YES or NO as simple as that

I was reading about the fantastic move that the Health Ministry is doing in trying to curb obesity issue in Malaysia. Various measures are being proposed to keep our children healthy including to list the BMI result in their report cards, banning some unhealthy food, recommending healthy food etc. I totally 101% support the move as both Ethan and Eli will eventually be going to school and I do worry about the kind of food they will eat in school as we will not be there to monitor them.

But what irk me most is when I hear things like this morning over the radio. We now know that the Government plans to ban Nasi Lemak from the school canteen and as I would  expect there are of coz protest especially from the Nasi Lemak sellers. Understand they will grumble especially if that is their main source of income. Anyway, upon hearing the complains and how it will affect a group of people's livelihood, I heard over the radio that there is a proposal to still allow the school canteen to sell Nasi Lemak twice a week. At that point in time I was like, what the heck are they doing??!! Ok, let's say that is allowed, for those who just can't resist Nasi Lemak (btw I do love Nasi Lemak!) after being deprive from it for a day or two he/she may want to not only take 1 pack but perhaps 2 or even 3 packs (breakfast, lunch and tea time) of Nasi Lemak in a day!! So tell me how does tht help to prevent obesity in our community??! It is the same concept as when you are very hungry u tend to eat more to ease your hunger...Why can't thy set a rule that sticks to the MAIN objective which in this case is to prevent obesity. IF they really are serious about it why can't they propose instead of allowing Nasi Lemak to be sold in the school canteen twice a week, please give the sellers a new list of healthy food that thy can prepare and sell instead. HELLOO.... please think out of the box and be creative, smart, forward looking and positive okay...when there is challenge why can't we sit down, discuss and think of a better way to solve the problem before we open our mouths instead of acting 'gabra' and talk nonsense and embarrass ourselves! Come on we're are better than that right?! Double BIG sigh...

Red red wine

I believe most people will have their one particular favourite colour. But if you ask me what is my favourite colour, I won't be able to tell you what exactly it is as my favourite choice of colour varies depending on my mood. I love all sort of colours especially the bright colours e.g. orange, baby blue, apple green, lilac etc (joy, happiness, love, children etc), pastel colours offwhite in any tone e.g. blue, green, pink and cream,  (soothing, calm, peace, harmony..), earthly colours e.g. brown, beige, earthly green (natural, keep feet on the ground feeling), and bold colours e.g. red, black, silver, bronze (firm, all out, strong, bold, determine, elegance, maturity). And no, don't ask me I should be able to pick one from those many colors as my fave as I will not be able to do so...like I said, it all depends on the mood I am :)

So you may ask what is my fave colour now? Well, currently I'm into RED! Yes, red since end of last year from Xmas to NY to CNY till now red has been my choice of favourite colour... I'm not sure how long this will last but at the moment I'm loving RED :)

Hubby bought this handbag (I was really tempted to get this but luckily I felt in love with this one especially with the 50% discount and it is 10 times cheaper!!)  for me before 2010 ended but I only started using it on Saturday..was too busy to unload and clear my old handbag...show how much rubbish I have in my handbag hehehe... Well, I think most people will know especially my hubby, mom and MIL how heavy my handbag is ;p

and yes of coz I need a matching wallet ;p

and a red bag organizer too...

and thank goodness my lappy, mousy and hp are already of the same tone ;p

and I have a matching shoes as well ;p (oh please ignore the dry wrinkly feet and without colours on me nails...I used to be diligent in applying lotion on my feet before bedtime but am too lazy to splash some lotion on them after my first pregnancy ;p)

of course I don't  forget my 'ang pow' boys :)

and I've been wanting to use this pic but was too lazy to blog about it but thought it is perfect to use with my red red wine entry ;p This group photos was taken during our annual dinner committee member photo shoot last year...I love that the red colour brightens up the photo ;p

Backward step?

Recently there has been a great debate on whether science and maths subjects should continue to be taught in English or back to Malay language. And due to great protest from various parties, the government has bowed to the protesters and decided to reinstate Malay language as a teaching medium for both subjects from 2012.

Some of the reasons given are: it undermines the effort to modernize mother tongue; and poor academic performance on those two subjects especially students in interior areas.

I began my schooling days (from kindy to primary 6) in a Chinese school before I went into a public school for my secondary years with Malay language as a teaching medium. From there I moved on to a college in KL to pursue my A-Levels before I furthered my studies overseas. Now, from my own personal experience I must admit it was not easy to study in different languages (Mandarin during primary school, and English during college and uni years) other than the language that I speak at home which is Malay. I struggled but I managed and in the end I would say I've certainly gained especially in terms of language skills hence no regret (though during trying times I did swear and curse hehehe). Though my Mandarin and English are not perfect but there have been many a times where it gave me some special advantage ;p For instant, I've always use mandarin language when bargaining with Chinese sellers of which I always tend to get more discounts ;p I was also able to avoid some insincere sellers (I could understand their conversation in Mandarin of their intentions...).

