Some people think that taking IQ test is really gay. However if you take tests that are done by PHD people that have years of experience, i think its really a mind opener and it help you to point out your strength and weaknesses. Recently I have been doing an IQ test designed to tell me my dominant type of intelligence from my score of 6 different types of intelligence. I think the test was very precise and it describes me very well. So if you want to know me better, here was my score :
Logical/mathematics - 10/10
Personal -9/10
Visual/spartial - 9/10
Physical - 8/10
linguistic - 6/10
social - 3/10
My dominant intelligence is Logic/mathematics, which i scored full marks :P .People with a high level of logical/mathematical intelligence are generally great problem solvers who are able to both think critically and analyze data. Individuals who have this intelligence also tend to see the world as a logical place. This is probably true because they're usually so skilled at picking up the patterns all around them. Whether it's a scientist noticing a repeated behavior in one of his subjects or a mathematician using patterns of numbers to solve a theorem, this type of intelligence can be extremely handy in intellectual pursuits.
i scored quite high on personal intelligence. People with a high level of personal intelligence aren't afraid to ask themselves life's big questions: "Why am I here?" or "What's the meaning of life?" These issues are everyday fare for people using their personal intelligence. By being willing to explore the unknown, personally intelligent people can seem positively fearless to those who'd rather focus on simpler, more concrete issues. It's true: Asking deep questions that may have no definitive answers can be scary at times. However, by delving into these existential places, personally intelligent types can become very in tune with their feelings, values, and ideals.
My visual/spartial score was also high. People with visual/spatial intelligence have the interesting ability of being able to form high-quality mental images and even manipulate those pictures to form new things. Visual/spatial abilities can include being able to visualize accurate representations of existing objects and having the skill to imagine detailed original designs or scenes. In the career world, this can make visual/spatial types great at everything from mechanical engineering to interior design.
My psychical intelligence is quite OK. When most of us think of physical intelligence, we think of dancers and athletes. Indeed, athletic prowess, physical grace, and control of the body for achievement or expression are each important aspects of this kind of intelligence. However, another important facet is the use of fine motor skills such as hand-eye coordination for activities like surgery, carpentry, and painting.
My Linguistic intelligence is somewhat average. Generally, people with a high degree of linguistic intelligence have a greater gift for expressing themselves than most other people do. In fact, linguistically intelligent people often become known as real wordsmiths among their friends and colleagues. Whether their skills center on having the gift of gab or the ability to turn an elegant phrase, linguistically intelligent types know how to get a point across with precision and flair. Poets, thespians, writers, and public speakers are among the people who rely heavily on linguistic intelligence. It is true, since im not good at being a storyteller. But it could be worse. Im using this blog to train my Linguistic skills though.
It cant be denied that i suck at social intelligence. Social intelligence refers to the ability to read other people and understand their intentions and motivations. People with this intelligence are usually clued in to the differences between what others say and what they really mean. As a result, socially intelligent types may sometimes be accused of being mind readers. People who successfully use this type of intelligence can be masterful conversationalists. This can be due to a combination of excellent listening skills and the ability to meaningfully engage others. People who are socially intelligent can usually make the people around them feel comfortable and included. They also tend to enjoy interacting with a variety of people.
That was the technical description of me. This is my own explanation :
I describe myself as a technical skill oriented person and i like things that involve thinking, solving and understanding. I guess thats engineering. Im also a person that is always searching for the truth and not afraid to admit if im wrong and improving or changing myself accordingly. I like sports and challenging physical activities. Although im not so good with words, but because i like journalism, im practicing and improving my linguistic skills for the better. And I really suck when it comes to judging people or even reading peoples body language. It sucks because if u are a girl and you like me, there is not way i can tell or notice unless you tell me directly (which not many girls can do). Its a good thing too because i dont judge people, no matter how bad or notorious you are, If your nice to me, i wont judge you and we can be good friends :-)
so, there you go...a technical and personal introduction to myself...:P
Friday, 29 June 2007
Thursday, 28 June 2007
"Hello I'm a Mac.......... and I'm Die Hard"
Have you ever seen the Apple Mac advertisements? They will always start with, "Hello I'm a Mac, and I'm a PC" and continue with all that crap they do....anyway, the reason i'm bringing this up is because I have just watched the movie "live free or die hard" aka Die Hard 4.0 and the hero's sidekick is the guy that was acting in the Apple Mac advertisements (the Mac guy).
Now I'll try not to give out any spoilers so, allow me to give some introduction to the movie. The reason the movie is called "Die hard 4.0" (take note the 4.0) is because it is about cyber terrorism and the "4.0" is kindda like a "dot.net" way to put it. The Mac guy plays the role of a hacker that accidentally helps the terrorist come up with a code to hack government computer systems. As a note the terrorists boss is an American, so that rules out any external Al-Qaeda extremist groups doing the terrorism. Like other series in the Die Hard franchise, it is packed with action.....with lots of explosions, shooting, people dying car chases and not forgetting some hot chicks.... Acting was Nothing special and I can say the same for the storyline. Its a typical American action movie. Yet it was fun to watch, so I recommend watching it.
