ADV: Zhng My Walls

ADV: Zhng My Walls

22 December 2009

The Blog Culture 43 Comments

Four months ago, this was what my cardio area looked like.

This is my cardio workout area today.

I was very much involved in the entire design process of my fitness centre. Everything, from what fitness equipment to buy, to which toilet bowls to use, to what colours were to be painted on the walls were all decided by myself.

The members love the look and feel of my fitness centre, but I kinda regretted not giving the walls more colour and design.

I wasn’t thinking too much back then. It would be a different story if my fitness centre were called “Sistine Chapel Fitness”. Or if my name were Michaelangelo Sia.

Unfortunately my name is only Kenny Sia. So I left the walls blank because I seriously had no idea what kinda drawings to put on them. I was way too busy choosing toilet bowls that I neglected to give my walls more forethought.

But Cindy, Cheesie and KY went to the Nippon Paint workshop and they’re like experts in home renovations now.

Cindy’s before and after.

This is what Cindy did after she transformed a section of her house into a work of art.

Cheesie’s Pacman wall.

She cheat one ‘cos she got someone else to paint the wall. She only drew the Pacman herself.

KY’s before and after.

KY and Haze took 3 days to create that mural on his empty piece of wall. Don’t play play, got guitar some more.

There are a couple of other creative peeps who did a kickass job giving their rooms/table/shoe cabinet an extreme makeover.

From the top to bottom are works by Nara, Sixthseal, Redmummy, Kampungboycitygal, c33ram00n, Pinkstilettos, Nicolekiss, FoxyFarah and PlusSizeKitten.

All they used were masking tapes or paper cutouts and Nippon paint..

I must say, they made it look easy.

Which brings me to this blank wall I have in my cardio area.

I want something less dull, but easy enough to do it myself. Perhaps some random straight lines like this would brighten up the place a bit.

painted-walls

Now, I just need the time to do it.

If not, I’ll just hire my 1-year-old nephew Ethan to decorate those walls for me…

I mean, what’s the worst that could happen, right?

Cat Betrayed His Girlfriend

20 December 2009

Out of the Ordinary 38 Comments

Here’s some light-hearted Youtube fun for a lazy Sunday evening post.

I guess must be what Tiger Woods is going through if he was a cat.

ADV: Silhouette Review

17 December 2009

Reviews 46 Comments

Every year whenever Christmas comes around, one thing immediately pops into my mind.

The Guinness Christmas menu!

Like birthdays, Prosperity Burgers and how often Kenny gets laid, the Guinness Christmas menu is something that happens only once a year.

It’s sad I know. That’s why when it happens, I cherish the moment by trying as many different selections as I can (the menu, not the getting laid)

Last year I had a ball of a time trying out all the Guinness-infused dishes on offer at various restaurants over in KL. This time round, it seems like restaurants in Kuching are also getting in on the act.

Silhouette is a restaurant and bar located just outside The Spring shopping mall. Most people would’ve seen it before, but few know that it is owned and operated by the son of Tan Sri Ting Pek Khiing – John Ting Rich Man (pretty sure that’s his full name).

John’s brother Bobby runs the Original Car Wash and Four Points Hotel. Just like all F&B outlets under the Ting empire, elegance and opulence are central to the restaurant’s decor.

Everything inside is so GOLDEN and SHINY and SPARKLING. I had to be careful not to break anything here.

Tan Sri Ting Pek Khiing could easily sue my next four generations’ backside bankrupt.

Most people come here to party at night, but few have stepped in to try out the food here. It’s a pity, ‘cos the food here is not bad.

Despite the extravagant looks, the menu prices here are fairly reasonable for its standard – about RM20 for mains and RM10 for drinks. The pizzas at Silhouette are known to be legendary. The hot plate seafood pasta got pretty good reviews too.

But those weren’t what I was here for.

I came here of course, for their Guinness special.

The Guinness Christmas menu at Silhouette features Guinness Beef Stew and Lamb Chop for RM35 a pop. If you order those, then a pint of Guinness Draught is on the house.

The lamb chop looks good, but taste-wise I felt it could do with a bit more sauce and flavour.

If you order it, make sure you ask for EXTRA GRAVY.

The beef stew on the other hand – that’s a WHOLE different story.

This, my friend, is DA BEST. Chunks of beef and potatoes stewed in Guinness Stout make this a beautiful, hearty and flavoursome dish. It’s a dish that reminds me of the ones prepared by the aunties inside traditional pubs in Ireland.

