ahbonk's Xanga

Monday, October 31, 2005

Mon, 31 Oct 2005 05:50:06 GMT

moved

yup i have moved
to a new domain
which is my own! :D

http://www.ahbonk.net

i will not be updating
around here any longer

so see you there!

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

Wed, 12 Oct 2005 11:16:02 GMT

a quarter century old

yup... last monday
i turned 25
have yet to make an impact in this world
especially in the game industry
i have to be fast!

on the eve of my birthday
my mom and i went to klcc
she bought a pair of dockers for me!
very nice fit... and i love the colour too

within the first hour
of my birthday
diana, ben and stella
sms-ed me "happy birthday!"
thank you for the prompt wish!

the next day i walked into the office
and ben immediately gave me a present
it's from him and his other half, jac
i was sooooo surprised
it was my first game controller!
two atari joysticks! how nostalgic!
i wonder how long it's been
since i held that thing...

after that, (if ) gave the card
and the two t-shirts
very nicely designed body glove shirts
sanyen and yean gave me a barbie doll
yup it was quite shocking
he said that i'm the only one in the office
without a girlfriend
so she can teman me
he just had to remind me how lonely i am
hahahhaha

joanne and julian wished me via msn
whereas cik wa, dzaid and wei liang
wished me via sms
lee ling, tiffany and james called me
daim even wished me via sms all the way from uk!

my dad also did it via sms
coz we'll be celebrating it this coming saturday

aidi asked me to come to his house
to pick up "the stuff"
heh heh
he gave me a novel to read
coz i told him that i disliked reading novels
and he's aspiring to be a story-writer
so he wanna encourage me to read

also in the package was a tsubasa chronicle manga
volume 2 this time
i had volume 1 last year
looks like i'm gonna read tsubasa chronicle
one volume every year :D

auntie sam (aidi's mom) gave me
mgs3 and final fantasy soundtrack cds
how did she know i like those games?
what a cool auntie

stella's birthday is today
(oh, happy birthday, hoshi-chan!)
so we had a joint birthday bash yesterday
with seng kit in saisaki
a japanese buffet restaurant

and my goodness
she gave me an anime figure case
as if that's not enough,
she painted some of her designs on the sides!
looks so funky and cool!
felt bad coz i gave her something
right off the shelf :D

tomorrow will be dinner with tiffany
it's been quite some time since i saw her

so to all the people mentioned above
THANK YOU SO MUCH!
i'm truly blessed

Tuesday, October 04, 2005

Tue, 04 Oct 2005 06:35:39 GMT

another winner

continuation of the previous blog entry
of the mc2 award
what is mc2 award? go read the previous entry!

met stella (remember her?) at the award ceremony too
nope she's not just the spectator
she's also a winner!
she works for a company called shiroku
and the website she designed won a silver award!
the website is at: http://www.shiroku.com
i especially like the origami loading screen, dunno why
hahaha...

also there was another brother of hers
seng kit (the other guy on her right side)
he's another great designer
designs and even programs
another potential sanyen

also met my apiit friend, ah keat
he's a roommate (at least i thought so) of my classmate
haven't met for 5 years
but you know how small the world is

so congrats, shiroku!
we beat the heck out of that
"other damn famous interactive company"...
YEA!

Monday, October 03, 2005

Mon, 03 Oct 2005 09:08:01 GMT

"it's about time"

yup that's what my colleague, ben,
told his friend on the night of the MC2 awards
coz our company just won 7 awards!
sapu habis habis!

