Sound of Music

While I was going thru my movie collections yesterday wondering what movie to watch with my 2 little princesses, I finally decided to watch the evergreen classical movie of all time - The Sound Of Music. I watched this movie when I was little, can't remember how old but I think i'm about 10 or younger. There are few songs that I like but 2 songs that runs in my mind those days were Do-Re-Mi and Sixteen going on Seventeen. I'd sing the chorus and hum (can't sing the whole song ma!) the rest of the song happily but softly while playing with my friends.

I thought that since I, the rascal, likes the movie, my 2 little princesses would like them too. However, I was expecting them to watch the movie while playing with their "cooking" toys but it turned out that they watch the movie straight on and enjoyed them very much ... well technically, we stop twice ... VCD ma.... it took 3 VCDs to store the whole movie. So, we stop and do our stuffs before we continue to watch the next disk. Hmm... that reminds me that I should look for a DVD version.

When Julie Andrews and the kids sang Do-Re-Mi, my younger daughter were amazed, looked at me and say (with her twinkling smile) that her Kindergarten school also plays that song. I can see that she was humming along silently.

Here's my favourite chorus ...
Doe (Do) a deer, a female deer
Ray (Re)a drop of golden sun
Me (Mi) a name I call myself
Far (Fa) a long long way to run
Sew (So) a needle pulling thread
La (La) a note to follow So
Tea (Ti) a drink with bread and jam ...
that will bring us back to Doe, oh oh oh

Now, let's sing along




After the movie, my elder daughter, just like me when I was younger, also likes the Sixteen Going on Seventeen song, especially the chorus part - "I'm sixteen going on seventeen ... ". The word "sixteen going on seventeen" and the dance in the glass house was a very lovely encounter of 2 opposing sex. I guess all children like to be in that scene and can't wait to grow up. Either you want to meet the pretty girl or the handsome guy .... and of course the ever "curious" first kiss! Agree?



Sweet huh! I'll try to find a proper snippets of this part from YouTube. I actually found one but the owner dubbed it with his lousy singing voice. I'll replace this once I found it.

Anyway, this movie is definitely one of my favourite "collectible" musical movies.

On another note, I would love to hear "arrggh, S#@t, da#@, OMG, or some swear words" on the golf course. It's probably the better "Sound of Music". Why? That's the sound when someone hit a really bad shot! That's when I'll say ... music to my ears! :-) Khakakaka.

Here are the rest of the songs that I like from the Sound of Music.

So Long, Farewell

Edelweiss

My favourite things

I'm going to look for Julie Andrew's Marry Poppins. I don't really have a good and lasting impression about this movie but I remembered that my Sis love them.

Greatest storyteller - Yasmin Ahmad

I would like to share with you one of my favourite storyteller and film director of all time .... the late Yasmin Ahmad (July 1, 1958 - July 25, 2009). Her films has touched many people and it certainly has touched mine. With sincerest sympathy and may she rest in peace.

I'm compiling her works (short stories) in this blog as I find it hard and cumbersome to search each and every one of them in the Youtube. So, whenever I want to view them, especially when I want to uplift my spirit, have a good laugh and to remind myself of things that are dear to me i.e. my family and friends, I can now easily click them here.

Hope you enjoy them as much as I do. Oh, if none of the stories touch your heart, I'll buy you breakfast, lunch and dinner for the next 365 days!

These are my all time favorites ...

Here's a short Bio of her.

Yasmin Ahmad (July 1, 1958 - July 25, 2009) was a critically-acclaimed multi-award winning film director, writer and scriptwriter. Her television commercials and films are well-known in Malaysia for their humour, heart and love that crosses cross-cultural barriers, in particular her ads for Petronas, the national oil and gas company. Her works have won multiple awards both within Malaysia and internationally.

Economy crisis?

I went to Mid Valley Mega Mall today and I was amazed with the vibrant activities in the shopping mall. Initially, I was a bit frustrated and skeptical as to why the parking signboard in 2 of the entrances said "Full" in bright Red light. I thought they were trying to usher us to another parking entrance / areas but when I manage to get down to the parking area, whoa .... it was really packed! I circled a few rounds to find a parking spot and that too I manage to find it at the other side of the building - The Gardens.

The shopping mall was full of people from all walks of life. Young, old, adults, children, aunties, uncles, etc. Don't these people have to work? or are they like me, trying to kill time -window shopping in a "free" air con environment! Hehe!

If you look at the activities in the mall, you could be deceived that our economy is still very vibrant and we have already got ourselves out of the financial crisis! People are spending money as if they are not affected by the slowdown!!! The expensive "lepak" places (where you want to see and to be seen) like The Coffee Bean, Starbucks and other exclusive renovated restaurants/cafe are quite pack with people.

There are promotional events strategically located at the entrance, lobby, center of the mall, etc. Most of the promotional products are targeted at ladies i.e. skin care products, perfumes, beauty care (make-up), except for one, Philips. They are promoting their latest LCD TV (3000 and 5000 series), DVD players, home teather systems and other gadgets. Of course I "kepoh" and investigate the gadgets.

Hmmm ... who says we are experiencing economic downturn??! Not these uncles, aunties!

Btw, our GDP growth rate in FY09Q1 shows that we are experiencing a negative 6.2% (source from our Statistic Dept of Malaysia).

Doctor's advise

I'm reproducing a very funny article from my fav blogger - RPK! Enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Q: Doctor, I've heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life. Is this true?

A: Your heart is only good for so many beats, and that's it. Don't waste it on exercise.

Everything wears out eventually. Speeding up your heart will not make you live longer. That's like saying you can extend the life of your car by driving it faster.

Want to live longer? Take a nap.

Q: Should I cut down on meat and eat more fruits and vegetables?

A: You must grasp logistical efficiencies. What does a cow eat? Hay and corn!

And what are these? Vegetables. So a steak is nothing more than an efficient mechanism of delivering vegetables to your system. Need grain? Eat chicken.

Beef is also a good source of field grass (green leafy vegetable).

And a pork chop can give you 100% of your recommended daily allowance of vegetable products.

Q: Should I reduce my alcohol intake?

A: No, not at all. Wine is made from fruit. Brandy is distilled wine. That means they take the water out of the fruity bit so you get even more of the goodness that way. Beer is also made out of grain. Bottoms up!

