Friday, December 28, 2007

Assassination of Benazir Bhutto

I don't know her personally nor understand her politics. But she, as a human being, was shot and subsequently blown up by a shooter-cum-suicide-bomber last night.

I became aware of her when she expressed her intention to leave the comfort and luxuries of her UK residence to return to Pakistan in Oct 2007 to participate in the coming election.

There was an unsuccessful attempt on her life almost immediately upon her return. She was lucky at that time when she was at the opposite side of bus where the bomb went off. 104 people died that night.

She could have decided to leave but she chose to stay. For her cause, she paid with her life together with 20 over other human beings.

As a human being, I am saddened. I pray for peace on earth.

Sunday, December 23, 2007

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

the first Christmas tree for me this year
do u know u have to pay RM5 to use the toilet
in a high-end shopping centre in KL?
tell me which one

ice skating for many at Sunway...



Dear friends,

Thank you for being part of my life.

A sincere wish that we will all have a great year in 2008!

edgar

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Architectures in KL

my bro's unit at the top left corner of condo


beautiful skylight at shopping centre 1

beautiful skylight at shopping centre 2

beautiful skylight at shopping centre 3from RM900,00 plus to RM1.something million

where residents there think 2000 sq. ft is very small :(

Ipoh and KL, here are the food delights...

1 whole chicken, 2 kilo of tauge and 6 hor fun servings for a whopping RM64!!!!!

price of a bowl of Ipoh horfun with fish cake slices has increased
from RM1.70 (when I first had it, I think) to RM3.20 now!!!!

whalloped bak kut teh... yummy :)

best char siew with engulfing aroma at the stall

RM48 tea set for 2 persons...
reminded me vaguely of Peninsular Hotel in HK

Friday, December 14, 2007

The Op

the senior optometrist


The doctor said, “Hi Edgar!” in a loud and commanding voice. Asked me briefly how I was feeling and for my I/C numbers. I couldn’t see much without my glasses as a nurse guided me to the operating table while I slowly recited my I/C numbers.

Told me to lie down.
Series of systematic instructions came in a torrent and with such ease (I guess) after thousands of such similar operations.

“Well Edgar, just a demo for you. This is what you will hear when the laser is switched on. (Then came repeated clapping sounds next to my right ear which I had heard while I was waiting outside the op room).”

“All right we will start the procedure on your right eye first. Open your eyes and look towards to the orange light.” (The nurse pasted something to keep my eyelid open and something metallic was placed on my eyeball.)

“You will feel a slight discomfort initially. Then you can see for a few moments as we create the flap. But don’t worry, you should be able to see after a short while.” (My heart was palpitating as I began to doubt my decision to subject myself to this “unnecessary” procedure that could endanger my eyesight forever.)

“All right, look at the orange light (lucky he didn’t asked me to walk towards the light) and don’t move (I was so worried that if I move a single muscle, the laser would miss and I could go blind) for the next 5 to 8 mins. We will the start the laser now.” (the clapping sound starts..)

My mind starts to wonder… then I told myself to focus on the light.. my mind started to count from 1 to 60… wondering when the 5 to 8 mins would be done…

Suddenly the clapping sound stopped. The doctor then explained to me that he would be putting back the flap and told me not to move. It felt like someone trying to stick something on a glass door and smoothening out the sticker to avoid bubbles being trapped underneath the sticker.

The same procedures and words were repeated again for my left eye.

A few minutes later, the op was completed and declared a success.

After an hour of recovering from the slight pain to both my eyes and high level of stress that my poor heart has gone through, I was duly accompanied to the taxi stand by a nurse for my ride home.

Thus this is the story of how I spent a few thousands on my eyes. The End.

Sunday, December 02, 2007

my eyes opening experience Part 1

I walked casually into the clinic after lunch, without any appointment. Everybody (ie. I think they are all girls with long hair) was busy. I just took the form and filled it up.


I was duly given and told of an itinerary of eye tests, procedures, counselling sessions etc which I should expect to dedicate 2 to 3 hours of that afternoon to complete.


I was duly shown to a waiting area dedicated to 10-15 people like me at various stages of completing the itinerary. For all the various tests, I was attended to by beautiful people.


In one of the tests, the optometrist lady asked me why I looked so tired. I said I was bored. Her response, "Maybe we should put more exciting movies on the tv.... all right, can you read the third row of alphabets for me?" "... A . urr F.. D .. O and T ?"


As part of the process, clients like me are made to sit through 10 minutes of watching an educational video on Lasik to ensure that we know what we are doing.


After all the tests and video, I finally get to see the doctor. A hugh man. "Hi Edgar.. shaked hands.. and briskly ushered me to a machine and examined my eyeballs for 20 seconds flat. He then said something about my astigmatism, high degrees and mild presbyopia... in his medical opinion was for me to go for wavefront. "How much more?" I asked. "I don't discuss prices here. My staff will attend to you about this later." Duly ushered out of consultation room.


Next, group counselling session. Wow! Just to make doubly sure that e know what we have decided to go through. 6-8 of us were gathered into another room and we were given the dos, don'ts and risks etc etc.


After which, I confirmed my operation date and paid my bills. Yes, a few thousands poorer. But looking forward to the big day tomorrow.

I am a bit artificial now

A part of me is artificial since Friday Nov 30, 2007.

What do I mean? I have decided about a week ago ie. after comtemplating for years, to get Lasik done on my eyes. My eyes have now been artificially carved by laser beams.

Why did I decide to do it?
  • The dropping prices enhances affordability.
  • The escalating comfort of seeing my brother and sister who did theirs and were up and running within 24 hours. I had thought one would have to suffer the temporary blindness for a couple of days.
  • The short turnaround time of the whole exercise attracted me. If you decide to have Lasik done on your eyes, you could get them done by tomorrow.
  • The lower prices put aside my concern about "useful life" of the Lasik op given my impending "lao hua". Sigh... :(
I am now a few thousands dollars poorer but my eyesight has gained almost 7-fold better.

Till the next posting, I will share with my personal experience of going through the process.

P/S - I am now back. I was really busy focusing my every ounce of strength and attention on helping my students in their pursue of their academic excellence.

Saturday, December 01, 2007

HDB said more supply but higher prices expected


As per Nov 29, 2007's BT, the Housing and Development Board said they "will continue to monitor demand and could offer another 6,000 units through its build-to-order (BTO) system. However, prices are also likely to go up."

[Why? I ask myself.]
Saying that he did not want to 'fudge the issue', National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan said: 'Prices will go up as a result of resale prices going up.' Mr Mah was speaking at the launch of two new housing projects under the BTO system.

Mr Mah's representation solicited an immediate response from Lu Keehong who wrote to BT's Forum on Nov 30, 2007,. Lu made the following queries about Mr Mah's position on HDB and its pricing policy.

1) Since when the new HBD flat prices are to be influenced by resale market prices?

2) As current resale prices are on an up trend, thus higher prices for new flats expected. So Lu asked whether vice versa was true in the last few years when property prices were in doldrum? Ie. did HDB price its flats lower in the last few years?

In conclusion, a few simple questions.

1) How does HDB price its flats of various sizes?
2) How does HDB determine its supply?