My weekend at Vimala's House

Saturday morning at about 8:45am Vimala called "Hey wake up, are you coming?" I answered the phone hastily and said "ya ya I am". I better not miss it this time as I felt I should keep in touch with this childhood friend of mine and understand more of her life now.

Slept late a day before due to family issue. I woke up and pack, inform my mom of what I am going to do and where I am going. then I head off to Gombak. My mom didnt want to go JB, so I decided to carry on with my plan and I didnt plan to call also anyone in JB also, would not know what is the right thing to say so I rather not.

Really not sure how is the weekend going to be like, quite some time never spend so much time with Vim. Vim hubby not around, went for treasure hunt, a company affair and she is waiting for me together with her son, Neghan who by now know how to call me "Kai Ma" means Godmom and according to his mom, he is very hyperactive. Yes I suddenly have a God Son. It started cos I just want to teach him some chinese word, but since he starting to call me seriously from then onwards I think its ok and felt I should give him some positive good advice here and then, ofcourse those learning from other mothers hahahaha. I am very careful not to give wrong advice to kids, if not sure I better keep quiet. Buddhism teaching better keep quiet, than say the wrong thing.

When I finally reach, they were having breakfast and I joined along. My friend made Roti Canai with very nice red "sambal curry" that have beancurd, brinjal, tomato in it. Her Roti Canai is not like the restaurant one la, similar to the one you bought in supermarket though, which I think good enough but the sambal curry is fantastic.

Then we talk about what we going to do, we didnt really have any fixed plan and she doesnt seem keen to go for Genting, which I am glad too cos I am not keen to go Genting and spend a lot of money also. She suggested foot reflexology in Bukit Bintang Walk street and hanging out at Starbuck nearby BB Walk cos she got FREE RM50 voucher which she can use without paying a single cent. I was like WOW..! great man.. this is unexpectedly better than just going to Genting and lose money.

First we sent her son to Piano lesson, then we went to clinic so I can get cured for my sore throat, coughing badly and husky voice. We then sat down at a chinese coffee shop and had a bit of dim sum so I can take the medication immediately. Then we went to pick up her son and go back to her house.

And so I waited for Vim to dressed up and then drop her son at Vim's parent house. Then both of us went out, we tried the foot reflexology and decided to go for the one hour package since the lady offer us free neck and shoulder massage if we take that package. It was very comfortable until almost then end I felt pain of and on but I never make much noise, according to that massage lady I dont take food on time and maybe due to I dont sleep early. I was thinking to myself that time, hard to achieve this in the modern world nowadays where work, stress, pressure, multi tasking is a norm. I just need to find a place for stress release lo, like gym, massage, visit beauty saloon to constantly staying on track with my look makes me feel better. I also think I should try to take food on time, I remember a business partner I met, wow she even set alarm on her mobile to remind her to take lunch, its a daily routine for her.

After Vim and I left the massage parlour we drop by at a boutique shop along the BB Walk street and shop. We bought earings and I bought a very colourful necklace. I thought maybe I just be bold about colors now and not just black and white all the time. Oh man... enough about being so professional I think I need a colourful life back, I need a change. So we were happy with the things we bought and the price was really cheap. I didnt spend much but I get a lot, you know how that feel right :D

We then went to Starbuck Coffee shop and we ordered Noir Chocolate Classic Cake, Blueberry Cheese Cake looks really cool, Sausage Mayo Bun, Signature Hot Chocalate, Tuna Mayo Toast Sandwich. Pictures in my mobile but cant get it out yet :( the food was great and its FREE yeah we feel great. When we were happily eating the food, I told my friend "You know what? you kept your promise after 22 years of friendship, you finally come out and hang out with me, OMG dreams come true ahhaha"

She finally get to do girls hang out, she is a friend that I can only hang out at her house only, she always care & respect what her parent think and then when she married she is concern what her parent in law think and how her husband would think, which I think turn out pretty good thing for her, that explain why she have a good marriage and a nice home and now that she sorted out her youth life she can now finally do something for herself, now she enjoy life much better as she is earning her own money and just spend happily with the right conscience. No one would dare to say anything wrong about her, as she fulfilled her duty as a daughter, a wife and a super mom. I guess by now, I dont think its a bad thing after all, Vim did pretty well for herself and I did pretty well for myself lol although she is the only one married with kid la lol...

Anyway after that we decided its getting late and we head back to pick up her son. Then together we went to Giant, and then Wasbudi at Gombak to get groceries for cooking Yee Mee. She wanted to learn to cook Cantonese Fried Yee Mee from me and I wanted to learn make Tose and Curry Dhall from her. Later at her home I show her how I cooked the Cantonese Fried Yee Mee and then she thaught me how to prepare the Tose ingredient as I gotta leave the Tose overnight after I blend the whole ingredients. I am quite happy she like my Cantonese Fried Yee Mee hehehe. She said she will make for her hubby, I hope to receive good response though lol.

