The long-awaited day is here...

Thurs 24th April 2008

Yup, the day is here! The day when, as I was told on Monday, my accident-damaged car would be ready for collection. However, as usually attributed to the so-called "Tan Family Luck" syndrome, what greeted my eyes... when me went to check on the progress this morning ( I didn't go yesterday...) ...was that the next step had been taken in the repair process ie there is now a primer base coat sprayed on both the bonnet & the side fender! One more step to go...

After some wishy-washy conversation, I was told that it should be ready in late afternoon today. And guess what? It rained during lunch time! Phew! What luck! The "TFL" syndrome in action? Anyway since there is still a few hours to go before me expected to collect the car, I am hoping that they did start work on it before the rain...wish me luck!

Note : As has been the norm these few days...me forgot to snap a few pics of car while undergoing repairs... so sorry... :-( Maybe a kinda hint to me to practise the ole Chinese belief that such incidents should not be recorded but quickly forgotten...being a not nice incident...heheh....

An update here. Construction of houses under Taman Berjaya 2 has been continuing opposite Lot 10. Some had roofs put on already! Here are a couple of pics that me took this morning :

Pic on left shows a more distant view ie to the left...and the other is what is directly opposite Lot 10...appears to be a couple of bungalows? Frankly, the buildings are kinda too near for comfort, so to say... the price of development?

Anyway, as a result of the torrential rain session we had earlier (that I mentioned in passing just now...), waters rose once more and entered our porch. Luckily the rain slowed down and stopped just as the flood waters reached our front door! And the waters receded quite fast soon after. Thank God for that...

My near neighbour commented abt the flash flood situation and me jokingly answered...how else can we have the chance to play with water again like when we were kids...haha!

Frankly though, the less of such opportunities, the better for all of us! No fun, really....

Well, me will go try my luck in abt an hour or so...sincerely hope me get our car back. No wheels really like no legs. Not wanna "prison term" to be extended cos tomorrow is Friday...the weekend here...like a Sunday! Me just wanna settle my "fine" and be FREE!!

Wish me luck! No more "TFL" syndrome to overcome, hopefully...and must keep in my mind to never again follow closely the vehicle in front of me...not ever!! Bye...

A BAD day... :(

April 21st 2008

Yup, me will remember this day for the rest of my life! Why? Coz it's being 3rd time UNlucky for me! And yup again...me made the same ole careless ( but somehow feel it's a normal instinctive response ) mistake of moving off from a "Stop" point at a junction behind another vehicle.

And yup, the vehicle in front of me started moving out from the junction and me followed...naturally, right? Now what happens when that vehicle driver suddenly jams on the brakes? You just bang into his back, right? No way any1 can brake in time to stop a front-to-backend collision under such circumstances!

Result? The car in front merely (or maybe just my imagination, too...) suffered a few scratches on its plastic/fibre bumper. Me? My ole junk? Its left (should it be correctly called its "right"... in car terminology?) headlamp broke, sidelamp chipped...besides the bumper moved inwards with the right fender buckled up, not forgetting the lower portion below the bumper suffering a similar fate! That's Proton "hardness" or should I say, more correctly...the "softness" of its bodywork for you! Yup, considering that vehicle in front of me was a mere "Kancil"...

Sorry but no pics were taken...only realised that after the shock wore off...

Sent this ole junk to the nearest vehicle body repair shop ie in neighbouring Taman Seri Manis. After surveying the damage, the boss quoted RM350 for the job incl repraying of the side fender and the bonnet. Yup, the bonnet...which I've been wanting to respray for years but have been putting it off...hehe...

Now the waiting begins. Expected date of vehicle release...Thurs Apr 24th. Hopefully earlier. No wheels like No legs...

So for this careless split second, me & my ole junk is serving a 4 day "jail" term and slammed with a RM350 "fine". A very costly split second! Me must remember to hold on till the car in front is clear way ahead of me before me make any move forward...a good resolution but only time will tell if....am making that my 2008 resolution.

Well, on to a more pleasant event...Kye Lee ( daughter of my daughter, rber? ) & fmly made their monthly visit to Lot 10 OFH ( OFH = "Old Folks Home" Haha! ) last wkend. And they were earlier than expected! Arrived on Fri 18th Apr. night itself when only expected on Sat morning! A nice, happy & welcomed surprise ... the usual guideline "Come happy..." being obvious in all who came.

Here is a pic of KL taken during that wkend...KL is now abt 2yrs & 3mths...

