Chairman Hawks

BEFORE



AFTER


After you've lived in a foreign country for so long, it may be hard to go back home. This photo speaks for itself. It seems that his reeducation has been a success. Just look at that thousand-yard stare.

F1 Pics

I almost missed the start of the race because I was waiting in line to buy some drinks.


Possibly the winner. The only way I could tell the two Mercedes drivers apart was by their helmets and positions in the race. I forget now.


It would have been cool if I knew who these guys were.



Loser!


Go Honda!

Greatest Easter Ever!

My buddy Aziz called me up on Saturday night. He had an extra ticket for the Petronas Malaysia Grand Prix. The only condition was that I had to go to La Vita that night.

Later that night:

Aziz: I have good news and bad news. Which do you want first?
Dave: Bad news.
Aziz: You have to sit alone at the Grand Prix.
Dave: That's not so bad. What's the good news?
Aziz: Your ticket is worth RM 1,700 ($565 CDN). The rest of us will be sitting in the RM 500 ($166 CDN) seats.
Dave: OMG!
Aziz: Your seat actually comes with three free meals.
Dave: High five!

I am officially a Formula One fan now. The seats were awesome. I was four rows back and pretty close to the start/finish line. I have lots of pictures and a video of the start of the race. I just forgot to upload them.

Just a Photo

Facebook is Great!

Asia Cafe Pool Tournament

Even though I got knocked out of the second round, I had a great time at Asia that day. Thanks to all of the students who played against me.

I demand a rematch against the following people:

- Joshua
- Azwad
- Ben
- Vic

I'm sorry, but I will no longer be available to play the following people:

- Jia

My Celebrity Look-alikes

My cool celebrity look-alike collage from MyHeritage.com. Get one for yourself.

Family

Wheel of Fortune, March Madness, or the Leafs?
Wine? What's up with that dude?

To anyone reading this from Canada, I should be home around June 18th. I'm planning a short golf trip to Cuba, but other than that you can find me at Tre Monkeys every night.

Peace

Mos Eisley Cantina

Obi Wan Kenobi once said, "You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villany!" I think he must have been talking about the cafe across the street from my hotel. I really can't go into much detail, but imagine yourself in the Mos Eisley Cantina and you can get a pretty good idea.

I'd still rather be here than sitting at home.

A Dialogue with a Cabbie

I was exiting the Museum of Fine Art in Jakarta and I needed a ride back to my chateaux in Jaksa. Taxi drivers here are nothing like the evil drivers in Malaysia. Here is a brief example from my travels last night.

Saint: Good evening sir. I am wondering if you could give me a ride back to my place in Jaksa?

Cabbie: Of course I can sir.

Saint: How much?

Cabbie: Since you're a foreigner it's free.

Saint: Oh, god bless you and your ancestors.

Cabbie: God bless me? God bless you! I will hug you!

Saint: Then let's hug.

It's funny that at the end of this altercation I actually accepted a ride with this particular cabbie. We exchanged a few pleasantries on the way home.

P.S. If I ever go missing or something, I want the photo from this post to appear on the news.

Glorious City of Jakarta

Day One

I arrived in Jakarta yesterday. I was determined to get out of the airport without being ripped off. Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be. My hotel is reasonably priced, but I didn't get any discount. I've lost a lot of my bargaining skills. Perhaps it's because I hadn't slept in over 24 hours when I checked in. What did I do on my first day? I slept till about 6:00 pm. After that, I walked around and realized that there really isn't much to see here. Finally, I decided relax in a cafe. To anyone reading this who may visit Jakarta in the future, please note that the Romance Cafe is the exact opposite of romantic.

Day Two

Woke up at 11:57 am and went for breakfast. It was interesting to see that one of the regulars from the Romance Cafe was having a beer for breakfast. In fact, I suspect that the party never stops for that guy. Now I'm at a PC cafe doing this blog thing. The computer I'm on was probably built in the mid to late 80's. I'm not sure how clear the web cam pic will be because everything I look at on this computer is almost completely black. Anyways, I'm going back to my hotel now to read and sleep some more. Sounds interesting, eh?

