The sun is back and so are the ...... bulls.

After raining almost daily the past few weeks, suddenly it stopped. Not a drop of rain the past three days. Have we seen the last of the rain for this year? Don't bet on it cause its only October. There's still November and December to come! Sure there will be rain but it won't be a daily occurance anymore. More like intermittent.
That brings us nicely to the bears and the bulls. I believe today, we have finally seen the bottom of the pit. The road to recovery is still long and the ride will be bumpy but the worse is over. From now on, it will be a roller coaster ride moving upwards, albeit slowly. No doubt the bears will resist but the bulls will prevail. It might take a year or two but it will happen.
When the sun is shining, the bulls will be laughing.

At the KLIA

Went to Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) on Monday afternoon to sent off my wife. She's leaving for Kota Bahru together with her sister, brother and sister in law. Left the house at 12 noon and reached there at about 12.40 pm. Only forty minutes! Perhaps because it was highway all the way, from the Guthrie Corridor and joining straight to the KLIA highway.

What you don't see

Amidst all the splendour that is KL, there's another side that you don't normally see. Talk about eradicating them but its a losing battle. Clear one site, immediately another pop out. No option but have to live with it.
Still it is not too bad. I have seen worse in other cities.

There's no escape from the harsh reality of life

Gloomy Skies and Bearish Market

While having tea at the canteen, I took this picture. Even the towering Menara Telekom couldn't hide the fact that dark clouds are gathering high up in the sky. Looks like it is going to rain again this evening. That has been the story the last few weeks.
Floods have already occurred in Kedah and Perak. Don't know when this will end.
The days have been gloomy the past few weeks, just like the stock market. The day the sun comes back, that's when the stock market will breath again

Slipping Downward on a Fast Track Spiral

The market is slipping downward on a fast track spiral with very little sign of abating. From New York to London to Berlin to Hong Kong to Shanghai to Tokyo, its all going down and down with no end in sight. It has been a year since the subprime problem in the US first surfaced. I knew it was bad but I never expected it to be this bad.
The KLCI is now below 900 points. At its peak about a year ago, it was at about 1400 points. How much further down will it go? 800, 700, 600, 500 or even 100 points?

Rain, rain go away....

Finally, after many, many days of dark clouds and heavy rain, driving home from work was a pleasure. Although only in patches, the sun was shining brightly. What a beautiful day! The rain, at least for today, has decided to give us a reprieve. I can wash the car when I get back home I thought.
But wait! Just when I thought the sun has won it for us, the sky suddenly opened up ..... and down came the rain. There goes my plan. What a letdown!
So next time don't count your chicken too soon, less you get disappointed.

Putrajaya from the heights

Putrajaya from the Heights

After the conference, had lunch at the restaurant. Nothing special except you can see Putrajaya from the top and the view is magnificient.

Nuclear Energy is Coming

It seems that Malaysia has no choice but to go nuclear. The country gas reserves are dwindling fast while coal has become a much sought after commodity that those who have it don't want to sell anymore. The price has gone up as well. Oil prices have also gone up to unreasonable height and hydro is too troublesome especially if it is only available 600 kms away across international waters. Last but not least, renewal energy but they don't promise that much MW.
So what choice do we have except nuclear! Then again, it will normally take 20 yrs from conception to operation. Do we have the luxury of time?

A Real Misty Morning

One Misty Morning

The mist was so dense that I could hardly see the road in front. The toll plaza was less than 500m away and yet I couldn't even see it. Luckilly I was travelling on a highway. Otherwise, it would have been quite a scare.

A close up view of the Rambutan

Rambutan popping out from nowhere

I always thought I have only one rambutan tree at the back of the house. Suddenly, over the weekend, rambutans appeared out of nowhere. Not from the one tree I always knew I had but from another! What a pleasant surprise.

