we live in interesting times eh..?

or are we living in a time of turmoil? with so many fearful scenarios that could unfold themselves in the near future, what are we to make of all these? or are we actually seeing great opportunities coming our way instead. In the next few months, there's gonna be great dramatics and scenes unfolding before us, decisions and directions that will eventually make or break us...so exciting isn't it?..let's just hope there are no major casualties suffered along the way..

Maybe it's time to consider moving to back to that island in the sun, to partake of this new paradigm shift that we are experiencing, to savor in its fine gastronomic delights again, to feel the sea breeze on my face, and to arise with a new optimism for the future..how exciting..


Hawaii sounds like a good place to retire to..

alamak...free food again ah..

there she goes again walking down the street..
bringing yet another free lunch for me and my staff. Anyone would definitely have appreciated their mom's cooking but for some reason, it brings a little contortion to my facial expressions each time I am informed by my staff..."your mother just dropped off lunch.." as I proceed to then surreptitiously open the styrofoam food container to see what's inside. Some times when I am lucky, it brings a quirky smile to my face but most of the times, it's.."eerrr..fellas, that's ok, why don't you guys go ahead. I'm feeling quite full today".

Well, before any of you guys accuse me of being an ingrate for being unappreciative of such loving gestures from my mother, perhaps I should explain a little bit of my gastronomic history for better understanding. I never really grew up on her cooking. Period. As far as I can remember, I only spent like maybe 5 years of my life being exposed to her cooking. The meals were like alright I guess but I don't remember rushing home from school thinking excitedly about what's being set on the dinner table. I remember mostly eating from a plate, on my own, in front of the TV, and usually having combined a little bit of her dishes with a lot of what I managed to buy off the hawker stall nearby, with whatever pocket money left for that day. The rest of my life so far has been spent eating food prepared by other people, mostly restaurants, hawkers, and the occasional relative etc..

So..I wish I knew how to tell her not to go through the trouble of cooking for me and my staff and that she should really spend time doing things for herself (I thought I have already done that..hmm). It's not that I don't appreciate her efforts, but it's just so much easier to buy take-aways plus I get to choose what I want to eat, and she doesn't have to go grocery shopping, washing, preparing the foods and then cleaning up her kitchen. No need to go through so much trouble kwa..don't you agree?

I tell you ah..damn boh bin leh..

wah liao eh...so very pai-sei when you come across someone who's really kiasu, kiasi and add to that some more very kiam-kanna. Are they really as notoriously famous as what has been said about them or is it just so happens that I was unlucky enough to come across a rare one today? In my line of work, I have always ensured that whoever walks in my door is given the best of services and charges are standardized (quite low as it is, by market standards, I would say) irrespective of the person's nationality, ethnicity, age or gender. So, it came as quite a rude shock to me when someone who drives around in a relatively brand-new Mercedes that bears a foreign plate haggles over a rm10 payment. Wah liao eh..si beh pai-sei..for that person.

Wah seh..so unsettling these days..

If anyone of us has been following the news lately or to be more politically correct nowadays, the blogs, about the state of our current political scenario in the country, it can be a wee bit unsettling. So many write-ups about anything remotely connected to the government or the opposition or is it the other way around now, and so many view points espoused by various people, so many actions or inactions being taken, a lot of tit for tats being witnessed, it's getting quite comically unsettling actually. So many spins to a simple story or event. So many things said in the press and unsaid by the blogs, claiming to be said by someone who is said not to have said anything of that sort but which got said anyway.

Like..is he coming or is he going?..and everybody's talking all at the same time. Oh man, it can be really confusing for any layman who's main concern would be what he can put on the dinner table for his family day after day after day, and not who's gonna be the next "you know who" just because somebody says so based on that fella's "you know what" connection to the recommended "you know who"..but then they still don't know when..you know what I mean?

hmm...maybe it's time to pay attention to where I could find the nicest "you know what" in town..which sounds more exciting to me anyway..

So what did I do ah..?