Anyway, back to the issue, if one intends to further his/her studies whether locally or overseas, he/she is bound to end up having to study from English textbooks anyway. So what better way than to start from young. I struggled quite a bit when I was studying my A-Levels and even during my uni years as I spent quite a bit of time just searching for meaning of words in the dictionary instead of studying and finishing up my assignments/ projects. It was definately a great challenge especially during exams time..imagine the situation where you are unable to answer the question just because you don't quite understand what it meant!!?? I could perhaps have done better academically if my English proficiency was better. That was why I am pleased when English language was introduced to teach both science and maths subjects in schools. It was a very good start coz to me it will definitely give Malaysia that competitive edge in the long term. Personally, I just can't see how teaching these two subjects in English will undermine mother tongue as the rest of the subjects are still taught in their own mother tongue. As for the interior students, I supposed a special syllabus or extra classes/ tuition can be offered to help them cope with the language. Besides, if previously our ancestors could embrace English as a teaching medium during those British colony time, why can't we now? It was even harder for them as they had to study all subjects in English but yet they survived. This include those from the rural areas. Both my parents are certainly not from the city and they were English educated too. But never did I once heard them complaining about it. And if you really look at it, you will realise that most of our parents who came from that era have better English proficiency than some of us. Moreover, I do believe kids nowadays are smarter too. But if we keep on spoon feeding them and always giving them easy ways, I wonder how are they gonna cope with the big jungle out there?!

If you ask me, I would certainly say no and will not change the policy simply because it is just making us Malaysia becoming more backward than anything else. Why backward you may ask, well, for a start how are we to achieve the much talked about Vision 2020 if half of us can't even speak proper English when it is an international language? Furthermore, Vision 2020 aspires Malaysia to be at par with the developed countries and for us to become a knowledge society. You and I know that most of the high quality non-fiction books/ materials including text books, reference books, journals, research papers, patents, articles, magazines, websites/ webpages etc are written in English. So how are we to compete with those big guys in that great big jungle out there if we don't get ourself prepare from now? So please don't just look on the surface but take a good deeper look yo!

Anyway, if you would like to express your say in this matter in a subtle way, you could cast your vote here.

Fashion & technology are a perfect match!

A few weeks back, I made an entry about me being so much head over heel in love with the limited edition of Vivien Tam's netbook. Well, today it came back to haunt me especially after I've got to know that it has been launched in Malaysia about 2 months ago! Yeah, I know, am a bit outdated but hey I don't have the time nor the luxury to actually find out more especially after the "regret to inform..." reply I received from HP people that said the super duper stylish with a good enough specs (at least for me who don't need it for some powerful applications..) was not available in Malaysia then. Yes, you read it, I was sooo in love with it that I actually wrote to HP to simply enquire where can I purchase it in Malaysia and even went around Karamunsing shopping complex to scout ard for that red hot chilli and sexy gadget! I must confess, I was unable to wait for the reply via email on that very same day that I actually clicked and asked their Live Online Customer Service for the availability and pricing in Malaysia (email seemed like snail mail to me at that very moment!! hehehe...) Sadly of course, the answer was "Not available in Malaysia" :( But surely they would have known if it will be coming to Malaysia in the near future then and delight the excited customer that I was...it doen't come with an external cd drive though but I found out from ebay that you could order one that is compatible with the VT netbook with a year's waranty...

Oh well, anyway, I found out from here that the selling price is RM1999. But I saw from here and here that the actual cover and the red tone was not as what I have visualized in my head...hmmm...never mind, I'm still reading reviews about it and so far the specs reviews are a-okay except negative vibes those who are not into girly designs...I think I will have to meet my potential "new love/ new toy" face to face (hopefully this weekend hee..) before I will decide if I am willing to part with my moolah and pay additional RM300 for a sleek looking "digital clutch" ;)

Have a look at the ebrochure...Now who says techy gadgets can't be sexy and stylish ;p As Vivien Tam put it “The fashion-forward woman no longer has to sacrifice glamour when staying in touch with all her favorite digital content. And the flower and vibrant colors suggest good fortune, happiness and prosperity in the Chinese culture.” I likey though I still have to see the actual look in real life first -yeah I know, you can call me a fussy pot but it has to fulfill my criteria before I will take it home right ;p

Tough days ahead..

