One down, Three to go

So I got one exam down, which I must say actually went pretty well. Expecting something good out of this subject. I never really saw international economics as a doctrine I'd be too interested in but this subject has provided me a good insight into the principle and a good understanding of how things work, especially the foriegn exchange stuff. So that's cool. Ok, enough nerding.

I've been listening to a lot of Fergie's new album: Dutchess. Aside some of the really lame lyrics and her rather orthodox style, I like a lot of the songs on the album. There's quite a fair bit of Missy Elliott and Gwen Stafani showing through her work. May be a little bit too much? She also seems to have used a lot of the 'Run DMC style' rapping..may be because she wanna rap but she can't? (not saying anything bad about Run DMC) But overall, I think it's an album with a good variety of moods. And now I got 'London London London..' stuck in my head. I like it, tho.

Putting her music aside, I must say she's got one of the fittest bodies out there. Tight abs and bootiful. Well, that's if she really looks like how she does in the media, in real-life.

Things have been quite spooky in my pencil case lately. Usually I have two black uni-ball pens in there (as shown in the pic). One is almost empty and the other one's kinda new so it's quite full (you know how with uni-ball pens, you can see the amount of ink you have left inside?). The almost empty one I usually use for writing unimportant stuff, since the ink has become too inconsistent and the new one I use for when I want some solid text. Last night I wanted to write notes for the exams and wanted to use the new pen. I thought I had taken out the right one from the pencil case but then the ink started cutting off after a couple sentences. So I checked and there was no ink inside so I thought I must have taken out the wrong one. Then I took the other one out and started writing..same thing, ink started cutting off. So I took both pens out to look and they were both EMPTY!! BOTH!!! how??? It's like someone broke into my pencil case to drain out my new pen overnight. I checked and there was no ink stain or anything on the pencil case. Strange.

I went to buy a new black uni-ball Signo pen earlier today and when I was taking it out of the pencil case in the library, a PURPLE uni-ball pen fell out. Purple? I never bought a purple uni-ball pen or any purple pen altogether (despite it being my favourite colour when I was a kid). Where did it come from? I have no idea. Somebody get an exorcist for my pencil case. Or better yet, get Constantine!!

So my next exam is on Monday; International Management Process. And then another one on Thursday. I've pretty much been living at Baillieu, trying to get my readings done. Really looking forward to after all this semester's exams. Have a list of things I wanna do and so I can finally go skate with Candidette and Spaceman Spiff.

Meanwhile, I gotta get three chapters done tonight. 'Til next time...

I see a new blogger has arisen. Your nebulous material shall be my source for second opinions on the subject of music, Darkmatter.

Where is my gray jacket?

*The following is pure whining. Don't say I didn't warn you*

One of the things I hate most is to lose any of my clothes. I don't know where my gray Roger David jacket is. I made sure I put it in my bag instead of putting it on the shoulder or hang it on the outside of the bag like a lot of people do but still... I managed to lose it. Why couldn't it have been another jacket.

Now usually when something goes missing, I can usually try to think and trace back to when and where I might have left it. But this, I didn't even wear it yesterday so it should still be in my bag but it's not. I may have taken it out of the bag in the changing room at the gym just so I could get other stuff from the bottom of the bag out. If that was when I lost it, it would mean somebody nicked it when I wasn't looking. F***ing stoler! And I'm sure I checked the locker before I left and I had taken everything out.

Otherwise, I was in the library that evening. I may have taken it out of the bag to get my books out but fo sho I would have put it back in the bag. Again, if it was then that it went missing, somebody nicked it. Stoler! Stoler! Stoler!!!

I liked the jacket so much I went back to Roger David today to see if they still had any left. But that lot has been forwared to DFO and it's ffarrrr!!!!! Well, I guess now that my favourite jacket is gone, I'm gonna have to make up for it in Bangkok. Can't wait. I hope I find something similar too, tho.

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On a seperate matter, I think old people on the tram are very funny. I like the way they sit and do whatever they do. Except those scary ones, who mumble violently and look like they're gonna hit you with their cane.

