tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58570352011-04-22T04:56:03.731+08:00ET is a Malaysian. ET is a guy. ET is an overgrown schoolboy. ET likes to write, and hopes to get better at it by having this blog. ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.comBlogger1331100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1092451823125412172004-08-14T10:19:00.000+08:002004-08-14T10:50:23.126+08:00

I've been ignoring the blog. I just have not had the time, due to additional responsibilities at work as well as "extra curricular" activities that I signed up for. Wife got us tickets to the Akademi Fantasia final tonight. Woo hoo! It's going to be a nightmare getting parking at Stadium Putra, so we're going in the afternoon. Will update blog with pictures from MMS! Earlier on in the season, I

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1090639131491263922004-07-24T10:53:00.000+08:002004-07-24T11:18:51.490+08:00

One of my colleagues recently received a Datuk title.  I'm aware of the cynicism regarding such awards, but this guy deserved it - he's well respected in my industry for being a knowledgeable and fair administrator, has made contributions to his clan society and, despite being Chinese, has made many quiet but substantial efforts to upgrade the skills level of the Bumiputera community. In fact, he

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1090637575305646002004-07-24T07:45:00.000+08:002004-07-24T11:40:22.900+08:00

I can't believe how charmed I can be sometimes. I'd borrowed 5 books from the library, all of them overdue (the oldest was supposed to be returned in 1999).  The library which I'm a "member" of (ahem) is a borrower's dream - there is no fine for late returns, and you can extend your loan by just emailing or calling the librarian.  However, it does not take a genius to foresee that this kind of

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1090469677393058132004-07-22T07:33:00.000+08:002004-07-22T12:20:03.623+08:00

I hate corporate behemoths. My personal experience with certain blue chips has been less than savoury, and I'm going to tell you why, how and who.  This will be pure rant [perhaps Nads and HoneyR would be in a better position to provide a more intellectual and eloquent essay on the evils of oligopoly :) ] Maybank U2's "With or Without You" aptly sums up my sentiments on the Big, Strong and "

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1090236428133894972004-07-19T19:23:00.000+08:002004-07-19T19:27:08.133+08:00

Zippity doo dah, zippity ay, my oh my tum dee tum tee dum dum.   Lost at scrabble today, spent RM4.20 voting for eventual losers on Malaysian Idol over the weekend, BUT none of that matters becaaaaause....   zippity doo dah, zippity ay :D :D :D

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1089981752445049172004-07-16T20:08:00.000+08:002004-07-16T20:44:43.090+08:00

Datuk Malik Mydin swam across the English Channel in 17 hours and 35 minutes on 3 August 2003, the first Malaysian to do so.  His feat was a Malaysian Effort, with its own Patron (Tun Mahathir no less) and received the support of many parties.  Upon his return , Malik became a hero who was celebrated and rewarded (the Datuk title preceding his name is but one small example).   Today's Star

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1089683434610170892004-07-13T07:48:00.000+08:002004-07-13T10:08:24.423+08:00

The mail service in PJ as as good as can be expected when you're paying from 30 sen to post a letter. However, it is not uncommon for letters to get misdirected on occasion, especially if the postman is new and unsure of his addresses. The guy who lives in the house below must have really had it bad. Even Mr Magoo couldn't miss this.

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1089612551755566742004-07-12T14:09:00.000+08:002004-07-12T18:22:55.830+08:00

Sometimes I wonder if there is a serious dearth of intelligence in the "powers-that-be" of this country. Two items that made the news last week are cases in point. The first was a suggestion made following the lynching of Darren Kang, a Sheffield U undergrad, at Warong Uncle Don's at Sri Hartamas in KL. By way of background, Darren had been involved in an argument with a group of the Warong's

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1088716824342438152004-07-02T05:20:00.000+08:002004-07-02T05:20:24.343+08:00

Greece are through to the final! Unbe-bloody-lievable!The last of the favourites have fallen, and thetournament has come full circle by having the twoteams that played in the opening match also playing inthe final. Unreal!The Czechs had attacked more but the Greeks were juststifling in their defence. They lucked out when theymanaged to convert a corner kick in extra time.Im still flabbergasted!

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1088575847860280212004-06-30T14:10:00.000+08:002004-06-30T14:10:47.860+08:00

Everyone goes through deja vu experiences. In a recent(ly repeated on StarWorld) episode of the X-Files, Mulder is forced to re-live a botched bankrobbery repeatedly until he "sets thing rights". Unlike the href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107048/">Groundhog Day scenario,however, Mulder does not realise that he is re-living the same day over andover but merely has niggling "Hey I've done this

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1088489781913857992004-06-29T13:45:00.000+08:002004-06-29T14:16:21.913+08:00

There is a method of teaching here in Malaysia that I used to tolerate in school but which I find highly annoying now. For want of an existing term, I hereby dub it the "Making Statements That Are Like Fill-In-The-Blanks Quiz Questions" style. Here's an example: "After eating you must brush your? [slight pause] TEEEEETH!" In fact, the "question" that the instructor asks is quasi-hypothetical -

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1088486939578176102004-06-29T13:28:00.000+08:002004-06-29T13:44:56.510+08:00

Darn. I must up messed up my template when I was fiddling with it yesterday. The screen has shown nothing but green since yesterday, and I am now forced to switch to another template.

