A Sweet Gooly-mo'

Before I begin my story, a Big KOLO MEE BIRTHDAY WISH shoutout to Ehon, a brilliant Kuchingite in Brisbane! Tried to look for a kolo mee cupcake for u but failed... :p Have a good one, mate! ;-)

Okay, so sometime last week, I had a very pleasant experience at the local supermarket near my place. Wanted to get a shopping trolley and there were lots of trolleys available, 3 rows in all. But there was a big problem... all of 'em seem to be 'stuck'! Yup, S.T.U.C.K., and me being the si lembik that I am, failed to pull out any from all the 3 rows. Can you imagine me, using all my limbs (yes, my kakis tangans), trying to release the 'stuck' trolleys, while carrying my big sling bag? Thinking back, big possibility I looked very Mr. Bean in that half a minute.. -__-'''

So, there I was, a damsel in distress, looking desperate and helplessly at the many trolleys available but  failed to get one on my hands. However, some lucky stars must have shone on me that day... ying hung gao mei... [translation: hero to the rescue, a damsel in distress... more or less lah!]

While I was struggling trying to release one of the trolleys, from the corner of my eye, I saw a boy who was doing the same. At most, he's about 6-7 years young. Suddenly, I saw that he managed to release 2 trolleys. Inside me I was thinking, "Shit lah! Small boy oso more powderfool than me! How can?!" And while I was having that thought inside me, the Little Gentleman™ said to me in Mandarin, "Here's one for you."

And what did I do?

I smiled and went, "Ohhh! THANK YOU!" And I smiled summore.

I saw his face. He had that Happy Boy™ face... a very satisfied-with-himself kinda face.

Abuthen seconds later, came another bigger boy who took his trolley away... alamak... by then I was already about 5-6 steps away from him... but I think the Little Gentleman™ didn't mind... not even one bit...

After about a minute or so, the incident was seen flashing a few times at the back of my mind And I thought to myself (again), "Hey, I just had a darn schweet Gooly-mo!(ment)" Our Little Gentleman™ reminded me of Gooly the Gentleboy who jumped into the pond to 'save' the girl's wallet.

From that moment on, I was pretty convinced, that chivalry is most probably inborn. I mean, how can you teach a young child, that when you see an auntie struggling to get herself a trolley, that when  you manage to get one yourself, you should offer one of the trolleys to auntie? How? How? Can teach meh? *shakes head* Donch think so... But I also think that parents play a big role in instilling good values... [ok ok, who am I to talk abt parents, instill good values blablabla...]

When I related the incident to mom, she smiled and said, "Ohhh, what a caring boy!"

Caring... so yeah, we need more Goolypops in the world!

Sunday's Sky Sharing

Mr. Lee shared his Kota Damansara evening sky over here and it reminded me of what I've captured sometime back.. one was last week, and the other one, last October...

 

The Butterfly upon the Sky,
That doesn't know its Name
And hasn't any tax to pay
And hasn't any Home
Is just as high as you and I,
And higher, I believe,
So soar away and never sigh
And that's the way to grieve -- 

~Emily Dickinson~

about pirated stuff & chen's birthday

I was very shocked to read this, posted by someone in Facebook: (C & P)

Please do not keep any pirated or burned CDs, DVDs, or VCDs in your car. 

Police and Domestic Trade & Consumer Affairs Ministry's enforcement  division in Malaysia have started the operation to search and fine anyone who keep pirated disc inside their car especially through road block at all main road and expressways.

If any pirated or burned disc found inside your car will be charged RM400 per disc. Example 30 discs found means the fine will be RM12,000.

One of the Plexus colleague brother-in-law caught by Police due to pirated CD in the car on the way to town for lunch with his friend in the afternoon. One CD fined RM400...oh no..

Please disseminate this to all your friends who are driving in Malaysia ! 

I cannot confirm how far this is true but knowing our cuntree... anything's possible.. sigh!!

*fast fast go and take out CDs from the car*

Last but not least, many happy

returns of the day to Chen Sotong!

Okay, an 'update' about the Singaporean Couple Drama:

A MAN caught on video being hit in the private parts by his girlfriend with her high-heel shoe, is a director of an international property company.

Nanyang Siang Pau reported that the couple had been dating for two years. A person who claimed to be the couple's friend contacted the media after the video clip was widely circulated on the Internet and the news was reported in local newspapers.

The friend said the 41-year-old man was among the top 10 agents in the company and due to his excellent performance, was appointed as director of a department overseeing more than 100 agents.

 "He is good looking, wears glasses and looks younger than his real age."

"He drives a big car, lives in condominium and is popular among the women," the friend said, adding that the man was divorced and has a daughter. 

The friend said the 21-year-old woman was a receptionist at the property company two years ago. However, she did not last long as she often wore sexy dresses and received numerous warnings from the Human Resources Department. Since then, she has not worked and depends on the boyfriend.

The person who posted the comment the other day also posted this later on:

Humans are equipped with a finely tuned intuition to smell cracks in a relationship. Some relationships can sometimes feel suffocating. Somehow ppl don't really change deep down, and can't change their ways to accomodate the other. Irreconcilable differences, tensions, personality clashes are sheer purgatory. In the circumstances it's best to call it quits - in the interests of both parties - than to be stuck with an unsuitable partner along with a lifelong union of irreconcilable conflicts. Cool down, leave your options open and keep in touch with your psychiatrist/counsellor always. Keep your end up!

