† Steam Bread In Ban Hin Coffee Shop of Temerloh †

Temerloh is a town in central Pahang Malaysia, located about 130km from both Kuantan and Kuala Lumpur. Temerloh is famous for its Patin fish, a type of fresh water fish that look like cat fish. Surprisingly, I've found something more interesting than this Patin fish in Temerloh.

I'm not pretty sure about Temerloh roads, therefore I can only give you the name of the coffee shop and what is the landmark around it. This little coffee shop known as Ban Hin Coffee Shop is located in the old town area of Temerloh, just right below Ban Min Hotel at the corner of the road.

Its a very old fashioned, vintage-like shop that most people would not even notice its existence. On top of that, the place looks filthy and dirtified, and thus blind the public from all the yummy treasures within it.

This is the steam bread that one should never miss. Its soft, hot, freshly steamed bread makes your mouth drool continuously. The traditional dish is served with milky butter and richly flavored kaya paste.

Two omega-3 eggs and a glass of chilly-iced freshly brewed white coffee is the best combination you can get in this vintage-looking shop.

If you have a huge appetite, you should not miss its kon low mee (dried noodles) served with minced pork. It won't be as delicious as Penang's kon low mee though, but the simplicity of this recipe makes it original and tasty.

The shop operates from 7am till 7pm and therefore you won't have to wake up early in the morning to taste the bread. Even if you finish your work at 6pm, you still have an hour to rush to the place for its steam bread. Ban Hin is the place to be if you want the best steam bread in town.

† Advertisements & Earnings Via PTC & Ads †

'Ads' is the short form of the word 'advertisements'. What is PTC? It means Paid To Click. There are a few sites that provide such services and they are actually paying you to click on their advertisements. Many might think that it can be a scam but so far there are many reviews testify their reliability. There are a few good sites providing such services such as InfinityBux, Venito, NeoBux, AlertPay, NeoPTC and etc.

The Differences Between Nuffnang & PTC Ads

Clean & Clear
Whats the differences between these PTC sites and Nuffnang that I'm using now? Nuffnang is basically an online blog advertising community that is focused in Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines and Australia. In other words, Nuffnang advertises via our blogs. The thing about Nuffnang is that, they are quite strict about the location of their ads and they only allow 3 locations: top banner, side bar banner and banner between posts. No duplication is allowed. Standardization and cleanliness: thats why I'm using Nuffnang.

Unorganized & Messy
Unlike Nuffnang, other PTC sites advertisements can be placed everywhere in your blog. You can place it anywhere, everywhere as long as you have the space to do so. Good thing is that, you're increasing your chances of getting the readers click on your ads. The bad thing is that, untidiness! Some money-driven bloggers tend to place their ads everywhere and ended up making his/her blog looks like an advertisement page rather than a blog.

My Recommendation
AlertPay and NeoBux and InfinityBux are the ones that I would recommend if you want to try out some PTC services. Reason: these PTC services are easier to use compared with others and it is not against Nuffnang's policy.

1. NeoBux

How does NeoBux works? Its basically very easy. After you register and login to NeoBux, you're given two to four ads everyday and you are allowed to view the ads. Upon viewing, you need to let it load for at least 30 seconds before the money is credited into your account. Note that only one advertisement at once. After you view the first advertisement for 30 seconds, then only you are allowed to view the next advertisement. For that, you get $0.01 per view of advertisement. NeoBux also offers a referral program where you get paid $0.005 for each of your referral's click on an ad and $0.01 if you're a Golden member. Go to www.neobux.com here.

2. InfinityBux

InfinityBux works exactly the same way as NeoBux. It also has banner promotion tool that allows you to place banner in your blog or website to obtain readers' clicks. Go to www.infinitybux.com here.

3. AlertPay

AlertPay is slightly different from the other two PTC sites. AlertPay basically only provide you the promotion tool such as banners and referrer's link. According to the FAQ section of AlertPay, each time someone you refer create an AlertPay Premium or Secured account (or upgrade their personal account) and transacts at least $250.00 (sending and/or receiving) through their AlertPay account, you will recieve $5.00. When you refer more then 10 qualified friends, you will receive $10 for each referral. Go to www.alertpay.com here.

† Color-Based Wallpaper †

Here's a few desktop wallpapers that I categorized based on colors that I think I should share with all my readers. Note that all these wallpapers are at least 1024 x 768 Jpeg files. To download it, simply click on the picture. Once you get the full scaled picture, right click on the picture and choose save image.

WHITE: It is the color of purity. Brides wear white in many countries, because white symbolizes a virgin. White means kindness. In some cultures white is worn at funerals. White is Monday's color. White daisies are a symbol of loyal love.

PINK: It is the color of universal love. Pink is a quiet color. Lovers of beauty favor pink.

PURPLE: Purple has been used to symbolize magic and mystery, as well as royalty. Being the combination of red and blue, the warmest and coolest colors, purple is believed to be the ideal color. Most children love the color purple. Purple is the color most favored by artists.

