bali - the sequel

i didn't read the novel eat, pray, love. neither did i watch the movie, so i was pleasantly surprised to be told that jimbaran bay that we passed by on the way to uluwatu was a location shooting site for the movie.

there was some religious ritual going on that day. the sand is fine, the water looked clear &, coupled with fine weather, it would be picture-perfect for the movie. no wonder the leading lady, played by julia roberts, fell in love here.

uluwatu temple is 1 of 9 directional temples (which are located at various corners of island that serve to protect from the evil spirits)

here, you have to watch out for the monkeys as they are brazen enough to snatch caps, sunglasses & other loose articles from you.

the famous (& touristy) kecak dance is held here daily at dusk, where the setting sun provides stunning backdrop.

the dance is based on the Ramayana which tells the story of Prince Rama who wants to rescue his kidnapped wife Sita from the hands of the evil Rawana, King of Lanka. the Prince asks the General of the Monkey Army, Hanoman, for help.  it is a typical story between good and evil described by performers who wear colourful masks, are beautifully dressed and dance gracefully.

after the show, we were driven to jimbaran beach for a seafood dinner. it's obviously another touristy area as most of the customers looked "foreign."

the food was well-cooked & reasonably priced. we had cuttle-fish...

huge prawns.....

& crabs.........

but before everyone rushes to bali for what appears to be delectable fresh seafood, our guide told us that most of the seafood is imported from java. after we've had dinner only did he reveal that the 2nd bomb attack on the beach in 2005 occured only a short distance from the restaurant where we just had dinner.

an unexpected surprise was having a meal at a restaurant offering crispy chicken.

i have to admit the balinese have perfected "crispy" to an art. the chicken was good down to the bones.

people who enjoy shopping & sight-seeing will like bali. there are sea sports activities that will also appeal to enthusiasts. which doesn't leave much for kids to do. so we tried out whitewater rafting, which the guide reassured us that is safe for kids. rafting is mainly along the anjung river & there are many operators offering it.

safety helmets & life-vests are a must. after a short descent down the hill, it's onward ho!

very mild ride. not much adrenaline rush. very suitable for kids. (& those with weak hearts!!)

finally, the famed temple at tanah lot (literally, island on the sea) which can be accessed when the tide is low. it was built to worship the God of the Sea.

tourists usually congregate here to catch the sunset.

you could have told me this was taken in penang & i would have believed you.

that concludes our brief 5-day vacation to a really beautiful island. people are friendly, cost of living is very affordable & crime rate is very low. i would definitely visit again.

but not before i've read eat, pray, love..

blood is thicker than water

my son would have been a marvellous elder brother.

he loves taking care of children younger than him - playing games, sharing toys or just simply being with them. but as it is, he will remain the younger of 2 siblings & that's unlikely to change.

the other day, i asked him that since he likes playing with joseph, a really cute 4-yr-old from church, would he mind if we exchanged his sister for joseph, so that he'll always have someone to play with. he thought for a while, then declined the offer. i asked him why, & he replied as-a-matter-of-factly that she is still his sister.

i was pleased with his decision, although i wouldn't have despaired had he accepted the offer, not that i could make it happen. despite his loneliness while the sister is away at school, i'm glad he realises that blood is still thicker than water.

was it worth the drive?

penang is a good 5-to-6 hour drive. add another half to an hour for the holiday traffic on the expressway. but we usually spend the christmas weekend with the in-laws.

i don't envy the penangites for the constant traffic crawl & for the escalating cost of property but you can't beat penang for the variety of food on offer.

we had our 1st lunch at the newly opened coffee island at gurney drive. i like it for the ample free parking & the cheap lunch. the main course....

............came with soup, dessert (kuih & fruits) & drinks in a buffet spread....

my sambal fish with brianyi rice costs only rm10.90, & there's no service charge or govt tax!!

our 1st family dinner was at a restaurant in cititel hotel, a whole 8-course of it.

the next day, it's off to penang road for the cendol...

