Boycott...

I’ve made a resolution. Anything made or sold by an American company I will not buy them. I’ve seen and heard enough of this Middle East conflict. I feel sad that our brothers and sisters are suffering from this war against the Zionist regime. I just wish that there is more awareness among Muslims in this country especially young Malays who are today always in the news for the wrong reasons… At least for now, do show some respect to what’s happening.

Now every time I want to have fun, I just think about our unfortunate brothers and sisters in Palestine and Lebanon. Our brothers are fighting to their last breath, defending the country and religion. Sadly, at this very moment, there are Muslims in this country drinking liquor to their last drop!!

Childern accounts to 1/3 of all the victims from Israeli's bombing campaign...

We can only offer our prayers to Allah…to give us strength and protection in this war. A war against the Yahudis that will go on until the end of time…

P/S: If any of you fighters out there are reading this blog, the weakest point of the Merkava Main Battle Tank is between the hull and its turret. So aim your rockets or grenades there. But if you see metal chains dangling from the turret, that’s one of their defensive counter measures. So you’ve got to fire two rockets instead. Fire the first rocket to disable the counter measure and the other rocket to put the tank out of commission. However if they are using reactive armory (armor plates with rivets), RPG or shoulder mount rocket fire won’t do any good. The only option is to ‘derail’ the tracks. Stick a bomb on it and that should ‘split’ the tracks. But this means you’ve got to get personally close to the tank though!

Into The Blue...

For the first time (and maybe for the last), myself, Raidi and Zidani visited the Aquaria KLCC at the KLCC Covention Centre http://www.klaquaria.com/. We went there after we had our usual weekend breakfast at Tesco Damansara Mutiara. So with our stomach full of roti canai, we walked from KLCC/Suria parking space to the Convention Centre amid tight security due to the on-going ASEAN Ministerial Meeting.

The 90 metre underwater tunnel...

Aquaria KLCC is the first commercial public aquarium in KL. The display setup were off world class standards. This is not surprising though because the aquarium was developed and owned by a joint venture company between Malaysia and New Zealand investors. Now that explains the high entrance fee to this place. I had to pay RM72 and thank God that I’m a Malaysian citizen because if I’m not, I would have to pay more. Raidi and Zidani had a great time and we went through the 90 metre underwater walkaway a couple of times. We paid so much and I told Raidi that he could even crawl, roll over or do a summersault in there except jumping into the pool...hehehe..

Raidi : Abah!! Ikan JAWS!! Ikan Jaws... Abah : It's a shark Raidi...Not Jaws...and they primarily feed on marine mammals

I can’t really blame the company for charging the visitors this much. To them this is business and return on investment is important. I wish that the Government could do more in this respect. The current administration is advocating on human capital and other related human development like early childhood education and stuff like that. Well, I strongly feel that this sort of exhibition could play a major role in educating the young or even the adults. I remember that I spent nearly 3 hours at the Petronas Science Centre and I did absorb a lot of knowledge. It’s not about the exhibition content alone. It’s also about teaching the children that we should always respect and recognize science and technology. If we want to implement change for the nation, the best way is to educate the young generation. So we've got to show to our children that we put great interest in the development and usage of science and technology. The better the facilities provided, the higher the level of respect that we are giving towards this subject matter. It simply reflects our attitude. Although Raidi and Zidani are still small to appreciate all this, but it is our role as parents to create the awareness and plant the seeds of interest on the subject.

Jalan - jalan cari ikan...

Aquaria KLCC proves that we still depend heavily on the corporate sector to bring us world class educative exhibitions. Sadly, today you can’t compare Aquaria KLCC 'showmanship' with the National Science Centre in Bukit Kiara! For God’s sake, it is The National Science Centre. Show more respect laa… Why send a Malaysian into space when the content on display at the NSC is hardly updated? Just look at our National Zoo!! It’s so sad!! And put on the ghost and ghouls exhibition??…Ohh yess, surely that could prepare our kids for the future…. Bachookkk..mari Bacchookk..maariiiii…

I'm A Streamyx Subscriber...

