going to try to learn to cook more complicated stuff as the summer/year wears on.

Let it be known that my most competent dish of "cooking" after a bowl of Just Right is 2 minute Mekoreng and boiling hot water/toasting bread.

I can now add "cooking oats" to my cooking arsenal.

Sort of.

[Uncooked oats expand and become quite tasty]

[Mixed dried fruit. It taste better then it looks. And colorful stuff in dishes always makes it good.]

Mum was out for her walk and sister was still asleep, so I decided to just chuck it in. They are the traditional breakfast making people in my family. Nobody told me that 700mL of oats is ALOT to eat. In my defence, I only had about a 100 odd grams in there. It didn't look like much either and I hadn't eaten for close to 10 hours. About 7 or so minutes into it, my mum came home from her walk.

Mum: What are you doing in the kitchen?
Alan: Cooking oats
Mum: You've added alot
Alan: Should be fine
Mum: Have you checked if there is any more milk?
Alan: You need milk?
Mum: Pretty important...

She was pretty impressed and watched with a bemused expression on her face.

[This picture doesn't show how DEEP the pot was. Oh god...so deeeep]

[I added water...but water isn't milk. Tasted good. But dry]

Well...luckily there WAS milk! But not much...and breakfast was sooooooooo dry. I mixed in mixed fruits with my oats and it actually tasted pretty good. Just dry. Really dry. I'm going to give myself a pass for this "dish". It wasn't my fault there wasn't milk in the house.

So my first two lessons of cooking is:

Check for ingredients
Don't underestimate the portion sizes

Stay tuned for more breakfast adventures!

["Want not, waste not" -Traditional Asian
I ate it ALL]

Then I had to wash up :(

A-la-la-la-n

The Alan: Resolutions

2008-01-03T14:05:00.000+09:00

After the success of last year, I've had enough time to think long and hard about my resolutions for 2008. The format of last year of partitioning my life into various aspects has done well for me and I'll continue with that.

1. Social Life: Keep to my word/commitments. I sometimes bite off more then I can chew and dissappoint more people then if I had said "no" to begin with. So, I think if I say I'll do something, it's to be done.
1a. I liked the theme of "Don't Yak" actually. It saves me quite a bit of moo-lah, so I'm gonna try keep that going this year. Or start it back up.
1b. Start brewing my own range of beer :)

2. Kung fu/Lion Dance Life: I'm gonna put it out there and say I want my green belt now. Although the red belt is quite dashing and has an air of gallivanting buccaneer, I think the green belt will be more "old world warrior". So at least an attempt at my green belt.
2a. Since Josh isn't really a candidate for a ride to Margaret River since he got his road bike, I'm thinking I'm going to do 100km solo. I suppose in Josh's defence he is LCP (congrats) and has a lot on his dish already.
2b. Running! I like to run a lot and will definitely be doing more of this. Uni runs in the morning for sure.

3. Uni Life: as my last semester at uni, I'm gonna make it my best ever. I have found that it is impossible for me to attend lectures now. So...instead I'm going to attend ALL my tutorials. If I don't, consider this resolution failed.
3a. Since Uni is only going to be half the year, I think I'm going to also take up Beginners Chinese at Tafe. I've been dabbling a bit here and there by talking to my mum, but I want to become fluent.
3b. And I want to learn a European language as well. French of Italian? This isn't really big for me but it would be handy to have.
3c. Minimise coffee/red bull expenditure. I've thought about how much I spend on red bull/coffee and it amounts to A LOT. Don't believe me? You guys all think I'm naturally energetic? Think again.

4. Home Life: is always a tricky issue with me. But this year, I'm going to do a lot of things for the Family. Not that I don't already, but I can do a bit more I reckon.
4a. Improve the living standards of my room.

5. Money/Finance Life: Shirls wants to save 25k and Niss wants 10k? Those are impressive figures which I don't think I can match. So I'm going to shoot for a realistic approach of about 5k for myself. $417 a month? No problem!!

