Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Why You Cut Queue??
I was at my office lobby and I saw a guy entered the lift, so I pressed the UP button so that I can catch up with the same lift. It was just a 2 second wait.
Anyway, I got into the lift, saw that he pressed 9. I pressed 4 to my floor. Then as the lift opened at Level 4, he blocked the way and say "Eh, why you cut queue ah? I enter lift first, I go out first lah, why you want to go out first?" which I replied, "My floor is on the way to your floor what?" and he lambasted "I go out at Level 9 first, then you go out at Level 4. Don't cut queue!"
Yep, the strangest thing happened, in my mind that is, coz' I was just thinking what-if he actually did that.
Friday, January 26, 2007
Craving
need to spend so much money on things. Just
to be 'in', they think these items can actually
satisfy the society's view that they are cool. In
my opinion, there is seriously no need to be
craving for attention. It really doesn't matter
for you if they find you childish still eating
KFC or McDonalds' ice-cream in public. Just
as some people who suddenly change as
soon as they get outside their home, it's like
as if they have to lead dual life. This cannot be
possible. Please read first word of every line.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Hidden Costs in Buying Properties
Property Price - RM200,000
Downpayment - RM20,000 (10% of total cost)
Bank Loan - RM180,000
*Note: Most of the time new properties have their own panel lawyers and banks, and most of the time, the developer pays for the Lawyer Fee for the Sales & Purchase Agreement.
What comes out from your pocket....
Downpayment for property = RM20,000
Lawyer Fee for S&P = RM2,000++
Stamp Duty for S&P = RM3,000
Disbursement for S&P = RM200 - RM5,000 (here, the Lawyer have a field trip on charging exorbitant price for disbursement ie. RM70 for faxing, RM60 for editing, etc.. very similar to what an accounting firm or consulting firm would charge for disbursement)
MRTA = RM2,000++
Lawyer Fee for Bank Loan Agreement = RM2,000++
Stamp Duty for Loan Agreement = RM900
Disbursement for Loan Agreement = RM200 - RM5,000 (again, lawyers can go wild)
And went wild my developer's lawyer did!!
Belardy photostat and phonecalls costs them RM60 and RM70 each! I guessed they must have used superbly high quality ink extracted from Mont Blanc pen, and importing the said photostat machine from Australia and therefore there are shipping involved.
Basically, with the developer already paying lawyer's fee for S&P, my disbursement for the S&P itself is RM2,400+... and lawyer fees + disbursement for loan is RM3,000+.
In total I had to actually pay an extra RM5,500+ apart from my downpayment and MRTA (though lawyer fee's paid by developer).
In a nutshell, beware the "hidden cost" which is actually the Disbursement! That's a really scary word now.
Friday, January 19, 2007
Wife / Daughter
Imagine yourself as a guy, just about to get married in a week or two. One night you have a dream, you dreamnt coming out of the toilet after a bath and you see your four years old son, playing right outside your toilet door. His fig-leaf like birthmark very visible on the right side of his neck. You say "Hey, play somewhere else." and then you see your two year old daughter just lying down on the bed. Then you look around for your wife, and you ask your son, "Son, where's mommy?". He gives you this weird look, and then you realise... she died giving birth to your daughter. It was a very difficult delivery, but your daughter managed to pull through. The dream ends.
Now, imagine yourself already married, in the hospital room holding back panic attack seeing your wife about to give birth. She pushes.... and your baby boy comes safely into the world. The doctor hands him to your wife, and then both of you takes a closer look at him, and you see a fig-leaf like birthmark on the right side of his neck.
Will you let your wife conceive again?
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Something Truly Remarkable
At 11:23pm today, Thursday 18th January 2007, something truly remarkable has happened!! My blue pen, a PaperMate Kilometrico Fine, that can write for many kilometers has finally ran out of ink!
Long Live Kilometrico! Long Live The Pen!
Friday, January 05, 2007
Reunion
I was having a talk with a friend (who is now a lawyer for my company, hahaha.... cronism!!) and yeah, we did agree that as time goes by, marriages becomes reunion. Next week, a friend of mine is getting married and word has it that quite a lot of ex-school mates will be attending. I guess from now that, that's the only time for ex-school mates to meet... during marriages.
Hmm... I wonder if they considered my marriage to be a reunion in the past. :D
Thursday, January 04, 2007
2006 : A Review
Nearly everyone else would look back a year ago and see what they have accomplished, or not accomplished in 2006. I will not look back at my resolution, however, not to gloat, I will list what I have achieved in 2006. This is merely a listing for myself, to look back in the future (if I do that is).
