A New Year come full circle with donuts and other superstitious belief

Most probably the donuts will sell better today and tomorrow (particularly in the Netherland) as it is a belief that eating donuts on new year's eve will bring good fortune to those who practice it. They say the shape of the ring, which symbolizes the full circle, the year’s cycle. So head to J. Co, Big Apple or Dunkin' Donut and grab your donuts. Alternatively you can have onion rings or any ring-shaped food.

I'm not trying to be superstitious here but who doesn't want a better year ahead right? Probably you might want to practice these on New Year's Eve and New Year:

1. Eat fish for you'll swim better through the new year just like a fish.

2. At the struck of midnight, make sure you have some money in your pocket or wallet. If the New Year finds you with money in your pocket, you’ll not miss them in the year to come.

3. Just like the Chinese New Year, you might want to dress up in a new clothes.

4. Be aware at the first visitor on New Year’s Day! He or she would bring either good luck or bad luck. It is said that if the first person who visit is a tall, dark-haired man, he will bring good luck to the house or hosts (not choi san, ok).

5. Make a lot of noise by organizing fireworks and laughters. And not argument.

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year. Welcome year 2008!

Tag: 2007

Got this tag from Dora.

The year 2007 is rather memorable and a good year for me. Many good and bad things happened but I only remember the good ones.

I hope I can share more about my loved one whom I met this year in this blog but I've done it in another blog which I remain anonymous. What can I say? Meeting my love is the best thing that happened to me this year.

The bonus for this year is definitely meeting up with my tennis idol, the world number 2, Rafael Nadal. Not only that I managed to get his signature, I managed to snap a personal picture with him and watched him playing live from a RM388 seat.

From a Buddhist perspective, it's a blessing that I met many rinpoches this year including Dzongsar Jamyang Khyenste Rinpoche and I've even attended the Kalachakra empowerment by His Holiness Sakya Trizin which is the highest point for any Buddhists.

The year 2007 has been very kind to me as I've won several contests. It started off with a cool HP desktop loaded with Window Vista after I've won the first place in the Window Movie Maker competition at the Window Vista launch. After this big winning, I moved on to win several consolation prizes from Golden Screen Cinema (GSC), T.G.I Friday's as well as ticket to watch Rose Rose i Love You the musical. Still I have not hit any jackpot or 4D though.

Anyway, the most important things about 2007 is the good health and happiness of my family and friends. And talking about friend, I am happy and proud of my best friend, Shuh Yong, for letting go of her good job and her car (her hubby) to pursue her dream to study abroad for her postgraduate degree. Not everyone is able to do that and I'm proud of you (although it's sad because we are not able to hangout anymore) for making such drastic step in your life.

So bye bye 2007, hello 2008!

Wishing you a Merry X'mas!

Wishing my friends and family and everyone who drop by my blog a very Merry X'mas!

To my beloved best friend, Shuh Yong, who just left to pursue her Masters in Australia, hope you'll have a splendid time there celebrating X'mas for the first time away from home. Take care and hope to see you soon.

Friends of Rafa vs Friends of Iker

Nothing is better than to see Rafael Nadal combining two of his passion, tennis and football for a good cause.

Iker Casillas, Real Madrid's goalkeeper, and Nadal recently team up to plan various activities to promote public awareness of malaria and to raise money to buy vaccines for children infected by the disease.

"I'm extremely pleased to do it," explained Casillas. "The fight against malaria is a great cause that I've never undertaken. Rafa and I want this to be just the beginning, and we hope it's repeated for years to come. It's a great cause and I hope Madrid Arena is packed on Thursday. Nadal, the other athletes who will be there, and I would like to see the stands full of people. If it goes well, we will try to hold it in a larger venue next year."

Nadal had the support of cyclist, Alberto Contador, Real Madrid players, Fabio Cannavaro, Jesús Navas, Raúl González, and Formula One driver Pedro Martínez de la Rosa.

Casillas’ team was Oscar Pereiro, David Ferrer, Fernando Hierro, Álvaro de Benito, the singer from Pignoise, and Fernando Alonso.

Nadal's team won on penalties. Nadal showed his football skills by scoring six goals. The penalties came after the combined scores between the teams after the football and tennis was 14-14.

Fernando Alonso received the most applause on his appearance. Check him in action here. I think he should stick to his F-1 car.

Obese Santa Claus

I was listening to Fly FM's Big Bang Breakfast show a couple of days ago and the DJs discussed about what is considered fat. Is Queen Latifah considered fat? Is Santa Claus obese?

Since X'mas is just around the corner, I'll take Santa Claus obesity as my topic today.

Since Santa is a favourite Christmas icon among kids and adults, some people suggested that we should have a slimmer Santa to send healthy message to everyone during this holiday of the year.

Well, perhaps the animal activists too might think it's time for Rudolph and the rest of the flying reindeers to have a breather from pulling the heavy sleigh with the obese Santa on it.

With the climate change in North Pole, perhaps one day, Santa might consider to lose weight.

Malaysians are generally unhappy lot: How to be happy?

Looking at the political situation in our country, the traffic congestions every day, economic slowdown, high inflation, no increment and bonuses, stress in exams, ruined marriages, etc, there's no doubt Malaysians are turning into unhappy lot.

If you expect people to change in order to make you happy, then you have to be patient because chances are people doesn't like to make changes to accommodate you. However, if changes comes from within you, things will be a lot easier and you'll be able to sustain happiness on a longer term.

