Mumbai - Wee-kipedia

Mumbai is the largest city in India. It is the 2nd most populous city behind Shanghai. Along with suburbs of Navi Mumbai and Thane, it has a population of 19 million. It is a commercial and entertainment hub of India. It contributes 5% of India GDP.

Did not get the chance to visit the proper Mumbai as the business contact was based in Navi (new) Mumbai. However on the last day, few hours before the flight, managed to visit the Film City. No access to any indoor filming (inside some warehouse type buildings) but managed to witness the construction of a fortress (pic, left). According to the worker, it's for a TV serial, a Ramayana based ancient war epic!

At the edge of the Film City, captured the signage "Leopards Territory". The local said the leopards will be out roaming from 12 midnite to 6 am. He even showed us the rocky area where the leopards supposedly 'lepak'. Not sure if our beastly Mat Rempits get their cues from these beasts!

Public transport is a plenty. Local rickshaws (pic, right), taxis, buses, trains etc are everywhere. The drivers who horn the loudest get the right of the way! Yes, everyone horns. Horn at the junction, horn before overtaking, horn to get the other motorists to give way!

Managed to get some Punjabi suits and leather handbags for the wife. Not forgetting her fav fruit, mango. She is grinning from ear to ear, till today! Now, she is keeping her fingers cross that I travel there more often! She has already started compiling the colours and shapes of future purchases!

Spain & Sodomy

Ole!Ole! Espana. BMW! Best Man Wins, or in this case best team wins. They truly deserved to lift Euro 2008. No more doing a Greece! Now, what am I watching till mid August? Wimbledon? Nay, perhaps monitoring the local politic scene is a better choice, as it enters the knockout stage.

Same old game called sodomy! As a spectator, can't do much but just hoping the final is not drag into August, as not to distract the new footie season. Good thing is that no need to wake up in the wee hours. Just keep our fingers cross, it's a fair game, even though fiery tackles and play acting are cropping up. Not too sure how long the referee is going to keep the red card.

Hope everyone embrace the ethos RESPECT. BMW!

Alive & Kicking in Mumbai

Landed in wrong part of Mumbai. Partner is based in Navi (new) Mumbai not the Bollywood end of Mumbai. Additionally, being holed up in office working with Sanjay, Sandeep and Sunil. So there is no way of celebrity sighting. Aiyah!

Food wise - superb. Have my fair share of briyani, mutton, roti, curry, tea, aftermint etc.

It is monsoon season (June to August), so it has been raining every now and then. Traffic is terrible. As a metropolitan, obviously it is huge, so travelling from 1 office to another take more than an hour. KL traffic is nothing!

Lots of cricket coverage on TV. At last count, yesterday night, there was 4 channels showing cricket matches. Cricket is like a religion here. The players are multi millionaire and demi-god. Exactly 25 years ago (1983) today, India won its only cricket World Cup in England. In the press and TV, there were so many coverages and footages on the historic triumph.

India was not among the favourites and against all odds, the great West Indies team was beaten in the final. This victory changed the landscape of the cricket scene in India, forever!

Bollywood

Schedule to fly into Bollywood tonight. Serious works with the Indian counterpart for the next few days. First trip to Mumbai. Previously visited Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad.

Mixed feeling though. Now very 'domesticated' unlike swinging bachelor days when every opportunity to travel is savoured! Gonna miss home! Yeah, big baby like me gonna miss the wife and kids! As usual, gonna enjoy the food. Briyani, mutton, sweet deserts etc.

If time permits, will love to get some Punjabi suits and a cricket bat! As an added bonus, maybe a date with Aishwarya Rai! He!He!

Will be back in the blog next week. Will post some photos.

Sports Day

Last Friday attended daughter's Sports Day. Due to lack of playing field, the event was held in Selayang Stadium. Just imagine, a 7 years old girl, who was a greenhorn, made her running debut in the running track as compared to her parents who raced barefooted in muddy school field. The other thing worth noting was that they conducted their opening ceremony reherseal just before the actual do!

My girl was excited the past week but was also worried that she could not finish her race. She was the first runner for Green House in 4x80 m relay. She kept asking how far she needed to run. The funny thing was the training was conducted next to the canteen thus not the actual distance was covered. To cut the story short, all went well as they emerged triumphant. What a great race - all newbies making their debuts. It was a great start and boosted her confidence to indulge in sports!

