Update, update!!!

Okay, I've been owing this update a long, long time. A lot of things has been happening in my life lately... (okay, that sounds a bit overly dramatic. Nothing earth-shattering. Just a lot of mundane chores that I need to do.)

I go to work, and work and work and work; but can't finish work in one day and go home with more work left for tomorrow. Then I go home and I do the church stuff, or attend a church meeting, but can't finish the church stuff in one day, and have to leave some more for the next day. Then the wedding stuff - same story. Have hardly played WoW this past two weeks - life gets in the way.

Anyway, sorry for the rant about life. Guess everyone wishes there was more time.

Back to the important stuff I have to update:

1. An important story came up last two weeks where the Editor of PC World in the US resigned when asked to not publish a story that was negative of one of its advertisers. I'm not gonna rant too much on this. It's been said and done with. But it does make you wonder. Anyway, here's a nice posting from ebolasaurus if you'd like to read.

2. I'm finally signing for my new house. Yups! All I need to do is now cough up the cash, and that 20-year-old house I've been ogling will be mine...er....ours. Technically, Lydia owns half-share. That's fine. I can share.

3. I've run out of wedding cards. Well, yeah. Embarassing but true. Wedding's just round the corner and after mailing out batch after batch of cards, it seems we didn't request for enough. So, I went back to Times Square for the cards, and the hotel wanted an additional RM 2 per card. Ridiculous! They insisted they only provided cards on a 5 cards per table ratio. So you expect all my friends to be couples? (No offence to you if you're reading this and are not a couple). Anyway, I've straightened the mess up and we'll pay the RM 200 for the 100 extra cards if we can't meet the quota of tables. So...more cards going out...if you haven't got yours yet.

4. I'm buying a bike! Oooo yes! If you remember, I ranted a couple of months back about increasing MidValley parking rates and was looking for a bike that costs under RM 600. Well, the deal's sealed, sorta (Thanks Jason and Robin and Ernest!) The guys have wrangled together some second hand parts, I take Robin's frame off him for RM 250 and waaaa-laaaa, a spanking new, second-hand bike.

5. We're moving office in August. After lots of lobbying, and incessant reminding, we've finally gotten approval to move from our cramped premises in Boulevard, to a spanking new office in Northpoint. Still in Midvalley, still close to home and, most importantly, still within cycling distance. Now... to lobby for that office shower...

Elections...smells like freshly tarred roads

Does anyone ever notice that everytime an election's just round the corner, roads start getting tarred everywhere and massive potholes are being filled up?

Sounds like a political ploy from the 40s? Sure is. Political parties do this all the time. Everywhere, regardless of which country you're in. Slick tarred roads. Sudden Tax reforms / reprieves. A high-profile anti-corruption campaign. Whatever voters want, voters get... just before election.

It's a sad state of the state (I know, pun intended) when managing the country is just a little pandering to the masses when it suits the political power and they need it's votes.

I've just registered as a voter. And if you're a voter, I urge you not to look at superficial reforms that are being carried out like freshly tarred roads just to make you vote for the party. But take stock of how the party has delivered on past promises.

Vote intelligently. And if you haven't registered yet, please do.

To hear, or to silence

Firstly, if you're the CIA and you're reading this post, I am NOT a terrorist, serial killer or any like minded person. I just have an opinion.

I'm sure by now you've all heard about South Korean student Cho Seung Hui's mass murder at Virginia Tech and how he shot himself after killing more than 30 people. You've probably also heard the outcry over the media outlets publishing his "manifesto".



Now, I'm not pro-silencing or pro-airing. But I am pro-listening-to-what-he-has-to-say-and- making-some-good-judgement-or-learning-good-lessons-from-it. From what we know in the media, Cho rants against "rich kids" and "debauchery". And classmates said he was bullied. So what does that tell us?

Instead of an outcry over "disturbing images" we should ask ourselves, really, why did he do it? What was he experiencing? His story seems so similar to what happens here in malaysia, kids who get ostracized in school, laughed at, and ragged.

I've seen people like that when I was in school. I'm sure you have.

The most that most of these people do is go home to Mommy crying. This one went out and bought two guns. There's a message here somewhere.

Maybe Cho's telling us to look at how we live and how we treat others. Do we victimise and put people down around us, in our workplace, or in school? Someday, the "butt of all jokes" will have the last laugh.

Read this guy's blog posting. He makes a good comment.

Queues and Malaysians

So I was lining up today at the Customs department, patiently waiting for my turn to check out my parcel and bring it to the customs officer for checking and declaration, when suddenly, this guy comes up casually stops right in front of the booth - in front of all of us who've been queueing for ages.

Now, he's got a mean look and no one dares say anything, so I just casually mention "the line starts here." He nods, and that's about it. He continues standing by the booth, waiting for the person being served to be finished, so he can swoop in and get his stuff done first. The nerve.

I had half-a-mind to walk up to him and insist he line-up like everyone else (which, after due checking with my own paltry musculature, I decided against).

Thankfully, his friend across the other side of the customs office decides to signal him and he has to give up his spot to complete some other business. Business as usual.

But what's it with these guys? Can't we learn to queue up civilly like everyone else in the world? I mean, this is not the first time or first incidence or only form of queue cutting.

Many times, I've circled around MidValley and finally find a spot for parking when a large car (usually a gold Mercedes Benz, old model) will appear from the other side and swing into what was formerly my parking spot. Hello? Mother never teach you manners?

Or when queueing up for LRT. Can't queue properly. Lining up to embark an LRT quickly devolves into mass melee free-for-all. And poor women get taken advantaged of.

Or queue hopping. Have a bunch of friends go to McDonalds, everyone joins a different queue to a different counter, and the first one that reaches has all his friends join him. Suddenly, if you were behind him, you realise you're in for a 10 minute wait till your turn as the attendant sorts through the mass-ordering.

I wonder what foreigners think of us and our Queuing habits. Probably to be expected of at a Third-World country. But we protest. We're at least second world, if not close enough to first world.

So, in the spirit of Visit Malaysia Year 2007, I humbly call to you: queue up civilly, and respect those who queued before you. Let's show them foreigners that we're civilised too. Cheers.

Return of the parking saga

Remember the time I was ranting about MidValley's increased rates? Well... they've also screwed up something else.

Just last Friday whislt attempting to exit the parking mall area, a massive traffic jam was caused. Why? Because someone had expired the 20 minutes grace period you're allocated to exit the carpark.

Okay, that's normal, right? But wait till you hear this.

Because MidValley is so super packed with people and they all want to get out at the same time, let's just say that in the midst of waiting, you had many many people with 20-minute-grace-period expired.

Chaos ensued.

So, how can MidValley fix this?

1. A longer grace period. Maybe 30 minutes?
2. A better traffic flow, with attendants guiding people out in peak hours. Someone has to think of a plan.
3. Or, just go back to flat RM 1 parking?