No regrets...

I have a blogger friend whose dad passed away recently. My heart goes out to her as I could really feel her loss and pain from her latest blog post.

I can't help but reflect that we only really treasure a person after he or she is gone. Only afterwards do we keep repeating "if only this, if only that"... It is too late by then.

Do we often, through words or actions, let our loved one(s) know that we love him or her or do we simply keep it in our hearts thinking that its too mishy mushy?

Barely less than two months ago, my dad went for a angioplasty operation to insert not one, not two but THREE stents in his heart arteries. I was to learn much later (my folks kept it from me) that his heart stopped during the surgery and the doctors had to resuscitate him, just like in the movies.

He was to joke with me later that he went to heaven but St Peter told him his time wasn't up and sent him back instead. Funny, my dad - he could always see the funny side of things in his unique wicked humour.

It got me thinking about my dad, how he goes about quietly showing his concern and support for me and my sis throughout our lives, our failures and our successes and yet we always took his presence for granted. More often than not, we would let loose a sharp word or an irritated look whenever he comes into our rooms to ask how our day went. Quietly he would slink away knowing we wouldn't like to be disturbed when occupied with our magazines or Xboxes.

I almost lived to regret the day.

Together with my mom, he visited me here in Aussie just two weeks ago. I made sure I spent much quality time with him, taking walks with him in the cool evening air, a chat while watching TV and laughing at the corny Aussie commercials, joking at Mom going to the casino and checking out his catch when we went fishing. My busy flying schedule did keep me from spending time with him and mom during the daylight hours but I make it a point to see them when I am free no matter how tired I would be. I thank God that my critical dual flights with my fierce instructor went well and he was pleased with me. It was the best month of my stay here in Aussie and I dare say my folks enjoyed it as well.

I never needed to say it but I know that my dad knows how much I love him.

I know no one can live forever but while our loved ones are still around, we should put away our useless indulgences and instead channel that energy towards loving them.

No regrets.

From now on.

Boo!

I may have a tendency to trivalize certain matters and laugh it off but the supernatural is definitely not one of them.

I received the below from a friend but as for whether it works or not, I can't be 100% sure.

Better to be safe than sorry! You don't really want to have an uninvited guest snuggle in bed with you when you are asleep.

Here goes:

*Every single hotel, there shall be at least a permanent room which should be left vacant at all times. No matter how full the hotel is, they are not to sell that room(s) to any guest. It was said that special rooms are "reserved" for those "special visitors".

So, if you plan to stay in some hotel, always book in advance. Try to avoid walk in. If the receptionist told you there are no more rooms available, do not insist one anymore or try to bribe them to give you a room. If you do that, most of the time the room you have will be that "special room".

Sometimes those "special visitors" might go to other rooms also (surprise! horrors of horrors), so here's some tips on how to protect yourself:

- Before entering your room, always knock on the door first, even if you know the room is vacant.

Maybe its a good thing my parents brought me up to be courteous?

- After you enter the room, if you felt very cold suddenly and have "chicken spores", leave the room quietly immediately and go to reception to request to change room. Most of the time the receptionist will understand what's happening.

If not, lock the receptionist inside the room?

Of course, one should have the presence of mind to check that the air conditioning is not set to freeze your buns off in the first place.

- After you enter the room, immediately switch on all of the lights, and open the curtain to let the sun light in.

This sounds somewhat like in the Blade movies where sunlight dispenses all the undead... call me Daywalker afterwards?

- Before you go to bed, arrange your shoes so that one of them is upside down. Some say this is representing yin & yang to protect you while you're asleep.

My personal opinion is to leave the shoes as they are so that in the event that you need to evacuate the room suddenly, you need not waste precious seconds turning the shoes over. A sudden fire doesn't care about your "yin & yang" anyway.

- Always leave at least a lamp on while you're sleeping, preferably the toilet lamp.

But in horror movies, the assailant normally strikes when you are having a shower, no?

- If you're staying alone and they have given you a twin bed, do not sleep with the other bed vacant, try to put your things like luggage on the other bed before you sleep.

So you have to turn one luggage upside down too? Well I would try to join the two beds together... or simply request for a room with a queen bed. But no queens in my bed please...

Okay, it seems I am trivalising this as well ;P

50 Cent had a song titled "21 questions"...

... but he doesn't come close to this.

99 questions to burn time. But only if you have the time.

I realize this is a total waste of time but nonetheless it helps to boost my blog postings for September.

Now now, don't go judging me after you finish this. I wasn't taking this seriously and you shouldn't too!