Anyway, 1% of traffic accidents are caused by drunk drivers. So people who don’t drink are very dangerous because they cause 99% of traffic accidents.

Q: How can I calculate my body/fat ratio?

A: Well, if you have a body and you have fat, your ratio is one to one.

If you have two bodies, your ratio is two to one, etc.

Q: What are some of the advantages of participating in a regular exercise program?

A: Can't think of a single one, sorry. My philosophy is: No Pain ... Good!

Q: Aren't fried foods bad for you?

A: YOU'RE NOT LISTENING!!! .... Foods are fried these days in vegetable oil.

In fact, they're permeated in it. How could getting more vegetables be bad for you?

Q: Will sit-ups help prevent me from getting a little soft around the middle?

A: Definitely not! When you exercise a muscle, it gets bigger.

You should only be doing sit-ups if you want a bigger stomach.

Q: Is chocolate bad for me?

A: Are you crazy? HELLO … Cocoa beans! Another vegetable!!!

It's the best feel-good food around!

Q: Is swimming good for your figure?

A: If swimming is good for your figure, explain whales to me.

Q: Is getting in-shape important for my lifestyle?

A: Hey! 'Round' is a shape!

Well, I hope this has cleared up any misconceptions you may have had about food and diets.

And remember: 'Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways - Chardonnay in one hand, chocolate in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming, 'WOO HOO, what a Ride!'

AND.....

For those of you who watch what you eat, here's the final word on nutrition and health. It's a relief to know the truth after all those conflicting nutritional studies.

1. The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

2. The Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

3. The Chinese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

4. The Italians drink a lot of red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

5. The Germans drink a lot of beer and eat lots of sausages and fats and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

CONCLUSION

1. Eat and drink what you like.

2. Speaking American English is apparently what kills you.

3. 'Today’ is a gift. That is why it is called ‘The Present’.

My PMS?

I have not been feeling right recently, somewhat - something is missing. I am not depressed nor sad but yet felt miserable. I tried to motivate myself but my negative chi beat the hell out of me. Everything I do doesn't seems satisfied!

Tried to do many different things to change my "negativity" state but nothing seems to work permanently. I tried to watch movie, which is one of my favorite past time, and I bought "Night at the Museum 2". Although I had a good laugh and felt better but it was just temporary, I fell back to my negative state the next day.

I played golf and I was hoping that doing something I like would help to pick myself up but ended up making a fool out of myself and not to mention poorer me (got whack left, right & center!). I can't tee off, my short game sucks, and worst is that I took an average of 3 putting shots! Oh btw, in almost every hole, I had my shots either in the bunker, drain or OB!

I tried to jog but only manage to run for about 50meters and i fell flat. Cant' run at all. Tried the self motivational thingie but doesn't work. The only consolation is that I manage to walk about 2-3 miles. Felt a little bit better after the walk. Tried to blog but words, ideas and my thoughts doesn't seems to come out right - very messy.

However, I felt better since last weekend. I think spending time with "her majesty" and the 2 princesses helped me tremendously. I've completely forgotten and lost track about the "miserable" feeling. Going thru their homework, played tic-tac-toe, snake and ladder, watch my elder ride bicycle with her cousin, tried to teach my younger one to ride was quite joyful and delighted.

This is definetly one of the medicine I needed most but unfortunately, its Monday today! They have to go to school and work! Meantime, I'm still not 100% cured yet! I wish everyday is a weekday ... ;)

I need to find something else to help turn things around permanently leh. I need to discard this lousy state of mine. It's not healthy and certainly not productive being in this state for so long! I need something to stimulate and invoke my "long term" positive energies.

Anyway, things that I haven't tried but I think that can "pick" me up are the followings:-

1. To sit in a motivation session to get myself pump up. But Anthony Robbins not in town!

2. To hire a witch (if there is one in M'sia). Maybe they can put some positive spellcast on me?

3. To watch a stand up comedy show. Maybe they could cheer me up. They say laughter is the best medicine right? But I'm not sure if there is such a show in KL. Ada meh?

4. To get a good aromatherapy massage. hmmm - this option is more promising and easier to do as we have a few in Sg. Long. woo hoo... i'm already felt better!!!!

5. Eat durians? Tried. It worked but I cannot be eating it everyday right?

Any suggestions?

Oh, I wanna share this song with you ... listen to this little girl sing! It's definitely my favorite.

Durian Season

Yay, the durian season is here. While we drove back from Sungai Tekala last week end, we spotted many durian trees along the way. We managed find a place to stop by to take a few pictures ... tried to look for one too.... but unfortunately there wasn't any. If you are wondering why I said "look" instead of "plug", that's because only the ripe one will drop off from the branch by itself.

Now, imagine if Newton were to sit under the durian tree and not the apple tree .... hahaha. We wouldn't be learning about Newton's law of gravitation today and probably Einstein wouldn't be able to formulate his EM=C2 equation!

Anyway, many Malaysians can easily spot a durian fruit but behold and betold .... embarrasingly, many Malaysians still doesn't know how a durian tree looks like. Don't believe me ... do a simple survey and ask your close friends. My guess is that 4 out of 10 cannot point out a durian tree especially when there is no fruit on it. Let me know if I'm wrong.

Weekend retreat ... part 2

Sungai Tekala

This is a much better place for a family get together and if anyone wants to be with nature. Great tropical forest with waterfall too. Entrance fee is only a mere RM1 (USD 1.00 = RM3.60). It’s about 20 mins drive from Semenyih town going toward Nirvana Memorial Park. The place is about 500m further away from Nirvana.

The best thing I like about this place is the waterfall. Though it’s a small waterfall but the gushing water is thrilling enough to get your heart pump affectionately! It’s a real great fun and exciting!

For the city kids, at first they might not like to play in the water as it looks “dirty” with the fallenleaves and branches as compare to a swimming pool, but believe you me, they will not get enough of it once they dip into the water and stand on the stream of gushing water running through their body.

See the water surging/rushing onto my niece and nephew. It takes guts to stand below the gushing water.

I was told that you can discharge all your negative energy whilst absorbing the positive energy from the surrounding, especially if you walk bare foot and it is even more effective if you stand "under" the waterfall.

