djthormented's PhotoBlog

Balik Kampung

2009-11-03T01:50:50Z

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Too long... too damn long... well need to find that "lalang" racun lah and keep them away. Balik kampung anyone?? -R-

One Is Getting Old

2009-09-09T07:54:48Z

I don't know why but my words seems to be affecting me these days. I don't say the correct things properly in a manner I only I know... har har har. To think one getting older one should be getting boulder. Hrmmm... I used to pour out lovely words to my wife in text/sms/phone but nowdays I need to call her up and ask what is the word for... how do I say this... what's that word... how do I spell this!!! Yah... I'm getting old and being pressured ain't looking any good either. More and more white hair coming. Whateva tha crap is lah kan. It used to be, go out every nite. On the phone till dawn. Start that rempit action. Go to work. Sleep for a while at 3/4pm. Come back. Start the car. Lepak lagi. And when weekends comes its hanging out with my one girlfriend who ended up becoming my wife. But then old histories don't die with me that easily. I took the liberty to runaway from Labuan seas to go on a ferry ride to Kota Kinabalu to meet up my old old friends with my best friends quote in mind "I have already gotten myself 3 (THREE) children and you still are yet to appear at my house!!". So I had to make this run. It was a do or die situation for me. Lucky my boss understood the situation and let me have my weekend outside Labuan waters. Let me state something out about Labuan: 01. Go only if you have work to do if you are married. 02. Everynite is not to sleep for those who wants to stay so. Nite life is a daily matter. 03. If you do take spirits/alcohol now you may want to stay a bit longer. Even the mamak serves beer. 04. There's only one shopping mall. 05. If you're on honeymoon you may want to think again. 06. Good looking girls come out at nite and you don't need beer to make that happen. 07. Girls are better at Tip Top (check out Garmin map - get it at MalFreeMaps you can search for it) 08. The pub is called Beyond 2000 and not Biyon as per locals mouth. 09. Beyond 2000 has the most crowd with good live band and also dance tunes and they serve good orange juice. 10. Tip Top is not a place to hang out so so long unless you are there with old naughty folks. 11. Tip Top serves dry very dry food. 12. Food in Labuan are Chinese/Hakka like taste so the mee gorengs are to die for - you may want to check out Malindo for a start. 13. Taxi costs you RM5 per head where ever you go from point A to point B in Labuan and it doubles to RM10 after 7pm. Owh, this includes the water boat taxi at the anchorage point (Seri Ganti radio channel 67). 14. When Beyond 2000 is lacking the vibe run to Poppin (both are also featured in MalFreeMaps). 14.1. Be sure to have supper outside Poppin. Just go out and turn left. It is right behind Sky Global Hotel. 15. If you do want to pick up girls, do so at Tip Top and then go elsewhere coz they don't look like whore over there. 15.1 Try not to mix the aroyo (philipines) with the indons as they don't seem to be in good relationship so to say. 16. Remember the lyrics to old english rock songs and also Munajat Cinta by Ahmad Dani (it seems to be like a national anthem over there - I was the only prick who didn't know the words). 17. Sampoerna are not sold in most shops and they only costs 1/3 outside Labuan. 18. Try not to go out alone at nite. Very scary. 19. Make friends with seaman as they know best of Labuan. 20. Ladies drink costs RM28 and when you have booked them it costs RM7. Enough said I think. I did a lot of interviews to get the answers and I am now known as Rain OJ (orange juice - coz that's my official drink with no addings or artificial colors ha ha ha) Kota Kinabalu on the other hand is sort of shopping heaven for women for cheap stuffs. Right when I stepped on the land of KK my che che (sister - not blood related but if caught anywhere I will still claim her as my sister as she does claiming me her little brother) called me up telling she's waiting for me in her car right after the port. While walking out of the ferry port and talking on the phone with her she recognized me from the rear view mirror of her car even though we have not met up for 13 years and though she maintained her voice calmly she practically screamed (in a professional calmly way) saying what happened to me as her words says "Apa jadi sama kau?! Macam king kong ba!" Ha ha ha... She even admitted how skinny I was during college years (this is what happens when you have money in your hand - you eat good food). Going in her car she did not greet me with a hello but like a real sister hugging me. Well we miss each other ok after what we went thru the college years only we can tell. I was quite afraid and felt awkwards coz I don't hug other girls (since I got married) then my wife/mom/nieces but then that all went away coz I missed her too as my sister (and it still rings in my head why I don't even have a sister like her back home - wifey also was not jealous at all from my reports coz she knows how I long for an elder brother/sister). She drove me here and there and I hanged out with her even at the car wash plus we were 2 piece of chatter box so lots and lots of stories lah. She updates me of all my sisters and friends and I made a few calls and all were suprised. Good sisters lah I have there. Nel - you still rawk lah!!! We practically remember our physical sightings ha ha. How she used to wear glasses as thick as that Harry Potter book and how my hair was long and not cared of - he he nowdays I don't even need to comb them. Well come to think of it, she's still winning the pool bet as she hasn't taken the plunge of tying the knot. He he... coming to that topic, I didn't get to meet a lot of friends coz that weekend saw many couples taking that jump. Even Nel's younger sister was in line the next day. How I wish I had more time to see the weddings there and go to their cathedral to see their weddings but time wasn't a good friend plus seeing me for a week staying up at a minimum of 3am. Nel... be sure to call me up when you touch down on this side of the sea or I'll strangle you!! She then send me to my best friend's house and his wife (another sister of mine also who kept me safe in her "dara" house back during the years) kept calling Nel asking what was I doing nearly every 10 minutes worrying. Aiyoh... my real sister also wouldn't even care! And upon the return of my friend the 1st thing in mind was FOOOOOOOODDDD!!! And what else do guys like us who don't have a life do after food? We stay up and talk and kept talking until it what came out of our mouth couldn't be understood by any party. The next day I was dragged to a Malay wedding who's related to my friend - kesian aku. I did manage to photograph well during the wedding due to: a. Not the official photog b. The weather was scorming hot I didn't manage to take good photos. Heat really plays a role lah but what the heck I wasn't there to photograph anything. I just wanted to see. That also a few chaps came to me and ask if I'm the photo person (like there's a signboard saying "Photographer at Work" on my forehead). But somehow, my market is there (that is if god permits me). Everyone loved the latest wedding photo story shots I showed them and from their reactions as if they're taking numbers! Aiyoh susah ni. But then I like weddings and being the chatter box I believe I can direct again :P (Tak rugi betul beli talipon baru ni senang nak buat product demo rather than bringing that bulky notebook). The other day saw me shopping for pearls with my best friend and cousin where we were all confused as we know nothing about it and we practically had our wives (minus my cousin who's still single) to choose our clothes. But with the experience my wife kept blabbering at me of how nice this looks la that la and being that eyeful behind that small view finder at weddings I'm proud to say I did a good job. Even my wife was suprised! She was worried I just kept smiling and when I send her a preview from photo messaging she LAGI can't wait for me to return home. Imagine, someone who only wears free t-shirts and waiting for his wife to buy him clothes or none will appear for the next millenia buying jewellry - mana tak dia takut. Sea food in KK was good but being too stuffed of sleeping disorder I didn't had the proper appitite. And so my story... PS: The shots above is actually my transit flight he he. I didn't had the proper mind to capture anything proper in KK coz my schedule was very tight. But I really loved the short trip there. I think next time I'll take a few days off to go there if I do have work in Labuan. -R-

