Merdeka!

Merdeka....Merdeka...Merdeka!
Merdeka is Malaysian for Happy Independence Day!
Well today 48 years ago is when we gained independence from the British. Picture below's just like the United Colors of Benetton ad just this one's Malaysian style with the Malay, Chinese and Indian kids.













It's been a while since I had a blog entry but I'm extremely busy getting gifts and packing and seeing all my friends before leaving. I can't believe it, but I'll be flying home to Malaysia in THREE DAYS! I'm getting more and more excited but really I don't think the feeling will sink in until I get on the plane. I'll be flying Delta from St Louis to LAX and then Malaysian Airlines from LAX to Kuala Lumpur. Considering my travel dates are still considered "peak" the tickets weren't too bad, checking in at approx. $820. I used up my frequent flyer miles to get from St Louis to LAX so that's a major savings there ;)

Anyway I will definitely have limited access to computers back home so I'll probably be taking a vacation from blogging too. But be assured, my blog will be filled with wonderful pictures from Malaysia as soon as I return which I can totally see sucking already....boo to that...:(
I'll have a couple more entries between now and Saturday so to all my friends you have a wonderful September while I indulge in char koay teow, assam laksa, goreng pisang mmmmm and many many others :D

Crazy Masked Lady Wannabe

Looking at the reputation of the Crazy Masked Lady reaching such proportions, I have many people wanting to take over her status. Unfortunately there can only be ONE original Crazy Masked Lady. Who knows when she's going to make a return but till then we'll have to live with the wannabes.

Wedding Bells...

CONGRATULATIONS LYNDA + GORDON!!!



I'm so happy for an old friend of mine Lynda who got married yesterday, Saturday Aug 20, 2005 in San Francisco. One by one, my friends are getting married and having kids, it's interesting how reality forces you to come to terms with a certain "stage" in your life =)
I wish I could have attended the wedding but I just didn't have any vacation days left with my upcoming trip which was a real bummer because I'd have loved to see all my old college buddies. However, I did get a call from Lin and KK on the night of the wedding which was really nice.
Lynda looks soooo pretty in the traditional "cheong sam" with KK and Lin. And her wedding gown was just gorgeous with Ade and Lin who might I add also looked gorgeous too by the way ;)





More pictures of KK and Lin, I miss these guys. The last time we all hung out together was our Xmas trip in 2004. I just spoke to Lin on the phone couple minutes ago and decided that we really need to take another vacation together, we both thought of Niagara Falls at the same time, how bizarre, how bizarre. I'll be seeing KK real soon, we'll be travelling back to Malaysia together which will certainly be interesting ;)

Happy Birthday Mummy

Today is a little sad for me. I really miss Mom and wish I could buy her a big ol present but unfortunately that's no longer possible. She would have been 59 years young (as she likes to put it) today if it wasn't for the Chronic Myleoid Leukemia which took her from our family 4 years ago. I have very fond memories of what a kind and beautiful person she was. Mummy, wherever you are, I hope you're in a happier and better place. We all love and miss you very much, Happy Birthday!

Malaysia here I come!!

I'm getting really excited, I have approx 3 weeks before I'll be hopping in a plane and heading to the other side of the globe to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia....MY hometown! I'm sure everyone of you can point it out on the map but just in case you "forgot" here's some info on Malaysia

It has been almost 4 years since I've been back and I'm really excited to be able to meet all of my family and pig out at all the different kinds of foods, YUM :D I hope this trip will be a good one, especially since this is the first time I'll be going home since I got a "real" job and plus the last time I was home it was not exactly the best trip.

