Of 9 years and now a wedding

Made a trip up to the Pearl of the Orient to attend my cousin's wedding recently, with this being the fourth and final matrimonial celebration. Typically, there will be a tea ceremony, but before that, there is this tradition of the groom and his merry mates being "bullied" by the bride's "chi-muis". I do wonder how did this culture arise, as the groom with his friends will need to brave the many challenges set forth by the ladies before the groom is able to claim his "prize". Many a times, the groom and his entourage will be "forced" to hand over angpows, eat specially made popiahs, or other food stuffed with hot peppers and perhaps wasabi, as well as perform feats which endanger the masculinity of the groom and his mates. My cousin's event even had an Oriental theme. Now seriously, why go through all these playfulness? What's the thinking behind it? Hmm... Something else which my other relatives and I were discussing as we were watching the happenings, is that most of these tradition have been passed down by word of mouth, and before long, most would have deviated or be lost through the generations. Wonder if anyone has ever compiled such variations in tradition for the Chinese folks.

Well, a wedding can be a momentous occassion, but stories abound which now sends laughter and disbelief that such happenings could occur, even with the best of planning. For example? Someone delegated with the task of bringing the wedding rings to the church service in Kuching, forgot to bring them on the actual day. Luckily, a mad dash home resulted in a delay of only about half an hour! Imagine if it had happened in KL and the one doing the mad dash home to retrieve the rings had to brave incessant traffic flow! That someone also almost forgot or was it totally forgot(?) to bring the groom's speech for the wedding dinner in Kuching! Egads indeed!!!

Through it all, I missed the three previous celebration, but managed to go for the Penang one. Lovely weather, and managed to visit "Lorong Bangkok" which had rows of houses of an era gone by. My cousin's wife's sister-in-law opened a boutique along the British colonial heritage row, nestled amongst stay-in houses and various other types of shops.

All in all, it was good to see my cousin again. Haven't seen him and his then intended for a while as both are working overseas. They have been going steady for over 9 years and finally tied the knot. Best wishes to the lovely couple.

The Dime

Bobby was getting cold sitting out in his back yard in the snow. Bobby didn't wear boots; he didn't like them and anyway he didn't own any. The thin sneakers he wore had a few holes in them and they did a poor job of keeping out the cold. Bobby had been in his backyard for about an hour already. And, try as he might, he could not come up with an idea for his mother's Christmas gift. He shook his head as he thought,

"This is useless, even if I do come up with an idea, I don't have any money to spend."

Ever since his father had passed away three years ago, the family of five had struggled. It wasn't because his mother didn't care, or try, there just never seemed to be enough. She worked nights at the hospital, but the small wage that she was earning could only be stretched so far.

What the family lacked in money and material things, they more than made up for in love and family unity. Bobby had two older and one younger sister, who ran the house hold in their mother's absence. All three of his sisters had already made beautiful gifts for their mother. Somehow it just wasn't fair. Here it was Christmas Eve already, and he had nothing.

Wiping a tear from his eye, Bobby kicked the snow and started to walk down to the street where the shops and stores were. It wasn't easy being six without a father, especially when he needed a man to talk to. Bobby walked from shop to shop, looking into each decorated window. Everything seemed so beautiful and so out of reach.

It was starting to get dark and Bobby reluctantly turned to walk home when suddenly his eyes caught the glimmer of the setting sun's rays reflecting off of something along the curb. He reached down and discovered a shiny dime. Never before has anyone felt so wealthy as Bobby felt at that moment. As he held his new found treasure, a warmth spread throughout his entire body and he walked into the first store he saw. His excitement quickly turned cold when the sales person told him that he couldn't buy anything with only a dime.

He saw a flower shop and went inside to wait in line. When the shop owner asked if he could help him, Bobby presented the dime and asked if he could buy one flower for his mother's Christmas gift. The shop owner looked at Bobby and his ten cent offering. Then he put his hand on Bobby's shoulder and said to him, "You just wait here and I'll see what I can do for you." As Bobby waited he looked at the beautiful flowers and even though he was a boy, he could see why mothers and girls liked flowers. The sound of the door closing as the last customer left jolted Bobby back to reality. All alone in the shop, Bobby began to feel alone and afraid.

