Second Place Winner Is The First Loser

The Oxbridge Malaysia Boat Race 2009 was concluded by 1:00pm on Sunday, 29th March 2009. This is the third time TM has sponsored the race and also marked the third time I have screamed and shouted and whacked that drum at the stern of the dragon boat.

Reminiscing the yester-years, we won first place in the the Dragon Boat challenge both in 2007 and 2008. Aaaahh... Those were the days... When the crew were fitter and more muscular and I was slightly lighter. hihihihihi

For 2009, we participated in the "Best of the Best" Double Kayak Race and also the sponsor's Dragon Boat challenge. TM team emerged 2nd in both events. Only thing was, there were 6 kayaks in the first challenge and there were only two teams participating in the second. hihihihi.. Second in a 2-way race, equals to NOT winning the challenge, ye adik-kakak... hihihihi

Am not really gonna dwell on the past. Gotta be a man (woman) and suck it up. Just need to learn from our mistakes and improve in next year's race. Watch out Deloitte, we will be back with a vengence! The Challenge trophy will be ours once again.. (Ish, semangat la pulok... )

Results of the other events?

The Light Blues won the double scull race (Historical moment as Oxford has always won in previous years)

The Dark Blues won the coxed four sweep (as usual..)

Till next year then.. Oh, but the milkshake we had to mend our broken hearts after that was still heavenly.. hihihi

-dillz blogging out-

In Darkness and In Light

Date? 28 March 2009
Day? Saturday
Time? 8:30pm till 9:30pm

It was Earth Hour and we decided to turn off the lights in our home and take a more scenic route to my mom's house. The side-tracking got us to Menara TM (so proud of you, baybeh!), the top of Jalan Bukit Pantai (to catch a glimpse of KLCC and Menara KL), onto SPRINT highway and then LDP all the way to Puchong.

It's good to see all the major buildings turning off their lights for Earth Hour - we made a stop near Menara TM to catch it on our DSLR. Hubster got quite some good shots of it. (*Updated!*) We also tried to capture KLCC and Menara KL from a distance but the camera failed us; it was that dark! :)

Good job guys.. It's a start..

Alrighty then, one night is done, everybody (or so) turned off their lights for an hour. So, what next? While waiting for Earth Hour 2010, I was just wondering what else I could do to help save Mother Earth and found some Tips to Save the Earth as below:

1.Turn off your light: As my mom and dad always says, "Tutup lampu tu..." Ikut cakap orang tua, kay.. They know what they are talking about.. There's also those energy saving lights that are more expensive to buy, but in the long run can save you some bucks and save the Earth some life! If I could recall correctly, Maya Karin gave out the Osram energy saving lightbulbs as a trinket for her Malaysian wedding reception. How cool is that?

My mom-in-law, on the other hand, goes one better. She literally switches off every single equipment in the house that utilizes electricity everytime she leaves the house for a short visit to her children's place. (short = minimum of overnight stay) Yes, even the refridgerator is not spared. So, sweet, kan?

2. Running faucet: Everyone can do this coz it's soooo easy. You just need to be concious about it. Just turn off the running faucet when you brush your teeth or when you are lathering the soap for your facial wash. Apparently, if you leave the water running for two minutes, you waste up to ten gallons of water.

3. Carry cloth shopping bags: I remember those green bags to be only RM1.00 when they first introduced them some 2/3 years ago. Now, they are selling at RM3.50 (or more) but that's not the point here. The point is, when you use your cloth shopping bag, there is less and less need to produce the plastic shopping bags that are non-biodegradable. Non-biodegradable = BAD for the Earth.

4. Recycle: This is an old song to sing. "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.. It's easy to do..." Everyone knows that we can recycle paper, plastics, glass and aluminium. Thing is, it is such a chore to do, to separate your trash and stuff. Then, we'd have to pick it up ourselves to the nearest recycling centre. If it's too much for you to do, start small.. I am starting with my non-trash - my old magazines and oooooold newspaper.... There's a recycling campaign going on at the office and the first batch will be sent on 3rd of April 2009. Plus, every kg of recycleable item will be worth some sen. I might as well get some money doing it, eh?

Will leave you with a little video snippet of our night ride.. So, how did your night go?



-dillz blogging out-

It's Official!

