Ai Pei Sheah

My son has hand, foot & mouth disease......

2009-01-04T21:53:00.005+08:00

It have been a while I din update my blog. It was outdated. It is busy be a mother and working women. Take care of children especially really spend a lot of time.

It is new year, people always says: " IT is a good year with a good starting." I had a long weekends holidays and initially planned to go back hometown, to see any changes after Samevellu not with us..Haha!

However, my planning spoilted due to my son. Aivan started sicked since new year eve. He had fever at the night, we tried to give him medicine but seems it was not working. We decided to bring him clinic. Doctor advised he had sawthrout and fever, then he gave Aivan antibiotic

Latch on technique is important

2008-05-25T12:06:00.002+08:00

New Bf mothers also facing 'latch on' problem with their babies. The reason is because there are no so called 'specialist' to teach them the correct latch on technique. I faced it too when I was first time nursing my bb. The bb latch on poorly and i felt very pain during nursing him. Just like a knife slicing your breast. You maybe can't imagine the pain until you faced it. That is also reason of mother give up bf bc too pain for nursing. Some mothers tried to pump out breast milk for their bb. However, it is time consuming and also would reduce the milk supply because the breast is not stimulated by bb lacth on.

When i was in hospital, i was tought by nurse in hospital how to lacth on bb. However, they tought using thier experiences, not the correct way of latch on. So, i faced the problem to latch on well. I was suffered with latch on bb upto almost two months and i almost gave up bf. Everytime, i put on my bb on breast, i was just suffered to pain and wish he would finish as soon as possible. However, poor latch on also make my milk supply low and increase time of nursing. So, It is important to start 'latch on' well and understanding the technique. You should use the technique as early as possible because new born bb is more easy to control instead of older bb.
I am pleased to share the article about latch on technique below.

When latching

Push baby’s bottom into your body with the side (the same side as where your baby finger is) of your forearm.
• This will bring him towards your breast with the nipple pointing to the roof of his mouth
• Mother’s hand under the baby’s face, palm up.
• Head supported but NOT pushed in against breast.
• Head tilted back slightly.
• Baby’s body and legs wrapped in around mother.
• Use your whole arm to bring the baby onto the breast, when mouth wide.
• Chin and lower jaw touch breast first.

WATCH LOWER LIP, aim it as far from base of nipple as possible, so tongue draws lots of breast into mouth.
Move baby’s body and head together – keep baby uncurled.
Once latched, top lip will be close to nipple, areola shows above lip. Keep chin close against breast.

WIDE MOUTH / GAPE

Need mouth wide before baby moved onto breast. Teach baby to open wide/gape :

• move baby toward breast, touch top lip against nipple
• move mouth away SLIGHTLY
• touch top lip against nipple again, move away again
• repeat until baby opens wide and has tongue forward

• Or, better yet, run nipple along the baby’s upper lip, from one corner to the other, lightly, until baby opens wide

MOTHER’S VIEW WHILE LATCHING BABY

Move baby not breast

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE MOTHER

Mother’s posture
• sit with straight, well-supported back
• trunk facing forwards, lap flat

Baby’s position before feed begins
• on pillow can be helpful,
• nipple points to the baby’s upper lip or nostril

Baby’s body
• placed not quite tummy to tummy, but so that baby comes up to breast from below and baby’s eyes make contact with mother’s

Support breast
• firm inner breast tissue by raising breast slightly with fingers placed flat on chest wall and thumb pointing up (if helpful, also use sling or tensor bandage around breast)

Move baby quickly on to breast
• head tilted back slightly, pushing in across shoulders so chin and lower jaw make first contact (not nose) while mouth still wide open, keep baby uncurled (means tongue nearer breast) lower lip is aimed as far from nipple as possible so baby’s tongue draws in maximum amount of breast tissue

Cautions

Mother needs to AVOID
• pushing her breast across her body
• chasing the baby with her breast
• flapping the breast up and down
• holding breast with scissor grip
• not supporting breast
• twisting her body towards the baby instead of slightly away
• aiming nipple to centre of baby’s mouth
• pulling baby’s chin down to open mouth
• flexing baby’s head when bringing to breast
• moving breast into baby’s mouth instead of bringing baby to breast
• moving baby onto breast without a proper gape
• not moving baby onto breast quickly enough at height of gape
• having baby’s nose touch breast first and not the chin
• holding breast away from baby’s nose (not necessary if the baby is well latched on, as the nose will be away from the breast anyway)

See videos at www.thebirthden.com/Newman.html

Handout A, When Latching
Revised : January 2005
Original written and designed by Anne Barnes

Breastfeeding—Starting Out Right

2008-04-13T14:58:00.001+08:00

I am experienced a lot of problem during my bf. It most due to lack of bf information and misleading by old generation people. They also know nothing much about bf and thought bf is troublesome. I am glad i still continued bf after I read the information that i have. The information enable me to understand some myths about bf and resolved the problems that i face during my bf. I really like to share out these info so that new mother would not suffer like me and try to give the best to your bb. Please do not step back whenever you have problem with bf. The vast majority of mothers are perfectly capable of breastfeeding their babies exclusively for about six months. In fact, most mothers produce more than enough milk. Unfortunately, outdated hospital routines based on bottle feeding still predominate in too many health care institutions and make breastfeeding difficult, even impossible, for too many mothers and babies. For breastfeeding to be well and properly established, a good start in the early few days can be crucial. Admittedly, even with a terrible start, many mothers and babies manage. The trick to breastfeeding is getting the baby to latch on well. A baby who latches on well, gets milk well. A baby who latches on poorly has more difficulty getting milk, especially if the supply is low. A poor latch is similar to giving a baby a bottle with a nipple hole that is too small—the bottle is full of milk, but the baby will not get much. When a baby is latching on poorly, he may also cause the mother nipple pain. And if he does not get milk well, he will usually stay on the breast for long periods, thus aggravating the pain. Unfortunately anyone can say that the baby is latched on well, even if he isn’t. Too many people who should know better just don’t know what a good latch is. Here are a few ways breastfeeding can be made easy:
1. A proper latch is crucial to success. This is the key to successful breastfeeding. Unfortunately, too many mothers are being "helped" by people who don’t know what a proper latch is. If you are being told your two day old’s latch is good despite your having very sore nipples, be sceptical, and ask for help from someone else who knows. Before you leave the hospital, you should be shown that your baby is latched on properly, and that he is actually getting milk from the breast and that you know how to know he is getting milk from the breast (open mouth wide—pause—close mouth type of suck). See also the website www.thebirthden.com/Newman.html for videos on how to latch a baby on (as well as other videos). If you and the baby are leaving hospital not knowing this, get experienced help quickly (see handout When Latching). Some staff in the hospital will tell mothers that if the breastfeeding is painful, the latch is not good (usually true), so that the mother should take the baby off and latch him on again. This is not a good idea. The pain usually settles, and the latch should be fixed on the other side or at the next feeding. Taking the baby off the breast and latching him on again and again only multiplies the pain and the damage.
2. The baby should be at the breast immediately after birth. The vast majority of newborns can be at the breast within minutes of birth. Indeed, research has shown that, given the chance, many babies only minutes old will crawl up to the breast from the mother’s abdomen, latch on and start breastfeeding all by themselves. This process may take up to an hour or longer, but the mother and baby should be given this time together to start learning about each other. Babies who "self-attach" run into far fewer breastfeeding problems. This process does not take any effort on the mother’s part, and the excuse that it cannot be done because the mother is tired after labour is nonsense, pure and simple. Incidentally, studies have also shown that skin-to-skin contact between mothers and babies keeps the baby as warm as an incubator (see section on skin to skin contact). Incidentally, many babies do not latch on and breastfeeding during this time. Generally, this is not a problem, and there is no harm in waiting for the baby to start breastfeeding. The skin to skin contact is good for the baby and the mother even if the baby does not latch on.
3. The mother and baby should room in together. There is absolutely no medical reason for healthy mothers and babies to be separated from each other, even for short periods. • Health facilities that have routine separations of mothers and babies after birth are years behind the times, and the reasons for the separation often have to do with letting parents know who is in control (the hospital) and who is not (the parents). Often, bogus reasons are given for separations. One example is that the baby passed meconium before birth. A baby who passes meconium and is fine a few minutes after birth will be fine and does not need to be in an incubator for several hours’ "observation". • There is no evidence that mothers who are separated from their babies are better rested. On the contrary, they are more rested and less stressed when they are with their babies. Mothers and babies learn how to sleep in the same rhythm. Thus, when the baby starts waking for a feed, the mother is also starting to wake up naturally. This is not as tiring for the mother as being awakened from deep sleep, as she often is if the baby is elsewhere when he wakes up. If the mother is shown how to feed the baby while both are lying down side by side, the mother is better rested. • The baby shows long before he starts crying that he is ready to feed. His breathing may change, for example. Or he may start to stretch. The mother, being in light sleep, will awaken, her milk will start to flow and the calm baby will be content to nurse. A baby who has been crying for some time before being tried on the breast may refuse to take the breast even if he is ravenous. Mothers and babies should be encouraged to sleep side by side in hospital. This is a great way for mothers to rest while the baby nurses. Breastfeeding should be relaxing, not tiring.
4. Artificial nipples should not be given to the baby. There seems to be some controversy about whether "nipple confusion" exists. Babies will take whatever gives them a rapid flow of fluid and may refuse others that do not. Thus, in the first few days, when the mother is normally producing only a little milk (as nature intended), and the baby gets a bottle (as nature intended?) from which he gets rapid flow, the baby will tend to prefer the rapid flow method. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure that one out, though many health professionals, who are supposed to be helping you, don’t seem to be able to manage it. Note, it is not the baby who is confused. Nipple confusion includes a range of problems, including the baby not taking the breast as well as he could and thus not getting milk well and/or the mother getting sore nipples. Just because a baby will "take both" does not mean that the bottle is not having a negative effect. Since there are now alternatives available if the baby needs to be supplemented (see handout #5, Using a Lactation Aid, and handout #8 Finger Feeding) why use an artificial nipple?
5. No restriction on length or frequency of breastfeedings. A baby who drinks well will not be on the breast for hours at a time. Thus, if he is, it is usually because he is not latching on well and not getting the milk that is available. Get help to fix the baby’s latch, and use compression to get the baby more milk (handout #15, Breast Compression). Compression works very well in the first few days to get the colostrum flowing well. This, not a pacifier, not a bottle, not taking the baby to the nursery, will help.
6. Supplements of water, sugar water, or formula are rarely needed. Most supplements could be avoided by getting the baby to take the breast properly and thus get the milk that is available. If you are being told you need to supplement without someone having observed you breastfeeding, ask for someone to help who knows what they are doing. There are rare indications for supplementation, but often supplements are suggested for the convenience of the hospital staff. If supplements are required, they should be given by lactation aid at the breast (see handout #5), not cup, finger feeding, syringe or bottle. The best supplement is your own colostrum. It can be mixed with 5% sugar water if you are not able to express much at first. Formula is hardly ever necessary in the first few days.
7. Free formula samples and formula company literature are not gifts. There is only one purpose for these "gifts" and that is to get you to use formula. It is very effective, and it is unethical marketing. If you get any from any health professional, you should be wondering about his/her knowledge of breastfeeding and his/her commitment to breastfeeding. "But I need formula because the baby is not getting enough!" Maybe, but, more likely, you weren’t given good help and the baby is simply not getting the milk that is available. Even if you need formula, nobody should be suggesting a particular brand and giving you free samples. Get good help. Formula samples are not help. Under some circumstances, it may be impossible to start breastfeeding early. However, most “medical reasons” (maternal medication, for example) are not true reasons for stopping or delaying breastfeeding, and you are getting misinformation. Get good help. Premature babies can start breastfeeding much, much earlier than they do in many health facilities. In fact, studies are now quite definite that it is less stressful for a premature baby to breastfeed than to bottle feed. Unfortunately, too many health professionals dealing with premature babies do not seem to be aware of this.

