Accidental Blogger

Uncle Lim

2012-01-30T03:04:00.002+08:00

When I was back in Penang for the CNY holidays, I bumped into this special character in my usual haunt in Raja Uda, Butterworth, my hometown. Let me give you a little bit of introduction to my hometown. Raja Uda is a town in Butterworth that is predominantly composed ethnic Chinese and is today what we call the business district. The place is growing rapidly with high rise condos and new housing developments. Some may remember Raja Uda as a gangsters' paradise but now that image is fast changing and is becoming one of the most wanted real estates in Penang. It also falls under the Bagan Parliamentary seat of which Penang's CM YAB Lim Guan Eng is the MP. Growing up here was both fun and also disturbing. Being an ethnic Indian, racial slurs were common but for the people here, the usage of "Klinga" and "O-Lang" (black person) was of the norm. I did not forgive the people who have used those words on me but at the same time, I believe the mentality has changed which is what brings me to the story of Uncle Lim.

As I mentioned before, I met uncle Lim whilst I was visiting my usual hang out for a couple of drinks in this restaurant that serves a wonderful Tom Yam and on that day it was absolutely crowded but I managed to find a table for myself. Then came uncle Lim who was looking for a place to sit and he asked politely if he could share the table; I obliged. uncle Lim looked like any of the older generation people of the town at the age of between 60 to 65 years of age. Not long into the awkward moments of exchanging smiles between me meddling with my phone and him gazing into the crowd, he breaks the ice and asks me if I was from around town. I told him I was on holiday and this is my hometown but I now reside in KL. As he spoke, I knew he wasn't highly educated but spoke some amount of reasonable Bahasa Malaysia.

We chatted for awhile and finally, as I expected, the conversation moved to politics. He asked me, so do you think that Selangor will still fall to the opposition in the next GE and I replied honestly that there is a chance but a very slim one that is. Then I stated the obvious to him that I believe that Penang will never fall to BN again to which he was excited and said that of course if would not. He said that Guan Eng is doing a good job and that Penang has never been this well managed. This is something that I would have to agree to. People in Penang are singing praises about Guan Eng (including me) and when I say people, I mean the general public, the guy on the street, people who are cab drivers, hawkers, people from the private sector and simply put, the middle class and upper middle class people would agree to this.

Uncle Lim mentioned as well that there are people who are saying that Guan Eng is a Malaccan and why should he be the CM. He told me that to these people, he told them that why do you bother where he is from and why would you even bother of what ethnicity he is; as long as he is doing a good job, then let him be, everyone is happy. In his words, he said "apa kisah bangsa mana? boleh buat kerja cukup, la". Now this is something that DSAI has been saying all along, why bother what race the person is, as long as they can work, then we put them in the position. I was surprised by his comment which led me to think that if a 60 year old can think that way, then the younger ones have changed too. The reason I say this is because, I believe that the younger generation have educated the old based on alternative media and have also educated the older generation to be critical of the mainstream media and the spins that have been put to it.

Another thing that crossed my mind as well is that the opposition has been doing a good job. When I mention opposition, I use this term loosely because I mean to say Pakatan and not the opposition in the state of Penang. I hope you catch my drift. What is most important to understand is that performance shows, it does not take a genius to tell that the state is performing, you do not need stats and figures especially for the layman. Although Penang's figures show a reduction of debt from RM630 Million to RM30 Million, to the simple man on the street, this would mean nothing. What the person on the street will see is that the roads are not as congested, Penang is striving for a greener environment for example, cleaner towns, no cars allowed into the town center on designated days and of course knowing that the CM does not even own a car! The state government has lived up to it's policy of CAT (the asset declaration by the CM and Excos).

I am proud to say that I am a Penangite and if given the opportunity, would like to go back especially to a place that has come thus far and with people whom have the correct mindset. My meeting with Uncle Lim may have been brief but it had changed my outlook of the people of my town. I would like to urge the other Pakatan states to emulate the good job that is being put into by the Penang state government. I reiterate the obvious fact that performance shows; be it in stats or superficially, it still shows! The winds of change are not coming, it is already here.

