Are We So Dumb?

Are we Malaysian are so dumb that we could not answer complicated or mind boggling questions?! Even if we don't think so, the leading media channel in the country thinks so..

Last night on TV3's Buletin Utama, the poll question for the day was, (something like this) "Adakah anda setuju usaha mengumumkan senarai peniaga yang menaikkan harga tidak sekadar hangat-hangat tahi ayam?"

And.. the answer, as expected... 98% voted for YES, well of course. You're really dumb ass hole if you can't right away predict that YES votes will outdo NO.

Aaaa... don't forget the 50 cent-charge per sms. Yes, it's just 50 cents and what can you expect with 50 cents?!

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Today's poll question: Adakah pasangan pengantin baru sesuai untuk berjimak di malam pertama? YES or NO. Can you guess the result?

TGIF, but It's Not Over Yet

...this posting is just for fun, and please read with open mind, nothing religious about it...


Me to God: Would I get to to do this if I go to heaven? At least, it gives me another motivation to go to heaven :-)


TGIF... looking forward for a short break, with FA Cup final tomorrow. Did I say something about football? Oh, it's ok, it's English football not the Monkey-run football here in Malaysia.

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Gheez! I've a meeting which will start at 8 p.m. today. There goes my Friday night. Lucky it's not Thursday night or malam Jumaat :-)

One Stress Less

Malaysia lost again in football. They came into the competition hoping to qualify behind Japan, instead they're now behind Syria and could sunk at the bottom behind Hong Kong, a team they lost to earlier, by end of the tournament.

Talking about population, Malaysia should do better and have more talents in football than Syria and Hong Kong whose population is around 19 mil and 7 mil, respectively. And Syria was 1 player down with 20 minutes to go in the game.

Analogically, Malaysian football is about the same as the English. English always think they can win Euro Cup or the World Cup, but they're just not up to that standard which comparable to other teams in their region. Just like us, we always put high hope for the team to do well in SEA Games, AFF Games, bla bla bla (some even put hope for us to win competitions), but the fact is that we're far below the standard of others. So stop hoping something big from Malaysian football team! If they win, it's good and take it as bonus. If not, who cares!

To rub salt to the wound, football is always dubbed the nation's numero uno sports! Considering world ranking of our various sports, shouldn't we start considering sports like squashy or hockey or badminton or lawn bowls or bowling as our numero uno?! Seems like we still live on history and never want to move on. Yes, I still hear people talk about Mokhtar Dahari, Soh Chin Aun.. So what?!

So, from today, I will never never again watch Malaysian football matches at international or national levels, until one day when Malaysia qualifies to World Cup. And just let the Monkeys who run the FAM be happy as long as they want.

One stress less for me!

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Are we always bad in making choices or decision, like deciding what's the numero uno sport for the country? Aahh talking about bad choice, remember when the Prime Minister left to Perth to open the Puteri Nasi Kandar while people in Johor is facing the most disastrous flood in our history? The restaurant, dubbed earlier as 'Asian McDonald-like franchise idea' has now closed shop after just five months. And some of the Johoreans are still without decent homes.

Mother's Day

First of all, I don't think there should be any specific day for Mother's Day, it should be everyday. Anyway, happy Mother's Day, Mak! (with a capital M!)

At times, I had conversation with my brother on how our parents raised us and make us successful as compared to most of our cousins. Back then, when eating in KFC or McD is something luxurious (I first had a taste of KFC when I was 13 while I was in boarding school), my mom is the one who supported us on the emotional part.

My dad, being head of the family, worked very hard everyday (sometimes he wasn't around on weekends) and at the end of the month would bring home the money he earned to support the family's financial needs.

But, my mom is the one who support us emotionally. From the little wage she earned from working in a factory, she would bought things dearest to our heart. My brother was the first to have a leather football in the neighbourhood. You know those days, there's no cheap-product, Thai-made and sold in pasar malam ones.. so, it's really something to own a leather football. And my mom also got him a Snoopy Tennis Game & Watch, the state-of-the-art game those days!

