Star Trek 2009: Review

I can't really describe the feeling. It was so damn good! Maximum impact!! The movie affected me deeply that I went shopping and bought presents for everyone!!

Got myself a Master Replica Luke Skywalker's light saber......VERY VERY COOL!!! Check the video...make sure you have your speakers on! Peeeerrrrghhhh

Another childhood dream comes true. I can stop thinking about lampu kalimantang...hahahaha

Bought Zidani a TIE fighter that comes with huge wings and Raidi now plays with a V-Wing star fighter both from Hasbro...

Im happy to see you happy..heheheh

My next target would be the Imperial Shuttle, AT-AT and the Snow Speeder. I have big projects going on here...I want to re-create my favourite movie scenes!! hehehe

The Star Trek movie summons out my Star Wars obsession....the force is definitely strong in here...

Bali trip

The day after I came back from JB/Nusajaya, I went to Bali with Ayu. It was my first visit to Bali and also my first flight on Airasia. My view on low cost flying? Now everybody can fly! Including infectious germs. Good thing they 'fog' the cabin with disinfectants before take-off. Funny how some people thought it was part of the airline's gimmick and special effects. Btw, I never thought I could eat maggi 20,000 feet up in the sky. I'm sure it will make you feel at home right away..hahaha.

We stayed at Barong Resort in Ubud. Most Malaysians like to stay in Jimbaran, Seminyak or any other places closer to the beach. But I don't like crowded beaches and I want to stay near the padi fields. Ayu didn't like this idea. To her we could always go back to Kedah to look at sawah padi. I told her Kedah doesn't have padi bukit.

entrance to our villa...and the public pool

Villa comes with private pool...

I was shocked to see this boutique next to our hotel...Ayu was drooling..

Ubud is located about an hour drive from the airport. As soon as we reached the hotel, we knew we picked the right accommodation. I won't say much, just look at the pictures. The hotel's location is midway along monkey forest street. The public park is 100 metres to the south and the famous Ubud market is 100 metres to the north. Ayu was extra excited because Uluwatu boutique is just next door. Tak ku sangka...

the famous Ubud market... beli kain...

If you like arts and handicrafts, then Ubud is the place for you. We could have spent whole 3 days just exploring Ubud. But since it was our first trip to Bali, we hired a car and a driver to experience everything we could. So we went to all the usual tourist spots. We were very very close to wake up early in the morning and scale up a volcanic mountain to catch the sunrise. But it would be too much for both of us.

buffet lunch with a view...we wanted to climb this mountain, tapi takut tak larat..

sunset at tanah lot...

Good thing we made the trip short. Not that I didn't like the place but the longer we stay, I'm not only burning my pockets, I might burn my pants and underwear to ashes as well. Unless you have deep pockets that run through your legs, 2 nights are just right to keep it within reasonable budget. It depends on what you want to do really. I wanted to look at landscapes and Ayu wanted to shop in markets and bazaars. At Ubud, we both got a bit of what we wanted.

kopi luak anyone? seafood lunch at Jimbaran beach...Ayu had lobster that day...

Weather was sunny and it hasn't been raining for quite awhile. I don't like the idea of wearing shades. Everywhere I go (not just Bali), I want to see landscapes as it is, in it's glorifying natural colours. Unfortunately this comes with an expense. It was here in Bali that I first noticed something peculiar with my eye sight. After we came back, the symptom persisted. One visit to the specialist, I was diagnosed with retinal detachment.

It's unfortunate for this to happened and it took away some excitement after coming back home. But I'm thankful that it happened now for me to treat it early. If not I wouldn't have known both of my eyes are affected and its too late for any kind of treatment. Anyway, Bali was a good trip and we will definitely go back one day. To me I can say that literally, there was more about Bali than meets the eye!

Retinal detachment: update 2

It has been 2 weeks now since I underwent the scleral buckle surgery. I'm in the path to recovery and it has not been easy for me. I had to take pain killers for the swelling especially at night. I felt strong headaches and my eyes were super sensitive to light. Cleanliness is paramount. Ayu bought me a whole box of steriled cotton swabs. She even instructed the maid to change the bed sheets every day. With all the hassle I caused, at times I felt that I should have stayed at the hospital for recovery.

