How To Lose Weight

If we were to look around us, it is easy to tell that there has been a dramatic increase in people who are pleasantly-plump. Yes, even in Malaysia. Probably more so in Malaysia what with our nasi lemak (coconut-flavoured rice) and the oily roti canai (pancake), the bak kut teh (herbal pork dish), the char kway teow (fried noodles), oh yes, the fast food too, and lots of other good stuff readily available here in this food paradise.

Everything in moderation is so easy to remember but when faced with such inviting food choices, everything in moderation flies out the window in an instant.

Some of us are luckier that no matter the amount consumed, none of it gets added on. However, for the others, restraint and discipline can be a challenge. When that happens, what do we do? Some of us turn to the magical diet pills for help. Others like JL quickly whip up an effective diet and fitness plan to put him back into his sexy tight jeans. Kudos, JL!

Property market in Malaysia

A year ago, a neighbour bought an auctioned property for their son who got married today, incidentally. I understand they got it at a good price. The property came with built-ins including closets and cabinetry as well as bathroom vanities. This should mean some savings.

In this economic downturn, many homes are being put up for sale due to foreclosures. This is also happening in Malaysia. The number of properties for auction has been increasing the past few months. Perhaps it may be a good time to invest in real estate or buy a property if you have been looking into owning one. I am referring to auction property, that is.

Friday Frolics - What Color Traffic Light Are You

How time flies. It is Friday again - my favorite day of the week. But of course. Time to wind down and take it real easy which sure reflects how I take life... slow paced generally.

Here's a quiz to see how you take life using the traffic light as the theme. Since there are only three colors, it would mean that basically, there are three types of personalities, I think. Mine is red. What's yours?

You Are a Red Light

You take life at a slow pace. Life is long, so what's the rush? You are very selective. You don't make a decision until you're sure it's the right one. You have amassed some wisdom in your life, and you put it to good use. You don't act rashly. You are fair and impartial. People can count on you to do the right thing, even if you take some time to figure out what that is.

What Color Traffic Light Are You?

Other Interesting Quizzes

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone.

The 81st Annual Academy Awards

The Academy Awards has come and gone. Did you manage to catch it - live or repeat? Do you think the winners are deserving of their accolades?

After winning 4 Golden Globes and winning big at the British Independent Film, is it any surprise that Slumdog Millionaire came away with 8 Oscars, including Best Picture, Directing, Music (Song), Music (Score), Editing, Sound Mixing, Cinematography and Writing (Adapted Screenplay).

I didn't catch the ceremony but managed to join (on tv of course) Ryan Seacrest and Juliana Rancic on the Red Carpet. Personally, I'd rather watch this scene of who's who than watching the ceremony. There is more fun being able to move around (following where the camera takes you) seeing who's among the crowd, who's arriving with who, what and who (which designer, that is) they are wearing and hearing them speak, being interviewed.

Let me see.., who did Ryan manage to speak to. There was Seal and Heidi Klum, the latter in a beautiful red gown; Mickey Rourke (I like the way he was dressed. He was nominated for Best Actor); Penelope Cruz (later received the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress); Kate Winslet (Winner - Best Actress); Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick; Brat Pitt (briefly) and of course, Danny Boyle (Winner - Best Director for "Slumdog Millionaire") and the excited children from the movie.

And what would the Oscars do without the Fashion Police. They highlighted some nice clothes.

If you have not seen the movie - me neither - here is a trailer.



YouTube has lots more videos on the Oscar. Check them out if you are interested. While you are at it, check out the soundtrack too afterall the movie received two Oscars for music - song and score.

Sipadan Island

Below is a shot of a giant turtle in the waters off Sipadan Island. This photo, and the others, were taken by a friend's friend who went on a week-long diving-holiday a few years ago. He said he had such a wonderful experience that he would not hesitate to go back there again.


Sipadan Island has long been noted as a world-class diving site. It is located in Sabah in East Malaysia on Borneo Island. Those who have been there would be able to see for themselves the true beauty of Sipadan Island (or Sipadan as it is commonly-referred to) and its surroundings of white sandy beaches, crystal clear waters, abundant variety of marine life, more than anyone can imagine.

