It OK to be Selfish

sometimes .. at times .. you may or should be selfish of who you are ..

you ought to get yourself safe first before saving others.

some situations of not being selfish but was looked upon as being selfish

1) burglary: when all of a sudden, unknown male/female(s) got into the house out of no where. could be from the ceiling or the back door. there are 2 people in the house, you and your sister. you have the brightest opportunity of getting out of the house because you are just about to throw the rubbish outside and your sister is happily singing in her room. So you heard and saw the burglar running up stairs without realizing you are just about to get out of the house. you have two choice:

a) chase the burglar and try to save your sister or,

b) run outside, leave your sister inside, seek for help.

a very emotional and heroistic being will go to the kitchen, grab a big butcher knife and chase the burglar upstairs hoping to save his/her sister.

a very rational person, will continue throwing out the rubbish, run to the nearby available help e.g. the neighbours or anyone who seem able to help and ask someone or you yourself dial for help i.e. 999.

if you have to ask, i will choose the second option, as advised by any police.

the second choice although may seem selfish at first but have the higher chance of survivality not to seem like a more logical thing to do.

2) H1N1 : don't socialize, be selfish, but be safe

Cutthroat TOYOTA!

Recently, Toyota Malaysia launched a hybrid version of their car, toyota prius in Malaysia with price of RM175,000 or equivalent to about USD 50,000. That is ridiculous.

Prior to that, honda has already been selling their honda civic hybrid at RM130,000 which is equivalent to about USD 37,142.

Comparing with the information from the web, the civic hybrid is selling at USD 24,360 in the US. It implies that the price in Malaysia is USD12,782 more expensive or at a thrilling RM44,700. With that amount of money, one can buy a Proton Persona 1.6 A/T.

So what is with extra money Malaysian has to pay to buy a non-Malaysian car? Is it tax? or is it the distributor in Malaysia is reaping for a lot of profit. I would think that it is both.

Then, what about toyota? Their selling price in the US is USD22,750 or equivalent to aboout RM 79,625. The difference in prices for Malaysia as compared to US is a whooping RM95,375. Woohoo! You can even buy a small house with that!

If the extra RM44,700 we would have to pay to buy civic hybrid is the tax, then, what is with the extra RM95,375 for the prius? are we that stupid to buy a car that is unnecessarily expensive? even with their catchy advertisement of saving the planet and go green, yo!

the government has to do something about this if they are serious about saving the planet. or is this about saving the oil industry? if the prius is affordable and everyone change to prius or similar hybrid cars, the demand for petrol will drop by 50% or more!

lu fikirlah sendiri...

Krispy Creme and TGI Friday is soo OVER-RATED

food or dishes not native to a particular country become so unique and special when coming in to that particular country.

for example, malaysian teh tarik and roti canai can cost up to USD 10 in Boston.

a simple hamburger of TGI Friday can cost up to RM20 in Malaysia when the cost is merely 4 bucks in any US town.

a simple donut, yes kispy kreme is a simple donut can cost your wallet in Kuala Lumpur when in the US, krispy creme is sold in any grocery store e.g. walmart at a cheaper price than a pound of banana.

a pound of fat is so hard to lose with whatever diet I try.

the truth is, i am so dissapointed with TGI Friday. I was thinking about what to eat after watching Transformer some weeks ago on a friday night while shouting it's friday! thank God. It's friday I am hungry but what to eat? so we came accross this fancy restaurant which i fondly remembered being so good back then in states. Thank God It's Friday. but well, the food are all so dried, not juicy and lack of flavor. so i guessed we made terrible choice by choosing to eat there.

I gave free money to Tony Fernandes

It was not the first time I had to change my AirAsia ticket. The reason remains the same. I bought the ticket too early because of the thought that the ticket will be cheaper if I buy it early. So early that I could not have foreseen that I need to get back to KL that weekend due to some commitment. This I hate.

Next raya I will be more careful in buying tickets. I hope that my parents would transfer back to Peninsular because I am having trouble getting the right dates going back home and getting the cheap ticket.

At this moment, AirAsia's ticket is cheaper that Malaysia Airlines's. AirAsia receently introduced the all-in-fair which is shown instantly when choosing the price and the price is cheaper due to administrative fee.

Bad decision

I feel bad by not entertaining my instict to settle some issues during lunch. I could no longer trust a panel discussion that would start and end on time. Furthermore, this is malaysian style and most are not interested to be on time.

Technical Colloqium

Cable fault

Out of the Box

I was once persuaded by my lecturer to get out of the box. And so I did and after some time I got inside the box again. It is important to define the box itself.

I will ask myself, What is the box? The box surrounds me is what set the boundary between me and other people. I think more of me and less of others.

Getting out of the box is hard actually because I tend to love myself more than anything each day. Therefore, I need constant reminders from close friends, total strangers or the voice within. But most of the time, it is from the voice within that I start to get out of the box again. Because when I am inside the box, it is really hard to listen to others.

However, the first time I am out of the box is when I read a book that I borrowed from someone. I forgot the title as well as the author.

