Going cruisin'

Yahoo! One more day before I go on my cruise to Phuket with the Other Half. We get on at Port Klang and the ship will stop in Penang, Krabi and Phuket.

Going on this holiday has been a go-not go-go-not go situation as the kids are still in school. Finally, we decided to go for it as:

1. we will not be able to go later on the year as my Other Half is running out of time to achieve her insurance target. (She will be going for her two-week incentive tour to Florida next month and it'll be May when she gets back);

2. my son's godparents have agreed to babysit the kids and the maid when we are away, including managing their transportation. God is great!

3. it has been a decade since we both went anywhere. While my Other Half has her annual company incentive tours, the last time we went abroad together was in 1996 to Beijing. How time flies...

So, while I am filled with trepidation as to whether my kids will be fine -- though I think they are also glad to be rid of us for a while, ha ha -- I am looking forward to sunset-watching in the high seas, six meals a day and best of all, getting down in Penang and Phuket to eat and shop! Yeah!

Paint away!

Phew! I'm dead tired. Why? Well, I painted a section of the wall outside the house for a good part of the morning which, incidentally, was hot, hot, hot. (Actually, that's good for drying the paint but not for the painter...)

It isn't exactly one of my favourite pastimes but with all that mould accumulating, I thought it needed a bit of touching up. So paint I did, and you can bet it was quite an exertion.

Two hours later, I was quite pleased with the results. I was surprised that it didn't required a lot of paint either -- only half of the weathershield stuff which cost me close to RM100 for quite a small tin.

Anyway, it being a weekend, my kids kept me company by doing their homework and stuff on a little picnic table in the driveway.

Incidentally, a friend, Assa, who's from Penang but is actually a Thai, flew in from JB and so the missus went to KLIA to pick her up.

In the evening, we all went to our favourite Kuchai Lama food court for the delicious porridge, BBQ chicken wings and fried lobak. Yummy!

Ephesians update: Yesterday's meeting was so well attended that a group photo was in order. Unfortunately, it did not turn out well due to my camera's condition and the shaky hands of the maid who handled it.

Uniformly segregated

When sending my daughter to school this morning, I noticed a lot of her schoolmates in police/army cadet uniforms.

It's quite a sad state of affairs that of all the members in these two uniformed units in the whole school, only ONE is Chinese! This information shocked me! I thought this situation occurs only to our police force and army recruits.

Shouldn't the happy carefree years of school be one of camaraderie and having fun? Why should race be a factor in school activities? It's not like a share in the nation's economic pie is at stake!

But I also ruefully acknowledge that the Chinese have a saying, ho chai um tong peng (literally, a good son will not join the army).

But the authorities in school and elsewhere are not helping much with their silly rules. According to my Princess, every member of these two uniformed units in this school MUST wear the tudung during official functions!

Fast forward

It's hard. Really hard. I wonder how people do it for a month. I'm talking about fasting.

It's only the third day in a skip-lunch five-day fast and I'm already hallucinating about delicious roti canai, mouth-watering wantan mee with its char siew, fried chicken, nasi lemak and Hainanese chicken rice.

Hope everyone's on track for this good cause...

It's 4.07pm now and I don't know if having tea is okay. I want to tahan until dinner so that at least it's a bonafide lunch fast..

Two more days, two more days...

Qing Ming-cum-mini reunion

Meeting the whole clan (well, almost) after a span of a few months always lifts my spirits.

Last Sunday's get-together in memory of dear Mum and Dad was tinged with mixed emotions ranging from:

* sadness (but mostly fond memories of Mum and Dad); to

* happiness (that everyone's making an effort to turn up despite the vast distances); to

* rueful realisation that everyone's getting on in age. My eldest sis is already 62 and almost half the siblings are touching retirement age already! The next generation is growing up so fast. One niece, Su Chen, will be flying off to Ireland in Sept to start her medical course. Way to go! So proud of her. First doctor in the family, mah)

After brief ceremonies at the temple, a refreshing coconut/sugar cane drink from a roadside stall across the road perked everyone up before heading for temple No.2 to pay respects to maternal granny. For lunch, we all decided on Seremban beef noodles (yummy!), courtesy of brother No.7. His son got 10A1s and one A2.