Recall to Malaysia trip 2001:
It was in 2001 and I had just graduated from University of Arkansas and had just moved to Dallas, TX and was looking for a job when I got an urgent call from my family at home that I need to get home ASAP, Mom was not feeling well. With not much $$$ I got on the first plane home. The day I arrived Mom was happy that her baby boy was home but I could tell something was not right. The next day she had to be admitted into the hospital, and that was when her condition started getting from bad to worst and within 3 weeks she had passed away from Chronic Myleoid Leukemia on August 31, 2001, coincidentally it was Malaysia's national day. While everyone else was celebrating, we were all grieving. At that time I was only 24yo and had never lost anyone close to me, I had no idea how to deal with it and it was incredibly hard. My friends were all in the US so I didn't really have anyone to talk to. I just behaved like nothing had happened but deep down I was crushed, I have always had this image of being successful and being able to spoil my Mom, take her out, travel and give her anything she wanted but it was too late. I don't think the feelings ever go away, one just learns how to deal with it and gets used to it as time goes by.
As if things were not bad enough 11 days later (9/11) I saw the twin towers collapsed on TV and could not believe my eyes. I was glad to find out my friend Lin was safe after talking to her Mom. A month after that I had to get on a plane to head back to Dallas, TX. I was worried about everything, I didn't feel safe on the plane, I wasn't sure if I could get back into the country with no status, if I could find a job etc etc. But things worked out eventually. I got back and and got hired at my present company on Jan 15, 2002, I want to think that my Mom had something to do with that. She was definitely looking over me.

So right now I'm just making all the necessary preparations for my trip home. I have so far spent way too much and I am not even done yet. Bicycling jerseys for bro#1, Coach hand bag for sis-in-law#1, shoes for dad, jeans for sis-in-law#2, shoes for aunt, misc for bro#2, all other friends and relatives. To top it all off, I had just purchased a new cell phone and a new bedroom set so you can imagine what my credit card statement looks like **eeekk** I think that my trip home will definitely set me back around $3K-4K but I'm sure it'll all be worth it so no worries about that. I've worked hard all year so this is the time to CELEBRATE!!! yeeeaaah...

OK now this trip home, I definitely want to relax, eat, and shop till I drop. Every $1 here is worth approx RM3.50!!! So things will definitely be cheaper there. I also want to go back to Penang where my parents are from and touch base with all my relatives. Besides the food in Penang is to die for :P I will also be attending my 2nd bro's Wedding on Sept 25th which yours truly will be the bestman (which reminds me I have to get a speech ready) so that will be absolutely awesome. Aside from all the fun I'm going to have, I do have some concerns. I have been living a relatively "out" life here in the United States but no one in my family knows. I am seriously contemplating coming out to my Dad and 2 brothers and I totally have no idea what will come of that. I mean it's about time they find out, I'll be 28yo this October. I'm sick and tired of them asking me if I've got a gf yet or when am I getting married or Nick it's time to settle down. I mean come on, they have to have an idea...I'm 28 and have never had a gf and never talk about girls the way straight guys do! It's not like I'm a toad, I'm cute, smart, outgoing, friendly and successful and not one gf, is that like the biggest red flag ever, you tell me. And besides, may I say a very good dresser and have excellent taste ;) They should know by now!!! I just hope and pray that they can see that I'm still the responsible son/brother they have always had and that I lead a very "normal life" (whatever that means) working, saving and investing from day to day with a good set of friends with good values and morals AND not someone that they feel they don't "know" anymore. Well...I guess I'll just have to wait and see!

My new bed is finally here...

Well I finally found a bed for my bedroom and here's a pic of it finally installed in my room and because of it I had to go through that headache with Sams Club, but I'm sure it'll all be worth it when I sleep in my comfortable comfortable bed tonight. Gosh typing this is making me all sleeeeepy zzzzzzzzzzzz Anyway I'm very happy with the way it looks in my room

Soon to be Sourmilk =(

Here's something I received from a friend on email, I think it's just so true and yes I'm gonna be bad milk soon (you'll see what I mean as u read on...)

