Cook Egg With Mobile Phones

We have heard about mobile phone's wave is bad for health, but the manufacturers claim it is safe.

Alright, now two journalists decided to test it by creating a simple microwave structure as shown below, with the phone in conversation mode:


After 65 min, the egg was cook! Imagine what will that do to you if you put two mobile phones in your pants' pockets and you talk with wireless earphones? What will that do to your... :P?


For more detail, read the source: Sharing Everything In Life, a very interesting blog.

How Much Is Your Blog Worth

My blog is worth $20,323.44.
How much is your blog worth?

I did this test at the above site, and this blog worth only 20k. My parently blog worths more, around 37k. And my third blog, which I don't spend much effort to maintain, worth 0.00!!! :P Really padam muka!

More Pleasant Travel Trip

Sorry for the long silence. I have been away for conference last week, and been traveling this week to USA. Well, this time we don't get to got to New York City already. We are in Houston again!

The last time I came here was 1.5 year ago, before I was pregnant second time. I didn't know MAS has changed the flight schedule, and I like it better this time. Since we depart from KL 3 hours earlier, we manage to catch the connecting flight from LA to Houston on the same day. Which means we don't have to spend a night in LA airport like before. With this new schedule, I departed from KL on Monday instead of Sunday! I like it this way, coz I don't have to travel on my personal non-working day! :)

And the total traveling time is also shortened as a result of that too! This time, from KL airport to Houston airport, only took us 24 hours. Last time was over 30! A more pleasant trip this time...

Europe

I have never been to any European countries. I am a frequent traveler myself, but mostly in this part of the region. The only country I've been to, outside this Asia Pacific region, is USA.

I have a few cousins studied in UK, and two of them are still there now. I mostly travel for business purpose. The company used to have a lot of meetings in UK, but since I joined they have moved everything to Houston. No doubt, I have the opportunities to travel there, but on the other hand, I also lose the opportunity to go to Europe (for free!). :P

Airport Security Game

Recently I came across this game, which was originally meant to be a joke about the hightened airport security, after the liquid ban policy last year. Try it and and see how much you can score? Warning: This game is quite addictive!!

Sydney, Australia

Few years ago, I went to Perth with hubby and we had a lot of fun there. Before going, friends warned about lacking activities etc. In fact, they were wrong. I came back with a very good photo album that attracted whoever reads it.

Well, most of my friends prefer Sydney more than Perth as it has more to offer apart from its great natural beauty. They like its seductive outdoor lifestyls, exciting events and its nature.

You can hire a car or join the local tours. There are events range from the local town craft fair right up to festivals that attract tens of thousands of people. There are hundreds of sports, arts and community events as well as exhibitions and festivals.

You can experience its nature with mountains clad in sub-tropical rainforest and islands rich in marine life. Lots of mountain hikes that rise through wildflower meadows to glacier-carved lakes.

In terms of accommodations, Hotels in Sydney are fabulous in terms of choices. From cheap budget motels, to international hotel chains, and also exclusive luxury boutique hotels!

Food and wine are also famous there, and it fits all budgets. You can also check on the aboriginal culture that is full of histories. For more detail, check on the Sydney tourism website.

Karachi, Pakistan Trip - Conclusion

Finally I have the time to write this.
I went to Karachi last week on business. It was my first trip to Pakistan, and it happened during our Chinese New Year. I was a bit reluctant to go, hearing too many security warnings, but I am glad I went.

These are the few things worth sharing:

Security
It is much better than what people told me. It really just looks like another Makati City in Manila. No doubt, armed officers (or guards??) can be seen everywhere, but it is to the similar level in Manila. Like Manila, we have to be scanned before entering any buildings. The only extra security measures I noticed, in comparison with Manila and Jakarta is, they also open and examine the bonnet when vehicles enter the premise.

In a country with frequent bomb scares, this kind of safety measure is appreciated, to help protecting our lives. But I have one question, not specific to Pakistan though: how do they know my luggage in the boot doesn't contain a bomb? They didn't scan my luggage in the boot.

Oh, I don't know whether there are curfews or not (as told by some), but we were out at night without any problems. I forgot to confirm with the locals about this.

Airport and Immigration Process
My office has very good relationship with the immigration officers and the airport. Upon arrival, we were greeted by an officer before immigration counter. We had express lane, bypassing queues/protocol/etc. I felt like a queen. :P

Similar process on return - upon arrival to the airport, I skipped all queues (or crowds), followed the officer bypassing everything, only waved my passport and went straight to the check-in counter. Best ever experience in any airports. :)

Drinks
Similar to India, I was advised to drink only branded bottled water. Do not take salad/salad-dressing, only eat cooked food.

Food
The food was fantastic. We had a great dinner on a roof-top restaurant called Bar-B-Q Tonight. The restaurant occupies the whole building, and the roof top is opened for seating. On a clear day, you can see the starry sky, as we did. It was breezy and very cozy.


It has an open kitchen at the ground level, which you can see how the food you ordered is being cooked. Very fun.


This is the lift that brought us to the roof-top. Very cute and old fashion. The lift's door is not sliding, but is to be opened outwards, err... well, like any doors. My pic is taken at the wrong angle, can't see clearly. There is this guy standing outside to help patrons open the lift door. Fun, isn't it?


They serve local and western food, but we only ordered the local flavors. Their naan is extremely tasty, very different from those in KL. Garlic is finely chopped in their garlic naan, which tastes just too good that it can be eaten on its own. Their chicken kebab is very different from ours. I hope I have two stomachs to eat them all. :P Sorry no photos, I was too hungry to take any. :P

Smoking Lifts
Yes, they are allowed to smoke in the lifts, otherwise why they have ashtray in the lift? This was taken in Marriott. I forgot to check out at Sheraton.


Beautiful Buses
Their public buses are very beautifully decorated. And their traffic is much better than ours.


People
All local people that we met are very nice and polite (except the Marriott Hotel staff I mentioned in previous post). My colleagues are so hospitable, offered to take us out for dinner and sightseeing. Unfortunately I left 2 days earlier than the others, they went to one's house and had great fun there! The drivers are very nice too. One very chatty guy have been to a lot of places including few cities in China and Malaysia. We thought he must be rich to do that, no? :P

Others
Not much greeneries in the city. I don't see many trees at the road sides, and what I saw was mainly dusts, rocks, paved and unpaved roads, constructions, etc. This is something that the city hall should improve, if they care of the quality of air for their people.

I didn't have the time for sightseeing. I've heard about great shopping for textile, which I will try next time. I heard that you can buy the textile and get the shop to taylor make for you. Of course, I will need my colleague's help to collect and send to me. I heard that the workmanship is very good, worth trying.

Yes, I have plans to re-visit the city, and I am not afraid any more. Just don't put me in Marriott Hotel will be fine. ;)

Bad Experience with Marriott Karachi

I copied this as it is from my other blog. The reason is, I want more people to read this, as it is something really worth sharing... I will write my conclusion in another post.
------
Imagine this:
You made hotel reservation a month in advance. Midnight, upon arrival at a security heightened country, you found out that you have to share room with a complete stranger, and you have no other options but to accept it. Not only that, you have to sleep in the living hall on a made-shift bed, and yet expected to pay around RM700 ($200) for that.

This happened to me, in Marriott Hotel, Karachi. This is the most ridiculous thing that I’ve ever encountered in my travel life.

I arrived Marriott Karachi at 2:30am KL time. I was exhausted, desperately needed a shower and a good sleep. But upon arrival, I was told that the hotel was overbooked, and they have simply put me and another lady stranger in the same room, without seeking our agreement. Though this lady comes from the same country and same company as me, I do not know her at all! Furthermore, I need my privacy to express my breastmilk, and this has completely infringed my privacy rights!

The Full Story
During check in, we were not informed about the situation. They just made us sign the check-in form/agreement. Then, I got a glimpse of the room booking printout – someone shares the same room number as mine!

