ray of light

I Wanna Go Home...

Hujan

Everything

Who should I vote?

相见欢 Xiang Jian Huan

Back in London

Pan Fried Salmon with Broccoli...

Celebrity Lookalike

Kings Head

Today, For My Sunshine

Yang Yang and Yang Yang

(Untitled)...... Part 1

CNY, Crapping and Mixed Feelings

记得II

All I want for christmas...

On your wedding day...

The Journey Home

Sainsbury's: Try Something New Today

Che Det and Siti

Simple Treat

Photo Album: Christmas 2007

Photo Album: Solarfox

Photo Album: 被遗忘的时光

Photo Album: Myriad

Photo Album: It's Only Ray

Photo Album: The Good Old Days - Marine Forever!

Photo Album: Here and There

Photo Album: Ray Does Cornwall

Photo Album: Ray Goes to Thorpe Park with the Pret Gang

Photo Album: Newcastle and Sunderland

Photo Album: Ray Goes to Old Trafford

Photo Album: Ray went to Rye

Blog list: Buggers and Their Brags

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 21:19:10 GMT

Another winter day has come and gone away,
In even Paris or Rome.
But I wanna go home!
Let me go home!

Maybe surrounded by a million people,
I still feel all alone.
I just wanna go home!
Oh, I miss you, you know?

(I miss you, dear... I really do... )

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 14:47:47 GMT

Mega mendung di angkasa
Hembusan bayu dingin terasa
Gerimis berderai di merata
Bagai mutiara

Rahmat dibawa bersama
Limpahannya meresap dijiwa
Adakala bahgia terasa
Meskipun duka nestapa

Tika hujan turun
Sayup mendayu lagu keroncong
Merdu irama dialun
Bersenandung

Hujan membasahi bumi
Melahirkan keluhuran budi
Mengeratkan perpaduan suci
Kasih sayang abadi

Mon, 03 Mar 2008 12:10:58 GMT

You're a falling star, You're the get away car.
You're the line in the sand when I go too far.
You're the swimming pool, on an August day.
And you're the perfect thing to say.

And you play it coy, but it's kinda cute.
Ah, When you smile at me you know exactly what you do.
Baby don't pretend, that you don't know it's true.
Cause you can see it when I look at you.

And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times
It's you, it's you, You make me sing.
You're every line, you're every word, you're everything.

You're a carousel, you're a wishing well,
And you light me up, when you ring my bell.
You're a mystery, you're from outer space,
You're every minute of my everyday.

And I can't believe, uh that I'm your man,
And I get to kiss you baby just because I can.
Whatever comes our way, ah we'll see it through,
And you know that's what our love can do.

And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times
It's you, it's you, You make me sing
You're every line, you're every word, you're everything.

So, La, La, La, La, La, La, La
So, La, La, La, La, La, La, La

And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times
It's you, it's you, You make me sing.
You're every line, you're every word, you're everything.
You're every song, and I sing along.
'Cause you're my everything.
Yeah, yeah

So, La, La, La, La, La, La, La
So, La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La

Sun, 02 Mar 2008 23:49:08 GMT

According to the 100% accurate kennysia.com Who-To-Vote-This-Election Decision Generator™, I am voting for...

PARTI KEADILAN RAKYAT!

Who Should You Vote For This Election?

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 10:38:15 GMT

Written by Li Yi, the last emperor of the Southern Tang Dynasty in the late AD 900s (historians are still unable to determine the the actual date), this poem has become the epitome of Song (Dynasty) Poetry, 宋词. It describes the deep sorrow of the late emperor of his failing empire with the emergence of the Song Dynasty. Having the opportunity to learn the poem back in high school, it still remains one of my favourites. This is my attempt to translate the poem. It's amazing how a beautiful poem in Chinese can sound really weird when translated into English!

无言独上西楼，
月如钩，
寂寞梧桐深院锁清秋。

剪不断，
理还乱，
是离愁，
别有一般滋味在心头。

Quietly walking alone to the West Pavilion
From there the crescent moon appears to resemble a fading hook.
The lonesome Wutong tree in the deep courtyard is enclosed by the dismal autumn.

