Tiring than working, Baby Cot setup

Be a house husband is not easy as I thought ...

• Finally I had the time to setup the baby cot ... I was looking at the diagram, looks very simple.
• Then I realized, I am setting up this alone without yve help as she is working .... very difficult for me to hold and balance and to screw those panels.
• How I resolve this issue, thanks to a plastic chair and some boxes to balance wood panel for me.
• Walau, it took me 1 hr to setup this and feel a bit tired. At least working in the office, I don't feel so tired as this.

This baby cot 4 in 1 features and it met the hospital safety guidelines ... is a non-toxic paint and comes with latex mattress.

• Ta dah .... after the baby cot completed ... waiting for Yve to do the final touch up by putting the mattress and the baby musical toy.

I wish to sleep in there .... wish i am a baby now...

Farewell Lunch and Coffee Drink

Farewell Lunch treat by Kenneth James...

• Thanks to Kenneth for the lunch treat and thanks to Karthi and Logen who joined in for my farewell as well ...
• We had a fabulous chat on our old times in Maxis. Kenneth is my ex-boss during my development days at Sunway Maxis office.
• I've gained many experiences from Kenneth under his leadership .... a great Manager to work with.

Left to right: Karthi, Logen, Me, Kenneth ... had a wonderful chat and lunch ... will miss them very much.

• The farewell lunch was at the Zen, Sooka Sentral ... Kenneth recommended the dish below Chicken Steak with Ham and Cheese ... very nice and yummy!

This dish is filling and worth the price .... cooked till perfection.

Gloria Jeans Coffee Drink with Alicia and Loke ...

• Firstly, thanks to Loke for the coffee treat at Gloria Jeans, Plaza Sentral .... thanks to Alicia who joined in for my farewell too .... she worked next to my office tower only.

Loke not in the picture ... forgot to take picture with him ... thanks bro for the coffee!

• I am chubbier now... I admit ... farewell party and makan is not a good thing ... next time I don't want to resign liow. I've gained 3kg for that whole week ... gosh, I can't believe it!

My Farewell: Tea Drinking with VALUELABS at Killiney, Sooka Sentral

Thanks and Good bye to my fellow Generals in Maxis ....

• It has been a Great 4 years working with my Valuelabs consultants since I transfered to Mobile Apps team in year 2005.
• They are the best vendor team I ever worked with ... seriously ... they work hard day and night and has been helping me to fulfilled user business requirements.
• I remembered there is once where we stay awake for 2 days 1 night (3 yrs ago) cause of some migration issue - kena bang left n right from Kugan sumore. I am happy to see the commitment and the team work among us ... I can remember till now.
• I must say and admit that without their support and commitment, I wouldn't have done well in Maxis. Without them, I couldn't have a nice and sweet sleep.

Thanks to Vlabs for the teh tarik treat. Sorry, to decline your lunch treat cause I have been eating a lot lately. I prefer to have drinking session now where we can sit and chit chat. Even while we are drinking, they brought the notebook to support and resolve Maxis issues ... this is their 100% commitment to Maxis.

• This is my personal message to them:-
  
  To Madhu, Srinivas, Fayaz, Raghu, Phani, Naveen, Sirisha, Ravi Vooda and Valuelabs team who I did not mention here ...
  
  Thanks guys for your 101% support to me ... I will definitely miss the banana leaf eating session and cow's milk teh tarik with you all.
  
  I am very sorry if I have hurt your feelings or done anything wrong, please forgive me yeah. I wish all the best to you in your career and take care.

Top pic: Me and the ValueLabs team ... Below pic: Oh yes, they have been complaining bout their workplace ... really hope Maxis will do something bout it.

My semi-retirement week 1 plan

27/04/2009 - 03/05/2009 ...

• I already plan my weekly doings for the entire month till May ... let me share my week 1 plans for this week.
• This will really keep me busy for the whole week
  
  1. Gardening ... need to trim my bonsai
  2. Wipe fan blades and clean air-conditioner filter
  3. Room cleaning
  4. Baby cot setup
  5. Project Spagetti Carbonara by me
  6. House Cleaning
  7. Tea time with friends

Pizza & Pasta Dinner @ Papa John's Pizza, IOI Mall, Puchong

Better Ingredients, Better Pizza ... it taste much better than Pizza Hut!

