Lavish wedding v simple wedding

This week seen me attending two types of weddings at different venue and in different spectrum of society. One was held at hotels around Kuala Lumpur with lavish spread and high profile attendees. The other one was at a low cost flat at the suburb of Kuala Lumpur. One was by a person whom I got to know through a friendin which my attendance was more out of curiosity than anything else and the other one was my sister-in-law's which was a must for any relative to attend.

As my wife's family was from a 'kampung' in the middle of Kuala Lumpur relocated to low cost flat quite near its original location, the wedding was done like how a normal kampung would throw a wedding. This is where the difference lies in Malaysia between the haves and the haves-not. The rich hire people to do their work and their party for them. The haves-not invite all their friends and families from their 'real kampung' in Perak and Kelantan. The haves invite 'important people' who will shape their business later after the wedding. The haves-not just invited people from all walk of life, even their neighbours a bit further away.

This is where the money goes most in a small wedding

On the wedding day of my sister-in-law, the whole flat was involved in the cooking, the helping out, the ushering of guests, the taking apart of all the table and the putting back of everything in their places. Everthing was done on that one day which would be wrapped up with a karaoke session which was expected from the host. My wife told me there was 'joget lambak' or open disco in the old day but they don't do it anymore. That was how a small simple wedding being held in Malaysia

... and this is where the money goes most in a lavish wedding.

As for a lavish wedding, how about 7 days and 7 nights of food and drinks at various venues where 6 of it were at hotels around town and at each hotel a minimum of RM1 Million was spent. The final day was held at the groom house and I can only imagine what they spend there. As I went to two nights of the wedding out of the 7 that were held at two different hotels, I saw that the guests were nearly the same. Hmmm... I thought the point of a wedding is to announce the change of status of the person getting married...

I still think that how ever simple or lavish a wedding is, what is important what happens after. Wether the marriage is a success or not. Hope of a happy life to the both couples...

D.I.N.K.

I read this term somewhere once. I think it was the now-defunct Asiaweek but I am not sure. It was about the term they give certain couples according to their income and liabilities.

Double Income, No Kids. Or D.I.N.K. As oppose to Double Income With Kids. Or Single Income With Kids. Or Single Income No Kids. Actually the one I really remember is the the first category.

That of my wife and I.

We have been in that bracket for 5 years plus now. We have our routine and we have our economic situation assessed and reassessed a few times every year when we thing we need a new investment scheme or if the economy took turn for the better or for the worse. We try to cut our spending when the credit cards seem unmanageable or increase our spending according to the festive season. We have travelled to a few countries and planning to travel more in the near and distant future.

In one of our trips...

We would buy or change our car if the economy permits and if a new model take our fancy or if my wife is fed-up having to manage a car which is too big for her. We took personal loan, paid it off and took some more. We bought houses, sell one, retain one and intend to upgrade the house which we live in into a mansion or maybe just a bungalow or even maybe just a condominium agreeable to us. We may just refinance it and renovate it as per our liking.

We invested in unit trust, the ever favourite Amanah Saham Bumiputra, Tabung Haji, shares, fixed deposit and all the conservative to a little risky venture which may give us a bit of a return every year. We have part-time jobs and side income to help us cope with our loan repayment. We have our egg nest which may or may not last until our retirement. We presevere to ensure we can survive in a comfortable situation.

We planned all this without thinking of any changes in our plan except if Allah suddenly has planned for us to change the category from DINK to DIWK or any other plans that He has for us. After all, we can only plan and He will determine our demise...

Walking together

I have always been guilty of not following the rules of courtship when I was dating my wife. After we decided we were the perfect match and there was no doubt in our mind that we were going to get married, I treated her just like a wife that she was going to be.

One of the treatment that she received was when I always left her behind when we were walking around town. It was just that I love to walk fast. As I knew how to be tactful and just to made her felt appreciated, I said to her - "As a Malay man, I am bound to treat you like this eventually. At least if not immediately, when we are old...", it made her smile, which does not necessarily mean that she agrees with me.

Do keep up with me dear...

After we got married, I became even worse as I asked her to walk all over the places that we visited, either in Amsterdam, Paris, Bali and good ole KL. We walked if we wanted to go for shopping. We walked if our hotel was 200 metres away from the beach or 500 metres at the end of the beach. We walked under a hot sun or we walked in the cold European climate. We walk and we walk. How my wife hates me for this...

I do it as I have a girth which I would like to not have and I sometimes understand that it is not easy to walk in high heels. I do sometimes give way and let her off at the entrance of a mall or the place where we can meet then I trudged alone to her. It is rare especially where taking a taxi is expensive.

I do sometimes did a double take when I realised I was walking to fast and she was trying to catch up with me when we are in a mall or around town. Sometimes, even when I am holding her hand, she has to run to keep up.

Its just that I love walking fast. It is still a bad habit which I can't shake off. Maybe it will stop when I grow older.

We'll see...

Old flames

Do you ever introduced your old flame to your spouse? As for someone like me who got to know my spouse through one of my other girlfriend, it was never a problem.

It has been a staple for me even before I was married. When I was in the university, I got to know this one girl through the internet and after I dated her twice I brought this 2 girl friends of mine to her house to assess her and she was so offended, not because of the assessment but because she thought its weird for me to bring 2 girls to her house. For me it was simple. She needs to know who I always hang out with before we embark on a serious relationship.

