February 2004 Archives

Miriam wanted to do this horror movie marathon by watching all the currently showing flicks ...so Saturday night, Ah Lung (Miriam's bf) dropped by my place to pick me up since there's an established association between Saturday nights and me ending up incapable of operating a motor vehicle safely, and my vehicular accident history does not inspire faith in the others so I don't have to drive. Heh.

We then picked up Ah Boon and he had come with offerings. There seems to be this beer called "Tiger Special Classic" out on the markets now. It didn't to taste any different from the normal Tiger beer and evoked (not entirely unwanted) memories of Cap Langkau. Anyway, we headed to Star Cineplex after that to go get the tickets. There two that she hasn't watched - Ju On 2 and Dead End. I haven't watched any of them. We finally settled for the latter and went to get some supper.

This is supper at the Central Market, Kuching. The stall's name is Sin Kwang Heng and they've been serving soya bean and sio bi's for as long as I can remember.

The four of us had that and went back to Star to catch Dead End.

Photo taken in cimema.

The movie was alright, there's a lot of that sudden creepy music leading to a Horrible Thing (TM) scenes that has become a staple of horror movies. There was on particularly disconcerting one with the mother seeming to scratch an itch that wouldn't go away, and she kept on going at it, and the camera pans right and we see that she's scratching her brain, the skull fragment has fallen off to expose the brain.

I think that the movie counts too much on the "sudden shock" horror movie cliche though I think they managed it well, since I could feel the people behind me recoiling in fright. The funniest exchange of the day:
(sudden horror scene)

Ah Boon: Mai cibai hak tiok wah.
(Your mother's cunt, scared me.)

Ah Lung: Wo mah se ho e hak tiok.
(The scene caught me by surprise too.)

Me: Wa chiak aneh chey Xanax, e pun etan hak tiok wah!
(I've taken so many Xanax pills and it still managed to give me a start!)

Miriam: Wo mei yo pei siak tau wor?
(I didn't think that scene was all that scary.)

We look at her. Horror movie veteran.

Anyway, after the movie, we received word that raids are still in full force (sigh). Tropicana (?) or another disco/entertainment venue was raided earlier during the night. We drove around to await further news and went hunting for Ah Kua's for my digital photography collection. Here's one of them:

Unfortunately, they managed to obscure their faces before I took the photo. The flash is terribly slow and my digicam is the Nikon 5700, which no one in their right mind would call low profile, so I didn't get many good ones, the camera can be spotted a mile away. I'll only be publishing this one anyway. This does not mean that we're against transsexuals or anything as malignant as that. It's just street photography, a hobby of mine. :)

Anyway, true to the basics of economics, word started filtering in that dealers are trying to offload as much of their stock as they can, since word about raids get around and there's be no one in left the outlets except the exclusively alcohol representation. It would be logical to assume that hoarding the pills for next week due to Acts of Law Enforcement would be the sane thing to do, but strangely, the Kuching market subscribes to an alternate line of thought and goes for a more aggressive approach - they offload it by undercutting "normal street prices" which is usually reported as RM 35 outside a venue and anywhere from RM 40 upwards inside.

These were going for RM 30 each or RM 80 for 3 pills, going as cheap as RM 1,750 for 100 tablets bulk. A friend of ours bought the 3 pack (he'll be the only one dropping) and wanted to reagent test it at my place, which I didn't mind at all, so long as there's relevant data to publish about the Ecstasy pills going around Kuching now.

Disclaimer: I did not consume the pills nor do I have anything illegal in my possession. I quit all illicits remember? All three pills were consumed by a mutual friend who shall remain unnamed, but we'll call him SWIM for consistency in publication. I did not know that person before today and I don't have any of his contacts either. He just wanted me to reagent test them to see what substance it contains and said he'll tell me what it felt like, called him just now and this is what he has to say:

(All text below is by SWIM, but sixthseal.com has full copyright and intellectual property ownership claims granted by SWIM in return for reagent testing the Ecstasy tablets. All photographs are taken by me.)

X (XXX, Xtreme Games) Ecstasy pill report

Pill name: X, XXX, Xtreme Games
Pill color: Beige/dark yellow, almost mustardy.
Circa: Kuching, Sarawak (February 2004)
Details: There's a large X stamp covering the side of one pill and a smaller x inside the large one. There is no score and the back is poorly pressed. The pill was quite soggy and had a white inner layer. The pills seems to be originally white and then dipped into coloring.
Pill contents: MDMA

I, bearer of good news, stand witness that there's more real Ecstasy (MDMA) in the market now. This may be due to a more sophisticated clientele, or to the relatively short acting properties of this compound, compared to methamphetamine, which makes MDMA ideal for a night out. I was quite pleased and surprised when the Marquis result went purple/black:

And the Mandelin reagent produced a shade of purple as well:

I triple dropped this (crunched up and swallowed all three Ecstasy pills at the same time). Obviously I'm not very big on ascertaining the MDMA content of each pill beforehand. Needless to say, this is not in the interests of harm reduction since there might be more possible medical complications. I've has always been a loud proponent of multiple pill consumption, which seems to be a concept which is foreign in Kuching. People seem to go really slow here, one or half a pill and maybe the other half later.

Front of the pill with the X imprint.

Wtf? I've never seen the point in dropping a single pill, except for review purposes. I typically quad drop (for weaker pills) and triple drop (for stronger ones), since our group of friends are in different lines of work so it's only Saturday nights. Go hard or go home. ;) I heard these ones are strong, so I triple dropped after testing for active compounds with the reagents. I feel safe and I'm not worried about MDMA, since I've had quite a bit of experience with it, so I didn't mind consuming an potential atypically strong batch since I've been on higher doses (560 mg MDMA lab tested).

T+ 0.15 The typical indicators that an MDMA psychedelic trip is next on your itinerary.

T+ 0:30 I have to credit the local pills for being able to hold it's own in terms of quality.

T+ 0.40 Sudden peak, body high, sensory enhancement and strong feelings of empathy and bonding typical of MDMA noted.

T+ 1:00 Very nice! I haven't been this happy in a long time! :) I must have let my serotonin stores fill up nicely.

T+ 1:10 Jaw chattering, teeth clenching and feelings of alternating extreme cold and extreme heat manifested. The body temperature regulation issue resolved itself soon, but Miriam noticed that I had unnaturally dilated pupils and the others could see I was peaking hard.

T+ 1:30 Totally out of it, Speech was rendered near impossible due to heavy slurring and I found it hard to communicate due to the inability to remember words and construct proper sentences. My friends could tell that I was much blurer (than usual anyway ;)). I could maintain some semblance of sobriety if the situation warrants it, thought it probably won't fool anyone in a drug raid.

Events after this point are only vague half forgotten memories, just remember a wonderful flood of serotonin which I haven't experienced in a while. There was extreme nysagamus which adds to the beauty of MDMA. I'm not a big fan of pills, to be honest, I'm more of a meth fan, since MDMA usually precedes the dreaded E-pression. Three of these (no tolerance, last pill was 1-2 months ago) did give me a wonderful MDMA experience. I thought I couldn't get the same effects from MDMA anymore but I was proved wrong. It was beautiful...

Back of the Yellow X pill - not very well pressed.

RTB around 5 hour mark. Sleep doesn't seem to be forthcoming even at T+ 11:00 despite generous benzodiazepine administration. The comedown is a bit harsh too, to say the least. The depression storm is definitely building up and it seems like a big one this time. With one hand, He giveth and with the other, taketh away. ;) Nevertheless, I give it a much deserved:

Rating: 9/10

Splatterday Night Fever:

29th February 2004

A least complimentary photo of yourself every Sunday. Come as you are. Scattered Sundays (TM) is a designation day of rest according to the gospel. Here at sixthseal.com, we like to think of ourselves as Christians and thus is bound by the teachings of the Bible. The Lord hath speaketh! In deference to this religious observation, comments will only be replied on Monday. ;)

In other news, I'm planning to go for a full renal test this week. I'll love to see the results. My girlfriend always admonishes me with a "hen tuo when ti" when I say something like this. :) I admit, I'm a bit of a hypochondriac, but I want to go anyway, if just to see the results. Which medical center would be cheaper? Normah or Timberland? I'll wager RM 50 that someone is bound to say, "Renal function test? At your age?" ;) I'll love to reply with something like "Yeah, I wanted to see if 8 years of recreational drug use did any damage to my kidneys.", but obviously, a smartass reply should be avoided since our fine country Malaysia does not offer full doctor patient confidentiality. It's definitely a far cry from medical professionals in Australia who treats the patients (had several drug induced ER trips) and releases them after lightly treading the issue about whether the patient wants to talk to the inhouse drug dependency counselor (it's optional), with no obligation to report to the police. Hell, they even give you your stuff back...

