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| The Sound of Music |
| 02.28.05 (7:14 am) |
No, I've never seen the movie. I'd probably fall asleep.
Anyway, I've help my brother set up a virtual sound studio. One where we can process music via computers. All we do is feed audio into the system,do the editing and voila good music. Another one of my many endeavours which among many things included a cyber-cafe, car-rental, photography, website designing, part-time lecturing and book-worm.
This one might hit big cause in this city garage-bands are a-plenty. We've got people who can't sing calling themselves singers. In Malaysia if you got a pretty face, you're 70% on your way to becoming a big-time artist. 20% will go into putting together the promotions, 5% your stage presense and 5% your actual singing.
Here everyone wants a single or demo track to send to the record labels. As long as they are willing to pay, my bro and I to produce that demo CD. I don't mind if they sound like a cow with a sore throat if they are willing to pay people to make them sound good.
To me if you can't sing then you help those who want to sing, my take on community service. Either way the experience is better than earning the money. Of course money is a bonus.
Opps, there goes my venture into pirated music CDs; from now on everything is legit.
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| Who wants to be the next Bestman? |
| 02.23.05 (10:59 pm) |
Hot on the trails of Donald Trump, attempting to be the next reality-show king, Prince Charles has launched a best man competition.
Bidding to become best man couldn’t be simpler. Simply jot down, in no more than 75 words on a congratulations card, why you would like to be best man and send it off to: I Really Like You Competition, HRH Prince Charles, London.
Gifts, accompanying entries, are also encouraged.
Reality Shows in the Malaysian pipeline
Who wants to be a Pro-Bum?
Applicants require 100 hours of lepaking experience. No job,a rich wife, talking big but no action and compulsive farting (from all that stagnant air in the lungs) are considered plus points.
Malaysia Next Top Idiot
Stuff like holding fire-crackers and lighting them up, trying to use a photostated copy of a credit card to purchase goods and scratching your butt when you have an accident would qualify.
The Squatter Life
A bunch of squatter people living it big in places like Bangsar, Putrajaya, the royal palaces, 5 star hotels and the Chief Minister's house. Having a pet mongrel dog following you around will be a plus point.
The Blackmarketeer
Contestants try to out-sell each other and evade the authorities at the same time. Contestants are required to sell fake viagra pills, boot-legged Levi jeans, pirated VCDs and DVDs plus pirated Siti Nurhaliza music CDs. Those who failed will be fired from the competition. The winner will stand to win the right to peg any illegal item in the KLCC area. Of course you'll be working for Malaysia's very own Ronald Trumpet.
Ah-Long Factor
Is fear a factor when you try to outlast or survive repeated harassment by Ah-Longs (illegal money lenders)? The one who endures the head-smashing, knee-bashing and drive-by shootings will claim a RM1 million credit line with the Ah Long's Association of Malaysia.
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| Happy Chap Goh Mei |
| 02.23.05 (6:13 am) |
Yup, its the 15th day after Chinese New Year.
Officially, today marks the end of festivities for CNY.
Today the maidens would drop oranges into the rivers along with their prayers for a suitable spouse. This tradition is really cute. I heard that some maidens would actually write down the names of their choices on the oranges. I don't mind selling oranges with my name on it at the water-front (just kidding wifey).
Of course I will be a selective seller. The fruits will come in different sizes, base on my assessment on whether the lady would be able to get a spouse or not.
Small ones: got chance
Big ones: sure get one
The tiny baby ones: I suggest you buy a water-melon.
Looking at some of the maidens living in my area, I guess I might need to sell water-melons in order to increase the chances with the matchmaking gods. Plus, water-melons has more writing surface in order to cram your whole list of potential candidates.
Of course you can always increase your chances by taking aim at any poor sampan(boat)-man who just happen to be rowing your way.
Another tradition that has establish itself over the past few years is the burning of firecrackers. Yes, it is the last day for clearing your stockpile of illegal firecrackers.
In Malaysia it is illegal (punisable by something close to death) to set them off during festivities. A lot of this is due to the cases of children loosing their fingers.
Now, count me wrong but don't the kids who lose their fingers come from the majority group of Malaysia? Plus it only seems to happen during Hari Raya? Do you hear some chinese kid blowing up their hands during CNY?
