Happy 52nd Merdeka....

Mon 31st August 2009

Yup, it's that special day in Malaysia...our Independence Day...our Merdeka Day! Well, this day means different to different people. I really do not know what it means to you but to me, 52 years of independence have not made the people of Malaysia any more united & respectful of one another as the year before nor the year before that...,

Sad...pitiful...but unfortunately true. Just look around you and be informed of all that is happening nowadays in the country. We all cannot be that dumb, can we?

Well, like the saying goes...Life is short! And me am not gonna be caught up in all the things such unappreciative ppl do in a country where they should count their blessings. We are all God's creatures...all human beings...irrespective of race, colour or creed. We had no choice in being born a Malay, Chinese, Indian nor any other race. No one is mightier than the other. Agreed?

So do be happy we have the peace & blessings of our daily bread...a life we can truly call our own.

Happy Merdeka to all Malaysians!

New pics of our fav grandaughter, KL, taken during her trip to Lot 10 to spend some pre-Bday value time with her granny, had already been included in the slideshow in this Blog. Enjoy...

That weekend was purely value time cos of the A H1N1 virus scare...we didn't want KL to be exposed unnecessarily to any possible infection by anyone inconsiderate, either knowingly or unintentionally.

As expected, no effort, whatsoever, was made by the 'prodigal son' to return to his family of origin but it appeared that he had chosen to live a life without his parents. So be it...'cause similarly, his parents would now live as if they had no such son. 18 months had passed by. More than enough time for anyone to come to his senses. Don't you think so?
As is universally believed...what is not in the heart cannot be forced to show itself. A lost cause. However, Life must go on...

The recent weekend was another COD (Chef's Off Day). We decided to risk it and had our meals out...as we normally do on CODs. But we chose eateries that are less crowded. In spite of that, we did meet with the odd coughs here & there...as if we were magnets for such occurences!

Cine Nite then was a delayed screening of the recent Fast & Furious sequel. Finally we got a good & clear DVD, with great sound! An enjoyable home movie.

Well, we got a few trips lined up for Sept though. So the ole junk had been checked. A faulty rear wheel bearing & even a drive shaft were replaced. Burnt a rather deep hole in me pocket! But kinda worth it cos me really cannot afford to get a new ride. Like many ppl believe...take good care of your ride and it will take care of you!

Have a great new month ahead...

H1N1 - Will we survive?

Wed 26 Aug 09

Hi...me just popping in just to ask this question...

Will we survive the H1N1 pandemic?

Yup, do you think we will? Or we will not?

And to share a thought-provoking video...

In this video that me just watched, one main point, which is kinda glaring, was simply this :

As on Aug 24, Hong Kong had 9,350 cases and only 4 deaths...
However, Malaysia had only 4,200 cases but already 69 deaths!!

Do check out the above-mentioned video that me saw in a popular internet news portal, namely Malaysiakini, and also posted in YouTube... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zu3Wf6UzvUQ
( The video is by Citizen Journalist, Jimmy Leow.)

And yup, it would definitely help you see a clearer picture of where we Malaysians now stand in this crisis...and the probable reasons for the huge difference! Not a pretty picture, huh?

Wishing all Malaysians the very Best of Luck!! Be safe...ok?

Are Malaysian lives so cheap...?

Fri 210809

Yup, how much do we Malaysians consider each of our lives are worth? Guess it depends on from whose viewpoint/perspective one looks at the issue at hand. And yup, there is always more than one viewpoint/perspective.

On the one hand, if it is viewed from our own loved ones / family perspective, then each life is worth more than any sum of money can buy or am I wrong?

Then there is the other view... namely that of the powers-that-be. Yup, the view of the authorities handling any issue that may mean life or death to each & every one of us!

As is...and as stated in my earlier post...to such ppl in power, each citizen is just a number. Just plain statistics. No feelings, no emotions, simply zero...in any official announcements made in the current A H1N1 health crisis.

Yesterday, if me not wrong, no. of infections rose to 569 cases and today it's 380! What the authorities seemed to place emphasis on is just one simple fact...yesterday there was only 1 death & today there is no death! Don't the increasing figures mean anything? Even the possibility of more deaths? In proportion to the increasing no. of cases? Just because these ppl have not died yet, doesn't mean they won't possibly die in the near future...

Recently, the no. of deaths shot up to a collective 6...maybe even more? ( I just can't remember...sorry)

I remembered reading about someone commenting in one website that Mumbai closed all its schools, educational institutions eg colleges & universities, etc, even though it had just a total of 16 deaths from the virus!!