Sarawak, MY. 29th February 2004. Leaping into the new leap year, the city of Kuching today saw another clinic issuing a permanent script for benzodiazepines to veritas, a seasoned doctor shopper who has managed to obtain multiple legitimate scripts for restricted items as diverse as dexamphetamine (which is the dextro isomer of the potent stimulant amphetamine) to various benzodiazepines, including flunitrazepam (Rohypnol, the so called "date rape drug") at the same time in the past.

He has emigrated to the city of Kuching and successfully procured 2 mg of clonazepam (better known as Rivotril or Klonopin) and 10 mg of diazepam (the chemical name for Valium), infinitely renewable every two weeks in his latest exploit, which he called "Doctor Shopping Kuching Edition Issue #5". The dazed doctor was left saying vaguely "Someone came in and said he has social phobia, is new to Kuching, has been on benzos for years and told me what he was prescribed."

"I don't really know what happened after that. I think I tried to change his script to antidepressants but he knew all about SSRIs, NARIs and tricyclics, taking the words out of my mouth before I've even formed them. He even knew about Buspar and said it made him feel even worse before I wanted to suggest it. Before I knew it, I found myself docilely writing out what he wanted and asked him to come back every two weeks. I even asked him if he wanted an extra 2 mg of clonazepam! I can't remember what happened, just wisps of memories, but I know he somehow convinced me to write a permascript for him...very persuasive but polite young man though", he added.

We asked medical professionals about their opinion in this new development. One doctor, who only wanted to be known as Dr. Lah (names changed to protect the innocent) said "I hate that motherfucker! He's undermining the credibility of medical professionals like us and flaunting his exploits on the Internet! I found several blister packs of Dormicum missing during my stock take...I bet he's the one who bribed...er, nevermind.", and fell silent. When asked whether he knew that veritas's sister is also a doctor practicing in Christchurch, New Zealand, he immediately asked "Really? How old is she? Pretty or not?", while the 70 year old, small statured man worked on discreetly removing his wedding ring.

One doctor, on the condition of anonymity, was quoted as saying "I don't really mind at all. I'll like to welcome veritas and all the people like him to my friendly clinic. You know lah, nowadays in Kuching, you throw one stone, you're bound to hit two doctors on the head. Hard to make ends meet you know! I rather eng eng and just take in clients, I mean, patients like veritas, in and out, script him and off he goes. I don't care for those people with real ailments. I mean yuck...plus there're not loyal some more. Only come when they're sick. Hmph! How can generate consistent revenue stream like that? I like people like veritas who comes in every two weeks for a guaranteed income, er...I mean, to help him with his condition. I'll like to take this opportunity to tell everyone that yes, there are understanding doctors out there! Call me ya!"

Generic APO 10 mg diazepam

Another doctor added "I'll like to see him try that shit with me, I'll hoot him upside down, then he know!" The doctor later requested that his name not be published.

We also interviewed some passerby's for their opinion regarding this issue. The first one, Hee Poh Krit vehemently denounced veritas's actions, saying that his shenanigans makes it harder for "legitimate people suffering from anxiety to get benzodiazepines". He refused to comment further when asked whether he's on benzodiazepine therapy, only saying, "I take these things strictly according to the doctor's instructions coz I would feel bad otherwise", in a high and mighty, self righteous tone before hurrying away.

The next civilian, called Koh Pee Kat also condemned the activities, though he ended his statement by saying, "Er...actually, I only know that there's a cheaper alternative to 5 zai (the local slang for black market Erimin 5, a tablet containing the benzodiazepine nimetazepam) after reading sixthseal.com and castitas.com. I dunno a benzo from a banzai before being enlightened and I now use his techniques to doctor shop. I don't want to give him credit coz he's my competition now. Even though you can say he's my guru.", he added, hanging his head.

Roche brand name 2 mg Rivotril tablets.

Another bystander, when asked for his opinion, merely said "Har? Lu kong hamik? Wa beh hiaw tiah ang moh."

We finally managed to get hold of veritas and he only had this to say: "Eh, help me keep track of my perma scripts okay? Dr Y (C) for 2 mg clonazepam and 2 mg lorazepam daily, refill every Saturday, Dr N (S) for 30 mg phenobarbital and 10 mg diazepam daily, refills every other Sunday and Dr K (K) for 2 mg clonazepam and 10 mg diazepam daily, go for refills every alternate Saturday. Got it? Oh, and if I forget, remind me first letter is the name of the doctor and second letter is for the area. Thanks! Appreciate your help!"

When asked whether he knew that possessing multiple scripts is illegal, he literally disappeared, leaving nothing but a person bearing a remarkable resemblance to him who insists he's not veritas but "Huai Bin" and when asked about veritas, said "Who the hell is he and why should we care for him?" before making a quick exit.

We do not know where or when the elusive veritas will resurface again, but we can be sure of one thing - he will strike again.

- sixthseal.com news

I just received the shipment from amazon.com today. I went to get it from the post office during lunch break (Friday), which was why I didn't have time to reply all the comments. This package went through two customs checks on the 24th and the 25th. Naturally they opened the box to inspect its contents.

I think it's appalling...I was told that it was inappropriate to open mail not intended for you and obviously customs did not have the same parental supervision. I mean, Jesus, what if I ordered Uncle Fester's Secrets of Methamphetamine Manufacture or a shipment from a research chemical company? It's very rude and shocking behavior and I think you should apologize for invading my privacy. ;)

All jokes aside, this is the hardcover book I've wanted: Good Chemistry - The Life and Legacy of Valium Inventor Leo Sternbach. It's a Valentine's Day gift from my girlfriend, thanks! It's quite obvious that I'm a big fan of benzodiazepines and I've read a lot of research about this wonderful family of drugs, so there's not much I could learn from that part, but it was very nice to read about the history behind the man who created Valium.

All hail the creator!

Here's an excerpt I'll like to share with you all:

The NIMH estimates that 5.3 million Americans suffer from social phobia. Unlike GAD or panic disorder, equal numbers of men and women seem to be affected. The disorder usually begins in childhood or early adolescence and is frequently, and unsurprisingly, associated with other anxiety disorders and with depression. Social phobics are also at risk from alcohol and drug dependence, since they are likely to self-medicate, trying to use alcohol and/or drugs to overcome their fears.

There's a catch 22 in all this...they're also more likely to exceed prescibed doses and become heavily dependant on benzodiazepines. How's that for irony? :)

This is the obligatory and somewhat masturbatory post to commemorate my first paycheck in my second job - RM 1,820. :) I'm a System Engineer and I do mostly stuff related to networking (no, I'm not a network admin) and programming. Basically, what I do is related to distributed network systems, I can't say much more than that really, it would reveal which company I'm working for since there are not many players in this line of work.

I get to play around with all sorts of lovely electronics and basically develop solutions for enterprise level clients (which the CTO reviews before deployment), though the company is pushing into the lucrative small business and other associated markets. My apologies for being vague, I really can't say what industry I'm in since there's not many companies doing this and I want to preserve my anonymity in Kuching.

Anyway, about my salary, I get RM 2,000 per month (base salary) - RM 180 goes to EPF (KWSP) so that's RM 1,820 take home. My employer contributes RM 240 using the 9/12 EPF formula so that's RM 420 automatic savings per month. I love EPF, didn't have it in my first job. I work a six day week (half day on Saturday) but that just means there's one less day to waste money. That also means I make full use of Saturday nights to Party Hearty (TM). =D

Oh wait, I can't TM that, it was already in Simpsons. "Sorry dudes, party hearty equals tardy." ;)

Would you like some methanol in your liquor sir?

Hello there, you're reading sixthseal.com - the weblog where we go to great lengths to provide quality reviews about stuff that you might not want to try. Today, we will be focusing on Arrack Putih Cap Langkau - the ghetto liquor brewed in Sibu, Sarawak. Buatan Malaysia, ini! Very local too.

We used to call this Chap Langjiaw for reasons which would be obvious if you tasted this fine product of my home state. It retails for the low, low price of RM 5 for 570 ml of about 30% alcohol. I said about because the distillery does not know exactly what proof the alcohol content is at, so it just put +- beside that sign. We do not have those newfangled thingies to measure alcohol content in Sibu, you see.

Back to where Chap Langkau got its nickname, look at the fine quality of the product. No, that is not an optical illusion, you saw it right. The liquor is made and poured into empty Tiger beer bottles! That's how ghetto Cap Langkau is. Sharikat Peng Guang Pengarakan Sdn Bhd is very big on recycling and they take environmental issues seriously and reuse what they can.

I've seen it come in various beer bottles, but the similar thing about it is, it always has the Cap Langkau label slapped on the front, the distillery's bottle cap and a free cup covering the top. I shit you not, I did not put that cup on top of the bottle, all Chap Langkau liquor bottles comes with one complimentary plastic cup (the colors may vary, but the size is similar). This is to show that the company cares about its clientele and like sixthseal.com, their aim is to please. ;)

Basically, once you open it, you need to drink the whole thing since it's not resealable. However, we do not shirk away from potential methanol induced end organ damage from dodgy breweries to provide you this fine review so...wait...hang on, shit I think I'm going blind!

