Thing-y & Thought-y

Photos

2011-08-23T22:27:00.026+08:00

Here are some shots I took that I like. By the way, they are not edited in any way. The shots are JPEG's straight out from the camera.

Please give some constructing comments on the shots.

Crumpler Strap and Other Camera Stuffs

2011-08-01T15:21:00.013+08:00

I don't like the Nikon strap that were provided with the camera because it hurts my neck. Besides that, it's not good in absorbing sweats. So, I decided to get a Crumpler's Industry Disgrace after comparing a few straps that are offered in the market.

The Crumpler logo:

Besides that, I also bought a Sandisk 8GB Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC) memory card for my camera:

I later bought a Sandisk Extreme 8GB class 10 memory card at the PIKOM PC Fair:

I also bought a used Nikon EN-EL3e battery as a spare battery for my camera:

Although the used battery that I bought is slightly different compared to the one I'm using, they are both original Nikon batteries.

Lastly, I bought a flash diffuser/reflector for my future flash because I know I'm going to get a flash unit for my camera but I haven't got it yet:

With diffuser panel to diffuse the flash:

It also comes with two white panels with stickers to act as reflectors:

A gold sticker for gold reflector, a silver sticker for silver reflector. The back of the reflectors can be used as a white reflector:

Nikon Malaysia's 10th Anniversary

2011-07-31T22:38:00.033+08:00

To celebrate it's 10th anniversary, Nikon Malaysia held an exhibition at Mid Valley Megamall. The exhibition was held for 4 days from 31st March to 3rd April 2011. There are a lot of programs that were prepared such as photography talks by various professional photographers such as Manny Librodo, Cede Prudente, and Stefen Chow, showcases of various Nikon products, model shooting and complimentary sensor cleaning for Nikon DSLR users.

I went for the first day of the exhibition which is on the 31st of March which is a Thursday to avoid the massive crowd that I expect would show up for the exhibition for the next three days.

Here are some shots that I took at the exhibition:

Nikon's cameras:

My Nikon D90 was released in year 2008:

Legends of Nikon cameras:

One of the entries for the "Be Creative with Nikon" contest:

A very expensive 'dissection' of a Nikon DSLR:

A place for you to test the Nikon flashes:

The "Nikon" stage:

Time to shoot some models:

Second set of attires:

After that, I went for the photography talk by Manny Librodo. There were so many people that attended the talk and the seats that were provided were insufficient so I had to stand at the back until the end of the talk.

I really like his photos because he uses a lot of vibrant colours in his photos. I also learned a few things from the talk that is useful in photography.
Here are a few things that I can remember from the talk:
1) Tell a story.
2) Photograph people that have characters.

I did noted the 5 or 6 points that he mentioned during his talk when I get back from the exhibition but I lost the paper...

DSLR Accesories

2011-07-31T22:16:00.008+08:00

After getting my Nikon D90, it's time to get some accessories for my Digital Single-Lens Reflex (DSLR) camera. Here are the things that I bought for my new hobby - photography:

Siyoteam memory card reader:

Lenspen, an effective and useful lens cleaner:

Nikon ML-L3 infrared remote controller:

Giottos Rocket Blower - mainly to remove dusts from the lens :

and Heliopan multicoated UV filter:

Now, off to shoot more photos :)

Nikon

2011-04-10T22:11:00.008+08:00

Based on the preview picture in my last post, if you guessed that I bought a D3100 because of the camera in the photo, then it's wrong.

It's actually just a part of a Nikon paper bag given when I bought the new camera that will be revealed soon:

And here are the free gifts that are included with the purchase:

I bought this camera during last year's December Pikom PC Fair. I paid the deposit on Sunday because the cameras went out of stock and I finally got the camera on Thursday (16th December 2010).

Here it is, the Nikon D90 with kit lens:

Even though during the time of my purchase, the D90 has been replaced by the D7000, the D90 is still one of the most popular camera in the Nikon DSLR's product line.

Jade Puzzles

2011-02-28T00:27:00.008+08:00

From Meffert's:

Exclusively for Jade Club members:

Jade cube:

Jade Pyraminx. It's actually a Jing's Pyraminx, so maybe it should be called Jade Jing's Pyraminx:

By the way, each of the Jade puzzles come with an unique Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) code.

Preview of the upcoming post:

Malaysian Cube Open 2010

2011-02-27T23:22:00.006+08:00

The Malaysian Cube Open 2010 was held over a period of two days. As I had other event on the first day, I had to skip all the events that I wanted to enter on the first day which consists of Rubik's Magic, 2x2, 3X3, and Pyraminx. Therefore, I was left with the Cubedron and Dots side events on the second day.

My main intention of attending the second day of MCO is to join the Cubedron event. I've never really practiced the Dots until the competition day itself. I founded the optimum algorithm for the first Dots challenge thanks to the inputs from a few person I've met on that day.

When it's time for the first Dots challenge, the competitors were divided into two groups. One group will solve the Dots first and the other group with the Dots will judge. After that, the groups will swap roles. I was on the judging group and I asked the person that I will be judging to let me solve first because my Dots are set so that the optimum algorithm can be carried out. If the Dots are not solved using my method, the position of the pieces will change and the optimum algorithm will not be able to carried out but the person refused.

After the person finished all his solves and it's time for me to solve, I tried to put the Dots pieces back so that I can execute the optimum algorithm. The admin of the event saw this and grabbed the Dots from me and scrambled the pieces. I told him that I want to put the pieces in my way because it complies with the competition rules. He rearranged the pieces using his way and demanded me to solve the Dots immediately. Since he is the admin and I don't want to have any argument with him, I went on to solve the Dots, but using the normal and longer algorithms. I was quite pissed off at that moment and it affected my solves. My times were bad and I know I had no hope in getting anything from this first Dots challenge.

After lunch, we had the second Dots challenge. After everyone solved the Dots, I was standing at the back of the judge while he is organizing the time sheets in order and I didn't saw my time sheet in the first three time sheets. I thought I will not get anything from this event as well and I put all my hopes on the Cubedron challenge. But in the end, the Cubedron challenge was called off because the number of minimum competitors were not met.

Luckily, I still got something in the end.

Yup, 1st runner up for the second Dots event. I was so happy when the emcee announced my name because I wasn't expecting it. I thought I would only get the cash but I got a medal as well. I like medals and trophy because it gives me a sense of achievement. I guess the judge probably wasn't putting the time sheets accordingly to the solve times when I was standing at his back.

