books@me

Refresh

2012-01-31T12:01:00.000+08:00

Kong Hee Fatt Choy everyone! It's been a wet start to the year hasn't it? Year of the Water Dragon indeed =)

Jiu Hu Char

This dish itself looks easy enough to prepare, but looks can be deceiving. Each strand of Bangkwan (Sweet Turnip) and carrot has to be sliced into long even strips to ensure even cooking time. A lot of care and attention needs to be given to the dish while it is cooking. It is very important to keep stirring the wok to ensure that each ingredient is evenly fried and to ensure that everything is equally mixed. Preparing and cooking this dish itself to me epitomises being in a relationship. Every strand needs to receive individual care and attention, the wok must be stirred every so often, paying particular attention so that the flavours are evenly married and that the dish doesn't get too dry, that the strands of vegetables don't break or get overcooked. It is a labour of love indeed, a fine balance and a touch of finesse is needed. But the dish you get at the end of the day, makes it all worthwhile ;)

Stir Fried Leeks

Leeks or "shuin" have been a traditional favourite of my family during the Chinese New Year Reunion dinner. My guess is because Leeks sounds calculate in Cantonese. My late grandma, has always advocated that being good in arithmetic will get you far in life. I am inclined to agree. But there are some things in life that you just can't put a value to and not all things revolve around material wealth. Seeing how the other half lives has made a lasting impression on me. I'm never been known to be the most generous person in town and I have come to realise that I can do so much more :) What was it that Hamlet said? "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio"

Hmmm...

Thanks for being there B, waking up to see you lying beside me is a blessing =)

amor gignit amorem

*hugs*

Spring Cleaning

2012-01-10T11:45:00.000+08:00

How's 2012 been for y'all so far? Started checking off the items on your new years resolution list one by one yet?

A friend recently pointed out that the herbs which I normally use to cook, the ones from McCormick actually have an expiry date!

With the Chinese New Year round the corner, I decided to do a little Spring Cleaning in my kitchen. I ended up emptying most of the herbs and rubs which I purchased a while back. I couldn't even see the expiry dates on the bottles because the labels had already fallen off! Better to be safe than sorry, I got rid of most of them.

While clearing out the kitchen cabinets, I came across some really old rice. I was quite sure it was still edible and decided against throwing it away. After a couple of rinses, I was left with about a cup full of rice.

A cupful of rice

Rather than just cooking a pot of white rice, I decided to rummage through my fridge to see what I could come up with.

Looking through my freezer, I spied some pork belly fat which was originally supposed to be turned into Siew Yok. I also managed to located a stash of Lap Cheong. I also had some left over lettuce which looked like it had seen better days.

An idea came to mind and I decided to do a my interpretation of a risotto based on what I managed to rummage from my fridge.

Sliced up the pork belly and marinated it in some Chinese rice wine, corn flour and black pepper.

Belly Fat. Chilling in Marinade.

Lazy man's stock. 2 tablespoons of Canned vegetable broth brought to boil with 3 cups of water and infused with a single bay leaf. Apologies for the bad picture of the stock, auto focus decided to go on holiday. LOL!

Squint to find Bay Leaf.

Lightly toast some Shallots and Garlic in Olive oil.

Sweating the Shallots and Garlic.

Toss pork and lap cheong into pan after garlic and shallots have browned. Stir fry till the meat changes colour and the sausages have released most of it's oil.

Toss till lightly brown.

Toss rice in. Mix to make sure each grain is coated with oil.

Stir frying to ensure each grain is coated with oil.

Slowly ladle in stock a 1/4 cup at a time. Stirring the rice occasionally to ensure that it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan and to make sure that rice is evenly cooked. Add 1/4 cup of stock again when the pan is starting to dry out. Repeat till rice is al dente. The rice should take about 20 minutes to reach this stage. The trick is you don't want the rice to be too dry, you don't want it to be too soupy either.

Toss in chopped lettuce and serve.

I'm afraid there isn't a picture of the finished product as my hunger got the better of me =)

Now that the kitchen has been cleared, it's time to stock it up! Heheheh...The significant other warns me that most of my meds have also expired and have started to oxidise. Looks like another round of spring cleaning will be needed soon. Hopefully I don't get too creative with the meds and create a concotion to get high with. ROFL! I Kid. I Kid.

In case I don't write a post again before the Chinese New Year, Kong Hee Fatt Choy to all my readers and friends :)

34

2011-12-22T00:00:00.000+08:00

One more year and I'm officially in my mid-thirties. Heh. I've recently been chided recently for having sat for the Sijil Rendah Pelajaran (SRP) instead of the Penilaian Menenggah Rendah (PMR) and for having and old blue Identity Card. I think students in my batch (class of '94) were the last batch to actually sit for the SRP. Hmmm...Maybe I need to mix around more with people my own age =P

So, how has the past year been?

We've had our fair share of natural disasters this year, a prayer goes out to all those affected by it. The weather has also really been acting up of late. We have been inundated by torrential downpour after torrential downpour almost every other day. Having the heavens open up during the rush hour home isn't much fun. I know that j@chocoholic will attest to that. -.- The way it's been pouring out lately, lends credence to the Mayan prediction that the world is going to end in 2012. Heh.

Personally, I must say that 2011 has been a very good year indeed =)

Work wise, 2011 started with a bang and didn't slow down at all. Just like that, before you know it, we have 9 days left for the year. It looks like it's going to continue right up till the middle of next year.

I managed to get rid of a bad habit the only way I know how. Managing to keep the weight and the cravings off has been a struggle, for the better part. Food tastes better, I can run a little faster, I feel healthier...kicking the habit definitely has much more benefits than maintaining it. But as anyone who has made the leap to quit before will tell you, it is not easy.

I didn't manage to take part in any major sporting events to test my physical endurance this year. That's set to change next year though, as I'm considering either doing a 1/2 marathon or completing an Olympic Distance triathlon. Training for either events takes some discipline and sacrifice on my end. We shall see how it all pans outlar...

I treated myself to a new toy for my 34th birthday as you can clearly see from the previous post. I'm definitely going to need to spend more time with it to get the hang of using it but with the trips that I have scheduled next year, I must say that I am quite pleased that I bought the Fuji x10. I can foresee my neck and shoulders thanking me for it after walking the streets of Taiwan and my adopted hometown for the better part of the day ;)

On the personal front, I met an interesting little character as the fist quarter of the year was winding to a close. Clichéd as it may sound, I met her at a wedding; where she was a bridesmaid and I, was one of the groomsmen. I guess my youthful exuberance *cough*cough* while bobbing for apples must have caught her attention. Hahahah...

Although we've only been at it for less then a year, it definitely feels longer than that. I feel like I've known her forever. Personally? I think it's a good thing, this feeling of familiarity and togetherness; because when you realise you want to spend the rest of your life with someone, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible*.

I'd like to thank you for being so supportive and understanding of me. I like the fact that you view life through a different lens than I do. Different but complementary. I have met my match in you. You complete me in more ways than you will ever know. I hope I complement you too.

Life, as I know it changed for the better when I met you. *winks*

Today, I turn 34.

*Excerpted from a scene from the movie When Harry Met Sally

All Things VW

2011-12-15T19:30:00.000+08:00

VW Logo, ISO 800, F2.8, 1/50

VW Microbus License Plate, ISO 400, F2.8, 1/52

Model VW Microbus, ISO 200, F2.8, 1/85

VW Beetle Cufflink, ISO200, F2, 1/75

It just so happened that the subject of the day was Volkswagen. Here are the first few test shots from my new toy. Going to need to learn how to use the camera properly to fully utilise it's features. But I'm liking what I'm seeing so far.

Panaromic Sweep Shot of the interior ofThe Bee, Publika.

Two modes are really calling out to me. It's super macro mode (you can put the barrel of the lens up to 1cm away from your subject) and it's panaromic sweep mode feature. It's also got excellent low light shooting capabilities.

dSLR versus P&S

2011-12-09T18:05:00.001+08:00

I remember the very first digital camera that I bought. It was a Casio Exilim ZX3. It came with a 256MB SD Card and had a 3.2 Million effective Mega Pixels. Mind you this was back in 2003. I remember that I had paid for it by writing a piece on Loreal Artistic Ambassadors. The Casio did it's job and followed me on my trips to Japan and the States. I officially retired it in 2006 when I purchase my Pentax K100.

Why did I choose the Pentax? The main reason was that it didn't come with a proprietary battery. It gets it's juice from 4AA batteries. After having been on a trip to Cambodia with my Casio and running out of batteries when we hit Banteay Srei, I didn't want to be caught out without juice for my camera again. With the Pentax, if the batteries ran out, I could hop into a 7-11 to get a set and I'd be good to go. Also, Pentax has a long history of producing quality lenses and the beauty about the K100 was, it could take any of the older K-mount Pentax lenses.

When people ask me what I shoot with, I reply proudly, "A Pentax". I can just hear FBB sniggering in the background now..."You shot those with a Pentax ar? Not bad wor." Having a dSLR with the options of changing lenses to suit the occasion opened up a whole new world of photography to me. I even purchased a prime lens (50mm, f1.4), which I have to say is, my favourite of the 3 lenses that I have in my bag.

The main difference (to me) in shooting with a dSLR and a point and shoot is the composition of the photo. with a dSLR, you have to compose your picture via the viewfinder. It was a big change, but it made me take better pictures. You got a better feel of how the picture would turn out compared to composing a picture using the LCD screen of a point and shoot.

You would be hard pressed to recreate the creaminess or "bokeh" that a dSLR can produce with a point and shoot camera. The amount of control you had over a picture with a dSLR Exposure Settings, Aperture Settings, EV levels...the list goes on. you just can't top that with a point and shoot. The main disadvantage of shooting with a dSLR is it's bulk and heft. Try packing for a trip with your dSLR and you will get what I mean. You will have to take most, if not all of your lenses with you. This adds to the weight of your luggage. Not really nice. It's probably why I have the 50mm stuck on my camera most of the time. It's the quickest, smallest and lightest lens that I have.

Another thing I have noticed is most people tend to shy away when you point a dSLR at them. At parties, some actually cringe! But point a point and shoot at them and you see them actually readily posing. I guess people feel intimidated with the heft and bulk of a dSLR. There is also a certain level of expectation that comes with shooting with a dSLR. The pictures you take are expected to turn out nice ;)

Fast forward a couple of years and all I can say is, boy, have we come a long way. With the micro 4/3 system you can have the power of a dSLR in the convenience of the form factor of a point and shoot! I can see why so many have bitten the bug and gone down the 4/3rd's path =)

But the rebel in me is looking for something different again. I purchased the Casio at a time when Nikon/Sony/Canon was ruling the P&S market. I purchased a Pentax instead of joining the millions who opted for a Canon or Nikon. I'm thinking of sticking to my guns and going for a brand which those of you who used to shoot with film should know. Fuji.

I'm seriously contemplating on getting a Fuji X-10. The reviews on this camera have been nothing but stellar. I had a chance to fiddle around with it recently, but walked away feeling a little sad when I found that it did not meet my expectations. I didn't give up as I was enraptured by the camera's looks and decided to do more research on-line. It turns out I would need to spend more time with the camera to learn how to use it properly. But being priced at just under RM2K, it isn't exactly cheap. Hmmm..

I'm contemplating selling of the kit which I have to finance this purchase. In fact, the full list has been posted in several forums of which I am a member. Here's what's currently in my bag:-

Pentax K100

SMCP-DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL (Kit Lens)

SMC-DA 50-200mm f/4-5.6 ED (Zoom Lens)

SMCP-FA 50mm f/1.4 (Portrait Lens)

Accessories

1 unit 4GB SD Card (SanDisk Extreme)

2 units 52mm UV Clear Filter (For Kit and Zoom Lens)

1 Unit 52mm CR Polarizing Lens (For Kit and Zoom Lens)

1 Unit 49mm UV Clear Filter (Portrait Lens)

1 Unit 49mm CR Polarizing Filter (Portrait Lens)

Should I keep my system and just buy the Fuji to complement it? What do you guys think?

Selflessness, Selfishness

2011-11-30T17:55:00.001+08:00

I am no longer allowed to donate blood to the National Blood Bank. As a result of my recent health scare, I have been classified as "risky" and due to the policies put in place to protect the National Blood Bank I am no longer allowed to donate blood. I guess this also puts paid, my plans to be an organ donor as well.

Depends on who you ask, it's for the best as well. After all, the old ticker has hit a maximum of 207 beats per minute and the liver has seen a number of binge drinking episodes (albeit a few) anyways.

But how am I going to give back to society, I asked the doctor as he relayed the news to me. He suggested I donate my time instead. Help out at the soup kitchens, spend some time with orphans. There are other ways to ensure that the needs of others are put before yours.

I've always donated blood as there is more than enough to go around in an average human anyways. It was relatively painless, didn't cost me a thing and I felt fulfilled in giving back to the society.

Being an organ donor was something that I was thinking of doing as well. After all, what use are your organs to you when you are dead and gone anyway?

Was I really being selfless by donating blood, or thinking about donating organs? Was I really putting the interests of others above myself by doing so?

Or was I being selfish? After all, there is more than enough blood going around in me, organs are of no use to me when I'm no longer breathing. And it didn't cost me a thing. Cost being the key word here.

Donating time to a charitable organisation when there isn't enough of it in a day? Clearly, the selfish part of me is starting to show. Why is that? I guess it comes down to personal values. I value my time and I would not be willing to give it away so easily. Choosing the way you wish to give back to society is a selfish act. Choosing to safe the life of a lover over the life of an enemy is a selfish act. Spending your own hard earned money on what you deem important to yourself rather than spending it on your loved ones or handing it out to every pan-handler on the street is a selfish act.

Conversely, giving help to a stranger over a friend is a selfless act. Giving up your lover over a hated person is selfless. Giving out money to a beggar you see on the street or putting the needs of your loved one over yourself is a selfless act.

Who deems what is selfish and what is selfless? It really depends on a whole host of factors. Upbringing, education, religion...etc. What is deemed socially right in our modern and western world may seem taboo to others in a different society.

So...where do I sign up to work the line for the nearest soup kitchen?

8..9..10.

2011-11-22T14:39:00.001+08:00

And he's down for the count.

Woke up this morning feeling a little under the weather. To top if off, I had a very irritable bowel as well.

Jokes aside, I noticeably less after the 2nd trip to the toilet this morning. But you all probably didn't need to know that.

I reckon I caught a chill during the presentation at the hotel yesterday. I swear the temperature in that meeting room was colder than the temperature in my server room. Mind you, the temperature in my server room is a constant, cool, chilly 21 degrees Celsius.

A light breakfast of fruits, congee, a single hash brown, a small bowl of hot piping soup later. We headed to work which is just directly opposite the hotel.

As soon as the A/C was turned on in the mall, the tips of my fingers started feeling really cold and I could feel that I was getting a fever. The ache in my joints was amplified by any small, sudden movement.

*sigh*

I had originally planned to stay in Kuantan till 5PM today, but my body is screaming otherwise. Not really looking forward to the long and winding stretch from Bukit Tinggi to Gombak as well.

On a lighter note. I am looking forward to getting doted around by a nurse and getting a day off tomorrow.

Heheheh....

7 Years

2011-11-08T17:16:00.003+08:00

In the month of November 2004, books@me was born. I named the blog books@me as a tongue in cheek way of referring to the number of relationships that I had been in till then. The library has doubled in volume over the past 7 years.

Heh.

"My Fate is in my hands" is a quote that was used by my dad as his quote for his senior year entry in his High School yearbook. I tweaked it a little and voila it became the tag line for my header.

My dad, who reads my blog from time to time, has been asking to be credited for the quote ;)

This blog, which at the time was supposed to replace the weekly e-mails out to my friends to keep them updated on how things were in Bangkok has progressed and evolved into something more than that. It has really become an online journal and repository of memories, both good and bad for me. As I was pointing out to Meenachi, reading through my old posts, I found out it was raining in November 2009 as well. LOL!

Back in the day, words meant more. I used to pour my heart and soul out into my blogging. I guess when the readership grew, (yes all 18 of you :P) I started to write with a little more reservation. Be a little more conservative. It's really true what they say..the pen is mightier than the sword.

These days, with twitter, it's about how much you can squeeze into 140 characters. With foursquare, it's all about letting your friends know where you are. With the advent of smart-phones and cheap mobile Internet it's all about the here and now.

We all have become information junkies.

Date's used to have to be set in advance, we used to have to check each other's schedule before we could meet. Nowadays with twitter and foursquare I find we "gravitate" towards where our friends are. If you're in the same neighbourhood/mall/area as them, a meet up can be quickly set.

I myself have done this on numerous occasions. Don't get me wrong, a quick splash and dash with a friend is better than not meeting at all..but there's nothing that beats a good 'ole sit down lunch and dinner to catch up. Much the same like the one I had with Sze and Meena last Saturday. By the way, we used Facebook to setup that lunch date. LOL.

Heh.

7 years and counting. Thanks for coming back to read the stuff I rant and ramble about guys and gals. You know who you are ;)

A Scare

2011-10-21T19:45:00.002+08:00

I donate blood fairly regularly. It's safe to say I do it about once a year and I've been donating since my college days.

I'd like to think that I am giving back to society by donating blood. Being a universal donor (blood type O) I'd like to think that my blood has made a difference. Call it my own Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) drive. Tom, Dick and Harry recently had a blood donation drive. A pint of blood for a pint of Connor's. Hey, if I'm going to donate blood I might as well get rewarded for it :)

Prior to donating blood, an interview is carried out. It's a standard operating procedure that asks you about your health, recent travel history and some questions about your sexual habits. Certain activities increase the chances of blood borne illnesses (i.e., those that can be transmitted through blood) and those who have recently engaged in those activities may be prevented from donating blood.

