Looking at that list, it’s like being lumped in the uncool gang and the cool kids are grouped somewhere. My list looks like a retirement home for the has-been actors and musicians. Either that or matronly queens who remind me of my mother. Why couldn’t I get Conan O’Brien, Jennifer Garner, or even Maria Sharapova, all born just days away from me?

Well, it could be worse. Adolf Hitler was born on April 20th. Missed it just by a day. Phew!

Looking back at Thorung La Pass at Muktinath, Nepal

… to complement my budding prosumer hobby with my D90. Click here or the image to go there, but the link’s easy to find at the top menu bar anyway.

2. I’m going APP crazy. You’ve got APPS for everything. Flashlight. Mirror. Dictionary. Language Translations. Games. Kindle. Currency Converter. Licquor Mixology. Astronomy Guide. Facebook. Twitter. Skype. Battery Doctor… and the list goes on… I’ve a small urge to get the Ipad, though I’m happy with my Iphone at the mo… Folks. Welcome to the future. a bit off tangent, but I think the future according to Microsoft would look like Star Wars. The future according to Apple would look like Star Trek. (don’t know if that makes sense)

3. Uploaded more images to my facebook page, and also perhaps some on my Flickr. I’m utterly annoyed at Facebook picture album though. “Upload Failed” a few times.Not sure how well Flickr integrates with FB or my blog site. Got to research on this. Maybe I’ll check out Picasa.

Also, scanned some of the illustrations I did during my trek and placed them in the Illustration page. Also added a Photography section for my best photos in lieu of my budding prosumer career with my D90… time to buy a drybox!

4. a. Movie watch: Shutter Island 8.5/10: The more I think of it, the more I love the movie. Plus, I am hypnotized by the music at the closing credits, Max Richter’s On the Nature of Daylight mixed with Dinah Washington’s This Bitter Earth.

I’ve heard both versions on their own, though I like Richter’s & Dinah’s music on their own, but gelling these 2 songs was genius and adds an extra emotional layer to this music.

b. How to Train Your Dragon in 3D was awright. Didn’t really justify the super-high rating it got on Rotten Tomatoes and IMDB. But thought that it was still way superior to other Dreamworks animations like Shrek, Ice Age & Shark Tales. However, the soundtrack by John Powell was really “Powellful”. hehe… saw what I did there? Powerful, Powellful… nevermind…

c. My most highly anticipated movie of the year: Tron Legacy. My bro had his Clash of the Titans which in the end disappointed… hope it isn’t the same for me and this one.

5. Caught up with my Lost episodes finally. And all I can say… awwwwwsheeeyyyat… things are really heating up now… awwwwwyyyyeaaah! Just downloaded SNL & 30 Rock but haven’t watched them yet. And the new South Park episodes are funny as balls (no pun intended as there are lots of scrotum jokes for some reason this season). The Facebook episode was just as classic as the Warcraft one.

And that’s that for now. Later, peeps.

Need no motivation to walk to see this view of the Marsyangdi Valley near Ghyaru

Ok, jokes aside, I’m finally back in Malaysia from Nepal and I feel pretty chuffed that I can fit in my old jeans again. This trekking thing really does help shave off the pounds, but the hard part now is keeping this weight off… since the view at Bukit Kiara ain’t as motivating as the Marsyangdi Valley and Malaysian food is much more appetizing & fattening than the simpler and more natural Nepali food. :T

Overall, this trip is memorable, and one of the best things I’ve ever done to recharge my spiritual and emotional batteries. I’ve had time to evaluate on what’s meaningful to me and what’s not. What deserves my time and attention, and what doesn’t. There are things it seems before the trek that are just noise… clutter… that fills up my head… which I don’t even need to care about. Namely, is Lindsay Lohan gonna survive the next day? Oh, so and so sports celebrity scandal, oh there’s a sale at so and so shopping mall, got to take advantage of the deal before the promotion expires… Clutter… mindless clutter…

Welcome to Narnia (aka Manang)

And more and more, I’d like to think I’m more Buddhist… No no, I’m not gonna start doing all this mantra thing, and start being all mystical and all that… but more along the lines of being non-confrontational, at peace… that kind of philosophy… I had some long quiet moments in some monasteries which made me somewhat felt like there’s a place where I can find my centre… no noise… no chatter, no clutter.

And the friends and people I’ve met so far during the trek, thanks you guys for making the trip memorable… you know who you are, fellas, I’ll be emailing you guys soon with photos too after I sift through them… but especially to my guide and porters, Nava, Babu Ram and Prakash.

Anyway, I’ll probably still post more Nepal related stuff, but right now… I’m just pooped. Lots of things to catch up, clean up, etc.

1. Get a haircut

2. Get a 35mm Nikkor 1.8D lens. I could probably get one for under RM800 here.

3. Another pair of quick-dry nylon undies.

4. Some electrolyte boosting tablets

5. Moneychanger

6. Get a knee brace. My knees aren’t as strong as before.

7. Redeem my RM35 voucher at World of Outdoors Mid Valley. Wonder what I can get there.

8. A silicon case for my iphone. Funny, the ringtone and game sounds suddenly died on me. Maybe I should get it checked, but it’s mighty close to the flight date.  I hope it’s not a precursor of things to come (*knock wood)

9. Lip balm, sun block, excedrin, stuff from the pharmacy. Maybe some Glucosamine for my weakening knees perhaps?

10. Get my bills sorted out!

Wow, that nicely rounds up a top 10.