If showing off anger and being negative are not what you want to resolve your unhappiness, then read on. This post is only for those people who doesn't do BJEs (blame, justify, excuses).

So how to be happy? (Based on the same topic in Wikihow)

1. See the world for what it really is. Many of us tend to forget how fortunate we are. By the way, fortunate is not equal to fortune. Wake up because we can't get everything we want all the time. Learn to be thankful.

2. Be yourself. Get real because you can't satisfy everyone. So what if people criticize you for different opinion? People never care about what you have gone through. Practice self-acceptance and you'll be a lot happier.

3. Build strong relationship with family. Many of us leave our hometown to build our lives and career in another city. Hence we leave our parents and family behind. Call your parents or go back to your hometown more often. It's hard to survive in the city these days due to the high cost of living. It's alright to share with them your situation /struggle and seek opinion.

4. Get a job you love. I'm sure you want to be productive on your job as well has looking forward to go to work every morning (in a happy mood) and still be able to have time for your family, friends and leisure. Consider to change job or even a career move if you start hating your job. There are many options in life.

5. Lighten up. Don't take yourself too seriously. Don't let stress controls you.

6. Change your thought process. If you can't laugh, at least smile. Use a little bit of imagination. We are able to control our state of mind and change the negative mindset to positive. Don't bury yourself with negativity.

7. Learn to be a giver. The problem is many of us only think about ourselves. We give too many excuses. If money is an issue, you can always contribute in kinds or time and energy.

8. Choose the right companion and friends. It's kind of important that you choose the right people to spend time with. Choosing positive and encouraging friends and getting involved in activities that reflect who you are will make you happy. Ditch those who doesn't.

9. Wish the best for others and mean it. Instead of spending most of our time finding faults in people, jealous with our colleagues and hate people who has different political view with us, spend those precious time to celebrate the good fortune of your colleagues, friends and family instead.

10. Be healthy. Keep your body and mind healthy with good diet and activities. Give yourself a good sleep every night. Be spiritually healthy helps too.

Personally I'm happy although I don't have much. If you are unhappy, you can get more tips at Wikihow.

The real superhumans

Last night, I spent 2 hours in front of the television watching Discovery Channel's amazing stories about real people with extraordinary super powers.

If you like to watch the show Heroes, this documentary might attracts you. Imagine, if you have always struggle in Mathematics and suddenly wakes up one day discovering that you have this extraordinary super power to solve complex mathematical formulas inside your head. That is exactly happening to Rudiger Gamm - The Human Calculator.

Wim Hof - The Iceman, another superhuman, discovered that he has the ability to control his body temperature. This man successfully completing a half-marathon run in his bare feet and wearing on shorts at the Arctic Circle in Finland.

In another case, Esref Armagan - The Blind Painter, is a gifted visual artist who can paint and draw in three dimensions. He drawing has been compared to Renaissance architect Filippo Brunelleschi who is the first artist to master the three point perspective. For your information, Esref has been blind since birth.

I find Elisabeth Sulser - The Synaesthete has the most impressive superpower which I can't imagine it myself. She is able to combine all the senses so that she can taste music! Imagine, F sharp is violet colour, a minor sixth is creamy and a perfect fourth tastes like mown grass.

The documentary also feature some of the geneticists, biologists and futurist which talked about very controversial topics including stem cell biology and genetic engineering. Pay attention to Bruce Lahn, a geneticist on his idea of an 'organ farm', which to me sounds a bit scary.

Maria Sharapova and Anna Chakvetadze will be playing an exhibition match in Singapore

It seems that the top tennis players starts coming in to Southeast Asia for exhibition match. Besides the Bangkok Open (men players) and the CommonwealthBank Tennis Classic (women players) in Bali, as well as the exhibition matches recently in Kuala Lumpur, Southeast Asia is definitely not a favourite place for tennis sports.

And guess what? The hottest woman tennis player, Maria Sharapova will be heading to Singapore late December this year for a Challenge Match against world no. 5 ranked player, Anna Chakvetadze. Not only that, you'll be able to meet Maria Sharapova at various functions!

The following is the general schedule for what promises to be one of the highlights of Asia’s sporting year:

• Saturday December 29 (afternoon): ‘An Afternoon with Maria Sharapova’ event
• Saturday December 29 (evening): ‘Maria Sharapova Live Celebrity Night’ event (promises to be one of the highlights of Asia’s social calendar)
• Sunday December 30 (8:00pm): Maria Sharapova vs Anna Chakvetaze at Singapore Indoor Stadium

If you are a fan of the world women tennis, chances are you love the sports because of Maria Sharapova. Admit it, okay. So this event will be a good chance for you Sharapova fanatics to get close with Maria Sharapova and Anna Chakvetadze. You might want to check out my tips on how to meet up with the players.

Another option if to get your tickets and watch the girls play. To watch these top players play, man, it's priceless.

To download the VIP Champions Club Seat (Premium Seat) booking form, click here.

For exclusive VIP Champion Club Passes, please contact the organizer at (852) 2834 0060 or (662) 651 9499 or (65) 6735 4101. For general admission tickets, please call SISTIC at (65) 6348 5555 or go to this website. Ticket price is range from SIN$80 to SIN$280 (approx. USD54 to USD190).

Don't miss this exciting Event in Singapore on December 30, 2007! You don't often get a chance to see two top women players play here. And they are hot Russian women players too.