All kidding aside, it comes with a full money back guarantee - if the product causes any damage as a result of fudged distillation processes resulting in product contamination, they basically give you your RM 5 back. ;)

Bottoms up!

Okay, okay I'll be serious now. :) I'll say the alcohol content is around the 30-40% mark, maybe with some added methanol to keep prices low and drinkers high. ;) We used to say they choose to name it langkau as in the Hokkien phrase "lim kau lu lang kau". I'll tell you one thing about these motherfuckers though...they'll give you one hell of a hangover.

P/S - In all seriousness, my personal advice would be to avoid these home brewed liquors (moonshine, if you will). It smells like paint thinner, it tastes like paint thinner. It probably has some paint thinner in it. :p I get more fucked up on this than branded 40% liquors. RM 100 says the methanol content in these things exceeds industry standards. Methanol is the less benign relative of ethanol and is not a good thing to consume. It's a stupid thing we used to drink as poor teenagers but as a working adult, you probably would want to avoid it except for experimental purposes. The inebriation this white liquor induces is unsurpassed by regulated liquors so that might appeal to some experimental users. This was the first time since I was 19 or so that I've revisited this liquor and I do not wish to attempt it again. But another notorious brand (Cap Apek) awaits...full review soon. *sigh* My poor brain cells...

Hartz Chicken Buffet is an eat all you can buffet for RM 13.90. It's main feature is chicken, but they have a wide range of other things on offer like salads, cakes, soft serve ice cream with toppings and free flow drinks. It is a firm favorite for stoners with the munchies and people who eat more than 2 pieces of chicken (which works out to be more expensive at traditional outlets like KFC, McDonald's etc). Here's a couple of pictures from the outlet in Kuching at Sarawak Plaza.

This is the dining area. There are tables for two lining the main aisle with group tables at the back and to the side.

This is the food area. There are warmed plates which you pick up and choose whatever food you want.

There's a salad bar with fresh vegetables. The areas all have sneeze guards but there is a large clientele of children so I don't think that works all that well.

Here's the hot food bar. There are mashed potatoes, baked potatoes (creamed, with skin intact), pasta and other salty hot foods.

This is my favorite dessert area - with apple crumble, pies and all sorts of other sweet warm food.

There's also another area for sliced cakes (not warmed like above).

Of course, there's also a free flow self serve drinks area with sodas (usually drink 100 Plus, remnants from my tweaking days) and coffee and tea.

This is the best feature of Hartz Chicken Buffet - a soft serve ice cream machine! I love this, you can make your own sundaes with the toppings provided on the side.

Finally, this is the main feature of Hartz - here's where the chicken bit comes in. This is the chicken bar, with fried chicken, roasted chicken, fried chicken liver, fried chicken stomach (they call it gizzards) and well...just all sorts of chicken. Mmm...tastes like chicken.

Here's a close up of the chicken. This is the fried chicken and the roasted chicken. The management staggers the food out ie it comes out in intervals instead of all at once. Thus, there's only two offerings at the point this photo was taken. More comes out as one batch finishes and there's a mad rush to get the good bits - drumsticks and thighs.

This is how I make my sundaes - put some apple crumble and bread pastry on the bottom, fill with soft serve ice cream and sprinkle (or droop) with the topping of your choice.

Lest we forget, management reminds us not to vomit in the sink.

This is the classic Kiss Me "cough drops" in the Orange Ginger variety. I like this flavor compared to the other varieties like cherry (too cloying), blueberry (hmm...) etc. There is a small picture of a woman coughing on the sweet packaging:

Despite the apparent target market, Kiss Me candies are eaten as normal sweets. I used to remember them being widely available and they're in the top 5 most popular sweets when I was in primary and high school.

This is what the orange ginger type looks like. There are bits of slightly darker orange embedded in the candy - I suppose that's the "ginger" bit in "orange ginger".

I have no angst filled posts to make because nothing bothers me. I keep up with news but I feel no urge to add further commentary. Benzodiazepines - the Soma of Brave New World. I have become less human, uncaring and unfeeling. Or more human than human, evolving beyond the petty issues and folly that concerns mere mortals. ;) Depending on which way you want to look at it really...half empty, half full.

Of course, here at sixthseal.com we always aim to please. That last bit was all tongue in cheek and is not meant to offend. Jesus Christ, chill out already, have a Xanax or something, you guys are so strung out. ;)

Bako National Park

Bako. It was when we were drinking at a coffee shop (discos and other entertainment venues raided in a show of We Are Doing Something (TM) to Badawi) when a Drunken Inspiration (also TM) struck - Let's go to Damai! Thus, we drove around town (well, not all of us obviously, I never drive on Saturday expeditions coz I aim to get fucked as) and went to several hotels and finally Holiday Inn, Kuching to ask for all the numbers.

Damai (both resorts) were fully booked due to the long weekend (public holiday on Monday) and so was Santubong. It was suggested that we go tomorrow instead for a day trip. Obviously, being in enough such situations, I knew we weren't going anywhere tomorrow if we didn't leave now, so "Off to Bako!", I said. =D Despite it being close to 5 am and boats probably start at 7 am, off we went to pick up Ah Ann. The four of us arrived at the jetty for boat pickups around 5:30 am.

It was dark still and we sat there stoned, I mean, drunk, while waiting for the first boat to depart. It was beautiful, the sun slowly coming up and brightening everything slowly, the scene was an amazing work of art by nature. I was looking forward to taking photos of Bako National Park. Please note that no substances were consumed besides plenty of alcohol, barbiturates, benzodiazepines, and wheatgrass *cough* juice for sustenance. I think it was amazing that so many sedatives could be taken and still keep us up for so long.

Anyway, the first boat came at 7:15 am and off we went to Bako. It costs RM 80 for a return trip for 1-5 passengers.

The speedboats did not go as fast as the name suggests, but it did serve its purpose and got us there in about 20 minutes.

There were a lot of interesting structures (by nature) that we passed on the way to the national park.

The boat driver dropped us off at the jetty:

This jetty is only accessible during high tide, the sea water (South China Sea) recedes far below this point during low tide. We had the munchies really bad so the canteen was the first destination. There is only one canteen in Bako, imagine that!

They had sausages, eggs, roti canai (like it with milk), pisang goreng etc and I had two big plates of that.

We then went to get registered - it costs RM 10 per person for entry to Bako National Park on top of the boat fare. We then went on one of the trails that leads to a viewpoint towards the sea. I noticed that most of the shots I took were blurry due to a lack of sobriety. It should be noted that walking on Bako trails while not quite sober is not exactly the safest thing to do due to the sharp dropoff inclines.

This is the view from the top of the Tanjong Sapi trail. We then decided (unwisely) to go on another more challenging trail.

It involved walks around huge boulders with a feet of leeway between the boulder and a 200 meter drop into the jungle. However, massive benzodiazepine consumption tends to lead to a nonchalant attitude and general suppression of any fear triggers (which is where the therapeutic use comes in) and alcohol leads to a pugilistic attitude, so off we went (I wonder how many times I've used this phrase in this post).

It should be noted that most plants in the jungle have thorns! Fuck. Many a times, I grabbed into a benign looking vine only to feel my flesh penetrated by spines. The trail didn't lead anywhere (think we got off it at some point), so we went back to base to go on the waterfall trail. It was too far (5 1/2 hours return trip) for our scheduled 2 pm pickup so we went on to the mini waterfall near base.

I nearly fell in if not for one of my friends grabbing me while taking photos. You drink, you walk, you spill. ;)

Here are some other notable photos taken at Bako National Park:

A wild boar roaming through the park. I wonder what it's thinking.

There was some kind of divine statue carved into the limestone that the natives seem to worship.

The best photo of the day (week, month even). A tiny featherless bird hatching out of an egg with another egg by its side. Anyone who takes or uses this photo without due credit or compensation will be promptly castrated.

Watch out for falling coconuts!

Obligatory photo of me at the Bako National Park sign. My gf tells me that I must be fat coz if I get thin, she would assume I'm using methamphetamine again, giving in to the siren calls of "faster, stronger, better", "sleep is for the weak", "be all that you can be" and all that, thus I have to carry excess baggage...

Naughty monkeys around. Watch out.

Monkey family on top of the roof of a chalet. Dominant male not too happy that I was eying his mate.

Low tide sea view.

This is us at Bako National Park. Monash University should pay me for all this product placement. ;)

Everyone has to walk through knee deep sea water to reach the boats coz low tide recedes the water level to beyond the jetty. We got on the speedboat and it was back to Kuching we went...

I feel obligated to relate to thee the events that happened on this extraordinary day, the 21st of February 2004, two hours past full noon, though it may well be the 22nd by the time you see this, dear sirs and madams. I fear that the title may be slightly misleading and I shall switch back to my normal style of my writing now to be less irritating.