• Me and Yve went for a window shopping at IOI Mall, we were curious to see that Papa John's Pizza is packed with people while Shakey's Pizza only got one customer.
• So we determine to try this Papa John's Pizza .... before that, don't get shocked of the amount of food for 2 pax ... i think is normal rite for 2 pax to eat?

We ordered the Super Papa's Pizza thin crust (RM 23.90) ... they serve these green pepperonici peppers and a garlic sauce to dip with your pizza. Damn kao chun ler with the fresh mozzarella cheese ...

• We worry that the food is small portion and not enough for both of us ... so we ordered their Cheesesticks ...
• Shucks, we thought it is a breadstick and not big portion like this.

The cheesesticks (RM 6.90) is served with tomato puree sauce ... very nice to dip and eat with it ... u can add with the garlic sauce as well .... yum yum .... damn kao cheesy too. There goes my tummy.

• This suppose to be our starter in fact ... Cheese Baked Pasta with Seafood ... cause from the picture, it look very small portion .... but this is a very filling dish.

This is so cheesy and lots of prawns... my favourite ... the pasta is a bit stiff ... probably baked too long ... but the taste is there ... not bad overall.

• Me and Yve wanted to try each pizza outlet their own signature mushroom soup.
• I wouldn't say this is one of the best mushroom soup in Puchong but it taste delicious...lots of mushroom in it.

Don't be fool by the portion of this mushroom soup ... it is served in a big plate but in a thin layer! Not enuff ler! Can't say much bout the portion cause it cost RM 4.90 only.

• Till then, this is what I do after I resigned from my job .... eat and eat only. Guess I better find something to do to keep me busy and not thinking about food only.
• Anyone tried Papa John's before? Please give your sincere comment.

My Finale Farewell party

My Good Bye Chapter in Maxis-IBM ...

Note: I will leave this post up till next Monday (27/04/2009) before posting new post.

• 24/04/2009 ... it was a day to remember in my life ... a day which I could not forget and will treasure and carry along with me as a sweet and happy memory.
• It is a day where I end my career in Maxis for final.
• For the last week, I've been slowly cleaning and bringing back rubbish to my house ... Yve complaining a lot that our store is full of stuff and documents ... can't denied that cause I have been working for 9 years in Maxis and for sure there is lots of rubbish in my office.
• At last, I manage to clean my drawers and desk cleanly for the first time.

After cleaning my office desk and drawers, now I would need to clean my messy store room at home.

• 6.30pm, leaving Maxis office and heading to a farewell party organized by the ISD OD Gang. Thanks to Yew Li and Chee Keong for organizing this event.
• Other than celebrating my farewell, it is a gathering for Maxis and IBM staff.

I will not send out any farewell note cause my heart will be with you in Maxis.

• Letchia is my second ex-boss (year 2001) in Maxis ... she is indeed a truly great Manager which I have worked under and really appreciate her support and guidance to build up my career as a fresh graduate.
• I have achieved two Maxis Awards under her supervision which is Spot Award and Departmental Award ... Thanks Letchia for everything and your support all this while ... all the best to you and good luck in your new career and life in Australia.
• I will miss you a lot. Thanks for joining the OD gathering and I had a great farewell time with you. Hope to see you back in your farewell party on 15th May 2009.

I told Letchia, be ready for tonight's interview ... either you reveal the truth or you be tortured!

• At 6.30pm, we headed off to Centro Bar at Sooka Sentral which is nearby to our office only.
• We have ordered many foods and drinks - 13 jugs of beer, 1 pitcher of Long Island Tea and 1 pitcher of Madras drink.
• I am very happy to see the OD folks and my team members who joined this farewell party and gathering ... -Goh, CK, Yew Li, Thomas, Wai Yee, Frances, Letchia, Christie, Amanda, Mandy, Raymond, Yoon Mooi, Loke, John Kelvin Khoo, Alvin, Peck Leng and for those who can't make it....is alright cause there will be another session!

• When I came back home at 11pm, I told Yve bout my farewell party happenings .... before that, the beer and alcohol smell is strong and it stinks my house.
• Yve knows I am sad to leave the people's and the team behind ... will take some time for me to recover.
• But as a grown up boy, I've learn one important thing from this party which is UNITY. It is not hard for me to leave Maxis or IBM but it is hard and sad for me to leave my colleagues and friends ... Yve knows I am going to cry if talk more bout it.

