Phantom Reborn

There was a day when I tidied a bit up on the bookshelf upstairs, and by accident, I discovered several reading materials which I found full of immense nostalgic feelings.

Yup, you've probably guess it, Detective Conan (or Case Closed in many European countries)

Have you ever heard of a person referred to himself as a natural rapist?

You probably did, if you followed the news last year, the unforgivable incest case which Josef Fritzl had committed. He locked his daughter, Elizabeth in the basement for 24 years, and raping her repeatedly, made her a sex slave without any human conscious. And the most outrageous statement of all, he claimed that he was born to rape.

Days ago, my sister had gone to her much awaited National Service (which unfortunately, she fell sick on her first day), and the other younger sister of mine is back to school again from her spoiled and slacked break, whereas we, going to work for the sake of money, as usual. So who is there left to look after the little big baby?

People said that the elders would somehow transform into a 3 year-old gradually, that is somewhat true. I would love to add something more on that statement, they actually will definitely keep pace with their transformation, after their transformations into 3 year-olds, they will soon transform into infants, and eventually, some say, are going back to the mothers' wombs.

Yes, my grandmother is experiencing this transformation, no doubt about it. She needs the attention of other family members, she needs individuals who care about her, although her mind is no longer conveying such message to herself, but one thing for sure, that's what she essentially needs.

Without any choices left for us, for we were afraid of how she would mess things up in the house without anyone eyes on her... So we forced to implement our last resort, by sending her to a residential care center.

I've visited the place yesterday. I was succumbed to gloomy moods. Several old folks broke my heart. One of them was sitting on a chair, with no facial expression on his face, the only thing we could observed was his saliva, which kept dripping off from his wrinkled mouth. It was certainly heart-aching to see such scene.

Other than that, we were informed that a lady (mere 52 years old), was driving everyone else in the house so madly that many people could not stand her. 52 years old, that was relatively so much younger than the rest of them! Some were sitting still, stared blankly into the sky, some, gazed at us, emotionlessly.

I just hope that this 3 months will pass sooner, so that we could get my grandmother back into the house, with at least a person look after her, just like during the old gay days.

My grandfather-in law's brother (how should i call that in English? Granduncle-in law maybe? It's 叔公 in mandarin by the way) and his daughter, who happen to live in Hong Kong all this while, are coming to Malaysia for a visit very soon.

I could still reminisces how his daughter looked like. She looked a bit chubby, and she was a really caring person back then. When I visited Hong Kong many many years ago, she was the one who really took good care of me. Knowing that I was a kid who into gaming very much, she often lend me her Gameboy (oh, I miss that), and I indulged into it right after grabbing the gaming console from her.

I was about 9 years old then, I guess? Well... she was... still studying... just enrolled into a what we called 'secondary school' in Hong Kong. Thus, the difference as far as age is concerned, is just around 5 years, and that is the most it could go, i am sure about that.

So, all along, I called her "sister (姐姐)", so to show that I'm being respectful. Without noticing it, the truth is, she is actually one of my aunts! Another terrible point to ponder is that, she is actually my mother's cousin sister? How weird is that?

Recently, I was referring my grand-uncle-in-law's-daughter as "sister". My mother immediately corrected me by claiming that I should call her aunt instead of sister; for she is, well... actually my mother's cousin sister.

Things become even more complicated when you translate all these troublesome callings into Mandarin, sometimes you could get an endless noun which bugs you to an extent that you wouldn't want to call that person ever again, especially in front of the elders.

If I were to call her sister, it would appear that I being disrespectful to the other relatives (ahem, in traditional ways... my mother seems to be a pro-traditional individual), on the other hand, if I were to call her aunt, it would appear that I being disrespectful to her as she is not as old as she seems to be.

Perhaps I will call her that after she got married and has kids on her own? Guess not, when a certain noun has been used frequently in reference to someone, it is somehow almost impossible to alter. I think I will just greet her in an atypical way, such as,

Speaking of the amount of money accumulated in that account, we recently utilized it so wisely on a wonderful trip.

During the passed weekend, four cars started their engines wildly at 3.30am, departing to our destination, Kuantan.

Before deciding on the destination, neat surveys have been made. Since I've visited Kuantan several times then, my mind started to alert me with discouraging statements before the trip, such as, "it will not make any differences with your previous visitations." But the real thing proved that I was wrong.