BLUE: Is the color of inspiration, sincerity and spirituality. Blue is often the chosen color by conservative people. Blue is the calming color. That makes it a wonderful color to use in the home, especially for babies. Blue is so soothing that is a good choice for pajamas.

GREEN: It is the color of nature, fertility, life. Grass green is the most restful color. Green symbolizes self-respect and well being. Green is the color of balance. It also means learning, growth and harmony. Green is favored by well balanced people. Green symbolizes the master healer and the life force. It often symbolizes money.

RED: The warmest of all colors. Red is the color most chosen by extroverts and one of the top picks of males. On the negative side red can mean temper or anger. In China, red is the color of prosperity and joy. Brides wear red and front doors are often painted red. Red is Tuesday's color. Red roses symbolize passionate love.

YELLOW: Yellow symbolizes wisdom. Yellow means joy and happiness. People of high intellect favor yellow. Yellow daffodils are a symbol of unrequited love.

ORANGE: It is one of the healing colors. It is said to increase the craving for food. It also stimulates enthusiasm and creativity. Orange means vitality with endurance. People who like orange are usually thoughtful and sincere.

GOLD: It is no surprise that gold symbolizes wealth used wisely, but it is also the symbol of good health. People who favor the color gold are optimistic.

BROWN: People who prefer brown are often conventional and orderly. The negative meaning of brown can be a repressed personality or a lazy person. Brown is the color of the earth and is associated with the material side of life.

BLACK: The most misunderstood color. A black tie dinner is very formal and elegant. Women can wear that "must have little black dress" to the black tie dinner. Yet the bad guys wear black hats. Black symbolizes death in some cultures. Native Americans thought black was good because it was the color of soil, which gives life.

† What Does Chibi Means †

 
When I was checking what are the popular keywords that lead the readers into my blog via Nuffnang, the word 'chibi' caught my attention because it was the top 5 words being searched in Google and lead into my blog post. So what does 'chibi' means?


Chibi (ちび in Japanese) is a Japanese word meaning 'short' or 'little' and this word is very popular among the manga or anime fans. Chibi is also considered a style of drawing a character with distinguishable patterns such as big head, big eyes, short limbs and small body. When a cartoon character has been 'chibi-tized', it will always look cute even if it was super scary or super uninteresting in its original form.

Examples:

Devil Jin taken from a popular game known as Tekken. It may look scary in its original form but once chibi-tized, its too cute to be killed by the opponent.


L from Death Note, a dull looking character often behaves in a weird manner. When it is converted into a chibi version, it looks awesomely cheerful.


Sephiroth from Final Fantasy VII Advent Children is a well-known villain of all time. His cool appearance has made him being idolized by many fans. The chibi version of Sephiroth surprisingly look cute and I think many female fans are crazy over the chibi rather than the original Sephiroth.


Ulquiorra is a popular villain taken from the cartoon Bleach. Cool and often refuse to spend much time talking, Ulquiorra has become one of the best villain being voted in Bleach by the fans. As expected, the chibi version of Ulquiorra overtakes the original one.

† I Love Domo Kun †

Not many people around me know that I'm actually attracted to certain types of soft toys. Domo Kun is one of my all time favorite soft toys. Domo Kun (どーもくん in Japanese) is a small brown open-mouthed monster hatched from an egg who lives with a wise old rabbit underground. He can't speak and the only sound he produced is a low pitch kind of sound similar to 'do~mo~'.

Domo Kun is the official mascot of Japan's NHK television station, appearing in several 30 seconds stop-motion interstitial sketches shown as station identification during shows. You may watch the first episode of Domo Kun's origin here. Also pay a visit to the official website.

Domo Kun 30 seconds episodes was then upgraded to 3 minutes short episodes in English due to many requests made by the crowds and fans. Here's a few funny ones to watch. After watching a few episodes, I guarantee you that the Domo theme song will be stucked in your brain for some times.

Foot Print

Domo Kun discovered several dinosaur foot prints that scared him off.

Spoon

Domo Kun thought he's just an ordinary being who couldn't bend a spoon.

The Pianist

Domo Kun is inspired by the television show and would like to perform.

Rock N Roll

Domo Kun loves Rock N Roll. He performs even better after a lightning strike.

Two Domos

Domo Kun in two. It causes catastrophic mess in Domo's house.

Well, I'm a Domo Kun huge fan that I even get its wallpaper. Here's a nice 1280 x 800 JPEG Domo Kun wallpaper.

Waiting and Packing in Lake Forest

I only have 3 days now until I leave for South Korea. Stressed out? Not at all. I should be running around like a chicken with its head cut off but for some reason I am completely calm. I think it is because I have been mentally preparing for this trip the entire summer and because I could not be happier and more excited to start this amazing experience.

I have been talking to a couple friends of friends who are in South Korea right now pretty much doing the same thing I am about to head there to do, teach ESL to Korean children. They gave me some advice on what to bring and expect but the most reassuring thing was that all of them said they have been having the time of their life. I can't wait to join them.

