Saint's Asian Experience

New Blog

2011-06-25T00:20:00.001-04:00

This blog hasn’t been updated since 2009. It’s now official that there will not be another post on this blog. If you’re one of the people who liked to read this blog or one of the spammers who still comments on my posts, my new blog can be read at: my new blog. There aren’t too many posts at the moment, but the action is just getting started.

Enjoy,

The Saint

KL Tigers

2009-12-30T10:12:00.000-05:00

Here I am in an ice hockey game in early December. I have no idea why they chose to put this picture in the paper. I'd like to say that I ripped a shot while being tripped by the stick at the bottom left of the picture. Yeah, that's what happened.

Here's the article:
KL Tigers Maul Tenaga

Read the Last Sentence

2009-11-04T00:48:00.002-05:00

http://streets.nst.com.my/Current_News/Streets/Wednesday/Stories/20091028091632/Article/index_html

This article is about the rat and cockroach problem at the restaurant I mentioned a few blog posts back. It's not exactly breaking news to me. I found the last sentence of the article to be quite interesting though.

"Also living in the area are foreigners who are unconcerned about hygiene. We need to increase our health awareness programmes," he said.

Was it really necessary to a) say something like this and b) print it in a newspaper?

Bangkok Airport and Pattaya

2009-09-08T07:20:00.001-04:00

We arrived at the airport in Bangkok at about 10:30 pm and it was too late to get the last bus to Pattaya. We decided to just party at the airport and catch the 7:00 am bus. It was pretty fun:)

Here I am getting fitted for a suit in Pattaya. The suits I bought will surely appear in future posts.

Hard Rock Cafe Pattaya

I want one of these.

I'd also like one of these.

We spent four days in Pattaya, but only really spent one day at the beach. We went to Jomtien, but it was seriously dirty and full of jellyfish.

We planned on spending the whole holiday in Pattaya, but we ended up leaving after four days. Pattaya is really fun if you're planning on partying day and night, but we just didn't have it in us this time.

Team Lion's Winning Performance

2009-08-16T03:19:00.001-04:00

This is the first scene of our skit. We are all best friends visiting Cowboy Town in Melaka and having the time of our lives. At the end of this scene our friend starts coughing. Little did we know, she would die six months later.

In this scene, our best friend has just died after fighting an illness for six months. I'm trying to cheer up my other friend. You can see the corpse in the background.

Here is team Lion singing "Lean on Me". Actually, I'm just pretending to sing. I volunteered to do some acting in order to get out of singing, but I ended up having to do both. On a positive note, our friend came back from the dead to help us sing.

Melaka August 7th-9th

2009-08-11T07:23:00.000-04:00

Every year Taylor's sends its employees on a free team building trip. This year I chose historic Melaka. I can't believe I've been in Malaysia for three years and this is my first trip there.

This is team Lion. We finished second in athletics and won the team performance.

Cowboy Town in A'famosa

Thursday Evening in Subang

2009-07-25T01:02:00.000-04:00

We decided that a trip to the driving range was in order.

This is our favorite restaurant. Actually, it's not our favorite, but we spend a lot of time there. The beer is reasonably priced and if you sit in those red chairs and look towards the trees, it kind of feels like you're at the beach. Ghetto fab!

This is one of the numerous DVD shops in Subang Jaya. We stopped here to take care of some business on our way to the driving range.

You won't believe it, but I actually cured the infamous "St.Germain Slice" on this trip to the driving range.

Back to the chateau

Phnom Penh Shooting Range

2009-07-11T02:30:00.003-04:00

This was my third and most interesting trip to the shooting range. Details are classified.

Sihanoukville

2009-07-08T04:28:00.012-04:00

In my head Sihanoukville is Margaritaville. It's a laid back place. There are wood shacks all along the beach selling BBQ. The average price for a mug of beer on the beach is $0.50. We stayed at Beach Road Hotel for $15/night and it had a great swimming pool right outside our room. Paradise!

Some kind of bug attacked Adam in Siem Reap.

Hell Boat

We spent one of our days in Sihanoukville snorkeling. The snorkeling was great and the island we went to was fantastic. However, the boat ride was 4 hours of hell each way.

Scene from the restaurant on our snorkeling trip.

D
o you see that guy sunbathing near the little river that runs into the sea? Well, that little river takes all the toilet water out to sea. We just had a few beers while laughing at the guy. Ignorance is bliss!

Angkor Wat for the 4th Time

2009-07-07T06:01:00.009-04:00

My friend Adam came to visit me while I was on holiday in Cambodia. I figured I had to take him up to Siem Reap to see the temples. The weather was perfect that day, so it was an enjoyable trip. Apart from the temples, there isn't much to do in Siem Reap so we only stayed a few days.

Hey Adam, I think that might be a dude.

Taking a break at the temples.

Scarface at his hotel in Siem Reap.

Here I am sitting on the only halfpipe in Cambodia. It's on the roof of X Bar in Siem Reap. The ramp is being fixed right now becaue the rain messed it up. Last time I was at X bar I tried to bust a kickflip and almost broke my arm.

Phnom Penh

2009-07-06T03:19:00.014-04:00

When arrived in Phnom Penh we stayed in a $4/night guesthouse in the backpacker ghetto in Phnom Penh. By some miracle, we didn't get robbed. Mikky thought she could save some money by getting a $5 curl and colour. I thought the results looked good, but the next day it all went terribly wrong. At this very moment, Mikky is getting her hair correct in Malaysia for RM150.

The hair looks good here, but it mutated soon after.

