The Wanos Chronicles

Minor Sign of the End of Days

2012-01-04T12:58:00.001+08:00

How fast time flies. The end is near. God forgive our sins.

Visit to "The Clinic"

2011-06-10T11:39:00.007+08:00

I finally managed to put on some balls and set some time last two saturdays to go to The Clinic and get myself checked. When I got there with the Wife, she introduced me to the staff and brought me to see the doctor on duty. She suggested I do ozone therapy which is to add oxygen to my blood. Its supposed to be done once a week. Apparently the addition of oxygen to the blood has many positive health effects which Im not going to disclose here cuz frankly I cant recall. So first she pricked my finger to draw blood to test my creatinine level. They did this to estimate my renal functions, in other words whether or not my kidney is working as good as it should.

After that they led me to a bed with leather restraining straps (kidding). I lay down and Hasan came to prepare the equipment needed to suck out my blood. I was terrified because I have syringe-o-phobia. All the while the Wife was consoling me and telling me everything is fine and I'll barely feel the needle going in. Of course I didnt believe a word she said and continued to entertain an image of a large needle digging into my flesh and sucking me dry. When it came time to stick me with the surprisingly small needle, I said a quick prayer, grimaced in anticipation and closed my eyes. They found a vein at my inner elbow but as the needle dug in, the vein disappeared. So they had to move the needle around in there. Yes it hurt like hell and they still couldnt find the vein. After what felt like a millennia, they took out the needle and decided to find another vein. DAMMIT!! So they found one on my hand just after my wrist. That one hurt even more...
After the pain ended everything was fine and I could see my blood slowly dripping into the bottle hanging on the thingy. Its a weird feeling seeing all that blood, MY blood, outside of my body. I kind of felt like Dr. Frankenstein's monster. I've donated blood on two occassions before in my life but I was never as terrified as I was at The Clinic.
Yes as you can tell from the picture I was having a ball in The Clinic getting my blood oxygenated. It was a great experience but one that I do not want to go through again if it can be helped. Alhamdulillah, and thanks to the Wife for "gently" prodding me into going to The Clinic, I'm now a bit more healthier.

Enter At Your Own Risk

2011-05-04T11:10:00.002+08:00

Haha. I bet this place has been around for ages and Im sure they get heavy traffic to be able to last this long. But the name Poliklinik Kong is funny. You go in for treatment and to ultimately PREVENT or delay death... but the name is kind of an oxymoron. Did I use the word Oxymoron appropriately?

Albino Fish at Airport Toilet

2011-04-30T16:21:00.004+08:00

Users of the Ngurah Rai International Airport toilet in Denpasar (Bali) will be mildly amused or entertained by the aquariums at each urinal. The aquariums are at eye level so u can watch the fish swim around while you pee. I found this poor guy at the bottom of his aquarium at my urinal. He must be some kind of albino chiclid and he must be really tired from entertaining so many urinal users. Thats why he's sleeping at the bottom of the aquarium. Back in 2007 the airport recorded 19,099 international flights and over 43000 domestic flights. Just imagine the number of people who used the toilet in that year alone and how many this guy had to entertain by swimming around dispassionately. No wonder he's so tired. Poor guy.

I didnt think it would happen but it did and im so happy it happened

2011-04-26T11:51:00.014+08:00

Yes Im finally married. It all happened so fast I barely had time to say "let me think about it" (kidding sayang). I met the father one weekend and three weeks later we were engaged and four months later we're husband and wife. Very nice.

The nikah was at her house and was attended by family. Friends came later in the evening. The pelamin was done by Dato' Roy as well. I bought my kurta and she made her lengga at Jln Masjid India. We decided to do an Indian theme because... well im not so sure why but we thought it'd be cool.

We made most of the wedding decisions ourselves (by we I mean she) and the reception in KL turned out very well. Renaissance Hotel was very helpful and efficient and they gave us reasonable rates per person. We got Dato' Roy from Roy Busana Anggun in Jln Masjid India to do the pelamin and it was beautiful. Our wedding outfits were flown all the way from Burma together with the dressmaker to do our makeup. Makeup and dressing up took ages and walking in that thing was difficult because my "skirt" was held together by pins so I couldnt walk faster than a drunken turtle. It was hard for her as well. But we enjoyed it thoroughly and there was an abundance of praise for both of us.

The wedding started with a bagpipe and dhol number played by a couple of punjabi musicians. Punjabi weddings are naturally very lively where everyone dances without the slightest hesitation but of course no one did at ours though we didnt oppose the idea. It was definitely different. Once we were on stage a couple of silat guys came up and did a "silat pengantin" for us. Apparently its tradition. Then there were three dance numbers performed by Dato' Roy's dancers.

Our video montage was done by Dina Wedding and photography done by One Two Juice Photography. The video was awesome to say the least. We havent seen any photos yet so cant say anything about that. Right after the cake cutting, the emcee surprised us with a request for us to sing a song. I cant say that I was too surprised cuz I sort of saw it coming. Kak Zura had warned me earlier that she WILL get us to sing no matter what... it was fun and terribly embarassing at the same time. I reaaaaaallyyyyyy cant wait to see the video (NOT!!!!!).

In conclusion, I'd say that the wedding was a success. It was fun for us to plan the whole thing but at the same time there were a lot of moments that made us think twice about getting married. It definitely brought us closer together and its something that we are gonna remember for the rest of our lives.

Gasp!

2011-02-20T12:11:00.003+08:00

I was doing my previous years taxes (yeah yeah im a procastinator so sue me) so I needed stationeries. I found my mom's stationery bag and started rummaging through it... and look what I found!!! -----
Dice!! Is mom a secret RPG fan?? Hmm... when she says she goes 'teaching' at UM is she really secretly meeting her RPG group made up of similarly aged men and women?? Oh how I wish. Interesting thought.

Curious Mulan

2011-02-08T12:49:00.002+08:00

Last night Mom let Mulan out of her room to roam around the house a bit. Of course she found her way into my room and took an immediate interest in my fish - especially my silver sharks. The fish were so terrified they gathered at the far corner wishing the tank was bigger. Silver sharks are also known as Bala Sharks (haha my boss's name is Bala). Of course they are not sharks at all. They can grow to be 13 inches so they require large tanks actually. In fact my tank is still too small for them. They are excellent jumpers and are very easily provoked to dart around and jump out of the water. Luckily I have my aquarium hood. If not then the next day there will be one ikan kering on the floor.

Staring Contest

2011-02-05T00:01:00.004+08:00

Karuppin has been spending a lot of time in my room lately ever since I got my new fish. He would just sit at attention on the floor with his eyes transfixed to my aquarium against the window watching my two silversharks swim around. Here I caught him having a staring contest with Dot my dragon fish. I've never seen Karuppin like this before because he's usually on the floor in the living room pretending to be a rug. He's actually very affectionate. All these years no one has really paid any attention to him or his brother Momo (full name Malavon Despana), I think because of the other cats vying for attention. But my mom always manages to find time to brush their fur once in a while - which they love.
Here's a pic of Karuppin pretending to be a rug. He's really good at it too cuz you can hardly see him especially when you walk out of the room in the middle of the night to grab a drink in the dark. Stupid cat.