You can see many people enjoying themselves; Malay, Chinese, Indian or Sikh …no racism crap. We all share and play at the same place…. this is what I would think the “ 1Malaysia” slogan which our PM professed, should be. Look at the picture … everyone is enjoy themselves!

Ah, you can see also interesting people with different distinct culture/mentality. They would bring all sorts of household things. I mean, I understand if they brought their camping, or picnic stuffs but baby crib, rocking chair???! And I saw a lady washing her hair with shampoo and a boy applying soap on his body …. on that water!?? What on earth are they thinking, man??

Anyway, one thing I’m proud of is that all Malaysians shared and play at the same place harmoniously. Wouldn’t this be nice if our politicians leaves out the racial issues and focus our nation building! Sometimes, I really piss of with these politician bozos!

Here are additional pictures.

It’s a superb place to be for a short weekend getaway especially for the Klang Valley folks and if you are lucky, you'll be greeted with the wild monkeys. Btw, there are little fish and prawn too.

KLCC - Petronas Twin Tower

Ah… our proud monumental icon. One of the best structural designs in the world. This building always amazes and fascinates me. It looks magnificent day or night, near or far.

We (especially the ladies) likes to go to KLCC as they have everything under the same building, retail shops, more shops, bigger shops, playground (biggest in KL), restaurant, cinema, convention center, free air-con, etc.

If I have foreign guest, this is definitely a place I would take them to and I’d drive them to a great spot to take picture.

Ah, I sometimes wonder if they got inspiration from our favorite “jagung” (corn). Here are some picture I took with my Canon IXUS digital camera. The pictures were a bit shaky as I took it without using a tripod.

The only complain I have is when I leave the building … that's when you find out the parking fees! It’s damn overly priced! Paid about RM13.00 for 3 ½ hours! What a reap off ... not so free air-con afterall!

Weekend retreat

Fuh ….what a week-end we had! It was quite a fun, exhilarating and exhaustive weekend especially for my kids. We have visited 3 different places, 2 around Selangor and 1 in KL. We went to FRIM in Kepong, Sungai Tekala in Ulu Langat and KLCC.

FRIM – Forest Research Institute Malaysia

I had always wanted to visit this place since a few years back when my good friend, CK, told me that it was a highly recommended place for a family get-together thingie.

We tried to go there once a few months back but unfortunately at that time, it was raining like cats & dogs with occasion thunders. We ended up having a cup of teh tarik (click here to see how we, Malaysian like our tea being served) and buns at a small Malay stall just outside of the main gate.

Anyway, this time we did manage to visit the place. It is a good family–get-together place especially if you like to jog or walk, camp, meditate under the tree or just for the love of surrounded by nature. I was quite surprise and impressed with the well planned “township”. This place is huge and green!

First place we stop by was the playground…. got to let the kids release their “energy”. Here’s what “restraint-in-the-car-for-an-hour” would do your princess … “monkeying”.

We then had our tea at Malay Tea House Restaurant for a cup of “Misai Kucing” as in Cat Whiskers. This is a picture of "Misai Kucing" flower. See the resemblance? It was recommended by the waitress. Apparently, it is a favorite amongst Malay tea lovers as it helps to reduce cholesterol, body heatiness etc. can’t remember much as I just wanted to try something new and besides, she mentioned the magic word - "lowering cholesterol". mmm .... no need to think twice. Anything that lowers cholesterol will be a plus point to me. Well, not sure if it helps my cholesterol with just a few cups but it definitely taste good and quench my thirst.

It was a quite a hot day, so we just drove around the area. We didn’t really have the chance to “feel” the whole place and because of this, personally, I think FRIM is a just “so-so” place to visit. I know I know... its not fair comment but that's how i felt.

Hey, it’s way past 1am. Need to get my sleep. I’ve got an important appointment first thing in the morning. I’ll share with you the other 2 great places we visited ... with great pics too. Stay tune.

President Barack Obama Speech

This is my first time listening to Presiden Barrack's speech. He is definitely a great orator with great passion and sincerity. His very cleverly crafted speech touches on very sensitive issues with the Muslim world, where every human being can relate to them. It was really an eye opening.

Whilst listening to his speech, my first reaction is that wow, how I which that our leaders back in Malaysia has the same mentality and conviction. If "color blind" American can vote an African American to lead it's country, why can't we ... I know it took America many many years to have such change but why can't Malaysia leap frog them. Hey, we are a much much smaller country and we want progress too, don't we?

Excerpts from PB ending speech, "All of us share this world for but a brief moment in time. The question is whether we spend that time focused on what pushes us apart, or whether we commit ourselves to an effort, a sustained effort, to find common ground, to focus on the future we seek for our children, and to respect the dignity of all human beings.

It's easier to start wars than to end them. It's easier to blame others than to look inward. It's easier to see what is different about someone than to find the things we share. But we should choose the right path, not just the easy path. There's one rule that lies at the heart of every religion, that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us. This truth transcends nations and peoples - a belief that isn't new; that isn't black or white or brown; that isn't Christian or Muslim or Jew. It's a belief that pulsed in the cradle of civilization, and that still beats in the hearts of billions around the world. It's a faith in other people, and it's what brought me here today.

We have the power to make the world we seek, but only if we have the courage to make a new beginning, keeping in mind what has been written.

The Holy Koran tells us: "O mankind! We have created you male and a female; and we have made you into nations and tribes so that you may know one another."

The Talmud tells us: "The whole of the Torah is for the purpose of promoting peace."

The Holy Bible tells us: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God."

How very true and to the dot! I would love that every Malaysians listen to this speech and reflect, ponder and digest them ... I want our beloved country to be a progressive, prosperous and safe country to live in. No more racism, "clutch" mentality crap! For goodness sake, we are all Malaysians!

Here is President Barrack full text speech.

Durian - the King of all fruits

Today I'm honored and thankful for I was mentioned in ACT's post, a frequent visiting blogger of Durian Talk. Never in my "wildest" dream that I would thought someone would write about me ... especially when I've just started blogging. I would like to say a big big big gigantic Thank You to Andrea for your encouragement and your support. The posting about me was unnecessary ... though i admit that i like it very much. I would like to also mention the bloggers that gave me strength and inspiration, namely, Cindy, Ian, David, touch-n-go-without-leaving-comments-anonymous, my parents, my teachers, my ..... whoa... like giving the winning Oscar speech .... woo hoo!