Now my wife had met the first crush I had in school who I had a love/hate relationship with, who married one of my male school friend after I gave him her phone number. My wife had met this one girl I knew in university who I courted right before I got to know my wife. My wife had even met this one GRO whom I had gone out with a long time ago. These are just a few of the old flames that I have introduced my wife to.

One of my current flame which my wife is ok with...

Most because I still keep in touch with them such as the university girl is a manager at the legal division of a government development company which appoint my firm as their panel. Some are long gone like the GRO.

The point I am trying to make is the need to bury the hatchet and let bygone be bygone especially if you want to have closure in your history. I am a big believer in what is past is past and tomorrow is another day...

Lingerie...

Malaysia seems to be swamped with lingerie shops at malls nowadays. There are La Senza, Xixili and the everlasting Triumph, among others. Although there is still no Victoria Secrets or Agent Provocateur shop in sight, you can get these brands at selected shops or departmental store. Some are marketed to the masses for all those women who need their basic undies and some are marketed for those who have a naughty side to themselves.

Why am I such an expert in lingerie? It is actually an important arsenal for those who have been married for sometimes...

This is an important component too to good sex

Just imagine the need to spice thing up a bit in the bedroom. With a bit of extra clothing, which is not extra at all, come to think of it, you can liven up the most mundane routine sex (is there such a thing?), especially for those who already have kids and whatnot which will take up even the air that you breath. You need a bit of a starter before you can get to the main course.

In a country as conservative as ours, we still rarely see couples go into a lingerie shop and the men standing around while waiting for the women trying it out and asking the men to see whether they would like what they see. Some are brave enough to do this but still avert their eyes when they met other women in the shop. The best description of their look will be 'sheepish' meaning that they are actually embarrassed to be there but they were not given a choice. It is the same when sometimes the husband or the boyfriend had to shop for some sanitary napkins at the local store for their partner (it won't be too embarassing if it was at the hypermarket).

Anyway, lingerie is as important as a tool but not the most important thing in a couple's life. A healthy libido and understanding between the couple is as important, among others and of course, the four letter word - L.O.V.E.

My wife's overactive imagination

I did post once on the easeness of my wife crying. You can read it here http://howmanthink.blogspot.com/2008/11/crying.html.

There is another attitude of my wife's which took some time for me to get to use to. It was her overactive imaginations. According to her mind, I am already in nearly 5 to 6 affairs when I started blogging actively and before that I have had affairs with the students that I taught in a local university and various other affairs because of various reasons. It seems that my libido is so great that I can maintain a few mistresses at any one time.

How about when I get a whack from her for something that an actor did on screen or when she knew a friend of mine is having an affair? She knew since the day we were courting that I love to surprise her. I told her earlier in the relationship, never to expect anything when she expect something but be ready to be surprised at the time she wouldn't expect anything...

Me, being surrounded by other women...

I once did try to slip beside her when she was sleeping in the afternoon trying to be romantic but I gave her quite a start coupled with a shout which was nearly a scream that I gave up doing it after a few times. She thought I was a thief who had slipped into the house.

As for the affair, I can hear the edge in her voice when she ask me who a new girl or woman I just got to know was. The early years when I partnered with my university friends who rarely wear other than some corporate suits or blouses which left nothing to one's imagination, her jealousy and suspicions could be seen. Then they became friends, and I heaved a sigh of relief...

I am currently introducing her, little by little, to a few of my ghost of christmas past, due to necessity and there were various reactions from her. Some, she thought were beneath her and some she confessed to be way out of her league. I always keep reminding her that I have chosen her and the other girls were my past. Water under the bridge. Most of them are happily married, with children. What she imagined when I was courting them, I leave that to her imaginations.

If there's a sudden whack out of nowhere, I know her imagination just caught up with her mind...

The good thing about AMBP screening of Madagascar 2

I reached a milestone again in my short life as a blogger on 10.11.08. I won.a contest by the Star Online All Malaysian Blogger Project website which require you to write a slogan which I totally forgot exactly after I have written it. Lo and behold, on 6.11.08, the day that the contest closed, I received an email telling me I won myself either 2 or 4 tickets to the movie Madagascar 2 shown at Cathay Cineplex Damansara. I was preplexed as I was not sure whether I won 2 or 4 tickets and where is Cathay Cineplex Damansara. Is it Cineleisure or the one in One Utama. Although I frequent Cineleisure a lot, I was not sure whether it was a Cathay cinema or a TGV or a GSC.

From AMBP website

I called the number stated in the email and found out that I won just 2 tickets which the guy on the line advice me to come and choose the seats as they were allowing those who won to choose their seat according to their preference. As I was quite busy, I only managed to go to the Star Tower on the day of the show itself which was at 11am on 10.11.08. I though there was counter or a queue at least but discovered it was done by going to the 7th floor, went into their office and at the guy's cubicle, I just choose my seats. I forgot to ask him which cinema it was but a stroke of genius made me look at the Star newspaper and discovered that there was only one Cathay cinema which is in Cineleisure in Damansara.

This win was just at the back of another win the week before when I got to watch for free the new James Bond. Read it here http://howmanthink.blogspot.com/2008/11/ogling-olga-in-quantum-of-salaciousness.html.