Man Got Hit (Hard) By Lady in Singapore

By now, everyone must have seen the video of this Singapore guy who got hit in the groin and slapped repeatedly. (The above video has got some funny captions abt the incident :p)

I read some forums and so far, I think this guy gave the best comment:

He's a picture of meekness, even misery. Let's assume for the sake of argument that the man has done a grave wrong, say an act of infidelity. Somehow she got wind of it and lashed out at him like an attacking crocodile. Some feel her aggressive behaviour is justified while many others find it most appalling.

Let me relate my own harrowing experiences. Being caught with my trousers down was a real downer. To start with my loved-up gf was aghast by the discovery that I'd copped off with someone behind her back and she did the unthinkable. Sobbing hysterically, she threatened to slash her own neck with a kitchen knife.

Almost as a reflex action, I lunged forward and made a grab for the sharp knife she was holding. Thank goodness none of us was hurt. On a separate occasion, another steady gal of mine cracked up for the same reason. She literally took a massive overdose of sleeping pills and almost never woke up.

They're all women but that's where the similarity ends. Under extreme stress or pressure, different women react differently - just as each of us have differing ideas on how an emotionally charged woman ought to behave. It's so easy for armchair critics to moralize but when the emotion segment of an infuriated or upset woman's (or man's) brain is engaged, there's no telling how she'll react or overreact.

So it's not a point of how she should respond in a frenzied situation but rather how she will react according to her genetic make-up. Some may unleash like the enraged woman in the picture while some sweetie - if you're lucky enough - may just hug you tightly, almost suffocating you, as she pleads with you not to forsake her. Most, however, plunge into deep depression which means you've got a lot of explanation to do.

In short, ppl differ from one another in their ability to handle stress.

Asiaone.com reported this:

A man who was caught on video being hit my a woman repeatedly without retaliating is a director of a local property firm, said Lianhe Wanbao.

According to the Chinese evening dailies, he drives a flashy car and stays in a condominium.

Last week, videos of the incident were published in AsiaOne, in which it showed him standing still while his girlfriend used her shoe to smack him repeatedly in the groin and face.

There'll be a 'full' report later on... wait I update u ols ah... 

Happy Birthday Pink Cotton! (etc etc)

Many Happy Returns of the Day to Pink Cotton and ahmok!

This is a very interesting video... Did You Know..

I'm really disappointed in the state of our country right now... and what more, with this incident, I feel that we are .... *speechless...sigh*... like what 5xmom said today, "Where did we go wrong?" 52 years of Independence and yet.... Those of you who are permanent residents of other countries, please don't come back to M'sia... sigh sigh sigh!!!

The Last Lecture

The other day, Zewt wrote Live Your Best Life.

Today, I share with you an inspirational 'lecture' by Randy Pausch. Who is he? From wikipedia:

Randolph Frederick Pausch^[1] (October 23, 1960 – July 25, 2008) was an American professor of computer science, human-computer interaction and design at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and a best-selling author who achieved worldwide fame for his "The Last Lecture" speech on September 18, 2007 at Carnegie Mellon.

In August 2006, Pausch was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He pursued a very aggressive cancer treatment that included Whipple procedure^[2] surgery and experimental chemotherapy; however, in August 2007 he was told the cancer had metastasized to his liver and spleen, which meant it was terminal. He then started palliative chemotherapy, intended to extend his life as long as possible. At that time, doctors estimated he would remain healthy for another three to six months. On May 2, 2008, a PET scan showed that his cancer had spread to his lungs and some lymph nodes in his chest, and that he had some metastases in his peritoneum and retroperitoneum.

~The Short Version~

Quoted from The Last Lecture website:

On September 18, 2007, computer science professor Randy Pausch stepped in front of an audience of 400 people at Carnegie Mellon University to deliver a last lecture called “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams.” With slides of his CT scans beaming out to the audience, Randy told his audience about the cancer that is devouring his pancreas and that will claim his life in a matter of months. On the stage that day, Randy was youthful, energetic, handsome, often cheerfully, darkly funny. He seemed invincible. But this was a brief moment, as he himself acknowledged.

Randy’s lecture has become a phenomenon, as has the book he wrote based on the same principles, celebrating the dreams we all strive to make realities. Sadly, Randy lost his battle to pancreatic cancer on July 25th, 2008, but his legacy will continue to inspire us all, for generations to come.

*my morbid thoughts*

When I was younger, we always liked to do our own palm reading. We read those weekly column in the papers about palm reading, about Heart Line, Head Line, Life Line. And there's this part about my Life Line. My Life Line seems surprisingly, short.

During that time, of course I got a lil' worried. Who wouldn't be? Moreover, I was afraid of Death then. Now? Now I probably feel indifferent. Sort of. But of course, when I see my Valentine Niece, sadness would cloud my mind. A bit. *snaps out*

OK, so where was I? Oh yeah, short Life Line...

As I looked at my Life Line a while ago, the one on my left palm has sort of grown a lil' longer, but the one on the right is still trying to "connect" to another line. And I thought, hmmm... OK.

But what is it actually that I want to put it in writing here is that every now and then, I can't help but to think "When will my time be up?" Sometimes when I'm driving, I'll have these crazy tragic thoughts of crashing... accidents... scary stuff they are... but I can't help having those thoughts. More so when lately, there were a few tragic accidents happening here and there...

