Lunch today was at Straits Kitchen with wifey and my Japanese friends. Although they have been here for almost 3 years and met occasionally, today was the first time we had lunch together. We had a bountiful spread of food and a good conversation. I look forward to have them for lunch at my humble abode soonest. Some pix to share.

Left home at 6 am yesterday for Pulai Springs Golf Resort. Along the way, we stopped at a row of shop houses opposite Danga Mall to buy some bottles of mineral water. It was 6.30 by then and it was still dark. You know what?........we were greeted by beauties of my own kind lining the walkway. Closing 'shop' I guess. Hahaha…. what a day to start with. Fortunately, it didn’t affect our game at the course.
Some pix to share here....not the beauties but golfers on course.

A family trip was planned for the last week end. My sis suggested going to Cameron Highland as she has not been there for the past 26 years. We agreed although my family and I drove there just last December. Anticipating a traffic congestion due to the long weekend, we left Singapore on Friday night staying a night at my brother’s place in Johor.

The nest morning at 0700 hrs, we began our 600 km journey to Cameron Highland. It was quite a breeze along the NSE until we reached Nilai. We got stuck in a traffic crawl for the rest of the 150 km journey driving at a speed of 20 -30 kph. It’s a day before the Chinese New Year and many Malaysian were driving back to their hometown for the festival and many were also taking advantage of the long holiday to travel……well I don’t know where. But for sure I was stuck in the middle of nowhere.

We arrived at Cameron around 6 pm…..4 hours late. However, the frustration of getting stuck in the traffic jam was compensated by the cool whether and nice hotel room. But this did not last long, as we were again stuck in the traffic snarl whenever we drove up or down the mountain. In fact most of our time was spent on the road.



Group photo at the Equatorial Hotel room balcony.




In front of the De La Fern Hotel which we stayed on the 2nd night.

I had my 1st quarter R&R for this year last Wednesday. My department was closed for three days followed by the long week end Chinese New Year holiday. For a reason, we had to plan for the R&R in a small group of 10. My group chose to go for a short trip to Batam. It has been quite a while since we visited Batam for R&R.

We met at Harbour Front for the morning ferry to take us to Sekupang International Port. Once we were there, our tour programme were taken care by the local agent. It was a memorable trip indeed albeit a short one.



At the Singapore Harbour Front




Lunch at the Golden Prawn






Dinner at the Sundanese Restaurant

I was down with fever that incapacitated me for a week and have not been experiencing for quite a long while. I was ok the day before and was attending a counseling workshop on addiction based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. But the next morning I was running temperature.
Two days later Monday, I went to my GP and was prescribed with some medication and by then I was coughing as well. Not feeling better the next day, I applied for 2 days of Casual Leave to rest at home. Five days after the onset, my fever still has not subsided by now I was getting a little worried.
With much trepidation I went to the A&E for further medical check up. A blood test and chest x-ray revealed that I had bronchitis. Aaaaaahh….finally.
Today, another weekend has passed but feeling better now accept for the occasional cough.. This will take another week or two to full recovery. Anyway, I am looking forward to be back to the office tomorrow.

Kehidupan

Anda yang budiman
tua muda lelaki perempuan
dengar lah ini keluhan
dan bersama kita renungkan

Doa di pinta
lapangkan jiwa
supaya hidup penuh tabah
tapi kerumitan sentiasa ada
kerja, rumah, keluarga,
segala yang ada
meledak marah
jiwa parah

Doa di pinta
lapangkan minda
supaya akal dapat membeza
antara hayal dan nyata
tapi bergolak juga si minda
bak di himpit raksasa
hayal di anggap nyata
maka tergambar di depan mata
walau itu bukan sebenar nya
meledak marah
jiwa parah

Doa di pinta
lembutkan lidah
supaya bijak bicara
yang dengar pasti ceria
tapi bukan itu jadi nya
bibir kerepot luahkan kata
menuduh mengata
tinggi suara
meledak marah
jiwa parah

Dimana khilaf nya
hingga terjadi sekian rupa
doa sudah di pinta
tapi masih belum berubah
mungkin ada hikmah
tuhan maha esa.

Last Saturday was the 2nd day of Eidul Adha and we planned to visit some relatives in the late afternoon. With some time to spare after lunch, we thought it would be good to be tourist for a day in down town Singapore.

