I haven't been blogging for quite some time and I don't really like that. I always believe that good bloggers need to blog on regular basis. I always enjoyed good blogs that I subscribe via my Google Reader. Blogging is like online freelance journalism. People will always come back for good journalism.
In order to kick start my blog running again, I shall try to blog every month. As time goes by, I shall try to blog every fortnight, before finally settling to blog every week (most ideal situation for myself). I don't really have that much time to blog usually, so I shall try to at least dedicate good 20 minutes to write every entry.
At the moment I am trying to get an Islamic overdraft (OD) with Maybank. After reading almost all ASB backed OD at Matjoe's blog. I decided that I shall give it a try. I am going for Islamic OD as I am kinda religious person (at least I like to think that I am) or more correctly, at any given time if I can get to use an Islamic product or alternative, I shall try. Before explaining further I suggest that you read Mat Joe's excellent write up on the issue.
Some of the challenge I have encountered during the whole process:
1) Less knowledgeable Loan Officer : 1st branch I go to was the Maybank branch at Sea Park (as it was near my house). I thought a place nearer should be better. The loan officer end up telling me that it is not possible to get an Islamic OD against ASB. However when I tried going to Bangsar's Maybank branch, the officer there informed me that it is actually possible, only that it has to be done manually therefore it shall take a longer time (a lot lot longer time as I soon discovered).
2) You will need to have a credit line more than RM10k. Maybank will give you a credit line or loan to a minimum of 10k meaning your ASB Certificate would need to be worth at least RM12k. I made a mistake of just making a 10k cert so I have to to up an make another Cert worth RM12k (costed me another RM10 & another LRT trip to PNB plus valuable time).
3) Maybank very slow.. Almost 1 month already from my ASB Cert date and I still yet to see any Loan Offer letter. However, only Maybank offers Islamic OD against ASB so far, therefore I am being very patient. I am not a big fan of Maybank actually, but my Saving Account is with Maybank along with my credit card. They do have good products line up but they customer service really suxx. What I do now is to call my loan officer every fortnight and ask him for an update. That's the only way to speed things up in a GLC, constant never ending follow ups (I should know better, I am working in one as we speak).
4) Higher profit rate: BFR - 0% instead of better rates by CIMB or RHB. Again the only bank to offer a product that you want rule.
I guess that's it for now, I shall update more should more progress comes my way. Hope you guys enjoy my long lost post =) Adios!~~
P/S: I took about 50 minutes to write this post. Got to think and type faster.
P/P/S: Next time I shall write about one of these topics 1) 0% Balance Transfer by Credit Cards, 2) My Current Credit card, 3) Random personal thoughts. Any preference you readers?
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Sunday, May 02, 2010
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Who says you can't teach an old dog a new trick...
In case you're wondering when the heck did I get myself a dog, no I didn't. It's a metaphor and in this case it's my aging Toshiba Satellite 2410 (the dog) and Ubuntu 8.04 LTS Hardy Heron with NVidia GeForce 4 420 graphic card enabled (the trick).
I love my Toshiba laptop. It's my 1st laptop ever and costed me (rather, my father) a bomb back then. It was around when I met my syg and have been serving me obediently like a dog. However, if it's a dog it will be like 8 years old, matured yet healthy with slight limps here and there. List of defects; hinge broken (this little guy is on crutches, a stack of CD), DVD drive kaput, fan not working (on USB cooler pad 24/7), battery long time dead and even the CMOS battery needs changing. Occasionally I need to reset the BIOS clock & date.
So for the little trick I chose to install the Wubi for Ubuntu 8.04 LTS Hardy Heron. My good friend H & Z asked me, why 8.04, why not just get the latest version which is the 9.10 Karmic Koala? Well, my lappy is already like 8 years old and I wanted to get the earliest edition that can work on my laptop. Plus, it has Long Term Support until April 2011 which meant that technically Canonical will support it until then. Also, why Wubi and not dual boot? I can't even restore my laptop to factory default using CD restore (DVD kaput) and I still want to maintain my Windows XP so Wubi seems like the perfect choice for me.
Here is a list of tools I uses to make the installation work:
1) Ubuntu 8.04 LTS ISO
2) Wubi Installation Guide
3) Daemon Tools Lite
4) Guide to install NVidia driver by wkmiberly
5) Geforce Go 420 Nvidia 1.0-9631 Black Bar Fix
Let's go through this step by step:
Step 1
Download the Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron ISO files and the Daemon Tools Lite program. To download version 8.04, you will need to click at [Alternative download options, including Ubuntu installer for Windows] before the option to download it becomes available.
Step 2
In my case I needed the Daemon Tools to mount the ISO file, before running Wubi from the mounted ISO image in order to proceed with installation. My DVD drive is already kaput remember.
Step 3
Run Wubi installation from the mounted ISO image. Personally I allocated 8GB for the whole system, which I believe is more than enough. It will take time for it to completely install everything and it will prompt you to restart after some time. After restart, always remember to wait until the it prompt you to choose whether to boot Windows or Ubuntu and choose Ubuntu. Otherwise your lappy will boot into Windows by default.
Step 4
After you have succesfully install Ubuntu and logged in, it will prompt you that there are updates to be applied and also a restricted driver is available but not used (the NVidia driver). Better do the system updates 1st. It will download approximately 200+MB in order to update your Ubuntu so this will also take a while, depending on you internet connection. Restart will be required again.
Step 5
Now you will to install the NVidia driver. You can follow the guide on #4 on how to install it. I simply went to System > Administration > Hardware Drivers and check the button, close and save and it will install the related NVidia GLX driver. Hold down your horses mate, don't just restart you computer just yet after installation. You need to follow Step 6 first or otherwise you will get the dreaded black screen mentioned in the guide above.
Step 6
You need to add the following line in your xorg.conf file.
To edit your xorg.conf, type the following line in the Terminal.
sudo nano /etc/X11/xorg.conf
Just follow wkimberly post to add the following line in Section "Screen" of your xorg.conf
Option "UseDisplayDevice" "DFP-0"
You shall get the infamous black strips on the right of your screen after you restart.
Step 7
Now you will need to apply solution as suggested by EdWiget.name guide. When you try to run;
nvidia-settings
in the Terminal it will prompt that it is not installed yet. Just do as it recommend and run;
sudo apt-get install nvidia-settings
and it will install it accordingly and just follow EdWiget.name guide until the end. Voila!~~ When you restart the black strips will be gone and you would be able to run on resolution 1024x768.
Check out my new revived Toshiba~~ =)
Next, I shall pimp my Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron and show off the result to you guys. =) Till then, have fun!!
I love my Toshiba laptop. It's my 1st laptop ever and costed me (rather, my father) a bomb back then. It was around when I met my syg and have been serving me obediently like a dog. However, if it's a dog it will be like 8 years old, matured yet healthy with slight limps here and there. List of defects; hinge broken (this little guy is on crutches, a stack of CD), DVD drive kaput, fan not working (on USB cooler pad 24/7), battery long time dead and even the CMOS battery needs changing. Occasionally I need to reset the BIOS clock & date.
So for the little trick I chose to install the Wubi for Ubuntu 8.04 LTS Hardy Heron. My good friend H & Z asked me, why 8.04, why not just get the latest version which is the 9.10 Karmic Koala? Well, my lappy is already like 8 years old and I wanted to get the earliest edition that can work on my laptop. Plus, it has Long Term Support until April 2011 which meant that technically Canonical will support it until then. Also, why Wubi and not dual boot? I can't even restore my laptop to factory default using CD restore (DVD kaput) and I still want to maintain my Windows XP so Wubi seems like the perfect choice for me.
Here is a list of tools I uses to make the installation work:
1) Ubuntu 8.04 LTS ISO
2) Wubi Installation Guide
3) Daemon Tools Lite
4) Guide to install NVidia driver by wkmiberly
5) Geforce Go 420 Nvidia 1.0-9631 Black Bar Fix
Let's go through this step by step:
Step 1
Download the Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron ISO files and the Daemon Tools Lite program. To download version 8.04, you will need to click at [Alternative download options, including Ubuntu installer for Windows] before the option to download it becomes available.
Step 2
In my case I needed the Daemon Tools to mount the ISO file, before running Wubi from the mounted ISO image in order to proceed with installation. My DVD drive is already kaput remember.
Step 3
Run Wubi installation from the mounted ISO image. Personally I allocated 8GB for the whole system, which I believe is more than enough. It will take time for it to completely install everything and it will prompt you to restart after some time. After restart, always remember to wait until the it prompt you to choose whether to boot Windows or Ubuntu and choose Ubuntu. Otherwise your lappy will boot into Windows by default.
Step 4
After you have succesfully install Ubuntu and logged in, it will prompt you that there are updates to be applied and also a restricted driver is available but not used (the NVidia driver). Better do the system updates 1st. It will download approximately 200+MB in order to update your Ubuntu so this will also take a while, depending on you internet connection. Restart will be required again.
Step 5
Now you will to install the NVidia driver. You can follow the guide on #4 on how to install it. I simply went to System > Administration > Hardware Drivers and check the button, close and save and it will install the related NVidia GLX driver. Hold down your horses mate, don't just restart you computer just yet after installation. You need to follow Step 6 first or otherwise you will get the dreaded black screen mentioned in the guide above.
Step 6
You need to add the following line in your xorg.conf file.
