Animal Release Ritual

Elle and I went to the Taman Jaya park yesterday evening to release some animals and insects! We initiated our annual ritual after the heavy downpour. Right after releasing the last bird, we stumbled upon a resting turtle by surprise! Haha, my stars are truly aligned with that of the turtles.

MH370

ADDED: MH370 memorial at Sunway Pyramid on 26th March 2014.

Today is a tragic day for fellow Malaysians, family members and relatives of the passengers who were aboard the ill fated MH370 flight bound for Beijing. It’s been more than 20 hours yet there is still no sign of the aircraft. The search is ongoing but the incident is already recorded in the nation’s history as the worst aviation disaster.

I am glad the authorities were transparent with the incident and are doing everything they can to search for the missing aircraft and many more netizens pouring out their prayers, concerns, encouragement and sharing of grief.

Then we also have keyboard warriors who trivialize the disaster. Spreading rumors and conspiracy theories because it’s a “pertandingan siapa lebih cepat post berita”. Blaming MAS (they have a near-flawless record of accidents). Politics, religion and race? Uncalled for.

For the sake of the passengers, I really DO HOPE they are safe even though the chances of survival are less than slim by now.

As a regular traveller, this comes across as SHOCKING. Never before in history of Malaysian aviation that a disaster of this scale occurred. And the scary part? This could have happened to ANYONE.

In as much as it’s a blow to the nation, I think we have learned something today. Life is short, live it to the fullest. For you will never know when your final hour comes.

Until then, let the authorities do their job and the rest of us can only hope for the best.

ADDED: Memorial and message to MH370 tragedy at City Square, Johor Bahru. 2nd April 2014.
ADDED: Memorial and message to MH370 tragedy at City Square, Johor Bahru. 2nd April 2014.

Bing and Elaine’s Wedding

elainejoshua2014Congrats Bing and Elaine! Here’s to a lasting happy marriage! And also thanks for providing the opportunity to bring us ex DJians together again to compare tummies. Hahaha

It feels like not long ago we were still Form 1 kids in oversized school uniforms, doing mischievous shit and our world was confined to the school premises. Next thing you know, many of our buddies are getting married pair by pair and starting to have kids. And it’s 2 to 3 more years before we hit the third decade!

To Bandung Again!

1. I will be going to Bandung, Indonesia again on 28th Feb – 3rd March to attend a Facebook Ads private workshop. The program will be conducted by the same underground marketers I met last month. Looking forward to learn their trade and network with them after the event, and look into possibilities of doing a product launch joint venture.

2. I have to watch what I eat and come up with something to withstand their chain smoking habits though; last trip I went there things didn’t go well for me! I wasn’t prepared for the cold weather, the food was too oily / starchy and sitting in discussion with their chain smoking habits set off my dizziness and nausea feeling! Yucks.

3. I started recovering during the Chinese New Year and went back to gym again last week. My training session is all about getting back my form and gradually return to lifting heavy again. It’s obvious that I shrunk quite a bit when I look into the mirror. LOL

Why I Don’t Smoke, Drink And Gamble

I don’t smoke. I don’t drink. I don’t gamble.

And it goes beyond being a ‘good boy’. It’s personal.

My aunt died from lung cancer in 1999. My uncle is a chain smoker and as I am writing this, his health is deteriorating. Today he has to wash down dozens of supplements daily and watch his diet like a hawk. He hasn’t been able to cut back on his cigarette intake much due to decades of addiction to smoking, since the day he picked up his first stick in his teens.

When my father was still living with us, I would sometimes dreadfully accompany him to places that an underage shouldn’t be hanging out at. My father flirted with women, got drunk, got abusive with my mother by the time he gets home, and still pissed ass drunk.

I’ve also seen my father lose at the table every time he gambles. There were days it would seem he will be going home green, but knowing that’s too good to be true my feelings were always right. I kept telling my dad that the money would have been better spent putting food on the table or pay off our debts back then, but to this day I still don’t understand gamblers. Every time I see a gambler, I see a loser who doesn’t have his priorities right.

While my mother wasn’t a gambling addict, her lack of ability to get a higher paying job coupled with desperation made her resort to the only other means of income she knew: buying Toto. Unlike my father, my mother had better luck and there were actually several times she struck the consolation prizes, enough to get us by at times. But I hated the hopelessness we felt at the dread of having to pray and be at the mercy of luck.

So if you have always wondered why I don’t smoke, don’t drink and don’t gamble… now you know why!