azwazis

Hello

2012-01-29T23:30:00.001-08:00

Hello folks....

Wow...it's been ages since I last updated my blogs....I'm out for some soul-searching for the last couple of weeks....I'm looking for answers to questions that I don't even know in the first place. Hahahaha. Conflicting remark I must say....

Well to be honest, I needed time to re-focus and start thinking of doing other things. Alhamdulillah, I've achieved some, if not all, things that I wanted to achieve. Hence, now, I'm looking to do more. I believe I can.....

You know, at times, you dreamt of achieving something and then, you work towards it and finally, you managed to achieve it. That's how I feel nowadays. You achieve that little goals that you have and I felt slightly stagnated.

Anyways, I'll keep on searching.

Have a good day

17A girl?

2012-01-03T17:35:00.000-08:00

So...what's the fuss this Amalina girl is creating eh?

Sudah2 lah tuh...I think we cannot impose our good values to other people.....

Pandai2 jaga diri dah lah....kan??

2012

2012-01-02T18:01:00.000-08:00

Hope it's not to late to wish everyone a happy new year....

I've been super busy for the last month or so....

Actually, there's so much to talk about but sometimes I just don't have the 'mood' to write...

This year, will be a testing year for me...in terms of my business of course....

So far, I've touched very little on what my job is....maybe, for 2012, I'll try to talk a wee bit on it....

Anyways.....hope everyone's doing fine and let's pray for a good & prosperous 2012....

Have a nice day

Switchblade

2011-11-30T20:59:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, I had dinner at a Switchblade restaurant in Dutamas with the family...

To be honest, I love western foods and my favorite restaurants will be TGI Friday's and Chilli's. Hence, when I saw an ad about this restaurant at FB the other day, I decided to give it a try.

Upon reaching the place at Dutamas, I wonder how does the owner pays the rental for this place. It could cost him loads of money!! I would assumed that the overheads in operating such operating at an expensive location would be enormous!! I salute him for taking a big risk in running the food business!!

Anyway, I like the way the owner sets up the restaurant. It's totally different from any other restaurants that I've been too.

With regards to the food.....I have to be honest...it's freaking delicious weii!! Habis semua diet2....hahahaha.....No doubt it's a little bit pricey but that's understandable.

I will certainly come here again...but not so soon lah.....

Dough-nuts anyone??

2011-11-25T00:08:00.001-08:00

I'm not a fan of doughnuts.....but when a colleague of mine bought some from Big Apple, I thought it was good, although it was super sweet....

Jemput makan......

What???

2011-11-25T00:05:00.001-08:00

How things have changed eh?.....Wonder how life was in the 50s or 60s....

Nov 2011

2011-11-08T16:37:00.000-08:00

Right.....

It is now Nov 2011. In a about an month and a half's time, we would celebrating the new year.

New year means new resolutions. New aims, new objectives and so forth....

I think it's a good time to sit down and jot down your achievements for the last 11 months or so. Not to forget, to write down the things that you should've done and the things you wanna do for the next couple of weeks....

Perhaps, it's a good time to start planning what you wanna do for 2012.

For me, in terms of investing, it has been very 'stale' especially from the property side. No doubt that I've save some money that I invest in various places but I think I could do more....Earlier, I planned to add another 2 properties under my name but haven't be able to do so. Nahh, I won't blame it on BNM with their ruling but I blame myself. It's ok as I think I learn my lesson.

2011 for me is about discovering new things in investments especially being a landlord. Previously, you only read stuff from the books and hope you learn bits and pieces from it. But to be honest, nothing beats experiencing it by yourself. There are things that I should've done but for some strange reason or another, I didn't.....

Whatever it is, I thank Allah for opening my eyes in becoming an investor. I had nothing prior to 2008. Nothing...Zero....Zilch...even my ASB balance was pretty depressing to see....I had very limited savings.....but now, I guess, I can be a little proud of the efforts that I had put in for the last 3 years. However, I do realize that my journey is still at its infancy stage. I hope I can double up my efforts, take a wee bit of risk and pray a little harder for 2012....

Some time, my friends asks me why would i be an investor (part time that is....)...My answer is simple, to make sure that the financial being of my daughter is taken care off when the time comes. Having a kid changes your perception towards life. Especially when you start to think about her education, her needs as well as her wedding day. Hahahaha. I'm told not to worry about it but how can I not...:P

Anyway, at this moment, all I'm thinking is to maximize my wife's ASB savings. If I can achieve that, that's a big, big achievement. Hehehehe. On my part, since I wasn't able to purchase a property this year, I might do it next year....but having need to pay 30% deposit with your own money, I don't think it's a wise move....Thank you BNM!!

Have a nice day

Spelling mistake?

2011-11-07T19:10:00.001-08:00

During my way back to Ipoh for the short raya holidays last week, we decided to skip the highways and hit the old trunk road from Behrang uptill Tapah as we received some news stating that the PLUS highway's traffic was bad....

Hence, we decided to have our lunch at some nasi kandar restaurant in Slim River. And over there, I found this rather disturbing 'advertisement'....

Is that how you spell kuay teow nowadays? I'm not even sure whether I spell it right or not. Heehehe....Anyways, the food wasn't great at all but the teh tarik was good!!!

By the way, the traffic was bad on Saturday. The heavy rain didn't help either. We took about 5 hours to reach the destination....huhu....I dread to think if I were to use the PLUS highway, it might even worse at Tapah....

have a good day

Hell-o-ween parteeee

2011-11-03T19:14:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, myself, wifey and kecik attended a helloween party at Royal Bintang, The Curve.

To be honest, I've never been to a big scale helloween party before. And I really thought, the party was just for kecik and her classmates. But to my surprised, the party was held in the grand ballroom of the hotel and everybody seems to be dressed up except me and wifey.

I felt a bit out of place though but I thought everyone were sporting enough to dressed up. It was an interesting event and I was wondering, the organizer must have spent easily more then RM30k. Loads of free gifts, free foods, games, face painting, monsters, ghosts, smurfs, pharaoh, cat women, you name it.......and booze for the drinkers as well...

Anyways, kecik enjoyed herself and was playing around with one of her classmates. It's bit unfortunate we came a bit late as most of her classmates has returned home. Perhaps, if we are invited the next time around, I'll dressed up like a rock star!! hahaha

Stamping of tenancy agreement

2011-11-03T18:34:00.001-07:00

For the last couple of years, for the purpose of stamping of tenancy agreement(s), I would ask the help of a friend. So I would pay him some of amount of money and he gets the things done for me. Usually, he will take about a week.

Anyways, since I've just leased out my desa view condo to this new tenant about a couple of days ago, I decided to stamp the agreement myself. I have to be honest here, I've been a property investor for about 3 years now (I know, i'm still a baby...and still learning) but I've yet to do this stamping thingy on my own. Pemalas would be the exact word!! Hahahaha

So I spent a couple of hours yesterday settling this matter and pretty much a wee bit proud of being able to do it myself. Save me a few quid instead of asking some friends to do it for me....

Just a short note on the procedures for stamping of tenancy agreement

Step 1. Upon signing of the document between you and your tenants, you need to calculate the stamp duty required for stamping. So how do you calculate? I can only talk about my experience as I think there's more to it than what I already knew...

Supposed the monthly rental is RM850. So annual rental income is RM10,200.

There's an exemption of RM2,400 to be deducted from the annual income which comes to RM7,800 (10,200-2,400). Assuming the agreement is for one year period hence, the rate of the stamp duty will be RM1 for every RM250 exceeding RM2,400.

So, the stamp duty payable for the agreement is is RM7,800/RM250=RM31.20. (Rounded of to RM31). Hence, what you need to do is to go the post office and buy the setem hasil. Easy?

Step 2. Go to the LHDN office together with the original tenancy agreement, in which for my case, I went to kg Attap. I think if I can remember correctly it was on the 20th floor. Went straight to the stamping office. I was told to fill-in a form and need to wait a wee bit as the crowd can be large at times. I waited about 40 minutes before they call me up. Hahaha

So there you go, never that I thought it would be that easy but time consuming at the same time. I know that if we ask someone else to do it for us, they will certainly charge an amount but I think, it's better to do it yourself. Agents would probably make hefty money from offering this services to the masses. That's my opinion anyways. But again, if you don't have the time, you can always ask the agents to do it for you, and of course, it comes with a price.....

Finally...

2011-11-02T17:59:00.000-07:00

Finally, my cozy little condo at desa view tower has been rented out.

I think I started to advertise for the place about 3 months back. Anyway, I'm happy that I finally met with this young family and hope we can a have a nice 'working' relationship for the next one year....

So to Shahizan & family, welcome on board......

On the other hand, the tenants in my other place at Unipark condo has moved out about 3 days ago. I had some major issues with the tenants at times, but never did I expect to see the condition of the house after they moved out. It was bad. It was so bad that I need to employ 3 Indonesian clearners to clean the place.

A lot of people have been saying against renting the place to college boys and I certainly felt that they did not take good care of the place as they should be. Well, boys will be boys with posters in every rooms. One good thing though, they pay their rents on time. Hahaha...

Anyways, who said that it's gonna be a smooth ride all the way kan?? The place now is clean and I'm going there again later today to check out the place.

Have a good week ahead...

Hit for six

2011-10-24T00:29:00.000-07:00

Sounds like a name for a movie but no....it's not a movie....

In fact, for me, it was a joyous moment!

Can't believe that I witnessed the drubbing of Man Yernited by Citeh!!!

6-1.....wow....again, I can't believe the score line but yeah....it was 6-1....

Hopefully, we can see many more stuff like that especially when yernited is playing!!

Anyways, Liverpool.....oh dear.....a draw against Norwich?....Clearly not the result all liverpool fans would have wanted but, it happened...

It is pretty obvious if Liverpool wants to be in the Champions league, they need to get the result from these kind of games. It has been mixed results so far but I guess, I would be happy if the team goes to europe next season.

Hopefully they'll beat Stoke in the carling cup!!

Metallica...in KL?

2011-10-06T17:33:00.000-07:00

Rumors has been flying around saying that Metallica will be in KL on the 2nd Dec 2011.

Whether it's true or not, I don't know but if indeed they are coming....I'll definitely going....

No doubt I've seen them live before but seeing them 'live' in KL will be something else....

To be honest, we need more live acts here. For the past few years, Kreator and Nofx has made their way here but we still need more. I would love it Iron Maiden were to make their stop here sometime in the near future!!

Have a good weekend...

Chomski....:(

2011-10-06T01:04:00.000-07:00

Chomski has been part of my family for the last 6 years.

She was adopted from SPCA when she was still a kitty.

Unfortunately, she was put to sleep yesterday evening.

She was suffering from leukemia.

We'll miss you choms!!!

2005-2011

Saturday against the blues....

2011-09-27T18:42:00.000-07:00

So far, Liverpool has played 6 games, gained 10 points, lost twice and drew once. Not bad considering the fact the first eleven players that has been playing most of the the league consist of a couple of new players....Especially in the midfield area where only Lucas was the surviving member of the Rafa/Hodgson era.

This is the area that I have most of my concerns though. It is not as compact as it was during Rafa's era. Only Downing and Lucas seems to be at ease at their positions and the other two, Henderson and Adams can sometime drifts apart as the game went on. Let's hope King Kenny has something up his sleeves with regards to these two players. A plus point though, Stevie is back but it remains to be seen whether he can get back to his old playing styles during Rafa's era.

The team now has a good strikeforce with Bellamy, Suarez and Carrol up-front. On paper, it should scare the shit out of most teams in the league. The amount of chances created and the way the team played especially during the first half of most matches proves that Kenny now has assembled a good team. However, the team seems to its focus during the second half which most team has now taken advantage when facing us.

Anyways, I'm hoping for another 3 points against the 'friendly' neighbors. It won't be easy but if I have it my way, I'll opt for Suarez to lead the line again....and with 5-man midfield consisting of Downing, Adam, Lucas, Bellamy and Kuyt. A 3 man back line consisting of Carragher, Coates and Skrtle should be good enough to balance the team on the defensive side.....

2011-09-25T19:29:00.000-07:00

Good morning....

HOw was everybody's weekend?

I had a nice and busy weekend.

Spent later part of Friday night lepakking with some friends. It's been ages since we last met but we certainly had fun!!

Nevertheless, I was home quite late and was up and running again on early Saturday morning. I went to play golf at Tiara Melaka, of which, I think I played rather well....Considering the fact that I was playing like a beginner for the last couple of weeks before....hahahahah

Anyway, I'm expecting a busy week this week!! I have all the appointments lined up till Saturday.

I hope to get a new tenant for Desa View Tower before the end of next month, and obviously, if I can get another tenant for Unipark Condo before November will be a super bonus!!

Have a good week everyone!!

In flame....

2011-09-22T23:47:00.001-07:00

As I was on my way home after picking up kecik from her a school, I witnessed an extraordinary 'incident'. I have to be honest to say that I rarely see a Lamborghini on Malaysian road but to see one with flames all over it is something else.

I pity the owner and the car itself might costs almost RM1m. A truly rich man's toys!!

Ultra Magnets.....

2011-09-19T23:04:00.001-07:00

Fridge magnets....I love 'em.....

Wherever I go, I'll try to make sure I get at least one fridge magnet from that particular place...Hehehe....

Spuds 4-Libpool 0

2011-09-18T18:45:00.001-07:00

That was a bad game!!

Can't remember when was the last time Pepe had 4 goals passed him in a game..How do you expect to battle on with on 9 men on the field. I had a strange feeling about the game before it even started and for the spuds to score 1 inside 10 minutes, I'm pretty sure that the game was lost by then. That makes it so frustrating to see. It makes it harder when Adams was sent off with about 60 minutes of playing time to be played. It'll take some effort for the 10 red men to play against a fluid Spuds side.

Anyway...the season is still long...another 33 games to go. All they need to do now is to make sure to get the maximum points available from now till May 2012. Liverpool is only 4 points better than the last team in the league and 8 points behind Man Utd after only 5 games.. The team will obviously need time to gel and things like this will happen sooner or later....

Man Utd is definitely flying and so are Man Citehhh.....I would say that, this year's Premier League champion would be either Man Utd or Man Citeh. The third place would go to Chelski and the battle for 4th place would be Arsenal, L'pool and Spurds....

Bring on Brighton!!

A casual conversation over ciggy break

2011-09-15T01:16:00.000-07:00

I just had a casual conversation with a colleague about 30 minutes ago....The conversation goes like this...

Me: Eh bro, heard that your wife's pregnant...Betul kah?

Mr T: Yeah man....(muka blank jer)

Me: So congrats la daddy-to-be

Mr T: Thanks man, but I have some worries lah...

Me: Worry pasal apa?

Mr T: Having kids nowadays means money.

Me: True...true...

Mr T: How's your kid?

Me: She's in playschool now...

Mr T: How much eh the fees?

Me: Quite a lot if you ask me. But we always have options, whether to send it to Taska or the more expensive private ones...

Mr T: I think I better start thinking of doing some savings plan for the kid lah...

Me: You should bro, and you better start now.

Mr T: I need someone to guide me a wee bit. Coz, saving money in the bank's savings account doesn't give a good return...

Me: Well, again....we have options...we have FDs, ASWs or unit trust. But if you have RM20k-RM50k now, we can start investing in shares or IPOs. Hehehehe

Mr T: hahahaha...but seriously, i need to start something lah...

Me: You do.....and I can help you a bit in making those decisions...

Before we end our 'short' conversation, we finished up 3 sticks of cigarettes (I know, I will quit next month!!). I briefed him on the options that he has especially in investing in unit trust and he seems to be interested. I told him to take his time and talk about it with his wife and make the right decision for him and his family...

