Jacky's Piece Of Thot

The Museum Of Korean Culture - Incheon International Airport

2009-09-30T21:00:00.000+08:00

One thing like about Incheon airport is this little musuem showcasing some of the Korean cultures to passengers passing through this airport everyday.

This little museum is located on the 4th floor of the concourse building where all the foreign airlines depart from. Therefore, its targeted visitors are basically foreign flyers especially all those on transit.

The exhibits are divided into 4 sections - traditional art, traditional music, the royal culture and print culture.

These are 2 of the exhibits in traditional art section - the Seokgatap & the Gamnodo.

The traditional music area provides a high-tech equipment for visitors to experience the Sound of Korea.

The Royal Culture showcases some royal paintings which are real national treasures.

The following are exhibits of print culture area:

Some other exhibits here:

It is only a small but nicely set up area for travellers to spend to quality time, taking only 20 minutes to visit.

I always wonder, why can't our KLIA also create such an area to show the travellers our rich and diverse culture?

A Dispute Over KK-Sibu Route

2009-08-12T18:00:00.001+08:00

There is a current on-going tussle between Malaysia Airlines (MAS) and Airasia (AK) regarding the rights to fly the Kota Kinabalu (BKI) / Sibu (SBW) routes. This is due to AK being directed by the Ministry of Transport to stop flying this route beyond 25 October 2009.

Prior to 1 August 2006, all the domestic routes within Sarawak & Sabah were served by MAS. As part of its Business Turnaround Plan, it handed over majority of these routes to FlyAsianExpress (FAX), an associate company of AK from 1 August 2006. It was well known that these domestic routes were unprofitable and required significant government subsidies to maintain continuous air service for these routes.

Subsequently, FAX also found out that despite the government subsidies, it was still making loss from its operations and on 1 October 2007, it handed back the operations to MASwings, a subsidiary of MAS. All these times, the operation of these domestic routes were using propeller planes Fokker 50 & Twin Otter.

In April 2008, AK started its BKI / SBW operations using jet plane Airbus 320 to compete with MASwings which usespropeller plane Fokker 50 on the route. The return journey price offered by AK is in the range of RM150 - RM300 while MAS is about RM500 (based on price quoted on http://www.airasia.com/ & http://www.maswings.com.my/)

During the times when MAS was the operator, only flights using Twin Otter were classified under rural air service (RAS). Flights between major towns using Fokker 50 were not classified as such. RAS routes are exclusive to the operator approved by the government due to heavy subsidies involved.

Major Point of MAS
1. It was during the time FAX as RAS operator that Airasia requested the BKI / SBW to be classified as RAS route exclusive to itself. Therefore MASwings is only following the 10 year RAS agreement as signed with Malaysian government in October 2007.

2. As BKI / SBW is a profitable route, they need it to subsidise other unprofitable routes within the operation of MASwings.

3. If there are changes made to RAS agreement, MASwings may require higher subsidies from the government to cover its loss-making routes.

4. FAX chose to surrender the RAS service back to MAS when they realised it was unprofitable. And now they are cherry picking to serve only the profitable routes.

Major Point of Airasia
1. If AK can serve this route profitably, there is no need for the government to continue subsidising MASwings on this route as it is a waste of taxpayers monies.

2. The passengers have the right to choose to fly at lower costs.

Issue At Hand
1. Should MASwings operations be considered as a whole combining all the routes ? If that is the case, it's fair to say BKI / SBW route is vital in maintaining its financial performance.

2. Or should MASwings operations be separately identified as RAS and non-RAS operations ?

3. What about the right of passengers flying on this route ?

My Opinion
In airline business, the most important factors are the load factor and yield factor. Load refers to the percentage passengers filled in a flight while yield refers to the profit margin an airline company earns from its passengers in each flight.

It is very obvious that by offering lower prices, AK is trying to fill its planes thereby increasing its load factor. MASwings by offering higher prices is trying to achieve higher yield per flight. If AK is not competing with it, it would have monopoly over this route thereby achieving both higher load and higher yield.

Being a public listed company not owned by government, AK is definitely profit oriented as it has its shareholders to answer to. Therefore, it is only right that it is interested in operating the profitable routes.

MASwings on the other hand is in a different position. It operates knowing majorities of the routes are loss-making. It's biggest task is to try to achieve profit or breakeven (avoid making loss) based on subsidies received from government (according to it, it is receiving less than 50% of the subsidies paid to FAX previously).

Assume AK is given right to continue flying BKI / SBW route:
- AK earns more profits, so it wins
- MASwings end up asking for more subsidies, it either loses or breakeven
- Government pays more subsidies to MASwings, so taxpayers lose.
- BKI / SBW people enjoy lower fares, so they win
In this situation, the people of Malaysia pays more to subsidise MASwings.

Assume AK is NOT given right to continue flying BKI / SBW route:
- AK losts a profitable route, so it loses
- MASwings continue its monopoly of profitable route, so it wins
- Government continue paying subsidies to MASwings at current rate, so tax payers win
- BKI / SBW people pay higher fares to fly, so they lose
In this situation, the people of BKI & SBW actually continues paying higher price to subsidise MASwings' other routes.

Should the people of BKI & SBW be deprived of their rights to fly at lower price for the sake of subsidising other loss-making routes of MASwings ? Why should they play that role ?

Subsidising MASwings is a responsibility to be shared by all Malaysians !!!

I'm sure MASwings will be able to compute accurately its profit and breakeven cost on each routes, therefore it knows how much additional subsidies is needed from the government to breakeven. Try to renegotiate with the government for additional subsidies as it requires. RAS is a national service and so MASwings should not be too profit oriented. Afterall, MAS is still 80% owned by government.

Let AK continue flying on this route. The people of SBW & BKI have the right to choose between these 2 airlines. It's a free and competitive market out there. Everyone have the right to fly cheaply or expensively as they wish.

In this case, MAS may be seen as the villain as it tries to deny the people of BKI / SBW of cheaper air tickets. However, don't expect AK to be a nice guy. It is only justifying its intention by emphasising the peoples right to cheap air fares. Once it finds this route unprofitable, it will stop flying it, just as the case of FAX. It's everyone for themselves.

Ultimately, whatever the outcome, it is hope that the passengers will emerge as the winner.

Humiliation Of Holy Sacrament

2009-07-10T20:45:00.001+08:00

This is just so so sad. A case of total humiliation to our Lord Jesus taking place right in Kuala Lumpur.

Please check out http://www.ksstanley.blogspot.com/

All Catholics must read this.

The Passing Of An Icon

2009-06-26T18:10:00.000+08:00

"King Of Pop" Michael Jackson has passed away at 2.26pm on 25 June 2009.

His death is truly a great loss to the music industry. He's simply irreplacable.

May His Soul Rest In Peace.

The Greatest Men's Tennis Player Ever ?

2009-06-08T15:59:00.002+08:00

It has to happen somehow when Rafael Nadal was eliminated in the 4th round of this year's French Open. There's no way Roger Federer is going to let his greatest chance gone just like that.

While reigning supreme against everyone else, he found his greatest nemesis in the Spaniard Rafael Nadal, the clay court king who ruled the Roland Garros for 4 consecutive years from 2005-2008. It is such a fascinating rivalry in the sense that for someone so great against everyone else, he is no match for Nadal on clay. I always wonder whether he will ever achieve the Grand Slam with Nadal looming in his shadow and overtaking his No.1 ranking on the ATP tour.

With his victory on Roland Garros, it puts to rest the debate of who is the greatest player ever. His 14 total Career Grand Slam win putting him alongside Pete Sampras:
- 5 wins in Wimbledon on grass
- 5 wins in US Open on hard court
- 3 wins in Australian Open on Rebound Ace
- 1 win in French Open on clay

This put him in an exclusive club of 6 men who had won Career Grand Slam, the others being Fred Perry, Don Budge, Rod Laver, Roy Emerson & Andre Agassi.

However, Agassi is in another level with Career Golden Slam as he has the men's gold medal from Atlanta Olympic Games 1996.

While Federer also has an Olypic gold medal in the men's double at the Beijing Olympic 2008, i don't count him equal to Agassi's single gold medal.

Still, being only 28 years old, there is plenty of chance for him to increase his Grand Slam tally to further reinforce his records and legacy. His rivalry with Nadal will continue to fascinate me. At 23, Nadal already has 4 French Open, 1 Australian Open and 1 Wimbledon plus an Olympic men's single gold medal to show. It means he is only short of an US Open title to complete a Career Golden Slam. There is always a chance for Nadal to surpass Federer's achievement.

For now at least, Roger Federer is the greatest player ever to me.

Note:

Career Grand Slam = 4 different Grand Slam titles in different year
Career Golden Slam = Career Grand Slam + Olympic Gold Medal
Calendar Year Grand Slam = All 4 Grand Slam titles in same calendar year
Non-Calendar Year Grand Slam = 4 consecutive Grand Slam but in different calendar year
Golden Slam = Calendar Year Grand Slam + Olympic Gold Medal in the same year

The More (A)s The Merrier ?

2009-06-03T17:34:00.003+08:00

Our Minister Of Education recently announced that from next year onwards, the SPM students shall be limited to taking 10 subjects per person. Such a move is intended to eliminate outstanding high achievers from complaining over their failure in their application for the JPA scholaship.

Their is no doubt that such a scenario has been an annual affair with plenty of 15As or 13As students questioning why they are overlooked in the awarding of this scholarship.

Some disagree with such a decision reasoning that it will limit the students from achieving their maximum potentials, which i fully agree. There should be no limit for students if they believe they can scored high number of As. Why should we stop them?

However, the more important factor should be the Examination Board being more strict in the marking of the papers. Is it easier to score an A today compared to 10 or 20 years ago? Nobody knows why. Has the marking scale been lowered to reflect higher passing rate?

Now that the decision has been made, it still does not solve the scholarship problem. Next year, there may be thousands of students with 10As applying for scholarship and only a handful of them will be lucky scholarship recipient.

One way to solve this should have been the JPA stating clearly the BASIC PRE-REQUISITE for its scholarship, ie the compulsary subjects, extra-curricular achievements etc...In this way, even if the number of subjects are not limited, i believe many students will not be interested in taking the minor subjects of no significance.

Now with the limit of 10 subjects, i believe the Examination Board can just add one extra move to help solving these scholarship problems. The move is, STATE DOWN THE OVERALL AVERAGE MARKS ACHIEVED BY THE RESPECTIVE STUDENTS.

Average mark = Total mark / Number of subjects taken

Through this average mark, we will really be able to see the actual performance of a student. Imagine comparing a 10A student with average mark of 75 with average mark of 90.

The JPA can set a minimum average mark required for its applicants. This should be 1 way to choose the best among the best.

Man Utd - Runner up of Champions League

2009-05-28T19:43:00.002+08:00

The defeat to Barcelona ended all debates whether the current team is its best ever. Nope, it's still the 1999 treble winning team.

1999: Premier League + FA Cup + Champions League
2009: Premier League + League Cup + World Club Championship

When the side is the 2nd best in Europe, how can it still call itself the Champion of The World ?

The current side is simply not good enough to match the current Barca side and even Liverpool side. There's pretty much needed to be done in the summmer to strengthen the current squad especially the midfield and attack....

For now, i guess winning the Premier League serves only as consolation...

Man Utd - Champion Of England 2008-2009

2009-05-16T21:45:00.002+08:00

Yes, we did it...with the clinching point in the 0-0 draw against Arsenal at Old Trafford.

What an anxious March after the defeat to Liverpool and Fulham in March. The turning point must surely be the 3-2 comeback victory against Aston Villa.

It's such a good feeling, finally matching Liverpool's 18 championship.

Final assignment: Champions League final against Barcelona

Treble achieved. Quadruple next...

Labour Day

2009-05-01T13:24:00.000+08:00

I just came back from the annual Labour Day procession which is held annually. Procession starts from Cathedral Square, with the walk along Muravyov-Amursky Street and ended at Lenin Square.

It's just a simple procession taken part by thousands of workers from different companies and industry. There's not really much meaning as far as im aware.

But still it's a good time to take a walk, breathing some fresh air as spring is approaching. Just treated it as a moring out for a realx and see the people of Khabarovsk.

1 Year On - Life Goes On

2009-04-22T17:41:00.003+08:00

Remember this post? Until today i haven't recover from it. I guess this hearing problem on my left ear will stick with me for the rest of my life. Now i'm still disturbed by the sharp noise beeping in my ear 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It's frustrating but...life goes on. I'm used it now. There's a sense of imbalance in the ear especially when trying to hear sounds coming from the left side. But i'm thankful that my right ear is working fine.....

2009-04-15T19:58:00.002+08:00

Some people are naturally born as assholes...

Some people are brought up as assholes...

Some people are described all the times as assholes...

Some assholes do not realise that they are being called assholes....

Some assholes only know to comment on others as assholes...

Worst still...

Some assholes realise they are called assholes but continue to behave even more like assholes...

Anyway, i'm sick of this asshole within my sight everyday...