All in all, a fine Sunday get-together. Parting, however, is such sweet sorrow when everyone bade their goodbyes. See you all at the next reunion...

Almost my dream house

Went with my family to visit my two good friends Ooi and Fran at their new house in Bandar Puteri Puchong.

Lovely three-storey 22-by-75-feet link with a good view of the city skyline in the distance when there's no haze in the distance.

Loved the space (especially the third floor with its living room and huge room) and the quiet nature of the neighbourhood. Good security too.

Sigh, when can I afford one?

Happy birthday, Peter and Jessie

Tonight's meeting turned out better than I expected.

I thought Lian Peng and Lih Juin would not be coming as they are probably exhausted from their Camerons trip but surprise, surprise, they made an appearance at 9.30 with roses for everyone. Camerons-mah.

It's also the birthdays of Peter and Jessie (Lian Peng's daughter) so there was also a cake by Andrew, our resident wedding cake specialist. Eric's wife, unfortunately, was down with rashes so she did not join us. Hope she recovers soon. I could sense that Eric, despite his usual cheerful self, was very worried for her.

Our teacher, Chris, is in Penang or something so tonight's merely an informal gathering. Besides eating, sharing and singing, almost everyone also sent messages giving moral support to Ju Liang via his blog.

It's past midnight when I reach home. I am typing this as my family is still watching a DVD which I have little interest in. Heard of Papa, Can You Hear Me Sing, the 1980s tear-jerker?

Thoughts on Mum

I regret..

Not spending more time with you, Mum, after Dad passed away two years ago.

I'm sorry for staying away, for blocking you out of my mind, for immersing myself in work and every other non-important detail when I should have been by your side.

Being the youngest, you have always loved me a bit more than my siblings. I could do no wrong in your eyes and I guess I took a lot for granted.

Mum, it's been half a year since you departed but it still has not sunk in how much I really miss you. Occasionally, I'll dream of you, smiling at me in your frail condition and I'll wake up with tears in my eyes.

Sometimes when I switch off the lights in the living room, I imagine you are there watching over me and my family.

During such moments, my heart is heavy and guilt envelops me. But then I see my children snug in their beds and I know the cycle of life continues.

Mum, thanks for your care and love. Just knowing that you and Dad are together again comforts me no end.

NB: Thoughts of Qing Ming triggered this post. Prayers for my Mum will be conducted this Sunday.

Me

I think all bloggers do this, at one time or another. This is my blog, so here goes:


I like (in no particular order):

1. watching the sun set on a beach (and hearing the sound of the waves)

2. reading a good novel in the afternoon in my favourite corner, soft music in background. If it rains, even better.

3. hearing my children squeal with joy on seeing me -- especially after a tiring day at work

4. my family get-togethers especially the annual one involving the whole clan

5. prowling electronics stores to look, feel and gape at new gadgets, preferably digital cameras and big-screen TVs. Oh, when will prices drop to a level I can afford?

6. the camaraderie of friends sharing their experiences, problems and solutions without being judgmental

7. travelling, but prefer the East. Been to Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong and of course, Singapore. Would like to see Korea and especially Japan. Don't ask why but I think I have this complex that Westerners look down on us yellow-skinned Oriental natives. Some will say I'm out of my mind to have rejected two trips -- one to France and another to Florida -- in the last year.

8. scouring for new restaurants to dine in once a month with the Missus (no kids!)

9. going to the movies alone, sitting as near to the screen as possible (I like my effects vivid)

10. my father-in-law's superb Hakka mee (at his stall) and his home-cooked meals/soft-boiled eggs with kaya-and-butter toast


I hate it when:

1. there is no reply to my e-mail, SMSes or calls

2. I have to eat leftovers. Cold soup, yucks!

3. I have to deal with opinionated people

4. my newspapers are read first

5. surprises are sprung on me at the last minute

6. I work my butt off for years and someone else's butt gets promoted

7. I try my best and my intentions are misconstrued

8. changes occur around me. For instance, I am always sad for days when colleagues resign, friends leave for outstation jobs, familiar faces do not make an appearance and even when neighbours move. The closure of a favourite shop can also momentarily throw me off-balance.

9. people do not keep promises. To me, a man's worth is judged by his integrity and by his word.

