On Sodomy and Driving

Since it's such a mundane Monday for me I shall just write soemthing just for the sake of writing. Personally, I am at That stage again..where I feel I need to be doing more in life..but what? A friend just told me that he/she is thinking about quitting her current lucrative job - this piece of expected and yet still surprising news triggered my emotions even more. Anyway..in the midst of yet another round of political turmoil ..my flip flop emotions is nothing to worry about.

SO..what do you think about the latest hoo haa about yet another sodomy accusation on the country's ex-DPM turned hottest opposition leader? Do you really think he is a dirty homosexual maniac? Or do you think this is just a form of political fabrication to sustain his arising power and influence? You are welcome to Place A Vote on the right hand column. For more juicy news ..click on to Limkitsiang's blog or any of the alternative media sites on malaysia kini and malaysia today.

On a lighter note...a little bit of observations on driving habits after the fuel price hike. Do you ever wonder how the traffic volume can reduce so substantially recently? Where did all the cars go? I kind of concluded that it's contributed by little changes in our habits. For example....... I always prefer driving out for lunch...spending less on cheaper and yet nicer food at coffee shops or even slightly expensive but nicer food IS always better than having miserable expensive but lousy food in the mall here. Despite that..I found myself refraining from driving too far away..on Friday, I blocked out my inner cravings to drive down town for that yummy curry laksa. In the evening, chris refused to meet me in ikea cos it's jus too costly for in fuel terms :D

On Sunday, my sister offered to drive to dinner although my car was just at her doorstep because she needed to de-tour to get some fish food. She probably felt bad that I was driving most of the early part of the day..picking up my aunt from KL and sending her back to KL. A few weeks ago, I made her drive to setapak cos I thought she has full petrol sunsidies from the office...she doesn't have..I was made to know :p

SO..it's probably these little adjustments that we subconsciously make to save a little bit to compensate the costlier cost of living. My father had also opted to have simple dinner at home instead of going out for dinner where we will normally spend at least 40-50 bucks a meal.

Wrong Target

It’s either I have a thing for oldies or these older men have a thing for me. I wrote in my previous blog 1-2 years back about this soya bean seller in his 40s who always had praises for me whenever I dropped by for a packet of soya bean.

And now..instead of soya bean..I’d make occasional visit to this Chinese coffee shop to take –away a mug of Kopi Si using my trendy Starbucks mug. My father and I discovered the great kopi from this shop not too long ago and we’ve been having our brunch there almost every weekend. Addicted. The main kopi maker is this old man who is probably in his late 70s may be early 80s. Once in a while his son (around 30s) will be around to relieve him.

Recently I noticed that this cheerful old man gets even more cheerful when he sees me. And he can remember that I like kopi si. Not too long ago..he started exclaiming remarks like –“Leng Lui..ho loi mo lei ah” (Pretty gal..long time u no come ah).

Yesterday he was even more chatty. He asked me why I didn’t come last weekend and who is that man that I always come with?

Hmm…

As a typical researcher..let me make some comparison. That son of him..who supposedly belongs to a more relevant age group to me…never noticed me. Never acknowledge me. On Tuesday, he made my kopi si..and guess what! It was bitter! He forgot to put sugar!

And there is this daughter of his..ok wrong gender but same age range mah. She is the cashier..slightly better..sometimes she remembers that I am this gal who take away with a cup so..it’s $1.60 instead of $1.70. But then again..no smiles. No Hello. No Leng Lui.

S I G H…luckily..the bunch young foreign workers (waiters) in the shop recognizes me too. Just like their old man boss. *Eyes Rolling*

Completely off target man...

No Credit Cards for Petrol..

A recent NST report says...

KUALA LUMPUR: Don't be surprised if some petrol stations do not accept payment by credit cards any more.

The Petroleum Dealers Association has sent notices to its 3,500 members nationwide, advising them to accept only cash from motorists who fill up their tanks from today.Association president Abdul Wahid Bidin said following the increase in fuel prices, petrol station operators could no longer be burdened by the charges imposed on them by credit card companies.

"It is a business decision. After the fuel price hike, petrol station operators have to cut costs." ..READ MORE

Things are not going in a favorable direction at all. I was initially very pissed with the above report. Was actually thinking about the possibility of everyone NOT FILLING UP COMPLETELY and Let's All Stay at Home!

