What a weekend...

Hi again people...

Pardon the lapse of updates, have been over-stretched both at work and with family matters.

In spite of that, still managed to squeeze in some 'fun' time over the last weekend..

Friday night was spent with my parents and friends at the Selangor Turf Club's 110th Annual Dinner. (Didn't know they've been around for such a long time) This was quite memorable too as it was my inaugural outing for an event organised by the Turf Club. Was accompanied by a very good friend of mine. On the invite, the theme of the dinner was Black and Gold, As I only had Black and more black, decided to just garb up in my suit and black and silver Armani tie. Haven't worn a tie in nearly a year, feels restrictive initially, then after a while I guess your body just adapts to it.


As the venue of the annual dinner changes from year to year, previously held in mighty fine places, was a bit surprised that they chose to have it at the Berjaya Times Square Hotel... Might look impressively big from the outside but inside certainly doesn't impress. Unless they are going for the modern minimalist look which somehow is at odds with the furniture scheme that they have chosen.

Saturday was another party night... Was invited to a friends birthday party.. Had to rush to the mall closest to where I stay to get a pink t-shirt as that was the theme... It's beyond me why I don't have a pink shirt, perhaps that can be explained in another blog :p

Here's a couple of pics taken from the party.. Great fun, Great company and fantastic drinks.. What more can a guy ask for...

Joyce fixing me a drink

Who would have thought whiskey and green tea makes such a yummy drink :D

The pink parade at party Central!! (and in order of colour intensity too)

And to end the weekend on the perfect note, I received an invite to the launch of the new Ducati 1098 here in Malaysia. The folks at Naza sure know how to parteee... :D, the launch venue was at the Loft Upstairs, located at the Asian Heritage Row in KL. Half on the journey to the Loft, realised that I had left my camera at home.. Nevertheless, some great shots of the event did emerge...

The Ducati 1098s ladies and gentlemen, prices start around the RM140k to RM160k range... I've been told that the allocation of four 1098's for Malaysia has been swiftly taken up. Me and some of the bike forummers in discussion... The other reason why I was there was to catch up on the Nickle & Dime MotoGP at Donington Park.. Have always been a Ducati fan (to some of my mates chagrin) and Casey Stoner makes it look so easy indeed..

Quite an eventful weekend all in all... Had a very good laugh on morning when I read a message that one of the bikers mentioned that their coffee tasted so much better in the exclusive Ducati 1098 mug... Too which I replied, perhaps the 'octane' rating has been increased :D:D:D That certainly made a dreary Monday more enjoyable...

It's nearly the weekend and nothing much planned. Just catching up with the latest movie to hit town... Transformers... Hope it lives up to its hype. Certainly been disappointed with quite a few movies of late.

My apartment...

As an owner of an apartment in a highly sought after location, I've received many calls for rental or even to sell off the unit.. I've now come to a decision that I should rent it out.. Firstly, helps pays the bills and enables me to look for a new car, something I haven't done in the last 8 years. Have been 'roughing' it out in the family hand me down, if using my dad's pride and joy can be considered a hand me down...

Anyway, the apartment is a studio unit in Damansara Perdana, the Penchala Tunnel makes it so easy for residents there to get into the city. The only conundrum I have now is whether I should fully furnish the unit or just do the bare necessities (air-cond, fan, heater and lights), from what I gather, difference between these two options work out to roughly RM300 per month., ie. semi-furnished @ RM750 - RM800 and fully furnished @ RM950 - 1050. Perhaps more enlightened folks can 'advise' me on this..

I've checked my surrounding neighbours and some off the units are already occupied, and they seem like decent people too.. Before I rush off for my workout at the gym, the gang reminded me that they want to do a horse-warming at the unit... Might be a tad small but we shall see how things go... Decisions, decisions, decisions.... oh well, watch this space...

Doing the things we enjoy...