KL has grown a lot taller. Still as active and lovable as always. Me & my other half had a nice wkend focussing our attention on this little girl...seeing her genuine smile & hearing her honest laughter makes life so rich & worth living for. Love given is responded similarly. Like me read somewhere...if only all adults could see the world thru the eyes of a young & innocent child, the world would be a much better place for all. Amen.

Although some ppl may not realise it till it's too late...I have often asked myself this very simple question with a very elusive answer. What is Life all about? And I've come to realise that the answer is so simple. Simply...To be happy. To have happiness & to share that happiness with those you love AND who love you similarly is finally all that matters in one's life. ( Leave those who don't have that love in their hearts... alone...in their own selfish little world...one does NOT lose anything of worth in Life by so doing! ) Any supporters?

There me go all sentimental & philosophical again...sincere apologies if me bored you.

As with all good things ( & even bad ones...), time flies and KL & fmly are now back in their own home. Yup, the "Stay happy... " and "Leave happy... " atmosphere were all there to the end of their visit. Now Lot 10 OFH is back to its normal daily peaceful & quiet ambience. Of course, except for the above-mentioned "shock" to this ole heart....haha!

Back to another not-so-nice incident...one of my PC's HDD failed on me recently! Memory fails me...but was around 2nd week of Apr. It started like my PC was in its death throes...but luckily after all attempts, me finally (& by shooting in the dark...) discovered it was, as mentioned earlier, due to a failed HDD (Hard Disc Device, to the uninitiated...hehe...). An old Seagate 10GB model. And further complications were due to an improperly set jumper on the master but still functioning HDD. So in case you do happen to have similar problems, do check on those jumper settings...just don't assume otherwise.

As my remaining HDD was also kinda sounding rough, me decided it was safer to put in a new one. And keep it as a back-up device. Now my PC has a new Hitachi 160 GB HDD! Cost me RM180 tho...abt RM50 more than what is listed in PC Depot's webpages tho. But, what the heck...saved me the stress & strain of a long trip, petrol & toll charges, to get it from the nearest PC Depot's branch! Took me 3 whole days to format, install the WinXP Home OS besides all (almost all actually...haha!) the other programs that I had in the earlier one. A lot of headaches, with a few rounds of Panadol to ease the pain, resulted in a beautifully functioning ole PC again! Feel it's worth all the effort & investment. Wonder how my world would be without my faithful ole PC...Phew!

Well, like in every event in our lives, all's well that ends well. Agreed? After all, in my present situation now, Happiness & personal joy (not forgetting sharing all that with my other half who has gone thru life by my side, thru thick & thin!) is all that matters. Me not concerned anymore abt materialistic items...just $$ nia. I remember reading some quotes with "A house but not a home..." and so on. Like most would agree..."Bei Chak Kee" ( in Hokkien dialect ) should be a good philosophy to profess in our golden years...just do what needs to be done.

Have a good week ahead & may your own life's rollercoaster ride be good, pleasant & exhilarating!!

PS. My Ferrari collection now is THREE red cars! Yup, the Shell Ferrari collection. Have you got all the seven? Time is running out...

Our latest "visitor"...

April 8th, 2008 :

In an earlier entry, me mentioned re a baby iguana being killed "accidentally" by our autogate while it was closing. It appears now that that baby iguana had a little bro or sis...

How did I know?

Simple. This morning when me went out to throw our past day's rubbish, I notice another baby iguana moving around just outside our autogate! And this lil rascal just darted into our house compound...I had no choice by to chase it! Me tried to chase it out of our compound but this lil guy/gal just went further in. I had to arm myself with a broom to try & literally "sweep" it outwards but it evaded all my swipes at it!

The last straw was when it illegally trespassed into our house proper! I told myself...no way it's gonna stay in our house!! So it was with this "killer instinct" that brought an end to this episode! Me cornered it. Gave it a hit on the head. Walla! Bye bye, little iguana...sorry...you asked for it!

Here is our little trespasser...And yup, this time me had the "cool" to snap a pic...haha!

Two down...dunno how many more to go...I've seen the mother...unless that was the father? Huge thing! Like a small croc!

Anyway, they not make the same mistake like these two...me not gonna give any more chances should any one of them decide to trespass...

A Blast from the Past....

Well, days just flew by...sometimes slowly...at times very fast! Depends on what is happening. Yup, today is already the 27th of March. Another month soon coming to an end.

