Marsha's Birthday Bash Part2

CONTINUE FROM PART 1

Thanks Aisha... for the blowing the candle... hehe. Cute.

Talk about FULL HOUSE! Even the staircase is occupied!
Here's Marsha with her evening buddies.
The kids really love the goodie bags.

Thank you to everyone who came over and made Marsha's birthday a memorable one.

Marsha's Birthday Bash Part 1

Specially dedicated to Eiwa, Iris & Firman.

Marsha turned TWO in Nov 16th. So, the following weekend, on the 18th, we organized a sweet little party for her. We just invited some of our neighbours, relatives and friends from Kulim.

Marsha performing the pre-party final buy-off inspection.

Backyard buffet! This is our first time arranging the buffet table at the back. Turned out to be a very good idea. Nothing beats taking food under the coconut trees.

Knowing how Marsha loves water, the theme was "pool party".

Kids just lurrvee water.

Here's Marsha using a floatie in a 2feet deep pool.

Getting all geared-up for the cake cutting ceremony...

...feel the pressure, as Marsha get's ready to blow the candles...

In a flash!

I'm so lazy to update my blog... huaarrgghhhh! There's been so many things happening that I could hardly find time to sit down and type stuff in my blog. For the past 1-2 weeks... let's see:

- it was my b'day on the 9th October. I blew a candle on the 8th for someone's b'day, and blew another on the 10th. Nothing happened on the 9th.

- I was in back in my hometown on the 10th, 11th and 12th. Yes, I went back on weekdays, coz I had to send my maid to the airport, she's going back to Indonesia. It's her annual 1-mth break, and this time, we let her go during Raya - it's the best time to be with family. I asked her, how long is the drive from her home to the Solo airport? She said ~3hrs. We were like, wow. What rural area she must have come from. THEN! I thought, hey, wait a minute! It took ME 5 FREAKIN' HOURS to get to this KLIA airport! I'M THE SO-RURAL!

- Got M-I-L and S-I-L to stay with us for a week before the Raya weeklong holiday. They're here mainly to take care of Marsha while we go to work. That also means, I have no choice. It's Alor Setar for 1st day Raya.

- My new job is 2 light years away from what I previously do. Now I manage a Planning group. So, 3 weeks ago, before my transition, I quickly asked my admin to print my business card, bearing my previous job's title, mainly coz I wanted the word "Engineer" to be there.

- Had pot-luck party with my close friends just now. 60% attendance rate. 2 families couldn't make it. Yes, calculate that. I don't have too many close friends. But lots of food around, tho. But we were too busy chit-chatting, food was second on the agenda. The trade off from the fun-time... my maid @ bibik is NOT around. I hurt my back washing the dishes. If I had more time, I'd put a signage at the kitchen sink that reads "Bibik on Annual Leave. Please wash thy plates." Kidding, guys :-) I had a good time. Just have to find that heaty-plaster to put on my back, that's all.

- Oh, highlight of my b'day, well, post-b-day to be axact. On the 10th, my sis-in-law got me the BEST chocolate cake EVEH! She put 2 candles on it and call it my 'birthday' cake. I felt like I'm 20 again. Thank you, Kak Ida =D.

- Over the past week, I rebuilt 2 of my Radio Controlled cars. 1 was set-up for racing, and the other set-up to go sideways, or drift, as the craze is nowadays. Boy, I feel like I'm 15 again.

I better not start on Lego.

Rootcause B'gosh

8 years ago, a Libran like me, was probably asking for a piece of hell when I decided to marry my Aries wife (yes, cloud-9 really do clouds the klout).

You see, I've never been the type who reads the Astrology column during breakfast but a year ago, Madam Zodiac was forwarded into my Inbox. And to my suprise, Libra is supposed to be the EXACT opposite of Aries - which is read as: we should not even want to know each other.

The zodiacs were stressing on just how DIFFERENT Libra and Aries are that it's impossible to find a common like. Well, let the truth be known: I agree. Here, check this list out:

Iffil: Spicy food, please.
Sara: Chillies? Wanna kill me?

Iffil: Rolls on the floor over chicken crossing the road joke.
Sara: Just looks at Iffil, in disbelief.

Iffil: Needs 4 days to think of where to hang a picture.
Sara: Needs a nail, a hammer and a wall. Max - 2mins.

Yes, the zodiac is spot on for my case. But the weird thing is, even BEFORE we were married, we were 'special' friends for 6 years. And now, 8 years into our marriage, still in love with each other as we were during our Cloud-9 days.

Which prompted me to think. People usually use similarities as the plus points when searching for a life partner. In fact, so much time is spent in finding someone with the most similarities. But in actual - similarity matters not. What promises a brighter future is having the right attitude and personality.

One quick way to see a person with good attitude is; observing how a person RE-ACTS to a problem. If he's patient, forward-looking, always looking for a solution - then no mountain of difference is high enough. I'm probably just 10% of this. But I do try to be sensitive to my reaction to her preferences. And she does the same thing too - err... I think. Which leads me to think another thing: all of the world's problem is actually a result of REACTIONS. Think about it.

So, conslusion: your reaction is the make-or-break point. Therefore, the rootcause b'gosh is: the problem of the problem is not the problem but it's how you REACT to it. Note to unmarried people: find a good problem-solver as your partner... not a problem-maker.

A Sponsored Jacket!

Just came back from a convention in shivering cold Genting Highlands. And the biggest thing for me... I GET TO WEAR A JACKET! Woohoo!

Grinning ear2ear? Oh, gimme a break, I've only worn a jacket 4 times in my 33 years of living. Here's with my colleague, Chong.

Always NO, Never YES

"No" is probably the world's most used word. I'm amazed to see how often it's being used (or abused) by Marsha, my almost-2yr old kiddo. More amazing is to observe her customization of the word.

