The French Open

Who will be the King and the Queen of the French Open for this year? Can Federer capture the title? Will Henin be let down by stomach cramps this time? I don't know but if you ask me, my money is on Federer and Henin to capture the respective titles.















Latest : Nadal took the French Open crown!
Latest : The new French Open Queen is Justine! (felicitations my dear!)

Lowering Cholesterol Level

When you have reached that age when you can't throw caution to the wind and eat anything you like, you start looking for solutions to your very serious problem of having a high cholesterol level. When I say 'high cholesterol level problem' I mean having a Total Cholesterol level which is greater than 5.2, having an HDL level which is less than 1.5 and the LDL level being greater than 3.4.

Any doctor worth his salt will tell you these readings are not good and that they would belong to someone who doesn't exercise, who smokes heavily and drinks (alcohol) a lot. I do not fit into this description yet I have the same readings. Final conclusion, hereditary problem. Both my parents had suffered from 'stroke'. So what should I do? I tried drugs to solve the problem and ended up with more problems from the side effects.

Now it's back to basics. Control the type of food that goes into the body, which means reducing the intake of oily or fried food. Continue the exercise program and try not to get injured in the process and finally take the secret recipe for lowering the cholesterol level! What is the secret recipe? Very simple and very affordable.

1. 1-2 cap of Red Yeast Rice 3 times a day before food.
2. Squeeze half a lime into a glass and if half a lime doesn't produce enough juice, use the whole lime like I do. Add a pinch of salt to adjust the PH factor. Add 1 tablespoon (teaspoon if too sweet) of honey, add water, stir ('but not shaken'- for the Bond types) and throw down the hatch every morning on an empty stomach. This is what I am doing. Does it work? Ask me in 3 months' time when I go for my blood test. heh heh..

Cheers mate!

SUKMA

SUKMA short for 'Sukan Malaysia' (Malaysian Games) has kicked off as of today in my fair city. I will be posting pictures of the various events from time to time as this event will go on until the 4th of June. Below are some pics showing the torch run and the official lighting of the torch in Alor Star.

The torch being lit, to be sent to Alor Star, the main venue for the games.


The torch bearer with his 'body guards'!


The man standing beside the mascot(the 'eagle') is my friend.




The Lawn Bowling event has started. Below are two pics of the ladies in action.

Happy Mother's Day

I would like to wish all mothers who pass by this way a Happy Mother's Day. Below is a poem especially for you :

A Villanelle for Mother's Day

A villanelle for Mother's Day
Should take me just about an hour:
Writing it is child's play.

Because I know just what to say,
And rhyming's quite within my power,
To write it should be child's play.

Yet plain speech is not my way:
I look for leaves to shade my flower,
This villanelle for Mother's Day.

I do not wish to sound too fey,
Obscure, mystic, gushy, sour--
Arggh! Writing's never child's play!

Yes, childish! To my dismay,
Far beyond the allotted hour,
This villanelle for Mother's Day

Dawdles on. Let me just say
It plain: I love you, and so end our
Villanelle for Mother's Day.
(Well … writing it was child's play.)

- Nicholas Gordon

The Misery Of Rain

In this corner of the world we don't get snow. We have sunshine and rain, rain, rain and more rain. Of late it has been raining almost everyday.

Rain is not a bad thing. The padi farmers wait for it during the planting season. The problem for us tennis players is that it rains from 4.00pm till sunset and sometimes into the night. This week two of the tennis appointments were washed out by the rain.


This isn't one of our courts but the situation is the same.






I can't blame the weather though. Maybe it has something to do with one of our members. This lady player is also learning to dance the cha-cha, waltz, fox-trot and maybe the salsa too. I suspect she got her steps all mixed up and was actually doing the rain dance. My suspicions will be confirmed if it doesn't rain in the coming days because she will be away. But that's just my theory.

By the time she reads this blog she will be far away and I will be safe...for awhile.. heh heh..

I Wish

I wish I will have enough money to travel and see places. I have always been fascinated by distant lands, their people, their culture, their structures - both natural and man-made. I used to watch Lonely Planet and now Globe Trekker and envied all those young people who get to go to various countries and see and experience so many different things.

If given the chance I would like to go and see the places in the pictures that are shown below but not necessarily in their order of appearance. Some people will tell me to dream on but this is my wish and yes, my dream.

Exercise anyone?

I decided to post some pics of the park where I go for my morning walks. It is called "Taman Jubli Perak"(Silver Jublee Park). This park attracts a lot of people both in the mornings and in the evenings. We have the very young and the very old, and the very healthy and the not so healthy and everyone else who just want to sweat it out in the fresh air.

