Painting the town "red"

Having an extra holiday in between the week has always been welcomed news. Of course like most people whenever there’s a holiday I try to get some house chores done or to laze around but this round my husband and I had to do some entertaining of relatives that came from outstation. So we hit the malls for some CNY shopping. It was no as crowded as I expected it to be. We could easily find a parking whenever we went to a different mall, other than the normal jam at Bukit Bintang. We managed to scour 2 malls within 4 hours and we did manage to find pretty good deals.

Of course any outing will include good food. But we did not get it at the mall; we decided to go and get food at the pasar malam near my area. Sorry, but no pictures here as we were ravenous when we got back so we started digging in before any pictures could be taken. After we finished eating we suddenly smelt kerosene in the air. At first we thought that it came from behind of the house as some houses were doing some renovation but the smell actually came from the front. We went out to check out where the smell was wafting in from and we saw that some brainless ah long (useless human being who are rich enough to lend people $ but use uncivilised ways to get the $ back from the borrower) decided to embarrass my next door neighbour by throwing red paint, not knowing that this particular neighbour of hours has a skin thicker than any rhino or elephant in the world. They have gotten this kind of treatment at least 3 to 4 times so we ignored it as we’re not the typical nosey Malaysian. Anyway, we went back to clear up the table after eating and when it was time to send our relatives off, we were about to get into the car when we realised that the paint also splashed on our car!!!!!! Then only we saw another plastic bag with paint in our compound as well.

The whole situation made me see red immediately, not because of the red paint but because I was fuming. Out of no reason, we had to suffer due to some incompetent idiot. I mean, good Lord. If you’re really an ah long, might as well go up to the house and throw the paint directly not go pass in a motorbike and throw 2 plastic bags of paint. Really, one word for these guys, F**KING NO BALLS!!!! Well, of course other than fuming the whole night, we had to do something before the paint really set in so my husband had to quickly go out and get turpentine to get the paint off. Luckily the paint of the car did not come off with the red paint. We took at least 4 hours to get the paint off the car and wash the compound and sad to say, not even a word of sorry from the bloody next door neighbour.

The best part of the story is, when we called 999, the operator that picked up asked us to call the police station nearest to us and make the report. So after calling the police station and explaining the situation, the police had the nerve to actually tell us to go to the station and make the report. So much for Cekap dan Mesra slogan by the police force. It’s a useless slogan. Might as well change it to Lambat dan Pengecut. So, I wonder how the government expect the public to trust the police to protect and help us if they can’t even solve such simple things. At least have the decency to come over and look, take some pictures and take down our statement rather asking us to go over to the station. But then again, as usual putting hopes in these people is like putting hope in a pile of shit! Useless! Sigh!

Petrol future for 2008

This article below got me thinking. Based on what I received earlier of the day to boycott all means of pumping petrol on 24^th of January 2008, this article was sent to me by a friend working in Shell. Some of you might say that it is a way to make his stand in showing his commitment to the company but some of you might also say it has a true ringing to it as well.

We all know that oil and all the resources will one day finish and it’s up to the government of the country to actually find ways and means to find substitutes for the fuel via solar, wind or hydroelectricity and etc. What has our government of Malaysia been doing I wonder? Any comments on this??

From: Jeroen van der Veer, Chief Executive To: All Shell employees Date: 22 January 2008 Subject: Shell Energy Scenarios

Dear Colleagues

In this letter, I'd like to share reflections about how we see the energy future, and our preferred route to meeting the world's energy needs. Industry, governments and energy users - that is, all of us - will face the twin challenge of more energy and less CO₂.

This letter is based on a text I've written for publication in several newspapers in the coming weeks. You can use it in your communications externally. There will be more information about energy scenarios in the months ahead.

By the year 2100, the world's energy system will be radically different from today's. Renewable energy like solar, wind, hydroelectricity and biofuels will make up a large share of the energy mix, and nuclear energy too will have a place.

Mankind will have found ways of dealing with air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. New technologies will have reduced the amount of energy needed to power buildings and vehicles.

Indeed, the distant future looks bright, but getting there will be an adventure. At Shell, we think the world will take one of two possible routes. The first, a scenario we call Scramble, resembles a race through a mountainous desert. Like an off-road rally, it promises excitement and fierce competition. However, the unintended consequence of "more haste" will often be "less speed" and many will crash along the way.

The alternative scenario, called Blueprints, has some false starts and develops like a cautious ride on a road that is still under construction. Whether we arrive safely at our destination depends on the discipline of the drivers and the ingenuity of all those involved in the construction effort. Technical innovation provides for excitement.

Regardless of which route we choose, the world's current predicament limits our maneuvering room. We are experiencing a step-change in the growth rate of energy demand due to population growth and economic development, and Shell estimates that after 2015 supplies of easy-to-access oil and gas will no longer keep up with demand.

As a result, society has no choice but to add other sources of energy - renewables, yes, but also more nuclear power and unconventional fossil fuels such as oil sands. Using more energy inevitably means emitting more CO₂ at a time when climate change has become a critical global issue.