2 stalls....each claimed to be famous but 1 seemed to attract more customers. we showed no favouritism by having 1 bowl from each stall. what caught my eye was this man frying char kway teow...notice anything odd?

he's promoting his stall based on his handedness....

                                is he a marketing guru or what?

chowrasta market along penang road is where you get reasonably-priced tau sar pneah, nutmegs, rojak sauce & lots of other stuff.... 

i must also tell you about this new place that just opened recently along northam road called...

 it sells hawker fare but i like it because there is ample free parking. i may sound overly concerned about parking but not having lived in penang or KL/PJ in recent years, i personally dread driving round & round searching for a place to park. so, a spacious & free parking lot is like heaven on earth for me.

what's more, it's right by the beach, as the name suggests. there are over 20 stalls serving all kinds of penang food.

we used to go to porntip's for thai food but that has since closed. the in-laws took us to the thai restaurant at heritage club on scotland road, near the penang sports club. nice ambience, food tasted authentic & yes, ample free parking again!

one more for the road - dim sum breakfast at bali hai along gurney drive. it was still packed when we arrive at 10.30am.

but, it was good - everything you'd expect from a popular dimsum restaurant.

we left for home soon after breakfast. i think the person most happiest with this trip is the mother-in-law. she hasn't seen my daughter for 2 years & we had dinner together every night we were there. she's getting on in age & there won't be many more dinners like these.

as for me, i quite dread driving the long distance but i'd do it for the old lady. the sumptuous spread is just an added bonus.

front passenger

when i was a child, i enjoy sitting on the front passenger seat of a car because i get a good full view; sitting at the back only offered one view. if you have children, you'll know what i mean & why kids like taking the front passenger seats.

little did i know that, without a seat belt, the risk for injury in a frontal collision is high. nowadays, we have seat belts, air bags as well as car seats for kids that restrain & protect the front passenger.

but these devices are helpful only if they are used. if you have a child sitting on your lap, no matter how well you yourself are restrained & how tightly you hold on to your child, it's as good as not having protection in a collision.

this is what happend to a 4-yr-old child sitting with her mother on the front seat when a collision occured.

it's a broken thigh bone aka femur - not life-threatening but very painful. fortunately, it was the only injury suffered but it could easily have been worse considering that the car was a write-off.

the mother only had a gash on the forehead while the father who was driving the car sustained a similar fractured femur. both had undergone successful surgery.

who should be responsible for this injury to the innocent child?

may you have a safe journey if you're travelling this festive season.

master entrepreneur

doctors are not generally known to be skillful businessmen because i think, to be successful in business, you need to be book-smart, street-smart & daring.

so, one out of three won't do.

but i feel one of my colleagues made a masterful move when he took in a junior partner to "share out" the work. so now, he comes in only in the morning or afternoon, or sometimes, not at all while the young fellow is doing most of the work.

the best part is my colleague can go on vacation as & when, according to his fancy. imagine sipping pina colada on a sun-drenched stretch of white sand with the palm trees swaying to a beach boys CD - not working but money rolling in all the time.

is that a master entrepreneur or what?

i could learn a couple of tricks from the old man himself.

the gift

some years back, i won an 2GB iPod nano in a competition. not being one for mobile music, i passed it on to the girl who was in primary 6. she warmed up to it & eventually, it seemed like the ear plugs were perpetually attached to her ears.
2 years back, the battery started to fail & she implored me to get her battery replaced as she can't study without them. the new battery is about half the cost of a new set, so i got her a new 8GB one instead.  i posted it here.

now, that has given way as well. it seems these china-made screens & batteries don't last long. although i had previously agreed to get her an iPhone after she's completed her O-levels, she now asked if she could get a new 64GB iPod touch instead of the iPhone.

it arrived this week......

