Traffic Nightmare in Klang

This is the traffic condition on my way to work in the morning.

This is the traffic condition I face when I come home. Notice that when I reached Klang it is still bright (1st photo). By the end of 5km journey, the sky has turned dark (2nd photo).

I was about to blog my dissatisfaction on this topic but I found there are entries in several blogs on the traffic in klang.

Malaysiakini highlighted that the activities along the road to Klang worsens the traffic i.e. functions near Klang Hokkien associations and the restaurants nearby and the newly built and office building, Prima Klang Avenue.

These sentiments are echoed by Z.Ibrahim here.

Actually, in my opinion, the main cause of the latest traffic jam is the road construction as highlighted in the Star paper. I pray that by end of next year, as promised, the construction will be completed so we can drive through Klang town in 5 mins instead of the 1/2 hour to 1 hour journey we have to go through now.

As I get stuck in this traffic jam daily, the only entertaining point to note is the fact that I managed to captured a few interesting pictures.

1. Upside-down Klang, bandar Diraja signage on the Lamp Post.
Even though, I know it's way up there, but come on, this is Klang- a royal town. Doesn't an upside-down signage shows disrespect? What would our Sultan think of that?

2. An apology banner on the pedestrian bridge in front of La Salle Klang School
Does it mean just that banner is enough for 2 years of traffic jam? Of higher stress and higher blood pressure from rushing to and back from work? Additional agony from the higher consumption of petrol? Ironically, they also wrote that we should use alternative route. D'oh. Jambatan Kota is THE main exit and entrance to Klang town.
The alternative routes are shown in the Klang website. These so-called routes are equally congested as the main problem is already there. It is a fact that the roads cannot cater for all the cars as the basic household now owns a minimum of 2 cars a home!!

3. An apology notice
I glanced quickly and saw an A4 or A3 sized of printed paper saying "Sorry Honey". Didn't manage to take a picture of that. I wonder if anyone noticed these papers pasted on the lamp posts along Jambatan Kota.

Hmmm.. even though there are these alternatives routes as shown in the Klang Community Space. I, personally know these routes are equally horrendous if there's a terrible congestion or as usual, small accidents. But basically, the problem is, how can you force in a few big marble into a narrow-necked bottle?
In the meantime, I'll be zombified by these journey with an expression like this... HELP! :p

Caveman - the ONE?

Little girls dream of meeting their prince charming or knight in shining armour someday. We, of the female sex, despite attaining independence and freedom, still wish to be with someone who will love and cherish us till death do us part.

In reality, this dream is hard to accomplish. In fact, the process of meeting the ONE is also another story by itself. I never did really wish for the right guy or my prince charming. Being so practical and realistic, I did imagine I will have a boyfriend, get married and settled down someday.

In my mind, I just imagined a blur image of a man. Because of this, I only had one requirement for my other half. I just wanted someone who could communicate well with me. Someone who can understand me and vice versa.

My friend shared with me her version of her prince charming. She told me that her man is like a caveman. She has not met him yet because he is still in the cave. God is still nurturing and letting him mature before they both meet each other... Awwww.. you have such a sweet notion. :)

I believed I have met my caveman who is still in his cave. Ha ha.. I'm going to get into trouble for saying this. In fact, I am his cavewoman too. I still have so much more to learn and be mature about. My spritual walk is that of a toddler. I have so much more I want to learn and know. (An illustration of my interpretation of the caveman evolution to the ONE.. :p)

In fact, thinking through now, it is good that my friend thinks of her one as a caveman. It tells me she is concern of his character more than anything else as the image of a caveman is someone who is unruly and unkempt. On the other hand, the image of Prince Charming would be related to good looks and heroism.


I applaud movies like Shrek and Ever After which break free from the stereotype images of Prince Charming!

If the media could portray a better symbol of the male sex to young girls, perhaps we would not have so many heartbreaks, break-ups, separation and divorces!! Imagine how much tissue paper and tress we would have saved in the process!

Bucket List

I watched this movie, Bucket List, sometime last week. It literally means "Kick-the-bucket" list :a list of things-to-do before you die. The movie shows two men who were told they had half a year to live. A single rich man (Jack Nicholson) and a mechanic with close family (Morgan Freeman) who met at this moment and impact each other lives together.