MC2 awards is a prestigeous creative award
judged by people from all over the world
for the details of the award and the jury
click here: http://www.mc2awards.com/

it was held in the kuala lumpur convention centre
which is near the kuala lumpur city centre
so KLCC is near KLCC
how confusing @_@

the system goes like this:
in every category (i think)
there are 5 bronze, 5 silver and 1 gold award

so in the interactive category
it was announced that (if )interactive
won 4 silvers and 2 bronzes
we were so happy!
we couldn't believe that we won so many awards!

but not as happy as when the announcer said:
"and the gold goes to... ONCE AGAIN, (if )interactive!!!"
we were shocked... all of us
but not too shocked to cheer our heads off!
we stood up and shouted like mad
i bet everyone thought we were lunatics
but who cares!

here's the list of our award-winning (che-wah!) interactive stuff:

bronze:
projet launch (projector casts human shadow, then virtual rain hit the shadows)
interfacing gesture (check out our site: http://www.if.net.my)

silver:
man(if )esto (our own site! http://www.if.net.my ... leave a msg while u're at it!)
intel befree campaign (http://www.befree.com.my ... create a puppet ya!)
shifting nature (check out our site)
autonomous canvas (download the screensaver: http://www.if.net.my/canvas.zip)

and last, but not least (in fact, the most!), the gold:
zouk club site (http://www.zoukclub.com.my)

seriously, we were sitting quietly all these years
but it's about time we shout!

we were getting pretty annoyed
because in the past, people (esp. malaysians!)
couldn't accept our stuff
too radical they say, too impractical
but overseas, these stuff are implemented everywhere!

when i was in apiit
it was drilled into my head that
technologically advanced stuff are the way to go
regardless of the interface
as long as it does some technologically advanced stuff

but that's not the case in the advertising world
it's all about human interfacing with the product
and how the interface works
why only limit yourself to mouse and keyboard?
go crazy with the interaction!
even if it's just mouse and keyboard
do something other than a normal website
something that takes interaction to another level

and that's what (if ) is all about
evolving new
after many years of convincing people
about theories of interactive evolution
we are now recognized for our efforts

as vyse said in skies of arcadia (my fave rpg):
"impossible" is just a word
used by people who want to feel good about themselves
when they quit

and (if ) didn't quit
congratulations, (if )!
it's about time!

Thursday, September 15, 2005

Thu, 15 Sep 2005 04:49:51 GMT

hilarious viral marketing

i dunno lah
i find this website amazingly simple
yet has a great idea and great implementation too
this is where it is proven
that art is the master of simplicity

click on the pic above
or the below link
something hilarious there...
guarantee to entertain!

http://www.weddingcrashersmovie.com/crashthistrailer/index.htm?id=182554

Wednesday, September 14, 2005

Wed, 14 Sep 2005 04:43:45 GMT

pure arrogance

i know some ppl might take this entry personally
but i hope all readers are matured enough
and discuss it properly
without any emotional setbacks

as we grow up
we tend to be more... what do ppl call it nowadays...
oh yea... critically analytical...
we take pride in being smart and analyse things
we are proud to take a different perspective than others
and we are so impressed with how much knowledge we have

but i seem to notice nowadays
that amidst those deep and profound opinions
lies a villain... a villain that is so smart
he's disguised as "being critically analytical"...
or "yea i've done a lot of research, so i know a lot"...
or "i'm the manager here, so i know my way around"...
who is he? arrogance!

let's see... where to start with this...
might offend some people...
but who cares!

you see right...
there was this book, written by a veteran game designer
and in there, he wrote that fun does not consist
of great graphics or superb music or compelling storytelling
but great gameplay
coz all in all, appreciating great graphics and all those
is categorized as delight, not fun
and if good gameplay is not maintained throughout the entire story
people will find it boring and leave the game

but when i mentioned this right off the bat
they all got angry all of a sudden
and was really strongly opinionated
shoved the author's opinions right up his ass
"storytelling important oso wat!"
and "if the game has great music,
i will play it regardless of the gameplay"

and i told them that the author is a book writer
games sometimes focus too much on storytelling
rather than gameplay
but most of the time, the storytelling is a whole lot worse
than the story in a book
so focusing on the story in a game just by itself is a mistake
guess what was the first comment i heard?
"duh! it's a book! of coz the story better lah!"
(i dunno lah... i think this just proves the author right)

sounds like critically analysing the situation eh?
the problem is... they have never even read the author's book!
they don't even know why the author came to that opinion
on top of that, the author is the creative head of Ultima Online
and now is the Creative Chief Officer for Sony Online Entertainment
surely he must have known more stuff than all of us combined
to arrive at an opinion like that!