To edit your xorg.conf, type the following line in the Terminal.
sudo nano /etc/X11/xorg.conf
Just follow wkimberly post to add the following line in Section "Screen" of your xorg.conf
Option "UseDisplayDevice" "DFP-0"
You shall get the infamous black strips on the right of your screen after you restart.
Step 7
Now you will need to apply solution as suggested by EdWiget.name guide. When you try to run;
nvidia-settings
in the Terminal it will prompt that it is not installed yet. Just do as it recommend and run;
sudo apt-get install nvidia-settings
and it will install it accordingly and just follow EdWiget.name guide until the end. Voila!~~ When you restart the black strips will be gone and you would be able to run on resolution 1024x768.
Check out my new revived Toshiba~~ =)
Next, I shall pimp my Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron and show off the result to you guys. =) Till then, have fun!!
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Perth Trip Dec 09 (Part 6)
Day 9
Day 9 is quite interesting than previous day. Today on Friday, the Freematle Market is open (Fri, Sat, Sun) that's why we specifically set today as our day out to Freemantle. Freemantle Market is Malaysia's Central Market (CM); they sell crafts and stuff whilst not necessary the cheapest you can find around in Aussie. I believe it's built to cater tourist coming in during weekend. At the back of the market is a farmer's market where they sell fruit and vegetable fresh from the farm at reasonably cheaper price. Being fresh is the advantage here, nothing can beat fresh local produce like the Pasar Tani in Malaysia.
The second and more important visit is the borong souvenirs session. We stopped by E-Shed here and bought all our souvenirs need here. Here I bought Alia a Koala n Kangaroo teddy to compensate on my absent for almost 10 days now. I also managed to find a lovely kangaroo pouch for my sayang. Soon after, we had our seafood lunch by the jetty, very nice and fresh albeit being slightly more expensive than at Squid Shack. Afterwards, we made our way home without going to popular tourist attraction like Freemantle prison.
Day 10
We are supposed to go back today when we were offered to take monetary compensation by MAS instead if we could go home tomorrow instead. My parents and I both took the offer since tomorrow is still a Sunday and we have accomodation available here in Australia (extended crashing at my bro's place). You should see how happy my mum was, even yours truly. It's not everyday that people give you money for doing nothing so I just want to say Alhamdulillah. This must be how people who strike the lottery feels, best yet I don't even have to buy a lottery ticket (which cost money and is Haram anyway). They gave us a slip that we go to the travel exchange to exchange for cold hard cash. Free and easy..
I am also planning to claim against my insurance as well, on my estimate we might be able to get another RM250 each. So guys, I would recommend travel insurance if you're going anywhere next time. It's cheap, provide you with peace of mind, and even give you extra money for getting money from the airline. Say what..
Anyway, I am not quite sure what to do with the insurance money however, but I will figure it out later. But MAS money, I have reimburse Papa for my ticket coming here and split the balance with my wife. Some of you might not agree with me splitting the money with my wife, but it's just a small compensation for being away an extra day. Yes I love my dear wife very much =)
I guess that's it. I shall come up with expenses breakdown for your guide (if i am still berminat or not in workaholic mode) and paste inline website link on previous post. It's been nice writing out this travernal (travel journal), and I hope u enjoyed it too. Till next time Cheers Mate!!~~
Day 9 is quite interesting than previous day. Today on Friday, the Freematle Market is open (Fri, Sat, Sun) that's why we specifically set today as our day out to Freemantle. Freemantle Market is Malaysia's Central Market (CM); they sell crafts and stuff whilst not necessary the cheapest you can find around in Aussie. I believe it's built to cater tourist coming in during weekend. At the back of the market is a farmer's market where they sell fruit and vegetable fresh from the farm at reasonably cheaper price. Being fresh is the advantage here, nothing can beat fresh local produce like the Pasar Tani in Malaysia.
The second and more important visit is the borong souvenirs session. We stopped by E-Shed here and bought all our souvenirs need here. Here I bought Alia a Koala n Kangaroo teddy to compensate on my absent for almost 10 days now. I also managed to find a lovely kangaroo pouch for my sayang. Soon after, we had our seafood lunch by the jetty, very nice and fresh albeit being slightly more expensive than at Squid Shack. Afterwards, we made our way home without going to popular tourist attraction like Freemantle prison.
Day 10
We are supposed to go back today when we were offered to take monetary compensation by MAS instead if we could go home tomorrow instead. My parents and I both took the offer since tomorrow is still a Sunday and we have accomodation available here in Australia (extended crashing at my bro's place). You should see how happy my mum was, even yours truly. It's not everyday that people give you money for doing nothing so I just want to say Alhamdulillah. This must be how people who strike the lottery feels, best yet I don't even have to buy a lottery ticket (which cost money and is Haram anyway). They gave us a slip that we go to the travel exchange to exchange for cold hard cash. Free and easy..
I am also planning to claim against my insurance as well, on my estimate we might be able to get another RM250 each. So guys, I would recommend travel insurance if you're going anywhere next time. It's cheap, provide you with peace of mind, and even give you extra money for getting money from the airline. Say what..
Anyway, I am not quite sure what to do with the insurance money however, but I will figure it out later. But MAS money, I have reimburse Papa for my ticket coming here and split the balance with my wife. Some of you might not agree with me splitting the money with my wife, but it's just a small compensation for being away an extra day. Yes I love my dear wife very much =)
I guess that's it. I shall come up with expenses breakdown for your guide (if i am still berminat or not in workaholic mode) and paste inline website link on previous post. It's been nice writing out this travernal (travel journal), and I hope u enjoyed it too. Till next time Cheers Mate!!~~
Friday, December 11, 2009
Perth Trip Dec 09 (Part 5)
Day 7
It has been harder and harder for me to write entry as I became mentally and physically wary of all the holiday. I see myself as an avid workaholic and not working for almost 7 days is tiresome. However I had pledged to blog all the way, so blog I shall.
Since we're back in Perth city we had planned to visit Asro's faculty around this time. Asro gladly played the good host and showed us around the university. We took a few good pictures and proceeded to the bell tower of Perth, possibly the biggest musical instrument in the world. We didn't go up however, as the fare seems a bit expensive.
Day 8
As before on the previous day, we make a little bit tour to the city centre again. Today tour consist of going to the Perth Mint. After that we went to explore and shop around Hay Street. There's a little place called London gate along Hay Street which was very unique in styling. I believe I had bought enough souvenirs for everyone. As you can see that's not much I would like to blog nowadays, as the Perth city tour is pretty much the same. So I shall leave it at that. Ciao~~
It has been harder and harder for me to write entry as I became mentally and physically wary of all the holiday. I see myself as an avid workaholic and not working for almost 7 days is tiresome. However I had pledged to blog all the way, so blog I shall.
Since we're back in Perth city we had planned to visit Asro's faculty around this time. Asro gladly played the good host and showed us around the university. We took a few good pictures and proceeded to the bell tower of Perth, possibly the biggest musical instrument in the world. We didn't go up however, as the fare seems a bit expensive.
Day 8
As before on the previous day, we make a little bit tour to the city centre again. Today tour consist of going to the Perth Mint. After that we went to explore and shop around Hay Street. There's a little place called London gate along Hay Street which was very unique in styling. I believe I had bought enough souvenirs for everyone. As you can see that's not much I would like to blog nowadays, as the Perth city tour is pretty much the same. So I shall leave it at that. Ciao~~
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
Perth Trip Dec 09 (Part 4)
Day 5
As I am writing this down, I kinda have lost track on how many days I have been here in Australia. I heard (also read from my wifey blog) that Alia have been going on and on about Kangaroo, Koala n Australia. Haha my little sayang is so cute, I guess I do owe her a trip here. Maybe I can organise a mini trip next year, budget permits.
Anyway on to my travel journal.. Gloucester Motel was the best place I guess, also the most expensive. The family suite comprises of two bedrooms that can fit 3 peoples each, so technically the accommodation is for 6 person. Imagine the space~ Btw, we checked out of the hotel by 10 am & checked out the world renowned Gloucester Tree, which is basically a giant Karri tree with platform on top of it for fire lookout in the early days. At first my inner King Scout instinct is boiling it's saying 'I must conquer the Gloucester Tree in order to prove my manhood'. However half way up I was already getting height fright and breathless and it dawned upon me that I'm no longer fit enough to go all the way up. Dang.. I need to work out more on my Wii. Maybe next time with Alia. =)
After that we went out and checked out the berry and lavender farm that was recommended by the hotel receptionist. She said that the pancake there is to die for. And so indeed, it was one of the most delicious pancake I have ever tasted ever. Yes ever. Enjoy the pic over here and feel the pancake. On my way out, I asked the girl at the counter to send my compliment to the chef (chewah macam makan hotel je) which turn out to be herself. I believe she was flattered and she deserved it, I hoped I made her day as she had mine, sweet, tasty, creamy and wonderful.
We headed to straight to Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse near Augusta, located at the most South Westerly point in Australia, where the Indian Ocean and the Southern Ocean meets. The sea breeze was crazy strong, I bet you can even set a wind farm here too and get lots of electrical juice oozing. The view was spectacular and I wished that I had a panorama capable camera which sadly the camera doesn't support not that I know of.