Upon asking, the receptionist then told us their problem of insufficient room. They have ‘kind enough’ to upgrade me and the other lady to an expensive presidential suite. They convinced us that it has two separate rooms.

We thought it was two bedroom suites. We finally agreed to say in the ‘two room’ suites. BTW, same thing happened to my boss too, has to share with another HK lady.

But then… when we opened the door, it was actually a 1-room suite. They put up a made-shift bed in the living room, in between the dining table and sofa; expect one of us to sleep there! And they dare called this as ‘2 separate rooms’!

I needed my privacy to express my breastmilk. The other lady was kind enough to give me that room. But I feel bad. My boss has to stay in her living room, coz we arrived later than the HK lady who took the (only) bedroom already.

We were very upset of this incident. After arriving in the Pakistan office this morning, we told the officers, and we were asked to change hotel and do not pay for the night we stayed. We did, with a lot of arguments at the lobby. It was just too dramatic just now, if you can imagine.

It is just not right in principal:

Dishonest
First, they were not honest with us. They should inform us the situation, instead of conned us into signing that form/agreement and used it against us. That receptionist brought us to our room. When we realized the real situation, he tried to sneak out. He thought he could just dump us into the room and his duty was over.

Room Rate
They expected us pay the full rate of Rs11,900 (RM700/$200) each, for sleeping in the living room. Only after we protested and refused that room, they then offered us half the price. But that wasn’t what we want. Even with that half price, none of us would like to stay with a stranger or in the living hall, especially on business trip and for me – who need privacy to express my breastmilk.

Gender Discrimination
This really pissed me off. There are 6 of us from my company, 4 females 2 males. The males arrived later than my boss and I. They got single (normal) room. We had to share. The HK lady arrived at least 3 hours before us, she had to share with one of us. Why it has to be females to share and the males have their own rooms?

Unprofessional Attitude
The staffs were rude. They kept defending that it was ‘2-separate-rooms’. Ya, one is living room. We told them that it was unacceptable, but they just don’t understand. The worst thing is, until the moment we cancelled our stay, they still thought we were being difficult, and they couldn’t understand why we were not happy with their ‘nice presidential suite’.

What Is Acceptable?
Well, if they have problem with availability, they should have called our office yesterday, and immediately arrange for us to move to another hotel. It is actually more professional that way! If they really want to try that so-called presidential suite, they should have checked with us instead of conning us and trying to dump us in that room. If it was agreed by our office, then we will accept it. Furthermore, our office would be able to advise them who can be put together and who cannot.

Next Steps
I am going to write to their HQ, and I’m also going to write to our procurement department to de-list them as our panel hotel. It is not cheap to stay in that living room, you know?

Now…
I am so happy that we have taken necessary steps, and I had some kind of pleasure – seeing their shocking faces when we cancelled our stays. Moving into Sheraton now is a good choice. This hotel is much newer, larger, with better facilities, and cheaper!

Added on 6 Mar
This incident in Marriott is only an isolated case, which should not be used to evaluate the country. Please do not generalize this experience to the general public. In fact, I enjoyed my trip very much, met a lot of nice and helpful people. Sheraton is also a very good hotel to stay in. I will write separately to share the fun with you all later.

Jakarta Trip - Conclusion

I was back from Jakarta on Wed night, 1 day shorter than planned.

To change my flight, I needed to get it validated in MAS office in the town, and got to pay USd25! I almost thought I couldn't make it, coz my office is 1.5 hour away from MAS office, and my meeting schedule was back-to-back. Luckily someone willing to help me to get it done. Whew!

There are a few things worth noting here.

US Dollar
It is so strange that, all Indonesians don't accept USD note that is folded. Unfortunately all my USD are folded. Luckily someone lend me some USD. Really don't know the reason why.

Chili

Look at this. It is my snack box. In our meeting, we can never get hungry, coz food and snack is always provided. But look carefully...


In this snack box, there is a raw green chili-padi. At first, I thought it was dropped into my box accidentally. No! It is to be eaten raw like that, together with the curry puff! :P

Flood
There was no signs of flood anywhere. The aftermath also not seen. But on Tuesday, after a whole morning's rain, flood started to build up. Luckily rain stopped in the afternoon. Whew!

Traffic
I thought the traffic was about the same like KL downtown. But when I was on their so-called 'Highway', I know KL is much better. They highway at any time, is just like our Jalan Kuching at peak hour. Cars can only travel 60km/h at most. Highway only means no traffic lights.

Shopping
Lots of shopping malls, and lots of them are high-end like our KLCC. And there are also a lot of poor people selling stuff on the road, risking their lifes in between traffics (like Manila). It really shows the gap of rich & poor is so huge.

Well, in fact, this is not my first trip. But my last trip was just too short and in much hurry that I didn't have the chance to observe and see the city. I will still need to go there again. I'm just not sure whether I should stay in Crowne Plaza again, given my bad experience this time. Maybe I should go back to Mulia Hotel then...

Challenges of Advertising

Recently I've attended a Brand & Communication Workshop in KL. Learnt quite a lot about advertising and promotions.

Advertising is becoming more and more challenging. And of course, as a result, advertisers are getting more and more creative.

One of the very interesting advertising activity (or so called consumer-engaging-activity) that I've heard was from New Zealand Tourism.

As we all know, blog is a phenomenon getting more and more popular nowadays. Some famous bloggers has great influences on consumers/visitors. NZ Tourism wanted to get more China tourists. They engaged with a famour China blogger.

They invited this blogger to visit NZ for free, from air ticket to accommodations, all expenses paid.

What the blogger needed to do was just to blog about the trip. This was exactly what that blogger love doing.

Immediately, after he posted the detail about his trip, a lot of Chinese admired the place and number of visitors increased significantly!

Now, blog advertising is going into another new dimension... Envy that blogger. :P

My Dream Place

Since childhood, I've been dreaming to go to these 3 places: New Zealand, Egypt, and Rome.

I managed to visit New Zealand 2 years ago. The trip wasn't satisfactory, coz the trip wasn't the way that I wanted it to be. I won't consider my first dream fulfilled. I will definitely want to revisit the place in the future.

Egypt is really influenced by a comic I've read long time ago - The Nil's Daughter. It is an antient city with a lot of mystery. I know the weather can be unbearably hot, but I will still want to go. The only concern I have is the terrorist activities. I hope the things I want to see won't be destroyed before my visit!

As for Rome, again influenced by comics too. But then, I admire the place for its ancient ruins and historic background. Last year, there were discussions of having our business team meeting in Rome, and I was excited for a while. Of course, due to cost and budget issue, we didn't make it. Hope we can make it some other time!

Jakarta Trip - Finally

Ya, I'm in Jakarta now. Yesterday was sunny, I was happy, thing was much better than expected, things all looked normal.

This morning, just as I was leaving the hotel, my colleague called. It was flooded. Yes, it was raining in the morning, and immediately there are pockets of areas flooded.

Everywhere jammed.

But luckily the rain stopped in the afternoon. Anyway, I am cutting my trip shorter by a day. Will be going home sooner. Whew! I hope I can catch my flight on time!

Originally though I'd have to spend the Valentine's alone here. Now, with the latest development, I can at least be at home by midnight. Better than alone here, though I might be eating instant noodle for tomorrow's dinner. :)

Upcoming Trips

Looks like yesterday was my last day in the office until mid March!

From Monday onwards, I will be either traveling, away for meeting in downtown KL, or on leave/holiday!

My boss just called this morning, telling me that I need to go to US for another global team meeting. I really hope that it doesn't clash with my sister's wedding. This would be too unfair for me, if I am penalised for not able to attend.

Anyway, talking about US trip, it reminds me of my last NYC trip. I've just stumbled upon this New York real estate site that also offers short term New York furnished housing for those who do not want to stay in hotel (aka corporate housing).

They also have a very good NYC Neighborhood guide that travelers may find interesting and useful.

Had I found this site earlier, I wouldn't have spent so much time and effort trying to plan our last NYC trip!

