Merry Christmas

My dear friends, today Christian in the world are celebrating the birth of Christ, our Saviour (whilst the rest are celebrating the Season End festivities) and usually, it is the starting of the long week celebration to sing the "auld lang syne" for all to prepare to say bye bye to the current year whilst welcoming the new year. Indeed it is a wonderful period of celebration as we do realise time really flies and waits for no one.

Now, let's do our YEAR END celebration a better way this year if we have been doing it year in year out...and if we have not done anything previously, let this year be your maiden act to do it great !

So now...little older girls and ever young handsome boys (...erhmm..) and few virgins, do not let any second pass without appreciating it and those many seconds coming along it....

Cheers !

45 Lessons In Life

Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of the local newspaper "The Plain Dealer", Cleveland, Ohio"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I've ever written."My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye.

16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

42. The best is yet to come.

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

Want privacy on Facebook? Here is how to get some

By BARBARA ORTUTAY,AP Technology Writer - Friday, December 18

NEW YORK – Over the past week, Facebook has been nudging its users _ first gently, then firmly _ to review and update their privacy settings.

You might have procrastinated by hitting "skip for now," but Facebook eventually locked you out until you did so. After finally accepting Facebook's recommendations or tweaking the privacy settings yourself, though, you might have made more information about you public than what you had intended.

At the same time, Facebook has given users many granular controls over their privacy, more than what's available on other major social networks.

So if you want to stay out of people's view, but still want to be on Facebook, here are some things to look out for as you take another look at your settings.

1. Some of your information is viewable by everyone.
Everyone can see your name, your profile photo and the names of work and school networks you're part of. Ditto for pages you are a fan of. If you are worried about a potential employer finding out about a quirky fetish or unorthodox political leaning, avoid becoming a Facebook fan of such groups. You can't tell Facebook you don't want those publicly listed. Your gender and current city are also available, if you choose to specify them. You can uncheck "Show my sex in my profile" when you edit your profile if you don't want it listed, and you can leave "Current City" blank.

2. Your list of friends may also be public.
Facebook also considers your friends list publicly available information. Privacy advocates worry that much can be gleaned from a person's list of friends _ even sexual orientation, according to one MIT study. But there is a way to hide the list. Go to your profile page and click on the little blue pencil icon on the top right of your box of friends. Uncheck "Show Friend List to everyone." Either way, those you are already friends with can always see your full list.

3. You can hide yourself from Web searches.
There is a section for "Search" under Facebook's privacy settings page, which is accessible from the top right corner of the Web site under "Settings." If you click the "Allow" box next to "Public Search Results," the information that Facebook deems publicly available (such as photo, fan pages and list of friends), along with anything else you have made available to everyone, will show up when someone looks up your name on a search engine such as Google. The stuff you've limited access to in your profile will not show up.

This is useful if you want people you've lost touch with, or potential work contacts, to be able to find your Facebook page. If you'd rather not be found, uncheck this box.

A second setting, controlling searches within Facebook, lets you refine who can find you once that person has logged on. Limit searches to friends only if you think you have all the friends you need and don't want anyone to find you when they type in your name to Facebook.

4. Beware of third-party applications.
Quizzes and games are fun, but each time you take one, you first authorize it to access your profile information, even if you have made that available only to your friends. You're also letting the app access some information on your friends.

Under "Application Settings," Facebook lists all the apps you have opened your profile up to. If you no longer want to authorize access to "Which Golden Girl Are You?" you can always remove it by clicking on the "X" next to its name. Apps you use regularly, such as Facebook for Android if you update your status from your mobile phone, should stay.

Next, by clicking on "Applications and Websites" on the privacy settings page, you can edit whether your friends can share your birthday, photos and other specific information. Remember that applications can access your "publicly available information" no matter what.

The security firm Sophos recommends users set their privacy settings for two of Facebook's own popular applications, notes and photos, to friends only.

5. Go over your list of friends.
The average Facebook user has 130 friends. But many people interact with a much smaller group when commenting on status updates, photos and links. So it doesn't hurt to occasionally review your list of your friends to get an idea of just who can view your status posts, vacation photos and funny links you've shared over the years. Don't feel obligated to add anyone as a friend, even if that person adds you first. For professional acquaintance you don't want to snub, send them to a LinkedIn profile you can set up. Some workplaces and schools have rules about Facebook interactions between bosses and employees or students and teachers.

6. Create custom friends groups.
If you have friended a lot of people, sort them. Think of the groups you interact with in real life _ co-workers, college buddies, girlfriends, grandma and grandpa _ and organize your Facebook friends in these groups, too. Go to "All Friends" under the "Friends" button up top, click on "Create New List" and fire away. Then decide what aspects of your profile, and which status posts and photos, these people will have access to. Or, simply create a "limited" list for acquaintances or distant relatives and limit their access.