This is Walkabout. It's a down and dirty bar in a down and dirty city. I call it my second home. Open 24 hours.

5000 Riels = $1.25 in Cambodia

5000 Riels = Toilet paper outside of Cambodia

A huge eel at a restaurant near our second hotel in Phnom Penh.

ICPU 54th Graduation Ceremony

2009-06-11T23:13:00.007-04:00

Here I am at ICPU's 54th graduation ceremony. This is my 6th grad at Taylor's. This semester there were so many graduates that we had to have a morning and afternoon session. This is the first time I didn't "suit up" for a grad. The reason is that I lent my suit to an unemployed individual for a job interview. I always do kind stuff like that;) Anyway, I forgot I lent it to him and therefore have not requested the return of the suit. Actually, some friends of mine picked up some good suits in Bangkok for about $100, so I think I'll just wait for my next trip to Thailand to get some new ones.

Graduation day signals the end of another semester and the start of another holiday. According to my experience, it takes at least one week to overcome the post traumatic stress the semester.

Congratulations to all the ICPU grads!

ICPU Prom Shots

2009-06-08T21:40:00.002-04:00

Here are some images of ICPU teachers from last night's prom. I'll probably add more photos as I get them.

PD Day

2009-06-08T04:16:00.006-04:00

I volunteered to co-facilitate a workshop with Ms. Hacker as part of a professional development day for teachers from a local secondary school. The theme of the day was student-centered learning. Our workshop focussed on cooperative learning.

The workshop in action.

They gave me an eight gig thumb drive as a thank you gift. Awesome!

This group was very active and eager to participate. More than 100 people attended.

After the workshop, I had tea with the school administration. I was asked two different times if I was married or not. I later found out that they were inquiring because they had daughters of marriagble age. If I'm ever single again I'm definitely going to sign up to host more of these workshops.

Period One

2009-06-05T23:00:00.005-04:00

Period One

Siva and Victor.

This is Dhushan.

Manpreet and Mr. Saint

Good luck at Schulich Nikky. Thanks for the high quality pictures.

Snickers Class aka P4

2009-05-29T06:10:00.010-04:00

One of the rare times that I actually pose for a picture. We're supposed to look like super heros.

The one and only Period Four

I snuck into this picture.

As of this post, 4 of 6 cupcakes have been eaten. I swear these are the best cupcakes ever made.

Accounting P2

2009-05-26T03:52:00.007-04:00

Most people think accounting is boring. However, I can say that there was never a dull moment in period two. P2 has helped to set a very high standard for future accounting classes. You'll be missed. Thanks:)

Ali, Himesh, David, David, Mohammad

Cool Dudes

This is Aaron "The Biographer". He wrote a detailed biography of me for his English project.

Tears in Heaven

2009-05-13T05:01:00.004-04:00

This is a picture that looks like my Siamese Fighting Fish named Joy. She was eaten last night by Polo the fatso turtle.

This is a picture of Polo. He is currently in solitary confinement for two days for the murder and consumption of Joy.

Seriously though, Asia Cafe in Subang SS15 has a gnarly selection of creatures for sale after sundown.

A Day on the Town

2009-05-12T05:32:00.009-04:00

After three years in Malaysia, I finally have Internet (legally) at home. I should be psyched, but using Maxis Broadband is exactly like using the Internet in the year 1997 with a 26k modem. Anyway, back to life in K.L.

We started out at Petaling Steet (fake goods market) because Mikky wanted to buy a new watch. Even after living in KL for three years, a trip to Petaling street is still fun. We had a beer at a Chinese restaurant and a crazy guy was sitting at the table next to us trying to sell some tiger bone items with magical properties.

Here I am at Finnegan's Irish Pub Bukit Bintang. The first time I came here I was impressed. The food was expensive, but great. The second time they raised the prices and the food sucked. If you're into mature hookers, go to Finnegan's in the evening.

I think she managed to down two of these pints. I forget what beer costs in Canada, but here at Finnegan's Irish Pub in KL a pint of non-happy hour Kilkenny will set you back about $10. We drank the happy hour Heineken at about $6 per pint. After three years in Malaysia, these prices still shock me.

Consuming an unidentified appetizer at Tarbush Restaurant Bukit Bintang. After dinner we walked from Bukit Bintang back to Petaling Street to catch a bus home.

Rock n Roll Day

2009-04-12T03:54:00.004-04:00

Here I am on Rock 'n' Roll day at ICPU. It wasn't hard for me to put this outfit together because it's pretty much my day to day gear. Some day I'll get a Harley, but my 1996 Honda scooter (Bev) will do for now.

Dress Up Week: Canada Day

2009-04-09T23:26:00.004-04:00

Here's a great picture taken yesterday. I think it really captures the ICPU spirit.

Futsal Tournament

2009-04-08T23:13:00.007-04:00

Here are some mini pictures from a futsal tournament organized by students in BOH4M. The ICPU teachers were the referees. I never heard the word futsal before I came to Malaysia. Futsal is indoor soccer and it's very popular here. I'm really into it, and I even quit smoking so that I could improve my stamina for futsal.

Pattaya Rocks

2009-03-29T01:22:00.011-04:00

I have no regrets about going to Pattaya for the March Break. In fact, I now think Pattaya is great. Return airfare for me and my girlfriend was about $125 CDN. Pattaya has any kind of food you could possbily want. You can also combine beach laziness and great nightlife.

We went to this really nice seafood restaurant quite a few times. It's on Walking Street and it's a good place to warm up.