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1088218067204445302004-06-26T09:50:00.001+08:002004-06-26T11:11:50.266+08:00

Karma, fate, destiny or whatever name you may assign to that intangible force that plots your life, has an odd sense of time management. You may plod along for months or even years doing the same old thing you've always been doing. Then, in a span of just a few days, you are deluged with several notable or even life-altering events so much so that your senses are overloaded with a gamut of

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1086935763571627262004-06-11T14:36:00.000+08:002004-06-11T14:36:03.570+08:00

The battle of the talentimes has begun! 8TV will air the first episode ofMalaysian Idol this Friday. NTV7 has been airing its weird Audition for acouple of weeks now. Akademi Fantasia 2 has also started this week -voyeuristic excerpts of the contestants daily lives are already being shown,and the concert is to be held this Saturday. Don't know anything much aboutthe new Bintang RTM, but

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1086475711021750422004-06-06T06:40:00.000+08:002004-06-06T06:53:26.366+08:00

Aw man. It's nearly 7.00 and I've spent nearly the whole night editing and transferring my parents' holiday video onto VCD. They'd gone to Los Angeles last week with my aunts and uncle. My Dad borrowed my camcorder but he wasn't so familiar with it, so a bit of editing needs to be done to polish the rough-cut video into a diamond (I should hear myself speak this corn). However, the film turned

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1086259329440579052004-06-03T18:42:00.000+08:002004-06-03T18:42:09.440+08:00

How would you answer the following question:"Why do you eat apples?"The answer would of course, depend on who was asking the question. If itwere a young child, you could reply that apples were good for you. To anolder kid, you might want to elaborate that apples are a good source ofVitamin C and fibre. However, if someone older, wiser and more knowledgeable than you were to askthat same question

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1086218256449222172004-06-03T07:17:00.000+08:002004-06-03T07:17:36.450+08:00

Apparently blogger has a feature that allows you toclog via email. How could i have not known aboutthis?! So here i an composing a proper post on mymobile.Eating a newly created snack - cheese covered cherrytomatoes. Damn easy to make, and tastes like pizza.=====ebentanhttp://lucidramblings.blogspot.com/ __________________________________Do you Yahoo!?Friends. Fun. Try the all-new Yahoo!

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1085559017809748602004-05-26T15:43:00.000+08:002004-05-26T16:12:11.216+08:00

I seriously wonder about the intellectual level of Malaysian university students. One would assume that, having qualified to pursue tertiary education, these young people would be articulate or at least be able to string together a grammatically correct sentence containing 5 words or more. In addition to this, one would also expect such persons to have some inter-personal skills in order carry

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1085379046446339702004-05-24T14:09:00.000+08:002004-05-24T14:14:11.413+08:00

As I said, the stories below were written under duress, so please excuse the typos. I know HoneyR will be pulling her hair out, though. LOL.

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1085378382689935022004-05-24T13:35:00.000+08:002004-05-24T14:04:30.096+08:00

A Singaporean has thrown a challenge to his blog-readers: write 30 stories in 30 days. "Your writing will never be the same again," he promises, and I don't doubt him one bit. I may eventually take up that challenge, but in the meantime, I've done the next best thing, albeit on a much, much smaller scale. This morning, I'd been doing a series of tests for my employer, the purpose of which was to

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1085189475060325292004-05-22T09:09:00.000+08:002004-05-22T09:34:22.533+08:00

This is the woman who allegedly abused and tortured her Indonesian maid, 19-year-old Nirmala Bonet (pic courtesy of the Star website): I want to rake her over hot coals spiked with rusty nails... really. The outrage over what she did to a fellow human being is the main issue of course, but I'm also thinking about the consequences of her actions that will affect me as an employer of

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1085121075068168732004-05-21T14:02:00.000+08:002004-05-21T14:37:45.576+08:00

Had fun writing the last post. It reminded me of an email I sent many years ago to one of my colleagues, who is an accountant. You see, this guy is quite fond of sending corny lawyers' jokes to me and other legally-trained persons in the firm. We could never retaliate satisfactorily because there are hardly any accountant's jokes around - accountants are so bloody boring! One day, he sent me a

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1084933928836480712004-05-19T07:43:00.000+08:002004-05-19T10:32:08.836+08:00

After my hop around the blogs last night, I have concluded that Malaysians and Singaporeans like to eat and love blogging about it. Where "western" blogs debate passionately about the Arab-Israeli conflict or the occupation in Iraq, many South East Asian blogs are concerned with the more important things in life, such as which fast-food joint serves the best chicken, which stall serves the best

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1084852709976742442004-05-18T07:48:00.000+08:002004-05-18T11:58:29.976+08:00

Luthien seems to have a thing for males in uniform. LOL. Anyway, DY is wearing his kindy uniform 1 - the formal one. Shirt and burgundy shorts. Uniform 2 is PE attire. I tell you, I think I should go into the kindy business - it's big bucks. Not only do we parents have to shell out for books, uniforms and stuff (all sold by the kindy), we even have to pay fees for the holiday months, i.e.