The Bucket List
1. Witness something truly majestic
2. Help a complete stranger for a common good
3. Laugh till I cry
4. Drive a Shelby mustang
5. Kiss the most beautiful girl in the world
6. Get a tattoo
7. Skydiving
8. See the pyramids
9. Get back in touch with ...(a daughter)
10. ???

I can always remember this ironic saying, "The moment you are born, it is the moment you start dying." True.. so why wait till a doctor tells you that he/she can't help you and you have a few more months to live. Or why wait till, touch wood, a calamity happens and you plead with God for a few more days to live.

I believe we should always live our days to the fullest. Carpe Diem! Even though I still waste my time away, I still write down my resolutions yearly which I follow about 30-40% and carry forward the rest.

I pen down my resolutions based on a few categories which are summarised roughly as follows:
1. Character - Promises to be more patient, wake up early, love my parents more, be more appreciative of the people around me, etc.
2. Physical - Exercise more, eat right.
3. Mental - Keep my brain working by learning a new instrument or language, read books, etc.
4. Experience - To do something I have never done before in my entire life.

Interesting to highlight; I started item number 4 a few years back. Things I considered new to me were like: finally going to Disneyland, took personal studio photograph (wedding pictures should not count as you have to share the limelight with the groom) and going to new places like Cambodia.

Hmmm.. perhaps I should put the bar higher. What new things should I do this year? As I ponder how I should impact the world or wonder what exactly is my purpose in this life, I am reminded of Simon Birch.


Simon Birch is a child afflicted with a dwarfism syndrome. The movie shows Simon's deep-seated belief that God put him here for a purpose, that because of his faith, Simon would cope with his dwarfism and overcome people's blindness. He strongly believed he would become a hero as shown in the following dialogue from the movie.

Simon Birch: Does God have a plan for us?
Rev. Russell: I like to think He does.
Simon Birch: -Me too. I think God made me the way I am for a reason.
Rev. Russell: Well, I'm glad that, um, that your faith, uh, helps you deal with your, um...you know, your, your condition.
Simon Birch: That's not what I mean. I think I'm God's instrument - that He's gonna use me to carry out His plan.

And some funny dialogues...

[This is a scene where Simon being small can't walk/run as fast as a normal kid like Joe.]
Simon Birch: Not so fast. Slow down. I'm a miracle, you know.
Joe Wenteworth: Yeah, yeah.

Rev. Russell: Simon, what do you think you're doing sitting in a corner?
Simon Birch: Thinking about God.
Rev. Russell: In a corner?
Simon Birch: Faith is not in a floor plan.

[Swimming at the quarry.]
Joe Wenteworth: Oh! Oh, man. That's cold.
Simon Birch: It's freezing!
Joe Wenteworth: My balls just turned into prunes.
Simon Birch: My balls just turned into raisins.

I bet you laughed Ms Choo!! :P

Prevention IS better than cure

I learned my lesson well. After few injections of local anesthetic, it still hurts when she pulled it out.

The story? Well, my right pointer finger got an infection and ballooned up. There was inflammation and redness. I didn't really paid much attention to it except occasionally put on some antiseptic lotion. That was either on last Thursday or Friday. On Saturday, I was out the whole day with classes and at night, a wedding to attend.

Finally, Sunday came. I bought some antiseptic cream from the pharmacist and obediently applied 3 times a day as prescribed. By then there was a tinge of greenness near my finger nail and I frantically sms-ed my brother for advice. He adviced I took half MC off the next day to visit the doctor. He said it's most likely paronychia. I didn't take his advice and waited till after work. (Even though he scared me with stories of my finger turning black-gangrene and needing to be amputated. Sounded too "kwaa cheong" to me.)

Monday night, the doctor gave me MC (medical leave) the next day and advised that the doctor the next morning will help me do a small incision to remove the pus. Sounds ok to me.

Tuesday morning, the doctor looked at my finger and told me she had to removed the entire finger nail so the pus can flow out completely. No point cutting the nail half. Might as well pull out the whole nail.

