Teksi! Teksi!

The only time I take taxis here in KL is when going to & coming back from KLIA…and I normally take the KLIA Limo Services. Don’t be fooled by the name. They are nothing but normal sedan cars, the budget ones are usually Proton Wajas…sometimes you get the Proton Sagas. I’ll use them to go to the airport because their charges are actually cheaper than the normal city taxis, much to contrary beliefs. If you don’t believe me, try calling them & see. They charge cheaper because there’re other options of going to the airport, unlike when coming back, they will charge higher because they know you can’t take the other normal taxis.

Anyway, because I’ve been travelling quite a bit lately, so I’ve been in & out the KLIA taxis more often now….and I’ve also seen more of those in other countries too…and I really must say something about our own airport taxis. They are indeed quite a let-down…unfortunately. Sigh.

Imagine if I’m a tourist and the KLIA taxi is the first encounter with the country…the impression I get is that this is indeed a third-world country…very much still.

Here are some of the things I noticed/encountered about our KLIA taxis:

• The condition of the interior is pretty run down. You don’t get the comfy feeling when you sit inside. Don’t come & tell me that it’s just a Proton Saga so what can I expect. I expect it to be maintained just like if it was your own car. If the seat cover is torn, fix it. If there are patches on the seat, clean it. If the seat cover / dashboard / air-cond / stereo is old and/or faulty already, then for God sake change it!

• They don’t use a GPS here. Even in our small tiny neighbour, Singapore, ALL their taxis are already using GPS. Our taxis are very gung-ho one…no need GPS one. They think they’re walking Google map. But then, ALL of them ended up asking me how to get to my place. Good thing I’m going home. What if I’m visiting my grand-auntie’s godson’s brother’s daughter’s place for the first time? Then what? They’ll start calling their friends to ask for directions? Sigh.

  Funny thing that day, the taxi fella firstly asked me how to get to my place. Then he asked me how to get to Setapak from my place (after dropping me off). I wanted to tell him that I should be the taxi driver instead lah.

•  The level of professionalism is almost non-existent. Maybe they don’t know that it’s important to have it, since they’re “only taxi drivers”. Example, this fella picked me up from KLIA…then just as we left the airport, he turned into Petronas to pump petrol. And it wasn’t the normal petrol, it was the NGV, where the queue was super long. First of all, you should have pumped petrol BEFORE picking up any passenger. You don’t let your passengers wait in your car while you go find “jam ban” (toilet bowl) lah. You know what I mean? Sigh.

I think all the taxi drivers (KLIA or city) need to go for a taxi driving course before allowed the licence to drive one. If only they could just see how taxis in other countries work…and I’m not even talking about the western ones. Just go to Singapore…or even Taiwan (who was worse off than Malaysia 20 years ago) is good enough. Maybe they don’t know that taxis in other countries are already way nicer than ours because they’ve been living in the shell all these while…and think it’s normal for taxis everywhere to be like this.

OK lah, on a positive note, at least all the taxi drivers I encountered were honest & genuine people. I think that itself, we’ve come a long way since maybe 10 years ago. But there’re still a lot that can be done. And I hope it won’t take us another 10 years to catch up with other countries.

2012: Stepping Out

It’s the time of the year again. Time for reflection & resolutions. Hmm….let’s see…

2011:

The main & only thing I remember about 2011 is TRAVELLING. I must have stepped in the airport at least 20 times this year…with 4 times each trip – departing & arriving. And yet, I’m still only at Jetsetter Level 1 badge on Foursquare. Darn! Haha. OK OK, let’s count the places I’ve been to in 2011:

Apr: Singapore (workshop) & Kota Kinabalu
May: Beijing
June/July: Phuket (workshop)
Sep: Bangkok (company trip)
Oct: Perth
Dec: Singapore

That’s 7 trips. 28 times in the airport. And a very dry pocket.

OK, the highlight of 2011 was of course conquering Mount Kinabalu. Now I can say, yeah, been there done that. Keke.

Then, on the gadget side, I’ve got my iPhone 4 & Canon 600D. Woohoo! Though I almost lost my 600D too.