Medals :) The other medal was won during the first Rubik's Cube competition in Malaysia at 2008. If you do not know or have forgotten about it, here is the link: Rubik's Cube Competition 2008

By the way, I stayed towards the finals of the Rubik's Cube 3X3 event. The situation was really intense during the finals as everyone kept quiet and awe in excitement as the speed solvers put their hands down to stop the timer. After the emcee announced the champion for the 3X3 event which is Piti Pichedpan from Thailand, his father (or so I believed) that was sitting beside me was so happy that he gave me this pen signed by Piti:

So, in the end, although my main intention to join the Cubedron event was not being able to fulfill, I still got a medal, some cash, and also a pen signed by a Rubik's Cube Superstar :)

Bel Canto Concert Series

2011-02-27T22:39:00.008+08:00

The whole concert series was carried out last year from 15/8/2010 to 24/11/2010. There are a total of 4 concerts in the series but I attended the last 3 concerts only.

Aisling Agnew and Matthew McAllister:

A rare duo which consists of a flutist and a guitarist.

Flavio Cucchi:

The last concert was performed by Yang Xue Fei:

Her concert was carried out at Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (KLPAC). The hall was packed with people and there are even extra chairs that are being placed at the back of the hall to accommodate the extra people that paid for the concert on that day.

She is very famous in the world of classical guitar as she is a female, plus she is from China, which is rare though the number of female classical guitarist in China is slowly increasing.

She performed a total of 3 encores at the end of her concert. The previous concerts that I went usually only had 2 encores and this is the first guitar concert that had 3 encores because the crowd kept on clapping and shouting for more. If the emcee didn't calm the crowd down and call an end, I think the concert would have been extended into midnight. :p

Happy Chinese New Year

2011-02-03T19:29:00.003+08:00

I wish all my readers a very happy Chinese New Year. May the year of Rabbit (or hare) brings you abundance of health and prosperity. :)

I will write up more posts after this Chinese New Year. In the meantime, I'll be 'hopping' around to get more Ang Pow (or red packets) from my family and friends. :)

Helicopter Cube and Gear Cube

2011-01-23T22:27:00.006+08:00

A parcel:

Inside the parcel is a Helicopter cube, a Gear cube, and a blue cube as free gift:

Free gift:

Helicopter cube:

Gear cube:

The Gear cube can be solved almost instinctively, while the Helicopter cube will blow your mind away the more you twist the puzzle. I've solved the Gear cube a handful of times but for the Helicopter cube...0 time.

Happy New Year 2011

2011-01-23T19:13:00.001+08:00

First off, I must wish everyone here a Happy New Year 2011 though January 1st 2011 is already long past.

Secondly, I must apologize for being inactive in posting new posts here in my blog because year end is always my busiest season.

Lastly, I will try to post up all the things that I've missed as soon as possible. So, stay tuned.

Here's some sneak peek on what's gonna be in my upcoming posts:

A package:

And another one:

Guess what's inside those two parcels.

Guitar concerts:

Malaysian Cube Open 2010:

Buffalo MiniStation Lite

2010-09-19T14:51:00.006+08:00

Finally, my very own external Hard Disk Drive (HDD):

It's a MiniStation Lite HD-PET500U2 with red chassis.

My New Wallet

2010-09-19T14:02:00.006+08:00

I like my new wallet very much. :)

Taman Negara, Malaysia National Park

2010-09-18T15:24:00.014+08:00

A week after me and my family went to Bukit Tinggi, me and my sis went to Taman Negara with the Baitiangong youths.

There's no photo here so I'll have to do the talking.

Before we went to the national park, we stop by Kuala Gandah Elephant Sanctuary at Pahang. We had lunch and had fun feeding and riding the elephants before heading to the national park. At first, we should have a night jungle trekking but because we arrived there late, the plan was called off. Therefore, after we had our dinner, we went back to our rooms to rest.

The next morning, after we had our breakfast, we went to have some fun at a waterfall. It's a long boat ride and some trekking before we reach the waterfall.

After that, we pack our things to start our expedition to a cave in the jungle. Before we start our journey, we were divided into 3 groups. Each group has a tour guide, a leader and an anchor, the one who stays at the back of a group. I was in Group C while my sis was in Group B. After we were briefed about the should do's and the should not do's, we start our journey.

At first, we started off smoothly and everyone was happy and excited...until the sky starts to darken. Our main leader, also the leader of group A started shouting at everyone to move faster. We walked and walked...until we heard from group B that group A had gone too far and it's just us, group B and group C still staying together. We continued our journey because we still have 2 tour guides, one from group B and another from our group.

Night falls, and to make that even worse, the rain started to pour. Everyone started to panic and started to walk faster. There are quite a lot of obstacles along the road, and we usually fall behind from group B and have to walk faster to catch up to them until this one obstacle. Group B, as usual just left us behind after this obstacle and left us to catch up to them. As this obstacle is harder and needs more time for a person to cross over, the last few members of my group were left behind. Group B and the first few members of my group, including me waited for them. The leader of group B then said that we should get moving because they will catch up to us eventually. I usually don't say anything during a time like this but I was really unhappy with how they always left us behind and shouting at us to move faster. I said, you guys can move faster than us because when you're crossing an obstacle, we were waiting behind. And when you guys crossed the obstacle, you just walked away and shout at us to move faster. If you want to go, then go on ahead, but I'm not going to leave my team behind. If we're to get lost, we're gonna get lost in a group. If I reached the cave alone and left my group mates behind, I would probably feel guilty. I didn't hold back my words like I would always do because I was really pissed off at the moment.

Luckily, the members that were left behind caught up to us. We then move again together with group B. As the situation was quite tense, partly caused by me, I suggested that we should sing our prayer. So, everyone did. But the rain poured heavier than before...maybe the God was testing us.

And, after a really, really long and tiring journey, we finally reached the cave and met up with group A. They had started the fire to cook and light up candles all around the cave. We settled down and take our breath.

After everything was settled and the situation calmed down, some people went to sleep in their sleeping bag, while others eat some snacks while waiting for the food to cook.

The next day, after we had our breakfast and had some warm-up exercise, we start our journey. The journey back was more fun because everyone was happy to be able to go home.

The jungle trek to the cave was really tiring, yet full of priceless experience. After coming back from the trip, my back aches. Probably it was caused by carrying my heavy backpack for an extended period of time.

P.S: We reached the cave at around 11 pm. According to the tour guides, we were the first to reached the cave that late because it is very dangerous to trek to the cave at night. Luckily everybody reached the cave safe and sound.