Panicked... but proceeded. It hurt!! I think I sort of panic at the idea of mutilating my little finger nail but it had to be done. Somehow, I felt the anesthetic didn't flow from the base of my finger to the finger tips. So when she pulled out the nail, I was whimpering from pain. Now, I need to go to the clinic daily these few days for dressing.

I sms-ed my colleagues about it- they pitied me. I sms-ed my dad, he replied, "You should have gone to see the doctor earlier." I sms-ed my bf, he called around lunch time and gave me a response equivalent to "serves you right".

It is so true when "If one part suffers, every part suffers with it..."(1 Corinthians 12:26a) Because of this finger, I have to be careful with what I eat. I cannot let it get wet. I cannot really write nicely. Thankfully can still type with the other fingers. I'll be driving to work tomorrow with a finger pointing upwards. Ha!

Therefore, in short, I am guilty of negligence on looking after my finger. I've posted the pictures I took of my inflamed finger (pre-minor surgery) and bandaged finger(post surgery). If I dare later, when the bandages are taken out, I'll post the progression of how my finger nail grows back. :P

p.s. My mum saved the nail for me... err i'm not in the mood to take pictures of that yet... and I was wondering, if my bandaged finger was the middle finger, when I show everyone my finger, does it mean I'm showing them a bad sign? :p

June 9, 2008. This is how my nail looks now. It looks deformed and most likely, I suspect my nail is smaller than its original size now. :(

Japanese Animation

I wasn't really into the anime craz. My younger bro was and is more into it then I am. But there are a selected few which caught my attention.

Sailormoon
In secondary school, Sailormoon was aired. This is the first series that I followed closely till Sailormoon had a child (the pinked haired girl). Can't really recall much of the storyline now. Ohhh, do remember the guy Sailormoon was into to.. Tuxedo Mask. Ha..
Daddy Long Legs
I remember watching My Daddy Long Legs (Watashi No Ashinaga Ojisan). A cute orphaned girl sponsored by a man whom she nicknamed Daddy-Long-Legs. It is based novel on the novel Daddy-Long-Legs written by Jean Webster. I vaguely remember reading the book... or maybe not because I watched this series. More information can be found here.

Studio Gibli animations
Then I graduated to Studio Gibli animations when my bf introduced them to me by lending me his precious collection of the heart-touching Grave of the Fireflies, Laputa, My Neighbour Totoro, Spirited Away, etc. This was went I started hunting for the collection of DVD's. A few years down the road, Disney bought the rights to screen Spirted Away and Studio Gibli boxsets movies could be found everywhere. I'll write an entry especially on these animations the next time. ;)

Law of Ueki
Last year, Law of Ueki was shown in Animax Channel. With the right screening timing, I managed to follow it closely. It was funny how this guy had very environmental-friendly powers. He could change garbage into trees!! The antics of the people around him is equally entertaining.
God? Save the King
Next, I started watching God? Save the King (Kyou Kara Maou!). At first, I was puzzled why on earth the "king"'s fiancée was a man then I found out he got slapped on the left cheek which is equivalent to a marriage proposal. The story starts out with him being flushed down the toilet bowl into another world: the demon world. Since he has black haired and black eyes, he is now the new Maou (King of Demon). Anyhow, since the timing clash with the TVB series my parents were watching, I decided to buy my first DVD box set series of anime. Afterall, Speedy was selling it at 50% off (but it was the VCD quality.. sighh better than nothing) :)
Colourcloud Palace
I happened to stay up till 1a.m. few weeks back and caught this series in channel Animax. Colourcloud Palace (The Story of Saiunkoku) is about this young girl who wishes to be a government official in a time when women were not allowed to take the exam (set in a fantasy world reminiscent of ancient China). She happens to be appointed to help the new emperor to buck up and rule his kingdom. Then the story goes on with how she helps people around her and finally, circumstances allowed her to be the government officer. etc. Of course, a little now and then there were advances on this lady by men around her. Funny to watch when that happens.

Single-child

I have grown up with 2 brothers; commonly described by me as sandwiched between the 2 brothers. We squabbled, waged war and quarrel as kids do. We take turns taking sides of another to go against one sibling-the triangle war. Whatever happens, blood grows thicker than water. We are still siblings.
When we meet up after studying away from each other, we still tend to quarrel for the sake of it. This drives my mum mad but my dad is indifferent for he knows we are just like that. We are siblings who quarrel for no apparent reason; perhaps the lack of it while staying away from home. Ha ha ha..