New Set of Wheels and a Pedicure

2011-01-30T22:41:00.006+08:00

I got shiny feet! My feet feel so good after the pedicure. Haha... normally they dont allow men into Sutra's but they made an exception for Babe. "Only for regular customers" they said. Apparently she's been going there since her college days... every day to blow dry her hair. Now she just goes thrice a month to do her eyebrows. So I guess that makes her a regular customer :). I have to admit I was a more than a little hesitant to try it out (I was afraid it might be painful) but she managed to coax me into it in the end. I enjoyed it. They sat me in a massage chair and did my nails, and massaged my toes n calf. And yeah I was laughing my head off when they did it cuz Im really ticklish. They even used an emery board (??) to 'sand' the soles of my feet and my tumit (heel) so now everything is so smooooth and shiny!! Hehe. I got shiny toe nails!!

I also went to pickup my new car. Its great. For 72,888 you get a lot of stuff - auto wipers (they detect rain and turn on magically), auto lights (they detect the absence of light and turn on magically), stereo USB/CD/MP3 player, and a very cool digital climate control console. It also has this button with a capital "S" on it which apparently means "Sports Mode" - no it does not transform the car into a Ferrari - its just the overdrive mode. It also has a "Snow Mode". Its a french car so go figure. On top of that, I got 5 years full service / parts coverage which means I dont have to pay anything when I send this car for servicing for the first five years, including spare parts. This is a huge deal cuz spare parts for european cars are notoriously expensive in M'sia. But the important thing is I dont need to depend on my mom for her car anymore and that is a very good feeling indeed. I was without a car for two months and let me tell u, it was as though I was without legs. Dad has been sending me to office and Babe has been sending me home almost everyday. Its been great cuz I spent more time with them talking n stuff but it had to end some time.

And for those of you who are reading this and are thinking of stealing my new car, here's what I have to say - go fuck yourself and get a life. Better yet, steal it and enjoy it. Then burn in hell later. Haha.

Not 'interesting' enough

2011-01-27T11:41:00.002+08:00

Check this out. This guy is asking for too much if you ask me. How do you know if you're interesting enough to get his car park lot? Honestly, I dont know if I can make the cut!

My New Pet

2011-01-22T19:29:00.003+08:00

This is my new pet. It's a goby. The pet store guy called it a 'dragon fish'. His name is Dot. I was actually looking for a newt but couldnt find one. Apparently newts are seasonal - they are most abundant in the summer months so i'll be sure to keep a look out.

I feed Dot blood worms every night. The blood worms drift down to the gravel and Dot goes over and slowly gobbles them up. Apparently there are more than 2000 species of goby. I'm bored.

Brand New Me

2011-01-17T12:00:00.002+08:00

Hey all. It's been a loooong time since I last 'set foot' in this page and said anything. I've been procrastinating, but mainly its due to some personal problems I've been facing. Things have been very very difficult in my personal life since 2010 - mostly through my own actions. Fortunately things are finally starting to work out for me in 2011. God willing, I'm getting married in April this year. I'm also more motivated to find extra sources of income to get out of my deep hole of debt. Thanks to my mother whom I love dearly (goes without saying lah), I've managed to really sit myself down and think about the shit thats happened to me and generally put my life into perspective. I'm now a bit closer to God, am slightly more positive about my future with my future wife, I don't cry at night or fall into moments of depression anymore, and I'm generally feeling better about myself. Big change from last year.

I've learned a lot over the past year but there's one lesson that I think is the most important - love your family. Be close to them. Because no matter what happens to you, they are ALWAYS there to help.

Ok this is starting to feel like Im writing in my diary. I have to go destroy something now.

Blue Tupperware

2010-03-05T12:13:00.002+08:00

The boys have grown! Especially Bot. The other day he actually climbed out of his tank! Lucky for him, he landed in the clothes basket and not on the hard marble floor. Its amazing because he actually pushed all the stones to one side of the tank and climbed on top of them to get over the rim and out of the tank. That incident prompted me to buy a new tank - its a huge blue tupperware. Not terribly taller than the last one but they wont be able to climb out until they grow another 3 inches or so. I also bought fish as usual to feed them and it seems that they are finding it harder to catch them because of the bigger tank. Plus the fish are hiding in between the rocks and the log. I'll snap a photo when I can and post it up here soonest.

My Terrapin

2009-12-09T21:06:00.001+08:00

Im not sure who is this... I think it's Bot. Very nice.

Goblin Quest

2009-12-09T14:50:00.002+08:00

I've finished Goblin Quest! Finally I can start another book, or continue where I left off with two other books which I dont know where I last placed.

Its very hard for someone who has a limited vocabulary like me to convey or describe the feelings I felt after finishing the book. All I can say is that it was sad, happy, and 'nostalgic' at the same time. Overall it was a very good read and I cant wait to read Goblin Hero and Goblin War.

What I'm Reading Now

2009-11-26T11:48:00.003+08:00

Unlike my siblings and parents, I can only read one book at a time and even then only before I go to sleep. Unfortunately for me, I also sleep faster while reading so you can guess how slow I am going through a single book. It can take me a month to finish a paperback.

At the moment Im reading Goblin Quest by Jim C. Hines. Given my habit of reading books exclusively set in the Forgotten Realms setting, this book is refreshing in a couple of ways. Firstly it is not set in the Forgotten Realms but of course long-time fantasy readers will find many familiar elements across the board when it comes to fantasy reading. Secondly and most prominently, it tells the story from the "villain's" point of view. Goblins are known as the lowest form of 'monster' in fantasy, especially in D&D. While in great numbers they can be a challenge to a group of adventurers, individually they are cowardly and hardly a challenge even for a 1st-level rusty dagger wielding peasant. In this book, Jig represents his race's cowardly nature but he also shows an exceptional cognitive and analytical ability that surpasses even some humans. That is why he is different and that is why it is such an interesting read.

Supershow Fo' Sho'

2009-11-25T12:08:00.003+08:00

Here's a video of Bot and Steve hunting baby goldfish. When I first started feeding them live food I never expected them to behave so viciously! Sigh... my babies have grown. They're so cute! Look at them enthusiastically and systematically hunt down the baby fish and then gulp them down. Amazing...

Bathing in the Light

2009-11-09T12:36:00.002+08:00

I rarely get to see Bot and Steve bask, so I took the opportunity and managed to get close enough without scaring them to snap this photo of them basking on the piece of wood. Turtles, especially aquatic ones like the red eared slider like to bask to regulate their body temperature. They try to get as close to the light as possible as can be seen here... Bot is stretching his neck towards the light. Im reducing their goldfish intake to once a week now - I dont want them to grow too fast. I make sure to take out Bot to feed Steve first because he's the slower of the two. If I feed both of them together, usually Bot will get the most because he's the more aggressive one. I may add aquatic plants but they may not last long as they get eaten up really quick. Plastic plants are a definite no no. In fact they even chew on the wood... so I might replace that as well.

