jon+mah

A little help needed.

2012-01-27T10:09:00.001+08:00

Just a little help needed from you visitors out there. Funding for a wedding can be extremely pricey in today's inflated environment. People say it's only once in a life time so just go for it. However; both of us would like to shave the cost as much as possible as they're more important things to spend the money on. Hence this is one of the ways we're figuring out how.

We would be really grateful if you could take 2 minutes off your time to click on the picture above. It will open up in a new window. All we ask is for you to 'Like' the picture on the page you see.

Through that we're one step closer in getting the church all nicely decked up for the big day. It'll be a great help to us in funding for our special day.

Thanking you in advance. You've been a part of making the big day a memorable day for the both of us!

Save the date:: Su Ann & Jonathan

2012-01-26T22:47:00.001+08:00

Well well; looks like it was easier than I thought. Remember from the previous post I mentioned that me and darling had a little project that we were working on?

Guess what? It's finally completed. I initially tried to do it on iMovie but it was driving me nuts as I couldn't do what I wanted it to do so I moved over to Adobe Premiere Pro. However I was too lazy to go decipher the complexity of it all. Hence I managed to squeeze what I can out of iMovie.

Don't worry the next project I have in mind; I've more time to go mess around with Adobe Premiere.

Enough with the talking; ladies and gentlemen I present to you the official 'save the date' video for our wedding. Home made and 100% conceptualized and executed by the both of us. Enjoy!

*Disclaimer

(This isn't the official invitation yea? Close friends of ours; you'll get yours in the mail soon)

In the works...

2012-01-19T22:58:00.004+08:00

Sorry for the lack in updates in the new year. Been really busy through out weekends this year. Had a death in the extended family a couple weeks back as well as been busy preparing for the wedding. Mostly a lot of artwork and designing for our wedding invitations.

We've gotten the design down already and both darling and I are happy with it since we came up with the concept and I got on the computer to put everything together. It gives you a sense of accomplishment and originality when you know you're designing your own wedding invitations.

But what's with all the brick buildings you might ask?

Well that's a surprise. It's a little project darling and I have been working on for the past 2 or 3 months for the wedding. We're about 70% done and still in the midst of putting it together. Hopefully we'll let you guys in on the project after Chinese New Year if I can get it done during the break.

But guess what? Malaysia being Malaysia we have another 2 more public holidays coming up next week! It also signals the 3 continuous weeks where I'm gonna get at least a day off every week due to public holidays.

Gosh I love Malaysia. But its so detrimental for office productivity.

Dear Me...

2011-12-31T10:00:00.000+08:00

Dear Me;

You might be wondering how 2011 is going to be for you? Well let me say a lot of 'FIRST' will be accomplished this year without a doubt. Many important decisions will have to be made and important life choices as well. But none the less it would be another year where you see first hand God's blessings in your life.

By the way Manchester United DOES over take Liverpool in the over all premiership standings. YES THEY WON THEIR 19th title!

Job wise it'll be a challenge as you'll go through many frustrating moments at the work place; but hang in there always remind yourself that God puts you where He wants you. When it's time for a change God will make a way. You'll complete your Management Trainee program and get a fat incentive at the end that will come in handy in the future.

What other firsts?

Will it'll be the first for a few in terms of travel. You'll be visiting Chiang Mai, Bangkok and Phnom Penh for the first time. Unfortunately; Singapore still continue to eludes you. I'll figure out how to get that sorted out soon. Chiang Mai and Bangkok would be more for pleasure but Phnom Penh will be a different story all together.

Why is Phnom Penh so different? Well it'll be your / our first mission trip EVER! Excited? Well a word of advice; prepare yourself early (mentally that is) and God will show you a whole new view of looking at things. It won't be the most comfortable of trips but it will be worth going as you'll be able to spend some intimate time with God and He'll show you a whole lot of stuff that will blow your mind.

But I've saved the best for last; what's the biggest piece of 'FIRSTS' news you'll do this year? Well it's the first and the last time you'll do it. Remember how you always planned to get married when you're 27 or 28? Well you pushed the time line a little closer. You'll know that the time is right after praying about it for countless months. You'll realise that Su Ann is the one and there isn't anyone else who's going to come close. God has already put her in your life for a reason and you'll get a clear cut answer from Him that it's time to take the relationship to a different level. Yes you got me right. You're gonna get ENGAGED! Yes sometime in March; is when you'll pop the question to her in the most unlikely scenarios and places. There's gonna be some odd coincidences during that day but I'll leave that for another day.

The preparation you're gonna need to do is intense. Finding the perfect ring isn't even half of it. The most daunting would be getting the guts to ask mom and dad for their blessings. The daunting part is asking her parents for their blessings. But don't worry God has His way in this. The wedding prep and planning will be fun so enjoy every moment of it.

You'll also buy your first apartment; a big investment I know but God will bless you immensely so there's nothing to worry about.

What will 2012 bring you? I don't know yet. It hasn't happened yet as I'm writing this. However I trust that when we celebrate our 26th birthday tomorrow; we're going to give thanks to God for the 25 years that have passed and commit the upcoming year to God's hands. It's exactly 6 months to our wedding and prep for that is gonna come hard and fast. But it's gonna be an exciting year when we're finally marrying the girl of our dreams!

So live 2011 to the fullest; spend more time with family as Joanna will be leaving for London. Take extremly good care of Su Ann as there will be an incident in February that will make you treasure here even more and most importantly always ALWAYS keep God closest in your heart. He'll never let you down ever.

Enjoy!

Yours truly;

Jonathan.

Happy New Year!

God's Christmas present to me...

2011-12-29T11:42:00.001+08:00

Before heading off to Cambodia, I had no clue what to expect. I did pray that God would prepare my heart to be open to accept the conditions there and to guide me as I prepared for my Christmas message for the folks in Phnom Penh. Like I shared with my team; I took it of more as a field trip. What I had in mind was; "Okay we're heading to Cambodia for Christmas; I'm speaking on Christmas morning and all will be find and dandy".

I guess God had other plans in mind. I knew there was a reason why God wanted me to go to Cambodia over Christmas ever since Kit and Soke Yuen invited me along to be part of the team; that was back in August. However; since then I could never put my finger on the reason why. All along I thought it was something I could contribute to the team or some skill that I had that could benefit the people who were in Phnom Penh. But it was totally selfish of me to think that. I never thought of the possibility that it was the Cambodian people who had a lesson to teach me. A lesson I will soon learn the hard way.

The first two days were rough. I was totally taken out of my comfort zone. All my luxuries all my comforts were thrown out the window. My amenities were stripped down to a bare minimum; enough to survive but with minimal comfort to what I'm used to.

At this point all I could do was to rely on God to get me through. It was not the easiest thing in the world but I could hear God's still subtle voice telling me to trust Him and there was a greater reason why He wanted me on the trip. Slowly but surely I began to ease up and get into the groove of things in Phnom Penh.

Through the inductions conducted by Brenda; I soon began to realize that Cambodia is a nation in the dark desperately seeking the light of God. The atrocities committed during the reign of the Khmer Rouge tore a nation apart. It separated families, friends and most dreadfully separated the Cambodia people from God. Christianity in the 1960's were beginning to show signs of revival in Cambodia. But during the reign of Pol Pot and his cadres; it forced hundreds if not thousands of foreigners to flee Cambodia to neighboring countries for the fear of their lives. These included missionaries as well; effectively reducing the support Christians in Cambodia had from their spiritual mentors.