Ha...the makings of a suicide bomber. Start with the fingers then blow up the police station. I guess this points to some kids being born with the compulsive-idiots gene. Who would be dumb enough to hold and light crackers in their hands?
As always, this ban on firecrackers has created a huge demand for such contraband which in turn has contributed to their hike in price. Even if you are not responsible for blowing up the neighbour's kid's hands, you still make a killing selling them.
I knew a fella who smuggled them in via the postal service...yup he got away with it. This kind dude has done a service to fellow chinese citizens by risking his neck for their enjoyment. I must admit shipping it in via regular post is crazy. It's like putting your money on stocks of a company that sell combs to buddhist monks. You know what I mean.
I suggest that the gomen drop the ban on firecrackers. Let the kids blow their fingers up - think natural selection. We will know the idiots from the smart one. Plus, you'll provide more jobs for the hundreds of wannabe doctors we have floating around in our universities.
Enough said.
On another note Abdul Najib (burn in hell dude) was found guilty for murdering Canny Ong. Here's the news abstract I extracted from The Star Newspaper website.
SHAH ALAM: Ex-aircraft cabin cleaner Ahmad Najib Aris was today sentenced to death for the murder of IT analyst Canny Ong.
In addition to the death penalty, he was also sentenced to 20 years jail and 10 strokes of rotan for raping Ong.
High Court judge Justice Muhamad Ideres Rapiee announced the sentence after he finished reading his 60-page judgment at about 12.15pm.
Which one comes first, the 20 year sentence or the death penalty? Nevermind.
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| Who stole my pillow? |
| 02.20.05 (7:37 pm) |
I woke up late today.
Sorry for not blogging for the later part of last week.
It's call work, which my friend Ner does not have to worry about at his stage of life. Yes, I had to settle some assignments which I had put off for some time - being lazy takes a lot of hard work.
Reply to Comments.
Finance as another hobby? Yes, I'll add it to my list (in no particular order) along with photography, reading, blogging and bombarding my friends with dumb ideas.
Yes, you can sign up for Azizi Ali's ezine without buying the books.
The rest of the Story
Yesterday, I learnt a new word. Not actually a new word but rather a combination of words that kinda made me think.
Professional Bum
Yes, wouldn't life be a ball if you were a professional-bum? All you do is bum it out, like sit around and do nothing. I mean aside from being a compulsive idiot, this one takes the cake.
It seems that the trend nowadays is to live off your parents money, hang about aimlessly and be lazy. Once you suck up all your parents retirement funds; you then move on to well-to-do friends and slowly (with luck marry) into a rich family. Hence, you can live with money without actually working a day in your life.
Apparently there are those in Kuala Lumpur who are labelled as professional bums though here in the fair city I live in, I am beginning to see some young people heading on this road.
So you may not be one (pro-bum) but it sure is a nice word to use in order to scold others.
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| Money in my ears. |
| 02.15.05 (9:38 pm) |
To date I have finished reading two plus one book on money by the same author, Azizi Ali.
One thing that they never taught me in school was how to handle my pocket-money. Except for that lesson on ledgers during which I obviously fell asleep. I can't recall a thing that the teacher said. So my money-smarts was learnt the hard way - by loosing it.
It's sad to think that by the time any Malaysian gets into the working world and get their first salary, they probably would loose it all in the first week. It is not a question of spending rather it is a question of what to do with it. Because we were never taught personal finance we use it the only way we know how to. We spend it.
Noone taught me that by saving 10% of my pay every month in an investment vehicle like Amanah Saham Bumiputra (government backed bank), which gives me a return of roughly 10% per annum, I'd could be a millionaire when I retire. Well, if I don't then I'll just have a lot of money for my retirement. Wins both ways.
Which brings me to Azizi Ali's books. Yup, I've finished reading two and almost done with a third. I've also ordered another two of his books (I also asked for his signature-bragging rights) and signed up for his monthly ezine.
Obsession you say? Dude, this guy knows what he's talking about. He's got more substance between his ears then I do when it comes to money.