We decided to just check out one of the caves there although the entrance fee is quite expensive AUD20 per adult to be exact, and went straight to the Jewel Cave. It was quite fascinating that they managed to built a sturdy platform inside the caves without damaging it. I believe some of the caves in Malaysia can also be commercialised in such way to attract tourist. However it would require a proper fund from the govt, which will open up a whole different issue. Anyway, as a tribute to my LOTR reference, Mines of Moria guys..
Afterwards we checked into an amazing cottage called Bussels Bushland Cottages in Margaret River. The interior deco of the cottage is amazing and it even got a real life working fireplace and also, satellite TV. Just a nice touch of traditional and modern. As before I tried out my fire lighting scout skill and managed to make the fire burning for a while before it started to burn out. Man living in farmland sure is tough.
Day 6
We checked out of our last paid accommodation for the trip by 10 am. We went to a chocolate factory here in Margaret River and I bought some chocolate for souvenirs. Along the way Mama lost her spectacle somewhere and we back-tracked trying to find her specs. Sadly it remains missing. We headed straight to Busselton Jetty hoping to go in the underwater observatory. Alas it was closed for renovation work so I have to settle for some photos near the part of the jetty that is still open.
We headed back to Perth and visited Fizah later that night. Fizah is the daughter of Pakcik Zaki, a family friend of my parent. She's studying for Master here in University of Western Australia, the university where my dear Kaklin is supposed to further her studies next year. They were very welcoming, even though we had dropped by on short notice, and even cooked us some meehoon. We went to take a beautiful night scene on top of King's Park, which is kinda like Hyde Park for Londoners. The view of Perth City from the top of the park is amazing and I have to say that the picture didn't do justice to the actual scene.
As I wrote this entry, I realised that we haven't took any picture with Fizah. Hmm.. Anyway, till my next blog guys. Adios..
As I am writing this down, I kinda have lost track on how many days I have been here in Australia. I heard (also read from my wifey blog) that Alia have been going on and on about Kangaroo, Koala n Australia. Haha my little sayang is so cute, I guess I do owe her a trip here. Maybe I can organise a mini trip next year, budget permits.
Anyway on to my travel journal.. Gloucester Motel was the best place I guess, also the most expensive. The family suite comprises of two bedrooms that can fit 3 peoples each, so technically the accommodation is for 6 person. Imagine the space~ Btw, we checked out of the hotel by 10 am & checked out the world renowned Gloucester Tree, which is basically a giant Karri tree with platform on top of it for fire lookout in the early days. At first my inner King Scout instinct is boiling it's saying 'I must conquer the Gloucester Tree in order to prove my manhood'. However half way up I was already getting height fright and breathless and it dawned upon me that I'm no longer fit enough to go all the way up. Dang.. I need to work out more on my Wii. Maybe next time with Alia. =)
After that we went out and checked out the berry and lavender farm that was recommended by the hotel receptionist. She said that the pancake there is to die for. And so indeed, it was one of the most delicious pancake I have ever tasted ever. Yes ever. Enjoy the pic over here and feel the pancake. On my way out, I asked the girl at the counter to send my compliment to the chef (chewah macam makan hotel je) which turn out to be herself. I believe she was flattered and she deserved it, I hoped I made her day as she had mine, sweet, tasty, creamy and wonderful.
We headed to straight to Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse near Augusta, located at the most South Westerly point in Australia, where the Indian Ocean and the Southern Ocean meets. The sea breeze was crazy strong, I bet you can even set a wind farm here too and get lots of electrical juice oozing. The view was spectacular and I wished that I had a panorama capable camera which sadly the camera doesn't support not that I know of.
We decided to just check out one of the caves there although the entrance fee is quite expensive AUD20 per adult to be exact, and went straight to the Jewel Cave. It was quite fascinating that they managed to built a sturdy platform inside the caves without damaging it. I believe some of the caves in Malaysia can also be commercialised in such way to attract tourist. However it would require a proper fund from the govt, which will open up a whole different issue. Anyway, as a tribute to my LOTR reference, Mines of Moria guys..
Afterwards we checked into an amazing cottage called Bussels Bushland Cottages in Margaret River. The interior deco of the cottage is amazing and it even got a real life working fireplace and also, satellite TV. Just a nice touch of traditional and modern. As before I tried out my fire lighting scout skill and managed to make the fire burning for a while before it started to burn out. Man living in farmland sure is tough.
Day 6
We checked out of our last paid accommodation for the trip by 10 am. We went to a chocolate factory here in Margaret River and I bought some chocolate for souvenirs. Along the way Mama lost her spectacle somewhere and we back-tracked trying to find her specs. Sadly it remains missing. We headed straight to Busselton Jetty hoping to go in the underwater observatory. Alas it was closed for renovation work so I have to settle for some photos near the part of the jetty that is still open.
We headed back to Perth and visited Fizah later that night. Fizah is the daughter of Pakcik Zaki, a family friend of my parent. She's studying for Master here in University of Western Australia, the university where my dear Kaklin is supposed to further her studies next year. They were very welcoming, even though we had dropped by on short notice, and even cooked us some meehoon. We went to take a beautiful night scene on top of King's Park, which is kinda like Hyde Park for Londoners. The view of Perth City from the top of the park is amazing and I have to say that the picture didn't do justice to the actual scene.
As I wrote this entry, I realised that we haven't took any picture with Fizah. Hmm.. Anyway, till my next blog guys. Adios..
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
Perth Trip Dec 09 (Part 3)
Day 4
I think I have write up quite a bit for day 4 journal in Papa's laptop, however it turn out jumbled up. Maybe because I didn't manage to save properly before the laptop shut down. Anyway here I am typing it all over again. We started our day checking out from Albany Inn and we headed straight to Denmark (an actual city in Australia not a country in Europe). Here we stopped by the town centre and checked out the largest barometer in the world, the Bert Bolle barometer. Every 6 minutes, air will be pumped out of the water to create a vacuum. As the water level rises, it boils when it reaches the top of the barometer, even though the temperature is only 20 Degree Celcius. Amazing!
After talking to the information centre, they recommended us to go to one of the animal petting farm nearby. It was such a great experience. We were given a bag of pellet each to feed the animal. There were quite a variety of animals they have over there, my favourite will be the Koala, Kangaroo and Alpaca. All the Koala did was sleep sleep sleep and eat and then back to sleep. I wish my life was like that. I was quite an experience to able to touch as well as to hug these animals. I do wish I could bring my family here, especially Alia. I know for a fact that she will be very happy.
After that we headed to the valley of the giant tree. They made a fascinating suspended steel bridge in the middle of the forest. You can practically touch the top branch of the tree and the view of the forest from up there, I'm lost for world. I could almost imagine myself like Merry and Pippin riding up the enormous Ent ready to make battle with Saruman's Uruk Hai. I believe they do have this in Malaysia but none were built as sturdy yet simple like this.
Then we're off to Gloucester Motel in Pemberton. It's quite late now (1am to be exact) so I shall update this tomorrow. Till then, ciao!~~~
I think I have write up quite a bit for day 4 journal in Papa's laptop, however it turn out jumbled up. Maybe because I didn't manage to save properly before the laptop shut down. Anyway here I am typing it all over again. We started our day checking out from Albany Inn and we headed straight to Denmark (an actual city in Australia not a country in Europe). Here we stopped by the town centre and checked out the largest barometer in the world, the Bert Bolle barometer. Every 6 minutes, air will be pumped out of the water to create a vacuum. As the water level rises, it boils when it reaches the top of the barometer, even though the temperature is only 20 Degree Celcius. Amazing!
After talking to the information centre, they recommended us to go to one of the animal petting farm nearby. It was such a great experience. We were given a bag of pellet each to feed the animal. There were quite a variety of animals they have over there, my favourite will be the Koala, Kangaroo and Alpaca. All the Koala did was sleep sleep sleep and eat and then back to sleep. I wish my life was like that. I was quite an experience to able to touch as well as to hug these animals. I do wish I could bring my family here, especially Alia. I know for a fact that she will be very happy.
After that we headed to the valley of the giant tree. They made a fascinating suspended steel bridge in the middle of the forest. You can practically touch the top branch of the tree and the view of the forest from up there, I'm lost for world. I could almost imagine myself like Merry and Pippin riding up the enormous Ent ready to make battle with Saruman's Uruk Hai. I believe they do have this in Malaysia but none were built as sturdy yet simple like this.
Then we're off to Gloucester Motel in Pemberton. It's quite late now (1am to be exact) so I shall update this tomorrow. Till then, ciao!~~~
Sunday, December 06, 2009
Perth Trip Dec 09 (Part 2)
Day 2
I bet you guys are eager to find out where little Frodo had gone today. We woke up early and headed south, on our way to Albany via Albany Highway. It takes 4 hour to reach there and I have to say that the journey was very long. However we got an extra virgin Toyota Corrola with only 1000KM in and it was a spanking smooth rides. It got auto cruise and rented GPS navigator. I enjoyed the ride very much. If only it could drive itself like Bumblebee and kick Decepticon arse while at it.
On the way, we passed through Mount Barker and stopped by a Cherry farm. The lovely madam showed us around the farm and thought us how to pick cherries. You will be suprised that there is an art on picking cherries. If you pick cherries, you shouldn't accidentally nip the bud otherwise it will not grow cherries the next blossoming round. We came in with the intention to pick the cherries ourselves, but we weren't allowed to because of this reason. The farm lady was very cheerful and friendly though and we bought about 1kg of cherries from her.