Salam.

If you would like to by any chance follow me on twitter for my rantings, please do so. My Twitter handle is: VixstarrNS - twitter.com/VixstarrNS

Just the fireworks at Gurney Drive, #Penang

2012-01-26T00:29:00.001+08:00

Taken at Gurney Drive Hawker Food Centre

CNY Lights #penang

2012-01-24T20:14:00.001+08:00

Taken at PARKROYAL Penang

Only in #Penang

2012-01-23T21:09:00.001+08:00

Taken at Nasi Kandar Pelita (Termasyur)

Home grown Lettuce-My First Produce-Ready for consumption.

2012-01-23T15:16:00.001+08:00

Why I will support Pakatan Rakyat for the next General Election

2012-01-19T01:30:00.000+08:00

With the general elections looming around the corner, both sides of the divide are trying to convince the rakyat with their reforms and/or their transformations. Some of the rakyat are already decided like me and some are of course the fence sitters who are the deciding factor. So the job of the political parties is to convince these people therefore, their agenda needs to be concrete and not just hot air.

Pakatan is a coalition of 3 main parties namely PKR, DAP and PAS. PKR and DAP are multiracial and they seem more keen on reforms and not recycled policies. They seem to be heading in the right direction where they advocate equality for all walks of life. Isn’t that a reason good enough to be voting them in, in the next general elections?

Of course there are people out there claiming look, no one is helping the Malays, no one is helping the Chinese and no one is helping the Indians but my argument is why keep looking at these subsets instead of a single entity that encompasses all our citizens regardless of race? Why not look at the issue of poverty, education and welfare from a holistic point of view? That is what Pakatan is trying to do. The Indian groups in the likes of HINDRAF are fighting for the Indians and true enough I did support their movement and even witnessed the November rally of 2007 which was a blow to BN and showed actual people power which was what I believe to be the precursor to the 2008 GE tsunami. But ever since that incident, I personally feel that the push for political parties to assist only Indians, Chinese or Malays individually should be changed. I think HINDRAF should start looking at other people’s welfare as well and join Pakatan in doing so and just call themselves PRAF (People's Rights Action Force)!

Let me make myself very clear as well that what Pakatan is talking about is mere talk only for this moment and we have to face a possibility that once they are in power there may even be corruption. I do have a very pessimistic view but I cannot be blamed for that because I have seen blatant corruption and I have experienced oppression so I am nothing but careful. So what happens if Pakatan goes corrupt or if they do not deliver? THEN, WE VOTE THEM OUT. And what happens next once we vote them out? We will be caught between a rock and a hard place because we have both the coalitions that are either corrupt or incompetent. I believe this is when we opt for a third force and that third force is us. We demand for our rights and if Pakatan is the incumbent government at that time, then, they have to listen because they are the ones who are advocating kuasa rakyat/makkal sakthi/people power! Kita kasi hantam sama diaorang kalau cakap tak serupa bikin!

What I have said above is of course if they do not deliver. But for the time being, I believe if you are still deciding who to show your support to, then in my honest opinion please let us see a change of government, vote the opposition (Pakatan). Let’s start working as one nation and one people, as Bangsa Malaysia and not Melayu, Cina or India and have a voice as the rakyat to make sure the government listens to the people and not the other way around.

Salam.

England - Compilation of Pictures

2012-01-18T01:30:00.000+08:00

Here is a small compilations of pictures from my business trip to England in 2010. I have more in my possession but I am not done editing it.Yenjoy!!!

Let's start off with a nice chilled draught of Guinness, shall we. Shot at the hotel pub in the town of Rugby where I stayed during my trip.

Here is the town center (high street) with a nice looking clock tower. Rugby is the town where the game of Rugby was invented by William Webb Elliss. He invented the game whilst playing football and decided to pick up the ball and run instead of kicking it. He is definitely epic!

Another view of the quiet town of Rugby.

This here is the town Church.

