28 December 2013


We just got back from our hometown to pick up the kids. They've spent the last 40 days or so back home with their grandparent. Since my wife and I had to work and hardly have enough time or money to take them to some exotic holiday, it's either the nursery or their grandparent every school holiday. I know it sucks, but that's city life for you.

When I was small, my Dad used to send us packing to Penang as well to live with my grandma during the long school holiday. I enjoyed it at first but after a few weeks, I got really tired and bored of living there that I wished my Dad did't send me there in the first place. Perhaps it's because my grandma didn't take us anywhere much you know, sightseeing or anything. Sure they will bring us to Penang Fest at the end of our stay but that's like one day from the entire stay. Today I'm doing exactly that. Send my kids home, stay for a day or two and come back a month later. Now I know how it feels and why my Dad had to do what he did.

While my grandparent would be thrilled to have their grandchildren stay for long period of time, I can't say the same for our children. There's only so much video game or TV show they can watch every day. By the third or fourth week, my eldest will be calling us frequently asking when we would come to pick them up. It's heartbreaking by what else could we do? In my time, I was lucky cause my Mom's a teacher and she would come home eventually in the afternoon. Besides, it was my grandma who looked after all of us most of the time anyway when she's not around.

Talking about going home, it's funny that I seemed to spent of my time there at my in law's place. When I was little, I used to wonder/complain why my uncles seemed to spend more time at their wives home more than my grandma's place. Now I understand. First of all, our kampong house is not that big and since my uncles seemed to have new family member almost every year, it certainly can't fit all of them every hari raya. Second, somehow, our kids seemed to have better bond with their maternal grandparent compared to their paternal ones. My kids for example are more comfortable staying with my wife's parent than my own. Perhaps that's why. While I would like to spend more time at my own hometown than anywhere else, after 9 years of marriage I started to accept the fact that my in law's place is also my home. Besides, my Mom is not always home anyway cause she frequently go back and forth between KL and Pasir Mas almost every other month.

There are some things that you wonder and ponder why when you were small and only learn the answer when you grow up, married and have kids. Keep this in mind children if you ever wonder why we did the things we do.

5 December 2013



When our 7 years old Samsung washing machine broke down the first time, we sent it to an electrical repair shop to get it fixed. It costed us about RM200+. A few months later, it broke down again and the same shop (Gokand Star in Puncak Jalil) and the Pakistani guy said the second hand board only has a one month warranty and we had to pay about the same price to get it fixed again. What a rip off. So instead of donating our hard-earned money to that bloodsucker, we'd save our money and buy a new one cash.

A month later we saved enough to buy a new washing machine. It had to be at least 7 kilos to fit our entire family laundry load. We found a really good deal at Tesco, Panasonic brand with 7.5 kilos load. We called the store beforehand to make sure there's stock and the lady who picked up the phone said they do have some in stock. So we went to this Tesco in Bandar Bukit Puchong and guess what? There's none in stock. I complained to the Tesco Malaysia twitter account but they didn't reply shit. So much for customer service.

In the end we bought one from a local electrical shop in Equine Park instead. It was a Sharp washing machine and it costed us a few hundred more. It was delivered pretty quickly, two days later. Even during the first wash we find it queer that they machine had been going on for over 2 hours. Our last washer only runs for about 60 minutes at most. During the subsequent wash however, it runs less than 2 hours so I thought perhaps it is normal for Sharp washing machines to run that long. However after a few days the machine started going on again for over 3 hours non-stop. That's when I thought there must been something wrong it. So I went to the shop where we bought it and they called Sharp's customer service for me and a technician came a week later. Apparently the floor where we placed the washing machine was uneven so somehow that affected how the machine works. He just slid some folded papers to make it even and the machine washing worked flawlessly since then. The funny thing is, our old Samsung washer was placed at the exact same place and it worked fine for years.

Moral of the story is, Samsung washing machines will break down a year after it warranty ends (5 years) and Sharp washing machines are weird.

1 December 2013


2 months ago my aunt was involved in a serious accident.She was driving one night, somehow got sleepy and went headlong into oncoming traffic. Fortunately she and her daughter survived the horrific accident albeit with a few broken bones on her arm. My cousin thankfully didn't suffer any serious injuries. Now she's still recuperating at home. The Viva car that she drove was a total loss. It's amazing that they even survived the accident. A few weeks later my uncle's bike was stolen from right in front of their shop. And since he bought it illegally in Thailand, he couldn't really report it. This year is just not their year. I hope my aunt recovers soon and they can't go back with their business again.

Remember folks, don't sleep and drive.