Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion

Every now and then, I will have a strong urge to play a game. The previous time I had this urge was 2 years ago, where I bought a PSP and sold it off a year later. Otherwise, it would be accumulating too much dust. This time round, I went back to one of my favorite games: Elder Scrolls 4 - Oblivion.

It is an open ended game which puts me into a medieval world of castles, dungeons & monsters. I have always dreamed of living in a medieval world way before electricity, internet, telephone & pollution. It is the period where people go around riding on horses, where story tellers, music & chatting is the main entertainment. It is where life is simple.

Today is a New Day

Today thru pastor, I finally understand the root reason of why I am so unemotional. I must remember this day.

Firstly, emotions are not all bad. They do not all lead to quarrels and bad things. Furthermore, being emotional is a normal human expression. You know, as I think back, I too find it funny of the process of me to get angry: hm... this incident is something that I should be angry > why am I not angry? > Ok, I will be angry > and I will say this this and that that to this person > alright, here goes > hey you! > and I feel bad being angry...

Secondly, suppressing my emotions has helped me survive in my childhood. It has protected me from being hurt. But I do not need to do that anymore, I have grown up and so should this outdated map. It is no longer applicable and I should revise this map into a more accurate one. Old and incorrect maps have to go, shoo!

Thirdly, I must unlock some events of the past that I have purposely or subconsciously buried and forgotten. That will free me to become a more wholesome man. That's my homework for the next 2 weeks.

Fourthly, get back in touch with my emotions but don't over explode it, kaboom!

28 Years Old

There's a Chinese saying that men matures at the age of 30, stop getting confused at 40, understand the meaning of life and direction at 50... I'm 28, nearing 30 this year, so I'll won't go on farther.

I do not yet know about the 40 and 50 part, but I do agree about the maturing at 30. At this stage of life, I have loved, hated; enjoyed life, and despised it altogether; I have had enough successes and failures to know that it really doesn't matter in the long run whether I succeed or fail; what matters is how I deal with the outcome and continue to work hard in life.

At this stage, I can proudly say that I am having the time of my life. I understand better who I am and who I want to be; I understand what I want and the path to getting it will not be an easy one; I understand that I live for a purpose and acknowledge that I do not fully comprehend it; I understand that lasting success is build upon big characters and not clever methods; I understand more about "being" and emphasize less on "doing"; I learn to manage my time to spend it on the important things that truly matters; I learned that to take more, I must first give more; I learned that in order to be loved, I must first love, unconditionally.

At 28, I've seen just enough to know that I do not know enough. Looking back at myself, being arrogant and self-centered, I'm glad that I have lived a good life and happy that the future looks somewhat... GREAT!

Guitar Review: Takamine ED26SC

I just got myself a Takamine ED26SC and I just have to write a review about it. There are almost no reviews on the internet about this wonderful guitar. I guess it's because they only have this model in Asia, lucky me :) Go to this Takamine website for the specs: http://www.takamineguitars.jp/guitars/model.php?series_id=2&model_id=63

I got this guitar at C&M Music Centre in Johor Bahru, Malaysia for RM1,350. What caught my eye in this guitar is the rosewood back and sides. The spruce top and rosewood body combination has always been my top interest as many top models hold this formula. I tried the guitar comparing it with the other spruce top and mahogany body ED21SC. I loved how the rosewood version sounds. The mahogany version sounds nice but plain and kinda "thin". The rosewood version adds in a very nice bass element and it really gives flavour to my tunes. Another thing I like about this guitar is the satin finish to the neck. I don't like playing gloss finish necks as the sweat makes it oily and prints fingerprints all around.

Overall, the ED26SC is a gorgeous looking guitar. The action is low and comfortable to play with. Sound is loud and beautiful unplugged and even better when plugged in to a amplifier. It also comes with a built-in tuner that comes in handy when going around. I like this guitar. For the price, it's a very good buy. Anything better will cost you at least RM400 extra.

分手第8天

分开一个星期了。渐渐的意识到没有你的空间是如此的真实。两年来习惯有你在我身边，说真的现在还真是有点不习惯。希望你过得比我好，这句话是真心的。希望你能尽快的恢复。说自私点是不想让自己对你有太多亏欠。也谢谢你陪我走的这段路，那是美丽的。我们彼此的不同与纷争倒也让我们长进了不少。

知道你报读了神学课程和对事工的热诚让我感到很欣慰。我也会在事业和个人的长进上下功夫。

再见了。珍重。

Laptop Down

Two days ago, my laptop screen went blank. Panic I was. Prayed, tried to turn on the computer to see if I had the chance to back up my files. The screen welcomed me as though nothing was wrong. I had more sense to continue what I had to do and quickly backed up my files. Two hours passed while the files transferred to the external hard disk. Believe it or not. The screen went blank again immediate after the files were transferred. I was sure that the back up was successful because the hard disk showed a stable green light. Thank God!

I called Dell first thing next morning. You really have to give it to these people. They called back the same day to confirm that there will be a technician coming over the following day. He came today afternoon. I expected him to bring the laptop back for a couple of days and send it back. But no, he repaired it on the spot. Now, while testing if the system has any problems, I'm writing this article. Kudos Dell!!!

I realized how important the computer means to me. All my work, personal files, etc, etc, etc is dependent on this little black thing. We have entered the digital era. If I am so dependent on technology now, how hard it would be to resist the 666 mark of the beast at the end times, which many believes it to be the chip or some high tech stuff. I am scared. Now, I start to be alert. Funny how the Bible tells us over and over again about being cautious and alert and yet we just don't get it.

Indian Barber

In Malaysia, we kids used to go to these Indian barbers for our haircuts. Of course, I didn't like the idea of letting an indian cutting my hair (We were brought up with the myth that the Indian police would take us away if we didn't listen to our parents you see). I still remember the special Indian perfume, the "Lao Fu Zhi & Doreamon" comics, other kids crying, thinking that they couldn't get away from the barber, adults getting shaves by the barber using a little blade and the unique "pakpalakpakpak" massage.

Today, I still enjoy going to the Indian barber. Everything in it is full of their unique culture and I enjoy the colourful experience the cut brings me. Two days ago, I went to this Indian barber. What's so special about this trip was that the barber lower the chair and wanted to give me a shave without asking me. I'd always said no to them. But this time, I thought of trying it for once, just for the experience. Boy, was I nervous. My hands got cold when I saw him inserting the razor into his blade. It wasn't the Gillete shaver that I'm used to... It was a blade. There it went... Shaving cream on, misai gone, just like a lamb sent of shaving. The best part was the splashing on of the Indian aftershave. Ouch! I love that part! And of course the"pakpalakpakpak" massage.