CaTZ! Studio

KO G1 Menasor Gift Set

2010-11-28T14:43:00.003+07:00

When I was a kid, Transformers have been a big part of my life. The very though of vehicles that can turn into robots was a big amusement for children at that age. It WAS the late eighties and not a lot of toys that can transform. And a toys that can both transform AND combine? Every kids would want to have them.

At that time only a few stores sells transformers, mostly small hobby shop. Even then, they don't have every kind. All the information I have for all the different TFs was from the brochure that came with each toy.

I, for one, spend most of my time oogling the brochure at the pretty robot pics and wish there's some relatives that are nice enough to bring me a new TF :P.

Funny thing is, I actually got couple of gestalt parts. Some relatives came and give me and my cousin parts from the same sets. So the only time I can succesfully combine them if we play nice with each other.

But, like most kids at that age, I didn't take good care of my toys. So I lost all of them growing up.

That's why, when I was presented with the opportunity to own a 'close to perfect' G1 Menasor gift set. I didn't hesitate even if it's against my 'no knock off' policy. Mind you, I never own a menasor parts, but the gestalts always intrigue me, especially since I saw them combined with metroplex to create a mighty cybertronian city.

Menasor come in a gift set box, and at the first glance looks exactly like the old original box. Although, at closer inspections, people with keen eye can tell it's if lower quality (a bit) than the original.

From Toy Review

Back of the box is just like the original, even with the bots power sheet. They even gave you the red tinted plastic to read them!

From Toy Review

When you open the box you'll have the toys presented just like the original, except for a couple of differences:

- in the original, the weapon come in plastic sprues. While here, they came in a bag of plastic
- the rub sign is missing from the bots, they actually include them in a sticker sheet so you can apply them yourselves.

From Toy Review

Replica of the original stickers are included and even a really good reproduction of the original instruction.

From Toy Review

I spent about 30 minutes applying the sticker. The quality of it are pretty nice, although a pair of scissors and art knife would come in handy trimming them to perfection.

Out of the box and with sticker applied, the toya feels almost as good as the originals (as far as I can remember) but well better than the original Bruticus encore (now I know why people talk crap about encore bruticus quality)

From Toy Review

The surprising parts is that this knock off have die cast frame! I feel that is quite a feat for knocknoff. It sure add balance and overall niceness of each figure.

Deadend

From Toy Review

Breakdown

From Toy Review

Hasbro/Takara actually release a modern version of breakdown for the Hunt for the Decepticon
Movie Line, with new articulation, similar alt mode, in scout size.

If only they release the rest of them in modern form even in scout size.

Wildrider

From Toy Review

Modern day version of wildrider is a repaint of classic rodimus and released exclusively in Japan from E-Hobby

Dragstrip

From Toy Review

Drag strip is the racer of the groups. In IDW he's blurr's racer rival.
In modern day, hasbro repaint classic mirage into drag strip and released exclusively to asian markets.

Motormaster

Motormaster is the biggest of the stunticons, but also the brickiest in bot mode. It's essentially you turn thtruck trailer upright and flip the front part as feet. Lol!

From Toy Review

Shows how simple everything is back then:p

Combine to.....

Menasor!!!

From Toy Review

Ok, to be honest, this is not for everyone. Even before they combine, they already feels blocky.... Very blocky compared to today's standart.

Plastic quality is well above your average KO. They use a semi hard plastic and not the 'rubbery' ones, too make it as close as the originals.

They even preserve some of the small details of the originals. The only problem I had at first was fitting the sword into Menasor's (not motormaster's) hand. Nothing a bit of a force wouldn't help.

Still, it is a nice reproduction for people who likes such a thing. Especially when they combine with a certain TFs that can transform into a base.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Getting Close!

2009-11-10T22:29:00.003+07:00

Another week, and we're getting close to the final presentation.

There's a couple of groups that can move forward and begin with their final presentation of their product and I'm actually giddy with excitement! Not just for the two groups, but for the whole class!

So I'll just keep it short and continue to the updates:

Selling Game
Nothing new on the presentation here, so no new pictures - sorry guys :P

Many adjustment to the rules and they undergo a very serious testing session this week with a bunch of expert gamers. These tester were brought in to try to come up with a strategy to broke their system.

Let's just say it's a kind of a success and they will have a new adjustment to their system next week.

Island Escape
Major new add on to the game!

Now every player have their own player board to keep track of their status and belongings. A couple of adjustment and new cards in the event deck. A few changes in the map

just a couple more step to the finished work!

Trick or Treat Game
This week we see a major changed on the board movement. The map became this Harvest-Moon-esque town.

The player have to run around, with a dice roll to visit each house to get their candies.

After testing, we found that this game, played with 6 player and will dice roll, doesn't involve a whole lot of player's decision (which is crucial in a game - otherwise it's just something running on it's own) and it took very very long to finish.

This group get a lot of feedback not just from me but from other players and lecturers in the class, I think they might end up changing the rule AND the map at the same time.

Thief Game
The thief game also get some changes to its system. For instance, instead of the player knows who is the thief at the start of the game, the thief identity is hidden and the player other player have to move and guess the other player's behavior to determine the real Thief.

The system is in place, there's a little bit of adjustment to be done, but everything move to the right direction.

And oh, it's completely different to "Scotland Yard" now :D

Looking for Love Game
This 'looking for love' game although sounds interesting in concept, turns out to have a major problem.

The game, as in its state now, is boring to play after 2 maps, not to mention trying to finish all 5 maps. Most of the problem came to:

- Dice Roll movement
- a lot of space to cover in just one map (a player can reach the top of the map in 'just' 5 turns if the roll a 6 one after another, playing in two player might sounds okay, but after 3 players (or more?) it became a disaster in time :P
- no difference between the city; most of the city are the same with nothing to differentiate them with. Instead of feeling like the player visiting a new location each time, it feels like playing 5 same maps

Some changes in their systems and paces are needed here, so after a few discussion, and after suggestion, they seemed to have a new system ready to be used and now it's up to them to expand on those suggestions and ideas.

Like I said above, I can't wait to see the end result :)

Class Update

2009-11-10T08:42:00.003+07:00

Due to a combination of busyness/laziness/sickness, I didn't update the class progress last week. My bad. So here I am, just minutes away from taking off to class, updating my blog :P

(God, this connection is so slow when you need them the most :( )

Selling Game

Nothing new to report here, just minor adjustment to the cards and rules

Island Escape

Map already being made, although still on the rough side, more adjustment to the rule

Trick or Treat Game
This one is not available for review last week. This game is about Trick or Treating, where the player have to visit the houses in order to gain candies (as victory points), the will need various costumes and a lot of events will happens to them in each turn.

A lot to modify in this game, the game and its presentation is still very rough, imo

Thief Game
This one is a detective game. The players have to work together to catch the thief player. While the thief player give out a couple of hints in where he go and by what, the other player have to figure out where the thief actually is and trap them.

Pretty good and playable, but the bad things is, this is close to "Scotland Yard" but just in different skin. Lot will have to be reworked to make it dissimilar.

Looking for Love Game
Now this is a very interesting concept and a (planned) presentation. This one about three girls pursuing their love, who happen to be the same guy (lol).