Next up we went straight to Albany and checked in to the Albany Discovery Inn. Lovely place with good interior deco. Do check out the pics. The innkeeper was friendly and helpful and recommended a fish and chip place at Emu Point. Yum yum, the fish and squid is delicious and fresh, made using locally captured fish and squids. The squid just melt in your mouth like butter. I can't explain it better, you just have to taste it yourself. We went to go for a lookout at Melvin Road, on one of the highest peak of Albany overlooking the city just after sunset. Marvellous view. You can even see the Albany Wind Farm, which we are going to go tomorrow from afar.
Day 3
The next morning we went straight to the wind farm at Sand Patch road. It's kinda cool, cos when I studied in Imperial, my final year project is regarding the wind power turbine. I consider myself a Gaia Capitalist (thank you Richard Branson) and very pro environmentalist and idolises Al Gore. I believe I'm the only person in my office who make it a point to print on unused side of recycled paper. This trip really excites me. There are 12 wind turbines operational in the farm with total power generated around 20MW enough to power 15k Western Australia (WA) homes for 20 years (yes I memorised it, and yes I'm a geek). I didn't get a chance to go to a wind farm in UK so this trip meant a lot to me (we did planned to go but there was no takers. As you would have guess, students are always broke and they rather spend their money buying beers rather than looking at some giant windmill).
After that we went and tapau some lunch at Squid Shack. We went to the Gap and Natural Bridges along with the Blowhole and Salmon Hole in the Torndirrup National Park. The Gap is actually a beatiful rock formation at one of the coastline and the Natural Bridge is a natural stone bridge that connects a "gap". No, the Blowhole is not what you think it is (notti boy), it is actually a gap on a rock formation blows jet of water as big waves crashes on the rock, and the water get force into these natural tunnel and gushes up in the air. Try to imagine the top of a whale which sometimes blow jets of water up in the air, but on a rock instead. Sadly it didn't "blow" today as the waves did not pound against the rock hard enough. That's just sound weird, hehehe..
Lastly, the Salmon Hole is not exactly a hole, but a quiet and nice beachside kinda like a lagoon where the salmon sometimes passes by to look for shallow water. Alas we didn't bring any spare short and shirt so we didn't go for a dip. After that we went all the way to a blueberry farm in Denmark (no it's a place in Australia, not a country in Europe) and just make it there around 3.30pm before it closes at 4pm. This time we got to pick the berries ourselves and even get a discount for doing it. I bought my lovely wife a jar of blueberry jam (wait for it honey).
Later that evening, the town centre of Albany is having a Christmas Pageant (read: parade). It's kinda nice for them to organise it, kinda like a small community activity in the suburban area. We stayed and watched for a bit before going back to the inn. I still have like 4 hours worth of free internet coupon and intended to use it tonight as we're checking out tomorrow. That's the reason I'm putting up this post now. Anyway, I shall update again as I go along and till then Adios Mate!~~
I bet you guys are eager to find out where little Frodo had gone today. We woke up early and headed south, on our way to Albany via Albany Highway. It takes 4 hour to reach there and I have to say that the journey was very long. However we got an extra virgin Toyota Corrola with only 1000KM in and it was a spanking smooth rides. It got auto cruise and rented GPS navigator. I enjoyed the ride very much. If only it could drive itself like Bumblebee and kick Decepticon arse while at it.
On the way, we passed through Mount Barker and stopped by a Cherry farm. The lovely madam showed us around the farm and thought us how to pick cherries. You will be suprised that there is an art on picking cherries. If you pick cherries, you shouldn't accidentally nip the bud otherwise it will not grow cherries the next blossoming round. We came in with the intention to pick the cherries ourselves, but we weren't allowed to because of this reason. The farm lady was very cheerful and friendly though and we bought about 1kg of cherries from her.
Next up we went straight to Albany and checked in to the Albany Discovery Inn. Lovely place with good interior deco. Do check out the pics. The innkeeper was friendly and helpful and recommended a fish and chip place at Emu Point. Yum yum, the fish and squid is delicious and fresh, made using locally captured fish and squids. The squid just melt in your mouth like butter. I can't explain it better, you just have to taste it yourself. We went to go for a lookout at Melvin Road, on one of the highest peak of Albany overlooking the city just after sunset. Marvellous view. You can even see the Albany Wind Farm, which we are going to go tomorrow from afar.
Day 3
The next morning we went straight to the wind farm at Sand Patch road. It's kinda cool, cos when I studied in Imperial, my final year project is regarding the wind power turbine. I consider myself a Gaia Capitalist (thank you Richard Branson) and very pro environmentalist and idolises Al Gore. I believe I'm the only person in my office who make it a point to print on unused side of recycled paper. This trip really excites me. There are 12 wind turbines operational in the farm with total power generated around 20MW enough to power 15k Western Australia (WA) homes for 20 years (yes I memorised it, and yes I'm a geek). I didn't get a chance to go to a wind farm in UK so this trip meant a lot to me (we did planned to go but there was no takers. As you would have guess, students are always broke and they rather spend their money buying beers rather than looking at some giant windmill).
After that we went and tapau some lunch at Squid Shack. We went to the Gap and Natural Bridges along with the Blowhole and Salmon Hole in the Torndirrup National Park. The Gap is actually a beatiful rock formation at one of the coastline and the Natural Bridge is a natural stone bridge that connects a "gap". No, the Blowhole is not what you think it is (notti boy), it is actually a gap on a rock formation blows jet of water as big waves crashes on the rock, and the water get force into these natural tunnel and gushes up in the air. Try to imagine the top of a whale which sometimes blow jets of water up in the air, but on a rock instead. Sadly it didn't "blow" today as the waves did not pound against the rock hard enough. That's just sound weird, hehehe..
Lastly, the Salmon Hole is not exactly a hole, but a quiet and nice beachside kinda like a lagoon where the salmon sometimes passes by to look for shallow water. Alas we didn't bring any spare short and shirt so we didn't go for a dip. After that we went all the way to a blueberry farm in Denmark (no it's a place in Australia, not a country in Europe) and just make it there around 3.30pm before it closes at 4pm. This time we got to pick the berries ourselves and even get a discount for doing it. I bought my lovely wife a jar of blueberry jam (wait for it honey).
Later that evening, the town centre of Albany is having a Christmas Pageant (read: parade). It's kinda nice for them to organise it, kinda like a small community activity in the suburban area. We stayed and watched for a bit before going back to the inn. I still have like 4 hours worth of free internet coupon and intended to use it tonight as we're checking out tomorrow. That's the reason I'm putting up this post now. Anyway, I shall update again as I go along and till then Adios Mate!~~
Friday, December 04, 2009
Perth Trip Dec 09 (Part 1)
Hi all!! Since I haven't updated anything I guess I wouldn't have some many people reading my blog. Sorry guys I have been busy with work. Wait a minute, I don't think that's quite accurate. I should have say that I actually got carried away with it. That's why I was quite glad to be on this vacation trip, it's such a relief~~ Thanks to Mama & Papa =)
Let's just get down to the details. I have decided to update this blog as often as possible sort of like a travel journal. It will be day by day and hopes u guys have fun following me.
Day 1
After all the hustle and bustle, we arrived at Perth Airport around 3pm. My dear brother, Ashraf (a.k.a Asro in our family) picked us up around 5pm and we headed straight to his house. He's sharing the house with 3 other roommates; Smap, Roy another guy I don't know (he's back to Malaysia I think, my parent is staying in his room). They're all very nice and kind people. I have to say their house look quite nice; single storey in a sub-urbanish area. Weird thing about the sandy (yes sandy) lawn in front. I don't see any beach near here.
After resting for a bit, we went out and bought some suplies from the local supermarket, Target and Woolworth. We're stocking up for our road trip to Albany! 'To Albany and back' an epic tale by Frodo Baggins. I can imagine it just like that. Anyway, I haven't took any picture yet as my phone won't work without a sim card and I'm pretty sure I don't want to turn it on with my Celcom sim card. Sorry boss, I on holiday and will be MIA (Missing In an Adventure). I bought an Optus prepaid and paid like AUD30 recharge (AUD4 for the sim card alone). After some thought I think I overpaid cos I won't be using it that much over here, but I believe it's ok as I got like AUD300 worth of 'value' (explaination later) by topping up AUD30 straight on first recharge. I dunno, I guess I just need to text my wife to inform that 'I have arrived all well 10 fingers 10 toes here in Perth, don't you worry dear'. It's important ;)
Anyway, after buying tons of stuff (not sure how it will fit in the trunk) we went out to Makan2 Cafe here in Perth for dinner and my dad 'spend' my brother's housemates dinner as a gesture for letting us crash their place. We got back and sleep aound 11pm-ish. To my fellow UK friends Makan2 Cafe is like Edgware Rd's Nahar. Although the food is nice, it just can't beat Nahar (sorry lil brother, I am die hard ex-Londoner =P ).
Anyway, it was a lovely first day and I'll make sure I put up some photo soon for your viewing. Sorry haven't got pix for 1st day but I shall post whatever I have so far. Till then Hooroo Mate!
Let's just get down to the details. I have decided to update this blog as often as possible sort of like a travel journal. It will be day by day and hopes u guys have fun following me.