This is a thatched cottage and this is something that would come to everyone's mind when you mention England. This was taken in the village of Dunchurch about 5KM from Rugby.

This is the view of the thatched roof of the cottage. If you notice, there is a replica of a cat on the roof which is actually a signature of the person who designed the roof so it could be of any animal and in this case, it is a cat.

A typical pub in the village. This is in Dunchurch as well where we gulped several chilled ones.

A statue of William Webb Elliss, The Legend!

London! A random street view. spent a day there during the weekend. I have more pictures of London but I will save it for later. This was my second time in London and I have always loved London. I guess it is because of the fact that it is easy to get around.

A recipe for disaster. Taken at a pub in Trafalgar Square.

And finally, the Tower Bridge! This is not London Bridge, our kindergarten teachers lied to us! London Bridge is an ordinary bridge and is insignificant.

Ponggal - My Ponggal

2012-01-17T01:30:00.000+08:00

Ponggal is a South Indian celebration predominantly celebrated by people of Tamil origin. Officially called Thai Ponggal, it is a harvest festival to thank the sun god for the crops that they have harvested. Ponggal on its own could also mean the sweet rice that is cooked on the celebration. Ponggal is usually celebrated over a course of three days and are divided into Maatu Ponggal (Cow Ponggal), Thai Ponggal (main celebration, Thai refers to the Tamil Month of Thai) and finally Kanni Ponggal or Kaanum Ponggal (More of a day of thanksgiving)

Ponggal for some of the Tamils is a day that is more important than Deepavali. Ponggal is held closer to the hearts of Tamils because it is more of local customs. Of course in Malaysia this is usually not the case and maybe it could be due to the fact that we are not attached to our roots as how it is in India. I must admit that Ponggal used to go like “whoosh” for me because it was not very significant. This year however, it was an exception because I actually celebrated it properly.

Ponggal is generally celebrated by boiling rice, milk, brown sugar with a variety of condiments. Once the rice and milk come to a boil, we chant “ponggalo, Ponggal” as a belief that health, wealth and prosperity should overflow as how the milk does when it comes to a boil. Usually, the sweet rice (what it is called when the milk and rice has boiled) is cooked in a clay pot but these days it is done in ever silver pots or aluminum pots due to convenience. In my case, it was ever silver (not so cool, but at least I did it)

After preparing the sweet rice and other dishes, we went to the temple and for the first time I wore a Veshthi (dhothi) of which I am proud of. I decided to wear one because since it is a Tamil celebration, I decided to stick to my roots, lol.

All in all it was a nice and quiet celebration which I enjoyed; the pictures you see below are some of those that I took during the day. Some of the pictures have nothing to do with Ponggal but I just liked the shots. Hope you enjoy too.

The "Kolam" by my wife. Art Level: Asian

The sugarcane deco in front of the house. A friend of mine was telling me how his dad asked him why do you tie the sugarcane at the entrance of the house? My friend did not know the answer and asked his dad for the answer; to which he answered that if the sugarcane is not tied, it would fall... well done friend's dad!

Random Shot!

Random Shot, again!

Random Shot, yet again! okay, I am done with the random shots.

The pot that we used to boil the milk and rice. what's tied to the pot is Cucumin (tumeric). I am not too sure what the significance is but wikipedia states that it is an offering as well. I don't really want to quote wikipedia but this the closest I can find.

Merry Ponggal! May you be Blessed with the best "Harvest"

2012-01-15T15:44:00.001+08:00

My 10th Anniversary – A short vacation to PD

2012-01-14T12:30:00.000+08:00

My wife and I have been together for 10 wonderful years. We got married 3 years ago but we were a couple for 7 years prior. I really value our relationship and I dare say that she has literally been there for me through extremely troubled times and also not forgetting to mention the good times.

To commemorate the 10^th year of us being together, I planned a quick trip to PD as we did not have much time out of our busy schedule because most of our time is spent at work and also when back home, looking after our son and on weekends, it is fully dedicated to well, our son. This time around, we managed to get our baby sitter to look after our son whilst we took a quick trip to Port Dickson. The reason for the choice was because it was nearby and should there have been any emergencies, we could have easily rushed back to KL.