For more information, go to www.entertainment-group-ltd.com or www.mariasharapovalive.sg

H For HCFoo

This is a tag from Nea.

Use the first letter of your name to answer each question. Must be places, names … nothing made up. You can’t use your own name for the boy/girl’s name question. If you get stuck, skip to the next one.

1. Famous Singer: Harlem Yu
2. Four Letter Word: Hole
3. Street: Holland Street
4. Colour: Hot pink
5. Gifts/Present: Honeymoon trip for two
6. Vehicle: Honda
7. Things in Souvenir Shop: Hourglass
8. Boy Name: Harry
9. Girl Name: Heidi
10. Movie title: High School Musical
11. Drink: Hundred (100) plus
12. Occupation: Housewife
13. Celebrity: Hayden Christensen
14. Magazine: Her World
15. U.S. City: Hawaii
16. Pro Sports: Handball
17. Fruit: Honeydew
18. Reason for Being Late to work: Hangover
19. Something you throw away: Hah? Can't think of this one.
20. Something you shout: Hey!

Looking for an X'mas tree and the perfect gift

Christmas is just days away and this year I'm looking forward to celebrate this special occasion with my loved one and friends.

One of my friend suggested that I should get an X'mas tree from Tesco because it's very very cheap. Less than RM40 for a small tree (about 3 ft tall). And that haven't include the ornaments and lights yet. Probably will come up to not more than RM80.

And now I'm having another headache. I'm thinking of what X'mas presents I should get for my loved one and for gift-exchange among our friends. Is there anything one can buy besides fragrance, under garments or gadgets? I want to give something with sentimental value and without spending a fortune. It should be the perfect first X'mas gift from me.

So what is the perfect X'mas gift you ever received?

Looking for web developer with an entrepreneurial mind

The past couple of days are rather unusual and shocking because I've been bombarded by people who have different agenda than me. To those who send me critic emails but in a respectful way, thank you and I do consider your input. However, to those who send me personal hate mails, you don't earn my respect at all and I'm sorry that your life is unhappy.

Now back to my post of today, instead of criticizing the standards of local universities in this country, I believe I have found a simple idea as an alternative solution to raise the standards of local universities in various aspects. I'm looking for a partner to work together on this project. I'm looking for someone with programming or web development background. But most importantly I'm looking for a partner with an entrepreneurial mind and passion to make a difference in this society.

Drop me an email at hcfoo7@gmail.com if you think we are driven by the same passion and we'll see if we can work it out.

Federer's rivalries in 2008

Roger Federer might end the year 2007 in such a classy way (as he usually did) by winning the Shanghai Open. However, I predict that by next year in year 2008, we will see more players raise their game to beat the world number 1.

For the last two three years, Rafael Nadal has been Fedex's biggest rival. And I believe there will be no difference in year 2008 particularly the first half of the year. However, Nadal's knee injury could blow his chance in winning the French Open at Roland Garros for the fourth times as Fedex has been aiming the only Grand Slam he's missing in his prized collection. These two titanic rivals will definitely dominate the finals again next year and keeping other players at bay.

We have seen Fernando Gonzalez beaten Fedex in Shanghai Open and I believe it's still possible for Gonzalez to do that again but not in crucial finals and in the Grand Slams. So does Novak Djokovic and David Ferrer. However, these two players might surprise us based on their excellent performance this year. As for Nikolay Davydenko, he has landed himself in too many controversies including a match-fixing accusation. And I don't see him as a big threat to Fedex although he is the world number 4 as Fedex has a series of record of beating him in straight sets.

The only player besides Nadal whom I can see giving tough challenge to Fedex next year is David Nalbandian. Nalbandian is a very talented player and there have been some great battles between them in the past. This Argentinian player could step up and raise to be among the top 3 players next year.

Fedex is still going to dominate the professional tennis scene in 2008. But the question is, will he improve even more on clay court like what he did earlier this year?

Those pro-gov should keep their mouth shut in the blogosphere?

Voicing out my opinion about politics in my blog is wrong. What more I'm a pro government in this blogosphere where majority Malaysian bloggers are supporting the opposition parties. Sure kena bombard habis.

Now I just need to keep my mouth shut and just blog what I normally blog.

Ugly Sunday morning as thousands of Indians protest in Kuala Lumpur

This year supposed to be Visit Malaysia Year and our 50th Independence. However, it seems that the people in this country no longer respect that.

Few weeks ago, the opposition party took over the street and barely a month after that, the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) who said to be representing the entire Indian community protest in the street of Jalan Ampang blamed the British government for their poor economic status in this country.

After a series of roadblocks in the past couple of days in Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya, which caused inconvenience for the public road users, the rally still continues with over ten thousands of Indians joined the protest while I'm still soundly asleep.

To be honest, demanding for trillions of dollars and carrying banners that says "We Want Our Right" is rather inappropriate or should I say rather late. Why waited for 50 years only to stand up for their right? What about the other ethnic group (read Chinese) whom their great grandparents migrate to Malaya penniless and without the support from the British government and yet managed to build their economic status here from scratch? And let's not forget, we have a lot of successful Indians in our community which a lot of them are well respected.

Please don't spoil a happy Sunday and the peace in this country which the rest of us enjoy all this years.