This unbreakable
And yet unsortable mess
It is the sorrow of leaving
There is an indescribable stir deepening in my heart

Mon, 03 Dec 2007 23:16:00 GMT

I know it is not fair that the blog has been long abandoned when I was very busy with Solarfox. Nope, not nice at all. Absolutely no excuse! The worse is I even vowed to write about the adventure in Australia, which I know, is not going to materialise especially now when 'writing' the thesis is way up on the list of priorities.

One day, one day... fingers crossed.

Fri, 08 Jun 2007 17:07:59 GMT

...dressed in rosemary and balsamic vinegar sauce on a bed of brown rice.

This is something that kept popping up in my head and it was rather annoying. Finally I managed to get it off and shove it right into the stomach. It was a simple dish, but the result was astounding and hugely satisfying!

Forget Gordon, forget Jamie, this time we do it Ray's way!

The salmon - seasoned and then marinated with extra virgin olive oil and fresh rosemary for a couple of hours. Pan fried on olive oil, skin facing down and then baste with oil till it turned pink.

The broccoli - can't be any simpler. Blanched for not more than a minute.

The rice - brown rice, boiled, drained per instruction on the packaging and then lightly dressed in extra virgin.

The sauce - this is the hard bit, well not that hard actually, just a bit more complicated. Garlic and plenty of shallot - fried till fragrant. Add fish stock then Chinese dark soy sauce (caramel type), balsamic vinegar, fresh rosemary and wee bit of sugar. Simmer in low heat and reduce. Remove the bits, leave only the sauce.

Last but not least, put everything together.

That's it, really. Can't think of anything else.

Enjoy!

Tue, 15 May 2007 07:54:37 GMT

http://www.myheritage.com

Fri, 04 May 2007 20:27:51 GMT

Smokey fog
Carpet stench
Sticky wooden tables
Sick on the benches

Warm and cosy log fire
Inviting winged armchairs
Mates sipping Spitfire
Real ale and lager's always there

"What would you like, mate?"
"A pint of IPA, please"
The bar's never the same without Jake
Who wouldn't want chunky chips and melted cheese

Dimmed lighting and no music
To the folks it's home away from home
This is almost a lyric
About the place I love to roam

Mon, 30 Apr 2007 21:52:09 GMT

Yesterday has passed
Today is a brand new day
Gone were the agony and sadness of yesterday
Came are the hopes and joy
To welcome today.

Do not despair, do not give up
You've been through the past
And now it's gone
Last night you slept
And in your dreams
You dreamt of a better tomorrow
Today is tomorrow and tomorrow has come
For today you are new
And new is you

Take a deep breath, embrace the sun
Smell the flower and feel the wind
Say to yourself
Today is going to be good
Today is going to be brilliant

Never look back, and do not remember
Just look ahead, my sunshine
With every passing yesterday
There will be a new today
And a better tomorrow

Fri, 20 Apr 2007 19:00:30 GMT

Once upon a time, Yang Yang met Yang Yang. They fell in love. This is their story:

Mon, 12 Feb 2007 10:50:45 GMT

Prologue

Ming sits on his bunk and looking out through the porthole into the raging waves. He has never seen water so fierce before. One moment it's the sea covering the entire porthole, the next moment nothing's in sight apart from the grey sky. It seems that the ship is rolling at forty five degrees port and starboard. He's very worried that any moment the ship would just capsize. Two years on the course at the polytechnic has not prepared him for anything like this. He feels unsafe and not one bit secured. But there is nothing much he can do now apart from praying. Amir, his cabin mate is nowhere to be seen. But he could not care less for now.