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1084790755412835972004-05-17T18:03:00.000+08:002004-05-17T18:45:55.413+08:00

Last year, we had moved into our current house in PJ after living for 6 years in Shah Alam. The Shah Alam house holds lots of memories - it was our first home and the place where we raised DY. The city of Shah Alam itself was a great place to live in - it had quiet, leafy neighbourhoods, shopping malls, magnificent parks, good schools and other excellent amenities. However, it was simply too far

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1084499584407131562004-05-14T07:22:00.000+08:002004-05-14T09:54:58.770+08:00

I'm feel slightly bad for making flippant and facetious comments about my recent ex-maids. It occurred to me that they could have been made to come here against their will, hence the overwhelming desire to go home. It seems a bit odd, doesn't it, for someone to spend all that time and effort to go work in another country, only to change her mind in less than a month? Take the case of Padmi - if

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1084421259274624332004-05-13T19:10:00.000+08:002004-05-13T19:51:54.966+08:00

There was a running joke on the sitcom Murphy Brown that Murphy could never keep her secretaries for more than a couple of days. Every other episode, there would be a different person sitting at the PA's desk because Murphy could never get along with any of them - they were either kooks, lazy or even too gorgeous. Add to the mix Murphy's domineering, bossy and impossible-to-work-with personality,

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1083925336804195612004-05-07T18:22:00.000+08:002004-05-07T18:26:44.513+08:00

There is a new force in Malaysian broadband, and its name is webbit. I'm pretty excited, despite the fact that coverage will only reach my area by the end of this year. Webbit is wireless broadband that is set to kick Streamyx's ass, if first impressions are anything to go by. No.1 - It's wireless, hence resolving the ironic problem of my having phone cabling that is too advanced for Streamyx,

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1083835889821304532004-05-06T17:31:00.000+08:002004-05-06T18:20:03.810+08:00

There are a lot of references to bapoks recently on my and honey's tagboards. PJ seems to be intrigued by them but I shall not go into that for it is none of my business (LOL). Bapok is as bapok does, as someone said not too long ago. All this talk of bapoks brings to mind one of the more interesting shows currently showing on 8TV, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. In each episode, a group of

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1083055940188703422004-04-27T17:03:00.000+08:002004-04-27T17:16:50.530+08:00

Two recent non-events had me mulling over the six degrees of separation theory (click on the hyperlink for an interesting nutshell history). The first was my deduction that an ex college-mate could possibly be the person who coined the term "ahaks" by pluralizing the classical "ahak! ahak! ahak!". I came to this conclusion based on the fact that (1) He has been prolific on the net for many

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1082777606074666762004-04-24T07:33:00.000+08:002004-04-24T11:39:23.170+08:00

Yesterday saw Mr Ebeneezer Tan visiting what is arguably the centre of the mamat universe - Pertama Complex in KL. I shall not knock it more than I have to, because there are dignified and sombre business establishments within the building and the surrounding vicinity. Nonetheless, it cannot be denied that whenever Pertama Complex is discussed, the exultation of "Rock on lah brader!!" will

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1082614075715680302004-04-22T13:34:00.000+08:002004-04-22T14:17:14.543+08:00

It's tax season in Malaysia. Deadline to file returns is end of this month and I haven't even started compiling the documents for it. Oh well, last minute's always the best time. Speaking of the Inland Revenue Board, here's something that makes you wonder if they're hiring the right people to handle all that money (from an anonymous emailer - a mamat obviously, but at least he didn't say ahaks):

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1082455758228671102004-04-20T18:09:00.000+08:002004-04-20T18:14:58.373+08:00

Tribute to PJ... the town, not the person wakakaka! Had to go to PJ new town for an appointment just now and whiled away the time before the meeting by taking a few voyeuristic shots with my cameraphone. I rarely go there nowadays because of the stifling traffic jams, but once in a while, do find myself in the nucleus of my birthplace, my stomping ground when I was but a wee toddler (with mummy

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1082435298891970622004-04-20T13:32:00.000+08:002004-04-20T14:36:13.496+08:00

Last night, I had dinner at Tanjung Puteri, one of the best stalls I've ever frequented in my life. You know how you'd normally judge a stall by the tastiness of its food alone, because let's face it - you wouldn't want to know what rodents were crawling amongst the plates and pans or if the mamak/nyonya/akak observed proper hygiene. TP is different in that it gets top marks for the whole

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1082368586387878822004-04-19T17:56:00.000+08:002004-04-19T18:51:54.483+08:00

Over the weekend, I had my first cab ride in over a year. The last time I took a taxi was in April last year to catch a flight at KLIA, and it didn't really count as a normal cab ride because the dirver was a family friend and the fare was pre-determined. Horror stories about the KL cabbie abound, ranging from overcharging to rape & assualt, but my ride was uneventful and quite enjoyable,

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1082018005998529642004-04-15T13:44:00.000+08:002004-04-15T16:45:02.060+08:00

First things first. This is how my boys presently look like: DY took some a few jibes from his kindy-mates on Monday. I told him to ignore them because "They are jealous that you look like Beckham". By Wednesday it did not seem to be an issue any more. AY is annoyed with his brother's crew-cut: hair-pulling used to be his main weapon in fights with big bro, and now he can't get a grip. LOL.

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1081836802264746442004-04-13T13:50:00.000+08:002004-04-13T14:19:57.983+08:00

Hair today, gone tomorrow. Get outta hair. A hair-razing experience. Regardless of which horrible hair pun you use to describe the event, a lot of hair was shed last weekend by the men of the Ebeneezer Tan family. Due to an Indian-national barber who confused imperial measurements with the metric system, DY's requested 1-inch length cut became a pseudo-bald 1-cm crew-cut. AY managed to escape

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1081508774511700742004-04-10T06:06:00.000+08:002004-04-10T07:06:13.483+08:00

This week I received a wedding invitation from Iraq, one of my friends with whom I go back a loooong way. In primary school, we sat next to each other during Ugama (Religious studies) class and we were classmates and dorm mates in secondary school. He is one of the last bastions of bachelorhood to crumble as far as my ex-schoolmates are concerned. I e-mailed my RSVP to him and he replied with

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1081317434619249622004-04-07T13:57:00.000+08:002004-04-07T18:16:59.420+08:00

I was inspired by one of PJ's recent postings to blog about this. The subject is hairy moles, and since I could not find a picture of hair sprouting out of a mole, I shall attach here the image that did crop up when I googled the relevant words: which is a mole sprouting out of its lair (close enough). Cute little critter, isn't he? However, the hairy moles I'm referring to are anything but.