Sponsor Post commissioned by Serr.biz

Ah Beng's Letter to Ah Lian

Just for a laugh, got this in an email:

Dear Ah Lian,

Thanks you for your letter. Wrong time no see you. How everything? For me, I am quiet find. You say in your letter your taukeh soh want you to chain your look? Somemore you must wear kick kok soo, hope you can wok properly. You know, Ah Kau Kia working in a soft where company now. Last week, he take I, Muthu & few of his friend to May Nonut to eat barger. After that he take we all go to kalah ok. Muthu sing and sing no stop until the sky bright.

Next week, my father mother going to sellerbread 20 years annie wear sari. My father mother going to give a fist to all the kampong people. So you must come with your hole family. I only hope one day we no need to write and send letter to you and to me. Better I e-meow you, you e-meow me. I will ketchup with you soon. And when you got time, please few free tocall me. Goo bye.....

Worm regard,

Ah Beng

Parking Car on Slopes (Updated)

I would like to apologise for making a mistake in the previous post.

Actually, there are a slight difference between parking on a slope with car facing upwards or downwards.

If your car is parked facing downwards, steer the wheel to go TOWARDS the curbs.

If you car is parked facing upwards, steer the wheel to go AWAY of the curbs (i.e. towards traffics).

This is because in the case of upward facing, if the car slides down (i.e. reverses), the front wheel will meet the curbs first and stop the car. It takes longer for the rear wheel to reach the curb without hiting into the car behind you. That's the reason for the difference. I've confirmed with the safety driving experts in my office. Sorry for the mistake in my previous post.

Magnetic Hotel Key Cards

There was a circulation lately, that the hotel key cards contain guests' personal information including credit card details. In that circulation, it asks all hotel guests not to return the key cards, and destroy it at home.

Recently my office also received this circulation. After the security department researched further, it is confirmed that it is a hoax. You may want to read the detail here.

However, as pointed out in the site, though all major hotels do not practise encoding these sensitive information on the hotel key cards as it is not necessary, the point to ponder is:

IT IS TECHNICALLY POSSIBLE TO DO SO

Therefore, to reduce the risk, if I am not staying in major hotels, I would destroy the keys at home. What about you?

Jakarta Trip

I am very worried of the scheduled Jakarta business trip. The flood is still very bad, and I've received warning of water bound deceases. Water is not even safe for brushing teeth.

But business still goes on, so my meeting is still on.

I have to make a call by today or latest tomorrow whether I am going there or not. After the last incident with my boss, I dare not to even show hesitants. Headache...

Desperately Seeking Love Online

In the latest issue of the Synovate's InFact story, I found something quite interesting.

Twenty nine percent of the French and 21 percent of Filipinos have used the internet to find love, but over one third of people who aren't online daters believe only "desperate people" use the internet to look for love, according to a recent global study by market research firm Synovate.

French ranked no.1 in the list does not surprise me. However, I find it quite amazing to see an Asian country ranked no.2 there!

These are the countries surveyed in the study: Brazil, France, Korea, the Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, Romania and the United States.

Singapore ranks the lowest of all with only 4% ever used the internate to find love. I think this probably is an underclaim. My childhood friend actually found her Singaporean husband through the internet, and she is now living in Singapore. Her husband is quite a traditional guy, but still the Internet hit him, so I guess the rate could be a lot higher than the 4%.

In fact, there are some good quality and free online dating sites available. The features are as a good as any paid dating site yet it is really 100% free. No credit card is ever required. If you are one of those seeking love online, why don't you pay a visit there?

Change Cell Phone

My Nokia cell phone is already giving me problems lately. At first, the loud speaker is not loud enough. It is also not clear. I often have to put it very near to my ears to be able to hear the conversation and to ask the other parties to repeat. I need to use the loud speaker very often during extended teleconference, which can sometimes take up to 2 hours to complete. Without a good loud speaker, it is very difficult for me!

Then, just before my Manila trip, my Nokia cell phone's loud speaker suddenly turned up okay, but the handset speaker became very soft that I can hardly hear anything at all. As a temporary solution, I have to turn on the loud speaker, and tune down the volume, to be able to carry out conversation in public (I can't be carrying on conversation with loud speaker in public, isn't it?).

My employer is actually subsidising RM800 every 2 years for cell phone or accessory purchase. But mine is not due yet. Another 4 months to go. I just don't know how to use this phone for another 4 months.

I've decided to get a new one soon, and to claim it much later - my boss said okay anyway (after she borrowed mine once in Manila)!

I'm now stuck with the appropriate phone model to buy. Unlike in many other countries, Malaysia's carrier doesn't give free phones like Cingular, TMobile, etc. There are so many free Cingular phones available online. Some are completely free, some have to pay a small amount, and will be free after a mail-in rebate. I am really drooling on those offered packages.

I'm not sure what my budget can afford, but I'm contemplating to get a Sony Ericsson. My considerations are easy - clear and loud speaker, to be used in my telecons. :)

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Locked in KL International Airport

Since returning to work last year, nearly everything has some incidents.

In my last trip to Bangkok, when I flew back, something hillarious happened. After landed in KLIA, when all of us rushed up the escalator to the arrival floor, we found that we were trapped behind a locked door.

More and more people jammed up behind the door, and the escalator kept sending more people. The small room soon was packed with travelers. The escalator is one-way, so we couldn't go anywhere else.

Some passengers knocked the glass door, hopefully the passed by security guards could notice us. Well, they did, but they just nodded and walked away (??!!). As it was late at night, the airport was quite empty and quiet, no other people noticed us. Everyone was upset and angry.

Finally, a young boy, about 9 or 10 years, saw us while he was licking his ice cream. His jaw dropped, eye widely opened, and then started laughing - as if looking at a bunch of idiots in a zoo.
And the laugh somehow infected all of us. We started to find this funny and all laughing out loud. Ya, now we are the animals in a cage for you to watch and laugh. (isn't it better than angry feeling?)

Of course, finally the door was opened and we left the claustrophobic room. Well, an experience that we can talk about, not bad!

Manila Shopping Spree

Recently I really have no luck with my flights. In my immediate last trip to Beijing, I ended up landed in Shanghai. When I came back, due to bad weather and air traffic congestion, we waited an hour in the aircraft before it was allowed to take off. And yesterday, my flight took-off from Manila, an hour later it landed back to Manila, due to some problems with the aircraft.

Anyway, this trip to Manila is really a combination of business and shopping trip for me. I had 3 evenings and a morning to shop. The things are so cheap in Manila. Actually I bought all my stuff in Shoe Mart, Makati City. You should go there if you are in Manila.

The only reason I couldn't buy more is due to luggage space. As I need to transport my breastmilk home, half of my luggage is occupied by my cooler box (the blue one). I stuffed my computer bag and the rest of my luggage bag to the maximum. If I don't have to carry the blue cooler box, I'd definitely bought more. :P

These are the items I bought in ShoeMart. I spent RM440 in total. What have I bought?





5 packs of dried mangoes (1 pack for each family) - RM21. 2 hair bands - RM8. 4 pairs of shoes. Superman slippers for Ian - RM8.50. HotWheel sports shoes with light bottoms also for Ian - RM53. A pair of beaded sandals for MIL (originally for myself) - RM35. A pair of evening shoes for myself - RM70.


1 set Army clothes for Ian - RM27. This pair of jeans cost RM58, and the jacket RM70. In fact, all things that I bought for Ian are not cheap, but they are quite different from those in KL. I like this brand Dickies which cannot be found here.


For Isabel, I bought these dresses. The yellow one (Moose) is RM11, and the white one is RM21. I'm not sure whether they are cheap or expensive, but I'm quite sure that I won't have the time to shop for them in KL.

One thing for sure is, their books are extremely cheap. A Disney book costs around RM5. I bought 5 books for 27.50 in total (RM3.50 x 2; RM5 x 2; RM10.50 x 1). Back in KL, one book can easily cost me over RM30!