The next morning, we woke up and make Tose for breakfast and we cooked the curry dhall together in which I learn a lot of things. Then we drop her son back to her parent house and we went to Sentul Pasar. I was quite glad to see some of the old folks doing food business in the market is still there. I met a lot of old acquantaince and I say hi to them, they were shock to see me cos they only remember I was a fat little girl back then, everyone say I so slim and tall now. Heheheheh actually they dont know I put on weight again. I update them about Kupoh that she is doing well after her leg operation and everyone is fine.

I also saw my second auntie there who try to give me her homemade kaya for free, but I insisted to pay her. I dont feel comfortable taking things for free, plus she doesnt earn much selling those items. I just thought I should just say hi as a respect to my relatives. Anyway my auntie seems busy at that time as there was a young girl fainted and there were a lot of people surrounded her and already giving lots of help, so I went off with Vim. After we finish doing all the marketing at the wet market, we shared a plate of Fried Kuey Teow Mee from that very old stall which I just want to remember the feeling of eating at that market in the morning again. Aaahhh, now its not smelly cos the chicken area is not out there anymore. I would want to go back one morning and eat the old folks stall there again. I hope I can get someone to go with me la.

Then I drop by again at my second auntie stall, bought stuff from her and bid her goodbye. My friend and I went to another shop outside the market area where I bought claypot, ingredients for tose and beautiful puttu design that will go well with my punjabi clothes or future saree. I just like to explore traditional clothes, I find it more interesting and colourful. Now I only have one Punjabi and one Kebaya. Cheong Sum not yet la, not slim enough sigh...

Then we head back to Gombak again, she cooked and all. I was playing bubble with her son, then I guess everyone is tired out as we all dozed off at the living room. Then I woke up, have dinner, show her some pictures from my laptop, then suddenly electricity black out, then after some time electricity came back and so I packed up and bid them goodbye.

I am very proud of this girl friend, she is a very responsible mother and a very discipline person herself. She is the only person I know got a biological clock that can make herself wake up at 6am in the morning, cook breakfast and make lunch pack for her family and son before going to work. Come back from work do housework, take care of her son and plan her things to do the next day. Wah sound so tiring right, but she can do it and she enjoy that her son eat her own cooking.

Come to think of it, I am quite blessed with good influence friends, most of my friends are doing very well for themselves, mostly have good positions in MNC companies.

Head back home, suddenly saw my car darn dirty mann. Aiyoh after raining days my new car look so darn dirty and full of dust. So I had to wash my car and my wonderful nephews Benson came and help me. So after washing my car, we wash his Kancil also. Yeah we felt good after washing our cars.

Achieving a new skill soon :)

How wonderful, I found a VB.Net and ASP.Net Teacher. Plus I think I asked the right person, this person has all the training documents, follow my affordable budget and I think will be very patient with me. I have been thinking for a long time. My programming teacher will be teaching me daily after work from Monday to Friday, but flexible schedule as long as each topic is covered for that day.
Great... I hope I can pick up fast like last time. This will be a good skill to add to my cv profile. I would be able to do my job better than now as communicating with technical will be better and this adds up to my confidence. Cool...!

After this, my profile will be more attractive and strong. A Business PM with Technical knowledge is a bonus man...cool!

Cheapest way to travel from KL Sentral to KLIA

ERL
( this article taken from http://www.recom.org/forum/showthread.php?s=079c4a50f0f980aada24e3749d0f284e&t=2475)

Do you know that you can travel from KL Sentral to KLIA for as low as RM12.50 instead of the normal fare of RM35.00?Can't blame you for not believing that this is possible.A closer examination on the ERL fare structure using the link below will reveal the following weakness
* Sentral(1) --> Bdr. Tasik Selatan(2) RM 4.20
* Sentral(1) --> Putrajaya(3) RM 9.50
* Sentral(1) --> Salak Tinggi(4) RM 12.50
* Sentral(1) --> KLIA(5) RM 35.00

But, Bdr. Tasik Selatan --> Putrajaya RM5.30 Putrajaya - -> KLIA RM6.20So to save money on fares

1. Either take the ERL to Putrajaya for RM9.50. Get down and buy another ticket from Putrajaya to KLIA for RM6.20. Total cost works out to RM15.70 instead of RM35.00 The inconvenience is having to wait for the next train for about 15 mins (peak) or 20 mins (non-peak). But the substantial saving of RM19.30 per person may be worthwhile.

Or

2. Take the Komuter to Bdr. Tasik Selatan for only RM1.00. From here take the ERL to Putrajaya for RM5.30. Get down and buy another ERL ticket to KLIA for RM6.20. The total costs add up to only RM12.50 instead of RM35.00. This option is cheaper by additional RM3.20 but the additional hassle may not be worth the additional saving.

ERL is banking on the fact that despite this apparent weakness in the fare structure, nobody will take advantage of it mainly because everybody is in such a hurry nowadays!

But then who knows, with escalating prices, more people may take advantage of this in future.