This time, we went to Sungai Lembing, with strong desire burning in our hearts, we swore to conquer Mount Panorama (林明山).

According to the information we obtained first hand, there is an awesome spot in Mount Panorama which is worth to explore. It is said that there is a legendary Rainbow Waterfall located at the peak of this part of the mount.

Many people out there, everyone who knows me, friends or foes, they are all jealous or maybe you should use the word "envy", towards a bunch of ladies, including my mother.

What? Envy? Well, the story goes like this..... During some initial years of studying in a primary school, my mother had made a few magnificent friends (4 of them, to be precise) whom were destined to change the life of my mother.

The bond was so strong that it lasts for a few decades, and still counting. When all of them are married, had kids on their own, they decided to establish an account where every family must commit to splash as much as RM300 into the account every month. All the stored money in that very account is used for family traveling purposes.

Without fail, each family put enormous efforts with dedication, putting in RM300 monthly. Thanks to those parents, me, as a child, am always feel grateful towards what they've been doing. We started traveled (locally) here and there using the accumulated money in the account several years ago. I have to admit that some bunches of besties cannot even commit themselves to such an extent.

I came across a reality show recently on the tube. For kitchen enthusiastic and Survivor haters, this will be your show. Hell's Kitchen is no ordinary reality show, that's what I thought, at least. After being a follower of certain other reality shows with the likes of The Apprentice as well as Survivor, this particular show brought a total different atmosphere, it was so fresh, I thought.

But unfortunately, my little sister, whom aspiring to be a chef someday in the future, withdrawn from her big thinking soon after watching this very show with jaw-dropping expression together with me.

Throughout the show, the infamous host, Chef Gordon Ramsay was somewhat yapping non-stop towards the contestants, it was like a mouth-watering riot scenarios, except that no counter-attacking is allowed. What the contestants could do were just standing there, keeping their words to themselves seem to be the better choice instead of spilling out opinions on how to improve the worsened situations... because the chef would somehow fired up every arse of those who talk back.

I threatened my sister with discouraging statements, telling her that this is the world of kitchen. The chef will just keep nagging you, forcing you to do something which you don't really think it would be a good idea even though you have more years of cooking experiences than him.

I was actually awfully surprised by the host in one of the episodes when Chef Gordon was using harsh words to a customer who came forward to the kitchen to ask for a ketchup or something. That was so ridiculous. He did not seem to be an ethical professional, did he?

All in all, I somehow have bad impression about this show, but yet, it gains huge popularity in UK & US.

It stresses the hell out of me every time I watch it.

Omigod~~~~ Look at this piece of news! Click here to unveil the truth!

That particular link is no spam or whatsoever, The Phantom won't setup a snare to pounce on you.

After reading that piece of news, I am in terror. Look at where the incident took place! A public university in Serdang! Does it ring any bell?

Goodness... there are monsters lurking in the dark side nearby. Sometimes, we ought to put in some efforts to prevent ourselves from encountering certain disasters in disguise.

A friend of mine, a very sentimental one, was recently separated from her ex. After the excruciating confession which she is forced to accept with open arms (though she was the one who suggested the separation first hand), days of her life had never been the same.

She was in deep sorrow for 24 hours a day, those nights were like those for the vampires. She experienced countless sleepless nights, with only tears as her loyal companion.

She kept her mind occupied with suicidal attempts. But fortunately, her inner voice which keeps telling her not to do silly things saved her eventually. Family & friends who love her would be left behind should she committed suicide.

But things got a twist when another guy came over and wooed her. Easily, she somehow convinced herself that this guy would be the eternal half of her life, the love of her life, the one person who will stay besides her till she dies, yea.. that is a typical and ideal ideology of what you call everlasting love.

But when we started a conversation not so long ago, she opened up the topic about her past relationship. Yes, the one which caused her to nearly kill herself. But I was shocked when she told me that her ex was a useless wimp, and things are better off without him.

What the hell? I mean, what is this? Is this just a mere different paradigms in life? Shockingly, a relationship which you once thought as a precious gift, can be blown away with a somewhat ignorant and arrogant statement, just like that? A relationship which you used to put so much efforts in it, can be removed from your life.