My Miniature Monsters

2009-10-12T12:04:00.002+08:00

I was online last week searching for tips and articles about turtle care. I summarized that for better quality of life, the turtles should be given adequate lighting, a place to perch, adequate space and life food. So I went ahead and bought a new lamp for them and placed the log in the middle of the container for them to perch on. To this date I have never seen them bask in the light. Maybe its not hot enough. I also bought ten baby fish each about an inch long to feed the turtles - Bot and Steve. In less than half an hour, all ten were gone! Devoured by Bot and Steve. They are surprisingly vicious, lunging and snapping at the fish. They can also swim quite fast when chasing after their food. Ever since then I've been stocking up on baby fish to make sure Bot and Steve have a steady supply of food. Monsters.... I love them! Bot is the larger one. I call him Bot because he keeps coming like a Bot. For those of you who dont know, a bot is an AI controlled player that keeps respawning everytime the player kills it. So he keeps coming at you. The other one is Steve because... well because he looks like a Steve. And he's slow. I'll post up more pictures once I get the camera back from Dad - they went to UK for holidays.

Book Review: The Fractured Sky

2009-08-19T09:41:00.005+08:00

In The Fractured Sky, Aliisza, Kaanyr Vhok, Tauran, and Kael go on a quest to stop Cyric's evil scheme to kill another deity - Mystra. The book reveals Aliisza's deepening relationship with Tauran and her son Kael. It also reveals Vhok's true feelings for the alu-fiend Aliisza. Can a cambion have true feelings of love and compassion? Ultimately Vhok realises that his relationship for the alu go beyond that of master and servant. He cannot deny that he truly misses her when she goes missing towards the end of the book. It comes to show that just because you are evil doesn't mean that you can't love. But will that love bring Vhok into the light of compassion and mercy? I guess I won't know until I finish the next book The Crystal Mountain.

Forgotten Realms fans and D&D gamers may also realize that these three books lead up to the Spellplague -which happens when Shar tricked Cyric into killing Mystra the Goddess of Magic.

Book Review: The Gossamer Plain

2009-08-17T14:48:00.004+08:00

This shall be my first ever book review so forgive me if Im not doing it right. I finished reading The Gossamer Plain (TGP) by Thomas M. Reid about two weeks ago while my family and I were on holiday in Sabah. It was a good read. If you've read Insurrection (same author), you will find that the main protagonists of TGP, Aliisza and Kaanyr Vhok, were involved in the unsuccessful siege of Menzoberranzan.

The book explores Aliisza's character in further detail as the reader anticipates her "conversion" from being an evil character to a good one - the inner struggle that is triggered when Tauran the Deva reveals to her all that she has done in the past in the name of selfishness, carnal self-satisfaction, and personal gain has done nothing but hurt and destroy so many lives. In The Fractured Sky, Aliisza is shown to be slightly more compassionate and less evil as she is drawn closer to Tauran. I havent finished reading it so I dont know what will happen next. Very riveting so far.

The Terrible Terrapins

2009-07-22T11:13:00.004+08:00

About 3 months ago I bought two terrapins. They were about the size of 50cent coins when we got them. Now they are about 13cm from head to tail - they grow so fast! They were so cute when we first got them but now they look like dinosaurs (which means terrible lizards in latin). I always had a liking to aquatic creatures. I had many different kinds of fish, a newt, and now terrapins.

The are only two problems with these terrapins and one is that they shit a lot. After you feed them - and they can only feed while in the water - you can see their shit squirt out from their asses. Enchanting. This means that their water needs to be changed almost every other day. Im not complaining though cuz its good exercise and I like handling them though its not recommended to do so very often. The other problem is that they outgrow their tanks so fast that you barely have enough time to figure out where to put them next. A friend recommended I get this container from Ikea which is about 4x4 feet big and a foot high. Ill check it out this weekend.

If they grow to be too big to fit in a tank, Ill just have to set them free in the Zoo Negara lake.

Brinjal On The Road

2009-01-05T09:36:00.002+08:00

I was walking from the monorail to my office building today. As I stepped on to the curb to cross the road, I noticed what seemed to be a vegetable lying alone on the road. Upon closer inspection, it did in fact turned out to be a brinjal. It was a pretty big brinjal. Slightly less than a foot long. I dont see a lot of brinjals so its long by my standards.

I wonder what that means. I see a brinjal on the road. And 2009 just started. And how came it to be there? Did it fall out of a vegetable truck? Was it trying to free itself from its brinjal-monger captives and strike out on its own as a vegepreneur? Or did someone throw it there as a gag to confuse people like me? We shall never know.

LOKEE revisited

2008-12-30T11:41:00.002+08:00

The band's spirit has been revived somewhat in recent weeks partly due to renewed commitment from everyone. We all have our commitments - work, girlfriends, family etc. But we still manage to find what little time we have to do the thing we all like which is to play music together. We're not very good but we have improved significantly since we started playing in '95. Our musical tastes have changed slightly but we are all basically on the same wavelength.

Shuk and I managed to get together these past couple of weeks and we managed to come up with something semi-solid. We just need everyone else to chip in and fill the holes. Songwriting is NOT easy. Sure, inspiration can help but it mostly involves a lot of thinking and sitting around staring at the wall. There's a lot of effort involved. I visited a site that has a guide on how to write songs at http://www.easy-song-writing.com/. The site shows how to write songs methodically step by step complete with theories..... I suppose we should learn it sometime later but it all sounds like a bunch of bullcrap to me now. Anyway our staring-at-the-wall method seems to work so why change it?

In the end, its all in good fun. We dont really care if we actually "make it" in the biz. We mostly just do it out of love for good music and fun. Plus, its great goofing around with close buddies.

I love this song

2008-12-26T10:24:00.004+08:00

Goin' Where The Wind Blows - Mr.Big

Someone said life is for the taking,
Here I am with my hand out,
Waiting for a ride.

I've been living on my great expectations,
What good is it when Im stranded here,
When the world just passes by.

Where are the signs to help me get out of this place

If I should stumble on my moment in time,
How will I know
If the story's written on my face, does it show
Am I strong enough to walk on water
Smart enough to come in out of the rain
Or am I a fool going where the wind blows

Here I sit halfway to somewhere
Thinking about what's in front of me and
what I left behind
On my own, supposed to be so easy
Is this what I've been after
Or have I lost my mind

Maybe this is my chance and it's coming to take me away

If I should stumble on my moment in time,
How will I know
If the story's written on my face, does it show
Am I strong enough to walk on water
Smart enough to come in out of the rain
Or am I a fool going where the wind blows

Here I am walking naked through the world
Taking up space, society's child
Make room for me, make room for me,
make room for me

Am I strong enough to walk on water
Smart enough to come in out of the rain
Or am I a fool
Going where the wind blows

Damn Those Rempits!!!