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1080749609678165692004-04-01T00:13:00.000+08:002004-04-01T08:27:44.843+08:00

Some of my regulars are very close to cracking the Mystery of the Real Identity of Ebeneezer Tan Boon Ming, if they've not already done so. Sorry girls, you ain't gettin' a public unveiling from me on this blog. I'll admit that "Mystery" may be somewhat of a misnomer - there are readers who know my real-life identity; some are real-life friends, some are cyber-friends who discovered who I was (

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1080014226076760332004-03-23T11:57:00.000+08:002004-03-23T14:00:11.700+08:00

The elections have come and gone. Barisan Nasional have won more than two-thirds of the seats in Parliament - 90% in fact, which is as near as you can realistically get to a clean sweep. Pak Lah has taken the oath of office yesterday - see the gratuitous pic below courtesy of the Star, put here simply to beautify today's posting: Who's that bloke behind the PM and King, by the way? I bet

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1079681473786349632004-03-19T15:31:00.000+08:002004-03-19T17:47:35.466+08:00

This entry is dedicated to Honey R, simply because she asked me to update my blog (LOL). I was also inspired by her recent "100 things about me" post. 1. I used to be a music Nazi. I could not tolerate people whose taste in music differed from mine, especially if their music of choice was bubble-gum pop, and ridiculed them mercilessly. I fancied myself as a serious metal / profound pop (police

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1079065583179014292004-03-12T14:15:00.000+08:002004-03-12T14:39:40.653+08:00

The tooth fairy may be visiting soon. I've got the makings of a major toothache coming on. It's not a new problem. I have an impacted molar due to my wisdom tooth growing sideways. It's quite common - every other person I know has the same problem, and it confirms my belief that God created wisdom teeth so that dentists could have a job. I knew about this about 10 years ago. At the time the

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1079005057841879692004-03-11T19:37:00.000+08:002004-03-12T09:09:26.560+08:00

I was reading the Star's Holiday Travel supplement in today's paper and noticed this piece on the Queen Mary 2, the latest luxury cruise ship from the Cunard Line. According to the Star, "Queen Mary 2, the largest, longest, widest, tallest and grandest ocean liner ever built has received rapturous welcomes wherever she docks in her maiden year... Leisurely days at sea allow passengers to take in

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1078909845143929232004-03-10T17:10:00.000+08:002004-03-10T17:13:53.356+08:00

My in-laws' house is of the linked variety, second on the block. The first house, which is the corner lot, is now empty and the lawn is overgrown with weeds and shrubs, in addition to being a dumping ground for excess construction materials of renovating neighbours. A couple used to live there. They were very old, and the lady, whom everyone in the neighbourhood called Mak Ulong, was bent over

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1078805084517656822004-03-09T12:45:00.000+08:002004-03-09T14:07:25.250+08:00

Once every few years, politicians hang around their constituencies more often, the streets are awash in multi-coloured banners and posters and there is a marked increase in the amount of hyperbole, bole-bole-semua-bole and plain bolesheet in the media. It's election time again!! This will be the third time in my life that I will be going to the polls to select my representatives for parliament

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1078381235744330762004-03-04T14:20:00.000+08:002004-03-04T14:51:11.780+08:00

... you listen to radio stations like Sinar FM. Sinar FM is the latest station to emerge from Astro's AMP Radio Networks stable, joining the likes of Hitz.fm, era and mix.fm, amongst others. I've been tuning in for the last few days, and I must say that I personally find the selection of music appealing. Sinar mainly plays Malay songs from the 60s, 70s and 80s with a sprinkling of (and here's

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1078196605070647562004-03-02T11:03:00.000+08:002004-03-02T11:15:00.716+08:00

Since we are in the Oscar season, what better way for Lucid Ramblings to join the celebrations than to showcase Ebennezer Tan's own productions. So here for your viewing pleasure, is a micro film starring AY titled "Doing nothing in particular". Enjoy!

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1078127893375735362004-03-01T15:58:00.000+08:002004-03-01T16:04:42.186+08:00

I took the above pic this morning with my cameraphone and only got a chance to have a look at it, in its full-sized glory, later on my office PC. I laughed my head off for various reasons (emailed it to wife but she didn't find anything particularly funny):- 1. The "tak mandi" look of both boys (especially where it concerns the hair) 2. AY's world-weary "whaddya want from me?" expression 3.

