My Life

Out Of Office Notification

2009-11-04T19:29:00.002+08:00

We will be away for the next 4 days. See you all on Monday :)

Best Breakfast Guide

2009-11-03T07:41:00.003+08:00

This morning I woke up fairly early and decided to put on my sports shoes and went for a morning walk. After walking about 2.2 kilometers, I thought with the amount of calories burnt I deserve a good breakfast.

I open up the fridge and saw this.

Some leftovers from the doa selamat function we had last Sunday at my uncle's place. What was the menu?

Nasi Arab Kambing! This is catered from the famous Arab restaurant in Ampang. I don't know the name of restaurant but the food is good! I bet this is the best way to cover back the 55 thousand calories burnt from the morning walk just now.

Oh come on. If you think the meal is unhealthy, I top up the lamb with some low fat yogurt. How's that to prevent from insulin spike?

So there you go, the best post workout meal from rumetqz.blogspot.com. Arabic Rice with Lamb (with a dallop of lo fat yogurt) and Cocoa Drink with Fenugreek. Feel free to have it a try. I'm sure your six-pack will appear soon :)

Kiz Sports and Gym One Utama

2009-11-01T00:08:00.004+08:00

Last weekend Wifey had to bring her sister to meet someone in Taman Tun Dr. Ismail. While waiting for them to settle I brought the kids to Kiz Sports and Gym One Utama. Admission fee is RM9.99 for 2 year and below. Above 2 year old will be charged RM25. I think there's no time limit for the kids to be there and the parents' (or guardian) admission are free.

I brought my 350D along as I thought the IXUS would have captured blur shots with the kids actively playing. My mistake was not to bring the 420EX with me. But what can I expect, I have to handle 2 kids with the maid's help. I doubt I can manage another full fledged camera on top of that. So most of the pictures captured turn out blur as well....

Wildan

2009-10-29T22:19:00.002+08:00

Budak ni bangun kul 4 pagi tadi sebab pampers dia bocor! Lepas tu die tanak tido balik dah. Oleh sebab itu, Ayah dia bangun lambat pagi ni.....

Withdraw Paypal to Malaysian Bank Accounts

2009-10-29T06:36:00.002+08:00

Good news for Malaysian Paypal users. We may now withdraw our Paypal funds to bank accounts in Malaysia. Previously we may only do that to our "selected" debit cards, with some amount of charges. With this new features, if we withdraw more than RM400 the transaction fee will be zero. Less than that Paypal will charge us RM3, which is still cheaper compared to withdrawing via Debit Card - now fixed to RM20 per withdrawal regardless of any amount. There's a but to that. Even though the transaction fee is zero, Paypal may charge currency exchange conversion fee of 2.5% from USD to MYR. Hey... nothing is free lah!

You may want to know the SWIFT Code for the banks.

AFFIN BANK BERHAD – PHBMMYKL
ALLIANCE BANK MALAYSIA BERHAD – MFBBMYKL
AMBANK BERHAD - ARBKMYKL
BANK ISLAM MALAYSIA BERHAD - BIMBMYKL
BANK KERJASAMA RAKYAT BERHAD - BKRMMYK1
BANK MUAMALAT BERHAD - BMMBMYKL
BANK OF AMERICA - BOFAMY2X
BANK SIMPANAN NASIONAL - BSNAMYK1
CIMB BANK BERHAD - BSNAMYK1
CITIBANK BERHAD - CITIMYKL
DEUSTCHE BANK - DEUTMYKL
EON BANK BERHAD - EOBBMYKL
HONG LEONG BANK BERHAD - HLBBMYKL
HSBC BANK MALAYSIA BERHAD - HBMBMYKL
MALAYAN BANKING BERHAD - MBBEMYKL
OCBC BANK (M) BERHAD - OCBCMYKL
PUBLIC BANK BERHAD - PBBEMYKL
RHB BANK BERHAD - RHBBMYKL
STANDARD CHARTERED BANK MSIA BHD - SCBLMYKX
THE ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND BERHAD (RBS) - ABNAMYKL
UNITED OVERSEAS BANK - UOVBMYKL

I take this as good news. The bad news is I don't have that much fund in Paypal to withdraw.