We all have heard of the shrinking economic cake...some are saying that this time it might be worst than the 1997 financial crisis and that it may continue for the next 2 years. Some companies have started their cost cutting exercise (which where I am attached to now is no exception..) while others have prepared their retrenchment list....you have heard of the stock market swings and the oil price instability too...then there's Singapore announcing its intention to retrench Malaysian employees should they go into recession.....due to all these, it has also been predicted that many properties will go on auctions and hence perhaps a plunging drop in properties price...I guess there will be less economic activities as people will not be willing to spend due to lower purchasing power as well as afraid of the unexpected...although I won't be surprise there might be some opportunists and the risk takers that will take the opportunity to buy properties and unit trust at a much lower price?? Just hope that they will do their homework well before making that decision.

We in Malaysia have not felt the full impact of this yet but it is predicted that the recession may hit Malaysia next year... obviously it seems that the world is going through another cycle of world economic downturn...So that leads us to having to be prepared and spend only if its necessary...easier said then done but I guess if that's where the world economy is heading then we have no choice but to relook at our priorities and do the necessary so that we will not be in dire need of cash when it really hits us...

On a similar topic, I absolutely agree with this columnist on how he sees things with the current situation...have a read and what say you? ;p

Sunday November 2, 2008

The Star Online
Please grow up, will you?
ON THE BEATBy WONG CHUN WAI

With the United States slipping into recession, our politicians should spend time re-evaluating the situation and re-strategising how to ride out the storm instead of squabbling over a shrinking economic cake.

LET’S not lie to ourselves or let the politicians tell us otherwise. Malaysia, like all other economies that depend on international trade, will not be spared from the effects of the global economic turmoil.

Already, private sector employers are adopting cost-cutting measures before the full effects of the financial tsunami are felt next year.

That means no new recruits, reducing business travel, spending less on entertainment, lowering operating costs and even downsizing or retrenchment in some cases.

The reality is that most businesses expect less revenue next year. In order to stretch the dollar, clients are now taking a longer time to settle their bills.

The outlook for next year is not good at all. The general perception is that the effects of the global economic turmoil will run long haul. You don’t have to be an economist to foresee that the problems will not disappear overnight.

To keep their operations afloat, businessmen are keeping a tight control of their budget while seeking new revenue-making avenues.

Ahead of the bad times, Malaysians are looking to our politicians for leadership and assurances – which seem to be lacking.

We want to hear more about the measures that will be taken to soften the blow. It should not just come from Finance Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. What have the others to say?
We are still squabbling about the 30% bumiputra equity under the New Economic Policy even when the cake is shrinking fast. No one seems to be talking about how Malay­sians, regardless of race, should work together to expand the cake.

What’s the point of quarrelling over how many slices when the cake may disappear soon?
For the vast majority of Malays – from wage-earners to traders – their needs will be greater in the months to come.

Surely, it makes sense for a policy to address the needs of those who are truly disadvantaged; and need rather than race should be the criterion.

There’s no legitimate reason to help those with political connections – regardless of whether they are Malay, Chinese or Indian – to become richer and more powerful while the majority stays the same.

It is equally baffling that there should be a controversy over the decision of the Penang state government to use more languages on a handful of signboards in tourist areas.
It’s not something new. Signages in English, Chinese, Japanese and Arabic are already prevalent at the KL International Airport.

Soon, we may even see Russian signages as the country’s new rich begin to travel extensively. Already the Russian market has been identified as the next “frontier”.

In Kuching and Miri, signs on main roads are in Bahasa Malaysia and Chinese and have been there for decades.

Certainly, the identity of the national language will not be threatened nor will the dominant position of the Malays.

We can choose to believe those politicians who spew racist and narrow nationalistic remarks to win votes in party elections or we can be pragmatic and open-minded in a world that has become more competitive and connected.

It is no secret that some of these hypocritical communal champions prefer to holiday in London and send their children, even at primary school level, to study in Britain or Australia. At the same time, they extol “the world-class standard” of our education system.

Fifty years after independence, many politicians, whether in government or the opposition, are still talking about the same issues that have either been resolved or are no longer relevant.
All of a sudden, we have to look up the history books to learn whether the social contract was cast in stone. Worse still, those who brought up the subject do not know much about it.

There seems to be a vacuum for fresh politics. Some of our more youthful leaders are parroting their elders, either out of reverence or for self-preservation. The result is we are getting more of the same.

The sad, if not frightening, part is that many of our politicians do not realise how detached they are from the New Politics of Malaysia, where the minds and hearts of the electorate have so radically changed after March 8.

With 2009 weeks away, Malaysians have to prepare to face a year of uncertainty.
By March, a new political leadership takes over. There’s hope and opportunity if the country is led along the right path.

The results of the general election show that Malaysians have grown up, yet many of our politicians have not.

It’s time they change or be changed.

The government will be announcing their measures on how to cope during this trouble time tomorrow so stay tune for that and see if they have grown up ;p

Here we go again...

