Talk your heart and brain out!

I'm an Apple Certified Trainer!

2009-09-05T19:37:00.006+08:00

Several days ago, I finally received my new certificate - I am now an Apple Certified Trainer (ACT) for Logic Pro 8 Level 1.

About a month earlier, ICOM, my employer, sent me to Singapore for the Logic T3 (Logic Pro 8 Level 1 Train-the-Trainer) course. My trainer was Henrik Ahlgren from Sweden and there were 3 of us in the class (me and 2 other SAE Singapore lecturers).

From left: Giri Shanker, Sze, Henrik Ahlgren and Kenneth Foo at the SAE Singapore lobby.

From left: Kenneth, Giri, Sze and Henrik at the SAE Singapore balcony. Both Kenneth and Giri are lecturers there and have been wonderful hosts to Henrik and me.

Henrik was a great trainer, which helped me achieve a score of 95.51% in my Logic T3 exam :D

With my ACT qualification, I also have a new certification logo.

But due to the awkward timing of my Logic T3 course, I will be allowed to take the new Logic Pro 9 T3 exam when it becomes available (without undergoing another class).

Nevertheless, obtaining my ACT qualification for Logic would give ICOM the option to proceed with its application to become the first AATCe (Apple Authorized Training Center for Education) in Malaysia. Only time will tell if that becomes a reality.

Amazon.com Widgets

Joy's 2nd Grooming

2009-08-18T21:38:00.006+08:00

Over the weekend, Joy, our pet poodle, had her 2nd grooming session. 2 months earlier, during her 1st grooming, Joy's body was shaven bald while her head was only given a trim.

As such, she only needed another trim on her head this time to match the length of her body hair now.

Seeing her body size now (about 6.5 months old), Jason, our dog groomer, confirmed that Joy is actually a Miniature Poodle after all (instead of a Toy Poodle as earlier thought)! And a naughty poodle she is too...

Mesra Usia Emas and TAWAS (Free Benefits for Selangor Sr Citizens and Newborns)

2009-07-06T00:03:00.005+08:00

Not many people know that senior citizens in Selangor (Malaysia) are eligible to register for the Mesra Usia Emas program. This program entitles them to nominate a beneficiary to receive RM2,500 from the state government upon their death (to help pay for funeral and other expenses, given to charitable or religious organizations, etc).

Since 1 October 2008, the Mesra Usia Emas program is open to senior citizens aged 60 years and above who were:
- born in Selangor, OR
- born in Kuala Lumpur before 1 February 1974, OR
- have resided in Selangor for at least 15 years.

Application forms can be obtained from the Selangor DUN (state assembly) service center of your area.

The two Mesra Usia Emas application forms (higher resolution
picture 1 and picture 2 also available).

For more info, go to the Mesra Usia Emas FAQ.

The Mesra Usia Emas person-in-charge and contact info are as follow:
En. Kamsani Bin Nasir,
Ketua Pegawai Operasi,
Rantaian Mesra Sdn Bhd
Alamat : Tingkat (G), Bangunan Darul Ehsan (bersebelahan Plaza Alam Sentral)
No. 3, Jalan Indah, Seksyen 14,
40000 Shah Alam, Selangor Darul Ehsan.
Telefon: 03-5510 3468, 03-5510 3472 Faks: 03-5510 3455
E-mel: mesrausiaemas@gmail.com

Meanwhile, TAWAS (Tabung Warisan Anak Selangor) is a Selangor government investment and insurance fund that is given free to the state's newborns, i.e. either Father or Mother must be born in Selangor (or born in Kuala Lumpur before 1 February 1974).

The TAWAS program started in 2008 but applications must be submitted within 6 months of the baby's birth.

Upon reaching 18 years old, the fund will expire whereby the child is entitled to receive RM1,500.

For more info, go to the TAWAS FAQ.

The TAWAS application form can be obtained from:
Projek TAWAS
Tingkat (LG), Bangunan Darul Ehsan (bersebelahan Plaza Alam Sentral)
No. 3, Jalan Indah, Seksyen 14,
40000 Shah Alam, Selangor Darul Ehsan.
Tel : 03-55103498 / 03-55103499

Joy the Bald Poodle

2009-06-18T13:58:00.009+08:00

A few days ago, Joy, our toy poodle, went for her first professional grooming session. I had made an appointment with Jason, a freelance dog groomer, to give Joy her hair cut.

Before shaving... Joy, the hairy poodle.

With Joy about 4.5 months old now, we got Jason to shave her bald (yes, "botak") as it is quite normal for poodle puppies to be cut bald at least once or twice. This is done to allow for easier grooming in the future.

After shaving... people often ask what a bald poodle looks like.

Joy had a full grooming session which included ear cleaning, nail cutting, a hair cut and ended it with a bath.

Joy, the clean-shaven poodle, in her dog jersey.

Joy trying out a new, green shirt.

Eunice and Joy looking at each other through a mirror!

Skybridge Visit @ Petronas Twin Towers

2009-06-08T23:58:00.003+08:00

How many of you have actually gone up the Petronas Twin Towers before, one of the world's tallest buildings?

Although the Skybridge between the Twin Towers is open to the public, I'll bet that many Malaysians and tourists alike have not been onto that bridge before. Even many staff working in the Twin Towers themselves have not been up to the Skybridge!

So, when I organized a lunchtime visit to the Petronas Skybridge recently, many colleagues in my office joined in. As a tenant staff working in one of the Twin Towers buildings, I was able to make a booking for Skybridge tickets for everyone in the group. This visit would not have been possible for the general public as the limited tickets would have run out long before the queue was over, especially on weekends.

On the day of our Petronas Skybridge visit, we arrived there 10 minutes before our appointed time.

While waiting at the Skybridge gallery, we saw some exhibits of the world's tallest buildings, a live demo of "lightning" striking an exhibit as well a laser sensor comparing a person's height with that of a selected tall building.

The Petronas Skybridge Gallery.

If you are 1.68m tall, the Sears Towers at 443m would be 264x your height.

Next, we were loaned polaroid spectacles to view a 3-D show of the Petronas Twin Towers.

After that, we finally got to take the elevator up to the Petronas Skybridge. I was feeling all excited, and upon reaching there, I saw that the Skybridge was just an air-conditioned corridor with not much to view.

My excitement was quickly deflated as the view from KL Tower is a lot better.

The best view I could find was the view overlooking the KLCC Park and water fountain.

We were given about 10 minutes at the Skybridge and our visit was already over. Although it had not been as impressive as I had hoped, I am still glad to have visited it and experienced being on the world's highest Skybridge of the famous Petronas Twin Towers.

Joy’s New Bed

2009-05-24T11:45:00.009+08:00

Every now and then, we would drop by the pet shops to get something for Joy, our almost 4-month old Toy Poodle puppy. We got a dog repellent spray to stop her from biting the electrical cables and slippers but it was just a temporary solution (the smell wears off quickly).

We also saw that dog beds were quite costly, ranging from RM70 to RM150 while nicer beds could easily go above RM200. Fortunately, one of my friends told me that her sis bought a dog bed for just RM39, which was quite a reasonable price. So, we went to Ikea and bought Joy a bright red doggie bed.

Joy does not always lie down or sleep in it all the time but she likes to collect her toys in it sometimes.

Puppy Update

2009-04-21T07:24:00.000+08:00

Joy, our Toy Poodle puppy, is almost 3 months old now. Since our last blog on her 2 weeks ago, she has grown from a skinny puppy into a little fat dog with a big tummy now... hehe (yes, we have overfed her to make up for her bony frame previously). However, this physical difference is not always visible as her body shape is easily covered by her soft furry hair.

Do I look fat... or just chubby?

Joy has also grown from being a sleepy and inactive puppy to one that is hyperactive now. When she runs out from under some furniture, she would sometimes get kicked as she was so small and it was hard to notice her when she ran out all of a sudden. So we got her a dog collar with a tinkle bell so that we can hear where she is.

Joy with her new "tinkle-bell" collar...

Joy uses the teddy bear for biting practice... hehe.

Joy standing tall with Eunice, who is sporting a new hair style...

With Joy going through the teething stage now, she likes to chew almost everything, including live electrical wires! She is still partially toilet-trained and does not always eliminate at the designated spots. We have thought of sending her for dog training but then, we read that obedience training (from a dog school) could make a dog Sit, Stay and Heel (obey commands)... but it would still chew wires (does not solve behavior problems).

We also plan to move Joy from our bedroom to the front yard of the house when she grows a little bigger in the future. The thing is, we have so many questions and we are not quite sure what to do. So Sze decided to buy Dr. Dog's Behavior Solutions book as we needed some expert guidance from an experienced dog professional and he also wanted to understand dog psychology better in order to train Joy more effectively.

The following is the Table of Contents from Dr. Dog's Behavior Solutions book - you decide if the topics listed below are what you would like to know as well...

1. TEACHING & LEARNING
WHAT ARE DOGS?
THE BIG FOUR
HOW TO CHOOSE YOUR DOG
LIFE WITH YOUR NEW DOG
THE FEAR IMPRINT PERIOD
BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU TEACH YOUR PUPPY
YOU CANNOT TEACH NOTHING
DOGS ARE IMITATORS
TRAINING YOUR PUPPY
MASSAGE FOR FIDO?
HOUSETRAINING
YOUR PUP’S FIRST COLLAR AND LEASH
COMMUNICATING WITH YOUR DOG
WHO’S IN CHARGE?
CORRECTING YOUR DOG
CONTROLLING VS. ELIMINATING A BEHAVIOR
MEAN BUSINESS FROM THE START
HOW TO PUNISH
WHY IS YOUR DOG MISBEHAVING? FIND THE MOTIVE
PRAISE AND PUNISHMENT: TIMING IS CRUCIAL
INTRODUCING A NEW DOG
SPENDING TIME OUTDOORS
SUMMARY

2. HOUSETRAINING
HOUSE DOG VS. OUTSIDE DOG
HOUSTRAINING VS. PAPER-TRAINING
UNDERSTANDING DOGS’ ELIMINATION BEHAVIOR
WHAT IS A REWARD?
WHERE SHOULD YOU GET YOUR PET?
THE BIG FOUR REVISITED
DAILY SCHEDULE FOR HOUSETRAINING
FEEDING ROUTINE
ELIMINATING ON COMMAND
CLEANING A SOIL SPOT
MEDICATIONS CAN AFFECT ELIMINATION
EXCITABLE URINATION / SUBMISSIVE URINATION
IGNORING A PROBLEM AS “PUNISHMENT”
TWO DOGS: WHICH ONE IS SOILING?
NEUTERING AND HOUSETRAINING
THE CRATE: A HOUSETRAINER’S BEST FRIEND
SIMPLE, BUT NOT EASY
WHY DO HOUSETRAINED DOGS SOMETIMES REGRESS?
DOGS WON’T SOIL WHERE THEY EAT
CLUES FROM YOUR DOG’S STOOL
SUMMARY

3. CHEWING & DIGGING
WHY DOGS CHEW: TEETHING
WHY DOGS CHEW: TOO MANY TOYS
WHY DOGS CHEW: STRESS
WHY DOGS CHEW: THEY ARE REWARDED
WHY DOGS CHEW: PHYSICAL PROBLEM
WHY DOGS CHEW: TO GET ATTENTION
WHY DOGS CHEW: BREED SPECIFIC DRIVES
WHY DOGS CHEW: THEY ARE SPOILED
WHY DOGS CHEW: REACTIVE RESPONSE
WHY DOGS CHEW: ASSOCIATIVE
WHY DOGS CHEW: INADVERTENT LEARNING
WHY DOGS CHEW: LACK OF EXERCISE
WHY IS MY DOG CHEWING?
CHEWING REMEDIES
IMPLEMENT MANY CHEWING REMEDIES AT ONCE
WHY DO DOGS DIG?
WHY DOGS DIG: THEY’RE TOO HOT
WHY DOGS DIG: GET THAT SQUIRREL!
WHY DOGS DIG: FEMALE NESTING
WHY DOGS DIG: COPY CAT
WHY DOGS DIG: FREEDOM
WHY DOGS DIG: SMELLS AND TASTES
WHY DOGS DIG: BOREDOM
WHY DOGS DIG: STRESS
WHY DOGS DIG: DENS
WHY DOGS DIG: TETHERING
WHY DOGS DIG: REACTIVE RESPONSE
WHY DOGS DIG: ASSOCIATIVE DIGGING
WHY IS MY DOG DIGGING?
SOLVING DIGGING PROBLEMS
DIGGING MUST FAIL
RESOLVING BOREDOM IN YOUR YARD
MOTIVATING FIDO TO CHANGE

