Mazda 6 2nd Generation...

Wow! I'm speechless! Don't know when this car is going to be available in Malaysia, but I better start saving money for the downpayment. The current 6 is already an absolute beuty on the road. The ride and handling is one of the best that I've experience so far and I'm pretty sure I will accumulate high mileage with the car. The higher the mileage, the lower the ownership cost per kilometre. And that applies to any vehicle.

See more pictures here http://paultan.org/archives/2007/09/07/2008-mazda-6-2nd-generation-zoom-zoom/#more-5093

Telecoms Cost Modelling & Accounting Conference in Hong Kong

I attended a conference in Hong Kong last month. We learned plenty of things from this seminar and it is something that you can’t find in any university textbooks. These sorts of literatures are usually in short supply as it is a highly specialized subject. I can say that those who gain the knowledge can consider themselves as a unique ‘community’. Telecoms cost accountant don’t usually belong to the mainstream accounting profession. The knowledge is not something that you can’t grasp in a short period and it requires a lot of industrial experience to be considered as an expert.

We had participants from all the continents and we shared issues from regulation to commercial practices. The main subject that we discussed was about building cost modeling capabilities for the Next Generation Network. By the end of the seminar, there were still arguments about what is the right approach in building the models. This is crucial as the models are usually used by the operators and the regulators either for service or product pricing. We argued about the right methodology and principles that should be applied when developing such model. Failing to adopt the right approach, the value that the industry should create cannot be achieved. We in Telsoft have our own methodology and one of the main reasons I went to this seminar is to see how the others are approaching this subject. Just to gauge how far the others are behind us! Hehehehe

Thank you Dr Jude for allowing us to attend this seminar. Pn Hairiah and Azhar from TM were there too and we made many new friends as well. I have a feeling that the next seminar will at least be attended by the same participants. Everyone is eager to learn from each other and many felt that the Telco industry in Malaysia is considered as advance. Competition is alive, technology proliferation is happening and Telco’s are announcing big profits on a quarterly basis. Many feel that this is healthy for the country. The question is, is it sustainable? If this is healthy, why then after more than 10 years of market liberalization, we are still stuck with the basic service of voice and sms’s? By this time, voice and sms should already be a complimentary revenue streams for Telcos and Data services should be Telco’s bread and butter. Hhmm….just hope things will change for the better.

This is what happens when you leave Mafiz 7 days in Hk!..hehehe

We had a great time in HK as HK was on sale last month. I’ve never had this shopping experience before. We didn’t get to see much of the tourist sites as we were very busy ‘touring’ the malls. HK is a very vibrant city. Everything moves fast including the escalators! Transportation in HK is very efficient and they serve different segment of the commuters. I thought the MRT in Singapore carries long carriages of passengers, but the one in HK by far, the longest I’ve seen so far. Prices of goods are expensive but their citizens can afford them as their GDP per capita is 3 to 4 times higher than Malaysia. HK is known to have the highest concentration of Rolls Royce car owners in the world. On the road, Merc and BMW brands are considered as their staple choice. Pastu keta dia semua berkilat saje! I saw many Mazda6 too! hehehe

ONE DAY TOURNAMENT

The next day after my picnic trip with Talisman, we took Raidi to the Alice Smith International School in Serdang for his one day football tournament. This is the football league that Raidi had been attending since January. That day, Raidi and his team Rangers had to endure 5 grueling football matches played under the hot sun.

Kids in action...

I have to say I was really impressed with the school's facilities. They even have a lightning warning system installed (something that should be mandatory in all public school in Malaysia). The alarm was triggered in the afternoon and we were told to vacate the field immediately and because of this, we had to stay indoors at the school's sports hall. Wow!! The sports hall is fantastic! It reminded me of my pre-school hall in Cranfield, Portsmouth. Different class and standards if you want to compare with our local school halls. I guess that's why parents are paying big bucks to send their children to private schools. They provide top notch facilities.

In between games, the boys played some games with each other...

Ok back to the football. That day I saw glimpes of Raidi's potential. This is the first time when Raidi did concentrated on the game instead of playing with the sand, picking and throwing stones on the field and loughing at his friends when the game is still on. The condition of the football field are miles better than what we've been playing on for the past of couple of months. The kids played really well that day. I'm sure the pitch had something to do with their improved performances. No sand or stone for Raidi to play with. His mind was at least in the game and not somewhere else. At times he managed to make some twist and turns with the ball. No one was injured that day and that is something new. So it must be the padang... seriously.. it looked and felt really good!