I did highlight the importance of saving money and put it in a place where it can give you better returns in the future. I try not to be too technical but I did mention that the value of a RM10 now won't be the same as the value of RM10 in 5 years time.

So to be honest, we can't tell people what to do with their lives, but what we can do it show that there are a lot of ways that we can generate passive income just by saving a small portion of our income.

I hope to write about compounding and education fund later when I get back from dive trip. Hehehe

Have a good holiday everyone!!

Unipark Condo for Rent (2011-2012)

2011-09-15T00:13:00.000-07:00

Monthly rent: RM 1900
Bedrooms 4
Type: Apartments, For Rent
Size: 1252 sq.ft.
Furnished: Fully furnished
Facilities: Swimming pool, Gymnasium, Tennis court, Mini market, Covered parking, 24 hour security, Balcony/Patio

- 4 rooms + 2 bathrooms,
- Brand New unit
- Located on the 12th Floor
- Excellent view of KL,Bangi,Putrajaya
- Spacious living room. Fan at every room.
- Quiet area.

Facilities
- tight security, 1 covered parking lot, swimming pool
- Located within university area.

Near amenities
- Alamanda Shopping Mall,
- Uniten
- UPM
- UKM
- KLIUC
- Bangi/Kajang/Putrajaya/Cyberjaya all located within 20 minutes drive

Easy access to all the major highways (PLUS/SILK)

Available for rent from September 2010

Call: En Wan 0122866347

Inflation.....A threat?

2011-09-13T02:07:00.000-07:00

When I was a lot younger, my dad used to give me RM2 per day for my daily expenses at school. That's the money that I used to buy the Hotplate Mee, sirap ais and some other stuff. If I can recall correctly, when my little sister went to school in the 2000's, it was RM5 per day. It is possible that some kid will need RM10 per day in 3-4 years time. Plus...I can still remember that you can get a cigarette at 30 sen per stick in the late 90s. Nowadays, it's RM1 per stick. Heck...I know of a makcik who now sells her kuih tart nenas for RM1.50 per piece!! Imagine if you order 20 piece of tart nenas from this makcik....it'll cost you RM30!!!

To me folks, these are what I call inflation.To be a little bit more technical, it can be further defined as a rise in the general prices of foods and services in an economy over a period of time. As inflation increases, every ringgit that we own buys a smaller percentage of a product or services. In a layman's term.....our purchasing power decreases.....

The most well know measures of inflation would be CPI (Consumer Price Index), which measures the percentage change in the cost of purchasing goods and services by consumers over a period of time

Our very own inflation rate at 31st July 2011 is 3.11% as reported from tradingeconomics.com. However, it is good to note that we have to calculate our very own personal inflation rate to have a better and clearer picture as to how inflation affects us individually...

Based on what I understand, there are 2 reasons for inflation which is high demand, low supply and the rise in the production costs. Basic economic tells us that when there is a demand for a products or services but shortage of supply, the price will go up. If I can recall correctly, this is what we call demand-pull inflation. When the price of raw materials go up, production cost will increase which in turn will increase the price so that companies maintain their profit margin. Furthermore, their workers will demand higher salaries as the company will pass these costs to the consumers.

So when inflation increases, logic tells us that our purchasing power decreases. A RM1 may buy you a teh tarik 3-4 years ago but now, that's no longer the case. In fact, we may find that in general, the price of most products and services are rising by the hour. Just 2-3 days ago, it was announced that the telco's company will be charging 6% tax on the consumers. In fact, it's even worse when the interest rates going up as loans will cost more which in turn, we have to pay more.....

Hence.....how do we beat inflation (if possible)...

The ways to beat inflation that I can think of now would be:

1) Start investing in the correct investment

As we can see from the graph above, our current inflation rate is at 3.11%. So, for ease of reference, we have to be smart and ensure we invest in places that can give us better returns than 3.11%. What's the rate of return for FD nowadays? Is it 3%? So, a good place to start would be ASB, ASD and Unit Trust

2) Diversify

Almost everybody knows this rule of investing. Never, EVER, put all your eggs in one basket. In other words, you need to diversify your investments portfolio. You may have 40% property investments, 40% unit trust investments, and 20% other investments. You may also split your unit trust investments into equities or bonds or whatever....

3) Invest extra cash in hand to ASB or balance fund. Better still, invest in gold.

4) Debt management. It's time to reduce debt to a minimum level as interest rates usually increases in tandem with inflation. Perhaps, it's time to settle off those highest rate loans as quickly as possible....

So there you go, my brief thoughts on inflation. Obviously, there's more to it that I have just wrote but the bottom line is whether we like it or not, we just can't ignore the importance of saving money. Hence, do what you gotta do and have a nice day....

Hello again.....

2011-09-13T00:04:00.001-07:00

After almost a month of non-blogging, I'm now back fresher and focused. The reason that I didn't blog for the last 30 days or so was I needed some time off to reflect on things that I should and shouldn't do. It's nice to get away from things that you've been doing so often...

Anyways, lots of things has happened for the past 30 days.. and I hope it's not to late for me to wish everyone Selamat hari Raya and Maaf Zahir Batin. I had a wonderful Ramadhan and Hari Raya for me and my family was superb. It's been a long time since we as a family celebrate 'raya' together as my lil sister who's now working in the States decided to come back specifically to celebrate Eid with all of us..I hope, everyone enjoy their raya and I believe, we are still celebrating it....hehehe

So, like I said, I'm now back fresher and more focused. Rather than dwelling on petty stuff, I decided to put my head down and do things that I believe that develop myself into a better person.

Just a quick note on my property at Desa View Tower, the place is still available for rent. The current tenant will be moving out in 2 weeks time so I might need a week or so to clean/repair the place before a new tenant comes in. I realised that the place has a wee bit of a problem with the drainage system. That's always a case with apartments eh?

On my other property at Unipark Condo, the current tenant decided not to renew their agreement so the place is up for grabs for those interested. I've yet to determine the rate as yet. I would assume that the place would be ready by Nov 2011.

Alright then, hope to write again soon...see ya...and have a good day

Can I claim.......................Can I??

2011-08-18T20:11:00.000-07:00

I was browsing at some websites and found this article relating to PKR.... It's about the PKR Election Manifesto....So I took a quick look and read the manifesto and something caught my attention.

In the manifesto, it is stated that Rakyat Selangor is entitled to receive RM75 for every sons and daughters they sent to nursery. In addtion, rakyat Selangor is entitled to receive RM50 for sending their kids to Pre-school kindergartens.

Hence, I was just thinking, can I claim this entitlement? If I can, who do I get in contact with or, has anyone received any of these promises as yet?

Plus, prior to 2008, it was called Barisan Alternative and now Pakatan Rakyat. A wee bit odd isn't it when the promises were made by BA instead of PR. Anyway, hope they can fulfill the promises and I hope I can get my money soon.

Sembang2

2011-08-18T18:19:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, as I was waiting for my car to be serviced, I bump into an old friend.

It was nice to meet him again after all these years. He used to be a member of a local 'underground' band ages ago but has now became a 'successful' marketeer attached to PNB.

So there we were talking about the glory days back when we were young. Anyways, when we were talking, one of the topics that we spoke about was investment. He asks me whether I've invested before and obviously my answer was 'yes!!'.

He was saying something it's mega important to invest and spread the risk if you can and try not to focus on one particular area. He spoke at length about investing in unit trust as there one too many funds and we have to be on our toes to pick the best one that suits us.

He then laugh as we were talking about investment as he said, he never thought that one day, we will sit down and talk about investment. Those days, the only thing we speak about was music and hang out at Uptown. How time flies and he said we're definitely getting older!! Heheh

I was pleased to see him after all these years and glad he is 'happy' to be where he is now. As for me, there are things that need to be done. Obviously, I can't buy another property now so for the time being I'm focusing on maximizing Wifey's ASB. She's got a long way to go before we reach the RM200k mark but we'll get there.

To be honest, I've not been able to save as much as I wanted to as there will always be something that need to purchased or paid whenever I wanna save some savings. Hahahaha. Anyways, hope to clear out those 'debts' before the end of the year and hopefully, I can invest more in ASB and properties next year.

Some people are just born.......??

2011-08-14T20:03:00.000-07:00

This guy (apparently a foreigner ) is apparently special or just plain stupid. Welcome to Boleh Land....

A&W

2011-08-14T19:25:00.001-07:00

I went to A&W PJ last saturday with a couple of friends for sahur. :P

To be honest, I'm not a fan of A&W but I have to say, I like the root beer float and the coney dogs. Hehehe

I think there's something magical about that particular A&W outlet. If I can remember correctly, my dad used to bring me there when I was a little boy. Fast forward 2 decades later, I think, the set up of the outlet is pretty much the same as it was years ago...

It got me thinking, how does A&W compete with the other fast foods chain eh? I would assume, it'll be very difficult for them to compete especially with McD or even KFC. The prices are on the high-side. The staff are not as joy-ful as McD's or KFC's.

The services are slow in my opinion. They only open up 2 counters at that time, which I have to wait approximately 10 minutes before my orders were taken. I would think, A&W has a long, long way to go to reach the level that they are supposed to be. Well...it's up to their management to decide though...

Nyways..I enjoyed eating away those lovely coney dogs, curly fries and drinking 'em root beer floats. It certainly brings back the memories when I was 17-19 years old again....Hahaha

I took the time to 'wiki' A&W a wee bit and I was shocked to know that there's no A&W outlet in Singapore anymore. The A&W outlet in PJ was actually opened in 1965. Hence, that makes the outlet, 46 years old....Hahahaha...

Ipad

2011-08-14T18:55:00.000-07:00

After months of thinking whether or not to buy an Ipad, I finally decided to purchase one for wifey at Digital Mall, PJ yesterday. A 16GB one that costs RM1500.

Apparently the other day wifey told me that some of her friends that owns ipads were able to download their medical journals for easy reference. Hence, instead of carrying those super-sized and heavy medical books, she may now read it in Ipad. Where to download?...I have no idea as I'm not familiar with Ipad thingy!!

Anyways, I know that there are alot of education apps for kids in Ipad. So, kecik may be able to learn a thing or two from those apps (If we decide to let her play)...hahaha

So far, I've downloaded few apps that I think I can use especially in budgeting, finances, health as well as some books....Obviously, I picked the free ones at the moment....Not to forget some education games for Kecik....

I'll write more when I'm familiar enough with my latest gadget!! Well to be honest, I think I'm gonna struggle initially, but, need to keep abreast with the latest technology eh?

Have a good week ahead...

Yamaha XJ6

2011-08-10T19:22:00.000-07:00

I've been bike-less for about 2 years now.

At times, I miss being on a bike......I seriously do...

However, due to time constraint, I had to sell it off...

Anyways, as I was talking to a friend the other day, he was talking about this particular bike. Yamaha XJ6. To be honest, I don't have a clue what it looks like so I went back home and 'googled' it.

My first impression, I think the bike is nice and sexy. I've never ridden on a naked bike before (perhaps one day I will though). The price if I'm not wrong is about RM40k. Good price for a mid range bike I think....

Maybe, I'll take a test ride this Saturday at Sungai Buloh. Perhaps, after that, I'll share it here....

qoute for today

2011-08-08T23:11:00.001-07:00

''We are being attacked for defending what is rightfully ours''

Desa View Tower: To Let

2011-08-01T19:58:00.000-07:00

Desa View Tower Condo For Rent

Monthly rent: RM 950
Bedrooms: 4
Type: Apartments, For Rent
Size: 1056 sq.ft.
Furnished: Partially furnished
Facilities: Swimming pool, Gymnasium, Tennis court, Mini market, Covered parking, 24 hour security, Balcony/Patio

Details
-3+1 Rooms, 2 Bathrooms
-Access Card
-End/Corner Unit
-Recently refurbished
-One covered Car Park
-All rooms are equipped with fans
-Partly Furnished
-Easy Access to MRR2, DUKE
-Nearby facilities (shops/schools)
-Very quiet and serene environment
-The balcony faces KL city

View to appreciate and by appointment only. Pls do not hesitate to contact me at 0122866347

Availability: October 2011 onwards

Ramadhan

2011-07-31T18:03:00.001-07:00

Selamat berpuasa to everyone!!

Malaysia v Singapore ...after the game

2011-07-28T17:52:00.001-07:00

My thoughts:

1. It was brilliant to be part of the 90,000 fans singing Negaraku

2. It was wonderful to see so many Jalur Gemilang being 'flown' by the fans

3. Singaporean players are bunch of weak sissies. They fell down easily. I guess, our players are much more professional in that sense. I don't think Singapore can go far in the World Cup Qualifying

4. I was wondering why we were playing long balls and crossings on so many occassion despite the fact we have limited aerial presence up front. It was very clear to see that we don't have the height and aerial abilities to match those Singaporean defenders.

5. King Raja took a mega risk by playing that Zaquan fella and I think it back-fired.

6. The team depended a wee bit too much on Safee Sali. No doubt, he's a brilliant footballer, but there's only so much he can do.

7. Hope the team can learn something from this 'defeat' and play better the next time

8. Teruskan perjuangan mu Harimau Malaya. Agi Idup Agi Ngelaban!!

Whatever being said, I 'enjoyed' watching the game last night although it can be frustrating at times. I guess, I played a small part in the national football history. I can say that I'm part of the 90,000 people in the stadium. That's a very good crowd to be honest!! Hahahaha....

Pikir lagi........

2011-07-26T20:18:00.001-07:00

Now that I own several properties, I can no longer take up a housing loan under my name as I have so many loan commitments. Obviously with the recent Bank Negara's instruction and ruling, it makes it harder for me to purchase one or two more properties...

Hence, it got me thinking, how am I going to add a few more with all these restrictions around me. I To be honest, I would love it if I can add up a few more before I reach the age of 35. Hehehe. Anyways, I thought of using my wife's government loan to purchase at least one but decided not to as we want to save it to buy our dream home. Plus, I can have the option of using someone else's name but for me, it doesn't sound right and I yet to have the interest in using someone's name to buy a property for my own gain.

I've spoken to some friends and they say now it's not the right time to buy new properties. I don't know whether to agree or not to agree. For me, it's about having the capital and buying at the right price and right location. Of course property prices in Klang Valley especially have risen to an unbelievable level. At times when I take a look at the property listings in the media, I would shake my head in disbelief. Maybe I'm wrong but it's getting harder and harder to buy properties nowadays. One of the major cause would be the price....

So, the question is, how will I be able to add a few more properties under my belt? I was thinking the other day, should I open up a company and 'transfer' all my properties into that company? Can I do that? Is it permissible? If I'm allowed to that, maybe, just maybe, it can free up some space in my loan commitment, which will then allow me to buy another property. Errr...sounds confusing lah....Am I confusing my self? I doubt whether the bank will allow such things.

I better start putting my thinking cap on. There must be a way out of this. There must be a loophole somewhere and somehow.....

Have a good day

Hrmmm

2011-07-26T19:06:00.000-07:00

Just thinking about something not-so-important.....

9/11 was said to be committed by some Muslim Terrorist (as claimed by the western media)

What about the attack on Norway?

Malaysia v Singapore

2011-07-26T18:45:00.001-07:00

I'm sooo looking forward for tomorrow's game against them.

No doubt, we lost the first game. That defeat was hard to digest to be honest. Seriously though, I do not know what went wrong in the first half especially the young back 4. This was the same back 4 that played in the AFF Cup a couple of months ago.

