Snorkelling in Pulau Lang Tengah

View in front of the resort

Two weeks ago I went snorkelling in Pulau Lang Tengah, in the east coast state of Terengganu. The island was only about half an hour away from another well-known island in Terengganu, which is Redang. Lang Tengah Island was a relatively untouched and less people visited it than Redang.

It all started when I bought the Redang Lang Island Resort package in MATTA Fair in 2006 for RM257, which I thought was a steal because it included two-way boat transfer, accommodation, 2 snorkelling trips and meals. Two colleagues joined for the trip and we were all so excited as it was our first time to go to Terengganu by bus! The ride was surprisingly pleasant and cheap (only RM30 via Sani Express) and also very scenic. Going up the east coast, we saw a lot of places in between like Kemaman, Cherating with all the resorts including Club Med, and passed by Paka & Kertih, awed by the oil refinery.

Enroute to Kuala Terengganu, we stayed one night in Awana Kijal resort, where an old uni friend worked in the Sales department and broughts us round the resort. Too bad we were only staying for one night because the resort is so beautiful and the pool was just so tempting!

The next morning we contined via hired car straight on to Merang Jetty. If you are travelling to the islands in Terengganu, make sure you have the proper name of the jetty. A common mistake even the locals make is being confused between Merang jetty and Marang jetty. The two jettys with identical names brings you to different island - Merang jetty brings people to Redang and Lang Tengah. Whereas, Marang will bring you to Kapas island.

Anyway, we boarded an overcrowded boat to the island which was supposed to carry only 12 pax but it carried almost 50 pax on that trip! This is a very hazardous condition to the passengers because the engine of the boat might have an internal combustion due to the overweight condition. This was something that we didn't foresee and we should have insisted for another boat to come, instead of boarding the overcrowded boat. My advice if a similar thing happens to you, please insist for another boat.

Note: Overcrowded ferry, not enough space to sit, no ventilation, people got sick and puked.

Two hours later, we arrived at the resort which was basically a two-story chalet complete with air-cond and in house bathroom. There was only a communal tv and karaoke room, but then who needs tv when you are on an island as beautiful as Lang Tengah.

The horror of the boat transfer almost forgotten, we went round island snorkelling! We found rainbow coloured fish and live corals. The marine park in Redang island was also fantastic because of the variety of fishes. The water was so unbelieveably clear that you can see the inai on my feet.

This picture was taken on top of the jetty.

The jetty
Footsteps in Lang Tengah

Terengganu is a really nice place to unwind, get out from the hustle and bustle of the city and just enjoy the nature.....my next trip to Terengganu will be to Tasik Kenyir or Pulau Tenggol for diving. First, gotta get the diving licence first.........

Homade chocolate chip cookies

Last weekend, I tried my hand in baking choc chip cookies. Quite easy recipe, but for me I like to use the hand mixer rather than use your hand to mix the ingredients together. To do a simple homemade choc chip cookies, you'' need:

For dough (makes about 30 pcs)

280 grams plain flour

225 grams butter, softened

140 grams caster sugar

1 egg yolk

2 tsp orange extract or any other flavour (i used strawberry)

A pinch of salt

100 grams choc chips

For coating

2 tbsp caster sugar

2 tbsp cinnamon powder

1. Add in sugar and butter and mix well with wooden spoon/hand mixer.

2. Then add in the yolk + orange extract + pinch of salt.

3. Mix everything until the caster sugar has dissolved or till the batter turns white.

4. Then add in the choc chips.

The mixture became a very, very soft dough.

Do not, I repeat, do not be tempted to add in more flour as the ingredients are just nice

Form the dough into a small ball like so

Roll the ball in caster sugar + cinnamon powder

Arrange the balls spaced apart to allow it to bake properly for

15-20 minutes in a preheated 190 degrees celcius oven.

The cookies after 15-20 mins....

...not so beautiful, but they taste good!

Allow the cookies to completely cool then store it in airtight container.

The end product!