Okay, so I just went doctor shopping. No passionate rendezvous with any female doctors happened, wtf is wrong with you people? ;) I meant to write "My afternoon (spent doctor shopping) with a (doctor who happens to be female)" that's all. My apologies for any misunderstanding. Anyway, if you still want to hear about it, here's the payload: alprazolam (Xanax) and midazolam (Dormicum).

I passed by a clinic while driving around after work and noticed a clinic. Why not, I thought, let's go doctor shopping. Anyway, I saw that this clinic has a female doctor's name (not that it's of any significance) but I did not expect the doctor to be this young and aesthetically pleasing. Who says there aren't any hot chicks in med school? ;)

Well, anyway, I reckon she's around my age (!), by the looks of things and gave her the usual veritas doctor shopping spiel (TM). Most of you would know the gist of what I usually say, so I'll spare you the details. I now straight out say I'm on benzodiazepine therapy (the key word to emphasize is therapy) and I add that "the psychologist who evaluated me felt that it was justified to continue past the usual 2-4 weeks due to the circumstances surrounding my medical history".

It's never failed me, that last bit. ;) This is doctor shopping (Kuching Edition) #4. I'm a bit wary about revealing the gender of the doctor coz I don't think there's many female doctors in Kuching...plus I saw her surfing the net on her computer when I walked in. I have a lot of drug related keywords which the site has a high rank and it wouldn't exactly be hard to find this site or castitas.com with a search engine.

How many female doctors are there in Kuching anyway? I'll delete this post out of respect (and self-preservation ;)) if there's only one. And please, don't be a smartass and post the name of the doctor if there's really just one. :p Back to the post, I told her I was on 1 mg of alprazolam twice daily and 30 mg of flurazepam at night. Respect to the doctor, she knows her benzodiazepines.

She does not have 1 mg tablets, only 0.25 mg ones but was willing to prescribe 8 tablets per day for an equivalent dose. Which brings us to the strange phenomenon of doctors mostly carrying 0.25 mg Xanax tablets in Kuching. Wtf? Who the hell only takes 0.25 mg of alprazolam? It boggles the mind! 2 mg tablets are impossible to come by, only select doctors carry 0.5 mg and 1 mg ones...

No flurazepam as usual (I wonder who stocks this since it's on Malaysia's pharmaceuticals list but no one carries it!), so I asked for nitrazepam, which she didn't have as well, so I asked for clonazepam and that's a negative too. She told me she has midazolam though, and asked me how much I usually take. I said 15 mg obviously, but she only carries the 7.5 mg ones.

I could have asked for 2 x 7.5 mg but I didn't want to push the issue (plus Dormicum is expensive...) so I settled for 7.5 mg nights. She asked me whether I took it everyday and yeah, I said I did. I also added that I "don't take it recreationally, just to manage my condition" for emphasis. Foot in mouth. Both were wrong answers for she gave me this wary look when I said "recreationally". /me kicks self.

She first said it was okay for me to come back for refills but after this exchange, told me that she thought it would be better for me to get re-evaluated by a local psychiatrist and she'll be happy to give me a permanent script upon the letter by the psychiatrist. I went into the "been evaluated in Melbourne, it's a hassle want to sit through 3 hours of going through my psychiatric history" zhue zhau (literally "finishing move", otherwise known as the final backup I have in my doctor shopping artillery :p).

Nope, she didn't fall for it. She went:

"I understand that it can be traumatic for you to go through another evaluation, but I cannot ethically continue refilling it without a psychiatrist's letter of approval. As you well know, benzodiazepines lose their efficacy (she used the word efficacy, much respect to her, didn't talk Dumb Speak for Patients (TM) with me) after a prolonged treatment period, and I think you may benefit from a reevaluation".

I said I can understand that but I would appreciate it if she could make an exception because I was new to the city and it would be difficult for me to fit the psychiatrist into my working schedule, plus I could provide her with my Australian psychiatric and medication history. Now this is my last, last, final, final, really lame "secret weapon" and it worked as well as Iraq's military against the US aerial onslaught.

Thus, I gave in and after negotiations, settled for a 1 week supply. She mentioned that I could refill it due to the nearer proximity of her clinic ONCE I get the psychiatrists letter. I guess I won't be going back then, I'll be angling for clonazepam instead of alprazolam (which I take for fun) and midazolam (which I take recreationally as well) if I really do go to that psychiatrist. Good doctor nevertheless, very easy to talk to and doesn't dumb down the terminology with her patients. This one gets sixthseal's...er, seal of approval for real medical conditions that requires a visit to the GP.

This, my good friends, is Camino Tequila. It comes in one of the nicer bottles I've seen. The bottle is nicely decorated with a cloth piece and a sombrero. That's a "Mexican hat" for those of you who doesn't know what a sombrero is. :p Calling it a "Mexican hat" is not politically correct, sombrero, my friends, sombrero.

Anyway, this is importado (which I take is imported) from Mexico and it says Camino Real Blanco tequila. I think it's really pretty, the way it's dressed up. How often do you see a bottle with clothes and a hat? Not very often. This was acquired at a very premium price of RM 83.50 from a legitimate establishment.

It's a good thing I've hooked up with "duty free" resellers now so paying such prices would be a thing of the past. Phew. The "duty free liquor" industry is pretty sophisticated now. They even have fucking pricelists! I was introduced by a friend (the very same one who showed me the 3rd mile outlet last time, how bizarre huh?) so yeah, now I'm paying RM 30 - 45 for normal bottles (JD, Absolut etc, not the premium XO, cognac stuff obviously).

It's very chuggable too, even at room temperature. To be honest, everything is chuggable to me, even 95% alcohol [sixthseal.com], and IMNSHO anyone who needs that lime and salt and chaser shit are sissies. ;) I would use the word "pussies" but I don't want to lose my "G - General audience" rating. Hah, fuck, lost that ages ago. Seriously though, if one can't handle chugging distilled spirits, how the hell are you going to get pissed? I'm not saying that I'm "harder" or anything absurd like that. It's just...come on, "Just neck it". That could be a catchphrase, as "Better enjoyed with benzodiazepines" could be another. ;)

P/S - I've finished the bottle so please excuse any inappropriate behavior while I write this post while inebriated. Disclaimer to please the HRP (Harm Reduction Police) - some people actually believe alcohol and benzodiazepines would result in an instant one way trip to the morgue. Happy now? Good.

Update: The fine piece of drunken literature you see above was written a couple of days ago and I was wondering whether I should post it at all or condemn it into the sixthseal.com Archive Vaults. I decided to post it since I've found a duty free operation so I have to more photos to add. Here's the Camino Tequila Gold:

My apologies, I drank it before I took a photo of it. Shocking behavior, I'm sure. ;)

I liked the Gold one better, packs a stronger punch.

The "duty free" (aka "Malaysian Duty Not Paid") ones do not come in the outfit but it's only RM 45. Camino Gold goes for RM 45 in the DF market while the white ones shown above is RM 40. Here's the two brother's side by side. Blanco is empty while Gold is half full (or half empty, depending on your perspective). ;)

This is the scanned photo from Valentine's Day when I went to eat Pizza Hut's SweetHeart Pizza [sixthseal.com]. I received a call just now on my cell from an unknown 082 (Kuching) number, answered it and the Pizza Hut guy asked where I was. Told him I was in Padungan (where I worked) and a guy came in 5 minutes to give me the photo. Thus, this is me eating alone on Valentine's Day (afternoon, went out with friends at night) in Pizza Hut, Kuching.

This is Lau Siong Pork Leg Rice at Yam Seak Cafe in Padungan. They serve pork leg rice as their main feature and also has chicken, duck and curry rice.

This is a photo of the proprietors preparing (chopping up basically) your order. I was there for lunch just now. My apologies for the underexposed photo - there was a strong backlight and using flash would just show the people and wash out the food details at the back.

Here's my order. Lau Siong Pork Leg Rice serves three sauces with every order. There is the standard black sauce that the pork leg is cooked in, a curry that's REALLY good when it's hot and belacan.

A closer look at the dish - there's the sliced up pork leg, some intestines, and BBQ chicken. It's alright, but my favorite pork leg rice is this home cooked stall near the place I stay. Does anyone know of a better pork leg rice stall in Kuching?

Remember the Choki Choki tubes of chocolates we had as kids? It's all grown up now, and wants to be referred to as ChocShots. "Choki Choki, have some please, Choki Choki for all your kids" this is not. This is Choc Shots by Cadbury.

Just look at the naughty look on his face as he fists himself to an ecstatic finish. Puberty is a hard time (no pun intended) for confectionary too, you know.

Choc Shots retails for RM 1 for five of these brown phallic tubes.

Here's how it works for people who haven't eaten an equivalent candy. Basically, you squeeze it and well...stuff comes out. And you eat that stuff.

