In a swift blink of an eye, CNY is over. Today's Valentine's day and also eve of Pai Tii Kong. Tomorrow I'm flying to Kuching to do some photography work.

All in all, this CNY has not been as fun as previous CNY's. I dunno, maybe I'm just getting older and don't have the energy to siao siao like last time.

I'm still looking around SS18 for my dream home. So far there is one unit renovating but asking for 420K. Another unit behind asking for 450K but full timber flooring downstairs which I find it a waste of money. Another 2 units around but renting, not selling. So, looks like I'll have to wait more.

Activities for CNY

The things I will be doing this CNY:

1) Makan - yes, every Malaysian's favourite past time will be magnified tenfold during CNY. All forms of edible (and inedible) stuff will suddenly appear: sea cucumber, yee sang, mussels, pork knuckle, chicken legs, pigs stomach, candies, cookies, muruku, Ngan Yin groundnuts, Carlsberg, Peace brand longan... and of course... Penang steamboat!

2) Big 2 - previously my family didn't know how to play this game. Only started 2 years back, and now it is the staple game. Occasionally played during weekends, but the big kaboosh comes once a year during CNY. Recently it has been expanded to all sorts of "new years" : Hari Raya, Deepavali...

3) Mahjong - the time passer game, painfully slow but essential during every CNY to liven up the environment with the loud sounds of plastic tiles crashing into each other, the ecstatic cries of "pung", "kong", and "sek wu", chips exchanging hands and not forgetting Ah Kong's super yau yeng gestures during the game!

4) TV - endless droning from Wah Lai Toi, AEC, and other Chinese channels which will show reruns of old Hong Kong movies, TVB variety shows, concerts, and not forgetting the local musical shows with the once-a-year appearance of Mohan.

And, that's it. CNY is so simple. The only painful experience? Giving ang pow >:(

Choi San Dou!

choi san dou choi san dou
hou sam dak hou bou
choi san wah choi san wah
wan chin yi jing lou
choi san dou choi san dou
hou jau faai leurng bou
dak dou keui tai hei lei lei yau chin tou

hap fu hing san seui hei hei ying ying
chai ho lei do fuk yam jong gin keurng ging
yau juk lei gam nin hing wok wing sing
chiu maan do do fun siu gam sau chin ching

yeun fu fu yan oi tai tip yap mei
sing yat yau gat seng chiu baak si mou gei
gung chan yau seung gin seut wah tau gei
chung mun san cheun hei hei fun jeurk yeuk mei

…… la la la ........

choi san dou choi san dou
hou jau fai leung bou
dak dou keui tai hei lei lei yau chin tou

ho so yau yuun lui fah git bing tau
waan mong gok wai gung yau baak yip sing jau
dai ga mou jang dau fai lok mou yau
ting jek go heng sung haa pau keuk han sau

…… la la la ........

choi san dou choi san dou
hou jau fai leung bou
dak dou keui tai hei lei lei yau chin tou

la la la ........

choi san dou choi san dou
hou jau fai leung bou
dak dou keui tai hei lei lei yau chin tou

Dai jung hing san seui mong choi san dou!

Why am I still in office?

I can't concentrate. Today's Tuesday. Tomorrow will be the CNY eve reunion dinner and followed by non-stop gambling till CNY first day. So why am I still slaving away at work? I should be at home catching up on some prepaid sleep so that I can stay awake and eat all the yummylicious food!

I just got all my priorities wrong lah...

The house...

The house in Kemuning Utama is so nice! The owner already done up some basic stuff: lightings, extend back kitchen, back door grille, kitchen counter tops. The price? Similar to basic units. Some more the design is so practical and spacious! 2300 sq ft of living space. Not to mention the goodies: air con and water heater points, auto gates standard from developer, gated and guarded for only RM30 per month, Johnson Suisse bathroom fittings... what more could one ask for?

Sigh... if only the house was located in Subang Jaya!

:(

Super Expressway

Super Expressway (North-South Highway replacement)

This expressway will be a fully elevated highway from the northern tip to the southern tip of peninsular Malaysia. It will be a 8-lane dual carriageway (4 lanes per direction) and will be built as straight as possible to maximize average vehicle speed. It will replace the North-South Highway, which will be toll-free after the Super Expressway comes into service.

Entry and exit points are planned to join the NS Highway approximately 1km from the exit points of the NS Highway. In this case the exit points are shared between the new expressway and the old highway. On the Super Expressway, there will be a minimum speed of 80km/h, and there will be no maximum speed on the 3rd and 4th lanes. Vehicles which do not conform to the minimum speed will be signaled and will have to exit the Super Expressway at the next nearest exit.

Toll payment will be facilitated via RFID tags. Users of the Super Expressway will need to have a RFID tag that stores either prepaid or account-based information. Toll payments are deducted via RFID scanners built along the expressway, therefore users do not need to stop at any toll plazas.