How NOT to Plan a Vacation

I searched Air Asia for the cheapest flight to a foreign country. My round trip flight to Jakarta, Indonesia cost $113 CDN. Some of my students seem puzzled as to why I'd want to spend my holiday in Jakarta. My reply, "No reason, I just like doing things like that!" Anyways, my flight is Saturday morning at 7:00 am. I'll be back on the 18th. I'll most likely be making blog posts everyday during my holidays.

Events in Indonesia this week:

- Plane crash
- Giant earthquake felt here in Malaysia

Oh, and Jakarta was flooded recently. Should be interesting.

Peace!

The Saint

Ali in Coma

This is Roger doing a kickturn on the wall in Markham, Ontario.

Here's Ali busting a blunt to fakie on the same wall. Gnarly!

If you've ever wondered who the dancing man is at the top of my blog, it's Ali Boulala. I just read this at www.skateboarding.com:

"Although Ali Boulala survived yesterday's motorcycle accident that killed his close friend and teammate Shane Cross, he's still in very bad shape. Ali suffered massive head trauma from the crash and the hospital staff in Melbourne have placed him in a medically induced coma. Please keep him, his friends, and his family in your thoughts and prayers."

The Nam

I just got back from Hanoi, Vietnam. Sandra managed to get me to drink snake's blood. The first shot is always the best. They cut the still beating heart out of a cobra and mix it with his bile. If you're as quick as I am, you drink the heart while it's still beating. Wimps like Sandra just drink the straight blood. I have some graphic photos of the event, but they won't appear on this PG-13 blog. They cook the cobra 10 different ways for you. It's really quite good. It cost us $20 per person. I think our moto driver took a big slice of that.

The non-snake photos are of the prison that held American POWs called the "Hanoi Hilton". I think the real name is Hoa Lo prison.

Another highlight of the trip was our visit to Ha Long Bay. We used Sandra's camera to take the photos. I'll post them if she ever e-mails them. Don't hold your breath.

The French used this on the Vietnamese.

The entrance to the "Hanoi Hilton".

Dinner

This is booze, not preservative.

Lizard Juice

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

I'm off to Hanoi tomorrow. I'll be back on the 26th.

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Days 3 and 4

Beach Day

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day Comic

Click on the comic to read it. It's brilliant!

By Balqis

Day Two: Dress-Up Day

I have a strict dress code in my class. Students must dress and act professionally at all times.

Here I am closing a deal to buy 50 rainbow ties from Arron.

I really thought this picture would be cooler than it was.

Day One: Cool Shades Day

Today was "Cool Shades Day" at ICPU. I chose to sport a retro 80's punk pair of Ray-Bans. Tomorrow is "Dress-Up Day" and I plan on cleaning my desk.

What's up with the goggles dudes?

Malaysia Round Two?

I have until Sunday night to decide if I want to stay in Malaysia for another year. Although I made a depressing post a few weeks ago, I really like it here. ICPU rocks! I'm going to Hanoi next week and I get another week off in March. I'm not sure where I'll go at that time. I'm in a little bit of a fix because I only have two pages left in my passport.

Next week is dress up week. I think I can dress up each day except Friday because I don't have any traditional Chinese clothes. Maybe I'll dress up in traditional Canadian clothes instead. I'll be decked out in track pants, a touque, and a hockey jersey.

The Party Shacks

Some very expensive bungalows are being built right next to house. The cheapest is about $600,000 CDN. At first, I was a bit sad to see that the people who are building these homes are living in shacks. However, sometimes I walk past on my way to the store and it sounds like a full-blown party is going on. I can hear singing and something that sounds like bongo drums. Someday I’ll build up the courage to crash one of their drunken bongo parties. I’ll post some pictures when I do.