Photo Of The Week - Hung Out To Dry

Last week I had my maid to bring out all my son's soft toys to be cleaned and hung out to dry.

We have from the left, Picard (the Australian Customs Dog - named after my wife's favourite Enterprise captain), Mercy (the white bear - should have been MERCI?), Henry the Octopus, Peter Rabbit, Maggie (the brown dog), Pooh (you know who he is), Caesar (the big yellow crab) & pink panther (my wife's former travel companion before my son came along).

Don't you think my son has too many soft toys? They are normally his "bedtime companions" (all lined up against the wall along his bed). FYI, we sleep on 3 joint single-bed mattresses on the floor.

Disaster At The Singapore F1 GP

It was the first ever night race for F1 in Singapore yesterday. The atmosphere was absolutely fantastic. The lights illuminating the whole race track, the glitter coming off from the bodies of the F1 cars, the crowd etc. But at some parts of the track were littered by fallen leaves.

Ferrari started well in the qualifying round of the Singapore Grand Prix yesterday by claiming pole position (Massa) & 3rd (Raikkonen).

Both the Ferraris started well and maintained their tempo until Renault's Nelson Piquet crashed. The safety car came out to give a perfect opportunity for former F1 champion Fernando Alonzo of Renault to take the lead replacing Massa.

Then came the pit stop blunder from Ferrari where one of their attendents turned the green light too soon, causing Massa to drive off with the fuel hose still stuck to his car!

Perhaps the pit crew were still too used to the previous "Lolipop Signs" instead of these new electronic stop/go indicators??

This blunder caused Massa to turn from Hero to Zero. To add insult to Ferrari's injury, Raikkonen (again with his bad fortunes) crashed into the barrier on the 3rd last round of the race.

The race was a blast in Singapore but Ferrari's loss meant they became 1 point behind McLarens in the contructor's championship and poor Massa had to fall behind Lewis Hamilton by 7 points with 3 more races to go.

Back In Business

Finally Manchester United are back to their winning ways with some thanks to the referee who called for a dubious penalty kick against visiting Bolton.

Ronaldo was brought down in the United penalty area but the Bolton defender had a clean tackle. Perhaps the ref was under the heavy influence of the red crowd in Old Trafford? He pointed to the spot and Ronaldo converted the spot kick.

The Bolton defence was resilient and United were clearly frustrated until the penalty kick. Then Wayne Rooney came on as a sub and combined with Ronaldo to make the score 2-0. United never looked back after that.

It was about time that Rooney broke his duck to score after a few frustrating matches. New signing Berbatov also showed some glimpse of his magic. A few more games and Berba will fit in nicely as United's attacking threat.

With this win, United moved up to the top half of the table but they still trail leaders Liverpool by 7 points with a game in hand.

Photo Of The Week - Fruits Of Labor

The photo shows how big the lady's fingers (okra) and mini cucumbers are compared to my set of house keys. I will need 3 more of these okras before I can have a meal.

Singapore F1 Grand Prix - Go Ferrari!

All the hype that was on TV this week was all about the Singapore F1 Grand Prix that is going to be held on this coming Sunday.

It is the first night race in F1 history, supposedly 2nd slowest track after Monaco and the 1st ever in Southeast Asia.

The 1st practice session has just been completed with McLaren's Lewis Hamilton being the fastest, followed by Ferrari's Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikonnen. I have always been a Ferrari supporter since Michael Schumacher's days and will continue to support the red team.

McLaren's Lewis Hamilton is currently leading the drivers' championship by a single point from Ferrari's Felipe Massa.

But I expect a change of fortune for Ferrari after many unfortunate mishaps that happened to both Ferrari's drivers Massa & Raikonnen.

This Sunday's night race is so full of anticipation! I wished my wife (an F1 fan too) will be able to watch the race from Australia. Go Ferrari!

Tainted Chinese Food

The news have been reporting the increasing number of fatalities and hospitalization of children in China after they consumed milk powder that were tainted with melamine.

It is sad to know that people would actually do such immoral things just to earn money!

I used to like canned stuff from China like stewed pork, salteed fish with black beans, longans, lychees etc. But I am not taking any more risks.

I am chucking away my can of made-in-China stewed pork! Trashing the can into the trash-can!

What's Worth Doing Is Worth Doing Well

My wife has been constantly teaching every member in our family, including our maid and driver to put pride into our work. She stressed that things that are worth doing needs to be done well (putting thought & effort).

I guess her influence managed to come up with the following results. One day as I came back for lunch, I saw the following on my dining table:

Doesn't the presentation of my meal look professional? I was surprised that my maid has put in extra effort to ensure my lunch LOOKED APPEALING. Of course it was as delicious as it looked.

