Beginning to blossom

Food in Bangkok..

2010-03-31T21:18:00.011+08:00

Thailand is well-known for its tasty food. Trying something new which we never eaten before is the most enjoyable experience in Bangkok. I like to try various local food that sell at roadside. It is cheaper and delicious compare to those in restaurant or food court. The street vendor has a solid reputation for its cleanliness and it really convince me to buy their food..You can see the roadside vendor is equipped with hat and glove during their food preparation.

Fresh and big strawberry - RM5 /pckt
The durian is rather expensive..dont dare to try..

Bangkok "kampua" noodles from one of the busy street stall- RM 3.00

The street vendor is operating the stall in front of the giant shopping mall, Central World. Clean and hygienic.

grilled sotong over charcoal-RM2.00 per stick

Pan-fried, seasoned insects, such as grasshoppers, and cockroaches, are popular snacks in Bangkok...still dunno how it taste as I don't dare to try this....

fried rice with olive --RM4.50 food court at Central World shopping mall.

Bangkok's chicken curry rice -RM4.50

Tom Yam with seafood at China Town - delicious and aromatic water-based soup—flavored with fish sauce, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, and vegetables.

Drinking local orange juice to ensure we stay refreshed in Bangkok's boiling heat. Vendors often have stacks of different local juice lining the booth and you can easily spot them a mile away.

The iced fresh fruit sold by the street vendors is brilliant fresh. I always grab them as light meal when I am walking around in the heat. RM2.00 per pckt.

Grand Price of Lucky draw

2010-03-04T22:36:00.002+08:00

It is suppose to be gald to win the grand prize of lucky draw in any event or function that you attend. I was so lucky that I got it during the GALA dinner organised by my company. The dinner was held at newly commenced multi purpose design building, known as Borneo Convention Centre Kuching. It is quite dissapointing when I realised that the company invest huge amount of money in this event and yet spend so little in the lucky draw prize.

Grand prize of the night - Air Asia return ticket to KL for two persons ( no luggage check in provided) and 2 nights stay at NOVA hotel worth RM125 per night.

Second prize - Blackberry worth RMxxxx

Which prize worth more? just wondering..

Nevertheless, I have to be thankful for the free ticket though it is far under my expectation.
The advantage is that I have chance to plan a trip to bangkok since I got the free ticket to KL. or else it might cost me a pretty penny to spend on the air ticket...

( I just discovered that the grand prize of the GALA dinner is fully sponsored by Travel agent, no budget is given by company..lol)

High Turnover Rate in a company

2009-08-08T22:35:00.005+08:00

I can observe that there has been an alarming rise of the turn over rate in my company during this economic recession period. It is a hard time for the company especially when it failed to hold the quality employees.

Leader with appropriate mindset will recognise people as an essential asset to a company. Therefore, investing money in people should not be treated as an expenditure, which need to be kept to the minimum amount necessary. When employees are force to take unpaid leaves as a measure to cut cost, increased workload has arisen because of restructuring, downsizing, increased responsibilities etc.

Most importantly, contribution by staff should be recognised through attractive compensation to avoid staff dissatisfaction and high burnout rates . Afterall, good benefits plan encouraged people to work harder and perform better in a company.

I hope those leaders in my company can plan something to investigate the reason of high turnover and resolve human resource management related issue. Effort should be taken to provide opportunity for people in an organization to maximize his/her contribution.

Financial education..

2009-07-27T22:38:00.004+08:00

It was my payday last friday and I feel painful when I see the hard earned money direct debited to settle for mortgage loan and other monthly commited expenses such as insurance coverage. It is normal for ordianary people like me who barely survive with the current salary to take a part time job. One of the undeniable reason is to earn a little extra to accumulate capital for investment. Despite the economic crisis, it is a good time to invest in financial education now as it acquire skills to generate handsome amount of passive income. I am willing to pay the price to make sure I achieve my own finanicial goal. There are many good persoanl finance books in the markets which is worth reading but I am still seeking for one that can help me to become a well-rounded person, develop skills that will indirectly aid my personal finances as I know wealth is about more than money alone.

Please recommend and share with me if you have read any good persoanl finance book.

It's Amazing....

2009-07-20T19:52:00.004+08:00

I like this quote by Harry S. Truman.