This morning as I was doing my environmental scanning I came across this article about the The Malaysian Artistes Association (Seniman) chairman complaining about Shar Rukh Khan (he is so gorgeous!) being conferred the Datukship during the 70th birthday of the Yang Di-Pertua of Malacca. He continues on saying that he does not deserve to such award and that many Malaysian especially the local artistes are well deserving then the good looking Indian actor. Well, you know what, he is probably right but at the same time why should Datukship be given to artistes? Like I mentioned before, why can't there be like in the west where there are special awards for artistes, singers, sportsmen/women etc. In the west, you'll find Grammy Award, Oscar Award, Music Award, Nobel Prize Award and many others. All prestige awards given to well deserving people in the right field. Unfortunately, perhaps we Malaysians are not creative enough or too lazy to come out with such awards...or probably we don't have the budget to do so? If it's budget or financial standing is the culprit, am sure there are plenty of sponsors who would be willing to part with their money and able to claim nontaxable income....the sponsors don't have to be local organizations...am sure there are foreign organizations that maybe willing to do so...it is just the matter of getting things organize....like they say, if there's a will there's a way isn't it? Anyway, if the Seniman chairman thinks that the local artistes deserve awards why not organize a special award especially for our local artistes..why wait for Datukship as recognition...besides Datukship is not an appropriate title to be given to actors/actresses as mentioned in my previous entry...I just wonder why can't we have our own initiative rather than waiting for someone else to do things for us...maybe that is why we are lacking behind in almost everything coz we are so lay back and always the follower never the leader...sad but it is true...just my 2 cents worth on this Tuesday morning...

Goodbye White Rabbit Candy!!

I bet most of you must have tasted or love this yummylicious candy when you were still a kiddo or even up to this day right...I love this milky candy too except the thin layer of "paper" that is being wrapped around the candy that melts in your mouth..some how I just dislike the taste of it...Anyway, this candy which is made in China has been banned thanks to the irresponsible manufacturers in China. This dairy product is one of the products that contains melamine...It irks me to think of the poor babies affected by the melamine contain in infant formula in China recently...and how heart broken it is to hear those innocent babies that suffered or died due to those no-brain manufacturers in China. What were they (the manufacturers) thinking??!! Don't they have any conscience at all that they are harming those poor babies??!! Don't they ever thought of their own children and grand-children when they formulate such products!! What more when the government in China practices 1 child policy...imagine how those parents of the babies who have passed away are going through now...my heart goes to them and the other babies that are suffering now...hope they will recover soon..and hope the relevant authorities will severely punish those idiots for their lack of responsibility and care for children...see how evil money can be!! I am very angry that if you ask me, I would probably force those morons who have invented those deathly products to swallow their own products till they die!! BTW, Ethan loves his Baby Bytes biscuits...but since it is also made in China, I've stopped buying and giving him that particular brand now. Have to find other types of biscuits which are not made in China! Ban China made products in your home!! Hufffff....!! Do read the article from thestar.com.my below:

Tuesday September 23, 2008

thestar.com

China goods ban widens

PETALING JAYA: The Government has widened its ban on dairy products imported from China to include confectionery which contain milk, chocolate (including white chocolate) and other food which contain milk.

The decision was based on the latest information received from Singapore’s Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) which found melamine in “White Rabbit Creamy Candy”, the Health Ministry said in a statement.

The ministry’s food quality and safety department director Noraini Mohd Othman said the widened ban would include “White Rabbit Creamy Candy” and flour-based confections like biscuits. - would be useful if they disclose which biscuits are affected here isn't it...alang-alang punya warning!

“The ministry will seize such products found in the local market,” she said.
Noraini said Malaysia already had an existing ban on any milk or milk powder from China, adding that although the country had imported dairy products from China, the milk in these goods was sourced from Australia and New Zealand.

“As a preventive measure, the ministry has also imposed a Level 6 or automatic rejection on all imported baby milk powder, milk and dairy products via the Food Safety Information System.”

Noraini advised consumers to be aware of the types of items which have been banned and to dispose of any existing goods they might already have.

“Retailers are also advised to report to the nearest state health department or office if such products are sold on their premises,” she said, adding that importers and agents have to stop distributing such products and immediately contact her department.

Noraini said the ministry would also take food samples from across the country to check for the presence of melamine, adding that if it were detected, those involved in the distribution chain could be fined up to RM100,000 or jailed a maximum of 10 years, or both.

Consumers can contact the ministry at 03-8883-3503 for more information.

On Friday, Singapore’s AVA suspended the import of all milk and milk products from China and instructed retailers and importers to recall such products.

Three products were found to contain melamine “ “White Rabbit Creamy Candy”, “Yili Brand Choice Dairy Fruit Bar Yogurt” and “Dutch Lady” strawberry-flavoured milk.

Laughing stock - are we?

