Tech, Mamak & Speed

Must get up and running... the frequency of my blogging has been rather lagging, mostly due to laziness... but the last week or so has been rather nice, hanging around with friends and also spending time playing NFS:C and also working on online stuff... okay, this is an entry with lots of pics, so sit back and enjoy...

Low Yat and MamakWent to Low Yat with Jill for some window shopping... she has never been there so I figured it would be nice to bring her there. She was a gaming buff herself, so it was quite nice to walk around Low Yat without having to leave behind what you're actually seeing (if you know what I mean)... Had lunch at Mr. Teppanyaki 1st, they haven't exactly been the best Japanese restaurants around (mostly due to much 'Malaysianising' and fusion) but I admit Low Yat's was rather good.


Japanese Chicken Chop, anyone?

California Roll with no roe...

Chicken Teriyaki Bento...

Went to shop around the computer section... I bought a cool plug point that has switches (yeah switches) so that you could choose which point you want to power up. Neat stuff... Also got myself a set of 4R-sized semi-gloss paper. The printouts would look like those on car brochures... Browsed mouses, keyboards, webcams and stopped at the 3D graphics section... Jill asked them for the best unit, and they brought out Asus' ATi Radeon X1950XTX 512MB GDDR4 CROSSFIRE... my goodness, what a card that was... it was HUGE, red and freakingly expensive. RM1.8k... phew...


ATi Radeon X1950XTX CROSSFIRE

Then we dropped by the computer casing section, where there were lots and lots of cool (pun intended) casings with lots and lots of colorful lit-up fans... lovely...


Blue-lit fan...

A quad-colored one...

Ok, what I found after that was The Big One... the Raidmax Smilodon. I was struck with awe... it was so cool, with it's wonderfully designed windowed casing and blue-lit fans... and the 3 LED 'blades' up front... it also had clip-type construction and side-hatch doors... a sliding motherboard door and swivel-open hard drive bays... totally awesome... Hope to upgrade one day...


The Raidmax Smilodon

The brochure...

Side-hatch doors...

Various features...

After that we shopped for a couple of CDs and then had to leave fast because I promised my cute lil sis that I'd meet up with her for a drink. Rushed through the KL jam and ended up slightly late. But she was ok of course. Ostro was at her place too... red through his assignment or something... was about some brewery (actually tak faham). Lol...



Rescued a bird which fell into the pond... poor lil fella was injured. It went missing after I set it free... hopefully he's okay... We went Makbul after that and waited for Ivy, but she couldn't join in the end. Just simple chit chat and jokes... had to leave early because I needed to get a haircut and also join the family for a movie (which also tak jadi because we couldn't reach the cineplex in time & they gave away our seats...) So there goes such a busy yet fun day...


Ostroey...

Pre-haircut look...

Jill: Mana duit saya?
Myn: Duit apa?!

Cute lil sis striking a pose in the car...

Tuners... Muscles... Exotics...
Been hooked with Need for Speed : Carbon lately... thanks to some tweaks and tips from Jill, I managed to finally play the game smoothly (well, most of the time). Ok, 1st impressions... the main menu is silky smooth, although the elaborated sparkles, shines, exaggerated animation, etc are sort of unnecessary and might have an impact on the game's performance... the graphics are an improvement over the last Need for Speed, which is good (this is btw, officially Need for Speed 10), but my 3D card seems to not be able to display motion blur, which sux...


Using my favourite Nissan 240SX to win a challenge...

Nice graphics eh? This is not even full setting!

The cutscenes (in full-motion-video) are wonderfully done, and yeah, Nikki (played by Emmanuelle Vaugier) is really cute (although she hates your guts). The game picks off where Need for Speed : Most Wanted ended... you're driving your BMW M3 GTR and eventually get totalled by Cross (Dean McKenzie). Yeah that same idiot cop, but he's so exaggerated that he's funny... You start off from scratch trying to pay off a dept to a friend. Given the choice of a Mazda RX8, vintage Chevrolet Camaro and an Alfa Romeo Brera, my choice was a no-brainer... Took the Alfa, loved it to bits, it handled well, ok with drifting, had lotsa speed... tuned it up a lil, painted it Electric Blue... A neat addition to the Need for Speed franchise are the Crew members like drafters, blockers and scouts. Each one has their own advantages. You and your crew will go and win races, take over territories and defeat the bosses... Oh yeah, I'm still playing! Haha...


Alfa Romeo Brera

Sliding action...