Day 1
After all the hustle and bustle, we arrived at Perth Airport around 3pm. My dear brother, Ashraf (a.k.a Asro in our family) picked us up around 5pm and we headed straight to his house. He's sharing the house with 3 other roommates; Smap, Roy another guy I don't know (he's back to Malaysia I think, my parent is staying in his room). They're all very nice and kind people. I have to say their house look quite nice; single storey in a sub-urbanish area. Weird thing about the sandy (yes sandy) lawn in front. I don't see any beach near here.
After resting for a bit, we went out and bought some suplies from the local supermarket, Target and Woolworth. We're stocking up for our road trip to Albany! 'To Albany and back' an epic tale by Frodo Baggins. I can imagine it just like that. Anyway, I haven't took any picture yet as my phone won't work without a sim card and I'm pretty sure I don't want to turn it on with my Celcom sim card. Sorry boss, I on holiday and will be MIA (Missing In an Adventure). I bought an Optus prepaid and paid like AUD30 recharge (AUD4 for the sim card alone). After some thought I think I overpaid cos I won't be using it that much over here, but I believe it's ok as I got like AUD300 worth of 'value' (explaination later) by topping up AUD30 straight on first recharge. I dunno, I guess I just need to text my wife to inform that 'I have arrived all well 10 fingers 10 toes here in Perth, don't you worry dear'. It's important ;)
Anyway, after buying tons of stuff (not sure how it will fit in the trunk) we went out to Makan2 Cafe here in Perth for dinner and my dad 'spend' my brother's housemates dinner as a gesture for letting us crash their place. We got back and sleep aound 11pm-ish. To my fellow UK friends Makan2 Cafe is like Edgware Rd's Nahar. Although the food is nice, it just can't beat Nahar (sorry lil brother, I am die hard ex-Londoner =P ).
Anyway, it was a lovely first day and I'll make sure I put up some photo soon for your viewing. Sorry haven't got pix for 1st day but I shall post whatever I have so far. Till then Hooroo Mate!
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Freedom.. !! And last minute tax move you should consider..
I am finally free from work obligation.. Yeay! At least for a short while.. I just finished my SIRIM audit and I don't have to go back to the office day and night in order to finish. And oh boy oh boy, I'm s glad it's over.. It's not that I don't like audit, it's just that lately it has become all the work that I do. My principle is that yes you do need to do check and balance, however if you overdo it, it will defeat the purpose of doing quality control. You concentrate on it too much you will neglect doing the thing that you're supposed to do; delivery of the product & service.
Ok, on a lighter note let's talk more on personal financing. It's going to be new year soon and you will need to fill in the BE form sooner or later (unless you earn like less than RM2.5k, the tax agent won't even bother to help you). There are some expenditure you can incur this year that can save you money via tax deduction, but the most important thing to note is whether you need to do it or not. As saying goes, a Ringgit saved is a Ringgit earned.
I got my source from the Inland Revenue Board (IRB), but I kinda doubt it is updated to the latest version. And may I add the website is confusing and very hard to understand. However I do believe that when you do e-Filing it will turn out right so no worries over here. Also, I won't list all of it as I will just list my favourites and stuffs I think doable.
1) Pay your alms (zakat): You can get tax rebate of up to 2.5% of your taxable income. Though, the website says that you're free to put in as much as the tax charged on you so yes maybe you can pay all your taxes in forms of Zakat. Please take my advice with a pinch of salt, consult the IRB for further clarification.
2) Computers: Up to RM3000 is eligible for tax relief. The easiest thing to buy would be storage. Buy as much as you can afford, as you will always use storage. You can get a 500MB hard disk for just RM200, and 1TB (terabyte) for just RM400. Yes, all those spaces will be used up pretty quickly for your downloads, hehe I won't specify what kind now. If wanna get external enclosure, please buy the 2.5" that can run on USB only. The 3.5" will need an external power supply which can be a bit messy. The one I'm eyeing on cost RM275 for 320MB.
Next up is memory upgrade. Older one is SDRAM, followed by DDR, DDR2 and DDR3. Just be sure that if you still want to use the old RAM, you buy one with the same memory speed i.e 667MHZ etc. In my laptop is 2x 133MHZ 256MB RAM if i'm not mistaken. Do take note that older memories is more expensive for a simple fact that they don't produce as much of them now that they're obsolete model. Therefore you might get a better deal buying them second hand from say lowyat.net, but you won't be able to claim tax relief as you need receipts for that.
Otherwise you might just want to buy a new laptop/desktop altogether. You can get a good desktop with RM3k budget with decent LCD monitor as well as good graphic card, no kidding. Laptop cost a bit more but you do have a lot of choice for RM3000. A laptop I'm eyeing, Lenovo IdeaPad S10 will just cost me RM1.8k.
3) Books: Buy as much as you can as much as you want to read. There is no such thing as too much reading. RM1000 is a lot of books, so feel free to splurge. I do believe magazine subscription counts so why not pay now, get the magazine monthly at your doorstep, and get further discount for subscribing. I might do Personal Money Magazine subscription next year, hehe..
4) SSPN account (Skim Simpanan Pendidikan Nasional): If you have child(ren) open an account for them. You get RM3000 relief per year for ALL your children. Yes, it is not RM3k for each child, it's RM3k total.
It's a shame that many people doesn't realise this and they still want to try to find unit trust that can give them higher return for their children's education. Let's say you're tax at 28% bracket and SSPN give you 4% dividend return anually. You're now earning 32% return on your RM3000 deposit that year. Good luck finding unit trust that can give you that kind of return. Nuff said, open your account and deposit that RM3k now.
I think that's all my take on tax reduction last minute steps now. Do visit IRB website for more details. Do not fret if you can't get all this done this year. You can always bookmark my blog and visit them again December 2009. Anyway, Happy New Year 2009 everyone!! Cheers!!~~
Ok, on a lighter note let's talk more on personal financing. It's going to be new year soon and you will need to fill in the BE form sooner or later (unless you earn like less than RM2.5k, the tax agent won't even bother to help you). There are some expenditure you can incur this year that can save you money via tax deduction, but the most important thing to note is whether you need to do it or not. As saying goes, a Ringgit saved is a Ringgit earned.
I got my source from the Inland Revenue Board (IRB), but I kinda doubt it is updated to the latest version. And may I add the website is confusing and very hard to understand. However I do believe that when you do e-Filing it will turn out right so no worries over here. Also, I won't list all of it as I will just list my favourites and stuffs I think doable.
1) Pay your alms (zakat): You can get tax rebate of up to 2.5% of your taxable income. Though, the website says that you're free to put in as much as the tax charged on you so yes maybe you can pay all your taxes in forms of Zakat. Please take my advice with a pinch of salt, consult the IRB for further clarification.
2) Computers: Up to RM3000 is eligible for tax relief. The easiest thing to buy would be storage. Buy as much as you can afford, as you will always use storage. You can get a 500MB hard disk for just RM200, and 1TB (terabyte) for just RM400. Yes, all those spaces will be used up pretty quickly for your downloads, hehe I won't specify what kind now. If wanna get external enclosure, please buy the 2.5" that can run on USB only. The 3.5" will need an external power supply which can be a bit messy. The one I'm eyeing on cost RM275 for 320MB.
Next up is memory upgrade. Older one is SDRAM, followed by DDR, DDR2 and DDR3. Just be sure that if you still want to use the old RAM, you buy one with the same memory speed i.e 667MHZ etc. In my laptop is 2x 133MHZ 256MB RAM if i'm not mistaken. Do take note that older memories is more expensive for a simple fact that they don't produce as much of them now that they're obsolete model. Therefore you might get a better deal buying them second hand from say lowyat.net, but you won't be able to claim tax relief as you need receipts for that.
Otherwise you might just want to buy a new laptop/desktop altogether. You can get a good desktop with RM3k budget with decent LCD monitor as well as good graphic card, no kidding. Laptop cost a bit more but you do have a lot of choice for RM3000. A laptop I'm eyeing, Lenovo IdeaPad S10 will just cost me RM1.8k.
3) Books: Buy as much as you can as much as you want to read. There is no such thing as too much reading. RM1000 is a lot of books, so feel free to splurge. I do believe magazine subscription counts so why not pay now, get the magazine monthly at your doorstep, and get further discount for subscribing. I might do Personal Money Magazine subscription next year, hehe..
4) SSPN account (Skim Simpanan Pendidikan Nasional): If you have child(ren) open an account for them. You get RM3000 relief per year for ALL your children. Yes, it is not RM3k for each child, it's RM3k total.
It's a shame that many people doesn't realise this and they still want to try to find unit trust that can give them higher return for their children's education. Let's say you're tax at 28% bracket and SSPN give you 4% dividend return anually. You're now earning 32% return on your RM3000 deposit that year. Good luck finding unit trust that can give you that kind of return. Nuff said, open your account and deposit that RM3k now.
I think that's all my take on tax reduction last minute steps now. Do visit IRB website for more details. Do not fret if you can't get all this done this year. You can always bookmark my blog and visit them again December 2009. Anyway, Happy New Year 2009 everyone!! Cheers!!~~
Monday, November 17, 2008
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
stress...??!!!!
I think I blog more when exam is near. Instead of studying I'm distracting myself with the internet. hmmmmm why lorr??? All I know is, this time around, I'm not that motivated...huhuhu. must change self!!!