4. JUMPING & PULLING
JUMPING ON PEOPLE
JUMPING ONTO THINGS
PERSONAL CORRECTION FOR JUMPING
IMPERSONAL CORRECTION: THE COUCH CORRECTS GODZILLA
ELIMINATE THE REWARD FOR JUMPING; THEN MAKE JUMPING UNPLEASANT
PULLING
WHY DOGS PULL: OPPOSITION REFLEX
WHY DOGS PULL: LEARNED THROUGH GAMES
WHY DOGS PULL: FEAR OF FEET
WHY DOGS PULL: SUCCESS!
WHY DOGS PULL: USING A SHORT LEAD
PREVENTING/REVERSING PULLING
SOLUTIONS TO PULLING: FEAR OF FEET
SOLUTIONS TO PULLING: EQUIPMENT
MAGIC: PULLING FAILS; A SLACK LEAD SUCCEEDS!
NOT PULLING VS. HEELING
PULLING IN VERY LARGE DOGS

5. BARKING
WHY CURE BARKING?
ALL BARKING ISN’T BAD
SCAPEGOATING
DOES MY DOG BARK A LOT?
WHY DOGS BARK EXCESSIVELY WHEN THEY’RE ALONE
WHY DOGS BARK EXCESSIVELY WHEN THE FAMILY IS PRESENT
ASSOCIATION CAUSES BARKING
DEBARKING THE DOG
THE BARK MUZZLE
SILLY SOLUTIONS
ELECTRONIC TRAINING COLLAR
THE BARK COLLAR
BEHAVIORAL THERAPY
INDOOR DOGS BARK LESS
BARKING IS OKAY; EXCESSIVE BARKING IS BAD
THE “QUIET” COMMAND MEANS TO STOP BARKING

6. AGGRESSION
DOG BITES ARE SERIOUS!
FALSE AGGRESSION
INHERITED AGGRESSION
DEFENSIVE AGGRESSION
PAIN CAN CAUSE AGGRESSION
AGGRESSION CAUSED BY FEAR OR SELF-DEFENSE
TETHERING CAN CAUSE AGGRESSION
REACTIVE AGGRESSION
DOMINANCE AGGRESSION
CONDITIONED AGGRESSION
ASSOCIATIVE AGGRESSION
DISPLACEMENT AGGRESSION
TRAINED AGGRESSION
PHYSICAL CAUSES FOR AGGRESSION
TREATING AGGRESSION
ELIMINATE THE CAUSES OF AGGRESSION

7. FIGHTING
PREVENTING FIGHTS
DON’T TREAT DOGS EQUALLY
MORE DIFFERENCES EQUALS FEWER FIGHTS
HONOR THE DOGS’ HIERARCHY
DO THIS AND YOUR DOGS WILL GET ALONG GREAT!
IMPORTANCE OF BREED
THREE’S A CROWD
NEUTERING AFFECTS FIGHTING
HANDLING MEALS WITH TWO DOGS
PAIN CAN CAUSE FIGHTING
TERRITORIALITY AND FIGHTING
INTRODUCING A NEW DOG
ACCIDENTLY TRAINING DOGS TO FIGHT
BE THE BOSS
DOMINANCE CHALLENGES BETWEEN DOGS
CHANGING PACK ORDER
PREVENTING FIGHTS WITH VISITORS OR UNFAMILIAR DOGS
WHAT TO DO WHEN THERE’S A FIGHT
PROGESTINS FOR FIGHTERS
WHEN YOUR DOG IS THE ATTACKER
WHEN ONE DOG DIES OR LEAVES
STOPPING A DOGFIGHT

* Table of contents from Dr. Dog's Behavior Solutions.

Our New Puppy

2009-04-06T23:32:00.018+08:00

On Sunday last week, Sze and I went to Klang to shop for a dog. I played around with several puppies there and saw one of them bully her puppy sibling. Immediately I thought to myself, “Ok, that’s my type of dog!”

And so we came home with our new puppy. She is a Toy Poodle breed and is expected to grow to no more than 10 inches in size upon reaching adulthood. She is only about 2 months old now and her very soft, furry hair is known as "super red" in color. We named her Joy as we hope that she will bring much joy and happiness to the family.

Joy's first day at home.

We have had Joy for a week already and she is adjusting much better to her new environment now than her first few days here. She has started to respond to her name being called and she is also improving in her toilet training (with her "newspaper loo").

Over the weekend, we brought Joy back to Sitiawan to visit my parents. With her "teddy bear" looks, she was of course, fussed over by everyone, especially by Naomi, my younger sis.

Joy and the teddy bear.

Joy's sock clothing design by Naomi, haha...

Godmom said Joy was very gentle and ladylike in her behavior while Mom said Joy's sleeping posture is like that of a baby.

And yes, Joy does sleep a lot!

Does Joy look like a hamster from behind?

Joy's pear-shaped body ;-)

To learn more about dog behavior, check out Dr. Dog's Behavior Solutions book.

Berklee Alumni Gathering

2009-03-28T12:07:00.006+08:00

Recently, I attended a Berklee Alumni Gathering at Biba's Cafe in Mandarin Oriental Hotel. This get-together was held in conjunction with Berklee's visit to ICOM for its World Scholarship Tour auditions.

The alumni gathering was an unplanned event and many Berklee graduates were not able to attend due to the very late notice. Nevertheless, some of us managed to meet up for dinner that evening and caught up with each other.

From L to R, back row: Sze, Bob Pilkington, Gojko Damjanic.

Middle row: Farid Yahya, Farul, Ahmad Muriz, Stephanie Wong, Grace, Goh Wei Wei, Pearly Lee, Jason Camelio, Isabella Pek.

Front row: Christine Fawson.

Job Vacancy - Audio Engineer

2009-03-02T21:08:00.006+08:00

An ex-student of mine told me that her previous employer was looking to hire an Audio Engineer. But more than a month later, they still haven't found anyone yet. So I thought I'd try to help out by posting the job vacancy here:

McGirvanmedia (Asia) in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia, is now recruiting a full time Audio Engineer to help run the studio in the company.

Job description is as follows:
1. Studio Maintenance
2. Recording and mixing of Messages On Hold & IVR production
3. Maintenance of company's IT infrastructure (not core but a little IT skill would be essential)
4. Managing of Voice Talents

Skills:
1. Basic knowledge in recording and mixing
2. Basic knowledge in utilizing Pro Tools

Working hours: Monday - Friday (8.30 am - 6 pm), working over weekends only where required.

Salary: To be discussed and based on experience. But definitely better than market standards + performance bonuses when targets are met.

For more info about the company, please go to:
www.mcgasia.com.my.

Anyone who is interested in applying for this Audio Engineer job can send their CV to either:
jobs@mcgasia.com.my or mary@mcgasia.com.my

Hat Yai Trip 2009

2009-02-03T00:15:00.004+08:00

For this year’s Chinese New Year (CNY), my sis, Fiona, planned a trip for both Sze’s and my family to Hat Yai, Thailand. However, Sze’s parents were unable to make the trip in the end and had to pull out. So, together with a couple of my relatives, 11 of us drove into Thailand in 3 cars on the eve of CNY.

We arrived in Hat Yai at about noontime. After a quick lunch, we checked into the New Season Hotel.

Hat Yai this year was somewhat different from last year. There were much less people while festive decorations and activities were also less visible. This could possibly be due to the economic recession and the earlier timing of our trip (CNY eve).

Regardless, we were still going to do what Hat Yai is good for… shopping! On our 1st day there, a must do activity for us would be to go to the Old Market to buy some bags, shoes and clothing.

That evening, we went to the hilltop Bon Khao Restaurant. The view was spectacular and the food comprised of very authentic Thai dishes. Our photos here were too dark to be seen clearly but we had a really nice and enjoyable dinner.

After dinner, we dropped by the Lantern Festival at the Hat Yai Municipality Park at the foot of the hill. The lanterns were amazingly beautiful and very well done.

Another 27 photos of just the Lantern Festival alone can be viewed in our Photo Gallery.

On the 2nd day of our trip, we went to the Old Market again, followed by lunch and more shopping at the Odean department store. I also had a foot massage not far away from our hotel.

After a Chinese dinner that evening, we went to do some prayers at a Buddhist temple.

We then walked along a night market next to the temple where there was a Ferris wheel, a Chinese opera and a music concert.

The next morning, Sze and I were up earliest as everyone else overslept. We had a late breakfast and guess what? We went to the Old Market AGAIN! Ha ha…

We left Hat Yai after our shopping trip and stopped by some shops just before the Sadao Boundary Post for lunch and to buy more household goods. I also bought a garland of Jasmine flowers to hang in Sze’s car and some Pulut Ayam goreng (fried Glutinous Rice Chicken), which was very tasty.

May this Year of the Ox bring you lots of happiness, prosperity and good health.

More pictures of our recent Hat Yai trip can be viewed in our Photo Gallery.
More stories and pictures from last year’s Hat Yai trip can be viewed in our Blog and Photo Gallery.

The BrandLaureate Awards Gala Dinner

2009-01-20T20:21:00.011+08:00

Recently, several colleagues and I were invited to a "black tie" event at the Shangri-La Hotel Grand Ballroom. It was The BrandLaureate - SMEs Chapter Awards 2008 Gala Dinner whereby ICOM was presented an award for Corporate Branding, Best Brand in Education - Music.

My invitation card from The Asia Pacific Brands Foundation

Me posing next to The BrandLaureate SMEs Best Brands logo

Me and Vinay in front of The BrandLaureate SMEs Best Brands backdrop

Has anyone ever seen Vinay smiling this widely before? :)

Me flanked by Irene and Frank

The ICOM team at our dinner table

Dubbed as "The Grammy Awards for Branding", the BrandLaureate awards and gala dinner was also graced by Second Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop and other famous personalities.

The ICOM team had fun as everyone had a turn in holding and posing with our BrandLaureate trophy.

Me posing with The BrandLaureate trophy

The ICOM team posing with The BrandLaureate trophy and certificate

More poses with our BrandLaureate trophy and certificate

The ICOM team with me and Freddie holding The BrandLaureate trophy and certificate respectively

The ICOM "Men In Black"

In the meantime, Eunice and I would like to wish everyone a very happy, healthy and prosperous Year of the Ox over the next 12 months!

* Photos courtesy of Frank, Melisa, Freddie and myself.

A Memoir of Baby Ethan

2009-01-13T05:13:00.004+08:00

Expecting a baby is an amazing feeling. The excitement of knowing that a baby is growing in the womb, and ready to come out to the world after 9 months is known only to the parents-to-be. Preparing for the birth of the new family member is an enjoyable experience. In my opinion, every parent-to-be should feel blessed.

My period had not been regular for a while and thus missing my period was not an obvious sign of being pregnant. However, after missing that for a few months and starting to burp non-stop, I decided to do a pregnancy test as the burping was unusual. To our surprise, the test result was positive.

The 2 lines on the pregnancy test kit indicating a positive result.

Our excitement over my pregnancy increased gradually and when I started feeling the baby move in my tummy, we were thrilled. I tried to observe some taboos for expecting women by avoiding certain types of physical activities. I also refrained from taking a few types of food but I could not avoid coffee 100%. However, I did reduce my coffee intake tremendously as a compromise.

Walking was the only exercise I did during my pregnancy. Many people reported experiencing easier delivery with exercises during pregnancy. As such, I walked from my office to lunch and back daily. Sometimes, I would also walk around the shopping mall looking at infant stuff.

Our baby mittens and booties (hidden underneath).

Our baby bodysuits.

Since my tummy wasn’t too big, I had no difficulty in moving about. I was quite fortunate in that I did not experience much morning sickness during this period of time.

We went for monthly checkups at a gynecology specialist clinic to check on the health of both baby and myself. We also did ultrasound scans and everything was normal and looking good.

Baby Ethan's ultrasound scan in July 2008.

However, on the evening of 21 Nov 2008 while I was still in the office, I had bleeding and was rushed to the hospital. When the doctor scanned the baby, she announced that the baby had no more fetal heartbeat. I was induced and delivered baby Ethan naturally in the early hours of 22 Nov 2008.