What I love most is the tiny hint of spice in the gravy. Confirm got kick one. I wasted no time gobbling it all up.

It’s closest thing I ever had to the authentic Irish stuff. And it even comes with a free pint of Guinness. How cool is that?

Even without the free pint of Guinness, it is still worth it. But if you don’t want the free beer then let me know. Because it’s wasteful.

Good beer should never ever go to waste.

Follow Me On Twitter

12 December 2009

Life Documentary 57 Comments

O HAI!

Unfortunately, it seems like I have updating this blog from once a day, to once every two days, to now almost once a week.

Not that I’m lazy, just that I have been way too busy. I am on the move a lot more often now that sitting in front of a computer is such a luxury.

Fret not – I’m always on Twitter.

Video Travel Guide To Copenhagen

5 December 2009

Europe 44 Comments

I know I haven’t updated for a while, but what to do lah when my life revolves around Level Up Fitness?

For the sake of blogging something not gym-related, here’s one amateur online video travel guide I did for Tiger Translate while we were over at Copenhagen. Pardon the product placement. As expensive as it is, I still maintain that Denmark is one of the nicest countries in Europe.

What’s not to like about a place where traffic jams don’t exist, people work 6 hours a day, speak good English, get tipsy at night and still have time to make sure everything looks good?

Not sure how the Danes did it, but I’m pretty sure it didn’t start with some publicity stunt called 1Denmark.

Twenty Six

27 November 2009

Re-discovering Myself 218 Comments

Twenty six things I did when I was twenty six.

Ended my 2-year relationship with my ex. Of all possible days to do it, we broke up the day of my birthday. It was painful at first, but since then she got herself happily attached, while I also found myself a girlfriend.

She is Japanese. Her name is Soni.

Full name Soni Playstation Three.

Unfortunately, lately I have been neglecting Soni a bit. I hardly even had time to eat or sleep normally, let alone play with Soni.

I hope she’s not angry at me.

Took part in two 42km marathon runs.

The first was in Singapore last December. I trained hard for the Singapore Marathon and completed it within 6 hours 15 minutes – even with my iPod running out of juice.

I ran again in Kota Kinabalu last month. Due to lack of time, I did not train at all for this marathon and physically could not manage to go on after 33km.

Ah well, at least I attempted.

Became an uncle, for the fourth time. Everybody say hi to Ethan!

Shaved my head bald for charity.

The target was to raise RM50,000. Thanks to the generosity of kennysia.com readers, we managed to raise RM65,325.01!

Travelled to Ho Chi Minh City.

When it was announced that Vietnam had won the ASEAN cup, the entire city was turned upside down into an absolute chaos and frenzy.

Travelled to Phuket.

It was supposed to be a Valentine’s Day trip I planned for me and my ex. We broke up 5 days after I booked all the flights and hotels. Instead of bitching and moaning about it, I did something I have never ever done before in my entire life – I put up and thick face and asked somebody whom I only met once to come along.

To me utter surprise, she agreed. It was the weirdest, awkward and most platonic Valentine’s Day date I ever had.

Travelled to Wales. Saw some sheep.

I stayed at a friend’s place far away from the tourist district, in the town of Tal-y-bont. I thought there might be nothing to do, but just by walking out of his house, I managed to discover some of the most beautiful untouched pieces of nature.

Travelled to Ireland. Saw the Cliffs of Moher. When I saw a picture of this on a tourist brochure, I immediately hired a car and drove all the way to the west side of the island.

#10

Went to St James’s Gate Brewery in Dublin.

As an avid Guinness drinker, this to me, is like going to Disneyland.

#11

Travelled to Manchester. Went to Old Trafford Stadium. Saw Manchester United. Got force-converted into a Manchester United fan. Then witnessed Manchester United lost in the most embarrassing fashion to Liverpool 4-1.

#12

Travelled to Bali. Again. With 4 hot babes in tow.

I swear I did not deliberately plan for this to happen, but I ain’t complaining! Most men would give up their left testicle in my position. They had a great time being pampered like princesses and I had fun playing tour guide.

It was such a memorable trip that we’re still trading inside jokes till this day.

#13

Travelled to Tokyo. Saw Mount Fuji.

#14

Travelled to Copenhagen. Molested The Little Mermaid.

