Being Aware …

I’m Chris and
I’m a Sailfish.

Ha ha! A really close friend of mine sent me this fun link that also happens to be an educational site about marine life preservation. And TA DA! I am a SAILFISH! Here’s what I learned about Sailfishes today!

“You are an athlete of the sea, swimming at speeds clocked at up to 68 mph. You are also recognized for jumping to incredible heights. You are known for your pointy bill and large sail, the dorsal fin that can stretch the entire length of your back. Your sail is often folded over to the side while swimming for aerodynamics, and is raised to look make you look twice your size when threatened or excited. Growing quickly, by age one you often reach 4 to 5 feet in length and can reach 10ft as an adult. You enjoy eating squid and small fish, and may use your fin to catch dinner by herding schools of small fish with your fellow sailfish.

But as a highly prized game fish your populations have declined from overfishing. Anglers are now encouraged to catch and release you. Typically you will only live between 4 to 5 years, as this is the average life expectancy of a sailfish.”

What are we doing to the world we live in? I’m not a big conservationist but I really do feel concerned that a lot of nature is being destroyed every day. I’m gonna do a little bit on my part to help protect our environment. I was at Jusco recently with my granny & aunt and it was a nice surprise when the person at the check out counter asked if we had our own tote bags for groceries. I was like … WOW … score one for Jusco. It’s great to be reminded to use less plastic bags. I’m gonna start making it a habit to carry my own bags for groceries and to not take plastic bags if I can afford it.

I’m also pretty excited that my PS3 is able to help out in cancer research. In case some of you don’t know, the PS3 has an app called Folding@Home that you can leave on when the machine is idle to run protein simulations that hopefully lead to a cure for cancer. I’ve lost extended family members from cancer and one of my aunts now is fighting it. The best part of it is that I usually download large files like demos, etc sometimes just so I can leave Folding @HOME running. He he … I’m glad that my expensive toy can do some good rather than just be a video game console.

Anyways, I’m gonna take a break today I guess. It’s been a gruelling week and I have quite a few things to do this weekend. I’ve got an XML file to populate for a site revamp, a information architecture design (i.e. sitemap) to do, a website to upload (for that freelance project that I committed to before I started work) and 3 scripts to write for trailers for our upcoming big production in church. Having said that I also have a lot of stuff that’s piling up for Four Forty Records. It’s crazy. That’s a lot of stuff to do and one day off would mean one less day to work but I’m human and a break would be very welcome.

I should at least upload the files for the freelance job and run through the site. Which reminds me … I have not done my quiet time yet! Better stop blogging and better start spending some time with God before I start off a beautiful Saturday.

Quality Written

Amazed. Yes. Amazed. That IS the state I am in now. A M A Z E D. James (mah boss) pointed me to this blog called Fly or Die and boy can that girl write. Choice words does a BLOG make not just random rambling or prattling. By comparison my writing sucks! I spew out my thoughts and that my friends is creativity times zero. I forget that BLOGs in essence are a form of entertainment. Intellectual entertainment for the zombied masses who up till now have been inundated by MTV & Hollywood fare. Modern society has lost something precious the day the television was invented. Honestly … how many people actually read nowadays? Sadly I too have succumbed to the temptation of idiot entertainment. It ain’t wrong mind you but today as I write this my eyes have been opened & my senses awakened. Time to jumpstart reading in my life but where do I start? That, compadres is the 5 million peso question. Someone, anyone please suggest something to me; fiction preferred.

By the way, if any of you chance upon a magazine called Pinch do pick up a copy. It’s free! So all you cheapskates have no excuse to pick one up. My first published article lies within those pages. And YES it’s a paid article! I haven’t even been paid yet but it was a proud moment to flip through the mag and see my name in print. The article wasn’t worth that much monetarily but it’s a first in my portfolio of published work. An ego booster indeed.

Whoops! It’s 5:41 now and I’m supposed to drop by 1U to purchase some fake eyelashes for a video shoot tonight. I hope the salesgirl doesn’t think I’m some sort of cross dressing freak or something. Incidentally my iD is nudging to pick up a copy of Paper Mario since I’m gonna be in 1U anyway. Hmmm … we’ll see how. Guess we’ll find out tomorrow or something. Heh!

Wingapo (go watch Pocahontas if you want to know what it means).

