Aunties, uncles???? Be careful with your designations...

Malaysians can be blinded when it comes to designation. Through experiences which I dare say can be embarrassing to the person the designation is shot towards. Example, I was called 'auntie' by people who are very much older, little older, a little younger or of same age. Shouldn't we just asked, " Excuse me, may I know your name please?" And from there just acknowledge the person using her/his name or surname. That simple. If you do not know her/him just acknowledge her as "Madam" or him as "Sir" or "Mr."

It would be wonderful for sales personnels not to call future customers as "aunties" or "uncles" for you are never related. I noticed that we never call foreigners as "aunties" and "uncles"....Why, may I ask? Well, shouldn't we practice doing this to locals? I taught my son to acknowledge the hotel guests where he is working as "Sir", "Madam" or if he knows them, by their surnames. I assure you many would appreciate that. The graph of your sales may even shoot upwards.

A friend of mine had her youngest boy during her late 40s. While we were browsing around a supermarket one fine day, a sales person approached her. She was holding on to her 5 year old son's hand. To my amusement, this guy went, "Auntie, how about buying this educational toy for your grandson?" with a smooth smile on his face. The smile went off when he got a rude reply. It was "Look I am not his grandmother. I am his mother. Do I look that old? I did want to look at your products but because of your acknowledgment, I decided not to purchase any item from you. Please do be careful next time". She walked of unhappily.


I know of a man who is near 70 but still very active. Someone called him "uncle" and he just turned round and told that person, "Don't call me "uncle" as I am NOT your uncle. Call me "Sir" or "Mr". He looked very displeasured from his facial expression and the tone of his voice.

I know to many it is a normal thing. But believe me, I am sure most people preferred not to be called "aunties" and "uncles" unless related. Some Chinese would follow their kids calling neighbours as such. Not very amusing though. We should be addressing each other by name since we are neighbours.

I do not call people such unless they call me the same. There was one day at the market, this lady who is a fishmonger called me 'auntie". "Sweet", I said in my head. My next step was to call her the same back. One point for me as I can see from her face that she wasn't very glad. Hahaha anyway, she looks older so I was just being 'polite' like her. My way of getting back.....sarcastically well done.

Rukun Tetangga Gathering on 20/9/08

On this day, I was asked to help by shooting photographs by the committee members of the Rukun Tetangga for our Mount Erskine area. Recently a gathering was organized because a group from Kuala Lumpur made a goodwill excursion here.

A buffet dinner was catered for this occasion. Everyone had a good time not only with the food but getting to meet new friends from afar. The members were very cooperative. Many good singers were discovered during the karaoke session.

Garbage Enzymes

A month ago a friend introduced me to garbage enzyme. But as I did not have the proper method of doing it, I put it off until I read it in The Star publication. Later on, my brother talked about it and he got me the method of making garbage enzymes.

At first I tried it out in a small plastic container with screw-top cover. Note the container with the yellow cover. I have to stir it every day. After about two months, discovering that I was successful in this enzyme making, I decided to go for larger container. So see the red plastic container which I bought for this purpose. I added kamquat skins and some vegetables for my first experiment. Then for the red container, I added quite a few things like pomelo skins, papaya skins, lemon grass and kamquat skins.

This garbage enzymes will only be ready in 3 months period. The readied enzymes can be used for many purposes. To wipe your oily kitchen, to neutralized harmful chemicals in your shampoos and body shampoos, rub on your pimples, wash your vegetables to get rid of insecticides, just to name a few.

I noticed that at the Fettes Park market, a fruit seller is selling a small bottle of 500ml for RM3.

Next I am thinking of making eatable enzymes but have to go find the recipes from book available in health shops.

Python caught at New World Park

On 18th September, 2008, as my friend, Doris, and I were walking towards the side entrance of New World Park, we saw a large crowd gathered there. For a moment we thought that there was some kind of emergency like someone had a heart attack or someone may have fainted. Upon walking closer being curious, we saw the fire brigade. A large crowd surrounded in circle. I pushed myself into the crowd to have a glimpse of the happening. As I tucked my head in between a man and a fireman, I saw this python being held in custody by another fireman opposite. Awesome sight.. as I started to fish out my mobile phone camera. I began to snap as many photos as I could.

The bystanders looked curious, awed and were whispering among themselves. Curious to know how this python got here. Questions were hurled at one of the fireman. We were told that this python belonged to a pet shop nearby. Gosh, how could it have escaped? Was the owner careless to have left the latch unlocked? Or was the cage sabotaged by some mischievousness?

