Thursday, December 27, 2007

Exercises for your back - 4


This is quite simple to do.

Lie down on your back.
Raise both legs together at the same time until it reaches at least 90 degrees.
Lower both legs together and repeat.

Check your temperature please

Every time we use the red car, the old junk that has been giving us regular problems, my wife would ask me to check on the temperature meter. It looks like the water tank is leaking even though I have checked it many times and could not find any leakage. So because of this problem, my wife will ensure that she checks and fills up the water tank every two days. She does not want the car radiator to blow up while on the road. She jokingly said that if ever that happens, she will get a Mustang Radiator for her car. Hehehe….maybe she thinks her old junk is a Mustang. Anyway, as long as the car can still travel from the house to her working place, we will still use it.

Exercises for your back - 3


This exercise is commonly known as the bicycle exercise.

Lie down on your back.
Raise your legs and do as though you are cycling.

Exercises for your back - 2

Put your hands at the back of your head.
Both knees together, knees raised up slightly.
Raise up your left hand and your right knee, try to touch your knee with your elbow. Repeat with your right hand and your left knee.

Watch super bowl game

I have not been playing football for more than three Sundays now. And I really feel that I am out of shape due to lack of exercises. Since I can only go for one game a week, it is quite frustrating when I have to miss the game. I have to think of some other activities around the house to compensate for the lack of exercises. However, this is not easy as most of the time, the weather does not permits me to be outside the house. It has been raining almost everyday for the past two weeks.

And when it is raining, there is nothing much that can be done except to stay in the house and watch sports games on the television. I was thinking of buying the super bowl tickets and invite my friends to have a gala time at the stadium. Well, I might have to ask my wife first since she has indicated that she too wants to go to the stadium and feel for herself the vibrant energy that flows out from the crowds. Will consider her request but at the meantime I must make sure I go for the football game this Sunday.

Exercises for your back - 1

Lie down on your back.
Raise both feet as near possible to your chest.
Lower down both feet back to original position.

My New Year Resolution

Hi!

I've set up a new resolution for the year 2008.....

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My Resolution for Next Year : 1024 by 768 pixels!!!!!!

What's yours??? :-)


Happy X'MAS And HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Retirees and their options

It is interesting to talk to people who have retired from the government service. They have lots of experiences from the long period working with the government. They can tell you many stories, good ones and bad ones about the government system. And for those that retire from big companies, they would have at least acquired some insider knowledge of company. One would expect that these retirees would use their acquired knowledge and be involved in activities that are related to it.

However, most of the retirees that I came across seems to let the acquired knowledge be of no use and prefers to trade in stocks and shares. It seems that playing shares is more interesting to them than to continue doing some kind of “work”. If I were to ask them about iron condor, they might not know what it is. Well, if you use PowerOptions to trade shares, you will know about it. PowerOptions gives you the necessary data for you to invest in stock options. With it you can find, compare, analyze, and make money when you trade on stock options. I am not talking about just a few or a hundred optional stocks that you can find and compare but PowerOptions can sort, filter and analyze almost 3000 optionable stocks and almost 200,000 options online. I am sure if all the retirees uses PowerOptions, they would be going for holidays often with the profits they earn. Or they can learn to dance and even dance in the water like those couples shown in the previous post.

Dancing....in water

I would love to dance. Well, I have yet to learn any dance steps yet but I love to see couples that can dance together gracefully. Now, there is another trend for the dancers. Another thrilling and exciting opportunity....to dance in water. Yes, dancing in the water.

Mother of the Year

In a zoo in California , a mother tiger gave birth to a rare set of triplet tiger cubs. Unfortunately, due to complications in the pregnancy, the cubs were born prematurely and due to their tiny size, they died shortly after birth.

The mother tiger after recovering from the delivery, suddenly started to decline in health, although physically she was fine. The veterinarians felt that the loss of her litter had caused the tigress to fall into a depression. The doctors decided that if the tigress could surrogate another mother's cubs, perhaps she would improve.

After checking with many other zoos across the country, the depressing news was that there were no tiger cubs of the right age to introduce to the mourning mother. The veter inarians decided to try something that had never been tried in a zoo environment. Sometimes a mother of one species will take on the care of a different species. The only orphans" that could be found quickly, were a litter of weaner pigs. The zoo keepers and vets wrapped the piglets in tiger skin and placed the babies around the mother tiger

Would they become cubs or pork chops??????? ??????

Take a look........ you won't believe your eyes!!!!

Minimize your surplus of assets

If you are operating a business where there are surplus of assets, you are risking your profit or even further accumulating loss. The way you handle these surplus of assets can decide your business performance. Let me slows down here. Those business who normally have surplus of assets are manufacturers of good, warehouses, suppliers or even industrial organizations that have unused project materials. Even my own internet shop have surplus of assets.

In order to fully minimize the unused surplus of assets, you might want to consider a good Logistics management system. One such system is SAMS™. This program is a web-based application where you can track all of your surplus assets even globally. One of the key features of SAMS™ is that you not only will know how much you have and where it is located but you can also sell, reinvest, donate or salvage your surplus assets with a click of your mouse within that program. With such features you can ensure that there are minimal surplus of assets and thus maximize your cash flows and profits.

Cellphones

Poor and Rich countries

The difference between the poor countries and the rich ones is not the age of the country.
This can be shown by countries like India & Egypt that are more than 2000 years old and are poor.
On the other hand, Canada, Australia & New Zealand, that 150 years ago were inexpressive, today are developed countries and are rich.

The difference between poor & rich countries does not reside in the available natural resources.
Japan has a limited territory, 80% mountainous, inadequate for agriculture & cattle raising, but it is the second world economy. The country is like an immense floating factory, importing raw material from the whole world and exporting manufactured products.
Another example is Switzerland, which does not plant cocoa but has the best chocolate of the world. In its little territory they raise animals and plant the soil during 4 months per year. Not enough, they produce dairy products of the best quality. It is a small country that transmits an image of security, order & labor, which made it the world’s strong safe.