I do admit that sometimes it is difficult for me to accept the fact that people take credit of my idea. More often than not, there are many brilliant idea flashed into our minds that we might assume it is not practical mainly due to lacking of resources to make it happen. If we are willing to give up the credit to others, then I believe we can let truly amazing things happen in life.

We do it by giving the credit of our accomplishment away...

What is Physical Ulticaria?

2009-07-15T21:58:00.005+08:00

Photo taken from: http://www.virtualmedicalcentre.com/uploads/VMC/DiseaseImages/687_urticaria.jpg

I have been suffering from a rare disease called physical ulticaria since April last year after my Phuket trip. Visited a couple of doctors and finally I got a referral to consult specialist. I was diagnosed with ulticaria by dermatologist from Kuching Specialist.

Physical urticaria is a skin condition that produces raised hives and rashes on the skin. It is miserable if I can't stop the itchiness when the red spot begins to develop on my skin. It will then spread to the entire body,including face and my mouth (in a more serious case) when I scratched it..==> just to feel relief. According to specialist, these symptons appear as a result of friction or pressure applied to the skin.

I feel depressed initially when I know there is no cure for this disease. However, the condition can be controlled somewhat in many cases. I've been prescribed antihistamines for temporary treatment if it is getting out of my control..

There are many different types of antihistamine that you can get at the pharmacy. The one that recommended by specialist is Xyzal, which claims to have negligible side effect. I just wonder if I am going to take this medicine for the rest of my life.. :<

Reading other people's experience from some website, I might perhaps consider treatment with homeopathy or acupuncture. I am still thankful that this disease is not life threating despite the unbearable itchiness which affects me emotionally.

Research - Headache!

2009-07-09T20:36:00.004+08:00

I was spending the whole afternoon to explore the topic that I planned for master research. I believe that it is important to undertake research which holds great promise for potential industry in Malaysia. After one to two weeks of literature review, I decided to involve in research related to waste converstion. Converting Palm oil mill effluent and empty fruit bunches into fertiliser are among the areas of my interest. Apparently, I got to work out with a brief proposal providing details of my intended studies before I am eligible to apply for scholarship from university..It is time to rough out a schedule on my proposal to save major headache later on especially when I am scrambling to finish...Jia you lo..

speed limit of 70km/hr at town area!

2009-07-02T22:33:00.009+08:00

I am just aware that the speed limit at Kuching town area is 70km/hr after a summon was issued to Siong through the post .The compound fee stated in the summon is RM300 for exceeding 27km/hr along Jalan Tun Jugah, Kuching. This speed limit can be easily exceeded when you are driving down the flyover.

By hook or by crook, I have to work out with a letter in Malay to appeal for penalty reduction. The letter was sent personally to Ketua Polis Daerah Kuching, Simpang tiga. We have no chance to meet the officer in charge to negotiate on the compound fee. We pass the letter to the secretary/clerk there and she asked us to come again the following day to check on the discount rate. Thank God that the Ketua police reduced the penalty to a more reasonable fee--RM150. (The max discount is 50%)

Many drivers in Malaysia are more likely to think they can drive safely while speeding as long as they won’t get caught. I think that the speed limit is not really set for safety purpose but more to political or other purpose...

A message to all especially to those who habitually speed..
The police is aways ready with the camera and waiting for chances to flash those who is flouting the rules. Staying within the speed limit to save your money at this tight economic situation. Furthermore, speeding becomes a threat to our safety. So, why speed?

Purpose of life

2009-06-24T20:35:00.003+08:00

I understand that there are few stages which we need to go through in life. I am somehow afraid to miss the critical stage of development in life and deeply regret at the later stage. I know I have to be honest about what actually excites me to have a purpose of life. Sadly, this purpose of life seems to be overshadowed by my day-to-day event. I am struggling to figure out what stage I am in now,to discover what suits me and what can give me a real thrill.....

Abba Father, lead your daughter here..let me know what my capabilities are and where does my potential lies...so that whatever I do, I can do it with great joy and to glorify your name.

Teacher, you are the best!