Anyway, irregardless of what those "westerners" describe me, the King of all fruits, in ACT's post, I, the King of all fruits, would like to share with you what the holy guru who lives 2500 years ago in India, once said,

"Believe nothing because I have said it,
Believe nothing because the belief is generally held,
Believe nothing because someone else believes it,
But believe only that which you yourself discover to be true,
And let others have their own beliefs."

So, if you ever come to visit this part of the world, be adventurous, give yourself a chance to "take on" the King of all fruit, take a little bite and enjoy the rich texture and the exquisite taste. Don't let those comment affect your quest for great food!

Tips : Ask for the sweet type and then move on with the bitter-sweet ones ... whilst you crave for the King of all fruit ... listen to this great song

Tell me why?

- there are so many religions who preaches love, compassion, respect, and yet there are so much hatred, fighting and war?

- we have so many schools, colleges, universities and yet we lack of knowledge and cannot think?

- with so many big conglomerates, banks, manufacturers, business, and yet we have huge deficits and unemployment?

- with so many hospitals, clinics, doctors, phamaceutical companies and yet we still die of disease and sickness?

- there are so many new housing development project and yet people live on the street?

- with so many means of communication, and yet people doesn't know the truth?

- after 50 years of independence, yet people talk of racial sentiment?

- with our great police force, army, FRU and yet we feel insecure?

- our once formidable football team in Asia, and now became whipping boo-boo boys?

Anyway, listen to the song below. Great singer and great song. I stole the title from him .... hehehe

Record Breaking Distance

Today is a historic day for me. Since moving in about 10 years ago, I, occasionally ... once in a blue moon, jog! That's right, I do jog when I'm in the mooooood, ok!

But today ... today was different. Today I jogged for a record breaking distance of at least 1.5km! Woo hoo! Of course, in between, I slowed down to catch my breath. But I surprised myself to run such a distance. Hey, you ever see a zombie with a bulging belly run? Not pretty, I must say.

Initially, I just wanted to walk but after about 20m, I told myself that since I'm already out walking, I might as well jog a little and I can stop when I don't feel like running. While running, I keep having the small little talk with myself. Told myself to run a little further. Just another 100m ... and another 100m and next thing I know I did my record breaking distance! Yay!

Below is the surrounding of my house, downloaded from the Google Earth. The yellow lines are my running distance, in between the lines, I walked.














Impressive eh.... if only I can "record break" every time I put myself to do something.

Mother of all matches

Being a zombie has it's advantages. You see, I can stay up as long as I want and sleep anytime I wishes. I don't even care if the sun rise on the east or west! I don't even have to care about my hairstyle, what I wear or don't and if there's a vege stuck in between my front teeth. :b

Last night...no, actually early this morning, I decided to stayed up to watch the "mother of all matches", it was the Champions League Cup Final. It's a clash between the best and riches clubs in the world. Barcelona (Barca) vs Manchester United (MU).

To watch such a big game, you've gotta have the "stadium" like atmosphere. No fun watching it alone in the house. You gotta watch it at the Mamak stall! That's were the action lies! That's where you can shout and make lots of noise in the middle of the night without worrying about the man in blue.

I arrived at about 10 minutes b4 the match start and the tables are all full. Can u imagine, it's almost 2.35am and these crazy buggers sat there as if t'row is a weekend. Don't they have to work in the morning? mmm ... are they really die hard fan or a big time gamblers?

The "Annea" saw me looking for a seat, he quickly (very entrepreneur) squeeze me a space. This guy is a pro in space utilization. Very good atmospheric table arrangement but my only complain is that I was surrounded by ..... smokers! The worst thing is that these guys smoke cheap cigarates... u know those "gudang garam" type. Man, it was quite uncomfortable.

After settling down, I ordered a cup of "cham" (coffee mix with tea) and a piece of Chapati. I know what u thinking... I agree it was pretty heavy stuff I ordered at that wee hour.... but never mind la, I'll make (yet another) new dieting resolution trow morning, Ok? Zombie need food to stay awake.

It was a very entertaining match. The first 10 min, MU played very well. They were in control and were attacking most of the time. Ronaldo and Ronnie were very dangerous and were quite a deadly pair. Unfortunately, it was Barca who scored first. That was their first attack. Man, all they need is just 1 opportunity. Eto'o is unarguably one of the best strikers in the world.

That goal changes the whole game. MU lost it's composure and for about 20 mins, they played like school boys, making many silly mistakes. MU came back strong after half time, but Puyol and his strongmen, hold on to their fort.

I was very impress with Messi. He is one hell of a player. He's very fast and yet his ball control was superb. Every time when he gets the ball, at least 2 - 3 players will surround him. It's very entertaining watching him play - skillful, creative, good stamina and excellent ball control. Oh, he is the other goal scorer. He's a short guy but remarkably, he scored with his head!

I'm glad that I made the decision to stay up to watch the match. It is an honor to watch the world's best player on the flat stadium ... surrounded by chinese, indians, malays, indons, myanmese, etc. rrr .. sorry, my bad... actually, these are not chinese, indians, malays, indons, myanmese, etc. ... they are just Barca and MU fans.

Overall, both team played very well and live up to their reputation. As in any competition, there is a winner and a loser. It was the better team that won. Barca 2 vs MU 0.

Congrats Barca, you deserves to be the world's best !

Money Making Opportunities

Make unlimited money! Very easy one! Very good potential! Big market! Green and environment friendly is the future! etc.. are mostly the key words that interest me. I'm always open and receptive to listen to such money making opportunities. Every opportunities has it's own challenges. To me, there is no harm to explore and learn about the opportunity.

Of late, ever since I was walking around town like a zombie, I have the privileged to explore and discover many good money making opportunities in a little more detail. Aiya ... got more spare time ma. Some of the opportunities were introduced by friends and some of them I found from the magazine and through surfing internet. I guess one needs to open its eyes and ears, there are opportunities everywhere!

I'm not going to talk about starting a simple trading or restaurant business as I believe most of us would already know the benefits and the challenges in these business. Here are some of the more interesting opportunity that I've encountered and explored.