More interesting was the cinema in which i watched the movie. It was part of a special offer called "wake up movie", where the movie, tentatively, started at 6am, YES, 6am and we get a croissant and coffee for free and it (only) costs 3 euros!! It was the first time i experienced watching a movie at that hour. We were "earlier than the birds". However the movie only started at 6.50am due to some delays....and afterwards we went straight to work....how cool is that?
I wish there were something like this in Malaysian theaters :)
Tchuss
Now I'll try not to give out any spoilers so, allow me to give some introduction to the movie. The reason the movie is called "Die hard 4.0" (take note the 4.0) is because it is about cyber terrorism and the "4.0" is kindda like a "dot.net" way to put it. The Mac guy plays the role of a hacker that accidentally helps the terrorist come up with a code to hack government computer systems. As a note the terrorists boss is an American, so that rules out any external Al-Qaeda extremist groups doing the terrorism. Like other series in the Die Hard franchise, it is packed with action.....with lots of explosions, shooting, people dying car chases and not forgetting some hot chicks.... Acting was Nothing special and I can say the same for the storyline. Its a typical American action movie. Yet it was fun to watch, so I recommend watching it.
More interesting was the cinema in which i watched the movie. It was part of a special offer called "wake up movie", where the movie, tentatively, started at 6am, YES, 6am and we get a croissant and coffee for free and it (only) costs 3 euros!! It was the first time i experienced watching a movie at that hour. We were "earlier than the birds". However the movie only started at 6.50am due to some delays....and afterwards we went straight to work....how cool is that?
I wish there were something like this in Malaysian theaters :)
Tchuss
Wednesday, 27 June 2007
My "Boleh" XP
Reffering to the previous post, i would like to share my -BolehXP.
As you probobly know, a tropical country like Malaysia, storm drains are very important to ensure places in the country do not turn into instant swimming pools during the rainy seasons. These storm drains are big and sometimes scary. Realizing that, the government will always put metal bars to keep people from falling into them.
So one day i was driving along Jalan Tun Razak towards PWTC and i saw a sight i couldn't believe. there were a group of 3 people openly trying to cut the metal bars out and steal them. Of course this would be considered a normal crime around the klang Valley, but doing it in broad daylight and in front of millions of cars passing by?? thats really a "boleh" attitude displayed by the culprits. Im pretty sure they were stealing it because i don't see any reason to remove a perfectly placed metal drain cover unless you wanted to steal it, and they don't look like any Indah Water or DBKL people to me. it was amazing, in a bad way.
As you probobly know, a tropical country like Malaysia, storm drains are very important to ensure places in the country do not turn into instant swimming pools during the rainy seasons. These storm drains are big and sometimes scary. Realizing that, the government will always put metal bars to keep people from falling into them.
So one day i was driving along Jalan Tun Razak towards PWTC and i saw a sight i couldn't believe. there were a group of 3 people openly trying to cut the metal bars out and steal them. Of course this would be considered a normal crime around the klang Valley, but doing it in broad daylight and in front of millions of cars passing by?? thats really a "boleh" attitude displayed by the culprits. Im pretty sure they were stealing it because i don't see any reason to remove a perfectly placed metal drain cover unless you wanted to steal it, and they don't look like any Indah Water or DBKL people to me. it was amazing, in a bad way.
Ask Malaysians : Malaysia Boleh !!!
"Malaysia Boleh!", a term use by Malaysians to express their ability to achieve success in whichever field they choose to get theirselves into. However, I think the term "boleh" has been overrated and starting to sound cliche . Nowadays "boleh" does not stand for everything good, instead it's universal. Its might be used in "Malaysia boleh berjaya" which means "Malaysia can succeed", but it also can be used to justify bad deeds or simply to express despair over the severity of the status quo. For example, lets say you have just read about the poor condition of the newly built SMART tunnel that clearly show the weakness of the management and the Works Ministry. You silently sigh and say, "Malaysia Boleh" to refer to that "achievement". In this situation, the expression "Malaysia boleh" is used as a synical yet subtle insult to the parties involved.
This has lead to the forming of colourful nicknames that are used to describe Malaysia, for example "Bolehland" or how i would like to put it, "KannReich" in German. These terms are hillarious the first time you listen to it, yet it make perfect sence. However, one would have the temptation to go overboard by using terms such as "Bodohland" to express their despair, but i think that is too disrespectful and simply anything but subtle.
So having read the above, please share with me your most "boleh" experience.....
