Bowling

ATSY & I were having a friendly best of 3 game of Bowling. It was a close game. Its our first time bowling together coz we had some time to pass before heading for drinks with some friends. This was at 1 Utama shopping mall. I must say we had a good time.

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15th TIME GRAND SLAM TENNIS CHAMPION & LEGEND ROGER FEDERER & MYSELF :D

I still can't believe I managed to meet the man himself Roger Federer. Currently world number 2 in the rankings, he was down in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in November 2008 for an exhibition tournament with US players James Blake, Borg & John McEnroe. Federer beat Blake in case you all are wondering. Federer's a cool guy. He thanked the 5 of us who were waiting to meet him for all our support for him after taking pictures & signing autographs. He's freaking tall as well. I think he is 6 feet 2 inches. I'm like 5' 7. As you can see in the picture Federer had to bring his head lower for me to get a shot with him.

After meeting Blake on the courts I went for lunch & headed back to Mandarin Oriental hoping to meet Federer. I didn't think I was gonna be this lucky. I have to thank these 2 kids who told me to wait for a short while because he was having lunch somewhere in the hotel. These kids were waiting since morning till like 3pm for Federer to show up.

Because I am a fan of Roger Federer, I originally woke up in the morning to go KLCC for the official meet and greet session with the tennis great. After 45 minutes lining up with my mom, we were so close to the front when the dumb bouncers decided to open the barriers to everyone. Fans obviously rushed to the front and kept pushing until the cops had no choice but to say no more autographs with the star. In the end everyone didn't get any chance to meet him because of this incident. That's when I decided to head to Mandarin Oriental Hotel to meet him because I had some inside information that he was gonna be there having lunch after KLCC's session.

So for those of you who rushed to the front without waiting in line, too bad you didn't get to meet him or even get his autograph!

Added note : Now that ROGER FEDERER has just made HISTORY today the 7th of June, 2009 by Winning the FRENCH OPEN, EQUALLING Pete Sampras with 14 GRAND SLAM TITLES, WINNING ALL FOUR of the GRAND SLAMS, I feel truly honored to have been able to take a picture with him.

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US Tennis Player James Blake With Myself & Mom

My mom & I were very fortunate to be On Court with the number 10th in the world tennis player James Blake while he was having his practice session before the exhibition tournament. They ( Roger Federer, James Blake, John McEnroe & Borg ) were staying at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel where we managed to get a picture taken. I felt damn short though standing next to Blake.

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I'd like to let everyone know that this is not becoming purely a blog about marine life and diving. I'm just updating some old stuff now so be patient.
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Nudibranch Mating

I'm very lucky to have seen these nudi's mating. It was my first time seeing them mate. I am still trying to figure out if there's a forth nudi mating. There are three for sure. I'll get back to you guys in a bit. These guys are awesome. Their colors really stand out in pictures. Another one of my favorite shots. I am quite happy with my underwater photography so far judging by these few pictures. There's gonna be more diving to come for me so look out for more wicked pictures.

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Clown Fish & Its Anemone

I have to say I love this shot the most. I had to wait for a few minutes for this shot and few minutes underwater is a long time. It was afterall worth the wait.
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Can You SPOT The Hermit Crab?

This is one of my best shots so far. The hermit crab.

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Backside Of A Juvenile Box Fish

Women love em. These fellas are actually really cute but only when they are juveniles. When they grow up, their not that cute. However there are other species of box fish that are quite nice to look at even when they are adults. All of them have this way of swimming which makes them quite distinctive & easy to spot. Why are they called a box fish? They obviously look like a box from all angles!
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Thorny Sea Horse

I like this picture. Since they don't move much it was pretty easy to get a nice shot of this fella.

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Nudibranch

They are sea also known as sea slugs but very colorful. More to come.
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Frog Fish

This is a transparent frog fish which I saw at a dive site called Holy Sand in Redang Island. Pinkish in color makes this fella stand out. There are loads of colorful frog fish which I have yet to see. Can't wait!
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Star Puffer From Below

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Baby Scorpion Fish

These fellas are another type of ugly looking fishes. Scorpionfish are the type of fish which ambush their prey using their camouflage. They are somewhat like the Stonefish because you really have to look out for these guys while diving. Can be colorful fellas but ugly.

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Ugly Looking Stone Fish

Can you see his face? I really don't know what to say but they are really ugly. You will not find one pretty looking stone fish in the ocean as far as I know.

They have needle-like dorsal-fin spines on them as their defense mechanism. These highly camouflaged stone fishes makes them extremely dangerous to other fish as well as divers because its so difficult to spot them underwater. They look so much like a rock which is why they are called stone fishes.

How dangerous are they to divers? Extremely! Their dorsal-fin spines have toxic venom which can be fatal to humans.

I never really go to near them to take pictures. There's a reason why people should not touch anything while diving or snorkelling for their own safety.

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The Titan Triggerfish

All divers watchout for these guys coz they are extremely defensive especially mating season. These fellas have a cone shaped territory hence divers are told not to swim over them during mating season. What they do is they will ramp into any diver that comes through their zone & will take a bite with their large front teeth. I heard they can bite through a divers fins or even break a divers mask. Other than that, they are usually harmless & often swim by divers. They are actually quite colorful fishes and have a distinctive way of swimming which I find quite funny. The titans are one of the largest of its kind.

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Marine Life

The star puffer is the one above. Its a very common fish and can be seen most of the time. Lizard fishes on the bottom left seem to be all over Redang Island. For some reason I always see them in pairs. They always look like they are high on something. And finally the razor fishes. I have no idea why they swim up and downwards as seen in the picture. Their heads are pointed downwards but their eyes are looking straight. Weird!!!

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Ocean, Beauty, Bubbles, Scuba Tanks & A Couple

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At The Surface

This was a pretty good dive. Vis was not bad. Calm seas allowed me to get this great shot before getting onto the boat.

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Underwater Scene At Redang Island

I like my Jellyfish picture. Having some quiet time and enjoying the underwater scenery besides hearing my own bubbles. This was a relaxing dive.

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More Corals

Bottom left of the picture is the feather star they call it. Very nice and colorful but it can stick to ur wetsuit if you make direct contact with it. Squat Lobsters can be found chilling in between these feather stars. On the right of the feather star is the sea whip. One of the ways to see where the current is coming from is by observing things like this sea whip if there's any around you while diving. As you can see the current is obviously coming from the right hence the sea whip leaning to the left.

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