A bad experience with Air Asia & Changi Airport

2008-04-12T10:49:00.001+08:00

I just back from Singapore business trip last Thursday. My very terrible experience trip. I almost missed my flight back to Malaysia. It was the worst flight trip i ever had. I was a good supporter for AirAsia before as they always offered a competitive air fare and the service quite OK. I even proposed to company use it for business trip.

However, I totally disappointed with Air Asia after I came back from this trip. Their unprofessional customer service and impolite stewardesses brought me bad image to them. I think Tony should do something in order to maintain a reputable image of Air Asia.

During my departure to Singapore last Wednesday (9 April) at LCCT, I was queueing in front of senior citizen at the age of 60++yo, awaiting to load hand luggage onto X-ray machine. Two stewardesses & a sterwarder dressed AirAsia uniform came and cut queue.

First of all, I don't know whether they have priority and authority to do so. I could understand they need to arrive the flight earlier than us, but why they don't them come earlier and just queueing with us. Everybody was queueing and they could just simply cut queue.

OKlah, if they really need to cut queue, no problem, but please do it in polite way. I saw the AirAsia strewardress very rude to the pakcik in front of me. She showed her irritating face expression and said rudely to the old man: "Pakcik, minta laluan, kami kena masuk dulu!" Halo, is this the way to talk to senior citizen? Moreover, they were wearing AirAsia uniform and representing AirAsia. Is it the way a staff acting who working in customer service industry? What did Air Asia training to have this kind of staff? Terrible! terrible! terrible!Unfortunately, I do not have chance to see her name. If not, i surely will complain to AirAsia.

During my trip back to Malaysia on Thursday (10 April), my flight with AirAsia was departure on 2120hr. I reached Singapore Changi Airport by City train on 1945hr. FYI, there are four terminal inside Changi Airport. Terminal 1,2,3 and budget terminal.Different airline will departure at different terminal. You need to make sure which terminal to depart. City train will stop at terminal 2, then go by skytrain to terminal 1 & 3 while by free shuttle bus to Budget terminal. Since this is my first time taking AirAsia back from Singapore, I was not sure which terminal to go but my guess was budget terminal as it is low cost air fare.

Anyway, I reconfirmed with a custom officer during my way to bus station. I stopped
a customer officer and asked :"Should I go to budget terminal if I go by AirAsia flight?" then the officer told me with a confirmed voice and knocked her head so hard to reassure me :"YES!!"

When I was waiting at the bus station, I could see the signboard showed budget terminal only have tiger airway and another airline. I did not see AirAsia. I started to wonder if i was wrong? But due to the assurance of the custom officer, I choosed to believe her.

I fount i was wrong when i reached budget terminal. Shit! i need to take bus again to terminal 2!! I started worry if I might missed my flight. I quickly go back to terminal 2. Alamak! I need to wait skytrain again to go to terminal 1. Anyway, I managed to reach AirAsia Check in counter 2040hr.

Here came the story about AirAsia again. First thing was wrong is the display monitor did not showed which counter to check in Kuala Lumpur. There was 3 counter opened when I was there. I asked one of counter lady clearly : "Excuse me, which counter to check in Kuala Lumpur?" The indian lady told me firmly: "Kuala Lumpur? All these three counter also can!"

Since i saw only three people queueing in front of her counter, so i just queueing behind them. Then, I could show this lady unfamiliar check in the customer. I could see our next queue finished three customer but she not even finished one. I anxiously watching my watch and the gate almost closing.

Finally, it until my turn. I passed her my passport and she using "one finger" to type my name on laptop. Then, she said" oh! madam, you cannot check in Kuala Lumpur in this counter, you need to go to the last counter." I was so angry as i already wait more than ten minute and then she couldn't check in. I scored her and she just asked to go the next counter.

When i went to the counter, the staff told me:"Sorry mdm, KL counter just closed on 2055hr, you can't check in." I repeated again to tell her about their staff fault. So, she tried to call back her colleague in charge which is only few meters away from counter. Anyway, that lady just refused to check me in without listening to my reason. So bad! Didn't they think a customer feeling if the customer was rejected to check in even that is not their fault. How poor is the customer unable to go on the flight? How is the customer have urgent matter awaiting? What is the "good" customer service provided by a big reputable AirAsia. Airlines business is customer service provider, who should to provide the best service to customer. Is this they should do to customer?

I was very angry and shouted to staff so that everyone queuing behind can hear me:" Your staff told wrong information. I waited there more than ten minutes, they told me cannot check in, now counter is closed.This is your staff fault and now you told me i should bare the responsible?"

She suggested to talk to another counter officer if he could solve for me. Then, she took me to that counter and explained my situation to that officer. Finally, the officer called the boarding gate PIC to let me check in. He also instructed the lady to guide me to boarding gate so that i could given priority to go through custom counter. Luckily, i able to make my flight, or else i slept at changi airport. I was so relief when i reached Malaysia. If not, my baby cried for missing mother.

Some Breastfeeding Myths

2008-04-09T12:19:00.000+08:00

This is an article my hb got it online. It would be quite useful so that they could understand some breastfeeding myths.

1. Many women do not produce enough milk. Not true! The vast majority of women produce more than enough milk. Indeed, an overabundance of milk is common. Most babies that gain too slowly, or lose weight, do so not because the mother does not have enough milk, but because the baby does not get the milk that the mother has. The usual reason that the baby does not get the milk that is available is that he is poorly latched onto the breast. This is why it is so important that the mother be shown, on the first day, how to latch a baby on properly, by someone who knows what they are doing.

2. It is normal for breastfeeding to hurt. Not true! Though some tenderness during the first few days is relatively common, this should be a temporary situation that lasts only a few days and should never be so bad that the mother dreads nursing. Any pain that is more than mild is abnormal and is almost always due to the baby latching on poorly. Any nipple pain that is not getting better by day three or four or lasts beyond five or six days should not be ignored. A new onset of pain when things have been going well for a while may be due to a yeast infection of the nipples. Limiting feeding time does not prevent soreness. Taking the baby off the breast for the nipples to heal should be a last resort only. (See handout #3a Sore Nipples).

3. There is no (not enough) milk during the first three or four days after birth. Not true! It often seems like that because the baby is not latched on properly and therefore is unable to get the milk that is available. When there is not a lot of milk (as there is not, normally, in the first few days), the baby must be well latched on in order to get the milk. This accounts for "but he's been on the breast for 2 hours and is still hungry when I take him off". By not latching on well, the baby is unable to get the mother's first milk, called colostrum. Anyone who suggests you pump your milk to know how much colostrum there is, does not understand breastfeeding, and should be politely ignored. Once the mother's milk is abundant, a baby can latch on poorly and still may get plenty of milk.

4. A baby should be on the breast 20 (10, 15, 7.6) minutes on each side. Not true! However, a distinction needs to be made between "being on the breast" and "breastfeeding". If a baby is actually drinking for most of 15-20 minutes on the first side, he may not want to take the second side at all. If he drinks only a minute on the first side, and then nibbles or sleeps, and does the same on the other, no amount of time will be enough. The baby will breastfeed better and longer if he is latched on properly. He can also be helped to breastfeed longer if the mother compresses the breast to keep the flow of milk going, once he no longer swallows on his own (Handout #15 Breast Compression). Thus it is obvious that the rule of thumb that "the baby gets 90% of the milk in the breast in the first 10 minutes" is equally hopelessly wrong. To see how to know a baby is getting milk see the videos at www.thebirthden.com/Newman.html

5. A breastfeeding baby needs extra water in hot weather. Not true! Breastmilk contains all the water a baby needs.

6. Breastfeeding babies need extra vitamin D.Not true! Everyone needs vitamin D. Formula has it added at the factory. But the baby is born with a liver full of vitamin D, and outside exposure allows the baby to get the vitamin D from ultraviolet light even in winter. The baby does not need a lot of outside exposure and does not need outside exposure every day. Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin and is stored in the body. In some circumstances (for example, if the mother herself was vitamin D deficient during the pregnancy) it may be prudent to supplement the baby with vitamin D. Exposing the baby to sunlight through a closed window does not work to get the baby more vitamin D.

7. A mother should wash her nipples each time before feeding the baby. Not true! Formula feeding requires careful attention to cleanliness because formula not only does not protect the baby against infection, but also is actually a good breeding ground for bacteria and can also be easily contaminated. On the other hand, breastmilk protects the baby against infection. Washing nipples before each feeding makes breastfeeding unnecessarily complicated and washes away protective oils from the nipple.

8. Pumping is a good way of knowing how much milk the mother has. Not true! How much milk can be pumped depends on many factors, including the mother's stress level. The baby who nurses well can get much more milk than his mother can pump. Pumping only tells you have much you can pump.

