The Lost City of Pompeii

Many years ago when i was a kid i used to watch National Georgraphic and hear about this city. Well I walked through it until my legs were sore, and its a absolute fantastica place (forgive the attempt in italian). Anyways here's some pics to go along.



The lost city of Pompeii. Now not so lost due the millions of tourists invading it everday. 



2000 years ago this city was buried when nearby Mt Vesuvius decided to spit molten lava on it. 2000 years later its again buried by the human stampede up ahead. But anyways those 3 stones you see in the middle of the road is a zebra crossing. People use it to walk across streets (like duh!), and it being elevated means that people dont get their feet dirty crossing the road. Canggih hor?? Also acts as a natural speed bump. Maybe the government should consider building this. 



The Pompeiian Forum with Mt. Vesuvius in the background.  



The face of death. Poor guy, died in a horrifying way, and now his corpse is an exhibit for people to see. hehe...snap snap anyways. 



The garden of a rich man who live in pompeii. Man,i want a nice big garden like that with roman columns next time! 



Just about the only guys living in Pompeii nowadays. 



Nicely preserved frescos on the wall of a house in Pompeii.  



This is a Pompeiian version of a fast food take out. Thats the stove you are looking at. We were debating the possibility of that being wash basins but acheological experts believe otherwise. Oh well... 



Impressive isnt it? Apparently the place has very good acoustics, and if you stand at the bottom and speak normally people all the way up at the back will be able to hear you clearly. I was so busy taking pictures i forgot to do that. Dang! 

After a long day's walking,



Sorry guys...i just HAD to do this...muahahaha 

Pompeii Rocks!

Mamamia it's the leaning tower of Pisa!

Man i never thought that one day i'd be here (and complaining about admission fees after that!)



The leaning tower of Pisa. Damn entry costs 15 euros. Flipping extortion. 



The banana tower of pisa. Notice how it bends backwards. Up to this day i still can't explain how the shot came out like that. 



The tower of pisa with me in it. It's really tilted eh? You see people with a lot of stupid posing ideas around this area. It's hilarious. 



Just a little overtilted. haha....did it on purpose. Notice that the horizon isnt horizontal. 

Florence

Beautiful painted ceiling's of the church in Florence. Again i forgot the name of the church. Its the BIG one though. Poor Michealangelo must have got a real neckache painting this. 


Me polluting the Florence skyline. Oh yeah we had to climb 563 steps to get up here. And pay 6 euros. Like how a singaporean man who we met later that day remarked, " I think they should PAY ME the 6 Euros to climb up-ah! Haiiiyoh!" 



Looking at all those beautiful buildings in Florence with all that ridiculous attention to detail, i often wonder how long they took just to build a small part of it. And labour costs must have been dirt cheap too. 



My face really spoilt this picture but anyways this is the famous bronze(or gold) doors of the baptistry in the main square. Each panel is carved with a different picture which tells a different story from the bible. 



Neptune chilling out under the morning sun in his fountain. This is at the Square of the Lord's near the uffizzi gallery. 



A replica of Michealangele's David. I gather by now people back then have obsession with naked statues. Probably its some art thing. 



This is the Ponte Vecchio (Vecchio bridge). On it are many many jewellery shops, selling all kinds of crafts at inflated prices (tourist area lah). It does make a nice reflection in the water river though. 



The Uffizzi Gallery. Inside contains all the famous artworks from the 17th and 18th century (i think). It opens at 815am. We stated queueing at 8am. We got in at 1130am. Madness! 



A scenice view atop Micheangelo's Plaza. 

And that's Florence for you. There were tons of beautiful stuff that i couldnt get down on camera cos it was art galleries and stuff like that. And its hard to take good indoor pictures anyways. Hope you enjoyed it!

Venice

Ok people here are some pictures of Venice.


"gondola men" chilling out under the venetian sun 


Pretty pretty masks...it's a "thing" in venice, they're everywhere. Something to do with Venetian tradition. 



The HUGE Rialto bridge, where there are shops on top, and also millions of tourists 



On board a water bus. Just realized how long my hair was. damn... 



Forgot the name of this church, but it so BIG. Look at how small the people are. I wonder why they never let people go in and see the churches in venice. 



St. Marco's Basilica. It's the absolute must see when you get to venice. 



Overlooking the city of Venice from the top of the clocktower in St. Marco's Piazza. 



Gondolas chilling out after a hard day's work under the watchful eyes of its owner. 



The evening sky just makes everything look pretty. Took the picture from on board a water bus and was joslting with the people onboard to get into a good shooting postion. Nearly fell overboard. 