Energy Saving
One of the most impressive opportunity that I've ever encountered were from UK company. They are in the energy sector. Their marketing activities and collaterals are THE BEST I've ever encountered. Their website are very professional, well planned and thought of and informative enough to get you excited. On top of that they will send you good email reminders and articles for you to make an informed decision. Their killer effort is that they assigned a person to consistently call me to guide you through the whole decision making process. Its whole focus is to get you excited about the potential in the energy sector and sign up to be their representative.

Did I finally take up the offer to being their representative in Malaysia? oh..btw, the guy from UK named Adam, told me that there are about 730 enquiries from Malaysia alone and based on my responds (i'm suppose to give them a business plan as part of their evaluation), I was one of the 5 shortlisted candidate! Feel good eh ... not easy to get an english chap to "bodek" you.

Anyway, I finally decided not to pursue with them because of a bad commentary I accidentally stumbled upon. I wrote to the "bad mouth" guy and he directed me to another blog/site that talk about the bad experiences with this company. When I spoke to Adam about this, his response was not convincing and the rest was history. However, if you are interested, let me know.

Make Money Online
I was alway very intrigue with people having websites that makes money. 6 years ago, a few friend of mine were already started making $ from his website. One of my friend sold shoes from his site, one offer information on how to write business plan, letters, etc and the other writes about financial advices. The guy who provide information on business plan earns an average of USD100 - USD300 per month ... and he "smartly" plagiarized them from somewhere. haha ...

At that time, I wasn't really paying much attention to it. Furthermore, to me, I always has this mental blockage that one need a little "technical" knowledge and "idea/product" to sell before onw should start a website.

Anyway, a few weeks back, I met one of my old colleague whom he made a comfortable "extra" income from his 2 blogs. Though he didn't maintain one of the blog for quite a while, he still receives $. Hey... I told myself... why not?

One of the reason I started blogging, beside the "me-too" syndrome, is to get myself an experience in writing. It has given me the opportunity to share my story, my thoughts and to practice my chinglish. Ultimately, I want to own a blog that brings in constant "extra" pocket money and having this Durian Talk blog would give me the experience and the starting point.

I know I'm still a long way to go but I'm working on it! To be able to make killer money, one need to have "value" where people will keep visiting the site. I am still doing my "soul searching" - with whatever little soul I have left. ;b The consolation is that I'm in no hurry.

MLM or Network Marketing or Direct Selling or Ponzi Scheme
What ever name you call it, I believed that this is one of the best business concept available in the planet! Minimal capital, flexible time, unlimited residual income, work at your own pace, no boss, etc. When the economy is down, this business sure improves.

Most of the friends who approached me are with company's that sells "health" product. You named it; Amway, Elken, Agel, Cosway, Herballife, E.Excel, etc... all tells me that there are many "leaders" earns 4 to 5 figures/mth and potentially every one of us can make it as well.

One of the company that i thought is different from the rest is a company that deals with "gambling" products. It's something similar to our Sports Toto but it has >400 games per year. Why it interest me? There are a few reasons; 1. It's internet based. 2.No weekly or monthly meetings to attend. 3.I do not need to service anyone as the payment is through credit card. 4. Maximum amount spend is about RM150.00 per month. 5. I don't have to convince people to buy products. 6. Besides the residual income from downline, I also have the >400 chances to strike jackpot!

Sounds too good to be true. That's why I'm still communicating with the company as there are few questions that I need to clarify. I feel that this has it own opportunity and the target market is those gamblers and business person. This "gambling product" is not for the people who want to preach "healthy, family, lifestyle" approach.

Share trading
No risk, no gain, they say! This is far most exciting and "keep you on your toes" money opportunity. You'll hear people making tonnes of money and you'll probably hear people suicide because of this.

To me, every opportunity has it's own risk level. Share trading is a high risk business because most of us doesn't know the intricacy of this trade. They rely on "rumours", doesn't do their due diligence, doesn't know how to interpret announcements or read stock charts, not discipline, doesn't know when to go-in nor get-out, etc. The more you don't know the higher the risk is!

I have never thought of going into this money making opportunity as I'm not a high risk taker (cold feet) , I don't have extra money to burn and I'm definitely not train to read any financial statements, let alone technical analysis.

However, a learned friend of mine told me that I should start to learn this trade. His reason? He explained that 20 years from now, we'll be retired. Most of us, would hope that by that time, we have make enough money to put us through the rest of our lives. But can we guarantee that you have enough $ by then? How much can our savings in our EPF help? We may or may not have enough savings but I'm quite sure that we no longer able to run around doing sales, writing proposals, or doing physical activities.

He believed that we should take up a skill set that we can use to earn $, even when we are retired! He felt that share trading is one of the better option available and if we start learning now, by the time we are 60+ year old, we would hv 20 over years of experience in the trading industry.

You can certainly trade from your home and you do not need to run around selling or managing people. Physically you may be weaker but not your mind and experience!

I totally agree with him and decided to sign up for a workshop. I've just attended 2 fundamental session and a live trading session. As i'm a bit slow in learning (another word for dumb la!), I've requested to attend the workshop again. Btw, I'm learning to trade in US Options.

To reduce one's risk in this trade, one need to do constant research and monitor the market. I am now able to recognized major and minor indicators from the stock charts. I still need to learn how to interpret news or announcement from various sources. Definitely not an easy skill to pick up but hey.... I have 20 years to practice! I don't need to put in real money unless I want to! They have unlimited virtual money...and it trade just like the actual situation. Very very interesting!

So, in the very near future, if someone were to give me a "tip", I should be able to quickly confirm it through interpreting the indicators, fundamental and technical analysis. As of this minute, I think I've made a right decision. Thanks Alex for the introduction and Roland for generously sharing your knowledge!

Real Estate
Robert Kiyosaki has influence most of our lives. Most of us would have read his "Rich Dad Poor Day" and his other best selling series. I agree that this is one of the better money making opportunity as it has lower risk factor, higher potential of generating good return either from rental income or from capital appreciation.

Robert has opened up my perception in the real estate industry but I find that I am still weak and not ready to move into it yet. A "dunggu (dumb axx)" like me need people to explain and guide me through. Can't pick up such a heavy stuff from reading on my own.

