Tsunami at Haeundae (Korean)

I recently watched this movie and it was marvelous! I especially like the storyline - appreciate those around you and those who matter most to you - although the story was a little draggy before the tsunami hit Haeundae. I could feel the story crawling from one scene to another, trying to introduce too many characters to fit into the 120 minutes runtime. I just wish the tragedy scene is prolonged but the movie was absolutely and undoubtedly good. This 2009 movie was directed and written by Je-gyun Yun lined up Kyun-gu Sol as the hero named Man-shik and his girlfriend Ji-won Ha as the heroine named Yeon-Huai.


Heaundae is a popular vacation spot, a beach city in South Korea attracting millions of visitors every year. A geologist who is an expert researcher in tsunami, gained interest especially after the Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004 had alerted the authority of a possible hit in Haeundae. Not believing him (the usual plot in disaster movies) the authority did not take heed of his warnings. True enough, a 500 miles per hour super-tsunami mercilessly hit Heaundae and took with it lives of the innocent - those who matter most to the characters in the movie.



What I like about this movie is the good full of expression actors (I think this is the best part in watching Korean movies - I have not watched many but all the Korean movies I've watched, the acting was good). Another thing I like is the twist where both the hero and the heroine died in the second wave of the tsunami.



What I do not like is, like I mentioned before, the focus of the story was not on the tragedy. Only less than half an hour before the movie ends the tragedy took place and everything happened too fast. It would be better if the movie had focused on the misery and the mishap. However the special effects on the camerawork of the tsunami were indeed excellent! It has the quality of a Hollywood made movie. Hollywood, introducing you to your competitor!


My recommendation - go watch this movie. It's worth your money.

p/s photos copyright of the respective owners.

Al-Fatihah dan Takziah Indonesia

Almarhum Pak Gus Dur. Photo (c) haxims.blogspot.com

Innalillahi wainna ilaihiraji'un...

Kal El turut berkongsi kesedihan rakyat Indonesia di atas kewafatan Pak Gus Dur, mantan Presiden ke empat (1999-2001) republik itu. Moga roh Almarhum dicucuri rahmat dan dilindungi Allah SWT. Moga segala amal dan jasanya diingati dan menerima balasan setimpal dari Allah. InsyaAllah.

Takziah dari Kal El untuk seluruh rakyat Indonesia.

Jenazah Almarhum mantan Presiden Republik Indonesia KH Abdurrahman Wahid @ Gus Dur sedang diusung menuju mobil jenazah untuk dibawa ke rumah duka di Ciganjur, Jakarta Selatan.

Photo (c) Foto.detik.com

Alvin and The Chipmunks 2 n Chili's KLCC

It was an exciting night - yep, especially after not going to the movies for a very long while - our last was GI Joe for the department's outing - and that was a couple or maybe three or four months back. It looks like we have to postpone my plans for a cuti-cuti Malaysia for the time being for a couple of factors. One, we're saving or our Siem Reap trip end of January 2010 and two, it is the end of the year, most highways would be jammed packed and of course we wouldn't want to waste our time on the road. I guess those are a couple of valid reasons. Hmmm I'm actually planning a surprise Penang trip to Hard Rock Hotel for February next year. Menarik tuh!

Alvin and the Chipmunks

So because of the postponement of our domestic trip to February next year, I would've to settle and be happy with little treats like going to the movies. Jadik la....

The Chipmunks and The Chipettes (The Cartoon Series)

It was Alvin and the Chipmunks and of course like the first installment of my all time favorite cartoon series when I was a kid (the first movie was better and funnier, I think!) we both enjoyed and laughed out loud especially when the female chipmunks were introduced as 'The Chippets' - somehow it brings a dirty meaning to those who understand what Chipet means hehehehe. (If you don't know gofind out) - well, when we were kids our minds were not as corrupted to even think the group's name sounded dirty... ish...ish...ish...naughty us! Overall, the movie was fun- who wouldn't enjoy the cute voices of The Chipmunks and The Chippets?

To note that was the first time I went to the movies on a wheelchair. TGV (at least at KLCC) is OKU friendly as they had ramps to the movie houses and they have seats specially for OKUs.

The Chipmunks and The Chipettes (in Alvin and the Chipmunks 2)

Before the movies we had dinner at Chili's. Heheheheh mana lagi kalau tak kat situ kan bila dah ke KLCC. I had the Cajun Ribeye Steak and KN had what else, the Country Fried Chicken. For starters seperti biasa, menu wajib - Nachos but this time with added Fajita Beef - hmmmm Chili's menu seems to change quite frequently lately ni... kejap-kejap lain and honestly I miss some of their old line up.

