Rhoti John Bimasakti

It's simply the best. You can only find this at my neighbourhood in BBU, and there's no other Roti John in the world like it.

The portion of the bread is small compared to other Roti John's, like 1/3 of the normal length. The 'brader' who made these Roti Johns uses soft bread, not those big hard ones. And the filling in the middle is made of eggs mixed with a minced meat in a special sauce. The sauce is cooked like you would an egg, and then bread is put on top of it. After it is cooked, mayonaise, black pepper sauce mixed with some other 'mystery' sauces onto the filing.

The Roti John costs around RM 3.00, which is expensive considering it's size, but it's really REALLY worth it. I've been eating other Roti John's in most part of this country, and none of their best could even compare to a slice of these. If you would ever come to Johor Bahru, come to BBU in the evening and head to the park situated in Jalan Padi Ria 5, Bandar Baru UDA. It's worth coming down to, believe me.

Bringin' On The Heartbreak

How often do we look at a man's shoes? Its amazing how men became so particular about what they wear, especially shoes. I can still remember, the first shoe I fell in love with, at the time I was around 5 years old and have been rummaging through my dad's store and found a pair of his blue high-top old skool Adidas, which he used to wear when he was in college...it was really seasoned, but the first sight took my breath away. It looked kinda liked this:

The moment I saw it, I became obsessed with 80's style high tops, or any shoes similiar to that.

When I began primary school, the first shoe that I really wanted for myself was a white pair of high-top Bata "Lazer", or what kids at that time named it, because it had "lazers" or what is actually LEDs planted at the back of the shoe so that red "lazers" would blink when you walk or run. It was the IN shoe that time, every kid wanted one, I wanted one, and asked my mom for it, be she turned me down. She tought the idea of wearing a pair of shoes with "lazers" is not suitable for 7 year olds. I cried real hard back then.

I got older, it was my 11th birthday and I could choose my own pair shoes for Hari Raya. I got this baby:

If I'm not mistaken it's a Reebok Hex, it its really light. Too bad it had to go away, "It's too smelly...and it's full of fungi" was my mom's reason.

Then, when I'm 12 I tried changing to a pair of skate shoes, Dr. Cardin's as I recall. Didn't work for me. I 'destroyed' it when I brought it along camping. It got wet and again, FUNGI.

13, raging hormones. I wanted colour, so:

It was a simple pair of sneakers, very comfy too, and cheap. A red New Balance (again, fads). New Balance was sooo IN, and it offers a lot of choice in terms of colours. This particular one was used till I'm 20, so that was a good 7 years of service. It got stolen by some jerk who thought I wouldn't mind giving away a battered-dirty-seven-year-old-cheap-red-New Balance shoes. Motherfucker.

1999, Hip-Hop hits Malaysian teenagers. Baseball caps, invertable basketball sleeveless and oversized jeans are adorned by many sweaty highshool kids. Do you remember this:

Ahhh yes, THE Yellow Boots, and is still popular. Wearing a pair of these can get the chicks from the neighbouring girl's school go Gaga over us boyzzzz (or so we thought). The boys liked it because it adds height. More height = Taller = Cooler = More chicks Gagaing over us booooooyzzzzz. How simple.

When I got into college, well, I suddenly lost interest in shoes. I got caught in the jeans fad and most of the shoes I bought was loafers and more boots. It its all either black or brownish, earthy colours to be exact; pretty boring actually.

And then last year, it came back to me, the bright-blue Adidas high-top. And suddenly all this excitement about high top shoes started coming back to me again, like riding on a bicycle after not being on one for a long time, the feeling of gentle wind upon your face as you glide and breezes away the trickling sweat. Refreshing.

I tried looking around for any kind of cool high-tops I can get. I'm so tired of black and brown, I wanted something with colour, something that taps into my inner kid, the satisfaction of wearing something that others might not dare to wear. Can I find something like that?

This is the Nike Dunk Hi Supreme Spark. Even the name tells you it's something. The cheezy pink leather, with the 'swoosh' in Black (leather too). The leathers are stiched on a black textured nylon, and they even add those fluorescent green to make it 'pop'. I totally love it, from the padded tounge to the ankle collar, plus the gum soles makes walking stickier so you don't feel all slippery in one of these. The special padding inside can get you walking for hours without getting tired. However, as a pair cost me RM 500, I have to be really careful in choosing when to wear these. If its raining, it stays in the house.

I know, its still fad. Whatever. I like it.

I'm looking forwards to get my hands on these:

Supras. I get multiple orgasms just by looking at these...Damn! I must have either one , I don't really care...they all look so good!

But my all time favorite high top is:

It's everything. Everyone loves it; it's cheap, it's durable, it's comfy and it's white! It's the only shoe in the world that gets 'awesomer' when it's dirty. It's fuckin' simple.