This additional effort won her extra pocket money for the Aidulfitri Muslim New Year. She got paid one month's THR (Tunjangan Hari Raya - bonus).

Green Fingers (Part2) - Growing Your Own Food

In my previous post "green fingers", I mentioned about the plants that I was supposed to take care of. After a few weeks of regular watering and with the help of rain in the evenings, the plants started to blossom.

The four angled beans (winged beans) have started to twirl up the sticks onto the fence. Even the "excess seeds" that were planted by the side of the gardens and drums started to grow.



But the pride of the garden is still the lady's fingers (okra)! Even the yellow flowers looked lovely. Tomorrow I shall harvest them for my dinner.



My wife planted these mini cucumbers below....they have grown bigger as well. The papaya tree that was planted 1.5 years ago finally began to fruit. Let's see if in a few more weeks I can have some papaya to eat.....

Breaking Fast Ceremony

For the whole morning I have been trying to figure out what speech I should give in front of my 86 person staff for the Acara Buka Bersama (breaking fast ceremony) for my company.


We have been holding this ceremony every year in the fasting month of Ramadan. This year is my turn to represent the management to give some motivational speech in Bahasa Indonesia!!

Finally when the time came, I told them how blessed it was to have the opportunity to speak on behalf of the management and how happy it was to be part of the record breaking production unit throughout Malaysia & Indonesia (amongst the 6 factories). I told them it is important to work together as a team, to solve problems as a family unit and continue to improve on our production, quality and deliveries (the usual motivation talk from managers....ha ha!)


Following my speech, came the reading from the Quran (by somebody else of course) & a lecture from a guest on the teachings of the Quran. After that we had our breaking fast event. We had pempeks (traditional Palembang food) and some other finger food, followed by rice and dishes (buffet style).

Faith Of Fasting

I realized that Indonesians are more liberal compared to Malaysians when it comes to Ramadan (fasting month for Muslims).

People actually told me that it was OK not to fast on certain days that they "could not cope" and they will "repay" the fasting days after Hari Raya Aidulfitri (Muslim New Year) or defer until the next year!

Ramadan is supposed to last for 1 month but the shops that sells food along the roadside are resuming their businesses. I was told that normally people only fast for 1-2 weeks, then the 3rd and final week of the month they do not necessarily need to fast??

Here's a photo that I took in Palembang Indah Mall of the restaurant that I was eating in. They cover the windows with cloth (green) to prevent other eating folks from tempting the fasting folks......

Here's a bowl of Es Nangka (shaved ice) that contains "slabs of ice"! How do you eat desserts like this??

Win Back Some Pride

After the 2-1 loss at Anfield, Manchester United will need to win back some pride tonight when they take on Spanish side Villarreal at Old Trafford.

This is the first UEFA Champions League (UCL) game for United, who are the 2007/2008 season champions. Rivals Chelsea just thrashed French side Bordeaux at Stamford Bridge 4-0 yesterday.

I do not see United turning in a big score line against Villareal because Dimitar Berbatov is still adjusting to playing with United, Cristiano Ronaldo might only come on as a substitute & mid-fielder Michael Carrick is out through an ankle injury.

Game prediction: Man Utd 1-0 Villarreal
Scorer: Wayne Rooney

A win at Old Trafford will increase United's confidence ahead of their Sunday clash with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Go Red Devils!

Photo Of The Week - MONKEY SHOES

I was surprised to see this pair of sandals at my doorstep this morning. Just could not imagine who would buy these kinda sandals to wear? They are my maid, Aini's! A few thoughts came into my mind:

• Ape man came to town?
• King Kong lost his foot? (pun intended!)
• Who stole Chewbacca's shoes?

p/s: I hate to check for ticks.....so I'd better get her to change her sandals.

Heart Break At Anfield

Manchester United took the lead at the 3rd minute through a beautiful pass from Berbatov to Tevez to shock Liverpool at Anfield stadium.

Then came the bizarre own goal from Wes Brown - a deflected shot went across the United goal, keeper Edwin Van De Sar came off his line to palm the ball away, only to see it come off defender Wes Brown to his own net. Football pundits claimed that Van De Sar should not have come out for the ball but I think it was just unlucky of him.

From that time onwards, United played poorly and Liverpool dominated the mid-field, especially after mid-fielder Michael Carrick limped off with an ankle injury and was replaced by Ryan Giggs after half time. United were still playing catching up despite the score being 1-1.

The score was level until Ryan Giggs (the oldest player in the team) made a mistake at the corner line at United's half. He wanted to shield the ball to let it go out of bounds but did not see Liverpool's Mascherano coming from behind to poke away the ball to substitute Ryan Babel, who made no mistake by putting the ball through a couple of United defenders to the top corner of the net. To add insult to injury, United defender Nemanja Vidic was sent off for a second bookable offence - elbowing an opponent during an aeriel duel for the ball.