Suddenly the shop owner came out and moved to the counter. There, before Bobby's eyes, lay twelve long stem, red roses, with leaves of green and tiny white flowers all tied together with a big silver bow. Bobby's heart sank as the owner picked them up and placed them gently into a long white box. "That will be ten cents young man." the shop owner said reaching out his hand for the dime.

Slowly, Bobby moved his hand to give the man his dime. Could this be true? No one else would give him a thing for his dime! Sensing the boy's reluctance, the shop owner added, "I just happened to have some roses on sale for ten cents a dozen. Would you like them?" This time Bobby did not hesitate, and when the man placed the long box into his hands, he knew it was true. Walking out the door that the owner was holding for Bobby, he heard the shop keeper say, "Merry Christmas, son."

As he returned inside, the shop keeper's wife walked out. "Who were you talking to back there and where are the roses you were fixing?"

Staring out the window, and blinking the tears from his own eyes, he replied,

"A strange thing happened to me this morning. While I was setting up things to open the shop, I thought I heard a voice telling me to set aside a dozen of my best roses for a special gift. I wasn't sure at the time whether I had lost my mind or what, but I set them aside anyway. Then just a few minutes ago, a little boy came into the shop and wanted to buy a flower for his mother with one small dime. When I looked at him, I saw myself, many years ago. I too, was a poor boy with nothing to buy my mother a Christmas gift. A bearded man, whom I never knew, stopped me on the street and told me that he wanted to give me ten dollars. When I saw that little boy tonight, I knew who that voice was, and I put together a dozen of my very best roses."

The shop owner and his wife hugged each other tightly, and as they stepped out into the bitter cold air, they somehow didn't feel cold at all.

May this story instill the spirit of Christmas in you enough to pass this act along.

Have a Joyous and Peace-filled season.

- Author Unknown

The Immortal Iron Fist

When I was much younger, I bought a comic book about The Immortal Iron Fist. Not that Iron Fist was actually immortal, but a title granted for his fighting prowess. Was totally fascinated about the once in a decade appearance of a mystical city called K'un-Lun and the constant drive to train, fight and be number 1 to face Shou-Lao the Undying, to survive and earn the mantle of The Immortal Iron Fist.

Actually, had forgotten about this Marvel created character, until I recently won a RM100 book voucher from Borders at my company's recent annual dinner via a lucky draw. The emcee claimed that one in three will win a prize, and I got the vouchers! Yay!

And as I was browsing through the comics section in The Gardens, I saw The Immortal Iron Fist collection 1 (The Last Iron Fist Story) and 2 (The Seven Capital Cities of Heaven)! And yeah! I snapped them up! Just within budget too! :) Just finished reading the books, and was totally riveted. The second book was fascinating and explained quite a bit actually about K'un-Lun, but I think this is a 6-part collection!!! Now I have to wait for the next few collections to come out or hunt for the individual comics. Bummer! Think I will just wait...and wait...and wait for the collection books to be published. sigh...

Of one shirt and another

Did you know, that a bow tie could be worned with a regular laydown collar shirt? I have always thought that it had to be worn with a wing tipped collar shirt, and was surprised that it is possible. Thought I made a major fashion faux pas during my company's centennial dinner. Some came dressed to the nines with various blings, others were seen dressed more formally, and some looked down right smart. Most females had their hair done in various styles, some even hired external makeup artists. Sometimes I wonder why, but I think females love such occassion to dress up.