The party never stops in Pattaya.

It's 5 pm somewhere.

Please refer back to the China post to confirm that she is my girlfriend and not a hooker.

This is Jomtien beach. It only has 10% of the sleaze of Pattaya beach and it's only ten minutes away by Baht bus.

Peace out Pattaya

Our return flight departed at 7:00am, so we figured we'd just party until about 3:00am and then catch a taxi to the airport. Upon reflection, that was a bad idea and next time I won't be so cheap and get afternoon tickets.

Taylor's Volleyball Club

2009-02-25T01:10:00.005-05:00

I've been the volleyball club teacher advisor since my first semester at Taylor's. Yesterday was the first day of training for the new club. Unfortunately, it started to rain as soon as we all arrived at the courts. We still managed to have a good time. I'm looking forward to the rest of the season.

This semester the volleyball club has set up a blog of their own:

http://taylorsvolleyball.blogspot.com/

Cheapest Country to Buy a Big Mac

2009-01-27T02:55:00.003-05:00

A Big Mac in USD

Canada $3.32

Malaysia $1.54

MALAYSIA BOLEH!!!

Gong Xi Fa Cai

2009-01-25T23:09:00.003-05:00

Wo Ai Ni Zhongguo

2009-01-17T01:14:00.006-05:00

Me and a statue of an old Chinese lady on my last day in China. I'm going to upload a video of New Year's fireworks when I'm on a better computer.

Suzhou

2009-01-17T00:38:00.012-05:00

Christmas at the Humble Administrator's Garden.

Picked up this Taylor Made Jacket for 150 RMB.

This picture pretty much summarizes what I did most nights.

Suzhou is awesome.

Hangzhou China

2009-01-17T00:23:00.005-05:00

Flew from KL to Hangzhou on Air Asia X. Luckily the seats on Air Asia X are bigger than regular Air Asia seats. The journey wasn't too painful at all.

Hangzhou, first stop, Starbuck's

I didn't bring a guidebook or dictionary with me to China. Luckily, I had been to Hangzhou before and knew how to say West Lake (Xi Hu) in Chinese. That got us from the airport to the city center.

Sunset in Subang

2009-01-17T00:11:00.003-05:00

Mikky took these.

Old Pictures from Laos Holiday

2009-01-16T23:50:00.005-05:00

This is me in Vientiane on the last night of my holiday. Overall, it was a pretty boring trip, but I might go back because I didn't spend much time in Vientiane and it seemed like a pretty cool place.

Me in front of Laos Central Bank. The currency in Laos is known as Kip. If you have any Kip left at the end of your vacation, it works quite nicely as toilet paper.

Here I am in Vang Vieng. This place is hippie paradise. A popular pastime here is floating down the river in a tube while drinking. Unfortunately, I had a small disagreement with the tube mafia and I was banned for life before even touching a tube. Another popular way to pass time in Vang Vieng is to visit a cafe and sample the "happy menu". This town might be the only place in the world where you can order an opium fruit shake.

Phone Images from Christmas Holiday

2009-01-10T01:16:00.004-05:00

We spent about a week in Kunshan. I never saw this restaurant when I used to live there. I'll leave it up to you to guess whether or not I ate this restaurant's specialty.

I thought my memory card reader was stolen from my desk at work. Turns out, I hid it before the holidays so it wouldn't get stolen and then forgot I did it. Flurry of posts coming soon.

Graduation

2008-12-17T23:46:00.007-05:00

The VIPs

Here I am looking like a psycho while shaking hands with the consular general.

Some of the staff before entering the graduation.

Cobras In The Star

2008-12-17T23:40:00.003-05:00

I told you it was a bloodbath

Here's the link to the play-by-play of the finals that appears in today's Star:

http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2008/12/17/central/2807408&sec=central

Rollin'

2008-12-15T20:54:00.002-05:00

I'm still not sure if I look like a big nerd or super cool on my bike.

President's Cup Winners

2008-12-14T20:50:00.005-05:00

The KL Cobras (my team) won the MIHF President's Cup ice hockey league finals on Friday night at the Sunway Pyramid. Although it's a non-contact league, the final game was a bloodbath.

Thanks to Farshad for the picture and video.

Forgot to Post This

2008-11-28T23:41:00.003-05:00

I just got a reminder from a student in my Period Six class to post this one.

Forced Retirement

2008-11-28T23:04:00.002-05:00

This is the real reason why I've been bumped from I.B. I'll admit that I'm not an easy person to work with, but I think this is going a bit too far.

Period Six

2008-11-28T22:56:00.002-05:00

Here I am with Ing and Samantha on World Peace Day.

Jeff and Nawwar on the last day.

Period Six

Good Night I.B.

2008-11-28T00:44:00.005-05:00

Here I am stealing Li Huey's portfolio.

After two and a half years of teaching International Business Fundamentals, I'll be switching to Principles of Financial Accounting next semester.

Here are some pics from Period Three.

Li Huey, Loo Yee, and Lai Mun

P-Town 4 Life

2008-11-28T00:26:00.005-05:00

Dominoes
O.E.
Simon
Mitzy
Dark Tag
Fence Hopping
N.W.A.

I miss the old days. Anyone reading this from the P, please feel free to add some words that remind you of old times.

