Through My Eyes

Penang Rocks

2008-03-08T21:13:00.004+08:00

I did my part by voting today for a change.(Everyone at home did the same) Glad that this CHANGE has happened after all these years.
Confirmed: Opposition takes Penang - 8.52pm
Unofficial result: The opposition will form the next state government in Penang for second time in history. Gerakan, then an opposition party, won Penang almost 40 years ago. The DAP-PKR-PAS combination has collectively won at least 24 seats out of the 40 seats.
I hope that we the Penang people will deserve a better goverence from now on.
Feeling :- awesome and good

Koh Samui 18-23 August 2007

2007-08-28T08:12:00.000+08:00

Here are some photos I took during the trip.

Half moon party

Delicious seafood dinner for 2

Rock climbing

Early morning street at Chaweng, Samui

The view from the top( Angthong National Marine Park)

My Trip to Taipei on 1-5 March 2007

2007-03-08T09:12:00.000+08:00

View from the Hotel window

Just had a memorable eating, shopping and fun holiday with wife in Taipei. Here is my Trip write up to Taipei on 1-5 March 2007

1/3/2007 Departed from Pg/HK/Taipei CX flight, arrived at Taipei 3.15pm. Took Kuo Kuang Airport bus to Taipei Main Station (NT125 each) the bus ticket booth is on the left side as you come out from custom check point... From Taipei Main Station just as the bus stop there are taxis waiting. Got a taxi to Neijiang Hotel (NT110). Check in hotel, room was alright clean (NT1280Thurs, NT1480Fri, Sat, Sun). By then it was 4.30pm. Made a call to visit TSA in Taipei, quickly grab a cab to TSA. Took a bus No 260 back to Taipei Station. Went to the TRA to collect and pay for the train ticket to Hualien (booked the train ticket online) so just gave the ticket counter the reference ID number ( NT1604 for 2 tickets found trip) then took MRT to Shihlin NM. (Alight at MRT station Jiantan) Had dinner there fried oyster, bread will beef filling, Taiwan sausage plus walked the NM Street shopping. Back to the hotel around 11pm.

Taroko National Park-Hualien

2/3/2007 Woke up early 5.30am, depart from hotel 6am to Taipei Main Station for Hualien 7.10 am train. Grab a bit e at 7 Eleven shop. Train ride was comfortable and the journey was 3 hours, arrived at Hualien 10am. Quickly went to the taxi stand and got a cab for 1 day use NT1900 (2persons) to tour Taroko National Park. Bought some local fruits and lunch at Buluowan Park also had some local food at the beach. We cover all the tourist site (Shakadang Trail, Eternity Spring, Buluowan Park, Swallow Grotto, Tunnel of Nine Turns, Tiansiang, BiaYang Trail) and end the tour around 5pm back to the Hualien train station as our train is 6.00pm arriving at Taipei 9.00pm. MRT to Ximen where the hotel is located use EXIT 1 as you come out turn left then right the hotel is at the corner of the junction traffic lights. Went walking around Ximen pedestrian mall plus had some local food and snow ice with mango and strawberry. Slept at 12 midnight.

Taroko National Park-Hualien

3/3/2007 Woke up 8.00 am, Left hotel for Martyrs Shrine to see changing of the guards( A MUST To See) arrived at Martyrs Shrine at 9.30 am missed the first changing of the guards had to wait for the next one at 10.00 am. Bought 1 day pass for MRT (NT150each) Ximen MRT toYuangshan Exit 1, took bus No21 to Martyrs Shrine but we miss the bus stop so have to walk back for quite a distance. Going back to MRT Yuangsan from Martyrs was a breeze. Then proceed to MRT Shihlin Exit 1 walk straight board bus No255 to National Palace Museum, spent around 2 hours there, (Ticket NT160 each). Return to MRT Shihlin after the tour at the museum had lunch at one of the local shop (again local food). Frankly the Taiwanese food is not as tasty as Penang food; no hard feelings. What the heck; need to try the local food to feel how it taste.

Changing of the Guards- Martyrs Shrine

Depart for Xin Beitou reaching there at 3.00 pm. Went for the hot spring at Spa Spring Resort (private room costing NT1080 for 1.5 hours) It was nice after the hot spring bath and walk to the Hot Spring museum and around the town for a while before heading to Danshui. Manage to see the sunset which was beautiful and had street food and shop for local food to bring back home. Things here are cheaper then downtown. Depart from Danshui for Ximen, and from Ximen to MRT Houshanpi (Wufenpu-ladies shopping) Shopped until around 11.00 pm before heading back to hotel.

4/3/2007 Woke up 8.00am. Depart for CKS Memorial Hall Exit 5, Took lots of photos, spend about 1 hour then to Taipei City Hall. Took a walk to Taipei 101 about 15 minute’s slow walk. Got the tickets to go to the 89 storey viewing gallery (NT360 each). By the end of the viewing it was around 12 noon so head downstairs and had a good Japanese buffet @ Wasabi Taipei 101 (NT800 each). Good and variety of food and nice environment. After lunch went back to Ximen area for shopping until 6pm before going back to Wufenpu for another last minute ladies shopping until 11.00pm.

5/3/2007 Depart hotel at 8am took cab to Taipei Main Station (NT80) got the Kuo Kuang airport bus ticket reaching airport terminal 1 at 9.20am.(traffic in the morning is heavy so better be early than miss the flight) Flight was 11.20am CX Taipei/HK/Penang. Arrived at my home sweet home around 7pm.

My daughter coming PMR exam

2006-09-26T09:45:00.000+08:00

This coming 2nd October marks the beginning of my daughter PMR exam. For the last passed few weeks I have noticed that she has been studying hard. All I wish, as a parent can wish, is for my child to do well in the exam.

I promise her that she can use the computer online for no limit of time after the exam. Hopefully she can have the fun, joy and all the time to spend online until she is fed up. Most of the time I do set a time limit my children online. I feel there must be some control over their time spend online or else they will hook up online most of the time and it's dreadful.

something for my daughter to cherish

Learn to Listen

2006-04-24T11:55:00.000+08:00

If we do not like what we hear, we invariably switch off and consequently; we misconstrue messages or just stop listening. We should at least digest the words and ponder. Stand back and really listen to what is being said. Stop and think before hitting “auto-respond ”.

I think I still have to develop this skill in making me a better listener especially listening to my children. With my spouse and colleagues I think I have achieve great success.

“Figure out what went wrong, not who was wrong, when communication breaks down.”

# It has been a while since I last wrote.

My Son PMR Results

2005-12-28T23:24:00.000+08:00

I think I was more nervous than my son when I fetched him to his school to collect his PMR results on 22 Dec 2005. We left our house around 9.45am and I was having a good conversation (dad and son talk) while I was driving.

As we reached his school there was a large crowd of parents and students all patiently waiting for the PMR results to be announced. After waiting for more than 30 minutes all the students were asked to go to their respective classroom where the results slip were given. After queuing and getting the results, the first reaction was, Aiyoh Chinese got B………….. As I was standing beside him trying to get a glimpse of the results slip but could not figure out what he had got for the rest of the papers he sat for. Without much emotion in him, he said the rest of the papers OK. Only then did I realize that he had got a good result 7A and 1B.

I can tell that he was not too happy with his Mandarin paper but I console him that the results were excellent and he had done a Good Job!

I can tell you one thing is that my son is a very confident person until sometimes I think he is over confident. But up today exam has been smooth sailing for him. Got to think of how to reward him maybe some cash will be good for him beside he has most to the things teenagers have.

By the way I got him a Nike basketball shoes (Zoom LEBRON ll Low) so there goes his reward which was rather expensive by my standard.

Family Hong Kong Holidays

2005-12-09T10:07:00.000+08:00

View from Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center-Victoria Harbour

Well, came back from my holidays and have being pretty busy at home. I have not been able to use the computer that frequent because my kids have monopolised both the PC we have at home.

Looking back at my family trip to Hong Kong and Shenzhen from 1-6 Dec had me thinking of the wonderful moments we spent. Shopping and meals/food are not cheap in HK. Clothing’s, electric goods, hand phones are about the same price in Malaysia. (Except if there is a sale) We went to Mongkok area for shopping; prices are better there comparing with Tsim Sha Tsui.

Places of interest we visited in Hong Kong; Avenue of the Star, Science Museum, The Peak (Victoria Peak), Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center, Aberdeen Harbour (Jumbo Floating Restaurant), Disneyland (the kids just had a wonderful time)

Jackie Chan Palm print-Avenue of the Stars

Places of interest we visited in Shenzhen; Windows of the World, Splendid China. Btw in Shenzhen, I was conned by a merchant when I bought a SD card of 1GB that turned out to be 32 MB and 1GB MP3 that was only 128MB. The retailer actually show us the info of 1GB on the notebook but when I reformat the devices at home it turn out it be 32MB and 128MB.(Beware, I think there are lots of conned retailer in China)

Glad to be back in my sweet home Penang and enjoying our local food. I can tell you nothing beats Penang food.

Disneyland- View from tarzan house

Looking forward to my coming holidays

2005-11-08T10:46:00.000+08:00

Time really flies. After the Deepavali and Raya holidays I managed to pursue with lots of activities or rather a few house chores completed but there are a few more yet to be done. I am looking forward to our Seoul trip come this 18 Nov (just me and missus) and follow by the Hong Kong trip with the kids early December.

Seoul Map

What can I say life has been pretty good this year 2005 with lots of holidays spent with my loved ones? Maybe its true life begins after 40’s where one’s enjoying life more a little.

Beware con pair on the prowl

2005-10-26T11:45:00.000+08:00

Last few weeks and the coming weeks, I will still be busy with the office work and there are a few outstanding chores at the house that need to be done.

I need to share a True Story had happened to my uncle recently, He was conned by 2 guys most probably Chinese National because they can’t speak the local dialect (Hokkien) when the con was happening. Beware nowadays cons works in pairs or groups to make you believe that everything seems true.

My uncle went to a bank to withdraw RM3000. (MBB, Bayan Baru Branch) As he was to walk out of the bank, a guy in front of him suddenly drops a bundle of money. Being too helpful he called out to this guy that he had dropped the money. But was stopped by another guy who was behind him asking not to alert the man who had dropped the money.

The guy who had silence my uncle quickly picked up the money (estimated RM5000) and stack it in a wallet and passed it to my uncle. But the wallet was switched before it was passed to my uncle. The wallet that was given was filled with newspapers nicely cut out in the size of the currency.

Once he had given the switched wallet to my uncle he disappeared saying he will meet my uncle nearby. The guy who has dropped the money quickly approached my uncle saying that he has picked up his dropped money. This guy was blaming, cursing (saying you are a thief) and pretend to do a body search and at the same time pick pocket the RM 3000 my uncle has just withdrawn from the bank. My uncle however did not realise he had been cheated until he opened the wallet which was filled with newspapers.

So you have to be always on the alert because a lot of dishonest people are out there to con you.

Step dancing at home

2005-10-18T09:43:00.000+08:00

The step dancing mat

The latest craze at home for the kids- dancing. I mean step dancing. How does this step dancing works Well it’s just a dancing mat where ones’ step on the arrows of the mat following to the music that is played. My daughter has bought a step dancing mat that must be attached to the Play Station to enjoy the fun step dancing.

Looks like the kids are having a good time dancing; their mum is also into it. I did give it a try but was not able to follow the rhythm. It looks real easy but it was a challenge to do the whole dance routine. There are a few choice of program to select easy to heavy (difficult).

I think by practicing it will make the step dancing much easier after awhile. My kids are good with the rhythm and movement of the dance. At least it a fun and good workout of them. I mean one does can really sweat it out after half an hour.

I wonder how long this craze will last. Thoughts…………………….teenagers are fun years.

My son PMR exam

2005-10-05T11:24:00.000+08:00

Since Monday 3/10/2005 my son has been starting to take the PMR examination. It will be until next week 11/10/2005 the whole exam will be over. Next year will be my daughter turn for the PMR.