Anyway, my plan is that once I'm more comfortable and master my Options trading skill, I will definitely look for a real estate mentor to help me in this industry. Do you know of one ? This is a life long skill that I want to acquire!

In short
I would love to do nothing and wish that money just fall from the sky! Huh?! What?? You never dream of this before meh? Come on! At least you would have dreamed of earning a large and comfortable income for the rest of our lives, right? No? Tipu lah!

My focus now is to enrich my investment skill set and I've decided to start with Option trading in the US market. By end of 3rd quarter, I should have the skill set to quickly recognize and interpret the indicators from the stock chart and the experience to interpret announcements. Wish me luck!

Best birdie shot of my life

It was a promised with my new golf buddies that we are supposed to take a day off today (officially or unofficially) to have a round of golf at Kinrara GCC . These guys are all in the solution selling profession. Young, dynamic, confidence and successful in their own field.

We teed off at 10am today and ended at about 3pm (with interval of 45min break for lunch). It was a damn bloody hot day especially at around 1-2pm! The sun would pierced through the skin and you can feel like thousand of bees stinging your body. The cap and sun block lotion doesn't help. I would stand or park our buggy under a tree in every oportunity I can find.

I didn't play well today - scored +7 above my handicapped. However, my only consolation prize was that I had the best shot of the day ... no ... best shot of my entire life. I had the best birdie shot where Tiger Wood, Vijay Singh, Phil Mickhelson and all the professional players would envy to have one!

Well, I have had many birdie shots previously. What so great about this birdie shot is that the ball (Srixon soft feel) was on the rough fringe on the verge of dropping to the bunker, it was an uphill shot with a distance about 25m. To get the ball onto the green, I would have to chip it across the bunker. I decided to use my killer Sandwedge and when addressing the ball, somehow I have a very good feeling and confidence about the shot. Took a couple of practice swing and "swoosh" - a nice smooth chip, the ball flew across the bunker as planned, landed on the fringed of the green, bounced a little and roll smoothly directly to the pin. It was an aesthetic feeling. Immediately, I did the "Tiger" punch! Woo hoo ...

Never mind if today I didn't played my best; never mind today was a bloody hot and burning day that left two toned color on my left hand and a "V" shape below my neck ... its the one and only birdie shots that maketh my day count! I only wish that every shot is like this. ;b

I felt bloated, uneasy and upset the whole yesterday afternoon. Not sure why but I suspected it was the crazy mixture I had for lunch! I had 2 pieces of "Jung" with 1 big glass of Milo kosong "kaw". Never ever try it at home kids! Feel really sucks! I was not motivated to do anything, even sleep!

“Jung” – see picture. Wrap with bamboo leaves, it’s a glutinous rice filled with various types of beans, salty egg yolk meat, etc.

At dinner time, my appetite didn’t improved. Seeing me like a zombie, my wife went to the kitchen and did her magic spell. I can smell the strong Japanese miso aroma coming out from the kitchen … mmm. Though I still have the bloated feeling, I whacked the whole bowl of organic mee anyway (including the soup!). Within minutes, I felt much better. I guess the few slice of ginger and the miso soup did the trick. The lady of the house made it again!

I’m not sure what she uses but we have a whole lot of organic stuffs in our kitchen! Here are some of the stuffs I took out from the fridge. We have various types of organic mee, rice, cereal, fruits and vegetables too. As you know, I'm a "bandaraya". When I'm out with my comrades, I eat what they eat. You name it; bak kut teh, curry fish head, seafood, etc. So, I'll try to compensate when I'm back at home...at least. :)

It does burn our pocket but better stay healthy, right? I mean, which one you prefer, spend on the healthy food or on the doctor? mmm... on second thought, I should start by avoiding certain foods and influence my comrades to go vege!

I didn’t achieved what I wanted to do yesterday, I was supposed to do some research on the “ultimate” money making opportunity but I decided to shut down and watch TV for a while before retiring. I will share with you (in my next posting) the various "money making" opportunity that were presented to me for the past few weeks.

Never judge the cover!

Today I visited an old friend mine whom I've known him for over 25 years. His younger days are even more colorful than mine! He was at least 2 x more rascal and uncontrollable than I am. I mean, when ever there is trouble (fighting), most of the time, he's involved. He's one crazy SOG. Lol .... Well those were the days! We have then moved on and mellowed down.

We spoke for about an hour and a half - talking about the current politics, updates on our friends, economy, weather and so on. Nah ... we didn't talk about the pubs at Kuchai Enterprenuers' Park!

Before I left, he gave me a 0.5 kg of blueberry cheese cake. It was home made cake. His nephew learned from his mom. I've known his nephew when he was little. But now, he is a humongous 6 foot 2 giant, who wears a size 12 shoes! Can u imagine a giant in the kitchen baking cakes standing next to my friend, his uncle, a 5 foot 4? Cute isn't it? Remember the movie "Twins" starring Arnold and Danny DeVito. Hahaha! Actually, his nephew was not there. It's just my imagination.

Anyway, my friend took out the box from the fridge and put in into a used yellow plastic. mmm.. doesn't look enterprising. I wasn't expecting much of it. Anyway, as it is free ... I quickly took it and thank him.

When I reached home, I took out the yellow plastic bag, opened the box and was surprised to see the cake. I was actually expecting a 2 inch thick cake. That big box definitely gave me a wrong impression. Didn't expect it to be that thin. I guess that is the biggest size that you bake for a 0.5kg.

On the other hand, the 2 little blue flower on the top left and a layer of blueberry on top of the cheese cake was simply quite impressive. Never expect that giant nephew to have such a "feminine" touch. See picture below.

I took a small slice and was simply amazed with the richness of the cheese and blueberry taste. Simply delicious ! I like the rich texture of the cheese cake and the tantalizing sweet blueberry taste. Very well blended. I whacked another 2 pieces.

I must admit, it is definitely one hell of a good cheese cake. That humongous giant can really bake! My friend told me that they wanted to sell it at RM35 which I would say to Secret Recipe, "you better watch out, here comes The Cottage". Not only it looks good, it taste great too, never mind the packaging. Looking forward to share the balance with my family tonight, if there is any left! :b

My "Rascal" Years

Not too long ago, about 30 years or so … we, the rascals of Kampong Attap, dominates the streets from SBA Hall till the Selangor Chinese Association Building. We shout, rave and scream and turn every part of the area to become our play area. Small traders, businessmen, aunties, little children and practically everyone would not dare to cross our path. Complaining to our parents were of no use. We are uncontrollable. No one would dare to cross our path – actually, they couldn’t care less.