seriously, no matter how many forums you participated in,
how much news you read,
how many games you played,
another opinion might be truer than yours
can't deny that just upon first thought

and also... some designers love to say
"this design sucks! that design sucks!"
at first i was thinking "wow so high profile lah they all"
but they always say that UPON FIRST GLANCE
have they ever thought...
what did the designer think of when designing a particular piece?
what is the concept behind it?
how about normal non-IT-literate people?
maybe they enjoy the site too?
maybe the target audience is not other designers
not a single thought process going through all this stuff

actually... come to think of it...
all the childish comments above were made
due to LACK of critical analysis
also due to pure ignorance and pure arrogance

so next time when you give a comment (especially a bad one)
make sure it's on proven grounds
not just your own experiences and thoughts
especially when the comment is generalizing something as a whole
i've come to realise this as well
when i was talking bad things about malaysia as a whole
not considering the fact that it is a developing country
( still wanna live in japan though ;) )

like my cousin, daim sed:
"Don't try to act like you know everything...
because the truth is...
you know nothing."

especially when u're just a 20+ year old tinyhead

so...
before you come up with an opinion
think whether you're

critically analytical
or
just being pure arrogant

Tuesday, September 13, 2005

Tue, 13 Sep 2005 06:47:52 GMT

mini graduation

yay! i passed my advanced level 2 exam!
thought i wouldn't get through
but i did... heh heh

in case you didn't know
the japanese language also uses
chinese characters in their traditional form
there were a whole lot of chinese characters
i had to memorize
it's good to be a chinese nehhhh
i had a difficult time
to associate the 10+ strokes to something meaningful

but oh well... i made it :D
and so did the whole class!

after the exams
a few of us went out for lunch
at lot 10's food court

after that, i broke out
"hey let's take pictures!
i wanna update my blog!"

then i asked them to act crazy
"don't lah always pose nice nice"
as you can see from the above
only kah ling managed to do it
(the other crazy one)

but i'll be separated from them soon
all of them decided to stop for awhile
and continue only next year
due to SPM, end-year college exams, etc
but i have dreams to chase!
so i shall continue on... sorry people
onwards to advanced level 3!

tonikaku... omedetou-gozaimasu mina!

Wednesday, September 07, 2005

Wed, 07 Sep 2005 09:32:04 GMT

anne anne

heh heh introducing yet another girl
joanne ng shin rui!

she's now staying and working in johor
so we met up during my trip to singapore

she was my classmate
from diploma all the way to degree
and now one of my best friends

i dunno where to start with this girl
some say that she's the perfect angelic girl

let's see...
she has a really bubbly and cheerful character
often smiling, often laughing
and she often affects those around her too
everyone will smile with her
and you can talk with her about anything!
conversations are never boring when it's with her

if people think that i'm an optimist
what will they think of her?
she's the goddess of optimism
always thinking in the positive manner
no matter the hurdle, no matter the situation
she will always pull through

seriously right, i've never met someone
who is more positive towards life
EVER! really!

but then it's not so surprising
coz she has God by her side
she's a really faithful christian
and she's active in church activities

she also loves her family a lot
keep wanna spend time with her parents
no matter how busy she gets
in modern times,
it's hard to find families that bond so closely
and she owes it to her family
that she is who she is today

so what do u say?
perfect angelic girl sounds about right, right? :D

hopeless to say
i fell for her within my first year in apiit
of coz got rejected lah, haha
how to compare rite? rite? ;)
of course that's all in the past

now she's one of my closest friends
she's really one of the (if not THE)
most honest and sincere friend i have
must treasure and appreciate friends like this

although we're apart quite often
and never call often
(which shouldn't happen rite, anne anne? RITE?!)

when we do get together, however,
talking to her makes me somehow forget about my problems
and all the crazy work that i have to do
that honest smile can really grow on you... honest!

why not you give her smile a try? :D
now that's a business opportunity!
packaging her smile into little boxes to sell...