Anyways, hope the boys can play better tomorrow. We'll be at home and if they believe in themselves and keep a positive mentality, they'll progress.

It's gonna be difficult to score 2 goals but I think they can do it. We don't mind losing but please, at least with dignity lah. Do your best and hopefully we'll succeed.

So go out there, play your hearts out yaa..

Good luck Harimau Malaya!!

How I managed to save RM40 a month

2011-07-19T01:08:00.001-07:00

Easy....

I wash my own car. Nowadays, averagely it'll cost about RM10 to wash your car. So, assuming there's 4 weeks in a month, and you wash your car every week, you can save RM40 per month. That's RM480 per year. If you put that amount in your ASB you'll get about RM38 (assuming a div of 8%)....

Another good thing of washing your own car is that, it can be a good exercise for you. It's not easy to be honest. At least 1 hour of 'working out'.... Hahahaha. You'll appreciate your car more if you wash it yourself.....

Have a good day......

Ha?...Max speed of 242km/h?.......

Not another Dive trip

2011-07-18T18:20:00.000-07:00

Hahaha,

Yup!! It was another great dive trip for me. Again, it was in Tioman. Some might ask why Tioman? my answer will be the cost factor. It's cheaper.........:P

Anyways, the only difference this time was, I dive with Sealantis. It was the first time that I joined em. A good friend of mine wanted to do his Advance Open Water course with Sealantis so that was how I ended up there. Hehehe

I had a great time to be honest. Diving with new people and obviously got to meet new friends along the way. I even managed to talk some serious issues with one of Paya Beach Resort Management team who happens to be a nice Singaporean chap. It was great to hear his ideas on making the place better than what it is now. That's what I call continuous improvement. Obviously, I hope to learn a thing or two from him. We can never stop learning kan?

Anyways, back to diving, I did a total of 7 dives including 1 night dive. I've been to most dive sites bar one, Sawadee Wreck. It's a deep dive of about 30 meters. The vis wasn't great as it reminded me of Pulau Sembilan and we were at the bottom for less than 15 minutes. Not bad lah.

Oh by the way, I tested my recently purchased regulators and I'm deeply happy with the performances. It was a good investment to be honest!! Heheheheh...

Since ramadhan is coming up real soon, I would think that this was the last trip to Tioman this year. It'll be difficult to dive after Raya as most of us will be busy with open house and stuff. Before we know it, it'll be October and that's when the monsoon starts! Perhaps, it's a good time to plan to dive in Sipadan or Raja Ampat or Pulau Weh.....hehehehe

Anyways, enjoy the pics...

Some strange looking fish

Myself and Funny (Sealantis Instructor)

Lion Fish

Some flathead fish I found during the night dive

Yup...yours truly

Have a good week everyone!!

10 Central Midfielders?...

2011-07-06T17:45:00.000-07:00

Currently, Liverpool FC has loads of CMs. Names like Raul Meireles, Steven Gerarrd, Lucas, Spearing and Alberto Aquilani should ring a bell. DOn't forget Jonjo Shelvy and that new kid Jordan Henderson as well. That's like 7 top class central midfielders chasing 2 spots in the first eleven (if King Kenny decides to play 4-4-2). Ohh...not to forget that Danish dude...Poulsen.......plus Joe Cole......

And now.....Charlie Adams, seems to be the latest addition to the squad. To be honest, I'm happy that this dude will be coming to the team. So, the team now has 10 CMs in the team. That's something that other team should be envy of....hehehehe..

Kenny will have some mega thinking to do in re-shuffling the midfield areas. Of course, new people brings new ideas and different style of play. Adams for me, can be the 'Vinnie Jones' of Liverpool. The team needs someone to be the hardman. It used to be Mascherano but after he left, the job was left to Lucas & Spearing at times. Obviously I'm not a fan of Blackpool but at times when I got to watch Blackpool plays, this guys seems to be the heart of the team. Not bad for a one time Rangers-reject eh?

Having said that, I'm excited to see the variable options that the team now have. Quite solid on paper though. To be honest, I'm glad to see Aquaman back to Liverpool. I think, he's a better player than Raul. Maybe, 3 of the 9 players will have to go. If it's up to me, then, Poulsen, Cole and Raul should go. At least, these 3 players in my opinion still has some values in them.

Anyways, if Liverpool can put another 2 additions especially a back up striker and a solid left back, I would think that Liverpool can actually compete with the top 5 teams next season. Now that Insua has come back from Turkey, he should be a good back up to Fabio. (Not konchesky though...he's just not good enough to be playing for Liverpool).

I can't wait till the season starts though and obviously, looking forward the boys here in KL in 2 weeks time...Maybe, it's good time to start believing again......and I can't help to say that Roy Hodgson is an idiot...hahaha

Replacing the strap

2011-07-06T01:05:00.001-07:00

One of my most trusted diving equipment is my dive comp. It helps me to measure the time of my dives as well as the depth. Almost after every dive, I'll check my dive comp to see my dive profile i.e whether I'm ascending too fast or too slow. Basically, it helps me in improving my diving skills for each dive as each dive is different (even though you've dive the same spot but it'll different experience each time)

Prior March this year, my last dive was at Pulau Sembilan and after that trip, my D4 strap somehow 'broke' or snapped into two. Hence, with the help of cable ties, I managed to tie it back together and use it. Initially, I refuse to buy a new set of strap cause it was expensive in the first place. Hence, I kept on using it for the next couple of trips until the strap keep on snapping from one side to another and can't be used anymore. No amount of cable ties can help in fixing the straps.

So, during the Dive Expo, I managed to grab a replacement strap, which was obviously cheaper than the price available at some stores. I didn't bring the dive comp with me during the expo hence, decided to send the dive comp together with the strap to a scuba shop in hartamas. The dude told me that it'll take them 5-6 days to replace the straps as the tech-man was away in Bali and will only be back next week. I said, I can't afford to wait till next week as I wanna use it this weekend. So, he asks me to check another shop which was about 10 minutes walking distance. Hence, I went there and met the shop rep and he told me, he can't do it as he ain't got the tools. At this time, I was a bit pissed and wondering why bother opening up a shop that can't help a customer's simple and straight forward request.

I then made my way to the office and went to an old-fashion watch shop and bought some tools so that I can replace the strap myself. And guess what, the tools only costs me RM10. HAhahaha. In the end, I spent almost 10 minutes to replace 'em straps. Quite a straight forward thingy to be honest....hahaha. At times, some things you just have to do it yourselves....eh??

Dive again!!...

2011-07-05T19:33:00.000-07:00

I'm looking forward for another dive trip over the weekend....

Can't actually wait to try my new regulator set that I ordered from the States. It took almost 3 weeks before the stuff arrived safely at my home. Prior to this, I've been using a 'beginner-level' set of regulator and I felt the time has come to upgrade to a better regulator.

By the way, over the weekend, I made my way to PWTC to attend the Dive Expo that was held for the 6th time. Obviously met some friends and fellow divers and along the way made new friends as well.

I thought the event was good and there were many booths that were selling discounted products!! I even managed to grab some stuff that I was looking for a long-long time. I did ask wifey to be a diver but due to her time constraint she can only do it after completing her masters.

Anyways, like I said, I can't wait to wake up to a view like this in the morning. With everything that has been going around like crazy nowadays, I need to take a step back and re-charge myself. Who knows, I might change profession and be a professional diver one day. Hahahah. I'm seriously considering of going to Sipadan as I've never been there before. I'm planning to go there before the year ends. Some of my friends has asks me join 'em to dive trip in Bali but I can't make it this year. Maybe some other time lah....

This pic was taken from a friend who bought the same mask as I did....:)

Poseidon X-Stream

Anyways, originally, I planned to take up the EFR & Rescue course by PADI this month, but somehow my instructor has vanished into thin air. Hahaha. Perhaps, it's time for me to look for other instructor or maybe I will talk to the dive centre this week and see how it goes lah...

Have a good day everyone....

Bersih ka?

2011-07-03T18:57:00.001-07:00

I have a lot of thoughts with regards to this BERSIH thingy.

I'm somewhat confused as to what good does it bring to the country?

I'm still wondering, why do they insist in doing it in KL? I mean, why can't they do it somewhere like Batu Arang or Kota Bharu or Melor or Seberang Jaya or Gajah Mati or any where else except KL. Even worse, they wanna start in Kampung Baru. Mau cari pasal ka apa nih?

For me, we can shout, we can demo all we want until the cows come home. I believe, this country has all the opportunities for those who works hard and knows what he or she wants. It's just a matter of working hard and smart to get it.

Let's not kid ourselves pretending that all of us are living under oppression from the govt. Are we? We've progressed leaps and bounds for the last 30 years and yet some of us are unhappy. Funny at the same time amused. Especially when we talked about a party that supposedly fight for Islam but made a U-turn to be 'in-line' with some other party. I'm sorry and I might sound biased, but I've yet to see any positive developments made by the opposition parties to the betterment of the country as a whole. All I can see was street demo, inflicting hatred and match shouting.

Anyways, not gonna dwell so much about that, but the most important thing is, kalau nak ubah sesuatu benda tu, ubahlah diri sendiri dulu. Majukan diri sendiri dulu. Kalau ilmu tak cukup, pegi belajar lagi. Solat jgn lupa. Doa pun jgn lupa. Usaha pun jgnlah dilupakan.

Have a good day everyone...

Chinese Taipei vs Malaysia

2011-07-03T18:49:00.001-07:00

Saw both games and this is what I can sum it all up.

LUCKY

The Malaysian team was lucky to progressed to the next round. These supposedly professionally paid Malaysian players can't even beat a team that consist of amateurish status players.

Well, having said that, there're still room for improvements. Obviously we have a long way to go before we can qualify for the world cup. I guess, the majority of us can accept any defeats but the most important thing is to lose with dignity.

Last night's performances was mixed. The team played well in patches but our backline concentrations were bad and awful. 3 penalties in a game?

King Raja, you've done well for the last couple of years and keep it going ya!!

I'm looking forward for the next game against Singapore. That'll be an interesting game. First of all, we should beat them. By hook or by crook...hehehe..

Anyways, have a nice week ahead...

Olympic Qualifying....

2011-06-23T18:26:00.000-07:00

Went to the stadium to watch the young tigers against Lebanon last night.

Alhamdulillah we won the game by the scruff of the neck. Pretty lucky too to be honest.

It was good to see so many people at the stadium despite the fact it wasn't the national team was playing. Nevertheless, I thought, it was a good turnout...

I'm looking forward to go watch the national team next week against Taiwan. Hope we can play well enough to meet Singapore in the next round....

Have a good weekend....

Zulkifli Nordin....I salute you

2011-06-22T17:41:00.000-07:00

I like this guy. I really do.....

Been following his blogs and speeches for quite awhile now....His blog posting yesterday pretty sums up what I felt about what's going on in the country for the past few days.

Anyway....here's what he wrote....

KOTOR 2: POLITIK JALANRAYA

Kalau benar tak bersih
bagaimana mereka menang 5 negeri
nafikan dua pertiga majoriti
boleh jadi montori besau laie!

Kalau benar tak bersih
letak lah jawatan
bubarkan dewan
biar rakyat tentukan!

Diberi stadium tidak mahu
appointment dengan Istana
langsung tiada yang tahu
SPR ajak bincang ditolak tanpa malu

Apa niat mereka?
Mahu berhimpun dijalanraya
mereka tidak berminat dengan pilihanraya
tetapi politik rimba dijalanraya

biar berlaku rusuhan
lagi bagus ada tangkapan
dan tembakan
lalu mereka akan melaung melolong
ini kerajaan zalim perlu dijatuhkan
dataran tahrir mahu di ulangkan
taktik rusuhan mahu diciplakkan

agar hanyir DNA bisa tenggelam
agar jam Omega tidak kedengaran
agar China-doll dilupakan
karung kunyit Saiful dikambuskan
mahu saja Eskay dihapuskan
dan videoklip dipadamkan
agar belalai terus bisa memuntahkan!

Kita menentang bukan kerana mereka Hindu!
Kita menentang bukan kerana mereka Melayu!
Kita menentang bukan kerana mereka Cina, Kadazan atau Bidayuh!
Kita menentang bukan kerana keagamaan,
atau api-api perkauman

Tetapi kita menentang mereka
kerana mereka pengkhianat & petualang
yang mahu memporak-perandakan negara
meliwat keamanan kaum berbilang
merakus Putrajaya secara haram!

bila rusuhan Melayu pasti kesusahan
bila kekacauan Cina pasti keperitan
bila gangguan India pasti kedukaan
ini bukan soal agama
atau perkauman
tetapi soal keamanan & keselamatan

bangkitlah rakyat tentanglah petualang
bangunlah umat cegah kemungkaran
bangunlah Melayu suarakan bantahan
bangunlah Cina pertahankan keharmonian
bangunlah India pastikan keamanan
jangan dibiar para petualang
jangan dibenar politikus jalang
menyepak terajang
tamadun yang cemerlang
negara yang terbilang

Bersatu rakyat
berpadu umat
menghapuskan maksiat
menentang politik lalat
jangan biar diri diperalat
oleh pendendam kesumat
politikus musibat!

taken from Zulkifli Nordin

Plateau.......

2011-06-20T06:20:00.000-07:00

Do you know what's the meaning of the word plateau?

It has a few meanings and one of 'em is 'a level of attainment or achievement'

I have a strange feeling that I've reached a plateau. To be honest, I'm not. I'm not even half way in getting where I want to be.

I need to start doing different things to speed up my journey to my aims. Obviously, things that I've planned for 2011 is still going on but I felt I could do things better.

It's already June and 6 months of 2011 has passed, I've yet to purchase a property. It seems every time I had the funds, the money is being used to pay something else. Strange but as the saying goes..ada saja halangannya.....

Time for some thinking, re-organizing my method of doing things....

Graduated after all these years....

2011-06-20T06:16:00.000-07:00

My younger brother just graduated from OUM!!

Wooohooooooooo!!

Congrats bro!!

All of us are proud with your efforts and dedication for the past few years in getting yourself a degree!!

Now you know that everything's possible in life provided we are willing to work towards it, go and seek new adventures and dreams!!

Another maid?

2011-06-15T20:00:00.000-07:00

Just got ourselves a maid the other day.

Paid few thousand to the agent. I'm few thousand poorer this week. :(. In fact, I've paid another few thousand for kecik's school fees.....huhu......Funny how you struggled to save money for months but you can actually finish it within 10 seconds with a stroke of pen!!

Anyways, I've had so many bad experience with these maids. Most of 'em ran away. If I recall, I've spent almost RM21k to get these maids all these years.

They worked for about 6 months before they decided to run away. Identical cases most of the time.

Anyways, it's kinda difficutl that i'm working and wifey's working, so there's no one to mend the house as well as taking care of kecik after school. Mom's getting old and obviously she need someone to help her doing the house chores.

I really pray to Allah that she will be a good maid. At least, stick with us for 2 years at least.

Amin Ya Rabb

Just a chat....

2011-06-15T19:45:00.000-07:00

I was with a friend last night chatting about our glorious post high-school days.

It's funny to think about those wonderful memories when you were 17-18 years old. No problems and nothing to think about. Life for me at that time was, empty. I woke up at 10am, lepak, play football and then lepak again till 3-4am in the morning at Uptown, Damansara. Nothing better to do. Work? Why work I thought to myself. I was waiting for my SPM result at that time, so I just wanna do nothing at all. Like I said....life was wonderful.

Money? Who needs money when you're 17 years old. I don't need to spend RM10 to play football like most kids nowadays are paying. I played in a proper field with real grass and stones. Not in a hall. I don't have fancy boots. At that time, if I can remember correctly, I wore a Patrick Cosmos and boot Fung Keong. I thought they were brilliant pair of football boots.