Achievements
1. Bought a shop lot
2. Started a business
3.
4. Still eating KFC healthily. :P
Shortcomings
1. Spending way above my budget
2. Not earning RM100 x my age
3. Several 'lazy spells' during working hours
4. Wasted too much time on games
This year,... one main goal is to reduce Item 1. Others, err... we'll go by ear. :D
Saturday, December 16, 2006
Reality Crumbled
It is Saturday morning now, and I feel better. The memory of yesterday is still here, but not the affect of having such a memory. What I felt yesterday afternoon was totally different.
We humans have this ability of creating reality out of what we perceive from our experiences, our understanding of the way things work and from what we gather through our senses. Without writing it bluntly, here's how a part of my reality crumbled.
I have a friend, a mother of two, to which I've known for nearly two years. We communicate quite frequently, well, yeah of course, since we're also colleagues. Colleagues usually cannot be friends, but those that do are very few. For me, I only have two colleagues I consider a friend. Now, having a friend, we conjure a reality on that person, based on our interactions with that person and whatever else we assume them to be.
Well, that reality crumbled. A totally bizzare act that she did totally caught me off my toes. It affected the other friend as well, but the other friend faced it more like a shock. For me, it totally wiped out 'respect' and affected me in a way that I totally lost the appetite for lunch, and the memory of it haunt me right into last night.
Jealousy?? No, if you're thinking I'm jealous, change your assumption. The knowledge of her act and the confirmation of it made me turn around, look around, wondering what other realities that I conjured that may be false. What other reality that is going to crumble as well. Making a quick check that my stronger convictions of my conjured reality are still intact and solid.
To describe how the reality crumbled, I have to give examples. It's like a parent who has a grown-up child giving monthly finance from his/her job in another state, and everyone commended that he/she's a very discipline and kind child. Reality conjured by the parent is that of a responsible and hard-working child, and when reality crumbled, the child is actually good yes, but the monies are collected from doing vice.
If you watch the show Prison Break, it's like the wife thinking that her husband is still not back from war, when he's actually in prison. It's like how some parents perceive the 'good' in their maid from what they see physically, but the maid turns out to be a demon.
Take care of the reality you conjured...
Friday, November 03, 2006
Value of "Time with Family"
This is another answer to the question that people have asked before, "What's the difference between being single and being married?".
I have been approached by a company who is offering me about 50% increase than my current pay. I'm more interested in the challenge than the pay actually. Apart from cleaning 'dirty laundry' from previous failed personnel whose place I'm suppose to take over, the deadline is very tight and that's part of the challenge that made me interested. At least I can put another notch to one part of my skillset.
Since they did ask me what I want to ask for salary, I began to think properly on the value of losing my night time with family. Deadline will always mean either staying back at work or bringing work home. Bring work home IS time with family, but I'd consider it more of a veiled time. So, tabulating the distance, the toll cost, lack of night time with family and stress level, I asked for approximately 130% increase from my current salary. Even then if they agree, I'd had to rethink if the extra money is really worth it. But they didn't get back to me, and its been two days. So I guess their decision is made up. And my decision is made up too should they really come back.
I'm happy where I am currently. That's another key difference between being single and having a family. Being single, I want to get the best value for my services and willing to travel a lot or staying back late, but not anymore. Those who are married understands this, and those who are still single, you will find this a very pleasant feeling to be part of your married life.
Please pray that I'll be like this eternally. :D
Thursday, October 12, 2006
She*l, you sux!
I came across your advertisement on tv as well as the newspapers, where you are advertising about your superbly fast petrol kiosk fuel-up service, especially with the usage of credit cards. It showed that the parking attendant was just about to wash the windscreen when the car sped off. I was so elated that I drove to one of your kiosk to fuel up. Since I don't really need to fuel up, I put in just RM10 worth. Here's what I did.
I stopped my car. Pulled out my wallet. Called the attendant to wash my windscreen. Took out my card and slot in the card reader. Authorised and then I fueled up. To my utter amazement, he finished washing my windscreen even before I pressed on the pump!! I got a little disappointed, but then I thought, maybe your system was a little slow today.
The next day I went back to the same petrol kiosk, and again I did the same as the above. Same result! This time I was only a little bit faster, that I was at RM2.00++ when he finished washing my windows. What gives?! I was getting angry, but I cooled down. Okay, maybe this kiosk is not as efficient as the others.
A week later, I went to another kiosk. Same story. Again I went to another kiosk, same story also. Altogether I went to 8 different kiosks and I have failed on all occasions to drive off before the attendant manage to place the 'washing rod' on my windscreen! I've even tried changing my method, by asking them to wash only after I've placed the pump into the car. But no,... before I could place the pump back, they're done washing.
