November
Thursday November 3, 2016
November has rolled around. Work has been pretty busy for me. While mostly working on the latest Doomsday Clicker updates, I've been pulled on to help fight some cloud saving fires on our next big release - Rival Stars College Football. The soft launch was to New Zealand and Australia last month, and the hard launch will be soon to coincide with the college football season and Thanksgiving. I may be pulled onto something new soon as well - and that's exciting!
Over Labour Weekend, Mike, Mana and I went to Stonehenge Aotearoa near Carterton, a man-made rock monument very much like the original Stonehenge, but modernised. Still astronomically correct and useful, and surrounded by green fields and the blue mountains of the Wairarapa. We stopped by Martinborough and had lunch at Cafe Medici, who were still serving their Wellington on a Plate burger, which was amazing, and then we made our way to the Pinnacles near Cape Palliser. We spent some time walking the track in some gloriously sunny weather, then returned home for a quick meal at KC Cafe.
The food over the past month has been delightful. Little Penang held a fifth birthday celebration a few Sundays ago. Juliann and I were invited to this exclusive event, and boy, what a memorable lunch that was. The entire restaurant was packed with friends, family and loyal customers, here to celebrate a restaurant with such humble beginnings but truly authentic and soulful food that only Malaysian cuisine can bring. There was also haggis night at James and Navi's, as well as Canadian Thanksgiving, complete with massive turkey.
We also held a music-focused worship service at Central Baptist - the first I've seen in the 8 or so years I'd been going. Being on the piano for a full hour was pretty gruelling, but I had heaps of fun with the other musicians and the small but enthusiastic crowd that had gathered. Thanks to those who came!
I've also been playing the latest Phoenix Wright game - Ace Attorney: Spirit Trials. Thoroughly enjoyed this one, loved the build up to the final trial and the big reveals that happened along the way, with plenty of nostalgic throwbacks to previous games. I felt they went a bit too overboard with some of the dialogue, which made for some extremely unlikeable characters that you just wanted to punch in the face but never got the full justice treatment. Pokemon Sun and Moon aren't too far away, so that'll be the next big time sink for me.
Posted by Jeremy at 10:10am on Thursday November 3, 2016 :: 0 comments :: 
A Spring in my Step
Monday September 8, 2014
With Wellington on a Plate well and truly over, and with such positive feedback from several people, I have decided to formalise the 'foodie' part of my blog in a separate section. It'll function pretty similar to this one, but it'll be focused on food only. I intend to keep it pretty casual and probably only for special occasions or exceptional food experiences.
Wellington on a Plate was a blast. I had an amazing time, dining in 26 restaurants, with 36 people, had 11 meals and 21 burgers, spent $971.17 and enjoyed every minute of it. So good to share my adventures with people who truly appreciate food in all aspects, and I am well and truly blessed to have friends like that - especially the crazy ones who came down from Auckland specifically for this! The Last Supper at Arthur's was poignant, with thirteen people in attendance as well. So amazing.
I played badminton for the second time in seven months on Saturday, and survived, but just barely. My quads are pretty sore from the jumping but my back held up quite well, so I just need to soldier on with some painkillers and keep on trucking. Following that, I met up with Jord, Joe, Jen, Josh and Christine for lunch at Leuven before heading to Escape Mate. In a very similar vein to all the escape rooms that I went to in Malaysia and Singapore, Escape Mate is nestled on Johnston Street in Wellington CBD, opposite from Leuven. There's a single puzzle room inside a vault, but another room is due to open soon. It was an intense afternoon, and we got out with 1 min 48 secs to go, but managed to break a bottle used as a prop in the process.
I've been playing Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright for 3DS too, and just finished that last night. Fantastic game, great characters as always, but I felt a bit let down by the ending and really missed the ability to yell ~OBJECTION!~ into the microphone. I think the writing is much better in Phoenix Wright games - you become very attached to the characters and it's clever how particular storylines weave together and intersect at the last moment for a dramatic finish, and that was missing in PL vs PW. Nevertheless, the game has amazing production quality - absolutely loved the artwork and character modelling, and so nostalgic hearing familiar themes again, especially Investigation ~ Cornered and the Turnabout Sisters.
