Freedom

Movies never fail to cheer me up when I'm down. Sometimes I feel that I go to movies for inspiration and motivation. Last night, I managed to watch one of my all time favourite movie: Braveheart.
Somehow this show never seem to bore me. Eventhough, I've watched it for more than 10 times.
What intrigues me most is the strength of Mel Gibson playing William Wallace in that movie. And by strength I don't mean the brute, babaric way of him welding a sword. But rather the raw energy of his character in fighting for freedom!

Ah yes, Freedom, it's something that everyone seems to want. But what is it, really? Back in 1209 A.D, Freedom for Wallace would be to free himself and the rest of the Scottish people from the evil tyranny of Edward the Longshanks.
Closer to home, Malaysia achieved her freedom from colonization 50 years ago. But what does all of this mean?

Are we all really free?

Well, not me at least. More often than not, I have this feeling of being trapped. Trapped and bonded by the conditions of this world. It's not freedom that one have to wake up every morning at 7:30 to eake a living. It's not freedom that someone dictates how your day will turn out to be. It's definitely not freedom when someone decides when you should be paid, how you should be paid and how much. The country might be free. But personal freedom is something to be much desired for.
Financial freedom! Freedom to do the things that I truly love! Freedom to travel the world! Freeeeedomm!!!

All man will die, it's a matter of how and when...But not every man truly lives. How true that is.
Perhaps, It's about time I truly start to live...

It's Been A While

I'm not known for my consistency. I'm more famous for my sponteniety. As such, I do not surprise myself that it's been a long while since I last update my blog.
To be exact, come next month, it will be one year since my last update in this blog.
My oh my...one full year! How time flies. Imagine how many things have happened in that past one year. Not only in my own life but to the world over.

Imagine how many people would have died in that past year? How many babies in turn would have been borned?
How much wealth would have some people squandered in that one year? And how much would have some accumulated?
How many people have came and gone from your life in that one year?
Ah yes...one year is definitely a big chunk of time from ones life.

My last one year has been eventful. Yes, looking back, it has been marvellous albeit, just as life would be...it was filled with a whole lot of ups and downs.
That one year has led me back to my love...my love of writing. I've lost it before...for what reasons, I've yet to know. But I've found back my flair and passion to write.

If life is full of many phases and chapters, the one year until now, would be a phase of rediscovery and reinvention. Rediscovering myself, to find out more about me, myself and I. To bring myself to another level...the level of excellence and further my quest to strive for improvements in life.

That one year has also lead me to where I am right now...in another part of the world. A part where English is not commonly used. A part of the world where the city never sleeps. A part of the world where the subways are full to the brim in the morning rush. A world of kimchi and bulgogi. That part of the world is Seoul, South Korea.

Malaysia and Penang

It's always nice to leave the country albeit for a short while. But the best feeling is when you know that you are home again. Malaysia might not be perfect...but heck it's home. Home is where the heart is. And Penang is where my heart lies (or rather stomach :-)

I look forward to every trip back home. I don't know why but I tend to get excited at the mere thoughts of driving 3.5 hours back to the tiny island. Maybe it's because I haven't seen my family for 3 months. Maybe it's because of my favourite food that I've missed. Maybe that's just me! Whatever the reason, I'm always happy to come home...

Teeth and Beer

I bet most of you realized that Ronaldo and Ronaldinho each have a pair of very prominent buck tooth. But ever wonder how they ever get so white? They brush it and very frequently too! Let me tell you this… Brazilians are one of the most orally hygienic people I’ve ever seen! After every meal, you’ll see a whole bunch of them like giggly school kids each with a small bag in hand heading to the toilet. There you’ll see all of them busily talking and laughing while brushing their teeth! God! I’ve never seen so many toothbrushes being used at a single time! And not just brushing, they floss them too! Try walking around and you’ll see 2 to 3 orthodontist clinic at every block! Now I’m beginning to understand why they pronounce “R” as “H”…As R is one of the most used consonant, they want to show off their fresh breath as often as possible.

Teeth aside, last night I head over to a place called Vila Olímpia. Vila Olímpia is something like our Bangsar in Malaysia. That place is full of nice restaurants, pubs and bars. (Apparently a bar is of a higher standard than a pub here. Bars can be pretty expensive with cover charge.) I went to a bar called “Bar de Juares” with Gushiken and a bunch of his friends. I’m now pretty sure that I’m like a circus freak show. Everytime Gushiken ask me out, there’s bound to be a bunch of his friends in tow. He would then introduce me to his friends and say that I’m from “Mareisha”. Then all his friends would have the same standard response: “Oooh, Mareisha…Twin Towers…big…long…good”. It’s like a bad script from a porn movie!

