夢醒時分 The moment when a dream is awakened..

Direct copy from author without further amendments (except blue fonts).

鄭丁賢•夢醒時分 你是否和我一樣，發覺身邊的親戚和朋友，似乎少了許多。 I wonder you feel the same as me ; all the sudden I realized friends and relatives around me seems to get less and less.
往接近過年時，各種聚餐排得滿滿的，而今年，似乎沒聲沒息。 Those years when the New Year drew near, all sorts of gathering appointments almost completely filled the diaries, but this year seems so quiet.
即使是平常日子，電話少了，與大家見面也少了。 Even in normal time, phone calls become less and less, face to face meet up also become much less.
也許，大家各忙各的；或者，目前流行“宅生活”，儘量避免出門。 Perhaps, everybody is busy with their own things, or perhaps, nowadays people prefer to stay in.
也不盡然如此。再想一想，很多老友和親戚，已經不在了。嗟！大吉利是，他們都還好好的，只是離開了馬來西亞。 However, it is not entirely like this, thinking further, actually old friends and relatives are not around any more. God bless, they are still alive and well, they just left the country, Malaysia .
去了中國大陸開工廠；王子不做工程師，移民到澳洲開小食檔；阿風離開本地大學，去香港做講師；青蛙去了台灣，開展事業第二春；還有的到了美國、英國，唔，還有去印尼的……。 They have gone to China to set factory; Ah Wang quit his engineer job and migrated to Australia to set up his little food store business, Ah Fong left the local University went to Hong Kong as a lecturer. 'Frog' went to Taiwan to pursue his second career life. Others went to America , England , even Indonesia ...
起初，以為這只是個別現象，逐漸的，旁人也有同樣發現；原來，這不是個別現象，而是社會現象；這不是少數，而是相當大的數目。 At first, I thought these are individual cases, but gradually, people around me realized the same, these are not individual cases but a general symptom of our society. they are not small numbers but the pretty big indeed.
外交部早前披露了一個數字，說明這個現象是多麼真實，多麼貼近。 Department of Foreign Affairs released the figures earlier, it confirmed the situation is real.
從去年3月到今年9月，已經有30萬大馬人移民他國；其中20萬 人是今年1月到8月出走的數目。 From March 2008 thru September 2009, a total of 300,000 Malaysian migrated to other countries, among them 200,000 left between Jan - Aug 2009. (in 8 months)
累積下來，已經有超過200萬大馬人移民，接近今天印尼外勞在大馬的人口。 Cumulatively, 2 million Malaysians migrated, this figure is close to the number of Indonesian workers in Malaysia today.
不同的是，移居他國的大馬人，多是專業人士、中產階級。 The difference are, those migrated are mostly professional and middle class people.
他們有很多出走的理由，追求事業發展，為了孩子前途，尋找個人更大空間……，概括一句：對馬來西亞失望。 They have many reasons to leave: pursue career development, for the future of their children, in search of better life and environment... In one sentence, they lost hope of Malaysia .

50年前，大家說，馬來西亞真好，好過香港，甚至日本。 50 years ago people said: Malaysia is very good, better than Hong Kong and even Japan .

30年前，大家說，馬來西亞還不錯，比得上韓國、台灣（不提香港和日本了）。 30 years ago people said: Malaysia is not bad, comparable to S. Korea and Taiwan. (No mention of Hong Kong and Japan any more).

20年前，大家說，馬來西亞還可以，至少超越中國、泰國（不能和台、韓比了）。 20 years ago people said: Malaysia can do lah, at least better than China and Thailand (Cannot compare with Taiwan and Korea lah)

10年前，大家說，馬來西亞再差，還不至於像越南、印尼（中國已是不同級別）。 10 years ago people said: No matter how bad Malaysia is, cannot be worse than Vietnam and Indonesia ok-lah. (China is already in a different category).

今日，越南和印尼的經濟成長率遙遙領先大馬， 社會活力和知識發展也勝過一籌；距離愈來愈近了。 Today, the economic growth rate of Vietnam and Indonesia already far exceeded Malaysia , Social activity and intellectual development of the country is also better, the gap between us and them is closing up.

怕甚麼，還有菲律賓和柬埔寨、緬甸。
Why worry? there are still Philippines , Cambodia and Myanmar behind us.