Sipadan Island, Malaysia's only oceanic island, has been nominated in the running to be listed as one of the New 7 Wonders of the World along with Thailand’s Ko Phi Phi, Bora Bora, the Galapagos, Cocos Island and Terra del Fuego.

According to the Sabah Tourism chairman, Tengku Datuk Zainal Tengku Mahmud,

“We only knew about three weeks ago that some people who had dived at Sipadan had nominated the island for the listing and we moved quickly to qualify by setting up the official supporting committee.”


We are beginning to see the need to preserve our heritage sites all over the country, so preserving Sipadan with all its natural splendour is a natural progression.

How do we ensure Sipadan's preservation? Since it is in the running to be listed, online voting is ongoing just as we speak. Let us do our part by putting in our vote to have Sipadan Island listed as one of the new 7 wonders of the world. This is the only way to ensure the preservation of this natural wonder as well as to ensure continuous effort is placed on its upkeep. To cast your vote, go to the new7wonders website.

From Wikipedia:
Sipadan is located at the heart of the Indo-Pacific basin, the centre of one of the richest marine habitats in the world. More than 3,000 species of fish and hundreds of coral species have been classified in this ecosystem.

Normally rare diving scenes are frequently seen in the waters around Sipadan: schools of greenback turtles and hawksbill turtles nesting and mating, schools of barracuda & big-eye trevally in tornado-like formations, pelagic species such as manta rays, eagle rays, scalloped hammerhead sharks and whale sharks.

A mysterious turtle tomb lies underneath the column of the island, formed by an underwater limestone cave with a labyrinth of tunnels and chambers that contain many skeletal remains of turtles that have become lost and drown before finding the surface.

After the episode of the 2000 terrorist attack by the Filipino terrorist group, Abu Sayyaf, Sipadan is now heavily guarded by the Malaysian military to ensure safety of tourists. Visitors to the island are required to seek approval through the resorts operating on the island.

Best time to go to Sipadan Island

Try to avoid going from December to February as it is the rainy season though you will not have to contend with the crowd.

For diving, go between April to November and best months are July and August.

How does one get to Sipadan Island?

You will have to fly into Sabah and the point of entry is either Kota Kinabalu or Tawau. If you arrive at Kota Kinabalu, you will need to catch a connecting flight to Tawau.

Advance booking on accommodation is necessary. Do some research and see which resort you would like to stay in. The resort operator will meet you at the airport and send you in a van to Semporna. The journey from Tawau airport to Semporna is around an hour. The scenery along the way is nothing to shout about but an hour of plain oil-palm plantations passes by fast as the roads are good.

It is advisable to fly into Tawau on an earlier flight to catch the resorts scheduled boat transfers. Travelling on unscheduled transfers may cost more.

Suggested airlines include Air Asia and Malaysia Airlines. If you are flying into Singapore, it would be cheaper to take Air Asia from Senai airport in Johor Bharu. Air Asia flies direct to Kota Kinabalu from Senai.

Buses are also available from Tawau to Semporna or from Kota Kinabalu or Sandakan to Semporna. Semporna is where you take the boat-ride to Sipadan. It takes an hour or so by speedboat.

You can also take a taxi from Tawau airport to Semporna at the rate of between RM80 to RM100.

Welcome to Malaysia and enjoy your visit to Sipandan!


More information can be found on WikiTravel - http://wikitravel.org/en/Sipadan

Of Kuching (Cats) and Horses

Almost all major towns and cities have some sort of a landmark, either in the form of a building or a huge work of art. On my recent visit to Kuching, East Malaysia, I noticed lots of humongous cat statues all over town, and why not, since Kuching means cat in the Malaysian language. Not sure what's the story behind the name, but apparently, it has to do with cats.

Here is one set near the Holiday Inn hotel and there are many others all over Kuching.

CNN recently had a story about a horse statue. In Ebbsfleet Valley in England, a sculpture of a giant 50-meter white horse taller than the Statue of Liberty is set to tower over the countryside as part of an unusual scheme to help revive the fortunes of a depressed region of England.


The artist who designed it is Mark Wallinger. This 50-meter equine artwork is the winner of a competition to design a landmark to dominate the skyline of the Ebbsfleet Valley, set to be a new stop on the Eurostar London-to-Paris rail link. This £2 million ($3 million) horse will be one of the largest artworks in the UK.