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1077712184411463482004-02-25T20:29:00.000+08:002004-02-25T20:32:33.263+08:00

My new office PC (see phlog entries --->) is DA BOMB! I was writing a creative piece (totally work related, I assure you) and the words were literally flowing from my fingertips. I read my draft and tears came to my eyes - ok not really, but others reading it will cry, I tell you. This may be the best thing i've written in a long time (the creative piece, not this blog entry). The keyboard of

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1077690244929144572004-02-25T14:24:00.000+08:002004-02-25T17:27:30.546+08:00

The past couple of weeks have been quite hectic at the office. Without saying too much about what i do (it's better to maintain the mystery this way and let your imagination run wild), suffice it to say that some major changes are underway for me, and whether or not they are for the better or worse remains to be seen. Since I am on the subject of work however, I thought I'd record some

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1077156159889326682004-02-19T10:02:00.000+08:002004-02-19T11:12:09.466+08:00

...let's see how many Google referrals I get from THAT for people looking for a bit of Pammie. On Monday evening, I suddenly started sneezing during a meeting and had to hold my handkerchief to my nose for the rest of the session. That night, my throat started itching and by Tuesday morning, I couldn't see for all the sneezing and tears in my eyes. By lunch, I was a zombie with a warm forehead

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1076922170040494652004-02-16T17:00:00.000+08:002004-02-16T17:05:26.716+08:00

I just received an email from the IT guys in my firm this morning. With the joviality that usually accompanies a letter informing someone that he has won the lottery, I was told that I would be getting a new PC tomorrow. I distinctly remembered changing PCs hardly a year ago - now, I know that Intel comes up with successively faster chips quicker than Bollywood comes up with movies, but nobody

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1076780756705364142004-02-15T01:45:00.000+08:002004-02-15T01:51:03.653+08:00

Valentine's weekend - the most romantic time of the year, as florists, chocolatiers and restaurateurs would have you believe. Yes we are suckers on February 14th. Look at this hand-bouqet I got for my wife. In the days preceding Valentine's, they cost nearly double their normal, rest-of-the-year price. Malaysian florists are shylocks, plain and simple. When I was studying in UK, prices of

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1076570783476622552004-02-12T15:26:00.000+08:002004-02-12T15:34:36.233+08:00

Coolness! Come this September, I will be one of the millions of happy campers worldwide as the Star Wars Original Trilogy is released on DVD!! Just got this information yesterday via the Star Wars official newsletter: The most requested films for the DVD format will finally become a reality this September as Lucasfilm Ltd. and Twentieth Century Fox present the eagerly-awaited Star Wars

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1076293258274136142004-02-09T07:00:00.000+08:002004-02-09T10:38:10.513+08:00

Yesterday, I took DY to Nasi Lemak Pak Ayub, which is located on the upper floor of the Shah Alam Section 6 wet market. We used to live in Shah Alam until the middle of last year, and it was a Sunday morning ritual for me to bring DY to the wet market, buy fruits and the Sunday papers (the messy items of chicken, fish, veg were bought at the cleaner & aircon'd Giant), then go upstairs to get 3

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1076118763498930882004-02-07T09:52:00.000+08:002004-02-07T10:48:40.310+08:00

Wow, it has been a week since I'd last updated the blog. No idea of what to write, actually, so as is the custom when this happens, I shall blog about whatever comes to mind. Proton launched a new model yesterday. Here's a pic taken from The Star Online. I'm riding on their bandwith, too, so if you're reading this late, you may not be able to see the pic if they've archived it. "Thaaaaank

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1075594351526147212004-02-01T08:12:00.000+08:002004-02-01T08:14:46.873+08:00

The above is Donald Fagen's "The Nightfly" - arguably one of the best jazz albums of the 1980s. Give it a listen, although it may be difficult to obtain nowadays. You may find some old fogey sharing it on Kazaa, but he'll probably be the only one so be prepared for a loong download. Record stores might only have the odd copy in the bargain bin, if at all. The one I have is on good

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1075191709976921252004-01-27T16:21:00.000+08:002004-01-27T17:24:30.750+08:00

Holy crud... I'd heard about this before, but I never thought I'd be the targetted victim of such a scam. Received this in the email just now: I do not have a RHB Bank account, and I'd been warned about such scams by my bank (not RHB), with whom I have e-banking facilities. Out of curiosity, I clicked on the hyperlink which took me to an exact replica of RHB's login page. Of course, I

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1075183053379551512004-01-27T13:57:00.000+08:002004-01-27T13:59:41.576+08:00

Caught the Golden Globe awards on TV last night - I could not have missed it, since they showed it THREE TIMES on Star World - once live and the twice repeated. My wife and I are suckers for these kind of shows, although (in the words of my Dad) it's just a glorified prize-giving day with famous people who give overly-long thank you speeches. I guess I watch these awards shows to know what

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1075109321828512342004-01-26T17:28:00.000+08:002004-01-26T17:38:35.360+08:00

It's official - my well of writing ideas has completely dried up. This is the third posting on running this month, and those of you reading this will think that there is nothing else going on in my life except running and holidays. Well, yes, that just so happens to be true, but I'd thought that I could avoid blogging about not having things to blog about. Huh?! What did I just say? Whatever...