Today, I wanted to share with you the games I played during my “rascal” years. I’ll try to share as much as I can remember. Not that I’m proud of what I did, but those were really our fun and crazy childhood days. Remember, we were rascals! To us, every day is a school holiday and we play like there’s no tomorrow.

Hide and seek
Hide and seek game for most would normally confine to a small little house where cub boards, under the bed/sofa, behind the doors, curtain, toilets or behind something bigger in size are the hiding places. These are for amateurs. It’s too easy for us. We, the professionals play at a different level. With our speed and “endless” time, our playing field must be more challenging. Where is more challenging than the street of Kampong Attap. I think there are about 5 or 6 shop houses in each roll. In between of these shop houses are lanes big enough for a car to pass. So, imagine if you were to look from the bird’s eye view of the shop houses. Can you see the B or P area? That’s our playing field. Sometime, it can be double the size.

Our hiding places are behind the pillars of the shops, cars, under/in the lorry, behind/up the trees, under the drain and whatever “things” that can hide us. Great fun isn’t it? Now imagine … playing at night with only the few street lights surrounding our play area! A whole lot of different level, man!

Football
Our favorite game is football. We have Kelvin Keegan, Paolo Rossi, Kenny Daglish and many more wannabes. Every evening, we would gather and decide to play at either one of our normal 4 playing area. One of the more regular playing area is at the back of a shop house where it’s suppose to be a parking lot (maybe the size of 25’ x 15’). The goal posts are drawn on to the walls. Cool eh. We also play on the street itself, front porch of an occupied house maybe the size of 24’ by 8’ and the biggest playing area is on top of the hill (that place can lead to Kuen Cheng primary school and Mirama Building). My 5th uncle would normally look for me at our regular “field” when he wants to bring me along with his family to swim at Chin Woo Stadium. He knows that I wouldn’t be at my house!

My personal favorite football field is on top of the hill. The ground is not grass but a very soft “light yellow-ish” sand. We played without shoes. The sand is so soft that we can even do tackles just like we did on the grass. Imagine playing under the rain … woo hoo. So much fun … my friend!

Picture cards
Ah… there was a “season” when the small picture cards are our highlight games. We would put a stack of cards in the middle of the road and with a 6” square marked around it. At an agreed distance, usually about 4 to 8 cars length away, we will throw our own slipper aiming at the stack of cards. We “win/owned” the cards that were hit and flew away from the square line. I can still remember the “splash” sound of the cards when strike. Not to mention the “dent” sound when the flying slipper hit the car ….

Besides the cards, sometimes, we could win up to 10 cents. The person who wants to play but without any cards can place 5 cents on the stack of cards. I can’t remember exactly but I think 5 cent can exchange for 50 cards and 10 cents or 100 cards. Those days, 1 cent can buy 2 sweets leh!

Hit the stick game
I don’t know what this game is called but this is how we played. It’s something like softball. We need 2 sticks, a small hole and an open space. A small stick (length about 1’ – we called it Stick A) is place on the edge of the small hole, balancing with one end tilted upwards. The player holding the other stick taps the stick A so that it flew up. While the Stick A is still on the air, the player is supposed to whack it as far as possible.

The opponents are supposed to catch it before the stick A lands. If the opponents caught it, then it’s their turn to whack the stick. If the stick A lands on the ground, then it is measured from where it land to the hole. How to measure? Stick A = 1’. Go figure. The team with the highest points wins. It’s fun but quite dangerous. As you try to catch the flying stick, it might hit your palm, hand, elbow, face, chest and worst is when it hit your “birdie”.

Tennis ball
Nope, definitely NOT to play tennis. We don’t have tennis court in Kampong Attap. There are a few ways we play using the tennis ball – the rascal way.

One of the simpler games was to throw the ball at someone. Everyone would go for the ball and throw at the next one beside you. Sometimes we have 2 or 3 balls. It is fun and a sense of achievement to hit someone especially your enemy or the one you don’t “friend him” on that day. Of course you wouldn’t want to be hit! Just like the stick game, you wouldn’t want it to hit your “birdie”.

For me, the most fun game using the tennis ball is this. Each player will dig a small hole (big enough to fit the tennis ball) next to each other. Let’s call this holes “home” (sounds better). Eg. Ten homes for ten players and so on. Everyone would have to remember their “home”. A line is drawn about 10’ away from the “homes”. Everyone is supposed to stand on the line. One person would roll the ball towards the “home”. If the ball falls onto your “home”, you are suppose to quickly run to it, pick it up, turn, and throw at someone. If it touches someone, that person is down 1 point. If you didn’t manage to hit anyone, then you are down 1 point. The persons who are 3 points down are punished. He/she will be a target. He will stand next to the “home”, bend down with the butt facing the crowd. At a certain distance, each person will have a chance to throw hard aiming at your butt! It literally gives you “Pain in the Arse”.

Other games
There are plenty of other games/things we “rascals” do. We occasionally play guli, kites, police vs thief (where we run based on B or P area). We make our own guns using plank and “jelly fruit” as the bullet. The “jelly fruit” is a small and green in color. When ripe, the “jelly fruit” turns red. Come to think of it, I am not sure if there is such tree in Sg Long! Mmm … I’ll try to find one and take a picture of it for the future generations knowledge!

Istana Negara
Do you know that those days, in front of the Istana Negara, there is a small river? The water was clear and shallow. Every time I passed by the area, I would remember my “rascal” years. You know what we did? We catch fish and sometimes swim (since we were already wet trying to catch fishes). There are guppies (low grade one la) and “thong sutt” in Cantonese (it looks like cat fish). Every time when we caught the “thong sutt”, my friend would take it back home and made fish congee. Real sweet! For me, I dare not bring it back to my mom. She would whack me, if she knows I wondered so damn far and played near the Istana. By the way, the small river is actually a big drain! Man … what on earth were we thinking, playing on that bloody “longkang”!!!