We drove to SICEC and took the “hippo tour”, a topless double-decker bus. As this is our first time being local tourist, we took 2 rides, the heritage and the city tour which lasted almost 2 hours.

It was drizzling once along the heritage tour and me and wifey hurried to the lower deck leaving my 2 girls and the “real tourists” enjoying the view from above.

Before long, we were on the upper deck again…….cos riding the lower deck make you feel as if you are in an SBS bus.,,,,lol. Anyway it was a nice experience indeed.

Last Friday was the 10th day of Dzul Hidjah, the last month of the Islamic Calendar and it’s the day where 1.3 billion Muslims all over the world celebrated the festival of Eid-ul-Adha aka the day of sacrifice.

Eid-ul-Adha is a day of remembrance. Even in the most joyful times, the Muslim makes a fresh start of the day by a session of congregational prayers to Allah in an open space. Muslims use the occasion to pray to Allah and to glorify His name to demonstrate the remembrance of His grace and favours.

Every mosque in Singapore were packed with muslims in the early morning for the Eid prayer and since it’s a Friday, the crowd would gather again later for the Friday prayer. The mosque I attended was so packed that people were praying along part of the road without prayer mats and what not. That’s manifestation of faith in God.
Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar.

Some pics to share.

The 1st day of Shawal falls on a Sun 20 Sept. That’s the day of victory for all muslims after a month of fasting from morning till dawn. This is the festival of Eid aka Hari Raya Aidilfitri in this region. It’s a time for celebration with feasting and visiting relatives and friends. This is also the time when people would have "open house" for friends and relatives.

We would usually visit the elders on the first day after the Eid prayer. The visiting and feasting continues for the whole month of Shawal. Here are some pics of happy faces to share.

A cake bought by Maris




home on the 1st day of Shawal.

1st day of Shawal with my siblings and their families.



The cousins in front of my auntie's house in Johor. 26 Sept



The cousins at another cousin's house in Johor. 26 Sept



The loving sisters of my dad. Johor 26 Sept


26 Sept at my cousin's place in Johor



4th Oct. 15 days of Shawal. The boy who visited us twice because of this piano. hehe


More pics later

Khayalan

Degupan jantung yang pantas
Laksana gelegak nya air di kawah
Mencuri pandangan di sudut mata
Cantik, jelas

Terukir senyuman
Di balik jelingan
Expresi ketenangan
Menambah keayuan

Gerangan di sudut sana
Siapa yang di nantikan?
Entah apa yang di fikirkan?
Hingga terukir senyuman
Membuat jantung ku berdegup pantas
Membuat ku mencuri pandangan
Cantik, jelas
Hahahaha ……..aku dalam khayalan.

Everyone is busy preparing for the day of victory, Idulfitri which falls this weekend.
The sight of friends buying goodies and the aroma of cookies excite me.
One thing missing though is the sound of fire crackers.

When I was a kid, lighting fire crackers was the norm during this period. Kids in the village would challenge one another on who dare to have the biggest cracker explode on their palm. This could be dangerous as it may cause injury. But..that's the fun of it cos only this season that we were allowed to play with crackers.

Anyway, firecrackers were banned after the last factory producing it caught fire in 1970. In fact I was partly involved in the manufacturing of it. As my house was near to the factory, we used to collect a few stacks of bundled unfinished fire crackers. We would knock to close the bottom end of each cracker and be paid 10 cents for each stack of hundred crackers. In one day I can finish between 4 and 5 stacks in between school time just to earn some pocket money. These were than sent back to the factory and gun powder would be filled through the other end.

It was a blessing in disguised that the factory caught fire and fire crackers was banned since then. Otherwise, many of us would end up as bomb maker.

Today....no more sound of fire crackers blasting, no more 'rocket fireworks' ala the battlefield of Afghanistan....(hehehehe, just kidding lah) but the spirit still remain.

So...to one and all....."Selamat Hari Raya Maaf Zahir Batin.