....except that i got her a 32GB unit with this message......

was i being mean?

nah....i'm just a loving father with a cynical sense of humour.

monkey see, monkey do

i usually don't imitate people blindly. most of us don't anyway. but yesterday, i bucked the trend.

we were at sunway pyramid & had just parked at the multistorey carpark. as i was trying to remember the section where we had parked, i saw someone else who had also just parked, take a photo of the marked pillar with a phone camera.

i immediately whipped out my phone & snapped at the pillar.

now, why didn't i think of that before?

best ribs?

tony roma's are well-known for their ribs. yesterday, we were at the sunway pyramid outlet for lunch & i have to say their trademark beef ribs looked & tasted great - so succulent, you can just bite the meat off the bone.

and it goes with 4 different sauces, barbeque & honey amongst others, to enhance its flavour.....

the portions were quite large & even though we had the standard order, we were left satiated...

we were here because we were given some vouchers & normally, the ribs would cost, at least to me, an arm & a leg. but where else can you feast on what's often regarded as the best ribs in town?

ps. this is NOT a paid post

pay rise.

so, the government has given the civil servants another pay rise.

they are all rejoicing now - praising the government for being sensitive to their needs during this difficult time. some even added it'll motivate them to be more productive.

you think?

and don't expect the private corporations or self-employed people not to do anything about it. expect your neighbourhood char kuay teow hawker to start raising his prices or reducing his portions. why should he sit still & watch while the millions on government payroll reap the benefits? then the public transport companies will raise their fares, car repairs will be more expensive, price of supermarket items will trend upwards & your salon will charge more for haircuts/perms/highlights.

it's a vicious cycle we are all caught in.

and yes, don't be surprised if your medical bills start to climb, too.

but then, this could all be just conjecture. after all, i have no training in economics.

breaking free

the SPM exams just concluded last week & my daughter got to hang out with her ex-classmates over the weekend. amidst the girl talk, they shared amongst themselves what their study plans were, or rather, what their parents have planned for them. most will move to KL/PJ to pursue A-levels/matriculation. one will go straight to UK for A-levels, another to AIMST in sg petani for science matric leading to dentistry & yet another will stay back for STPM.

so many options & they are spolit for choice. i was relieved to hear none will quit school.

although most will miss home when they further their studies, there is one particular girl who expressedly relishes the separation. she just can't wait to get away from her family. & who can blame her when her overbearing parents control every aspect of her life, even which friends to make or hang out with.

given the environment that we live in, with threats from perpetrators of crime in both the physical & virtual world, some restraint is necessary so that the kids do not wander too far from safe ground. & for parents like us, the wisdom rests in knowing where the limit lies, blur at times as it may be. too much restraint may instill a feeling of imprisonment & the child can't wait to break free; too much freedom results in not knowing where the limits are.

parenting is never easy, is it?

Train up a child in the way he should go,
And when he is old he will not depart from it. 
prov 22:6

stuff i didn't know about bali, but i'm ok with it anyway.

i think we were generally "ill-prepared" for this trip, in that we didn't do much detailed background reading. even though it wasn't planned with military precision, it really turned out quite nicely maybe because we took things as it came. perhaps that's how vacations are meant to be enjoyed.

(1) i had this bizarre idea of renting a car & driving, GPS-guided of course, around the island at leisure. that way, we can slowly explore most of the tourists' attractions unhurriedly. until someone told me the roads are narrow &

motorists obey traffic rules even less than those in m'sia. we therefore followed the recommendation of others to hire a guide & driver/car instead, & that turned out to be a sound idea. with a land area almost 6 times larger than penang, there is much to explore. here, the guide, Mr Dana, explains the sights as we travel in comfort in a MPV. he gave an excellent account of bali & i would strongly recommend him. incidentally, missyC gave me his contact some time back..

                               (again, notice the narrow road)

2) balinese women are no pushovers. they work hard, not only looking after the family but help out their spouses at work as well. if left without transport, they move around carrying loads on their heads.

3) the cottage industries are located at specific districts, eg. in celuk, there are numerous silverware shops along one particular road.

somewhere along a road in ubud, there too are clusters of shops displaying & selling wood/carving products.