10. I meet rich people and they yak patronisingly about what they own, play, eat or do. Like, do I care?


.....................................................................................

Ooo, byte me!

a colleague forwarded me this. So funny...

WHY MEN THINK WOMEN ARE LIKE COMPUTERS

1. No one but their creator understands their internal logic;

2. The native language they use to communicate with other computers is incomprehensible to everyone else;

3. Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long-term memory for possible later retrieval; and

4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half your paycheck on accessories for it.

WHY WOMEN THINK MEN ARE LIKE COMPUTERS

1. In order to do anything with them, you have to turn them on;

2. They have a lot of data but still can't think for themselves;

3. They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the time they ARE the problem; and

4. As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if you had waited a little longer, you could have gotten a better model.

Food for thought

Will-power. The lack of, actually. Now I know how difficult it is for fat people to diet. What brought this on? My love for a hearty breakfast. Call me traditional, call me old-fashioned. I'm one of those who love going to the coffee-shop for breakfast and read the newspaper at leisure.

(By the way, I also hate it when someone beats me to the papers in the morning, for I like the crisp, unopened feel. Many a time I have glared at my maid for reading the papers at the gate instead of bringing it straight to me.)

Anyway, my love for yummy food kinda hit a bump when the 30 sen hike in petrol price was announced. Suddenly, school bus fares shoot up, marketing becomes very difficult on a limited budget and going to the movies is suddenly such a treat (multiply everything -- tickets, snacks/lunch/dinner -- by four and you get the picture).

Everything's sooo expensive and my pay has been stagnant so long I should be calling up Indah Water.

My immediate reaction: Eat breakfast at home and only go to the coffeeshops during weekends. That should leave me with something extra at the end of the month, right?

It worked for a while but lately, I've been sneaking in a couple of weekdays. A man's gotta eat to work a full day, right?

But, frankly, if you think about it, I really shouldn't. Consider, for instance:

* roti canai -- unwashed hands kneading stuff into your food, yucks

* half-boiled eggs -- bird flu virus?

* beef noodles -- hand, foot and mouth diasease?

* wantan mee -- boric acid or whatever it is they put in to make the noodles look fresh?

* shredded chicken Ipoh-style noodles -- bird flu again?

* teh tarik -- cheap tea leaves with high concentration of colour and chemicals

So, I really shouldn't. Anymore. Have breakfast at the coffeeshops, that is. I should just eat bread and jam, day in, day out until the coast is clear. Plain Milo with bread. Biscuits and milk. Bread with bread. Bread with water. Maggi Mee. Plain. You get my drift.

Thoughts of yummy steaming hot wantan mee with thick gravy and succulent pieces of pork do have their moments. Or Ipoh hor fun with its prawns and shredded chicken slices. Crisp roti canai with its mouth-watering dhall. Beef noodles with that distinctive meaty aroma. All downed with a cup of kopi ice. Oh, I'm hungry...

What goes up...

The recent petrol price hike is one thing. Now it seems that the haze is coming back. Read that bit of news in the papers today. Stocked up on face masks yet? Better do so before prices head upwards. Time to face reality. Is there no end to our woes? High electricity rates are almost at our doorsteps. What next? Higher bus fares? Oh sorry, that has happened already.

The storm which lashed KL this evening was ferocious, yet another sign of our unnatural weather. On coming down and turning left after the Pantai Hospital, my car hit a deep stretch of flooded road.

Unable to stop in time, I had to rev the car hard and forcibly manoeuvre until I reached dry land. Oh no, my car developed an unnatural whine after a short while. I managed to reach home but hope nothing's amiss with my wheels.

It has been hot, rain, hot, rain... Mother Nature is angry, angry, angry. Will our children and their children be able to enjoy this beautiful world? On that note, will I be able to enjoy my EPF savings?

Bad vibes

Arrggh! My throat is still bad. My voice is so hoarse I can barely make myself heard. Which is not good when my Boss asks me something and I have to keep clearing my throat.

My Princess fell sick first last week and she still has a persistent cough. I'm actually quite worried for her as she has lost a lot of weight since joining CBN.

The trouble is I think she has not learnt how to manage stress. Her day in school is quite long -- 9.30am till 7.30pm before she reaches home.