You never achieve real success unless you like what you are doing. ~ Dale Carnegie ~

You know something... It's quite funny sometimes when we look back on what we've achieved in our lives'.. I've always been rather content with what I get in life, quite the laissez f'aire attitude when it comes to the important stuff. But I've now come to release that in order to push yourself beyond the norm, one must do two things, do what you enjoy and ensure you don't get bitten in the you know where, as the journey of life has a habit of doing just that.

In a challenge to myself, I've started making enquiries about getting my bike riding license sorted out.. You see, the Ozzie license that I had expired a while back, so it's back to school for me at least in the bike sense of things anyway. Helpful friends quickly mentioned that there's a driving or rather riding school just beside the Armada Hotel in PJ, currently offering promotions of up to 50% off their normal rates. I'm certainly grabbing the bulls horns' and going ahead. Dunno if they classify me as a born again biker.. rode a fair bit in OZ and since coming back to KL haven't riden since.

That's just one more to come along on the journey of life very soon. And this is also a shout-out to the gang of people that I normally hang around with (you know who you are!), I'm truly honoured to meet all of you, without which life would not be as colourful as I see it to be.

ps. Stay tuned for updates on the bike license episode.. (sounds like tv innit :D)

Hello's and Goodbye's

I guess it's now the season of moving on... on to new jobs and better prospects too as one should hope for. Out of the group of friends that I usually chill with, at least three have moved on to greener pastures and another two more waiting to reel in the hook to land the new job. For those that have moved on, Congratulations may your new position serve to enhance your chosen career. For those of you still looking, don't give up hope, it could just be round the corner.

I on the other hand am quite happy where I am currently, but who knows in a year or two things may change, if the promotions and increments don't come. A colleague that I work closely with has been very close to throwing in the towel.. but has been sweet-talked by all his colleagues to stay on for a while more, seems that winds of change are a-brewing.

Anyhow, one of my favourite bloggers are now on a 17 day hiatus from blogging, but I guess amongst his 'fans' money is being put on the table to see how far he can go without blogging.. As it is, he blogs on a daily basis, so he will no doubt suffer withdrawal symptoms..

Well, time for me to hit the sack, high on medication for my sore back, I'm going to have wonderful dreams in bed.... :) Good night!

The Ups and Downs indeed...

Certainly has been another crazy day, managed to sort out a media interview for my boss for a programme that will make its debut in December this year. Looking forward to that though. That was the up bit...

The down bit... Just came out from the doctors' clinic, had to be given a jab as I may have sprained my back in my haste to start yoga classes after a long pause. So people, please limber up and warm up through stretches before attempting not only yoga but the myriad of classes available at your local gym. I was a bit stubborn and waited a couple of days but the pain sort of became worse after this evenings class, so rushed to the clinic to be checked out by the doctor.

At least I have the weekend to look forward to, even if its a couple of days away. Perhaps a trip to the masseur is in order as I've not visited one for quite a while now. A friend even has his regular masseur make house calls (nothing seedy, just honest stuff) at a reasonable price..

Oh well, better get some zzzz's now, the medication is starting to kick in.... Have a great day ahead!

The BMW 3 Series Convertible that Could Save your Life!

For guys that have been in sticky situations ;)

Common Courtesy and Discipline - Where is it these days??

Of late, I've been noticing a worrying trend.. One that almost all of you would have heard off too, I guess. If you haven't, let me just run through this anyway. The days of the younger generation respecting their elders and treating each other with common courtesy is slowly drawing to a close.. that is if nothing is done about it.

