There's No Place Like Home!

I have never been one who can stay home for long periods of time….I am always out as I have too many errands to run, too many golf games to play, too many “coffee” and lunch outings with friends and not enough time to do them all!

However, now that I am spending more time at home due to my health situation, I am beginning to enjoy the little pleasures that one gets from being home. I have more time to look around and appreciate, for the first time, how lucky I am to have a home to call my own, a family to be with and two cats who love us.

I stepped back for the first time today and looked at what I have and I could not be more grateful. The flowers seem brighter, more interesting, and even more alive than I have ever noticed them to be!

Then, there is our cat, Jackie, who is already so grown up that it is hard to imagine what a scrawny stray he was when we found him a year ago.

Jackie (The Bully) snuggling up to his grandma!

Scrawny Stray a Year Ago!

Our neighbour’s cat, Bleach, is now staying full-time with us and although her kittens are at home, she prefers to be with us….you know, Bleach, I really should not encourage you to shirk your maternal responsibilities, but I am thankful for your company! I am sorry that Jackie is always harassing you but that's the way it is with the male species - always out to prove their macho-ness, I guess!

Bleech resting out of Jackie's reach!

The other day, I asked mum if she could teach Siti how to prepare “nasi ulam” – a Malay dish where rice is mixed with all kinds of local herbs, ground, roasted, salted fish and dessicated coconut, sliced ginger, shallots and garlics with a dash of pepper!

It was a favourite dish my great grandmother would make, especially during the month of Ramadhan, when we were kids growing up in a kampung called Selama, Perak. Back then, all the herbs could be found growing around the house.

In a modern city like KL, it was quite a challenge finding the herbs at the Pasar Tani (Farmer’s Market) on Saturday morning. Some of the herbs (daun kadok, serai, daun limau purut and daun kunyit) are found in my backyard. Pictured below are some of the herbs and the final product….yummy!

Nasi Ulam

Ulam Raja

Daun Pegaga

Daun Sekentot!

Daun Kesom

Daun Seylom (Pronounced Say-lom)

Thanks, mum and Siti – having you both is one of the blessings that I have often taken for granted, because I’ve been too busy chasing time and trying to do so many things at one time!

On MM2H and Jean Todt

Jean Todt

Kudos to Gombak MP Azmin Ali for bringing up the alleged payment of RM593,400 for Ferrari’s ex-boss Jean Todt's expenses in his role as Malaysian Tourism ambassador in Parliament recently.

Apparently, during question time, Azmin mentioned a figure of RM1million, broken down as follows:

• RM593,400 fee to cover air tickets (RM360,000), accommodation (RM60,000), tips, laundry, faxes and telephone costs and other costs (RM90,000); and,


• RM388,000 holiday costs that went to international air tickets or two (RM240,000), domestic flights (RM16,000) and miscellaneous expenses RM60,000.

Todt would be required to attend a minimum of two major local events and two international missions to promote Malaysia and organise familiarisation tours and tap into his wide network of contacts to help promote Malaysia as a tourism destination.

Azmin’s question was directed to Deputy Tourism Minister, Datuk Seri Sulaiman Abdul Rahman Abdul Taib who refused to respond deeming the question was “out of topic”. Instead, he requested that Azmin write officially to the government.

Tourism Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Ng Yen Yen, immediately shot back, defending that his role as Malaysia's Tourism ambassador is voluntary and RM 1 million is for his expenses. She added that RM1 million in Europe "gets you nothing today." She also highlighted Todt’s value: greater visibility for Malaysia to attract high spending quality tourists, promote MM2H program, and help the Government make influential contacts in Paris, including a top film producer, magazine publisher and aides of French president Nicolas Sarkozy”.

Whilst I do not deny that Todt has the capability to attract high spending quality tourists, promote MM2H program and has influential contacts in Paris (although I don’t understand how having contact with aides of French President Nicolas Sarkozy would be beneficial to Malaysia, unless the Tourism Ministry is hoping to have French First Lady Carla Bruni record a “Malaysia - Truly Asia” song), I think the government has gotten its priorities all wrong.