6. Blogging Life: Obviously, I'll do my best to keep this blog alive. Not very many people know, but more then the odd occasion I've almost come to abandon this blog but decided last minute not to. So, expect LOTS of posts this year. At least one every 3 days.
6a. I WILL revive My Project 365. I have no excuse for it's sudden death (except maybe exams). But I WILL have it up and running so soon.

And that is my resolutions for 2008.

A-la-la-la-n

2007 Review

2008-01-01T17:08:00.000+09:00

With 2007 finally dead and buried, I look back over a very long year with how I did with my resolutions for 2007. Remember this?

1. Social life: My issue of lateness is well frowned upon by many a friend so I think being punctual would be good goal. I think I did much better with this. Other then one or two incidents I reckon I was pretty punctual for most things. My watch was set 15 mins fast to ensure some sort of punctuality was achieved.
1a. Continuing on from last year is the theme of "don't yak" so gonna keep with that. Failed. Numerous times.
1b. Make some more friends as per usual. Sure did! "Son", "Library Girl" and "Block 2.0" are three that come immediately to mind.

2. Kung Fu/Lion Dance Life: Get that Red Belt!! *sigh* Me and James talked about this at Sean's bbq. Both of us are pretty shamed that we didn't do it last year. Got my red belt, became State Champion and very involved with Yaolin.
2a. A minor failure of last year was a plan to ride down south. Due to Josh and his AIESEC commitments, it will be scheduled for later on this year. But it's still on the agenda. Failed. Stupid Josh and his AIESEC commitments. His bike getting stolen and then getting a ROAD bike so that even if we DID do it, I would be left in his wake while he sped along. What a hack!!
2b. Recruit some long term prospects for Yaolin. A new partnership would be great! My cousin joined Yaolin and will be playing the drums for us this year hopefully. No new partnership so I guess I failed. But we did train up B2 and Chuck. So I guess that's two more heads.

3. Uni life: Apply myself more consistently to my units as opposed to a killer first semester and then a disappointing second semester. Hell yes I would say I achieved this! Very pleased with both of my semesters (especially first sem exams). Best academic year since my outstanding Nobel Prize for Literature in year 9.
3a. Study during the semester as opposed to camping at uni during SWOTVAC. Failed. I camped at uni a lot during SWOTVAC and learnt an entire unit in about four or five days. Applied Financial Management took an Alan headbutt straight to the cheekbone.
3b. Cut down on the coffee; anything more then once a day is too much. Failed. I not only remained addicted to coffee I also developed an unhealthy addiction to Red Bull. And I'm PROUD of it.

4. Home life: Keep the room clean and learn to cook. Failed the first part already ^_^ Hmmm...I did learn to cook some new dishes. The room is in a constant flux of semi cleanliness. I'll give myself a pass.
4a. Help Penny with her homework more. She IS gonna be in yr11 I suppose. And she is doing more of my subjects. I think I did this well. I helped her heaps with English Lit and Econs. It can be very frustrating teaching and I will ALWAYS admire my own Lit and Econs teacher who were such huge influences on my life in high school.
4b. Eat less meat and give tofu a go...BAHAHAHAHA!!! I still can't really do the tofu thing. And meat is just too hard to avoid. Failed.

5. Money/Finance life: Save up for (insert something worthwhile here). I did buy a lot of shoes this year. BUT my bank account at the moment looks so fantastic right now I'm gonna say I achieved this. And my "(insert something here)" will surprise you all. Stay tuned...
5a. Stop thrashing the phone bill!! Achieved. My phone bill shrunk marvelously when I changed to a huge cap.

6. Blogging life: Try keep this baby going. I know I've neglected it and resulting neglected to read anything else. And since I neglect everyone, they neglect theirs too. It's just I feel neglected. I'm gonna say I achieved this. I wrote 93 posts this year. That's an average of almost a post every four days. Pretty good compared to other people. And I could probably say that 90% of those 93 posts are 100% good ones.

7. Miscellaneous: This are just achievements I am proud of. More or less.
7a.I reckon leading Team Alan to a second place finish in indoor soccer was nice. I recruited marvelously and we had a tremendous year after a horrendous inaugural year.
7b. Survived a car accident
7c. Cheated UniPark

And that's my 2007.