This reminds me of the days I took my SPR (Sijil Peniliaan Rendah) the same as PMR.Looking and comparing with my kids on their studies I think I am way behind them.

They are more gifted than me and have produced better results compared to the results I have obtained. I think they are smarter perhaps their generation is suppose to be this way.

Sometimes I wonder, can we as parents be easy going on the kids, let them do their own thing. But again kids have to be monitor and guide so that they will be able to instill good values in life.

I try as far as possible to be as flexible as possible with my kids. Things that cannot be allow to do are usually given answers with reasoning. Sometimes they don’t like it but that’s the rule.

I think he will be going to enjoy his long rest and the internet after the long awaited exam is over. I have promised him that he can have full access anytime to the internet after the exam.
Then as a father I will still have to monitor his activities.That what parents has to do.

Langkawi Trip 26-30 Sept.

2005-10-01T00:09:00.000+08:00

Just got back from Langkawi this afternoon, took the 1.10pm flight. The journey was smooth and managed to arrive back at my sweet home at around 2.15pm. I am real tired after these couple of days.

The 5 days (26-30 Sept) trip to Langkawi was fun besides attending the seminar for 3 days .I was provided accommodation at City Bayview Hotel which was okay. I managed to catch up with a few of my old buddies now working and residing in Langkawi. We had some good time chatting over dinner mostly with seafood. Surprisingly I did not drink that much beer or wine during this trip. Among the best place for dinner was the Wonderland Restaurant which was cheap and good. I bought lots of chocolates, a couple of bottles of wine, cashew nuts and some sarong.

I just wonder when will be my next trip back to Langkawi maybe with my family the next time around.

Busy past week and coming week

2005-09-21T18:34:00.000+08:00

Phew …what a week that has been for me. My house was installed with a burglar alarm system at last. I have always wanted to install the system but the timing was always not perfect. (No budget) At last managed to have it installed. It always good to have a safety device if ones’ can afford it.

Once again the house was full of dust after the drilling and fixing of wires all around. I am so scare of renovation for the house. Each time we do a renovation be it small or big the whole house will be a mess.(dusty and dirty) Anyway after all the mopping and washing the house is much cleaner. I am going to do some touch up on some minor paint work on my door grills and front gate. I will be taking 2 days off from work starting from tomorrow. This coming weekend will be a busy one.(Food Fair at the Old Folks Home)

Btw next week I will be attending a seminar in Langkawi from 27-29 September and let’s see how things will go. Definitely will be doing a bit of shopping and meeting some old buddies in Langkawi not to mention some drinking session. Cheers to me.

D-I-Y Pest Control

2005-09-13T09:33:00.000+08:00

I am always worried that my house will be infested with termites. Even though it had the pest preventive control done by a pest control company a few times already. I am always on the look out for any sign of termites begin around in the house. Lucky so far there is no termite’s infection.

Me on the job, looking for termites

After reading belacans experience with the Exterminator, I thought why not D-I-Y so I decided to save some money by doing the spraying of the insecticide myself. Seeing the workers spraying the chemical was easy.

I remember I did have some insecticide chemical given by the pest control worker during their last visit. Most probably the chemical is Termidor a low hazard insecticide.
Here how it goes, mix the chemical 10% with water 90% put the mix solution in a spray container. I managed to spray the whole house and it was a very simple job. Time needed to do the job was about 40 minutes.

I think I have saved about RM60.00 (RM360 p.a = 6 visits; quotation from the pest control company) from now onwards I will be doing my own pest control for my house (just simple spraying). It just that I have to buy the chemical and strictly follow the instructions on the label.

Some simple task should be done by us after seeing how easy it is done thus making us save some money.

Visualization

2005-09-06T09:29:00.000+08:00

Can you visualize what's under the water?

To visualize is to see what is not there, what is not real- you know it’s like a dream. To visualize is, in fact, to make visualize lies.

Visualize lies, however, have a way of becoming visual truths. Visualization is more like imagination.

How do you visualize? In our imagination, what we behold we become. What we have beheld until this moment has gotten us what we are – and what we have. If we want something different - something greater - we must think greater thoughts.

We responsible for the thoughts we hold and put there in our mind. Thus comes the dream which is always positive in nature. Don’t focus what you don’t want.

Think about your dream all the time, no matter what else you’re doing. Live your dream in your imagination. Become obsessed by it. Love it. Be passionate about it.

Visualization is skill. I always tell my kids to visualize in whatever they are doing. Even in their studies if they visualize, studying would tends to become easier and a better understanding of the subject. (A greater picture comes out of it)

In day to day activities visualization help us remember things better. Things that need to be done.

Mahathir and I merely hugged -what do you think TM has on his mind.

2005-09-02T10:06:00.000+08:00

How do you analyse Tun Mahathir press interview on the hug RA gave him.

What I can analysed that the AP issue is still at TM heart and mind. It’s not about the Minister but about Proton and the Approved Permits issue, he said:

The best part was asked if he felt better now, (after the hug) he said: “It's not a cure, I'm having a cold.” He might mean that he is having a cold after the hug.

The hug, even without an apology, has helped ease feelings between Dr Mahathir and Rafidah, but the AP issues which caused the rift still hang between them.

The can of worms is still crawling out surely but slowly. I think only TM can do the magic, if any other politikus would say anything on AP it would surely be swept under the carpet.

Seven cheers to TM; MAHATHIR,MAHATHIR,MAHATHIR,MAHATHIR,MAHATHIR,MAHATHIR,

MAHATHIR

Like what we did on MERDEKA……………..

OTO Trimax TX-808 ; High Performance Slimming Kit

2005-08-29T10:41:00.000+08:00

Well, I just bought my missus an anniversary gift. I got her an OTO Trimax TX-808 (High Performance Slimming Kit)

Trimax Tx-808

Since we have been eating without much exercise these days and have been putting some inches on our waist line. I thought it was a rational idea to get one of these gadgets.

I wasn’t that expensive RM680.00. I thought the price was a good buy. As for the product, here is my review:

- Putting on and operating the gadget was a breeze.
- Doing the slimming exercise too long can cause skin irritation.
(Redness on the skin on the stomach area)
- Effectiveness on a level from 1- 10, the level I could think of is 6.
- Must do it on a daily basic for better and faster results, than the level could be 7 or 8
- Overall it still a good exercise gadget but it just that sometimes we are lazy to do it

Let’s see whether our waist will become slimmer in months to come.

Surprise anniversary card

2005-08-23T09:07:00.000+08:00

Surprised indeed, received this lovely and meaningful online card from my missus with touching message.What can I say? I love you all through the years all the same.

This is the card I received. Reminded me,we actually did all these hugs.lol

Happy Anniversary Darling
Those are things we do thru the years.

Love you forever,

Your wife,
Pamela
22Aug 2005

Anniversary-looking back

2005-08-22T09:40:00.000+08:00

Reproduced image from photograph; August 1987

My thoughts lately have been centered on the years of my marriage. Well, we will be celebrating our 18^th anniversary on the month of August. Looking back the day when we pen our signature on our marriage certificate. It was just like time really flies without us realizing it. Wow, I was wondering how we managed to go through life in marriage with so much success (ahem) because I have come across so many failed marriages.

Our believe is that no matter what it takes, a marriage should be for better or worse. Maybe we were destiny to be mended for each other. A famous quote that we always remind ourselves; Suffer what there is to suffer and enjoy what there is to enjoy. Treat suffering and enjoyment as part of life.

We experienced some unfavourable years when money was tight and without much savings. Things are pretty good now. Perhaps that was the test of our partnership in life. Nevertheless we triumph in our endeavours in building a strong and trusting partnership. Supporting each other in difficult times is crucial in making marriage rocks. To make a marriage successful, one’s have to give and take, help out ; a lot of hard work has to be put in.

I am indeed glad that our lives have been so meaningful to each other and the trusting partnership we have. I look forward to many more loving years ahead together.

Happy Anniversay to my loving missus.

Set Sound Goals

2005-08-17T11:41:00.000+08:00

You can’t work without goals. Can you? I have been reminding my children always on this matter. Can’t blame me for being a good father. But fuzzy goals are as bad as no goals at all. When setting goals, aim for these three characteristics:

Clear, Can two or more people understand your goal and agree on the look, feel and function of the desired outcome? Don’t leave room for interpretation.
Reasonable. Make sure the goal is challenging but possible to accomplish within a reasonable time frame.
Important. Does the goal describe an outcome yourself really needs? Is it something that you should spend valuable time on?

Setting goals in life is a great essence in achieving what you want. It’s good to set small goals and see the targets been achieved. Perhaps slowly but surely all the goals you set will be rewarded over a period of time.

Kayaking in the Hongs(caves)-Phuket Dec 2004

Quote:

The common idea that success spoils people by making them vain, egotistic and self-complacent is erroneous; on the contrary it makes them, for the most part, humble, tolerant and kind.
W. Somerset Maugham

My helping out in A Charity Event this coming September

2005-08-15T10:14:00.000+08:00

I am also in the midst in helping out for a charity event in Penang this coming September. This is a Food Fair event to be held on Sunday 25^th September 2005 from 10.00 a.m. to 3.00 p.m. in aid for Silver Jubilee Home For The Aged.

To participate for the event, there are 4 choices to contribute:-

Prepare and sell the food
Contribute the food only(minimum 300 servings)arrangement will be made to sell the food for you
Sponsor a stall of RM1000/= ; the food and the selling will be done for you
Sponsor any amount by cash/ cheque
Buy the food coupons

I am not asking anyone to contribute (if you want also can) but at least just buy some food coupons and enjoy the Food Fair. I am sure if anyone approaches you to sell the food coupons please buy. For those who want to donate/ sponsor please made cheques payable to “Silver Jubilee Home For The Aged Penang” and send all cheques to:-

The Chairman

Silver Jubilee Home For The Aged

Jalan Sungai Dua

11700 Penang

As for me so far I have managed to collect RM3000.00 for sponsoring 3 stalls from (1 company RM1000.00, 2 individuals RM1000.00 each). I am trying to get a few more sponsors for stalls. I have also bought some food coupons and will be going to enjoy the event with my family.

Cheques collected from well wishes

So let’s support the Food Fair for the Silver Jubilee Home For The Aged this coming September.

Map to Silver Jubilee Home For The Aged.

Just my small helping so that the old folks can have a better home till the end of their days.

Quote;

I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I intended to be - Douglas Adams

Haze Hit Penang Island

2005-08-13T11:09:00.000+08:00

Latest. Haze has hit Penang since yesterday (Friday). This is taken from my house.The visibility is almost like around 200 meters only. More than that you can't see a thing.

The apartment is about 100 meters from my house. Look the haze is so bad.
Photo taken 11.00am Sat 13/8/2005

According to the weather forecast there will be thunderstorm on Sunday. Keeping my fingers cross and hope the rain will clear the skys by tomorrow.( at least some)

Latest Hand Free Kit.

2005-08-11T10:07:00.000+08:00

Hand free set Do it Yourself. It's compatible with all handset that do not have Bluetooth.

Check this out. Just add in some elastic band.

Hands Free -Latest trend.

Need help! What camera I should buy?

2005-08-08T10:05:00.000+08:00

I am thinking of buying a new digital camera. (Point and Shoot).I did some researched on various cameras but still not sure which one to go for. My old Fuji Z601 which I am using will be given to my daughter for her coming birthday.

My budget would be anything less than RM2,000. I am considering Nikon S2, Nikon E5900, Nikon E7900, Konica X1, Konica X60, Canon SD 500 or Canon SD400. All these cameras are small and compact.

These two cameras are the ones that I like but I am still not too sure. Anyone who is using any of the cameras above can help me out. If you have any advice on other cameras please share with me.

Thanks for sharing what camera you are using with me.