Now..I am coming to terms. Can I make do without a credit card when filling up? Can you? It's just a matter of making sure I have 110 bucks in my pocket right? Well well, with our not very safe streets and my personal unpleasant experiences ....I do not withdraw more 300 bucks each time. Normally 300 bucks can last me 2-3 weeks if there are no special outings. Now...if I use cash for petrol..that will be almost 50% of each withdrawal. This means I will have to withdraw more each time or I withdraw more often. But the bloody banks charge additional fee when one exceeds the maximum withdrawal frequency in a moonth.

NM! Why do I have this feeling that no one actually cares about giving consumers the Best in Convenience? Where is the spirit? Was there any in the first place?

Bout my friends again..

What are friends for? I'd say that my friends are great to have because I get shocking experiences from them. firstly, as i wrote previously, my last gathering at ML's was clearly enjoyable and out of this world..starting from her pregnancy annoucement to our little fight with the drunk guard. And again..last Friday..oh..what a thing to happen!

I was meeting F and W for dinner at Kota D'sara that evening. F and I parked our car next to each other and went ahead to wait for W in a nearby eatery. We told W to park near the UOB and to call when she arrive to check on our wherabout. W's call came very soon after we settled down and F gave her brief directions to locate us. As soon as W sat down, W announced that she had a confession. Before I can digest and predict her statement..she said THIS to F:

"F, I REVERSED INTO YOUR CAR. AND IT'S PRETTY BAD"

I think it took me minutes to digest her statement. I am not sure what went on in F's mind..but I was like caught in a whirlwind. As a 'third party' the only 'sensible' thing that I could think of to say was ..."Err..Have a drink guys"

Apparently...W totally did not see F's car next to mine. And..so she wanted to park next to me ...and reversed her car right into F's car!

Well..I must give credit to F. Instead of jumping up to go inspect the damages..she sat there very coolly and only went to inspect the damages after our meals...that was like 3 hours after.

That's what freinds are for hor..no matter what....still buddies right. As W told a good samaritan who was trying trying to help after the accident "

"It's ok. I think it's my FRIEND'S car!"

Friend friend ma. No need to pay compensation?

Note: A check with 'relevant' sources revealed that the repair will cost 600 bucks approx.!

UPDATE: The repair cost has been reduced significantly to 200 bucks as F decided to check out a 2nd opinion that recommended a 2nd hand bumper instead. That's what Great Friends are for eh?

Desperate blogging

Am still 'out'....writer's block? FY suggested that I write about these:

movie reviews - i don't watch movies often. happen to take lil Danial to watch Kungfu Panda last weekend. I think it's pretty good. Very funny dude that Panda. I would like to watch the Cantonese version too but I am too stingy to pay another 10 bucks to watch in the cinema. Moreover, I always thought going to the cinema is a waste of time..imagine you spend 2 hours in the dark room..looking at the screen. can't talk. can't chat. Time can be better spend chit chatting and catching up isn't it? Or may be a walk in the park...or some work out in the gym. :) Ok ok..I admit ...I rather spend the money and time on FOOD.

thoughts on current affairs - no thoughts lately. the government's (both federal and opposition) decisions and announcements are getting to be such bore. Just get down to work guys..show us some concrete results..no flip flopping please. fuel price hike resulted in frugal spending. my mind seem to be constantly thinking about how i can do to drive more efficiently. accelerate or not accelerate? Air cond or no air cond? And..most important no Idling..it's better for the environment too.


dreams - no dreams la. only dream is to have endless in flow of financial support without working :P

cat? still alive lor. as long as i keep it faraway from Chris. it's in a cranky mood lately..gave me some nasty scratches a few days ago. and..now..i can hear Chris saying -- "throw away the cat la" It's not mine by the way..it's my dad's loyal companion.

car - same ol faithful car. high fuel consumption but it gets me to my destination wor. no plans on changing yet..unless i get a huge jump in salary. I do have aspiration to own a brand new 4wd though. My sis has been tempting to get a 2nd hand Smart car for 80K. hmm...

