ringgit.me

Song: Annie's Song Artist: John Denver You fill up my senses Like a night in a forest Like the mountains in springtime Like a walk in the rain Like a storm in the desert Like a sleepy blue ocean You fill up my senses Come fill me again Come let me love you Let me give my life to you Let me drown in your laughter Let me die in your arms Let me lay down beside you Let me always be with you Come let me love you Come love me again Hum hum hum hum hum..... Let me give my life to you Come let me love you Come love me again You fill up my senses Like a night in a forest Like the mountains in springtime Like a walk in the rain Like a storm in the desert Like a sleepy blue ocean You fill up my senses Come fill me again

These are the songs I compiled in a nice CD which I gave to my girl last Saturday: 1. Backstreet Boys - Drowning 2. Cheap Trick - The Flame 3. Firehouse - Love of a Lifetime 4. N Sync - This I Promise You 5. REO Speedwagon - Can't Fight THis Feeling 6. 4 Seasons - Can't Take My Eyes Off You 7. Neil Diamond - Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon 8. Firehouse - I Live My Life For You Good stuff eh?

Yesterday, we moved to 10 floor. Nothing much to shout at. At least the aircond (or a/c as the kwai los used to call it) is cold. The wireless LAN is cool though.

Wow. So much had happened since my last post! 1. I went to Texas AND California... it's funny. All my blog posts are complaints about not getting the visa and today, here I am, in the office, and I was already back from USA for almost 2 months! LOL! 2. I went to Melbourne, Australia and had a blast! 3. I met WWS.

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:'(

The more I think about it, the more I cannot accept my fate. I should be on a business class flight to Dallas this coming Friday night! It was SO close. I had all my documentations done. I had my vacation plans laid out. I had all the approvals needed to fund this trip - I have to fight through all the bureaucracies in the company... only to fail at the visa area! And there's nothing I can do about it! Nothing! I can't influence the decision nor can I call to check on it! So near and YET, so far! :'( This happened to me exactly 5 years ago. I was scheduled for a training in Japan. I had my visa and my flight ticket. One week before the trip, the economy crashed due to alleged money market manipulation by George Soros. That was in '97. The markets in Asean, HongKong and all around this region crashed! The class was cancelled. I was left stranded, unable to do anything! Sigh! "MENG FU"

I'm still waiting. Grr... what's up with you people at the Embassy???

To take my mind of IT, here's why Thief (and on a smaller scale, Hitman) is a successful stealth games vs other stealth wanna-be-s: - The levels are open ended. Players are free to do what they want. Hitman is also open ended and that is why Hitman is a success too. - The AI is not scripted. They react based on the player's actions. Unlike Splinter Cell, no matter where you throw the Coke can/bottle, the AI will move a pre-determined (read scripted path) - Replayability. Most of the AIs are simulation based. That means, if you replayed the same levels again, it may be a different game because of the unpredictable nature of the AI. Also, open ended levels will enable players to try out new tactics and new ways to achieve the mission objectives. - Engrossing story. - Undeads - not many people like the undeads/Haunts in Thief. After thinking about this for some time, I am convinced that Thief success is due to the undeads. The undeads don't die. They resurrect after you k...

I.SHOULD.NOT.THINK.ABOUT.IT!!!

What a depressing Monday morning. I have not heard from the Embassy. Tomorrow is a public holiday. I don't think I will be able to make it to Dallas this weekend. Perhaps next week? I am still hopeful. The girls had it easy. TT, who is going on a vacation to USA (and not even on a job sponsored by the company), received her visa a few days after her interview. So did SW who is going on a vacation too. On a more positive note, today is another peaceful day at work. Only one secondary call. I will probably end up trolling ttlg.com or looking up on anything Freelance related.

I have just finished the "oil rig" level of Splinter Cell. I hate to say it but I am not impressed with SC at all. Sure, it has all the cool moves and such but in terms of gameplay, it wasn't as awesome as I hope it would be. I guess it lacks the sophistication of a PC game (it being designed for a console game). Enemy AI was script-based as compared to simulation based. I dislike the linear level design. I want more freedom to explore and execute my moves! Speaking of level designs, can anyone tell me why all areas are poorly lighted? Even the CIA HQ at Langley is shrouded in darkness. These places screamed "break in". I think I'd rather spend more time playing Freelancer.

Time to go KLCC. Until next time. Nite.

Hey am I the only person using Netscape 7 ? It is now my default browser. Much more powerful than M$ IE. Tab browsing rulez. Other cool tools: - Qlock - freeware program that tells the time of various cities around the world. Cities are customizable. - Turbo Note - fast Post-It notes on your desktop - IBM NotesBuddy for POP3 - a program that announces incoming mail by saying out loud the name of the sender and the subject.

When will the embassy call me? Grrr.... My trip is NEXT week for crying out loud! Nvm that - circle of concern. I better start thinking what I have to do once I get the visa. There are so much to do and so little time: - inform JS to book rooms/car - book car for personal use (from LV to SF to SJ) - book Mamma Mia tix in San Antonio .. or maybe Les Mis in Sacremento (?) - find out where else I shld go during weekends... Austin/San Antonio? - buy LA, SF and possibly Texas/Dallas tour book - buy souvenirs for the team (eg local Pepsi for JS for her collections) - inform Citibank of the trip and to increase limit - buy Canon v3?

Tonight I am going out for a movie at KLCC. I am watching "The Hours" starring Nicole Kidman. Will probably end up buying a book to read. Or should I just concentrate on Splinter Cell ? Arrgghhh.. so many things to do! I have a few games waiting for me to play! The dry season has just ended. Yay to that!

This is the first time I have heard of blog! Sounds like something of a .plan except that it is more sophisticated. I knew about it through news on the sale of Pyra (Blog's parent company) to Google. Personal diary? I like the idea!

Hello World!