Last weekend trip was so cool and full of suspense

THE GLASS SHADE HOUSE at Serendah Sekeping
Been keeping this blog for a long time, I just release it. Let the picture represent what I want to say. Its a lot of fun and I felt good after the trip.
I wanted to write a lot of things, but busy with project lately, so let the picture tell my story :) .

Amazingly beautiful glass house in a forestry area.




The pool at Serendah Sekeping
BBQ at the balcony of the glass shade house.



Lata Kinjang Waterfall. We drop by there before heading back to KL. It was my birthday present.

Who Ate My Marshmallow...!?

Work late today then still went to gym, came back home very hungry. Thought I munch some marshmallow but its gone. The plastic cover is seen in the dustbin. Ask around, found out Benson has a craved for marshmallow, I think so cos he wallop the whole bag. Anyway its ok I had one yesterday together with Kei Kei. Thanks to the person that bought it for me :) I like cos I didnt expect, but then I got. yeahh..!

Told Celine I am gonna blog about the above title header and she was like "good, you are heading to the path of becoming a true blogger" Heh? well not sure about that. I just feel like blogging a lot this month. Partly cos I felt anything I want to say, no one can stop me or feel offended here and I can really pour out & then I am able to reset myself again. Recharge and get going. Also I feel like sharing things with my family members who care. I think its cool that all my family members blog, its really easy to keep in touch with you all.

Back to work after an amazing and wonderful weekend at Serendah

I had the most amazing and wonderful weekend. Today get back to work, but feeling good. Still thinking about the Serendah trip, but I had to tell myself "Stop! now I am back to work, so lets focus on getting things done". I had to think like that, this month is an important month that I had planned for the project. I am going to see that it complete successfully. Thank God my request was approved, my colleagues from other state flew in.

Monday morning as usual I receive calls from clients, dealing with questions everyday. I have begun to feel more relax in handling things at work and just treat it like my normal work routine.

Waited for them to let me know when they reach, well it never came. By lunch time I could not wait any longer, I send sms and I got a reply that they have reach KL and is checking in to the hotel. Alright I happily enjoyed my lunch session with my colleagues, had Nasi Kerabu today at Ulang, seems to be visited by Ah Sien from Astro before. The taste is ok only. My colleagues like the fried chicken though and they quite happy with the whole set package. I tasted better Nasi Kerabu but I forgotten where, mmm maybe its at the food court inside Maybank building, located in Pudu, behind the indian temple.

Back to office, they finally arrived and collected the laptop. Oh god why one of them wear so casual as if going to play baseball. I encourage and drove them back to hotel to change and be more prepared. Then, we went for meeting. Meeting was quite lengthy, end about 7:30pm. Drove them back and I head home straight. Yeah its too late and I got no mood for gym, I wanted to rest.

You must be wondering why am I blogging still, just dont want to forget what I wanted to write hehe and I want to remember this day in future for my own reference la :P . Quite sleepy now, hit the bed now. ZZZzzzzzzzzzz........

There's a hero

Its a great motivation song. Heard this song from a friend, she played it in the car and then my niece Celine played it for me too :) thank you for your comfort. This song became more significance to me when I hear it this time.

By Mariah Carey
There's a hero,
If you look inside your heart,
You don't have to be afraid of what you are,
There's an answer,
If you reach into your soul,
And the sorrow that you know will melt away.

[chorus]
And then a hero comes along,
With the strenght to carry on,
And you cast your fears aside and you know you can survive,
So when you feel like hope is gone,
Look inside you and be strong,
And you'll finally see the truth that a hero lies in you.

It's a long road,
When you face the world alone,
No one reaches out a hand for you to hold,
You can find love,
If you search within yourself,
And the emptiness you felt will disappear.

[chorus]

Lord knows,
Dreams are hard to follow,
But don't let anyone tear them away,
Hold on,
There will be tomorrow,
In time you'll find the way.

[chorus]

That a hero lies in.....you______Ooohh that a hero lies in.....you

Myvi is ready for collection and Deepavali coming :)

Yahoo..! :D I got news today that car loan is approved and my car has arrived. Its ready for collection yeah...! Ofcourse I am going to miss the Volvo, its such a cool car, but its not mine.

My silver lady gone, now I am getting Lady Pearl myvi.. new model. Work is so hectic this few days, but I been able to work at night and have good focus so no more pressure.

I am looking forward to my Melaka friend Birthday weekend hang out and Deepavali now, my childhood friend Vimala kept reminding me that it is my duty every Deepavali I show up at her house and I am suppose to block the whole day of my time to be in her house only. So I told her better prepare a room for me to sleep and we chit chat cos I am coming alone this year, and make sure cut off all the fat when cooking the mutton cube curry, cook some sambal and fried a lot of appalam. She reacted "Wahh you think hotel ar!" lol but ofcourse after all the noise in the end she said ahh ok ok sure... then she said "make sure dont bring cake this time" haha lucky still got one childhood friend. Mmm what to get ahh this year, Donuts & Wine? Somehow childhood friend can accept whatever bad things you say and they never get angry and they just know that you dont mean it. Even our communication sucks at time didnt give the proper message, we understand and just dont bother about details or trying to proof each other wrong.