Mr Right - Where are you?

uehfuihwughlwhl read betwen the lines djklgllsodjGL?

skjghkjhkjhkhi am at loss sidagjijgljljg and a frustrated lkgaljl;algkg; that I have nothing to blgo about ijsdlkjgkllks these days jfdklah!!!

Now, How Big Are You?

Happy Friday Folks! Am feeling a bit sluggish with my work. So..here I am again cheating on my employer, pretending to be working but in reality writing on this minimized blog screen as usual.

Here's an interesting perspective to start you off a wonderful weekend and probably help you see LIFE differently ...

NOW TRY TO WRAP YOUR MIND AROUND THIS.........

THIS IS A HUBBLE TELESCOPE ULTRA DEEP FIELD INFRARED VIEW OF COUNTLESS
'ENTIRE' GALAXIES BILLIONS OF LIGHT-YEARS AWAY.

NOW HOW BIG ARE YOU?


AND HOW BIG ARE THE THINGS THAT UPSET YOU TODAY?




KEEP LIFE IN PERSPECTIVE.


AND DON'T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF!

Panda Craze

What's this latest craze about kung fu panda? My nephew went crazy over this and he has not even watch it. Will be taking him to the cinema this weekend and he got so over excited until he refused to go to school today - wanna go cinema today wor!

Food, Talk, Laugh, Food, Talk, Laugh, Ryan & The Guards

It was an eventful nite for us. All we did was eat, laugh, talk, eat, laugh, talk and the night ended with a highlight of the night - the fight with the Guard! It's so nice to have such gathering with such 'friends'. yup..such "friends"...we used to work together in this S company. Half of us had gone separate ways now. Honestly, I am not sure if we could still be such "friends" if we stayed in the same co. all these years. I think we had our share of finger pointing and politicking those days..but those are all in the past now.

It was a long crazy night for us. I was actually a bit worried that more will happen especially we had to drive home alone. Thank God all of use got home safely (i think). I actually had trouble calming down to sleep. And..No..we didn't have any alcohol or drugs. It was all natural high based on just Food, trash talking, gossips, mag's Finnish cooking, ryan's antics and of course..the final highlight - THE GUARD. Let me try to summarise to the simplest :

FOOD

Appetisers (while waiting for Mag) - peanut pancake, big apple donut

Upon Mag's arrival, she started her attempt to make Finnish pancake..while waiting..we started on pizzas. While Mag, Jenny and Carine figure out on some technicality (more flour less flour, more egg, less egg) of the pancake mixture..we proceed to vegetarian curry and bak kut teh with some rice. As Mag started worrying that her pancake mixture may not workout...we were almost stuffed by then. With renewed confidence, Mag continued to work on her whip cream (for the pancake). While pondering whether I should indulge in another piece of chicken pepperoni pizza, I caught a glimpse of the whip cream that looked quite good & creamy (for a few minutes)...moments later..Mag exclaimed that her whip cream had suddenly changed texture into a slump of yucky looking 'thing'. She later confessed that she had thrown away her first attempt earlier cos she accidentally used salt instead of sugar :D But..it remained a mystery ..why this second attempt a failed too.

Alas, we did have our Finnish pancake without the whip cream. Pretty good. It would have been perfect with some whip cream. OH ya..mag's mashed potato was successful. We finished all of it..nothing left for to take photo.

RYAN

In the midst of all the food and making fun of Mag's pancake. Ryan played his part entertaining us when he shared with us how he 'kicked and punched the abdul rahman' - a kid in school that he fights with almost every other day. He also amused us with his sweet lovey look when he tells us the name of his girlfriend in school - Arina ( i thk). We concluded that..Ryan started fighting & dating at 3 while his mom only started at 6 and 10. Progressing very fast aren't we?

TRASH TALKING

We talked non stop starting from 7pm to 12am. A little bit about career advancement, politics and a little bit about mag's glamourous trip in the next 6 mths..and the rest are all gossips and trash. I really can't recall any substantial facts that we talked about. For example..debating about the right cantonese pronounciation for Spider - is it Chi Chu or Chu Chu. And..what's the right cantonese term for Spider web...while the rest used Chi Chu Mong...ML and I used a similar but somewhat different term.