And for myself, at every end of month, I would look forward to add another model to my Hot Wheels collections. And in those days, the toy cars are really made of steel, heavy and very durable unlike those being sold today. And also... Kalkitos, if anyone could remember - I just loved it. Although I couldn't have my own Sahibba or Saidina back then but Mom still make it up with a much cheaper Chinese-version of monopoly, the one with the game board made of a very thin paper where you can fold it and the game tokens/chips are made of very cheap plastic.

Those little things that Mom did to our lives, really make us who we are today. Thanks Mak for everything. I would do anything for you, but please don't ask me 'that' something... the answer will always be May... maybe yes or maybe not.

Happy Mother's Day. I LOVE YOU!

Bogor - Remember the Infamous APEC's Declaration

On 15th November 1994, the economic leaders of APEC, came together at Bogor to chart the future course of our economic cooperation which would enhance the prospects of an accelerated, balanced and equitable economic growth not only in the Asia-Pacific region, but throughout the world as well. Years gone, people still refer to Bogor Declaration when talking about free-trade and bilateral or multi-lateral economic cooperation.

(from Indonesia Tourism) Bogor, also called the city of rain, is 50km away from Jakarta and was previously known as "Buitenzorg" (Sans soucis or Without worries), during the Dutch colonial era. Appropriately named by the Dutch as a town "without worries", they chose Bogor to be the site for constructing the first palace of the Dutch Governor General way back in 1745. Later restored in 1832, the palace still stands solid and elegant today with its stretched out gardens where deer roam freely on the green grass under majestically tall old trees.

Bogor, is famous with its botanical garden or Kebun Raya and in the garden is the palace "Buitenzorg". The world-famous Bogor Botanical Garden borders the Palace Grounds, covering an area of 87 hectares with thousands of species of plant life from all over the world. There are over 15,000 species of trees and plants, 400 varieties of palms alone. The orchid houses contain over 3000 orchid varieties.

We don't have to be a horticulturalist to enjoy the gardens, it is a masterpiece of design and a wonderful place to just stroll and enjoy the company of family and friends. See the original "Havea Brazilliensis" rubber tree, formerly imported from Brazil, and world's largest flower, the Rafflesia, a foul smelling and stem less as well as leafless plant.

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Tips: Tripod may be useful in the following conditions: 1) when you go there alone, like myself; 2) when your friend who's also an avid photographer and he/she just don't have time to take your pictures; 3) when you don't trust your friend or anyone in the public to take good pictures with the right angel, etc.

Patengan Lake - So Refreshing!

(from Indonesia Tourism) One of the leading resorts is located in less than an hour by road to the south of the city. The eastern side of the lake is a cool forest has an average temperature of 10 degrees Celcius and is often hazy the whole day. A lush tea estate, reaching far out to the west and south, borders the north side. From Cimanggu Hot Spring it is just 30 minutes drive through tea plantations.

This is a lovely site for boating, the lake looks a green carpet, and tea plantations surround the lake. Patengan Lake is a very popular spot for Indonesians on a Sunday and public holiday. Its location is in Ciwidey tourism area, 47 kilometers from Bandung to the South, and the site is in the area of Rancabali tea plantation.


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Tips: Get a nice supir who you could ask to stop wherever you like along the tea plantation to take pictures and make sure you have enough space in your memory card.

Wah, Senangnya Bercakap!!

Senang sungguh Menteri ni bercakap...

Did he realize he wants TM to bulk up its internet service (speed included) and at the same time reduce its internet access price? Isn't the same principe applies here? Then, if we apply the same principle, Astro also need to bulk up its service (including no more loss of transmission during rainy days) while reducing its price.

Or, should Dato' Wahid just tell the people to use snail mail (instead of email) or just read newspapers/magazine/journals (instead of surfing the www) or just write in personal diary (instead of blogging)? TM tak pernah paksa orang to subscribe to internet.