I was not prepared for this at all and everything happened so fast. We then had to arrange for baby Ethan’s funeral on the same day.

We got to see baby Ethan for a few seconds after he was delivered and he looked like a normal, adorable baby. He had left us due to placental abruption (medically defined as the separation of the placenta from the wall of the uterus) and we were deeply saddened.

But we have to move on from this and therefore, wish to make this post to remember our little prince. He will forever be in our hearts.

A Flowerfly, Earwax and A Broken Bone

2009-01-03T21:58:00.011+08:00

My 2 months of maternity leave is not too long but not too short either. I have ample time to finish my confinement, rest and recuperate.

I also got to try out the DSLR camera that Dad bought. I was actually quite pleased with my very first photo - a fly on a pretty flower (much like Beauty and the Beast).

The "Flowerfly".

Meanwhile, Sze got to try the Indian Ear Candle therapy which removes earwax build-up.

3 different scents of the Indian Ear Candle.

I have done it before but it was Sze’s first time. He described hearing soft rustling sounds while the ear candle was burning.

Ear Candling in progress... this is not a good time to start singing Happy Birthday!

Sze has undergone Indian Ear Candling 3 times already as his right ear was occasionally blocked. Although it has cleared up now, he still wants to do it at least one more time. You would wonder how he taught his Ear Training classes and checked on his students' mixing projects and music arrangements before this. :-P

Anyway, Sze recommends this Indian Ear Candle therapy to all his students especially if they have difficulty hearing their music clearly... lol. It is cheap (RM2/pair) and can be done at home. Simply cut away the burning candle just before it reaches the marked line. Then cut open the base and you will normally see lots of yucky earwax right above the filter.

And last week, Sze slipped on a wet floor. When the swelling in his left foot got worse the night before, he had an x-ray yesterday and found out that he had a hairline fracture on his second toe. When you see someone in ICOM next week wearing a long-sleeve shirt, tie and slippers, you'll know that's him. ;-P

Happy new year and best wishes to everyone in 2009!

My “Full Moon” Celebration

2008-12-24T21:38:00.002+08:00

I had my “full moon” (end of 1-month maternity confinement) celebration on Sunday. It coincided with the Winter Solstice (Tung Zhi in Chinese) as I have been told that full moon celebrations should not be held after that day in the Chinese calendar.

I had a hot bath with herbs and flowers on that morning.

My first photo since my confinement.

Mom said I should go out somewhere to symbolize the end of my maternity confinement, so we went to the shopping mall later that day. I felt fresher and better after going out although I got tired after a short outing.

I went back to KL with Sze that night as I had an appointment at Serdang Hospital the next day. I’m back in Sitiawan now and I even drove the last half of that return journey as Sze was suffering from a 2-day migraine.

I feel more energetic nowadays although I still sleep quite a lot. I don’t mind sleeping more to reduce my eye bags. I was told that if I still continue to have eye bags months after my confinement, it is very likely to stay there permanently!!!

Meanwhile, Sze and I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!

New Confinement Update

2008-12-10T22:25:00.011+08:00

2 weeks have passed since I started my confinement and I am also feeling a lot better. During this time, I have lost weight despite eating 5 to 6 meals a day now.

Since the weekend, Malay traditional massage is also helping me to recover. Kak Rubee is an experienced massage lady who has been doing this for more than 10 years now. I have had 4 massage sessions with her so far and even Mom had her first session yesterday.

Kak Rubee also helped me tie the binder that I bought from Amway. This Tropical Herbs binder is supposed to help women get back to shape after delivery.

Meanwhile, Sze’s brother, Peter, was also back from Canada for an IEEE (engineering) conference. I met him for the first time before my confinement but had to leave most of the hospitality to Sze and his parents soon after, despite having made some plans for Peter’s visit.

From left: Peter, Dad, Mom and Sze

Peter (left) and Sze

PS: Our website is back online again. However, the Contact Us page (and some other pages) are still not fully functional due to unresolved technical problems with the new web hosting company.

Confinement Update

2008-11-30T19:57:00.006+08:00

It's been 9 days since I started my confinement. The 1st week was really a challenge to me. I had fever and was unable to eat. I couldn't sit properly and couldn't stand. I was bedridden most of the time and it was a torture.

My parents and parent-in-laws were really worried about me. I knew I needed to recover ASAP as I looked pretty sick. I didn't even dare look at myself in the mirror because everyone said I looked bloodless.

I was really scared that I was gonna lose control over my body. For a few seconds, I was gonna give up. But fortunately, this week, I have gotten better. I could finally eat. Thank God!

I hope to get back in touch with you guys soon after I am back to normal. And I hope that will be sooner rather than later. Will keep you all posted. Adios!

PS: Our website is currently down due to a hosting migration technical problem. Hope to get it back online again soon.

Baby Has Left Us

2008-11-23T22:42:00.006+08:00

Many of our friends are aware that Eunice was pregnant with our first child. Her pregnancy was into the 8th month (due on Christmas eve) and had been trouble-free... but 2 nights ago, our baby boy left us. He was recorded as stillbirth (placental abruption) in the early hours of 22 November 2008.

We will miss our baby very much...

I'm an Apple Certified Pro!

2008-11-16T11:22:00.012+08:00

Yes, I'm now an Apple Certified Pro in Logic Pro 8, Level 2... woohoo! After waiting for 3 weeks (much longer than the standard 7 day time frame), I have finally received my e-certificate from Apple.

In addition, I have also been granted the use of an Apple certification signature.

Although the Apple Certified Pro certificate looks plain and simple, it is still a hard-earned certificate, nevertheless! As there was no Apple Logic certified trainer in Malaysia, ICOM (my employer) fully sponsored my trip to Singapore for the Logic 301 course and exam (Logic 101 was a self-study effort).

Due to the number of topics to be covered, I had a highly intensive 3-day course at iShop by Club 21, an Apple Authorized Training Center. Fortunately, my trainer, Roy Lim, covered the Logic 301 syllabus comprehensively, which was a big help.

From left: Ben Teng (iShop), Roy Lim (Logic trainer) and me (Sze)

I have also been told that the Logic examinations are pretty tough. So I was pleasantly surprised when I averaged 97% in both the Logic 101 and 301 exams! :):)

My Logic 8 Level 1 Score

My Logic 8 Level 2 Score

Currently, I am listed as the the only Logic Pro 8 Level 2 certified professional in the country (Malaysia, besides one other person with Level 1 certification). This listing can be viewed at the Apple Pro Applications site:
http://www.apple.com/software/pro/training/certifieds.php
and Apple Certification Alliance member directory:
http://www.apple.com/training/certification/certpros/index.php

I also found that Logic Pro 8 Level 2 certification is far less common (worldwide) as most certified users only have Logic Pro 8 Level 1. Perhaps Level 2 (i.e. passing Logic 301 course) is really that tough after all... hehe.

However, despite my Apple Certified Pro status, I am still not a certified trainer. My next step is to achieve the Apple Certified Trainer qualification for Logic Pro 8 Levels 1 and 2. This will then enable me to train my students to become Apple Certified Pros themselves and ICOM to be Malaysia's first Apple Authorized Training Center (for Logic music production software). :)

Offsite Meeting @ Avillion, Port Dickson

2008-09-20T20:07:00.005+08:00

Microsoft Malaysia's SMS&P (Small and Midmarket Solutions & Partners) team had an offsite meeting last week at Avillion Resort, Port Dickson. As I was also in that team, a few colleagues and me made car pooling arrangements to travel together from Puchong.

We arrived at Avillion PD before 9am on Friday and started the day with a presentation by the HR Director, followed by a seminar from an external consultant. This seminar was quite fun. We had to identify our own personalities and understand how to deal with different types of people. After analysis, I fell into the "Goal Oriented" category, which is typical of managers and directors... hehe. It's amazing how different types of people can form a better team than only having people with the same characteristics.

Angel and me.

After that, we had a scavenger hunt. This was pretty fun too, although my team didn't win the prize. We ended our day with a delicious 10-course Chinese dinner at the resort restaurant. I also had a small, surprise birthday cake too! :)

It was not easy to fall asleep in the evening despite being very tired. We were staying in the water chalet and the waves kept hitting on the rock wall, producing a natural sea wave sound in the background. It felt as if I was lying on my bed, floating on the sea. However, I managed to fall asleep eventually.

I got up quite early the next morning to catch some fresh air. Avillion at dawn was a picturesque scene and looked beautiful.

Avillion at dawn.

We started the day's SMS&P meeting right after the breakfast. It wasn't too interesting and finished at about 12:30 pm. We checked out of our hotel rooms right after that and headed back home. It had been a fun company meeting and we had an enjoyable time :)

Creative "Sign Language"

2008-08-17T20:23:00.015+08:00

Is this Malay or English?

The above photo was taken just outside the Serdang Hospital building.

What's an alternative spelling for FREE GIFT?

This photo was taken at the recent PC Fair in KLCC.

My New Job!

2008-08-03T23:11:00.010+08:00

It has been some time since I wanted to change jobs. I tried to leave my job last year but the plan failed due to one of my boss' power of persuasion... hehe.

However, a year later, I finally made up my mind to go and I was determined not to perform a U-turn again this time. Since I had to give my employer a 3-month notice, I had to do it with a lot of courage, as I didn't have any job offer then when I handed in my resignation letter.

I had a few options in mind on my next step:
Plan A: Apply for a job in an MNC (multi national company).
Plan B: Take up a Masters degree.
Plan C: Start my own business.

I kept all my options open until the fuel price increase in June. After a review, I felt that the most secure path would still be Plan A. So I called up Microsoft and met the Inside Sales Manager for an interview. I got a job offer a week later and accepted it within a week.

So now, here I am sitting on the 29th Floor in Tower 2 of the Petronas Twin Towers building. I am the Inside Account Manager and it has been a comfortable 1st week working in Microsoft (Malaysia). Wish me luck!

My new office is on the 29th floor of Tower 2 (right tower).

Philippines Trip

2008-07-18T09:03:00.010+08:00

During our holiday recently, we went on our latest trip – to the Philippines this time. Our primary destination was Vigan… but the standard response to this place was… “Where???”

Vigan is actually located in the northwest of Luzon (the northern island of Philippines). So the next question would then be, “Why Vigan?” Well, from the pictures I found on the internet, Vigan looked the most interesting – it is one of the UNESCO World Heritage historical sites that claims to be “… the best preserved example of a planned Spanish colonial town in Asia” and has “… no parallel anywhere in East and Southeast Asia.” The only tradeoff was that it’s really far, far away…

So how far away is Vigan? After arriving at Clark airport, it would take another 8 hours in the Partas bus before we reached our destination! But before that, there would be a 2.5 hour wait for the next bus, so we had to join the big crowd at the outside waiting area…

While waiting for our bus, the Pizza Hut booth ran out of pizzas twice and had to wait for their own pizza delivery… hehe. The size of the crowd was partially caused by flight cancellations due to Typhoon Fengshen (aka Frank), which sank the MV Princess of the Stars just 2 days earlier! Phew, talk about timing…

Most of our almost 8-hour bus journey to Vigan would be along a single-lane (per direction) trunk road.

We got to see a lot of the countryside where dwellings resembled villages and squatters (which were very close to the road), punctuated by small townships every now and then.

We arrived in Vigan at 9.30pm and took a tricycle (motorbike with a passenger sidecar) straight to our hotel.

Upon check-in, we found that not only was Vigan Hotel a budget hotel, it was poorly maintained as well. But since it was already quite late - the city sleeps (becomes very quiet) before 8pm – we decided to just stay there that night.

The following morning, we had to endure a 1-hour wait for the hotel breakfast:
8.00am – 1 staff woke up
8.15am – heard gas stove switching on
8.30am – hot water arrives, with DIY instant Nescafe coffee
8.45am – heard gas stove switching on again
9.00am – breakfast arrives… we ordered 2 American breakfast meals but what came was 1 American breakfast and 1 Filipino breakfast (Longsilog)… hehe.

Vigan felt very much like Spain. Its old, colonial charm and heritage has been preserved and restored to maintain the uniqueness of its UNESCO World Heritage status.

A ride on the Calesa (horse cart) is a must in Vigan. We had never sat in one before and had good fun trying it out on 2 occasions touring the old city, which brought us back to the 16th century!