A small prick on your finger will be administered by the health care professional to check for your hemoglobin levels and blood type.

The National Blood Bank (Pusat Darah Negara) screens all donated blood for blood borne diseases namely Hepatitis B, Hepatitis and most STD's (Chlamydia, Herpes, Syphilis etc). This is to ensure that no contaminated blood ever gets deposited at the Blood Bank.

As a result of this screening, some people may receive a letter form the National Blood Bank that they may have tested positive for any of the blood borne diseases stated above.

To my horror, I received one such letter from the blood bank.

I panicked. Who wouldn't? I received the letter last Saturday and I wanted to go in immediately to clarify the matter. Alas, the time slots to see them was from 10:30-12:30, Mondays through Fridays. I had a full day of meetings on Monday and I could only get to see them on Tuesday.

But I couldn't bear to wait till Tuesday to get it done. I snuck out of the office on Monday morning to get the issue resolved ASAP at the National Blood Bank.

The doctors I spoke to were very kind and understanding. They explained that I had tested positive for a blood borne disease. I asked which one, but they couldn't say. Something tells me they know, but they just wouldn't say. I went through another round of interviews with them (A doctor and two counsellors) Blood was drawn and an appointment was set 10 days later to discuss the results.

10 freaking days later!

Not to mention 10 sleepless nights as well.

A couple of frantic BBM's to a friend who went a long way in calming my frayed nerves. He joked that my gallivanting ways had come back to haunt me.

Heh.

He recommended I go get myself tested at a private institution for peace of mind. He reassured me that he has heard of cases of false-positives occurring before.

I drove back to the office. Parked my car and made my way to the nearest private clinic. I saw the doctor who also soothed my already jittery state of mind by mentioning that there have been cases of false-positives being recorded by the National Blood Bank as well. She went a step further by saying that the National Blood Bank wouldn't want to lose a regular donor like me. =)

More blood was drawn. I was starting to feel a little faint by now. I kid you not. It was after the blood was drawn that I was notified that the lab work needed a couple of days to be completed and that the test results would only be available 4 days later. Great! Number of sleepless nights cut down from 10 to 4. Total cost of peace of mind? RM415.

I left the clinic with a much lighter wallet and my head held between my legs. I was scared.

Various scenes started playing through my mind. What if I tested positive for any of the diseases? How is that going to affect my significant other, my family, my close friends. Will they have to be tested as well? I really didn't want all that trouble for them.

Fast forward four days till today. D-day. First thing I did when I got into the office was to call the clinic to enquire if my results had come back from the lab. the nurse took my number down and told me that she will call me back as soon as the results were in. I had to go for an outside lunch appointment , got back and called the clinic again. I stole a glance at my watch when I did and the watch had just struck 2. Negative said the nurse, results aren't in yet.

As the heavens started to open up at 4, I mad a last ditch effort to call the clinic again. After all, they close at 6PM. The results were in! I tally-hooed to the clinic ASAP to collect my results.

All the results came back negative, which basically means that I was in the clear! *phew*

I called the significant other to let her know of the good news. We both breathed a huge sigh of relief.

Let this be a lesson to all blood donors. If you receive a letter from the blood bank, don't panic. The letter doesn't necessarily mean you are infected. It is very important that you see them for additional testing. Since blood collection agencies may use a variety of different screening tests for diseases. a more thorough and specific test will need to be carried out to see if you are actually infected.

This scare taught me to cherish my loved ones and family members more. Thanks for comforting me and being there when I needed you *hugs*

Of Televisions and digitizing them

2011-10-21T09:16:00.003+08:00

Heard over the news this morning on the way to work that an RM2 Billion Contract has been awarded by the government to a corporate big wig to digitize TV Signals for the remaining analogue Television transmitters. This basically covers all the "free TV" providers, namely, RTM1, RTM2, TV3, NTV7, 8TV and I believe there is a TV9 as well.

Back in the day, when TV's came with their own cabinets we used to have to search for the signals on either the Ultra High Frequency (UHF) or Very High Frequency (VHF) band. If the reception was still below par, we'd go up to the roof and adjust the antenna to get the best possible picture quality. If that fails, I use to strip the coaxial cable that plugs into the TV to remove oxidization. That normally was the last resort and also fixed most of the problems with reception.

Ever wondered why on any team sport being broadcast on TV that there are normally two jersey colours? A home and an away jersey? One would be dark and the other would be of a lighter shade? Well, TV only came in black and white during my parents time and the difference in shade was to allow the viewers to differentiate the teams.

Dad's still running a CRT TV back at his place while being subscribed to Astro HD. He plans to wait till the TV konks out before changing it to a newer digital flat screen TV. If you have ever owned a CRT TV, those things last for years on end!

They just don't built them like they used to.

Meh.

Wants and Needs

2011-10-19T11:30:00.000+08:00

I blame advertising for creating this want of mine.

See, I use the SPRINT to get to work everyday. There was (till a week back) this huge billboard plastered with a Bell and Ross watch on it.

The watch sort of like grew on me. I did more research and found out the particular model being advertised was called the BR126. Recently, I was flipping through the assortment of back-dated magazines that had been piling up in my toilet and a small pull-out dropped out from one of the issues of August Man which I purchased a while back.

It was by Bell and Ross as well.

I became obsessed with the watch. To satisfy my curiosity, I actually went shopping at the Gardens on a Sunday, which is the equivalent of committing hara-kiri because of the time wasted burning fossil fuels while looking for a parking, just to look for the watch.

I found it.

I tried it on.

I found out that I could "just" afford it. Just being the moot word here.

The want had suddenly became a need.

The devil on the right shoulder screamed, "But it looks so good on your wrist"

The angel on my left said gently, "Prudence young man, prudence...."

Heh.

Help me!!! :P

Donations in cash or kind can be made. Click on contact above to drop me an e-mail ;)

Value for Money

2011-09-29T09:12:00.000+08:00

The significant other happens to be away for a week, so I've been having dinner on my own for the past couple of days. Dinner, when alone, consists mainly of a simple meal which normally revolves around eggs.

Two of them to be exact.

Steamed, fried, hard boiled, 1/2 boiled..two eggs done in a variety of styles normally downed with a glass of milk and sometimes if I'm still feeling peckish, along with a cup of yoghurt.

Last night however, circumstances dictated that I had to have something other than eggs for dinner :) I had gone for a run at the KLCC park after work. Grabbed a quick shower, tidied up some work and headed home at about 5 minutes to eight PM.

Traffic was smooth for the better part, but as soon as I hit the Federal Highway, traffic started to build up. I decided to wing it and use the Kerinchi Link to get home.

I was tempted to turn of at Section 16 to pull over to grab a bite because by then, my tummy was beginning to rumble. Snuck a peek at the turn off and decided not to as traffic along the slip road was also pretty much stuffed up.

So I nosied on along the SPRINT to get home, only to find myself stuck in front of the bottle neck after the toll. SPRINT indeed, a Crawl seemed more apt at that time.

By the time I hit my neighbourhood at about 45 minutes past eight, my tummy was rumbling like Krakatoa before it erupted. I decided to reward myself with a decent hot meal at New Restaurant Ipoh Chicken Rice. They recently set up shop nearby. My standard order at their establishment is a serving of plain Sa Hor Fun, a serving of Chicken Innards and a small serving of Taugeh for roughage. Washed down with a cup of Chinese Tea.

After a long day at work, being stuck in traffic and a 6.5KM run, that meal really, really hit the spot.

And it cost me all of RM7.75. Relatively cheap by today's standards. It's also about RM5 bucks less than what I would spend at my friendly neighbourhood lok-lok uncle's van as well. Lok-lok, being my favourite food group is also my source for spare-parts (read innards) when I have a craving for them. All things considered, New Restaurant Ipoh Chicken Rice also satisfied my craving this time round. Not only that, it provided me a source of dietary fiber and was considerably cheaper as well. The chili sauce that is served at New Restaurant Ipoh Chicken Rice is also on par with that being served at the Lok-Lok van, albeit the one being served at the latter being spicier!

Hmm...

No prize for guessing where I'll end up whenever I need to satisfy my cravings from now on =)

If it's good enough for...

2011-09-09T19:19:00.002+08:00

...Pavarotti, it sure as hell is good enough for me :)

After having barely recovered from my Bangkok escapade, we went off on an escapade for a couple of days again the very next week.

Her best friends from high school had come back from three corners of the globe, as one of them was getting married. The wedding dinner was held at the Equatorial down in Bangi where we spent the night before leaving in a 5 vehicle convoy for Lumut for a the after wedding party at Pangkor Laut resort.

By virtue of being the significant other, I was roped into assist with the festivities. Having being a groomsman a couple of times, you sorta like know that the last couple of days leading up to the wedding would be busy. I reckon all that experience came in handy throughout the wedding :)

The wedding itself was well planned and co-ordinated. What really surprised me was how well I got along with the significant others of her best friends as well, seeing as to how most of us were meeting for the very first time. I was pleasantly surprised at how tasty the dinner was at the Hotel, maybe my expectations were lowered based on past experiences with dinners at hotels.

Pangkor Laut is all that it's made out to be, and more. Safe for the dinner at Fisherman's Cove, which was supposed to be a 3-course fine dining extravaganza which fell below expectations. Food was generally good and serving sizes were huge! I reckon I piled on some weight after both the trip to Bangkok and the trip to Pangkor Laut.

Clockwise From Top Right : Chicken quesadillas Starter, Vietnamese Beef Noodle Main Course (mine), Nasi Goreng with Bull's eye egg (hers), Fruit Platter Dessert, The Menu, Fish Platter Mains.

My only other trip to Pangkor Laut was before Pangkor Laut was Pangkor Laut. Emerald Bay was already there, but the paved roads leading to the Bay from the resort were not. I decided to relive the trek that me and my family took to get to Emerald Bay from the resort. Apart from the steepness of the gradient of the roads, it was a relatively easy hike, compared to the jungle trek that we had to endure to get there so many years ago

Clockwise from top Right : Steep Gradient, Original Trail, Are we there yet?, Rewarded with a cold drink and a laze by the beach on a beach chair on arrival at Emerald Bay

All in all it was a pleasure meeting her best friends from high school and their boyfriends (and husband). I can really relate to the bonds that she shares with them having a similar bunch of close mates from high school as well :)

Left to Right : Pit Stop on the road trip, BBQ @Jiun's place when we arrived.

Somebody once told me, you don't know someone until you have traveled with them. This much I can say, after having gone on a couple trips with the significant other, I can't imagine traveling with anyone else ;)

*hugs*

We came, We saw, We shopped

2011-09-02T17:26:00.001+08:00

And shopped...and then shopped some more. ROFL! Intersperse the shopping with some meals and that was basically our Bangkok Trip in a nutshell :)

It was a trip of many firsts. First time overseas with the significant other and more importantly first trip overseas with the significant other AND the parents at the same time.

And it was a memorable one to say the least. The drama started unfolding even before we crossed immigration. Mom had picked up someones passport thinking it was her own and passed it along to the immigration officer, who in turn thought mom was trying to hoodwink her and gain entry into Thailand with a different passport. It was resolved when a more senior officer came by and instructed the officer manning the counter to let mom through.

*phew*

We checked into the hotel after a very, very slow taxi ride to the hotel. Thankfully, the first meal was pretty good. It was either that or everyone was hungry ;)

Left to Right : Kueh Chap and Khau Phad Kai Dao

Promptly made our way over to Nana to get measured for my suit. Turns out my regular tailor had moved! We spent about 15 minutes looking for his new place. We also suspect this was when where my moms handbag was slit open by a box cutter! Thankfully nothing fell out of her bag, else the trip would have been a real disaster! The tailor shook his head in dismay when we told him about it. He also recounted how he was pick pocketed while on a train in Europe as well.

Everything seemed a little smoother after the drama of the first day, as we slowly ate our way through Bangkok, checking off each and every item on the checklist :)

Nam Jim @ Lek Seafood

Dad was a little disappointed by the food at T&K seafood. Sorry it fell short Dad, the next time round we will go back to our regular joint on the opposite side of the road. He did however like the Goon Orb Woon Sen which was dished out a Lek Seafood! Only to be disappointed again by the lack of oomph from the Beef noodles from his favourite stall at MBK. I reckon it was because we were a little early and the stock/soup had not reached it's full potential yet.

Clockwise from Top Left : Hoi Thod, Sen Mee Nong Phed, Sen Yai Radna, Khau Kha Moo, Som Tum, Pad Thai

Mom ended up getting a ton of clothes from her usual spot @ MBK. We ended up cancelling our appointment for a full body massage at Body Tune so that we could shop some more! That's the only thing we didn't manage to do while we were in Bangkok. Ah well...

The significant other managed to get most of her stuff checked off as well. I think she is particularly happy with this pair of shoes that she bought at Siam Square.

*Insert Happy grin here*

Sorry the weather didn't hold out for us when we were there B. Glad you liked the view from Sirrocco while it lasted ;) Niu's Jazz bar on Silom was also a great place to relax after catching up with Chia and Pui. We both approve of the singer performing that night. Thanks for the presents, I love them to bits.

Gotsa love the Beetle. Check out dem bling, bling reams ;)

Zoom-Zoom Part Duex

Thanks for the wardrobe makeover as well.Glad you enjoyed yourself and thanks for looking after the folks while I was doing my stuff *winks*

Me? I'm just glad I managed to squeeze in two foot massages while I was in town. My tailor made pants are also way, way overdue. All in all it was a very satisfactory and rewarding trip back to my adopted homeland, though my wallet is much lighter after this trip.

Part of New Wardrobe ;)

The taxi ride back to the Airport? Much zippier than the one to the hotel. LOL!

Smiles all around =)

A Thousand Camels...

2011-08-17T09:39:00.003+08:00

My car got keyed last night. It's very clear that it's done on purpose. 3 doors. All of them except the drivers door. Presumably so I wouldn't notice.

*sigh*

Got the management of the building to check the CCTV tapes. Real FML moment when the residence manager said they ran out of tape and it was not recorded. Conspiracy theories abound when I related the whole incident to the person in charge of my office Administration. She said that it's a normal excuse given by building management when CCTV tapes are asked to be reviewed. She even went as far as implying, "Was there some footage caught on tape that cannot be brought to light?"

Heh.

Generally, I tend to see the good in people. I trust the Residence Manager. I hear what my colleague had to say. All in all I must say that I must have stepped on someones toes. Either that or it's karma coming back to haunt me. In any case I am going to my happy place now.

To whoever keyed my car, may the fleas of a thousand camels infest your nether regions and may your arms be too short to scratch the itch.

Got to give it to the person who keyed the car, it's really deep on one of the doors and you can see the base layer of the paint. After spending a mini fortune on getting the ding on the side and my cracked windscreen fixed, looks like I have to fork out money to repair the keyed panels of my car door's as well.

Residence Manager is concerned as this is the first reported case of it happening in his property. He was kind enough to ask me to park on the level where his staff park their cars. Not sure how well this will sit with the manager of the car park as it's being run by a separate operator. I just asked him to ensure that the tapes never run out.

Bummer.

Aversion to risk

2011-08-09T10:13:00.000+08:00

Savings. Here's what wiki has to say about it.

Saving is income not spent, or deferred consumption. Methods of saving include putting money aside in a bank or pension plan. Saving also includes reducing expenditures, such as recurring costs. In terms of personal finance, saving specifies low-risk preservation of money, as in a deposit account, versus investment, wherein risk is higher¹.

Makes perfect sense doesn't it? The less you spend the more you save. Either that or the more you earn while spending the same equates to a nifty savings account.

Many moons ago, while I was finishing up my secondary school (or was it uni?), someone came round to give us a talk. He left us with a small booklet which became my bible with regards to managing your wealth. A simple formula was included in the booklet to help us manage our finances. The formula wasn't exactly rocket science, Income - Spending = Savings. Of course, if you spend more than you earn you will end up with a huge deficit in no time. Go figure ;)

I converted that formula into an excel worksheet and for the first 3 years of my career, I diligently filled that worksheet up at the end of every month. I still have copies of those worksheets on my hard drive :) I really, really use to worry about being able to retire comfortably, but the blow has been softened up somewhat of late due to the current nature of my job.

Investment or investing those savings is another cup of tea all together. My general rule of thumb is; if you have enough in the bank (i.e savings) to maintain your current liabilities and lifestyle for 6 months, you can consider using the excess savings to invest. After all money that's sitting idle, just doesn't grow :)

How one invest depends on ones aversion/appettite for risk. Fixed deposits are the safest way to ensure that there are at least some returns on your money. But currently, Interest rates are paltry at best.

Equities? It was a bloodbath on the stock exchange yesterday. Not for the faint of heart. But having said that, income from dividends make for a pretty decent pair of shoes most times ;) Also, it is important to note that unrealized capital gain is just that, it is unrealized! ROFL. Buy on rumour and sell on fact as they always say.

Property? If you can afford it, buying a piece of property when it is being developed at the developer price and selling or "flipping" it when it's fully developed may, in most cases, return you a tidy sum. Or you may even decide to keep it and earn steady revenue via rental income. But as they say in real estate, location, location, location. There is talk of the property bubble bursting and it is true, property prices are at a record high now. There's a lot of speculation on the property market right now and though government legislation has been changed to curb it, people will still speculate anyway ;)

Commodities. In times of uncertainty there is one commodity that seems to "shine" brigther than most. Gold. Gold is often seen as a hedge against economic or political instability. Given the fact that most major countries are under severe pressure because of huge government deficits, Gold is looking like a very safe hedge at the moment. Spot gold prices really seem to be reflecting my sentiment as well :)

The best damn advice I've received about money is from my dad, he never fails to remind me that a fool and his money are soon parted.

