G'day, mate!

you know you're Down Under when you see this....
it was more an impulsive move rather than a well-thought out plan. when MAS offered some cheap flights in Oct last year (oil was about $100 per barrel), we couldn't believe that return tickets for Perth went for about RM1300 each, all in. having talked about vacationing in Australia for years but not doing anything about it, this was like an offer from Don Corleone.(the tickets have come down to under RM1k since)

after an uneventful flight, we touched down to a sweltering 35 degreesC, & this was supposed to be autumn already. my secondary school classs-mate CL picked us up at the airport & sent us to our apartment in Joondalup...
....a modern suburb about 25km north of Perth. after settling in, we went for a drive along the coast....

to the reknowned Hillary's Harbour, just in time to catch the sunset ....


...& for our 1st meal - a sea-food platter dinner....

a short visit to King's Park at nite was our last stop on the 1st day.

.

this is the city at nite as seen from the park & zooming in on the bright structure on the right, & hey, what do you know - they have their own version of the ferris wheel by Swan River....


the next morning, CL took us to a Car Rental & we decided on a Mitsubishi Lancer for $33 a day.....

now that we've got wheels, Perth is there for the taking. drove to Cottlesoe Beach where a local exhibition was on show.


some of the sculptures include giant polo mints....
extra long pencils....

...and an oversized scrabble set...


next post : swan river & the city

Down Under

the boy has never been on vacation with the family for more than 5 days - that was to bangkok last year. so, you can understand his excitement that he's going Down Under...for a whole week!

so excited he already marked it on his diary way back in january....

Obituary

"Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be
remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:

Knowing when to come in or out of the rain;
Why the early bird gets the worm;
Life isn't always fair;
And maybe it was my fault

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an Elastoplast to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband; churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims. Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason. He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, I Want It Now, Someone Else Is To Blame, and I'm A Victim.

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. If you
still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing."

**thanks, YO, for the email**

those were the days, my friend...

so, march 12 will be D-day for thousands of SPM candidates.

this is where the students are spoilt for choice - some have already started A-levels, while others wait for 6th form & matriculation places, & a small minority hope & pray a windfall called a scholarship.

i remember clearly the day i went to school with my friends to collect our results. nope, no top-scorers amongst & certainly none of that calling-parents-on-the-handphone rigmarole but hooray, we all passed! we had lepak-ed for over 3 months since the exam & we still had another 2 months before school re-started. yes, for us, life was simple - pass SPM (called MCE then), lepak some more & then join 6th form.

we ate ice-cream as we took a leisurely stroll through the istana gardens to town to catch a bus home...

on the way, we reminisced those care-free lower secondary days while ruminating over a concept still alien to us then - the co-ed classes of 6th form. hmm....girls!

& we laughed wickedly in anticipation.

evacuation drill?

Next time, if there is an evacuation drill in your office, think before you rush out...

In a large multinational company..............

A fire alarm rang at 4 PM in a large office when almost all employees were in office (approx 5000). As usual the entire office was evacuated within 3 mins & all employees gathered outside the office in the designated area waiting for further announcement.

The Security Officer in charge made the following announcement: "Dear employees - with sincere regret I have been asked to announce that for many of you it will be your last evacuation drill. Due to the recession the company is laying off almost 50% of its employees. So when this announcement finishes, I ask all of you to move back into the building and if your swipe card does not work then it means you have been laid
off, in which case you will not be allowed inside and all your belongings will be couriered to you by tomorrow.

The Company has used this innovative approach as we didn't want to fill up the email box with lay-off mails and good-bye mails in thousands & also to avoid any fight inside the office and the consequent security issue for all staff. Hope you have had a rewarding career with us and all the best ahead. Please move back in & try your luck".

**thanks, WW, for the email**

black sheep

a post-mortem examination is usually performed by a pathologist (also called coroner in UK or medical examiner in US) to determined the cause of death when it is not obvious, or in medico-legal or suspicious circumstances, eg. road traffic accidents or suicide.

or, like when someone dies in police custody.

we all know about the Kugan case & now that the 2nd pathologist's is available online, it should make us medics wonder how is it possible that the 1st report is so vastly different from the 2nd?

obviously, someone has gone against the oath. the hippocratic oath. the part that upheld one to abstain from whatever is deleterious and mischievous.

i know some of us overcharge, while others are less than meticulous in treatment, but to lie in a high-profile police case?

i've since removed this from my side-bar...

the head bone & the heart bone

lynnxuan's post got me thinking again about why i applied to do medicine in the 1st place.

this is that time of the year, after the SPM/STPM/matriculation exams, when career paths take shape. some students are focussed enough to know what they want to do, while for others, their ambitions are molded by well-meaning parents.

it really doesn't matter what the reasons are for doing medicine. it's noble to desire to want to heal & relieve suffering, yet it's not a crime to want to make lots of money.

many years ago, a dear friend gave me a cutting from a magazine, Newsweek i think, about a speech directed at a graduating medical class. the speaker was Alan Alda, most famously revered for his role as US army surgeon Hawkeye Pierce in the long-running TV series M*A*S*H. he highlighted several pertinent points:

You're entering a special place in our society. People will be awed by your expertise. You'll be placed in a position of privilege. You'll live well, people will defer to you. call you by your title - and it may be hard to remember that the word "doctor" is not actually your first name.Where does money come on your list? Will it be the sole standard against which you reckon your success? How much will it guide you in relating to your patients? Do patients in a clinic need less of your attention than private patients?