What draws me even closer to this guys is that we both share roughly the same experience, when it comes to managing money. We both failed at business because we both did not know zilch about managing a business. We both have had nightmares looking our finacial condition. Only Azizi managed to achieve financial freedom which I intend to learn about.
For my fans, all 7 of you, do yourself a favor and get his books. They'll help you out a lot.
Yes,Ner you can borrow the books from me.
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| My name's John Constantine |
| 02.13.05 (4:44 pm) |
On saturday, wifey and I went to watch Constantine.
Apart from the fact that I told wifey Constantine was a nice name to give our next child, the movie was...awright.
You either hate it or love it. It did seem a little bit Matrix-ish to me with Keanu Reeves, the special effects, the alternate world scenes and slow-mo object flying thingy. Overall it was one of those movies where all the good stuff was in the trailer.
It started off well for me but somewhere in the middle it lost me because it just slowed down. The main problem was the slowness of the movie. The Mummy was fast-paced, Matrix was fast-pace, this one? Was like a drag-queen being dragged, screaming and all.
In spite of the mix reviews, I guess we'll see some sequels coming up,. Hey, this is a comic-book adaptation and I can almost here the comic faithful screaming "encore".
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| The cat is out |
| 02.13.05 (4:21 am) |
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| It brings a tear to the eye... |
| 02.11.05 (6:32 am) |
After years of searching, literally years of wondering whether it existed. Wondering if it ever reach Malaysian shores. I finally found it sitting in a toy store in this fair city.
After convincing wifey that it was a child-hood dream of mine to own it, I finally am going to be a proud owner of...The HotWheels Batmobile (Scale 1/18).
Getting emotional now, tears and all.
I don't care how much it cost but finally I have it. Whether the shop charged me double since they claimed that in Kuala Lumpur this model cost RM500 - I don't care cause I will be one of two (the other being the shop-owner) who would have this HotWheel in the city...muahahahahaha.
Being defensive.
What! To me this is a big thing.
Where were you in 1989? Me, I was at the movies watching Michael Keaton pull off the best Bruce Wayne/Batman ever. Yes, Val Kilmer made Batman gay and Clooney made him a clown (butt and all).
Who wouldn't want a car that literally has a jet engine running under the hood, that spits fire from its exhausts, has bullet-proof skin, is a two seater (for that babe), has twin machine guns for insurance and TNT hub-caps?
This BatMobile still drives me nuts even at 30.
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| Gong Xi Fa Chai |
| 02.08.05 (5:08 pm) |
It's the year of the Rooster. For some that does not mean food but rather another animal has come into line for another year.
Come to think of it I'm a Tiger/Rabbit - technically I'm a Tiger who came out in a Rabbit year. Confused? I tasted first breath, two days before Chinese New Year in a Rabbit year. So that makes me a Tig-bit. Wifey is a Snake and Ryan a Monkey.
Hm...the wife is snakey and the son is a tree dweller.
Anyway, I'm giving out red-packets this year...to those that give Ryan red packet.
Abi and Ner, you both know I love you to bits but I'll give you when I'll give you. This also applies to S who should be giving to Ryan.
So today I'll be raiding a few houses and then tomorrow some more , then it's a long holiday for me. Only going to work Monday.
Happy holidays you all!
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| A year older, none the more wiser |
| 02.07.05 (5:46 pm) |
Today I've reached another milestone in my life.
Yup, I've moved into the 30s part of my life. The teen years were confusing, my 20s was a rollercoaster and I'm hoping my 30s will be a carnival.
Woke up this morning to see my son's face smiling back at me. For all the things I've done in my life, all the mistakes I've made, God still blessed me with this wonderful gift. To have wifey, Ryan, my family and friends to love and care for makes up for all that life can throw at me.
Yes, a barrel of onions will make you cry. Situations are like that barrel, it will hurt and tears will flow. But friends, situations are like mushrooms. Those mushrooms are no longer in my garden, they disappered. They lasted only for a few days.
They flourish when the rains come but disappear in time. Situations are the hardest when you wet them with worry and anxiety. They too will disappear with time. Heck, nothing last forever even problems.
As I take a step into the 30s, I'm not hoping to slow down. Not hoping to fizzle out nor looking forward towards retirement. Nope. I'm going to wind down the windows, let the wind blow through my hair (whats left of it) and enjoy the ride that life will take me through.
