demonick.tv™

Last week was really an eventful week. I went for 2 Tweetups and also dropped by for GeekCamp.

KL Tweetup 1
This was held at Chilli’s restaurant at Mid Valley. The organizers managed to book a room so that we can have a private get together without disturbing other patrons. Yes, I think we can actually scare a lot of people away if we were to hold it outside..haha! Anyway, the theme of the meet was “Gadget Fest” where everyone brought a gadget and talk about it. I must say, there were some really interesting/nostalgic gadgets. Among them are world’s first MPEG camera, the Nokia “Matrix” phone, a portable battery pack, a gadget that swears at a touch of a button and the coolest gadget that left everyone going “wooooo”…the Amazon Kindle.

The Amazon Kindle reading device

Me at the KL Tweetup

KL Tweetup 2
This second Tweetup was on the very next day and it was held in TwentyOne Kitchen+Bar. This event was organized by @BrandConsultant, @LimyH and @CreativPromoter. Unlike the previous night, there wasn’t a theme to this meet. It was an entirely different group of people as none of them came for the previous night. The group is also somewhat different. The night before, the group of people I met were young and techie, on this night, the group consists of more serious business + marketing oriented people. Honestly, I enjoyed both events equally, but more knowledge gained from this night than the previous one.

from left: @CreativPromoter, @melvinchanwh, @demonick and @ZakirJaafar

not in pic: @BlogJunkie, @LimyH, @MarketingEds, @BrandConsultant, @PeterPek, @NileshBabu

GeekCamp
Well..the title says it all doesn’t it? GeekCamp is a un-conference that was held at my office where programmers and technical specialist come together to give technical presentations and demos. The talks mainly revolve around coding, programming frameworks, tip & tricks..etc. Initially, I didn’t plan to attend it as I thought the sessions were a wee bit too technical even for me. I dropped by for 2 sessions just to see what’s it all about and also to give support (for being the host).

a scene from GeekCamp

Believe it or not, these 3 events were all co-ordinated with the use of Twitter. It only goes to show that Twitter is not just a “simple status updater” as many non-users might have assumed. It shows that it can also bring people together to be able to share and learn. So, have you “tweeted” today?

Photo credits: @rohant and @NileshBabu

This is about my trip to Tioman Island last weekend. It’s my first time there so I didn’t have any expectations whatsoever. To my surprise, the place is simply awesome! If you really want a short getaway from the city and to chill out by the beach in some island…this is a place to consider. Clean sandy beaches, cheap accommodation, cheap booze (it’s a duty free zone), and great company…the perfect combo for a holiday.

There were 8 of us who went, and out of the 8, 5 of them were mainly there for diving and the other 3 (myself included)….well, we’re there just to chill and for the cheap alcohol.

upon arrival at the jetty, awaiting the ferry

We stayed in Coral Reef chalets in Tekek Village.Tekek is considered the heart of Tioman Island, and it’s where the airport is situated. Room rates are from RM45 to RM150.00 per room per night by the beach. The rooms comes with 2 beds, air conditioning, water heater and TV in some (got Astro some more wei!)…not too bad if you ask me. A word of caution though…if you’re planning to bring your “princess-like” girlfriend/wife who can’t tolerate bugs and a not so perfect bathroom…don’t bother getting a room here…after all we only paid RM75 per person for 2 nights…what more can you ask for?

there are several hammocks in front of our rooms which was simply heaven!

Can you believe that this is actually the view from the hammock?

The beach

Crystal clear waters

sunset by the beach looked so calm and peaceful

For us non divers, we went snorkeling and chill by the beach during the day and during the night…well need I say more?

choosing our poison at a duty free shop

With alcohol being cheaper than a can of Coke there, it’s quite hard not over buy. Imagine a can of Tiger beer is going for only RM2 per can and a bottle of Hoegarden is only going for RM5! So on the first night itself, we bought a bottle of Glenfiddich single malt whiskey (12 years), a bottle of Absolut Mango and a couple of bottles of other imported beers.

note the price of this single malt whiskey?

these are our purchases on the first night!