Blog Stats

2008-11-25T20:51:00.001-05:00

Current Country Totals
From 24 Nov 2007 to 25 Nov 2008
Malaysia (MY) 6,609
Canada (CA) 1,094
Australia (AU) 675
United States (US) 347
Singapore (SG) 141
Indonesia (ID) 101
United Kingdom (GB) 93
Korea, Republic of (KR) 39
Thailand (TH) 29
South Africa (ZA) 26
Kenya (KE) 23
Germany (DE) 21
China (CN) 17
India (IN) 15
France (FR) 14
Turkey (TR) 12
Cambodia (KH) 12
Japan (JP) 11
New Zealand (NZ) 10
Mexico (MX) 10
Brunei Darussalam (BN) 10
Saudi Arabia (SA) 9
Vietnam (VN) 9
Hong Kong (HK) 8
Philippines (PH) 8
Bangladesh (BD) 8
Brazil (BR) 7
Costa Rica (CR) 6
Europe (EU) 6
Spain (ES) 6
Italy (IT) 6
Ireland (IE) 5
Taiwan (TW) 5
United Arab Emirates (AE) 5
Netherlands (NL) 4
Tunisia (TN) 4
Qatar (QA) 4
Oman (OM) 3
Israel (IL) 3
Egypt (EG) 3
Switzerland (CH) 3
Colombia (CO) 2
Lao People's Democratic Republic (LA) 2
Argentina (AR) 2
Poland (PL) 2
Greece (GR) 2
Russian Federation (RU) 2
Iran, Islamic Republic of (IR) 2
Norway (NO) 2
Pakistan (PK) 2
Asia/Pacific Region (AP) 2
Portugal (PT) 2
Czech Republic (CZ) 1
Sweden (SE) 1
Chile (CL) 1
Belarus (BY) 1
Slovakia (SK) 1
Denmark (DK) 1
Belgium (BE) 1
Romania (RO) 1
Cayman Islands (KY) 1
Morocco (MA) 1
Syrian Arab Republic (SY) 1
Bermuda (BM) 1
Dominican Republic (DO) 1
Bulgaria (BG) 1
Ukraine (UA) 1
Serbia (RS) 1
Sri Lanka (LK) 1
Panama (PA) 1
Maldives (MV) 1

Watch This

2008-11-15T01:06:00.003-05:00

Ever wonder what it's like to teach in the ICPU programme at Taylor's? Watch this video. I make a brief appearance from 5:15 to 5:25. That's also a still shot of me before you press play on youtube. Hat tip to Meng Zhen for bringing this to my attention.

Mr. Saint Turns 30

2008-11-14T23:26:00.004-05:00

P3 representin' in full force for my birthday.

Great card from P3.

I should have played futsal after school to burn off this cake. Some day I'm going to get really fat.

Got an awesome "Mr. Saint" pen from P5.

Thanks to P6 for the wonderful donuts.

This is the biggest card ever. Thanks to Sofia

liqaaifos `iroihsrawwan - leeban

2008-11-08T22:53:00.003-05:00

Here's a sample of this semester's stealth marketing videos. Hat tip to Nawwar for posting this on youtube.

KL Cobras

2008-10-20T08:15:00.005-04:00

I've been playing hockey in the KL division one hockey league. My team isn't bad....

but I am. Notice there are only three players with less points than me. These include:

- The goalie
- The spare player (who isn't even a human being)
- The injured guy/alcoholic coach

Tonight I get my new jerseys. Maybe that will inspire me to start playing sober.

Still Alive

2008-10-05T01:53:00.004-04:00

Here are some pictures from ICPU Dress Up week.

Sports Day

Malaysia Boleh!

Career Day

Interesting Hat Day

Hippie Day

In order to capture the true spirit of the day, I didn't shower in the morning.

My School

2008-09-11T00:23:00.001-04:00

This is a picture of my school taken by Tuguldur P5. The two buildings in the background are TBS and IDP, which are both part of Taylor's.

Workshop Stuff

2008-08-20T01:27:00.005-04:00

I'm on holiday this week, but I have to host a workshop as soon as I get back, so it's a working holiday. The topic is "Technology in the Classroom". Amazingly, I just discovered Windows Movie Maker and I've been farting around with it for about thirty minutes. I just used some photos that are saved on my computer at school. The point is that I've figured this thing out now and I think I can make some boss videos. I'm going to edit this post as I add new stuff to the workshop.

In other news, I'm on my third day without cigarettes and I'm in great pain.

Bandung

2008-08-10T03:52:00.006-04:00

This year I chose to go to Bandung for the annual company trip. Bandung is known for it's beautiful women and cool weather. I really enjoyed this trip and hope next year is just as fun.

Nothing bad could possibly happen on this trip.

Take a peek in the window to see how I spent most of my time.

Some volcano.

Les and I at some museum, on the way to the most memorable golf game ever.

This is what happened to our golf cart on the 3rd hole. Actually, it was our caddie who made this mess, but the golf course still found a way to pin it on us. We finsihed only 9 holes because we spent over an hour in the club house fighting with the management about who was responsible for the damages.

Yesterday

2008-07-22T21:25:00.001-04:00

(This happened about 200-300m from my school. The students in my period five class told me about it and I passed the scene on my way home.)

Wednesday July 23, 2008
Suspect killed in shootout
By STEVEN DANIEL and RASHITA A. HAMID

SUBANG JAYA: Police from the serious crimes division shot dead a man who was wanted for a spate of robberies in several shopping malls as well as murder.

Sources revealed that police had earlier raided his home just 200m away in SS14, Subang Jaya and recovered several firearms and valuables believed to be the loot from the robberies.

They said that the suspect was on his way home when five plainclothes policemen blocked his vehicle and demanded that he get out of the vehicle.