• With that, lets the pictures do the talking ....
• This is the best moment I ever had with my colleagues and for those colleagues reading this ... i bet it is the most happening and a sweet memory to remember.
• For readers, please ignore that we are Maxis and IBM staff as some wild scenes happened after working hours .... just enjoy viewing it.

ROUND 1: BEER and Cocktail drinking session started ...

• At first, we were all awake and fresh ... guess after a while with the alcohol effects .... the true colors reveals which you won't see in the office.
• We just keep on yum seng and drink and chit chat and laugh .... I still can remember it till now ... I am so happy that night.
• Raymond and the rest of the gang was trying their best to make me drunk or tipsy to get some information bout my new plan after quitting my job. IT failed.

• We even sang Aussie song for Letchia too ... gosh, alcohol really can make a person to sing Australia national anthem rather than how we forgot to sing NegaraKu.
• We are still fresh till 8.00pm. Raymond gave his personal speech to me ... and he gave me The Ass-0 award to me cause I did not reveal my plan ... I did reveal my plan but they don't believe me and insisted that I am joining into a new company. What can I say to prove myself?

• Once the food is finish, we start to mingle around ... this is the best part where u can hear uncensored conversation and gossips.
• At 8.30pm where the beer effect starts to take place into our mind ... I was feeling hot that time ... not sure how many glass I drank but what I can say that this is the most beer intake I ever drink cause I am a hard liquor drinker.

• 8.45pm ... sei Ah Loke orders two pitchers of Long Island Tea and Madras.
• Everyone was taking a sip to try it ... guess it is the mixture between beer and liquor created Raymond aka Devil of the night to gone wild.
• I never expect that we DID this thing!

• Gosh, I am all wet ... not the WET you are thinking in your mind ok....I am a male and not a female ok!
• The moment Raymond pour the ice into my shirt behind ... the ice makes my balls shrink cause of the icy cold water drilling down ...

• It was a history making that for the first time Amanda bottoms up her beer and we were all caught suprise.
• Probably she is doing her training for her wedding cause we are ready to drink with her and make her drunk on her wedding night ... kekekeke.

• Must learn a lesson that never mix beer, cocktail and liqour together ...
• Else you will see a Red Devil below the picture

• Loke and Amanda cam-whoring ...
• Must be the alcohol after effect

I bet that Loke is 100% high cause it seems like his farewell instead of my farewell ... hahaha ... I am so happy that he is enjoying himself.

Yum Seng for everyone ... wishing all the best in your career in Maxis and IBM. Everyone bottoms up and place their beer glass upside down on the table to prove they finish their drink. This Raymond keep on pushing me to drink only ler ...


Wah Alvin, wat happen to you? Drop dead liow ah??? Alvin seems enjoying himself too when we are performing a gang rape on him ... untung him only ler...mana boleh ler!


This faces expression will never be seen in the office ... only can be seen during happy hour only with alcohol. Now you know how IT people looks like when they gone nuts .... hehehe. I love this picture so much!


CK looks so enjoying lying down on the sofa .... I simply love to drink Long Island Tea ... no kick for me!

Thanks for coming ... other than just celebrating my farewell ... I bet it is a nice OD gathering for all.

• This is the sad moment where it is time for some people to go back home.
• Lastly to all OD gang and friends, thanks for organizing this farewell party to me and I truly enjoy myself that night.
• As my sincerity, I am trying my best to compile the pics and blog bout it now thou it is going to be 3am ... luckily I am fresh after a hot bath to stay awake to blog bout this most happening and most memorable day of my life.

ROUND 2: Beer treat by Raymond Lim

• Some of us stayed back for second round as Raymond wants to buy us beer.
• This is where the real integoration happened.
• Thanks Raymond, I will remember you always and we shall keep in touch. Thanks for teaching me all the KINKY project management methods and helping me out in ORAL communication skill with the product users. Your lethal dirty virus injection into my brain has made me much more mature compare to few years ago where I am still innocent.

• With that, I would like to say THANK YOU for everything and my 9 years in Maxis is one of the best and you all are like my second family to me.
• Got to sleep now ...