2009-04-09T20:00:00.000+08:00

OMG....that keris guy has been appointed as our home minister? So shall we see our policemen carrying a KERIS on duty soon? Thank God finally that Syed Hamid is get rid of...A total idiot. At least Robert Lau doesn't have to take care of the toilets anymore. Maybe putting him as deputy to Ong Tee Kiat will help him to speak more intellectually in public. All in all, Najib's cabinet line-up is nothing to shout about. No shining star as far as i can see but include some political rejects who lost in the general election - Koh Tsu Koon, Sharizat. "One Malaysia. People First. Performance Now" as Najib has pledged to carry out. We'll see what they can deliver soon or it's just bullshit.

What A Cheap Tunship

2009-04-03T18:50:00.003+08:00

She's only married to our ex-PM for 3 years. Prior to that, she only an ordinary person just like the rest of us. How does it justify that she gets a coveted Tunship just because her husband is stepping down? I have no issue with her husband getting one. Probably all serving PMs deserve one. But she? What has she really done to get a title ranking her alongside State Governors, Chief Justice and prominent persons who had served in the nation's highest office for years. All said, in my honest opinion, this is the cheapest ever Tunship awarded, to TUN JEANNE ABDULLAH. Totally undeserved.

A Failed PM

2009-04-02T18:30:00.002+08:00

He came and gave us plenty of hope.

He led his coalition to biggest ever election victory in Malaysian history.

He created the largest ever cabinet team.

He promoted Islam Hadhari, something nobody can understand.

He launced plenty of corridors, north, east, south, sarawak, sabah...whatevers those corridors mean.

He let his party drifted more towards extrimism.

He saw his country more divided than ever racially.

He let people to believe that his decisions are made by some young men from the 4th Floor of his office.

He led his coalition to its worst performance ever in subsequent election.

He was blamed and was forced to step down.

He handed his post to a man full of political baggage and question marks.

He had nothing to show in concrete achievement for his 5 years plus as PM.

He is finally stepping down today, ending his tenure as Malaysia's 5th Prime Minister.

He shall be judged by history, whether he is a success or failure.

被遗忘的时光

2009-03-27T19:30:00.003+08:00

Sometimes life is so unpredictable. I just bumped into someone i had totally forgotten online...And it's a really strange feeling.....What had passed had passed.....Still it feels like sweet sour bitter spicy salty all mixed together.....Oh how i wish i have only short memory.....

人生如戏戏如人生

Man Utd, Respond !!!

2009-03-16T21:20:00.002+08:00

The 1-4 defeat by Loserpool really hurts. Especially when it takes place at our fortress, Old Trafford which until then had recorded 1 draw and 11 straight wins.

Forget about the Quintuple now. We have been too carried away by the accolades. This trashing is a timely wake up call.

Lets rally.....the way to our 18th League Championship is still in our hand.

Go Man Utd Go !!!

Chinglish

2009-03-13T21:00:00.000+08:00

In the past, i received plenty of emails regarding the funny translation of chinese wordings into english in China. This is evident especially on various signs in hotels, restaurants and public places.

On my trip to China, i managed to notice some funny translations here.

This sharing here is only for having a light moment. We should not be too proud and laugh at the Chinese as we also have our moments of embarrassment. Remember this entry?

Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall

2009-03-07T23:00:00.000+08:00

In 1937, as the Japanese advance into the Chinese territory, the last bastion was the city of Nanjing which was the city of Nationalist (Kuomintang) government. While everywhere else in China had fallen into the hand of the Japanese, the people of Nanjing were confident that their city could resist the Japanese attack. Due to its status as Chinese capital, the best trained and equipped Chinese army were left to defend the city. There were about 160,000 Chinese armies facing the onslaught of about 70,000 Japanese troops. Based on physical number, it would seem the Chinese were much stronger than the Japanese. However, as the battle went on, it was revealed that the weapons the Chinese purchased from Europeans and Americans were condemned stock which were not fit for battle. Therefore, the Chinese had no choice but to use their superior physical number to fight the Japanese. In the end, there were so much killing from both side but the Japanese triumped, killing all the Chinese troops. After the victory, the Japanese feared that the city folks would do the same by using their greater number of people to kill the Japanese one by one. The Japanese commander his troops to enter the city and kill everyone in sight to break down the morale and fighting spirit of the Chinese people. Beginning on 13 December 1937, more than 300,000 people were killed in space of 2 months. This is the famous incident known as Nanjing Massacre or The Rape Of Nanjing.

Post war up until today, the Japanese government has refused to acknowledge this mass killing. They did admit that some killing incident had occured, but held the stand that very few people were killed. This sad episode of massacre is not mention is Japanese school history books and the younger Japanese are never taught of such history. The Chinese survivors have sued in Japanese courts demanding compensation. However, the Japanese courts either throw out their appeals and dragging their feet on a verdict. Their strategy is to delay the procedure to wait for the survivors to getting old and pass away one by one. Soon they know that there will be no living survivor of this massacre as time goes by.

It is with this knowledge that the Chinese government intend to establish a memorial site so that the future generations will forever be reminded of this genocide as well as providing proof to the world that such a mass killing had indeed taken place. How fitting it is that during the earthworks of the site, thousands of bodies and bones were discovered. The site of the memorial therefore was indeed one of those mass graves of the massacre.

On my visit to Nanjing, i was lucky to have the chance to drop by this place, the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall. The mood surrounding was quiet and solemn, with colour scheme used mainly grey, colour of stone. Before the entrance, there were some statues outside depicting the suffering citizens at the hand of the cold-blooded Japanese soldiers.

December 13th, 1937, Began the inhuman massacre! Bare-handed civilians, flee, the only hope to survive

My dear poor wife! The devil raped you, killed you...I'm right after you

The devils have sent the bombers again...The poor orphans, frightened by the vicious laugh of the brutal devils, terrified by the corpses piling up in the alley, have lapsed into numbness...

Run! The devils are coming...

A thirteen-year-old carrying his grandmother who has died in a bomb, flee-flee-flee

My dear mother in the eighties, Hurry up! Run away from the bloody hands!

Never will a holy soul bear the humiliation of the devils! Only to die! Only to die! Only death can wash the filth away!

Frigidity and horror have frozen this crying baby! Poor thing not knowing mum has been killed Blood, milk and tears have frozen, never melting

They rob and rape, they set fire and bury people alive...They even kill my three-month-old little grandson

Ah, close your eyes, rest in peace! You innocent soul! You poor boy!

As more and more dead bodies were found, the site of the grave grew bigger. In the end, they decided to stop the excavation as they deemed such action to disturbing those souls that were resting in peace. As a mark of respect, those sites suspected as mass graveyards were covered with stones and not planted anything on it.

The figure 300,000 is display prominently as it is the number of victims estimated.

A prominent symbol here is a huge Cross. The Cross symbolises that the place is an actual grave. The date inscribed on it "1937.12.13 - 1938.1" refers to the date the massacre took place. Beneath it is the grave known as "Mass Grave Of 10,000 Corpses".

The other main symbol is the Bell Of Peace.

There are also plenty of stone tablets remembering the victims and listing their names.

There is no photo taken of the memorial hall as inside it are excavated graves with visible bones and human remaining. The sight of the mass graves can really increase one's anger towards the Japanese and sorrow for the suffering of the Chinese. It's simply unbelievable that such a horrible crime against humanity can take place and 60 years later, the Japanese is still refusing to admit their crime. In fact, i was told that while many Japanese visit China, very few tours are arranged to include Nanjing. The main reason could be the historical bondage and refusal to face up to what their forefathers had done. EVERY JAPANESE SHOULD COME AND SEE FOR THEMSELVES ALL THE PROOFS AT THIS MEMORIAL SITE!

While this memorial site is intended to tell the world about Nanjing's painful history, at the end of the walk we are reminded of one thing, PEACE. All these massacre would not have happened if every country had engaged in peaceful friendship. While we must not forget the past, we must also look to the future. There is nothing more important in future than establishing a peaceful world.

Let there never be another massacre of such magnitude in our beloved world.

MAY THE SOULS OF THE MASS GRAVES OF 10,000 CORPSES REST IN PEACE

Sibu - Venice Of The East

2009-02-27T20:45:00.001+08:00

So much have been said about the plight of Sibu people who have to enduce countless occasions of flood affecting their beloved town. In the past, major floods were rare, happening once a few years. In recent years, the frequency of it happening has greatly increased to the extend that every Sibu people is an expert in flood - it's source of problem and how to solve it. Well, i guess everybody except the politicians.

The fact is the people has lost faith in the powers-that-be to solve this problem effectively. Whenever a downpour occurs, everyone will start wondering if there will be flood. Even if there is no rain, suddenly the town will also be flooded due to rising water level in the Rejang river - attributed to rains in Upper Rejang area.

Last month, a non-stop downpour from 09/01 - 11/01 caused massive flashflood as a result of poor drainage system to support the waterflow. During the Chinese New Year, the town was again filled with water overflowing from the Rejang river, which was deemed one of the worst ever.

I guess when you have the front road and back road of the state's tallest building flooded, there's nothing more to say really. Maybe the BN Wawasan team should consider adding a supplementary tour to the proposed Rejang river cruise. Yes, a supplementary tour that is available occasionally when flood occurs. The cruise can be extended to take a round trip around the Swan city. Or maybe the authorities should consider this, redraw the map to extend the length of Rejang river to include streets of Sibu, ie Jalan Lanang & Jln Khoo Peng Loong.

Do i foresee any long term solution soon? Honestly no. It has been all empty talk all these years. Forget about buying cars. In the near future, maybe speedboat will be the popular transport around the town out of necessity. Yes, we need to continue bear with the frustration of these unwelcome waters. Live with it or leave the place - there's no other choice.

心中的经典歌曲 (d)

2009-02-15T14:30:00.000+08:00

"窗外阴天了，音乐低声了，我的心开始想你了"

"我真的受伤了"这首歌有很多版本。由王菀之作曲和词，原唱是张学友。后来王菀之出专辑也唱了一个版本。可是我最喜欢的版本是张学友和王菀之在张学友"活出生命Life"演唱会中的。

由Ivana清唱开始，后面的钢琴伴奏，到两人合唱的部分，听了觉得这首歌的味道真的出来了。也能感受到它的词的意义，特别是在安静的夜晚听。感觉很浪漫却让人有一点心酸。

要找一首能感动自己的好歌真的不容易，可是这首歌做到了。我第一次听到时和现在再听的感动依然不变。

Perak Crisis - The Biggest Loser?

2009-02-08T17:04:00.002+08:00

It's all a matter of formality, but the fact is PR government has fallen to the BN again. So much has been written everywhere about the morality vs legality of this crisis.

This politic crisis in Perak has all the ingredients of an award winning soap opera. Everyone is involved - the Palace, Deputy Prime Minister, all the political parties, Election Commission, State Secretary, police plus the rakyat as supporting casts. It involves corruption charges, dissapearance, kidnapping theory, $$$ offered, racial betrayal. You name it, they have it.

My biggest dissapointment in this whole crisis would have been with the Sultan. A former Lord President, HRH has been the only Malay ruler i respect for his wisdom and integrity. It takes years to build up a reputation but only a single moment to destroy it all. In a critical moment of the country when he could have dissolved the State Legislative Assembly and let his subjects decide who they want to govern them, he took the decision to dismiss the existing government and install a new one. Whether his action is constitutional or not shall be left to the Courts to decide, but morally his integrity has been compromised as he is not seen to be impartial in this whole episode.

In the end of the whole episode, while the PR may lose the government to BN, in the eye of the people, their right has been denied by their very own beloved Ruler. The standing of the Royal Family in the eyes of people will never be the same again.

# The writer has lost any respect left for the so called Royalties. Anyway his state is governed by a TYT or Governor who is a crony of the ruling party.

KK Airview

2009-02-07T18:00:00.000+08:00

I haven't been to Kota Kinabalu for over 12 years and in December, on my way back to Sibu for holiday, i managed to stopover to KK for a nite. As the flight back to Sibu was using a Fokker 50 aircraft, to my surprise i found that the takeoff did offer a rather pleasant view of KK from air.

Due to the fact that the plane took off in the east direction but had to make a u-turn in the air, therefore offering such a nice view.

There's even the view of the 2 airport terminals, the LCCT upon take off, and the main terminal after the u-turn. These 2 terminals are located at the different end of the airport runway.

It's a great and refreshing change from the view of snow covered winter in Khabarovsk.

I guess while flying jet airlines such as Boeing & Airbus offers more comfort, smaller propeller planes such as Fokker 50 offers more in terms of magnificent view from the air for passengers, especially for beautiful places such as KK.

Matreshka Doll

2009-02-05T20:18:00.006+08:00

Matreshka doll is a very popular souvenir in Russia for girls. It is a wooden doll which can be opened into half and has smaller dolls inside it. There are various sizes and designs available, with number of dolls ranging from 3 to even 50 for each set.

I bought a few sets for my special female friends, with each sets consisting of 5 dolls.

These are flower themes:

This one is with a summer theme:

And winter theme:

And my favourite of all, romance theme:

I am always fascinated by these cute little dolls. It's such a nice little to put in the room as display.