Thursday, September 01, 2005

Thu, 01 Sep 2005 05:06:12 GMT

singapore

aaaaahhhh... finally a little rest
went to johor bharu last saturday
stayed in this very decent hotel
for just rm 20 per head
hotel singrena in taman pelangi
drop by the place if you're nearby!

the month of august
was generally a long streak of bad luck for me
other than having gout and fever and loads of work
my car had tyre problems once it reached johor
so the repairs took out rm 220 outta my wallet
couldn't buy much at singapore loh...

but it was fun nevertheless
if four of us are together
it will never be a boring trip!

bought a couple of books at orchard road
also went to the botanic garden
(and created loads of embrassing pics)

then we went to bugis junction
the arcades there are brand spanking new!
stupid malaysian arcades!
they had the latest drummania and guitar freaks
and both of them were linked!
so daim played the drum and i played the guitar
and we jammed like hell!

all in all, it was a fun trip!

sorry for the long pic above yea
dunno which pic to remove
and again no captioning
coz, as expected, loads of work await me

the next blog entry will have captions, don't worry
coz the next one will feature a girl ;)
to balance this picture of four manly guys :D

Thursday, August 25, 2005

Thu, 25 Aug 2005 21:21:02 GMT

sick month

haven't been blogging for quite some time
why, you ask?

coz it's been a horrible horrible month!
started with fever
then had gout
then had fever again
with a little gout in my neck

all this plus a whole lot of work
was rushing on an intense website
scary, man...
since we were given only a week to create it
as usual lah, client give this kind of time frame
it's intel this time

so the whole group stayed back
stayed overnight in the office
sick or not sick
just had to do the job!
but i was quite happy
since the whole team was working together
to work on the project

it was finally launched yesterday!
and man, what a satisfactory result
you all may visit it
you could win a centrino-powered laptop
and intel party tickets @ zouk

programming the puppet in the agility section
was really the source of all my headaches
so try it out to justify the effort :D

click the following banner to visit www.befree.com.my

when the whole team was working on that
sanyen was working on yet another intense website...
our own website!
i personally love our website now
more practical and yet still retaining great design sense
and the last section, that's the attractive part
you gotta see it to believe it!

sanyen's a genius la
dunno what he eats to be that smart and creative

click on the banner below to visit www.if.net.my

if you're wondering where i am on the website
try to find me in the philosophy of fun section
(clue: it's not the real me ;))

oh amidst the intense work and sickness
there was one event that took my mind off these
my mom's 60th birthday party!

had no idea my mom was creative
since it was her 60th birthday
she invited 60 guests
and we had to wear clothes from the 60s

on that day
my mom and her friends
proved to be younger at heart than us
they were dancing to 60s music
made a long line
and danced in that train formation thingy
are all 60 year olds this nutty?

was very happy
not only coz it's my mom's birthday
and not only coz i was off work
even if it's just for one day
but it's coz everyone is together!

the legendary four cousins were there
all four of us wore the beatles costume
(we came late, so we REALLY attracted attention)
even my 2 cousin sisters came back from england
rozanna and suzanna (the other two girls in the pic)
so the whole happy family was there!

ok a long post this time
didn't captionize my pictures
coz i'm exhausted and tired at the moment
amazingly i logged in world of warcraft
only 4 times this month
what a waste of 60 ringgit... oh well

this saturday
me and the other three legendary cousins
are gonna go to singapore
finally a trip to make me forget work
will be back on merdeka
hopefully i'll be well enough to make it for the trip

alright gonna go sleep now
slept too much (had the day off)
but now i feel sleepy again...
must be the medicine...
oyasumi...