T-Minus 0 days to the Maldives

Alas... the day is finally here!!!! In a about 18 hours, I shall be on board flight no. MH 189 and on route to the Maldives!!! Just enough time today to get Aindhy's Fisherman's Friend mints...although, not really finished packing though,,,, last minute details to sort out...anyway, cheerio fellow Malaysians... see ya in about a week....

T-Minus 2 days to the Maldives

AAARRRggggghhhh!!!!.., just as I thought I'd have some time to look into some last minute details of my imminent trip...yes imminent!.... more work barges into my office...key word :imminent trip...now, client wants an urgent opinion and looks like I gotta clear it before the weekend and it's already Thursday!!!....remember... imminent.....TO make it worse, my boss is gonna be in Alor Setar for trial the whole of next week, so, he'll probably be busy too, which makes it difficult to discuss things with him.....imminent.....so, here I go, making every minute of the day (and nite) count....

For a while, I did think of cancelling my IMMINENT trip.... but then again... I have to make this one, or else, I'd really regret it....not to mention to copius cancellation charges and all that....it's imminent.... AARRGHHHHHH!!!! Postponement of a winding up petition hearing somemore?!?!?! Sureeeee.... get it dismissed.... have the supporting creditors object to the whole notion and get ready to pay costs.... (now you have an idea...but, of course, my fellow practisioners would have a better idea of what I am regurgitating right now)

So, like a worker bee, I flit and float the whole day long, trying to be productive....

T-Minus 3 days to the Maldives

Suspense, anticipation, trepidation, excitement... I can't believe time flies by so fast... already I'm just a mere 3 days away from my imminent trip to a paradise getaway!!!... would you believe I haven't even organized my packing yet.... NO? ...then again... last-minute packers are not too uncommon in Malaysia...Aindhy...I haven't got your Fisherman's Friend yet... but not to worry... have ordered a box (2 dozen packets in it) from a nearby shop... will be collecting in a couple of days...

For record's sake, I am scheduled to depart ex-KUL to Male on flight MH 189 @ 2205 hours on the 26th of August, 2006...I can almost here that oh so familiar announcement chimes from the Sepang Airport's public address systems.

Alien bug

IT crawled up to someone's patio... a creature with many legs and as furry as Garfield...looks cute enough to cuddle, but knowing too well of nature's way of telling you, "I'm poisonous...keep back" ... it's only known as the "Bolivia Bug" or the "Puss Caterpillar" over some forums and sites I'VE checked out...but what in the world is this bug? Watch the video by clicking on the link below... looks mechanised, but then again... to dextrous to be a machine... tell me what you think...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeNggIGSKH8

Grandmother's surgery (3)

As it turns out, our prayers and expectations were fulfilled... gramma was discharged this afternoon after being issued a clean bill of health by Prof (Dr.) BK Lim... she's now recouperating at home... thank you to all my friends who have sent me your well wishes and joined us in prayer...

93 reasons to remember...

The flight that fought back... a story of when we were shown fear, the moment we found courage and the meaning of true heroes...directed by Paul Greengrass, this tale of incredible heroes and sacrifice will keep you glued to your seat... check out the official site .

I was touched by this first movie based depiction of the late crew and passengers of United Airlines 93 , the only plane in the 9/11 attacks which did not make it to its target... the only flight, which had the least number of people on board compared to the other 3 doomed flights (United 175, American Airlines 11 and 77 and during the day of terror...

Even in the face of certain death, the passengers thought it their calling to thwart the foes that so threatened to use the Boeing 757-222 as a deadly projectile in pursuance of a suicide mission that would result in deaths of innocent people...


You will be unflinched by this critically acclaimed docu-drama of the lives, the love and the courage of the passengers who were brave enough to face up to terrorists of the al-Qaeda block to preserve one thing and one thing that all of us take for granted... freedom...

Grandmother's surgery (2)

I visited my gramma at lunch on Wednesday... she had been wheeled out of the surgery room at 8pm on the Tuesday nite... she was relatively chirpy and chatty...probably after finishing her hospital food...thank the Lord for such a relief... I had planned to do this before my flight to Penang later on Wednesday nite...which was incidentally delayed by a bunch of rambunctious Arabians...mother, children and all, who were all refusing to take their seats until their baggage were secured... I could just see the stress in the stewardesses' faces when they were passing by...I though to captain was going to egress from the cockpit to sort them out... well...that's another story...