The poor reptile could have been dead trying to escape. Many things could have happened like a car running over it. Perhaps it may have died of hunger hiding in some polluted drains...or someone may have killed it unknowingly out of fear.

Anyway I am glad that it was taken care of by the firemen. Pythons are endangered species. Kudos to the firemen who were so calmed and reacted very fast.

Politics???

Lately we were entertained by political issues. Some of them were like comedies to me. Well, episode after episode just like the Taiwanese dramas. When will the story end....and everyday something like a continuance with the last episode would arise. I would end the day with, "Let us see what is for tomorrow". Nothing can be predicted. Decisions just cropped up. And dreams shattered yet still persistent to dream on and on and on. Unrest were stirred up some unscrupulous scandalmongers. Texts were sent via mobile phones and emails. Some can be very funny, some false rumours and some too sensitive. We have to be very careful of what we are resending out. Usually I would delete those which I judged as too sensitive to be continued. Let there be peace instead of disharmony in our country. We do not need to hate each other for reasons of some irresponsible doings and words. The citizens hold the right to unity and for them to decide what they want...to live in peace or to go for disharmony and fight. I would rather that we live in peaceful harmony whereby we can carry on as proud Malaysians - not as Chinese, Malay, Indian, Eurasian or others. Let us not degrade each other but instead respect each other irrespective of race and religion.

What a big shock!!!!!!

Melamine was found in baby formulas and some dairy products like yogurt, regular milk and ice cream. 22 producers in China were found guilty of tainting this dangerous chemical into the products. It had so far killed 4 babies and 6,244 were sickened which 158 were diagnosed with acute kidney failure. The irony was that it took them so long to recall those in the market. 69 batches of formula made by well known manufactures were found contaminated. Normally this industrial chemical is used in nonfood product.

I am truly skeptical about produces from China. The canned goods may contain stuffs which we might not be using as food. I was sent a few shocking emails on how chickens were processed. Made my tummy churned to be precised and I am glad that I am more on vegetables.

Not that I am against China products but they should be of international standard. They should not abused the quality of the products. Why must they add melamine to falsify protein? Knowingly that melamine can never replace protein at all. We do not need chemical for making plastic in us. Or are they trying to make us into plastics???? How can they cheat on their own countrymen? I dare say that they are trying to make more money by giving low quality goods.

What is the Health Ministry there doing? Don't they go into factories to make random checks on them? Human lives are at stake. We have heard so much about poor quality products from there BUT please do not take lives to make a living.

Chinese Opera

Recently the Taoist celebrated the Hungry Ghost month which falls on 7th Chinese moon every year. During this month the Taoist would pray to the dead. It was believed that during such month King of Hades would open the doors of Hell to let out all the ghosts. Some superstitious people will not go out during the night. Parents would disallow their children to go to the sea fearing that they may be captured by these so called hungry ghosts.

It is considered an inauspicious month and weddings are not encouraged. Fears were instilled into the minds of the Taoist.

But according to Theravada Buddhism, the explaination is about filial piety. The story started from a disciple of Guatama Buddha named Mongalana. He had dreamt that his mother was suffering in hell. And he went into hell to help his mother get out of the misery.

During this month the Buddhist would do dana (charity) in memory for the wondering souls. Prayers are offered and some will offer monks' requisites. The Mahayanas will be chanting for the lost souls for a number of days as stipulated by the different temples.

The Chinese operas will be employed by committees managing this celebration. This is a dying trade. But recently they are making a come back. They were replaced by singing. The irony is that the singers of such entertainment were dress scantily to attract more audience.

In my opinion, the Chinese opera is more suited. When I was a small girl, together my cousins and I would carry benches and we would place them at the best spot whereby we could get a good view. There were times we would cheekily sneaked back staged to have a peek at how the performers did their make-ups.

These operas if one can understand the story is very interesting. The story are based on ancient history.

Most of these performers come from Thailand. The costs of these are on daily basis. If not mistaken it is like MYR2000 per night.

The costumes are the main attraction. They are made of sequins and having seen them before, I can tell you that it is an easy task to tailor them.

Nowadays, the young do not appreciate such operas. When I went to take shots, I noticed that the crowd was not like those good old days.