Maybe this is a better shot... 


ok thats all for venice! hope u enjoy the pics!

something's wrong with the "posting" page

....
but anyways, its been so long since i posted. errr...sheer laziness i suppose. Holidays with nothing much to do (again due to sheer laziness) has an effect on you. OK anyways here's some little stuff which has been going on since my last post:

Finished my last 2 exam papers.
Watched "star wars: the revenge of the sith" (i think thats the title, really cant remember the same day my exams ended and concluded that movies nowadays never live up to the hype.
Packed up, left london and went off to italy for a 10 day holiday - Venice, Florence, Pisa, Naples and Rome!
Flew back to Malaysia. Guitar and guitar case was damged on the way home- felt like flying back to London specially to smack the daylights out of the lady who idioticaly did not put the "FRAGILE" sign on my guitar case.
Realised that Malaysia is indeed a very hot country. Didnt stop sweating for the first few days.
Cut my hair.
Bummed at home for 2 weeks playing PS2.
Went off to the land where i was born, Borneo(East Malaysia) to conquer South East Asia'a tallest peak, Mt Kinabalu. Sabah rocks!
Died of food poisoining in Kota Kinabalu - Sabah curry noodles dont rock.
Back home in Melaka again, continue playing more PS2, and my thumb hurts really bad now.

So far it's been pretty interesting. KL this weekend, subang(maybe) next weekend....and then we'll see how things go from there.

On a side note, where did all the toolbar buttons such as numbering, copy, paste ,etc go??

So free that i can make 2 posts in 15 mins....

Modern Laws of Nature

Lorenz's Law of Mechanical Repair:
After your hands become coated with grease, your nose will begin to itch.

Anthony's Law of the Workshop:
Any tool, when dropped, will roll to the least accessible corner.

Kovac's Conundrum:
When you dial a wrong number, you never get an engaged one.

Cannon's Karmic Law:
If you tell the boss you were late for work because you had a flat
tire, the next morning you will have a flat tire.

O'brien's Variation Law:
If you change queues, the one you have left will start to move
faster than the one you are in now.

BELL'S THEOREM
When the body is immersed in water , the telephone rings.

RUBY'S PRINCIPLE OF CLOSE ENCOUNTERS
The probability of meeting someone you know increases when you are
with someone you don't want to be seen with.

WILLOUGHBY'S LAW
When you try to prove to someone that a machine won't work, it will.

ZADRA'S LAW OF BIOMECHANICS
The severity of the itch is inversely proportional to the reach.

BREDA'S RULE
At any event, the people whose seats are furthest from the aisle arrive
last.

OWEN'S LAW
As soon as you sit down to a cup of hot coffee, your boss will ask
you to do something which will last until the coffee is cold.

Oh yeah i got another 2 more papers to go....hooray!!!!!

bye bye econs....

After 3 years of torment, its finally over.


This damned book. Selling for 22.99 pounds. Anybody wants? leave me a comment with your details.


Or is it not??

(rumour has it that we'll see it in a different form next year....nooooooooooo)

Sweeter

Everyday with you Lord
Is sweeter than the day before
Everyday with You Lord
Is sweeter than the day before

Every morning I will worship
Every evening I'll adore
Cause everyday with You
Is sweeter than the day before

What a privilledge to know you
Like I know You
To be loved
Like You love me
What an honour to worship
Truly worship
From this heart that You have freed

From the rising of the sun
To the setting of the same

Everyday with You Lord
Is sweeter than the day before
Everyday with You Lord
Is sweeter than the day before

Every morning I will worship
Every evening I'll adore
Everyday with You is sweeter
Sweeter than the day before

What wonder to live like
Really live like
Overcoming anything
What a reason to lift up
Freely lift up
Everyday my everything

From the rising of the sun
To the setting of the same

Everyday with You Lord
Is sweeter than the day before
Everyday with You Lord
Is sweeter than the day before

Every morning I will worship
Every evening I'll adore
Everyday with You Lord
Is sweeter than the day before

Everyday, everyday with You Lord
Everyday sweeter than the day before

From the album "Cover the Earth" by Lakewood Church

Thank You Jesus!!!!!!

(you can guess that the stats paper went relatively well)

Anyways just a side note, if you like Joe Satriani or mad guitaring in general check this out by clicking here.

Habakkuk 3:17-19

Though the fig tree may not blossom
Nor fruit be on the vines
Though the labor of the olive may fail
And the fields yield no food
Though the flock may be cut off from the fold
And there be no herd in the stalls
Yet i will rejoice in the Lord
I will joy in the God of my salvation

The Lord God is my strength
He will make my feet like the deer's feet
And He will make me walk on my high hills


No matter what happens, I choose to praise You.