They pursue them across the world and in whole different cities. They planned this to mix it with pop up book presentation, only time will tell how will that go :)

Knock Off Benefit

2009-11-02T18:03:00.003+07:00

Last Weekend, a friend of mine showed me a cheap Chinese knock off of Transformer Animated Jazzl.

The look of this toys is very VERY close to the original product, with a couple of notable details. Of course, for the UNinformed (e.g. lots of parents EVERYWHERE), this toy could pass as the real deal. ESPECIALLY without the fugly package.

This Jazz is missing the light-pimping feature on his eyes, the side light on the front, transforming nunchuck exhaust, and the ball join on its neck.

It retain almost all of the original articulation (as you can see in the pictures)

I know, for some, this can be considered a blasphemy on the series., but consider this:

Transformer toys cost no twice, but almost THREE times its original value in the states. A TF movie deluxe that cost $12 in the states will easily cost Rp.300.000,- (about $31 on current exchange) here (I live in Indonesia, btw). This will make toys like this a luxury goods instead of, you know, toys for kids.

IF I have kids, most likely I'll be buying these cheap knock off for them and 'keeping' the original save for 'when they're older' :D. There is now way I'll let kids handle something so expensive if they could amuse themselves with something so cheap :D

Collective Responsibility

2009-10-27T20:04:00.003+07:00

Most people who's close to me would know by know, the most unexpected development in my life.

I became a university lecture, teaching Game Development Class.

Me.

Lecturer.

For most people who know me,

personally,

for a long time, that's probably the biggest joke in life :D

SO, never mind about that.

The point is, my class is about game development and it's divided into two semester. Well, it was planned that the class consist of IT students and design students, for some reason unknown to me, the class wasn't offered to the IT students.

SO to compensate, me and Erik, a fellow lecture, bent on teaching how to design a workable gameplay mechanic.

Without IT students

The result? We asked them to create a board game. Since, That way, we though, it would enable them to create a game without an IT students, and learn about gameplay design at the same time.

So, up to this month, 11th week not counting mid-term, after few weeks of theory and practice, they created a nice, playable and a very good Prototype.

Most of them, at least.

Selling Game
The first game we tested today, was a game about selling stuff to customer, the customer ask for certain things, and it's the job of the player to provide it to them to score points.

The Media is card game, there's still a lot to improve, for instance, a score board for easier tracking, but so far it's playable to finish.

Island Escape
The 2nd game tested was a game about escaping Island. A bunch of of kids stranded in a Island, and they have to escape. Actually, the means of escape is already there, but they have to pay.

So the kids have to treasure hunt across the islands, gathering coins while checking how much food they have, to get to the leaving ship.

It probably have the best reaction fo the two, with the students shouting "Huurahs" every time a harvest card event get revealed.
In their adventure the kids will get to find sunken ship, meet pirates ship, moneky island (not the game, in literal sense).

Sadly, that's about it for today's class, there's still three groups that unable to show their product. Which is kinda sad for me, since I've been expecting to try them all out.

So if the groups in my class happen to read this, there's a keyword to describe what will happen

Collective Responsibility
look it up.

Making the work lighter is not the only reason why this is done in groups

TF: Device Label Packaging Pics

2009-10-22T21:26:00.003+07:00

Ever since I saw the first preview of this product, I always knew I'm going to get it, especially the ravage one. Now after a long wait, we get to see the actual product photo and its packaging.

Truthfully? I think it's a rip off for a 2Gb Thumb Drive, really.

But the cool factor negates all logic (in my brain, at least). A thumb drive that transform to Ravage! Imagine that!

Pretty big for a thumb drive, isn't it?

The Packaging.

The back of the box shows the other in the line, which is USB Drive Ravage, Optical mouse Grimlock, and USB Hub Blaster. They said you could put a cassetron inside blaster.

Now THAT's tempting

I wonder if he comes with this clear stand?

Simple transformation, but cool nonetheless

The memory encase in it's head, you just have to flip it out to reveal the usb connector

Ravage & Tigatron together

Hoi Hoi San Finished!

2009-10-17T11:04:00.002+07:00

I worked on Hoi Hoi San last night and finished her too. Boy, she's something alright. Took me about 4 hours doing her while watching a couple of episode of Ninkyo helper.

She's pretty good when finished, can't say I'm a fan of Kotobukiya plamo Quality though. Sometimes there are pieces that doesn't fit really well with each other and I need to cut a bit off in order for them to fit.

And no, this is not my first experience with Kotobukiya kit. My First one is a Hucklebein (from super robot war), even then the quality of material and mold is still far compared to Bandai.
Hoi Hoi San, 4 years later, have better quality than Hucklebein, to be honest. SO I have no regrets in getting her

Like Gundam, you start from the feet, up to her waist. Even building her panties too. No Problem so far, but the feet and the ankle does not fit snugly enough for my taste

I wish the skirt are made of rubber though, since it's plastic, though it's not flexible for articulation. It still look good.

Now this photo shows her torso opened. At first I had planned to fit a MP3 player onsode her. But seeing how small her torso is from the inside, Especially with the ball jointed waist, Now I'm not so sure. At least, I'm not so sure I can fit something inside of her AND keeping her articulation at the same time.

This shows the USB connector slot on the side, which the base of my idead, now I'm not so sure

Torso and Skirt assembled, showing details on her apron.

This is the 'face' that comes with her. At her promotion picture, I though there will be some kind of mechanism for her eye, I'm mistaken. Sadly :P

Head finished! If you notice, her eyelash and eyebrow are pre painted. but you got the water decal as well should you decide to paint her

This is the most troublesome part of HoiHoi San, The hair. The middle hair are two piece part,a hair and a ball joint connector. It's not molded together, and you HAVE to glue it together otherwise it'll fall off easily. Even the manual state so

Hoi Hoi San, ready for action!

Now Yotsuba-chan have a friend to play with

I'd say I'm really happy with my purchase, there are a few gripes, but they are minor. I'm pretty sure Kotobukiya surprised by her popularity and now decide to milk her dry, as evidenced by the last plamo show

Hoi Hoi San Arrive

2009-10-16T19:23:00.002+07:00

Honestly, I never even heard of Hoi Hoi San before, but when I saw Her at Play-asia.com, I knew I'm gonna get her.

Hoihoi San is a 1/1 Scale model kit.

Wait, You'd say

a 1/1 scale of a female figure? how big and, most importantly, how expensive would she be? - you'd wonder

Relax, I was startled at first, but when I read more about her, turns out she's a small cockroach-killing robot. Using a projectile weapon against them since conventional bug spray can't.

I didn't realize her box will be so huge, it's almos as big as a MG Gundam plamo, and certainly dwarfed my PSP. Also I got Reycal, but I'm thinking of getting rid of her as I already spend and GOING to spend too much until the end of the year

Inside there's the stundard Runner. Her pieces is not as much a GM Gundam. But hey, it's a plamo of a girl figure, how much parts do you think you really need? :P

The manual book shows a USB port on her back, ofcourse, the figure itself is empty. I wonder if I can find a chinese made mp3 that's small enough to be fitted in her body and make use of that USB connector

The color chart, for those who interested

and of course, a water decal.
I wonder If I'll be using this... it's been a bad habit of mine to not use them since I always thinking I would paint them.... someday (even though in actuality, I never did paint my gundam. Well, there's this ONE time....)