ML - Kam Lo Shue Wong

ME - Kam Mo Sin Mong----Which one is right?

THE GUARD

Lastly, the highlight of the night! We left ML's house around midnite to find my car clamped! How exciting..first time my car being clamped. The guards insisted that we must pay the $50 fine because we parked at a resident's lot for 5 long hours and they couldn't contact us. FYI - there wasn't a reserved sign on the lot. Duh..did u notice the keyword here? "they couldn't contact us" -- that's simply because they didn't bother to take down our particulars and house no. when we entered the condo area. In addition, they were the one who directed us to the go further up to park since the visitors' lot were fully occupied.

And so..we spent about 45 mins arguing with this drunk security guard who insisted that we must pay. And of course we insisted that we will not pay cos 'kita tak buat salah'. ML called when she saw that we were still at at the guard house . She sent her hubby down to help us out while she kept watched from upstairs. In summary, the argument went on and on and on like something like this:

Drunk guard: lu jangan hantam saya. sya buat kerja saja. u tak bayar saya gaji potong

Us: kita takda hantam u. u tak salah. orang u suruh kami park sana. panggil orang itu mari.

Drunk guard: dia sudah balik tidur. macam mana datang. u bayar, saya bagi receipt. besok u datang office.

Us: tak mau. kita tak buat salah. mengapa mau bayar. u buka itu clamp. case tutup.

It went on and on and on...about who was right who was wrong. Pay no pay. I thank Carine for insisting that we must not pay. I thank ML's lovely hubby for standing by us..giving us the courage n protection.

I was pretty stunt by this part:

Us: sekarang u orang salah. kita masuk, takda orang ambil maklumat. suruh kita park. tapi tak tau mana kita pergi. kita belum complain lagi.

Drunk guard: u complain la. itu bukan shift saya. saya contract pun sudah habis! saya tak takut.

Doink..a cantonese phrase to descrine my reaction then was ' "bei hooi cha do" meaning..caught me speechless! Anyway..the saga came to and end when he called the person in charge and asked us to explain to her. Within minutes..she directed that he should release the clamp but to take down the car registration for record purposes.

Case settle isn't it. As simple as that..but..this drunk fella..still went on and on about donno what. That got on ML's hubby's nerves. He blew his top man..

he shouted at the guard: u kuat minum. saya sudah cakap banyak kali..u takda dengar. sekarang u buat saya malu depan kawan saya.

Guard : apa u mahu bikin sekarang!

ML hubby : apa ? apa u mahu sekarang...

And we were thought the saga was over..these 2 men started a shouting match pulak. Fortunately...they didnt end up in a fist fight as we managed to get this lovely hubby of ML to calm down and leave.

Oh..what a night!

Different Views on Oil Prices - Part 2

Source : http://tonypua.blogspot.com/ by Tony Pua (PJ Utara MP - Economic Advisor to DAP Scretary General)

The Government is not doing enough to alleviate the plight of ordinary Malaysians facing substantial increase in prices of essential goods after the fuel and electricity price hikes. The Government has announced drastic reduction in fuel subsidies which will result in substantially higher fuel and electricity prices yesterday. As a result, there will be 78sen increase in petrol prices to RM2.70/liter from RM1.92/liter. Diesel is now RM2.58/liter up RM1 from RM 15.8/liter. Electricity tariffs are also expected to rise in the coming months. While the increase in prices are expected and in all probabilities, unavoidable, what is perhaps more important is the Government's mechanism to redistribute the savings from the subsidies to ordinary Malaysians who are in need of assistance.

For now, the Government has announced cash payments by vehicle size. This involves annual payments of RM625 for vehicles below 2L engine capacity, RM150 for motorcycles below 250CC engine capacity. Road tax is reduced by RM200 for vehicles above 2L and by RM50 for motorcycles above 250CC. While these measures seem fair and innovative at first look, they are clearly short-term in nature and have clearly failed to address the key pressing issues below:

These efforts continue to distort transportation patterns, prices and preferences without encouraging or promoting the use of public transport. There are no incentives for Malaysians particularly those in urban regions to switch to public transportation which reduces our dependency of petrol, unclogs roads, and reduces impact on the environment as subsidies are given to vehicle owners. There is even talk about subsidies for buses to be reduced. The country is expected to save RM13.7B from the reduction in subsidies but the savings are earmarked for everything except improving public transport which will help us in the long run.