Where will your family come on your list? How many days and nights, weeks and months, will you separate yourself from them, buried in your work, before you realize that you've removed yourself from an important part of your life?

I congratulate you, and please let me thank you for taking on the enormous responsibility that you have — and for having the strength to have made it to this day. I don't know how you've managed to learn it all. But there is one more thing you can learn about the body that only a non-doctor would tell you — and I hope you'll always remember this:

The head bone is connected to the heart bone - and don't let them come apart.

here is the full text of a most inspiring message every prospective & new medical graduate should read, deliberate upon & keep in mind, as they embark on their brave journey.

bon voyage, doctors!

20 years

we've had our share of friendship blues, lovers tiffs & running battles as man & spouse.

be that as it may, 20 blissful years & 2 lovely kids later, i'm still married to the same person.

i think that's how God would want it.

He who finds a wife finds what is good
and receives favour from the LORD. prov 18:22

a good deal?

my insurance agent is like a friend. having known him for over 12 years, he still keeps me informed of what he thought to be good deals. like oil palm land for sale. or a property whose owner was deep in debts. the latest on offer is a BMW 325 sports - less than 2 years & only 7000km on the clock at a "giveaway" price of RM200k (RM305k when new). ha ha!

but like the land & property before this, the deal is dead right after he mentioned "BMW". in these difficult times, when terms like insolvency, slow-down & rescue package are everyday conversation pieces, i guess it's prudent to be frugal.

the pastor once expounded: why buy things you don't need with money you don't have, just to impress people you don't even like. yes, why indeed?

thanks, but my current car has gone over 7 years & 100k km with us & we're ok with this.

timeless

we've heard it all before.....

love is blind.....

love is patient.....

love is kind......

the greatest is love......

but here's another dimension of love....

thanks, Jems, for this insight.

the lovers, the dreamers & me

have you, like me, always thought that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow was a story you only told to kids? well, wonder no more, because someone actually photographed the end of a rainbow in california (read here) & there's certainly no glitter in sight.

i learned of the significance of rainbows at different times of my life....

when i was young, i was told never to point your finger at one, or it'll get chopped off (how, i don't know as i've never put that myth to the test)......

in primary school, i had to remember all 7 colours of the rainbow in its order....

in bible school, it was the sign that there will never be another Great Flood, the tsunami notwithstanding....

and then, Kermit the frog sang of the Rainbow Connection...

Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth. Gen 9:16

abandon ship?

we've been pondering a move out of our current Care Group. having been with them for over 4 years & witnessing its steady growth, credit for this positive transformation, from just 3-4 families to the present 8-9, is due in no small part to the shepherding skills of B8. in fact, i paid him a glowing tribute when the CG leaders met with our new pastor just last sunday. i was the only one who did so.

still, i thought it was time to move on. i have to admit our spiritual needs are well met in this CG with 1 exception - my daughter's. the adults study the lessons while one of the wives taught the kids. however, there are currently no other teenager attending this group & i felt it's important she interacted with her peers in a bible study setting. 

this is just an intent for now, having sounded out to B8 as well as the leader of the CG we planned to move to. we shall pray & see how we can do the Lord's bidding.

(true) love @ 1st sight

despite these difficult times of global melt-down, recession, extreme weather changes & political upheavals, i find this message particularly soothing. so, to all mothers whose unrivalled love & devotion to their children is never in doubt, this one is for you....

appropriately, Mitch Albom wrote this in For One More Day:

"And I realised when you look at your mother, you are looking at the purest love you will ever know."

corporal punishment

my son grew up with his group of friends in church who were all born within months of each other in 2002. 3, including the boy, are in the same class in primary 1 while the 4th is enrolled at another school.

he is particularly close to this girl - he used to chat in class & spend recess time with her. i'd even go on to say they'd be inseparable if the teachers didn't intervene. just today, the teacher smacked her with a ruler & she cried her heart out, a response i suspect to be a result of not ever been punished by her parents. now, she doesn't want to go to school for fear of another beating.

so i asked the boy, what if he gets punished by the teacher. i'll try not to be naughty in class, he replied.

what if the girl gets transferred out to another school & he loses his best friend, i tested him. this is what he has to say: it's ok because i still have to go to school.

i'd say he's got things under control, but it's still early days yet.