Tips on how to meet your sports idol or music idol

After successfully meeting Rafael Nadal and get his autograph and photo, I would like share some tips on how you can do the same thing to meet your idol too. Let's say you know your idol would be in town and you want to meet up him/her. Here's what you can do:

1. Contact the actual event organizer by phone a couple of weeks before the arrival of your idol. I tried contacted the local agent before and they just shoved me off. Hence contacting the right person is important.

2. Once you have successfully contacted the organizer, give them concrete reasons as to why you want to know the flight schedule and appearances of your idol. For me, I told them I'm a blogger/independent media and fan.

3. If the organizer agrees to consider your request, suggest to them that you will put the request in an email/written format and tell them that you'll look forward for their reply.

4. Write a well-planned and organized email. Give concrete reasons why you want to know such information. For example, one of the reasons that I told the organizer was I need the information to spread to other tennis fans.

5. If the organizer consider your request, then you should be on the right track and have a big chance to meet your idol. However, the information provided may change during the last minute. Hence, always be prepared for any changes and ask the organizer for the latest updates.

6. Waiting patiently at the airport for your idol's arrival and you'll stand a chance to meet him/her. Look out for people from the media e.g. cameramen and reporter. Don't be afraid to ask them where is the exact location your idol will appear. Chances are your idol might not walk out through the main arrival hall like everyone else.

7. Be patient and get yourself on standby mode. Make sure your camera is working and your pen and paper for autograph.

8. When you see your idol, snap their pictures first and then be brave to ask them for a picture and follow by an autograph. Remember to be polite when asking. Most of the time, the bodyguards/organizer/entourage and even your idol wouldn't mind to take a picture with you and signing your autograph.

9. If you have taken your pictures and autograph, be considerate and let other fans to have their chances too.

In short, waiting for your idol's arrival at the airport will increase your chance of meeting him/her. It's almost impossible to have a chance to shake hands or get an autograph during the actual event or concert where lot of other fans would be there.

I hope these tips will help you in realizing your dreams too.

Clash of the Titans: Rafael Nadal vs Richard Gasquet at Shah Alam

It was a night to remember especially for tennis fans in Malaysia. Having two top 10 tennis players in the world in this country is something that is far from my imagination. Thanks to the Ministry of Youths and Sports, we are able to see Rafael Nadal and Richard Gasquet live in Malaysia for the very first time in an exhibition match called Clash of the Titans.

The MC for the night is Mahadzir Lokman which I think is appropriate since he knows how to speak Spanish and French. The Deputy Prime Minister and wife as well as the Minister of Youths and Sports were present that night.

The match started off with a performance by a local boy band, Ruffedge. To be honest, I wish the performance is by Sheila Majid, Ning Baizura or even Siti Nurhaliza who has more class and suitable for a high profile tennis event like this.

Then the event was followed by cultural dance. It was a very Malaysian-style event. I only hope that they are able to make it more grand for such a huge event like this (the MC said the event were broadcasted to over 50 countries) and not just a few people wearing different costumes doing some simple dance moves. It's just too old school for me.

Well, most of us were already anxious for Nadal and Gasquet to emerge. And so by 8.30 p.m. the players came out and I'm so relieved that the stadium was already more than 3/4 occupied. I managed to get a good sight of the players as I managed to move from my RM83 seat to a RM388 seat!

The MC asked some questions before we were introduced to the umpire who is a former national tennis player. The players warm up for few minutes and fans were already cheering seeing some great sharp returns made by the players. The show haven't started and you can see how good these guys are.

To cut the story short, the score for the night is 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 with Nadal winning the exhibition match. Through out the match, I managed to get to see Nadal's butt picking habit (!), fist pumping but there's no adjusting socks, placement of water bottles or any other rituals he normally do. Perhaps, it's just only an exhibition match. But Nadal seemed to be having a lot of fun and showing some tricks compares to Gasquet. By the third set, Gasquet was already tired and gave up although I wish this set could end up with a tie break.

The night would have been a perfect if the linesmen do their jobs well. Even the umpire made a few wrong calls that night. Speaking about professionalism in tennis, we are still very far behind. Even the Stadium Melawati needs some face lifting job done. I can't believe these world top players are playing in such a poor venue like this. Don't they have a better tennis court in Bukit Jalil?

Now, Roger Federer will be arriving Malaysia today with Pete Sampras. According to the organizer, they will be flying in through private jet and will land in Subang Airport instead of KLIA. I'm not sure if there's any changes in their flight schedule but you can check with the organizer by calling them up.

For Nadal's fans, I'll put up more pictures as soon as I've uploaded more pictures from the camera.

What I've learned from chasing my tennis idol

For most people, I'm a crazy 30-year-old who chases her idol. And in this particular case, I wanted to meet my tennis idol, Rafael Nadal.

However, to me, it's not just about meeting Nadal. I admire his fighting spirit in the court but that's not the main reason why I started a campaign to meet him.

To meet the world no. 2 tennis player in the world who hasn't come to Southeast Asia before is hard. And to get to take picture with him is even harder. But now I have to say that anything is possible.

When you are driven by a goal, work your way (legally) towards that goal and you'll eventually get what you want. And perhaps visualization is important too in making yourself believe that you are able to accomplish what you have started.

Welcoming Rafael Nadal to Malaysia

And to Richard Gasquet too!

I was at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport at about 5.30 p.m. waiting for my tennis idol, Rafael Nadal to show up. Earlier on, I was in KL to pick up my TGI Friday's winning voucher before proceed to Ritz Carlton Hotel. To my disappointment, a friend from Astro who apparently preparing for the brief appearance told me that event at the hotel has been cancelled.

