Please do it at home!

"Oui! Wake up!"

The sneaky old specky guy!

The one shoe on one shoe off drunkard.

The scattered beer cans.

The drunk salary-man!

Super AWESOME-NESS!

830k Lines Code

Tokyo has the most dense railway system in the world. Just look at the map above, left one is JR Tokyo, right one is Tokyo Metro (which is mostly UNDERGROUND)! Except this, other private railway companies in Tokyo includes Keio, Tobu, Tokyu, Seibu, Keisei, Odakyu. So if you are in big major stations like Shinjuku, or Tokyo... @_@

Although with such complicated link, Japan trains are still dead on punctual. If it's 1 min late, people starts to look at their watch trying to reaffirm the arrival time. If it's 2 mins late, people will start to look a little bit daze and a bit lost. 3 mins late, apology announcement will keep on blasting over the speakers.

Huge respect!

But the most amazing thing isnt just this. In 2001, they introduced contactless smart card Suica and in 2007, PASMO which is based on RFID technology. Since Suica and Pasmo are interchangeable between each other, practically, you can use only one card on ALL the railway stations (regardless of different companies), bus systems, most of the convenient stores, vending machines, keyless locker systems, even tramways.

Point is: IMAGINE the PROGRAMMING CODE!

I knew this through Japanese listening and speaking lesson that I am attending. The video of this news was shown.

In year 2007, after half a year PASMO was introduced. Gate glitch gives commuters free ride. In this incident, at 2.30am, suddenly all the gate of 662 stations closed automatically with alarm triggered. At around 4am, after confirming there's nothing wrong with gate's hardware system, they concluded that software is the problem.

Now the big questions. How are you gonna debug a programming software with 830k lines!!! They knew it was the software problem, but which part of the software? Although I am not a programming person, I could also imagined that, they were in TROUBLES.

Nope. The Japanese done it like a breeze! It is reported that at 920am, operations starting to be back to normal. How the hell did they do that?!

I wonder what will happen if there's a glitch like this happening in Malaysia, "Apa? glitch? tak tau lah! makan kuih first!"

Lomo!

All photos taken with Diana lens : Soft Telephoto 110mm, EOS500D body with Diana F+ lens Adaptor EOS mount.

Itadakimasu！ いただきます

Went to Otousan and Okaasan's home for new year celebration. (お正月)!!

Foster parents were very kind to invite all of the students who were under their wings over for dinner. So, there were a lot of catching up, stories, and laughter to share. I was there around 3pm and my mouth didnt stop eating and drinking till late night. They took out boxes after boxes of awesome decorated super delicious Japanese sweet (お菓子), and okaasan fed me red beans soup dip in mochi, super delicious! Remind me of red beans soup from home. :D

Me and Kim Ean were there last year, but maybe because there were not as many attendees as this year, so we did not get to eat the traditional new year foods. It's called the osechi-ryouri お節料理. Similar to the Chinese, each type of food symbolize a good meaning like tons of children and offspring and so on. The history of osechi origin where women do not cook during the new year so they started preparing osechi before new year, put them in a box and eat for few days.

I was helping out in the kitchen to cut the sushi and sashimi. Okaasan thought us some trick to keep the sashimi fresh even up to few days, which is to wrap it in a super huge seaweed, called... I forgot. As first they open 6 boxes of osechi and lay them on the table, I thought that was too much, then, we prepared sushi... then sashimi... then whole box of crabs... Phew! After everyone was seated at the table, we drank Japanese sake from a traditional sake bowl, like those you see from the emperor movie, a flat bowl thingy almost plate like and you have to hold it with two hands, and drink all in one gulp. Of course, after that, we drank some red wine and Portugal wine.

The night went on until my last train. Loads of fun!

Gochisousamadeshita!

Happy 2010!

I love this time around Tokyo!! Because it's empty!! Where everyone gone back to their hometown.

What more meaningful that visiting temple to make wishes in this glamorous brand new year of 2010! The second decade of the 21st century!

So we went Meijijingu 明治神宮 to celebrate the countdown. We were stuck in the line when the clock struck 12 midnight, but with the Smirnoff in hand, we manage to make a little tiny celebrations while lining up, like a tiny fade-off sound. "wuuuhuu...." , then because the monks were chanting and drumming, so we went back to silent. I envied those guys beside us with Atsukan 熱燗, even looking at the steam coming out from the hot sake makes me feel warm. Imagine drinking it in this super chilling weather, warm tummy!

Happy 2010 Everyone!

Belated Christmas Dinner

Chocolate Fondue Fountain. Marshmallow!! Chocolate Fondue FOUNtain. Marshmallow!! CHOcolate FONDUE fountain. Marshmallow!! Chocolate Fondue Fountain. Marshmallow!! Chocolate Fondue Fountain. MARShmallow!! Chocolate Fondue Fountain. Marshmallow!! Chocolate fondue Fountain. marshmallow!! ChoCOlate Fondue Fountain!! Marshmallow!! ChoCOlate Fondue Fountain. Marshmallow!! Chocolate Fondue Fountain. marshmallow!! Chocolate FonDue Fountain. Marshmallow!! Chocolate Fondue Fountain. Marshmallow!! chocolate Fondue Fountain!!! MARSHMALLOW!! ChoCOlate Fondue Fountain. Marshmallow!!

PCS

PCS - Post Christmas Syndrome.