I had to make this trip very interesting because it was our 10^th year and had very limited time. So I decided to keep the location a secret to my wife and made the plans all by myself. I booked a water chalet in PD at the Lexis Water Chalets (formerly known as The Legend Water Chalets). I must say that it was very good! The hotel itself looks grand and the rooms were class. I got the deal for a decent price as well because it was a weekday. It was just nice as I only booked the room for the night.

Out of 10, I would give this hotel a good 8 because of the environment and the setting and also the facilities that are provided. There are choices of rooms whereby you can book a single story chalet which has a glass panel on the floor which is right above the sea (I found that very cool indeed, macam rusa masuk kampong la, katakan). It also has a bath tub, open bathroom (meaning that the roof can be opened so you can bathe under the moonlight… very romantic indeed). There is a common swimming pool (if you book the rooms at Grand Lexis, there is a swimming pool in each villa). Also, the chalets have balconies, so you can just sit around, have a beer and read a book over the sea, it was a very pleasant experience indeed. You get a queen size bed in the room and also a loveseat by the window so you can see that the room is pretty spacious.

My wife was very impressed and I must say that I gave myself a pat on the back too :) The Chalets are located in Lukut, about 5 KMs away from PD town. If you’re willing to explore PD, there are nice seafood restaurants along the coast.

You can find the Chalet here:

Lexis, Port Dickson
(formerly known as The Legend Water Chalets Port Dickson)
Batu 2, Jalan Seremban,
71000 Port Dickson,
Negeri Sembilan,
Malaysia.

And they’re reachable at: 1 800 88 0017

Website: www.lexispd.com.

My 2 Cents on the whole Anwar Acquittal Saga

2012-01-13T01:30:00.000+08:00

So Anwar is now a free man and has been acquitted of sodomy which is good news because in my opinion the whole case should have been thrown out in the first instance as there were a lot of inconsistencies. There was no solid information to corroborate the claims. There were however so called evidence in the form of DNA of which were in pristine condition despite being handled wrongly and stored incorrectly that could have resulted in contamination.

I am not going to go on talking about the technicalities involved in the case because the news were in the papers and you can be the judge. Likewise, my writings here are of my own opinion and conclusion as a layman and I am no liar *cough* lawyer by the way. Anwar could be guilty or Anwar could not be guilty but all of it depends on the burden of proof in the court of law. If there is a reasonable doubt, the accused should be set free because the situation is still debatable and there is no concrete evidence to substantiate the claims (however, I do stand to be corrected as I am merely a layman and not someone with vast legal knowledge, so I do welcome comments from the more learned ones)

Anwar was released on the 9^th of January and the judgment was delivered in 3 minutes. Apparently it shocked everyone; even the opposition. Honestly, I think it was pretty obvious because the police had allowed for the 901 rally to take place and that too nearby the vicinity of the court complex. Now, there may be disputes saying that, that is not where we wanted to have the rally. Guys, think about it, they gave you the car park near the court complex and not the stadium in Shah Alam or something to that extent. It seemed to me that they knew what was coming and deep down inside, I really feel that Pakatan knew about this as well.

Now there are statements being given that the whole judiciary is independent and free from any influences. Yes, you are right. So why state the obvious? Is it not supposed to be free and independent? Why tell that it is independent unless it is not? This raises more questions than trying to prove that the judiciary is independent. In my honest opinion, that statement should not have been made. Yes, I do agree that the opposition have been making claims that the judiciary is otherwise but with statements like these, you’re only making people ask the question, “eh, you mean it was not independent all these while, ah?!” so, you have managed to create some amount of doubt even with the fence sitters.