It’s actually quite surprising that despite so much alcohol that we bought, none of us were actually really drunk on both nights. I think it’s mainly due to the fact that the majority of them had to go diving the next morning and consumption of alcohol before diving is a big no-no (heard they can actually revoke your dive license even). But even so, being tipsy for 2 nights straight was good enough for me…it was really fun nevertheless.

On the final day, Rabin & I rented bicycles and we rode around the island. I think that was my first time on a bicycle in after 5-6 years. It really feels great to ride again. I did most parts of the journey myself though, as Rabin was too tired to continue and headed back to the room half way for a rest.

I cycled to this marina where all the boats are parked..

And to this pier where several people were seen fishing..

coastal view from the pier

I think judging from the pictures, it’s hard for anyone to leave such a beautiful place just after 3 days. We were all contemplating to actually extend our stay for at least a week! Sighh…Oh well that’s just wishful thinking I guess, but I will most certainly come back here again…if it’s not for the beach…it’s certainly for the cheap alcohol…haha!

Our final picture…

Note: Some pictures are courtesy of Eric Cheong

Last Thursday morning, when I came in the office, my colleague Mike asked me.. “Nick, did Jek messaged you over MSN?”. I told him “Dude..I just got in and I haven’t even sign-in yet..why lah?” to which Mike replied “Quickly sign-in..there is something important…also check your email”. Being curious and all, I signed-in and also checked my email as told. True enough..as soon as I signed-in, Jek messaged me over MSN. “Nick, did you get my email? It’s IMPORTANT.” Jek asked. So I thought it was something really important that must be taken care off immediately. But when I checked…guess what the email was about?

To: undisclosed-recipients;
Subject: Let the drinks begin…

It turns out that Jek needed our confirmation and also our IC numbers to get us on the guest list for a Chivas event at Euphoria. It’s “IMPORTANT” because he needed the confirmation and IC numbers by 1pm the very same day, otherwise we won’t be on the guest list. It’s “IMPORTANT” because he also needed the confirmation and IC numbers of others that we want to invite that night. So it was kind of a last minute thing…that’s why I can understand the “IMPORTANCE” hahaha!

A free flow of Chivas will be available from 7pm to 11pm that night. Us being “kiasu” and all, wanted to go early to “maximize” our drinks. But we decided not to and only be there at around 930pm instead. BUT once there, we didn’t waste any time as we try to recover back whatever time that was lost by taking as many drinks as we can per person! Here are some of the photos taken that night…

look at our “kiasu-ism”

*Click here to view more photos

The music was simply great that night with Victor G and Seb Fontaine mixing on the decks and combine that with good company along an extra bottle of Chivas after the free flow ended (thanks Kay Lee), made it an awesome night out. Also thanks to Jek for making it happen.

On Saturday, my colleagues and I went to Kepong Metropolitan Park for kite flying. I can’t exactly remember when was the last time I actually flew a kite, but I do remember making one during my primary school days (the one that can’t fly!). Nevertheless, it was quite fun being a kid all over again. Kites there were priced from RM15 all the way to RM 55 depending on type and size I guess. But I tell you, there have some of the cheesiest designed kites on sale and I think it takes guts to actually fly those.

These are some of the cheesiest kite designs you will ever find…

Look closely…that’s not Superman!

My colleague Follen actually bought a fish design kite, but we can’t seem to fly it because it seemed little too heavy or something. Then a smart ass came up and told us…”…Of course lah!….fish where can fly??!” =.=

attending to our fish kite…looks more like a dead fish to me…hahah!

My attempt #329 – Still cannot fly it! Shane is the little kid trying to fly it too

I would seriously recommend going over there during the weekends to just to give it a try. The park is also very big with a lake and jogging pathways, so you can actually bring your family there for a jog or a picnic. The bad part was we only managed to fly the kites about 30-45 mins before it started to pour. Well, it was fun while it lasted though.

There is the Christmas Tree, there is even a Money Tree, but have you ever heard of a Love Tree?

Our love tree

You see, this is another “by-product” of our office. As you can tell, it’s a Christmas tree from last year, and everyone seems too busy (or lazy rather) to pack up the tree. Instead, during the recent Chinese New Year, we decorated it with fans and ang pows. So, since Valentine’s Day is coming, we brilliantly decorated it with hearts! What’s next?…the tree using a hard hat for Labour Day? And you wonder why we’re known as a creative agency.

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!