November 9, 2009

Pain in the Ass

I'm still trying to get the things sorted out for the deal in the States.

The guy we're dealing with is a moron. I really would prefer not to deal with this kind of person, and am still looking for other people.

He's creating tons of delays. I don't understand the problem. Why is it so hard to get it setup. He's the fucking SELLER. He's supposed to kiss our asses because we're the customers.

The american way of thinking is that the customer is always right. In this case it's almost as though we're the seller. He really treats us like that. I have chewed him out for this behavior already. I'm tired of it.

His response to my chewing out was very timid. I hope that it lasts. I want to get it to work.

This could be a way for me to make a lot more money. I'd rather have another source of income.

I make decent money, actually very good money, but I want to have more sources. "Don't put all your eggs in one basket" and all that.

Anyway. Wish me luck, it seems like I'll need it!

November 8, 2009

Ninja

I previously said that I want to see Ninja. So, last night I watched it.

Ok. . . This is a typical ninja movie, if you live in the 1988!

The plot was really non-existent, the acting mediocre, the special effects were nothing special, the fighting was highly acrobatic and completely NOT ninjitsu or taijitsu.

Casey is an orphan raised in a dojo. He loves the daughter of the Soke(head) of the dojo. Another guy loves the daughter, and wants the position of Soke for himself.

Casey and that guy, Masazuka, end up fighting because of Masazuka's anger. End result, Masazuka is expelled from the dojo.

Years later revenge begins. Masazuka is a successul assassin. He wants the position of Soke still.

The dojo has an item of great importance, a trunk of heirlooms from their ninja ancestors. Apparently holding these items makes you the Soke. . . doesn't make much sense.

Masazuka kilsl everyone in the dojo, but not before Casey, the daughter of the Soke and the trunk of items are taken to New York.

In New York there is a sort of masonite lodge group who wants to get mroe power. They have hired Masazuka to great effect in the past.

Masazuka asks this group to help him get the trunk.

Enter groups of thugs who shoot wildly, apparently are good at fighting (they manage to give a hard time to 2 people, who've spent their entire lives training for combat, a very hard time) and have endless numbers, AND are immune to police investigation.

Lots of fighting ensues, but the fighting is acrobatic and nothing like real ninjitsu.

End the end Casey dons the heirloom items in order to save the girl. A good cop realizes that they're not the trouble makers and they get away without any punishment for murders or damages.

All in all. . . there wasn't much that was good about this movie and a LOT that was bad.

A ninja movie has so much potential, and has seldom been made right.

Masazuka's modern ninja costume was actually pretty cool and there were some scenes that looked like their were taken out of a video game when he was in this costume. Those parts were really interesting.

The actor that played Masazuka was very good with a sword. I need to find out who he is and read more about him. His movements were better than that of an actor who trained solely for this role. I think he is a modern practioner of swordsmanship.

Ok. . . 3 out of 10 for this movie.

Pancakes

I have been wanting pancakes.

Here in Malaysia pancakes are expensive and tiny. They're not the cheap things that we have in the States.

I loved going to a couple of different truck stops and eating the giant pancakes that filled the entire plate. One or two of those is enough to feed a family.

Here, though, you can pay 13-20 ringgit and get 2 TINY pancakes. We're talking smaller than 10cm (4 inches). That kind of money should get you a stack of pancakes.

I do not have a skillet, yet. I've been making everything with a soup pot and a wok.

I decided that enough is enough. I want pancakes, so I'll make them. I looked up a recipe, bought the ingredients and made pancakes this morning. I modified the recipe by adding a little sugar to the mix.

I used a wok to make the pancakes. The first pancake was a failure, a little burned on one side, a little under cooked on the other. After that I figured out that the best thing to do is pour in the batter, wait a few seconds, then swirl the wok slowly to move the batter out to the edges so that the entire thing can cook evenly. That did the trick.

So, this morning, for 4 ringgit or less, I made a stack of 7 pancakes. We don't have syrup, so I added a little bit of honey to 1 of my pancakes. The rest, because of the small amount of sugar I added, were fine as they were.

So, wokcakes it is from now on.

November 6, 2009

Movies of recent

I have recently watched several movies:

Wanted
Cloverfield
G.I. Joe
Transformers 2
District 9

Wanted I initially did not wish to see. However I read the comic that it was based on before leaving the States. The comic was quite good.

The movie is good, not as good as the comic though. I like the end of both the comic and the movie in that it makes fun of EVERYONE. Basically saying "Your life sucks, why aren't you DOING something about it?"

Cloverfield looked like it could be a really good movie. A giant monster attacks New York City. What could be better? A lot. The movie was filmed to make it seem like a recovered video tape from someone's camera who died from the bombing of the city by the government in effort to destroy the monster.

There was a lot of potential for a good movie, but at the end of the movie I felt something lacking.

G.I. Joe was a movie that was not high on my list to see. I just didn't think it would be all that great. I was very surprised. I actually really enjoyed the movie. If they had not have made the scene with the accelerator suits it could have been much better. The rest of the movie was really good!

Transformers 2. . . SUCKED. I won't even waste time to explain that piece of shit.

District 9 was wonderful! I really liked this movie! There were some things that I didn't like. But it had many great points and the story really crept up on you. I really recommend this movie.

I want to see the movie Ninja. Hopefully it is good.

I'm not giving links today, sorry, I'm being lazy. Be glad I wrote at all :-P

November 5, 2009

Maybe not

Well, I thought I was going to make a trip the US to settle some business.

Apparently the guy in the US doesn't want to make any money. His loss.

I'm currently searching for new leads for the things we need. I want to get this going soon.

I've been teaching more at the center because the other morning teacher has been told to stay home. She is pregnant and the long drive each day is causing her problems so she has been ordered by the doctor to stay home.

I hope that she is ok. On the flip side, I get more hours, so more money. I have only 2 kids to teach each day though.

One is a very big pain in the ass. He has too much energy, is spoiled at home, and has no focus. I'm slowing gaining ground on controlling him though. He's not a bad kid, he just needs discipline.

His mom has complimented the center on the improvements to his English. This compliment came after I'd taken over teaching him completely. ;-)

The other boy has a difficult time with speaking. He came into the center at nearly a zero level of English. Now he has improved a lot. Even the owner of the place has mentioned how much better he is doing. He speaks louder. Speaks more clearly and tries really hard to get his points across. I'm pleased with him. He's doing a great job!