To get out of the box is not easy, firstly, I have to realize that I am inside the box. Because at most times, I never realize that I am inside the box. It is only after making some stupid mistakes, or blunt remarks that I realized that I am inside a box. I failed to assess the situation but rush to punish people for whatever is wrong in front of my eyes.

It is during serenity that I finally can hear the voice from within. Sometimes during prayer and sometimes during the process of waiting something awfully smelly out of my system. It is the time when I start questioning myself, asking question on why something happened the way it did, or why someone did what they had done. It is the time that I would try to be in someone else shoes and explore their possible thinking. I create scenarios and series of possible answers to problems that resulted in certain event.

After several moments of reminiscence during harmonization, I will pledge to be emphatic towards others, then it will carry on for several days or even weeks before I got back into the box.

Weather in Malaysia - It is uber hot and humid

Month May - Very seldom rain, thus warmer air. 

Here is humid thus when it is hot, i sweat profusely.  

Outside is hot thus people are avoiding from getting out. They, including me prefer to be inside where it is colder, especially in an air conditioned room. But it is unhealthy to let your body experience a sudden change in temperature, i.e. staying inside is cold but then once stepping outside it is hot. More and more people are getting flu-type syndrome. But fear not my dear tourist friend, it is not Swine Flu although some often relate pig with sweating i.e. to say someone is sweating like a pig.

Actually, it is worse in the city where trees are scarce. in places where trees are plenty, it is relatively colder. Therefore, start planting up more trees, people... and.. use less paper.

  

Happy Mother's Day - How Much Does it Cost?

It can cost anything you want. But the most important thing to a mom is not how much does it cost but how dearly you value her. Just a small token to say that she is valuable is sufficient to her.

One essay = hundred days

I've been having writing an essay and it already took me more than a hundred days. the truth is i do not what to write, how to write my mind out and what i gathered, my past self is better than my current self at the moment. i have forgotten so many words that i am beginning to stumble upon words i used to know. it has been a while since i truly converse in English, I mean truly speaking in English, not counting the times i am speaking English with words other than English being in my English sentence. i have this habit of not speaking in English truly or rather seriously if the person i know i am speaking with is known to be able to understand Malay. i know that all Malaysian know how to speak Malay thus if i am going to stay forever in this country, i would not be able to speak English seriously and seriously i am beginning to believe that one day i will not be able to speak English at all. i am already scared that i will only be able to converse in English through writing and writing is never the same as speaking in English because when speaking i have to come with words and vocabulary instantly unlike writing where i can always depend on the computer to give me synonyms or translate whatever i want to say into perfect sense. oh how i wish i will be getting a free ticket out of the country so just i can explore the world and meet just everyone that i do not know and them not knowing how to speak Malay that i am force to speak correct English with them or else they will not understand whatever i am trying to converse with them. oh how awesome will it be if i ever be getting a golden leg that can kick so strong and run so fast i will never be needing a car to go anywhere anymore. however this is absurd and I KNOW.

Sony Ericsson C510- My Review

About a month ago, I bought a new phone, a Sony Ericsson C510. Today,  I am not using it because I have to send it to repair. The phone failed to fully recharge even after charging it overnight While charging, the phone showed the animation of the battery being charged. However, after an overnight recharged, the battery was only at around 20-5O% Then I took the phone out of the charger and the phone can only last for about so minutes. lwas annoying and feeling disappointed, I went to my dealer and requested for new battery. the gave me new battery but the problem still lingered. So I have no other choice but to agree to let the dealer sent the phone for repair. I asked for a new phone but all he can do is trying to repair it first. 

Prior to this problem, the phone was working great. It takes great photos and I can send pictures and update facebook / blog to the web.

Lunch time

It's about time for lunch, therefore save my work and prepare for hibernation. Bosses are out thus i am having peace at the office.

Desa Bestari

To complete soon

an Hour for Earth - Earth Hour

tonight is the night when earth finally gets its one hour of .... what i don't know - please ask the organizer for the answer. from 8:30 to 9:30 tonight, those who are in support of the earth hour will switch off their lights and most of their electrical equipments. i am in support.? i am not sure. i feel indifferent. but my company is. the billboards and signboards and the building lights will be turned off tonight at the mentioned time above. i wonder how many megawatt of electricity will be reduced in that one hour. why won't earth hour be expanded to nnot driving any cars or even not burning anything including smoking. for all we know earth hour is about showing support of the environment. one hour of turning off the light might reduced the amount of coal and gas burn to produce electricty so that the air will be less polluted in that one hour. what about cars? buses? trucks and smokers? they should stop too. if earth hour covers the wider horizon i am in full support. i hope that tonight i can breathe in cleaner air for one hour.

Limiting access to your blog(s)

i guess blog-reading is not opened to just everyone anymore. as i was trying to go blog-hopping-slash-reading today i came across a blog which cannot be read unless i am invited. that is strange and creating mysteries, building intense and curiosity. is there some sort of confidential matters in that blog. or is the blog becoming too personal i.e. like reading someone's diary. a diary is usually kept to oneself with no intention of letting others know the writings inside until one day when the owner of the diary forgets, keep the diary lying around, or when someone goes through your things looking for something and then found the diary and then read it. and so now i know that blogger has a feature to limit access to your blogs just like facebook or friendster, etc. 