On the personal side, it’s been quite a ride. But this time it’s less rocky…much much less damaging…and definitely more peaceful. Maybe I’m just too tired already. And it’s been too long. Too too long. 2011 has been a year of great effort to close the chapter. Boy, it’s never been so difficult, ever. They said things happen for a reason…but you’ll never be able to connect the dots forward, you can only connect them backwards (quote from Steve Jobs)…perhaps someday, I’ll look back & be able see how the dots connect & smile at the lil’ adventure that had brought me to the next dot. The next better dot.

2012:

The travelling continues on…until end Feb. Will be going for ski trip to Korea in Jan & company trip to either HK or Hangzhou in Feb. Winter wonderland, here I come!

But I haven’t bought any Air Asia promo tickets anymore for 2012. I’ll be….resting in 2012. Hahaha. No more flying for a while. Please. Thank you.

The theme for 2012 will primarily be “water”.

In the pipeline for 2012 will be getting my Advance Open Water Licence. Weng Hong will be back to Malaysia in Apr on a 2-months sabbatical, so we’re definitely doing this together. Further to that, we’ll probably plan another dive trip and/or adventure trip to Taman Negara or somewhere.

In all, I hope to make 3 dive trips in 2012, including getting the Advance licence. Hey, I didn’t do any dive trip in 2011 at all. So 2012 will be a diving year.

Another exciting thing happening in 2012 is me starting a service provider business with my friend. We’re already in the midst of registering the private limited company. I’ll let you know the details when we’ve at least got our company name registered. Of course I will still be working at my current job until the business picks up. Well, I’ll be finishing my car loan by this Aug…and EPF could help me sustain my home loan repayment for a few months…hmm, we shall see how. Anyway it’s something to look forward to…since my current job is going nowhere. But lots of hard work to come…especially since I’ll only be doing it part-time for now. But I’ve got big plans for this baby. Big big plans.

On the personal side, I’ll be taking a back seat & swimming with the tide. I’ll be taking life as it is…living at a slower pace…more reading…less partying…less beer…more exercises.

Oh talk about exercising, I’ll be starting my belly dancing class in Jan too! Muahahahaaha! Why belly dancing? Well, I read somewhere that it’s a very effective way to reduce the tummy. Mine is just getting bigger by the day. So it’s time to start trimming. Besides, belly dancing is sexy too.

OK, that’s it for what’s coming in 2012. Hope everyone has a fabulous year ahead too! See ya next year.

 

The Good Guys Have Spoken

Stumbled across this on someone’s FB wall recently & I thought it’s fantastic! Hahaha. This goes out to all the ladies out there, especially those who try too hard…who thinks the world revolve around them…and those who have insecurity written all over their faces.

Hear ye…hear ye…

“We guys don’t care if you talk to other guys. 

We don’t care if you’re friends with other guys. 

But when you’re sitting next to us, and some random guy walks into the room and you jump up and tackle him, without even introducing us, yeah, it pisses us off.

It doesn’t help if you sit there and talk to him for 10 minutes without even acknowledging the fact that we’re still there.

We don’t care if a guy calls or texts you, but at 2 in the morning we do get a little concerned. Nothing is that important at 2am that it can’t wait till the morning.

Also, when we tell you you’re pretty/beautiful/gorgeous/cute/stunning, we freakin’ mean it. Don’t tell us we’re wrong. We’ll stop trying to convince you. The sexiest thing about a girl is confidence.

Yeah, you can quote me.

Don’t be mad when we hold the door open. Take advantage of the mood I’m in.

Let us pay for you ! Don’t feel bad. We enjoy doing it. It’s expected. Smile and say thank you.

Kiss us when no one’s watching. If you kiss us when you know somebody’s looking, we’ll be more impressed.

You don’t have to get dressed up for us. If we’re going out with you in the first place, you don’t have to feel the need to wear the shortest skirt you have or put on every kind of make-up you own.

We like you for who you are and not what you are.

Honestly, I think a girl looks more beautiful when she’s just in her PJ’s. Or my t-shirt and boxers, not all dolled up.

Don’t take everything we say seriously. Sarcasm is a beautiful thing. See the beauty in it. Don’t get angry easily.