Our death tally has reached 68 of our citizens!! What is in the minds of our powers-that-be?

The country of origin of the A H1N1 virus (Mexico?) took similar action...even to the extent of affecting its economy! Lives of its citizens took top priority! And guess what? It's now NOT in the list of top countries with increasing infections & deaths!

So what is Malaysia waiting for? Does anyone know or can clarify? Please....?

A reminder? According to a quote reported in Internet News Portal, Malaysiakini :

"President of the Association of Private Hospitals Dr Jacob Thomas warned that the current H1N1 situation may drag on until April next year."

And because of the lack of urgency & rather mild actions taken by our powers-that-be, me could see our fellow citizens here in A/Star going about their daily "outings" eg to markets, malls, hypermarkets, etc, like there was no virus threat at all!! No one was wearing face masks! In spite of MOH advice to curb the spread of the virus. Is it a case of "Ignorance is Bliss" syndrome? No fear wan...phew!

Wear face masks? Can such masks truly curb the spread of this virus? Another quote here from Malaysiakini pages...by the same doc...

"face masks do not [totally] prevent one from being infected with the virus. It is a droplet infection that could spread through coughs or sneezes."

However, the doc did admit that the ...

"chances of catching the virus is not as much as if you do not wear a face mask".

Btw, if me not mistaken, there was a kind of guideline by our MOH that stated that the authorities would move to the next phase of action to be taken if infections exceeded the range of 200 to 400 infections in a day. Well, we did exceed that yesterday, didn't we?

And considering what WHO said about multiplying the reported cases by 20 to get the actual picture of the no. of true cases, what a huge figure, right? Let's see...569 x 20 = ?????

Our total no. of cases this far has exceeded the 5 000 mark! Almost reaching 6 000 now. How many more must suffer, live in fear, or even die in vain before each & every Malaysian life is deemed invaluable and subsequently protected seriously & urgently?

YOU tell me....

Anyway, on a happier note, me would be having another busy weekend. Yup, KL & family are making another visit to Lot 10 tomorrow. And yup, it's for a special occasion. Sorry, me not letting the cat out of the bad....yet...

So do forgive my absence from here for a few days after this weekend. Yup, me have to recover from the activities of the coming weekend activities. Ha ha!

Have a good weekend, everyone! And do wear at least a 3-layered face mask should you need to go anywhere where there might be a crowd. Be safe, ok?

How many must die....

Wed 190809

How many must die? Yup, how many must die before the A H1N1 pandemic would be considered dangerous or critical enough for the Malaysian health authorities & Govt to act urgently to safeguard its citizen's lives?

ATM, as on today, this was the announcement posted on the Ministry of Health website...summarised & translated :

Total Deaths... : 67
Up to 19 Aug 2009 @ 9.00am a total of 1468 influenza like illness patients (ILI) are being treated in 86 hospitals incl 6 private hospitals throughout the country. From that total, 257 are confirmed H1N1 positive. At the same time 134 have been discharged.
Out of the 257 cases of confirmed H1N1, 36 are in ICU which includes 7 new cases while 4 cases have been moved out from ICU.
Fyi, no new deaths resulting from influenza A(H1N1) infection has been reported today.

Now, are those figures frightening or not? If me not mistaken, the total no. of infections had exceed 4,000! The number of deaths is higher than our neighbour's.

However, the powers-that-be were reported as saying that that is not the kind of numbers they go by in assessing the severity of the situation. More importantly, according to them, it is the percentage that matters! And that is now fluctuating between 0.1 to 0.4 only...a value of a steady or higher than 0.4 is the target no. of deaths to wait for!

And how do they arrive at the less than 0.4%? By multiplying the reported positive cases by 20 (but NOT doing the same for reported deaths) before using the figures as the basis to calculate the percentage of deaths! Their reasoning? Not all positive cases are reported! Now I ask you...are all deaths reported as being due to A H1N1?

So in plain simple English, MORE & MORE ppl must die before the MOH or the Govt would take action serious & effective enough to curb the spread of the disease! Now, is that a joke or what?

Is the MOH & Govt saying that those who had died and those going to die do not mean a thing? Not forgetting their loved ones who had to mourn their loss? More citizens must die and more suffering must take place among the living before they take action to protect its citizens? How many more must continue to sacrifice their lives in such a wasteful & needless way?