There are not many or maybe hardly any equestrian horse statue here in Malaysia but if you have seen them overseas in parks and places like that, did you notice whether the horse had all four legs on the ground or one or two hooves in the air? It is often believed that the rider's fate can be determined by the number of hooves the horse has raised.

Theory has it that if one hoof is raised, the rider was wounded in battle; two raised hooves, death in battle; all four hooves on the ground, the rider survived all battles unharmed.

Revelation time.. According to Snopes.com, this claim is false and that the position and pose of the statue does not signify anything. Now that we have got that out of the way, time for some laughs..

Source: Snopes.com

Friday Frolics - How Normal Are You?

I have always been different. I know I am a tad weird at times, goofy too, subtly unconventional, loves hardrock and reggae, a bit rebellious, well, just not quite the regular Jane, if you know what I mean. Now I know for sure.

This quiz here says I am 35% normal. Don't you just love the way these quizzes make you look good? Now, what does that tell you? That I am 65% abnormal! Scary, huh? Please do the quiz, I need company. ;)

Let's see who's the most normal among us, eh?

But I am straight though, not that there is anything wrong with being 'the other'. Oh, you know what I mean..

You Are 35% Normal

You sure do march to your own beat... But you're so weird, people wonder if it's a beat at all You think on a totally different wavelength And it's often a chore to get people to understand you

How Normal Are You?

Other Personality Quizzes

The Fourth Photo in the Fourth Folder of My Photo Archive

Long-time readers of this blog know that I do not do tags and I do have a few that will never see the light of day, unfortunately. Oops! I find them too much work (read thinking) involved.

Well, there is always a first time to everything, so this post is in response to a tag that the Moody Minstrel bestowed upon me. Despite not doing one from him ealier, MM figured this one would get me, and it did. No Q&A. I'll do it.

I am supposed to pick a photo, the fourth photo from the fourth folder of my photo archive and talk about it. And then I am supposed to pass the tag on to four other victims.

What I found is interesting. It is a picture of a vegetable, an unpicked sexy, long cool okra. Over here, we know this vegetable as ladies-fingers, for obvious reasons.


This photo was taken on my recent trip to East Malaysia, in Sibu, to be exact. These plants were in the garden of the home we visited. What was fascinating was that it was the only fruit left behind and it was something like eight inches long, maybe slightly more. I suppose since it has grown to this length, it probably is too old to be eaten and old okras do not taste good and so could have been left behind to adorn the plant. Or it could have been the one and only fruit of the season. Whatever..

Found some interesting things about the okra on Wikipedia. It says the leaves can be eaten too. That is news as over here, we eat only the fruit of the okra. The leaves can be cooked or eaten raw in salads. Okra seeds may be roasted and ground to form a non-caffeinated substitute for coffee. Okra oil is a pressed seed oil, extracted from the seeds of the okra. The greenish yellow edible oil has a pleasant taste and odor, and is high in unsaturated fats.

And oh, okra contains male contraceptive gossypol. Tests have shown that it causes infertility in men and in some countries, acts as an alternative to vasectomy.

There are several ways we cook okra here. I like mine cut in cross-section slices fried in chillies and dried prawns. Another way of cooking okra would be to cook them in water, remove and shred them up with a fork and then fold in fried garlic in soya and oyster sauces and fresh chillies cut up into bits. And who can forget okra in Yong Tau Foo. This is a famous Chinese soup dish with Hakka origins commonly found in Singapore and Malaysia.

From Wikipedia..

Yong tau foo is essentially a clear consomme soup containing a varied selection of food items including fish balls, crab sticks, bittergourds, cuttlefish, lettuce, ladies fingers, as well as chilis, and various forms of fresh produce, seafood and meats common in Chinese cuisine. Some of these items, such as bittergourd and chili, are usually filled with fish paste (surimi). The foods are then sliced into bite-size pieces, cooked briefly in boiling broth and then served either in the broth as soup or with the broth in a separate bowl. The dish is eaten with chopsticks and a soup spoon and can be eaten by itself or with any choice of egg or rice noodles, or bee hoon (rice vermicelli). Another variation of this dish is to serve it with laksa. Essential accompaniments are spicy, vinegary chili sauce, similar to Indonesian sambal oelek, and a distinctive brown sweet noodle sauce or hoisin sauce for dipping.