1. I Am The One – Inon Zur (from Dragon Age: Origins)

2. Atolago (End Credits) – James Newton Howard (from The Interpreter)

3. Deep Blue – George Fenton (from Deep Blue)

4. Elysium/Honor Him/Now We Are Free – Hans Zimmer (from Gladiator)

5. Gods & Generals – John Frizzell & Randy Edelman (from Gods & Generals)

6. Freedom of the Wa – Klaus Badelt (from The Promise)

7. Resurrection – John Debney (from The Passion of Christ)

8. Give Me A Smile – John Barry (from The Beyondness of Things)

9. Climbing Up Iknimaya – The Path – James Horner (from Avatar)

10. Forth Eorlingas – Howard Shore (from Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers)

Life in Technicolor II, (I guess Life in Technicolor I was the teaser…), this is hands down my favourite music video of all time. With all the pretentious crap teenagery videos that’s peppering MTV, (on hindsight, I’m actually with Kanye on that Taylor Swift issue, God, she’s annoying…), or mindless oversexed displays of body gyrations (think Shakira’s She Wolf) this was a real breath of fresh air. What other trailer elicits all these adjectives at the same time: funny, nostalgic, beautiful, inspiring, clever, thoughtful, cute, and even… creepy… all at the same time? Check out Puppet Chris Martin’s creepy appearance at 3:45. Chills.

This should be Arsenal’s new pregame stadium song, to rile up the juices, better than the old fogey Elvis Presley’s “Wonder of You”. No wonder the Emirates Stadium seem so quiet. If they’d played this or Viva La Vida, that’ll surely bring the club up. And on a sad note, poor Aaron Ramsey… boy, seeing that injury was heartbreaking, but for some strange reason, I feel like that could be the spur that kicks Arsenal’s sails into second wind. Come on you Gunners! And come on you Emirates Stadium A/V guy, play that Life in Technicolor II song. Make this our anthem!

There’s a wild wind blowing,
Down the corner of my street
Every night there the headlights are glowing

Theres a cold war coming,
On the radio I heard
Baby it’s a violent world

Oh love don’t let me go
Won’t you take me where the streetlights glow
I could hear it coming
I could hear the sirens sound
Now my feet won’t touch the ground

Time came a-creepin’
Oh and time’s a loaded gun
Every road is a ray of light
It goes o-o-on
Time only can lead you on
Still it’s such a beautiful night

Oh love don’t let me go
Won’t you take me where the streetlights glow
I could hear it coming
Like a serenade of sound
Now my feet won’t touch the ground

Gravity release me,
And dont ever hold me down
Now my feet won’t touch the ground.

The lyrics just feels right…

2. Did some shopping and got the Kata 3-in-1 Bag, Tamron 18-270VC lens, 8 Gig SD Card, Spare Nikon D90 Battery, DigitalEye Monopod/Hiking Stick (RM90, much more affordable than the RM545 Gitzo I saw at ShaShinKi), Hoya 72mm Polarizer, Kenko UV Filter, and now, I’m po. Credit card ‘po.

3. Playing Left 4 Dead 2 with my bro = lots of screaming n’ shouting, “HEEELP HEEELP!” “WHERE ARE YOU?” and “I’m dead.”

4. I’m saving up on episodes of Mysterious Universe Podcast for my trip in Nepal. There’s nothing better than listening to a creepy Alien/Ghosts/Cryptozoology show in the dark at a remote area of the world. Got to remember to cache their shownotes in case I’d like to check out those video clips n’ pictures of them alien sightings and ghost images.

5. Someone should come up with a blog for interesting Malaysian number plates seen. And I’m not talking the boring  WBM 1, BBB 888 kind. I’m talking about the more clever ones like JED1 or something like that, those with meaning. So far, I’ve seen MAF14, TV3, PEN15, NAB1, WRG1665 (on a Manchester Utd fan’s car).

Gitzo Hiking Stick/Monopod... too rich for my blood

Kata 3 in 1, this bag is so ergonomically awesome, I gotta get this one...

1. 12-24 or 11-16 Tokina Landscape Lens – RM2250-2350

2. Kata D-3N1-30 3 in 1 Large Sling Backpack – RM505

3. Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor Autofocus Lens – RM420

4. 55-200 Nikkor VR Zoom Lens – RM950

5. A Polarizer (not sure how much and for which lens)…

6. Lens Hood

7. A Gitzo GM1130MT Monopod/Hiking Stick – RM545

8. An SD Card (4 or 8 gig)

and all that shingamajig… adding all that together… more than RM4770 and not to mention the RM2900 I’ve already spent on the camera. Maybe I won’t splurge on the Tokina as the 15-55 should work well enough.

And to continue my list with non-photography-related items:

Buff from Corezone: If I do ever get this, I'd better make sure not to look this gay

9. Buffs from Corezone (RM79-115)

10. Teva from World of Outdoor @ Mid Valley (RM299 -20% if I get it before the 21st Feb, dang I’m tempted)

11. Compression Sack from Corezone (RM140 for large, RM129 for med)

MiLi Powerskin for my Iphone... It's an Iphone cover, it's a battery!

12. MiLi Power Skin to give extra battery life for my Iphone, from Machines (RM299, trying to get some sort of 5-10% discount if I can nego)

13. Princeton Halogen Headlamp from Corezone (RM100)

Those I had listed for now, will cost me another extra RM879!

You know, it’s easy to get carried away with all these shopping even though some of these stuff seem pretty essential, but once you see the grand total, it makes you think twice. And I’m thinking I’d better cut some serious $$$ from my want list at the moment. Well, after tennis tomorrow, maybe a trip to Pudu and check out the camera shops there. LowYat too, perhaps for SD cards? Not to mention, a trip to Corezone & Mid Valley for the final day of CNY sales. See if I can get better deals there. In the meantime, I’ll be scouring the FTZ for some good deals if I can find any. Wismilak!