I am one of the 5 lucky fellas who just won the Stoodle Postcards Giveaway contest. Yee-ha. 'Makacih Stoodles - yes, I believe it was totally random with no politik wang involved. *wink wink*

Now, I just have to wait for my lovely postcard to arrive and snap a picture of the postcard in my chosen setting.. Hmm.. nak letak kat mana, ye? Ki, I need ideas!!!

-dillz blogging out-

Hot Newbies

Have had a few wonderful finds in cyberspace of late and I always made it a point to read them when I had the time to. They are interesting to me; to you, tak tahulah.. Any-hoots, I have linked them from this blog for my easy reference to add on to my already Hot List. hihihihihi

Check it out y'all..

Stoodle:

This is a website which captures random Facebook status into a doodle. Cilok-ing from their "So, what's a Stoodle?" writeup..

"Stoodle - which stands for ’status-doodle’ - is an art project where the stoodlerist (ahem) creates a doodle based on random Facebook statuses (or is it statii?). Every stoodle is a moment captured in a doodle, making it part-online comic, part-social commentary, part-snapshot of our daily lives, and part-time wastage and displacement therapy for the stoodlerist."

The Stoodle team is made up of two individuals, Mims the proclaimed Super Commander Chief Stoodlerist who turns statuses into "nonsensical, yet incisive and socially-conscious Stoodles" and Idlan the Scourist who "scours the far reaches of the Facebook universe for statii that speak out and takes them home for some tender lovin’, where they turn into nonsensical, yet incisive and socially-conscious Stoodles."

I look forward to the art work and some of them are pretty hilarious too! Of course, secretly, I too strive to write Facebook statuses worthy to be Stoodled! (Pilihla saya, Idlan.. Pilihla... hihihihi.. Agenda tersembunyiku sudah terbongkar)

Neurotically Speaking:

I like the way Marliza Radzi writes and to top it off, she's also a Srikandi. Akak bangga, you.. Don't really know her in person, but her thought are so eloquently presented and kadang-kadang ada juga menyentuh isu-isu semasa. I am not one to blog about current issues and feel I am rather shallow like that. hihihi.. Thing is, the way she presents her idea is so easily understandable and there's a nice mix of personal stories as well. My attempt to have a little more opinion rather than just shut current issues out of my system. (in a very mild way.. hihihihi)

Bootylicious:

chicsinred is also another Srikandi. Sekali lagi, akak bangga. She talks about her personal life. I especially like her sense of humour and the way she tells her stories. Has very strong opinions and she tells it like it is, straight up! Very sexy blog. Uuuuu... I loike!! *sambil pout mulut*

Blog Anak Mat Nor:

In my humble opinion, Jebon takes humour to a whole different level. In my books, she sets the standards now.. hihihihi.. Sneak peak of her entries that really tickles me include: Sebab Badan Aku Bukan Macam Badan Malek Noor, Ada Sesiapa Yang Tahu Mana Aku Boleh Dapatkan Poket Doreamon? , Haram Jadah and Peristiwa Hitam Yang Dialami oleh Aku Yang Hitam. See if you like her too..

Hanis Zalikha:

A 19-year old model who is now studying in UiTM, Segamat. She writes well in both English and Malay. Very creative - check out the posters she came up with, very witty, very funny and so the very beautiful!!! Complete package-lah, bak kata orang.. Very entertaining..

-dillz blogging out-

Homework Torture

Aah.. A picture of such peace and tranquility, right? Khaleeq studiously and diligently doing his homework. I never thought the day would come...

When we first told Parmi (sometime last year) of our intentions to enroll him in Beaconhouse along with Khadra, her immediate response was, "Mampos." Why, "mampos" you might wonder? Well, it's just that previously Khaleeq went to a playgroup where he is in the Nursery class. Their daily activities would include playing, painting, getting to know numbers and alphabets, singing and more playing rather than serious reading or writing or other gruesome academic stuff. Add to the fact that Khaleeq started speaking rather late; around the age of 3 year old - so , we were overjoyed when he finally did! We even thought that he had problems earlier. A stark contrast to Khadra who was already talking in paragraphs by then. We have learnt early on that every child is different and we treat them differently, with different expectations. With Khaleeq, we kinda chilled and let him be...

For age group 5 and 6 in Beaconhouse however, there is such thing as homework as evidenced by what Khadra has gone through in 2008. So, yeah.. Khaleeq is nowhere near ready for that. However, we felt that he needed to be given that higher expectation and it would, Insya Allah, prepare him to smoothly transition into Primary One in 2011. (Medium-term plan, ni..)