You have one large group of line dancers who start early in the morning. Near this group you have a group of 'old timers' doing the 'chi kung'. In the same area is another group doing some aerobic exercises led by an energetic young lady.

In the middle of the park are our yoga enthusiasts who get together only on Saturdays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. On the other side of the park are the really old timers who stand around swinging their arms with some small movement of the legs. We also have a group doing the'Tai chi' near the monument. The rest either walk or jog along the track or around Hole 2 & 3 of the Royal Kedah Club Golf Course which is nearby.

Below are some of the pics I took with my H/P during my early morning walk :



The jogging track.
















That circle of stones is
for reflexology.













Resting place for the willing spirit
but weak flesh ...















Slide for the young ones..













Can't tell the tree
from the parasite..














The people with the yellow
t-shirts are the line dancers.
The group in the front
is doing the 'chi kung'.











The 'tai-chi' group
doing their thing
near the monument.













The all important 'LOO' ..
no credit cards, only cash.













Hole3, RKC Golf Course













Car Park area. On the left
is the park and on the
right is the golf course.

Another Setback

Just when I was enjoying myself with my early morning walks and the tennis in the evenings disaster struck. I had arranged for a game of doubles at 5.30pm. We had to finish the game by 6.30pm as my wife and I had to attend a dinner at 7.30pm. Everything was going smoothly. My wife and I won the first set. During the second set I was at the net trying to poach when the calf muscle of my left leg gave way. I think they are called 'gastrocnemis' and 'soleus'.


I couldn't move as any slight movement caused pain at the calf. The muscles there were tightening. That was the end of the game for me. Fortunately there was a lady tennis player who was warming up at the retaining wall. She gladly took my place. I was carried out of the court. I was also 'carried' to the car by my wife and my lady opponent who is also a good friend.

Went home and applied a cold pack at the wounded part. Nothing else to do. Now using crutches to move around. I found this pic showing how to treat an injured calf muscle.

Missed the dinner. This means at least two weeks of rest. The orthopaedic surgeon (who was one of my opponents-the other was an orthodontist) said the key word is rest. That settles it. Back to the keyboard and the tv remote. Maybe by two weeks my fingers and arms will be stronger. heh heh..

RM 4.4 billion

Our Prime Minister has asked the people not to dispute the decision to use the RM4.4 billion raised through savings from the reduction in fuel subsidies to improve the public transport system. I wonder who is the idiot who wanted to dispute that? The world is full of idiots.

But anyway, the recent spate of demostration that was not reported in the media was about the reduction of the fuel subsidies and the glaring non-transparency in the funds from our petroleum company - Petronas and not about how the RM4.4 billion was going to be used. We do not have enough information about the dealings in Petronas and where the money earned from our natural resources goes to or goes to whom!

Most Malaysians were happy to hear that statement from the Prime Minister when he said the money will be used to improve the public transport system. Our public transport system sucks. In my city I don't think we even have one. We do have some buses plying certain routes and if the bus driver likes you he might stop....heh heh.. just kidding. We don't really have an efficient transport system like the Singaporeans . As long as we have touts we don't have a system. The proposal by the PM is in the planning stage. If he doesn't oversee this baby I am very sure it will go 'kaput'.

When the PM said public transport system I am sure he meant for the whole country. I fear the sharks have already prepared beautiful working papers of how to improve the transport sytem in Bertam, Putrajaya and the Klang valley for RM4.4 billion! At this stage they can even prove how every cent is spent. The beautiful part of it all is you don't even know who they are but they have access to the Prime Minister's department!

I bet we will see some new bus companies run by Bumiputras under this plan, some new flyovers for the Works ministry to foul up in their construction and plenty of rural roads in Kelantan for the next election. The Indians in the estates can go and watch their favourite movies arranged by their minister. Life goes on.

City of Alor Star

Alor Star is the capital of the state of Kedah which is in Malaysia. It is located in the northern part of peninsular Malaysia nearer to Thailand as can be seen in the map below :

Here are some photos of Alor Star city.

A Minor Setback

As usual, my wife and I went to the club at 5.00pm for our tennis game. We had already arranged with the other pair to meet at the club at the appointed time. When we made the arrangements the weather was beautiful. Beautiful for our tennis players means a cloudy day.
When we arrived at the courts the weather had changed. The clouds had decided to move toThailand or somewhere far away from us. It was blazing hot but that didn't deter us from having our game. It was probably the heat that made me forget to warm up and do some stretches before starting the game.

Everything was fine until the second set. I was going forwards to retrieve a drop-shot from our opponent when I felt a sharp pain in the back of my thigh. It was probably the ham strings just below the biceps femoris. That was the end of the game for me. Fortunately for the remaining three players there was somebody at the pavilion to replace me. I slowly hobbled to the pavilion and watched the rest of the game from there.