ALWAYS FUN, Being A Malaysian

2005-08-06T13:11:00.000+08:00

I just received this e mail from a buddy, thought I share it with you guys.I think this is almost like 100% true being a Malaysian.Hehehehehe.

NATIONAL EXCUSE FOR HAIR LOSS: Maggi Mee.

NATIONAL EXCUSE FOR BEING LATE: Traffic Jam.

NATIONAL CONDOM: None. Most Malaysians still feel embarrassed buying condoms. So they rushed into a 7-11, hurriedly grab the nearest pack, any pack, pay and leave before the cashier can even blink an eye.

NATIONAL FRUIT FOR INDUCING MENSTRUATION: Pineapple (only for women lah)

NATIONAL APHRODISIAC DRINK: Stout. Many swear by it. But after a few pints they start swearing at everything...

NATIONAL FAKE ILLNESS FOR GETTING MC (MEN): Food Poisoning.

NATIONAL FAKE ILLNESS FOR GETTING MC (WOMEN): Menstrual Pain

NATIONAL EXCUSES GIVEN BY WOMEN WHEN REFUSING SEX: Headache, kids not asleep, maid not asleep, mother-in-law around, early appointment, food not digested yet, aircond not cold enough, aircond too cold, nail polish not dry yet, forgot to take the pill, sleepy,stomach cramps, period, haven't remove make-up, haven't shower, no water supply, going to watch "Santa Barbara", depress, no mood, etc...

NATIONAL EXCUSES GIVEN BY MEN WHEN REFUSING SEX: None. Malaysian men never refuse sex.

NATIONAL CURE FOR HEADACHES: Panadol. The "cure for all". If it fails we have another secret weapon; Tiger Balm.

NATIONAL CURE FOR DIZZINESS: Minyak Angin Cap Kapak.

NATIONAL CAUSE OF DIZZINESS (FOR YUPPIES): Happy Hours.

NATIONAL INSTANT CURE FOR DIZZINESS (FOR YUPPIES): The sight of a police road block.

NATIONAL RUBBISH DUMP: Anywhere. As long as it is not your house.

NATIONAL MOST MIS-PRONOUNCED NAME: Carrefour (car-fu). Sometimes even pronounced as Carry 4! On second thoughts, why bother pronouncing stupid French brands like Peugeot, Renault or Citroen correctly. I think it sounds better,when the local mechanics say "Pew Jeot". When I was in school, Milo was always 'Mee Lo', now that I'm sophisticated, I say "My Lo". So don't be embarassed saying "Carry 4" when the Mat Sallehs shamelessly pronounce orang utan as "rangutan".

NATIONAL ROADSIDE DISTRACTION: The Bra-less Tourist. See how heads turn and traffic slows down when a bra-less Mat Salleh backpacker goes bouncing about on the streets!

After reading do you think the above statements are true? I definitely think the statements are true and correctly reflect the general Malaysians.

Know yourself

2005-08-04T09:22:00.000+08:00

Before we attempt to understand others, understand yourself well first. If you cannot understand yourself how do you understand others?

There are many ways to so this. Observe the way you live life now. Do details bore you? Do you focus on the larger picture? Insight about us is valuable for our improvement and development in our lives.

Lotus flower grows beautifully through mud water

Even if we are down today, the next day, a month, a year or a few years we can surely rise to the occasion. This is true if we put in our steadfast effort, hard work and enjoy it. The rewards will come in dripping or rushing water sooner or later. Don't let today's disappointments cast a shadow on tomorrow's dreams.

The person who plans and executes the plan will at least have chances of success. Just do it and don’t procrastinate. That’s what I believe, get it done.

I always keep a list of things to be done daily (getting old) so that by the end of the day I can looked at the list and be satisfied that the tasks listed had been completed. It helps in getting things done faster.

“You have to do the right thing. It may not be in your power; maybe not in your time, that there'll be any fruit. But that doesn't mean you stop doing the right thing. You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result...”

Learn to Listen

2005-07-31T11:40:00.000+08:00

One soft skill we should all develop is to be great listeners. Be it with our spouse, children and friends. However, we have built into our daily lives a series of habits and patterns and our subconscious automatically kicks in when we hear something be it good or bad. This is due too the stress and worries we face each day from our work and daily lives. We sometimes jump into conclusion without analyzing the words we hear. Perhaps we hear without listening correctly.

If we do not like what we hear, we invariably switch off and consequently; we misconstrue messages or just stop listening. We should at least digest the words and ponder. Stand back and really listen to what is being said. Stop and think before hitting “auto-respond ”.

I think I still have to develop this skill in making me a better listener especially listening to my children. With my spouse I think I have achieved great success. hahaha. Do we really listen?

“Figure out what went wrong, not who was wrong, when communication breaks down.”

The media should stop highlighting the AP issue,says some wise politikus

2005-07-29T10:16:00.000+08:00

I am amused that there are some quarters asking the newspapers not to highlight the AP issue. “Exco member Dr Noraessah Mohamad said the media should stop highlighting the issue.” Why doesn’t she ask TM not to have the press conference than there will be no AP issue/ news? It’s like barking at the wrong tree, blaming the press for the wrong doing. The AP issue is here to stay until TM is satisfied with the answers given.

To asked the newspapers not to highlight the AP issue. Maybe they can to a certain extend. Luckily we have blogs to read or else I don’t know what they will be hiding from us.

Perhaps to be transparent means not to highlight the AP issue. I don’t know you tell me.

Mahathir responsed with a punch

2005-07-27T09:17:00.000+08:00

Former PM Mahathir Mohamad has responded . The facts are all stated and I am impressed by the press conference he had given. At the age of 80, he is quick-minded and sharp-tongued as ever with the abilities to capture the minds of the audiences. I'm not senile, as he smiley said referring to comment that he had forgotten somethings he had approved long ago.

He now looks like a hero to the Malaysian public especially on the AP issue saying that the AP issue is still an issue not settle yet. The minister Rafidah Aziz says that it should be closed at the UMNO assembly and no more an issue. The silly analogy explanation she gave, I doubt the UMNO delegates plus the whole Malaysian public would believe her explanation.

Let’s see the next step of actions. It’s so good to see the truth coming out from both sides. Just let’s wait and see. The best is yet to come.

My nephew so cute!!!

2005-07-25T10:55:00.000+08:00

Wah my nephew so cute, he is just 2 years old and looks so adorable. Time really flies I can still remember when he was just a baby and now a toddler.

My nephew(Photo taken 24/7/2005)

During this period, he learns a great deal about social roles and develops motor skills.Since I always give him goodies to eat everytime he sees me he will ask for mum,mum (eat). He likes to talks a lot, playful and very energetic. He just like to mumble some kind of toddler talks that sometimes I can understand and at times I am blur.

I am sure he will be a cute guy in a few years time.

What's for lunch when I have to cook.

2005-07-24T00:05:00.000+08:00

My partner is down with a flu and sore throat. She has been not feeling well since Friday I hope she will recover or else I have to bring her to the doctor come tomorrow. I hate it when my partner is sick. So here I am going to be cooking lunch tomorrow (Sunday 24/7/2005). I was pondering what to cook; something simple yet tasty.(easy for me meh) Look through a few recipe books have a dozen of them in the drawer. (My partner favourite hobby is cooking)

Finally I found the simple dish and have decided to cook Koay Teow Soup with different kind of fish balls and lots of vegetables. So I am going to the market early in morning to buy the ingredients after sending my daughter to her tuition class.

Hopefully the lunch will turn out delicious.

Happy marketing to me…………

11.00am.(24/7/2005 Sunday)
Update: This is the final product for my simple lunch. Simple yet tasty especially the soup.Cost of list of ingredients only RM19.00 for the whole family. Mmmmmm......... very affordable.

The preparation

Cooking the soup

What's in the pot? Fishballs and cabbage with chicken soup.

Ringgit new value against USD

2005-07-22T10:00:00.000+08:00

Latest Ringgit value against USD is 3.788( USD1=RM3.788) opening morning trade. It looks like there is not much change as lot of people has said that the ringgit will appreciate to RM3.50.(USD 1=RM3.50)

As at 10am today it looks like not much changed had happened as most people have wrongly predicted.

The Force Is With Them

2005-07-21T08:25:00.000+08:00

Batman?/Terrorist?

My thoughts: At one glance I was thinking OMG terrorists in training somewhere then I realised that the perception I have is not always the truth. Silly me. Maybe it's because of the media and TV that I had been exposed everyday that developed my mind set in such a way. Therefore every photo does not necessary tell a story. (With so much high tech. photos can be manipulated)

Scroll down.......for caption.

Caption for the photo:
At a graduation ceremony at Kowsar Police Academy in Teheran, March 2005. Iranian women wearing traditional chadors took part in a wall-scaling exercise. More than 100 women will assist male colleagues in the police force, graduated.

National Kidney Foundation Singapore - The Saga

2005-07-18T10:12:00.000+08:00

I was watching the news on Singapore TV in Johore Bahru recently about the mismanagement of NKF (National Kidney Foundation) by its CEO. It really sad that such a person working for a charity organization misleads the public and uses the funds solely for his own purpose.

I am sure now many people will not be willing to donate to charity organization such as NKF anymore. People will have second thoughts if they want to donate to charity organization, just because there are a few rotten apples in this charity outfit.

Its chief executive officer Mr. T.T. Durai admits assertion its reserves would last just 3 years is 'not accurate', but when asked in court he agreed that it would last more like 30 to 40 years. Is he trying to bluff the public initially, NKF has a current reserves of Sp$262 million. Why on earth did such things happened? He pocketed Spore $1.8 million over the past three years on salary using public funds.(RM4.15million) not to mention 'among other things, a glass-paneled shower, a pricey German toilet bowl and a gold-plated tap' inside then-CEO T T Durai's office. The tap was said to have been replaced later with another of a different material. He admitted he had flown first class on NKF funds. All these luxurious items from public funds.

I just wonder how come there was no check and balance plus a level of accountability in the organization or is it just a one man show organisation. The board must be sleeping lo or the CEO has misled the board into trusting him.

If you want to work for a charity organization you can’t be earning like Sp $25,000 per month. The salary is way too much for any CEO in the market especially for a charity organization.

On 16 July 2005 after the one-hour press conference Mr. Durai said that after 37 years with the organization, he is stepping down and would also like to see some 'new blood'.

Latest: NKF gets public backlash after court revelations

My thoughts; I wish he had left long ago…………………

Ulam or Salad, my family enjoy!

2005-07-17T10:34:00.000+08:00

My mini garden-daun cekur.(Capture this photo with morning dew on the leaves)

Ulam is a name given for an herb plants that we can eat raw or dip in boiled water before eating with rice. Daun cekur, daun kaduk, daun kesom, daun pegaga, daun pudina (mint leaf), buah petai are some of the many traditional ulam.

Ulam usually are mix together with budu (pickled tiny fish), cencaluk (pickled tiny shrimp) or sambal belacan (chili with shrimp paste) before it goes with rice.

Two plots of daun cekur just pluck and eat.

Ulam is very popular dish that is serving daily among the Malay community in the kampung. Ulam is taken from various parts of a plant that can be eaten. The various parts are the roots, leaves, seed and fruit.

Vegetables normally is consider ulam, if it’s eaten raw. Vegetables that are consider ulam are cucumber, cabbage and eggplant. Traditional ulam as mention above are ones that needed for the preparation of nasi ulam or nasi kerabu (buffalo rice).

Ulam had being claimed to be good for diabetes and high blood pressure. I don’t know how true this is? Perhaps more research could be done to prove it has many beneficial health properties.

My family have been eating ulam since my grandma days until today.(except my kids) This is because of the family background; my grandma is of nyonya heritage and we just follow the eating habits of the family until became a norm to all of us.

My favourite Malaysian (Penang) Food

2005-07-15T23:27:00.000+08:00

Malaysian food there is no way to describe it but the best it to try it.