Stop using magazines/media as your bible. Don’t talk about how hot Chris Brown, Brad Pitt, or Jesse McCartney is in front of us. It’s boring, and we don’t care. You have girlfriends for that.

Whatever happened to the word “handsome” or “beautiful”? I’d be utterly stunned by a girl who greeted me with “Hey handsome!” instead of “Hey baby/stud/cutie/sexy” or whatever else you can think of.

On the other hand I’m not saying I wouldn’t like it either.

Girls, I cannot stress this enough: if you aren’t being treated right by a guy, don’t wait for him to change! Ditch his sorry butt, disgrace to the male population, and find someone who will treat you with utter respect. Someone who will honor your morals.

Someone who will make you smile when you’re at your lowest.

Someone who will care for you even when you make mistakes.

Someone who will love you, no matter how bad you make them feel.

Someone who will stop what they’re doing just to look you in the eyes and say I love you and actually mean it.

Give the nice guys a chance.”

Love Thy Neighbour

Another nonsense blog for today.

I was watching “A Dennis the Menace Christmas” on TV 2 days ago. You know how Dennis always love to go to the Wilson’s house…create havoc especially to Mr Wilson…with good intentions, of course, but it always turned out disastrous? Haha.

Then it reminded me of the times when I was little…and how I used to love going over to my neighbour’s house too. That was before the Ch’ngs moved in. At that time, my neighbour was an old couple. Dr Ho was a dentist in a government clinic & his wife was a homemaker. They had a grown up daughter who was working in another town. Well, I can’t exactly remember much about the daughter…but I remember I used to climb the kitchen door, over the tall fence & onto my neighbour’s kitchen door…then voila, I’m already on the other side! Everyday!

But Mrs Ho was a really nice & pleasant lady. She was home alone most of the days when her husband was at work…so she always loved having me & sis over….or at least I thought so. Haha. So much so that we didn’t have to ask permission to go over anymore…from mom/dad or even her….we just climbed over as & when we liked.

I can’t remember much about what I did in her house everyday. It was a really long time ago…like, during kindy & early primary. But she was like my best friend. I used to tell her everything. And she would feed me cookies & snacks. Haha.

The thing is, it’s so easy to love our neighbours when we were young…we didn’t care about age or race or anything…and it’s so easy for the elderly ones to love us kiddos too because….well, we were all very cute then. Just like Dennis! Haha.

I believe that in everyone’s childhood, there would be an older person…or people…perhaps neighbours…that touched our lives…that we used to love & would cherish in our memories for the rest of our lives. Like Dennis & Mr Wilson. Minus the disastrous part. Or maybe with too.

So did you also have an older best friend when you were young?

Ah Pek Ah Kow

It’s Friday…so much to be done but not feeling like doing anything. Hehe. So I’m gonna blog some nonsense today. Hmm….let’s see…

Oh OK. I just thought of my last hike at Ah Pek Hill 2 weekends ago, which was most eventful. Haha…it was really cartoon, man!

First of all, I must explain to you my ‘relationship’ with Ah Pek. I first went there…maybe like…4 years ago? But I wasn’t into all these hiking thingy yet, so the 2nd time I went was a year later…and then during my training for Mount K early this year. So let’s talk about this year.

This year, I went to Ah Pek Hill almost every weekend for my training to Mount K. To be exact, maybe 5 times early this year, 2 of which I went alone…and then twice again after Mount K with Angie. The last time I went was during the Merdeka weekend. And every time I went, I would take the same trail – the one that leads from Station 1 up to Station 6, then it loops back to Station 2.

Same route. Every time. Without fail.

This time, Bryan brought a friend & it was Shaaron’s first time there. So they were all counting on me to lead the way. Easy peasy right? But guess what? Up to Station 3 and then…we got lost!

I just can’t understand it…until now. How did we get lost? I was so sure of the trail. So so so sure. Did they change something in the last 2 months? Or was I really really so blur that day? Or is my memory failing me?

