Joyeux Noël et bonne année

Vic, a business partner from Australia was here recently. I took his shopping for watches in KLCC.

He was very impressed with the size of Christmas tree on the concourse level.

Man, this is the biggest Christmas tree I have ever seen. It is interesting M for Malaysia to have this besides the fact that it’s a Muslim country.



Craig, we started as business friends but now I consider him a friend friend, from South Africa.

I recently shot him an email to get his postal address to send him the (non virtual) Christmas card. (Something I do every year for Hari Raya, Chinese New Year and Deepavali and I make a point to personally sign each of them, not my secretary!)

Craig went:

Hi M,

Good to hear from you! My multicultural international friend – a Christmas card from a Muslim.


Not many people (even those who have been to Malaysia, or even some Malaysians) realize how tolerant we are, as Muslims and as Malaysians.



Side note: in Indonesia Christmas tree is called pohon natal.

Yesterday, Monday – One of JD’s longest Monday blues day.


He caused traffic chaos at the busy junction of Sultan Ismail and Raja Laut.

His fuel tank was empty and stranded in the busy Monday morning traffic.

Only RM 2 in his wallet.

His road-tax was expired.

Antiques

I was busy with my family when I received an sms from JT. Of course I read it the way the Sabahans do.

By the way I used to collect antique and period furniture before, and now they are all over my siblings’.


Do you know where to sell off antiques ah darling?

Christie’s Auction (duh!)

In Malaysia bah!

Apa yang kau mau jual?

It’s an antique Chinese coffee table abt 40 yrs old & belongs to Sultan Abu Bakar.. amacam?

Antiques are 100 yrs or more. Kalu 40 yrs is antique, kita ni antique la dok!!!!

Hahahahahah.. butul jugak kan

Doc, take off your shades!

Why?

Enjoy the view! (of the climb to Genting Peres – the border of Negeri Sembilan and Selangor)

You have to be there to appreciate the (cycling) beauty of the place. The horizon of different shades of green, the mist and the clouds lurking like cotton wool, the fresh air, perfect road-ride weather. We were surrounded by hills of trees and jungle of millions of years old riding our bikes with latest Kevlar and carbon technology.

This is the joy of cycling.

The joy that keep my butt on the saddle.

The joy of being liberated.

The joy of being a child again!



I purposely called DRK yesterday and committed myself to have an early ride. It was some kind of deterrent from going out clubbing and come back at three and spends half of Sunday in bed – something I want to reduce significantly.

While the SuperSix (minus 1 or 2) just got home from a party or an after party, I was already up and showered (on weekend? Hallelujah!)

It was a great ride, considering I have not been climbing for a while, I did well. 50km two hours saddle time.



As usual, we took a dip in Sungai Langat. Cold, but bloody refreshing. I was a skeptic until I soaked myself and felt like I didn’t want to go up.

Had a nice time chatting with other jovial endorphin loaded fellow cyclist while having breakfast at a kopitiam in Batu 18.



After 3 half boiled ayam kampung, a cup of Milo and 2 set of roti (homemade) kaya, I hit home and had a deep nap.

Lovely!

But then, it could be lovelier………

;-)

melewati hari tanpa sapa

membuat panas udara jelas terasa

meluruhkan waktu bersama debu

tak bisa menghapus dahaga kalbu

lalu.......

tak terenyakkah hati

hanya untuk berkata....

"aku rindu"?


what is the meaning of "terenyakkah"?

My definition of SATISFACTION

sms from JD:

JD cantik all the photos. I really like it. M is a brilliant photographer. Love it to the max! I am taking it to London. Pls txt me M's number I want to compliment him. ciao.

Aku happy!

note:
i was assigned by JD to take pics of his relative 50th birthday as a birthday present, on Dec 5th. And it was a great party!

the last words




I was on YM

Has not done taht for years.

Now, I feel it's a handy tool to keep communications - economical.

I logged out after saying good bye and I got the same with a smiley.

The End (or so I thought...)

But,

After a couple of minutes I logged again.

A widow appread.

I logged off too early, earlier.

