The Renovation of My Little World from 2010 - 2014

In my latest blog design, I find myself going extremely simple in everything. Perhaps, I have matured along the way with high tendency to seek for a more convenient of life. Hahahaha, I believe I am experiencing the mid-life crisis. Anyway so far, it has been a year since I changed my theme. This time around, I was spending quite some time to do research on how to give a simple look on my blog. I removed all the fancy gadgets, background image and gave it a less clutter look. Other than that, here are some of the tips I used for my bloggie design, mainly referenced from http://helplogger.blogspot.co.uk/:

1. How to align the blog header image - this was quite a frustrating experience in blogger template adjustment. But the code from here solved my problem
2. How to optimise google search for blog post title -  As the post title always started with the blog title, this gives a less attractive search results for the posts. Please find the self-explanatory from here.
3. Removed the blogger bar (can be done now) which make my blog looks more clean.
4. Gave a new blogger image (^^) with description on who I am. Finally a mini-masquerade mask pic taken in Venice!
5. Gave a new blog header image, also taken in Venice.
6. Added the facebook like button, which is quite good for publicity. And, so far, only this post worked for my blog. 

This basically sum up the minor yet time-consuming edits!!!!!!! 

Just as life will always goes on and earth will always spin, My Little World has been transformed for so many times that I lost count. My regret now is that I did not save a printsceen of my blog designs previously. Thank goodness with https://archive.org/web/, I manage to retrieve some of blog interfaces I applied last time from 2010 and 2014. Yet, many were lost. 

Oh gosh, 2010 was a dark year for me? I don't exactly remember why it was so dark. Then 2011, I decided to go green, Oh yes, I still remembered the Japanese Garden's bridge which was used as the blog header pics.  

Then, in 2012, I decided to give a more messy design, which the background pics were taken in Dreamz Bakery . Over the year in 2013, I was back to simple design with brownish background.

In later of 2013, I was having a liking to yellow designs thanks to the Hard Rock image taken in Penang. As you can see in 2014, my life has gotten slightly complicated. Therefore, any simple gestures/ designs/ lives/ happiness seems to be my cup of tea. 

If you are missing out some of the blog design/ or you wonder how was your blog evolve/ mutate over the years, you can always try to find it using https://archive.org/web/. 

My First UK Blog Post - A View from My Window

This year was crazy - 2014. The workload was okay but the uncertainties were definitely high. So, after years of dreaming to study in overseas and all, I finally had my wish came true as a Ph.D student. Hahahaha, kinda old to keep on studying, but gonna keep going on!

It is of course a great opportunity, since I am running off to United Kingdom (UK) for a year. So far, everything treats me okay, except for the weather - reasons >>>the temperature difference between morning and evening can be > 10 DegC. Yes, for this reason, I have suddenly suffer from minor migraine - which in my entire life, this is not an issue. I can't stay up late in UK, can't boil midnight oil>>> maximum drop-sleep time is 1145pm. @@

Anyhow, the groceries here and food here (I mean from supermarket) are quite affordable in the sense that it won't kill off your wallet at the end of the month. No car for me, good for diet! Hahahaha, people here are quite polite until it is frightening at one point. And, at Nottingham here, I feel quite cosy. It is a city with nice buildings and architectures and great food. 

As for the utility bill, it is still quite a weird arrangement. For water bill, we prepaid an estimated water usage for 6 months @@. As for electricity bill, we need to submit our own tariff reading, else they will calculate based on past record. This is a whole culture shock to me (^^).

This sums up my current life. I have been so busy with research etc. At one point, I was so phobia of writing even a single word. It actually took me a lot of determination to write this post and select the fine pictures above. 

Never thought that this post is actually 9 months apart. Great that my posts productivity declined greatly, because I am living a real life or Am I? By the way, my bloglink also changes over here to xjion89.blogspot.co.uk . Guess because I am in UK. Hahahahaha. Keep in touch and keep supporting my blogs. 

Cheeeeers, 

xjion a.k.a Jay  

Lady Luck 2012-2013

"Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment", by Jim Rohn, Author, Motivational Speaker 

Ups and Downs are part of life. You can't escape from this circle of life. Therefore, like what Jim Rohn said, we must maintain discipline in life even joining contests (^^). Therefore, despite deprived of luck, 2012 - 2013 still were not that bad. 

