CNY 2009

CNY 2009 will not be spent at "home" but at "niang cia" in West Malayia.

My banker is generous this year. Goodies include 2 small packs of Premium Fortune Cookies, a couple of mandarin oranges and lots of angpow packages.

Office will be closed for whole of next week. One of the reasons is that Eric is getting married on 31 Jan. The family will be very busy whole of next week and week after that. Bride's banquet will be on Tuesday, 3 Feb.

With Eric getting married, will the pressure be on Sam........ Just thinking and wondering.....

That reminds me of Serene's wedding back in 2004. Rushing around to three places in two countries. Never make this mistake again. Simply too tight a schedule. Still memorable :)

New Toy

Managed finally to get the correct automotive GPS road maps. If the one bought earlier for the Perth trip in Nov/Dec 2008 was the right model, traveling would have been a breeze ! Unfortunately I was ill-advised ! Well, managed to have it sold to a surveyor. That's a model meant for land surveyors.

Well, all is not lost. The new toy will be tested this Saturday in West Malaysia. So far, I have already found it to be a useful tool to have if one is a keen automotive traveller.

An abstract of the conversation I had with the salesman at Karamunsing Garmin Gogomotive where it was bought. After closing the deal and money changed hand.

Me: Unfortunately, couldn't use the model I bought in my recent trip to Perth.
Salesman: Ya, that's not meant for traveling purpose.
....................
Salesman: I used to study in Perth, Curtin.
Me: Oh, why did you come back and not stay behind?
Salesman: The place is too slow for me. KK has a faster pace of life.
....................
Me: Is this your shop?
Salesman: No, belongs to my cousin's father-in-law. .........Oh. This is my name card.
I Looked at the name card and the name looked familiar.
Me: What is your father's name?
Salesman: JY
Me: JY...JY.... Is FY your uncle ?
Salesman: Ya.
Me: Mine, mine, what a small world ! I know your father, he is my cousin (mother's side). If I had known this earlier, would have obtained a better price from you.
Salesman: Hehe, next time!

 

The Last Lecture - by Randy Pausch

I came across this through the Oprah show which I find really incredible! One of the the most profound statements he said during the interview with Oprah was this:

When someone did something wrong, the usual thing to say is "I am sorry, I was wrong !". I would like to add like this, "I am sorry, I was wrong, what should I do to make up for it !".

Though he finally passed away on 25 July 2008, I think he left behind a lasting legacy.

Great Quotes

http://www.greatquotesfromgreatleaders.com/?MIAMSRC=W080227>

Revisiting Old Familiar Places......

Thanks to Jun Shi for the opportunity to revisit familiar old places.

Pondok Timpohon - Where climbers start their ascent to Mount Kinabalu.

No visitors to the National Park would miss having a quick tour of the little museum.

Along the way to Poring Hot Spring, we found this enterprising native lady who set up this road side store to solicit visitors and tourists to gaze the rafflesia which happened to bloom in her land.

The rafflesia we saw "back then" was at a different location - Tambunan Rafflesia Centre

Poring Hot Spring - At the spot where people left their foot prints!

After a dip at the Poring Hot Spring, we made a detour to the Sabah Tea Plantation at Nalapak.

We didn't miss visiting Gaya Street Sunday Market! We mingled with both locals and tourists and enjoyed the vibrancy of the Gaya Street.

You won't believe what we bought in Gaya Street that morning, cotton! Real cotton which we have been looking for all over the shops and outlets in KK all this while but failed to get. We need it for our specially hand-made pillow!

Food wise, we managed to try out two of the three introduced by Jason in Astro AEC. Other than the roasted coconut, we ate the Tuaran Mee at the founder outlet (Lok Kyun) in Tuaran and the Fish Paste Noodle at Kok Ming.

Surfing Internet- Strength or Weakness ?

This is what an employment applicant wrote in his CV:

Resolutions 2009

A subject we talked about during dinner of first day of the New Year is resolutions for 2009. The first thing that came to mind was striving for healthy lifestyle. This resolution was triggered by an earlier email from a friend on the subject of "Perks of reaching 50 and heading towards 70"

- Your joints are more accurate meteorologists than the national weather service.
- Your secrets are safe with your friends because they can't remember either.
- Your supply of brain cells is finally down to a manageable size.
- Your investment in health insurance is finally beginning to pay off.

Like what my doctor said," Eat not what you most want to eat but eat what you dislike to eat most". I know, this would be a challenge! No doubt, good health is a major concern after 50.

What next: Talk less and listen more.
There was always the urge to cut in before the other finishes his sentence. Making a conclusion before the full fact is known........
The Chinese sage was right in saying, "Words once uttered, four horses would not be able to chase them back" (translated literally).

That reminds me what are written in the Book :
"Take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires".
"A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver".