what do men talk about during male bonding sessions?

Damn it man... i really must cut down on my drinking. I had way too much to drink last week. I drank so much till i only had a single mojito all nite during the Salsa 101 function. Imagine that, Ruben only having a single drink?

Btw - Salsa 101 was extremely fun. I never danced so much salsa in one nite before! If you wanna know more about salsa - email me!



I think i'm gonna quit beers for a while. I had way too many special brews during last Wed's blast at Carlsberg Brewery. (my friend invites me to the brewery to have free drinks every now and then)

Anyhow, the session was pretty much a male bonding session as it was basically 10 dudes sitting around a table downing beers and smoking cigarrettes. The people who invited me there are fairly rowdy, but nice people, working in the sales line. I was probably the only one that stuck out like a sore thumb. Not that it mattered, for i truly can mix with anybody. LOL.

During such sessions, what else is there to talk about apart from girls? think about it, 10 grown men, talking over rounds of beers. You think we're gonna talk about the latest gossip in tinsel town?



Its kinda lame, yadda yadda yadda, but lets face the fact, a bunch of pricks are not gonna chat about the latest episode of Heroes rite? (maybe i would *sheepish grin*) we are gonna talk about chicks and more chicks!



Basically, the conversation alwiz starts with cars and sports. However, just before the alcohol kicks in, guys will zoom into the most talked about topic ever - girls! Once the alcohol really kicks in.. then guys will talk about more SERIOUS stuffs like tits, other amazing parts of the female body created by our Creator and sex. Amen!



My problem with this bunch of dudes is that i dont speak cantonese, so i really couldnt join in the conversation. However, i do understand what's going on... so it was a pretty interesting discourse! From a quick conversation on cars, the topic heated up when we started talking about girls!

It was amazing, the way we (they - i don't do such stuff - lol) were swapping stories about the different girls they've tried and the pros and cons of each of em. I found it rather degrading yet interesting. Don't forget i am afterall a prick.

However, one topic really caught my attention was when a bunch of them started talking about them sharing certain girls. I seriously found this extremely degrading. I mean, how can u have sex with someone then tell ur friend about how good or poor she was at doing certain things, then advicing your friend to have a go????

What is your take on this? Have you ever SHARED a girl before? To be honest, i understand the concept of a sex buddy. Both have needs but both are non commitable. However, to share her with someone else? I think that's kinda lame. Bear in mind, in today's world, i've heard stories of girls swapping men!

Similarly, have you ever had a one-niter then tell your bro - hey, why don't u check her out, she gives good *********.

So guys, what is your take on this? Good, bad? ugly? degrading? personally, i cannot do such stuff. But it does make interesting conversation during drinks! Have you done such things before?

I admit, that i've done things that i'm not too proud of but i cannot see myself sharing a girl. So guys... feedback please?

Kelam Kabut

Hey guys, I was talking to my friend last night over the phone. She's not from Malaysia but was in Malaysia for a little while sometime back. Anyhow, i was describing something to her and i being Malaysian, Manglish just comes naturally. Afterall, have you met a Malaysian who doesnt use the word phrase 'Lah'?

So i was describing something to her and then i said 'he was so kelam kabut'..... she then said.. what the hell is 'kaa-lamm kaa-buut'??? and i went like 'huh?' The rest of the conversation went like this:

Me : kelam kabut means... um... err... it means kelam kabut la... its some malay phrase

She : I know its in Malay but what the hell does it mean?

Me : erm... eh... you know... like... he was... urm... er... 'kan cheong'... (more like i was getting kan cheong)

She : what the hell is kan cheong now?

Me : (very proudly) - it means anxious la...

She : will you Malaysians stop it with the LAs! So it means anxious. Therefore kelam kabut means anxious?

Me : No no no... kelam kabut doesnt mean anxious. At least not in this context. Aiya.. i'm getting anxious now. Oh i know now.. it means Gabra!

She : What the hell is Gabra now! Dude, dont forget i'm not Malaysian.

Me : Aiya... I give up.

She : I give up too.

Anyhow, i was doing a little bit of research, and apparently Kelam means 'Murky' and Kabut means 'Fog'. So if i were to translate it literally, kelam kabut would mean MURKY FOG??????? so 'he was like kelam kabut' = he was like MURKY FOG?