Nachos with Fajita Beef (Top most), Country Fried Chicken and Cajun Ribeye Steak

It was a fun night and KN promised to take me out to watch Muallaf sometime soon! Can't wait lor...

p/s I purposely spell Chippets for the kick - the correct spelling is Chipettes.

Happy Super Duper New Year 2010

I Am So Excited!

I am so bloody excited! Bukan nak pi cuti2 Malaysia like i was hoping for tapi i'm going for a movie tonight and another one tomorrow. Yep pathetic as it may sound but little things like this make me happy nowadays. Can't wait!

Gambar: kat opes yesterday in one of my uniforms. Macam keje kat justice league pulak rasanya. Hehehe. Merry Christmas Malaysia!

I need a vacation ASAP

Hmmm at this moment Kal El rasa i need to go for an immediate vacation. Domestic getaway 2 days 1 night pun cukup, jadik ler dari tskda kan? Just to 'dissapear' from this dull routine of mine of going to the hospital and being in and out of hkl Dah 2 minggu ada long weekend tapi tak pergi mana atau buat apa pun. This weekend and next weekend pun panjang juga. Hmmm nak pi mana ya? Macam teringin la nak pi hard rock hotel kat penang nun or perhaps avillion kat port dickson?

Gambar: tengah dialysis pagi ni. Kat mana? HOSPITAL ampang. Sigh hospital, hospital, hospital! Tak leh ke dialysis kat pavillion ke, kat gsc ke, kat red box ke?

Beli Keta Lagi...

Presenting my new ride! Tadaaaa! Sporty yellow macam bas sekolah. I call this my Ferrari. The old black one which i refer to as my Porche is for home use. So tak ler kotor tayar guna outdoor masuk pulak dalam rumah. Hmmm i love my new ride. Btw esok nak hantat Ms Livvy modify untuk OKU use. Nanti citer ler. Later!

The Superman in me

I've had people asking how could i be so strong after all the mishaps in my life? Some commented that I am still as cheerful as ever. Rahsianya? Hmmm takdela apa sangat rahsianya. Just think positive, go through life one day at a time, never ever rush through things, think of happy things and memories and of course getting plenty of support from loved ones. Mungkin Kal El ada rahsia la jugak - i always believe i am Superman; strong both physically and at heart. Itu je la rahsianya.

Gambar: Kal El in one of my uniforms. Hehehe just imagine la baper banyak baju with Superman emblem yang Kal El ada muahahahah.

Kal El
Sent from my iPhone

HKL ohhhhhh HKL!

Ingat tak Kal El kata nak masukkan perm cath nak ganti IJC yang duk terjuntai kat leher ni. Hmmm penat je puasa on Wednesday depa kata nak buat hari tu jugak sekali tak jadi. Yang bestnye tak jadi tapi tak de sapa yang inform Kal El. Maka Kal El berpuasa la sampai terlajak waktu berbuka. On Thursday dah puasa dan dah diusung ke angio room. Dah pakai gown OT yang sungguh sexy menampakkan bont*t Kal El yang sungguh gebu itu. Tapi bila doctor kat OT asked me to about my medical history, terpaksa postpone lagi the procedure sebab doctor kat ward lupa nak check whether I have had history of asthma ke idak. (Kal El pernah ada bronchial asthma when I was sixteen) so by right, kene cover me with steroids for the procedure. Letih tul. Nasib baik date yang postpone tu dapat sama ngan date Kal El memang kene admit for my right hand angiogram - to be assessed for fistula insertion. Kalau tak masak asik keluar masuk hospital. Kerja pun bila nak masuk balik pun tak tau.

Aduhai HKL oh… HKL!

Short-lived Joy

Ala ingat dah bleh balikkkkk!!! Pagi tadi doctor dah discharge pastu 3 hours later cakap tak jadi pulak sebab esok kene undergo another minor surgery. Nak masukkan permanent catheter or perm cath kat shoulder blade to replace the current IJC yang hodoh terjuntai kat leher ni for hemodialysis. Originally the insertion date was supposed to be in January 2012 tapi the surgeon is scheduled to be away on that date so alih-alih mat salleh kata nak buat esok. Masuk OT lagi! Bukan dah jadi macam lembu korban Kal El ni tapi lebih macam ikan yang kene siang. Potong sana, masuk tiub sini! Frankenstein pun kalah.