Lazy - Time to Take a U-Turn

2009-09-08T06:15:37Z

------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Been lazy and not being myself these few days and was it darn serious. Well it did make a good turn. It reminded me of how I was left out. Left out in so many ways. The last trip to Labuan really saw me missing my other half and falling back in-love with her again the time she arrived with her angry-hot-no-mood-sick face. Pressure... that's what I'm going through. Well... a song keeps playing all around since I was in Labuan till now and here's the 1st part with the pictures above I think it kinda suits. Well lets just see... The lyrics were me a long long time ago where I see everyone going back hand-in-hand and I'm the only sucker holding the ciggarette butt with a plastic filled with teh tarik. But the song/melody just kept playing on my head everytime I was there. Well here goes... ------------------------------- Malam ini ku sendiri (Well leaving for Labuan sure seems so) Tak ada yang menemani (I was alone) Seperti malam-malam (Way long long time ago) Yang sudah-sudah (Yup they were sudah - on certain occasions) Hati ini selalu sepi (Now this... aiyohhhhh) Tak ada yang menghiasi (If we put love aside and bring it to another world it seemed to be) Seperti cinta ini (****) Yang s’lalu pupus (**** x 2 - hahahaha) Tuhan kirimkanlah aku ( ) Kekasih yang baik hati ( Very very accepting this ) Yang mencintai aku ( one lah ) Apa adanya... ( ) Mawar ini semakin layu (Dried out coz too full ha ha ha) Tak ada yang memiliki (No one is accepting?) Seperti aku ini Semakin pupus (Just like me been drifted away) -------------------------------- Well time for a U-Turn Time for all these to end Time eish... I sound like a new year resolution Well I really need this A lot of "well" in my entra today... I must be getting well then ha ha ha... Will try to update as many as Fudge lah... -R-

Engagement - Something I Rarely Touch

2009-08-20T18:19:45Z

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Either I'm getting too old or too busy that I don't have time for my blogs anymore and seeing my friends/cousin/mentors/fan club blogs being updated wonders me when will I update again my full of spider web blog. And now seeing me again in Labuan waters for the second time after just 1 week back at home and 3 days of suffering (and still do feel like vomitting with stomach gastric pushing the insides of me to my freaking throat that's suppose to be sliced out) - geesh. Anyways, last Sunday (or was it) saw me being again taking my toys to production. Engagement. Yup, something I started with but now I rarely do coz either I feel lack of love in it or there's just lack of action or I'm being old again - ha ha ha. Anyhow, my Mom need not to ask coz its my youngest brother's engagement and in my point of view its a waste to call up for video or a professional or "so-called" to be taking the pictures. Waste of time/gas you name it. Ironic, the first time I dared to learn to shoot by myself to go for this so-called exam was from an engagement event (I think its somewhere earlier in this blog or was it somewhere ha ha - sign of old again) but now days I rarely see it. Maybe becoz I've got no time even for myself these days. I just want a week with my wife and kids hanging around, swimming, walking in the park, torcher my boys in running the whole National Zoo to tire them till the next day... bah I'm just a family person these days. Tend to stay closer to them as I know kids grow fast. Coming back to this engagement event, like I said its my youngest brother's event. With an empty stomach I had to run the event (so clever not to even take breakfast coz my stomach was already showing signs of disagreement). The dates for the main event are set and I think I'll cover the Akad Nikah session (I do, you do lah) coz out of all wedding events I love this the most coz I see so many kinds of faces... Couples getting scared... Parents getting anxious... Family members getting too busy body... Friends getting on the couples nerves... Someone will surely cry... Others laughing introducing the new wife for the groom... Gifts... Meeting the new parents... Small kids running happily seeing their cousins around... Grand parents looking as the head Mafia... Man I just love this moment. Maybe next time you should view all surroundings you'll know what I mean. I'm blabbering again... so... -R-

The Skies to Bintulu - THE SKIES

2009-08-03T11:21:10Z

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- How could I not show the beautiful hazy clouds. The hotel I stayed at in Bintulu had its wifi failed disturbing my downloads and viewing of the web. Currently I am in Kota Kinabalu waiting for my transit flight with my phone battery is weak. Luckly the McDonald's here power outlet so... he he. Here's the clouds to Bintulu. Hopefully I can update more if I'm not too busy in the Labuan office tomorrow. -R-