House Of Maggots

408, or the House of Maggots, that's where we live. This is THE DUDE's house, you can only find alpha males and chauvinists living here. I totally love it, and here's why:

1. There are 4 laptops, and 2 PCs, anyone visiting the house is free to use whichever that is not occupied
2. In this house, you can find 40 pairs of shoes. Yes, 40, even though we are all male (alpha males mind you) of different types, sizes and brands. Most of the cool ones belong to Kerak, and we never had the problem of running short on shoes (pun intented)
3. There are 7 members in this house. We also extend our membership to another 6 people (who doesn't pay bills and rent), who comes and goes every now and then; some for the purpose of crashing and some just to hang out
4. Smoker's galore, where everyone's ciggy is everyone's!
5. I, as the sole owner of an audio woofer system, also holds the power the play any kind of music at any level of noise I choose. Plus I have another amplifier for my guitar, noise level falls under my jurisdiction too
6. You can find 2 acoustic guitars, 2 electric guitars and a keyboard. Feel free to jamm
7. From the window, you can checkout chicks (or hunks for you gals) going to the faculty during the morning. Nothing better to start a day then to stalk somebody from afar. More fun: jeer at passerbys for no particular reason at all
8. We don't actually need an ashtray, we can just chuck it out of the window :p
9. It's alive 24 hours, 7 days a week. There is always somebody awake, doing whatever shit they want to do.
10. This house holds 1 lecturer, 1 kamen rider, 1 alien, 2 vampires, 1 werewolf, and 1 chemist.
11. DotA anytime
12. All 7 dudes share 1 tube of toothpaste, and 1 bar of soap. Amazing where it can last up to 2 weeks
13. Execise are not necessary; 4th floor+stairs ONLY
14. 7 members in a house, plus 6 members that comes occasionally but only one person left to do all the tidying up, me. Beautiful.

Torn?

You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometimes you just might find
You get what you need - Rolling Stones

There is this certain age in life where you will want something, real bad
At that age you won't understand why, the things that you want would always run away
And at that age, people around you would tell you that god won't always give
you what you want, but you will get what you need
At that age, you'll throw away what you need, and will pursue what you want

There is also another stage in life, where you can GET what you want
But instead of taking for what you can have, you turn to what you need
You realize that you need that something,
and the things that you want doesn't seem all that important

And then there is this phase where you'll want both
This is where you screw up, cos you WANT what you want and what you need

Funny you know, the human desires...

Indonesia Hebat!

Ahh, Indonesia...camne nak describe..nak kate best gile takdelah, nak kate tak best pon tak best gak..tapi ape yang aku tau, aku nak pegi situ lagi bile ade chance!!!

Nak describe bebetullah Indonesia ni, susahlah, tapi meh kite cube dulu:

1. Merokok di merata tempat, kat airport pon boleh, kat dalam tuuu
2. Smue orang isap kretek, baik yang tue, yang muda, yang huduh, yang chuun, yang kurus ataupun yang slim
3. Diorang cakap laju dowh
4. Awek sane chun dowh
5. Kalo ko rase ko ngidam nak makan mee goreng, baik korang prepare untuk makan mee segera. Kat sane smue mee goreng kat kedai buat pakai Indomee segera
6. Diroang suke Ajinomoto
7. Diorang smue rambot lebat, jeles lak aku hahaha
8. Awek sane chun dowh
9. Awek sane chun dowh
10. Kalo ko rase kat Malaysia ko ni rempit terhebat ke, Drift King ke, kat sane ade lori tgh drift sambil memotong kat tgh2 jalan raya sibuk sambil mengangkut di belakangnya belasan orang yang menumpang, smue tgh isap rokok buat muke slambe ajer
11. Driver kat Indon smue dah disablekan function 'signal' krete, diorang tukar pakai horn
12. Nasi Padang sane diorang hidang byk nak mati lauk atas meja, pastuh pandai2 korang lah makan and bayar...macam makan otak2 laaa
13. Mat rempit indon merempit tak pakai helmet, pakai sluar pendek dgn sliper SAHAJA
14. Kat sane byk orang mintak derma. Kalo ko rase ko ni ade OCD yang sirius and nak melancong gi Indon, pakai biasa2 dah la...kalo dia tau ko kaya diorang serbu ko cam tebuan
15. Kite makan Nasi Ayam, diorang ayam ngan nasik
16. Nak reverse krete kene ade orang tahankan krete lain yang tgh jalan, jgn harap la diorang nak bagi ko kluar. Lepas tu, ko kene bagi tip kat orang yang tolong tuh
17. Kat sini kalo aku jalan2 kat mane2, mesti ade orang toleh sebab aku botak. Kat Indonesia, smue orang toleh tgk aku sbb aku pakai cermin mata (sbb orang baya aku kat sana ramai yang tak rabun, maklumlah, diorang kuat makan sayur)
18. Kat sane helmet macam2 kaler n design, dan kesemua helmet ialah full-faced.
19. Kat sane, orang ada dimana mana saje. Kat tepi2 lorong, kat depan kedai, tepi kedai, blakang kilang, siap ade yang berkelah kat tepi jalan raya lagi!
20. Kuda laut hidup dijual dlm plastik kat tepi2 pantai, cam orang jual air oren kat budak2 sekolah plak
21. Kalo kuda laut tu mati, diorang buat ubat (eeeew~~~)
22. Kalo orang tempatan masuk tandas, bayar 1000 rupiah je (RM0.30++). Kalo diorang dengar ko cakap2 dalam bahasa selain bahasa indonesia before masuk toilet,naik jd 2000 rupiah!
23. Jalan 2 lane bleh jadi 5 lane
24. Kat Indonesia, diorang panggil jamm (kesesakan lalulintas) "macet", hahahahahaha!
25. Ombak kat Malaysia kiut2 je, kat Indon ombak telan orang punya line
26. Kat Indonesia, gadis2 ramai tak pakai tudung, sbb kalo ko pakai tudung die panggil ko "Ibu", cam adik aku kene ahahahahahaha!
27. Mak pakai tudung labuh, bapak pakai kopiah, anak kat depan pakai tights n tube top...aruuuuu~~~!
28. Kat Indonesia, awek2 smua pakai skinny jeans n tight leggings, aruuuu~~!
29. Laki kat indon suke pakai hood, tengahari pon pakai gak
30. Kat factory outlet store sane ade jual condom n lubes...aku pon tak paham
31. Ade skali ni sekumpulan mat2 Indon ushar panas kat aku, cam mat rempit Malaysia ushar panas mat indon kat sini, seram dowh...
32. Awek sane chun dowh~~!!!!!!!!!