Handphones? I don't even know what it was at that time. How times have changed eh? My daughter now likes to play games on my phone as well as the missus. I'm thinking of getting her an Ipod so that she won't touch our phones ever!!

Anyway, back to the topic, this friend told me, life's getting complicated. With the bills to pay, children's education, bla bla bla....Stuff that a normal human being should be worried about. I said, yeah.....I agree with everything he said. Nothing is easy nowadays but at least, we can control our lives. He was asking me, what shall he do if he has RM20k in his wallet.

Well, being a good fried, my reply was....put RM15k in ASB lah. The other RM5k, you can buy urself, your wife or kid a good insurance coverage. You might even have extra cash to be invested in Unit Trust. Hehehehe.

Basically, my answer was very simple. It all depends on what you want in the future. It's kinda hard to help if you don't know what you want, but at least, have an aim. Then work towards it.

Life's never been easy and never will. But, if you can control your life, you can make it a wee bit easier. hehehee

Have a good day

The roads to Kota Bharu and back

2011-06-12T19:10:00.000-07:00

I was in Kota Bharu a week ago to attend to my wife's cousin's akad nikah.

Just like any other akad nikah that i've attended, things went pretty well....

But I must say, driving to Kota Bharu was indeed an experience for me. I've ridden my bike to KB a couple of times before, but I've never driven on a car before. I guess, riding on a bike gives me a better 'pleasure' in enjoying the journey to KB

I do wonder, how does some of these Kelantanese in KL folks can afford to spend at least 7 hours drive to go back to their hometown each year...

To be honest, I didn't enjoy the journey. The roads from Bentong leading up to Kuala Lipis at times, can be a life threatening journey with all the lori balaks and not to forget the express buses. Huhu...Not a good experience at all.

From Lipis to Gua Musang is another long winding road with full of twist and turns. No wonder the road is so famous with the record number of accidents in the country. Imagine if there's an accident, you'll be stucked there for hours and hours (which actually happened during our journey back from Tanah Merah)

Anyways, I made a mistake (yes I did) in following the GPS that was installed in my car. It was supposedly to be up-to-date but for some strange reason or another, it lead me from Bentong to Cameron Highland instead to Lipis. But I enjoyed that road to be honest as the scenery can be beautiful at times, plus, it was wide and not as dangerous as the Bentong-Lipis road.

Wifey was obviously pissed, but we decided to have some tea up in Cameron anyways. It's not everyday you got 'lost' and end up in Cameron. Hehehehehe. We were stucked up the in Cameron for about 2 hours as the place was full of cars and people. At times, I was stucked behind the lori sayur and can't seem to overtake 'em due to the winding roads and blank corners.....

The road from Cameron to Gua Musang is nice. Good big roads I must say. Suddenly I felt, this could be a wonderful ride if I still have my Royal Star with me. Hehehehehhe. It took us about an hour and a half to reach Gua Musang town. During the short stop, I made a quick call to a friend asking him how long it would take us to KB from Gua Musang. He said, it could 2 or 3 hours drive.......WTF??

ANyways, Gua Musang-KBroad is another challenge (for me anyways). With all the cars, trucks and lorries, it makes the drive interesting and uninteresting, nerve-wrecking at times. Hahahahaha.....There are some areas that I can hit the accelerator, but at times, you are only driving at 50km/h. Seriously though, these places need a nice highway like PLUS or LPT.

We reached KB right after maghrib, and I was glad to be able to reach KB in one piece. Hehehehe. That's how I felt anyways. We stayed at a place near Wakaf Che Yeh and that place is all action when the night comes. Luckily we didn't have to drive to go to WCY. It took us about 5 minutes walk and spent both nights walking around the pasar malam. I do find it strange when 1 in 3 of the stalls in WCY sells the exact same things.

The akad nikah and bersanding ceremony was ok and the food was good too. I wish the newly weds to have a very successful and happy life together...

So, on Sunday, we left Tanah Merah at a bout 2.30pm and reached Gua Musang at about 5pm. It was raining quite heavily at that time. I took a quick look at my twitter account for some traffic update and true enough, there was an accident at the Gua Musang-Lipis road. I then decided to use the Gua Musang-Simpang pulai highway to 'bypass' the accident hoping to escape the traffic madness at Lipis. Not forgetting, I made the assumption that Karak will be super-chocked with traffic by the time we arrive there. Hehehehe

So, after spending about 2 and half hours in Gua Musang-Simpang Pulai road, after witnessing 2 accidents where both cars went inside the drains, we arrived at the Simpang Pulai PLUS toll. I thought everything was hunky-dory but to my suprised, the traffic was heavy. We haven't reached Tapah as yet and we were moving at 40km/h. To be honest, this traffic thingy was driving me mad and I managed to look at the traffic update in my twitter stating PLUS highway traffic is bad from Tapah to Slim River. HUH!!! Gilakah? I do wonder, why am I paying ridiculous amount of my hard earned money to pay the toll just to be stucked on the highway for hours and hours.

I then ask wifey to call her uncle in Kampung Gajah whether he's at home or not. Luckily he's at home and I then exited the highway at Tapah. After a short stop for dinner at Tapah little town, we arrived at her uncle's place slightly before 10pm. I was wrecked to be honest. I just wanna have a nice bath and sleep....I can't help thinking, the traffic is getting worse and worse in the country...there's no solution I think....the only solution is just to stay at home and watch TV....hahahhaha

Anyways, we woke quite early and had some wonderful capati for breakfast. We were on the road at 9am and reached home at 11am on Monday.

That was some journey for me. An experience indeed.....and.....an experience I wished to not experience again...ever!!....hahaha

Have a good day

Tioman 27-30th May

2011-06-06T23:05:00.000-07:00

Yup...Went to Tioman again for a nice and leisurely diving trip with the family this time around.

Initially, my brother in law was supposed to follow but since his fiance decided to be in the city for the weekend, he bailed out and a good friend of mine followed us instead...

I'm so happy that finally wifey and my daughter decided to tag along with me to Tioman. I've always wanted to bring them along so that they can see the beauty of the island.

Obviously, both of them were very impressed with the crystal clear waters and cheap foods and accomodation. My daughter can't believed when she swam among the fish so near to the beach. Hahahaha...

Anyways, we enjoyed the trip very much. Obviously, we will be heading there again sometime soon. Plus, puasa month is coming up thick and fast so, we'll have about a month and a half of diving time. Huhuhu...

Enjoy the pics

Kecik with her new found friend, nacho libre

wifey and kecik enjoying the sea

me looking frustrated of not being able to dive later that night......

wonderful vis down there

me playing around...

During SI at teluk bakau...

Have a good day

Phewww....

2011-06-06T19:35:00.000-07:00

I've been on the road for the past 2 weeks..

First it was a trip down south to Mersing and Tioman with wifey and my daughter...

Then, last weekend, again with the missus, we went to Kota Bharu to attend to her cousin's wedding....

I'm a wee bit tired with all the traveling to be honest. Will write about the Tioman trip later..

Anyways, I've been reading a few blogs regarding our political scenario for the last 2 days. I've said it before and I'm gonna say it again, these politicians need to shut their mouths and start working for the people. Enough of name-calling, bad mouthing stuff lah....Please be a little bit more matured..

anyhoos...have a good week everyone...

Weight Issues

2011-05-24T18:35:00.000-07:00

Wow...can't believed that it's been more then a year since I've started to shred the pounds!!

From almost 90kg and now about 74-75kg.

For the past few months, I have to confessed though, I've not been doing stuff that I should be doing. I mean, I do jog but not as often as I would like to.

Anyway, I'm still adjusting to my new schedule though. Last year I had a maid who attends to Kecik's needs 24/7 but now she has gone missing, I had to do it though. It's kinda hard to exercise when you need to put some attention to your kid to be honest....

Now I can only jog or run when wifey comes home early from her work. If she has to work over-time, so, there will be no exercise for me. I'll try to exercise as much as I can on the weekends though.

I'm thinking of getting myself a professional personal trainer. It's not that I'm not happy with the way I am now but I thought I could do a lot better. Need to tone up a bit in my opinion...

Anyhoos, let's see how it goes.....

Have a good day

6th Sense.....

2011-05-23T20:02:00.000-07:00

So....my beloved team, Liverpool finished the league at 6th position with 58 points.

That's 22 points adrift from the Red Idiots!!. Liverpool need to win 7 matches and a draw to get the same points as the Mancs!!

That's how bad Liverpool was this season. Initially, I thought Liverpool would be fighting relegation by thanks to King Kenny, to finish 6th after an abysmal start is an achievement.

Now that the Red Idiots has kicked Liverpool off its perch, Liverpool needs to buck up and start targeting for a Champions League placing next season. The team now needs 2-3 new faces. Ashley Young, Downing, Cahill and Shawcross comes to my mind of the potential players that could improve the squad. Clear-out the dead-woods such Poulsen and Cole. Perhaps, the team also need to have a reliable back-up striker something that the Red Idiots always have (Chicarito, Ole Gunnar)

Riena's seemed to be staying so the team now has a safe and reliable pair of hands.

Apart from Carra-hoof and Soto, the defends looks pretty convincing. The two young fullbacks have a lot of promise and if the King continue to develop 'em, we could witness something special.

Lucas has been a revelation in my opinion. Certainly he has improved and the way he controls the play is sometime a joy to watch. Perhaps, he needs to have someone equally good or better to partner him in the middle of the field to dictate the play next season. Gerard to me fits the bill and he hasn't been himself all season for me. The midfield area perhaps need to have a creative wide-men like Downing or Ashley Young to vary the play a wee bit.

On the attacking front, on paper, it looks like the team has a good pair of strikers but it hasn't been working effectively apart from the Man Citeh game. Obviously, it'll take time and next season could be interesting to watch how Andy and Suarez play together. Silently, I would prefer, Kuyt and Suarez upfront as both has bundle of energy and can run until the end of the match....

Every team I think would need a good bench and with the players that the team has now, the bench looks promising, but not as good as Man Utd or Chelski.

Anyways, it has been an interesting season. Roy Hodgson as a manager was a very bad decision and not to mention the owners were shite...

Can't wait for the next season to start though...

Bring it on...

YNWA

The memoirs of....

2011-05-23T18:18:00.001-07:00

Hey peeps...

It's been awhile eh?

I know I've not been updating my wee blog for quite awhile. Sometimes, I feel like writing and at times, I don't feel like doing it at all....It depends on my mood....hehehe

Anyways, I've been a lil busy for the last 2-3 weeks. On most weekends, the golf courses were my second home. Wifey's not happy about that but.....I enjoyed the games....

Last night, as Kecik was busy playing with the computer, I pick up a book from my dad's library. The title of the book is 'The Memoirs of Rashid Maidin: From Armed Struggle to Pe ace.

I've never been a believer in the communist ideology but I find the book interesting to read. Obviously, Mr Rashid has his own believes and views especially in the communist ideology. It doesn't matter what I think though.

I managed to complete reading the book before I went to sleep. It was only 100 pages, hence, it only took me about an hour's plus to finish reading it.

Like I said, it was a good read and it gives me the different view of what it is like to be a communist. I do not know what it is like to have lived during that era but I'm pretty sure, we won't been able to enjoy life as it is now if our government and soldiers did not go to war with them or, if the communist had their way in running the country. So to all the soldiers who fought the CPM, I would say, thank you sir!!

The communist era is an important piece of dark history of our country. It needs to be shared and taught in schools and stressed on the importance to not let it happen again...ever!!!

I have a strange feeling about what's happening in our country now though. Something tells me something is not right somewhere. It looks fine on the surface but beneath it, only God knows....

Anyways, I'm off for another diving trip this weekend. This time, I'll be bringing Kecik and wifey along. Heheheh

Have a good week......

Get well soon Tun

2011-05-18T19:50:00.001-07:00

Heard and read the news that Tun Mahathir was warded to IJN yesterday...

Get well soon Tun....

34

2011-05-08T19:58:00.001-07:00

I'm officially 34 years old as at Saturday.

How do I feel? Well to be honest, I felt great and thankful that I've been given the opportunity to lead the life that I'm living now. Of course, it could be better and I'm pretty sure more good things will come in the future.

No birthday celebrations, no blowing-off candles and no surprise party like last year. This year was just about reflecting my achievement that I've achieved so far. Not to forget things that I shouldn't be doing.

I still believe that I can do and achieve more that what I've already got.

Anyways, I bought myself a nice watch for my birthday. Nothing fancy though. After my initial watch was stolen by the run-away maid a couple of years ago, I refused to buy one that's expensive. I really loved the watch you know. Again, it was a present that I bought for myself for passing my MBA with flying colors. It was a Tag Heuer Aquaracer. No point of pondering what's has happened in the past lah kan.

So, last week, I went to the watch shop and bought myself a reasonable and nice watch for myself. Not as expensive as the Tag though but still, it's a good brand.

Have a good day......

A visit to PNB

2011-04-26T20:13:00.000-07:00

Earlier today, I went to PNB with wifey. She lost her ASB book for some strange reason. I think, it has been a year since I last went there. Maybe more....Hehehehe.

So we were at PNB about 9am and the place was practically empty except us. .... I would've thought that the place will be full of people. Nevertheless, we proceeded to the counter and she got replacement book after paying RM20.

Since I was there, I spoke briefly to one of the staff about ASW & ASD. Since I can't open up an ASB account for kecik as she is only 4 years old, I decided to open up ASW account for her. Infact, the staff told me that I have 2 options for kecik. Either open up Amanah Saham Didik or Amanah Saham Wawasan. She suggested that I go for ASW as it is 'easier' to get and the dividend given for both funds is more or less the same i.e. 6% (for the last 3 years, the average div was 6.55%).

So, as a start, I invested Rm200 in ASW for kecik. I've yet to decide on how much I would like to save every month in her ASW but as I always said, a little bit of everything can be good in the long run. Maybe, just maybe when she turns 12 in a couple of years time, I might change her funds to ASB.

As I was on my way back to the office, I was thinking that we are very lucky to have such facilities & opportunities to save and get reasonable returns in the long run. I would think that it's a waste if we don't use the opportunity to improve our wealth a bit or at least, to have something for the future especially when we are talking about retirement plans as well as the well being of our children.

Of course, we can't guarantee what will happen to us in the future but what we can do is to be well prepared and keep on improving.

Have a good day

e-filing LHDNM

2011-04-26T00:49:00.000-07:00

I've just submitted my tax returns for 2010 via e-filing a couple of minutes ago. How easy it is now to submit your tax returns kan?

To be honest, I thought I've forgotten my password but after a quick search in my tax file I managed to get in to the site after one try. See, how important it is to have a sticky note in your personal file. Hehehehe

Anyways, for the past 2 years, I waited till the 30th day of April before I decided to submit the returns and at both times, I would 'struggle' to submit the returns via e-filing as most of us would submit at the last possible time. Hence, it will create a bottleneck effect where there's so much information coming in at a time.

So this time, I've decided to submit a wee bit earlier than 30th April and within minutes I managed to fill in the necessary boxes. I need to get wifey to file her returns tonight lah.

Glad I've done my part and hopefully I'm gonna hear some good news from the taxmen.

Have a good day

.......another dive trip.......

2011-04-24T20:25:00.000-07:00

Yup........Went to Tioman again over the weekend for a diving trip (what else lah kan?)

Had a fun outing with good companies and friends.....The most important thing is....I enjoyed myself and all of us had a great laugh about the entire trip.