4) besides the ubiquitous nasi goreng & satay, 2 dishes tourists scramble to savour are babi guling (suckling pig) & crispy duck. the babi guling, though a must-try dish, is certainly no match for our siew yoke (roast pork) in appearance & taste.

 the skin wasn't even crunchy. so that was a disappointment maybe because i expected more. the crispy duck is something else. it's deep-fired till you can actually chew on the bone.

oh yes, satay is served the traditional way, complete with a burning charcoal grill.

5) kintamani in north-east bali has been likened to cameron highlands in terms of altitude and climate. at 1200m above sea-level, it was a welcome reprieve from the heat of the lowlands. i even noticed some roadside stalls offering strawberries. it's here that the active volcano mt batur & it's adjacent lake is located. tourists actually trek up its peak to catch sunrise. the black-coloured earth by its sides are fertile lava spewed out during previous eruptions.

nearby is where the some of the rice terraces are located.

rice, being the staple food in the region, is grown also in the fields. here on the terraces, each farmer form part of a cooperative that shares the limited water supply & the complex irrigation system is jointly maintained so that a farmer does not block the water from flowing downward to rice terraces below his. communal living is a major issue in bali - families are closely-knit & wives are expected to look after the parents-in-law till they pass on.

6) also in kintamani, we visited a family-owned coffee plantation. the 2 varieties grown are the well-known arabica (more expensive because less caffeine content) and robusta beans. but what we really came for is the kopi luwak - coffee made from beans that had been ingested & passed out by the civet cat.

by some weird twist of fate, this product is now the most expensive coffee in the world. 

dare i try some?

 this shop assistant beckons with a cuppa & a smile......at Rp50k (about rm18) a pop. oh, what the heck, i've already had babi guling & crispy duck, one more won't hurt.

of course, to savour coffee, you have to take it as it is, unadulterated by sugar or milk. i confess that i'm no connoisseur, so to me, it didn't taste anything different from the brew from ipoh or muar. perhaps a tad sourish but it had the ooomph though. i was wide awake after that. should you be in a boutique cafe & the premium coffee you ordered tastes like s**t, you know, you could be right! anyway, i bought a box home..

so, if you're ever in the neighbourhood, give me a shout & i'd love to make you a cup of the most expensive coffee in the world. but do give me a few hours' headstart because i've got to 1st retrieve it from the safe deposit box.

**i thought i could squeeze bali in one post but looks like there'll be a sequel**

i'm a millionaire!

actually it's no big deal la!

most malaysians visiting indonesia carry with them millions of rupiahs - after all a million rupiahs exchange for about rm360.

we were on our family vacation in bali over the weekend. flying by air asia, we tried to save as much as possible by paying only for the services we needed. so, we did self check-in, ordered in-flight meals online, paid for a 20kg luggage & didn't select our seats. we thought it was a challenge to pack 4 person's clothes into one bag with a 20kg limit but we amazed ourselves that we were able to, by bringing only the necessary personal effects. (sorry, boy, you can't bring your scrabble set.) we could achieve this feat because each of us could carry a hand luggage of up to 7kg apiece.

we elected to stay at sanur (about 30min's drive from the airport) instead of the more famous kuta area, made infamous by the bomb attacks some years back. it's obvious from day 1 that balinese are deeply religious. they place burning incense in front of their businesses as offerings to the gods....

....and some have little statues of the deities as well.....

because of the deep religious beliefs, it's not surprising that major crimes in bali are few & far in between, except when committed by foreigners, like the bomb blasts of 2002 & 2005.

one item of news which you probably didn't know...last week, during the summit of east asian countries, the airport at denpasar had to be closed to prepare for the arrival of barak obama. a passenger plane that was supposed to land at 6pm had to be diverted to bandung, 860km away in java, & finally landed in bali only at 2am that nite.

talk about making a grand presidential entrance!

