Monday, September 28, 2009

79


my father would have been 79 last week. as a simple gesture of remembrance, we went to the beach to mark the occasion. holding a stalk of white crysanthemum, we each said a short prayer for him before tossing it to the sea.

it's uncanny. we each tossed the flower at different times & yet, as they float away with the waves, they seemed to come together. as if in support for each other.

like family.

Friday, September 25, 2009

the would-be vandal

according to dictionary.com, vandalise means "to destroy or deface (public or private property) willfully or maliciously."

i wasn't aware my car had been vandalised till last evening. as i was cleaning the car seats, i noticed ink marks on the back seat which would not come off with gentle cleaning.

only the boy could have done this. so i questioned him; guilt was written all over his face when he refused to maintain eye contact. but i gave him credit as he didn't deny it - or maybe it's because he knew he had been cornered. however, he claimed he could not remember when he did it, except that he did it because he couldn't find paper to write at that time. ha, ha, excuses, excuses!

after a stern warning & a smack on his thigh, i made him aware that writing on, or taking, other people's things without permission will not be tolerated. OK, OK, maybe i'm a little harsh with the punishment, & there was no obvious intent to destroy nor an element of malice in his act, but didn't Yoda once counsel in Star Wars:

"If once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny, consume you it will" ?

i'd like to think i nipped it at the bud.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

down but not out

everyone knows it's the economic downturn - jobs are lost, businesses fail, cars/houses get repossessed. & alongs thrive.

although we have our own share of unemployed new graduates, we often hear of their grouses that the govt isn't providing them with jobs, etc etc, which is so typical of crutch mentality that is so ingrained into our way of life.

which is why i'm so, so impressed with this young jobless Briton...

..who took to the streets of London to ...er.... solicit for a job.(read here)

we need to be stronger mentally, to be able to take failure in its stride & overcome it with hard work & commitment. unfortunately, when we hit the streets, it's either to perform reckless motorbike stunts or parade animal heads.

Monday, September 21, 2009

bowling nite

we had our annual bowling nite last weekend. although it had a competition format, most of us went & played for the fun & fellowship.
that was the 1st time this year that some of us bowled.the kids were certainly attracted to the prizes on display.....

..& even more thrilled when they win...


it always help that the whole family takes part.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Big Brother comes a-calling

as i previously mentioned, i don't like dealing with govt depts. so, you can understand my anxiety when i received a letter from Big Brother today.

all kinds of weird thoughts flooded my mind.

did i break any banking laws?

am i unwittingly laundering money?

am i in possession of counterfeit money?

when i changed into AUD earlier this year, was i speculating?

actually, all they wanted was to offer me a pre-approved financial loan. (phew!)


i share STP's sentiment (he commented here) about not being in debt. living within one's means seems like a good principal to adopt, esp. in these trying times.

yeah, i'm a chinaman though & through. i also get a tad jittery when the govt comes a-calling!

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

1 Crash?

1 Malaysia = great concept but dubious implementation

1Malaysia F1 team = bird-brained concept flying on low

pros:

only 1 : mike gascoyne (technical director, previously with jordan, toyota & renault)

cons:

1) no current F1 malaysian driver;

2) car to be designed & manufactured by engineers & designers recruited from local universities (where plagiarism is the norm);

3) engines to be designed & produced by Cosworlds, which has not supplied F1 engines since 2006;

4) chassis to be made by Lotus which folded from debts & have not been in F1 since 1994;

5) expense partly funded by govt (there goes our income tax & EPF returns!);

over the years, we've had BMF, MAS, Bakun, Perwaja & most recently, the PKFZ. hopefully this dream to be put 1 Malaysia on the world map does not end like this....
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Monday, September 14, 2009

unbelievably efficient

not a lot of people like to deal with govt departments, which are traditionally perceived to be inefficient & loaded with red-tape bureaucracy, as well as for the indifferent & lackadaisical attitude of their staff. what more during the fasting month!

unless, of course, you are giving them money.

i'm sure i'm not the only one singing praises for the passport section of the immigration dept. went over just after 3pm today to renew my passport.

filled the form, got a queue number, submitted the form & made payment, all within 15mins of reaching there.

then waited for about an hour & voila....a new passport!

BUT, i'd only be convinced that they're truly efficient when they are prompt in returning some of my money - like 2007's tax refund!

Saturday, September 12, 2009

another bite at the Apple


j
ust this week, i posted about the iPod which seemed to have created buying interest amongst some. well, don't place your orders yet because Apple have just launched the latest model (5th generation) in the US which comes with added video and FM radio functions. (read here)

the good news is that it retails at about rm529 for the 8G & rm635 for the 16G, which is considerably cheaper than the current models (without video function).


ah, wouldn't this make the perfect excuse to spend your year-end bonuses???

Wednesday, September 09, 2009

is it all just hype?

it's that time of the year again when people get all excited with dates like today's - 09.09.09. is it really an auspicious date (read here) or is it all hype?

haven't read the papers yet but i can safely assume there'll be some sort of a mass engagement/wedding held somewhere today. at the hospital, 3 couples found it fit to have their children delivered by caesarean section today. in fact, one was delivered at an almost unbelieveably well-timed moment:

at a neighbouring private hospital, there are 11 (yes, ELEVEN!!) planned deliveries, & some of these will surely make it to the tabloids tomorrow. something tells me we have missed the point altogether. giving birth is as natural as eating or breathing &, except for medical reasons, should be allowed to take its natural course. after all, the Wise Man did say:

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. eccles 3:11

Tuesday, September 08, 2009

can't live without music

sounds like a Village People hit song, doesn't it?

actually, my daughter made that statement when her iPod finally gave way. the cable of the headphones have become frayed & the battery hardly lasts a few hours after a full charge.

i gave her this iPod (2G, 2nd gen) after the UPSR & now she says it hard to study without it.

so, last week, we went around the mall looking for one. as it turned out, the most popular model is the one with 8G memory, retailing at rm599, which was sold out at all 3 dealers. i asked her if she'd settle for a 4G (rm499) but she (rightly) said it was not worth it. she then asked if i would consider the 16G (rm799) but i thought it was a tad expensive.


that night, we went online to source for the 8G model, & we were pleasantly surprised that we could order one from the Apple store.


today, it arrived & guess who's happy as a lark?

did i mention that it came with
free engraving .....
& a gift message?


now, she's got no excuse for not doing well in the PMR.

Saturday, September 05, 2009

prophetic power?

i just posted earlier this week about what the boy cheekily said, that he couldn't wait for the next funeral (to savour peanuts served at wakes).

and then......2 people passed on 2 days ago; a brother from the chinese church & a doctor colleague. suddenly, the cautionary remark that one should be careful what one wishes for because it may just come true, became very real.

that, i'm not really worried about but what is playing at the back of my mind now is the common belief that things or events invariably occur in threes. even shakespeare reflected on that sentiment when he wrote in hamlet:


when sorrows come,
they come not single spies,
but in battalions.


now, i wonder if there will be another demise to complete the triad?

Thursday, September 03, 2009

she will miss him


i couldn't figure this out - how come they still have sibling rivalry despite being borned 8 years apart? the boy, i can understand because he is still a kid, but my daughter was already a teenager then. & ever so often, as parents, we had to mediate between the warring factions.


be that as it may, of late, the girl had noticeably mellowed down. sometimes, when they talked, i could see from the corner of my eyes that she has started hugging him & kissing him on the cheeks.

i think she has begun to miss him already. isn't it often that we don't realise what we have till they're out of sight?