*what i mean by "boleh" experience is an experience that you consider unthinkable to happen, that displays complete acts of kiasu-ness an total disregard of the norms of a sane Malaysian. Yet you were lucky enough to stumbbled. It can be a good or bad experience...
This has lead to the forming of colourful nicknames that are used to describe Malaysia, for example "Bolehland" or how i would like to put it, "KannReich" in German. These terms are hillarious the first time you listen to it, yet it make perfect sence. However, one would have the temptation to go overboard by using terms such as "Bodohland" to express their despair, but i think that is too disrespectful and simply anything but subtle.
So having read the above, please share with me your most "boleh" experience.....
*what i mean by "boleh" experience is an experience that you consider unthinkable to happen, that displays complete acts of kiasu-ness an total disregard of the norms of a sane Malaysian. Yet you were lucky enough to stumbbled. It can be a good or bad experience...
Sunday, 24 June 2007
New drug called "Carbonated Mineral Water"
Not to long ago i mentioned in one of my top 10 lists about Carbonated mineral water which is very popular here in Germany. Well something i didn't know about it was the addictive properties it has. One might wonder, "for crying out loud, its just mineral water man!". But, no my friends. Its not "just" mineral water, its a new brand of drugs.
Allow me to explain by telling a recent discovery of mine.
Although in the beginning i thought the idea of the existence of "carbonated mineral water" was somewhat as good as "solar powered flashlights", im now loving it and i'm used to drinking carbonated mineral water brand X that has the maximum amount of gas in it. Usually when you want to drink mineral water, you will drink a lot at once, or even the whole bottle in one go, isn't it? But with carbonated mineral water, its kindda like vodka (not that i have tried it though). u should drink small amounts at a time. This is because of the gas sizzling in your mouth does not permit you from doing so. It feels like drinking exploding pop candy sky juice where everything is sizzling in your mouth. It does feel uncomfortable at first but surprisingly addictive after u get the hang of it.
Anyway, one day i bought a different brand of mineral water, brand y, and because i didnt know much german yet, i didnt know it was without gas. i had bought 2 bottles, so i had to finish them. I can tell you drinking mineral water without gas felt like drinking tap water at that time. I was so used to drinking carbonated mineral water that normal mineral water was considered "tasteless". However after 1 bottle I finally got used to it. But after the second bottle finished i swore not to buy normal mineral water again!!
so i went to buy more mineral water.....little did i know, the brand that i bought (brand Z) had only a little gas in it, just enough to tickle your tongue. That also didn't taste any good. the best way to describe brand Zs' taste is "hidup tak mahu, mati pun segan" which translates "Don't want to die, but shy to live". Disappointing...but in time i got used to the taste too...
then finally i bought the brand X again..but somehow it didn't taste right..... Took some time to get readjusted with the taste, but in time i did get used to it again.
so, from here we can speculate that German mineral water companies have a special way to keep customer loyalty. Each brand of mineral water will make the drinker problems to adjust to another brand, thus discourage them to change brands. At least thats what i think.
So, if you think mineral water is just mineral water, think again......
Tchuss
Allow me to explain by telling a recent discovery of mine.
Although in the beginning i thought the idea of the existence of "carbonated mineral water" was somewhat as good as "solar powered flashlights", im now loving it and i'm used to drinking carbonated mineral water brand X that has the maximum amount of gas in it. Usually when you want to drink mineral water, you will drink a lot at once, or even the whole bottle in one go, isn't it? But with carbonated mineral water, its kindda like vodka (not that i have tried it though). u should drink small amounts at a time. This is because of the gas sizzling in your mouth does not permit you from doing so. It feels like drinking exploding pop candy sky juice where everything is sizzling in your mouth. It does feel uncomfortable at first but surprisingly addictive after u get the hang of it.
Anyway, one day i bought a different brand of mineral water, brand y, and because i didnt know much german yet, i didnt know it was without gas. i had bought 2 bottles, so i had to finish them. I can tell you drinking mineral water without gas felt like drinking tap water at that time. I was so used to drinking carbonated mineral water that normal mineral water was considered "tasteless". However after 1 bottle I finally got used to it. But after the second bottle finished i swore not to buy normal mineral water again!!
so i went to buy more mineral water.....little did i know, the brand that i bought (brand Z) had only a little gas in it, just enough to tickle your tongue. That also didn't taste any good. the best way to describe brand Zs' taste is "hidup tak mahu, mati pun segan" which translates "Don't want to die, but shy to live". Disappointing...but in time i got used to the taste too...
then finally i bought the brand X again..but somehow it didn't taste right..... Took some time to get readjusted with the taste, but in time i did get used to it again.
so, from here we can speculate that German mineral water companies have a special way to keep customer loyalty. Each brand of mineral water will make the drinker problems to adjust to another brand, thus discourage them to change brands. At least thats what i think.
So, if you think mineral water is just mineral water, think again......
Tchuss
Saturday, 23 June 2007
Ask Malaysians : What do you mean lah?