Khaleeq is going to be 5 this coming July and now he has started to write his alphabets in that red-blue-blue-red ruled books; where the alphabets MUST reside within the specific boundaries - "Capital S" within the first red line and the second blue line & "small s" within the two blue lines. He could hardly write his alphabets neatly, let alone to ensure they are within the boundaries. So, to help him practice, the teacher copies down the alphabets and words in pencil-colour for him to trace over. He's doing that pretty well, and has actually progressed to a more solid writing as he becomes more confident of his stroke. Lately, Teacher Rita has left the last 3 lines for him to write on his own (as opposed to trace). I am now helping out by guiding him how big or small is the boundary - "Big A within this line, Khaleeq" and "small g inside here, boy" So far, so good.. I am pretty happy with how he's doing. I just have to spend more time with him every night to practice, practice, practice..

That's him in his good mood.. Singing Ben-10 theme song whilst doing his homework. Best kan?? Well, not necessarily.. hihihihihi.. In his not-so-good moods, he would just write one alphabet and starts being silly. Pretends that he's sleepy, act out a scene of his favourite cartoon, wanders off to God-knows where.. It just takes F.O.R.E.V.E.R....

The things us mommies, (OK, not all mommies, me definitely) have to do to get him to finish his homework ;
1. TLC (Tender, Loving Care) , constant encouragement, positive reinforcements and a sprinkle of "Good job, Boy"-s
2. Rewards - PSP, a thumb game, iced water, chocolate, Cartoon Network breaks.
3. Raise of the voice, a little pinch, ketuk-ketuk meja. Threaten to tell his teacher, the security guard or ____ (insert other authority figures)
4. Back to Number 1.

I know that my temper is sooo short when it comes to teaching the kids. I have to constantly remind myself to do more of Number 1 and less of Number 3. It can become a real torture for both him and me, at times. I need to take breaks as well for fear of losing my sanity. So, we start early on in the night and really pace ourselves. Not too much so as not to overwhelm him. Just enough. I think we are slowly getting better at it. He needs the practice, and I need the practice...

-dillz blogging out-

Exercise Caution!

We watched "Taken" on the DVD some nights ago. (Hubby thought it was a French movie thus won't be screening on the local circuit - So NOT true.. The movie was just SHOT in France.. ) Anywho, I thought it was a brilliant show though in retrospect, I would have slept quarter way through it if Mr Neeson was replaced by Mr. I'm-a-1-man-super-army Seagal. Without spoiling the movie for those who intend to catch it; adik-adik, kakak-abang; main takeaways from the movie would include:
- don't lie to your dad
- daddy knows best, eventhough he can be so incredibly annoying
- a little paranoia goes a long way
- your dad is THE best dad in the entire world

Leaving Hollywood behind and coming back to the realms of reality. I am compelled to share the following 3 incidents that happened to friends & family members not too long ago, i.e. in 2009 for us to learn from:

1. I am no burglar

My Mak Anjang who lives around Sunway Kinrara area spotted a group of people (2 men and a woman) acting rather suspiciously around her neighbourhood. She stopped her car to call her neighbour to warn them when one man approached her car, asking whether she knew the address he supposedly had on a piece of paper. Being suspicious, she only rolled down her window just a little bit, just so that she could speak to the man. The man said,

"Turunkan la tingkap tu kak.. Kakak ingat saya ni perompak ke?" (Why don't you lower down the window a little more, Miss. I am not a bad person / burglar)

After some hesitation, she lowered the window just a little bit more. The man then reacted and replied,

"Kalau perompak, buat macam ni" (A burglar would do it this way)
He lowered the window with his hands, opened the door and took out a knife. Pulled my aunty out of her car and drove off with it. Literally in a split second, her handbag, her car was gone! Can you believe that?

2. Valet scam
My sister went to Pantai Medical Centre for her doctor's appointment and met her friend there. After an hour or so after the appointment, the same friend called her up saying that her car was missing! Apparently, after she valet-parked her car, a good-looking, suit-wearing gentleman approached her saying that they have mistakenly given her the wrong parking card. (Oh, OK..) So, here's the real one and can you please return the wrong one? (Oh, OK.. again...) No harm done right? WRONG.. When she tried to retrieve her car, the parking card apparently doesn't refer to any car and her car has already been taken out by a good-looking, suit-wearing gentleman. What the ??