7. Customize your status posts.
Type "I'm hungry" into your status update box. Click on the little lock icon. You'll see a range of privacy controls pop up, letting you either allow or limit access to the post. If you want, you can even hide it from everyone by clicking "Only Me" under the custom settings. Click on save setting. Repeat with each post, or create a default setting for most updates and increase or decrease privacy as you see fit.

8. Let your friends know you have boundaries _ in person.
Many of us have woken up on a Sunday morning to find that an overzealous friend has posted dozens of photos from that wild party we barely remembered _ the good, the bad and the hideous. Chances are, they didn't do this to embarrass you, though if they did you have bigger problems. Rather, they probably don't know that you don't want these photos posted. Sure, tweak your photo privacy settings on Facebook. But if someone starts snapping pictures of you at a party, ask them to check with you before posting it anywhere.

9. Never assume complete privacy.
Even for the most tech-savvy person, unflattering photos, incriminating text messages or angry status posts about work have a way of worming their way out in the open. Just saying.

TV Nostalgia Part 1

Ok, let me take everyone down memory lane again with a new series of TV Nostalgia, this time English TV series.

First off - Hong Kong Phooey! Hong Kong who? You probably ask. Well, my earliest memory of this cartoon series was probably around Primary 2 or Primary 3.





Anyone else remember this show?

Makan Meet 3 in Singapore

The evening was 31st October 2009. According to the locals, Singapore does not usually rain that hard nor thunder that loud. It was practically raining cats & dogs when Louis picked me up at around 7pm, with Mike and Alice in the car too. And the thunder and lightning was no less spectacular. STILL, the die-hard Sarawakians in Spore went ahead with the meet-up at Alexandra Village for Hongkong Street Food (you all will have to correct me if this part is wrong!).

And the results of the evening? The photos speak for themselves.

From left to right: Soo Chin Hion, Pui Eng Soon, Albert Chin, Mike Tan aka Hung Yang, Louis Wong.

From left to right: Anne Kho, Irene Tan Kin Lim, Alice Wong, me, Caroline Chin

Eleu came much later, he was attending some military course, but made it all the way to meet us at almost 9.30pm....thanks to Carol, he had a beautifully arranged plate of left-overs to devour into, hehehe.

Group photo, with Eng Soon's family joining us. Carol was taking the snap.

Don't have any photos of the dishes we had cos I forgot to bring my camera, in the excitement of rushing out of my brother-in-law's apartment as soon as Louis called. Could have kicked myself for that. But the food was excellent. If you've never tried bitter gourd with pork ribs, you better fly to Spore, loved it!

Topics of the evening? Too many to mention! But the one that stood out most was Eng Soon's story of TV3 and Kapit....he's now officially the ambassador for Kapit in matters related to the "Akan Datang" case of TV3! Spore/Msia/Sarawak politics, children's education, tax, speeding fines, school days, how to address relatives in foochow (ku-ku & ka-ka), Eleu's "pai-kia" days in SHS, and many more. You name it, we talked about it.

We left the open-spaced restaurant at about 11pm and moved on to McD. Some had gone home already, it was just the 7 of us - Louis, Mike, Chin Hion, Albert, Eleu, Carol & myself. Some more stories till 1am+....I reached the apartment at 2am....luckily didn't have to sleep at the balcony.

A BIG thank you to Louis for getting everyone together to meet. And he's challeged me to do the same if anyone of them Swak-bred-half-Sporean-citizens drop by in Kuching for a visit. So boys & girls in Kuching, plee....aa....se response when your duty calls for you.

p/s it's called Makan Meet 3 cos it's the 3rd meet for our friends in Sg....but then they recalled it might have been the 4th meet....whatever!

Setia - 21 years on

Picture by Choo Choy May

The man who was responsible for that famous (infamous?) patriotic song of our Form 5 year, Tok Rahmat, recently wrote a memoir of his times as Information Minister. You can read the write ups here and here.

Now ailing with cancer, Tok Mat did not hold anything back in his book, and he revealed that the song was actually an UMNO propaganda song to counter the split in the party during Tengku Razaleigh's challenge to Mahathir in the late 80's.

Still, I have fond memories of the song. Stephen Chung and I used to love to sing it, it was emotionally stirring to be reminded that we have this "Negara yang Tercinta" to serve. At the age of 17 and looking forward to go out into the world, it was really heady stuff then.

Now, with most of us reaching middle age, it is easy to be cynical about the song's lyrics. But I prefer to believe that most of us do find it within us to believe in them. Actually, how we felt did not really change. What changed was some people destroying our perceptions about our place in this country. And that realization hurts every time I relive the song.

Malaysia Day Holiday

Finally, it was announced that 16th of Sep will be a public holiday to commenmerate the formation of Malaysia. Yahoo !