How would such ppl in the MOH & the Govt feel if their very own loved ones were among the dead? Would they continue to harp on MORE must die? Maybe they feel that their kind would be accorded the best help & treatment available while others, not so privileged as they are, would be the so-called "sacrificial lambs"? YOU tell me....

Well, I've chosen to write a bit here today about the A H1N1 threat facing each & everyone of us here in Malaysia...mainly cos it has also affected our daily lives. Leaving the home is now a risk. There is always the fear of contracting this deadly virus...deadly to the very young & to ole folks like us. One just needs to meet up with one A H1N1 positive (or carrier) case. With the present guidelines of providing treatment, chances are that one would get the anti-viral drugs much too late to be of any help...

And yup, me belong to the High Risk group, too! And me certainly wouldn't want to be part of the 0.4 percent stats that our high & mighty powers-that-be are still waiting for...

May God help all Malaysians...

In the meantime, be safe, my friends!

Houses of the Rich & Famous?

Tue 110809

Hi...

Since our self-imposed "quarantine" these past few days due to the alarming increase of A H1N1 virus cases & deaths, these 2 ole inmates of Lot 10 OFH had refrained from their usually frequent walk-walk sessions in the local Malls including Tesco Mergong. However, it was decided that evening walks around our housing area should be reasonably safe from any probable infection by that high risk virus, considering the open spaces & no sign of any crowd Agreed?

And yesterday evening, it was a new route. Since the new housing development opposite Lot 10 was nearing completion & its internal roads were already partially layered with gravel, we decided to go on a self-guided tour of the area. What a revelation it was!

You see, we've been so accustomed to the view of the houses being built (pls see previous & earlier entries in Blog) in front of Lot 10 and those bordering our main access road. A real surprise awaited us the moment we went behind the standard designed houses!

The pics below show the house that impressed us with its special glass front. The first pic is what one could see from a distance while the next is a close-up snapshot of the building.
Nice? Yup, it certainly is! Frankly I was asked by a neighbour re when I was gonna buy one of the houses there as it appeared there might be a few still available. My answer? Not in this lifetime...yup, sad (in a way) but true.

Anyway, this pic is of another more gigantic house ( or should I say "Mansion"?) further towards the centre of the housing development. Have a look-see first, ok?

Now that you've seen the house proper, let me tell you that the compound just to the left in the pic is roughly more than double the size of the building area! Yup, the total site occupies at least about 3 bungalow lots!

From reliable sources, both those houses were purchased by related members of one family! To be more exact, if me not wrong, at least 7 of the houses in TB2 were bought by the family members. The Rich ( of course!) and the Famous (???)....

Well, that evening walk was certainly enlightening and especially so since both inmates had never wandered that far into that new housing development area...the border fencing was only taken down recently.

Now, would you want to own such houses? Me? With hindsight now, I personally would not. Why? Such huge structures are no doubt very prestigous & great to live in, esp so for a big family, but it would finally boil down to a simple question...would it still be just as great & nice when one finally grows old and all the kids have grown up & left?

My answer is a resounding NO! As is, me am having problems maintaining Lot 10 which is just a mediocre double-storey terrace house. And as Life would tell everyone, most families would end up with only the 2 old folks at home....and, of course, finally only ONE. And as age finally catches up, walking up even a flight of stairs would be very inconvenient, to say the least. Correct?

Sour Grapes? Perhaps maybe so, too.

Behold! A whole new world greets you...

Sun 090809

Yup, it's a totally whole new world out there! And especially so for inmates of Lot 10 & neighbours. And yup, the new housing development, namely TB2, is nearing completion. The fences are down. And behold! This is what now greets Lot 10 inmates every morning...and would do so for years to come...

Pic shows what we see now each morning when we look out from our bedroom window! A concrete jungle! No more green open padi land nor a clear view of Kedah Peak or Gunung Jerai on clear days. All gone in less than 2 years. The price of progress & development.

However, on looking back, we can count our blessings because we've enjoyed 30 years of greenery & a scenic view. No doubt about that.

A recap here.

Yesterday (080809) was the usual COD (Chef's Off Day) but with a marked difference. With the fear of contracting the A H1N1 virus, these 2 ole inmates of Lot 10 had decided to stay away from places where many ppl were likely to be found. Yup, from info published, me appear to be in the HIGH risk group...the group which may end up with complications & fatality if one should be infected. And yup, that means frequenting Malls & shopping areas including our fav Tesco is OUT! Need to cut down probable exposure. Need to sacrifice, right?