Executives from rich countries who communicate with their counterparts in poor countries show that there is no significant intellectual difference.

Race or skin colors are also not important: immigrants labeled lazy in their countries
of origin are the productive power in rich European countries.

What is the difference then?

The difference is the attitude of the people, framed along the years by the education &
the culture.

On analyzing the behavior of the people in rich & developed countries, we find that the
great majority follow the following principles in their lives:

1. Ethics, as a basic principle.
2. Integrity.
3. Responsibility.
4. Respect to the laws & rules.
5. Respect to the rights of other citizens.
6. Work loving.
7. Strive for saving & investment.
8. Will of super action.
9. Punctuality.

In poor countries, only a minority follow these basic principles in their daily life.

We are not poor because we lack natural resources or because nature was cruel to us.

We are poor because we lack attitude.

We lack the will to comply with and teach these functional principles of rich & developed societies.

He got a new car

My brother came back for a visit last weekend. Wah... to my surprise he bought one second hand car. It is a Honda Civic manufactured in 1995. Yes it is already 12 years old. Though it is "old" but it was well maintained and looks new. If he did not tell me the age of the car, I would have thought it is only about 3 years old car. Seeing the car makes me to consider buying one second-hand car too.

He told me that there are many other similar cars sold by the used cars dealer near his place. I was thinking of searching for one at used cars Austin as I heard the price of the cars are cheap and attractive. My old junks are not up to the tasks of going outstation and this is one big factor in helping us to buy a good used car for our usage. I must wait for a few more months to see how our financial standing is before confirming on buying one.

The Christmas Invitation

It was the biggest night of the year in a little town called Cornwall. It was the night of the annual Christmas pageant. It's an especially big deal for the children in town -- they get to try out for the roles in the Christmas story. Everybody wants a part.

Which leads us to the problem of Harold. Harold really wanted to be in the play, too, but he was - well, he was kind of a slow and simple kid. The directors were ambivalent - I mean, they knew Harold would be crushed if he didn't have a part, but they were afraid he might mess up the town's magic moment. Finally, they decided to cast Harold as the innkeeper - the one who turns Mary and Joseph away the night Jesus is to be born. He had only one line - "I'm sorry, we have no room." Well, no one could imagine what that one line was going to do to everyone's Christmas…

The night of the pageant the church was packed, as usual. The Christmas story unfolded according to plan - angels singing, Joseph's dream, and the trip to Bethlehem. Finally, Joseph and Mary arrived at the door of the Bethlehem inn, looking appropriately tired. Joseph knocked on the inn door, and Harold was there to open the door.

Joseph asked his question on cue - "Do you have a room for the night?" Harold froze. After a long pause, Harold mumbled his line, "I'm sorry - we have no room." And, with a little coaching, he shut the door. The directors heaved a sigh of relief - prematurely. As Mary and Joseph disappeared into the night, the set suddenly started shaking again - and the door opened. Harold was back! And then, in an unrehearsed moment that folks would not soon forget, Harold went running after the young couple, shouting as loud as he could -- "Wait! Don't go Joseph. Bring Mary back! You can have MY room!"

I think little Harold may have understood the real issue of Christmas better than anyone else there that night. How can you leave Jesus outside? You have to make room for Jesus. And that may be the issue for you this Christmas. What will you do with this Son of God who came to earth to find you?

Jesus is the One who trades a throne room for a stable, and the praise of angels for human mockery. This is the Creator who gives Himself on a cross! The Bible gives us the only appropriate response: "The life I now live I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me." (Gal. 2:20) You look at what Jesus did to pay for your sin on that cross, and you say those life-changing words - "For me."

Jesus is at YOUR door this Christmas. Maybe He's been knocking for a long time. Maybe He won't keep knocking much longer. All your life - even the events of the last few months - have been to prepare you for this crossroads moment with Jesus your Savior. Don't leave Him outside any longer. Open the door this Christmas Day. "Jesus, I cannot keep You out any longer. Come on in. You can have my room . . . my life."

Christmas is Weird

Christmas is weird- what other time of the year do you sit in front of a dead tree and eat candy out of your socks?

After Christmas

Christmas come and Christmas went. People are still in the holiday mood. I guess the atmosphere here is not as intense or merry as in the USA or Europe. In two days time, there would be no more talking about Christmas here in Malaysia. It is not twelve days of Christmas but only one day of Christmas. Most people are back to work and so am I.

Here, most parents are thinking about preparing their children for school this coming early January. Most people are on buying spree for the school uniforms. I am sure there are some parents who are looking for instant credit cards as they do not want to carry cash around the shopping centres. It is easy to own a credit card and very convenient to have one when you do your shopping. Just exercise a bit of self control and do not just buy everything you see.

My sheep Annabelle

Annabelle acted in her first Christmas presentation. Well, as expected she is given the role of a sheep. At first she does not want the role as she wants to be Mary, carrying baby Jesus. However, after much persuading and telling her that she will look cute being a sheep, she agreed and here is the result of it.

Just call them

During this holiday season, take time to call your family members and loved ones. It is a time to renew the relationship and a time to forgive and receive forgiveness. Even if you are far away, you can always give a call to your family members especially to your parents. Better still, go get a phone card and make that call right now. The good thing about phone card is that you can get it at discounted prize especially when there are offers given by the phone companies. This can help you to save your money when you have to make that long distance call. Even if you are in another country you could afford to make that family call with the phone card so there is no excuse not to make that call. The family is worth much more than that few dollars that you have to spend buying the card.

Monday, December 24, 2007

Piedmont Doors

Humor for you.

We got lucky when we heard the old Piedmont Hotel in Atlanta was getting a face-lift and its beautiful maple doors became available for sale as salvage items. We bought several and had them installed in our 19th-century home.

Showing a friend around the house, I pointed out, "You know, these doors are from the Piedmont Hotel."

He raised an eyebrow. "Most people just take the towels."

Sunday, December 23, 2007

My own business logo

This is something that comes in handy to me at this time. One of my staffs is giving computer lessons to foreign workers for about a month. The foreign workers are working in the factory nearby and they wanted to learn computer knowledge before they go back to their own country. They approached my staff as he is qualified to teach various computer lessons. So far they have gone through 6 – 9 hours of lessons and will be completing their courses by early January 2008.