The stories told from the walls of the Tuol Seng Genocide Museum describes a nation thrown into the darkest pits of hell. Over a period of 4 years 2 to3 million Cambodian's were executed mercilessly at the whim of suspicions. The madness got out of control that cadres began turning against themselves. It is said that those executed were less than the total number with a majority of them perishing due to illnesses and starvation while in detention. Through out that period it is believed that 20-30% of Cambodia's population were wiped out.

The mugshots of the victims put on display at the museum tell a chilling tail of how a nation fell away from God. Only these pictures remain of the victims to give a hint of recognition to the individuals who fell victim to this evil regime. There is no way to identify bones belonging to any individual as they have been scattered and buried in mass graves all around the outskirts of Phnom Penh.

The picture above tells a grim story of how prisoners were barb wired in to prevent them from committing suicide by jumping off higher floors. The mental torture of the victims far exceeded the pain of the physical torture endured.

After my introduction to Cambodian history; I began to realize that the reason for being here was that God could teach me a few lessons in life that I've conveniently forgotten. I got the opportunity to listen to the testimonies from the student's staying at the Bethany Home in Phnom Penh. To see their faith and the joy they receive from Christ overwhelming their own personal struggles with the world and family puts me to shame.

The Takeo Market

Cambodian Baguette's

The Church in Takeo.

The team enjoying their Grilled Stuffed Frogs

Through out the stay there it began to dawn on me the reason why God wanted me there. My relationship with Him has grown rather monotonous. Being caught up with work, house issues and wedding planning I've began spending less time with God. I've gotten caught up with the world and this was God's way of pulling me back to Him.

This has got to be the sweetest brother and sister I've seen. He takes very good care of his sister making sure she's never more than an arm's length away and they are both incredibly polite.

Witnessing how much joy these little kids have in the Lord reminded me of Matthew 18:3; 'Truly I tell you unless you change and become like little children; you will never enter the kingdom of God'.

The simple faith that I've been lacking all this while was made known to me by God through out this trip.

Sombart's cute daughter.

Students from the Bethany Home

There's an interesting tale about this guy. I can't really remember his name but then I mentored him and prayed for him during the English lessons. On the final night of our trip he came up to me shook my hand and thanked me for praying for him.

As I returned home; a sense of greater appreciation enveloped my senses. I felt ashamed of myself. Ashamed that even though I constantly uttered with my lips that I was grateful to God for His blessings; deep down inside I didn't mean it. I was too caught up with issues of the world trying to do everything by my own strength but I failed to give credit to the Almighty One who has been silently behind the scenes making everything happen for me.

This Christmas; I discovered that God wants me closer to Him and to be thankful of the blessings He has provided. More often than note I tend to overlook the little blessings I receive daily that I chalk it down as something I accomplished on my own.But I've come to learn that I can do nothing on my own; nothing on my own strength accept to trust God and let Him have His way in my life.

Kamboja...

2011-12-16T22:04:00.002+08:00

The year is drawing to a close. There's about another 2 weeks before 2011 comes to an end. Christmas is around the corner and this time around I will not be Kuala Lumpur for Christmas once a again.

A couple months back Kit and Sook Yuen invited me to join them on a short mission trip to Cambodia in December. As the year was coming to an end; I had a whole load of leave to clear off my plate as I'm only allowed to carry a certain number of days over to 2012. I prayed about it and decided to join them as I've never really been on one before. I figured it's something I should do before I get married next year.

So as I begin my 10 day absence from work today; I'll be flying off to Phnom Penh on Monday morning for 8 days. Through out these 8 days the team and I will be transiting between Phnom Penh and Takeo where we will be doing some work there. I'm more nervous than ever as this is my first mission trip; and it being abroad as well.

The biggest task for me over Christmas would be on Christmas day itself. I'll be taking the sermon for the Christmas morning service at a local church in Phnom Penh. It's certainly a daunting task as my speaking engagements have only been limited to darling's church; and that's to an English speaking congregation. But I've been praying about it and with help from darling I've decided to go back to the basics in what I will be sharing this Christmas in Phnom Penh. Besides the sharing the team and I will be handling Christmas services and programs for school kids and university students at a local church.

No doubt this would be a learning experience for myself as well as a good experience to be able to share God's blessings with the folks in Phnom Penh.

Gonna need all your prayers for a safe journey and over all protection of the team while we're there. Pictures will definitely be taken and rest assured there'll be a post on the adventure in Cambodia. Hey who knows we might even have time to slot in a trip to visit a UNESCO Heritage site; the Angkor Wat.

But the biggest issue will be the absence from KL to spend Christmas with darling. I'll be missing her tremendously over this festive period.

Till after the Cambodian adventure!

A Cow based Economics Lesson;

2011-12-02T12:36:00.001+08:00

*Got this piece off Facebook and find it quite hilarious.

SOCIALISM
You have 2 cows.
You give one to your neighbor.
...
COMMUNISM
You have 2 cows.
The State takes both and gives you some milk.

FASCISM
You have 2 cows.
The State takes both and sells you some milk.

NAZISM
You have 2 cows.
The State takes both and shoots you.

BUREAUCRATISM
You have 2 cows.
The State takes both, shoots one, milks the other, and then throws the milk away.

TRADITIONAL CAPITALISM
You have two cows.
You sell one and buy a bull.
Your herd multiplies, and the economy grows.
You sell them and retire on the income.

ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND (VENTURE) CAPITALISM
You have two cows.
You sell three of them to your publicly listed company, using letters of credit opened by your brother-in-law at the bank, then execute a debt/equity swap with an associated general offer so that you get all four cows back, with a tax exemption for five cows.
The milk rights of the six cows are transferred via an intermediary to a Cayman Island Company secretly owned by the majority shareholder who sells the rights to all seven cows back to your listed company.
The annual report says the company owns eight cows, with an option on one more.
You sell one cow to buy a new president of the United States , leaving you with nine cows.
No balance sheet provided with the release.
The public then buys your bull.

SURREALISM
You have two giraffes.
The government requires you to take harmonica lessons.

AN AMERICAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You sell one, and force the other to produce the milk of four cows.
Later, you hire a consultant to analyze why the cow has dropped dead.

A FRENCH CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You go on strike, organize a riot, and block the roads, because you
want three cows.

A JAPANESE CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk.
You then create a clever cow cartoon image called a Cowkimona and market it worldwide.

AN ITALIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows, but you don't know where they are.
You decide to have lunch.

A SWISS CORPORATION
You have 5000 cows. None of them belong to you.
You charge the owners for storing them.

A CHINESE CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You have 300 people milking them.
You claim that you have full employment, and high bovine productivity.
You arrest the newsman who reported the real situation.

AN INDIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You worship them.

A BRITISH CORPORATION
You have two cows.
Both are mad.

AN IRAQI CORPORATION
Everyone thinks you have lots of cows.
You tell them that you have none.
No-one believes you, so they bomb the ** out of you and invade your country.
You still have no cows, but at least you are now a Democracy.

AN AUSTRALIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
Business seems pretty good.
You close the office and go for a few beers to celebrate.

A NEW ZEALAND CORPORATION
You have two cows.
The one on the left looks very attractive.

A MALAYSIAN CORPORATION
The government gives you money to buy two cows.
You sell both and buy yourself a condominium.

Langkawi...like finally...