There was another "last" word from the YM chat ended minutes ago.

It says:

"lop u"


swoon.....

This is what I sent to JK commenting his profile picture in Facebook.

your profile pic looks soooooo G.A.Y.!!!!!!!!!

This is his 2 words reply:

FUCK YOU


That is so JK and it's damn funny.

You funny ass!

SUNGAI LEMBING

Sungai Lembing mining town 42 km northwest of Kuantan.



(extracts from wikipedia)

Why it was named Sungai Lembing? Lembing is Malay for spear, and "sungai" means river. Based on local legend, the local ruler then saw a vision of a spear in the nearby river and thus named his town after this vision.



Until the 1970s, Sungai Lembing was a major producer of underground tin. Sungai Lembing town developed in the 1880's when the British set up the tin mining industry, although the history of mining in this area extends much further back. A British company PCCL (Pahang Consolidated Company Limited) managed the mine from 1906 until its liquidation in 1986 when world tin prices collapsed.



The pit mines were closed in 1986 due to high operational costs and low yields, but during their heyday they were among the largest and deepest in the world. The total tunnel length is 322 km, with a depth of between 610 m and 700 m.


Today the town of Sg Lembing is in decline although it was once the richest town in Pahang, known as El Dorado of the East. In the 1940's about 1400 people worked in the mine. Today many of the wooden shoplots are closed and people are moving away.



The town straddles the river, and the main street on the right bank is split by an avenue of majestic trees. At the end, an old wooden building overlooks the padang where games of cricket and other social activities were held.




I have always wanted to go to Sungai Lembing by bicycle. DS and I have been talking about it many times but we never got to ride the 40km stretch – gentle undulating and very do-able – on our overprized bikes.



Recently, dring one of my frequent trips to Kuantan, I couldn’t resist it any more. My curiosity drove me all the way to Sungai Lembig before checking on my regular hotel in Kuantan for weekly Tuesday meeting in Kuantan office.



I brought the whole camera gear but what I did’t found is Sungai Lembing interesting enough for my to set up the tripod and wait for the sun and start shooting. Nope.



I felt quite sad because it seemed like the population have left, log before I came. So I just took my camera phone and recorded these images.

LOVE @ 1st Sight - 30

David called me the other day and told me that the original rims have been fully restored. He took the rims and snet them to a tyre shop in Jalan Sungei Besi near the old airport and fixed a set of new tyres.



Even to jack up the car, they were very careful to find the right spot so that the chasis doesn't get damaged.



I was advised by the towkey at the tire shop that it okay to use the power tool to unscrew the nuts of the rims. However, to screw it back, power tools are not to be used as it's too powerful, which could damage the tread of the old car.

This guy knows his stuff.






I insisted tehm to apply some grease on the bolts and nuts because they appeared to be very dry.

Of course he knew that already. Duhhh!


The current "sport rims" made in Japan that ame with the car. They look good actually, but they are not original. I am too anal. I want everything to be original Italian made.



The newly restored rims, without the hub cap. The hub caps are at Torino Auto. The are brand new, spotless, shining stainless steel. It's gonna look really good!






They also insisted me to watch the water test to ensure there no bubles come out from the new wheels. Passed with flying colors....

I was reminded that the pressure is 30psi I think.

The ride back to Bangsar from Jalan Subgei Besi was relatively smooth, not only because of new tire but also the bigger rims gave quite a bit of comfort on the road.

Great!

I can't believe this is the 30th post.....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JD

Sorry, you might not understand this post unless you are part of the SUPER SEX... eerrr SIX and its surroundings.

JD,

YOU ARE:

apa paidah!

mana kau?

mattai ini kalik

one cigarette for the road perhaps?

tiaddda ba!

appa tu Mars????

dragon dance at Dragon Fly

ting tong

ALWAYS late

up and downs!

a linguist in Jakarta

fish? yuck!

the loudest handphone user

hantak!

berantam!

gillaa ehhhh!

brondong lover

lilac

ubud terrace

bonjour! are you going to wear pretty dress?????