During recovery, I slept for countless hours. The body is recovering and I understand now why Doctors instructs patients to rest post surgery. I thought I would be forcing myself to rest or sleep. It's amazing how the body just shuts down and went into recovery mode and I felt really tired from it. I was close to hibernating.

I went for a follow up check up last Wednesday and the doctor said everything is looking really good. The detachment had been corrected and holes and retinal tears had been properly 'closed'. That was good news. Full eye sight recovery will take time though and they told me to be patience. There's 85%-90% chances that I will get back my previous vision. It won't be the same definitely and I do have to change my glasses later to adjust to this new condition.

Today I have a silicone rubber ring permanently sewn around my left eyeball. It's amazing to imagine how surgeons with very steady hands operate on organs as sensitive as the eye. My experience in the OT is definitely something..hehehe. I wasn't on GA you see so I could hear everything. Very nervy I tell you.

Alhamdulillah the surgery went well although it took longer than expected. Just as they push me out of the OT, I said thank you to the whole team. I was not only being thankful, but I don't want them to think or treat me just like another piece of 'eyeball'..hahaha.

Thanks to everyone for your support and well wishes. My parents have been very supportive. They cooked lunches and dinners and delivered it home. The boys have been understanding too. I have to say that it's good to see Ayu managing the household. Well, she's OK with it as long as she has my ATM card..hehehe.

To my great great great grand children who might be reading this one day. If you are developing eye sight problem and the doctor asked you whether you have family history of eye complications, you can say that 200 or 300 years ago, your great great great grandfather had a history of retinal detachment. I'm giving you all the facts here. My doctor did asked me the same question and I have nothing to back up my answer. The defect is hereditary. So you might as well take preventive measures and go for regular eye check up.

Hmm..come to think of it, wouldn't it be good if we have a life long database that collect and stores family healthcare records?? Do you realise how our medical records are kept in different places and imagine the difficulties in sharing or cross referencing these records between medical institutions and practitioners? Imagine how much medical insurance costs can be lowered if all records are kept centrally by a trustee and only the rightful owner of record has the authority to share this information? Haiyaaa..I'll blog about it later laa...I'm beginning to 'detached' from the topic...

I'm on Twitter...

If you're on Twitter, do let me know so that we can 'follow' each other. I've added the twitter widget on my blog.

To those who doesn't know what twitter is, it's a community based website dedicated for near real time update of your activity. Something like updating your facebook status without being bothered by other apps.

Retinal detachment : Update

Just a little update on my condition. After the 2nd checkup, the eye specialist in Selayang hospital re-confirmed that my left eye has retinal detachment. I'm scheduled for a scleral buckling surgery to correct this defect on Saturday.

the silicone buckle is sewn to the eye to keep it in place...the whole idea is to push the retinal tear against the wall of the eye

Unfortunately, my right eye has developed some early symptom of retinal tear. As a preventive measure, today I underwent laser treatment to strengthen all weak spots that potentially can develop into retinal tear. It wasn't that uncomfortable as I expected. It's the exposure to high intensity light beam (I had 217 exposure in total) that makes it unbearable. This outpatient treatment costed me RM5. How lucky we are being Malaysian.

I'll be warded tomorrow for my surgery on Saturday. At the moment I've lost almost 50% of my left eye vision. The sooner the surgery is done, the better the chances of recovering good vision. Oh yes, this procedure is done under local anesthesia. For 1-2 hours, while my eye is 'wide open', I hope the surgeons will talk about football!

Retinal detachment..

Now I know why occasionally I've been having headaches. For almost a year, I thought something is not right with my glasses. I even went to see the optician not so long ago to check on my glasses but they're OK.

Not until late last week, I suddenly suffer from continuous blurring vision. I ignored it at first but after several days when the symptom persist, I decided to see an eye specialist.

It was confirmed by the specialist that I'm suffering from retinal detachment and my left eye require immediate corrective surgery. According to Wiki, "Retinal detachment is a disorder of the eye in which the retina peels away from its underlying layer of support tissue. Initial detachment may be localized, but without rapid treatment the entire retina may detach, leading to vision loss and blindness. It is a medical emergency."