Demand Support

Indie bands versus mainstream music in Malaysia. That's what they've been talking bout these days; why indie band stand out, why indie band sucks, why mainstream music needs change, why mainstream music is better than indie bands...it doesn't really make sense does it?

My point here is that people are comparing music from two very different sources and labelling them as genres (if you would put 'indie' and 'mainstream' as genres that is) What's wrong listening to mainstream music? What's wrong listening to indie? Why compare music? Why degrade a certain genre? Aren't music suppose to be subjective, where anyone can listen to anything they want to listen to?

Why do most Malaysians degrade the indie movement?

Some people don't like indie because of the scene, the impact that gives to our youngsters, like a plague brought down from virus infected meteors on earth. Suddenly kids everywhere wears the same style of clothes, same hairstyle, same skinny jeans...Some, even hate indie bands for singing their songs in Malay; jumping on the bandwagon they say. Quite true i suppose, cause before, indie scene in Malaysia had always been in English; OAG, Flop Poppy, Butterfingers to name a few.

Maybe they don't understand indie in the first place...most consider indie as a genre, which is partially true. But what does it really mean to be indie?

Indie is the understanding that music should not come in genres, music should be independent, free from any type of musical, content or language reasons. Indie is an expression, an expression that does not fall within limits. To express is to tell a story or and idea transcending the boundaries of self, culture and even religion. Indie is SUPPOSE to be a movement, to revolutionise and to extort limitations from songwriters and music listeners alike.

Well, its not wrong to place indie as a genre, but think of the implication of this would develop into? Pattern. A pattern of the same sound, shared by numerous bands, copied and recycled. If indie were to be labelled as a genre, they will develop this idea that if its not broken, it should not be fixed; if a certain style or pattern in writing a song works, why try hard in finding new music? If indie is labelled as a genre, then where is the 'indieness' in Malaysian music? The soul and originality of a songwriter? The expression of musical ability and musical messages?

But then again, it's not the listeners fault in the first place. Youngsters are conditioned to follow what are shown and given to them. I remembered this audition ad for a Twisties commercial aired sometime ago. It displayed how to become an 'indie', which is to grow your hair long, colour it then bang your head...what's that suppose to mean?? Stereotyping could never be more degrading than this. Youngsters are indoctrinated that for them to become an 'indie' (again, labelling), they only need to have this certain style of dressing or a specific image of to present themselves to the public. In the end, these guys would turnout to be one of them 'posers', not understanding a bit of what indie means, but declare themselves as a disciple to the indie understanding.

So, back to the question, "Why most Malaysians degrade indie movement?" Do they feel that the Malaysian music industry can make a breakthrough through rock kapak? Or ballads? Do Malaysians really think that by recycling the same pattern we did back when our music industry was in a glorious state would be suffice for us to evolve?

Indie is what we need right now, the catalyst that will instill in our youths the understanding that they can do it if they believe in it, they can do it if they put effort and pursue it, to escape from the social stigmata that Malaysian youth cannot succeed in the musical industry, to escape the stereotypical Malaysian style of songwriting and especially, to start a revolution, a fresh start that might change the Malaysian music scene into something of it's own. Still hate Indie? HATE indie for a cause, but SUPPORT Indie for a cause.

Hear ye!

Another short one:

Reasons for writing blogs:

1. Bored
2. To share memories or...
3. To share ideas, or discuss
4. To slam other people's ideas
5. To improve writing (??)
6. To show off your writing skills (I guess most opt for this)
7. To hookup with new bloggers; babes for men, hunks for ladies, or same gender (yuck)
8. For assignments (task given by teachers or lecturers)

Whatever the reason is, blogging is a place of sharing....so if you don't like a certain blog, clear things up with the writer before you judge them. Most people like to blindly assume that certain 'hate' pieces of writing are about them, therefore involving themselves in meaningless fights wih the writer.