Happy New Year parties

It is the last day of the year. And I am still gorging myself. 2 New Year parties in a row.
First one was at Madeline's. She invited her colleagues from Shiseido (current and ex).
Most came in pairs.

Something must have disconnected between my time and their time. I have never met such a bunch of sweet young things who drinks like a fish!!! Or maybe it is just them.

Finished off past midnite. That is after finishing off garlic bread, sandwiches, mushroom soup, fried chicken, spaghetti, spiked melon juice beer, vodka, Choya and chocolate fondue. Burppppeddd!!!

Next night was a gathering at one of the Church member's house. Sister Jessy has a nice corner house with a vast garden. We sure needed that for the 70 odd people form the church and friends. This party was a BYO (bring your own). I brought 6 Ayamas chickens (3 different varieties. Esther made cakes, brownies and bless her soul - Chinese Tea. That was such a nice difference.We also had fried mee, meehoon, Thai style salad, genuine fake konyakku jelly, fruits, Kajang satay, curry chicken and many more.

Someone even setup an iced kacang stand.

All I can say (again) is burrppedd!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Happy New Year - 2008

I came across this politically, religiously, environmentally, racially, legally correct Happy new year greeting while I was browsing through some other blogs.

I wanted to send a season's greeting to you all. I must confess though, that taking such action worries me a little. It is in fact somewhat difficult in today's world to know exactly what to say without potentially causing offense specially in this sensitive forum spreading over a few generations. Therefore I had to seek lawyers advice and here is what I feel comfortable to say to everybody:

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non-addictive, gender neutral, non denominational, non political celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practised with the most enjoyable traditions of religious persuasion or secular practices of your choice with respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all.

I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated in recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2008, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make my country great and without regard to the race, creed, colour, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of their wishes.

By accepting this greeting, you are accepting these terms.

This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for her/himself or others and is void where prohibited by law, and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher. This wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and warranty is limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wisher.

Disclaimer: No trees were harmed directly in the sending of this message; however, a significant number of electrons were selectively rearranged.

Best wishes and blessings to all in the coming new year

Cameron Highlands - after a 2 year hiatus

Yes - it has been 2 years since we went up to Cameron Highlands. This time, it was not something that I arranged. Madeline and Vincent recce the highlands some weeks ago and found this apartment - Dahlia between Tanah Rata and Brinchang- supposedly operated by Michelle Yeoh's father. For a 3 room apartment, they only charged RM280 per night - pretty good value, considering that it is also the holiday season.

We started off at about 10am from Vincent's parent's house. The party was suppose to be 8 initially, then ballooned to 12 and finally we had only 7 in total. There was Alex, Lee Chiew and I. Madeline with Vincent and Vincent's parents. We decided to take the Simpang Pulai way. Just drive in the direction of Ipoh, do not exit at Tapah which was the usual exit point to Camerons. Exit at Simpang Pulai exit, turn right after the toll and then right again at the next junction. The drive is longer, but less short and sharp turns compared to the older route. You will exit at Kg Raja, which is nearer to Equatorial hotel. That's the other end of Camerons, if you are used to the older route.

I bought an infrared cooker and this trip, we used that to the fullest. Pretty convenient and fast cooker. We bought vegetables from the market next to Equatorial hotel and had mainly vegetable steamboat, with rice cooker chicken rice( as opposed to claypot rice) thrown in by Vincent's mum.

The weather was bad on the first day - it practically rained all day from tea time, till late night.But it sure made the temperature nice and chilly - something that seems to be rarer nowadays up in the highlands of Malaysia.

Next day, I made tuna sandwiches, while Madeline and Lee Chiew were pottering with bacon and sausages. Madeline also prepared chocolate fondue with strawberries, bananas and marsh mallows. We ate enough breakfast to last us to a late lunch. We also visited the Boh Estate at Habu. After so many visits, I made a sudden realization that there were actually 2 Boh estates opened for public participation. Madeline and Vincent always went to the Sg Palas estate and I was always showing up at the Habu site.

After that we went to Equatorial hotel so that Alex can satisfy his cravings for Fish and Chips ala Equatorial style - with snapper fish instead of Dory fish used by most other outlets. It seems like every stop we made, we would be eating or drinking tea!! As the unofficial guide, I also took the party to WaterCress valley, where we partook in a cooling drink of water cress. Next stop was the Bee farm and we ended the day at the Butterfly farm (for Alex's indulgence). I also made a reservation for a couple of pots of money plant. This was a succulent green plant which will supposedly bring good luck to it's owner if it flowers.