Picture this, in a premiere high-end mall in the city, parents with 3 kids in tow.. yelling and screaming their guts out. Not only is it distracting the shoppers but shows that the kids haven't been brought up well. Quite certain that my parents would have had given a couple of strokes of the 'rotan' or a good telling off. The next prime example is how kids behave in a car, as witnessed by me and a very good buddy of mine over the past weekend when we were on the way up to Genting Highlands.. Scenario: Parents seated at front.. three 'hooligans' frolicking and playing about in a moving car and in a couple of instances throwing out litter onto the road.Well, it doesn't take a genius to tell you or them (if they had their brains screwed on properly) that in an accident, the kids at the back would indeed become deadly projectiles and could very well be killed in an accident. No surprise here, since the enforcement of rear safetybelt usage is virtually non-existent. Back in the days when I was a kid (sounding very old aren't I) kids travelling in a car were expected to sit down and behave instead of becoming like monkeys jumping about.. Oh well, one can still hope for things to improve.

On another note, had the perfect weekend with friends and a quick getaway to Genting for the Jazz festival, watching the MotoGP race where Casey Stoner probably rode the race of his life to win against rival Valentino Rossi and ending up with the French Open which saw Rafael Nadal becoming the 2nd person to win the tournament 3 times running. Good stuff indeed, oh well back to the crazy work week ahead.. Have a great one y'all!

Yoga and Pilates... Do guys get it?

After a long conversation with a very good buddy of mine recently. I finally decided to take up the challenge of entering the yoga as well as the pilates classes at the gym that I frequent in Hartamas.

Whilst I have been doing every other exercise routine under the sun to ensure that I don't get back the 'flab' that I had lost, these two particular workouts have always been the last choice for me when it comes to gym workouts.

As it is now, after the sessions that I've attended, especially the Hatha Yoga class last night. The resulting after effects... I'm quite sore all over, a testament that even though with my regular workouts, muscles were not being worked out to their maximum capabilities...

Had a quick lunch at KLCC and went looking around for some liniment to soothe the aches... Guess with more regular classes, I should be more limber.. Ever the enthusiast, I even took the monthly schedule so that I know what's happening next.. Stay tuned to see how things progress over the next couple of month..

Have a good weekend people!

Of Gyms and PT's...

It's coming up to that time of year where I have to make a decision as to which gym I will choose for my regular workouts. These days it has been a fantastic destressing and releasing whatever tensions you may have had through your work day. Conversation from the marketing department at True Fitness is rather hilarious... Example below:

TF Guy: Er... Good morning, could i speak to Mr Chew please?
Me: Yes, this is Mr Chew speaking, how may I help you?
TF Guy: Er.. Mr Chew, from our records it shows that you membership with us is due to expire
at the end of next month.
Me: Yeah so...
TF Guy: We've got some promotional packages which we think you are well suited for.
Me: How much does this cost me? And do I have to sign up for another 2 years?
TF Guy: Why don't you just give a call before you come for you next workout, we can discuss this further. My name's Larry and I can be contacted at 012-xxxxxxx
Me: Ok, thanks.

Obviously, they are now in a mega-marketing mode as they can leverage on the opening of their latest gym at Jaya33 in Petaling Jaya, supposed to be the largest True Fitness gym in Malaysia and even comes with a 30 metre swimming pool. Before all the launch hype and knowing certain other factors, I was ever so gung ho to continue and perhaps pay a couple of extra bucks per month to enjoy their 'passport' facility, however that is now not enough to tempt me to continue my membership with them.

Especially more so, with my favourite RPM instructor (nut you know who you are :D) leaving the TF establishment at the end of this month sort of made the decision a wee bit easier for me. After all, whilst TF is considered newer, it's Fitness First has been around longer and has more gyms in Malaysia and the rest of the world, something not to be sneezed at..

Now, just need to unfreeze my membership there and all's set. After the recent 1 month hiatus from the gym due to a bronchitis attack, I've been working extra hard to ensure that I loose the 'gains' during the period of inactivity. Though not much, makes me feel a bit pudgy and built up more muscle mass and tone up further.. Irony of this all was that just before the down time, I was getting into the swing of things and looking rather buffed if I may say so myself. First day of going back to the gym, I could hardly lift the weights that I had trained at and had to start 'small weights' again... So embarassing... Oh well, salut and a toast to the future, with a hope that by December we shall see improvements to myself.