> There's the "no-no-no-no-no" with head shaking.
> The "oh-NO!-coke-(violation #1)-on-the-floor(violation #2)"
> The "nonononono" with finger pointing to the cat, bibik or mom
> The "NO!" with a cold stare to the poor girl whose bike she just took

It's not suprising actually. Small kids, on daily basis, tend to do "prohibited" stuff (e.g. digging the soil out of the indoor plant, slamming the drawers, smashing the remote, dragging the cat by the tail etc) MORE than "approved" stuff (e.g. ... nevermind). So, "no" is always at the tip of many parents' tounge. And of coz, the kiddos will follow suit and give it back to them. I just tasted my own medicine just now, as I was trying to take away a mug of Coke from her (she hijacked it from the guest we had just now). It was the 'no' with the cold stare.

Anyway, here's a sharing of my latest conversation with Marsha: "Hi Marsha, say "maaa-meeee".. no no no, put the remote down... say maaa-meee.. nononono dont throw... ahh, good girl, say maaaa... NO NO NO NO!............. *squating to pick up pieces of the remote.

Unknown Global Domination

Bye-bye is such a universal word. I've had meetings with people all over the world yet, as the conversation goes to an end... there it is again: Bye-bye.

How could a word that sounds so... funny, a little 'kiddy' and weird, almost alien-like, be acclimitized and accepted world wide? Who created it? Is there any reason for the word "bye" to be repeated twice? Hello is another word. But it's not as glamorous as Bye-bye. Coz in the Latin world, they'd rather say "Ola". But, again, as the talk ends... bye-bye pops out again. Bye-bye sounds very informal and fun. I've been in a heated meeting where there are some red faces, but when the meeting ends; with smoke still coming out from the boiling man's ear, he says "bye-bye".

Some people does not want to sound too 'playful'. So they opted to unrepeat the word and just say 'bye'. Which sounds weird and incomplete. So, they added in another word and ended up saying, "OK, bye". Then they realized that, the combo effects of ok+bye does not set a mood for a smile. On the other end, there are people who likes to be funny. So, they take one bye out, and then increase the drag on the other one. End result: Byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

Bye-bye sounds very Alaskan. It probably came from there. It makes perfect sense. As the winter-all-year-long Alaskan shivers, they probably stuttered and repeated 'bye' into bye-bye.

Then came the influence of the French to fight for global linguistic supremacy. They came out with 'chaio' (pronounced: chow). But it didn't make it to the mass market. It got into the niche market, though. But never big enough to see eye-to-see with the Alaskan.

Oh, my 6am conference meeting is coming to an end... Byeeeeeeeeeeee.

Basic Expectations

I suddenly realized, as I was talking to a friend, just as there are expectations in the office i.e. be in the office at 8, wash your coffee mug at least once a week and etc, expectations exist everywhere else too. Let me just throw some of it here…

• If you see an old man eating alone in a restaurant, when you pay for your food, just hand over some extra buck to the counter and pay for the old man too.
• If your love ones are not well, call them up to ask if they're ok and do they need any help, no matter how busy you are. SMS on regular basis. For guys, this is better actually, coz in addition to not bothering your woman's sleep, you do not need to put up with her crappy mood and croaky morning voice.
• As you leave the house, kiss your partner and give her a hug. Not the “will-i-ever-see-you-again” hug nor a perverted hug, just a quick “have a great day” hug will do.
• Malaysians are a bit lazy to say “Hi”. Fine. But, if you’re opening the door and there is someone behind you, just hold on to the door and let the person walk. Don’t expect to hear something like, “Thank you!”. Key word: Malaysian.
• If you’re driving in a slow traffic area e.g. supermarket, and see there are some people waiting to cross the street, hit the brake and let them cross safely. Again, don’t expect to get a thank-you smile. In fact, the best part of doing this is that, you could do this good deed with a straight inhuman face.
• When someone SMS you, answer it! Note to myself :-(
• If you are committed to a relationship, congratulations, coz you’ve actually have contracted yourself to be the top person on your partner's list of "people to be splashed with love as well as crappiness". It comes in a package. So, be responsible and accept it. And pray that the ratio of love and crap is 1000 to 1.
• Do not stand 2inches away from the guy at the ATM. Give the bugger some room for privacy, at least 3 feet away. I’m sure you wouldn’t like it if other people could see your PIN or even worse, see the screen saying “You Have Insufficient Funds to Withdraw”.
• Smile is the first thing you should do when you meet the people that matters to you, no matter how crappy you feel at that moment.
• When you’re with your partner, TRY to refrain yourself from ogling at other girls, especially the one in a car, at the traffic light, just across from where your partner sits.
• If you don’t like kids (or a particular kid), don’t pretend to like them. Just keep your distance.
• Say “thank you” for just about anything. In the case where you KNOW the other guy is supposed to say “thank you” but did not, then just say “you’re welcome” and walk away.

Is it so obvious that I have no idea on what to blog?

Born to be a Rock Star!

The Ethics Of A Conversation

There's a species of human that gives no hoot on the ethics of a conversation. They are either overly self-centric or made of tin. A conversation is always a 2-way street. There's a giver, and a receiver. The giver, who starts a topic of conversation, projects a level of emotion and atmosphere to the conversation, with high hopes, expectation and probably some giddiness. And the receiver, as fellow human, is supposed to capture those elements and response accordingly and positively. Lets take a simple example. A retired loving wrestler, as he prune the roses, says 'Howdy!' politely. The receiver, who just got fired and bitten by an infested purple colored bird on the nose, has a moral responsibility to respond just as how it was given - politely. If the receiver dismisses the ethic, given the situation, we could potentially witness the remake of The Remake of Wrestle Mania XXIIV. Now, imagine yourself giving an expensive gift to a special one. Only to witness your gift being shoved aside for an iPod and not appreciated. THAT is the very same level of frustration that could come from a simple conversation. Nobody likes the blood rushing experience of saying Hi! to a somebody who completely ignores you - in public, across the street.

