The National Library

I can't remember the last time I was at the National Library; it must've been during my PPP/ITM days so that's about 16 years ago.

I somehow mixed up my appointment time, leaving me with 2.5 hours to spare. With the exhorbitant parking rates in KLCC area, I decided to find either find 1) a free place where I can park my car and use my laptop or 2) a place where parking for two hours won't cost me more than my lunch. I decided to drive over to the National Library and with its ample free parking, decided that this would be a really nice place to spend two hours and catch up on my work. I registered myself here and maybe the next time I am in KL for a meeting, I could always drop by here and read.

p/s To the anonymous MCOB who commented on my earlier posting on my English, I would really appreciate it you could contact me at azlan@mcoba.org. I would certainly like to improve on the quality of my posting and I am sure you could help me with that.

MCOBA Jalan Jalan Cari Makan #4

Sdr Salim '75, MCOBA JPM for Networking started a very interesting activity to promote MCOB-owned eateries via the Jalan Jalan Cari Makan (JJCM) series. Each time, one MCOB-owned is chosen and everyone would eat their heart out and go dutch on the final bill. I missed the first three but managed to join the fourth installment at Al Andalus Restaurant, Jalan Delima, KL.

Pictures courtesy of Sdr Zahid Serpent '78

16th December 2010

On this magical date, my second son, Amir Zharif came into the world at 8.57am, tipping the scale at 4.93kg.

Zharif outweighed his elder brother Amir Haris by more than 300g and also outgrowned him by 1cm.

However, we were put through a very anxious two weeks as Amir Zharif was detained at the hospoital; one day in the NICU and the rest in the 3rd floor nursery.

Cause : Fast respiration from birth.

All sorts of test was done on him, but Alhamdulillah, the doctors gave him a clean bill of health.

Welcome the world, Son.. and welcome to the family.

Changing Times

In 14 years, a lot of things have changed.

In '96, when I first registered at UW-Madison, the business undergraduate programme was ranked #13 in the US.

Money Magazine named Madison as the #1 city to live in.

In 2010, UW-Madison's ranking is #40
Money Magazine ranked Madison at #95.

Gosh...

Good Marketing

Get this.. China Press reported that Macau's Gambling King, Stanley Ho sent his personal jet to pick up 88 durians from Singapore. Talk about love for the King of Fruits.

Now, get this. The durians are from the Musang King variety, FROM MALAYSIA...

... why must he buy Malaysian durian in Singapore ?

.. it's all in the marketing... (the Singapore Lychee thing comes to mind, heheh)

Joint Bid For World Cup ?

It was reported in the news that Malaysia would consider a joint bid with Indonesia to host the World Cup.

Huh..? World Cup of what ?

Our team is languising in the 100s ranking. Before we can even consider such ambitious undertakings, please get the team's ranking to at least the top 99 ranked.

World Cup

I am not a die hard soccer fan. I do not go ga-ga over EPL matches at mamak stall and sometimes I think our local newspaper are going overboard when reporting 3/4 of the sports section with EPL or other European league news whereas our own league is lucky enough to get 1/4 page of report.

Anyway, befoe the World Cup started I made my mind to support Argentina. Except for Messi, I don't even know who is on the team but hey, with everyone talking about "their" team, I must have one too. Argentina did rather well, until of course, the famous drubbing by the German team.

OK, lets support a better team (i.e the team that beat Argentina) but hey, even Paul the octopus is not putting his tantacles on that.

Germany lost too..

... Viva La Roja ??

IS IT SAFE?

Sometime last week, Honey Dearest and I decided to take elevated Kelana Jaya-Subang Jaya elevated route to go back home. It was around 5.15pm and we thought that traffic wouldn't be bad (sometimes you can see cars basically motionless on the entire stretch of the elevated portion). Our plan is to take the exit right after SJMC and head to Sunway Pyramid for a quick bite.

OK, so the traffic is heavy and with the exit being an a very sharp angle and only a single lane, traffic starts to build up. The lady in the Myvi infront of us seemed to be utilising her time well, by putting up make up, at at times, I believe, removing some body hair (that was how it looked like from our car).

The jam, we can take. However, the entire road was wobbly beneath of us. We really felt it as we we stationary most of the time. So, my question is... is the whole stretch safe ? I am no engineer, but I am sure when they plan for it, they must have calculated the loading etc. However, when they did the calculation, did they consider the weight of stationary cars on the entire stretch of the elevated portion ?

Honey Dearest never wants to be on that road during peak hours, ever again.

Alternative Products

It is always nice to have an alternative to the products you use or consume.



We have in-store brand by hypermarkets of almost anythings, from laundry detergents to sausages.



It is also nice to know that we have an alternative to Kentucky Fried Chicken.



I have heard about Radix Fried Chicken for quite some time but since the outlets are only available in the north, I never had the chance to try it. However, a visit to Mydin Mall in Ayer Keroh, Melaka gave me the chance to try out the product.



The taste is good and the price is reasonable.



I will definitely come back for more.



.. oh, do open one in Shah Alam or Subang Jaya, ye ?

BN Lost

So, BN lost the Sibu parliamentary seat in the May 16th 2010 by-election.

Warning bells in the East Malaysia, BN ?

BN Wins

In one of the most closely fought by-election, BN managed to come out on top with a 1,725 majority. The BN candidate, P. Kamalanathan of MIC beat PKR heavyweight Dato' Zaid Ibrahim in an electorate whose demographical composition is almost reflective of Malaysia at large.

I am a fan of neither BN nor PR, but I feel this victory is good for both sides. For BN, it pays to be more on the ground (of course, many detractors will cry foul about the money being spent to "buy" support, but hey, if the situation is reverse, would it be any different?) and for PR, it is a wake-up call for them to be more realistic (and to come certain, be more humble and stop politicizing everything under the sun).