The movie Madagascar really made me think feel that I am growing old as I couldn't enjoy the movie as much as I used to enjoy Disney cartoons of yore. In my head I keep on thinking the movie was too childish and too simple. There was no plot twist and most character falls under the description of 'cute'. From Alex the Lion to his 3 buddies to King Julien to the penguins. All those from Madagascar are back and then some...

The really good thing I could say about this movie was the lack of kids in the cinema as most bloggers who got the tickets brought themselves and the other good thing is the new movie trailer that was shown for the coming summer 2009 attraction. If during the free screening of Quantum of Solace we were previewed the trailer of Terminator 4, this time we were given a glimpse of Monsters v. Aliens (or is the title supposed to be the other way around). It seems these advance screening were places for you to see upcoming trailers...only that the Malaysian moviegoers are still not that excited of movie trailers as their USA counterparts.

Whatever it is, I am only waiting to see the 'Watchmen' above all the other movies in 2009. That will be the Batman of 2008 which may even be a flop...

What's wrong with the song "If I was a boy..."

Lyrics

You do know that this song is a very unfair representation of my gender, right?


Beyonce took it from a rock song and turn it into her own version of a women begging her 'boy' to understand her and saying how she would have handled the situation the couple is facing, unlike how the boy is handling.

She said she would not turn off her phone making the person calling thinks she was alone.

She would know how to love a girl and be a better man...

She would listen properly to her cause she know how it feels to be taken for granted...

She would turn off her phone so people would think she was sleeping alone...

She would do all this to make the girl she is courting feels wanted, appreciated, feeling loved, know every wishes and her dreams and then some. This was all that Beyonce promised she would do, if she was a boy...

The problem with this lyrics, is...

This job that she called for is suited for a MAN, not a boy... unless she wants cute to be the boy...

p/s - when I hear thje song again last night, at the end of it that was what Beyonce ask, for the boy to be a man...

"Love Like You Will Never Get Hurt"

        Love        

     Like You    
       Will         

   Never Get     

        Hurt         

Those words are on a fridge magnet on my fridge. There are just those words written in black and on a gold background. Nothing else.

I bought it when I was on a trip to Freemantle, Australia, without my wife. I know she would either love it or hate it as the words may be true but its implication, if the second part of the sentence ever happen, it is something that she hates to think about.

Would you give yourself to love like this?

I was always amazed during my university years when I saw couple who can hang on nearly 5 to 6 years before they got married as they want to finish their study first before they need to confront their parents that they were a couple and wanted to get married. Some were just waiting and one couple I know broke off 3 months after graduation as the guy was delaying the marriage as they had been together for 6 years.

I would love to think that I did the same thing but not as early as some and I would say that there are no regrets on my part when I did it when I got married.

Still do...

And I got the fridge magnet to remind me of it

Take a Bow

I did blog once on the issue of a man who cheated and was caught by the wife when she saw his phone messages to his mistress. I did make a remark that he was not stupid because he cheated but he was stupid because he was caught.

It seems that my idea is not that original as there was the Rihanna song, Take A Bow, in which she said :

"And don't tell me you're sorry cause you're not,
Baby when I know you're only sorry you got caught"

Maybe its the anthem of cheating men or discrimination by women of men or profiling of men by women that we, men, are all labelled as cold-hearted especially if we cheat. There is also a saying "Women need a reason to cheat but men just cheat because they can".

Is it the man to be blame when men cheat? How about women? They cheat too. Is it ok if they do it due to not enough attention given by their partner or do they just do it for the sake of cheating. I do believe in this regard in this day and age, the playing field is level and men or women play the cheating game with the same reason. The difference may be the tools that are use to snag the 'prize'?

Threesome

Guys, if ever you are presented with this dream opportunity, if it is with one woman and another man, would you do it?

Most guys would think that a threesome is when two women is 'serviced' by one man. How about the other way around?

Actually, aesthically and physically, a woman's body is more suitable for a threesome than a man. We only have but 1 tool but women can easily please a man even without taking her clothes off. Ok, I know man can do it too but the satisfaction is different (I think). The basic need of a copulation also differs when we have something which sticks out and women have places where you stick it in.

I remember in FRIENDS when Joey and Chandler had this conundrum where they had to imagine what happened if they were involved in a threesome with a woman. Where would they put their hand? Would they need to close their eyes? Who goes first as the second person will have to contend with the other person's 'liquid'.

Willing participants in a 3some

All this and other questions too graphic to explain and think about made me think that I'll stick to making love to one woman at a time.

Unless the other woman is a gift from that one woman I'm sticking with!!!

Just kidding dear...NOT!

Mammaries

You can see my nipples here

This topic is dedicated to a friend of mine who just can't get enough.

I can never figure myself whether I am an ass-man or a breast-man. I would like to think that I am both.

The topic I want to 'touch' today is on the beauty of breast and men's fascination with it. The problem with breast is that they are just there. You cannot hide the fact that they are beautifully displayed for all to see.

Those who are well endowed with top heavy breast had to endure the stare like this one girl that I know who is an attraction at my office. My friends who have seen her can attest to this fact. As she is small the fact that that part of hers are big cannot be denied. I didn't notice it until it was pointed 2 days after she started working. Honest!!!

Anyway, we men are hopeless when it comes to keeping our eyes at any woman's eyes if we are presented with a beautiful encased or sometimes undone mammaries. We would just stare. Maybe it was like what Freud had theorised when he said that men will always want to fall in love with their mother. And his theory came from the fact that men were nurtured by their mother's bosom before they were released to the wild.