The Skies To Bintulu

2009-07-31T18:56:53Z

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- What happens when a person who loves cloudscape having a camera and being paid to fly? You get a full load of cloud pictures. All nice and yummy!! Hope you guys enjoy it!! Well here I go again, leaving my family behind because out of the blue I have to fly off to Bintulu, Sarawak. Before my flight, I checked out the "spots" that are around here from Google and from my 1st encounter this place is nothing but "Jin Bertendang". So I made a few calls and all answered the same - when you’re there, stay in the hotel coz there’s nothing there. It was an ad-hoc call from my boss telling me to leave for Bintulu and having no time to pack I made do of what I’ve got. True enough there’s nothing here even my agent here said the same thing during dinner (where food & drinks ain’t cheap!!) just now. Oh well looks like I just have to make do with the zoo they have later then. I’ve been hiding in my hotel room for 2 days now. Even the nearest food stall according to Garmin is 1km away and true enough the agent that brought me to dinner just now also brought me 1km away. Ha ha... a paid relax time on my own. So it’s just sleep, surf the net and download p0rn for me these few days. Even my pack of cigarettes was only sold in town in which I was advised not to go when its dark - day time maybe. Geesh. But then news had it just now that my vessel shall long side (the vessel goes to parking lah - it’s a shipping term in which I’m still learning) tomorrow morning so my trip to the zoo will have to wait for Sunday and hopefully this is true coz then I can travel up to Labuan to work on other vessels there and also our regional office. This week also saw me officially being my company’s webmaster and out of nowhere I was summoned to be a video editor in making a safety video for one of our vessel that we manage. Wow! Looks like my KPI will surely grow higher. Lets see now; System Admin (hey that’s me), Network Officer (hey that’s me too!), Backup Operator (I don’t see anyone else but me), Computer Technician (do you see anyone else can open up the computer/notebook just to plugin that RAM or hardisk? - its me again), Graphic Editor (none at sight that can match me over there - and I still yet to see my work on that magazine!!), Webmaster (even the group’s webmaster don’t know what he is doing - check out the group’s main web at Tanjung Group (check out there NO BUTTON - so ugly lah) and my company’s (in which I was responsible of its new face lift at TKS - looks like it is still me :DISCLAIMER: Don’t shoot me coz my knowledge here is too small to edit even further) and now Video Editor. I’m like nearly everything under the sun when it comes to computer in my current company and I SERIOUSLY NEED A RAISE!! Ha ha ha... I guess they now see my potential so when is the possible time for me to ask for a raise? Even our sister company wanted my service in which was being cut out and backed up by my CEO and my boss - kewl eh you should have been there to see it ha ha... my bosses were really hating his webmaster so much. Just to pour out some more, he had to place ALL unnecessary stuffs in our folder in which others had coz he said its needed - I just couldn’t stand anymore but laugh my heart out that my stomach hurts badly. Being the only IT chap has its down side though. I have to troubleshoot/install/design all of our vessels IT usage. I have to go here and there and scared of what’s happening in the office. I have to make sure my phone is charged ALL the time. I have to check my mails AT LEAST once a day (includes weekends and sick day) - this one I like coz company pays for my internet usage he he. I have to ensure that even my regional offices items are in working condition and with the new office coming up I have to design its network structure. Having all these I don’t even know if I could make it for my tonsils operation. Oh well... Oh did I mention that I’ll be flying off to Labuan F.T. after this? I think its my 1st official away from my 2 boys for more than a week. I hope Danial will not make his mother go crazy. -R-

The Bird Park Visit with Danial - The Birds

2009-07-30T08:51:51Z

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- How can I visit the bird park without showing the birds?! Ha ha ha... Well actually my boy was sick yesterday (as if he knows he ain't going to see his father for 2 weeks maybe). Anyway, the birds as what I can give you guys to view. We might just go again if time permits me that is. -R-

