Take Two

Gee, these days my posting frequency are getting too few and very far in between. Gone are the days when I wrote a post practically everyday! Work has been keeping me pretty busy and just finding the time to get online and write something is already an effort. Even finding the time to get to catch up with your blogs is getting to be so darned difficult.

I'm just glad it's Friday cos I really need the break. I've been working my butt off all week and the weekend is much welcomed. Now that I have the time to blog I'm just too drained to sit here for too long to write one of my infamous long winded posts so I'll just do two short takes. I can hear you guys breathing a huge sigh of relief ... LOL!

Take One

On the 26th of June, I wrote a post about the passing of Michael Jackson, well, the whole world practically wrote a post about him. And I received a comment from someone called Anonymous. It went like this.

Anonymous said...

I like how you discolored the MJ pics so as to lessen his horrific self-bleaching of the past 20 years.

You wouldn't have left your kids alone with this freakazoid in a thousand years, and you know it.

Give me a break.

Now, I'm all for constructive criticism and I gladly accept when people are bluntly honest with me. Now I wouldn't trust my kids with anyone let alone Michael Jackson but I did that post to honour the man's huge and undisputed talent, not his personal life. His personal life no matter how weird it was is his business.

We all have our quirkiness and failings, lets not argue about that but unfortunately we're nowhere near being as talented as MJ was in his particular industry and naturally when one is popular, every bit of your failings is amplified a hundred fold.

While I don't even have an issue with this, Mister or Miss Anonymous, you could at least have the guts (a more vulgar word came to mind but this is a family blog anyway) to put your real name instead of hiding behind a screen of anonymity.

If you're going to be sarcastic, criticize or leave biting comments like that, then be a man or even a woman and have the decency to leave your real name. If not, don't even bother leaving a comment.

I take issue with this cos I'm a huge fan of Michael Jackson and no matter what his failings and weaknesses were, we cannot deny the impact he made on the music industry and what a legend the man was, music wise! And no, Anonymous, I didn't discolor the pix to hide his horrific self-bleaching as you put it, I did it to give it a feel of nostalgia.

Take Two

On the 28th of February, I wrote about the how teachers in this country were complaining of 'going mad' as they cannot handle teaching Mathematics and Science in English. It was a huge issue and many quarters were calling for the teaching of Math and Science to be abolished and reverted back to out national language.

But there were also many quarters who argued that by doing that we would be taking our education system ten steps back in the wrong direction and the future geniuses we produce wouldn't be able to compete out there internationally, especially in the fields of Science seeing as how all scientific jargon and terminology is in English to begin with. I was one of them.

The government created all kinds of committees to look into this problem, which to me was pretty obvious what the answer was and deliberated for months on end. Then a couple of days ago, they made a decision that they're going to revert the teachings of Math and Science back to our national language.

I was appalled. I'm not even going to bother with the stupid reasons they came up with to base their decisions on but all I can say is I fear for the fate of the future generations of this country which would include my children.

Why oh why can't we vote for our own Prime Minister like what the REAL democratic countries do instead of having him forced down our throats. Maybe then we could get some much more intelligent people running this country instead of 'geniuses' like these ... siggghhh ...
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A Mini Getaway ...

I've been away from my blog for quite sometime. The last post I had was way back on the 29th of June which is like an eternity for someone like me. It's not because I don't want to post or don't have any ideas about what to post. I do have loads of things running around in this crazy mind of mine but I just don't have the time. A lot of things are happening at the same time and trying to squeeze in a round of blogging is getting more difficult these days.

Anyways, all is well in this here parts. I even managed to go for a mini vacation with wifey and the family. My best buddy, Adrian who by the way started blogging again called me last week and invited me along for a short beach vacation. Although it was a really short notice, more like 2 days I simply couldn't pass up the offer.

We went to Port Dickson, a popular seaside town about an hour's drive or so from our place. We spent the night at this cool apartment called Sri Pena. We would have preferred a longer stay but unfortunately the place was booked solid the next day and seeing as how the trip was planned in such a short time, other places of accommodation simply could not be arranged.

I haven't been to Port Dickson in ages though I used to live in this lovely laidback seaside town a very long time ago. The place has changed so much that I hardly recognized it anymore. I couldn't even locate the place I used to live. I'm not even sure if it exists anymore. It sure would be nice to visit the old house again.