I will encourage her to take part actively in sports as it builds character. All work and no play make LiVen a dull girl! Study Hard, Play Hard!

pic - on your mark..

Tough Decision No Cincai

A group of children was playing near two railway tracks. 1 still in use while the other disused. Only one child played on the disused track, the rest on the operational track.

The train is coming. You are just beside the track interchange. You can make the train change its course to the disused track and save most of the kids. However, that would also mean the lone child playing by the disused track would be sacrificed. Or would you rather let the train go its way?

Most people might choose to divert the course of the train and sacrifice only one child. To save most of the children at the expense of only one child was rational decision most people would make, morally and emotionally. However have you ever thought that the child choosing to play on the disused track had in fact made the right decision to play at a safe place?

Nevertheless, he had to be sacrificed because of his ignorant friends who chose to play where the danger was. This kind of dilemma happens around us everyday. In the office, community and politics the minority is often sacrificed for the interest of the majority, no matter how foolish or ignorant the majority are, and how farsighted and knowledgeable the minority are. The child who chose not to play with the rest on the operational track was sidelined and sacrificed. No one would shed a tear for him.

The great critic Leo Velski Julian who told the story said he would not try to change the course of the train because he believed that the kids playing on the operational track should have known very well that track was still in use. They should have run away if they heard the sirens. If the train was diverted, that lone child would definitely die because he never thought the train could come over to that track! Moreover, that track was not in use probably because it was not safe. If the train was diverted to the track, we could put the lives of all passengers on board at stake! And in your attempt to save a few kids by sacrificing one child, you might end up sacrificing hundreds of people to save these few kids.

While we are all aware that life is full of tough decisions that need to be made, we may not realize that hasty decisions may not always be the right one.

What's right isn't always popular and what's popular isn't always right.

Source - forwarded mail.

Lah Lah Lah Lah Lah Lah Lah Lah

I just can't get you out of my head! Yes Kylie and Pak Lah. You're always on my mind!

Even though it's the football fever - Goal Goal Goal Ole Ole Ole.. Go Go Go O lah O lah O lah.

I ain't no politician and I have nothing personal against you but the recent happenings do affect us. The investors are staying away. As a small time punter, I do not like to see my investment going downhill. As a rakyat of a natural resources rich nation, I do not like the way it is being managed.

I have no ambition to the PM and don't care who is the next PM - whether it's N, A or K. Everyone just wanted the change! Everyone wanted stability. As a leader, we know we should not overstay especially when the writing is on the wall. Perhaps a new leader will rejuvenate the machinery and bring new hope. Just like in a football match, substitution is done to bring in fresh legs in order to win the match.

You do have your good moments but like it or not, the bad moments overwhelmed the good moments. Too many warlords in your regime who caused your downfall.

Lah Lah Lah Lah
Lah Lah Lah Lah
Yeah Yeah Yeah
Good Bye!

Sex and Religion

Gotcha! Got your attention. A must read, 2 forbidden subjects!
According to Gandhi 'The lower part of us is still animal'

According to Chief K.Sri D 'The sex impulse is the most dynamic force in human nature'.
We need the strength to develop self control and self discipline. Not a must but celibacy is good if one wants to perfect one's spiritual development. However for a layman, sex should be given its due recognition. Take the middle path, neither repressed nor exaggerated!

Make Love Not War.

Shoulder To Cry On

Stress, depression, suicidal tendency, mental breakdown, family breakup and the list goes on. I am sure all of us have either gone through a phase in our life that sucked or known someone that were feeling down and out. In the current dog eats dog world and survival of the fittest, we are definitely going to see an alarming rise in this phenomenon.

What should we do? Mentally and spiritually, we have to be strong to ride this storm. Many will take refuge in religion and pour out to the loved ones and friends. However they are also those who could not figure a way out but took the easy way out.

Learn to let go. Don't cling on the past. Move on. Be Present. Saviour the living moment. Contentment is a bliss. The fact that you are reading this 'crap' is that you have Internet access, meaning you are more privileged that many that do not even know when is their next meal.

Don't Worry Be Happy.

Real Charity

True charity is when we give without expecting anything in return. If we expect material benefits, we are bartering! We should not use charity as a way to exercise control over others. Charity is an act that reduces greed and selfishness. It brings joy to both giver and recipient.