Financial and Investment Math 03/05/05

First day of Uni exams today. I think in that 3 hour paper i aged at least 3 years. Never have i ever in an exam experience such paralysing fear, yet in that i experienced grace of untold proportions today.

The venue itself was an interesting one, it was held in the basement of and old catholic church(which is still in use today and the church is actually a very nice place) which is called the crypt. So i was on my way there nice and early. Not really feeling anything. There was a feeling of uneasy silence within me though, and i did my best to shake it off by singing some songs to myself on the way.

So in the exam venue itself....felt pretty confident looking through the paper during reading time. Somehow midway through the second question, there was something slightly abnormal about it, and it kinda threw me off course. The 3rd question was my bogey question, and at that time i knew my mind was in a state of panic. I tried my very hardest to refocus and get it back in check but i just couldnt. So bad till i couldnt read values off a table without having to recheck it 15 times. Skipped it and went to question 4, a very much easier question which i would ace on any given day. My mind was blank. I didnt know what to do or how to start. At this point of time i knew i was going to fail the paper if i went on. My mind started imagining coming back early to london during the summer to resit the paper, no scholarship money next term, no exemptions, everything negative that you could think of was bombarding my mind.

I stood up immediately without even asking the invigilators(did i spell that right?), and asked to go to the washroom, knowing that if i went on i would surely fail. That few moments in the washroom was so so crucial and tense. I even told the escorting invigilator "man i'm panicking man.." to which he gave a curt reply of "you need to relax". Yeah easy for you to say cause you're not the one taking it.

But i did come back from the toilet a lot more composed. And i managed to salvage most of the paper, including the 1st few ones which i panicked in. I didnt really get them right, neither was i able to complete a question at the end, but at least now there's a light at the end of the tunnel. Not excellent maybe(considering the fact that out of all my subjects this is the one i had most confidence in), but at least i have a decent chance of retaining my scholarship and getting that exemption.

Looking back, i can actually be bitter about the fact that i panicked and amost failed in the exam. But i guess i wont, apart from the side fact that it would do me no good to feel that way, but more importantly i guess this is a good chance to thank God that i actually escaped from the brink of failure. Never have i before in the middle of an exam began rebuking feelings of panic(which surfaced again after i came back from the toilet) and recalling all those bible verses of God's promises...and man...i really believe that was what saw me through today. The worst might not yet have come, but as Paul said "What shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?" Romans 8:26

i think the best way to sum this day's event up is to echo the words of the hymnwriter

And because He lives

I can face tomorrow

Because He lives

All fear is gone

And because i know, i know

He holds the future

And life is worth the living

Just because He lives.

The next paper will probably be the worst of all. But i will not fear, or neither will i yield.

"Yet in all these things we are more than conquerers through Him who loves us" Romans 8:37

Amen

Its a sick sad world

Was reading cnn today and came across 2 articles. Heres extracts of the 2 of them with the headlines:

Iraqi police: Abducted CARE official's belongings found

"BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Iraqi and U.S. forces detained six suspected insurgents Sunday during a raid in a Baghdad suburb and found a handbag, ID and clothing that belonged to kidnapped CARE official Margaret Hassan, Iraqi police said.
Hassan, former director of the humanitarian organization CARE in Iraq, is a British citizen who was taken hostage in October. A video purportedly showing her being shot to death surfaced about a month later on the Arabic-language Al-Jazeera satellite television channel....."

Prosecutor: Marine intended to make example of detainees

"CAMP LEJEUNE, North Carolina (AP) -- A Marine accused of murdering two Iraqi detainees intended to make an example of them by shooting them 60 times and hanging a sign over their bodies, prosecutors said Saturday during closing arguments in a pretrial hearing..."


The world is a sick place.

Just for laughs

Was chilling out a bit today doing some blog surfing and i came across this site-which i will not reveal, but i'll tell you its 2 clicks away from my blog- and there was this comment made which made me laugh like crazy:

"Untuk ATHEIS, maaf, anda tidak layak hidup di bumi Tuhan, sebab kalian tidak pernah percaya akan wujudnya Tuhan. Sila cari tempat lain yang tidak diciptakan Tuhan. Jangan hirup oksigen tuhan. Hidu oksigen yang kalian cipta sendiri sahaja."

And if you cant read it you're not malaysian so you wont understand the context of the joke(and more like cos i'm lazy to translate it into english).

But anyways (no offence intended to atheists btw), referring to that above, some ppl were talking about the religious scene in our country (which in my opinion the article was rubbish) and were talking about all those blahs about religions, of which i stumbled across that sentence.