Addicted?

Cripes! I’ve just been blogging 4 days and already I feel as if I can’t live without it. It’s pretty amazing to discover people I know personally who Blog as well! I’ve discovered 2 fellow Bentongites from my home church who blog too!

The web is such a strange and wonderful place where there are familiar faces in familiar places (ha ha ha … guess where I lifted that last part of that statement from). I’ll give ya a hint, it’s from a song!

OK … I’m actually supposed to be coming up with some taglines for a Standee for a client. I’ve got 3 options so far and I’ll need to come up with more because I’m not a very experienced copywriter yet. I usually come up with a number of tagline options so we have a choice of what to present to the client. Bummeroo! But that’s the way it is when you are starting something new. Good thing I’m interested in what I’m doing or I’d probably be grumbling all the time. Heh!

Oooo … it’s already October and Resident Evil: Apocalypse is playing already. Plus Sky Captain & The World of Tomorrow is on for sneak previews this weekend! I shall be preparing myself to do some spoiler free movie reviews soon!

Laterz!

Verbal Diarrhea

Dudes!

That’s surfer speak for hello to all my buhds and buhdettes! Ha ha ha! I’ve just had a pretty long day today and James (my boss) just criticized me for the use of a generic template on this blog! He said this; and I quote … “How can you use a template for your blog and work in a design firm?”. Uh … those weren’t really the exact words but you get the idea. Ha ha! I guess HE is RIGHT … problem is I am really lazy to pick up Photoshop & Illustrator plus I’m kinda lazy to go looking around for server space to hold images. If I’m not mistaken Blogger doesn’t allow uploading of pics. Can anyone out there confirm this for me? I suspect that I may be wrong and it’s just my lazy Id giving me an excuse to use this generic template so I can just keep on writing. After working 4 years at Arachnid as a web developer this is like the first time I’m actually purposefully maintaining something on the web that is NOT related to WORK! How strange … and to think I used to do this for a living (I guess I still do in some ways now, just not full-time anymore).

I’ve been reading my last few posts and I realised that I’m pretty long winded. Long sentences that seem to go on forever don’t make a good read. It seems like I’m trying to make too many points in one sentence!!! That’s what happens when you just rattle on without ever having a point to make. If you ever were to read my journal (wouldn’t you like to know where I keep it? *wink*) you’d probably wanna choke me the next time you see me cos’ of my long windedness. Bwa ha ha ha ha ha! I promise from now on to edit all my posts to ensure the best possible reading experience for all my fellow bloggers out there.

It’s pretty cool to discover so many people from DUMC who also Blog and I’m beginning to feel like I’m not the only one out there who can write. Thank God none of you are actually thinking of pursuing a career in writing cos’ there’d be far too much competition for me & I’d probably lose out. Or maybe I’d come out on top … who knows? I won’t really know will I? And I don’t really want to find out.

Hmmm … I think it’s time for me to review another game. I noticed that no one made any comments about the last game I reviewed so I’m gonna write some more. Perhaps some one from Gamespot or Gamespy will notice and I’ll get hired. I’ll be in 9th heaven then … wah, that’s like 2 levels above 7th heaven. Which begs the next question I’m gonna raise … why are there 7 levels in heaven? Who came up with that anyway? I have a feeling this stupid statement is gonna trigger a lot of responses but never mind, I’m gonna make it anyway.

I shall go write a game review now. Coming up Def Jam: Fight For NY for the PS2 or should I review Tales of Symphonia for the Nintendo Gamecube? Hmmm … choices, choices. What would I do without choices?

Toodles …

Blog Therapy

Whoah … now that was pretty therapeutic (is that how you spell it? therapeutic?). Ah yes, it is spelled t h e r a p e u t i c … I can now sleep well tonight knowing that my spelling ability has not yet diminished due to age.

It certainly was fun to write that completely unneeded game review on Demon Stone; personally I don’t even know who will read it but I’ll keep on doing it anyway. Writing is such a joy but somewhat taxing past time on the brain and the old hands and wrists (the bane of all computer users).

