hola

hola
Originally uploaded by arylana

The Shoddy 1Borneo

Managing house / apartment renovation is not easy. It's freaking headache, and in my case, it's just interior works with simple built-in cabinet, kitchen cabinet and small area of floor tiling. I can't imagine myself dealing with bigger, more complex works. To make matter worse, I'm thousand of miles away from Malaysia and the contractor that was presentable and looked like someone you could rely on is far fetched. He's obviously a trustworthy person, no doubt, but I guess he just takes things too easily and over relies and trusts his workers (who are with questionable skills). While on a business trip in KL recently I managed to find a time to quickly check out my place in KK. It's in a mess! The whole place was simply a dump site. With torn light wrappers and boxes all over the places, and left over food etc., it was disgusting. The cabinets which I had hoped to admire appeared to be as good as used units - it was dissapointing. I was quite surprise when the contractor himself, when asked, replied "shocked to see the shoddy workmanship". How could you be shocked of your own people's quality of work, unless they had been picked up from the street just for the job.

After getting a mouthful from me, he promised to clear the place, and at final inspection, if I'm not happy with any parts of the cabinets, he will replace them. Fine, but I doubt I would get better replacements.

The whole quality of the apartment workmanship also sucks! I was hoping to see all the defects I'd reported to be fixed. Far from it. In fact none of it. What the f. That's 1Borneo for you (http://www.1borneo.net).

messing around with wordpress

It's 4.32 AM and I'm still messing around with my wordpress.ORG hosted site. So flexible yet, so many things you need to know .. but I'm getting there. But, it's fun I have to say to be able to install different plug-ins and messing around with the themes etc.

Selamat Berpuasa / Happy Ramadan / Ramadan mobarak !

Turn this on, close your eyes and listen ... even if you don't understand the words, concentrate on the melody .. simply beautiful.

Dedicated to all Muslim friends and families around the world.

Ku mengharapkan Ramadhan
Kali ini penuh makna
Agar dapat kulalui
Dengan sempurna


Selangkah demi selangkah
Setahun sudah pun berlalu
Masa yang pantas berlalu
Hingga tak terasa ku berada
Di bulan Ramadhan semula


Puasa satu amalan
Sebagaimana yang diperintahNya
Moga dapat ku lenturkan
Nafsu yang selalu membelenggu diri
Tiada henti-henti


Tak ingin ku biarkan Ramadhan berlalu saja
Tuhan pimpinlah daku yang lemah
Mengharungi segalanya dengan sabar
Kita memohon pada Tuhan diberikan kekuatan
Ku merayu pada Tuhan diterima amalan


Selangkah demi selangkah...
Dengan rahmatMu oh Tuhanku...
Ku tempuh jua

A mosque on the ground-zero site? Why not.

There are debates whether permitting construction of a mosque on the ground zero site of 9/11 is the right thing to do. Some seems to have the opinion that it will wreck the heart of those having love ones died in the atrocity. I'm with the remaining who think that there is nothing wrong with it. Mosque is associated with Islam / muslim, but the atrocity of 9/11 has nothing to do with of the religion. Al-Qaeda does not equal Islam and vice versa. To say that building a mosque is illustrating support to the terrorist group is totally wrong. Bear in mind that there were also many Muslims who succumbed to death in that terrifying terrorist attack.

The debates and location where the construction is proposed to take place - http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2010/08/ground-zero_mosque

Stop pushing me sister!

Oppss
Originally uploaded by arylana

My two little ones .. one with "Mommy loves me" and another "Daddy loves me"; you can guess which is which with one already labeled. Setup: Both standing on the table in balcony with background of the outside.

My most popular YouTube video

This was captured during my visit to Prague a couple of years ago. Scary little thing that sounds good.



Visit Arylana Channel @ http://www.youtube.com/user/shreky69

Opps .. my Blackberry is a Crackberry in Dubai

This is interesting, some countries are getting pissed off that they can't break Blackberry data encryption. The UAE has recently announced that it would ditch Blackberry services other than normal phone calls unless the company, RIM, being more open with the encryption the device's data transmission encryption to give the government ability to access the content. There seem to be a suggestion from some analysts that the reason for such threat is a result of impression that RIM has been more open to some countries such as US but not others. Thus, they demand the same level of playing field. Hearing this, India has also decided to follow suit, likewise Saudi Arabia .. and today, a colleague told me he'd read somewhere that Indonesia will also like join the club. Irregardless of the reason behind it, and whether rumours about RIM being double standard toward some countries are true, the threat that now attracts other participants needs to be looked at very seriously by RIM. UAE being the a large transit hub for air travellers, and India and Indonesia with their huge population could bring quite serious implication to RIM's sales. Or will it?