2008-12-19T15:05:00.002+08:00

Thank God 2008 is ending! This year has been officially the worst year ever for me. I'm too lazy to write a long post so I'll just summarize what happened to me recently...

On the night of December 17th I went out for mamak at the usual place with my buddy as usual. I ordered the usual nescafe tarik and we got to talking about the usual crap. We left the mamak at about 11.50pm. I reached my Mom's apartment and parked outside along the roadside as usual because I had planned to stay overnight. Just as I parked my car, my significant other called so I answered. I got out and started walking back towards the guardhouse, talking to her all the while. It was a long stretch of road lined by parked cars. As I was walking I heard motorbikes making a lot of noise so I turned and saw these two bikes with two rempits on each. I thought nothing of them because this was a usual sight. I continued walking. Just a few seconds later I felt something hard hit my head and a dull pain throbbed from my ear. Then, 5 seconds later, I realized that my phone was not in my hand anymore. I searched for it on the ground... not there! Doh! Then I realized it was the rempits!!! They snatched my phone! So.. with a sigh I trudged home and went to sleep.

The next morning I left home about 7.30am. When I reached my car I noticed that someone had broken into the left back window. There was glass everywhere, mostly in the back seat. I looked to see what they had stolen - my transparent plastic bag with potato chips and instant noodles was still there and the glove compartment was completely ransacked... but they took my stereo. I felt a bit relieved that they didnt throw out Peter Jackson's autograph which was on a piece of paper I had chucked in the glove compartment.

I wasn't angry at all over what happened, neither was I sad. I just felt resigned. But now as I think back, I really hope to God Almighty that the rempits who snatched my phone die a horrible death - preferably one that involves a truck, a very hungry dog, and pool of shit. I would personally like to smash their heads on the roadside and lecture their rempit friends on the importance of good road etiquette. And for the perps who broke into my car, a thousand curses on them and their families.

2009 is coming. Things are looking up at work and at home. Its been a pretty educational year, but I look forward to a better one in 09.

Adventure Summary by DM Rizal

2008-12-11T13:40:00.003+08:00

As promised here's the recap of the adventure.

The party was beaten and battered from their previous foray into the dungeons of Keegan's Keep (also known as Shadowfell Keep). While leader Ruskin and dwarf Vorril was out handling stray goblins, the party was under the capable hands of Revan. Everyone remembers this part, the party delved lower into the keep pass the zombie crypts into the second level where they met strong resistance from a company of hobgoblins.

The initial group was easy enough to avoid, but come the second group with the warcaster, the party was just overwhelmed and they escaped barely with the skins on their back. With them a dead Revan and a demoralised crew.

They met with the remainder of their party outside and the group decided to split up to avoid goblin persuers. Ruskin took Corril and Sora back to the village of Winterhaven, while Vorril took Khorvash, Libra and Zaval with Revan's remains to hide out in the woods near the village, the idea was to meet back later at Winterhaven or the gates of the keep again.

While back at the village, the party found that a group of goblins and hobgoblins had managed to kill and kidnap a couple of households of villagers, including the local elf guide Delfina. The mayor of Winterhaven Lord Padraig charged them to find the kidnapped villagers and return them. Sister Linora believed the victims were taken to the nearby graveyard where the party went and were ambushed by the surly elf Ninaran.

Ninaran it turns out has been working for the cultist, namely Kalarel the head honcho. She was given instructions to summon a group of skeletons to use against the party and ambush them in the graveyard. The plan failed and Ruskin's Rebels again prevailed to rescue the 10 villagers and return them back to Winterhaven.

After a brief rest, and meeting up with his former company fellows Jaecern and Jaerick - two swordmages from Ruskin's campaign at the Battle of ________... (insert battle name here)

Vorril and the rest failed to show up overnight and it was assumed they returned to the Keep to continue fighting and put more pressure on the goblin forces.

Ruskin and his new group, joined by Lola the Eladrin rogue headed back to the keep and met opposition from the entrance. However Vorril joined the battle at the last minute and helped turn the tide. Three goblins and 2 guard drakes met their end.

Moving on, they next hit the torture chamber to the north of the entrance halls. Here they met with a hobgoblin torturer and several goblins, who also stood no chance against the prepared group, an interrogation with a goblin prisoner (Splug) they learned that the goblins are lead by Balgron the Fat apparently from his large size. Balgron has secured himself in a series of rooms just east of the torture chamber. Corril decided to free Splug in return for cooperation while the party made their way into the rooms where Balgron has taken shelter and was making his last stand.

The battle was not long (just about 8-9 rounds) - the lines of goblins were thick but they fell fast to dragon breath and falling arrows until the party was at last face to face with Balgron. With his two trusted lieutenants, he nearly brought Vorril down and was putting pressure on Ruskin who had taken the forward position (at this time the J&J tag team was busy with two very lucky and stubborn goblin warriors). Balgron was brought down by the party while trying to escape through a secret stairway - he surrendered and was thrown into a prison cell. He confessed to working with the hobgoblins and Kalarel to protect the keep for the cultists, in return he received digging rights for any treasure left in the empty halls.

The game was suspended here... there are a couple of areas left unexplored (see map 1b) but it would be ok to continue down to level two as well as most of the goblins were already killed in the battles at level 1. The party found a +1 Symbol of Battle from the goblins at the entrance, the hobgoblin torturer was wearing a +1 Bloodcut Hide Armor. In Balgron's stash they liberated a +1 Magic Wand. Total loot was just over 600gp in cash.

Next round January :p

Goddammiittttt!!!!!!!!!

2008-10-29T13:42:00.002+08:00

I forgot to mention....

Last week I lost my phone. Actually I was conned. Here's the story.....

It was about 11.30am on Tuesday when I got a call from a friend who is up on the 13th floor. She received a call from some guy named Edward Young. So apparently this guy was looking for an insurance agent cuz he got a friend who wants to buy. He is the so called Financial Director of SGM Group. I checked online... the group doesnt exist. His friend, Latifah, is the wife of the Chairman- En. Nazim or Nazmi or whatever. So the couple wants to get several policies. Edward expressly asked for a Malay agent cuz Latifah is Malay. So being a good friend, my 13th floor friend called me and asked me to give him a call. I did.

He was a smooth talker. Very professional sounding yet disarming enough to be very approachable. He wanted to see me at PWTC at 3pm and I was to prepare some documents. Apparently the couple are extremely rich and wanted to buy for the whole family... so I was thinking "JACKPOT"... oh how I was wrong... so so wrong...

I was excited. I consulted my boss. He immediately noticed something fishy was going on and advised me to be careful. It is uncommmon for someone to call the company directly and ask for an insurance agent. And con cases like this are not unheard of. Anyway, half an hour later Edward called again. He said to meet them at Prince Hotel for lunch. I asked him if I could bring my boss along and he said NO ITS A PRIVATE FUNCTION. Ok......