The best advice I've received about investing is from my sister, she always warns me about putting all my eggs in one basket.

Having ranted and rambled I would like to end by saying that I am not a trained economist, nor am I a seasoned investor , the views i have just put forth are none other then my own and should not be taken as gospel.

1 : Excerpted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savings

Icon

2011-07-27T11:43:00.002+08:00

I.con (noun) An important and enduring symbol

I remember winning a Tupperware from Kimisawa during their grand opening launch festivities. I even remember the question that they asked, "What has four eyes, but cannot see?"

I remember looking at my mom and telling her I knew the answer. She motioned for me to go forward, which I did.

I answered, "Mississippi!"

Get it? Four I's and can't see?

But I digress.

That was way back in 1984. I was in Standard one back then. Kimisawa didn't last too long, if my memory serves me right. Neither did Printemps. Kimisawa was taken over by Parkson Grand and Printemps became Atria. Right around the time when I hit High School.

Ahhh...high school, the carefree days of youth. Sure, there were many other shopping complexes when I was growing up. Asia Jaya (Sri Jaya bus #50), Jaya Supermarket (Same bus), Sungei Wang Plaza (Sri Jaya Bus #244, get off at the Klang Bus Stand, board Bus #18 and hop off at Lot 10.

But Atria was in our own back yard. The rest had to be accessed by bus. which meant having to pay for a bus ticket, or pretending to fall asleep when the bus conductor came round. LOL! But that is a story for another day ;)

Most, if not all kids going to Sekolah Menengah Damansara Jaya would have spent some of their time after school hanging out at Atria. I use the term spending some time here losely. I meant to say playing truant from school ;)

ATC (Atria Cafe) used to have very affordable lunch sets which you could bring your high school crush to for lunch. If you had some cash to blow, Sweet Florist by the information counter was the place to plonk some cash on some flowers to really impress the date. Hahahaha!

There used to be an arcade called "white" located on the outside of the mall. We used to hang out there after school. 20 sen arcade games are the best!!! I remember opening the door one day, only to see my friends squatting on the floor with their hands behind their head. The police had raided the premises. As soon as I opened the door, my friends bolted through the door almost knocking me over. We all ran into Atria and split up. Some hid in stairwells, some hid in the numerous toilets throughout the mall. Hahahaha! I still remember that scene like it happened yesterday. Heh.

I used to bike up the parking ramps to the open air parking to take in the view. Back then there weren't so many cars on the road and the parking was almost always only 1/2 full. Perfected my bunny hop in that car park :)

Picadilly and it's tea parties, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Victoria station, Popular Book Store. All stalwarts of the mall.

All closed down now :(

The new owner OSK gave all the existing tenants 3 months to vacate the premises by the 26th of July 2011, which was yesterday. Plans are to built a mix development with office blocks and a 4-storey shopping mall, or so I've been told.

The residents of the surrounding area signed a petition to prevent/block/defer the development. Various reasons were cited, traffic problems being the main argument.

I signed the petition too. But it was because I didn't want what I deem to be the Icon of Damansara Jaya torn down.

Traffic will always be a problem, when they used to have the Parkson Grand Sale, cars would park all over the areas surrounding the mall, causing huge jams. They still park all over the place anyways nowadays, even without a sale. Heh.

I guess, change is always for the better. I'm going to miss Atria when it's finally gone. I've have many fond memories of the place.

A planned 3-Day weekend

2011-07-26T16:16:00.000+08:00

She told me that she would be taking Friday and Monday off. I looked at my scheduled activities over the weekend and decided to take Monday off as well to recover.

The weekend started with a funny round of golf, (9-holes @ Bukit Utama). Many lost balls later, the German and I ended up back at the club house a little over 2 hours from when we started. Being on the course with Ze German and his one liners was totally hilarious. Highlight of the round for me was the bogey I had on the signature hole of the course, the elevated Par 3 on the 7th hole.

After a quick lunch at Kota Damansara, I proceeded to the bike shop to collect my race plate for the Presidential Bike Ride (65KM) that I had signed up for on Sunday.

Whilst making my way home after collecting the race plate, I stopped by at KSH to make sure that a certain baker's bicycle got the attention it deserved.

A short rest at home and it was off to pick the significant other up for a dinner engagement at Pasir Penambang with another bunch of friends. The food served left a lot to be desired with more hits than misses, due in no small part to the commercialization of the area.

One thing good came out from the commercialization though, the toilets have been upgraded!

*winks*

After dropping her off and watching Tony Martin's clock the fastest time of the penultimate stage of the Tour De France, I rushed home to catch Cadel Evans square off with the Schleck brothers for Yellow Jersey honours. Cadel Evans not only won the time trial, he took back close to 2 minutes on both the Schleck brothers to ride into Paris with the Maillot Jaune on his shoulders! A truly deserved victory for Cadel. He was so emotional on the podium. Just goes to show how much the win meant to him ;)

I also seem to have created a new fan of the Grandest of the Grand tours in her. She seems to be well and truly smitten by the cycling bug. Heheheh....

Caught roughly about 6 hours of sleep that night. Lucky I had packed the bike on the car and organised all my stuff into small, transportable boxes the night before, for I had to make a pit stop to re-fuel the ride before meeting up with the bikers at Devi's in TTDI at 6.00AM.

We started the ride at about 10 minutes to 8:00am from the University of Nottingham Campus. 6.5 Hours, 5000 calories burned and close to 72 KM's on the saddle later, I pulled up to the campus grounds with Terence by my side. Couldn't have completed the ride without you bro.

Called it an early night and woke up the next day to get our Identification Cards changed at Putrajaya. Wedding Registrations can be done on the 1st floor of the complex, for those of you who are wondering ;) ROFL!

After a BKT brunch at Subang Jaya, we spent most of our day off shopping at Sungei Wang Plaza. Thankfully, her search for dresses for the events she has to attend for the rest of the year has ended.

A truly eventful weekend indeed, if I may so so myself ;)

Salt and Pepper

2011-07-12T10:46:00.000+08:00

I have a lot of white hair.

I can't exactly remember when it started sprouting out, according to this entry here, it must have been circa 2004. Probably a couple of months after I landed in Bangkok.

I didn't realise that I had 4 entries on my white hair in my blog. The first being the one here. Subsequent entries can be read here, here and finally here.

The strands of white hair on my chest? Gone. Tweezed out. The white nostril hair? Trimmed.

But I can't trim nor can I tweeze all the white hair on my head now can I? The last time i checked about 30% of my hair was white.

And I'm only 34.

*sigh*

It didn't take much of persuading from the significant other to coax me into getting my hair dyed. Honestly, I had been thinking about it for the longest time. So I went off and took the plunge in getting my hair dyed last Saturday. Had it done at her friend, Jennifer's place. It's called J's room and it's located on Jalan PJS8/18 (Sunway Mentari) It's on the first floor and the entrance is located next to a shop selling lights. If you're looking for a place to dye your hair and get a good hair cut with a funny and jovial stylist, visit J's room at Sunway Mentari. Jennifer even taught me how to style my hair differently. Doesn't have to be the normal left hand side parting which I normally comb my hair in. I must say that this youthful look does take a little getting used to. No before and after pictures I'm afraid.

I could get used to this youthful look =P

Home Cooked Dinner

2011-07-06T18:15:00.000+08:00

I have a whole Tupperware load of Siew Yoke in my freezer. I was thinking of ways to clear them from the freezer, but my once weekly Maggi mee with Siew Yoke wasn't making any inroads on the Siew Yoke that I had.

Decided to prepare two dishes which involved Siew Yoke as the significant other loves her roasted pork. Had Chinese sausages as backup, in case all else failed ;)

I'll let the pictures do the talking =)

Stir Fried Leeks with Siew Yoke and Taukuar

I was a little heavy handed with the cornstarch in this dish and the sauce came out a little too thick for both our liking. Taste wise it was fine.

Tau Kuar is simply a Chinese bean curd cut into roughly the size of a finger. Pan fry the fingers in low heat with some vegetable oil and you get Tau Kuar

TauKuar

Stir Fried Siew Yoke and Chicken with Oyster and Black Sauce.

No need for salt in either of the dishes as the Siew Yoke has it's fair share of salt. Tip for preparing the chicken dish? Add some sugar to caramelize the sauce.

Chinese Waxed Sausages which were later steamed.

The Waxed Sausages were a little over steamed. Turns out they weren't actually needed either, as both the main dishes were palatable. LOL!

A happy significant other ;)

Bull’s-eye

2011-07-04T12:28:00.005+08:00

I've been driving for a good 15 years now. I've been involved in numerous fender benders. I've also been involved in one serious car accident. But I've never had any problems with my car's windscreen before.

As luck would have it, a rock came flying onto my windscreen as I was driving down the New Klang Valley Expressway making my way to a friend’s place in Putra Heights for a BBQ last Saturday.

The significant other let out a yelp as she saw it hurtling towards my car. What was I to do? I was in the middle lane and I couldn't veer to the left or to the right as there were vehicles on the fast and the slow lane.

It landed with a resounding crack :( I swear my heart cracked the instant it hit my screen as well.

The thing is, I had just collected my car from the workshop after getting the bodywork fixed up. I had caught a case of a rather bad curb rash on the side of my car going down the parking ramp at Novotel Hotel.

*sigh* Double whammy :(

She did her very best to console me. She must have felt my heart break too. A pat of the shoulder and a rub of my hand went a long way in making me feel better =)

*hugs*

I've got windscreen coverage for the car, but it won't be enough to cover replacing the windscreen and the tinting that is needed. Bummer. Another irritating fact is, is that it’s right in my field of vision. Dead centre.

I did a quick check online and found many people pointing to a particular shop near the Rothman's Roundabout. Seems that they can get all your windscreen problems sorted. Will be paying them a visit real soon. Hopefully they can get my problems with the screen sorted out as well.

Addendum 5th June 2011

I'll let the pictures do the talking :) I must say that I am quite impressed with the work done on my car's windscreen!

From Left to Right : Circled Half-Moon, After the treatment

Interesting bit of information on Windscreens

Here's a link to some useless bits of information regarding your windshield, you may actually find it handy ;)

http://www.carwindshields.info/windshieldmarkings.htm

He will hook you up :)

Pasta Night

2011-06-30T10:27:00.000+08:00

Eating out every other day was starting to get to me. So, I decided to cook some pasta for us last night. A quick message to see if she likes capsicums and we were good to go. I knew she loved her mushrooms, so I bought a pack of button mushrooms to cook with the pasta and also to whip up a fuss free entrée.

Pan Seared Button Mushrooms with Oregano, Italian Herbs + Butter

De-glaze the pan with a white wine of your choice. Don't forget to make sure to burn off all the alcohol and throw in a knob of butter before serving. She loved it, so it looks like we have a winner here =)

Condiments for the Pasta. Minced Pork, Sliced Button Mushrooms and Cherry Tomatoes, Cubed Capsicums, a whole onion, 3-4 cloves of finely diced garlic, black pepper to taste, a cup of water the pasta was cooked in.

Cooking pasta is easy. Cook the pasta as per cooking time stated on the packet. You can't go wrong with the ready made pasta sauces (readily available at any grocery/supermarket). If there is a tip I have to leave you with, always save a cup of water in which the pasta was cooked in. Use liberally during cooking to 'loosen up ' the pasta ;)

The Finished Product!

All in all, no complaints about the food. The way to a woman's heart is through her stomach. LOL!

If unka can cook, so can you ;)

Musical Chairs

2011-06-15T11:18:00.002+08:00

I've been playing musical chairs of late. No, no..not the birthday kind variety which I use to partake in as a kid.

Ive been playing musical chairs with hotel rooms.

It began as a simple week long work trip to the northern region. I was booked into a hotel which is conveniently located right next to work. It's literally just a stone's throw away. The comedy of errors began as I was taking a leisurely drive up north on Monday morning. I got pulled over by a traffic cop for speeding. Promptly got a traffic summon issued and continued on my way. The kind Officer that pulled me over was also gracious enough to warn me of two more further speed traps along the way. The rest of the journey was spent in the slow lane, venturing to the fast lane only to overtake slower traffic.

As I was about to make my turn onto the bridge, I got a call from the office informing me that my reservations at Eastin for the night had been cancelled and I was to stay at Vistana instead. Oh! I thought to myself, that wasn't too bad. I promptly asked if i could just carry on my stay at Vistana. To which I was told was not possible as the company would get charged the full rate for a late cancellation. I spent Monday night at Vistana, Tuesday night at the Eastin. What makes matters worse is, Eastin is full for tonight.

One starts to wonder where one will be spending the night tonight.

Thankfully, we have a huge contingent from the HQ in town today and I will be able to bunk in with on of my colleagues for the night. All I can say is, it's going to be a race to fall asleep tonight as we both snore. He who sleeps first, gets a good night's sleep ;)

All the packing and unpacking over the past 2 days has left me a little jaded. The speeding ticket didn't do much for my mood either. To make matters worse, the local Telco won't be able to turn on the phone lines at the requested date.

*sigh*

Hopefully the next I'll have friendly skies and rainbows to greet me during my next trip up.

Ho hum....

Trials and Tribulations with the Bank

2011-06-07T11:22:00.001+08:00

Banks. You can't live with them and you can't live without them.

The ATM card issued by my bank had a tear down the length of the card. The tear was so bad that I was afraid that if i used it, it would cause the ATM machine to jam up because it would fall apart when try to eject the card. Yes, it was in that sorry a state. How did the tear occur? Well, most gents would probably face the same problem as I do. We put our cards into our wallets, stuff our wallets into our back pockets and proceed to sit with our wallets fit snugly into the back pocket of our pants. Repeat the same scenario day in day out and sooner or later the card will be warped to fit the curve of your butt or in my case a tear would form along the length of the card.

Anyways, due to the amount of money that I owe the bank for my housing loan I am one of the banks preferred customers. Ironic isn't it? Hahaha...I popped into one of their centres to have my card changed at the end last month. Little would I know that by doing so would cause me such an inconvenience. The bank officers behind the counter were very friendly and told me that they could get it changed for me. Mind you, the staff at the preferred centre are normally very good. They have managed to resolve all my queries most of the time.

The bank in question is my one stop shop for all my banking needs. My salary gets banked in there. I use Credit Cards issued by them. I have a current account with them. My car and housing loan is also with them. I have an online trading account with them. All these facilities are neatly tied up together in their E-banking solutions. I depend on E-banking a lot. I use it to pay my utility bills, loans and credit card bills, etc etc...

Most of my bills are due at the end or the beginning of the month. Changing my ATM card at the end of the month was a really bad idea :( I had no idea that the my E-banking account was tied to my ATM Card. By changing my ATM Card, I had effectively blocked access to my E-banking account as well. My account was also not a savings account but a current account. I couldn't do over the counter transactions because I did not have a passbook.

Uh Oh...

I was out of town on the 2nd of June when I found out I couldn't access my E-banking account because I had requested to change my ATM card. At other times this wouldn't be a problem, but my Credit Card Bills and my Housing Loan was due on the 1st.

Long story short, I was caught between a rock and a hard place. Not having a savings account means not being able to do an over the counter transaction with a passbook. I don't normally travel around with my cheque book either, which means I could not access the funds in my current account. The cash deposit machines would not work cause my ATM card had been disabled.

How was I to pay for my housing loan and credit card bills which were due?

Thank God for Phone Banking! I managed to save a pretty penny from the interest that would have been charged because I managed to transfer funds to my housing loan account. They couldn't help me with my Credit Card payments :(

I found out later that my ATM card had already been delivered to the Office. I was finally able to use an ATM machine! However, I also found out that I had to re-register for an E-Pin to reactivate my E-Banking account via the ATM. After 4 trips to the bank and numerous calls to the banks toll free number later, I am finally able to access my E-Banking and withdraw cash from the ATM.

So what went wrong? I've given it some thought and have come to the following conclusions:-

1.) I had thought that changing my ATM card would be a relatively painless experience. My experience with changing my ATM card with another leading bank was seamless and transparent to me. In fact, I had managed to get my replacement card within an hour. This is probably the account tied to the leading bank's card was a savings account and I had my bank book with me. Current Accounts? Not so easy.

2.) I did not know that my ATM card was linked to my E-Banking and disabling one would disable the other. I know now.

3.) The timing of it all. Changing of bank cards? Never do it when your bills are due ;)

4.) A case of too many eggs in one basket? Although E-Banking offers me the convenience of a one stop shop for all my banking transactions, what happens when you don't have access? Thankfully, I had enough cash to tide me over the 7 days in which I was not able to do any transactions with the bank. Realistically I could have written a cash cheque to myself, but even then that would have been a hassle to cash in as I had to go to the bank in which my cheque book was issued. Not really convenient yar ;)

5.) The bank in question has too many products out there and they are not as interlinked as I thought they would be. Truth be told, the bank itself is an amalgamation of many Banks, hence the many different policies trickling down from each iteration of each different Bank merger may have caused the problems I faced. I didn't really have a problem activating the card and my E-Banking access. The staff behind the helpdesk were courteous and nice enough to handle all my enquiries. But one does not have the patience of a saint. Being bounced around 3-4 different operators will get to even the most patient of men ;)

Although the late charges for my overdue Credit Cards were waived with a simple phone call, this whole episode has made me rethink if I really should be so dependent on one bank.