I might taking a go at her tonight (okayyy, that sounds... weird :P - since we're talking about a cute female girl)
I'll try to update my progress in building her

2010 New TF Lineup

2009-10-16T10:14:00.003+07:00

They're not going to let me catch a break, do they?

Human Alliance Barricade w/ Frenzy
factions: Decepticon

Mindwipe
Size: Voyager
factions: Decepticon

Skystalker
size: Scout factions: Decepticon
Note: Can dock with mindwipe

Lockdown
Size: Deluxe
factions: Decepticon

Scattershot
size: scout
factions: Autobot

Brawn
size: Deluxe
factions: Autobot

Ratchet
Size: Deluxe
factions: Autobot

Luckily (for me, that is) that on this line up, what I most interested in, is Lockdown and Brawn, and quite possible Barricade to accompany my Bumblebee. Not to mention that Lockdown and Brawn is a deluxe size figure so I don't have to pay an arm and a leg to have them

Oh woe is my wallet :P

Fixing your Vintage GIJoe figure

2009-09-21T13:39:00.002+07:00

G.I.Joe was and always been a fun toy to play with. Especially if you have a lot of them in your collection.

However, Kenner uses a method called O-Rings, which basically use a rubber band to connect the torso and waist so they can twist around.
This is a flexible and cheap method to do this, as oppose to ball joints and stuff. The bad thing is; rubber tend to wear down dude to stress and age.

When I open my collection again after 14 years in a box, most of them either have broken O-Rings and or loose O-Rings

note: O-Rings are basically rubber seal for plumbing that you can find on hardware store, I buy mine in a pack of 50 for about 0.50 usd :D

From 4 Blog

This is my poor Lady Jaye in the state when I found them in the box, she literally got her ass handed down to her (lol)

From 4 Blog

What you need is:
1) your broken GIJoe figure (d-uh)
2) a (+) small screwdriver ( can't figure out the size)
3) a spare O-Rings

From 4 Blog

First you flip the figure around and unscrew it

From 4 Blog

This is the broken O-Rings, throw them away, it's no use to you now

From 4 Blog

Second, you attach your new O-rings to the legs' hook

From 4 Blog

Then you put the O-rings through the wais

From 4 Blog

After that, attach the O-rings to the figure middle part until it snugly fit (the O-rings will make sure the torso stay on)

From 4 Blog

Assemble your figure next (in this stage, you can make your custom figure using different hands or heads etc if you choose to do so :D)

From 4 Blog

Finished! Lady Jaye now ready for action :D

Universe Cyclonus

2009-09-20T22:35:00.002+07:00

After a long wait, I finally got my Universe Cyclonus as a late (VERY late) birthday gift, last week (this shows how lazy I am in updating this blog, lol).

Very Fine figure, a homage to G1 Cyclonus in both alt-mode and mech mode. Articulation is not so bad at all. Also comes with his target master partner, Nightstick.

Nightstick is a mini-con sized figures that can transform into Cyclonus hand gun. He have a pretty limited articulation, as good as any other mini-cons.

Enjoy the photos :)

From 4 Blog

ROTF Arcee

2009-08-24T12:12:00.002+07:00

I gave in and Bought ROTF Arcee yesterday

Alt mode

From Blogger Pictures

Transformed

From Blogger Pictures

"I'm Sexier.. no I'M sexier"

From Blogger Pictures

"I have sticks in my hand... oh yeah? mine's longer!"

I do think the 1st Arcee is better looking and more flexible. Most people thinsk that even with one wheel, the ROTF Arcee can not fall because of the included stand. This, however, is not the case.

Comparison pictures with vintage GIJoe

From Blogger Pictures

I don't think Cobra Commander approve this bikes, it's too big for him

From Blogger Pictures

The First one is a bit better though

Comparison with Figma

From Blogger Pictures

to no one surprise, the bikes fits better with figmas, the bad thing is that each figma is a scale on their own depends on the series

From Blogger Pictures

Miku Approved!!

Vintage Treasure!!!

2009-08-21T23:09:00.006+07:00

From My Toys

I have a lot of toys since I was little, a lot of them, as kids usually do, were largely under appreciated because we treat them just as that, Toys, we play with them until we're bored, or we got a new one and we simply ignore the last one until it's gone missing without we notice them.

AS we grow older, we finally appreciate toys not just as 'toys' but as something worth collectable, and some sort of art. I guess this is probably because the toy industry kinda enter the modern era in 1980, where I start playing with them, and grow up with me, and as I grow older, I start to long for the simple old times and miss those toys I have.

From My Toys

New IP got recycled into something more cool and modern looking, like Star Wars, GIJoe & Transformer, doesn't help. Those films reminded me how stupid I was when as a kid to waste those toys and always wish I take care of them more.

From My Toys

Thankfully, I found my old toys, or at least, some of them when I cleaned my room of stuff and prepare for playing a real life the sims (aka: moving out to a new house). Now that I'm older and have a work on my own, I don't have to wait for my allowance or plead to my parent to get toys, I can get them myself, but as you got older, more responsibility comes in and more funds got thrown out for the more important stuff than toys.

Geez, I miss getting toys for free from my parents :P

From My Toys

Tanjung Papuma

2009-05-24T16:09:00.004+07:00

From Photo Hunt

A beautiful beach on the southeast cost of East Java, very beautiful during moonlight and early in the morning. Very clean beach, great for pre-wed Photography.

Also, this is my 2nd test post for the blog :)

From Photo Hunt

Hello World!

2009-05-24T15:47:00.002+07:00

Test post for my blog, :)

Gaming Mom

2007-06-22T22:02:00.001+07:00

My mom is no gamer... She can't even play Tetris (too many button she says). But lately.. she's been hogging on my DS a LOT.

First it was Brain busters: Logic.... and then Quickspot... now... Planet Puzzle League!!!
She even express interest on 'that Nintendo waggle machine' - looks like fun she said.

She even played Planet Puzzle Leauge until 3.am last night ..er ... today :P I HAD to beg her to stop playing.

The breathtaking Sempu

2007-06-22T11:56:00.001+07:00

Just last week, jus exactly a week after Bromo, I went to this small island on south Malang, right next to Sendangbiru beach called "Sempu"

The road there is not as far as to Balekambang, and the road is definitely smoother.

When we arrived, the weather was nice. The sea was calm, and we have to cross to the island by renting aboat

Sendang biru

The calm sea

Before I continue, I think I need to explain what we're doing here.

My friends Suryo, is helping his cousin to shoot a pre wedding picture set here. He was told that we can find a really beautiful scenery here,

a trapped body of sea water in the middle of an island,

in the expense of a bit of a walk... as it turned out... that bit of a walk is ONE F&%# hour of trekking through a forest!!!
Here we go... 24 minutes after walking
17 minutes later...
24 minutes later... almost there...
5 minutes later, FINALLY a sign of progress!!!

...and here we are!!! it's truly beautiful as described. What we're at, is behind a tall rocks beside the sea. And there's a 'hole' on the rock there, so when the wave hits, the water spilled to the island but trapped by the rock itself, and thus a small detached (but still deep enough for quick dip) body of sea water is there.