His team did not make it to the final. But it was close. Due to the goal difference, Rangers took the 3rd place in the Junior League. Whatever it is, Abah and Mama had a great time watching you play football. When I asked you whether you still want to play next year, you told me that you wanted to play next week. I never thought that you would say that. Unfortunately, the league will start again next year. So we have ample time to prepare you for next season. We will go to the padang and practise.

ZOOOMMMM - ZOOOOMMMMM

Hehehe...manyak lawa la ini kereta!! Manyak sukeeeeee woooooo

PICNIC AT SG CHILLING WATERFALL..

Couple of weeks ago, myself and DrM joined Azad along with his colleagues from Talisman Energy for a picnic at Sg Chilling. It took us about one and a half hour of jungle tracking before reaching this beutiful waterfall picnic spot. I had a great time getting in touch with mother nature and I was also amazed by the clenliness of the river and waterfalls. We had to cross the same river four times at least and the view was breahtaking. It reminded me alot of Taman Negara Pahang.

Mafeitz was a bit unfortunate as he had a bit of a plunged during one of the river crossing and got his handphone submerged under water. I thought he wanted to check how strong the cellphone signal is underwater..hehehehe.. His camera was ok though. Dr.M and myself assisted Azad that day as sweepers. Azad even brought a pair of walkie talkie and we really had fun communicating. Nampak macam bagus.. hahaha

It was a good outing and I hope to come back here one day with the kids. I bet you boys are going to love the freezing and pristine water while Mama goes shopping elsewhere..hehehe

River crossing number berapa tah...

At the waterfall... to my right you can see Dr M (in yellow) in the water doing apa tah..hahaha

Fuyooooohhh..sejuuukkkk!!!

Nak balik daaaahh...

WAAAHH..SUDAH LAMA LAAA...

Let me see, it's been 2 months since I last posted an entry. I think the car jacked incident really affected me. It shows how busy I was replacing all that was stolen and following up with my car theft insurance claim. I'm also busy with work and especially with the kids during the weekends.

This is just a warm-up entry after the 2 months break from blogging. Maybe tonight at home, I will put up an entry or two. For now, I want to continue reading this interesting book and keep my self occupied before I go and play badminton with my TM's friend.

ROBBED & CAR JACKED AT KNIFE POINT

I was robbed last night. After I reached my house in TTDI around 9.30pm, as I was about to enter my house, out of nowhere, two robbers ran straight towards me. One of them pointed a knife towards me while the other guy took away my wallet, my PDA phone, my wrist watch and my car keys. I didn’t retaliate as I told them to take whatever they want. At that time I saw Raidi coming out to the porch and I prayed hard for him to go back inside which he did.

Yes…yesterday my 3 months old Civic was carjacked right under my nose at knife point. Don’t really know how to express my feelings now.

After they sped away with the car, I quickly went inside the house and told Ayu to call the police and I gave my car details to them. About 7-8 minutes after that, a patrol car arrived and I followed them to the police station to make a report. The officer in-charge told me to go to Brickfields to do the complete report with the Investigating Officer. I drove back home at 2am after I’ve made my statement. Thank you Dr Jude for accompanying me at Brickfields police station. He took a Taxi from the Hotel and he waited for me till 2am despite knowing that we have a workshop to conduct today in TM.

If anyone of you see my car anywhere, please call me or my wife. For now, you won’t be able to reach me on my mobile. So try to call Ayu or my house phone or Insp. Suhaimi at 016-22248011.

Please be careful even if you are at the front of your house. Better still, install an automatic gate so that you don’t have to go out of the car to open the gate. Be vigilant. It could have been worst for me or even for my family. Thank God Raidi was not with me. He got home 10 minutes earlier with Ayu who was driving the Inspire. Thank God it didn’t happen to them. So Ayu, there’s a hikmah why I didn’t let you drive my new Civic. I cant’ imagine if this happens to you.

I don’t know whether I will get to see my Civic again. If I do get to see it, it will never be the same as the one I originally bought. They’ll strip the car and sell the parts. Or maybe they’ll try to sell it in Motortrader. Hhhhmm. If they find the car, I would be lucky if it’s still in its original condition. If not, might as well don’t find it and let the insurance company pay for my car loan. Still, due to the red tape and all, for the next 2-3 months, I will still have to continue paying my car installment.

I’ve got plenty of things to do after this. Car insurance claims, Driving License, ATM card, Credit Cards, Identity card, Mobile Phone..the whole mumbo jumbo…I got to replace all of them. I’m glad that nobody was hurt during this incident. I hope the people who did this can be caught and brought to justice. Lepas tu, I hope they will rot in hell….

