East Coast Park

Tuesday night, Ian brought us all to East Coast Park. A place by the beach where there are restaurants, hawker food, camping (that's right, camping), sports, etc.

Waterboarding in the lagoon

There was also this place where people practice water skiing or water boarding whatever you call it. They surrounded an area and made a lagoon in the beach. Then pulled a cables around the perimeter of the lagoon and allow you to ski around the lagoon.

This is where they launch off

As the cable circle around the lagoon, you launch off when the cable you are holding on to gets hook on. And then you go round, and round, and round. Once in a while you get someone who thinks he's damn good and start doing tricks. Then you hear us laughing when he falls off.

Some fellar who thinks he's damn good at waterskiing

They charge by the hour. It gets cheaper the more hours you buy, up to a maximum 4 hours. How the heck do you hang on for four hours?!!! Anyway, maybe I'll give it a try one day. I'll bring a chair and see if they can pull the chair instead.

Night out at Makan Sutra

A.Ze arrived in SG yesterday for a 2 week working trip. We went out for dinner along with Ian and May at Makan Sutra next to the Esplanade. We went in Ian's new Toyota Yaris. Nice semi-compact car. Even with 5 of us, it was still comfortable. It was raining when we arrived, but still managed to get a table under a big umbrella.

Makan Sutra is a "semi-tourist" attraction, according to Ian. It has the hawker food of Singapore but situated next to Esplanade and the sea with a view of the Marina coastline. Place is clean and the food was great. 3rd time I've been there so far. Recommended for anyone who is visiting SG.

Will call A.Ze tonight, see what plans he has.

Ratatouille (rat-a-too-ee)

My wife and I went to watch Ratatouille with Ian and May at Vivo City on Saturday night. I had heard some raving reviews from a lot of people. Ratatouille is from Pixar and after success with Toys Story and A Bug's Life, this should not be too bad.

It started out with a short animation about a alien trainee taking a test to abduct humans. Short but sweet. The cinema was filled with laughter.

On to the movie, needless to explain; I think most of you have read about the movie, most would have seen it before me; but I will just go on. It is about a rat who loves to cook and how he found his way into a famous French restaurant in Paris, of course, and how he team up with a young boy in the kitchen to make magnificent dishes.
Kudos to Pixar for the great animation. Together with Disney, they always manage to make the film as heartwarming and attractive to the viewers. Typically, you have the good guys and of course some bad hats that are trying to make life hard for the heroes.

Although it was really good, but somehow the thought of a rat cooking still send shivers. Pixar made Remy, the rat that cooks, looks cleaner and cuter. But after watching movies of dirty rats in the sewers or rats in the rubbish, the idea of a rat cooking is still hard to accept.

But overall, it was a good movie. Had a good laugh. Been some time since I saw a cartoon in the cinema. I would say worth the money I paid for the tickets.

Happy Birthday Malaysia

Happy Birthday Malaysia. Happy 44th Birthday Malaysia. Perhaps many have forgotten, but Malaysia was actually formed on 16 September 1963 together with the states in Penisular and East Malaysia.

Our National day remains on 31 August. This is because independence was gained on 31 August 1957. But Malaya was formed and consist of the states in Penisular Malaysia. Sabah and Sarawak only joined in 1963. Thus the official date for the formation of Malaysia is 16 September 1963.

Our nation seems to have forgotten this date, with yours truly needing to be reminded as well. We should take into account the feelings of our comrades in East Malaysia as they are a part of our nation as well. If 100mil was spent on our Merdeka Celebration, what celebration was actually planned for the nation's 44th birthday?

Somehow, the actual date of our nation's birthday have just come and gone. How many of us actually celebrated the big day? How many of us actually remembered the date?

Perhaps if the government truly wants one Malaysian race, we should embrace this day as the birthday of the Malaysian nation; the birthday of all Malaysians; the birthday of one Malaysia; the birthday of one Malaysian race.

Happy 44th Birthday Malaysia.

The Husband Store

A store that sells husbands has just opened in New York City , where a woman may go to choose a husband. Among the instructions at the entrance is a description of how the store operates. You may visit the store ONLY ONCE!

There are six floors and the attributes of the men increase as the shopper ascends the flights. There is, however, a catch. ... You may choose any man from a particular floor, or you may choose to go up a floor, but you cannot go back down except to exit the building!

So, a woman goes to the Husband Store to find a husband.

On the first floor the sign on the door reads: Floor 1 - These men have jobs and love the Lord.

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The second floor sign reads:Floor 2 - These men have jobs, love the Lord, and love kids.

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The third floor sign reads: Floor 3 - These men have jobs, love the Lord, love kids, and are extremely good looking." Wow," she thinks, but feels compelled to keep going.

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She goes to the fourth floor and sign reads: Floor 4 - These men have jobs, love the Lord, love kids, are drop- dead good looking and help with the housework."Oh, mercy me!" she exclaims, "I can hardly stand it!"

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Still, she goes to the fifth floor and sign reads: Floor 5 - These men have jobs, love the Lord, love kids, are drop- dead gorgeous, help with the housework, and have a strong romantic streak. She is so tempted to stay, but she goes to the sixth floor and the sign reads:

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Floor 6 - You are visitor 4,363,012 to this floor. There are no men on this floor. This floor exists solely as proof that women are impossible to please. Thank you for shopping at the Husband Store. Watch your step as you exit the building, and have a nice day!