Kalau semua Menteri bercakap begini, Samy Vellu will say "kalau tak nak bayar tol mahal, ikut saje jalan lama or naik basikal saje" or Shafie Apdal would say "kalau tak sanggup harga gula naik lagi, minum saje kopi tanpa gula".

Of course the people would make noise when a price of some things or services are increased, but I don't expect such a STUPID reply from a very senior minister. BODOH!

And all the free channels could provide are mediocre programs. Besides the government-fed news (yang memang bias gila, nak tunjukkan diorang je lah yang hebat) the type of entertainment that RTM could provide on Saturday nights is the stupid pre-recording concert. In Indonesia, they have live concerts even on weeknights, and they're free! How many free channels do they have? More than double what we have.

Again, BODOH! Kalau dah duduk tahap tinggi macam tu pun BODOH, apa yang boleh diharapkan daripada rakyat?!

Tangkuban Perahu - A Must When Visiting Bandung

(from Indonesia Tourism) Tangkuban Perahu is a volcano, 25 kilometers north of Bandung direction of Lembang. Its location is in between Sagalaherang village, Sagalaherang district, Subang regency and Cikole village, Lembang district, Bandung regency. This is Bandung's most famous tourist volcano just 28 km north of the city.

This volcano offers many places to see and explore. Whether we look into the huge crater or hike down into it, stroll through the forest on its slopes, or simply enjoy the splendid panoramic scenery.

Mt. Tangkuban Perahu is an interesting destination that everyone in the Bandung area is fond of visiting. When seen from Bandung, Mt. Tangkuban Perahu has a distinctive shape, like an upside down boat. Tangkuban Perahu means, in fact, "up-turned boat" This peculiar shape has stimulated the fantasy of the Sundanese people from early times as expressed in the Legend of Sangkuriang.

Geologically, Mt. Tangkuban Perahu has played a significant role in the development of Parahyangan highlands. Eruptions have contributed immensely to the hills north of Bandung through lava flowing into the valleys and hardening into rock, thus forming big cliffs over which waterfalls leap. Likewise, mud flows have formed a semi-circular cone of gentle gradient (what geologists call "a fan"), which is now a mass that blocked the valley of the ancient Citarum River near present day in Padalarang (some 18 km west of Bandung), this caused a lake to form covering the whole Bandung plain.

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Tips: Strictly no high heels, good rubber shoes recommended, especially for those who haven't been exercising for years.

The Best of Us

Just couldn't thank my bro friend, Adi for making my trip to Jakarta and Bandung such a pleasant. Well, maybe it's just a small thing for him since he's working in event organizing company so, organizing this trip for me isn't such a big deal. But, hey it's big for me, dude!!

Jakarta was great, Bandung was awesome and best of all.. to get to meet a friend whom I haven't met for almost 9 years. And most of the time, we ended up talking about our memories working in the university diners back in 1997/8. And our conclusion is that the way we worked, our skills and the dedication could earn us a PhD in Food Serving. :-) And another thing, I know more about him in 5 days than what I knew for the past 10 years.

And Nina, it's been great to see you again and have all the talks, about people, about economy, about hypocrites, about... everything. It feels so nice to have three of us nongkrong, sharing same thoughts, same ideology and way of thinking.. cuwek to others!

Now, one for the album. Cheers!!!

Ruang Rindu

While I was in Jakarta and Bandung, this song was played in almost every store I visited. And it just keep playing in my head even until today. Even my friend there has this song as his caller ring tone. It's a simple song with nice melody and lovely lyrics. You could just fall asleep listening to the song.

Enjoy!

"Tak pernah ku ragu dan selalu ku ingat, kerlingan matamu dan sentuhan hangat; ku saat itu takut mencari makna, tumbuhkan rasa yang sesakkan dada. Kau datang dan pergi oh begitu saja, semua ku terima apa ada nya; mata terpejam dan hati menggumam, di ruang rindu kita bertemu"