New Years Eve 2010 : 5 years in the making

This is a personal thing for me. To celebrate new year's eve at the place I have reserved for tomorrow. I have been wanting to do it for quite some times and without even having to say to my wife about it, I only asked her whether she knows where we would be celebrating our new year, without even giving any hint, she already knew it.

It all started when we celebrate our first and last new year ushering 2004 somewhere in the vicinity of KLCC, the twin iconic towers of Malaysia, home to our oil company, which for better or for worse, is the most recognisable symbol of Malaysia's success, in some way or another.We celebrated that year just a few blocks from KLCC. Far from the maddening crowd but close enough to feel the heat of the firework. That was a last minute planning and our room was not even facing KLCC. We had to go down to the floor where the pool is to look at the firework. As we were impressed with the firework, we promised to celebrate it at this one hotel where we think the firework will be much better viewed and hopefully, it can be seen from our hotel room.

The next year, 2005, we were busy moving the furniture from our apartment to our current abode and we foregone all new year celebration. 2006 was our first year in our new home and we just want to experience it there. The next year, 2007, there was no celebration as our ruler, the Yang DiPertuan Agung, our King, had just past away and out of respect, all government new year function was canceled. In 2008, the Gregorian new year coincided with the Haj pilgrimage celebration and in 2009, it was the Muslims new year where we did celebrate in a very neighbourly style with our neighbours.

(Caveat on the dates as I might have mixed up the dates and the events which made us decided not to celebrate)

So, this year is it. A celebration where we want to be a bit special. Not that far from home and no big celebration, except to watch firework at KLCC Park. We just hope that there will be one but I did checked out the internet and found a few websites which promised a celebration of some sort in the vicinity of KLCC. Here are the links to suggestions on how to celebrate new year in Kuala Lumpur by KLUE Magazine and Time Out KL.

What I want to do at least once in my lifetime

This is not my ultimate bucket list or I am doing it due to some illness which may kill me but I am doing it just because I want to...

1) Stay somewhere where no one know who I am for more than one week or at least a month...

2) Travel to Las Vegas;

3) See the sun rises on top of some mountain (not really too keen but if there an easy climb somewhere...)

4) Go to Disney whatever...I mean, it can be Disneyland, Disney World, Disneyland Paris, Disneyland Tokyo, Disneyland Hong Kong, but my ultimate will still be where Epcot Center is...

5) Go see Yellowstone;

6) Go see the midnight sun;

7) Go to Antartica;

8) Go to the Oscar (or the Grammy; the Emmy or even the Tony);

9) Publish a book (which is very much in the making and getting nearer and nearer);

10) Go to KLIA on the midnight of the day before New Year's Eve, points to a departure monitor and go where my finger is pointing, without reservation or without any luggage with my wife there and then

Just some wish which I might be doing next year or maybe if I am stable enough...But it all starts with a dream...

Wouldn't be amazing to be on a deserted island for a month just with your love one...

It's that time of the year

...where you celebrate Christmas even though you are not Christian....

...where you take a holiday somewhere as everyone else is doing it.....

...where you go and meet up old friends to catch up on their stories....

...where traffic jam is the order of the day but you still go out to mall to see about that hoopla about that snowflake machine...

...where some parents lost their child in the mall and some parents lost their child for good....

....where you remember that you haven't finish your last year's new year resolution and some were never done at all....

...where you plan to do new New Year Resolution....

...where you know you shouldn't have that second helping but ended having a fourth....

....where conversations flow, some with the help of lubricants

....where you spend more than you had budget for...


....where love might just be in the air....

....where you know you shouldn't be at Gurney Drive but you did and now your car is at the police station....

....where you went back to your hometown but the you got angry as they keep asking why you come back alone...

....where you are just glad that it is the end of the year....

....where you say to your self the usual stuff at the end of the year then keep doing it again until the time comes to reflect back on the year...

....where you just enjoy yourself like you usually do every day of the year....

....where there's fireworks, joy and celebration all over the world....

What is social media without the people behind it

I was invited to a few events which are closely related to social media for the past 2 weeks. An event called P1 Social Media Night, hosted by P1 Wimax, which is infamous for its "Potong!" advertisement to its maverick way in marketing their broadband. I have been to quite a few of their events this past one year as they seem to engage bloggers and other social media networkers more than any other telecommunication company. Now, we have everyone of them noticing the social media network as a place to market their products. Their event started at 6.30pm and supposed to finish at 10pm.

At the same time, in another part of the city, Starbucks Malaysia StarbucksMY was throwing another event to celebrate their 11 years presence in Malaysia. The day had started early for Starbucks as they gave out free coffee between 11am - 1pm which I did managed to get in the local Starbucks near my office. Their party started at 7pm until late.