Then, I was observing unintentionally the families with a single child. This one person (who will be reading this) grows up with 2 working parents. I noticed he grew up very independent and is kind of a loner. He doesn’t talk much unless needed or provoked by me… :p.

Me? I crave for conversation. If I work a whole day long without talking much, when I go home, I have all this pent-up conversation to let go either by yakking away to my parents or my bf.

I also noticed another 2 families with a single child each. Their parents loved them and always entertain their children. One of them is still in primary school. I see both her parents always playing with her at home. You can notice all sort of board games, toys and anything which the whole family will play together with her. When relatives or friends visit, she’ll bring out all her toys to play. Sadly, at the end of the day, she looks forlorn and sad when everyone leaves. (My heart goes out to her and reminds myself if I ever have children; I hope to give them siblings to play with…)

The other family has a teenager daughter. Her parents love her dearly and also play with her whenever she wants to. One can see that she is showered with love and has grown up without any lacking. Unless the little girl who gets sad when everyone leaves, this teenager goes back to her book, handphone or just bugged her dad for attention. (how cute… )
There are similar attributes to the parents of a single child but then depending on their intentions, the effects are different. Every parent loves their child. Sometimes they just don’t know how to show it. I pray that God will provide me with His wisdom and patience when my time comes. I pray His love will overflow so that I can pass on all the love a child needs to grow into an independent adult to serve Him someday.

With the higher living expenses and expectation these days, many tend not to have many children. I pray that somehow this will not be a deterrent as children are a blessing. I am very sad when I see newspaper article writing about fathers raping their daughter or even unnecessary deaths in the national service. This feels me with fear of the future, but I pray that I’ll not worry for I have God with me to overcome all this. (of course, and the father of my children too who I pray is God-fearing and walking in God's ways)

Beach activities

Resorts with beaches usually have the swimming pool, water sports and beach events to keep the guest occupied. As this beach was facing directly to the South-China Sea, the waves were bigger and stronger. Hence, the red flag was out which indicates no one was allowed to swim in the sea. With that, we concentrated on the facilities provided by the resort.

I had the opportunity to ride a tandem bike. It felt fun and I even had the time to take a video while riding it. My bf will beg to differ for he claims I didn’t cycle at all and he did all the work. :P It might be true but I peddled too!!
The other new experience I tried was the ATV (all-terrain vehicle) or sometimes known as the quad bike. I wasn’t really interested as no. 1 – the price and no. 2 – no interest. Anyway, since my bf looked like a little kid at the candy store I agreed to try it too. It felt nice with the wind blowing at my face. I was the passenger so no stress to me to control the atv. In fact, I assumed it will be safer than a motorcycle since it is four-wheeled. But of course, nothing will thrill guys if they didn’t speed!! Swimming was relaxing as usual. It was fun watching non-swimmers practicing to swim. Even though some got lazy and didn’t really practice. Still, it was good to know he can swim a little except not breathe in water. “Breathe in through your mouth outside the water and breathe out through your nose in the water!!” was my advice.

There was a jacuzzi separated from the pool in a little hexagonal gazebo by itself. The jacuzzi was hot!!! I thought the hotel was trying to boil the guest. After some time, it got more comfortable and relaxing but with a few little kids jumping around, it was hard to enjoy or relax.

There was the small reflexology path which only warrants 2 rounds as the longer you walk on the stone, the more pain you have to endure. It means we are not healthy anymore according to the reflexology. As a kid, I used to walk quickly without feeling anything and wondered why my parents complain it was painful. Now older, it’s my turn to suffer.. hahaha

Another attraction would be the giant chess and giant snake-and-ladder. As the latter requires us to go to the counter to borrow dice, chess was chosen. Unlike another place I went, this chess set was slightly smaller and lighter to carry. The tough part is seeing the whole board and trying to outwit your opponent. Since, chess was not my cup of tea, I ended up being the spectator and tried being smart by shouting out ideas for moves or warnings.
In the end, I would say, resorts by the beach actually thrive more on their beach and indoor activities. The sea is just and added view with only a few frolicking there for a walk, a sun-tan or making sand-castle.