The suspect replied by shooting at the cops.

“Police returned fire, killing him instantly,” said acting state CID chief Asst Comm Omar Mamah who was at the scene.

He said a .38 Smith & Wesson semi-automatic revolver was recovered from the 26-year-old man.

It is believed that the suspect's 21-year-old wife has been taken into custody to assist in investigations.

State police chief DCP Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar said police were on the lookout for more members of the dead man's group, who targeted jewellery shops in several Giant hypermarkets including the Kelana Jaya and Puchong Perdana outlets.

Meanwhile, in an unrelated incident a Myanmar national armed with a gun in his 20s was shot dead after a high-speed chase near Pasar Borong Selayang at 12.15am yesterday.

An initial investigation showed the man was believed to be involved in drug distribution, murder and extortion within the Myanmar community for several years.

Police seized 18 packets of heroin, one packet of syabu and several items, including knives, from his car.

Back on the Ice

2008-07-21T06:03:00.004-04:00

I'm going to play a game of pick-up tonight at the Sunway Pyramid. Believe it or not, there is a hockey team here in KL. I'm pretty good at hockey, so I'm not worried about getting my behind kicked. The problem is that I have the lungs of a 103 year old man. If you don't see any new posts it's because I'm dead. If I survive I'll post up some action shots asap.

Bangkok Again

2008-07-20T01:51:00.006-04:00

Just a few more days back in Bangkok, then back to KL.

Bucket O Booze

I was more than a little disappointed at Nana Plaza.

Now the Temples

2008-07-20T01:41:00.011-04:00

The temples at Siem Reap

Sihanoukville

2008-07-20T01:30:00.006-04:00

Sihanoukville, Cambodia is my favorite place on earth. This is my 4th time there.

She couldn't believe that this was possible.

Poi Pet

2008-07-20T00:54:00.007-04:00

Scenic Poi Pet

If you ever find yourself in Poi Pet, get the hell out of there as soon as you can. Better yet, avoid it altogether.

This is Main St.

We had a romoantic candlelight dinner at Poi Pet's finest restaurant. Actually, the candle is there because the power goes out at 8 pm.

Pattaya

2008-07-20T00:37:00.006-04:00

Whatever happens in Pattaya stays in Pattaya. There shall be no stories posted here.

It has been a long time since I've had some good brew. John Smith's yummy! It was raining hard out so I had to have about 7 pints. I wasn't in good shape for the bus ride to Poi Pet the next morning.

The cesspool known as Pattaya

Vacation Pics: Two Days in Bang City

2008-07-13T00:36:00.011-04:00

Here are some pics from my vacation to Thailand (5th time) and Cambodia (6th time). We landed in Bangkok and spent two days there before moving to the beach.

Round one with the papaya salad. I tapped out after one mouthful.

Chillin' on Khao San Rd.

Papaya rematch

Patpong Sukka

Lovely!

Next stop Pattaya!

P1

2008-06-09T01:12:00.003-04:00

Another school year has come to an end and these pictures are worth two thousand words.
Thanks to all of my students for a wonderful semester. I'll see you at prom.

Sadly, Bandung Girl denied my request to bring her to the prom.

P5

2008-06-09T01:02:00.003-04:00

Cool Dudes

P2

2008-06-02T07:41:00.004-04:00

Due to final exams starting the next day, only about 50% of the students showed up to the final I.B. class. However, if you were anywhere near the classroom you'd think there were about 100 people having a wild party inside.

Thanks

2008-05-31T05:46:00.002-04:00

These guys tried to catch me when I went out for lunch on Thursday, but I'm a surprisingly fast sprinter. They pulled a sneak attack on me when I returned. Ordinarily, I would have pulled some Black Belt Jones type moves and clobbered the mob, but it was their last day of classes so I just joined in the love fest.

Peace

P4

2008-05-31T05:27:00.004-04:00

Here is a picture of me with Shin Yi a.k.a. El Barto.

I thought it would be funny to pull the candle out with my teeth. Pam thought it would be even more funny to push my face into the cake.

Sandhya, Zahra, Shaver Mc Daver, and Sangeetha

Awesome tie courtesy of Calvin

On My Bad Side

2008-05-19T00:34:00.006-04:00

Tony Fernandez
Crime: Owning the company with the worst customer service in the world.

People used to always talk bad about your company, but I defended you! I used to always talk about how great Air Asia was. My love for you is gone. It's up to you to woo me back.

Hu Jintao, I'm not too happy with you either. I'd like to warn anyone thinking of visiting China any time before or during the Olypics that you'd better be willing to donate a kidney in order to get a tourist visa.

Rant over

Final Stealth Marketing Post

2008-05-16T07:23:00.004-04:00

I'm not happy about the name of this brand of water but WTF, eh?

Enjoy!

Stealth Marketing Part Two

2008-05-13T08:10:00.004-04:00

This is a video by Sern & Co. It's slightly more shaddy than Up Up's video.

Student Teacher

2008-05-13T07:48:00.006-04:00

Last month I hosted a student teacher from York University at my house. Her name is Lesley. She left about two weeks ago, but travelled around S.E. Asia before returning home to Canada. I just got these pictures today. Anyway, hosting Lesley was a great experience and I think I'll offer to host another student teacher again next year. The only thing I'm not so happy about is that Bandung Girl fell in love with her.

Here I am trying to teach Lesley a pretty simple yoga posture. In the end, she just couldn't get it right.

Bandung Girl showing some love!