The view is trully amazing

I climbed the cliff to get a better view of things, and it is... beautiful, both the view to the sea and to the 'lake'

This one picture deserve a mention here. Not because it's beautiful, good angle or anything, but I waited like AGES for the wave to splash and most of the time, just when I turn my head around, the wave splash and when I have my camera ready, the sea just... sit there :P

So, after an exhausting journey back... our trip ended...

My final say is, that this is a better place for pre-wed photos, much better than Balekambang... but only if the group and the bride are willing to take the exhausting trek through the forest.

and for those who decide to go... make sure you were a very comfortable SHOES, and carry your sandals with you when you walk at the beach...

Sunrise at Bromo

2007-06-22T11:36:00.001+07:00

Bromo, one of the recommended view to see the sun rise in java.

Where the weather is extremely cold for us Indonesian, and the path is steep and uncomfortable (not to mention expensive) and where you have to pay Rp 3000,- for a small glass of hot tea.

It's pretty cold when we arrived. Some of us never went to Bromo before, and caught off-handed by the weather :) We're having difficulties to setting up our camera due to the cold

The sun about to rise, we're getting ready to capture them...

SUNRISE!!!!

When the fog cleared, we finally get to see all the mountain range from what we're standing (which is called 'Penanjakan'). Pretty breathtaking view, don't you think? By then, the weather has been pretty good for us, and it feels sooo nice too

Pretty far below, you can see a Hindunese temple, right near the foot of the mountain. We didn't get to visit the place though, so enjoy the bird eye view of it! :D

After we climb down the mountain, we crossed the desert to visit a small lake in the area. We can't directly view the lake from the car so we had to walk... about 20 minutes to reach it

The Lake was okay though, not as beautiful as we wanted, but we get to play around on the tall grass, taking picture, and all that stuff.

Oh well, it was pretty fun though, here, enjoy the rest of the pictures I took

Big Surprise!!! and THANK YOU!!!

2007-06-22T00:11:00.001+07:00

Today, just before I went to lunch.. I got a big surprise waiting for me
There's a package waiting for me.

At first I didn't notice anything strange... I got a lot of package lately... mainly the games and or toys I've ordered a couple of months a go.. So I just opened without thinking... and inside there were....

Two Karen Kong CDs!!!

This is a very surprising moment! I know she once contacted me to send me her newest single as a gratitude for translating her newest single 'Akan' from Malay to English... but what I didn't expect is that the package actually arrive and there's also a copy of her FIRST album there.

Is no secret that I'm looking for that album quite frantically, even asked a friend of mine from Singapore to look for it to no avail... and now... I got it!!!

After ripping the tracks to my PC, and upload it to my phone for listening on the way to lunch... I have a pretty good experience in listening to all the songs... My personal favorite is 'Kekasihku'... the others are great (Ku tak upaya is her biggest title in this album I think) though her rendition of La la la Love Song (A Malaysian version of Long Vacation theme song which titled - Na Na Nada Cinta) doesn't match with the rap background vocal she's using for MY taste (but it was good during 'Kekasihku'). Overall pretty good.

Her newest single 'Akan' turns out pretty good. I saw her demo video and reserve judgement until I hear the final piece... which doesn't disappoint.

So again... if you reading this Karen, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!! and I wish you luck to all your endavour..

Okay you know what??

2007-06-19T23:14:00.001+07:00

I found out the problems with the blog posting on Friendster... turns
out ou... it wasn't friendster fault

the problem lies with FIREFOX

I try the same post using Safari and the html codes works like a charm.

no auto convert thing to WYSIWYG sh!t$

and I'm happy :D

you hear me???

HAPPY!!!

Balekambang

2007-06-19T22:48:00.001+07:00

Two weeks ago, I went to Balekambang, a bit remote beach in south of Malang. That is, pretty far away from where I live. I went there with a couple of friends, one who suddenly got into this photo taking hobby and he decided to 'kidnap' me to hunt for photos. The trip is pretty far, we start out at... 9.30 from my house... and after 2 (or more) hours, we stop by in Malang to have our lunch and my friend had to take care of something.

This one I took on a cliff where the guys is taking a leak

Malang was... fresh... i never felt an air so clear for a couple of years now, maybe it's a curse living & working in a big capital city? Who knows. It was refreshing though, last time I went there was three years ago... So anyway After two more hours ride, we finally arrived there.. Not what I expected though... not really clean blue water I find... and besides, it was a bit cloudy and just killed of our purpose (we wanted to get the sunset photos - it's the closest nicest beach to Surabaya :( ). SO we ended up just taking random pictures of sea, and cloud, and sea.. Though Balekambang wasn't so nice as I expected, it doesn't stop couples to do their pre-wedding pictures there. There's at least three couples that are doing the pictures. One even went so far as setting up a small... thing (dunno the words) for the pictures

A somewhat sunset view of the beach and a... thingy

So we would've finished around 6, but some setbacks made us stay longer. We park the car to close to the beach, so the sand beneath the car gave away when we tried to leave, so we kinda.... trapped. It's not until two other camera men from the pre-wed groups help us to literally drag the car out of the sand :) We finally arrived back at Surabaya round 10.. not without stopping at Malang to eat a wonderfully nice & spice red rawon... recommendable. Everyone in the area should try it out

Well, today's plan is to go to Bromo for more photo hunting of a sunrise. With bigger number of gang :D Just wait for the photos!!! Here are the photos I took during the event. I apologize for the quality. It's just a camera phone and incomparable to what the guys used :P

Problem with blog?

2007-06-09T01:29:00.001+07:00

Okay weird, now I can't post the blog that have html codes. So far, have contacted friendster about it, but no word yet...

dang... using ecto isn't helping either

I know the code exist, it's just hidden by the typepad layer... geez

So long, and still the same

2007-05-08T09:50:00.000+07:00

Yeah So, nothing new today, is just that today I meet up with a couple of old friend from Uni, well.. not really. They're just in the same uni with me, though not in the same Major, but all three of us have something in common that binds us together (what is this? a spin off LOTR Novel? Lol!!) which is: Drawing Manga!!.

Ok first, introduction.

Ciek, and..... geez..... that loudmouth just deleted the picture I took using my mobile. Anyway, you guys can check his friendster here he have a very good skill in drawings, ever the loudmouth and never afraid to speak up his mind, and that's a good thing for him (although not enough people in this country appreciate that kind of feat). And the other one is a bubbly girl who is a Clamp (the comic book team, not the moves :P) lover, named A Yin. She's also have a very good skill (although a bit Clamp-centrique) but a bit lazy. Though, in that laziness, she already made 4 comic published under Elex Media Komputindo (and very cute though you can see from the photo I took).

We ended up having dinner together at Pizza Hut. Getting a poor service for my taste. In the end, pretty enjoyable day :P. There's nothing better than sit with your friends, catch up, and talk about things. Past work, future plans, and stuff. For instance, Ciek is getting married on November, A Yin is going back to Bali to help his aunt with her business. Looking foward in meeting them again :D

Indonesia best Ice Cream

2007-05-07T02:48:00.000+07:00

If anyone should ask "what is the best ice cream in Surabaya?" (and most probably in whole country), my answer would just be: Zangrandi!!!
This is ice cream franchise is really-really old. A colonial-taste ice cream than goes wayyy back during the dutch occupancy..