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1075105727872316632004-01-26T16:28:00.000+08:002004-01-26T16:30:55.326+08:00

Yahoo! Just found out about this: Feb 3 Declared Holiday For KL, Labuan And Putrajaya KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 26 (Bernama) -- The Prime Minister's Department Monday announced Feb 3 a public holiday for the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya. Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Samsudin Osman said this is due to Hari Raya Qurban and Federal Territory Day falling on the same

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1074806346297235262004-01-23T05:19:00.000+08:002004-01-23T05:21:09.013+08:00

Before I start on the topic-of-the-day, I'd just like to record this observation that my internet connection status indicator shows I'm sending out more bytes than I'm receiving. The weird thing is, I'm just logged on to my site and not uploading anything! I'm sure somebody's tapping my PC just now, but for what info? SHit.. how to stop this??!! LTS and Minamona blogged about dreams on their

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1074661254471912332004-01-21T13:00:00.000+08:002004-01-21T13:02:55.123+08:00

Yahoo! The firm has oh so kindly given its staff a half-holiday today so I shall be scooting off home after lunch to get ready for the big reunion dinner in the evening hahahaha Yes, the "reunion" being a gathering of family members since our last meal together at breakfast today. OK, I guess I can let a secret out - Ebeneezer Tan is not my real name (duh), I am not Chinese nor am I a Muslim

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1074640810956798302004-01-21T07:20:00.000+08:002004-01-21T09:03:31.450+08:00

Went running at the Lake Gardens again yesterday, the second time since I'd started on my so-called "fitness regime". I'd wanted to go earlier on, so that I'd run at least every other day, but there'd always be something that cropped up - my performance appraisal (couldn't miss that), last-minute work assignments, rain, etc. Surprisingly, I think I kept a better pace and did a better time (over

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1074465950704825482004-01-19T06:45:00.000+08:002004-01-19T08:30:57.966+08:00

The main headline story in this week's New Sunday Times was that Malaysians spent RM1.2b on sms in 2003, based on an estimated 6 billion sms sent at an average cost of 20 sen per message. That is a LOT of messages and a LOT of money spent. To put it into perspective, that much money could get you one eigth of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport and fund 8% of the cost of double-tracking the

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1074401052310242322004-01-18T12:44:00.000+08:002004-01-18T12:46:08.263+08:00

Today, the gang-rape and murder of a 10-year old girl was reported in the Malaysian press. The girl had left home at 9.30am to buy groceries, and her parents raised the alarm when she still hadn't returned by 12.45 pm. The police found her at the guardhouse of an electrical sub-station where she was allegedly lured/brought by the guard and was gang-raped by him and 2 other men. It is disgusting

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1074217611484175282004-01-16T09:46:00.000+08:002004-01-16T09:48:44.686+08:00

When I was younger, naive and more idealistic (I still am, but perhaps less so), I thought workplace duplicity was the worst thing in the world - you know, backstabbing, badmouthing or doing something behind another's back. Now that I've spent a decade in the rat race, I've somehow come to tolerate it. I don't know whether i myself am doing these things - I consider myself an honest and

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1074061550902400862004-01-14T14:25:00.000+08:002004-01-14T14:33:57.093+08:00

Yesterday afternoon was the first time in a long while that I'd gone running. If I recall correctly, the last time I put on my running shoes was before my second son was born, so it's been more than a year!! Bad, very bad, and it's not as if i was the one who went into labour and had to recover from childbirth. So off I went to the KL Lake Gardens, which has a proper synthetic-rubber track that

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1073835034343088782004-01-11T23:30:00.000+08:002004-01-12T00:05:34.953+08:00

There was a request for more photos of AY, so I'm going to oblige with some pix taken today. As you can see, he is wearing proper T-shirts and shorts that any self-respecting 1 year-old male would wear, and not any attire that SOME people think resembles a dress (harumph! LOL). I'm beginning to like this digital photography thing, even if I'm only using a low-res camera phone. Before, I'd have

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1073560728453846442004-01-08T19:18:00.000+08:002004-01-08T19:19:08.320+08:00

...from a PC the next few days, but check the SMS Log on your right for postings! I am now a phlogging nut. Tried to moblog with Mfop2, but it looks like the site only supports MT, despite its claims that it also works with blogger. LTS my technical advisor, gotta seek your expertise on this soon :) Have a good weekend everyone!

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1073466447995165772004-01-07T17:07:00.000+08:002004-01-07T17:07:47.716+08:00

I've been getting so much spam on my office email address for the past year or so that I decided to count how many of these emails I get a day. From 5.00 pm Tuesday to 5.00 pm today, I got a total of 26 spam emails - that's an average of more than 1 per hour. Most of it is for generic viagra, breast enlargement (LOL) and cheap Windows Office - one had to cheek to offer me spam-prevention

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1073400241806965232004-01-06T22:44:00.000+08:002004-03-29T10:40:03.640+08:00

Here's my entry for LTS's 200m Project. The assignment: walk for 200m, taking a photo every 5 steps. Photos taken with a cameraphone, for very good reasons: 1. I don't have a digicam 2. If anybody caught me red-handed, I could pretend I was making a call Amazingly, no-one was around when Iwas doing this. I do suspect, though, that the CCTV caught me and our security guards are probably still

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1073247914210610272004-01-05T04:25:00.000+08:002004-01-05T04:25:32.980+08:00

I have this recurring fantasy - resigning from my current job, selling the KL house and moving to a smaller town or even the kampung, a la Peter Mayle of "A Year in Provence" fame. Yeah, I know, I don't have to go so far as to quote a bestselling British (now French?) author as an example, my fantasy is the dream of many a Malay person - the "balik kampung' syndrome: a yearning for the simple

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1072672345353143902003-12-29T12:32:00.000+08:002003-12-29T12:32:42.253+08:00

... you make the best of what's still around. This is what I asked Santa for: 1. The new Sony-Ericsson T610 2. A DVD+RW/-RW drive 3. A mini-DV camcorder 4. A digicam, preferably the Nikon D-100 or Canon G5 I don't know whether it was because I am too bloody old, I do not celebrate Christmas or I just don't believe in the tubby elf but the upshot is that these items were not in my stocking on