Back to gramma...

Turns out that she was rather moody in the morning...the nurses told me that she was adamant of going to the shower herself...ripping of her IV drips, including the blood being transfused...she only settled once Prof (Dr.) BK Lim came by to check on her progress... typical of my gramma actually...she'd only take figures of authority seriously...

My 6th uncle and wife and my 7th aunt would be visiting her during the nite... I suppose my gramma would appreciate company being stuck in the lonely ward...my mum and bro was supposed to be there as well, but scrapped that idea after my bro fell sick...didn't want to infect my gramma with his bug...

We all will feel much better when she gets discharged this Friday...

Grandmother's surgery

My gramma was admitted to Univertisty Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) last night to be prep for removal of her uterus today... Prof. (Dr.) BK Lim, a renowned gynaecologic oncologist diagnosed her as suffering from uterine prolapse which is supposed to be a normal occurence in women of later years which are way beyond child bearing capability... (my gramma, a few weeks ago, had been complaining of blood in the urine and appaerently, the pressure on the prolapsed uterus was exerting pressure on the bladder and kidneys) the procedure apparently does not entail major incisions...the only worry is that she has hypertension and diabetes... which apparently may affect her revival from general anaesthesia...

Our prayers have gone out to her... it was a relief to hear from my dad that as at 8pm tonight, the surgery was completed without complications...as she is resting now, we will continue to pray for her speedy recovery... by now, she would be still undergoing de-anaesthasation procedures...

I will be paying my gramma a visit tomorrow after court and before I fly off to Penang for a case mention on Thursday... my dad informs that she will be still warded for the next 2 to 3 days for observation and monitoring purposes...I've been told by Dr. Chandran, Meera (my colleague)'s husband that this stay-over is to ensure that the patient does not suffer any post-surgery infection...

We all are praying for you gramma! Get well soon...

Alex and Grace (ground zero)

Well, Alex Lam and Grace Tan's tagline of "Wedding to Remember" was really befitting. Yes... the couple's big day was today, at the Palace of the Golden Horses... very beautiful garden-style wedding..all the guests were colour coded; family members were in purple shades and friends were in white... the event started at about 5pm...with the bride being chaufered in by what was described as "a very fast Malaccan sports-car", fondly known commonly as the "beca" (trishaw)... that was a very nice touch...

Grace was given away by her father at the altar...and after singing some praise and worship and the pastor saying a prayer of blessing, the exchange of vows started..check out Alex's kissing tecniques when the green light was given by the pastor... looks like a scene reminiscent of Gone with the Wind....
Well, the festivities continued with the usual photo-taking and hugging and
greetings... we were then ushered to the dinner area... the centre courtyard later in the evening... the hustling and bustling of the hotel staff and culinary personnel were ambient all around us... on the way walking out to get some fresh air... i chanced upon Datuk Marina Mahathir...whom later I discovered was a family friend of the bride's family...

Dinner was interesting... a prolific spread of local dishes and western... I particularly like the roast lamb and the sirloin steak.. the sweet and sour prawns were not to shabby and i really walloped the fresh, raw muscles...
the butter sauteed garoupa was a nice treat also...

Francis and Asther came over for the dinner. 'Uncle' had a migraine attack earlier, that's why he couldn't make it for the ceremony...well...as well that ends well.. still... his troubles weren't over... turned out that a clumsy photographer tipped over some oil lamps on the floor and spilled some on Asther's new shoes... and when Francis tried to assist, he got his finger burned by the hot lamp... bummer...


Well, it turns out that that wasn't only the suprise for me...I bummed into my former English teacher , Mrs. Chong aka Mdm. Nah... with her husband... incidentally the older brother of Paul Chong of Messrs Paul Chong and Nathan... she hardly recognised me... in fact, she chanced upon me when she asked me whether the queue she was in was the one heading towards the satay shack...

Well, all in all, the whole day turned out to be a real treat... I made mental notes of the event ... in case... not to say anything is going to happen soon... not giving any hints... nope... I only pray for the best for Alex and Grace... and for journey mercies, as they will be taking flight to Prague (Czech Republic) for their honeymoon soon...

