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Not that I want one of these as I am not a Game Boy fan but it's just that I saw the new Game Boy Micro in Fry's the other day and I was instantly impressed how the have scaled this thing much further. It's basically the same as Game Boy Advance but in a new packaging. And the 20th Anniversay Edition brought a smile to my face. It's removable faceplate is designed to resemble the old Game & Watch. Does anyone still remember Game&Watch? Donkey Kong? Donkey Kong Juniour? Octopus? What else? There's one where people jumped out of a building on fire and you played the firemen below using a trampoline to bring them to safety. Nice design Nintendo!

.. and I received an email stating that my package is shipped via FedEx. I should be getting it soon. I am so excited... I am also extremely impressed by the speed and service. I mean, I have engraving and yet the product was shipped in less than 24 hours. WOW..

and I want it. My precious, my preciousssssssss.............. On Christmas day, I saw it in Best Buy. I pick it up and try it. It is indeed what they say it is. It's just so beautiful, so perfect. The texture, the feel, the smooth curves and those cute little sound it made. At that point, I have decided that I want one but alas, there was no stock available. Not in Best Buy, not in Fry's, not in Target, not in the whole Grapevine Mills Mall, not in the whole Dallas! People I know asked me to check out the website. I did and for the past 3 days, it's not available! It's sold out! The whole of USA have it. Everyone I know is carrying one. Except me! 2-3 business week, the web Store said. My hopes dashed. My spirit broken. I gave up... Until I made another attempt today. And guess what? The store reads "3-5 business days" Wooo hooooo! I picked up the phone and dial the number. I know I could not order from the web because they needed a valid US billing address. ...

Seems like the sun is not going anywhere. It was sunny today when I went to my colleague's house for Christmas lunch. She said they don't get such a nice weather during Christmas. Heh.. Lunch was a typical American lunch she said, whichs made up of ham, turkey breasts, whipped potatoes, salads and ice tea. To me, these taste pretty standard. Nothings special here. She heats them up and "fixed the food". My other colleagues, who is from India, likes to tease her American friends. She said Americans don't cook. They buy pre-packaged stuff from the supermarket and "fixed" them. That's why we hear Americans saying, "you want me to fix something for you to eat?".. Heh.. funny, that. Anyway, I went for a movie after the luncheon. Went to see Memoirs of a Geisha. It's wasn't great but it's still a good movie. I guess the fact that Michelle Yeoh, someone from home, is there in the big screen, is reassuring since I am watching this movie...

I was invited to a colleague's house for Christmas lunch tomorrow. I wanted to bring a bottle of wine. I went to Kroger and could not find any wine nor beer. I asked the customer service and guess what? There's no alchohol being sold in the city of Irving! An American city. No alchohol! WTF?

The first two pictures show the inn where I am staying. The next two pictures show autumn trees with falling leaves. Aren't they beautiful? Look at the bright, sunny sky...

Merry Christmas to my dear readers in Malaysia ... It's still Christmas eve here so I still have 12 more hours to go. Christmas eve in Dallas is boring.. no white Christmas.. no fireworks.. Oh well.. I am going to the Galleria (a high class shopping center) later so I will see if the deco is as nice as they say it is.. Will take more pix.

Another thing that really makes sense in USA is the car-related designs. Little things about the cars which I'll explained below made so much sense it boggles my mind why we didn't adopt it in MY. For example, the remote control has the same features as our car in MY - lock, unlock, unlock trunk and warning (red). As you walk to the car and press unlock button in the remote, the headlights, in-door light and back lights all lit up for 10 or 15 seconds. Only the driver door is unlocked. The passenger door, the two back doors remained locked. This is a safety feature as only the driver can get into the car. Press the unlock button the second time and all the other 3 doors will be unlocked. Makes sense? This is especially useful in dangerous Kuala Lumpur. Inside the car, when you closed the door, there is a pleasant beep sounding to remind you that you need to buckle up and that the hand brake is up. If you start your car and get into gear and move with the handbrake on, this beep...

Every morning when I drive to work, I usually made many observations .. or I reflect back what happened the previous days. I thought I should share some of my observations with you. I found out that the reason the phone charger did not work is because US has a different voltage requirement. They are the only country, as far as I know, that uses 110V, where as the rest of the world, including Malaysia , uses 220V (or is it 240V?) .. anyway, that’s US for you – everything have to be different. I’ll have to find either a power converter or someone in the office who has a Nokia who happens to have a charger too. And I believed I have found someone who has it! Having said that, perhaps there is a reason to be different. I find that the traffic/road system in US makes a lot of sense. For example, and I am putting this in a Malaysian context, when you are in a cross junction with traffic lights and you wanted to make a left turn, you could do a left irregardless if the traffic lig...

I cannot believe that I am saying this but I am so glad to see the sun today! It's a beautiful day. I don't think I have seen the sun for 5 days! The office is brightly lit. It's nice. I'll post pictures later..