Pool Shark

SEXY BACK

Mat Rempit

Happy Mother's Day

2008-05-11T02:42:00.004-04:00

Love ya mom! You're the greatest:)

Bandung Girl loves you too.

Bandung Girl

2008-05-11T00:50:00.008-04:00

This is Bandung Girl. Bandung must be some planet in a distant solar system. The story of how we met is quite interesting and invovles a ladyboy who was trying to seduce me, but I don't want to get into that here.

Malaysian Graffiti

2008-05-09T09:09:00.003-04:00

I remember when I was in high school my English teacher noticed that someone had carved the words "Black Sabath" into the top of one of the desks. The letters were so deep that they must have been carved with a hunting knife. The teacher made two interesting observations about the graffiti.

1. How could a student possibly have done that without the teacher noticing?
2. The correct spelling is actually Black Sabbath.

Take a wild guess which student carved those words into that desk.......

I.B. is cool man.

Update: My traditional marketing approach from the last post was highly successful. Tonnes of students signed up for I.B. next sem.

P.S. I didn't actually graffiti the desk. It was Ryan.

Stealth Marketing vs. Traditional Marketing

2008-05-08T06:48:00.004-04:00

This is a great video done by some of the students in my period one class. This may be my new favorite song. This is my first time adding a video to my blog. Hopefully, there will be many more to come.

Sign up for I.B. tomorrow. The more the merrier.

I spent five years studying marketing and this is the best I could do.

Sneak Preview

2008-05-07T06:04:00.005-04:00

I'm looking forward to watching the full dress rehearsal tonight.

ICPU Rocks!!!!

Update: I consider myself a theatre aficionado and I must that this play is outstanding. In the blink of an eye, I forget that they were student and started identifying with the characters. So many laughs in this play.

Bravissimo!!!!

Thuh-Koff

2008-05-03T04:57:00.004-04:00

I've been patiently waiting 15 years for Thuh-Koff to settle their artistic differences and get back together.

This could be the greatest Facebook discovery ever. That's my sister in the middle.

The Great Smoking Debate

2008-04-30T06:38:00.003-04:00

Be it resolved that marketing tobacco products should be illegal in Malaysia.

Last week we watched "Thank You for Smoking" in class. This week we had the great smoking debate. Period one is usually my most reserved class. I think we are all still sleeping at 8 am. However, during this debate I was sometimes afraid that a Royal Rumble might break out.

Happy Labour Day!

Photo courtesy of Mr. Super Poke

The horror... the horror...

2008-04-27T07:26:00.015-04:00

Well, it's 8:00 pm Sunday night and I've been at Taylor's pretty much all weekend.
It's crunch time people.

Good night

Quality of Life Continues to Soar

2008-04-24T02:25:00.004-04:00

They're opening a new Subway right across the street from my school. Perfect!

Futsal Madness

2008-04-23T07:10:00.005-04:00

I never heard of futsal before I came to Malaysia. My first year I didn't play once, but this year I'm playing at least twice a week. This Tuesday I took a kick in the thigh, a ball in the face, and an accidental punch in the jaw. Great fun!

The picture above is from a charity tournament organized by students in OS. I made a team with students from my I.B. class.

Left to right:

- Fikri(Malaysia)
- Punit (Kenya)
- Derek (Malaysia)
- Harris (Malaysia)
- Felix (Kenya)
- Mehdi (Iran)
- Mr. Saint (Canada)

According to our calculations, we were only one goal away from qualifying for the playoffs.

Nerds

2008-04-16T06:54:00.004-04:00

Here I am moments before administering an old skool beating to the entire nerd patrol.

Recent Photos

2008-04-12T10:00:00.005-04:00

Here I am on a tour of K.L. As you can see, I was extremely excited.

K.L. is 92nd

2008-04-03T23:21:00.003-04:00

If this is true, why did I pay $30 CDN for a jug of beer last Saturday.

Some Dress Up Photos

2008-04-02T08:30:00.005-04:00

I gotta give major props to Steve for being the first person to send me photos of dress up week. Today's theme was formal. I hate my smile in this photo.

Zooooooooom! Any slower and I would have fallen over.

Chui Yi, Philana, Moi, Leon, and Steve

Honeymoon in Danok

2008-03-23T00:54:00.002-04:00

Well, I'm back from my holiday. I had tickets to the Philippines, but my girlfriend didn't so because I'm such a loving and caring and sensitive guy I decided to stay back in Malaysia and travel around with her. We went to Pangkor, Ipoh, Langkawi, and finally crossed the border into Danok, Thailand.

The town of Danok has to be the per capita world champion in karaoke joints and massage parlors.

I'll load up my pictures and give a full vacation report soon.

Blog Break

2008-03-14T01:23:00.002-04:00

Don't bother reading this blog for about a week. I'll be on a beach drinking coconut moonshine. Many pictures to follow.

Peace

Classic Moments in I.B. (Part One)

2008-03-10T06:30:00.007-04:00

We did some role-plays in I.B. class about cultural sensitivity and adaptability.

Private Dancer

Two Malaysian business women went on a trip to Japan. They met two Japanese business women to close a major deal over some sake and noodles. Things really heated up when the group went to a club for drinks. This was no ordinary club. It was a male strip club. The Malaysian business women seemed a bit shocked at first, but quickly adapted to the situation.

I really felt sorry for the stripper. He looked like a classic human trafficking victim. He must have been promised a job teaching English, but upon arrival he was thrown on stage.

After a little while it seemed like he had been dancing for years.