Did 5 dives to places all of us have never been before such as Gua Layang and Letak Hitam. The vis was great at both dive sites and we experienced thermocline twice in a day. That was fun considering I only had my rash-guard and my shorts instead of wearing wetsuits. The current was strong as well at times.

We also went to Labas and Sepoi. I enjoyed Labas. Spotted my first ever nudibranch on my own without the help of the others. Hehehehe. Can't remember the name of the nudibranch but I was glad that I found it. It was small to be honest. The length was about 2cm.

Sepoi is another interesting dive site as the current was a wee bit strong down there. Spotted a titan trigger fish during my descent. What a way to start the dive eh?. It was big to be honest!! Luckily it didn't attack us. Hehehe. Sighted a nurse shark as well as some blue-spotted sting-rays and moray eels.

I managed to do only 1 night dive and was glad that I did it. Spent about 64 minutes underwater. Managed to spot a lion fish, loads of puffer-fish, cuttlefish, a small octupus and lots of other strange creatures that cannot be seen during the day. Heheheh.

All in all, I enjoyed the trip and had fun. This was my 2nd dive trip in a month. Hehehehe. To be honest, I'm thinking of having another trip next month. Hahahaha..

Some of the pics were taken for my friends and some were taken by myself using my ever reliable BB. Enjoy the pics

On my way

On the ferry at 1am

The jetty in the morning

The view from the cafe

All set

It took us about an hour to reach Gua Layang

Myself......

Batfish

Blue spotted

The party has begun

Bubbles

Me....enjoying the sunset...

Have a good week ahead

Not the primrose path

2011-04-20T18:09:00.000-07:00

Earlier this morning, while I was sending my other half to work, wifey told me about a blog titled Not the Primrose Path. She was mentioning about how the writer who was suffering from cancer lived his life. He passed away last December (Al-Fatiha). He was a medical doctor (as stated in his blog).

So, before I started working today, I went over to the net and search his blog. Found it and for the first time after 2 years, for reasons unknown to me, my tears can't stop flowing especially after looking at his picture performing his prayers on the bed with the mask on his face. That's a powerful picture I have to be honest. I'm humbled and it made me realized how lucky some of us are having reasonable & good health.

I will read the rest of his blog when I'm free later.

Thanks sayang for introducing me the wonderful blog.....

I pray that Allah bless his wonderful soul.

Filling System

2011-04-20T02:29:00.000-07:00

As I was wondering on what to write about earlier today, suddenly I gazed at my filling cabinet and saw some of my personal files. And then, it struck me that how important it is to have a reasonable filling system for your future reference.

It's an odd topic to talk about but to a certain degree I think it's a very important one as it helps you greatly in minimizing the hassles of finding documents, especially the important ones when you need it.

Right, let's get straight to the point. Why does a systematic filling system helps you in the long run?

1) It saves you time
2) Minimizing the hassles of looking for documents
3) Helps you being a wee bit more efficient
4) You know where and what you are looking for when it matters

There are a lot more reasons on why you should have a proper filling system but those stated above are the obvious ones for me.

When I started working way back in 1999, I used to file everything in one 'ABBA' file. It includes the bank statements, P45, P60, Salary Slips, Credit Card EPF, tax, insurance, ASB, etc..

As time went on, I had to create a file specifically for the Credit Card bills, since I owned about 5 credit cards at one time.

When I first started buying a property, I told myself that I need to create a folder/file specifically for 'Property'. At that time, I have no interest in purchasing more properties as my income was pretty limited. When I took home the S&P agreements and stuff, it was clear that I need to file it properly.

Again, as time went on and as I progressed, I began to purchase more properties via auction as well as sub-sale. Hence, there was a need for me to have separate files for each properties that I bought. Now that I have a few properties, I told myself that I need a small cabinet to put all those files. Everything about a particular property such as the agreements, the maintenance fees, amount due, amount received, etc is clearly filed according to their dates. In fact, I have a summary of payments made for every month for each property so that it'll be easier for me to track my monthly expenses.

Up till today, I have a cabinet that is full with my personal files. Each of them are clearly marked such as properties, Unit Trust/ASB/AHB, Insurance, Credit Cards, ASTRO, Motor Vehicles, Loans & Bank Statements, Alya's School and of course, EPF. I'll make sure that everything is being arranged according to the latest dates so that it's easier for me to look for a particular document in the future.

I dread to think what would happen if I don't have a proper documentation system of my own. I know of some people that couldn't be bothered to file their own bank statements let alone their Salary slips. It certainly have helped me in so many ways. For example, although I seldom do it, with proper filling, I can reconcile my bank statements whenever I have the time.

In this particular period of time where everything must be in documented in black and white, a proper filling system helps a lot especially when there's a dispute. You might think that it won't happen but when it does happen, at least, you're prepared for it.

I do not know whether everyone's doing it or not, but what I do know is, it has helped me to be a little bit more systematic and in control. To be honest, it's not a rocket science kinda stuff. It's about putting things at the right places so that when the time comes, you can easily search it.

Have a nice day

Unit trust investment

2011-04-17T20:23:00.000-07:00

I made an additional unit trust investment again this morning through my Account I in EPF.

So far, I've made my unit trust investments in 4 different funds and at this current moment, the performances for the funds looks encouraging. To be honest, all my investments are being invested in Islamic-based funds.

Obviously, unit trust is a long-term investments and usually we can see the returns in 5 years time. So, now the waiting game begins and hopefully, it'll bring some returns.

I still remember when I made my first investment in 2008. I started with RM5.5k and over the next year and a half my total investment was about RM15k. In Aug 2010 I decided to 'close' the funds and received a return of about RM4k. Not bad lah kan?

So, for the time being, I'll invest in unit trust using my Account I with the aim to 'boost' my EPF savings in the long run.

Some of my friends has asks me whether is it safe to invest in unit trust? I would say, it's another form of investment and you are diversifying your investments by investing in unit trust. After all, you're investing with your EPF money. Rather than keeping in EPF and get about 5%-6% dividend, might as well, invest a little bit in UT to get better returns and boost your EPF savings in the long run. Hehehehe

Anyways, just remember to 'Never put all your eggs into one basket'.

Have a good week ahead....

MMO.......

2011-04-17T18:25:00.000-07:00

I spent two days last week at the wonderful KLGCC to watch the Malaysian Open.

I was lucky enough on the first day to be able to follow Charl Schwartzel, Noh (Defending Champ) and Louis Oosthuizen (2010 British Open Champion). Seeing these pros playing their magnificent golf is something that I will remember for a long-long time. Well, it's not everyday that the Master's Champion is in town kan? Anyway, I followed them for about 11 holes before I decided to head out and fetch Kecik from school. On the way out, I managed to hang out for a couple of minutes at the range to see Rory McIlroy hitting few balls. Man, I love the way he swings the club.....

Johan Edfors

Jeev Milkha Singh (Nice swing!!). Matteo Mannasero (this year's champion) was in the same flight as well.

Charl Schwartzel

Louis Oosthuizen

Rory McIlroy

On the 2nd day, I managed to follow Rory's flight that consist of rory, Martin Kaymer (World No 1) and Thongchai Jaidee. Seeing Thongchai really close at times showed me how fit he is and he is 40 years old. Nice man and always acknowledge whenever the spectator call his name!! Malaysian golfers should look up to players like Thongchai and some other Thai players for some inspirations and how determined and disciplined they are in playing the game...We should take a hard look at ourselves and it will be a long way to go before we can even produce an Asian Class golfer.

Anyway, one thing that I learn from watching these wonderful people was their approach before their shots. Their focus and tempo is always the same, every-time. They will take their time talking to their caddies, take a few practice swings and then......booom....the ball is on the fairway or on the green. Really magical.....

Big crowd following Rory, Martin and Thongchai

World No 1

Thongchai........

Magnificent Par 3 Hole. Only Rory managed to get into the green while Martin and Thongchai fell short and went into the bunker

Rory's girlfriend

Big Crowd again

The scoreboard before I left for Friday prayers.

To be honest, in my opinion, this year's edition of the Malaysian Open is and perhaps the best Malaysian Open ever. The crowd was good and obviously there were few 'unfortunate' incidents happened when some of these spectators happily clicking their cameras when there was a sign that no cameras are allowed when the players are about to hit their shots. Dungu seems to be the correct word for some of these people. Takde etika langsung. There was one incident at Hole no 17 when Rory himself had to 'plead' to the spectators to put down their cameras. Hahahaha.

Anyways, I enjoyed it although I didn't manage to go and see them on the final rounds over the weekend. A 17 year old kid from Italy won the Malaysian Open by the way.

Congrats Matteo!!

The best result for the Asian player came from a golfer from Bangladesh who occupied the 8th place. Comparing him to our local players, our local players has all the facilities needed to be a top player but unfortunately, something went wrong along the way. Like I mentioned earlier, our local players need to take a hard look at themselves. There's no point getting into a tournament on the basis that local players must have certain slots to be given to 'em. That's just wrong.

Anyways...Like I said, I enjoyed the tournament and hope it'll be better next year.

Oh by the way, I saw an article on Sunday regarding golf. Funny and at the same time....weird....

Hahahahahah

Becoming a millionaire

2011-04-10T21:56:00.001-07:00

Cool topic eh?

Or is it catchy?

Well...I hope it is....

So the question is....how do I become a millionaire or how would I be able to achieve that solid RM1mil mark?

There are few ways....

1) Business....
2) Savings..
3) Lottery...
4) Robbery..
5) Corruption...
6) Swindle...
7) Keep on dreaming......
8) Property investments.....
9) MLM.........

Well....saying and writing it easy (in theory that is)....and I'm gonna touch on being a millionaire through savings and compounding.....I don't think writing about becoming a millionaire through other channels will be right for the current moment and of course, almost everyone knows that investing in properties will certainly help ...heheheh.....So here we go...

Let's assume we have a savings of RM1500 and we want to have RM1,000,000 in 14 years time. So how much do we have to save a month or a year to get that RM1mil. Let's be conservative and assume that the annual interest rate will be constant at 7.5%.

According to the Compound Interest Calculator, you will need to save RM3,333.33 per month or RM40,000 per annum for the next 14 years to achieve that mark.

Let's take another example, Abu is 34 years old. He plans to retire at 55 and planning to have RM1.5mil as his retirement savings. So how much does Abu has to save from now so that he will able to attain his financial objective?

Again, assuming an annual interest rate of 7.5%, he needs to save around RM2,460 per month for the next 21 years or RM29,500 annually.

Play around with the calculator at the link and you'll be amazed with the power of compounding.

Let's take a look at another example. Assuming you open up a new ASB fund for your soon to be born kid. Every month from the day she or he was born, you put RM200 until she or he is 21 years old. If you do that constantly, at the age of 21 and assuming an annual interest rate of 7.5%, your kid will have about RM92k worth of savings. A good way and amount for him or her to start their life. I wished I had such kind of start but there's no point looking at the past kan?

Again, all of this looks rosy in writing and in theory and I admit that sometimes, it can be difficult to do it in reality. Whatever being said though, it all depends entirely on what do we want to achieve in life. For some, they couldn't be bothered at all and for the other some, they have made the necessary preparations to face the future uncertainties.

I will be very happy if I could save RM20,000 per year. If I do that consistently over the period of....let's say 14 years, I may have about RM500k. Will I do it?....I'll try but my main aim is always to ensure to I'll have sufficient funds to use when the time comes.....

So for those who wants to be a millionaire, good luck and start saving (duhhh).....

psssstt...just assume you have Rm5k in hand, where would you put your money to? ASB or Unit Trust?

Masters

2011-04-10T19:17:00.001-07:00

Some dude named Charl Schwartzel won the 2011 Masters.

Congrats Charl!! Following the footsteps of Trevor eh? South Africa has produced tremendous numbers of talented golfers. My hero included....hehehe

Rory McIlroy.......what in the world happen to you? Crumbled on the final day? Read it here.

Tiger 'Invisible-No-More' Woods did good and finished at 4th place......

My hero, Ernie Els, vanished into thin air before the masters even started....hehehehe......

Anyways, our very own "masters'' i.e Malaysian Open starts on Thursday at the luxurious KLGCC. I've got myself a pass with a help from a fellow golfer so I might spend my weekends watching the pros play this week. I'm excited and looking forward for the event. I silently hope and pray that we will have a local champion this time around. How it would spark a massive frenzy among Malaysians if a local can finally win its own Masters.........

Note:
The pics were taken from Dailymail.

Santai........

2011-04-10T18:17:00.001-07:00

Went for a round of golf with some friends on Sunday at Danau, Bangi.

It has been a few months or maybe a year since I last played there.

I'm not a fan of the course, as for me, it's difficult (well, all golf courses in the world are difficult to begin with) and I never seem to get good scores there. In other words, for some reason unknown to me, I never been able to play well in Danau.

So we started the game at 1230pm and things we going ok for me for the first part of the game. I think...I did well for the First 9 holes. Then, on second nine, things started to go wrong. Got a triple bogey for the 10th hole, and it took me 9 strokes to complete a Par 5 Index 1 hole. Damnnn!!!! That completely ruin my game. My initial aim of scoring below 90 was completely dashed as I scored 91 for the day. Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!

Nevermind, there's always a next time. I can't complain much as I don't spend time at the range anymore. It gets worse when I'm only playing twice a month. So, the consistency is not there. Golf is about consistency and focus. If you don't have that, then don't even think about shooting low scores.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed my day out at the course. Certainly, made new friends along the way. For a few hours, I forget about the 'world' and it was just me, the bloody white ball and my clubs. Hehehehehe.

Ohhh, somewhere along the fairways, I even saw 'Villa Tropika'. Hehehe. If I'm not mistaken, I can clearly see the apartment from Hole no 3, Hole 7 and Hole 8. My unit is on the 10th floor and supposedly will be facing the golf course. The project seems to be in good progress and I can't wait for it to be completely built. Will I sell it or will I rent it out? I've not decided on that one as yet but things are certainly looking good......

I told my flight-mate that I bought a unit from the developer last year and he was asking whether there are any units left for sale. He was mentioning that he is interested in looking for an investment property in Bangi area and told me that I'm lucky to be able to buy it. Search and you shall I find....that was my response....

Have a good week....

They are coming!!!

2011-04-07T18:59:00.001-07:00

Yes!!!!!

Liverpool is coming to town this July!!!

It's Malaysia vs Liverpool......

I've been a fan of Liverpool since 1986, if my memory serves me correctly, it was from FA Cup Final between the Reds and Everton that I started to support the team.

I can still vividly remember the tune of the Wembley final that was played before the live telecast. Hhehehehe..

Anyways, I'm looking forward for the game. Seeing King Kenny (hopefully) and the rest of the players plus the new ones too in person. That will be awesome!!....Errr.... Can't decide as yet who I'll support.

YNWA

Taken from Liverpool's official website:

''Liverpool FC is delighted to announce the Club will be travelling to Asia this summer for a pre-season tour sponsored by Standard Chartered that will include games in China, Malaysia and Korea''

Here's the rest of the announcement.

Education fund....II

2011-04-05T19:38:00.000-07:00

When you are married, it is highly likely that you will have children, sooner or later. Make no mistake about it as having children is important and can be a source of pride and joy. My life changed significantly after the birth of my princess way back in 2007. Honestly speaking, I would say, I'm a better man now as compared to what I was before. Hehehehe....

Anyway, after the birth of my daughter, I was looking for a product, be it insurance, investment or education fund for my daughter. I realized that, as parents, I have the biggest responsibility in ensuring that she is well taken care off (in terms of her future education and of course her general well being). Hence, after meeting and talking to few insurance agents, I decided to go with Prudential. So for the time being, all of kecik's insurance, medical and investments fund are currently 'managed' by them.