I must say I enjoyed myself to the max, of course having my best buddy, his wife and daughter along with wifey and the boys made doubly sure it was fun, fun, fun and more fun :D Most of the day was spent lounging around in the pool. The best part was we had the place practically to ourselves cos we went before the weekend peak time. There was only about one or two other families in the entire apartment complex which made it fine by us.

The only thing I have to complain about is the old body not being able to take the strain of all the fun. By the time we reached home the next day, I was aching all over from all the time we spent swimming in the pool. Well, I can't swim so it was more like floating around in the pool all day pretending to swim ... LOL!

Before going I was boasting to wifey that I was going to stay up all night long and chit chat with my good buddy but by the time the clock struck midnight I was almost dead tired and eventually gave up the fight and went to bed. Sorry buddy, I know you wanted to stay up longer, but age has caught up with me.

But overall, I had a blast that I can't wait for our next holiday together. There is nothing like going for a holiday with the family and your best friend's family cos you know you'll be assured of a great time. And a great time it was indeed. Though I do need another holiday right now just to recover from the recent one ... LOL!

Here are some pictures of the recent trip. Nothing great, too lazy and too busy to really edit it at all, so just enjoy the raw format ... hehehe ...










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The Chicken Run ...

Today is a Monday and for once I'm pretty happy. No, I didn't win the lottery though I wish I did. That would make my Monday even more awesome. But alas, when it comes to winning things, I'm the most unluckiest person in the world. Even trying to win a packet of chips is way beyond me ... LOL!

For some of you, especially the long time readers of this blog know that I've had loads of issues with the Hartz Chicken all-you-can-eat restaurant. I used to love frequenting that place and being a chicken lover, what else could be more appealing and exciting than an all-you-can eat chicken diner, right?

Well, both wifey and and me had some pretty nasty encounters with the staff there at two of their outlets on more than 3 occasions, twice in Summit and the other in Sunway Pyramid. And both of those occasions left a bitter taste in my mouth. Enough was enough and suffice to say, we decided to give that place a permanent miss. Even sending a complaint email to their management bore no response with them not even having the courtesy to reply or acknowledge my email.

Well anyway, this weekend I was wondering around Summit with wifey and discovered that they had closed down. Both wifey and me hooted for joy at the empty site that was formerly Hartz Chicken restaurant ... LOL! That's what you get when you employ staff who just don't practice good customer service. As much as I enjoyed dining at that place, I'm glad that they've closed down.

It goes to show that when you employ people with no tack or commitment whatsoever you tend to drive away genuine customers from visiting your establishment and without the support of your customers, you're bound to suffer in the long run! As much as I'll miss that all-you-can-eat chicken joint, I'm bloody ecstatic that it has closed it's doors. Now to pray for the closure of the Sunway outlet too ... hahaha!
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The Man In The Mirror

Today is Friday which is normally a day I would rejoice seeing as how I live for weekends but not this Friday though. I woke up this morning to the sad news of Michael Jackson's death.

The moment I got out of bed, wifey looked at me with this sad face and said,

'Sayang, Michael Jackson died la!'

To say I was shocked is putting it mildly. I rushed over to the PC and read the news she was pointing out to me, I was in a daze for a while. I grew up to the tunes of the man.

I danced to his music and spent countless hours perfecting his moonwalk with my cousin just so I could show off that I could pull off one MJ's dance moves.

The man was a legend. The King of Pop they called him. It's so sad to know he's no longer going to be around. But that's life. At least his music will still live on forever.

Rest in peace, MJ.

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A Mother's Tale

It's been almost a week since I last wrote a post. And it's not because I don't have anything to post. I've just been swamped with work and my back is still acting up on and off so much so that I can't sit in front of the computer for too long. I've gotten some strong pain killers for it so that helps a little.

Anyways, that really isn't what I wanted to talk about today. I didn't really want to get online today cos the pain in my back is a little extra painful today but I just had to get online and rant a little.

I'm a person who takes great care with my stuff. It doesn't matter what it is but I'll take great pains to keep my things as clean and as new as I possibly can. In fact I'm so particular about things to the point of being obsessive at times. It bugs the heck out of wifey sometimes. But then she's like me too at times. We're both very particular and passionate about our things.