We also found a better place to stay in after our 1st night in Vigan… we checked-in after lunch at the nearby Cordillera Inn, which is on Calle Crisologo (the cobblestone heritage road).

Food in the Philippines was generally not to our taste – we had to rely more on western fast food. Pork (including the fat) is used extensively in Filipino cooking but we were not really fond of that meat :( Their typical breakfast is Longsilog (with Longaniza/sausage) and Tapsilog (with Tapa/beef jerky).

Longsilog

For lunch, rice will be eaten with various dishes of meat and Pinakbet (mixed vegetables). Other common food includes the Siopao (steamed Pao with fillings tasting like soy sauce pork), Balut (egg with embryo), Chicharon (pork rind/skin) and maize, among others.

We visited many places of interest such as St. Paul’s Cathedral, St. Augustine Parish Church, Illocus Sur Capitol, UNESCO Marker, National Museum, Plaza Salcedo, Plaza Burgos, City Hall, Pagburnayan, Public Market and Hidden Garden. More photos of these places can be viewed in our Photo Gallery.

We spent 2 days in Vigan, which was more than enough time to see most of the city attractions. We then decided to take the night Partas bus to spend a day in Manila, although this was not in our original plan. Along the way, we passed by a huge 24-hour wholesale wet market around Cubao in Quezon City – this was our 1st glimpse of big city life since we touched down in the Philippines.

We arrived in Sampaloc, Manila shortly after that (5.30am). We took a cab to Malate and tried to check-in at the Pearl Lane Hotel but it was too early. So, we left our luggage with the hotel and took an early breakfast at Jollibee fast food. Even here, it felt like yet another Longsilog meal… haha.

After breakfast, we walked around the city and came across the Manila Bay waterfront. It was quite dirty after Typhoon Fengshen (Frank) had passed by there just several days earlier. Behind the retaining wall were some of the locals selling fresh fish they just caught from the sea.

After checking-in to the Pearl Lane Hotel at 11am, we took a badly needed shower and a short rest before lunch. We saw the Penang Hill Restaurant at Robinsons (new shopping mall) and decided to give the Malaysian restaurant a try. The menu did not look very Penang at all as there was no Laksa, Char Koay Teow nor Prawn Mee. We both ended up ordering Nasi Lemak - it came in big portions and was somewhat different (served with fried kangkung and very spicy sambal anchovies) but tasty. However, the waiting service was rather poor and the staff needed retraining.

After lunch, we took a walk to the historical Intramuros. We visited the San Agustin Church (another 16th century UNESCO World Heritage site) and Manila Cathedral (which was hosting a church wedding at that time).

San Agustin Church

During our 5-day trip to the Philippines, we found both Vigan and Manila to be pretty safe places – I felt secure carrying my handbag around unlike in Kuala Lumpur, where there is a high risk of snatch-theft. The people here were soft spoken and polite but we also saw several very poor families sleeping by the sidewalk, just a few blocks away from a big, grand casino.

After breakfast the next morning, we took a 2-hour Philtranco bus to Clark airport. It felt good to be coming home once again :)

More pictures from our Philippines trip can be viewed in the Photo Gallery.

My Euro 2008

2008-06-15T23:20:00.059+08:00

I have always resisted blogging about football. Even though I am a big football (aka soccer in the US) fan, I also considered that most of our blog readers and friends probably don't give two hoots about this game anyway... haha.

But given the current Euro 2008 fever, it is hard to ignore it altogether. So, what do I do then? Well, jump in on the football bandwagon, of course. The biggest problem is, however, staying awake to watch the games live on TV. With matches starting at 12 midnight and 2.45 am, I will usually doze off even before the 1st game starts... haha. So, I will end up having to catch the replays on TV after work the following evening.

Like many football fans, I regularly follow the EPL (English Premier League) since I am an MU (Manchester United) fan. With England failing to qualify for Euro 2008, some EPL fans will turn to supporting the teams of their club's players while others, especially the girls, will simply go for looks. One of Eunice's girlfriends asked her, "You actually see how they play?" Err... guess the friend just watches the guys instead of the game then ;)

Despite Cristiano Ronaldo's record breaking, 42 goal heroics for MU (he is also the 2008 European Golden Shoe winner and PFA Player of the Year), I remain a neutral fan of the Euro 2008.

MU and Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo (photo: creative commons / ayahabd)

However, I do have a few favorites - my semifinal predictions (after 2 rounds of group matches) are:

Portugal
vs
Croatia

Netherlands
vs
Spain

And my predictions for the final are:
Portugal
vs
Netherlands

And the winner of Euro 2008 is...
NETHERLANDS!

Haha... I will probably be wrong, but let's just see how far away my predictions turn out to be :)

Skyline Quest

2008-06-09T15:05:00.004+08:00

Recently, we launched a website for our new company called Skyline Quest. We had both been very busy and had to delay the website several times. But we are glad that we finally got to finish and upload it online.

So, what is Skyline Quest all about? No, it has nothing to do with Nissan Skyline, but rather, it is a registered business that takes advantage of both our backgrounds in IT and music technology. Skyline Quest is an ICT solutions provider that specializes in business productivity applications, multimedia hardware and software products, music technology tools as well as various types of web-based services.

And if all that sounds too technical (haha), in other words, it simply means that Skyline Quest is a company that supplies a wide range of products and services – computer hardware, software, audio equipment and web services, all at competitive prices.

Our aim is to provide our customers with the lowest prices without making losses. Thus it becomes a win-win situation. So, if you are looking for any IT products and services or audio production and musical equipment, primarily in Malaysia, then please feel free to contact us.

For more information, please go to:
www.skylinequest.com

Meeting My Ex-Student

2008-04-26T22:01:00.007+08:00

Robin was my ex-student at ICOM from about 10 years ago. He continued his studies after that at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, USA and is now a music producer, engineer and drummer based in New York city.

I was fortunate enough to learn of his holiday trip back to Malaysia this month and I "took advantage" of him (haha)... I asked if he could do a seminar for my Digital Audio class and Robin, just like the cooperative and exemplary student during his ICOM days, obliged (despite his very tight schedule in KL) by coming in to share his knowledge and experience in recording a live jazz trio.

Just before he left for NYC, Robin managed to squeeze in a little time to meet up with me and Eunice over dinner last Saturday. We met in Thai Express at The Curve. It was an interesting catching up session and exchange of stories, including how Eunice and I met. Although that story is also available on the About Us page of zenetlife.com, Robin had a 1st person account from us on how it happened, with quite a few more details, of course (than the summarized version on our website)... haha.

Another ex-ICOM student, Cecilia, later joined us at Thai Express. I have not seen her since her graduation ceremony about 5 years ago, and we caught up with each other too.

* From left to right: Cecilia, Robin, Eunice and Sze.

Towards the end, the air in Thai Express was getting hot and stuffy and it was time to go. But it had been quite an enjoyable evening for all 4 of us.

* Photo courtesy of Robin.

My Parkville Townhouse

2008-04-04T15:27:00.003+08:00

Dad had frequently advised me to buy a house for investment since I have always had a place to stay in. In fact, Dad was more like pestering me about it... hehe.

I had been thinking about heeding Dad's advice but houses in KL were just too expensive and beyond my financial capability. So I asked Mom to look out for a cheaper piece of property back in Sitiawan (where Dad and her were staying). After a long wait, Mom found a single-storey house for RM98K. However, Dad wasn't too keen on that house as the value of property there does not increase as much as in KL/Klang Valley. So, I started hunting for a place here in KL after Dad indicated that he would help me out financially.

I looked at several places and found Desa Coalfields in Sg. Buloh. As it (Sg. Buloh) is a rapidly developing town, it seemed to be the new boom area. Rental rates and house prices there would surely go up then. A new, double-storey terrace house in Desa Coalfields would cost around RM238K now - other similar houses that I have seen elsewhere are in excess of RM300K. But when I asked several friends and colleagues for their opinions, many were not keen on that area as it was further away from the city.

Based on that feedback, I started looking for houses nearer to where I live here in Puchong. A friend of mine took me to see a new house nearby which she bought recently, and along the way, I spotted an interesting block of showhouses - they were the Parkville Townhouses in Bandar Bukit Puchong. It had already closed for the day, so I went back there the next morning with Sze.

Being a townhouse (duplex), there was the lower unit and the upper unit. Many house buyers might like the lower unit but when I saw the upper unit, I fell in love with it immediately... hehe. The interior was beautifully designed and was very spacious. At 1560 sq. ft. (24x60 ft.), it was priced at RM239K, which was about what I would have expected to spend.

I went back to see the Parkville showhouses with my younger sis later that same day and she loved it too. We compared it with a few other places after that but none could measure up and impress us. So 2 days later, little sis and me booked 2 upper units of the Parkville townhouses :) We paid an extra RM8K each as we wanted the end (corner) units.

Election Day

2008-03-09T02:19:00.013+08:00

8 March 2008 marked the date of the 12th Malaysian General Election. Soon after the Prime Minister dissolved Parliament on 13 February 2008, we could see flags and banners of various political parties appearing all over the city.

Campaigning fever then gripped the nation after the nomination of candidates on 24 February 2008. The political candidates in our area are:

PUCHONG (Parliament) -
Lau Yeng Peng (BN-Gerakan, incumbent) vs Gobind Singh Deo (DAP)

SERI SERDANG (State) -
Datuk Mohd. Satim Diman (BN-UMNO, incumbent) vs Ahmad Idzam Ahmad (PAS)

Come election day, we arrived at our polling center at about 9.15am. There were many cars parked by the roadside and 3 political party booths set up nearby - 1 for BN, 1 for DAP and 1 for PAS.
Strangely enough, the DAP booth was closed (on election day!!!) while the other 2 booths were busy trying to woo the voters.

We had previously printed out our voting info (from the Election Commission’s website) but a BN party worker requested us to re-check our info at their booth as there could be mistakes. Our printed info turned out to be accurate while the voter info distributed by BN earlier contained a mistake!

After that, we proceeded into the school compound where we passed by yet another booth – this time, the Election Commission’s booth. We didn’t stop as we already knew our polling streams. An election worker gave us directions, and we went towards our voting rooms.

I was in Stream 7 while Sze was in Stream 4. I didn’t know where I was, and when I asked a policeman, he said that I was standing right in front of the Stream 7 room… oops! Everywhere else, there were many people lining up to vote… except me - I just walked into the room, got my polling slips and casted my vote. I think I was the fastest voter! Sze had a longer queue but he was soon done with his voting too.

While waiting for my parents-in-law, we saw a “gentleman” arguing loudly with an election officer and a policeman, who threatened to arrest him and subsequently pulled him out of the building. Apparently, the man had wanted to change stream to one with a shorter queue. The police later released him and peace was restored. We left the polling station after an hour.

And oh, the winning candidates in our area are:
PUCHONG (Parliament) - Gobind Singh Deo (DAP), won by a majority of 12,593.
SERI SERDANG (State) - Datuk Mohd. Satim Diman (BN-UMNO), won by a majority of 45 only!

Hat Yai Trip

2008-02-26T01:33:00.038+08:00

During the recent Chinese New Year (CNY) holidays, several of my family members organized a trip to Hat Yai for the whole family (err… actually, it was me who asked Mom to plan for the trip). As we had planned to leave for Hat Yai from Sitiawan on the 2nd day of CNY, Sze and I left KL for Sitiawan after lunch on the 1st day of CNY itself. Although it is a tradition for the Chinese to visit the wife’s family on only the 2nd day of the new year, people are more flexible and practical in this 21st century.

After dinner and a night’s stay in Sitiawan, we left for Hai Yai at 6.30am. There were 10 of us and we went in 3 cars. Upon reaching the border checkpoint, the Thai immigration counters were already pretty crowded. There were long queues but fortunately, some of the lines were moving along quite fast.

We finally arrived in Hat Yai at about 12 noon local time. It was Sze’s first time here and his first impression of the city was that Hat Yai, being less developed yet feeling somewhat familiar, resembled KL 2 decades back.

Hat Yai city.

We checked-in to the Siam Center Hotel and had lunch in a coffee shop at the corner of the same hotel block.

The Siam Center Hotel.

The coffeeshop around the corner.

After a quick meal, Dad and (my sis) Fiona’s boyfriend went for a golf appointment with a few Thai friends while the rest of us headed to our 1st shopping destination – the Old Market.