Edmund, Ganesh, Samanta, and Kirtti starred in a role-play titled "More Than U Bargained For."

Kirtti played the owner of a sleazy hotel in India. He expected his guests to share their bed with him. I'm pretty sure that's not a custom in India, but when Kirtti played the role it seemed like the most natural thing in the world.

I'm not sure if I'm joking around or actually angry, but I am sure that my hair is outstanding.

ICPU vs. CIMP

2008-03-07T23:32:00.003-05:00

I'd like to say thank you to Mr. Sarno at CIMP for hosting the first of hopefully many Canadian pre-univeristy friendlies. I'd also like to say that both teams showed great sportsmanship and represented their schools well.

CPUnited

Captain Dinesh

Mehdi the goalkeeper

Steve the photographer and former ICPU president

SFO *****

2008-03-02T01:02:00.008-05:00

My department head asked me if I minded having a film crew come in to film one of my classes. I said it wouldn't be a problem as long as I got a few days notice. The only problem was that I was notified that I would have to do it on the students' holiday on Friday. I figured it would be impossible to get any students to come in on their off day to do something like this, but I got enough students to sign up from my first period that I had to stop asking people after that.

The purpose of the video is to attract more international students from China to study at Taylor's in Malaysia

I'd like to say that both groups of students did super-terrific-outstanding five start presentations. I'm really proud of what my students accomplished on Friday.

A big thanks to each and every one of you.

Peace,

Mr. Saint

Fantastic work people!

All of the students who came in on their holiday and helped me out.

The board of Golden Cross

Gold Cross Organization

Peace! I'm outta here.

Lightning Strikes

2008-02-27T06:36:00.004-05:00

I was having a romantic RM 4 chicken kebab dinner with the person mentioned in the Valentine's post. We were just joking around and talking. Then all of a sudden BOOM! My house got hit by a tomahawk missile. It was the loudest bang I ever heard in my life and the entire room lit up behind my back. My friend was facing it and kind of looked like someone punched her really hard when it happened.

It turns out that the C.I.A. hasn't found me yet. My apartment just got struck by Malaysian lightning, which is about ten times louder than Canadian lightning. My friend says that it must have stuck just a few feet from my balcony. That bolt of lightning set off every car alarm in the neighbourhood.

In the News

2008-02-23T03:03:00.006-05:00

This is a picture of Arthur and I during his presentation. His presentation was about the I-Phone and this photo was taken with an I-Phone. In this photo I'm sporting my classic "Astro Boy" hairstyle. I've been going with this one off and on since grade two and I have the photos to prove it. I should give props to Arthur for a fantastic presentation.

"Mr. Saint, do you go clubbing?"
"Mr. Saint, I swear I saw you dirty dancing at Laundry last weekend."

The truth is that I'd rather stay home and listen to talk radio.

The Larry Kudlow Radio Show can be heard live from 10:00am until 1:00pm (EST) on New York’s 770 AM radio dial. If you’re located outside the greater New York area, you can tune in live to the show via the internet at wabcradio.com.

Valentine's Day

2008-02-16T00:10:00.003-05:00

I was sitting at home alone debating whether or not it was too pathetic to go to a pub and drink alone on Valentine’s Day. Ultimately, I decided that it was best to hide my shame and stay at home. I went to Cold Storage to buy some more tissue to soak up my tears. I had only been gone 30 minutes, but when I came back I saw the Cookie Monster sleeping on my couch. I felt like poop because I didn’t even get her a card. I took her out and did my best to recover, but upon reflection, taking her to a dirty pub probably wasn’t the best decision I ever made.
All in all, I think this was my greatest Valentine’s ever.

Wish I Saw It!

2008-02-03T23:47:00.000-05:00

Actually, I wish I saw it at home in Canada. I don't miss the cold, but man, I'm really thinking about what I missed today. Instead of getting hammered and eating a philly cheesesteak, I sat here alone (stone cold sober) on Monday morning and got updates about once a minute.

That's it! I gotta get off my ass tonight and do something cool to make up for it. Jeez, this is the worst holiday ever.

The Ben Teh Incident

2008-01-31T05:55:00.000-05:00

Ben was my student in I.B. last semester. All semester we would argue about who is the greatest wrestler of all time. I said Hulk Hogan and he said the Nature Boy Rick Flair. We almost fought a few times. By the end of the semster I turned him into a Hulkamaniac.

The Incident

Ben was hanging out with some of my current students today. They saw me and asked me if I'd like to join them for lunch.

Ben: Sir, why do you always eat lunch alone?

Sir: I just like to eat quickly and get back to work.

Edmund: Sir, can you speak Mandarin?

Sir: Not really, I only know a few survival words.

Ben: But you must know all the bad words right?

Sir: Not really, never used them. I think I know one.

Edumund: Which one?

Sir: I don't want to say it because it might offend you.

Edmund: Just say it!

Sir: *&! $#

Edmund: Oh, you mean @#$ %^

Sir: Yeah, I guess so.

Edmund: Nice try sir.....

Ben was drinking some kind of milk tea at the time and I'm not sure what triggered it, but when Edmund said, "Nice try sir" Ben started convulsing with laughter. I'm not going to say what happened next, but let's just say that my lunch was inedible after that.

Ben Teh: I.B. student 4 life.

English Teacher X

2008-01-27T09:44:00.000-05:00

I'll be honest, 99.99% of blogs are complete poop (mine included). Unless you actually know the person, most blogs are meaningless. If for some reason, you came to this blog to get an idea of what it's like to teach in another country, I'd like to refer you to: englishteacherx.blogspot.com

If he wasn't so addicted to booze and women, he'd have actually made something of his life. I'm not sure if I feel sorry for him or wish I was him.