BUT

most of all

you are one of the most kind hearted person I have ever met!

pix: Seminyak, Bali

Selamat pagi Manado

Selamat pagi Kuala Lumpur

Selamat pagi Bunaken

pix: bukit bandaraya, bangsar

kadang kala yang di tunggu tak tiba

yang dicari tidak jumpa

yang diburu hilang entah ke mana

akan tetapi yang indah itu ada

tanpa pencarian atau kehilangan

tiba tiba menjelma dalam hidup kita

apakah ia cinta pandang pertama?

yang tak ada dua nya?

pasti kekosongan tetap ada

di hati

di jiwa

namun kerinduan bisa mengisi

di mana jua

hanya masa yang akan menentukannya....

(did i write that.....?)

@QUOTE UNQUOTE@

aku merasa ada yg hilang tanpa tau apa yg telah aku temukan,

tanpa tau apa yg aku cr,

dan aku seperti tetap mencari,

tanpa tau apa yg sdh hilang...

seseorg yg kita fikir adalah milik kita,

ternyata bkn benar2 milik kita,

kita memiliki hatinya,tubuhnya,dan cintanya,

tp kita ngga akn pernah memiliki jalan hidupnya..

setiap manusia memiliki ruang kosong dlm hatinya,

ketika seseorg dtg dan kita fikir bahwa dia mengisi ruang itu,

ternyata ruang kosong di hati kita tetap ada,dan tdk akan pernah benar2 terisi...

xoxo

pix: the back of a tee shirt. taman negara

UNCERTAINTIES

1. At a Hari Raya open house - A senior partner from an established legal firm confirming things are getting very bad. The number of personal / credit card / car / housing loans have increased sharply for the past 6 months.
2. Over dinner in an organic restaurant - A designer to one of the finest Italian brands forecast a bleak '09 due to sharp reduction in spending in the US and Europe which is affecting his business and the manufacturers in Indochina and their export.
3. Over lunch - A corporate figure is relinquishing ALL his investment and decided to do more charity work in is home state. To him (who is sitting on a huge pile of cash), it is not worthwhile to get into new ventures.
4. Over breakfast - A senior executive from a Japanese MNC highlighted that China has stop importing iron ore.
5. Over lunch - A senior executive from an Australian listed company complained the share price has gone back to the price as it was 5 years ago.
6. Over teh tarik - A designer / contractor complained that his client (quite an established corporation) still owe him RM500,000 and he has more than RM30K per month of overhead (and several girl friends to maintain)
7. Over a phone call - A senior executive from a prominent government agency that has billions of investments smsed me - 2009 is going to be BAD!
   

The Glove Story

I was looking for this pair of gloves before going to the gym, hi and lo. At the verge of calling Yolly, I figured I must have left them at the gym a couple of days ago.

I have been very forgetful lately. I wonder why.

As soon as I arrived at the gym, by bicycle, I asked the counter whether they recently found any gloves left in the locker room. After she checked the list of registered lost and found items she asked me to describe my gloves.

Orange, almost red, NIKE

What else did you leave behind?

Oh ya.. and the program card.

What else?

That's it!


Then she handed me gym plastic bag and asked me to check the content, with some kind of a smile with a grin.

I was wondering.. she fancied me or something.

I opened the plastic bag and found the gloves (yeay!)

and

my gray underwear (ooops!)

pix: port dickson 2002

After Jakarta, I really wanted to just chill for a while.

Chilling didn't last that long. Only up to Saturday evening when RZ gave me a ticket for Petronas Philharmonic which was quite fun except for the second session sounded like a sound track from Joe and the Volcano!

After a cup of chocolat chaud at Chinoz, I had to attend stag night ala Russian Roulette. That was quite fun, reall - especially watching the groom and his antics. Fun for me, but more fun for the groom to be!

The route back (fortunately / unfortunately) pass by a regular hangout. It felt like a magnet pulling my ride.

There you go.

I thougt I was going to have a quiet weekend.....

LOVE @ 1st Sight - 29

It’s official!

Yeay!