Maybe they never let go...

p/s - women will outgrow their fascination as they grow their own. They can just stare theirs in the mirror...

Hair today, gone tomorrow

I was a balding man ever since I reached the age of 27. I can't explain why, but the MSG in so many of the food that I love to eat, which include the favourite maggi mee, is the most likely culprit. It is not scientically proven but if a lab test is done on my blood since the day I took that first bite on that first bowl of Maggi Mee, it might tell us something.

So, I now have to live with the fact that I don't have a crowning glory which every woman would feel inadequate if they have to face the same situation. It would be like a man who couldn't get 'it' up. That's how much I think a woman loves her hair (which is to say, its very, very important and not excluding those who wear headscraves).

Easy to maintain even early in the morning

If you see me now, you will not believe that I had a full hair when I was small which looks like I was one of the Beatles in their glory days. They even give a nickname 'Bujal' for the Malaysian kid's comic which was popular in 1980s. Bujal has this full hair which is so helmety that the top of it sticks up like some untrained corporals in an army's regiment. Basically, this Bujal character looks like John Lennon except for those pesky hair.

Men in Malaysia seems to accept their shortcoming in the hair department seen from the lack of toupee shops around. Only company like Svenson and Neeta's herbal hair remedy are brave enough to bank on their products to make money in Malaysia. With the rise of David Beckham and his metrosexual regime, these company might just make their money. Even he sometimes (or is it a trend too now?) goes bald. Jason Statham is another idol of mine...

As for me, I'll just stick with my balding head which made it easy for me to go and cut my hair.

Just imagine this, I only have to spend five minutes in a barber shop where I enter, say the word [and sometimes just signal with my finger '0' (zero) and use the machine], in which the barber will spend 3 minutes to pass the mechanized clipper on my head and walla! he's done. My wife really love this story of mine about how I cut my hair that she once follow me to see whether its true or not.

Nose picking

I love to pick my nose no matter what's the consequences will be.

Its just a totally men trait as much as scratching our balls or hitching our trousers in public. Don't lie by saying you have never done this, if you are a man or observe this, if you are a woman. If you do have boyfriends or husbands, at least they would have done it once in front of you or alternatively thinking you are not observing them and do it while covering it with a newspaper or a hand, as if it is enough to hide the fact that they are picking their nose.

That's a big nose you have there...

I still remember an episode of Seinfeld (which again will show the bloggers community how old I am) where the title character had to break off with one of his many date because she saw him picking his nose while he was in a taxi and her car passed him by. She had a conversation earlier in the episode where she stated that she just couldn't stand a man who pick his nose. She was gorgeous and Seinfeld was just going to bed her when he was caught with his finger up his nose. He was not even really picking his nose but was just scratching the side of his honker which is quite huge. In the same episode, Seinfeld's sidekick, George was trying to break it off with his then girlfriend and don't know how to break it to her. So, he picked his nose in front of her and they broke off.

Some have perfected the art of picking their nose while covering it up with their hands. Or by wheezing really hard to dislodge whatever booger that is stuck to roof of their nose. Or by being civil and take this business of nose picking somewhere private like a toilet for instance. To each his own.

Just not me, and a few thousands others.

So, women, just bear with it if you really love your men.

At least his not scratching his ball in public (if he does, send him to a finishing school)

Air kiss

Hari Raya has just past us by and now we are in the midst of Deepavali celebrations. Christmas and Chinese New Year will come along before you know it.

With all these celebrations being celebrated, the Malaysian tradition of open houses were alive and well (although the government rethought their involvement in it after the Pak Lah and Hindraf debacle). My observations in all these functions were the ladies and their air-kiss or cheek kissing for those you are familiar with.

There were a time (it shows how old I am) when you just shake hands with both your hands as the normal way of greeting. I had the experience of seeing my more affluent friends who literally cheek kissed their cousins and thought that it was such a big deal. This was in 1990s when Malays were not as assimilated into the western culture as we are now (at least not in Seremban that is).

Air kissing or.... ??? from Cruel Intention

Fast forward to today, I did comment on this new 'tradition' to my wife once 2,3 years ago, when the trend was just catching up. As I mingled with VIPs, the trend was more apparent and I remembered my wife complaining that she was always flustered as she didn't know whether it was supposed to be 2 or 3 times that the kiss are exchanged and whether it start from the left to the right or vice versa. To ensure no faux par happened, she just go with the flow.

As for my partner, who is more open in this matter, she seems to do it even if we are meeting someone familiar in a business environment which for me, is not that appropriate. But no one ever complains of it and I think its already accepted as a social culture ethic.

Nowadays, I even see my wife automatically do the cheek kiss even with her friends and it does not look so phony anymore. It does show the sign of time of our culture being assimilated into each other.

I even do it sometimes with ladies friends who seems to expect it whenever we met. As the norm, I let them decide to do it or not before I follow suit. Especially those who seems to have soft cheeks...

Heh..heh...

Breakfast at Tiffany's

On the 3rd of November, I had the chance to attend the launching of some new trinkets by Tiffany. I missed the event due to the secrecy of the organiser who only sms me the place of the event 1 hour before the event as Tiffany was offering jewelleries and they were cautious about the place of the event.

At least I managed to see Quantum of Solace on the 5th of November thanks to Celcom, (read about it here http://howmanthink.blogspot.com/2008/11/ogling-olga-in-quantum-of-salaciousness.html)

Hence, the title of this post.