Budget 2010: RM50 per credit card

2009-10-23T21:13:00.002+08:00

If I heard it right, the Prime Minister did mention about implying "service charge" of RM50 for each credit card owned starting from 1st January 2010. This is additional to the annual fee charged by the bank (if any).

What is the impact to me? As mentioned in this post, I have a few credit cards in my wallet. Some of them are not used unless I get discounts for using it with certain retailers. No point keeping them if I have to pay RM50 per card and only a few ringgit out of it.

I'll keep a watch on this issue in the next few weeks. I'm sure the banks will come up with a way to "waive" this...

ce and se

2009-10-23T12:42:00.005+08:00

I must admit that my English is very bad. I am sure for those who read this blog for quite sometime will totally agree with this. My stand is simple. As long as I can convey my message to the recipients and they understand, then it's good enough.

In my line of job, I always send out e-mails with lines like these:

"please kindly advice the status of the link/router"
"appreciate your advise on how to further investigate this issue"
"it is not our practice to provide router password to the customer"

The thing is I am not sure which is the right word to use. I kept on asking Wifey on how to use it and she will tell me ce = noun, se = verb. Then I will go, "so???". I don't even know what is a noun and what is a verb. I have the idea that the they have to do with "kata kerja" and "kata nama"(or is it "kata sifat"?), but still I don't know which is which.

I encountered this situation few times and today I decided to blog about it. And I quote from another website.

'Advice' is a noun: you can give someone a 'piece of advice'. For example, let me give you some advice about travelling in China.

'Advise' is a verb: He advised me to always keep my passport on me when I was in China. His advice was very useful.

Another example: She was asked to advise (verb) the government on immigration. Her advice (noun) was used to prepare the new programs.

Next time I need to write this kind of e-mail, I just have to lookup for this entry and still ask Wifey on how to use it!
Enjoy your weekend people!

Maintaining Professionalism

2009-10-22T16:33:00.002+08:00

18th of November 2009 will be the last day I can claim that I am a Certified Cisco Network Professional. It has been 3 years already huh! I scanned my blog and I found the entry of me passing my CCNA, but not my CCNP.

So how can I renew the cert without taking the whole course again? It is set by Cisco that I need to pass any one Professional paper (the one starts with 642-xxx) before the due date in order to maintain the cert.

The question now is, do I want to maintain having this cert? Do I want to have this cert in my resume and face the interviewer asking me how does BGP works, what is Spanning Tree portfast, VTP domain and all the technical details again?? Hmm... frankly speaking, no. But considering the people I have to feed at home... and if it takes for me to be able to know that /27 in IP subnetting means 255.255.255.224 with 30 available IPs, exclusive of 1 network IP and 1 broadcast IP for me to be hired for a decent job... then I really have to take this exam.

So.. siapa ada latest Pass4Sure or siapa nak share beli?? Haha...

The government is giving you RM300 to go and break some sweat

2009-10-20T14:43:00.003+08:00

Something that I just discovered earlier this year is that we are entitled for tax relief for our expenses for Sports and Exercise Equipment. The amount of rebate is up to RM300 per year. The exceptions would be, you cannot claim rebate for expenses on sports attire and sports shoes. But "tangible" sports item like shuttlecock and golf balls are allowed.

Potongan cukai sebanyak RM300 diberi atas pembelian peralatan sukan yang dilakukan oleh individu untuk aktiviti sukan mengikut jenis sukan yang disenaraikan dalam Akta Pembangunan Sukan 1997. Peralatan sukan termasuk alat-alat yang mempunyai jangka hayat yang singkat seperti bola golf dan bulu tangkis tetapi tidak termasuk pakaian sukan, contoh: pakaian renang dan kasut sukan. Perenggan 46(1)(l)

So what is considered as "sports" by the government? You may refer to the Akta Pembangunan Sukan 1997 here. For those who are so lazy to click the link or the office's internet connection blocks the access, the list is as below:

