347th Post - 28th July 2009

Nothing spectacular reaching my 347th post.

Anyway, I hate it when my birthday happens to fall in the middle of the week. It makes it very odd for me to take the day off to enjoy myself.

With work/project being so stressful due to human/inhumane factors, I find it hard to enjoy myself this year.

I just found some very interesting photos on my mobile phone which I've not posted before.. I think. Kekeke... It brings back memories of when I used to have a desk and phone in the office - a place to call my own. At least back then, I had a proper place to sit to work. Unlike now, me being the turtle/nomad, camping around the office.

Oh well.. 347th post.. Another load of crap... LOL!!

Sentimental Thursday - Lucky

I really really like this song. Brings back a lot of sweet memories. :-P



Here's the lyrics, if you're not interested in the song.

Do you hear me,
I'm talking to you
Across the water across the deep blue ocean
Under the open sky oh my, baby I'm trying
Boy I hear you in my dreams
I feel your whisper across the sea
I keep you with me in my heart
You make it easier when life gets hard

I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend
Lucky to have been where I have been
Lucky to be coming home again
Oooohhhhoohhhhohhooohhooohhooohoooh

They don't know how long it takes
Waiting for a love like this
Every time we say goodbye
I wish we had one more kiss
I'll wait for you I promise you, I will

I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend
Lucky to have been where I have been
Lucky to be coming home again
I'm lucky we're in love in every way
Lucky to have stayed where we have stayed
Lucky to be coming home someday

And so I'm sailing through the sea
To an island where we'll meet
You'll hear the music, feel the air
I'll put a flower in your hair
Though the breezes through trees
Move so pretty you're all I see
As the world keeps spinning round
You hold me right here right now

I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend
Lucky to have been where I have been
Lucky to be coming home again
I'm lucky we're in love in every way
Lucky to have stayed where we have stayed
Lucky to be coming home someday

Ooohh ooooh oooh oooh ooh ooh ooh ooh
Ooooh ooooh oooh oooh ooh ooh ooh ooh

I do agree with the song, it is very lucky to find a best friend to be in love with. Someone who knows how to make your life easier when it is hard.

These days, with crisis here and there, little pieces of such joy should be held very dear to us.

Not to fear... Friday is ALMOST here!!

An Old Faithful - Jaya Noodle House

I'm not sure if many folks still remember the old noodle shop in Jaya Supermarket @ SS14, PJ... But, that shop has moved to Jaya One ever since Jaya Supermarket has closed down.

On Saturday night, EV and I decided to try the food out at this old place.

Anyway, I remember the place being kind of old and dingy, tucked away at the corner past the jewelery store in Jaya Supermarket. Things have changed now that they have moved to Jaya One. The place is clean and isn't as dingy as before as the kitchen fumes didn't flow back to the dining area. Those were the memories of my childhood. :P

I went with an old classic - Char Siew Wantan Noodles (dry). The char siew meat was lean and a tad bit dry but the noodles was springy to the bite. The vegetables was poached to perfection, neither under nor over cooked.

The wantans were ok. Nothing fantastic and it didn't have too much fat. It could have used with a little bit more prawns in the filling.

EV went with her rice accompanied with fried sliced fish and ginger. I didn't take a photo of that as she was terribly hungry. We ordered a boiled soup - Watercress with pork. The shot I took wasn't so good as the ceiling lights got reflected off theh surface of the soup. -_-

I've been having a lot of meat lately. So, a plate of Fried Kai Lan with garlic went well with whatever I was having.

Now, I can remember the individual price of each item but the dishes were under RM10 each, but the total bill came up to RM50; which includes a bowl of Peanut Cream or (花生糊), coconut and ice lemon tea.

I think I'll come back again for their other specialties. :-)

Oh Mamma Mia!!!!

=====Dedicated to all readers who were alive during the 70's... Oh Gawd... I'm such an old fart!!!=====

Mention the name "ABBA" to any adult aged late 20-something and above and you'll get a reaction of sorts. Either they start jiving to "Dancing Queen"; burst into song, singing "Thank You For the Music" or just shake their head to think that they lived through the Disco age somehow. Perhaps for some of us, we couldn't believe that we have been wowed by these people who wore clothes with so much sequins that it literally blinded us.. back then.

I FINALLY caught Mamma Mia! yesterday with my parents who are big ABBA fans. We never went on a road trip without our ABBA tapes. My sister and I would try to sing to "Honey, Honey" or "I Have A Dream". Yes, ABBA was drummed into us at an early age.