Instead of spending RM 1 million for Todt’s expenses to promote Malaysia, the government should look into the crime situation in this country as it is driving at least one couple participating in MM2H to return to their home country. The lady in question had been a victim of snatch thieves twice in as many months and she has had enough. Imagine the bad publicity this one couple can generate when they return to their home country? I believe many Malaysians share the concern that the crime rate is on the rise in this country.

I have many golfer friends who are in Malaysia under the MM2H (Malaysia My Second Home) Program and they come from various countries such as USA, France, Holland, Korea and Japan. Other than the increasing crime rate, they are also concerned about the red tape they had to go through in, for example, buying a car.

An MM2H participant is eligible to purchase one car which is made or assembled in Malaysia tax-free (exempted from excise duty/sales tax). The approval process comes in two stages: Stage 1 where the make/model must be approved and Stage 2 where the chassis/engine number must be provided. The Treasury will then issue an approval letter for Customs clearance.

A friend, who is in the process of applying for the approval letter for customs clearance, was told that it takes 3 months for the Treasury Department to issue the approval letter after providing the chassis/engine numbers.

Three months to issue an approval letter? Come on guys, this is just not on! Now that our government departments have all gone “e-something-or-other”, shouldn’t this process be expedited? In private companies, any approval process that takes more than 5 work days must be justified to the customer, so if we are trying to promote MM2H, dear honourable Minister, let us look into these basic areas before we pay for Monsieur Todt’s expenses.

Azmin also alleged that Todt and his fiancé, Malaysian-born actress Michelle Yeoh, were given land in Pulau Besar in Terengganu as part of the deal. This was denied by the Tourism Minister but the Malaysian public is already weary of these kinds of denials for didn’t they say “where there is smoke, there is always fire”....go figure!

In researching the Internet for this posting, I came across the following report under “Dewan Despatches”:

by: Azmi Anshar

DEWAN RAKYAT, June 24, 2009
For someone of Todt’s stature to agree to a mere RM1 million fee is a steal for Tourism Malaysia, who in their bid to rise above the din of global competition, must shout loudly to attract the most attention and with that, sales that translate into revenue and profit. That they did with Todt. It’s an ingeniously simple plan that corresponds with the Malacca Government’s Datukship award to Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan last year to boost the state’s image as an exceptional tourism attraction.

I wonder if there are statistics to show that the Datukship bestowed upon Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan did, indeed, translate into tourist $ for the state of Malacca?

Confessions of A Golfoholic - Part I

Since I have so much time on my hands recuperating at home, I decided to take a look into my shoe cabinets to see if my golf are shoes are ok....you know, in this climate, mildew tends to set in when the shoes are not used or aired regularly. Siti has done a good job airing them every 3 weeks or so, but the truth is, I miss wearing them lah!

I have a weakness for all kinds of shoes from a young age (no feet fetish, ok?). During my working years, it was heels, heels, heels....but since I don't wear them anymore, it is now golf shoes or casual shoes. I buy most of my golf shoes from US online stores as they carry a wide range of sizes (mine is 8W) and designs. Although it costs slightly more than those available locally after conversion, shipment and taxes, they are worth it 'coz some of their designs are not available locally.

Footjoy - the most comfortable golf shoes that can be custom-made

I do buy golf shoes locally and when I do, I usually don't take them out of my car or mum will "bising" (make noise) that the shoe cabinets are overflowing with my golf shoes. I will only take them out after wearing so that they don't look "new". My friend Winnie shares the same problem - becoz we both live with mum lor!

Mum does not understand why I need to have 19 pairs of golf shoes; to her it is a sinful waste of money that can be used for other more useful purposes (like saving for that rainy day)! But mum, when we depart this world, we only take with us our "kain kapan" (funeral shroud in which Muslims are buried) so let me enjoy the fruits of my labor while I still can!