First of all, I guess this would be a good spot to also let everyone know what’s happening in my life of late. Hmmm … Well, the latest news would be that I now have a new housemate in my place in Setapak. I offered to let a friend of mine stay with us (us as in me and my brother Weng Kit) for a couple of months. So last night Timmy Lai Tim Fatt officially joined us as a resident of Prima Setapak. There’s a whole load of unpacked stuff sitting in my brother’s room now and in a part of the hallway. Hopefully he’ll get around to sorting things out soon as my brother isn’t too pleased by the mess. Actually I’m a little displeased too but give him a break-lah. He just moved in last night and the poor guy had to sleep in the hall. It’d be cool to have someone else in the house who can actually play video games with me. Contrary to belief, my brother and I don’t play that much games together for some reason. Weng Kit’s a PC gamer and I am currently a certified 100% console gamer.

As for work, I am now working in my friend’s company; Mantra Communications as a copywriter. I come in to the office all the way from Setapak 3 times a week from 2:00 to 6:00pm to help them write whatever it is they need to write. They do mostly below the line stuff (brochures, POP materials, etc). So far work is fun and James (my boss and friend) & I have loads of fun everyday. We joke, we laugh and we talk nonsense quite a lot. Writing doesn’t feel like a chore although sometimes it can be taxing to rewrite copy for a client if they dislike what I’ve written. Other than that I would say I’m getting somewhere in this writing thing. It’d be a dream to be able to write for a gaming magazine. I sent out some applications to PC Gamer Malaysia and GameAxis Unwired; 2 local gaming magazines but alas no reply from them. Sigh … it’d be pretty awesome if I could get a job like that wouldn’t it? I can imagine exquisitely cools scenes in my head where I’m gaming and suddenly my mom’s voice would call out “Yuen … what are you doing?” and my reply would a very smug “Mom … I’m working!”. Mua ha ha ha ha ha ha! That’d be the life. To game as a living.

Besides that I’m open to freelancing for web projects here and there although I must say that I’m not interested in that really. But one must do what one must do … so grudgingly I will take up whatever web projects that may come my way although I will be very selective about what I take up cos’ I don’t want to suffer from boredom while working on a project.

When it comes to church, well I am a cell leader now which is scary and I’m still involved with Punctuation Productions (our drama group in church), In fact we’re working on our Christmas play now and it’s gonna be a mix of video & stage. Nothing new cos’ Actor’s Studio did it ages ago before and we’ve done it countless times in some of our productions. I personally feel stage work should just remain that … stage and not be mixed with video. It kinda detracts from its name … “stage”.

Oops .. it’s 6:00pm already and I think it’s time for me to leave. Hooray! I now leave this BLOG unattended. It’s off to ta pau dinner then off for my meeting with the rest of the Sun Seekers (my subzone in church). See ya later ALLIGATORS!

Epiphany

Oh wow … I can’t believe it’s been 2 years since I signed up for this account. Blogging has come a long way since then. Believe it or not, I’ve not posted anything here since I got this account and since I’m currently pretty bored sitting here at my part-time copywriting job I guess it wouldn’t hurt to write something. When I signed up for this I was a web programmer and right now I’m pursuing my dream to write. Talk about evolution or am I actually devolved? Whatever it is; I suppose I’m taking steps in the right direction … although one might argue that writing programs could be considered a form of writing too. Ha ha!

Pardon my ramblings but I’m just writing whatever comes to my mind at the moment. I have absolutely no point to make here and I have absolutely no reason to write. But I shall write on anyway …

After much self-analysis over the past 26 years of my life, I have come to the conclusion that I am addicted to escapism. (insert mad laughter here) How have I come to that conclusion some of you may ask? Well … I think it’s because I seem to find life as depicted in novels, comic books, movies and video games to be a heckavu more interesting ride than my own life. By comparison the exploits of a character or group of characters in every single one of these mediums is a whole lot more exciting than our boring mundane lives.

Anywayz, I’ve decided that this blog shall be dedicated to all my escapism exploits; everything from movies, books, comic books (comic books aren’t really books you know?), and my all time obsession right now … the magical & hypnotic world of video games. If you counted the number of hours I spend reading reviews, previews and gaming; I’d say I spend maybe 10 – 15% of my life losing myself in games.

So check back every once in awhile. I suppose writing is a much better way to spend my time compared to surfing around the same sites. It’s a much healthier creative outlet. Since I still have nothing better to do, I’ll probably write about some of the games I’ve finished playing recently.

Peace.