I am Danny Foo

Turning Three Zero

My birthday this year had been nothing but eventful and memorable. The digit of 30 aside, I’m very pleased to know that my life is filled with true friendships and relationships. I can’t thank them enough for being there for me.

My 1st ever surprise party

Seriously, I’ve never had a surprise party in my life. Not when I turned 21, not when I returned from Melbourne. Best part about the surprise was that it was thrown together by people whom I didn’t expect – my business associates.

A day before my birthday, all of them including my wife schemed to surprise me at Artisan Coffee. I only thought that we were going there for drinks since the weather didn’t allow us to go for our jogging routine. Then even when I arrived, I never thought that the orange balloons were for a party for me.

I was really stumped on how to react when everyone jumped out to surprise me. All I could throw back was a face of blur-ness. Lol. I guess that’s me.

Then, my other mutual friends started to walk in and join in the party. It was this moment I thought, I really felt blessed to have them in my life. T_T

On my birthday

I had decided to take a day to treat myself. No work. Just filled with what I wished to do.

So I started the morning with a full body massage. And then, it was off to Las Vacas for a juicy Wagyu steak for lunch. I’ve only seen the meat through the glass but never ordered it because it’s a premium meal. So I guess today was that right moment to indulge in it. And it was so awesome!

The next thing I wanted to do was catch a movie. I was looking forward to maybe watching Beautiful Creatures or Parker, but cinemas only had them at midnight. In the end, I just settled for Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters. It was pretty interesting and makeup was really done well. Why I noticed the makeup was that for the dark witches, they had cracked faces and it looked really well done.

When night came, me and Ariel headed to my friend’s restaurant; Top Shelf, for a dinner I organized with friends of mine. It was a great way for me to wrap up my eventful day, accompanied by my friends, filling the air with laughter and smiles.

Throwing in the towel by throwing up

Why did I go for it, I don’t know. I know I could’ve just left, but I went.

I joined one of my friends at Tom, Dick and Harry’s for 1 drink after dinner. Ariel headed back first so I went there with my 2 other friends.

Again, I know I could’ve picked a safer drink. But I guess I wanted to be adventurous that night. Or, just be plain stupid. So I got a friend to choose my drink. And to no surprise, I was to drink the legendary Graveyard. Plus, because it was my birthday, they had me drink with a bong!

I managed to finish the drink and hold up for awhile. But the ride home killed me. I threw up the moment I got to my house gate and threw up some more when I was inside.

Instead of the toilet bowl, I chose the kitchen sink as my best friend. Guess it was because I instinctively knew I needed water to wash it away. Ariel comforted me and asked if I needed help heading to bed. However, I waved away the option and stuck where I was. She brought over a chair for me to sit down by the sink. Thanks dear.

I fell asleep by the sink, but then woke up when my sister-in-law came home. Not noticing me as I sat up, she got a fright when she saw me sitting there. I must have had a very drunk look for her to tell that I was throwing up and I was asleep there.

I forced myself to leave the sink and head to bed. There wasn’t anything else on my mind except to crawl into bed. That was about 4-5am.

All in all, it was a great 30th celebration and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Thank you to all my family, friends and associates for making it a truly memorable life experience. 😀

Taming the Big Bad Wolf Sale

Compared to the Big Bad Wolf Sale last year, I would have to say this year was an improvement. One of the better parts is that we didn’t have to drive all the way to somewhere out there on yonder. Thank you event organizer!

Although I couldn’t believe it, there were actually crazy persons who went to the Big Bad Wolf sale in the wee hours of the morning after 2am. 0.0 And I think one of them was my friend. Just because she said she had a hard time sleeping?! Wha?!!!! *facepalm*

We weren’t as crazy, being a Sunday and all. So we just decided to go to the Big Bad Wolf sale this year at 8am. Not that crazy, right? 😛

big bad wolf sale crowd — Pictures taken near 11-ish

Now, if you’re planning to head to the Big Bad Wolf sale, here’s my strategy of browsing. Obviously, it would only work if you’re looking at the similar genre I was browsing – business.

What I did was circle each table of books in the business section from a right to left position. Once you’re done with 1 row (because you’ll notice the next table not having business topic books), you move to the next lower table. Here’s a quick illustration of what I mean.

big bad wolf sale walking line — Once you’ve circled a table, move on to the next table and circle again

Of course, the biggest challenge of browsing only 1 section is that you’ve to be not distracted by the unrelated books on the other table, attractive lady at another table or detour from your path because there’s an OCBC credit card agent eyeing you.

Once I was done with the business section, though not taking back some books I thought I’d get, I thought to myself that I shouldn’t be just reading this genre and mix it up with novels. Problem is, I’ve not known what I like reading.

So I picked up some fiction novels, read from the beginning and flipped to a random page of the story to continue reading. I found myself falling in and out of a sleepy state. To me, this meant it wasn’t my cuppa tea. 😛

Then I paused and started thinking back about the last book I read completely – Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code. What was it about the story which made me read it. My guess was that I preferred stories with a mystery to solve.

With that thought in mind, I happened to pick up a novel by Michael Connelly, flipped to the back and found that it’s a story of a detective. Started reading a few pages in, flipped to a random page in the middle, didn’t fall asleep.