We can give many things in addition to $$$. Food for the hungry and clothes for the poor. Time and energy for the friends in need! Part of body like blood and organ for the sake of others! Ultimately, sacrifice own live to saves lives!

Pause and reflect. Are we giving enough or are we just keep on taking. Start now, doing something for your loved ones. Charity begins at home!

Facebook

Love it or loathe it. Personally I love it as it connects people. I have re-established and resumed relationships with many long lost pals, in addition to knowing new acquaintances.

Separated in era where there was no handphone and e-mail, it was refreshing to see them alive and kicking. (Sadly also found out a few who had perished. RIP). Obviously 20 years are a long time and it was fun to catch up again and revisited those innocent and carefree years! The last time we met, we were kids. Now, when we meet they have kids! Some can even form a futsal / basketball team!

Those who are not connected yet, why are you waiting? Join in the bandwagon.

Moonlighting

Not the 80s Willis and Shepherd TV series that propelled them to stardom. The issue here is the green light for the civil service folks to moonlight. It is an open secret. Talk to cab drivers, pasar malam traders - chances are they are government servants by day.

I salute these people as they work hard to bring food to the table. These are the people who understand the meaning of hard earned money. I personally believe these people could be a better government servants as these 2nd jobs give them a different perspective of lives and build characters. At least they do not waste time, loitering around or worst case, be a Mat Rempit.

Of course there are also those that punch in and then MIA. I believe those are the minority. However, is there a need for authorities to officially approve it? What's the benefits?

The most pathetic person in the world is someone who has sight but has no vision - Helen Keller

Ah Longs Want You

Another 1 Bites The Dust. The fortnightly salary payment to civil servants gonna backfire BIG time! That's aint no solution as the pie is not getting bigger. Those that are already struggling with their cashflow will be worse off. I reckon many will finish spending their take home by half time. Then suffer in the 2nd half as they will realise they only have half pie left and do not have enough to feed the fairweather banker friends, the landlords, the cronies etc. What happen next? Desperate times means desperate solutions. Who are they gonna call? Ah Long!

The men in uniform will not like it as definitely there will be an increase in harassment and assault cases. If the threats prolong and they could not take it any longer..

Desperate times means desperate solutions. Who are they gonna call? Michael Chong!

POS - Pay? Oops! System down!

Saturday 14 June. Places to avoid at all cost - Post offices nationwide. Maybe, just maybe, the places will be packed with angry motorists. According to reliable sources, there is NO existing system in place to pay the rebates to motorists. Isn't it obvious? The original plan was to pay in August but due to another blunder (diarrhoea in the mouth), motorists were told they can get the $$$ on Saturday onwards. Vendors and working level personnels (in Manglish) are shitting bricks! Shifting their asses to come out with a working system within few days notice! Perhaps we could give them the benefit of doubt and the system will be in place after all? Bravo - another example of Malaysia Boleh.

Oink! Oink! Oink! Happy Birthday

Oink! Oink! Oink. My boy turns 1 today. My wife is a year older and wiser today. Both are 'piggies'. Me included, that makes it 3 in the family. My girl is the odd one out. She is the snake! Celebrations are put on hold till the weekend. The snake has to huff and puff and blow the house down!

Happy Birthday!

Karma

Perhaps, Sharon Stone had immortalised this word. Her basic instinct screwed herself big time this time. No chance of a total recall! Anyway, she had apologised and learnt her lesson. Hats off to her unlike other public figures who continue to put foot into mouth and still remain arrogant. No single word like Karma that stood out but numerous PR disasters. Scroll of honours include - Election would not be held, then tomorrow is the day. Fuel hike would not take place, ok lah maybe in August, you know what happened next. No lah there would not be wedding bell.

Take a bow, our work with me and not work for me numero uno. Either age is catching up and showing sign of 'mudah lupa' or just plain liar!

Back to Karma. (Kamma in Pali). For every event that occurs, there will follow another event whose existence was caused by the first and this second event will be pleasant or unpleasant according as its cause. Law of cause and effect. We are responsible for our actions and the effects of our actions. We reap what we sow. Karma Chameleon!

Paper Chase - Good for the Ego!

Ms X wants to become a doctor. Need an estimated RM500k (tuition fees, food, lodging all in) for the 6 years course somewhere out there. Entrepreneur dad did a calculation. Told his daughter.