Two admirers. I am not surprised if Fiat 600D was their first car

Before lunch I did my weekly mail box checking and Love at first sight is now a member of Malaysia – Singapore Vintage Car Register.

I went to one event during ramadhan recently in Royal Selangor Club.



It was really fun to be together with a bunch of enthusiasts who are passionate about their collections.

i used to own this very model years ago but the mechanic in Bentong is still working on it. One of these days i am going to get RARS to beat him up get the car done. Dang hopeless bastard!

I listened to stories how painful it was to restore their vintage “babies”.

One guy was very lucky to find and old 280s in an estate in Negeri Sembilan with very low mileage on it. He had to go through months of “courting” to convince and old auntie to sell the Merc to him. He has been a proud owner for years and won several trophies. I have seen the car and it’s immaculate for a model which was built circa 1960s.



After talking to several other collectors, I think it is safe to say that most of them are rather eccentric. They can talk about their cars forever! In lengthy technical details.



The only set back is, I was the youngest in the crowd. It’s not easy to break the ice yet. I hope to get to know them better in more events to come.

Elvis's pink Caddilac

Next month, they are organizing a trip to Penang for 2 days. Drive from KL all the way to Penang, get together with members in Penang and parade the cars on the island.

I'd be very happy if I could afford to keep one of these.

Sound interesting, but to hang around these old people for 2 days in Penang without my regular buddies and hangouts….



Hmm.. that’s going to be quite a challenge as much as I’d love to show off Love At First Sight to the Penangites.

@SUNDAZE@

Yang menari bersamaku di Ancol

Yang terlompat-lompat kayak umurnya 17 tahun

Yang kasutnya kayak kain sarong

Yang senyumannya amat manis dan menawan



Yang terketawa kecil bila ku sebut perkataan “BRONDONG”

Yang terketawa kecil bila ku sebut perkataan “BASIAN”

Yang @dimples@



Yang di Google, didapati dimples on empty stool

Yang memanggil orang orang pieces “Tukang Gombal”

Yang Bunda nya teman baik ku



Yang Ibu kandungnya juga teman baik ku

Yang memandangku sewaktu aku ngobrol sama Bundanya



Yang berjam jam berada di dalam kegelapan tempat parkir Mal Darmawangsa

Yang memainkan lagu Kekasih Gelapku pada telfonnya

Yang rambutnya lembut dan halus dibawah topinya



Yang mengajarku “bobo is tidur.. itu kata kata halus n sweet”

Yang mahu ketemu aku dalam mimpi nya

Yang menjanjikan pijat kapan badan ku capek

Yang menjerit: “M!!!!! Aku happy dengar suara kamu!!!!!!!!!!!”

Yang menoleh dan ingin mencari tahu siapakah gerangannya aku



Yang memanggil ku “Babe” kerna reflex

Yang mengajak ku for a nice dinner sebelum aku pulang ke KL tapi engak bisa





Yang bertanya:

“Kamu percaya pada pacaran long distance?”

1 Wedding, 2 Funerals and way too many open houses.

Since 1st of Syawal, I attended 2 funerals.

Two grande dames of our big families.

One related by marriage, another by blood.

I was, naturally, closer to the one related to us by blood - my grand aunt. She used to give a verbal history how naughty my father when he was a young boy in the kampung, in Terengganu, among others.

It felt weird to meet great your family with:

Selamat Hari Raya and then, Takziah.

Funerals are reminders.

Hari Raya Open House

Who invented this?

It makes you fat.

It causes

1 massive traffic jam on middle ring road 2 throughout the weekends of Syawal

2 over eating

Speed Limit

I do detest reckless driving

but

if we have an Interstate standard highway, why is the speed limit is only 110km/h?

i am not asking for an autobahn standard, but our cars are equipped with top speed of more than 120km/h!

i have 7 speeding tickets within 5 months. it sucks!

can someone get the government to increase the speed limit

or

any of you know whom can i "kowtim" the tickets?

i am broke.

i went to kuantan again today and i hardly touched 120km/h.

it was a longer drive than usual. i snacked (junk food) through out!

slower speed = longer driving time = more junk food = weight gain!

BAD!