As for Anwar and co, what now? The ceramahs before the verdict were fiery and filled with promises but are you going to deliver? What else can you show us, or is that it? 901was about justice and justice has been served. The 901 rally and pre-verdict ceramahs were not about Anwar and I did not say this, Pakatan did. The only good thing that has happened so far is that the CM of Penang and the Exco have declared their assets; Selangor and the rest of the PR states, bila lagi? This is my personal challenge to Pakatan as a Malaysian. Please prove yourselves worthy and not just be content with this “win”. The onus is on you to prove that we the rakyat will be voting the right people in.

Salam.

Now for some good ol' Curry Mee!

2012-01-12T12:52:00.001+08:00

Taken at Restaurant Jin Hong

Video: Epic Rap Battles of History

2012-01-11T12:00:00.000+08:00

Here is a couple of guys Epic Lloyd and Nice Peter who are putting up rap battles between sci-fi characters and also of famous people in History. They dress up as the characters and start to battle each other packed with solid punch lines and humour.

One example is Darth Vader Vs Adolf Hitler and also another epic battle is Albert Einstein Vs Stephen Hawking. Once you have watched the video, you can decide who won the battle on their page http://epicrapbattlesofhistory.com/

I have linked a video from YouTube to my site containing all the battles from season 1 and also the latest video from season 2.

Hope you guys enjoy this as much as I did. I do know this may be old news for some of you guys but either way, ain’t too late to laugh :)

Compilation of Season 1

Season 2 – Darth Vader Vs Adolf Hitler pt.2

An Appeal to Penis Owners!

2012-01-10T01:30:00.000+08:00

Dear Fellow Penis Owners,

I would like to humbly request that you keep your appendage in check when taking a piss. Firstly, I do agree that you ideally think that you own a bazooka for a penis and that it can shoot long distances but the sad truth is that, it is simply not that big.

The reason I say so is because some of you keep leaving your cock stains on the rim of the toilets and the floor! Please bear in mind that other manly beings use those toilets to take a crap and do not want to come in contact with your DNA.

Let me educate you on how to use your most valued appendage, here are the steps:

1. Step close to the toilet bowl/urinal and make sure you are above it and not 6 feet away although I know it is fun to play aiming games but trust me, you’re not a trained sniper.

2. Pee: INTO THE BOWL; when you hear your bi-product make contact with the water in the bowl, you are a hero! You’re doing it right

3. When you are about to be done, make sure you wiggle your dongle ABOVE THE BOWL and make sure you can hear the droplets! Don’t be too quick to put your penis back before you are sure you are done, this is where the mistakes mostly happens.

4. Once you are done make sure you did not leave your manly stains on the rim.

5. Wash hands (additional tip). It’s not cool to not wash your hands. It’s tantamount to using your dingley-dangley to type or hold your burger or to touch anything for that matter!

This is my humble request. I hope Penis owners of the world could adhere to this if they have a preference to use the toilet bowl instead of urinals. Toilet bowl users are the ones with Penis Envy but not all of us are perfect are we!

I like to move it, move it!

2012-01-09T16:37:00.001+08:00

Just finished doing the deco for my son's room!

2012-01-09T01:29:00.001+08:00

Mix Vege - Done. Cooking Level: Asian!

2012-01-08T17:29:00.001+08:00

Chicken curry - Done

2012-01-08T17:28:00.001+08:00

Movie Review: 7aam Arivu (Tamil)

2012-01-07T01:30:00.000+08:00

I finally have time to blog about the latest Tamil movie I watched couple of weeks ago. This movie I find extremely well done albeit a plot that is a little bit too far fetched.

The movie stars Surya and Shruthi Haasan (daughter of Kamal Haasan), Ashwin Kakumanu (Mankatha fame) and a few others who are probably unheard off.

The story is loosely based on Bodhidharma, the Tamil prince from the Pallava dynasty who travelled to China and established Shaolin Kung Fu.

I have heard of this prince from my father who is hardcore about the roots of Tamilians. He mentioned how the prince had travelled from south India to china with herbs and medicine and how he spread the teaching to the Chinese. That is the reason why Indians use fresh herbs and Chinese use dried herbs because by the time Bodhidharma got to China, it was all dry but the properties of the herbs remained. Now I cannot substantiate this story because it is word of mouth but, the story about Bodhidharma and Shaolin Kung Fu is real and it has been documented. Bodhidharma is known as Damo or Puti Damo in China and various other names in Tibet, Japan, etc.