On the way to the Old Market in a tuk-tuk.

It was very hot and stuffy in there but then again, shopping is a girl’s favorite pastime! So, all the 5 ladies in the group were buying things like nobody’s business while the 3 guys just tagged along for sight seeing. I bought 2 pairs of shoes soon after we arrived and helped Fiona with her shoe shopping after that.

Shoe shopping inside the Old Market.

That night, we had dinner with Fiona’s new Thai business partner. After that, we went for a walk, wondering where to shop again. On our way to the shopping malls, we saw some lion and dragon dances on the street. Sze had never seen lion dances on poles before and we were both very impressed as the performers jumped very high and very far too. During our short time there, the lion fell off the poles at least 3-4 times while attempting those very difficult jumps and it would then restart its jump sequence all over again!

Lion dance video.

Following the lion dance, the same troupe performed a dragon dance. That was also quite interesting, with the dragon climbing up a very tall pole, a little boy on another equally high “rocking” pole that falls to the ground and fireworks from the dragon’s mouth.

Dragon dance video.

After the performances, we walked along a night market on a very busy street where Naomi and I got ourselves a couple of wire keychains. Mine had the letter “Z” attached to a wire butterfly while Naomi’s 2 keychains had her boyfriend’s and her name written on them. We went back to our hotel after that.

Keychain with the letter "Z".

The keychain lady.

The next morning, we had a buffet breakfast at the hotel. The buffet spread was quite limited in choice but we still ate heartily. Right after our meal, we went to the Odean shopping mall. We bought quite a number of sundry goods as they were a lot cheaper there compared to Malaysia (tip for the ladies: Whisper sanitary pads were much cheaper in Hat Yai than in KL).

After leaving all our shopping bags back in our hotel rooms, we went for lunch. Both my sisters and Mom were skipping lunch and had already gone to the Central department store for more shopping. The rest of us proceeded to a nearby restaurant just opposite Central.

The South Thai Bird's Nest restaurant.

The entrance to Central department store.

After our meal, we joined the 3 ladies at Central and I managed to grab myself a good pair of Levi’s jeans. Later on, Sze and I continued to walk around the city on our own. That’s when we came across Boots! So far, I’ve only seen Boots stores in Thailand, apart from England.

That evening, we had dinner at a local Thai restaurant. This place had previously been patronized by the royal princess but it still remained as humble as ever. However, they serve very authentic Thai food where some of the dishes were quite spicy while some others were sweet… There was only 1 word to describe the food – DELICIOUS!

The humble restaurant serving authentic Thai food.

After dinner, we took a walk downtown and saw the lion and dragon dances again. They continued to impress us and I decided to give them an ang pow this time as they were very deserving performers. We went back to the hotel after that.

At 6am the following morning, we checked out and went for a very early breakfast. However, the hotel’s breakfast trays were not ready yet. After waiting for about 15 minutes with no air-conditioning in the building (since the middle of last night), we had a quick breakfast and left for Malaysia immediately after that to beat the expected “back to KL” traffic rush.

Bon voyage sign at the Thai immigration checkpoint.

We had enjoyed visiting Hat Yai and look forward to having more trips in the next few months. More pictures from our Hat Yai trip can be viewed in the Photo Gallery.

Using Aztech Wireless Router with a Separate Modem

2008-01-30T17:45:00.000+08:00

Scenario:

The Aztech WL830RT4 wireless router could not connect to the internet via the ADSL modem (separate device). The modem works fine on its own when using wired internet access but could not dial out to connect to the internet when the router is plugged into the modem.

I tried changing several settings but none worked. I also tried to look for an answer online - although there were several discussions on the problematic Aztech wireless router, surprisingly, none of the forums had any solutions.

So at 8.30am Monday morning, I called the Aztech Service Hotline. The support guy suggested that I set my LAN IP to 10.0.0.2... and voila, it worked! Thanks and a good job to the Aztech Service Center! (The router's default 192.168.1.1 LAN IP was already in use by the modem and thus became the default gateway IP of the WAN.)

Conclusion: Set the Aztech wireless router's LAN IP to 10.0.0.2 (also check that its WAN IP is set to dynamic, which is the default setting).

Installing MS Dynamics CRM Client (v3c) with Outlook 2007

2008-01-09T01:11:00.000+08:00

Scenario:

With Windows XP Professional SP2 and Microsoft Office Enterprise 2007 already installed, you try to install MS Dynamics CRM Client v3c but unfortunately get this error message:

"The installed version of Microsoft Outlook is not supported by the Microsoft CRM client. Please upgrade to the current release of Microsoft Office Outlook."

I tried very hard to look for a FREE solution but could not find any. So I called the Microsoft Support Team in India but they were unable to help me unless I opened a paid case with the Global Support Team in China.

What’s the solution then? I had successfully done this before in the past, so why not this time? The only difference is that I was then using MS Office Ultimate 2007.

So I decided to uninstall Office Enterprise 2007 and install Office Ultimate 2007 instead. As a result, I got my CRM client installed in a few minutes and it is now working properly!

Conclusion: MS Office Enterprise 2007 is not supported by MS Dynamics CRM Client (v3c).

The Circus Is In Town!

2007-12-25T11:51:00.000+08:00

The Royal London Circus is in town again, and is now performing to audiences nightly in Kuala Lumpur till 1st January 2008. Ever since I was a little girl, I have always wanted to see The Royal London Circus. One fine morning, as I was driving to work, I heard Mix FM’s Almost 90s@9 contest (yes, I was still on the road after 9am and I was late for work :P). As soon as I heard the song “Shattered Dreams”, I knew that was the answer and I called up the radio station immediately. Fortunately, I got through on my 1st try and won 2 VIP tickets to The Royal London Circus… yippee!!! (Yes, Sze saved RM150 this time!)

However, we didn’t get to go see the circus for some time as both of us were extremely busy either with work or with our wedding preparations. Then, towards the end of last month, we finally made the trip to Klang to see The Royal London Circus.

The show started with what appeared to be a chubby, Malay-looking ringmaster singing in the style of Pavarotti and backed by a mini circus orchestra, again staffed with local-looking musicians, except that they were not the familiar faces of the local music industry. It turned out that the chubby, singing ringmaster is a Filipino (not sure about the orchestra musicians though).

The 1st circus stunt was the balancing act on 2 giant rotating wheels… it was Sze’s favorite stunt and it culminated with one of the 2 circus performers balancing himself high up on the swinging wheel blindfolded!

There were various acts following that but all of our photos at the beginning were spoilt as “video recording devices” were not allowed and we had to snap the shots discreetly without any flash. Besides, we were also afraid that the camera flashes might momentarily blind the circus performers, especially the trapeze artists and they would fall down from their swings… he he. But actually, that’s what happened – they did fall down a couple of times from their swings high up in the air onto the netting below and one of the falls was during the drumrolled highlight of a 3-turn somersault!

On the other hand, the dog shows were quite enjoyable and funny but the elephant looked pretty sad.

However, there were not that many animals and the acts focused more on human performances instead.

There was also a circus clown and a magician too… cool. The ringmaster and his partner also sang a few songs including “Amigos Para Siempre”. It was one of my personal favorites and I was very impressed with their rendition of the song.

The last stunt of the night was the Sphere of Terror where 5-6 dirt bikes (scramblers) were squeezed inside a giant metal sphere (ball) to be ridden round and round each other in confusing circles.

It was a fitting finale to the circus performances and the evening had been good fun for both Sze and me as we had not been to any circus since our childhood days! Merry Christmas to everyone and best wishes for a very Happy 2008.

I'm Pro Tools Certified!

2007-10-13T09:36:00.000+08:00

Yes, I'm now Pro Tools 210M certified... woohoo! Last month, me and 3 other colleagues (Nilesh, Vinay and Nian Tze) underwent 4 full days of highly intensive training for 4 courses - Pro Tools 101, Pro Tools 110, Pro Tools 201 and Pro Tools 210M. Such training would not have been possible for normal Pro Tools users but had to be specially arranged and was for experienced Pro Tools users/instructors only.

My Pro Tools 210M certificate from Digidesign. As there is still no news from Digidesign about the other 3 certificates (to be issued by ICOM), I have decided not to wait any more and just post my blog.

Fortunately, we had a fantastic trainer in Andy Hagerman - the Training Manager (Asia) at Digidesign Japan - who guided us through all the courses and certification exams :)

From left: me (Sze), Nilesh, Andy, Nian Tze and Vinay.

Together with one other Digidesign employee, we are currently the only Pro Tools certified users in the country (Malaysia), according to Digidesign's Certification Directory:
http://training.digidesign.com/listings

In addition, each of us also received a complimentary Pro Tools HD 7 Operator t-shirt and we are now qualified to have the Certified Operator logo next to our names.

So what was the most interesting thing I learnt during the certification training? Well, guess what? Pro Tools actually has color!!!... hahaha.

The different shades of Pro Tools

From Stressroid To Promotion

2007-09-21T13:47:00.000+08:00

It’s been 1 year and 2 months since I joined this fast-paced company called e-Globalfocus Sdn Bhd. I started the job weighing around 60kg and now, I am only about 50kg (free weight-loss program ;) No, I'm not kidding – I know I’ve lost a whopping 10kg but I can’t help it as I have even been eating twice the amount of food that I used to consume. I remember when I was working in ICOM, I had to go on diet as I gained so much weight. I thought it was a relationship spell - my weight increased when I started seeing Sze and I blamed it on love. Now, I still love Sze, even deeper than before, but yet I am shedding the pounds. So this time, I blame it on work stress.

As an Application Specialist in my office, I took care of enterprise solutions software - MS Dynamics CRM 3.0, SurfCRM and other Microsoft Business Solutions. I had been very proactive in my job, but yet, some of my colleague’s responsibilities were added to my job scope after she left the company. Soon after, we moved office to Tropicana. Then, my boss secured a really huge deal and that project manager’s job was also given to me. All these additions will tremendously increase my skills and knowledge but of course, my stress levels also increased exponentially.

So, I decided to quit. I had 2 job offers from much bigger companies and one of them was Microsoft. I declined the offer from Air Asia as they did not offer any transport allowances with their office so far away. Although they had offered me the highest pay, I still decided to join Microsoft (everyone wants to join Microsoft!). I tendered my resignation and my boss was shocked. He never really expected this from me. He tried to understand my reasons for wanting to leave. Believe me, I had a lot to complain about. So my bosses came up with a new package for me – a promotion and more streamlined responsibilities… and not forgetting, a raise too.

I have known both my bosses for many years, since 2001. I was just an intern then and while driving to work at their old office in Leisure Commerce Square (famously known as Bali then), I still remember the radio reporting about the Sept 11 terrorist attack on the WTC. I had enjoyed working with them as they were pretty flexible and gave everyone a chance to develop on their own initiatives. This is what I mean by growing your own talents to the best of your abilities. With this history and friendship, and not for financial reasons, I decided to accept their improved job offer to stay (while declining Microsoft's offer in the process) and to be promoted with immediate effect.

So, all I want to say is that, I am now a Product Manager with e-Globalfocus and I will do my best to promote the products and services under my responsibility.

TechEd 2007 SEA (10th – 13th September 2007)

2007-09-11T18:51:00.000+08:00

TechEd is an annual IT exhibition that showcases the most recently released/soon-to-be released Microsoft technologies. This was my first time attending TechEd on the 1st day (last year I attended the usual track sessions on the other days). Held at the KLCC (KL Convention Center), the opening ceremony of TechEd SEA 2007 was not bad at all - I really enjoyed the local dances. They were the typical traditional dances with a mixture of dances from the different races in Malaysia. Although Microsoft is an all-American company, these dances really gave TechEd SEA somewhat of a “homey” feeling.

So what do I think about the people at Microsoft? Well, after seeing how Chris Atkinson (President of Microsoft SEA) made his grand entrance by hopping and skipping onto stage, my impression is that Microsoft people are active, happening, cool, sporting and exciting.

Everything went quite OK until lunch time. OMG! It was not announced that lunch was being served at different locations. As a result, everybody squeezed into 1 place and there was a terrible queue. This was truly poor planning. Anyway, the food served by the KLCC catering was just so-so.

And oh, my freebie for this year’s event was a nice little backpack sponsored by k2.com. So will we go again next year? Definitely yes, but I think Microsoft has to improve on the lunch part.