I hope the ladies who receive them will like these dolls.

When u look at them do think of me please :)

2009-01-13T21:00:00.001+08:00

It's been pretty busy lately, beginning with trip back to Sibu on 24/12/08, trip to Shanghai from 29/12/08 - 08/01/09, taking care of Andrew's wedding guests from 09/01/09 - 11/01/09 and short trip to Kuching from 14/01/09 - 16/01/09. Then it will be CNY on 26/01/09 and trip back to Russia again on 31/01/09. There's plenty of things to share but now it's really tiring and i'll only post updates on everything in February when i get back to Russia. That's all for now.

Bernard L Madoff - Conman Of The Century

2008-12-15T21:00:00.004+08:00

How could 1 man single handedly manage to cause a massive loss $50 billion dollar ? The admission by Bernard Madoff that is investment company, Bernard L Madoff Investment Securities LCC, which manages $50 billion of investors' money, is just a giant Ponzi scheme has sent shockwaves of gigantic proportion to the Wall Street.

A Ponzi scheme is a kind of pyramid scheme where early investers are given the investment returns from the fund invested by newer investors. A pyramid scheme will never last long once the source of new fund runs dry. This is the case here. Due to the economic crisis in the US, investors seek to redeem up to $7 billion of their investment. As Madoff is unable to return their investment, he has no choice but admits to this massive fraud.

With its list of potential victims ranging from National Banks, institutions, investment funds, private funds and countless rich and famous individuals, there will be huge repercussion as a result of this massive scandal. How such a fraud can evade the detection of Securities and Exchange Commission is the big question mark. It is the clearest sign that something is very wrong with the fraud prevention system in the US. As at now, investigations are still ongoing.

It's simply incredible. A man bringing down with him $50 billion dollars of investors cash. MR BERNARD L MADOFF certainly deserves the title CONMAN OF THE CENTURY.

When Do We Remember God ?

2008-12-14T12:15:00.004+08:00

I was reading the pages of The Malaysian Insider when i saw this article "Bad Times Draw Bigger Crowds to Churches". It talks about the increasing church attendance in the US in this period of financial calamity and increasing unemployment as the people seek refuge spiritually by getting closer to God.

Interesting, isn't it. We tend to forget about God in good times but when something bad happens, we immediately remember to turn to God for help. Even i admit i was one of such people. I remember when i sat for my PMR exam in 1994. Normally, i would only pray or attend church on Sundays. However, during the exam week, i decided to attend mass in the chapel of my school early morning and stayed there to pray before proceeding to the exam hall. On the very 1st day of my exam, after i had prayed for about 1 hour and it was 10 minutes before the 1st paper began, i found out that i did not bring my IC card with me. OMG....i was like....i had the peace of mind for 1 hour and suddenly this panic. In my heart i thought it was sort of warning for my lack of prayer and i kept begging Our Lord to help me. In the end of course, God protected me, and i did well in that exam. Still, it was a good lesson for me. You can ask from God and God will give it to you...but...you must also suffer 1st before getting what you want.

It's certainly good for the church to find its congregations back to its fold in these distressing period of times. Just as the parable of Lost Sheep in Luke 15 says, Our Lord welcomes back all the "lost sheeps" anytime anywhere. Therefore, these bad times of economic depression is the best times for our churches to reach out to all "victims" of economic downturn and offer them a little spiritual comfort and a sense of hope for the better things to come.

A Case Of Integrity

2008-12-13T23:45:00.001+08:00

I read with great interest the case of public reprimand and fine imposed by Bursa Malaysia on the directors of Kimble Corporation Berhad due to the wide variance of it's 4th quarter unaudited results with its final audited account for FY2007.

Quoting from the Bursa Malaysia announcement as follows:
"On 11 December 2008, Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad (“Bursa Securities”) publicly reprimanded Kimble Corporation Berhad (“KIMBLE” or “the Company”) for breach of paragraph 9.16(1)(a) of the LR.

In addition, KIMBLE is required to carry out a limited review on its quarterly report submission. The limited review must be performed by the Company’s external auditors for four quarters commencing from the quarter subsequent to the date hereof. The quarterly report announcements must state that it has been reviewed by the Company’s external auditors.

Pursuant to paragraph 9.16(1)(a) of the LR, a listed issuer must ensure that its announcement is factual, clear, unambiguous, accurate, succinct and contains sufficient information to enable investors to make informed investment decisions.

Paragraph 16.11 (b) of the LR states that a director of a listed issuer must not permit, either knowingly or where he had reasonable means of obtaining such knowledge, a listed issuer to commit a breach of the LR.

KIMBLE had breached paragraph 9.16(1)(a) of the LR for failing to ensure the Company’s announcement dated 29 February 2008 on the fourth quarterly report for the financial year ended 31 December 2007 (“QR 4/2007”) made provision for the doubtful debts of RM33.782 million as stated in the Company’s announcement dated 2 May 2008.

KIMBLE had reported an unaudited loss after taxation and minority interest of RM11.998 million in the QR 4/2007 (“Unaudited Results”) which was announced on 29 February 2008. However, the Company had on 30 April 2008 reported an audited loss after taxation and minority interest of RM74.298 million in its annual audited accounts for the financial year ended 31 December 2007 (“Audited Results”). The difference between the Unaudited Results and the Audited Results of RM62.3 million represents a deviation of approximately 519%."

Firstly, it is quite surprising for me to find a company reporting such a huge deviation of result. According to the listing requirement (LR), a company must report its quarterly result within 2 months from the end of the period while its audited account must be announced within 4 months from year end. Therefore, it is only normal that by the time of reporting for 4th quarter, the draft account for audited account should normally be available for review. Any material item would have been known within that period.

It is only right that Bursa Malaysia fine its 2 executive directors (Managing Director & Executive Director) for RM75,000 while its 3 non executive directors were publicly reprimanded as they are privy to such material information and witheld it from the investing public for some period of time.

Another issue to ponder is the role of audit committee (AC) here. The procedure requires that the AC reviews the quarterly report before presenting it to the Board of Directors for approval before announcing it to the public. Previously, EXECUTIVE directors were allowed to be members of AC but the LR had been amended to ONLY allow NON-EXECUTIVE directors as AC members. If the executive directors (who are involved in running the day to day business of the company) are not in the AC, to whom can those non-executive directors (who are not part of the management) ask questions regarding the figures presented. Can the current composition of AC function effectively as the filter for the Board? This is an issue which i believe need to be seriously reviewed.

We the investing public generally place higher valuation for share price of companies with strong management and higher integrity. If figures reported by companies are not reliable for decision making, the capability of the companies Board and management will be questioned. In the end these companies will just dissapear from the radar of investors. So let this reprimand be a useful lesson to all stakeholders in this game of corporate reporting.

可惜不是你

2008-11-30T16:00:00.006+08:00

有一个人在失去了他心中那一张最珍贵的CD后就一直再找不到一张让他很满意的CD。

最近他在某一处发现了一张封面很不错的CD。本来他在想，也许可以试着叫老板播一下它里面的歌，听听看好不好听。结果，歌还没播，CD打开进去，里面就贴一张纸写着 "非卖品"。这回真的没戏唱了。歌曲的前奏都还没听到，那张CD连买都别想买了。心里还真有点感到可惜。既然买不到这张CD，那就再慢慢再找吧。

市场上CD很多，可是封面漂亮，里面每一首都好听的还真难找。也许是他要求太高了，想找一张太完美的CD。可是他觉得，想买就要选自己真正满意的CD，那自己才会珍惜它长长久久，每天听起来都百听不厌。对他来说心中珍贵的CD，不用多,一张就够了。

想了想，现在还是听梁静茹的 "可惜不是你" 最贴心。"可惜不是你，陪我到最后。。。"

心中的经典歌曲 (c)

2008-11-19T23:46:00.000+08:00

小虎队－红蜻蜓

"我们都已经长大好多梦正在飞
就像童年看到的红色的蜻蜓
我们都已经长大好多梦还要飞
就像现在心目中红色的蜻蜓"

这首歌的意义很特别。对一个念以马来文为首的国小国中，中文完全不行的我，它可是我认识的第一首中文流行歌。记得那一年还在念五年级，在教堂的主日学，好多同学一直说"红蜻蜓" 的 "小虎队" 的还以为那是什么东西。结果一个朋友就带我去其中一个班播那首歌给我听，还说它是当时最红的歌曲。我一听就爱上它，而且我们主日学的同学也常常一起唱起它。

说起小虎队，他们可以说是偶像团体的祖师爷了吧。如果要我回想起几时开始崇拜偶像，那他们便是第一个了。也就是因为认识了他们我才开始接触其它中文流行歌的。我爱的小虎队歌曲还有 "青苹果乐园" "爱" "再见" "蝴蝶飞呀" "男孩不哭" "叫你一声my love"。

那时的我已经长大了。可是心中依然忘不了童年所听到的那首 "红蜻蜓"。

心中的经典歌曲 (b)

2008-11-19T18:50:00.004+08:00

张信哲－爱如潮水

"不问你为何流眼泪, 不在乎你心里还有谁。。。"

每次当我听到它的前奏，第一个感觉就是 "好经典"。它绝对一首让我百听不厌，越听越有味道的歌。那时候，这首歌真的感动了不少我身边的朋友。

张信哲还唱了很多我爱的歌曲如 "别怕我伤心" "让我忘记你的脸" "难以抗拒你容颜" "宽容" "过火" "不要对他说" "太想爱你" "直觉" "心情卡片" 等等。

感觉近几年阿哲的歌没那么好听了，就是少了一些些特色。我想这也难免，因为在他的高峰期，他唱了一首很难再被超越的绝对金曲－ "爱如潮水"。

心中的经典歌曲 (a)

2008-11-18T18:30:00.006+08:00

光良品冠－掌心

"摊开你的掌心让我看看你玄之又玄的秘密看看里面是不是真的有我有你
摊开你的掌心握紧我的爱情不要如此用力这样会握痛握碎我的心也割破你的掌你的心"

1995年出道，发现他们的歌和过往的本地创作很不一样。多了主流性的感觉和容易被接受。结果一听到那首 "掌心" 就好喜欢他们。而 "掌心" 也成了他们第一首也是最红的成名曲。之后他们陆续唱出了一首首的好歌如 "相知相拥" "多心" "猜测" "话题" "故意" "身边" "胡思乱想" 还有很多其它的好歌。我想那时候大马还没出过像他们那么红的歌手，甚至被称为国宝。

很可惜他们却因为不同的歌路和理想，结果就在2000年单飞了。正所谓 "合久必分，分久必合" 我真希望有一天还能看到他们再同台唱那首经典的 "掌心"。

最新消息：光良品冠15/11/08在光良的世界巡迴演唱会(台北)终于又合唱了这首 "掌心"。请看这里和这里。

心中的经典歌曲 (Preview)

2008-11-18T18:00:00.000+08:00

我想每个喜欢听歌的人都有所谓的自己的"年代"吧。意思就是当自己听到某一首歌的时候会很怀念某一段时候的回忆。

我自己最爱的歌曲是1990年代的中文歌曲。那时自己还在上中学和学院，成长的过程中少不了当时的流行歌曲。随着自己的成长，听到的流行歌的曲风也慢慢改变，可是最后还是觉得当时的歌还是最好听。

那我心中的经典歌曲有那些呢？

Snow Or Ice ?

2008-11-18T17:30:00.001+08:00

This is a picture i took this afternoon about 1pm. Guess what is this? Does it look like snow that fell on Sunday? If u think it is snow, u are only half correct. It's actually snow covered by ice. So how does the ice come into picture? This occurs when the snow melts after daily temperature increases to turn into water, but freezes again when the temperature falls.

Snow ---> Water ---> Ice

Now let's see what's the outside temperature. The reading from the thermometer at my apartment shows a temperature of -7 degree, which is still not too cold by Khabarovsk's winter standard.

I think it's a pretty amazing sight especially for those who never experiences winter. Nowever, please remember it can be rather dangerous for us here who walk on roads which may be covered by ice also due to this occurence.

2008-11-16T12:25:00.003+08:00

This is the view from my room when i wake up this morning. The second snowfall for current winter season has just taken place last evening of which i did not anticipate. The first one was last week during office hour of which lasted very shortly and most was melted by the time i went back from office.

This year's snowfall arrive much earlier compared to last year for which i did not witness any in the month of November & December since my arrival on 28/10/07. General comment i heard was that last year's trend was abnormal as i was complaining then about where had all the snow gone to.

The current temperature is hovering around -5 degree to 0 degree which is not really cold compared to the coming extreme month of January of which it is expected to fall to over -20 degree.

Thankfully, i am not going to spend my next January in Khabarovsk.....

Congratulations, Eric & Joyce

2008-11-16T00:30:00.000+08:00

I really feel happy and joyful deep from my heart on the marriage of my 2 dear frens, Eric & Joyce on Saturday, 22/11/2008.