The First 20 minutes of the movie is set back in circa 400 a.d. And shows how Bodhidharma got to China and how a dark man gets accepted into the Chinese society whom find this dark figure to be a bad omen. He overcomes this by healing a child who was left to die in the cave where Bodhidharma took shelter. The child was left to die due to an unknown disease similar to smallpox; basically they had to isolate the child because she could infect the rest. Bodhidharma then diagnoses the child and finds a cure and brings the child back to the village healthy and people are surprised and treat Bodhidharma as a saint.

The people of the village only saw Bodhidharma as a medicine man but they were in for another treat when the village is attacked by barbarians with axes and machetes. Bodhidharma then sets the south indian martial art "Varma Kalai" on them including the ability to control the 5 elements, hypnosis as well as hand to hand combat.

He then goes on to train the people of the village to defend themselves and this would become Shaolin Kung Fu.

Then the scene goes on to show Bodhidharma aged with a receding hairline being given something to eat by the people of the village. Bodhidharma then finds out it has been poisoned and asks the people why did they do so and they explain that they predict something bad is going to happen and if Bodhidharma is buried in the grounds of the village, they will be spared the calamity. Bodhidharma accepts it and passed on and is shown to be buried in the village.

The story then fast forwards to the present day to a meeting held with high Chinese officials where the Chinese plan to stage a Biological warfare with India. See when I say the plot is a little bit too farfetched, this is what I mean. in the meeting there are several military personnel and this one other character who is called Dong Lee who plays a pivotal role as well. The role is played by Johnny Tri Nguyen who is a prominent stuntman and has done stunts for Spiderman and Collateral to name a few.

In this movie, Dong Lee is a highly skilled assassin who is sent on a mission to India to commence the mission and also kill a girl Subha Srinivasaan (Shruthi Haasan) who is a scientist researching the DNA of Bodhidharma and intends to bring him back to life by means of Genetic Memory whereby she has traced a descendent of Bodhidharma called Aarvind (Surya) who works in a Circus. She had shared a paper she wrote on how this is to be done and the paper had been leaked to the Chinese and they see the re-emergence of a new Bodhidharma as a threat because he can find the cure for the disease because it is the same virus that infected the people in China in 400 a.d.

The story picks up from there. Overall, I thought it was a good movie but they could have done away with the songs. The plot is farfetched but credit is to be given to director A.R.Murugadoss as the way the movie was taken was as good as a Hollywood film. However, I wished the movie should have just continued as the life of Bodhidharma and did not have to bring in the modern plot. I would give this movie a 7/10.

If this movie comes out on Astro first or if it is still playing in the cinema, go watch it. It has a very important message to be delivered in the film and you will understand towards the end of the movie

Social Media is making us Anti-Social

2012-01-06T01:30:00.000+08:00

A lot of times I have found myself just fiddling with my phone either with Twitter or facebook or updating my blog. This happens even when people are around me for example my wife, kid and friends. I have had my phone snatched away by my wife and asking me to concentrate on our conversations and also I have had my friends call me anti-social. However, the irony is, they do the same thing. It gives me a certain comfort that I am not the minority :)

The bigger irony in fact is that “Social” media is responsible for making us anti-social. We are more engrossed with the virtual world rather than the one physically around us. With the devices we have today, it is undeniable that we will succumb to online social media; my one year old son is already fascinated with my mobile phone and I believe, very soon, he will be navigating the internet and I am indeed worried of how he might turn out. I frequently have conversations with a friend of mine on how we grew up in the 80s where we would fall get hurt, bleed and what not which actually made us stronger not only physically but mentally because we knew we had to pick ourselves up and continue to move on. Some of the bruises suffered from our childhood is still visible and we are proud of those scars! Today, kids are fiddling with their phones, tablets and other gadgets and are already on sites like facebook. I have nephews and nieces adding me as their friends and these kids are not even 10!