If I will to write down the list of Malaysian food, mmmmmmmm…….I won’t be able to do that because the list will be like never ending.

Like all Malaysian I like the local fare more than anything else. My favourite on the list are nasi lemak, popiah, laksa, nasi ulam (Traditional Mixed Rice) and many more. The ones that I have mentioned here, we would usually try cooked each of them on weekends to feed our good appetite.

Daun cekur

Daun Kesom

Daun Kaduk

The most difficult to prepare and cook is the nasi ulam (nyonya style). This is a healthy one-dish meal featuring a variety of Malaysian ingredients as well as belacan, dried shrimp, dry fish and coconut. The difficulties in getting the ingredients (all the green leaves; daun cekor, daun kaduk, daun kesom) which can be obtain freely on open vacant land by the nearby kampung. With so much development all these free greens are vanishing slowly. These are only some of the ingredients. Actually I don’t know how to prepare the whole meal but I usually just helped out in cutting the greens and do the simple task. Mum oversee the preparation is done accordingly. Here you can get a clearer picture from Peter Tan.

To prepare this dish it’s very time consuming and takes a lot of effort but the end result is simply fantastic, the taste beyond my imagination to describe. You have to try it; to say it taste BEST lo. Home made is still the best compare to the ones selling at the pasar malam. Furthermore with all the greens it’s good for the digestive system.

I think I have to get mum to teach me all the secrets to do this dish soon. Nasi ulam the way we like it home cook only.

Writing from Johore Baharu

2005-07-11T20:13:00.000+08:00

Took the morning flight to Johore Baharu, arriving here at 1.30pm. Checked in at Puteri Pan Pacific Hotel in middle of the city. The hotel is quite good I would say. Rooms are clean and just refurbished.All is pre-arranged for.

I am here for 3 days on work matters. I will be flying back on Wed evening. I just had my dinner at one of the restaurant in City Square Complex, ordered the Portuguese Chicken with noodles and portion of the order was large. It wasn't as tasty as I would expected. Nevertheless it good to try new taste of food.

Later I went walking around the malls and just did some window shopping or rather people watching I was trying to get something special for my coming marriage anniversary.(not for me but for her)My eyes didn't see what I like so will just have to postphone the purcahse.

I am going to watch some TV and call it a night. Tomorrow have to work lo.

What will my child be?

2005-07-09T11:03:00.000+08:00

Once you become a parent you will constantly wonder and at times worry about your child will be when he or she grows up. What career they going for in their life. Will they get mix up with bad company of friends leading to undesirable/illegal activities? Phew.........sigh I hope my children will know what is right and wrong, whom to friend. With my parenting skills learned from my parents I think I managed well as at today. I always reminded them of peer pressure from their group of friends, and if they are not comfortable with that particular friend just mix with him/her less.

Let the winds sway it for my children

Sometimes parents want to encourage their children to pursue what they want and not to the interest of the child. The parents never understand that the child might not be interested or no liking for it. From my perspective, I will definitely let my children choose whatever career they want to pursue. I have once in a while talked to my children on what they want to be in life. (Their career) Until now only my son who is pretty sure he wants to do engineering. He is also not sure what field of engineering to go for. (Maybe he thinks when his exam results are available only then will he decide)

My daughter .........says he want to be an inventor, high aspiration. I was thinking an inventor in Malaysia will there be a demand for such an occupation. Am I not optimistic for her? Silly me. I think she is an optimist for once.

Whatever my children choose on their career path I will surely 100% support them. Even if they think of studying abroad I will try my utmost to let them do it. (Hopefully I can afford)

So let our children make their own choice of career and hopefully they will be happier. It would be a shame if we as parents want our children to live our dreams through them. I have seen this happening because the parents did not achieve whatever career plan lay out for themselves.

Failure in ones career does not mean failure in LIFE.

The Ten Commandments Of Marriage

2005-07-07T10:20:00.000+08:00

Laughter is the best medecine

I received this email from my soul mate and had a good laugh. Maybe she is telling me to listen more or I am not hearing what she says.

After reading this, sounds pretty scary to get married eh? Hehehehe.

COMMANDMENT 1
Marriages are made in heaven.
But so are thunder and lightning.

COMMANDMENT 2
If you want your wife to listen and pay strict attention to every word
you say, talk in your sleep.

COMMANDMENT 3
Marriage is grand -- and divorce is at least 100 grand!

COMMANDMENT 4
Married life is very frustrating.
In the first year of marriage, the man speaks and the woman listens.
In the second year, the woman speaks and the man listens.
In the third year, they both speak and the neighbors listen.

COMMANDMENT 5
When a man opens the door of his car for his wife, you can be sure of
one thing: Either the car is new or the wife is.

COMMANDMENT 6
Marriage is when a man and woman become as one;
The trouble starts when they try to decide which one.

COMMANDMENT 7
Before marriage, a man will lie awake all night thinking about something
you say. After marriage, he will fall asleep before you finish.

COMMANDMENT 8
Every man wants a wife who is beautiful, understanding, economical, and
a good cook. But the law allows only one wife.

COMMANDMENT 9
Marriage and love are purely matters of chemistry.
That is why wife treats husband like toxic waste.

COMMANDMENT 10
A man is incomplete until he is married.
After that, he is finished.

BONUS COMMANDMENT STORY
A long married couple came upon a wishing well.
The husband leaned over, made a wish and threw in a penny.
The wife decided to make a wish too.
But she leaned over too much, fell into the well, and drowned.
The husband was stunned for a moment but then smiled and said,
"Hey!...This thing really works!"

On a similar note:
I am glad I married a helluva woman who always supports me in whatever I endeavour. I salute her for being with me in good and bad times. Mmmmmm.....I should thank my lucky star.

3 Things A Woman Should Know

2005-07-05T11:28:00.000+08:00

Coffee black

On average women say 7000 words per day. Men manage just over 2000.

An etiquette writer of the 1840s advised "Ladies may wipe their lips on the table cloth, but not blow their noses on it".

A Saudi Arabian woman can get a divorce if her husband doesn't give her coffee.

Can these be true?

I was thinking to myself maybe No.1 is only true statement because generally I find that women tends to talk more than men.

No.2 statement might be impractical to practice in this period of time, maybe during the 1840s it's was acceptable.( but I know some men still wipe their lips on the table cloth; have not seen women doing it )

No.3 statement I think is the custom that deem fit for this practice. (I would be too glad to give coffee to my woman everyday because I love coffee)

What have you to say on these statements?

Swearing on the blogs.

2005-07-02T22:54:00.000+08:00

I browse through many blogs over a period of time. As usual some of the blogs I read more others less. I guess everyone does the same here. What do you think when we write our rants we should swear it out? (because of stressed) Since it's our own private journal and we can do whatever we want. I can agree that's our space and our rights. But should we swear in our rants for whatever reasons? maybe. The swear words here I meant are the ones that are vulgar or offensive as well as the famous F@*#.

I have said in a few comments :- "Blame the reader not the blogger. If you don’t like the blog don’t come near it. Simple as that.". True to this statement, for me if I am not comfortable with blogs that swear too much I will just move on. That's typically me, no quarrels. Here what I am saying is, if you swear on your blogs all the time using the vulgar or offensive words. Pause ....... (I am not referring to anyone here). Just think for awhile............. what will people think of you? not your blog but physically you. Worst if they know who you are by appearance. But if you think you are comfortable with the labeling that you always swear and it's kind of cool and alright , so be it. Remember to always think of the cause and effect. I am not saying we cannot swear but swear diligently. (kind of a balance act) Believe me without realising, it might become a habit if we are not careful on swearing. And when we swear it's very little we can take back what we swore.

Generally as we grower older maybe wiser we don't swear that much or rather we don't swear with the "taboo words " that is too extreme. You can check this out from Orion, here and here

Personally I try not to swear at all because I believe it reflects badly on me.(not only on my blogs as well as in everyday speaking) What if my children reads my blogs and find that their dad always use the swear words. Can't imaging this going to happen, can I. Especially when we are talking/ writing and it's the other half that's is going to judge us. But to all of us to err is human but hopefully we can correct it as we go along.

Greed; nothing is free

2005-06-30T08:56:00.000+08:00

Lotus flower-a beauty

People will say that it's just greed that interest the wolf to trap its prey. The truth in us, we are motivated by anything that is free which is sometimes quite logical. As there is a saying “Things that come free usually there is an ulterior motive”. If there are things that are free or so easy to obtain certainly there is a catch.

Pointers to ponder;

Don’t trust people who give us gifts
Don’t trust stories that sound too good to be true.
(Sometimes it’s hard not to believe certain stories that can affect our lives, silly me)
Don’t be motivated by greed
Don’t do things just because it is easy or convenient

To grasp the above statements are easy.The most important is" Don’t be greedy"and you will not fall into this trap of “freebies”. There are many times sales persons came to my house and told me that my family has been given certain freebies or we have won a prize.( pots and pants, cookery items, electrical items, etc) But before you can receive any of the freebies you need to pay for the freight charges of the freebies which sometimes can be double the price of it. What a joke. If one’s is not careful certainly he/she will fall for this trap of techniques create by these professional sales persons.

It’s because of greed that at one time or another we will purchase things that we really don’t need. I bet it happened to everyone of us. The attraction of something free moves our heart rather than our mind making us thinking illogically. Thus we end up buying the unnecessary and hurting our budget.

My principle is: if the sales persons want to give me freebies I will surely deny it. A lesson learnt is "greed kills" or you will end up poorer. Generally there is nothing free in this world maybe except air.

On another note:
The air condition in Penang is fast improving due to the shattered showers. It has been hazy for the past week and the air condition was really bad. Phew..

Alcohol - Good And Bad For Your Health (Mature readers only)

2005-06-27T10:32:00.000+08:00

My collection.

Is drinking alcohol harming my health now, or will it be harmful to me later in life? Should I stop drinking alcohol? Am I a binge drinker? Most adults who drink alcoholic beverages (beer, wine, or liquor) consume safe and healthy amounts. For others, unsafe drinking patterns increase their risk for injury, illness or future alcohol problems.

Drinking too much causes serious problems, while drinking a little may help many people's health. I am no expert in this but drinking moderately should be good according to health digest.

Well , I do drink occasionally and hopefully it would benefit my health. Most of the alcohol drinks are Guinness Stout, wines and whiskey. I think that if we drink moderately (one or two drinks) there is nothing to worry and there is a growing evidence it has a positive health effect.

There are other reasons we want to limit our alcohol intake:

1. Alcohol is high in calories (the table below)

2. Alcohol slows fat burning - the body uses fat for energy. Alcohol blocks this ability to burn fat for energy,

3. Control your alcohol quantity- I still don't suggest having more than two beers. If you want to control your weight. (Ai yah saying is easy but when you are with a group of buddies drinking, sometimes it can goes way above the limit and you are really drunk)

5. Accompanied by fat snacks -the food served with drinks at a bar or pre-dinner cocktail often consists of nuts, nachos and chips - fat fixes!

ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE	CALORIES
1 bottle (12 oz.) beer - 5% alcohol	135 - 150
1 1/5 bottles (14.4 oz.) "light" beer - 4%	120
1 bottle "extra light" beer - 2%	60
1 bottle (12 oz.) wine cooler	215
1 glass wine (5 oz.), 11%	100
1 shot (1 1/2 oz.) liquor - rye, gin, rum, scotch	100
Gin and tonic (7 1/2 oz. cocktail)	170
Liqueurs (1 1/2 oz.)	185

Consuming smaller amounts several times a week _ one or two daily or every other day _ is most heart-protective. It apparently takes low, regular alcohol exposure to help raise levels of the body's so-called good cholesterol, the HDL type, and to thin blood.

Some researchers have suggested that red wine is good for the heart with moderate consumption. Yet to be proven, maybe a myth. Anyway I still like red wine; favourites are Shiraz and Merlot.