Mobile Blogging

My last two blog posting was done over the phone. It was something new to me. I realized that mobile blogging can be quite interesting, because sometimes i just have the urge to put something on my blog. Then the urge fades away once i get on with my computer and an internet connection. Most of the time i end up not writing anything on the net.

So why bother sharing by blogging. Sometimes, it is just for my own advantage. I may want to cherish something and to do that i would write something about it. Then why not own a diary which i can take anywhere? well a diary is not practical because i won't be bringing a book all the time. furthermore, i like to walk with nothing to carry. just me and myself and my essentials which can fit in my pockets i.e keys, wallet and cellphone.

therefore, mobile blogging is an answer. i can cherish a moment with my phone anytime as long as there is a line. it does not have to be a 3G line while 3G line can mean a faster connection, but with an ordinary line i can always get GPRS anytime. 

then what ignite the interrest in mobile blogging? it is my new phone. i bought a new cellphone earlier this month i.e. a Sony Ericsson C510 and there's jst a lot of features i can be utilizing. my first step was to activate my GPRS setting on my network so that i can fully utilized the many things i can do with this phone such as checking emails and surfing the web. and it goes without saying that mobile blogging is one of the many features offered by the new C510. 

My space

Little Thai at Ampang Point

Green chicken curry - full of flavor and creamy.

Renewing Malaysian Passport

Why do we need a passport?

To get out of the country. And to get in the country.

Renewing a passport is not hard these days and will only take few hours if you manage to pay the renewing fee before 2.30 pm at any working day. Honestly, I have had the slightest idea of renewing a passport until I googled and read a couple sites.

1) http://www.imi.gov.my/eng/perkhidmatan/im_PasportMsia.asp

2) http://www.lifeinkl.com/2008/05/10/how-to-renew-your-passport/

nowadays everything can be googled and i wonder how large is the server for google? so far google is the best search engine and never failed to deliver.

so back to the real topic, the following are what I needed to get my passport done.

• a photostat copy of myKad
• myKad
• 2 photographs of applicant measuring 3.5 cm X 5.0 cm
• cash (50 or 100 ringgit notes)
• old passport (if any)

since I have an old passport, they insisted that I go to KIPPAS (kios pembaharuan passport), a machine which I was reluctant because machine is a machine and I can't talk with machines. But they insisted and so I gave in. Luckily the machine was not being hard on me. Everything was done in about 15 minutes. Here's what i vaguely remember on the machine's request.

1. select your language
2. insert your old passport in the slot and press continue
3. insert your myKad
4. place your right thumb on the scanner
5. select 300 or 600 pages of passport
6. insert your cash one at a time
7. enter you height in cm
8. enter your phone number
9. insert the following in the provided envelope (enter your particulars on the envelope):
   - a photocopy of myKad
   - a passport photo of yourself (blue background and recent)
   - old passport
10. insert the envelope in the slot
11. please take the receipt
    - the receipt tells when and where to collect your passport
    - if the receipt is printed after 2.30pm, then your collection time will be the following day after 9 am
    - if the receipt is printed before 2.30 pm, then it is possible to collect the new passport on the same day
    - therefore, the following information from the imigration website is misleading:

It is a promise to deliver a new passport in 2 hours time if the payment is received before 3.30pm. I believe the promise is not applicable for processes made through the Kiosk but true only for application made through the counter. This is because your application from the Kiosk will only be collected by the respective staff at an interval. Additionally, the counter is at the 2nd floor while the kiosk is at the 1st floor.

So i received the receipt from the kiosk telling me to come and collect my new passport the next day. The following day i went straight to 2nd floor and approached counter 16, i gave my receipt and got a number eventhough i am the only one waiting. So I sat and waited. i saw that the guy behind the counter typed something and went to the next room to get something which i suspected was my passport. So after about 10 minutes my number was called and i was told to sign on several places and scanned my right thumb on the scanner. After signing behind my new passport, voila! i was set to go.

i was happy of course, if only i did not missed my exit to the Pusat Bandar Damansara or PBD lane i could have gotten back much earlier. but nevertheless, it's so trivial and need not to over react.

Paid Holiday and Adventure

Yesterday, I joined a treasure hunt organized by one of our company's sudsidiary, TCI, from bangi to Port Dickson, Started early morning at 7:15 am, I arrived at the starting point. There were about 70+ cars consisting of four person per car. This was a new experience to me, joining Some friends from work. Our first few destinations were around the Bangi area. We were playing for fun and So were the other teams. No pressure.

Surprisingly, we won. We came in first. We won $1600. Divided by 4, each got $400. The winning prize covers the registration fee $300 and one night stay at the resort as well as the traveling cost i.e. gas and toll. In fact we felt that we were paid to have fun and enjoy the weekend.