The Bird Park Visit With Danial

2009-07-29T10:51:52Z

------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Yes... its that time of the year again. But this time its just Danial & me. Thanks to the chronic tonsils that I got a few weeks back that it was so large that I could not even swallow my own sliva!! I was admitted, yes admitted coz I was dehydrated and the 1st day I was admitted my wife for the 1st time saw me vomit that she panicced. The MC given was very long that I took the liberty to bring my son out. Danial was having fun with Daddy around that he didn't cared his Mommy went to work as he knew its P-A-R-T-E-A time with Daddy. With swimming sessions and then I just had to do it, we went to the KL Bird Park. Being a small "samseng" I knew he would be afraid and amaze of the birds. And was I right. He was really quiet with me (due to the shock I presume). Oh well. I was lucky enough though to have brought along the stroller - you see Danial isn't the stroller type. But then he fell asleep and he slept in it - lucky berat tu nak pikul. Anyways, its 6pm now and I have to go and get ready my bags towards Bintulu tomorrow. So enjoy. -R-

A lot Has Happened

2009-06-23T10:41:00Z

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ya, I haven't been updating my blog. My bad. With this new job, comes new challenges. With challenges, comes new responsibilities. With responsibilities, comes tonnes of work. Ha ha ha... ya been very busy that I have no time to edit my own photos yet alone my blog. In this new firm I stand alone and becoming alone not only I am the SA, I am also the technician, the network guy, the backup operator, the graphic editor and suddenly the unsunkerable webmaster. Geesh... gaji kena up gila ni ha ha ha... A lot has happened since my last update and with this free blog (now is) I can only upload 5 of what I love so far. And besides I've got some spare time to do so. My shutter has reached its 25k mark (meaning I've been shooting for more than 25,000 times on my trusty camera). With the new add-on came by, hopefully I can shoot even more. But now, I really need that 17-55 and that 580. The current 17-50 does its work but it is a real bang-for-buck so I really need to upgrade some more. Not new body but new lenses and I really need sponsors. My boys are free from the hospital where Adam was in minor operation for optitis media and adenoids. Danial was in due to bad viral infection. Now no more hospitals, no more sleeping don't know where. I have no time for weddings now unless booked 3 months in advance coz my line of work needs me to be on vessels every now and then and I have to run away quiet often. With my mobile died on me the very moment I had to use it, I am also now forced to have a new mobile phone and received a standing order to have a broadband connection with it (I don't want internet at home!!!). But then, company is paying for my broadband service so what the heck. My wife is loving it and everytime she could grab my phone its handbag & ebay series for her. Well, I mainly use it to download e-mails and also remote into my servers and it all had to be used the very day I signed up for broadband service... geesh... talk about luck. Adam now is not as hyper & having running nose all the time thanks to the removing of his adenoids that was as big as a ping pong ball. Danial is now becoming even more and more of a bully and getting even more cheekier with his non stopping mouth bla bla here and there. Wifey is getting even more beautiful with her new hair style and when she gets up from bed I wish she hadn't shampoo her hair. Me on the other hand, exhausted daily and only wish of holiday with my wife and only her no kids around. Ok. My rumblings are over guess its time to move on. -N-

Danial Arzrain coming to his 2nd Year

2009-05-15T08:53:48Z

------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Coming towards his 2nd year in life he had to spent a few days in the Hospital due to bad tonsils that made his fever on and off for the whole week. Being cheeky and such a bully he was cool enough when the "dara" nurses took some blood out of him, place the needle for dripping (with a little auuwwwch came out) and of course, staring deep into the nurses while they were working on him. Ok... a boy he is, a playa his gonna be. Sleeping in the hospital really sux this time, I had then having bad cough and blocked nose and then Adam and myself left for home coz we need to work/school. Yesteday, he celebrated his 2 years in life on land and everyone at Grandma’s was singing happy birthday that made blush and turning red (according to his Grandma). We’ve already bought early presents for both boys only with this small part of history of our life left the boys blowing the candles tomorrow. Till then... -R-