Came home late yesterday, from work. My parents are back, so I can stay back at work late again(did some studying but only did 1 exercise.. bad bad Awanis). I guess Azalia is not used to me coming back late after days of picking her up myself. When I came through the door, she screamed at me!!! boleh tak??!!!! tapi when she saw Asa siap kasi senyuman manis menawan tu.. perghhhh!!!!!!
But she has learnt to listen to what I say. When she's on one of her tantrums I just put on a serious face and say.. "Azalia.. no" and she stopped!!! she actually stopped!!! sobbing and pouting a little lah but she stopped!!!!!Alhamdulillah.....
Oh and people with glasses, beware of Azalia. She likes to pull them out then throw them on the floor. Tried everything to teach her it's not ok to do that but to no avail.
Came home late yesterday, from work. My parents are back, so I can stay back at work late again(did some studying but only did 1 exercise.. bad bad Awanis). I guess Azalia is not used to me coming back late after days of picking her up myself. When I came through the door, she screamed at me!!! boleh tak??!!!! tapi when she saw Asa siap kasi senyuman manis menawan tu.. perghhhh!!!!!!
But she has learnt to listen to what I say. When she's on one of her tantrums I just put on a serious face and say.. "Azalia.. no" and she stopped!!! she actually stopped!!! sobbing and pouting a little lah but she stopped!!!!!Alhamdulillah.....
Oh and people with glasses, beware of Azalia. She likes to pull them out then throw them on the floor. Tried everything to teach her it's not ok to do that but to no avail.
Monday, November 03, 2008
The newspaper....
I no longer read the first few pages of the newspaper. It sucks big time. Everyday it's the same thing. The political scene in Malaysia sucks. The PIP (people in power) are not looking out for the rakyat but more to themselves. But I like the current MB Selangor. He is a businessman not a politician and when I read his interviews there're no nonsense there. Just straight forward answers. This most certainly do not mean that I am for his party. Unfortunately.. I do not believe on the saying... choose the party not the person running for the party (I believe the PM did say this during the election). If you hold on to this then might as well put a donkey up for election ....
Just some random thoughts...
awanis
Just some random thoughts...
awanis
cloud 9.....
Sometimes I catch myself smiling alone in the office while typing or reading because suddenly an image of azalia doing something funny pops in my head. Like just now, while doing my routine job of calculating the daily prices of our funds, the image of Azalia clinging on my sisters leg insisting that she doesn't go back to her uni came to my mind. It's like being on cloud 9. hahahahahah.
I want more babies.... huhuhuhu
awanis
I want more babies.... huhuhuhu
awanis
Friday, October 31, 2008
laa dee daaa......
I know it has been way way too long and i have no clue if i still have any readers but here goes.
EID
Celebrated Eid at Kuching with loads and loads of relatives. Azalia met my small cousins and they just loved her. They practically followed her everywhere even when she wanted to sleep they lay beside her or patted her. She was bewildered by the attention but after awhile got used to them and loved every second of it.
Not having my grandmother around this Eid is certainly weird. My last Eid with her was..... maybe 3 or 4 years ago.. I lost count. This was because I was in UK so Eid was spent abroad and when we came back, our first raya was back in the UK because of Asa's graduation and the second one was in KL, Asa's side. So........ it was suppose to be with my dad's grandmother this time... but it was not meant to be. Every night while we were there, there was tahlil because by tradition we have tahlil 7 nights in a row. So, the furniture in my aunt's house were all moved to one end(to make way for the jemaah prayers), and there's this big space in the living room for the children to run around and everyone to lepak in the day time, and after tahlil.
Eid was..... the usual despite her absence. The first day, my eldest aunt couldn't hold back her tears so there were tears from the other siblings too. But other than that, it was the normal Eid. But they did reminisce a lot and picture albums (which I didn't know existed) were taken out and stories of the old times were told. Everytime I walk pass my grandmother's room, I can feel the tears just waiting to burst, but I quickly distract myself, thinking "enough tears have been shed, She is with Allah now."
Sometimes I catch my dad mutter under his breath "hmmm... mak nek dah takde" to Azalia.
We had a family picture in front of her house. It was planned before she passed away. She was suppose to be in it. Her children thought they should take it this Eid while she still have the strength to sit. But again. kita hanya merancang...
All in all... there was a mixture of emotions this Eid. But I look forward to going back again.
Poland..London.... home alone..not quite
Asa went to Poland for 5 days for some conference and had a 3 day transit in London. At the same time, my parents went to Australia because my mom have some work and my dad tagged along, sooooo.... Azalia and I had the house to ourselves for about a week. Needless to say it was a big adjustment for Azalia. She is so used to having a lot of people in the house and when there's only me... she was sooooo insecure. I had to be within sight everytime. She would follow me around everywhere even in the toilet and I had to take my bath, and do my business with the doors open (is this too much info.. hahaha), and to prevent her from coming in to the bathroom, I put her in her highchair. If not.... she'll cry and cry like I left her for good. huhuhuhu. kesian.
We webcam a lot with my parents and Asa so she seems to think that they live in the computer now and demands that I switch the computer on. Everytime we get back home, she would point to the computer. Even when Asa came back and was in front of her, she pointed to the computer.. hehehe funny girl.
Not having anyone around to help with the house chores is certainly tiring but I got things done because Azalia is so so so good. She would listen to what I say and does not whine as much. But when Asa came back... aiyoyoyo.. sudah start mengada. Kids are clever.. they know how to make you go against each other so they can get their way. But when it's only you and them... they know... there's no way around it... hahahhahaha.
Azalia's learning new sounds too... now she keeps on saying... kaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. It started when I said... " azalia.. we are in the car" and she goes.. kaaaaaaaaaa... she also knows 'umbrella'. She'll open her book and point to umbrella and gestures to me to say it and when I say "umbrella", she'll say " umbek...mama" She knows birds goes tweet tweet.
So I guess that's all for now.... till next few weeks?? months??? hahahahahhahaha
EID
Celebrated Eid at Kuching with loads and loads of relatives. Azalia met my small cousins and they just loved her. They practically followed her everywhere even when she wanted to sleep they lay beside her or patted her. She was bewildered by the attention but after awhile got used to them and loved every second of it.
Not having my grandmother around this Eid is certainly weird. My last Eid with her was..... maybe 3 or 4 years ago.. I lost count. This was because I was in UK so Eid was spent abroad and when we came back, our first raya was back in the UK because of Asa's graduation and the second one was in KL, Asa's side. So........ it was suppose to be with my dad's grandmother this time... but it was not meant to be. Every night while we were there, there was tahlil because by tradition we have tahlil 7 nights in a row. So, the furniture in my aunt's house were all moved to one end(to make way for the jemaah prayers), and there's this big space in the living room for the children to run around and everyone to lepak in the day time, and after tahlil.
Eid was..... the usual despite her absence. The first day, my eldest aunt couldn't hold back her tears so there were tears from the other siblings too. But other than that, it was the normal Eid. But they did reminisce a lot and picture albums (which I didn't know existed) were taken out and stories of the old times were told. Everytime I walk pass my grandmother's room, I can feel the tears just waiting to burst, but I quickly distract myself, thinking "enough tears have been shed, She is with Allah now."
Sometimes I catch my dad mutter under his breath "hmmm... mak nek dah takde" to Azalia.
We had a family picture in front of her house. It was planned before she passed away. She was suppose to be in it. Her children thought they should take it this Eid while she still have the strength to sit. But again. kita hanya merancang...
All in all... there was a mixture of emotions this Eid. But I look forward to going back again.
Poland..London.... home alone..not quite
Asa went to Poland for 5 days for some conference and had a 3 day transit in London. At the same time, my parents went to Australia because my mom have some work and my dad tagged along, sooooo.... Azalia and I had the house to ourselves for about a week. Needless to say it was a big adjustment for Azalia. She is so used to having a lot of people in the house and when there's only me... she was sooooo insecure. I had to be within sight everytime. She would follow me around everywhere even in the toilet and I had to take my bath, and do my business with the doors open (is this too much info.. hahaha), and to prevent her from coming in to the bathroom, I put her in her highchair. If not.... she'll cry and cry like I left her for good. huhuhuhu. kesian.
We webcam a lot with my parents and Asa so she seems to think that they live in the computer now and demands that I switch the computer on. Everytime we get back home, she would point to the computer. Even when Asa came back and was in front of her, she pointed to the computer.. hehehe funny girl.
Not having anyone around to help with the house chores is certainly tiring but I got things done because Azalia is so so so good. She would listen to what I say and does not whine as much. But when Asa came back... aiyoyoyo.. sudah start mengada. Kids are clever.. they know how to make you go against each other so they can get their way. But when it's only you and them... they know... there's no way around it... hahahhahaha.
Azalia's learning new sounds too... now she keeps on saying... kaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. It started when I said... " azalia.. we are in the car" and she goes.. kaaaaaaaaaa... she also knows 'umbrella'. She'll open her book and point to umbrella and gestures to me to say it and when I say "umbrella", she'll say " umbek...mama" She knows birds goes tweet tweet.
So I guess that's all for now.... till next few weeks?? months??? hahahahahhahaha
Friday, September 26, 2008
The passing....