A Tribute To Michael Jackson (1958 - 2009)

MJ's Latest Photo when Announcing his Come Back Tour - scheduled to start in July, 2009

The sensational, yet tragic life of Michael Jackson, the supremely-gifted pop singer who emerged from childhood stardom to become one of the most influential and infamous celebrities of modern times, was cut short late last night in the emergency room of a Los Angeles hospital. He was 50.

The Jacksons before Mowtown Records signed them on in 1968

Doctors pronounced the King of Pop dead at around 4pm local time, after he suffered a massive cardiac arrest at his rented chateau-style home in the Holmby Hills area of the city, shortly after mid-day. He had been discovered in a coma when emergency services arrived at the scene. The death of the once-dazzling performer came weeks before he was due to attempt to re-launch his career with a series of 40 comeback concerts in London.

Jackson was reportedly taken ill as he prepared to leave home and drive to Burbank, where he was rehearsing the new show that was to mark his return to the stage for the first time in almost ten years. He was hoping to rehabilitate his reputation following a series of freakish scandals that had left him bankrupt, with his private life and reputation in tatters.

Michael Jackson was born on August 29, 1958, the seventh of nine children in a working class family. His mother was a devout Jehovah's Witness while his father – a steel worker and guitarist in an R&B band – became known for the brutal work ethic he instilled in the the five Jackson boys – Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael, who first performed together at a talent show when Michael was just six, bagging first prize. By 1964 Jackson had joined his brothers' pop group as an instrumentalist but his boyish looks, sharp falsetto and exceptional talent often outshone his siblings.

MJ as a Tot

His was supposedly a dysfunctional family - in an interview aired on CNN today, MJ admitted his father was brutal...he was beaten and he came across as a really SAD person (as evidenced in his "You Are Not Alone" video)! It seemed that all through his life, he never really had any friends - all he had was a coterie of lawyers, publicists and hangers-on who seemed to need something from him!

A Cute MJ as a Child

In an interview about child molestation charges levelled at him, MJ asked that the interviewer listen to his song "Childhood" which is really an autobiographical representation of who he was, the lyrics of which are produced below:

Have you seen my Childhood?

I'm searching for the world that I come from

'Cause I've been looking around

In the lost and found of my heart...

No one understands me

They view it as such strange eccentricities...'

Cause I keep kidding around

Like a child, but pardon me...

People say I'm not okay

'Cause I love such elementary things...

It's been my fate to compensate,for the Childhood

I've never known...

Have you seen my Childhood?

I'm searching for that wonder in my youth

Like pirates in adventurous dreams,

Of conquest and kings on the throne...

Before you judge me, try hard to love me,

Look within your heart then ask,

Have you seen my Childhood?

People say I'm strange that way

'Cause I love such elementary things,

It's been my fate to compensate,for the Childhood I've never known...

Have you seen my Childhood?

I'm searching for that wonder in my youth

Like fantastical stories to share

The dreams I would dare, watch me fly...

Before you judge me, try hard to love me.

The painful youth I've had

Have you seen my Childhood...

Wacko Jacko was different things to different people - he was either mad, bad, or merely the most misunderstood man on this planet - you either love him or hate him. I grew up in the MJ years and as someone who likes to dance, his music never fails to make me MOVE....maybe not as well as MJ did, but MOVE I did!

He was a genius in his field - his music, his creativity, his sometimes lewd movements, his songwriting magic...he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002.

Kids love him - I remember one day when my son Nash came home from school and proudly strutted MJ's "moonwalk" that he had been practising for Sri Inai's school concert...it looked hilarious...you know, the moonwalk somehow does not look right unless one is reed-thin!