Anyhow... i guess the phrase can mean alot of things... for instance, if i was to say that the wild boar tore of the campsite and made the whole place kelam kabut. In that instance, kelam kabut would mean 'run / ran riot' rite?

Anyhow, all this talk is driving me nuts. If you know a better way to explain the phrase kelam kabut - do share!!!!! What to do.. my England no powderful!!!!

Murphy's law

I hate Mr Murphy and his stupid laws!


I was at Havana Estudio today to lepak once more. Its becoming to be a Sunday ritual to me now. I've been affiliated with Havana Estudio for the past 10 months or so, but i have never been there just to lepak. Anna always asked me to lepak there with her, but seriously, there must be life outside salsa rite? However, since the accident, i missed salsa alot. As I cannot attend classes for the moment, i miss it even more.


Since Pauline joined salsa, she's always asked me to join her there on Sundays to basically practice with her. So finally one day, on Anna's and Pauline's request... i decided to go. This was like about a month back.


My intentions were plain and simple, to see me salsa folks and also to practice (since i've yet to use my new pair of jazz shoes). It was kinda amazing to just sit there and watch Sien Yen's class. There were doing routines that i have forgotten and i silently practice during their class.


In terms of practicing, studio 3 is was too small for all the intermediates to cramp in during the afternoons. So i normally just play with my shoes and practice a few moves at the reception area that overlooks studio 1 - Sien Yen's class.


However, the highlight of lepakking there is to catch up with close friends such as Pauline and Serena and to basically catch up with the salsa crew like Anna, Ian, Micheal, Ace, Steven, Xiao Sun, etc. I never thought i would say this, but i do enjoy just sitting at Devi's corner... chatting with them. Don't get me wrong, i like my salsa friends, just that they only talk about salsa! But to be honest, i enjoy talking about salsa and dancing too! *sheepish giggle*


Murphy's law incident no 1


Today was like no other. I spent most of it catching up with Serena. The main gang was sitting at a pretty huge table so i was like a bit malas to layan so many people. So Serena and I sat at a different table. Later on, Mary-Anna dn Mike joined us.


Btw... i finally made up my mind, i will attend the Salsa 101 party this Saturday.


It was getting late so we decided to go. The main gang were getting prepared to attend the Viennese Waltz thingy, so we also decided to go home. so after saying goodbye to Serena.. i walked back up to the studio to purchase the salsa 101 ticket... when i got to the glass door, i could here Sam's voice but no one was there to open the door.. BUMMER! after 15 minutes of frantic knocking on the glass door and ringing of the doorbell.. i finally gave up and made my way down to my car... There comes Sherie with the keys to the studio... i was already about to start my engine so i didnt bother. Will probably call Sam or Aisha to reserve a ticket for me.

Whatever la.. i think salsa 101 will be pretty cool.. so see you there!

Murphy's incident no 2

After that fiasco.. i headed over to hartamas to make payments at a particular bank that has the cash deposit thingy. So i withdrew cash from Maybank... and walked to the other bank. I was 3rd in queue. The second guy took a really long like, so after 20 minutes or so... he walked out. When it came to my turn, the freaking machine read 'TEMPORARILY OUT OF SERVICE'. i should have take a picture of it and placed in here. I swear to you, i nearly wanted to break the machine man...

BUMMER.... so i got back to my car and headed over to the Mall to get a haircut.

Murphy's incident no 3

At the mall, i made my way upstairs towards the saloon. Since i needed to get some stuff from the pharmacy as well, i decided to make a quick stop at Watson. I noticed that the saloon was still open for customers so i knew that its better to pit stop at Watson before i go and cut my hair as Watson may close before my hair is done. I did my shopping at Watson and then proceeded upstairs only to see my hairdresser locking up. I asked her, why close so early? She said since no customers walked-in in the last 30 minutes, she decided to close 30 minutes earlier.. THE IRONY!

Murphy's incident no 4

On my way home, i wanted to call Joanne Lee to see if she wanted to do dinner at that lamb place near her house. However, since i was near pasar road area, i thought of having the pork mix soup in that area. Instead of turning onto the road leading to pasar road, i drove onto the highway leading to cheras. How ingenious!