TechEd 2007 SEA bag

The Chihuahua Family

2007-08-27T23:31:00.000+08:00

If you have seen the picture of the mall-sized dogs on the homepage, you would probably wonder about the story of… the Chihuahua family. Well, they are not little puppies anymore, except for Bao Bei, the youngest dog. First, allow me to introduce the existing family members to you (in descending age):

1. Kent
2. Yoyo
3. Money
4. Coco
5. Syilling (Sze Ling)
6. Bao Bei (Precious)

Family Photo - Money, Bao Bei, Coco and Kent

I had a couple more dogs before this in Kedah (where I used to live) but one of them passed away after it fell sick. Following that, I had Kenny - it was a she but she was a really lazy dog. I tried to walk her several times but she just wouldn’t move a step. I ended up carrying her for a mile. So what happened to Kenny? Well, she got stolen but unfortunately, we couldn’t track her down. I heard a rumor that she was dognapped by an Indian man on a bicycle but I couldn’t find him or her. That was the end of my life with Kenny.

Then one day, Fiona, my eldest sis, bought Kent from her office’s neighbor. I could still remember when my parents came with Kent to visit me at MMU, Cyberjaya (where I was studying then). We went to the Cyberview Lodge for lunch, while Kent had the car all to himself.

Coco & Kent

Not long after we had Kent, Fiona bought another 2 Chihuahuas, who were brother and sister. They quarreled all the time, and the noise just drove Mom up to the wall. So, we gave away the brother to a friend who assured us that he would take good care of the puppy. True to his word, when Mom visited his house several times, she felt relieved that the dog was with a good owner. And oh, the puppy sister that we kept was Kiki. Kent and Kiki eventually got “married” and they were blessed with their first puppy, Yoyo.

Yoyo is very independent and she loved to explore the outside world (i.e. outside the house compound). She ran away from home countless times but fortunately, she always knew how to find her way back. Later, Yoyo had a brother called Money.

Money is not as adventurous or brave as Yoyo. He is always bullied by his dad, Kent. This is probably due to Kent wanting to remain as the alpha male and not allowing a younger dog to overthrow his authority. While all the dogs liked to be patted, poor Money loved it much more than the others. He would stick to Sze just to be stroked by him.

Wang Wang came after Money. He was the smallest dog I ever had. Weighing only 780g, he loved to join Mom and the family on our market trips and breakfast outings. He even appeared in a local newspaper which featured him as the smallest dog in Malaysia! Unfortunately, he passed away – we suspect that someone splashed chemical liquid on him out of jealousy, causing severe skin infections on his little body. Everyone was extremely upset about the incident, especially Mom.

Wang Wang

Coco, the 4th puppy, is different compared to her 3 elder siblings as her coat of hair is entirely brown in color, which she inherited from her mom, Kiki. The funny thing is that even her nose is brown! She is smart and hyper-active, with her legs moving faster than we can actually see. When she was little, Sze called her a rat (hehe…) as she looked very much like one. Meanwhile, Kiki has since passed on heroically while fighting with a snake in her kennel.

Syilling, on the other hand, was actually someone else’s puppy. Now, how did she get to be with us? The story goes like this… One day, a family friend brought a female dog to mate with Money and the dog gave birth to one puppy. Although by canine convention the puppy follows the father, Mom refused to accept the puppy as there was only one new born. Consequently, when the same dog later gave birth to another 2 puppies, the owner of the dog then insisted that we have Syilling this time.

Lastly, Bao Bei is the daughter of Kent and Yoyo (yes, father and daughter inbreeding). However, Bao Bei is still quite young and cute. He would run away from anyone who tried to carry him. As such, Sze calls him Pa Pai instead (which means snobbish in Cantonese).

Bao Bei

As the grand patriarch, Kent is now 8 years old and has cataract in both eyes. However, he is still the most muscular dog in the family and continues to run wild in circles chasing the “rain” whenever Mom waters the plants in the garden. Long live the Chihuahuas!

Fantastic Four Meme

2007-07-29T12:25:00.000+08:00

Lilian tagged me for this meme. So I am continuing it here…

***Meme starts***

Four jobs I’ve had in my life:
- Admin (all sorts in England)
- Contract Programmer (in Royal Malaysian Navy but I am not a militant)
- IT Administrator (in a music college, the weekly performances were fun)
- Application Specialist (a Consultant for Microsoft products)

Four places I have lived:
- Padang Serai, Kulim (from age 1-15)
- Sitiawan, Perak (where I met Lilian)
- Salisbury, Wiltshire (I miss this town)
- Manchester (real cool city)

Four places I have been on vacation:
- England: London, York, Peak District (Derbyshire), Bath, Portsmouth, Kent
- Holland: Amsterdam, Utrecht, Wouderberg, Amersfoort, Kinderdyke, Nieuw Lekkerland, Edam, Hoorn, Oostland
- China: Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Kunming, Hong Kong, Guilin
- Thailand: Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Krabi

Four of my favourite foods:
- Apple crumble (homemade)
- Lamb Lasagna (from Chinoz on the Park)
- Mousakka (Greeks)
- Vindaloo curry (from Curry Mile.. spiciest curry ever!)
* There are a lot more but I could only list 4!

Four places I would rather be right now:
- A buffet hi-tea (I am writing this in the afternoon)
- Airport (going somewhere for a long holiday)
- A spa having massage and sauna (buffet to follow)
- In a temple in Lhasa/Kathmandu

***Meme ends***

By the way, I haven’t seen F4 yet and will probably watch it from a DVD next week.

Cameron Highlands Trip

2007-06-30T23:48:00.000+08:00

Sze and I went back to Sitiawan to visit my parents and celebrate Father’s Day on 16th June 2007. Along the way, we stopped by Kellie’s Castle, a historical local attraction in Batu Gajah. Further on, as we drove into Ayer Tawar town, we saw a “samseng” (gangster) shop… hehe. It was actually a small provisions shop that had an alternative meaning in its name.

We had dinner with my family that night and we decided to drop by Cameron Highlands on the way back to KL the next morning.

We took the new highway up to Cameron from Simpang Pulai. The road was much wider than the one from Tapah but it was still a rather winding hillside road. We were pleased that the rain had stopped before we departed. However, once we arrived (we stayed at the Equatorial Hotel, which was at the highest peak along the Cameron main road), a drizzle started and it became pretty chilly and misty up there.

After checking into our room, we went to Tanah Rata for lunch. Sze had wanted to go to the popular T-Café there but unfortunately, it was closed on Sunday. So we decided to go to a tea plantation café instead. We had passed by the junction to the Sungei Palas tea plantation earlier and decided to give that place a try.

The road to the Sg. Palas Boh Tea plantation was very narrow indeed. It seemed quite dangerous and scary (driving up this long and winding, narrow road is definitely not for inexperienced drivers) as it adjoins the Gunung Brinchang road, which is apparently the highest road in Peninsular Malaysia. However, after a few hundred meters from the road junction, we could already see a refreshingly beautiful scenery. Everything was just so… green and neat (unlike the typical jungle)!

We parked our car at the designated parking space, even as we saw another car continuing to drive past an authorized personnel only signboard. There was still a light drizzle and we walked under the umbrella for about 200m along a path towards the café. Yes, it was pretty romantic with the heavenly view and fresh, cool temperature.

At the café, we ordered 2 pieces of chocolate cake, a hotdog bun and a pot of Cameronian Boh tea. Both the cake and the tea had very little taste. We finished our food before we continued to enjoy the scenic sight. After that, we walked around the Boh Tea center reading about the discovery of Cameron Highlands and how the Boh Tea business started. We were really glad to have found this beautiful place despite the bland food.

A must eat fruit in Cameron Highlands is the strawberry. It is widely available and freshly plucked from the many farms there. Of course, looking for the sweetest strawberries was not an easy task. We first went to Raju’s Hill Strawberry Farm and bought a box of the fruit to eat back in our hotel room. They were quite sweet considering that most strawberries in Cameron are known to be more sour than the imported variety. We planned to try out more strawberry farms the next day.

After breakfast at our hotel café the next morning, we dropped by the nearby street market. The local produces of vegetables, fruits and flowers were rather cheap. We bought a box of tea (for Sze), a bunch of pink roses (for myself), crystal maize (for Fiona, my elder sis) and a bag of miscellaneous vegetables (for Naomi, my younger sis).

We then headed to the T-Café again for a light meal. The place seemed to be run by a Christian Indian family and was cozy and intimate. I think this would be the type of place where Lonely Planet travelers would like to go to. We ordered some of their specialty pastries and… they tasted great! Sze said that the café had some good online reviews and is highly recommended, which is not surprising since it is frequently visited by independent travelers.

After trying out more strawberries from a couple of other farms, we found that those from the Kasimanis Strawberry Farm were the sweetest. We bought 8 boxes of strawberries (for Sze’s parents and my sisters) and 2 bottles of strawberry and orange jam (for Sze’s parents). Newsflash: They plant oranges too! I have previously seen mandarin oranges in Cameron Highlands, but not the normal oranges… and the farm did not sell them at the stall either.

We started our journey back to KL after that. Cameron Highlands had been a pleasant and refreshing trip for both of us and we hope to visit it again soon.

View more Cameron pictures in our Photo Gallery.

What A Coincidence!

2007-06-11T13:02:00.000+08:00

Look at this receipt. Notice what is so extraordinary about it? What are the chances of this happening?

Dubai Trip (19-23 May 2007)

2007-05-31T17:49:00.000+08:00

“Sze, you have to go to Dubai,” I was told. “Huh? Whyyy? What if I don't wanna go?”

Everyone thinks going to Dubai would make a nice, exotic Arab holiday. But with Eunice being unable to travel with me, and me in the midst of rushing to finish the way overdue Logic Notes article, exam papers waiting to be marked (while my colleagues are almost finishing theirs), with an avalanche of student projects coming in the following week, plus me being totally unprepared for the exhibition workshop (I was doomed to embarrass myself and the college on the international stage), this last-minute traveling assignment had really come at a bad time for me. I was SO NOT looking forward to this trip - if ever there was a reluctant traveler, I was IT. All I could do was to make the best out of the situation.

The trip was for PALME Middle East 2007 - it was the Professional Sound, Light, Music, Audio Visual and Systems Integration Exhibition (previously known as PALA). ICOM had a booth at the exhibition and I had to man it together with Kenny, my colleague. Held at the Dubai International Exhibition Center in UAE, it was located in a large complex that also housed the Dubai World Trade Center and the Dubai International Convention Center... which all sounded very impressive indeed.

PALME Middle East 2007 at the Dubai International Exhibition Center.

Entrance to the DWTC Exhibition Complex via the Convention Gate.

Upon arrival, one of my first impressions of Dubai was the unique, designer-like architectural styles - many of its tall buildings were curved upwards like the Menara Telekom Malaysia building (or just imagine Burj Al Arab, Dubai’s 7-star hotel). There were less of the block-shaped, rectangular high-rise buildings, which are so common in Malaysia and on TV. While not all tall buildings would have the curved architecture, they would nonetheless have some other “designer” shapes. However, such buildings were not densely located as the Dubai skyline was quite sparse. Most other buildings were no more than a few stories high but there was heavy construction taking place everywhere in the desert sands of the city.

Speaking of desert, the common question would be, “How was the weather?” Well, it was very hot but there was no sweat... at least I hardly sweated (although “big” Kenny had sweat dripping from his face). I suppose this was due to the very dry desert air which also dried up my contact lenses.

Moreover, I had complained to the hotel maintenance that I was not getting cold tap water in my bathroom, as the water was hot enough to burn my face during shower. Upon checking, the technician said that the burning water was indeed their “cold” water! I could not believe the Dubai air temperature was so hot outside that even the tap water burned my skin... actually, I still cannot believe it, not even now.

And if Malaysians complain about the haze every now and then, Dubai looked somewhat hazy all the time. View of the scattered skyscrapers in the distance was never clear but I guess this was due to the dust of the desert sand.

The 1st day of the trip was our only “free day” (the next 3 days would be spent working while the last day would be at the airport and on-board the flight home). After Kenny and I had set up the booth at the DWTC Exhibition Complex, half the day was already gone. We spent what was left of that day sightseeing in Jumeirah, Wafi City and Karama.