I have known Eric since 2002 or 2003 when he joined our badminton group playing at YMCA then. Though not too familiar at first, i actually found i get along better with him compared to other badminton frens. Over the years, we maintain our frenship despite not meeting too frequently apart from during badminton games. However, with him buying a house nearby to mine, i think we can only get closer in future. Recently, i have been sharing quite a lot of personal things with him thru MSN including certain very private secrets - well, i do trust him and appreciate our frenship after all.

As for Joyce, i've known her when she joined our group of company in January 2007. I found her to be a nice and comfortable person to talk with. And she's one of those i get along better with in the non-listed account dept apart from Daphne & Mdm Lee. I do regret not getting to work with her as she's attached to private group while i was with the listed group - meaning we were on separate office floors. (Maybe still got chance to be colleague in future though...)

As for their love story, please visit www.mywedding.com/ericjoyce It's a very well done homepage and i applaud them for putting a lot of effort into making this website an enjoyable one to surf. Yours truly here is mentioned somewhere in the website as JK...go search for it...(Btw, there a photo in the website that really stirs my heart. Hmmm......)

Congratulations, Eric & Joyce on your wedding. I wish both of u a Happy & Blessed Marriage, heart to heart - binded by everlasting love.

God Bless.

EPF Deduction - 11% or 8%

2008-11-15T10:55:00.002+08:00

With the looming global recession and increasing domestic inflation rate, our government has again reintroduced the measure of reducing the monthly EPF contribution of employees from 11% to 8%. This means that a person with RM1,000 salary will contribute only RM80 instead of RM110 to the EPF.

This measure is intended to stimulate the domestic economy by encouraging the people to spend more. While the conventional thinking is that in a period of recession, it is better to have more cash in hand, another view holds that it is increasing domestic spending which will ensure our economy remain resilient and continue to grow. This rationale has led the government to decide to lower the contribution rate to 8% as the extra 3% immediately available in the market is expected to be pumped into the economy.

As for the contributors, which do we select?

Even before i start, i find it ridiculous that everyone is deemed to agree to lower his rate to 8% unless he fills a form to reinstate his contribution to 11%. Bear in mind that this is only a temporary measure, therefore the onus is on those who wants to lower the contribution rate to 8% to fill the form, NOT THE OTHER WAY ROUND !

For those who opt for 8% contribution, they will suddenly find more salary received in their bank account. However, please don't forget the fact that you don't earn more! You are only receiving your future money in advance. The extra 3% you receive today means a reduction of 3% you receive in future, not counting the loss of annual return from that 3%. Hence, please be prudent and don't spend unnecessarily as while the 3% itself is a small amount, if it is annualised and it's future return is calculated, it may be a significant amount. Of course in my opinion, the best thing is to reinvest the 3% and get a higher return than the 5% declared by EPF annually.

I believe most of us would favour retaining our 11% contribution rate as under current condition, upon reaching our retirement age, the total available in our EPF account would not be sufficient to support living cost during our retirement age. However, it is certainly a concern when we see that our money being used irresponsibly by our government such as the RM5 billion loan to Valuecap. Time and time again, with is massive cash of RM330 billion, the EPF is used as the "ATM Machine" by our government as described by the opposition.

In the end, i feel that whether to choose 11% or 8% is a matter of personal choice. After all this rate reduction is only a temporary stop-gap measure which will be reversed in future when the economic outlook improves. Does the extra 3% in the pocket today make much difference?

As yours truly here is currently working in Russia, he is not a contributor to the EPF though he had contributed at both 9% and 11% previously while working in Malaysia.

2008-11-14T17:55:00.002+08:00

This is not something original from me but from a forward email that i received. However i would like to post these 10 phrases here to share with others:

1. 没有一百分的另一半只有五十分的两个人

2. 付出真心才会得到真心却也可能伤得彻底
保持距离就能保护自己却也注定永远寂寞

3. 通常愿意留下来跟你争吵的人才是真正爱你的人

4. 有时候不是对方不在乎你而是你把对方看得太重

5. 冷漠有时候并不是无情只是一种避免被伤害的工具

6. 如果我们之间有1000步的距离你只要跨出第一步我就会朝你的方向走其余的999步

7. 为你的难过而快乐的是敌人
为你的快乐而快乐的是朋友
为你的难过而难过的就是那些该放进心理的人

8. 就算是believe 中间也藏了一个lie

9. 真正的好朋友选的并不是在一起就有聊不完的话题
而是在一起就算不说话也不会感到尴尬

10. 朋友就是被你看透了还能喜欢你的人

Daylight Saving Changes

2008-10-26T01:00:00.000+08:00

Today, the time in Khabarovsk is adjusted by 1 hour again, a practise called daylight saving changes.

Every year, the clock adjustment of 1 hour is made on the last Sunday of March and last Sunday of October. In March, the time is adjusted forward to GMT + 11:00 while in October, the time is adjusted backward to GMT + 10:00

The effect of these changes is that in winter the sun rises and sets earlier. So the most visible is that in winter, it gets dark much earlier. For example, on 25/10, it gets dark at 6.30pm. Due to 1 hour adjustment on 26/10, the same darkness occurs at 5.30pm.

Sometimes i wonder what is the real benefit of daylight saving. Why must we make these 1 hour adjustment? Isn't it better to just maintain the same time all year round? Can someone enlighten me?

Of An Advertisement And A Road Name

2008-10-25T17:50:00.000+08:00

I'd like to salute MAS for it's latest move to advertise it's air fare clearly without any hidden cost. Indeed the catchphrase "What You See Is What you Pay For" is a very powerful and eye-catching phrase.

All this while, our 2 national airlines have been competing for customers with jaw-dropping advertisement such as RM0 fare from time to time. Of course the truth is RM0 fare doesn't equate to a free ticket as the hidden cost such as airport tax and fuel surcharge are not revealed in the advertisement. Therefore, it is not easy to make comparison between total price offered by the 2 airlines. Lets say for route KCH/KUL, MAS offers RM0 while AirAsia offers RM50 ticket. It does not mean the MAS ticket is cheaper because surcharges by AirAsia may only be RM70 while surcharges by MAS maybe RM170. Therefore the latest move by MAS is definitely applauded as it provides the consumer with accurate information of what they should pay for certain services.

Another news that catch my attention is the intended move by DBKL to rename Jalan Alor around Bukit Bintang area to Jalan Keroja. Sometimes i just wonder whether the city hall is really too free and have nothing to do and therefore all these gila gila ideas come to their mind. The mayor's reasoning is that they have been planning to rename the area after the name of planets in our solar system. Is it because the name Bukit Bintang and suddenly they are inspired that since bintang is star, so areas around take up astronomic names?

Jalan Alor is a very famous area among tourists for it's famous choices of hawker food offerings. The very fact that a search in Yahoo of "Jalan Alor" gives 900,000 search results reflects its worldwide fame. It's intangible value is not something accumulated overnite. Therefore i am glad that finally this move has been aborted after much protest by people around the area.

The city hall should have consulted the respective affected parties before making such an unpopular decision. If they still insist on naming certain roads after the solar system, then maybe they can consider the lanes around the compound of the National Planetarium. But still, they should put their attention and energy towards beautifying the capital city and maintaining its cleanliness.

Times Higher Education-QS World Universities Ranking 2008

2008-10-11T10:00:00.002+08:00

The latest ranking is out and it's the usual suspects occupying the top positions:
01. Harvard University
02. Yale University
03. University Of Cambridge
04. University Of Oxford
05. Califirnia Institute Of Technology
06. Imperial College London
07. University College London (UCL)
08. University Of Chicago
09. Massachusetts Institute Of Technology (MIT)
10. Columbia University

As for Asia, the 10 highest ranked are as follows:
19. University Of Tokyo
25. Kyoto University
26. University Of Hong Kong
30. National University Of Singapore (NUS)
39. Hong Kong University of Science & Technology
42. The Chinese University Of Hong Kong
50. Peking University
50. Seoul National University
56. Tsinghua University
77. Nanyang Technological University

Besides the 2 universities from Singapore, the only other university from South East Asia to make it to top 200 is Chulalongkorn University at No.166.

So where do Malaysian universities stand among its peers?
230. Universiti Malaya
309. Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
313. Universiti Sains Malaysia
320. Universiti Putra Malaysia
356. Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

This year's ranking is based on the following indicators:
- Academic Peer Review (40%)
- Employer Review (10%)
- Faculty Student Ratio (20%)
- Citations Per Faculty (20%)
- International Faculty (5%)
- International Students (5%)

This ranking shows that Malaysian universities have a lot of room for improvement. They are streets behind Singaporean unis and even lag far behind a uni from Thailand.

There is a certain race dominated local uni, of which a suggestion was made to open up a certain portion of it's intake to other minority races. This led to widespread protest from the students who feared for whatever only God knows. I wonder if anyone found the name of that uni in the ranking. I think, if the intake is opened to the minority races, those minority students and their parents chosen to enter the uni would have cried their hearts out cursing their luck. It's not like the minorities are eager to study there and knocking at its door all the time. After all, it's not even on the radar of Times Higher Education-QS, let alone talking about having a REPUTATION.

In this competitive world, only the best students, guided best academic staff, supported by best learning facilities, in best learning environment can a university produce best graduates. Although this ranking may not be totally accurate, the reality may not be that far away.

2008-10-04T11:42:00.003+08:00

Nothing much been happening to myself recently though it's a different story when i read the news.

There's the economic crisis in America, where the government needed to fund USD700,000,000,000 to save it's financial institutions. Lehman Brothers is gone and AIG also suffered similar fate.

Then there's the flip-flop about the transition of power in Malaysia. Will Abdullah Badawi defend his post in the postponed UMNO election? SAPP had pulled out from Barisan but there doesn't seem to be any other party following suit. The euphoria and excitement of crossover to Anwar camp also had died

And the worst injustice of all is the detention of RPK under ISA. ISA was originally enacted to be used against the communist but now it seems to be used whenever the government does not like someone but could not find evidence to charge that person in court. i say - ABOLISH THE ISA NOW !

In China, the most popular word now must be MELAMINE. My prayer to all the affected victims of the milk scandal. Screw the unscrupulous parties involved in supplying the tainted milk.

Over here, the Air Dalavia, main airline connecting Khabarovsk Krai with other places was declared bankrupt. It was another victim of escalating fuel prices which led to higher operating costs and tightening cashflow. The end result was soaring unpaid debt to it's fuel supplier thus sealing it's final fate of bankruptcy.

As for myself, i am now thinking about the most economic way of booking my next flight back to Malaysia. The fall of Dalavia and it's subsequent operation takeover by Vladavia results in air ticket prices increasing by about 50%. Previous return ticket from Khabarovsk to Kuala Lumpur costed about Ruble 32,000. Now it's about Ruble 47,000. It's really a painful additional cost to incur.

That's all for now.

Forestry Day

2008-09-19T19:16:00.000+08:00

Every year our company here celebrates Forestry Day on the 3rd Sunday of September. This year is no exception and our company organised a day out to a barbeque place outskirt in the midst of the forest.

The main activity is to get together for lunch where we have typical Russian food as per picture below:

After so long time here, i admit i'm still not getting used to these "cold" food - fruits, cucumber, chili, cheese, potato, piece of meats or hams which are all served raw n cold.

Then, there is the main dish of Russian barbeque pork n chicken called "shasilit" which taste quite nice, with slight spicy flavour.

Besides eating, we also had some other activities such as ping pong, shooting, dart, cycling and badminton to past the time.

It's quite a nice outing, spending an afternoon appreciating the fresh air in of the forest.

Advertorial In NST

2008-09-03T19:33:00.003+08:00

This was an advertorial published in the New Straits Times on 23/08/2008. Just read through judge for yourself the quality of its English language.

After finish reading it, do you feel like laughing or crying? No, this is not a joke or essay by a Form 5 student, but an actual advertorial on the conferment of PHD to a royalty. I not only feel embarrassed for the university which prepared this advertorial for publishing, but also for the century old newspaper which actually published it blindly. So now, the whole world can see the actual standard of English language in our local universities.

Honestly, just how glorious is it to receive an honour or recognition from such an institution?

Reform Spirit Lives On

2008-09-02T19:30:00.001+08:00

Today is the 10th anniversary of the Anwar sacking. Undeniably, our country has come a long way since 02/09/98. I will forever remember the days of Reformasi, the demonstration at Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman on the Saturdays of October 98. I did not participate in those demonstrations but stayed closely on the sidelines to witness those historic moments - the protestors, FRUs, police trucks, water cannons, groups of local and foreign journalists around.

10 years on, the Malaysian political landscape has changed greatly. Anwar has just returned to Parliament after 6 years in jail. In March, the BN lost it's 2/3 majority - something unimaginable even before 8 March 08. Even more shocking, it lost additional 4 states to the opposition besides failing to recapture Kelantan. It shows Malaysians are more mature now. They are more daring to vote for change. Some may think it is a result of overvote of protest vote to the opposition, but given time, Malaysians will realise that if the ruling coalition cannot perform, there is no harm in changing the government.

The Reformasi in 1998 might have failed to bring down the government, but it left the lasting effect of greater awareness by the electorates on their importance as voters. It took 10 years since then for the opposition to deny BN it's 2/3 majority. I'm sure the next 10 years will be even more exciting politically. Who knows what our country will be like in 2018?