Do we really care about the formation of Malaysia ? Do we really care about unity seriously ?

If yes, what are we going to do during this holiday of Malaysia Day ?

Do we need a holiday to show unity ? to remember the formation ? Isn't it all in the mind ?

I tend to agree with Tun Dr. M about too many public holidays we have in Malaysia and do we need another one since we have 31 August for the Merdeka Celebration. How much does the nation lose in productivity for a day of holiday ? Does anyone know ?

Well, with the good intention to share with the young ones....those who were born after 1963 the meaning of this freedom, independence and formation of Malaysia, I believe it is worthwhile, as a start to drill this respect into the minds of the young ones and to remember how the elders had sacrifice their life for the freedom for us.

I hope every one could use this extra holiday to spend meaningful time to share with family members and friends on the formation of Malaysia and how important to keep the fire of unity and patriotism alive...beside celebrating Ardy's birthday ! Also to recover the lost times, everyone must work smarter and harder to provide real productivity to Malaysia, our beloved country. The progressive and dynamic country does not only lies in the hands of the few leaders or politicians...but at the very centre of rakyat's commitment to uphold justice, truth, unity and progress.

How about holiday for Deevapali in Sarawak ?

4th Kiss On The World Title

Congratulation Datuk Nicol, we are proud of your achievement...you are now placed among the greatest squash players on the planet. One, Two & Three, are very tough achievment....you are giving us the fourth title to be proud as Malaysian !

My hope is to see more and more Malaysian be on the top of the world in sporting arena...please do not stop...but give us the fifth title next year ! Keep continue this dream run as we are fully behind you....

Malaysia Boleh !

(the inset photo is the third kiss, taken in last year's victory...as your fourth one, I was not able to find it as yet...I am not able to google it as I believe everyone is in "awe"...especially when you came back from a shock fourth round loss in the British Open)...

I eagerly waiting to be with all my Muslims friends celebrating this Raya...not because of green paus...or food...but for the joy of harmony, love and peace...

For all our Muslims friends of all races....especially for Ardy & Hansac, our blog contributors...Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri...

Tapi...makan, makan jugak...ada green paus...ambik jugak...hehehe...yang pasti, enjoy aje...

Merdeka - what does it mean to you ?

Today, I have been reading a lot merdeka messages from the newspapers, online news both main stream and alternative streams. It is contrary messages from the ruling government and alternative front. Of course, it is normal but for the true merdeka spirit, what does it means really to us ?

A birthday of our nation has a lot of meaning as to our own birthday too! How many of us sing NegaraKu these few days ? (Ah hem...I did !). Do you still feel proud when singing the song ? (with bulu roma tegak ?) If not something is very wrong here. Let's be clear here and I hope you will agree...the height or depth of the prosperity of our nation depends much on the sum total of each Rakyat's true love and support .

Personally, Merdeka means a lot to me...I am a free man and have my rights under the Constitution to do what I wish in achieving my Malaysian dream for the past 37 years !

It is also an appreciation for our forefathers fighting for our freedom especially against the Japanese, Communists and British. It also means that I do not need to go to war or live in fear like some of the other countries in the Middle East or Africa. I dare not imagine if Malaysia is in such a state to live in.

Whilst enjoying the freedom, I do acknowledge the threats of peace within our neighbourhood such as injustice, racial sentiments, in balance distribution of wealth, corrupt leaders and negative external forces. I pray for the resilience and intelligence of our Leaders from both BN and PR to strive for the common good of our beloved Malaysia. The differences in party understanding is norm among the political front (competition makes the community strong) but do not let it be the difference of our understanding to protect our true "Merdeka" from all the threats.

Merdeka ! Merdeka! Merdeka ! Let the shout of Tunku Abdul Rahman always lives in our mind, heart and soul !

A Father's Love

How deep can a father's love for his son be? Well, in the case of the Hoyt family, watch this video to find out:

The Star

Monday August 10, 2009

Kuching braces for water rationing

By STEPHEN THEN

MIRI: More areas in Sarawak are facing water rationing, including its capital city Kuching, unless there is heavy rain soon, said Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr George Chan Hong Nam.

He said to date over 100,000 people were affected by water woes and the problem was getting more acute by the day.

“The rural areas in Sarikei and Mukah divisions in central Sarawak were initially hit, but the problems has now spread to southern Sarawak, hitting the state capital as well,” he said yesterday.

Kuching City has a population of about 500,000.

“More than 100,000 are in dire need of water now. It has become very dry. The most critical areas that need attention are Sarikei and Kuching divisions.

“Water rationing has already started in Sarikei. We will carry out rationing in Kuching as well soon. The water shortage is critical, even more critical than the forest fires and haze situation,’’ he said in an interview.

Dr Chan, who is state Disaster Relief Committee chairman, said rationing could not be avoided because the water levels in rivers and dams throughout the state were rapidly falling, some reaching alarmingly levels.