Bukit Tinggi

2010-09-18T14:07:00.009+08:00

A week after the Beijing Trip, me and my family went to Bukit Tinggi. I'm not good at talking, so I'll let the photos do the 'talking'. :)

Night falls, lights up:

It's a 2 days 1 night stay so it's just to relax ourselves and enjoying the weekends.

Beijing Trip - Day 8

2010-09-18T13:56:00.005+08:00

28/8/2010 - Day 8, last day.

Woke up at 8. Had breakfast. Packed our things and check out. Rode a taxi to 北京南站 (Beijing South Station). Then rode the bullet train to 天津 (Tian Jin). From there, we rode a cab for 70 Renminbi to Tianjin International Airport.

The flight was delayed until 5.30 pm. Sigh...

Sayonara, Beijing. I love you. :)

Back to Malaysia, with AirAsia X:

End of Beijing Trip...

Beijing Trip - Day 7

2010-09-17T13:51:00.031+08:00

27/7/2010 - Day 7

Woke up at 8.30. Had cup noodles as breakfast again. Our first stop, the Malaysian Embassy in Beijing. We went there because my sis had make an appointment to convert our Malaysian Ringgit to Renminbi with them. As I had mentioned in one of my previous posts before, there is not even a single bank in Beijing that accepts our Malaysian currency.

No photos here because photography is not allowed. I tried to take a photo of our embassy but stopped by the guard on duty.

Then, we had our lunch at a place nearby 颐和园 (Yi He Garden). We had 饺子 (dumplings), 老虎菜 (tiger vegetable), and 皮蛋豆腐 (century egg tofu) for our lunch.

皮蛋豆腐 (century egg tofu):

老虎菜 (tiger vegetable):

颐和园 (Yi He Garden):

The ceiling of the Spacious Pavilion:

We were lucky to be able to board the last boat to tour around the lake:

After a tour in the rain, we went to have Peking Roast Duck, a must have delicacy in Beijing. We went to 鸭王 (king of ducks) to have the Peking Roast Duck.

The cook cutting the roast duck:

And serve the sliced meat and skins onto a plate:

Ingredients to eat together with the roast duck:

The roast duck meat is separated from the skin:

Forgotten the name of this soup:

Same here. Forgotten the name:

Vegetable pancakes. Quite tasty yet too oily though:

Longevity noodle:

Soup:

Fruits for desserts:

Most restaurant bills have this silver thing on the very top portion for you to scratch off. If you are lucky, you may get something like $10 discount on next visit or something like that.

Thanks.

After a satisfying meal, we went back to our hotel.

End of day 7.

Beijing Trip - Day 6

2010-09-15T19:05:00.027+08:00

26/6/2010 - Day 6

Woke up at 7.30. Had cup noodles as breakfast. We bought some pancakes before we rode bus 28 to 双井桥 (shuang jing bridge) and then rode the train to 天安门西站 (tian an men east station).

The famous 故宫，The Forbidden City:

Trying out my Nikon's digital zoom:

The Telephone Office of the Royal Palace:

After we toured the Forbidden City, we went to have a walk around the area. We bought some snacks and had buns, 鸡蛋面 (egg noodle) and fried noodle as dinner. Then, we went to 景山御园 (Coal Hill garden):

This is not an ordinary tree, because this is where...

Chongzhen, the last emperor of the Ming Dynasty and his attendant, Wang Cheng' en hung themselves.

Tried my hands on panorama again:

Some places started to light up to welcome the night:

Before we went back to our hotel, we bought some ice-creams and cup noodles at a grocery store.

End of day 6.

Beijing Trip - Day 5

2010-09-15T14:58:00.015+08:00

25/5/2010 - Day 5

Woke up at 8.30. Had cup noodles as breakfast. Then we went high and low in search for a bank that can convert Malaysian Ringgit to Renminbi because we're running low on Renminbi. But there is not even a single bank that will do that. Luckily, my dad brought some Singapore Dollars and we convert them to Renminbi.
P.S: If you are traveling, it's best to change your currency to some popular currency such as US Dollars, Euros or Pounds.

After that, we went to Beijing Zoo.

Photos:

After that, we went to 文星街 (wen xing street) to have dinner. We had

担担面 (Si Chuan style noodles):

豆丝 (sliced tofu):

炒饭 (fried rice):

土豆丝 (sliced fried potato):

And...I forgot the name of this dish...

I had 2 of those home-made yogurt before we went back to our hotel.

Done...for day 5.

Beijing Trip - Day 4

2010-09-14T22:32:00.022+08:00

24/5/2010 - Day 4

Woke up at 8. Had 紫米粥 (a type of congee), 饺子 (dumplings), 烧麦 (a type of dim sum), 鸡蛋汤(egg soup), 馄饨 (wonton/ dumpling soup), and 老槽冲鸡蛋 (egg with alcohol) as breakfast at the same place as the day before.

Then, we rode bus 28 to the nearest train station. From there, we went to 东直门站 (dong zhi men station).
Next, we rode bus 980 bus to 太阳家园 (Sun residential area). A middle-aged man approached us and asked us if we are going to the Great Wall. We answered that we are going to 司马台长城 (si ma tai Great Wall) and he said he can fetch us to that place. We turned down the offer but he kept following us and offering us. Then my sis took out the guide book and read that 包车(renting private cars) are one of the options to get to that place. Since that place is kinda deserted, or way out of town in a better definition, renting the private car, which is accepting the man's offer seems to be our only way. We haggled with the man and finally sealed the deal at 500 renminbi, to and fro.
司马台长城 is one of the four areas where the Great Wall is opened to the public, and is also the furthest away from Beijing among the other three.

After a very long journey, we finally reached 司马台长城. From here onwards, more pictures, less words :)

Flying fox:

Love for Great Wall:

This is the checkpoint where I bought a bottle of mineral water. This is also where I end my Great Wall expedition:

Before we leave, I managed to get a picture of me riding a motorized bicycle before I was being told to get off by the owner (the owner seems to be angry cause she somewhat shouted at me to get down)...oopss.... :)

After that, we went to have dinner. After we had our dinner and were walking around the area, a beggar caught my hand begging to have a sip from the bottle that I was holding to. I was shocked and quickly pulled my hand away and walked away hurriedly. We then went to a 7-11 to buy some snacks and cup noodles before going back to our hotel.

End of day 4.

Oh, here's a panoramic picture of a scene from the Great Wall that I tried my hands on:

Beijing Trip - Day 3

2010-07-27T22:43:00.039+08:00

23/5/2010 - Day 3

Woke up at 9. We went to a place near our hotel to have our breakfast. We had 紫米粥 (a type of congee), 饺子 (dumplings), 笼包 (steam buns), and 炸酱面 (noodle with sauce). Then we went to 首都图书馆 (capital library) before we took off to 天坛 (sky altar).