Overpaid Items

I've been resisting from writing about this for a week. But there's still reports coming out telling how much have been wasted. The issue at hand is the Auditor-General's report on the government's usage of money.

The first article I read was in the Star. Would you believe how unbelieveable it sounds? Paying RM224 for a set of screwdrivers, RM5,700 for a jack! I mean, maybe you can overprice a project by 5% because there's too much too look at, but paying something this outrageous for simple items like this. Totally ridiculous.

Anyone wants a screwdriver?

The people involved may claim ignorance. But does it sound logical to you? Are we that naive? If they claim they don't know the prices, it shows how close the government is to the current issues and to the people.

What makes things worse is that if it really is ignorance, then we really have to worry when THESE people are the ones RUNNING the country. Then I would really be scared.

I think maybe I'll go into business. Maybe I can start supplying items to the Ministries. Anyone interested in an ergonomic broom? It's a broom wrapped with rubber grip at the handle. Allows the user to get a better grip and sweeps comfortably. One unit goes for the price of RM5,000. Anyone interested can email me.

Diamond Rings For Weddings

"More couples in increasingly affluent China are opting to say "I do" with a diamond ring, rather than gold or jade jewellery, according to the world's biggest diamond producer De Beers."

According to an article in the Star, more and more Chinese are buying diamonds for weddings than gold or jade. Unbelievable.

"More and more consumers are acquiring diamonds in China. You know when consumers used to ask others 'so did you get a diamond for your wedding?', now they'd ask how big is your diamond."

Actually I don't blame the men, it's the women who wants the diamonds. Paying so much for something so small. You say, "Mine's 0.3 carats", she says, "Mine's 0.4 carat." If you look at it properly, you don't actually see much difference. Please remember, no matter how big you all compare, it's so small u can't even measure it with a ruler. How big do you want it to be? Sigh.

If it were up to the men, probably they would buy liquor and get drunk during the wedding. Most important is the bed. So buying a bed for the wife would be more realistic. Start comparing how big the size of your bed with others.

Tell them, I got a super super king size bed. I can roll all over the bed. Do somersaults and all type of positions. Then you can start comparing.

Dinner at Thai Express

Apply for the Orange card and you get 10% discount plus birthday discounts

Went to dinner with my wife last Sunday at this Thai restaurant called Thai Express in Vivo City. The environment was not bad. Lucky we went there early, it was packed after 7pm.

The ones in the orange shirts are the waiters & waitresses

The Tom Yam Kung

Ordered ourselves the Tom Yam soup. Don't be fooled by the colour of the soup. It may look plain but there are cili padi all at the bottom of the bowl. Once you stir it, it's really spicy.

The BBQ Seafood Platter

The BBQ Seafood Platter was delicious. It is served with rice. What you are seeing is the fish and squid on top. Below the fish are an abundance of prawns, all grilled perfectly. Dipped with the chilli paste, it taste really good.

Fried Glass noodles with seafood or something

Tried out the glass noodles as well. Tasted great as well. The glass noodles were fried with some sort spice that makes it taste like Maggi Mee Goreng. On the dish, there are peanut and chilli sprinkles condiments that you can add to your liking. Overall, it taste great.

This is my 2nd time I've been here. The food's great. Environment's soothing and the staff was really nice. I changed my order a couple of times and they were nice enought to accommodate. The price was not too pricey, comparable to some other fast food restaurants. Check it out if you have the time.

RM100 million for 50th Merdeka Day bash

On my way to work today, I was reading the TODAY newspaper. The article was on our Merdeka Day bash, which cost us a whopping RM100mil. The excerpts of the article is as below.

$43 million for Merdeka Day bash
KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia's government drew accusations of extravagance yesterday after revealing that celebrations for its 50th anniversary of independence cost taxpayers at least RM100 million ($43 million).
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The criticism came amid growing scrutiny by opposition parties over the use of state funds, including government plans to offer a loan, which critics say is tantamount to a bailout, to a port authority saddled with a US$1-billion ($1.5-billion) debt.
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Authorities spent an estimated RM100.6 million on parades, festivities and flag-waving campaigns that culminated in the Aug 31 celebration of Merdeka Day, which marked 50 years of Malaysian independence from Britain, Deputy Finance Minister Awang Adek Hussin told Parliament on Tuesday, in response to the opposition's questions.
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Opposition leader Lim Kit Siang said "a more modest figure" would have sufficed.
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He added: "It shows a lack of fiscal discipline. There must be more government accountability."
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On Tuesday, Mr Awang said the expenses were "appropriate," and the cost fit the occasion. — AP

A 100mil ringgit. What an grossly extravagant sum, even for a 50th National Day. It is in my opinion, that it is TRULY A WASTE OF MONEY! A 100mil!

A 100mil would do much good to our country. Giving it to charity or building more roads or even constructing a building to called Merdeka Tower would be even more useful.

I guess Malaysia really has another new milestone in our Malaysian Book of Records. How to burn RM100mil in one nite. Malaysia Boleh!

Stop Working! Save Yourselves!'

Please save all of yourselves. Stop working. It may just kill you. Seems that the major cause of heart attack are your colleagues. Don't believe me? Read the article.