The furniture in his cabin is secured tightly with lashing, just so they wouldn't race from one side to the other when the ship is rolling. Earlier in the engine room the second engineer has made him and the other fellow engine cadet from a rival academy lashing up equipments. Ming knows better that the sooner they finish the job the better, because as soon as the storm closes in the ship rocks harder and that will make life a lot more difficult. The other cadet puked until he's blue green in the face. Amir is his name, a nice chap. He and Ming became friends when they met for the first time at the company's head office two weeks earlier in Kuala Lumpur. The imposing tower that houses the office has an identical twin that stands beside it. Collectively they are known as the Petronas Twin Towers, the highest towers in the world. That was 1999, a time when the grass was green and the sky was blue.

Amir is a tall dark chap with a smile that attacts every girl from the kampung. Ming knows from that moment that they will be good mates. With the first "Hello" then on to "I'm Amir, where are you from?", the friendship buds like a flower in spring. Leaving his close mates to embark on a journey so foreign to him, Ming thought he would be lonely, but meeting Amir was a pleasant surprise and he is now more comfortable knowing that, whatever it is, he won't be facing it alone.

Ming joined Lagenda Sutera two weeks ago at Port Kelang as part of his training. The 6000 TEU container vessel is heading west to Southampton. Ming is very excited at the prospects of travelling overseas. This is his first time. Ming is a third year senior in the diploma course leading to a qualification that promises 'an ocean of opportunities', or so the advertisement claimed before he signed up for the shipping company's cadet sponsorship program. Ming knows nothing about marine engineering back then, the only thing marine that he could think of was fish. And that was about as marine as he could get.

Two years on, with each and every subject that he studied in the lectures, he came to appreciate the internal combustion engines, loved the art beyond the numbers in naval architecture and admired the power of the steam in turbines. Without knowing it he came to know and loved the subjects. He knows his stuff like the back of his hands, he excels in exams and even knows when the lecturer is bullshitting. But he has learned the hard way not to make his lecturers lose face.

Ming's very afraid, even though he knows damn well that as long as the GM remains positive, the ship will not capsize, but nothing stops him from worrying when the ship rocks furiously. The last time he remembered a rock so great was the cot that his mom was pulling with him in it. Ming rests his head on his palm, at the sill of the porthole. He can't sleep now. He is drowsy but in no way sea sick. He fell into a daze, then onto a place that he alone on the ship knows and so longed to return to. Most of his shipmates are foreigners and they hardly know what nasi kandar is, let alone Ming's dreams and thoughts.

Wed, 07 Feb 2007 22:18:14 GMT

ONE

It has been almost a year and a half since I last went home. It has been four years since I last spent CNY at home. That's how much I miss my family in Taiping. I have always waited for the moment when I can just leave everything behind, board a plane and fly home for CNY. Enough of cold lonely CNYs in London, enough of depressing long distance calls home and taking turns to speak to every member of the family, enough of watching so-called CNY celebration in Chinatown and sodding kids demonstrating bloody wushu and ribbon dance. We don't need all these on CNY, all we need is our family. That's what it's all about really. That's what CNY is really for.

TWO

I've spent enough time away from home to know and appreciate what's good about being home. Mummy and Papa's cooking, fighting with brother, bitching with family about annoying relatives, Papa's nagging whenever I lose anything, Mummy's nagging that I spend too much time away with friends and shit. It's all so familiar and yet at times seem so far away. I missed doing all those again. It's good to be the boy that I used to be once in a while. It's tiring growing up. It's tiring being 6000 miles away from home and have to be the father, mother, brother and even myself all by myself. It's tiring to be independent.

THREE

Having said that, at the same time, strangely enough, this trip home is also the first time that I am sad. Sad because I will be leaving my life in London for a short while. A life that I have built up myself, a life that I'm used to, a life that I've been living for the past six years of my life, a life that is mundane and yet comfortable, a life that's lonesome and yet is totally mine, a life that gives me a sense of independence and yet vulnerable at times, a life where I sometimes felt like a complete failure and yet it's my best achievement so far. I have never felt like that before. It's the fear that I might not get back to this again when I return to London.

FOUR

I'm also sad that it might be the last few moments of aDe's time in England. He's my best mate, drinking buddy and someone that I can talk every crap with. My mate from high school and most important of all, himself. He can be the most annoying bugger sometimes but he's also the person that knocks the sense in you when you're too elevated. He's always been around ever since I came to England. I could not imagine being here without him around. It's a strange feeling. Hmm.... Everyone's gotta move on I guess. Whatever it is, if he does go, I'll sure to miss him.