She was admitted to the hospital 3 times for the last 2 years and I thank Allah for helping me realizing how important it is to have medical insurance for your child. Of course, I'm a bit lucky in the sense that wifey is a government servant and we could choose to send kecik to the govt hospital. Instead, we sent her to a private hospital and with all the medical coverage that she had, I only had to pay a few hundred for a bill that came up to about RM4k. These incident helped me to realize how important it is to have a medical coverage, not only for your child but for yourself as well. Hence, I would certainly advice to everyone, pls get a medical coverage for your children......You won't know when you need it, but when the time comes, you'll be glad that you took the initiative to do it.....

Anyway, life doesn't stop there...unfortunately. You'll need to work hard and smart for the next 20 or 30 years or maybe the rest of your life to ensure that your children gets sufficient and reasonable education. Next to purchasing a house or a home, I would think that setting up an education fund will have to be a priority. Of course, as parents, we want to have the best facilities to be given to our children. We want them go to the best school, mix around with good & reasonable people and for some, we wanna send them to study abroad. Like it or not, all of these will cost money. So...the question is, how are we going to do that if we can't afford? or to make it worse, we did not make an effort to even think about our children's education fund....

I would like to think that giving 'em the best education possible is the most important thing that you can ever 'give' to your child. Not money or even properties but education.

Hence, it is always good to have an education fund. Just like saving 30% of your monthly income to your Savings Account, you may have to put aside maybe 10% of your income for the education fund. The key is, if you have yet to start in setting up any funds for your children, it is always not to late. Start now.

ASB is always an option. Hehehe. If you ask me, I've set up a a different fund for Kecik in PM and I try to put RM200 every month and hope to do it continously for the next couple of years. I do have an option of investing a lump sum of RM10k now and just leave it be in the fund for the next 14 years. If the calculations are correct, and assuming a 12% int rate, she will have about RM50k in her fund. That's quite alright in my opinion. At least, at the back of my mind, I know that what ever happens, there will be some money for her when she turns 18. It takes away some of the headache (I hope).............Having said that, it'll be great if you children are rewarded with education scholarships from the govt. That will lessen your financial burden significantly.

Anyway, I don't wanna be too technical but believe me when I said, through the effects of compounding, a small sum of money that you save each month, can and will grow into a significant amount in the future. As always, start small and start now. RM50 pun jalan..........:p

Have a nice day..........

Tenancy Agreement

2011-04-04T18:46:00.001-07:00

The tenancy agreements for 3 of my properties were about to expire on 31st March.

Thanks to Allah that 2 tenants decided to renew the agreements for another year and the other tenant decided to renew for only 6 months as they are waiting for the keys or CF for their new property in Ukay Perdana. It was sad to see them go as they pay their monthly rentals promptly and they took good care of the place in Desa View. So I guess, I will advertise the place sometime in June or July lah. Huhuhu........

Generally, I'm happy and satisfied that all of my properties now are tenanted. I wish I could add one or two more properties but thanks to BNM for their outrageous ruling, I just can't anymore. Anyway, that is another topic to discuss in the future, but for now, I'm a happy camper....Yey!!

I've just requested a help from a friend to stamp these documents and hope to get it back before the end of the week. Ohh...there's a story about stamping these documents actually. Earlier last week, I decided to call an old friend, he was my schoolmate in VI. He is currently a real-estate agent attached to some real estate agency in Hartamas. So, I thought it could be a good idea to call him up and ask for his assistance in getting my tenancy agreement stamped. Obviously he said it was ok but when he told that me it would cost RM100 (admin charges) per agreement, I decided not too. That's a lot of money eh? I'm just wondering, what admin charges is he talking about eh? That RM100 is excluding the stamping payments/charges to LHDN. I would think that it's ridiculous.....that's my opinion anyways....

On a different subject, someone closed to me went to a tinting shop over the weekend to get his car tinted (obviously). I think it costs him about Rm1k for the tint. Anyway, after all the process completed, I take a look at the bill. Was a wee bit shocked when I found that such a big shop can't get the right spelling on their bills/warranty...

Ah well.....it's Malaysia maaaaaaaaaaaaa........hehehe

X

2011-04-04T17:59:00.001-07:00

I really....I mean.....I REALLY hope and pray it's not him..................

What a blow to his political career, his families and to everyone that has been supporting him.... if it is him...........

Have I seen the clip? Yes...but not the full version of the clip.....only parts of it but unfortunately it has been removed from YouTube....

Borak2....

2011-04-04T01:02:00.000-07:00

A friend called me up the other night.

He was asking, whether is it alright for him to invest in Unit Trust via his EPF account.

My answer was....why not? For me personally, it's a good way to invest using your EPF money. I mean, whenever we talk about investing, we must always associate it with risk. There is no investment that is without risk. Even driving a car is riskier....hehehe. I would say...joining a MLM business is way riskier....

After all, the amount invested is not much. Presumably below RM10k(maybe more.....depending on your 'available' amount in Account I). I would say, the risk in investing in unit trust depends entirely up to the investor's way of dealing with risk. Either you're a risk taker or a risk averse. I would call myself as a risk-averse type of person. I'll make sure that upon getting some profit from the initial amount invested, I'll 'sell' and re-invest again. It's kinda hard to explain properly in writing as I'm not well versed in unit trust but I believe that it certainly has helped me in getting some returns. I've been doing it for about 3 years now and so far, it has been reasonably good.....

Anyways, like I said. I do invest in Unit trust and will still do in the future. In fact, I started in 2008. Quite late lah but better late than never. Alhamdulillah, it gave me some returns. Not much but still, a return is a return kan? At least, there's a return from there. Sapa mau kasi extra RM300 or RM2000 or RM1 for that matter without doing anything kan? You work your bloody ass off everyday or work till late at night pun blom tentu your boss will reward you for your efforts...:p

COming back to the topic of using your EPF to invest in UT, I would certainly say, go for it. It might help to further bolster your Savings in EPF in the long run. Obviously you won't be able to use the returns/profits/dividends that you might get as all of it will go back to your EPF account. With a higher amount of money available to you in your EPF account, you can then re-invest it again. Pretty simple idea actually but I'm a wee bit surprised that not many people really see this opportunity.

Anyways, the opportunity is always there for those on the look. Perhaps, this is one of the ways to prepare him or herself for retirement....hehehe

So my dear friends.....go ahead and do it....

Diving Trip 2011

2011-03-31T00:45:00.001-07:00

Went to Tioman (again) during the weekend.

Yup....obviously it was another dive trip....

This time, I went with my old school mates and we went to Kampung Salang. For some, Salang is the most happening place in Tioman.For me though, it was my first ever visit to Kampung Salang. If I'm not wrong, my last visit to Tioman was about a year ago. Hence, for me to come back to Tioman again was always a welcome. I used to go to Zai Tioman Dive Center at Kampung Paya (which is about 15 minutes boat ride to Salang). In fact, the last 3 visits to Tioman I had was staying at Paya Village.

Last year, I only did 2 'official' dive trips and 1 'un-official' trip to Pulau Sembilan. Quite bad huh?

Well, diving is merely a hobby for me and I can only wish that I can do more diving trips if time permits...It's kinda hard when you got so many things to do at any one time. Heheheh.

Now that I have successfully gained my Advance Open Water Cert, I might try to go for the Rescue Diver course. Let's see la if I can do that this year. I hope to go to Sipadan before the end of the year though.....

Anyway, back to the recent dive trip, I managed to do 4 dives...which I think it was ok considering the fact that I went home earlier than the rest of the group.

The vis wasn't great as you can see from my pic below. I think at most, the vis was at 10 meters. The current was strong at Tiger Reef. We needed a bouy line to descent and ascent. Hehehe.

The most enjoyable dive was at Labas. Lots of 'swim-through' which I found very interesting. If I was a newly certified diver, I wouldn't dare to go for a swin-through. Nearly the end of the dive at Labas, I felt slightly nauseated. Perhaps it was due to the 2 bungkus of nasi lemak I had for breakfast....heheheh

To be honest, I learn a valuable lesson during the last dive I had. I had a problem with my BCD. Well...not the BCD to be exact, but it was the nut that was holding the back plate and the tank. During the night dive at Salang Jetty and while we were doing the customary safety stop, I felt something strange as if, someone was pulling my tank and my regulator to the right. The dive master then came up to me and showed me a sign that there was a problem with my BCD. So I went up to the surface with him and he told me that my tank was slanting...being almost as close as being horizontal. Hence, I made my way up to the jetty and quickly look at my BCD and I realised that the 'screw and nut' that was holding the back plate and the tank was missing.

Perhaps, it was loose even before I did the night dive as I felt my tank was slightly moving during the earlier dive.

Anyway, I bought the nut and the screw at a local hardware shop near my office on Monday and it only costs RM1. Hehehehehehe. As shown in the pic below.

The original nut/screw/washer is on the right and the RM1 nut/screw/washer is on the left.

Funny eh? For a Rm1 worth of screw and nut could cost a human's life. Interesting and scary fact at the same time eh?

Anyway, I enjoyed the trip as a whole although I hated the journey to and from Tioman. Hope to be back in Tioman again later next month. Heheheheh

A doctor in the house

2011-03-24T01:19:00.000-07:00

YEss!!! Finally, I managed to grab a copy of this book at Borders, Tropicana Mall during the weekend. RM100 well spent!!

I told myself that I should finish reading RObbin's book first before purchasing Tun's but I can't simply resist.

I've been fortunate enough to meet Tun at a few functions (although never had the opportunity to talk to him)

I don't mind saying that he is a legend, a hero and an inspiration to many Malaysians including myself.

Up till last night, I've read almost a quarter of the book.

Although I've yet to read every page of the book, from I what I've read so far, I like what he writes. His words and english is very simple to understand....

I'm so looking forward to complete reading it...

Tun, you're my inspiration and thank you for everything!!

Loan Application

2011-03-24T00:02:00.000-07:00

Someone close to me wanted to buy a new car.

He is earning about 3k. Up until last week, he drives a local car which he paid about RM500 a month for the monthly installments. Then he has to pay for his Bank Rakyat personal loan monthly installments about RM300. Next, he is paying about RM250 per month for his ASB loan.

Apart from that, a credit card balance of about RM4k is still outstanding. I was made to understand that he has not paid 2 monthly installment for his car due to reasons only known to him

Up to today, he has no asset as yet....

Now, he wanted to buy a new ride. He decided to go for a Korean car amounting to about RM95k. After submitting the loan application, his application was rejected. He then shifts his attention to Honda that costs around RM90k. X bank only approves 85% instead of the usual 90%....which means, he has to fork out about RM13k to buy the car. Erkkk!!

I tried to speak to him about getting a new car is not easy. It's gonna cost a lot of money. To make matters worse, he has since sold off his car to a second hand car dealer for only RM17.5k. His previous balance with the bank for the old car is about RM16k. So, he has a balance of about RM1.5k from that transaction. Disposing a local car for a profit is a good business sense I think. Heheheheh....

He is disappointed obviously. I tried to speak to him about not spending more that what you can afford but it seems, he is very determined to purchase that Honda.

Don't get me wrong, I'm just worried about his financial standings and at that age of 32, he needs to be thinking of building assets instead of 'owning' depreciating assets. I strongly recommend that he should get a MyVi or something below RM65k. If he does get what he wished, he will have to pay about RM1k for the monthly installments for the car. I think....I really think, ini adalah langkah yg kurang bijak....Moreover, when you have to spend RM13k for the deposit/booking....lagilah kurang bijak....I would rather pay RM13k deposit to purchase a property....

Which brings me to another story. Another guy who is related to me, wants to purchase a sports car that amounts to RM200k (maybe more...maybe less). His pay? I don't have a clue but was told that his expenses (rental, fuel, misc, bills) is being paid the parents. He is now close to 30. I wished I could help and advise but who am I lah kan?

How lah to talk to people like this? This is one of the problems of our people nowadays. We always want more than what we actually need. Sometimes, we just cannot see the problems but instead keep on lying to ourselves that we can afford it....

To be honest, when I decided to change for a new car, it took me 6 months to think it over. Plus, only after calculating my household budgets, incomes and expenditures that we took the decision to change. Only after things that I planned materialized, that I decided to change. It wasn't easy and I was a wee bit lucky as I was driving a Honda previously and hence, the value of the car is not as bad if you were to compare it to Protons or Nazas. I only spent RM1k for the purchase of the new car. Nothing more...and nothing less. Since the trade in value is quite high and the balance of the loan was minimal, I had significant balance of 'cash' that was used to purchase the new ride. Hence, the loan amount that I took was not as much as 90%.

Anyway, back to the story, I'm pretty sure, based on my knowledge, he will face problems in managing his finances.

If I could advice, I would only say, we must not live beyond our means. Sometimes, we have to realized who we are and accept things as they are. If you want more, you'll just have to work hard and smart for it. Find yourself some additional income to support your wants and needs. Read books about personal development and personal finance management. I don't wanna be seen as an idiot who wants to teach a fish on how to swim, but sometimes, some people just refused to accept things as they are....

This is funny.....

2011-03-21T23:10:00.001-07:00

Man....I really like this guy (even though I don't know him personally)....

I really admire the way he write his blogs....

Have fun reading it....

http://syedsoutsidethebox.blogspot.com/

.......paving the way for the oil brigade............

2011-03-21T17:59:00.000-07:00

The US of A, the Brits and coalition (??) forces has bombed Libya. Citing reasons such as protecting the general Libyans from their general Gaddafi. The Americans claiming that it is their interest in protecting the people of Libya.

Gila kah?

Just wondering though, if there is no oil in Libya, would the Americans and their allies 'attack' and protects the Libyans?

Now let's look at Bahrain. There was a demonstration in Manama attended by thousands and thousands of anti-govt protesters. It is claimed that some of the people didn't like the way al-khalifa is ruling the country....

Almost the same story, but the Americans (and the rest) didn't attack but Saudi Arabia sent their army instead....

The theory of the invisible hand is getting stronger and clearer!!

Bloody hell...

Read further here:

Bahrain ‘invasion’: why isn’t Cameron bothered?

One rule for Gaddafi in Libya - quite another for the al-Khalifa family ruling Bahrain

The Brezhnev Doctrine is back and this time round the British government approves. One thousand Saudi Arabian soldiers arrived in Bahrain yesterday to help the Sunni ruling family restore order after a month of pro-democracy demonstrations by largely Shia opposition groups.

The Saudis are desperate to put a stop to the unrest sweeping the region and are particularly worried about their own restive Shia-dominated Eastern Province on the coast opposite Bahrain.

The main Bahraini opposition groups have condemned the Saudi move as an invasion and that's certainly what it looks like.

Surprisingly, given David Cameron's Palmerstonian vapours about Libya, there was not a murmur from Downing Street.

Cameron clearly believes that for the grisly Gaddafi clan to use violence on their own people is a moral outrage. But when the almost-as-grisly al-Khalifas, who run Bahrain, ship in the Saudi army to do their dirty work that's apparently OK. What's sauce for the goose is definitely not sauce for the gander.

Originally, a pearl fishing harbour, Bahrain has always had a slightly raffish and shady air - with the delights of flesh and grape more readily available than in Saudi.

It belonged for a long time to the Iranians who still think it should be theirs. From 1861 to the early 1970s the territory belonged to the UK although until 1947 we let the Indian government run it.