His life was full of controversies - innuendoes about his sexual orientation, his crotch-grabbing dance routines, his obsession with Diana Ross and his face-altering surgeries to look like her, child-molestation charges, sham marriage to Lisa-Marie Presley to repair his damaged reputation as a molester of young boys, lawsuits of all kinds, having children by a surrogate mother, Debbie Rowe and alleged conversion to Islam.

The physical transformation of MJ

Now that he is dead, we can expect lawsuits of all kinds to appear - he was one whose life attracted lawsuits like a moth to a flame. I feel for his three children who he has brought up alone: Prince Michael Joseph Jackson I, Paris Michael Katherine Jackson, borne by Debbie Rowe, and Prince Michael Jackson II, known as "Blanket", whose mother's identity remains a secret that MJ had taken with him....forever!

Prince Michael I with sister Paris

Prince Michael II

I would like to share below the collection of MJ's music videos - his controversies aside, he was a great human being - giving back to society through his music videos such Heal the World and We are The World.

http://new.music.yahoo.com/michael-jackson/videos/

Comedy of Errors!

Story of my life....need I say more???

A Reunion of Friends

This post, although long overdue, is dedicated to members of ExxonMobil Alumni – Siti, RJ, Helen, Aishah and Hazel. Although RJ and myself have retired, we are still in touch with those still working and we try to get together once in a while.

We are very fortunate that the “married” members of the Alumni – RJ, Siti and Aishah (sorry girls…I have to make this announcement!) have very understanding spouses who allow them to venture out on an “all-girls-only” overnight outings with us “singles” (you know lah, a married Muslim woman must have hubby's permission to venture out of the house...otherwise nusyuz lah!).

Last year, we went to Port Dickson for an “overnighter”. Six of us cramped into two rooms at Avillon Admiral Cove….but cramped accommodation was our least worry…for we did not intend to sleep mah!

On Saturday night, we had a sumptuous seafood dinner by the sea (can’t remember the name of the restaurant)….I dread to think of what that did to our cholesterol levels.

(L to R: RJ, Helen, Nori. Seated: Siti, Aishah)

Hazel, Aishah

Nori, Helen

On the way back, we stopped at the night market to sample durians (more cholesterol!). There were heaps of durians of all strains – D2, D99, D24, (D=Disaster?). We felt quite at home sitting by the road side and gorging on durians....hopefully, none of the Esso Refinery staff at PD would see us so "uncultured" one....jatuh saham babe!"

Aww...my mouth is too full to even smile!

Pesta Durian Tolok Komang - Makan Sodap!!

Our plans included karaoke which would be next on our list of “to dos” but unfortunately, my car was involved in a minor accident when a carload of young tudung-clad girls (cover girls) suddenly shot out on the left side of the road, causing the side of my car to be dented.

So we had to forget about karaoke and all of us went to a police station to make a report. It was quite a hilarious scene at the police station – there were ten ladies and it was like “them” (four young cover girls) against “us” (six matured, ladies some of whom can be the mothers of those young girls!).

The other driver’s defence to the police sergeant on duty was that she had signalled before coming out but my counter argument was that you signal and check to see if all was clear – not signal and rush out at the same time….sheesh, where did this girl learn to drive?

Anyway, we thought that “youth” would win hands down against “experience” but thankfully, I received a letter one week later that the other driver had been fined for causing the accident. So, the system still works…the law is the law, regardless of who broke it!

With our moods already dampened by this turn of events, we had an early night but the next morning, we had fun – playing Pictionary! But aiyoh-yoh, I made my team kalah one lah (that’s why my golfing buddies tell me to change my golf clubs – I use Callaway – or “kalah all the way”!). We had also planned to play Gin Rummy but didn't have time as we wanted to explore the place during the day.

With not much time left, we posed for photos at the marina and surrounding areas. As all of us wanted to be photographed together, we had to ask a hunk who just came out of the gym to take our photos. After that, we spent the next 5 minutes speculating whether or not he was gay….you know, they say all the good looking men are either attached or gay….but not “gay” like in happy – if you get my drift!