I called up Anna, the organizer, and she has been very helpful by letting me know that Nadal's flight has been delayed and I would be in time to catch him at KLIA. Hence I drove all the way to KLIA and waited for hours at the arrival hall. Nadal and Gasquet did not appear at the arrival hall but instead proceed to the VIP lounge where all the reporters and TV stations are there for a press conference.

I managed to get to know the location of the lounge and waited outside. I did get some footage where Nadal and Gasquet walked out from the press conference.

I also managed to get a photo with Nadal but the one with Gasquet didn't work out. And I got Nadal's signature on my ticket too!

What a day! And my dream and campaign finally realized. Thank you guys for your support. Now I don't need to put a fake picture with Nadal anymore. As for the number of comments 'Vamos VMY2007', I've received 22 of them (out of the targetted 200 comments) which means worth only RM22 for charity. Anyway, I will still donate RM200 for charity, which I will keep you guys updated in this blog very soon.

By the way, I was too busy chasing for Nadal, I've forgotten about Richard Gasquet.

Who says age is catching up with Nadal?

Rafael Nadal has proven a lot of critics wrong by continuing his quest to win the privileged Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai.

Send Djokovic packing will definitely give Nadal psychological boost as Djokovic has been such a stiff competitor to all the top players this year.

Now that there are two Spanish players in the semifinals (Nadal and Ferrer), I am confident that Nadal might be able to win this high profile tournament before he comes to Malaysia next week.

And speaking about Nadal's visit to Malaysia, he will be arriving with Richard Gasquet. However, flight schedule has yet to be confirmed until Monday. I predict that Nadal and Gasquet will arrive in the evening and will proceed straight to the Ritz Carlton Hotel for brief appearance. There will be no tennis clinic or whatsoever activities, according to the organizer.

Will Uncle Tony, Nadal's uncle and coach, coming to Malaysia too? Let's just wait and see.

Rose Rose I Love You

I'm going to make this short as I need to leave for work soon.

I was at the Rose Rose I Love You pop musical last Friday and here's my brief comment about it:

What I like about the musical:
1. It is free.
2. Thumbs up to the costumes designed by Melinda Looi for Tin Tan and Carmen Soo.
3. The pop songs used in the musical such as Beautiful Girls (Sean Kingston) and Like A Virgin (Madonna) are well arranged and blend well in the musical that sets in the nostalgic era.
4. I am impressed with the storyteller for her powerful voice!
5. Tin Tan is really good in pole dancing and credit must be given to Tony Eusoff for his great acting skills!

What I don't fancy about the musical:
1. I understand the musical is for the 18-year-old and above but KK Wong (the DJ on Chinese radio channel 98.8) doesn't have to use foul language several times in the show to make his character works. It's such a turn off!

2. The tickets which ranges from RM68 to RM118 are rather pricey.
3. The props look cheap.
4. Tin Tan made some minor glitches on her dialogue.
5. Overall, this is only a mediocre local production. Probably I came to this show with high expectation after reading from local papers about how good this show is. Well, sad to say, it's not.

Chances to meet and support Rafael Nadal

This is latest updates I've got from Entertainment Group Limited, the organizer for the upcoming Malaysia Independence Tennis Festival, about Rafael Nadal appearance in our country.

For those of you who are interested to meet up with Nadal who will be making his first-ever appearance in the Southeast Asia, please take note of the following:

• Nadal will be arriving at the Ritz Carlton Hotel on Monday, 19th November 2007 at about 5 p.m. Fans would have a brief chance to say hello to him but there will be no autograph opportunity at that time.
• It is likely (although not guaranteed) that Nadal will take about 15 minutes to sign autographs for the fans. So, guys, do stay back after the exhibition match between Nadal and Richard Gasquet!

Keep coming back to my blog for more updates about this event as I hope to get more details such as Nadal's flight schedule and appearances in various places in Malaysia during his stay here.

For those of you who are Nadal's fans and would like me to send personal emails and contact you of any further updates, kindly send me your contact number to my email at hcfoo7@gmail.com.

Jokes for the holiday

Well, I don't put any jokes in my blog but this morning I received a funny one forwarded from my friend. Here it goes.

Ah Pek and Ah Ma were lying in bed one night. The husband was falling asleep but the wife felt romantic and wanted to talk. She said, "You used to hold my hand when we were courting."

Wearily, he reached across, held her hand for a second and tried to get back to sleep.

A few moments later she said, "Then, you used to kiss me." Mildly irritated, he reached across, gave her a peck on the cheek and settled down to sleep.

Thirty seconds later she said, "Then, you used to bite my neck." Angrily, he threw back the bed covers, got out of bed and walk away.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"To get my teeth lah!"

Happy Holiday, guys! I'll be off to Genting and Kuantan in these few days.

Another contest winning week

It was really a surprise that I won another contest this week; Nuffnang's TGI Friday's blog writing contest! My blog post is one of the first 25 winning posts who win the FREE dinner for two at where else but Friday's.

Thank you guys for the prize. Now, I don't mind taking the RM1k for one lucky Nuffnanger though.

Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer t-shirts are available!

Finally my self-designed Nadal and Federer fan t-shirts are out! You can start placing your order by tonight as soon as I've uploaded these items on Ebay Malaysia. You can either bid or buy directly. Alternatively you can write me an email to place your order.