"Why susah-susah, spend 6 years sleeping in a cramped room with some strangers, eating instant noodles, burning midnight oil, away from the family and then after graduating, getting depressed and miserable treating sick people in not so friendly government hospital - here is the RM500k, buy some shares and properties. In fact, there is enough to start a small business. In 6 years time, you could double or triple the money".. Huh!

Food for thought!

pic - 1st paper collected. More to come, baby!

Money No' Enough

Money $ Money $ Money. How much do we need to survive in the present condition? Personally the biggest chunk of the monthly take home goes to pay the banks. (Interesting, they are well known to take away our umbrella when it rains!).

Since young, this equation was embedded into us. Incomes - Expenses = Savings. We started to save our angpow $$$ but still could not be rich :( Eureka! only recently, started to think out of the box and adjusted the equation. Incomes - Savings = Expenses. Still not rich but definitely heading towards the correct direction. How does it work? Before paying the expenses, pay ourselves first. Set aside a certain amount into a separate account or an investment plan. Then only spend the balance. (As compare to pay the expenses first, then whatever balance is the savings). Impossible?

Nothing is impossible. Let us start small, e.g. RM30 per month. RM1 per day. Reduce a cup of teh tarik or 2 sticks of fags? (maybe boycott and don't buy the mainstream paper is the better cost savings). Now it looks achievable! Eventually increase this amount to RM100, RM500, RM1,000 and up up and away. Is that all? What do we do with savings? Now the harder part, to accumulate wealth and let the money works hard. The rule of thumb is to diversify. Read, talk to people and explore about investment in shares, real estate & properties, unit trusts, golds, fixed incomes etc.

Just do it. It is never too young or too late to start saving for your retirement age or for your children education. Towards Financial Freedom!

Cakap Bola Makan Bola Tidur Bola

The sign o' times. Kids are growing up playing PS2 and surfing Internet. Whereas we grew up banging in goals! Without fail, after school, I would bring myself to the nearby field and chased after the ball. No equipment, no boots. Bare footed with lots of energy to burn. No Astro to show Match of the Week but gladly glued to the TV every Saturday to watch Big League Soccer and Football Made in Germany.

It was glory days for Liverpool FC and obviously everyone loves a winner! My idol was Ian Rush, the number 9, the striker who banged in goals for fun! Once we were more organised and started forming team to take part in competitions, we got ourselves jerseys. Number 9 is mine o' mine. Of course, it was good to dream - that one day, I would sign professional paper with Liverpool FC. Dream on, brader! Maybe next life!

As I got older, somehow the lungs could not take in that much air, thus re-invented myself as a defender. Time to be number 5. Not much off the ball running was needed, just needed to clear the ball out of sight or kicked the strikers! Pretty easy, huh!

However for the past 2 years, been enjoying the number 10 role, playing in the middle of the park, harassing the opponents and dictating play. It was not that my stamina improved, but others were worse off. Blame it on the haze, beer, fags, Internet, stress, wives, in laws and all the jazz. Except ourselves for not taking care of our body and health!

Majulah Sukan Untuk Negara.

What's in the Name? Metta88

Metta in Pali language means Loving Kindness. It signifies friendship and non violence. It is also a strong wish for the happiness of others, thus it is used as a meditation object.

Metta is a very specific form of love. One recites specfic words and phrases towards oneself, loved ones, friends, strangers, enemies and all beings. It is the antidote of anger. Radiating metta could contribute to a world of love, peace and happiness.

May You Be Well and Happy!
May You Be Free From Harm and Danger!
May You Be Free From Suffering!

You Not Malay?

Once upon a time in 1986 at Leboh Ampang bus stand (just outside those banana leaf makan joints). In school uniform (not the thin revealing one that got everyone excited) waiting for Len Seng 165 (equipped with power stereo system that belted out great Tamil disco hits) a thug approached. "Where are you from", that was the customary pick me up opener to test if one belongs to any gang. Should I say Jinjang 18 Chai and get walloped? Stunned for a while. Before he demanded for my wallet, something happened. "Apa kamu nak" a voice came out from my mouth, as I recovered my composure. Now, it was his turn to panic! "eh! lu bukan Cina ka? soli huh" and walked away and probably looked for his next victim. It happened so fast, have no time to pee in the pants. Was glad to salvage my bus fares. From that day onwards, be yet wiser, started to use this 'advantage' to 'cari makan'.