The students requested that we provide Certificate of Completion for the courses that they are taking. With the additional computer courses to their qualifications, they would have a better chance of securing administrative jobs back in their country. There is a small challenge that we faced as to the logo design of the certificate of completion. I have yet to have my own custom logo design that I can use for the certificate or even for my business letter-head.

My staff did manage to come out with a nice logo design for the certificate. However, there is a website called logoyes.com where I can find Free Logo and Business Card Creator. With the service provided there and for a very low cost, I can create my own business logo that I can use on my business letter-head, certificate and even business card. It’s time for the business to have its own custom-made logo.

Saturday, December 22, 2007

Bragging about holidays

A few of mother's friend came for a visit. They knew that mother had gone for a two weeks stay at her son's place in KL and a few days trip to Thailand. Mother will tell them about her holiday experiences and they will in turn tell mother about their past holiday experiences. It's like they do not want to be outdo by others when sharing about their holiday experiences. Some of them have been to Thailand too.

I think mother has yet to go to Singapore or Indonesia. Some of her friends have their children staying or working in these countries and they will "brag" about the places there. Maybe if mother goes for Mexico Vacations, they would not have much chance to brag but would just listen to mother. Maybe I will follow along and enjoy myself there too.

Friday, December 21, 2007

Thinking of food now

Haizzz.... looks like my stomach is grumbling now. Maybe if time permits, I want to eat roti canai now. Have to wait until shop closed. Not many customers but can't close shop now. So just write this nonsense lah. Been a week back to the shop working. Feels good to be here.

The Indian shop nearby does not make good nice roti canai. Must go find at other shop.

Hallelujah Karaoke

Christmas is near and if you want to sing the Christmas Handel Hallelujah chorus, you might want to see this video.

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Future preparation

In my room there is a piece of paper that I stick on the cupboard. It is a prophecy spoken on my wife while she was still studying in the university in Penang. She is to be a vessel for God’s Kingdom especially in the teaching ministry. The prophecy was confirmed by another minister of God at a later date. I put it up on the cupboard so that it would be a reminder to her about her life calling. It is also a reminder for me as her husband of what God wants to do in my wife.

However, she did not take teaching course in the university. Now she is considering taking online degree programs at capella university. She wants to take TESL or TEFL as part of her preparation for the teaching ministry. Since English classes are highly in demand in most countries, it would be a good course for her to learn. At least with the degree she can be accepted to teach in any countries that we are called to go.

“This blog post was based on information provided by Blogitive. For more information, please visit Blogitive.com.”

Selamat Hari Raya Haji

Today is a holiday for Malaysia. At least for the civil servants, banks and some of the companies. As for me, it is not a holiday as I will be working tonite. Brought the family to the beach, Pantai Puteri beach for a picnic just now. As always, the children would be playing sands happily while me and my wife just watch them while sitting on the mat.

Not many people today even though it is a holiday. Most of the Muslims are celebrating the festival so the beach is empty. Had a nice time resting at the beach. Happy Holidays and Selamat Hari Raya Haji.

Renewing business licence

It’s time of the year where every business owner has to renew their business license. Yesterday I went to MBMBB to renew my internet café business license. As expected I had to wait for a long time for them to process it. The Malay lady that normally handles the processing is not there. I was informed that she is praying. Haizzz….. praying during working hours kah? And the man who took over her job is not sure about one part of the license terms so we have to wait for her. Took about 15-20 minutes before she finished her praying, which is well after 2pm. By that time, the queue to pay for the license has grown long. What to do but to patiently wait for my number to be called. Alas I had my business license renewed.

Future education

My wife showed me the school fee list for my children kindergarten. Wah…it is a big sum. I never expected the amount to be a big sum. Well, it includes all the books that my children have to buy for the whole year. I wonder what other amount that I need to spend for them for next year.

Education has become very expensive nowadays. Maybe the best thing to do is to educate my children using online courses. I would not be surprise if in 20 years down the road, online education might be the alternative to the current classroom style of learning. Most universities like capella university are offering online courses at a low rate. I know my daughter would love to be in front of the computer playing games. Maybe she will consider online education when she is older. Hmmm…. .

“This blog post was based on information provided by Blogitive. For more information, please visit Blogitive.com.”

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Christmas Party

For my children, organized by the kindergarten. We tried to be on time, hoping that there would not be any miscommunication by the kindergarten as what happened previously. Arrived there on time and the party has yet to start. There are not many parents and children there. I guess some of them are not bothered to attend as their children are not taking part in any presentations. After taking some food, the children had their party games. I was told that the party would be until 10pm which means that I have some time to kill. Decided to go back and play my game and do one post. Went there again at 9.30pm but the children are still doing the "walk around the taman". Waited for them until 10.15pm before we finally go home. The children enjoyed their time at the party.

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Interesting thought

This is an article by writer/columnist Dina Zaman (The Star). Interesting and mind provoking especially if you read it in the Malaysian social and economical perspectives.

Many have done very well on their own soil, but from where I sit and work, and being a friend and ears to a number of people, there must be a better way to make a living.

WHAT a December. In the first week itself, there were a few heartbreaks: divorces, a break-up, a family friend getting a stroke, and lastly, my sister and her family leaving for a better future in Singapore, and hopefully in the future, elsewhere.

I don’t even know where to begin; all I can say is that our home is much quieter in the evenings and nights without my nephew and niece. No more fighting over Astro, no more chasing them out of my room and catching Layla playing with my make-up. The apartment feels so empty.

Like a number of my cousins and friends, my sister and her husband have opted to work and live overseas.

They believe life is much better abroad. The professional is compensated for his due diligence through meritocracy, and the children are exposed to different cultures and an education that challenges their intellect and artistic bent.

My sister is going nuts, of course, because there’s no domestic help. But for her the sacrifices are worth it.