I can't help but to comment on the recent ISA arrests especially after the release of the poor reporter. What humour me more was the reason given on why she was arrested - to ensure her safeness!!?? Hahaha...I thought ISA was for national security purposes???...Are we born yesterday??? hahaha...and as blogged by Marina Mahathir, can't she be granted protective custody for that matter??...Gee...I wanted to keep mum about it but I just can't stand how things are being handled recently...Another thing that have been bugging me at the back of my mind is how Datukship is being awarded lately...I don't know about you guys but for me there should be special awards like sportmanship award for sportsmen/women rather than giving them a Datuk title..and am sure a special actor/actress awards can be created for Malaysian who have made it big in Hollywood .. or special singer award for singers who have made it big in the international market...being the first Malaysian to have stepped on the moon doesn't qualify you for a Datukship too ..well at least in my humble opinion...Although I am very proud of them but I don't think they are entitle to earn Datukship as they have no direct contribution to the citizen at large... to our country in general, yes of coz they have as they definately have put Malaysia on the map and make us more visible...but I do feel that the Datuk title should be awarded to someone who has directly made contributions to the community as how it was previously done ... you know like those who have donated millions of money to start education fund for the needy, or those who have formed some kind of community association to help the unfortunate etc etc...it makes me question about the quality of our Datuks nowadays...the MPs who are on so-called "study trip" to Taiwan with their passport being securely kept is another amusing story...hmmm...I just hope we will not become the world's laughing stock...or maybe we already are??...with the way things are... I am honestly not surprise...

Up up and keep going up

Yes, everything seems or going to be more expensive nowadays...just this morning one of my colleagues shared with me that the price of tyres will go up soon ...and another colleague read to me from today's paper that the charges for repairing cars and car towing will rise soon too...sigh...having a "sickly" car is indeed going to be an even more expensive affair soon...so make sure you look after your car with lots of tender loving care folks...and hopefully the gov would give some serious thought on providing good public transport...seriously...

This is just for my own record, I spent RM30 to get my car aligned and RM3 to patch one of the tyres this morning...wonder how much it will cost me to do these stuff next time...hmmm...

Were you or were you not?

Were you caught in the horrible jam due to some guys trying to be funny by spreading stupid rumours about the closure of all petrol stations by 4pm yesterday? I was informed of the "hoax" news around 2pm and although I was a bit skeptical about it initially but the "just in case" side of me got the better of me...so zoomed I went with a couple of colleagues to the nearby Shell station near Thsung Tsin High School. Thankfully the que has just started so it didn't take long for me to get my car's tank filled up. But oh man...the jam was really bad when I went back to MIL's home after work. How bad? Well, it took me an hour to reach my MIL's which was supposed to be about 30mins during high peak and about 20mins or less during low peak. But I think I shouldn't complain too much as I'm sure some people took a lot longer to reach their destinations...I'm pretty sure of this as when I was heading back to MIL's, at one of the traffic lights, the cars stopped and stayed idle due to the long que leading the petrol station, then the driver in front of me came out from his car and did some legs stretching...I bet he must have been driving and got stucked in the jam for much much longer time then me...poor guy hehe...

Anyway, I think people are getting a bit paranoid as petrol can be considered a necessity to most people and an increase in price and worst the thought of all the petrol stations being closed is one news that could really make people panic. I used to be able to fill up my tank below RM40 (that was in 1997 though hehe...) but with the price hike recently I'll have to pay almost RM80 for a full tank! Geez... I hope the government is going to do something about all these price hikes soon... and if they intend to again increase the price of petrol, do please have the decency to at least improve the public transport services. By doing so at least we have an option.. After all, we still do pay our income tax even with the price hikes and with no salary adjustment...what has become of our country lately? I certainly have a lot to say but I think I shall keep that to myself for now...sigh...

A nice reminder for us

As I was browsing through the Star Online this morning, I came across this article which makes a nice reminder for us all on how important our moms are. They are the ones who made us today and they are the pillars of our success. Mother's Day just passed by but my appreciation and gratitude to my mum will never fade ...in fact it keeps on burning especially now that I am a mother myself.... I totally agree with what the writer writes in her article...let's see what you have to say...have a nice read :)

Wednesday May 14, 2008

Taking loved ones for granted
SIGHTS AND SOUND By Xandria Ooi

THE other day, my mum called to tell me that she and my fa-ther were considering buying two placements in a memorial park as their final resting place ''when the time comes''.

I know very well that there will come a time when we will leave this world, but it is not something I often think about.

It is okay to plan for birthdays, weddings and retirement, but planning for death is not the norm. Not because it is not logical or practical, but to think of death is to bring on fear.
My boyfriend asked me a few days ago if I fear death.

“No, but I fear pain. But what I fear most of all, are the deaths of my loved ones.”
Just the mere thought of not seeing my parents and brother again cripples me with fear. When my parents speak of where they would like their final resting place to be, I am afraid to listen and refuse to take it seriously.