A few years back, I remembered feeling sad as I watched her.. slowly drifting away from us. But physically she was with us and those few moments that she was herself was cherished by everyone. It was heartbreaking to see, my grandmother, the most independent person I have ever known, who brought up 16 children into successful adults, being bathed my father, arguing with him like a little child, crying and pleading not to leave her but to stay with her in Kuching. I know it's hard for my father to leave but he'll be back he assured her, and he did, several times..we all did.. but not yesterday.
It was sudden and brief my aunt said. Only a handful of her children were at her side. The others were not in time. She is now at peace and may Allah rest her soul. It was sudden yes but not unexpected. She was getting weaker this past few years but we thought she would still be here for Eid. We were going to take one last family picture but it was not meant to be.
My heart goes to my father, as I see him trying to hold back his tears in front of us when he received the news. I know how bad he wants to be back, to prepare for the funeral, but it was not to be. The flight is full and the earliest is tomorrow morning. I pray that he will be in time to see her before the burial. He said that it's ok, if he's late to just go ahead but I know he still wants to see her one last time.
Life still has to go on. Eid will still be here. But it won't be the same.
Al-Fatihah, Hjh Ayot@Rokayah Rajak (1926-2008)
more here
-awanis-
It was sudden and brief my aunt said. Only a handful of her children were at her side. The others were not in time. She is now at peace and may Allah rest her soul. It was sudden yes but not unexpected. She was getting weaker this past few years but we thought she would still be here for Eid. We were going to take one last family picture but it was not meant to be.
My heart goes to my father, as I see him trying to hold back his tears in front of us when he received the news. I know how bad he wants to be back, to prepare for the funeral, but it was not to be. The flight is full and the earliest is tomorrow morning. I pray that he will be in time to see her before the burial. He said that it's ok, if he's late to just go ahead but I know he still wants to see her one last time.
Life still has to go on. Eid will still be here. But it won't be the same.
Al-Fatihah, Hjh Ayot@Rokayah Rajak (1926-2008)
more here
-awanis-
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Ramadhan and Eid
Ramadhan has been uneventful. Everything was same old same old except Asa lost quite a bit of weight and his tummy is definitely smaller. Certainly an adjustment for Azalia because she's so used to 'parking' her leg on Asa's tummy whenever he carries her around. The weightloss has inspired Asa to fast longer. ader hati nak fast for one year. I told him to go slow first and start with puasa enam. Nazar Azalia selamat pun belum habis lagi.
There's not much prep for Raya. I've never really got all excited about new baju raya and stuff when I was small anyway.(Mak je yg excited and see it as a must... then again.. we had to buy new ones anyway, the only time we wore baju kurung was during raya..) Since this time around I have loads of baju kurung for office and kenduri and stuff and there are a few which have only seen the light of day once or twice.. I've decided no new ones for me.. just those. Ala this time balik Kuching pun.. they've never seen my baju kurungs anyway. Asa has two new baju melayu from my brother's wedding so none for him too. And Azalia has tons of dresses which she only wore once or twice and since they are all very lovely sayang kalau tak puas pakai so non for her too (although I am planning to sew her one baju kurung but till today I have yet to do it.. potong dah.. jahit je belum.. so let's just hope I start sewing soon ok)
This year it's raya in Kuching and I am very very excited. I love going back to Kuching because my dad's family are so huge and things will be noisy and chaotic and tiring but that's how gathering are suppose to be. I love my mom's side too but since 6 siblings is way less than 16 siblings.. of course abah's side is much more 'happening'. hehehehehe. Azalia can also play with my cousins and nieces which is great because she can play with girls!! yeay!!. On my mom's side there are only boys and I think she's getting lasak like the boys too now. Nothing wrong with that since I was a bit of a tomboy myself when I was little(until primary kot)..a tomboy with long hair because I hate short hair... kakakakaka.
So that's all about our Ramadhan and the upcoming Eid. I know I have been blogging a lot less lately but this is due to playing with Azalia at night and when we're not playing she usually hogs the computer to watch her cartoons. And I don't really like blogging at the office.
So Happy Ramadhan everyone and Eid Mubarak.
There's not much prep for Raya. I've never really got all excited about new baju raya and stuff when I was small anyway.(Mak je yg excited and see it as a must... then again.. we had to buy new ones anyway, the only time we wore baju kurung was during raya..) Since this time around I have loads of baju kurung for office and kenduri and stuff and there are a few which have only seen the light of day once or twice.. I've decided no new ones for me.. just those. Ala this time balik Kuching pun.. they've never seen my baju kurungs anyway. Asa has two new baju melayu from my brother's wedding so none for him too. And Azalia has tons of dresses which she only wore once or twice and since they are all very lovely sayang kalau tak puas pakai so non for her too (although I am planning to sew her one baju kurung but till today I have yet to do it.. potong dah.. jahit je belum.. so let's just hope I start sewing soon ok)
This year it's raya in Kuching and I am very very excited. I love going back to Kuching because my dad's family are so huge and things will be noisy and chaotic and tiring but that's how gathering are suppose to be. I love my mom's side too but since 6 siblings is way less than 16 siblings.. of course abah's side is much more 'happening'. hehehehehe. Azalia can also play with my cousins and nieces which is great because she can play with girls!! yeay!!. On my mom's side there are only boys and I think she's getting lasak like the boys too now. Nothing wrong with that since I was a bit of a tomboy myself when I was little(until primary kot)..a tomboy with long hair because I hate short hair... kakakakaka.
So that's all about our Ramadhan and the upcoming Eid. I know I have been blogging a lot less lately but this is due to playing with Azalia at night and when we're not playing she usually hogs the computer to watch her cartoons. And I don't really like blogging at the office.
So Happy Ramadhan everyone and Eid Mubarak.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Rising Oil Prices, Malaysia (part 3): Is electric car viable? Chapter 2..
Sori Eddie, why I talked more about renewables is bcos you will only really go greener if you change from from fossil fuel to renewables. Grid energy using fossil fuel is just the same as burning petrols elsewhere. But if your grid taps into renewables (hydroelectric most common in Malaysia), it's practically Zero Emission. Don't you worry about climate change?? Hurricane Gustav and Ike and the flooding that we currently experience in Malaysia is just the tip of the iceberg. Don't we want to leave the earth without our grandchildren suffering the results of our misdeeds? But this should belong to a totally different topics..
Ok let's talk numbers. I believe it's really is 100,000 miles = 160,000km
How long is that? 160,000km / 20,00km per year = 8 years
Spread the EV (Electric Vehicle) battery premium; RM20,000 / 8 yrs = RM2500 yearly
I pay petrol around; RM360 monthly x 12 = RM4320 yearly
Assume I can save 7 times worth petrol if I go electric.. (1)
If I drive EV, I only pay; RM4320 / 7 = RM617
So I save on petrol; RM4320 - 617 = RM3702 yearly
Yearly I actualy net saving going EV; RM3702 - 2500 = RM1202 yearly.
By the time I need to replace battery, I have; RM1202 x 8 = RM9622
That's already half the cost of the battery premium. That is assuming that you really need to replace it. They might last longer though, but degraded quality. Kinda like you cellphone battery (I believe it's the same technology). Let's say with R&D they can reduce the battery cost to only RM12k, well you just need to top up RM2500.
Also, maintenance of electric motors should be less than combustion. With everything else equal, you don't need to change the engine oil, air filter (is it?), gearbox oil that often. Plus, regenerative braking, DC air-con. Cool~ Think big scale Tamiya engine..
So bottom line, is it worth going greener for RM2500 premium in 8 years time in the future? You betcha =)
P/S: (1) I got the source from Wiki, from US market condition. Might not be the same scenario here, but I believe it should be close in terms of relativity.
Ok let's talk numbers. I believe it's really is 100,000 miles = 160,000km
How long is that? 160,000km / 20,00km per year = 8 years
Spread the EV (Electric Vehicle) battery premium; RM20,000 / 8 yrs = RM2500 yearly
I pay petrol around; RM360 monthly x 12 = RM4320 yearly
Assume I can save 7 times worth petrol if I go electric.. (1)
If I drive EV, I only pay; RM4320 / 7 = RM617
So I save on petrol; RM4320 - 617 = RM3702 yearly
Yearly I actualy net saving going EV; RM3702 - 2500 = RM1202 yearly.
By the time I need to replace battery, I have; RM1202 x 8 = RM9622
That's already half the cost of the battery premium. That is assuming that you really need to replace it. They might last longer though, but degraded quality. Kinda like you cellphone battery (I believe it's the same technology). Let's say with R&D they can reduce the battery cost to only RM12k, well you just need to top up RM2500.
Also, maintenance of electric motors should be less than combustion. With everything else equal, you don't need to change the engine oil, air filter (is it?), gearbox oil that often. Plus, regenerative braking, DC air-con. Cool~ Think big scale Tamiya engine..
So bottom line, is it worth going greener for RM2500 premium in 8 years time in the future? You betcha =)
P/S: (1) I got the source from Wiki, from US market condition. Might not be the same scenario here, but I believe it should be close in terms of relativity.
Saturday, September 06, 2008
Rising Oil Prices, Malaysia (part 2): Is electric car viable?
Referring to my friends blogs on Proton's project on Electric Cars, I have to strongly disagree with him. Electric cars are the future! It's like education; you have to spend on fees (rolling out initial investment), you have to study hard to get the good results and you won't reap the benefit instantly.