On the last day, I couldn't resist the temptation to buy these: a huge piggy bank (RM 5.40) and a helicopter (RM 5.40) for Ian. They are just so cheap. I felt very bad for Isabel, coz almost all the things I bought are not for her, so I bought a bath duck for her (RM7).


Puzzles are extremely cheap too. This box of Little Mermaid puzzle is less than RM8. The rest ranging from RM2 to RM5. Seriously, I've never seen RM2 puzzle set in Malaysia with such good quality!

Ah! I also found these name stickers (RM0.70 each). I have been writing on Ian's bag and stuff with permanent marker. With these name stickers it would make it easier for us. I've never seen this in KL yet, have you? I bought 2 'Ian' and 2 'Isabel'. Luckily I named Isabel this way and not 'Isabelle' or 'Isabela', coz the name stickers have 'Isabel' and not other variations. :)

I'm quite pleased with my 'harvest'. Well, actually not all of them are cheap. Some (especially Ian's clothes) cannot be found here, I'm willing to pay for them. And some (like hair bands), I just don't have the time to buy in KL.

Next time, I'll be able to buy more, if I don't have to transport so much of EBM home.

Barcelona

Lately I re-read SanMao's (三毛) novel - Story of Sahara (撒哈拉的故事). She is one of the authors that I like, and the Story of Sahara is the book that I particularly love, mainly because all the stories are happy ones. Those are the days that she just got married with Jose. Books written after Jose died are quite gloomy. Well, I guess her soul has followed Jose... very tragic.

Anyway, when I re-read her books, it made me feel like traveling to the Spain. A lot of her stories with Jose were written around that country. I think Jose is a Spannish (can't be sure coz I always skip this kind of detail when I read. :p).

Though I feel like visiting the Spain, Barcelona doesn't seem to be a safe place to me. I've heard of pick-pockets, robberies, etc. Well, these could be just rumours, but the names are not quite good though.

And hotels are not cheap too. My colleague went there for the last Olympic games with her family. I've heard that some of the games could be seen from the hotels in Barcelona. Not sure how true it is? Well, this colleague is rich, so I won't look out for the same. If I go, I would go in budget type, maybe backpack?

Tony Roma's Famous For Ribs

I'm in Manila now. After meeting ended, I shopped for some toys for my kids. When I was done, I went into the Tony Roma's Famous for Ribs restaurant for dinner. This place was recommended by my boss.

I ordered its original ribs and a glass of green mango shake. In Manila, I only drink green mango shake fo all my meals. This is a very good local delicacy one must not miss. Wherever you go, you must drink it. This drink is always made of fresh and real green mangoes. It is sweet and sour, very refreshing, with all the real mango fibres. Hmm... yummy!

As for my food... I regret for not ordering the regular size (I ordered only half-ribs). It is just so good that once I started I couldn't stop or even slow down. I am usually a slow eater, but not on this ribs!

Before I ate, I wasn't convinced that it is nice. I still had some doubts when I placed my order. How can ribs be nice and chewable when it is grilled? That was what I thought. Usually MIL needs to simmer ribs for at least 2 hours to soften it. Grill? That is really questionable.

When I cut the first piece, before it was put into my mouth I knew I was wrong already! It was so soft, juicy and easily detachable from the bones. I could handle it easily with fork and spoon (though later I found out they actually encourage you to eat with hands!).

The marinate was extremely good. It was full of aroma with a little spicy. When I finished, then only I was keen to eat the side dishes. When I was eating my side dishes, I missed the ribs so much that I went back to the bones and digged out a tiny piece --> put it in my mouth last, to end my dinner!

I don't think it has any outlet in KL. I checked out their franchise website, Malaysia is not listed. I guess it is due to halal issue, coz it is pork ribs! :D

Aneroxia Changes Fashion World

How do you measure beauty? Must it always be thin and skinny like those models? Is it okay for models to be fat or fleshy? Would you still find it attractive?

The beauty measures now, based on those showcase models, are 'impossible to reach for most people' and 'can contribute to serious health disorders' such as aneroxia. Recent studies estimate that more than 100,000 Spanish women are anorexic and that up to half a million Spaniards suffer from various food-related disorders.

After a recent storm over the number of young women suffering from aneroxia, leading Spanish fashion houses including Inditex and flagship brand Zara agreed an unprecedented move to draw up a beauty "canon" including harmonising dress sizes.

The 12-point package of measures, or beauty "charter" -- drawn up with the health ministry -- includes a stipulation that shop windows display sizes of 38 minimum (size 10 in Britain, eight in the United States) and that size-46 apparel be placed in easy view in stores under the generic label "large sizes."

Hopefully with these fashion developments, it will eventually drive the society do measure beauty differently and healthily.

In fact, if you check out old Chinese drawings, those beauties were painted rather plump. If you read the story of the Four Tang Dynasty Beauties (唐朝四大美人), the Madam Yang-Gui-Fei is always described to be chubby (朱颜玉润). She was among the most beautiful women those days!

I believe those days the standards are different. If these skinny models were to be sent back to the ancient China, they would probably be regarded as ugly!

Also, in some African countries, men only like fat women. Thin women are considered not healthy and cannot produce good offsprings. See, living in the same century, we also have different standards. :)

Read the news in Yahoo!

Avatar

I've always envy other bloggers or forum'ers have very nice avatar. I really don't know where they get theirs, and I often worry about copyright issues and dare not to use those that I like.

Anyway, I found a site that offers Dress Up Games and the end results can be used for my avatar.

I've decided to get this one for myself as my (main) parenting blog comes in a butterfly theme. For this one, I used a fair base (body), a red hair, red dress (so I can look more energertic) and a pair of red wings. Not bad huh?


Some other examples of final results you can end up getting, if you choose a different dress and hairstyle, without the wings:

And some can come with background (which I don't quite need):

There are quite a few other features they offer, but you have to be a premium member (USD2 per month). Unfortunately I am very stingy, so I'd just settle with what I have now. Well, I think mine is not bad, right? With a little more time to finetune it, I will be very happy with it soon. :P

The other features include creating animated avatar and more choices for fashion etc. Though I quite like the animated one, I will settle with this fairy first.

Sponsored post

Parking Car on Slopes

NOTE: THERE IS A MISTAKE IN THIS TIPS, PLEASE VISIT HERE FOR AN UPDATE. THANKS.

I'm sure you've learnt about this from your driving instructor before you got your driving license.

This post serves as refresher to you, just in case you don't park on slopes often.

When you park your vehicle on slopes, whether your car is facing upward or downward, remember to steer your wheels to face towards the curb. This is to prevent your vehicle from rolling into traffics, if it does slide down.

Though this is a general knowledge and/or being taught by driving instructors, I always see vehicles (especially huge trucks) parked on slopes with their wheels/tyres straight or facing traffics.

I live in a city with a lot of slopes, and have encountered several cases where trucks run into parked vehicles and toward the traffics. Note: these trucks were without drivers, i.e. (supposingly) parked. One of my relative narrowly escaped being killed by one. In that same case, at least 7 vehicles smashed by that truck.

Is Your Computer Protected

When you drive, you use a seat belt to protect yourself from hitting into the dashboard in an accident.

When you ride a bike, you use a helmet to protect your head, and you use knee guard to protect your knees.

When you do mountain climbing, you use a rope to protect yourself from falling off the cliffs.

When you are on your computer, do you use anything to protect your computer from virus attacks? Do you check whether it is still updated and capable of protecting your computer from the ever-renewing and ever-changing virus threats?

If not, it is probably time to protech it with antivirus softwares. Why not visit the Norton Help & Support Forums to get help and get updated?

Brought to you by http://www.antivirusdownload.com/

Goddess of Mercy

Goddess of Mercy, Guanyinma, is now available online. If you have any problems, just visit guanyinma.com. Print out the 'fu' (spells), burn and drink the ashes with water, whatever problems will go away...

Well, the above is just a joke. But please watch the video below, very funny! I think it is extracted from a Singaporean TV series.