A simple conversation could lead to many things. Be it a deeper friendship, greater love, new spring of hatred, anything. The ethics of a conversation is an important element in life just as the mall is to women. It prevents heart break, tension and wobbling blood pressure. When a person starts a conversation, he could be overwhelmed with excitement. For example, husband says, "Hey! our cat Meow could actually say his own name!". If the receiver does not recognize the situation, the wife could blindly respond, "I think you should wash your hands with soap before you hold the soap". In this situation, the husband is deprived of creatively expressing his excitement and ended up talking to himself in the shower while the wife continues to live life as if nothing has happened, only to find that hubby is no longer touching his food. Unwanted stress. Again, just as the example of giving a gift, the initiator of a conversation gets hurt.

When someone talks to you, it is YOUR moral obligation to respond to the topic accordingly. Never brush the message aside and respond with an altogether different topic. Even worse, injects the I'm-a-wiser-man advice. What a disrespectful situation. If YOU have a message to tell to someone, initiate the conversation. If you're not the initiator, then, wait till the initiated topic has finished, THEN you start your topic. A conversation is never about winning or losing. It's more about sharing over a mutual and emotional subject. Even a debate sticks to 1 topic.

Diet Program

My index finger was a little twitchy the other day and ended up clicking continously on the "Next Blog" link. As I was blog-surfing, I realized that most of the blogs were either not updated after it was created or the author seemed to be on sabatical. The latter seems to describe me, actually. And it all sums up that "blogging" is actually quite similar to a "diet program". Most people quit after a week or so and some go blinking on and off. Hats off to those who religiously update and keep their blog updated =D.

Oh, which reminds me... I need to restart my diet soon.

Mommy's a shopaholic

... and I thought I was the only one bored of waiting...

Line Dancing goes LIVE!

Sara made her maiden live appearance cha-cha-ing her line dancing moves during Dina's petrol station opening ceremony. I was there to give her support and was completely unaware that it was going to be a 4-hour waiting ordeal as her performances were spreaded out with other programs.

The fun part was watching her line dancing group preparing themselves before their first performance. Anyone could see just how tense and nervous they were. But once they start to move-it move-it... oooh! mama!

Thankfully, Marsha kept herself busy. To this day, I can't figure out how she knew the position of riding a superbike.

Here's Marsha, drinking 100Plus. Don't ask me how she got that. I'm still trying to figure that one out too. But, no complaints from me. Eventhough she puts on that "I don't smile" look all day long, she was uber-cool. Thank you, thank you for being such a sport. ;-)

And on behalf of daddies all over the world, thank you to the person who invented diapers. May God bless you.

In the end, the whole show went fabolously well! You go, girls!.. and ladies. You gals were GREAT!!! And many congratulations to Dina on your new business venture, we're sure it'll do well.

It was a great day. Go Line Dancing!! Yeeehah!

da Higglytown-Heroes Code

The biggest trick to success is often camouflaged with the infamous phrase of “work-hard”. In fact, there are also smarty-pants who even added the phrase “work smart” to it, probably just to compliment themselves. Sorry, this must be confusing. But my point is, we’ve often left out the most important element of success. And that is, as the HigglyTown Heroes always say: “know-how.”

Know-How is what separates the genetic bio-chemist and the studio sound engineer. Both of them probably work as hard (or as smart, whatever that means). And what separates the sound engineer to other sound engineers is… the depth of their know-hows. Not their hard working nor annoying bragging nature.

Learning about know-hows in whatever you do could save you lots of time and frustrations. And to gain depth in it would probably take time, exposure and experience. That's when hard-work comes into play, not ‘smart’ work.

Music Class

We've enrolled Marsha into a program called Musikgarten - "the preeminent early childhood music education company yada yada yada". But the funny part of the story is, while we thought that we only have to pay RM65 a month for the once a week half an hour class, little that we anticipated that the so-called starter kit is RM300+! Gulp. Anyway, Marsha seemed to enjoy the class, despite being the youngest at 1.5 years old. And the most important thing, she's learning.

http://www.musikgarten.org/

Fly is here!

My good friend, Fly, from PJ is here. Marsha is sooo in love with Uncle Fly - funny girl. Anyway, Fly is here for 2 nights of holiday under the Kulim stars along with his beautiful and loving family, Aza - the wifey, Zafira (3yrs)and Zahirah (6mths).

Fly, you've been such a good friend - even though we only meet up once in every 2 years. If I have a billion buck, I'd put you in my will and give you a million buck :-)

Change of Perspective

I'm making a resolution here. From now on, on weekdays, I'm going to start my day at 5:30pm... and it will be with the people who matters most. =D

The Perfect Circle

The best part of being friends is that, you do not have to be perfect. Yes, that means, you can be as weird or as crazy as you want, and still have the person to go out with you for lunch.

The unpleasantness of being in a relationship is that, you’re pressured to be perfect. Which you are NOT. Bah! I don't really like this part of a relationship. You're pressured to dressed up before a date, maintain good manners (e.g. not burping out loud) and refraining from making fun of that person (which is soo boring). In another angle, if a person starts to "act perfect" with you, if you're not interested with the person... RUN! Anyway, a healthy relationship should not start from false impression of yourself - but that's another topic.

The beauty of true love is.... without having to be perfect... you are perfect in everyway. And that’s as pure as a mother looking at her newborn baby. This is weird actually. This is beyond the explanation of physics but ask any wife "who's the most handsome guy ever"... she'd answer, with a smile, "my hubbie of coz".. yeah right, that dork with the goofy look, goes her friend, silently of course. This would also explain the annoying LOUD remarks from Mommies all over the world like, "she's sooo beautiful!" "he's sooo clever!" to their own children. In fact, this is even true in finding true friends. Coz true friends just don't give a hoot on how you look or the way you dresses up or your lack in communication skill... errmm... anyway... this is because true friends would just accept, care and love you just the way you are - and the way you are - is just perfect for who you are.