P.S. I love this article "Speaking For The Reformasi Generation" by YB Liew Chin Tong, MP for Bukit Bendera.

The Best Olympian ?

2008-08-25T20:20:00.000+08:00

The Beijing Olympic has ended and the most outstanding athletes were definitely Michael Phelps of USA & Usain Bolt of Jamaica.

Michael Phelps achieved a historic haul of 8 gold medals, the most ever in 1 single Games, with 7 world record and 1 Olympic record. He ruled the swimming event, winning in:

Men's 400m individual medley (WR)
Men's 4 x 100m freestyle relay (WR)
Men's 200m freestyle (WR)
Men's 200m butterfly (WR)
Men's 4 x 200m freestyle relay (WR)
Men's 200m individual medley (WR)
Men's 100m butterfly (OR)
Men's 4 x 100m medlay relay (WR)

Meanwhile, Usain Bolt won 3 gold medals with 3 world records in athletics:

Men's 100m
Men's 200m
Men's 4 x 100m

Personally, i held the achievement of Bolt in higher regard. While Phelp's achievement is the greatest ever in Olympic history, i felt that it was somehow expected as the schedules seemed to be arranged to help him achieve his target. As for his setting 7 world records, it was nothing to shout about as since the introduction of Speedo LZR swimsuit, world records in swimming event has been falling like tenpins. In fact, it would seem rather embarrassing not to win a gold without the world record in the pool. For Bolt, he came out of nowhere to shatter the 100m record shortly before the Olympics. In Beijing, he renewed it again in 9.69 seconds. Shattering the world record in sprint event is a rarity nowadays. When Michael Johnson set the 19.32 second in the 200m at Atlanta Olympics, i thought the record would stand for 50 years. It was shattered by Bolt with a time of 19.30 second. It was not only the fact that he won, but the magnitude of his victory as he crushed the rest of the field convincingly. I truly feel that he has proven himself to be the greatest sprinter ever.

The Beijing Olympic has been spectacular and the biggest credit must go to these 2 wonderful athletes, as their achievements have provided the icing on the cake for Olympic 2008 story.

Shattered Golden Dream

2008-08-18T19:00:00.001+08:00

It's really dissapointing to hear the loss of Lee Chong Wei in the golden match for badminton men's single at the Beijing Olympic. Of course Malaysians can console themselves by saying at least he reached his targetted final being the second seeded player. However it is the manner he lost the match that really hurts. although i did not watch the match, however the score 21-12 21-8 is already an indicator of how badly he lost the match. IT WAS AN UGLY SCORE. I read a newspaper report before saying that he would fight with his life for the gold medal. In reality, his spirit wasn't even there. Might as well just hand over the gold medal to Lin Dan on a silver platter.

As for the mens doubles, it's even more a let down. All the talk about having 2 strong double pair in Chong Tan Fook / Lee Wan Wah & Koo Kean Kiat / Tan Boon Heong. I didn't place much hope in Chong / Lee anyway as they were never a winner. More like a spoiler who can defeat 1 or 2 strong pair but losing in the semis or the finals. But the pair of Koo / Tan had won on the big stage before. They spring out on the international stage by winning the Asian Games gold medal in 2006 before going on to win a few other tournaments end of 2006 and early 2007. Just as they were rising as the best pair in the world, the fame started affect them. They were treated as heroes everywhere with even a special TV program about them by interviewing their families. By then i had predicted that it was overdone and all the fame would have negative effect on them. True enough, their downfall started then as they went on losing streak and never rediscover the form that made them such a feared pair in 2008. They fall as soon as they rise to prominence. I feel their failure to win any medal as the biggest regret but it was brought about by us Malaysians.

Malaysia has lost it's best chance to produce an Olympic champion. We can always try at the next Olympic but i doubt it will be any different as our players simply lack the mental strength to fight for the biggest prize on the biggest stage.

Orthodox Churches In Khabarovsk

2008-08-10T18:28:00.005+08:00

In Khabarovsk as it is with other parts of Russia, the most dominant religion is the Russian Orthodox Church which is in communion with the Eastern Orthodox Church. There is hardly any other houses of worship that is clearly visible in the city itself.

The design of these Orthodox churches are very different from Roman Catholic churches. Its building always come with golden domes topped by golden crosses. Above their entrance door is a picture of Lord Jesus (if i'm not wrong).

These pictures below are the Assumption Cathedral, another church of which i don't know the name and the 3rd one is the St Innokenti Church.

The interior of these churches are filled with icons/pictures of Christ, Holy Mother, the Apostles and various Saints. There are many votive candle stands for faithfuls to offer their prayers such as below.

There are no seating available for worshippers as everyone must stand while attending church service.

I have attended the church service once, but i found myself totally not understanding what's going on during the service. It just shows that the worship ritual between Eastern & Roman churches are so much different since the East/West schism in 1054.

Let The Games Begin

2008-08-08T20:08:00.000+08:00

Finally, the big day has arrived - 08/08/08 - the opening day of the Beijing Olympic Games. After 7 years of preparation, it is the time for China to showcase to the world its ability to host the biggest sporting carnival in the world.

To our Malaysian athletes, let's hope they can bring out their best to bring glory to our country.

I shall be dreaming olympics, thinking olympics, breathing olympics for the next 2 weeks until 24/08/08.

It's showtime.

Let The Games Begin.

I'm Bored

2008-08-03T18:06:00.002+08:00

Nothing much been happening recently, as can be seen from the lack of update to this blog. It's been a month since i return to Khabarovsk and it's all about work every Monday to Friday with some leisure walk around the city on either Saturday or Sunday. Otherwise, i'm occupying myself online, watch the bunches of DVDs i brought over or just play the spider solitaire.

I have not forgotten this page or been lazy. I'll try to keep updating it as often as i can once i find something interesting to share around.

For now, i'm back to my spider solitaire game.......

Proton vs Mercedes Benz

2008-07-27T23:32:00.001+08:00

Proton Perdana - an expensive cheap car
Mercedes Benz - a cheap expensive car

Which do u prefer?
Which can u afford?
Which is more reliable?

For the answers: ask the Terengganu Menteri Besar

Top 10 Airports In The World

2008-07-20T20:19:00.000+08:00

Skytrax has released it's annual world airport ranking for 2008. The results are as follows:

1. Hong Kong
2. Singapore Changi
3. Seoul Incheon
4. Kuala Lumpur KLIA
5. Munich
6. Kansai
7. Copenhagen
8. Zurich
9. Helsinki
10. Cape Town

It's great to see that KLIA has moved up 1 spot from No.5 in 2007. However, the real benchmark are the top 3 which consistently maintained their position. It's is hoped that KLIA will continue to improve on it's efficiency, providing better passenger comfort and travelling experience so as to challenge for better position next year.

Flowers Of Khabarovsk

2008-07-19T18:00:00.000+08:00

It's summer in Khabarovsk now and there's plenty of flowers growing around. These colourful flowers surely add to the vibrant mood of the summer season with plenty of sunshine.

It's definitely better compared to winter when there is nothing else but snow all around and the scenery is rather dull.

My favourite sight is the picture above where an old Russian lady sits by the roadside selling my favourite flower of different colours. She has to keep moving these flower to avoid them exposed directly to the sunlight. Too bad i can't speak Russian or else i would have been able to check their selling price. They're just so beautiful.

Beer Festival

2008-07-12T17:26:00.002+08:00

I take a walk to the Amur riverside just now to take a look at the 2nd Beer Festival organised by Baltika Beer Factory by the Amur Riverside.

There's quite a lot of people since it is summer and everyone is coming out to have fun and lots of sunshine with temperature of about 35 degrees. The main attraction is the centre stage where some Russian bands are performing some rock songs.

There are plenty of stalls selling beers for everyone. It feels like family day as the are so many people both young and old just walking around or sitting under the trees nearby.

It is a nice walk around during this summer time, to see so many Khabarovsk folks around. However, i'm not a heavy beer drinker, so i left after walking a few rounds as there are no other extra attraction. And the noise from the music on stage is too loud for my ears.

AirAsia's GoInsure

2008-07-07T16:44:00.004+08:00

Few months ago when i bought an AirAsia ticket, it was only until i printed out my itenary did i realise that i had paid for it's travel insurance. It just doesn't seem right to me the way Airasia is hiding the charges of it's travel insurance.

In the booking of it's flights, after we select our flight, the next page is where we key in our information and select the add-ons such as checked in bags and meals. By right the option of travel insurance should inserted here. Instead, what AirAsia is doing is to put after 2 pages, on the page where we input our credit card information. And look carefully, the fact is AirAsia automatically 'help' you to select buying it's GoInsure of RM6. So now is a case of you have to tell them you don't want the insurance. To cancel it is even more tricky. It's in the red box on the left side of the page where you can click on [No, Thanks] beside the word GoInsure. Finally, this is where you have to be careful. When you click [No, Thanks], the confirmation box will come out, where we can click OK and CANCEL. Normally, we are trained that when we select something and such a box come out, we will click OK to confirm our selection. But here, we need to click CANCEL to confirm not wanting the GoInsure.

Is AirAsia so desperate to sell this GoInsure? Customers spend time selecting what they want and pay for it, NOT SPENDING THEIR TIME CANCELLING SOMETHING THEY DON'T WANT. The correct way is to put the option of GoInsure on the add-ons and thats it. Make it straight forward.

Incheon International Airport - Satelite Building

2008-07-01T22:39:00.001+08:00

While transitting in Seoul, on my way back to Khabarovsk, i get to use it's newly opened satelite building which is allocated for use of international airlines. Only Korean Air and Asiana Airlines depart and arrive from the main terminal building.

It is a long terminal, with 32 gates located on the left and right side of the terminal.

The waiting area is very comfortable and spacious. I like this type of airport where the boarding gates area are not closed such as those at KLIA.

Some plants are placed to brighten up the area as the terminal is mainly white in colour.

And as usual, i enjoy the sight of planes, guess their model.

When it's time to take my lunch, i can't help but looking at these choices.

In the end, i choose this Mongolian noodle, which looks nice and tastes nice. However, it sets me back by USD14. Ouch!!!

Transitting at Incheon is really a nice experience and i'm going to use it again in 6 months on my trip back to Sibu. Yeah!!!

Panic Rush For Fuel

2008-06-24T20:53:00.003+08:00

Nope, the sudden queue at oil stations in Sibu tonight is not due to another oil price increase announcement (that was 20 days ago). Instead, these pictures taken moments ago shows the panic reaction to the potential strike by oil sellers who demand higher commission (from 3% to 6%) for selling diesel and petrol. News is that the strike will begin on Thursday, 2 days from now.

I am not much informed about the profit margin made by each oil station through their sales so i won't comment whether the threat of strike is a selfish and greedy act or pure desperate measure for their business survival. I may be wrong but i feel that if the commission rate remains at 3%, the higher fuel price has already translated into higher amount of commission in RM paid with volume of litres sold remain unchanged. For each of 1 litre of petrol sold, the price increase of 70 cents or 40% also means their 3% commission gets additional 2.1 cents (70 cents x 3%).

Maybe there are other elements making the business of operating an oil station not viable or profitable anymore. I just hope any further action will not affect the consumers and our further dampen our economy. But until then, i'm sure this threat will help to push up their sales revenue at least until tomorrow.

www.petronas.com.my

2008-06-17T16:00:00.002+08:00

Yes, i have found it. Our Petronas President & CEO is right - Petronas' annual report is published in it's website.

I admit it, all along i also have this belief that our Petronas account is top secret, never bothering to search for it online. Actually it's annual report since 2002 can be downloaded at http://www.petronas.com.my/ or here. Besides this, Petronas has 4 subsidiaries is listed on Bursa Malaysia namely

- Petronas Gas Berhad
- Petronas Dagangan Berhad
- MISC Berhad
- KLCC Property Holdings Berhad

of which their annual reports can be downloaded from http://www.bursamalaysia.com/.

However, i still believe that Petronas should be answerable to our Parliament and it's CEO should make annual or semi-annual briefing to the Parliament so that our MPs can have a better and clearer picture of the spendings of our only Fortune 500 company.

My RM625

2008-06-15T11:57:00.004+08:00

Yeah, i got my cash rebate of RM625 for my car already on the 1st day of payment. The pembayar or payer stated there is MOF whom i suppose is Ministry of Finance. In this age of increasing inflation, every cents count. So better get the money fast rather wait for a few days. There were huge crowds flooding the main post office in town centre. I was very lucky though, the mini post office which i went in Rejang Park had only about 15 people queing, the reason being all the forms for applying the cash rebate had been taken up. It's not a long process, probably about 5 to 10 minutes to get the postal order issued.

So everybody (only if your vehicle is 2000cc & below and had renewed your road tax in April & May 08), go, get your rebate fast. It's your money for the taking.

Hearing Test Result (06/06/08)

2008-06-08T23:04:00.000+08:00

My hearing test conducted on 06/06 reveals that hearing ability of left ear is still very much lower than that of right ear as reflected in the much lower black graph line. The doctor's opinion is that it has stabilised, not getting worse, but also minimal improvement.