Bangsa Malaysia - that's my standard reply countless times either via phone or face to face when customer service officers looked puzzled and did not how to label me! There is no statistic to prove it, but based on personal experiences, the services were much better if I speak their lingo! So take your language lessons seriously as it does wonder. Then what to do with the typical Chinese features - sepet, flat nose etc? Wear a mask, kot!

Euro 2008 - Let Do A Greece?

The next major football tourney is here, starting this weekend. Let get it started. Need the fix after end of EPL. All wives and girlfriends please be understanding. Football is more than life and death.

Who is going to win? The usual suspects are the favourites. Germany with their discipline and Octoberfest powers, Italy with their Armani suits and Mafia looks, France with their cheese and wine diets, Holland with their orange blinders and total football and my favourite, Spain with their Liverpool influenced armada!

Dark horses? Maybe Croatia, Czech and Turkey. C'mon Torres, go get the Golden Shoes!

That's the end. Wait! How come no words on England? How can a football article without mentioning the 3 Lions, so called creators of this beautiful game? Sorry, I don't miss them. They are overrated. Give me Russia, anytime! & don't listen to Shebby!

Anyone fancy making money to offset the 2.70?

KKK 666

KK Kam celebrates his birthday every 6 June. Ain't no white supremacist (he is yellow anyway) and ain't no devil! He is my childhood friend. In the Air Panas kampung (yes, we do have hot water spurting from the ground - how we wish it is hot oil!), we played football, looked for spiders behind the bushes, swam in the drain (those days the water looked clean!) etc.

In college, draped with Nirvana t-shirt, long hair and fag in the mouth, consistent with the Seattle inspired grunge era, he was the anti social king. Fast forward, consistent with the BN inspired flip flop era, he is eking a living and just like you and me, wondering what is in store for our kids! Happy Birthday buddy!

12 June. No devil number here but still worth mentioning. My life partner celebrates her birthday on this date. Since last year this date is even more meaningful! My son, was born! yes, mom and son shares the same birthday. (Good news for me cause that make it 1 less date to remember!) Blame it or should it be credit to the doctor?

Past few years, most of the arrival of storks courtesy of mid 30 and above moms have always been through C-section. Make us wonder why? Either those doctors are taking the easy way out or there are so many lembik moms that are in real danger! (this topic will be reserved for another day). This 2nd pregnancy fell into this category. Doctor recommended 11 June to go under the knife. 12 June sounded nicer, doc! To make it 3's Company, sister's son, i.e. nephew too popped out on 12 June, 9 year ago.

9 July. That's my birthday. Do not know anyone sharing the same birthday until reading about Steve Coppell, a Scouser footballer, who was rejected by the Reds, who at the time was playing for the devils (the team name should never appear on this blog!) The same lad that is now managing Reading! Then in 1989, new batch of students joined us in Sixth Former and viola, found a new found mate who shares the same birthday. And 2 days ago, another VI mate flagged me via Facebook, that he too popped out on 9 July, 37 years ago!

Monsters in Law?

Meet my parents in law! Mr and Mrs Lee. Are they the monsters in law, ooph! parents in law as portrayed on TV? Let us check it out.

Mr and Mrs Lee hail from Penang. The typical Penangites. Shop for bargains in Lorong Kulit. Frequent the Air Itam wet market. Love their laksa and nasi kandar. Vote for Gerakan all these years! (Not too sure if they have access to RPK's blog this time around!)

Mr and Mrs Lee come to visit their daughter and grandchildren in KL frequently. The daughter is all excited on the day the parents check in. (It's like Liverpool winning the cup!). Probably due to aging process, Mr Lee and Mrs Lee do not like surprises. Mr Lee like a day out in the city centre. However Mrs Lee prefer to stay at home, just give her the Astro remote control, she will be fine. Mr and Mrs Lee love to visit Pasar Malam.

When we are back from work, the food is ready on the table. The laundry is striking clean stored in the wardrobe. Pretty mundane stuff? Yeah, baby - but the son in law is happy as he can raise his feet up, not doing the household chores during these visits!!

Thank you pa and ma. You folks deserve a break after all the struggles to raise the kids. They have turned up well. Go and visit them and the grandchildren in KL, Kuching, Singapore and Macao. (Collected more brownie points, baby!)