Increase in fuel prices should be announced concurrently with concrete plans to expedite the construction of mass transportation networks, such as extending the LRT and bus feeder system or to improve the existing networks. Without such plans, it does not bode well for the Klang Valley and other urban centres where traffic congestion is common place and public transport is poor.

Finally, energy prices will result in secondary price increases of all our daily essential goods and services. The proposed vehicle-based cash rebates will only benefit those owning cars or motorcycles but not help those without who will still suffer from the price increase of everyday items. Incidentally, the affected will more likely belong to lower income group who need help to combat the effects of secondary inflation caused my reduced subsidies.

I am repeating DAP's call on the government to adopt the grant scheme of up to RM3000 per working individual depending on income levels to be paid through the EPF mechanism. Consumers will then have the choice to utilize the grant in a manner which best meets their needs and will receive the grant whether they currently own cars, motorcycles or otherwise. Aiding the rakyat using the EPF is also cheaper and less cumbersome because it is an existing avenue for channelling funds back to the people.

Different Views on Oil Prices - Part 1

Source http://www.chedet.com/ By Tun Dr. Mahathir

The price of crude oil has increased by 400 percent in the last three years. It follows that the price of products must increase, sooner or later. In other countries petrol prices had already increased. In the United Kingdom one litre of petrol sells for more than one pound sterling or RM7. In the United States it is about RM5. That the price in neighbouring countries has gone up is shown by the rush to fill up by Thai and to a lesser extent Singapore vehicles.

The Government has now announced an increase in petrol price by 78 sen to RM2.70 per litre, an increase of more than 40 per cent. I may be mistaken but there seems to be less vehicles on the road today. But obviously that is not all that will happen. All other consumer goods, services and luxury goods would increase in price. The cost of living must go up. Put another way there will be inflation and the standard of living will go down. Obviously our increase in petrol price is far less than in the United Kingdom or the United States. But our per capita income is about one-third of theirs. In purchasing power terms our increase is more than in the UK or the US. The increase hurts but the pain is greater not just because of the increase percentage-wise is higher than in developed countries but because of the manner the increase is made.

A few days ago the Government decided to ban sale of petrol to foreign cars. It flipped. Now foreign cars can buy again. Flopped. Knowing that in a few days it was going to raise the price and foreigners would be allowed to buy, why cannot the Government just wait instead of banning and unbanning. But be that as it may what could the Government have done to lessen the burden on the people that results from the increase in petrol price.

In the first place the Government should not have floated the Ringgit. A floating rate creates uncertainties and we cannot gain anything from the strengthened Ringgit. Certainly the people have not experienced any increase in their purchasing power because of the appreciation in the exchange rate between the US Dollar and the Ringgit. Actually the Ringgit has increased by about 80 sen (from RM3.80 to RM3.08 to 1 US Dollar) per US Dollar, i.e. by more than 20 per cent. Had the Government retained the fixed rate system and increased the value of the Ringgit, say 10 per cent at a time, the cost of imports, in Ringgit terms can be monitored and reduced by 10 per cent. At 20 per cent appreciation the cost of imports should decrease by 20 per cent. But we know the prices of imported goods or services have not decreased at all. This means we are paying 20 per cent higher for our imports including the raw material and components for our industries. Since oil prices are fixed in US Dollar, the increase in US Dollar prices of oil should also be mitigated by 20 per cent in Malaysian Ringgit. But the Government wants to please the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank and decided to float the Ringgit. As a result the strengthening of the Ringgit merely increased our cost of exports without giving our people the benefit of lower cost of imports.

This is not wisdom after the event. I had actually told a Government Minister not to float the Ringgit three years ago. But of course I am not an expert, certainly I know little about the international financial regimes. I believe the people expect the increase of petrol price. But what they are angry about is the quantum and the suddenness. The Prime Minister was hinting at August but suddenly it came two months earlier, just after the ban on sale of petrol to foreigners. If the increase had been more gradual, the people would not feel it so much. But of course this means that the Government would have to subsidise, though to a decreasing extent. Can the Government subsidise? I am the “adviser” to Petronas but I know very little about it beyond what is published in its accounts. What I do know may not be very accurate but should be sufficient for me to draw certain conclusions.