It reminds me of the film featuring the everlasting image of Audrey Hepburn and the book by Truman Capote which I had just recently revisited.

Image from the film taken from

www.moviestore.com

The book and the film is about a character by the name of Holly Golightly who was observed by the other central character who lived on top of her apartment. Holly is a free spirited lady and a societe lady who seems to be at all the right event and with an ambition to snag the right man one day. She doesn't work and all her expenses were paid by her dates.

Do you believe it if I tell you that I once had known somebody who is the embodiment of Holly?

When I was living in a bachelor pad with a few other bachelors, we had this group of girls who lived in one of the other unit in the condominium. They were nearly 5 floors above us and I don't actually know how they came to be acquinted with my housemates.

This Malaysian Golightly was always hanging around our house at nights and if she was not to be seen during the night, she will do this one annoying habit. Being boys we had this believe that no one would want to come in and steal anything in our house as we have guest nearly every hour of the day. At night, only after 3am does the lights were off and on weekends, it rarely were. The front door was lock but sometimes it's not.

At odd hours, our Holly would come and she would waltz in as if she had a room in our house. In the early days that we got to know her, some of us did try to get her into bed (myself excluded as was just getting to know my would be wife) but I did face certain compromising situations in during certain mornings which can be labelled as being in bed with her (although it was more, being on the mattress, as I didn't have a bed then).

A few morning, after she rang our doorbell insistently, she started to get on our nerves. She was always at our door as her housemate rarely let her in after hours. She would then scanned for a place to sleep, which is anywhere she might fancy and that was what happened to me a few times. As the sofas and some rooms were locked due to other 'guests' in the rooms, she would always try mine. Mine was rarely locked as I have a roommate who was rarely home as he was a travelling salesman but if he did come home, he would want to get in and out as fast as possible, hence the no lock rule was agreed upon.

Bck to Holly, in certain mornings, I would find her asleep just beside me as if she was my companion for the night. It was not for lack of modesty or I was on a moral high ground but it did pose a problem on those cold morning when my 'certain component' was up early.

After sometimes, she became an irritant to my housemates who everyone tried to not have anything to do with. We later found out that she was a teacher in a college near our condo and she was lying about half of the things that she told us.

She was sometimes seen in weird companies like two guys in a Kancil dropping her for the night or an old man in a Mercedes. We could just look and speculated her activities.

As for me, I never really judged her as anything other than someone I got know during my bachelor life. We were never close but we did try to keep in touch even when I didn't live at the condo anymore. She even came for the food tasting for my wedding.

She did fade away as she change her phone number and none of my housemates kept in touch with her anymore.

Just that when I read back Breakfast at Tiffany, I just can't take my mind of my own version of Holly Golightly. Wherever she is, I hope she's okay...

What's My Age Again @ Object in the Mirror is NOT as Young as It Thinks

As my birthday past and Hari Raya was winding down, I had to ensure that I still have a long way to go. I always want to know how long I have to live, if that is possible.

Melancholy is a disease of the ages. You will start a conversation with an old friend, "Did you remember when...."

I am also guilty of this and nothing reaffirm of my mortality and aging body when all I can think about is the disease which may hit me or had hit me and I am fighting it to not be a permanent feature in my life.

I am an overweight person, to say the least and as I have the hereditary trait of diabetic, I also need to check my glucose level every other day to ensure I don't need to take any medicine to control it, yet...

I was diagnosed in 2007 as being "borderline" diabetic but I was not prescribed any medicine but had to change my lifestyle. Since 2006, I never took sugar with my drinks and rarely eat rice. I had a gout attack, which was painfull, while my parents were in my house, which made it even worse, I had to screen my blood. When it was discovered that early November 2007 I had more to worried about my glocuse level than my uric acid level. I knew I had to do something about it.

As for motivation, I am a very easy guy to convince that I need exercise. I run, even when I joined a gym in late 2005, which I stopped in early 2007. I love running and I live at a perfect place where even runners come to run. Just at the outskirt of Taman Botani Shah Alam or Taman Pertanian as it was known once.

I had stopped running in July due to my laziness, and when Ramadhan and Eid Fitri came, I paid the price again. Now, I am running again... Like Forrest Gump. Every morning, which jog my mind to keep going on writing.

An active body really help an active mind stays active.

Talking on the phone

Why do women feels that there is a need for conversation on the phone to be long? Can't we just say our piece and then when we meet later, we can continue with where we left off.

I was guilty in my younger days of hanging on the phone more than a few hours with girlfriends.

Wouldn't it be easy to have sms, then

I remembered the dressing down that I received when I was discovered to be using the phone for far too long that the telephone bill was quite high.

That was when people still used landline and handphones were rare. Prepaid was unheard off and the only service provider was Telekom.

TM? Streamyx? Internet? YM? VOIP? Skype? All those were still in the future.

With all these technology, why does people need to talk on the phone that long, now?

Maybe its how human voices can soothe another. Maybe its just the basic human interaction that we always crave for. Maybe its human instinct.

Whatever it is, I am hanging up dear.

We'll catch up later at home...

Can Can girls

We went to a classic busker festival in Malaysia Philharmonic Orchestra a few week back and it was fun due to its being headline as 'Family Fun Day'. With children all around and parents, although we lack thereof, we did enjoyed the show.





Can Can Girls? Not....