9. Breastmilk does not contain enough iron for the baby's needs. Not true! Breastmilk contains just enough iron for the baby's needs. If the baby is full term he will get enough iron from breastmilk to last him at least the first six months. Formulas contain too much iron, but this quantity may be necessary to ensure the baby absorbs enough to prevent iron deficiency. The iron in formula is poorly absorbed, and the baby poops out most of it. Generally, there is no need to add other foods to breastmilk before about 6 months of age.

10. It is easier to bottle feed than to breastfeed. Not true! Or, this should not be true. However, breastfeeding is made difficult because women often do not receive the help they should to get started properly. A poor start can indeed make breastfeeding difficult. But a poor start can also be overcome. Breastfeeding is often more difficult at first, due to a poor start, but usually becomes easier later.

11. Breastfeeding ties the mother down. Not true! But it depends how you look at it. A baby can be nursed anywhere, anytime, and thus breastfeeding is liberating for the mother. No need to drag around bottles or formula. No need to worry about where to warm up the milk. No need to worry about sterility. No need to worry about how your baby is, because he is with you.

12. There is no way to know how much breastmilk the baby is getting. Not true! There is no easy way to measure how much the baby is getting, but this does not mean that you cannot know if the baby is getting enough. The best way to know is that the baby actually drinks at the breast for several minutes at each feeding (open mouth wide—pause—close mouth type of suck). Other ways also help show that the baby is getting plenty (Handout #4 Is my Baby Getting Enough Milk?). See the videos at www.thebirthden.com/Newman.html

13. Modern formulas are almost the same as breastmilk. Not true! The same claim was made in 1900 and before. Modern formulas are only superficially similar to breastmilk. Every correction of a deficiency in formulas is advertised as an advance. Fundamentally, formulas are inexact copies based on outdated and incomplete knowledge of what breastmilk is. Formulas contain no antibodies, no living cells, no enzymes, no hormones. They contain much more aluminum, manganese, cadmium, lead and iron than breastmilk. They contain significantly more protein than breastmilk. The proteins and fats are fundamentally different from those in breastmilk. Formulas do not vary from the beginning of the feed to the end of the feed, or from day 1 to day 7 to day 30, or from woman to woman, or from baby to baby. Your breastmilk is made as required to suit your baby. Formulas are made to suit every baby, and thus no baby. Formulas succeed only at making babies grow well, usually, but there is more to breastfeeding than nutrients.

14. If the mother has an infection she should stop breastfeeding. Not true! With very, very few exceptions, the mother’s continuing to breastfeed will actually protect the baby. By the time the mother has fever (or cough, vomiting, diarrhea, rash, etc) she has already given the baby the infection, since she has been infectious for several days before she even knew she was sick. The baby's best protection against getting the infection is for the mother to continue breastfeeding. If the baby does get sick, he will be less sick if the mother continues breastfeeding. Besides, maybe it was the baby who gave the infection to the mother, but the baby did not show signs of illness because he was breastfeeding. Also, breast infections, including breast abscess, though painful, are not reasons to stop breastfeeding. Indeed, the infection is likely to settle more quickly if the mother continues breastfeeding on the affected side. (Handouts #9a and b You Should Continue Breastfeeding).

15. If the baby has diarrhea or vomiting, the mother should stop breastfeeding. Not true! The best medicine for a baby's gut infection is breastfeeding. Stop other foods for a short time, but continue breastfeeding. Breastmilk is the only fluid your baby requires when he has diarrhea and/or vomiting, except under exceptional circumstances. The push to use "oral rehydrating solutions" is mainly a push by the formula manufacturers (who also make oral rehydrating solutions) to make even more money. The baby is comforted by the breastfeeding, and the mother is comforted by the baby's breastfeeding. (Handouts #9a and b You Should Continue Breastfeeding).

16. If the mother is taking medicine she should not breastfeed. Not true! There are very very few medicines that a mother cannot take safely while breastfeeding. A very small amount of most medicines appears in the milk, but usually in such small quantities that there is no concern. If a medicine is truly of concern, there are usually equally effective, alternative medicines that are safe. The risks of artificial feeding for both the mother and the baby must be taken into account when weighing if breastfeeding should be continued (Handouts #9a and b You Should Continue Breastfeeding).

Handout #11 Some Breastfeeding Myths. Revised January 2005
Written by Jack Newman, MD, FRCPC. © 2005

My Breastfeeding experience

2008-04-09T10:58:00.000+08:00

Time pass fast. My bb, Aivan is 7+mth olds now. I fully breastfeed him till now. He is healthy, strong and free from illness.

Breastfeeding really brought a lot of advantages to my bb. Try to imagine he is only 2.5kg when he born, just like a kettle, so small and really like glassware, 'handle with care'. Now, he is approx. 8kg and everybody said he is strong and solid.

There are more advantages of breastfeeding which had been widely published and a lot of people well understand about it.However, I found a lot of my surrounding peoples such as friend, colleagues and relative not really support breastfeeding. None of them fully breastfeeding their baby. A lot of reasons given.

I recalled back my breastfeed experience. My initial intention is only fully breastfeed my son until 6 weeks then mix with powder when i started work. However, my hb insisted fully bf to provide the best to our bb. Bf really need to be determined or else you will gave up easily.

We facing a lot of problems when we wants to bf bb. My parents and family protested dramatically. They said I can't recovered and rest well if i need to bf bb. Not enough sleep due to bf bb throughout the night. Aivan have jaundice after 3 days his birth. Doctor recommended to bf him every three hour in order to recover. If the condition getting serious, he may need admitted to hospital. So, I need to wake him up every three hours. He is sleepy and refuse to get up due to jaundice, i almost took half to an hour just to wake him up. Try to imagine, i only slept about every 2-3 hours and wake up to bf him again. That is why i could understood my parents concern. I never told my parents about this.

My family also worried bb did not get enough milk supply like most of people. They thought bb not enough nutrient and will be weak. They called me everyday during confinement month to pressure me gave milk powder to bb. They tried to scare me if bb not well grow and not healthy.

I was so stress up during that time. Too many pressure from few parties. My parent wanted me to give up bf while my hb wanted to fully bf bb. On the other hand, my colleagues also advised me not fully bf bb. I also worried about bb healthy after too many negative stuff from friend and family due to lack bf information. Bf technique is an issue to me too. i could not bf to bb well due to incorrect technique. Very painful. My breast just like cut by knife every time i bf him.I have no support except my hb. I felt anxious during that time and cried a few time. I can say during confinement month is the period i cried most ever in my life.

I hope to share the information about bf next time. There are a lot of myths about bf make people step back. I experienced it and I would like to share it so that people would not suffer like me before.

I was glad i have a determined hb. He is the one always support and comfort me. Whenever, i worried about bf bb, he tried to search a lot information from website to convent me. I would not go so far till now without his support.

Samy Vellu's fall

2008-03-10T18:01:00.001+08:00

Sg. Siput was Samy Vellu's stronghold for eight term. Malaysia has only gone through 12 general elections since independance. He had built a formidable position here. My father who voted for him this time mentioned that he even erected pole lightings into the estates in Jalong.

Nobody would have thought that he'll lost his seat here. However, you can't fool all the people for all the time. There were many of his nemesis working to undo him. Here's what was reported by malaysiakini a day before we went to the polls.

Makkal Osai 'snapped up' in Sg Siput
RK Anand | Mar 7, 08 3:53pm
Hundreds of copies of Makkal Osai newspapers in Sungai Siput were snapped up by members of the MIC brigade this morning, according to the daily's general manager S Periasamy.

The daily had front-paged an interview published by Malaysiakini with former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, in which the latter made scathing criticisms against MIC president S Samy Vellu.

Samy Vellu, 71, will be defending the Sungai Siput parliamentary seat in Perak for the ninth term.

"They bought the newspapers en bloc and the copies were burnt at another location," claimed Periasamy.

According to him, the daily had sent extra copies numbering around 400 to the area today.

"We are now sending copies from other towns such as Ipoh, Kuala Kangsar and Taiping to Sungai Siput," he said, adding that the daily's office in Kuala Lumpur has been flooded with phone calls from readers asking about the interview and the shortage of copies in Sungai Siput.

Makkal Osai is linked to Samy Vellu's political nemesis and former deputy S Subramaniam

In the interview, Mahathir had accused the MIC president - his one time close aide - of stifling Indian voices.

Among others, the former premier also said the community's "main grouse is with Samy Vellu" who has helmed MIC for 28 years.

VCDs circulated by ex-MIC man

Meanwhile, a former MIC leader in Sungai Siput said he has been circulating thousands of copies of the Malay version of the Malaysiakini interview.

M Loganathan - who was once a staunch ally of Samy Vellu but grew apart in recent years - said copies of the article were circulated in Chinese and Indian areas.

"Samy Vellu will definitely lose in the elections. Not only the Indians, but other races are also unhappy with him. But they may use other means to win," claimed the 50-year-old businessman.

Loganathan, who was expelled from MIC, also said he has been distributing thousands of video compact discs (VCDs) detailing how the party president had allegedly shortchanged his constituents, namely on land issues.

"I produced about 8,000 copies with my own money and have nearly distributed all of them to the people here," he added.

Samy Vellu could not be reached for comment.

Expected to win

Despite Loganathan's confidence that Samy Vellu would be defeated in his traditional stronghold, ground reports indicated otherwise.

The MIC president is expected to retain his seat with a comfortable margin in the three-cornered fight involving Parti Sosialis Malaysia's (PSM) Dr D Jeyakumar and independent Nor Rizan Oon.

In the 2004 polls, Samy Vellu retained the seat with a 10,235 vote majority.

Of the 47,424 voters, 36.3 percent are Malays, Chinese: 40.2 percent, Indians: 22.6 percent and others: 0.8 percent.

Samy Vellu and MIC have also come under intense pressure since the Nov 25 rally organised by the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) which drew some 30,000 disgruntled Indians to the streets.

Since then, the MIC president, while acknowledging that there are shortcomings, has repeatedly pledged to work harder.

He also denied criticisms that the party has failed to effectively represent the Indian community.

Observers consider this elections as an acid test for both the veteran politician and his party which is contesting in 19 state seats and nine parliamentary seats.

This is a poster of his on the newly tarred road near my house. I feel almost a tinge of sadness that this guy had lost. Yeah, I voted for Dr. Kumar with the thinking that we can only dislodge Samy in our dreams. I did not know so many share the thought that we can change this monopoly government. Well done! Malaysia.

