But I Just Want to Play Pokemon :(
Sunday December 7, 2014
My copy of Pokemon AlphaSapphire arrived on Friday, but unfortunately my weekend has been so stacked with events that I simply haven't had time to play it. On Saturday I had badminton in the morning, then I met Mana at LBQ to check out the food being served by Dai and Dal, the Laotian girl team from New Zealand's version of My Kitchen Rules. I stopped by the Southern Cross briefly to say hi to Sunni who was having her 30th Birthday, but my back started playing up so I needed to move... and ended up at Mana's for the Singstar Party. Paul texted mid-afternoon for a quick drink at the Sprig and Fern that night so I obliged too. I dragged Mana and Phil along and I met Paul's flatmate Alex there too. It was a pretty crazy Saturday and I was absolutely shattered by the time I got home.
Today has been pretty tiring too. I made it to church for the second Sunday of advent - peace - and I was out to Churton Park for the last family group gathering of the year. By the time I got home, it was 3pm and I passed out on my bed for a three hour nap. So good. I'll get a bit of chance to play Pokemon after I finish blogging...!
Last weekend was pretty crazy too. After badminton, I met Jimmy at the gym (because it was still Bring A Buddy For Free Month) for some more upper body workouts, but the highlight of Saturday was 8-player Smash Bros on the Nintendo Wii U. So awesome. I seemed to have some dominance with the Pink Powerpuff Duo, Kirby and Jigglypuff. The Wii U version feels great and looks gorgeous in 1080p. We had dinner at Little Penang and I hung out at Mana, Will and Phil's for a bit before heading home for the night since I had music at church the next day.
On Monday, I was at Campbell and Linda's for a very satisfying steamboat and Mana, Will and Phil's on Tuesday for the 80s Movie Night - this week's choice was Labyrinth. It feels like I've missed out on a lot of 80s movies, so this is a good opportunity to catch up on some of the films that have been so iconic of that era. The week before we watched Princess Bride - not particularly to Mana's liking but I appreciated the odd sense of humour which would have been far more appropriate for that time period than today.
We found out our Game Jam teams for this year and have started brainstorming ideas. GJ2014 will be in the last week of work, and will conclude what has been a pretty busy year for me at PikPok. Next year will be full of challenges too, and I'm looking forward to completing my first commercial Unity project.
Posted by Jeremy at 9:41am on Sunday December 7, 2014 :: 0 comments :: 
The Great Kayaking Adventure
Sunday November 2, 2014
It's been a pretty busy past couple of weeks. My copy of Super Smash Bros and Kirby Triple Deluxe arrived so I've been playing those and having a great time. I love how each franchise in Smash Bros is represented in the game, with all the care to keep the characters, art style and music true to the series that they come from. Nintendo have done a great job with the 3DS version so it will be interesting to see how the Wii U version turns out, as well as how the eight player mode will fare.
I've also started my new project at work. Still getting used to Unity but it has made prototyping rapid and easy. We've tried three concepts so far - none of them really a direction we want to continue with, so we will be exploring more avenues in the weeks to come. We'll be in pre-development until the end of the year and then start full production next year. Mark my words, we'll be the first project to have a throw-away prototype.
Anyway, over Labour Weekend, nine of us boarded the Interislander Ferry from Wellington to Picton to kick off a five day kayaking adventure in the Abel Tasman National Park. Things were off to a shaky start though, we ended up leaving at 10pm instead of 7pm because they'd overloaded the ferry and had to turn back. When we did get on our way, we were through some 3m to 4m swells, which was pretty bad - Vigz and Will couldn't keep it in and chundered, whilst the others, myself included, moved to the back of the boat to ease the queasiness. After a rough twenty minute patch, the swells subsided and I moved back to the top deck with the Frenchmen and Matt. I find it's a matter of keeping your mind focused and being alert and aware of your surroundings so you don't get dizzy. It was quite an experience, one I was hoping we wouldn't have to go through on the way back. We reached Picton close to 1am and Vincent drove us to Motueka. The roads are dead empty but the stars are fantastic - unfortunate as we don't have time to stop and gaze. We eventually reached Motueka close to 3.30am and we all passed out for the night at the Hat Trick Backpackers.