Packing for a year is fairly daunting, especially when you know that you will not be able to purchase a single pair of shoes or pants for the entire year. (Since I am 5'10 there are no shoes or pants in Korea that will fit me, so I have to bring enough to last me the entire time I am there!) I am starting to get everything put together and figuring out how my life is going to fit into two 50 pound suitcases. (Pictures of packing to come!)

I recently purchased my first SLR digital camera (Canon Rebel T1i). I have been waiting to get a new camera for a long time now and this trip was my perfect opportunity. Photography has been a passion of my since high school; however, I have not had the time to fully pursue it. I am looking forward to my time in Korea to explore my new camera and what Asia has to offer as my new muse.

I will leave you with a couple of my first photos on my new camera. Playing around our house and garden in Lake Forest with Katie (my youngest sister) and Chappy (our family dog).

I'll miss you...

This is not the way I want to update my blog after a month of Internet-less. There were so many things that I wanted to share before, but now everything seem to be less important but the death of my late grandma, Hajah Siti Nor Hj Noh.

Banyak dugaan dan ujian yang Dia berikan padaku, and this is one of them to test how strong I am in riding the roller-coaster of life. Yesterday, I lost my only granparent that I had and knew. My grandma or whom I called Mek.

I was always Arwah Mek’s favourite grandchild. Masa kecik-kecik dulu selalu ikut Mek pergi bandar. Mek suka pakaikan aku dengan all those cute attire ngan barangan kemas. I had always seek for Mek’s advice. And she was unbelievable cook. My all time favorite was her taucu and nasi dagang. Terbaik! Kalau bulan puasa masa Mek sihat lagi, aku ngan Sarah la yang suka mengikut pergi terawih. Kalau nak cerita all the memories we had memang takkan habis. Dari kecik sampai la aku keluar rumah then msuk uiTM, I grew up with her by my side.

It was in the year of 2002 that she started to suffer from this weird disease. Mama took care of her since then. Macam-macam cara da my family tried to cure her, traditionally and modern. Ada doctor cakap it was Alzheimer, penyakit orang tua-tua a.k.a. nyanyuk but amazingly, sometimes she could remember everything even it was 20 years ago. But sometimes, she could ask us the same question over and over again eventhough we had answered it. Mama lah orang yang paling sabar & tabah taking care of Mek. Perangai Mek at one point dah jadi macam budak-budak sampai cucu-cucu pun suka usik-usik. But despite all the usikan, deep down inside, we really loved her and I sometimes wished that she could back to normal.

Time flew so fast, on 22^nd September, di saat baru 12 hari umat Islam menyambut Ramadhan, tak sangka akhirnya Mek meninggalkan kami. I was at Shah Alam when I received the call. I felt like I was dreaming. The next day, after sahur, kitorang (my cousins and I) gerak balik Kelantan. Alhamdulillah, we managed to reach home sebelum jenazah dikebumikan. Sempat kissed her check before jenazah siap dikapankan . Jenazah arwah nampak sangat tenang and nampak as if she was smiling. I was in the van jenazah up until the graveyard. Alhamdulillah, segala urusan telah dipermudahkanNya.

One thing for sure, I’ll miss Arwah Mek. Raya tahun ni tak akan sama tanpa Mek disisi kami. *Tears* I love u, always and forever. Semoga rohmu dicucuri rahmat dan ditempatkan bersama mereka yang beriman. Amin~

~Al-Fatihah.

Kullu nafsin zaaiqatul maut ~ "Every soul will taste death"

- Ali Imran; 185

† Thomas Lang: Stick Trick Master †

Thomas Lang is one of the freaky good drummers I've ever seen. Maybe he's not the best drummer in the world, but he's definitely the best stick trick drummer of all time! 'To play the unplayed', thats the motto of Lang that makes him become who he is today.

Born on August 5, 1967 in Vienna, Lang learnt the art of music from Vienna Conservatory of Music. While at school, he focused in learning Jazz, Fusion and Big Band styles. Apart from drums, Lang is also a guitarist and pianist. I guess this is the advantage of being a multi-talented musician. This is the very first video that I watched Lang performed his drum solo and it all started with his stick play. I was like 'wow... here's another Jojo Mayer'.

In Thomas Lang's instructional DVD, titled 'Creative Coordination' by Hudson Music, Lang emphasized about improvising other people's techniques. Through mimicking and practicing other drummer's techniques, it gives Lang more inspirations on the grooves.

This is a must-watch YouTube video about how Thomas Lang perform stick twirling while making a constant drum groove. His technique is explained so clear that you might think its easy to do. The actual fact is that, you won't be able to do so unless you practice so hard that you might find it boring. Thomas Lang appeared in another video sponsored by Vic Firth (my favorite brand of drumstick) talking about stick tricks. Its really impressive to see how he actually being so creative that he would create optical illusion while spinning the stick to make his drum solo looks more interesting.

Being unique is not easy, but if you are able to do things others have not done it before, you'll be very successful. Look at how Erik Mongrain invented his very own style of Lap-Tapping on the guitar. Originality no doubt leads to success.