There is something very wrong with the printed instructions at the backs. It says:

Picit ke dalam mulut.
Pencet dan masukkan kedalam mulut.

which translates to:

Squirt into mouth.
Squeeze and put it into your mouth.

That comes with a face wearing a shit eating grin as he takes the ejaculatory substance of something from a tube. Oh, the corruption of the fragile little minds out there...

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar...but look at the messy load he shot on my papers! I feel violated...

My apologies for the lack of updates yesterday...I had to take sick leave due to food poisoning. I was throwing up the whole night and sat on the porcelain throne for longer than I cared for. I called my CTO at 7:30 am to tell him I'm going to see a doctor and headed out to search for a clinic.

I didn't know what caused the food poisoning coz I ate:
1. Pork leg rice
2. Kampua mee
3. Mee Jawa
No, seriously, I ate all three (at different times, obviously) during the course of last night.

Anyway, I intended to head to the Saberkas area to look for clinics but I took a wrong turn and ended up somewhere else (where exactly, I will not reveal due to reasons which will be clear later). I tried to drive back when I noticed a clinic. Why not, I thought, and I went in and told the doctor about the food poisoning. He gave me some pills for diarrhea, colic, antibiotics and milk of magnesia together with a sick leave certificate.

Now, there is a discrepancy between the medications I just mentioned and the ones in the first photo. :) The other two are shown above. =D I figured it wouldn't hurt to try and hit the doctor for some benzodiazepines so after he gave me all that stuff for my food poisoning and wrote me the MC, I brought up the issue. Please note that I didn't plan ahead and just wore a T-shirt (visible tattoos, usually a no no while doctor shopping here) since I didn't decide to ask for benzos till the last minute. To my great delight, it was fucking easy, excuse the profanity, I'm exalted at the permascript I got from this doctor. :)

Me: Oh, yeah, there's another thing. I just came to Kuching from KL and I've been on benzodiazepine therapy for 4 years. I'm running out of medication and I was wondering if you could help with this.

Doctor: Benzodiazepines? Yeah, I have those. What did you take?

Me: I take 2 mg clonazepam mornings and 5 mg nitrazepam at night.
(That's not my actual dose - I didn't want to shock and awe (and alienate) the doctor with my real dose.)

Doctor: Hmm...your dosage seems quite high.

Me: Yeah, I've been on it for 4 years so...you know, there's the tolerance issue...

Doctor: I understand. Well, I don't have those here, I only have Valium...if you want the ones you're currently taking, you'll have to see (psychiatrist name). But I can give you Valium if you want.

Me: Diazepam...yeah, thanks doctor, that would help, appreciate it. Do you have any other benzodiazepines?

Doctor: Unfortunately, I only have diazepam...oh, and I've got phenobarbitone too.

Me: Oh great, can I have the phenobarbitone to replace my morning dose and diazepam to replace my night one?
(Phenobarbitone aka phenobarbital is a (very weak) barbiturate which I've taken before, but never done a review on, and taking only diazepam from this doctor would be a little boring, so I went for the pheno as well. :))

Doctor: Sure...so I'll give you 30 mg of phenobarbitone and...how much temazepam did you say you were taking again?

Me: Er...I was taking nitrazepam, not temazepam. 5 mg. The equivalency would work out to be...around 10 mg diazepam.

Doctor: Hmm...alright, but I usually replace nitrazepam and temazepam with a same milligram, but I'll give you 10 mg diazepam tablets, try taking half and if it doesn't help, then take the full tablet. I'll still give you 14 full tablets just in case.

Me: Thank you very much doctor. So...I'll see you again in two weeks to get a refill?
(Testing to see if the script was permanent)

Doctor: Yup, just come to me in two weeks and I'll give you more tablets. Or you could just give your card (the ones that they give registered patients) and tell the nurse to refill it without having to come in. I'll write a note in your history.

Me: Thanks again, I really appreciate your help doctor.

Doctor: No problems at all.

:) This is doctor shopping #3 (first one is the nurse bribing fiasco, second one is for clonazepam and lorazepam which I haven't written, third is this, which was unplanned for, but worked out fucking well, pardon my French).

Anyway, these are the tablets for diazepam - generic APO-DIAZEPAM 10 mg tablets. I shall find out the LD50 values for phenobarbitone and see if I can dump 420 mg at once. I didn't take that much last time, but then again, I didn't have a high benzodiazepine tolerance then, which IIANM is cross-tolerant with barbiturates. I will also have to find out equivalencies and see if I have to wait two weeks for 840 mg for a reasonably recreational experience, since I forgot all about phenobarbitone dosages. That would happen on the only day I have free - Saturday night, so report next week on castitas.com.

The wonders that can occur during a wrong turn while driving. :)

Regarding my food poisoning, the throwing up has eased up though I still have to sit on the porcelain throne every hour or so...

This is the famous sugarcane coconut drink in Kuching, first featured in mum-mum [mum-mum.info]. The sugarcane coconut drink is a wonderful combination of fresh sugarcane juice and fresh coconut juice, with the flesh of the coconut swimming in concoction.

This drink can be found at the Ching Chang Drink Stall in Padungan. I went there for lunch just now. I usually go there for lunch due to the proximity.

That stall is located at Song Kheng Hai Ground Food and Recreational Center, which is quite a mouthful. Thus, it has become acceptable to refer to the venue in its abbreviated form - sohai food center. ;)

This is the joint Singer - Ngiu Kee fashion show at Saberkas yesterday night. The clothes were by the brands carried by Ngiu Kee, so don't expect any outstanding outfits from the minds of a fashion designer. This is mass produced clothes modeled by just a few male and female models. I'm putting up just a couple photos, I really can't justify the bandwidth for this "fashion show". ;) Here there are:

The heroin chic look...or something.

Models Wanted For Fashion Show in Kuching
Any female or male can apply. Ngiu Kee and Singer has a strict policy not to discriminate - no applicants will be rejected for aesthetic reasons.

Literally "at home with Singer".

This is best of show.

Anyway, I didn't wait around for it to end, since there were only a few models recycled for different outfits. I met up with Ah Boon, Ah Ann, Ah Loon and his gf and two other girls (friends of Ah Loon, all of whose names I promptly forgot, sorry, benzos) and we went to:

Point One Cafe for food.

Grappa. I think. I wasn't very sober then.

AK47 (I think) when Grappa closed for the night. I was definitely inebriated at this point.

There you go...here's a testament of my abstinence from illicits - I went out despite the increased probability of raids due to the police big wig coming into Kuching. Ergo, a logical mind would conclude that I've really quit all illegal substance use since I was confident of passing a urine test. So there. ;)

Oh, and another mark in the doctor shopping log - successful one yesterday for clonazepam and lorazepam. The report will be written when I'm free, posted on castitas.com and announced here.

I went to Pizza Hut for their Sweet Heart pizza after work. The funniest thing happened while I was there, more details below. I work half days on Saturday till 12:30 pm. I went alone, coz obviously it won't be right to go with someone else since I'm in a relationship. :)

That did not dissuade me from going to try their SweetHeart pizza though. It's a limited edition pizza, and the word "limited edition" always activates my consumerism mentality. ;) It's a heart shaped pizza too, how many times do you get to see that? :)

Show your heart this Valentine's Day with Pizza Hut's latest creation - SweetHeart Pizza! Specially designed heart shaped pan crust topped with Valentine's toppings to spice up your romantic occasion.

I was the only lone diner there...

Anyway, it should be noted that 4 tablets of 15 mg Dormicum was consumed right after work and I was Not Exactly Sober (TM) when I drove there and walked in. I was a bit of an asshole to the girl handling the seats (the place was full, and my patience is limited edition too) - my apologies. Anyway, I soon got seated and ordered a SweetHeart pizza and a mocha float.

My One & Only
Cherry
Lovebird
Chicken Meatloaf

You're So Hot
Red Capsicum
Nuts About You
Almond Flakes
Sweetie
Pineapple Tidbits

Glazed with
Truly Yours
100% Pure Honey

Ala Carte Price: RM 28.00 (check out the hearts to replace zero)

The guy taking my order made a double take when I ordered that pizza - it seems that only couples are allowed to order it. ;) He did recover and asked me if I wanted the pizza cut or served whole. I wanted it whole. Well, two guys selling flowers came in after that and er...I was a bit of a smartass with them too...

Guy #1: Hello sir, would you like to buy a flower?
Me: (looks pointedly at the empty seat opposite me) Tell me...does it look like I want to buy a flower?
Guy #1: Er...
Guy #2: Maybe you can buy it for your girlfriend?
Me: Nope, go ask someone else.
Guy #1: Thank you sir.

Now, that would have made me guilty for being rude, them thanking me after my loud brush off, but my order came, so I shook away my conscience and concentrated on the food. ;) This is Pizza Hut's Sweetheart Pizza:

Pizza Hut's SweetHeart Pizza for Valentine's Day in pristine condition

It came with this card too:

Anyway, back to the funniest thing that happened. At this time, one of the Pizza Hut's staff approached me and said "Sir, do you mind if we take a photo of you with the pizza?"