The movie was fantastic! It was what I really needed to feel happy after going through such a crappy week. Nothing is more uplifting than jiving to the song of "Dancing Queen" - a song about having the "time of your life". The last ABBA-related movie I watched was Muriel's Wedding and that was a pretty good movie with some ABBA songs in it.

Sure, some of us would like to make fun of ABBA music but deep down, I'm sure some of us can't help tapping our feet to the music or humming their songs. In fact, the Swedes have this joke about their country's biggest exports were Volvos, IKEA and ABBA... (^___^)

The best part I liked about ABBA's music was that their lyrics were simple, and so easy to sing to. They had a variety in their music too, where they didn't just stick to a particular tempo. Perhaps that was what is so appealing about them.

Anyway, for an inspiring song, try "I Have A Dream"... Listen to the lyrics carefully.

Now, I can't wait for the musical to come down to KL!!!

And yes... I have a feeling that I'll be singing more ABBA songs at the Christmas Karaoke this year... LOL!!!

Artery Clogging Breakfast... It's Just That Good!!!

There are days when I just throw caution to the wind and fix myself a real yummy breakfast.


Did I wallow in guilt after that? Well...... Slightly.

We have one short life to live and so, it's not too bad if we just treat ourselves to a little guilty pleasure....

So, what accompanied my yummy crispy bacon, scrambled eggs, grilled tomatoes and toast? A nice big cup of coffee. (^________^)

Here's a tip about fixing up the perfect scrambled eggs. Cook your eggs under a low fire and keep stirring the eggs with a wooden spoon. If you like your eggs runny, you don't have to cook it for long.

Yes, it's all bad for ya, but when you've got some Aussie bacon (it's made of pork, not beef), you just can't resist it!! It brings back alot of fond memories when I was studying in Melbourne, fixing breakfast with my mates after staying up half the night studying or hanging out.

LOL!! OK OK.. I'll promise I'll hit the gym.... Sheeeshhh....

Back to "Kemahiran Hidup" (Living Skills)

Even though my work life is getting a bit sucky now, I managed to get in a bit of fun during the weekends. Although, one day I had to help EV out. However, with EV, there's never a dull moment.

Friday night...
Me: So, what time you want me to come over?
EV: Huh?? What? What? When I wake up-la!
Me: Which is what time......
EV: When I buka my eyes-la! Eh, why are you coming over?
Me: Aiyooo... You forgot ar? You want me to help you with your side-table/drawer thing?
EV: Oh yea hor... Which one am I getting-ar?
Me: I donno!! You decide-la!

Saturday morning...
EV: Hello... Did you just wake up?
Me: Ohhhh Maiii GAWWDDD!!! It's 9:00am already???!!!
EV: Yes... You said you'll come early. People are hungry liao-le.
Me: Sorry.. Sorry!! I'll come now, okie?
EV: BTW, what are we eating?
Me:... Errr.. Food?? Decide later-la!

As some of you may know, there was a peaceful march from Dataran Merdeka to the Agong's palace for Operasi Bersih. I was caught in a bad jam when I got on the Sprint highway. Hmmm...

Anyway, I had a task to do which was to help EV select a proper side table from IKEA. From the very moment I parked my car @ IKEA, I was prepared to face the large crowd in the shopping centre. Oh yea.. Besides that, I had to deal with EV's indecisiveness.

EV: Which one should I get ar?
Me: ** HUFFING AND PUFFING ** OOIII!! Faster decide!! This box is not that light-woei!!!
EV: Put it down-la! Who asked you to carry?
Me: OII! YOU TRY TO CARRY 10KG ABOVE YOUR HEAD!!!!!!

After the long decision making process, she finally settled on one model and I had the joy and privilege to help build it.

On the way back to our car, I saw this at one of the new shops @ Ikano.

If you look carefully, its a Barbie doll stuck in a colourful jelly or jello (as known in the US). I've seen some decorative cakes before, but not one where the cost of the cake included the cost of the Barbie as well. Guess how much the cake was??
....

....

....
Give up?

It was RM69. Yep.. It is THAT expensive.

However, I got to tip my hat off to the "baker" for having the creativity to sell jelly "cakes".

After a whole day of walking, I was "treated" to a lovely evening of wood working. This certainly brings back memories of this subject back in school - Kemahiran Hidup or Living Skills. Basically, it was a general subject teaching you cooking, electrical, wood-working and sewing. I can't recall which module we had in school but I remembered it was really general.

So, taking the stuff out of the IKEA box, I proceeded to arrange the pieces as per the instructions in the manual. EV was busy with dinner (I managed to squeeze dinner out of her) but she eventually came over to have a look.