但是，一位經濟學家最近到菲律賓考察之後，認為再過20年，大馬可以取代菲律賓，出口馬籍女傭到全世界了。 However, according to an economist who recently surveyed Philippines, he think in 20 years' time, Malaysia can replace Philippines to become the World exporter of Malaysian maids.

半個世紀以來，馬來西亞是在大宅院裡，用封建方式，分配祖宗家業，消耗社會資源，浪費和逼走人才；不談競爭力，忽略生產力，討厭績效制。 Over half a century, Malaysians live in the big old imperial housing complex, closed up and survive on properties left behind by the ancestor; continued to consume up social resources, wasteful, and drove away talents; they never talk about competitiveness, totally neglected productivity, and hated meritocracy.
亞洲金融風暴來襲時，大馬把門關起來，以為避過一劫， 有人還自我陶醉，自以為是天才策略。 When Asia economic storm hit in 1997, Malaysia closed their doors, thinking we beautifully avoided a disaster, they even think of themselves as genius, being able to handle the situation so well.
然而，其它國家面對風暴，走出風暴，進行體質改革，跨步向前，登上另一個水平；大馬卻還在原地踏步。 However, just look at other countries in our neighbourhood ; they stood up, faced the storm, and walked out of the storm. They overhauled their system, improved the processes and marched forward ; they moved up to a new level. And Malaysia , still walking on the spot . . !

馬來西亞，該醒一醒了。 Dear Malaysia , it's time to wake up ! We are very very late now !

So what am I doing here? Shouldn't I just grab the Beijing offer (despite the difficulties it poses) & leave? Have we no hope now that we need to resort leaving our home? That's so sad...

Shameless Plagiarism?

They say Plagiarism is the greatest form of a compliment to the original author. I hope this Special Columnist of a Chinese Daily will view my article this way. :)

This morning hubby shared with me 2 very interesting articles from this Columnist.

1. Steve Jobs passing is a great loss to the US.
US has lost 3 great talents in recent history - Johnny Cash, Bob Hope and most recent of them all - Steve Jobs. They've left a great void in the music, entertainment & technology industry. What is more ironic is that, their passing also reflected the plight of the American. With them gone, the Americans are also left "Jobs"-less, "Cash"-less and hence "Hope"-less (as in out of / no hope not that they're useless).

What a clever play of words.

2. Three Apples has changed the history of mankind.
1st Apple - The apple that Adam ate

2nd Apple - The Apple that fell on Newton's head
** Hubby went on to add - imagine if it were a durian / a coconut! Newton wouldn't have been alive to share his discovery! Of which I replied - Duh! Where got durian & coconut at the place where Newton was born-lah!?! Come to think of it, what's the biggest fruit that can come crashing down on him? Apple? Orange? Pears? None that can cause permanent head damage.

3rd Apple - The Apple that Steve Jobs co-founded

Sometimes getting this interesting articles 2nd hand via hubby; & I'm sure there's a lot of missing nuances & messages that got lost in translations; makes me wish I know how to read Chinese characters. :p

Mid Week Rambles II

I was just thinking to myself this morning that I really need to post some comments on road etiquette in Malaysia (or KL specifically) but never got around to doing it. What better time to do it if not now while I'm waiting for the cumbersome processes do its work.

Some of my observations of KL's roads & its many users:
1) notice tht when it's gridlock jam, the emergency lanes just disappears?

2) the jam escalates to a standstill because people jump que via the emergency lane

3) when faced with a 3-lane road where 1-lane is to turn out (& is jam packed at the moment) while the other 2-lanes are to continue straight (with no traffic beyond the fork), all 3 lanes will be on gridlock because motorists use the 2nd & 3rd lane to jump que into the 1-lane. So despite having dual carriageway to handle the massive traffic flow, it's still of no use because it's being exploited by the inconsiderate few (or rather, many...).

4) the motorcycles are not on the inner lanes but in between cars of a 2-3 carriageway & there were a constant stream of them that despite putting on corner lights, you'll still get honked. So in the end you're confined to the lane that you got yourself in until you come to the junction that you absolutely need to turn. Then how? Turn very slowly & risk getting honked by the motorcyclists + the cars behind you + the cars at the junction where you want to turn in to.

5) you'll need to watch out for the safety of the motorcyclist. Their safety is YOUR responsibility, not theirs. If the motorcyclist suddenly swerve out of a junction into your path, it's YOUR responsibility to slam on the emergency brakes & risk getting hit by the car behind you. If the motorcyclist overtakes dangerously close to your car, it's YOUR responsibility to swerve as well to avoid them (but at the risk of driving into the car on the lane next to you).