We were up and about at 9am on Saturday, ready for a day of kayaking. We had some fantastic pies from Toad Hall, the cafe next to the kayaking company, before heading out to Marahau, the start of our journey. By the time we'd finished prepping and packing, it would have been close to noon when we finally got out onto the water. It was a grueling four hour paddle to our first campsite, the Anchorage and my leg had started playing up, but some painkillers soon solved the problem. The tents went up and the kayaks were stowed away for the night, and the first item on the list was to make dinner. The large plan I'd written up said "steak, salad, potatoes" except I had forgotten to buy steak that morning. A "mis-steak", says Matt. Hilarious. Dinner ended up being kransky sausages, haloumi, salad, boiled eggs and potatoes. We were all so hungry that it didn't really matter it was such a miscellaneous collection of ingredients. We opted for a few moments of star gazing out on the beach - fantastic night sky, no light pollution and no clouds, but unfortunately just way too tired to wait for any shooting stars!
The next day, we were up for an early start again but a far more relaxed paddle this time round. We went up to Pinnacle Island and saw some seals; we took a detour down Falls River - only accessible for kayaks at high tide - and we were so fortunate to see a baby seal frolicking in the water around us. It continued to swim under and around the kayaks, splashing water every so often, and it followed us out as we left the river. We eventually arrived at Mosquito Bay and since it's not on the Abel Tasman walkway, we had the whole campsite to ourselves. The island in the bay is accessible at low tide and we had a bit of an explore after we'd finished setting up our tents and all (I almost lost my glasses on the rocks), but the weather cooled down considerably and it was a pretty wet night. Nevertheless, it was amazingly peaceful area. Dinner was stir-fry vegetables and black bean dace on rice. Classic Asian comfort food!
Most of us emerged relatively dry the next day. I had wet feet; Will and Mana's tent had a swimming puddling right in the center. Vigz and Mike, whose tent had a hole on it, were protected by the bivouac set up they'd created. The plan for Monday was to head to Observation Beach and explore. The weather forecast for Wednesday was looking grim, so we decided we should start heading back towards Marahau in case things got really windy. Soon after we got to Observation Beach, the wind did start picking up and the waves were crashing on the beach quite violently. We set up the campsite and scoffed down some lunch, and tried to keep dry and warm. Dinner was corned beef ("pet food", the French said mockingly), beans (worst decision ever) and tortillas.
I was up early on Tuesday morning with Mana watching the sun come over the Nelson hills. The night was quite rough - the continuous crashing of waves against the beach made it difficult to sleep. After a quick breakfast, we were out on the calm water with some brilliant sun and a bit of cloud cover. We paddled past Adele Island and saw some seals, and continued back to Marahau at a leisurely pace. I remember being absolutely smitten with the serenity and beauty of where we were. We arrived just before noon at Marahau and made our way back to Motueka for a mean feed (KFC!) and then some pub time at the Sprig and Fern. We played Cards Against Humanity (I had to explain some awkward things to the Frenchies) and we retired for the night close to 11pm.
I was awake early on Wednesday morning and was in the kitchen of the backpackers when Matt walked in and challenged me to a few games of chess. I beat him all three times. That was fun. We packed all our stuff and made our way to Motueka Airport - Mana had decided it was a great idea to go skydiving and was psyching everyone up for it. Unfortunately the wind was too strong for us to go up so we ended up at Toad Hall for some final pies (highly recommend the wild goat curry pie) before splitting up - Vincent, Loic, Emilie and myself went to Nelson Lakes for a squizz, Matt, Mike, Vigz, Mana and Will took the northern route to the Queen Charlotte Sounds. It was cold and wet at the Nelson Lakes, but the fog provided a real eerie atmosphere to the area. We fed the ducks and eels and made our way to Picton to meet up with the others. On the ferry, we were playing Up and Down the River, and thankfully the boat ride was smooth so no one chucked.
It was an amazing weekend that was thoroughly enjoyed by all. Great company, heaps of adventures, awesome scenery and so much fun.
Posted by Jeremy at 5:41am on Sunday November 2, 2014 :: 0 comments ::
China and Hong Kong
Sunday January 10, 2010
Arrived from Hong Kong International Airport to KL's LCC Terminal in Sepang early yesterday morning after a week-long excursion to Guangzhou in China and then Hong Kong. These damn Air Asia flights might be cheap, but you pay for what you get. I got the seat on the aisle right by the toilet and at the back of the plane, so people were walking by often, it was noisy, and I couldn't recline the chair.
After arriving at Baiyun International Airport two Saturdays ago, we met some relatives for lunch and then they took us to the Lai Family "Village" where my grandparents used to live. My #1 auntie remembered playing in a little lane there, and I believe my #2 auntie was born there too. The "village" is more of a suburban block of houses with pedestrian lanes weaving between them. The entire block houses our extended family - all the people there have the same surname:
I think that's remarkable, and it was certainly a surreal experience.
The next day, we were taken to Guangzhou where all we did for the next few days was eat and sleep. However, we did visit Baiyun Mountain for a much needed walk. The pond there is home to thousands of hungry fish who will literally swarm in a blanket of gold, red, orange, white and black to whatever food you throw into the water. I have never seen so many fish in my life...
On Tuesday, we took the bus to Hong Kong. A two hour ride, the bus trip is rather boring and uneventful, save the customs and immigration offices that require everyone to unload their luggage and reload it once clearance has been obtained. We stayed on the Kowloon side of Hong Kong in Yau Ma Tei, but that night, we met one of dad's friends in Central for dinner and a quick sightseeing tour around town. Unfortunately for us, the mist had settled in, so we couldn't really see a lot.
The next day started off with shopping in the morning. I have exceeded my clothes budget for this decade. But seriously, NZ$1 is approximately HK$5 and the clothes there are excellent quality despite being dirty cheap. Two pairs of Giordano jeans cost me NZ$70 - that's a bargain!
After lunch, I visited the Space Museum with my dad - I think he enjoyed it more than I did, despite his silly injury at the harness of the Moon Gravity Simulator. We took a quick tour through the Art Museum too, and walked around the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront before heading back for a late steamboat dinner.
The next day, we wrapped up the shopping and met dad's friend down by the piers to take a ferry to Lamma Island, where there's a pretty exquisite seafood restaurant. The view of the two waterfronts was fantastic, I love the neon brillance of the Hong Kong sky line. The ride itself was exciting, despite the choppy waves, I had my arms stretched wide on the starboard bow, listening to an appropriately themed song about boats - don't you ever forget.
That night, we also visited the Avenue of Stars, which is basically the Hong Kong equivalent of Hollywood's Walk of Fame. We saw the plaques of heaps of awesome Chinese film stars, including Jackie Chan and Jet Li.
Our final day in Hong Kong was Friday, which was mostly spent walking up the steep Old Peak Road after a wrong turn. Nevertheless, we made it to the Peak Tower for some breathtaking views of the city. We were blessed with clear weather that day, so we took lots of photos of the magnificent sights around us. We also took a gawk at the entrance to Madame Tussauds Hong Kong where I posed with Michelle Yeoh and the awesomeness that is Bruce Lee.
I even have something to say about Hong Kong International Airport! As can be expected with budget airlines, we were delayed for just under an hour, so there was plenty of time to walk around and see the shops at the airport. This one shop is full of those prize-draw slot machine things, where you insert a coin, turn the handle, and a little plastic container with a figurine pops out. Admist all the Japanese anime characters and whatever other things there were, there was a Kirby one, so I tried my luck and obtained a Bomb Kirby figurine, complete with Warp Star!