There were the 'Flight of the Valkryie' and some other classics. They used music played by a full orchestra intertwined with music played by 2 playful classical buskers to brought us all around the world from Germany to the USA. At the tail end of it, the conductor announced that they were going to bring us to Paris to "those naughty can can girls". Hmmm... So much for a show for kids.




It reminded me of the Moulin Rouge, the movie, which I love and Moulin Rouge, the place which my wife and I visited its entrance but didn't go in. We were in the middle of a tour of Europe and after Amsterdam, seeing dancing girls in a dinner and dance show, which could cost quite a few Euros, was not what we had in mind as a must see show.



The music by those classical buskers just brought back the memories of can can girls raising their skirts. That was why I asked my wife to buy those hosiers and girdles. Role playing just brings out the fantasies to reality...

How a man dress himself

Once, before I was married, choosing what to wear was easy.

Sniff and wear.

That was the way how men choose their wardrobe for that day.

Regardless of whether there were some unidentifiable stain or some crumbs on the clothing or the shirt was on the floor in the room.

And regardless of how they tell you that they have cleaned themselves or they smell manly with their after-shave, try smelling their shirt really, really close like you are trying to kiss it. There will be this underlying smell underneath it. Yes, just like the Shakira's song "Underneath Your Clothes".

I thought it was only men who do this, until I saw the video of a local beauty who was seen parading in her house with nothing on and her clothes piled up high throughout her house.

Hmmm... Beauty with a man's habit. What a turn-off...

Or was she waiting for her maid to come to clean all the dirty laundry?

Of all the bad habit that she wanted to pick, it was the dirty laundry habit.

To Angelina with love

I was infatuated with Angelina Jolie since the day she uttered the word

"I don't do dates"

in Hackers as an answer to Zero Cool when she was asked out by him. I still remember that line and a few others in that cult film and the image of her swimming came in a close second. Or was it the image first and the line second?

Never mind...

This was way before her obsessions with tattoos and Billy Bob's blood became entertainment news fodder.

Waaaaaay before Brad Pitt and the Brangelina saga. It shows how old I am...

I considered her to be my ultimate unattainable fantasy and in that dream Angelina would be as cool as she was in Hackers and not as weirdly womanly like she is now. Except if she looks like she was in Mr. and Mrs. Smith or that movie she shot curved bullets.

But, if ever I got a date with her and she acts like she was in Hackers, the only computer code I know is my password, would that count?

Or, do I need to act cool like Brad Pitt in Smiths...

Whatever it is, here's to you and your heavily tattooed body with your broods.

p/s - why do people want to make a big deal out of her and her hubby adopting too many kids? They are rich enough to do it... and then some.

Cik / Puan / Cik Puan

As I work as a lawyer, sometimes, I have to deal with people which includes bankers and clients. Isn't it a wonder that when it comes to men, whether they are married or not, you can call them Encik or Mr. without it becoming much of a problem.

That's not the case with women, you have to be careful what you call them in the first instance that you met them. Especially if you want to get jobs from them (as in legal works). If you call them Cik or Miss, it may sound as if you are trying to flatter them. If you call them Puan or Madam, you may give the impression that they are old. How about the one who is a divorcee? What is the correct or politically correct address?

Actually, my solution is quite easy, always use the one less damaging by calling them Cik, unless they look totally like a Puan. The best is to ask but if they think you are asking the wrong question, then its your own fault for not doing any research.

What I do when I have an appointment with an important client, I would call ahead and ask whoever answering the phone (usually the receptionist) of the status of the intended person I will be meeting. If it is a letter that I am writing, as lawyers we are always writing official letters, the 'Dear Sir/Madam' is a safe bet.

My wife and I are friends to a few VIPs and we are so close to them that we are sometimes invited for their functions which involve their children. Some of the children are so used to us that we have activities with them without the parents presence. Although we are so close and can be considered are just like a brother and a sister to them, due to our relationship with their parents, we are called Cik as in short for Encik and Puan.

Try as we might (especially my wife) to ask them to change it to Bang or Kakak, it was to no avail. We are still considered too old for them although some of them only differ from us in age by 2,3 years. The price is much heavier on my wife than I.

Wait till I get a title, then everyone can call me the same...

Sleeping beauty

My wife is a heavy sleeper since forever. She can sleep through an earthquake, which did happened once while I was in Indonesia due to a business trip. She also had the capability to sleep through me coming home late at night and I was always worried that she might accidently put the chain-lock on the door and I might have to sleep outside (she does worry about what time I came back sometimes but that is a worry she has to live with)

That one time that an earthquake hit a Sumatran island but the tremor was felt in my house in Shah Alam, my sister-in-law was keeping her company and she was awaken from her sleep by the quake. As she was sleeping in the other room, she thought it was a poltergeist shaking her bed. She ran to our room and my wife was fast asleep. My wife just raised her head without actually being awake. Only in the next day did my wife was told of what had happened.

I am not complaining of my wife's easeness of sleeping or of her being a heavy sleeper. It was just something that was ingrained in her since her teenage life. I wish I am a heavy sleeper as she is sometimes. Especially during certain times when my cat, Jelly, which is currently in her going-in-and-out-through-our-master bedroom-bathroom-window-late-at-night-and-meowing-loudly-while-doing-so phase. My wife did say it is her superpower ability.