1. Memanah (Archery)
2. Olahraga (Athletics)
3. Sukan Air (Water Sports)
4. Sukan Bermotor (Motor Sports)
5. Badminton
6. Bola Keranjang (Basketball)
7. Biliard dan Snuker (Billiard and Snooker)
8. Bina Badan (Body building)
9. Boling (Bowling)
10. Tinju (Boxing)
11. Kriket (Cricket)
12. Lumba Basikal (Cycling)
13. Sukan Ekuestrian (Equestrian)
14. Lawan Pedang (Fencing)
15. Bola Sepak (Football / Soccer)
16. Golf
17. Gimnastik (Gymnastics)
18. Bola Baling (Handball)
19. Hoki (Hockey)
20. Judo
21. Karate Do
22. Boling Padang (Lawn bowl)
23. Bola Jaring (Netball)
24. Ragbi (Rugby)
25. Sepak Takraw
26. Menembak (Shooting)
27. Silat Olahraga
28. Tenis Ringan (Light Tennis ??)
29. Sofbol (Softball)
30. Skuasy
31. Pingpong
32. Tae kwan do
33. Tenis (Tennis)
34. Bola Tampar (Volleyball)
35. Luncur Air (Surfing)
36. Angkat Berat (Weight Lifting)
37. Gusti (Wresting)
38. Wushu
39. Kapal Layar (Sail boat)

I am planning to purchase a bicycle as that seems to be the "in" thing nowadays around my area. Wifey is saying this might be a "hot hot chicken shit" kind of purchase. Come to think of it, since when my purchases are not! But now since I found the list of approved sports, I am interested in item no. 7. For the usual "American Pool" guys, bila lagi weh??? Main snooker dah bertahun-tahun.. government nak sponsor ni! Now I wonder, can we claim rebate for the table rental bills?

Selamat Hari Raya 6

2009-10-19T10:25:00.002+08:00

Yesterday Wifey and I completed our 6th day of fasting during the month of Syawal. It's the first year we manage to complete it since we got married. I felt like doing it because I realized some old folks in the family are now unable to perform their fasting anymore due to their health condition. If we don't do it now, we might not know if we are able to do it next year around.

In a way this is our reason for not attending to your open houses, kenduri aqiqah, Deepavali celebrations and et cetera. Another good reason would be my parents organized a majlis tahlil arwah at their place yesterday plus a doa selamat for them if they are selected to go for Haj this year. They are now in the waiting list for some additional quota the Saudis are giving throughout the world.

Today is the last of Syawal. Hence there won't be any open houses anymore this coming weekend. I'm sure some of us have finished their stock of raya cookies. For those who just can't have enough of the Mocha Royale and Almond Delight, you may still inquire Wifey about this. Haha... promote untuk raya haji pulak!

Extra Cash with Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negeri (LHDN)

2009-10-15T05:36:00.003+08:00

Last week Wifey and I went to LHDN Kg. Attap to inquire about the letters that we received. Wifey got a J form requesting for a settlement of RM1.5K and I got a JA form asking for me to pay RM37. Now you know how much more Wifey is earning compared to me huh. These are all for our tax declaration for the year 2007.

During the visit, they opened up all the declaration files we did via E-Filing. In Wifey's case, they overlooked the Potongan Cukai Berkala (PCB) hence by providing them the proof, they are okay. From owing them RM1.5K, LHDN now owes Wifey twice the amount because LHDN never returned the access tax payment to her since year 2004. But a usual, nobody is going to give out cash without a fight. They detected that Wifey did not declare her tax in year 2004. Without that they have to hold back to the cash. Blerrgghhh! As simple as filing in a form, nothing much to declare in year 2004. We did not earn that much that time, no kids to support... simple lah. Hopefully in one month time everything will be settled for Wifey's case.

My RM37 case is such a waste of time. It is stated in the JA form that Jumlah Perlu Dibayar = RM37. Once the officer has opened the file, she told me that in year 2007 my access tax payment is RM 1K+ but they returned a portion of it in case there's some year 2007 income that I would receive in year 2008, such as bonus and et cetera. It's good that they have that sort of contingency plan but why la send out a letter asking me to pay? Just state in the letter that it will be deducted from my "interest free" "savings" with them la!