On the delay in cloud-seeding efforts, he said the aircraft was already on standby, but the operations could not be carried out because of the absence of rain clouds.

“Cloud-seeding will not work with low cloud density. For now, we must conserve the remaining water that we have in the dams and rivers as much as possible.

“That is why water rationing is the only option until we can induce some rain,” he stressed.

Dr Chan, who is also state Industrial Development Minister and state Agriculture Modernisation Minister, said the forest and peat fires raging in northern Sarawak were making the situation worse.

“The fires are spreading fast because the ground is dry,” he added.

Dr Chan, who visited the fire sites near the Sarawak-Brunei trans-boundary bridge, said the fires were getting worse.

He appealed to the public to stop all forms of open-burning, adding that without their help, the fires, haze and water-shortage problems would only deteriorate further.

More than 3,000ha of forests and peat land have already been ravaged by fires near the border, with another 1,000ha still on fire, causing massive air pollution.

Blog To Facebook

Starting mid 2007, I have started blogging upon the invitation of Ah Chiong @ Pat when he started this Alumni blog in running up to our 20th Anniversary Reunion in Feb 2008. It was a hit and months after that, there were so much activities on the blog lead by Pat and the group of Heroes, Mr. Tee, Ivy, WH and myself especially engaging in heaty conversation on various topics. Everyday, I ensure that I will spend considerably time on blogging and can't wait for comments to be sent or receive when a comment being posted. Wake up, I must sign on to see and before sleeping, to read any latest news...Huh, it was a great time indeed beside brushing up the skills of writing, thinking, putting up thoughts in written words or even jokes..

This run until the reunion day in Feb 2008, when Louis and gang found out this blog, and I could remember he had started to invite us to facebook and he urges us to sign up. Frankly, at that time, I was not interested to change as yet. Then, month after month, I learnt that Heroes, Mr. Tee. Ah Too and even Ivy started to hook up to Facebook. My sister also sent me an invitation in early 2008 but I have never responded not until nearly 10 months after that in Oct 2008, I tried to sign up and put in a hello remarks on the status...and then silent again for another 5 months...where I still loyally spent time in browsing blogs putting comments etc. I could notice that the traffic to blog has dwindle down especially from the usual main players..(you know lah) and then through their communication...they talked about mafia, triump, barns...tagging...etc... They have even stopped posting blogs either on this Alumni or their personal blog. What can I said, the attraction of FB is so personal that I think they just could not resist as it is instantly calling them...

In between the 5 months, I was quite frequent online in FB (about fortnightly basis) and didn't quite understand and like it. I have to seek the password revalidation few times as I forgotten my personal password. Ah ha...by March 2009, after having my blackberry...everything that is online is within my palm...so naturally it has now became my pet online programme beside the Malaysian Insider and Chedet.

FB is indeed a great online networking programme, a passing time programme some more, for Heroes, Mr. Tee and Ah Too, it is a gaming programme...a great place to do their strategy games...

If a vote being given for online attraction....
before 2008 - Emailing, flicker...
2008 - Blogging
2009 - FB
2010 - ?

So, guys what is the next online attraction ???

Meet the Killers

I met all the three killers @ White Tiger at Singapore Zoo recently. If you could remember that one of our fellow Sarawakian who works as a Zoo cleaner was mauled by them when he jumped over the fence.

They are still alive and no judgement was passed to put them down for killing a human. Well, they are protected species as only about 4,000 of them left in the world. So, i think based on consideration, it is the fault of the worker to jump into their protected areas and as animal instinct, they just jumped and kill him...so considered manslaughter, the punishment is still jail for life...so I think they are already serving their sentence for life as I do not think the Zoo keeper will set them free to the nature even if they did not commit the crime...:-)

However, as I observe the security of the areas, it seems quite relax and no wonder one could quite easily jump over and I wonder why the tigers could not jump from inside as it could be very easily done too !


I hope no more future incident as the Zoo, I rate it excellent for keeping it nice, beautiful, clean and interesting for a day out with our kids...

Peace Of Mind

PEACE OF MIND If you were to ask your neighbour,

"What would give you peace of mind?" he might tell you, "A vacation in Bermuda!" or "An extra hundred grand would give me peace!", or "A new Ferrari would make me content!"

But going places – and getting stuff – is usually a temporary solution ... Let's say you buy a lottery ticket and by some miracle you win your dream Ferrari. Today you are content. Tomorrow you are saying, "If I could just catch that little punk who scratched it in the car park!"

Peace of mind rarely comes from getting more stuff. Getting more stuff usually leads to wanting even more stuff!

Peace of mind starts with being grateful for what you have right now.