2011-11-23T20:44:00.001+08:00

The company had our annual department team building / retreat last week on the island of Langkawi. As a Malaysian; I've never been to any other island in Malaysia except Penang; though we have dozens of them here. However, it's better to start some where, so Langkawi is the start of many other island visits around Malaysia.

We were housed at the Meritus Pelangi Beach Resort which is about a stone throw's distance from the airport. The beach was fantastic; a quiet private beach with very few people on it. But the resort grounds was huge and pretty confusing since all the hotel rooms were housed in chalets and they all look similar.

Any how it was a good break away from the office for 3 days; consider it a mini holiday paid for by the company. along the trip was the department's annual dinner as well. I've attached a couple of interesting photograph's I took through out the trip. More of them on facebook as usual.

The next adventure would take me to Phnom Penh in slightly over 3 weeks for a mission trip over Christmas. I've not prepared for it yet; both physically and mentally, but I trust in God's providence that He will equip me.

It baffles me how fast time flies...

2011-11-02T21:48:00.000+08:00

It's really amazing how time flies. I still remember celebrating my 25th birthday like it was last week. Having dinner with darling, Aaron and Tau Tau at Delicious in Mid Valley. In a blink of an eye I got engaged, prepared for a wedding (still am preparing), finished my training program with Axiata, bought an apartment and will be heading for my first mission trip overseas next month.

Before I know it my 26th birthday will be around the corner; actually it already is. It is true after you pass your 21st birthday you don't really look forward to any other birthday after. It just highlight's the fact you're not getting any younger.

Speaking about birthday's yesterday was darling's mom's birthday. So she decided to take her parents out for a nice dinner at Ben's in KLCC. I honestly think it's turning into her favourite restaurant in place of Delicious. I can't blame here, the former owners of Delicious started the place. The ambience is very relaxing and the selections are quite generous.

Taste wise; hands down Ben's will grow on you after a while. I totally love their Mom's Cottage Pie, Nacho's, Beef Wagyu Pie, and their Chicken & Mushroom pie.

Yesterday we decided to try some stuff we've not had before from the menu. Darling had a Soft Shelled Crab Tortilla in the picture above. I decided t have a Gilled Pesto Chicken Sandwich on Toasted Multi Grain. Both come with a side of garden greens and home made tuber chips. I think I can add another recommendation to the menu with the Grilled Pesto Chicken Sandwich. They gave me a very generous portion of chicken breast with pesto and some beef bacon.

The Soft Shelled Crab Tortilla isn't fantastic. It smelled a little 'fishy' not sure if it's due to the crab but the taste wasn't repulsive; just edible.

Darling's parents; they've been a great source of inspiration and a blessing to me through out the years I've known them. It's an honour to be able to have their daughter's hand in marriage =).

A night view of KLCC park after an evening shower. A portion of peace and tranquillity in the midst of a vibrant city.

The pride of Kuala Lumpur. The Petronas Twin Towers. Since it's lost the title of the World's Tallest building first to Taipei 101 and then Burj Al- Arab; we Malaysian's have self consoled ourselves and take pride in them being the tallest 'TWIN' Towers in the world.

The Petronas Twin Towers from the 33rd floor of the Traders Hotel.

This place is famous for their view of the twin towers and a very hard place to obtain a booking for the infamous seats with the view. Luckily I managed to snag a booking for the last spot for the night. The drinks are pretty pricey but I guess you pay for the view.

As we were up there; a storm came brewing in and the towers had some cloud cover.

So what's next on the calender? Well it would probably be the 'unconfirmed' department retreat to Langkawi in a couple of weeks. It'll be good if it was confirmed then I can add another island to my list of 'been to's' in Malaysia.

Sad to say the only island I've ever been to in Malaysia is Penang. I've never set foot in Langkawai, Pangkor, Tioman or Redang.

The day the Theater of Dreams became a palace of nightmares...

2011-10-23T23:32:00.001+08:00

14 years being a Manchester United supporter. I've supported them through thick and thin; right just before they won the treble in 1999 to the rebuilding years of the early 2000's and the continuation of their success in the mid 2000's. It pains me to say this but today's 6-1 defeat to Manchester City at home was probably the worst performance in my 14 years supporting them. Probably it's magnified due to the opponents they were playing. But none the less; weird team selections, individual mistakes and the total lack of motivation saw them torn to pieces.

I've thought I've seen them at their worst in the 2009 UEFA Champion's League final against Barcelona but tonight was just a whole different level all together. No doubt they came up against a very solid Manchester City squad but the mentality was just not there all together. The commentator on ESPN mentioned that City won not because they were brilliant but United were just lost all together at the back.

From a loyal fan's perspective; I can't say I didn't see this coming. There were already signs of it in the past couple of games. The biggest worry was how they struggled to get passed an unknown Romanian side in the Champions League last week. I'm not going to attempt to give an 'expert' advice on how United should have played.

However, the reason's why Vidic was left out of the squad continue to elude me. But the bigger question mark would be why on Earth was Johnny Evans given the starting position next to Ferdinand when they had Chris Smalling or Phil Jones down the pecking order? Johnny Evans in my opinion does not have and will never have what it takes to be a United great. Season after season he makes an utter nuisance of himself committing mistake after mistake. In almost every United line up he starts; he's the team's weakest link. Today's sending off for a stupid needless challenge only highlight's my point.

I can't blame David de Gea for the 6 goals he let in today. No doubt he could have done better but he's only as good as the 4 men in front of him and tonight they were anything but good. Welbeck shouldn't have started the game either. He's got loads of energy in him but in this situation going up against City; would have chosen someone that has a proven scoring record and better constancy. I'd have opted with Hernandez to start instead.

If this was Championship Manager? I would have gone with:

De Gea, Smalling, Vidic, Jones, Evra / Fabio, Nani, Fletcher, Anderson, Young, Rooney, Hernandez.

I would have kept Lindergard, Giggs, Welbeck, Ferdinand, Park on the bench. Anyone else would have just been extra's.

There's gonna be some soul searching in the United squad this week if they're gonna beat Everton at Goodison Park next weekend. I can imagine stuff flying around the United dressing room after the match especially aimed towards Johnny Evan's head!

The Bangkok Post...

2011-10-22T12:36:00.000+08:00

It's been a while since I last posted something. I've been a little pre-occupied with work and other stuff since I got back from Bangkok about 3 weeks ago. Darling and I had a short get away up north to Bangkok over a weekend. It's my first trip to Bangkok and my second trip to Thailand this year. The first being to Chiang Mai in June. Ever since darling's brother moved up to Bangkok for work late last year, we've been wanting to make a trip up since we had accommodation available at our disposal. I'm really grateful to Wei Aun for allowing me to make use of his sofa for a couple of days.

Our trip was mostly centered on Bangkok's shopping district with numerous visits to Central World, Siam Paragon and MBK shopping centers. Didn't do too much sigh seeing but had loads to eat. I have to say the food in Bangkok is pretty tasty and not to add cheap as well.

I finally had an authentic Thai Tom Yam after so many years. (I missed the chance to do so when I was in Chiang Mai earlier in the year). We managed to meet up with Fang, Toey & Grace who so happened to be in Bangkok at the same time as well. Dinner that night was at probably once of the better restaurants in Bangkok as the food was totally awesome. I had my first taste of Green Curry Pork. Not something you can find easily here in KL.