But it's a good thing that I went there. I did query about my access payment for year 2008. Come on la.... its already October and I haven't received my "rebate". I know RM1K+ is not much for some, but it is damn a lot for me! Unless I'm getting some sort of a dividend for it... please return the money back to me. I have thousands of ways to "invest" it elsewhere. The officer just clicked one button on her screen and informed me that it will be processed and hopefully disbursed within one month. I do have a feeling that they were taught to say that....

Happy 1st Birthday Wldan

2009-10-14T10:47:00.004+08:00

It took me a while to update this. 5 days late to be exact. Last Saturday was Wildan's first birthday. Last year this time we were at the hospital accepting him to the world and I still remember about 5 days after that Wildan was admitted to the hospital for severe case of jaundice. He was under double photo treatment and the drip.

Alhamdulillah, he has grown well now. We are about to know his current weight next week as we are going to bring him to the hospital for his 1 year old jab. Last Saturday we had a small celebration at home with Opah, Tok and Mak Ngah. Too bad Pak Su is not around this time. Hopefully these pictures will entertain him this time.

First let's show off the presents. Opah and Tok bought him a tricycle. For the sake of not making Arianna jealous or sad, they bought a rubber horse as well so that both of them can share and play together. The bike is a bit too big for Wildan age at the moment. So the 3 year old Kakak can enjoy that for the time being.

Next, the birthday cake. Wildan is lucky to have a 2nd aunty that is born the same date as he is. The best part is Untie Lin is a baker! So this time, Ayah and Ibu do not need to spend on birthday cake. Wildan's cake is sponsored by Untie Lin. A fondant fruit cake with the shape of a racing car, with cupcakes on the side. Wifey likes both cakes especially the fruit cake. It is not easy to get Wifey to like fruit cake before. I would like to say thank you to Kak Lin for this, and happy birthday to you :). For those who are interested with her cakes, have a look at her website.

Arianna was a sporting sister that day. As usual she loves birthday party. But to her the one we had can't be considered as a Birthday Party because the walls are not decorated. Unlike the one we did for her birthday. Spoilt brat!

On Sunday we had another birthday celebration for Wildan. This time is with friends. We invited the usual crowd, thanks to Farul, Ayil, Ceng and Mueya... and families for being able to celebrate our son's birthday that day. Wifey and I had an idea to embark on new experience whenever it comes to any celebration. For Wifey's birthday we went dating in Melaka without the kids, for my birthday we are supposed to go and see the fireflies but I thought Wildan is still too small to be outside during Maghrib time plus its going to be a boat ride in the river. We had to postpone that. For Wildan, we decided to have a picnic at Bukit Jelutong. The field is a place for the community to fly kite, RC planes and helicopter and last Sunday I did notice people playing Remote Controlled cars.

It was not raining that evening, but it was on the sunny side. Luckily it was windy and we were able to fly the kite, except for our pilot friend who had a tough time flying the kite with his son.

Group photo was taken when it was nearly sunset. So the lighting is a bit low. Arianna and Aidan were the difficult one to handle. Hence their pictures are everywhere during this pose. This is the best I have that have everybody in the frame.

We had a good time celebrating Wildan's birthday :) Thanks to Wifey for preparing the food. She cooked Baked Macaroni, Samosa and Fruit Cocktail pudding. We friend some nuggets for the kids. Something that we learn when preparing food for a picnic is that to prepare something simple. Preferably food that do not require plates and bowls to consume. Well this a new experience for us. So what's next?

It's Friday

2009-10-02T07:56:00.002+08:00

Last Friday I turned 29 years old. Wifey and Arianna baked Banana Cake. Thanks dear :)

That night my parents took us to the Shogun Restaurant One Utama. There's a lot of food and I just couldn't take them all. It's the age...

Sorry that there're not many pictures in this post. Wifey was comot at home. Shogun dun allow us to take photos... Enjoy your weekend guys.

10 10 1430H

2009-10-01T01:09:00.003+08:00

Wildan was born on the 10th of October 2008, which coincidentally is 10 Syawal 1429H. Syawal is the 10th month in the Hijrah Calender. The beauty of him born in Selangor makes his IC number 081010-10-xxxx.