When one finishes an English sentence with the word "lah", straight away he has blown his cover and can be easily identified as a Malaysian/Singaporean. I know, for most Malaysian its pretty tough to get rid of the "lah" syndrome even while speaking in English. However, one might ask, what do you mean by "lah"? I mean, when a foreigner comes to Malaysia, he or she might wonder why we seem to end each sentence with the word "lah"? What does it mean? Is it a substitute for a "full stop", "comma" or "question mark"?
I believe that if you are a true Malaysian, you should be able to explain to a foreigner what the word "lah" means and when to use it. "lah" means something and it also means everything. So, I would like you, yes you, to give your own definition of "lah" and an example of the usage of the word in an everyday situation. Definition should preferably be in proper english while the example sentences are preferably done in pure crude "Manglish". So, what are you waiting for, post a reply and be a Malaysian!
I believe that if you are a true Malaysian, you should be able to explain to a foreigner what the word "lah" means and when to use it. "lah" means something and it also means everything. So, I would like you, yes you, to give your own definition of "lah" and an example of the usage of the word in an everyday situation. Definition should preferably be in proper english while the example sentences are preferably done in pure crude "Manglish". So, what are you waiting for, post a reply and be a Malaysian!
Sunday, 17 June 2007
Alarming reports of wrongdoings in Malaysia
Although i have been in Germany for quite some time, i still do keep up to date about the news from Malaysia. Whether its from newspaper websites, blogs or the internet radio, i try to get as much information as i can about the happenings in Malaysia.
I felt really angry when i read about the 3 gang rape cases that happened within the same week, where all of them happened in a similar manner, car gets followed, car stopped and the girl/woman will be raped in front of the men.... the most sad case was the one where a pregnant mother was raped in front of her children!!! I swear if i was there, i would have beaten up those sick sons of female dogs with a hockey stick!! And where were the police?? shifting the responsibility from one police station to another.... thats just plane irresponsible. No wonder the security guard services are booming in JB, ppl just cant really rely on the police anymore. what is to become of this world?
then there was the case about Sharifah Amani shaving her hair for a part she played in some movie. I heard this in BBC news! Seems like everybody kecoh about that. I think, its up to her if she wants to shave her hair, its not like doing something bad like corruption or murder...Why such noise?
The government is also in disarray from what i heard. With the Altantuya case going in circles with the prosecutor seen socializing and "playing badminton" with the judge and changed to another prosecutor only to find the other prosecutor was also seen playing badminton with the judge...aiyo...I also heard that Malaysia has ranked 9th in the most corrupted judiciary system in the world by Transparency International. Then the roof of the parliament was leaking and many other faulty government projects, blamed on JKR. All fingers were pointed in Dato' S. Samy Vellus direction... Well, there is a long list of other things happening in Malaysia that i can list down here, but it would be too long for the average blog reader to read and it might get boring as well. So i i can simplify that the only thing good that happened was the PMs wedding. I wish him "Selamat Pengantin Baru". I hope with new found happiness the PM can bring changes to the government reputation that has been tarnished in the eyes of the world.
I only leave the country for 2 months, everything turns upside down... do i HAVE to fix things by myself..hehe... Anyways, for those in UTM, take extra care when u drive especially girls.... you never know what people might do and the police might NOT do....
Tchuss
I felt really angry when i read about the 3 gang rape cases that happened within the same week, where all of them happened in a similar manner, car gets followed, car stopped and the girl/woman will be raped in front of the men.... the most sad case was the one where a pregnant mother was raped in front of her children!!! I swear if i was there, i would have beaten up those sick sons of female dogs with a hockey stick!! And where were the police?? shifting the responsibility from one police station to another.... thats just plane irresponsible. No wonder the security guard services are booming in JB, ppl just cant really rely on the police anymore. what is to become of this world?
then there was the case about Sharifah Amani shaving her hair for a part she played in some movie. I heard this in BBC news! Seems like everybody kecoh about that. I think, its up to her if she wants to shave her hair, its not like doing something bad like corruption or murder...Why such noise?
The government is also in disarray from what i heard. With the Altantuya case going in circles with the prosecutor seen socializing and "playing badminton" with the judge and changed to another prosecutor only to find the other prosecutor was also seen playing badminton with the judge...aiyo...I also heard that Malaysia has ranked 9th in the most corrupted judiciary system in the world by Transparency International. Then the roof of the parliament was leaking and many other faulty government projects, blamed on JKR. All fingers were pointed in Dato' S. Samy Vellus direction... Well, there is a long list of other things happening in Malaysia that i can list down here, but it would be too long for the average blog reader to read and it might get boring as well. So i i can simplify that the only thing good that happened was the PMs wedding. I wish him "Selamat Pengantin Baru". I hope with new found happiness the PM can bring changes to the government reputation that has been tarnished in the eyes of the world.
