The Time Traveler’s Wife

I knew I had to get up at 6:00am this morning. Yet, I couldn’t help but finish the book before going to bed. I had only about 5 hours of sleep, last night.

This book, I would say is a love story with a twist. And a very original one, too. The author brings us back and forth in time, and the story unfolds in the form of first-person accounts of Henry and Clare. Henry suffers from a genetic condition that throws him back to the past, and sometimes future, without control. Each time he ‘time travels’, his present self would disappear, and reappear in another place, another time.

Iblawg Runs in the SJ10K 2006

It felt good this morning. I had breakfast and left for MPSJ at about 6:50am. (Yeah the reporting time was stated as 6:00am but, hey, get real :p). Parked somewhere opposite the complex in USJ11, and warmed myself up along the way. Flag-off time was 7:30am, for categories A and B (10 kilometers), and the man who flagged us off was none other than the ‘youthful’ MB of Selangor, Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo. I was wondering if the distance was really 10km.

Iblawg Undergoes Internship

Second day of training was somewhat more relaxed. I mean come on, I dressed up formal on the first day ok! Then of course we were later told that formal wear wasn’t really necessary. Actually, I kinda knew that but, you know, it was after all the *first* day ma. Also, I tried a different route this morning to see if it was any quicker. Turned out to be a bad idea. I arrived on-the-dot. According to my watch, anyway.

I enjoyed listening to the radio though. Wacky as hell, those announcers. Thank god for these stations otherwise I’d have dozed off in the car. I was told that the City Council (Dewan Bandaraya Petaling Jaya now, no longer Majlis Perbandaran…, yea) was gonna start collecting parking fees next month. That’s tomorrow, by the way. My third day of work. I’ve done the math – A month’s parking would eat up to about one-third of my training allowance. *Wipes sweat*

How to Restring a Classical Guitar

If you’re unsure whether your guitar is classical or acoustic, fret not. Some people do not know the differences simply because they have not been introduced to a different type of guitar before. Generally speaking, all non-electric guitars are acoustic guitars – they include both metal- and nylon-strung guitars. But by convention, we usually use ‘classical’ when referring specifically to nylon-strung guitars. Otherwise, the term ‘acoustic’ refers to metal-strung, non-electric guitars. My classical guitar needs new strings.

How to Restring an Acoustic Guitar

Ok, this is for noobs. It’s gonna be done on J’s guitar. It is a decent Fender, pretty trustworthy. We used it for most of our practices back when we were in school. The high-E string was broken when I borrowed it. Maybe it was left untouched for too long. Or maybe it was a case of mishandling. Anyway, the rest of the strings were in bad shape too so I figured that I’d have all of them replaced.

Common Errors in English

Good things must be shared, right. Ever had any English-related questions but realized that it’s too late to ask your secondary school English teacher anymore? Introducing Common Errors in English. Before I stumbled upon this site, I relied heavily on sites like Dictionary.com and Merriam-Webster Online. Heck, I even search the exact string on Google and see if other people are writing the same way as I am.

CEE points out common errors and explains them. For example, when using “I/ME/MYSELF”. What are the differences between them? Do you say “Mary and I” or “Mary and me”? Well I must thank Mayling for ‘educating’ me on this, a few weeks ago. Another common confusion is the usage of “GOT/GOTTEN”. So “gotten” is the past participle of “get”, you say. But sometimes either can be used. There’s an explanation for this, and boy was I ‘enlightened’! Check it out!

Word of the Month: Haze

If you must ask, the WOTM for last month was “marginalise”. Anyway, I found something interesting on the DOE’s website today.

Iblawg Sings Spanish Alright

I found this nifty feature which allows podcasting on wordpress.com blogs. And I was damn determined that I’d use it. So using it, I am. Here is La Camisa Negra, sung by no other than yours truly. If you’re allergic to noise pollution then don’t bother clicking ‘play’!

[Edit: If you can't play it, sorry guys. Some bug with the player. Anyway, mp3 available here (2.5MB). Sing along! It's fun!]

Here’s the lyrics:

Adverts Galore

We used to see Amber Chia in almost every advert, be it in the newspapers or magazines. Actually, we still do. CIMB, after its merger with BCB and Southern Bank, has been quite aggressive in advertising its services. You can find the acronym “CIMB” almost everyday in the newspapers these days. Now, even the beloved radio in my car is not spared.

Actually there was another word “with”, and the whole thing should read “Ride home with CIMB money multiplier”. On Light & Easy. But the words appeared in random order so I didn’t bother to wait for the next “with” and snap a pic of it (truth is, I missed it a coupla times). On Mix FM, too, but it’s got something to do with loans. I’m not sure if the “home” was to go with “drive home or “home loans”. Kinda reminded me of ahlongs’ loan adverts on walls and street lights in Taipan, lol.

CIMB used to have this ad that read “We would move the stars for you”, aptly smacked right on top the The Star header on 8th Sept 2006 (surf over here). As a result, the entire “Star – The people’s paper” header (as well as the rest of the news on the frontpage lah!) was ‘bumped’ down to accomodate the ad. Wow. How much money would that require? It’s more than merely being on the frontpage, knoe!

Interesting Letter by a Gamer

From here.

Gamers clear the air

LATELY there has been attention on young gamers who are accused of spending too much time on online games.

As gamers, we would like to give some practical suggestions and to clear some misunderstandings.

First, we disagree with the labelling of online indoor games as ‘unhealthy’ and outdoor sports as ‘healthy’ games.

Some of the online games, e.g. Ragnarok Online, foster team spirit, make us care for the weaker members, help us learn English in a fun way, and promote friendship.