In fact, my mother once said that it’s better for married couples to live out of Malaysia; marriages back home are so screwed up. When you’re in a foreign country, you work harder at a marriage.

There were a few snide remarks from acquaintances when they heard of the move. One asked me whose strings did they pull to get a job there?

I snapped back, “this is Singapore, you need the smarts to work there.” Even more so if you’re a foreigner. Unfortunately, this condescending git went on and on about how we should not forsake the motherland.

I also received an e-mail from a cousin who’s living with her family in Europe. She’s so much happier there now, and her relationship with her husband is stronger.

“True, Kak Dina, our friends in KL are millionaires now, and we’re struggling in a new land. But there’s something sick about KL. The people, the way we live, it’s not a place to bring up a family,” she wrote.

“Anyway, Kak Dina, Islam is a portable religion. You can practise it anywhere, you can pray anywhere, and there are many Muslims here! Jom lah, Kak D, duduk lah sini. You’ll love it here. Bookshops? museums?”

Are they the atypical Malaysians, so westernised that they cannot live and breathe in their own country?

No. My friends and relatives are just your normal Malaysians who love their mamak food, pasar malam; and when they lived here, led typical Malaysian lives. Sundays with the kids and church for my Christian friends, kelas ngaji and futsal for my Malay friends and cousins.

They were holding good jobs, too. They had a house, one or two cars...

They left because they believed that living and working abroad would afford them and their families a better future.

They knew they would be in for a few cultural challenges, working with Mat Sallehs, Arabs, Singaporeans, but they also felt the international exposure would be excellent for them.

Schools are increasingly more international in their approach: my nephew will be able to go for his Islamic classes as well as martial arts and swimming classes.

Another pull-factor. A very successful friend who’s based abroad once told me: “I live in Malaysia you think I’ll have all this? I could, but I’d have to brownnose everyone.

“I don’t belong to an old boys network and I don’t golf. I got to where I am because of what I can do and deliver.”

A shrewd investor, he is now leading that very life many aspire to, and he has done so on his own terms.

One of my Chinese friends was stunned to hear this. “You mean you Malays also go through the same thing as us Nons ah?”

“Hah? Apa itu ‘Non’?” I asked.

“Non-bumi lah, dol.”

“Of course lah!”

“Choy, choy, choy. If you guys feel that way, what about us?”

This brain-drain, Malaysians leaving for a better future abroad, is not confined to a particular race.

I’m not denying the fact that many have done very well on their own soil, in their own country, which is Malaysia, but from where I sit and work, and being a friend and ears to a number of people, there must be a better way to make a living, and to live.

If it means uprooting, then so be it. One must be practical. Sentimentality only works in fiction.

Saturday, December 15, 2007

Pon Pon Christmas

Pon Pon… Christmas is coming near. Aikss…why I use the horn…should use the bells. OK lah…
Jingle bells Jingle bells….Christmas is coming
Oh what gift for me to give for my darling this year?

Haizzz… I really do not like this time of the year. Had to think of what to buy as presents for my children and love ones. I thank God my wife has been taking over that task over the past few years. It is the “thinking of what to buy” that I do not like. I prefer to come out the money and then let someone else think about what to buy. Well, maybe for my wife, I will buy silver jewellery, a reminder of our dating years when we worked as silver jewellery promoters at La Belle, Mahkota. There are beautiful silver jewelleries sold at the shop which I am sure she would loves to wear. If not, then we can just keep it as an investment. We will wait for the value to go up before deciding on what to do with it. Hahaha...I'm dreaming of a silver Christmas.

Friday, December 14, 2007

Christmas Love

If I decorate my house perfectly with plaid bows,
strands of twinkling lights and shiny balls,
but do not show love to my family,
I'm just another decorator.

If I slave away in the kitchen,
baking dozens of Christmas cookies,
preparing gourmet meals
and arranging a beautifully adorned table at mealtime:
but do not show love to my family,
I'm just another cook.

If I work at a soup kitchen
carol in the nursing home,
and give all that I have to charity;
but do not show love to my family,
it profits me nothing.

If I trim the spruce with shimmering angels
and crocheted snowflakes,
attend a myriad of holiday parties
and sing in the choir's cantata
but do not focus on Christ,
I have missed the point.

Love stops the cooking to hug the child.
Love sets aside the decorating to kiss the spouse.

Love is kind, though harried and tired.

Love doesn't envy another's home
that has coordinated Christmas china and table linens.

Love doesn't yell at the kids to get out of the way,
but is thankful they are there to be in the way.

Love doesn't give only to those who are able to give in return;
but rejoices in giving to those who can't.

Love bears all things,
believes all things,
hopes all things
endures all things.
Love never fails.

Video games will break,
pearl necklaces will be lost,
golf clubs will rust;

But giving the gift of love will endure.

Thoughts

I like this picture. Above the clouds where one is near to the Maker. As I imagine myself being there, floating and absorbing the beautiful surrounding, I can feel God's creative work. One beautiful Malay song came to my mind.


"Ternyata Kau Ada"

Pelangi senja dan awan kelabu
Turun ketika gerimis usang
Indah bak lukisan
Di atas cakrawala
Tak berkelip mata memandangnya

Sejenakku terlela dalam diam
Ku ingat pada Dia yang mencipta
Tubuhku tersimpul…
Dan ku ucapkan syukur
T’ma ksih Tuhan kurnia MU


Chorus :
Dan ketika senja menghilang
Dibalik ufuk cakrawala
Dan Pelangi pun turun sinar bersamanya...ooo....
Namun dihati telahpun bebas
Betapa Dia begitu mulia
Dan lembut kasihnya pada kita

Tuhan... ternyata Kau ada
Dalam setiap langkah nyata (3x)

He makes me hot

Most guys are hot into automobiles. The bachelors would try their very best to get a car. How to win a girl without some mode of transportation? With a car or for young ones who cannot afford it, a motorcycle would do, he can bring the girl of his dream out for a date. The married guy would still be hot with his automobile even after he got a hot wife.