As we kept walking on the wrong trail, hoping that it would lead us somewhere, then we saw some roofs ahead. Ahhh…we must have reached the ground. Great! We’ll just go out from here & find our way back to the car. Then we came to a small gate. The door was opened and we saw the sign on it…of a person shooting another person. Uh ohhh…it’s a private property. We could see some building down ahead…maybe it’s some chicken farm or log mill or something. Then Shaaron said she’ll go & check it out. She took less than 5 steps and we could see & hear some dogs barking down there. I tried to see if they were chained…and realised that they were not! Oh noooo…the next thing I saw them running towards our direction. I turned to Bryan & his friend….”Go go go! RUN!!!!”

The barking become louder & closer…as if they were just right behind us. Shaaron kept asking us to stop running coz they’ll keep chasing if we kept running. But if not then what? I mean, they were already coming after us. Then she kept asking me to pass my stick to her…so I quickly passed it to her while still running…coz she was the last person & was afraid her butt will be munched off. HAHAHAHA! It was all so funny. When we couldn’t hear the barking anymore, we stopped and laughed our hearts out.

Oh man! What an experience. Now I think they’d have a phobia if I ask them to go to Ah Pek Hill again. As for me, I wanna find out how we got lost that day. Hmm….must go again soon. Hehe. Anybody wants to join me?

Carrot Cake: My Premiere

Fred finally got some time off last Monday to teach me how to make carrot cake. I was told (by his wife…which may be a bit biased but I shall believe her, since he’s the professional & graduated from the ‘notorious’ Freemason cooking school in France) that he makes the BEST carrot cake EVER.

So here are some snippets of my first baking session.

Results: PASS with Distinction. OK lah, A2 lah. Hehe.

Well, this wasn’t set by me…I brought half of the cake to office the next day and ALL my colleagues said it was very nice. OK to be fair, it wasn’t completely my effort…maybe 50% mine & 50% Fred’s.

Anyway I discovered some things during the session:

• Waaahhh the amount of sugar used in a cake is…err….well, A LOT! Goodness! Even when we put less than recommended, it was still A LOT. Gosh. OK, less cake for me from now on.

• I have pretty weak arms. Make 3 more times of this & I’ll surely grow the biceps. But thank God for mom’s mixer. Hehe.

• Now I know why carrot cakes are expensive. Because the ingredients are not cheap either. The pricey ones are the cream cheese & pecan nuts. The rests are not much but adding them all would come up to quite a sum too. I haven’t done the maths yet but I think the cost for a whole carrot cake is probably around RM35-40.

Now for the recipe. I know you’re just dying to ask me for it, right? Hehe. OK so here it goes:

Ingredients:

A. Vegetable Oil – 320 g

A. Plain Flour – 300 g

A. Bicarbonate Soda – 10 g

A. Sugar – 420 g
A. Eggs – 210 g

A. Salt – 2 g

A. Cinnamon Ground – 9 g

Carrots – 400 g

Pecan nuts – 100 g

1. Mix the “A” ingredients in a mixing machine for 5 minutes.

2. Grate the carrots and chop the nuts, then add them to the mix.

3. Bake at 160°c for 45 minutes. Check to see if the cake is cooked then remove from the oven and allow too cool for 10 minutes in the tin before removing and placing it on a cooling rack.

For the toppings:

Cream cheese  - 400 g
Icing sugar – 150 g
Whip cream – 400 g

1. Mix the cream cheese and icing sugar.

2. Mix the whip cream in a mixing machine until it’s fluffy.

3. Add “1″ & “2″ together. Mix them thoroughly. Then add some lemon juice and lemon zest.

That’s it. Good luck & let me know how it goes.

Guess Who’s Home?

And guess who’s back in action?

 

 

 

 

The Hungry Hog

We’ve been discussing about trying out this new place for some time. Then we finally made it last Saturday.

So how was it, you asked?

My verdict: 4.5 / 5.0 points. Very good indeed.

The remaining 0.5 points is for the pork sausages, which I thought was nothing great. It was a bit hard & a far cry from the typical German bratwurst.

Bangers & Mash

We liked the Bacon Spaghetti very much. It’s mixed with chili, making it slightly spicy & tasty. Very nice!

Bacon Pasta

But the one we liked best was the Pork Chop. It wasn’t in the menu but written on the board outside. They had pre-warned us that it will take 20-30 mins to prepare…and usually when that’s the case, it could only mean that this is one dish you shouldn’t miss! And true enough, sink your teeth into the succulent meat and it would make you scream, “More! More! Moreeeeee!!!!” Hahaha!