They have this machine where you can borrow and return books that are in the machine:

Entrance tickets to the sky altar garden:

The Seventy-Year-Old Door:

There are a lot of artifacts here but I'm just showing a few:

There are a lot of steps for the worshiping and this is the last step:

The Heavenly Center Stone. This is the place where the emperor will kneel down and pray to the God. This is considered the history of Baitiangong, my belief/religion. Our late spiritual leader, Mr Chew Choon Ming or more commonly known as Xian Sheng had knelt down and prayed to the God on this very stone.

After that, we went to have our dinner at 南门涮肉城 (south gate hot pot/steamboat city).

Their famous special sauce:

After that, we reached a stall where they sell these home-made yogurts. At first, I hesitated to drink that because I'm worried that it might taste weird. But after my first sip at it, I'm addicted to it. I wanted to have more but I was quite full at that time though. You'll have to pay an additional 50 cents renminbi for deposit if you're going to take away instead of finishing the yogurt at that particular stall. You'll get back the deposit when you return the bottle to any of the stalls that sell this type of yogurt.

Then, we went to 王府井 (wang fu jing) night market.

冰糖胡芦 (fruits with sugar coating):

臭豆腐 (tofu/bean curd):

富贵蟹 (crabs):

金丝燕窝 (swallow birds' nests):

炸鲜奶 (fried fresh milk):

驴打滚 (a type of pastry):

油炸冰淇淋 (fried ice-cream):

香酥南瓜饼 (pumpkin biscuits):

天津狗不理包子 (a famous buns):

山东大煎饼 (a type of pancakes):

Then, we walked around the area before we went back to our hotel.

The place for fear factors:

We saw this advertisement where there's a lot of Proton cars in the ad, probably the location of the picture is in my country. And the picture is related with...

The highest in emitting waste carbons...

That's all for day 3.

Beijing Trip - Day 2

2010-07-21T18:25:00.033+08:00

22/5/2010 - Day 2

Woke up at 8. Wanted to go to the nearest train station but don't know where it is. Hungry, so we went to a place near 古玩/古玩城 (antique/antique city) to have breakfast. We had beef 拉面 (a type of noodle), 家常炒盖面 (fried noodle), 炸酱面 (noodle with sauce) and 西柿拉面 (tomato soup noodle). The portion are extremely big for us but luckily my dad can finish all of them. After we paid for our meal, we decided to ask the boss for directions. He said something like go to dabeiyao but at that moment, me and my sis couldn't understand what and where it is because of his accent. In fact, most of the time in China, we need to listen hard and listen carefully to understand what the other person is saying even though we know Chinese. We thanked the boss and decided to search for the place. We asked one of those green-colored shirt officers (police or soldier I think) that is on duty. Since I do not know the actual word for it, I decided to mimic the accent and pronunciation of the word. He told us to ride the 976 bus to get to that place. Me and my sis were shocked that he can understand the word when we ourselves cannot understand the word. Anyway, we rode the 976 bus to 大北窑 (dabeiyao), which I found out those words later on a bus stop sign post. Then, we rode a train to 圆明园 (yuan ming park). Now, I'll let the photos tell more of my journey.

At the 圆明园 train station:

Tasty :)

Price list:

Photo shoots for memories. My mom with the empress dowager costume:

The young emperor :p

Dandelion:

A type of fruit. We bought some of these before we enter the park.

Amazing maze:

It's so confusing that some decided to cheat :)

Back to the entrance:

Next stop: Beijing University

Before that, we had our dinner near the university. We also bought some 肉挟馍 (rou jia mo) during our way. 肉挟馍 is meat, mostly beef wrapped with a pita bread.

Our dinner (captured with my camera phone):

凉粉：

麻婆豆腐：

Inside 北京大学/Beijing University. The photos here were taken using my Sony DSC-S2100 instead of my Nikon Coolpix S52.

At the mini mart in the university, I saw two products that were made here in my country yet I never see them before.

Apollo Roka Milk Bar:

And Apollo Roka Peanut Bar:

Next stop: Beijing Olympic Stadium

There's a lot of people selling kites at the stadium but it's actually prohibited. The police officers have a hard time dealing with those people because they pack the kites and walk away when the officers came and unpack the kites to sell again when the officers went to other places.

After that, we rode the train to 劲松 (jinsong) station. From there, we walked back to our hotel, which is around 1.7-1.9 km from the station. I know the distance because after that night, we always take a cab to our hotel from 劲松 station.

That's day 2.

Beijing Trip - Day 1

2010-07-05T16:48:00.003+08:00

21/5/2010 - Day 1

Can't fall asleep. Perhaps I was too excited for the trip to Beijing. Finally fall asleep at around 2 am because I was too tired.

Woke up at around 3.15 am. Prepared everything and went to the bus station with my family. Rode a bus to Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT).

Bus started journey at around 4.35 am. After a long journey, arrived at LCCT at around 5.35 am. Had mi soto and Milo as breakfast. After that, we check-in to our flight. At 8.45 am, the flight departed to our destination.

I had chicken rice on AirAsia. Perhaps I did not have sufficient sleep, or maybe because there were a lot of intermittent jet stream, or both, because I feel very dizzy and uncomfortable most of the time in the flight.

Finally, after a 6-hours long flight, we arrived at Tianjin International Airport at around 2.50 pm. After we passed the security check at the custom, we went to a KFC in the airport to see what's the difference between our KFC and theirs. There is a guy who wants to buy a burger and he told the cashier: "I want a burger. What burgers do you have?" The cashier replied: "Yes, we have hot burgers." The guy paused for a while, and then said : "Ok, give me the burger." The cashier probably mean hot/ spicy burgers. I wonder how do those travelers or tourists that do not speak Chinese can tour around China without any guides. If you're going to China, I think it's better if you know a little bit about the Chinese language especially the phrases to ask for directions. Then, we bought bus tickets to the bullet train station and also tickets for the bullet train. Although the train ticket was 58 Renminbi (RMB) each for normal/ economy class, there is also a surcharge of 5 RMB for each ticket. We rode the bus and at 4.00 pm sharp, the bus started its journey. At around 4.30 pm, we reached the train station. This is the first time we came to China to ride the bullet train so we do not know that the seats are actually assigned and printed on the ticket instead of random seating like in Malaysia. Although the train is traveling at a high speed, with its highest speed reaching 332 km/h, but in the train, you don't feel the motion though. After half an hour, we reached Beijing North Station at around 5.20pm. After we ate a set of meal from McD's, we bought train tickets to 西單 (Xidan), then interchange to 國貿 (Guomao). After we arrived at Guomao, we wanted to get to our hotel but we do not know the way so we try to contact the receptionist at the hotel. But the public phone can only be used with a card, and the minimum amount for the card is RMB 20. While me and my father were finding ways to contact the people at the hotel, there's this lady asking money from my father. My dad declined but the lady kept on following my dad until my dad decided to get help from this security guard. Finally, we decided to take a cab to go to 華威橋 (Huawei bridge), then we will find our own way from there since the place is near to our hotel. We took this cab and we told him we want to go to 龍頭公寓 (Longtou Hotel), but since he do not know where is it, we asked the driver to go to Huawei bridge. When we arrived there, he contacted the person at the hotel and asked for directions to the hotel. Thanks to our 'hero', we finally reached our hotel. We gave him 20 RMB instead of the total 18 RMB as the fee for the call. After we put our luggage into our room, we went to a KFC near the hotel to have dinner. After that, we went back to our hotel to sleep.