My Kitties

The naughty kitties

Them again

Milking Mummy


Only 2 months old



Mummy the cat

The orange kitty sleeping

The tri-color kitty sleeping at a very odd place

Awww, my favourite kitty, the black one, very independant.

The three kitties were born by Mummy sometime in February. I have actually given away two of the kitties to a friend of mine, the black and the tri-colored one. The orange kitty were intended for my sister in-law, but never get to give it to her because somebody stole him.

Anyway, Mummy the cat is pregnant again. So, I'll get another litter of kitties again sometime in August. Anyone interested to adopt some kitties, please let me know.

Got the Monday blues?

Delayed in posting. I was recuperating after being involved in a car accident.

It all started last Monday, 16 June 2008. We were supposed to go to Saloma Bistro @ JalanAmpang for our senamrobik cum Perhimpunan Pagi. Who else, but 'twas our Minister who lead the senamrobik session. I guess she needed to relived her days in the Sports Ministry.

The three of us were running late. I was riding with my officemate's brand new Toyota Vios to Saloma, we weren't rushing as we decided to skip the senamrobik session. The road wasn't jammed, and we were coming from Rennaisance about to turn to Saloma, which was a 3-lane road. The cars on the first two lanes had already stopped to give us way. As we were about to turn into Saloma, a Satria GTI from the third lane rammed into the front part of my colleague's Vios. He was going, maybe about 60 kmph, and couldn't stop the car in time.

I was sitting on the front passenger and hit my head on the side mirror from the impact of the accident. My friend, who was the owner of the Vios sprained her neck and had to wear neck brace for two days. The driver who hit us didn't have insurance and roadtax for his car. Said that he was on his way to renew his insurance. Too bad for him, but he could've killed somebody.

This incident really unnerved me, and I couldn't work for the rest of the day. I kept having the incident played in mind, over and over again. Now I understand why people get traumatized by an accident. I have felt it. Thank God, we were ok considering we were involved in a car accident.

A very bad start for the week. Couldn't wait for the week to be over.

My own personal Threshold

As we grow older, our threshold for pain substantially lowers. This may not be an accurate fact, but it’s an observation from my own personal experience. I feel that as I grow older, my body’s threshold for pain plummets down, be it physically or mentally. I discover that the monthly period pains won’t go away, instead I’d have to take painkillers to relieve me. I discover that I absolutely cannot tolerate grotesque pictures of accident victims that you normally find in forwarded emails. Or I’d have nightmares for nights. I also find that I’m more paranoid than usual when I read reminders in emails, especially one that says you need to lift up public toilet bowls to look out for venomous spiders that might be crawling under it, and might bit you to death when you are doing your “business” there. Scary.

Makes me think that this world is not a safe world anymore. I really do pity our children who can’t enjoy their childhood for fear of being kidnapped or molested by a pedophile or contract some weird disease when they are playing outside. Scary.

I used to torture myself when I was a teenager. I wanted to test my threshold for physical discomfort. Nothing drastic, I just switch off the fan in my room in the sweltering heat of Alor Star. It used to drive my sister crazy. I wanted to ready my body in case there was a blackout, so I won’t feel so hot. Now, I can’t live without a full speed fan. Slow air-cond in the car suffocates me. So much for my “training” for threshold. I guess your body does change as you grow older. Just accept the fact and try to take care of it, as best as possible.

Just a reflection on my self…….*sigh*

A walk down memory lane: Kota Bharu

Year 2008 is a really the year for me to take my own personal trips to wherever I fancy, if the purpose suits me . Last week I was in Kota Bharu, revisiting some of my past haunts. The roads haven’t change much, I can still remember the roads to our old houses in Telipot and Kubang Kerian, to my primary school and to the small shops behind the school that we frequent once school’s out. Also, the best thing from this trip was to find my best friend’s house, whom I had lost contact. And that was 18 years ago when I left Kota Bharu.