Translated Transcripts
Woman: Goddess of Mercy, please give me some advice. I have a son studying in a university in USA. He is sitting an exam tomorrow. Goddess of Mercy please help him to pass the exam.

Man 1: Alright, Goddess of Mercy said, take these 3 'fu's (spells) home, burn and drink them will do.

Man 2: Go to the back and get some 'flower water' to bath at home.

Woman: Let him drink (the ashes)? He is in USA now, how to let him drink? Even courier also can't make it ontime...

Man 1: Don't worry, don't worry! Now very advance already. Do you know what is computer?

Woman: Computer? Ah, ah, ah!

Man 1: You ask your son to visit this website, www.guanyinma.com. Ask him to print out the 'fu' (spell) number 3 and 8, burn and drink the ashes with water, also acceptable. You may go home now.

Dirty Hotel Rooms

Have you stayed in any hotels that you find the room(s) is dirty?

Some time ago, I received an email with all photos attached, about a couple staying in a 4-star hotel in Penang Island. On the first night, the lady felt something biting and she felt itchy.

After switching on the light, they found fleas on the bedsheets! In fact, the bedsheets are not clean, i.e. with light stains etc.

They called the hotel, requested for a change of room and immediate medical assistance, coz the lady started to have rashes all over. Unfortunately the hotel was full, they didn't get their room changed. The staff went into the room and sprayed insecticies instead!

The 'medical assistance' they provided was --> plasters! I actually found it funny and laughed out loud, coz how can a 4-star hotel hire some intelligent people like that huh?!

Anyway, here is a blog that writes about dirty hotels, and even provided a top-10 dirtiest list in their blog. I hope they include hotels outside US in their ranking. As for hoteliers that are listed there, they would need to work hard to win their customers back!

Brought to you by tripadvisor

USD100 Is Yours!

Now, after getting free or cheap air tickets from AirAsia, the next thing is to find a cheap accommodation for your holiday.

You can book your accommodations via a few ways: directly with the hotels, via an agent, or online (any other methods?).

I prefer to do it online, coz it is the cheapest and most convenient way. Furthermore, if you want to book directly with any hotels, do you know which hotels are available if you have not been there? :)

In Hotel Reservations, you can choose from a range of different types of accommodations, that includes hotels, condos, bed & breakfast, apartments, etc. Their services also include car rental and flight booking (which you might not need now, if you have AirAsia's free tickets already).

What’s more? You can now save USD100 more, if you book 12-nights (there are different tiers, just check it out at their website)! That’s a lot of saving to me.

The only thing I don’t quite like is the process to claim the USD100 rebate. You’ll need to print out the coupon, fill in and mail it to them. They will credit the rebate back to your credit card, which takes another 3 weeks or so. A quite lengthy process I would say.

Hurry up! Promotions end on 28 Feb 2007.

Road Tax vs Toll Rate

As of 1 Jan, the toll rate has increased in Malaysia. The margin of increment was just too huge that angered the citizens. 7 Jan, there was a anti toll-hike protest. And here are some calculations that shows how much the new rate can affect us.

The autorities explained that the reduction in road tax can help, but look carefully...

Road Tax reduction = RM50 per year.

Taking example for a person to commute from Klang to KL using the KESAS Highway. There are 3 tolls to pass for 1 way, i.e. 6 payments for return trip.

Previous rate = RM1.50 per toll
Current rate = RM2.20 per toll

Assuming one works 240 days a year...

Total increment per year:
= RM0.70 per toll x 6 tolls x 240 days
= RM1,008

Total toll paid per year:
= RM2.20 per toll x 6 tolls x 240 days
= RM3,168

Hey, for an average person who earns RM1,500 per month, nearly one month salary is gone for the increment. And his total spend on toll alone already double his monthly salary, not to say the increased fuel price!

No wonder people protested on the 7th Jan 2007!

Anti Toll Hike Protest in Malaysia

I don't think this was reported in mainstream newspapers:

Date : Sunday 7th Jan.
Place : In front of Sunway Pyramid. LDP concessionary's office.
Agenda : Anti Toll Hike Protest.
Independent figure: 1000 plus people.

To guard the situation About 500 police personnel, including the anti-riot unit from the federal reserve force, were there to keep a watchful eye on the protesters.

Will the government listen? Lets see if they do hear what the people have to say or if they think they can still take us for a ride.

Investing in Gold

I've somewhat left out quite a few types of retirement plan in my previous post, e.g. foreign currencies, gold/jewelleries, etc.

According to Monex Deposit Company (MDC), buying gold (bars/ingots) or gold coins has been recognized for centuries for its ability to preserve one's wealth and purchasing power.

If you keep your wealth in the form of gold, it will not be affected by inflation or even war affairs. Investing in foreign currencies is not as secured as gold, especially if war strikes.

However, this form of investment is only to preserve one's wealth, and it will not be able to increase its value, like in other forms of investments.

It really depends on what is your investment objectives. If your objective is to preserve your wealth, then in my view gold is better than foreign currencies. Just my 2 cents.

Need Your Musics Listened?

Check out this independent music site! It has just been released on Monday January 8th.

This is a unique concept brought to you by Unsigned.com. This website provides any Independent Artists an outlet to be heard by an ever growing fan and listerners base.

If you are a member of a band or a solo artist, you may register with this website to showcase your musics, and for listeners to discover new talent.

What you need to do is just create your Artist Profile, and upload your content. Very simple.

This is a sponsored post.

Annuity

At what age do you plan to retire? What do you plan to do when you are retired? Do you know how much money will you have? How much money will you need?

Based on the EPF data in Malaysia, on average a man can live 75 years and 78 years for a woman. So, if you retire at 55 years old, you will have approximately 20 years to spend whatever you saved. Do you already have a plan to get enough fund to support that 20 years period (or even longer)?

Usually people save their retirement fund from these sources:

• Bank - savings/current/fixed-deposit
• Unit trust
• Stock/share market
• Property
• Insurance
• EPF/CPF
• Children

They all have pros and cons, which I'm not going to touch now. But please consider one more option, Annuity. Annuity is actually a combination of Bank and Insurance from the list above. It provides fixed income after retirement, usually pays you once a year to support basic living needs.

There are a lot of combinations and options that you can have in an annuity plan. It is very common in the USA, but less acceptable in Malaysia yet, as people often don't like to talk about old and and death (same like insurance).

I urge you to consider this option seriously, and do your estate planning as early as possible. I won't go into detail of what is an annuity, coz you can read more from here.

Diamond

Who don't like diamond? I think all women love diamond jewellery. Even when someone tells you that he/she doesn't like diamond, I believe what he/she means is only they don't put diamond jewellery as their priority. I still think they also like diamonds.

I like diamond jewellery. Although I don't own many, I admit that I trully love to have. The bigger, the better cut, the more shiny, the better. :)

I only have 2 pieces of small little diamonds. A very tiny one on my ring, and another very tiny one as a pendant.

I'd love to have a bigger and shinier one, but I am also not the type who put diamonds or jewelleries as my priority. I'd rather spend my money in other places, like investments.

Of course, free diamond jewellery is always welcomed. If you know I love diamond and want to give it free to me, ahahahaha, you are welcomed! :P

I actually do not know much about diamonds. I know they are measured in carrats, and then there are other 'C's to consider also, but I don't really know. I think it is related to something like Clarity, Clean, Colour, or something of that sort.

My friend, Siu Mai, is actually quite good at it. He did quite a good research when he bought his diamond ring for his wedding. Can consult him if I really want to buy. But don't think so. :)

AirAsia Free Tickets

Okay, after a few ding-dong-ing here and there, hubby has finally bought (yes, 'bought') the 'free' tickets from AirAsia to KK, joining his friends.

We will be climbing the mount Kinabalu this year.

Hmm... thinking of it, I better start training myself, otherwise I might have mountain sickness (altitude sickness)! I don't want to be the first to retire in the climbing.