**next : the tour proper begins....**

L

the girl is happy as a Lark!

she just called to say she passed her undang-undang test. that sort of impressed me because she only had 2 days to read the book. so, she'll be getting her Learner's Licence soon.

she can expect to be derided as a Lembu when she holds up traffic on a single carriage way. but that's nothing new because we all went thru all that ourselves.

if she passes the driving test 1st time - now, that would reaLLy impress me. lets see if a bit of my driving skill rubs off on her.

doc's family annual vacation 2011

the year-end school vacation has started.

the girl is back home.

the family are together once again.

many years ago, we agreed we'll travel together just once a year, so that it's something to really look forward to.

you could say, it's our pot at the end of the rainbow.

we're headed to bali tomorrow.

the pot at the end of the rainbow.

the pot of gold - this was how i viewed the year-end vacation.

after a whole year's work, it's time to sit back & laze around a bit. that's how it was when i was in school.

but how time's they're a-changing.

now, there're various holiday enrichment courses to prepare students get a head start for the new year. language, sciences, maths, self-improvement, music, etc etc. so much tuition, so little time for being a child!

just last week, after the year-end exams, my son asked his schoolmate who lives in the same taman if he wants to play football on thursday. the classmate said, he can only play on sunday because his weekdays are packed with tuition, from afternoon to nite. BM group tuition, BM personal tuition, Chinese personal tuition under 2 different tutors, English personal tuition, Piano tuition under 2 different teachers. his mother is currently looking for maths & science tutors.

no wonder he seemed like a dull boy! but all that extra lessons must have had some effect as he moved up one class. the irony is that his father had, some years back, launched a tirade against all the kiasu mothers who enrolled their children in multiple tuition classes. he must have relented & decided that if you can't beat 'em, then join 'em.

in the mean time, i think that pot of gold remained elusive to the students today.

i lost it!

my temper, that is.

anticipating a long day in the OT today, i arrived on the dot & expected to start right away. i was horrified that the IV drip has not yet been set up for the patient & hence the pre-medication has also not been given. the nurse at the reception bay was nowhere to be found. i asked the other nurse at the counter where the reception nurse was & she said nurse M was in the pantry.

i marched straight to the pantry & there she was - nurse M having breakfast at 9am with a few others. i didn't hesitate to give her a mouthful & then went straight into the Sister's office to let her know my disgust - how can your staff have breakfast during working hours when the work has not been done??

naturally, Sister gave nurse M another earful. so there you are, a lousy start to a long day that got at least 3 people upset & left everyone else uneasy. i was surprised when nurse M confronted me later & accused me of humiliating her in public. although i didn't respond, it bothered me for a while & after much thought, i realised that i should have pulled nurse M to one side before reprimanding for her tidak apa attitude towards work.

in the end, i decided that although i was upset at nurse M for not doing her job, i should have handled the matter more professionally (& gentlemanly?). i managed to catch her before she completed her shift to apologise.

at least, i know that i will sleep easy tonite & tomorrow will be a new day with a new start.

BM paper 1

the SPM starts today with BM paper 1. the mention of that paper always sends chills down my spine. many years ago when i sat for that paper, i forgot to write my index number on a few answer sheets. which means, should they become detached from the front sheet, they could not be traced to me. i had nightmares of the examiner chucking them into the waste paper basket.

the fear of failure did play on my mind throughout the exams. i imagined repeating form 5, or forced to start work.

as it turned out, i got a P7 - a pass which allows passage to Form 6. those days, there weren't much choice for middle-income family like mine - studying at Taylor's (the only local private college those days) or overseas was beyond our means. and a credit in BM is required to enter Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, which would have fast-tracked to my dream career in engineering.

anyway, i sat for the supplementary BM paper in July the next year & got a C6. i jumped for  joy  & you'd think i score an A1!!

students nowadays are spoilt for choice for career paths after form 5. i wish them all the very best & hope they seize the day. 

but i wouldn't want to be in their shoes!!

it's only a numbers game la!