My Favorite? Soda Ice Cream with Durian Flavour!!! You can almost taste the natural flavour of the durian inside the ice cream (they are made from the real fruit). The way the ice cream melt in your mouth... and the aromathic after taste... that made you wish you shouldn't wash it away with the fresh water (but requried if you want to keep your teeth healthy :D)

Anyone there who never visit Surabaya before, and happen to be in the area, please visit this place, you won't regret it!!!

Spiderman 3

2007-05-02T09:32:00.001+07:00

I just watched Spiderman - 3 today. It's a movie than almost everyone and definetely most comic geeks are waiting to see, right? The last two was awesome, this one should be better, right? I'm a comic geek. So I should praise this one like the second coming (or third-whatever), right?

Wrong.

No, is not like the movie is bad or anything, it's just I found it....lacking.

It's still a good film, an enjoyable one, but not perfect, or over the top.

Maybe my expectation was too high, or maybe because I know almost everything about Spiderman as I grew up with him.

But it's just..... meh....

Maybe it's because there's too many character going on in one screen, in the previous two, there's only one villain that Spidey would deal with.
This time... it's THREE. While they are cool villains though because of the screen time, the characterization is no where as perfect as Dr. Octopus in Spiderman 2
Personally, there's too much spiralling falling down scene in this movie when they're fighting (but that just me :P)

So if anyone feel the same, or have anything to add, just drop me a comment :P

K800i Test Run

2007-05-01T00:44:00.000+07:00

How to complete my celebration of owning a K800i?

Photo Taking session of course!!!

My Bro and his 7-Mo Pregnant Wife

Me, myself, and my GF

My Ever cute Dog, Muffin

Gadget and Toys

Finally! My own K800i

2007-04-30T23:11:00.000+07:00

I finally get my K800i!!!
I've been waiting to own this phone ever since its announcement from Sony Ericsson a year ago. The only thing that kept me from buying it it's 1) M2 Memory Card (incredibly expensive) 2) Price!!!

I remember it cost like 4 million rupiah (around 370 usd) when it first launched, and you get nothing except for data cable and a handsfree.

About a month a go, I hunt through some forum to look for the current price for this phone, and I stumbled to this deal: A guy who want to sell his K800i because he hardly ever use it.

I checked the photos he gave me, and I settled on a deal 2.5 with a 512 M2 memory card. I immedietly wired him some money for down payment, and soon. I got my K800i!!!!

and what's best is: when I checked the phone, it's only been used for 12 hours!! How cool is that!??

I WANT This

2007-04-27T00:00:00.000+07:00

The same folks that brought you the Optimus Prime iPod speaker dock are lobbying for your head-earned dollars once more, as Takara Tomy is betting that you just can't resist yet another Transformers gizmo to stack in your collection. This time it's throwing down a nifty set of morphing earphones, dubbed the Music Label Frenzy & Rumble, which boast a clip-on design coupled with a fold-out robot. Of course, we have sincere doubts about the sheer sound quality of these things, but let's be honest, you'll be listening a lot more intently to geeky comments as you stroll by than the LCD Soundsystem track quietly playing in the background. Start saving those pennies, fanboys and girls, as this treasure should land in the July timeframe for just ¥3,950 ($33).

OMG I'm gonna be an Uncle!!!

2006-11-08T19:23:00.001+07:00

It's official now, my sister in-law is PREGNANT!! The loveable old me will (if all goes well) be an uncle next year, in July or August at the very least.

I mean, by age and family I already am an uncle...but so soon??? :P

Anyway, congrats to my bro and his wife, I wish them all the best!!!

Can Music Detect our mood?

2006-07-08T11:55:00.001+07:00

A past few days, I've been wondering...

each time I felt something or under a certain situation where a music is playing in the background. That music, represent what I'm feeling/ the situation I'm in, about 70% of the time. It's like in the movies, where you see the character on screen having a distraught and a matching music is playing? It's the same thing!!

It scared me for abit. LIke just now, when I suddenly miss a certain someone so much, suddenly the radio that I left on is playing The Moffats - Miss You Like Crazy.

I know it's cheesy (and I'm NOT a moffats fan) but that music really really represent what I really feels...

aah... life is so strange.....

Buried under a pile of...

2006-06-30T02:18:00.001+07:00

... WORK! Dammit, this project is taking much more toll than I though. It made my previous work a piece of cake compared to this.
But under this darkness of work, I manage to find some light. Because I actually looking foward to see this project take off and gain something from it :D
Some of the circumstances that happens at work is probably my fault too, so I'm working so hard to compensate for it, and find something to fill the hole in the project.

Btw, did anyone notice that Superman Returns already played in the Theatre!? I'm going to watch it tonight, as I think it'll be a memorable experience :)

New Place, New Friends, New Connections, New Everything

2006-05-29T19:37:00.001+07:00

So, I finally in a new place, already for a month btw.

Everything is new for me here, new friends, and new job, and new assignments. And I’m thrilled to be here.

My new office is called Pt. Antar Mira Prakarsa, or better known as M-Stars. Originally, they are a content aggregator, a mobile content Provider actually, and they’re apparently one of the biggest in Indonesia, but lately, they found it interesting to enter a new venture of online PC game. Now, they are currently working together with this company from a local film industry (don’t ask ;) ) to do an online game. Now, that’s where I come in.

My work not starts from 9 to 6, so I get to wake up really late but the thing is, I have to wear this nice clothes, each time I go to work. What can I say, I’m the Game Development Project Manager. It comes with the territory. Still, It kinda choke me on the neck :P

Now hopefully it goes well, because this is all new for me and after a month, I’ve known many new people to add to my network of friends.

Life is so strange...

2006-04-25T19:52:00.001+07:00

I've been in this company for what now? 4 years, more I think, I found my old contract document, and it stated March 24th, 2002. 4 Years, 1 month, and 2 days now. I never imagine I’ve stayed this long here and I've experienced many things, both Good, bad, and even worst.

And after all those time, I'm quitting. Beginning next month, I'll be in a new place starting fresh and anew.

It really feels strange to me. As the day got closer to my last days. I mean, all those years, this place felt like home to me. I put a lot of my reference book here, my toys, things that I couldn't even place properly at home. This place is as close as a family to me. I had fun in this place, yet, I feel empty as well, and that feeling become unbearable after seeing all my friends come and goes.
Still it's hard for me to leave this place

Then, nevertheless, I leave it all... why?

Because what I want to achieve need some other experience that I'm being offered to, that offer is a chance to obtain even better future (hopefully) for me. I Pray that my 'calculated gamble' here paid off and I'll have what I'm looking for all this time

Super Mario Bross Magnet Art

2006-04-21T01:54:00.001+07:00

Like most of my friend knew, I went back to Surabaya last weekend,
since it's Good Friday last week and so it's long weekend for most
people.

I found this thing sitting alone in a shelf on one of the store
there. It's a magnetic art, distributed as a trading arts, just like
gachapons/ Trading Cards, as in, you don't get to pick the insides,
it's all random.

The box itself is a replica of the original Super Mario Bros Famicom
Cart. Same artwork, different background and the '2' on the corner
that probably shows the series number. What I got its very simple, so
simple I wonder how justified the Rp. 52.000,- price tag. It's a
diorama of Mario and bullet Bills, a replica to be exact, of the game
screen. For most fans, or whoever played this game before, it brings
a sense of nostalgia to me.