But, then again, who knows, he may be gay and happy as well….oh well, there’s too much to do in life than to worry about someone’s sexual orientation - live and let live!

(L to R: Helen, Siti, Hazel, Nori, RJ, Aishah)...dreaming that one day, we'd own a boat like the one in the background....dream on girls!

At the night market, Siti, the clown in the group, bought swimwear designed for Muslim women to cover themselves. Although we did not get to swim, we had a hilarious time when Siti posed in her “astronaut” swimwear….Nan Siti, please keep that pic for your grandchild, OK?

Astronaut "Nan" Siti

We left PD on Sunday and along the way, stopped for lunch and some goodies at one of the rest stops….we all went home happy that we made it, after all the planning....it was not easy to get six ladies to commit to this trip - it had been postponed many times.

I looked forward to the next reunion but it turned out that I had to miss it this year – the girls went to Cyber Lodge and had a great time – as usual, with or without me!

We’ll do another one next year – I promise!

....And Life Goes On

A friend of mine, who's been following my blog, called recently to ask if I am REALLY sick. "Looking at your pics on your blog and reading your Face Book comments, you seem like you're having a ball of a time....no need to work, going for manicure, pedicure, shopping, etc...while poor souls like me are working my b*** off! Are you really sick?"

I replied that I am really sick and I am still being treated but I don't want to put my life on hold while my health is taken care of. After what I've been through, I know that life is short, so I don't waste my time worrying about what might have been....the reality is "what is".

As for working her b*** off, I reminded her that I'd worked for 32 years and I have paid my dues...now it's "me time!" I used to worry about everyone and everything else (my family, my job, the recession, my cat) that I don't have time to worry about myself. But now, I am determined to be "selfish" and put me first. If I feel like taking off and having a break somewhere else, I will...if I can find someone to accompany me, that is!

I would like to emulate the late Ms. Wong Hoi Wan, who was the Chairman's Secretary at my former place of work. Hoi Wan (God bless her soul) had breast cancer but she lived her life right to the very end doing things she loved doing such as playing tennis and even things she'd never done before such as karaoke-ing and long lunches with friends.

Each time I put on my golf attire to join my friends at the golf course, my mum would fret that I should not be too "gungho" while recovering...that I should stay home to recuperate...that complications to my illness is caused by my not observing all the "pantang" (forbidden things) after surgery.

"But mak, if I stay home I'd be miserable and that will not help my recovery. My friends are my life, and being out on the golf course is therapeutic...I enjoy the camaraderie, bantering and "cakap merapu" with the girls. So, please understand that I am healing rather quickly because of my determination to live my life to the fullest - and not because I am at home moping about my health".

So, to all who know me out there...if you see me up and about and having fun, you know what's going on!

"Life is like a game of cards. The hand that is dealt you represents determinism; the way you play it is free will" - Jawaharlal Nehru

Inner City USA...Right Here in KL!

In Maslow's theory of human needs, the need for "safety" ranks high - i.e. number two. That is why, on March 8, 2008, the rakyat of Malaysia voted in the Opposition to give our comfortable "heads-in-the-sand" YBs a "welcome-to-the-real-world" jolt!

Yet, almost a year later, KLites are still grappling with the issue of safety; as evidenced in the series of photos below taken from the CCTV of an apartment block.

Ladies, please be aware that this can happen to you and it can happen anywhere. KL is becoming like Inner City, USA where muggings can occur in broad daylight...and in front of others, in some cases.

You can protect yourselves by following some common sense advice - such as not taking the elevator alone (I know, sometimes this is impossible as apartment living is now popular in KL, but try not to do so). It is also a good idea to carry pepper spray (in your cleavage, for easy access) to ward off your attacker/s.

Women are simply physically disadvantaged when it comes to assault, but you can learn to mitigate the risks, for example, by "kneeing" him where it hurts most - between his legs! There are many self-protection classes that teach ladies how to handle such situations. They are worth investing in.