I'll do my 2008 resolutions in a day or so. Stay tuned. New blog template is being designed (and destined to fail too...)

A-la-la-la-n

It's Happy Holidays

2007-12-25T00:17:00.001+09:00

In a bid to make my bank account look healthy, I've been working pretty much everyday until the lead up until Christmas and I've watched as people of all ages and races come together to:

Tear each other apart for ingredients to a fruit cake
Scream and shout at the top of their lungs over some Bocconcini
Spend excessive amounts of cash on loafs of prosciutto and wheels of Jarlsberg
Argue over refunds of $1.20/kg mispriced at $1.40/kg
Exclaim: "Mamma Mia!" at the price of Panettone. For the sake of mankind woman! Inflation!!
Act out every cliche possible to their respective culture

When your around surly and angry people, you tend to be so yourself and I have not said "Merry Christmas" to a single person. It has always been: "Happy Holidays".

Trying to say it sincerely through gritted teeth is awfully hard. If your ever being served by someone over the Christmas break, I guarentee you that they aren't genuinely wishing you a Merry Christmas.

Buch of hack fakes.

[If only presents could open kids. Found this wonderful new artist]

Everybody has forgotten the meaning of Christmas.

I'm voting for the Grinch to win out next year. Probably because I'm related to him.

A-la-la-la-n

NPV of Friendship

2007-12-23T22:25:00.000+09:00

I have seen many awful things in my life.

Watching friends fight over money has to got to be one of the worst ones. It seems as if 15 odd years of friendship can be forgotten over a couple of bucks.

What happened was that 2 guys left a bit earlier without helping to front the cheque, which put pressure on the guys who stayed to pay their half. Then some people were now short and one guy didn't even have any cash at all. It came down to one of us paying it all and having the future reward of chasing money from friends.

We then spent an hour, as my friends came at each other's throats on "who-owed-whom" and it just made me so sick to the stomach. Pieces of metal and paper can do so much damage.

These guys were trashed as well and we are in the middle of Northbridge watching as two of my buddies argue over the bill. You could see frustration building in all. I finally stepped in and using my Finance and non-existent Accounting skills, I help clear the air. But afterwards, you could taste the bitterness in everybody and the night was essentially spoiled.

Grand plans fell through because of this bitterness.

Highlights how pointless fighting over money is.

A-la-la-la-n

The Scum Agents of Capitalist Bureaucrats

2007-12-17T10:53:00.000+09:00

There are many moments in my short life which I have stood up against the injustice of capitalist bureaucracy. I will be the first to say that the epics of defeats have greatly outweighed the saga's of victory. I am but one in a swarm of bureaucrats who serve no real purpose to our great society except to red tape us from end to end to end. All the while making us fill out paper work and contributing to global warming.

I know that I will lose alot.

But! Recently I had a moment of victory against the ultimate representation of scum capitalist bureaucracy: The Parking Inspector.

The Parking Inspector is the only occupation breed which I refused to be my social well-mannered self. I become a Dark Knight, crusading and being vigilante and rude when it comes to these hacks of human beings. What REAL purpose do they serve for our society? If the Government really wanted people to drive less, they should provide incentives for people to walk, ride and take buses. Positive reinforcement!

Anyways, waaaaay back before exams, I got into a car accident. I had to use a replacement car and this one didn't have a parking permit for uni. I used a temporary permit but forgot to have it up one day. Luck should have it, that I got fined.

Furious at myself and the inspector I decided to go and appeal it. I felt that even though I didn't have it up, I wanted to see if I could fight and win it. So with that in mind, I drove over to the evil lair of the Parking Inspector to appeal it! Don't just accept things! Fight them! Fight things when you believe you are right! And even when your wrong! Fight it all! Forza Anarchy! Forza Alan!

I got to the office, and this Administrative Parking Inspector was sitting at the desk. Is that not the most pointless title ever? MORE BUREAUCRACY!!! But it was her title. Imagine a kid growing up to be that? Still, it was on her name badge. I think she could see the anger and fury in my eyes as I approached her.