Yeah, after having a "black tie" function in August, never thought that there would be another black tie function in November. Though at that time, I wore a suit and a nice tie for the event. Technically, for a black tie event, a tuxedo is a must, with a cummerband or vest. This time round, I wore my bow tie, but chose to wear a normal white shirt (I seldom wear white, and have only one pure white working shirt). Also, no tux, but my regular suit. Yeah, none too conforming, but hey, it has been a very long time since I wore my wing tipped shirt (more than 7 years ago!), and the colour has sort of turned a bit yellowish since I didn't take care of the shirt properly (another reason why I very seldom wear white shirts). On the whole, looked decent enough, but was very conscious of the non conforming white shirt (i.e. non wing tipped). But after doing a bit of research now, am glad it is ok also. Personally, I think a wing tipped shirt would look better, but didn't fancy splurging on a white wing tipped shirt which I will hardly ever wear, with a fitting cummerband and a tux. Oh! I wore my camel active boots too instead of a pair of leather shoes! but it looked decent enough as a black pair of shoes.

At least I have my bow tie, right? :)

Somewhere...

There is so much beauty in such wonderful voices, such pure tones!!! Wow!!!

Of one award second year running

Was down in Singapore last week for a couple of days to attend a bond market summit, as well as to collect an award! :)

This is the second year running actually that I came in 2nd place, but I didn't make it down to collect the award last year, so this year, I thought I had better go. Never know if I will ever be conferred the accolade again. Actually, the award could be used as a marketing game, especially being in the asset management industry, but as I am in the Insurance industry, it could also look good to pad my curriculum vitae eh? :P

But really, I suppose it could be used for marketing as well within the insurance industry, especially if the agents are going out selling Investment Linked Plans, and performance of the fund is shown with such a tag to the fund manager, no? But, of course, the funds managed have to be performing and made sure to be ahead of peers.

How was the voting system? Someone from The Asset will call up bankers in Malaysia and asked them who they think are the most astute local bond investors. So, the bankers will provide a couple of names. And the ones with the most "hits", will of course rank higher. Seriously though, I am sure there are many good fund managers out there who don't talk as much to the market, so may be left out of the list. I guess it is the higher profile ones, and more active ones in terms of trades whom the bankers talk to who will get into the list. There are certainly other categories, but since I dabble in local currency bonds, hence the placement for this category.

Ok, nah! Here's a close up of what the award looks like. The "only" difference between No. 1 and the others are the words, "Voted as the" and "Voted as one of the". I have the "one of the". :)

Where is it now? Err, I think it is somewhere in the cardboard box together with other reports and paraphernalia in the office.

Hahaa, ok! ok! It's actually in the office somewhere on top of my cabinet, not too strategically placed so that people will not see it at first glance. Why? Shy muh! :P

Forty Six days to Christmas!

It is forty six days to Christmas and the shopping malls are beginning to put up Christmas decorative stuff and goodies. Nope, they haven't started playing Christmas carols yet, but no doubt will probably begin soon.

As I was walking around Pavillion yesterday, I succumbed to the temptation of buying ornaments for my Christmas tree. I can tell you one thing for sure, the ornaments don't come cheap!, but I console myself monetary wise, that I had a gig the night before which earned me enough pocket money to splurge a little. :)

As I woke up this morning, was undecided whether to take the existing Christmas tree out of storage or decorate the pussy willow tree which is already in my living room. Ya, me being the usual indicisive self, FINALLY decided on decorating the pussy willow tree after a good time debating with myself. One thing for sure, I didn't set a theme, but got carried away yesterday buying the various new ornamental stuff. So, looked as though it was done in a slapdash manner, but I think for this year will leave it as it is. Yep, looked a bit like a minimalist approach without the usual greenery, and it sort of go with the overall oriental Christmas theme which I had in mind.

Have never thought of white ornaments, but it does lend itself a certain look. Usually, one would go for only red and gold combination or white and blue. But I went for the works!!! Egads!!! Must remember to have a colour theme next year!

Of course, at this time of the year, one would get carried away with the commercial aspect of the coming festive season, but I had a star or two to remind me of the significance of the celebration. I was even humming Christmas carols as I was putting the stuffs up! :)

Now, if you ask me why I decorate so early, I really don't know. After all, I have another forty six days to shop for other ornaments and can redo my colour theme if I have to. Watch this space ... :P

Being a local tourist

You know, I have been in KL for quite a number of years already, but have not even been to some of the local attractions. After various rearranging of timetables, a few friends and myself decided to get organised and go being local tourists. With hats (some of us) and camera (most of us) in tow, we ploughed across various valleys and plains (ha, almost!)... more like the Forest Reserve Institute Malaysia (FRIM), Selayang Hot Springs, and Batu Caves.