What? Now, love seems... able to be replaced by another individual so mercilessly. Just wondering... Are we taking things too lightly, especially in serious issues such as a relationship? Is abandoning a seemingly fruit-bearing relationship a free & easy thing to do?

It's good to know that the government has finally promised the nation in permitting a mini-budget which worth at RM60 billion. But the mouth-watering wars are still happening between the parties somehow... Nah, I don't really bother about it now, it's somewhat pathetic sometimes looking at them fighting internally, sparking infernal flares within themselves, aren't they all leaders who are suppose to lead the country to a better good?

Call that a great performance of showmanship by our future-to-be PM, or you could call that a sincere aid from the government, whatever it is, this RM60 bil pump into the economic cycle would definitely soothes many people, especially those who are facing crisis in making a living. It's happy to know that the government is finally doing something to keep the jobs and reduce downsizing.

My neighbor, who happen to stay in the opposite of my house, is going to graduate this year, and the current crisis causes her major depression (I guess she does, I just heard all these rumors from the mouth of my mother). She feels as if it's the end of the world for she won't get to find any job when she graduates later, and she even feels that all the things she has been doing were all implemented at the wrong moments. But guess what, I feel relieved that the government does take care of the students too.

By introducing tuition fees and research grants up to RM20,000 for every student pursuing PhD and RM10,000 for every student pursuing Master Degree (all in public universities), the degree holders can now equip themselves with further knowledge without worrying whether or not they are secured with jobs in order to keep pace with the current financial situation. I feel that this would be the golden opportunity for the avid learners, this will surely be a chance for them to strike a new high in their career when the financial crisis subsides a couple of years later.

As for the property goers, tax relief on housing loan will also be implemented. For consumers, a sum of RM674mil would be pumped into subsidy purposes to avoid price of necessities from hiking, for instance, sugar and wheat. The government certainly sees the troubles faced by the rakyat this time.

The most encouraging plan, would definitely be the rebate in purchasing new cars. For those who own a car which is now 10 year-old or older, can enjoy the privilege of RM5000 rebate in purchasing any new Proton & Perodua automobiles. Goodness, a RM5000 cut? Tell you what, the second hand junk which I'm driving now cost exactly RM5000, the government allows a RM5000 cut just like that, I couldn't help but think the price of my car is so insignificant......

While everyone else is looking for a superior video cards to fulfill their gaming experiences (especially for guys), they often willing to splash a large sum of money to purchase those latest gadgets with advanced technologies, and install into their CPU or whatsoever, and eventually... VOILA! That's the time for them to virtually expressing their audacity in front of their virtual enemies... referring to first-person shooter games, for instance.

As for me, I'm still loitering in the area of PSX. Although years had passed, and you could very well imagine something like, "what the hell, a conservative guy with no appropriate good sense in the aspect of high resolution (or high definition, whatever...). But I have to admit that I'm a nostalgic kind of guy, whom in a way, difficult to force myself to like a new thing or two, I would love to stick to my old self, like the old things which are dear to me many many years ago. I would like to pay tribute to Sony Playstation with this post of mine.

Recently, I am once again indulge in those old school games so intensively that I decided to write a quick review on the top 10 PSX games as far as I am concerned. (oh, this pretty much emulates my freelance jobs) The below are games which lived up the role as one of my companions during my growing phase:

10.Crash Bandicoot : Warped

Crash Bandicoot 2 is the first ever game which I played using my old Playstation console. Without digging deep into the history of Crash Bandicoot several years ago, I would not know that the main protagonist in the game, Crash, is actually a symbol to Playstation... or how should I put it? A mascot to Playstation, just like how significant Sonic The Hedgehog is meant for Sega. Crash Bandicoot : Warped actually did magnificent job to succeed its predecessor, Crash Bandicoot 2. This third stage crashing instalment suits the interests of many adolescents, which directly render them to like Crash even more! At least, it did its magic wonders to me when I was still a naive teenager then. It's entertaining playing that game, but I would not touch this anymore for I've went through the whole game several times now.