When I reached home that evening I applied a cold pack on the wounded part to control the swelling and the expected internal bleeding. I guess it will be at least a week before I can do any physical activity.

There goes my tennis and my plans to resume golf! What a bummer! The magic word now is RECUPERATE. Rest and let the body heal itself or maybe I can go to the swimming pool and just use my arms to move around... heh heh..

An Old Lady's Poem

Received this poem by email. Supposed to have been written by an old Scottish lady who died all alone in a hospital near Dundee, Scotland. Such a beautiful and meaningful poem. I just had to post it so that those who pass this way can read it.


CRABBY OLD WOMAN
What do you see, nurses?
What do you see?
What are you thinking
When you're looking at me?

A crabby old woman,
Not very wise,
Uncertain of habit,
With faraway eyes?
Who dribbles her food
And makes no reply
When you say in a loud voice,
"I do wish you'd try!"

Who seems not to notice
The things that you do,
And forever is losing
A stocking or shoe?

Who, resisting or not,
Lets you do as you will,
With bathing and feeding,
The long day to fill?

Is that what you're thinking?
Is that what you see?
Then open your eyes, nurse,
You're not looking at me.

I'll tell you who I am
As I sit here so still,
As I do at your bidding,
As I eat at your will.

I'm a small child of ten
With a father and mother,
Brothers and sisters,
Who love one another.

A young girl of sixteen
With wings on her feet
Dreaming that soon now
A lover she'll meet.
A bride soon at twenty,
My heart gives a leap,
Remembering the vows
That I promised to keep.
At twenty-five now,
I have young of my own,
Who need me to guide
And a secure happy home.

A woman of thirty,
My young now grown fast,
Bound to each other
With ties that should last.

At forty, my young sons
Have grown and are gone,
But my man's beside me
To see I don't mourn.

At fifty once more,
Babies play round my knee,
Again we know children,
My loved one and me.

Dark days are upon me,
My husband is dead,
I look at the future,
I shudder with dread.

For my young are all rearing
Young of their own,
And I think of the years
And the love that I've known.

I'm now an old woman
And nature is cruel;
'Tis jest to make old age
Look like a fool.

The body, it crumbles,
Grace and vigor depart,
There is now a stone
Where I once had a heart.

But inside this old carcass
A young girl still dwells,
And now and again,
My battered heart swells.

I remember the joys,
I remember the pain,
And I'm loving and living
Life over again.

I think of the years
All too few, gone too fast,
And accept the stark fact
That nothing can last.

So open your eyes, people,
Open and see,
Not a crabby old woman;
Look closer . . . see ME!!

Remember this poem when you next meet an old person who you might brush aside without looking at the young soul within . ... .. we will all, one day, be there, too!

Freedom Of Expression

The recent blunder by some Danes in drawing caricatures of the Prophet Muhammed shows very clearly the great divide between Westerners and the rest of the world. They are too concerned with the individual's rights to freedom of expression to the extent they forget about the feeling of others especially regarding religious beliefs.

They ridicule anything and anyone as can be seen in the sit-coms or talk shows where the politicians of their country become the targets. When you start ridiculing religions in the name of freedom of expression you are treading dangerous ground. The Danes have found that out the hard way. Many of them will be wondering if it is safe to go on tours under these circumstances. Although many of them do not agree with the culprits who started this problem, they are undoubtedly affected by this whole episode.

The whole world should learn an important lesson from all this. We need to have mutual respect for each others beliefs. Malaysians know this and we have lived peacefully because we respect each others cultures and religious beliefs. Lets hope that this silly incident will in no way destroy what we have in Malaysia. There is a disturbing trend from some people who come back from the Middle East or Pakistan after studying there and suddenly show very little tolerence towards other races or other religions than their own. The Arabs have their own culture. The Pakistanis have their own culture. We don't need to follow them as we have our own and it is beautiful. Let us show the world how to live peacefully in diversity. We have managed so far and we can still do it for many more decades.

I Am A Christian

A good friend forwarded this to me and I found it to be so true. Many of us will be able to identify with these statements.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not shouting "I'm clean livin'.
" I'm whispering "I was lost,
Now I'm found and forgiven.

" When I say... "I am a Christian"
I don't speak of this with pride.
I'm confessing that I stumble
And need Christ to be my guide.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not trying to be strong.
I'm professing that I'm weak
And need His strength to carry on.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not bragging of success.
I'm admitting I have failed
And need God to clean my mess.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not claiming to be perfect,
My flaws are far too visible
But, God believes I am worth it.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I still feel the sting of pain.
I have my share of heartaches
So I call upon His name.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not holier than thou,
I'm just a simple sinner
Who received God's good grace, somehow!