Confinement Lady from Peiling

2007-09-19T16:03:00.000+08:00

It have been so long i didn't write blog.
I was just delivered a baby boy last month. I had a bad experience about my confinement lady from Pei Ling and would like to share it out.

i engaged their confinement nanny & did not take up their other packages. they gave me a nanny from penang. i wanted to breastfeed my baby but the nanny insist using bottle to feed water & keep on pestering to buy formula. so i banned her from using the bottle as it caused my baby nipple confusion. still she curi-curi using it. so i kept all the bottles. she's unhappy with it & ask her supervisor to change another nanny for me. Peiling managed to find a replacement almost immediately.

the other is more supportive but her service is not really really great. She is a very lazy and 60 years old woman. I worried to let her take care about my baby because she always simply clean my baby bottom and not very clean. I saw the pot she used to cook my food, damn dirty. No wash properly. I really worried it caused me and even my bb cirit-birit. The dishes she cooked everyday was same. She just dun want to do more so just simply cook the same food. New parents like us do not know which dishes suit to eat during confinement month, so just keep quiet until my mother come to visit me and asked her to cook more other nutritious dishes for me. I felt she was really not responsible and lazy. She would not do extra if you do not ask too.

Besides that, she just want to left one day earlier without asking our permission. Who know Peiling warned she not to do so. Then, she scolded me that should not complaint to Peiling even i did not.

if you have no other choice but peiling - make your request clear. i just asked for someone not older than 50yo because no experience mah. but they still give me the replacement a 60yo nanny.

you might want to state whether u want someone who will support exclusive breastfeed if that's what u plan. also ask for someone with similar culture to u. the 1st nanny from penang has some different opinions from me and always scare me about all the taboos. (they don't really follow what peiling is preaching).

breastfeeding is also more challenging as my parents said formula is better?!

Bad faith insurance

2007-05-01T20:57:00.000+08:00

Recently someone has been bugging me to buy medical insurance. In fact I would like to be in a position like Mr. Warren Buffett. I read he had purchased a life insurance policy only once in his lifetime! & it was due to pressure by someone who's worried about their investment with him.

He's been a poor guy too. He took the chance that he didn't need it. And then he got richer till he's his own insurer. In fact it's his core business. Ah, all the float he got has made him even richer. Well please take a look at this site:

http://www.badfaithinsurance.org/indexdetaillist.html

His company (Geico) is no 12 on the list of insurer who's not really a good at approving claims.

Rank
Bad-Faith Insurers *

1. State Farm (footnote 7)
2. Allstate (6)
3. Hartford (5)
4. Travelers (29)
5. Farmers (9)
6. Liberty Mutual (8)
7. Nationwide (11)
8. Progressive (10)
9. American Family (31)
10. Metlife (30)
11. AIG (12)
12. Brkshire Hathwy (GEICO)

And look at the Japanese insurance companies :

Article source : http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/fd20070429pb.html

"(The medical insurance game -- you always pay and they often play

By PHILIP BRASOR
On April 13, 12 different insurance companies apologized for failing to pay benefits for legitimate claims on life and supplemental medical insurance policies. It was the latest chapter in an industry-wide scandal that started with admissions about unpaid benefits for automobile and property insurance.

On TV, I watched the executives stand up and bow to the assembled reporters. Normally, these rituals are performed in conference rooms, but in each one I clearly saw people working at desks in the background. It seemed odd that every company was holding its press conference in the middle of a bustling office, until I realized it was all the same office.

I later inferred from newspaper accounts that the press conferences were held at the Financial Services Agency. Obviously, the FSA was making it easier for these companies to confess their sins publicly by setting up a blanket press conference in their own office. I imagined a line of executives standing in the hallway, waiting their turn to go through the motions.

This conga line of coerced contrition had the effect of spreading the guilt around, diluting any one company's liability in the eyes of the public. It also showed that the FSA was doing its job.

But that job, apparently, wasn't enough. A week later, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare sent letters to private medical insurers warning them not to "inflame fear among consumers" with their advertising. Misleading ads are usually the bailiwick of the FSA or the Fair Trade Commission, but the MHLW oversees the public health insurance system, and many ads for supplemental medical insurance give the false impression that public insurance doesn't pay enough to cover major illnesses.

The MHLW singled out an ad by a "foreign-related insurance company" which claimed, on average, that a cancer patient "pays" 1 million yen, or about 30 percent of the total treatment. The wording implies that this 1 million yen comes out of the patient's pocket, but most of it will eventually be reimbursed through his or her public insurance. According to the MHLW, in such a case the average patient will actually end up paying only about 90,000 yen.

Last summer, the ministry asked private insurers to explain this system in their ads, and, according to an Asahi Shimbun article about the MHLW's directive, since then "a tendency to discuss the system has been spreading." The Asahi's vague assessment is difficult to prove since it's almost impossible to find an ad that does anything more than mention the system in very small print. However, in last Wednesday's Asahi, there was a special publicity article written by a "financial planner" explaining the system in line with the MHLW's directive. It anchored a two-page spread that included ads for medical insurance from various companies.

If you read the article carefully, you'll reach the conclusion that public health insurance covers everything you need, even treatment for cancer. Strictly speaking, private medical insurance does not cover treatment. It only gives you some extra money in the event you are hospitalized or, in some situations, receive a medical consultation. The financial planner says that such insurance can be used for a private hospital room, or to help allay costs for treatment not covered by public insurance.

There seems to be a contradiction here, but the companies that bought ads on the same page probably assume potential customers won't read the article. The FSA has asked insurers to also investigate cases in which payments were not made because customers did not file claims for benefits they could have received under the terms of their policies, presumably because they didn't understand the terms.

In a separate series, the Asahi related the tale of a 70-year-old man who underwent surgery for cancer that resulted in a one-month hospital stay. The man had supplemental medical insurance with two companies. He applied for benefits and both companies sent forms to be filled out by his physician. On company A's form, the doctor wrote "cancer" under "name of illness," while on company B's form, the doctor wrote "stomach tumor" under "reason for seeking medical care." The patient received 650,000 yen from company A and 330,000 yen from company B. Having expected more from B, the man called the company and was told that he was only paid for a "regular illness," not cancer. When he explained he had cancer, which the policy paid more for, the company gave him an extra 130,000 yen.

There are two ways to read this: One, some insurers avoid paying benefits through creative paperwork, or two, consumers need to be aggressive about understanding their policies. But in either case, the issue of not paying benefits is a smoke screen that hides the fact that people with public health insurance don't need private medical insurance. It's a racket, which is probably why a former insurance executive told online Ohmy News Service that he didn't think the 12 apologizing companies felt any remorse at all.

The potential to make money is huge. Shukan Kinyobi once reported that the U.S. government is pressuring Japan to change public health insurance regulations. As it stands, if any part of a patient's treatment involves procedures or medication not covered by public insurance, the entire treatment cannot be covered by public insurance. The U.S. wants to isolate types of treatment so that American insurance companies can sell private insurance to cover treatments not covered by public insurance.

This would help not only American insurance companies, but also American pharmaceutical companies, since only drugs for treatment allowed under public insurance need to be approved by the government. Of course, it would also benefit Japanese insurance and drug companies. There are plenty of sick people to go around. )"

And you ask me to trust my life with insurance company?

Blogs on investment

2007-05-01T17:17:00.000+08:00

Recently I found some blogs on investment that's worth taking a look.

http://malaysiafinance.blogspot.com/
http://blisswise.blogspot.com/
http://fusioninvestor.blogspot.com/
http://dirtydog.wordpress.com/

They contain some original views on companies listed on Bursa Malaysia. I have some shares and therefore these blogs provide some information that's of interest. Anyway, I haven't been buying any shares in the open market since 2005. Making money in the share market is not easy and now that I have some gains in my holdings I would like to see what other Malaysian investors are thinking.

Can learn a lot from theses guys.

Lim Goh Tong's Wikipedia entry - what a joke!

2006-12-22T23:30:00.000+08:00

Read carefully his entry. I've read his autobiography - of course he never mentioned anything about cheating anybody.

Board games

2006-12-02T22:54:00.000+08:00

The match between World Chess Champion Vladimir Kramnik and Deep Fritz reminded me about a game I love - chess. Anyway, do you know that some board games that has similar features? Chess, Xiang Qi & Shogi.

Finally, I caught an accident!

2006-11-23T10:31:00.000+08:00

Malang Tidak Berbau! I think this is totally right!
I just caught an accident last week. Unpredictable!

Poor to be a Malaysian! Our government and PM kept on emphasised about driver attitude was the main caused of accident. However, the worse road condition was also the root cause of accident.

Why? Let listen to how my accident happened!
Last friday, i was drove my way home through Puncak Jalil to Seri Kembangan road. That time was raining cat and dog, i could hardly saw the road condition and the vision was about 10m. I drove at only 40km/hr speed. I was extremely careful and slow.

However, the road condition was worse, the poor road design and draining system caused the raining water hardly vent to drain and caused unpredicted flood on the road. My car went through the flood. Shit! my car broke down. I tried to restart the car but unsuccessful. I lighted on my car emergency light immediately to avoid any car came from behind pump into my car while i called for helps.

Bump! A wira kissed my ass! My car pumper was broken. Luckily, just a small accident. If the developer or JKR could meet the road better, i think this will not be happened.

Recently, Klang valley raining everyday and the accident like this will happen everywhere. Last Tuesday, i was using Federal Highway and got out the exit under Sunway bridge to Puchong. There are raining too and the flood also happened at the exit of Federal highway. The history almost happened again.

Help! Could someone do something to improve the road design or drain system?

i also almost accident near putrajaya

2006-11-08T18:25:00.000+08:00

there's lots of accidents at that stretch. yesterday almost the same thing almost happened to the car i'm in (if not for the caution sent out by brother's accident) at the same place. When it rains, water puddle will form there & vehicle in the next lane will splash water onto your windscreen (causing temporary blindness) - therefore the reason for all those accidents. you can see that the opposite direction also always accident. happened same time as wira WKQ. road engineers, bad design kills.

Another accident near Putrajaya - my brother

2006-11-03T09:26:00.000+08:00

My brother had an accident near IOI Resort (nearby Putrajaya & Bangi).