Not blessed with masses of oil, it has developed a large financial services sector and makes money from duty free shopping and tourism. A few years ago Bernie Ecclestone thought it was a good place for a Formula One grand prix cancelled this year because of the unrest. The Duke of York, it goes without saying, is a frequent visitor and buddy of the Bahraini royal family. You get the picture.

It's a small place - the CIA Factbook says "3.5 times the size of Washington DC", though "slightly larger than the Isle of Man" gives a better idea as it is actually an island. Or was until 1986 when it was linked to the Saudi Arabian mainland by the King Fahd Causeway.

Since then it has become a Rest & Recreation centre for Saudi men seeking to escape the kingdom's stifling restrictions and the Mutawa or morality police. On Thursday nights - the start of the weekend - it's four blokes to a car and bumper-to-bumper traffic on the causeway. 'Working girls' from as far away as Newcastle and Amsterdam fly in to strut their stuff in the hotel lobbies.

The Saudi border police are relaxed about locals leaving the kingdom on a binge providing their papers are in order. But cars are searched thoroughly on return for alcohol, pornography or bibles.

To the Western visitor, everything looks well organised and calm. But behind the tinted plate-glass and air conditioning there is a real political problem. Seventy per cent of the indigenous population are Shia Muslims.

The ruling family and just about anyone of power and consequence are Sunni except for the United States Fifth Fleet, with its huge base outside the capital, which is presumably mostly Christian.

The Shias find it difficult to get jobs in the civil service and are forbidden to join the army or police. They are a down-trodden, poor and discriminated against majority and they are fed up with it. Their principal demand is for a new constitution and free and fair elections.

If the Bahraini demonstrators cannot be persuaded or intimidated to leave the approaches to the financial district, where they are currently camped, then the Saudi army may well be used to force them out violently.

Let's hope it won't come to that. But there is an uncomfortable lesson in this affair for the British government and people. Just as there was a moral cost to our support for Gaddafi's "apparently benign" despotism, there is a moral cost to our continuing support for other "apparently benign" despots in the Middle East

Alamak!!...Duit tak cukup.....???

2011-03-16T22:59:00.000-07:00

Masalah wang?

Hutang bertimbun?

Serabot kepala otak? (ayat kasar sikit nih)

Nak tido pikir duit...

Bangun tido pikir duit....

Nak beli keta baru kena pakai duit....

Beli jeans baru 2-3 helai pakai Credit Card.....sampai statement tepuk dahi sbb byk sangat outstanding....

Nak bayar 5% minimum payment pun pening...

Gaji tak seberapa....tapi belanja bagai nak rak....

Sounds familiar?

This E-book 'Celik Wang' should be read by everyone!!

It is THAT important.....

Download here...

http://www.akpk.org.my/Portals/1/downloads/Celik_Wang.pdf

Thanks to AKPK for producing such a wonderful, informative book for everyone to read....

Anyway, I'll always remember these words.....

1. Manage your finances well!!-Uncle Zainuddin
2. We mustn't live beyond our means!!-My dad

Reading.....

2011-03-08T17:17:00.000-08:00

I've got few hobbies...

Travelling, golf, exercising, scuba diving are some of it...

But reading? Not a great fan of it since I was a boy but I do make it a point to read at least an article per day....(I know my level of English sux but I'll keep on improving hence, that's the reason for me reading an English article per day)

What about books? Well...like I said, I seldom read books but I try to read some if and when I find the correct and interesting ones...especially if it involves topics that interests me like self developments, properties, investing and golf....:P

I'm not a great fan of reading novels. I know my wife likes to read novels. I tried, but I felt sleepy after the fifth page....

I like to read golf magazines. I think, I spent about RM50 monthly buying golf magazines. Usually, I'll buy 2 or 3 magazines at the same time and finish reading it after about an hour or two after that....heheheh

Anyways, went to Ikano last night to buy some groceries and managed to drag myself to the bookstore. I think, the name of the bookstore is Popular Bookstore. The first section I went to was the golf magazine section which I managed to grab 2 golf magazines..... (which I completed reading before I dozzed off)

Just before I went out of the bookstore, I saw a book written by Tun Mahathir titled 'A Doctor in the house'. It costs about RM100. Thought of buying it but for some strange reason I put it back.
Maybe, it's because I'm currently reading 'Awaken the sleeping giant within-by Anthony Robbins'. The book was given to me from a gentleman who is also a succesful Amway distributor in 2004.

I know I should have start reading it ages ago but only started reading it last Sunday. Since Sunday, I think I've managed to read about 100 pages. Not bad for someone who doesn't like to read kan? Hahaha. To be honest, I can't wait to continue reading it later when I get home. It's good. Really good. Perhaps, I can use some the tips given by the author for my personal development.

In fact, anything that helps me in the betterment of myself and the people surrounding me, I'll certainly give it a try!!

A few months ago, I read a book titled 'The magic of thinking BIG'. Another good book by a good author!! I strongly recommend this book to everyone to read and apply the magic....... and perhaps see yourself fly!!

Before I plunge myself into buying properties for investment, I purchased some books regarding the topic. In that regard, I can say that Azizi Ali's books and tips really helped me in investing the right way. I still read his books time and again to refresh my mind in investing. Although, it'll be a wee bit difficult for me to purchase another for the time being (thank you BNM!!), I may use the knowledge I gained to help some families and friends....

Anyways, back to Tun Mahathir's book. I'll definitely purchased it later when I'm done reading Tony Robbin's book. To be honest, never had this feeling of 'looking-forward to read a book' before. Strange kan? Hahahhahaha

Source of pictures: Google.com

... a year....

2011-03-06T19:38:00.000-08:00

It has been a year since I first started to exercise regularly....

But...for the last couple of weeks maybe for the past 2 months, it has been hard due to the lack of time and maybe lost of focus & discipline...

Anyways, I don't wanna dwell about yerterdays...What's more important now is today, tomorrow and the future...

Hence, I need to start exercising regularly again...By saying that, I need to walk/jog/run every single day for at least 40 minutes a session...

I'm beginning to feel overweight and slightly lazy....

Sometimes I do feel a wee bit cheesed off as I felt lazy to run or jog. Perhaps, the pepatah 'Melayu mudah lupa' rings a bell!!

There's no doubt that my weight now is far better off than when I first started a year ago. BUt I need to keep the momentum going. I still remember a friend said to me, reducing weight will be the easy part, but maintaining the healthy weight and lifestyle will be difficult....

No worries, I've done it before and I'm confident that I can do it again...

No more excuses...just do it!!

Have a nice day....

Nani Cries.......

2011-03-06T17:04:00.000-08:00

Hehehe...

Liverpool won 3-1 against the Red Idiots....

What a wonderful way to end a wonderful & tiring week for me....

Anyways, about the match last night....based on how the team played for the last couple of games, I thought it would be difficult to win handsomely against the Red Idiots...

However, as I sipped my hot white coffee with fellow red fans at Hartamas last night, Liverpool were just magnificent...For Kuyt (How I wished I could have his fitness) to grab a hatrick against the RED IDIOTS was damn special...

I can't spell the name of the IDIOT's number 14. Let's just call him KALKITOS. He shouldn't have scored at the last minute. It takes a little bit of shine from the team overall performance....

Well...the highlight of the match for me was seeing Nani cried....Carra should've break his leg into 3 or 4 place...heehehehe....

Why I wonder, did the team didn't show up at Upton Park last week!! It's always been the same problem since aeons i.e. winning against 'stronger' teams and losing to supposedly 'weaker' teams....

Anyways......The King is here and hopefully he'll stay for a long, long time....

Well done boys!!

Kesian....

Congrats...

2011-03-06T17:00:00.000-08:00

Would like to take this opportunity to congratulate UMNO & Barisan Nasional for winning the election at Kerdau, Pahang & Merlimau, Melaka...

Can't imagine if PAS were to win in Melaka. It could've been a 50-50 chance in Pahang....

Anyways....The people has put their trust & votes in these men, so BUAT KERJA!!!

Short Break.......

2011-03-01T23:03:00.001-08:00

For the past 3 months or so, wifey has been super-duper busy with her attachments at a local hospital....

So for the next few days, wifey, kecik & myself will be going to the east coast for a short break and some trully 'quality' time together.....

It'll also gives me the opportunity to try out our new ride at East Coast Highway....hehehehe

Will post some pics when I get back ...

Have a good day........

My thoughts............

2011-03-01T22:35:00.000-08:00

Personally I think, 50% of the traffic problem in Malaysia (specifically in KL) can be settled if and ONLY if the Malaysian drivers can learn on NOT to double park at busy streets.....

In Bangsar alone, these double parking virus cause mega unnecessary congestion. For example, in front of Bangsar Shopping Center, along jalan telawi and of course, along Jalan Bangsar Utama.

Please la drivers, otak letak kat mana? Lutut ka? Pakai kereta besar2, takkan tak mampu nak bayar duit parking kot? Bangang ke apa?

Some said, this is due to the increasing numbers of cars on the road as well as limited parking spaces available. Well, to be honest, kalau dah tau masalah, apasal la plak nak menambahkan masalah pada org lain?

Naik la public transport........or taxi....asyik nak salah kan org je buat apa woiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii......

Huh!!!

Rant Over....

Quote for today...1/3/2011

2011-02-28T22:04:00.000-08:00

''...for any society built on a defective foundation...the society is destined to collapse...''
-Francisco Maturana

Let's a learn from what happened to Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Bahrain and Oman....

Goodbye.....and Hello...

2011-02-27T16:52:00.000-08:00

Sometimes, all good things will come to an end and more good things will come at you if you believe......ehh...what I am talking about lah??

Hehehehe...Actually, I wanna say.........Farewell & Goodbye to my beloved Honda. After almost 6 years and approximately 150,000 kms later, I decided that it was time for a change....

So thank you Honda Citehhh.....My family & I had so many memories with you!! In fact, kecik grew up with you....hahahaha...

I still remember the day, it was in mid 05 when I took delivery of you. It seems like yesterday...How time flies ehh?

You've been to all the 4 corners of Peninsular Malaysia. Not once...but a few times as well....

Anyways, I've had only good things to say about Honda. The car, the service and the quality is top notch....To be honest, the car itself didn't give me any major headache. Pretty much a 'hassle-free' car....

Like I said earlier.....it's time for a change. Time to move on.....

So, last saturday I took the delivery of my new ride....it's a Mazda... Which model eh? ehehehe....

Why Mazda you may ask?

Honestly, from the first time I had a look at the car, I was impressed with the design, the interior, the handling and most importantly the brand...By the way, my bro-in-law is driving a Mazda as well...and from the looks of it....he's enjoying his ride....

Obviously, since I'm upgrading to a bigger engine (CC) car as compared to the 'Citehh'...so the fuel consumption will be a lot more lahhh

It took me about 5 months before I decide to go with Mazda. I had the Civic 2.0, Altis 2.0, Inspira (what????), Lancer GT and Nissan Sylphy in my considerations as well. Plus, after calculating the budgets and so forth, my wife and I decided to go with Mazda....

Everywhere you go nowadays, you'll see Hondas and Toyotas on the road. So, I needed to be a wee bit different. Hehehehe...

Zoom-zoom!!!

Have a nice week everyone!!

A Million Dollar (Ringgit) Policy....

2011-02-18T00:59:00.000-08:00

A friend just text me a few minutes ago. In the short text she said, are you interested in the 1 million dollar (ringgit) policy by XXX targeted for high income earners...

Well, who wouldn't lah kan? So I replied, I'm a small income earner so that would strike me out of the list...hehehe. She then replied, it's ok...if you are free, I can see you and we'll talk about the options that I might have for you....

So I said...No problem...

To be honest, I'm interested in listening to what is it all about in the first place. Like I've been saying all this while, I would love to put my money in different baskets (not that I'm having tons of money) so that I can reduce the risk a wee bit....I think, it's another form of retirement product introduced by XXX. Maybe with the policy, one may retire with 1mil in their account...which depend entirely on what he or she will have to save every month....

Anyways, hope to meet her sometime next week...

'Sikit-sikit...lama-lama jadi bukit'

Have a good weekend everyone....

Unipark Condo : A visit

2011-02-15T18:56:00.000-08:00

I took the opportunity to visit my apartment at Unipark Condo yesterday evening and spoke briefly with the boys (tenant). Upon a brief 'inspection' all I can say that my unit looks tidy (thank God!!).... I'm pretty happy with the way they've been paying the monthly rentals as well as looking after the place rather well...

It's been 3-4 months since I last went there so I thought it's a good time to go and see the place...

One thing that I didn't like was, when I was about to leave the place, right after coming out from the lift, I heard a loud 'thud'. So I went to look and saw a pile of garbage was thrown from the top floors. The tenants or the owners of the ground floor must be feeling very unhappy with that as these irresponsible jerks throwing rubbish. Bloody hell.....Unfortunately, i didn't get to snap any pictures as I was cheesed-off with what I saw....

Hence, I spoke briefly with the management and told what I saw and how I felt...This sort of behavior is unacceptable....whoever doing it must be fine....heavily fined!!

My tenants told me that the management accused them of putting garbage outside the unit. They claimed that it wasn't done by them but by the tenants living directly opposite of my unit. I said, next time, take a picture of video of the neighbours if possible...hahahah

hrmmmmmm........

2011-02-15T18:46:00.001-08:00

Spent a few hours at a car showroom looking, admiring & wondering at a new car yesterday.....

Kecik was rather impressed.....and wifey was......errrr.....happy ( I think)

Hrmmmmmmmmmmmmmm..........

A

Villa Tropika: Update

2011-02-10T01:06:00.001-08:00

Received a call from the developer earlier today.

The girl told me the SNP documents are ready for collection. So, made my way to Bangi to collect 'em.

At the office, the girl told me about some new development that MCT is doing. She was asking whether I'm interested in purchasing a Semi-D that costs around RM800k.

Erkkk...........800k for a semi-D......how i wish I can say I can afford it......ahh well....not now....in a few years time may be....

Anyways, I also took the opportunity to snap some pics of the apartment. Well, it's not ready (obviously)! But the progress has been good in my opinion...

La Risata..Congratulations!!

2011-02-08T17:20:00.000-08:00

Last night, my family and I went to this 'Italian' restaurant, La Risata to celebrate my bro's recent achievement in getting a degree.

I have to be honest though, after all that he has gone through and after all these years, he finally got a hold of a certificate that he wanted so much....It doesn't matter how long it took, but what matters was, the focus he took in getting things done was respectable!! Not an easy thing to do since most of his friends graduated years ahead of him, but this should inspire him to be a better person from today onwards!!

So, I would like to congratulate him!! Good effort and never stop learning bro......

Anyways, so off we went to this restaurant. Fancy restaurant in my opinion. A bit on the expensive side. But, since we are celebrating an achievement, I guess, the price doesn't matter much....

Enjoy the pics!!

The interior

Kecik...(no longer kecik lah....)

The menu...strange language was used...:p

Starter...with bread and some strange 'sauce'

The mushroom soup was out of this world....

Grilled salmon which my dad had...

Lamb Shank which was the choice for my bro

Lasagne for me....which wasn't the best....

Macaroni with cheese for kecik....

Lamb again for my sis.....

Tiramisu for dessert......

Kereta........

2011-02-07T23:20:00.000-08:00

For the past few months, I've been an avid silent reader of Syed Akhbar Ali. I really admire his writings and the way he explain things. I wished I could write as good as him. Maybe, I should read more books from now on. Expand my mind a little bit. Hehehehe...

Anyways, recently he wrote something about the prices of car in Malaysia. I tend to agree with his argument.