As for the flight tickets, his friends were able to get both ways 'free' with RM130 taxes per person. We only got 1-way 'free', but return ticket was charged at RM50 per person (in total RM180 plus taxes).

We are going to go to the airport with his friends, and let his friends cover the taxi fare. Ahahahaha! This way, we save back some money. :P Hey, taxi is almost a hundred ringgit lah!

Free Flight, No

Quite disappointed with the free flights promo from AirAsia.

We tried to get its free flights to Macau, it is actually not free. There are a lot of charges or admin fees here and there that adds up to RM600+ for single way.

And for return 2-ways flights, it is very difficult to get both ways free. We end up have to pay RM900+ for return flights for two persons. Ya, I know it is still cheaper, but I don't get to HongKong directly, and I got to sit in that small little aircraft for 4 hours uncomfortably.

We have decided to give up the so called 'free' flights that we have to pay RM900+.

I will redeem our flights with my Enrich points, that one is trully free!

Loan Comparison

When I visit any property launch, I am always surrounded by many bankers' loan sales guys trying to promote their packages.

Nowadays there are just so many options to choose from.

Some have lower interest rate for the first x number of years, but subsequent years with higher interest rate. Some have to be tied up for a particular year, and if you dispose the property before the contracted tenure you will need to pay a fee of x% total loan amount.

Some gives free gifts like portable DVD player or lottery tickets. Some gives a chance to win a home makeover, a MyVi car, or even lucky draw for another property.

They all come in different combinations of benefits and conditions, like different rates for initial and subsequent years, different x number of years, etc. This actually make it very difficult for us to compare them and decide which one is best for our needs.

If you live in UK, then you can compare UK loans online, without having to deal with any agents.

I am now considering my company's home loan package. I am thinking to concert my current loan to the company, to get some interest subsidy. Hopefully this saves me some interest fee.

Brought to you by My Loan Quote UK

Teens and Trucks

In the recent web release by CarInsurance.com, an online insurance company where you can compare car insurance, it discussed about teens safe driving tips.

It is reported that GEICO has recently added "Teens and Trucks" to its online library for safe driving materials for teen drivers.

As a mother to 2, I am quite happy to see this. In fact, a good driving behaviour should be cultured since young, i.e. from the moment when one first learns to drive, usually at teenage.

In the GEICO's teen safe driving website, it shares with us a lot of useful tips and reminders. Though it is also relevant to everyone, it is particularly targetted at teenagers. Particularly on "Teens and Trucks", it gives valuable tips for highway driving around large trucks and buses. A very good reading material, for parents and teenagers.

Free Flights with AirAsia

Great news!

AirAsia released 1million FREE seats, booking starts today travel period 1 apr to 27 oct!

I am very excited, but then cannot plan where I want to go, and with whom! Why I only know about it today? I'm going to lose the free seats by the time I decide!

I want to have holiday to Bali and Phuket, but these are classified as 'restricted' by my employer. I wonder if it is really that dangerous to go there??!!!

Upcoming Travel Plan

Okay, this year's travel plan is out. It has reduced to 12 trips. None of these are exotic places though. :(

In the list, I have Bangkok (2x), Jakarta (3x), Manila (2x), Karachi, Beijing (2x), Shanghai and Houston. Looks like my new 'home' this year is in Jakarta, no longer Beijing. ;)

How I wish for our team meeting to move from Houston to Capetown. It has been discussed, but I don't think it will happen, unless we can all find cheap flights!

The flight from KL to Houston is only RM14k, but to Capetown is RM18k+! None of us are willing to downgrade business class to economy class to make cheap flights. It is also against company policy anyway. :P

Anyway, I am also planing holiday with my sister to Hong Kong this year. Depends whether we can get cheap flights via Cathay, I might redeem free tickets for the two of us with my Enrich points. I have just too many points that will be expired this year.

BTW, I managed to keep my Gold Enrich status this year, marginally! But with this year's travel plan, I don't think I will qualify for Gold next year. So sad to lose it. :(

Mars Alien

I've just read that the scientist argues NASA probes may have found alien life in the Mars, and inadvertently killed it 30 years ago.

It is suggested that 30 years ago, due to lacking any clue about the environment on Mars, their view of where life can take root was different. They might have looked for a different type of Martian life, missed the microbe they found and accidentally 'drown' it.

In my view, if they can accidentally kill it, because lacking knowledge of differnet life forms, they can also accidentally miss it by inviting unwanted alien life to Earth.

If we don't have enough knowledgwe to identify life form, then I'm sure we don't have enough knowledge to handle them. How do you know fire or high temp can kill the microbes? They might be more active in extreme temperature!

Whew! Alien invasion... :P
Read the full report here.

Online Shopping Coupons

I've stumpled upon this CouponChief site, and found my favourite merchant, Target. I found a "10% off, no minimum" coupon, which I think is the most useful one. I've mentioned about buying the Medela Quick Clean Wipes from Target in another blog. With this coupon, the price is even much lower!

Should have found this before my last US trip, to save me a lot more!

Brought to you by CouponChief.

Consumers and Ready-to-Eat Meals

According to the ACNielsen's Global Online Consumer Survey on Consumers and Ready-to-Eat Meals (RTEM):

• The biggest fans of the the RTEM hail from Asia, led by the Thais (43%), Chinese (39%), Taiwanese and Malaysians (34%)
• The main reasons for purchasing RTEM is convenience and lack of time to prepare a proper meal
• The most common occasion for eating ready-to-eat meals is for Dinner
• The most popular place to purchase RTEM is Supermarket (44%)

Can't believe Malaysia stands at 3rd/4th! Whew! Malaysian boleh! :P

UK Loan Site

If you are a UK resident and need to get some loans, you should visit this UK loan site.

Even if you are not a UK resident, there are a lot of information on different types of loan available: personal loans, secured loans, guaranteed car loans etc. The website has many articles related to loans, which you can spend some time reading, to enhance your knowledge or at least, have a basic idea about loans before you sign on any legal documents.

Whatever you are doing, just make sure that you are doing it wisely and properly, because loans can be of a great help when used properly!!

Brought to you by UK Loan Site

No More Drink and Drive

Do you ever drink and drive? If you can't judge yourself whether your alcohol level is okay to drive, buy a Toyota car.

It is reported yesterday that Toyota Motor Corp. is developing a system for cars that detects drunken drivers, and shuts the vehicle down if it is not safe.

The system comprises of:

• Sweat sensors in the steering wheel that detec alcohol levels in the driver's bloodstream
• Motion sensors that detect abnormal steering
• A special camera that checks whether drivers pupils are in focus

If it finds any abnormality, the system will kick in and the car will be slowed down to a halt.

Toyota, the world's No. 2 automaker, hopes to fit cars with this system by end of 2009, according to the report.

Concerns over drunken driving have surged in Japan following a series of alcohol-related accidents last year. In August, a drunken driver collided with another vehicle carrying a family of five, plunging them off a bridge and killing three children.

Needs for such system is arising now.

News from here.

Get Paid to Blog

Have you ever thought of blogging can bring you side income?

I'm not refering to putting those ad programs like Google Adsense, Yahoo! Publisher Network, etc. What I mean is, to get paid for writing and posting stuff that suits your taste in your blog, i.e. blog ads!

Sign up with PayPerPost and you can start earning extra pocket money by just writing.

How it works? Well, actually there are a lot of sites out there want to increase their page rank. Page rank (PR) is a ranking system formulated by Google, which determines the order of sites shown, when surfers search for a particular item.

One of the way to increase page rank is to have more sites link to their sites. That's why these advertisers in PayPerPost are willing to pay you to write a blog that have links to their sites.

Right now, the minimum rate is USD5 per post (previously USD4). Sometimes it can go up to USD30, but these are usually took up very quickly, so you'll have to be quick.

You can choose to write things that suit to your site's theme and flavor, without changing its format. You can visit my other blog to see how I work on my paid posts.