So, this would also explains why I think Little Mariam is the most beautiful girl in this world. In fact, to me, she's just perfect. Many would disagree, but for those who loved her as much as I did - would agree with me. Coz things look differently when there's love.

We miss her so much.

The Fairly Odd Daughter

Marsha went to a birthday party last Saturday.
Marsha, promise me that you'd smile at the party, kay?

Why?

I was at my company's Business Update Meeting just now and the big boss was showing a page on the violations certain employees did that resulted in a 60-40 share of termination and warning letter. But what’s weird is that, when you’d think that these people must have done something dead serious, the truth is, they were guilty of… well, committing super-dumb violations! Take a look at the list: Misuse of e-mail, abusing the company’s phone, surfing to prohibited sites and etc.

Really, I just can’t understand the people who do stuff like these. I mean, if you can’t fight that freak in you to surf prohibited sites, well, at least, do it using your personal PC… not your company’s laptop. And if you don’t have a personal PC, either go out and buy one or get your head checked. Coz something is terribly wrong with your judgment.

And for people who, for some mysterious reason, think that the phone that’s jacked-up to your cubicle is a stress-reliever machine for you to make ‘special service’ calls (it really do happens – sicko!) or a 2hr brag-about-my-armani chat with a friend who lives on the moon… get your head checked too :P

Flu Fighter

It's April, and already I've been hit by a long spell of sickness. It's not anything serious, but fever and flu for 2 weeks?? Even I am getting tired of it. I’ve visited the doctor three times and brought back bucket-loads of medicines – but – obviously, it’s not really working, is it? I like playing mind-games (e.g. messing other people’s mind – and animals too, especially cats), so, as an added effort, I decided to use my brainpower and hopefully will be able to psych Mr. Virus to – well, die.

So, the first step is obvious. If you wanna mess with someone’s mind, u gotta know that person’s name, right? So, I tried to recall back Mr. Virus’s real name. I learnt about this ‘thing’ in primary school, like 20 years ago – so, after developing a headache just to recall, I decided to Google it. And there, I found it – Influenza Virus. I’m such a moron, it’s so obvious and popular – how could I’ve forgotten!? But… since I have my flu to blame, guess I’m not that moronic.

But anyway, I was thinking, Mr. Influenza’s just doing his job. It’s just that, instead of having a lifespan of, say, 3 days or so, this guy seem to have found the holy-grail to longevity to stay for more than 12 days – and still surviving. Gotta give him some credit. Or her. Hmm… virus is a uni-sel, right? So, I figure, the only explanation for its long-life is: it has found its feminine side and delved deep into it – as female, by fact, lives longer than male. In fact, Mr. Virus is probably not a Mister anymore. He is now probably better known as: Miss Influenza. And – hopefully - very-very old.

It’s never a gentleman-thing to harm a lady. Especially when Miss Flu is such a granny. So, I can’t seem to get myself to psych her to – well – die. Hopefully, with the amount of time that I spent watching Disney’s Playhouse Channel; la-la-ing with the Little Einsteins and cursing Swo-Swoosh for letting Honk hit the nail and punctured his tire – she’d probably grow tired of me and let the big boys of Aspirin County do their job – or just kill herself off.

Meanwhile, I’m just thankful that it’s just a plain ‘ol flu (even though it’s the “disco-mix extended version”). And that it has not developed into something more serious like pneumonia or bronchiolitis. And more importantly, that my family is unaffected (Marsha and her Nanny have got over it within few days – thank God!).

Right now, I’m sweating like a German having lunch at a food-stall with a zinc roof in hot and sunny Kulim - eating Salad with Sambal Belacan (Welcome to Kulim, Infineon!) – so, I must be getting better. I really hope to start work on Monday. I really miss being healthy.

Here's an educational link on flu from Yahoo!.

Nini's Art Exhibition... and I'm missing it *sigh

From the 15th to 29th April, my dear little sis will be exhibiting her art pieces at Gallery at DiDance, PJ. We're so happy for her. You go, girl! The exhibition is called harmonious5 where she'll join 4 other young contemporary artists. I'm just sad that I could not be there as Marsha and myself are still down with flu - not advisable to travel. We'll be missing Gwen's wedding too (the groom's side, this time) at Lake Club, KL... and also Disney on Ice in Penang.

Anyway, if you're in PJ, drop by Gallery at Didance in Section 17, PJ - and try to buy some of the art pieces - who knows, these young artists could be famous one day - and that little artpiece you buy - could be a collector's item ;-) *ka-ching!

Happy Birthday Mommy!

Sara’s birthday was on the 30th March. I planned for a "last-minute" surprise party where I invited all of my friends who lived nearby (well, I had to think of something – I forgot to buy her a card!).

She was not too impressed with the over-elaborated figures on the cake, oppss.

We had good food as Marsha’s nanny made some grilled chicken and beef (marinated by Carrefour, actually) and juices. But in the end, everyone had fun. Sara was very happy, so, that means a lot.

Congratulations, Gwen!

April 9. We drove down to Pantai, Negeri Sembilan (12kms from Seremban) to attend Gwen’s wedding. Ahhh… the bride and groom were SO stunning!

But Marsha was not smiling then coz she was down with flu and fever. We didn’t know at that time, until she vomitted twice on the way BACK from the wedding. We’re such insensitive parents. No wonder she was in a bad mood the whole day. Anyway, congratulations dear Mr. and Mrs. Bagak. It was a beautiful wedding (with good food)!

See! Not even a tiny smile from Marsha. Poor thing.

"Mommy and Aboo didn't know you're not well, Marsha, please believe us. We thought you were just being difficult and unfriendly, that's all... " *kneeling for forgiveness*

Stumbling Puma

Picture taken 2.4 seconds before someone fell down.