There is a lot of debate on the good and the bad of alcohol but if we drink moderately I hope at least some benefit will derive for our health. Having said this alcoholism still remains a major health problem. Everything we eat or drink , if we do it moderately there will be more good than bad. Cheers and bottoms up!!!

Child Kidnap Trick in Carrefour, JB

2005-06-25T13:11:00.000+08:00

My nephews and niece (brothers' toddler sitting)

Just received an email from a friend, could this be true. Eventhough if this is not true just be careful and take care of our kids. Don't want this to happen to us. Right.

If this happen it would be a Good idea to request Departmental store/shopping malls to close main/side gates for detailed search in case some child is missing.

Update: This is a myth only(urban legend).So sorry for the alert.Anyway it's good to be cautious with our kids in any environment. Sorry once again and my sincere apology.
Thanks blogger andy for the pointer.

Subject: Child Kidnap Trick in Carrefour, JB

IMPORTANT NOTICE TO ALL PARENTS!
Even if you do not have little kids, pass this one on to everyone you can think of. You never know who you might save by sending this e-mail!

Please, take the time and forward this to any friend who has children & grandchildren! Thanks!

Wanted to share something that happened today while shopping at Carrefour. A mother was leaning over looking for meat and turned around to find her 4 years old daughter was missing. I was standing there right beside her, and she was calling her daughter with no luck.

I asked a man who worked at Carrefour to announce it over the loud-speaker. He did, and left me , he immediately walked right past me when I asked and went to a pole where there was a phone. He made an announcement for all the doors and gates to be locked, a code something. So
they locked all the doors at once.

This took all of 3 minutes after I asked the guy to do this. They found the little girl 5 minutes later in a bathroom stall drugged. Her headways half shaved, and she was dressed in her underwear with a bag of clothes, a razor, and wig sitting on the floor beside her, to make her look different.

Whoever this person was, took the little girl, brought her into the bathroom, shaved half her head, and undressed her in a matter of less than 10 minutes. This makes me shake to no end.

Please keep a close eye on your kids when in big places where it's easy for you to get separated like Shopping Malls. It only took a few minutes to do all of that. Another 5 minutes and she would have been out the door.

I am still in shock that some sick person could do this, let alone in a matter of minutes. The days are over when our little ones could run rampant all over the place and nothing worse would happen then them annoying people.

The little girl is fine. Thank God for fast workers who didn't take any chances.

BE SURE TO FORWARD THIS TO EVERYONE, SO THEY REMEMBER JUST HOW SICK PEOPLE ARE OUT THERE!

Stick to your resolutions

2005-06-23T09:28:00.000+08:00

Mum's cooking for Chinese New Year-delicious

How often have you set your intentions, only to fail due to the high standard you have set yourself? Now it's already half year through 2005 and some of our New Year's resolutions has not even starter or have already lapse.

Perhaps procrastination is the problem. What is procrastination? “I’ll will join the gym next month” or I’ll start eating better next week.” Those changes rarely become a routine of life. You may take one step forward but then take three backwards.

As US life coach Michael Angier says, “Doing what is necessary for a day or two isn’t hard. When most people fail to do is string those days together, creating progress and ultimately the accomplishment.”

Procrastination plagues people of all ages. But we do feel ever more aware that we don’t have time to do everything we want in life - important motivation to take steps to procrastinate less and achieve more.

I believe you can commit to your resolution by tricking yourself. Here’s how: make one tiny change in the way you live each week. You have seven days in which to get it right. Within four days, you will probably start feeling the benefits of the change. By end of the week it will be part of your routine.

Saying is easy than doing. But a little effort is always a good way to start, put it across and to maintain the spirit of wanting to carry on the task. Quote “When the going is tough, the tough gets going.”

As for me I try to change my life every week by tricking myself. Slowly but surely going to stick to those resolutions/ targets I have set for myself. Although all are simple resolutions only. Luckily I am not a perfectionist therefore I am not associated with procrastination.

Father's Day Card from my son

2005-06-20T10:01:00.000+08:00

I have received a lovely card from my son for father's day. I really feel so good after reading the message he has written. I hope my son will grow up to become a fine young man. The small talk we always have is to tell him my experiences in life and hope he will not make silly mistakes in his life that he will regret. (smoking, drugs, unwanted pregnancy, safe sex, falling in love too young) These are some of the things that sometimes bother me after reading so many teenagers going through these situation.

Anyway this is the card he sent me and I will always cherish it.

A vErY HApPy FatheRz Day to YoU~

HopE yOu aRe AlwAyz HaPpY~
Don'T takE thinGz t0 HArD~

L0ve
youR s0n~
b3n jo0N ;p
19/6/2005

I took my family for a cheap and good dinner on Father's Day, at least I belanja them.

Terri Schiavo: If I am in her shoes.

2005-06-17T12:11:00.000+08:00

Lovely vegetables one of the shops in Fremantle

Brain-damaged Terri Schiavo dies on 31st March 2005

Do you think if you are in her situation you still want to live?

Mrs Schiavo collapsed after her heart stopped beating temporarily in 1990.

Court-appointed doctors had said she was in a permanent vegetative state and would not recover, but her parents had said she could.

The parents are not even doctors but maybe they think they still have faith in her. But to let her suffer like this is for years (Bed ridden). Is it humane? I wouldn't want to suffer like this and also let my loved ones suffer seeing me in a vegetative state.

Her husband Michael Schiavo's had said his wife would not have wanted to live in her current condition. Mr Schiavo's overriding concern was to give his wife "a peaceful death with dignity",

Many people will not agree with me on euthanasia "a peaceful death with dignity". But I can assure you that if you have experience an event like this in your life then you will want to ponder again. Is euthanasia/mercy killing really that "heartless cruelty"? I don't think so. You see a person really suffering (vegetable state) and even the best doctors (specialist) can't do much to help, it's a crying shame. Everyone will be like living in hell condition. Euthanasia; This is in some cases legal.

As for me I will state in my living will that if I am confirm by a pool of doctors (specialist) that I am a permanent vegetative state and would not recover I will have them pull the plug. "To suffer alone rather than to let others suffer". Imagine day in day out your loved ones seeing you in such a vegetative state. Sooner or later they will get fed up; they too have a life to live. Wouldn't it be better to go, if the time for you to go has arrive.

This is my thoughts on my life as I grow older, maybe not wiser but that life's.

My Perth trip

2005-06-14T09:08:00.000+08:00

Sandalford Vineyard

Day- 5/6/2005.
We arrived at Perth International airport on the 5/6/2005 Sunday at 6.00am .Clearing the immigration and the custom was a breeze, they are friendly and asked questions regarding our visit to Perth. (Not so like our immigration and custom here who just take your passport stamp it without even utter a single word)
We went for the Sandalford Vineyard Cruise (full day cruise tour) 10am-4.30pm. As the cruise departs and we were served with coffee and cookies follow by the sampling of 4 premium wines matched with gourmet cheeses. We were guided by how to appreciate the wines as we enjoy the commentary of the history of the Swan River and its surroundings.
On the arrival at Sandalford we were taken for "a behind the scenes" tour of the winery, including the red and white fermentation areas, crushing, pressing and the barrel room. After all these, a sumptuous three course lunch was served matched with premium wines in the restaurant. Following lunch, we head to the Cellar Shop where we try Port wine and browse through the wine products and giftware. We had drunk lots of wines and were feeling kind of tipsy by this time. Luckily it was time to depart back to the hotel.
Arrived at the hotel check in and had a nap until dinner time. Later we headed to the Burswood Casino. We were there just watching the crowd and people and had a simple bite at the casino restaurant. Headed back to our hotel at around 11.30pm.

Day- 6/6/2005
The weather was cold around 14 deg. We took a stroll along the shopping mall in early morning. Then took the Hip and Hop Tram that goes around Perth city. Stop at King's Park spent an hour and half there. Around noon took the Perth train to Fremantle spent the whole afternoon there. Lunch at Cicerello's Fish n Chips, walk the mall, supermarkets,visit a few historic site and Fremantle market (Mrs. did a little shopping)
Head back to Perth hotel at around 6pm. as it starter to rain.

Downtown Perth

Day- 7/6/2005
Woke up early, went to pick up the car we rented from AVIS. Checked out off Perth hotel and headed south of Perth. Stop at Rockingham, proceed to Mandurah, Busselton and reached Margaret River late afternoon.
Mandurah town-walk around the town for an hour. Busselton stroll on the jetty that goes out to the ocean (2km long) very nice. Margaret River had a cozy Italian dinner .Checked into one of those cottage type lodges for the night.

Day-8/6/2005
Had breakfast at the cabin. At 8am drove to Augusta (Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse). After the nice view from the top of the lighthouse where we could see a couple of whales in a far distance. Next we drove to visit the cave (Lake cave), scenery along the journey was spectacular (the forest). At times we felt like we were lost in the middle of no where but everything turns out fine. Drove up north along the coastal road stopping at various small towns. We had lunch at Flute (a famous restaurant that what was recommended by some friends) which was situated in vineyard. Food was pretty nice. Stop at MadFish wines at Howard Park just look around did not dare to drink as I was driving.
Proceed up north reach Yallingup ,Dunsborough and reach Busselton. Check into Ammaro motel for the night. Had Chinese food for dinner. It was raining and the weather was 10 deg. really cold. Just drove around the town for some sightseeing.

Saw this sign where they sell cigarettes

Day- 9/6/2005
Depart Busselton around 10am heading for Fremantle before returning the car at the airport and flying off. Deroute into Bunbury ,the town was very beautiful by the coast with many colonial buildings. Then proceed back to the freeway, along the way there was a major accident on the freeway and we had to be diverted into Warooma, Pinjara and Armanda (these towns are situated towards the inlands) before heading to Fremantle. Did the prison tour had Fish n Chips again and some last minutes shopping. Before driving to the airport at around 8pm.

Day- 10/6/2005
Arrived at Singapore airport early morning. Transit back to Penang arriving back to my home sweet home. It was truly and enjoyable and wonderful gateway for both of us. Cheers ):

Back to home sweet home

2005-06-10T23:16:00.000+08:00

Well it was indeed a good holiday, driving all the way from Perth to the furthest south - Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse (where the two ocean meets).
I will just share some of the photos I have taken in Perth and South West of Australia during our trip . I hope you folks will enjoy it.

Swan at the Swan River

View from King's Park

View from King's Park, Swan Brewery(the brown building)

Wine and cheese we had on the cruise to Sandalford Winery

Clock Tower in Perth Town

Famous Fish & Chips since 1903(Cicerello's)-Fremantle

Busselton Jetty (2km out to the sea)

Took us 30 minutes to walk to the end

End of the world(Cape Leeuwin-Lighthouse)

Where the Two Ocean Meets,saw some whales here

40 meters high, gone all the way up

Lake Caves A Beauty- Margaret River

Fremantle Prison

The gallows in the Prison

Holidays!!!

2005-06-01T13:07:00.000+08:00

Driving routes to the south.

Phew.... these last few days have been really busy for me. Looking forward for my Perth trip with full of excitement. I have received a few good suggestions on what to do in Perth and would like to thank all those who have sent me the suggestions.

Lrong has been teasing me about "honeymoon number what"? I was thinking honeymoon? It would be nice, yea. Then to me everyday is also honeymoon if you set your mind into it. LoL. But going on a holiday like this is refreshing for the partnership. (No kids to disturb)

I have to arrange the transportation for kid’s tuition over the coming week. Lucky for me, my mum is always ready to help and the wonderful part is she can drive her own Kancil to ferry the kids for tuition. My mum has been helping me a lot looking after the house and her grandchildren. Thanks mum, couldn't ask for more.