Banks I use - Alliance Bank, Ambank, Southern Bank

2006-10-30T20:57:00.000+08:00

I always use Alliance Bank (formerly Multi-Purpose Bank Berhad) because normally there's not many people at the bank. So there's no much of a queue. Other reasons:

1) Free cheques (no need to even pay for stamp duty).
2) Interest on balance above RM2000 on my combined current/savings AllianceSave account.
3) Reasonably good online banking (a bit too paranoid though).
4) Temasek is a shareholder - will their service get better? I hope it does not go the way of OUB Bank-terminated the account there when UOB bought over & change the rules.

Other banks i use? Ambank, Southern Bank (just for their free-for-life credit card), Public Bank (just for my renter to bank-in). Hate Maybank because when I wanted to open an account a few years back, the queue is damn long. It was at the Ampang Park branch. I left without managing to open one and never regreted it. Further : Their motto is "Revenue & profit increased due to focus on fee-based services". So it won't be cheap using their services because they always want you to pay a fee.

So be a smart consumer - go to other banks!

So many road tax stickers!

2006-10-30T19:18:00.000+08:00

Whoa. So many road tax renewal on this lorry. I was pumping petrol at Mobil Kajang when I saw this monster. However, it's the number of road tax stickers on the lorry that got my attention.

By the way, I always pump petrol at Esso / Mobil because got royalty card mah. They call it Smile. But the petrol there smelly. It smells toxic.

Densha Otoko (電車男, Train Man)

2006-10-29T20:50:00.000+08:00

Recently I am watching a comedy japanese drama on 8tv, every saturday 6.00pm. It is funny, romance and highly recommended. Unfortunately, it only showed one episod per week. I lost my patient to wait this drama every weekend.

A true love story turned to bestselling novel, created from the Internet BBS, 2channel to blockbuster hit movie. Itoh Misaki plays Aoyama Saori, working as an office lady at a MNC, gets into trouble with a drunkard on a train. She's saved by Yamada Tsuyoshi, played by Itoh Atsushi. As a form of appreciation, she sends him Hermes teacups. Having no experience with the opposite sex, Tsuyoshi decides to ask for help on the Aladdin Channel BBS on how to interact with Saori.

Flood at Kajang town (Banjir kat Bandar Kajang)

2006-10-27T16:09:00.000+08:00

Kajang had a bad flood yesterday. I was informed by my brother this morning. So, took the motorbike out to the town to check it out. It's near the Kajang Pasar. The Alam Flora workers are cleaning up the mud resulted from the flood.

I guess now the song for Malaysians should be "Where will the flood strike next?"

By the way, Alliance Bank is one of my favourite bank. Why? It earns me interest with their Alliancesave account (it's a current plus savings account), plus it gives me free cheques (no need to pay stamp duty). Other than that, there's no long queue normally at the bank because not many customer mah. Their online banking is quite decent too.

Accident near Kajang toll exit

2006-10-16T00:13:00.000+08:00

The accident happened at the road that i take when going home daily. It's from Putrajaya to Kajang (i think it's part of SILK highway). I saw the burnt car & crying couple. It's very terrible with one death. The other four survive.

The Bomba guys has a cool head even when facing such tragedy.

The remains ((shudder)).

You can see the bones.

So, please don't speed on the road. It may be thrilling but you might regret it. This serves as a reminder to me too.

Robberies

2006-10-15T15:00:00.000+08:00

There’s been a spat of robberies in the housing estate where I’m living. Nowadays it’s so common that most doesn’t make it to the newspaper. It doesn’t matter where you live – Kajang, Puchong, PJ, Bangsar, Klang, Shah Alam, Wangsa Maju, Ampang , Ipoh, Sg. Siput in short everywhere, there’s a chance you’ll be a victim.

These few days alone, there’s 2 robberies here.

It’s just a small Taman with about 200 over houses. However, occupancy is about 50%. It’s a wonder to me. There’s quite a number of people who bought their houses which was completed last year and it seems to take forever for them to move in. And I have to endure the noises when they’re renovating their house – one after another. What ‘s the matter? They don’t have to queue lar. Some more want to bang here bang there even on Sunday. There’s one house that started renovation last year but still not yet completed till now. It’s abandoned. Maybe there’s a ghost living there.

Conclusion: I need a gun.

At the meeting there's reporter from China daily who took some pics & interview the relevant people. The article was published yesterday (14 October). I'm in one of the pictures he...he.

blogging to earn? mlm in internet

2006-10-10T22:35:00.000+08:00

other than those who enjoys about sharing, the rest who are trying to earn from blogging is just like jumping into a bandwagon of mlm (multi level marketing - not mana lalu makan) enthusiast. few will really earn, the rest are just making up the numbers & transferring their little bit of wealth to those few.

just my view though...

Samy Vellu joke

2006-10-07T16:01:00.000+08:00

> Samy Vellu was visiting India when he fell and broke his jaw. He was
> unable to speak. Being the great leader that he is, he continued his
> grand tour.
>
> On the last week of his visit, the RTM crew was present for his press
> conference. Although unable to speak, Samy insisted on sending a message
> home to his Cabinet colleagues. Samy caught a chicken and showed it to
> the camera. Next he took a goat, and showed it to the camera. Finally he
> took a bag and displayed it in front of the camera
>
> Dr. Ling was the first to see the video clip. He said, "Samy is telling
> us that India has insufficient food because he showed us a chicken and a
> goat, and he wants Malaysia to donate bags of rice. "Mahathir watched
> silently then said, "No lah....what Samy is trying to say is HE IS
> COMING BACK. The whole cabinet was puzzled and look to the old man for
> an explanation.
> Mahathir reasoned, "AYAM KAMBING BAG." ("I am coming back" in Indian
> accent)

Malaysian company's management practise

2006-10-07T15:10:00.000+08:00

A newly-joined trainee engineer asks his boss

" What is the meaning of appraisal ? "

Boss : " Do you know the meaning of resignation ? "

Trainee : " Yes, I do. "

Boss : " So let me make you understand what an appraisal is by comparing it with resignation. "

Appraisal
Resignation

In an appraisal meeting they will speak only about your weakness, errors and failures.

In a resignation meeting they will speak only about your strengths, past achievements and success.

During an appraisal you may need to cry and beg for even a 10% pay hike.

In a resignation meeting you can easily demand ( or get more without asking ) more than 50-60% pay-hike !

During an appraisal, they will deny promotion saying that you did not meet the expectation, you don't have leadership qualities, and that you had several drawbacks in reaching objective/goal.

During resignation, they'll say you are the core member of the team; that you are the vision of the company, and so " How can you go ? "; you have to take the project on your shoulders and lead your juniors to success.

There is a 90% chance of not getting any significant incentives after appraisal.

There is a 90% chance of getting an immediate pay-hike after you put in your resignation.

Trainee : " Yes, boss, good enough. Now I know what to do.

When you are about to do my appraisal, I will resign. "

Well managed company

2006-10-06T01:58:00.000+08:00

The ideal company .... (if you're the boss)

VERY IMPORTANT NOTICE TO ALL EMPLOYEES

Company Policy: Effective from January 2006

Dress Code
It is advised that you come to work dressed according
to your salary. If we see you wearing Prada shoes and
carrying a Gucci bag, we assume you are doing well
financially and therefore do not need a raise. If you
dress poorly, you need to learn to manage your money
better, so that you buy nicer clothes, and therefore
you do not need a raise. If you dress just right, you
are right where you need to be and therefore you do
not need a raise.

Sick Days
We will no longer accept a doctors statement as proof
of sickness. If you are able to go to the doctor, you
are able to come to work.

Annual Leave Days
Each employee will receive 104 Annual Leave days a
year. They are called Saturday & Sunday.

Bereavement Leave
This is no excuse for missing work. There is nothing
you can do for dead friends, relatives or co-workers.
Every effort should be made to have non-employees
attend to the arrangements. In rare cases where
employee involvement is necessary, the funeral should
be scheduled in the late afternoon. We will be glad to
allow you to work through your lunch hour and
subsequently leave one hour early.

Toilet Use
Entirely too much time is being spent in the toilet.
There is now a strict three-minute time limit in the
stalls. At the end of three minutes, an alarm will
sound, the toilet paper roll will retract, the stall
door will open, and a picture will be taken. After
your second offence, your picture will be posted on
the company bulletin board under the Chronic offenders
category. Anyone caught smiling in the picture will be
sanctioned under the company's mental health policy.

Lunch Break
Skinny people get 30 minutes for lunch, as they need
to eat more, so that they can look healthy. Normal
size people get 15 minutes for lunch to get a balanced
meal to maintain their average figure. Chubby people
get 5 minutes for lunch, because that's all the time
needed to drink a Slim-Fast.

Thank you for your loyalty to our company. We are here
to provide a positive employment experience.
Therefore, all questions, comments, concerns,
complaints, frustrations, irritations, aggravations,
insinuations, allegations, accusations,
contemplation's, consternation and input should be
directed elsewhere.

Regards,

The Management

Thank you.

Gateway no yaro!!

2006-10-05T21:31:00.000+08:00

Because of my Gateway laptop being not so good....i have to cheer myself up.

Citer 1
Suami : Kenapa Sayang menangis?
Isteri: Saya telah baca sebuah buku. Sad endinglah bang..
Suami : Buku apa?
Isteri: Buku bank abanglah..

Citer 2
Aderla sorang lelaki datang ke sebuah rumah untuk meminta derma. Derma untuk rumah orang-orang tua. seorang budak pun membuka pintu.
budak : derma ape bang?
lelaki : derma untuk rumah orang-orang tua. adik ada apa-apa untuk didermakan?
budak : nanti jap.saya ambilkan atuk saya.
lelaki : ?????

Citer 3
Tunang Farid, Siti, menelefonnya untuk memutuskan pertunangan mereka.
Farid : Mengapa?
Siti : Saya dah bosan ngan awak. saya dah ada teman baru. Sebelum tu awak mesti kembalikan semua gambar saya.
Farid : Ok. Tapi saya tak ingatlah yang mana satu gambar awak, Nanti awak pilihlah sendiri. Yang selebihnya kembalikan kepada saya.
Siti : Erkkkkkk........ Benci ........

Citer 4
3 org menaiki motor dan ditahan polis trafik. Namun pemandu motor tersebut tidak berhenti. Katanya, 'Tak Muat Dah Tok, Kami dah bertiga!!!