Ghetto Monkies

It's a weekend and I wanted to show Marsha some monkeys. But, instead of cute monkeys, we bumped onto a bunch of "wachalookingat-getouttamaface" type of monkeys. Not cute... but if you're living out of a dumpster, well, you can't really blame them. But hey! At least they cook their food first. "May you have a good life in the aftermath, dear monkeys! Cheers!"

The Grocery Conspiracy

Window shopping is a fun and good way to past time. And it's not gonna cost at all. But, there's an area in a supermarket that will definitely guarantee you parting with your money... the groceries section. Even if you think that you've got everything stocked-up at home for a nuclear heist... once you step into this area - you can shove that window-shopping principles down the escalator - coz, here, they've got a subconcious way to ensure that you BUY. So, if you're thinking of a day-out window shopping... avoid the groceries section.

Feb 15th

Yesterday, it's exactly 1 year since Mariam left us. Even though Sara and I decided to just run thru the day with our normal activities, we can't help but feeling a little sad. We miss her SO much. Throughout the day, I noticed that Sara had tears in her eyes every now and then. But I just gave her a kiss on the cheek and smiled.

It's the 'right' day to be sad.

Sunday Times: Miracle Mariam

I'm blessed to have an article written about my family in today's Sunday Times. Thanks to Mariam, actually. I'm thinking of scanning and posting the article in this blog, but I have to figure out just how to fit that huge newspaper into my A4 scanner. Hmm. Anyway, click here for the online version.

Oh, for those who celebrates, Happy Valentine's Day.

Rich People, Poor People

Spot the rich (and poor) dude:

1) I have USD5.78million in my bank. I have routine morning walk with my kids, a partner that I can joke with and talk to and friends that I can depend on.

2) I have USD578 in my bank. I have kids that look up to me, a partner that loves me and a house that’s full of laughter. And I never miss a vacation traveling.

3) I have USD55.78million in my bank. But I have a partner that I can’t see everyday. I have a drinking problem and my house is always empty. I feel that everyone is not sincere, even my kids. And I have no true friends.

To me, in short, it’s your LIFESTYLE that depicts if you are rich or poor. The first 6 words in each of the sentences not carry any weight at all. Enrich your life. FILL UP YOUR DAYS (especially weekends) with quality. Live a "rich" lifestyle.

Traffic Mental

Few days ago, while in the traffic jam, as I was cursing the govt, global warming, the fly that refused to get out of my car and Mark Knofler’s album, a quote from someone’s Mom rang in my head: “Always look at the brighter side”. Then I saw it. A half-million MYR Nissan Skyline GTR - top speed 300km/h, 0-100km/h in 5 frickin’ seconds, 6-speed manual trans, twin-turbos, 4-wheel steering and a G-Force meter – stuck in the traffic jam with me. Hehehe. And my air-con is probably cooler. Plus, my car has autobox.

A Monkey Tuesday - WITH PICTURES!!!

I have a rule-of-thumb: If it’s a festive season, do NOT go to Penang Island. Yesterday, I decided to break it. And just as I was entering the bridge, it hit back on me right on the face. I was stuck in a traffic jam for >30mins. And it was scorching. Great.

But once on the island, surprisingly, everything went smoothly. No traffic jam to speak of. Which is weird, actually. Anyway, we headed straight to a Mamak restaurant for a “good food, bad service” chow-time. The Tandoori Naan and Briyani Rice were so GOOD!

We couldn’t get to Bukit Bendera as the cable car tickets were sold out. What a blow coz we were really looking fwd to it. If only I had six-sense and the power of prophecy, I would have saved RM2 on the parking fee. Oh well.

Next stop: Botanical Garden. People come here to enjoy its lush greens and river streams, in addition to getting close to human’s primal root by befriending monkeys. Yup, Botanical Garden is infamous for its monkey. Speaking of primal, here are some observations:

1 Monkeys are afraid of humans. Esp. the big ones.
2 Human too, are afraid of monkeys. Esp. the big ones.
3 Humans (the big ones, in particular) pretend that they are not afraid of the monkeys even though they sprint away when the monkey runs toward them.
4 Marsha, who is small in size, is not afraid of the monkeys... judging by the sound imitations and flying kisses she does.
5 Monkeys are not afraid of Marsha too, coz she’s small.
6 When a monkey and Marsha get too close to each other, humans get afraid and started to panic and frighten both of them.
7 Then, small humans get afraid of big humans.

I guess, size really do matters here. Anyway, Botanical garden is SOOOPARRR! Here I learnt that Marsha could actually walk on uneven surfaces. I’m such an observant Dad.

We then had a Penang style Coconut drink on “a stretch of sand and rocks on a reclaimed land that’s located by the sea” or simply put; “something-like-a-beach”. Followed by another “good food, bad service” seafood dinner by the sea.

To sum it all up, Penang rocks! For 87.03% of the time, you’d probably meet people who are NOT rude. This is GOOD coming from a place where 96.12% road users are rude (the remaining 3.88% are visitors). Hehe.. :P

I have sooparrrr pictures to share. I’ll post it later.

Mini.Opera.Com

For those who HATEs to idle (like me!)... I'd like to share a great JAVA-based software for your cellphone. It makes web-browsing oh-so-GOOD! Just point your phone's WAP browser to http://mini.opera.com and follow the instruction to download the 100Kb file. You can read more about it at the same URL via your computer's internet browser. Oh ya.. The most important fact -> IT'S FREE!!!! *grin! grin!* Now, waiting for the dentist will no longer be boring. Viva GPRS!! :P

a video that STILL makes my day!

These 2 videos are really funny. It's been on the net for many years actually, but it still makes my day...

BSB - I Want It That Way
BSB: As Long As You Love Me

Style. Do you have it?

Style is a word without definition. I mean, how do you respond to a sentence like, "hey! you got style!"? It's a description without depiction. And no matter how we try to interpret it, simple fact is: everyone has style. We were born with it. Style makes you YOU. It’s not what you wear; it’s the air that you bring. Individual-style is concealed yet visible like a beacon to others. Wear your best or worst dress; you'll still have your own distinguished style.