Hmmm....

God Willing

2011-06-06T11:52:00.000+08:00

Recently, I had to deliver 21 units of the iPhone 4Gs to our sites in Penang for a project. The night before I left, I packed all the phones neatly in the boxes they arrived in, which had ample cushioning and padding for transport. I passed the single odd unit out to my colleague who would be flying in to Penang via a different carrier.

Now, 20 units of iPhones bundled together in a box ain't exactly light. I obviously wanted to hand carry it onboard the plane to keep them from prying hands. I decided to pack them all in my trusty old carry on luggage from Samsonite. I have managed to pull a fast one on many a flight attendant during my many travels ;)

As I strolled up to the check in counter to get my boarding pass, the attendant asked me if I had any luggage to check in, to which I said no. He took one look at my bag and asked if I mind weighing it , to see if it adhered to the carry on luggage weight requirements ((7KG's for fireflyz). *sigh* I knew then that I had to check in the luggage.

The bag weighed in at 13.5 KG's.

I was kindly asked to check in the luggage and was promptly directed back to the x-ray scanning machine :( I took the walk of shame from the counter to the scanning area whilst catching the eye of many a disapproving passenger who gave me a leering look. Ah well...

I proceeded to place the bag on the scanner and as expected got questioned by the Officer manning the scanning machine. She enquired what I was transporting, to which I replied curtly, "Electrical Stuff".

I was about to reach for the shipping documents which I had brought along, in case of such emergencies. When she asked me another question.

She asked, "iPhone Kah?"¹

I said yes.

The kind Officer then proceeded to stick two pieces of security tape across the zipper of my bag to prevent tampering with the Luggage.

She then said, "Insha'Allah sampai selamant"²

The phones did arrive safely and the project roll-out went smoothly.

God Willing indeed =)

1 - Manglish (Malaysian English). Basically means, "Are those iPhones you are carrying?"

2 - Malay : God Willing they will arrive safely.

Spirited Driving :)

2011-05-16T11:28:00.000+08:00

As we departed Cherating I knew it would be a stretch for me to reach home without having to make a pit stop along the way.

Just as we were about to exit the East Coast highway, the fuel warning light starts to show. I knew I could eek out at least another 70KM's from the car with restrained driving. The route that would lead me to Gombak was winding and downhill, allowing me to take my foot of the pedal and coast on certain sections to save fuel.

She knew where I normally fuelled up and proceeded to point me to a station at Genting Sempah. She helped me fill up the competition form, while I myself made a quick stop at the restroom ;) Hopefully, with her entry form is picked up for the grand prize, the Malaysian take on my current ride. LOL!

Refreshed and refuelled, we set out to make our way back home.

I spotted the black Lancer first. I noticed he was in a bit of a bother being tail-gated by a Honda S2000. I proceeded to give chase to help a brother out :) The other lancer pulled to the left to give the S2000 way, with me hot on it's heels. There was some traffic which hindered the S2000's way. This allowed me to keep about a car's length away from him. Hmmm..Maybe it was more of half a car length ;) A black Satria decided to join the fray for a short while but he did not manage to stay with me for long.

The S2000 started to dive from the fast lane all the way to the slow lane to try to pull away. I checked my rear and side mirrors to see if the road was clear, and proceeded to do the same. Traffic was not getting any lighter and I decided to back off as it was getting a little risky for spirited driving and to stay on the S2000's tail. It was fun while it lasted :) As we approached the Toll Plaza, the S2000 pulled over to the Touch and Go lane. I highlighted him as I exited using the Smart Tag lane. Wanted to pull up next to him to give him a friendly wave and a thumbs up, but the Smart Tag lane was clear and I proceeded on my way.

What constitutes to a date?

2011-05-05T17:13:00.000+08:00

"So how many dates have we been on?", she asks the other day.

A lively debate sprung from that question :) Witty repartee was exchanged and a nice round number was agreed upon. Which brings me to the question and the title of this post, what constitutes to a date?

According to thefreedictionary.com, here is the definition of date (with this context in mind)

date¹ (dt)

n. - An appointment: a luncheon date with a client; a date with destiny. See Synonyms at engagement.

An engagement to go out socially with another person, often out of romantic interest.

One's companion on such an outing.

Hmmm...Food for thought.

Is there an exlcusive definition for what a date actually is? I mean we meet, we flirt, we exchange numbers, we keep in touch. If we are really interested in one another we arrange a for a meet up. It could be with friends, it could be a one on one session. When we actually meet up, to me, that's a date. I know certain quarters are probably screaming that group dates don't count. But in this day and age, it's not really safe to go out alone with someone whom you fancy ;) if you catch my drift.

Most times a date is an audition for romantic possibility between two people. Most times you're sussing someone up to see if there's that 'spark' without even admitting it. Maybe they're sizing you up, too. I think that before you actually go on a date, or agree to go out with someone (alone) there's already an inkling of what may or may not be. We go on dates to find out more about (pardon the pun) our dates. To see if we are compatible, to get to know the person better.

Blind dates, online dates, movie dates, hanging out...It get's complicated after a while, no?

To me, a date is simply going out, having fun and enjoying each other's company, which is really key ;)

But just to be clear from now on, I'll make it clear when I ask you out....Would you like to go on a date? :D

Service Interruption Announcement

2011-04-15T10:36:00.003+08:00

One needs to go for his quota of compressed air this year. After which one may be a tad busy and may not be able to update his blog in a timely manner. One wishes to apologize in advance for the lack of posts. One also wishes to leave a picture here to keep my readers coming back. ;)

Spartacus workout works ;)

Phi-set hai pean pean phom thi meung thai, Suk san wan pee mai nah khap! Yak len nam duai khap!

Genesis

2011-04-10T14:23:00.002+08:00

I must have fell a cool 12-15 feet into the ravine. I thought I had cleared the skinny on the entrance to plan C. I'm sure I did. I remember hitting a rut and coming to a complete stop immediately after the skinny. It's true what they say, everything happens in slow motion when you fall. I remember un-clipping from my bike, looking for a place to plant my foot (there was none) un-clipping the left foot, still looking for a place to stand...no luck there either. Looked down at the ravine, making a conscious effort to avoid the drain, eyeing the twigs to cushion my fall and falling on my back.

All in the matter of seconds...

Sensing a photo opportunity, Stupe managed to take a picture of me in the ravine. Can pose some more, dun play play. Photo credit to Stupe of course ;) Thanks for capturing the moment bro!

Nice ar fall down.

As usual, when one falls while riding its customary to ask the person who fell, "How's the bike?" Now don't be offended if you are new to riding and you happen to fall, people come to the assistance of the bike before you. It's an unwritten rule to do so. Hahaha...The bike was none the worse for the wear and so was I (thanks for asking)

This is isn't the first time I fell into a ravine. I once fell into a river bed and hit my head hard on the base of the river bed, which thankfully condensed of soft sand.

Me looking bewildered. Bumped my head pretty hard. That's my shoe in my hands by the way ;)

With all the thrills and spills that I always seem to get myself in while biking, sometimes I wonder why I still do it.

The answer is simple =) It's stunning views like this that keep me coming back for more.

Let there be light...

We all couldn't resist ourselves and gave in to our inner posers for a bit at this spot. Here's a picture of the group taken by Stan.

From Left to Right : Stupe, Boss, Captain Dax and your's truly. My two-wheeled honey is propped up on the tree on the lower left of the shot. Photo credit to Stupe

Hope you all enjoyed your weekend as much as I did. This time next week, I'll be somewhere in the middle of the Andaman Sea, revisiting my favourite dive spot ;)

Addendum - Circuit Training : Spartacus ver 2.0

2011-03-29T14:09:00.000+08:00

To spice things up in the gym, or when I'm short of time, I normally end up doing the Spartacus workout. Short,sweet and hits the spot is how would describe the Spartacus workout. I started out burning about 733 calories in the 42 minutes.

Turns out that the Spartacus routine is an Internet workout sensation! I can attest to that, because a huge chunk of hits I get on my blog are because of my post on Spartacus ver 1.0 here. It was such a hit that the folks at Men's Health got the creator of ver 1.0 (Rachel Cosgrove) to create an all new version 2.0 of the Spartacus workout.

I shall not bore you with the details of the workout which is available here. Also, feel free to download music tailored specifically for ver 2.0 here.

I was so psyched to do the workout yesterday! I don't know how many calories I burned, as my HRM is in the shop for repairs. All I can say is I was breaking into sweat after station 3 in the first step. I was drenched when I finished the workout :P I had to literally mop up the area I used to perform the workout in the gym for fear that someone would slip on my perspiration. After having done the workout last night, today my hamstrings are so taut, they feel guitar strings and there's a dull ache radiating from my lower back. I'm not looking forward to DOM's tomorrow :)

How does Spartacus 2.0 fare against Spartacus 1.0? I must say that I liked both of them, though I feel that version 1.0 is that much tougher due to the fact that you work for 60 seconds and rest for 15. Version 2.0 has you working for 40 seconds and resting for 20. However, the fact that there are more sets in ver 2.0 balances things out though. There is also no rest between the first two circuits of step 1.

It's recommended that the Spartacus Routine 3 days a week. Either as your primary weight workout or as a "cardio" routine on rest days between your regular workouts. Mind you, if I were to do the exercises with a heavier weight, I'd really be chuffed today. But then again, I personally do not think that you are supposed to go "heavy" with both routines :)

If your regular workout feels stale, give Spartacus a try. I'm definitely incorporating it into my workout routine. I got my HRM back from the shop today and will post again on how many calories I burned doing ver 1.0 vs ver 2.0.

*Addendum : I've been doing Spartacus once a week and on the average, I burn about 600 calories each time. Given the short period of time (roughly 43 minutes) it's pretty intense ;)

Road Trip

2011-03-28T11:04:00.002+08:00

I've known Soon Yean for about 15 years now. We spent many evenings playing basketball at the courts in Taman Megah and I remember that he had a pretty decent mid range jumper =P. He's also my regular dive buddy :) Having dived and traveled with him on numerous occasions and still seeing each other on an irregular basis means basically pretty much enjoy each other's company *hugs*

He's getting married to June in the month of May and seeing as to how his bachelor days are numbered, we decided to whisk him away for a couple of days on a road trip. The original plan was not have a plan. Even with the advent of technology and numerous whatsapp messages between the 'kidnap' group, the whole trip almost didn't materialise. Turns out the kidnappee had planned an anniversary dinner on day of the "abduction" with his fiancée. What ensued was a comedy of errors, fly by the seat of our pants decision making, a whole lot of eating, sleep deprivation, some frenzied fish feeding, a lot of balloons and a whole lot of fun.

Put together a little photo montage of the whole 2 Day 1 Night escapade. Here's to taking your relationship to the next level with June, Soon Yean. Hopefully she approves of your future applications to go on trips and to dive with me. She's a gem and a keeper ;) Three cheers to making an honest woman out of her =D

Clockwise from Top Left : Ipoh's famous nga choi kai, Bidor's Famous Pun Chun Wan Tan Mein, Dim Sum at Ming Court in Ipoh, View from the 1st floor of bar in Ipoh.

Left to Right : The AP Bunch painting Ipoh red, Gunung Lang; many mysterious creatures live in that lake ;)

Sleep Deprivation , Clockwise from top left : Chee How (Partially Hidden) & Robert, Simon, Robert on the couch and Mervyn.

Where's Soon Yean?

Peace of Mind

2011-03-25T12:51:00.005+08:00

I've been racking up the miles with my baby driving up to Penang twice within the last two weeks. I knew my tyres were in pretty bad shape because as I cruised the highway within the legal speed limit :D there was a mighty roar emanating from the wheel arches of the car. Mind you, I had spent a tidy sum on soundproofing the wheel arches of my ride to cut down road noise.

I decided to pay my regular tyre guy a visit, to get the tyres balanced, rotated and aligned. He took one look at my ride and told me to save my money. It wouldn't help my car's handling or the noise much :( I knew that I had to change all four tyres, but I didn't know that I had to do it so soon.

My regular tyre guy didn't have what I wanted, so the next couple of days were spent online researching tyres. Trolling online forums and making a couple of phone calls to check on prices and stock availability. I was even seriously considering changing the ream size to 17", because tyres that fit 18" reams are bloody pricey! Then again, I bought the car because I had fallen in love with the reams, so I had to bite the bullet.

Turns out Leo's a pretty active forummer. If you think I drive around a lot, he must clock up easily twice my mileage in a year! He had some interesting and knowledgeable insights on what tyre brands to choose and where to get them changed. He had a pretty bad experience with a shop down in Sunway.

I knew what tyres I wanted and I roughly knew how much they were going to cost, thanks to the power of google, forums and the Internet. I texted Leo this morning to see if he had any recommendations on where to get them changed. He was very insightful and offered really good unbiased advice. Thanks Leo!

I pulled into the second tyre shop of the day and proceeded to ask if they had what I wanted in stock. They did @RM800 a pop! But they threw in a slew of value added services which sorta evened things out. Some unscrupulous tyre shops will actually quote you the prices of the tyres and charge you for the balancing and alignment of the tyres, leaving you with a nice surprise when you ask for the bill. Caveat emptor! I bit the bullet and proceeded to get new tyres for my baby :D

There's a slew of interesting information which you can get from the tyre itself. For example date of manufacture. In my case 4210, which means it was manufactured in the 42nd week of the year 2010. I can't complain, it's still early in 2011 and the next batch of tyres would cost 7% more. Really a no brainer here.

Manufactured 42nd week 2010

My reams can take up to a 235 millimeter tyre. My stock tyres were 215 millimeters. Logically speaking, the wider the tyre, the more stable your car is round corners due to more contact with the road. However, do bear in mind that more contact with the road also means more resistance hence resulting in increased fuel consumption for your ride.

I settled for the following series of tyres 225/45 R18 95W. 45 is the aspect ratio of the tyre. What this means is the sidewall of the tyres is 45% of 225 millimeters. It means I got myself a thicker tyre. The thicker your tyres, the more comfort you have in cabin. It normally works out that way. The guys were pushing me to go with a 225/40 tyre, they were saying it would look nicer and handle better. They were right, but given the choice, I'd go for comfort all the time. After all I rarely drive above the speed limit *ahem*

95 is the load rating for the tyre and W is the speed rating for the tyre. I shan't elaborate further do a quick google search and you will know what I mean ;)

Although the tyres burned a pretty big hole in my pocket, you just can put a price to peace of mind. After all, the only part of your car that comes into contact with the road when you are driving are your tyres.

Peace of mind indeed :)

Escape Routes

2011-03-08T14:48:00.000+08:00

My first job was in Taman Tun Dr. Ismail. Getting to and from work took me all of 15 minutes. 30 minutes if traffic was really bad.

My second job was at the Glomac Business Center in Kelana Jaya. It's roughly the same distance from my place to the office in Kelana Jaya and it took me about the same time to get there as well.

We later moved to the Kelana Business Center which was basically a stone's throw away. Traffic was starting to get bad then, with the LDP transforming into a parking lot from a freeway whenever it rains. What is it with driver's when it rains? Everyone tries to be a hero and starts jumping queues. They also don't maintain reasonable distances from the car in front of them (3 second rule!) and end up getting into fender benders and basically cause even more misery to the other people on the road.

It took me 7 minutes to walk to work in Bangkok. Even then I still had problems when it rained because when it rains it really pours in Bangkok. I resorted to walking to work in slippers and my gym gear and changing in the office when I arrived. But for the most part, I really enjoyed my walks to work. Especially given the fact that there's so much eye candy to look at on the streets. LOL!

I took a job that was based at Menara Citibank after my stint in Bangkok. I used to take the train to work and it was pretty convenient. The problem was sometimes it took me all of an hour to make the infamous U-Turn at Kelana Jaya to get home. Leaving the car at the open air parking lot by the train station wasn't exactly the safest thing to do as well. I decided to drive to work when I bought a new car. By then the parking charges at the car park by the train station was RM3 per entry. In any case, I "sayang" my new ride and the very thought of leaving the paintwork exposed for long hours under the Malaysian sun didn't really appeal to me. Not to mention the increasing number of car thefts at the said parking lot :(

Driving to work is a breeze. That's because I leave the house at 7.00am in the morning to beat the morning rush hour to work. Heck, if I'm going to be stuck in traffic, I'd might as well get stuck one way, as opposed to both coming and going to the office. Now that I get to use the gym at the office, I don't have to rush home like a mad man to the gym I used to frequent back in PJ.

Of late however, the thunderstorms that start right on queue in the late evenings are the bane of mine and I believe most people who drive to work's existence. Flash floods, falling trees, road closures only stand to make traffic worse. When a major artery to the city is blocked (like what happened last week) traffic throughout the city will be gridlocked. Throw in a late evening shower for good measure and you can find yourself taking close to 2 hours to get home.

Not nice.

In fact, traffic was so bad that I had to answer the call of nature while driving one day. In my aluminium water bottle. I kid you not. I was weighing the options as my car sat and I sat still in traffic (with the engine turned off, of course). The thought of turning on the hazard lights and taking a whizz by the median of the road crossed my mine. There were also no petrol stations in sight, even if i could get to one, my bladder would have exploded by then. Don't worry. Bottle was soaked in soap water and sterilised ala baby milk bottles in a pot of boiling hot water. So if you ever get thirsty in my car, it's still safe to drink from my bottle :D

Anyways, where was I? Ah...yes, escape route. Given the fact that I am based right smack in the City Center one must have an exit strategy in mind before leaving for home, which can be easily catered to adjust to prevailing traffic conditions. It's a little too complicated to explain, but i'll try to summarize my routes home below.