We will be leaving on 4/6 Sat night from Pg/Spore and on transit for an early Sun morning flight to Perth arriving on 5/6 Sun. 7.30am. My mrs. has drawn out an itinerary on what to do and see. Mrs. has also planned out what routes to take because we will be driving to south of Perth. I know we will be having lots of fun and an enjoyable holidays. I will be trying to capture as many photos as possible. We will be back in Pg 10/6 Fri. Cheers!!!

Bringing up my children

2005-05-29T14:18:00.000+08:00

Children can be a source of inspiration and.........

Bring up children can be a real pain in the............... but the joy is always there when the child smiles and laugh. This especially when the child is just from the time of birth until 6 or 7 years old, these are the fun and wonderful time a parent can experience.

Nowadays children are more open and demanding as they grow up, they will asked for explanation and reasoning on why things cannot be done or when we turn down their request for certain things. As parents (myself) I feel some things they cannot have or cannot do. Hence I have to explain with reasons to make them understand and come to their senses. Sometimes they will argue with their reasons (usually comparing with their friends) so as a parent I would usually listen and try my utmost to come to a win-win solution with them. At times these can be tough. It's kind of give and take, game to play. If you are too strict it's also difficult, if too lenient they will climb over my head. (Balancing act) As for my children I can say that they are quite understanding. I think if you can communicate with your children like a friend would be a great achievement. I always make my point clear to them on certain issues;

Money matter - to be thrifty and always save for raining days (even if they have extra money).
Friends - to mix with good friends and don't fall into peer pressure.
Exams - to do your best even though your results are not good it's OK, it's not end of the world.
Language - to read as many story books as possible (most of the time they are lazy in this)
Love - don't get involve until you are at least in university.
Discipline - be discipline in whatever you do.

With children, you can learn something very important; how to give for the sheer joy of giving. If you give to children with any hope of return you're inviting misery all around. Cheers!!!

Perth confirmed

2005-05-26T09:50:00.000+08:00

e- ticket from SIA

Originally I booked my airline tickets from MAS- Pg/Kuc/Perth and back to Pg and was on the waiting list. After weeks of waiting and waiting. MAS still could not confirmed the seats. I was thinking to myself. I better forget about the Perth trip. The airfare was around RM1650 including airport tax per pax.

Last week I saw SIA advertisment for Pg/Perth/Pg at an amazing price. Immediately went to SIA office, booked and issued the tickets. I guess luck was on my side or rather I have the good fortune. At last my flight to Perth is confirmed. The good news is; I was able to get a better deal from SIA- Pg/S'pore/Perth and back to Pg for just RM1250 including airport tax per pax.(a saving of RM400x2=RM800)

I am looking foward for my holidays. We plan to rent a car from the airport spend 2 days (Perth , Fremantle & Swan Valley) and 3 days (Busselton, Margaret River & Augusta). My friends have recommended me to visit the Sandalford Vineyard some 20km out of Perth. I think we will be visiting a few more vineyard along the way and enjoy the wine maybe get drunk.

Anyone have any good suggestions or recommendations for us to visit?

Touching and emotional blogs

2005-05-23T22:55:00.000+08:00

Drawing by Annickmckenzie

Well I was reading a few very touching blogs from Singapore over the passed few days. These blogs are very touching. I was feeling emotional and was thinking what if I was in their situation. Can I be so tough and brave to face the illness they are facing? How are each days going to pass by, will it pass by slowly. I was sitting all by myself thinking and wondering with sad and teary emotions.

People who are facing sickness/illness are at their lowest point off their life's that what I can think off. The courage they have and the sufferings they are going through made them tougher and stronger I believe. I hope they are.

I sincerely from the bottom of my heart send my prayers daily to those who are suffering from illness. Those that I have met through the web even though they might not know me. Stumble upon someone who is suffering and full of sorrows makes me realise that I should be thankful and grateful for the good health I have even if might not be rich. Nothing is better than having a good and healthy life. Money cannot buy us good health. Even if we are poor just ponder and think how lucky we are compare to those who are suffering from illness.

Wealth is health. Even though you might be suffering from illness now.You can still live your life to the fullest. Quote, "Life itself is the most precious of all treasure. Even the treasure of the entire universe cannot equal the value of a single human life. Life is like a lamp, and food like oil”

Meaning of Life - my experience

2005-05-19T09:10:00.000+08:00

Photo by Kitchen Wench

Sometimes things happen to us at the time that may seem horrible, painful and unfair, but in reflection we realize that without overcoming those obstacles we would never realize our potential, strength, will power and heart. Life is always full of hardship and difficulties.

Everything happens for a reason. Nothing happens by chance or by means of luck. Illness, love, lost moments of true greatness and sheer stupidity all occur to test limits of our soul. This is the law of cause and effect. I have been through bad and hard times and I know many people out there have the same experience.

Without these small tests, life would be like a smoothly paved, straight, flat road and comfortable but dull and utterly pointless. No challenges at all.

The people we meet affect our life. The successes and downfalls that we experience can create who we are and the bad experiences we learned from will teach us something valuable. In fact the most painful ones are the important ones. If someone hurts us, betrays us or breaks our heart, forgive them because they have helped us learn about trust and the importance of being cautious to whom we open our heart to.

Make every day count. Appreciate everything that we possibly can and have, for we may never experience it again. Life is short.

Hold our head up because we have every right to, no matter how small we are.

Tell ourselves, we are a great individual and believe in ourselves, for if we don't believe in ourselves, no one else will believe in us. Create our own life and then go out and live it. Everyone of us is unique. Cheers!!!

Remembering my children when they were babies.

2005-05-17T09:03:00.000+08:00

Trying to turn the clock back to the times when my son was born and the following year my daughter. It was kind of thrilling to recall all the great moments that I could feel at that time. I was in the delivery room when both my children were delivered. It was an experience of my life to witness and appreciate it, every husband should do it. As I take a peep back in time, those beautiful memories emerged out like a dream. When my son was born, my mum took care of him in the day time (thanks mum) where else we (partner & me) have to take care of him at the night. As both of us are working you can imagine the problems we have to face looking after our son and daughter. We have difficulties from trying to make them sleep and to feeding them in the middle of the night. We managed to fix up a routine for my kids that are to feed them milk at around 11pm so that he can sleep through until morning. Then we can have our good sleep. Looking after a baby and have to go to work the next day is no fun.

I was wondering and thinking that how did we manage to make it. I guess it was a great achievement for both of us. Couples who have babies will know that taking care of them is no easy task. It's all pain and sweat. Sometimes babies are a pain in the........... But yet we adore and love them because they are so joyful when they smile and laugh.

Looking at these sweet memories reminds me of the good old days. I suffered when my babies were sick (in and out of the hospital-my son) many experiences that taught us a lesson or two. After reading a blog “Meaning of Life.” I would like to say "Never let life's hardships disturb you. After all, no one can avoid problems, not even saints or sages. Suffer what there is to suffer, enjoy what there is to enjoy. Regard both suffering and joy as facts of life".

Some people may not agree with me but this a fact of life to consider. I truly believe in this especially in my life.

Son & Daughter - relaxing

Playing time at grannies place

Thoughts on my family

2005-05-13T10:48:00.000+08:00

I am thankful for the marriage I have even though there are up and downs. Having a good marriage for the last 18 years is the best thing in my life with full backing of my partner (wife). I think without her help and support I don't think I can made it. I definitely will cherish the love I have received and given to my partner (vice verse). My partner is my soul mate in life. I am pretty sure we are trustful, committed and honest in our marriage. To think about honesty, I think there are a few times I did tell a few white lies but nothing serious. I think my partner cherish and love me so much because I have a sense of humour to make her laugh after all these years. I feel that good communication between two of us is key to make this partnership and friendship goes so well.

I thankful for the kids I have even though sometimes they are naughty and cheeky. Kids are all naughty and cheeky I was when I was a kid. The most important thing to me is that as they grow up, they will not sway into bad company (smoking, drugs, and illegal stuff). I thankful that my family has such a wonderful relationship, we can talked and discussed things and always come to an agreeable solution.

I will always cherish our holidays together as a family and will be looking forward for more family holidays as the years ahead. My siblings and I were not that fortunate in our childhood to go for any holidays with our dad and mum under unfavourable conditions. Now things look much better as we had to slog in the early years of our marriage and be where we are today. What are your thoughts on your family? Hopefully the thoughts are the same as mine.

Son & Daughter on our holidays

Outdoor fun together

Cooking Nasi Lemak on Mother's Day

2005-05-11T10:30:00.000+08:00

Last Sunday MrsQ asked me what to cook for lunch. Most of the weekends she cooked, we enjoyed her cooking. After the everyday normal dishes bought from the hawkers for lunch and dinner I suggested that I will cooked Nasi Lemak (Fragrance Rice) for lunch. Since it was also Mother’s Day 8/5/2005 I thought it was a good idea to let MrsQ take a rest and to try my cooking skills. Oh yes my mother has has gone to my brother place in KL so she didn't get to enjoy my good cooking.

So I went to the market bought the things needed for my cooking. I bought Santan, (coconut milk) Rempah (spices) ready mixed for curry chicken, Cucumber, Ikan Bilis, (small fishes) Fish-Stingy Ray. I managed to get some banana leaves near my house for grilling the fish. Then unplucked some pandan leaves(fragrances leaves) opposite my house for cooking the rice.

Then I started cooking the Nasi Lemak. At the same time MrsQ help in, she could not let me do all the cooking. I think in her mind every dish will be a disaster. She cooked all the main dishes curry chicken and grill fish with chili and fried ikan bilis. In the end I just cooked the rice , cut the cucumber and made some sambal belachan (chili with prawn paste). So much for Mother's Day cooking. My Nasi Lemak turns out pretty good the aroma was fantastic. (cukup lemak) The sambal belachan which was spicy and hot. If you mixed it with the Nasi Lemak it’s so delicious and taste so good. Overall the lunch was simple and good.

We had a good and hearty lunch. My kids enjoy the lunch so much that both of them have 2nd helping. Maybe I will try cooking more and let MrsQ take a rest on weekend’s .LOL.

My Nasi Lemak ready for makan(eating).

All ready for makan.

Nasi Lemak with the dishes.

My tribute to Mr. Kennysia

2005-05-05T22:03:00.000+08:00

Source: idlelight's photos

I recalled when I first wrote my first few blogs, I think the 1st person who came by and gave a comment was Kennysia. My blog which was written on 13 March 2005 was about my father and smoking.

Kenny Sia said...

I have been coming to this site on and off, but I have to say... the similarity between you and me is amazing. I doubt you've been following my site, but I'm undergoing a similar situation. My father is also a heavy smoker, and is now diagnosed with kidney cancer which has since been metastated to the lungs.

Keep writing. Your writing has a very down-to-earth feel to it that cannot be denied.

I wasn't too sure I wrote that well but at least I try to write to the best of my abilities. I did not tell him or rather warned him that lung cancer patients have a limited time to live especially if it's in Stage 3( it's a fact) because I don't want to let him feel down and have no hope at all for his dad. But to my mind I know that time is not on his dad side. What I did advice him was to give the best he can give to his dad, the attention his dad needs and whatever he requests. I did that for my dad in the last few months of his days. So I think my dad did enjoy that. I know down in my heart Kennysia has done that ( spending time and taking care of his dad) by the last few blogs written by him. I am lost for words for him as I can feel the sorrow and grief he is in now, I had experience it too.

What I can say is that, it's better to go if the time has come and rather to suffer and suffer ( not only the father but also the family). I know it not humane to say this but I would rather go if I know that the time has come. I might be wrong to say this but that's what I believe and it would be better for everyone. You will know this when you are in this situation. "Cry all you want to cry because I did cry when my dad died". Take care and May Your Dad Rest In Peace.

Marriage and I

2005-05-04T11:10:00.000+08:00

Marriage and I

I was reading 5xMoM - What holds a marriage? - Pt 1 that prompt me to write about a glimpse of my marriage.