It is estimated that the total travel time can be saved by 40% by using the Super Expressway. Safety will also be guaranteed, as motorcycles and heavy vehicles will not be allowed to use the Super Expressway, and will continue to use the NS highway below.

Grassroots Party Of Malaysia (GPM) or Parti Akar Umbi Malaysia (PAUM)

Grassroots Party Of Malaysia (GPM)
Parti Akar Umbi Malaysia (PAUM)

Motto:
A party by the people, for the people.

Concept:

This party will be unlike any political party in the history of Malaysia. All party positions are elected by direct elections. Candidates are chosen from the grassroots and are given ample opportunities to present themselves, debate on open issues, and campaign for support.

All candidates for the parliamentary and state elections are also directly elected from the grassroots. Only after at least one layer of candidate elections will the candidate be chosen to contest in the general elections or by elections.

Should the GPM form the state government, the first business to handle will be to reintroduce local government elections. Local councils will be directly elected from the grassroots. Only the minimal number of positions will be necessary to minimize wastage of resources and promote an efficient service delivery.

The grassroots will be engaged constantly to determine what they really want in their constituency and locality. Panel of experts (comprising from the grassroots) in various fields (e.g. town planning) will be constantly engaged to provide valuable input to the GPM on how to further improve the governance.

Finally, should the GPM form the federal government, the first business will be to reaffirm the separation of powers between legislative, judiciary and executive. The elections commission will be given new autonomy and will report directly to the Agong. The Agong's and conference of rulers' discretionary powers will be restored to the pre-constitutional crisis phase. The GPM government will ensure that the grassroots' interests will be protected at all times while maintaining balance in international competetiveness.

been busy...

Lately, I've been busy looking for house for sale, looking through the newspapers, iproperty.com, ronda-ronda around the neighbourhood looking for a good house for my own stay.

After several rounds of fruitless searching in SS18, SS17, USJ20, decided to take the plunge and settle for houses in Putra Heights / Laman Putra. But after viewing the unit, decided that the rooms and built up was just too small to justify such a high price. Perhaps other types would be better, but also cost more.

Then found a wonderful unit in SS18, but purchase was not successful because of lacking documentation, floor plan, extension approvals. The unit was sold already. I guess it's back to square one.

Am now contemplating again whether or not to go for Putra Heights. The location is really far in now, and the commercial development is really lacking. I wonder if it will improve to become the next USJ.

Actually I wouldn't mind moving to the apartment for a few years. But if we don't manage to get a house of our own, I really wonder if I can continue staying here in this house now!

Options:
1) Subang Jaya
Best location, best built up, but houses are old and require renovation for it to be lived in. Also, lack of suitable units due to old fashioned design and general reluctance of owners to move out.

2) USJ
Second best location (the jams are frustrating), newer designs and newer condition. But generally built up is smaller for equal price in SJ. Furthermore, weird pillars and wasted spaces everywhere.

3) Putra Heights
New houses, new designs, better interior fittings. But built up is just too small, and a lot of wasted spaces. Newer phases have high asking prices >400K for a livable unit. Commercial area and general development is lacking. Access is poor also.

4) Kota Kemuning
A well developed township with good landscaping. But the units are small (22x75) and also this place is under MBSA jurisdiction. Have not viewed any units here yet.

5) Setia Alam
Further away from Kota Kemuning, houses also 22x75 and under MBSA. Green concept, lots of nice landscaping here. Commercial area more developed than Putra Heights. Have not viewed any units here yet.

6) Tanamera USJ
High price >400K for a 22x80 DSL unit and >500K for TSL unit. G&G development, private feeling and security is good. Maintenance fee is high ~RM300 per month. Have nice swimming pool and landscaping. Have not viewed any units here yet.

Abdullah is clueless...

I didn't say it. It's reported in theSun...

On another matter, the prime minister seemed in the dark when asked the reasons for the delay in handing over of keys to tsunami victims in Tanjung Bungah to allow them to move into their new homes.

“Those who meet the requirements can move in immediately,” he said.

When told that the victims had held a demonstration yesterday as they were unable to move into their new homes, he looked puzzled and insisted they could move in already. “As long as they have met the requirements, they should be able to move into the new units,” he said.

When pressed further on whether he will order an investigation on the reasons for the delay, he replied “no”, but seemed unhappy over being informed about the delay by the media.

2 more episodes to go

With only 2 more episodes to go in both (yes - both - I'm watching both) Astro-On-Demand dramas, finally the stories will end. As always, it will be a happy ending. And I hope that the loose ends are tied up nicely, or else it will be quite irritating to see an open ended plot line not properly closed up. It will just show the flaws during the script writing.

So what will I do from next week onwards? I guess it's back to whatever routine I had previously before the drama invasion. A mix of Heroes/KyleXY/Prison Break watching, reading up on all my books, and preparing for my grandpa's 90th birthday bash!