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1072412542650711192003-12-26T12:22:00.000+08:002003-12-26T12:22:39.000+08:00

I've got this major, ummm, written assignment to do, deadline of 15 December has waaay passed and here I am blogging. OK, just a short one. This written assignment is an annual thing, and it's the most thankless piece of work I do - somebody else gets credited for it, it will undergo major re-writings and my boss is not aware of the effort I put into it. It's also in dull, technical language so

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1072258017117109572003-12-24T17:26:00.000+08:002003-12-25T07:19:17.700+08:00

Was in Port Dickson over the past few days with the family, and was amazed to see the staggering number of Singaporean cars in the hotel parking lot. I mean, I come to PD (as it is more affectionately known) because I have to - at about an hour's drive from KL, it is the closest seaside resort town to the city. Even then, it's been 2 years since my last visit. Why do Singaporeans drive 400km

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1071942329155866682003-12-21T01:45:00.000+08:002003-12-21T09:13:13.990+08:00

Yesterday, I caught a radio news report saying some NZ researchers have found that the colour of your car affects the probability of it being involved in an accident. Apparently, silver cars have been found to be less likely to be involved in a driving-related accident than cars coloured black, brown or green. However, the report did not offer any conclusions on what exactly causes this. This

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1071732810015698632003-12-18T15:33:00.000+08:002003-12-18T17:05:04.913+08:00

Those who have not seen the film have been warned. I had mixed feelings about the ending of the film, actually. To me, I counted various times that Peter Jackson could've ended the story and come away with a better film (emphasis on the words "better film", which does not necessarily mean "faithful interpretation"). One, when Sauron is destroyed and the Orcs flee. Two, when Frodo & Sam and are

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1071708416211587032003-12-18T08:46:00.000+08:002003-12-18T08:47:10.076+08:00

Yesterday, we (I, wife & friend) attended the Starbucks charity premiere of LOTR: Return of the King at TGV One Utama. Don't know how much exactly went to charity, though, because for the RM39 package, we got a RM10 (assuming normal price) ticket, a RM12 frapuccino and a RM12 Starbucks mug - only RM5 donated? Don't know, really. Well, we were there at the cinema slightly slightly before 8.00 pm

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1071587695250342792003-12-16T23:14:00.000+08:002003-12-17T00:00:37.510+08:00

test layout by LTS :) hi hi do you see the white and gray columns side by side or top and below? my screen is the big screen so i'd like to know if it looks allright on smaller screens?

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1071498344781776982003-12-15T22:25:00.000+08:002003-12-15T22:25:58.233+08:00

Over the weekend, the firm held its family day / Eid celebration for staff at Genting Highlands. We must have been nuts to go up a mountain during rainy season - going up, it was raining and we couldn't see the road because of the mist. The morning-long showers had an effect on the hills - there was a minor landslide that held us up coming down in the afternoon, but our wait was nothing

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1071269948302814072003-12-13T06:59:00.000+08:002003-12-13T06:59:21.423+08:00

Last week was pretty depressing, and it was not just that year-end feeling (see previous entry). No, my career dilemma was a frolic in the meadow compared to what some other people, friends as well as strangers reported in the newspapers, are going through. Earlier this week I read of the 8-year old boy who had just recovered from a life-threatening kidney ailment, only to be knocked down and

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1071110357509459132003-12-11T10:39:00.000+08:002003-12-11T10:39:29.623+08:00

I feel a little unwell, and it’s that usual year-end feeling. You know what I mean – waking up one fine December day and realising that 12 months have zipped by in the blink of an eye, and you wonder what you’ve got to show for another year of your life. I’ve been working in my current organization for 8 years now, and I seriously think that a change, for me, is in order. Ennui is beginning to

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1070965694642526422003-12-09T18:28:00.000+08:002003-12-09T19:10:10.616+08:00

Why do politicians like to talk out of their butts? Seriously, if you looked at these people when they were making public comments, I swear you’ll see the words coming out of a small puckered mouth obscured by two fat cheeks. Much has been said about the case of a certain Minister of Funny Walks, Atok Nazi Acis and the verbal spat he’s been having with the Die-Wreck-Tore of Instigations at the

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1070846159147060422003-12-08T07:15:00.000+08:002003-12-08T11:02:44.360+08:00

“Neeeeighbours, ev’rybody needs good neeeeighbours…” goes the first verse of the silly theme song that accompanies one of the longest-running Aussie soaps of (probably) all time. Trite, and thus, so true. The importance of getting along with the person who lives next door to you never really hit home (pun not intended) until we moved into our present house earlier this year. Sam (regular

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1070555712991637182003-12-05T00:35:00.000+08:002003-12-05T09:57:16.760+08:00

For the past 3 years, the end of the year has not only marked Eid, performance-appraisal and Christmas, but most importantly…THE LORD OF THE RINGS!!! Yes, I and countless millions are waiting with uncontainable anticipation the final installment of the LOTR saga. Although we are glad that at last we will get to see the 3rd and final part, I am sure that such joy is also tinged with a bit of

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1070421434407412602003-12-03T07:13:00.000+08:002003-12-03T11:53:51.443+08:00

Last evening my firm hosted its annual Hari Raya open house for clients, dignitaries and members of the press (actually the term “open house” has become a bit of a misnomer in Malaysia because the event is only for invited guests. The real open-houses are those held at your home on the first day of Eid when you welcome anyone who comes a-knockin at your door. But I digress). As usual, the senior

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1070301336110242752003-12-02T01:55:00.000+08:002003-12-02T01:56:23.573+08:00

As promised earlier, this is the link to my Raya 2003 photos. Actually, there are more than a 100 snapshots but I just don't have the time to scan them all in. Have to seriously think about getting a digicam - photo processing costs a bomb nowadays.