6) Yet, if a motorcyclist were to fall near you within 50m radius - BEWARE! the blame will be on you. Despite stopping in time, the fingers will immediately point to the car nearest to the fallen motorcyclist because it's always assumed that the big motorist always "bully" the smaller motorist. Err... Who's the bigger bully here (refer to 5)?

7) Despite having Puspakom checking our lorries & trucks & buses, we still hear a lot of traffic reports over the radio that announced "a stalled trailer is currently obstructing traffic on xyz road" / "if you're coming from abc, pls be aware that there's a stalled bus on your right lane....". I'm not accusing / claiming anything... I'm just stating the obvious. If someone "tasted" the heat / spice, well it must have came from somewhere... **wink**

8) When a motorist spots a traffic police, the speed will suddenly reduce from 180km/hr to 18km/hr; resulting in a massive crawl 10km away at the back. Why bother slowing down in front of him. If indeed it's a speed trap, slowing down will not change the result - you're still getting that ticket... (or... **wink** I didn't say anything...)

9) Potholes the size of a sinkhole! How can the road ever qualify being a KL road if there aren't any! My suspension suffers

10) Heaven forbid if there's a night market nearby! Double & triple park is legal, as long as there's still 1-lane left for the motorist to move... it's fine to continue encroaching the main roads.

Well, I've finally got all of the road frustrations off my chest... night night...

psst... & I finally get to finish work & leave! Hurrah!
Now to face the dreaded traffic I listed earlier.... sigh...

Recommendation: Nails Magic in SS2, PJ

Last Tuesday hubby had an appointment in SS2 & I not wanting to wait for him in a stuffy office, decided to walk around the block of shops / boutiques in SS2. I found a banner advertising manicure & pedicure, both for RM48 for first time customer. I decided to try since hubby would not be ready for another hour.

I was pleasantly surprised. Some of the good points about the place:
1. Comfortable solo sofa chairs with a running basin to soak your feet in
2. a huge LCD TV
3. rows after rows of O.P.I nail polish in every shade possible
4. Nail art designs tht are truly professional looking & not some lousy / cheesy looking nail art tht looks like the artwork of a 5-yr old drawing snowman / lop-sided snowflakes (though I do appreciate tht the "canvas" is truly small & may be a challeng for some - there's not much space you can paint on short nails)
5. Finally! A proper pedicure tht scrubs away your dead skin cells at the soles & the sides of the heels using pumice & followed by bath salts (the few I've tried so far only sticks your feet into some bubbly water with a bit of bath salt & wipe it dry, tht's all... and when asked to remove the dead skins, the generic answer is - need to add money... sigh...)

Not tht used to a guy doing pedicure & manicure though, but I must admit he's very good with the nailarts, so it doesn't really matter anymore. However if you're the type tht feels squimish abt having a guy handling your feet, there are women in their staff too. Just make sure you come prepared in open toed sandals & 1 - 1.5hrs to spare. If you go in pairs, I think the discount is even better.

Pullman Putrajaya

Last Christmas weekend, hubby & I stayed in Pullman Putrajaya using the free night stay voucher he got. Based on the name, I was expecting an ultra modern / minimalist / all straight lines & muted colours type of hotel. Boy was I way off the mark!

Not tht it wasn't beautiful. Far from it... It's majestic (in size) with traditional themes. It has several blocks named after different types of flowers... Let's see if I can remember most if not all of them...
1. Lotus (this is where the lobby, swimming pool, ballrooms, gym other than rooms are located) - in Chinese / Japanese theme
2. Raflesia (this is where we stayed) - in Sabah / Sarawak style with traditional motives on the pillars
3. Bunga Tanjung (this is where the 24-hour restaurant & also where we have breakfast is located. Of course it has rooms too) - Malay themed
4. Jasmine - Indian themed
These blocks surrounds a beautiful pillared clock tower, with a fountain at its base & overlooking a beautiful lake where a restaurant on stilts can be found. Beside the lake, there's an open air "amphitheatre", game rooms, children play room, bicycles for rent etc. There's also a Maritime centre next door (don't know wht's in a Maritime Centre; it's still empty at the moment).