Pork Chop

The pork chop, I find, was better than the one in Betty’s Midwest Kitchen @ Aman Suria. Betty’s porky was a bit too hard, I thought. This was just nice. And you don’t need to burn your wallet for it, it only goes for RM18.90, and for a pretty big portion too.

We also ordered one of their snacks, Keropork, which was pretty interesting, I must say. You must try it.

The prices here are all very reasonable. Maybe because of the crowd of college students around the area.

You can check out their website for their menu – The Hungry Hog

Address: 71, Jalan SS15/4C, 47500 Subang Jaya (on the same road as Nasi Kandar Pelita)

Tel: 012 – 225 0877

Opening Hours: 12:00 – 2:30pm, 6:00 – 10:00pm (closed on Mondays)

Here is the map to the place:

Camera-less

Yup, it’s been almost 2 months now.

I’m sure most of you would have heard about the little mishap I had in Phuket. If you haven’t, well, I was in Phuket in end June for a company meeting & I extended another day to go island hopping. So during my island hopping trip, we arrived at Phi Phi Island & the guide asked us to bring down only our wallet & camera. But it was drizzling so I left my camera on the boat. However when I got out, I noticed that the rain had stopped & many people were carrying their cameras along, so I decided to go back into the boat to get it. When I got out the 2nd time, I literally dropped half of myself into the water because I didn’t realise that the boat had swayed further into sea. And guess where was my beloved barely-2-months-old Canon 600D? Uh huh…right there hanging by my side…dipped into the sea with me.

It died immediately. And frankly, my soul died with it too.

So anyway, I’m trying to claim from the travel insurance for damage of personal belongings, and at the same time I’ve also sent in my camera to Canon, hoping for a ‘compassionate replacement’. I’m still waiting for both replies.

And I can’t use my previous camera either, the G7, because of some lens problem, which was why I bought the new one in the first place. So basically, I’m totally camera-less for 2 months now.

Initially, it felt like I’m suddenly…naked. And of course I was grieving too. Considering how much cameras meant in my life. And then also, I had just joined the Dew Photography crew in my church not too long ago…I think I had only covered 3 events so far…before I became camera-less. Sigh. Now & then I still receive emails from my team leader on the coming events in church, asking for volunteer photographers. Every time I receive them, it reminds me that I’m camera-less. Sigh.

But what I wanted to say is…the loss has taught me some valuable lessons in life. I’ve learned to let go. And I’ve learned to deal with the loss. And that it’s…’just…a…camera’. And so, I’ve learned to live without something important in my life. If you want to understand how I feel, just imagine losing your mobile phone. Feels like something’s not right…something’s missing? And you can’t sit still, right? How long can you live without it?

It’s the same thing. Of course you can argue that I don’t use a camera everyday like a mobile phone…but the feeling of loss is quite the same. I could have impulsively gone to buy a new one, maybe even a cheap or secondhand one just for spare. But I’ve learned to detach myself from a camera. That is a big thing, my friend. OK. That is a big thing.

And my life goes on….

Hennessy Artistry Night

Last Sat night, I attended my first Hennessy Artistry party in Mist Club, Bangsar. I went with Gary & met up with Yu Jin & his posse. One of his buddies was Dennis Lau, a songwriter, violin protegé & recently an actor. Watch out for his upcoming film, Nasi Lemak 2.0, starring Namewee as the main actor.

Halfway through, a few other people came to sit with us. So I chatted with this ‘sweet young thing’ beside me. Said that she was also from Ipoh. Main Convent girl. When we stood up to take photos, I looked like a midget beside her. Goshhh…she was TALL! 1.75 m, apparently. She said she was modelling & currently undergoing some training…for Miss Malaysia Universe! Just found out that she has won several beauty pageants before too. Hmmm…might she represent our country next….? Keep a lookout for Zana Chin.

So anyway, for the whole night I only took one photo on my iPhone, and that’s with Dennis. OK laaaaahhhhh….think I look like his mother! Haha.

Dennis & me.

With Gary, Zana & her bf, Donovan.

(Pic courtesy of Nelson Teon)