I'm still very intrigued how Thai's can have so deliciously sinful desserts and still be slim. They're probably the only Asians after the Japanese who can pull off the skinny jeans look. If we did it back here in Kuala Lumpur; we'd look like a total dufus. I envy their ability to be able to eat calorie packed diets and fattening food and still be able to stay slim.

Honestly, it was hard to find a obese person in Bangkok. In Kuala Lumpur obese individuals are all around. There are plenty in the office. I still wonder how they manage to get themselves to those ridiculously huge sizes.

After the trip was the culmination of the graduate training program at work. Time totally flies. It's already been a year of working. Praise God that I managed to obtain a pretty good score for the entire program that provided me with quite a hefty bonus. It will come in handy for the house. On top of that I got myself into a special training program for staff that supposedly allows for a better promotion rate should I keep the good performance up. Though it is a good incentive but it still isn't really what's prohibiting me from exploring other opportunities.

None the less a good shot of motivation to continue serving God with the best of my abilities at work.

On another note, darling and I signed the sales and purchase agreement for our new place in Setiawangsa. One hurdle down but another to go in terms of obtaining a loan to finance for the new place. It's truly God's blessings that we were able to get this apartment in the first place. Through faith we God this crib and through faith we're gonna believe that He will provide a good valuation for the apartment so we can get a better loan from the bank; fingers crossed.

The next adventure would probably be in Cambodia come this December when I go for my first ever mission trip. The biggest challenge? I'm up for the sermon at a local church on Christmas morning. What a way to mark your first mission trip abroad. Loads of preparation and guidance needed for that. Not forgetting the speaking engagement I have coming up in 2 weeks at darling's church.

I think I got what I asked for. I used to pray that God used me in way's He's never used me before. Low and behold I've already had 2 times up on the pulpit on Sunday morning's. Daunting but still up for the challenge in serving Him through His guidance.

Now? It's time for lunch... left overs from dinner await.

Roadtrip!!!

2011-09-27T21:36:00.001+08:00

So it was the Malaysia Day public holiday a couple weeks back. I reckon Malaysia is the only country in the world that you get to celebrate the formation of your country twice; yes you read right TWICE! Not complaining, it only adds on to the ridiculous amount of public holidays this country has. I think it can be noted down as a tourist attraction. I can visualize it on TripAdvisor 'Malaysia: Land of countless public holidays'.

Public holiday's aside; it gave the opportunity for me, darling and a couple of university mates to travel up north to Kampar for Andrew's wedding. It was a pretty good time of catching up since I've not met some of them for a couple of years now since before I left for London.

Kampar has definitely changes a tiny bit since the last time I visited a few years back. For starters there has been a sudden outburst of Taiwanese-styled dessert shops and a 24 hours Mc Donald's!

I tried to take better shots with the limited zoom-ing ability with my current lenses. This surprisingly was rather 'alright'. Taken with a 50mm prime at F1.8 with a 1/125 exposure. I think I was about 20-25 feet away from the bride and groom? I think it's about time I invested in a more versatile lens; but that'll be after the wedding next year.

After the wedding we embarked on a 45 minute drive up north to Ipoh. I think my perception on Ipoh cuisine has changed after this trip. All this while I've held the impression that no other town in Malaysia can come close to Penang cuisine. Well Ipoh's cuisines aren't too shabby. Not up to Penang's standard's but still pleasurable none the less. I know I'm gonna get a backlash from all you readers from Ipoh; but sorry gotta side with my roots. Penang still wins. BUT Ipoh is catching up; slowly...

We had Pork Satay or more crudely known as Satay Babi. I seriously need to find a stall that sells them here in KL. The succulent pork marinated with turmeric then slowly flame grilled over a charcoal fire to perfection; makes it a must try for this coffee shop some where in old town Ipoh. I can't exactly remember where it is though.

The shredded chicken noodle soup with bean sprouts or locally known as 'nga choi kai' is quite delectable as well.

Jason; an Ipoh native later took us down this alley that was nicknamed 'Mistress Alley' . Story has it that during the pre-independence era, wealthy businessmen or noble men would come down this alley to elope with their mistresses.

It was kinda cool too be able to walk through the pre-colonial buildings. You can't find much of these around anymore. Probably in the smaller towns of Peninsular Malaysia, Malacca or Penang. In KL; the only thing they're good at is smashing up old buildings and building boring glass ones.

Take lessons from the Europeans for goodness sake; OLD IS GOLD!.

Skyscrapers after skyscrapers make KL a boring city. It's loosing it's old world charm day by day.

This alley totally was a cool place to have a photo shoot. Albeit being in disarray and abandoned, it still had a lot of artistic value in them.

That was two weeks ago; now I'm on the verge of going off on another holiday!

Off to Bangkok on Thursday for another adventure...

365:730

2011-09-16T00:00:00.000+08:00

September 16th. It's going to be a memorable date each year for 3 different reasons. Firstly it's Malaysia Day! (*Historical fact: Najib repels the Internal Security Act & Emergency Ordinance Act in 2011) Besides that it's the day I left & returned from the United Kingdom. Two years ago in 2009; it was the day I was waiting for all my life (at that point in time). The day I finally left home to be on my own, to be independent from my parents. I can gladly say I passed with flying colours; Su Ann can bare testament to that.

It was a year that I would never forget. Many things were learned & experienced (albeit some being learned the hard way).

Fast forward 365 days; I've almost completed one full year working at my current organisation. Many things learned and experienced as well (mostly through the hard way). So what has changed throughout the one year I have returned to Kuala Lumpur?

Well for one; the other 'Mah' is in London. Yes my younger sister has taken her turn to venture off into a not so strange land to her to be independent for once. She left on Tuesday to pursue her Masters in Arts in (I can't remember the name but it has the words inclusive, child & psychology in it) You can be my guess and jumble up those three words to see if you can find a phrase that make sense to you. Oh forgot to mention that she'll be in Roehampton University; that's some where close to Richmond Park. It's not a place I'm entirely familiar with in London as I usually kept my travels on the north bank of the River Themes.

So what else? I've experienced permanent employment for the first time in my life. I've learned that Human Resource personnel are quite the deceiving bunch when it comes to recruitment. But hey I try to deceive potential customers into buying our products; the deceive unsuspecting 'potential' employees into working for the organisation.

But all is not lost; I still learned a whole deal (though a lot through observations and deductions I might add). I've learned what I enjoy doing in life and what matters most. Through some tricky patches in the beginning trying to find a delicate balance between work, church and my relationship with darling. I believe God's been faithful and the lesson's He's taught me thus far will definitely come in handy soon enough.

But I believe the biggest piece of news that happened in the past year if you didn't already know is; I GOT ENGAGED!

Well not entirely new. I finally decided to take the bold decision to commit my life and our relationship together with Su Ann in the eyes of the Lord and decided to take her as my future wife. Thank God she allowed me to or else I would have had loads of explaining to do to a a lot of people.

For those who are considering engagement; think hard.

Not that engagement is agonizingly difficult; it's just that there are numerous issues that needs to be taken into consideration before taking that step. Sad to say sometimes I wondered if I had everything prepared before I popped the question. However; God has reassured me He'll help me prepare through time and it's all part and parcel of the experience of being engaged.

But the most important part would be; I CHOSE THE RIGHT PERSON! =)

The main point is that God has been faithful. It may have seemed bleak and uncertain; God is beginning to come through for me and Su Ann. Though God knows best what He has planned in our lives.

Anyways I'm beginning to ramble.

Off to Kampar tomorrow for Andrew Au's wedding!