Although long time we didnt see each other we always still have a close bond. Ahhh... i remember those days where we use to take pictures infront of a 'jamban' or behind other people house garden, cos we are shy then and dont want people to see us when we taking pictures so we have to hide ourself until like that.

hehe...

Saturday Outing - Hari Raya Open House

I parked at Jaya 33 and then waited at the entrance. My old friend which I have not met for a long time show up with her new Atos car. She lost a lot of weight and she look better now. She also said I look good too, thank you. Anyway after that... Hari Raya open house at Dr. Malek house was fantastic, food is good prepared by his wife (first time I tried daging dinding, that was a hit but the dish is black color) and Dr. proudly giving us a tour in his house and showing the design of his house which is something that I like too, very classic and elegant. The house structure seems so familiar, I remembered later that it was the same as Lea's friend house from AsiaWork where Wan took me there before. We took some pictures here for rememberance, actually I wanted it to put in this blog but havent been able to get the pictures out from Emme's mobile yet. (Correction, got it on 21 Oct :) , maybe my friend saw what I wrote he he... )

We then hang out at Sunway Pyramid. I had a very fulfilling marshmallow hot chocolate drink at the World of Waffle and we share an ice-cream waffle. I think we spend about 2 hours or more having gf chit chat. [wow..long time never do that].

We went to check out a few shops after that. I didnt know sunway pyramid can get so many evening wear type of shops, some are too grand for casual wear. Well in the end I just went to IT area and bought my HP printer ink, finally got to buy it.

Saw the time closing to 10pm, my friend drove me back to Jaya 33 and I jump back into the volvo and then head to Sungai Wang to look for the Yap princesses, Mun Yi and Celine. Parked at Lot 10 and parking is RM15, cos VIPs, Jason special instruction "Park in a wide space and safely ok, no dont park in KL Plaza!".

I waited at the Bon Ton and sipping my flat white coffee which actually not bad. Finally, the Yap princesses came out from Coronade Hotel with 2 of their friends. Treat them McDonald McFlurry ice cream and fries at Mont Kiara before I send their friends and head back home.

Went back and watch movie The Hottie & the Nottie with them. Ofcourse Mun Yi never last till the movie finish. Its a comedy with extremely gross looking girl but like a fairy tale love story, the gal turn beautiful in the end.
Thats for today... ZZZzzzzz.....

KFC Spicy Chicken Rice

Nice, I recommend you try it.

Paid streamyz and water bill already at the post office after lunch.

Where is the file Benson promise to get to do filing for all the bills? sigh...

I also bought wedges and nugget on top of this haha. Tonight I will go work out again.

Ferrero Rocher

I saw ferrero rocher in 7 eleven today and thought why not I try it. After all, I never have the heart to buy due to the price. But today I thought I should just treat myself. It cost me RM4.20 for 3 pieces, not the usual way I would spend for chocolate. Infact I dont normally buy chocolate for myself. Cos the ROI is not that good hahaha, but only lose by gaining weight lol.
I feel happy that I bought it, and it is very satisfying. I just dont care about the price and buy something just like that. Ofcourse there will be consequences, tonight I just need to go gym and work it out. Spending time at my gf hse also, its easy not to have a heavy dinner. We usually just drink hot soup. Thanks to my gf and her very nice mom for the hot soup. Her parents are very nice people. Um.. dont think wrong, ah ma also got cook soup, her cooking is very tasty, so very hard to diet.

First time driving a Kia and Volvo

Ok my car has not arrive yet. Loan is not submitted yet sigh... and the showroom said in October but cannot guarantee which date. So my girl friend has been letting me drive her car Kia, I dont know what model, its a black aeroback car. Its really nice but I dont like the mirror and the view of the back, its hard to estimate from the rear mirror. I like to play Oldies songs in her car and drive, that is quite relaxing.

Today I took the Volvo car key from Jason, he is quite reluctant to let go of his Volvo. Well its really a good car, very luxurious feeling and its really cool to drive. WOW..!

I need to test drive it today, I got my friend to came along to accompany me, he is a friend I know from the volunteer charity gang, so I went for japanese buffet at One Utama Shogun, on the way there was real smooth and parking was nicely done, I did back parking cool. The car was really long, jet out a bit in one parking lot even though I parked it nicely in the center of the parking line box.

Going to be staying a few days at my friend house in Kelana Jaya which is convenient to go to work to Puchong, this is to reduce time of driving and she got a nice parking space which is safe. Until I get use to driving the Volvo to work and back to her house then I will go back to Kepong. So we thought it would be a good idea to reduce risk lol.

My beloved Silver Lady Kancil sob.! sob.!