Then 5 minutes ago, whilst chatting with Joanne on msn... she tells me she was there having dinner with her colleagues at the damn pork mix stall in pasar road area. She even had the pretty awesome porridge there. So cacat rite?

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Anyhow... if u have have had any such ironic incidents to share, do share ya... till the next, hope you enjoyed reading another page in the life of SLACKER.

A sucker for family moments

I admit, i'm just a sucker for family moments. I dont weep or feel much during romantic movies, reading touching romance stories, etc, etc. But when it comes to family moments, i'm just a sucker. I guess it proves the fact that i'm quite the family man. (yeah right!)

Many a time whilst watching movies / tv, i get very moved by family moments. A few weeks back, i was watching the movie 4 brothers. To be honest, it was a way too predictable movie.

However, the brotherly bond between the 4 was amazing. It was extremely touching and moving. Something i'm always a sucker for. Similarly, the new Digi post-paid tv commercial that's perpetually aired over Astro gets to me too. You know the one, about the young girl, daughter of a fisherman, who moves to the city? Yea, that last scene always gets to me. Perhaps its because i can't express myself the way i want to with my parents. Though i'm extremely close to my family, i just cant say what i want to.

Anyhow, what i really wanna share is this article i read over on Joanne's blog. Its kinda long, but its worth a read. Though you'll be able to predict the ending after reading the first paragraph, i'm certain you'll be touched with the characters when you read the last word. Its a little long, but worth the read. Enjoy.

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I was born in a secluded village on a mountain. Day by day, my parents plowed the yellow dry soil with their backs towards the sky.

I have a brother who is 3 years younger than me. I wanted to buy a handkerchief, which all girls around me seemed to have. So, one day I stole 50 cents from my father's drawer. Father had discovered about the stolen money right away.

He made me and my younger brother kneel against the wall as he held a bamboo stick in his hand. "Who stole the money?" he asked. I was stunned, too afraid to talk. Neither of us admitted to the fault, so he said, "Fine, if nobody wants to admit, you two should be beaten!"

He lifted up the bamboo stick. Suddenly, my younger brother gripped father's hand and said,"Dad, I was the one who did it!" The long stick smacked my brother's back repeatedly. Father was so angry that he kept on whipping my brother until he lost his breath. After that, he sat down on our stone bed and scolded my brother, "You have learned to steal from your own house now. What other embarrassing things will you be possibly doing in the future? You should be beaten to death, you shameless thief!"

That night, my mother and I hugged my brother. His body was full of wounds from the beating but he never shed a single tear. In the middle of the night, all of sudden, I cried out loudly. My brother covered my mouth with his little hand and said, "Sis, now don't cry anymore. Everything has happened."

I still hate myself for not having enough courage to admit what I did. Years gone by, but the incident still seemed like it just happened yesterday. I will never forget my brother's expression when he protected me.

That year, my brother was 8 years old and I was 11 years old. When my brother was in his last year of secondary school, he was accepted in an upper secondary school in the central. At the same time, I was accepted into a university in the province. That night, father squatted in the yard, smoking, packet by packet.

I could hear him ask my mother, "Both of our children, they have good results? very good results?" Mother wiped off her tears and sighed," What is the use? How can we possibly finance both of them?" At that time, my brother walked out, he stood in front of father and said,"Dad, I don't want to continue my study anymore, I have read enough books." Father swung his hand and slapped my brother on his face. "Why do you have a spirit so damn weak? Even if it means I have to beg for money on the streets, I will send you two to school until you have both finished your study!"

And then, he started to knock on every house in the village to borrow money. I stuck out my hand as gently as I can to my brother's swollen face, and told him, "A boy has to continue his study; If not, he will not be able to overcome this poverty we are experiencing."

I, on the other hand, had decided not to further my study at the university. Nobody knew that on the next day, before dawn, my brother left the house with a few pieces of worn-out clothes and a few dry beans. He sneaked to my side of the bed and left a note on my pillow; "Sis, getting into a university is not easy. I will go find a job and I will send money to you."