Why the phreak did I buy so many Michael Connelly when I never knew what I liked reading other than business books? Well, it was only RM8 per novel, so it would’ve been a real waste to only get so few. If I found myself finishing 1 book, then it’s a bonus since I’ve got enough to keep me reading. LOL!

Besides, I only bought the titles which weren’t too old because I noticed that some were republished. So I got the ones between 1998-2002 about there.

And by the way, if you’re planning on going, make sure to bring either a luggage trolley or borrow your Mum’s market trolley (after washing it). This makes it much easier carrying your selection around than a box. Or, alternatively, use a large sling canvas bag. I saw someone using the blue IKEA bag, that works.

If there was 1 improvement I’d like to see next year; designated area for patrons to filter out their selection. This way, all books discarded before purchase are in 1 central area than having them left on tables or in boxes on the floor, disrupting others from walking.

Drinking stages of my life

Over breakfast, while sipping my drink with oats, it occurred to me how my drinks have evolved as I’ve aged.

When I was a kid, just like any child today, my preferred choice of drink was always none other than Coca-Cola. Plus, I’d drink a 1.5L bottle in my fridge like there was no end. At every chance I got, I’d open the fridge, lift the bottle to my lips and just glug it down.

Then as I grew up, I became actively involved in sports. So naturally, my parents would always remind me to drink enough water.

At some point in my life, I think early primary school, one of my all-time favourite drinks was Milo. Being a very young and naive kid, oblivious to marketing and advertising, I only drank a lot of it because it tasted good. Plus, at the time, every morning my Mum would always make me a cup before I head off to school. Thanks Mum.

Weirdly enough though, when I tried Milo in Australia, it tasted rather different than what we got here. It tasted like there was missing something. Some of my friends said it was trying to be like hot chocolate.

While being in secondary school, I had cut down on my Coca-Cola intake when I found out about diabetes and how it could be a genetic trait. Since then, I’ve cut down on quite a number of sweet stuff.

Nowadays for the morning, I either enjoy a cup of Milo with Nestum or a nice cafe latte whenever I can.

Though at times, I do wonder whether I drink coffee with the perception that it would keep me awake. Or, it’s just to make me look like a grown up. Hmm…

Then once graduated to a legal drinking age, I’ve now the opportunity nowadays to indulge in classier fluids; wine.

I’m still trying to wrap my tongue around this grape drink. Though I find myself now easier telling whether or not I’m drinking cheap table wines – some really taste horrible. But a wine connoisseur I am not.

As for beer and hard liquor, very rarely do I touch those drinks. Maybe it’s because I’m too accustomed to wine that I refuse to drink anything else.

Who knows, by the time I’m 60, I may have found enjoyment in an 18 year old Scotch and trying be all James Bond “shaken not stirred”. Well, time will tell.

Right and Wrong

I’m lucky to admit when I reached my personal self-reflection, it opened my mind to a wider view. Yes, I still judge. However, I no longer lean on my feelings to judge right and wrong. I do my best to refuse to point who is right or wrong.

My belief now is there are always 2 sides to a coin. Two sides to a story. Both can be right. Both can be wrong. Even if you were right or wrong, who’s to make you the deliverer of judgement. Is it really your responsibility? Will you deliver it without judgement? Is the receiver prepared to listen and accept?

There is really no right and wrong. I recognize no right and wrong.
– Mary Maclane

Approaching my next stage in life, I thank my parents for bringing me up in an environment which had allowed me to find myself. It’s given me the opportunity to learn life’s lessons.

And I also thank myself for not giving up on myself. I may not be where I am yet, but I know I am getting there.

SCANDAL Japanese band in Malaysia 2012

Now partially deaf. Partially without voice. But worth very minute of the more than 1 hour performance by the SCANDAL (Japanese band). Awesome!!!

Me and my bro-in-law went to catch the performance today. By the time we arrived, got out of the lift, more than 1 hour before the SCANDAL (Japanese band) show, the queue had already reached the ground floor of KL Life Centre. O.O

The opening act was a female artiste by the name Haruta (I think). By the time we reached our VIP zone, the emcee had already finished introducing the opening act. Her songs were very soulful and acoustic. And the crowd just gave their support, regardless whether they knew her or not. That’s the Malaysian spirit for you when it comes to music. 🙂 They even started cheering on the SCANDAL (Japanese band) crew member who came on to do sound test on all the instruments. -.-!

The moment SCANDAL Japanese band members; Rina, Tomomi, Mami and Haruna came on the stage, they delivered an awesome performance with high-energy throughout. The crowd was well-behaved and supportive. I totally felt it was worth the money I paid. Plus, comparing if this was Anime Festival Asia, I’d never be this close to the stage!

SCANDAL performed around 8-9 songs from various albums. In addition, the crowd managed to persuade them and probably the organizers to let them play an encore. What a finale that was!

We decided to leave as the girls exited the stage because I was anxious to get a copy of their new album. I saw them on sale while entering, but couldn’t get them at the time. Luckily, there were still copies left!

Lo and behold! Muahahaha. 😀

Thank you Rina, Haruna, Tomomi and Mami for coming to Malaysia. (Scandal Japanese band saikyou!)