I hurriedly made my way to Prince Hotel. I met him at the lobby. He's about 5'11", big build but not fat, slight tummy, some white hair, chinese (I think). He was wearing a coat. Looked legitimate. He brought me up to the restaurant. He had booked a private room for four people. Apparently we were the first to arrive. So while "waiting" for his friends to come, we chatted for about 10mins. He was mostly asking about insurance stuff so I indulged him as best as I could. Then suddenly my phone rang... unknown number. It was his "colleague" who was supposed to come for the lunch but couldnt find her way to the hotel. So he asked that I pass the phone to him so he can guider her through the phone. He left the room. I waited for about a minute or so (IDIOT!!!!) then peeked outside as I was starting to smell something reaaaaally fishy (DOH!!!). He was gone........................ and being the trusting fool who believes there is good in everyone, I waited for another 20mins. Just in case he was legitimate. As soon as I was convinced that he wasnt coming back, I settled the bill (two cokes: RM25... WHATTT????!!!!) and immediately cancelld my credit cards and changed my simcard. Same number though. ... man what a ride.

I was pretty bummed out. Not because of the phone... well it was expensive (Sony Ericsson P1i) but I can get a new phone anytime. But because of all the information inside. That thing was like my walking address book/ organizer/ walkman/ laptop/ whatever.

So there it is. Im such a Dumbass. DUMB BASS. DUMMBBBB ASSSSSSSSSS. Well at least I know better. Ive gained at least 500 xp for that. Not enough to gain a level though. I gotta increase my Sense Motive skill.

Shift_The Future

2008-10-29T13:36:00.002+08:00

The events of the last few weeks have left me shaken and got me thinking. Never in my life have I felt so vulnerable, naked and alone. I know it sounds dramatic but that is how I feel. I'm not about to divulge anything personal on this blog... at least not in detail, but suffice to say that I can feel a shift in the way I think and behave. I'm a different man.

Eternal Rest

2008-10-22T16:07:00.002+08:00

We had a game last weekend. As usual it was very riveting and exciting and all that. But what made it memorable was the fact that my character died. Revan Malak the Human Warlock died. He was Level 3. This makes two dead characters in my gaming history. I must admit that Im a bit saddened by the loss, but not as sad as I'd expect. I think its because I never really put much thought in creating him. Which is also probably because of the simplicity of 4.0. In 3.5 there was a lot of options in character building. You could create the whatever your mind could conjure, but in 4.0 everything is pretty muchset in stone. Its faster to make new characters but at the same time, not much options. Yes I still miss 3.5. Anyway, here is a review by DM Rizal on the last game....

Yo!

I'm back from my time in solitary for killing of player characters and totally creating a kick ass game! muaahaha....

First things first, what actually happened that day? Well after the encounter with the zombies and skeletons and that wacko death knight Mr Keegan, the party rested briefly before deciding to explore the rest of the dungeon floor. Jon Ruskin and Bovril were out for a smoke and they got delayed fighting a returning goblin scout group upstairs, the orders for the party was to keep moving and find a way downwards.

The idea was to check out the tunnels that the zombies came from since they smelt the worst and that's always a good idea (NOT). Good news, the party found the stairs that lead the way down, bad news the 2nd level was guarded by professional hobgobby soldiers and their pet Deathjump Spider (aka Tarantu-horse aka Angus).

The first room had about three soldiers and half a dozen grunts with the spider, the party decided to retreat up the stairs to draw them into a smaller room, or to fight in a narrow corridor. Good idea, but these are smart hobgobbies, they sent the pet spider first in a deathmatch with Zaval (who got whacked by the hobgobbies and spider pretty bad). Because Zaval was the first one in he was the last one out of the room. The team worked pretty well here and got rid of the spider rather quickly, but not before it bit Revan and the wizard. It was hard for them to maintain distance when skimirshers were unimpeded by proper defenders.

10 rounds later the party wiped most of the soldiers except for one that retreated down the tunnel rooms towards his barracks. This was where it got really hairy. The hobgoblins were obviously warned and prepared themselves by creating a defensive perimeter. The storeroom lead to a barrack and mess hall area via two different doors, the eastern door led straight to the mess and the northern door lead to the barracks before joining back to the mess from the north via a short hallway. The hobbies had positioned an archer with a couple of melee strongarms on the northern hallway facing the barracks in case they come from there. The remaining soldiers had barricaded themselves in the mess and they had with them 3 soldiers, another archer, several grunts and a Warcaster (aka mage).

It was a long battle, due to a tactical snag, Zaval was the only one who went up the northern door into the barracks and into the soldiers and the archer, he was stuck there for several rounds. Meanwhile the rest charged straight into the mess and were blasted by the archer and warcaster. The rest of the soldiers and grunts waited back until the party was closer rather than fight in a narrow corridor. The first to fall was Corril followed by Libra when Zaval was already bloodied with no second wind left, that was when Revan charged into the room and began attacking the Warcaster directly, Zaval pushed through the northern hallway into the mess and took out an archer and a soldier, the Warcaster fell soon from Khorvash's attacks, but not before the last archer took out Zaval, Libra and Revan. By now it was down to just 3 hobbies against Sora, a revived Corril and Korvash.

Khorvash was taken out by the archer, followed by Corril. Sora revived Korvash after Corril was taken out by the archer and also managed to revive Libra via temporary hit points. Now they outnumbered the hobbies but Korvash fell again from a soldier's blow and it was down to just Libra and Sora against a desperate soldier and the sole archer that took out 4 of your team!

By divine miracle Zaval received a free healing surge and recovered (cue very dramatic music) and he proceeded to make mince meat of the archer while the two females took out the soldier. The battle was finally over but they could hear the approaching reinforcements, using a healing potion they recovered Korvash who helped drag the remaining companions and corpse of Revan out in a hail of arrows and goblinoid threats. They met Ruskin at the entrance of the first level, he had seen battle upstairs as well and was on his way to join his party. Shocked at the sudden defeat, they retreated down the cliffside to a safe distance away from any persuers.

Everyone returned to Winterhaven to recover, but upon reaching the village found the gates closed and locked. During their absence, a small group of goblins had attacked and taken several of the villagers whose homes were outside the walled village. The village fearing more attacks had withdrawn into a siege position. Ruskin had suspected this (from his encounter with the scouts) and wanted to recall the group back to defend the village anyway before he found them battered and bruised. We restart the game here at the gates of the village.

So when will that be? Well safe bet will be sometime 2nd half of December! But I will try to schedule a trip back in mid November and see if we can find sometime to game.

Adventure Synopsis by DM Rizal

2008-09-03T11:24:00.001+08:00

Hey guys, the game the other day went off without a hitch and we're on track storyline wise. Just to give you guys a heads up here's what happened...

Basically since we had a shortage of players and 1 new one I had to come up with some excuse to the storyline, also leaving it open enough that anyone can join in at anytime. So in the story Ovoril, Khorvash, and a yet unnammed mysterious elf/human/hybrid left the now peaceful town of Fallcrest and headed up the Cairngorm mountains to the village of Winterhaven.