GRATITUDE is POWER , and here's why..... When you are thankful for what you have - for the friends you have, and for the things you've got, you attract more good people and good things! People who always complain about what they DON'T HAVE, stay stuck. Complainers attract more things to complain about! It is a law of life. It's hard to explain, but you can observe it around you. We get more of what we dwell upon.

" Start by being thankful. Be happy with what you have now, and more will come your way ."

It's practical advice.

IN A NUTSHELL Every time you say a silent "thank you", you become more peaceful – and more contented .

Are You A Solar Battery or A Rechargeble Battery or Normal Battery ?

In a team leadership, which one of you made of ? (it can be a follower type).

A Solar Battery, I would define as a leader who have enormous energy to be able to channel his motivational acts, leadership of guidance to lead the team members. The power that he has can be regenerated from his or her surrounding as self motivational.

A Rechargeable Battery, a leader who can work well with team member with strong empowerment. however, always need reenforcement from another leader for continuous actions. He can be a strong follower.

A Normal Battery, a leader of this sort could not last long. Once he or she had used up the energy, he or she is no longer able to contribute. Has a negative nature of attitude and usually conservative as to preserve limited energy.

So, which one of this analogy suits you ? Whichever level we are in, we must work to improve our leadership towards a solar type. Cast out negativity thoughts without cutting off the reality or facts of situation.

Goodbye, MJ

Like many of us who were teenagers during the 80's, the passing on of Michael Jackson came as a big shock.

It felt as if something dear from our youth days had been suddenly ripped out. During the heady days between '83 and '87, his songs were very much a part of our lives.

I first heard his name being mentioned by a classmate when I was in Form 1. At the time, being out of date, I thought he was some kind of a country singer :) Later on, when my dad bought an cassette tape of the Grammy Awards songs of 1984, I discovered Beat It and Billie Jean, and was hooked.

Despite all his troubles from the 90's onwards, for us Gen X'ers we felt proud to say that we are the generation that had Michael.

My all time favourite song of MJ is "Man In The Mirror", and even today I never fail to get goosebumps whenever I hear it. It came to symbolize what I felt as a Gen X'er -- somewhat cynical and hardened but still determined to make a difference.

RIP, MJ.

Of SPM and Grades

We all read about the recent debate on students who got 15 A's in their SPM and still failed to get a JPA scholarship.

During the 80's (during our time lah, hehe), getting 8 A's was considered a stupendous achievement, and even getting 10 A's was unheard of. And during our parents' time, even getting 5 A's for their 'O' levels was considered fantastic.

I remembered back in 1988 (the year we sat for our SPM), how hard it was to get an 'A' for Matematik Tambahan. A lot of us did well in the school exams (80% and above) and still only managed to get a B3 during the actual exam.

And who remembered how many students in our batch scored an 'A1' for BM? It was actually only one!! Can anyone guess who this guy was? It was none other than Mr. Tee!

So, getting so many A's in those days were really hard. So what has really changed?

One fact that caught my eye was the statement in The Star that an 'A' can be awarded for marks between 60 to 100. That's a huge variance, if you ask me. How can someone who scored 65% be considered to be on par with someone who scored 95%?

And does the fact that students nowadays can score so many A's means they are much more clever and capable than those students from 20 years ago? I seriously doubt it.

I remembered when I entered Uni in Belfast back 1991, I had a culture shock. The professors there were surprised that the Malaysians and the Singaporeans don't really like to attend tutorials, preferring to spend time alone to study instead. Reason? They are scared of being asked for their opinion during those tutorials. Why were we scared? Because we were seldom asked to think.

Another thing that annoyed me during the recent debate was the way some of the students acted as if their life has ended with the rejection. I think I might be branded as heartless by saying this, but I suspect many of them are just disappointed that they are not getting a chance to study overseas, rather than not getting the scholarship itself. The Singapore government offers Malaysians ASEAN scholarships every year that is based on merit, and it is quite straightforward to get if you have the right grades, which all these students have. So, instead of wailing and complaining, why not apply to this scholarship instead? Is it because studying in Singapore is not as glamorous and as exciting as studying in the UK and in the US?

Last but not least, throughout all these years of reunions, we have all seen many of our friends who did not get good grades but still became great successes today. This just goes to prove that grades are not everything in life. There are EQ, a strong sense of determination, ambition, preserverance, innovation, etc that play a big part.

Video Clip of BMs while in KK

This video clip was produced accidentally by the coffee shop worker when I was asking him to take a group photo of us.

It was so natural and we didn't know that he pushed my camera mode to 'video'. We posed for the photo shooting while waiting for our 'pan mee' to be served.

We kept on asking him to press the button and he did... but as we can't see the flash, so we assumed that he didn't know how to operate my camera.