Two days ago, sitting opposite me was this little old man, who looked very friendly with his silly blue cap. You know, one of those old men with an everlasting smile on their face :) (in a nice way, not in a perverted way). After a while, this old lady came on the tram and I was watching the old man become instantly coy when the lady took a seat next to him. He was trying his best to not be too obvious while he was checking her out. His hands were in his pockets one second then out the next as he seemed quite restless like an excited lil boy. hehe. I thought it was quite funny.

On the same topic, Nabil was telling me about this funny thing that happened on his tram ride yesterday. This really old lady was sitting on the tram...really old like grandma old, you know.. And then ticket inspectors came on. They came over to her and asked to see her ticket. She reached into her hangbag and took out the ticket with her trembling hand along with a magnifying glass and held it over the expiry date on the ticket for the officer to see hahaha I thought that was hilarious.

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So my first exam is on Thursday. International Economics. Quite confusing. But should be ok.

Randomania III

This one is extra random with lots of pictures 'cause I dont have time but I wanna blog, mmkay? And 'Phase 2-Exam Hibernation' has begun, mmkay?

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Cake's new art project. What would you do if there's an oversized creature in your toy grabber? huh? That's Bing Bing in there. The project is on display at Melbourne Uni.

The Evolution of Bing Bing

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Foaming Kiwi means it's gone bad, no?

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I gotta stop counting when I'm cutting food. It's getting annoying.

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So here it is.. My new hair. It looks different in different kinda light, obviously. I might get it a bit lighter next time. And it's not as red as it looks in real-life.

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What do you do when you have poured too much Martini by mistake? Do you try to pour it back into the bottle? Or save the trouble and just drink it?

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Knuckles after kickboxing...I guess it's not too bad. But it hurts but it's not bad..

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'Light Grenades'. Waiting with much anticipation.

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This guitar was done a while back. Took me a while but I like how it turned out. May be a lil dark, tho. I'm thinking of drawing on the back. Like that wiggly stuff on the bottom right. Like that. When I have time...

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Pie's paper sushi (and a fried egg)

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I think I've become very addicted to this revolving ring. I don't go anywhere without it. I apologise to those, whom I might have irritated by the constant movement of my right middle finger and thumb. I can't help it. It's muscle memory now.

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My supper. Smoked Salmon Sandwich. Yea, that's pineapple. I like it, ok?

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Weird strawberry

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K..back to studying. International Business theories. Very interesting.

Blade Rangers

JE The Grycon Knight

Ride of choice: USD Grycon Clan
Discipline: Street Aggro

JM The Motion Man

Ride of choice: Salomon Motion 5
Discipline: Street Cruiser (he's an accountant)

NT The Athena Seraphique

Ride of choice: K2 Athena
Discipline: Street Cruiser (in the rain)

JS The Venom Rider

Ride of choice: USD Legacy Venom
Discipline: Street/Park Aggro

Together, we are the 'Blade Rangers' (JE, you can be the pink one)
Our motto is 'never give up (no matter how many times we stack it)'

*The end*

Randomania II

It happened to me again. Those of you, who know about my 'Can I get a toasted chicken punani, please?' incident at the cafe at uni...I did it again. But this time it was at the juice bar, where I uttered 'Can I get a regular chicken smoothie, please?'...

Why do I do these things? What would any chicken have anything to do with a fruit smoothie?

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Anyways, so I have a little bit of a break before the next hibernation period; 'Phase 2-Exam Hibernation'. Managed to hand in the last two assignments without a major glitch, although they took a lot out of me. I think I experienced a near-death experience at one point, in front of the computer at uni. Everything just went white (or may be it was black)..my whole life flashed before my eyes... episodes of previous assignments and falling geckos (who have lost their suction) came back to haunt me. And then my assignment partner woke me up.