1.) Jalan Pinang-->Jalan Sultan Ismail-->Jalan Kuching-->Penchala Link

2.) Jalan Pinang-->Jalan Sultan Ismail-->Jalan Kuching-->Lebuhraya Mahameru-->Sprint

3.) Jalan Pinang-->Jalan Imbi-->Smart Tunnel-->Federal Highway-->Rothmans Roundabout

4.) Jalan Pinang-->Jalan Imbi-->Smart Tunnel-->Federal Highway-->Kerinchi Link-->Sprint

5.) Jalan Pinang-->Jalan Tun Razak-->Lebuhraya Mahameru-->Sprint

6.) Jalan Pinang-->Jalan Tun Razak-->Jalan Juching-->Penchala Link

7.)Jalan Pinang-->Jalan Tun Razak-->Ampang Elevated Highway-->Duke-->Penchala Link

So there, I've listed all my exit strategies to get back home from work above. with the last being the option I use the least. Normally applicable when there is a mother all of all Jams heading out of the city :)

Drive safe, be courteous and if you see me coming, give chance lar. LOL!

Customer Service

2011-02-22T09:33:00.000+08:00

To earn some extra cash while I was still studying, I used to work part time. I've painted gates and grills, delivered flyers to houses, fixed PC's, worked in a retail chain store and sold cameras. Made some new friends, earned pretty decent extra cash and learned about customer service.

What exactly is customer service? To me, customer service making sure that the customer is happy with the product/service procured. It doesn't end there though as customer service is also very closely linked to after sales service. In short, customer service (according to wikipedia) is the provision of service to customers before, during and after purchase.

I couldn't agree more.

Customer Service is rather bad in Malaysia. It has improved over the years, but personally; I feel the after sales service part is sorely lacking.

The bicycle I purchased recently recently had a problem. I had a problem with the suspension fork that I had purchased along with the bike. Upon further diagnosis by Ah Leong from KSH, it was found that the bushing for the suspension had failed. He, as well as I was shocked that it failed after less than 500km were ridden on it. The next course of action was to call the distributor of the fork. What happened next had me stumped.

According to the distributor, the defective fork will have to be shipped back to them for inspection and will be repaired and returned back to me. All postage to be borne by me :( Ah Leong was kind enough to absorb the courier charges. I asked if this was the SOP with defective forks and he told me yes. I asked if I could get a one to one replacement for the fork, seeing as to how new it was. He checked with the distributor and they said no. I didn't want to put Ah Leong in a spot and left the faulty fork with him. He understood my predicament and even installed a loaner fork on my bike so that I could continue riding while my faulty fork was being looked at.

Ah Leong showed exemplary customer service on his part. One of the main reasons why I am a repeat customer at KSH.

Frustrated as I was, I sent an e-mail to the manufacturer of the fork, more to vent than anything else. I was surprised that they actually took the time to reply. They said they will work with the local distributor to ensure that my problem is resolved and apologised for the headaches that I have had with their product.

To be fair to all parties, it does say under the warranty procedure on their website that:-

"any product found by the factory to be defective in materials and/or workmanship within one year (two years in European Union countries) from the date of purchase will be repaired or replaced at the option of the manufacturer, free of charge, when received at the factory or authorized distributor locations with proof of purchase, freight prepaid. Any other warranty claims not included in this statement are void."

I guess I should have read the fine print before purchasing the item :P

Kudos to Ah Leong for not absorbing the freight charges and re-assembly cost (on my bike) of the fork. Two thumbs up to both the manufacturer of the fork and the bike shop I purchased the fork from. The same however, can't be said of the local distributor of the product.

A dive trip I am organising is also beset with problems. Casting errors on the account number that the down payment had to be banked into led to a comedy of errors. If you have ever dealt with banks in Malaysia, you will know the pain I am talking about. It's really a hassle to reverse funds out of any transfers made to a wrong account. There is a reversal fee involved and the banks involved need to check with one another, etc. etc. In short, it's a royal pain in the you know where. It's safe to say that there won't be any repeat business anymore.

To me, Customer service means taking ownership of the problem and working to ensure that the customer is always happy. Therein lies the problem I guess, many of use don't want to take ownership of problems. Heh.

Maximum Heart Rate - 207

2011-02-17T09:49:00.001+08:00

The Maximum Heart Rate(HR_max) is the highest heart rate an individual can safely achieve through exercise and is dependent on age. The most common formula used to calculate the Maximum Heart Rate is: HR_max = 220 − age.

Bippity-bop. Sending it to the shop just to be sure ;)

According to my Polar FT40, my heart rate maxed out at 207 beats per minute while out riding with the boys on Tuesday.With nicknames like Thunder-Thighs@P2L, Boss, Horse, T-Balls, Stupe, Mayor, Ro-bot it's not surprising that maximum heart rates are easily achievable when riding with them. Heheheh..

But what does it all mean? Does it that mean I have the heart of a 13 year old?

I've did some research and have come to the conclusion that there is nothing inherently dangerous with reaching one's HR_max during workouts. When I run, my heart rate is a constant 180 beats a minute which given the formula above means I'm exercising and running at the limits of my theoretical heart rate. I guess that the formula is flawed because it is designed as a "one size fits all" measurement for the masses. It's certainly a good yardstick to measure things, but is by no means the hard and fast rule to live by.

Me? I have my own maxim when it comes to pushing the limits while exercising. If I can have a decent conversation, for e.g. saying hello, without feeling out of breathe or panting, then I'm good to go. If I have to take huge gulps of air between my sentences, I know that I have to slow down. However, do bear in mind that I went for a full physical a while back at the National Heart Institute just to make sure that my ticker can undergo the stresses that I routinely put it through ;) But, I'm dropping of my polar at the shop to have it looked at to see if it needs to be re-calibrated.

On a lighter note, I met Stupe for the very first time last Saturday. Currently, he claims to hate riding at Kiara, but something tells me he will be a regular on our usual Saturday morning TCSS rides ;) I'm sure he'll fit right in with the rest of the T-Clanners =) At the rate at which I'm riding and the calories that I am burning riding the trails, hopefully I'll be melting up the fat stores I built up pigging out during the New Year!

525 out of 2766 Calories burned are from fat. w00t!w00t!

Happy Chap Goh Meh peeps!

Chinese New Year - 2011

2011-02-14T09:42:00.002+08:00

We are 12 days into the Lunar New Year =) How's your Chinese New Year been so far? Lot's of Ang Pow collected? Any luck at the tables? Gained any weight? LOL!

Between complaining about not having Lou Sang'd yet, to being over Lou Sang'd and gaining 1.5KG's (and counting) this Chinese New Year has been great so far. Numerous open Houses attended, catching up with many old friends. Pigging out on Bak Gwa, Bak Gwa followed by even more Bak Gwa :P

While uploading pictures of a recent open house I attended, I realised that time really flies. I can still remember a time when one table would suffice for most gatherings. These days a bare minimum of two are needed. Heheh...I've also come to the realisation that I have not taken the time to maintain and cultivate some of these friendships. Catching up over an open house after six years of not meeting one another showed me how much I value these bonds. It's nobody's fault but my own actually. I have their numbers on my phone. A simple SMS or a phone call would have been enough to connect again. Hopefully I don't scare the living daylights outa them when I call. Heheheh...

I'm going to miss the many friendly "money exchange sessions" when the Lunar New Year comes to an end in a few days time. Lady Luck has been smiling on me so far, and hopefully she will continue to be on my side during the Year of the Rabbit, not just at the tables but on all other aspects as well.

Oh and before I go...Happy Valentine's day to all the couples out there =) You don't really need a day to celebrate the one you love. I've always thought that Valentine's Day was created by Hallmark and Florists of the world to sell their wares, but some peeps seems to think otherwise. Some people seem to think that the celebration of Valentine's Day is synonymous with vice and immoral activities. If you asked me, Immoral activities need not be limited to just one day ;)

Fully Clothed

2011-01-28T17:57:00.000+08:00

Thankfully i'd lost some weight recently and I managed to fit nicely into the spiffiest suit in my closet. You see, when I got measured for this suit to be made, I told the dude that the suit had to make me:-

a.) a wee bit taller than I actually am.

b.) snug enough to show off my *ahem* svelte silhouette

*note to self, try not to make suits so snug the next time*

The tailor did a damn fine job, if I can say so myself. Hahaha...Here's the bit.ly link if you are interested to know where I got the suit made.

No wonder my colleagues kept saying I looked like a bridegroom, the dude specializes in wedding suits. *ROFL* Anyways, I'd thought I'd mix things up a bit by posting some pictures of me fully clothed, instead of baring my midriff ;)

To all my readers who celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year, Happy Chinese New Year! Drive safely during the festive season ;)

Xin nian kuai le!
Wan shi lu yi,
Xin nian zhing bu,
Xin nian gai ge!

Thankful

2011-01-25T11:52:00.000+08:00

Mountain Biking is an extreme sport. I was reminded of this fact recently when I could hardly put any weight on my left leg. I remember getting out of bed yesterday morning, scratching the family jewels and making my way to the toilet. As soon as I stood up, I was overcome by a blinding, searing pain coming from my left leg. I immediately sat down on my bed again. Mind you, I have quite a high tolerance for pain. In that particular moment, I thought I had suffered a hairline or stress fracture on my left tibia.

To be on the safe side, I went to the doctor to have my leg x-rayed.

Tibia's Looking good ;)

*phew* Turns out that it's just a very bad bruise, or as a friend so eloquently put it, I have a Blood clot in the Tibialis Anterior muscles. I'm normally all for massaging a bruise and I checked with the Doctor if I could do the same with this particular bruise. He said it's best not to, as there was a cut around the bruisng and that the wound was infected :S I'd post a picture of how my left shin looks like right now, but I'd thought I'd practice some self censorship :P It's black and blue around the bruised areas and is reddish fom the bottom of my knee right up to the top of my foot. Heheh...

The doctor prescribed some antibiotics to treat the infection, some meds to minimise swelling and my favourite of the lot, a kick-ass pain killer!

Thank God it's not a fracture. A fracture would have turned my plans for the first quarter of 2011 topsy turvy ;)

Miliaria

2011-01-18T08:55:00.000+08:00

Living in a hot and humid country and with my love of the outdoors, I've recently developed a mild case of Miliaria, or "prickly heat". My family calls this affliction by it's hokkien name, "pak teok", which literally translated means white spots.

Mom says it's caused by taking a bath while still sweating, or not having cooled off yet. My colleague pointed out to a spot on my forearm where I had an outbreak of the rash and blurted out "An Jang", dirty or unclean in Mandarin :( Whatever causes it, I've got it and I needed to get it under control. Being the active sportswoman that she was back in the day, Mom also used to get afflicted by it very often. Thankfully, she knows just the right way to get it under control.

Asepso. I did a quick web search on it and was pleasantly surprised to find that they have a very neat looking web page up =) I also found out the the formula for the soap has been around since the 19th Century!

What is Asepso anyway? It's an antibacterial soap with Triclosan as an active ingredient. I had used it before growing up and remembered it cleared up any spots that used to develop after my sporting activities outdoors.

Back of the Box, Active Ingredient Triclosan

Much like the case of the dearth of size 35 toothbrushes, I could not seem to find Asepso on sale anywhere! I started my search around my neighbourhood by stopping by and one of the Chinese Medical Halls by Atria. The dude behind the counter told me that they don't bring it in anymore due to lack of demand :S

I proceeded to drive to SS2 ad parked in the vicinity of Savemart. I remembered that I had seen the soap on sale there previously. They had something that looked similar, but wasn't named Asepso.

A box of Asepso

The packaging was almost almost the same as the Asepso box above. The colour combination was exactly the same! Now if a company could manufacture something that looked similar, that basically means that they are hoping for the spillover crowd to purchase the item. I knew then that I would be able to find it on sale somewhere =)

I proceeded to hunt down this elusive bar of soap in the SS2 square. All I can say is 2 Chinese Medicinal halls later, I managed to find it on the shelves of the 3rd one. Needless to say, I bundled up whatever remaining stock that they had. All 2 bars off it. The guy behind the counter even told me that it's hard to find Asepso nowadays. Tell me something I don't already know =P

I am also happy to report that after having used the soap for the past 3 days, the heat rash seems to be under control. I can't say that it has completely gone away, but it's not as terribly itchy as before.

Thank God for Asepso :P

Resolute

2011-01-06T10:09:00.002+08:00

Many people make New Years Resolution's before the start of the new year. A resolution is a commitment that one makes to oneself to make a purposeful change to ones life. Be it a change in lifestyle, a personal goal of the reforming of a habit. Losing weight seems to be right up there amongst most peoples New Year's Resolutions. If you think about it losing weight is a very attainable resolution. There are many side benefits that one can enjoy from attaining this goal. The key to losing weight is discipline. One has to be disciplined enough to eat sensibly and not gorge out on food and also disciplined enough to exercise regularly.

After graduating and joining the workforce, I led a pretty sedentary lifestyle. I had ballooned from a paltry 57Kg's to a chunky 68Kg's. And it showed. I was getting out of breath after climbing a few flights of stairs! The late nights at the mamak's chowing down on Nasi Lemak with Ayam Goreng and washing it down with Teh Tarik's went straight to my waist! Collectively, my friends and I decided to do something about it and we started playing basketball one night a week. My office colleagues also formed a sports club and we started playing badminton weekly as well.

But the weight remained the same...

All this changed when I got transferred to Bangkok...It got worse! The first month I was there I was really enjoying the nightlife and the cheap beer and it was really starting to take a toll on me. I woke up one morning and took a look in the mirror and realised how much I had aged. I decided to do something about it and I joined a gym. I was a real gym bunny (3 times a week) and road runner (averaging 100KM's a month) and the results started to show. Being the vain fart that I am, I was naturally very pleased with the results. There was a point where I had brought my weight down to 61KG'! My sister complained that I looked aneroxic. Here I was at my lowest weight since high school and my sis was right! My ribs were showing! I also was falling ill, really, really often. It didn't take me too long ot figure out that being too skinny wasn't doing my body much good either.

So what gives?

I had come to the realisation that even though I derive much pleasure out of seeing the weight on the scale drop, my body was also getting very weak from all the weight that I had lost. To put things in perspective a 7KG weight loss from 68KGs equated to a 10.3% loss in my total bodyweight percentage. That's a lot! No wonder I was getting the sniffles every other week, there wasn't enough bodyfat to keep me warm! ROFL! ;) After some adjustments, my weight evened out at a healthy 63KGs. I felt good, I was probably as fit as I was in high school and most importantly I was healthy.

I came home after spending three years in the City of Angels and was immediately worried that I would throw all my hard work away. And the worries were not unfounded. Catching up with friends after work, numerous teh tariks, mom fattening me up. Pretty soon I was back at my old weight! But here's the thing, my work pants weren't getting any tighter!

What was happening?

All the work I had put in the gym was really paying dividends. My body fat% percentage had dropped from 25% to 13%. I was so obssesed with body weight loss that I had been ignoring a more vital statistic, body fat%. Weighing in at 68KGs with 13% fat I look much smaller (and am much healthier) than weighing in at 68KGs with 25% fat. I weigh the same, yet the compostion is different. This is because muscle is more dense than fat. A peson with less fat and more muscle will look smaller. Starts to make sense if you put your head round it. All this talk about muscles weighing more than fat is just hogwash. 5KG's of muscle weighs the same as 5KG's of fat. It's the composition that is different ;)

So if your New Year's Resolution is to lose weight, you may want to change it to cutting the fat instead =)

Nicked from Oxforddictionaries.com
Resolute (adj) : admirably, purposeful, determined and unwavering

2010 : The Year in Review

2010-12-29T09:59:00.001+08:00

I didn't want to end the year with 44 posts. I also didn't want to end the month of December with 4 posts as well. 4-4-4, soi ah. Yes I am very Chinapek like that. Heh.

Every year, I set out to challenge myself physically. From 10K runs to 50KM mountain bike epics. I sometimes wonder why I do it myself. I guess I just need some validation that I can still do it, to relive my youth so to speak. It's also a definite plus that the training involved helps keep the six pack in shape ;)

I had planned to do the x-terra this year and was really training for it, only to find that it was cancelled at the very last minute. Bummer! I then set my sights on the Eco-x, but was not able to find a partner in time. The Eco-X also entails some abseiling and climbing, with the need for specific climbing gear (harnesses, carabiners, ropes etc.) A substantial investment for someone who does not climb.

So what do I have to show for 2010?

A third place finish for the only timed run I did in the year. A sore bum after 5.5 hours on the saddle, riding up, down and round Penang hill in the rain. It's been a pretty good year, except for when I rolled my ankle on a fruit. I also treated myself to a rather exorbitant birthday present to cap off the year.

Muddied Race Tag, Kayuh Lasak 2010.

So what's in store for 2011?

Well, there is talk of the Sabah Adventure Race with Kheng Teik. The Deaf One also managed to cajole me and Hairy into maybe doing the Angkor Run. I personally think that will be way cool. Running amongst the ruins of Angkor =) The lifeguard at the pool where I swim is also trying to get me to partake in the Kapas to Marang swim. 2011 is shaping up to be really interesting indeed.

Seems that the year of the Rabbit will be a good one for Snakes, career and relationship wise. A good year to hit the books again, so I've read. I may just get round to doing the whole Masters thingy. Any contributions can be made C/O unkaleong. Come now, don't be shy, you know you want to =P Hahaha...