Of course, from the pic, you might thought I just won a bag, not just any bag - it is a glowing-in-the-dark beg!!!!!! Hahaha, inside the bag, it was a Sony-Audio player!!!! You can see that there are some signatures; well, it was used in a contest by a winner team. I like this player as it can play cassette, CD, radio, etc. Most of all, it had become my lucky charm (^^)  

When you thought that life was not going to get better, I won a voucher to SPA treatment which I had to pass to my housemate! Lucky housemate as I was leaving back to home (><). It was from True Fitness somemore leh!!!!!

This was quite unexpected! A Norton-Anti-Virus 2012 had been won through a online contest. Despite the hustle in collecting the gifts, it was quite useful (^^)~~~ Too bad renewal will cost a leg....At least, I had one safer year online ~~~~

Hopefully, 2014 even though will be expensive and difficult, I still wish that 2014 will be a lucky year !!!! Huat arrrrrrr (^^) !!! Overall, 2012-2013, lady luck is still by my sides (^^)

Oh Kellie, A Castle For You

"The Key to finding a happy balance in modern lives is simplicity" by Sogyal Rinpoche.

This is definitely another overdue post. Kellie Castle, a magnificent heritage in Batu Gajah, long existed in 1915. However, the completion was hindered after the death of Kellie. Until today, it still stands on the ground of Perak.

From the architecture viewpoint, the design of the mansion/ castle is more to European/ Western style since Kellie was a Scottish. There are numerous of spacious rooms being constructed in the castle. The structure and arc built is definitely not an easy task, with cumbersome design and implementation.

  The yellow building is said to be the dinner/ feast hall if it was ever completed. The structure found in the Castle is often designed as round arc and onion-like shape; perhaps, an integration of local style into castle was applied.

Here are some of the little details in Kellie Castle. Door and Key. Entrance Arc. Square building. Onion-like windows. Clover-leaf-like air ways.....

The entrance fee was about RM4 per person. When my gang was there, the castle was undergoing some renovation. Still, it was worth our time! And, we spotted wedding photoshoot here too!!!! It is interesting to see and read some of the descriptions given in the mansion. It is assumed what was supposed to be though. Give yourself some imaginations when you are there (^^)

Nokia 5730 Memory: Ants, Tree, Sky and The Decision

If they try to rush me, I tell them I've only got one other speed, and that's slower, Taurean Glenn Ford

Here is a new tradition of my post every now and then to include a quote. One fine day, I dug up an old exercise book from my secondary school/ high school days. It was truly inspiring as I opened the book and found meaningful phrase/ quote that I either copied from the newspaper or from the internet. My state of mind was instantly rejuvenated, seeing that myself was once a determined individual. I copied about 300++ in my book!  I would like to share out my might to keep living on (^^)

Anyway, let me talk on the phone 1st. Nokia 5730 of 3.2 megapixel phone was a phone I won 4 years ago! Yup, my slogan actually won a grand prize in a online contest. It was valued at about RM 1300++ as it was just released not long ago. The specs of the phone that time was more than impressive; not only it has a qwerty keyboard (hidden), it is also an internet phone. This meant a lot to me as it was my 1st smartphone!!!!!!! I also just want to say that Nokia's Carl Zeiss's lense is truly awesome. 

Right now, I rarely uses Nokia 5730 to take photos eversince I change my phone to Nexus 4 which is a touchscreen smartphone. Therefore, as a memory of Nokia 5730 serves me, I shall share the photos as a walk down on memory lane. (Long-winded post indeed)

The Ants, Tree and Sky was taken at my university - University of Nottingham Malaysia. Those ants were the ferocious red ants; once bitten, it would definitely hurt. I was so surprised that my Nokia 5730 had the capability to take this kind of images even though it is slightly blurry and low resolution. 

Oh, by the way, if you follow my last last last post, I was so anxious of The Decision. Yup, after venturing into an amazing Oil and Gas Consultation company for roughly a year, I decided to further my studies as a Ph.D student in Chemical Engineering Field back to my university!!!! Yes, you hear me right! It was a mixed feeling - happy, anxiety, worry, determined, doubt, ........ huge mix-pot. But, I had grounded my thought and in this future 3 years, I will walk into the Ivory Tower once again for one last time (maybe)!   

The consultation job was tough and challenging with steep learning curve. However, I was getting a hang of it and it soon became a huge part of my life. I was so glad that I had this amazing year of experience with capable people and reputable company. It moulded me into a more confident person and taught me never hide away from challenges. 