Civic ku Dah Pakai Bodykit...

Hehehe…I just had to do it. My Civic is now aerodynamically enhanced by the Mugen style bodykit. The car looks a bit bigger and more stylish. That’s not the only modification that I made though, I’ve changed the numbering plate as well. The older plate looked flat, dull and common. So to stand out from the ‘crowd’, I opted for the Singaporean style template. It gives a stronger visual impact to the car’s dramatic frontal profile.

I’m still thinking about putting on a rear spoiler. I have to choose between the menacing Mugen style spoiler and the more subtle Modulo design. But looking at the car today, I think the car looks just fine to me. My next project is to change the car’s wheels to a bigger and sportier setup. Currently the car is fitted with the 16” Honda 5 spoke alloy wheels. I’ve been browsing the net for the best and affordable set of wheels. But I think I will wait until the tires are worn out before I change to a new set.

I don’t know why but I’m now into car mods. Not so much for performance, but I just want the car to look better. Radzlan just bought a new 2.0 liter Ford Focus and I hope he will join me and start to ‘bikin’ his new baby. Despite being a patience and courteous driver like me, I know deep inside him, this boy racer can’t wait to go out and modify his car for a more stylish and spirited drive. So Lan?? Bila kita nak race?? 2 Fast 2 Furious – Athinahapan Drift…hahaha

My Confession...

I’ve been tagged by Ibdil. Ok, do I really need to do this? I thought you’ve known me well enough? Ok lah…for blogging sake. Here you are, six weird things you might not or already know about me:

1. I’m a rule abiding driver. I don’t make illegal u-turns, I don’t park my car indiscriminately, I don’t jump the queue, I don't mind driving in circles to find the perfect parking space…As a Malaysian driver, I think this is weird....
2. I love making sound effects…especially when I play with my toys..(not adult toys ok??)..I think my kids are lucky…
3. I like to do house chores very much…I think this is weird and my wife is lucky.
4. I sometimes talk to myself… there were instances when Raidi asked me “Abah cakap apa tadi bah?” hahahaha
5. I buy perfumes but I never wear them.
6. I like to complicate things and I don’t like to give simple answers. To me, life should not be simple…it should be errmmm..weird??..hahaha

There you go..actually I have more, but 6 is enough la. Hmm…maybe we can start writing about someone else instead. Yang pelik dah jelik about Ibdillilah for example…that would be fun! Hehehe. To be honest, if I have the time, I would love to write about other people in my blog. While we still have the time and the place to do this, before it is too late, I think we should somehow let the other person know what we think about them. Hmm…good idea Mafiz, now whom should I write about first…

My Sister Is Engaged…

Last Sunday my sister Natasha got engaged. Her future husband’s name is Iyadzlee and his family lives in Bangi. If everything goes as planned, the wedding is set in August this year. Most of our closed relatives were present to witness this engagement ceremony. Congratulation to Natasha and her fiancé on their engagement. Now everybody can’t wait for the big day to come in August. Come to think of it, it’s like 6 months to go and I think preparations should be done from now. Tasha is my only sister so it would be the first and the last time for us to welcome and witness the entourage from the groom side. So I hope everything will go well. I didn’t get to take many pictures though as I was busy taking care of Zidani. Besides, we depended on Tasha’s fiancé to take all the pictures. He’s a part time wedding photographer!

Officially engaged.....btw, the photographer on the right is Tasha's fiance

The only way to witness your own engagement ceremony, is to become a photographer! haha

Ayu can't wait for the wedding day...can't wait to 'tempah' her new baju...

Barang-barang hantaran.....tak tahan tengok strawberry tu!!

Let's Talk.....

If you have seen this Let’s Talk advertisement from TM for the past weeks, you should consider subscribing to it. I signed up yesterday during the launching ceremony at Bangsar TMPoint. This is the call plan that we have been working on for the past couple of months. To me it is not that I’m obligated to subscribe to it, but if I’m a ‘normal’ customer, I would surely take it. If you have not seen this call plan, you can visit http://www.lets-talk.com.my/package.html for details.

I signed up the Let’s Talk 108 package. With this plan, I get unlimited local calls. In other words, I can call another fixed line number within the local call boundary and talk non-stop. Apart from that, I can make unlimited calls to other part of the country during the weekends and they charge lower call rates to mobile numbers. All this at a fix monthly cost of RM108 inclusive of rental. Depending on your monthly bill pattern, you can choose the right package that suits your requirement. This plan provides some level of certainty to my monthly phone expenses. On average, I’ve been spending about RM100 on the house phone bill but with this package, I get more value! I’m will still pay the same amount money like before but this plan actually gives me more calling capacities! Perhaps more than twice the talking time. The good thing is, I get to upgrade my Streamyx bandwith to 1Mb as well, just by signing up to this package!