I don't mind having my picture taken, so I said "Sure, go ahead." The guy then posed me a bit and moved the heart shaped pizza and then asked me to smile. Now this is a pretty strange thing to be going on, and you all would never believe me (my gf didn't until I said I have a photo to prove it). I asked him to hold his pose and let me take one of him and he was very obliging. Here you go:

Anyway, I didn't bother to ask what the photo was for. I didn't really care actually, since I always take public photos anyway. However, as I dug into the pizza, the same guy approached me again and asked for my address and phone number. Now this...this I'll have to ask what it's for. He said they're selecting photos of people eating in Pizza Hut for a promo and they'll send a copy of it to me and call me if I'm selected for the print ad.

Here's a close up of the SweetHeart Pizza (the middle part)

Strange huh, the things that happen in Pizza Hut. Strange, but nice. :)

Back to the pizza, it tasted really good. Was it salty or was it sweet was the question that's on my mind and the answer is...it's neither! The flavors all blended together nicely to a not sweet not salty flavor. Very strange. I liked the combination of pineapple and almond flakes with chicken. They compliment each other and flakes gives the pizza a nice crunchy texture.

I ate the whole pizza...leaving only the crust. :)

How was everyone's Valentine's Day and did anything strange happen?

The photo above shows the enterprising people of Kuching setting up stalls selling Valentine's Day goods along the major roadsides to remind forgetful people that today is V Day (and also serves a life line of the tardy ones among us who waits till the last minute). It's along most of the city roads, there's even cars stopping on roadsides with speakers on full blast and the occupants selling flowers. It's a booming business, or so it seems. ;)

Anyway, here's ours:

For Her

It's one of those gigantic cards. I put the present in it, since it fits. :)

For Him

that's a customized keychain with our names on it. :) This is not the present though, it would be a little late due to Amazon orders, but it's "Good Chemistry: The Life and Legacy of Valium Inventor Leo Sternbach" - the hardcover book that came out recently that I've really wanted! Thanks! =D Happy Valentine's Day and I love you, Louisa!

Here's a alternate link for those of you who do not like the commercialism of Valentine's Day:

Sucessfully bribing the nurse after failed doctor shopping [castitas.com]

Here at sixthseal.com, our aim is to cater for everyone. ;)

castitas.com is still alive, I've decided not to let it go into hibernation. I'll post there under the "veritas" nick once in a while and announce posts here, but only about legal things like benzodiazepines.

Psst...let me tell you a story. A BreadStory. It's one of the hottest stories going around.

It's a story about Hand Parcels...

Hand Parcel
RM 2.50
Like its name, it's wholly hand-crafted. Tender juicy chicken stewed in a special gravy and bundled up with this special wrap. Please untie parcel with Mouth only!

about Golden Pillows...

Golden Pillow
RM 2.50
A soft pillow of golden treasures like our very own creation of sambal shrimps with chicken floss rolled into a delicious pillow.

and about Flossy Hotties.

Flossy Hottie
RM 2.60
A new taste of Spicy chicken floss specially prepared for this exotic Hottie! Special spices with special cream, another BreadStory's Signature!

Chinese Barbecue Specialist. It's a big name to live up to. This outlet is located at the end of Jalan Padungan and it's quite famous for it's barbecue offerings. I went there for lunch today. This is what the stall looks like:

Apparently, the "e" has fallen off the sign, showing "Chin Se Barbecue Specialist", which puzzled me for a while since the shop sign is Chinese Barbecue Specialist. This is the flagship of the coffee shop, don't go asking for steamed chicken or anything like that - this outlet offers BBQ meat only.

As you can see, there are several BBQ stuff on offer. You can order BBQ chicken rice, but to fully appreciate the wonders of barbecue meat, you have to try the "mixed plate". There are other BBQ staples like char siew rice, pork ribs rice, etc. Basically just about anything you see in the picture above is available in whatever combination you can think of.

Your choice (in this case "mixed plate") is prepared by the proprietor...and it's delivered to your table:

There's the fork and spoon with a napkin, sorry, i mean tissue, broth, apologies, i mean soup (this joke is getting old, isn't it? ;)), sauces and a plate of mixed bbq stuff rice.

Here's a closer look at the plate. There's barbecue chicken (the white stuff), crispy pork (the brown crispy stuff) and char siew (pork cuts of an unknown origin). This is all lying on a bed of chicken rice. It tastes really good, despite the simple appearance.

These are the two sauces - the BBQ sauce and the chilli sauce. You want the barbecue sauce (the brown one). This is the secret to a good BBQ meat meal...the sauce makes the dish (or something). Just liberally apply the barbecue sauce and you'll definately enjoy your meal. I like this place, there's a homely sort of feel to it, and they serve good barbecue meat. Do they deserve the "specialist" title? Personally, I think they do. :)

Ikano Power Center is a newly opened shopping mall in Mutiara Damansara, which I believe is in Petaling Jaya. It's connected to the only Ikea outlet in Malaysia (correct me if I'm wrong). I went there with my gf the day before I flew to Kuching, and didn't have time to write it up before now.

This is the entrance to Ikano Power Center. The interior is quite architecturally impressive. The lifts (elevators) are the same as the ones that's installed in KLIA - the transparent ones with full workings exposed. The escalators are also fairly novel, a straight incline to the next floor:

Here's a shot of the interior as you enter it:

Anyway, I didn't feel that there was a lot of places to go to inside. There's a Harvey Norman but I've been to this chain too many times in Melbourne. However, we did find one place that we liked - The Pet Safari! :)

This is the entrance to the pet store. The interior is divided into several sections like small animals, cats (not available when we visited), dogs, fishes and so forth. I liked the interior layout.

This is what you see when you step in. I like this photo that I took of these midget hamsters (?):

Me and my gf was wondering why they always huddle around together like that. There's one inside a sea shell, does anyone know why these cute little things exhibit this behavior? It's like they need to have snug contact with something all the time. I wanted to get some but my gf didn't let me.

I liked the way Ikano Power Center and Ikea have these recycling bins for plastic, paper and "others" (which is the things that don't fit into the first two categories, obviously ;)). Anyway, after that we went for lunch at...Rasa Fiesta!

Everyday is a fiesta at Rasa Fiesta. :) The food court has avant garde (okay, so I just wanted to see if I can insert this phrase into the post) influenced walls at the back - it changes color ever so frequently. Look at the back of this picture of the interior:

I like the wash basins too:

It's like this circular structure with four water outlets. Nice.

We went to Ikea after that. Ikano Power Center is connected to Ikea via the passage that you can see above.

These are the refundable 50 cent storage lockers that you put your stuff. We spent a good hour walking around Ikea - I finally see the appeal of Ikea. You can do anything you want - lie on the beds, sit on the comfy sofas without anyone tailgating you. It's nice to look at the arrangements and plan how you want your future home to be too! :) Now, we'll go to the final destination - the Swedish Specialty Shop! =D

This is Svenskt Brannvin vodka. It retails for an amazingly affordable RM 30 for a 700 ml bottle of 40% vodka. I wouldn't say that vodka has a "taste" per se, but it tastes slightly better than Absolut vodka and it's very drinkable even at room temperature. I don't have a fridge and I chug vodka straight from the bottle in order to sleep, and this is perfect. Too bad there isn't an Ikea in Kuching.

This is another value buy and it's what you want to go for if you want to taste your drink. O.P. Anderson Fine Old Aquavit at RM 22.90 for a 500 ml bottle. It's 40% as well, and it tastes REALLY good. There's an aniseed taste to it that makes it go down all too well. If you like aniseed candies (eg the chocolate coated aniseed rings), you'll love this - aniseed is the dominating character of this aquavit. Very drinkable even at room temperature and it's chuggable too (only if you like aniseed).

There is this bound and laminated booklet at the shop with details of the products they offer. This is the entry for OP ANDERSON. There isn't one for Svenskt Brannvin...I triple checked the entire book. Anyway, I was photographing everything and this lead to a funny incident with security. :)

If I had a bottle of vodka for every time security told me that taking photos is not allowed inside Ikea, I'll be sorted for months. Heh. Anyway, there are "No Camera" signs, but if you want to, just take them anyway (I own a Nikon 5700 - bulky and no one would call it discreet) and when security says "Sorry sir, no photos allowed.", say "Oh, I see. Sorry." and continue anyway. I didn't say I was going to STOP taking photos, I just said I understood the store policy. ;)

They won't kick you out or anything like that - most of them were resigned to the fact that I was going to take photos at the Swedish Specialty Shop, like it or not. FWIW, they're just there to tell you that, and by informing you once in a while about the store policy regarding photography, they have already fulfilled their obligation, they won't go the extra mile and report you to the store manager or anything. :)

That's our visit to Ikano Power Center and Ikea. Oh, and please remember that I write my posts and resize my photos at home (where I don't have a net connection) and only post it when I get into the office. This means I can only answer comments during breaks or lunch, not directly after posting. Thanks for understanding. :)

Ikea!