Some other things that don’t change much was that people still go around the town in trishaw. I remembered when I was living in Kelantan in the late '80s, I used to go to school in a trishaw. It was kinda embarrassing, especially when the pakcik beca decided to stop in front of the boys school to pick up something:p another, it's the general laidback atmosphere. I can see that everybody is at home in Kelantan.

Our plans in Kota Bharu was to eat all the varieties of food that we can find there: nasi kerabu, nasi dagang, laksam, nasi air, nasi berlauk. Well, we did ate some of the food that we set out to eat…but it seemed different from my childhood memory. The nasi air MakSu Nab didn’t taste as good as it was then. My mum said I should’ve kept my memories instead of eating the nasi air. Maybe she was right, but I needed to taste it again! Next, we head on to Zakini’s Nasi Kukus. My mum picked out a few things and the next thing we knew, the Kelantanese had a field day overcharging us for dinner. Oh well, what do you expect, being in a foreign land during the school holidays?!

Funny that when you were a child, you’d perceive everything as very big or very tall. When I went to Pasar Siti Khadijah, I was disappointed to find that it is only 3 floors, instead of the 7 floors that I had imagined all these years. I was also expecting that batik sutera in Kelantan would be ridiculously cheap, but the tag price was the same like the ones sold in KL. Or maybe I didn’t know how to bargain. Or maybe I didn’t have enough money to bargain in the first place. Shopping is only fun when you have money to spare....*sigh*

Me thinks Kelantan’s charm is mainly due to the general laidback atmosphere, the culture, the food, the language, the sweetness of the people. None of that political crap if you are visiting for a few days. The Kelantanese are peaceful people. Go ahead, give Kelantan a try, you might like it.

More stories on our trip to Kelantan, please go to Kerabu Jantung's blog.

Trivia

Since I got time to kill, waiting for my other half to come and fetch me I decided to do a trivia, stolen from Ziah's blog, which she stole from Mrs C, which she stole from Ash. So here goes:

IF YOU COULD GO ANYWHERE RIGHT NOW, WHERE?
Back to Jakarta again, I want to buy more tudung, more kebayas, more telekung sulam.....

NAME A PERSON WHOSE NAME STARTS WITH THE LETTER “J”?
Joyce from Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre...because we were discussing about KL Convention Centre for a possible dinner venue.

WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU USUALLY PUT IN YOUR GROCERY CART?
Cat food..because it's always at top of my mind and the reason why I go to T.S. Mega.

WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE SUBJECT IN SCHOOL?
History, Geography and English.

WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO TOMORROW?
Definitely wake up late because it's a weekend, then laze around all day in front of the tv and maybe some badminton with Ms Fantaghiro in the evening.

FAVORITE DAY/S?
Weekends and public holidays, go figure haha

ARE YOU EASY TO GET ALONG WITH?
Yes.

WHOSE BIRTHDAY IS COMING UP?
Err...not good at keeping birthdays but mine's on 25th August. So...hint...hint

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TO SEA WORLD?
Which Sea World? (copied Ziah's answer)

HOW MANY KIDS DO YOU WANT?
With God’s permission, 3 or 4. (copied Ziah's answer)

TIRED OF WHAT?
My body and how it refuses to slim down (hah!)

THINGS YOU SPEND A LOT OF MONEY ON?
DVDs, books, shoes, handbags, more kain.

LAST FRUIT YOU ATE?
Strawberries from Puncak in Jakarta. Yeah, I malas makan buah.....

WHERE DO YOU LIVE?
In a pigeonhole. Dreaming of a better home...

LIKE MOST ABOUT YOURSELF:
I'm easy going.

HATE MOST ABOUT YOURSELF:
Not being able to stand up for my self especially in the work place where you are just the ikan bilis.

CAN YOU PLAY POOL?
No.

CAN YOU SWIM?
Yes, I can do breast stroke very well. Not so good with freestyle.

DO YOU MISS SOMEONE RIGHT NOW?
Yup, my other half who's suppose to pick me up right now. And also Lisa, who's in Adelaide. Sob..sob...miss you lisa.