How did I managed to go to both events? By sheer ingenuity and knowledge of the traffic within the area that day, that's how (traffic was a nightmare that day!). And I even managed to go and watch Avatar 3D after that, which I will watch again and again as there are so many Avatar Tweetup happening in the next few days (2 at last count)

Erin and Baki Zainal

Rebecca and Andy

All thepeople above were at the #P1SMN which stands for P1 Social Media Night

p/s : I actually have a picture who is behind @StarbucksMY but seems to misplace it....I wonder whether she will allow me to post it. Such a bubbly person

Starbucks 11th Anniversary in Malaysia

It was a very fun even with the host using social media to invite and keep those on Facebook and Twitter in the know of what was happening at the event. With the theme masquerade, I was curious at how they can use a Starbucks in a mall to throw an event to celebrate their 11th year in Malaysia. Thanks to the emcees who one of them in Xandria Ooi and the other Starbucks area manager, which I apologise as I can't for the life of me remember his name. However I do have a picture of him in the video below.

The invite was sent to me by email but conveyed in the first instance to me through Twitter. See how important to have a social media life to get invited to a gathering of real life people nowadays? I did had to divide my time with another event but that will be another post on another day

Here are some pictures and a video of people having fun...

The cake which was mutilated by the time we arrived

Other cakes on offer

Twitter updates there and then with a screen to check yours

And this is the dance off to the tune of Jai Ho!

(the guy in yellow is the area manager)

Hard Rock Hotel Penang : Way past expiration

Not that I don't appreciate good musics from the early days of Rock n Roll but when I am in my office and sobered up from the rocking gastronomic experience which one would experience if one stays in a hotel where rock memorabilia is the order of the day, reality hits home. I was and actually still an avid fan of rock n' roll music and being close to all the memorabilia especially those in my teen age, it makes me wanna rip those showy guitar of the wall and rip some rift (not that I know how to play one).

Anyway, as I was trudging the hallowed hall of Hard Rock Hotel in Penang, (although new, the memorabilia is authenticated from legends) I bombarded the crew (the staff is called as such) there with rock trivia just to see how trained were they. I found myself to be very old with their answer. Most of them don't know the band which I am so in love with long ago like Guns n Roses, Nirvana and Bon Jovi. Don't let me start on how they have never even heard the songs of the Cure, Rolling Stones and Aerosmiths. The only one which transcend the age limit is Green Day who seems to have a second revival of sort with their current albums and was famous for Nookie during my time.

So, as much as I want to say I enjoyed myself there, Hard Rock Hotel Penang did makes one feel old and it is amplified with the staff there being young. Too young for my liking...

I love walking by the beach

If you have followed or stumbled on a few of my posts in this blog, you would know I love walking by the beach and I can actually walk nearly 1 or 2 km by myself by the beach. My wife usually follows until half a mile then drop back as I go through my pace.

As Hard Rock Hoetl is really just down the road from the famous Batu Feringghi beach in Penang Island, I walked twice the whole stretch as I want to go and see another favourite resort which I have stayed twice with my wife. The resort is the Lone Pine Resort which has more than one pine but the ambience there was always relaxing and it was a constellation of old bungalows. Now they are renovating it and adding more modern buildings. I hope there will be some bungalow still left when it is finished in September 2010.

Am having trouble with uploading the pictures of the beach and the place. Will update it late...

Hard Rock Hotel Penang : Wish you are here....

Am on holiday locally in Malaysia but with a foreign flavor.

I am at Hard Rock Hotel Penang. Was invited by my brother last October to accompany him here 3 days after it opens but was preoccupied with something else. Now it is our turn to have a rocking good time...

Regular programming will resume when I get out of any sleepy haze which comes with holiday...

Oh, and the theme here is mostly tribute to Elvis, the King and the Beatles...

During dawn just now, the only peaceful time here...

Where to get good steaks in Kuala Lumpur : Meatworks

When it comes to steak in Kuala Lumpur, I have been looking for a good one for quite sometime....

The problem with me is although I not really a fussy person, as I always order my steak medium rare, as I am a Muslims and always want all my steak to be certified halal. Which is not that easy in this supposedly Muslim country (yes, I am slagging my own country, like millions of other people in the world).

So, when a place called Meatworks, who is supposedly owned by a Minister's children opens up and it serves only halal approved meat, I just got to try it out. And tried it I did. Last Friday (did tried it a few months back but the offerings were not as it is now)

I was supposed to attend an event but was rejected at the last minute as the attendance was too overwhleming (some who followed me on Twitter might know this)

So, the restaurant is called Meatworks and it is located to a new trendy side of town, Soho KL.

The front

The counter where the meat are displayed

This is their biggest offering : 1 kilogram rib-eye

What I ate...

..medium rare....(a bit charred)

...in contrast with what my wife had

My verdict : The offerings are good at Meatworks and quite reasonable too. As a carnivore who never have enough of meat, I consider the best way to taste meat is to cook them without any sauce. Then you can dip it into anything that you fancy. The sauce was a bit sweet but standing by itself, as I love charred steak, although I did order medium rare, it was good.

Go to Meatworks for great steak and not for taking dates to...

Taking picture or posing for a picture?

Random pictures of people taking picture, either near KLCC or within KLCC....

And can someone answer me that question, taking picture or posing for picture?

The twin tower of KLCC is on the right side of my car and this is a fav spot for tourist to take picture of it

And this guy is actually the one taking the picture, but...