TIME TO GO......Again!!

The first time:

I left Malaysia in 1991 to pursue my Marine Engineering in Singapore and was off sailing all over the world for the next 11 years. Almost everywhere I went, I was asked the same question, " Are you indian?" and my response use to be..."No, I'm Malaysian. Not Indian."

It's now coming to the end of 2010 and it's been 5 years since I started working in KL for a government linked company. They have, time and again, made it clear to me that "No, you're not Malaysian. You're Indian."

Sad, huh???

IN MY OWN COUNTRY, I'M A FOREIGNER/NON BUMI/PENDATANG. EVERYWHERE ELSE, I WAS A PROUD MALAYSIAN!!!!!!!


Well, if I'm always going to be Malaysian INDIAN, and be treated "officially" 2nd class, I might as well be Australian INDIAN and be treated "unofficially" 2nd class, right????

I guess that is what it's come down to. Which is better, officially 2nd Class in your OWN country or "unofficially" 2nd class in another. (Australia, Canada, US, UK, NZ, etc, etc)

Well, my normal point form explains my reasons:

1. Better job with better salary.

2. Better quality of life for me & family.

3. Better education system.

4. Better future for my kids.

What will I miss when I go???

Food??? But I do cook pretty well so I doubt I'll be missing much.

Friends??? Well, we seem to be in contact electronically more than physically anyway so no worries there.

Family??? Guess this will be the hardest part especially for Maya who's so so close to her Tata & Ava. (Grandparents.)

If/When we head to Singapore.......45 min flight away.

If/When we head to Perth...........4 hours flight away.

I guess it was a sign....."WHEN THE BEEMER GOES....WE GO!!!" HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

TIME TO SAY GOODBYE!!!

Well....it's been a good 10 year partnership but every good thing must end....

This baby is on sale now!!

My tip top condition BMW dream car!!

A little history about this machine......

I had this obsession with BMWs when growing up and promised myself that "ONE DAY", I will own one.

With my sailing career doing well and the USDs rolling in, I decided to get my Beemer in 2000. The Millinium Beemer!! The idea was to get a second-hand unit but the interest rates were terrible while a new 2000 model E46 had 4.25% (And this was great in those days!!) financing. Price tag on the new E46.....a whooping RM 206,000!! (But only USD 54,200 la........that's what I said!!)

And in August 2000, I drove this baby out of the Auto Bavaria showroom. At age 28, it was the ultimate party machine........

For 6 months of every year from 2000 - 2005, it was my dads "pasar malam" and "around the town" car. (While I was away.) When I was back on holidays, it was my "clubbing" car!! It only did 30,000 kms in those 5 years!!!

It also spent a lot of time parked outside "Broadwalk" pub in Phileo Damansara!!!!

For the next 5 year, when I started working in KL, it was the daily commute from Klang to KL that raked up the miles......an additional 150,000 kms.

It was our wedding car 2007 and the car that brought Maya home from the hospital in 2008.

Now, in 2010,..... the babyseat just doesn't go with the 17" M3 sports rims, the rims won't handle the bumpy potholed roads of Dutamas/Solaris and eventually.....the space won't fit the "additional" family member expected in 2011!!

My honest opinion........it looks and rides better than it ever did but.....sadly......

All sentimental value aside, this machine will have to make way for something bigger and stronger........

So.......coming soon:

Hahahaha!!!!

My 1Malaysia




Our country is about to celebrate its 53rd year of independence. What does it all mean to me??? Well, I wouldn’t really know as I was not around for the “troubled” years. I didn’t see British rule, the fight for independence, MAY 13TH, the split with Singapore, communist insurgents, Japanese occupation, bombs, war, famine……nope….none of that.


My Malaysia was comfortable. Grew up in a nice neighborhood, nice house, nice car(OPEL CADET was a nice car back then!!! Hehehe!!), good food and a pretty normal life. Dad was a teacher (Government job!!) who felt every cent he made was owed to the kindness of the “government”. “We should be thankful for what we have. People in India are starving”, he used to remind us.