Had to get up like 5:45am on one of the Sunday mornings last month just to get ready for a little bit of morning exercise in FRIM. This was my second time to FRIM actually, and quite enjoyable. Tried the canopy walkway, which was pretty exciting, and I think it is purportedly the tallest in the world. Some excitement for one of my friends, who suffered the fangs of a leech bite. Now personally, I don't have anything against leeches, but really am not a fan of those little suckers.

Next stop was at the Selayang Hot Springs. Malaysia's little "onsen". Ha, almost, but no skinny dipping I reckon. There were three sort of pools with varying degrees of hotness. The hottest had the clearest water, as I doubt anyone would dip themselves in there. One can even see the bubbles rising, that showed how hot it really was! The people around there mentioned that you can bring the water back and it would stay hot for up to 9 hours!

Of course, there were various rules as to what you can or cannot do. One interesting signage said "no undergarments in the pool", so does that mean one can go skinny dipping? The other two pools looked a bit murky. One had various people soaking their feet inside the pool under the scorching hot sun (out with the brollies! - it was around noon when we were there) and the other pool had a few old timers sitting around enjoying the natural heat. One lady took it one step further. She immersed her whole body into the pool, so I guess she must really believe in the natural healing properties of the Selayang hot spring.










Then after the earlier energising morning hike, and a sojourn to the hot springs for a bit of relaxation, we tackled Batu Caves and the 272 steps next! Yep, we climbed all the way to the top, and no, it wasn't as tiring as the walk up to the canopy walk at FRIM.










Interesting things to see, including monkeys which were perpetually hungry, eyeing tourists and locals alike for food. Batu Caves is of course a temple, frequented all year round, but peak time being Thaipussam, with devotees undergoing various body piercings and entering various spiritual state of being, climbing all the way up the cave to pay homage to their deity.

Me, I go just to look-see-look-see and enjoy the natural greatness of the limestone cave. And of course, a nice coconut drink at the very end of the long hot day. Oh, the little girl, Sasha, was very excited after being told by Yuin that the coconuts were free, and she wanted to take some home.

Another Day

It's been raining almost everyday in KL, and as the air gets fresher, the view gets better. Took this photo yesterday evening from the window of the spare room at my place. A view overlooking Petaling Jaya. Can just about make out Amcorp Mall's logo in the background.

The view caught my attention, and made me feel grateful for another wonderful day.

A passage of time

The beating of a heart, the yearning to be one. The longing for a part, for a time once lost. How close a person to get, how wonderful the moment spent. But time flutters its flowing wings, and lost those moments past.

Easily taken for granted, words sometimes does a wounding. Yet shared it cannot be, alone for pain to bear. Whither must I wander, a soul ever longing. Things for moments to cherish, yet only for a passage in time.

That fateful glance you ever did give, the searing touch you once gently did lay, upon the few precious instances, harbouring those ever infectious imprints. Alas, your yearning but now asunder be, and greatly needed for I, a wall insurmountable to build.

Perhaps in haste, a story too fast to tell. Perhaps a moment longer, a difference may be made. Yet the silent stillness of sound, ever do reverberate, to confirm those lost moments, of time and future past.

Of one childhood game and another

Following my previous post on paper, rock, SCISSORS!!!, it got me thinking about what other childhood games I played, especially coming from a Co-Ed school in a small town. I could literally list a couple, and wonder if most kids would still play these games in this day and age. In this technological age, most of these games would most probably be lost with the onset of playstation, etc. and parents' growing paranoia about the child's safety and well being. What? You never climbed trees? :P

1) Ohhhh PEK!
This can be a game of elimination or to find teams, where each kid would indicate with his or her palm down or palm upwards. In elimination, the one who is unique (i.e. sole upward palm or downward palm) in the group would be out. Sometimes gleefully out as the process can be used as the "shortest straw" method for undesirable task. For team selection, those who have upward palms would be in one team, and downward palms in another. All through the process of saying "Ohhh PEK". "Ohhh" is said whilst the palm is struck to the chest repeated, and "PEK" is said when showing the "hand". Recently learnt that in West Malaysia, this is also known as "Lat talilat tali tampom". But slight difference in that the palms are like interchanged upwards and downwards in front of everyone (almost like a wavy effect) while saying that phrase, and with "pom!", the selection is then made.