Please be informed that these are print on demand t-shirts meaning it's strictly for fans who ordered and not going to be sold anywhere else except through me. The price per t-shirt is RM28 and postage is RM5.

These t-shirts will always be available but for those of you who are going to the Malaysia Independence Tennis Festival this month, please place your order and make payment by end of this week so that your t-shirts can be shipped out on time.

UPDATE: To order the t-shirts, go to Ebay Malaysia and type 'Federer' or 'Nadal' and you can start bidding.


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Won tickets to Rose Rose I Love You

Yesterday, the Rose Rose I Love You production called me up and informed me that I've won a pair of tickets to the pop musical after I've entered the contest in their blog last week.

Apparently my friends and I plan to go to Genting next week during the Deepavali holiday as they want to watch the musical badly. I offer myself to babysit my friend's son so that they can watch it peacefully. That means I have not get my ticket for the musical.

Well, now it seems that I will watch it anyway but I'm going to give the winning seats (which worth RM118 each) to my friends who are big fans of both local and international musical dramas.

For more information about the pop musical, read about it here which is featured Sunday Star.

Fly FM Fit It show - Part 2

I listened to Fly FM's Fit It today and apparently there's a part 2 to the drama yesterday.

After more than 20 calls or something, the DJs managed to get through to the 30-year-old man. This time the man was calmer and claimed that it was his 14-year-old nephew who had stayed with him for the past 2 weeks and has been using his internet and handphone. He even asked the DJs to meet up with his nephew to clear things up. And so they did.

Hence, this morning, Phat Fabes and Ben set up both the man and the mother again trying to explain the confusion yesterday.

Well, I am not sure to believe his claim that it is his nephew's job though but the DJs sure did to clear up such a heavy allegation like this over the air waves they have started.

There are many questions unanswered particularly from the daughter's side and we have not personally listen from the nephew's side too.

Fly FM's Fit It show

Personally I love to listen to Fly FM's Big Bang! Breakfast Show. And in one of the segment called Fix It, Phat Fabes and Ben actually help people to fix anything from meeting a long lost friend to selling car!

Today's show a little bit unique and send some goosebumps down my spine a little bit. Nah, it has nothing to do with Halloween though.

It's about a mother who is worrying about her daughter meeting an online friend in the coming weekend. The mother managed to get the '16 year-old' boy's phone number and needs Fat Fabes and Ben to call up the boy and ask him some questions.

Guess what? It turns out that a 30-year-old man actually picked up the phone and without any suspicious feeling he revealed that he is happily married with no 16-year- old son to the DJs.

The mother can't keep quiet any longer and started to pop out and bombarded the man with questions. The man kept denying he knows her daughter. He even warned the mother to keep an eye on her own daughter and slammed down the phone. Phat Fabes and Ben actually tried to call him numerous times but failed.

Personally, it's obvious that this guy will not confess that he is preying on the 14-year-old daughter of the mother. Instead he became so defensive on the phone.

I am so proud of what the mother has done or else what would have happened to the teenager if she meet up with the so-called internet friend who is so much older than her? Moreover he is married.

The internet world can be a very cruel place. Hence parents should learn from this lesson and keep an eye on their children especially those who frequent chat rooms. And children should understand that parents have no intention to intrude their privacy but instead to protect them from being harmed by people with bad intention.

Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer t-shirts for sale soon!

After much criticism by some friends about Rafael Nadal's t-shirt design in my blog yesterday, I've come up with a 'better' results. It turns out that the previous design is rather 'childish'.

Hence, I've designed Nadal and Federer t-shirts with the Che-Guevara effect, which I hope you guys would like. So this is final. Nadal's t-shirt is black while Fedex's is white.

Price and other order details will be up soon.

Update on HCFoo-Meet-Nadal Campaign

Some latest update from my campaign!

The day for Nadal to touch down Malaysia is getting near. I assume many tennis fans already got their tickets. Although Federer vs. Sampras match is selling like hot cakes, the same is not happening to Nadal vs. Gasquet. And so this is the best time to approach the organizers of this event.


Today I've finally made a call to Ticketpro. However, the girl who picked up the phone, Nicky, refused to put me to the Marketing Manager and said her agency is not able to help.

Hence, I've decided to search for the website of Entertainment Group Limited (which does not linked correctly through Ticketpro Malaysia website) and called up the Hong Kong based organizer instead. The lady who picked up the phone, Maggie, is very professional in her approach and advice me to send my proposal in an email directed to her and see what she can do for me.

I've told Maggie that I need to know Rafael Nadal's flight schedule, training schedule, etc so that I can provide first hand information for my blogger friends and Nadal fans whom many of them searched into my blog to welcome him as soon as Nadal touch down Malaysia.

Hopefully I'll hear some good news soon. Keep tuning in!

Rafael Nadal's white t-shirt

I have made my decision to go on and print a small number of Nadal white t-shirts for the cost of about RM20 per piece.

After seeking some comments from close friends, I've chosen this design and will go for printing latest by next week. I will definitely wear the t-shirt to watch Nadal's exhibition match in Shah Alam.

And Federer's white t-shirt will be on the way too. Will only sell these t-shirts based on demand as I've no intention to make money out of it (unless you are buying through my shop in Cafepress).