RAMADHAN KU

Hampir sebulan aku berpuasa
Manahan lapar dan dahaga
Bicara yang perlu di jaga
Juga pandangan mata
Kerana ini ada lah perintah Nya
Supaya bersama kita merasa
Kemiskinan mereka yang tidak berada
Semuga insaf lah hendaknya

Tak akan aku bertahan
Melakukan ini semua
Tanpa didikan dan bimbingan
Ayah ibu yang tercinta
Walau getir hidup mereka
Perintah agama tetap di jaga

Ayah ibu yang tercinta
Kau adalah cahaya
Menerangi kegelapan
Kau adalah pendita
Membentuk keperibadian
Hidupku, kau sempurnakan

Ayah ibu yang tercinta
Satiap kali Ramadhan tiba
Ketiadaan mu amat terasa
Sahur ataupun berbuka
Ketiadaan mu amat ketara
Sebak rasanya di dada
Teringat ayah dan ibu yang tiada
Maka berbuka lah
Dengan adik dan keluarga
Tapi wajah mu tetap di ruang mata

Ayah dan ibu
Kesyahduan Ramadhan akan berlalu
Keriangan Shawal semua menunggu
Tapi yang pasti bagi ku
Ramadhan dan Shawal ku tak sa indah dulu
Kerana ayah dan ibu tiada di sisi ku
Maaf ku pohon,
Tanpa kau, siapa lah aku

We were at the course again last week 5 Aug with the same kakis. It was a crazy outing, leaving home in the darkness of dawn and returning home in the darkness of night fall. Only golfers would understand its logic.

We started our 1st 18 at Palm Villa under light drizzling around 0800 hrs. What a beautiful weather to start with and ended around 1215 hrs. After a quick shower, we drove to Palm Resort for lunch and continued with the 2nd 18 which ended at 1800 hrs. Playing 36 holes is the norm for us now. A little crazy to some but anyway, it was a good game.


AM at Palm Villa



PM at Palm Resort

ITS SPINNING NOW

I was a bit frustrated when I couldn’t get the motor works at the correct speed. This was after being told about the adjustment screws on the top plate of the motor pod.

After some adjustment, the speed gets even faster as if the platter gonna fly off. This is supposed to be a turntable and not a flying saucer.

I gave up and called a friend at the Adelphi. He said I could have blown up the potentiometer for over adjusting. $$$$$$$$$$$$

Anyway, brought it to him last night and voila……………it does work. I adjusted correctly but wrongly. Got it? OK lah, it does not matter now, as long as it works. Thanks for your magic, Adrian.

Have been spinning it since last night and am still spinning as I wrote this. Very happy with my first project. The next one would be a horn speaker. Don't know when lah. Some pics to share.








On the left is a collector's item direct drive Luxman PD 121 with a Stax arm and on the right is my favourite Sota Saphire suspended turntable with a Luxman arm.

I hope these set up will keep me happy for the next three years.

After more then 2 months of designing, sourcing and testing some of the parts, finally the last component (bearing) arrived last week.
Without delaying further, I get all the parts cleaned and assembled them last Friday. After more then 2 hours, I managed to fit all parts together despite having the plinth built locally much earlier.

Last Saturday I was on it again at midnight. This time trying to get it running. However, it was a disappointment. I couldn’t get the speed right. Adjustments were made on the distance between motor and platter but to no avail. By then it was almost 3 am. Packed and go to sleep.

Problems were posted on the local hifi website for assistance, unfortunately it went down yesterday. Sigh….

This morning, I wrote to the supplier and was told that the speed can be adjusted via 2 screws on the top plate of the motor.
Hahahahahahaha felt so stuuuuuuuupeeeeeed. Anyway, I will look into it tomorrow.

Some pics to share.

Monday Blues........Just for the fun



LULU LAN SEKALANG

Lulu kita semua selupa
Main goli main bola
Masok longkang pun ala
Sama sama bolih ketawa

lulu punya celita tak bolih lupa
Pegi sekola jalan sama sama
Bolih makan satu meja
Culi buah olang punya.

Sulah busat ala lain sikit
Manyak olang pelut ala buncit
Lu olang cakap kita olang takla luit
Itu macam cakap hati lasa sakit.

Abis sekola semua olang sibuk
Mahu kelija cali luit
Tapi kelija susah mau masuk
Pasat kita olang takla masuk nasenal servit.

Gua punya hati manyak sakit
Nasenal servit pilih kulit
Gua punya kulit lu cakap cannot make it
Lapat sulat Lemsy Load, please wait.

Lulok lumah satu sen takla guna
Kelua lumah satu sen pun takla
Apa mau buat takla kelija
Kelija kuli pun tak apa la

Kelija pagi sampei petang
Naik loli pegi kilang
Cukup bulan bawak wang pulang
Takla cukup, utang olang.