One thing that visitors will find plentiful in Camerons are
- Dilapidated Land Rovers. It seems like the people in Camerons just love this workhorse
- Strawberries - either you buy them or you pick them yourself
- Vegetables - nice and fresh and for some strange reasons, cost more that it would in the lowlands. I guess the locals in Camerons must think that all visitors are good for the kill.

The next day, we went to the Sg Palas Boh Estate. You also realize why Malaysia has such a high number of automobile accidents. Many people just do not know how to drive courteously!! I have been zooming around 2 lanes autobahn in Germany at an average speed of 200km/hr and find little or no trouble getting around at those speeds, because people who drive slower always drive in the slower lanes. In Sg Palas and Habu Estates, we followed people who DO NOT HORN at blind corners. They do not know how to give way even when the lay-bys for passing traffic is just behind them. I had the misfortune of following a MYVi who, when he reverses his car, always reverses into the middle of the narrow lanes, instead of to the side. The Sg Palas site expects you to park your vehicle some 100m from the factory and walk up.When you look at the tea bushes way up in the hills, you have to give grudging respect for the workers who have to trudge up there to pluck the tender leaves that makes up our tea. The estate itself is very much self contained with a school, housing and sundry shops.

We ended the day buying more honey from the Bee farm (as gifts for people back home), bought a few more plants and then took the old route home. Vincent and I parted ways after Sg Palas. He had Madeline and his parents and I had my family. Surprisingly, we met up in Bidor for lunch. We were just about 5 minutes apart on the roads.

One last thing - the duck thigh noodles is less oily and fat in Sin Thean Thean restaurant. This is about a block from Pun Chun in the Tapah direction. Try that next time you are in Bidor.

Xmas decor around the shopping complexes - part 2

Since the last blog on the 2 more popular shopping complexes and numerous other events in between, we have managed to fit in visits to Sunway Pyramid, KLCC and went back to Megamall - the Gardens section this time.

Sunway Pyramid had a new wing added over the past few months and it was refreshing and tiring to trek through the new wing. Xmas tress were plentiful, not just from the complex management, but also from the tenants. The center concourse of the new wing had most of the thematic setup for Xmas. They even had a train track for the kiddies to have a ride.

They had new toilets put in and I just had to snap this shot above the men's urinal. Do I get a bath if I press the button??

What impressed me most was the parking system they employed in renovating the parking lots in the new wings. As you drive in, you can actually tell where the empty parking lots were by the GREEN light that indicates vacant lot. Unfortunately, by the time we finished moseying through the complex, all the lots were filled and all I could capture was a sea of RED lights. The idea is so simple. Put in a sensor roughly at the center of the parking lot. When a car parks in there, the sensor activates and changes the GREEN light to RED.

Next complex we visited was KLCC, site of the world's tallest TWIN towers. Surprisingly BORING. Year in year out, they had the same old tall Xmas tress in Center court. Come on already - got no new ideas ah?? At least most of the upmarket tenants had nicer decor than the complex management. Here is one tree made up with bears. The nicest view happens to be outside with a clear sky and smoke masquerading as clouds.

Last but not, I realized that we had missed out on the new wing of Megamall - an upmarket wing called the Gardens. Just like KLCC, the upmarket tenants had better decor than the complex management. What was a little different on the day we visited was a bunch of carollers singing a little (actually a lot) off tune. But what the hey - it is Christmas!! In a country where a 50 sen charge for use of the toilet is considered exorbitant, I have no idea who pays RM5 for the privilege?? I was not about to fork out RM5 just for the experience.

Food Donations to poor families (updated)

The office committee decided to run a food donation campaign - targeting to donate food to the poor. Izan was asked to coordinate the campaign and together with other "volunteers", they decided to make donations to 6 poor families. The final result was food donations to 3 Malay families, 2 Chinese families and 1 Indian family. All donations were from employees. God bless each and every one of you for your kind hearts and donations!!

Collection of the food was undertaken over one month. Except for that incident when some "heartless and inconsiderate" individual "donated" expired foodstuff, the collection went well. We managed to get many economy sized packs of bee hoon (rice vermicelli), bags of rice, economy sized bottles of ketchup, cartons of condensed milk, instant noodles, sardines, cereals, tins of biscuit, packets of milk, garlic, eggs and a whole lot more.

The week that we decided to make the donations, we had volunteers sort out and separate the food equitably for 6 families. As I had a Toyota Unser, by default, I was one of the food transporters. Syida had a Naza Ria and she took on the load for 3 other families.