2.70

It's not my CGPA. I can definitely do better than that. Shahrir, is that your best shot? C'mon, you can do better- aim for the perfect 4. 2 dot 7 per litre. Don't u cry. Don't whine. Reality bites.

Move on, how do we balance the book? Those jokers said change lifestyle. Change what? Tell my daughter she is not attending piano classes? Tell my mom she is not getting the dough to buy dough? Reduce expenses! Wait a minute, there is another part of the equation. Increase income! Yes there is hope after all. Increase our credit balances. Change out mindset. Don't have the notion that we can only have A source of income. There are such things as other income and investment income in the P&L.

Part time job? Maybe. But wait, how about the money in the bank? Is it working hard enough? At this rate, the lifestyle inflation is going double figure. We are effectively losing money. So for a start, explore the possibility of using our savings to balance the book. Money makes money. Check out the Bursa! Talk to the real estate agent on property investment. Trust the financial planner on mutual fund. Start reading, start exploring. By sitting there, complaining does not balance the book. Reality sucks, baby.

Buying Toto, pursuing Tikam or trying luck up the hill do not count!

Denggi

We are born with 2 certificates i.e. birth and death certificates. Everyone has at least these 2 papers, so the additional papers chase is bonus!

We have read and heard who's who been struck with Denggi and rather fortunately to recover fully but rather unfortunately to continue to live this suffering life! We also have this it will not happen to me kinda attitude. From zero fatality, suddenly Denggi took away 3 lives of people whom I know in 2007.

My lovely cousin who was planning to start a family left us. An Indian grandma neighbour lost her battle after weeks in ICU and a Malay colleague's brother went back to the Maker. All in 2007. So what's this nonsense on the fight for this quota and that quota? After all, once we are given the birth certificate, we are just awaiting to graduate and receive our death certificate!

What is all these ego trips? (In fact, this blogging trip is part of my ego trip! he!he!).. We could not abolish but try to make an effort to reduce these trips.

I have a problem here. I do not KILL. Not even a mosquito. So how? No issue, prevention is better than cure. So reduce in materials chase. Buy less things, keep less stuffs and thus reduce the breeding ground. Killing 2 birds with a stone? (pun intended)

So remember, live present, forget about the past and let the future worries itself. Enjoy the campus life before we graduate!

Organ Donation

Not asking you to donate the musical instrument left rotting in your store room to Szechuan disaster fund! Yes the other organ. Your body parts i.e. eyes, kidneys, liver etc. Check out this website www.mst.org.my/donorreg.html#

Just register and pledge your organ. They will do the rest. You would not feel any pain. With this fuel hike, government ask us to change our lifestyle, so 'why are we waiting'? Just Do It.

Just imagine - your eyes could give sights to a beautiful girl or to a boy who then can set his eyes on beautiful girls!.. Your kidneys, perhaps to 2 middle aged ladies who could give birth to more beautiful girls.. Need more convincing? Harimau tinggalkan belang, so let us tinggalkan organ! macam- macam organ!

Giving will reduce greed!

Cancer

The only meaning of Cancer in the schooling days is to look up at the daily horoscope section beside the comic strips of The Star. Last few years, Cancer took a different meaning i.e. life sentence. Visited a dying young and recently married lady of an associate at the turn of the century who went through the horror of chemotherapy. She must had gone through a lot of pain as her complexion and outlook was totally different. Few years later i.e. 2003, we lost a friend due to brain tumour. He was a year old than me. Left behind a widow and 2 young kids.

End of October 2007. After biopsy result was out, the worse fear was confirmed. Dad was diagnosed with advanced stage lung cancer. No denial, no anger. Dad was a heavy 20-40 sticks a day, you named it, Winston, Dunhill, Perilly etc smoker in his heyday. Mom was cool. Me as the eldest had to act cool too. Briefed the siblings and relatives on how to be cool!

Fast forward June 2008, dad is resting at home surfing Astro channels. (Unfortunately he is not a sports fan, so no sports programs at folks' place)! Personally I have set small milestones for him. Was very happy that he managed to celebrate the recent Chinese New Year. Next one should be to celebrate my boy's 1st birthday next week.