Gua punya hati makin malah
Makin benci sama lu olang
Tapi Tuan Allah sayang sama gua
Kasi kawin sama lu punya olang.

Sulah kawin hati agak sinang
Lapat anak tiga olang
Anak2 baik punya olang
Takla sama lengan lia punya bapak

Sekalang gua sulah tua
Gua lasa ala ok lah
Tapi gua tak bolih lupa
Pasat lu olang lulu ala kasi gua malah.

Last 2 weeks, we had another family trip with my sister’s family. Traveling together with them is not something new. There were so many occasions when we drove as a family to West Malaysia. Sometimes it was just for a makan or some shopping during the weekend. The last time we traveled far was 2 years ago to Perth Australia. Anyway, due to global recession this time round, we only travel as far as Bali.

Our flight was in the evening arriving in Den Pasar Bali @ 2200 hrs after some delay. It was a smooth 2 hours flight and all 9 of us enjoyed it.

After b/fast the next day, we walked to the beach for some pics taking and to the town for shopping. Kuta, the main shopping belt has seen a lot of changes since the last time I was there, 10 years ago. Today it boasts modern shopping malls with shops selling international branded goods.

Sight seeing trips to the mountain ranges and the country side was a break much needed. It was a beautiful sight to behold especially at Kintamani where we had our lunch.

Bali is also a place popular for its water sport activities and that was in our itinerary as well although I was only the observer…hehehehhe.

At the end of our 4 nights, all of us agreed that it was indeed a well planned holiday. And you know what………..I heard there’s a plan for a long haul holiday next year. Insha Allah.

Some pics to share here.





At Kintamani.










The Heroes.



Yanti and Fahmy.



The cousins on the banana boat.

Meet the SAF’s first Malay general.
Thats the headline on the Straits Times today. It carries a picture of Col Ishak with the following caption,

Quote “The promotion of Col Ishak, who moves up to the rank of Brigadier General from July 1, marks a milestone in Malays’ efforts to be fully accepted in the military. It was revealed in 1987 that the SAF was cautious about putting Malay officers in key posts”. Unquote.

Why is there such a mentality?
Are we not citizens of Singapore, pledging ourselves as one united people, regardless of race, language or religion?

On the one hand we pride ourselves as promoting equality and meritocracy but on the other hand we doubt our own citizens, who are sons of the soil and cautious about putting them in key posts.
So much about equality and meritocracy!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyway, congratulations to Col Ishak for his dedication and perseverance in carrying out his duty and finally acknowledged.
It marks a milestone in the community indeed.

I have been engaged with a personal project lately……building a turntable thus did'nt get to update my blog.

This is by far my ‘biggest and ambitious’ project based on my primitive technical background and a limited budget of 2k. Though I own 3 tables.....Sota Sapphire, Micro Seiki and a direct drive Luxman PD 121, its nothing like playing an LP on a self built turntable.

Week 1
Firstly, the design.....how the end product should look like. A search in the net resulted in varied designs....from weird to robotic looking machine. Anyway, my design will be based on aesthetic rather then engineering. After much thought, I decided on a double plinth table.

Week 2
I did some sketches translating my thoughts onto the drawing board. Finally, decided on an octagonal shaped double plinth that could accommodate more then one tone arm with an outboard motor unit.


Front view


Top view


Week 3 & 4
Next would be searching for supplier of the components needed. Teres and Schue had stopped selling its components for diy. Diyhifi supply is another supplier of diy components. Decided to get the motor assembly and platter from them. Unfortunately bearing is out of stock. (first problem).
Approached local machinist to re-drill the hole on the platter so that I could use bearing from other supplier. Unfortunately, no one does that locally (second problem).

The plinth……1st choice granite.
2nd choice corian
3rd choice acrylic
4th choice MDF

1st and 2nd choices are out. No one is willing to fabricate for me. Thus acrylic is the choice for my plinth. Anyway, it matches the BIX acrylic platter from diyhifi.

Week 5 & 6
Ordered the components from diyhifi and sent my plinth design to a local acrylic fabricator. Delivery was super fast…..receiving the items from diyhifi within one week of ordering. The platter is a polished acrylic 40mm thick and the motor assembly is a massive 4.5 kg thingy. The finishing of both platter and motor assembly were of high quality. Hopefully it performs as high.