I held the note while sitting on my bed, and cried until I lost my voice. That year, my brother was 17 years old; I was 20 years old. With the money father borrowed from the whole village, and the money my brother earned from carrying cement on his back at a construction site, finally, I managed to get to the third year of my study in the university.

One day, while I was studying in my room, my roommate came in and told me, "There's a villager waiting for you outside! "Why would there be a villager looking for me? I walked out, and I saw my brother from afar. His whole body was covered with dirt, dust, cement and sand. I asked him, "Why did you not tell my roommate that you are my brother?"

He replied with a smile," Look at my appearance. What will they think if they would know that I am your brother? Won't they laugh at you?" I felt so touched, and tears filled my eyes. I swept away dirt and dust from my brother's body. And told him with a lump in my throat, "I don't care what people would say! You are my brother no matter what your appearance is?"

From his pocket, he took out a butterfly hair clip. He put it on my hair and said, "I saw all the girls in town are wearing it. So, I think you should also have one." I could not hold back myself anymore. I pulled my brother into my arms and cried.

That year, my brother was 20 years old; I was 23 years old. I noticed that the broken window was repaired the first time I brought my boyfriend home. The house was scrubbed cleaned. After my boyfriend left, I danced like a little girl in front of my mother, "Mom, you didn't have to spend so much time cleaning the house!" But she told me with a smile,"

It was your brother who went home early to clean the house. Didn't you see the wound on his hand? He hurt his hand while he was replacing the window." I went into my brother's bedroom. Looking at his thin face, I felt like there are hundreds of needle pricked in my heart.

I applied some ointment on his wound and put a bandage on it, "Does it hurt?" I asked him. "No, it doesn't hurt. You know, when at the construction site, stones keep falling on my feet. Even that could not stop me from working." In the middle of the sentence, he stopped. I turned my back on him and tears rolled down my face.

That year, my brother was 23 years old; I was 26 years old. After I got married, I lived in the city. Many times my husband invited my parents to come and live with us, but they didn't want. They said, once they left the village,they wouldn't know what to do. My brother agreed with them. He said, "Sis, you just take care of your parents-in-law. I will take care of mom and dad here."

My husband became the director of his factory. We asked my brother to accept the offer of being the manager in the maintenance department. But my brother rejected the offer. He insisted on working as a repairman instead for a start.

One day, my brother was on the top of a ladder repairing a cable, when he got electrocuted, and was sent to the hospital. My husband and I visited him at the hospital. Looking at the white gypsum on his leg, I grumbled, "Why did you reject the offer of being a manager? Managers won't do something dangerous like that. Now look at you, You are suffering a serious injury. Why didn't you just listen to us?"

With a serious expression on his face, he defended his decision, "Think of brother-in-law. He just became the director, and I being uneducated, and would become a manager, what kind of rumors would fly around?" My husband's eyes filled up with tears, and then I said, "But you lack in education only because of me!" "Why do you talk about the past?" he said and then he held my hand.

That year, he was 26 years old and I was 29 years old. My brother was 30 years old when he married a farmer girl from the village. During the wedding reception, the master of ceremonies asked him, "Who is the one person you respect and love the most?"

Without even taking a time to think, he answered, "My sister." He continued by telling a story I could not even remember. "When I was in primary school, the school was in a different village. Everyday, my sister and I would walk for 2 hours to school and back home. One day, I lost the other pair of my gloves. My sister gave me one of hers. She wore only one glove and she had to walk far. When we got home, her hands were trembling because of the cold weather that she could not even hold her chopsticks.

From that day on, I swore that as long as I live, I would take care of my sister and will always be good to her." Applause filled up the room. All guests turned their attention to me. I found it hard to speak, "In my whole life, the one I would like to thank most is my brother," And in this happy occasion,in front of the crowd, tears were rolling down my face again.

Love and care for the one you love every single days of your life. You may think what you did is just a small deed, but to that someone, it may mean a lot.

Somo - great place for Happyhours!

If you've never heard of Somo, i recommend you get your lazy ass off yer chair and head on down to Somo located in the Shoplex Mont Kiara (opposite Pines Condo). If you're not familiar with the Shoplex, well its basically the white building where Coffee Bean is located, the one diagonally across from Plaza Mount Kiara.