It is these kinds of guys whose car or vehicle would be transformed by various accessories available. They would make their cars "hot" and desirable to look at. I like to see cars that are chromed. I have yet to see a wholly chromed car but that would definitely be a stunning machine. I know it is easy to find chrome accessories for cars but not so for trucks. If you own a truck and would like to find chrome truck accessories, you can check out buyautotruckaccesories.com. And if you do have a wholly chromed car or truck or even a motorbike, do email it to me. I would really appreciate it.

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Berts

Went for dinner with wifey at Berts, Tanjung Kling beach. Don't know when was the last time I been there...maybe a few years or before I got married. Wow...quite a long time ago. The ambience is there and the place is clean and nice. We walked in and was greeted by a waiter and was escorted and shown to our table. No, we did not make any reservation before we came. We chose a table where besides the fence. Can hear the waves. The place is well lighted so we do not have problems with mosquitos (or maybe its because I wore long pants and wifey wore long skirts).

The only setback for us is the price of the food. Wow... it is expensive. I don't know why they set the price to be so high. Since we are not in the mood to spend so much, we ended up eating Nasi Lemak which costs RM3.00 a plate (the cheapest food available). The other types of food is easily priced above RM12 per plate. Looks like Berts will be in our restaurants banned list. Thereafter, off we went for a walk at Tanjung Puteri beach. Took a few great night shots there, wifey posing.

House in order

Took time to rearrange the things inside the house. Now it looks abit tidy. With all the unnecessary things being dumped in the storehouse, the house here looks empty abit. Well, the living hall is "decorated" with 2 sofa sets. A few of the electrical stuffs are in the storehouse, the old computer parts and one vacuum cleaner will be thrown at the public garbage bin. Haizzz... there are a lot more things to clear lah. Maybe it will take a few days before all things are arranged properly. Need to do it before this coming Sunday as there will be a meeting here.

House additions - another phone?

When I look at the inside of my house now, I realized that this house is becoming full with things. In the past we had 2 phones installed in the house, one at the front house and another one near the kitchen. We found that it is better to have 2 phones installed as mother is always at the back of the house and sometimes she cannot hear the front phone ringing. Then one of the front phone stopped working and we left it as it is as the phone at the back of the house is still working.

Now I think it is time to install the front phone. I wonder whether it is a good idea to install the VoIP Call Center Phone Systems. Hahaha…yes, I know it is more for businesses usage but the features fit well my house needs. There is no need for additional PBX hardware to be installed and I can actually install a phone in each of the 7 rooms that we have in the house. We can do room intercom among our family members. And the good thing is that international call to my sister Bebe in UK would be cheaper. Wah…sounds like more of a hotel than a house.

Chat away your loneliness

Have you ever experienced times where you really feel bored and lonely and wished that you have someone to talk and chat with? Well, when I was a teenager I did experienced such times of loneliness. It was a terrible time emotionally to be lonely and has no one to talk to. There was no online free chat or phone chat at that time so I had to bear with that feeling until it goes away. Now, you do not have to go through that experience. There are chat lines that you can call and meet and talk with other people. Check out Talk121 if you need a chat.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

House additions - tables and chairs

Wah....this one is abit difficult. Have to really go look around and count it. So far, there are 4 tables and my brother brought back another 2 more tables. There are 2 more foldable tables. As for the chairs, we have 4 long benches and maybe about 16-20 chairs. Haiyo...lazy to count lah... its all over the house. Really got no place to stack it. Now that my brother is using the room that we used to put all additional things, I am sure you can try and imagine a house packed with furnitures and things. As it is now, we are still not sure where to "dump" all these tables and chairs.

So, if you are planning to stay in my house, you need not worry about where to sit. There is enough chairs for you to sit.

A night to remember

Whenever I passed by Equatorial Hotel Melaka, I would remember one special event organized by them. It was a few years ago and my wife and I went for their Corporate Customers Appreciation Dinner. The theme for their Dinner is Las Vegas Shows and it was a night that we remember until now. We went there without much inkling as to what they will be offering but we really enjoyed it.

They set up lots of games counter with lots of prizes to be won. The good thing is that they gave every person an amount of tokens for us to play at the counters. Well, I do not gamble with money but since this is given free and we have to use up the token, we tried all the games and won quite a number of prizes. And the hotel did provide Las Vegas shows and dances to entertain the guests. Who knows one day, I might be there in Las Vegas itself and have some fun time with my family.

House additions - sofas

We now have 2 sets of sofas in the house. My brother brought back one set sofa for six people. It is a nice big sofa made of wood, kind of luxurious looking. It will definitely replace our old sofa, taking its place at the living hall. Maybe the old sofa will still stay at the living hall but the two sofas does not match in color. Not sure whether there are cushions for the new sofa set. Hmmmm...maybe not.

If you are staying in my house, you need not worry about place to sit. You can choose to sit in any of the sofas there at the living hall.

House addtions - washing machine & fridge

We now have 2 washing machines and 2 big size refrigerators and 1 freezer in the house. Not sure whether my brother will fix the washing machine to the water tap and use his washing machine too. Mother will most probably use both the refrigerators. I think mother is happy to have 2 refrigerators as she loves to keep things/food in the fridge. Even small amount of leftover food will be stored in the refrigerators. Whatever things that she is unsure of whether to put in the fridge or not, she will still put in the fridge.

So, if you are staying in my house, you need not worry about cold drinks, but I'm not so sure you will get a freshly cooked dishes. Maybe you can eat the warmed up/heated leftover food that mother kept in the fridge.

Wedding flowers

In every wedding there must be flowers decorating the wedding reception place. Without flowers, the place will look odd and not suitable for a wedding. Flowers are indeed a must in every wedding. Even the bride will hold a bouquet of flowers and after the ceremony will throw it to eager and excited unmarried girls. It can be costly to decorate the wedding reception place with flowers. Therefore if you are planning to have your wedding where you want lots of flowers to decorate the place, be sure that you try and find good florist shop who can offer cheap prizes for the flowers.