I went to school knowing there was a quota system. I knew my Malay friends will get better deals for education. I knew my Chinese friends had to do even better than me if they wanted to succeed. I spoke better English than Bahasa Malaysia, better Bahasa Malaysia than Tamil and better Tamil than a few “white” Indian friends!! We played together, studied together, ate together, hell… we did everything together. That was and still is my Malaysia. (Regardless of what the politicians try to tell me!!)

I left in 1991 to study in Singapore and it was a country that I never warmed up to. It was cold, heartless and just felt fake. It was like LEGO land. Just too perfect to be real. I knew why I was there and what I had to do. Get a good education. Period. I longed to leave as soon as I could.
From there, it was off to sail the seven seas!! Across the continents, across the oceans, across borders I went for 11 years. In all those years, in all those different countries, I was always Malaysian. “But you look Indian”, was the standard response. And there I was, explaining my Indian origin time and again but always insisting I was Malaysian and NOT Indian. My Malaysian Chinese buddies had to endeavor the same fate.

So for 11 years I fought hard to ensure I was respected as a Malaysian outside my country but only to realize when I came home in 2005, that I had to fight equally hard to be considered Malaysian at home!!!

Where have we gone so wrong???? I guess that long story is everywhere on the net so I’m not going to bother even remotely trying to explain that one!

I love this country not because it’s 1Malaysia……it’s my 1 and only Malaysia!!! Whatever ethnic background I may have, I know my stand. It may be different for some politicians but I’m surely MALAYSIAN FIRST, INDIAN SECOND!!

So to all my Malaysian friends, let the politicians say whatever they want…..This is our Malaysia so let’s make it the best it can be!!



SELAMAT HARI MERDEKA MALAYSIA!!! Someone still loves you!!

PLAN FOR A NEW RIDE

It's finally time to let my last remaining "toy" go....yup.....Nanda's all grown up and it's time for the family car to take over.

First, I'll have to say goodbye to the German engineered dream machine which kept me company for the last ten years. (At times, I even thought it drove me home all by itself like KITT!!!)

So what comes next???? Well... below are my options:

Option 1: Chevy Captiva - RM 160K, 2.0 Turbo Diesel 7 seater SUV

(The standard model doesn't come with lowered suspension and 20" rims as above, though!! Hehehe!!)

Option 2: Mitsubishi Pajero Sport - RM 166K, 2.5 Turbo Diesel, 7 seater "Bad Ass"!!

(Again, version above is what I'll make it look like!!!)

Option 3: Volvo XC 90 - RM 355K, 2.4 Turbo Disel, 7 seater "Luxury SUV"!!

(If I spend RM 355K on this, it gonna look pretty standard as I won't have any money left!!!)

If anyone has better rides to suggest or comments, let me know!!!

FOOTBALL AND GOD

FIFA has recently warned Brazillian players to comply with the FIFA ruling that does not allow t-shirts worn under the jerseys of the players to have religious, political or any other slogans or messsages.

Interesting.....

I really don't understand how GOD fits into the whole world of sports anyway.

Asamoah Gyan, the Ghanian striker was praising GOD for his winning goal againts USA in the post match interview. It was GOD that wanted Ghana to be in the last 8! It was GOD that made him shoot like that, he said. PRAISE THE LORD!! (GOD wasn't a USA fan, I gather.....!!)

What really suprises me is that, we don't see him in a similar post match interview where he says GOD made him miss the penalty and therefore he should not rely on this GOD anymore!!!

As i've always said, "GOD is a fantastic product as it can never fail!!"

Yup!! If your team wins...THANK GOD!!

If your team loses....PRAY HARDER AND GOD WILL REWARD YOU THE NEXT TIME!!!

Is there just no accountability for this GOD????

GOD that we spend time and money on.......a GOD that humans have gone to war and died for......a GOD that huge monuments, churches, mosques and temples have been built for......

And bookies have better control over match results!!!! (I love the Chinese for their simplicity....it's all about the money....!! Assuming that the bookies are Chinese la....)

Yeah! Yeah!.....heard all the "faith" arguments before but really....come on la.....