Take for instance my laptop. I'm so fussy with it that I'm forever cleaning it and warning the boys to stay as far away from it as possible. I'll always keep an eye on them whenever they get anywhere near it. The same goes for the desktop that wifey uses. I'm always telling the boys to stay away from it. And I'm forever cleaning it and dusting it.

The same goes for the stuff we have in the kitchen. The microwave we bought is as new as the day it came out from the shop. Whenever it's used, I'll always give it a complete head to toe wipe down. The thermal pot looks as new as the day it came from the shop. And everyday, I'll wipe it down after refilling it. That's how obsessive I am with things.

Even the kitchen sink faucet is still shiny and gleaming like as if we bought it only yesterday. Wifey and me ALWAYS clean everything we use immediately after using it. Even the boys get pissed off at us from all the times we scream at them to keep the place clean and to be careful when using things.

We believe if you take care of something it'll last very much longer. We value all our stuff cos we worked hard to buy them all. But what do you do when someone in the house doesn't give two hoots about the things you take great pains to maintain and keep properly. And what do you do when that someone happens to be your own mother.

Before I go on, let me say that I have every respect for my mom as the woman who brought me up and all that but that doesn't mean I have to tolerate or accept all the negative things that she does that irks me. I'm a very vocal person these days and don't hesitate to speak out when something bothers or annoys me. I used to be a quiet and shy person but not anymore.

Imagine coming back home to find the entire kitchen floor covered in oil that Petronas or Shell would be more than happy to pay me for drilling rights. Or imagine, when you're about to have dinner, you grab a spoon or fork and find it covered in food or oil that hasn't been washed off. Or plates that still have food remnants on them. And it's not like it's the first time these things have happened.

Then imagine opening the lid of the washing machine to find powdered detergent smeared and stuck all around and on the machine. Not to mention all over the floor. Or imagine opening the microwave oven, the very same one you spent loads of time keeping as clean and new as possible, only to find the insides splashed with curry stains or whatever that was recently microwaved. What about looking at the stove all covered with whatnot's that you can tell just by looking at the dirt remnants what was cooked recently.

Then there is the cigarette (yes, my mom smokes) burns marks on cabinets and cushion covers and ashes strewn here and there (sometimes even inside the fridge or microwave oven and on the washing machine) which in itself poses a fire hazard. I'm not even going to go into the part about the dents, scratches and chips that I find on stuff like the washing machine, microwave, fridge, etc, etc, etc. It pains the heart to see stuff you painstakingly maintain get damaged like as if it didn't cost money. Hard earned money at that!

I'm not being picky or fussy mind you but it does get to me. Awww come on Nick, she's your mom, you might say. She's old and maybe cannot see properly to clean up well enough, you might say. Just for info, she isn't all that old or frail or whatever. She's an active member of the neighbourhood church community. She's capable of going out on her own and she's active around the neighbourhood so what I cannot fathom is why she can't be a little more careful with things and stuff around the house.

I've tried talking to her nicely and respectfully on so many occasions. To be truthful I've even raised my voice at her on a few occasions (hey, I'm only human) I try to be very tactful with the way I tell her things cos she can be pretty sensitive and say things like I'm picking on her all the time when in true fact I keep quiet most of the time.

In fact, both wifey and me let her do what she wants at home but when you come back and see all the stuff she does, it drives us up the wall. There have been occasions that we end up arguing with each other because of keeping everything inside (yes, as surprising as it may seem, wifey and me do have arguments too).

Imagine coming home tired after work and having to clean up the place again even though it was just cleaned by wifey in the morning. God, sometimes I feel like screaming my lungs out! I just had to vent here cos if I keep it inside too much it's going to drive me insane. Besides my back hurts like hell today and coming home to find the washing machine caked with laundry detergent didn't help my mood all that much.

Do you think I'm going overboard with this? Am I just being a grouch and too darn fussy about things? All that said and done, she's still my mother but that doesn't mean I have to keep quiet about things I feel strongly about. As wifey would always say, if we don't speak up, people will think that we're okay with everything they do and step all over us. I agree with her 100%! I hope when I grow old, I don't get on my kids nerves like this.

Ok, I better log off now cos wifey actually banned me from sitting here too long because of my aching back.
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