Citer 5
Citer ni member aku yg beritau. Sampai nak pecah perut dibuatnya. It happen at Jalan Loke Yew. Satu malam tu kawan pompuan ni la, dia baru jer balik dari party, tak tahu how many glasses dia minum ler tapi memang dia betul-betul mabuk. So masa on the way home she got blocked from the police officer and asked for her driving license and so on but unfortunately at the same time tu, there was an accident happen a cross the road. Quite major jugaklah accident and the policeman leave her and rushed to the accident scene.So this stupid girl dah gabra tak tahu nak buat camne, she just ran off back to her car and head straight back home in Klang.

So the next morning polis datang ketuk pintu rumah dia dan polis tu tanya dia, "AWAK PEGI MANA MALAM SEMALAM?"

Pompuan ni pulak jawab, "TAK KEMANA ENCIK. SAYA KAT RUMAH JER."

So polis tu tanya lagi, "BETUL KER???"
Pompuan tu jawab, "BETUL ENCIK. SUMPAH SAYA TAK GI MANA2, TANYA LER NGAN HOUSEMATE SAYA."
So polis tu kata, "YE KER? (sambil tergelak) MARI SINI, KELUAR JAP"
Lepas tu polis tu tunjuk, "HA!!! ITU KETA SAPA TU??"

Pompuan tu macam nak pengsan sebab dia dah terbawak keta polis yg malam tadi balik rumah, dia ingat keta dia sebab kaler sama warna putih (wira) cuma keta dia takde sticker polis kat tepi pintu jer. Tak pasal2 kena saman RM1000 dan gantung lesen 1 tahun.

Citer 6
Seorang Tok Batin baru membeli motorsikal Honda dan kebetulan pada jalan pulang terserempak dengan kawanya yang ingin menumpang, lalu ditumpangkan kawanya itu. Dalam perjalanan kawannya merasakan Tok Batin hanya mengunakan gear 1 sahaja lalu bertanyalah kawanya itu,
Kawan Tok Batin : Kenapak kamu hanya pakai gear 1 sahaja.
Tok Batin : Kalau rosak 1 gear ada 2 lagi gear.
Kawan Tok Batin : ????????

Citer 7
Seorang posmen yang datang menghantar surat .
" Assalamualaikum "
" Walaikumsalam "
" Ni rumah encik Sameon ye?
" Ya saya"
" Poning kepala saya mencari alamat rumah encik ni "
" Buat susah aje encik nie! Apsal tak pos aje?"

Citer 8
Orang Asli Dan Polis
orang asli : selamat pagi tuan
polis : selamat pagi
polis : apa hal
orang asli : saya nak buat repot tuan
polis : fasal apa tu
orang asli : kawan saya di baham harimau
polis : pukul berapa
orang asli : dia tak pukul, terkam
polis : habis?
orang asli : tak habis, tinggal kepala

kisah 1
Seorang lelaki pergi ke klinik mata. Setelah matanya diperiksa, dia bertanya: " Doktor, lepas pakai cermin mata nanti, boleh ke saya membaca macam orang lain?" "Dah tentu, " jawab doktor. "Oh, gembiranya. Dah lama saya buta huruf, akhirnya boleh juga saya membaca," kata lelaki
itu dengan riang.

kisah 2
Sebaik sahaja mengambil tempat duduk di ruang menunggu sebuah klinik, Shan terpandang Amin sedang menangis teresak-esak. Dia segera mendekati
Amin. : Shan Kenapa menangis?
Amin : Saya datang untuk ujian darah.
Shan : Awak takut ke?
Amin : Bukan itu sebabnya. Semasa ujian darah dijalankan, mereka telah terpotong jari saya.
(Mendengarkan penjelasan Amin, Shan menangis.)
Amin : Eh, kenapa pula awak menangis?
Shan : Saya datang untuk ujian air kencing...

kisah 3
Seorang atok membawa cucunya ke pejabat pos untuk menghantar surat . Cucunya bertanya bila melihat atoknya memasukkan surat ke dalam tong berwarna merah.
"Atok buat apa tu?".
"Atok bagi surat kat kawan atok,cu!" jawap atoknya.
Cucunya bertanya lagi, "Apa bangang sangat kawan atok duduk dalam tong merah tu?"

kisah 4
Seorang pegawai polis masuk ke bilik mayat sebuah hospital untuk menyiasat punca kematian tiga lelaki sekaligus. Selepas memeriksa mayat-mayat itu, dia bertanya kepada penjaga bilik
berkenaan.
Polis : Mengapa ketiga-tiga mayat tersenyum?
Penjaga : Lelaki pertama sedang bersanding, apabila tiba2 diserang strok. Lelaki kedua pula khabarnya menang loteri dan mati serangan sakit jantung manakala yg ketiga disambar petir.
Polis : Hah! Kenapa disambar petir pun tersenyum?
Penjaga : Masa tu dia ingat orang sedang ambil gambarnya...

Asian's engrish is good!

2006-10-05T14:08:00.000+08:00

Got this in a forwarded mail...

Please read carefully, 10 u will understand.

This is hilarious...even an Englishman could not construct sentences using
numeric!
Exclusively only to great Malaysian and Singaporean Chinese....

Ah Lek was asked to make a sentence using 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 and 10. Not
only did he do it 1 to 10, he did it again back to 1.

This was what he came up with...

1 day I go 2 climb up a 3 outside a house to peep. But the couple saw me,
so I panic and 4 down. The man rush out and wanted to 5 with me. I run so
fast until I fall 6 and throw up. So I go into 7 eleven and grab some 8 to
throw at him. Then I took a 9 and try to stab him. 10 God he run away. So,
I put the 9 back and pay for the 8 and left 7 eleven. Next day, I call
my boss and say I am 6 . He said 5, tomorrow also no need to come back 4
work. He also asks me to climb a 3 and jump down. I don't understand, I so
nice 2 him but I don't know what he 1 .

Quotes from Warren Buffett

2006-09-27T22:25:00.000+08:00

The reason i like this guy Mr. Warren Buffett so much. The way he thinks, acts & talks. Why Malaysia don't have any Oracle of Omaha? We only have Robert Kuok who doesn't talk, Ananda Krishnan who's shy , Teh Hong Piow who only count etc. (Ok, maybe Francis yeah can come close)..

Some golden advice from Buffett:

1) There seems to be some perverse human characteristic that likes to make easy things difficult.

He's referring to those guys who create futures, derivatives & what have u not (reminds me of those places where you have to buy coupons to buy food then exchange back the leftover coupons to hard cash so that you can use it elsewhere).

which leads to:

2)On gold: It gets dug out of the ground in Africa, or someplace. Then we melt it down, dig another hole, bury it again and pay people to stand around guarding it. It has no utility. Anyone watching from Mars would be scratching their head.

Actually gold has many uses: http://www.cupel.com/gold_uses.html . I'd rather not have gold as ornamental stuff - therefore we can have cheaper products. And less crime because of this cursed metal.

3) Success in investing doesn't correlate with I.Q. once you're above the level of 25. Once you have ordinary intelligence, what you need is the temperament to control the urges that get other people into trouble in investing.

That's why Forrest Gump can be successful. I know i ain't......yet.

4) A public-opinion poll is no substitute for thought.

errr... he means to say is that those elected politicians will not neccessarily use their brain. especially in our beloved Dewan Rakyat.

Yeah he's smart.

My laptop's LCD going kaput

2006-09-25T21:45:00.000+08:00

aiyoh, big problem for me. my laptop's LCD screen is going sick! it look healthy before :

happy with lots of fighting spirit!!

but now, it's sneeziiiiing :

and catching a fever!! what should i do? already very pokai lah. it's Gateway (bought over by HP though) notebook - so lousy one. somemore the laptop gets very hot & emit some very toxic like smell when i use it. i won't buy Gateway / HP anymore. i advise you not to too.

Firefox Mozilla over IE

2006-09-24T23:29:00.000+08:00

Why I'm not using IE now? I've been plagued by numerous spyware, trojan, adware & other virus on the net when I was using IE.

Firefox, which uses a different underlying browsing engine called "Gecko," also has a couple of close cousins based on the same engine. One is Netscape, now owned by America Online. The other is a browser called Mozilla, from the same group that created Firefox. But Firefox is smaller, sleeker and newer than either of its relatives, although a new Netscape version is in the works.

Firefox isn't totally secure -- no browser can be, especially if it runs on Windows, which has major security problems and is the world's top digital target. But Firefox has better security and privacy than IE. One big reason is that it won't run programs called "ActiveX controls," a Microsoft technology used in IE. These programs are used for many good things, but they have become such powerful tools for criminals and hackers that their potential for harm outweighs their benefits.

Firefox also has easier, quicker and clearer methods than IE does for covering your online tracks, if you so choose. And it has a better built-in pop-up ad blocker than IE.

But my favorite aspect of Firefox is tabbed browsing, a Web-surfing revolution that is shared by all the major new browsers but is absent from IE. With tabbed browsing, you can open many Web pages at once in the same browser window. Each is accessed by a tab.

The benefits of tabbed browsing hit home when you create folders of related bookmarks. For instance, on my computer I have a folder of a dozen technology-news bookmarks and another 20 or so bookmarks pointing to political Web sites. With one click, I can open the entire contents of these folders in tabs, in the same single window, allowing me to survey entire fields of interest.

And Firefox can recognize and use Web sites that employ "RSS" to create and update summaries of their contents. When Firefox encounters an RSS site, it displays a special icon that allows you to create a "live" bookmark to the site. These bookmarks then display updated headlines of stories on the sites.

Firefox also includes a permanent, handy search box that can be used to type in searches on Google, Yahoo, Amazon or other search sites without installing a special toolbar.

And it has a cool feature called "Add-ins" These are small add-on modules, easy to download and install, that give the browser new features. Among the extensions I use are one that automatically fills out forms and another that tests the speed of my Web connection. You can also download "themes," which change the browser's looks.

There is only one significant downside to Firefox. Some Web sites, especially financial ones, have chosen to tailor themselves specifically for Internet Explorer. They rely on features only present in IE, and either won't work or work poorly in Firefox and other browsers. Example is RHBinvest.

Luckily, even if you switch to Firefox, you can still keep IE around to view just these incompatible sites. (In fact, Microsoft makes it impossible to fully uninstall IE.) There's even an extension for Firefox that adds an option called "View This Page in IE."

So Firefox is my current choice of a Windows Web browser. It is to IE in 2004 what IE was to Netscape in 1996 -- the browser that does a better job.