DO YOU HAVE A SISTER?
Yup. She's thinner and prettier. She's my soulmate, but damn I can hate her so much if she's on one of her mood swings.

WHO IS YOUR CLOSEST COUSIN?
Faris who is in Rompin now.

WHAT WERE YOU DOING 10 MINUTES AGO?
Discussion with the boss about a dinner event that we have to organize next week. Maybe include Noryn Aziz to perform, Alan Bligh to MC, and some batik fashion show on stage.

Jakarta

Tehbotol in a box

Yet another trip that I made to Indonesia, just 3 months apart from the last time I went to Bali in January this year. I guess I like going to Indonesia because: 1. Its cheap (RM100 = IDR284,000) 2. Language is not a barrier 3. So many things to buy (textiles, handicrafts, even branded goods are cheaper here) 4. The people are nice and hardworking. Just beware of pick pockets and your belongings.

This time around, my sister-in law initiated this trip after her last one in Jan 2008. Basically, this was supposed to be a purely shopping trip for the girls. But we went sightseeing, so at least we visited some tourist attractions. Some tips if you want to go to Jakarta for a trip:

1. Buy cheap airfare
This is always the major chunk of expenditure for any trip, be it overseas or domestic travelling. With the latest fare squabble between this region’s mightily successful low cost carrier AirAsia and the 5-star airline, Malaysia Airlines, the consumers have a very good chance to get the lowest airfare ever to the destinations of their choice (domestic/international). With the Zero Fares promotion, a trip to Indonesia can easily set you back RM200. As Tony Fernandez said it: Now everyone can fly!

2. Surf the internet for cheap accommodation
To save more money for shopping, you don’t need to stay in 5-star hotels. As long as the water runs, the bed’s made, there’s tv and aircond in the room, provide breakfast, then the hotel’s ok. Extra perks if the hotel got additional facilities like free internet or pool. You would only be back to the hotel at night to sleep. So, staying in a 5-star hotel would be a total waste.

3. Transportation
Book a transport to make sure you don’t get ripped-off by taxis. Easy to get MPV’s like Suzuki Arena or Kijang (Unser). Can book this thru a travel agent on the internet. Normally, it can cost you about Rp500,000 per day, minus petrol (about Rp100,000 per day), toll (less than Rp5,000 per toll) and driver’s overtime (about Rp50,000 per day ). Additional charge about Rp200,000 if you want to go to Bogor or Bandung which is about 1 hour out of Jakarta.

4. Shopping
Textile: Tanah Abang complex. It is complete with about 10 floors, ranging from textile (laces by the metres), ready made blouses, kebaya with beautifully intricate sulam, telekung with sulams, tudung, baju batik Indon, suit for work, shoes, curtains. Cheaper to buy the stuff in 3s or by the kodi.
Handbags: Head to Mangga Dua mall if you love designer handbags like LV, D&G, Gucci, Prada but can’t afford the real thing. The place is really like a pasar, but you can get really good bargains and latest designs for handbags, wallets and some designer sandals.
Handicrafts: Jatinegara mall. If you want to buy handicrafts in bulk for weddings or just for giveaway items, head here to buy it in the minimum 100 pcs. Cute batik purses, woven fans, keychains are some of the items.
Branded items: Plaza Senayan or Pulau Indah mall for real branded goods. Case in point: Lacoste ladies t-shirt costs about RM180 in Indonesia, compared to buying it in KL, which is about RM300.

5. Food
Donuts: Jakarta people sure like their donuts! Dunkin Donuts shops are practically everywhere. Other local brands like J.Co Donuts, Ring Master, i.crave which offers really soft and creative donut toppings are also available.
Baso: Noodle soup with beef balls are a must have when you’re in Jakarta. Try the Baso by Es Teller branch. Another one is Bakmie, noodle with chicken strips and clear soup on the side.
TehBotol: Indonesian national drink in a bottle. I was hooked on this throughout my stay. Even brought two kotak back, courtesy of my sis-in-law.
Special Roti bakar: thick slices of breaded toasted with cheese and chocolate rice, and a dash of sweetened milk on top. One word: Yummy!