I love this place alot and have been going there fairly often of late. We discovered this place sometime back in late January. Somo's been in operation since November last year. I heard about it then as some of the ex-Broadwalk regulars (oh how i miss Broadwalk) were talking that some of the guys were gonna open up a pub in Kiara. Didn't realised it was Somo, if i did, i would've joined them there during opening and would have been a regular since day 1!!!!

Anyhow, thanks to Joe who wanted to review the place for his blog , we decided to go there . I was surprised to see familiar faces, i.e. Amrit and Andrew Lai (from the good ol' Broadwalk days). What surprised me further was that they own the damn joint!

Let me give you a quick review of the place.

Pros
1. Tables are well spaced.
2. Happyhour prices are phenomenal! (i get further discounts)
3. Non happyhour prices are also phenomenal!
4. Good selection of alcohol that are very reasonably priced. (good selection of jap/korean booze
too)
5. Good mix of crowd. Never too crowded; never empty either. Just right!
6. Nice owners who'll sit and drink with you.
7. Loads of hot chicks on weekends. (aparently - gonna check it out tomorrow to be sure)
8. Workers are efficient.
9. Lite music that's not played too loud.
10. This really applies only to me... but so far, every trip there is reminiscent of the many glorious times spent at Barfly and Broadwalk. Its just like cheers - where everybody knows ur name!

Cons
1. Parking can be a bitch. Then again, if you arrive during the 6 - 6.30pm window, you should be able to get decent parking.
2. Food is decent. But its only Japanese food. I mean, when you're having beers, you need some proper beer food. Rite? I wont say the food is fantastic, but its definitely above average.
3. This also i think applies only to me - I find certain tables to be somewhat warm. but in general, given the fact that the place is open air (with numerous industrial fans) i think its not that bad. Definitely not as claustrophobic and suffocating as LAUNDRY.
4. Sad to say, this place doesnt have bar stools. Sob.
5. Also sad to note is the fact that the place doesnt have pilsner glasses. I mean, when you drink beer - it MUST be from a pilsner glass! They have the short ones though. bummer!


Other points to consider
I think the place is well decorated. Soft lights in the right places , loads of greeneries all around, different types of sitting options such as you have the cushion chairs, the coffee types, the bar table types, the sofa types, etc, etc, etc.

The toilet is also suitably located as its not too far to walk. Never a queue to pee and the toilet is perpetually CLEAN!!!! Toilet is very important to beer drinkers!!!!

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Taking all the points above into consideration and weighing the pros and cons, this place is clearly a must. However, the ultimate litmus test will alwiz be the price vs the quality of the beers. Tiger beer is still the best conventional beer for me. I've tried more than 20 types of beers so far and still i rank Tiger as one of the best. Btw - my top 5 beers are as follows:

1. Schneider beer (bottle).... still the best beer I've EVER had!!!!
2. Guiness Stout (bottle).... How can u ever mess with the black gold?
3. Leffe [red] (bottle)...... I somehow like the red ones better... maybe its just the colour
4. Tiger beer..... Fell in love with tiger since the Brannigans days... my best tiger experience is
still the party in the tavern inTiger brewery in Tuas, Singapore.
5. Indian Pale Ale (IPA) by Brewerkz.... I can drink this all day i tell you...

So anyhow... back to the review... 2 jugs of fresh (not watered down) Tiger beers @ RM50 bucks... hey, why go anywhere else right?

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I was there last night with Wee Chuen. Just two blokes chillin. We spent more than what Andrew, Soon Hoe and I spent the night before at 80s Dreams. The 2 of us did justice to the world of drinking by consuming 2 jugs of Tigers and a bottle of 12 years Macallan Single Highland Malt whiskey. Not too much, not too little - Just right!

I'll be doing Somo again tomorrow. If you are interested, do join me. I'll probably do another round of review of Somo , this time with some pictures (need to put in alot of pictures man). Lol - that is of course i'm sober enough to take pictures. Apart from Somo, i plan to go for some salsa dancing tomorrow at Little Havana. I hope i wont be too sloshed to dance.

Oh heavens, look at the time. Its time for all of you to shut down your pcs and head on to a pub near you for work begins now from 5-9 - HAPPYHOURS!