Mixed reaction

Hey! It's been sometime since my last post. Life has been the same, slightly changed though since I'm married. Married life has been good. We get along fine with both sides. Since we're staying with our folks, I find that we're lack of privacy. Our only private moment is when we're out on our own or during bed time.

Anyway, this is not the topic I'm getting into. Noon time, we received a call from my uncle. He said my grandpa urinated blood this morning. And that he's sent him to hospital for checkup. Soon after lunch, we reached my uncle's house. Grandpa took an ultrasound and it showed that there's a small tumor in his bladder. I was shocked upon hearing the report. How could a man at his age (gonna be 87) being diagnosed with tumor. Ridiculous! However, the urologist has to confirm this by performing another scan to make sure.

An hour later, grandpa went back to hospital for cystoscopy. The urologist performed the scan himself and gave us good news. Bladder is clear of tumor! The reason that caused the bleeding is scarring of tissue. Apparently, my grandpa carried flower pots yesterday. The pots might be too heavy for an elderly like him, thus, hurting him internally without him knowing. All of us at home was relieved with the news. In the end, my grandpa got nagged at by his sons for carrying the flower pots, hehe.

On a separate note. I read the paper today. It is reported that there are more than half a million Malaysians residing abroad. These Malaysians are either working, studying or migrated. What is wrong with that? Nothing! Why not report the amount of illegal foreigners residing in Malaysia. I am sure every Malaysian desires to find out. For all you know, the amount could be drastically huge. Having the freedom to come and go, it's not odd if the amount is even larger than our Indian population!

Business opportunity

Couple of days ago, I received a call from an ex-colleague that I haven't spoken to for ages. She asked me how was I, what am I doing and the usual questions. I sensed something was amiss since we lost contact for so long. I was right, soon after she asked "Hey, are you interested in doing business? My friends and I just started the business and are looking for potential partners with foundation."

Potential partners with foundation? Hmmm. Then I asked what is the business about. She went "Do you have time? We could discuss this further over a cuppa. I can introduce you to my friends too." Not wanting to drag this further, I decline her offer kindly by saying I have other commitments.

In this economic time, many businesses have gone bust. At the same time, it creates business opportunity too. There are many genuine investments, but there might also be those which are cutting corners. Being a non risk taker, it never crossed my mind to jump into any opportunity. I tend to think too much and also, I don't trust anyone handling investments for me. To me, the best financial manager is none other than my ownself.

Even if I do ever invest, it would be years from now when I have spare cash to dump in. At this point of time, I still trust the bank. Thank you very much. What about you? Are you a risk taker?

Raya Open Houses!

I went to 4 Raya open houses alone today! And I'm not even Malay! Here are the photos from 2 houses: M&M and D'Sentral neighbourhood (my housing area).



Look at the crowd! It's only 6.45pm! By 8pm, the tables were fully occupied.



There were many many hawker stalls to cater M&M's guests tonight.



For one, it's this dessert stall. Free advertisement :P Pretty good. I'll definitely try them out when I'm at Midvalley the next time.



Then there's a mamak stall, making roti canai and tosai.



Briyani rice and dhal. Other than these, there were char kuey teow, satay, roast lamb, drinks, popiah, curry noodles, lontong and much more. And you know what I ate? Only 1 popiah! Yea, that's what I get after attending 2 other Raya open houses before this :/



About an hour later, we left and came back to our house and attended the next one.



More food!



And more!



Mom and I were seated with neighbour living next to us. It was enjoyable getting together once a year :)

Shhh

Dad was watching the RTM's Chinese news earlier. Though I don't really understand, but I still watch it. You know, just for the sake of getting the latest news. Anyway, one of its on-site reporter was asking the public's opinion about the recent hoo-hah. Half of them who were approached, gave their opinions. However, another half of them refused to comment.

Upon hearing their excuses, I burst!

Uncle 1: shh shh, mou man (shh shh, don't ask).
Uncle 2: shh shh, mou kong gam doh. jing gan bei yan lai hui sik ka li fan! (shh shh, don't say so much. later will get caught and eat curry rice!)

What have the gamen achieve? Instill fear in us? Please! Although these uncles did not answer publicly, that doesn't mean they don't talk about it among themselves. That only make us unite and bad mouth the gamen even more!

Mid-Autumn Festival

... aka Mooncake Festival is just around the corner. Chinese from all over the world, celebrate it annually on the 15th day of the 8th month, based on lunar calendar. And this year, it falls on 14 September.



I notice that renown restaurants like Oversea, Kam Lun Tai, Tai Thong and etc, have started selling mooncakes as early as July! I guess business is very competitive, that they need to sell earlier than the rest.

As most Thursday goes, I will be in Midvalley. Today, there are more carts selling mooncakes located on the center court, lower ground floor. Mostly are big hotels such as, Westin, Nikko, Renaissance, Shangri La, Hilton, etc.



I'm not a mooncake fan myself, but I do like the mini mooncake from Shangri La. We bought 3 mini mooncakes, 2 are Lotus Seed and 1 is Bird's Nest Custard Ping Pei.



Apart from mooncakes, you can get lanterns too. These days, lanterns are powered with batteries. Tsk, nothing beats the traditional, old school lanterns. They use candles! Mine was a unicorn, what's yours?

Anwar won!

Yeap, as predicted, Anwar won the Permatang Pauh by-election. He won with a majority of over 15,000 votes! I guess all the residents of Permatang Pauh came out in full force.

Apart from winning the by-election, he will also be returning to a familiar building, the Parliament. The 10-year wait is finally over for him. He will definitely be making headlines this day onwards.

Merdeka is just around the corner. Anwar Ibrahim has many reasons to celebrate this day, with his family and party members.

We'll see what's in store for us on this upcoming Merdeka. Don't forget September 16 too. The day when Malaysia was formed.

The Olympics

08-08-08 is definitely a date to remember. It happens once in our lifetime. It is also when the Summer Olympics is held. The night of the opening ceremony, I made sure I'm home and get ready to watch this event. It was really fascinating that the Chinese managed build the Bird's Nest, Water Cube and other Olympic villages on time. And the opening ceremony, watched by millions all over the world, was awesome!

The past Olympic games did not mean much to me. This time around, it meant more. Perhaps that I have been to Greece and have witnessed the ruins in Olympia itself. It is the very birth place of the first Olympics game.


Ruins in Olympia

I stepped on the same ground where past athletes step foot on. Now, almost 3000 years since the first game was held, the mighty stones of yesteryears is still around. Though it no longer stood highly on the ground.



Did you know that these mighty stones is made of shells? Here, take a closer look. Amazing huh?


Priestess lighting up torch

This is Maria, our friendly Greek tour guide. She formerly worked as a History teacher in a local university. We were well-fed with the Greek ancient myths and stories of Gods and Goddesses. Here, she showed us that in the past, a holy priestess would light up the torch before passing it to the torch bearer.

Now that the Olympics is nearing its end. It will be another 4 years before the next Summer Olympic takes place in London. Make sure you stay home this Sunday night and watch the show on your comfy couch.

Eating out: Pizza San Francisco

I went out with my girlfriend, Hui Bao, for dinner. We seldom travel far for our indulgence anymore ever since the petrol price hike. Since both of us were craving for western food, we went to Pizza San Francisco. This restaurant is conveniently located in Bangi, where she's working at and I am staying in.


Nachos, priced at RM12.90

This nachos is nothing compared to TGIF and Chilli's. Instead of sour cream, they use whipped cream. OMG! Who on earth would want whipped cream on their food? The nachos tasted better dipped in chili sauce!


Pollo Chicken, priced at RM14.90

I ordered Pollo Chicken: Grilled chicken served with mushroom sauce and vegetables. But it came out to be steamed chicken and vegetables topped with mushroom in watery black pepper sauce. I wasn't expecting much, so it did not turn out THAT bad after all.


Chicken chop, priced at RM14.90

Hui Bao ordered Chicken Chop, to be safe. The chicken is fairly dry after being deep fried, and the crumbs was just too thick.

None of us finished our food. If you ask if we'd return to this eatery, my answer is YES. Why? Because they serve decent pizzas and drinks. Not that I'll visit next week, perhaps.... half a year later? Haha.

On another unrelated matter, when I was driving home after dinner, I saw a man trying to hitch a ride by flagging at the road side of the highway. I wondered who would take him into his (girls, don't ever do this) car and be kind enough to send him to his destination. We can never be too careful and cautious enough, let alone taking in a stranger. In the world today, especially in Malaysia where crime rates are on the rise, we gotta watch out for ourselves. Nobody is taking good care of you except yourself. Be alert and always think a step ahead, it saves lives.

*this is a community message brought to you by CarolineL*

Donation

I am so humbled by the recent tragedies that struck both Myanmar and China. Far too many lives lost. Prayers alone is not enough to get them through daily life. They are in need of many, many supplies, ie: medical, food, water and shelter.

Many people out there are donating. I pledged myself to do the same too. There are many non-profit organizations that are relieving Myanmar and China. I donated to Red Cross and Unicef. You may choose any organization of your choice. *beware of fraud org*

I am not here to show off. I am saddened by itand would help anyway possible. And, hoping that you would do the same too. Of course, any amount of donation is welcome. Hopefully, with our little help, it will ease someone out there: a child or a parent.

Catastrophe

The main topic of our dailies lately has to be the disasters that are taking place. The terrible cyclone that hit Myanmar shores last week and now, the disastrous quake that hit China.

I can’t help but feel sad for those who lost family, relatives and friends in those awful tragedies. Photos of cyclone survivors in Myanmar are all over the internet and papers. They are starving, hurt, sick and in need of shelter. From the televised news, the Junta only visited the survivors that were sheltered and fed. What about those who were without shelter, food and access to clean environment?

Just last week, this idiotic Junta was denying aids from foreign countries like United States, Australia and France. Luckily they came to their senses and permitted them. These humanitarians are only bringing food, medical supplies and clean clothes to the survivors. I don’t call them victims for they survived the deadly cyclone :) Praise these humanitarians for being compassionate in what they do. Have you noticed that Australians and French are always the first few when it comes to aiding country in need?

Not even a week later, the earthquake struck at highly populated Sichuan province in China. Children were at school when the quake hit. Many did not make it to safety and were buried under the rubbles. Hopefully there won’t be any further casualties other than the figure reported.

Let us all pray for them.