Oh, forgot to mention, in Dec alone, I've got 20 posts approved that will bring me circa USD180. I'm not an active blogger, so this amount may not be attractive to you. But I've known someone (Malaysian) who've got USD780 in a month, but he has 3 blogs and he is very hardworking too!

Click on the icon on my side panel to sign up (I get USD15 for each referral)!

Brought to you by PayPerPost

Cameron Highland - New Access Road

There is a new access road to Cameron Highland. You now have 2 options, going via Ringlet (old road) or via Simpang Pulai (new road).

If you want to try the new Road, from PLUS highway, exit at Simpang Pulai tol. Right after paying, turn right at the T-junction. Soon after it, there is a traffic light, turn right again.

Drive straight all the way, for approximately 45min, take a right turn at the traffic light - or else you'll go to the East coast. Go straight all the way, and you will reach the Brinchang town of Cameron Highland, i.e. the top of the mount if you come from the old road (the other side!).

With this road, the YTL's resort (old Merlin) will be on your right, and the golf course will be on your left.

This road is much easier to drive than the old one. We took this road on New Year Eve. I didn't know that we were actually climbing, and da-da-da-da! I was already there! No motion sickness at all, no windy roads.

One weakness of this road is, it takes just too long to get there. From Sungai Buloh tol, it took us 4 hours to reach Brinchang. It was 1 hour longer than Fraser's Hill!

PPP Blog

Have you visited PPP blogs? Are you aware that PPP has its own blog?

This is a blog that I must read everyday, to get updated with the latest happenings in PPP.

For instance, when the last RockStartup puzzle game was still running, one of the puzzle pieces was actually posted in its blog!

If you do not know yet, there are actually quite a lot of activities going on in PPP, apart from just getting paid for blogging.

Recently, there is a HP challenge. Take up the opportunity and write a post about HP gears. Postie who wrotes the post that Ted (PPP's CEO) likes most will win HP gears! And how do you know who has won the gears? From the blog!

That's why I think it is a must read, at least for all PPP posties. :)

Brought to you by PayPerPost

Tips for Safe Winter Driving

One mistake we are likely to do in winter, is to defrost the winscreen with warm water. If you do that - stop! Don't use warm water to defrost your winscreen as this may crack the glass. Use an ice scraper instead.

Another tip worth noting on the road is:
If your car does start to skid, take you foot off the accelerator and steer into the skid..

Taking Loans

What do you do when you have financial difficulties? Do you borrow from friends? Family? Neighbours? What's their reaction when you do that? Have you ever been rejected, and don't know what to do next?

There are a few online loan sites available for this kind of needs. These are legal ones, unlike the loan sharks here.

There are a few types of loans available, secured loans, personal loans, mortgages, and etc.

In fact, credit card is also a form of loan, but the interest rate is definitely the highest. In fact, if you have unsettled credit card loan, you should take a personal loan to offset it, as personal loan's interest rate is usually much lower.

Secured loans are for those who already have bad credit history, as this kind of loan is usually tied in with some assets, e.g. your house. So, 'secured' for the lender. :)

Brought to you by http://www.loanwize.co.uk

Upcoming Holiday

I am have 5 days off till next Tuesday. Very luckily, I managed to book our company's holiday bungalow in Cameron Highlands.

I'm going to bring my family, my mom & dad, my sister and SIL there, for the upcoming new year celebration!

I'm so excited and looking forward to that holiday! Will be off soon, to buy some food stuff!

Happy New Year to all of you!

PPP Postie Patrol #3

Just before Christmas, HP and PPP teamed up for HP's Digital Photography Review through the latest Postie Patrol. It took place in the very chilly Chicago (I was just there couple of months ago!!).

The lucky postie this time was Robyn Nykaza. So, what is Postie Patrol? Watch the video below for the answer:


There are a lot of HP gears and cash to be won, including a digital camera, a digital printer and a thousand dollar cash price! When it comes to that fabulous prizes, anyone would do the same, even in that icy winter weather of Chicago! It was actually minus 9F during the game.

What I like most about the video is, where Ted acted like a fish - so hillarious!

Brought to you by HP

Cilantro Restaurant

Last Friday we had our department's Christmas party at Cilantro Restaurant & Wine Bar, Micasa All Suite Hotel.

We started with cocktail, while waiting for all to arrive. There are 3 items for cocktail: scallop, prawn, and duck meat. Scallop is very good and juicy, prawn is not bad, but duck meat is jus so-so.

After all were seated, they started serving warm bread - their homemade wholemeal bread was very delicious. It was very soft, full with nuts and grains. The spread for the bread was very good that one of our guys almost ate it alone!

For starter, they served Pan Fried Unagi and Foie Gras with Mesclun Salad. This is the first time I had foie fras. I never know both unagi and foie gras can blend in together so well. They are very soft, and nearly melt in my mouth.

The Cream of Wild Mushroom with Shaved Truffle is ordinary. The 3rd starter was Seared Smoked Salmon with Fresh Water Prawn and Nantua Sauce. I don't like it. I only ate a quater of the salmon, coz it is just too salty.

Following the smoked salmon, we had our main course. There are 2 choices: Steamed Seabass with Tarabagani and Ohba Broth, or Pan Fried Black Angus Beef with Natural Jus. I chose the beef as it is chef's recommendation!

It came in a very tiny piece, but I think it is just nice for me. The steak was very juicy and tender, can beat those I had in US.

The dinner ended with a nice dessert with coffe or tea. The dessert was Dark Chocolate Cup Cake & Nougat Glace with Raspberry Coulis. Well, it is actually warm cocolate cup cake - similar to the one that I ate in Chicago! It was so good that my boss had 2 plates!!!

As for drinks, we ordered Cloudy Bay - a very nice New Zealand white wine, which someone quoted: "If you order Cloudy Bay, you will never go wrong."

The set dinner cost us around RM180++ per pax.

Silly Video

I love animation. I especially love watching those brainless ones. :P

Come let's watch this silly chef trying to cook a chicken. This animation has won the online animation award 2006.


Play the animation now!

My Other Blog

I would like to introduce to you my other blog, to write those 'boring' or serious stuff. That blog, is tentatively, going to be filled with tips on generating online money, which I think most of you already know lah!

It is intended for PPP later, to write those financial related opportunities. I'm waiting for it to be 'matured', at least 3 months old, before I can submit for PPP approval.

Later, I think I will slowly add in other more interesting stuff, if I have the time.

I'm trying to segmentize my blogs, so I won't have too many rojak ones.

Chernobil Rabbits

Don't let any rabbits escape! Shoot all them with 5 choices of weapons, and buy ammos when you earn enough credit (by killing rabbits).



Play Chernobil Rabbits!

Miss Nevada USA Lost Title

It is actually quite entertaining watching beauty contests, and following its news (or scandals!) after the contests.

2 days ago, Miss USA Tara Conner was finally allowed to keep her tiara when she agreed to go under alcohol rehab. A day ago, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (anti-drunken driving group) cut its tie with Miss Teen USA Katie Blair, because she was spotted partying with Miss USA Tara Conner in NY clubs.

And now, Miss Nevada USA Katie Rees lost her title! Shocking photos of her partying in Tampa, Fla., was published on the internet. In the photos, she was seen kissing other young women, exposing one of her breasts, and pulling down her pants to show her thong underwear at a party in Tampa, Fla.

Some of her photos can be found here. Warning: discretion viewing is advised.

More on this news, visit here and here.

Babu Taiwan Cuisin

Went to do scaling of my teeth during lunch just now. After that, on my way picking up my car, I passed by this Babu Taiwan Cuisin at Desa Sri Hartamas. I was hungry, in a hurry, so I simply asked the guys standing outside, any food that I can pack and go.

They recommended the beef noodle. From the picture, it looks tasty.

I then changed my mind, and chose to dine in. It was served pretty quickly.

Not sure whether I was too hungry or the soup was just so nice, the taste was just fantastic. Well, I think the noodle is not the type that I like - a bit like the Pan Mee in town. I prefer thin noodle more than this fatty type. But then, when I drank the soup, it is just too nice that I could finish the whole bowl of noodle within seconds.