6. Must see attractions
Safari in Bogor: Superb open zoo where you go thru the animal’s habitat and can even feed the animals with carrots and bananas sold by the peddlers outside the safari. Mind you its illegal to feed the animals, because they are well fed and taken care of. But if you don’t feed the Llamas and the zebras, they’d block your car and you won’t be able to move. Naughty creatures, but I’m sure some conservationist would say that we have spoiled the animals’ natural instinct by feeding them. Same thing like eagle feeding in Langkawi, the new breed of eagles doesn’t know how to hunt for their food. Instead they just wait around Sg Kilim at 10am for their breakfast. Nonetheless, it’s amazing to see wild animals up close and personal.
Puncak in Bogor: The scenery is quite similar to Cameron Highlands where they plant tea and even strawberries. Cool climate to enjoy, but beware of peddlers selling knick-knacks. Its sad, but the peddlers only make about Rp20,000 – Rp30,000 per day, which is only about RM10 ringgit per day.
Taman Mini Indonesia: Life size traditional Indonesian houses for a cultural tour.

7. Tipping
Tipping is a must, it’s a way of life in Indonesia. Our driver have to tip the attendant at parking eventhough we have paid the parking, then another for stopping the traffic. Bell boys should be tipped at all time. Drivers should be tipped by the end of day or for meals (about Rp50,000 per day or whatever amount you think fit. Mind you, each meals costs about Rp10,000). Our driver said he earned as much as a Lacoste t-shirt, which is about Rp550,000 rupiah per month.

Now, to plan for my next trip, for next year……….

Cleanliness is next to Godliness

I had half a mind to report to the authorities about the conditions of our pantry, which is quite abominable, and I’m sure breaking a lot of health code. For starters, it is overrun by cockroaches that can be seen running freely up and down the countertops where people are having breakfast. In the area where they prepared hot drinks, again the cockroaches running about as usual among the cutleries and bread and butter.

By the way, this pantry is operated by an individual who got the contract thru a tender process, and who supposedly had a connection with a minister. That’s why he got this contract in the first place. And that’s why the service is so lousy. He had no previous background in catering, and his staff was equally as bad in delivering their service.

Case in point: the pantry have to provide our meetings with refreshment, normally hot drinks plus 2 types of kuih or sandwich. They would always deliver the refreshment at least half an hour late, when you’ve already started the meeting, especially with outsiders or foreign guests. I almost died of embarrassment when the boys sending the refreshment, late by half an hour, setting the table with cups and saucers, their bodies very smelly from the sweat, wearing white shirts which was almost grey, their fingernails dirty. Setting up the glass for mineral water holding the mouth of the glass. The foreigners wouldn’t dream of drinking from that glass. I wouldn’t drink from that glass. Other horror stories such as the cup smelling of cockroaches (probably from the cockroaches running up and down the pantry) and my colleagues have discovered cockroaches legs inside the hot drinks (eep!).

Last week I was surprised to hear that his contract got renewed even though the service was so bad and that the minister who’d be able to influence the appointment was no longer in service. Reasons for renewal was because he hadn’t been able to pay up his loan that he took when he started this service. Go figure, with bad service and cleanliness issue, people aren’t going to the pantry to eat. I for one have stopped going there for ages. People should boycott him so that his service can be terminated and end our suffering. Period.

Ladies with Soul

Last month I went to the KL International book fair with the hope of buying some great works of literature, I have even searched thru the web in “1001 books to read before you die” and in Oprah’s book club. Some of the interesting titles that I had found were Nick Hornby’s High Fidelity & Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird. Hard covers like Nigella’s Express costs well over RM100.