Kal El
Sent from my iPhone

Talak Satu

Alhamdulillah the surgery was successful. Maka kini officially Kal El dengan berat hati melafzkan cerai talak satu kepada unit CAPD Hospital Kuala Lumpur. Malangnya jodoh kita tak panjang. InsyaAllah ada jodoh ketemu lagi.

Thank you to the ever helpful and friendly staff at CAPD. I will indeed miss your hospitality.

In the operation theater tadi riuh dengan gelak tawa. I was sedated but not enough to make me sleep. So i was awake the whole time and when asked how the op felt, i said it felt like my tummy was being butchered macam daging korban. That statement had had the whole OT staff burst into laughter termasuk ler yang kene sembelih tu. Tengok tu, kecik je wound dia. Hopefully esok bleh balik.

Adeh next week kene admit lagi sekali. Nak buat angiogram on the right arm for fiatula insertion pulak. The doctors couldn't find a pulse - hmmm dah mati ke aku ni sebenarnya?

Checked-in

Kal El dah check in the ward for tomorrow's tanckoff removal. Minor surgery to remove the tube used for CAPD treatment. Do pray for me ya. Thank you friends.

Kal El
Sent from my iPhone

A Very Happy Weekend

It has been awhile since I last went out jalan-jalan; window shopping, shopping, makan etc. Before this kalau keluar pun akan pi Jusco for grocery shopping, makan thwn balik. All these sejak I lost my leg nearly a yera ago. I would only go out to work and back, other times I would be spending time in the room and feel trapped within the four small master bedroom walls. I complained to KN since before this we always go out together and Fridays would be our wayang day. It has been awhile since we last watched a movie together pun. I miss all that and I feel bored to death just trapped at home. Weekends especially when KN goes back to mak and ayah's place in Shah Alam lagi la aku rasa macam orang gila sorang-sorang watching movies and the stupid Astro yang keep repeating their movies and shows over and over again.

So, this weekend we went to The Curve in Damansara. I was on the wheelchair and KN pushed me. Jalan-jalan pusing-pusing window shopping and we went to Metrojaya to shop for my uniform - Superman emblem t-shirt la what else heheheheh and I bought three pairs! Memang seronok. I had the time of my life. Right now I am eying the Superman shoes and sling bag - i wish they have a back pack soon.

Posing kat Centre Court The Curve - buruk!

Before that we had a quick lunch kat area bawah Curve tu, stopped by to get myself a glove for dialysis (refer previous entry ada gambar Kal El pakai glove hitam. Tu ler dia heheheh) After Metrojaya we went around The Curve to window shop then stopped by Pet Safari kat Ikano to get pet food tapi takde stock pulak. Singgah the Centre Court at The Curve and snapped some photos (eeee tak suka gambar tu sebab of the IJC kat my neck showing and I looked so fat due to fluid overload) and then stopped by Starbucks Coffee... yummm yummmm (patut la selalu fluid overload kan hehehehe)

\Our Starbucks Drinks

We had dinner kat Ikea. Kal El apa lagi ordered meatballs with mustard and chili sauce while KN had Herb Chicken. We shared our drinks - how romantic. We jalan-jalan kat Ikea bought some needed things for the house and then pi kat the small mart kat Ikea tu and bought some biscuits and the ever famous almond chocolate pie... double yummy (ahahahah lepas makan tu mesti naik blood sugar Kal El)

Ikea meatballs and Herb Chicken

All in all, I had a very happy weekend. Thanks KN for finally taking me out. I know I can be pathetic sometimes crying over trivial things but u need to be in my shoes to know how dreading my life is to be trapped within the four walls of our bedroom every day of my life. This weekend means a lot to me. Thanks dear.

Hemodialysis Treatment at Ampang Hospital

A rather pleasant news yesterday - syukur alhamdulillah. I am permanently accepted kat Hospital Ampang in Pandan Mewah for hemodialysis. Sebelum ni my status there was 'Transit Patient' atau dengan kata lain MENUMPANG. I am very happy and amat-amat bersyukur pada Allah. Kenapa? What's so special there?

One - it's a hospital. So apa-apa masalah (like sudden drop in blood pressure or Hb (Hemoglobin) level, dorang akan cepat bertiindak compared to other private, non-hospital dialysis centres. this isi because they do not have resident doctors. Nak amik darah pun result berhari-hari baru dapat. Ampang Hospital is a Blood specialist hospital, therefore any blood samples taken in the morning, the results will be out by afternoon the latest.

