Gadgets

I am no techno-freak.

I don't leap to the the front of a store - just to score myself the latest gadget. It amuses me to see the long lines in front of the Apple Store - in anticipation of the iPhone 4. The chaos it created in Japan - the tech-savvy center of Asia (?). 

                                Motorola Droid - Another Trendsetter

But there is such a market for gadget obsessed beings. Probably some of them are really into the technicality of the gadgets, but some of them - I suspected - joined the bandwagon - just to be seen as cool! Or glamorous or special - whatever you call them - the trendsetters! 

Me, I just make sure I have just enough information before buying a gadget. My first handphone was a huge Erickson (circa 1997) which I got for free from Citibank. Then there were a slew of Motorola phones - bought under the affordable employee discounts program. Last year was my first venture into the world of non Motorola handphone with the purchase of a Sony Erickson phone - which was cheaper - with a 3.2M pixel cybershot quality camera.

I use my handphone mainly to call (and sms) hubby, my house and (mostly) take pictures. I don't actually listen to the music stored or play games on that tiny screen.

Recently hubby bought me my first Nokia. The only reason that we bought it was because of it's 5M pixel camera with Carl Zeiss lens! It was the latest model and much cheaper that the 5M SE - which is older. I love taking pictures and videos of the kids - and replayed them - with laughter with the whole family....

And I have to confess that I have been wanting to buy myself a netbook - for the mobility and low priced it offers. I can easily bring the small netbook on my balik kampung holidays and gets connected. 

I made sure I made my homeworks. Learnt - among other - that most of the netbooks are using Intel Atom processor 1.66 GHz. The specs are about the same - RAM, resolution, etc - varies mainly due to the different hard disk offered. Toshiba typically will set you around rm300 more than say, Dell, HP and Acer - I believe due to their sleeker physical look. Sony will set you back at least rm500 more - well, it's the name!

I finally bought one - and have not looked back.


Gadgets - you sure can't live without them!

First born...

Something my dear hubby said to me triggered me to write this.

We were having dinner at a fast food restaurant - which was packed - peak hours. Since there were not enough drinks to go around, and the queue was simply too long, dear hubby suggested that I go an buy a drink at one of the small kiosk. The kiosk is quite a distance away, and since there is also a mamak restaurant near by, I told him that I am buying teh tarik and asked whether he wanted one. He said no.

Then off I went to buy the ice lemon tea - dropped them for the kids - and went again for the teh tarik. Ordered one myself (to go). Once I reached dining table - hubby took a look at my teh tarik and commented 'Satu jek?' 'Mana I punyer?' 'Aik, kan tai I tanye, you kata tak mau'. 'I tak mau sekarang, untuk bekal balik nak la'......ishhh....

Then he went on, 'very typical of anak sulong - so jangan nak marah Haziq'. 'If it was me, I will definitely buy extra for you'....hu..hu...hu...

My instant reaction was defensive (as usual) - but then I resigned myself to it - well, what he said is true - to some extend - I mean, as first born, there are some traits - that commanding nature, that (ashamedly) self serving nature. I took his word for it...never to reflect that he actually wanted it - that I might  want to show him that I care enough to buy him anyway.....hmmm....

I am not actually a first born to my dad - but I am to my mom (if you know what I mean). And I do display the independence and strong characters - typically linked to first born. Selfish? Yeah, probably when I was growing up. I wanted the best of (almost) everything)


But being a first born as well meant that we are bound to be more responsible.


Case in point, though I was very interested in language - and thought of doing translation in university - but shoved it off, as I was not sure whether it is stable enough - as at that time my dad was already retired. So I pursued science - and the rest - is history. 

I have been extremely lucky - I got good results (that is not a coincidence, by the way!) - and as soon I completed my final year exam - was offered a job - with an engineer's salary! Dad was a laborer with the PWD - so it was a relief that I got a job - so soon - to help the family. I assisted my siblings in their studies - and forgo my lecturer's offer to further my studies - as I was sure that the pay could not match the one that I received. 


Isn't that sacrifice itself? How I envied friends who pursued MSc and PhD - because they do not need to think of how that decision affect others...

The stigma that first born are selfish might not be accurate - as I have read a lot of stories about first born sacrificing their studies and even lives - to ensure that their siblings led a better life......

Fever

The fever is on - actually it started almost 2 weeks ago. And as usual, I procrastinated and kept intending to write - but I guess is not disciplined enough.

Anyway, unlike yer typical fever - this one keeps getting hotter towards the end. Yup, I am referring to the current World Cup Fever. I am not going to ramble on the performances of the team - the shocking defeat of elites such as Spain, England and Germany. The dismal performance of France - which caused them an early exit. A mutiny of the French players - yup, there is such a thing!