I heard there's a lot of this kind of things in Japan. I wonder if
I'm able to pre-order these things...

When A Game Lies to You

2006-04-18T00:36:00.001+07:00

Recently, all the game I played in my DS is not Megaman Battle
Network, NOT the uber cool Metroid Prime: Hunter, or even the ever
popular Tetris DS!

The game I played everyday is the 'game' Brain Age: Train Your Brain
a Minute a Day (yes the title is that long). It's not a game per se.
It's an application, designed to actually, literally train your
brain. It gave you a series of training program, and keep track of
the changes of your brain activities. Sounds boring rite? it's not,
believe me. It's not. It's actually pretty cool, and it's not a
'game' that designer to be playe more than 15 minutes each day. So
you keep going back for more.

Now, in the end of the training, the 'game' will give you a series of
test to determine how old is your brain, in terms of its activities.
Today, in attempt of some lame ingame joke, the 'game' told me that
my brain age is 7-freakin'-4!!!! After that it changed it to the
correct number which is 24, but seriously, 74? Geez!!!

A Fortune for a Sunglasses

2006-04-16T21:31:00.001+07:00

Any one who've seen X-Men would probably notice, cyclops's cool
sunglasses. That glasses is not the technologically rare design that
Prof. X made. It actually came from Oakley's Sunglasses Line.

Do you know how much that actually cost? a whopping 400 USD!!! and a
friend of mine have one, which I promptly borrow and pose right here :D

It's actually a really cool glasses. Very lightweight. and the lens
in itself is a very good quality both for use and durability (I once
saw a test movie from oakley, and their lens it's actually bullet
proof and close-to-none light bias)

My friend told me that his lens, pictured here, it's the second
version of the same line (ruby), the original ones have a more
reddish tone to it and very VERY rare.

IMG_7354.JPG

2006-04-02T19:37:00.001+07:00

I caught V for Vendetta yesterday. And boy, it is really good! And
somehow, inspiring :D. It's based on a comic with the same name from
Alan Moore. You know, from the creator of League of Extraordinary
Gentlemen. Also published by DC - Vertigo. Alas, the latter movie was
a dreadful attempt to translate. But I'll recommend V to everyone,
should they ask for my opinion of it :D

Anyhow, I managed to finish TR-1 Advanced Hazel too. Heh, my bro did
something very stupid and I needed to get some steam off me and what
better way to calm myself by building Gundams :D

Let me tell you about this particular MS story. It's never appear ini
any of the Gundam anime (yet). It came first as a background story
for a GM Quel modification, and later evolve to a background story
about the story of Titans Test Team. A team that responsible to test
a prototype MS for Titans.

This MS later would evolve to what all Gundam Fans know as Gundam MKII

I'm Not Really Sure...

2006-03-23T20:15:00.001+07:00

Yesterday was a bit of a disappointing day. Even though I did have
fun in the end, but it's practically ruin my weekends' plan!!! and it
all because of HIS mistake!!!!

YEAH YOU!!! YOU KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!!!! (lol)

I'm okay now... really :D

The thing is, I had plan to go to Ancol together with some friends of
mine during the weekends but there were some complications, and long
story short, they all went there yesterday leaving me with my
incredibly-sucky-job-since-all-the-others-went-without-me :(

We did get together later that night and ACTUALLY have fun, two of
them two be exact.

First one is stuffing our poor empty stomach with Seafood (shells,
crabs, fried fish, and barbecued fish, you know, the standard fare)

Second one is singing to the top of our lungs. God, it's been so long
since I did that. Lol

We all ended up drain all our energy for the day. I hit the sack
almost immediately when I got home, I'm pretty sure the others did
the same thing. There's should be some photo made during the singing
but I haven't stea... ahum, obtain it just yet.

I hope I can go to a karaoke together like this again sometime in the
near future and with some particular person too

In the mean time, I should figure out what I can actually do on the
weekends...

Dinner... yum!

2006-03-13T17:47:00.001+07:00

Later that night, we have our dinner at Fish & Co, also at Taman
Aggrek Mall. It’s a restaurant that specializes in Seafood. We
ordered some food, shared some laugh, and share the food together: D.

One thing about the taste though. I think seafood is always taste
batter somewhere else small rather than in some big mall. Seriously.
I love the French fries though, but the seafood itself? Only So-so
but it’s fun when you ordered the platter for two (which basically
meant for 4 person) and ate it at the same time.

The platter for F...two!

Guys, I know there's a cute girl in the picture, but can we please focus on the food now? Thank You! :D

The causalities of 'war' :D wait, I think I took the prawn after this photo was taken

Back to Reed

2006-03-13T17:34:00.002+07:00

I don't think I ever talk about Reed previously.

Reed is a cafe. A chocolate cafe to be exact at the Taman Anggrek
Mall in Jakarta. Where the cakes, the drinks, everything, is
chocolate oriented. I went there last Sunday to meet a friend and
discuss a project together (and also check out some cute chicks, the
place is abundant with them during the weekend: D)

So anyway, who knows I ended up back there the day after? You see, I
have some friends coming over from Surabaya to Jakarta because they
wanted to look at some clothes material to buy. I decided to
introduce them to a friend who's basically major on the subject :)).
So, long story short, I'm back at Reed's

I ordered a Strawberry Chocolate Banana Smoothie, quite the opposite
of the 'Midnight' that I ordered the last time (which is basically a
hot dark chocolate - yummy). It's sweet, and cold, and not for those
people who distaste sweet drinks.

drinking the strawberry thing

what my friend ordered. It's called 'Dawn' it's basically a hot white chocolate. Haven't tasted it though. Maybe I should, eh? :D

Bad Hair Day

2006-03-05T19:35:00.001+07:00

So I decided to cut my hair off yesterday. And to follow a certain
someone's advice, I decided to not spend too much this time on my hair.

Big Bad Idea

The thing is, I never know what hair look good on this deformed head.
I tend to leave it to the expert to do their job and find something
that actually looks good on it.

So here comes this hairdresser that goes by the name of A, tell me “I
think you should get something a long the line of what your friend
just had” (I was with a friend that day). So that’s 45k down the
drain, with a result that I hated, a style that I want to get rid off
so immediately.

I guess I much prefer that 80k that I spend 4 months ago to cut my
hair Japanese style. Love the guy! But now, I’ll just have to wait
for another month or two before I throw my money to this head of mine.

A left over photo here

2006-03-02T22:50:00.001+07:00

I forgot to attach this photo to the previous posting, enjoy it (got
to buy that bread again if I get the chance :D)

My, what a big one you got there!

2006-03-02T22:46:00.001+07:00

Mom comes for a visit last weekend, actually? She just wanted to shop
here; it was dad who has an IODI (Ikatan Olah raga Dansa Indonesia) -
a national dance organization here in Indonesia.

So we go around Jakarta, mom, my bro, his fiancee, and me. From
morning till night, the second day we decided to sleep over my aunt
house (where my mother is staying).

There's one thing you should know about her house, it's basically
empty!! I mean the whole family is always busy doing stuff, so the
house is empty for the most of the day. So all of us just help
ourselves, and buy breakfast for ourselves the following day.