9. Final Fantasy Tactics

Certainly, Final Fantasy Series cannot be neglected in the review of top ranking PSX games. From FF7 to FF9 in Playstation, the series did works like wonders to me. Many said that FF series only bring bummers to gamers, but on the other side, Final Fantasy did bring great memories which propels sky-limited imagination to majority of the gamers. But this, Final Fantasy Tactics, did bring certain length of enjoyment to pro-strategy gamers. Before trying out this one, I was indulged in Final Fantasy Advance which is featured in Gameboy Color. When I was near the brink of the end, I thought to myself, whoa, this game is terrific eventhough it is played in Gameboy Color, a tiny console which I thought, is only suitable to kiddos back then. Wehn I got myself an FFT, without a doubt, it enhances whatever I experienced in Gameboy Color. Squires, mages, knights, archers, thieves... variety jobs are featured once again in the game, and a lot more thinking skills are required to go through the malicious stages.

8. Front Mission 3

Front Mission 3 is the only Front Mission version which was being made by Square-Enix in the beginning of the year 2000. Another strategy game in the room, which brings a unique style of game playing experience. Could not find English version of it, but Japanese version is ok for me, thanks to my great aunt :) This is no ordinary strategy game as different abilities can be activated randomly during battles with the villains. Square-Enix did a great job in sustaining a somewhat good graphics as far as Playstation games are concerned. A must have for strategy gamers!

7. Super Robot Wars Alpha


I first tried out Super Robot Wars F as my first ever strategy game several years ago. The sequencing of the game was good, taking turns to control your machinery units, and the game indeed featured many cool robot figures which are aired in the tube when we were still children of justice long time ago. Other than the robots which you could watched in many cartoons, it also includes older version of robotic idols such as the Gundams, for instance. After got over with Super Robot Wars F, I continued with Super Robot Wars F Final, where I could not finish the game due to its high difficulty levels in the last stage fight. A couple of years later, I got myself this, Super Robot Wars Alpha. Besides the addition of new characters, the game also featured a new function when the fight is about to begin between the you and the enemies, a function which I found quite useful for time-saving, which is to shut off the battling scenes where you listen and watch how the robots slice each other off with virtual weapons. Only Japanese version is available for this one.

6. Street Fighter Alpha 3


I have seen the likes of Ryu & Ken battling out since I was about 5 year old or so. Back then, that was the era where Street Fighter dominates the world of gaming. Who does not know about Street Fighter during that time? IT can be considered as the sole fighting game which captures the heart of everyone. Even my dad knows about it. But things got a bit clumsy for Street Fighter after that. But when Street Fighter Alpha is released in Playstation, things got a 180 degree twist. It further proves that 2D gaming still has an incredible demands among gamers. The moves and styles of gameplay certainly makes me reminiscing the good deeds I did by beating that classic Vega.

5. Tekken 3


My favorite fighting game of all time.Tekken 3 is the best fighting game which features characters with real-life images in my opinion. Although many people quoted that "Dead or Alive" should be the better one which stands out, but I partially agree about it, it receives good responses from many people, but I reckon that it is because of the movie with the same name goes into the big screen, and thus the aftermath. Tekken 3 provides good visual experiences to gamers, and majority of my friends were giving two thumb-ups for that game too! They claimed that many of the moves in the game can be learned in real life, well.. I guess that it could be used as a guide of martial arts.

4. Breath of Fire 4


Frankly, Role-Playing Game (RPG) is the game of my style. I like controlling characters walking around the street, purchasing stuffs with virtual money, solving mysterious puzzles, bump into crazy monsters and slice their heads open (Yea yea.. I'm a cruel monster), and eventually be the hero and save the princess or the world -_-" Breath of Fire 4, is a typical RPG game without any special features in it. But somehow, it makes me so into that game and I've been playing it even for now! The only reason why is, I've played three times in the past, but I've not finished it for even once! Weird eh ? My console has got some problems for the previous three times... And that makes me more determined to finish the game off.. Sigh.

3. Winning Eleven 2002


This is the only sport game I've been playing for a long time. Others, with the likes of Need For Speed, Gran Turismo, well.. umm.. I mean racing games, they certainly are not my type of games. I prefer controlling famous soccer players running wildly on the field than looking at a first person view, bashing through the woods and residential areas. Winning Eleven 2002, to me, provides the best qualities of soccer games in PS history. Movements, strategic game play, all are packed into this one game. It's entertaining and engaging playing this at home.