To our surprise, he had accidentally recorded our 'natural' view and moment in the camera....Therefore, I shared this video clip to all of you....:-)

The Best Group Photo Of 2009

" Photo indeed expresses thousands of words..."

and I can resist this great feeling of putting this one on the blog (partly because Ivy was chasing for written report of our journey)....as many of you may know of our Quest to Mount Kinabalu on 1st May 2009 (Chuan Yew was not in the picture as he has moved up very quickly to beat his best time)

I would like to invite fellow BMs to put in their personal heart feeling on this experience together...

MGB : Personally, a great time with BMs...emotionally run through 20 hours of process...though not able to be standing on the platform 4,095m above sea level...(I will be going again very soon...to complete what I have started...of course with BMs...

(below are extras...)

if you want to see more photos, please go to Heroes, Mr Tee, Martin, Tee Too's facebook. You will not be dissappointed....

SHS Homecoming 2010

A few weeks ago, I got the following invite from Hii Chang Kee, one of our former head prefect:

I think this sounds like a general reunion that covers all the different batches of ex-students of SHS. Does anyone have more detailed info on the event?

All the Best to the Magnificent 7

A short note to wish the 7 boys (*cough cough*) a safe and successful climb to Mount Kinabalu this coming weekend (...they will always be 'boys' to us matured, level-minded ladies, ngek-ngek-ngek..).

Leading the team is of course non-other than Big Foot Stephen. The other six are Paul, Ah Too, Kok Sey, Martin, Ngie Chuong and Chuan Yew. Rumours are that they will be visiting some strange-named islands after the climb, you'll need to check with Stephen.

Seven 'batang-s' who have known each other since school days going for an adventure together.....I can just imagine the topics they will have for conversations, or rather, I better not imagine, heh heh.

Let's wish the boys all the best! Take lots of photos ya, we'll be waiting to see them on the blog!

Najib's Cabinet

Najib Cabinet not “lean”, may be “mean” - announcement overshadowed by ghost of Altantuya..................April 9th, 2009

Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s Cabinet failed to live up to the hype of “lean” though it may be “mean”, setting a dubious Cabinet record of using the “back door of Parliament” to bring into the government the biggest crop of defeated candidates in the previous general election – namely Tan Sri Dr. Koh Tsu Koon, Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun and Datuk Dr. Awang Adek Hussin which does not speak well for the government’s commitment to accountability and democracy.
If Najib wants the Cabinet to be really “lean”, he should have slashed the 32-strong Abdullah Ministers by at least one-third!
All the blurb about downsizing Abdullah’s second 67-strong Cabinet (32 Ministers and 35 Deputy Ministers) has not really borne fruit, as Najib has produced a bigger 68-strong Cabinet with 28 Ministers and 40 Deputy Ministers although there are four Ministers less.
Najib has appointed even more Ministers and Deputy Ministers than Mahathir’s last Cabinet after the 1999 general election, when there were only 27 Ministers and 27 Deputy Ministers, together with 15 Parliamentary Secretaries.
Najib’s unveiling of his Cabinet has set another record, being the worst public relations (PR) disaster in the nation’s history.
Najib’s P.R. advisers should be sacked for it was completely overshadowed by the ghost of murdered Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu after the morning’s High Court conviction and death sentence for policemen Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri and Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar for her C4 murder.
The majority of those who watched Najib’s live-telecast announcement of his Cabinet were not interested in his 15-minute statement on KPI (key performance index) for his Ministers, with the Altantuya murder case uppermost in their minds, and all they wanted to know with growing impatience was his new list of Ministers.
Najib’s Cabinet cannot convince Malaysians that the country has a new Ministerial team which can be serious in the three Najib mottos of “1 Malaysia. People First. Performance Now”.
Although Najib does not want to have Ministers with political baggages, there is not only the question as to which member of his Cabinet can claim to be free from baggage, there is the even bigger question as to which Cabinet Minister has more baggage than Najib himself!
Unlike his predecessor, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Najib failed in his highly-publicised attempt to recruit any prestigious member from the corporate sector to join his Cabinet.
The Cabinet appointment which has evoked the greatest interest is not a Minister but a Deputy Minister – the appointment of Datuk Mukriz Mahathir as Deputy Minister for International Trade and Industry and the conspicuous omission of Khairy Jamaluddin, the Umno Youth leader.
This reinforces public perception that Najib is under thumb of former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad as well as raises the question as to why Khairy, who is publicly accused by Mahathir of being corrupt, could continue as Umno Youth leader when he is not fit to be a member of the Cabinet – just like the question asked by Malaysians how Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam could continue to be Malacca Chief Minister when he was not qualified to contest for Umno deputy president because of his involvement in money-politics corruption!
In Najib’s Cabinet, Sabah is the biggest winner and Sarawak the biggest loser – as Sabah has four Ministers while Sarawak only two. Clearly, Najib does not appreciate the Batang Ai by-election victory of the Barisan Nasional on Tuesday.
.............are we such a loser, Sarawakian?

