PaintBall aka "PainBall!!"

Date: 9th June 2007
Time: 9:00 AM
Place: TT Sports Park, Subang Jaya
Why?: Company team building event


I guess it was sooner or later that PaintBall would be in our list of team events to do. It finally happened last saturday and I guess it will be a first and last for our team as the company has decided to discourage PaintBall due to health and safety reasons...hehe Nevertheless PaintBall is actually a very good event for team building, you really have to work together if you wanna win. Working in an island will just get you killed in a spatter of paint in no time...hehe

There are several ways to play paintball and should not be too alien for you guys and girls that play multiplayer games...hehe. Capture the flag and last man standing are the 2 common games paint ballers play. In our case, we played Last man standing which basically means, "killed everyone" hehe that is get all the opposing team off the playing field to win.

I'm a complete noob when it comes to paintball. We get to use a gas-powered rifle which can fire the paint ball at 280ft per sec. That can really hurt if you shoot someone at close range. But for most of the time it just feels like getting hit by tiny stones from far range. They use CO2 gas to power the rifle. The rifle or "marker" has a hopper (bullet catridge) with a small fan to suck in the paint ball to the gun barrel. Body armour is basically a jump suit or just a plastic body vest with compulsory head mask. Here is a pic:

Once you know how to operate the Marker, next is just how you position yourself on the terrain. On the field I played, it was a mix of old tyres and plank obstacles called "bunkers" that you can hide behind and snipe your opponents. The bunkers mostly have gaps in between so you can slot in your marker and take pot shots. But beware, you could get hit from there as well. All it takes is 1 lucky shot and your're out.

However, what really happens most of the time is that you most likely run out of pellets and have to leave the field. No in-game reloads were allowed...sigh. Also, the markers do not have exactly the number of pellets you'ed expect. This is because they are loaded using rough estimation (poured from a jar/canister filled with pellets to a certain level) instead of counting pellets. The game generally lasts 5mins per round and are watched closely by marshalls. They will ensure the rules are adhered to, ordering you out when you ran out of pellets or even when some pain spatter "killed" you without you knowing. No use arguing with the marshall as their decision is final.

Here are some more pics of the action. Bottomline, paint ball (or pain ball depends how you look at it) is a must try for all you sniper wannabes! I've tried Laser Tag game before, paintballing beats that hands down in terms of thrill factor. Although running out of bullets is a real drag! Oh well can't have it all!

Dinner at Rahsia Restaurant

Date: 8th June 2007
Time: 7.30 PM
Why ar? : Company dinner and farewell

Now this place was called Rahsia (secret) really because it is a secret! Not many knew about it's existence, not even me until recently. I attended a company dinner there and it was quite a good experience actually. The ambience was ok, and food was not too bad. Although some of the drinking glasses were not very clean ( i suspect coz there was so many of us they had to bring out the wares from storage to serve us). I guess the price was kinda pricey but then again you pay for good service, ambience and privacy right in the middle of KL city.

Located just behind Empire Tower near Ampang Park shopping mall, a 10 minute walk will take you to this place. Its actually a big bungalow that was converted into a restaurant. Here is a pic of the frontage:
Dinner tables are arranged inside and outside the house, so its up to your fancy where to eat. Beware of mosquitoes though if you're sitting outside. Your date in a hot/short dress might not take it too nicely...heheh. Ok on to the food!!

I went for the lamb shank, which in my opinion fulfilled the basic "shank" requirements. It's sauce is tasty, the meat soft and tender, slides off the bone with ease. However it didnt make me go "Wow!", I think i've had better shanks...hehe Don't take me wrong though, its quite good! Here is a shank shot, forgive the low quality camera phone pics!
Some of my friends attacked the beef tenderloin pictured below. It was a medium rare event but glad to note that it wasnt so bloody this time. However the cow did won in the end as some could not finish the portion and was "chewed out of breath"..hehe. Oh yea it was good they say ;) To call it a night, I settled for the Tira-mitsu which was alcoholic. I think it one of the best tira-mitsu I've had so far, not bad indeed. Here is a pic:
So, would I pay Rahsia a visit again? Hmmm, not in the very near future due to wallet constraints but I do recommend it if you want a private and cosy place to eat espeacially if you're in the KLCC or Ampang area and don't want to put up with traffic or parking woes. Cheers!