Morbid, huh?

Right away after those thoughts surface, I'll check on my speedometer. I'm now a lesser demon than I was before :-)

Sorry ah, no conclusion for this entry. I just wanted to write whatever. I'm going to try to get that Last Lecture book later. I feel inspired. Somewhat.

~The *real* Last Lecture in September 2007~

For more videos on Randy's interviews and lectures, you can check out Randy Pausch's legacy here.

Friday's Speech

Hello! I just spent the last 15 minutes on a youtube link (a speech by Steve Jobs in 2005) which was Facebook forwarded by Dr. Bernard, and wow... it certainly blew me away. So, I'm taking this down as a reminder to self... and also, to share it with you. Thanks, doc!

Transcript found in this blog by Satjayeet Singh from India.

I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That's it. No big deal. Just three stories.

The first story is about connecting the dots.

I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out?

It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking: "We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?" They said: "Of course." My biological mother later found out that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She only relented a few months later when my parents promised that I would someday go to college.

And 17 years later I did go to college. But I naively chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my working-class parents' savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six months, I couldn't see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking back it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out I could stop taking the required classes that didn't interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting.

It wasn't all romantic. I didn't have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends' rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5¢ deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on. Let me give you one example:

Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every drawer, was beautifully hand calligraphed. Because I had dropped out and didn't have to take the normal classes, I decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif and san serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can't capture, and I found it fascinating.

None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, its likely that no personal computer would have them. If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later.

Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

My second story is about love and loss.

I was lucky — I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started Apple in my parents garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees. We had just released our finest creation — the Macintosh — a year earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got fired. How can you get fired from a company you started? Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so things went well. But then our visions of the future began to diverge and eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our Board of Directors sided with him. So at 30 I was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating.

I really didn't know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down - that I had dropped the baton as it was being passed to me. I met with David Packard and Bob Noyce and tried to apologize for screwing up so badly. I was a very public failure, and I even thought about running away from the valley. But something slowly began to dawn on me — I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over.

I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.

During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar went on to create the worlds first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, I returned to Apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple's current renaissance. And Laurene and I have a wonderful family together.

I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn't been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle.

My third story is about death.

When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn't even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor's code for prepare to die. It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you'd have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes.

I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy, where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach and into my intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I'm fine now.

This was the closest I've been to facing death, and I hope its the closest I get for a few more decades. Having lived through it, I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely intellectual concept:

No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth Catalog, which was one of the bibles of my generation. It was created by a fellow named Stewart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park, and he brought it to life with his poetic touch. This was in the late 1960's, before personal computers and desktop publishing, so it was all made with typewriters, scissors, and polaroid cameras. It was sort of like Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google came along: it was idealistic, and overflowing with neat tools and great notions.

Stewart and his team put out several issues of The Whole Earth Catalog, and then when it had run its course, they put out a final issue. It was the mid-1970s, and I was your age. On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the words: "Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish." It was their farewell message as they signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

Thank you all very much.

JL & May's May Burfday - 12th May 2008

For a Birthday Girl & A Birthday Boy...

Happy Birthday to Lil'MissMay & JL!
Hope you guys will have a great celebration today!
Love.Hugs.Kisses.

********************

Tom Cruise's interview with Oprah - celebrating 25 Years
(Part 1 - at his house in Telluride, Colorado)

The rest of the video, go look 'em up yourself...

Tom Cruise's interview with Oprah - celebrating 25 Years
(Part 2 - in the studio)


The rest of the video, go look 'em up yourself...

*********************

I dunno about you but I felt very angry when I saw this video...



Really, WTF is wrong with the authorities? The people staying in that area, Bandar Mahkota Cheras, have the right to use the road ma... but... really, this is just too much.

*********************

What else...
Since Rinnah & Chev show off their TweetCloud, I also want ler... but do note that if your Twitter updates are protected (check the Settings in your Twitter account), TweetStats can't 'form' your TweetCloud ;-) Come follow me on my TwitterAccount! Nowadays, I do mini-blogging there *wink*

********************

DYK that Perodua came out with a 4WD model, Nautica? OTR price - RM89,900.

********************

Last but not least, some dimsum Forn to conclude my blogging diarrhea. Till the next birthday edition, have a good week ahead! Try spot the same pictures... liu?

Sampat & Serious Sunday

Last Sunday, L B introduced Blood Orange to us. A few days later, Blood Orange was explained in more detail. Everybody ooh-ed and aah-ed.. He said, it's called Tarocco. After reading up wikipedia on Blood Orange, ohhh, actually Tarocco is native to Italy...

And then yesterday, this Sampat Doctor managed to get a couple of these bloody oranges at a local Penang supermart. So, I also kiasu lah!! I fast fast drive to the nearest Giant Bandar Kinrara to hunt for this blardy bloody orange, claimed to be supersweet with lotsa Vitamin C and of course, the red bloody stuff is some kind of antioxidant.

Of course, I found it.. AND a bonus.. 'cos the doc bought hers at RM1.99 per fruit and I got mine for...

Wheeeee!!! RM0.99 per fruit!! And the ones we got here on Malaysian shores is called Moro.. maybe because it's from the US of A?

So, I got half a dozen of these Bloody Oranges.