Well, transits in Dubai usually take only around 3 hours, and those longer are usually in small numbers. Users could live without Blackberry services for the few hours - it won't bring any business to a halt. Those who will need to be in Dubai for longer duration could always boot up their notebook and shoot out emails. So, it will not be the end of the world. For India, Saudi Arabia and China, well ... they will just let it be. Users / corporations will start moving to different gadgets. At the end of the day, RIM will be the sole loser. Thus, it needs to be really cautious about this, and start talking to the UAE's communication authority.

another one .. beautiful song .. good luck girl

Is your favourite colour blue?
Do you always tell the truth?
Do you believe in outerspace?
And im learning you

Is your skin as tanned as mine?
Does your hair flow sideways?
Did someone took a portion of your heart?
And im learning you

And if you dont mind
Can you tell me
All your hopes and fears
and Everything that you believe in
Would you make a difference in the world
I'd love for you to take me to a deeper conversation
Only you can make me

I let my guard down for you
And in time you will too

if you dont mind
Can you tell me
All your hopes and fears
and Everything that you believe in
Would you make a difference in the world
I'd love for you to take me to a deeper conversation
Only you can make me

if you dont mind
Can you tell me
All your hopes and fears
and Everything that you believe in
Would you make a difference in the world
I'd love for you to take me to a deeper conversation
Only you can make me

4x
Deeper Conversation
let me

Is this the end of summer ?

Since I came back from Dublin last week the weather has been unpredictable here. For many days it was rainy, a couple of days of sun and heat and today, back to rain. The thoughts of cold, wet and gloomy sky doesn't encourage me to see the end of summer. Nevertheless it will come, during when I will again ask myself, what are you still doing here?

Guess which one is the bitch?

Guess which one is the bitch?
Originally uploaded by arylana

This is funny. Look at the little dog and the tiny thingy popping out below it's stomach (you have to click on the pic to see the bigger version). You obviously know which of the two is the bitch lol! unless the little man has problem with his sexual orientation.


Picture taken in Dublin.

Dan Sebenarnya ... dialah Yuna

Since moving to Switzerland 4 years ago, I have really been out of touch with the entertainment industry of Malaysia. Yuna who? That's the reaction my a friend was telling me about the girl below. Then I listened to this song, and oh Yes, I heard this before ... she's the singer, now I know. What a beautiful melody.

Next course paid B820

For the past 9 months I have been undertaking the first module towards my MBA with the Open University Business School (OUBS). This "initial suffering" will end on 13th October when I will sit for the exam, but to be followed by 4 tougher modules.

I just paid close to CHF ?K for the second module ... sigh. In the next coming 1 to 2 years I think I will be busy counting dollars. Too many things to pay highlighting the criticality of selling off one of my apartments in Malaysia. .. quick agent! get me some buyers.

I need a second job.

how to start windows XP in safe mode??

Keep pressing F8 when computer starts up ... it'll take you the menu to select start up options and safe mode is one of them.

the days have begun ...

That's the view from my Crowne Plaza hotel room - perhaps on the side no one wants. You get that feel of being in captivity.

I got to Dublin for my MBA residential this morning, arriving at the airport at 10.30 local time (1 hour behind Switzerland). The sky is a gray and despite coming to the end of July, it's hardly 20 deg Celcius. Some believe it'd improve comes weekend .. let see.

The registration seems to suggest possibly 100 people will be participating, of which 5 from Switzerland .. me, and four others. On you mark, get set ... GO! Target Monday, big presentation!

Various photos from recent trip

A promotion girl at the World Cup party in Bukit Bintang

Air Asia plane getting ready to take off at LCCT

Air Asia plane close-up

Spectacular view of Hong Kong from within its airport

Need to renew your passport in Switzerland ?? Here is the answer

Hello The One,

Thank you for your email.

You have 2 possibilities of having your passport renewed, you come to the Embassy and fill up the application form (signed and thumbprinted), attach 2 passport size pictures with navy blue background (3.5 x 5 cm), bring your current passport and Malaysian IC, as well as your Swiss Permit. Additionally you have to bring the copy of the payment from your bank. Payment of 50 British pounds must be paid to:

Malaysian High Commission
HSBC Bank
19 Grosvenor Place
Hyde Park Corner
London SW1X7HT
UK
IBAN: GB 51 MIDL 40031711144979
BIC: MIDLGB 2106 N
Sort Code: 40-03-17
Account No. 11144979

We will forward your application to London and it will take about 3 weeks till your new passport gets processed and sent back to the Embassy.

Your other option would be to fly to London and have your passport renewed there, if you come in the morning, it will be ready by the afternoon.

Should you decide to have it done here, please call me up so I can set up an appointment for you.

If you have further queries, please do not hesitate to contact me.


kind regards,

Eva
Ms. E. Bernhard
Consular Section
Embassy of Malaysia
Jungfraustrasse 1
3005 Bern, Switzerland
Tel. 031 350 47 00/ 031 350 47 10 (direct)
Fax 031 350 47 02

Touching down in KK

Touching down in KK
Originally uploaded by arylana

What a hectic one week. In 7 days, I took 9 different flights !! Zurich - Amsterdam - Hong Kong - Wuhan - Beijing - KL - KK - KL - Amsterdam - Zurich.

Despite the short business trip I decided to still go to KK for a while to check on the progress of the renovation of my 1Borneo apartment - turned out to be a disaster! The cabinet and wardrobe looked like used units, the whole place a garbage dump site and no interior defects fixed. Both the site supervisor and my contractor got screwed hard - thoroughly deserved.

sepang 2005

sepang 2005
Originally uploaded by arylana

...

want taste of home in Zurich??