I am going to reminisce on the good old time. When I was growing up - I was very close to my dad. There were me and my 4 sisters. By that time my 2 older sisters and a brother were already out of the nest. With no male in the house - somehow I felt that it is up to me to act like the son of the house. Hence, I was the one holding the chicken to be slaughtered and off course the one to accompany my dad watching football.


I remembered waking in the wee hours of the morning - to watch live telecast of World Cup. That was when my interest in the game started. I remembered rooting for Brazil, Germany and Italy - my 3 favorite teams! Past heroes - I still remembered their names - Karl-Heinz Rumanigge, Roberto Baggio, Lothar Mattheus, Paolo Rossi. 

Yeah, Diego was a star back then - but somehow he did not catch my fancy....ha..ha...Probably the 'hand of god' had some impact on me!

England...I am not quite a fan. Somehow their game - at least to me - who is not an expert - lacks the much needed adrenaline. I always find England's game to be too tame to my liking. Don't get me wrong....I used to love Gary Lineker and I rooted for Spurs when I was in lower secondary.

Once in college and now working - my rendezvous with football becomes fewer. What with my new adrenaline-laden interest in F1 - football gets a backseat. Now I watch it when there is a final of EUFA or Champions League and off course World Cup. I keep updated on the different teams and the going ons - just to make sure I can be in conversation with dear hubby....


World Cup...it never fails to bring back fond memories.....

Pray!

It is so disheartening to read about the cruelty endured by our Muslim brothers in Gaza...

And now, the flotilla carrying medicines and foodstuff to Palestinians were crushed by the Israelis commando. At least 19 were dead with a 30 or more injured. The commandos were armed with machine-guns and assault weapons - to confront volunteers - who are mostly harmless journalist or the likes. 

Threat has been voiced by Ehud Barak - any ships planning to do the same - will receive the same fate as the Mavi Mara....

Only Allah will be able to help our Muslim brothers now...let's pray to HIM and seek for his assistance - as HE know best...insyallah.... 

Be Grateful, You &*#@!+$

I need more discipline....there are so many things to write (nag?) - I am sometimes really fired up - but by the time I reached home - the fire became mere flicker....he..he...(excuses, excuses)....

Let's see...I shall start with the hooha created late last week - courtesy of the person responsible for the so-called 'transformation program'. Suddenly we are bombarded (just flip any MSM) - with figures - incredible figures - to show how addicted we Malaysians are. We have the cheapest cooking oil, the cheapest gas, the cheapest sugar, yadda, yadda...and it is sinking the country. Hmm...as usual, comparisons are done using conversion to Malaysian ringgit - gas in Singapore is rm3.80 compared to rm1.80 in Malaysia.But then, do Singaporean earn in Malaysian Ringgit ?? Their salary is at least twice (if not more) than Malaysian - and this is without conversion! Why can't they - when making comparisons - convert it to a neutral currency - such as USD. And aren't Purchasing Power a more accurate measure?

The bogeyman is at work (overtime?) - the same (old) scare tactic is in full force.

You better be grateful you %^*$#.... Surrender the addiction to cheap food stuff - else we will be following Greek's footstep in a couple of years. Mind you that there are a lot of differences between the 2 countries - though we can't deny the similarities are there - the corruption, nepotism, cronyism, inefficient civil service, etc. But wait a minute...are Malaysians really spoiled brat??? Is the standard of living so high? The poverty line so high - and nobody lives under the poverty line???

There are a lot of Malaysians earning a meager RM500 per month - such as KAFA religious teacher. With removal of subsidy, prices of everything will soar. Do you think that by increasing the price of gas by 20 cents - the price of teh tarik will not be increased - by a minimum of 10 cents? History has shown over and over again - no matter how  laud the minister emphasize that an increase of 20 cents of sugar will only increase a cup of teh tarik by 0.02 cents.

And wait a minute...is it really we - the 'rakyat marhean' - the only ones addicted??? What about those businesses who got preferential tax? Those IPP - that bled TM dry - who are given substantial subsidy - with tax relief to boot - but do not managed to stream those to the customers - and instead tariff keeps escalating. Windfall tax? They just need to whine a bit - then quickly the government withdraws the proposal. The result? Build more IPP - it does not matter that we already have access capacity. Those cronies need a cow to milk dry!

What about public money used to save sinking ships of failed businesses?? And public money used to erect white elephants. Humongous stadium for a state sport - which by the way collapsed after a few months of completion!