My Silver Lady soon will become Melissa's Kancil. Today Jason sent the car for JPJ inspection, I am so glad that Melissa is arranging this herself with him directly now, I should remember she is a big girl already. I should have suggested that earlier instead of helping with the arrangement and created unwanted scenario for myself.

Good thing I spoke to Jason's first and got his advice before I just release the car and let them drove back to JB, otherwise have to bring back the car back to KL again. Then it would have been waste of effort, money and time. One thing I learn in life, never mess with government procedures, what for want to be smart aleck and create unnecessary situation for ourselves. If things need to be done, then do it the right way. At least we will always have a piece of mind that it is taken care.

Its holiday tomorrow yeah ..! this time I choose to stay at home and not follow wan's back to Seremban. I want to be there to see my car leave the house sob.! sob.! at least I say bye bye to my Silver Lady. Maybe I make time send the car for service before giving it away.

Painting the room

I finally get into action and do it. I got the paint from my friend, I painted majority part of the room Bright Yellow, but then there is not enough paint for the edging. Maybe I need to buy some more or maybe Wan will do some art with the white paint he brought to me. Wan said he will help me paint the edging but that will have to wait, he is very busy with his freelance project lately.

The room look more clean now and look cosy at night, but look really warm in the afternoon. Maybe when everything is done, I will probably add a nice white curtains later, which I think can make the room look comfy.

Booked a Myvi 1.3L EZi

I kept insisting to get the special edition before I view the new model. Luckily my cousin brother Jason is quite persistent, he asked me to look at the new model and compare it physically then only decide. When I saw the new model in the perodua showroom at Taman Bahagia PJ, I know I should get it, the 1.3L EZi. Most of the new specs Perodua has include in this new model is something I find very convenient and useful. It was the USB, MP3, WMA, electronic side mirror, mirror for passenger and the driver, mostly the interior design and the UV filter glass that won my heart. Truly a car for lady, both side got mirror, cool...! Other than that the design is almost the same as previous Myvi. On top of that it is cheaper than special edition, plus I dont like the skirting for special edition (problem going through high bump on the road), I just like the leather seat and the rim. There is a lot more things I like about the Ezi. Having a UV protection window is what I really need to get for my new car anyway, now since it comes with it then no need to spend extra money.

So yeah paid RM1K to booked it, I chose the pearl white colour, always wanted pearl white :) . The salesperson told me I can get my car in October month, but no exact date promised to me. Yeah... that is just a month so its ok.

Meanwhile I got another problem, I need to find the Kancil HLB loan release letter soon, otherwise I cant trade it, if I cant trade in then I dont have enough money to pay for my new car.

Back to Work After Holiday Hooplah

I googled about how to get back to work after a holiday break. Today I need to start to be productive as soon as possible... I found this article and thought its a great one to keep in my blog.

Back to Work After Holiday Hooplah
Taken from and posted by KC Morgan Dec 29, 2006
When you get back to work after a few days off, especially during the holiday season, you might feel slow, sluggish, and uninspired. Too much ham and holiday hooplah has that effect on people, so you aren’t the only one. It’s hard to get back into a humdrum work routine after holiday enjoyment. So, how do you kick-start yourself after the vacation that is the holiday season?
Make a list. Making to-do lists is often the salvation of the self-employed professional. Keeping thoughts organized, and keeping yourself on track, is much easier when you have a point-by-point list to follow. This will help you get right back into the swing of working.
Start small. Don’t overwhelm yourself with lots of projects right after enjoying a few days off. Giving yourself too much to do will make you feel tired, overworked, and will lower your productivity. Start with little projects, complete them, and work your way up. Get back into self-employed goals slowly.

Project Delivery Process suitable for E-commerce Website design

Inspired from GravityMarket.com

An ecommerce delivery process is equally as important as its underlying software. Netconcepts takes a team based project management approach to ecommerce website design and development.

Our Delivery methodology follows a structured path that has been validated with the implementation of many clients. Typical implementation is 12-16 weeks and includes a project manager and team of experienced developers. It’s the project manager’s responsibility to drive the work through our design and development process.

GravityMarket’s Delivery Overview
- Project Planning
- Website Specification
- Creative & User Interface Design
- Implementation, Development & Configuration
- Content Loading
- System Testing
- Training & Acceptance Testing

Netconcepts clients are a part of their project’s team, and receive weekly project reports on progress.

Project Planning
A unique feature of GravityMarket is its flexibility and its ability to be customized to meet our client’s unique business situations. A key element is structuring the data, both inbound and outbound, so that the interaction between the data and the website is seamless.

Website Specification
Netconcepts works with the client to define unique business rules related to their operation, and any customizations required. A specification document is prepared and agreed to prior to development work beginning.

Netconcepts then performs keyword research to determine how customers are shopping for and finding the client’s products. This research guides the content development so that the verbiage that describes products and services contains the words that are used by the shopper. This assists with search engine rankings and relevancy.