I'm supposed to update this post 2 days ago to commemorate Wildan turning 1 year old according to the moon calendar, but I was a bit busy and somehow today I can't upload photos to Blogger; forcing me to upload it via Flickr.

Anyway according to Pope Gregory XIII, Wildan will only turn 1 year old in another 9 days. Any plans to celebrate?

On Third Day Of Raya...

2009-09-29T07:49:00.004+08:00

We went for breakfast at Jalan Transfer (Transfer Road). We aimed for noting other than the Roti Banjir Jalan Transfer. Better review on this outlet can be found here.

Didik lah anak anda dari kecil untuk minum teh tarik kurang manis.

Half boiled egg on toast. Arianna's new found favourite.

After breakfast we headed to Penang Hill or Bukit Bendera as we would refer it. If you all read the papers or watched the news that day, the train was not functioning for the 2nd time in 2 days time. The visitors were furious and demanded for refund. Imagine those people who are stuck on top of the hill. Luckily we knew about the faulty train while searching for the parking place for the car.

So we headed to te Botanic Garden instead. This used to be the dating spot for me and Wifey. We went there when Wifey was pregnant with Arianna. Now as the kids have grown up, we decided to share the joy of this place with them. :)

We took a dip in the river at the Botanic Garden and we had to head back to the hotel after that as we did not bring any spare set of clothes. After a short nap, we went to Jalan Padang Kota Lama for Pasembur. Our friend Azzad suggested a good place, but since we are there late... obviously the good ones are all finished.

We had some pasembur "cukup syarat" and spent the rest of the evening "lepaking" at Jalan Padang Kota Lama.

So how's that for our 3rd day of Raya?

Hari Raya Official Family Photos

2009-09-28T07:29:00.003+08:00

Gempak aa Uncle Kim boleh fit ngam2 in between the photo frames on the wall.

Arianna sedih sebab dia sorang tak pakai tudung. Wildan punya la simpati... hahaha

Arianna and her unique smile!

What is the function of the shaver plug in hotels' bathrooms???

2009-09-22T15:21:00.000+08:00

Have you ever thought of it before?

Wifey and the kids are sleeping now. Tired from short unplanned dip in the river at the Botanical Garden,Penang I guess. We plan to go to Jalan Padang Kota Lama to get some 'pasemboq' but it is raining now. There's nothing good on national tv other than the raya shows. The City Bayview Hotel, Penang rooms are only subscribing Astro news and sports channel...blerghh.

So he I am blogging from my HTC TYTN II using the unlimited 3G data plan from Celcom, staff package by the way. The topic is quite simple, but have you ever thought how does the shaver look like? The only motorized shaver I know is the battery operated type. Unless they are referring to the shaver / clipper that the barber is using. Why would a traveling guy bring that gadget around? There must be a type of shaver that utilizes this plug and essential enough that people could not live without it for a few days. Where can I get it?

Don't tell me these are the old type of shaver because I do see these plugs installed in the new hotels as well.

Bila la depa nak bangkit ni? Tokua rendang Chow Rhasta market duk tunggu nuu...

Hari Raya Eve

2009-09-19T22:42:00.002+08:00

Wifey is going all out for this raya. She is baking carrot cake, biskut makmur and cooking kuah kacang! Arianna plak pakai inai!!!

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri 1430H

2009-09-18T07:16:00.003+08:00

What kind of blogger I would be if I do not put up a post to wish Selamat Hari Raya and Maaf Zahir Batin to the nearly non existence readers of this blog. It is a special day to update this, one of the reason is today is the last working day before we celebrate Raya. Most of my colleagues would not be working today, some of them are planning to take a half day off and some already planned their EL and MC for today. There are some like me will be working as usual but with the Raya mood in mind. I don't know what is it about Raya this time. Is it the celebration that I do not have to fast anymore? Or is it the Biggest Loser last meal food spread? Bleeding the pocket throwing out duit raya? Firecrackers? I think I'm too old for all that now. Raya for me would be spending time with the family with the heart full of peace. The morning of Raya would be the time where I don't feel the burden of being a husband and father. The mind is so clear, I would talk in a harmonious tone, take pictures and it's all about happy, happy, happy and thankful to be blessed with a family to be with.

