Oblivious

Economic slowdown??
What economic slowdown, I still get meself a new toyhouse.....
....Qeira.

Throdding on......

Why does life has to be difficult?

I have just started to be sane again when Asnah returned from Medan and completely sanitized the entire house off dirty laundry, smelly bedsheets and catsfur...

Then Papa decided to accept a new joboffer and stations himself offshore with immediate effect!!


Crap!!!!

Raya Joy

Hari Raya to my mum, the family patriarch, is everyone must be home. Home is Kampong Pulau Pandan, Kuala Pilah in N. Sembilan.

On almost other days, she lives alone, out of her own choice.

So it was last Raya when we made that important trip with various tales of traffic jams, angry with children who could not take a day off from work before the Eid, cats left alone with a buffet of catfood in the kitchen, etc.

Mum had her wish came true when ALL of us turned up, 8 children, 8 children-in-law, 28 grandchildren, 3 grandchildren-in-law, 6 great grandchildren and 38 handphones.



Selamat Hari Raya, mak! Ampun kan semua dosa saya ya!!!!

Maidless in Mutiara

Asnah, my Indonesian maid left for Medan last Saturday for a month long H/Raya break.

I sent her to Port Klang to take the 10 am ferry. At 2pm, she called, I thought she had arrived at her kampong but she said she had just boarded a rescheduled bigger ferry which will take 6 hours to reach Tg. Balai.

I advised her to be patient, nak berHari Raya dengan keluarga mesti lah kena berkorban!!

I pun berkorban jugak!

Now I have to sweep and water the garden, clean the house, do the laundry, cook for the family, feed the cats, bunnies.....etc,etc, etc, (exaggerated to add drama) besides, of course, managing a business.

Just the thought of them make me very distraught when all I want to do is...




sleep,





...and looking good....

Itchy twitchy palm

Last night I experienced a sudden involuntary itch on the centre of my right palm.

It's a malay superstition that if the itch is not due to eczema or scabbies, it's a sign of money coming to you through unsuspected ways. However, if it happens on your left palm, it's the other way round, money's going to flow out of your pocket instead!!

I was watching the stockmarket index closely this morning and at 10.12am was practically holding my breath when it plunged to 1,000.43 point, a skin away from turning 3digit. I am of course waiting for the right time to accumulate.

When charts and analysis elude me, I can't believe that I actually attempt to use superstition as one of my investment tools.

Oh, what a pathetic looser I am!! I think it's time to get a life!!!!!!

Hari Raya Goodies.

My supplier has delivered some simple Hari Raya goodies, which I ordered to be distributed to my clients who have been supporting us generously for the past one year.



They are so cute, Hari Raya cookies in the buckets.















These bigger ones containing a few types of Hari Raya cookies are for our more important clients.













Ramadhan is indeed a month full of rezqi but I am not creative enough to prepare these gifts myself.

Ooops!!...

Tasya!!!!!!!!!!



Do you want






To know





what happened




to




YOUR CAR????????

At the groomer's

Simba, my Angoran rabbit has been with me for 3 months now.

Everyday, I'm doing battle with his blonde long fur. I did badly so far because Simba ended up with tangled-up and matted bottom!

Hari Raya is coming, so, I decided to bring Simba to the groomer's.

Here's Simba being introduced to his groomer, Selena.






Simba had pedicure, manicure and since it took so long for the hair to be done, I left him to Selena's expert hand.























I picked him up 2 hours later, smelling great, neatly coiffured, he even had a ribbon on his head!

Blessed Ramadhan.

Wishing every muslim a blessed Ramadhan, the month of intense worship and prayers...
May the divine blessings of Allah fill our lives with peace and happiness....

An-Nyeong Hasseyo

We are back home, an inch richer with experience but a few thousand Won poorer in the pocket.

We were at par with the South Korean in the 80's, alas, as a nation, we are so far behind them now.....

The kids enjoyed the trip to the land of many bridges.
















Soaked in the beauty of the city,


















Braved the food.

















Up close and personal with the beautiful sceneries from Korean dramas.





'Winter Sonata'




'Spring Waltz'





'Autumn in my Heart'




'Stairways To Heaven'









Back to reality, we realised that South Korea is actually a whisper away from war with The Fellow North!


