I only leave the country for 2 months, everything turns upside down... do i HAVE to fix things by myself..hehe... Anyways, for those in UTM, take extra care when u drive especially girls.... you never know what people might do and the police might NOT do....
Tchuss
Saturday, 16 June 2007
Shopping day
Since most, if not all, of the shops are closed at 8pm on weekdays and the whole day on Sunday, Saturday has become the official day for everyone to go shopping. Every Saturday people of all ages, sex and race turn up in the thousands at the shopping districts for their weekly financial decrement. This day is the perfect day for families to get together and get to know the spending habits of members of their family. And it is also a good day for girls to put a hole in their boyfriends wallet.
Besides restaurants, clothes stores and shoe stores, there is one kind of shop that often escapes the sights of the usual shopper. Enter "The 1 Euro Shop". Yes, as the name would suggest, all the products are sold at a price of 1 Euro, and as u might probobly suspect, most of them are made in China. There are 2 "1 Euro shops" i found near my area. 1 is beside a big "erotic shop" (that happens to be the biggest one in town) and another one is not beside a big "erotic shop". So, you all can guess which one i went to (hint : it doesn't have an "erotic shop" beside it). At the beginning, my main objective was to find insoles for my shoes, but as i ended up in the 1 Euro Shop, i became a little more inspired. i took different kinds of kitchen utensils one after another that ended up costing 5 euros in total. Not bad considering that i had to stop myself from adding 326 more items to my impromptu shopping list. 5 euros is quite a big deal for students and people posing as a student, like me. With 5 euros you can buy a box of 10 eggs and 2 KG of chicken leg that usually consists of 8 pieces of whole chicken leg. That is a supply for more than one week of self cooking. In the end. In the end, i didn't get the shoe insoles after all..
but i cant help to think that the shopping districts are gender bias. For example, Most of the shoe shops sells 90% womans shoes and sometimes i feel a bit awkward to enter the shop due to the unsuspected number of females as compared to males in the shop. But this is not a bad thing. It shows that girls make a huge contribution to the economy and having superior buying power than men, in terms of clothing i mean.
At the end of the day, it was surprisingly fun to go shopping. Besides getting the stuff you need, u can check out the prices and plan your shopping list for next month. It is also good exercise by the way...
Besides restaurants, clothes stores and shoe stores, there is one kind of shop that often escapes the sights of the usual shopper. Enter "The 1 Euro Shop". Yes, as the name would suggest, all the products are sold at a price of 1 Euro, and as u might probobly suspect, most of them are made in China. There are 2 "1 Euro shops" i found near my area. 1 is beside a big "erotic shop" (that happens to be the biggest one in town) and another one is not beside a big "erotic shop". So, you all can guess which one i went to (hint : it doesn't have an "erotic shop" beside it). At the beginning, my main objective was to find insoles for my shoes, but as i ended up in the 1 Euro Shop, i became a little more inspired. i took different kinds of kitchen utensils one after another that ended up costing 5 euros in total. Not bad considering that i had to stop myself from adding 326 more items to my impromptu shopping list. 5 euros is quite a big deal for students and people posing as a student, like me. With 5 euros you can buy a box of 10 eggs and 2 KG of chicken leg that usually consists of 8 pieces of whole chicken leg. That is a supply for more than one week of self cooking. In the end. In the end, i didn't get the shoe insoles after all..
but i cant help to think that the shopping districts are gender bias. For example, Most of the shoe shops sells 90% womans shoes and sometimes i feel a bit awkward to enter the shop due to the unsuspected number of females as compared to males in the shop. But this is not a bad thing. It shows that girls make a huge contribution to the economy and having superior buying power than men, in terms of clothing i mean.
At the end of the day, it was surprisingly fun to go shopping. Besides getting the stuff you need, u can check out the prices and plan your shopping list for next month. It is also good exercise by the way...
Wednesday, 13 June 2007
Tram Accident
Well earlier in my blogs i had mentioned about the trams in Mannheim and how they are ridiculously priced for single journey's. I also mentioned that the trams have drivers that can control the tram and give a decent honk to anyone who wonders on the tracks which share the same road with pedestrians and cars.
Well my worst fears have come true. Today a kid just got knocked down by the tram in front of my office.I didnt see the accident and i don't know how it happened since the tram was so big and it is impossible for the kid to not see it. But kids do stupid stuff. However I have a theory on how it happened. Please view the diagram below:
The boys mission was to cross the street. There was a tram driving along the street, tram A, so he had to wait for it to pass. as soon as it passed, the boy ran across the street without noticing there was a tram, tram B, coming from the other direction. This is due to his view was blocked by tram A. This is also due to his hastiness. So as soon as he was half way across, he was in the shock of his life when he saw tram B. By now it was too late to jump out of the way let alone break the tram.