EV: Eh... You need my help or not?
Me: Yes, I need you to hold this piece... while I carry the.... what are you doing?
EV: I'm putting in the wooden peg-la. Why it cannot fit?
Me: Eh... Don't simply play play with it. Follow instruction.
EV: Cannot be-ma... Got this hole here, sure can plug this thing in mah.
Me: Oii!!! Don't play play! I don't want to disassemble everything when I find out I have one less screw or something.
EV: You sure or not? :-P
Me: I'm sure... DON'T DOUBT IKEA!! They're very precise one. If the thing needs 5 screws, 5 screws is all you get.
EV: Cehhh... You sure or not???
Me: I'm very sure... Want to bet?

As you can see, I had already got the main body of the sidetable done. All that was left was the drawers. We took some line to line up the drawers as EV didn't have too much of a 3D/depth visualization. That explains why she took Accounting while I took Computer Science back in Uni. (^ ^)

Here's the side picture of the completed sidetable - minus the drawers. Thank goodness this is a small sidetable. I can't imagine having to put up an entire chest of drawers or those large clothes cupboard.... (@___@)

We had reached this stage when finally EV said something under her breath...

EV: sh*t... Why like that one?
Me: o___O
EV: Alamak... Why this one cannot fit?
Me: What did I just tell you?... NEVER DOUBT IKEA!!! WHAT DID YOU DO??
EV: I didn't see this page! I thought we can skip it!
Me: I said... NEVER DOUBT IKEA. How now???
EV: Take it out-lo...

Lucky it was just the drawer. *phew*

At the end of it all.. This was the result...

I can't recall what time I started building this cupboard. But it was fun. It really brought back memories especially the part where I had to tack in the plywood back.

EV had a hand in it too. She's quite proud that she was able to do something.

The one thing I learned was that EV's dad's toolbox was one of the most complete toolbox ever. Different types of nails, screws and even rubber wall protectors were found in the box. I couldn't find a level but was amazed that the sidetable/drawer out quite stable. The only complaint I have about this model was the quality of the wood. It isn't as heavy as the other one which EV's dad bought some time back but it is good enough. This sidetable/drawer has a tendency to move whenever we slide open/close the drawer because it is very light. Which is why, IKEA had one additional step of anchoring this sidetable to a wall. Hmmmm.

Well.. It isn't too bad but you need patience and an ability to follow instructions carefully...

Go Play With Sticks and Stones-la!

Another China-related manufacturing scandal.

This time, this scandal has a world-wide effect. It involves children toys.

The last scandal involving China's manufacturing industry had to do with food, to be precise, certain ingredients in pet foods have been tainted. This caused some pets to die, i.e. mainly dogs or cats. When the pet foods company performed a detailed investigation, they found out that some food manufacturers in China were responsible for having ingredients being tainted.

I kept tabs on this. 'Coz I have a dog and ever since the Pedigree scare several years back which caused renal failure, I've taken her off the big commercial pet foods and went for those foods certified/recommended by the vets.

Meanwhile, due to this issue, several big companies in US decided to sit up and take a closer look at their operations, especially those where they outsourced ingredients or components from China.

Anyway, one of the more tragic news out of this new scandal is about how one manufacturer has committed suicide after learning that the products his factory manufactured contained lead in the paint and that it was being recalled. He paid his workers before hanging himself. The worse part is that the paint was supplied by his friend, who has disappeared once the scandal broke. So much for friendship.

The other issue I have with this is... Who in their right fxxking mind will put tiny magnets in toys???? What more, the tiny magnets can come out! Whoever designed these types of toys are real idiots. Sure, you can put labels to warn parents about small parts or the appropriate age for the kid to play, but who reads labels???

Due to this scandal, I now think I should throw away about 99% of my old toys which I intend to give away to my future kids or nephews/nieces as it is now dangerous. Hehehehehee... I can't imagine how I managed to grow up without much health problems due to such toys.

Oh well, back in the day when toys were a luxury, we had to make due with our imagination. We played with whatever was around us - rice, sticks, stones, earth, grass, old tyres, metal pieces, floor tiles... If you can make a game out of something, it was a toy. I remembered asking my grandma for rice so that I can make my five or seven stones. We had some spare cloth lying around and we thought it was a good idea. Boy, those days, toys were easy to come by. And I was an urban kid!!

These days, I doubt any kid will take up a stick to play with. When I say kid, I refer to the urban kid. Kids these days will settle for nothing less than the best toys - mostly electric generated. During my time, a battery operated toy was the ultimate type of toy to get for Christmas or your b'day.