Check out Fiftyflowers.com if you want cheaper but beautiful flowers. They offer various wholesale flowers at below wholesale cost. You might want to check out their wedding flower packages. With the package you get 23 pieces, including bridal bouquet, bridesmaid bouquet, corsages, boutonnieres, and table arrangements. The bride can choose her own focal flower, accent flowers and greens.

Hmmm…maybe I should buy some flowers to decorate my house since it is now packed and crowded with things. Some flowers will definitely make the place brighter and cheerful.

House additions - rice pots

We have a total of 3 rice cookers now. There are 2 big rice cookers and one small one. My brother brought in 1 big rice cooker. I wonder why they need such a big rice cooker as there are only 2 of them in their old house. Now, with the additional big rice cooker we can cook for a total of 28-30 people at one time. To some this might be "Wah!!!" but this is not enough during CNY where we have to feed about 40 over people at one time.

As it is now, if you are staying over at my house, you need not worry about not having enough rice to eat. Plentiful of rice but not sure about the dishes lah.

House additions - mattresses

Ok... now I will do the house inventory. No, not to show off, but to keep track of what is inside the house now. I am talking about additional items for the house. There are 4 queen size mattress and 2 single size mattress that are extras. There are 7 rooms that already have their own mattresses. Not really sure where to put these extra mattresses. So far, wifey has stacked them into the tent. Yes, the tent is in the living hall. It is a 4 men tent and can fit in the queen size mattresses.

So, if you are planning to stay overnight at my house, you need worry about not having mattresses to sleep on.

Theme Park as in Orlando

Now that there will be a Marine Theme Park in Melaka, the road to town will be even congested. It is scheduled to be completed in 2010 and by then this place will be buzzing with tourist from all over Malaysia and overseas. Even now, the Malacca town is already heavy with traffics during weekend. I seldom want to go out shopping during the weekends as I hate to drive in heavy traffic. What more when the Marine Theme Park is completed.

I do not want to imagine how it is like in Orlando where there are about 54 theme parks. Even Disney World theme park itself is already a big draw to tourists all over the world, what more when there are other theme parks located in the same area. People will go early to queue for Disney World Tickets in order to spent the whole day enjoying themselves at the park. I can imagine the same will happen here in Melaka. Anyway, I am sure they will also provide an online ticket sales for the theme park like orlandofuntickets.com

House additions

My brother and sister-in-law is now officially staying at our home. So there are 8 people together staying in this house. Mother, my family of 5, my brother and sister-in-law. My brother brought back all his house stuffs and now my house is full with things. Will take a few days before all the things are arranged in order and before we will get used to the new surroundings. There are so many things that we have extras now. It is more like having 2 house items in 1 house.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Orlando, Orlando

Reading a lot of posts about Orlando in the blogs has taken its toll. My wife and I were on our way to the night market at Tanjong Kling when we passed by a big signboard. It is a construction signboard stating that a Marine Theme Park will be built there. Yes, it is true. Melaka would have its own Marine Theme Park and it is less than 4km from my house.

Yahoooo….my wife shouted. “We don’t have to go to Orlando…we can just go to this Theme Park.” Hahaha… I am reminded of the many theme parks in Orlando. There are many other types of theme park besides the marine theme park in Orlando. Furthermore, the main attraction there is the Disneyworld. Hmmm…looks like we still might want to go to Orlando when we can. Thinking of staying at Orlando Holiday Villas as I can be sure that what I see online is the exact villas that I will get to stay in. Orlando, please wait for me.

Birthday must have gifts?

I wonder why it is necessary to give gifts on birthdays. As for me, I would prefer not to receive any gifts for my birthday. I did not realize it before and I was not so sure why I always feel it that way but now I think I know the answer. It is because my language of love is not Gifts. That is why I kinda unable to appreciate all those gifts that people gave as tokens of their love and care. Mentally I know that the givers are kind and generous but it does not touch the heart deeply.

So, giving gifts for my birthday would not have much effect lah. Wah, I can imagine you saying, "Good lah, save my money". Hehehe. However, it also works both ways. Since I do not appreciate gifts for my birthday, I tend not to give gifts for other people's birthday too. LOL.

Monday, December 10, 2007

Spending unnecessarily

We went to Giant Shopping Centre on the way to the shop. Since the maid is around, it is possible for my wife and I to go out together without the children. We left the children with my mother and maid. We did not buy a lot of things. The only thing we want to buy is ice-cream for the children. Well, not really for the children only but also for us. As usual and like many shoppers, we also tend to buy other “unnecessary” things as we walked around.

I did not bring enough cash for it so my wife use one of her Best Credit Cards to pay for the things. Haizz… if we keep on spending like this we would need to ask for Loan from our family members to pay for the credit card. Another option would be to apply for Personal Loan from the bank. We hope that we do not have to resort to that option. Better to discipline our spending habits especially this coming Christmas.

Saturday, December 08, 2007

Wearing seatbelt

My wife seems to neglect on wearing seatbelt when driving from her mother's house back to our house. Have to remind her whenever I drove the car with her.




























Be prepared

Now that my mother is back at home, she will be free to do what she is used to do. That means going outside and be at her garden. It is nice to see her being able to be herself, doing what she wants to do. Now she is already 70+ years old and I am not sure how long her health will be with her. She has already shown signs of aging.

I am glad that the maid is here. At least the maid will be there to accompany my mother from day to day. I am sure at this age she would need someone to be there near her where she can talk and have conversations with. If the maid is not here, most probably she would have to go to the nursing home. It is very difficult to take care of an aging person if you are tight up with work. At least if she is at any of the nursing homes, she would have someone to look after her all the time. She might even get to know others of her age. There is a wealth of information that I found in bettercaring.com about old people and how to care for them. Check out the health matters in the website and learn more about health for old people.

I do hope that when mother's health is not so good, I would be ready to face it.

Friday, December 07, 2007

Changes again

Mom is back at home now. She has gone for more than two weeks, holidaying. Well, good for her to take a break from the house. Now that she is back, she will definitely get back to her old routine. I can guarantee that within a week she will be back to her old self, spending most of her time outside the house. She will make her broom from the coconut leaves, and wrap the starfruit fruits. I would have to get used to having her in the house again, plus another brother and sister-in-law, and a maid.