And now, who shall I tag to keep this going. I tag Mei Teng, Quachee, Foongpc and Furkids in Hong Kong. Looking forward to reading what you'll find in the fourth folder of your photo archive, but of course, you can choose not to do it but I know you will, afterall it is such a fun and no-thinking-required tag. ;)

Happy Valentine's

Dear friends near and far..

Friday Frolics - What Metal Are You?

Let's get back to a personality quiz this week.

If you are metal, what do you think you are? Gold, silver or copper just like me? Interesting quiz this one. Try it.

You Are Copper

You are provocative and challenging. You help people realize who they really are. You live a very balanced life. You always take time for love and art. You are both a powerful and generous person. You always have time to give back. People find you to be incredibly ethical and loyal.

What Metal Are You?

Other Illuminating Quizzes

"Pick A Seat" on Air Asia

I am glad to read in today's The Star papers that Air Asia, our budget airline, is now introducing “Pick A Seat” service for all flights where every passenger would automatically be assigned a seat number when they make a booking. This is for a fee, of course, but honestly, I would rather have this feature than having to rush for seats. This will come into effect from Tuesday.

If you want a specific seat, you can either purchase a “hot seat” for RM25 one way or a “standard seat” for RM5 and you also have the option of choosing a window or aisle seat or anywhere else.

What is a "hot seat" and what is a "standard seat" you may ask. The hot seats are those in the first five front rows and the two rows at the emergency exit. A hot seat comes automatically with express boarding facility.

The standard seat allows passengers to choose the other seats. Check out the picture below.

















Source: The Star

Get International Travel Insurance Coverage, Always

Recently, when AirAsia offered 500,000 free seats, 279,000 were snapped up in one day. What does that tell us? That people are still travelling despite the dampening economy.

For some of my colleagues, this is a good time to travel as tourist numbers would have reduced somewhat due to the economy downturn and tourist places are not as crowded. Travel, especially to foreign lands, may be fun and exciting but one must be travel-savvy enough to cover all contingencies such as missed flights, missing baggage, health issues and God-knows-what-else.

It is therefore imperative that you have travel insurance coverage, international travel insurance that is, if you are travelling overseas. I have friends who had misadventures while holidaying overseas and their travel insurance saved the day. So, travel smart.

Of Superstitions and Spring

Today is Friday the 13th. Over here, we think nothing of it except that it gets mentioned in a passing conversation. Lots of us here may be superstitious to a certain degree (with different cultures believing in their own superstitions) but avoiding walking beneath a ladder is not one of them, certainly not among the Chinese. I have seen painters and home-renovators zipping back and forth beneath the ladders.

Some superstitions are really bizarre but dare we do otherwise? Do you have your own superstitions? How about sharing them?

In the meantime, let's take a look at this Friday the 13th issue. Borrowed from Wikipedia,

.. an estimated 17 to 21 million people in the United States are affected by a fear of this day. Some people are so paralyzed by fear that they avoid their normal routines in doing business, taking flights or even getting out of bed. "It's been estimated that [US]$800 or $900 million is lost in business on this day".

On the other hand,.. Despite this, representatives for both Delta and Continental Airlines say that their airlines don't suffer from any noticeable drop in travel on those Fridays.

Friday the 13th is so prominent that there is even a word for it:

The fear of Friday the 13th is called paraskavedekatriaphobia, a word derived from the concatenation of the Greek words Paraskeví (Παρασκευή) (meaning Friday), and dekatreís (δεκατρείς) (meaning thirteen), attached to phobía (φοβία) (meaning fear).

Several theories have been proposed about the origin of the Friday the 13th superstition. One theory states that it is a modern amalgamation of two older superstitions: that thirteen is an unlucky number and that Friday is an unlucky day.

- In numerology, the number twelve is considered the number of completeness, as reflected in the twelve months of the year, twelve signs of the zodiac, twelve hours of the clock, twelve tribes of Israel, twelve Apostles of Jesus, twelve gods of Olympus, etc., whereas the number thirteen was considered irregular, transgressing this completeness. There is also a superstition, thought by some to derive from the Last Supper or a Norse myth, that having thirteen people seated at a table will result in the death of one of the diners.