Times have changed. Tastes have changed. Parents have a bit more spending power than parents of past generations and they can afford to splurge on their kids - buying some gadgets which will apparently increase their brainpower. Kekeekeke... I don't have kids but please do let me know in 17 years time if buying a really expensive toy which is supposed to stimulate brain activity in a gurgling baby to produce 25As in his SPM.

Sekian, Terima Kasihhhhh...

A Lot To Be Thankful For

For the past couple of weeks, the bible passages from Luke, i.e. Luke 12:35-40 and Luke 12:13-21, have been telling us to focus not on ourselves but on others as well as to prepare to meet God.

The notion of life after death plays out for the past few weeks as the bible passages remind us that our riches lie not here in Earth but in Heaven. That we should not focus on ourselves, i.e. self-centeredness but on God.

Certainly, that has kicked off a thought for me. I have a lot to be grateful for.

I may not be rich.

I may not be famous.

I may not have won any lottery or contest.

I may not be the smartest person in the room.

However, I am grateful for the following:

Good Health - I am somewhat healthy.
I'm still working on it. But I'm grateful that I wake up each morning, able to breathe normally, without pain or with the aid of machines. I am able to walk, run (not that fast) and do my work as a normal person. I have premature graying but heck, with the lifestyle we lead, and the people we meet, what's a few gray hairs?? I am grateful that I was born normal, with the capacity to the best of what God has given me. I should do more for my fellow man.

Love of Family.

My mom, dad and the dog - Snoopy (woof!!)

My 'lil sis and Snoopy (Snoopy - ain't I a cutie-pie?)

My future bro-in-law with Guess-Who??

My family ain't that big, I've got my parents and lil' sis and soon to be bro-in-law, not to mention my extended family. We keep in contact, don't squabble as much but support and care for each other. That reminds me, when are we heading down to Seremban to visit my eldest uncle? :-P

The STRONG Tan Senior Women

Part of the Tan clan (my eldest cuz, Ian on the piano)

Love of my dogs.

Oofy (at God's house now)

Yep, I had another dog before Snoopy. It was Oofy. She taught me how to love and live. She has the biggest heart which reaches out to anyone and anything. The birds may land and eat her food, she will not chase them. I believe she was a gift from God.

I'm white and tan, so cute... and I blog too!!!

Snoopy is my great companion and comforter. No matter how lousy my day was, she would come greet me at the door with a wagging tail. Even when she had just had her knee operation, she would still limp to me.

Love of friends.

My mates...

I often b*tch about my friends but I still love them. And I know that they have my back. We've stuck through thick and thin, laughter and sorrow. Though some of us are apart now, we're closer than we think we are.
P/S: If you're looking for EV in the pic, she's not there!! LOL!!! Her identity will remain a secret for now.

Great colleagues.

Farewell Dinner with iNavigate people

At Harsha's Engagement

I've met a number of interesting people in my working life. Some pleasant, some aren't but generally everyone is great. I do hope to work with some of them again for I know we were a great and formidable team. Without you guys I don't think we would have been able to win some awards for the company we worked for. I'm proud of you guys!
P/S: I don't have a photos with my current colleagues. I probably should bring the camera out again. So sorry folks...


Enough $$$ to keep me going.
As I said, I'm not rich nor famous. I just have enough in the bank to get me by. I strive not for riches but only to provide a better living for my family. My family and I have been through tough times. We know from that experience that $$ isn't everything. My job is pretty good and I'm contented with my career for now.

Some Talents.
I have some talents though I do not know what it is. Friends have said that I'm too modest with my artwork. Anyway, I do know one talent which I do not have - Blogging. LOL!! Judging from the no-comments and low numbers, my blog pretty much sucks. But it's ok. It's my blog and I know what I want to do with it!!

So, what should we strive for? The pursuit of happiness is a never-ending quest. However, if we stop pursuing it, maybe it will find us?

Besides that, isn't it our duty to bring joy and happiness to another person in this world? There is joy in receiving but there is greater joy in giving.

I'd suppose I should stop and smell the roses. Be grateful for what I have. Sure, i should continue to work hard, enjoy what I do, but I should also start giving to those in need.

We are so blessed. Have you ever stop to count your blessings?

It Was A Quiet Weekend... Some Food Porn Included...

It certainly was a rather quiet weekend since there was nothing much on. My brain was trying to work overtime in trying to complete some technical documents due for discussion on Tuesday.

Progress was a little slow though...

Anyway, I took some time out over the weekend to take some photos, mainly of the lilies growing in my garden. The flowers bloomed and it looked so beautiful. The lilies grew over my dog, Oofy's grave. She was a sweet little dog and I miss her dearly.