Then it dawned on me that the only logical explanation is that your company have deliberately lied to its customers, and on national tv and newspaper!! What a shame on you, She*l!! A totally misleading advertisement!
I hereby demand my money back for a total of RM160.00 which I must receive within two weeks time. Failure to do so will cause me to write a letter to the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, and take you to court for damages multiple times of the RM160.00 that I lost.
I expect to hear from you.
Sincerely,
Javalier
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Sorry Readers
I'm sorry to inform you that currently I'm still working on a 3-day week in my company, while the other two days are used for personal and company-registering/planning time which gives me hardly any time for leisure on the net for blog updating.
Should be back blogging by October's end. For now, there will only be entries that come very sparsely.
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Haunted Painting
When we received this painting, we thought it was really good art. A "picker" had found it abandoned behind an old brewery. At the time we wondered a little why a seemingly perfectly fine painting would be discarded like that. (Today we don't!!!) One morning our 4 and 1/2 years old daughter claimed that the children in the picture were fighting, and coming into her room during the night. Now, I don't believe in UFOS or Elvis being alive, but my husband was alarmed. To my amusement he set up a motion triggered camera for the nights. After three nights there were pictures. After seeing the boy seemingly exiting the painting, we decided, the painting has to go. Please judge for yourself. --- Warning: Do not bid on this painting if you are susceptible to stress related disease, faint of heart or are unfamiliar with supernatural events.

The real story is this: The painting was painted by William Stoneham in 1972. According to him, "When I painted the Hands Resist Him in 1972, I used an old photo of myself at age five in a Chicago apartment. The hands are the 'other lives.' The glass door, that thin veil between waking and dreaming. The girl/doll is the imagined companion, or guide through this realm."
However, in Stoneham's own words, there were 'cases' related to his painting that happened, such as the owner of the gallery where this photo is shown and art critic who reviewed the show were dead within a year. He says it's just a coincidence. Anyway, the original painting has been sold during the show, and he has no idea where the painting is now.
There,... just to share a piece of artwork that caught my attention since 4 years back.
p/s: Did the word "hantu" come from the word "haunt"?
Friday, August 25, 2006
Food Review: KFC New Variety Bucket

What you get: -
Thursday, August 17, 2006
ONE
The first few weeks were very tiring but funny. Many times mommy and I fell asleep feeding you at your three-hour interval meals. You really changed our lives, having someone to go home to, and really changed our sleeping times too! Hehe.... and you will not remember this, but your first few weeks you were taken care by Atuk and Nenek as well as your Opah, and your first 5 months of your life, you were taken care by your Pak Long and Mak Long. Next time you can go back and thank your Mak Long for taking care of changing your diapers, and having Mak Long's kids doting on you a lot.
From your fifth month, you started to go over to Opah's house and some times Atuk and Nenek drops by in KL to take care of you. Your Opah had a funny 'ritual' of making sure you're colic-free by saying "kepala - buntut, kepala - buntut" while making her hands move from your face to your behind, in hoping the air will come out as soon as possible. We think it's the super-heaty milk powder S26 that kept your colic away, but you sweat profusely with that milk powder. Now that you're on another milk powder, you're ok... and currently we're only facing with the problem of you 'releasing' yourself, need more fiber in your diet.
You can sit well on Atuk's lap, just looking at cars go by at the parking lot of our place. You are afraid of Grand-dad (we'll see what we can make you call him later ok?) because of the way he likes to tickle you, but when he's not doing that to you, you really make an effort to chit chat with him.
With you mommy, you like to bite and lick her nose, her knee, her cheek, and that really makes mommy ticklish and you just laugh whenever she tries to avoid you. With me, you like having yourself lift up high a dozen times and having to hold my hands while you train to walk. Your favourite song with mommy is mommy's own composition, while with me it's "Polly Put The Kettle On"... and with your Pak Cu it's "Row Row Row Your Boat" since it's the only song your Pak Cu knows how to sing, hehe. Of course you like to listen to other children songs especially in the car. One thing you might not remember, is that you sleep nearly everynight with suara orang mengaji in the background.
Your physical advancement went very well. You were flipping over by the time you were 3 months old, holding your heads up by your 5th month, crawling by your 7th month and pulling up to a standing position by your 9th month. It seems you like odd-numbered months of your life for your milestones. Just three weeks ago today you started to walk, and now, you can already fast walk and even pick yourself up to walking position. You babble a lot in the car when I send you to Opah's house, were you singing to the children song?