11.11.11

this date is over-hyped. my obstetric colleague has FIVE C-sections today to cater to some parental whims & fancies.

but one couple took it a little too far. the mother-to-be developed pregnancy-induced hypertension & had been treated for it. but as it neared 37-weeks, the blood pressure was getting out of control, hovering around 160/100, thus endangering the lives of both mother & child. my colleague recommended an early C-section on the 9th. but as you'd have guessed, both parents wanted the delivery on the 11th.

in order to satisfy the pandering & yet protect the pregnancy, the c-section was planned for 11.45pm on the 10th, so that by the time the baby is delivered, it would have been past midnite & well into the 11th.

it wasn't a moment too soon either. there was meconium staining in the amniotic fluid already, suggesting that the baby was in some degree of distress. fortunately, there wasn't any obvious damage.

however, when she (yes, it's a girl!) grows up, i wonder if she would appreciate that her parents played the numbers game & endangered her life, so she can be born on a supposed auspicious date & have a series of 1's on her myKad?

for whose benefit, i wonder?

chalk & cheese

when we have 2 of something, we just can't help but compare them; none more so than comparing our children.

one could be a fast learner, the other not so.

one more talkative & expressive, the other introverted.

one a leader, the other a follower.

the list goes on.

we've read before in nursery rhymes what little boys & girls are made of.

boys are snips & snails  & puppy dogs tails, while girls are sugar & spice & everything nice.

take the exams, for example. my son just takes things in his stride - he studies just enough to get us off his back, still wants to play & watch TV during exam week, & even if he drops to a lower class next year, life will still go on without a care. he doesn't know what stress is & if nothing else intervenes, he will definitely live to a ripe old age.

my daughter is the direct opposite. she has to complete her revision at all costs, sacrifice sleep to study, will eat when stressed, & will cry & wail if the exams don't go well.

as it is, the boy did just enough in the year-end exam to remain in the same class, while the girl is going thru a torrid time in the ongoing O-levels.

p/s. i actually wrote a similar post after the boy's midterm exams. read here.

there you are - 2 different peas from the same pod who will walk different life's paths. like chalk & cheese.

best coffee in the world

you're probably thinking arabica, vietnamese, starbucks, or even kopi luwak.

actually i care not for the expensive or exotic stuff.

a full sachet of nescafe 3-in-1 in a mug of boiling water with a measure of milk. it's the best coffee in my world because my son made it for me for breakfast this morning.

what a way to start off the day!

ps. he also made the best ice cream in the world.

angels & demons

overheard in a phone conversation:

Dr A : nurse, what time is my patient's operation scheduled for?

Nurse : 1pm

Dr A :  ok, make sure i get to operate before Dr B. after all, i booked my case before him.

Nurse :  ok

Dr A :  make sure you don't call for Dr B's patient until i've finished with mine. he can operate after office hours if he wants to. **evil laugh**

this, by the way, is not a scene from a dan brown's novel. maybe it should be retitled halloween in hospital. **more evil laugh**

dangerous sports

you'd think motorsports is dangerous. after all, 2 people were killed separately in Las Vegas & here in Sepang just last week.

you'd think competitive rugby & football are dangerous, these being contact sports.

you think bungee-jumping is dangerous, since it is invariably listed as an exclusion in accident/travel insurance policies.

what about high-jump in school?

you'd never expect this to happen but it did. this 10 year-old boy jumped & landed on his outstretched hands. being right-handed, the impact was felt on this hand & it broke 2 bones. just goes to show that you don't need to participate in dangerous sports to be injured.

i should know. my son broke the same 2 bones playing goalkeeper in a football game with his friends earlier this year.

it's time i took a break!

i suddenly woke up at 8.25am this morning. almost immediately, i jumped out of bed & called the hospital to inform i'd be late for the 8.30 start. as i was dialling the phone, i then realised it's sunday. feeling relieved, i went back to sleep again.