The dwarf paladin, elf wizard and the mysterious stranger were there to learn more about the mysterious cults that have rumored to be active in the area around the village of Winterhaven. This was from the information the dwarf received from his temple in Hammerfast and the main reason he was there as well. For scholarly reasons the elf and their newly found friend decided to go along to the lone village - they also felt their mission was not over as it was clear that the kobolds had a bigger aggregator that caused them to be so bold. Perhaps even thinking that the humans in Fallcrest seemed to be taking the threats too lightly.

Meanwhile the rest of the former group of Ruskin's Rebels had revelled in Fallcrest's alehouses and breweries while they wait for further news from the town mayor Lord Markelhay. When the news finally came it was some 3 days since the dwarf had left for Winterhaven - the message however was similar - letters discovered in the dragon's lair indicated that a foe was attempting to unite all the kobolds in the area to attack the town of Fallcrest and the village of Winterhaven. This coupled with a request from Winterhaven's mayor for assistance against kobolds spelled doom if it came true. Lord Markelhay then instructed Revan to gather what remains of the Rebels (along with Mr Ruskin) to persue the their companions Ovoril and Khorvash to Winterhaven to find out more about this recent kobold uprising - the letter refered to a creature called Irontooth who leads the greater kobold force.

Ruskin also had another reason to go there - his mentor Douven Stahl has gone missing as an envoy to Winterhaven to verify the kobold threats. Douven had also acquired a map of sorts and believed that he had the location of a dragon's hoard. Evelyn Stahl, his wife had convinced Ruskin to go along as well and report back news on his mentor.

The party picked up a new adventurer, the mysterious Sora a dragonborn cleric of Io. She had come to Fallcrest after hearing about the dragon and kobold threat - having never encountered a dragon before, but arrived too late to make a difference. Instead since the party now leaves for Winterhaven, she has been invited to bolster their ranks.

The party were ambushed on their 2nd night to Winterhaven but fended off the raggedy band of kobolds that threatened them rather easily. Once arriving at their destination and had a meeting with Lord Padraig, they discovered several things - firstly Ovoril had been asking around about a cult and no one in the village takes him seriously, denying there are any cult activities in the region. Ovoril then packed off with his companions and left to explore the surrounding woods for clues of cult activity and was not seen again.

Secondly Douven had come only briefly into town about the kobolds but then left following the instructions of Eliam an old farmer to the reputed burial grounds and never returned as well.

Ovoril and Khorvash were exploring the wilderness when they were ambushed by goblins not far to the north of the village, close to the location of an old keep. During the battle they were separated and while Khorvash and his friend flee, Ovoril kept the goblins busy - they were to meet again at Winterhaven when they have lost their persuers.

The party then left the village to look for Douven at the reputed burial site only to be ambushed again not long after they have lost sight of the village. The attack was from a smaller group of kobolds but far more organised and with magic support. After killing the kobolds they continued to the burial site to find it busy with diggers led by a gnome and a halfling. Turns out these goons have kidnapped Douven and beaten him to death trying to claim the treasure for their own. They are also connected to the cult (although I forgot to mention it). The party beat them up, but Corril the ranger was seriously wounded in the fight. It was only through the intervention of Sora that he survive.

They buried Douven at the site, took the treasures they found and headed back to Winterhaven to try and find more clues about the kobold's base. So that's the story so far... keep this email handy because the next game will be either the weekend before raya or the first weekend after raya. My guess is after raya will be more likely... probably game on Sunday 5 October - if we can start earlier will be better.

For those who didnt come for the last game, you gain 322xp; for the adventure that your characters had without you. heheh

And Ain I need a name for your character and background for everyone else...

From DM Rizal

2008-08-14T10:06:00.001+08:00

Again the email seems to have quieted down a little - everyone must be busy!! or NOT!! Anyway I've got some updates on how the 4th Edition has done in terms of sales - apparently PHB is into its 3rd printing and the adventure modules are into its second printing. Estimated each printing is about 50,000-100,000 copies meaning they have sold at least a quarter of a million copies of PHB. Not very much... but it still exceeds their expectations.

The total market for RPG is around 5-6 million people (versus the estimated 10 million registered and paying players of WOW)... for the sake of curiosity DDO only bags about 100,000 paying customers at best and they are losing daily to LOTR online and Conan.

If wizards can reach 500,000 to a million copies of 4th edition books they'd be very very successful. It was rumoured that 3rd edition sold a million copies but I doubt that too... maybe in combination of 3rd and 3.5 editions. The estimated global market is only $30 million for all pen and paper RPG. Even though about 5-6 million suposedly play the game, not everyone actually needs to buy the book - additionally the pirating of books (ahem) is very common which further reduces the market. A conservative estimate of the RPG market is under 5 million with 60-70% probably playing older versions of games that are out of print or limited prints (online versions or modifications of rules included). Given that, scoring 250,000 books is a pretty big deal (of course 3rd printing could be actually as low as only 150,000 copies).

Losing our game - pen and paper roleplaying is dying, soon the 5-6 million people who actually play the game will grow old and move on while the younger players migrate to other forms of electronic entertainment. If 4th edition does not do well, we could very well see the endgame of a long running hobby, DND is 34 this year it may not live to see 50. What I see could happen is that DND continue to live on only in the electronic medium - it is already starting with 4th ed, with the virtual tabletop and online communities - this is an attempt by the producers of the game to bring life back to an old franchise. Once that fails it will be stripped down to the only thing of commercial value left: the brandname. We'll see DND games like NWN, Stormreach or Baldur's gate continue as the only means left to play in Forgotten realms or Eberron - eventually the novels will die out and the game will cease to exist altogether. Seems to me the death is inevitable.

Sad, but its not over yet... do what I did, teach some new players. Be dungeonmasters, and believe it or not, despite the putrid money grubbing ways of Hasbro and WOTC we need to support 4th edition (btw there are 3 Players Handbook being planned - the last one will likely contain the Psions, yup 3 more books... sigh...) and the Sorceror is back in PHB II.

Here's an idea, since I'm not around anyway to be GM - why don't each of you take turns to be GM each session... eventually someone will get the hang of it and take over. I'm not a long time DND player, but I've grown to like it since 3rd edition (I only started playing since 3rd edition) - CM did some ADND though - but before that we only played on our own homebrewed systems and I don't hink I will stop playing the game. There's lots of stories to tell, just have no time lah... Think I will get the online table top, if and whenever it gets released - CM,Mat and I have playtested 4th ed on Fantasy grounds and it doesnt do so well... we need a 4th edition system to play online and I think only WOTC is holding one now. I'm pretty sure once the 3d table top is running rest of u guys might be interested in playing it. Like other gaming groups the party is being disbanded by geography, and the only way to get together is online - we should try it out.

Is this officially the end of 3.5? Here's what Afshin "Diero" Ibrahim has to say...

2008-07-15T21:56:00.003+08:00

Finally, after months of speculation and debating we've playtested 4E firsthand and i gotta say the key word here was fun.