Homecook Spagetti Carbonara, Japanese Rice Bento and Tong Shui dessert by Chef Yve

Spagetti Carbonara ... first time cook by Chef Yve

• I must say that for the first time cooked for Spagetti Carbonara was tasty and excellent.
• How excellent it was? I licked the plate cleany and leave no stain .... yummy!

Another home cook by my loving Chef Yve ...

• I love to eat this kind of Japanese rice bento with eggs, fresh veges, seaweed and marinated pork meat .... oo la la.
• I simply love the japanese rice too ... addicted to it!

Nice sweet Tong Shui by Chef Yve...

• Cooked with the slow cooker and refrigerate it cool.
• This really sweetened my heart a lot .... hehehe - dun jealous ler!

• My next Food Project is Eating Project ... get it? Till then ... enjoy looking at this food.
• Note: I am busy with farewell and knowledge transfer .... I'm very shy to post up my current picture now ... cause my face is expanding!

Supper at RM3 Cafe Express, Bandar Puteri Puchong

Late night supper at RM3 Cafe Express ...

• Me and yve wanted to try this cafe for long time after they have change name from Sambal Sushi. As I predicted, Sambal Sushi business will not last long cause it is too expensive, normal sushi and not tasty and bad service staff.
• I am not sure whether is it still the same owner .... but what I can say, that they did a great job to re-brand their menu, price and cafe name.
• This is the food I had at 11pm after my heavy dinner at 8pm ... dun be shock ... me greedy boy ler~i know.

Their drinks, Hokkaido Ice Tea and Emerald Hot tea ... nice to drink ... must try! The ambience and decoration inside is creative and unique.

• Wondering how come 2 persons but ordered 3 different foods? Cause it is cheap ....
• Yeah, blame the price...cause it cost RM 3 for each dish!

The fried rice with salted fish .....hmm.... wat i can say that the rice is a bit cold ... dun think it is cooked when ordered .... bout the taste, is very normal .... my wife fried rice is better than this.

• What I enjoyed the food here the most is this ... Chee Cheong Fun with their own mushroom gravy sauce.
• Importantly, it is served hot.

I must say it is worth RM 3 ... I will go back for this again!

The fried noodle taste ain't good either ... it is still edible but not the best fried noodle.

• Overall, they would still need to improve on their taste and the food portion ... maybe it cost RM 3 per dish but doesn't mean that ingredients and portion need to be reduced as well.
• I love their Chee Cheong Fun and drinks ... it is a good place to hang out with your friends for coffee drinks. It is cheaper to drink here than drinking at Station 1 Cafe.

How to accumulate enough money for retirement

Good article from Biz thestar ....

• I would like to share this business article with you which I read today from the Biz thestar ... it is very useful especially how we gear up for our retirement.
• Definitely we need some cash to enjoy our old days ...
  
  Wealth for retirement, How to earn 30-year investment returns with different savings amounts and rates
  
  ON Jan 28, we have written an article on We all need to become millionaires. That article explained that we need to have cash reserves of about RM1mil to be able to maintain our current lifestyle 20 years after retirement.
  
  Some readers responded and would like to know more on how to accumulate enough money for their retirement.
  
  In this article, we will look into 30-year investment returns with different savings amounts and rate of returns. Our computation is based on the assumption that we start investing at the age of 25 and intend to retire at 55.
  
  Based on how much rate of returns you can achieve
  
  The table shows that if we save RM100 per month and invest the money into fixed deposits (FD), assuming the FD can provide about 3% return over the next 30 years, our investment portfolio will reach RM58,274 when we reach 55.
  
  However, if we can generate 5%, 7% and 10% returns, our investment portfolio will achieve RM83,226, RM121,997 and RM226,049 respectively.
  
  The EPF may be able to provide us about 5% whereas unit trust investments may be able to give us 7% to 10% returns over a very long-term period.
  
  Assuming that we treat the 3% FD return as our risk-free rate, any extra returns above this rate will be the risk premium for the additional risk that we are prepared to face.
  Therefore, we need to understand our risk tolerance level before considering any type of risky investment.
  
  We should ask ourselves whether we are willing to accept the uncertainty of return that is inherent in those investments.
  
  Besides, we need to understand whether we can afford to have our savings tied up for a long period before we can achieve our investment targets.
  