Kat Hospital Ampang (most of the part) memang macam dalam freezer so kene berbungkus ler macam Eskimo kejap heheheh... ni tengah dialysis la ni.

Two - It's considered near jugak la to Bukit Antarabangsa and it's between home and work. So KN can drop me off on dialysis days and later pick me up (or papa picks me up and send me home)

Three - It's a government hospital. So, with my OKU card from Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat, I am entitled to free treatment. Dah tak perlu susah-susah nak apply for socso or any other forms of help. Leceh and takes time. Even if I have to pay it is really cheap - RM13 for hemodialysis treatment - sapa nak kasi lah?

Four - The staff nurses, medical assistants and PPK staff there are very good in their jobs and friendly too. Memang macam satu keluarga yang besar, boleh gurau-gurau, gelak-gelak and they are very sincere in the things they do for patients. Kalau kat dialysis centres lain, from what I have experienced before, tak berapa closely knit.

Five (reason paling best!) - They serve food! Dah la free, dapat meals pulak tu masa tengah dialysis... kekadang mee hoon, nasi goreng, nasi lemak, sandwiches hehehehehe...

While I was waiting for my tankcoff insertion in January I did my dialysis kat Hospital Ampang jugak and now when I return 8 months later, the staff still remember me and they treat me well. Bukan senang nak diterima buat dialysis kat sini sebab waiting listnya amat panjang and they do tight screening and filtering to the well deserved people to be treated here. I am just very lucky because I am considered a CAPD failure case and such cases are transferred to this place for dialysis treatment. Alhamdulillah.

p/s I will be away this coming Monday onwards (hopefully for not very long) for my tankcoff removal surgery. Do pray for me. Thank you.

Selagi Bertahan - Jaclyn Victor

I love this song very much. It tells a lot about me. About my life. About how I have so far managed to go through the obstacles in life. Superman material like me needs a motivation song too you know... Enjoy.




Selagi Bertahan

seringkali
ku diuji dilukai
masih lagi ku bertahan hingga kini
bertahan demi cinta pada yang ku sayangi sekalipun pahit

selagi ku mampu bertahan
selagi itulah jua
tidak sekali aku tunduk mengalah
di mana pun berdiri
akan tetap ku genggami
demikianlah sayang
selebihnya aku pasrahkan

biar pun sungguh perit
menanggung beban yang menghimpit
ku tetap gagahi
selagi ku mampu bertahan
selagi itulah jua
tidak sekali aku tunduk mengalah
di mana pun berdiri akan tetap ku genggami demikianlah sayang

selagi...selagi itulah jua... tunduk mengalah
di mana pun berdiri akan ku tetap genggami
demikianlah sayang
selebihnya aku pasrahkan

Photo (c) api.ning.com

Black Canyon Coffee, Jusco Au2

All I could say is - it was a splendid dining experience.

Strawberry Delight (smoothie) and Phuket Paradise (smoothie)

Everything we ordered were tasty and pleasing to the taste buds. We'll definitely come back for more! This was our first time dining at Black Canyon Coffee and International Thai Cuisine. I remembered having coffee at their Summit USJ branch many-many years ago and never remembered there were Thai or Western Cuisine being on their menu.

Golden Chicken Purse

That night I ordered The Golden Chicken Purse as appetizers. It was fat and filled with succulent chicken pieces and vegetables. Real tasty!

The FOC Cream of Chicken Food and Black Canyon Special Beef Steak

For mains, I had the Black Canyon Special Beef Steak and KN had the Terriyaki Chikcen Steak set with Strawberry Delight. I ordered Phuket Paradise for my drink. Both dishes were tremendously good and definitely tasty. The Black Canyon Special Beef Steak came with a bowl of FOC soup. Diners would have three choices of soups and I ordered Cream of Chicken - believe me, there were, really were pieces of shredded chicken in the soup - yummy!

Terriyaki Chicken Steak

I really recommend dining here. I would come and so will KN to try their other offerings on the menu. Price wise too, not too pricy, very affordable. We spent RM80 for two persons dinner compared to RM100++ if we go to other places in the city. Wow this was really a great dining experience.

Jennifer's Body

She's EVIL... and not just high school EVIL

Boys beware.

I love the soundtrack in this movie and I just love the movie sooooooo much! Well, it wasn't the best movie I've seen but the storyline was good - a non-virgin admitted to be one and sacrificed to satan - so she turned into a vampire like evil monster that feeds on boys - hehehehehh monster gatal neh - but I just her teeth when she feeds! Classy!