Administrative Parking Inspector: Can I help you?
Alan: I want to appeal this fine.
API: Let me see the ticket.
(Alan hands over ticket)
API: Ok...let me bring up a picture of your dashboard. Here it is. As you can see, you didn't have it displayed on the dashboard. You have no basis for an appeal.
Alan: I had a temporary permit up. See, it says I can park in yellows bays (shows API temporary permit)
API: It's not displayed though.
Alan: That picture doesn't show it. It's on the far edge and your man must have missed it.
API: Well, the picture doesn't show it.
Alan: I still want to appeal it. You guys incorrectly infringed me and I don't want to pay the fine.
API: Ok, fill out these forms then.
(Alan fills out forms and writes almost a page about incorrect infringement on the questions of: "Why are you appealing?")
Alan: Here
API: You should be hearing from us in 3 - 5 days if your appeal was unsuccessful. Keep in mind that if you fail your appeal you choose to forego your discount.
Alan: I don't care. I still want to appeal
API: Thanks
(Alan leaves without saying goodbye)

Well I DID get a letter from those hacks a few WEEKS later. Bunch of liars. When a bureaucrat "3 days", there are subtitles below him which translate to: "3 weeks". Hack!

Here's that letter:

[I want you ALL to click on it. Seriously. You can win too]

I am proud of it. I WON! I think I might frame it.

The victory is even more sweeter because I deserved the fine and fought and won it! Forza Alan! Forza Alan!

A-la-la-la-n

Shimizu Grand

2007-12-14T22:39:00.000+09:00

Today we shall be reviewing a restaurant...

Restaurant Review: Shimizu Grand

Shimizu Grand is part of "that" chain of Japanese restaurants that is sprinkled around Perth. There is one in Harbor Town upstairs (near the Converse store) and there is also one on Muray St. (near the over-priced Woolies where all the Internationals go). Shimizu Grand is located in Floreat near the Floreat (a good bar from what I've heard). The design of the place has a very minimalist feeling to it. I expected that because clean cut design predicts clean cut food.

The unique thing about Shimizu Grand is that it has a weird policy of paying before you eat. But also on certain nights, it's ALL YOU CAN EAT! That's right, all you can eat Japanese food! Absolutely crazy! I get pretty excited about all you can eat, but throw in Japanese food and I was pretty giddy on the lead up. All you can eat!!

It's $35 a head but there is no wastage surcharge. Or, there IS but how the hell are they gonna make you pay for it? You've already paid. Unique huh? Asian people thinking that people will run out on them.

[This was pretty daunting to be honest. It was really fun arranging it though]

[This was tough as well]

Surprisingly, Japanese food is really filling. REALLY filling.

I can eat alot. But only through sheer will power did I manage to over eat and get my money's worth. But to be honest, the tempura was soggy and not-very-Japanesey at all. And the range of food? There is really NO range! Honestly, every time I was eating some sashimi/sushi/wasabi I would think: "This is just so average..."

Loved the wasabi though.

Katie made had an excellent monologue which burnt into my memory for the night. Here's the gist of it:

You go to the Atrium in Burswood and you eat pork, chicken, beef, turkey, seafood, soup, vegies, salad, cakes and ice cream and at the end you feel you've eaten enough! But here...you eat sashimi, seaweed...and...sashimi. That's why you feel like you haven't eaten enough even though you just ate about 20 pieces of sashimi!!

Sure I enjoyed it to a degree. But I always enjoy food. Katie's point was just too valid in the end. Range for buffet is so important. Which is why I love Hana BBQ in a weird love-hate way. At least with Shimizu Grand, I didn't reek of bbq smoke by the end of it. And that can be a good thing.

So overall, bang for buck combined with minimalist design and mediocre food my score is for this place is a 5.2; go and you shall be disappointed. But don't come back. It's more of a one off thing really. I did have high expectations but it was just soooooo mediocre. And the so-so range just made me so much more unhappy.

I just can't stress how average it was.

Wait, I forgot something.

I give it a 5.5, they give you a pair of cool chopsticks after you finsih eating with a corny line of: "Are you full? You cannot leave empty handed" or something semi-Oriental philisophical like that.

Talk about reinforcing Asians and Confucian stereotypes.

A-la-la-la-n