Creative & User Interface Design
Based on the specifications and research, Netconcepts develops a creative concept for the site, and works with the client’s marketing team to incorporate the desired branding elements. Once approved, templates are built for the pages within the site.

Implementation, Development & Configuration
During the implementation phase, Netconcepts’ development team builds the site architecture and configures the site to match the business rules defined in the specification. All customization work is also completed during this phase.

Content Loading and System Testing
Once the platform is implemented and configured, it is ready to accept content. Netconcepts works with the client to write and format content to support the best practices of search engine optimization. Content is then loaded into the site via the GravityMarket Administrative tool, or electronically via file transfer or integration.
When the content is loaded, the site is rigorously tested by advanced Netconcepts personnel.

Training & Acceptance Testing
What good is a new technology without instructions? We take the time to train our clients and walk them through the in’s and out’s of the GravityMarket ecommerce platform. Through our highly developed interface, clients’ can administer optimization, merchandising, promotion, and much more. When the client has thoroughly tested their new site and is satisfied, it is time to push the site live.

How to get the Best Home Loan?

By Rosliwaty Ramly. KUALA LUMPUR, May 17 (Bernama) -- With so many home-loan products in the market nowadays, you have to be wise in choosing the one that suits you the best.Choosing the lowest interest rate obviously helps you to save money. Once you have picked the loan that gives you the best deal, then you can start planning your finances.

This will give you a clearer picture of what you can afford and what you should set aside for your long-term commitments. Whether you are opting for conventional or Islamic loan, here are some tips from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) in choosing the right home loan as outlined in its Guidebook on Personal Finance.

HOW TO GET THE BEST LOAN?

* Shop around for the best loan

To get the best deal, talk to at least three banks or finance companies. This will give you a comparison on the loans and services offered.

Get information on costs, services and the extras.We have to remember, however, that some information, especially interest rates, can change daily. So, contact all three lenders on the same day to get a true comparison.

* Borrow only the amount you need and can afford to pay

Before deciding on a loan, be clear about how much loan you need and how you plan to pay it back.

The main concern here is to determine whether you can afford the monthly instalments.

The easiest way to get the figure is by using the on-line calculator available on the website of the home-loan lenders.

All you have to do is key in the loan amount, repayment period and interest rate.

* Understand exactly how much the entire loan will cost

Review the complete payment schedule. Be sure to find out how much you will have to pay in total when the final payment is made.

* Make sure that the loan fees are reasonableIn most cases, loan fees (disbursement fees, legal fees and stamp duties) should not exceed five percent of the loan amount unless you are paying more for a lower interest rate. For instance, if the loan amount is RM170,000, the loan fees should not exceed RM8,500 (RM170,000 x 0.05 = RM8,500).

* Read every word in the loan document

You should not accept loan terms just because the lender says they are 'standard'. Make sure you understand the reason for each term and its implications before you sign the document. For instance, you might want to check the minimum number of years you have to serve the loan. If you terminate the loan earlier than the date mentioned on the contract, the lender will impose a penalty that can be quite costly. The most important thing is to ask for clarification if you are not sure.

Restoran Itali in Taman Desa

May 3, 2008

Restoran Itali in Taman Desa Opposite Shell.

My bf recommended to go try this restaurant, told me his sister said it was a nice place, but there is no guarantee as it was quite some time back the last time his sister visited this place.

We ordered Hawaiian and
Chicken with Mozarella cheese Pizza, Aglia Oglio spaghetti, Garlic bread and Mushroom soup. Drinks are quite common so I am not mentioning that.

Yup the garlic bread is good. Mushroom soup was too watery for me, I prefer the thicker type like Dome.

The pizza is just ok, the ingredients were not equally distributed, so some of the slices got the chicken ham and some doesn't have but the pineapple slices is very nice, sweet and juicy....and the way it was cut is bigger than other places :) , one of my friend commented this is like a homemade type.

The Tiramisu cake save the day. It was really good, the hostess/waitress were kind to serve and chit chatted with us. Only one girl is too cautious over their customers feedback that she was ears dropping on our conversation, she heard about me commenting on the Aglia Olio spaghetti and she came to the table to explain to us that it is the right way they cook it cos is the traditional italian food and many people that truly know italian food including rich people enjoy it too. I don't think the part that rich people also know how to enjoy their food is necessary but I knew she is a young girl and not meant to emphasize on the class or status haha, but her explanation got too long winded that we have to wait before continuing our dinner and with our personal conversation. She is too serious type that I cant say her customer service is good. I would say she is very concern over the customer needs, trying hard to defend the family business too.

Later, while serving us the cake the same waitress heard one of my friend said "kelentong", she had to defend herself and said "I am not lying..!" and then walk off. We then told my friend to be nice and do the right thing, just apologize to her cos there is no need to make people feel unhappy.

Before leaving the restaurant, my friend apologized to her, she said "no problem" but without a smile, so he think that didn't went well and I think he wont go there anymore hahaha...