2) Lo Seng
I remember this used to be my favourite game whilst in Primary 1 and 2 (about age 7 and 8). We used the lines of the outdoor badminton court to play guard. This is a team game, where a captain is selected, who can travel up and down the badminton court lines, with other team mates only on the horizontal lines. The rival team will try to outmanoeuvre the guarding team without being touched, running within the court from one end to the other. Of course, when one is about 7 or 8, the court is quite big, and extending the arms out wide doesn't even cover much of the court to guard!

And yeah, I sweat like mad for this almost every recess, and had to stand outside the classroom to "cool down" before the teachers allowed me to re-enter the class. Of course, I wasn't the only one, and my gang members were all in the same boat! 2 years!!! Imagine that! :P

3) 5 stones
I have seen this game played with artificial stones. That is, triangular bags that have been filled with sago seeds or similar. However, in my childhood days, we used REAL stones. Of course, we picked the smaller ones so as not to hurt the handstoo much! To hear the genuine "ping" of the stones as they hit each other after being caught in the hand following a difficult combination was definitely a joy to anticipate.

I think this is traditionally a female game, but at that age, there is no gender discrimination. It's a game of throwing and catching the stones in the air with various combinations. Got to the point that there were genuine rivalries between the boys and girls as to see who were best with hand and eye coordination. This game was played I think between primary 4, 5 and 6 (but could be earlier).

4) Marbles
Now this was almost a competitive game, but my friends and I generally took it as a friendly match. We would place our marbles (literally, not figuratively) in a circle, and try to hit them with another marble in our hand to get them out of the circle. If the marble lands out, then it is the hitter's for the keeping. Another variation is to place the marble quite a distance away. Whoever was accurate enough to hit the marble would get to keep it.

5) Police and Thief

In primary school, this was one of the best games to let off those extra energy. Running and screaming whilst being chased. Once you (as the thief) are caught by being touched anypart of the body by the "police", you had to squat. Other thieves can rescue you by touching you and then you are free to run helter skelter screaming your lungs out being rechased. Think this game is also known as "catcher".

6) Others
There are just too many other games to list. But another is similar to this picture, called hopscotch. However, as a young kid, we used chalk to draw the lines on the floor, and used tied rubber bands as the marker to be thrown and hop on one leg on the various numbers. Can even "own" a specific numbered box once a person completes the whole series of numbers hopping on one leg.

What more can I say? Hide and Seek is also a perennial favourite, and really, I think at one point or other in each child's life, this game would have been played. Of course, there are other games like congkak, legos, paper aeroplanes, rounders, skareboarding, roller-skates, catching "lei hu" or small fishes at the "longkang"! (translated = drain), etc...

Oh! almost forgot to mention another game. Sort of like skipping rope but the rope is made of rubber bands interlocking to form a long chain. One has to "skip" across different heights. Not easy that, especially at that age, girls were generally taller than the boys. Again, gender rivalry was instilled (it is a Co-Ed school after all). I seriously wonder why we have been mentally conditioned as such, or is that a natural order of segregation between boys and girls to see who was better at what?

Still, I guess all these games allowed us to "exercise" to release those extra bursts of energy (which can seem unlimited at that age - imagine the screams as one would run around), and learn hand and eye coordination as a useful child development skill for the future, at least that is what I would like to think!