My prediction of the 2-1 score was correct, except it was Liverpool 2-1 United. I also got one of the scorers correct, Carlos Tevez for United.

To sum it up, it was just an unconvincing display from United. I am especially disappointed at United's new signing Berbatov who just faded away from the game after the first half. The champions United will have a lot to work on before this coming Wednesday's UEFA Champions League group game vs. Villareal (Spain) and next Sunday's game at Stamford Bridge against rivals Chelsea.

I will just go to sleep after venting my frustrations & disappointment on this post!

Big Match Of The Week (Liverpool vs. Man Utd)

The highly anticipated football match between Liverpool & Man Utd will be screened live on Aora TV at 6:40pm today. I have invited 2 colleagues over to have a football-pizza dinner at my place.

Based on recent stats it seems like Liverpool has an inferior record against United despite playing at home.

However, with the Liverpool striker Fernando Torres and mid-field dynamo Steven Gerrard fit again, the Kop (Liverpool's nickname) should provide the Red Devils (Manchester United) a good challenge.

United will also be boosted by the arrival of new signing Dimitar Berbatov and a possible early return of Cristino Ronaldo (top scorer for United last season).

My prediction: Liverpool 1-2 Manchester United

Scorers: Torres (LIV), Tevez & Berbatov (MU)

Go Red Devils! Can't wait for the match!!

How Can You Hit A Lady?

This morning my maid, Aini came to work with tears in her eyes. She apologized because the hand phone that I lent her was broken. When I sat her down to ask what happened, she poured her heart out.

Yesterday when my maid's boy friend visited her while she was staying at a friend's place, her boyfriend discovered that some guy sent a "romantic" sms to her. The guy, Ari slapped her on her face, twice! Aini was bashed up by Ari according to my standards. Aini said her head and face still aches. One of her tooth was loosened as well by the impact! Ari also threw her (my) hand phone onto the floor and broke it.

Aini asked for my opinion on Ari's actions. She asked whether this was normal? I was surprised that she even asked! Maybe there were many cases where Indonesian men vent their frustrations on their "cheating partners" by bashing them up?

Of course I told Aini NOT to tolerate any of such violent behaviors. Do not even bother seeing the guy anymore. Who respects you if the person hits you? How can any guy even lay hands on a lady? It's like the strong preying on the weak! NEVER forgive people who exercise violence on the weak. Ari even slapped her 2x! I told her if I were her, I would have kicked him in his groin, dumped him on the spot and lodge a police report. I told Aini to just forget about Ari (he is not that handsome anyway!). There are many other better guys around that would treat her with respect.

Hope Aini gets the message. I am really not sure how she will think but just pray that Aini knows what's best for her and not let her boyfriend persuade her into forgiving him.

Green Fingers

Since my wife went for her vacation in Australia, she left me some plants to be taken cared of. They include four angled beans, ladies fingers (okra) and some flowers.

Here's a photo of a matured four angled bean (or winged bean). Last year the plants were flourishing and those beans used to be one of our staple diets.

We realized that our plants have been dying a few months ago due to "moth-like insect attacks" and also the lack of sunlight (shaded by our guava tree). Therefore, I had to chop off most of the "infected" branches and also those that were shading our new plants (stopping photosynthesis).

I also did some transplanting from a nursery pot to the side of the fence. Added some branches from the guava tree that I chopped off for the four angled beans to creep and grow.

Here are some shots of my newly re-planted garden:



I am no green finger but hope that I could sustain these plants at least until my wife comes back...ha ha ha!

Home Alone

My wife and kid have both left Palembang for Brisbane since last Thursday. It took me 5 days before the feeling that I am home alone sunk in.

The past 5 days were preoccupied with the following activities since they left:

1. Work, work, work - 8am till 6pm with a 1 hour lunch break at home.
   
2. Gym - been hitting the gym after work for the past few days. Focusing on my pecs!
   
3. Laptop died & resurrected - our 5 year old NEC Versa just would not start one day and after I took it to the shop it managed to turn on again. Maybe it does not like to PC doctor and just wanted to play a trick on me!
4. Installation of AORA TV - took me almost half of Sunday afternoon (including waiting time).
5. Teaching the driver and maid english and algebra - how can they not have any basics like minus times minus = plus?? I had to make up questions to feed them everyday....practice makes perfect.
6. Groceries shopping & dinner - went to Carrefour with my fellow Malaysian colleagues then dropped by to have dinner at Brasserie (a restaurant famous for ox-tail soup rice).