My fault actually. I send her to school every morning before I head off to work (even though she's in the afternoon school) as I worry for her safety. Her journey involves taking the LRT to Masjid Jamek and then walking alone to school.

My rational is that she reaches school safely and she also gets to do her homework early, which is a good thing since I do not want her to sleep too late. Sigh, perhaps she will adjust to the routine...

Anyway, after she fell sick, my maid fell sick! My Other Half also complained of a bad migraine so you can just imagine how everyone around me is either coughing, having a fever or a headache.

But I have been praying -- for my Other Half's BIG problem at work to be resolved happily too -- for their speedy recovery (mine too!) as I do want to enjoy the days ahead before we go off on our Cruise to Phuket. More on that later...

Oh yes, one good news. My brother's son got 10A1s and one A2 for his SPM. Wow!

KK is 10!

Supposed to go to church today, after an absence of a month (oops!) but could not get my Other Half to go. Everyone overslept! Well, it was my son's birthday celebration with his godson's family last night and it ended near to midnight.

I know, I know, excuses, excuses. I hope Lian Peng and co. will understand. Well, I do work Sundays (hell of a job, pardon the insinuation) but it's rare getting a Sunday off and this thus means I cannot commit to faithful attendance.

Still, I do attend Friday's Ephesians care group meetings faithfully (though I did skip last Friday's meeting as I was coming down with something) so I do hope to become God's faithful servant one day this way.

My son turned 10 on March 10 and, like my daughter (who will be 14 in June), he is blessed with very loving godparents, godsisters and a godbrother.

Anyway, what's a birthday without presents? His haul this year: a lovely Mastermind set, a bag of marbles (perfect for his congkak set with my Better Half bought), a couple of expensive t-shirts and a comfy bouncy seat (my present).

Kids are so lucky these days. During my time, Mum used to make me two half boiled eggs and dad would give me 50 sen. But life was hard those days (that story will be in another post) and I have eight other siblings...

Long, long walk in search of the LRT

I survived just fine. Made it to the Lake just before break of dawn and sheepishly I will have to say it ain't that difficult to find. The nearest LRT or monorail is however, half an hour on foot which, in the soon blazing sun, is no walk in the park.

This I discovered after my Other Half dropped me and the Princess off. While waiting for Princess to start her jogathon run, I decided I had better find my way to the LRT. That, and my tummy was rumbling.

This is just fine.

After a hearty breakfast of wan tan mee and steaming hot kopi (yum!), I trekked to the Monorail. Horrors. Not only was there no overhead bridge, thus forcing me to risk life and limb running across highways, it was also horribly far away.

In search of the next nearest station, the one at Chow Kit was, alas, just as distant, entailing a long trek through the KL GH and past a big padang.

Nope. It's definitely the taxi home for me. RM15 poorer I am but at least my Princess and I are out of the blazing sun. Which is fine by me.

Duty calls

Aargh! The things I do for children. It's an unearthly hour of 5.30am and I'm already up. If before I have to drag myself out of bed by 6.45 to send Junior (henceforth KK) to school, today I've to send Princess to Lake Titiwangsa for her jogathon. I hang my head in shame because after three decades of living in the city, I still don't know how to get to that bloody lake. A frantic search on the Internet shows that it is a popular place for joggers, boating with even horse-riding among its many attractions. Okay, all I have to is head for Ampang Park, GH and then Jalan Tun Razak. A fine one I am. Hope I don't get lost....

Virgin Post

Fine. So now I have a blog. What now? For one who has always abhorred diaries, this sure is a fine turn. You know why I do not like diaries? They cannot disappear when you want them to, not when the pages and pages of your personal life are written down with so much passion.
Short of throwing the whole diary away, which I am sure one will not, that leaves only one result: the darned thing will lie around for years and years waiting for an opportunity to haunt you.
Fine. So I do not like diaries. So why now a blog? Because I can delete my posts anytime I want. Because it feels good to have a blog. Because I want to. Mostly, to be honest here, because I don't think I want to continue wondering how on Earth people go about setting one up.
Thank God for blogger.com. It took me less than an hour to set this yet, learn how to upload a picture (muah, my darling Kate) and create links.
Fine. Now I have to update this darned thing for the rest of my life. Is this what I really want? We'll see.