P.S: By the way, before we went to China, I watched an episode of 就想賴著妳 (Down With Love). In that episode, 項羽平 (Xiang Yu Ping) went to China to find 楊果 (Yang Guo). He took a cab and asked the taxi driver to drive faster. The driver replied, you don't call taxi drivers 司機 (driver) in China, instead you call them 師父 (master). Therefore, I addressed the taxi driver as 'master'.

Airasia:

Aerial view:

The chicken rice that I had:

China:

Mini blocks:

KFC:

China Post:

In the bus shots:

Stray dogs on the road, rare scene:

The traffic on the road is in chaos:

天津 (tianjin):

The cafeteria inside the bullet train:

They use 听 (ting) for a can instead of 罐 (guan):

Testing my camera:

I was amazed at the sharpness of the photos. These were shot using auto mode and the speed of the train was going above 280 km/h.

In the train, I don't feel that it's going fast though.

Pushing to the limit, top speed:

Free mineral water:

和谐号 (hexiehao)：

On our way to KFC for our dinner, we saw this:

The car had a hard time coming out from the gas station.

That's for day 1. Most of the time was spent on traveling and finding our hotel.

I'm Back

2010-05-29T12:59:00.005+08:00

After a week of disappearance, I'm back.

Guess where did I went to?

Here's some photos:

Still can't guess it?

Scroll to the bottom:

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It's Beijing, China.

I'll post my Beijing trip as soon as possible because there are too many photos to organize.

Willard's Cue Tip Shaper and Karomi Tip

2010-05-20T20:30:00.011+08:00

From the United States:

A multi-layer Karomi tip:

The tip looks like an Indonesian Kueh Lapis:

Photo from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/madbaker/2231826879/

A Willard's dime radius Cue Tip Shaper:

Instructions:

All of my cue tip shapers, each with their pros and cons:

An untrimmed tip:

After using the Willard's Cue Tip Shaper:

Custom Pool Cue

2010-05-20T15:08:00.021+08:00

I bought this hand-made custom, one-of-a-kind pool cue from Philippines. After I took some test-hit, I decided to sell it because it does not suit my preferences. It hits solid but it is not to my liking. Besides that, there's some flaws in the cue. Moreover, I'm not so active in playing pool now. Therefore, I decided to let this beauty go.

1 cue butt and 2 cue shafts with joint protectors:

Joint protectors:

Piloted 5/16*18 stainless steel joint:

The seller stated that it's curly maple forearm, but it looks like some painted normal maple:

7 points with diamond-shaped abalone shell inlays in each points:

Beautiful shell inlays:

There's also wood inlays and Mother of Pearl (MOP) inlays below the points:

Black leather wrap:

Matching sleeve pattern with the forearm. 7 windows with abalone shell inlays:

Made by Nathaniel Israel. 1/1 signifies one-of-a-kind:

Rubber bumper:

Under the bumper:

The rubber bumper broke a bit after I pulled it out but I managed to fit it back:

Maple shaft:

Beautiful abalone shell ring:

Female joint on the shaft:

Mahjong ferrule and tip:

Beautiful matching abalone shell rings:

Butt sleeve:

Handle with black leather wrap:

Forearm with points and beautiful inlays:

Stainless steel collar:

Straight maple shaft:

Mahjong ferrule and tip:

Below are some flaws of the cue:

There are some unknown small dots on some parts of the cue:

Besides that, the MOP inlays do not line up properly.

The seam on the leather wrap is very visible and there's a small tear on the wrap:

There's air bubbles in some abalone shell inlays:

There's a visible scratch on one of the shafts and joint protectors:

There's also another visible scratch on the butt sleeve:

Finally, there's a small ding in one of the shafts:

Here's some beautiful pictures of the cue:

Importing Blog

2010-05-20T13:39:00.008+08:00

I like to collect, play and solve puzzles, but at the same time, I also like to play pocket billiards like pool and snooker. I have another blog known as Pool Amateur's Passionate Diary that I post things regarding pool and snooker. My parents and sister do not encourage me to play pocket billiards because most of the pool and snooker halls are filled with smoke from cigarettes and it's bad for my health.

Recently, I read in my textbook regarding smoking in the workplace.

"A National Academy of Science study estimated that in one year, passive smoke was responsible for 2400 lung cancer deaths in the United States."- from Business and Society written by Buchholtz and Carroll.

It really shocked me as I didn't know that secondhand smoke, or environmental tobacco smoke causes so many deaths as I only heard about how smoking is hazardous to health and caused a lot of deaths to smokers.

Besides that, according to National Cancer Institute, secondhand smoke may increase the risk of breast cancer, nasal sinus cavity cancer, and nasopharyngeal cancer in adults, and leukemia, lymphoma, and brain tumors in children.

Therefore, I decided to play less pocket billiards, perhaps only once in a few months or I have to go to the only pool and snooker hall where I know that smoking is prohibited. But the rates are higher, there are no 50% discount for solo play, and it's further away from my house. And since I'm less active in pocket billiards now, I decided to import my Pool Amateur's Passionate Diary blog dedicated for pool and snooker to this blog, my all-in-one general blog.

P.S.: I've put them under the label 'Pool'.

Broga Hill

2010-05-17T22:11:00.012+08:00

Last Saturday, I went to a 2 days 1 night trip to Broga. Here's my journey:

Me, my sis and some people from Baitiangong Universal Spiritual Movement (BUSM) went to OUTBAC Broga. OUTBAC Broga is an outdoor adventure campsite located at Kampung Sri Broga near The University of Notthingham.