So, what sort of games did you play when you were growing up? Would an all girls' school involved such games also? But given the recent news on student bullying (girls intimidating other girls) it clearly shows the various levels of discipline (or lack of it) between the schools. Generally also, more apparent when comparison is made between East Malaysia (gentler folks) and West Malaysia (rougher folks). The degradation of social friendliness standards and the need to dominate is more apparent in the city as compared to a kampung or country life. Well, how about an all boys school? Besides the usual football (or soccer as the Americans would call it), I guess there would be a lot of fisticuffs to while away the time. No? :)

Of beings around us and beyond

"Angels", what a word. Used in many different context, be it spiritual beings attendant upon God, or even a kind, charming, and lovable person. Sometimes those who do good deeds upon us are also seen as "angels in disguise". This stain-glass picture depicts the angel at the empty tomb.

As a young kid, I have always been fascinated with angels. Looking at the glorious pictures or graphics in books (before the technological furtherance we see today - thus began the love affair with comic books), reading about them in certain passages of the bible (well, those few passages which I have ever read - you know, many Catholics don't read the bible enough, and I am generalising here, but yours truly is certainly one of them), and what more could I say when there's even an angel in the comic book X-men, who later become archangel! :P

In the general and biblical context, more info can be found here and here. When we read about the heavenly hosts, the seraphims and the cherubims, and even the four known archangels; Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Uriel (each with their own roles), it is fascinating to consider the constant struggle between good and evil.

Michael - Field commander for the army of God.
Gabriel - Messenger of God.
Raphael - Archangel who performs all manner of healing.
Uriel - Angel of Repentance, who "stands at the Gate of Eden with a fiery sword".

Though sometimes, if one is not careful, the four can be unintentionally mixed up with Raphael, Michelangelo, Leonardo, and Donatello! That shows the power of the telly!!!

And once a fantasy show touches upon angels, I am generally hooked! Caught the first two episodes of the latest Supernatural series and was initially apprehensive about watching (usually, I avoid these horror flicks like a plague - quivering as my imagination would go wild anytime of the day, and NIGHT!!! - and would catch glimpses of fleeting shadow at the corner of my eye!!!), but this caught my attention with the introduction of Castielle, supposedly a soldier or warrior angel. Think for this one, I will dispense with my usual apprehension and follow the series (for once!).

I have read many stories online about angels being with us, be it guardian angels or angels in human form, alleviating the pain and suffering of the various troubled souls. And many questions have been posed as to whether you see "an angel" in the eyes of those around you. Myself, I personally believe in guardian angels, and occassionally pray for protection and guidance when I am frightened or lost in more ways than one. A prayer learnt even as a young kid, remembered to this very day to provide me comfort. And once a while, a beautiful song is written and wonderfully sung, essentially encapsulating the longing most feel in seeking comfort:

Of something red and warmly given

Have you donated blood before? The last time I did, was on 15 July 1998! I was swept along by the "Give Blood, Save Lives" campaign or something similar of such slogan. And I remember it vividly, because I only managed to give slightly less than 400ml before I felt faint. And that almost 400ml trickled into the bag (which took a good half hour!), unlike others who filled up the 500ml bag in no time at all. The doctor and nurses immediately said enough after they had a look at my face which by then had turned quite pale. Even giving that little amount, I couldn't get up, and had to lie down for a good 45 minutes. Well, that was the first and last time I have ever donated blood, and it was during my pre-hypertensive days. Nowadays, due to the daily medication, am not entitled to donate blood.

Actually, I have always been apprehensive about needles poking me. I saw enough of it (well, not me, but others being poked) during my secondary school days as I was a member of the Malaysia Red Crescent Society, and helped out during one of the blood donation drive. I could barely look as the needle was inserted, and when I saw the blood gushing out into the bags, I was flabbergasted. And yes, I did cop a feel of the blood bag and it was surprising warm (to me anyway), but heck, the warmness was to be expected. After all, aren't all of us warm blooded beings?

The first time I was consciously aware of having a blood test, I saw the humongous needle and almost freaked out. The doctor reassured me that it wouldn't hurt, but who would believe the doctor after seeing the needle! Actually, it wasn't painful, just an initial pricking sensation as the sanitised needle punctured the skin and delved into the vein to draw out the required amount. But I didn't look in my moment of anxiety, turning away all through the process and even refused to see how much blood they took. After that, I made it a point never to look at the needles before a blood test and never to see the actual process of the insertion of needles and the withdrawal of blood.