I would savior the moment as once the last snap from the family photo session is over, I would say, "Hah.. jom siap ... nak gi visit rumah ni rumah ni rumah ni, susu dah pack lom?wifey dah siap lom? pampers wildan dah tukar?arianna gi kencing dulu..ariannaa!!! gi kencing.. nanti kencing dalam seluar..". Back to being Rumet.

Selamat Hari Raya to all..... as usual, drive safely.. ingatlah orang yang tersayang.

The Next Jamie Oliver

2009-09-15T22:52:00.002+08:00

I don't have anything much to say about these pictures. They were taken while me preparing my own version of Tony Roma's BBQ ribs. Too bad I did not snap the pictures of the ribs.

A little bit to add in this note, we have entered the final week of Ramadhan. Not much different with the previous ones. I planned to go for terawih as I am now working normal hours, but I did not. I plan to lose weight which I did but I am sure that I will gain them back as soon as the Pemegang Mohor Besar announced the day of Raya. I recite a bit more of Al-Quran this year but not as much as people who manages to khatam the Quran ...

Cheers..

Happy 11th month birthday Wildan

2009-09-10T08:03:00.003+08:00

Anak manja ayah ni dah sebelas bulan dah! Cakap sepatah pon belum lagi, kakak dia by this time dah "nak", "tanak","ibu","opah" dah. Tapi dah mula nak berjalan. Ada la 5-6 langkah kadang-kadang. Beza adik dengan kakak ni.. adik ni amat la peramah. Suka gelak, senang senyum, pandai pandang kamera dan dah pandai imitate cakap telefon. Kakak dia dulu nak suruh senyum punya la payah... gelak apatah lagi!

Tapi cik kakak sekarang ni dah pandai senyum dan buat2 muka dan berbagai lagi. Dah tiga tahun setengah dah umur. Dah pandai tengok kartun, tak dengar cakap ayah dan ibu. Kalau tengok tv tu.. jangan harap la nak dengar kalau orang panggil.

Kakak ni sayang kat adik dia. Tapi ada la jugak jeles dia tu. Ye la.. kakak dah pandai sangat, ayah dengan ibu kene concentrate kat adik lebih sikit. Kakak tu cucu kesayangan opah, tuk, nenek. Kalau balik kampung aik memang jeles la dengan kakak dia. Kakak pon lagi la naik mengade-ngade kan? Biasa la tu... nak besar.

Bulan depan adik satu tahun! Nak buat birthday party ke? Ayah dah sengkek ni ....

One day off for maids from Indonesia

2009-09-07T08:42:00.003+08:00

It is made official that the Indonesian maids are now to be given one day off and the privilege to hold on to their passports. In the newspapers yesterday there is news that they are now demanding for RM800 of salary per month. That is more than 2,000,000 Rupiah.

I just don't know how to react to this. At the moment my maid's core job scope is to take care of the kids. Her definition of doing that is just being there by their sides to make sure that no accidents happen. Not to interact and not to educate the kids. The maid spends her time at the play area and in front of the TV watching cartoon. She does laundry, minor cleaning to the house and almost no cooking... as Wifey and I are the ones cooking at home. She has been with us for almost one year and she will be getting a RM50 increment soon. But RM 800, and that is clean take home pay as she does not pay for her food, self care utilities and etc.....Even I don't have that much of savings in the end of the month!

I have to start training the kids to work on the maid's off day! :)

Cheaper Interbank Transfer with CIMB

2009-09-04T07:16:00.002+08:00

I am not good in personal financial management. Every 25th day of the month, I will be all screwed up. The bulk of my cash credited to my Maybank account (salary acc.) will be taken out and dumped to my CIMB account. Since ATM transactions only allow RM3000 of withdrawal per day, that is the amount that will be dumped into my CIMB account. On 1st day of the next month, all the auto-debit loans will be deducted from my Maybank account - home loans, car loans, ASB loan and loan sharks loan. As I've taken out most of the money and put them in CIMB, I had to transfer them back to my Maybank account. Sound silly huh? Why do I take it out in the first place? Trust me.. I don't have the answer for that myself.