Happy Malaysia Day!

One Thing...

2011-09-04T22:33:00.011+08:00

So it was the long awaited 1 week break...

And now it's gone...

I wish the break was longer. It is true that the best times of your life are during your university days. But I guess it's just the nature of my job that makes it a drag to get up for work every morning. Through the recent church camp; I guess God made it a tad bit clearer as to the direction He wanted me to take in my career.

I yearn for a vocation that allows me to use what God has blessed me with; a vocation that would make a difference in the lives of people. Some how I fail to find it my current occupation.

It's not that I'm not thankful for the opportunities He has blessed me with, but probably the main question is to find a reason and a purpose to the job that I am currently in. Still awaiting that purpose and reason.

On another note; it would be swell if I could just travel and take photograph's for a living. But I guess it's not really an option at the moment.

This has got to be the cutest kid I've ever photographed. Quite a vain pot he is. As soon as he noticed my lenses are pointed at him; he'd strike a pose. After which he'd come by, pull me by the arm and insists he shows me his photographs.

Sis is leaving next week to London for her Masters. Sigh how my heart yearns to be back on the streets of London once again. The culture, people and atmosphere is something KL will never ever be able to have. At times I wished I could pack myself in her suit case that's sitting in the living room right now.

She looks like a natural beside kids doesn't she? ;)

This guy has got to be scarring the living daylights out of that baby.

It really shows you need a change of environment when the first thing you think off upon completing a holiday is; when's your next holiday?

Happy to say it's in about 2 weeks time!

But in the mean time. A new job perhaps?

Tanjung Sepat...

2011-08-23T20:18:00.007+08:00

It's been a while since I've last updated the blog. T-minus 3 more days of work till the long awaited 1 week leave due to Ed. I'd be lying if I said I was not looking forward to it. Work has been exhausting. Not physically but mentally exhausting due to factors known to a remote few. Over the weekend darling's church organised a trip to Tanjung Sepat. They do this every now and then. Growing up a big part of my life in Malaysia; I had no idea where Tanjung Sepat was. But now I will remember Tanjung Sepat for having probably the best tasting Pau's in Malaysia. Pau's are steamed Chinese buns with fillings for the non-chinese / non-Malaysian readers out there.

At the beginning of the trip I had a short scare with my 16GB SDHC card of the camera cause it wasn't recording any of the pictures I took. Changing the memory card to my smaller 4GB or 2GB didn't really help either. In the end I made the decision to reformat the 16GB memory card there and then. Lost a couple of sets which I decided wasn't really worth keeping. Thank God that most of them have already been backed-up or processed on my Macbook and external HD.

Made the decision to borrow Jun's Canon 17-55mm 2.8f IS USM lens to shoot a couple of pictures. The biggest mistake I made when purchasing the EOS was to buy a 18-55mm f3.5. It's practically a very mediocre lens which doesn't really give you the depth control the 17-55 f2.8 does. It's really handy in low light conditions and when you're shooting in the shade. The bokeh is pretty impressive as well. However I noticed the tendency for flare if shot without a lens hood in bright sunlight.

I can't really afford to invest on new lenses at the moment. Making do with the 18-55mm and the 50mm II. Really interested in getting a 24-70mm f 2.8 and the 35mm f2. That'll probably set me back about RM 6,000. Only then I'll get rid of the 18-55mm.

The weather in Tanjung Sepat wasn't exactly great. At times it was drizzling, then suddenly the sun would shine in all its glory then the next minute it was gloomy all over again. That made shooting pretty challenging with many photo's turning out pretty gloomy. I was hoping to have a more cheery tone to the pictures but some of it came out the other way round.

If I had more time; I wouldn't mind borrowing a 24-70mm (from anyone who might have one laying around) and just take it to the streets of KL for a photowalk. But some how I haven't had the chance to do it. Probably I would borrow the 17-55mm again one day to take it out on a stroll.

Back to the trip, it was a relaxing day out from the hustle and bustle of the city with darling and her church members for some seafood by the coast. The coast by Tanjung Sepat isn't exactly beautiful but it was the company that mattered more.

At the end of the night we dropped by I-City just to see what all the fuss was about. Me and darling were there last month for the MTV World Stage. However, we didn't really get the chance to take a look around at the place and really see what was going on there. This time we did.

The verdict?

Totally disappointed.

It was a huge business park with many neon trees lighted up. That's about it. Anyways, shooting in I-City was challenging without flash. I am proud that I resisted the temptation to use my flash and the pictures turned out alright. Well some of them anyways.

So what's next? I don't know. The 1 week break in 3 days!

Paul Scholes- Manchester United Legend

2011-08-06T12:59:00.008+08:00

I feel tremendously old now. It all started back in Standard 5 when I saw a named scratched at the back of a chair and a little research revealed two names Ryan Giggs & Paul Scholes. The rest they say is history. That was 14 years ago and 14 years later I'm still a huge supporter of the team. But you start feeling old when all these great players you supported as a kid starts retiring.

First you had Gary Neville; not the best player out there but his partnership with David Beckham down the right over the years was something to remember; a great player to a great club.

A couple nights ago was the testimonial of Edwin Van der Saar; arguable the one of the greatest goalkeepers Manchester United has ever seen and definitely the best shot stopper since the great dane; Peter Schmeichel.

Last night was the testimonial of an already legend; Paul Scholes. He is definitely a rare bread of footballers that shun the media spotlight. I've never really heard him being interviewed by BBC, ESPN or SKY over the years. He's never worn the captain's armband though he deserves it a lot. But the service and dedication he brought to the team was unquestionable.

One of the best attacking midfielders in the past 15 years with a apt nickname; SatNav. I do not doubt what I read online that says he could pick out a shot if the goal was on Mars. His long range shots are going to be missed but he still can't tackle for nuts.

I watched the testimonial earlier on MUTV and I am glad to say I've managed to watch Paul Scholes do what he does best probably for the last time in a long long time; score from 25 yards out with a thunder bolt. I've compiled the top 3 goals I think are the best of all time from Paul Scholes.

Number 3 (Man Utd. vs Bradford)

Number 2 (Man. Utd vs. Barcelona)

Greatest Goal (Man Utd. vs Aston Villa) In my opinion at least...

He scores goals, Galore!

He scores goals,

He scores goals, Galore!

He scores goals,

He scores goals, Galore!
He scores goals,
Paul Scholes-He Scores Goals!

The Ginger Prince; he will be missed...

Closer to the edge...

2011-07-19T10:16:00.001+08:00

Is stoked to see @Bartholomew Cubbins this coming weekend!

A day out in the sun...

2011-07-13T11:46:00.008+08:00

So the past weekend was pretty chaotic in down town Kuala Lumpur. Darling and I decided to take a trip out of the city away from the impending chaos to visit the UCSI Christian Fellowship who were having their annual CF camp in Port Dickson. It's been a while since I last visited Port Dickson; however nothing much has changed to be honest.

The drive there was still mundane; the beach was mediocre at best however we did discover a stall that sold awesome nasi lemak for breakfast.

It was raining most of the way there; but the weather cleared up pretty much later on in the day. Unlike Kuala Lumpur that was raining for most of the day; Port Dickson was the total opposite of it. There were many couples and families who were in town that weekend. My guess was the very same reason as us; to get away from an already chaotic Kuala Lumpur with unnecessary lock downs by the the police.