To see the difference between the result of this test with the initial one carried out on 30/04, see here.

Sematan Palm Beach Resort

2008-06-08T19:33:00.008+08:00

The Sematan Palm Beach Resort is a beach resort that is located in the town of Sematan, 1 hour drive from Kuching. I find it not too commercialised as it caters mainly the local tourist. It's a comfortable place to spend the weekend, relax and have a peace of mind.

It has a long stretch of beaches that runs into kilometers which i really love.

And there's no better feeling than just sitting there, enjoy the seaview and appreciate the deep blue ocean.

I stayed in a wonderful chalet facing the South China Sea, which can accomodate 4 persons.

The interior of chalet has 2 levels, with 2 bed on each level. Lets see how it look like:

The best thing is, from the bed of the upper level, one can look out of the window and all one can see is the wonderful blue ocean.

The only risk or hazard of staying here? It's not shark attack but.........

Overall i had a great time and enjoyed staying here. There's nothing better than lying on the beach side to feel the cool breeze and hear the sound of seawave. Beach holidays are always the best.

I Luv Sushi King & Big Apple Donuts

2008-06-08T18:11:00.000+08:00

For a sushi lover, what a better way to enjoy your sushi that sitting in a sushi restaurant, looking at all the prepared sushi rolling around and it's all yours for the taking. I went to one - Sushi King at The Spring last Friday. When you do not have to make order and wait for your order to be prepared, it's all system go - sit, take, eat. Sound like buffet except it's charged according to number of plate consumed, price ranging from RM2 to RM6.

There's no greater satisfaction than seeing the empty plates piling up one by one. At the end of the meal, we (3 guys & 3 ladies) finished up 36 plates, mostly by the guys. And our stomach really weren't that full either. We stopped simply because we had tried almost all the sushis offered and felt we had enough for the day. Now i wonder, if the price of rice keep increasing, will the price of sushi also increase? Please don't !!!

Then, we bought back some donuts from Big Apple Donuts & Coffee. I have to tell you, they were fantastic. I love those yummy yummy looking donuts.

Big Apple Donuts, please set up a branch in Sibu !!!

避难所

2008-06-01T22:19:00.001+08:00

唱: 张克帆

寂寞的夜让人容易掉眼泪镜子里面苍白的脸显得憔悴
没有你的世界就像上演黑白片重复一遍又一遍你我初识的画面

不知不觉我又回到这条街热闹依旧只是人事早已全非
最后一声抱歉一句再见太遥远我不能理解这瞬间的转变

如果真的爱我就别走别让我傻傻的柠立在街头
像我太执箸这样的人已经不多给我你的手让我用真心带给你暖和
温柔的寄托呵护你直到永久做你一辈子的避难所

P.S. This is one of my all time favourite song

To Hold Or To Throw?

2008-05-30T21:31:00.000+08:00

Gamuda closes at RM2.45, a drop of RM0.53 or 18% due to it's huge exposure in Vietnam. The macro-economic outlook for Vietnam is weakening with is currency and stock market under pressure and the government raising the interest rate to 12%. With a purchase price of RM3.96, amid the bleak outlook for construction sector, is it time to sell out the share and cut the losses? Or is it better to hold on the stock risking further dipping in share price? I'm thinking a lot now.

劲歌金曲２（情歌王）- 古巨基

2008-05-24T23:50:00.001+08:00

古巨基的情歌王是由一连串经典的中文歌曲组成的:

Forever Love / 两个人的烟火 / 如果．爱 / 童话 / 很爱很爱你 / 我愿意 / 好想好想 / 明天我要嫁给你 / 不得不爱 / 阴天 / 飞机场的 10:30 / 那麼爱你为什麼 / 你怎麼舍得我难过 / 爱我别走 / 让我欢喜让我忧 / 原来你什麼都不要 / 用心良苦 / 祝福 / 吻别 / 把悲伤留给自己 / 征服 / 听海 / 味道 / 我怀念的 / 领悟 / 月亮惹的祸 / 我们的爱 / 你把我灌醉 / 眼泪 / 情非得已 / 你是如此难以忘记 / 心太软 / Forever Love

Part 1:

Part 2:

最厉害的就是每一段的歌曲都能配合MV里的故事。绝对又是一首我在KTV必唱的歌曲。

:)

John Terry's misfortune

2008-05-24T12:47:00.008+08:00

I really feel for John Terry. He must have been really devastated. It was 4-4. With Ronaldo missing the 3rd penalty for Man Utd, John Terry stepped up to take the penalty which would made it 5-4 for Chelsea and finish off the game. Captain of his club, it's in his legs to write himself into history book and win his club's first ever European championship. He went up to take his penalty. As he took his kick, MU's goalkeeper Van Der Sar had dived in the wrong direction. Instead he slipped at the moment when it matters most and his shot hit the goalpost. The best chance was gone and Man Utd won the penalty shootout 6-5.

Tears started flowing from his eyes. He was inconsolable. In an instant moment, he had turned from potential hero to zero. Yes, he will be remembered, not for his hit but for his miss. It must have been devastating, shattering whatever u call it. It waits to be seen whether he will ever recover from this heart wrenching dissapointment. Will this moment haunt Mr Chelsea forever?

Still i can't help taking a light hearted laugh at the creativy of The Mirror in creating some cartoons laughing at John Terry's misfortune. The pictures below and their accompanying remarks are copyright of http://www.mirror.co.uk/.

Very popular with a certain red-nosed gentleman from Manchester, apparently.

Apparently it also urinates into a cup if you pour too much booze down its neck.

The Christmas present we've all been waiting for.

The inevitable 'priceless' treatment.

You're going to need more than an umbrella to shelter under when that shot eventually comes down to earth.

A double banana skin? You'd have thought JT would have seen that coming...

And just in case you fancied a pair yourself, here they are.

And for the more fashion conscious among you, the trainer version.

'John Terry, you're fired. Er, hang on - I meant Avram...'

And the best of all.......................

Watch out - wildly erratic penalty taker at work.

Hahaha.....sorry, don't mean to be rude or symphatise with him. But then, i'm a Man Utd fan. Chelsea's sorrow is Man Utd's joy. Hahaha.

:)

Glory, Glory Man Utd

2008-05-24T12:02:00.000+08:00

Glory, Glory, Manchester United, the newly crowned European & Premier League Champions 2007/2008. It feels so good to be a Man Utd fan.

Let's make it even better next year - Charity Shield, League Cup, FA Cup, Premier League, Champions League, European Super Cup, FIFA World Club Championship - lets go n grab it all.

We Are The Champion !!!

:)

7 Working Years

2008-05-21T16:43:00.006+08:00

I suddenly remember that today marks the 7th year of my working life. Can't believe 21/05/2001 was so far away. It has been great journey, working in an audit firm, 2 public listed companies and now Russia. Everyday is a learning experience, there's so many things to see, to learn, to experience. Experience matters.

How i wish i can take a break, pack my bag, go back to college and be a full time student again. Maybe study something about philosophy or theology or history. Forget all those debits, credits, journals, ratios, cashflows, taxation stuffs. Just something totally not connected with accounting n finance.

Don't foresee this in the near future though (need earn $$$ to pay for my house leh). So still working life goes on as usual. At least for now let me dream about it lah.

:)

另一个让我感动的MV

2008-05-21T01:16:00.000+08:00

永邦 "你还是我最深爱的人" 又是另一个我看了让我很感动的MV。好美的故事。

这首歌唱给心爱人听是最适合不过了。很喜欢它的副歌，"你是我最深爱的女人，你拥有最美的眼神，炙热的嘴唇，常常让我心急如焚，我愿意为你没有了身份，你就是我最深爱的人"。

看了这个MV，心里的感受是，爱一个人是美好的。

可惜它的结局是悲哀的。有点失望。

一起来欣赏着这个动人心MV吧。

Patience At Church

2008-05-18T19:34:00.003+08:00

As a Christian it is my duty to attend church service on Sundays. Normally the length of these services can range to 1 to 1.5 hours.

Over the years it has been such a routine for me and i tend to get restless and impatient once i feel the mass is taking longer than normal as sometimes, maybe the priest will give a very long sermon or repeat his sermon in another language.

Recently, i start to leave my watch and my handphone at home if i go to mass. This is to prevent me from checking out the time. I find it to be a good way to concentrate during mass as i won't have the feeling that time is overrun or the mass is too long.

It's really the right thing to do to leave the watch and handphone at home when going to church for mass.

:)

I Love 神奇 (永邦) MV

2008-05-18T16:15:00.001+08:00

我好喜欢这个MV。好感人。女主角太美了，简直就是我的梦中情人啊。

Simply touching. Love it all the way!

JPA Scholarship

2008-05-18T12:24:00.000+08:00

There is something about this JPA scholarship thing that really irritates me. Every year we hear of some top achiever in SPM examination who complains that they are deserving but do not get chosen as a scholarship receipient.

I am really sort of pissed off with this annual repeat of events. In this age where best achiever of SPM can get 17 or 18As, i wonder really how good a result is consider good. So if someone with 10A1s says she is good enough to deserve the scholarship, is it really that good? Or is the high number of achievers due to lowering of marking standards by the Examination Board? 10A1s looks good but not that good compared with 17As though. But nowadays it seems that there are so many straight A1s that it doesn't seem so special anymore.

Another thing is JPA scholarship is paid out from tax payers monies. The lucky receipients are sort of hitting a lottery as they will be sponsored to study in countries such as UK or US. It would be reasonable to assume that sponsoring a student will cost RM0.5 million for 3 year oversea degree course in those country and higher if courses are 4 year or 5 year duration for engineering and medical degrees. My point of contention is, why should JPA sponsor SPM achievers? It should instead sponsor STPM high achievers. Since Malaysia already has a world wide recognised pre-university program in STPM, why should we waste money sponsoring students studying other pre-u courses? They should prove themselves in the much tougher STPM first.

Then again the are many cases of JPA scholarship recepients who refuse to return to serve the country once they graduate. JPA should prevent this sort of thing happening by structuring it as a loan and only convert it to scholarship upon fulfilling condition of serving the country after their graduation. It must be remembered that most recepients are from poor families who can't afford to study oversea. It is the country who give them the chance to go overseas and it's totally selfish for them to refuse to repay the good gesture by the country.

Truly indeed, JPA scholarship is a really nice piece of cake with many deserving but few striking it lucky. Still i believe, it is fairer to award them to STPM high achievers, not SPM level.

Note: Congratulations to my 2 cousins chosen to be given a piece of the cake. Your futures are bright indeed.

:)

Cheap Air Tickets Everywhere !!! (2)

2008-05-15T20:30:00.002+08:00

With the price war going on between MAS (MH) and Airasia (AK), maybe it is worthwhile to compare certain aspects of both airlines besides the ZERO fares on offer.

1. Surcharges
MH : RM137.00
AK : RM71.50

The surcharge is derived from http://www.malaysiaairlines.com/ & http://www.airasia.com/ using a booking for KUL/SBW flight as comparison.

2. Luggage Allowance
MH : 20kg
AK : 15kg

In addition, each checked in bag for AK is charged RM3.

3. Seats
MH : Assigned seating
AK : Free seating

Seating on MH flights are allocated upon check in.

For AK flights, it's on free seating basis. However, passenger can board earlier with purchase of Xpress boarding at RM20. I find this Xpress boarding thing most ridiculous as it is really not worth it to pay extra just for the sake of boarding and leaving the plane earlier.

4. Food on board
MH : Free meal
AK : Purchased meal

The meals on MH flights are really nothing to shout about nowadays for domestic short haul flights - a mealbox with sandwich, which really lowers its status as a full service carrier. Don't bother about this advantage.

For AK, meal such as nasi lemak, nasi briyani, hot dog, sandwich and roti canai can be purchased in advance with price ranging from RM4 to RM7. At least there is hot food on offer, which is better than MAS.

5. Boarding
MH : Aerobridge
AK : Staircase

MAS wins hands down in this case. It is definitely more comfortable to board a MAS plane via aerobridge instead of going on open space and board AK planes via staircase especially during heavy rain. The comfort of using KLIA main terminal is also much superior compared to the LCCT terminal.

6. Planes
MH : Boeing 737-400
AK : Airbus 320

MH planes for domestic flights are ageing while AK planes are newer and more comfortable, with bigger seats and colder air conditioning.

7. Connectivity
MH : Hub and spoke
AK : Point to point

MH is using the hub and spoke system where it flies to a few hub with connection to various different spokes. Therefore, if a travel to ultimate destination requires several transit flights, luggage can be checked in to ultimate destination.

AK is strictly a point to point airline where boarding pass and luggage can only be checked in to the next destination.

I'm not sure how long this price war between MH & AK will go on. MH states that this EVERYDAY LOW FARE campaign is part of it's seat inventory management strategy. If that is the case, it could be a permanent feature in future. To protect it's market share, AK will have to consistently respond with it's own offers. This means, we'll still be seeing plenty of these free air ticket stuffs in time to come.