My grandfather was taken ill recently, and when I paid him a visit I was reminded that even the strongest and healthiest of us will not stay that way forever.

My father is 53 this year. He goes to the gym a few times a week, takes care of his diet and is far from old. He is able to fix almost anything in the house and he still takes cares of me like he always does.

All these years, I have looked upon my father as someone who is infallible, strong and able to find a solution to any problems that I may have.

It scares me to think of the day when he will not be as he is now, when time and age catches up. I would rather not see the lines around his eyes, or how tired he looks at times. I don’t want to notice him limping a little sometimes because his feet hurt.

My father is not a superhero, but sometimes it is easy to forget that because of how well he takes care of the family and me. Too often, I take his love and his health for granted.
When someone loves you unconditionally, it is easy to be careless with that love, because you assume that it will always be there.

You forget to say thank you, or be polite, or even do something nice in return.
During a meeting with the managing director of a company who is interested in working with me on an endorsement project, he said something to me that no one has ever said before.
“No offence Xandria, I think your work is great but the reason you are here is because of your mum.”

“Your mum is such a good person. I think what you are today is because of your upbringing. So you have to thank your mum and dad,” he told me with a smile.

I couldn’t be happier or more proud hearing this. I have always wished that people could see that. My mum is my manager, and I have had people being nicer to me than they are to her.
Some have even been downright insensitive and rude to her, but sugary sweet to me.
I have never understood that. Being a manager of a company is not an easy task, and if the company runs smoothly, it is very much due to good management.

My career has been on a steady climb because my mum is an amazing businesswoman and manager. I have manners, respect, compassion and faith because my parents have taught me that.

I have written in a previous article that if someone should praise me, they should praise my parents 10 times over.

Many have asked me during interviews if I feel that my mum is overprotective as my manager, and my answer is that I am much more protective of her.

Even then, I cannot be a hypocrite. I cannot expect people to be nice and kind to my mum when there are many times when I have also hurt her with my impatience and attitude.

The worst part of it is that the hurt she experiences because of me is much more painful than those inflicted by others.

And the irony is that it is often easier to be nicer to acquaintances and friends, than it is to be mindful of the feelings of our loved ones.

Mother’s Day has just passed and Father’s Day is around the corner. Being able to celebrate these occasions is just a reminder of how fortunate we are to have known unconditional love.
Death is inevitable and maybe if we stop and think about death once in a while, we would appreciate life better.

They are SICK and I HATE them!!!

You know what, I feel soooooo angry to my bone when I saw the pictures of the two sickos in the paper this morning!! I'm sure you know who am I talking about..yes, they are the two b@#*ards who have ruined the life of a student in KK recently...I soooo sooo sooo despise them...I think they should rot in jail!!...I feel for the victim...my heart bleeds for her...as hard as it is,I hope and pray that she will be able to cope and be able to over come the trauma soon...let's embrace her in our heart, prayer and hope that she will get all the support and love from everyone around her...May God bless her...

The "pregnant man" ?

Yes, it is true, he is a 34 years old man who is happily married to his wife Nancy. They operate a small business and stays in a normal neighbourhood. Unusual as it sounds, Thomas Beatie who from Oregon is 6 months pregnant and he is going to give birth to their first child, a baby girl this summer. If you wonder how this happened. Well, technically, he was once a woman called Tracy till he decided to become a transgendered man.

This couple's extra ordinary story became a hit especially after their first TV interview by Oprah in her Oprah Winfrey Show recently. Here's one of the video clips from the Oprah show. This is just part 1-3 of the interview. I heard there are 5 parts. If you're interested, do a search in youtube.com and you'll get the rest of the videos.

Alternatively, here's a report from CNN's Headline News - ShowBiz Tonight on the "Pregnant Man"

If you have no patient to wait for the video, go to Oprah's site to read about it.

Understandably, if you're really keen to have your very own flesh and blood, you would try everything that's possible. If you ask me if I'm disturbed by this revelation? Well, not really because he is after all born a woman and that his female organ that could give him a baby is still intact. Since his wife is unable to conceive anymore due to health reason and he has the ability to do so, I'll say why not. After all, it is their life and I think they have the right to choose and do what they fancy. Besides, I think their story is more acceptable than those who are into Drug Abuse !! My only concern is how their daughter will be able to face the questions and remarks throw at her once she starts schooling. I just hope the parents would be able to prepare her well to avoid future headache and heartache. All the best to the unconventional family! :)

Are kids today too spoiled?