Here we go:

1. ONE OF YOUR SCARS, HOW DID YOU GET IT?

One on my bottom right jaw in my juvenile days... got it climbing a tree to get to a bird cage my uncle hoisted up. Slipped and used my lower right jaw as a brake to slow my rate of descent down the tree trunk. Followed by a good thrashing from my uncle afterwards :P

2. WHAT IS ON THE WALLS IN YOUR ROOM?

At home - SAF posters to make me feel GARANG.

In my bunk - the Ten Commandments which I try hard to follow (but always fail to).

3. DO YOU SNORE, GRIND YOUR TEETH, OR TALK IN YOUR SLEEP?

I am told that I do snore and at times, jump out of bed while frantically swatting away an imaginary rat on my chest.

(and involuntarily causing much distress to my roomie and making him thinking we are in the middle of a terrorist attack)

4. WHAT TYPE OF MUSIC DO YOU LISTEN TO?

Everything except country western and electronica / trance.

5. DO YOU KNOW WHAT TIME YOU WERE BORN?

2am. Yes, I did interrupt my mom's sleep...

6. WHAT DO YOU WANT MORE THAN ANYTHING RIGHT NOW?

Right now, I have a strong urge to settle down and give my parents a grandchild to hold in their arms.

7. WHAT/WHOM DO YOU MISS?

No comments.

8. WHAT IS YOUR MOST PRIZED POSSESSION(S)?

My DSLR system. Anyone who breaks it, I will break him.

9. HOW TALL ARE YOU?

At my most recent medical checkup, I am told I am 1.84m tall.

There is no reason to doubt the doctor.

Further reflection revealed that I have been living my 1.82m lie for the past 14 years.

10. DO YOU GET CLAUSTROPHOBIC?

Only if I am surrounded by rats. Heh.

11. DO YOU GET SCARED IN THE DARK?

Only pussies do... haha.

12. THE LAST PERSON TO MAKE YOU CRY?

Can't be named here but sure did burst the River Hwang Ho.

13. WHAT'S YOUR WORST FEAR?

Losing my loved one(s).

14. WHAT KIND OF HAIR/EYE COLOR DO YOU LIKE ON THE OPPOSITE SEX?

Long straight tresses definitely, don't really like curls. Have eyes, will do.

15. WHERE CAN YOU SEE YOURSELF BEING PROPOSED TO?

If I need a girl to propose to me, I will be in dire straits for the rest of my life.

16. COFFEE OR ENERGY DRINK?

Kopi-O siu dai!

17. FAVORITE PIZZA?

Have pizza, will eat.

18. IF YOU COULD EAT ANYTHING RIGHT NOW, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

Probably be a good medium-rare steak with some nice wine.

19. FAVORITE COLOR OF ALL TIME

Only pussies and men with alternative lifestyles have favourite colours.

20. HAVE YOU EVER EATEN A GOLDFISH?

Have you?

21. WHAT WAS THE FIRST MEANINGFUL GIFT YOU'VE EVER RECEIVED?

8 years old - my duck soft toy ;)

22. DO YOU HAVE A CRUSH?

Yes. Usually its not realistic.

And all the time its never mutual.

23. ARE YOU DOUBLE JOINTED?

Are you?

24. FAVORITE CLOTHING BRAND?

Timberland.

25. WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE FEMALE/MALE CELEBRITY?

Female: Right now, its a cross between Scarlett Johansson and Jeon Ji-Hyun.

Male: Edison Chen. Just kidding. No favourites.

26. DO YOU HAVE A PET RIGHT NOW?

Nope. Does my roomie count?

27. WOULD YOU FALL IN LOVE KNOWING THAT THE PERSON IS LEAVING?

Yes.

28. WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE SCENT?

Some blue bottled woman's parfum from Polo Ralph Lauren.

29. SAY A NUMBER FROM ONE TO A HUNDRED.
...

30. BLONDES OR BRUNETTES?
...

31. FAVORITE QUOTE?

Too lazy to type it out.

32. FAVORITE PLACE?

Home. My room. Specifically, my bed.

33. HAVE YOU BEEN OUT OF THE USA?

Dumb-ass bastard who created this quiz...

34. YOUR WEAKNESSES?

Can't say no and too trusting. Oh and over critical sometimes.

35. MET ANYONE FAMOUS?

Couple of actors and actresses and corporate figures.

36. FIRST JOB?

Number-cruncher. See previous blog posts to have an idea.

37. EVER DONE A PRANK CALL?

HAHAHA yes! To the police!!!

They called me back and that sure wasn't a prank call...

38. DO YOU THINK EVERYONE OUT THERE HAS A SOUL MATE?

Yeah but there are times when you look at some people and you think, there's no way that person can connect to anyone.

39. WHAT WERE YOU DOING BEFORE YOU FILLED THIS OUT?

Having breakfast with my mates.