Now i wonder, can we come to a WIN-WIN-WIN situation where all parties - MH, AK and general public are winners at the end of this price war ?

Let's wait and see.

:)

Cheap Air Tickets Everywhere !!!

2008-05-13T22:00:00.000+08:00

The flying public has never had it so good nowadays. First, MAS comes out with its EVERYDAY LOW FARES campaign, offering 1 million seats at RM0. Then, Airasia responds with it's own SUB ZERO campaign offering seats at RM0 and slashing it's fuel surcharge by RM5 Remember those days when domestic flights were monopolised by MAS? Then, it kept asking permission from government to increase the price of domestic flight tickets. The arrival of Airasia with it's low cost model in 2001 changed everything. 7 years on, the landscape of air travel has changed and truly indeed, everyone can afford to fly.

COMPETITION IS GOOD !!! MONOPOLY IS BAD !!!

:)

My Steroid Injection

2008-05-12T11:00:00.000+08:00

Yes, i had received my 3 heavy shots of STEROID injections. But to my horror, it's not straight injection but the dripping type, each taking at least 1.5 hours to complete.

Me suffering there

My poor right hand - it's so painful

My stock of medicine for the next 2 months

After 3 days, my left ear has improved by 20%-30%. It was not advisable for me to take anymore additional steroid injection as it will be hazardous to my body.

So now, i shall depend only on the long term medication for treatment and to recover as much hearing as possible.

:(

A Testimonial For Bob Canton Healing Crusade 2008

2008-05-11T21:00:00.002+08:00

When my left ear problem started on 23/04, i could not have imagined the seriousness of it then. Within 3 days, my hearing on my left ear deteriorated to the extent that i couldn't even hear any sound through it. Due to me being based in Khabarovsk, Far East Russia, i could only made my trip back to Malaysia for treatment on 30/04.

At first, the doctor prescribed me a 5 day medication to gauge the response of the medicine, with the return consultation fixed on 05/05. When i went back to see him, it seemed that the medicines were not effective and he recommended that i needed to be admitted immediately for 3 days to receive dripping injection. However, another doctor disagreed on certain medical grounds and insisted that i be given the dripping at a later date. Finally, the 2 doctors negotiated and agreed that i be given the dripping injection from 08/05-10/05.

Sometimes, i couldn't help but feel that all that happens to me is part of God's plan:

1. For months, since i knew my diocese (Sibu) was going to ordain an Auxiliary Bishop on 01/05, i had deep regret as i was going to miss the historic event. However, The Lord arranged for me to arrive in Sibu on 30/04 just in time for the historic event.

2. I have never heard of Bob Canton and did not plan to attend this healing crusade at any time. However, The Lord arranged for me to receive my dripping injection on the 2nd & 3rd day of this event, thus enabled me to drop by and took part.

3. I confess here that i'm more of the type of passive Catholic who attend Sunday masses but not too interested in things like charismatic healings. I was sitting down there, thinking of just getting prayed over together with the crowd as i always try to remain low profile. When Bob called someone with bandage in his hands, i hesitated and someone went up. I was sort of relieved and thought to myself, it's not me.

4. Suddenly, Bob repeated again that he was looking for someone, a young man with bandage in his hands. However nobody went up this time, and i had a sense in my heart like "It's gotta be me". The Lord was searching for me. I just went up, told Jesus in my heart "It's your showtime, do whatever is your will". And the rest is history, as everyone could see me repeating the words Bob spoke to me.

What amazes me most was how the Lord could have found me among the many faithfuls who needed his healings. Currently i have recovered by about 20%-30%, and i believe the healing is a continuous process. He had used Bob as his instrument to find me, and i have faith in Him to heal me totally in time to come.

Praise The Lord.

:)

Follow Up Check

2008-05-06T20:43:00.002+08:00

My follow up visit to my ENT specialist yesterday after i had finished my course of medicine revealed no improvement in my hearing. The audiogram test result showed a 5% improvement, which is not really an improvement considering the aggresive dose of medicine prescribed to me previously.

Next, i shall take 3 heavy shots of injection on Thursday, Friday & Saturday as a last resort. If this does not work out, i have no idea what to do next anymore.

Thanks to everyone for your caring phone calls and smses. I really appreciate it.

:(

An Episcopal Ordination

2008-05-01T22:05:00.000+08:00

When i heard a few months back that Sibu Diocese was going to ordain a new Auxiliary Bishop in Fr Joseph Hii on 01/05/08, i was like "Oh my God, i'm going to miss this historic occasion". I had seen ordination of priests previously, but never ordination of a Bishop. In fact, it has never taken place in Sibu Diocese before as our current Bishop was ordained in Rome.

But then, whether it's God's will, or by accident, i had problem with my ear and made it back to Sibu on 30/04/08. Therefore, i managed to attend this event just in time.

It is with great joy and pride that i congratulate our new Auxiliary Bishop, Joseph Hii for his promotion. The ordination mass was great with participation from 13 bishops from outside Sibu and many outside priests. The only previous time i had witnessed such a high level mass was the Diocese centenary celebration in 1999.

Rev Joseph Hii, new Auxiliary Bishop at 6th from left on front row

It was an historic event too important to be missed. I'm glad no matter what to be able to witness such a historic event.

:)

I Can't Hear Clearly !

2008-04-30T21:20:00.003+08:00

Something bad has happened to my ear. For frens who are concerned, let me recap it here:

23.04.2008 (Wed)
I felt sudden pain in my left ear just before i went to bed. The pain was real bad and unbearable and went on for more than 2 hours.

24.04.2008 (Thur)
When i woke up, i found hearing on my left ear badly affected with a loud voice of "ngeee....." inside while volume from outside was lower than normal. Right ear was functioning normally. I went to see a doctor at the hospital who explained that it was due to flu, so i was given some antibiotic, pills, nosedrop and eardrop.

25.04.2008 (Fri)
Left ear condition did not improve, however voice from telephone can still be heard. Instead, the noise inside started to get louder and outside volume was more and more blur.

26.04.2008 (Sat)
Left ear was in real bad condition as external voices (telephone & earphone) couldn't be heard while internal voices were getting louder and louder. Right ear also started to feel being sort of flu-affected.

27.04.2008 (Sun)
Left ear remain as bad as ever, while right ear started to deteriorate as i found the volume around to be much lower. I started to panic and felt i must fly back, otherwise it might be too late. It's not a matter of faith in Russian doctor, but rather i felt i could seek more opinion back home and honestly, communication is a problem there.

28.04.2008 (Mon)
Bought my plane ticket back.

29.04.2008 (Tue)
Depart Khabarovsk to KUL via Seoul.

30.04.2008 (Wed)
Reach Kch, went to see an ENT specialist. Did the audiogram test, and MRI scan to the brain. Audiogram result show left ear hearing at 65db to 95db and above while right ear at around 25db to 50db. A normal person can hear voices at 25db level, meaning left ear was in serious condition while right ear was also not good.

Audiogram result - blue color for left ear & red color for right ear. Hearing for normal person was at 25db on the horizontal dotted line. The lower the graph line, the louder the sound needed to be detected. conclusion - left ear suffered serious hearing disability and right ear also afftected.

MRI scan did not show any tumour or growth of any sort in the brain, so there's a conclusion that this condition was due to INJURY TO THE EAR NERVE (Further check revealed it was due to strong virus attack whick took over my hearing function). Was given some medicine to take for 5 days, and follow-up check on Monday, 05/05/2008.
:(

出事了!

2008-04-27T16:51:00.001+08:00

没想到突然间就出事了。后果会严重吗？是我太过担心还是我的人生就这样完了？现在感觉太无助了。

:(

Counting The Chickens That Have Gone Away

2008-04-23T21:21:00.001+08:00

The worst thing about buying and selling shares in the stock market is to always count the potential earnings that were not realised. We always wonder, "if only i have bought/sold that share earlier".......................................

I have been monitoring this timber stock for sometime - previously at it's height it was priced around RM3 something. Then as the timber sector softens, it's price started to drop, drop, and drop. Exactly 1 month ago, even an ex-colleague wrote to me an email, telling me that this stock was very cheap - hovering around RM1.20 to RM1.30 and tat it might go up soon. The undecisive side of me kept delaying action to collect a few lots of the stock at it's cheap valuation.

Move forward 1 month - today it closes at RM1.78, almost a rise of 50% since a month ago. For me? Yeah rite, i thot n thot but didn't take any action. In the end juz keep cursing myself why being so slow in action, why would i have let the chicken tat was ready to be fried to fly away? I imagined myself would have easily taken up 5 lots or more. The more i think, the more i count my potential losses.

It's distressing really if this stock price continue to go up in the coming weeks - the more it rises, the more depressed i may become. Maybe i shall bang my head against the wall after seeing it's closing price everyday.

Will i stop buying shares? Nope. It's a way to make my money grow faster though there's a risk tat the opposite may happen. Such incidents are part n parcel of the game. In fact, it's only human tat such thing will occur as it reflect a dark side of us - the greedy side. When this happen, the bright side should be ready to counter with this - 是你的就是你的，不是你的就不是你的 (what is yours is yours, what is not yours is not yours).

So much for share speculation. Remember - your gain is someone else loss, your loss is someone else gain. There can't be all winner in this cruel but exciting game.

:)

Spoiled Plan

2008-04-20T19:39:00.003+08:00

My short China trip plan is spoiled. I have intended to go for a short trip to Fuyuan , China by boat from Khabarovsk here during the 3 day Labour Day holidays next week. However, it seems that making a visa to China now is more troublesome. Due to the approach of the Summer Olympics in August, the Chinese government is now more stringent in issuing cross border visa. I was required to submit a photocopy of train/boat/air ticket as proof of departure date as well as a photocopy of hotel booking as proof of having a place to stay. I didn't know it's such a hassle! I mean, it's juz a plan. How am i able to produce such proof? Well, i juz cancel my plan for now. There's always another chance in future - hopefully after the Olympics is over, the process will be simpler.

:)

Airport

2008-04-12T14:10:00.001+08:00

I have always been fascinated with airports ever since i was a kid as my initial ambition was to be a pilot. I remember the old Sibu airport, where i watched from open air space as the Fokker 27 & Fokker 50 was about to fly, with the loud voice from the plane and strong wind from it's blowing propeller. Then in my primary school days i went a few times to Singapore and i always enjoyed watching all the planes parked from the viewing galleries of Changi airport, all the Boeings and Airbuses parked on the apron, as well as the numerous take-offs and landings.

But i think, an airport is more than landing and takeoff of aeroplanes. It can be a place full of stories and emotions.

If we go to the departure hall, we can see peoples queing up at the check in counter. I will always observe these passengers and wondered, what are they feeling now? There can be endless possibilities:
- Families/couples happily going for a holiday
- Businessmen going on a business trip
- Students/adults parting with family members to return to college/working town
- Students/adults happily waiting to fly back to hometown
- Frustrated persons urgently trying to book the next earliest flight
- Tourists leaving home with satisfaction/dissapointment of their time in our country
- A broken hearted person leaving the place forever vowing never to return again
- Many other possibilities

As for the arrival hall, it can be:
- Reunion of frens and relatives
- Happy return from holiday for families/couples
- First time arrived young student who seem lost
- Tired looking tourist from their long haul flights
- Many other possibilities

For a foreigner, an international airport gives him the first impression of the country he arrives at. From the efficiency of the immigration counters, the speed of baggage handling, the adequacy of signboards around the terminal to the pricing of taxis to his final destination, it gives him an idea of how the people of this country generally are.

For travellers on transit, it is an opportunity to introduce the beauty and culture of the country to them on their short period here.

For locals, it is a place we either say - "I'll be back" or "I'm gald to be back"

I'm glad to have travelled through the 3 best airport in the world, Hong Kong, Singapore and Seoul and am amazed by their bustling activities, crowd of passengers and large numbers of aircrafts on view. In the end, me being me, after 20 years, it is still the view of numerous planes of different airlines that fascinates me.

There can be so many potential things happening at an airport everyday. A place of separation or place of reunion. A place of countless untold stories and emotions, it is more than just a building structure. Rather, it is a destination in itself.

:)

Religious Harmony - A Way Forward

2008-04-05T12:20:00.009+08:00

Wow, it seems like Malaysia is experiencing many news things previously unthought of pre election 2008.

Of all people, an MP from PAS, Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad (Kuala Selangor) attended a Catholic mass at St Paul The Hermit on Sunday, March 16. Another PAS MP for Shah Alam, Khalid Abdul Samad visited the Catholic parish of Divine Mercy in Shah Alam to engage with the congregation on March 27 and was given a standing oviation. Previously, it would have been unthinkable for a Muslim elected representative to step into a Christian church, let alone attend its service.

I always remember during my college days, when i attended Sunday mass at St Francis Xavier church in Petaling Jaya, the priest would always pray for our persecuted church in Shah Alam. It was well known that the construction of Divine Mercy church was met with various obstacles from state government and has taken over 20 years to complete.