She's beautiful once she has fed on a boy or boys

Her battle against her BFF

She justs fed on her BFF's boyfriend - naughty!

The many movie posters of Jennifer's Body

Here's a synopsis of Jennifer's Body from IMDb:

Jennifer's Body is a 2009 dark comedy and horror film written by Diablo Cody. The film is directed by Karyn Kusama, and stars Megan Fox as the title character, Amanda Seyfried as her best friend Needy, and Adam Brody as the antagonist Nikolai. It is scheduled for theatrical release in the United States and Canada on September 18, 2009.

Jennifer Check (Megan Fox) is the sexy, popular captain of the high school cheerleading squad. All of the girls want to be friends with her, and all of the boys want to have sex with her. Jennifer's friend since childhood, Anita "Needy" Lesnicky (Amanda Seyfried), is a nerdy, substantially less popular, "plain jane" student. Jennifer ends up as the sacrifice in a Satanic ritual, held by a rock band, hoping that the sacrifice will increase their chances of getting a record deal. The ritual goes horribly wrong, causing Jennifer to get possessed by a demon and start feeding off of the boys in her high school; First seducing them to get close, and then consuming them in a manner similar to that of a Succubus. It becomes Needy's goal to stop Jennifer from killing more of her classmates.

Demon possession, devilish cheerleaders, and Satanic rock stars are all on the chopping block with this horror comedy from the production team behind Juno. Screenwriter Diablo Cody provides the script, with producing duties handled by Jason Reitman and Dan Dubiecki. Girlfight's Karyn Kusama directs the Fox Atomic production

Remember, she's EVIL... and not just high school EVIL

Happy 23rd Birthday Sapit

23 years ago today our family was blessed with a baby boy. Today he has become a talented young man. Happy Birthday dear brother. You are really a dream come true as I waited many years for your arrival.

Salam Aidil Adha 2009

(c) promahathir.blogspot.com

Memandangkan Aidil Adha selama 3 hari, kiranya masih belum terlambat untuk Kal El mengucapkan Selamat menyambut Hari Raya Qurban 2009. Moga segala pengorbanan yang kita lakukan selama ini diberkati Allah dan dibalas dengan balasan yang setimpal. InsyaAllah.

Rindunya Kal El pada Kaabah...

(c) matskool.wordpress.com

CAPD Failure - Back to Hemodialysis

My missing from the blogosphere always mean something bad had happened or is happening. Some of my friends (without my knowing) has been constantly monitoring me on Yahoo Messenger, Facebook and whatever means where my activities and movements could be monitored or traced - if I am not online for sometime they will start calling my hand phone and some would send emails to KN asking for my whereabouts and whether I was OK. They are worried if I was not well and these are the bunch of lovely and caring friends I have. Thanks Allah for this little blessings in life. However sometimes I would rather have some privacy and tell KN not to tell anyone I was in the hospital. Sorry guys.

Yes I was away, neglected this blog and again, hospitalised.

Remember I once wrote about getting CAPD (Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis) treatment for my ESRD (End Stage Renal Failure)? After 8 months the treatment failed and I had to return to Hemodialysis - hence the ugly IJC sticking out of my neck (again) and machine dependent once more. I am now back to doing dialysis at a dialysis center 3 times a week and 4 hours each time - what a drag!

This ugly IJC tube is back urggghhh!

What happened?

My peritoneal lining is the kind that is highly absorbent. So I couldn't use the lower strength 1.5 dextrose solution for dialysis and the dwelling time could not be more than 3 - 4 hours. This means I cannot dwell the dialysis solution in my peritoneal lining overnight. If I did, the solution that went in is 2500ml and the solution that comes out the next morning is less - the difference is absorbed and causing fluid overload. The same goes if I am late doing an exchange, for example if I am out for meetings, shopping etc. Using higher dextrose solution (2.5 and 4.25) wasn't good for a diabetic like me as well as the sugar content in my body will be constantly high.

My life depends on this machine

One good thing is that KN is lifted off the burden of carrying the 24 (12 kilo boxes each) every month and my Livvy too I'm sure would be happier! I too would be hospitalised less often (I really hope) because each time my body is overloaded with fluid I would have to be attached to a machine for about 3 days (yes, no moving or walking around, and no going to the toilet too! Ridiculous right?) I just hope this HD (hemodialysis) treatment would do me good. InsyaAllah.

No more heavy burden for KN and Ms. Livvy and no more storage problem for tge 24 boxes every month.