Peace,
Dave

Golfing in Genting

2008-01-26T07:17:00.000-05:00

I went golfing today at Awana Golf Resort in Genting Highlands. Needless to say that the weather was cool (for Malaysia) and the scenery was fantastic. Unfortunately, I didn't bring my camera and I can't find any good pictures of the place on the Internet. The only bad thing about the day was my score. I think the high altitutde tired me out after eight holes.

Total Damage for green fee, buggy, and caddy was RM 107($33).

Perfect day!

Malaysian Driving Tips

2008-01-24T09:54:00.000-05:00

This is an illustration of my journey to Futsal today. I'm the small black line with bad brakes.

Yeah, I almost died once driving here in Malaysia, but I've learned a thing or two since.

Rule #1: A red light only means "stop" if you can see a police car nearby.

Rule #2: Assume everyone is D.U.I.

Rule #3: Always D.U.I. It's safer that way.

Rule #4: "Summons or settle?" Gotta admit, this one is pretty sweet. RM 50 can solve any problem.

Rule #5: Might is right! Don't question it! I did and ended up in the hospital.

Rule #6: If you can't text while driving, you shouldn't be on the road.

Rule #7: Forget about road rage because the person who just cut you off was an 86 year old woman.

Rule #8: Scooters get no respect, so driving a scooter is something like a death wish. It's an amazing high when you arrive home alive.

Rule #9: Never get in a Proton with a guy named Aziz.

These are just my thoughts. Anyone reading this in Malaysia, please feel free to add to my list.

Peace,
Dave

Sex Room

2008-01-20T05:01:00.000-05:00

When I used to live in Korea and China, I'd go on short trips almost every weekend. I haven't really done that here in Malaysia. Well, the semester is young and the work hasn't piled up yet so I decided to run away to Ipoh.

Friday: Checked into hotel with mirrors all over the room. I chose the wrong section of town. I was actually a little bit scared for my safety for the first time in Malaysia. I decided that this would be a very short trip.

Saturday: Checked out of seediest hotel in universe and planned on getting a bus home. I decided to go to a British pub for lunch before going home. The food was great and I had an awesome book, so four beers later it looked like I was going to be spending another night in Ipoh. For some strange reason I checked back into the Hooker Hotel. I talked to a taxi driver and he told me that Ipoh sucked because I didn't go to Y2K. Y2K is an area full of pubs and discos

Y2K: Showed up at Y2K at about 8. Had sushi for dinner and then went to a pub. I was sitting alone with a bucket of Tiger. The waitress was standing near me and seemed to want to talk. She couldn't speak much English, but she assured me that once she has a few beers her English improved (it didn't). We played a dice game that I used to play in Kunshan. Loser had to drink. I think we both scored about 50%. She finished work at 10, but she hung around till about 11 and invited me to a disco for more beers and dice. When I got there I saw her boyfriend and he looked pissed. He didn't talk to me all night. Anyways, I played dice with her friends and had a great old time. Her friends were nice enough to drop me off at the sex hotel.

Don't let the title of this post fool you. No sex took place in this room while I occupied it. That may be untrue. I wouldn't doubt that the hotel would rent the room out for short time stays while guests are out for the day.

Angkor What?

2008-01-07T08:22:00.000-05:00

Spent a few days in Siem Reap with some fellow teachers. This was my fifth trip to Cambodia. It just never gets dull. One moment I won't forget is when I was at X Bar on my last night. A few of the waiters and the manager were trying to bust a kickflip on a skateboard. I was feeling pretty good at that time so I walked over and said, "Can I have a try?" Long story short, I almost broke my arm in front of a lot of people.

A picture of Mr. Les taking a picture.

Not my typical PG-13 blog pic. My good blog is a closely guarded secret;)

Christmas Pics

2008-01-07T07:47:00.000-05:00

These are a bit late, but I've really only been home for a day.

Sweet tie!

Left to right:

- My sister Michelle
- My niece Brittney
- My mom
- Kurtis with a K

My mom with "my brother" Nik. the most adorable dog in the world. Unfortunately, my eyes almost explode after spending an hour in the same room as him because I'm allergic to all dogs, but poodles.

MCQ Hotshots!

Which car is Mr. Saint's?

A) The Bimmer
B) The broke ass Civic
C) Neither, he drive his father's broke ass Civic.

This is what Scarborough looked like the day after I got back.

The Saints

2008-01-06T02:08:00.000-05:00

The newest cartoon from the soon to be famous Balqis.

New Year's Resolutions

2007-12-29T15:46:00.000-05:00

I'm packed and leaving for the airport soon. I'm not looking forward to the 20+ hours that I'm going to have to spend on planes. By the time I land in Kuala Lumpur it will be New Year's Eve. When I look back at 2007, it was one of the best years of my life. However, I still have some things I want to change. Here are my 2008 New Year's Resolutions:

1. Chill out!
2. Buy some nice clothes and stop looking like a bum.
3. Get a haircut similar to this:

4. Stop wasting my money.
5. Exercise

Happy New Year everyone!

Christmas

2007-12-27T19:34:00.000-05:00

All photos borrowed from my uncle Rayambo's blog.

The Saint and Papa Saint.

Grandma Saint and Grandpa Saint

About 20% of the Saint clan. Rayambo is at the head of the table. I'm wearing the green crown at the back.

Kenny Saint