I think probably the biggest improvement was the fact that battles no longer are a long dragged out process of rolling dice for everything and anything remotely resembling an action. (though some might argue this was a core experience of dnd, heck i was one of em) Being a pro 3.5E advocate at first, i think overall it was great. Combat was fast and furious with less on rolling dice and more on positional play and tactics. It also would have been very difficult for our old 3.5E game to squeeze in 5 encounters in 8 hours.

It would have been great to have had another melee class though coz as rizal mentioned, we had a lot of luck so another tank would have probably brought out a lot more tactical advantage from the warlord abilities.

Playing a wizard was fun, the dragon encounter being a point in case. Wizards still can cause damage but the stikers do a lot more damage (when they hit that is) so there's a lot more freedom for the wizard to move around being more courageous and all without having to worry about wasting spells and leaving the party in a pinch.

And there's just so much more movement and action... move, attack,shift, warlord shifts you, cast spell, draw, sheathe, jump,slide... yada yada yada... what joy....

The definition of the class roles really played a part. In a way, it limits what a player should do in combat. We know as a wizard, its your job to improve the odds by reducing the enemy count. We know its the ranger and warlock's job to land that killing blow against bloodied enemies. We know its the pally's job to distract and agro the biggest baddie until the small fries have been taken out, and we so know that the warlord was just itching to get that extra bonus attack/damage/shift combo into the rest of the party's attacks.

It feels a lot more like a team effort compared to 3.5E... and i'm saying that coz i know how useless a not well thought out character can be in combat when you're surrounded by purpose built power house allies. That i would say was the biggest advantage and disadvantage of 3.5E. The character creation process was much more involved and detailed and it was fun. (ask wan and ain, god knows how many characters they've created just for the heck of it) but the disadvantage being if you got it wrong, you're stuck with it.

You know what, although i'd hate to admit it, its a lot more easier to get into the 4E groove. Everything is straight to the point and easily presented that sometimes you don't really have to spend hours going thru to decide if you wanna try it. And the retraining feature is neat. You can retrain one feat,skill or power every time you level-up in addition to the built in retraining option after certain levels. So if something isn't working just swap it out if you survive till the next level. In that sense there's more freedom to experiment without far reaching consequences.

Its only been one game, but i see a lot of potentially epic battles coming up in 4E. And i agree with rizal that if something doesn't seem right, just put up a house rule for it.

I'll say this lastly, for all the criticisms, i think WOTC have done a pretty good job. There's always room for improvement but its got a good base to start with and a lot of potential for the next set of epic heroes. =)

DM Rizal's Review after playtesting 4th Ed

2008-07-15T00:27:00.002+08:00

Chin Mun commented that after the game this weekend the emails suddenly became quieter. Does this mean no more snide comments about 4th Ed?

As one of the snidiest commentors I'd have to say despite all of its shortcomings and longgoings I had fun at the last game. The party had a lot of luck on their side overcoming a Large dragon at level 1 but in the end only the Dorf was mortally wounded (and likely still recovering from bruised ego and some say waggro burns). It was quite lucky though.

Things I like best about it:

1. Faster gameplay which i believe will continue despite at higher levels because the number of attacks do not grow as you increase levels and complicating battles with 60-70 attacks per round! 4th Ed is about 10-20 attacks per round and it's likely to stay that way.

2. Game runs quite well despite the changes made to the character classes. Wizards have still have an edge over fighters as most of their attacks are vs Fort, Ref or Wil which are typically lower than actual AC. On the contra side though they have chance of missing as well as most or all of the magic is now a roll which has failure chances.

3. Tactical games are quite fun but it does sometimes feel like a PC game. Particular the one that involves a ruined church and delving beneath over and over and over again. At least RPG has more variety.

4. Action points are more useful. Versus... less of it now.

5. With some getting used to and flexibility we can still bend these rules quite a bit, like I said during the game - I found several things ripe for some house ruling. One of it is the cover and how your allies can never give enemy cover, while that sounds logical in gameplay sense it doesnt seem to match with reality.

Overall it was fun.

Anyway, playtest will continue online. I really want to gather a few more players to do this, I can give you the license, so far the regulars are just CM and Mat and Me, Zam also of course if Waggro in tolerable levels but he's been very good so far! At least 1 more can join in for the online game - takes a bit of getting used to but i think it's just as fun.

DM Rizal's Initial Review on 4th Edition

2008-06-19T17:26:00.002+08:00

I Read the book... still reading most of it... but so far quite disappointing. Some rules changes were great, but there were also stuff which were not broken but fixed anyway. A lot of character customisation have been lost - although it is more streamlined and "fair" it is taking a lot of fun in character generation out. Glad I won't be seeing broken munchkin and maxed characters anymore, but a little munchkinism is not wrong... as long as it makes the game interesting.It is easier to be a GM now, a lot of tools given to help GMs flesh out the game, but seems less assistance on how to flesh out worlds and real creationism (maybe they want us to buy the coming FR / Eberron rebuilds)...

Biggest surprise: how they culled the Greyhawk Gods - only Pelor survived; plus two promoted evil demigods. The rest are either new, taken from Forgotten Realms or classic inter realm racial gods like Correllon and Gruumsh.

I thought the formatting of the book is a bit strange and the arrangement could have been better. Magic system is a total redeux - now reduced to at will spells, encounter and daily spells with all stat boosting spells turned to rituals. I think rituals are a good idea, seems to make the game go in a different and positive direction. But the lack of at will spells beyond level 1 kinda makes that particular spell type useless... some key damage spells are now daily use spells - imagine being able to cast only 1 fireball per day. Spell damage is also now similar to weapon damage, so on the fairness side of things wizards are no more powerful than other classes which is probably the biggest fix - and a good one.

But what does that mean for gaming? High fantasy has always been about the group of heroes facing insurmountable odds and the fear of the powerful socerer or wizard. Magic was feared because it was powerful and magic makes high fantasy truly fantastic. Equalising wizards and fighters may improve gameplay and makes things fair, but I personally think it takes away some of what is fantastic in fantasy...

Does that mean a group of heroes can no longer face a wizard? To some extent yes, the wizard will need minions to make up his team as well as a good fighter backup. I mean all that is good anyway and if you were a villain wizard you would want a good muscle around to help carry things and beat up the occasional peasant. But it seems now that unless we have a Solo monster (official term btw) - a single wizard as a solo would probably have to be considerably higher level than the heroes in order to qualify as Solo. Additionally he won't last very long and won't be a very big challenge unless he was on the EPIC path. Imagine this - solo monsters are like Beholders and Dragons - high "CR" if I were to borrow the 3.5 term - on equal terms a solo wizard needs to be very high level, and even then I'm not sure if he can cut it.

The class to watch for? On the surface it would seem to be the Rogue. This one is ripe to be broken. But the straight-jacket like rules surrounding character generation is going to make breaking it nearly impossible anyway. A rogue can cause 2d8 additional damage per round with sneak attack (2d6 without the feat), plus weapon thats a total of 1[W] damage + 2d8 (another official term you will see - W stands for weapon damage). That is comparable to a 7th level wizard casting attack spells - but the rogue is likely able to do this even at 1st level if I'm not mistaken, yeah he needs "Combat Advantage" but that's managable.