Sci Fi Movies

It's been along time since I wanted to comment on this topic. I don't have any friends who are really interested in science fiction movies. Most go and see the movies because of the ratings given and the fantastic marketing carried out to boost the movie into box office hits and ofcourse the special effects for which Holywood is very well known. I get very dissapointed with many of them because of the glaring lack of details. Even after spending millions the story line is weak. Take for example the Alien. They conjured up a powerful creature that has two mouths with a lot of teeth. Obviously this is related to whatever strange thing it eats. It could be at the top of its food chain.

It has what looks like legs and sometimes looks like tentacles. It lives deep in the ground and the mother alien lays the eggs much like our queen bee. So how did the science officer come to the conclusion that the alien will impregnate our heroine and lay its eggs inside her so that he can then smuggle the eggs inside the heroine back to earth without being detected by the immigration authorities back on earth. What gave him the idea that this creature will consider an earthly female as a good place to lay its eggs? Did you see the size of the alien queen when it was busy laying eggs. Earthlings do not fit into their biological environment.

Another thing which bothers me is what do they eat. What is their staple diet? Surely not humans. They are from a different zone altogether. The humans happen to invade their space and got eaten up. Obviously they are not the staple diet. So what is it? What kind of creatures roam this bleak space station? They have to be in large numbers, large enough to support all the aliens. Surely not cockroaches or rats ... blank blank blank...

And when our human mercenaries go to battle these aliens whose fluids are so acidic they can burn a hole in the floor of the spacecraft several floors, what do they wear ... t-shirts or singlets to show off their biceps, triceps or in certain cases boobs. What a bummer.

They deserve to die and the aliens should go on with their orderly egg laying lifestyle. Long live the aliens, heh heh..

Transition

Transition is defined as the act of passing from one state or place to the next. For the Christian our life here is a transitional state. We are actually on a journey to a better place. Transition is also defined as an event that results in a transformation. Exactly what we belive in. We will be transformed into a state where there is no pain, no suffering and no agony which are all associated with life here on earth.

Why am I writing about this. I just attended a wake last Tuesday. A good friend of mine (52yrs old) passed away. She died of cancer. Towards the end of her life she was in great pain as the cancer had gone to the bones. The pain killers were of no help. I believe she is now in a wonderful place where there is no pain or suffering. For those of us who believe there is life after death, this is what we believe in. We don't need proof, we only believe and have faith.

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Heb 11:1

"In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." Jhn 14:2-3

Death is inevitable. We do feel sad when someone close to us dies. We just take comfort that for them a new life has begun. Life goes on for the living. We need to prioritise and spend more time on the things that are important to us. As you can see I did not mention what the important things are as everyone has their own list of what is important. One man's meat is another man's poison. To each his own. Take care and God Bless.

New Year Resolutions

Well, Christmas has come and gone. Now it is suddenly the year 2006! Everything happened so fast, what with the flood and all. Next thing you know people are talking about new year resolutions.  It's the same story every year. As for me I have stopped making new year resolutions. I've come to the point in my life where I don't need to wait for the end of the year to make resolutions as to what I am going to do the following year. If I want something done I will go ahead and get it done. Life has been much better since.

     I read somewhere that procrastination is the thief of time. How true. We go through life telling ourself that we will do it tomorrow or next week or next month and before you know it, it is next year and we still haven't done what we planned to do. Then we go and make more resolutions.Making resolutions is not a bad thing in itself. It serves it's purpose when you fulfill your promises.

     Then there are those who set unreachable targets. They look at themselves in the mirror and make a resolution to lose 50kg in the next month so they can look like Brad Pitt or someone like him. It is possible to lose a few kilograms through exercise and dieting but set a reasonable target. You will never look like Brad Pitt. There is only one like him. Be your self and most importantly be happy with your body. The important thing is to be healthy and fit and you will look good. And one more thing, don't forget to smile as it radiates the beauty within your inner self.

     As Christians we have the peace and joy that is ours through Christ Jesus.  It helps us through trials and tribulations and we learn to accept our self as we are even as God has loved us the way we are. Now we can only improve and get better. Incidentally our neighbourhood is waiting for rain to wash away the mud from the flood. The strong smell from the mud is still hanging around. As we are living in the tropics the rain will come. It is just a matter of time. A friend sent me this new year greeting and I would like to share it with whoever visits my blog :

Faith makes things possible;
Hope makes things work;
Love makes things beautiful;
May you have all three to begin the new year;
Happy New Year.