Petronas Licensed Offshore Fabricators

2006-09-22T22:08:00.000+08:00

These Malaysia’s largest oil and gas fabricators :

1) Sime Darby Engineering, Pasir Gudang , Johor
2) Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering (MMHE), Pasir Gudang , Johor
3) Ramunia Fabricators , Teluk Ramunia , Johor
4) Kencana HL , Lumut , Perak
5) Oilfab , Pulau Indah, Port Klang , Selangor
6) Penang Shipbuilding , Pulau Jerejak , Penang
7) Brooke Dockyard , Sejingkat, Sarawak

Most stolen street sign (not in Malaysia - dun worry)

2006-09-18T13:30:00.000+08:00

Neo (hot-screensaver.com) commented on my post Scarecrows that objects of beauty will be gone overnight in Malaysia. Same problem faced by this town in Austria. The place's name originated from a guy named Focko & therefore the meaning is “place of Focko’s people”.

With a name like that, which is most people's hobby - it's definitely worth the steal!

The sign is mostly being stole by the English people to keep as souvenir from their visit to the town. This has proven to be a major headache for the town's municipal.

One sign near a school has the words "Bitte - nicht so schnell!" below the sign. This sign is a German warning for car drivers to drive slowly because of children crossing (pic below) The humorous point in this sign is that "Bitte — nicht so schnell!" means "Please — not so fast!" in English. Huahahaha - no wonder people come from England to some small town like this!

Local guide Andreas Behmuller said that each nationality had its own priorities when visiting the area. "The Germans all want to see the Mozart house in Salzburg. Italians and Russians always celebrate New Year here. Every American seems to care only about The Sound of Music (filmed around Salzburg in 1965). The occasional Japanese wants to see Hitler's birthplace in Braunau. But for the British, it's all about F---ing."

There's only four such signs in the small village with population of only 108 people. The authorities can't keep on spending money replacing stolen sign right? (it's a different matter in Malaysia - drug addicts here dun care what's written, they just want to sell scrap metal). At the area council offices in adjoining Tarsdorf, a young planning official called Gabriele, who asked for her surname to be kept secret for fear of provoking reprisals, revealed that each sign cost at least EUR300 ($A490)[wow that's RM1500] to replace and this was reflected in local taxes.

So, they come out with this:

They are bolted and welded to steel posts embedded in concrete in the ground and the mayor added: "It would take all night to steal one". The Hulk's services is needed here. At last the mayor can sleep well at night after a good f**. No more nightmares that there'll be no more "f**king" sign...

My Randa Apartment, Kota Kemuning

2006-09-17T13:52:00.000+08:00

I have an apartment unit in Kota Kemuning, Shah Alam - the township developed by Gamuda with award winning landscape. 15 mins from Sunway, 20 mins to Klang, 15 from Puchong, 30 from PJ, 30 from KL. (if there's not one alse on the road except my Wira or Iswara).
It was bought on impulse at a price of RM116,000. The price might seems on the high side but considering the upper class environment, I can make myself to believe that the purchased is justified.

The size is only some 814 sq ft. Wow, that's RM 142/sq ft. It's feehold though. Housing in the modern times really cost an arm & a leg. To think that our ancestor can have the whole cave to themselves for free! & with unlimited garden space. Our grandchilds might have to move to outerspace to buy affordable property in future...

Due to some stroke of fate & timing, i'm not able to move to our beloved Randa Apartment, Kota Kemuning. It's from SS2, PJ to some faraway place called Kajang. And the Randa Apartment unit had to be rented out....

some good comments about the Kota Kemuning township.

http://blog.davidteoh.com/archives/2004/12/kota_kemuning.html

the site to check out for more info

http://www.kotakemuning.net/main.htm#

WA FM forgotten

2006-09-16T16:22:00.001+08:00

I remember the Malaysian Chinese community's outcry when it was announced thah WA FM 97.6 would stop broadccast on 31 Aug 2005. We've celebrated Merdeka once since then. I heard about WA FM 97.6 was going online after that. Now what happened?

I believe it's dead. http://www.waonline.com.my/

It's indeed sad. It's like Dr Mahathir's fate. Once you're out of the mainstream, you are not so relevant anymore. Time washes people's memory. Certainly can't believe words like "Friends forever" or "I'll always support so & so". Where's Anwar Ibrahim now?

Beautiful scarecrows in Japan (Malaysia - u dream)

2006-09-16T16:22:00.000+08:00

Evolution of scarecrows into beautiful beings. In Malaysia, we're still using milk tins ha ha ha...

Toddler missing from mall

2006-09-15T20:56:00.000+08:00

I read it from The Star newspaper today. I felt so sad for it. Hope someone will help her. Those who meet her son. Please contact her. Young woman, a lesson how to be a mature mother. Never left behind your son alone. He just took few seconds to disappear. You will regret, when you still alife!

Kenny Sia, It is time to be a superman again!!

SEREMBAN: “Have you seen my son? Do you know where he is?” a distraught 15-year-old mother kept asking tenants and shoppers at the five-storey Terminal One mall here yesterday.
At 1.30pm, Hue Xiao Pei had popped into a digital printing outlet on the upper ground floor of the mall to look for a job and left her year-old son Lee Ka Lok outside the premises while she attended an interview.
When she left the outlet 15 minutes later, she found her son missing.
Hue, who had gone shopping with her son, had spotted a notice stating that the printing outlet was looking for workers.
“I wanted to go inside for the interview but my son refused to enter, so I had no choice but to leave him outside,’’ she said.
Hue, who lives with her mother in Taman Jujur in Sikamat here, said her pink handbag that she left with her son was also nowhere to be found.
“My identity card, other documents as well as my son’s birth certificate were in the bag,’’ said the teenager who had divorced her 25-year-old husband six months ago.
Hue was seen distributing photocopies of a picture of her son and her contact number to tenants and shoppers.
Dozens of people including the mall’s management staff, tenants and shoppers joined in the search for around five hours but failed to locate the boy who was last seen wearing a red T-shirt and shorts.
Members of the Negri Sembilan MCA Crisis Relief Squad (CRSM) rushed to the mall when they were informed by others who were attending the launch of the state-level Consumers’ Day celebrations at the mall.
They helped Hue download a photograph of her son from her camera phone, made photocopies of the picture and helped her distribute them.
A police report was lodged at the Seremban district headquarters at about 7pm.
A check with the mall’s management found that the complex had no CCTV facility.
Those who know of the boy's whereabouts can contact the Rakan Cop hotline at 06-761 9999 or state CRSM deputy chairman Jason Lee at 012-6312898.

How to save your money in Pizza Hut

2006-09-13T00:56:00.000+08:00

I got this in the e-mail. Forwarded by a friend. However, I don;t know who is th original author. If you are the creative one, drop me a line & I'll credit you.

.... Sorry for those who can't read chinese.... very creative idea, but i think it's not allow to do so, in fact if you did, you must be in the "not welcome" list, hahahaha...... ^_^..... (dare to have a try? Let's go to Pizza Hut and find out yourself). Good Luck.

如果去過必勝客那就一定會對必勝客的沙拉有很深的印象吧，小小的一個碗就要收幾十元！！對此，有針對性地科學地研究了沙拉的堆砌技巧，現不吝為大家奉上。一、首先準備一個盤子，裡面放準備堆上去的材料和用於黏貼的沙拉醬。

二、在碗裡面結實地填上許多材料，碗沿上合理的貼上整齊結實的胡蘿蔔條。

重點是從側面看只能有一點點內凹，不能太多不能太少。具體看圖

三、在已經填整齊的碗的內圈整齊地放上形狀合適(能擺一個圓）的大鳳梨塊

四、再在鳳梨塊圈中間填上你喜歡的小東西( 水蜜桃是上選，再弄點可以填縫隙的小豌豆）

五、內圈抹平擺整齊以後再在外圈( 胡蘿蔔條上）再整齊地擺上一圈鳳梨塊。這步是第一層地基，一定要保證整齊，側面看要正！！要不然垮掉就丟臉了!

六、因為我喜吃水蜜桃~~多放水蜜桃

七、在水蜜桃的外面，外層鳳梨塊圈的上面堆上小黃瓜。為下一層鳳梨塊圈做準備

八、小黃瓜放好後在表層撒點玉米粒火腿顆粒之類的小東西以使表面平一些。

九、再在小黃瓜上堆一層鳳梨塊

十、繼續在裡面堆水蜜

十一、就這樣一層一層向上堆。
越到後面就要越注意是否有垮掉的危險，千萬不要因為貪心而丟了臉呀。
可以在堆平的時候加上一些提子醬、沙拉醬

十二、初步的成果

十三、傳說中的六層沙拉！！！！！碗已經看不見了......

最終結果：圖中的那一份沙拉我們拿盤子分了7份，再加上 2 個pizza，用網路列印的優惠卷換的四對雞翅，和11杯可樂，我們十個人吃的撐死撐死了，最後算下來每個人不過26元

還有第二次的照片~~~~~

第三次的~~~~~~~

最近一次去的~~~~~~~

Japan male heir born, a boy!

2006-09-07T21:12:00.000+08:00

Princess Kiko, the wife of Prince Akishino, the Emperor's second son, gave birth to a boy on Wednesday morning. This is a long-awaited male heir to the Chrysanthemum Throne.

The baby is the first male born to the Imperial family in 41 years and becomes the third in line to the throne after Crown Prince Naruhito, 46, and Prince Akishino, 40. The Imperial House Law allows only males with emperors on their father's side to ascend the throne.

"That is good news," Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi told reporters after hearing about the birth at his official residence.

This is just one of the many problems faced by the Japanese society today. Their birth rate is just 1.25 per woman (comparatively Malaysia's birth rate is 2.8 per woman according to year 2004's statistics).

Maybe the financial burden faced is heavy indeed. But more clearly, their sexual life must be in a big mess. Some more the Japanese loves to bath at the onsen - must be real tough on their sperms inside those testicles.

Japanese might rejoice now for their new prince. However, we cry for the women there. Subject to male dominance for so long, they're not entitled for a reigning queen - not in the near future. Ah, cultural changes has made the now emperor to forgo having cocubines but not powerful enough to let a woman became a symbolic head of a throne.

And to think that they are living off the welfare of the state...As Warren Buffett said, "There should be no divine right of the womb." Scrap it man. There's a number of family members being demoted to ordinary citizen what. Is it fair? What's the difference? It's only the direction.