Now whenever we’re at home, we will use the fixed line. I’ve already paid for it so we should use this. It’s cheaper than mobile phone rates and we can save on our mobile phone charges. You see, mobile phone should be use when you’re in ‘mobile’ mode. But when you’re in a fixed location, especially at home, just pick up the fixed line and talk for hours at a fixed cost.

This new pricing scheme is a glimpse of what the future of telecommunication service pricing will be. They are preparing the customers towards the Next Generation Network (NGN) environment. In the future, communication charges are going to be set on session basis, no longer the usage minutes. This call plan is just the beginning from TM to encourage their customers to use the fixed line. Later, product bundling i.e packaging Fixed Line, Broadband and Mobile services at a fixed monthly costs could be TM’s next strategy of pricing. I hope they can consolidate our bills as well. All our communication and multimedia needs charged in a single bill at a fixed monthly rate with unlimited call time. That would be fantastic wouldn’t it?

Hmmmm…this sort of thing is long overdue in this country. The industry is just so saturated with minutes based charging. I’m glad that TM is spearheading this flat based call plan charges. Now I just hope that it can be accepted by the consumers. Our next task is to monitor the take up of this offering on a daily basis. Feel free to comment and provide your views on this latest offer from TM.

Goooooaaaallllll!!!!!

I’ve registered Raidi to the Subang Jaya Community Youth Football League (SJCYFL). So last Sunday, I took Raidi to Subang Jaya and he played his first ever league game! Hahaha….imagine this, when we first arrived, Raidi has zero knowledge about the football game. All this while he only knows how to kick a ball. So the first rule that I thought him that Sunday was you should not handle the ball. Goosshhhh…

With no knowledge of football, it was like throwing him into the rough sea and just let him learned to swim by himself! He didn’t know who his team mate was or which one is his opponent. At first I wanted to expose and slowly introduce him to the game. But the opposite happened. The coach decided to bring him on and I saw Raidi running up and down the field trying to kick the ball in what ever direction. And when he didn’t get the ball, he just grabbed the player’s shirt in anger. A couple of times Raidi just shouted at me that he didn’t understand the game at all. I understand Raidi’s feeling and I felt sorry for him. It was obvious that he didn’t enjoy the game. He was completely confused by everything and it was a tough introduction for him. His team didn’t win the game but it was not about winning or loosing. I just wanted him to enjoy the game.

After our first league game, I know what to expect already. Raidi must first know the rules of the game. I was surprised to see the level of understanding from other kids about the game. Raidi was in the 7-8 years old league. They not only play within the stipulated rules, but they play with passion! And not to mentioned the parents! Everybody was screaming from the top of their lungs, cheering away and giving out instructions to the kids! It was fun for everybody! Not to worry Raidi, I will help you play football and we’ll start from the drawing board.

Raidi is part of the Ranger’s team. So the Ranger’s lost their first game against the Hobbit’s. But we will meet them again in the return leg. The league will run until May. I hope by then, Raidi will develop some basic football skills. More importantly, I want to instill positive values from all this. The Youth League has its own broad objectives. But my objective is simple, to fill up our weekends with valuable quality time. But who knows, maybe this could lead to something else. Please visit http://www.sjcyfl.com/ to know more about this community league.

Malaysia Boleh!

The stadium was packed to the brim..

Syabas to the Malaysian pair who just won the men’s double Malaysian Open Title. It was amazing to see how this pair, ranked 119th in the world going against all odds to emerge as champions. Let’s just hope that they could win more titles for Malaysia in the future. This year, it was my first time ever watching the tournament at the stadium. I and Zaini joined thousands of other fellow Malaysian’s cheering the players at the Cheras Badminton Stadium and I must say, it was quite an experience. We just saw the quarter finals when Wong Choon Han lost to Boon Lai from China. It was a lethargic display from the world no. 2. Disappointment for many fans that came to watch him play. Nevertheless, we did saw and ‘learned’ a lot of trick shots and both of us can’t wait to try it this coming Tuesday! Hehehe. I’m definitely going again next year. It would be fun to have many other badminton friends joining us. Besides we want others to develop their game as well. Bukan apa, takut nanti aku dengan Zaini je makin terror! For full report refer to http://www.thestar.com.my/sports/story.asp?file=/2007/1/22/sports/16642256&sec=sports

The calm before the storm... nasib tak bawak raket.. kalau tak dah masuk court dah,..