Market giving heartache

After going down and down the last few weeks, the market is still going down. The Dow Jones might have shown some life recently but overall, it is still badly bruised. Nikkei and Hang Seng are also down in the dumps. Back here in KL, the market has loss almost 40 % from its high.
Don't know when it will recover. All the efforts done so far has shown little result. Terrible. Its worst when you have some money stuck in there!
When will the markets recover? Next week? Next month? Next year? Two years? Five years? Your guess is as good as mine!

Fasting in Shawal

After two failed attempts, I finally managed to get it going. The first time, I forgot to sound the alarm. As a result, failed to wake up for the sahur. The second time, I woke up but didn't look at the time properly. While having my sahur, the azan came on the radio. There goes my puasa!

Finally I managed to get one under the belt on Tuesday the 14th of Shawal. Today is my third day. Insha Allah, I will continue straight till Sunday. That will be the sixth and final day.

The new bridge linking Sayong and K.Kangsar. People from Sayong now don't have to travel too far to get to K.Kangsar. Anyway, if you prefer the boat ride, it is still in service.

Resting by the Perak river. The Sunday market is near this majestic river.

Early Sunday morning went to K. Kangsar Sunday market. Many stalls selling all kind of things. Bought a few items not normally found in KL such as Ikan masin belanak, ikan pekasam, big round petai and home bred coffee. Not quite Starbuck I admit but coffee 'Kau Punya.'

One Day in Sg Siput

Went to Sg Siput on Saturday. Left the house at about 3pm with my wife, her elder sister, Kak Kiah and her daughter. She had been in KL since the third Raya and now its time to go back home.
It was raining most of the way but we made it to her house by 5.30pm.

Rainy days are here again

Raining Cats and Dogs
It has been raining cats and dogs the past few days. Not a day passed when there's no rain. My fish pond is filled to the brim. My fountain overflowed one day while the swimming pool almost did. Very funny these days as at this time of the year, it used to be the North east Monsoon, meaning non stop rain in Kelantan, Trengganu and Pahang. However, these days the rain does not follow the rules anymore. If it wants to rain, it will rain. No matter if it is the North East Monsoon or the South West Monsoon or January or December or whatever!

The World is going down, down and down!
Another big drop for Dow Jones. Almost 700 points! Wow! At this rate, the index will hit zero soon. Nikkei had another bad day, dropping almost 10 %. Similar with Hang Seng! In Russia and Indonesia, the markets were suspended altogether cause if it open, the sell off will see no end! Europe is struggling to keep their banks afloat. The Middle East, with all the oil money, is also feeling the heat.
There's no place to hide. This is the worst financial crisis I have seen in my life! Terrible.

Making Ends Meet after Raya
It is always the same. Budgeted a certain amount but end up spending very very much much more. At the end of the day, I will have problem making ends meet. But then, there's not much I can do. There's always things to buy that somehow didn't appear initially in the budget. Sometimes they just sort of get out of control. In the end, I just say to myslef, spend, spend, spend, spend and spend. Let me do the damage control after Raya.

30 days of Raya

30 days of Raya
Its only done in Malaysia. 30 days of celebrations to compensate for the 30 days of fasting. For the whole month of Shawal, there'll be non stop open houses. Then there's the office where every department it seems is having Hari Raya gathering. What a grand way to celebrate! Only worry is that all the cleansing done during Ramadhan will be loss in Shawal. The stomach sometimes gets even bigger after Shawal than it was before Ramadhan.

Puasa Enam
This is the six days of fasting in the month of Shawal. The reward is tremendous. Six days in Shawal plus the fasting in Ramadhan is equivalent to fasting the whole year round. I have been doing it for so many years but have not been doing it the last few years because of ulcer of the stomach. Anyway, now that I know the reason for my ulcer, that is because of curry, I will try to do the six days fasting again. Just avoid curry and take a lot of milk. Then I should be allright.