Hcfoo's page rank

Finally there's a slight change to my page rank (PR). After changing to my custom domain, my PR dropped to zero (0) and has been stagnant for months.

At least now it has increased to PR1 and hopefully will increase more by early next year. In the meanwhile, I'll just continue writing, less paid posts and more good posts.

Selling Nadal t-shirts on Cafepress

I've just created a store to sell t-shirts on Cafepress and I'm selling Nadal's t-shirts. The design is plain and simple. Hopefully, I'll add more design soon over the weekend and see how the sales go.

In the meantime, I'll have to concentrate on my meet-Nadal-campaign.

Schnauzer, where are you?

I used to have a dog when I was in secondary school. Personally I'm not a big fan of dogs. Well, not because I don't love them but I'm kinda afraid of them especially when they start to lick you.

But in these few years I've developed a huge interest on dogs particularly of Schnauzer breed. Or probably a miniature Schnauzer would be more appropriate and cute.

My friend, Tracy, is looking for someone to adopt her Schnauzer named Hobbes. Hmm... should I just go and take a look if Hobbes is the right dog for me?

What happened before year 1400?

In the Form 1 syllabus of the Sejarah (History) subject, the first chapter introduces the definition of history by explaining what is artifacts, archeology as well as reminding us the importance of learning the subject. Then, in the following chapter, students learn about the prehistoric era from Paleolithic to Mesolithic and Neolithic before they start learning the prosperity of Malacca and its downfall.

So what happened before Malacca?

Although there is a brief topic discussing about Gangga Nagara in the syllabus, which is considered the earliest kingdom in our country back in 2-11 A.D., the Hindu Malay kingdom is simply forgettable. Gangga Nagara is the present day of Beruas, Dinding and Manjung which is situated in the state of Perak.

Personally, I think it would be interesting to pay a visit to the Beruas Museum, whereby they have over 300 artifacts from the lost kingdom.

In the following 3-5 A.D., there was a small kingdom in Kelantan/Terengganu known as Pan Pan. However, not many information were known about this kingdom.

I am pretty sure many of us know that Kedah Tua (1136-?? A.D.) is one of the earliest kingdom before Malacca. According to I-Ching, Kedah Tua is also known as Cheh-Cha (not Che-Cheh, mind you). However, again, very little facts were discuss during this era as the main focus of the history text is based on the empires after conversion to Islam.

My paid posts earning

Since last month, I've been so-called actively writing paid posts again. I must admit that paid posts are not easy to earn as you need to be discipline and 'full of writing ideas' all the time.

Last month, I targeted RM500 from paid posts and I surpassed that amount.

These are the break down of my humble paid posts earning (too little to mention in US$):

• PayPerPost (RM320.40)
• Smorty (RM113.40)
• Sponsored Review (RM177.84)

On average I write less than 30 paid posts per month which means a paid post per day and using between 2-5 minutes to do so.

I guess writing paid posts makes me more discipline as I continuously finding topics to talk about as well as to commit to the deadlines set by the blog advertisers. It is even more easier to keep the momentum going when you set a targeted amount of paid posts you want to write that particular month.

Spare the parking space

This morning, after had my curry mee breakfast, I dropped by McDonalds to get a cup of hot Milo while waiting for my office to open at 8.30 a.m. While finding a parking space, a car tailed from behind and the young man quickly parked into the space provided for the disabled people.

There were so many parking spaces that he can park and yet he chose to park the most convenient space, in front of the side door entrance to McD. How ignorant is that?!

Initially I want to stay at McD to blog for awhile after getting my Milo. Instead I took out my pen and paper and wrote him and his girlfriend a note:

Kepada Pemilik Kereta,
Anda telah meletak kereta di tempat yang dikhaskan untuk orang kurang upaya. Sila bertimbang rasa sedikit. Terima kasih!

Dear Car Owner,
You have parked at this space specially for disabled people. Please be considerate. Thank you!

SEO Meme

FL Sam and Che-Cheh tagged me with a SEO meme. At first, I don't exactly know what it means but according to Che-Cheh, it means more links and more exposure.

Start tag

This is based on the SEO theory that links to posts inside your blog are more important than links to your homepage. I have selected three posts I want to promote along with my site’s name. You will do the same thing.

Keep it simple and spread our good work around to both share and build some ratings! Pick three posts that you feel are your best or those you simply want to promote. Your site name is listed with your 3 selected posts beneath.

Once you have your post up: Add the sites and post links of the folks you tagged onto your post. Try to add the site and post links to anyone involved to maximize the effectiveness.

Tag a minimum of 5 people! Try your best not to double tag people so it will spread better! Please actually read the posts from everyone so you can see some really good work from our beloved blogging friends! Make your title a little different from mine to avoid repetitive titles. Please try maintain some friendly updates to your post too.

Revellian dot com
SEO Keywords For Beginners
Content: The Kings Illegitimate Stepchild
Tales of Blogger-X | Illusion

Mariuca - Wishing On A Falling Star
Love In Disarray
In Love With A Dream
The Good Client

Mariuca’s Perfume Gallery
Perfume Shopping Spree
Defining Beauty
In Full Splendour

First Time Dad
Homer Kidnapped
Something Ends
Good Night Sweetheart! Hello Basil!