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It's been a while since I first had a love at first sight with a car. Last one was probably with the 2000 S-Type. Now in 2006, the new Chrysler 300c series turns my head everytime. At first, I had been noticing it around and had been thinking it was a Bentley, and it didn't help that both Chrysler and Bentley logos have wings. But ok, they're not that similar. Then after a while, I started seeing too many of them to be a Bentley. So I looked at one upclose, and realised it was a Chrysler. Well, another car that hits the spot for me.

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Do you guys sometimes miss the cartoons or animes or whatever you used to watch when you were kids? I'm quite happy I found my childhood anime the other day at this Asian DVD shop. It's called 'Fist of the North Star'. Back when I was a kid, I would watch it dubbed in Thai every week on TV. This Jap anime series first came out in 1983, the year I was born. Last week I found out there's a remake with 3D-CGI, and was on a mission to have the DVDs in my possession.

The main character, Kenshiro was once my hero when I was little. I wanted to throw punches so fast you can't see my fists. Or make anything explode with a touch of my finger tip. But now I don't know why I would wanna do any of that. Other than may be if I wanted to make mashed potato or something.

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Had my hair coloured yesterday. Turned out better than I had expected. I like it :)

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Today's kickboxing was intense but I had a lot of fun as usual. My trainer stayed on to train himself after my session so I decided to join him. Whoh.. let's just say now my arms and legs feel like they're falling off. And when I cough, my obliques feel like they're gonna tear. It'd be interesting trying to get out of bed tomorrow morning. Better go to bed now..

Goodnight, Y'all...
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Ms. Maliwan Somsuphangsri

I haven't been able to introduce Maliwan to some of you properly yet. So I'd like to take this opportunity to do so. I think it was about three years ago, when Mom, Cake, Pie and I were strolling down the aisles of the pet section of the notorious Jatujak, we spotted this adorable lil brown blob with a lil black snout, flopping around in its crate. If there was such a thing as love at first sight, that was probably it for me. We went up to the shop and asked the shopkeeper about this tiny baby pug.

To be honest, as much as we really wanted the puppy, our previous pet had kinda put us off the idea of having a pet for a while. That barking cat (Hippo) was possessed. I think among the weird pets we've had, Hippo was the weirdest. But that's another story all together.

But who could resist that tiny lil brown thing. So we decided the baby pug would be our next house pet. At least when she barked, we knew it would be coming from a dog. Earlier that day we had decided we were going for a movie at Central Plaza, a big mall near by. So we told the guy we'd come back to pick the puppy up.

When we came back to the shop after a few hours, that brown blob was jerking back and forth in the crate, trying to throw up. Apparently, she had been eating too much, non-stop..hehe. We made sure she wasn't dying and then took her home.

The baby pug, then, became Maliwan Somsuphangsri, or Mali for short. I remember Mali had this baby smell, which we thought was really cute. We got this wooden pen for her (a pet containment pen, Mali couldn't write), which worked out to give way too much space for her at the time, but everyone knows how fast puppies grow.

I remember an incident, where Mali got her head stuck in between the wooden columns of her pen, as she was squeaking for help.. HELPP HELLP EAKK EAAKK HELLPP!! At first I really didn't know what to do because if you could imagine, pugs already have bulging eyes, Mali's eyeballs were extra bulgy, and I knew if I was to pull her body hard enough, her eyes would have been rolling away on the floor. Anyways, after a few minutes we managed to kinda twist her around and her head popped back out, with her eyeballs still intact. The whole time she never stopped screaming.. eeeakkk eeeaakkk hheeellppp hellppppp!!! So if you look in the picture on the left, you can see we had put plastic sheets to prevent her from sticking her head through the gaps again.

Dad had been on a business trip overseas during Mali's first few days at home. I remember it was funny how when he came back from the trip, saw Mali on the floor and was wondering to himself what kind of creature we had brought home. Dad grew to love Mali like we all did.

Right this moment, she must be either sleeping or thinking to herself when Cake, Pie and I will be back to see her again. Soon, Mali. Soon....

Thirsty Mali

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eh?

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Mali with her flowers

Assignment Hibernation

For those of you, who are tired of opening my blog and seeing that same plate of tofu time after time, I'll be back with more non-sense rambling soon (anyways, I'm getting sick of tofu, too..been having a lil too much).