Only last night when I felt a bit tired and went to bed early, I felt that I was alone.... but this morning, I've laid out plans for the week:

1. Continue to test my driver and maids on algebra & english.
2. Trimming of guava tree branches that are shading my other plants (halting their growth).
3. Entertain my Russian supplier who is visiting (what can we do during Ramadan fasting month?? Supposedly all the night spots are closed).
4. Attend Rosary Thursdays with thy neighbours - last Thurs they came but I had a dinner appointment with some visitors.
5. Watch my live English Premier League football matches on AORA TV! MU vs. Liverpool - I could never miss these epic clashes!!
   

Finally! AORA TV!

In my previous post I wrote about the frustrations for not being able to watch live EPL matches on TV. On Sunday I finally subscribed to AORA TV.

I had to wait for the installer to come from 2pm until 4pm because the guy was caught up in another job. He informed me that since AORA TV started on 29 Aug 2008 until now, Palembang area only has 10 subscribers. I am sure all of them only installed AORA TV just to watch live EPL matches.

I will be reducing my ASTRO channels to include only Discovery, NatGeo, CNN, BBC news, Star World, AXN, E! and the movie channels (Star Movies, HBO & Cinemax). The subscription of AORA TV that has only 12 channels together with the reduced ASTRO channels above will cost my approximately RM135/month vs. the previous amount of RM94/month. An extra RM41/month of extra expenses hopefully would be able to give me sufficient entertainment!

I also had to live with 2 satellite dishes - one facing east and the other facing west in 2 separate locations!

United, Here We Go!

I have been a Manchester United (MU) fan since my teens. I have been a great admirer of former MU captain (dubbed "Captain Marvel") Bryan Robson. Some of the great achievements of the club include the 1998/1999 treble (European, EPL & FA cup champions) and becoming the 2007/2008 EPL & UEFA Champions League champs.

I am glad that for the 2008/2009, MU managed to secure the service of Dimitar Berbatov from Tottenham Hotspurs after a long transfer saga.

MU really needed an out and out striker that could help them score despite Cristiano Ronaldo's 31 goals in the 2007/2008 season (Ronaldo won the European Golden Shoe & UEFA Footballer of the Year). MU needs a goal poacher with the likes of Ruud Van Nistelrooy.

Berbatov is the Bulgarian national team's captain. He has a very impressive scoring record of 1 goal in every 2 games that he played from 1999–2008:

CSKA Sofia - 50 games played (25 goals scored)

Bayer Leverkusen - 154 (69)

Tottenham Hotspur - 101 (46)

I can't wait to see him in action for the Red Devils against arch rivals Liverpool next weekend!

Anticipating Live EPL Matches

As mentioned in my previous post, one of the only entertainment I have in Palembang is watching live EPL (English Premier League) football matches on TV.

Due to the broadcasting rights problems of my satellite TV provider, I have missed the opening matches since the EPL started on 16 Aug 2008. My current ASTRO channels do not have any live matches nor EPL highlights like last year and this is truly a disappointment until I had to reevaluate whether I need to continue to subscribe to ASTRO.

From what I heard, AORA TV (the only official EPL broadcaster in Indonesia at the moment) is a spin off from ASTRO Indonesia. This is because of problems between the 2 ASTRO companies in Malaysia and Indonesia fighting for the broadcasting rights.

When I called the contractor about installation details for AORA TV, the person informed me to wait until September 5, 2008 because ASTRO Indonesia will be making an announcement to determine whether ASTRO will continue to air live EPL matches for the 2008/2009 season or AORA TV will have their exclusive rights. SEPTEMBER 5, 2008 will be remembered as one CRITICAL DATE to determine whether I should cut down on my current ASTRO channels and subscribe to AORA TV.....

Entertainment Frustrations In Indonesia

Since moving to Indonesia, we have discovered that entertainment here is very limited compared to Malaysia. Especially in a smaller city like Palembang, when you Googled "entertainment palembang", you will get either Novotel Hotel at Palembang or Palembang Square Mall!

It's true that Novotel Hotel is one of our sources of entertainment because we go the gym, swim and dine in that place. They also have a karaoke lounge and bar....one of the better hotels in Palembang.

Palembang only have 4 big shopping malls (Palembang Trade Center, Palembang Square, Palembang Indah Mall & International Plaza).

Recently we wanted to watch Beijing Olympics on cable TV but none of the cable suppliers have live broadcasting rights! My wife was truly disappointed as we thought we were able to watch this glorious global event live on TV but no!

I am a fan of the English Premier League (EPL) and used to watch live football matches from England last year on our satellite TV. But this year, all the satellite / cable TV suppliers and local TV got stripped of live EPL broadcasting rights and only one new sat TV supplier AORA TV has exclusive rights! I did not want to subscribe to this new service because it only has 7 channels!

What on earth is happenning?? I have been deprived of all my sources of entertainment and left with my slow 100mbps broadband internet!!