Hole in one at Monterez golf academy

After having spent numerous hours, watching ASTRO channel 815, and many pack of Ngan Ying ground nuts littering the carpet, I finally decided that it was time to put some theories into practices. I managed to persuade my two boys from their video-game marathon activity, to be enlisted in one of the golf clinics run by local instructor. The chubby instructor fondly known by the kids as Uncle Lim, was a retired colonel army who doesn't take discipline very lightly. Which I think very good. Kids need good discipline so as adults.

The training regimes consisted of 10 modules from the very basic like the correct way to hold the club, swing drills, bunker shot, putting and a little bit on course management. The last part of the course was to really put the skill into practices i.e playing a 9 holes in the actual green.

After they have gone throuth the whole agonising modules (according to them) I can see that both of my kids has got their swing quite right or at least they got the "gaya" right. My kids did enjoy the training very much. But I don't think they enjoy the game as yet because everytime I ask them to join me in the driving range, they will give me thousand of excuses. Their PSP seems got more charm than going down to the green.

So Tiger Wood, you better watch out! Malayan tiger is coming after you.

Publish or perish

I always encounter this problem when I want to do some write-up. The problem is when to actually start it. The pen or pencil suddenly becomes so heavy to move on a piece of paper. Or is it because we are no more doing that basic scribling thing that we used to do when we were a child and instead we are now tap-dancing on a keyboard, a skill only recently we learned. But when I managed to overcome that hurdle, the "ilham" comes non-stop and spilling over even in my dream. What a nightmare that can be.

I personally have encountered this malady when I were finishing my study, especially when it comes to write a chapter. My hand seemed to rebel me and have its own thought. But when I received an email from my immediate boss who were so concern about my wellbeing - "you finish it or don't come back", I managed to finish writing the whole theses in one month! What a superb motivation.

In a place where I earn my living, people seemed to be shy away from doing these basic requirement of which writing and publish articles in journals. This has become a common disease now and the epidemic is not only spreading in my place but also in other places also which include our local alma maters, I was told.
I am however not very surprised at all. Somehow it has something to do with human psychology and also the basic needs. People do things and most of the time they want to be rewarded or at least acknowledged accordingly. But in most instances, this was not the case, at least in the past few years. This has lead to creating a new breed of worker resemble a zombie, where the body live but the brain is dead. This symptomatic disease is so predictable, starting with brain-drain that polluted the system and then people start putting down their pen somewhere else, places like this blog, just for satisfaction.

And the people sitting up there has to learn to recognise the syptoms very fast.

Orchidaceae

Whenever I have some spare time, I will attend my garden. In my motherland, spare time is a very precious comodity and hard to come. It is so important to me that I will trade in with my golf clubs if I have to. Anytime.

Somehow, back in my motherland it seems that I am always busy. And I noticed that my fellow friends, colleagues, neighbours and especially my bosses have the same problem. I am not that surprise if somebody tell me that our politicians are busy. Because they have many important jobs to do such as having fun bullshitting people in parliments, attending official ceremony in golf clubs, making policies that only a bunch of people would undestand and presumably managing their bank accounts in Geneva.

Having that thought in mind, it makes me a bit nostalgic. Ididn't have this problem when I did my PhD in the distant land not so long ago. Despite my very busy schedule of spending my time in the laboratories, in search of scientific breaktrough, hoping that one day I could become the first keropok-eating nation for a Nobel laureatte (and of course a Datukship for that as per our tradition), I still have plenty of time for my family, friends, hobbies, sightseeing and even things that I don't fancy much which is shopping.

If anybody ask me why, I am still figuring it out myself the reasons why, we the nation of roti canai, char kue tiew, and cappati having such a busy lifestyle. Probably because we are so materialistic, conditioned by circumstances and along the way denying ourselves our own quality life that we ought to have. Who to blame? "Bukan salah ibu mengandung".
Back to the original story. Ah yes the orchids, of which belong to the family of Orchidaceae. I think my professor in botany will be very impressed if he ever read this blog because I still can remember the takson very well. At first I don't really fancy keeping these species in my garden as it will only mess up with the theme of my garden.

And yes, as if our life is not complicated enough, garden also has their own themes. Amongs the popular themes of the gardens that was not taught to me by my professors and solely based on my years of observation is the "Kampung theme" of which will consist of "bunga tahi ayam, bunga raya, kemboja, melur" and other plants families that will contribute in their daily used as cooking ingrediens or as medicinal plants. ".

The other theme is of course the "City theme". These gardens are normally decorated by flashy designers and planted with exotic and erratic plants with names that only the retarded can pronounce very well. Can anybody pronouce these plants properly? Digitalis purpurea, Pisum sativum, Paticerium platilobum, Cucurbita moschata etc. Sounds so scary even pests won't come nearer.