And finally, yesterday, I celebrated Mid Autumn Festival by cooking my annual mooncake festival dinner, with roast pork, deep fried tofu, Thai prawn salad and lettuce wrap, and of course my favourite pandan mooncake to finish the meal. Yummo!
Posted by Jeremy at 9:46am on Monday September 8, 2014 :: 0 comments ::
December
Monday December 9, 2013
Man... it's almost the end of the year. Things have been so busy in the last few months that I've once again neglected my blog. Why do I blog anyway? I guess it's a kind of historical document that I can look at in 50 years time when I have Alzheimer's and think of all the great memories I had at the time. Even looking back at how I write and what I blog about makes me cringe!
So since my last piece about flights to Malaysia, I've managed to secure tickets back home but unfortunately not for Christmas or Chinese New Year due to full flights during this peak season. I spent a lot of time negotiating with Malaysia Airlines, but to no avail. It's understandable though, just a bit disappointing. It would have been nice to go back for my cousin's wedding and see everyone again, but no matter, I'll still have a good time when I go back in Easter next year.
The game I've been working on has finally been released - it's Flick Kick Football Legends for both iOS and Android. We're looking at churning out a few more updates so stay tuned for extra content and more amazing user interfaces. It's been a tough project but the team have worked extremely hard on it and I think that we should be proud of what we've achieved and how polished the product is.
I've been deep in the Pokemon as well. Pokemon X has been a great game - I've clocked over 150 hours on it already. I've caught almost all the Pokemon available without the Pokemon Bank service to transfer Pokemon from previous versions. I'm thinking of moving onto Phoenix Wright: Dual Destinies soon - looking forward to more [OBJECTIONS]!
In short... I've found a replacement flatmate, we had the work Christmas party, went out to Makara by myself to watch the sunset and the stars, saw the fireworks on Guy Fawkes Day, tried to bread Smudge, had the degustation at the Whitehouse on Oriental Parade and had an amazing meal at the new Little Penang, which has expanded to the place next door! We have affectionately called it "Medium Penang", and the food is still as delicious as it ever has been.
Life in the past two months has had its ups and downs. Sometimes I've felt lonely or frustrated about life - one time it was so bad, I was awake at 3am in the morning having an existential crisis. Other times I've felt a lot more anti-social than normal, or distant from my friends, like I need solitude to clear my head. In those times, I usually retreat to church to play piano, and I've found music to be so calming and therapeutic. It's probably just a phase though, so don't worry about me. People come and go; so do friendships. They say the only constants in life are taxes and change... and I should learn to be more adaptable and flexible in life instead of dwelling in the past all the time.
Dear future Jeremy. Count your blessings and be thankful for them. Cherish the friendships you have and be good to the people around you. Don't worry so much and don't let life get you down all the time. Never forget who you are and maintain a strong sense of integrity.
Posted by Jeremy at 8:16am on Monday December 9, 2013 :: 0 comments ::
Easter
Tuesday March 25, 2008
It was indeed a fantastic time catching up with friends and family as I travelled back to Auckland for Easter. I left for Wellington Airport at around 10.45am to catch the bus from Wellington Hospital at 11.15am. I arrived at the airport with about an hour to spare so I just lazed about and walked around. The flight left early and only took 45 minutes, so I was out of Auckland's domestic terminal by 2.15pm. Shereen picked me up and we headed to the Hunua Falls.
We didn't do much on Friday. It was basically unpacking, team and cabin allocations, team building exercises including a blind obstacle course, some brain teasers and a team chant. I was the leader of my team: the Bananas! B-A-N-A-N-A-S! Raymond and Quan were our guest speakers.
Saturday was a rotation of four activities: kayaking, raft building, high ropes course and random games. I was stupid enough to wear my glasses while kayaking and as a result, they're sitting somewhere at the bottom of the crater lake where the waterfall spills into. Sigh. But anyway, I did have fun the rest of the day, despite the fact it was the second time I've lost my glasses in two months. We also had a guys' discussion and had some "manly" games. I can't believe how stubbornly competitive I am.
On Sunday we had a treasure hunt, a Burma trail, a barn dance, theatre sports and epic Mafia. My apologies to the committee for being so cynical during the Burma trail, haha. But yeah, it was a good night, I got to roleplay Phoenix Wright (to a certain extent) and of course, the other activities brought a smile to my face.