I am usually a slow eater, especially when it comes to hot soup noodles. So, the speed of me finishing this bowl of beef noodle really proves that it is very tasty.

The meal costed me RM15.60. Not cheap. Could have just pack at Burger King drive-through. For the sake of the tasty soup, okay lah!

Flam Restaurant, Bangsar

We were supposed to lunch in Prime in Meridien Hotel, but some colleague had to rush back for a meeting.

This morning we decided to change the venue to Flam, Bangsar. I was asked to make reservation for 10 pax. Such a simple task, but I couldn't do it! The restaurant simply didn't have anyone answer my phone, from 9am till 11:45am! I gave up, we just headed straight there.

Well, it only opens at 12noon, and apart from us, there was no other table opened! So, I could have saved my energy for calling them. Darn!

Anyway, about the restaurant... Their main food is flam, like thin pizzas, slightly softer. Well, actuall I think flam is tastier than pizza, coz it has less flour dough. ;)

We had 3 flams and a dozen of escargots for sharing, as appetizers. Each of us ordered a soup (or salad) and a main course. Mine was wild mushroom soup and a homemade ravioli. I was eyeing on the crepe suzette, as I love crepe a lot. 2 weeks ago, I had crepe 3 days consecutively! in Crown Plaza Mutiara Hotel, KL.

The mushroom soup is very thick and full with wild mushrooms - tasted okay only, coz it was not hot enough - I like hot soups. The ravioli is excellent. It has duck mousse inside. Outside, it is served with duck breast meats and slices of shitake mushrooms. If you take them separately, they are very nice. But, if you put all three together into your mouth --> hmmmmmm! They compliments each other so well that... whew, we were speachless for a moment.

I was so full at the end of it. Couldn't finish my main course, not to even order my dessert. :( Maybe I should skip the mushroom soup, and share my main course with someone else!

Chyna Restaurant, Hilton KL

Chyna is my boss's favourite Chinese restaurant in town. Whenever there are guests from overseas, she'd bring them there for lunch. Only if it is fully booked then we go elsewhere.

The restaurant has a very good ambience. We like the deco very much - all other hotels' Chinese restaurants really cannot beat it. They are luxurious, yet in harmony and not overly done.

When seated, there will be a 'Tea Master' serves complimentary ginseng tea, with their kungfu moves. I am always very stressed whenever being served like this, afraid that the hot tea will be on me instead. :P

Food quality is very good. We usually eat DimSum and vegetables. I love the almond coated deep fried prawn (not sure what's the name), the batter itself is already full with fragrant, and the prawn is succulently juicy and fresh. The fried yam cake is also very yummy - even the most critical Hong Kong guest we have, cannot find fault with it!

Yesterday, my boss ordered a new dish. It is a deep fried (now only I realise all are deepfried!) round dimsum: chicken charsiew (Chinese BBQ) wrapped with glutinous rice flour. It is like chicken charsiew deep fried omochi! Very oily, but very tasty.

For all other dimsum, I still prefer those in non-halal restaurants, coz I like pork instead of chicken in dimsum. :)

Apart from dimsum, Peking duck would usually be ordered too. I don't fancy Peking duck, but I like the noodle that is fried with its meat. This one in Chyna is particularly tasty, I think it is mostly contributed by the quality of noodle.

For dessert, many like the soy milk with 'SuetKapGou' (winter frog gel - a Chinese delicacy, made from fat layer of frogs' ovary - sounds disgusting, but most Chinese don't know what it is made, so no fuss!).

Service is okay, except that the speed is rather slow. They require 20 to 30 minutes to serve fruits, as they cut them fresh upon request. But then, freshness will be guaranteed!

It is not cheap though. We usually end up paying RM500 to 900, depends on pax. The last team lunch, I paid RM800+ for table of 10! That's why we like to visit here for team lunch - none would like to pay this on their own. :P

Chyna is located on the second floor of the KL Hilton Hotel. Reservation is required (no reservations, no entry). For reservation, call + 60-3-2264 2264.

P/s: This is my own personal review based on true experience. I received nothing for writing this.

Lower Back Under Pressure

"At every moment, even when we sleep, our spinal column is subject to constraints.

Researchers measured the pressure exerted at the level of the two inter-vertebral discs, corresponding to the vertebra L5 and S1. This pressure varies according to each one of our postures, going from 25 kilos in sleeping position, to 50 kilos when we stand up, 140 kilos in sitting position, 150 kilos when we incline ourselves slightly (position of the vacuum cleaner) and 300 kilos when we lean our legs and hands on the ground to take an object.

If one adds the additional pressure exerted by some movement, like raising a load of 20 kilos, one arrives at a pressure of almost 500 kilos on this unhappy disc. The pains and the damage that a bad movement can involve is astonishing."

Received the above in an email. My ex-boss has a slipped disc. She told me that actually in a sitting position, angle between the upper and lower torsor is 90 degree, it is the most strainfull position for the lower back.

Our lower back's spinal disc is most relaxed when we are in sleeping position. So, don't sit up for too long - walking is even better than sitting.

Lost TV Series

Have you watched the ABC drama series Lost? I love it very much, but keep missing the show, as I don't have satelite TV at home.

I have to catch it on DVD, and it is not live! :(

Discovered this site that provides transcripts - but I only read them after I watch it, don't want to spoil the scene!

The story is about 48 people being stranded on an island after their plane crashed. Each episode shows the past life of 1 or 2 of them, how it affects their reactions and lifes in the island.

Some people's life is very interesting, but some are quite boring. I particularly like Hurley's (the big guy) story, it makes me feel spooky, goose bumps all come out! I find Michael's story is most boring, sometimes make me sleepy. Sawyer is a wierd guy, sometimes his story is interesting, but most of the time repeating confirming his character, no?

It is now showing season 3 in US. Finally, there is something to look forward to catch.

Notice to US Bound Travellers

Below picked from recent CAS (Corporate Affairs Secutiry) report:

• In late November ASI issued a notice to business travellers concerning an increase in authority of the CBP “to seize and scrutinize contents of laptops without explanation."
  
• This search creates the potential for the loss of Company information as files, presentations and media storage devices may be displayed or left behind.
  
• CBP officers are trained to crosscheck arriving passengers against lists of known criminal or import/export offenders and other persons of interest. They are also trained to identify unusual traveller behaviours that require a greater degree of scrutiny.
  
• CBP has broad authority – beyond typical law enforcement - to conduct warrant-less searches of travellers and goods at international points of entry such as airports, ports, and border crossings. Note: Travellers have not officially entered the US until after clearing both Immigration and Customs.

Desa Park City - Future Development

There have been questions around the Desa Parkcity's future development of their Commercial Centre, Hypermarket and Hospital.

Though I am very sure I've read about those last year, I couldn't find the news online any more. I took the liberty to call the developer's office at +603 21669900 to enquire the detail.

Very disappointed to hear that project Quaritz, the commercial centre, is now put on-hold, pending management's review.

As for the hypermarket and hospital, the sales person told me it is in their plan for future development, but refused to reveal more as "she doesn't have the detail to share".

According to her, the club house will be completed by 'end of this year', which I am not quite sure of her answer - I thought we are already in 'end of this year', aren't we?

Tanjong Jara Resort

Our department very rich one… Teambuilding and meeting is conducted at Tanjong Jara Resort, Terengganu. I heard that the rate is extremely expensive, but since company is paying, I don’t bother lah!

Flew in this morning, had some time to wade the pool and looked around. Can’t afford the SPA: RM600 for a package of 3 hours, or RM200 for a simple 50 min massage. Don’t think it is worthy to spend that money!

I don’t think this is a great place lah! It is supposed to be something like Pangkor Laut concept, but no where there. Took some photos, but not nice, no need to show lah.

Will be back to KL on Friday, then attend the CPR course organized by MMB… really looking forward to this – will be meeting msau ler. :)