But for now, I will try finding time attending my garden. Looking at the lush green, vibrant colors and the diverse symbions in these small ecosphere have some soothing effect on me. Theme or no theme I am contributing to the greening of our planet.

Time flies

People says time flies. Time flies very fast and more so if you are having fun. Today while I am transferring my old files to a new PC I came across some photos of my youngest son. He is 2 plus now. Man....he grows very fast. I have lost count now of how many sleepless nights I have to cope with or how skillfull I was to change his dirty diaper. It was a priceless experience to me. The experience that all fathers should have not missed.

Spending time with my kids is always a fun thing for me to do. Having to watch them growing up from a tiny-weeney-cute little being into a very adorable object is someting that I enjoyed very much. Sometimes, this obsession can be a very good remedy for me from some of our adult's many dread diseases. Stress can just fly away when I simply hug my kids.

Yes, time flies if our time is fully occupied. Suddenly my present in this planet has reached its fourty years of existance. Yes fourty years of colourful life. So I am going to paint my remaining lifespan even more colorful and God knows for how long, and enjoy my life to the fullest.

All the jokers and circus clowns around me....ahhhh...they are just part of the dark colors that will add on to my wonderful journey in this planet. I have my babies to cheer me up.

salivating over

"Keropok" is one of my favourite past-time foods. Whether it is "keropok lekor" or "keropok gonde", they've never failed to satisfy my appetite. Probably I have eaten tonnes of this endemic food since I was introduced to this world. Such a simple ingredient of mainly fresh fish, sago and salt and probably sugar coz these people....errr my people are very well known for making the sugar industry a booming industry in Malaysia. In almost all of their cooking recipes, sugar will be one of the main ingredients. But so far, there is no scientific evident to link high occurence of diabetic patient among these kampung folks. Oh yes...it is also considered as one of the masterpieces, a signature food of Terengganu, of which is also my lovely home town.

I am not quite sure how this fascinating food comes to be so famous, but my theory is that the shape of it probably resemble something so synonymous to the man ego. I could be wrong. Men and equally ladies can become crazy over this food especially during the monsoon season when supply of fish is very limited.

Since this keropok is so well sought after, in Terengganu of course, it is not so surprisingly to find this dish almost in every marketplaces. But there are few local brandnames that have achived celebrities status. "Keropok Losong", named after a place where the food was thought to be originated from, was one of the popular one.

Talking about food always made my mouth salivating. It also reminds me of my beautiful hometown. Time to pack and head back to my motherland.

Oh my...I'm in love!

By chance I fell in love with this bimmer. It was a E28 520. A superb car inside and out. It got a nice body kit too. I didn't pay much attention to it, until I looked at this photo again when I was back in K.L. It brought me to the most part of Britain without any glitches. I paid 800 pounds and sold it a year later for the same price to another enthusiast. I should have brought her back to KL with me.

My second love affair continued with this blue beauty. I was introduced to her by one of my business contacts. It was a E36 328. Supposedly a nice sweetheart, but with so much tantrum. Haven been given not much choice, our affair did not last very long. Three months later I divorced her for a better one.




I got acquintance with this beauty shortly after that. She has the same specs and nice curvature with the previous one, but she was a bit special. She was an ex-Datuk's. So a lot of pampering and TLC has been showered into her. Even though she was not a virgin when I first got her, but riding her is so orgasmic. She still gives me the same pleasure until today. I wiill keep her for sure.


After a year of having affair with UDMs, my other-half started to complain. A jealous woman should be handled carefully. So I though, I should be fair to her and I bought her a black stallion, a E34 520. Now my other-half is a very happy woman. I can now spend some time with my sweethearts...and my other-half doesn't mind at all.

Some say, BMW = Banyak Makan Wang. But for us, BMW = Banyak Masuk Wang.

Note: UDM = Ultimate Driving Machine

Sticky business

Life can be so sticky. One day you can get obsessed with something or someone and the next day for no obvious reason you found out that you don't have the crave anymore. for instance, I for once have this craze and urge to start my own business. A business that is not only can fullfill my dream but also my bank account.

So I took that road and jumped into the bandwagon but after a while I realised that not everybody can be a towkey. Not for a fainted heart anyway. I almost abandoned my PhD in doing so. So I quit (the business). Luckily I did so.

But there is heaven somewhere. And I found my heaven somewhere near the "Bamboo River". But later, I found out that the place is not only a safe heaven for me, but also a sanctuary to most of my fellow rice-eating-buddies. So far I am glued to this place and I believe my other buddies are the same. Stuck for life!




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