alexis @ mid valley

was at alexis' a couple of months ago ... didn't have time to update 
since switching jobs

expected the usual expensive but not as filling/satisfying meals drill
but we were in for a surprise
i had a piece of spoilt rocket/arugula served with my salmon (the manhattan fish market has better portions with better pricing)

me mate remains pretty sure this ain't no dried shrimp ... too bad we didn't have any dedicated macro lens with us then

that speck on the lemon slice sure wasn't a speck of parsley/cilantro OR tea dreg

one would think such an establishment would and should have better SOP or levels of cleanliness/QC in place before any dish leaves the kitch
though it is a malaysian fact of life when it comes to eateries
it wouldn't be too much to ask for certain food prepping standards to be met and maintained
methinks the food and health inspectors would have a field day ...
IF this wasn't malaysia, eh?

a get together of family friends slightly soured by 'extras' on the menu
the only good thing we saw that evening was the service by Nash, who attended to us

aiyoh.com chess sets

ordered some chess sets online from aiyoh.com.my
quite easy with a relatively user friendly site
one has a choice of ordering as a registered or non-registered purchaser

imagine my surprise when the package arrived BEFORE payment was made ... !
efficiency to the max; contacted the firm and informed accordingly

also highlighted the slipshod packing, IF it can be called that 
it was a mere plastic bag with two thinner plastic bags inside

when informed of the condition of the package,
aiyoh personnel claimed not a single bit was visible when sent to Skynet 
and that they would need to check with Skynet
fine, said i, and payment was made in the meantime
even though i had half a mind to reduce the amount 
for apparent poor and slipshod, devil-may-care service
in addition to a squashed box

'tis understandable stock is stored in warehouses or on shelves
collecting dust along the way
but this is bad ... the tissue pictured was only halfway through wiping 
the enclosed rubber mat

fair questions given the above would be:
doesn't the business and/or its personnel care 
or have some sort of SOP when prepping orders?

staff oversight? what if i said the package did not reach me?
and i refused payment?

or are there disgruntled personnel trying to sabotage the company?
i get two queens each but am short a pawn for the black ...

with a little 'extra' thrown in ...

would i give my custom to aiyoh again?
mebbe ... if only to give them another chance
would i recommend aiyoh?
i strongly suggest clearing up any doubts and questions before placing your orders
for now anyway as they've yet to update me on the status of their "packing"
i don't mind paying for shipping but RM20 for plastic bags and a squashed box?
i get better packing from individuals selling new and used tackle ... at better rates, too

55 years have this land seen come and go since so called independence

55 winters have passed (as the eskimos or other cultures or civilisations call it)

2 score and more of "independence"

vexed am i and the land

vexed too are the people, man woman and child

young and old, the brave and the bold

yea, e'en the timid and the meek

vexed day and night by the wicked

wicked leaders, wicked judges

wicked keepers of the peace and those sworn to uphold it

who dispense travesties of justice, injustice instead of justice 

who say white is black and black is white

who deny the orphans and widows and fatherless their due rights

who say right is wrong and wrong is right

who do so for filthy lucre

who lay awake on their beds to plan the next snare, pit or trap for the righteous

who sharpen their weapons and rush to shed the blood of innocents

but the Living God sees and knows 

these very same shall be caught in their own snares and traps

shall be pierced by their own weapons

our mentors and teachers teach us it is wrong to question God

but do we not question our mentors, our parents, our friends even?

thus, why not our Heavenly Father who is also our Best Friend, Confidante and Mentor?
we question not in arrogance nor anger but in anguish
we question not in self righteousness (for our righteousness are like filthy rags before the Holy One of Israel)
but in spirit vexed

and thus, in the book of Habakkuk of the Old Testament
answers are found
answers that strengthen and uplift the tired and downtrodden spirit
answers that give hope and tell us not to give up
answers that tell us to wait patiently for the deserved end to fall upon the wicked ... thusly

Simple English http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Habakkuk+1&version=NIV ,  http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Habakkuk+2&version=NIV ,  http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Habakkuk+3&version=NIV