I’m 31….He’s 5…

One for him and one for me...

Zidani’s birthday is on the 10th and mine is 13th. So I guess every year we would have this combo birthday celebration. This year was no different. Bought some lovely cakes from Secret Recipe, light up the candles and let the kids do the rest. We finished the cakes in minutes. Oh yes, they bought me a present. Raidi personally choose the present and needless to say, it has to be some Star Wars toys. Thank you all for the birthday wishes. I hope there will be many-many more cakes for me and Zidani to belasah in the future!

Raidi’s 1st Day At School…

On the 3rd of January, Raidi started to go to school. He is now in standard one. On that day, he woke up really early and prepared himself. I myself was very excited. It was a jittery moment that I had been waiting for a long time. This is the year where all the Y2K babies start their first year of formal schooling.

Many parents were there to accompany their kids. All primary 1 students had to sit at the hall as the teacher’s briefed the kids about school rules and procedures. Raidi had to take this little test to determine which class he is supposed to be in. Parents were not supposed to be with the kids during this test. But heck…parents don’t care do they? Especially Kiasu parents. Everyone was standing outside of the class and tried o guide their kids to do this test. Ayu couldn’t take the pressure so she stood far away from the class where Raidi is sitting in.

Raidi in School Uniform....

When the teacher handed the test paper to Raidi I saw him just starring away. Obviously he didn’t’ know what to do with it! It was a half and hour’s test and Raidi did nothing for 10 minutes! It was funny looking at other parents trying to coach their kids and I didn’t know who was more pressured, the kids or their parents. I told Raidi to read the instructions which he did and suddenly he turned to ‘auto pilot’ mode. He finished the test himself in less than 10 minutes. Raidi, in that class you were in, you were the first kid to hand over the test paper to your teacher. I asked you to triple check your answer but you had the nerve to tell me that the test was too easy.

Today Raidi is in 1 Berlian. I told Raidi that I was in 6 Berlian before I left this primary school. Raidi didn’t know what Berlian means so he pronounced it as 1 Brilliant. Hahahahaha. What ever la Raidi, 1 Brilliant is also good. But at first he wanted to be in 1 Jed. Not because he has friends in that class, but it’s because it is close to 1 JEDI..hahahaha. You’re just full of it boy!

For the next 6 years, Raidi will be schooling in SKTTDI. I hope he will have great experiences here, greater than what I’ve experienced before. I will do my best to assist and guide him in what ever way that I can. I can help you to memorise the school song Raidi because I still know how to sing them! Raidi might have good friends at school, but I hope I will be his best friend through out his schooling days. I personally think that this is an effective way of parenting considering all the challenges that the society faces today. Stay close enough to the kids like a friend and at the same time make them respect you as parents. Good what...we can share hobbies and toys too!!

Ok Raidi, Happy Schooling!

Goodbye 2006...Welcome 2007

Happy new year everyone! I hope everybody had a wonderful and a safe new year’s celebration. Me together with rest of my family celebrated our combo new year’s and Hari Raya in Kluang, Johor. Guess how we ushered in the new year? No fireworks, or concerts or karaoke. Instead we played badminton in Kluang Johor. We booked two badminton courts for 3 hours and played until the year 2007! We even had our own mini countdown to the new year! Hahaha… I had my badminton racquet in the car but didn’t bring proper attire with me. So I had to play with my Docker’s pants on and I took Docker’s durability to the next level..hehehe. Uncle Hamid and Uncle Taufik beat me in the double’s game when I partnered my cousin Haziq who was in jeans! In addition, I was bare footed! Melecet kaki aku! We’ll play again next year!

Tthe kids really love the Eco Park and they had a splashing time at the swimming pool. Sejuk gila air dia because they source the water from the mountain. The park is actually at the foot of a mountain. We usually stay at this Eco Park whenever we visit Atuk in Kluang.

I expect many things to happen this year. My main target would be Zidani’s development, Raidi is going to start schooling, Tuesday’s night badminton game is going to get more interesting and intense, another Manchester’s United treble?, more work to be done with Telsoft, enroll in a post graduate course, invest in properties…just to note down some of the expectations. I hope it will be a prosperous year for everyone. Looking at how time flies, we just have to double our effort to meet these targets. But when there’s opportunity, just lay back and have a good cup of tea and enjoy the little moments in your life. It’s sometimes more satisfying to be ‘distracted’ with these little thing in life. It could put your thoughts into good perspectives. One thing is for sure…I’m getting older! And the signs of ageing are more profound!