In this sense, you can’t define style. There’ll never be anything definite about it. What describes and defines style is our perception, taste, imagination and preference. But it is our own state-of-mind that constitutes our individual-style. So, flaunt your individual-style. But never fault someone else’s =)

Smarty Pants

My friend has a problem. His son, who just started school, finds school BORING!!! I mean, yea, who doesn't. BUT this is a different case altogether. This 7-year old boy is LEAGUES ahead in terms of his knowledge. He finds Std 1 books too lame. So, he reads his brother's Std 5 books instead.

My niece is facing the same problem. She just started school and grumbles to her mom about how BORING school is. She keeps saying things like, "There's no homework!!" and "Why are they teaching me stuff I already know??". Of course she'd complain - she has been going to Kumon, Art, Drama and all sorts of classes since she was 3! She even knows how to operate a Palmtop and Apple computers, for goodness sake.

I find these as a HUGE problem. Our education system is, by nature, NOT flexible. There's a small cluster of people who are just brilliant. They could potentially be the next Einstein or Edison. But if the Education System does not recognize these kids, then, the country is on the losing end. There must be a system to pick these kids out, followed by a program that further progresses them. Keep them challenged, motivated and creative. Just like Malcolm (in the Middle) *hehe.

My friend's son was actually once identified by his teacher as being too 'advanced'. The follow-up program for the boy was best described with a quote from the teacher: "If you think you are too clever, go outside and play." So, that's what he did. Just like what Calvin (and Hobbes) would do ;-)

My thoughts on this topic bring certain respectable figures to mind. Bill Gates and Michael Dell are infamous for being college drop-outs. Mind you, I'm not saying that being a drop-out is good, but these are just 2 examples of a person who were way ahead in the life's survival game (more on this later), that they find school ultimately boring. Lucky thing, these gentlemen are exceptionally outstanding. But what about the other brilliant people out there with unrealized potential?

Well, in short, smarty-pants are the future. Education system should not ignore these fine breeds. Until then, it’s up to the parents to think of what’s best for them. Good luck! =)

Getting Weirder Here -- ooKooLehLeH!

For some reasons, unknown to me, I’ve always found ukulele (pronounced: oo-koo-LEH-leh) sooooo kewl. What’s even kewl is that, I bumped onto a quote by Sir Paul McCartney *salute! salute!* where he once said, "To this day, if I ever meet grownups who play ukulele, I love 'em." See, I’m not the only weirdo.

So, few days ago, I got myself an uke. It’s an all-American Samick, crafted in... err.. Indonesia. But it’s beautiful. Really. Mahogany and Rosewood, Mother of Pearl trimmings and stuff. But here are some stuff I learned (the expensive way) about the OokuuLehLeH:

1) No, it’s NOT easy to play.
2) No, guitar experience will NOT help at ALL.
3) It’s got 4 strings tuned at G-C-E-A (???).
4) The 3rd string is the thickest (???).
5) Not even 1 chord from a guitar is applicable here.
6) And yup, it’s Hawaiian. So, it’s cute & cuddly! Like pineapples!

In summary, yup, it’s a guitar alright, but nothing like the ones I knew. BUT... I’m loving it!! If I'd only knew why the heck is the 3rd string thickest, hmm.

http://www.samickguitar.com/uk70.html

Happy Chinese New Year.

Chick-itas!! Cha cha cha!!

In the effort of tuning in some musical intelligence into Marsha, I bought her a pair of maracas... and she was VERY excited! Well, at least for 20 minutes... hmm. I guess it's off to plan B, then.

-

long weekend... monday holiday... but I had phone calls through out the weekend... today, monday, had to do some work from 9pm... it's 2:41am now... tuesday, i guess... just got off from a meeting... still exchanging files. Next meeting at 9am. Tired... but for whatever reason... right now... I have SpongeBob in my head... i dunno why... goofy goober yea... *yawn... ur a goofy goober yea... we're all goofy goobers yea... *yawn... need... sleep...

Everton 1 - Arsenal 0....*sob sob :'(

Arsenal lost another away game yesterday. This season, it's a love-hate relationship between Arsenal and me. Last week, they trashed Middlesbrough with 7 goals without reply. Love Arsenal. Just a match later, they lost. Hate Arsenal. Couldn't really sleep last night - couldn't get over the match. And when I did, I dreamt of Reyes scoring a goal from a ridiculous angle to equalize. *sigh. If they keep this up for another season, I'd probably get hyper-tension :P

Run Life With Knowledge, Not Advice

Sometimes, we’re an expert in what we do. My maid is UBER-expert in keeping the house sparkling while my kid is UBER-expert is making a mess. Hmm… bad example. Anyway, KNOWLEDGE drives expertise. And no one is an expert without knowledge.

The story is, yesterday, I took Sara, who still breastfeeds Marsha, to a clinic to check a lump she noticed earlier in the morning. So, we met this doctor and she said, “Oh, you gotta take this drug and we shall see what happens.” She then started writing stuff and probably expected us to say, “Oh, ok. You’re the expert, I follow”, and walked off the clinic. NOT! That stupid doctor did not even bother to EXPLAIN what the drug is, what it does, why we need to take it and stuff. So… after she received a good whack of questions from us, we got to know that it will stop milk production. Clearly, this doctor is a moron for thinking that we are stupid and for only wanting to sell drugs, so, we ended our session.

We went to another clinic and met a very nice doctor. He agreed with us that we should not be hasty and that we should see a surgical specialist. And so, we went to a specialist center and met another nice doctor; did a scan and phew, good news, the lump was just an accumulation of ‘curd’ milk due to yadayadayada. Solution: keep breastfeeding, and while nursing, apply hot-pack and massage the area. No drugs.