George Carlin's Views on Aging :

Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids? If you're less than 10 years old, you're so excited about aging that you think in fractions. "How old are you?" "I'm four and a half!" You're never thirty-six and a half. You're four and a half, going on five! That's the key. You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead. "How old are you?" "I'm gonna be 16!" You could be 13, but hey, you're gonna be 16! And then the greatest day of your life . . . you become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony . . . YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!! But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There's no fun now, you're Just a sour-dumpling. What's wrong? What's changed? You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you're PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it's all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50 and your dreams are gone. But wait!!! You MAKE it to 60. You didn't think you would! So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and MAKE it to 60. You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that it's a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday! You get into your 80s and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30; you REACH bedtime. And it doesn't end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; "I Was JUST 92." Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. "I'm 100 and a half!" May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!!

HOW TO STAY YOUNG
1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay "them "
2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.
3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle. "An idle mind is the devil's workshop." And the devil's name is Alzheimer's.
4. Enjoy the simple things.
5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.
6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.
7. Surround yourself with what you love, whether it's family, pets,keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.
8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable,improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.
9 Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is.
10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER: Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

Stupid Motorola and Sam's Club!!! Arrgh!

Ok please be patient with me for I'm venting all my frustrations in the last couple of days on this one article. Let's start with my first problem, some of you may be aware that my previous mobile phone, the Motorola V300, which was a good for nothing POS that would constantly drop my calls, not ring, not charge etc etc etc. Anyway thinking that there's still hope for this phone, I paid $15.80 to get it sent via UPS to the Motorola National Service Center. After waiting for about 3 weeks, I finally get it mailed back to me and guess what?!? It's as if they received the phone, played football with it and then toss it in the mail and shipped it back to me. Nothing on the phone is fixed...NOTHING!!! They didn't even bother to clean it up!! OMG never again will I purchase another Motorola cellular phone.
So...one down, one more to go...I had purchased a bed from Lifestyles furniture about a month ago and wanted to shop around for a good mattress at a good price, so naturally I checked out all the mattress stores in town including Sam's Club. The one in Sam's club was a really good buy being a Serta pillowtop mattress with built in memory foam at $396.78, no store in town could match the price. BUT to my horror, yesterday with the help of good ol Joe's parent's truck, we went to Sam's Club to pick up the same exact Serta pillowtop Northstar Nightscape mattress and guess what?!? They have raised the price to $457, after taxes I paid close to $500 for my mattress! Within 3 weeks, they've raised their prices $57!! The only explanation as to why they did that was because of the students returning to school but that's extremely unethical! Can you imagine when Wal-Mart/Sam's Club finally monopolizes the whole market, this is exactly they type of crap they'll do!!!

To buy or not to buy?!?

Anyway I have had a really laid back day. I skipped gym today so am feeling really guilty, need to start working out diligently again. Also will try to get to bed early, have been going to bed past midnight every week day this week. Seems like this "job" I have is really taking alot of my personal time away. But then again, if it wasn't for this "job" then I won't be able to buy a new car or anything new for that matter and will still be living with my parents.
I'm feeling much better now coz I just got my Honda fixed. For the last 2 weeks, my car has been making this weird ass low humming noise and I was thinking maybe it's about time to call the junkyard 8( I was pleasantly surprised when the Honda dealership called and said that my "rear hub assembly" needed to be replaced and would set me back around $200. Thank god it's not some outrageous bill as I was expecting.

So what do you think? The Solstice(top) or the tC(below)? Tell me in comments...

For the last few months I've been toying with the idea of buying a new car. I am so totally in love with the Scion TC and the new Solstice that I was ready to trade in my Honda BUT was it a good financial decision, I ask myself...and one part of my brain said I don't think so while the other less responsible side kept saying BUY, BUY, BUY!! Eventually went with the responsible side...I know, I know...I really need to contribute the the economy...right...all I have to say is that the bad side might still win ;)
So anyway speaking of new cars, have you seen the new Honda Civic that is yet to be released in the US. Check out the pic below.

Is it amazing or what??!!
As of now, my car is fixed and it's as good as new.
And it's HUMP Day!!! Yay...reason enough to celebrate...hit me a margarita! ;)