In the Scramble scenario, nations rush to secure energy resources for themselves, fearing that energy security is a zero-sum game, with clear winners and losers. The use of local coal and homegrown biofuels increases fast.

Taking the path of least resistance, policymakers pay little attention to curbing energy consumption - until supplies run short. Likewise, despite much rhetoric, greenhouse gas emissions are not seriously addressed until major shocks trigger political reactions. Since these responses are overdue, they are severe and lead to energy price spikes and volatility.

The other route to the future is less painful, even if the start is more disorderly. This Blueprints scenario sees numerous coalitions emerging to take on the challenges of economic development, energy security and environmental pollution through cross-border cooperation.

Much innovation occurs at the local level, as major cities develop links with industry to reduce local emissions. National governments introduce efficiency standards, taxes and other policy instruments to improve the environmental performance of buildings, vehicles and transport fuels.

As calls for harmonization increase, policies converge across the globe. Cap-and-trade mechanisms that put a cost on industrial CO₂ emissions gain international acceptance. Rising CO₂ prices accelerate innovation, spawning breakthroughs. A growing number of cars are powered by electricity and hydrogen, while industrial facilities are fitted with technology to capture CO₂ and store it underground.

Against the backdrop of these two equally plausible scenarios, we will only know in a few years whether December's Bali declaration on climate change was just rhetoric or the beginning of a global effort to counter it. Much will depend on how attitudes evolve in Beijing , Brussels , New Delhi and Washington .

Shell traditionally uses its scenarios to prepare for the future without expressing a preference for one over another. But, faced with the need to manage climate risk for our investors and our grandchildren, we believe the Blueprints outcomes provide the best balance between economy, energy and environment.

For a second opinion, we appealed to climate change calculations made at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. These calculations indicate that a Blueprints world with CO₂ capture and storage results in the least amount of climate change, provided emissions of other major manmade greenhouse gases are similarly reduced.

The sobering reality is that the Blueprints scenario will only come to pass if policymakers agree a global approach to emissions trading and actively promote energy efficiency and new technology in four sectors: heat and power generation, industry, mobility and buildings. It will be hard work and there is little time.

For instance, Blueprints assumes CO₂ is captured at 90% of all coal- and gas-fired power plants in developed countries in 2050, plus at least 50% of those in non-OECD countries. Today, there are none. Since CO₂ capture and storage adds cost and brings no revenues, government support is needed to make it happen quickly on a scale large enough to affect global emissions. At the very least, companies should earn carbon credits for the CO₂ they capture and store.

Blueprints will not be easy. But it offers the world the best chance of reaching a sustainable energy future unscathed, so we should explore this route with the same ingenuity and persistence that put humans on the moon and created the digital age.

The world faces a long voyage before it reaches a low-carbon energy system. Companies can suggest possible routes to get there, but governments are in the driving seat. And governments will determine whether we should prepare for a bitter competition or a true team effort.

That is the article, and how I see our challenges and opportunities. I look forward to hearing how you see the situation (please be concise).

Regards

Jeroen van der Veer
Chief Executive

A second chance

As I read the paper this morning a title in the paper caught my attention. It says, “A second chance for strays - Dogs rounded up by MPSJ to be offered for adoption".

Firstly, I applaud and salute the MPSJ for doing this. They are the first council in Malaysia that I hear actually show a positive attitude towards strays. And furthermore, the MPSJ president is Datuk Adnan Md Ikhsan. In the section, quoted from the Star, "According to MPSJ president Datuk Adnan Md Ikhsan, stray dogs rounded up by the council would first be put up for adoption before they are put down. He added that the MPSJ did not want euthanasia to be the only option in countering the problem. "We would prefer that the dogs are given second chance by those willing to take them into their homes as pets or as guard dogs for their farms, " said Adnan. Bravo!! I really respect him for doing this. He is the first council head and a Malay as well who actually don't want to see dogs being put to death for no reason. At least he's giving them a second chance unlike other councils, all they know is to kill that's all.

Honestly I have nothing about Malays not liking dogs as I know it's something to do with their religion but at least have the courtesy like Datuk Adnan to give the animals a second chance. I really hope that other councils would learn from him to take this action. Dogs, cats, guinea pigs, hamsters, iguanas are all pets. They should not suffer just because they are strays where maybe some irresponsible owners out there couldn't control or teach their pets, they rather choose the easy way of letting them go astray, hoping that the pets can find food in the rubbish bin.

I know that all the pet shops nowadays offer beautiful dogs and cats for sale. Those are breeder dogs, and boy do they cost a lot. So, it is a wise decision for Datuk Adnan to let the dogs be adopted. They make better pets even compared to some expensive breed. Anyway, hasn't there been many medical articles talking about how keeping a pet actually reduces the chances of a person getting a heart attack?

Again, I salute and pay my highest respect to the MPSJ for being the first to initiate this adoption campaign. Good job!

Rollercoster emotions

"Ring!Ring!" I always dread hearing the phone ring in the middle of the night. Have always had this phobia that something not good has happened for someone to actually call in the middle of the night.