- Friday has been considered an unlucky day at least since the 14th century's The Canterbury Tales, and many other professions have regarded Friday as an unlucky day to undertake journeys or begin new projects. Black Friday has been associated with stock market crashes and other disasters since the 1800s. It has also been suggested that Friday was the day that Jesus was crucified.

There you have it, Friday the 13th. Anyway, I love Fridays for many reasons, one of which is that it tells me the weekend is here and that takes away all the gloom of the week.

We just concluded the celebration of the beginning of spring (according to the lunar calendar). The 15-day celebration ended on the past Monday culminating in Chap Goh Meh, a final day of family gatherings, yee sang (tossing of raw fish/abalone and colorful salad, giving of lai see (good luck money in red envelopes given from married to unmarried juniors of relatives and friends) and kind words and decorum. Yes, the squabbles can begin all over again. Oops!

In the old days in China, this last day of celebration would entail maidens tossing oranges into a river from a bridge with the hope of securing a good man for marriage. I wonder if this is still being practised these days. If so, one would find on the orange, a contact number or perhaps an email address? I should think the town council would have a tough time fishing out the trash (oranges) from the rivers.

All said, Spring is here. Even Google is signalling it in their search engine page, I think. Happy Spring, everyone!

51st Grammy Awards...and the Grammy goes to..

Normally, due to the time-zone differences, we do not get to see live award shows (such as Emmys, Grammys and Academys) that are held in Los Angeles or anywhere else in the US, reason being we will be at work.

However, this year is different for a change, as today is a public holiday (yesterday being Thaipusam). Those with cable tv (Star World) were able to catch the 3-and-a-half hour live show from 9am onwards. In between breakfast and other unmentionables, I managed to catch a good part of it. Did you manage to catch the show? Well, below are some winners if you didn't.


Winners at the 51st Grammy Awards

SONG OF THE YEAR and BEST ROCK ALBUM - Viva la Vida, Coldplay




ALBUM OF THE YEAR - Raising Sand, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss performed this song, Gone Gone Gone




BEST RAP ALBUM - Tha Carter III, Lil Wayne (who won four awards)

BEST NEW ARTISTE - Adele, a British neo-soul singer, who beat Duffy, Jonas Brothers, Lady Antebellum and Jazmine Sullivan to the award.

The Grammys is always a high-energy event with performances this year by among others, U2; Kid Rock, Justin Timberlake; Al Green; Lil Wayne; Kanye West; Radiohead (accompanied by the University of Southern California marching band; Jennifer Hudson (who won Best R&B album); Stevie Wonder and the Jonas Brothers; Paul McCartney who performed "I Saw Her Standing There"; Smokey Robinson joined by Jamie Foxx and Ne-Yo as vocal accompaniment for Abdul (Duke) Fakir, (the last surviving Four Tops) performed a brisk medley of Four Tops tunes to mark the Motown group’s lifetime achievement award. Entertaining to say the least.

Whitney Houston making her biggest public appearance since leaving husband, Bobby Brown, two years ago and undergoing rehabilitation for drug addiction received a standing ovation as she stepped up to present the best R&B album award.

I think I'll stop here and let you read more about the Grammys for yourself, if you are interested, at grammy.com

Oh, by the way, I have on the sidebar a video of the Making of Raising Sand, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss' album of the year. Just thought you would like to check it out.

Choosing Appropriate Gifts

I get friends and colleagues asking me for suggestions on gifts for various occasions. I am certainly no expert. They are just being kind. Lately, someone asked what is the best gift for a couple of elderly relatives.

She was thinking of some foodstuff, such as barbecued meat which is appropriate during this Lunar New Year time-period. Maybe some chocolates and cookies would be nice too and of course, at least a couple of mandarin oranges which are necessary to wish recipients wealth and prosperity in the year ahead.

I always believe in giving practical gifts. If I were to visit an elderly person who is ill and immobile, I should think adult diapers would be a useful gift in addition to foodstuff. What do you think? Can you suggest some others?

Friday Frolics - Jigsaw Puzzle

No quiz this week but let's try something else. When was the last time you did a jigsaw puzzle? Wanna try one online? Then try this simple Jigsaw Puzzle.



Try Personality Quizzes Here

Jobs in Marketing are Plentiful

With the current economy not showing signs of improving, more and more people are losing their jobs especially in the west. Companies here are also experiencing difficult times and those that are headquartered in the west are more affected than others. I have friends who have recently been laid off and are looking for jobs.

