07 March 2005

Weekend Roundup

Friday:
My wife pulled me along with her to the Hush Puppy sale at the Armada Hotel in PJ. In the end I ended up spending more than her. Actually she bought 2 shoes and I bought only one - a pair from Obermain, which cost me only RM100. Yeah! even at a bargain, guys shoes cost more. Maybe its because we don't buy that often and only have a few pairs as compared to women.

Added this later:I have been here at the Armada hotels for various sales. In fact, I bought most of my Hantaran (Malay wedding gifts) at some of them. This time, it was a bit more organised with the organisers restricting the number of customers entering the hall. Last time, it was a riot with ladies pushing each other tugging and pulling. This time, the pushing and pulling was still on but on a lesser scale.

In the evening we finally watched Sepet. Correction: I finally watched Sepet. My wife had already seen it earlier on Wednesday. Anyway, tried to book 2 tickets at One Utama's TGV over the phone but found that it was fully booked. So decided to try our luck by queuing up for the 9:10 pm show. Found that the only seats available were those on the front row. We were really disappointed until the lady at the counter pointed out that we could wait till 8:40pm. They would then release those unsold seats booked over the telephone. We waited and got great seats, 3 rows from the back and in the center.

Regarding the movie, I guess I have nothing new to blog about. Yes its a great movie and I really liked it, I guess because it is like a breath of fresh air after all the Erra Fazira and fantasy based/Hindi movie clones. However, the scene transitions were sometimes a bit jarring. We laughed along with the others at some of the funny scenes. The sad scenes were a bit touching initially but the girls weeping at the back and in the front rows somehow made it funny. I recommend everyone to see this movie if you have not done so.

Saturday:
Went to Melacca for work again. Didn't have chance to explore the city again.

Sunday:
Went to Ikea in Damansara with Rahil tagging along. Our friend, Hardy gave us free vouchers worth RM100 and so we decided to do a bit of shopping. A tip: You can save on parking if you park at the Curve's parking, which is still free and then walk to the Ikano power center. Anyway, we didn't buy anything big and picked up some small stuff which cost altogether about RM60. So we have about RM40, which we must finish off before 16th March. We may have to come back for a bed set, which will set me back by more than a grand. Uh Oh.

My younger sister called me up from Australia to wish me Happy Birthday, a bit early. She will be here in Malaysia in April and she can't wait to see Rahil.

Monday:
Back to work in Kedah. It's my birthday but I will be celebrating it alone. My wife gave me a nice pen and a wallet (to replace my old one). Everyone loves presents and I am no exception. My sister called me to say that she has something for me when I come back next week. Keep those present coming.

I remember those days during my teenage years when I couldn't wait to be older. Its kind of funny but you keep reminiscing about those teenage years....

04 March 2005

Sad News

On Wednesday, my father called me up to tell me that my grandmother (on my mother side - my mother's mother) has passed away. I knew her simply as Aa Bok and don't even know her real full name.

She was always there for us. When my father was away in UK and we were all alone, she was the only one that came forward to help. I remember the times she put me to sleep, telling me old folk tales and of Kings and princesses. How she told me of my Royal blood. I don't know if she was joking. My mon would sometimes leave me with her when she was busy and I would watch and play around in the small shop that they used to run. I could choose any snack to eat and they would not stop me.

It has been quite sometime since I last saw her. I had always assumed that she would be around and kept putting off seeing her. And now its too late. Now I wish I had seen her before she died or called her more often. Its too late.

Hope she goes to Heaven.

01 March 2005

Money From Blogs

Edited 9th Dec. 2006

It all started with my wife. She was pointing out that I spent a lot of time writing my blog or reading other people's blogs. She noted that if I put a fraction of the time/energy utilised + the passion, I would have completed my PhD in no time. She added "its not like you can get any money writing a blog".

It made me wonder, "Can bloggers actually make money from their blogs?"

On doing some research, I found out that there are actually several ways one can make money from their blogs without getting involved in scams.

1. Instead of using e-bay, you can use your blog to advertise the old stuff you are selling.

BTW, I have got some rare old handphones (Philips, Alcatel, Siemens / 3-5 years old with worn out batteries) if you are interested. I got rid of them before leaving Malaysia but I do have some interesting items here.

2. You can also take money from people to advertise their stuff on your blog.

Hey! My friend Hardy wants to rent out his new fully furnished condo in Cyberjaya. Anybody interested can contact me at ahoklah@gmail.com he already has a tenant.

3. Put up Google advertisements and hope that people click on them. Better still - tell all your family members and friends to click the ads regularly. This may violate Google's Program Policies.

You also need to be very popular to be able to earn something. I have been blogging for nearly 3 years now and I haven't even got my first cheque yet.

4. Get a domain name, host your blog there, increase your popularity until it becomes very famous and then sell it off to the highest bidder.

Actually, you need some creativity and of course, some good writing skills. Some controversy doesn’t hurt. But don't overdo it or you might be hauled off under the Internal Security Act (for people in Malaysia).