Now, Bar de Juares was a Whiskey House. It made me wonder what a whiskey house is. But apparently the definition of a whiskey house is that it serves whiskey! What you can do is order a bottle of whiskey for your party, and if you cannot finish it, the ‘house’ can keep it for your next visit. Man, if that’s the case, all our discotheques in Malaysia would be whiskey houses. In fact, they are also brandy house, tequila house, whatever you want housed, and they’ve got it!
Dinner was nice in Bar de Juares. We ordered some main dishes to be shared. Chicken nuggets, Pincanha and Carne Seca with cebolas. I’m sure there is no need to explain what nuggets are. But Pincanha is actually beef served on a hot plate. It’s actually our steak back home. However, the meat is sliced into small strips for you to cook on your own. And usually you’ll eat it with Farofa rice. Now Carne Seca was the more interesting food. It was beef jerky (Bak-knuah) strips stir fried with cebolas (onions). And instead of fries, it was served with deep fried tapioca. All that downed with free flowing Brahma Chopp Light bee. No one brought a camera that night. So the only picture we managed to take was using Masami's phone (Nokia 2.0M pixel with a big screen whatever the model is).
Now...ready? Un, dois, tres, say "Chopp Beer" and show off your pretty teeth :D

Brazilian Weekend

Did you know that outside of Japan, Brazil has the largest Japanese colony in the world? I did not know until my weekend was spent Brazilian-Japanese style. They are very much like us Chinese in Malaysia. Most of them are 3rd Generation Japanese in Brazil. Their grandparents were originally from Japan. They have names like Luciana Mayumi, Marino Gushiken, Marcus Hidetoshi, Ronaldo Takahashi, Lucio Masami and Silva Teruhiko. I made a total fool of myself when I first met my colleague who is a 3rd generation Japanese. I tried to show off whatever little Japanese that I know. It turns out that, that dude don’t speak a word of it! They’re confused people I tell you. More confused than us Malaysian. At least we have our Manglish and our dialects! These people only speak Portuguese. To be honest, it’s actually hilarious. A bunch of people with slit eyes talking in Klingon! I cannot help but laugh when I see them converse.

But these dudes are really cool. They invited me over to their place for a BBQ and to watch the Brazilian vs. France match on Saturday. The evening started early (around 300pm. The sky gets dark at 5 remember?) My friend (Marino Gushiken) stayed in an apartment so I had to help carry the 42 inch TV down to the pool side. I tried to hold him responsible if I had hernia, but he couldn’t understand what it was. He was even more confused when I explained. “You mean your balls will expand?” he asked ignorantly. Jeeze! I give up.

What greeted me after that was even more amazing. Around 20 minutes before the match started (4pm), there was the biggest congregation of Brazilian-Japanese I’ve ever seen. Kah-Nee-Neh, it turned out that Gushiken had invited the whole village! Everyone there is exactly the same. Japanese who ‘nao comprehendo’ Inglish nor Japanese! Every one of them came equipped with Fog horns, banners, flags and everything else short of painted faces and bodies!

What followed was the epitome of communication (or rather miscommunication)! They (Klingon speakers) and me (nao comprehendo Portuguese) sitting down watching the game and discussing it! Throughout the game, chants of Bhazil! Honaldo! Honaldinyo! (The ‘R’ is pronounced as ‘H’ here) can be heard not only from our congregation, but all around! Freaking amazing! Maybe that’s why it’s called Joga Bonito…beautiful game. But beautiful game it was not for Brazil. Pahera (Coach Alberto Carlos Parreira) was named a Karalu (Son of a bitch). Apparently the Brazilians adore Robinho and Cincinho and they cannot understand why Ronaldo and Cafu are always playing in their place. In the 57th minute Henry scored. I was pretty sure a riot was about to begin. But lucky for me, the only creature that got torn to pieces was the cow. Everybody got so pissed that they forget about the game and started barbequing. Food at last… And guess what was served with the barbequed meat? Farofa* Rice and White Rice! Rice with barbeque! What the F---??? The conclusion is: No matter how you mask yourself, the slit eyes genes, comes with an innate craving for rice! (*Farofa is rice mixed with corn with shredded chicken meat and bananas all mashed up).

Food was downed together with 15 liters of Chopp beer. (Chopp is a light beer…kinda go easy on the brain cells). My host was thoughtful enough to even buy the whole keg and rent a dispenser machine. As if 15 liters was not enough for the whole village and me, there were also bottles of vodka, lime and lime juice to make the Brazilian national cocktail Caipirosky (Pronounced: Kah-pee-ros-kee). Brazil may have lost, but the party goes on…And to quote Ronald Mcdonald, “Amo Muito Tudo Isso” (I’m loving it!)