A song about mushrooms? Come-on, who would sing about mushrooms? But just to keep you happy - yup I see you gleefully laughing in that corner, here a line.
All alone in my room,
Sitting here eating mushrooms,
Here in this soggy room,
Placid thoughts will be my tune.
Try singing that.
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| A bucket of Mushrooms |
| 02.05.05 (10:45 pm) |
[image]objectzero_7592496 27.jpg[/image]
If onions can cause quite a debate, what about "A bucket of Mushrooms"?
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| A barrel of onions |
| 02.03.05 (6:13 pm) |
"A barrel of onions"?
Just something that came to mind when I was taking my shower this morning. It kinda popped up in my mind and has been hogging my thought streams for part of this morning. What does it mean? Is it a message from God? Or merely my mind regressing into a state of insanity?
Will shadowy high pitch monotonous voices start speaking to me in the dead of night?
Whatever it is, I'll mull it over for the next few hours and probably write a book on how life is much like a barrel of onions.
The more you cut into it, the more you'll cry. Not because you want to but because you body reacts in such a manner to onions. I guess if you look at situations in you life, you may shed a tear. Just because you let your guard down and let emotions take over. At times what stop us from crying is our logic and ego.
For someone like me, I need that barrel...can be so cold at times even at funerals.
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| Mandrake JAVA file & Malaysian stock market |
| 02.01.05 (9:47 pm) |
JAVA on Mandrake 10.1
Finally managed to get JAVA to run properly on my LINUX powered desknote.
Gremlins are back in the network which accounts for why it took me the whole morning to download the JVM file for my linux. Its funny but the JAVA run-time machine that came pre-installed with Mandrake 10.1 does not do its job. Its sluggish and just refuses to load. If you have the same trouble I had with JAVA for Mandrake check out this link.
Stock Market
Today the stock market seems to be attempting to pick itself up. Most shares are moving up. As of noon the composite index was 916.24, a far cry from the 940 registered in early January 2005. The huge drop was due to the news that the government was not going to revise the ringgit peg.
Personally I feel the gomen should revise the peg. The dollar is weakening by the day yet we are still pegging it at almost a dollar above the actual value. By re-pegging the ringgit to the actual value of the dollar, most companies will registered higher revenues then initially reported. This in turn would boost the economy up rather then sinking it as the dollar weakens.
Alas, the Malaysian gomen is all wise and knowing and I guess they know something that mere mortals like me don't know.
Avanza News
Yup, I love my (wifey's) Avanza. The performance is just right for me. Heck, if I wanted a race car I'd go with the Toyota VIOS but that would have set us back by another RM30K. For RM60K,the Avanza is just what the doctor ordered.
I heard news that car prices will go up again after the Chinese New Year (9th Feb 2005). Probably by RM5-7K.
This may be the beginning of price hikes across the board. It starts with vehicles then it will filter down to other consumer products which in turn will mean higher living costs.
I guess this year is the year we all should save our hard-earn money.
Surprise, surprise
I'm getting birthday cards (birthday is next week) from my credit card companies. Yup, I even got a free electronic termometer from one of them.
Termometer? I was expecting free money or cancellation of my debts or a platinum card - but thats all a fantasy. Besides I've already got an electronic termometer. Sigh!
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| We need to smile |
| 02.01.05 (7:11 am) |
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| Keeping my cool |
| 02.01.05 (12:17 am) |
Life sucks, big time.
All I can say is, today was one of those days. Those days where you wish you did not have to go to work or wake up.
My problem stems from someone that I have been helping out financially this past month. Now that person claims that I have cheated him in some purchases. How can you cheat someone out of his money when that fella has no money? Furthermore it was my money to begin with. I made out the payments, which we both agreed to. It was a clean cut one-to-one purchase.
So tonight, once I calm down, I'm making my case against this maggot. Nothing is better then truth right in your face. The fella was so dumb in bringing a charge of money against me when all documentation is in my hands. Its his story against my documents. What I want to know is why stab me in the back? What did I do to deserve such treatment? Why? WHY? (Sounds like some lame Malaysian tele-drama)
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