We visited Teluk Kemang beach where a colourful windmill caught my attention. I figured, "Hey that would make an awesome prop for some photos". So there I was clicking away with the new toy I got with darling being an ever so sporting model that weekend.

It has been ages since I had my last ice cream. Thanks to the calorie counting diet regime I've put myself under. I'm sure most of us back in school would have bought our 'Roti Ice Cream' from the motorcycle riding ice cream uncle. I was craving for one upon seeing all the vendors lined up upon the beach. However some how all of them either ran out of bread or didn't have any with them that day. So we had to settle for a standard RM 1 ice cream cone. Still enjoyable none the less.

I made a promise to bring darling back to Avalon for a weekend get away after the wedding. Anyone wants to recommend me a website to get good prices for this place?

So we decided to leave Port Dickson in the evening and head back to KL for dinner. We're still planing where to drive off to for our next day trip. Sekinchan looks nice; but I have no idea where it is.

More photo's will be up on Facebook pretty soon!

Graduation...

2011-07-02T23:53:00.005+08:00

2 years ago it was my graduation at UCSI University. It seemed like it was only yesterday but 2 years have passed since that warm July morning in 2009. Today was the little sister's turn. She graduated with first class honours with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. She's always out done me academically and she's done it again.

With her flying of to London to pursue her masters in September; chances are she'll out shine me in that in due time as well. But that aside today was her day and she's done the family proud.

My master's graduation is in about 2 weeks in London; I won't be heading back for it. Though I'm really tempted to rent a graduation gown with a blue and grey shoal to take some pictures in it just for fun.

Anyone know where?

Made in Thailand...

2011-06-21T11:52:00.012+08:00

*Warning- This post might take a while to load for those on slower internet connections.

This was my first proper holiday since the Netherlands / Belgium trip back in August (or so I thought). It was a pretty exhausting one as we were constantly on the road traveling from place to place. None the less it was time taken off work and out to see a few sights in northern Thailand.

It has been a while since my last trip to Thailand; the last being when I was 13 or 14 when we went to Hat Yai by train. The first stop was to the Royal Flora Ratchaphruek Garden. I think they were preparing for a big event as there were a lot of setting up going round.

It was an impressive garden. I doubt any botanical garden back here in Malaysia is maintained that well. They had themed gardens from various countries around the world. It was quite impressive.

After lunch we took an hour's drive up the mountain outside of Chiang Mai to Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep. It reminds me some what of Penang Hill. I have very high suspicion this was where my dog tag that darling made for me dropped. I've been wearing it for almost a year now since we made each other matching dog tags from an arcade machine at Trafford Centre in Manchester. I've asked a couple of friends to help make me another one. It has very strong sentimental values to the both of us thus I hope that a replacement tag can be made before the wedding next year.

Carnation Condensed Milk yo! This product disappeared off the shelves in Malaysia years ago. I still remember mom and grandma making Milo with this. These days we've got to make do with cheap generic ones from Tesco.

I stepped into 7-11 near our hotel in downtown Chiang Mai and this magnificent scarlet bottle caught my attention in one of the refrigerators. It was a bottle of SMIRNOFF ICE!!! I'm not sure if you can find it in Singapore; but I can't find it anywhere in Kuala Lumpur; including the duty free shops at KLIA. This has got to be my favourite alcoholic beverage next to Lambrusco; an Italian wine where it's so amazingly hard to find in Kuala Lumpur.

We headed up north to a Long Neck Karen village to visit the infamous Giraffe Necked women. They had some beautiful art work on sale and on display. If you visit the WIKIPEDIA page on them there's a picture of an elderly Kayan Lahwi woman. That was the exact same lady we saw at the village. She's supposedly the oldest Kayan Lahwi woman in that tribe. She's got some major international coverage.

Later on we headed to the famous Maesa Elephant training camp. The last time I rode on an elephant was when I was 7 at a country fair in Illinois in the United States. I was tempted to go on one again this time round; but it wouldn't be the same without darling so I decided to give it a miss and wait till the time where we can do it together.

Lunch after wards was at the Green Valley golf and country club. Amazing golf course as you can see by the pictures.

We dropped by a paper umbrella factory after lunch and there was this elderly man who was busy making paper umbrella's. He was kind enough to pose for a couple photographs.

The next day was grueling. We left the hotel at 7 am for a 5 hour drive up to Chiang Rai. Along the way we stopped by Wat Rong Khun a scenic white temple that still has some parts under construction.

Onto Mae Sai; the boarder town of Burma and Thailand. Here we have more street bazaars and Burmese nationals crossing the boarder on a daily basis. We went up to Sop Ruak as well. It was an interesting place as that was where Burma, Thailand and Laos boarder each other; separated by the Mekong River. It's probably the closes I've been of being at 3 places at once. Now that would be cool.

McD's or Mc Thai (as it said on the receipt) was a stone throw away from the hotel. On the last night I just HAD to have their pork burger. If I were to ever move to Thailand; one of the reasons would be to have more pork burgers and Smirnoff Ice.

Amazing I tell you!

So there was a short wrap up of my trip to Thailand. Next trip?

Thailand.... again... this time to Bangkok!

Probably some time after the election in September or October!

Where do I even begin?

2011-06-05T22:46:00.005+08:00

It's been a very eventful couple of days. Numerous things have happened throughout the weekend. There were endings, new beginnings and celebrations. I managed to get hold of Jun's 17-55mm 2.8f lens about a week back but never really got to take it out for a spin until this weekend. I have to say I was quite impressed with the performance of it. I might consider getting myself one in the future.

Anyhow, this week marked the end of the contract for my Indonesian colleagues who have become good friends of mine through out the 8 months we have been working together. It was bittersweet as their tenure was cut short due to the conflicting interest of my company as well as theirs back home in Jakarta. Hence the decision was made to cut short their stint here in KL and head back home to Jakarta. However, though the limited time that we had together; it made working a whole lot more bearable. With a group of peers who know what you're going through and are going through similar circumstances as yourself; it makes working a little more pleasant. None the less it was a memorable 8 months with the memories that will last a life time.

The company provided this awesome crib; The Orion to my Indonesian colleagues which was just across the street from the office. It had a wicked view of the KL skyline as well as was our hangout spot occasionally after work. I can imagine having the opportunity to work abroad would be most satisfying. I would relish the opportunity to have a stint abroad even for a couple of months. It gives you a whole new perspective in terms of what happens in the world. Not to mention the neat perks the company might offer you.

To Kiki, Agung, Leonard, Sylvia & Nadia; I wish you guys all the best in Jakarta with your future endeavors. I believe this won't be the last time we cross paths and rest assured I will make a trip to Jakarta or Bandung and it's time for you guys to take me around this time!

Agung, Leonard, Sylvia, Kiki & Nadia

Me & Leonard

Kiki & I

Nadia, Sylvia & myself

Agung & I

On another note. It was the sister's belated 21st Birthday Celebration at Sunway Pyramid last night. She turned 21 last Thursday but being a weeknight, my parents decided to do it on the following weekend instead.

To be honest the food wasn't really up to par and they had a mix up with our orders. We didn't really get any air conditioning so it was pretty warm out. But anyways she got a couple of cool stuff which included this iPod touch from her friends.

Me and darling got her a make up set from Lancome. I had no clue what to get her. Thank God I had darling with me to help shop for stuff when we were at Robinson's the other day.

Darling, Sis & 1

The birthday girl

Nostalgia...

