Eat and Eat and Eat and Eat

Hehehe.. Had a huge appetite during the weekend! Hhm.. What did I have.. Saturday, went to Ede & Ravenscroft for sayang & his brother's graduation photoshoot session. Then had Pizza Hut for lunch with their family. Dinner was superb, though. Sayang & I went to KTZ, this Chinese dessert shop in SS2. We had cold double boiled longan tea, peanut butter dessert, hak loh mai, shrimp dumplings, fishballs, loh mai kai, Szechuan noodles, and oh, Honeydew loh. Kkekekeke... Only both of us. Darn full!!! After that, met up with Sean & Kim Bik, and we went to Gloria Jean's for Pure Vanilla ice blended. ;)

Sunday was moderate, I guess. Had fishball noodle for brunch, then had dried pork+chicken floss bun, then had lekor with sugarcane juice, had a can of 100-Plus at Shootout. Then had chicken rice and porkballs for dinner. Hehhee...

Good good.. I need to gain weight.. I'm waaaaaaaaaay underweight. Can't even donate blood! But then again, if this keeps going for weeks, I'll be burning a big hole in my pocket.. Kekkee..

This Week's FridayFive

1. Who is your favorite singer/musician? Why?
It has to be Richard Marx. To me, he's like the best pianist/lyricist/composer/producer! He makes it feel like as if you're really feeling it, like as if he's singing from your heart. Proofs : Right Here Waiting, Now and Forever, Until I Find You Again, To Where You Are (by Josh Groban), and This I Promise You (by *NSync).

2. Name one singer/musician can you not stand? Why?
Those whose music are merely shouting and screaming with no logical sense in their lyrics. In other words, nonsense. I'm a very lyrical person, meaning, I listen to every single world in the song to understand and appreciate it.

3. If your favorite singer wasn't in the music business, do you think you would still like him/her as a person?
I might, I guess. Not like I know him for real. But yeah, Richard Marx looks like a down-to-earth person. I mean, you don't often hear news about him - The way he talks, the way he walks, the way he dresses and stuffs like that. You only hear about his music, that's what is more important. Let the ability and skills do the talking. ;)

4. Have you been to any concerts? If yes, who put on the best show?
Do you count musicals and MPOs (Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra) ? Hehe.. If not, then, sadly, none. But if you do count that, I would say Les Miserables. I attended the UK cast production in Sheffield, and it was superb!! Incredible singing+acting, all in one! So overwhelming!

5. What are your thoughts on downloading free music online vs. purchasing albums? Do you feel the RIAA is right in its pursuit to stop people from downloading free music?
I think it should be a compromise. Allow people to download perhaps a part of the music (like a sample), so that they get to have a feel of it. Then let them decide whether they should purchase the music. I admit, I did frequently download music off the net, but if I find them worth the $$, I will definitely get the albums. Besides, I think it's more fair that the song producers/writers/singers get their fair share. It's their bread and butter.

This Week's FridayFive

1. Is the name you have now the same name that's on your birth certificate? If not, what's changed?
Yup, exactly the same. And yes, Amanda is my real name. It's stated in my birth certificate.

2. If you could change your name (first, middle and/or last), what would it be?
I'm very happy with my name, so I would not want to change it for the world. ;)

3. Why were you named what you were? Is there a story behind it? Who specifically was responsible for naming you?
My Dad got the 'Amanda' from the Babies' Names book, which means "fit to be loved". My paternal grandfather decided on the Chinese name, apparently, according to the count of strokes on the Chinese characters. 'Yap' is the family surname, which also means "leaf" in Chinese. 'Yin' means "full of/be profit of", and 'Shin' is actually part of the name for almond/apricot. So indirectly, my name means "I'm an almond tree that always bears fruit!" Hahaha.. But of course, that's not the actual meaning. ;)

4. Are there any names you really hate or love? What are they and why?
Actually all names are nice. It's just whether they fit the person's character. Like, say a guy's name is "Macho" and he turns out to be totally opposite... It just feels weird, in a way..

5. Is the analysis of your name at kabalarians.com/triggur.org/astroexpert accurate? How or how isn't it?
The analysis at Kabalarians is partly true. But then again, when you come to think of it, is that true for all Amandas in the world? I don't think so..

3rd Year In Elid

I have officially been with Elid for 3 years and 1 day... Muahahhahaa... Can't believe it's been that long! Feels like as if I've just started working with them, not 3 years. Looking back, I've learnt a lot here.. I remembered graduating with an E&E degree, with no knowledge or whatsoever in any high level programming language. Came back from Sheffield for good in early August, bumped around for 3 weeks, saw the Elid job vacancy ad in the papers, sent my CV through e-mail, received a call from the HR Manager the following morning. That was quick. Was asked to attend an interview that afternoon itself, but I was out. So I went for the interview the next morning, signed the offer 3 days later.

The funny thing was that I applied for the Hardware Engineer position, and I stressed that I know nuts about Software. Yet the R&D Director told me to try it out first, stating that "Software Engineer sounds more sophisticated". So, that was how I started as a Software Engineer in Elid. 0% programming knowledge, 3 years later, I've came a long way. Delphi, Database design, SQL Server, VB.Net, ASP.Net.. Cool.. Hehe.. Still learning a lot here.... I shall master C# next. ;)

Looks like it was another one of those diversions in life... Not regretting it, though. ;)