I'll be seeing the specialist tomorrow at Selayang Hospital for further assessment and they'll decide the right treatment for my condition. I hope this would be my first and last operation, although I do know that the condition may recur. For long term treatment, the Selayang Hospital would be the best choice to handle my case. Thanks to Dr Sue, Fiqar's wife for assisting me to get a quick referral letter from KK in Kelana Jaya.

According to one patient experience, he was advised to rest at home for 2 weeks post surgery. That includes staying away from the computer. So you might see my next blog entry in a couple of weeks. Hmm..maybe I can ask Raidi to update my blog...good idea!

Anyway, I hope the surgery will go well, InsyAllah. According to DrM, based on type of surgery, usually they put the patient under GA. I hope it's true for my case. Because I don't like the idea of looking at needles at very close range!!! Literally, an eye opening experience for me...this is not going to be comfortable.

Day trip to JB-Nusajaya

Had the opportunity to visit Nusajaya after our meeting with Johor State GM in JB. It was a day trip to the south so we decided not to drive. Except for Hafiz, he actually drove from KL and picked us up at Senai airport at 8.30am! For the rest, it was the first time we flew on Firefly. They provide very good service and the new refurbished T3 in Subang is very impressive.

this 'api-api' comes with turbo prop engine...

Out visit to Nusajaya was an eye opener (heheeh...literally to me-will blog about it later). Unless you go to these places, you can't really sense the magnitude of the venture. Today I have a better understanding on the vision of developing this southern corridor.

Puteri harbour with the Minister's office in the background...

With strategic location alone, you can see how it creates investment interest especially from the neighbouring country. Looking at the money involve in this project, and the market it intends to capture, one shouldn't underestimate the long term value or return on investment.

looking at potential market and demand...

The question is, how does a telco position itself with the state gov't in such projects? Just be an infra provider or have a deeper relationship that enables long term sustainable win-win-win outcome with Nusajaya community? Very interesting prospect to say the least. Education, helthcare and governance are some of their signiture developments. This is a great opportunity for a telco to provide industry specific solutions, tailored for Nusajaya community. The value is to enable stable governance for harmoniouos communities. Compare that to just infrastructure laying.

I told Ayu I flew on kapal terbang kipas...she asked me a priceless queastion "Huh? tak ada air cond ke?"

2.2.1 version with 02.30.03 baseband

The title to this entry only means one thing. If you're an iPhone user, you might well know that it's the latest iPhone version firmware. It also means that you're one unfortunate soul if you bought the 'locked' unit. iPhone usually comes 'packaged' together with the country's local cellular operator network. And in Malaysia's case, it's Maxis. But I'm a loyal Celcom customer.

I bought this outright iPhone unit recently that needs to be 'unlocked' before I can start using it with my Celcom SIM card. Why I bought it? Because the price is so much cheaper in Australia. But after using it for couple of weeks, I realised that this 3G handset is so much fun!

Ahmed from Telstra asked me a very good question, why did I buy the new iPhone... I told him I'm about to find out!

I still have to wait for the market to come up with latest jailbreak software. There are hardcore programmers out there who devote their resources to provide such software for free. I'm not alone in this one. If you happen to know where or how or who can help me do this, please let me know. For now, I will continue playing Pacman on my iPhone!

The 12 Apostles...

The 12 Apostles is a geological limestone formation located by the great ocean road in Victoria. It's the main highlight of our road tour which started 250kms away from Melbourne. The weather was fine when we reached the look out point and we started taking pictures almost immediately. If only we can keep count and charge all the pictures taken just like web hits, somebody could already be a billionaire by now!

sweeping views...

Soaring 45 metres high above the Southern Ocean, these giant rock stacks are formed from constant attack by the sea. The cliff faces are being eroded at the rate of about 2cm each year. From the look out platform, we could only count less than 9 rock stacks. Where's the other 3 we wondered? There's one quick way to count and audit all the stacks. Take the helicopter flight tour!

co-pilot seat again...the instructor told us not to wave our hands for obvious reasons while walking towards and away from the chopper.

After a quick safety briefing, we were escorted to our bright yellow coloured helicopter. The morning flight over Geelong was nothing short of spectacular but this was something else. It was my first ever helicopter ride (after thousands of simulated flight hours..hehehe). And flying over the imposing limestone cliffs makes it even more memorable. The problem was I couldn't capture the flight on video as there's no more space for me to record. I had to delete some of the pictures during the flight to create more precious bytes! I only managed to take a handful of pictures.