  Based on how much you save and not how much you earn
  
  We agree that when you earn more money, you should have more money for your investments. Unfortunately, some investors are unable to save even though they earn high salaries.
  
  From the table, we can see that if we are able to save RM500 per month in FD, assuming a 3% return per annum, our investment portfolio will reach RM291,368 when we retire at age 55, five times higher than the savings of RM100 per month.
  
  Hence, if we can cut down on our expenses and live below our means, we should have more money to save.
  
  We should always ask ourselves whether we want to spend money on unnecessary luxury items to keep up with the Jones or be more frugal and spend less to achieve financial freedom earlier.
  
  The question on how to generate high returns is frequently asked by readers. Unfortunately, there is no straight-forward answer to this.
  
  We can equip ourselves with strong financial and investing knowledge which helps us in making better investment decision that will eventually translate into better returns.
  
  To do so, we need to be interested in the economic and business activities around us.
  For those who are beginning to learn about investing, you can go to any bookstore to look for investment books that you can comprehend to build up the foundation.
  
  Remember that there is no point in buying books written by top investment gurus in the world if you cannot understand what it is trying to tell.
  
  Once you have built up your knowledge, you should be able to digest the financial information and do your own research in investment.

My Great Eastern 20km certificate

This is one of the best and nicest running certificate I ever received ...

• This is the run which I will remember that I suffer cramp in my last km.
• This is the run which I did my best and run all out ... complete with the time and standings below:-
  
  - 20km Completion Time: 2hrs 12mins 18secs
  - Placed 283/642 in 20km Men Open
  - Placed 320/851 in 20km All Category
  


• An achievement for me especially for my weight of 83kg and my big eating lifestyle.

I truly believe Life is Great!

My daddy is my Hero, I am his Little Man

I like this tag line a lot ...

• Just share with u some of my baby shirt, me and yve bought ...
• This is one of my favourite baby shirt cause of this tagline which printed on the shirt ... "My daddy is my Hero, I am his Little Man" ... very meaningful rite.

• Received an early baby shower gift from my sister from Australia recently ...
• I wonder, why she send me a rabbit wishing card instead of Ox card ... then yve told me, bcos my sis is born in rabbit year and she likes rabbit a lot ... darnnnn ...

• Got this baby stuff from Uncle David who came back from US for a short trip in Malaysia .... wanna say thanks to Uncle David & Auntie Julie for the lovely gift.

Ten days left to file tax returns

Thanks for the reminder from theStar online news ...

• It will take me less than five minutes to file my tax returns via e-filling and hope to do it before end of this week and definitely before 30th April.
• Nah ... I prefer to do it last minute ... since I got lots of time to do.
• Have you done yours?

Copy and Paste story

A popular motivational speaker was entertaining his audience.

• I got this story from Yve's fwded email.
• This is a good story and got a good laughter out of it ... would like to share this with you.
• He Said:
  "The best years of my life were spent in the arms of a woman who wasn't my wife !"
  The audience was in silence and shock.
  The speaker added: "And that woman was my mother!"
  Laughter and applause.
  
  A week later, a top manager trained by the motivational speaker tried to crack this very effective joke at home.
  He was a bit foggy after a drink.
  He said loudly to his wife who was preparing dinner,
  "The greatest years of my life were spent in the arms of a woman who was not my wife !"
  The wife went ; "ah!" with shock and rage.
  Standing there for 20 seconds trying to recall the second half of the joke, the manager finally blurted out "...and I can't remember who she was !"
  
  By the time the manager regained his consciousness, he was on a hospital bed nursing burns from boiling water.


• Moral of the story: Don't copy if you can't paste!
  

Ampang Yong Tau Foo at Bandar Puteri Puchong

Simply YTF lunch at Bandar Puteri Puchong ...

• Me and yve is yong tau foo fan-sie .... we had try this YTF outlet few times but did not write review bout it.
• As some people would know, the famous YTF in Puchong is at Batu 14 (Atap roof) ... which nearby my house only.

Each time we go to any YTF restaurant, we will order many sui kows as it is our favourite. Still nothings beats the taste of my sui kow ler (will be coming soon)

• We had some simple and common YTF food such as sui kow, fishballs, brinjal and lady fingers.
• The food here taste ok and nice .... price is reasonable for air cond place.