Some people argued that my job was quite excellent since it was mainly in Oil & Gas field and consultation. It would be loss if I just gave up like that. Plus, Oil & Gas is all about experience. True enough, perhaps my 3 years of studies would not be able to make up the 3 years of experience in any field. I just want to say that life is more than taking a risk; it is more like grabbing an opportunities. When it knocks, I just have to grab it. My lovely supervisor offers me a full sponsorship as a investment to my interest. This is an opportunity that I would'not want to let go. 

Another reason is that after a couple years of working, I believe that it would be difficult to go back to study life. So, I just want to sekaligus use this amazing chance and develop into a more technically-competent person that ever. So, that's all I want to say! Wish me luck pleaseeeeeee (^^)

Let the 3 year journey begins!

Nestle Photo Contest Consolation Win (^^)

It had been a while since I won anything. I was so pre-occupied with other stuffs (life, work, etc.). Anyway, I just tried my luck with an online competition with Nestle (Not promo or adver post; how I wish to do ad post (><) ).  Surprisingly, my post on the sunrise theme hit the minor jackpot as the winner of the consolation prize (^^). Yuppie! I can sense my luck is coming back to papa.!!! Hahaha!!~ Anyhow, I uploaded the photo of sunrise scenery with the caption "At the Mount KK with a Cup of Nestum".  

Those were items won for my entry! Two (2) packs of weird flavoured-Nestum-3-in-1 drinks - Ginseng and Dong Gui!!! (@@) Yup, you tell me about it! I was reluctant to try at 1st. But, it was quite okay! Especially for those who really need the energy-boost! I felt the aroma and the taste was well-blend with the oats and definitely healthy to drink it (^^)

Nestle representative even couriered me the little photo frames! How sensitive they were! Hahahaa! It was a boost to my self-esteem that my Lumix FS6, despite being a weak compact camera, can still shot some nice photos. Anyhow, it was so saddening that just yesterday my FS6 died upon me (><) after the adventurous Gua Tempurung trip. Don't feel like spending a fortune to fix it ~~ Haizzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Spider's Eyes

Sometimes, regardless of how many pair of eyes you have, you most probably have a blind spot. No one is perfect. Taken from Nokia 5730 Express Music! (^^)

Happy Chinese New Year (^^)

The Camouflage

This photo, I can't remember when I took it! Was it that long ago? Anyway, with a flash, I had been working   for almost 4 months!!! Yes, it sounds so impossible. Apparently, working life is a lot faster than studying. Anyhow, back to the photo, it seems like the body of the bug was leaf-like! Maybe,now and then,  we would not notice that it was hiding on the trees/ flowers/ leaves pile.....The Art of Camouflage. (^^)

San Chai @ Bercham

Omg, I have been MIA for such a long time! The supporters of my bloggie seems to be reducing drastically (><) Anyhow, as a continual of my life story, the reason of being not able to update my blog is that I have finally terminated Streamyx. Haiz, currently, my place is really internet-less. I am back to Ipoh again! This time, I have found pictures 2 years ago!!!! Yes, 2 years ago! So fast-nya, it feels like I am ageing quite fast...hahahahahah~

Here is restaurant another Ipohrian recommended. Well, since I am not staying at this area; therefore, I am not quite familiar. It is so sad that some friends said that I am not a Ipoh person, well, my real hometown is not exactly Ipoh. But, I have been staying Ipoh for so long. Due to my residence area, I am more familiar with nice food near my place. Thanks for the recommendation to my friend here. ^^


The good thing about Ipoh is that normal food also tastes quite good. The fried egg and bean sprout were simply fantastic to the taste buds. The portion was just ngam ngam!^^


Of course, the restaurant main dish is curry fish head!!! (^^) Yes, we ordered a nice pot! The pot had various of vegetable and nice fish head~ It was also not that spicy to my taste. Yup, just nice ^^

Can you believe this?! 2 years already (><) Until today, we really had gone separate path. But, I believe our path will cross in the future (^^) !!! ~~~

Insectology: The Lover Flies (18 SX)

Ah, totally need a zen moment. Anyhow, just walking around my little garden, suddenly, I saw those two flies (lover) were hanging around; practically hanging there. Well, I think they are starting a family. 

The main point is that we often neglect what is around us. Just spend a little time observing and relaxing, indeed you will see something you usually wouldn't see...

Hahahahahaa~~~~ 

The Vanishing Petaling Street (消失中的茨厂街)

I still remember the debate on the MRT construction at the Petaling Street area. What is the outcome? Anyhow, after the news, I basically went there to have a walk down memory lane. (Yup, quite a sentimental guy I am). It is funny that people don't remember what they said, I do. 