My last impressions of China and Hong Kong are a bit mixed, but mostly positive. There's a huge number of smokers in China and it's miraculous I didn't get lung cancer or something. What's worse is the driving - at one point, our driver was driving on the FOOTPATH on the LEFT side of the road, bearing in mind that people drive on the RIGHT in China. What's strange is that they drive on the left in Hong Kong, so it must have been weird for the bus driver from Guangzhou to Hong Kong.
The architecture in both is fantastic, with massively tall high-rise buildings in stylish and modern designs, not to mention at night time, when the neon lights come out. I was particularly fond of the MTR system in Hong Kong as well, and its very user-friendly navigation system onboard the train carriages.
I would have loved to spend a bit more time in Hong Kong, visiting the giant Buddha and I've also heard good things about Ocean Park. Ah well...next time.
Oh yeah, yesterday, I finally had the chance to go for a Japanese buffet at the Putrajaya Marriott Hotel, where I literally stuffed my stomach full of salmon and tuna sashimi, fresh oysters, tempura, teppanyaki, yakitori and delectable desserts.
Phew.
Posted by Jeremy at 8:06am on Sunday January 10, 2010 :: 2 comments ::
January Adventures
Wednesday January 21, 2009
I recently got Pokemon Ranger: Shadows of Almia and Kirby Super Star Ultra on my DS; and with the ever-addictive nature of Picross, it means more DS and less blogging. Anyway, here goes.
There's been a few events happening in Wellington. You will have heard in the news of the Gaza protests happening in Civic Square. I was passing by and heard the chants (they're quite catchy, I must say). One was "Israel, you can't hide, we charge you with genocide!". And this happened for at least two days, we could hear it quite well from our office.
We also had a dinner voucher to the Red Tomato in Kelburn, which had featured on that restaurant revamp show on TV. Yeah, the pizza wasn't too bad, my only complaint was that the Mexican was smothered in coriander, which didn't really suit the overall taste at all. Coriander is a garnish and it shouldn't be the dominant taste on pizza.
We hung out on Oriental Bay one evening, having fish and chips on the beach. It was a really calm day; two of the group even went for a swim in the water. By 8.30pm, the water was warmer than the air, so it must've been incredibly difficult to come out.
Last weekend, it was Wellington Anniversary = Long Weekend, so we planned a trip to scale the heights of Mt Taranaki, somewhat reminiscent of the good ol' 4th Form Camp, when we hiked up Mt Ruapehu. Unfortunately, the weather did not permit, so we decided to make our way to Cape Palliser, the southernmost point on the North Island. Not only was it gloriously sunny, the wind was fantastic and hiliariously fun. We climbed 250 steps to the lighthouse and enjoyed the full blast of the winds on the cape. Three of the group even went swimming in the frigid waters, and we shared a picnic lunch on the rocks by the sea. Cape Palliser is also known for the seal colony, and you can check out the gallery for pictures.
This weekend, it's Parachute 09 up in Mystery Creek, and also Chinese New Year on Monday. It's going to be awesome.
Posted by Jeremy at 11:12am on Wednesday January 21, 2009 :: 0 comments ::
Walking Home
Friday February 15, 2008
I walked home for the second day in a row. It was a really good walk..until it started raining. Then it became a run. A not-so-good run. But at least I ran home in time to play DotA, which is always good. Yesterday, though, I stumbled upon this cute little thing:
It was so cute. I clicked my finger and it bounded towards me, all happy to see me, so I patted it...while trying to take another picture. It wouldn't face the camera though, but you can see my hand extending out to scratch it. So cute 8d
I finally got put on a project at work. So starting Monday, I actually have some hard-out things to do! Hooray. No more extensive reading of the Intranet Wiki. I also got to know some of the QA Team on the 9th floor. One of them has this:
Epic, epic win. It's so cute T_T.
Anyway, we also had a company quiz after work, because one of the guys was leaving. We didn't do too badly, we came second out of five teams. One of the categories was "Wellington" -.- and another category was "Southland". In the end, our prize was $15 to spend at a bar of our choice, and we gave that to the guy who left in the spirit of..his..leaving. Or something. Yeah.
Posted by Jeremy at 11:22am on Friday February 15, 2008 :: 1 comment ::