(15 liters of Chopp Beer...Saude!)

Tatuape

I arrived at the Guarulhos Airport on Tuesday. I got to know it's an Indian name. A lot of areas in Sao Paulo are named after Indians. There were a lot of Indians before the Portuguese killed them all. Poor thing. There is also a road here called Aryton Senna. Named after the famous F1 driver. (He's also dead).
I'm staying in this area called Tatuape (another dead Indian name...what's with Brazilian and dead names?). And Tatuape is an industrial district. It's just like our Bayan Lepas FTZ. A lot of factories. My hotel is 15 minutes away from the office. There is nothing much to see or eat around my hotel. The sky gets dark by 6pm cause it's now Brazilian winter. Weather is chilly around 10 degrees celcius almost everyday. Kinda like Genting.
The people here are nice. All of them speaks Portuguese, a language that is almost similiar to Klingon in Star Trek. A lot of them thinks I'm local and tries to talk to me in Portuguese. I wonder which part of me looks Brazilian? English is like a language for God. Only privileged people speaks them. The managers in the office speaks English. Order takers in Mcdonald's only understand Portuguese. I tried ordering in English and it was a nightmare. I asked them "how much" and they just smiled at me and stared blankly. Reminds me of the guy in the show "Mind Your Language" that just say Por Favour. At the hotel it was even funnier...I asked them for a kettle to boil water and they asked me what is that. When I described, they told me that I do not have a stove in the room. Apparently, electric kettle is almost a non-existance here. They use fire. Pretty primitive.
Work so far has been ok. My boss is very understanding. He gives me more time to sleep to recover from jet-lag. Actually I sleep a lot since I got here. Usually will feel sleepy by 9pm. I'll nod off in front of the tv. Then I'll just wake up at 4am. Weird timing huh? They have porn showing on tv at that time. Maybe that's why I just wake up automatically? I've got an awesome body clock :-) Then i'll just have to try to force myself to sleep and get up at 730am. Which almost never work.
Have not had a chance to go sight seeing yet. Will probably head downtown over the weekend. No transportation except for taxi and these things can get pretty costly. To and from the hotel is around B$24.00 (which is around RM38.40).
Anyway, things are getting better cause today is Friday. My weekend is booked. There are some nice people who invited me over to their house for BBQ and to watch the Brazilian football match tomorrow. And on Sunday, I'll have a local as a guide to take me around town. (Hooray!)
I tell you, football is big here. Everybody talks about it. I make friends quite easily...I told them I support brazil and they are all embracing me like a brother. Wow, let's just hope I don't go home with a Brazilian name like Sanchez Chng...that'll be funny.
Today is retail therapy day...a.k.a shopping. I just found out that there is a shopping complex near my hotel. So it's not so disheartening after all. But this whole area is still very much 'sien'. Thinking of moving to an area called Paulista Avenue. That is more like the Beverly Hills of Sao Paulo. There they have theatres, cinemas, restaurants, shopping malls, museums and the likes. But the problem would be convincing my boss to let me move there as the hotels can be quite pricey. (I believe the most expensive hotels in Sao Paulo is there with a price tag of 300 pounds a night). Wish me luck.
A very 'cool' thing happened this morning in the hotel. As I was about to go have my breakfast (oh, breakfast is pathetic by the way. I have to look at the same thing everyday. Menu: scrambled eggs, boiled sausages, cereal, 4 types of fruits and juices) there was a commotion. It seems that the hotel staff were trying to break down a hotel door. Apparently, the guest inside couldn't wake up because of drug overdose! Awesome! Let's just hope he survives...
Lunch today was good. My boss took me out for lunch in a restaurant with TV. (Germany was playing Brazil's arch enemy: Argentina). All Brazilians were partying cause Argentina lost. Gosh! This is a clear case of having fun on other people's misery. The lunch was in a buffet restaurant that sells steak. There are people walking around carrying different part of the cow. Asking you if you want a piece. I didn't know there were so many names for the parts of the cow. I'm used to Sirloin but names like hump and rump? Man...it's making me have funny ideas! There are also salmon, prawns etc... pretty cool buffet. Think dim sum...except that it's eat all you can.
I'm getting pretty good at Portuguese. :-) How can you not improve when everyone around you speaks it. Bom Dia is portuguese for good morning. (Try changing my name to Ga bin Chng and saying that word in KLIA...I'll be a blardy terrorist!) My favourite pastime here is talk to the people in Hockkien. The people here sometimes tend to drift into Portuguese even when they start talking to you in English. When they start talking in Portuguese, my favorite thing to do would be to smile, look them in the eyes and ask..."Lu Kong Hamik Lampah?" They'll then smile back and apologize. :-) It's pretty cool. That's what keep me occupied.
I guess that's all from me for now. Still not use to the time change. Will write more when I have the time.
Tcau!