The iVerdict? Sweetly Bloody Nice! I suppose the ones I got must be 'bleeding' at its peak... the ones in Italy were just 'bleeding' on the 1st Day.. the doc punye, maybe 2nd Day.. *grins*

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

On a more serious note, I have decided that this blog will not be updated so often anymore, maybe only for some birthday greetings since I feel a bit sayang to delete it or just leave it to rot. Why, you asked? Because one of my friend (non-blogger) told another friend (probably accidentally, I dunno, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, SCAU) that I have a 'happening' blog, and that 2nd friend asked for this blog addy. I was taken aback. I didn't know what to tell him, so I said that I'm gonna close it. And he asked why, because my 1st friend told him that I have 'competition' in my blog... I think he meant The HugHugClub chups... And I've not replied to his second e-mail.

Anyway, I was not happy... Because I made the 1st friend promised that he would not tell anyone about this blog. I was very upset on the first day. Now, not so anymore. But, I'm really, really not comfortable letting my offline friends or even colleagues into this blog. I have no explanation. I just DON'T feel like it. Period.

So, that's it lah... Am I gonna have another blog? Hopefully... Once a narcissist, always a narcissist? *wink*

Your Seduction Style: The Charismatic

You're beyond seductive, you're downright magnetic! You life live and approach seduction on a grand scale. You have an inner self confidence and energy that most people lack It's these talents that make you seem extraordinary - and you truly are!

What Is Your Seduction Style?

Love Actually... A Fishy Story...

My SugarCane + Lime drink

Since in the previous entry, we talked about Infidelity, today I found an interesting entry @ VioletLim.com. Oh, who is Violet, you asked? She's the co-founder of Lunch Actually, Asia's first lunch dating company ;-) Anyone interested? Can go try! Kinda like DinnerForSix but it's lunch. Nope, I have not tried it. I need meh?? :P

Violet wrote about Love, In Theory. She found a theory by Robert Stemberg, who is a psychologist and a psychometrician (wah, sounds very terror!). He came out with the Triangular Theory of Love, which is pretty insightful.



Lemme copy the whole thing from wikipedia lah!

The three components, pictorially labeled on the vertices of a triangle, interact with each other and with the actions they produce and with the actions that produce them so as to form seven different kinds of love experiences (nonlove is not represented). The size of the triangle functions to represent the amount of love - the bigger the triangle the greater the love. The shape of the triangle functions to represent the kind of love, which may vary over the course of the relationship:

• Nonlove is the absence of all three of Sternberg's components of love.

• Liking/friendship in this case is not used in a trivial sense. Sternberg says that this intimate liking characterizes true friendships, in which a person feels a bondedness, a warmth, and a closeness with another but not intense passion or long-term commitment.

• Infatuated love is often what is felt as "love at first sight". But without the intimacy and the commitment components of love, infatuated love may disappear suddenly.

• Empty love: Sometimes, a stronger love deteriorates into empty love, in which the commitment remains, but the intimacy and passion have died. In cultures in which arranged marriages are common, relationships often begin as empty love and develop into one of the other forms with the passing of time.

• Romantic love: Romantic lovers are bonded emotionally through intimacy and physically through passionate arousal.

• Companionate love is an intimate, non-passionate type of love that is stronger than friendship because of the element of long-term commitment. Sexual or physical desire is not an element of companionate love. This type of love is often found in marriages in which the passion has gone out of the relationship but a deep affection and commitment remain. The love ideally shared between family members is a form of companionate love, as is the love between close friends who have a platonic but strong friendship.

• Fatuous love can be exemplified by a whirlwind courtship and marriage in which a commitment is motivated largely by passion, without the stabilizing influence of intimacy.

• Consummate love is the complete form of love, representing an ideal relationship toward which people strive. Of the seven varieties of love, consummate love is theorized to be that love associated with the “perfect couple”. According to Sternberg, such couples will continue to have great sex fifteen years or more into the relationship, they can not imagine themselves happy over the long term with anyone else, they weather their few storms gracefully, and each delight in the relationship with one other.^[1] However, Sternberg cautions that maintaining a consummate love may be even harder than achieving it. He stresses the importance of translating the components of love into action. "Without expression," he warns, "even the greatest of loves can die" (1987, p.341). Thus, consummate love may not be permanent. If passion is lost over time, it may change into companionate love.

Itulah dia... too complicated to comprehend? Never mind! I copy part of Violet's entry for you also!

Passion, Intimacy and Commitment, in no particular order. He describes passion as physical and sexual attraction. Intimacy is the closeness and the connection, especially in communication. And commitment is easiest describe as marriage. And the strongest relationship is a relationship where all these aspects grow at the same rate like an equilateral triangle.

If there is only passion, that is called infatuation.

If there is only intimacy, that is called friendship.

If there is only commitment, that is called empty love.

If there is passion and intimacy, but no commitment, that is romantic love.

If there is passion and commitment, but no intimacy, that is fatuous love.

If there is intimacy and commitment, but no passion, that is companionate love.

If there is passion, intimacy and commitment, that is the most ideal of love… consummate love. :)

Many marriages, as time goes by, end up in ‘empty love’ as the passion is gone, and the intimacy too wanes. And the only thing holding the marriage together is the commitment.

Or in other marriages, the passion is there… but there is no communication. The couple simply does not grow together, and their paths hardly converge.

All the best to you, you and you!

At first, not many fishy came...
there were 2 other people sitting around the 'pool' with me.