Proposals for the poor families came from many quarters. For the Chinese families, Elaine proposed 2 of the families with "special children". Until you come face to face with these families, I think many people do not realize how tough it is to manage families with such children and to make ends meet.

We started the food donation on 11th December - a public holiday for the sales office. The first family we visited was Sheldon Yap. Sheldon is autistic and hyper. To compound his family's woes, his younger brother is diagnosed with muscular dystrophy and his mum suffers from Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (aka SLE - a normally terminal disease). With 3 in the family needing constant medical attention, Sheldon's father can only rely on part time jobs. Our food donation was timely as Christmas was around the corner and they needed to replenish their food stock.

The next family was Pak Munir of Taman Cheras Baru. All the Malay families were picked from a list of almost 50 names provided by the Pusat Zakat Islam Bahagian Ampang Selatan. Pak Munir suffers from lung cancer and his wife has breast cancer. One of the employees also donated Zakat for the Muslim families. This was duly handed to Pak Munir by Syida. For the Malay/Muslim families, the food donation was also a timely gesture as Hari Raya Haji (or Qurban) is the following week.

The third and final family for the first day of donation was Pak Dahlan. Pak Dahlan drives a school bus and since this is the school holidays, he effectively has no job. On top of that he cannot do any other type of jobs as he suffers from arthritis and nerves (his hands tends to be unsteady and shakes). Pak Dahlan also potters in the garden and has some impressive orchids to show for his hobby. Syida and Marya got an orchid plant each from Pak Dahlan as we left. And of course he was also given a share of the Zakat donation.

The next day, a different group of volunteers went to Pak Halim's house. Pak Halim has a disease which caused his feet and legs to swell up tremendously. He is essentially bed ridden. And of course medical bills also contributed to the financial state that the family is in. Pak Halim got the last share of the donated Zakat.

The last family to be visited on this second day was Yap Pui Wen. Pui Wen is also autistic. Her parents has essentially abandoned her to the care of her Grandma.

The last family targeted for food donation is an Indian family and another group of volunteers has undertaken to deliver that. This is the family of Krishnamah a/p Sinnappayan. They stay in a badly maintained apartment in Taman Desaria. Krishnamah just lost her husband 20 days ago. He was suffering from epilepsy. Yet despite this, the family had not been able to qualify for Social Welfare aid!! With his passing, they will try again with his death certificate to confirm the destitute state that the family is in. We wish them best of luck. As a followup, they would welcome any donation of old/ second hand clothes and cash donations are also welcomed. They constantly have problems making ends meet and to pay the rent. Krishnamah sells kacang putih (friend nuts) and also do domestic work like house cleaning to supplement the meagre income for the family.

One critical lesson that can be learned from this is that in almost all cases, Medical bills have been a big financial burden on these families. Having special children in their homes places a lot of stress, not only financially, but also emotionally.

Take care of your health as it is the one thing you cannot purchase no matter how rich you are.

Teo Weng Siang's wedding dinner

Looks like this year will be another year for wedding dinners. This 9th Dec was Teo's wedding dinner. Only catch was that it was held in Sungei Bakap - more than 300km from Kuala Lumpur. I ended up taking 6 passengers with me. Initially, I wanted to go with my wife and son, but then the cousins were visiting as it was school holidays. Then Elaine and Julian opted to join me. And since my MPV could seat up to 8 including me, I opened the other seats to the office mates. I was expecting maybe 5, so the seating could be comfortable in view of the long distance. Kylie, Ee Chia were the first to opt in. Then Kah Leng and Selene asked. Selene backed out as her husband was tagging along, so I thought - great - just nice - 5 passengers.

At the last minute, Jayson and Leong Chan Meng also asked to join in.Well, the last 2 rows will have to bear it. Seated all the way for 300+km. Luckily Jayson pulled out on the day of the journey itself, so one row had some relief.

We started at about 12.45pm and stopped in Bidor for Duck Thigh noodles and shopping for fresh fruits and tidbits. The fruits season seems to have arrived. Rambutans, seedless Guavas were aplenty. Durians were also seen. Petai and Mangoes was everywhere. Slurpp and slober!!!

By the time we had finished lunch, I could take a much slower drive to Sungei Bakap. Even then we arrived too early for dinner. So we detoured to Teo's house.

Dinner was held in the local school hall. There were 80 tables set for dinner. Each can seat up to 10 - go do the maths!.

Food was surprisingly small portion. I had expected larger portions since this was essentially located in a small town. The food was standard fare, but some of the dishes were served in different ways.

