What I browse for...

Web pages that I frequent the most (almost daily), besides e-mail:

1. Facebook - the place I get to know what's going on with my contacts! And I met so many old friends and classmates. (http://www.facebook.com/)
2. The Star - to know what's going on in Malaysia. (http://thestar.com.my/)
3. Malaysia Finance Blog - to know what's going on in our current financial glut. And also nice pictures of beautiful girls. (http://malaysiafinance.blogspot.com/)
4. Wee Choo Keong - my MP lah. Want to know what he's up to. He keeps an eye on the government and I shall keep an eye on him! (http://weechookeong.wordpress.com/)
5. Che Det - always nice to hear from the greatest leader of Malaysia. (http://www.chedet.cc/)
6. Gulf News - odd but I still have an interest to know what's going on in a place I've stayed for more than half a year. Also, it's sometimes interesting to read Malaysian news from an Arabian perspective. (http://www.gulfnews.com/)
7. Virtual Tourist - the holiday instinct in me. I want more holidays. (http://www.virtualtourist.com/)
8. YTL Community - what happens in YTL may affect me. (http://www.ytlcommunity.com/)
9. Some friend's blogs. Just want to kay-poh.
10. Some other blogs and websites not quite fit to be listed here!!! (http://.... oops I can't mention here)

I'm back in KL for the weekend and to clear some compensation leaves. But alas, my rest & relax plan is kinda shortened. Will be flying to Manila tomorrow for some work. My first trip to the Phillippines. And after that I need to go back to JB for more work. Seem to have lots of things to do and wondering how am I gonna get it all done in time. And not to mention, my Syrian bells may be ringing soon too! Aaaai..... working life, don't you miss those schooling years?

Busy on leave

Was on leave today but still kept myself busy running around town.

• Woke up at 9AM and had breakfast near my house. Had my favorite Roti Telor Bawang & Roti Kosong. Tried Teh C for the first time, not very nice. Maybe it's just the kopitiam.
• Went to HSBC Bank to settle my security device problem. I could not log on to my e-banking for the past few months because of the device. It seems that it was a 'synchronizing' problem between the device and the database! And while I was there I applied for telebanking and requested for a new PIN. A credit card with PIN is quite useful when I'm overseas and running out of cash.
• Then proceeded to Pensonic service center. I bought a vacuum cleaner last week, used it for a day and it was not working on the next day. Sent my sadly defective vacuum cleaner for a warranty claim. I want it fixed fast to do some cleaning of the ceiling and some troublesome spots.
• Then I went to JPJ office at Taman Daya to apply for a new International Driver's Permit (IDP). I may be going to Syria for a couple of months soon. So I just get an IDP just in case. I don't want to be immobilized in a foreign land! If only they issue IDP for more than 1-year duration! The staff at JPJ is really quite efficient nowadays. They are cheerful and polite. Gone were the days when it was a nightmare going to a government department. At least, something has improved in the civil service! For those who want to apply for an IDP, fill-up a form (downloadable from http://www.jpj.gov.my, present original and copies of IC & driving license (valid for at least one more year) & submit 2 photos. The price is RM150.
• Went to EPF office in the city center to activate my i-Akaun. Now I can check all my EPF details online. This was not in my plan but since I drove past the EPF building, I just turned in to get it done.
• Went to the State Library to return my two overdue books. Actually, I've not finished reading one of them but I got another copy from elsewhere and decided to return the book. I may take forever to finish my reading! It was an interesting book - 'The World is Flat' although I should've read it years ago. Better late than never.
• Went to the banks for some banking chores. And actually used an EPF kiosk at Public Bank to print my 2008 statement! Happy to see the fund grow in size but still a long, long, long way to go!
• Had lunch at Sedap Corner. Chicken paprik rice.
• Went to exchange a Matlab installer which didn't work. I got a trainee to do some calculations (numerical methods) for a protection function. She decided to use Matlab which I don't have in my laptop anymore.
• Went to develop some photos from the Lunar New Year, Mum's birthday dinner, Kuching trip and company's annual dinner.
• Went to the bus station to purchase bus tickets for this weekend's KL home trip.
• Came home and tried the new Matlab instaler. After an hour of trying it's still not working. I think I'll have to give up.
• Newspaper reading - wondering what crap we are having in Malaysian politics nowadays. The whole world is concerned over the financial crisis. But here in Malaysia, the people who should be concerned are busy with elections, toad-hopping and basically doing all nonsense at the expense of taxpayer's money. So much for Vision 2020!

And that was how I spent the day on leave! And next I should go for dinner before continuing with my 'The World is Flat' reading.

For those who have not seen how an IDP looks like. Well the pics are below. It's basically a 10-page booklet in various languages.

The leap forward & backward

That's what is happening lately in Malaysia. Frogs leaping everywhere from one side to the other and even back. But to name them frogs would be demeaning to frogs the world over. I would rather call them toads. Not sure, but toads seem to be of a class lower than frogs. Of course, the latest phenomena due to King of Toads himself who has been credited with carrying the biggest Toad Coup years ago in the Land Below The Winds. Remember also a toad with outrageous sideburns & moustache? This thus started the culture of hopping around. You see, these guys are really good at doing their job of hopping here and there. So much so, they are kept busy from doing other things they said they would do when we they ran around fishing for support.

So after the great leap forward somewhere last year, the King of Toads has been drumming up his leaping act with deadlines after deadlines. Basically, His Majesty made a joke out of himself. And this time it serves him right since he has finally bitten his own bullet or 'hop-pill'. Literally, it is padan muka! But this doesn't mean I support all this hopping. The act is morally despicable. They can say anything about 'forming a strong toad-kingdom' but the fact remains that these toads lack integrity and cannot be trusted for anything as simple as throwing the garbage out. They themselves are basically garbage!

And did I mention the King of Toad (some say he's involved in unnatural sexual acts) has now been dethroned by an aristocrat bald Toad? But beware that these latest acts may not be taken lightly and some punishment may be meted out in another 3-4 years! Oh yea..... some fun days ahead! Happy Toad Leaping!

*** The above story is pure fiction and has no resemblance to reality. Any similarity in character, events or toads are deeply regretable. And I mean no harm or discrimination to toads (or frogs).

Why do people yell?

Someone forwarded this to me:

A sage asked his disciples, 'Why do people yell at each other when they are upset?'

The men thought for a while,'Because we lose our calm' said one.'we yell for that.

''But, why to yell when the other person is just next to you?' asked the sage. ' Isn't it possible to speak to him or her with a softvoice? Why do you yell at a person when you're angry?' The men gave some other answers but none satisfied the sage.

Finally he explained, 'When two people are angry at each other, their hearts distance a lot. To cover that distance they must yell, to be able to hear each other. The angrier they are, the stronger they will have to yell to hear each other through that great distance.'

Then the sage asked, What happens when two people fall in love? They do not yell at each other but talk softly, why? Their hearts are very close. The distance between them is very small... The sage continued, 'When they love each other even more, what happens? They do not speak, only whisper and they get even closer to each other in their love. Finally they even need not whisper, they only look at each other and that's all. That is how close two people are when they love each other.'

Then the sage said, 'When you argue do not let your hearts get distant, do not say words that distance each other more, else there will come a day when the distance is so great that you will not find the path to return.

So, in this festive period do treasure the people who are close to you - your loved ones, family, friends and beloved ones. Have a Happy and Prosperous Lunar New Year. 恭喜发财！心想事成！身体健康！步步高升！万事如意！Have a blessed year ahead!

And to all KL folks, happy City Day!