But I digress...Continuous learning and improvement is key in today's job market. Especially, given my chosen field of career in Information Technology. Problem is, how am I going to fit in the training, studying and working. Hmmm...

Ring out the old, ring in the new,

Ring, happy bells, across the snow;

The year is going, let him go;

Ring out the false, ring in the true*

Looking forward to 2011. Happy New Year folks!

*Excerpted from Lord Alfred Tennyson's Ring Out, Wild Bells.

My First Titanium Bike Frame

2010-12-27T10:34:00.004+08:00

It's everything I hoped it would be. All the research and planning that went in to scope the parts for the bike was worth it. It's really light as well, topping the scales at a tick over 23 pounds.

Lynskey Emblem on the Head Tube.

Given the weight that my bike has lost, (Old bike used to weigh in at 29 pounds) I definitely expected to "climb" the hills better with this bike but her performance on the trails really blew me away! I am now clearing sections of the trail which I was never able to do before. Maybe it's the "new bike syndrome", but everything seems right with the bike =)

From Left to Right : ZTR Arch Reams, XT Rear Derailleur

The shorter stem (90mm) equates to zippier steering round the singletrack trails which I normally ride through. She's also more agile than my previous bike, yet it feels stiffer.I feel as though the power transfer to the rear wheels is much better as well. Is it the bikes geometry? Or the titanium tubing? Or could it just be me excited about my new bike? I really have no idea, but she's made me all excited about biking again. Not that I don't look forward to my rides, but after mountain biking for 18 years it's refreshing to be able to enjoy the rides that much more =)

View from the top and head on of the Control Tech Stem.

Growing up, I used to drool over components made by Control Tech. I was not able to afford them back then. Come to think of it, I can really afford them now either. Hahahah. As such I've decked the bike out with most things Control Tech. The stem, seatpost and handlebar are manufactured by them. Great bang for the buck!

My old ride had recently been upgraded to Hope Pro II hubs. I loved the sound of them freewheeling down the hill (loud as hell!) I went with them again for this new setup. It's a plus that they are colour co-ordinated with the decals that came with the bike. Head set and seat post clamp are also from Hope.

Hope Pro II Hubs

The bike shop had a good deal for a complete Shimano XT Groupset. I'm not really a weight weenie and it didn't make fiscal sense to slap on an XTR groupset just to shave off a couple of hundred grams. I've ridden with an XTR rear derailleur before and it hurt like hell (my wallet as well) when I busted it on a tree stump many moons ago...Being the workhorse of the Shimano groupsets for Mountain Bike, I knew that the XT groupset would be a good choice for my new bike and I wasn't wrong =D

XT Groupset, from left to right : Crankset, Shifters and Brake Levers, Brake Calipers

There's always a certain value that one is willing to part with for a particular item and the fork was no different for me. The boys in the shop were pushing a DT Swiss fork to me. I was really tempted to shell out extra for it, but I stuck with my guns and went with my original choice instead, an R7 MRD Manitou fork for 1/2 the price. I was pleasantly surprised when I unboxed it and found that it came with a Remote Lockout lever. I was one happy camper =)

MRD R7 fork, From Left to Right : Lockout, Fork, Remote Lockout Lever.

I'm really loving my new baby. In fact I love it so much, I rode her back to back over the weekend covering 52KM's in the process. I can't remember the last time I rode on back to back days. Hahaha...It still needs a little running in though. The chain is still a little taut, the brakes still squeal a little and the fork still needs to be seasoned.

What really rocked my socks was the fact that dad, who knows a thing or two about welding said that the frame had excellent welding and was well constructed *phew* He didn't really like however, the amount of moolah that I splurged on the bike. Didn't really help matters that I asked if he wanted to contribute to the cause =P

Handmade in Tennessee y'all and has Dad's seal of approval. Heheh ;)

All in all, it feels right...it just feels right =)

33

2010-12-22T09:38:00.001+08:00

33. Kinda like has a nice ring to it, don't ya think? Double three. That's how old I be today :D

How has your year been? It's been an interesting year for me. A year of many highs but many lows as well. Can you believe it? A decade (and then some) has passed since I joined the workforce. I've learned many, many things since then. One of the most important things that I've picked up is the fact that sometimes you have to slow down to go faster. Go figure ;)

2010 has been a blast. All in all the past year has been a year of reflection for me. I have learned that in the end, I need to come to an acceptance of what was, what is, and what may or may not be. Cheem...

On a seperate note, I've been blogging for the past 6 years. All I can say is, Wow! Has it really been that long? One can only wonder how long one can keep this up. Hehehe...Thanks for dropping by and leaving comments. It's you guys that really keep me going. This blog has enriched my life in more ways than one ;)

Anywhos, the bike's here! Teaser montage below.

This baby deserves a full post on her own. I rode her back from the bike shop today and it handles like a charm! The rear triangle of the frame is very, very stiff. Basically means that the torque generated by these tree trunks I have for thighs is more efficiently transfered to the back wheel. I can't wait to put her through her paces over the coming Christmas weekend. Is it really worth all the money that I've spent on it? Ah Well, life's too short to worry about it. I'm signing off now. Till next year then.

*hugs*

p/s : What's with all this wet weather we have been getting off late? I mean seriously...it's a big enough umbrella, but it's always me that ends up getting wet :(

I Must Be Insane

2010-12-08T18:37:00.001+08:00

Here’s what spending an inane amount of money will get you. Also this is what happens when you have some time after office hours. Three cheers to the power of the Internet. The bike is probably going to weigh about 11.3KG’s give or take a couple of hundred grams.

I'm sticking with my guns and still going with the Lynskey M230 from 2009. I fell in love with the frame the first time I set my eyes on it. I know 2010 is coming to an end, and I should be looking at the 2010 model, but the 2009 edition screamed up to me more than the 2010 edition. Maybe I can use this to my advantage and negotiate the price down lower. *Evil cackle*

I decided to go old skool with the build. I’ve been mountain biking since the early 90’s. Growing up, I could only oogle at the high end components that some of my riding kaki had back then. I’ve always had a soft spot for Control Tech components. I couldn’t afford them growing up, so this bike will be my homage to Control Tech. If anyone from Control Tech ends up reading this, I’m your #1 fan :D Heheh.

	2009 Lynskey M230 Ti Hardtail
Components	Model	Claimed Weight (g)
Brake	BR-M775	223
Brake Lever	BL-M775	128
Cassette Sprocket	CS-M770	256
Cables	Shimano SP41	70
Chains	CN-HG93	304
Crank	FC-M770	853
Disc (Front)	SM-RT78L 8"	216
Disc (Rear)	SM-RT78M 6"	176
Front Derailuer	FD-M771	155
Rear Derailuer	RD-M773-GS /RD-M772-GS	227
SL Shifters	SL-M770	255
Fork	Manitou R7 MRD	1335
Grips	Specialized BG Contour Locking Grip	250
Handlebar	Control Tech Comp MT 28 Carbon	133
Hubs	Hope Pro II 32H	470
Nipples	DT Swiss	64
Pedals	Shimano M-540	352
Quick Releases	Hope Quick Release	250
Rims	ZTR Arch Rim	840
Saddle	WTB Rocket V SLT Black	215
Seatpost	Team Issue 1A (Silver)	242
Set Clamp	Hope Seat Clamp	25
Spokes	DT Swiss	437
Stem	Control Tech Estro White	141
Tire (Front)	Kenda Nevegal	1000
Tire (Rear)	Kenda Nevegal	1000
Tubes	Kenda	378
Frame	Lynskey M230	1300
		11295.00

I must be suffering from a quarter life crisis. God only knows what I will get for myself when I turn 40. Heh. Christmas is going to come early for me this year, Woo Hoo!

White..and it's sprouting everywhere

2010-12-07T10:42:00.000+08:00

I am a hairy fellow. Ever since I was a wee tyke, i've always wanted to have hair on my chest. No thanks to catching one too many episodes of Mr. Estrada on CHIPS. But that is a story for another day.

Most weekends you will find me with a stubble. I tend to let the facial hair grow out over the weekend, because I don't believe in stressing the skin around my chin/upper lip seven days a week by shaving. I also have to trim the bits in my nostrils, lest they do a peek-a-boo and say hi. There's nothing worse than talking to someone with untrimmed nostril hair. I mean, seriously, your attention will be drawn towards the bits that are sticking out and the person you are talking to will be left thinking if there is food on his upper lip. *sniggers* Lately, I noticed that there have been the odd one or two nostril hair's that are white. Not surprising, seeing as to how I've got a whole bunch of white hair on my scalp as well.

What causes white/gray hair? Stress, diet, age (sensitive one this, seeing as to how I turn double three sometime this month), genes. Genes... *sigh* My paternal grandma had a whole head of jet black hair. My mom's side however wasn't so blessed. My grandfather and uncle's have what you would call the "salt and pepper" look. I seem to have inherited the gene from my mom's side. But hey, at least I still have a whole head of hair. Hopefully, in time all my hair will turn white and I can sport the Richard Gere look. What? One can wish, can't one? :P

But what really got to me this morning (and the reason for this rant) is; I found three strands of white chest hair as I was toweling myself dry after my shower. Not one, not two, but three! *sigh

I swear if I start to see white pubes...

Stealth Guard - Review

2010-11-23T11:40:00.000+08:00

The much awaited package arrived yesterday :D However in my haste to get it on my phone, I didn't do a good job in applying it on the phone :(

As you can see, I did a horrid job of applying it on the front portion (touch screen) of my phone. Plenty of bubbles and finger print smudges can clearly be seen.

The front of the phone :(

I was a little more patient and did a much better job on the back (batter cover) of the phone.

The back of the phone

It was only after I applied the screen protectors on the phone that the light bulb go off in my head :S *sigh* I did a quick youtube search for stealth guard installation and lo and behold, someone had uploaded an instructional video on how to apply the stealth guard. To quote the Don, "CHIS!"

Thankfully, I ordered two of the screen protector's. The one I applied is doing it's job for now, so i've just going to leave it on till it starts to wear off. But looking at the quality, thickness and adhesiveness of the protection...it's going to be a long while before it decides to fall off. I'm holding on to my second one for now. Hehehe..

Here's my take on the Stealth Guard's that I received. It does the job and it does it very well. It does add some thickness to the phone. I didn't loose any sensitivity to the touch screen on my Torch. However, being glossy in nature, it does tend to smudge very easily. Nothing a wipe with a damp cloth can't cure though. I liked it so much, I just ordered one for my Bold. Heheh.

So what are you waiting for, click on the image below to order now! ;)

I could get used to this :D

2010-11-19T10:55:00.001+08:00

A lot of work and planning needs to go into place when an Office move takes place. A lot of ~~arm-twisting~~ co-ordination is also needed with the local telco to get the telecommunication lines in to the new site in time. As with all office moves I have been apart of, this move was no different. Everything happened last minute and just in time. Local Telco's never cease to amaze me with their ability to do this.

Anyway's many late nights and early morning's later, we officially moved to our new premises at Level 2 at the Ascott on the 15th of November. Whee!

Why am I so happy?

Moving into the Ascott means I get access to the gym at their premises! Woo Hoo! I had already done a site survey of the gym during one of my many site visits to our office while it was still a work in progress. Since we have moved in, I've used the gym twice! Hehehe...

Hopping into the lift and going twenty floors up after work. Working up a sweat while waiting for traffic to ease up. Using the excellent changing room facilities (they have a steam bath and a sauna) to relax after working out. Heck, I really could get used to this :D

I'll let the pictures do the talking.

Give me a bench and I'm a happy man :)

Single Station's aplenty

Free Weight's. Where's unka?

Here's the bit I like best about the treadmills they have onsite. They have a speed interval button. Rather than depressing the speed up button like crazy, the speed interval button allows me to toggle between two speeds while running on the treadmill.

Jog (between 10.5-10.8 kmph) and Run (between 12.5-12.8 kmph). I've been alternating between the two programs lately:-

16*200 meters at Running pace followed by 200 meters at Jogging pace.

3*1 kilometer at Running pace followed by Jogging 2 minutes for recovery.

Nothing burns calories faster than doing intervals. We've got a company get away at Club Med in Cherating soon, hopefuly I can get myself beach ready by then :P Woo Hoo!

Free Protection for your Digital Devices!

2010-11-09T15:37:00.001+08:00

How many scratches have you got on your mobile phone? I for one, have countless nicks and scratches on my phone because I tend to leave my phone in my pocket. What I tend to forget is the same pocket I slip my phone into also contains my car keys and loose change that easily scratch the surface of my phone.

I stumbled across this Screen Protector/Guard from Opstupe's website this morning. You can protect your phone/digital devices for free! You just need to pay for the shipping charges and it will be delivered to your doorstep.

I got 2 for my phone and the shipping charges cost me all of USD4.85! It's much cheaper than the quote of RM25 just for a film screen protector to protect my phones screen.

The stuff was actually invented to wrap a helicopter's blades to protect them from damage. It should last longer than the screen protectors I normally get at Low Yat/Digital Mall/The Mines / If it's good enough for the military, it's good enough for my phone! Scratch Proof Your Device now.

It looks legit and I will update this post when I receive the said items :D

Running at the Park

2010-11-03T14:41:00.000+08:00

I don't know why it took me so long to start running at the park at KLCC. After all, I've been based at Menara Citibank since April 2009. I've read about Yin's experience running in the park and I've always told myself that I shall run here after work.

Since we will be moving to the Ascott by Mid November, I've cancelled my subscription to the parking at Menara Citibank and I've started my season parking over at the Ascott. Jalan Pinang, where the Ascott is situated is infamously known for it's horrid traffic after work. Lucky for me, I'll be able to use their gym facilities after hours till traffic outside dies down. I'll no longer have to rush back to PJ after work just to use the gym at Tropicana. I also no longer have to make sacrifices to the traffic gods hoping for good traffic nor curse when the Heaven's open up and cause most drivers on the road to drive idiotically. The gym is just 20 storeys up :D Work life balance indeed :P

Anyways...in the interim, I still need to kill time while waiting for traffic on Jalan Pinang to subside. So I decided to pack my running shoes and head to the park for a jog yesterday night after work.

It was fun! I really should have started doing this so much earlier.

The entire loop is about 1.3KM's and it's got a nice rubberized running surface to run on, it's also well lit at night and it even has water fountains for you to hydrate yourself when you choose to. It's even got clearly stenciled distance markers every 200 meters or so.

I did 5 loops for a distance of 6.5KM's in 35 minutes last night. I did the following :- 1 lap to warm up and get the feel of the track/surface, 1 lap at speed, 1 lap jogging (recovery), another lap at speed and finally a slow lap to warm down.

I'm seriously loving it.

I will be running at the park again tonight. Feeling kinda bloated lately, I think I'll try to shoot for 8 laps tonight :D

Supply and Demand

2010-10-26T10:02:00.003+08:00

Meenachi's most recent post got me thinking. Are we paying too much for food nowadays?

During my recent trip to Singapore, I met up with Hairyberry and we had a couple of beers over a feast of a dinner. Thanks for the treat again Hairy! Anyways, I told him that I found the Birds Eye Chilli (Chilli Padi's) being served in Singapore to be very spicy. And it wasn't just at one or two eateries. It was consistently spicy throughout all the eateries that I dined in. From your hawker centres to the buffet at the hotel, dem Birds Eye Chilli really packed a wallop.

I proceeded to ask him if he knew where the supply comes from. To my surprise, he said Malaysia. Now if you do your marketing at most wet/dry markets in Malaysia, you'd be hard pressed to find chilli's that hit the spot. Well, hard to hit my Scolville spot at the very least :) In fact, my family has turned to growing a strain of Indonesian Bird Eye chillis in our backyard that suit our fiery palate.

Hairy went on to say that Singaporeans don't mind paying a premium for the good stuff. And by good, he meant the finest and freshest produce available in the market. It doesn't really help matters when the Singaporean Dollar has traditionally been very much stronger than the Malaysian Ringgit. Even if Singaporeans were willing to pay dollar for dollar for our produce, the wholesaler would be earning twice his keep. It really isn't rocket science on the wholesalers end.

Fruit Cake Logic Indeed.Hmmm...

My uncle who owns and runs a Chinese Take Out in a land down under gets his supply of prawns from Taiping! He says the prawns are fresh and compatible to the local supply and it's cheaper too. At current exchange rates, 1AUD dollar is equivalent to 3MYR.

It's all a simple case of Supply and Demand. It's not that there is a lack of supply of produce for the Malaysian market. It's just that there is a huge demand for our products outside of Malaysia. And the International Market is willing to pay top dollar for it. The Gross Domestic Income of the average Malaysian can't afford them the finest produce. The farmers need to earn a living. The whole sellers need to push their stock and if they can do it for a higher profit margin, who can blame them. If there is one lesson I remember from the Prinsip Akauns I took for a year in form four. Stock ≠ Cash unless sold :P

It's a vicious cycle.

I guess I shall have to rely on my supply of Chilli from my family garden...for now;)

Dressing Down in the Morning

2010-10-25T15:32:00.001+08:00

One of my favourite things to do is sit down and people watch and there's no better place to do it then in a hotel.

Most, if not all the hotels I stay in when I travel for work offers breakfast as part of the package. The usual fare you get at most Asian hotels cater more towards the Asian Palate. You'd almost always get noodles of some kind, fried rice and congee. Throw in some hash browns, baked beans, sausages and bacon and you've basically covered the whole spread.