Khir Toyo's Disney tours cost more than RM1 million .... The Malaysian Insider Wednesday April 01 2009

By Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani

SHAH ALAM, April 1 - Selangor investment arm Perbadanan Nasional Selangor Berhad (PNSB) paid a total of RM1.85 million for former Selangor Menter Besar Datuk Seri Mohd Khir Toyo's Disney tours to both Paris and Orlando in the United States.
The trip to Euro Disney was from 26th till 30th December 2004.
Khir and his delegates first went to Morocco and then had a five day transit in Dubai before going to Paris at a cost of RM416, 863.
The transit in Dubai cost an additional RM10,000. The official delegation spent a total of RM416,000 and a team which went to make arrangements for the trip spent RM366,000.
Khir's second Disney trip was to Orlando from 23rd December 2007 to 1st January 2008, costing RM646, 841.
The delegates were also given an additional USD30,000 "pocket money" and therefore the total expenses for the trip amounted to RM750,000.
The state government paid RM336,531 first class tickets for airfare to Orlando and Honolulu while RM305,800 was spent on accommodations with Khir's suite in Orlando costing RM110,000.
The revelations were made today by PNSB chief executive officer Khairiyah Abu Hassan during an inquiry conducted by the state's Special Select Committee on Competence, Accountability and Transparency (Selcat).

Cita Cita

Apakah cita cita anda? What is your ambition?

This seems to be a perennial essay question favourite among our BM and English teachers when we were younger. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if teachers today still set the same question.

If memory serves me, I think I wrote that I wanted to be a teacher. Of course, all that changed when I discovered computers. My dad, on the other hand, was hoping I would be a lawyer. Considering that I can get quite emotional sometimes when getting into arguments, I don't think I would have made a very good lawyer.

I also thought I could be an electronics engineer, but a lot of the stuff about it wasn't intuitively obvious to me. Software and computer architecture, on the other hand, I could get my head around.

The other day, as I was running in a 10km race, I thought to myself that I wanted to achieve a certain timing for 10km before I hit 40. Then suddenly, I thought about my life and whether I am happy with what I have achieved so far.

Then I realized that life is a bit like the race I was running in. Does it mean that if I fail to get 1st position, I am a miserable failure? As I looked around, I realized that a lot of the people in the race are just happy to be running. They are running for the sheer joy of it, and to compete against themselves, trying to become better each time.

And I suppose life is also like that. As long as we're happy with what we're doing and what we have, it doesn't really matter that we're not number 1. No one should judge us, and neither should we ourselves against others. As long as we are happy with our own lives, what other people think do not really matter.

Of course, our cita cita should spur us on, but it should never push us to the point where we become miserable with our lives.

Sarawak Anthem

I am not sure how many of us may remember this, but in 1988 (our Form 5 year), Sarawak changed its state anthem.

From 1973 to 1988 the state anthem was "Sarawak Bahagia" and it went something like this:


Then from 1998 onwards it was "Ibu Pertiwiku", and it went something like this:


Somehow I preferred the newer version better, I found it more moving and sentimental :)


Just as a side note, for me coming from Sarawak to KL during the late 80's felt like going into a different country, everything was just so different. Now, as I watched the video of the anthem, I felt homesick and long once again for that place I have called home in my youth.

TVB Serials

Okay, yet another 80's nostalgia post from me :)

The early 80's also marked the start of the videotape craze. For those pre-Astro days, the humble video recorder was a perfect avenue to while away the hours between work and rest.

In those days, the videos mostly came from recordings of the popular TVB series broadcasted on Singapore TV, which had been dubbed in Mandarin, even the theme songs

Nowadays, both Astro Wah Lai Toi and Xing He channels repeat quite a number of these series. In addition, you can also buy the series in disc sets online.

Long after the stories had faded from our memories, the theme songs remained. Mostly composed by the prolific Joseph Koo, they were amazing pieces that matched the melodrama of the stories well. There are too many to cover here, so I have chosen a few for your enjoyment. For the rest, just surf around Youtube and you will be rewarded :)

First off, The Twins, which came out in 1979 (!).

Then, The Dynasty, which was from 1980.

Another popular series was Tai Chi master Zhang.


This next one needs no introduction - it was THE series of 1984:


Finally, a series that we were all watching when we were in Form 5:

My Old Photos ... Part 1

This year CNY 2009 - my wife found my old photo album while we were staying at her parents house. Every one was very surprise that I was a very skinny and smiley boy!! I guess the corporate world made me into a monster and super killing machine.

I will be posting the picture in stages as I have a lot of old photo that need to be scanned.

p/s This is a special request from Ivy ... she misses all her ex-boyfriends. .. innocent and cute ... Boy is Paul Ting and Hanafi ... little ... err I mean small ... err or I better shut-up.

2nd Sibu Troop & Company Reunion

I "borrowed" this photo from the www.2ndsibu.org website to be posted here.

