Announcement

Me and my betrothed will be getting married, or as some would like to put it, tying the knot on June 13, 09. I know that the date might not be convenient for many, it is for a fact the only date we have left to spare.

Also, marriage preps are ridicilously tedious. There's nothing easy in life anymore is there...

Cheerio folks.

Pulau Tioman : The Official Game of the Experience

5/25 achievements unlocked

100/1000g

1. Through the looking glass – 20g

Took a trip on the Mermaid and viewed the underwater world.

2. The Journey Begins – 10g

Left the hub town

3. N00b Traveler – 20g

Reached either Panuba or Paya Village (on foot).

4. The Road Less Taken – 30g

Make your way (on foot) to Monkey Bay .

5. You’re Winner! – 30g

Make your way (on foot) to the East-most village, Juara.

6. Through the Fire and Flames – 50g

Make your way (on foot) to the South-most village, Mukut.

7. Island Hopper – 30g

Crossed the ocean to another island during low tide.

8. Float ‘n’ Flow – 10g

Master the basic art of swimming; staying afloat, without the aid of a life jacket.

9. The Schwimmer – 20g

Swim!

10. Phelps In Training – 100g

A master of the art of swimming; Swim your way to Rengis Island.

11. Swimming With The Fishes – 50g

Buy your first snorkeling gears and successfully complete your first snorkeling mission.

12. iFish – 10g

Fish your first fish.

13. Fishing with Feeling – 20g

Fish at least 5 different types of fishes.

14. John the Fisherman – 30g

Catch a total of 100 fish

15. Legendary Fisherman – 50g

Catch a legendary class fish.

16. Return to Dragon Castle – 50g

Catch a turtle and put it where it belongs.

17. The Boyscout – 20g

Helped tourists find their way around the hub town.

18. Beach Runner – 30g

Make your way to the end of Tg. Said beach and back in under 10 minutes.

19. Xtreme Beach Volleyballer – 30g

Play and win a beach volleyball match

20. Lungs of Steel – 30g

Play and win the breath holding minigame.

21. Picture Perfect – 50g

Visit all the main villages on the island, and take at least 1 photo in each village.

22. Brochure Boy – 30g

Convince a friend to visit Tioman

23. Calling All Pals – 50g

Convince a group of at least 10 people to visit Tioman.

24. Master of Ceremonies – --g

This is a hidden achievement. You need to unlock it to view it.

25. GAME OVER – --g

This is a hidden achievement. You need to unlock it to view it.

Still Alive

Despite my apparent inactivity on the cyberspace for some time, I am in fact, still alive! A lot has happened during that time, like a half day walk to other parts of the island, learning to swim, befriended a gentleman from Germany, chat with a couple of Japanese in Japanese, and even walked across the ocean to another island! Yeah, I've probably scored more achievements in those 2 weeks than I did in 2 months of 2008. Okay, now lets talk about work!

Work sucks.

The long short of it, Tioman is a really good place and I'm liking it so far, save for the part where I don't have any video game consoles with me and no personal internet connection to browse gaming stuff. Oh, and work. Come to think of it, those should be enough reasons for me not to not like my stay here, but no. Truly a miracle that is.

If you're interested in visiting the place, just let me know and I'll try to to arrange something. And to all you Cohort 2 dudes and dudettes (especially those around Johore area), I implore you to come!

p/s: written from a PC in the staff room - where lots of stuff are blocked.

Still Alive, performed by Ellen McLain. Ending song for Portal. Sweet song; creepy lyrics. I like it. 4/5.

Alhamdulillah

Truth be told, I'm not perfectly happy with my current life. My (current-gen) consoles are broken, none of my good friends are around me, my favourite cat isn't with with me and worst of all, my most beloved person is far away from me. I can't even call her anytime I want. And working life...well, lets just say is nowhere near as fun and easy as my days as a student. The list of cons goes on and on.

But hey, look at the bright side. Reports indicate that as of January, more than 10 000 workers got laid off because of the economic downturn. I've friends who are local/overseas graduates who are desperately looking for a job to pay their loan whereas I've already secured a job well over 5 years ago with not single cent to pay nobody. I can't ask for anything better than that now can I. Sure, it isn't perfect but the pros outweighs the cons by a large margin. God has definitely given what is best for me, Alhamdulillah.

Alhamdulillah performed by Too Phat and Yassin. Alhamdulillah literally translates as 'praises be to God (Allah)', or something like 'Praise the Lord'. I'm not a big fan of hip-hop/rap music, but Alhamdulillah won me over. Great song.

Welcome Home

As I'd mentioned in the previous post, I managed to get myself a place to stay in Tioman. It isn't much of a house. Well, it isnt't even a house to begin with; getting a house in Tioman is borderline impossible. The place I'm renting in now is a small chalet. When I say small, I really mean small. I left the cables for my camera in the room (silly me) so I couldn't put the pictures here, but here's a schematic of the room.
It's about as big as 6-tatami room, probably even smaller. The small space beside the bed is just enough one person to perform the prayers. By the way, the bed takes up about 60% of the space. There's no kitchen so I have to eat out every day. Good thing there are restaurants nearby. Grocery stores, and most importantly, the school where I'm working at are also within walking distance.

The room is equipped with air-con and water heater, but I agreed not to use it, unless I want to be paying more than RM250/month. I'm not exactly thrilled with my new home, but I am thankful to have one. At least I won't be obliged to stay in the warden's room anymore, so at this point, I really can't afford to be picky.

Welcome Home, performed by Metallica. Also known as sanitarium. This is metallica in their prime.