Food :
Customer Service :
Cleanliness :
Pricing :

Type : Halal

Weight, Work load and Time management

Researching about weight problem recently. I need to lose 10KG. I had successfully lost 18KG last 2 years ago, but this year I had put on 7KG back :( . My friend said when I am stress I ate a lot.

I think so too, I munched a lot of wasabi nuts, biscuits and whatever that is within my reach when I am infront of the computer screen. I am handling a lot of projects, sometimes I cannot think of something to write if I keep thinking about food/be aware of my diet so I solve that problem first, and then focus on my work. After when my work is done, I am happy that I delivered my work before the deadlines but then upset with myself that I have no control over my diet. I would very much like to slim down 10KG and be able to fit into the cool professional G2000 outfit.

My girl friend said I am deeply depressed due to my over work load situation. Is it depression? Lets see... well I dont have much time to go for leisure outing these days, the only time I go out or have time for is for my company work purpose.

I should be home more to do my personnel stuff like sew my pants that got hole, laundry, cut my nails haha, paint my nails, cook some healthy food for my godmom, watch tv, shop for my working clothes (not enough now), bathroom make over, exercise, do something about my hair style and a lot more... but just some how never have time for it when I reach home its very late, access internet after I bath, work and reply some emails and then it passed midnight and I am tired.

and ofcourse go outing with my bf, now we do meet in my home but both of us end up working on our own things. I do like that we can do our work together, but maybe I guess I should balance up by spending some time for outings together too, otherwise both of us may get bored huh.

I would get worst, work and stayed home, get fatter and wear less nice clothes and no chance to dress up or make up to go out. once in a while should be fine, I also dont expect to go out all the time.

this is a forum that I discover today and I find have many tips and story sharing from people with real experience of losing weight.
http://www.way2hope.org/family-forums/index.php?s=fc7c62b0a509f24284c3f289c30974ad&showtopic=924

Written by Irule one of the member in the forum:
Feb 14 2008, 03:57 PM

The secret to weight loss is Diet & Exercise

and that is it !!! the problem is that people don't have enough discipline or motivation to eat right and exercise properly (some for their entire lives) and that is why lets focused a lot on motivation to get you fired up for what will come.
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Diet Section
Most people ask me the same question that everybody asks nowadays "What type of diet did you follow" and of course they mean did I follow the Atkins diet, or the South Beach diet, or etc.

But I don't follow any of that, I follow the:Common Sense Dietand I will divide my diet into 3 sections over the coming 3 weeks to not overload you with info and to save me typing time.the First most basic principle that I would like you to follow for the coming week is:: Don't eat any junk food at all which means No pizza, no candy, no soda, no cake or pies, no fast food restaurants, no chips, no Jam/ Jelly, and no Juices.......

Basically, if it tastes sweet, it should not be in your mouth::

Satisfy your urge to eat sweets by eating fruits (Don't drink fruit juice, eat the raw fruits instead) and one spoon of honey a day IF you need it. So load up on your apples, oranges, pears, plums, and bananas. But do not go wild on the fruits, eat them moderately, about 2 or 3 fruits a day are enoughif you can do this for one week, you will be ready for stage 2 and 3 of my diet.keep motivating yourself to achieve your goal.

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Exercise Section

Eating right will stop the weight gain, and may also make you loose some weight, but to really loose a significant amount of weight, you have to do a cardiovascular exercise at least 4 times a week, at most 6 times a weekfor 30-60 min.I choose running since I have a treadmill at home, so I ran for about 30 min 5 times a week and I lost my weight very easily. But now my treadmill is Broken and I discovered that I can run on my backyard instead and gain even better results.

You can choose any cardiovascular exercise you want, as long as you are stick to it, you will loose weight, but nothing beats jogging, its the fastest fat burner out there.:: I really would like you to do your cardio exercise 4 times a week (along with the diet above) just to get used to it, you might not see immediate results for the first few weeks since your body will be shocked with the diet and exercise and will resist to loose the fat (happened to me) but eventually it will give in.and that is it for this week, By next session you should have lost at least 2 pound (2lbs of fat loss per week is the recommended healthy average)

happy loosing !!

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Written by Irule one of the member in the forum:
Feb 4 2008, 04:33 PM

Session 1

Ok guys, about your weights, if you are over your normal weight the healthy way to loose the fat is to loose 2lbs a week so you have to calculate how long it should take you .. for me I was 55 lbs over so I divided 55/2 to get the weeks, then /4 to get the months, then post your starting date and ending date where you can easily see it and get motivated.

When I first started my weight loss journey I didn't know anything about what to do or how to get started, so I began researching online about this topic and I found many good websites, but the one website that helped me a lot, keep me motivated till this day, and helped lots of other people is BodyBuilding (enter the supersite) especially the forums. the website itself has tons of articles about how to lose weight, gain muscle and just about anything that can improve your health.