The trams were so quite and i guess that another reason why the boy didn't notice the tram coming. Things didn't look pretty at this time. I heard an adult male scream, but i thought it was nothing since i always here German men screaming in the streets, no matter drunk or sober. But the sound of many sirens approaching our office area really started to bug me, so i looked out the window. Thats when I saw many people gathering outside and some paramedics and policemen at the accident site and the boy laying in front of the tram (luckily not under or it would be a super ugly scene).
The accident scene after the boy was lifted into the ambulance.
However there was no blood in sight so i think he just suffered from broken bones, hopefully not broken neck. Im pretty sure he is alive. His friend live to tell the tale to the police and help them phone his and his friends parents about the incident. I'm pretty sure the victims mother was shocked to death to receive a call from the police telling her what had happened. I mean try putting yourself in a mothers shoes and answering that call......
My colleague told me these accidents often happen to the level that the trams already have an emergency route each time accidents happen because each time an accident happens, the rail would be closed for at least an hour. In fact he said another accident happened a few weeks ago within the city. Its also not very surprising because i almost got into a similar accident in the similar situation. It scary when you think a small blunder can cost you your life (or some broken bones).
Well my worst fears have come true. Today a kid just got knocked down by the tram in front of my office.I didnt see the accident and i don't know how it happened since the tram was so big and it is impossible for the kid to not see it. But kids do stupid stuff. However I have a theory on how it happened. Please view the diagram below:
The boys mission was to cross the street. There was a tram driving along the street, tram A, so he had to wait for it to pass. as soon as it passed, the boy ran across the street without noticing there was a tram, tram B, coming from the other direction. This is due to his view was blocked by tram A. This is also due to his hastiness. So as soon as he was half way across, he was in the shock of his life when he saw tram B. By now it was too late to jump out of the way let alone break the tram.
The trams were so quite and i guess that another reason why the boy didn't notice the tram coming. Things didn't look pretty at this time. I heard an adult male scream, but i thought it was nothing since i always here German men screaming in the streets, no matter drunk or sober. But the sound of many sirens approaching our office area really started to bug me, so i looked out the window. Thats when I saw many people gathering outside and some paramedics and policemen at the accident site and the boy laying in front of the tram (luckily not under or it would be a super ugly scene).
The accident scene after the boy was lifted into the ambulance.My colleague told me these accidents often happen to the level that the trams already have an emergency route each time accidents happen because each time an accident happens, the rail would be closed for at least an hour. In fact he said another accident happened a few weeks ago within the city. Its also not very surprising because i almost got into a similar accident in the similar situation. It scary when you think a small blunder can cost you your life (or some broken bones).
Moral of the story : Always use a pedestrian crossing to cross the street.
Monday, 11 June 2007
Contract extension
A few weeks ago i heard that there was going to be an extension on my traineeship length. Well, today it was confirmed by my manager. He asked for a 2 month extension from the previous date agreed. that means i will be here until the end of September. This is surely good news indeed. My manager said he was satisfied with the progress maid by my team and said that the team was a "winning team", thus the traineeship extension. (in my email i stated "dream team" sorry for that mistake). However i was surprised by the "title" giving to us. I think it was an over statement. I didn't feel i did that much of a great job, but as long as they're happy with our work, thats good enough.
However with this extension, it means that i would have to spend half of my fasting month here in Mannheim. But I'm not worried about that because by the time the fasting month arrives, the prayer time will be somewhat the same as Malaysia, so the period of fasting is about the same as Malaysia, maybe only 1 or 2 hours extra on the first few days. And the best part is going back!! i will be going back a few days before Raya, so its not only balik malaysia, but also balik kampung, I'll be singing "Balik kampung, oh oh oh balik kampung" all the way like a lunatic..hahaaha... im sure it will be a good feeling and im looking forward to it.
Then again..that will happen in 3 1/2 months time....no point wondering over that...
Tchuss
However with this extension, it means that i would have to spend half of my fasting month here in Mannheim. But I'm not worried about that because by the time the fasting month arrives, the prayer time will be somewhat the same as Malaysia, so the period of fasting is about the same as Malaysia, maybe only 1 or 2 hours extra on the first few days. And the best part is going back!! i will be going back a few days before Raya, so its not only balik malaysia, but also balik kampung, I'll be singing "Balik kampung, oh oh oh balik kampung" all the way like a lunatic..hahaaha... im sure it will be a good feeling and im looking forward to it.
Then again..that will happen in 3 1/2 months time....no point wondering over that...
Tchuss
Saturday, 9 June 2007
Some recent updates
This month was pretty much the most intense traveling month so far. by the end of the first week of June i have exceeded my budget and now on reserved mode. Good thing i have groceries for the next 2 weeks or so... I went to the Mercedes Benz Museum in Stuttgart that was totally awesome, Rasttat, Karlsurhe and we went to Fun Forest in Kandel which was awesome too...but i will talk about them later.