And yesterday, my First Experience @ the Fish Spa... I didn't go to the 'popular' one @ Pavilion. I went to this Sampuoton Fish Spa at Merchant Square, somewhere near Tropicana. Saw this spa when passing by NKVE and told myself, die-die oso must try.. at least once... What's iVerdict you asked?

Ya Allah! OMG! Cinders and Ashes! I cannot tahan!!! It's way way WAY too geli, too ticklish for moi! And I paid RM60 for those fish to tickle my soles for half an hour.. Yes, the rate is much higher than the one @ Pavilion, I believe... And to think they have treatment for the whole body also for RM150... gosh, no way, Jose!!

When those two people finished, oh dear... I was attacked in large schools!!
Betul I kenot tahan... I kept moving my feet, scaring 'em away.
But each time, they came back for more -_-

Never felt so geli before... For RM60, next time I shall go for aromatheraphy...
or have someone rub my back for free... ;-)

NB - All pictures in today's entry (above) were taken with the Nokia N70. This is to prove that N70's 2Megapixel also not bad, okay.. Becos got so many people puji iPhone's 2Megapixel cam's pics in Someone's blog ;P *waits for comments regarding the pics* Haha...

Last, but not least... for Dearest Daddy...

Profiles & Easter Tale

I spied this in a profile of a 40 year old man on a certain 'match' website.

i am a man who is full of love that i need to share because it is overflowing. and the more i share of this love the more love i get filled with and it begins to overflow again. therefore i must share again all the love that i have inside of me. and when i have shared the love i have inside of me i am again refilled and it again begins to overflow so that i must again continue share this love that i have inside of me. i am overflowing with love...

*pengsan*
But sometimes quite fun to laugh also ma... no? :P
I mean, compare that with this one.

hello and welcome aboard. firstly, i would like to apologise for not replying to subscribing members who have contacted me. i used to be a subscriber but now it only allows contact if both the sender and receiver has a subscription. a little unfair, dun you think? do not despair though coz you can catch me at panasmel or hot...

basically, i consider myself as your typical next-door guy who loves sports, outdoor activities, cooking and reading. i also love travelling and experiencing different cultures of the world. i've already grown out of partying and now prefer to channel my energy towards keeping fit and staying relaxed. it's really stressful earning a decent living so i am prone to acting silly bordering near lunacy when not at work to balance up, lol :P

i'm looking for friends who are independent, loves sports, loves to laugh and being laughed at as well as living every minute of their life to the fullest. i'm tall but not tall enough and i have an athlete built as a result of my active exercise sessions. i guess my ears are kinda small for my size but i'm a very loyal kinda person...just like my chinese zodiac sign...woof-woof, hehe. my clothing styles are very basic and comfy while dressing up is only when it is absolutely and needlessly required, hehehe. in short...the saying "simplicity is the best things in life" will truly describe me for what i am.

Which one would you 'choose'? Yes, I'm asking the obvious :P Gee, I hope both of them are not reading this blog! If you are, I can only say... sorry!! I know lah, by now, you surely have some question marks on top of your head... Eh?? Angeles looking for ......... What?! Kenot meh?! I oledi cukup umur, ok... Anyway, it's just for fun. I mean reading those profiles! :P


Last but not least, this is a little heartwarming story that was related by my friend, Eve in New Jersey during Easter last weekend... she's the Eve with lupus...

Every Easter, we (most adults) will make/buy Easter baskets to give to kids. Its just a basket (can be big or small) filled with candies, small soft toys (usually chicks or bunnies) and/or chocolates. Anyway, Easter is not about candies and bunnies but it gives a the little kiddies something fun to do and they believe in the Easter Bunny and that the Easter Bunny willl bring them goodies.

So anyway, this year, we decided to do one last baskets for Jimmy and Michelle, they are after all 17 and 18 and no longer believe in the Easter Bunny. So on Friday, Jim and I, we went to the store and bought the supplies eg. baskets, grass, chocolate eggs, caramel eggs. truffles, jelly beans etc etc. And then we brought everything home and put together the baskets for the kids.

On Saturday, out of the blue, I suddenly said to Jim, "I want to make baskets for Becky's kids." Becky is our neighbour and she has 3 daughters under 8 years old and Samantha the youngest has Down Syndrome. So, out we went to the store again and came home and put together 3 baskets, pink, purple and green. Later in the evening, I called over to Becky house and asked if the kids had gone to bed. She said "Not Yet, What's Up?" I said, "Call me after they're in bed."

So at 10.15, Becky calls up and said, "Kids are in bed, now will you tell me whats happening?" I said, "OK, I'm coming over."

I walked over to her house with the 3 baskets and when she opened her door and saw the Easter Basket, she started to cry. Apparently, she had been so busy, she didnt have time to go get Easter Baskets for her kids and she had gone to the store late and it was close and she was contemplating on getting up really early to go get them before the kids wake up. She felt really crappy....until I showed up with 3 baskets, in the kids favourite colours.

Now, we have been friends since 2003 and I have never given the kids easter baskets and she had never failed to make Easter baskets for her kids.

The Lord works in mysterious ways!! Amen!!

God bless my dear friend, Eve...

Flyday Birthdays & Videos

Flyday again.. today, we sing some songs... learn to Photoshop with Xiaxue... go to a fish spa with Xiaxue & mom... watch a political interview on Al-Jazeera... okehhh??