At the rate the online social media is going, we will have more obese kids as they spend more time on the computer or tablet instead of being outside kicking a ball. I must admit that I lack exercise too and have indeed put on a considerable amount of pounds. I have found myself in situations where both my friend and I or my wife and I not talking to each other but fiddling with our mobile devices.

Although the boost in technology is inevitable and gadgets are getting cheaper for example the tablet in India called Aakash which costs only RM150, we need to start to get our children/nephews/nieces engaged in real games, and start to put a control on the usage of these devices so that they do not become socially handicapped. It is of course easier said than done. I myself cannot put my device down for a while but I guess it needs to start somewhere and we need to be examples. I believe when my son is older, I am going to take him to parks get him to engage in games i.e. football, rounders or even play a simple game of cop and robber.

Gone are the good old days when our only addiction was the TV!

iPhone vs. Android

2012-01-03T22:26:00.001+08:00

My blog has been void of any reading material lately and has only been updated with pictures from Instagram as I do not want the blog to look idle. So I have decided to write this article about my decision on why I chose an iPhone over a phone running on other operating systems namely Android. I chose this topic because it is what comes to mind at the moment. I will promise to keep it short :D

It all goes back to when…. I was using a regular phone (a Sony Ericsson W810i) when I saw the boom of the iPhone 3; everybody was using it and there was so much hype about it and how you could swipe across the screen and use two fingers to enlarge pictures and a whole lot of other fingering! I dismissed those features as not interesting and basically just marketing gimmicks but the actual reason was because I did not have one. I was so sick of the people who owned an iPhone who were showing off and started to condemn iPhones. I swore I would never get an iPhone and laughed at the people who had one. I was in the intention of changing my phone when the smartphone revolution kicked in but I did not want an iPhone.

A colleague of mine was using an HTC Touch (I believe) running on Windows Mobile and it could do almost everything an iPhone could so I decided to get a Windows Mobile phone too to shut the iPhone users up. I finally ended up buying an HTC touch pro which cost a bomb! I was quite content with the phone until it started to act up because as we all know, Microsoft is infamous for their fuck ups in the OS. The problems were so bad that it was interfering with my ability to pick up calls. It would hang, not ring or also crash altogether when I receive or make a call. This totally makes the phone useless other than for a paperweight which is what it is now!

I bore the pain for 2 years using that phone and finally braced myself and got an iPhone 4. Yes, I had to face the guys who already owned an iPhone who I laughed at and yes, they did get the last laugh but it was worth it because I do not regret my purchase of the iPhone because it does what I want it to do. I can check my emails and open the attachments with no problems and view it as it should, and also it is very flexible and it is an excellent gaming platform.

The question however is why not an Android phone? To be very honest, I like, indeed I love the Android OS because it is open source and it is by Google. The phones that ran on Android i.e. Samsung, Sony Ericsson and HTC were infact my succubae but I could not succumb to it because just like Windows Mobile, it was too customizable which reminded me of my previous phone and I hated it so much that I did not want a phone that is too customizable which ruins the very fundamental usage of a phone; to answer calls!

iPhones are very customizable too when jail broken, so that is a reason why I did not jail break my phone and I do indeed pay for apps and games. It is a small fee for some fun and work but the cost is negligible. Although I know that I am being ripped off by Apple, I do also know at the same time, the people who have developed the app, gets paid as well so that offsets the feeling of being screwed good and proper.

I am still tempted to get an Android device but I would be kicked by the home ministry (wife) for changing an expensive phone. I may get a tablet running on Android if I have a surplus of cash; care to donate to my blog? :D

Yes, I agree 140%

2011-12-24T23:45:00.001+08:00

Taken at Coronation Swimming Pool

You fucking Pissing Bowl!

2011-12-24T22:29:00.001+08:00

Taken at Coronation Swimming Pool

Truck in Boots!