I'm a morning person by nature and I'm almost always am lining up for the food, before they actually open. Heheh..Most times I'd be dressed down in a pair of shorts and T-Shirt, probably with some undies on. If I visited the gym before breakfast, I'd still run back to the room to slip on a dry shirt. There's nothing more horrid then sitting on a chair that has the residual sweat of the previous person using it :(

Most of the guests will generally dress up for breakfast, especially the Japanese, who are always dressed to the nines in a suit and tie. Most Caucasians will also be dressed in their office attire, helping themselves to the breakfast spread. I've seen the odd one or two who come totally dressed down, probably in the clothes they went to bed in. Hehehe...

I've been giving it some thought and I guess I'm normally not dressed up for breakfast because I have to do the big number two before getting ready for work in the morning.

so, what do you normally wear for breakfast at hotels?

Like a Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

2010-10-08T10:25:00.001+08:00

Or in my case more like kittens in a sweaty, balmy storeroom...

I vaguely recall seeing a pregnant cat loitering about my front porch a couple of months ago and alarm bells started ringing in my head even then, as my house would be prime real estate for her to give birth to her litter of kittens.

Fast forward to Tuesday. I was relaxing and unwinding in my backyard after a hectic day at work and a killer workout at the gym. The back door was open and so was the door to my storeroom. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a small furball scampering through the back door and making it's way into my storeroom.

I cursed under my breath and started to canvass my storeroom to look for the kitten. After clearing out most of the junk and moving it from one corner of the storeroom to another (hey...it's a storeroom after all) I managed to locate him. This smart little bugger worked his way into the tiniest corner imaginable of an old, unused laundry basket which was filled with an assortment of rags.

As I laid him right outside my kitchen door, he scurried around and found himself a new hiding spot! Behind my washing machine! A good 15 minutes later I was drenched in sweat after playing hide and seek with the tiny furball. I found him and placed it on the grass of my lawn. As soon as I did so, his mother came out of nowhere and whisked him away.

I breathed a huge sigh of relief. But my short found joy was soon replaced with anxiety. A cat does not just give birth to a single kitten, hence the term a litter. I drove myself half crazy and searched the whole of my backyard only to find no trace of the tiny furball's siblings. I went to bed that night thinking I had resolved my kitty problem.

The very next night as I was pottering around the kitchen, I heard mommy calling out for her brood. I stealthily made my way outside and tried to see where she was. She was meowing behind my store room window! As I approached her, she began to crouch and hiss at me. Hmmm..Oh No! I thought to myself. There were more kitties to be found!

I quietly opened my storeroom door and heard a faint mew. The kitties were responding to mommy's calls. I grabbed my torchlight and started to re-arrange the items in my store room again. I turned off the lights and started to do a sweep of the room with my torchlight. No sooner than the light from my torch shined on the eyes of the first kitten, it bolted out of the storeroom.I halted my search to go sneak a peak at mommy. Yup, she was still calling out for her kittens.

I proceeded to carry on my methodical search of my storeroom. By this time almost all the items of the storeroom was cleared out. I decided to sneak a peek behind the big blue cupboard. There was a tiny space between the back of the cupboard and the wall. I could barely fit my forearm in that space. I shined my torchlight in that space and saw two sets of reflective eyes staring back at me. I had to physically move the cupboard to reach them.

That made four kittens. Surely that was all of them. By this time mommy had set up camp outside my backdoor! As I placed the two kittens next to her, she continued calling for her kids.

More?

As I turned my store room inside out, I found one more kitty. I looked back at mommy but she was gone! Presumably to transport her brood to a safer place. I placed kitty number 5 outside and started shifting my stuff back into the storeroom.

I closed the kitchen door behind me, lest the kittens decided to make a comeback. I took care to rummage through all the old rags and baskets to make sure that it was devoid of kittens. After each item was placed back in the storeroom. I gave it a once over. Everything was back in it's original place, it looked neater (I took the time throw out some used items) and there was definitely less clutter in the storeroom. I turned off the light and closed the store room door behind me.

As I turned to lock the back door, mommy was till outside, in her defensive crouch position calling out for her kittens.

I opened the storeroom door and the backdoor. I was at a wit's end on how to look for anymore kittens, after all I had turned my storeroom inside out! I grabbed a stool and sat aside to see if mommy would be brave enough to venture into my storeroom to look for her missing kitten(s).

Mommy spent the next five minutes mewing, but did not dare step into my kitchen. I poked my head into my storeroom and I heard a faint mew. There was one more kitten to be found! I tip toed around my storeroom trying to locate the kitten. I found her nestled under a roofing tile! She was the tiniest of the litter. Probably the youngest and the weakest as well. I placed her next to mom who proceeded to lick her, gave me a "stern look" and nonchalantly took off down the slope with the last kitten.

My backyard and storeroom was eerily quiet last night as I scoured the area with my torchlight trying to see if they returned.

The 6 kittens and a very defensive mother were nowhere to be found/hear/seen...

Hobbies

2010-10-06T10:33:00.002+08:00

Everyone has them. Growing up in the 80's, I guess I did the same things most Malaysian kids did. Collecting Stamps, Leaf Pressing (Does anyone even own a hard copy Encyclopedia nowadays?), Tamiya Scale Models, reading...etc. For the stamp collectors out there, I recently sold off some first day covers and found out that the returns on investment weren't exactly what I was hoping for when I first bought them.

I tried skateboarding and rollerblading but I never really go into it. I've also never really had the patience for fishing (sorry dad). Somewhere along the way I also picked up golf and photography. I've made significant investments in both of these hobbies. Golf lessons, numerous trips to the driving range, green fees, a golf set, lenses, batteries etc. Heh, I guess once you really love to do something, money isn't an object ;) I can't say that its money not well spent, it's just that I don't play golf or use my camera as often as I'd like to. But I sleep easier knowing that if I’m required to swing a golf club or make that putt or ever take a decent picture, I am well equipped to do so. Hey...you never know when those skills may come in handy.

Cycling on the other hand is something that I do almost every weekend. I've got a pretty decent bike now and for the better part, it does the job. It's built like and is almost as heavy as a tank. If I can get up that hill or go down that gnarly downhill, most times it's not the bicycles fault, its fear and my lack of skills/strengths that are holding me back.

I saw and fell in love with a lovely bike during my last visit to the bike shop. In fact, I've returned to the shop 3 times now to ogle at and to discuss the pricing of the bike. Normally when it comes to my cycling hobby, money is no object. But there's always a pain point with anyone when it comes to price for buying something. For example, my price pain point for a decent pair of basketball kicks is RM500.

This particular bicycle will set me back a cool 5 figures.

I know! My jaw was as wide as yours when Ah Leong of KSH finished tabulating the cost on a sheet of paper =(

Here's what the bicycle has got going for it:

It's made of Titanium, which is stiff enough to handle the torque I generate and is damn shiny! I kid you not! The bike looks fast just standing there on its own. It will also be the last bike frame that I will ever need because it really should last to my grandkids lifetime. Heh. Titanium is that hard.

It will be light. It should weigh just over 10 Kilograms once it's fully built.

I'm really at a wits end on whether or not to just go ahead and purchase the bicycle. Will it make me a better rider? Maybe, being as light and stiff as it is means I'll probably be able to get up that hill quicker and feel more confident going down that rutted hill. But who am I kidding? A 5' drop still is a 5' foot drop and this would mean me dismounting my steed and pushing the bicycle.

I'm toying with the idea of setting up a donation box to fund this purchase. Do you guys reckon I'll go far with that idea? LOL!

And don't you even get me started on my other favourite pastime, diving....

*wink*

Comfort Food on a Cold Rainy Night.

2010-09-27T14:16:00.000+08:00

It was pouring outside as my last meeting ended in the office around 19:30. I had a flight to catch at 22:55 and had enough time for one last go on Orchard Road before making my way to the Aiport. But the thought of dragging my trusty Samsonite all over a very wet Orchard Road didn't appeal to me. My colleagues had recommended that I leave my luggage in the office, go do my thing, and come back later to get it. They assured me that they weren't leaving for home so soon, in such horrid weather. I didn't want to impose. What if the weather or traffic miraculously cleared up? I wouldn't want them to be stuck babysitting my luggage while I was enjoying myself outside, conrtibuting to the GDP of their Island Nation.

I said my goodbye's and we promised each other that we would definitely go grab a cold one together, the next time I am back in town. It's true what they say, your colleague's really are your extended family. As I waved goodbye, I reminded them to mail me their shopping lists at least a week before my next trip. My mentor simply asked me to remember to get him some vacuum sealed nutmegs should I be in Penang. He's a nice chappo. Took me under his wing and showed me the ropes when I first joined the organisation. I joked and asked him when he would next be in town...you see he's a vegetarian and the temple down the road from the office serves excellent vegetarian food by my carnivorous standards. I reminded him that we will be moving soon and it would be difficult to get to the Temple from our new office location.

As I stepped out of the elevator, there was an audible rumble from my tummy. The cold, wet night wasn't doing my hunger much help. As I made my way to the taxi pick up point, I spied the little noodle shop which I have walked past many times while heading to the bank down the road. It was always packed to the rafters during lunch time but I looked through the door to find only 3 tables occupied, with two of them having been served their noodles.

Tonkotsu Ramen was their signature dish. The cold weather outside had me pining for something soupy yet spicy at the same time. The Extra Spicy Tonkotsu Ramen looked like it would be able to whet my appetite for the night. Five minutes later, this bowl of hearty goodness was served to me.

Spicy Tonkotsu Ramen (SGD15)

My aplogies for the poor picture quality. It's a case of the little mobile phone camera that could. The noodles slid down my throat with ease. Fresh and springy, it tasted as though they were made in house. The runny yolk in the hard boiled egg mixed with ease into the broth, which was thick and robust; full of meaty flavour. I all but emptied the bowl of it's contents =)

As I took my last sip of the complimentary hot green tea that was served, the rain and traffic was beginning to ease up. I couldn't help but smile to myself as I left the establishment and boarded a taxi for the airport; my tummy filled with comfort food for a rainy night.

Men-Tei Ramen,
61, Robinson Road,
Robinson Center,
#01-01, Singapore 068893.

September's a very short month!

2010-09-07T09:44:00.000+08:00

I just realised that September is going to be a very short working month. With Hari Raya and Malaysia Day shortening the work week by a day each, throw in a trip for work to Singapore and Penang and I'll be spending very little time in the office. Yippee!

It's going to start getting busy again at work. I have the uncanny luck (if you can call it that) of having to relocate offices almost every other year. Seriously, I've been involved in five office relocation projects in my relatively short years of being on the job. This office move will be the 6th one I'm chalking up. Ah well, it's good for the resume, right? I'm also juggling two projects at the same time, throw in the budget preparations and the year end close....no wonder September is so short!

So, what are your plans for the coming long weekend? I'm a going white water rafting! Woo Hoo!

Having said that, I'd like to wish my Muslim readers and friends Selamat Hari Raya and Maff Zahir dan Batin. Stay safe on the journey back to your hometown.

Of the Hamptons and Independence

2010-08-30T17:29:00.000+08:00

In this day and age, almost everyone has taken a flight before. Air Asia's tagline of, "Now everyone can fly" is becoming very true. Everyone probably has a fond memory or maybe even a nightmare or two of their experiences while flying. I've had my share of nightmares, for example a 3.75 hour delayed flight out of Phuket and just missing out on claiming on the travel insurance :( To make a claim, a delay has to be > 4 hours. Getting upgraded to business class for one of my travels has to be one of the highlights for me :) But if there is one memory that stands out from my travels, it's was during my transpacific flight back from the States.

One of the perks of working for an FMCG is being able to travel on business class if the flight time was greater then 6 hours. I had requested for a window seat, as I was not in any particular rush as I had an overnight layover in Changi before flying home the next morning.

Anyways, I was seated next to a very decently dressed or should I say immaculately dressed lady. She had an air of confidence about her, something that exuded upper crust upbringing. Turns out my instincts weren't too far off, as she was socialite from New York who had a house in the Hamptons. I'll get back to this in a minute.

As it was going to be an 18 hour flight, I decided to take a chance and proceeded to introduce myself to her. It turns out she was a very friendly person. She proceeded to complement me on my English and asked me where I was from.

"Malaysia", I said.

"I'm afraid I don't know where it is", she answered.

I proceeded to ask her if she knew where Singapore was.

There was a faint glimmer in her eyes and she replied, "Yes, I know where that is. We are supposed to vist Singapore next winter".

I then enquired if she knew where Thailand was.

She said, "Why, yes! That's where we are headed right after Singapore!"

I chuckled and told her, "Well, we are the country in between Singapore and Thailand. We also share a rather huge Island with Brunei and Indonesia to the East of this Peninsular which is called East Malaysia."

I noticed I had her interest piqued and I continued to tell her more about my country of origin. I told her of the amazing National Parks which dot our country, which in turn houses one of the world's oldest tropical Rain Forests. I also told her about the myriad of colours from the marine life and coral that will greet her should she dive of the east coast of Malaysia or at Sipadan in Sabah. I went on to add that Sipadan always gets ranked as one of the top ten places to dive in the world.

Her eyes widened when I told her about the amazing food that can be found in Malaysia due to the melting pot of cultures that can be found here. Everything from Nasi Lemak and Satay to Curry Mee and Chicken rice and to using a Banana Leaf as a plate when being served Banana Leaf Rice. I also told her about how new buildings co-exist with pre-war and colonial buildings which have been re-furbished, right in the buzzing heart of the metropolitan city of Kuala Lumpur.

What she really couldn't get over was my command of the English Language. I went on to explain about the British and how they had colonised Malaysia and the education system that was in place in Malaysia. Her eyes widened in disbelief when I told her that English was my first language. Her jaw dropped when I told her I spoke 2 diferent languages and 4 different Chinese dialects. She was really amazed at how, even though I studied the Queen's English in school, I was able to speak American to her. I told her we have the idiot box to thank for that. We get syndicated American TV programs on the tube ;)

I found out that her grandfather was a well respected Democrat and that she was getting off at Narita to visit her husband who was in Tokyo for work. She mentioned that she was normally in the Hamptons during this time of the year. I told her I would love to visit the Hamptons as I has heard so much about it. She promptly asked the stewardress for a piece of paper and proceeded to write down her phone number. She asked me to call if I ever got to New York. I wonder if I still can hold her to it? :)

She was fascinated by my tales of Malaysia and I think I managed to convince her to visit the country which I call home.

We have come a long way since our Independence. For starters, we no longer live in Trees and almost everyone on the street (save for the foreign labour force) can, at the very least hold a decent conversation in English.

Happy 53rd Birthday Malaysia. I am still proud to call you my home.

A Case of Lemony Snicket

2010-08-22T09:29:00.001+08:00

I hadn't been on my bicycle for the better part of 5 weeks now and I was really looking forward to getting a bike ride in this weekend. The sprained ankle is all but healed. There's a nagging little ache when I land on it the wrong way but that wasn't going to put me off from riding :)

But due to a Series of Unfortunate Events, the weekend that was...was not meant to be :(

It started on Friday. After a marathon meeting session with two vendors that lasted about 7 hours, I wasn't feeling all that good. Heavy head aside, being cooped in a freezer of a meeting room left me feeling a little under the weather come Friday evening. My whole body was aching as well due to the gym workout that I had the night before on Thursday.

Still, I reached home that Friday evening and prepped my bicycle to ride the next morning. Nothing was going to stop me from riding. There were cobwebs on my bike after being left in the storeroom for so long. The headset on the bike felt a little tight. This was a little worrying as it didn't allow me to turn the bicycle properly. But still, nothing was going to stop me from riding my bike. Some oil loosened the headset up a little bit, but it was still very, very tight :(

I popped two panadol cold and flu tablets and a voltaren to alleviate the headache and the body aches that I was feeling and went to bed early. Alas, I awoke early Saturday morning feeling horrible and the mechanical problems that I had with the bike was enough to put me off from riding. In my minds eye, I still has Sunday to ride! I duly sent the bike in to the shop for repairs and got the headset changed on Saturday afternoon. I felt much better going to bed Saturday night knowing that now, nothing would stand between me and my bike ride.

So off I went in search of adventure early Sunday morning. Riding down the LDP to Taman Tun, I felt really, really good. The ankle was holding up and the new headset was working like a treat! I pedaled up the hill feeling on top of the world and pretty soon, I was at the crossroads of Kiara Hill, staring at the entrance to one of my favourite trails in kiara, 2K.

I proceeded to bomb down the downhill section of 2K. I was really surprised that I managed to complete one full loop without my feet having to come off the pedals to touch the ground. The plan was to do three loops of 2K, while recovering (i.e. getting the heart rate down) in the downhill section of the trail. It felt good to be riding again! :)

Everything was proceeding to plan, when suddenly my rear dérailleur caught a twig. Before I could stop to remove it, the rear dérailleur snapped of the frame of the bike! Done in by a twig! I couldn't believe my rotten luck!

There's something about having mechanical problems in the middle of a trail that brings out the MacGyver in me. I whipped out the multi-tool which I had recently purchased at the dive expo and proceeded to remove what was left of my dérailleur. Tying up cable to the frame and wrapping my chain with the huge leaves that littered the trail, I even managed a wry smile . Maybe it wasn't meant to be. Maybe I wasn't destined to ride this weekend at all. Heh.

A Series of Unfortunate Events indeed.

Rehabilitation

2010-08-13T10:34:00.001+08:00

It's a long process. It also doesn't get easier with age. I used to be able to bounce back from injuries pretty quickly. I mean, I used to be able to play basketball within a week after a sprained ankle. Wait a minute...maybe that's why I have such weak ankles now :P

I'm taking my time to properly rehabilitate my ankle this time round.