And we could not tell the original from the copies, so, we shopped at the Duty Free Incheon International Airport instead....
















wish you were there.

Land of Kimchi

Am so excited to go to our next family vacation:




We are going to Korea.



With my weak stomach, I think I'll pass on the Kimchi!!!




However,the last I checked, I'm still not allergic to shopping.

Rebate on rebate.

I find it difficult to understand the idea behind giving out cash rebates to vehicle owners, as compensation due to withdrawal of subsidy on petrol price.

If the government needed to stop the subsidy in the first place, why then does it need to dish out another subsidy in the form of the said rebate, which to me is more unfair, since only vehicle owners in the country stand to benefit.How about the poor who does not own any vehicle but has to now pay for more costly everyday consumer items as a result of higher petrol prices?

I mean, who are the goons behind this noble idea of a rebate? If those running the Malaysian government sorely sympathise with vehicle owners in the country, why can't the road taxes be waived instead? It is more humane than making us all beg in line at the local post offices for the cash rebates which is not unlike collecting welfare money!

Pity the people of Malaysia!
I'm sure we deserve cleverer group of people to decide on things governing our everyday lives.

Anyway....(like Ellen Degeneres way of saying it),

Since the rebates are actually there for the picking, we decided to check it out yesterday.
Papa had the day off as he has just returned from a trip to London and I was so free in the evening, so we drove to the nearest local Post Office, armed with 4 already renewed road taxes of vehicles registered under our names.

The Post Office was rather crowded. It sure was additional work for the already overworked postal clerks, though there is rumours flying around which said that actually certain corporation stood to gain billions of RM from the commission paid out of handling this rebategiving service.







We took our queue number and waited with the rest of the crowd in the pungent sweatsmelling airconditioned room.





After an hour, our turn came. One look at our first application form, the tired looking clerk said in a loud voice:

"kereta 2000cc keatas tak de rebate kat sini yer!!!! Pergi JPJ!!!"

Malu tau, Yeop!

Hah? Tak boleh sudah lah!!!

However, the other 3 cars qualified and we went home at 4.30pm, with RM1,875.00 cold CASH in our hands!!!!.

Now we hear that the petrol price is going to come down in Sept. Is the rebate going to be stopped for the rest of you who have not renewed your road taxes yet?
Or do I have to return this money which they have given to me?

I never can predict what's going to happen next, after all I am now living in the era of 'flip-flop'!!

Home Alone 3

I'm so gonna be home alone with the cats tonight!

Reason: Everybody is going to the Stadium to watch star-studded Chelsea thrashing the Malaysian National Soccer team tonight.

Enjoy yourselves comrades (read: RM103 X 4, of daddytime)!

Stressed

Suddenly we discovered that Puts, our eldest cat, developed bald patches on both sides of his lateral hinds.







Alarmed, we took him to his vet not without growling protests. Dilla had to be at the backseat of the CRV to pacify him.

MEeow.....ya Puts.
MeEOoww....yes Puts...
MEeOoww.....It's OK, Puts...

WE understood Puts' protest when the Vet inserted the thermometer in his bottom as a matter of routine procedure upon entering the treatment room.
(How could that guy bear it when he claimed 'it' was inserted 8 times in his bottom?), never mind.

The good Vet told us not to worry as the balding patch is a sign of stress.
We were stressed ourselves when we paid the consultancy charges for nothing but told to go home and make Puts feel like a prince to prevent him from further stress.

Ha? Puts??? Betoi ka hang stress?

Yang nak retire next month and probably end up jobless IS Papa!
Yang kena adjust to new life in Sydney IS Kak Sya!
Yang menggigil tunggu result MICPA IS Kak Dilla!
Yang takut kena strangle incase his A level exam result is a gonner IS Ikram!
Yang asyik kena kawad Kadet di sekolah IS Imran!
Yang memerhati Index BSKL IS Mama!!!!!

Yang hang pulak tak pasai2 stress tu, kenapa?



Stay cool, darling, you don't require petrol to walk in the garden!

pantun BSKL

Hendak gugur, gugurlah nangka,
Jangan menimpa sibatang pauh,
Hendak jatuh, jatuhlah Bursa,
Jangan lagi bertangguh tangguh.....

Sked to death.

I had the chance to chat up with Ikram over the weekend.

I asked how he is feeling now that his A levels exam result will be out in 3weeks.
(yep, I AM counting!)