Jumeirah appeared to be the posh area of the city. This was also where the waterfront and some of Dubai’s world famous hotels were located. On the way back to our hotel, we stopped by Wafi Mall – it was like the Suria KLCC shopping mall, but minus the crowd. After taking a shower and a short rest back at the hotel, we headed out to Karama. It looked like the “old town” of the city and reminded me of the PJ SS2 commercial area with its many shoplots. We had our dinner and did most of our shopping there.

Jumeirah Beach Park, Dubai (cameras not allowed on the beach).

Dubai was an expensive city. The food was at least twice the prices of Kuala Lumpur while we easily exceeded our transportation allocation with the expensive cab fares. We had to be very careful with our food expenses; as such, drinking/entertainment in the nightspots and bars were totally out of the question. Many people had advised us to bring some USD currency but everything here in Dubai was in Dirham (AED), the local currency. Thus, the USD was not necessary as it would have to be converted to Dirham anyway.

I had been looking forward to watching the English FA Cup final for weeks and I had hoped to catch it (MU vs. Chelsea) here in Dubai. To my surprise, no one seemed to know anything about this football (soccer) match. The Dubai Sports channel was showing some German match but perhaps the hotel bar would show that cup final, I thought. However, upon checking, none of their cable channels had the match on either (I told you this trip was bad timing). So I was reduced to only getting “live” sms match updates from Eunice in Malaysia.

On the 1st night here, I set the alarm on my cell phone but forgot that it was in Malaysian time, so it rang at 4am… haha (Dubai was 4 hours behind Malaysian time). Anyway, daylight broke very early here, something like 2 hours earlier, and it felt like I was oversleeping, so I got up at 6am (as it felt like 8am already due to the early sunrise). Over the next few days, while Kenny slept or watched TV, I had to get up early, sleep late or forego that nap just to prepare for my workshop. Now, who said that Dubai would be a nice holiday?

After our 1st day at work, we queued up for a cab outside the DWTC. It turned out to be a 1¼-hour queue! Even then, it was only for a “shared” cab (with another 2 passengers), and we went to Karama for our dinner. Btw, all Dubai cabbies drove like F1 racers - hard acceleration and hard braking. However, the cabs were quite comfortable as the Toyota Camry was their most common taxi while the Toyota Estima MPV was another very common taxi here, both of which are considered luxurious vehicles in Malaysia. And oh, virtually no motorbikes on the roads (we only saw one bike throughout our stay here).

After dinner in Karama, we tried to buy some foodstuff to take back to our hotel room but that proved to be a rather difficult task – there were many restaurants around but none of the shops or supermarkets sold any foodstuff (dried/packed/canned food, snacks, ice-cream, etc). Many sold clothing, shoes, electronics, etc, just not food. Finally, we found one little store that had some foodstuff and we bought some snacks to eat in our room when we got hungry.

Another striking characteristic of Dubai was of course, the diversity of its people. If you think Malaysia is a melting pot of 3 races, wait till you see the mixture here – there were the white, tanned and black Arabs, the foreign whites/expatriates, Filipinos/South East Asians, Indians/South Asians and the occasional oriental/Chinese/East Asians. I also found that the residents here were all very Dubai-centric – there was interest only in all things Dubai, i.e. Dubai had to be the hub of everything.

Upon returning to Malaysia, I exchanged my “Arabian Nights” stories with the KLIA airport cabbie. His experiences with his Arab passengers were that they were quite generous with their money. But on the other hand, they also had many complaints, even though many services in their own countries were worse than in Kuala Lumpur. He went on to quote a Malay proverb, “Masuk kandang kambing mengembik, masuk kandang lembu menguak” (when in Rome, do as the Romans do). I guess my Dubai trip could probably have been better, but nevertheless, it was a life-enriching experience that made me appreciate home even more… ahh, home sweet home!

P.S. Photos courtesy of Kenny's camera.

Our Wednesday Movie

2007-04-15T16:36:00.000+08:00

Catching movies on a Wednesday is not an easy task for most working people. Due to the bad city traffic and the rush to eat dinner as well as queuing for the movie tickets, it was a real challenge for us, especially since our offices are so far away from home (more than 1 hour’s drive). Moreover, Sze had to come pick me up from my house and then… more traffic jam on the way to the cineplex…

Nonetheless, we made it to Berjaya Times Square (BTS) for our Wednesday movie recently... So why Wednesday? Well, it’s because the cinemas have a special rate on every Wednesday. Since we have never really taken advantage of this movie day offer, we decided to have a go for it. We wanted to watch the movie 300 but the online reservation never works when you need it. Anyway, we arrived at the BTS cineplex an hour before showtime. Unfortunately, only some front row seats were available. So we decided to come back in 15 minutes time when the uncollected ticket reservations would be released.

In the meantime, we went to Kenny Roger’s Roasters (next to the cineplex) to order our dinner. While waiting for the food, Sze went to the movie counter again to buy the released tickets. He came back empty handed and said, “All the released tickets are gone. There are only 3 seats left on the 1st row.” Huh? How did the uncollected tickets get sold so quickly? Ok, never mind, since we have already ordered our dinner, we’ll just have to “experience the extra legroom” sitting on the very 1st row. So Sze went to the movie counter once more but he came back empty handed again…??? “There’s only 1 seat left,” he said. Is 300 so popular that even at the tailend of its showing, the 1st row seating is sold out on a weekday? Humph… we have no choice now but to see an alternative movie. So Sze went again to the movie counter… this time, he came back with tickets for Mr. Bean’s Holiday. He he, maybe the evening won’t turn out to be so bad after all.

We ate our dinner quickly and finished just in time for the movie. As we made our way to the cineplex entrance, a voice called out, “Mr. Sze, Mr. Sze!” It was Pui Yi, Sze’s student. She told us that the cineplex for the Mr. Bean show had broken down. She had also bought tickets for the same movie but had to change hers to another show. So we went to the movie counter to check. The ticket sellers seemed confused at first but they later confirmed the break down. There was no offer of a ticket refund and we could only exchange our tickets for another show. Our first two choices were 300 and Mr. Bean’s Holiday, and we did not want to settle for a third choice movie or hang around the mall till a midnight show, so we exchanged our tickets for 300 on Friday and topped up more than 50% to the ticket price (from the special Wednesday rate to the normal rate). We had rushed here all for nothing and then, we would be made to rush here again another day and on top of that, pay extra for that inconvenience… what a rip-off!

Come Friday, we rushed through the whole process again and this time, we got to see the movie. I didn’t read the synopsis and got somewhat excited when it started as it looked like a medieval legend type of movie. I have always liked movies like King Arthur, Troy, Alexander the Great, etc, so this would be another one of those medieval legend movies that I enjoy so much.

(Warning: Show spoiler ahead for those who will be watching it for the 1st time on DVD later.) The story was great. I’ve never heard of the Greek and Persian wars before due to my lack of knowledge in European-Middle Eastern history. I enjoyed the show till the ending which I thought did not have a proper closure and raised an unanswered question - what happened in that next battle led by Dilios? Did they finally achieve a decisive victory, or did the Persians outnumber them again?

I did some research and this is what I found out… 300 is a story based on the Battle of Thermopylae in 5th century BC. The last scene in the movie showed an alliance of 10,000 Spartans and 30,000 Greeks from other city-states a year later, facing the Persian army. This was to be the beginning of the Battle of Plataea, which would end the series of Greco-Persian wars during that time. The result was a decisive Greek victory over the Persians. Many years later, the Persian Empire would eventually be invaded and conquered by Alexander the Great.

I also wondered what happened to the little boy who was King Leonidas’ son in the movie. His name was Pleistarchus and he succeeded his father as the King of Sparta. However, his cousin, Pleistoanax, would act as the Regent during the early part of his reign as he had not come of age yet.

It has been a few weeks since we saw 300. We’ll be going to watch Mr. Bean this Wednesday, but definitely not at BTS. Hope we’ll have better luck this time ;)

Chinese New Year 2007 (18 Feb – 4 Mar 2007)

2007-03-10T21:16:00.000+08:00

Chinese New Year (CNY) is a major celebration among the Chinese community here in Malaysia. This year is the Year of the Boar (or Pig, as some people may call it). In China, CNY is known as the Spring Festival and lasts for 15 days.

We had the reunion dinner with Sze’s family on the eve of CNY - my family was abroad, thus leaving my brother, little sis and me on our own. I was lucky to have Sze. My little sis was working throughout the first few days of CNY while my poor brother was home alone with the dogs. As little sis was transferred to another location for a couple of days, Sze and I drove her to work in Subang Jaya as she was not sure of the way. After dropping her off, we stopped by Subang Parade as I had wanted to buy a shirt for my lonely brother. As we were walking around, we saw a lion dance troupe preparing to start their performance. Soon after, 2 lions started their lively dance, distributing mandarin oranges and “attacking” the children along the way… hehe. It was an entertaining show and we had fun watching it.

"Don't eat me! Eat my daughter instead!!!"

"Yummy... the child was delicious..."

It had been a quiet and peaceful celebration for us. We’ve had a lazy few days before Sze started working on the 4th day of CNY. He had complained that the holidays were way too short and that his college was probably the only institution to resume classes that week. You could tell from the half deserted city and the absolutely fantastic traffic that everyone else was still away on holiday. It was a reminder to the farcical work resumption order early this year which insisted that he return to work from the semester holidays on 2nd January, only to be told to go home after clocking in as it was actually a public holiday (to replace Hari Raya Haji on Sunday). Now why was it that everyone knew about the holiday but yet the powers-that-be chose to ignore it? What’s wrong with them anyway?

On that same evening, Sze came to my house after work with a few guests. We were hosting a small dinner celebration for a few friends. Our honorable guests were Alice, Venus, Debbie and Josephine. We had also invited several others but they couldn’t make it… what a shame. I had prepared a simple dinner where we had spaghetti as the main course, salad as a side dish and “dragon eye” (longan) fruit as dessert. We had wine too - check out our blushing faces here in the photo gallery.

Unlike Sze, I had the whole week off from work. My colleagues and I visited my boss in Klang on the 5th day of CNY. Some had arrived earlier and the first thing they did was to start gambling. I lost more than RM30 playing cards with them. Well, it was more like visiting a casino rather than visiting the boss.

My parents and elder sis came back from their trip abroad on the 7th day of CNY. This day is known as the common man's birthday - the day when everyone grows one year older. It is a day when tossed raw fish salad, better known as Yee Sang, is eaten. This custom is adopted primarily by the Chinese communities in Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia and Singapore. Family and friends get together to toss the colorful salad and make wishes for continued wealth and prosperity.

I followed my parents back to Sitiawan to celebrate the 9th day of CNY. This celebration is known as Bai Tien Gong. It is a big festival for the Hokkien Chinese where they will pray and make offerings to the Jade Emperor, the ruler of Heaven. At the stroke of midnight, my parents performed thanks giving prayers to the Emperor of Heaven. We made offerings of a whole roast pig, roast duck, chicken, pastries and fruits but the most important of all was the sugarcanes. This is because it was the humble sugarcane that had protected the Hokkiens when they were attacked by soldiers generations ago. They had hidden in a sugarcane plantation and thus escaped from being exterminated when the soldiers couldn’t find them.

As there was plenty of food, my Mom gave away most of it. By the way, did you know that I don’t eat pork? Not many of my friends realize this... hehe, so the first question they would always ask is, “Are you a Muslim?” No, I am not a Muslim but I just don’t eat pork for health reasons.

The 15th day of CNY is known as Chap Goh Meh. This day is often used to mark the end of the fortnight-long festivities. We forgot that there was a community organized celebration at a park near Sze’s house the night before and missed out on the event. Since Chap Goh Meh is also considered to be the Chinese Valentine’s Day, we wonder if single girls threw oranges into the lake there for the lucky single guys to catch?

We had a late dinner with Sze’s parents on this last day of the CNY. We had sweet and sour chicken, steamed fish, stewed mushroom, tofu and Chinese cabbage. Guess who did the cooking?... Sze’s Dad was the chief cook… hehe. Actually, both his parents prepared the food but it was Dad who did most of the cooking. We also had a bottle of red wine to go with the food. It was a fitting end to the long celebrations. Hope everyone had a good CNY too.