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1070135575701076092003-11-30T03:52:00.000+08:002003-11-30T03:53:05.506+08:00

I've been away from any sort of computer for the past week or so. As I said in my last posting, I'd be doing a fair bit of travelling during Aidilfitri and indeed I have. I find it amazing and somewhat worrying that these Hari Raya breaks keep on getting longer and longer as I grow older. When I was a kid, I remember celebrating Raya for 2 days only i.e. the official public holidays. Now, with

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1069442074152518382003-11-22T03:14:00.000+08:002003-11-22T03:19:54.910+08:00

Selamat Hari Raya Aidlfitri, Happy Eid, to all vistors to this site. It is customary for Muslims to ask for forgiveness on this holy day, and I'd like to do just that to all and sundry. My postings have been neither controversial nor provocative, but I never know who may have been offended by what I've put down here. Hari Raya will be the normal flurry of visitations and entertaining for me

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-106927338036103262003-11-20T04:23:00.000+08:002003-11-20T09:04:22.873+08:00

Quite a few Malaysian bloggers have posted about PAS recently, most of them ridiculing Malaysia’s largest opposition party and its plans to impose hudud, its policies with regard to women, etc. If PAS ever came into power, there would be many lifestyle changes I’d have to make, to be sure. My entertainment options would dwindle. Cinemas? Forget seeing Star Wars Episode 3 - only religious films

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1069096976549561772003-11-18T03:22:00.000+08:002003-11-18T09:34:01.190+08:00

Buy! Buy! Buy! Fellow bloggers’ postings on shopping have inspired this piece. What better time to blog about this than now, the peak season for the Malaysian retail industry. I don’t exactly fall within the stereotype of the shopping-hating guy. When it comes to shopping for clothes, I admit that I’m one of those who can purchase 3-4 shirts or other apparel in about 10 minutes or less. You

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1068917487007836412003-11-16T01:31:00.000+08:002003-11-16T01:31:32.740+08:00

That year-end Ritual How many of you are going through your job performance evaluation currently? Most of us, I bet, with the exception of those whose employers' financial year end does not follow the calendar year. It is arguably the most important administrative ritual that you have to go through, as it will affect your bonus that u get this year (if any) and will determine the quantum of

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1068800424709553132003-11-14T17:00:00.000+08:002003-11-14T17:00:30.410+08:00

It's dead I can't believe it - my demonic handphone, the Motorola c330 that I was complaining about a few weeks back (can't be bothered to hyperlink - it's in the archives) has finally conked out. It will not power on, and when I plug in the charger, nothing lights up. It had been on its last legs recently - giving only an hour's standby time even after an overnight charge - but I never thought

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1068773031559444932003-11-13T18:45:00.000+08:002003-11-14T14:00:09.360+08:00

Ramadan Buffet & Friends This week, ‘tis the peak time for Ramadan buffets, it would seem. I’ve read more than a few buffet reviews by KL bloggers, and was shocked that some can even be priced at RM88 per person. The prices that these establishments are charging are scandalous, but can one really fault them when there is a demand for these buffets, exorbitant prices notwithstanding? However,

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1068619060932108082003-11-12T14:37:00.000+08:002003-11-12T14:51:25.800+08:00

Clone Wars ROCKS!! (I’m a Star Wars nut, I must admit. I love everything Star Wars, even the cartoons. So call me juvenile if you want, I don’t care. The force is with me!!) Monday saw the international premiere of the Clone Wars animated series on Cartoon Network. Those of you who are wondering what the Clone Wars are and why I’m excited over a cartoon are obviously not Star Wars fans (or

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1068260092190788182003-11-08T10:54:00.000+08:002003-11-08T11:41:17.570+08:00

Miss Digital World It was bound to happen sooner or later, I guess. CNN reports that Italy will be hosting the world’s first beauty pageant for virtual or CGI lovelies aptly titled Miss Digital World. To quote the website, the contest is “strictly for the most beautiful and intriguing virtual models made using the most advanced 3D graphics tools”. Cool!! And I’m sure the contestants will be

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1068179952787587462003-11-07T12:39:00.000+08:002003-11-07T12:43:55.503+08:00

TGIF Went to the IRB today to settle our taxes. The Bozo Officer i referred to in my previous entry was apparently a newbie - he was not even in the staff directory and the receptionist took about 10 minutes to find him. Anyway, we came to do battle, but were still in an open frame of mind. So when he showed us the calculations, we had to admit he was right, dammit. There is an outstanding

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5857035.post-1068001563256184972003-11-05T11:06:00.000+08:002003-11-05T12:16:21.160+08:00

Frowning There is indeed a yin and yang in this world. On days that some people are smiling, others are frowning. The corners of my mouth are pointing downwards today, and I shall tell you why: 1. The Inland Revenue Board (IRB), that I thought was pretty efficient until today, has informed me that there appears to be some outstanding tax payments from 1999. WTF!! As everybody knows, 1999/

ethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17790283527180601104noreply@blogger.com0