Last night, I didn’t get to play badminton…so sad. I had to stay back in the office installing softwares on the server for the current project that I’m involved with. I left the office around 11pm and drove straight to Jalan 222 food court and have the usual Tueday night supper ala buffet and chit chatting session… This time, Izzat joined us for his first badminton session with the geng. So now, we have more people playing badminton and more importantly, have more people sponsoring our supper, hehehe. I went back home with my stomach bloating with milo ice kauw kauw kauw. Thank you Dil for sponsoring. Orang politik..kena la murah hati! Semoga panjang umur dan murah rezeki!

My workstation at home....

By the way, it is now 1.42 am. But how come??? No…I’m not in the office….No..I’m not in a cyber café.. No..I’m not using my IPAQ…I’m at home!!! Yes!!! My Streamyx connection is finally working! I came back home, took my shower, and wanted to trouble shoot the problem again. But suddenly, after switching on the PC, I get the connection straight away! Thank you to Ikmal, Dr.M and Ibdil for helping me with the trouble shooting. Now I can update my blog more often!

A Childhood Fantasy Came True….

Remember this movie Alien? I would like to refer to the second movie, where a space colony of humans in some distance planet was attacked by these super cool creature and their bodies used as hosts for their ‘change’ process? In that movie, Ripley (played by Sigourney Weaver), the sole survivor from the 1st Alien movie along with a platoon of colonial space marines was sent to this planet to rescue the colonist. One part that I like most about that movie is the sequence when the marines had to descent from the space frigate "Sulaco" using a drop ship which also carries the APC (Armoured Personnel Carrier) in her loading bay. This was also the ship used by Bishop the android when he remotely controlled and piloted the ship to fly them back to the Sulaco. I’ve built the APC using a hobby kit just before I left for Scotland and it is one piece that I truly admire. However, I’ve never came across with the scale model of the Drop Ship anywhere.

Drop Ship from the movie Alien - Side View...

So today, as I was window shopping In One Utama, I stopped by this Hobby Shop that specializes in selling toys. Mind you, they don’t trade ordinary toys. They are collectibles and their value can appreciate with time. I saw this very-very cool light sabers made from quality metal casts with highly realistic sound affects. They limit the production and it is retailed at 500 bucks. Or anyone interested to buy a 800 buck Hans Solo’s Millenium Falcon scale model?

Best Gile!!!

I’ve made an investment today..hehehehe.. I bought this diecast 1/72 Aoshima high quality detailed scale model of the Drop Ship featured in the movie Alien 2. How much did it cost me? All I can say that it’s worth every penny. I love how they managed to accurately detailed the scale model to precision. To a hobbyist, it’s easy to appreciate this sort of thing. If you’re not, you might think that I’m crazy.

I felt that I’ve rekindled with my childhood dream. I can tell you that the feeling is priceless. And today, Raidi and Zidani got to see how their father became a kid again. It must be weird and shocking for you boys seeing me playing with this toy. Raidi can finally confirm that he’s not the only kid in the house who can make sound effects and have great imagination. Ayu kept on asking how much did I paid for it. I know you wouldn’t understand this, so I better keep it to myself ..hehehehe. Now I’m looking for the APC that can actually fit into the Drop Ship’s cargo ramp. The shop owner told me that it’s going to be difficult to look for it. But I told him that I’ll start with e-bay!..hehehe.

Drop Ship - Frontal View...

Drop Ship APC Ramp...Got to buy the APC!!!

It’s good that IKEA is having a sale though. I better get a proper displaying cabinet or shelves because I’m pretty sure that I’ll be adding to my collection soon. Well, who say’s childhood dreams cannot come true. Never thought it could be an asset and who knows one day I can even make big profit from it!

Cokelat...

I got this e-mail from Ikmal asking me when I'm going to publish the review on the best chocolate drink or dessert in KL. It's been going on for awhile now, I've been 'hunting' high and low and the search is still going on..finding the ultimate chocolaty experience in KL. So Mal, my review is still in the drafting stage..I know you're a chocolate lover too and I guess your sudden increase in cravings perhaps, had something to do with your impending wedding day?? hehehehe...

Ikmal's e-mail content:

"So Mafiz, when are you publishing your blog/ review on chocolate banana smoothies in KL?

I was just having a most delightful conversation with a lady colleague of mine yesterday, on chocolate brownies, chocolate mudpies and everything chocolaty.