Alice, Annie and Witchy Bitchy

The three of us had been friends for over 10 years when we were residing together at Wayton, Paya Terubong. We used to do dana at Mi Tor Si, Jalan Pokok Ceri, Air Itam. We were once Bhante Suvanno's followers. Bhante was introduced to us by another devotee, Leong, who is now a monk down in Johore.

We were seperated after Annie and her family shifted to Relau and there after to Sungai Petani. Alice shifted to another block of flats nearby Wayton. Later after that my family and I shifted to Mt. Eskine. We missed each other very much but it was impossible for Annie to drop by to see us. Time was the factor. But I am luckier than Alice for I did manage to meet up a few times with Annie.

Annie's husband just pasted away a month ago during an open heart surgery at Penang Adventist Hospital. It was very sudden and took us by surprised.

Finally we met up again yesterday when Annie was on her way to collect rental from her tenant. It was an exciting moment for us.

The Beach at Batu Ferringhi, Penang

Boy oh boy...do I miss the beach. I love the smell of sea spray.Quickly I rushed down to the beach. Stopped to take a long breath...MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM. I love the smell of saltiness. Took off my sandals and off I ran. Rushing against the wind which swept my hair all over my face. I dug my feet into the soft sand...OHHHHHHH it feels soooo good as the waves beat onto the sandy beach. I bent down to catch the incoming waves as it splashed against my feet. The wind never stopped sweeping on my face as if it was giving me a good welcome kiss. The sound of waves coming slowly rolling to the shore.

WITCHY BITCHY NANCY

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Introducing witchy bitchy Nancy.....That's me.... LOL. Beautiful??????? I repeat again, BEAUTIFUL enough to hang it in your toilet? AS if I am that popular. Hahaha

Tammy Blondie

That's Tammy. Hey I really did a good job on her photo. Ohhh come on give me some credits........If any of you need your photos to be edited.....DO IT YOURSELF!!!!!!! Boy, I really love this. Fun to be a bitchy witch sometimes.

Frankie

Well, well, well, meet MY HUBBY, Frankie. Did you all hear a song titled "Frankie"? This is an edited photo of him. Am now crazy about all this photo thingy but at times I had good laughs over what I did. Hmmmm, I do need to laugh at times at other people's expenses...Ya, am a witch riding on a vacuum cleaner. Rather very hi tech of witchy bitchy me.

That's Colin, a good online friend whom I met recently at Skype.

Just praying hard that Colin has a good record or I would definitely get him into deep shit.... Anyway, meet Colin. I found him at Skype when I was taking some sweet vengeance on behalf of a friend. For your information, I added as many Colins as I could during my hunt. But fortunately that Colin whom I wanted to pick on was never there as later I found out that Jeff was the actual person. Guest I would have kicked the wrong person on his arse then. LOL

I am again glad that Colin added me to his list of friends. And we had been joking and bickering with each other ever since the beginning of our friendship. We call each other "Mate". The Australians call you mate if you are their friend.

Well, now he calls me 'Rover'. Soooooo I am now his pet doggie. But don't anyone of you dare to call me that. Woof Woof Woof.....I bite.

Ermmmm, his original photo isn't like this. I edited it and this is it..........lol.

An Extract from The Star dated 15th September,2008

While I was at my 'sanctuary' manning my business, I was at the same time holding Star Two. Well, I am very sure that most of us do what I am doing...killing time while sitting there or should I say no idling away and making full use of our precious time.

I was attracted to this article and I gather that it would be good to extract it and put it here in my blog.

ALWAYS ON HIS/HER MIND

Uncontrolled raging can pose a destructive force.

Is there such a thing as sexual addiction? Or could it be a convenient excuse for philandering husbands, Lotharios and porn purveyors to justify their behaviour?

According to clinical psychologist Datuk Dr. Mat Saat Mohd Baki, the nomenclature "addiction" is not accepted by their profession based on its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. He prefers to use the term sexual hyperactivity or hypersexuality.

University Sains Malaysia psychologist and criminologist Gheshina Aya Mat Saat points outthat some people consider those with sexual problems as having criminal inclinations. They may engage in activities such as frequenting sex workers or massage parlours, going to strip clubs obsessively, indulging in Internet and telephone sex, and having serial affairs. They may be in short-term marriages with different partners, and feel driven to have sex many times a day.

"Both viewpoints use sexual addiction as terminology and they refer to loss of sexual self-control, rather than as a moralistic stance against such behaviour. What is more important is that these behaviours result in harm to the people with such "addictions", their partners, or all parties," notes Geshina.

