bangkok

we've not had an overseas vacation for ages, if you don't count singapore. but we're finally off to bangkok tomorrow for the long weekend, having booked this 3 months before.

when we touch down at the airport, we hope to be greeted by this....


and not by this...


or this.


sawadee!!

the Curve

when i take the family to KL on weekends, i'd like to get there by 11am latest, so i don't have to queue too long for parking at the mall. but this time, we're at the Curve at 12.15pm & there's already quite heavy traffic heading into the common entrance for Ikea/Curve/Tesco. oh oh, i thought, it's going to be one of those KL days.

but as we entered the Curve's parking lot, we were pleasantly surprised that there was still ample vacant lots. (we did find out later that it was cheaper to park at Ikea or Tesco)

no matter, it's always reassuring to have a good start to the day. 1st things 1st - lunch. Little Penang Cafe was a no-brainer - we haven't gone back to Penang this year yet & anywhere that served decent fare would win hands-down. the curry laksa was top-notch & the sambal that came with it was superb. the cendol was only so-so.

Borders are having a buy-1/free-1 sale & it didn't take long for me to make my choice.

i had Ten Commandments in laser disc format but that remained stacked in the cupboard when the player broke down & they don't make LD players anymore. & why King Authur? simply because it's produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, & i've always had a soft spot for Sir Lancelot.

i know these are difficult times, but 2 classics in original DVD for under RM70 was just too much to miss. & because i owed my daughter a treat, we had dinner at TGIF to round off a timely family day-out.

Chong Wei (again)

for his exploits in Beijing, Malaysian shuttler Lee Chong Wei was handed a mock cheque for RM300,000 by the deputy Prime Minister, no less, at a dinner last night in Penang, the former’s home state. He was also promised a RM 3,000 monthly pension.

all fine and dandy, considering this is Malaysia’s only second silver medal in Olympic history. however, i feel it was unfortunate that at the same event, the Barisan Nasional candidate for the upcoming Permatang Pauh by-election was also present and he spoke at length, & in two Chinese dialects at that, of his aspirations for the constituency.

so, was the dinner to celebrate Chong Wei's success? or, was it part of a political agenda? it’s been often said that sports and politics should not mix, but it’s obvious from past and current events how well the two complement each other.

the Penang Chief Minister called it "manipulation" (read here). & i fear Chong Wei, despite his commendable feat, has been reduced to just a pawn in a game of political chess.

main-stream media

de·ceive /dɪˈsiv/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[di-seev]
verb - to mislead by a false appearance or statement; delude:

so, we didn't win our 1st olympic gold over the weekend. although Chong Wei put up a gallant fight, he was simply outclassed by Lin Dan.

this photo was taken from today's Star Online:

with this caption:


as i watched the action live on astro, i was certain Lin Dan was saluting to the crowd. in fact, he repeated the salutation to several sections of the crowd. at best, this report is a careless misintepretation & at worst, a blatant deception.

no wonder people are turning away from main-stream media for true & reliable news.

technicality

my daughter was grounded last nite because she overlooked a chore she had been entrusted to complete. the wife disallowed her from watching TV "till tomorrow". somehow the girl didn't look too upset & as she dutifully went to her room.

as a nocturnal ritual, i watched the late nite news before going to bed. just as the news concluded at 12.30am, the girl came out from her room & said she wanted to watch the repeat telecast of the olympics on astro. the exchange was brief :

me : i thought your mother said you can't watch tv?
daughter : yeah, but she said i can't watch till tomorrow & now is tomorrow already.

she got a point. she literally took the wife's words at face value & argued her way out.

i see a cunning trait developing here.........& red lights are flashing.

**image : solar eclipse on 11 July 1991 viewed from Baja, California**

much ado about nothing

so, 08.08.08 came & went.

the beijing olympics opened with pomp & pagentry.

thousands of couples chosed this unique date to tie matrimonial knots.

at the hospital where i work, at least 4 mothers planned their C-sections to co-incide on this day. (the 5th mum's water bag broke the day before, so she failed to attain auspicious status for her little one)

so, did the earth move for you??

after all these events fade from memory, i wonder .....

....if China will still be remembered for her olympics exploits or human rights violation?

......how many of those love-struck couples remain married?
.
........how many of those special-date babies grow up to be law-abiding, civic-conscious, God-fearing citizens?

as for me:

This is the day the LORD has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it. psalms 118:24

hands-on

he likes to get his fingers into stuff. like using the tool box & pretending to repair things. the other day, he saw me use the timer-mode of the digicam to take a family shot & asked me how to get into this mode.

yesterday, he got a new bicycle & without bothering anyone, he took this photo of himself & the 2-wheeler.....

hmm...not bad for a 1st timer, huh?

he already has this for a toy....

...& i think he'd want the real thing for a future birthday gift.

he's what i'd call a hands-on guy.

myth busted

i never knew about the tooth fairy till i was well into my teens, by which time most of my set of milk teeth had fallen off. so its existence, or non-existence, was irrelevant to me.

when my boy's lower tooth (incisor, to be exact) became loose & eventually fell off the other day,

i told him to keep it under his pillow & the tooth fairy will reward him for it. i even spiced it up a little by adding that he should brush it, so that he'll get a bigger reward if the tooth was nice & clean.

but he refused. all he said was that there was no tooth fairy.

i wonder if it's because kids these days are just more discerning, & not so easily deceived. incidentally, he doesn't believe in santa claus either.