Ikram : Sked to death.

mama: so, how's life at an F&B business? (referring to his sandwich-making parttime job at O'Briens)

Ikram: getting on fine. I enjoyed the good company of my fellow part-timers.

Ikram told me that the other day a senior staff asked about his future plans.
Ikram informed him that if his result is excellent, he will continue to work until February when the intake into the Medical College starts.

Senior: If your result is no good??

Ikram: then, you look up on the front page of the newspaper, if you see 'Ibubapa membunuh anaknya',....that will be ME!


.

'Kegatalan yang melampau?'

I like this guy.
He wrote exactly what I currently hold in view,
Let me share with anyone and especially as a temporary reminder to self during this challenging times, the wise words courtesy of Bursa Trading Ideas.


Should I Bargain-Hunt Now?
Posted on Tuesday, July 08 @ 00:21:01 MYT by admin




Must you buy stocks now? Are you looking for quick returns?



If the answer to both the questions above is “No”, you should just sit tight and let the market take its course right up to December. It is not a question of buying and then risking a loss; it’s a question of whether you could get a better bargain later in the year.


Analysts have many research reports to share with you, especially during these hard times. They have all the numbers to justify their claim. Just let them do what they do best which is crunching out the numbers. As for you as an investor, you must do your very best to let chance work on your side. Sadly, many investors always miss this important rule of thumb.


Unless you are certain the stocks you buy are cheap and are prepared for more declines in price, just stay on the sideline. What is there to lose by being inactive? Of course "none" you say, but the “kegatalan yang melampau” is tempting you to make the move.


As of today, we’ve seen prices that tempt us to use our current fund. Resorts at RM2.50 range, Tanjong at RM12.50 range, YTL Power at RM1.70 range; who could resist it? We are still resisting them but can we make it after forty days and forty nights?


When it comes to withholding, some tell themselves to reserve “bullets”; we just simply call it “fund management”. The saying that human has two problems when it comes to money is very true. “Problems when money is insufficient and problems when there’s too much”.


At the end of the day, winnings from investment are only one part of your heritage. Building a great characteristic and right mentality are the ones that would take you through the many cycles of the stock market.

-unedited.







Thank you, I'm staying here, at the sideline.



note to that buddy remisier of mine, please don't care to get intouch even after forty days and forty nights. (wah, begitu jitu semangat ku!!!)

Tough Times, Good Times.

When I decided to close for business on Saturdays, perhaps the most delighted members of my family are Simba and Qeira!!!

Since I'll be at home, they get an additional morning to be in their play pen at the front garden.




Simba and Qeira frolicking on the lawn....







...with my bigger pet, Imran..

NO, I don't have All the answers, darling!

Imran asked why are there so many angry people around nowadays.

From his teachers, the lab assistant, the canteen operator, his tutors.....to the man who sweeps the road.
EVERYBODY is complaining.
About harga minyak, about barang barang naik harga.....

Why is the anger, mama?

Well...............
........
........
........

You may look at it this way:

mama buat nasi lemak,
mama jual nasi lemak,
But if you need my nasi lemak you have to pay for it, regardless of you being my own son.
and you pay at the same price, may be more, than other people who bought it from me.
and the price is not getting lower.

When you protested, I said, it's for the sake of your next generation. I can't be subsidising you anymore.
But at the same time, you do notice that I'm not being prudent in spending whatever amount that I said I could save from squeezing you!

Imran: If I am already angry with you because you made my life so tough, what is the likelihood that I raise my next generation not to be angry with you too, and that their lives will not be as tough?


Thats a tough question, it's easier to prove e=mc2
Do you want to eat nasi lemak? It's free for you, my son, anytime!

The State of Confusion

Imran told me that almost everyone in his Form Four class in the school talked about the sodomy allegation against Former DPM Anwar Ibrahim.

mama: ...and what did they say?

imran:....They think that Anwar Ibrahim is being framed because he is connecting Dato Seri Najib and his wife to the Altantuya murder case!

mama: ..Hey, hey...that's sub judice!!

imran:..what's that?

mama: I'm not sure, everybody clever in the country seems to be saying it, besides the infamous 'Statutory Declaration'. They are like the 'words of the month'!
I'll feel so left out if I don't mention them in my blog!!!!