2. Final Fantasy VIII


I have to give my vote to this one for Final Fantasy Series. There are many different episodes out there for Final Fantasy, but to me, this one brings significant meanings to me. There is no other RPG game which express love stories which could cultivate in gamers' hearts so vividly like this one. Furthermore, the limit break by the protagonist, Squall, certainly is entertaining to used, when you trigger each button in accurate style, your heart goes pump correspondingly. Lion heart certainly won't fade away in my life, I learn that from this game. Cheers, FF fans!

1. Metal Gear Solid


This one is most unique of all, I'm not really sure in what category this game should be grouped into. Basically, you control Solid Snake, the main character in this game, so it looks like an action game. But it's more than an action game as it consists of Counter Strike-like game style at times. You are a top professional spy, searching for myths and solutions in order to stop a nuclear launch. The twisting storyline certainly makes you ask for more. I was expecting more from this game, but to my disappointment, I finished the game so fast... in about.. umm.. 2-3 hours.

There are many more games which I found quite entertaining throughout the years of adolescence... Like Xenogears, Resident Evil 2 & 3, The Legend of Dragoon, Valkyrie Profile, Wild Arms 2, Chrono Cross, FF7, FF9, The King of Fighters, and many many more..... Thanks to Sony, for introducing such games into my life.

I might act like a kid for posting this into my blog site (I know...). But I just realized that many people have forgotten these games completely, the games which mould us what we are today.

Years ago, I was kind of addicted to the series, Ally McBeal. Lawyers were gathering around in that particular series, and that was where the first time I knew a thing or two about Calista Flockhart and Lucy Liu.

Well, the one thing which captivates me the most and keeps in my mind so vividly, is the toilet placed in their law firm. Well, it's a unisex toilet. I could not recall specifically what had happened in that very toilet, but I do remember that funny things often happen in there.

Now, when it comes to the year of 2009, a unisex toilet appears again in my life. That is, a toilet which is located in my current workplace.

It's somewhat strange when you enter the toilet and seeing a female washing her gentle hands in front of the mirror. And sometimes, when I enter the toilet, I could took an accidental glance at a female who just entered one of the cubicles in the toilet.

One more thing which I found quite awkward... Well, maybe not for the others, but I actually feel awkward myself. The story goes like this, there was a time where the OPP went so smoothly, and one of my female colleagues was somewhat giving me compliments on how well I co-operated with her throughout the seminar. After the speech, both of us were going for a loo, as a result of a long test of patience.

So, each of us entered different cubicles respectively (Hell, of course we did that). But my colleague was still talking to me even we were in our respective cubicles. She kept saying stuffs about our seemingly countless co-operations in the near future, even when we were in the moments of pee-ing.

Just imagine, those were the moments where we were having conversation while listening to the dripping sounds of excreted, liquidal materials at the same time. Well, I responded by having some cynical laughs and told myself not to speak much for I had my little business to do throughout the urination period.

Recently, citizens in Guang Zhou seem to be doing the same thing, the thing which they do keeps reiterate itself daily, and it benefits the hospitals and other health care centers. What are they doing you wonder?

Well, those folks are just making confirmations about their heredity. And the individuals who engaged in such activity are all couples. It's a norm if you see the person who plays as the girl acquire a little life within her tummy, and to top it all, news revealed that 8 out of 10 couples discovered that after they have checked the DNA of their child, it seems that the current boyfriend/husband is not the real father to that child!

This inclination seems to be deteriorating for now, and it worries the whole globe currently. A series of interviews had been carried out within our community and many different views for ponder have been voiced out by our very own Malaysians.

For some who are said to be "possessed by the devilish spirits", would probably ask their girlfriend/wife to sign some procedures in order to start an operation under the knife, and eventually abandon the females as if they are mere old junk or clothes.

For some who have merciful hearts, claimed that he would not mind treating that child as his own flesh as it's his wife/girlfriend the one he loves, so it does not really matter whether the child inherits his DNA.

For some who possess hearts like lions which are full of pride, stood firm on their grounds as relatively masculine individuals, disagree completely with the statement from those of merciful hearts, denying his girlfriend/wife directly as the incident seems to be a treachery and it is totally unfaithful. Cannot keep to the curb, Separation is the only answer.