2011-05-16T23:20:00.002+08:00

This was a totally unplanned trip. We were supposed to be heading back home to KL after a weekend in Penang. However; we made an unplanned stop in Ayer Tawar, Perak as we needed to drop off the grandparents for their short trip there.

It was one adventure by itself. Driving off the highway through trunk roads to get to Ayer Tawar. I've only ever been here once before. It was the time grandpa injured his back when he accidentally fell off a rambutan tree. Yes my grandfather is still or WAS climbing trees at the time.

But anyways. We finally paid a visit to our ancestral home which is still occupied by mom's 2nd maternal uncle and his wife. This house is so retro. You'd hardly find any of these houses left in the big city. They still have a working well in the middle of the house where they get their water from.

This house has to be at least 80 years old as grandma grew up in this house when she was a kid. Mom showed me the places around the house where she used to hang out when she was around. I was brought too my great-grandfather's room where my mom has vivid memories of him being there smoking his opium. Some how I think opium was a real in-thing back then. He wouldn't be the first great grandfather I knew who smoked opium.

Both paternal grandfather's smoked opium. One maternal great grandfather smoked opium and the only maternal great grandfather I was privileged to meet smoked cigarettes but I wouldn't be surprised if he started out with opium.

At times we get too comfortable with our spring mattresses, lorenzo sofas, 42' LED TV's, air conditioning and things we take for granted such as running tap water. But this puts things into perspective. To realize how much of a pampered generation we have become makes you appreciate how your forefather's worked and provided to enable you to enjoy our little luxuries in life.

I'm still very intrigued with the well. I wouldn't mind taking a bath with the water from the well but I'll think twice or maybe thrice if it was to be my drinking water.

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-07T15:52:00.003+08:00

You're the best mom in the world! Thanks for everything you've done!

Happy Mother's Day!

Picturesque...

2011-05-04T10:53:00.008+08:00

The burning sensation in your eyes due to the lack of sleep can be irritating. Couple that with a tingling sore throat and relatively easy going day at the office, you tend to find things that will help you kill time before the clock strikes 5.30pm.

Wedding preparations have begun to kick in. We went to a couple of hotels during the weekend to scout around for prices and reception packages. Planning your wedding can be fun but when it comes time to pay the bills then that's a whole different story all together. I'll leave that for later. It's been a while since I last took my camera out for a spin. I haven't really had time to spare during the weekends. A lot of it has been spent catching up on rest or running errands.

But I've been surfing online for stuff pertaining to the wedding and I have to say that the part I enjoy the most would be scouting for wedding photographers. I've come across a couple that I personally like. Too bad most of them are out of our budget and are based overseas.

Let's start locally...

Dennis Yap Photography

Anna Rina

Mun Keat Photography

From our neighbours and my personal favourites Axioo from Indonesia.

From across the South China Sea; Louis Pang.

Finally from down under Jonas Peterson.

Switchfoot 2.0!

2011-05-02T11:11:00.002+08:00

Fumbling his confidence

And wondering why the world has passed him by

Hoping that he's bent for more than arguments

And failed attempts to fly, fly

John, Tim, Drew, Jerome & Chad has done it again. It was a full frontal assault of what Switchfoot had to offer. I got to hand it to these guys. It was their 4th show in 4 days in the 4th different country; yet they still had loads of energy left in them. Their show was still as rocking as the first time they were in town 3 years ago.

They are still one of the very few bands that sound even better live. The records and CD's doesn't do justice to the pure awesome musical quality and showmanship these guys have. Thought their latest CD; Hello Hurricane isn't my favourite Switchfoot record ( my favourite is 'Nothing Is Sound' for the record); they still managed to belt out their timeless hits that just doesn't grow old.

If I had known I would have brought my 500D with me last night. Unfortunately only managed to get some sub-standard shots via my sister's Samsung point and shoot.

So it wasn't only Prakash who managed to sneak his 60D into the hall. Here's a sneak peak of what went down last night.

Up Close With Switchfoot...

2011-05-01T12:48:00.002+08:00

I caught them once back in 2008 when they made their first appearance in Kuala Lumpur. I was extremely close to catching them at Big Church Day Out at Lancashire last year. However; some how by some strange stroke of fortune they're back in Kuala Lumpur again tonight!

It's a public holiday today as well as tomorrow due to Labour Day. What better way than to spend it watching Switchfoot Live!

Though it still puzzles me how can people NOT know who Switchfoot is?

Like what you see? It still isn't too late. Heard that they're selling what ever's left at the entrance later today beginning at 4 pm.

Will you follow Jesus today?

2011-04-22T09:48:00.003+08:00

That was part 1...what happens next?

Will YOU follow Jesus today?

Happy Good FRIDAY!

Darling's Graduation...

2011-04-21T23:55:00.003+08:00

Look what a simple search in Google turned up? Darling's graduation photo's on flickr. This was posted on Aston University's flickr page. She's on the last day of her trip now and will be back in about 48 hours! Yipee!

Reasons why I need a holiday.

2011-04-19T10:21:00.002+08:00

visited 13 countries (5.77%)

According to this I've only visited 5.77% of the world. Another reason why I should go on holiday.

Holiday desperation mode...

2011-04-16T13:47:00.004+08:00

I so need a holiday. I wish I was back in Europe. To be with the darling fiancee in France once again would be splendid. She'll be there for the next couple of days. God willing if I ever get the opportunity to step foot back in Europe again I will definitely head back to London and make a trip to Munich, Frankfurt, Rome, Milan, Venice, Nice, Interlarken, Lucern, Geneva, Vienna & Prague.

Okay maybe a little too much to ask for, but since the stint in the UK I've caught the travel bug. Doesn't matter if I have to bunk in a backpackers hotel. It was fun when we did it in Spain.

Holiday oh holiday come to papa...

One Last Chance...

2011-04-15T14:11:00.002+08:00

One Last Chance to help me to win my dream holiday! The competition ends at 11:59pm tonight!
Click the image above; read the post and if you like it, click LIKE at the bottom of the page.

Thanks to all who've voted even though I don't win at the end of the day...

I can take a nap now...

2011-04-10T15:08:00.001+08:00

After almost an hour and a half; clicking the refresh button at the Heathrow website; I was finally at peace upon seeing this. Now I can go take a nap.

So how has it been?

2011-04-05T21:27:00.004+08:00

So how has it been? Officially we've been engaged for 10 days already. It's still sinking into me that I'm already engaged to Su Ann =)). I still refer to her as my girlfriend at times (FIANCEE FIANCEE!!! No more girlfriend) But it's been a whirlwind of excitement. Getting a lot of congratulatory messages from friends and relatives with the same question; "So when's the big day?"

Well we haven't confirmed a date yet but we have narrowed down a couple of dates that we would like some time next year.

Taking our relationship to a whole new level brought on a new meaning for me in my relationship with God and Su Ann. I've found a deeper profound appreciation towards God's blessings as well a greater appreciation and love towards the woman who will be my wife in the next year; God willing. I know she feels the same way as well. I wake up every morning thanking God for darling whom He has put into my life.

Driving to work in the morning I can't help but have these couple of verses from the song 'This Is Our God' by Hillsong play over and over again in my mind. It truly personifies my worship to Him who has been faithful in His blessings and love through out the years.