FIVE

It might just be me, but has anyone ever feel that loneliness can come in strange manifestations? I am lonely. Lonely not because I'm missing someone but missing "someone". That "someone" is not anyone in particular but just "someone". There's no particular face that appears in the mind but just that feeling of missing "someone". It's more like loneliness as in loneliness but not as in loneliness as in missing someone, but loneliness when you don't have "someone" to miss. It feels more like emptiness rather than loneliness, for the fact that there isn't a particular someone but just "someone". I have a feeling that I'm just talking crap here.

SIX

It must be from somewhere that I have picked this up, it can't be me who thought it out. I'm not that brilliant. But over the last weekend, whilst with a bunch of good mates, I do feel that the loneliest place that one can be is in a crowd. Especially a crowd with couples.

SEVEN

Happy new year to friends and foes alike, the very few loyal readers, you know who you are, to Granny, Papa, Mummy and Hoe, family and relatives, mates in England, Malaysia, Dubai, Singapore, Canada, US of A, etc. Gong Xi Fa Cai to all and a good year ahead. More money, more successes and more shags in the new year. And oh yes, more craps on youtube!

EIGHT

Many thanks to
1. Sharon for the yummy CNY cookies. Melts in your mouth, not in your hands.
2. YD for the soothing mee sua soup. For delivering coals in the cold winter.

Yours,
Ray

Tue, 30 Jan 2007 21:30:43 GMT

谁还记得是谁先说永远的爱我
以前的一句话是我们以后的伤口
过了太久没人记得当初那些温柔
我和你手牵手说要一起走到最后

For a good few months, each and every time this song is played on the mp3, it's almost certain to be given a skip to the next track. I could not bear revisiting the theme that epitomises the painful episode. This song sums it all up in a few short verses the period when one feels most loved, lifted right to the top of the world, only to be slammed hard to the ground when the harsh truth is revealed.

我们都忘了这条路走了多久
心中是清楚的有一天有一天都会停的
让时间说真话虽然我也害怕
在天黑了以后我们都不知道会不会有遗憾

It was the very first time that today, when it's played that I listened in it's entirety, without much pain and feelings attached. Very surprised was I that even humming along. It was once said in a movie that, we should not try hard too hard to forget someone, but to carry on living our lives. In time, when we look back we'll soon realise how far we've left them behind [1]. It took me almost half a year but I'm glad that I've done it. It has not been easy. No one said it was. It is like the wound from that crash when we first learnt to ride a bicycle that is taking it's time to heal. Long enough it took, and in time we don't feel much pain anymore. What's left on the knee is the scar that stayed forever. That remained as a reminder that we should be careful when riding a bicycle.

谁还记得是谁先说永远的爱我
以前的一句话是我们以后的伤口
过了太久没人记得当初那些温柔
我和你手牵手说要一起走到最后

Thanks for the lesson, V. Thanks for singing 记得 to me in Finsbury Park. This was our song but now it does not mean anything anymore. You've lead me to heaven, then hell and back. It has been quite a journey but without you, I would probably still think that there's an angel behind every cute, decent and innocent face. I know every single thing that happened and I know what you did behind my back. Just when you thought that you've fooled the world, in the end you are the actual fool. I remember asking you if we still have a chance. Well, no thanks, love! I'm alright. I only let myself get bitten once.

And now, I can even let the song play until the end.

我们都累了却没办法往回走
两颗心都迷惑怎么说怎么说都没有救
亲爱的为什么也许你也不懂
两个相爱的人等对方先说找分开的理由

谁还记得爱情开始变化的时候
我和你的眼中看见了不同的天空
走的太远终于走到分岔路的路口
是不是你和我要有两个相反的梦

谁还记得是谁先说永远的爱我
以前的一句话是我们以后的伤口
过了太久没人记得当初那些温柔
我和你手牵手说要一起走到最后

Reference:
1. J Chan et al, Gorgeous (玻璃樽), Hong Kong, 1999.