Brasil.

Arriving at Amsterdam Sciphol Airport at 535 was quite a nice feeling. After all, I’ve already spent 13 hours on the plane. Lucky for me, I managed to get more than 40 winks! I slept for 8 hours on board KLM Flight 0897. However I feel that the new MAS Business class was much nicer. Heck, even the stewardesses of MAS look better. At least you can squeeze your way through when there is one coming down the aisle. Try doing it with the KLM stewardesses and chances are you’ll be squashed. Surprisingly, the sun comes up pretty early in Amsterdam. I was expecting a gloomy affair in the airport. But I was wrong! The sky was already bright, the shops were all open and a lot of people were already hustling and bustling around. I got to know that all the shops open an hour before the first flight out of Amsterdam. And daily, the earliest flight was 630 am! The first thing I had to do was stretch my leg (and of course to brush my teeth). Together with my co-worker, we head up to the KLM business lounge. This lounge was much better than the KLM lounge in KLIA. It was bigger at least. I tried to get a shower but I was told that the shower-room was only for Platinum members. Does that mean that only platinum members can be clean? Clearly there is a differentiation in standards. Since I wasn’t a platinum member, I had to settle for just a change of clothes. After that it was retail therapy a.k.a. shopping! First shop that I went to was the Perfume shop. There was a sale. 2 bottles of perfume (selected items) were going for Euros 49. That is only 24.50 euros a bottle! I got myself a bottle of CK One. That is almost a 50% savings. I should have bought more… After that it was on to the souvenir shop. What greeted me was astonishing…there staring back at me was a row of shelves packed to the brim with…adult DVD! PORN! Imagine, porn right smack in public. This is after all Holland, where everything is legal. From prostitution to ‘brownie’ to absinthe. Not 1 or two…but enough to make a whole nation of horny goats happy! They were each selling for 15 euros. After doing my conversions, I realized as cool as it may sound, it was just too expensive to get a few back for my buddies in Malaysia. Sorry guys. In the end I just got myself a pair of clogs (That’s what Holland is famous for), a couple of windmill magnets and some pictures. Aside from the shopping, what amaze me most was that there was a small museum right in the airport! The museum was having an exhibition on Rembrandt. As it was free of charge and I had 3 hours to spare, I took a tour. Now, art always intrigues me. How can people know how to differentiate between a Van Gogh to a Rembrandt or to a Da Vinci? To me it’s only the pictures that I remember. What brush strokes? What styles? They all look the same. I guess that is many of the questions in the world that I would like to know. I finally reached Sao Paulo Guarulhos International Airport at 5pm. Guarulhos, I understood later is an Indian name. Brazilian natives are Indians. But the Portuguese killed them all. That’s why no one has an Indian name nor speaks Indian these days. My hotel is called Tryp Melia at Tatuape. Tatuape is the town in which I’m in. The hotel doesn’t look too bad (it’s actually a 3 star). However the whole town is too small for me. It is an industrial town, that’s why not a lot of places of interest. The hotel is near to the office. (15 minutes by car). I might check out the downtown this weekend…Brazilians are practically crazy about football. More so when Brazil played Ghana (and won 3-0) last night. Everyone was talking about it. From the pilot of the plane to the commoner. Even the women knows about football. It's easy to make friends in Sao Paulo. Just talk about Ronaldo, Kaka, Adriano, Cafu and the likes. Tell them you adore Brazilian football and they'll embrace you like a brother. In fact there are 3 local teams in Sao Paulo: Santos (The fishes), Palmieras (The pigs) and Corinthians (The deers). Brazilian gives their club animal names and liken themselves to either sharks, Bambi or a wild boar. Funny eh? :-) Time now is 6pm. It's close to 5am in Malaysia and I'm wide awake. It's tough trying to get my brains working when I'm usually out cold snoring away. Lucky for me, the jet-lag is not that bad this time. Time to go have dinner...wonder what it will be. Hope it will be different from the Farofa Rice and lentil soup that I had for lunch.
Obrigado...chau!

(Amsterdam Schiphol Airport)

(1st picture in vin's blog. It has to be the basic building blocks...what better fit than Lego?)