I am staying in one of those inns or suites that are pretty common in Dallas - perhaps because they have many big companies who have many assignees (read Indians) who came to United States for a few months to learn the ropes. The inn's setup is usually like this: They have one main building where the reception is located. There are many satelitte buildings behind or adjacent to this main buildings. In the main building, you find the reception and this lounge decorated like a house's "living room". This lounge has sofas, nice oak tables and chairs and a huge fireplace. This is the place where I eat my complimentary breakfast every morning. I'd love to take a picture of this lounge but I had no opportunity currently because every morning, there are many kwai los having breakfast there and I don't want to look jakun. Behind this building are the satelitte buildings. They are all built like homes and it looked like a huge mansion. Inside these buildings are the ho...

Today is my 3rd day in Dallas. My Indian colleague advised me that I should do some shopping like buying chips and drinks and bring them to office instead of buying them from the vending machine. She said Americans love to bring food to work so they save money that way. Otherwise, eating out is very expensive. Wise words.. So I went Target to do my shopping and I bought a few stuff.. one of them is this miniature 6-pack Diet Coke shown here. I am not sure if you believe me but the Diet Coke in USA taste much, much better than the Diet Coke (aka Coke Light) in Malaysia. Not sure why but it really taste better. However, I usually can't finished a can and this miniature Diet Coke just fits the bill. Behind the Diet Coke are Starbucks coffee. I bought two boxes - one box contain 4 bottles. The black label is Mocha Frappucino. The green one is Minty Mocha Frappucino Limited Edition. I bought a few boxes of Tamales for Mystic Grey.. bought a dozen miniature Pringles and Lays Potatoes chi...

I like cold weather. I hate the hot sun. But you know what? I hate winter too.. not because it is cold but because during winter, it gets dark really fast and you can't really do anything when it's dark and too cold. It's something that affected me psychologically. It's 5pm now and already it has started to get dark. I don't even feel like going out to shop. I wanted to buy my winter clothes as winter is approaching but I don't have the mood. I like to analyze things. I am trying to see if my reluctance to go shopping is due to the dark winter nights or if it was due to the fact that I have to shop alone now. I mean, a year ago, I probably don't mind shopping alone. A year with Anne and I can't bear to do things alone now. How le? So, let me assure myself by saying it's not Anne who's the factor here. It's the darn depressing winter chills and winter nights.

Sometimes the kwai los amazes me with their ridiculous ideas. I sat in my colleagues pick up today and guess what? Her car seat has this button that when depressed, will warm the seat! So as you sit in the car, the seat gets warmer and warmer and when it reach one point, it will stop heating it up. I mean, why would one need such a thing? Do we want a cold car seat back in MY? That would add more cost to the car.

I am now sitting here, in my PC room, waiting for the cab driver to come to take me to the airport, countless thoughts running through my head. It's weird. For the first time ever, I feel such reluctance from leaving the country. Anne play the biggest part in this, no doubt, but there are some other things that contribute to this. One of them is the fact that when I return, it will be Loochoomus' turn to leave the country - this time to Bangkok, probably for a the next 5 years. I had a mamak session with him just now and while he looked forward to the new life in Bangkok, he's also feel that our friendship will go the way most friendships divided by distance go - they just fade away. It's bizarre how life always take such a turn. Due to my skeptic nature, I am prepare for events like this - I always tell people that friends come and go - but when one of my best friends and companions are starting a new life in a "galaxy, far, far away", well, it's just aff...

Back in 2003 , I started this blog to chronicle my trip to Dallas. This weekend, I will be making another trip there and back at the end of Jan 2006. 3 years. Wow!

My sister married on Saturday, Dec 10. It was a good wedding, albeit a hectic one for my family. My thoughts on wedding still stand true , though. This time, instead of being bombarded with questions like "when are you getting a girlfriend?" or "when are you going to Australia?", I have a new, more friendlier, question: "when's your turn?" in which I gave the response "still too early to tell" and people would leave me alone. Phew. I tell you, it's a good change. At least, I am not so stress during weddings and CNYs anymore. Ha ha.. I'll write about it later.. I hope I have the time.. Very busy with work these days.

My dog Harry is totally usesless. I don't mind if he's useless, but he's also very stuck up. He's like a cat in a dog skin. Have you heard of dogs who ignore their owners? Only a cat does that. Dogs adore owners. Well, not my dog. Something hilarious happened yesterday night. It was a cool night after a heavy downpour. The wind was blowing and I decided to open the front door to let the cool air into our living room. I left the door open and continue playing Space Rangers 2. Suddenly, there was a loud bang. The wind blew my wooden door shut. I came out of the room to open it again and saw a cat in the living room. The loud noise woke Harry up and he saw the cat and stared at it for a minute. The cat flew upstairs. Harry realized it's a cat and started barking. The funny thing is, he didn't see that the cat ran upstairs. So there he was, running around our furnitures in circles, sniffing and barking non stop looking for the cat. I think that if it wasn't for...