Lion dance
A rascals’ life wouldn’t be complete without joining a lion dance troupe! Every Sunday morning at 10am sharp, a few regulars will start practicing the drum, “gong”, cymbals and lion dance at an association call “Chung San Wooi Goon” in Cantonese. It is in the same building with Lee Frozen but at the other end. We would take turn to practice the instruments and the dance. Hey, this is the perfect activity for us, the rascals, to make noise. Really loud noise! To be fair, we are serious in practicing as we do perform during Chinese New Year. We earn a decent amount while making noise. Why not?

As mentioned earlier, we were rascals, we don’t read! We just like to play and have fun! Those were really my great and colorful young days. I left Kampong Attap at the age of 13 when I went (sent) to a boarding school in Ipoh called Horley Hall. Not sure where all my rascal friends are but I heard a few of them have upgraded themselves to become real gangsters. God bless them! For this, I have to thank my 5th uncle for his wise decision and also my mom's blessing, otherwise I could have upgraded myself the wrong way too!

Closing
In closing my post today, on behalf of the Kampong Attap rascals, I would like to take this opportunity to apologies to all the uncles and aunties whose car we accidentally scratched or dented and the window panes, front gate, doors, light bulbs, etc that we accidentally broke and the chaos and noise we've created. We are guilty and I humbly ask for your forgiveness.

Easier said than done

Have you ever noticed that we are bombarded with many free (and some of them paid) advices that usually easier said than done. Look around us, the billboards, news papers, leaflets, shops, bus stops, radio, tv, magazines, friends... it's practically everywhere!

When I was in primary school, someone told me to read dictionary book and learn a word a day, and by year end I would have learned 365 new words. I thought it was a damn good idea. However, easier said than done, being a real rascal who couldn't care less of the homework, that damn good idea just swiftly flew past me. Come'on, you expect a rascal to read after school ? My normal SOP was, once I hit home, I'd to throw my bag aside, quickly swallowed my lunch, change my uniform (without bath) and whoossh...off I go to my rascal buddies to play "guli", "flying slippers", football, hide and seek, wondering in Sg Wang or shops at Petaling Street, etc until evening. It's much more fun with my rascal friends than to sit for 3 mins a day to read that damn good idea dictionary book! Me, a rascal, reading??? Easier said than done!

I always believed that leaving a healthy lifestyle is important. I would want to consistently jog a couple of miles in a week, do 10-20 laps of swimming, eat healthy organic food, drink lots of water (less beer or single malt), do yoga and stuffs. mmm... ya right... easier said than done. It's so much easier to lay on the bed for another 5 mins, "channel surfing" on my soft and comfortable sofa, reach for the chocolates or a can of 100+ from the fridge and having a good time with friends-in-crime in the pub drinking god knows what after a few rounds. With plenty of temptation from the fast food, mamaks, bak kut teh, nasi lemak stalls, "coffee" shops, pubs, "char siew kai" rice, PS 2, great movies coupled with the bad weather excuses... man... it is easier to do the opposite that to stay on the right track! Don't get me wrong, I do exercise, eat healthy food and try to do the healthy stuffs as much as I can but doing it consistently ? Well, it is easier said than done.

There so much free advices around and one such interesting topic is baby sex. I often get questions like how many kids I have, boy or girl, and then, wham.... here comes the "free advice" ..."Why don't you try for another boy? Very easy one, there is this formula where both male and female eat the recommended type of food, you need to know which type of food are acidic and alkaline based". Male should take more acidic food and female should take more alkaline food (or something like that). Sure work one". Then another person would come up with another proven "ancient calendar" where it supposedly guides you to have "ding dong" base on the menstrual cycle and was told that it is very accurate. mmm...easier said than done! And, the highlights is when they would say "Aiya, never mind one, if it's not accurate ah, then you have 3 girls. The more the merrier mah." Hell no, axxholes! I love kids but there are so much responsibilities that one has to consider to have another baby.

There is so much easier said that done advices and recommendations. Of course, I do agree that we occasionally achieved what we set out to do (with or without the advices) but the challenge is to be able to consistently do all the things/goals we set out to do! Look at all the slimming centers mushrooming around us. These centers would probably advise you to do exercise, eat right, sleep early, go to their center for 10 slim wraps sessions, etc. I'm sure there are some successful customers but more often than not, the few kgs lost will be "unknowingly" gain back in no time!

Oh, this also applies to business as well. I'm a strong believer of Network Marketing/MLM/Direct Selling/Ponsi or whatever you want to call them. It is a wonderful and powerful business concept. Minimal capital, residual income with potential to achieve financial freedom, be your own boss, work at your own pace, etc. All you got to do is to follow the proven methodology i.e. share the greatness of the product/company/business opportunity to people you know and convince them to attend the business meetings. Bring at least 5 friends and in turn encourage that 5 friends to bring another 5 of their friends and so on. It is so easy...my foot! Being a so called pro sales person with so many good contacts, it should be a stroll for me. Darn wrong! It is a classic example of easier said that done!

There are so many advices that I think is easy to do and potentially achievable but it takes a huge will, support system and strong motivation to follow through the plan.

Easier said than done, man!

My first blog

Woo hoo .... i've finally taken my first baby step to venture into cyberspace ....

Although I've been an avid blog reader seeking alternative information, reading views from great people and at the same time improve my english, I have always wanted to do something with/on the internet especially knowing that people "do" get income from blogging! Hey, why not....

Well, I'm often appalled at the people who make money (little or humongous) from the internet. You see, I have been in the IT industry for well over 18years, professing ideas that technology can help businesses to grow, reach its customers globally and instantly, etc. but I, myself have not capitalize on it. Shame on me isn't it.

Well I guess I cannot compare me as an individual to an organization per se. My focus and responsibility has always been creating and developing new business opportunity for the companies I work for. Hmm... that's my attempt in "defending" myself. :b

Though I have advices and after been in "blog surfing" for quite a while, I should be able to just blog about anything under the sky. Well, easier said than done, for a person who seldom writes (except for replying emails and writing proposals), I am struggling on what should I blog.

Simple questions like what should be my blog's name, how would be the format of my writing, what should i write, should I add pictures or videos or animation, do I create different folders for differentiate topics, etc.

In any case, I have already initiated my first step and successfully defeated my "procrastination". My next step is to plan what I want to blog and to find a "mentor".

Any takers?