It's confimed, there was never 12 rock stacks. Infact there were only 9 in the past. Today, only 8 left standing. (click to en-large the picts)

While the viewing platform provides great views, the helicopter ride offers unparalleled vantage, but there's one place that I wanted to be for a different perspective. Which is from the beach itself. It must be amazing just to be able to look up at these gigantic rocks. But due to time constraint, at day's end, we left the 12 Apostles and drove back to Melbourne.

L to R: me, Akmal, Sai and Sherene...

For someone who loves the outdoors and appreciate beautiful landscapes, this is the kind of place that I could just sit for hours and enjoy the view. I wish I could stay there over night and just watch how the colours change throughout the day, especially during sunset and sunrise. That's a good reason to go back to Melbourne isn't it??

More pictures here

The great ocean drive...

The great ocean road ranks as one of the world's scenic drives and touring route. Wrapping up our visit to Melbourne, we were chauffeur driven to the 12 Apostles, some 300kms from the city centre. As we drove through miles and miles of panoramic coastal view of the southern ocean, it was certainly one of the most memorable road trips I ever had.

The journey started from Melbourne at about 9am. Nicholas, our chauffeur is a very nice guy and he made the journey even more pleasant. He's been to most of these places so he knew which lookout points that are worth stopping. Sherene's instructions were clear. Avoid crowded places and stop at scenic lookout area. The week was really packed with meetings (some even started at 5am M'sia time) so I think we all agreed with Sherene on this one.

nasib keta ni tak ada sun-roof...kalau tak dah keluar kepala dah...

Words can't even describe how beautiful the scenery was. But the road trip for me wasn't just about the picturesque and quaint coastal town, white sandy beaches or dramatic cliffs. It's also about the charm and personality of the Australian lifestyle. Since it was a Saturday, we saw city dwellers spending the weekend with activities. We weren’t alone on this journey I can tell you that. We were joined by weekend campers, bikers on Harleys and even cyclist. Their sights and sounds (especially from hundreds of Harley bikes) provided the added character into our trip.

relax jap...amek angin...

relaks jap...amek gambar

We stopped by many places. Took a short flight at Geelong, took hundreds of pictures, had lunch by the beach and did our final stop at the 12 Apostles (special blog entry on this coming soon) before we traveled north to the expressway to take us back to Melbourne.

We reached our Hotel at about 9pm. It took us 4 hours to travel back from the 12 Apostles to Melbourne via the A1 Expressway. My only regret was not being able to drive the V6 3.6 litre Statesmen Holden through the winding coastal road. I did tell Nicholas that I could drive the car if he’s tired or sleepy. Maybe I was taken away by the breathtaking view that I’ve forgotten about it. Nick was smart enough to distract me from taking away the absolute driver’s experience from him! Nevertheless, thank you Nick aka the transporter for driving us safely the whole day.

Bird's eye view of Geelong

I have to say, the experience of taking off and landing on water is something that I will never forget! Under perfect weather condition, we took off on a Cessna seaplane and flew for about 10 minutes over the bay city of Geelong.

This is one de-tour that we never expected. We were on our way from Melbourne to the 12 Apostles via the great ocean drive and decided to stop over at Geelong's waterfront for brunch. As we were busy taking pictures, I saw this bright blue coloured seaplane cruising back to the jetty. Out of curiosity, I quickly walked over to the place where the plane was mooring. I saw one couple getting off the plane with big smiles and looking happy. Hmm...I told myself that I want that kind of smile too!!

I didn't have to persuade the rest to take the ride. We just looked at each other and straight away knew that we have to be on that plane! In no time, we found ourselves seated and fastened with safety belts. After getting clearance from the air traffic controller, the pilot throttled the plane for take off. And it was one silky smooth take off experience, flying just couple of metres over the water before the pilot took us on a steep climb to 2000ft.

The co-pilot seat offers the best view of the city .....

The view from up above was breathtaking. With limited flight time, I find it hard to divide my attention between taking pictures or just sitting back and enjoying the flight experience. It was one of the most busiest and exciting 15 minutes of my life!