No problem .. try this place - http://www.tiffins.ch
I heard it's own by a Malaysian dude. You can't find anything closer to what you get at home than what are served here. One of cooks is Malaysian - Aboy.

Flaunt it baby

Flaunt it baby
Originally uploaded by arylana

I'd always been wanting to visit the South of France - Cannes, Nice, St Tropez. Finally, it came through with cheap flights from Swiss.

The visit was literally an "eye opener". Bare boobs were just everywhere - all shapes, sizes and colours. I wouldn't be surprised if any half blind man regained his vision upon visiting the place.

Petronas Twin Tower, KL

Petronas Twin Tower, KL
Originally uploaded by arylana

I never really realised how beautiful the Twin Tower is until tonight when I walk passed it going back to Prince Hotel from the Pelita Nasi Kandar restaurant on Jalan Ampang -- a long walk simply because I couldn't get any taxi at 10 PM.

Look at it .. just amazing how it sparkles in darkness of the sky (simply taken with by "crapberry")

sitting on the edge

sitting on the edge
Originally uploaded by arylana

It's another hot day in Switzerland ... and so humid too, the most humid since I came here in 2006. 5 minutes in sun, and you are drenched. Everyone was out, enjoying the two, three months before it turns into a gloomy, gray world again.

This photo was taken across the Sex shop in Baden (sorry, don't remembar the "platz" name, only that there is a big sey shop there :)).

lost in moscow ?? read my back

lost in moscow ?? read my back
Originally uploaded by arylana

Once I got the opportunity to visit Moscow for a small database implementation in our newly set up office there. Prior leaving I wasn't quite sure what to expect; may be a run down, old city with traces of of the former communist ideology at every corner? Not at all. I got booked at a huge mega hotel, with three quarter of the floor filled with gambling machines and tables (a super casino). To enter everyone had to be scanned just like in airports. I don't remember. Surprisingly, I saw a number of Malaysian government officers (or could also be politicians) entering the premises. How did I know they are the government guys / politicians ... the little pin badge on the coat lah.. what lah! want to go to Casino hide lah the badge. Some more got malaysian flag on it.

With some free times after office hours and it was hot summer time, I got some opportunities to go around the city. This picture is a special one, of a girl with a map printed on the back of her blouse. Useful? Not sure. Sexy? Certainly :)

Zurich Street Parade 2008

Zurich Street Parade 2008
Originally uploaded by arylana

August is party time in Zurich. The street parade that takes place every year features so called love trucks taking tonnes of (mostly) great looking girls and man across the main street of the city. Loud music everywhere, stages feature sexy dancers, people donning all sort of colourful costumes and not to forget those who prefer no to wear nothing at all, or very little I should say.

For a photographer, it's a great place to be at if you manage to get a good spot. The colours, the characters, fun atmosphere, some crazy girls .. great photos!.

the pole queen

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stroboscopic day - may 2010

stroboscopic day - may 2010
Originally uploaded by arylana

After been dreaming about it, I got my first chance of experiencing studio photography - organised by a group called the Swiss Strobist (http://swiss-strobist.ch/), led by a German-fluent British dude. I was quite fortunate to see the invitation early enough and immediately signed up. There were only 12 seats.

The session took place in a small village outskirt of Berne, miles away .. even the walk from the bus stop. The studio was run a lady (with a tattoo on her arm .. not sure why I remember this crystal clear) in an office building that seems to also host some apartments (?? strange). For the first time I got to know how easy studio photography is .. piece of cake .. and delicious. Although we wanted more only three models (unpaid :) or rather very little) were available - 3 ladies, and a boy; in the photo here is Julia (check out her other pictures from the below, as well as the others).

The model profiles:
Julia: http://www.model-kartei.de/sedcard/modell/55868/
Laura: http://www.model-kartei.de/sedcard/modell/155100/
Erika: http://www.model-kartei.de/sedcard/modell/66446/
Dominik: http://www.facebook.com/dominik.naegeli

More pictures are available here - http://www.flickr.com/photos/shreky/sets/72157623908260035/

The crazy bunch

Bree's last day, and the last snap. All were meant to show their tongues ... where are they guys?

Picture courtesy of Bree.

spider man

How cool is this ??!!

Search for the race queen

KK Race Queen .. the search
Originally uploaded by arylana

While I was visiting the 1Borneo shopping mall, there happened to be an event held searching for a race queen of KK.

5 weeks in Malaysia was finally found to be tooo long, especially with soaring temperature. With close to 40 deg Celcius and no aircond in my laws place in KK, it was agonising. Driving requires full blast aircond and stepping into a car long park in the sun is like entering a sauna, minus naked women sitting on the seats.

While in 1Borneo, there happened to be an event to search for a race queen .. some were happy to pose :)

creeping back after a long time

knock knock! i'm back

After a looooonggg time.
Yes. I'm eager to start blogging again. Well, let say .... I'm eager to develop the eagerness to start blogging again :)