5. Set up an account with PayPal and ask people to donate to it for some stupid reason like – “Please donate! I need money to do a PhD" and hope that some kind old soul will have pity on you and donate that £9500 annually for a period of 4 years.






I know for a fact that there are a lot of people out there who don't know what to do with their money. I will give them hundreds of reasons.

You can also open up a new bank account and ask charitable people to put money into the account. I also accept cheques, contact me at ahoklah@gmail.com for more details.

NOTE: It would be nice if you can show that the money has been put into good use, like getting a brand new digital camera to take pictures and create awareness about environmental issues.

Can you think of other ways to make money from your blog without getting involved in scams.

p.s. Yeah! I earn some money from my blog but indirectly.

1) Research. Some people who read my posts invited me to join their projects
2) Webdesign. I have received few web designing jobs.
3) Writing. Have received invitations and presently contributing articles.

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28 February 2005

Hazy Melacca

Drove down to Melacca last saturday for work. My sis-in-law and husband (Eju and Muz)tagged along as they had planned to spend the weekend there. I was glad they did, as long journeys can get pretty boring when you are driving alone. The visibility was really bad but thank God! there were no horrible pile ups or any accidents. Though I saw one car who had gone into a ditch near the Port Dickson exit.

This was the first time I was driving to Melacca but couldn't see much as I was busy from 2 till 8pm. Just went to Jaya Jusco after work and roamed around a bit. Lot of choice of food and grabbed a light dinner while waiting for brother and sis-in-law who had taken my car. I had a strange feeling sitting all alone and looking at all the people walking by - some smiling, some curious while others gave me just a passing glance. And you wonder what they are thinking of.

Anyway, just found an interesting fact. The Malacca store opened in Oct. 1991 and is the first Jaya JUSCO overseas store to have trees planted under AEON Hometown Forests Program. Nice to see environmental friendly companies.

25 February 2005

Not Subang

I was quite sad though not surprised when I read yesterday that the Malaysian Government has rejected AirAsia's proposal to make Subang airport as a low cost airline hub. According to Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy, it was estimated that it would cost about RM300 mil. to build a new terminal at Subang.

I was wondering why they would need to construct a new terminal when the facilities are already there. Won't it be more costly to construct a totally new one at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA)?

Of course, there was stong lobbying against the proposal. A lot of companies had a lot to lose if the proposal was approved - Malaysia Airports Holding Bhd which runs KLIA, the Express Rail Link (ERL)under YTL, Malaysian Airlines (MAS), airport limo operators and of course the Malaysian Govt. Actually in the end it was AirAsia and of course, the common consumers like us against giants. I was hoping against all odds that it would be approved as I have to regularly travel between Alor Star in Kedah and KL.

Now that the government has decided to build the new terminal in KLIA, I was hoping that the government would look into reducing the fares of the Express Rail Link (ERL), which is now RM 35 for the 28 minutes journey. I think a more acceptable rate should be around RM10, after all it is a public service. Also improving the limo services would be highly appreciated. Once we had to wait around 1 hour after arriving from Alor Star, just to get a limo from KLIA to PJ. Till then, I guess I have to continue taking a bus or drive back and fourth between KL and Kedah.

22 February 2005

iPod Maybe

Sometime back I had taken part in the Asian Wall Street Journal's survey "AWSJ 200: Asia's Leading Companies" and received an e-mail yesterday informing me about the results.

The top ten multinational companies operating in Asia are:

1. Microsoft Corp. (has been on top for the past 10 years)
2. BMW
3. Hewlett-Packard
4. Nokia Corp.
5. Sony Corp.
6. Toyota Motors Corp.
7. IBM
8. General Electric
9. Intel Corp.
10. Apple Computer

According to the survey, Genting Bhd was ranked No. 1 in Malaysia.
The complete results will come out in the 21st February 2005 issue of The AWSJ.

The interesting thing is that the 1st 100 people in Malaysia to return the questionnaires were entered in a lucky draw. The prize: an Apple iPod. Here's hoping that I get it.

BTW, you may have noticed I have put back the Blogger comments up. I decide to do so after learning that Haloscan does not save older comments. Please use the Blogger facility to leave your valuable comments. I am still leaving the Haloscan comments on as there are some interesting comments there.

20 February 2005

Burgled

After just only a few weeks after I wrote this, my wife just called to inform that the house had been broken into last night.

The burglers jumped over the walls, broke open the windows, reached in with a pole or something and got the keys to the house and just got in like that by opening the door.

They took away my father-in-law's iPaq, Apple laptop and some other stuff. All these were in the living room. These people are getting bolder and bolder. My father-in-law had been working till about 2 am in the morning and my wife's grandmother was sleeping downstairs, just net to the living room. I thank God that no one was hurt.

They have already made a police report but I am not sure whether they will be ever caught. I have also noticed that whenever there is a construction going on nearby, incidences of burglaries will rise. Just happens that there is a new construction goign on near my wife's house, 'Wisma Glomac' or something near the Giant shopping centre at kelana Jaya. Is that a coincidence?

Really scary. Hope the police does something.

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