Speedcat Hollydale Page
Rocket Boy in Hawaii - DC9
Speedcat’s Death Ride into Terror!
The Boy Inside All Men

R Playground
Friends101
Shy Blogger
Soul Music

LadyJava’s Lounge
Are you a Genius??
The secret to a happy marriage
I’ve got a twitch in my eye

Rooms of My Heart
Let’s Celebrate with Us
Join Tribute to Dads Project
8 things that make who I am now

Being Woman - The Joy of Being One
A Handbag Lunatic
A Real Deal
What makes you fat?

Make Money Online
Share Uploaded Files and Earn
Fight Back against computer-security threats
Earn Money 3 Ways with Shareapic Program

Cat Tales
Sunday was Bathday
Someone got locked in
When she’s sleeping….

Life with the Two Crazy Dogs
35W Bridge Collapsed Survivor
10 Questions
Traffic Violation - Bite Me!

Attitude, the Ultimate Power
Happiness is a Decision
Choose to be Happy
Happiness Vs. Human Nature

Terri Terri Quite Contrary
Just How Immature Are We?
Finding a Voice
So Much More to See than the Game

Amel’s Realm
In Memoriam
On Trust and Relationship
Marriage Review

Dutchcorner
The Key
Cellphones
It’s all in the ears

Che-Cheh
The Making Of Kuih Kapit aka Love Letter
6 Days & 6 Nights Backpacking at Kota Kinabalu, Sabah
Bangkok Day 4 - River Cruise, Temple, Tanks, Shopping & Drama!

Simple Life
My Aircraft Collections
Khai Island : Snorkelling Paradise
Making a Will

Hcfoo's blog
The Amazingly 'Beautiful Asian' Race is back
If You Haven't Know I Love Mint Chocolate
5 Questionable Assumptions about Schooling in Malaysia

ADD YOURSELF HERE WHEN DONE BY LEAVING A COMMENT

End tag

Genting founder dies

Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong, founder and honorary life president of Genting Group, passed away at 11.20am Tuesday at the Subang Jaya Medical Centre.

The tycoon, who turned 90 in April this year, was renowned for his vision in transforming Genting Highlands from an unexplored hilltop to one of the world's most successful casino resorts.

For more information, read from The Star.

Personally I admire him for what he had achieved. My dad always tell me stories about how he founded Genting and his determination in building the city of entertainment from scratch.

The Amazingly 'Beautiful Asian' Race is back

Yay, The Amazing Race Asia (TARA) is back for season 2!

I must admit that I love the Asian edition although I can't help myself from comparing them to the US edition. Anyway I'm very positive that season 2 will be better improved compare to the first one.
Here are some of the things I'm looking forward to in this season:

1. Allan Wu will be more relaxed and not as stiff as he was in the first season.

2. Consistent when implementing time penalties. Do not imply time penalty at the beginning of the leg like what happened to Andy and Laura for speeding in one of the episode. Time penalty should always be given at the pit stop. In Andy and Laura's case, if this rule has been followed, they would have been eliminated from the race. Obviously, the producers wanted to keep them in the race but not through such a bias and obvious ruling.

3. There we go again... models, tv personalities, beautiful Asian people with great body on TARA. Honestly I would prefer to watch fat soccer moms, ordinary son and dad team, geeks, etc.

4. What? No Indian contestants?

5. Hope to see more dramatic scenes when boarding flights e.g. competing to get seats, using alternative airlines/routes to get to the same destination, etc.

6. More self-driving, please. It's always more challenging to see the contestants drive in foreign countries rather than just taking the cabs.

7. Do eliminate a team during the first leg. During the first season, again it is very obvious that the producers wanted to keep Sandy and Francesca in the show after they were spared the elimination after came up last during the first episode.

8. Would like to see the contestants travelling farther and more countries rather than just focusing in Southeast Asia. And the contestants in season 2 will be travelling outside of Asia which is a good news.

9. I'm hoping for more drama between the team members. It seems that there are more all-female teams this time around and my instinct tells me there will be cat fights going on. Meow!

10. I'm rooting for one of the dating couples to win in this season.

Reviving music from the 90s

*Beware! Long post ahead*

Okay, nothing is being done to my revive90s website and I don't think I have the time to update it anytime soon. So, in the meanwhile, I'll just show some of my favourite cassettes from the dusty collection in this blog instead.

I was a big, big fan of Wilson Phillips back in the 90s. Their songs were so infectious and everyone love their harmony singing. The girls (Chynna, Wendy and Carnie) were like the most popular all-girl band back then. They had 3 number 1 singles from this debut album: Hold On, Release Me and my favourite is You're In Love (this song accompany me when I was heartbroken).

As a teenager back in the 90s, New Kids On The Block (NKOTB) is definitely one of the biggest boy band everyone love. Although the album Hangin' Tough is the album that made them famous, I love Step By Step more than any of their albums.

Well, no era beat the love songs from 90s. From Tommy Page's Paintings In My Mind album to Jose Mari Chan and from Babyface's For The Cool In You to Hi-5, these are some of the albums with great love songs that I can't missed back then. And if you still remember groups like the Guys Next Door and All-4-One, you definitely remember their love songs that made all the girls go wild too.

By the way, I love soundtracks too. Some of the soundtracks that I have are Beverly Hills 90210, Boomerang, Pocahontas, The Bodyguard and Space Jam.

Last but not least, I'm a rock 'n' roll fan. I listened to groups like Guns 'n' Roses, Firehouse, Skid Row and Def Leppard.
And didn't I tell you I fancy MC Hammer and I used to be able to rap to most of his hit songs?