Valentine’s Day 2007

2007-02-19T18:48:00.000+08:00

Valentine’s Day had just passed and I didn’t really have time to sit down and write a blog about it. A friend of mine asked why there wasn’t any update on our blog about Valentine’s Day. I promised her, “Yes, I will write about it during my CNY break”. So here I am sitting in front of the TV, watching a Cantonese movie on TV2 in Sze’s house. Alright, now to recall what happened on that day…

Early on the morning of Feb 14th, Sze dropped by my place to pick up his lunch. He had left it in my car the night before. Unexpectedly, he gave me a present and a card. Then, almost immediately after he left, I opened the card and felt really happy to know how he felt for me. And while I was stuck in traffic on the way to work, I opened the present. It was a very soft, brown teddy bear. For a few minutes, I was thinking of a name for him. I already have Baron the white dog from last year and decided to call this bear Darren. I hugged him all the way to work.

At about 11 something, my colleague called me in an eager voice but I didn’t suspect anything. I walked from my desk towards the door and saw a delivery man with a big bouquet of flowers. I was excited and started to giggle nonstop. The delivery man got annoyed and rudely said, “Apa gelak-gelak? Cepatlah sign”. I felt irritated by that. Anyway, I quickly signed to get rid of him.

Buying flowers on Valentine’s Day is a very expensive thing to do. If I knew Sze was going to send me flowers, I’d tell him not to. But then again, it is a very romantic thing to do, maybe not that practical but it will surely melt any girl’s heart. Many girls like to receive flowers but then again, I also know of many girls who are more practical. They would choose not to receive flowers but are ok with presents. So, guys out there, understand your girlfriends better!

I am very fortunate that Sze had everything planned for our Valentine’s Day dinner. He booked a table for us at Wings Music Café in Puchong. As we reached there before 8pm, it was still not that busy yet. But as the evening progressed, more people started to arrive. The café had a very nice environment for the event - it was adorned with simple paper decorations, and the table was covered with a tablecloth. The candles made the ambience more romantic and comfortable, while there was a duo singing love songs to celebrate the occasion.

The food in Wing’s Music Café wasn’t superb compared to other places but I was more than happy to spend the evening there without the crowd. The previous year, a colleague of ours had complained about the atrocious service at Victoria Station. Well, what can you expect on Valentine’s Day at a well-known restaurant like that? I know I’d rather go to a quieter place any time, any day.

I also thought of last year’s Valentine’s dinner with Sze at Nikko Hotel. It was a very nice buffet dinner but we had to rush there due to a bad traffic jam in the city. Therefore, I would advise anyone planning for the occasion to find a place away from the city to avoid the rush. After all, you want a relaxing evening with your loved one.

It was a memorable Valentine’s Day celebration for both of us. Hope you had a great one too.

The e-Globalfocus Annual Dinner (Friday, 9th Feb 2007)

2007-02-13T08:58:00.000+08:00

Hip Hop Tonight 2007, e-Global’s theme for the Annual Dinner came as a surprise on the day before. I had no idea what I could wear for that. Besides, I was supposed to have an appointment with a client on that day, which means I have to bring a change of clothing for the dinner. I gave it some thought and finally came to a conclusion - I’ll bring a set of simple hip-hop wear and accessories to change before the event, which was to be held at the Courtyard Garden in Damansara Heights.

My client’s appointment was at 3.00pm, which was later postponed to 3.30pm. My bosses and I got there 30 minutes late and our meeting ended at around 6pm. Driving out of KL city after 6pm had always been the hardest thing to do on weekdays. The roads were very congested and traffic was bumper to bumper. Obviously, this also affected our journey to the Courtyard Garden as we now didn’t have enough time to go back to the office first. Thus, I didn’t get the chance to change into my hip hop attire. What a shame! I couldn’t dress up for this event.

My bosses and I arrived at the Courtyard Garden at around 7.15pm. We were among the earliest people to arrive. The place looked pretty nice and secluded from the outside. The interior had been carefully designed too. The ambience was excellent, just perfect for our private function. We had a cocktail “party” while waiting for the rest to arrive. After drinking 2 to 3 glasses of lime juice and fruit punch, we were finally seated. We started ordering food from the menu on the table. I got myself a salad as an appetizer, Auckland Teriyaki as main course and green tea ice-cream as dessert. The salad was decent but I really couldn’t finish the main course. It was not because the portion was too big but because the quality of food wasn’t that great. I also didn’t finish my ice-cream as it was too soft and melted fast.

In between our courses, we had a few lucky draw sessions. Being a “lucky girl”, I received an FTEC pouch. Why did I describe myself as a lucky girl? It is because I have always been very “lucky” in having bad things happen to me. Even my CTO is quite worried that the servers I am looking after will crash. I don’t think this is because of God’s will or just plain bad luck – it probably has something to do with my attitude of not being meticulous enough.

We had a lot of fun that evening. They continued the party at the Rush bistro while I headed home - I had to observe my curfew.

Anniversary Celebration @ Shangri-La Hotel Kuala Lumpur

2007-02-11T16:10:00.000+08:00

To read story with pictures, click here.

4th February 2007 was an eventful day for both of us. Firstly, it was our 1st anniversary. Secondly, it was the day that we officially launched our website. Then thirdly, Sze proposed to me on that day too…

And after all that has happened in the morning, we had to rush for a buffet lunch at the Shangri-La Hotel Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which we had booked earlier. We arrived at the Lemon Garden coffee house at around 1.30pm. It was already packed with people by then. The waitress led us to our table and almost immediately, we started checking out the food. As we were looking around, we bumped into Sze’s cousin… what a coincidence! She was there with her family who were attending a company lunch. Later on, we walked over to her table and met her husband, son and mother too.

We filled our plates and started to enjoy the feast. The variety of food was fairly wide - I don’t usually go for buffet meals but this is a place that I would definitely recommend to anyone. There were separate sections for Chinese, Malay/Indian, Western and Italian cuisine. But the most eye-catching spread that caught my attention was the DESSERT section - they had this huge chocolate fondue fountain! I didn’t want to wait and even considered starting the meal with dessert… hehe. But then again I thought, “I don’t want to end up eating just dessert for lunch”.

So for our first serving, I took some raw salmon fish, sliced lamb and salad with lots of capsicums. I love both lamb and capsicums. This was definitely my favorite plate of the meal. Sze got himself an oriental plate. He likes Chinese food. So what were his thoughts at that time? “I’m hungry. Let’s eat. There’s enough room in my tummy for everything. I’ll start from the left side of the buffet…” Humph…

My second serving was a mixed plate of curry lamb, fish and vegetables, mussels, capsicums (I really love capsicums), salmon and white rice. Sze called it my “Shangri-La mixed rice”… haha.

For his next serving, Sze took a plateful of raw salmon and tuna, decorated with slices of lime. As salmon is an expensive item, it is definitely something you’ll want to eat as much as you can in a buffet. I had another small helping of the salmon, polenta and salad while he had a taste of the roast lamb with mint sauce, fish, polenta and asparagus, plus an additional serving of the Chinese food… (he wasn’t kidding when he said that his tummy had room for everything!)

Finally, it was time for dessert… yay! We took a couple of attractively decorated cakes - Sze thought that the 3 strawberries on one of the cakes looked like… err... “very interesting???” Hmm…

But the highlight of choosing our dessert was, of course, dipping sticks of honeydew, marshmallow and pastry into the chocolate fountain. Again, Sze had a name for it – just like the title from Johnny Depp’s movie, he called it, “Eunice and the Chocolate Factory”…

And while we were “manufacturing” the chocolate sticks, we also saw an interesting-looking prawn and scallop cocktail. It was probably meant to be an appetizer but we didn’t notice it earlier. When we came back from choosing our dessert, the waiter had actually cleared our table, thinking that we had left. Sze thought, “Oh yeah, no need to pay – just walk out now!”

Lastly, we also had a taste of hazelnut and chocolate ice cream. We washed down our meal down with coffee – I prefer black coffee while Sze’s coffee is always “double double” (i.e. double servings of both cream and sugar).

It was already 4pm then, we were totally stuffed, and it was time to go. So we paid the bill (no, we didn’t just walk out after the waiter cleared our table) and left with pleasant memories and plenty of photographs!

Preparing for the Launch

2007-02-04T09:32:00.000+08:00

We have about one week remaining before the launch of our website on 4th February 2007. With our busy schedules, we can hardly find time to work on the layout and design of the website. We tried hard to prepare the contents… well, I mean to say, Sze tried hard as I have not contributed as much in terms of contents. But having said that, I did most of the design works. It’s a little funny to think how we both played our roles in this project - Sze writes and edits the contents while I am more inclined towards Photoshop editing and HTML programming. We work really well as a team.

During that week, I got a little tired of editing the layout. The tables were not right and the colors were not suitable. I felt a little fed up and exhausted, but it still has to be done. The relief I felt after we got what we wanted was really satisfying. I then prepared more pictures to be uploaded to our Photo Gallery while Sze worked on more contents. After he submitted the Logic Notes article to ICOM, we published our copy too. However, we found that the downloads did not work. We had to troubleshoot and tried putting up a few other files for downloading and they worked! Only .lso, .pro and .express were not known to the system. We got a little worried as the hosting plan we have didn’t support these file extensions. So I went to work the next day and asked my CTO - he said that there was no limitation to the types of files allowed in the server. He then proceeded to add them to the MIME header and it worked!!!! Bravo to him and e-Globalfocus! Another relief as we knew we didn’t have that much time left. So what’s next?

We both do not have much taste for design. So I asked for opinions from my colleague who is a graphic designer. He said that he could redesign our banner on Friday, which was the last working day before our website launch on Sunday. And guess what?... He was on medical leave that Friday! Okay, so now I have to depend on myself. That evening, although I was tired, I was determined to finish up the banner design and I did!

It’s Saturday and both of us are still writing and designing. We only have one day left. Sze is still working on the 4th Feb story and I am still on the banner design. I have to find a new banner message as Sze didn’t fancy the one I had originally. Since my vocabulary is somewhat shallow, it’s not easy to find a suitable word, but I tried to finish as much as I could. Then later on, I had to change the layout again! It was tiring especially when Mr. Perfectionist was not satisfied with the page formatting that I had changed earlier that morning.

After hours of working, we finally finished what we had wanted to do. Now, we can smile and sleep well. Remember to visit us again for more pictures, articles and blog updates. Bookmark Us! Sze says there will also be a juicy news update tomorrow (Mon, 5th Feb). Hmmm…

A Trip to Chiseled Rock

2007-01-06T12:28:00.000+08:00

Driving to Batu Pahat was a great experience. All along the North-South Expressway, it was just like any other highway but once we turned into the exit of Ayer Itam, the excitement began. We discussed how the name Batu Pahat was formed and could only guess that it had something to do with chisels and rocks. Indeed, its history is that the Siamese chiseled the rocks to get fresh water for their seafare.

I am not very sure what the name of the first town that we drove by is anymore, but along the way, we saw name of places like Parit Raja Darat, Parit Jawa, Parit Sulong and few other Parits. We found it a bit funny that all the names started with PARIT. Do they have so many drains there?

We continued our journey and it became even funnier. Saw a signboard turning left to Tongkang Pecah! What a name! Maybe there used to be a wrecked Chinese ship that sank into the sea. That’s not it. As we were getting nearer to Batu Pahat, we saw another signboard at a junction to Pantai Minyak Beku. I started to wonder how one can have a picnic and swim at a frozen oil beach. It was hilarious.

The trip started well and progressed wonderfully. Had a great time there with the people from J.R Courtenay (M) Sdn Bhd.

Welcome to zenetLife

2006-12-26T11:28:00.000+08:00

Hey all,

Just figured out blog is one of the most important elements in our website. Thus, blog must come first. But I haven't thought of what we wanna put down here.

So, maybe we should just start welcoming all visitors and make them feel comfy so they'll come back soon.

You know we wanna make this site like a profesional personal site with FREE information and downloads. Most interesting downloads will come from Sze coz Eunice doesn't have much to share in that sense. ;)

We're still in holiday mood. X'mas lunch at Legend Hotel was not 100% a great idea. It was mainly because of the crowd. The queue to the food was extremely long but hey, I got my brussel sprouts! My friend in England asked how I managed to smuggle that in. Don't say urgh! to brussel sprouts k?

We'll keep you guys posted with life happenings. That's inclusive of work happenings too. So check out the website for more logic stuff soon. I think that'll be our first column - LOGIC NOTES !