Emporium Blog

It is the 9^th of September 2009, 10.49am to be precise that my second child was born. My family has grown. Mommy, Daddy, daughter and son. I am happy.

Life has changed, especially during the last few years. Things have mellowed down rather drastically. Noticed too that this post took over a year from the last one to appear.

Excitement has taken a new meaning. It is all done that, seen that, tasted that and been there kind of feeling. Responsibility takes precedent over all things now.

I am officially settled down, I shall say.

I pumped a full tank of petrol into my car today, almost reluctantly. Heck, if I don’t pump, it won’t go, geddit! There isn’t much choice I am afraid, unless I leave it to rot. This really don’t ask for a rant if that wish angel did not drop dead over indigestion of too much shit fed by the government.

I really believed that the Malaysian Government BN Government is gonna lower the price on the 1st of September 2008. As always, they lied. I remember some bloke in Perak even boasted that the fuel price is to be reviewed twice a month, all craps! I hate them politicians. Well, I supposed they are natural hate magnets when they go around shooting yesterday’s meal through their mouth.

Lame post this, yeah. But I felt better.

There was a story told long time ago by a wise man. It is a story about hardship and struggle unrivalled by its intensity. Truly a myth worth pondering.

So told there was this bird, *born without legs. It learned how to fly while falling from its nest up high. It was pushed down by its parents. From then on it keeps flying.

It cannot land for fear it cannot take off again. It has neither friends nor mate.

If it is sleepy, it will fly up high and sleep while falling from the sky and wakes up before hitting land. It has no choice but to keep flying to survive.

One day it will land. It is the day when the bird dies.

*note: born not hatched as was originally told.

Jaya Jusco is on sales again! I am not surprised, they have sales every now and then. More often than not. Infact I will be more surprised if they are not on sales.

The “Sales” culture is so embedded in the life of Malaysians. If it is not on sales, don’t buy yet, wait.

“What you do not have now is what you do not need” holds water here. Most shopping centres and complexes, huge ones, are quite deserted nowadays if there is no promotion of sort to draw em crowd in.

So I went and bought meself three pairs of trousers and two pairs of socks. All on 30% discount. Smart move eh!

Why buy so many freaking pairs for? My waistline is playing havoc on me. Sometimes big, sometimes small, really. Got some wide range of sizes, these trousers of mine. Next I ought to get a bigger wardrobe to stuff em in.

So short are my legs that all three pairs of trousers need to be altered. “We do not have alteration services during promotion sales” says the saleslady.

Very well, I will buy a pair of scissors from the stationeries dept and cut em myself. I just need you to fold em up and sew them, can? Cannot!

Ended up paying RM8 each pair for alteration at one rundown tailor shop near my place. That is 40% of the purchase price of RM19.90 a pair. So much for the 30% discount smart move purchase.

Heck!

As always I was having my meal alone again, at some food court in some shopping complex. I was not in my best of mood. It is more like a state of mood I am in most of the time.

There is this lady who came near my table asking for permission to take some empty chairs over to her table.

Lady, pointing to the empty chair: Ada orang ke? (“Is there someone?” *in Bahasa Malaysia)

Me: Lei kong mat chat? (“What are you talking about?” *in rude Cantonese)

In Malaysia, most Malays cannot understand the Chinese language. However, most other races can understand and speak fluent Bahasa Malaysia. The Malays are often very reluctant to speak in other languages than theirs. Even if they speak in the English Language, they will have accent, with their own flow and generous fare of lah’s. I am not in the mood to make her understand, not this time.

The lady was taken back slightly and looks quite surprise at my response. Somehow she summed up her courage to ask again.

Lady, pointing to the empty chair: Ada orang ke? (this time much louder)

Me: Ni Mah Ter. Ni suo seh meh? (Some vulgarities and “What are you talking about?” *in Mandarin)

She scoffs and walks off.

Moral of the story? There is none actually, just fed up.

I am having my meal at KFC. I am alone. I sit at the furthest corner of the restaurant. As usual my order is the Snack Plate, consisting of two pieces of chicken, coleslaw, mashed potatoes and a small bun.

It is boring having to eat alone. Looked around, there are couples, families, friends, all eating together and chatting happily. My mood sank lower. Well, fine, I just have to finish my meal quickly and get out of there.

Somehow someone must have noticed my new haircut that day. A nice pretty little lady walks toward me and she looks happy to see me. I am sure she is smiling at me because I have my back to the wall and there is no one behind me.

My heart beats faster as she comes closer. Uninvited and in a most gracious way she sat beside me.

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Make money online by writing a blog, it is not to be, at least for the moment for this blog. Those who tell you can make money easily by writing a blog are telling a lie. It is possible but it is not easy, far from it. It would take as much effort as it takes to start a business in real life and make it make profit. No luck is involved in this. Planning, promotion, rapport and even connections play a part in your blog’s success. Even the reliability of your webhoster will play a part.

If you put as much effort into writing a blog so much so that it will make you a decent income to enable you to forgo your regular job, you would be a doctor in real life with the same amount of effort put into your studies. Those who are still skeptical can proof me wrong by starting a blog now and talk again after six months.

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I used to be a chain smoker. I started smoking since college, partly due to peer pressure and I thought it is cool to be seen with a cigarette. Boy, was I wrong.

Movies and unrealistic advertisement back then depicts smokers as idol and cool dude. I still remember the advertisement where the bald eagle of America flying over the outback plains. Two cowboys then emerges and brew coffee on a bonfire while smoking. Smoking represents the free spirit, peace and style. That is the power of advertisements.

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