But government have to support the project by giving the proper infrastructure. They can extend recharge points to all petrol station like they are doing with NGV, or at least Petronas. The idea is to get as many petrol alternatives as possible so that overall we have a lot more petrol alternative of fuel (Diesel, NGV, now Electric).
On the going greener, I agree with we have to go nuclear/renewables to reap most benefit from electric car development. Like Iran! Yeah, if only US will back off than harassing Iran on use of nuclear technology. I haven't talk renewables here like Solar or Wind technology or Wave technology. Yes they are still expensive compared to fossil fuel, but with rising cost of fossil fuel and decreasing cost of renewables via govt incentives (tax exempt on component import & mass productions) they might prove viable someday. Personally, I did my final year project on wind turbines and their cost will be able to compete fossil fuel in 10 years or so (mind you, it was 2 years back). Hell, they might be able to challenge the price as of this moment. Problems is, with rising oil price, material cost also increases. (Most lightweight materials is made out of petroleum products).
2004 article on Wind Energy cost comparison
Battery technology is still weak, but I'm sure they will improve over time. In time, with proper R&D they would be able to make it lighter and last long (like Energizer or Duracell comercial.. Hehe).
But do you know that my biggest fantasy would be to tap into lightning electricity. Finally we can use up all the thunderstorm we have locally for good use. =)
Guys if you are concerned citizen regarding this issue please read more on the websites that I linked as below:
Better Place: regarding electric car project
US wind power market research
But government have to support the project by giving the proper infrastructure. They can extend recharge points to all petrol station like they are doing with NGV, or at least Petronas. The idea is to get as many petrol alternatives as possible so that overall we have a lot more petrol alternative of fuel (Diesel, NGV, now Electric).
On the going greener, I agree with we have to go nuclear/renewables to reap most benefit from electric car development. Like Iran! Yeah, if only US will back off than harassing Iran on use of nuclear technology. I haven't talk renewables here like Solar or Wind technology or Wave technology. Yes they are still expensive compared to fossil fuel, but with rising cost of fossil fuel and decreasing cost of renewables via govt incentives (tax exempt on component import & mass productions) they might prove viable someday. Personally, I did my final year project on wind turbines and their cost will be able to compete fossil fuel in 10 years or so (mind you, it was 2 years back). Hell, they might be able to challenge the price as of this moment. Problems is, with rising oil price, material cost also increases. (Most lightweight materials is made out of petroleum products).
2004 article on Wind Energy cost comparison
Battery technology is still weak, but I'm sure they will improve over time. In time, with proper R&D they would be able to make it lighter and last long (like Energizer or Duracell comercial.. Hehe).
But do you know that my biggest fantasy would be to tap into lightning electricity. Finally we can use up all the thunderstorm we have locally for good use. =)
Guys if you are concerned citizen regarding this issue please read more on the websites that I linked as below:
Better Place: regarding electric car project
US wind power market research
Monday, July 28, 2008
Our weekend
My weekend with Azalia was filled with dramas. There were tears (in her part) and hair pulling (she started it) and major shouting( Ok this one I'm guilty). But those were the downs. The ups were Azalia being able to see Asa (through webcam) and she leaned to the screen and kiss her abah.(Kesian anak mak.. rindu abah ye) It was funny watching both of them trying to communicate while I intepret what Azalia says to Asa through the keyboards (can't find the mic). Azalia seems to listen more to Asa then me.
Anyway, Azalia refuses to sleep even when she's dead tired so after exhausting all alternatives I just resort to ignoring her. This lead to some really good acting in her part. There were the tears, the cries, the fake coughing (which later turned to real coughs which startled her and she stopped faking them), the pulling her hair and hands on cheeks... really good acting I tell you. But I managed to put a straight face,(dlm hati nak gelak gila), were firm and soon she sucks those fingers of her and buried her face in the pillow... after a while she's in dreamland.
She's also become quite attached to her blankie and wants to bring it everywhere. And ever since Asa's not around she sleeps holding her milk bottle. Gila kuat pegang. When I tried to pry it from her hand she suddenly squeels (tgh tido tu). So to avoid any milk spilling on my sheets, I quickly switched it with an empty one.
I also caught a flu and had some diarhea so I was feeling abit impatient when she starts acting out. So there was some shouting because I wanted her know I was angry(Those who know me knows how loud I normally speaks so the shouting is necessary to differentiate normal and angry.. hehehehe ) .She didn't want to eat and tepiskan the bowl of cornflakes I handed to her.. habis sepah.. Anyway, Azalia just puts a blank face when I'm angry and tries to pujuk me with her cheeky smiles but I was having none of that. So... after a few minutes... after I think she's learnt her lesson, I spoke to her again.
ps: tak jadi babysit my cousins. So it was just me and Azalia.(my parents were out on Saturyda but they did bring her out on Sunday and I had half a day on my own.)
pss: Asa looked so tembam in the webcam. Mcm blowfish.. heheheh
-wanyz-
Anyway, Azalia refuses to sleep even when she's dead tired so after exhausting all alternatives I just resort to ignoring her. This lead to some really good acting in her part. There were the tears, the cries, the fake coughing (which later turned to real coughs which startled her and she stopped faking them), the pulling her hair and hands on cheeks... really good acting I tell you. But I managed to put a straight face,(dlm hati nak gelak gila), were firm and soon she sucks those fingers of her and buried her face in the pillow... after a while she's in dreamland.
She's also become quite attached to her blankie and wants to bring it everywhere. And ever since Asa's not around she sleeps holding her milk bottle. Gila kuat pegang. When I tried to pry it from her hand she suddenly squeels (tgh tido tu). So to avoid any milk spilling on my sheets, I quickly switched it with an empty one.
I also caught a flu and had some diarhea so I was feeling abit impatient when she starts acting out. So there was some shouting because I wanted her know I was angry(Those who know me knows how loud I normally speaks so the shouting is necessary to differentiate normal and angry.. hehehehe ) .She didn't want to eat and tepiskan the bowl of cornflakes I handed to her.. habis sepah.. Anyway, Azalia just puts a blank face when I'm angry and tries to pujuk me with her cheeky smiles but I was having none of that. So... after a few minutes... after I think she's learnt her lesson, I spoke to her again.
ps: tak jadi babysit my cousins. So it was just me and Azalia.(my parents were out on Saturyda but they did bring her out on Sunday and I had half a day on my own.)
pss: Asa looked so tembam in the webcam. Mcm blowfish.. heheheh
-wanyz-
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Just the two of us....
Asa is away for training in Mersing for 10 days. So it's just me and Azalia(and my parents of course).
Right now Azalia is playing on the bed. Alone. She loves to play with her books just flipping the pages and shove them into people's faces or laps , a sign saying " Please read to me". She's also learning how to talk. She's making sounds with intonations (although most of the time it sounds like a question. Maybe she's trying to ask something). The only understandble words are "mama" which refers to me and "mamam" which means food. I also finds it amusing when she sees something new and makes "ooohh" and "aaahhh" sounds.
She also puts her pointing finger on her nose, a sign she's mad or disapproves of something. Needless to say she does this a lot when she wants something and we don't give it to her. (Asa taught her this when he was trying to tell her not to do something).
I think Azalia inherited my 'kayu-ness' when it comes to dancing. Caught her watching the show Fun song factory and she tried to follow the dance but the only body parts that was moving was her hand, head and leg. The middle part (ie. the bum,) did not move at all... heheheh so funny.
Had a bet with dina and a colleague of mine that I will be missing Asa badly (sampai nangis) after a week. Told them it's not going to happen and will stick to that... hahahahaha.
Will be babysitting my cousins(4 boys age range from 10-2 years old)and of course there's Azalia. Will have to plan some activities for them. Maybe swimming in the morning, computer games at home and Playground in the evening. The toughest will be handling the 2 year old and Azalia at the same time. hmmmmm. The most I've ever babysit is 3 kids. Now I have to handle 5... wish me luck.
-wanis-
Right now Azalia is playing on the bed. Alone. She loves to play with her books just flipping the pages and shove them into people's faces or laps , a sign saying " Please read to me". She's also learning how to talk. She's making sounds with intonations (although most of the time it sounds like a question. Maybe she's trying to ask something). The only understandble words are "mama" which refers to me and "mamam" which means food. I also finds it amusing when she sees something new and makes "ooohh" and "aaahhh" sounds.
She also puts her pointing finger on her nose, a sign she's mad or disapproves of something. Needless to say she does this a lot when she wants something and we don't give it to her. (Asa taught her this when he was trying to tell her not to do something).
I think Azalia inherited my 'kayu-ness' when it comes to dancing. Caught her watching the show Fun song factory and she tried to follow the dance but the only body parts that was moving was her hand, head and leg. The middle part (ie. the bum,) did not move at all... heheheh so funny.
Had a bet with dina and a colleague of mine that I will be missing Asa badly (sampai nangis) after a week. Told them it's not going to happen and will stick to that... hahahahaha.
Will be babysitting my cousins(4 boys age range from 10-2 years old)and of course there's Azalia. Will have to plan some activities for them. Maybe swimming in the morning, computer games at home and Playground in the evening. The toughest will be handling the 2 year old and Azalia at the same time. hmmmmm. The most I've ever babysit is 3 kids. Now I have to handle 5... wish me luck.
-wanis-
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