40. HAVE YOU EVER HAD SURGERY?

Yup. Injury prone, I am.

41. WHAT DO YOU GET COMPLIMENTED ABOUT MOST?

My height. It makes other guys jealous. HAHAHA. Shorties.

42. HAVE YOU EVER HAD BRACES?

For what. I have perfect teeth (chey...... hahaha).

43. WHAT DO YOU WANT FOR YOUR BIRTHDAY?

To celebrate it with someone I really like.

And no, it doesn't involve a night of debauchery afterwards.

44. HOW MANY KIDS DO YOU WANT AND THEIR NAMES?

Three and the daughter will be named Kayla.

45. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?

Apparently so, judging from my sister's too.

46. WHAT IS THE BIGGEST TURN OFF OF THE OPPOSITE SEX?

(Bad) Looks. Being less feminine. The way she carries herself.

47. WHAT IS ONE THING YOU LIKED ABOUT HIGH SCHOOL?

Playing soccer before school, during school and after school.

And getting top marks without studying (chey.... hahahaha).

48. WHAT KIND OF SHAMPOO DO YOU USE?

Vidal Sassoon. I like the scent.

49. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?

Of course!

50. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?

Has to be human mea... Luncheon meat!

51. ANY BAD HABITS?

Can't be put in print here. But I use a lot more vulgar language than I would like.

52. ARE YOU A JEALOUS PERSON?

Competitive yes, jealous no.

53. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?

Ah bu den?

54. DO YOU AGREE WITH FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS?

I don't understand this question. Pass.

55. DO LOOKS MATTER?

Yes yes yes.

But there is a age-hardened quote from a mate of mine that can't go down in print here... heh. Some of you bastards from Rm 1 & 39 will know what it is... HAHAHA.

56. HOW DO YOU RELEASE ANGER?

Can't be put in print here but definitely doesn't involve anything from the Internet or downloaded clips.

57. DO YOU HAVE ANY SIBLINGS?

My wonderful sister ;)

58. WHAT'S YOUR MAIN GOAL IN LIFE?

I do what the Lord wants me to do.

59. WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE MEMORY AS A CHILD?

Running around the kampung, climbing trees, dodging rats and making the dogs go crazy.

60. HOW MANY NUMBERS ARE IN YOUR CELL PHONE?

Don't really know, don't really care.

61. WERE YOU A FAN OF BARNEY AS A LITTLE KID?

F***, no!!!

62. DO YOU USE SARCASM?

Its in me aplenty. But usually I'm too slow-witted to use it.

63. MASHED POTATOES OR MACARONI AND CHEESE?

All look like smashed shit to me albeit light-coloured ones.

64. WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR IN A GUY/GIRL?

Humour. Street-smart. Independence.

65. WHAT ARE YOUR NICKNAMES?

JohnnyBoy and Long Schlong (don't ask me but its not what you think).

66. IF YOU HAD A SUPER POWER WHAT WOULD IT BE?

Every shot turns into a goal. What a megastar footballer I would be.

67. WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE TV SHOW?

Sex & The City and Man vs Wild.

Yeah, I know its kind of a weird combination.

68. WHAT'S THE BEST WAY TO DEAL WITH YOUR ENEMIES?

Hit them below the belt (literally and figuratively). And ignoring them.

69. WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR?

Mint.

70. DO YOU HAVE ALL YOUR FINGERS AND TOES?

I am thankful to the Lord that I do, yes.

71. DO YOU HAVE A COMPUTER IN YOUR ROOM?
...

72. PLANS FOR TONIGHT?

I would really like to just laze in my room but I have a dinner appointment I can't turn down.

73. WHERE DO YOU WANT TO LIVE WHEN YOU ARE OLDER?

Beside my folks.

74. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS?

I am watching you closely so make sure you do. Heh.

75. LAST THING YOU ATE?

A very filling breakfast.

76. LAST THING YOU DRANK?

Water.

77. LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?

Flight ops.

78. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE IN THE OPPOSITE SEX?

Height, legs, eyes, smile, voice.

79. WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DO IN YOUR SPARE TIME?

Photography! Laze in bed after waking, watching movies, exploring the country.

80. FAVORITE THING TO HATE?

Bad weather can be quite a bitch in my profession.

81. FAVORITE SEASON OF THE YEAR?

Winter.

82. WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE TYPE OF CANDY?

Minties!!!

83. HAVE YOU EVER REALLY HAD A BEST FRIEND?

Had many best friends but yet to find my bestest friend.

84. WHAT IS YOUR HAIR COLOR?

Ash. (too many white hairs...)

85. EYE COLOR?

Dark brown.

86. SHOE SIZE?

9 to 9 half.

87. FAVORITE FAST FOOD PLACE?

KFC.