Harm could be in the form of physical and/or mental pain, financial or productivity loss, lapses in concentration, less time for family, work and relationships, and lost opportunity in other meaningful activities, says Dr Mat Saat.

He says there is still a lot of speculation on what hypersexuality is, and if it is a psychological condition or physiological one, or a combination of both.

The root of the problem is still unknown, says Geshina, adding that questions remain about how people become addicted to drugs. Both she and Dr Mat Saat rattle off a list of "symptoms" of hypersexual behaviour. Alarm bells should ring if you or someone you know:

1. Can't make it through the day without fantasising about, planning and engaging in risky sexual encounters.

2. Use the Internet to get sexually stimulated at work or at home.

3. Have a secret collection of porn material.

4. Have more sexual partners than he/she can remember.

5. Finds sexual experiences frequently disappointing.

6. Can't banish certain sexual thoughts.

7. Lost a job or relationship due to sexual activities.

8. Feel under intense pressure and completely controlled by sexual desires.

9. Suffer serious losses - normally money or time better spent on something else - because of sexual behaviour.

10. Use sex to feel better.

11. Lie to people he/she cares about regarding his/her sexual activities.

Some may agree that some of the items on the list are not indicative of abnormal sexual behaviour.

"A lot of problems in which the brain is obsessed with one activity - whether it is sex, drugs or alchohol. - tend to occur together," points out Dr. Mat Saat.

Problems that accompany sexual hyperactivity include depression, anxiety, mood disorder, narcissistic personality disorder and manic-depression. Some individuals suffer from two or more conditions simultaneously, but traits of addiction are often confused with those of these disoders, says Dr Mat Saat.

While psychologists and psychiatrists contend that hypersexuality is not gender-specific, Geshina says in Malaysia there have been no studies on the subject. The only related study here involved sexual offenders in prisons.

As to treatment of the condition, Dr Mat Saat says behavourial therapy with a trained and qualified therapist is required. It can be done individually or as a group (current method being used in Malaysian prisons).

In the United States, treatment includes joining a group much like Alchoholics Anonymous. that includes getting a sponsor, doing a 12-step programme and abstaining from sex. The "no sex" rule is normally for a period of six weeks.

"Generally speaking, the object of treatment is to have the "addict" back to accepted behaviour that is not harmful to anyone.

"And if you suspect you have a problem, seek professional diagnosis," says Geshina.


Author of this article is S.S YOGA

More on Friendship

Friends are very important in our life. Without friends our life would be flat and tasteless. We should all try to value all our friends. They are heaven sent.

I have some younger friends whom I have adopted as my brothers and one even became my Godson. It may sound strange but it is fun having such close knitted friendship. It is like an extended family. My Godson, Anthony Heng, actually calls me 'Mama'. Craig, a Nigerian, whom I met at Netlog is now a brother to me.

Talking about Craig...we had not chatted for a long time as he was busy with work. Today I managed to catch him online. We chatted and he said 'I love you' but quickly wrote asking me not to misunderstand him as his love is that of a brother. Hehehe and my response was, 'Don't worry as I know that'. He has been away from his country for quite awhile. He is very caring too. He is always scared that I may be cheated by others and told me recently that he would kill anyone who hurt me. What a good compliment...Am glad that I met you. I told Craig to come visit me this December as he had never been to Penang yet and not to miss this opportunity. As once he is posted back to his homeland, it will not be possible for us to meet.

Baby Teoh, my childhood friend, is always ringing me up from Perlis. We met when we were 13. That is a long time I can hear you say. Yup, I do miss her and it is always good to hear her vibrant voice on the phone. We used to go places together. I do missed the good old days.

My uncle, Boon Hean, is a friend as well. The wonderful uncle whom I adored and teased. Yes, I teased my very own uncle. He used to play tricks on me when I was staying with him and his family. And I guess it is my turn now for revenge...Sweet revenge.

Audrey and Daniel Leow, my Godbrother's parents. Ohhh, I do love them. They are the sweetest human beings on earth. If u had met them, I assure you that you would wish they are your parents as well.

Anna, my young Croatian friend, whom I called My Malecka (small one) is ever so sweet. She is full of energy and we teased each other by texting. We would just shout, 'COFFEE?'. Lol but if she did not answer that means she has not enough credits in her account. Cute......

True Friendship

Hi there dear all,

I decided to poke my pretty face out again. I know it had been a real loooooooonnnnnnnnnggggggggggggg time since I blogged. My excuse this time is not shear laziness but truthfully speaking I did not have a clue of what I am going to write about. My mind was just a big blank or should I say I was blackout. Hahahaha a chatty person like me to be labeled as 'blackout' is rather hilarious I know.