Star Trek XI

Finally, after years of waiting, Paramount Studios have made their official announcement of the 11th installation in the Star Trek silver screen saga...XI, scheduled to be released in 2008...no title have been coined yet though... However, looks like Brannon Braga and Rick Berman, whom have been the writers of the TNG cast since Star Trek: Generations, released in 1994 won't be writing this one...although, I've been getting used to their work... credited for the Star Trek: Voayager and Enterprise series...syndicated by UPN ...

For my fellow trekkies... the new movie poster (seen of the left) which was released in June 2006 should be a giveaway to what the next movie would be all about... the prolific insignia centered with a star ... looks like James T. Kirk will ride the galaxy again... looks like prequels are not the only thing in the Star Wars epic...

Rumour has it that Matt Damon will be playing young James Tiberius Kirk, although no storyline has been suggested as yet... I think they are keeping this under heavy wraps for the time being... but what I do know is that JJ Abrams (who directed MI:III) will be producing this one...

Well, Captain Peter Cheong signing off... and in the words of Spock... Live Long and Prosper...

Crabby Dinner

Last Sunday, Karen (my bro's better half) (seen in the picture with her sister, Alicia on the left) decided to give us a treat at the Fatty Crab Restaurant in Taman Mayang...

Was then I met Alicia's boyfriend, Mike Chiew (seen in the picture on the right, below), incidentally a PADI diving instructor... naturally, we started to exchange our diving experience... it turns out that Mike is this year's OC for the RICD (Redang Island Clean Up Day), scheduled to be held between 16th to 18th of August 2006 (Erratum: 16th to 18th of September 2006)... this event coincides with PADI's annual Project AWARE International Clean Up Day...

I promptly took to Mike's invitation to participate... basically, this is an annual exercise where approx 150 divers congregate to clean up the trash and waste lodged in the reef of the island as well as removing excess "crown-of-thorns" starfish...which eats up the coral reef...ordinarily, these creatures are innocuous, but they breed like mice and are capable of depleting the coral reef if not kept in check....

Going back to our 'crabby' feast, we had 2 servings of sweet and sour crab and 2 servings of steamed crab, plus lots of chicken wings and bread to go with the crab sauce... Overall, my mum, brother (seen in the picture on the left, below, with Karen's brother, Edmond) and me stuffed ourselves 'crabby'....


Well, the dinner with the Tan siblings certainly was interesting.. not to mention getting acquanted with yet another fellow diver, instructor rather... Looking forward to RICD... just a couple of weeks after I return from my trip to the Maldives... I rooted this idea to Yee Boon and our friend reacted with delightful approval... yet again, we will roam the waters in the South China Sea...

More Flashlights...

A year and a half ago, I bought my first 'premium' flashlight from Tropical Equipment...the Longbow ECO...20.7 lumens, powered by 2 AA batteries with a run time of about 3 hours... hydrostatically tested to 250 feet (which makes if waterproof...I carry it along for my night dives and it is like the sun underwater). The ECO's heart is the Luxeon 1-W LED (Light Emitting Diode). Constructed by CNC (Computer Numerical Control) from aircraft-grade aluminium... and finished with an olive drab Type III Mil-Spec anodization...you could scratch the body with a key and not scuff it (I've tried it...).

As a good buddy of mine noticed, I've grown accustomed to carrying my flashligts almost anywhere I go... believe me, out of our five senses, sight is the most relied on... so, when things get a little dark or if we can't see into crevices and corners, an illumination tool is always most helpful...

It is evident that my obsession for these devices is seeing an upward growth. Just a couple of days ago, I got the ECO's smaller brother, the Longbow MINI, measuring about 4.5 inches, about 2 inches shorter than the ECO... now this baby is powered by 2 CR123A batteries (a little costly than AAs...)... however, this fits nicely in my pocket and burns at 45 lumes, with a run time of about 4 hours... good thing that LED lights have thousands of hours of burntime, as opposed to incandescents...

But don't get me wrong... incans are excellent for throwing the beam... but there's nothing like an LED light to rely on for longer burn time...