But before that, a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Misha's MOMMY, Sheon & Freethinker!!! Waaaa!! So many birthdays!!! And also Happy 18th Anniversary to Eastcoastlife & Chris! Woot!!! So many happies!

**********

Can I Stay With You - Karyn White (Yes, the Superwoman singer)


Can I Stay With You Lyrics

I first heard this song years ago, during Radio 4 days. That time, every Wednesday nights at 3am, Angie Ng will go on air and this will always be the first song at the start of her session. Loved her session (on top of Patrick Teoh's, of cos) because she plays all those totally laam songs, and the best was her voice... OMG.. so sexy... near orgasmic voice she has... not sure whether she's still on air now though... So yeah, that was the 'story' behind this song :P See if u liked the song too :)

Remix version of ABBA's Dancing Queen
(dun bother looking at the video, just listen to it)

DYK that every midnight on MIXFM, they play non-stop retro music for 2 hours? Except Sunday nights, I think. Love love retro! (Speaking of which, is anyone going for the Here & Now Tour 2008 The Best of the 80's concert in Genting??)

Next two videos, I accidentally stumble upon them while on youtube. Xiaxue's Guide To Life series. Neh, she's one of Singkapoh's fehmes blogger ahh...

Learn to Photoshop own pics!



Fish Spa with her mom. Coincidentally, this fish spa 'phenomenon'
is being talked about nearly everywhere!

Last but not least, Al-Jazeera's interview with LimKitSiang & AnwarIbrahim.

YAB Lim Guan Eng etc.

OMG! This sketch is sooo farnie! Especially the "murtabak" part bwahaaahaha!

**********

On another note, I'd like to 'introduce' to you, Penang's new Chief Minister, Y.A.B. Lim Guan Eng. I found an interview done by The Sun newspaper with LGE in July 2004. Below is the C&P of the interview.

LIM GUAN ENG burst onto the political scene in the 1986 general election in Kota Melaka when he was elected as the then youngest Member of Parliament (MP) at 25 years of age, defeating former national football captain Datuk Soh Chin Aun with a whopping 18,000-vote majority.

He also happens to be the eldest son of Parliamentary Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang, a genealogical heritage that has attracted both interest and flak.

Detained twice by the authorities, first for an 18-month spell in the Kamunting Detention Camp in 1987 under the Internal Security Act (ISA) and secondly for another 18 months in 1998 under the Sedition Act and Printing Presses and Publications Act.

He was imprisoned for circulating documents over an alleged rape of a young Malay girl by a politician which the court found to be false allegations.

Unless he gets a Royal pardon, Guan Eng cannot practise as an accountant. He can, however, revive his political career on Aug 25, five years to the day after his release from Kajang prison.

Steadfast in his political conviction, he chats with NG KEE SENG.

theSun: What are your thoughts on your "exile" and the prospects of being active in politics again?
The so-called "exile" was a ban on all political activity and removal of parliamentary rights for five years effective from the date of my release from imprisonment.

At a personal level, it was tough for my family and me, especially financially. But as said by King Solomon in Ecclesiastics, "Everything that happens in this world happens at the time God chooses. He sets the time for sorrow and the time for joy; He sets the time for finding and the time for losing; He sets the time for silence and the time for talk ... We should be happy and do the best we can."

During this so-called exile, I saw human nature at both its extremes, but I never faltered from my belief in the political process. I tried to be happy and did the best I can.

One has to participate and be actively involved to bring about positive changes. That we by our involvement can and do make a difference, that the lives we touch are better because of us.

Even though I am no longer a wakil rakyat (MP) and barred from any office, I am still active in community work in the name of my party, making my small difference for the better of the community in Malacca.

In that respect, does my voluntary work make me a political activist? So, to say that I am in "exile" may not be accurate but perhaps I no longer need to bother you with so many political statements.

Will you be just as vocal in championing freedom of speech?
The antitheses of freedom of speech are the Sedition Act and the Printing Presses and Publications Act. I believe I was wrongly convicted under both oppressive laws.

Even when I was imprisoned, I was not deterred from speaking for what I believe is right, so freedom shall definitely not restrain me from speaking up for justice, human rights and democracy.

How has the imprisonment affected your political principles and struggles for Malaysians and their country?
The imprisonment has made me more determined. We are always asked whether our rhetoric is matched by action, if we can "walk the talk".

Well, I have walked the talk and after going through such tough times without giving them an inch, the BN politicos know whether I still hold fast to my principles.

I have paid a severe price for maintaining my beliefs. My family has suffered even more. But was it too much to ask for some honesty in our system?

Divorced from ethics and integrity, leadership is reduced to management and politics to mere technique. Ethics, honesty and integrity are the corner stones to any successful, prosperous and equitable nation.

But this is not my personal struggle. This is part of a larger struggle for the political soul and morality of our country. There must be moral outrage against corruption and political immorality.

Too much is coloured by race and religion until good values and practices are secondary. If we do not instil moral values in our political system, wipe out corruption, uphold democracy and impose accountability, exercise compassion, our country would not be a place where decent Malaysians can be proud of.

If you are confronted with an identical political problem or issue which got you into prison, how will you respond or treat it today?
Fundamental issues of justice, truth and democracy cannot be compromised. The substance at its core is immutable but the handling or style of dealing with it can perhaps take into account prevailing sensitivities.