It was a peaceful place to be in (but probably attributed to low number of occupants / the grounds is so big tht we didn't bump into many ppl). I think I see more cleaners & maintenance folks than guests; but it's no wonder considering the size of the hotel. It certainly needs an army to run / upkeep the place. The most surprising thing I found? dumbbells & yoga mats in the room's cupboard (no I didn't take them home... behave guys...).

Several down sides though:
1. I remembered I commented in Krabi tht Malaysian tourism's most successful area (better than our neighbours) is tht our staff has good command of English. The staff here (especially the night shift... Morning shift is much better) proved me wrong... They either take time to understand us / understand us but don't know how to reply / give us the wrong information (e.g. we wanted to know the room rates if we're a member of their chain of hotels & was told it's RM100++ but when we asked again in the morning, we were told tht it's actually abt RM250++!! Jeezz....)
2. It's a new hotel, yet the room had faulty security lock / things needing repair
3. Food is generally too salty. Other than tht, it's normal hotel fare with nothing to rave about. But hubby praised tht it's the first hotel he'd been so far tht managed to produce a proper half-boiled egg on the 2nd try! (other hotels keep giving him hard-boiled eggs because the chefs insisted the right time to cook a half-boiled egg is 3 mins & refuses to change the timing despite producing hard-boiled eggs everytime they cook it for 3 mins)
4. There's nowhere to go out for good food in Putajaya! Or maybe we don't know where to find them. We went to Alamanda Putrajaya mall & had our dinner there instead.

Overall it was a good & relaxing retreat. If you can afford the price, it's a good place to relax & do nothing! :-)

Susan Boyle - Debut Album

I bought the Debut Album of Susan Boyle last Wednesday (16/12). I loved it. I asked hubby to guess, based on the voice, how old is the singer. He analysed "considering it's very youthful sounding but had a slight maturity especially on the lower notes, reckon the singer can't be teenage, so should be easily 25-28 years of age"... hehe.... boy how off the mark he was, but yes, I'd agree with him... She has such a youthful voice, no wonder there are parties who accused her of miming to someone else's voice. I chose to belief it's her real voice.

Verdict: Go get the album!

What Has Happened to TGIF?

Maybe it's just the Garden's outlet, but did TGIF's quality just dropped?

Yesterday we were treated with a year-end team lunch at TGIF, Gardens. The starters were good, so no complaints there.

Since we'll not be working after the long lunch, I went ahead & order the Jack Daniel's half Ribs & shrimps. All I can say after eating it was tht the fries was good.... tht's it! Apart from the fries, nothing else is good.
1. ok the shrimp wasn't bad.... but not fantastic... so....
2. the sauce is soooooooo sweet..... it was so good & gooey last time tht 1 serving is not enuff & I wish for more... now I can't even stand the sauce on the ribs, let alone add the separate serving provided!
3. the ribs was a disaster... it was so over cooked tht the edges was burnt crisp hard (strangely it wasn't black... just hard. The rest of the ribs including the middle was so dry tht when I cut it, the meat comes out in dry floss. Even my mates looking at my plate, without even tasting it can tell it was really dry & over cooked.

Next was the staff... You'd think tht if we're paying so much for a meal, we'd at least be waited by staff who can at least speak understandable English! The one tht waited on us can't even pronounce the stuff on the menu. When he said, "let me repeat the menu", tht was all we understood... What he rattled after tht was total gibberish... We ended up staring at him open mouthed & just said yea... whatever... tht should be right. :-)

When the "Earl Grey Tea" ordered by a friend of mine came in the form of a "Cappucino", we called the captain who promptly took it to the waiter to check the order. Back came our good friend, bringing the same cup of coffee & insisted the coffee is tea, when 1 whiff is enough to confirm it's definitely not tea. My friend gave up & just accepted it. As she was stiring the sugar in, another waiter (presumably instructed by the captain) arrived with the tea...

Not tht I condemn the waiter... I'm sure he has best intentions at heart... but I think the problem is with the management - in sourcing for the right ppl for the right job. It's 1 thing if you're operating a road side seafood dai chao / mamak stall to have staff who can't even understand the customer; but it's an entirely different story for a restaurant tht charges abt RM50-60/pax (& tht's on a tight budget) to get such untrained staff.

For RM500 for 6 pax.... Don't think we can accept such quality.... It may sound snobbish, but really felt tht we're not getting our money's worth.