Looks versus weight

Should I get a Game Boy or a PSP? Been agonizing over this question for a week.

I must have games when I have to queue up for anything or when I’m on the plane or subway. My phone used to do the job but the buttons are starting to wobble from all the frantic pressing. Phones aren’t made for playing games are they.

So I shopped around yesterday but went home empty handed. The Sony PSP’s display is superb but with the size and weight I might as well be carrying a rock. Forget it. The Nintendo Gameboy has a nice practical size but the display is like crap. Even an ordinary phone’s display puts it to shame. Forget it too.

Surely there be something as small as a Gameboy with the display of a PSP? And with a dedicated joystick? Hate the idea of going back to the Nokia N-Gage but I may not have a choice. Hmm… should I risk it? It’s so last decade though…

Jakarta the sequel

Not sure what to say about this 2nd trip to Jakarta other than the fact that I spent 2 full days at an office trying to understand some people’s operational problems. I was there representing my dad, which was an effort considering the people I had to deal with were as old as he is. You don’t know what its like to sit in meetings where people spoke a mix of broken English and Mandarin laced with a thick Javanese accent.

All was not lost though. For some strange reason Indonesia always makes me hungry and I had a feast for the 3 days. The people there seem to have a love affair with chillies and they put it in everything they eat. If you think its the same in Malaysia, wait till you see people carrying around a packet of raw chillies for a snack, like popcorn.

One thing I must say, their Chinese food tastes a little weird. Here’s a version of their wantan mee.

I’m sure a person from Xiamen will have the same sentiments about Malaysian wantan mee.

Here’s more food in a Veitnamese cafe in Block M, the equivalent of KL’s Lot 10 which was near the hotel I was at.

The only night I was free to roam, I spent at Citos or Cilandak Town Square, a heavily guarded R&R place catering mainly to expatriates. Come to think of it, it reminds me of the Curve.

Jakarta’s a city of contrasts. Some parts of it would blend right into New York City and some looks like the poorest sections of Sierra Leone. Its very crowded but not as bad as Hong Kong. Maybe in my next trip I’ll have more leisure time to get a more balanced view of the place.

Anyway while at Pondok Indah Mall, their equivalent of 1-Utama, I came across this interesting sign. I’ll leave you to your imagination as to what the sign is about.

Back to a mess

Arrived home very late last night and went straight into panic mode when I heard about the Minnesota bridge collapse. Spent half the night trying to locate 3 friends living in the Minneapolis St. Paul area. Thank god they’re all safe. Hard to believe the bridge I had taken numerous photos of is now at the bottom of the Mississippi.

This morning I’ve to wade through the mess left by the stock price sneeze in Wall Street. Doesn’t look like a very good homecoming this time.

My trip was tiring but got the job done. I’ll say a bit more about it a bit later in the day if I’m up to it.

Jakarta, again.

I’m flying off tomorrow on an unplanned but necessary trip to Jakarta. Sigh, that’s the 2nd time this year, excluding Bali. I’ll be back Thursday I think. My notebook’s fixed so I shouldn’t have any problem getting online.

What do you do when you’re pissed off?

Had this post for weeks so I thought putting it up on a gloomy Monday would be perfect.

What would you do when you’re totally pissed with someone? That thought hit my mind as I was watching some guy chase his gf with a knife in a slasher movie some time ago. So would you…

1. Be adult about it and find out what’s bugging him/her. (which of course never works when emotions are running high.)

2. Give the silent treatment until he/she caves in. (a.k.a sulking.)

3. Lose your temper and demand an apology.

4. Swallow your emotions and try to forget about it.

5. Keep it inside and hit out later.

Come on, be honest now.

Personally I would stop everything, let it out and settle it right then and there, which puts me somewhere in between #1 and 3. I’ve never seen any point in holding it in.

I will assume that my friend is aware that he/she had pissed me off and is interested to make amends, which can be about as rare as a flying pig if he or she has the emotional maturity of a 5-year old. Which is why one should never forget the lollipop test on a first date.

I guess even old slasher movies have value – a message about anger management.

Are thongs gay?

I just couldn’t resist this post but something happened yesterday afternoon that made me laugh my head off.

I went to the gym with my two friends KC and WL (names disguised to protect the innocent). Shirley my gf came with us and we all had a great workout.

After an hour we decided to call it a day and adjourn to 1U to bum around. I came out of the shower first and put on my clothes inside the shower cubicle. KC came out second but he headed to the changing room to dress up. WL came out last.