We went to Sogo supermarket, and guess what we found: a 3 foot
Turkish Bread!! It was so big, I imagine the four of us could bite
from all 4 edges without ever touching each other: D. The bread
itself is delicious, and it only cost like 18k here.

How long it was??

2006-03-02T20:15:00.001+07:00

GOD! It seems like forever since the last time I make an entry, and
there's already so many things happening to me... Well, not major
ones, minor, but oh do I wish for a major change happen to my life
nowadays.

Ok where was I?

I still work in this damned stressful company, still working my @$$
off for something I Supposedly enjoy. I can't elaborate anything on
that due to professional reasons, but in short, a lot of people here
feel that they're under appreciated, that's all I can say... for now.

Couple of weeks a go, there was a Toy Fair held in Jakarta, and, even-
though I spent only a little of my money there, I ended up with a lot
more than I deserve!!

While I was there, won not one but two zoids model kits, and a star-
wars Lego (the one with the land speeder and the cantina) ^_^. I was
so happy that day but I ended up sick at home, hehehhehe.

This Damned life

2006-03-02T18:36:00.001+07:00

There are certain times when I hated the way people think. I know
it's an opinion, and it's theirs, but still...

I recently I come onto news that both disappointing and heart
breaking, and all because of the stupidest reasons too.

I mean, what compels a person, to do something that he/she might
regrets, but do it anyway because it was "natural for them to do so"?
Is life so short that people will rush into such an important decision?

Web Comic in making

2005-11-30T05:53:00.001+07:00

From this day, I'm starting to do my web comic. Seriously, this project have linger in the back of my mind ever since high school, and I have yet to find the media that's suitable for this project.
Now there's web, and I have a pretty accesible connection, a laptop and scanner where I can do my work basically EVERYWHERE

I also found a site that contains screentones that I can use for my comic and it's very useful. Yep, as you can guess, my comic will be in black & white, manga-styled.

For the moment I would call it Great Greed, and it's on a fantasy settings. Wish me luck with this!!

On the side note, I notice I've been generating visits to yesasia.com, so for those who's interested, they now having their annual clearance sale which you can finds out from the link below, and giving out a 5 usd coupon for your next purchase, add that to their free shipping option for order over 50 usd. I''ve been buying many things from them and they never fail me even once! Really recommended!

Play-asia also a nice site to visit and get your things from, but it's primary a gaming web store, although you can find other things suchs as electronics and toys, try it out!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHIGERU MIYAMOTO!!!

2005-11-16T23:57:00.001+07:00

Did u guys know? Shigeru Miyamoto, father of Mario & Donkey Kong turn 53 today!!

I wish him the best today and for the years to come, and thank him for MAKING OUR WORLD COLORFUL AND FULL OF MUSHROOMS!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIYAMOTO - SAN!!!!!!!!!!

Too Much of a Good Thing is Really Bad

2005-10-05T23:44:00.001+07:00

Everything started with a bad things at first, for instance, last Saturday I lost my ATM card. Is not that bad, I can get it back pretty easily with just patience, the thing is, I hate myself for being so stupid. I know people would probably say, "It's human nature to make mistake...". I just don't want to afford one again :). Okay, enough of that

There are some kind of Nintendo Conference yesterday in Japan and guess what? More and more and more and MORE interesting and good games are announced. For starters,

Children of Mana

and

Final Fantasy 3 (not the US's 3)

I recall playing FF3 entirely in Japan on the original Famicom with my friend Morris. It took us about 3 months just to finish it because we don't uderstand what really going on. At one point we actually stuck because we don't know that we have to palce one of the stone on its proper place.

So all this good games for my beloved DS, is it good? Yes, more games always good, is it bad? Hell yeah, this probably means that i will missing owning some of the games (just like during the Nes Era), sigh... in short, too much game to buy!!!!!

I just hope they won't released too close to each other, hehehehhehe.

Here and Back Again

2005-09-21T03:04:00.001+07:00

I went back to Surabaya last weekend. There are things that I have to do, among them was going to the dentist (not my mom btw), go to the bank to get my overdue ATM cards, and last but not the least, attend some wedding Party as an uninvited guess as a favor for a certain someone. Not that I mind though, there's quite a number of guys from the Uni that I haven't seen for a while :)

Yep, It was Sunny's wedding last Sunday (for those who doesn't know her, you read her name right :) though the party was okay (the event organizer suck, IMO) going there qas quite a bitch. Really, there like, wedding party ALL OVER TOWN!!! I know not so many people want to have a wedding party during fasting month but all in one day? Geez!

Lastly, I hope that 'certain someone' appreciate what I just did :) Here's a couple of photos I took during the party

On the side note, Nintendo finally shows us their latest controller for the next-gen!!! Yay!!! It was a very intriguing device, I mean, at first when I looked at the thing, i Was like WTF??? but after doing some reading, and look at the teaser video, I can't wait untul I can get a hold on one!!

Here are some in depth details of the Revolution Controller!

3D Pointing. Sensors understand up, down, left, right, forward and backward.
Tilt Sensitive. Controller can be rotated or rolled from side-to-side.
Buttons Included. Has a trigger on its backside, face buttons, and a D-Pad.
Multifunctional. Has an expansion port which can be used with different types of controller peripherals. Analog stick with two trigger buttons planned for left hand.
Wireless. Totally wire-free. Currently there are no details on the max distance, source or power, or otherwise.
Rumble Built-in. Included as a standard in all the controllers.

You guys can check some more image here

ARI ENGAGED!!!

2005-08-05T20:44:00.001+07:00

So finally, 3 weeks a go, my Bro got engaged. It's due time I guess and probably to everyone surprises (especially those who knew him at high school) lol.

So we went to Cirebon that day, a very tiring 3 hours trip with the train. When we arrived. Lanny (my Bro fiancee) meet us at the station and took us to lunch nearby to taste the local food :D
We stayed at this remote resort hotels on a hill some where. It got a 'water massage spa' that I get to try later in the evening. You can check the photo album for it :)

Anyway, the engagement itself is nothing special really (how should this thing go anyway? I don't have a clue). Bunch of laugh, and talk, plan of marriage date, almost everybody from her family was there. Me, I got my bro (obviously), my parents, and two of my dad's sister. Later we went to dinner with her family. There were some mixed up in the restaurant, and all the family got separated due to space.

Just check the photo album guys.

Deviant Art website updated

2005-07-14T19:08:00.001+07:00

Finally got the deviant page updated!!!

There have been some 'art challange' in the office for the past 3 weeks, for each challange, we decided on a subject to make. The last one was "master and servant". I decided to do something with Panda on it because I never draw one before.

So please comment on it guys!!! I really appreciate it!, the link is on the left side.