Politics

Is politics really about the better of two evils ?

I am not old enough to remember "the good old days" when politics was about "serving the community, the people, the country etc.". When I was old enough to understand (or take interest, yes, that would be the right word for it), Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim was going after Tun Ghaffar Baba for the Deputy Presidency of UMNO and everything thereafter was about being into politics to make money. Tonnes of money.

I came back to Malaysia from my studies abroad right smack into the Reformasi times. It was indeed an interesting time and I contemplated into getting myself right smack in the thick of it but somehow refrain myself from doing so.

Then the so-called "political tsunami" took place in 2008. I remember there was an eerie silent the following morning. Two years down the road, I definitely do not like where the country is heading. Instead of people uniting, I think it made people more divisive. There is now a clear divide between "us"and "them".

Mana-mana pihak yang menang, sama aje.

To the lady driving a champagne colour Honda CR-V (MAV 8***) on ELITE highway, northbound to KLIA on 13/03/2010 @ 6.20pm

From my Facebook Note

I am not a confrontational person by nature. I think the people who knew me would attest to that. However, what happened just two hours ago, well, to put it mildly... pisses me off..

So, what actually happened ?

I was driving back from Melaka, with the missus, my son Haris (who is already 1.5 years old) and my maid. We went back to visit my father in law who had to have an emergency surgery due to an infection to his right foot. So, there we were in the ever reliable Perodua Kembara, driving within the stipulated speed limit (in a full time 4WD like a Kembara, I can be assured of not getting a speeding ticket since there is just so much I can floor the pedal) and was about 3KM from the KLIA exit. I was in the middle lane and I wanted to overtake the car in front of me. Looking at the rear view mirror, I saw a Honda CR-V in the far distance, so I turned my indicator signal and started to overtake*. Within moments, the champagne-colour Honda CR-V was tailing me so close that I could feel the car was barely inches away. After over taking, I turned the indicator signal again and entered the middle lane again. This is when the CR-V drove passed me and the long haired lady driver gave me a look as she was passing by as if saying "Get out of my f****** way you f***** kembara" or "I drive a Honda CR-V as opposed to your Kembara so I have more rights than you on this highway". The car got in front of me and continue to drive leftwards and took the KLIA exit. It was then that I saw the MAV8*** plate number and the "A*** **** Oldboys" sticker on its back windscreen.

Granted, you may be late to the airport to fetch your husband/parents/maid/frien

d but what gives you the right to drive like that. If you don't want to be late, just leave your house a bit earlier. Don't have to endanger other people on the road.

To the wife of the A*** **** oldboy in the champagne colour Honda CR-V (MAV 8***), I don't give a rat's a** if you want to drive like a freakin' boy racer high on ecstasy but when your driving poses a risk to my family on board, here's what I can say to you...

...."**** ***"

I really really wish you are on FB and you can read this.

Pics.

Ramblings on a saturday night..

Aku bosan betul le dengan ADUN aku ni. Ada dalam facebook. Selalu la menghantar status update yang asyik mengutuk segala tindakan yang di ambil oleh govt of the day. Semua salah. Dia sorang aje yang betul. Parti dia aje yang betul. Parti dia aje yang truly Malaysian (ye lah tu... ramai orang lupa sejarah).

... no one says jangan pakai FB or Twitter, cuma bila pakai kena la jaga ethics and segala apa yang di post tu kena lah di analyze sebelum percaya bulat2.

... menteri tu was refering to the posting done by that chap who said he witness the devices being made in the church attacks, which was proven to be totally false.

.... and yg bagi comment bila dia buat this kind of remarks dalam facebook, tok sah cerita la. Kadok naik junjung...

.... tu pun masih nak berpecah belah lagi ....

.. bila nak sedar ??!!!

Fatherhood

I am blessed with a very very adorable boy, Amir Haris. Can't believe he is already a year plus today. Feels like it was only yesterday when I first held him in my arms after Honey Dearest gave birth to him at SJMC.

Haris is no longer walking, he is basically running around!

I entered fatherhood without even the experience of having siblings. You see, I am the only child in the family.

When Honey Dearest was pregnant with Haris, I always asked myself whether I can be a good father.

Alternative this Alternative that

We have so many people championing alternative views, under guise of so many different things.

Alternative ways of governing for instance.

Apparently, we were told that we have been "screwed" by the people who have been governing us for the 50 years or so.

Its refreshing to have alternatives, be it view or way of doing things.

However, what annoys me is that this people championing these alternative views think they could do no wrong. Everything being done by the establishment is wrong. Any actions taken by the people who are not for the alternatives are wrong.

What kind of alternative are we being presented here ?

Mission: Possible prt 2

Ok, I may not have achieved my target yet but from mid September 2009 until 31 Dec 2009, I have lost a total of 8kg...

... and the pants are fitting nicely !

Mission : Possible ? Prt 1

The doctor was quite straighforward.

"If you want to live longer, you better do something about your weight now"

The fasting month provided a useful kickstart to weight loss as I usually dropped a few pounds (which would gained back by the second day of Aidilfitri). This time I would like to try as much as I can to keep it off and even more.

Alhamdulillah, I am able to maintain some of the weight I have loss (well, plus minus here and there).

... who knows, I can put on my Oscar De La Renta suit which I only wore once during my graduation... way back in 1997...

... Impossible ?

Keeping it off

One of the best thing about Ramadhan is the almost assured weight loss. This is especially so if one does not splurge on the delicacies at the Bazaar Ramadhan.

I managed to shed some pounds.

... thats the easy part...

.... after a week of Aidilfitri, the question is whether I can keep it off...