100,000 people in the stadium...all praying to their own GOD for a win.....somebody's GOD has to lose, right???

I honestly feel, if there is a GOD.........he/she/it really should/would be looking at more important things in this world rather that the games we humans play!!!

But if you have to watch the World Cup.......thank GOD for HD!!!! hahahahaha!!!!

AVATAR – THE MOVIE


I went to see this movie with Mary (Left Maya with our great babysitter, Kakak Mia) at GCS premier class in 3D.

WOW!! The special effects was seriously mind blowing and…….well….that’s it!

For the millions (Or was it billions??) that James Cameron spent on the effects, he could have spent a little more time and effort on the @#$@# story la!!
Let me give you the run down on the story…. (Since everyone I know has seen the movie and I’m only putting this post up now….shouldn’t spoil it for anyone, right?)
The American want to mine a particular metal on Pandora and don’t give a @#$% about the local tribe, the Na Vi. (Trying hard to mirror the conflicts in Afghan and the Iraqi war but failing miserably!) Then one particular disabled “low ranking” army guy decides to save this poor tribe from the “clutches of the oppressor” something along the “Last of the Mohicans” storyline. (Because of some….predictably…. GIRL!!)
The battle scenes are so so spectacular that the producers hope that they can blast logic out of your head and keep your brain disconnected from your eyes. If they did not manage or failed to do this, these are a few things that you may have thought about during/after the movie:


1. The humans cannot breathe on this planet. Shouldn’t the Na Vi look at messing with their air supply to get rid of them? Terrorist style? Rather than taking on the entire “high tech” arsenal of weapons which the American had, on a civil war approach!!
2. The NaVi took their attack strategy from a private in the army of the Americans???? Haiyo…at least if the $%#$$#@ was a general…ok la. And he was only there for a couple of days/weeks!! What the @!#$ does he know about your talking trees and “multiple connect” tails that can feel (This was a little corny to me too but ok la…) the dragons, etc??
3. The main battle scene was the attack on a huge tree where the radiation/magnetic flux prevented radar guided missiles to be used. This doesn’t mean that the Americans had to hover directly above the tree and drop the bomb from the back of a truck, right????? Even in medieval times there were catapults that could launch rocks some distance away la….AARRGGHH!!



Honestly, after the first 2 hours, the movie was getting painful to watch and at the end, as we left the theater, we said that this will be the last James Cameron movie we’re ever watching…unless he makes the Mahabharata in 3D…with 1 blue dude we all know soooo well!!! Hehehehe!!


Note : Avatar is derived from the Sanskrit word “Avatara” meaning incarnation. Cute huh?

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

2009 gone…..hello 2010!!

So…what was 2009 for me….well…..

1. Maya turned 1 year old in March.

2. Mary and Maya went off to Ireland for the summer..without me!!!  (Which ensured that I was at Backyard on most days!!! hahahaha!!)

3. Became my own boss after my boss got suspended (until now still status quo) in July. Same salary though!!

4. Managed to sort out most of my credit card bills. (Still got some la…)

5. Bought a new ride for the wife. (Although the 4WD function was more in my interest for dive trips…hehehe!!) Still managed to keep the Beemer. (Hurray!!)

6. Certified 10 open water divers and 2 NITROX divers. (Not bad for a part time instructor.)

7. Got diagnoses with heredity high cholesterol so on 20mg of Lipitor every day.

8. Got my snoring/sleep apnea problem fixed with a throat operation that hurt like #@$% for 2 weeks!!

9. Spent our first family Xmas in Malaysia. (Last year was the “pandi” fest in Ireland!! Damn..I missed the black pudding and superb pints of Guinness!!) Was really fun here too with our own turkey and ham dinner.

10. Turned 37 on the 31st!!! (Uncle already la….)



Plan for 2010……

1. Get a better salary…hopefully ASAP.

2. Head off to Ireland for Mary’s sis wedding.

3. Have some good family holidays.

4. Have some good dive trips.

5. Fix up the condo with any money left over after doing the above….hahaha..which means this will happen in 2012!!! Hahahaha!!!