2009-06-17T18:10:00.005+08:00

I received this mug for the very first time on the Teacher's day from one of my students. I never thought that tuition teacher has that privilege as the school teacher to receive gift on Teacher's day also....(Thanks to Chris). It's nice to have a bunch of appreciative students sending messages to wish me Happy Teachers' Day. As an engineer, I do not even have chance to celebrate Engineers' Day which I can get a day off..(How I wish it exists in my calender..hehe..)

Having to give tuition as my part time job for the past few months, I found teaching is an enjoyable experience though planning lesson & preparing resources are very time consuming. I feel really fulfilled when I see some of them have improved dramatically. Most of the lesson are conducted interactively.I feel good when I hear response from student. (At least they are not sleepy...)It is not an easy task to ensure all of the students pass the subject with flying colours. I am dissapointing when some of the students do not put little extra effort and end up failing to pass the test continuously. I have to have such a lot of patience when dealing with those students.

I pray that God will provide me the strength to be dedicated teacher and allow me to give the best to the students....

3 year warranty for M-life M365SX series....

2009-06-11T21:47:00.004+08:00

3 years warranty for M-LIFE notebook

It is important to buy notebook that covered under more years of warranty. I bought this M-Life brand notebook from KL during my last year of undergraduate study and it comes to 3 years old next month. It just happened to be so..so....I would prefer to say so' lucky' that the LCD screen was damaged two months plus just before the warranty period is due. I was asked to pay RM50 for my lost warranty card :( . I decided to pay that as I am pretty sure the repair cost would be much more than that. Since it is backed by MNI insurance, I manage to get a new replaced LCD screen with repaired cabel. To my surprise, I don't have to pay a single cent on the delivery charge. Thumbs up to Nation-TECH SDN. BHD. for the excellent service.

Important lesson learned:
1. To consider to buy notebook which are covered under more years of warranty
2. Please keep the warranty card properly to avoid unecessary charges.

I am back!

2009-06-07T14:11:00.006+08:00

I have not been log in to my own blog for about 2 years since I graduated. It was the inspiration from Aunty Angela that I return to my abandoned blog. Time goes by so fast and it is about 2 years since I first step into working society. Recalling what I have experienced in these two years, I should give thanks to God for his abundant blessing. However, it is challenging to move on with life especially at this stage (not so young lo...). Career developement would be my major concern at this age now. I believe decision has to be made and I shall not let good opprotunity goes by in life. It is time to make a brave decision and most importantly, have faith in God that He will journey together with me in times of difficulties.

True Love never ends

2007-06-19T23:43:00.000+08:00

There are so many questions pop up in my mind when I had a browse through my friend's wedding photo. I just could not imagine myself wearing beautiful wedding gown at the age of 24. Marriage is something so precious to me. "Love is not a matter of finding the right person but rather creating the right relationship. The important question is not how much love there is at the
beginning but how much there is at the end." I somehow agree with this statement. I believe that God prepares and provides the best for everyone..Congratulation to my friend for meeting her Mr. Right..TRUE LOVE NEVER ENDS..

Touching moment...

2007-06-19T18:33:00.000+08:00

It was another touching moment when this girl gave me a hug before saying "take care of yourself, my friend." I am always a bit tearful when it is time of farewell with close friends. Life is like that..I remember the time when we share our happiness and overcome obstacles together. This girl, a non-Christian friend of mine reminds me of my faith most of the time.I could not help crying in the room after the farewell. It's still a struggle for me to accept the reality of being separated with this close friend. Anyway, I believe that God will work things out fine. We are going to meet one day! Take care,my friend!

Eyes of faith

2007-06-18T14:29:00.000+08:00

As i look back of my life, I did not understand God's way for me but i decided to trust Him anyway. When I looked with eyes of faith, I realised that He was answering my prayers in ways better than I could ever imagine. Thanks to gentle God..

SeSat CLuB at Terengganu

2007-06-18T14:15:00.000+08:00

It was a difference experience for the trip to terengganu. Something out of our expectation and not according to our plan happened. It was a happy moment when we actually can laugh all the way despite getting lost even on the first day of the trip. We end up meeting new friends who were in the same boat and decided to establish a club called 'SeSat CLub'. Our new friends were overslept in the bus and unfortunately miss the station that they suppose to stop. I was having fun travelling with this beautiful lady--Miss KHOO-- who I met during my first year in university.