Secret Recipe's Mud Cake

Warning: Chocolate overdose ahead! If your doctor has cleared you for the next sugar rush...please read on

What to do with your chocolate crave? Head on down to the nearest Secret Recipe outlet and order yourself a mud cake. Its big on...what else...CHOCOLATEY goodness! Its thick and ber-goods! Here take a pic:

Mee Goreng Special!

This is the lowdown. you have not ate Mee Goreng (fried noodles) if you have not tried the Mee Goreng at Pulau Tikus, Penang. Its in a corner chinese restaurant in Bangkok Lane and manned by Mr Mahbub (who used to have extreme afro hair style in the 80s...hehe). My favorite would be the Mee Goreng special (noodles with special peanut sauce, potatoes, fried beancurd, beansprouts, cuttle fish) and cool ice barley or ice tea. Here is a pic...

Of course, don't forget the famous resident cat of this restaurant. Caught napping in a carton box!

Pocket sized Mat Rempits?

Recently there was a pocket bike (mini bike) race event held in Cyberjaya in conjunction with Cyber's 10th annivessary. Can't help but to notice how competitive and violent the race could be. I see kids "tail gating" other kids at 30-40kmh and pushing them aside causing them to crash and tumble that would make your heart go queasy. Unlike go-karts where the occupant doesnt need to do a superman dive on the asphalt. This were girls and boys (mostly appear below 12yrs old) both equally agressive banging up themselves all over an improvised car park racing circuit.

My question would be, what is the future of kids racing pocket bikes? We see kids going from go-karts to A1 and maybe to F1. But pocket bikes?...In Malaysia all I can think of is Mat/Minah rempits to Castrol Sprinta races, then what Penunggang Puaka (Ghost Rider)?? No where near the Moto GP I'm afraid. I also dont think getting your kid's arm fractured before he/she turn 12 is a good idea....but Msia boleh I guess...

In case you wondering how a pocket bike looks like...have a look below:

Changing Kelisa's engine mounting

Waaa...this one headache man!

Yes, it took some planning, much time and $$$ to get this done, I might as well blog about it. So all you Kelisa or Kenari drivers out there can benefit somewhat from my experience.

The original engine mountings are made in Japan and generally will last you about 4-5 years. Now theres a reason why they are VERY EXPENSIVE as I will explain later. There are 3 engine mountings to get and they are placed at the bottom of the engine, on a black metal frame that is bolted to the car body. There is one at the front (easiest to change), one at the side near the gearbox and one more at the rear, behind the steering rack assembly(hardest to change). They cost a bomb, enquiries at Perodua will set you back around RM 850 for all 3 of them.

Looking at the mounting, I cannot figure out why they are so expensive. Its just piece of rubber and steel housing. My foreman later explained that in that piece of rubber has embedded oil that help absorb the engine's vibration. Also, the rubber is cut with gaps to allow the rubber to flex properly. Now, using orginal parts, you can be assured of good quality and properly designed mountings, but if your are not able to afford it like me :(, going for compatible mountings are a 50/50 thing. More often than not its no where near as good as the original.

My word of advise? Just get the rear piece original (the most expensive est about RM 450) and the rest 2 compatible ones. The other 2 can be changed without removing the entire engine and are relatively cheap to change. The rear one is the one you have to watch out for and if you can...just get the original.

Some pics to share with you...

Front bumper, radiator and panel removed.Woaa...Thats my 3-cylinder 1,000cc DOHC engine fully removed. The black frame is what the mountings sits on and this frame is bolted to the main car body via some tough screws.

A gaping hole is all thats left to get to the rear mounting...merciless..

The dinghy is fully inflated!

Hello and welcome to this brand new blog!!

You are probably wondering what's a dinghy!?! Its basically a small boat usually manned by one or two person(s). I'm using it simply to illustrate my journey migrating from Malaysia to the land downunder, Australia. The whole process of migration up till now just felt like inflating a rubber dinghy, pushing it out in the sea and braving the waves until I reach my destination!

In summary,

Origin: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Destination: Melbourne, Australia
When: August 2007
Reason: Migration

I will be updating this space to document experiences/issues as a newcomer migrant down under and all sorts of personal views and thoughts! I've also organised the posts into categories (by labels) so its easier to find. Do comment if you want to! Remember to check back periodically ya! Cheers!