Example of exaggerated animation...

Fitted with sweet OZs

Now that's what I'm talking about...

Sweet bodykit and Electric Blue metallic paint...

NOS action...

"I believe I can fly~"

This is what happens when you ram a petrol station...

Menacing car...

Well, I wanted to continue about the A1GP we went the next day, but if I add that, this would be one really long blog entry, I'll save that for tomorrow I guess...

PEACE and God Bless,
Aris

It's Different Now...

Pondering the Weeks Before...
2 weeks has passed... the hurt still remains, although I admit it's not as bad now... not sure whether it's because I was stubborn or because I was just in too deep... Just one week before, it wouldn't have been like this... I wanted to blog, thankfully I didn't. I was too emotional and not in good shape to write. Hurt like nothing I felt before, confused, lost... Well yeah, I didn't want it to end this way, but she has chosen, and it was her right in every way... yeah, it hurts to see the girl of your dreams in the arms of another guy, but she loves him, and when I see her with him, it's very clear how much they feel for each other. I'm the outsider, blame it on myself for never actually making it clear to her all this while, and perhaps I wasn't good enough for her all along. I tried my best, constantly finding ways to improve myself so that she'd like me more... and while trying to be mr. perfect, I made myself too serious... I didn't really notice that until she mentioned one night that she has never seen this side of me before. A funnier, light-hearted and more open side of me (well, perhaps after all has been let out, I felt somewhat like my usual self again...)... well, she's happy now, I guess it's time to move on. Like the saying goes, if you really love someone, let her go. If it comes back to you, then it's meant to be. I respect how she feels, she has moved on with her life, so should I... I only pray that she'll be okay...

Need for Speed Carbon
Yeah, I purchased an original version of Need for Speed Carbon Collector's Edition... will write a lil review later...



Muvee Outing with Nitt
I'm in love with Nita's new car... gosh... even though I haven't really fancied MyVIs, seeing her gorgeous white 'Snowflake' just moved me... she even let me drive it... hee hee... it was fun, like driving a bigger version of the Beetle. Oh, back to the outing... she called up all of a sudden and we spontaneously decided to watch a muvee. Went to IOI Mall, had Sushi King for dinner. Ordered 'grilled salmon belly' or something... eeksss... was ok for the 1st few mouthfuls, then it went weird... at least her dish seemed fine. Was a type of soba. Caught up and shared on stuff, it was nice to spend time with her like we used to, face-to-face instead of virtually on MSN or the phone for once... perhaps working life just made chances like these hard to come by. Talked so much we lost track of time, went for simple shopping after that too. It was nice, to let our worries fly away for once and have fun...


Signs of a coming storm...

MyVI Interior

Dash...

Glowy meters...

Salmon sushi!

Nita looking funny... hee hee...

We caught Happy Feet. I tell you it was one heck of an excellent movie. The graphics, beautifully done in all it's photo-realistic splendour... the songs and singing were top notch, the rather original storyline with a rather unique 'penguin's point-of-view' all added up to a really enjoyable experience. Many times will you would just be struck with awe, and also be glued to the antics of the absolutely adorable penguins and chicks... they're so cute!!! Check out the snow storm, the stomach-crushing downhill scene, the various predatory chases and the excellent lighting effects. The late Steve Irwin (aka the Crocodile Hunter) also lent his voice to an elephant seal... neat stuff... Seriously enjoyed the movie, wouldn't mind watching another time...



Went back after the movie, drove Nitt's car again (arigatou, Nita-san!), it was raining so we ran to the car in her newly-purchased Happy Feet umbrella... hahahaha... wasn't that late, but I had a great time. Probably one of the happiest days I've had lately, plenty of laughter... thanks alot Nitt~


Trying out a shot in Nitt's car...

Beetle Shooting Session
I was too free one morning and decided to take a few shots of the Bug...





Hmm... got lots more to write about, perhaps later... wanna write about all the planning we did for Fifi's birthday bash (which went well, btw) but perhaps next time...

PEACE and God Bless,
Aris

I asked her...

...she said sorry.










I guess this is how the story goes. It's been a year, but I guess it's time to let it go... I'm not sure how, but perhaps time will tell. I hope that whoever she ends up with in the end would make her happy, care for her, protect her and love her dearly. And never, ever, ever hurt her...

Because that's how I would have loved her if I were him...

I pray that she'll always be happy and secure... and that God would protect her always. Because to me, what's most important is her happiness and well-being.

PEACE and God Bless,
Aris