Well, the start of another is just beginning people.. Make the most of your day and have a great one!

The Boonster - A Born Again Biker?

Hmm... It certainly has been on the mind of late people.... Probably need to take another crash course in advanced riding skills.. I know some off you will probably say that it's like riding a bicycle, once you get the hang of it, it will be stuck with you for the rest of your life. Couldn't agree more, except that I didn't convert my Australian Bike and Driving License into the local equivalent...

This of course has since expired, perhaps I can get it renewed when I head Down Under in September, anyone of you has a clue on this, assistance certainly welcomed. For those that didn't know, I started off riding a 'small' Kwak ZZR250 then progressed onto more challenging bikes as the years went on, last bike I rode in OZ before coming back to KL was the Ducati Monster 900, it's such an iconic bike that just draws attention to itself and its owner of course :) Thankfully the 'Duke' that I had was fairly reliable and so long as the maintenance schedule was followed as per factory recommendation I had no issues with it. To be honest the only 'problem' during my ownership of the bike was a flat battery, which was subsequently traced to some faulty wiring. After changing the wiring loom, the 'duke' was a happy camper once again.

Being the 'kiasu' Duke owner, I had matching Ducati leathers which were made by the renowned bike gear brand, Dainese. Unfortunately, the photo of me and the bike went sayonara when my PC got struck by lightning just before CNY this year and I can't even upload any photo at the moment as I suspect that there maybe a bug with blogger... GRRR, perhaps I shall upload later in the evening..

Met a fellow biker buddy a few nights ago... Over our meal of banana leaf rice and chapati at Nirvana in Bangsar, he encouraged me to get back in biking.. Cheap bikes abound it seems, I somehow agree, but probably after I get my apartment sorted as that has been where a huge sum of time and money has been invested on. I for one certainly miss the long rides on the twisties and exploring new places on two wheels, something about which is just so 'humbling' and overwhelms the senses.

Well, further updates on this soon... In the meantime, I've to prepare for the start of my workday.. Wish I could stay home... it's raining! :sigh:

The Value of A Friendship

The language of Friendship is not words, but meanings. It is an intelligence above language.
— Henry David Thoreau


Was sort off scratching my head on what my next blog topic should be on then it dawned on me that I should write something on friends and lasting friendships.

Off late, have been witness to some friend whom have had to either end friendship with their friends. Some were recent friends and some were like childhood friends etc.. Well, you get the drift don't you...




Well, friendship as much like being in a relationship has worked wonders for me.. Without which I wouldn't have met wonderful people like Eric, Marcus, Su Ann, Catherine and Edmund... this list could go on and on but decided to keep it short and simple.. To those of you whom are not in this list don't fret as you are in my list too, just that if I put everyones' name in I'm pretty sure that blogger will come after me.. :p

It just amazes me to no end at all that people that you think you know are the ones that somehow sting you with scathing criticism in whatever you do. Whereas, the ones that stay in the distance are the ones that see you for who you are and tell you things like it is, no sugar coating whatsoever, straight to the point..

In this new century, The World Wide web has made it so much easier to find friends in parts of the planet that we've never been to.. and still get acquainted with them. Just shows how small we are compared to the greater scheme of things.

A wise friend once said, To make friendships work, it takes two to tango. Much like a one hand clap makes no noise. I don't think I would be able to last too long in a one-way friendship... It would just be too taxing and probably kill me... not literally of course... I guess the piscean trait in me makes me value my friends dearly. I'm sure those that know me would agree on that fact.

Anyhow, gotta scoot off into bed, it's nearly 2am and I've an early day at work tomorrow. Don't think I've any spare time to blog so might as well make use of spare time to create a blog... Comments are welcome...

Greetings and Salutations!

Hi there people...

My 'virgin' blog on blogspot... Had to put something in as people thought I had no better stuff to write about... More coming your way real soon... Just chill and be a little patient :p After all, good things come to people who wait....

By order..

The Boonster