Landing on water was a thrill. The approach is very similar to that of a land plane. But as the plane touches down on water, it was a very unique feeling all together. I never would have thought to have this experience in my lifetime. And I'm so glad that I have my digital compact camera to record the in-flight experience on video.

flying 2000 ft over bay city of Geelong...

I like this bit, the water landing approach is so much fun!

Nothing could beat this I thought initially. This has to to be the icing on the cake. Not even the scenic drive to the 12 Apostles can take this away from me....I was wrong. To be continued.....

more pictures of Geelong flight here

A malay guy in Sydney...

Akmal took this picture of me. Now I'm depending on his camera to snap all the photos. I think this was the last shot I took before the camera went bonkers. My new 2Gb CF card is corrupted. Lucky I still have my old 256mb card as backup!

I'm currently blogging from my hotel in Sydney. I'm here with delegates from TM visiting a telco and other enterprise and gov't customers. Will be in Melbourne later this week before I make a short trip to Canberra. Now I'm thinking whether to get Ayu a handbag or watch F1 at Albert Park....hehehehe

KLTowerthon 2009

"You might have climbed TM's corporate ladder, but have you climbed up the stairs of KLTower?" Hehehehe. I might ask this question one day to TM's management!

Last Sunday, for a fee of RM25, I tortured myself, together with 3,000 other participants in the 8th edition of KL Towerthon. An experience that I would probably remember for a very long time. This year's event attracted the highest number of participants but being there by yourself, it does make you feel abit lonely. I was on my first 'solo' run as the rest of the gang couldn't make it but I do encourage them to do it next year.

KL Towerthon is a different animal all together. The torture began right from the beginning. From the starting line (opposite the Weld shopping mall), you run up Bukit Nenas hill for one kilometre until you reach the base of the tower. This is where I made a mistake, sapping alot of energy by running among the front pack runners! What was I thinking?? I thought it could give me an advantage to avoid heavy traffic. I was wrong...

eager to go...where it all began...

By the time I reached the entrance to the stairwell, I was still comfortable as I began to take 3 steps at a time. But I didn't know what to expect..although I know ahead of me are 2,000 more steps, leading up to the observatory deck, 288 metres above ground level. I continued with 3 steps strategy and even passed the 1st water station without stopping.

There was heavy traffic for the first couple of floors so I had to zig zag pass the slow climbers. I tried pushing myself further but eventually, my pace was reduced to walking. So at the 3rd water station, I stopped and literally sat against the wall, hyperventilating. I finished a bottle of water and took some time to regain my strength. I sat next to a participant who was motionless for a very long time! I got worried for awhile!

Condition was difficult. The stairwell, although well lit but very confined. Definitely not for those who are claustrophobic. Ventilation was OK but when you're running, at that altitude, you get to feel the effects of low oxygen. I felt like throwing up at times, gasping for fresh air. I stopped at every water station passed midway and each time, I took longer time to recuperate. I drank water not more than needed, just enough to quench my thirst.

climbing up the winding stairs...at dizzying heights!

At the final section, I was very close to crawling. I couldn't wait to get out of that hole. The beeping sound from the finishing mat couple of floors away encouraged me for a final push. Final assault taik kucing!...My mind said Go! Go! Go!. But my body was already like sayor pak choy. I felt I was not only dragging my legs but was also pulling my lungs and liver on the stairs.

Crossing the finishing line was sweet. Unlike a street marathon, you could use the downhill stretch for some breather. But this race is going uphill or should I say upstairs, gravity defying all the way. It took me 50 minutes from start to finish. The winner that day completed the race in a mind boggling 13 minutes and 40 seconds!!! Is that logic at all??? Well, he was from Kenya. Maybe they do this almost like a hobby from where they came from.

lupa nak gigit medal...

They had multiple categories of entry including from the OKU(handicapped) group. I waited after the race to cheer up other runners and hoping to see familiar faces from TM staff category. Unfortunately, I don't know any of them!!

a participant from the OKU category...nothing is impossible!

Not sure whether this would be my last Towerthon. But if I had to do this again, proper preparation is a must. Not for winning but more to survive. Usaha itu tangga kejayaan as they said it in malay. I now have a raw and shocking understanding of that!!

plenty of goodies...another medal for collection..