What about fiascoes such as the PKFZ which caused RM12.1 billion of public money into the drain - and is any of the culprits brought to justice ??? The person who tried (or seemed to try) - to expose the wrongdoing - now found himself ousted as a minister!

What about leakages?? Buying a RM8000 desktop - an expired model!. RM400 screw drivers...oh, gosh.....I feel like screaming here!

The blatant use of public money - and now you are asking the publicto tighten their belt - to scrimp? With everything going up, and salary static - how will the economy move? People won't be able to pay taxes....arrrggghhh....

*&%$?&**#@*&&&#>^

All Things Good Must Come to an End....

As I am writing this - I am actually watching the Grand Finale of American Idol - Season 9 - which also marks the departure of the much loved (or hated - it's a thin line between the two) of the eccentric judge - Simon Cowell.

                                          The Winner of Season 9

The show today is as much about Simon as it is about the crowning of America's Idol. Simon looked genuinely emotional - especially upon seeing his eye candy (that will be Paula!). I'm not sure how the series will fare - once Mr Mean is not there anymore - I mean, I always look forward to his comments - which I typically find less credulous than the others (don't let me start on Ellen!). 

                                              The One and Only

All good things will (eventually) come to an end....This month also marks the departure of my beloved obsessive compulsive detective. Yup, I had to finally say sayonara to Monk.....it was a bitter sweet...I will miss him terribly...I will miss his eccentricity - I will miss his lame jokes - I will even miss Randy's lame jokes! But (luckily) they make the last episode to be such heart warming. What with Monk finding the killer of the Trudy, Natalie found love again - someone eerily resembles his departed husband, Her daughter away in Berkeley and even Randy promoted and in relationship - with Sharona! I shall get the DVD - just to make sure I revisit Mr Monk from time to time.....

                                                   Sayonara....

This month also mark the end of Heroes. The series that started with a bang - that showed so much promise - but somehow managed to fall flat by it's second season! I have to admit that I was Heroes crazy - by halfway thru second season - I started missing episodes - then finally I watched it when there is nothing else worth watching! 

                                       Heroes no more....
                               

With the departure of these favorites - the door is now open - for new series to tantalize viewers. For now, other than Glee - I am also a sucker for Leverage, House and Criminal Minds. And don't forget - Midsummer Murder (which never cease to amuse Mr Hubby)....

Till then...sayonara all....

Selamat Hari Guru!

I missed publishing this rambling on Teachers' Day - but  hey, better late than never, right?

Teaching is one of the most noble profession - not to mention glamorous! Glamorous you say ? Well - other than Doctors - teachers are the only ones to be called 'cikgu' - from the first day they teach until the day they die! Our village head was Cikgu Joned - though he retired from service like 20 years ago!

You might be a big shot - a CEO of a GLC or a software genius - but people will not address you as Ali GM or Leong CEO! Well, people do address you as YB, but it is as long as you are one!

Teachers - we surely can't leave without them. They are trusted to educate the future leaders of the country. These days  with most family having both parents working, the heavy responsibilities of educating our young ones are (most of the times) solely on the shoulders of these teachers.  Very few are privileged to be home schooled. Which reminds me the blunders Gaby (of Desperate Housewives) had when trying to home schooled her daughter, Juanita. And don't get me started on the Malay genius -  Sufiah Yusuf!

                                        Gaby and her cute daughters

I have had some near misses experience with teachers. Mostly when I was in primary school. Not coming from a middle or upper class family meant that I don't look as polish as I like to be. And there were some teachers who were definitely leaning towards the well to do!

But for most of my growing up years, I've had inspirations from my teachers. I love my English teacher - who was so creative that we actually enjoyed learning. And my favorite is Ms Ng - the one who inspired me to take up Chemistry. Her enthusiasm, swayed me towards the subject. I had no qualms in majoring Chemistry for my degree. 


Teachers - they can surely inspire us in a lot of ways. I had a (harmless) crush on my chemistry lecturer in ITM. He was actually a no-nonsense kind of lecturer - but oh, looked sooo..adorable! After every tests, he would announce the student with the highest mark. So I made it my mission to get the highest mark - every time - just to hear him call my name and collect my paper from him - in front of the class! That's what I call a genius! Ha..ha..ha....

When I was in USM, I had an English lecturer, for some unknown reason taken an interest in me. Before you got any wrong idea, the lecturer is a female. She would ask me to join her for lunch and tell me stories - including of her life. I guess, being a young lecturer (and a new one to boot) - she did not have many friends and decided that I fit the bill - I am so honored!

Teachers - words cannot describe the appreciation that we bestow upon them...I love you all, Cikgu.....