Average HP is up, although no one rolls anymore. Average damage is down (just between 1d to 4d average for Hero and Paragon path levels - this goes up to 2d to 5d on average for EPIC). It is harder to die since you have to be more than half your HP negative before that happens, and stabilise to 0 happens with any healing spells/surge.

With higher HP and lower damage and harder to die it does make it a longer game and harder to die PCs means people spend more time playing and less time making characters. That's good since the character generation process is too dull anyway.

The HP is one of the things which I thought was not broken and didn't really need fixing. The only improvement they needed was to give more HP at 1-3 levels, basically higher starting HP for all which they did, but by making it preset numbers even for increment it takes out the randomness and some of the variety from character generation.

One area I expected them to change from reading the blogs, preview books and message boards was the usefulness of Race. Now they had earlier on complained that 3rd edition races become completely obsolete at higher levels. Eg, that +1 to spot check for secret doors if you're an elf is completely useless at 18-19 or even 12-13 levels. Well less usefull if not completely useless. So I expected a progressive gain in racial abilities - seeing them improve over time and age. But this was not the case, they beefed it up and made humans more interesting (+2 to any ability score) - halflings get a reroll option etc. But not many improve according to levels (Dragonborn's breathweapon increases by 1d or doubles at Epic) and a few other examples. Most of the power progression also works similar by having it stay same throughout hero and paragon and increasing at epic.

Paragon Paths - basically with 4th edition everyone has a prestige class. That's the Paragon path that we move on to at 11th level. Either that or take a multiclass feat and gain an ability from the other standard feats. Paragons sound interesting, all have a list of abilities they gain at certain levels, but I havent read the detailed rules enough to know whether they still fall under the daily/encounter/at will powers limitation per level. I think logically they should be additional.

OK I will reserve the rest of the comment for my next few emails where I will send out my views and thoughts on 4th ed. :D

Humpty Dumpty

2008-06-19T13:45:00.002+08:00

Humpty-Dumpty sat on a wall,
But Humpty Dumpty is not likely to have a great fall,
Because the wall is too small she would probably just plop,
And would have to get back on the wall to enjoy her ice cream.

All the kings horses and all the kings men,
Wouldn't have to go to so much trouble as to rendezvous at her location and come up with an action plan to piece her back together.

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall...

Ginger Cat

2008-06-19T13:37:00.003+08:00

Ginger cat is a fatty cat
She is quite fat, cant you see that?
She has orange stripes and behaves like a dog
Sometimes when the mood strikes, she even leaps like a frog!
When she thinks people are not looking,
She will take a nap in the sink,
If she had her way,
Thats where she'd stay the whole day,
And she'll only get up,
When Mom comes back,
To give her a slap on the rump,
Then feed her like a baby,
While the other cats turn green with envy.
Ginger is a fatty cat,
She is really quite chubby.

Niche Market

2008-06-09T16:02:00.003+08:00

First of all, that's a real weird-ass name for a shop. Is his name really Fah Liki?? Sounds like some African witch-doctor. Secondly, do the "chicks" refer to women or baby chicken? Im guessing the latter. Thirdly, someone should have informed me about bamboo and wooden chicks cuz its a freakin niche market man. This Fah Liki guy must be some sort of genius to sell Wooden and Bamboo chicks. I wonder where his patrons come from? I bet Pimps everywhere are starting to feel the heat of competition in the local flesh trade now that Mr. Fah Liki is promoting his Bamboo and Wooden Chicks to a select group of customers. I might just call that number.

Here's to you Mr. Fah Liki!

Lan & Akhmar

2008-05-14T23:12:00.003+08:00

(from L to R: Viceroy Viskag, Nik Hafez, Wani, Lord Diero, Loco, Mischelle Mistress of Malice, King Grel, and Perempuan Melayu Terlast Medina...hehe)

An old friend of mine got hitched last Sunday at TTDI. Here are just a couple of choice pics for viewing. Met some old friends from Nilai too. All in all it was a simple yet warm and elegant wedding that's just nice for close friends and relatives. Nothing too gaudy and showy... just a nice memorable event to be shared with loved ones. The whole thing reminds me of Lan himself - down to earth, simple yet full of substance, warm, and kind.

Makes me wonder how MY wedding is gonna be like. I have a few ideas but I don't think I'm ready to make it known in the public domain just yet.

I am ROJAK

2008-02-06T11:01:00.000+08:00

Last night I had dinner with my Mom. Its a big deal because we rarely have dinner together, just the two of us. My sister was on her afternoon shift so she would only come home later and my dad is in the Maldives. We had dinner at some Satay Restaurant along jalan Taman Melati near our apartment. The food was not fantastic and it was too crowded for my tastes. Anyway...

It was fun talking to my mom. What stuck in my head was what she told me about my ancestry. She is half pakistani, quarter chinese, quarter bangladeshi. My dad is half malay, half chinese. So this morning I came to work thinking "what the hell does that make me?" I broke it down. Im actually 37.5% Chinese, 25% Pakistani, 25% Malay, and 12.5% Bangladeshi. Weird. No wonder im so confused all the time.

Naturally we also got into the topic of my relationship with my ex. Not gonna disclose that here though. Suffice to say that it felt good talking to her about it, even though it was not very in depth or detailed...

Holy shit

2008-02-05T11:36:00.000+08:00

Wow my last entry was sometime last year. That's the thing with having two blogs. Im concentrating too much on my other blog, The Chronicles of Grel Mathias. Sometimes I think I take my fantasy world much too seriously.

Speaking of which, this is the second (or third?) month that I have subscribed for Dungeons and Dragons Online. I actually had an account with them like a year ago but it was just a guest pass. Now Im paying RM50 a month just to play... which I think is worth it. Even though its repetitive (kill, kill, kill), its so damned addictive. I think its cuz of the multitude of character development options as well as items that you can acquire. I doubt anyone even gives a shit about the story. Another reason why its so addictive is cuz its interactive. You get to talk in real time to people from all over the world. They're mostly Americans, but there are also Australians, Koreans and Japanese. There are very very few Malaysians... the only ppl I know who play are my cousin, Mat and Zam. But thats just the thing, you just cant tell their nationality, unless they say something. Malaysian slangs are quite easily recognizable. To a Malaysian at least.

As for my working life, Im still with the insurance company but they reassigned me to another department. Got a fat bonus and a pay raise. Pretty good but still not satisfied.

By the way... that photo on top was actually taken in my Boss's office. Hehe.

Another Night of Mayhem

2007-05-01T15:51:00.000+08:00

We played again last night. Viskag and Diero couldnt make is so my bro brewed up a sidequest for us. Basically we were sucked into an extraplanar rift that transported us into another sphere within Carceri. We tumbled down a hill, flew across a huge ravine, and killed an insane Derro Mage with his pet Devourer. They didnt stand a chance! Heh. Rydus and Zaxis levelled. Cool.