Among your habits is putting your fingers or hands in every item that has hole, from containers, to glasses, to even mommy and my ears! You like to pick up items from containers and fling it behind you. You also started to like moving to music, especially from Dora the Explorer's Musical Episode that we switch on for you nearly everyday for the past three weeks. You like to move your tongue a lot while making the sound "la-la-la-la-la". You also like to open your mouth making sure there's bubble created there. You seem to have stopped "blessing" things and people by blowing your saliva out. You like remote controls, and what we cannot catch on video is your tendency to switch the channel from mommy's favourite CSI show to that of Forum Perdana or an arabic channel. You like mommy's phone a lot. You seem to have stopped making everything a car, pushing and dragging things like cds, containers, books around the floor. You like to listen to your own echo by making a lot of noise in lift lobbies and car parks. One thing that stands out, you stopped using the pacifier when you were four months old.
Your first shopping complex I cannot write here as it indicates where we live. I will only list a few firsts you have and others will be shown in our own memory-book okay? Your first big-family holiday was to Port Dickson. Your first holiday with us was to
You had your Cukur Jambul in Terengganu during Hari Raya Haji. There goes your birth hair which was already thinning, and from bald, now you have rather long hair that covers your ear but mommy don't want your hair cut. We still keep your birth hair, and you can ask mommy or me to see it. We are also keeping your tali pusat.
My wish for you is to grow up at your own pace, for which I'm sure is mommy's wish as well. Mommy and I will support you in what you want in life. Remind us not to force you to do things against your will, but we will drive you to be a good person.
p/s: Posted One Day Earlier But Date Is Correct, Coz On Real Day Will Not Be Coming To Office. Out To Celebrate With Loved Ones.
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
A Special Place In Time
My special retreat is back in 1989 - 1991 times, from the time I was in Std 5 to Form 1. Those years are the best place to retreat as a kid, though I received some sort of recognition in 1993 - 1994 in school, that's still not the best. 1989... that was the time of utter bliss. Enjoyment to the max, also the time when I started taking English language seriously and then able to enjoy and understand all the english story books, heavily english-texted computer games, etc.
The retreat is simple. Songs and music. Come to think of it, I think in terms of music choice, my wife still wonders why I sometimes retreat to songs of She Drives Me Crazy (Fine Young Cannibals), When I See You Smile (Bad English), Another Day In Paradise (Phil Collins), Winds of Change (Scorpions), and others. I won't name those romantic ones coz' they don't really make me retreat such as The First Time (Surface). That one is just a feeling of "Hey, nice to hear that song again." Anyway, while songs make me relive the past for a moment, nothing is better than having to listen to music during the best times of the memory.
For me, sadly and pitifully (some people will say), are music from games. No lyrics, just the music. Two musical pieces (I wouldn't call it pieces, since it's not composed by a known composer, but well, no other words for it) are Stones from the Ultima series and Monkey Island theme song. These are the kind of music that can just release me from current situation, ie the office, and release all tension and be a kid with no responsibilities again. To just enjoy the moment in time. To just lean back and listen to that music,... aih... dunno if you all know how that feels like.
Anyone care to share their special place in time, and how they go about reaching back that place?
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
On Borrowed Time
Most death that happens after an admission to hospital or within the hospital itself usually had a borrowed time. There are just too many instances that when a person is dying, he/she suddenly makes a remarkable recovery for about a few hours, just to suddenly pass away the next hour, or the next day. There are also instances whereby a person in a coma wakes up, but too weak to do anything else but to just stare at you and then tears start flowing out of the eye. This experience I have had, to see someone who refuses to close her eyes and let out her tears flow out. I never knew that it means "It's time", and within a few hours later, she died alone on the hospital bed. Not a relative, just an experienced I have had.
The problem is, we will never know who is on borrowed time, and who's on the journey to recovery. I think the safest and correct perception is to view EVERYDAY of a person's life who had just recovered from a serious and critical condition. At least if it is borrowed time, you get to spend one last memory with him/her before they go 'home'. If it is not, then it IS your realisation to really cherish the person whose time is not expired yet. What's worse is those who don't have a borrowed time at all and just pass away at the most unexpected moments, just as what we've been reading in the papers nowdays. A normal day passes by just to know someone close to you have gone 'home'. That's something I don't want to have it happen to anyone at all.
Nothing much to say, just suddenly thought of it.
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Item of Value
One simple question: If your house is on fire, and you have time to only take out THREE items from the house that's carryable by one hand (per item), what would they be? Also, if you want to take out any additional item at 10% risk (for every item) that you won't get out alive, are there more items to take out against that risk?