Of course being a thrift shopper, I like my books cheap even though it’s not a Booker Prize winner or a Times best seller’s list. My preference with novels are those with lots of dialogue. But I always buy books which have good recommendations, so if it happens to be a bestseller than I’m lucky. So I went to Payless Books to get discounted paperbacks novels. This time around I was looking for a specific writer, Anne Rice. Inspired by her novel, The Body Thief, following the adventures of Lestat, the vampire from Interview with the Vampire. I was excited to find two of her other titles, The Mummy, or Ramses the Damned and The Witching Hour. The other author that I was lucky to find was Amy Tan’s Hundred Secret Senses and The Bonesetter’s Daughter. I’ve read Joy Luck Club, but I didn’t remember the book having a huge impact on me.

I find that even though Anne Rice’s story in with The Body Thief was intense and exciting, The Mummy was a bit flat and ludicrous. Its like watching a B-grade movie, except I was reading it. I mean how ridiculous for a mummy (Ramses) to be resurrected after thousands of years and then falling in love with the first person that he sees. And Ramses being able to accept the world so easily. I would’ve expected that he turned evil like that dude in “The Mummy” movie. Another painful book by her, is the Witching Hour which was said to be her most ambitious novel ever (haha I’m a bit outdated as she’s written this sometime in the 90s). It’s a terribly slow read as she painfully describes each character with unnecessary details, which I couldn’t care less about. I’ve yet to finish the book, but probably I’ll come round to it once I’m out of reading materials!

Amy Tan’s books are just wonderful! Both of her books are about family relationships and Chinese traditions or rather, superstitions. I feel like, being an Asian and having some Chinese blood myself (albeit several generations removed), I was able to identify with her Chinese characters. Her writing is both funny and informative and the descriptions of Chinese traditions are quite vivid. Its both believable and entertaining. In the Bonesetters Daughter, the story revolves around several decades where once upon a time dragon bones were collected for medicinal purposes. It’s a really touching story about a mother and daughter and the way Chinese families function. In The Hundred Secret Senses, its more funny and lighthearted as the second main character’s sister can actually communicate with Yin people (the dead) and having conversations with them which spooked her half sister (the main character). Amy Tan is now one of my favourite writers, as long as she keeps writing about Chinese family living in America (which is her recurring theme in both novels). This is her forte. I think she will suck if she writes about something else because this is her life, being a Chinese heritage living in America.

Art of Presentation

Last week I was in Langkawi attending a course on Training of Trainers. The course is about how you train those under you, and one of the important skills that you must have is demonstrating a skill or presenting some information. The trainers, Darren and Amanda are using the Australian based structure for this course and they have promised by the time we finished the course we look at presentations with a different eye. How true the words are. I found myself grading my boss’s conduct during a meeting, with some technical improvements that he can apply during his presentation. Just to share about the things that I’ve learned during the course:

1. Plan your presentation
Do some research to get more info, and structure your presentation to make it more impactful.

2. Introduction is very important to capture an audience’s attention.
The first two minutes is very crucial in making or breaking your presentation. Do an interesting introduction to link the audience to the topic that you are presenting i.e asking questions to the audience on their existing knowledge on the subject or do a role play to catch their imagination. Lots of ways to do an interesting introduction.

3. Gauge your audience’s background and learning abilities
There are visual, auditory and kinesthetic learners. A powerpoint presentation caters for all types of learning as it has written words and colours for the visual learners, the words that is spoken for the auditory learners and some movements in the PowerPoint itself that can catch the kinesthetic learners’ attention. Better yet, do a demonstration or activity to make the session fun and everyone involved.

4. Learning outcomes
Line out the outcomes that you want the audience to learn by the end of your presentation, so they know what kind of info to look out for in your presentation.

5. Present something which is close to your heart
You wont need a script if you present something that you are really familiar with. Some cue cards or pointers on the board/PowerPoint would b able to prompt you for the presentation. For my 10 minutes presentation, I did a demonstration on basic movements of Taekwondo, which I can do with my eyes closed, literally!