I went to town yesterday lor..ate at a nice cafe in Cheras near the UCSI campus, watching the world go by as I sipped on my iced lemon tea and finished off a plate of rice with nonya curry chicken. There were quite a number of students out looking for dinner too, so it was kind of interesting to reminisce about the old days when I was a student myself. I remember the top most in my mind when I was a student was..hey, where are we going for lunch or dinner? That's what most of us would just think about then. Nothing but food, mostly..and inadvertently all dinner talks would turn to what special notes someone has, or what's the easiest, simplest book to get as compared to the huge voluminous recommended texts given out by the school. Of course, there were the usual, boyfriend-girlfriend issues, gossips or rumors that without which those meals would have been so much less enlightening or enriching, just like the must-have appetizer or dessert.

Hmm..if I had known that there was an organized "freeze" at the pavilion yesterday, I would have gone there instead. Would have been interesting and fun to be part of this global phenomenon..People, total strangers being still, as in not moving or stopped right in their tracks, all at the same time, in a public environment..watch the youtube below:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=-e4o4F0DvaI

Just says so much about our shared humanity as opposed to the constant disunity in our diversity that we are always led to believe.

Another sunday..

oh dear..so what's the program today? another round of shopping? another trip to nowhere? another day at the gym? hmmm..can't decide what I want to do today..
we'll see what I'm up to later...

Separation definitely not a good idea..

My opinion to the editor of NST with regards to 2 articles published on the 8th April 2008.


I refer to the two articles published yesterday with regards to this continuing saga over the dispensing rights of doctors and pharmacists, and I would like to say my piece.

It is quite obvious that all the writers so far have a vested interest either directly or indirectly in who should get the final dispensing rights. One just have to read between the lines of these purported support for or against any such decisions to be made in the future to understand the author's intention. Perhaps, we all should really go out there and see for ourselves what is actually occurring in the field before drawing any conclusion or making any decision that will have a serious impact and repercussions on our current health-care system. Let us not blindly follow another country's practice just because we felt it suited us at that particular moment in time and make a sweeping statement to make it sound as though it would be just as suitable here in our kind of environment. As a true consumer, I have yet to be convinced or been brought to understand why a pharmacist can do a better job in the area of dispensing medications. Likewise, I also feel that there are also doctors out there who leaves a lot to be desired in terms of patient welfare and care provided. And yet again, I have come across both pharmacists and doctors who really do take their time to explain the finer details of any illness that I might have, in the kind of layman's language that I can understand and in a way that I cannot help but be convincingly involved also in my own health-care.

And my reasons for stating the above is that if one were to just walk into a lot of pharmacy outlets at this moment in time, there is really no stopping one from getting any medications, with or without any prescription, and I seriously doubt any further pertinent advice that can be given on my medications as against what my doctor can tell me. Again here, I would definitely not make a sweeping statement as I know there are also those out there who are very professional and ethical in their pharmaceutical practice and do ask for proper prescriptions for any controlled medications and take the trouble to explain in great detail about any medications given. The only reason the pharmacists are asking for a legal right to this practice is because most people would really still prefer to get their medications filled at one place, hence the clinic and therefore, the pharmacists are not getting their so called "rightful" share of the business and if the authorities were to make a law out of this, the public would have no choice but to buy their medicines from the pharmacists. Simple really.

And simplicity here would also mean that if I have to send my car for servicing and changing of the tyres and if the particular shop can do both extremely well, to my liking and charges reasonably, then common-sense would dictate that I do all those at that shop. But if for some reason, that workshop is only good for servicing and is so good that I would still prefer them servicing my car but because their skills at balancing or aligning the tyres are not that great, perhaps then I would go through the trouble of getting that done elsewhere. Simple isn't it?

So, let us all just call a spade, a spade, and not try to "convince" people otherwise. We are a lot smarter nowadays. Let me, as a consumer, decide for myself who I want to get my medicines from. I believe we are all smart enough to go where the best service is provided and to know who we should seek advice from, whether I need a total holistic understanding of my medical condition or is it just pertaining to more information on a regular medication that I am on. If a clinic or a pharmacy outlet is not getting the kind of visits they are expecting, then I believe they would have to really reassess their current patient-care skills, improve their services, and not just force the public to go to them. After all, I am the one paying the money and I should decide who I want to give my money to. Thank you very much.

This issue is getting so stale. I shall not revisit this topic anymore..unless you force me to.. haha