Blargh! Weekend

2005-04-19T20:24:00.001+07:00

I was sick through the whole week. Can't play, can't level up my character... damn it! I was partially well on saturaday so I was able to go to the NDS Gathering that I set up. I was able to play against the guys there and even take them out during multiplayer :D (Hah, I'm good) but then I spend most of the time sitting and telling people how to properly play the game and browse the net for news (eskei happen to bring a laptop)

I spend the WHOLE sunday in bed, doing ABSOLUTELY nothing but sleeping. I didn't even go to the office on monday. But I figure I was well enough to play DnD on monday night. Manage to gangbang a Vampire too without any party members getting wounded. Ha! that'll teach any monster try to mess with my dnd party :D. Actually it's more due to the badluck of the DM rolling almost never above 10 on a d20 dice :P. So we're up to level 4 now!!! One more level and my fighter can finally become a ranger :D

Proud Friend

2005-04-10T20:14:00.001+07:00

I accompany Bing-Bing to her EsMod competition final on Sunday and to everyone surprise, she won! I mean, it's not that her design was bad or anythig, it's just that the other contestants have excellent design too! As evident in the recently uploaded photoalbum here. As her friend, I'm extremely proud of her :) You Go girl! She got a 4 days round trip to Paris and a year of scholarship in EsMod (it's a fashion design school in Jakarta) she can opt not to take it though. But if she's serious in this subject, I think it's wise for her to take it, right?

So anyway, after the competition, I left her and continue playing World of Warcraft, and this is an actual conversation happen in the Game:

[Ishkar]: You're a cute Gnome
[Naraa] (Me): Thanks
[Ishkar]: So are you really a girl?
[Naraa]: Hmm, take a guess
[Ishkar: It's kinda difficult since there's so many male player play the game using a female avatar
[Naraa]: True, but you can tell from the way they speak to you
- Partying up, then fighting monster-
- moments later -
[Ishkar]: So, are you cute in RL (Real life)?
[Naraa]: Well, everybody think themselves cute :)
- More fights with monster -
[Ishkar]: Do you have a man already?
[Naraa]: wtf??
[Naraa]: Dude! I'm a guy!
[Ishkar]: lol

Come on!!! Do I really talk like a girl?? Please folks, players and people online can be really naive sometimes and this is prove to not believe anything you meet/saw/talk to on the 'net until you got a hard proof of it :D

It's War Time!!!!

2005-04-04T00:07:00.001+07:00

Finally, after long wait, I got my World of Warcraft account on saturday!! Woohooo!!! I've played from 10:00 PM till 6:00 AM. Leveling my Character up to level 10. With an hour of sleep in between :D

A funny thing just happen, I died (in the game) and I move my spirit to where my body is, but I was sleepy so accidentaly I move to under a log. I though I was fine (I'm a gnome) but then, I find that I can't move even a milimeters from where I at. And it doesn't help when a guy beside me who looks like a flock of hair, is BICKERING like no tommorrow!!! Luckyly after shouting to all others (in game) I found a pretty usefull button called 'unstuck' within the help button. And I return to the graveyard and begin my trek once again.

So for those who play the game, I'm at Nerz'hul, palying as a female gnome Warrior called Naraa.

See you in game!

Strange Happenings

2005-03-29T20:50:00.001+07:00

I can't update my blog yesterday. Does this happen to everyone?

Anyway, on Monday night, I should have had a DnD Session with some friends of mine. But it happens that the DM (Dungeon Master, a VERY integral part of the session) decided that he's not in the mood to play. So I ended up wasting a couple of hours doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. Not that it his fault, you see, he's been sick for the past week, so the 'ol Ball-Chain would've restrict him to play anyway.
The joy of married life eh?
He better gives us a few extra session this week or else!

Oh, I've Uploaded a couple of new pictures from the Bandung Road Trip. So check them out.

Now, Meteos, God! this game addictive! Even a friend of mind, who claimed that he hate puzzle game was playing this game withouth turning his DS off for 1.5 day ever since I uploaded the demo to his DS. A funny thing about the demo of this game. From the demo itself, they can spawn them to another DS which make an excellent marketing strategy if there's plenty of DS to go around, and I hope it will be.

Also, April fools day are coming. So what crazy news will we found around that time? Only time will tell

Bandung Road Trip

2005-03-27T18:42:00.001+07:00

It was good friday day, and as planned, I went to Bandung.
So here I woke up at 5:30 as opposed to the planned 5:00, I was so freak out and I go to take my morning shower (GOD that was cold :P) as quickly as possible, took my well prepared backpack and literally ran to the train station to cue up for the 7:30 train (it took about 30 minutes from my place to the station).

When I arrived, at exatcly 6:15, there was this line on the yet open ticket booth, so I had to cue up till 7:00 (the time the booth open), during cueing, I met Shanti, well, people seems to know her as Moja, a RO player (maybe some of you know her) she went to Bandung as well, so we ended up cueing together.

at Exatcly 7:!5 and the tikecting booth open nad I'm at front, they're almost sold out, and I manage to get by with 3 tickets, for me, nita & annie, both of my friends from Surabaya who just came in the nick of time to go to Bandung together.

I wish I had a Camera with me at the time, as fate dictates, I forgot the damned Camera!!!! Luckily, I borrowed a smaller back up camera from my friends. but the Batteries ran out. Damn it!!!! When I got to Bandung, I spend the whole day without taking a single picture, not because I don't want to, but all the destination we go to don't sell the AAA batteries I needed! talk about bad luck.

We went to eat this Yamian noodle, it was quite good, although they have this weird menu that taste like they put too much soya sauce on it, far too sweet for my taste. After we all gather, we waited for Fenny to come and join us and then we went to Lembang, A place in Bandung famouse for its cafes and views (its located on the hills), we went to Kampung Daun first, it's a very nice place, a bit expensive, but nice place nonetheless, the guys were taking pictures except me, who can't.

Later that evening, I finally get some batteries for my camera, when I opened it, there was no sd card in it, (it turns out it have some internal memory in it), but when I checked, the internal memory was about full!! I immedietly contact my friends, who apprently forgot to backup all the pictures in it so I had to deal with only a couple of space left in it. Thankfully Nita have some space in its mmc card for her mobile. So I get to use them for the rest of the day.

The next day have nothing much to tell, we just spend our days driving around Bandung to buy some snacks, gifts, and food. Oh, and we get to visit this weird, not yet finished, mall, that have all landmark from around the world featured inside them.

The party was nice, simple, but nice, you'll see it in the photo album. Afterwards I get to catch a ride to Jakarta with a some of the gang to help Ping2 locate her destination for next week (She'll be visiting Jakarta along with her sister, and she never set foot in Jakarta before this, ever).
So enough for my rant now, I need to post the pictures :)

Mobile blog

2005-03-23T08:18:00.001+07:00

Test If this goes in, than it's the coolest feature this blog ever had! And do you know what it is? Mobile blog baby! With this i can update it anytime, anywhere! Anyway, my meteos came today. It's a puzzle game for NDS which cannot be explained with words because people need to play to understand.

New Rant for New Blog

2005-03-22T23:28:00.001+07:00

So Friendster finally jump into the bandwagon and create their own blogs? Should I say finally or who cares? since there's already a lot of blogs at least, I already got an audience, if my friends willing to be ;) in friendster hehehehe.

btw, I wonder if you can post external link here, for picture and stuff, or should I use to paid subscription. Does anyone knows?

There's a friend's wedding on Friday on a town (three hours train ride long) near where I live. Both of them are my friends in the Uni. So I'll probably meet a lot of friends (hopefully) from the uni :) though I was the 'black sheep' of the gang, always getting bullied and made fun of, but I'm pretty cool with it. What a guy got to do to please his friends, eh?

Also missed my cousins, which scattered around the world :) so guys, send me a message once in a while so I'll know that you're still alive okay :D