To be honest, the last time I went to the beach is in Phuket, whereby the only time I set foot on the beach was the morning before I left for the airport. I guessed I’m already accustomed to man-made activities. ;)

Just keep swimming...

My parents taught me to swim when I was young. Basically, my siblings and I know how to swim the breaststroke and float. :) Then, they sent us to swimming classes and we picked up most of all the strokes except for the butterfly stroke. The swimming instructor left!! :(

Nothing beats swimming. However, I "endured" more than 2 years of gym which gave me some muscles . I enjoyed gym at the beginning with the various classes and also joined their personal training programme. However, I can always remember the first time I used the treadmill. I imagined myself as the human hamster!! :P I still feel that way, but it's better than jogging on uneven tracks and breathing it unhealthy air from the heavy traffic around the field. There is such thing a thing called the human hamster wheel. Check it out as a school project, an art, prank and also furniture!

Anyway,I have since stopped going to gym (cost is also a factor) and back came all the flabby arms and wobbly flesh. Since some form of exercising is a must in my list, I'm back to swimming!! Yippee!

Benefits of Swimming:
First of all, you don't strain any of your body parts with your strenuous exercise or weight e.g. my knees!! The water carries your weight.

Secondly, the water even massages your stress, ache and pain away!! Float above the water and close your eyes.. imagine you're by the sea... Ignore the noise and waves the children are creating. Even the sudden warmth of the water from someone's urine!! Ha!

Yesterday evening, I happen to coincide my swimming time with my parents. They have just finished when I came after work. My parents decided to wait for me to swim finish and patiently sat by the pool while I swam. I felt like a child again.
At first, I felt embarrassed in the sense that I am troubling my parents to wait for me. But they insisted. I hurried on the swim and got done with it. It really felt nice with someone watching out for you though. Sometimes as an adult, I missed the feeling of my parents' watchful eyes. But too much can be suffocating too! ;)

Job Hunting

I have been very tempted to hunt for a new job. People told me from middle of last year that the market is good for my field since lacking of them! However, I stayed on...

Now, after some petty misunderstanding and got blown-off by the secretary, I am tired. Emotionally tired. I am tired of petty arguments from unclear procedures. I am tired of mollycoddling the clients and doing things beyond the job description because "They are the client. Anything goes." Sigh.

So then I start my mantra again... dreaming that I can run away from all this.. far far away to Neverland. Poof! There goes that dream..

In the heat of anger, I started asking my friends for contacts of firms who were hiring. Here I am now, tempted to apply new jobs just because I am emotionally tired. Wouldn't I be jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire? I know most firms are hiring because they have work to do beyond their current capacity of staff. In other words, I'll be jumping straight into a frenzy of work.

If I kept on thinking and worrying, I'll never decide or do anything. I'll have to trust that God has a purpose for me wherever I am destined to go. So here I am, finally after 1 year of wondering, I am sending my cv out to other firms.

The finality of my decision creeps me out!!

p.s. I have yet to send out any cv till today (13/5/2008)... *hesitant*

Mixed or Pure?

No.. I'm not talking about the pedigree of dogs.

I am talking about us, humans. Long time ago, when we still live up in the trees without the internet (note that I am being sarcastic), we humans are pure; as in we marry and interbreed within the same state or country. Some immoral ones would breed within the same family.

Anyway, my point is I have noticed that the number of mixed marriages and mixed children is at a rise. In Malaysia itself, being multi-racial, one can no longer be sure if a person who looks like a Malay is a Malay or one who looks like a Chinese is a Chinese or even an Indian who is 100% Indian. We normally think twice of gossiping a stranger in our mother-tongue as the chances of anyone knowing any languages is high.

This topic came about because I was casually telling my friend that I wished I could meet a kwai loh to have mixed babies (they sure look adorable with mixed features). Then somehow, I realised this combination is already common place. In future, I told her it'll be hard to find someone who is 100% of the same ethnicity. So perhaps I should be glad I am still in Malaysia and dating a typical Chinese. *ahem*

Anyhow, I still urge my friend to find an Irishman while she is in Dublin. But ironically, somehow, my friends who go overseas still end up with Asians. Not many of them favour the western flavour and I wonder why?