By the time we had finished at 10pm, I decided to speed home so that we can get enough sleep for the next day. My carload arrived at the office at 1.15pm. Many was surprised that my MPV could be speeding. HAH!!!

3rd December week - what a looonnnggg week

Either age is catching up on me or I am truly pooped by the events of this week!! Probably both are true. APFO mgmt decided to hold the annual APFO kickoff in Kuala Lumpur - Shangri-La hotel. This meant that besides all the Sales and Support managers meeting in one spot, we also had the Solution Units managers, HR and WW LSCA staff as guest. Amongst the people attending were Miki Abe, my current manager, Mark Doak - soon to be my future manager, Leong Tan, my current manager's manager and Bill Hou, new kid on the block and Mark Doak's manager. With so many managers above me - could not skip the meeting and get togethers!! This made for a very stressful week. On top of that my new assignment and role has still not been finalized or approved.

Since Monday, it has been lavish dinners every day. Monday, we had 8 guests in the office having a separate meeting.Being the defacto host, I had to entertain them for dinner. I roped in Oi Chan to help with transportation and we ended up in Pantai Seafood. Everyone enjoyed that.

Tuesday was dinner at Madam Kwan's in KLCC with the APFO support managers and team. I had to give that a miss as this was the first day of meetings and I had been eating breakfast, tea breaks, lunch and tea the whole day of the meeting - all catered for!! Burppp!!

Wednesday - it was APFO kickoff dinner in the hotel. The theme was Golden and it was more like the Phantom of the Opera. As usual, the ladies were dressed to the nines. The highlights for me was NOT the food - it was so so only. The real highlight was a performance by Joanne Yeoh. If ever I had to vote on someone who is talented, beautiful, with the right height and with an almost perfect body proportion, Joanne Yeoh would have my vote - anytime. Go Google her and see her list of achievements. It almost makes me want to take up music!!!

Thursday - the CSO team had dinner at Saloma's, Jalan Ampang. The restaurant was a 10 min walk from the hotel - but it had been raining the whole day and still drizzling at the appointed time. I ended up ferrying 9 people in my car at one go!!. Everyone manage to get there within an hour (from a 10 min walk away- sheesh!!)

Friday was a bit of a respite from all that gorging. Took my immediate manager (soon to be immediate past manager) to Umaiya for a Japanese dinner.

Saturday, my family and I were invited to an Aloha nite. I have been sponsoring some "special children" to be educated and trained at a center called Sri Eden house. Please go to this site for more information on Sri Eden House http://www.geocities.com/sri_eden_house/
This center catered for "special children" who are mentally and physically challenged. This year, they invited their sponsors and the families of the "special children" to a Christmas party in Seri Pacific (a hotel in KL). The members of New Life Church group and their pastors were also on hand as volunteers and host.

And finally, to end the week (or was it to begin the next week??), I ferried 6 office mates from KL to Sungei Bakap (Penang) to attend an office mate's wedding dinner. We started at almost 1pm and arrived at almost 6pm - slow drive for the last 2 hours. After dinner, at 10pm, I got us all to the office by 1.15am. That would be another blog.

Now, I need to skip dinner for the rest of December!!

Christmas is near!!

Singapore's Orchard road was already decorated for Christmas 2 weeks ago when I was there to audit a LC level 1 class.

Christmas decor has finally been put up in the shopping complexes of KL!! Wunderbar!! Spent last weekend going to Mid Valley Megamall with Alex and wife. Center Court has a very nice setting, with tall Christmas tress , a willowy looking bush and leaves gleaming in Autumn gold. North Court had large mushrooms all over and even had a life show of fairies showing up to do a song and dance. They should have picked more petite girls for the fairies. The ones I saw looked more like the fairies mum!! We must have walked more than 12000 steps because Alex and mum were complaining that they were dead tired at the end of the day.

So the next day - Sunday, only Alex wanted to follow me to I-Utama. Alex was sure glad to have gone. The toy soldiers display was even better than the Midvalley decor. The giant soldier's head moved from side to side as he played on the drums. They even had a beefeater standing around for shoppers to take photos with him.

And since we were near to the Curve, we just had to skedaddle over after 3 hours of exploring the old and new wings of I Utama. After I Utama, the decor of the Curve looked ordinary. The Curve put on a winter wonderland effect, They seriously lack space to put in a bigger theme display. Over at Ikano Power Center, the decor was so so only.

Next week - time permitting, there is still KLCC, Sunway Pyramid and..........