Battle Royale - Tongkat Ali vs Kacip Fatimah!

Tongkat Ali is a preparation that is marketed as a libido enhancer and performance booster for men. It is said to be the "herbal Viagra", and it claims to be effective against Erectile Dysfunction (ED). I discarded my skepticism and decided to sample one of this to establish the efficacy. ;)

Captain's Log:
This beverage does not only contain Tongkat Ali but ginseng for extra fortification. 250 ml was consumed in a single sitting.

T+ 0:15
Mr. Happy is still not showing up.

T+ 0:30
The trouser snake lies dormant.

T+ 0:45
Subject tried to potentiate with visual stimulation. Normal results were noted. Length and girth did not exceed regular measurements. Duration of erection was within the normal values.

T+ 1:00
Tongkat Ali did not give me a tongkat.

Rating: 0/10
Dud. Avoid unless you're thirsty.

Kacip Fatimah is another famous preparation. It's dubbed "Tongkat Ali for women" and is marketed for women as a libido enhancer. Despite being the wrong gender, I took this for a spin as well.

Captain's Log:
250 ml of Pearl Kacip Fatimah was consumed in a single setting.

T+ 0:15
Captain does not have a log.

T+ 0:30
No wood in the captain's log.

T+ 0:45
Looking at the silhouette of a female figure on the tin. Slight stirring in the nether regions, but that could just be my imagination.

T+ 1:00
Fatimah did nothing for me.

Rating: 0/10
Dud. It tastes good though, sweet and tangy, unlike the Tongkat Ali preparation.

I went to Hong Leong Bank in Pending during my lunch break today, closed that account and got the funds via a bank cheque, which means I'll have to bank it in at my Public Bank account tomorrow. This is just a lame post to tell you why there isn't any updates today. See ya tomorrow.

Jesus, it just hit me how boring this post is. =D

This is a video of veritas smoking methamphetamine in his room at the tail end of a 3 day meth run. He just doesn't know when to stop. ;) Anyway, this is actually the first time the video function of the Nikon 5700 is used. I was reading online manuals and set it up and recorded this. Thus, this is the first video recorded with my digicam.

Video:
veritas smoking meth using a glass pipe [sixthseal.com]
1 minute Quicktime video clip (complete)
(14.8 MB zip file)
Extract (unzip) the .mov file. Requires Quicktime Player.

It's actually just veritas making a fool of himself while smoking meth in his KL room. It's taken recently, slightly before the veritas confession. He uses meth as a "work drug" - most of the better and longer posts you see on sixthseal.com is powered by methamphetamine. Oh, and I'll write in the third person if I want to. :p There are two reasons why I'm releasing this video (which I'm sure will catch me a lot of grief):

1. It was already leaked to an individual, and I've always thought that a leak on the net is a full leak so people might as well download it from the authorative site - sixthseal.com!

2. I want to stress test my VPS before I migrate. We'll see how well it performs. Ping times are okay and so is tracert, but I want a real life situation to see how my VPS handles the traffic sixthseal.com generates.

3. sixthseal.com is not a food blog! :p

Anyway, the soundtrack is a feng tau track that I really love, it's not put in post-production, no post production was done on this video - it's the raw capture, since I don't have any video editing software. The music was on from my headphones while this was taken. This is the actual first video record of my digicam. :)

Oh, and the About me page is updated with recent info.

Well, I won't be posting tomorrow and I have to be off soon, so enjoy the video of veritas being silly and here's my harm reduction message: Methamphetamine use can cause people to act in a stupid and socially unacceptable behavior so be careful. ;) Have a nice weekend everyone, and if my VPS doesn't die on me (please tell me if you have problems downloading the video), then the migration will happen on Monday.

This will be the last veritas video post.

Boxing chicken rice! Doesn't that sound intriguing? The name of the dish is the best selling point of this rather mundane (but tasty) preparation. I was searching for food just now (I'm typing this at home, so it would be "last night" by the time you read this) and walked past the Singapore Chicken Rice (scr) stall which seems to have expanded their menu to include the chicken rice variants like salad chicken rice etc. I was interested in boxing chicken rice though.

My apologies about the foliage that obscured the right side of the first picture. I couldn't very well move it, look at the size of the shrubbery and pot. Photographing the outlet from the other side would miss the main menu wall which has boxing chicken rice (watch the virus infected chicken box each other!) photo on it.

This is the photo of the menu banner which depicts the Boxing Chicken Rice dish. It appears to be dubbed boxing chicken rice due to the double chicken drumsticks...I imagine some marketing person thought that looks like the chicken are having fist fights or something to that effect.

This is the Real Life (TM) photo of the dish. It doesn't differ all that much from the menu picture which is a pleasant surprise. The drumsticks are the small ones from the wing of the chicken. It tastes like Ayamas mini drumsticks without the Ayamas flavor. The boxing chicken rice had a great sweet and sour sauce permeating the dish, this imparts a nice taste everything. There is also a nicely done sunny side up egg and some veggies. The rice is chicken rice eg real chicken rice. I liked it, it's a nice change from the normal chicken rice Singapore Chicken Rice offers.

On another topic, does anyone know any er..."duty free" liquor outlets in Kuching? I used to know one in 3rd mile - fly by night operation, closed down the same year it opened (when I was in Inti). In case anyone is wondering what "duty free" liquor outlets are, they're the ones that buys in bulk from duty free Federal Territories like Labuan (usually) and Langkawi (unlikely due to distance) and sells them at a reduced price (RM 40 - 60 each 750 ml bottle), undercutting legitimate bottle shops price wise. I didn't have any problems in KL - Svenskt Brannvin vodka @ RM 30 (40% 700 ml bottle) in the Swedish Specialty Shop at your friendly local Ikea outlet. ;) Thanks for the tip, Stephanie [absolutely-fuzzy.com]! I brought several bottles of that and O.P. Anderson Fine Old Aquavit (another bargain buy @ RM 22.90 for 500 ml, 40% vol) over but er...inventory levels have dropped below the personally preset threshold level so a re-stock is necessary to maintain consistant amounts.

If my math is right, I need at least 1/4 bottle with benzos to sleep each night, since I drank about 1 1/4 bottles since I arrived (not including other alcohol containing beverages). Anyone who has a problem with this can send mail to devnull@sixthseal.com which would naturally be routed to /dev/null. I go to work on time, I do my work well since I've had a good night's sleep (I don't get hangovers, since I hydrate myself before sleeping), and so what I do at night (which is legal btw) is my own business. Anyway, any kang tau about duty free in Kuching, please email to veritas@castitas.com instead of commenting here okay? Thanks! By the way, I told the truth about the email addresses - there really is no veritas@castitas.com or a veritas@sixthseal.com, they all go to the me@castitas.com and me@sixthseal.com catch all address. So there. :p

P/S - Before the harm reduction police (HRP) jump on me, let me state that some people think that benzodiazepines combined with another CNS depressant like alcohol will instantly put you six feet under. Please do not mock them, for they're looking out for you, and indeed, this combination has caused fatalities in the past, but er...it's not as dangerous as the HRP makes it sound. But you did not see that last sentence! I repeat, you did not see that last sentence. Please don't drink and take benzodiazepines at the same time. Thank you very much, I've done my civic duty.

P/P/S - I have to tone down the sarcasm, it seems to dominating my posts lately, forgive me. :)

P/P/P/S - The conglomeration of veritas and killuminati into a single entity may have caused unexpected perceived changes in personality. My apologies, now that I've admitted everything, I have no obligation to stick to the "personalities" that I've created. I'm being the real me now, a bit of an asshole at times, quite a lot of "drug elitism", sometimes sarcastic, but generally I like to think I'm a nice guy, so I hope that you can forgive any transgressions and adapt and perhaps get to like me as me. :)

P/P/P/P/S - I was ethanol impaired when I wrote the above last night...

This is All Joy good food center in Wisma Saberkas. I was surprised to see this outlet still standing when I went to Saberkas to get a monitor during my lunch break. There is some nostalgia when I saw the familiar sign and dining place - it hasn't changed at all from memory. I remember going here often when I was younger and living in Kuching, so you can imagine how long this establishment has been going.

I can't say there's much going on, food wise, at All Joy. To tell you the truth, I don't even know why my family used to dine here often. Their offerings don't seem to have changed at all and it's nothing to write home about. I have vague memories of going for their King Burger, but that was it. I ate one of their rice dishes this time - it was what the others used to eat last time.

I had Sze Chuan Chicken Rice (RM 3.80) and a popia (RM 1.50)with special cendol (RM 1.50). The rice isn't chicken rice ie chicken flavored rice, I knew that from previous visits. It's rice with the dish of your choice, and there isn't much on offer. My apologies about the messed up photo - I wanted a candid shot of the All Joy waitress bringing my tray of food over, but I miscalculated the fast flash lag time and only got a partial shot.