There are some transactions involving non Maybank nor CIMB banks, such as my Ambank Islamic Home loan which I am serving 7.75% of interest, and my not less than 10 credit cards from various banks. Shell Citibank card - to pump petrol at Shell, Giant Citibank card - to shop for groceries at Giant, CIMB Malaysia Airlines - to purchase flight tickets, CIMB Air Asia, UOB One card for watching movies at GSC, Diners Club Sushi King, Diners Club Metrojaya, RHB Tesco, Jusco AEON Card, American Express and the list can go on. In a nutshell, name me the outlet, I have the perfect credit/charge card for it.

So these transactions will require interbank transfer. Few days ago I just realized that CIMB is charging lower for their interbank transfer. Maybank is charging RM2 for one transaction and CIMB is only charging 50 cents. That is 75% less!!!

Recently I read an article about CIMB is taking over Maybank in terms of Online Banking. Online retailers are seeing that people are starting to use CIMB Clicks more than Maybank2u nowadays. I do believe that the person behind 1Malaysia has something to do with it too. For 75% discount on interbank transfer charges... Hidup Satu Malaysia!

Lirik Lagu Malaysia Satu – Faizal Tahir

Ku teguh berdiri tiada lagi ragu atau gentar
Ku terus berani melangkah maju ke hadapan
Satu impian nyawaku pertaruhkan

Genggaman tanganmu,
semangatku terus membara janji ku pada mu,
harapanmu ingin ku laksanakan

Kau adalah ilham pada mereka yang ingin berjaya
Kau terus berjuang demi membawa perubahan
satu impian oh berjuta harapan

Genggaman tanganmu,
semangatku terus membara janji ku pada mu,
harapanmu ingin ku laksanakan

Satu Malaysia,
kita inspirasi pada dunia
Nama kan dijulang,
kita menjadi kebanggaan
Satu wawasan bersama bergandingan..

Genggaman tanganmu,
semangatku terus membara janji ku pada mu,
harapanmu ingin ku laksanakan

Berbuka Puasa 2001

2009-09-01T06:05:00.004+08:00

While trying to fix my dad's PC at home, I finally had to switch on my PC which was collecting dust for the past 2 years or so. As I was browsing the pictures in the hard drive, I found these.

Breaking fast at Uptown in year 2001. 8 years down the road, I rarely meet these people anymore. I haven't been to Uptown for years now. We had the similar feast last Sunday at Farul's place with a much smaller crowd. It's interested to see how people evolved. The environment is not the same anymore even though one of us are still the same loser as before. Hmm.. I'm getting old.

Steaming cake in plastic container

2009-08-28T07:16:00.002+08:00

I'm sure you've seen or even bought one of those chocolate cake with the chocolate cream topping before. If you noticed they are always sold in the "microwave safe" plastic containers. The presentation of the cake always makes me wonder, do they steam the cake in the plastic container itself or they do the steaming in a different baking/steaming tin or corning ware and transfer them into the plastic container after that.

My answer is answered 2 days ago when Wifey decided to steam her all time famous chocolate cake in the plastic container. She went to Giant to scout for the plastic container and as I've expected most of them are marked with "Microwave Safe" (warning?). There's one brand that has "Safe for Steaming" label on it and it does costs compared to the Microwave Safe type. And yes the Steaming Safe type is also Microwave Safe.

Too bad Wifey brought the label to the office. I don't know the brand and can't take the picture of the "Safe for Steaming". The one printed on the container itself only mentioned Microwave Safe, I would guess that it's because not every household has a steamer at home.

Isn't it dangerous to cook something in plastic container? Well if you google it up, you will find the term Dioxion (dioxin carcinogens) - cancer causing agents that is released when heating up plastics. There are arguements about it... some say its cancerous and some say its not. My friend Mama would say there's a conspiracy thoery behind it and there's always money involved. If its proven dangerous and why the government is allowing for all these microwave safe plastic containers to be sold in the first place. It's a tough world to live in.. so the best advice would be, "Tepuk dada tanya la selera".