Sun, 17 Dec 2006 22:31:04 GMT

Wed, 06 Dec 2006 09:35:06 GMT

Dearest Phang Jie and Shou Feng,

This has been the moment that you have been waiting for. It is the moment when you embark on a new chapter of your life. Even though we could not make it to Taipei to share it with you, but it is with much love and joy that I send you my best wishes for a happy marriage. May everything that you've ever wished for comes true. Shou Feng, take good care of our dearest Phang Jie, OK?

Love,
Ray

Tue, 28 Nov 2006 10:39:28 GMT

High seas, towering waves
Bay of Biscay, the Indian Ocean
From Pusan to Kaohsiung, then Port Klang to Lyttelton
Bunga Pelangi, and oh... Bunga Delima
Where the hell am I?
And how far is home?

"I am sailing, I am sailing
Home again, 'cross the sea"
We used to sing to Rod's
Day and night, night and day
Now I'm not even sailing anymore
But this is not home

The journey's long, the streets are old
I've always been walking, all alone
From Gower Street to Charing Cross Road
Then Picadilly Circus to High Holborn
The street's wet, damn the night's cold
Is this my home?

I want a rest, I want a home
I need someone, to call my own
But at the moment,, the work's not done
I'll have to carry, on and on
Till then, I should stop to moan
And dream instead "The Green Green Grass of Home"

Photo courtesy of Tommy Phang

Wed, 22 Nov 2006 21:00:40 GMT

Bacon and Garlic Chicken Kiev on a Bed of Leafy Salad

What you need:

Sainsbury's Bacon and Garlic Chicken Kiev on a Bed of Leafy Salad (£1.70, Reduced to Clear - £1.19)
Sainsbury's Leafy Salad with Tatsoi (£1.09)
Eggs
Spring Onions

Cook the chicken kiev in the oven as per instruction on the pack then dress the salad with extra virgin and seasoning. Scramble a couple of eggs on a hot pan and chop the spring onions. Put everything together as shown in the photo below. Hassle free!

Total Time: 20 min (time to bake the chicken kiev as recommended by the manufacturer)
Effort: Minimum
Cost: Less than a special fried rice on takeaway

Who says we need to sweat for gorgeous dinner?

Wed, 22 Nov 2006 10:47:38 GMT

Dunno about you but I do think that this is one of the sweetest photo of the year.

Photo Ref: www.generasi-m.com

Wed, 22 Nov 2006 10:23:14 GMT

This is something for hainanese chicken rice lovers out there who got stuck overseas, where the price for a portion of chicken rice in the restaurant is roughly equivalent to 14 or so portions in Malaysia. It's for those who loves the fix but too lazy or can't be asked to do the full monty. Despite what I wrote about rice cookers in my past entry, I am still using them for this because it's really the most convenient.

What you'll need:

garlic and ginger, properly minced together with some olive oil into a paste
chicken portions, deboned and diced (free range, corn fed or organic's the best. don't bother if using sickly factory chicken. keep the bones because they give flavour to the rice)
rice (long grain or thai fragrant's the best)
slow fried finely diced garlic in oil (until light golden brown)
nice stalks of spring onion, diced.
it's best to have pandan leaves (washed, crushed and tied a knot), but don't bother if can't find any.
proper butter (and not margarine or I Can't Believe It's Not Butter sort of crap)

Chuck everything apart from items 4 and 5 into the rice cooker. Add appropriate amount of water, stir and cook like how you would cook rice normally. A few minutes before it's done, give it a stir. Then go and have a shit then followed by a nice long shower. When it's done. Add items 5 and 4 (in that order) plus a hint of premium soy sauce onto the rice for extra flavouring and as garnishing.

There you are, the lazy buggers' hainanese chicken rice. Simple as shit. It may not be the real thing and you can't expect this to taste exactly like the real one, but it definitely is a quick fix.