For some who acquire some sort of love-can-overcome-everything-but-you-can-only-have-me ideology, would ask the girl to abandon the child along with her ex, and continue stay together with him, hoping so hard for an unseemingly happily ever after fairy-tale ending.

Correct, safe sex has been taught world wide. But now, come to think of it, what is the real intention of introducing safe sex procedures? What is the main reason behind before all the condoms and pills popped out in our communities? Sometimes we gotta trace back the roots of everything for an asnwer.

"Safe sex is the practice of sexual activity in a manner that reduces the risk of infection with sexually transmitted disease..."(Quoted from wikipedia) It is originally used to prevent deadly diseases such as AIDS. But nowadays, the practice is used for the sake of a rapid sense of joy as well as for the sake of pregnancy prevention, which renders people misused the concept and started doing things wildly, without any rationality in their heads. Now, one would often think that sexual activities engagement for a pre-married couple is a MUST, otherwise the relationship won't be able to last long due to bummers and boredom... Tell you what, that's exactly the main reason why a relationship never last an eternity or longer than it should.

But nevertheless, for whoever, especially female readers who are reading this, I hereby sincerely apologize to all of you on behalf of all men in nature. Males, at times would often unable to deny certain temptations, and so, in certain moments, we might have done damages which are unforgivable, we sincerely hope to change that in many ways, and undo all the wrongdoings we tend to commit. There are still many good men out there.

But girls, we could not take things for granted... basically in every situation. Take a look at these cases, those suffered are all females, the lions could just make a mild decision and walk away from you if something does happen, all they usually do is waving hands at you, bidding "bye bye" to you, without sharing any burdens, without carrying the troubles, eventually, it's the girls who cry at the corner every other night. Indeed, the practice of safe sex is not 100% safe. Do not allow the oppositions take advantage on you before marriage, even though that person is destined to be the love of your life. I'm not preaching in the perspective of religion or whatsoever. But this negative inclination is getting as serious as the current financial slump, and it proves to be so true on why pre-marital over-intimacy activities are banned in the eyes of many human.

Does a sudden upsurge of your bloodstream overnight worth for the possible eternal scar which breaks your heart forever? You be the judge.

The whole nation of the world is being warned that what bloggers blog about in their exclusive websites are sometimes simply untrue. Yes, I have to admit that some of them are just mere expressions of dissatisfaction, while the rest of them are just perspectives which are viewed in a different way, in other words, opinions.

I personally am paying huge tributes and feel respectful towards people who are expressive, especially towards political issues, of course, I'm referring to individuals who dare to voice out their constructive criticisms and statements. I'm thinking, "at least, they are fully utilizing one of their rights as the people of the nation."

Look, certain category of citizens, for example, the rakyat who do not have the privilledges or opportunities to receive tertiary educations, often have strong voices shared among each other towards government policies, sometimes bringing out their big voices through blaming government's weak spots, sometimes the elders gathered together and have a few sips of coffees in the coffee shops, started to have conversations as though they could be the better rulers than the current government. Yes, this is basic human rights, without criticisms, there will be no improvements at all.

But recently, this so-called freedom of speech which everyone of us is entitled to, seems to be robbed away by the government itself. This phenomenon is further shown to be true when UUM (University Utara Malaysia), Choo Kok Wei is charged for an unlikely "crime" he committed.

The incident is definitely outrageous. A rakyat, to top it all, a rakyat who publicly claimed to be the Future Backbone of the Country (future local university graduate), is tipped to be expelled from the university after utilizing his freedom of speech. That simply seems to be an absurd issue!

For instance, in these moments of financial crisis, if the bus fare of "Rapid"KL is to be regulated to a higher price under unacceptable circumstances, is it not our rights to voice our opinions to object the policy? Even if the regulation is not implemented in the end, what we are doing (giving constructive critics) is basically not unlawful at all.

So what is the reason of Choo Kok Wei being expelled from a local university, if all he did was just voicing his opinions on the web about the hiked price of bus fare in UUM? Being a university student, we do not even allowed to have our own mindsets, our own perspective? So what does the government expect from us? Be students and potential nation workers who do not own critical thinking skills, and continue to be the conventional "photostat-type" individuals which everyone else from other countries are talking about? This way, our country might go deeper and deeper, further and further down to a serious slump.

Look, I'm just voicing out my opinions here, my beloved government.