Yesterday we cleaned up the site and Debs and I left early to go to Burgerfuel for lunch (despite the 10% surcharge, it was so worth it), and then I dropped by home to see Dad and my sister.
So today I stumbled to work; tired from four days of fun, blind from no glasses and limping thanks to..um... certain manly games. It was a really nice surprise to see an Easter goodies box sitting on my desk: two Moro bars and two Cadbury Easter eggs. I shall add this to my collection.
Posted by Jeremy at 6:22am on Tuesday March 25, 2008 :: 4 comments ::
GOTCHA!
Thursday February 21, 2008
Apollo Justice is out! The fourth installment of the Ace Attorney series is here for the Nintendo DS. In addition to the awesome shout phrases from the original Phoenix Wright series, we have [GOTCHA!]. Thanks to Steven, I can now play my unofficial copy of Apollo Justice!
Anyway, been up to a few things lately. Uncle Paul came down to Wellington on Tuesday to visit the Gormons at Wellington Hospital. Auntie Priscilla looks so frail, and she doesn't have very long left. It's inspiring to see Uncle Chris so strong in his faith. I took Uncle Paul out for dinner at the Mexican Cafe, near the hospital. Look at this delicious dessert, it's awesome:
In the Civic Square yesterday, they were protesting over the use of cluster bombs. It was quite a scene, they were getting people to lie down on the ground and they drew outlines in chalk. I wanted to get my silhouette done, but then I noticed they wrote the person's name down on the ground too. So uh, yeah. Pass.
We went back for more Ceroc lessons last night too. Mmm yeah, it wasn't as fun as the first time, but it wasn't as awkward as well. I dunno, I don't really want to go next week. We'll see though, I might get peer pressured again. Maybe I'll go for five lessons and get my sixth one free.
This morning, there was a power cut, causing all the buses running on electricity to come to a standstill. That is, the bus I was on stopped in the middle of the road and we had to get down and walk. We were lucky though, another bus came past and we all crammed in for free. I hope it doesn't happen too often -__-
Finally, I also picked up a goodie box, sent to Wilkins Suit Hire from Dress Circle Suit Hire. "Oh are you here to pick up some fabrics?" they said. "No", I replied, "I'm here for instant noodles!" Yeah, I was sent instant noodles, some Chinese tea, some sesame snacks and my ang pow. My parents are cool :3
Posted by Jeremy at 8:14am on Thursday February 21, 2008 :: 2 comments ::
Objection!
Thursday December 6, 2007
My hair is getting long, so I thought I'd try to spike it out the back and see if it bore any resemblance to Phoenix Wright.
Not too bad I'd say. A bit of hair spray or gel would make it look really good. All I need is a blue jacket, a white shirt and a red tie, and I'm all set. I already have the attitude :3
By the way, my jumper isn't actually that colour. I just photoshopped it to make it look a bit more bluish for the Phoenix Wright thing.
My auntie left for Malaysia today. I find it amusing that whenever relatives come over, they always take back groceries..my auntie managed to stuff a 2kg cabbage and 1.5kgs of avocado into a box and take it home. Her luggage was overweight so she left behind some clothes. I'll miss her awesome cooking and stuff. It was really great having her around, and it's just a pity that the hot water cylinder had to flood her room like that >_o
I have finally finished the long-awaited Graffiti Wall, so you can stuff that lame urFacebook site and come and draw stuff on my wall instead. Hooray! Comments and suggestions and bug reports are always welcome.
Oh yeah, I fail at relationships. ^_^
Posted by Jeremy at 5:32am on Thursday December 6, 2007 :: 5 comments ::
Mega Cuteness and Mega Lethargy
Tuesday November 20, 2007
I have never heard of anything so cute or adorable as this.
It's been pretty blah these past two days. I've been quite lazy because I've been out late and gotten home late and woken up late and felt lethargic and so the rest of the day is blahhhhhh. It's hard to get myself to do things, so I've been bumming around playing Phoenix Wright 3 mostly.
Yesterday, Sam randomly decided he was thirsty so I took him up on that offer and we went to Momo's with Weng-Hao after our game of DotA. Momo's is so great.
Grades Update:
CompSci367: Pending
Maths315: Pending
InfoSys330: Pending
-.-
Come to SHOUT!
Posted by Jeremy at 3:34am on Tuesday November 20, 2007 :: 1 comment ::