So I started my program and everyday I would sit for about an hour to research and refine my info to see if I was on the right track. I don't work for the site or anything, I am just very happy that this site helped me to achieve my weightless goals without having to pay a penny. you guys can start by reading some articles and visiting the forums of BodyBuilding especially the fat loss section of the forumsMotivation was the key point that got me started AND kept me going until the end.

You need to find what motivates you, for me it was 5 things
1. The men transformation section of Body Building (PM me for the link)this was probably what got me started, I was amazed by the amount of people who were able to change their bodies and they tell you exactly how they do it ... FOR FREE !!
2. I took a picture of myself when I was fat
3. I weigh myself on the scale EVERYDAY first thing in the morning (sounds crazy but it worked, it kept the issue live in my mind)
4. The mirror.
5. I had a set deadline (I made sure to post it where I can clearly see it) of September 12th to reach my goal (and I did reach my goal a month later than the deadline I was 245 now I am 190)I really suggest that you do some if not all of these things, you guys have to understand that the main reason why people fail in loosing weight is because they do not stick with it, due to lack of motivation and I made sure to have several motivation factors everyday untill I reached my goalso just start getting motivated and explore some info about weight loss on the internet, and I will soon post session 2

Wireless Connection available at Kupoh house

Ever since shifted back with my god mom, there were no more wireless connection like how I use to enjoy accessing in my previous apartment. Today I am proud that I had manage to setup the wireless successfully after few attempts. Now my family members just need to turn on the power of the wireless router and they can get internet access where ever they are in the house.

Cool..!!! Finally after waiting for almost a month for Telekom to do their work.

My poor car and my bf who is always there to save the day

Younger, slimmer, smaller size than me but unexpectedly strong and wise when you needed a man by your side. That is my beloved bf. Sunday 27 Jan 2008, on a burning hot afternoon, is the second time he had help me fixed my car tyre. I have wonder before how come he is able to take out the bolts that is screwed so tightly by machine. Although his body is light and thin, he uses his leg to kick it. I didnt thought of that at that time.


Care not only to your love ones but your car too

My poor 1995 Kancil 660 automatic, 13 years old car, fully paid off and still running. I often have to repair the driving shaft and sometimes there is other issue such as alterrator, engine loud, wiring spoilt comes once in a few months.


Overall is still manageable as it is such an affordable car to maintain. Unlike my younger brother Wai who take care of his car by washing it regularly, purchase new accessories, change new tyres more frequent than me and doesnt mind to spend more on the interior as well as exterior of the car to make it look so glamorous and comfy, well I am the opposite. I gave priority to other commitments in my life and I think it was the right thing to do at that time considering cash is low.


Surprised that I just got lectured by my boy friend, who usually need me to remind him to do lots of things "you should have fix your tyre long time ago" but yeah he is right. Yes my bad, I dont deny. Its about time I start paying attention to my car and take care of it like a human being since this year I can afford to make some changes for my car.





All this year my focus has been so greyed by the problems in my life, I should try to be more sensitive and solve the basic necessity in my life. No car cannot go to work and cannot fetch my godmom to clinics, which may lead to many other problems if my car not working.





Thank you honey for always being there when I look so hopeless. :)

Choice and Happiness

Inspired from Psychology Today October 2007.
Unlike our ancestors, we have the time and energy to ruminate about our options.

How to Make Options Your Allies. You can outfox your evolved emotional makeup

God Is Not In The Details: Practice making decisions quickly about small things and routine purchases. Limit the time you spend comparing specs. Build confidence in your "gut" by attending to it.

Don't Dwell: Refuse to spend too much time regretting a decisions or blaming yourself for a poor outcome. Instead learn from your mistakes and determine to do better.

Keep Your Expectations Realistic: Needing it all is guaranteed to make you unhappy.

Risk a Wrong Decision: Fight emotional paralysis by seeing that even making "wrong" choice is often better than making no choice at all; you still learn through trial and error. It is better to blunder your way through life than to avoid making decisions.

Don't Look Back: Look forward to the future.


We know that today, most choices are frivolous and rarely jeopardize our existence, though fact doesnt stop us from fretting. And we overestimate the importance of big choices all the more. Isnt the ability to select partners, profession, doctors and lawyers critical to our quality of life?

We tell ourselves that when it comes to big decisions we must make the right one, or the fallout will be enormous.

Avoid thinking that we can tailor a fulfilling life from smorgasbord of options. Limiting choice doesn't just curb anxiety, it actually creates happiness. When you can accept limitation or make a commitment you feel fulfilled.

Choice can be great if we refuse to obsess about all the alternatives. The problem is finding a way to handle the psychology mechanism.

Action: Limiting our own options and then refusing to make a federal case about the final outcome. In spite of our evolved emotional makeup, options can be our allies.

Case in point: Not agonizing about a choice is a choice in itself.
..............................

So true, I do feel so much better after reading this article. A decision is made and no point I spend too much time regretting a decisions or blaming myself. Besides I trial and error from the decision I made. So next time it will get better and like my girl friend had advice me "Look forward to the future".