Polished acrylic platter



The massive DC motor assembly. The motor is from Holland by Premotec

Week 7 (this week)
Plinth should be ready anytime this week. The plinth is 30 mm thick and the armboard is 20 mm thick.

Today is Mother's Day, celebrated to honor all mothers and express gratitude for the hardships they bear in bringing up a child. Mothers Day came into being due to the efforts made by Ms Julia Ward Howe and Ms Anna Jarvis. The Resolution for having a dedicated Mother's Day was signed by US President Woodrow Wilson on May 8, 1914. Since then people across the world have been celebrating Mothers Day with joy and devotion.

Last night, I joined my sis's family and her in-laws in this celebration. It reminded me of my own mum and how much I missed her. In loving memory, I penned a poem dedicated to her, my beloved mum.

IBU KU, DALAM KENANGAN

Mak,
Kekata pertama dari bibir ku
Saketika dulu

Dia melahir dan membesarkan ku
Dia mendidik dan memimpin ku
Sesekali marah tapi selalu menyayangi ku
Tanpa mengharapkan sesuatu dari ku
Dia ada lah Mak, ibu ku

Masih segar dalam ingatan
Waktu kecil dahulu
Mak menanti di balik pintu
Tangan memegang rotan
Herdikan yang mengecutkan
Kerana ku bermain berlarutan

Masih segar dalam ingatan
Waktu sekolah dahulu
Mak tetap di balik pintu
Menanti kepulangan ku
Atas meja tersaji hidangan
Sambal telur lah yang jadi idaman
Mak siapkan tanpa di pesan

Masih segar dalam ingatan
Waktu sekolah dahulu
Mak membuat kuih melayu
Aku di ajar untuk menjaja
Sekadar menambah pendapatan keluarga
Demi membesarkan kami semua

Masih segar dalam ingatan
Waktu mula bekerja dahulu
Mak lah yang sibuk selalu
Bekalkan nasi dan lauk kegemaran ku

Masih segar dalam ingatan
Waktu mula berpacaran
Mak yang ingin tahu
Siapakah gadis itu

Mak, Mak, Mak
Kekata pertama dari bibir ku
Kekata yang sering di sebut selalu
Mungkin hingga akhir hidup ku
Tiada siapa yang tahu

Kini Mak tiada lagi
Pergi menyambut seruan Ilahi
Didikan dan jasa nya sentiasa di sanjungi
Oleh anak cucu yang di kasehi

Mak
Andai nya ada kata nista
Dari anak2 mu yang selalu leka
Ampun dan maaf kami pinta
Sa kalong doa buat Mak, ibu tercinta.

It seems that golfing has been part of my sporting activities during weekend. There’s always invitation or request by ‘kakis’ for a game. Although it’s quite tiring by the time you finishes the 18 holes (approximately 6 km of course distance and 50% on foot), I’ve always enjoyed the game and the company. Unfortunately, the scores do not see any progress. More golf in the weekdays as well?..........hehehehe

Thanks to our families who are very understanding, spending their Saturdays w/o hubby or daddy.

Some pix to share during the last 2 weeks at Austin and Pulai Springs Resort.


Austin Hill 6 April


Pulai Springs Resort 2 May

The alarm clock rings ……..and it was 5 in the morning. Looking out my bedroom window, it was still dark but from a far one can still see, occasionally cars plying the expressway. Its 17 April and for the first time when all (almost all) from wifey’s family planned to go to Genting for the weekend.

Fifteen minutes past, the girls were up and getting ready for shower and what not. We left home after our morning prayer to gather at Ah Kong’s place at 0615 hrs. By 0630hrs all were ready and after short briefing on whose gonna lead and which rest area to stop, we begin the long drive………370 km, a convoy of 6 cars, 27 people (the youngest 6 months old and the oldest 79 years old) and our destination……..Genting Highland, 6000 ft above sea level.

Traveling along the NSE was a brisk. Unfortunately, my car driven by wifey was stopped within Melaka for exceeding the speed limit and compounded with a fine of $MR300. Sigh……Anyway we reached Genting safely around 1400hrs.

Some pix to share.



At the first stop (Gelang Patah rest area) for breakfast.




My family at the Theme Park Hotel lobby.