Well, this is the price of development. Whether Petaling Street will be a history or not, we'll see. During my undergraduate life (foundation year), I always went past this area to reach Puduraya (Even Puduraya underwent an extreme makeover (HERE)). Because the stupid and naive me, didn't know that Plaza Rakyat is just beside Puduraya. Therefore, after taking KTM to KL Sentral, me and my coursemate will take the LRT to Pasir Seni. From there, we dragged our luggage with the rush to buy the earliest ticket back home. Those were the days. Now, I believe I am too old to carry 4 BAGS per person already..Hahaha~

On our way, we often passed by a Chinese temple, but time restriction ceased our step into the temple. But, this time around, I decided to take my own sweet time and have a final look (don;t know whether the temple will be affected or not though). You can see the joss stick, releasing the fume of worship. 

The golden dragons are guarding the temple. Too bad the temple was under construction and renovation, therefore, didn't get to take a lot of photos that time (><).

Hopefully, this heritage can be conserved for many years to come. Anyhow, recently, very hardworking in finding a job. No easy to find a job even though I am a graduate in Master of Engineering, kinda stress and sad ~ Jobstreet maybe a good source of employment, but the competition is horrific~~~~ 1 fresh graduate position, 4000 people applied, this is insane (@@)

The Legacy of Dark Angel - Luxcy Lee

1 year, 10 months, 9 days, 16 hours, 16 minutes, 39 seconds

This is amount of time I have been missing my lost dog - Luxcy Lee. If you remember quite some time ago, I post a lost and found ads on my bloggie (here). She is a beautiful pincher with silky black fur with a superstrong voice! 

In 2006, while I was still having my SPM examination (final paper). My mom said she have a surprise for me. Yes, when she came to fetch me from school just now, a dog suddenly came into our house. She was really quiet. My mom was trying to get her off our house, but to no avail. Then, just like that, she became a part of family. 

She reminded of the old dog - another golden pincher we used to have - Goldie who ran away a couple of years ago. Yup, it was such a heart-broken moment. So, in my mind, I always think that Luxcy might be Goldie's daughter. hahahaha ~ silly me! That;s why, we named her Luxcy from Goldielocks...@@ ~

She is always fearless because when it comes to protecting our family, she never step back at all. Once, she dared to challenge a cobra's poison venom. One of her eyes suffered the consequences. Ever since, we love her more each day. Then, she gave birth to a bunch of puppies! We managed to keep one (Muffin), a silly greyish pincher who almost looks like her mother but nothing like her in term of characters. 

On an unexpected morning, while my mom rushed out from the house, the almost-blind Luxcy decided to run away. We never know the reason she run away. But, to be honest, PINCHERS HAVE HIGH TENDENCY TO RUN AWAY (Our neighbour's dog which happens to be Luxcy's daughter also ran away recently). Therefore, it is never too cautious about pincher!

I managed to track down her trail. But, according to the Indo maid, she tried to ask her to go into her house, but Luxcy refused. It was just one hour (7 AM) before she was taken away by a motorcyclist couple. To me, the hope of finding her is really small. Hopefully, right now, she is another angel to the new family she is with. 

I wish her love and happiness forever. The six years of companionship is really a memory I would treasure for the rest of my life.  Below is the video I made for this beautiful dark angel - Luxcy Lee (2006 - 2010 (to be continued)). 

   

The Story of A Reptile

 It is so common to find household lizard everywhere. Some of my friends are terrified with lizards. I think sometimes, I am also afraid of them where they unexpectedly appear. Anyhow, one day, I was cleaning up my piles of magazine. Suddenly, it just dropped out from nowhere! I admitted: I screamed like there was no tomorrow. 
Sometimes, we got startled maybe due to sudden appearance of these creatures like cockroach, rat, and etc....Anyhow, this is such a random post! Yup, another emo Sunday for me (><). These days, my mood is easily affected, I wonder why! Oh well, lastly, lizards make good models (^^)





   

The Sun Lee How Fook @Jalan Kampar, Ipoh ~~

This restaurant is quite famous in Ipoh! Before it moved to its new premise, it was praised until like the taste of heaven. Anyhow, the restaurant premise now is huge and can accommodate a lot of customers !~ They even prepare some nice fake mountain feature outside the building!!! (^^)

As my family was having a luncheon with my uncle family, we were greeted with some nice titbits. !

The 1st dish we ordered was the egg fried with bitter melon. It was quite nice and suitable for a hot afternoon!