The rod and reproof give wisdom,
But a child who gets his own way brings shame to his mother.

prov 29:15, NASB

**image : NST, 29.6.2000**

one for the women

Dan was a single guy living at home with his father and working in the family business.  When he found out he was going to inherit a fortune when his sickly father dies, he figured he needed a wife with whom to share his fortune.

One evening at an investment seminar, he spotted the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.  Her natural beauty took his breath away. "I may look like just an ordinary guy," he said to her,"but in just a few years, my father will die and I'll inherit US$200 million." 

Impressed, the woman obtained his business card .... and three days later, she became his stepmother. 

Morale of the story: Women are so much better at financial planning than men.

**received this email from a colleague. thanks, WYO. so, guys, watch out for wily women!!**

child-like innocence

now that the ang pows have changed hands, what should the kids do with their new found wealth? my daughter will be planning to spend most of that at the next shopping trip (i believe an iPod is top on the list, which i shall try to deter) while the boy is thinking of opening a kiddie bank account. he probably got the idea from going on numerous trips to the bank with me.

when i asked him which bank he intends to save with, without a 2nd thought, he picked Maybank. 

why?

because he was born in the month of May.

good choice, i thought. after all, there's a branch near where we live, parking is easy & free, & it's government-linked. 

so there you are, save your money & support the government. how much simpler can life be??

CNY at 1-Utama

i like 1-Utama because:
1) it's easily accessible via either NKVE or LDP;
2) it's a RM1 flat-rate parking fee &
3) being a kampung boy, having lunch at dragon -i is a big deal to me.

where i live, no restaurant has a numbered queue system, only banks & govt agency payment counters, but it does provide some semblance of civility as hungry patrons aren't a patient lot. while waiting for a table, one can actually observe the chefs prepare their trademark noodles & dumplings.


we didn't have long to wait despite the lunch crowd (& i thought most KL-lites were out-of-town for the New Year). my order of stewed beef noodles was very good & filling.

this establishment was obviously thriving, despite the steep prices & in difficult times. the boy however didn't join us as he had more pressing matters to attend to:

therein lies our dilemma - when he can play, food, sleep & school are the furthest things in his mind!!

& in line with the festivities, the acrobats...


.....and the lions.....

.....were let loose.

i wonder if this is how a typical KL-lite would spend the weeekend or public holiday?

year of the ox

this is from Jemima's blog  & although written by Oren Arnold originally for Christmas, i feel it is very relevant for every day of our lives:

GIVE:

To your enemy, forgiveness.
To an opponent, tolerance.
To a friend, your heart. 
To a customer, service. 
To all, charity. 
To every child, a good example. 
To yourself, respect.

Happy New Year of the Ox, one & all!

PS. 'tis the season for SMS greetings but occasionally, i receive a few that is not on my phone list & the sender doesn't leave a name. i wonder how you would respond to the SMS?

TV merry-go-round

i've been toying with the idea of getting a plasma/LCD tv for over a year but found no reason for acting on it, notwithstanding that prices are on a slide, much like most other electronic gadgets.

until recently.

my mum had 2 tvs in the old house - a Phillips & a Sony - & for some strange reason, she sold off the latter & kept the Phillips. wrong choice because ever since moving over, it was not working well, & all she saw was blurred images, & even then only could receive TV1 & TV2. 

so i thought it was a good excuse to get that plasma tv now. besides, my regular home appliance guy must be tired of trying to get me to upgrade for the past year & much to his chagrin, i remained defiant.

so i surprised him last week by asking him to make me another offer. after mulling for another few days, i settled for a Panasonic, although i had originally wanted a Bravia. well, can you blame me - after all, i have 2 Sonys that still work? thus began the merry-go-round.

the New Toy now sits proudly in the lounge, while the Sony (8 years old) was relocated upstairs, replacing an even older Sony (11 years) which was promptly moved to my mother's house.

i'd like to think that everyone's happy now, not least the tv dealer.

(now that the tv's in the bag, i'm toying with idea of a GPS device - which means it'll be at least another year before i get that Garmin 205w)

men's night

you'd think this is about a promotion at a girlie bar.

or, a page out of Sodom & Gomorrah tragedy.

actually it's our (very benign) CG night-out solely for the guys. i know it sounds almost juvenile - like kids up to their tricks when the parents aren't watching - but seriously, what kind of mischief can a bunch of middle-aged guys create?

food is always a good reason to meet & this time it's ikan tapah on the menu. it was definitely a marked improvement over the last night-out at KFC, which i managed to wrangle out of due to work commitment. (heh heh)

the fish didn't disappoint..
.
& neither did the crabs...

nor the karaoke after that...


it also became obvious who will NEVER be potential malaysian idols.