Yup, many events have taken place in our country. The political scene. Both good & bad. If you have been following the news, you should know what I'm talking about...the latest being the impasse in Trengganu - the MB "fiasco"? Feel we should know the next chapter by this evening. And hopefully, the powers that be knows what is the right thing to do...for the sake of Peace & Harmony in the country we all call "Home".

As for lil ole me, the latest was a trip me made to Penang. Again? Yup, where else can I go? First stop was Queensbay Mall cos my other half said she hadn't gone there for quite a while. Had lunch there, too. And as usual, we didn't leave Qbay empty-handed. 1 interesting item added to our array of gadgets is a Fridge Thermometer. A "Made in Germany" item @ RM9.90 ... considering most foreign items are now no longer made in their home country but "Made in China"!!

Update: On putting the thermometer in our fridge overnight (recommended to do so for 24 hrs to get a reliable reading), it was found that the temperature was just below max of recommended limit of 5 deg Celcius, namely 4 deg C. On Googling, it was found a temp of between 1 to 3 deg C would be BEST. So me had already turned the temp ctrl knob down slightly, with hope it would bring the temp down to 3 deg C.

Anyway, it is felt a 2nd unit to put into the Freezer compartment of the Fridge would enable checking of the temperature there at any time. Maybe on our next visit to Qbay?

F1 GP fever was highest last weekend with the 2nd F1 race being held in Sepang at Kuala Lumpur. And that fever somehow passed over to the inmates of Lot 10...esp this old man! Ha ha! So me had visited Shell Petrol Stations for my ole junk's refills. Got me a couple of Red Ferarri cars...models...with real lifelike engine sounds...for RM5.90 each...with a refill each time of at least RM40 of Shell V-Power fuel. Could not, however, buy those popular ones...appears to be sold out everywhere! Below is pic of my acquisitions.

There are 7 different models altogether. Maybe me try to get them...in due course? Chances are slim tho, with the popular ones unobtainable as it is. Not matter though. Really not that crazy lo...hehe...

Guess we are still awaiting Tesco AS Branch to be operative. Made a round trip to chk on its construction progress. But feel what I saw, did not warrant a pictorial update. Banners had been put up calling for job interviews. We will see...

Since Kedah falling into hands of the Islamic opposition party, namely PAS, ppl in Kedah esp the non-muslims, have been waiting to see what good or bad would come out of it. And most are hoping that Kedah would not follow in the footsteps of Kelantan. If it does, me kinda got feeling, PAS would lose control of Kedah in the next elections. Only time will tell...

Guess that's about it for now...Enjoy the moment!

What an election....

13th March 2008.

8th March was the 12th Malaysian Elections Day. A day that will now go down in history as it was on that day that a "Political Tsunami" took place. A day when the electorate wielded the power of the voting slip. A day that was as shocking to the opposition parties as it was to the Barisan National (National Coalition) party that had been enjoying a mininum 2/3 majority rule since Malaysia achieved independence.

Btw, me did carry out my patriotic duty. Cast my vote, I did. Proof below :

It is generally felt that all Malaysians, irrespective of race, religion & culture, has had enough of what's been going on in the govt of the day. It was time for a change. Huge losses were suffered by the then ruling coalition (BN)... finally losing 5 states to the Opposition! Penang, Kedah, Perak & Selangor...they fell into Opposition hands...besides Kelantan.

Now many things are happening in the country. Too many for me to elaborate here. How they will finally end up, only God knows. I can safely say here that what most Malaysians want is for all to realise that Malaysians are becoming a more mature & knowledgeable lot. Not ppl that would simply accept what comes out of the Govt-controlled media nor the mouths of govt leaders. Old lies & threats of May 13th, coupled with other fear tactics do NOT work anymore. They just want their voices to be heard and their problems sincerely looked into & solved. They are not gonna sit still & let their lives be dictated by all & sundry. A clear signal to aspiring govt leaders...do sit up & pay attention...

Well, we sincerely hope that Malaysia would be none the worse after this "political tsunami". Those who have been swept away should acknowledge that the ppl have spoken...as dared to by certain top govt leaders who told them "to use the ballot boxes" to show their dissatisfaction...esp so when they took to the streets and were told not to but use the ballot boxes instead! Well, they did! They have listened to your good advice.

Now that the Rakyat has used the ballot boxes, it's over to the Govt of the day to listen & listen well....then to act so that the Rakyat will regain their faith in the sincerity of the govt to look after their welfare, irrespective of race, religion & culture!

Good luck, Malaysia!!

The weekend that was...

Tues 4th March 2008.

Last time me wrote was when me was awaiting the weekend. Believe it or not...that weekend has passed & mid-week is almost onto us!