Gokusen (ごくせん ) vs Queen's Classroom

2006-09-04T21:11:00.000+08:00

i'm currently watching Gokusen - roughly translated as Gangster / Mob Teacher, an abbreviation of Gokudo no Sensei. It stars the lovely (Yukie Nakama-なかまゆきえ * in Japanese, the surname is at the front, like the Chinese but in romanised version they change to English style - to accomodate the numerous Americans i think )

Yeah, i've finished Tokyo Wankei - it's nothing to shout about. Actually i'm not planning to watch all her dramas. it's just a coincidence.

Anyway, this kind of drama is in the same class (pun intended) as GTO (Great Teacher Onizuka) & Queen's Classroom (currently on Hong Kong's tv, i think). In fact, it's almost like the female's version of GTO.

After the first episode, nothing to shout about. Of all the 3 dramas, i like Queen's Classrom the best. The story, the suspense, & the acting is superior. Even the ideas presented provided lots of points to ponder.

Eg. Akutsu Sensei's opinion on the underprivileged & privileged :

"Stupid people & lazy people will be treated differently & wil suffer"
"Clever people & those who make an effort can get privileges & live rich lives"
"That's called society - do you know how many people can live happily and be envied like this?"
"Out of 100 people, only 6 will be happy" (6%)
"There are 24 students in this class - which means? Out of all of you, only 1 or 2 can live happy lives. The remaining 94%? They have no choice but to spend their lives complaining day after day...."

In my opinion, (please debate this if you want), it's quite true. But why our teacher in Malaysia never tell us this? Because they're not in the 6% bracket! Because the teachers are wondering why they aren't happy. And they're complaining daily! And nobody is listening. In fact they kena shot back if complain too much.

Crocodile Hunter Dead

2006-09-04T18:54:00.000+08:00

Steve Irwin. He's a favourite of many. Man & animals alike. But he's gone..

I like him because he's funny & brave. His legend is comparable to Bruce Lee, in my opinion. & like Bruce, he's survived by a foreigner wife & a girl & a boy. Bless them.

Lessons from history : From Warren Buffett

2006-09-03T22:52:00.000+08:00

I admire Warren Buffett. He views is amazing. His company, Bershire Hathaway is great. Not many Malaysians may have heard of it but it's one of the biggest holding company in the world. The company is originally a textile producer in the US & was bleeding due to competition from cheap imports.

I'm afraid the situation is similar in Malaysia now. Cheap imports from other countries (Thailand, Indonesia, & most of all China) might snuff out some businesses in Malaysia (yea, we demand high wages). I have shares in a textile producer too - undergarment maker from Teluk Intan, Caely Holdings Berhad. I wonder will it end dying? The price is now 0.445, way off from it's high of more than RM1 (see pic - yea i follow the price online quite frequently). Pray for her lah.

Japan also got shit happens mah

2006-09-03T16:24:00.000+08:00

For most of us Malaysians, we all had it bad. Real Bad. And those overseas lived in heaven with superefficient services. However as we grumble about everything under Malaysian sky, lets look at one other developed country that we've respected a lot (thanks to Mahathir's Look East Policy) - Japan.

Electricity was out on Aug 14 & not much better than what happened in Malaysia. Ah, the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. Anyway, before we go forgetting about disrupted LRT services here we must remember that continuous improvement is what we are looking for .

Tokyo when lights go out

By GEOFF BOTTING
Shukan Bunshun (Aug. 31)

After a blackout struck Tokyo and surrounding areas Aug. 14, the media carried the predictable reports. A total of 340,000 train passengers were "inconvenienced" and 1.4 million households were "affected," we were told.

But what we didn't hear so much about was the human drama that unfolded for three hours on that Monday morning, as thousands of people had their lives turned upside down from being deprived of power.

Shukan Bunshun fills in details after interviewing about 1,000 people living and working in the stricken areas who have their own stories to tell, from the trivial, to the humorous, to the deadly serious.

One of the many inconvenienced train commuters was a 34-year trading-company employee on the way to his uncle's funeral. For him, "inconvenience" came not only in the form of arriving late for such an important event, but the oppressive heat and claustrophobia inside his carriage. His Tokyu Line train was stalled for half a hour with no air conditioning and the doors jammed shut.

"The worst part was the heat. My mourning clothes were ruined by all my sweating," he says.

Elevators stuck
It was a similar, if not more claustrophobic, experience for the 58 people who happened to be inside elevators at the time. But even those who didn't ride had a tough time.

A 38-year worker at an IT company had the misfortune of arriving at the building housing his office on the 30th floor just after the electricity stopped.

"I had to walk up the stairs, and on such a hot day. Then I went to buy a juice, but the vending machine was not working. When I went to make coffee, the water had been cut off. So in the end I walked back down the stairs to a convenience store on the first floor to get a drink."

At thousands of other offices across the city, elevators weren't the only things on the fritz. All manner of hi-tech equipment broke down, including electronically controlled security doors, leaving workers either trapped inside offices or blocked from getting in.

Few workers had their work as disrupted as day traders, people who use PCs to buy and sell stocks, currencies and financial instruments.

"I made a huge loss trading because I was working with inaccurate information," grumbles a trader, who explained that the movements of the Nikkei index were not updated after power was restored.

Not all bad news
Still, it wasn't all bad news. Says a 54-year-old currency trader: "The power suddenly went out in the middle of a trade, and it didn't go through. But if it had gone through, I would have lost around 200,000 yen."

Yet for one woman using an ATM to withdraw cash, the blackout's timing couldn't have been worse: the machine swallowed her card the instant the electricity was cut. "I couldn't leave the scene and was stuck. I had to wait for three and a half hours until a clerk came," she recalls. "My entire day was ruined."

For her and millions of others in and around Tokyo that day, being inconvenienced and affected was never so frustrating.

Kota Kemuning

2006-09-03T12:16:00.000+08:00

i found this entry for "Kota Kemuning" on Wikipedia.

"Kota Kemuning is a main township in Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia. This township project is led by Gamuda Berhad. The township still lacks many facilities befitting its size of 1,800 acres. Development has been slow ever since Malaysia was caught in the Asian Financial Crisis of 1998. Many neighbouring projects have sprouted up and the additional population has contributed to some traffic congestion especially in the first roundabout coming into the township. Another additional exit from the township in neighbouring Bukit Rimau is expected to be opened soon."

It seems that the people from Gamuda does not care about the image of their project there. There's lots of things they can update but maybe their sales is good enough. so, it doesn't matter if there;s misconception when someone read that entry.

Anyway, I think it's normal for these giants to move slowly....

Maybe they think if the website is of ok quality, then it's good enough.

http://www.kotakemuning.net/

How about their other project? -> Bandar Botanic? The website looks nice also.

http://www.bandarbotanic.com.my/

But the problems with that township are so terrible that the residents have to come up this site:

http://www.botanicowner.com/

Wake up Gamuda! I'm waiting for your share price to go up so I can sell it.

kota kemuning

The old man and the sea

2006-09-02T13:47:00.000+08:00

I just read a book by Ernest Hemingway entitled "The old man and the sea". This is a very famous book and I only got a chance to read it until now. This is a story about the old man struggling to catch a big fish in the sea.

I touched with the old man never give up spirit to face the problems in the process to catch the fish and fighting with shark on the way to bring back the fish to home. We should always learn the spirit like him and never give up easily.Highly recomemended to who has a weak spirits now.

However, I am too sad to read the story ending as I felt we struggled so much and putted many efforts should come with the good results.

Kambate Kudasai!!

Merdeka

2006-09-01T00:35:00.000+08:00

Hooray - Malaysia is 49 years old. I notice that Malaysia, Indonesia (I was in Bali), Singapore & Brunei's birthday is quite near to each other. Thanks to the Queen's empire's influence. Mat Salleh punya pasal lah.

Car Stolen in Puchong Jaya

2006-08-30T22:48:00.000+08:00

The car was stolen in Puchong Jaya Area.

This real incident happened at my working place yesterday. A supplier came to our office to pass documents to my colleague. He is too lazy to climb up the stairs while just called my colleague went down to meet him. He parked his car in front of our office without turn off car engine. After finished his business, he just found out his car was stolen without anyone notice. His wallet and laptop still inside his car! The incident just happened within few minutes. Poor man.......the Perdana gone (in sixty seconds).........

WARNING! TURN OFF YOUR CAR ENGINE EVEN JUST A WHILE. YOU WILL KNOW WHEN YOU LOST IT! Or jump like that guy.

Ladies working at Puchong Jaya Area, please be alert of snatcher too. There's been numerous cases of snatch theft.

P.S: The car was found near Puchong Kinrara after a few days! Poor guys, some of the component in the car was lost, of course, his wallet and laptop lost too!! (updated 11 September 2006)

Miri trip

2006-08-29T21:28:00.000+08:00

I just back from Miri, Sarawak last week. Miri is peace and pleasure city. Life over there are simple and relax. Miri also known as "Oil Town" as found petroluem in middle of the town. The first oil town named "The Grand Oil Lady" was found many year ago.

The Grand Old Lady Oil Well. People still used man power to drill oil at that time....Thanks for technology improvement nowadays.

Musuem Petroluem at Miri townn. Just official opening on April 2006. It says about Miri petroleum oil history and share oil and gas knowledge. Free Admission.

The oil platform model inside musuem. It owned by Shell.

A beautiful sunset took at Miri 5 star hotel beach.

Children water park at Taman Awam Miri.(Free entrance). Children extremely fun over there. How good to build it more in Malaysia...

Bali trip on 7-10 August 2006

2006-08-27T10:18:00.000+08:00

1) Sunset at Jimbaran Beach.....Romantic view

2) Exploded volcano mountain, lefting a big hole.....indonesia still have a lot of life volcano mountain.

3)Volcano mountain from Surabaya smoke is coming out....the photo took from airplane.

2006-08-26T13:07:00.000+08:00

小感动。。。。
大清早五点半起来，准备出门搭飞机公干。出门前亲亲熟睡的他，他醒来说一起吃早餐。一个小小的举动，好感动。。。
觉得浪漫不需要言语，不需要鲜花，只需要贴心行动，还要什么呢？

2006-08-19T18:26:00.000+08:00

Sometimes I watch Japanese movie. Currently I'm watching Tokyo Wankei. It stars Yukie Nakama (pic).

2006-08-16T20:21:00.000+08:00

又是八月。。。。时间飞逝，光阴似箭。
该感叹时间无情，恍恍惚惚地过日子。
还是赞叹快乐不知时日过？
朋友，你快乐吗？