Thursday, December 06, 2007

Spend wisely this Christmas

Ahh….now is the time of the year where people will be spending. They would go out and buy gifts for friends, loved ones and their children. Children would be expecting something from their parents. Many parents who are wise would have saved up to buy gifts for their children. However, not all parents have the extra income for savings and would have to depend on their credit cards for extra money to spend.

I do hope that credit card holders would be wise in their spending for this Christmas season. Try to spend within your means. Sometimes it is not the expensive gifts that matters. What is important is that it comes from a sincere giver. If you do not have the means, use your creativity to come up with interesting gifts for your children. Likewise, ask them to do the same for the gifts that they need to give to you.

If however, you still need to spend using your credit card, it would be good if you could use interest free credit cards as this would lessen your burden a bit. You could also consider making full use of the balance transfers options given by credit card companies to regulate your monthly installment. At the end of the day, try not to be in debt this Christmas.

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

Beautiful Children

I have not really thought about it before. As a man, it is natural for me to look or want to look at beautiful girls. And because of this tendency of man to want to look at beautiful girls only, the effect has far reaching consequences on the girls. They will try their very best to be and look beautiful. And the situation was further aggravated by the media portraying what beauty should be like.

Now, being a father, I am affected by this situation even more. My eldest daughter Annabelle is 4.5 years old and my second daughter is going to be 3 years old this weekend. Seeing them growing up is a wonderful thing. However, even in their young tender age, they have unconsciously developed this mentality that it is important to be beautiful. The situation was further aggravated when they observed one of their aunties who love to wear make-up and put make-up on them. Then their mother bought for them make-up kits and they would be putting it by themselves. Yes, even at small age they already know where to apply the make-up by themselves.

After putting the make-up, they would come to me and ask me whether they are beautiful. I had to remind them that even without the make-up they are still beautiful. As a father beauty is not about make-up. It is about the personality of the children, about their uniqueness, about who they really are. No matter how they look like in their outward appearance, I would still love them. It is my responsibility now to teach them that inner beauty is much more important than outward appearance.

I find the campaign "Join Dove To Raise Self Esteem" as very important for all the girls to know. It is a timely effort as we do not want the situation to get worse. I really do not want my children to be exposed to the media’s bias portrayal of beauty as shown in this video.

Mothers, if you are reading this, please know that you are playing the most important part in assuring your children that they are beautiful no matter what their physical condition are. If they always see you trying to be beautiful outwardly, then they would also follow you in their thinking.

Love your children unconditionally.

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Time for Our Holiday

Since Mother is coming back and we have a maid, I hope that in no time my children would get use to or want the maid and I can leave them behind for the much awaited 2nd honeymoon.

I heard that if I book through Hotel Reservations, I can get up to 70% discount and a $100 rebate too. Wow! With the savings, I hope we can use the money to extend the holiday period. :)

MIL will be back this Thursday

Finally she is returning home after 2 weeks of vacationing. I heard that she really enjoyed herself at Phuket. Good lar, time for her to really be happy and spend as much time as she could with other brothers too.

I hope she will like the maid that we hire. If she gives the green light, then only I will submit the application to take her as our permanent maid. So far, wife has no complaint about her.

Christmas and gifts

Now that Christmas is coming, the atmosphere can be felt in shopping centres. Almost every shopping centres will play the Christmas songs. And there will be sales, big discount sales, offer sales and whatever other sales that you can think of. Of course the shopping malls will be offering goodies and other Christmas related products. It is the time where people will think of buying presents and gifts for their loved ones, family members and friends alike.

Some would prefer to shop at the shopping mall itself just to feel the Christmas season atmosphere. Others would love to shop online for the convenient. And if someone is giving birth at this time, please do not give Christmas presents only. Do try and find personalized baby gifts and give it to them. The birth of a baby is a very special moment and should be treated in such a way. It is the
arrival of a new person, a special gift to the parents and family members. It reminds me of the birth of Jesus Christ, the greatest gift to man. That is what Christmas signifies, the birth of Jesus Christ.

Own Unique Christmas Celebration

I think the Christians in Malaysia must try to find their own unique Christmas celebration. Not to sing about snow and reindeer or white christmas. There are many things that need to be evaluated about Christmas as most of it are simply imported from the west and truly not relevant to Christians from other culture and country. Pastors should be responsible for this and the teaching of the church must reflect its indigenous character. Let the Chinese Christians have their own Christmas, let the Indian Christians have their own unique Christmas celebration and let the Malay Christians have their own unique Christmas celebration. Yes, I know it takes time but changes must start with the desire to change and taking practical steps to it.

Christmas blues

Haiya... the CNY wind really got me off track. Christmas is not here yet and I already talk about CNY. Every year when it is near CNY, I would have this feeling of the CNY celebration. The weather will change from rainy season to dry weather. The dry weather will make me feel tired easily thus giving me that "lemah" feeling.

Even though Christmas is near, where we sing about snow and white christmas, it is still dry here in Malaysia. I think that is why I don't really like to sing Christmas carols. I find most of the songs are not related to who I am as a Chinese or Malaysian. Why sing a song that is culturally and geographically different and have no real spiritual significant? The most important thing is to remember the True Meaning of Christmas.

Spending for CNY

There are times when I wonder why would people spend so much wanting to celebrate Chinese New Year. I have seen how people spent thousands of ringgit just to prepare for the celebration. They will spend on the food, the cookies and the drinks. And the main bulk of the spending would go to buying new clothes. Of course another main bulk would go to the angpows. When I was still a child, I only received 10 cents angpow but some rich families kids would receive RM200 angpow. Haizzz...my total angpow also cannot reach that amount.

I wonder why people are willing to spend so much on the celebration. Yes, it is only once a year but do we have to waste? If I were to spend so much on the celebration, I would have to apply for Low Rate Credit Card already. It is better than the existing normal credit card as it gives lower rate. Of course that does not mean that you can or should spend more. Be thrifty but do enjoy the celebration too.