There is too much political cynicism which is understandable when you find some Umno leaders waxing eloquently against money politics when they have been previously associated with it.

Umno encourages such cynicism because it works for them. The challenge is to let the people see there are still Malaysians out there who still see political office as a noble calling for public service and not merely degrading self-enrichment.

What are the issues that continue to remain close to your heart?
Justice. Political justice. Socio-economic justice. Cultural justice. Employment and educational justice. There must not only be equality before the law but also equal opportunity for all Malaysians. Justice for Anwar, Ah Beng, Ali, Raja, Juggah, Kitingan. Justice for all. Even for the policeman.

Why should the government set up a special police squad to protect the VIPs from violent crimes? Are the VIPs so special that they cannot be robbed and so require special protection whilst lesser and poorer mortals like us do not deserve special protection and are left in the hands of the ordinary police? Do VIPs give special payments to the police? Such double-standards must be hard to imitate.

As an eight-year-old child, I could never understand why a good man like my father has to be locked up by the police (detained under the ISA in 1969). Forty years later, I still cannot comprehend why in Malaysia, good men go to prison whereas the bad ones don't.

What crimes have DAP leaders committed? We don't steal, rob or cheat. We only speak the truth and yet we go to prison. Or is the truth a dangerous crime in Malaysia?

Equal opportunity is necessary for globalisation. By not granting equal opportunity, we are not only denying worthwhile Malaysians the right of realising their full potential, we are also depriving our country of local talents to help develop our economy.

The 128 top STPM students is a case in point. Which country in the world would deny top students a place in the medical profession, especially when there is a severe shortage of doctors?

How do you cope with the flak that you have been receiving from within and outside the DAP for being the son of parliamentary Opposition Leader and party icon Lim Kit Siang?
I am proud of my father's achievements and his selfless sacrifice, compassion and service for the nation. But my detractors need not fear for I am no Lim Kit Siang. There can be only one Lim Kit Siang. They threw away the mould after him.

I merely ask to be judged as a person on my own merits. If I do not perform, criticise me. If I falter, pan me. But do not judge me merely on the basis of Kit Siang's son. That's not fair to Lim Kit Siang and definitely not fair to me.

Nobody asked me whether I was Lim Kit Siang's son when they detained me without trial under the ISA. No one asked the same questions when I was imprisoned in Kajang for 18 months, sleeping on a cement floor without beds.

And no one mentioned that I was Kit Siang's son when I was disqualified from Parliament and lost my pension. And neither was this raised when Tan Sri Eric Chia sued me for defamation over my ACA report on the Perwaja scandal.

At times, it is a terrible disadvantage. You are on a treadmill all the time and you need to run like hell all the time just to be in the same place. Your successes are glossed over and your flaws magnified.

Unlike others who are seen as deserving, somehow those with famous fathers are not seen as good enough. Perhaps, just as sequels are never judged to be better than the first one. But then again Spiderman 2 is the exception.

Do you aspire to become DAP secretary-general while your father is still active in the party?
I joined the DAP because it shared my beliefs and principles, not to aspire for any posts in the party. Unlike BN, holding posts in DAP does not grant you any monetary benefits. In fact, the reverse is quite true.

The DAP today appears to be performing better at federal than state elections? Do you agree?
Yes, I think it's the voters' way of wanting to keep the cake and eat it. They want some development funds yet realise a genuine opposition like the DAP is necessary to keep democracy alive and the government in check.

What are your views of the outcome of the 11th general election?
The Opposition is getting more marginalised. Unless the people wake up and send in more opposition parliamentarians, the word democracy will make a mockery of people's power and empowerment.

Race and religion have regained their dominant role. This has played into the hands of BN which fears an issue-oriented approach by a multi-racial opposition.

With the Barisan Nasional winning nine-tenths of the 219 parliamentary seats (BN 198, Opposition 20 and Independent one), do you think there is any possibility of the Opposition winning the mandate to rule the country?
Politics is the art of the impossible but even that seems pretty far-fetched at the moment in Malaysia. Somehow we must provide the hope that change is still possible with a stronger opposition.

And we do need far-reaching changes to survive in the modern world. Either we move ahead with globalisation, technological progress, economic prosperity shared equally, equal access to information and greater democratic rights or descend into an anarchy of violence whether inspired by American or Islamic terrorism.

The non-Malay populace is shrinking with every passing year. How do you see this affecting politics, especially in the Islamic state issue which is being heatedly debated between Umno and PAS in Parliament?
It will change the nation-building agenda from one of development, justice, equal opportunity to one of religion and oppression by other
religions.

This is very unhealthy and to a certain extent it is perpetuated by the ruling party for its own ends. PAS playing this dangerous game on a higher plane of course will intensify it.

What are your visions for the DAP to remain politically relevant?
Malaysians must believe that participating in the political process represents probably the only hope that they can make Malaysia a better place for themselves and their children.

We are disheartened by the rising crime rate where the police seem powerless and helpless. No one is spared from violent crime and yet the police appear so inert.

Yet there is hope. The case of a good samaritan like Rosli who died trying to catch a snatch thief. We need more Malaysians like that. Perhaps more Malaysians who will do the necessary not only for their own "bangsa dan agama" but also other races.

There are three major strands here. One, the need for national unity based on a non-racial and non-religious framework. The idea of nationhood based on the dominance of a particular race and religion is in itself divisive and unsustainable in the long-term.