What's my plan after IBM?

I can forsee the road is still blur and foggy ahead ...

• My colleagues been interrogating me deeply, and friends been asking me lots of question and hoping me to fall for the trap to reveal my after IBM life.
• Gosh, I can't believe that my colleagues even BET where I will be heading to ... wanna know what's the winning prize ... kekeke.

The most handsome looking males in Maxis is all right here!

• This is some of their assumptions made by my colleagues & friends:-
  1. Celcom (2 ppls voted)
  2. Digi (1 ppl voted)
  3. Ericsson (3 ppls voted)
  4. Umobile (1 ppl voted)
  5. Syniverse (1 ppl voted)
  6. Acision (1 ppl voted)
  7. Barclays (5 ppls voted)
  8. Own business (7 ppls voted)
  9. Changing Worlds (1 ppl voted)
  10. HP (1 ppl voted)
  11. CIMB / Banks (1 ppl voted)
  12. Intec (1 ppl voted)
  13. Huawei (no way for me coz I can't read chinese!)
  14. Nokia Siemens Network (no experience in this area, totally out)
  15. Dell (1 ppl voted)
  16. Mobile Content Providers (2 ppls voted)
  17. Jobless (1 vote, I voted myself for this)


• Someone mentioned that they saw me in Cyberjaya .... aiyoyo ... I was having lunch with yve.
• Stop guessing ler ... What I can say is yve and myself would only know. Truthfully, I am also eager to know where am I heading to as well since I will be taking week(s), month(s) or more to relax first.

The girl's power in Maxis ISD ...

• Maybe I will start looking for job after growing enuff mushroom at home. Definitely, I will need to work to earn money since I will be daddy soon **big BIG HINT!

Orange Run 2009 photos review at The Curve

Some of the Orange Run Event Pictures ...

• Ok, thanks to pmtey, carboman and the rest who I copied the pics from to share with you all in my blogsite here.
• The purpose for me to share this pics is to encourage you to participate the run. It is very fun and very nice experience.
• I got to say this is one of the best run event I've joined.
• Lots of freebies, drinks and foods!

Very nice nasi lemak...seriously tasty! Got cereal food and maggie mee too ... really no need to eat breakfast after this run. Good job to BHPetrol!

• Got live screen telecast sumore ... cool rite!

Over 3000 runners joined this event! For those who submitted their entry late ... just too bad and u got to wait for the next year Orange Run...

• Many different age groups and foreigners joined this Orange Run.
• For guys, yeah...many pretty female runners ... should be big encouragement for you to join next year!

I need one of the sunglass during my run ... should wore my oakley cause the sun is really killing me.

• Thanks to Ng May Ching (who ever u r) for taking picture of me....
• This is the run I look so cool and content.

Me hoping to participate one full marathon in my life ...

My resignation as IBMer

Good bye IBM-Maxis ...

• A shocker ? A suprise ? Tender resignation during economy crisis ... yeah, i know that ... it is a big decision and I've been thinking bout it day and night for me to make this decision.
• Finally, did submit my resignation letter to IBM HR on 10th April 2009.
• Some of my colleagues msn me and asked me is this true ... I say 'yes'.
• I can't formally make announcement to my team and my colleagues during that time cause there is some HR process required for me to do and approval needed from the Country Manager before my resignation takes effective.
• After meeting with the Head of AMS (Maxis) this morning .... I got the green light. Thanks to Rajoo & Ricky for the offer but will stick to my decision.

Sorry for keeping it low profile ... but u all readers are the first to know this news from me before I will notify to the rest of my colleagues. My last day in IBM will be end of April and will be on leave from 24th April onwards.

• Do wish me good luck in my new career path .... not sure will I succeed or failed out there.
• Once again, for my colleagues reading this ... I am sad to leave my team, colleagues, OD gang, Wow Wow Team and the company I have been working for 9 years+. But I do request from you, do please feel happy for me that I am leaving for good and wish me success, ok!
• Lastly, thanks to my 2 referees for their feedback and hard sell on me! (distraction, ...see u believe it o not)

Note: Just need a favour from you all, please do not ask me which company I am joining and what will I be doing. I will announce it after 1 or 2 months later.