Roughly Malaysia produces 650,000 barrels of crude per day. We consume 400,000 barrels leaving 250,000 barrels to be exported. Three years ago the selling price of crude was about USD30 per barrel. Today it is USD130 – an increase of USD100. There is hardly any increase in the production cost so that the extra USD100 can be considered as pure profit. Our 250,000 barrels of export should earn us 250,000 x 100 x 365 x 3 = RM27,375,000,000 (twenty seven billion Ringgit). But Petronas made a profit of well over RM70 billion, all of which belong to the Government. By all accounts the Government is flushed with money. But besides petrol the prices of palm oil, rubber and tin have also increased by about 400 per cent. Plantation companies and banks now earn as much as RM3 billion in profits each. Taxes paid by them must have also increased greatly. I feel sure that maintaining the subsidy and gradually decreasing it would not hurt the Government finances.

In the medium term ways and means must be found to reduce wasteful consumption and increase income. We may not be able to fix the minimum wage at a high level but certainly we can improve the minimum wage. Actually our wages are high compared to some of our neighbours. The investors who come here are attracted not by cheap labour but by other factors, among which is the attitude of the Government towards the business community and the investors in particular. From what I hear business friendliness is wanting in the present Government – so much so that even Malaysians are investing in other countries. There are rumblings about political affiliations influencing decisions.

Generally Government politicians are said to be arrogant. Malaysia is short of manpower. The labour intensive industries are not benefiting Malaysians. Foreign workers are remitting huge sums of money home. The industrial policy must change so that high tech is promoted in order to give Malaysians higher wages to cope with rising costs of living. The world is facing economic turmoil due to the depreciation of the US Dollar, the sub-prime loan crisis, rising oil and raw material prices, food shortages and the continued activities of the greedy hedge funds. The possibility of a US recession is real. In a way the US is already in recession. The world economy will be dragged down by it. Malaysia will be affected by all these problems. I wonder whether the Government is prepared for this. We cannot avoid all the negative effects but there must be ways to mitigate against them and to lessen the burden that must be borne by all Malaysians. I am sure the Government will not just pass all these problems to the people as the review of oil prices every month seem to suggest.

Alternative Transportation

In less than 24 hours after the petrol hike annoucement. I've come to realise that there is really nthg much that we can do. After all, it is a fact that we have been enjoying lowest petrol prices inthe whole world all these years. It's time to be independent and let's be a bit more creative. Alternative transportation anyone??

Think I just became a Godma

My friend MK had asked me to take over as Godma to one of her daughter. I wasn't comfortable initially because I didn't think I can fulfill the commitment. Jojo is eight now. Her 1st Godma has gone missing in action ever since she got married and had her own children. Since her brother and sister have very loving godmas ..Jojo doesn't want to be left out. So..poor mommy had been looking around to find someone to fill up this 'position' in the little girl's heart.

I agreed to have dinner with them last night..just to see if I can interact with her. Although I love children..I may not be very good at interacting with them..especially with older ones. Last night was a pretty awkward situation. At times I felt like it was a 'match making' session. MK says that Jojo knows a little bit about the purpose of the dinner.

When they went off to the loo, MK asked Jojo if she likes me...Jojo said .."yes..she is beautiful". Geee....kids are so honest hor?

Anyway...I think Jojo is lovely too. I'd love to be your godma.

Petrol Price Increases AGAIN

PATRICK TEOH you are so Right!

A couple of months ago..Patrick wrote :

I think all Malaysians should start really worrying now.
Remember how whenever our prime minister says that something won't happen it does?
No. I am not going to get married so soon. Weeks later he does.
No. I will not dissolve Parliament. The next day he does.
No. That fler will not be Menteri Besar of Terengganu. Now he is.

Hold your breath people.....in the last few days the prime minister has also said that there will not be any increase in petrol prices in the near future....AAARRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

@#!$%...w.e.f tonight petrol pirces will increase to RM2.70 from RM1.92 per litre (Source: Malaysiakini)

DIE STANDING!