So, no walk-walk sessions this time around. Just lunch & dinner out. And lunch was a simple Curry Mee & Fried Koay Teow affair at a nearby PSK coffee shop. Dinner was a rice meal with our fav Siamese Curry of Shark Meat dish, Sambal Kangkong with Prawns & Egg fried with Large Onions. The evening was capped with a Home Theatre screening of "Defiance", a true story of Jews fighting for survival against the Germans. A great movie. Inspiring.

Since our fav haunts are now taken off our list of activities, today is gonna be a quiet Sunday. A day of rest? Good for couch potatoes like me & my other half. Ha ha!

Sincerely hope you have a better weekend. Be safe from the A H1N1 virus. TC.

A short note...

Tue 4th August 2009

Yup, just a short note. Just to mention a few things. Me still "poofed" from a truly hectic weekend...

1. The recent weekend was fabulous. KL & Family came for a visit. Arrival @ Lot 10 was kinda delayed... by more than an hour! Cause? Traffic jam at Juru Toll Plaza due to road works in the area.

Both inmates had a great time with KL but this time around, me, however, did not seem to have the energy so needed to keep up with her! Must be getting old...

For all KL fans following her journey in life, a number of new pics have been added to her slide show on the right of this Blog. Most were taken during her latest visit to Lot 10. Enjoy...

2. Lot 10 had a surprise visit from my niece, KSC, & her son, SM. Lot 10 last saw them a few decades ago! Like the saying goes... " The more the merrier... " Thanks a meg, KSC, for making the special trip to visit us!

3. Finally the high metal fence around the new housing development, namely TB2, just opposite Lot 10, has been removed! The new "huge" houses are now in plain sight of all who come to our area.

4. The A H1N1 virus is having a whale of a time spreading its wings & ill effects throughout the country! Bad. Really bad. Now it's block infection in schools, colleges, Uni's and even in the National Service camps! I've lost track of the number that have been closed. Moreover, the number of deaths is also increasing...it has been like 2 per day...which is frightening.

Unfortunately, we still see lots of ppl who are down with some kind of flu flocking to Malls & Supers, even coughing unhesitatingly & uncovered! In spite of all the advice & propaganda in the news & electronic media. Spreading whatever they are having. When will Malaysians start to behave like better-informed, more educated & more "respectful of others" kind of ppl? Become a more civilised & considerate citizenry? I wonder...

Have a great new week and do hope & pray that the A H1N1 virus would give you & all you love a miss...and of course, me & mine, too!

Rain, rain, rain...and more rain...

Sat 010809

Yup, another week is here & so is another new month...and of course, so is me, too! And yup, me am making this short entry to let all & sundry know that me am still around...haha!

Nothing much to write here. It's been a very quiet week that has passed. That's why this Blog was silent.

However, in politics, today has been full of conflict...created by both the pro & anti-ISA ppl. From what me have read in our Internet news media, more than 20,000 ppl were involved in clashes with the police who were out in full force...water cannons & tear gas were used like they were free! Ha ha!

Anyway, this Blog is not a political one nor inclined towards politics. But, whether we like it or not, the ordinary citizens would be somehow affected by the carrying-ons of our politicians. ATM, it's just a question of who holds the "mighty sword", so to say!

Wonder when our beloved Malaysia would truly see the light of day...the day when all Malaysians, regardless of race & religion, could live side by side in peace & harmony...when all politicians would work together for the common good of ALL Malaysians! Kinda got the sick feeling that it would never happen in my lifetime...

Well, a good piece of good news here...our fav grandaughter, KL, & family are on their way to Lot 10! Just great, isn't it? Maybe me could get a few nice snapshots of KL to post here after they've gone home. Have a peek in here, from time to time, after this weekend, ok? Do give me a couple of days to recharge after the weekend, ok? Yup, me would be "poofed" after these 2 days. And yup, "the spirit is strong but the body is weak..."

Another new happening to note...a new branch of Georgetown White Coffee restaurant has just opened in AS Mall near Lot 10! To be exact, yesterday. 31st July. No chance to try it out yet tho. However, I am hoping it's better than Old Town White Coffee...

Day is dark & cloudy. It's been raining on & off. The fear of a possible flooding of our front porch is increasing by the minute! The drain outside Lot 10 was full the last time me checked!

So me better go & be on the lookout...