i reckon when it's your job you think about the 1st thing of the morning, it's time for a break. or, reappraise the priorities

as if to reinforce that notion, i inadvertently pumped RON 97 petrol at the gas station, which i've never done before.

i can't wait for the girl to return home next month for family vacation.

so, you think you're safe at 33?

you'd never expect someone who's 33 years old to have a stroke, right?

wrong.

this technician was at an office meeting when he suddenly keeled over & starting talking gibberish. he was brought to hospital & a CT scan of the brain revealed a blood clot in his brain.

while preparing for surgery, a repeat scan revealed that the clot has expanded.

the clot was successfully evacuated. he is recovering in ICU & he woke up this morning from the sedation. it was noted that his blood pressure was excessively high before surgery & this was most likely the reason for the stroke. apparently, hypertension runs in his family.

if he doesn't take care of himself, he can expect to have another stroke or even a heart attack before he reaches 40.

gives new meaning to the term life is short, doesn't it?

new breed of doctors?

my friend who lives in klang valley told me a branch of a well-known medical centre has just started in his neighbourhood. it specialises in neurosurgery, spine & cardiac surgery. so, all doctors of these disciplines have moved over from the main centre to the new site, leaving behind specialists who are brainless, spineless & heartless.

you have been forewarned.

end of the road?

this was taken from a FB page of The Alliance for an "Idiot-Free" America

i wonder if we, here in malaysia, will be in the same position when our oil wells run dry.

out of one's league

i'm a bit part player in the stock market. that means, i occasionally dabble in it & only with blue chip stocks because i don't know or haven't learned the twists & turns of a wily stock investor.

that also means i won't get extremely rich from a bull run. more importantly, i won't be impoverished with the downturn.

i'm cautious mainly because i'm using my own hard-earned money.

unlike the GLCs who are spending money as if it grows on trees. take Proton for example. remember they bought the italian motorcycle company MV Augusta in 2005 for 70m euros, then sold it off a year later, without producing a single bike, for a token sum of 1 euro? yes, FIVE ringgit! the irony is that the company that bought it for 1 euro reportedly sold part of it to BMW for a reported 93m euros, & the remainder to Harley-Davidson for 109m euros.

& it was reported today that proton may sell part of the loss-making Lotus. seems like nothing Proton touches turns to gold. other than benefitting the manufacturers & the downliners, i don't think Proton did justice to the motoring public by mass-producing affordable cars. it's only affordable because the other cars were slapped with high import/excise/sales taxes.

perhaps car manufacturing is out of our league. or, we should only let competent people manage & turn the company around, like how they did for Air Asia & SP Setia.

most eligible bachelor

bachelor may not be the appropriate description because my colleague is recently divorced. his was supposed to be the happy-ending genre - 2 doctors who married & went on to specialist training. he qualified & went into private practice while she qualified & was sent overseas for further training. they were supposed to start a family when she returned.

but she didn't.

she found life away from home to her liking, so much so that after the supposed 1-year training, she found herself another job & just continued working. it's been over 2 years since she left, so after many (failed) attempts at reconciliation, he gave up & filed for divorce. the papers just came through.

word spread fast, not so much the doomed marriage as a 40-something medical specialist with a flourishing private practice now available for suitors of the romantic kind. he has the temperament & character that would make any propective in-laws sit up & take notice.

already i can see 2 families making moves to catch his attention. he may want a break after the trauma of the divorce but he's just too nice a guy to remain single - he needs someone to share his affection &...er...wealth.

but here's the catch. he attends church & if he adheres to church beliefs, he can't marry without being branded as an adulterer, no less.

"I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”  matt 19:9

i don't know how this will pan out as we all watch with anticipation.

exam fever....& why you can't give up!

yes, it's that dreadful time of the year again...for anxious students & their super-over-anxious parents.

i'd be lying if i say i'm not concerned for my daughter whose exams start in 2 weeks. having gone thru my fair share of tests & assessments from age 7 till 36 (!!), i think i may have figured out the twists & turns of exams.