So today I am going to write about true friendships. I did write about online friendship earlier on. Well, go pages back to find it. Don't ask me for assistance as I am not sure about where it was. Moreover this is one good way of getting my new friends to read my other topics. Tricky me????? LOL.....

Let me get back into line, I have many friends around me...online and here in Penang, Perlis, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Seremban. Online friends goes as far as Switzerland,Netherlands, Australia, India, Croatia, South Africa and Canada. I enjoyed making friends of various races and nationality. My friends included both genders. I don't just choose males but females as well. I know that most males would prefer to have only female contacts and vice versa. But I am different....anyone can be my friend even gays. I do not look down on people because of their colours. They can be black, blue, green, red , orange, white, yellow or brown to name a few of the colours. So you can see that I am colour blind and am not a racist.

I value all my friends and I love them all. My love is unconditional. No, I am not into relationship kind of thing. Just mutual..I hate stress. And I dare tell you that there are times friends can get on my nerves. Some thought that they may get away with lies. True friendship is a matter of trust, not stabbing her/him from behind and still think that she/he is stupid enough not to be able to find out. There are times things just revealed itself without even the other party taking the effort to dig out. I can tell you that this hurts a lot when truth sneaks out.

As for me, I go online chatting with friends to kill time and also with hopeful hopes that I will find some whom I can call true friends and make them my friends in life......Hoping to meet up one day. Doesn't mean that when one goes online, it is all about sex. Makes us freaky, right? Doesn't mean that if I on my webcam, I have to show my nakedness. No, I am not a pervert nor am I a nymphomaniac. When I meet my friends whom I found online, it doesn't mean that we are having sexual relationships. And I did meet up with a few whom I enjoyed talking to and having meals with. This platonic kind of friendship will last longer than just sexual.

Well, I am open-minded of course but I believe that sexual motivated kind of friendship will not last long. What is on the other person's mind in reality? We never know as it is always praises that we heard. For all we know that other mind may be full of criticism and mind u the mind can be sarcastic too. The irony is we will never find out.

Next come controlling...I have some friends who loves to control. For example, when traveling..she had to be the one to tell us where to stay, where to eat, where to go, what to buy and what to eat. Wow, this is very pushy. You know I rather that we discuss and make decision collectively. I have a friend who planned to come here soon. Being a foreigner, he asked me to plan his vacation for him. Alright, plan..that is good. But I have to consider his likes and dislikes. I can't just pull him along and say, "Hey, you stay here" without even knowing if he fancies such a place. Or "Hey, you got to try this curry" and not knowing that he is allergic to it. Friendship is about consideration.

Then again friendship is not selfish.....This is a good one. I love sharing all my friends without fear of my friends being snatched off by another. Never have I labeled them as MY or MINE. After all they don't belong to me nor would I like to be tied down by them. We have to have freedom to mingle around without tying up our friendship. But definitely I would say MY HUSBAND as we are tied down in matrimony. If those of you who had been chatting online with me, you will notice that I never like to sound possessive.

Laurent, a French friend who is working in Switzerland, and I will be celebrating our 1 year of online friendship in October. Gosh, I am saying this in pride. He had been very consoling during my downs. And believe it or not we don't lie to each other. He hates lies and so do I. Times I may be a bit of a teaser. Yes, I joke a lot and that spiced things out. I am always teasing him. We are frequently chatting. Not an on off thing. So that is why I am proud that we are friends up until now.

Tammy is my shopping companion. We met a few months ago. Staying just behind where I am staying makes us close. We talk at the back door. And we go online everyday to chat making others think we are very far apart.

Colin whom I just got to know is fun to chat with. He is full of vitality and he made me laugh a lot. Now I am his dog (bitch would be proper). He called me Rover. Guess he did not realize that I am a female. LOL

Rob Vis is another precious online friend who had captured my friendship. He would let me see him on cam even though I do not have a webcam. That is trust.

Joe Lim, Eddie Wong, William, Constance, Kimmy, JLE, Kenrick, Richard, Jenny, Lisa, Mike, motoleng, etc etc to name a few...We started out as group chatters. Now we good friends.

So to summarize true friendship....truthful, sharing, no pressure, freedom all the time, trust and no back biting.

Cheerio pals!!!!!!!!!!!!!