Point is, when we seek advice from experts, DO NOT rely 100% on it. It’s just an advice. It’s still YOUR life. So, make your OWN decision. Run a search thru the Net. Or grab some reading materials. Or talk to your friends. Or go for 2nd opinion. Broaden your knowledge. Do NOT be ignorant.

We put this principle to practice when taking care of our first child, Mariam. Doctors told us once she’s born, she could not live for more than 2 days. We took charge of matters, learned about her problems and gave her lots of love. She survived for 2 beautiful years. The best 2 years of our life. Miss her.

Oh, what makes a good doctor? Someone who takes time to EXPLAIN. Thus passing on KNOWLEDGE, with the intention of helping someone to be healthier and happier.

8 Things I Do When I’m Bored... Today

1) Tell someone that I’m bored.
2) Roam around at the office and say, “Hey, what’s up?”, to anyone - without the slightest care of what the answer would be. (Usually, all I get is a very short answer like, 'OK', which usually means "Get Lost').
3) Go back to my cube and open up Internet Explorer and click on “Favorites”… and browse again the page that I just browsed 3.5 minutes ago. Then close it.
4) Get up, but pause for while, look down at my feet and say “uuuhhh, nice shoes…” and re-assess if I need another pair of shoes.
5) Get up and get a container full of water… observe how many unwashed cups there (there were 5 just now) and along the way, say “hey” or "hey, what's up?" (see #2) to anyone I bump into.
6) Open up my Messenger, check who’s on-line. And then, close it.
7) Stand ~5ft away from my cube and observe its untidiness. Then sit back in it again.
8) Pick up the company's phone and call Sara. Then do a bad impersonation of a piss-off-with-tax-problem China-man who speaks very bad Malay... and then say, “Hey, what’s up?” (see #2)

Then go back to #1.

She finally walk on her OWN!!!

January 14th – that’s the day little Marsha FINALLY decided to walk on her own – without help... it's about time, anyway :P BUT, it's the way that she decided to show to us that surprised us, because of all the place in the world, she decided to do this at... a MAMAK RESTAURANT! Hmm.. It all started with our routine weekend breakfast outing, little did we know that Miss Marsha has planned a surprise for us.

I guess, by choosing the kedai mamak, it’s her way to show to us just how much she LOVESSS Nasi Kandar…..

… and not to mention, ice-cream….

… and cats.

Give & Take Ratio

Give & Take is such a famous term. But what does it mean? Does it mean that, sometimes, we give, and sometimes, we HAVE to take? The term ‘Give & Take’ gives the impression that we have to be balanced. In mathematical sense, we must practice it at a ratio of 1:1.

Gee, I dunno. It doesn’t sound so right to me. Let’s dive in deeper into this. Let’s take a look at a few scenarios.

OK. Assuming you need help. On something that’s probably a little “out of the way”. Do you have someone at the tip of your mind to call? Yup, it’s that few people that you can ALWAYS rely on, no matter what. So, if they made it to your list, then these good people definitely have a “Give” factor greater than “Take”, or Give > Take. Make sense?

Now, do you have someone that’s ALWAYS demanding from you? No, I’m not talking about “asking' for help”, coz, there’s nothing wrong with that… I’m talking about “demanding”. And sometimes, even “expecting” something from you. Well, I have a few people in my mind right now, hehe. So, in this case, obviously, they have a “Give” factor lesser than “Take”, or Give < Take.

But hey! How about the other people in your life? Where does your best friend or the person you always hang-out with fall here? Why didn’t they pop into your mind so far? Well, I think it’s because they’d probably have a well balanced Give:Take ratio, at 1:1. (Hmm.. I think 'Normal Distribution curve' can be applied here.)

So, the big question is, as we head toward Maslow’s pinnacle of Hierarchy of Human Needs, what IS the perfect ratio for Give & Take? Well, my personal thought is, a "self-Actualized" person would probably have a Give:Take ratio of 1:0. All Give! And no Take. Here’s why:

When a person Gives and Gives and Gives - without ever asking for something in return, it shows sincerity. It also shows that he/she is generous, kind-hearted and patience – with no trace of greed at all. He/She would probably live longer and healthier too, because, without setting unrealistic expectations, he/she will not get disappointed. I picture people like these to be easy-on-the-eye as well as approachable :-)

Here's a good example: Noble parents are those who take care of their children, as God intended, and NEVER seek anything in return. My parents are like that. To me, they have a ratio of 1:0…. *tsk tsk.. feel bad for being such a pain to them*

So, to me, Give & Take is not such a meaningful term. It's the ratio that counts. Anyway, what’s your Give:Take ratio? Know anyone with a ratio of 1:0? Or even 0:1 (argh!)? Have a nice day :-)

Smart Tag! Finally!

After a gazillion light years of stalling, I finally got it... YIPPEE!!! I shall now pay my highway tolls WITHOUT having to STOP and WINDING DOWN the window, hehe... though I'm not too sure if I want to stick it on my wind-screen, it's kinda ugly... what do you think? :P

Opening Hours 11am to 11pm

All the while, if I see a signage like so, I thought, that would be the business operating hours, where the customers can start coming in and perform transactions. But little that I know, that's not how it's translated in a well-known pizza outlet here.

As Sara started the day with cravings for pizza, we decided to have it for brunch. And since I know that the outlet opens at 11am, I got there right on the dot. But I was quite suprised to see that at 11, the door was still locked. And there were a few people behind me also wanting to go in, wearing shirts that look EXACTLY like the employee's of the outlet.

I peeked through the glass door and knocked on it. As I was doing that, I asked the lady beside me, whom I'm pretty sure works for the outlet, "Sudah buka, kan?". As she looked at her wrist watch, she replied with a straight-face, "Belum, pukul 11 baru buka." It was 11:08am.