When we arrived there, we were given instructions by a camp instructor. The funniest rule given by the instructor is "No complain, but you can ask questions', and we joke about that rule when someone complains. After that, we had our lunch and check-in to our rooms.

At 2.30 pm, we gathered together and the camp instructors introduced them to ourselves and vice-versa. We are then divided into 2 groups to make time for activities. I was in Group 1 with my sis. Group 1 went for this activity known as the 'Leap of Faith' while Group 2 went for ropes obstacle. I was chosen as the 'guinea pig' because I'm the first to do the 'Leap of Faith'. I wore a full-body harness, gloves and a safety helmet and went on to climb this tall tree. I kept on climbing until I reach a platform. I was then instructed to jump and grab this hanging baton-like thing which is quite some distance away from me. One of the instructors then ask me to jump at the count of three. I keep on making adjustments to my safety helmet and gloves to make time for myself psychologically to make the jump. After I've prepared myself for the jump, I tell the instructors I'm ready. He then told me to squat a little, hands in front ready to catch the thing and counted 1...2...3...while I was aiming at my target. He then blows the whistle and I make the jump...and I got it! :)

I couldn't believe how I got it because the thing is quite far away from me and I am one of the shortest there. But anyway, I feel proud because I'm the first to do it, I'm one of the shortest, and I made it. Now I understand why it is called the 'Leap of Faith', because if you believe you can, you can.

"What the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve"- Napoleon Hill.

After that, we switched activities with Group 2. They do the 'Leap of Faith' while we do the rope obstacles. It's kinda easy as you have to walk through a stages of ropes hanging differently. The only challenge is the last stage where you'll be blindfolded and guided by your partners to walk through a series of steps.

After the two activities, Group 1 went for flying fox while Group 2 went for rock climbing. This is the second time I'm doing flying fox but this time, the height of the platform is almost twice the height of the platform where I did my first flying fox. I climbed to the top of the platform with a few of my friends and 2 instructors. When I reached the top and look down to the ground, I wonder how do they build this platform. After 2 of my friends went 'flying' away as fox, it's my turn to 'fly'. After the instructors set up everything, I squat down, hold the ropes attached to my harness and off I go. I shouted along my way and it feels so good shouting to your heart's content.

After that, it's rock climbing time. This is also the second time I'm doing rock climbing but this time the distance between each 'rocks' are nearer and there are only 18 rows of rocks. When I start to climb, I wonder if I can finish to the top because I couldn't reach the top during my first time doing rock climbing. Halfway to the top, I feel tired and there's thoughts to give up but many people had successfully climbed to the top therefore I force myself to finish this task. I kept on climbing and find myself in difficulty for the last rock. I try to find another rock where I can put myself in a higher position to touch that last rock. I did that and successfully climbed to the top. I landed beautifully to the ground. I was told that I climbed to the top using 1 minute and 30 seconds. It's not a good time but anyway, I managed to finish within 2 minutes.

After that, me, my sis and a few friends went for kayaking. Later, we clean ourselves up and rest for a while before we have our dinner and BBQ. Next, we had a campfire where people talks about ghost stories. We then went to sleep around 10.30 because we have to get up early the next morning to climb Broga Hill.

The next morning, we woke up at 5.00, prepare ourselves, and then gather together before departing to Broga Hill. After everyone warms up, we walk together in a group with 2 instructors as guides to our destination. It's a 15 minutes walk to the bottom of the hill and it's already tiring even though we haven't started to climb the hill yet. When we reached there, there are already many people there. We started our journey to the top after we make sure that the number of people in our group are correct in case someone gets lost. We climb, climb, and climb because it's "The Climb".
It's a tough yet rewarding journey. When we reached the top of Peak 1, the view from above is mesmerizing. Many people took photos and here's mine:

The photos were captured using my phone's camera.

After that, we went back to our camp, clean ourselves up, have our breakfast and off we go back to home.

The whole camp is kinda tiring but it's worth it. The camp teaches you to think positive as in the 'Leap of Faith', to trust your partners like in the final stage of the rope obstacles, to overcome your fear of height in flying fox, and to never give up as in climbing the hard yet rewarding Broga Hill.

100PLUS Outdo Your Speed Challenge

2010-05-14T22:00:00.010+08:00

One of my Business Ethics' assignments require our class to do a charity. Our class decided to sell things for charity and donate them in terms of items to this orphanage called Precious Children Home behind MPPJ Library Petaling Jaya.

One day when we are selling items to raise funds for our charity project, this 100PLUS rover team set up a booth beside our booth. I was helping out at our booth and since there's not many people visiting our booth, I went to see the 100PLUS booth. One of the guys told me they are having this 100PLUS Outdo Your Speed Challenge where you have to solve a puzzle by downloading the game via bluetooth and solve it using the shortest time possible. There are daily prizes to be won and the main contest ends at 30th of April.

I downloaded the game to my phone and decided to give it a try since I'm bored at the booth. The first time I solved it, I used around 360 seconds because I'm not familiar with the puzzle itself. After I keep on practicing it, I shaved my time down to average less than 25 seconds. And then there's 9 seconds, 6 seconds, and finally, my fastest time - 3 seconds. I registered my time at their booth by showing the time to them.

At around 3 pm, the guy that told me about the contest congratulates me and ask me for a photo shoot because I emerged as the champion for the that day in my college with my fastest 3 seconds time.

Here are the prizes that I got:

4 complimentary movie passes from TGV Cinemas:

5 promotion vouchers to use at Genting Theme Park:

6 cans of 100 PLUS:

The puzzle in its solved state:

The first runner-up for the daily winners in my college is 6 seconds while the second runner-up solved the puzzle with 9 seconds.

Assemble a V-cube 5

2010-05-14T19:00:00.011+08:00

While I was solving my v-cube 5, I forced a move after a lock-up and the cube popped.

First, take an edge piece and its corresponding outer center pieces:

And place them like this:

Then, place them into the core as below:

Repeat until you get something like this:

Another view:

Repeat until you get a "+" sign:

Then, you insert the corner pieces:

Next, take an outer center piece:

And insert it:

After that, insert the outer edge piece:

'Eyes':

Repeat the process of inserting the outer center pieces and outer edge pieces until you finally assembled your v-cube 5:

'V' for Peace (V-sign):

Photo from: http://school.discoveryeducation.com/clipart/clip/sign-v.html

Or Vanessa Hudgens' album-V:

Photo from: http://www.uulyrics.com/music/vanessa-hudgens/

And finally, 'V' for V-cube:

Master Pyramorphinx

2010-05-13T23:17:00.009+08:00

The puzzle is known as Master Pyramorphinx, a.k.a. the dumpling or ' 粽子' ('zong zi') puzzle because it shapes like a chinese dumpling.