CNY wind

The CNY wind is back. I mean the literal wind. You can feel the wind blowing from time to time. And it brings nostalgic memories. The funny thing is that it is not a nice feeling. It gives me the "lemah" feeling. Maybe thinking about the tiredness of visitation and preparations for the CNY give me that "lemah" feeling. It is supposed to bring excitement but somehow the "lemah" feeling is stronger. LOL..

Shoulder arm still aching

Walao.... its been more than 4 days and my left shoulder arm is still aching. Yes, from my wifey's birthday where we went to Jusco and where I boxed my way at the game machine. Since then it has been aching and I can't even lift up more than 1kg of things without feeling the pain. The ache has gone down abit but it is still there. Praying that it will be better before end of this week.

Monday, December 03, 2007

LCD TV for games

After we bought the 19" LCD monitor to replace our 19" CRT monitor, using the computer is a whole new experience for me. It is so much nicer to view and surf the net using the LCD monitor. The picture or graphic is better and sharper. Of course the color is nicer to look at too. Another good thing about the LCD monitor is that is that it is not so hard on the eyes compared to CRT monitor. I enjoyed playing my online game now with the LCD monitor. It is clearer and the colors are much better.

Now that I have experienced the wonder of LCD, I might want to get the hitachi 42 LCD TV for my house. I am sure the it would be nice to watch the movies on it. Maybe I could connect it to my computer and play my games using the LCD TV. Wow...that would be awesome.

Going for my 5th real skill

Now that I've got my 4th real skills and have reached lvl 40 where "I believe I can fly", my next target would be to get another real skill. It would not be a combat skill but passive skill i.e. defense skill. Now it is at lvl 11 45% and hoping to reach 100% in 2 weeks time. Yes...it will take some time as I need to concentrate on other things also. Then I would go for the ice skills.

How much is my character worth?

One of my customers went to KL to buy Mosiang ID from another player. His own ID is only lvl 36 and he is buying lvl 43 ID. He bought it for RM250. Wah... lvl 43 and selling cheap at that price.

Now, I wonder how much my character ID can be sold. My ID is only lvl 40 so the price should be lower that RM250. But then I already have 4 real skills compared to only 2 real skills that the lvl 43 ID have. That should increase my ID value a bit. But then, I'm not sure whether I want to sell my ID now. Reason being that I can use this ID to trade and earn real money from it. Playing online game to get money.

Change of plans

My brother came for a visit just now. Looks like there is a change of plan about the guarantorship deal with my tenant. It seems that the bank does not want to accept the foreign student (my tenant) as the loan applicant. There is a miscommunication between my tenant and the used car sales agent who submitted both particulars of my brother and my tenant. The bank thought that my tenant is the guarantor and because of that, the bank rejected the application. The bank does not want a foreigner to be a guarantor.

So now, instead of being the guarantor for my tenant, my brother will have to be the buyer of the car but my tenant will pay for the monthly installment. If however, my tenant fails to pay the installment on time, I wonder whether my brother has enough savings to pay the due installment. If not, he would have to find some cash advance to pay for it or else the bank will repossess the car.

I got killed

While training my jinjong skill last night, another player opened red and killed me. My experience lvl drop 2% while my pet experience dropped 5%. Haizzzzzzzzzzzchazzzzzzzzzz.... very angry at him lah. Why can't they all play without killing other players. Bad character lah they all.

I believe I can fly

Hahaha...that song is very catchy. Almost every Mosiang player who reach level 40 would love to sing that song. Reason is simple. When the player reached level 40, his character movement skill can be upgrade to the "flying" skill. It is as though the character is flying, not touching the ground.
If you have watch the Chinese movie, "Hidden Dragon, Crouching Tiger" where the actors "fly" from one spot to another, then you can roughly imagine the "flying" in the mosiang game.

And now, in Mosiang, "I believe I can fly". Reached lvl 40 de...hahahahaha.

Sunday, December 02, 2007

Be healthy with a gift

It is a custom and courtesy to bring something as a gift when we go and visit someone who is in the hospital. It need not be an expensive gift as it is only a token, a sign of our care for that person. I have seen a few people who brought inappropriate gift to a sick person. Normally, the gift is in the form of food or drinks. I think if the sick people were to eat the food or drinks given by the visitors, the sick person would become even worse. It is a good idea to give to a sick person healthy gift baskets so that that person can recover faster. It is also an indication to that person that we are concern with his health and wants him to be healthy.

Becoming a jockey

Jaya Jusco Melaka do have two horse riding game machine. Decided to give it a try yesterday. For the first time I became a jockey.... well, not really the real jockey but only the game jockey. Again, it was a new experience for me riding a "horse". There must be some coordination between the leg and the hand while jockeying.

At first I was leading the race but by the last 1km, I used up all the carrots and my horse got tired and I lost the race. Fun and tiring game. Maybe next time I will win the race.

Saturday, December 01, 2007

Boxing my way

Went to Jaya Jusco for a time of recreation with my wife. Went there to buy something for her and to enjoy ourself with the Japanese drum. As the drum is being played by others, we went to look for other games to play. One of the fun game is the boxing game machine. Yes, they do have boxing game there.

Tried the game, thinking I am very strong. LOL. I did managed to win the first contender. But by that time, my hands grew tired from the weight of the boxing gloves. With the second contender, I managed to knock him down twice before I was given the KO punch. It was fun and very tiring. Gasping for air and felt very thirsty (its not a good idea to exercise in an air-cond room).

Now, my arms are still aching.

A very good alternative

One of my sisters-in-law was admitted to the hospital recently. She complained of breathing difficulty. The doctor was not able to identify specific cause to her condition. My brother told me that it is possible that her condition was due to work pressure and stress. Another possibility and factor that could contribute to her condition is her physical condition. She is obese. Instead of controlling her weight and taking steps to reduce it, she has done the opposite. Her obesity could be the main contributing cause to her condition. If she feels that exercising would not be the best option for her, she could go for weight loss surgery. It is still better to go for the surgery rather than suffer other sicknesses. Hopefully she will try and consider this option.