I'm asking this question specifically to understand the value we place on our possessions. Some men have it in this priority.... 1) Car 2) Wife 3) Children 4) Playstation 2 etc... while others may have 1) New sports rim 2) Laptop 3) Children 4) Mousepad .... 23) Wife... etc.
Being a married man, I guess the three items I will definitely save will be our passports (I consider this ONE item since they're placed together), my wallet and a file of documents (containing important documents) and get the hell outta there. If my son is in the house, my son alone will be it.... forget the passports and wallet, dowan to risk him getting burned. Seriously, I have absolutely no other items I consider of importance that I would risk even a little burn on my body for. I believe, with God's will, my mind, body and ability/skills are enough to get me through the entire event and rebuild what it lost.
Okay, let's forget that question. Now for another. Let's say your house is robbed, and the robber being so kind says "I will take EVERYTHING from your house, but will leave behind 3 items. What will they be?" Now it's a different story huh? You can remake your passport, can remake your IC in the wallet, bank books, etc. What will that 3 items be that you won't let the robber take away? Momentos from your past?
For me.... 1) My external HDD (this is where the backups of all family movies, pictures, archives of work, stories, etc is kept). 2) Wedding rings (this is a momento that I wish not to part with) 3) File of documents (in this file also exist momentos and receipts of my family).
If I were to be asked this question when I was single, it'll be 1) My external HDD 2) Most expensive item in the house 3) Second most expensive item in the house. :P
What would your choices be?
Monday, July 17, 2006
Journey Home
It's not too far at all actually. When I drive it takes 15 minutes because I calculate from time of exit from my apartment, and the time I clock in. This includes going down lift, start up car, wait for engine to warm up, driving out, show fists to incorrigible drivers, tag card at parking entrance, say "Morning boss" to car park operator, etc...
Anyhow, I left the building at 5:30pm. The following photo is the ONLY photo I can show you though I've taken a lot of photos along the way. This photo is taken by the new state-of-the-art, highest selling and superbly designed SE P900. :P
Walking gives you a time to reflect on lots of things, which I didn't really do since for now there's nothing to reflect upon. Quite happy with life. So I took the opportunity to take photos of buildings I walk past, and any other interesting things to snap. No chun girls though. :(
At one area, it started drizzling!! Crap I thought. Luckily it stopped, but by the time I reached home, the drizzle became light rain which was ok. So, time home was 5:58pm. Just 23 minutes of walking, quite short when you compare to driving a car. The only reason why the car cannot be a lot quicker is due to one way roads in KL which cannot be accessed using the road I took.
Overall it was a nice walk. Quite worried someone would snatch my laptop bag, but I consciously held on to it pretty tightly and notice motorists or people walking past. Sweated a bit, so that's my exercise for the day,.. er.. week, err... month! One thing I was superbly proud of, haha... okay, not proud, but quite amazed was that I was 'singing' (I can't sing well at all) a song, repeated over and over until I reached home. Being an english-song-listening-dude, I have no idea why I sang the song "Liga liga Malaysia..... (own created lyrics)... masuk, jangan tak masuk, masuk, (own created lyrics) kami juara", a Malaysian League advert sang by Spider. :D
Thursday, July 13, 2006
Monday, June 26, 2006
Pwoer Of The Hmaun Mnid!
I wnot be tlaknig aubot the fcat the hmaun mnid can uendrsadnt waht is bneig wtrietn hree, but aoubt smoetnihg esle. Yes, at fsirt glcane you mghit tnhik taht its ipmiosslbe to eevn raed a sngile snetcene, but hree you are sltil raednig thugoh a ltilte solw tahn uausl. Raed auobt tihs phomnenoen yuorslef.
Tlaknig aoubt my son aiagn hree. Wehn I calp my hnads, he calps his hnads. Tihs is bsuceae he can intendfiy taht my hnads are the smae as his hnads as he can see btoh his hnads and mnie bineg sliamir. But how deos he idfienty taht he can shaek his haed wehn I shaek mnie? I maen, he cnat mkae a dciret cmorapiosn taht my haed is his haed, scine he cnat see his haed! How deos he konw taht wehn I oepn and cosle my muhot, he has the smae muhot taht he can oepn and csole?
It's aaminzg taht a clhid can konw taht smoetnhig ahntoer prseon has, he has as wlel, and eevn konw the lcaoiton thguoh he cnat see it. I gsues tehre are a lot of oehtr tnihgs a hmuan can do whit tiehr mnid taht no cmoptuer, eevn in the dtsnait frutue, can eevr cmoe cosle to dinog.