Definition: Retrovirus that is associated with the onset of rushing due dates during Christmas. Responsible for trauma developed after of not having Christmas celebration.

Causes: When the patient's siblings are all going for holidays in Singapore and taunt her of not able to join them.

Symptoms and Complications: Patient will post unrelated pictures on her blog on the 26th of December.

Click on picture for caption

Click on picture for caption

Psss! Big shout out to Joanne and Kuan Yew for their Wedding Day! Wish I were there for the celebration. Best wishes!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Holiday Season

Recently my life has really been centered around school, lab and assignments. So, I have no photos and updates to show you.

Except if you wanna know that graffiti is kidda a major problem in Japan, or someone has forgotten their keys.

Or, you wanna see the massive choices of drinks from vending machines and yet, I am addicted to coke.

Or maybe you wanna see my pissed-off face in a cold weather... Yea! It's friggin cold and I dont like it! I desperately need to bask in the glorious sunshine, best is the tropical sunshine with thick slap of sunblock... good old days.. good old days...

Or worst come to worst, I can show you the best pictures of all time from my blog collections, the Ueno zoo's awesome-kick-ass ape's butt.

The thing is, I made it a point not to mix up work and play. That's is the reason why you dont often see me blogging about my lab, research, and school. In addition to the reason that actually my lab is working on a super-secretive-world-domination evil project, I don't wanna reveal any secret that cost me my head. YOU DONT PISS IN THE WELL YOU DRINK!! (Oh! Maybe the last sentence here is not related, but I am just finding an opportunity to yell it out!), YOU DONT PISS IN THE WELL YOU DRINK!! (again...) but I really really really need to update my blog, so...

*Gulp Gulp Gulp*, three naughty bottles of beer boycotting Miss Orange Juicy Sunshine.

It was the year-end party celebration last Saturday. Everybody was suit up, ready to mingle in an environment where research was not the main topic of conversation.

Me and She-san in her fabulous cheong-sam.

We were jealous bachelor students had a group picture among themselves so we gather all master first year student and took this happy picture.

Saeki wanna steal all the spot light from us so we kicked him!

Because the alumi were all there, so we had to introduce ourselves. I was speaking in Japanese, but by the look of my face, I think I was too nervous and I crapped my pants.

And I think this guy found out, he cant help himself laughing his guts out.

Well, who cares, more alcohol please!

It was awesome fun sitting on tatami floor, the food and the drinks and the chatting, the accompany with lab members was beyond joyous, Happy Holidays!

Homeless

I saw an elderly homeless women stooping her head real low on the priority seats during rush hour today. It was obvious because people were avoiding that section of the car due to the stench. I took a glimpse on her, and it was conspicuous that the rainy day yesterday did not leave her, her shoes were muddy and her clothes were still drenched. Despite the cold rolling eyes from other passengers, she held tight the little possessions that she had.

I wonder where are her family.

Suddenly all my troubles just seem so infinitesimally tiny, even unworthy of mentioning.

Autumn Ramble

It's definitely unlike my first year in Japan, whereby incomparably I had way more free time than now, however, I do not wanna miss the beautiful colours of autumn, so after careful planning, some of the weekends outings are actually made possible!

Two weeks ago, Ahmet told me this fabulous place called the Japan Open-Air Folk House Museum (日本民家園) located inside Kawasaki, so as a reward of me finishing the preparations of my Monday seminar presentations earlier than scheduled, we headed straight off to this awesome place.

It's an open-air museum of the old Japanese Folk House from all around Japan. One of the most famous folk-house in the museum is the traditional houses which was originally located in Shirakawa-go, Gifu-ken. It is Japan's UNESCO World Heritage Sites, well known with their architecture style known as the gasshō-zukuri (合掌造り). You see, it snows so much in Gifu, so, this unique design allow the house to withstand the heavy snowfall.

Except beautiful scenery, it also exhibit stuff that the olden days people used. Like this below, was used to decorate the praying altar.

And olden days lantern.... not much changes since then.

Besides this museum in that area, it also has an art gallery, science museum, observatory deck. Definitely a recommendation if you wanna spend a day off inside Tokyo but away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

Two weeks later today, it's a celebration after a mentally and physically tired weeks. Except the seminar presentation, also had to prepare another presentation as part of a course assessment. Then two exams the following week. Until yesterday, finally finished all my duties as an obedient and proud member of my lab to help out in an external exhibition in Yokohama. (Yeap! we won the university category presentation, more on that later). Further I was down with a flu, and still am, I think the definition of the word "tired" is unquestionably under-rated in Malaysia. Talk about tired-ness, I never knew the exact meaning until now.

Rambling asides, despite the weariness and the flu, with my early Christmas present's first outing, we went to Rikugien Gardens (六義園) located in Komagome Station.

Starting from yesterday up to 13th December, this beautiful garden is extending their operation time up to 9pm in conjunction of the "light-up" event.

What else could I say? Breathtaking scenery!

Sad to say, although very much like to hang out longer till deeper in the night before the starting of another busy week, sleepy-head and the flu just would not leave me alone. Maybe it's time to pay the docs a visit to make sure I am free of the ongoing violent attack of H1N1 here. Oyasumi. :)

Early Christmas Present

I got myself an early Christmas present last Monday. (more like a very lame excuse to buy meself something). Can you tell what it might be?