2011-12-20T15:33:00.001+08:00

Taken at Yi Heng foodcourt

MUST READ: The Client (Wife and Child) VS. The Service Provider (Husband)

2011-12-10T01:30:00.000+08:00

Here is an original piece written by my wife to me as if to highlight a complaint to a service provider. And of course like all service providers, I replied by pushing everything back to the clients. Have Fun!

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Dear Husband (The service provider)

We, the clients (Wife & Child) are writing to you as we have observed that your service is not up to our requirement lately.

1) You are not being proactive towards ensuring all contacts are responded within the service standards set. The calls are not picked up within 3 rings and to our dismay there are a number of dropped calls.

2) You are late in responding to our requests for technical assistance in person which requires you to make use of some of the hardware. More often than not, the assistance is not up to the SLAs. (Eg: The half broken key which is still stuck to our door)

3) The issues in hand are not diagnosed properly and there are no advice given to user (the client) on appropriate action. (Eg: The laptop issues.)

4) You also have failed to identify and escalate situations requiring urgent attention. (Eg: Leaking roof)

5) You are not preparing your reports which we have agreed upon (Eg: Finance matters)

6) You are not up-to-date with the current changes of the client. (Eg: The child now can say pppel for Apple and nana for Banana)

As such, there will be a conf-call at 2.00 pm and 9.30 pm (Malaysian time) on a daily basis starting from today to discuss some of the issues and how we can improve the SLAs which was signed on the 02/11/2008 on our Marriage registration day. The attendance for the conf-call is compulsory.

In addition, we are expecting you to make up for all the short comings and to treat us on the 19^th and 20^th Dec. You will bear the consequences if you fail to remember these dates. (Do keep our budget in mind)

In conclusion, kindly at all times ensure that you operate in a highly professional manner that meets the needs of the client within a FAMILY environment.

Signed:

The Clients (Wife & child)

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Dear Wife & Child (The Client)

Please find my explanations on your grouses below.

1) Recently I have been overwhelmed with my other contractual obligations such as doing my job which would in turn generate revenue for you. Should I forego this core responsibility, you as the client will see huge losses and the situation will escalate to a crisis. Should call not be picked up or dropped moving forward, please respond with a text message and you will receive a text reply or a call after 3 hours or more. Please bear in mind that I (The service provider) am very concerned about you (the client’s) well being.

2) This I am afraid should not be held against the service provider as there have been numerous request from my side for a tool that has been provided to you (The Client) stored in a designated area but now it has mysteriously gone missing. The service provider cannot be spending redundantly for tools that have already been purchased. An item that needs to be highlighted here is that the service provider has also risked a life to climb to high places to provide protection to you (the client’s) e.g. ceiling lock for the entrance to the water tanks.

3) The service provider shall not meddle with issues that concern common sense. Thanks.

4) Another issue that cannot be held against the service provider because this has been brought to your (the client’s) attention to provide the service provider with the number of the third party but unfortunately, it is not heeded and thus the service provider cannot be held responsible. If you would like the issue to be highlighted to the third party, please provide the number by today to avoid delays.

5) Genuinely a mistake on the service provider’s side and due apologies will be made.

6) It is not the service provider’s fault that the client starts talking before the official meetings on weekends. However, as the service provider, I am very keen to see this action in place and would like to schedule a call for this.

Conf Calls have been scheduled based only on the client’s free time but no consideration has been given to the service provider’s free time. The service provider will only answer the call if free. Although improving SLAs are of key objectives, but answering calls was not part of the SLA signed. I have taken the liberty to check the mantra chanted on the Wedding day as well (apart from the official contract) and nowhere in Sanskrit has a phone been mentioned.

The Service Provider guarantees that these days will not be forgotten and to compensate for the losses which occurred because of the finance reports not being prepared, the service provider accepts the penalty of providing a treat to the clients.

The Service Provider will operate at its capacity and make sure obligations are met. However, if there is undue stress from the client, the service provider may expire from a broken heart.

Signed:

The Service Provider (Husband)