Just now i was finishing up my dinner and went to the kitchen to clean up. I turned out that the Brazilian girls were baking a cake in the kitchen. Yeah, there is not only 1 Brazilian girl, but at least 3. It was a whole group of Brazilians. So, as they were talking in Portuguese, i just listened (i like to listen to languages i don't understand) to what they were saying and i was awakened by the word "manteiga" and it happened that there was a tub of margarine on the counter. So i asked them if they called the margarine "manteiga", they said yes. Its the word for butter actually but they call margarine "manteiga" too. So i told them in Malaysia it is called "Mentega" and they were quite surprised. I said we were once colonized by the Portuguese too. They were like , oh , ok....:P
So i think its safe to assume that the word "mentega" is from Portuguese....
Just now i was finishing up my dinner and went to the kitchen to clean up. I turned out that the Brazilian girls were baking a cake in the kitchen. Yeah, there is not only 1 Brazilian girl, but at least 3. It was a whole group of Brazilians. So, as they were talking in Portuguese, i just listened (i like to listen to languages i don't understand) to what they were saying and i was awakened by the word "manteiga" and it happened that there was a tub of margarine on the counter. So i asked them if they called the margarine "manteiga", they said yes. Its the word for butter actually but they call margarine "manteiga" too. So i told them in Malaysia it is called "Mentega" and they were quite surprised. I said we were once colonized by the Portuguese too. They were like , oh , ok....:P
So i think its safe to assume that the word "mentega" is from Portuguese....
Friday, 8 June 2007
Cross Country : The Trial Race
I know this entry should have been posted long ago as it happened about a week ago. But as they say, better late than never. Here goes.
I finally went through with the trial cross country race with Joachim last Monday. It was a really exciting race where i gave it a 120%. The best thing about this race was the fact that i didn't know where my opponent was since i passed him early in the race and had to pass him again in order to win. So i didn't really have an idea how far he was in front of me. All i have is my stop watch where i can estimate how much time i can be allowed per lap in order to be anywhere near beating him...So it was more of a mental test where i constantly have to fight myself and keep myself pushing to the limit despite being so exhausted. Many times i felt like giving up to the exhaustion and abdominal pain, but i was determined to keep on fighting. With each cycle i kept my pace to an average 24 km/h which allowed me to finish 18.2km of cross country dirt tracks in 44 minutes. However, despite the dramatic explanation of the race given above, i did not manage to beat Joachim as he was patiently waiting at the finishing point for 6 minutes.
There are a few things in the race that i think stole precious time from me in the race, 1st, of course my fitness level, then comes the pedestrians, and lastly there was a big log in the middle of the road blocking the way. So i had to stop and carry my bike over it, so i lost more that 15 seconds there, twice(because the race was 2 laps for me). so by the end of the first lap, i was already down 2 minutes and by the half of the 2nd lap, i was left with 8 minutes!! By the end of the race i could see stars an i felt a bit light headed after giving it 120% of my energy.. looks like i have to work harder to beat this guy. I need to work on my strategy of when to go fast and when to maintain speed..but it was a good first try...
I finally went through with the trial cross country race with Joachim last Monday. It was a really exciting race where i gave it a 120%. The best thing about this race was the fact that i didn't know where my opponent was since i passed him early in the race and had to pass him again in order to win. So i didn't really have an idea how far he was in front of me. All i have is my stop watch where i can estimate how much time i can be allowed per lap in order to be anywhere near beating him...So it was more of a mental test where i constantly have to fight myself and keep myself pushing to the limit despite being so exhausted. Many times i felt like giving up to the exhaustion and abdominal pain, but i was determined to keep on fighting. With each cycle i kept my pace to an average 24 km/h which allowed me to finish 18.2km of cross country dirt tracks in 44 minutes. However, despite the dramatic explanation of the race given above, i did not manage to beat Joachim as he was patiently waiting at the finishing point for 6 minutes.
There are a few things in the race that i think stole precious time from me in the race, 1st, of course my fitness level, then comes the pedestrians, and lastly there was a big log in the middle of the road blocking the way. So i had to stop and carry my bike over it, so i lost more that 15 seconds there, twice(because the race was 2 laps for me). so by the end of the first lap, i was already down 2 minutes and by the half of the 2nd lap, i was left with 8 minutes!! By the end of the race i could see stars an i felt a bit light headed after giving it 120% of my energy.. looks like i have to work harder to beat this guy. I need to work on my strategy of when to go fast and when to maintain speed..but it was a good first try...