88. FAVORITE RESTAURANT?

Aston's Specialities. I like Dan Ryan's too.

89. DO YOU LIKE SUSHI?

Hell no.

90. WATCH TV TODAY?

No.

91. FAVORITE DAY OF THE YEAR?

Christmas Eve.

92. PLAY ANY MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS?

Dabbled in recorder in primary school and guitar recently. And not too long ago, Mary Had A Little Lamb on piano.

93. REPUBLICAN OR DEMOCRAT?

Contrary to popular belief, I actually think the Govt is doing a great job.

94. KISSES OR HUGS?

Hugs (because it might lead to a kiss) ;)

Leonard: Doesn't apply to guys though, please.

95. RELATIONSHIPS OR ONE NIGHT STANDS?

No ONS for me though I have yet to encounter one.

96. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU BOUGHT?

Flying book. I believe I paid $10 more than I should have. F***!!!

97. WOULD YOU EVER BE A HOUSEWIFE?

Housewife??? Housefly??? Swat this question.

98. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING?

Flying book. Yes, a book that flies. It's hard to keep up.

99. DESCRIBE YOUR LOVE LIFE

Sweet, beautiful and innocent but crashed and burned on the first one. Cupid and me ain't exactly best friends ever since.

...

You look at it.

You think about it.

You plan for it.

You make it happen.

You can do it.

Fly me to the moon

Wishlist: Joystick

After getting hooked on Crimson Skies on my Xbox, I moved on to Microsoft Flight Simulator FX on my laptop. Just last week, it crashed (the program, not me) and my laptop kept rebooting by itself. After a night and a day, Chan and I discovered that FX caused a conflict with my Vista OS and caused a restart loop. And hence after it almost killed my OS, I gave it up and removed all my games on my hard drive. I was almost content to spend the last 5 months of my stay here without any games.

You could imagine my excitement when I chanced upon a coursemate who has Tom Clancy's HAWX. The kind of game that gives flyboy-wannabes wet dreams. Fighter jets, dogfights, Gs - all that good stuff.

And so Leo and I got it installed. And we took on each other one-on-one.

Awesome fun.

I predict that I will be getting one of these pretty soon. The best in the market but downside is that they don't come cheap.

BBB virus. Sigh.

For reviews and technical aspects, read this:

http://www.trustedreviews.com/video-games/review/2004/02/07/Saitek-Cyborg-Evo/p1

Feed the fishes!

Rules of the air

1. Every takeoff is optional. Every landing is mandatory.


2. If you push the stick forward, the houses get bigger. If you pull the stick back, they get smaller. That is, unless you keep pulling the stick all the way back, then they get bigger again.


3. Flying isn't dangerous. Crashing is what's dangerous.


4. It's always better to be down here wishing you were up there than up there wishing you were down here.


5. The ONLY time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire.


6. The propeller is just a big fan in front of the plane used to keep the pilot cool. When it stops, you can actually watch the pilot starts sweating.


7. When in doubt, hold on to your altitude. No-one has ever collided with the sky.


8. A 'good' landing is one from which you can walk away. A 'great' landing is one after which they can use the plane again.


9. Learn from the mistakes of others. You won't live long enough to make all of them yourself.


10. You know you've landed with the wheels up if it takes full power to taxi to the ramp.


11. The probability of survival is inversely proportional to the angle of arrival. Large angle of arrival, small probability of survival and vice versa.


12. Never let an aircraft take you somewhere your brain didn't get to five minutes earlier.


12a. Stay out of clouds. The silver lining everyone keeps talking about might be another airplane going in the opposite direction. Reliable sources also report that mountains have been known to hide out in clouds.


14. Always try to keep the number of landings you make equal to the number of take offs you've made.


15. There are three simple rules for making a smooth landing. Unfortunately no one knows what they are.


16. You start with a bag full of luck and an empty bag of experience. The trick is to fill the bag of experience before you empty the bag of luck.


17. Helicopters can't fly; they're just so ugly the earth repels them.


18. If all you can see out of the window is ground that's going round and round and all you can hear is commotion coming from the passenger compartment, things are not at all as they should be.


19. In the ongoing battle between objects made of aluminium going hundreds of miles per hour and the ground going zero miles per hour, the ground has yet to lose.


20. Good judgment comes from experience. Unfortunately, the experience usually comes from bad judgment.


21. It's always a good idea to keep the pointy end going forward as much as possible.


22. Keep looking around. There's always something you've missed.


23. Remember, gravity is not just a good idea. It's the law. And it's not subject to repeal.


24. The three most useless things to a pilot are the altitude above you, runway behind you and a tenth of a second ago.


25. There are old pilots and there are bold pilots. There are, however, no old bold pilots.