A friend of mine forwarded a news article about parents being upset mainly due to their children being asked to clean the toilet in school when their exams is just round the corner. I find it such a waste of time to be upset over something that I would consider so insignificant in nature. Even if their exams is coming, how long would it take to wash the toilet? I don't think it will take ages and being part of a competition, how often do they need to clean the toilet let alone affect their exams!!?? When I first read the article, I was thinking to myself, what's wrong with students washing the toilet?? We all have toilets in our home and even if we do have maid to help us to clean our toilets, we ought to know how to clean them ourselves too. If Ethan were asked to clean the toilet in school as part of their duty during recess time (which was pretty common, at least during my time...) or as part of their school activities in the future, I would say "why not"? I would actually be thankful that he is being trained to wash the toilet. That is part of learning process and part of life where he'll learn to become a responsible and discipline person. Personally, besides home, I would think the school would be a perfect place to train our children for these kinda thing too. I don't believe that schools are meant for academic purposes only. I strongly feel that besides academic, schools should act like "parents" in some ways to train our children to become a better person. A school that teaches not only academic but also facts of life to the students would be in my A-list. After all, our children do spend quite of a lot of their time in school. I do hope such incident will not deter schools from letting the students to wash the toilets. I can't imagine our children coming out of the school knowing only about theories and formulas. That would be so scary because as we all know, in reality, it is a huge jungle out there. If they only know things from their text books, how on earth are they gonna survive in the real world!!?? So hellowww....washing the toilet is not a big deal okay... so stop whinging!!

Oppsss...have to do the dishes now while Ethan is taking his afternoon nap. I'm rather sleepy actually...how I wish I own a dishwasher so I don't have to do much. I think hubby would love the LG LDF6810 Dishwasher because of its metallic look while I would prefer a black looking dishwasher such as the GE GLD5900NWW / GLD5900NBB / GLD5900NCC Dishwasher :)

Compromising safety by paying less?

While many have raved about how cheap products are from China and how good the imitations are, there are also many who would query about the safety and quality that comes with these very low priced items. Generally, we often correlate cheap stuff to low quality and potentially less safe products. It is a common perception that for example a cheap toy without a brand would be less durable as oppose to a branded toy product with a higher price tag. More often than not, you'll find that this is true. Consumers are often attracted by the low price bargain yet sceptical by the quality and safety of the product. How do consumers compromise to a decision of purchase?

Recently we all have heard and read about China goods being rejected by some of the US business organizations due to safety reasons. These goods include items such as toys (too much lead), clothes (too much chemical) and food (again too much chemical). As a result, consumers confidence on China based products has declined drastically to the extend that some even ban China products within their home.

I once saw on CNN that the "pau" (steamed bun) produced by some irresponsible operators in China used paper and chemical as their ingredients!!! I even have Malaysian friends who are living in China that are willing to pay extra money just to get imported goods in order to ensure the safety of the products that they consume or use.

Ultimately, safety should be our main priority of concern. I for one would definately not compromise safety especially on products that are consumeable such as baby milk and other food related products.

On the contrary, I am more lenient with girlie stuff such as handbags and clothes. Wouldn't you wanna buy if you do see great bargain of such goods even though they are fakes (good imitations)?? I would! In fact a friend of mine got this red Chloe handbag for RM55 only!

So how do you like my new handbag?? Very "Chinese New Year" look eh! Hopefully it will bring more "hong" (luck) to me!! ;p On a different note, thank goodness am not there to see all the other bags...otherwise I may end up having to take up payday loans like the one offered by trustsource.org !!

Soul to Sole: Bringing Beauty to its Feet

Yes, that was the title of Jimmy Choo's slides presentation at the recent IWEC 2007 . How true indeed as his creations were made to beautify thy feet. Just look at some of his must have and to die for high heels. Simple yet elegant and oh so lady like... I can imagine myself walking in his shoes and feeling like a princess, so graceful, confident, sexy and beautiful...

Before attending the congress, I was hoping and wishing that there will be some lucky draws and that maybe just maybe I could win a pair of Jimmy Choo's shoes. Or maybe he would give away some of his beautifully crafted shoes to some lucky participants including me...but unfortunately, that is just a wishful thinking of mine as none of it ever happens...sigh...

Anyway, let's talk about the designer himself, YBhg. Prof. Dato' Jimmy Choo, OBE is a remarkable person who made his first shoes when he was only 11 years old! His dad was a shoes designer and naturally following the footsteps of his dad coupled with his own interest, he pursued a career in the same field as shoes designer. Trained at London College of Fashion, which was then known as Cordwainers College, the 46 years old Penangnite graduated with distinction. He started his shoes making business in an ex-hospital building in Britain.

His brand name started to emerge tremendously after Vogue did an eight-page spread featuring his quality footwear in 1988. Since then, he never looked back and of coz his most famous client is the late Princess Diana, whom he worked for about 7 years. During those years he was not allowed to tell anybody that he was the shoes designer for the Princess. It was only after she passed on that people knew who made her elegant sexy shoes..