#15

Travelled to Melbourne. Hosted the Merdeka Party with LapSap and Kim Ong in front of thousands of Malaysian students and had an absolute blast of a time.

Despite having no hosting experience prior to
this, the crowd response that night was something I will remember for the rest of my life. I remember having so much trouble going from one end of the room to the other because I kept having to stop and snap photos with so many people.

It was so awesome. I wanna to go back to party in Melbourne again.

#16

Dressed up as Arthur Guinness. Met up with The Black Eyed Peas. Made them laugh.

Till this day I have a "hard time" (hur hur) digesting the fact that Fergie put her arms on my shoulder.

#17

Dressed up as Susan Boyle. Flashed my vajayjay.

#18

Still jetting back and forth between Kuching and KL. It went from being once a month, to once every 2 weeks, to me being in KL every single weekend.

In fact, I think I spent more weekends away in KL than at home.

#19

I go to KL so often that I even received my own Google Maps pin, placed on the front of Bangsar Village.

But I think by now it’s already been replaced with a Christmas Tree.

#20

Starred in the TV show Project Alpha.

I know this photo looked suspiciously like the set-up of a porno, but Project Alpha is with Jojo Struys interviewing Malaysian bloggers.

#21

Met the Prime Minister of Thailand. Compared him to our Prime Minister.

#22

Became a chef for a day at KDU College.

I’m heading back there in December to host another one of their Open Day.

#23

Earned quite a bit from blogging.

#24

But also turned down many lucrative offers, simply because I do not have time to commit myself to more work.

I think I must be one of the few bloggers who constantly turn down advertising or event engagements. In the month of October alone, I turned down almost RM20,000 worth of advertising revenue and 4 travel opportunities to Singapore, Jakarta, Sydney and Korea – all because I was too busy setting my own business in Kuching.

#25

Won an award for at Nuffnang’s Asia-Pacific Blog Awards. When I started blogging, never in my wildest dream would I have imagined I could get a trophy for it!

#26

Started my own business – Level Up Fitness.

I built my dream – Kuching city’s only affordable quality fitness centre – entirely from ground up. So far, things are going great. I poured in a lot of effort on this project and I’m glad it has paid off well.

Those are twenty six things I did when I was twenty-six.

Today, I turn twenty-seven years old.

Listen To Dennis Lau

25 November 2009

Personalities 199 Comments

As a boy growing up, I always wished I could play a musical instrument.

Not so much for the love of music. More so because of the well-accepted fact that men who play musical instruments are able to pick up more chicks.

Fast forward to many years later, and the closest I ever got to becoming a musician is playing Guitar Hero on Sony Playstation.

Obviously, it’s gonna be a very long time before I’d be able to get a girl. 🙁

One thing I’ve learnt for sure – it ain’t that easy to pick up playing a musical instrument. To do it right, one has to spend a lot of time practising, practising, practising. It’s not uncommon for those really dedicated ones to eat, sleep and shit music.

Not sure how many people poop music out from their anus.

But I do know one person who sleeps with a violin.

His name is Dennis Lau. This guy has been playing violin so much, he’s even playing it in his sleep.

Of course, it’s all worth it to him. as one of Malaysia’s most sought after violinists, he has been playing his violin at events both locally and abroad. Just a couple of months earlier, Dennis managed to clinch a deal with Sony Music to release his debut album – DiversiFy.

It also happens to be one of the most refreshing and enjoyable albums I have ever heard from a local artist.

When people think violins, in their heads they usually think either one of two things. Either it’s classical music that old farts listen to, or the hot fiery sounds the likes of Vanessa Mae.

But Dennis’s album is neither.

This is violin in a completely different flavour than the ones we’re used to.

DiversiFy has a bit of jazz, bit of R&B, even bits of rap and hip-hop thrown into the mix. It is full of fresh new sounds 100% composed and produced by the violinist himself. On the whole, Dennis’s music is very easy-listening, very relaxing, and something you’d love to hear while chilling in a nice cafe on a rainy day having a hot cup of latte.

But talk is cheap. Here’s a sample of what the violin sounds like on Dennis’s hands.

Disclaimer: Kenny Sia did not receive any form of bribe/cash/chicks from Dennis Lau for the writing this entry. All I got was his autographed CD, which you can easily get from CD Rama and Rock Corner record stores all over Malaysia.

ADV: I Am So Stressed

21 November 2009