But I did not get such a phone call. I got a sms from my sister on Saturday morning, informing that my eldest aunty was comatose in the hospital from a stroke. Not a very good start of the weekend and to have to hear my mum sobbing over the phone, incomprehensible words from her makes things worse. Even when my grandmother passed away when I was young, my mum wasn't crying uncontrollably like now. So it came as a shock with the news of my aunty and my mum on the phone in that state made me have this dreaded feeling of doom overwhelm me.

I've never been brought up in a family that showed much affection other than the relative pat on the head saying I'm a good girl. No huggings or kissings on the cheek. None. But I do hug my family members each time I leave for KL, some tradition my brother started way back when he was in his university days. So when I heard my mum cried on the phone I felt like a helpless fish on land, I didn't know what to say to console her and I felt like crying. I felt like a useless shit practically. I know that words to console her won't make any difference but deep down I know it will still give her some comfort. A weird and sad thing was, it's easier for me to say it to friends rather than to my family. I wonder why. But after 1 day of pondering how to say it out, I decided to call my mum to console her this morning. Wasn't too bad as I expected it to be, nor was it as awkward as I thought it would be. Probably due to the fact that my tummy was queasy enough from all the diarrhea that I didn't feel any butterflies in my stomach while I was waiting for my mum to pick up the phone.

So, getting that over and done with, now the only thing bugging me is the condition of my aunt. Came as a shock as she looks well when she attended my wedding last month. I guess again, God is trying to tell me that human life is really very unpredictable and to cherish what valuable time we have with our loved ones. Not spending time to find fault with each other or to spend time idling away, doing irrelevant things. I always felt like if anything happens to me, I'm ready to leave this world myself but I'm not ready for people around me to leave. I don't think I'll ever be ready.

Now the only thing I'm concentrating on is to pray hard to God that He is there to comfort everyone of us while He heals her slowly.

Scam of 2008

Have anyone of you been cheated by easy money to come by? I've been lucky enough thanks to Him above and to many forward emails from friends warning about how unfortunate people get scammed through all these easy lottery winnings via the internet or even through calls that tells you to just follow certain instructions to claim the winning pot!

I just received another email. This round it's not the title that caught my attention but the sender's name that caught my attention. It states that it's from "Microsoft Lottery Board UK" and the title is the usual Congratulations. You Won. Being a normal busybody with nothing much to do tonight I decided to open the email but still assuring and alerting myself that it is another scam. Lo and behold, it states that I'm one of the 10 lucky winners that won the lump sum of 1,000,000.00 GBP! Woo hoo!! Yea. As if. That is basically like God dropping a ton of gold or a bag full of $$ into your lap without you doing anything, not even praying and having faith that He will give it to you man!

Funny thing about this email it does not ask you for your account details or any personal identification details. Just your name, contact address, phone number, country, state and city. I mean that sounds pretty harmless right. But knowing how those cunning people work, who probably will create another total different identity using your details. I actually had a good mind to just create some sort of details using the name of the person who sent it to me. Some guy name David Jones Brown and his own contact number. I wonder if I did that, will they know that people out there are aware of their scams or they just simply couldn't care less and just use the details. Seriously how many poor souls will fall for this and how many more scams are created every minute? If only these scammers put their brains to good use, I bet they would easily become small millionaires even. Don't even need to be those successful and famous millionaires but still a millionaire. But instead they prefer to use their brains to bamboozle people.

So for you guys out there, please be careful and don't join the ever growing statistics of being duped by these charlatans.

New Year, New Life

Being back in KL seems like a faraway possibility ever since I stepped into Cat City which was my beloved home for Christmas 2007. But that day has come and passed. I flew back to KL on New Years day with trepidation thinking whether now things would be different after I’ve signed on the dotted line and gotten the ceremony over and done with but God has been kind and merciful where my then boyfriend and now husband has been loving, patient and understanding as before and even more so now. Yes, I’ve now joined the bandwagon of the married couples out there and have received plenty of wishes from friends around the world on that special day and I would like to personally thank all of them for taking time to remember and wish me and my husband on our special day.

Many questions do flow into conversation as to how married life is like? I wish that I can say it is amazing, with rainbows in the sky everyday, mushy love notes left lying around the house for each other to discover and breakfast in bed but those can only happen during the honeymoon period and in movies. Not when you get back to work the next day after coming back. That’s reality but I have nothing to complain or to be unhappy about. All I can say, it is the same as before, only that now I have an extra person to care and love as well as someone to care and love me back. The rest of the issues about toilet seats being left up, or wet towels lying on the floor etc; we’ve not had that sort of problems. We do have our own small petty issues but we’re learning to compromise and love each other as we are.

The next question as to how was the wedding dinner? All I can say is, with reliable and trustworthy friends and relatives, things will go smoothly. Of course there maybe small hiccups here and there but what event will ever go smoothly without flaws? We all had tremendous fun. All the yam sengs and drinking sessions after the dinner, it definitely was an unforgettable night.

So, Thank You again to all you guys who helped make my day!!!