The ex-boy scouts of 2nd Sibu Troop and ex-girl guides of 2nd Sibu Company had their reunion on the 2nd day of CNY at Tanahmas Hotel in Sibu. There were quite a few who came back from overseas just for the reunion, from as far as Australia and The States. Unfortunately, not many girl guides from my year attended the reunion....and even more unfortunate, the few that did attend left before this photo was taken.

Those who know me well from the girl-guiding days would not have expected that I would miss such an event....sigh, apa boleh buat?! Nevermind, I'll definitely be at the next reunion!

The American Dreams...

I like the flowers...Roses....it is so define and at full bloom...indeed king of flowers....I like the dress...elegant beauty...I like her blonde curvy hair...very sensous...

I like to look at her...well, she is a real beauty, isn't she ? Yes, indeed she is, she has been crowned as the most beautiful girl in the United State of America as of 24th January 2009.

By the way, do you know why they called it beauty pageant contest rather than pretty pageant contest ?

Another question, there is of late a very strong call of not buying American products, are you going to resist when you are scheduled to have 1-2-1 Chap Goh Mey dinner aka Chinese Valentine Dinner with our new Beauty Queen here ?

Do think wisely, do not regret...I only say resist not reject...hehehe ...

SHS 88-90 21st Anniversary Reunion 2009

Hi, are you all in the mood already ?????

I can feel that the feeling of celebration is seeping strongly into my mind now, reflecting the great feeling of reunion.......as I got the message from Heroes that our Chairman Peter Yii had earlier updated him that more than 10 of our teachers had confirmed attendance...wow ! (but not too sure who are the teachers confirmed...though my mind tells me that those 3-4 teachers strong supporters will always like to mingle with us)...

So, it is definitelywill be a wonderful night to catch up.

The reunion is just another 5 days to go...on the 27th January 2009, 6.30p.m at Paramount Hotel, Sibu.

On the sponsorship for lucky draws plus gift expenses invitation for our teachers, please do not be shy to put down your name and try to be as generous as possible though in this economic climate.

For those wish to contribute, please email your commitment to ericphang@yahoo.com

For those wish to attend the dinner, please do not hesitate to contact and secure your ticket (cost RM40 only) with the following coordinators;

KL - Patrick Ling (plingsc@yahoo.com)
Kuching - Heroes (ericphang@yahoo.com) or myself (mygreatbuds@yahoo.com)
Sibu - David Kuok (davidkuok70@gmail.com ) or Peter Yii ( peter_yii@yahoo.co.uk )

Please do spread this good news and encourage all to attend.

Do not miss but grab the opportunity when it is presented to you.

"Gong Xi Fa Cai"

REUNION DINNER 2009

After the much awaiting period, I am pleased to announce that the Reunion Dinner 2009 is still on !

Date: 27th January 2009 (2nd Day of CNY)
Venue : Paramount Hotel
Time : 6.30 p.m.

Ticket price : RM40 per pax

The new O.C is Peter Yii Sing Sin who had gracefully accepted the last minutes (an hour ago) proposal following the the unavailability of the elected O.C due to unforeseen cirscumstances and tight schedule which was only disclosed yesterday. Thanks to David who had swiftly managed to convince Peter to take over and our tradition is once again protected.

It is only less than 2 weeks to go and we will have to put in total support to enable our noble tradition continues. I believe many of us would not just sit still but will go all out to spread this news and canvass all support.

It may not be as grand as last year, but we will put in our best effort. However, it may be the best ever organised in a shortest notice !

The dinner ticket will be out by this Saturday, so that we could drum on with the support. Sponsorship of cash is most welcome to provide with lucky draws and other running expenses to the organising of this dinner.

Will update with you on the confirmation of number of attendance as we move on.

Meet-up with Eleu in Kuching

The photo says it all! Ai Ping was in Kuching from 27 Dec - 1 Jan. Eleu arrived in Kuching on 31 Dec around 8.30pm.....in order for the 3 of us to meet at the same time, it had to be on 31st itself!

We picked up Eleu at about 9.30pm and went for a drink at Jalan Song....Eleu's family lives around the area. What can I say about Eleu after not having kept in touch for so long? Still as fun-loving and as ngiau-siaw as ever! But he now has an area of expertise which I didn't know of before - he's a health expert! Ladies, if you're looking for tips to have a better body shape, Eleu's your man!

I haven't been out with friends late at night for ages....much less on new year's eve, so it felt a little weird leaving the baby and hubby at home. Still, it was time worth spent. Anything for meeting up with school days friends!

It's a BRAND NEW Year!

Friendship is like a flower;

A joy from day to day.

But you must take good care of it;

Lest it should fade away.

So always treat is gently,

And nourished by your care.

The bud will grow and flourish

Into a blossom rare.