First, he spoke about Honda Insight ( a hybrid car). I was approached by a Honda salesman in Giant Kota Damansara the other day. He spoke at length about Honda Hybrid, the price, the advantage, bla bla bla. The price is always a factor with me. If I can remember correctly, the price is about RM95k. Something like that lah. For 1300cc car, it's quite expensive lah kan. But, it's a honda. A good brand though....The salesman said, if I were to make my booking with him, he can deliver the car to me sometime in May 2011.

Anyway, I made a quick research about the price for Honda Insight in the United States via google, it states that the base price for such car is USD18,880. That's like RM57,000.

How come the there's a difference of about RM40,000? In short, Malaysians are paying RM40k more for the same identical cars that the Americans bought. That's like reaping our hard-earned money kan?

It's not easy to buy a car in Malaysia now eh? It's weird to know that the prices of car is bloody expensive. Are we being cheated all this while or we're just following the policies that are being set to protect the few?

My wish: please....please reduce the prices of cars in malaysia....

Ops: Saweet.....

2011-02-07T16:41:00.000-08:00

During the CNY holidays, my wife and I took the opportunity to spend our time in Changkat Tin, Perak.

The place never ceases to amaze me everytime I went there. It kept on changing. I still remember my first ever visit to that place. I thought it was interesting and dull at the same time. Hahahahaha....

Well....the place used to be popular when tin mining was the main economic contributor in that area. Maybe during the early 1900's or something like that.

Anyways, one of the reasons that we want back to Perak was to look at some land. Remember my posting about palm oil and land few months back? Well, I know it took us bloody months to go and view the place but have to be honest though, when we went there, I thought the place, the land and the views surrounding the place was magnificent. It's about 5 acres of land. Surrounded by mining pools around it. Maybe boleh buat project ikan keli or udang kalau ada duit lebih....:)

We spent quite sometime hanging out at the place. I felt serene to be honest. I like it....

I've yet to decide on anything but one thing for sure though, I'll surely get myself a nice scrambler and keep it in my uncle's place. Hahaha. The reason being, when we went there, my uncle brought along his Honda C70, which I took the opportunity to ride on it. It's been a year, maybe more since I last rode a motorcycle, and when I rode the C70, it certainly felt good....heheheh.

I know it's wrong, but my little girl rode with me. She sat in the basket. Hahahahahahaha. I told my uncle that we should get ourselves a decent scrambler.

Anyways, back to the main topic, like i mentioned earlier, nothing is decided yet. Lots of factors needed to be taken into considerations. Obviously, finance will be the main issue here. Need to sort out the details, the returns, the monthly cost, bla bla bla....

But one thing though, if I have a bottomless pit of cash now with me, I won't hesitate to buy that land in a blink. Afterall, since I can no longer purchase a property (Thank YOu, BNM!!), might as well, I start to buy a land kan?....

Enjoy the pics

The land has been cleared by the current owner (who no longer has the interest to pursue his sawit project)

Previously, we came here to fish. Manage to catch ikan jelawat once. Hahaha.

Pokok kebabu welcoming us.....Kinda eerie when night comes....:p

If only I have a scrambler..........:(

Both pictures below were taken from my uncle's land situated about 3-4 minutes away. You can see that his project is coming along very well.....

FT 9: Banner

2011-02-06T17:51:00.001-08:00

Dear Chelski' scums, for the love of God, please, please be more original yaa....

hahahahaha......

Btw, Liverpool is better off without you............

Fernando Torres......Walk on.....

2011-02-01T18:39:00.000-08:00

‘We hate you so much, because we loved you so much’

Torres swaps pride and passion for plastic and profligacy, but LFC will come out of the saga stronger and more united.

hat quote is what Barcelona fans displayed upon Luis Figo’s return after his infamous transfer to Real Madrid.

It bears more than a resemblance to the manner in which Liverpool fans now view their former Spanish striker.

Fernando Torres was the darling of the Kop. More than a fabulously gifted footballer, he was totally immersed in the culture of Liverpool FC. A rare and special breed he identified with the club’s long-standing traditions, its symbolism, its majesty. He was one us he proclaimed, a true red. He lied.

The tasteless way in which his transfer unfolded has tainted his legacy. The Spaniard has been exposed as no more than a selfish, belligerent mercenary deluded by his own self-importance. The image he strove to manifest has been shattered and his reputation destroyed.

The staunchest Kopite could not blame the player for considering a move. We are devoted yes but realistic also. A striker of his calibre should not endure a prolonged Champions League exile – that would be a painful waste of potential. But it is the manner of Torres’ departure which leaves a bitter taste. His angling for a move at this point in time, with Liverpool at the crossroads, is unforgivable. Moreover it is the proverbial two-finger salute to an adoring public.

He could and should have given the club until the summer at least. Instead his inflated ego intervened and paved the way for an ugly exit.

His destination only worsens matters, with Chelsea the polar opposite of everything Liverpool stand for. A manufactured club with no history, no die-hard support and a squad full of overpaid vermin. Chelsea were a middle-of-the-road side until Roman Abramovich arrived, inspiring a whole new generation of glory-hunting Chavs. They may have amassed a glittering array of silverware just recently but it all harks back to the owner’s wallet, rather than solid foundations.

This is the club who once distributed plastic flags for a game against Liverpool in the hope its fans could replicate an Anfield atmosphere. They didn’t. This is a club whose captain is a despicable excuse for a man, someone who sleeps with his own team-mates wives. This is a club that contains no loyalty from the stands down to the pitch. This is a club whose supporters boo their team in the wake of draws and whose players would happily walk to Southend if that’s where the money stemmed. This Isn’t Anfield.

A few months back Liverpool were a club on its knees. Raped and pilloried by its despised owners there was no money and no future. Added to that tragic backdrop was the appointment of a haphazard manager who worsened matters still.

But fast-forward to January and a new dawn beckons. Hicks and Gillett have been royally ousted, replaced by a professional, committed regime intent on implementing their proven track record here. There is money to spend and signings to boot, Luis Suarez epitomising a progressive approach. Additionally the Hodgson era is over and the fans choice has been installed.

With FSG and Kenny Dalglish at the helm there are reasons to be hopeful. If nothing else Liverpool are united again, with everyone pulling in the same direction. The road back is long but the club is again on-course after a horrid derailment.

So why now? Why choose January, and late January at that, to submit a written transfer request? The dignified approach would have been to wait until the summer and then quietly make clear you would prefer a move. The old Torres would have done just that, but the man we fell in love with back when has long-gone. He has been replaced by someone immersed not into LFC but his own brand.

For months now the mercurial Spaniard has strolled through games half-heartedly with a permanent sulk etched on his face. It’s an expression Michael Owen donned so well towards the tail-end of his Anfield career but at least he never shirked responsibility (on the pitch). Torres on the other-hand has been disgraceful. His petulance and disinterest should have cost him a starting place long-ago but the bewildered Hodgson could hardly drop his prized asset.

Hodgson was unquestionably out-of-depth but his malaise was hastened by Torres who did him no favours whatsoever. Liverpool had long been accused of being a two-man team so when one of those starlets insisted on moping results were bound to falter.

And make no mistake Liverpool done a great deal for El Sulko. He was never a prolific goal-scorer before moving to Merseyside, he had never graced the Champions League either. Few clubs would have allowed their star striker to forsake the close of a season to undergo surgery ahead of a World Cup. Few would have improved the terms of an already decent contract (by £30,000 a week), flown their new manager out to Spain in a bid to woo their ‘disenchanted’ asset, implemented a buy-out clause to appease him and arranged face-to-face talks with any potential investors. His ego was massaged to unprecedented and quite frankly embarassing lengths. All that mollycoddling caused the player to lose sight of his duty to those in the stands.

The truth is Torres owed Liverpool. His injury record too should have come with an 18 certificate, wiping-out huge chunks of seasons and disabling many a title pursuit.

He claims he was lied to and if that was the case then a sense of disillusion is understandable. But the spin doctors have long-gone, why take it out on the faithful, those who sang and bounced on your behalf every game?

Torres long professed his love for LFC and his admiration for Dalglish. If any of that rang true he would not have deserted his new manager less than a month into his reign. Dalglish commands respect, a true legend who would never have emitted such Prima donna antics. Sadly the honest virtues which defined his playing career have bypassed the modern generation.

Torres may think otherwise but as a player he pales in comparison to Dalglish himself; he was never as good as Roger Hunt, Ian Rush or Robbie Fowler either. Professionally and personally that quartet dwarf someone whose character will see him kissing the Chelsea badge within days. Once upon a time he fought tooth-and-nail to rank alongside such greats. After a while he started to believe his own publicity and misplaced his commitment.

He leaves behind the club he loved and the fans who loved him more. Walk on Fernando, walk on.

By Aaron Cutler
This is Anfield

The article above pretty much sums up what I felt for the last 2-3 days.

Anyways...

Goodbye Fernando!

Welcome home el-pistolero & andy carroll

News

2011-01-27T17:09:00.000-08:00

First.....it was Tunisia....

Riots in Tunisia

And now....Egypt!!

Riots in Egypt

Next.....Yemen perhaps!!!

Yemen Protest

Talking about the domino effects eh??

Question remains.....Why?

The answer is......................I ain't got the clue...perhaps, it's because of the money....

Connection

2011-01-26T17:06:00.000-08:00

What's all this thingy between Syiah and Sunni?

I ain't get a clue...

But it'll be a good thing if these two 'sects' can unite....

The same thing goes to the people of this magnificent country...

Anyways, closer to home, for the past few days, I've been reading some blogs posted by the pro-govt bloggers as well as the oppositions. My....my....there's so much hatred from each side eh? To make it worse, it's from the people of the same race....

Chill out la wei......somebody else might get all the benefits as these arguing and quarelling will never end......

Another article from Yahoo!.........

2011-01-18T16:28:00.000-08:00

Read a nice article from Yahoo this morning....Maybe we could learn a thing or two from this old man......

Retirement at 107

Eight years ago, at age 99, Leonard McCracken failed the eye test for renewing his driver's license. He put his Lincoln Continental up for sale and got $1,600. "I sold it in three days -- I got a good price. I love to haggle," he says.

McCracken, who lives in Florida, has been living in retirement since about 1969, when he left a position as a salesman with a now-defunct steel company in Ohio. Since then, he's been living on savings, Social Security and a lifetime annuity that he purchased before he retired. He has never had a pension. At 107, after living in retirement for 41 years, he's still paying the bills and getting by on his own resources.

"Dad never made more than $10,000 a year in his life," says his son Bob, a 73-year-old retired GE aircraft engineer.

How does a guy with modest income manage such a retirement planning feat? McCracken points to a half-dozen basic principles that have gotten him through life and continue to serve him well.

Thrift

In his whole life, McCracken says, he has only owned two new cars. The rest of the time he bought used. He still shops at the thrift store. And he remembers vividly the time that his wife was holding a garage sale and left him in charge. When she returned, he had sold the living room sofa for $100. "I had a very understanding, frugal wife (Dorothy, who died in 2002 at 95 after 75 years of marriage). We gave up a lot of things that other people were buying in order to break even."

Real Estate Investments

McCracken bought and sold 35 houses in his life, including five that he built himself. His son, Bob McCracken, says his parents "always invested in a nice house and that has helped my dad. He is living off the equity in the last home he and my mother owned."

The elder McCracken agreed that buying and selling real estate was a smart move for him. "We didn't make a lot of money in every case," he says. "But we made something and that helped."

What is his advice for current owners of real estate? "It's bad now, but it will come back," he says. "And people who buy now, they'll make a lot of money," he says.

Use Debt Well

During the Great Depression, McCracken worked for a bank. He watched people lose their shirts and learned from it. Throughout his life, he borrowed when he had to, but he borrowed as little as possible, he says, and he paid it back as quickly as he could.

Work Even When Jobs Are Hard to Find

McCracken was unemployed about 45 years ago after his previous employer went bankrupt. He had to take a job driving a truck that paid $5 per day. It was a low point in his life, but between that and a commission sales job that he took at night, he and his family muddled through until he got back on his feet.

Save and Invest Conservatively

All of McCracken's money is in CDs and bonds. He's always avoided the stock market, even when people who purported to know more than he advised him differently. "When the economy tanked, he made a lot of us look real silly," Bob McCracken says.

Stay Healthy

McCracken has hung onto his health and his wits and has had no major medical bills at all throughout his entire life. It has only been in the last year that he's needed a little assistance. And even then, he doesn't need much, his son says.

by Jennie L. Phipps
Monday, January 17, 2011

Rumah...Flat

2011-01-17T17:09:00.001-08:00

As I said a couple of weeks back, for 2011, I hope to purchase another middle-cost apartment for investment.

Wifey and I had already discussed the location and we both agree that it's gonna be another good investment for us.

However, due to its location, it's gonna sell like hot cakes. We are pretty sure that most, if not, all the units will be taken up really soon.

The opening for registration is in Febuary and we've been made to understand that we will require to put RM13k for deposit. Quite a lot eh....

Anyways...since I no longer qualify to get the 90% loan, it'll be wifey's turn now. Hehehe. We've also discussed that if this 'project' materialises, she won't be using her government loan but will use the conventional banking loan instead.

Since she is the government, we'll try to purchase our dream home using her facilities. But that can wait lah for this moment....

Anyways, the other day, I received a letter from CIMB stating that CIMB's BLR has been revised 3 times during 2010. Hence, due to these revisions, my monthly installments now needs to be adjusted to RM530.

My thoughts, this is bloody -bullshit!! Hahahaha.

I've spoken to the officer in-charge and have written a letter reinstating that I can only pay RM500 a month. Hehehehehehe. Let's see lah how it goes.....

Have a nice day....

Perbualan Singkat....

2011-01-13T17:53:00.000-08:00

Saya: Hallo bro....apa cerrrrr???

Rakan: Hallo...bila mau hantam (golf)??

Saya: Weekend aaarr.....weekday susah aaaa...

Rakan: Apasal? Anak sekolah ka

Saya: A'ah...

Rakan: Wei...kau ada simpan duit kat tabung haji x?

Saya: Simpan duit kat tabung haji tu tak lagi...tapi simpan duit nak gi haji dah mula aaa...

Rakan: Apsal tak bukak account kat tabung haji lagi?

Saya: Urrmm.....blom sampai seru kot....hehehe...

Rakan: Nko ni....abis tuh...ko simpan kat ner.....??

Saya: Few places aaaa. ASB ada, baru start AHB, Insurance-Education policies....Unit Trust..

Rakan: Itu semua haram bro....Aku tak caya semua tuh.....

Saya: huh........?

Rakan: AKu simpan kat tabung haji jer....

Saya: Urmm....kau punya planning utk anak2 kau camana?

Rakan: Alaaaahh.....ada lah tu nanti....

Saya: Ohh.....boleh ek gitu? Dah lama ka kau save kat tabung haji?

Rakan: Baru nak save je.......hahahahaha......

Saya: Hampeeees...........So bila mau hantam (golf)??

Rakan: Mariiiiiiiiiiii............

A short and simple conversation indeed eh?

I have to admit that I've yet to open up a tabung haji account for myself....Maybe it's time lah...Well, to be honest, I've started saving for the trip months ago!!

But, I do wonder about the 'haram' part that my friend mentioned during the short conversation....

I know....religion plays an important role in our daily lives....but it seems, there are 'so many restrictions' that has been set upon muslims in doing certain things in life....

I read somewhere where a fellow bloggger wrote about ASB and its return and there were some comments stating that it's Haram.

I wished not to go into the details of it, but I really think, if we do things correctly, and for the benefit for ourselves, and the people around us, Allah will grant us happines.

''Truly, God does not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves'' (Quran 13:11)