Tolerance is sometimes just not enough -- there must be respect for different cultural values. The horrors of the fragility of national unity inspired by racial or religious dominance has been shown only too well in the Middle-East and the Balkan states.

Racial or religious parties should not be allowed. There is no necessity to impose it now. Give 10 years as a transitional period. In the long-run, we will all be healthier for it. The ruling parties must take the lead. After all, there will be no change in the status quo as politics is a numbers game and we know who is the majority race.

We must establish multi-racialism and a multi-religious society as a way of life in our society. Politicians should lead the way. Doing something for another race one normally does for one's own. It's not easy but we must start somewhere.

Then not only Malaysians will feel good about themselves but we will also have come of age if we can make people from other countries feel good about us.

The second strand is political and economic accountability. One leads to the other. The ISA is one such law which does not make the government accountable for its actions. That the ACA reports to the prime minister and not Parliament, this definitely does not make economic accountability effective.

There can be no economic accountability without political accountability. Western developed economies have both. Singapore is perhaps the exception with economic accountability but no political accountability.

Yes, in Singapore, you may be rich but you live in "fear" -- see the jokes about Singaporeans' "kiasu" mentality. We may laugh at Singaporeans but save some for our own for unfortunately we do not even have both political and economic accountability.

The third major strand is the need for the institutionalisation of democracy. We have a democracy without a democratic culture. Is going through the motions of electing our leaders once every five years democracy, when the electoral process is not fair and neutral?

And then there is the mockery of unelected local governments. Democracy is supposed to come from the bottom up, from the people. We have lousy local government service because they are all appointed and unaccountable.

No wonder garbage gets uncollected, drains blocked, flash floods, etc. I don't see why we can't have local government elections when even the communist regime of China is experimenting with electing local government leaders.

Are we going to be more backward than China? A united Malaysia based on a multi-racial and multi-religious framework with emphasis on equal opportunity for all, a moral and compassionate value system, respect for political and economic accountability and a healthy democratic culture.

Then, we can not only feel good about ourselves but I am sure even make our neighbours feel good about us.

Guan Eng's wife Betty Chew Gek Cheng, 40 (Kota Laksamana assemblyman and mother to three children aged nine, 12 and 13).

theSun: How do you feel now that your husband is re-entering active politics?
Betty: He always seems destined to serve his country so I try to keep my fears and apprehension in check. But both of us do take counsel of our fears and apprehensions and pray that we have the courage to endure.

The most important thing is that he is by my side and the children's side. Which he has for the last five years, doing all the things husbands and fathers do -- basically being a driver, checking the daily chores are done, being a homemaker for a change.

But he never tires of the deluge of people seeking help from him. I marvel at times at his energy, spending his time doing voluntary work, helping those in need regardless whether they are from Malacca or not, or even when they are foreigners.

I think he is energised by his reward of seeing the hope light up in their eyes. He does that without any monetary support from the party and this does make it hard for us when he should be thinking of putting in something for our growing children's education. But it is his mission and I try to support him where I can.

Do you think he has mellowed after being penalised for helping a teenage girl in distress?
What mellowness? He is ready to help even when he is not a wakil rakyat and not drawing any pension. He has no obligation to do so and yet he still does. Do you think that's mellow? I still think he's the same, with the same discipline, ideals and dedication and affinity for the oppressed.

Will you be taking a back seat now that he is back in active politics?
I was never in the driver's seat, merely doing my work in my own constituency. Unlike my husband, I do not have the energy and time to do more beyond my own constituency with my legal practice and family commitments.

How do you cope with the pressures of politics, legal practice and family?
It has been tough but my husband has fully supported my pursuit of my legal career. He says I make a good homemaker but an even better lawyer.

He feels strongly that women who do not pursue their careers do not only fail to realise their potential but is a loss to society. So he helps out wherever he can in politics, family and even in legal practice.

**********

And this news was picked up from malaysiakini earlier today...

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng today announced that PKR’s Penanti state assemblyperson Muhammad Fairuz Khairuddin and DAP’s Perai representative P Ramasamy would be made the state’s deputy chief ministers.

Muhammad Fairuz will be the Deputy CM 1 and Ramasamy, the Deputy CM 2.

Lim, who was sworn in yesterday, said the decision to pick the duo was to have a leadership to represent all communities in Penang.

This is the first time an Indian has been awarded such a high post in Malaysia.

The state's executive council will consist of seven members from DAP and three from PKR.

Meanwhile, both speaker and deputy speaker of the state assembly will be from PKR.

The lone PAS state assemblyperson, who has been left out of the DAP-PKR government, has said he will cooperate with the state government.

The DAP-led opposition made a clean sweep in Penang in the last general election, totally wiping out the BN’s hold in the island state."

**********

If you skipped all those C&P words, which I think most of us would :P, it's a-ok. Because I'm happy to know that he earned my one vote. Tak sia-sia pangkah aku tu... At last, Penang got hope liao... all eyes are now on this man... and a note to eastcoastlife, of course KL is safe to visit! I still waiting and waiting and waiting... ;)

Last but not least, on the 'personal' front, this was what happened to my electric fuse box (correct term ah??) last week. I came back to a 'hot' refrigerator... -_-

The 'middle' switch that refused to go 'up' no matter how hard I tried to help :'(

ps: Sorry for the rojak-ness of this entry... I have a rojak mind today.