Mom took a look at my ankle recently and said that It was still rather stiff. She ain't no tit tar but she does know how to give sports injuries a good massage. She reckons that I should give it the "hot rice treatment*" every night before I go to bed to "loosen" the ankle up. She left a tupperware full of rice in the fridge when she dropped by yesterday.

Thanks Mom!

Swimming's good for the ankle (or so i've been told). Swimming and I are old buddies. We used to see each other very often. So often in fact, that I used to hate the sight of a swimming pool. Heh.So i'm going to spend more time getting reaquainted with an old friend. After all, that's about all the exercise I can do at the moment :) With all the parties and makan sessions coming up, I'm hoping that swimming keeps the body lean and trim.

*Freshly cooked rice is placed in an old towel and used to massage the afected area. Day old cooked rice works fine as well, it just needs to be reheated via steaming or microwaving

Sprained Ankle

2010-08-04T09:49:00.001+08:00

Don't always believe what you read :(

I had read that if you are going for slow, steady runs, you don't really need to stretch or warm up to get your muscles going. You can do it during your run by taking the first few kilometers a little easier than your training pace.

So that's what I did. I set off on a job aiming to complete 6 loops round the neighbourhood, making it a nice 6.6KM run. I started off really slow and steady as the first bit of the run is a pretty steep incline. I must have been 3/4's of the way on my first loop when I rolled my foot on a fruit.

On a fruit!

I couldn't believe my ill fortune. I had not even broken into a sweat yet. Tried to walk it off, but soon realised that I couldn't put any weight on my left foot. I had sprained my ankle pretty badly :(

*sigh* Hobbled all the way downhill and back home. Left the shoe on my foot for a bit, as I could feel my ankle starting to swell. Did what I normally do when I sprain my ankles; hot compression, a little rub down and tried to minimise movement of the ankle with an ankle guard. Elevated the affected foot when I went to bed as well to try to minimise the swelling.

It felt better the next day, but I had decided to go and see a Tukang Urut, or Tit Tar Yi Sang (in cantonese) in the afternoon. I vaguely remembered seeing one located on the same row as my regular GP. How ironic :P I am a firm believer that sprains and muscle aches are better treated the "Oriental way" while your flu's and colds are best treated with Western medicine. Go figure. They don't call me unkaleong for nothing.

The Sinseh was pretty good and located the affected area after a couple of prods with his very,very strong thumb *ouch* After loosening up the surrounding muscles with a massage, he set the ankle back in place with a hard tug on my foot *double ouch* and proceeded to wrap my ankle with a wrap wit some traditional chinese herbs to reduce the swelling.

My Foot All wrapped up :)

I'd recommend this establishment. They are very professional and the Sinseh is very experienced and the establishment and equipment used was very clean. A far cry from the cement floors and the incensed filled rooms of the Tit Tar places I used to visit in my younger days :)

In fact, they are so modern that they even have their own web site up. http://www.orientaltittar.com/index.html Heh.

Sign of the times, I guess.

Always limber up with some light stretching. I believe that if I was properly warmed up, the injury would not have been that severe. I probably could have even continued on my jog!

This community service announcement has been brought to you by your freindly neighbourhood unka, unkaleong :P

Clearing Out The Medicine Cabinet

2010-08-02T10:46:00.000+08:00

I normally travel with a small tupperware filled with pills that will cover most medical emergencies that may befall me when I travel. Plasters, Flu tablets, anti histamines, charcoal tablets and pills for stomach disomforts. I didn't pack it with me when I went to Tenggol to dive recently. I had to rummage through FBB's travel kit for Zyrtec, when I started to itch from the sand fly bites courtesy of Tenggol Island.

When I got back home, the first thing I did was to look for my first aid travel kit. I was quite shocked when I found out that most of its contents had depleted. A plan of action was dreamed up to re-stock the kit ;)

But the plan got put aside due to time constraints; although I stepped into 3 different pharmacies on 3 separate occasions looking for Zyrtec. I remember buying a strip of Zyrtec not too long ago. I jogged through my memory trying to remember where I had put them. It suddenly dawned upon me as I was sleeping last night that it was somewhere in my medicine cabinet!

I woke up and immediately set about the task of clearing my medicine cabinet out. Man, this was a task that I had let slip for far too long. I must have had at least dozen half finished prescriptions from the doctor, out of which, I knew what a third of them were for. I found your generic anti histamines, anti nausea pills, charcoal pills etc. The resealable plastic bag describing what the pills were for had disappeared of two thirds of the pills in my medicine cabinet. Bummer! Decided to put them all in a bag to bring to the office to google what the medication was for.

I was estatic when I found my strip of Zyrtec! Popped one into my mouth to make sure they still tasted fine. LOL! I also managed to locate a tube of hydrocortisone cream which I bought to apply on an insect bite that would not subside.

Fifteen minutes later I had managed to fully restock my travel tupperware with all the meds that I may need ;) I also managed to set aside another tupperware with pills for home use. I'm guessing I managed to save a pretty penny clearing up my Medicine Cabinet.

Race Day!

2010-07-19T17:28:00.003+08:00

I had a case of the sniffles and my throat was really sore. I had half a mind of not even going for the event. But the very thought of letting the entrance fee go to waste was too much to bear.

Heh.

Photo credits to Becks who showed up to provide moral support.

Sick but still can pose.

At the starting line.

The run itself was fun. How often can one jog on the buggy track of a golf course anyways? I knew I was third very early on as only two people overtook me before the end of the first kilometre. I slowed down my pace as the sore throat made breathing very uncomfortable while running. 1/2 way through the race I was overtaken! I kept the guy in my line of sight as he pulled away, not letting him get more than 100 meters away from me at most. With about 1.5Km to go, I noticed he was starting to slow down.

I knew I had enough left in the tank to make one last attempt to overtake the guy, but I didn't make my move to quickly for fear of being caught at the finish line. With about a kilometer to go, the course started to get a little hilly. That's when I made my move. Started to pick up my pace and caught him on the downhill and continued to use the momentum to push forward up the hill. I could hear the pitter patter of feet behind me, so I stepped on the gas some more till the footsteps faded in the distance. Managed to hold him off till the end :)

At the finish, 23 and a half minutes later.

The first placed guy came in at just over 21 minutes. The second placed guy at 22. Looks like my guesstimates weren't too far off. Ah well, all in all a good run.

Collecting my prize ;)

Congrats to the winner, thoroughly deserved. Even if I ran my best time (which I did when I was probably the winners age, re:young!) I suspect it would have been a close call. I shall try to do better next year!

Addendum : The event made the papers. Guess who got caught on camera? ;)

Thanks for the heads up Dad! LOL!

Balik Kampung

2010-07-09T08:00:00.002+08:00

I love Bangkok.

Even when it greeted us with a conveyor belt that took just under an hour to spit out our luggage.

What's not to love? They have my favourite beer on tap!

We were all saddened by what had happened.
But we also believe that together we can.
With a whole lot of Love (rak means love in Thai)

Silom Road Road Sign, BangRak District

and maybe some elbow grease from them.

Seven Dwarfs at JJ Weekend Market

We can bring a smile.

Smiling Thai Girl, Lumphinee Park

Back to the land of Smiles.

In spite of the Thai government extending their curfew for another 3 months, don't let it scare you from visiting Thailand. My Thai friends and the people on the street all agree that what had transpired during the Reds takeover of the Rajprasong district was a dark day in Thai history. Most say that they will never allow such a thing to happen again. Well....not in their lifetime at least.

Till my next annual pilgrimage back home, "Kit teung krungthep jing jing"

IR1968 - Terrace at Hock Choon

2010-07-07T09:36:00.017+08:00

When I first heard about IR1968, the first thing that came to my mind, funnily was my dad. Ir or Ingénieur, is the abbreviation for the title of Engineer, a person practicing the profession of engineering. My dad's a Mechanical Engineer by profession ;) Funnily enough the invite was from another Ir who goes by the moniker of FBB. Although nowadays, One might say that his familiarity with the portland cement mix ratio has been replaced with that of a cake mix ratio.

The Terrace at Hock Choon is a converted bungalow located behind the iconic Hock Choon Supermarket on Jalan Ampang. It's an interesting concept of blending restaurants, a cafe, a wine cellar and a cigar bar all under one roof. There are even plans to convert the pool into a poolside bar =)

The name IR1968 is rather self explanatory. An Indonesian Restaurant started up in Hong Kong in 1968, hence IR1968. Through the years the establishment has become the de facto place for Indonesian food in Hong Kong. We were told that the pork satay the serve up in Hong Kong is to die for.

As a young lad who grew up in the Kitchen, one can say that cooking should be in his blood, and it is. Apart from making sure he gets the right ingredients from the morning markets, the dashing Hudson Chang also mixes it up with the chefs in the kitchen; he runs IR1968 with the equally charming Debbie. Truly an equivalent of the old Chinese adage about being good in the kitchen, yet being presentable in the hall :)

On to the food.

The first dish served to us was Semur Lidah. The Ox tongue which was cooked for 8 hours was tender and literally melted in your mouth. We lapped up the dish in record time. A delectable serving of Semur Lidah would set you back RM32.

Ayam Asam Kacang (RM22) was my favourite dish of the day. Ayam a sucker for fried chicken anyways..How can one say no to such lovely deep friend pieces of chicken?Served on plum sauce and with a side garnish of peanuts, one can either choose to lather the chicken with more sauce with a sprinkiling of peanuts or eat it on it's own.

Yummy Fried wholesome goodness!

Next up was Asam Fish (RM38). The spicyness caught me a little off guard, but I found that the tanginess of the Assam balanced this dish off nicely. We were all clamouring for more rice to go with this dish.

Asam Fish

Tofu Telur Goreng (RM18) Julliened carrots and cucumbers on top of an egg omellete with tofu are mixed together with the sauce to serve up a refreshing salad. It reminded me a lot of our local rojak, due in no small part to the sauce.

Tahu Goreng Telur

The Santan rice (RM5) and it's sidekick, sambal deserves special mention. We were coy at first, flirting with the rice....but the sauces from the dishes that were served, left us clamoring for more servings of rice. Carb overload according to J :)

The deadly duo

We needed some vegetables to ease our guilty carb filled lunch. The Kai Lan did it's job.

The next two dishes aren't available on the menu yet but from the looks of it, it shall be making its debut soon.

Cod with Sweet and sour sauce. The cod was fresh and flaky and the sauce tasted vaguely familiar. Nips hit the mark when he said it tasted like the sauce we get with our local chili crabs.

Coconut Prawns. The tiger prawns were fresh succulent, infused with the flavours of the coconut that there were cooked/served in. The sauce in itself was a milder version of Tom Yum which just begged to be spooned onto the Santan Rice.

We rounded up the day with an assortment of desserts which begin with Es. LOL! Behold the Es Cendol, Banana Fritters with Es Krim and Pineapple Fritters with Es Krim.

Es Cendol

Banana Fritters with Vanilla Es Krim
Pineapple Fritters with Vanilla Es Krim

All in all, it was a pleasant meal. The decor of the restaurant, from the tables, chairs and lighting right down to it's cutlery; makes for a very lovely ambiance to dine in.

Night Run part 2

2010-06-21T16:43:00.002+08:00

I've been slacking somewhat since I found out that the Malaysian Installment of the Xterra would be canceled this year. The gym closing for renovations didn't really help matters either. Although the recent purchase of my Polar HRM has given me a push to workout more often lately ;)

But during my recent visit to the gym I found that the club would be organising a 5KM night run on the west golf course buggy track. Check out the flyer below.
w00t!w00t! My first timed race of the year! Plus chances to win prizes as well. I promptly proceeded to sign up for the race. Hopefully I can place in the top three and get me some goodies :) It should be fun running on the buggy track as well.

I'll need to work on my speed. After my normal weight routine in the gym, I managed to do 2.6 Kilometers in 12 minutes. Something tells me I will need to run the event close or under my PB of 21 minutes high to be on the podium. After my somewhat disappointing first timed night run in Putrajaya last year, I hope I'll fare better in my second.

Wish me luck!

P/S: Good Luck to all the Standard Chartered KL Marathon Participants this year!

King for a day.

2010-06-15T14:29:00.007+08:00

"Were you here ar?", asks the beguiling host of the famed Harajuku party.

"Of course I was", I replied, while ranting off what was served during the fateful party from my vague recollection of the party. Alcohol tends to do that to you.

"You do know that was two years ago, don't you? It was in honour of the King's Birthday", he added.

It seems like it was only yesterday that we had the Harajuku themed party. A whole Salmon was served, sukiyaki (or was it shabu shabu?) alongst with copiuos amounts of Sake. The mark of an excellent party is when the host no longer remembers what happens after the clock strikes 5 in the afternoon.

Fast forward two years and I had the pleasure of being invited for a luncheon by the legendary host himself. With the significant other being away for the weekend, the thoughts of spending time with the Queen and her loyal subjects seemed like a perfect way to spend the weekend.

The food, although home cooked, was by no means peasant fare. Glorious home made buttermilk pancakes with home made butter was the highlight of the day for me.

The "King" overseeing his tower of homemade pancakes

Assorted sausages, streaky bacon, Corned Beef made up half the fare. Buttered croissants, sauteed onions and button mushrooms (deliciously evil as they were sauteed in the bacon oil) and a Light Summer Salad made up the other half of the meal fit for a King.

Clockwise from top left : Pancakes with homemade butter, assortment of sausages, my first helping, Dark Chocolate Guinness velvet Cake.

Dark Chocolate Guinness Velvet cake with Mascarpone brought a smile to the Queen, King and members of the dining party. Glorious food eaten together with fantastic friends and lubricated with a little liquor resulted in thunderous laughter resounding throughout the dining hall. Lucky for us, the dining hall was located in an isolated area of the castle. I would imagine neighbouring serfs may have called the sheriff on us for creating such a loud commotion.

The Queen and her minions ;)

At the risk of having my head chopped off, I have to say this...us loyal serfs only wish that the Queen and her entourage grace us with all their pomp and pageantry according to GMT, not Malaysian standard time.

*runs and hides*

Heheh.

That my readers to me, are what perfect weekends are made of.

Finally! It's re-opened.

2010-06-14T09:53:00.011+08:00

Check out the newly renovated gym =)

It's finally re-opened, but the timing is awful...right when the world cup is underway. Hmmm... Maybe I can work out and watch the first match of the day grab a quick shower and go home and watch the second match of the day.

Hahahah. It's official, I've been bitten by the World Cup bug. I've got money on Spain to take the cup home this year :)

Well as you can see from the picture, the newly renovated gym is huge! There are some new treadmills including 2 new rowing machines, which I absolutely dig! Works the shouldes, core, legs, glutes and back. They have also tripled the amount of LCD TV's that they had originally. I counted 6 TV's that we can watch while we are running on the treadmills like a hamster :) All these renovation works cost money and it kind of takes the sting off of them raising the monthly membership rates.
This ab machine (apologies for the bad picture) makes it all worthwhile. It really locks down and isolates the upper abdominals when you use it. you can make your crunches more challenging by adding some resistance via weights. Another variation of the abdominal crunch that I like to do on this machine is to bend my legs sideways while lying flat on the bunch. This variation of the crunch really targets the love handles.
They have also purchased more fitballs. More importantly, they now have a fitball that is my size. How does one know that a fitball is your size? According to Kheng Teik, one has to be able to hug the fitball comfortably, if you can do so then the fitball is your size. A proper sized fitball for me (I'm 167cm) is 55 Centimeters. I'm a happy camper. Planks with the fitball are that much more difficult to execute now =)

All that ab work seems to be paying dividends. Ole!

Telekom Malaysia : Wonderfully Surprised.

2010-06-07T09:08:00.002+08:00

I have to admit, Telekom Malaysia (TM) is the bane of my existence at work. On any given work week I have to spend about 4-5 hours either e-mailing them or calling them to report that one of my local circuits is down.

When the house was being renovated, I did not write in to TM to suspend my Streamyx account for fear that it would be hell to get it back up again. When I moved back in, my Streamyx subscription decided to go on hiatus and it took about a week to settle down, only to have the ADSL modem get fried due to a freak thunderstorm.This all happened earlier this year. I called TM to lodge a report and I was delightfully surprised by their courteous and prompt service. A far cry from days of yore when if your line went dead, it would normally take a miracle to resurrect it. The technicians that dropped by to service me at that time was knowledgeable and I even had an interesting chat with one of them about the Fiber To The Home (FTTH) that TM was about to implement at that time.Turns out the pricing and the contract period he quoted wasn't too far off.

Making a report with TM nowadays is so much easier. I heard that we have Accenture to thank for this, as they have worked extensively with TM to get their service desk up to speed. Getting a report number makes it easier for both you and TM to track your problem ticket.

Since the ADSL modem got fried during the recent spate of thunderstorms that we have been having, I had to get it replaced. I called TM, got a report number and made an appointment for a technician to drop by the following weekend.

Fast forward to the weekend and lo and behold, the technician was not only punctual, he was actually early! He promptly went about replacing the modem. He even spent some time troubleshooting the problems that I had. (Direct connection works, wireless works, ethernet connection = failed) He reckoned that my Wifi router's ethernet ports got fried along with the ADSL modem. It turned out to be true. A linksys replacement later, we now have Internet and Wifi at home :D

Kudos to TM's for their prompt response for my residential telephony and Internet problems.

If only they can do the same for me at the office.