Sat, 15 Dec 2007 17:01:08 GMT

Christmas 2007

Let's start with the tree, shall we?

The tree in the dark

Wed, 05 Dec 2007 14:02:32 GMT

Solarfox

Looking Australian in Kakadu National Park, Jabiru

Solarfox arrivng at Hidden Valley Racetrack

The bloke with the funny hair

Konrad

Solarfox's speed trial

Solarfox at qualifying

Konrad

Before departure, at the Parliament House, Darwin

At one of the control stops

Hsin and John

More Photos...

Thu, 03 May 2007 13:09:21 GMT

被遗忘的时光

被遗忘的时光II

Wed, 07 Feb 2007 22:43:46 GMT

Myriad

Fri, 26 Jan 2007 11:49:16 GMT

It's Only Ray

Ignore me, just enjoy the scenery. It's gorgeous!

Portcurno

Minack Theatre

With KK in Land's End

St. Ives, on a Good Day

With KK

Tracing the Footsteps of the Pilgrim Fathers with Wong at Mayflower Steps, Plymouth

Snapping the Unsnappable

More Photos...

Fri, 26 Jan 2007 11:21:42 GMT

The Good Old Days - Marine Forever!

First year in PUO (1998)

First ever marine party in the first year at PUO (1998)

Preparation for Marine Open Day (1999)

Our humble abode at No 21, Sari 22 (1998)

Second year in PUO (1999)

Fri, 26 Jan 2007 11:16:50 GMT

Here and There

With Kah Kit on his calling day

With Phang Jie on Kah Kit's calling day in Lincoln's Inn

Cheers!

With Sharon on Hsiung's graduation

in Arboretum Park, Nottingham

With Hsiung on his graduation

With Phang Jie and KK at Cafe Espana, Soho for KK's Birthday

Presenting KK's pressie

with Selina and Duan, volunteering at a talk by Master Ching Kung

with Duan and some random bloke, volunteering at a talk by Master Ching Kung

Mon, 02 Oct 2006 20:29:37 GMT

Ray Does Cornwall

Land's End

The first and the last house

Land's End

White fish and prawn chowder

St. Ives at night

More Photos...

Sun, 06 Aug 2006 14:51:20 GMT

Ray Goes to Thorpe Park with the Pret Gang

Everyone

Mariuz and Agata

Watcha looking at!

With Agata

With Ewelina

The Big Boss

With Natalie

Llama in Thorpe Park

Piggies!

Looks like a lamb to me.

Tue, 30 May 2006 23:09:59 GMT

Newcastle and Sunderland

More Photos...

Mon, 08 May 2006 00:31:19 GMT

Ray Goes to Old Trafford

At Old Trafford today for the Manchester United vs. Charlton Athletic match.

Sun, 26 Mar 2006 21:24:16 GMT

Ray went to Rye

Ashford International

Ray and the damn anchor

Directions Directions Directions!

Wish Ward

Some Tudor House

Boo!

Landgate

St. Mary's Church

The Churchyard

More Photos...

Near Quayside, Newcastle

Tuxedo Princess on the Tyne, Newcastle

Grey Street, Newcastle

Mowbray Park, Sunderland

Mowbray Park, Sunderland

Quayside, Newcastle

Millenium Bridge, Newcastle

Near Quayside, Newcastle

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 17:55:00 GMT

Buggers and Their Brags

Tim
Sharing with you my journey
aDe
Knowing Me, Knowing You
Doink Doink
Perspective
Sharon
Learner's Creations
Callyn
Boolsheet: Where nonsense takes over
JC
JC the Terrible's yet another attempt at blogging
Billy
Bill's Area
MK
Emkay Land
CY Wong
Uncle Wong's brag
KC
Crave Less, Make More
Jim
Sleepy Rebel
Jonas Loo
The Gorgeous Little Heartbreaker -- Everyone's Darling!
Oufang
Phang Jie rules!!
Tommy
This is Tommy Speaking!!
Dungu
Wantan Mee Anonymous
Team Solarfox
Team Solarfox's official website.
Ray's Photos on Picasa