At least I don't have to get up by myself at 3am, then 4am, then 6am, which was when I am supposed to get up anyway but there is still 30 minutes of darkness before the sun really rise. Maybe I just build a trap door for her to go in and out....

Or maybe if I can achive what my wife has been doing for quite sometimes...

Ad for women

Have you seen the television series 'Mad Men' about the advertisement executives in Madison Avenue in 1950s? They were living in 1950s world where the men controls everything and everybody smokes. People smokes at every opportunity they could light up and no one bat an eyelid. It won quite a few Emmys this year.

Watching it makes me wonder about the advertisement industry and women. I did write before about women being too thin nowadays (see http://howmanthink.blogspot.com/2008/10/thin.html), especially all those supposedly 'beautiful people'. The women themselves also seems to be eager to allow themselves to be exploited either as those who parade clothings for fashion houses or those who tries to be those who can actually wears them. Both are exploited by men and nowadaysn due to everything being equal, by women themselves too.

The women magazine in store nowadays are always so thick that after 2 issues, you would have a door-stopper which can stop the door to the gates of Mordor (Lord of the Ring). The advertisement would either be for make-ups, perfumes or beauty centre. All to make women more beautiful according to some beauty gurus vision of beauty.

My wife has this soft spot for KFC and Pizza Hut advertisements where she can easily be influenced by the yumminess of a new burger or a new pizza being presented through a voice-over or a picture in the paper. I always commented on this but now I realised at least she was salivating for food and not some cosmetic which just doesn't endear her more to me (although I know she does buys them regularly).

As for those who still believe that your spouse's affection will change due to you looking different than you already are -

WAKE UP!!!!

Ogling Olga in Quantum of Salaciousness

I was given free tickets to go and watched the new James Bond flick called Quantum of Solace, thanks to Celcom which receives payment promptly every month due to the auto-debit scheme that I set up with my credit card. I pay you every month promptly and all I got was these free tickets (oh! and the pair of RM1000 tickets for Celine Dion concert). So, they gave me two seats to the movie to thank me on my gullibility for paying without checking what they bill me.

Anyway, the reason for me to really want to go and see this movie was the new James Babe, which is Olga. Olga Kurylenko to be precise.

If you type Olga without her surname, you will get a few images that shows ladies who you wish were never ever featured in a James Bond movie, except maybe as villains, although even the James Bond's ladies villains was never ugly (Pussy Galore anyone?). As these images are copyrighted, use the search engines for you to see yourself. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Back to the James Babe - Olga.

When I first hear her name and saw the status update of one of my facebook friend "...is ogling Olga", I had this image of a witch or a gypsy with bucktooth and warts all over (thanks Checo).

When I googled her, I found out that there were no warts on her, except at the right places on her chest (which I had hoped to see, no such luck!) and her teeth was perfect. A train could run on those teeth...As for the black dress that she wore, it fit her perfectly. As the white t-shirt and jeans.

How's that for social/racial profiling?

I should have not done it as I have just finished reading Paulo Cuelho's The Witch of Portobello about the hardship faced by the gypsies and the label that they have to endure while living in Transylvania which is infamous for Dracula, which was explained by the book to be written by an Irish writer who never visited Transylvania, not even once!

Oh, sorry, I think I lost track just now. You may want to know how was the movie and all. What I can say is, Daniel Craig is perfect as James Bond if you want him to be like Matt Damon in the Bourne movie series. There were car chases at the start of the movie, a chase on foot, a chase in boats and planes, big explosions, Olga to ogle and a lot of other James Babes. Some died, some survives. There were the blood and gore of the new James Bond and sleek cars. Craig has perfected the avenging James Bond look and now the words that they should use as a tagline is "No More Mr. Nice Guy". And you do know that the Craig's Bond is going for third movie in another 2 year as the villains seem to be a new bigger and 'bad-asser' group. Quatum of Solace is a good 'middle movies' perfect for the next sequel with new villain already intorduced in a 'blink-and-you-will-miss' scene.

Olga also epitomed the new breed of James Babe where James Bond can rely on them to watch his back and they can still rocks his socks off...

In short, Quantum of Solace was like any action movies. Except for Olga... and the car... and a brooding James Bond...

Go watch it, especially if you are going to see this person (not these pics though) :

                                                 

City living

I was reading the Sunday Star paper on 26.10.08 and a few stories caught my eyes. One of it was about the dearth (death?) of the world oil supply and the need for a better transport system. The former was written as an international article with an interview with the writer/director of Crude Awakening and the latter was on the news made by a group called Transit advocating for a good public transportation system. Both painted a grim picture indeed.

Reading them made me revisited this idea that I had once on living in middle of the city. The idea was that my wife and I can sell either one or both of our cars, sell all our houses and live in a condominium where the rent is substantial to enjoy the security and the comfort of being near public transport. Preferably within the KLCC or the KL Sentral area. We can then be near all the movie theatres, nightspots, eating places and other places that we need to travel for quite a while now to reach it.

Currently, we are living near the controversial Botanical Garden in Shah Alam where the road ends just meters from our house and we have a forest to feed us oxygens. Jogging was easy as we need to just go out of our house and the track will run nearly 3 to 4 km. Will this still be the case in a city living?

When I proposed idea this to my wife, it did appeal to her with some caveats. We did live in an apartment once during our early years of marriage and she hated it when she had to carry the groceries quite far as we were only given one parking space inside the compound. The solution will be, if we ever do it, is to have a good delivery service or a condominium on top of a shopping complex. Or at least adjacent to one. We can just trolley in our groceries.