My vote for best choc brownie is
1) CPK, KLCC
2) Hard Rock Cafe brownie

Hot chocolate:
1) Chocz, KLCC
2) San Francisco Coffee

Chocolate Mocha/ Ice blended:
1) Extreme Mocha, San Francisco Coffee (they use Ben & Jerry's icecream)
2) Starbucks Mocha Java Frapuccino (or something like that, it's a new drink)

Choc Cake

1) Choc Chip Banana cake at Starbucks. It's really good.

Choc Mudpie
1) Nando's (it's a new item, apparently it's really good)
2) TGIF

Do you have any other chocolaty tips to share with me?"

Heheheh...right now...chocolaty tips won't do you any good Ikmal....marriage tips?? I've got many!!

Speech Therapy....

This morning I went to the Damansara Specialist Hospital for Zidani’s first speech therapy session. At 4 years old, he hasn’t been able to speak properly. It must be really frustrating for Zidani and I can see that he’s been trying hard to communicate with people around him. At times, due to his inability to speak properly, he can really test my patience sometimes especially when he’s having his usual tantrums. I find it very difficult trying to understand what he really wants.

I know that Zidani is very ‘talkative’ like his brother Raidi, and I feel sad whenever I see Zidani just look, listen and tries to communicate with his brother. Raidi is surprisingly understanding of his brother’s condition and he smiles back to his brother every time he hears Zidani calling out his name.

Hi!..My name is Zidani Ridzwan

Today was Zidani’s first assessment and the speech therapist told me that he needs to attend a lot of therapy. However, at the same time, she stressed that we have to allocate time for him and conduct the ‘therapy’ ourselves. It’s not limited to speech therapy but for his motoring skills as well. So she wrote down some exercises / activities that we could conduct at home:

1. Playing with cars
   Push around the car and make noises which I think you all know how good I am at making sound effects…heheehe
   Set out instructions like “give me car”, “give me bus..”
2. Blowing activities
   Blowing bubbles, candles, tissue / coloured paper
3. Copying funny faces / sounds – do it in front of the mirror
   I’ll teach him how to make monkey faces..heheheheh
4. Turn taking games
   - Ball rolling
   - Ball kicking
   - Zidani takes turn with brother to build lego tower
5. Functions of object with teddy bears..(I think I’ll substitute this with one of Raidi’s robots)
   Teach him how to use toot brush, towel, cup, spoon, comb
6. Sing songs with actions
   Point to body parts – head, shoulders, knees & toes (I better find a karaoke CD for this)

We have to do this everyday, routinely and will be meeting up with the therapist again in 2 weeks time. The session is quite expensive. Like today, for less than an hour session, I had to pay RM250. So if the session is 4 times a month, that’s a lot of money for me to fork out. This is another personal and family reason why I had to quit TM and look for another job. The cost of living is increasing at a very fast rate and with the household income that we made; it was already quite hard to cope with the living expenses, what else to send Zidani for his one to one therapy sessions. So I guess changing job (with salary increments of course) is the fastest way to cope with the rising inflation.

The love of my life......

To my son Zidani, Abah will always put my energy and attention to you. Abah will try hard and anything to make sure that you will live a beautiful life. I don’t care if I don’t get to live a fancy life to reward myself because as along as you need it, I’ll sacrifice what I have for your development. I’m not really worried about you Raidi. You have your mother’s brain genetic make up. Adik has a slight problem with his development and we just pray that he’ll catch up soon. Still, both of you are my only investment and as for the return, I hope I will get it when I see both of you living successfully.

Thank God It's Tuesday....

Every Tuesday night, me and the kamcheng geng will convene at the Dewan PIBG SK Sri Petaling in SS14 to play badminton. Last night was no different. Myself, Dr Mafeitz, Azad and Roslan played our hearts out and most of our badminton shots rasanya la macam world class plaks…hehehehe (angan- angan kena tinggi).

Just after the game..Azad, Roslan and Dr Mafeitz...penat dan lapar!

After the game, the geng will compensate the kilos ‘lost’ from the game with free flowing food, beverages and laughter at the mamak stall in Jalan 222. The food there is fantastic and it’s cheap. Here we do a lot of catching up and have discussions about almost anything, from Toyol to Bunian, Politics to Economics etc etc etc. Old habits die hard huh? When we were kids (aged 13 i guess), we used to play badminton together in the morning at the Jalan Burhanuddin Helmi’s badminton court. Right after the game, it’s either we belasah the roti canai at Warong Selera or go to Azad’s house, cook and eat Maggi or eat Cendol at the Mamak.. Damn it!…even now we still have Maggi on Tuesdays after the game! I hope we can continue doing this, as long as we can take the drop shots. Who knows, maybe one day our kids will continue this Kamcheng tradition!