I got married in 1987, since then my marriage has been good. We have our up and downs (more up then downs). Fortunately we don't have much argument, if we do have, it's always settle peacefully. I am for one that place my family first in my life. Before I got married I got this poster "Rules For A Good Marriage" it's still with me hanging in my bedroom. By reading the Rules For A Happy Marriage, it helps to remind me that the importances of making my marriage works. These are a few things that I think will make a marriage works ;

lots of trust
patience
give and take
be a good listener
do your part in helping out in the house(your partner will appreciate you more)
giving space to your partner for whatever things she wants to do (her hobbies/interest)
be honest
religion? (it would be better if both have the same faith but not necessary)

Lots of hard work, I would say to have a successful marriage. Then there is the financial factor to work it out which sometimes is very sensitive. As far as my partner is concern she helps in the financial for the family. But things are much better now and I don't asked her to help out anymore.

When we were new weds, our financial situation was not so strong, just started working meh. We couldn't afford to go for holidays then. Actually we did not go for any oversea holidays after 13 years of our marriage. We did go to the local places like Camerons and Genting. As the years go by financially we were better and we could have better things in life. If you struggle in the beginning surely you will receive the benefits later on. This also goes the same for marriage to be successful. I don't have the right formula for a marriage to work. It all boils down to both partners wanting the marriage to work out well. Most of the things I followed from the poster guide.

If you have any guide and formula please let me know. I hope the guide on Rules For A Happy Marriage will be benefit to some ppl. Marriages that flourish are friendships. Cheers!!!

Rules For A Happy Marriage

Happy Marriage Pt1

Happy Marriage Pt2

Hugs!!!!!

2005-05-01T13:24:00.000+08:00

When we read the word HUGS it with always remind us of something beautiful in our own life's. It's because of our bringing up and cultural that we don't simply hug anyone we like. But remember to give your love one's a hug, it could be your spouse, parents or children. Hugging is good medicine. It transfers energy, and gives the person hugged an emotional boost. Parents like to hugs their children when the children are small. Usually in the age ranging from 1-6 years old. As our children begin to grow older they doesn't want to be hug any more. This due to the fact that they are shy and the cultural that is with in us. Maybe I am wrong in this aspect but I experienced this as my children began to grow older from young children to young teenages, they do not want to be hug. Sometimes I have to ask my daughter or son to give me a hug, this is not like when they were small we can pick them up giving them hugs anytime and anywhere.
Hugging can be very emotional for most people if it's a hug given by your love one, especially from children to parents. You can go back and try it out and you will know the feeling. Now a days I feel that children don't give that much hugs to their parents as they should. Is this because of our cultural? Hugs are only given on special occasion only like going away for a trip, birthdays, etc. These hugs are happy and emotional hugs. A hug makes you feel good. A hug can cover a lot of skin and gives the message that you care. It is also a form of communication. It can say things you don't have words for. So start hugging your love one's today.
It is said that hugs can relieve pain and depression.. make the healthier happier, and the most secure even more so.. Hugging feels good and overcomes fear... Hugging makes happy days happier and impossible days possible.

The Rescuing Hug
This is a picture from an article I read called, "The Rescuing Hug." The article details the first week of life of a set of twins. Apparently, each were in their respective incubators, and one was not expected to live. A hospital nurse fought against the hospital rules and placed the babies in one incubator. When they were placed together, the healthier of the two threw an arm over her sister in an endearing embrace. The smaller baby's heart rate stabilized and her temperature rose to normal.
They both survived, and are thriving! In fact, now that the two girls are home, they still sleep together, and still snuggle. The hospital changed their policy after they saw the effect of putting the two girls together, and now they bed multiples together.

Twins

If you looks as though you've had a rough day. Feeling blue, lousy, lonely? Then go home and get or give a hug. Relax and let the *HUGS* smoothe away your tiredness and bring back your smile. Have you hug someone today? Maybe you should try by hugging your parents. Cheers to hugging!!!

Teenage son - girlfriends????

2005-04-28T11:28:00.000+08:00

I had this conversation with my teenage son (15 years old) about girlfriends not long ago. I told him that now a days children or rather teenagers start to fall in love even though they are only 12years old. Falling in love at such a young age could sometimes be term as Puppy Love, Adolescent Love or Infatuation. He was asking me whether having a girlfriend is OK. The answer is definitely NO, as I try to answer him with whatever reasons I can think off. I always remind my children not to fall in love so very young (talking through experience) LOL. Once you start to get involve (fall in love) it will affect your studies and mess things up (emotionally). If there is a argument/ quarrel between the pair it would be the worst nightmare. I always stress the important of studies first and love will come automatically if one's is successful, especially to my son. As for my daughter she is more into taking my advice but kind of cheeky in a way. I always advice my son if he wants to fall in love with a gal. He must be at least in university and find a gal who is at least 5 years his junior (10 years would be better). So one day he asked me why the need for age difference. I told him that girls aged faster than guys in their sexual desires. This is a fact and from getting feedback from many couples who are married. Even my father once told me that I was not sure I believe him then but now I do. The most important thing is to stress to my kids not to fall in love for the time being (when they are still schooling). If they want to mess up their life now then what can I do, I can just do what a dad has to do advice and advice( I think I am not nagging) and hope my kids will listen to at least some of it and come to their senses. I have to wait for a few years to see my wishes come true for me and my children. I sincerely hope they will listen to my advice. What advice would you give your children if they come up and say that they have a boyfriend/girlfriend or say they are in love at such age?

Uneven and Full of Potted Holes - Road

2005-04-26T00:00:00.000+08:00

Full of potted holes

Uneven road

Road maintain by the Developer

I have been writing to the local council MPPP ( through the MPPP web page) to complain on the bad condition ( road full of pot holes) of the road that leads to my housing area. Many times they will just not response at all on the complaint or rather ignoring my complaint. I have also phoned and the replied was that the road is not under their jurisdiction or they do not maintain the road. The road is rather maintain by a developer who has built a condo leading to it. It's consider a private road as far as MPPP is concern. At least MPPP has the right to bring to the attention of the developer to resurface the road but they are not doing their job. I doubt this can be done because this road has been built a few years back and wonder if the developer company is still around.
It very frustrating that I have to pass through this road everyday because this road is like a short cut going out from an housing estate to the main road.. But just to drive through this uneven and full of potted holes road is really annoying. I think most of the resident living in my housing area uses this road to access to the main road. I try to contact the developer who is responsible for the road but the phone is always engaged. I think the developer who is responsible for the maintenance of the road is running away from it's responsibility and MPPP can't do a thing about it. It all boils down to the enforcement of MPPP to get the developer to resurface the road but this has not been done for years. When something serious happen (like a big accident) then only will both parties start pointing fingers against each other. Who is to be blame in this situation? Under such circumstances "tidak apa" attitude of the both parties residents in my housing area have to bear with it until the road is resurface.

Fresh Hot Bread for breakfast daily

2005-04-20T09:29:00.000+08:00

Fresh Baked Bread just done by me.

Hot baked breads are a routine in my house. My family have been baking breads almost like every day for our daily breakfast since we bought our bread machine in 1999. The bread that we baked at home is normally in a whole loaf .The smell of freshly baked bread are really nice to smell. The aroma is like you are in a bread factory. (feeling hungry now) The whole house will smell like "fresh hot bread" even to the neighbours. Talking about making bread, it is actually very easy to do, if you use the bread machine. What you have to do is just dump every ingredient needed and that it. It 's all done by the bread machine and in just a couple of hours depending on what setting you want the bread to turn out to be Normal, Dark, Rapid. I do always baked the bread if MrsQ is not free to do it, very simple 5 minutes and it's all done. Just to put the ingredient into the baking pan in the bread machine.

Actually there are different type of bread that can be baked with the bread machine such as Coffee bread, French bread, Whole wheat bread, Focaccia and many more. (I don't know to name too many) These are the breads we usually baked not to mention Pizza dough .Pizza dough are usually made and stored in the freezer,ready to make Pizza when we want. My family like to eat bread for breakfast so we just baked the bread, to think it is more economical to baked bread than to buy? I don't think so maybe the different is not much. Basically to bake a loaf of 500gramns bread will cost about RM1.50-RM2.00.(costing include ingredients and electricity) It's the freshness and the smell of the just baked bread that we like so much. Furthermore the bread is free of addictive. We have not been buying bread for so long and I don't know how much it cost now? LOL. My family will be enjoying our own made bread for years to come. Cheers!!!

Travelling to Perth and south of Perth.

2005-04-17T16:25:00.000+08:00

Well have planned for my coming school holidays, travelling to Perth and south of Perth. I have booked my air tickets for 2 (spouse and me) but it's still on waiting list (keeping finger cross). It would be a 6 days trip, we would be renting a car and self drive. I was hoping some of you guys who has been there would be able to give some good advice and tips on nice things to do and see over there.
Cheers!!!

Teenage kids always into cyber chatting.

2005-04-15T10:45:00.000+08:00

It has been all this while, giving my kids easy access to the internet. Whether it's for their school work (assignment) or just chatting with friends. If we as parents do not allow them to use the internet for their own purpose such as chatting then they will start to complain and compare with their friends who can have all the time on the internet. Actually I only let my kids use the internet only when they have assignment weekdays and they can do their chatting on weekends (1-2 hours only) The problem is that when they are doing their assignment as they claim to do on the computer searching for materials they will be at the same time chatting (now I found out that my son is using web cam chatting with girls). The rules I have set is that if you do your assignment searching for materials no chatting, all chatting programs have to be disconnected!!!,banned. I trust my kids that they will follow my rules but my son did not as my wife found out yesterday. He as usual says that he was doing his school assignment but my wife check on him and found out that he was busy chatting away with web cam. She have finally gave him a lecture and have grounded him from using the internet for 1 month. Good for him at least he knows rules are to be followed. Sometimes I feel that these chatting; Messenger (MSN, Yahoo, etc) is a waste of time for the kids. My kids will give all kind of excuse for chatting over the net such as it's part of growing up, all my friends are into it. blah, blah, blah. I wonder how other parents handle this chatting nuisance? Welcome to parenting young teenage kids.

Computers used by my kids

What kind of fashion is this?

2005-04-13T10:48:00.000+08:00

Well, as we know teenagers today will follow whatever the latest trend in fashion, hair-do, music , etc. But some of the things these teenagers do will be so uncool that's the impression I have. Lately my teenage kids have been following the new trend with their dressing and hair-do not to mention the music they listen to. The music they listen is totally alien to me and different from the 70's and 80's. Most teenagers follow the trend, maybe this is due to peer pressure or just for the sake of following not to be left out in the group. I always commented that what they are doing is so uncool but they said that I am old fashion and behind time. Some of the things my son does are have his hair spooking up by using wax hair cream, wearing big baggy pants (his waist is only 28 inches but buy size 34 inches pants) The way he wear the pants is like the pants is going to drop out from the waist. It's not the normal hipster fashion but much lower than hipster always showing off his underwear. I always tell him better not to wear anything at all, if he wants to show his butt or show anything else. As for my daughter she is much better she does not follow much into the fashion thing and I am glad. Don't get me wrong I can accept whatever dressing they are up too. It's just that I need to remind them the taste they have on dressings. I don't want them to dress like Ah Too or Jinjang Joe (local nickname that is given for bad taste in dressing). Maybe every teenage have his own opinion on the way he/she wants to dress. I will have to be a little patience with my kids and let them figure out whether their dressings is horrible or I am terrible.(old fashion)

Welcome to the new fashion trend today!