I started exploring hospice services. Took a crash course on basic care from Kasih Hospice (www.kasih-hospice.org). For a start, a nurse came to do home visit. For the past 2 months, dad has been visiting Hospice Malaysia every Tuesday. It is a good arrangement as he gets to venture out of the house to do some therapy and mix around, and for mom, the caregiver, it is a good rest! (www.hospismalaysia.org).

Thank you hospice volunteers and staffs for the selfless service. Life is Uncertain but Death is Certain!

Fast and Furious

Drop a few lines before hitting the road (with the help of tulip!) The posts are coming fast and furious. Like a toddler exploring a new toy!

About on the road - welcome the ruling on rear seat belts and await the ruling on fuel subsidy. Maybe 1 way to save on fuel is to car pool. Additional benefit - can spend quality family times while getting struck in KL jam! Daughter started Primary 1 this year and with this, start to hit the road before 6.45am during school days. Next destination is to parents' place (6 km away) to leave son there. City centre here I come, with beloved wife and finally, me alone heading towards PJ. All in all, slightly more than 2 hrs on road before I have my caffeine! (No wonder still skinny!) The reverse order happens after office hours. (Anyone need a member for Treasure Hunt?)

On the family bonding via carpool, seriously it works. Catch up with wife in the car while tuning in to LiteRadio on the day happenings. Once with the kids, all attention i.e 110% to the kids. Few hours later, it's time to hit the sack.

1 of the best decisions we ever made was to buy our own place nearby our folks'. The support system really come in handy. Pity them though, after raising us, gotta raise the grandchildren. Thank you folks, especially mom for being a supermom!

pic - feeding inside the car!

Lunch

It's lunch time. Knew many people who have big problems in deciding what to eat during lunch! As for me, the usual stuff if I am in the office. Will walk to the banana leaf restaurant, indulge in my rice kasi banjir, tenggiri fish either fried or curry, vege n papadam! Have even build relationship with the Indian workers who hail from Chennai! (When are they hiring China dolls to serve in these restaurants? he!he!). What makes us click? Just mentioned the names of their cricket heroes like Tendulkar, Dravid etc and how they are faring against Pakistan - they are your friends for life. Talking about cricket, half the people I met are clueless about cricket. The only cricket they know is the insect that goes crickey! I learnt to play this game in 1986 in VI. My football kakis in the neighbourhood were into it, playing for a rival school, Setapak High. Decided to give it a try and played against them annually in KL School meets. Not too bad, at least do not have butter fingers - quite an agile fielder and on most occasions, the ball got stuck in my hands! Went all the way to represent KL age groups -Under 20 and Under 23.

Well, the first love is still football. Was not good enough to represent my beloved VI team - in fact went for selection for 2 years but was not good enough. Period. The lack of size also contributed to it! Stuck at 5'2'' for many years but somehow managed to outgrow most of them. Had a good laugh when 1 of the footie mate, Zul (have not met since 88) commented. "Tingginya engkau!"

High n Low

After the high of meeting up with fellow Victorians in the school and playing some great football yesterday, was real disappointed to read in today's MSM, a fellow mate, who heads the education bureau of a fading politician party, uttering some nonsense regarding distribution of scholarship. This matter will crop up every year around this time of the year and for everyone's sake, do the necessary to stop the brain drain and stop making it a mess.. enough of the low..

VIOBA Inter Batch Mokhtar Dahari Challenge Shield - that was the 7 a seven football tourney that we took part in. We managed to defend the champions title in the Veteran League (35 yrs old n >). We were so strong that we decided to field 2 teams.. n as predicted, it was all 88 final in the end. Defeated Batch 90 (the youngest), 87, 81 and 83 along the way. The icing on the cake was our captain, Jeffrie was chosen as the Best Player/MVP

At the end of the evening, Paul of Batch 81, called for the continued support for this tourney, as he flew in from India, without fail for the past few years.. That's the VI spirit! & dont us let down our fellow Victorian, the late Mokhtar, who is still the best Malaysian player. ( At this rate, dont think our national team could produce another legend in my living years!)

We really hope to play on till our heart could not take it! 20 years ago, the boys were the KL age group champs. At the present moment, the skills are still there although heavier on the tummy and lighter on the head! Will be back to defend the title!

New Blogger in Town

It's now or never... yes, we have to start somewhere, somehow! let us get started.. For a start will keep it short and simple. Wishing All Being Be Well and Happy, Be Free from Suffering. Lots of Loving Kindness - Metta.