Of course, the next dish was a curry boar! I am no fan of curry! But, this was quite nice!!!!~~




Despite against my will, the folks still ordered another fried pork and roasted pork. Anyhow, the combination was amazing even though it was a bit too fatty for old people~~~~




After all the meaty dishes, it was time to clear a bit of our stomach! Oh yes, the vegetable soup was just in time to put off the fire in our stomachs..




Lastly, the steamed and fried fish combination came in as the final dish. It was a bit over fried for the part. Everything was so nice until this dish! Oh well, perhaps, they would have a moment of slip~
I still give a 8.5/10 for this restaurant!


This means you should go try try ~ The price I almost forgot to mention was moderate! Not over-expensive or cheap~ But, worth to try (^^)~





   

The 4-Legged Creature A.K.A Monitor Lizard

I feel so much better right now. Thanks for your support my friend! I am less emo now (^^)

If you remember my previous posts on animals, you basically can guess that my house is a mini zoo. Sometimes, it also attracts some uninvited "wild" guests. For example, my Panda (German Shepherd) was killed by a Cobra... (here). Anyway, it was just another normal day when my dogs were barking crazily~

Just in an instance, my dad spotted the 4-legged creature! It was very huge! (I didn't even know the English name of this creature)..Haha, I have to admit my vocab sucks!~ Anyway, my brave dad who is always looking for adventure, decided to capture the monitor lizard himself. If for me, I will lock the door and ignore its existence. Hahaha~ look at how long it was!

 No kidding! It was super long and we suspected that it was actually feeding on our fishes! Kesian our fish (><)~ Instead of killing it, papa decided to release it (放生）. I think it is some sort of a way to redeem the sins we did intentionally and unintentionally. So, if you see any horrible abuse of animals, try to set them free! You are doing a good deed!
Oh yes, a close up! Its scale looks pretty right! My dad was trying to sort a number from its pattern. Haiz, how typical~ Like that also can derive number@@~~~
After that, we released it to the huge drain near our house. Hopefully,it will not be coming back~Did i mention that this is the 3rd monitor my dad caught? (@@) 



    

Nando's Foodie Maniac

Oh no~~~ I am just feeling plain tired after walking a lot! I really mean non-stop walking for about 12 hours per day ~~~ Hahaha, so, I am really mood-less now.. Hahaha, just joking! Xjion89 will always be crazy and maniac about food! So, tonight, let's have a look at the foodie gallery added in Xjion89's Little World.

I am sure that most foodie lover heard of NANDO~Their website is amazing too!  Oh yes, there are quite a number of outlets in Malaysia. So far, my favourite outlets are the one in KLCC and The Mines because their service is truly fast and efficient. So, I just read about a little of history about this restaurant. It is basically a fusion of Portuguese cuisine with African style! Anyhow, let the picture do the talking (^^)

This is the outlet at KLCC! Cool right?! Loving the decor and also the atmosphere over there.

This is the normal quarter chicken with 2 sidelines. Hehehe, my fav dish over there of all time. Of course, you can also choose the spiciness of the dish as well from Herb, Mild Peri-Peri......I usually choose herb(^^) The drinks there are mostly bottomless. I would order 1 soft drinks and drink for my life~~

This is the same dish with different sidelines! (^^)

There are so many other type of dishes to be tried. From special dessert to cool burgers, almost anything you want can be found there.

Hope you all enjoy the food (^^)...Tatata for now, truly need to work~~~





   

Sexy Ampang Yong Tau Foo@USJ

Oh my, my blog is losing a lot of visitors! So sad~~ Am I losing my touch or Am I getting old????? So scary...hahahahah~~juz kidding. Anyway, to attract more viewers, one of the most effective ways is to show some sexy foodie here! Oh yes!!!! Like what the other bloggers said, food porn???(^^)

I don't dare to say when I had this meal. But, indeed, it was one of the memorable ones. Located at USJ (but, Ampang delicacy), the restaurant offered special menus suitable for different number of people, quite convenient!





 Included in the package we ordered, the vege was normal, but the fish was a bit over-cooked. However, overall, they were fine. But, they were not the main character for this post. Oh yes!!!!!!!! Coming up~~
 Yes!!! They were the main actors in this case! The Yong Taufu!!!!!~~The fried dish was super nice! Oh well, fried stuffs are always nice to me(^^)!!!~~ The Yong Taufu was quite nice too because its filling was quite rich! Yes, no joking!!!~~~
If you try try, please tell me how was it(^^)~~~
It is time to get serious with my work!  So, bye bye for now, It is time to read a lot of journals (><)~~~