The only transport problem may be when we want to go somewhere a bit far but like the people of New York, we can just rent a car. Just like what Jack Nicholson did in As Good As It Gets. Getting around places around us by walking will also makes us healthier.

This idea is still half-cooked but if we can somehow manage to convince our cats, we might just do it....

Crying

My wife loves a good cry. She can cry at anything at a drop of a hat. It runs in her family.

When we first went out together, I was quite disturbed by how easy for her to cry. When it was not something to what I have done, I will just be the shoulder to cry on, especially when its due to a sad movie. However, when it was an action movie, with just a bit of romantic part or one of the supporting cast dies, she started to cry, I knew that I have a crier in my hands

Nowadays, either she know I am quite immune to her crying or she did it in silent, I rarely see her cry anymore. Maybe there are no more things to cry about. Except for the occasional sad movies.

As for me, I would only cry out if something happens to my family jewels or my football team, which is Arsenal, lost some important game.

Cry out, not cry...

Crying - AEROSMITH
I was cryin' just to get you
Now I'm dyin' just to let you
Do what you do what you do down to me, baby, baby, baby
I was cryin' when I met you


Now I'm tryin' to forget you
Your love is sweet misery
I was cryin' when I met you
Now I'm dyin'

p/s - if these guys could sing about crying, maybe there is hope yet for mankind

Sales preview

There was a sale by Metrojaya between 23rd and 26th October this year. It was held at the Melawati stadium in Shah Alam which  was so rare as most sales by big retail outlets, either by Tangs, Metrojaya, Jusco or Isetan were always done at its various premises around town. The sale will ensure the sale of any old stock at the stores.

What is it with women and sales?

Now, just to entice their customer more, these superstores have sale preview for member. Those who have loyalty cards with them will be invited to experience the privelege of shopping before others can shop. My wife has all the loyalty cards and I have a few other privilege cards (due to certain brands that I used) which made us received a lot of mails regarding these sales. Most of the mails were thrown in the trash (what waste of trees!) especially it was that time of the year when the reality of spending too much money you don't have hits home.

I was caught in a bad traffic jam once in Midvalley Megamall and was stuck trying to get into their parking lot for nearly 1 hour. It was a weekday and I was clueless of what had caused the jam. When I met my wife later (who went there for her Yoga lesson straight from her office) she told me that it was the Jusco sales preview (which she had forget). They do it every other month and they choose one Jusco to give their customer something special.

Wow, what a rip-off.

I think I want to open up a new superstore. Anyone wants a share?

When my wife is out

My wife is taking this course which needs her to be away for 10 Saturdays. During these times, I am left alone in the house. I think when you have been married for 5 years, you are expected to do a few things in the house.

When she goes out in the morning, I would always be in bed. This doesn't apply only on weekends but is the norm if I don't have early appointments. I would wake her up for morning prayers and then straight away went back to bed. She would then prepare herself and we would exchange kisses before she drives off.

Sometimes, she would rattle off things that she hoped I would do. Like doing laundry which mostly consist of ensuring the laundry being hanged to dry or taking the laundry in if it rains. She never asked me to wash the dishes but rarely have I not do it if there were anything in the sink. I was trained by my mom to not let things unfinished, especially housework, which is neverending.

I would then give an "Okay dear" which is the standard answer for all married men around the world and put down my head.

As the course she attends is between 9 am to 5 pm, I would have the whole house to myself for the whole day. I would then have a problem as I wake up nearly always at 12pm and feel hungry. Sometimes, I do have programs by myself but on rare occasions, I don't have anything to do.

So, that is my story why I started blogging.

And I am sticking to it...

Tropic Thunder : a male bonding experience

 (Spoilers alert)

Although this will be an oxymoron as I watched it with my wife on the Deepavali holiday while waiting for my surprise birthday party to happen (which I managed to know minutes before it happened. See the celebration here : http://howmanthink.blogspot.com/2008/10/longest-celebration.html). However, I would love to have watch it with my male friends (which I don't have anymore due to having own business and all)

Back to the movie. Was it good? Yes times 5 which means that I LIKE IT!!! All the actors which include one of which I hate were good.

Ben Stiller made a action comedy buddy movie where no female lead was even presence. There was a kid who leads an army and some extras who were hot but were not leading ladies. So, the fact is, this movies does not have a worthwhile actress in any of its scene.

The movie starts with a filming of a movie which was an over the top war movie and the actors were acting like prima donnas. From the start you can see Stiller, Black and wait a minute, who is that black guy? When the movie had to be stopped due to some scene which Stiller character refused to do even though an explosion which cost the studio a few hundred thousands was set, the director went balistic. The movie then was stopped and all the actors in it were given a run-through by an E! style expose on television. Seems like the African-American was Robert Downey junior who was so want to be a character actor that he just had to do a skin pigmentation to be black although he is a white Australian.

After some discussion with the producers, who is a balding and fat Tom Cruise, you have to squint to see the resemblance, the actors were sent by the director to a boot camp in the middle of the jungle. When the director was blown off, then the actors were left behind deep in the Golden Triangle where drugs were being manufacture. That was when the fun started.

In short, there were a lot of fun in the movie and not one minute goes by without you being tickled silly. If you can, go watch it with a few male friends. If you still don't think its funny, go watch a porn....