Lillies At Night

Since I had nothing to do on a Saturday night, I decided to try those instant-pasta thingies. I had bought one some time back but didn't have the time to try it out. Besides, the recipe called for some low-fat milk which always seem to run out rather quickly at home. (^ ^)

In the end, since I was too lazy to venture out to cari makan with my dog, I decided to cook the San Remo's Alfredo instant pasta with some nice trimmed back bacon fried in olive oil.

Looks yummy ain't it??

Anyway, aside from the fact that I had to work over the weekend, it was pretty good as the weather cleared up and we had a bit of rain to cool the environment.

Lovely...

I decided to also take a close-up shot of the lily in full bloom before it dies a couple of days later in our hot weather.

In Full Bloom...

Hmmmm... I should make it a point to finish my blogs sooner. I'm posting this on a Thursday night when it should have been completed by Monday... LOL!!!

Transformers-ar??

Are you a kid of the 80's?

Do you remember a really fantastic show called "Transformers"????

If you haven't... Go wikipedia and search. Those born after the 80's... Too bad for you. **MUAHAHAHAHA**

Anyway, I remembered devoting several hours of my week to Transformers. We all wished that we could be as brave and valiant as Optimus Prime and have a cool friend like Bumblebee.

Some of us more sinister people loved Megatron to bits. Others, thought that the silence and monotonous voice of Soundwave was cool as well.

I did recall a few friends saying that they wanted to beat the crap out of Starscream because he had such an irritating voice.

Anyway, we all used to sit around and talk about who would be able to beat whom in what situation. The conversation went like this... (waaaayyyy back in 1986)

Friend #1: Megatron can beat the crap out of Optimus Prime anytime!!
Me: No way!!! Optimus Prime will beat the crap out of Megatron! He's a truck, Megatron's just a gun. Have to ask Starscream to shoot pulak!
Friend #1: Hahaahha!! No-la!! Megatron is stronger!

... comes in another friend...

Me: Eh!! Why your eyes so red?
Friend #2: *sigh*.. Don't want to talk about it.
Friend #1: Your mom whack you esit? Come, come.. let's compare scars!
Friend #2: No-la!!

Me: Then, what happened??
Friend #2: I just got this video... Transformers movie...
Me & Friend #1: WAAAHHHH!!!! LUCKY-LA YOU!!!

Me: And then...??

...

Friend #2: Prime died.

................................ STONE COLD SILENCE......................................

Me & Friend #1: ARE YOU SURE????
Friend #2: *Sniff* *Nods head*
Me & Friend #1: Waaaaahhhhhhh!!!!!

For those in the know.... If you're a big fan of Transformers, you'll know that Optimus' "nickname" was Prime. We affectionately called him that. :P Hehehe.. At that young age, we swore allegiance to him and the Autobots.

Despite having a friend who liked Megatron for some odd reason. It was very certain that when news got out that Optimus Prime had died, it sent "shockwaves" throughout the community.

** Fast-foward 21 years **

Colleague 1: Eh!! Want to watch Transformers or not?
Me: No need to ask. Default is YES!
Colleague 1: Ok! We make arrangements.. (^^)

Me: Brings back memories man.... Do you remember the Transformers Movie cartoon?
Colleague 1: Yeah? What about?
Me: Do you remember how Optimus Prime died?
Colleague 1: Yeah yeah!!! Man....
Me: I just watched The Transformers Movie cartoon and nearly cried my eyes out when I saw Optimus Prime really died... Still affects me, after 20 years.
Colleague 1: Haahah! Oh yea! Definitely. It is one of the few decent cartoons we had when we were kids.

For many purists out there, the original Transformers as done by Hasbro is still the best. I've watched the other spin-offs like Beast Wars and Headmasters but it lacked the "oomph" of the original Transformers.

I just realized that in most of the Transformers cartoon, save for a few episodes, you hardly saw any female robots. I did remember seeing one, i.e. Prime's girlfriend but duty called and he left her at Cybertron. Not that it was sexist or anything but I'd guess Transformers were targeted at boys at those politically-incorrect days.

Anyway, about 5yrs ago, I managed to get hold of an Optimus Prime toy. Here's the pic. Kekekeke...

He's a little short but then, still has most of Prime's features. (^^)

Yes, he really transforms!!!!

Oh well... I think I shall start going back in time to look at some other great cartoons of the 80's like G.I.Joe and Macross/Robotech. Hehehehehe... NO.. I shall NOT talk about a show called Jem.

OMG... I feel farkin old now... (=____=)