Here in Malaysia, there are still lots of jobs available. It is just a matter of individual job choice that vacancies are still available. There are still many jobs in marketing available as well as other jobs that may not pay as well as the former appointment but could still be enough to pay the bills and put food on the table. People just have to remember to live within their means. Probably easier said than done what with family commitments and such.

Buying Watches Online

Do you own watches like you own dresses? Seriously, this is a valid question as I have friends and colleagues who do own tons of watches, one to go with every outfit. Of course I am exaggerating but these ladies do own a very wide selection of watches of every shape and size and every colour imaginable.

Recently, I came across this website, kenmarwatches.com, and noticed that their watches cost less than if we were to buy them from the shops here, so I recommended that they check it out if they are still expanding their collection.

Kenmarwatches carries the largest selection of brand name watches from Andy Warhol to Calvin Klein, to Seiko, to Suunto watches to Pirelli to Victorinox Swiss Army, to Tissot, Dolce & Gabbana, Harley Davidson (you didn't know they have watches too, did you?), to you name it.

The site is easy to navigate with simple instructions on how to order, their pricing policy and great testimonials from happy customers. Customers can search for watches in specific style categories, such as Dive watches, Chronograph watches and sports watches.

So, if you too are into watches for yourself or as gifts, be sure to check out Kenmarwatches.com

Wine - How Much Do You Know About It?

Wine, particularly red wine, is becoming popular here in Malaysia. These days, bottomless red wine has replaced cognac in Chinese wedding dinners which partly could be due to economic reasons.

Wine is widely available in supermarkets or hypermarkets. Wine can easily be purchased online too. You can buy wine from different parts of the world. How much do we know about wine and the terms used? Here are a few common terms:

Dry
The puckering sensation that wine imparts. It is the opposite of sweet. It's often caused by tannins in the wine.

Extra Dry
A sparkling wine that is slightly sweet. This term often leads to confusion since Dry means without sweetness, but Extra Dry means slightly sweet.

Merlot
Less tannic with lower acidity than Cabernet Sauvignon, this grape makes reds that are often rounded and smooth textured. Aromas can be plums, hay, berries, and chocolate.

You can find out more about wine and its terminology or even check out a gold medal wine of the month.

Here's a little extra information about Wine and Food Pairing which is borrowed from the site:

When it comes to matching food and wine, don’t worry about always following the common “rules.” While many wine drinkers stick to popular pairings, you’ll discover that through experimentation, some white wines may compliment a steak and a robust red may add great balance to a grilled fish. So go ahead and throw out the rulebook and have some fun improvising and finding your own personality in paring food and wine.

A simple suggestion to remember is that wine should compliment the food rather than dominate it, and vice versa. Just like you wouldn’t eat a delicate, paper-thin pastry shell with thick beef stew and baked potatoes, the same holds true for wine. You don’t want one to overpower the flavors of the other. The trick to keep in mind is that lighter foods tend to compliment lighter wines, and heavier foods tend to compliment heavier wines. It’s really that easy.

Although there’s always room for experimentation in pairing food and wine, it’s sometimes best to follow the most traditional and widely accepted preferences. Take a look at the popular dishes below and choose a Gold Medal Wine Club wine to accompany your favorite meal.

So there... no hard and fast rules, really. Cheers!

Heaviest UK snow in 18 years

For us over here, the closest we ever get to getting snow is hailstones, though I have not experienced this weather condition. The few times when it happened, I was indoors and was not even aware of it.

Unusual weather is not unusual, more so these days of global warming. London yesterday saw the heaviest snow in 18 years disrupting not only air travel as buses were taken off the road.

Flights from the three London airports of Heathrow, Stansted and Gatwick have either been cancelled or delayed. London's famous red buses were pulled off the roads on Sunday night as the snow got deeper. The city's subway system was also experiencing severe delays, leaving normally bustling central London something of a ghost town.

What good would a snowball be if it is that big, eh? Here is a picture of a group of men pushing a giant snowball across Kensington Gardens, west London Monday.















If you are in that part of the world, I hope you are keeping warm and staying safe. Mick, you are in my thoughts.


Source: CNN.com