3. Snatching visitors
A good friend of mine from STF had this happen to her just a few weeks back. She was having a seat-down lunch at one of the restaurants in Sheraton Hotel, Subang. She had her handbag on the floor, partially covered by the table cloth. After some time, she realizes that her handbag has gone missing. The F&B manager later pulled her aside and related that they retained a suspecting group of Middle-Eastern visitors lingering in the restaurant. Since there were no complaints or reason to hold them any longer, they have just calmly and quietly told them to get out of the restaurant. He thinks that these people may have something to do with the disappearing handbang. I.e., the woman must have "smuggled" the handbag under her abaya. She had a first class treatment from the hotel to lodge a police complaint etc but luckily also, her husband called her kidnapped handphone and managed to get the thieves to return the handbag. She had everything back sans her handphone and some money. All others are intact - handbag, IC, credit cards, purse, keys etc etc.. (Boleh tak? So lucky, right?)

So, please, please, please be careful, people.. It never hurts to be extra careful in this day and age..

-dillz blogging out-

It's Time to Switch OFF the Lights..

Have you guys heard of Earth Hour? Have any idea what it all means? I don't either, well, not really.. The little info that I have gathered from listening to the radio or watching the idiot box only tells me that it'll be cool to turn off the lights on Saturday, 28th March 2009 for sixty-minutes (i.e. 8:30pm till 9:30pm) After all, the celebrities are doing it...

To gain more insight and the what-to-dos, my first stop was at:
http://www.earthhour.org.my/main.php

The local celebrities featured in the Malaysian Earth Hour page include Sarimah Ibrahim, Sheeby Singh, Karam Singh Walia, Yasmin Ahmad, Syarifah Amani, Reshmonu, Sarimah Ibrahim, Zainal Abidin, Alex Yoong, Hans Isaac, Sazzy Falak, Aishah Sinclair, Daphne Iking, Susan Lankaster, Lina Teoh, Dafi (of AF fame) and I think I saw a glimpse of our first space-tourist too! What the hey.. I thought I'd join in the fun too, so I signed up instantaneously..

Thing is, this is not just a fun way to spend your weekend, guys. There is a serious agenda behind it. By turning OFF the lights at that specific time, on that specific day in any parts of the world, no matter who you are, you are actually VOTING for Earth. What does that mean, Voting for Earth, you might wonder, right? OK, let me try again..

In 2009, Earth Hour has been transformed into the world's first global election.
Who's contending? You either chose Earth, or you choose Global Warming.
How to vote? Switch off your lights: One vote for Earth. Do nothing, let the lights on as per usual : One vote for Global Warming.
Comprende?

Right, but SO WHAT? WWF is targeting 1 billion votes for Earth, to be presented to world leaders at the Global Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen 2009. The meet is significat as it will determine official government policies to take up action against global warming, replacing the Kyoto Protocol. This is your time to make your voice heard.. Register and sign up at Earth Hour and turn off that light next Saturday! Please, please don't forget to sign up .. Every vote counts..
In preparation, I shall be shopping for some candles... Hmm.. Apa la nak buat dalam gelap ni.. Oh, Oh, Oh.. Just so you know, Menara TM is also pledging their vote. How cool is that? I just hope our society is civilised enough that penyamun penyangak tak take advantage and buat missi merampok besar-besaran masa tu. Please keep your homes secured as we pledge our votes, guys..

Remember;
28th March 2009, 8:30 - 9:30pm. For 60 minutes, switch OFF your lights..
That's all it takes (for a start..)

Earth Hour 2009 by WWF - Sign up for Earth Hour!

-dillz blogging out-

Canvassing the day

It's the school holidays yet again... No hotels, no anywhere.. In fact, we decided to just take them to the local attractions this time around. "Local" being conveniently defined as areas around Bangsar and within 20 minutes drive from home. Hihihi..

The hubster took them over to Kidzsport BV2 (so cekik darah @ RM25 per pax) for some playtime and then to Baskin Robbins for the mandatory 'tachio Almond for Khaleeq and Chocolate ice-cream for Khadra. (Mom not invited!)

I took leave today to go canvas painting with the kids at Kompleks Kraf in Jalan Conlay. Inilah hasilnya..

Waduh.. Capek bangat.. Nak tidurlah kejap.. Nite-nite...

-dillz blogging out-