Fuji Digital Camera F601 Zoom

2005-04-09T00:12:00.000+08:00

I was as usual toying with my camera when I noticed that there were flickering lines on the camera screen after I power ON it. I was rather unhappy because I have recently sent the camera for repair through FUJI PHOTO FILM (M) Sdn Bhd. The camera was not been able to power ON so I got it repaired and it cost me a hefty RM612-00. I hardly used it after the repair and now the problem is coming back again. Before I send the camera for repair the first time ,the viewer screen on the camera looks fine (no flickering lines) just could not power ON. The Fuji 601 Zoom is a very good camera no denying it, especially for the outdoors. The photos are excellent. I was just wondering what kind of servicing and repairing FUJI have done maybe they just repair the camera without going through quality control processes (testing & re-checking after each repair). The worst part was it took almost like 1 month to repair stating that they don't have the spare parts. What do you mean you do not have the parts for replacement ? I demanded for an answer. As usual they gave all kind of excuses. I told them I am going to pay for the repair and it's not FREE. After a few complaint only then did they repair the camera. I won't be surprise if I did not complain, how long will it take to repair the camera? I am going to send it back to FUJI and ask them to check the camera once more, don't know how much have to spend this time around and how long it will take for the repair. Anyone of you have the same experiences with FUJI PHOTO FILM? Wow! I thought the customer is always right but not on this one.

Cable car-execllent photo

My Father 3rd Anniversary

2005-04-05T09:52:00.000+08:00

Departed on 5th April 2002
In Ever Loving Memory Of Our Beloved Papa.
Our dearest Papa, three years past by so fast without us realising.
Amidst the bustling of life. You are still very much part of us.
There was not a single moment.
Where we lived without you in our mind.
Dear Papa, we will continue to cherish.
All the treasure of the heart. That we have created together with you.
Papa, thank you very much for being there for us.
Forever remembered and cherished by wife, sons, daughters, sons-in-law,
daughters-in-law and grandchildren.
- 5th April 2005 -

Train trip

My father with his 1st grandson

Happy times

Border of Myanmar

Coming holidays.

2005-04-02T11:44:00.000+08:00

Holidaying is always fun and to go for holidays with your love ones is even better. I am in the mist of planning for my coming holidays in June. This holiday is only for me and my wife, the kids will join us for the year end holidays. It sparks up the romance and love even though I have such a enjoyable relationship. It's a time to be by ourselves having a good time, food and conversation. I have not thought much to where we are going. Usually I will let my wife decide on the places we would go because she is in the travel trade and I think she knows best. I hope she pick a good destination somewhere not too far because this is a short holiday 4-5 days. Don't want to spend too much time on travelling. We have just been going for our family annual holidays since 1999. I have lots of fond memories on the holidays we went and cherished all of them . Life is short so have to enjoy it while I can. I have to remind her on the holidays and see what she has to say.

Bangkok-Going for the river cruise

Bangkok-Just the two of us was here Aug 2004

My friends sudden sickness

2005-03-29T23:18:00.000+08:00

Within this month, I have received some bad news from some of my friends regarding their health. Maybe as we grow older health problem starts to flock in. Out of nowhere suddenly my colleague was diagnosis for some nerve disorder (very serious indeed). He was in the hospital for almost 3 weeks and now still on MC taking lots of medication. Then my old classmate who have been in contact with me after all these years phoned me. He was admitted to a private hospital having diagnosis for DVT ( Deep vein thrombosis- anyone with a risk factor which makes them more prone to blood clots). I was shocked he was kind of a fit person if you look at him from the outside. Coming to terms with situation that hit us suddenly can be a nightmare to most of us especially when it is concerning our health. I was very worried for my friend that was in the hospital and pay him a visit. He is getting better now. Then I remember mumsgather who suddenly without any medical history of seizure was having seizure disorder. All this disruption involving our health create fear in us. This remind of a saying that Health is Wealth. I hope all my friends will be able to overcome their sufferings. We live by moment to moment, one moment we can be happy and the next moment we can be sad, angry (vice versa). I sincerely pray for my friends who are having these medical problems and will get well ASAP. This is an encouragement message from a book Faith into Action- Ikeda for anyone who is facing problems of any kind.

"There are many elements involved in a prayer being answered, but the important thing is to keep praying until it is. By continuing to pray, you can reflect on yourself with unflinching honesty and begin to move your life in a positive direction on the path of earnest, steady effort. Even if your prayer doesnt produce concrete results immediately, your continual prayer will at some time manifest itself in a form greater than you had ever hoped".

Take care and cheer up my friends!!!

Songs that meant a lot.............

2005-03-26T20:19:00.000+08:00

All of us listen to songs one time or another and I am sure we do fall in love to certain songs. This particular song keeper of the stars brings so much meaning to my/our life's. I have fallen in love to a few love songs that reflects my love life. Like the background song on my blogs - Keeper of the Star the wordings of the songs are so meaningful to me. I like it so much because it describes the love we have shared so well after all these years of marriage. Those who have a lasting relationship will know what I meant. The lyrics of the song is as follows;

It was no accident me finding you
Someone had a hand in it
Long before we ever knew
Now I just can't believe you're in
my life
Heaven's smiling' down on me
As I look at you tonight
I tip my hat to the keeper of the
stars

He sure knew what he was
doing'
When he joined these two hearts
I hold everything
When I hold you in my arms
I've got all I'll ever need
Thanks to the keeper of the stars

Soft moonlight on your face
Oh how you shine
It takes my breath away
Just to look into your eyes
I know I don't deserve a treasure
like you
There really are no words
To show my gratitude
I tip my hat to the keeper of the stars

He sure knew what he was doing'
When he joined these two hearts
I hold everything
When I hold you in my arms
I've got all I'll ever need
Thanks to the keeper of the stars

It was no accident me finding you
Someone had a hand in it
Long before we ever knew...

My teenage kids

2005-03-23T10:00:00.000+08:00

Time passes so fast without me realizing that my children are growing up fast to be young adults soon. I have 2 children (rather a pair boy & girl) my eldest son is 15 years and his younger sister is 14 years. Both of my children are trilingual at least they are better than me. I know what they have gone through in the Primary CS; it was real tough for them because I can’t help them in the school work. Sometimes it was so frustrating for them and for me that certain CS words they couldn’t understand and no one to help them. But I can say that all the hard time they have gone through have made them tougher and not afraid to take up challenges. They are more discipline, responsible and blah,blah,blah. As for now both my children are doing great in secondary school (can’t complaint) my daughter is so mature compare to when she was in the CS. Like all parents, I love my children very much trying to give them the best in everything, from education to other things.(If only I can afford)Luckily my children are not so demanding. Nowadays children are pamper a lot compare to my times. I feel in a couple more years they will be leaving me for their education locally or abroad and then I will start to miss them. I hope that they will be able to be do whatever they want to do, study whatever courses they like and have a good career. As for me by then I would have completed my duty as a father, as far as on bring them up and giving them a good education. The rest is up to them to carry on the journey of their life’s……………….

This photo was taken at S’pore airport, transit to Beijing for holidays couple of years ago.

My kids

Dell Axim X50v 624MHz WIFI & Bluetooth PDA, a gift

2005-03-18T08:52:00.000+08:00

This morning I call up DELL Online to order my Dell Axim X50v 624MHz WIFI & Bluetooth PDA. I have been wanting to get this PDA for sometime, as a gift for my wife. When I saw that DELL is having this wonderful offer, selling @RM1729 after cash redemption (N/P RM2008) with free 512 MB SD Memory Card ,car charger and free delivery on their website. It is only a 2 days offer. I immediately order it without having second thoughts. It will be another week or so before I can receive the PDA from DELL. My wife been using the Sony CLIE for awhile and it has not been working properly lately. It had to be sent to Sony Service Center in KL for repair recently.(pityful they cannot repair it in Penang service center) I am not telling her that I have bought the PDA, it would be a surprise for her and hopefully she will love it. I don't usually give gifts to my wife but I do surprise her with humor & laughter and most of all we do enjoy a good conversation always. I can't wait to receive the PDA and give it to her and see what she says.

Axim X50v 624Mhz

Memories of my father and smoking

2005-03-13T11:32:00.000+08:00

It has been almost 3 years now since my father passed away, that was 5/4/2002. He was just 63 years old. I can still visualized how I went to the mortuary to collect his body( he passed away in the hospital). How I changed his shirt and pants in the mortuary before been put in the coffin later. Since I am the eldest it was my responsibities to see that all is done to the best of my abilities. It's a norm for me to change the clothing's for my father even though he has passed away, I think he would appreciated me to dressed him up rather than to let the funeral undertakers do it.
My father passed away due to cancer of the lungs. He was diagnosed for lung cancer 2 years before he passed away and had been going for his cancer treatment (radiation and chemotherapy). His condition improved very much after the initial treatment for 6 months and he was having lots of fun going holidays with his friends to a few destination. Unfortunately the cancer reoccured after 1 year and slowly but surely his condition deteriorated. Soon he could not passed urine and a tube had to be inserted, weeks later he could not walked I( his limbs just be came week). So he was in bed most of the time sleeping or just lying down thus causing the bedsore. There were a lot of pain, he was suffering and my family try our best to give him the best we could give him (quality life).
Well, my father was a heavy smoker,(not to mention a Gunniess drinker) he used to tell us and his grandchildren that he started smoking at a very young age,17 years old .This means he has been smoking for nearly 46 years, OMG. Fortunately none of his children smoke and hopefully that goes with all his grandchildren. It must be due to his smoking that lead to his sickness. He always remind us not to follow his smoking habits since he knows its bad at the same time waste of money. He always says that if you don't smoke the chances of you doing drugs are NIL. I always instill this message to my children so that they know that smoking is not cool but brings lots of problems later. I know that peer pressure can lead to smoking,out of curiousity and get addicted to the habit. My only hope is that my children don't pick up this bad habit because it will definitely ruin their's life.

Memory of My Father

Squash is one of the fastest, finest games on earth.

2005-03-09T23:10:00.000+08:00

Playing squash is a passion for me. Imagine if I don't play for a week or so my body will not function as well as it should be. This is the observation I have during all my years of playing squash. I started playing in the early 80's and still is enjoying the game very much. I am not in to serious competition for now but more towards the friendly games we played every week. I try my very best to at least play twice weekly. If I don't play I feel as my body is not functioning as well as should be. As most of the people who played squash knows that the game is very fast and tiring not to mention it can sometimes makes one's out of breath. If you been in the squash court and played the game before you would know what I meant. I and my regular squash partner (a 60 years old guy)believe me for his age, you will be astonish to see how fit he is, for his age he doesn't look 60 years. We have been playing for maybe I can say at least 10 years or more.He plays good squash and it's not easy to beat him. (it's a run for your money) Maybe there are more seniors that play good squash out there but I have yet to see one same his age with great stamina and great skills in squash. Any clubs interested to visit Penang for a holiday and have a friendly game of squash can always email me. Cheers for now!

Nicol In Action

Weekend is usually busy

2005-03-05T12:21:00.000+08:00

Well, my weekend is always busy ferrying my 2 kids to tuition. Saturday is not too bad just the evening only but Sunday is almost like full day because both of my kids have different tuition schedule. Lucky I, the tuition center is just 10 minutes from the house. Anyway that's part of being a dad I guess taking care of the kids. Since my wife is a working mum therefore it's fair for me to drive the kids for their tuition. The only weekend I have time for myself is during school holidays (Nov & Dec) when the kids don't attend any tuition. But then again, soon my kids will be able to go for their tuition by themselves using motorbike. (............thinking couple of years from now) In the meantime it's just has to be me driving to and fro the tuition center every weekend.

This is the car I use for transporting my kids.

Family Holidaying in Phuket Dec 2004

2005-03-03T12:38:00.000+08:00

It was a real fun and enjoyable time for me and my family holidaying in Phuket Dec 2004. After coming back just 2 weeks the Tsunami hit Phuket 26/12/2004, couldn't imagine what will happened if we were still there when the Tsunami hit the beaches. My family and I will be totally wipe off if not for the timiing we are in. We stay at this boutique hotel, it was so nice and beautiful. For more info http://www.burasari.com/promotions

What is happening?

2005-03-02T10:49:00.000+08:00

I was having stomach ache since this morning, could it be my breakfast........