Man there are some seriously funny people out there. And funny not in a hilarious way.

Oh yeah exams are soon. Like this tuesday. I need some motivation and psyching up.


-scene from the movie "Troy", where Achilles and his indestructable Mermidons sail in to fight the Trojans-

Achilles: Men! You know what lies behind those shores?

(Mermidons stop rowing boat and looks up towards Achilles)

Achilles: IMMORTALITY! TAKE IT AND IT SHALL BE YOURS!!!!!

(Mermidons there give a shout of triumph and proceed to swarm trojan beaches.)



Immortality. It shall be mine for the duration of this exams.


(Oh yeah by the way the only time the mermidons ever died in this movie was right after achilles' speech when they swarmed the beaches and got their asses shot to bits by trojan arches)

Bummer...

When life was good.....

Seems like an eternity ago when we had our eurotrip. This was taken in a park in luxembourg. When life was free and there was nothing to worry about.

Man i hate exams. Especially when i'm not prepared for them. And theres money at stake. Lots of it.

Hope dangles on a string.

WHY!??

why cant i do anything right?

Can't buy a guitar case right,
Can't exchange a new guitar case right,
Can't keep a pair of shoes right,
Can't do my bloody probability right,
Can't study right,
Can't live my life right,
Can't talk right.

All lights the end of the tunnel,
Were just freight trains coming my way,
Thought i was looking at the right channel,
But now how do you expect me not to sway.

Nevertheless, i will

Praise the Lord with all my heart
Praise Him for He has done great things
His banner over me is love, His love
His banner over me is love, His love

dim sum gurl.......

[Intro}
This song goes out to all you sexy gurl
Who push the dim sum car all over the world
You know who you are babeeeeee
You wok so hard and we lap u so much
Check it out yo!

[Verse 1]
It's been so long since i see you smile
Looking so quick coming down that aisle
Wit the sexy dress and the little dim sum
Make me klazee when i order chao fan
Peeeeple, they telling me that i shouldnt bother with a ladee like you
You lock my wol
Yes you, my dim sum gurl

Watching, waiting, waiting for you babeee
To tell me that i'm the guy for you and that chiu wanna be my ladeee
One day yes you will seee that i will always be
The one who make fly lice for you for all eterniteee

[Chorus]
Dim sum gurl
You leally lock my wol
My dim sum girl
I never thought i find her
Girl from nothern china
Make me feel so good (so good, so goood-2nd time)

Dim sum gurrrlllll
In such a crazeee world
My dim sum gurl
I'm going to make the order
You can party all night
So beautiful and pure
My dim sum gurl

[Talking]
Why you gotta tease me babee
You driving me craaazeeee
Dont chiu see
Dont play me like that baby
Please, just gimme one more chence

[Verse 2]
In the morning, at noon, at night
I think about you and it feels so right
So hap-pee when you look my way
When i talk to you you make my day
I see the tear, in your eye, pleasee my babee dont chiu cry
Tommorrow... is a whole new day
Its me and you sing kala-OK

Toogether, forever, that's the way its gott to be
Please make my dleam come true so i can lib my fantasee
Oh say that you be mine,
You know its a matter of time
Come eat my rice with your chopstick and leave the spoon behind

[Chorus repeats]

wooooooo
woah hooo ooooo
woah hooo oohhhh

[outro]

[Goes on in background x4]
I dont want to live without you dim sum gurl (dim sum gurllll - 2nd time onwards)
Take me awaaaaay into dim sum wooorrrld
I love u soooo, I love you soooo
Please say you will be mine oh mineeee

[Talking]
Hey babee you wear that dress for me?
ahh.. you look great
Wah time you get off work huh?
You must be sooo tired
Wot say you mee go get some bobile tea huh? relax...

Wahs long babee? wahs long?
Did I say something?
Dont leave me this way babee
Dont go
You are the only one for me
Please dont bleak my heart like this
No more fooling around
I'm not the player anymore
Come back to me babeee
Come back to meee...

(fade out)

Song by TheNotoriousMSG : Dim sum gurl. Check them out by clicking here.

Dammit it was hard figuring out what the heck they were singing and spelling it to make sound like how they sang it. (Tell me if u have better spelling suggestions, or if there's any mistake in the lyrics) Half an hour wasted where instead i could've used it to study probability. Oh wait, i still hate it.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

OFFICIAL DISCLAIMER:
THIS SONG IS ONLY A SONG AND DOES NOT, I REPEAT DOES NOT, HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH ANYONE OR ANYTHING RELATED TO ME

I hate probability

I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability I hate probability

ahh...that felt good.
oh btw, just in case you dont know...
i hate probability