Monday, 4 June 2007
Elevator : The Movie
The final cut of Elevator : The Movie (please see previous post for the spoof). Please turn up your speakers for the full elevator XP
The elevator - spoof
Remember earlier i told you about the elevator at my hostel. Well, its funny, but i just remembered that my camera can take video, so i decided to take a video of the elevator XP. This particular video was a spoof..tak jadi..coz as i wanted to exit the elevator at the 3rd floor, the hot ballet dancer i told you guys about was at the other side of the 3rd floor door:P U can see a glimpse of her in the video. She must think im grazy taking videos in the elevator:P Anyway, Please turn up your speakers for the surround sound XP hahaha.
Friday, 1 June 2007
Taboo Places (18PL)
The other day I was searching for a photoshop to make a biometric picture of me for my visa extension. I have some pictures of myself but they are not biometric pictures. Biometric pictures are used by the law enforcement agencies and in immigration documents to allow face recognition to be possible. This is done by taking measurements such as the distance between the eyes and the length of the mouth. This data is stored in a database for future reference. So each time your face is scanned, say, in an airport, the computer will compare your face with the face measurements in the database. Basically the picture must be with a light background (usually light gray) and the face must be at a certain measurement from the border of the photo. Oh ya, did i mention that you are not allowed to smile in the picture? You must maintain a natural expression for the photo. But it is advised for you to put on your most innocent face to avoid being misidentified as a terrorist or an international drug dealer.
Anyway searching for a photoshop was not as easy as i expected it to be. I searched along the shopping district on the way back from work but there were non to be found. I even asked my neighbor about it, but for some reason the shop was not at the place mention by him. I think i took over an hour walking around Mannheim to search for the photoshop to no avail. Then i started to realize i was doing something not quite the standard of an intelligent mammal. I remembered that there was an automatic photo machine in the foreign registers office. What the heck am i doing walking around like a lost kid searching for a photoshop...
But what really puzzled me was, while it was so hard to find a photoshop around Mannheim, there were more than 5 erotic shops within a 500 meter radius of my office and im not joking! everywhere i go,there is an erotic store. Apparently these people put no effort on making their business as discreet as possible when their signboard was as big as an elephant. In case you don't know what an erotic shop is, it is a shop where many different mysterious and absurd items of sexual nature are sold. But dont for a moment think that i have entered it. Im better off at the children section of H&M stores. But it does trouble me sometimes because it doesn't seem that Germans are the type of people that can make these kind of business prosper, but i guess the number of erotic shops suggests otherwise. There are more erotic shops per square KM here than the number of Bumiputera Commerce outlets per square KM in KL. I guess we wont be using the phrase "BCB dekat aje" here, instead.......(You can guess).
Anyway, I finally got to take a picture at the automatic photo machine in the foreign registers office. It was quite cool. u put in 6 euro, follow the instructions on the screen. There will be like a video camera and your face will be displayed on the screen in front of you, where you can adjust the position of your face so that it is in the circle. the circle is to ensure that your face is at the correct position in the picture. If ur not satisfied with ur picture u can take it again. But u can only do this 3 times so that there wont be a riot in front of the photo machine. So everything went well and i lost 15 euros to make the visa extension, which sucks since i already had to pay 119euros for the insurance for this month.
And I have another 2 to go....
Anyway searching for a photoshop was not as easy as i expected it to be. I searched along the shopping district on the way back from work but there were non to be found. I even asked my neighbor about it, but for some reason the shop was not at the place mention by him. I think i took over an hour walking around Mannheim to search for the photoshop to no avail. Then i started to realize i was doing something not quite the standard of an intelligent mammal. I remembered that there was an automatic photo machine in the foreign registers office. What the heck am i doing walking around like a lost kid searching for a photoshop...
But what really puzzled me was, while it was so hard to find a photoshop around Mannheim, there were more than 5 erotic shops within a 500 meter radius of my office and im not joking! everywhere i go,there is an erotic store. Apparently these people put no effort on making their business as discreet as possible when their signboard was as big as an elephant. In case you don't know what an erotic shop is, it is a shop where many different mysterious and absurd items of sexual nature are sold. But dont for a moment think that i have entered it. Im better off at the children section of H&M stores. But it does trouble me sometimes because it doesn't seem that Germans are the type of people that can make these kind of business prosper, but i guess the number of erotic shops suggests otherwise. There are more erotic shops per square KM here than the number of Bumiputera Commerce outlets per square KM in KL. I guess we wont be using the phrase "BCB dekat aje" here, instead.......(You can guess).
Anyway, I finally got to take a picture at the automatic photo machine in the foreign registers office. It was quite cool. u put in 6 euro, follow the instructions on the screen. There will be like a video camera and your face will be displayed on the screen in front of you, where you can adjust the position of your face so that it is in the circle. the circle is to ensure that your face is at the correct position in the picture. If ur not satisfied with ur picture u can take it again. But u can only do this 3 times so that there wont be a riot in front of the photo machine. So everything went well and i lost 15 euros to make the visa extension, which sucks since i already had to pay 119euros for the insurance for this month.
And I have another 2 to go....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