6. Proper body language and intonation.
Appropriate gestures to punctuate your words, should be controlled for more effects, instead of just nervousness. Too much gestures would distract attention to your presentation. Proper high and low tones to emphasis the points that you are making instead of just a monotone. People can get bored to death with monotone presentation. Check out death by presentation in YouTube.

7. Ending the presentation with future opportunities
Mention some of future opportunities to learn more about the topic with suggestions of book, websites or even contacting you (the speaker) directly.

I feel after attending this presentation, I would be able to plan and build up a proper structure for my presentation. I also feel that I’d be able to present confidently and effectively in the future.

Losing It

Me and Ms Fantaghiro have been having badminton session for the past two weeks in our quest to loose all the flabs. She's getting lumpy and I'm just bloated. We love to eat and laze around, that's what got us there in the first place. Ms Fantaghiro blames the cooking channel on Astro. Me? I just love to eat, plus having all those night functions does not help my body at all.

Anyway, we've been playing at this patch of green near my mum's house with a small 10 year old boy neighbour. He's like an energizer bunny, man! So much energy and still can play faster than both of me and Ms Fantaghiro combined! We were huffing and puffing around the green. The weather nowadays does not help at all. It's raining cats and dogs sometimes in the afternoon when its about lunchtime or even late afternoon around time to leave the office. But me and Ms Fantaghiro are still very psyched to get fit and slim, so rain or shine, we will still play badminton.

Plus I hate it when people commented on my weight. I do detest it when people start saying things about my body, especially when it involves those excess fat hahaha oh well, people will be people. They will say whatever they want. Important thing is I'm doing something about it. Very important to have a partner that's committed to it too, so when you get lazy, she will pick you up and vice versa. So Ms Fantaghiro, another round of badminton?

Colour blind

I’m wearing a green batik baju kebaya today. I love the colour green. To me, it signifies peace and also loving the earth. A colour is a colour, it doesn’t reflect any political standing. Colours are supposed to reflect your mood be it happy, sad, cheery, bubbly. It also reflects your personality. I get really mad when some people made off hand remarks not to wear certain colours such as green, light blue and possibly pink. What is this?! I’m not going to a rally, I’m just going to the office.

For heaven’s sake, just leave the colours alone. We are not school children that you can frighten into obedience. Prohibiting certain colours, or not to promote certain states or support certain political party. You can do better than that. Have you not learnt that slavery doesn’t bring loyalty, it brings disconcert amongst the slaves. Have you not learn that the Japanese/Portuguese/British occupation on Malaya makes people rebellious because they did not want a foreign ruler to govern their lives? Then what makes you think that you can bully people to your liking? Come on, grow up! Please do not forget that the people have chosen before, and they won’t hesitate to choose again.

In my own way, I will wear whatever damn colour I choose, whenever I choose!

Cabinet updates

News just in! The new Minister of Tourism is.....Dato' Seri Azalina Othman Said, former Minster of Youth & Sports. Expect to be some major changes in the Ministry with this iron lady. Will she be able to fulfill the vision for 22 million tourists and expenditure of RM48 billion for 2008? Hopefully there won't be any scandal for this lady that might mar her reputation.

Other shocking revelation, the iron lady for MITI is not in any Cabinet portfolio. Datuk Syed Hamid Albar do a 360 turn from Minsitry of Foreign Affair to Ministry of Home Affairs. A lot of Ministers & Deputy Ministers from Sabah and Sarawak. Lots of other changes. Just watch the news tonight!

......

Last sunday, I went to Temerloh to visit my aunty who is in the final stages of her terminal disease. I was sad to see her so emaciated and weakened by the disease. I haven't seen her in ages and it was awkward to be near a sick person. She couldn't speak much, but recognized both me and my sister. I was paralyzed, didn't know what to do, or say the right things to comfort her. How do you comfort a dying person?! It's as if I was feeling her imminent death...

All I can do is pray for her, for her to be placed among those blessed by God.....Amin.....