Anyway as I was drying my hair, KC put all his stuff on the bench to put on this pair of bright red thongs. Nothing extraordinary to me but apparently someone in the changing room thought it was. One guy just couldn’t take his eyes off KC and his thong and from the worried look on his face, KC noticed it too.

We were roaring with laughter as we walked to the parking lot and I earned a big painful punch on my arm from KC for daring him to go back and take down the guy’s number. KC has a girlfriend and is definitely straight (at least I think so).

WL says thongs are gay. So undergarments actually have a sexual orientation. Right. But I can see what he meant. I used to think that thongs are practical because there’s less material to hinder your leg movement so its just another version of the athletic supporter. But yeah I suppose you can see “more” if you are into that kind of stuff.

What about you, do you think thongs are gay and if yes, why?

While we’re on this topic, here’s an intelligent question for you. How many times can a guy wear a pair of briefs without washing it?

Think carefully and scroll down for the answer.

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6 times.

The underwear is basically a piece of triangular cloth so what you do is you rotate it clockwise each day so you’re always protected by a fresh side of the cloth. On the third day, you turn it inside out and repeat the process. So that’s 6 days in total.

Now another question. How many days can a woman wear a bra without washing it?

The Simpsons rocks

Old school toons rulez!!!

I couldn’t stop laughing in the cinema yesterday, sorry Shirley. Its a hilarious movie, exceeding my expectations in just about every way. You have to be familiar with life in the US midwest and American partisan politics to catch all the jokes but even if you’re not, its still worth every cent.

The movie itself is a social commentary about traditional American values – family, church, the environment, the government, and business. There are deeper layers to appreciate like the love between a son and his father, a husband and his wife, a man and his pig. All in all it gives it a meaning that’s hard to find in other toon movies.

The patently funny moments I find hard to forget are Bart skateboarding thru town naked, Moe losing his bar, the Inuit boob lady, and of course my favorite, SPIDER PIG. Who says imbeciles don’t have a life.

A warning though. If you queued up for tickets expecting to see state-of-the-art eye candy, you’ll regret it. This is no Pixar or Disney production and purposely too I understand. You won’t find the crisp-clean smooth flowing images that you see in Shrek, The Incredibles or Ratatouille. That’s because the entire show is hand drawn, produced the old fashioned way.

But the movie more than makes up for it by encouraging the audience to engage in life’s challenges (like relationships) rather than escape from it, and presenting in a way that makes it real, complete with imperfections and silly people. Better that than having an indestructable mouse or ogre teach you the finer values in life don’t you think?

I absolutely love the movie and I think everybody should watch it.

4.9 out of 5.

(I would have given it a 5/5 if I knew what happened to SPIDER PIG).

Movies I want to see

The Simpsons have a movie.

Not fair. I want movies for these other favorite toons of mine too.

Hooray for my hero Spongebob!

Wait a minute that’s not Spongebob?!

New post @ 1600 Wall Street

I’ve just posted something about how a company gets AIDS in my other blog.

I’ve been experimenting with the header image. Still undecided about it. Any suggestions? (Angel, got a better photo of your toe?)

Thinking is for wimps

Everyone says, “Don’t think too much lah, just do it” and you know what? I think its a great line. Thinking is not cool and I happen to believe too many people are letting their grey matter get in the way of fun.

This guy (the car owner not the cop) certainly didn’t let thinking get in the way of fun. Booze up dudes, who cares. I mean what’s a small car wreck and a lost limb once in a while eh.

Thinkers are bad because they are party poopers. Well, mostly. They throw cold water over harmless mischief and enjoy taking the fun out of everything. That’s why they’re not on your party invite list.

Its the same in business. Just the other week someone told me, “Bryan you’ve got a great idea. Why not just do it. Don’t think so much.” While I understood what he was tying to say, a part of me says you’re not the one having to incur a million-dollar loss if the thing goes under so what do you care, dickwad. Oops I’m thinking too much there aren’t I. My bad.

So when it comes to matters of finance, health, marriage and family, should you stop thinking and just do it? What does it mean? Just follow your instincts? (Found out that apparently the urge to validate dodgy numbers on a business forecast is not a valid instinct and therefore if you do it, you’re a party pooper.)

So I conclude that “don’t think, just do” is a call to unplug your critical brain function and let your heart, stomach, groin or whatever take control of the wheel. Sounds reptilian. Sounds cool. And if you succeed, you become a role model for achieving something without the aid of a brain which then makes them brainy people look like sheep. Wouldn’t that be something. Man I could build a whole lifestyle and economy on that. No wait, I think I’m already in it.