Just gotta get these assignments out of the way. I'm on hibernation in a comp lab at uni at the moment. Will be back on in like 2-3 days..

So til then, if you're bored, check some links under 'subliminal procrastination' or something.. or go entertain youself somehow...

I know, here's something for you guys to figure out meanwhile; 'What has 5 eyes, 4 ears, 9 legs and 6 arms and is purple and green.... and pink and goes "rrhhhwwwwaawwaaaaaarhhbbbaaaa *pause* bababububaaddadaaaaaaaaaa boo boo gagagaaa'. I'll be back with the answer after Wednesday..

Til then~~

I heart my firm tofu

I like my tofu

to eat my firm tofu
I like my tofu
white and tight my firm tofu

A bit soy sauce a bit spring onions
a bit rice wine makes my tofu shine
I love my tofu
nice and white my firm tofu
..........

I also like Martini Rosso (JinMin's fault)

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Tonight's dindin:

Lamb Cutlets with Salad (No tofu this time)
Before

After

Stand-up VS. Ground Control

Striking VS. Grappling, K.O. VS. Submission or Muay Thai VS. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu - The dichotomy of two schools of fighting, which personally I think are the most applicable, has been of interest to me for a long time so I thought I'd write about it a lil.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Apart from the fact that it looks like two gay men having fun on the ground, there is no question BJJ is a form of fighting that works out there on the streets. The fighting style has been developed in the favour of smaller-sized fighters, who lose out to their opponent in size. In fact, Helio Gracie was just a lil Brazilian guy, when he adapted the art from traditional Japanese Jiu-Jitsu.

A triangle/armbar submission (Minotauro VS. Coleman)

Legend has it that traditional Japanese Jiu-Jitsu was developed for Samurais so when(if) they lose their swords, they could fight bare hands. Back then, it wasn't so much of the armbars and the rear naked chokes but fish-hooking (using fingers to tear mouth), and eye gouging. Then when it was brought over to Brazil, the art was developed through the violence that was going on on the streets of Rio by the world renown Gracie family. To be fair, one flaw I can see of BJJ is it probably only works best for a one on one fight. I can't imagine how one would be able to take on more than an opponent at a time, working on the ground.

Here: BJJ VS. Sumo, is a very good example of how BJJ can be used effectively by someone who is much much smaller in size than his/her opponent (BJJ fighter: the famous Royce Gracie).

Muay Thai

Needless to say, Muay Thai is a very high impact fighting style. If you cannot take your opponent to the ground and submit, Muay Thai is the way to go. Born in Thailand, 'มวยไทย' was originally developed for military purposes in the ancient times. Similar to Japanese Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai was invented so Thai soldiers were given the ability to engage in unarmed combats.

The fighting discipline can be said to be one of the most "down to earth" ways of fighting, putting to use fists, elbows, knees, forearms, feet and most importantly, shins. Muay Thai allows fighters to develop solid body parts, as not only does the fighting style emphasise striking down of the opponent, the fighter him/herself, must also be able to withstand the striking from the opponent.

Two of my favourite Muay Thai fighters: Masato and Buakaw

As for the flaw, if a pure Muay Thai fighter gets taken down, he/she would be in trouble. Muay Thai does need you to create an appropriate striking distance between you and your opponent. If you ended up on the ground with a BJJ fighter, you'd better try to get both of you back on feet and start chopping down the tree.

Here's a clip of a K-1 fight: Muay Thai VS. Boxing, with one of my favourite Muay Thai fighters, Masato, fighting a Japanese boxer. A very interesting and entertaining fight.

The things I really like about these two styles of fighing is the simplicity and the practicality. While Muay Thai utilises all the weapons mother nature has given you, BJJ lets you dominate your opponent on the ground, where most of the action is likely to take place if real fight was to break out. Other than all that has been mentioned, practicing both or either one of these two styles guarantees to get you fit as F***. Fo sho...

My ideal opponent (left)