Chapter 1

1	The burden which Habak'kuk the prophet did see.
2	¶ O LORD, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save!
3	Why dost thou show me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention.
4	Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.
The Chaldeans Will Punish Judah
5	¶ Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvelously: for I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you. Acts 13.41
6	For, lo, I raise up the Chalde'ans, 2 Kgs. 24.2 that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land, to possess the dwelling places that are not theirs.
7	They are terrible and dreadful: their judgment and their dignity shall proceed of themselves.
8	Their horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves: and their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their horsemen shall come from far; they shall fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat.
9	They shall come all for violence: their faces shall sup up as the east wind, and they shall gather the captivity as the sand.
10	And they shall scoff at the kings, and the princes shall be a scorn unto them: they shall deride every stronghold; for they shall heap dust, and take it.
11	Then shall his mind change, and he shall pass over, and offend, imputing this his power unto his god.
Habakkuk Remonstrates with the LORD
12	¶ Art thou not from everlasting, O LORD my God, mine Holy One? We shall not die. O LORD, thou hast ordained them for judgment; and, O mighty God, thou hast established them for correction.
13	Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureththe man that is more righteous than he?
14	and makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, that have no ruler over them?
15	They take up all of them with the angle, they catch them in their net, and gather them in their drag: therefore they rejoice and are glad.
16	Therefore they sacrifice unto their net, and burn incense unto their drag; because by them their portion is fat, and their meat plenteous.
17	Shall they therefore empty their net, and not spare continually to slay the nations? Chapter 2 1  I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved. 2  And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. 3  For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. Heb. 10.37  4  Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith. Rom. 1.17 · Gal. 3.11 · Heb. 10.38  5  Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people. Woes on the Unrighteous 6  ¶ Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long? and to him that ladeth himself with thick clay! 7  Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee, and awake that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be for booties unto them? 8  Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all the remnant of the people shall spoil thee; because of men's blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein. 9  ¶ Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil! 10  Thou hast consulted shame to thy house by cutting off many people, and hast sinned againstthy soul. 11  For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it. 12  ¶ Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and establisheth a city by iniquity! 13  Behold, is it not of the LORD of hosts that the people shall labor in the very fire, and the people shall weary themselves for very vanity? 14  For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. Is. 11.9  15  ¶ Woe unto him that giveth his neighbor drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest himdrunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness! 16  Thou art filled with shame for glory: drink thou also, and let thy foreskin be uncovered: the cup of the LORD's right hand shall be turned unto thee, and shameful spewing shall be on thy glory. 17  For the violence of Lebanon shall cover thee, and the spoil of beasts, which made them afraid, because of men's blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein. 18  ¶ What profiteth the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it; the molten image, and a teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusteth therein, to make dumb idols? 19  Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it. 20  ¶ But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.

And so, woe it is ... woe unto the wicked of this land
Your time shall come soon ... it will not be delayed as we understand it
But arrive it shall at the right time

every so often, in bolehsia ... more often than not
we read about or hear of the dismal state of affairs
of our schools and tertiary educational institutions, if one may call them that
and of the civil servants who call themselves teachers
or attempt to pass themselves off as teachers


about employer anecdotes of candidates
who can't string a simple, proper sentence
proper as in grammatically correct
tense, flow, prepositions and we have yet to touch on clauses


a barrel of laughs these surely be
until we personally encounter these
laughter, tears and the desire to pull our hair out by the roots doth arise
but the desire to apply a well aimed heel to the seat of their pants
doth coalesce and make itself more strongly felt
when the proud and arrogant realise not their folly and shortcomings
but continue without shame
'tis no laughing matter indeed
when one hears these poor, unfortunate souls
attempt to communicate in a multinational environment


try these "gems" on for size:
He everyday cycling to around KLIA 
Complete his both Bachelor degrees in 1969


these poor souls have difficulty differentiating prepositions


pathetic products of a corrupt, lustful and greedy government
intent on filling its own pockets with filthy lucre
what better way there be
than the dumbing down of its own?
through no fault of their own
these so called future of the nation have been reduced
nay, continue to be reduced at an alarming rate
to mere jaguh kampung
the abysmal chasm becomes painfully obvious
when these begin to move in circles out of their norm
and champions find themselves chumps and court jesters


how do we apply six years worth of primary schooling grammar
rather, how are these "graduates" to absorb, assimilate and apply
at least four out of six of those years within a month?
the sore ... the cancer ... the disease
is worsened with the poison of apartheid
disseminated via the biro tatanegara vector
systemic discrimination
but i digress, forgive me


this is my firm belief and opinion
lest anyone disagrees
sally forth to disabuse me of this notion
that i may stand corrected
forsooth, the evidence is plain before every malaysian's eyes
thus, the question remains: how do WE address this sorry state of affairs?


'tis inevitable i blur the lines again ...
parents rally against propagandic brainwashing
wot have WE done ... at all?
or are we gonna kick back and see another five decades or more
of OUR future generations and OUR country "graduate"
into some fourth or fifth world country?
are YOU aware of the blatant, sweeping arabisation and islamisation of our schools and children?
whose philosophy?
whose spirituality?
whose God?
who decides? on what basis?
whose cultural elements and beliefs?
don't WE tax-paying malaysian parents get to have a say in these policies?
DIGEST ITEM 17
are WE witnessing the demise of national type schools and OUR schools turned into madrasahs?


what has happened to Pupil's Own Language classes?
regardless of number of respective ethnicities
who gave these the right to take away OUR rights and the rights of OUR children?
thus, the question remains: how do WE address this sorry state of affairs?
wot are OUR elected representatives doing about this?

what if today were my last day alive on earth?
what would i want to do?
what should i do?
how does one put one's affairs in order?
do i have regrets?
should i have regrets?


our passing is something we should never fear nor avoid speaking of
it is inevitable ... 'tis but the manner of our passing that differs one from another
as a result of sin in the garden of Eden, illness and disease; 
the process of aging and dying came upon humankind;
initially created by the Living God for His pleasure


i remind our eldest that i ... we ... will not be around forever for him
there will come a time when he must fend for himself and his siblings
and sure enough, one day he asked, 'why?'
'sin', i explained, 'when adam and eve did not listen to God's instructions, they disobeyed God
as a result of that disobedience, ie sin, every living thing will grow old and die
pain, tears, sorrow, sickness ... a package deal with aging and dying
you have seen and observed how the fish we rear die, how plants wither and die
you have watched nature programs and seen survival of the fittest at work.'