This is my lunch. From left: The packaged utensils and a serviette (which is a fucking pretentious word people use to describe paper napkins, which is in turn a fucking pretentious name people give to tissues ;)), a bowl of broth (which is a fucking pretentious name for soup, and please, feel free to throw the hot bowl of soup at anyone who uses the terms "serviette" or "broth" here, in fact, the management encourages it ;)), popiah, the Sze Chuan Chicken, bottle of chilli sauce, and Special Cendol.

Perhaps the appeal of All Joy (Good, don't forget that) Food Center is due to the magazine and newspaper rack it provides to enhance your dining experience with reading material. :) Anyway, like I said, I picked up a monitor (choice between an insanely high dot pitch Panasonic 17" for RM 410 and an LG Flatron ez for RM 465, chose the latter) from Saberkas after lunch...but I don't have a net connection at home yet.

I wrote this at home and am posting it now from a diskette (those little square black things that stores a meager 1.44 MB of data) at a cybercafe in King Center. I don't know when I'll be connected since I don't even have the time to go to a Kedai Telekom, but I'll do so next Monday lunch break. Anyway, I noticed that sixthseal.com is becoming food-centric (as someone put it in the early days of its inception) again, so to spice things up - a pill report by veritas this weekend! =D I kid, no such thing will be happening, though I'll do a write-up of lormetazepam, a benzodiazepine I've only recently (for about 3 weeks) become acquainted with. No, I didn't write lorazepam wrongly, I said lormetazepam. This weekend then, have a nice one people!

Pizza Ria @ Da-Light Food Court

This is Pizza Ria, an outlet with meat filled pancakes, pizza, spaghetti and even combos like 1/4 pizza with spaghetti on a plate. It used to be at this food court who's exact name eludes me right now. That was easily a decade plus in the past though. I know it moved (or a branch opened up) to Siang Siang Food Court, King Center (?) when I was studying in Inti College, Kuching (yes, I went through 3 colleges, don't ask :p).

The pancake tastes better with a runny egg, this one is overdone.

I am also aware of a Pizza Ria in A La Carte (now defunct) at the same time, around 97/98. Remember that food court below Star Cineplex? It was bought out and renamed by Siang Siang, which was aggressively taking over food courts then, but strangely enough, I haven't seen any this time around. Come to think of it, I've never seen Pizza Ria outlets outside of Kuching as well, so it's probably a local operation.

This is the Special Pancake with chicken (sausage), beef, cheese and egg. Best eaten with lots of chilli sauce!

It tastes just like the ones I remember - there's this unique taste to the pancake that I haven't experienced in any of the other things that I've eaten. It's like Ramly burger...no other burgers seem to have the same taste! I'll equate Pizza Ria pancakes to that. The thin pancake is smooth and soft, folded in half, with the meat and vegies nestled inside. It's the best savory pancake around. It's certainly something on the "must try" list if you happen to drop by Kuching.

I will post again and reply all comments later tonight (after dinner). :) I've finally got myself a monitor.

This is where I had my Chap Goh Meh dinner...Da-Light Food Court. I think it literally means "big light" since I recognize the Chinese character for big (this is entry level standard) and there's another Chinese word accompanying it, which I can't read but logically it would be "light", so I think this is just what it's called in Mandarin too. :) This is at King Center. My Chap Goh Meh (15th night of the Chinese / Lunar New Year - the final day) dinner consisted of a pancake and teh c peng. What about yours?

More updates later, work now.

Pictured above is the Kuching cat statue at the start of Jalan Padungan, complete with Chinese New Year attire. This is one of the many cat statues in Kuching. The single white furred feline above is decked with traditional red New Year clothes. It's Chap Goh Meh, which means 15th night (of Chinese New Year) today. That means it's the last day of the CNY celebrations. I took the photo during my lunch break just now, the skies are a bit gloomy coz it rained earlier and the clouds haven't dissipated.

Anyway, I would not be celebrating Chap Goh Meh because I do not have any relatives in Kuching. I will however be eating outside somewhere, but I have to wait for a shipment of furniture at 6 PM. I'm still waiting word about whether the monitor I want is in stock at Kings Center...I've been without one since I arrived here, so as soon as I get it, I can make longer posts at home and just cut and paste and post at work, which is my only source of a net connection.

In other news, initial pharmacy pr0bing (TM) (which is like an anal probe, aimed at pharmacies) proved unsucessful, but these are just tentative baby steps. Kuching's medical care system has yet to experience the full force of a veritas Shock and Awe campaign, a cringe inducing term which should have stayed in 2000 where it rightly belongs. That, of course, is just a flashy phrase for the less impressive task known as "Desperately Seeking Benzos". ;)

Well, as most of you know, I am benzodiazepine dependant, so I need a stockpile of these things, which explains why I'm probing pharmacies. I just went to a couple since I don't really know my way around here (hell, I just found a Petronas gas station yesterday). Doctor shopping would be the next option, probably when I'm free like Saturday or Sunday. Like I said, I need to maintain a steady inventory, it wouldn't do to run out - Think Ahead! :)

So...does anyone know any pharmacies within a short stretch of road in Kuching? Real pharmacies, not the overly abundant Mickey Mouse Pharmacies which only carries OTC stuff and no "restricted" prescriptions. Any kang tau *cough*, please email information to veritas@castitas.com and he will be very appreciative of the reduced legwork. Pharmaceuticals only ya, no illegal stuff.

Have a nice Chap Goh Meh everyone!

There is a special on Vitagen (the cultured milk drink) at Smart supermarket in King Center. It was two packs (each pack has 5 each for a total of 10) of mixed flavors for RM 4.35. I bought one of these and realized when I got home that I had put myself into a logistical challenge...these things require storage below 4 C and I don't have a fridge here. These things always go on special when the use by dates are getting close. The use by dates range from 11/02/2004 to 13/02/2004. Anyway, it meant that I had to drink everything at once...and I did. 1.25 litres of Vitagen in the span of two hours. My bowel movements improved considerably when I woke up this morning.

There is a shop in Jalan Padungan selling Foochow Big Paus. I passed by while driving to work today and decided to check out the place to see how large these buns actually are. I was not disappointed.

There is only one option if you want the big (huge) pau - the chicken ones. It goes for RM 2 - ask for Chicken Pau (Big) and you'll get what you want. Behold the sheer girth of the Foo Chow big pau:

Bigger is better!

I've put it beside my drink and a couple of coins for a size comparison. It's much bigger than the largest offerings of McDonald's or Burger King. There's also one of those squeezable bottles containing chilli sauce that's provided with the bun (a pau is a bun containing meat inside), but IMHO it spoils the taste of the huge chicken paus.

Here's a photo showing the inside of the big pau. It has chicken (obviously) and egg. The chicken isn't the grinded up kind but actual chicken chunks. I was a little appalled by the size of the bun and the big pau will be enough as lunch for most people.

Now, if only I could figure out why they call it Foochow Big Pau when all the shop proprietors converse in Hokkien...

I am now in Kuching...arrived here yesterday, went accomodations hunting and settled on a RM 300 per month place that's somewhere near the Tua Pek Kong temple (have to be vague for the dan's out there ;)). It's a pretty big place, two rooms, two toilets (one is busted though - previous tenent was a couple who had legendary fights, or so I heard, altercations so legendary it leaves broken toilet bowls, holes in the walls and broken doorframes in their wake), kitchen, storeroom etc. Basically it's the whole place to myself...rent is a bit steep, the premium is for privacy.

The other options I had was this RM 200 room in King's Center on top of a snooker center and beside a disco, where the other tenents are mostly waiters/waitresses at the large food court downstairs and a RM 200 room in a nice house a stone's throw away from King's Center. I didn't go for the former because I can hear the people around me talking, radios playing etc...sound travels all too well there, because the rooms are all connected (!) from a shared ceiling space (it's hard to describe...imagine toilet stalls, the ones without full coverage i.e. you can theoretically peek into the next stall from above if you're so inclined. it's like that.). The second one is a little too tidy, plus I'll be living with the landlord, and I would not want to live in a place like that, no privacy at all. Thus, the RM 300 place, RM 25 per week for privacy. :)

Anyway, this is my lunch hour, sorry for the all text entry, didn't bring my digicam USB cord along. I'm working somewhere in Padungan (again obscurity for dan's benefit) and I ate twice just now - chap fun + ABC and then I walked back, and in a spur of the moment decision, went for belacan bee hoon + teh c peng. I am rather regretting that now...regurgitation is a word that has been a permanent fixture in my brain for the last 30 minutes or so, but I shall refrain to the best of my abilities. ;)

Thanks for all the support about the veritas issue everyone, I really appreciate that! :) I'll update again tomorrow.