Who can forget the move by government to ban Malay bibles imported from Indonesia and their exclusive claim that "Allah" be used only by Muslims despite Allah being an Arabic word for God used centuries before the birth of Islam. Christian were constantly reminded to respect the sensitivities of Muslims while that reminder was not reciprocated. Add to the action by previous Selangor government to demolish various Hindu temples in the state, and increasing cases of body snatching of dead non muslims claimed as muslims by Islamic department, non Muslims had really been badly hurt by our government.

Therefore, it's so refreshing and encouraging to see that MPs of PAS, a party with an Islamic extrimist image, have come out to actively engage with Christians. For too long, Malaysians have been divided along religious line by UMNO. Now, with 5 states in their control, it is time for the Pakatan Rakyat to lead in healing the religious division and show how religious harmony can be achieved. After all, whether we are Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Hindu or of any religious belief, we are all fellow Malaysians, sons of our beloved country.

Updated: Check out this article here by a member of the Malaysian Bar Council.

MAS Fleet Renewal

2008-04-04T20:34:00.002+08:00

Finally Malaysia Airlines (MAS) has annuonced that it has placed 35 firm orders for Boeing 737-800 with option for another 20 from Boeing. These new fleets shall replace the 37 old, tired Boeing 737-400s that has been in service for over 14 years.

It is a great news to me as it enables MAS to improve is image among business travellers and tourists alike. Despite being awarded a 5-star airline by Skytrax, the old age of it's fleets has proven to be it's archilles heels. Travellers using MAS constantly complaint about it's Boeing 737-400 as too old and uncomfortable.

With the orders for short haul fleets settled, it's high time for MAS to start planning replacement for it's wide body aircrafts such as it's 11 Airbus 330-300s which has been in service for over 10 years.

MAS needs to continue reducing the average age of it's fleets if it wants to continue attracting the premium travellers to fly with it simply because it's all about IMAGE.

Rain & Snow

2008-03-25T19:55:00.003+08:00

Well, the weather's been rather unpredictable these few days. Only few days ago, it seemed like spring is coming earlier with the daytime temperature rising up to 16 degrees. It also rains yesterday.

However, this morning it's back to winter mood as the snow falls again and temperature dips to 0 degrees with strong cold wind blowing.

Rain and snow, are all the same, coz they block my lovely sunshine.

Two Cups And A Teapot

2008-03-24T19:44:00.003+08:00

Thanks to all my Russian colleagues for this lovely birthday present, a set of Russian souvenir.

The Holy Week

2008-03-15T20:22:00.000+08:00

This is the most holy week in the church calendar and this year i'm gonna miss all the high masses throughout the week. It is very important for us Catholics to remember the importance of the Holy Week as the whole foundation of Christianity belief is based upon it.

The Holy Week begin with Palm Sunday or Passion Sunday which celebrates the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem on a donkey.

On Holy Monday, Holy Tuesday and Holy Wednesday, the Gospel about the period between Jesus' entry into Jerusalem and the Last Supper is recounted.

Then on Holy Thursday, the Lord's Last Supper with his 12 apostles where he instituted the Eucharist is commemorated.

On Good Friday, we mourns Christ's cruxifition on the Cross and his death.

On Holy Saturday, the Easter Vigil is celebrated as we await the resurrection of our Lord Jesus.

And finally on Easter Sunday, the Resurrection of our Lord is celebrated.

For me, this is the week that means so much for who i am, a Christian. It's a celebration of God's love for all of us that He gave up his only Son to die on the Cross foor the sins of the world.

For this, let us give praise to The Lord, our God.

March 8 2008 - What A Night !!!

2008-03-09T11:51:00.003+08:00

It's simply unbelievable! To describe it as stunning would have been a major understatement. Finally Malaysians of all races have waken up and thrown a massive massive punch of gigantic proportion into the face of Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and show who is the real boss.

They deny BN it's 2/3 majority, deny it's attempt to wrest back Kelantan, strip it of it's control of Penang, Kedah, Selangor and Perak and almost manage to wrest Negeri Sembilan as well. Who would have imagine a defeat of such magnitude for the ruling party before the day.

In Penang, the MCA and Gerakan were totally crushed. The Chinese and Indians have spoken up and shown their dissatisfaction. For MIC, it's president, deputy president, vice president, women chairman and youth chairman were all defeated. Finally we can put Samy Vellu to retirement. Keadilan went from just 1 parliament seat to become the largest opposition party with 31 seats - a 3000% increase !!! Now Anwar Ibrahim is having the last laugh, so much for talk about burying Keadilan once and for all by BN.

It's the dawn of a new era for Malaysian politic. Malaysians have grown up and show that each of their votes matters and can really change the fortune of the country.

Here Comes Spring Season

2008-03-01T15:19:00.000+08:00

Finally, today (March 1) we officially enter the Spring Season. How long have i wish for the dreaded winter to come to an end. Yes, i can feel it. The weather is not that cold anymore, hovering around 0 degree during daytime, although there is still prediction that it will still be snowing in days to come. It's certainly a big difference to the horrible -20s or -30s degrees during December and January. While walking in the streets, i can see the ice along roadside beginning to melt. I can't wait to see the flowers blooming again soon.

我等待的春天终于要来了。

Leap Day - Once In 4 Years

2008-02-29T21:00:00.001+08:00

Isn't it a special day today? Feb 29, which comes only once in 4 years. I'm always fascinated by this day. Imagined being born on this day, u only get to celebrate your birthday every 4 years.

It's always worth looking back - between the previous leap day and the current leap day, how much have u changed in your life in terms of career, friendship, love & wealth?

For me, i guess 4 years ago i would not have imagined myself being at where i am at now :)

The most unbelievable thing is to realise how time can pass so fast.

4 years, after all, is a short period in life.

Be Happy

2008-02-25T21:52:00.004+08:00

I believe that whatever that we do, whether it's studying or working, the 1st and foremost thing is to love and enjoy what we are doing.

I remember the days when i was studying Year 1 Chemical Engineering at Prime College from Sep 1997 to Jan 1998. It was the most 'lost' period i ever endured. I was like going to lecture everyday, not understanding what's being taught, and tried to memorise everything in the book in order to pass the exam. Of course it didn't work out that way. When u have no interest in the course u are taking, the won't be any surprises what the outcome will be. 5F & 1E. Subsequently, i just gave up. Then i changed college to Metropolitan College to take up Accounting & Finance course, for which i never failed any subject on my way to my graduation.

This experience taught me a lot that we must love and have interest in what we do everyday regarding education and career.

So to my younger brother, if you want to change your career path due to unhappiness with current job, just go ahead. Treat it as a new experiment in finding what is most suitable for u. The most important is to love your chosen career. There's no meaning in earning money if u are not happy everyday.

To my youngest brother, since you have decided to change course to accountancy, make sure u really like accounts and figures. Don't just choose it because u don't know what else to study.

Anyway boys, enjoy ur new chosen fields of career and education.

Blind Frustration

2008-02-18T21:12:00.000+08:00

I'm frustrated. Yes, i really am. In this 21st century of IT age, it's really hard to imagine living without the internet connection. Somehow, my internet connection in my apartment turned from high speed 100Mbps to about 1kbps since 14/2, leaving me with snail pace or i rather say wounded snail pace internet connection for the last 5 days. Of coz it drives me nuts, crazy, frustrated.

I wonder what has happened. Is it my modem malfunctioning? Is it problem with my internet service provider? Or is it the physical telephone line? The worst thing is to not knowing the answer. Imagine not being able to check my daily websites such as jeffooi.com, soccernet, bursamalaysia, friendster and all those regular pages as well as communicating with my family in Malaysia. It's really damn irritating that i almost feel like smashing my laptop.

Today, the service provider send the technician to come over 3 times. They detect the problem but could not solve it, telling me they will come again in the evening. Somehow, i wait and wait and wait but they do not show up. Surprisingly, i test my line again and suddenly, it's OK again and here i am typing this posting. I don't know why, but hopefully it's working well again soon and not just letting me happy for 1 night only.

CNY Blues

2008-02-09T17:55:00.000+08:00

There is some emptiness in the heart this year due to not celebrating Chinese New Year in Sibu. I miss the new year eve dinner, the sound of CNY songs, the sights of firecrackers at midnight, meeting all the frens and relatives, all the cakes and soft drinks. Most importantly, i miss the anticipation of new year coming and the period after dinner and before midnight, which is the most enjoyable period for me.

Hopefully, i'll get to celebrate next year's CNY in Sibu. I'm looking forward to it.

Welcome Year Of Rats

2008-02-05T19:10:00.000+08:00

This shall be the first time in my life that i won't be able to celebrate Chinese New Year in my hometown with my families and frens. Instead i'll be working as usual in my Russian office here due to CNY not being a public holiday in Russia.

I hereby wish all my families, relatives, frens, colleagues and everyone who knows me a Happy and Properous Chinese New Year. May the Year of Rats bring you greater health and wealth.

Gong Xi Fa Cai !

A Sense of Helplessness

2008-02-03T16:35:00.000+08:00

I've fallen sick, very sick at the most critical moment when i have to be at my strongest. With me taking charge of the financial matters of our 2 companies in the next 10 days, this sickness could not have come at a worse moment.

I'm down with fever which is refusing to go away despite the multiple panadols i'm taking every 6 hours. Never have i been so weak since i arrive here. I'm simply feeling helpless now. With no one else in my apartment now, i'm really worried if the fever can't be controlled. This is the time when i really miss home. Here, i'm so weak that i have force myself to get a cup of water at 3am due to the burning temperatures in my head.

I'm just feeling weak and helpless now.

I'm stressed !!!

2008-01-31T20:00:00.000+08:00

I'm stressed,
I'm really stressed.
I'm very stressed,
I'm heavily stressed.
I'm severely stressed,
I'm totally stressed.
These few weeks i have been feeling nothing else but stressed, stressed, stressed.

Language Barrier

2008-01-26T17:30:00.000+08:00

The biggest challenge of living in a foreign land must surely be the language. This is especially so in Russia where only a small minority can converse in English, the international language. The way the Russian language is spoken bears no resemblence to English, and their alphabets are different although a few are similar to English alphabets, that is A-Z.

I remember in November when i asked the technician of internet company to come to install internet connection for me. To do it, they needed to go to the rooftop level to adjust some telecommunication wires. However, the door leading to the rooftop was locked. I waited and waited and wondered what took them so long at the rooftop there. Finally after an hour i went up to see and at the staircase i saw the 2 technicians just sitting there for nothing. It's like the door was locked but they didn't bother to tell me. I was angry but couldn't say anything, just pointing my fingers, doing some sign language plus some English words which they also couldn't understand. It took a call to the internet company manager who could converse in English to be the messenger between us.

This morning, i went for a haircut at a saloon. I thought it should be an easy process. U just sat down, and leave the rest to the barber. To my horror, the barber started asking me questions which i didn't understand at all. I guess she probably wanted to know how i wanted my hair to be cut. She kept asking and her hands points to different spots on my head and different length of hair. At 1st, i just kept quiet, not knowing how to answer but then i thought "if die, die lah". Everything she asked, i just nodded my head, saying ok with it. I was like, "Oh my God, what will it turn out like?" Thank God, when i went back and looked in the mirror, it was decent haircut, though not spectacular for the USD12 i paid.

There are other instances when language problem are evident, such as ordering food in a restaurant, buying groceries in a supermarket and shopping.

Luckily at my workplace, i have quite a lot local colleagues who can speak in English, saving me from all the troubles and blushes.

What A Heartbreak

2008-01-26T09:00:00.000+08:00

What can i feel for Roger Federer. Currently World no.1, the almost invincible, unbeatable tennis player, only the French Open eluded him from completing his Grand Slam collection, and he seems to get nearer to it every year, losing in the finals last year.

This should have been THE year for him, the year when he can not only complete his Grand Slam collection, but achieving the impossible task of winning the Golden Slam (winning all 4 Grand Slam in 1 calendar year) plus the Olympic gold medal. No male tennis player had done it before, though Steffi Graf did it in 1988 for the women's.

With his shocking loss to Novak Djokovic in the semi finals of the Australian Open, that possibility has been shattered, though he can still try the Golden Slam next year. But with his age catching up, he better try to do it fast.

As for the rest of this year, i think winning the French Open and the Olympic gold may be a consolation for him. Still, the chance for the greatest male tennis player in history to create another history is gone. If he can't do it (Golden Slam + Olympic Gold) this year, it won't be possible for him to do it in another 4 years.

St Paul was a Turkish !

2008-01-18T20:45:00.000+08:00

I just found out that the great St Paul in the New Testament is actually born in the southern city of Tarsus in Turkey. The year 2008 is also the 2000th anniversary of his birth.

In the 1st century, St Paul made 3 journeys through what is now Turkey, preaching the Gospel and writing letters to the Galatians, Ephesians and Colossians.

For more, please refer here.

I have a date with spring ! （我和春天有个约会）

2008-01-13T21:23:00.000+08:00

Daily temperature here in Khabarovsk now averages -25 degrees celcius during daytime. That's much worse than staying in a refrigerator. 快冷死了啦！

I guess i'm turning cold blooded soon.

Sigh.....................

"Spring.......please come faster !!!!"
"春天！你快来啊！"