this was not supposed to happen but when disobedience occurred, it came to an end
even so, God loved and continues to love humankind, His creation
so much so, He sent His only son, Jesus Christ, to mend and build a bridge ...
nay, Jesus IS THE bridge through Whom all may return to Him
and have that friendship with Him once again ... to walk and talk with Him 
as we do with one another
to be like carefree children once again


i remind my wife she'd better learn how to gut fish and change tyres
implement family security and manage finances 
be not harebrained nor gullible
do not ever take things for granted
in case our Jesus calls me home before her 


the Lord God Almighty has blessed us tremendously
'miracles' is the only apt word 
that only begins to describe the ways we have been and are blessed
the times we were and continue to be delivered
of a truth i daresay more than we shall ever know 
i believe there is much we wist not ... how much goes on behind the scenes
the grace of Jesus made it possible for me to have a second chance
at life ... at a family ... at a home
beautiful children and a loving wife; falls, scrapes and clinic visits
good times and not so good times; spills, thrills and arguments
labour room & ward, midnight feeds, 2am ... 4am ... 6am feeds
soiled diapers and clothes, baths and dosing of medicines
schooling woes and pretty soon, teenaged woes
there is much to be thankful for


and thus, regrets have i none 
should my Jesus call me home 
i do wish i can see the children grow ... shall miss their smiles and laughter and growing up
shall miss fishin ... and singin for my Jesus
the Sovereign Lord God Almighty has provided for us and taken care of us
protected us, healed us, blessed us, delivered us
what more can or should one ask for?


no regrets .. and i believe none should have regrets when one returns to the Creator
i give thanks when my Jesus calls me home
for i trust and believe my Heavenly Father is able 
and shall continue to care for the family He blessed me with
i give thanks when Jesus does not call me home 
when i awake to a new morn for i shall have another day with friends and family alike
either way is good for i know my Heavenly Father is good and just and righteous in all His ways
merciful and compassionate, ever true and faithful, perfect in every way


thank You, Lord Jesus
i love You and thank You
i surrender to Your grace and mercy O Lord

1st - 6th June 2012 Kenyir
Been too long since we were on a trip and quite a while since i went on a break
Ironically, one invariably needs a break to recover from the break ;)


Set off at 2130hrs Friday night, fetched a friend from Salak South and another from Sea Park, PJ. Had light supper and moved off around 1230hrs Saturday morn. Pit stopped at Esso Selayang and off we go! Slow, easy drive of 90-100km/h most of the way, my first night drive to Kenyir. Still made good time, reached Kuala Berang around 0600-0630hrs. Forgot that downhill part after the Genting/Karak tunnel can sure propel a vehicle ... hit 130km/h as i let the card drag in 5th without any pressure on the accelerator at all ... wot if i'd free geared? :P


Fog filled scenery along the way .. with bug splatters for effect

Hunted around for the correct jetty - it was either the Jenagor or Pengkalan Gawi jetty.

... finally hit paydirt .. with emphasis on dirt as it rained before our arrival. Definitely need a pickup truck to go all the way in. Reversed out and tried looking for a viable spot. Bit of a squeeze as it was narrow, with vegetation on one side and a slope towards the water's edge on the other. Cleared some of the undergrowth and we were good to go.

Let the pix speak for themselves

 Top: one of the water chalets on the way in and Right: In the distance, our abode for the next 4 days

 Left: Scenery a la Mount Fuji and Bottom: Water chalet, dining area, kitchen, quarters and store.

 

  

There were stag beetles that flew, too, but was too busy doing what i've not been doing for too long ... fishin! For the umpteenth time ... what wouldn't i give for a (D)SLR with a decent macro lens.

Lotsa tinfoil barbs (lampam) between the dining common and lounge as well as behind the kitchen ... plenty fun on light tackle 2-6lb scimitar and 500 series symetre loaded with 5lb powerpro, FG-ed with 14lb (similar diameter as the 5lb PP) Vanish fluoro. There were also seluang but these are the biggest i've ever seen and they come with a fishy smell to match their size ... 

iridiscent colours but ... hanyirrrrrrr

sunset

 hooked at 3am ... too sleepy to bother
brought up 7am ... boy, was i surprised, i'd thought it was a juvey catfish (baung) 

too bad it wasn't that big ... sifu took home the bigger fish (caught on my rod, too ... ! :D)

your friendly neighbourhood water monitor ... 

Had a snakehead (haruan) but no camera ... my first ever but NO cam! *sighhhhhhh*

Set up: inshore/15lb FINS/salty fighter/weedless frog

Sifu's friends worked hard baiting lines and checking every 4 hours or so ... one full Coleman to take home loaded with featherbacks, snakeheads, catfish. 

We took only what we caught and a gift fish or two. 

Hope to return with the family come 2013 CNY.