A chinese dumpling:

A Master Pyramorphinx, by Dian Sheng:

Smoother turning:

Warning:

Information and instructions:

The inedible 'dumpling':

It's for solving:

It has removable caps to set the tension of the puzzle:

Disassembled:

A puzzle made from 3X3. The turning is great but lock-ups are common.

East Sheen 2X2

2010-05-13T22:36:00.001+08:00

Since my Rubik's 2X2 turns badly, which I would actually say that all Rubik's 2X2 does not turn smoothly, I bought an East Sheen 2X2, a 2X2 that I believe most speedcubers would agree that it is one of the best in the market.

The place where I bought this 2X2 seldom has the 4X4 and 5X5 in stock.

The package has this 'locking' system where you can take the cube out easily without having to destroy the package because you can just put the cube back into the package, 'lock it' and it would look brand new.

Solution booklet:

Scrambled:

A comparison with a Rubik's 2X2:

Although this cube cannot cut corners very well, but it turns easily and smoothly and my solving time decreased dramatically after I use this cube instead of the Rubik's 2X2.

Dian Sheng Mini Cube

2010-05-13T15:26:00.001+08:00

I bought this at a stall in Carrefour:

No.777 Made in China:

Information at the back of the package:

Instructions and warnings:

A comparison with a normal-sized Dian Sheng cube:

Cube, booklet, stand:

It has removable center caps so you can set the tension:

By Dian Sheng:

It's Been A While

2010-05-09T17:00:00.003+08:00

Looking at my last post, it's been a long while since I posted something in my blog. After all the hard time finishing up my assignments and burning the midnight oil to study for exams, I finally got my well-deserved holidays. During this 3-weeks holiday, I'm going to post up things that I may have missed before this, so stay tuned! :)

Why I Like It Longer

2010-02-13T22:03:00.006+08:00

The new LG Chocolate BL40 is slim, sexy and most importantly...LONG...

Why I like it Longer?

I like it longer because longer means better...it means I can...

1) Reach something that is placed at a higher place.

2) Reach something that is placed in a deeper place.

And since it is longer than most other mobile phones, the speaker is placed directly in front of my mouth, and it means that...
3) My words can reach my recipient loud and clear.

4) Besides that, the longer LG Chocolate BL40 means entertainments are enjoyed more pleasurably.

I would say the new LG Chocolate BL40 has brought the design of the phones to a whole new higher level. Users of the new LG Chocolate BL40 can reach and connect to the friends and families deeper and better while enjoying the most out of the phone.

LG Chocolate BL40
Reach higher, deeper, better. More pleasure, less pressure.

White DOTS

2010-02-02T22:02:00.013+08:00

DHL Express:

EXTREMELY URGENT:

But seriously, it's not urgent. :-)

DHL on the outside:

UPS on the inside:

One of the first 10 DOTS that was mass produced as a prize for winning the Speed-Cubedron Competition last year:

White DOTS, amazing game flipping fun:

Autographed:

By the inventor, Dr. Pantazis Constantine Houlis:

Spoiler:

Once seal broken, considered sold :-)

DOTS on pyramid pieces in a sphere:

There are a lot of objectives for this puzzle game. Below are some of the examples:

All 1 DOTS on top:

All 2 on top:

All 3 on top:

All 4 on top:

1, 2, 3, 4 DOTS in clockwise direction:

Here are some slightly harder ones:

All 4 on top, with 1, 2, 3, 4 stringed at the side, and DOTS on bottom:

All the same, except it's all 1 on top:

Have fun with the DOTS. :-)

Blow Up!

2010-02-02T21:53:00.003+08:00

Blow Up! is a challenging yet fun game played on an iPhone that was made by one of my friends.

=== Blow Up! ===

*STOP!!*

Before you think this is just another game to blow a balloon big, read this first...

**********************************************************************

"Breathing is good for you" -- Most medical doctors agree

"Breathing deeply has been proven to relax the body, calm the mind and relieve stress" -- General consensus from meditation junkies

"I like to blow balloons" -- My baby sister

**********************************************************************

APPLICATION DESCRIPTION:

So you think you can blow?

Well show off your blowing skills with this addictive game that will blow you out of this world!

Your mission is:

To blow the balloon up into outer space by blowing into the microphone. You must try to get from earth to Pluto in the fastest time possible, otherwise your friends may laugh at you.

Your challenge is:

To get the right timing! The balloon is wobbling from left to right. Blow at just the right time to move it in the right direction. The longer you blow, the more speed your balloon will pick up. We're talking about some serious gaming skills here.

Your enemies are:

The sides! If the balloon hits the sides it will POP! At higher levels of difficulty, you also have to avoid random flying objects that drift across the screen and POP your balloon if you hit them.

Your social duty is to:

Challenge your friends to beat your time! Impress them with your blowing skills and laugh at the ones who can't reach Pluto.

*WARNING*

Possible side effects of this game include:

* an addiction that gives you the habit of answering your phone by blowing instead of saying "Hello", which could make you look socially inept or get you arrested

* being the source of endless amusement at a boring office party that may offend your boss because you stole his limelight

Happy New Year...2010

2010-01-20T14:47:00.010+08:00

Although this is very late, but I wish everyone a happy 2010. Live happily and live life to the fullest because 2012 is near... :P

Here's something for you :)

Singapore

2009-12-31T18:45:00.022+08:00

24/12/2009-27/12/2009 (D/M/Y)

Day 1:

Journey started at around 8 in the morning. Arrived at Johor Bahru (JB) around 1 in the afternoon. Searched for The Zon Regency Hotel by the sea for around 1.30 hours. Stop by at a stall to have our lunch with ais kacang as our desserts. Then, we continue the journey to our hotel. We took turns to bath and rest for a while before continuing our journey to Singapore.

Some views from our room in the hotel:

We went through the Malaysia custom before taking a number 170 bus to Singapore. Then, we went through the Singapore custom and went to Kranji. From there, we started our tour in Singapore. First, we went to Orchard Road to get the tourist passes. Since they only left 3 at that time, we grabbed all of them. We then took a walk at that area until midnight- the celebration for Christmas.

Some photos that I took before the celebration:

No, I'm not promoting Cold Storage :)

Look at the crowds:

Minutes before midnight, there is a yellow Lamborghini Gallardo, one of my favorite cars drives past very slowly before the crowds and were booed by some crowds. :) What a way to show off his car...

