ringgit.me

What do people talk about during lunch and in water cooler today? Petrol prices, of course. The “blardy govment” has increased petrol prices by 30sen . That’s a 18.5% increase for the year 2006. In the past year one year (from 2005), the price has increased more than 50%! This is RIDICULOUS. But that’s not what I wanted to bitch today. Flood, you asked? True, it is sad to see that a good area like Taman Tun Dr Ismail Jaya in Shah Alam being flooded because of heavy rain. I remember passing by that place when I went to ZipD’s aunt condo last year. I remember seeing billboard near that place promoting the place. It’s expensive. A house there cost RM400K and above. So an expensive residential area covered in flood. How embarrassing can that be? The Shah Alam Stadium car park is submerged! But that’s not what I wanted to bitch today. What was the hot topic during lunch was that our water drinking has urine smell or, as the newspaper and government called it, "a higher level of ammoni...

This morning I drove mom to work. Traffic is bad but this post is not about traffic. My mother works in the city in a run-down shop-lot. Her office, which sells car spare parts, is a uncondusive place to work. It has no a/c, it’s old and poorly managed, it’s dirty and dusty. But she has been working for this company all her life and while she’s just a clerk, she has a lot of freedom to run chores and gossips. Normally, my father would send her to work. This morning, I have to go to work early and my sister took our other car so I volunteered to send mom to work. I don’t know why but as I reached the curb of her office, I imagined my father dropping her off in our old Charade Aura. It is such a small car for two adults. My mind started to wander and I thought about how nice it would be if my father was able to send his wife to work in a nice, shiny Toyota Camry. I imagine how my mother’s colleagues would be envious of the new car and how she would brag about the car that her son bought ...

You’d notice the lack of updates during the past few days. I went on a “ Brokeback Vacation” ™ with a group of old friends. I called it a Brokeback vacation because I’d imagine what other people will think of this group of all males going on a yearly vacation, much like the characters in the movie Brokeback Mountain going on their yearly summer fishing fling. I don’t mean we are in love or something.. Eww.. We went on a “makan” trip to Penang. I ate so much food, I needed a cart to carry my stomach! The four (out of six) of us have known each other for almost 25 years. Can you imagine a group of friends holding on for so long? These people needed a yearly trip to get out of house and family/kids and just enjoying the company of friends. It was a good trip. Very relaxing. We are free to do things on our own – some wanted to rest, some went out and eat continuously, some just enjoying the lounge. I have another Brokeback Vacation in March with ZipD and friends. This was a yearly PC gami...

My department recently employed 3 new kwai los. They are from a non-profit organization that specializes in providing students jobs in other countries. If you just graduated and you wanted to work in another country as a trainee or co-op, you could enroll yourself with this organization and they will find jobs for you overseas. The 3 of them are male, around 23-25 year olds. They are staying in a nice double storey house near my office. For those of you who knows me, my office is located in one of the most affluent neighborhoods in Kuala Lumpur. People who stay here are very wealthy and educated. A typical house cost above RM700K. This neighborhood is also the nicest, cleanest, well maintained with beautiful landscape and park place in KL. Roads are paved almost twice yearly. DBKL (the council) cleaned up this place like a religion. There is a police station located not far from the place I work. It is considered a safe and pleasant neighborhood – a dream place to stay of many people. ...

.. but to say that the traffic for the past two days have been horrendous. I left office at 6pm today and reached home at 7.15pm. Normally, it takes me 15 minutes to reach home. The reason? The closure of Middle Ring Road 2 due to incompetent and corrupt management (read: government officials). I was stuck in a jam for 2.5 hours in KL yesterday due to heavy downpour. After 51 years of Independance and 51 years of experience in city planning or technology, we fall back to 1957 the moment it rained. Pop quiz.. the picture below shows you the flash flood which happens in KL, near Pertama Complex (or Sogo). Ladies and gentlemen, presenting the ultra modern city: Kuala Lumpur

... but to post a short post to note, YET AGAIN, that the water from the tap of the toilet in my workplace is darker than my Nescafe Ais... This is really insane!

So, yesterday was Valentine’s Day. Anne and I celebrated our first V-Day together. I decided to make her a nice and personal gift. I bought this hand-made, small little box with lots of hearts. It’s almost like a jewelry box. It opened from the top and is big enough to store a pad of yellow Post-It Notes. Of course, I have a yellow Post-It Notes in hand. The idea is to write one major event during our courtship into one piece of Post-It note, dated with Yahoo! Widget’s desk calendar graphic and my personal point of view of the event. Some are outright funny. Others are bound to make her blush. For example, the first time we met, the day we officially became a couple, the first time we held or our first kiss. Or our first fight or the boo boo we made... heh heh heh. I spent a lot of time printing and cutting little pieces of notes to be pasted into the Post-It pad. That would allow her to just peel of one piece at a time to read or to put in a scrap book – whatever... someth...

From /. Hot on the heels of the recent news about the death of King Tut comes a new story about the discovery of an unlooted and previously unopened 18th Dynasty tomb in the Valley of the Kings . American archaeologists found five mummies resting in sarcophagi, funerary masks, and coptic storage jars. It is the first such discovery since Howard Carter 's discovery of Tutankhamun 's tomb in 1922.

Apple announced 1GB iPod nano for $150 .. and iPod shuffle price is reduced.. No more excuses ;)

Sometimes, out of the blue, I do good things for people. I have no idea why I am so nice. Today, I was bitten. It just proves that being nice to certain people is just a waste of time. The person I am talking about is, of course, Bonnie . When I was in USA, she asked me to buy a toy by a company called Leapfrog for her 6 months old girl. I was reluctant because toy is big and heavy. I am already challenged in terms of packing things into my luggage. Later however, my big heart tells me to do it. I shopped in Toys R Us and bought her a nice learning soft toy. She also wanted an iPod nano dock and I bought her one also since I am getting a dock for myself. Anyway, I sent her an email and told her the amount. It cost RM216.64, equivalent to US$56.27. Instead of depositing RM216.64 into my maybank account she put in RM212.79. The reason is she used the daily exchange rate. I was pissed at that point because here I am, doing her a favour, and instead of paying me the equivalent amount, she...

I notice that my nose has less blackheads and the pores are closed after I returned from USA. When I touch my nose, it feels smooth, unlike the feeling of many blackheads before I go USA. I wonder why? Was it the cold weather? Was it the dry-ness ? Was it the clean water? Does anybody know? I wonder how I can maintain this? Advice please...