Dr M and myself at Pak Akob's stall..waiting to be served..hahah..all the hantu belakang tuh!

A New Beginning...

On the 26th of June 2006, I started working with Telsoft Pty Ltd. It’s a company based in Australia and most of the customers are in the Asia Pacific region. Currently, the company is providing consultancy work for TM in pricing and costing of telecommunication services. It’s not something that I’ve never done before in TM, so it’s not a hard transition for me. Besides, I’m dealing with the same people that I’ve been working with for the past 8 years. I know their business requirements, systems, processes and almost everything. So I guess it’s a win-win situation for my ex-employer, Telsoft and of course to my self.

Me and Dr Jude De Silva, Director of Telsoft...having tea with his family at KLCC

I have signed a two years contract with this company and I hope I will learn and build my experience in the Consultancy business. I would want to specialize in pricing and costing in the telecommunication industry. It’s an industry that is fast evolving and it has a direct impact in our day to day lives. So if you’re not satisfied with TM’s service pricing, you can tell me la… maybe I can do something about it..hehehe…

Hujung Minggu...

This is how I spend my time during most weekends:

8.30 am
Send Mama to the office in KL. Drive back to Kayu Nasi Kandar at Tesco Mutiara Damansara and have breakfast with the kids. Usually we will order 4 roti canai and 2 Milo ice kauw kauw kauw. Sometimes, I get to meet Megat Harris and his wife.

10.00 am
Go back home with pile of newspapers for the father to ‘digest’. Usually it would take me around 2 hours to finish reading the papers. However when Zidani is in the mood, he would ask me to sing Mawi’s and Anuar Zain’s song. So I would karaoke in the afternoon with the kids at home.

Zidani loves to play with the foot massager...
12.00pm…Sleeping time…zzzzzzz

1.30pm
Wake up and drive to One Utama with Raidi. Raidi is now attending computer lessons at Computertots. It’s a one hour class per week and he gets to be exposed to computer softwares and hardwares. Raidi loves robotics very much and he has been collecting all sorts of robots at home. I told him that they are merely hardwares and the robots needs instruction for them to follow. Instructions are build and executed via computers. So we enrolled him to this Computertots and the syllabus includes robotic programming. I foresee that in his generation, artificial intelligence would play a major and significant role in the world so we are preparing and exposing Raidi with the right knowledge. Even if he decides not to go into this field, computer knowledge is still a necessity for him (nanti nak main networking dengan Abah lawan command & conquer senang sikit).

Quality time with Raidi at Coffee Bean..hehe

Raidi in the computer lab...can't wait to start his robotic syllabus

4.15pm
Raidi finishes his computer class. So we will lepak at One Utama for another hour…father will usually do some shopping…sometimes Mama will drop by and meet us up (this usually happens when she needs a new handbag or make up or etc).

5.00pm
Raidi starts his art lesson at the Art Attack outlet next to U Parkson. Here Raidi gets to be creative and tries to develop his artistic skills. Every week, he could choose any thing to build using old newspapers and boxes and he'll get his hands dirty with the paint work. Btw, at home Raidi has a project going on. He’s constructing a life size robot using papers and old boxes. He would usually ask the maid to help him mash, cut and glue the materials together while his brother Zidani will help whenever he can. So his room is full of paper cutting and boxes. Right now, I intend to enroll him in martial arts or football clinics to develop his disciplinary side, teamwork values and mental strengths.

Raidi's Robot Collection....

Raidi having fun at the Art Attack centre...

6.00pm
We would leave One Utama and go back for awhile, rest and drive out again to have dinner. After dinner, I will send the family back home and depending on the English Premier League live matches, I will meet up with the ‘Geng’ to watch EPL matches at the Mamak’s place usually in Kelana Jaya (mana lagi nak tengok kan)…

12.00am

I should be back by midnight. But, kalau ada live matches lagi, I will stay up and watch or listen to them. If I’m not lazy, I would update the blog…