There was no countdown which is what me and my family have not expected. People sprays some foam-like thing at each other, even by-passers get sprayed if they are not careful avoiding people with cans in their hands.

My sister got sprayed when we are looking for the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station while avoiding those people with cans. It's fun though, it's like we're playing a game with the objective: Get to the nearest MRT station without getting sprayed. :)

After we arrived at the Kranji station, we went to the nearest bus stop. We met 2 ladies there from Johor Bahru. They advised us not to go back to Johor Bahru after midnight because there's a lot of crimes happened there after midnight. They told us to go to a place where there are a lot of stalls selling fruits and then they went off with a cab before us. We met them there again and we chit-chat for a while. I saw a big rat among the stalls and a few stray cats wandering around. At around 4 am, there are already people started opening their shops like the bakery shop, the mobile phone shop, and the clothes shop. Quite some people were there having their breakfast before going to work, which for me, I think it's really early. We stayed up at the place until it's almost 5.30 when the bus services start operating. We went to the custom by bus and goodbye Singapore, see you again after we had some rest.

When we got back to the hotel in Johor, we were all really tired and exhausted so we went to sleep- at around 6 in the morning- which is the newest record for me because the latest I sleep before this was around 4 in the morning.

Day 2:

We went to Singapore after we had our lunch in JB. We went to sort out our problems with the tourist passes before going to Mount Faber. We spend quite some time there enjoying the scenery and taking photos.

Here are some photos:

We then walk down the hill to the nearest bus stop but we do not really know the road. Luckily, we met a good Samaritan that leads us the way to the bus station. We then went to Newton Food Centre to have our dinner before going to Clarke Quay.

Day 3:

My dad suggested we take a look at the Singapore Baitiangong office building since we are in Singapore. But before that, we had some nice snacks before we went to search for the building.

Here are some "delicious" photos:

After that, we search for the building around Sophia road. After asking for directions and some exercising (walking), we finally found it. :)

80, Sophia Road,
Singapore 228158

We then walk around Little India and Chinatown before having our dinner at Lau Pa Sat.

Day 4:

We bought some chocolates at The Zon in Johor before going to Singapore because the chocolates are duty free. We went to Henderson Waves before leaving back to our home sweet home.

We had a lot of fun in Singapore but I must say we're more exhausted and tired than fun though :p Hope we can go again...to Singapore. :)

P.S.: The photos really helped me a lot in recalling the places that we've visited. :)

Baitiangong Annual Spiritual Discussion

2009-12-21T00:02:00.011+08:00

18/12/2009-19/12/2009 (D/M/Y)

1st day.

Me and my family together with my cousin brother went for the discussion at Gaia. We arrived there and had some light breakfast. After that, me, my sister and my cousin brother went for the Youth Group discussion while my parents went for the Adult Group.

We first started by playing some ice-breaking game. The first game was to guess which person stands behind a blanket which acts as a wall. We were divided into 2 groups- A and B. First, a person from Group A will get to know and observe 3 persons from Group B. Then, the person will stand behind a blanket while one of the 3 persons will stand on the other side of the person. The Group A people will touch the other person while the blanket is blocking the view of the other person. If the person got it right, the group will get a point. I was in Group B and we drew with Group A.

The second game that we played was passing balls around but not to the person beside you. The fastest group that passes all 10 balls in the correct order wins. My group won by around 4 seconds faster than Group A.

After the ice-breaking games, we discuss spiritual questions in groups. We had our lunch halfway during the discussion before we move on to a team building game. The objective of the game is to move a bucket of water to a large pail without spilling. The only thing that we can use is ropes and we have to be at least 4 feet in radius with the bucket of water. If someone stands too close to the bucket, he/she will have to be blindfolded and if the water spills, somebody in the team will be eliminated.

We continue with the discussion after the game before we had a break. Around 5.00pm, the youth group left to Metropolitan Square at Damansara Perdana for a birthday bash. I and another friend of mine are the organizers for the birthday bash. We ordered 5 Domino's Pizza, 3 barrels of KFC and a chocolate birthday cake at the nearby Tesco. There's a lot of trouble happened when we are doing all the above things but we managed to overcome all those problems.

We brought all the items that we have bought and people started eating. Initially, I thought the food were too much but it seems that I'm wrong because in the end, all the foods that we've bought were finished.

After everyone filled their stomach, it's time to play games. The first game was a game proposed by my friend. 2 groups sit on the floor and it works like a football game. But instead of using football, a balloon was used instead. The objective of the game is to pass the balloon to the goal keeper at the end of the 2 groups. There's attackers that passes the balloon to the goal keeper and defenders that pushes the balloon away from the goal keeper. The objective is to score 5 points first.

The second game is a game that I played before in a camp. Here's an example: http://www.netrover.com/~kingskid/jam.html The problem is that I told them the wrong objective, if not, I think they would like them. I don't know why I can make such a big mistake, perhaps it's something that happened to me a day before this.

2nd day.

The second day starts off with a light breakfast. Then, before continuing the discussion, we had another team-building game. Each team is given a big piece of styrofoam and the objective is to use the styrofoam to create 'tools' to use it to transport 10 balloons to a box by passing between members within a group.

After that, it's discussion- tea break- discussion- group photo- lunch- discussion- tea break. We had our last team building game called 'Home Sweet Home' after the tea break. The objective is to build a 'home' using cellophane tape and ropes. Besides that, all members within a 'family' need to get two 'shots' and two 'foods'. Members that are '18' years and above can work to earn money to get the 'shots' and 'foods' to avoid being taken away by the 'cops'. The game is really crazy, and I kinda got pissed off halfway when the organizer of the game states that families will get 500 game money currency if they destroy other people's 'home'. All homes were destroyed but not all get the 500 because, it all depends on how the organizer wants the game to go. It's sad to see our 'home' being destroyed. To avoid things like this happen again, we decided to rebuild our 'home' at a corner because we will be less open to 'dangers'.

We had our last discussion before we went for dinner. After the dinner, the youth group together with some people from the adult group went to Look Out Point for a 'Yam Cha' session. To those that do not know what is 'Yam Cha', it means drink tea. But in this case, it means a gathering or hanging out together.

When we arrived there, the once quiet and lonely place turns out to be a crowded and noisy place now. It was once a place where I thought I could bring my girlfriend there and have our romantic time together but now, it seems like I have to find another place to replace this once-a-romantic place. Everyone had fun chit-chatting and spending time together, so I would say this place would be a good place for hanging out, but not for romantic time with your partner.

I gained countless experience, friends and spiritual knowledge in this 2 days discussion. Wonder where would the next annual spiritual discussion would be held?