Anyway, suddenly, a geek with a bunch of keys appeared from the other side of the door. And no sooner than I could say "I Love Pepperoni and Cheese Sandwich", the geek suddenly displayed a 30-seconds To Fame gig of "How A Clown Opens A Glass Door Of A Pizza Outlet". Everyone was stunned. In the end, thankfully, the door opened and we all came in. Then, as I entered, instead of the sweet smell of pizza, the smell of sambal Nasi Lemak greeted me. Then I saw 3 employees eating Nasi Lemak. Fine.

It was 11:30am when I finally get to order my food. And while waiting, I manage to amuse myself by witnessing the staff's morning roll-call and briefing, just 7 feet away from my table. Hey, aren't you suppose to do that BEFORE 11am and INSIDE closed door?

Gotta go. I'll continue later.

Marsha's Driving Class

Marsha finally got her hands on a steering wheel. It was a huge learning experience for her. She was very excited. See =)






She was quick to learn that sign language is a vital mode of communication among road users.







She also learnt on the art of keeping things cool in a traffic jam. Here she is practicing the #1 tips: Eat.






Well, after the stress of heavy traffic jam and having to deal with lots of errant drivers, she dumped the car... just after 20mins.


Ah, a well spent RM10... NOT!

Thks for the gifts, Mama & Choobs!

We were in KLIA few days ago to welcome back Sara's Mom and little sis, Farah. They just came back from a weeklong shopping trip in London. Thanks for the gifts! They were all WONDERFUL! We hope you'd go again, hehe.

p/s: the train you bought for Marsha... we gonna wrap it up and give to her on her 3rd birthday... in Nov, 2007. Love it! Oh, the shoes are too big for her now. So, that's her 2nd birthday present, hehe. *Kidding, kidding.. anyway, thank you!

New Year's Eve & BBQ Party

For some reason, BBQ is the preferred choice of dinner on New Year's Eve. I had it tough as both my families planned for one. So, I had no choice but to eat a LOT that night. Hehe.

Here’s my countdown log:
1830: Damansara, start BBQ fire
1900: Eat BBQ chicken & mutton
1930: Eat Tuna Pasta & Koshi Bread (I think)
2000: Eat BBQ Squid & Prawn
2030: Shower
2100: Fetch Karl at Bdr Seri D'sara
2115: Traffic jam
2200: Fetch Mama at PJ
2240: Reach Nini's place at Bkt Antarabangsa
2300: Eat Chicken Satay
2315: Eat Fried Rice
2340: Eat Fried Chicken
2350: Eat Beef Satay
2358: Eat Ice Cream
0000: HAPPY NEW YEAR! FIREWORKS!
0020: Eat choc brownie with ice cream
0040: Play Foosball *lost to my nephew, Karl
0115: Eat Chicken Satay
0130: Too much Coke
0230: Drove back to PJ via KLCC city tour, no JAM! :)

Love my nephews & nieces a LOT. Here's with Raisa & Karl. Nadia was always TOO busy with Marsha *cute!. Sad that Reece was not around, he had to follow to his Mom's BBQ party, I miss him so much, he was in S'pore throughout the school holidays. Wish Azim and Zariq were around too.

Why Fire?

Fireworks are beautiful. But they're also expensive and dangerous. As I was enjoying it during New Year Celebration, I couldn’t help to think about last year’s unfortunate incident where a man was killed by it. Poor guy. He could be anyone. You or me. I wonder if there’s a research grant out there that looks into making fireworks safe. Why shouldn’t it be? If I can develop a firework that’s safe, harmless and cheap; I’d be a billionaire by now. We are talking about world global market here.

Blueprint documents containing this research will surely be traveling in hand-cuffed briefcase, surrounded by 5 body-guards with black suits, dark glasses and earpiece (yeah, with those dark glasses, they surely need those earpieces). A “self-destruct” button by the side of it, in case some Dr. Evil wants to get his hands on it. The research has to be conducted in a low-profile abandoned ravine, 500 meters underground. The signage at the outer gate says, “Nothing to See Here. Go Away.” And the entry elevator is equipped with voice-password sensor. Yup, u gotta hum to The Doors's Light My Fire...

Come on baby, light my fire
Come on baby, light my fire
Try to set the night on fireeeee, yeah!

.... love that song *sigh*

ANYWAY, I really hope that we can one day have a very safe way of marking a special day like New Year. Until then, I’ll be 20km away from the firework site, enjoying its beautiful display from the 14th floor of my sis’s apartment.

Gotta go back to my top secret underground office.
Breaktime's over :P

It Really Matters (Part 2)... Burned-Out

Being burned out is just like driving your car in the red-zone. As we chase after life’s insatiable materialistic needs, we often put ourselves there. The simple logic is, if you’ve burned out all of your energy on work, hobby or friends, you will NEVER have enough energy to have good quality time with the people you love. You’d probably go back home tired and maybe, low in patience. You'd probably die early too. Just like the car :P

Burned-out parents are the worst. Not only they're self-destructive, they could also end up destructing the whole family. That's why it's always good to have one of them as full-time parent to focus the energy required to nurture the right values to the children.

In life, you can’t have everything. We recognize that in Economics through Opportunity Cost. So, depending on your priorities, “burn wisely”.

A Wonderful Christmas Eve!

Wait a minute, the title doesn't sound right. We don't celebrate Christmas. But, since we party-animals just about celebrate ANY occasion (hehe!), we kinda had our own way of enjoying the moment :-)











This time, it was dinner at Putrajaya's Lake View Club. Cool place with a cool view. There were Kak Ida's family, Nini & Ijam, my Mom and my family. That place serves VERY GOOD Asian food. The weather was nice, a little damp and breezy. After that, we went to Putrajaya's Marriot where Kak Ida took a room for the night. We had late night coffee at the lounge. Nice place. It was beautifully decorated with lots of Christmas deco and trees... which turned out to be a MASSIVE PLAYGROUND for Marsha and the kids. Not good...especially to my maid :D









Anyway, thanks Kak Ida, for a beautiful night.