However, today I did my blood test for a checkup required to purchase some insurance cover. As the matronly looking doctor was preparing for the "moment", I quickly looked away. The doctor chuckled, and I told her that I don't like needles. Somemore, after hearing that I don't like needles, she had the cheek to say:

Female Doctor (with her evil grin): Make a fist, and keep still. If I can't find the vein, I may have to prick you three or four times!

Me (thinking in my head!): What the *(&@#*!!!

Female Doctor (with her even more evil grin): And I am taking this opportunity to whack you, for never listening to me to lose weight and to exercise more! (and just as she said that, she whacked my hand a few times to find that elusive vein).

As though I wasn't feeling apprehensive enough, I had to hear that. But after the ordeal was over, I did steal a glance at the needle and the amount of blood taken, and I was like, "Wah! She took so much blood!". Somehow, the blood looked a lot darker, more like a deeper red than the one in this picture, but yes, I did see something like that little droplet at the end of the syringe.

I guess through it all, if I could donate blood, I think I would again, no matter my distaste for the needle. But I can't, so won't dwell on it too much. However, here's to hoping all would help in one way or another, to donate that little amount of blood for someone who may need it in desperate times. Give blood, save a life.

To spend or not to spend...

Been a while since I had my regular paper tosei, and since my vocal lesson time was swopped to an earlier slot of 10:00am, I thought I would indulge a little bit at 9:30am. Need the energy to sing muh, otherwise cannot last the entire class. Never knew singing can be tiring, eh? Need to work those abdominal muscles. But alas, not sure why I still don't have my six-pack!

However, what shocked me was that for a small glass of teh tarik and a cone shaped paper tosei (and I noticed that it has gotten to be a smaller portion or shape), the bill came up to RM4.20!!!

Me: HUH!?! Empat Ringgit Dua???
(translated: HUH!?! Four Ringgit and Twenty???)
Foreign Waiter: Ya! Ini (pointing at the paper tosei) Tiga Ringgit.
(translated: Ya! This (pointing at the paper tosei) is Three Ringgit.
Me: TIGA Ringgit??!! [almost shouting, but trying to keep my voice down as I saw some other customers looking my way]
(translated: THREE Ringgit??!!) [almost shouting, but trying to keep my voice down as I saw some other customers looking my way]

I duly handed him the money but was aghast at the escalating cost. Last time, as in 2 years ago, it cost RM1.50. Last year, it cost RM2.00, TODAY it cost RM3.00!!! My goodness!!! That's like a 100% increase in price since 2 years ago (and the portion has gotten smaller too!). And here I thought commodity prices have come down. :(

But when I think about it, I can sometimes go shopping, and buy a nice tie which cost RM90 (cheap! on sale muh!), and am not appalled about the cost, yet, when it comes to paper tosei, I baulk at the price. Is this then a case of "Penny Wise, Pound Foolish"? But then again, I don't buy a tie that often anyway, well, at least not as often as I could consume a nice portion of paper tosei, but the point is that I am more conscious of the little stuff as opposed to the bigger ticket items. Like for lunch, I would notice that certain outlets in the foodcourt tend to overcharge for a plate of mix rice, and I would boycott that shop, yet sometimes, I wouldn't think twice about "premium" items, especially when there is a sale going on.

I suppose it is the regularity of it all, since the spending on the smaller stuff are on a regular basis which can really add up over a period of time. But at the end of it all, the more fanciful cup of coffee, or that nicer looking shirt or tie going for a bargain, can also hit the wallet in the same way.

And when I hear about people holding two jobs to earn extra pocket money, I do feel a tad guilty. I guess I can only console myself that I also sing for various occassions and earn those little extra angpows to supplement my regular income. Not that it amounts to much, but hey, every little Ringgit helps to pay for the higher cost of paper tosei!!!, and my occassional shopping spree.