1st, you're not competing against one another but rather against the system. as long as you achieve certain marks, you'll pass or score an A. yes, the examiners plot a curve & then decide on the cut-off points, but these points don't change much from year to year. if the exam is exceptionally difficult, as what my friend said about the PMR BM paper yesterday, most people will find it difficult, so the points will be lowered accordingly. i overheard my teacher friend said the standard of SPM Add Maths is so bad, the passing mark is 20%!!

so, it's actually in the students' interest that they have group studies/discussions & share with each other what topics they think are more important. that's called spotting questions & i believe this term still apply these days. my friends & i used to spot, in the sense that we've covered most exam topics & then we decide, based on previous years' questions, which are likely to be ask that particular year, so we can emphasise on those topics & hope to score should it be asked. but you have to have covered MOST topics, if not all. of course, when you haven't & are desparate, you'd also spot questions but i call this gambling with your future!

2nd, most students would have diligently prepared months before the exams & no one will ever admit they've completely covered the whole syllabus. even so, i'm quite obssessive about making sure the other preparations are in place, eg. full complement of pens, pencils, rulers & erasers, identity card, hankerchief (to wipe the sweat from forehead & palms) & watch/clock. after all, the revision is already in the head & there's not much more you can do about that, but you don't want to be rattled because of a oversight, eg. don't forget fresh calculator batteries!

3rd, don't forget to pray. doesn't matter which religion you embrace, you still need the confidence that a Supreme Being is on your side. especially when all else fail, when you're staring at a question & don't know how & where to begin, or when you're facing an essay question with no points in your blanked-out mind. when you're in dire straits & the sinking feeling is overwhelming, your last hope will be to call out, pray, exhort, chant or just mumble. you don't know Who's listening & Who's going to give you enlightenment. besides, you have nothing to lose.

fast-forward a few months, & when the results are announced, if you scored, then congratulations are in order. otherwise, don't fret that you didn't achieve your target. yeah, i know, your parents are disappointed & you're frustrated & the whole world seems to be against you. your friends have moved forward but you're sort of stuck in a rut.

who's to know what the divine plan is for you? is it for you to take a detour from your desired career path？or, should you start back at square #1 & start your journey all over again, hopefully be better equipped the next time?

after 30 years of sitting for exams, i've been thru it all - success, disappointment AND outright failure. the battle scars tell of the detour & square #1 tales. & more.

that's why i dare tell you - don't give up because it ain't over till the fat lady sings!

love transcends all

now that the dreaded ghost month is over, expect a lot of happy occasions, like marriages, house-warming, etc to take place.

2 nurses are tying the knot soon. theirs & the grooms' families seemed happy.

a friend's daughter will also be getting hitched but the parents aren't too pleased because this one needs to transcend racial & religious boundaries. it's never happened in the family before so it came as a shock when we found out about it.

but the girl is a matured adult, trained in a top UK university & holding a decent corporate job, so presumably she's well aware of the implications of her decision.

circumstances like this often remind me of Samson who chose to marry a Philistine girl, even after his parents questioned his choice.

sometimes life just don't turn out the way we envisioned but that doesn't mean it's all bad. make lemonade, we're urged. make do with what we already have & build on that.

after all, we're also told, of faith, hope & love - the greatest is still love.

happy wedded bliss, everyone!

playing for God

being able to play music is a gift.

from God, no less.

if kids can be encouraged to play for God, then i think they may just appreciate this gift. so everytime care group is held at my place, we get the kids to play when we worship.

we look forward to their playing for the church when they are older.

holding hands

kids hold each other's hands in friendship。

kids hold their parents' hands for guidance。

couples hold each other's hands in love。

protesters hold each other's hands for solidarity.

so, can i say a patient would hold the doctor's hand for comfort?

bali

t hat's where we'll be spending our annual family vacation this year end.

but we have absolutely no idea where to stay & what to visit, so any tips/pointers would be very much appreciated.

TQ.