Financial Crisis
Its affecting the whole world. I have never seen anything like it. Not even the 1998 turmoil. Then it was only the few Asian nations like Thailand, Indonesia, Korea and Malaysia but this, its the whole world. Everywhere, the crunch is being felt. The market is falling like ten pins that some countries even had to suspend it. otherwise, it will be a free fall. When will it end?
I saw its beginning a year ago when the Sub prime problem in the USA started. Now the whole world is feeling it.
But if you are brave, this is the time to invest. All stocks are dirt cheap. Buy them and keep for a few years. For sure, you'll make money!

Back To Working Days Again

After the hectic days just before and during Raya, its slowly returning back to the normal once more. Tomorrow, Hanafi will go back to Johore, Hafizi to Uniten and on Monday, Fatihah to UIA in Gombak. Only Hakimi will be left. He might go as well if things turn out as planned. As for my wife, she will be busy doing things that a wife and mother will do.
Come Monday, I will go back to work. It will be back to the usual early morning drive to work while the morning sun is still sleeping, breakfast at Bangsar before finally reaching office at about 7.30 am. I have been doing this since 1979, with some differrences here and there. Can't wait for it to end.

Student Days in England

Its 8 in the morning on Saturday, the 4th day of Raya. Outside, the rain is persistent, off and on. While clicking on the TV remote button aimlessly, a program suddenly caught my attention. A man (movie director Mamat Khalid) was showing his TV host, Jimmy, the places and the things he used to do in his younger days while living in Germany. Instantly, it reminded me of my 5 years in England from 1974 to 1979.
Two years in Brighton, doing my Diploma and three years in Surrey, doing my degree. Those were the student days, with nothing much to worry about except for the exams. During the summer holidays, I would travel over to Europe, or the continent, as they call it. Germany was among the countries I went to, many times in fact.
Liverpool football club was big then. European champion many times over. Manchester United was still struggling, not having won the league championship for over twenty years. Alex Ferguson was not even heard of then. The Beatle was already reaching their end while Pink Floyd, Genesis, Yes and a host of other names which I can't really recall were just coming up.
The five years in England seems a long time ago now. It is a long time, almost 30 years. Life has moved on. I am now almost retired. What a different from the student days when working life was just about to begin.

First day of Shawal

We started the day with the subuh prayers. After that it was getting ourselves ready for the Eidul Eid prayer at the nearby mosque. By 7.30am we were ready and having breakfast. After a month of fasting, breakfast seems a bit strange. Anyway, with all the ketupat, rendang, lemang and whatever, the food gets gobbled up very quickly.
Then its to the nearby mosque for the Eidul Eid prayer. The mosque as usual, was full.
By 9.30 am, we were back at the house. After the customary salam and asking for forgiveness among us, its time to start visiting close relatives. Fortunately or unfortunately, some of our relatives have balik kampung so there were not too many houses to visit.
We were in Paya Jaras, Ampang and Subang Jaya. The day finally ends at about 7 pm when we were back at the house, feeling all tired and worn out. The night was spent just resting in the house, watching TV, have more food and sleep.

Eve of Hari Raya day

Abang Nyah invited us to his house in Ampang to break the fast on the last day of Ramadhan. The whole family went. Atak, my 3rd sister was also there together with Nazida, my neice from my younger sister, Da. Abang Nyah son, Sazali was also there with his wife and daughter. Later on Juli, Abang Nyah daughter came back from work to join us.
We left the house at about 9.30 pm and headed for PKNS complex, Shah Alam. My wife wanted to do some last minute shopping for rendang, ketupat and lemang.
What greeted us at the PKNS complex was a like a huge lelong party. The car parks were full and the place was just crowded with people. Apparently, they all had the same idea. To do last minute shopping. For those buying 'baju raya', it was a good move as the prices had all came down. Lelong, lelong everywhere as traders were eager to get rid of their still unsold goods.
The crowd was just too crowded for me. We quickly bought the things we wanted to buy and headed home.