As planned, our grandaughter, KL, & her fmly, came on their monthly visit...a bit earlier tho...1st weekend instead of the usual 3rd. This time around, Lot 10 was no longer a strange place to her. On arrival, she was instantly moving around like Lot 10 was her 2nd home. Time was spent the usual way, nothing out of the ordinary except KL got a ride on a small carousel at the local Mall.A pic of KL as on that weekend past, in all her splendour...hairband & long flowing locks... :However, it would hv been a great weekend if an unexpected event had not taken place. A surprise that could hv turned out wonderful for all if the party concerned had all sincerity & love in his heart...a true pity cos care & love in every way possible, was showered upon that person from birth to the recent past...

One of the main philosophies of life that me has practised and hv informed all concerned that it does not matter if my good deeds & help isn't or cannot be reciprocated....but to all & sundry, me emphasised this point...Do NOT BITE me...ever! That would be disrespect, anti-filial and ungrateful, to say the least!

Well, me was well & truly BITTEN...shocked beyond words...can be likened to a threat of sorts. Sad but true. Something me never expected would ever happen...happened...just like that! Words of such nature came so smoothly out of a person me not know anymore...someone so different...so changed...except for the physical appearance (frankly that has also changed somewhat..), you'd be so shocked to know who that person is & how he is related to me...esp so after 37 years filled with thoughts, devotion, care & love...

You see, when some ppl go up the ladder of life...improve themselves, in stature, position & financial resources, these ppl are thankful and appreciate ( if they believe in God, then they thank God...if not, then mayb they feel that life has been kind to them...) whatever blessings that have come their way & the improvements in their lives. Humility in such ppl is always a great hallmark of their success stories...a true virtue of deserving ppl!

However, there are also those who, becoz of their upgraded, so-called "elevated" position & financial upliftment, totally forgot abt their past, their roots & even their very own family...where they came from & even who hv been watching over them, protecting them, supporting them, all those unfortunate years...thru thick & thin...until they could stand on their own 2 feet. Now that, they become "somebody", no one can say anything not nice abt them...not to say the least, the truth abt their actions nor offer sincere good advice! Who you mayb or are...NOT matter in the very least! In every sense of the word, totally UNgrateful and outright arrogant!

Well, what can I say? Life is a cycle. A rollercoaster ride. Life is always full of ups & downs. One may be up now but there will always be a DOWN...maybe more... along life's journey. One may be also a parent and have own kids. So, the future can be a very good teacher...

To quote Confuscius...in my own words? :

Don't do unto others what you don't want others to do unto you...

I can recall a story (maybe you too...) mentioned in Moral Education in schools in recent years...abt how a man used a basket to take his aged father up to the top of a hill...to leave him there to spend his final days. This man's son requested the man to pass over the basket to him so that he can use it when the time comes, for a similar purpose!

A good story...can be true even. Only time will tell...hopefully soon...wishfully b4 I close my eyes for good...

We wish such ppl good luck and may they recollect how they've treated others in similar situations when their very own situations arise. When they are at the receiving end themselves. When their very own loved ones act similarly to them. Then they will feel how much it hurts when they hurt others similarly before.

Me feel God is always fair & just. Amen.

Day b4 Leap Year Day...280208

Yup, tomorrow is the 29th of February 2008...this year being a Leap Year! Here's wishing all those lucky enough ( maybe unluckily so, too?) to be born on such a special rare day!!

Happy Birthday to all you Leapers!!

Well, our Blind project is finally completed! Here it is in all its glory...?On testing last night, it was found that one is still visible while standing close to the window. However, it still serves its purpose cos anything away in line of sight but away from the window, was no longer visible...hehe...privacy at last!

Today heralded the issuance of a new First Day Cover by our Post Office ppl. One on Bridges...pls see pic below:

What do you know...our grandaughter, KL, is set to have her own collection of First Day Covers...this one being her first!! Happy collecting, KL!!

Finally, the rains came...has been raining since this morning....still drizzling as me keying in this entry. Cool day...hope it stays so.

Had a look-in at our local video centre...for new DVDs. No luck. Don't seem to have any of the new movies. Probably cos of constant harassment by the authorities. However, me, somehow, bought a few to try...at least Cine Nites can still go on...

Well, Lot 10 OFH's calm & quiet will apparently be broken soon...this coming weekend! By one not-so-little hyperactive kid! Wonder what's in the foods these kids take these days that make them so...haha!

Will write again next week. Hv a great weekend!