Jimmy Choo is no longer involved in the fashion house that he first founded. Initially, he sold half of his shares to the lady who once featured him in the Vogue and his niece. However, the former Vogue friend i.e. Tamara Mellon bought the fashion house completely in 2001.

Today, Jimmy Choo is helping budding shoes designers and makers in Malaysia by setting up an institute for shoe making. He is also involved in many charity works as he believes in giving back to the community. He is also a proud Malaysian who doesn't mind to promote Malaysia wherever he goes. In fact during the Congress, one of the speakers, Maria Brown, MD for Asian Food Channel asked him if he agrees to be in AFC show featuring Malaysian cuisines in which he happily agreed. Another speaker i.e Chin-Ning Chu requested to take a photo with him so that she can show to her publisher that she actually met Jimmy Choo - she has a chapter in her book (The Art of War for Women) that used Jimmy Choo's name to represent the word "high heels". Jimmy Choo is also a fun and witty guy as he kids many times during his talk. When asked about where does he gets his inspirations from. He said " As long as you love what you're doing, the inspirations will come naturally". Among all the speakers, he was by far the most popular one. People were queuing at the mic eager to ask him questions. The speakers even requested the MC that they wanted to take pictures with Jimmy Choo right after his talk.

And of coz yours truly didn't want to miss out too as I shamelessly went to the front and took pictures with him for remembrance. Mind you, I wasn't the only one as there were some prominent people i.e. Datuks who were as eager as me too! So people, disappointingly to say that I didn't get a pair of Jimmy Choo's shoes but at least I managed to take a couple of pictures with him hehe...

So that's my not quite up close personal with Jimmy Choo folks! ;p

Fascinated by their success & humbleness

Recently, I feel fortunate for being able to attend the International Women Executive Congress 2007 at Magellan Sutera Harbour. I thought it was one of the best of such events that I've ever attended especially with many great "practical" and "real" speakers! Their talks were not just some airy fairy kinda talks - you know those with "gigantic" jargons and "unpractical" theories. But rather, theirs were very practical that just simply use common sense. Indeed these lot are very successful and yet they are all so humble and down to earth. I'm truly amazed and admire them for being who they are. I supposed starting from the bottom and having struggled to get to the top made them appreciative of what they currently enjoy. Perhaps knowing how hard it was for them during their challenging times made them want to help others too.

They have such amazing distinctive qualities in them that I would be very delighted even to acquire a fraction of their qualities. Those that really caught my attention include:

Chin-Ning Chua , the famous writer of The Asian Mind Game, Thick Face, Black Heart, The Art of War for Women. She believes one should love thyself, know thy enemies, don't care what people thinks of you especially if you have the will to do what you want to do, and know how to face defeats. A very determine lady that even being a dyslexia with poor English grammar (as claimed by her) did not stop her from writing books - as she said, why should she worries about her English language as she has her editors to worry about that. What is more important is the substance of the book i.e. the information, not the English language :) She also believes that gender is not an excuse to feel insecure or intimidated in the men's world. According to her, men being men, they would love anything that brings in income for them, it does not matter if you're a male or female and that includes dogs! ;p

Maria Brown, a former journalist for BBC who (together with her Singaporean partner) were daring enough to start the first food channel in Asia i.e. Asian Food Channel (am pretty sure some of you enjoy watching this programme i.e on 703, Astro) in a foreign country in just 3 months time after submitting their proposal!!



Jimmy Choo, need no introduction as he is the renown shoes maker for the late Princess Diana. I truly admire this man more after his talk but shall write no more here as I'm dedicating an entry for him alone after this - my up close personal with Jimmy Choo! ;p Did I get a pair of Jimmy Choo shoes??!!! Come back for my special entry!! ;p

Ibu Mooryati - The successful business woman who founded the Mustika Ratu empire. Turning 80 yrs old (though her complexion looks like she's 20 yrs younger than her actual age!! Good bye SK2, hello Mustika Ratu??!!) in a couple of month does nothing to stop her doing from what she enjoys doing i.e. business, studying and being a politician. FYI, she only started her business at the age of 45 from her home garage. She achieved her Doctorate at the age of 79 (and I thought am too old for doing my MBA! Duh..), and is now an active politician in Indonesia.

Datuk Bridget Lai , our very own Sabahan iron lady who is the Group Chief Officer of Alliance Bank Malaysia Berhad. A person who attributes her success to focus and determination and willingness to constantly learn and try new things. This former bank scholar who started her career as a bank teller does not like to stay put in a comfort zone. Definately a go-getter lady!!


I am a believer of life long learning too and indeed event such as this was very enlightening and refreshing besides educating! Kudos to Yayasan Sabah & Quest Learning for such an interesting event! Thanks to my colleague "D" and my MD for giving me this wonderful opportunity! ;p