Freely You gave it all for us
Surrendered Your life upon that cross
Great is the love poured out for all
This is our God

Lifted on high from death to life
Forever our God is glorified
Servant and King rescued the world
This is our God

On another note; me and my fiancee will be separated by time and distance again like how we once were when we were in the UK. She'll be heading back to Birmingham this weekend for 2 weeks to attend a graduation. I think it's a fitting end to her journey in the UK where God blessed her with a full scholarship from the Commonwealth Commission to pursue her Masters. It would only be fitting that she attend her graduation as a celebration of her achievement during the past year at Aston University.

Chances are I would not be able to afford to attend my own graduation come July; but I was really hoping to be able to attend darling's graduation next week. I guess I will be praying for her safety that she enjoys her time and to continually thank God for His blessings in our lives.

On another note; we've got our tickets to rock out with SWITCHFOOT again! There's already a free concert this weekend in conjunction with the Malaysian F1 GP at KLCC Park with Hoobastank and the Wondergirls. Rumours has it The Fray might be joining the line up. If it's true I'm so there this weekend!.

Your chance for some FAQ's

2011-03-31T21:06:00.007+08:00

Okay so most of you would have known by know I recently got engaged over the weekend to the most beautiful woman in the world! (to me that is). I've gotten comments that I'm a very lucky guy. Indeed I am extremely blessed to have the woman of my dreams saying yes to me and agreeing to be my future wife. It's been a roller coaster ride filled with laughter and tears. The journey took us on a road of self discovery across the globe to lands we'd never thought of being able to see together.

Our journey is a testament of God's never ending blessings and His faithfulness in our lives. I thank Him each and everyday for allowing our paths to cross. Our relationship have seen some interesting times, difficult situations and even took us to the Emergency room twice. But at the end of the day; God has been faithful to the both of us. After much prayer and thought we've made an collective decision between us and God to move our relationship up to the next level.

Through out the week I've received a lot of questions. Most of these questions are regarding to what they call 'the juicy bits'. They want details, they want the drama, they want the inside scoop.

Well it's your lucky day. Since I noticed that I've not posted up a proper post in quite some time, I'll attempt to answer as many questions as I can and depending on what questions I would want to answer at this point in time.

1. How did the both of you meet and how long have you been together?

We met in university during the second week of our freshmen year. We were in the same faculty but were in different courses. It was just that we had A LOT of mutual friends and we took some same classes together. We eventually became friends after those classes, group mates as well as attended the Christian Fellowship together.

We eventually became close friends and ended up serving on the committee of the Christian Fellowship together. It wasn't till probably half way through our soft-more year that we actually began our relationship. So since then it's been about 3 years and 10 months.

2. So what made you decide to propose to her?

I think the answer is quite simple to be honest. Some of you may know my past and labeled me an emo kid who had no girlfriends when he was in high school. I think I've had enough drama in my personal life for me to handle. I love Su Ann from the bottom of my heart and through our experiences together both here in Malaysia and in the United Kingdom; I realised that she was someone I could never do without.

I wouldn't like to say she completes me but more like we're two different sides of the same coin that make up a whole. I prayed about it; talked to a close friend about it and finally made the decision to begin the end of my bachelorhood.

3. You guys are quite young; are you sure you're ready for it?

Well age is relative and its only a number. There's no hard and fast rule that you can only be married at a certain age. But we've committed it to God and we will walk in faith to know that He will provide and everything fell in place in His time.

4. How did you prepare for the proposal? Was there cost involved?

Well I was actually planning to propose at a later date. I was toying with a couple of ideas on how to propose. I think in total there were 7 or 8 ideas playing around in my mind. But due to logistical, financial and suitability of them; I finally settled with a plan. The decision to push it forward was to enable more time for us to plan for the wedding. As both of us are holding jobs at the moment; time is quite limited hence I figured the earlier the better.

Firstly I needed to get a ring. This was tricky. I promised her that the first ring I'll get her would be the engagement ring. So I've never got her a ring before hence I had no idea what her size was. Hence I had to discretely measure her ring finger and find a way to note down her size. At the end I noticed her ring finger was slightly smaller than my pinky; hence I took that as the benchmark for ensuring the size fit. Thank God I actually found the ring design that I had in mind and it didn't take too long in looking for it.

I had to consult my parents seeking their approval and blessings as well. That was the easy part. The hard part was to meet her parents without her knowing about it. Since she knew pretty much my entire schedule; it was hard to meet them without her having the slightest clue. Eventually I figured something out; met them and endured an interview session which could rival the toughest job interview, to me at least.

Any cost to your my proposal? Well I think the cost incurred would be for the ring and the lunch. The proposal itself was entirely free of charge.

5. So how did you propose?

Well I guess that's what everyone wants to know. Well let's just say it was personal and sweet. I'm not going to go into much details here. If you want to know come ask me personally.

6. What was her reaction?

Well I certainly caught her off guard that's for sure. She wasn't expecting it that soon. She teared up and took quite a while to calm down before I could hear a response from her. I reckon she was pretty shocked as she was trembling when I slipped the ring onto her finger after asking her; "Will you marry me?" and she replied in a soft and trembling voice, "Really?" like 4 times before saying, "Yes".

7. So when's the wedding?

Well we just got engaged less than a week ago. So we haven't really decided on a date yet. But we're looking at sometime in the summer of 2012 which is about a year plus from now.

8. So what now?

Well it's still sinking in that I'm actually engaged. I still refer to her at times as my girlfriend when she's already my fiancee. So it's gonna take some getting used to. We'll start some initial planning for wedding but nothing too serious yet. As my church requires for us to under go marriage counseling, we'll get that sorted out at a later date. We want to soak up every minute of this experience as it's only once in a life time. Once she's returned from the UK at the end of April then we'll get some stuff in order.

9. Are you happy with your decision?

Are you kidding me? OF COURSE I AM! This is probably the best moment of my life thus far. I have no regrets proposing to the woman of my dreams to marry me. I couldn't ask for more. God has truly been faithful in all He has done for us. Rather than a celebration of us being betrothed to be married; I wish to see it as a thanks giving onto God for his blessing in our relationship thus far and committing the next phase of our live running up to the wedding and beyond in His hands.

I spy with my little eye...

2011-03-27T22:34:00.000+08:00

Hmm... I wonder who that belongs to....

If you haven't done so already...

2011-03-22T09:17:00.006+08:00

If you haven't heard already; I've entered the MAS Traveler competition. I submitted an entry regarding adventures in Spain about a year ago. Read through it HERE , and see the adventure I went through with a darling and a couple of friends. Then click LIKE at the bottom of that post. If you have no time to read it, just click LIKE and read it later when you have the time.

According to the contest terms & conditions; only the 'Likes' at the contest page are recognised as valid votes. The like button is located at the bottom of the page as shown in the image above.

To those who have already voted; thank you for your time. I really appreciate your time and effort. To those who have not; it's still not too late. The competition runs till the end of the month and it's starting to heat up with more and more entries coming in each day. I'm currently in 2nd place quite a bit far off the leader at 600 plus votes but number 3 is catching up as well. The link below will direct you straight to the site.

Many thanks in advance!

Those of you who are thinking of joining as well; do let me know so I can return the favour =).

Happy Birthday!!!

2011-03-16T00:00:00.000+08:00

To my beloved;

25 years ago this very day, God chose you to come my way. Though we'd only cross paths 21 years later, I wondered why it couldn't be sooner. You've brought joy into my life and shared my pain.

I thank you for sharing your life with me all the same. On this very special day of yours; look back on the fruitful years of God's guidance and blessings. I pray He will continue to guide you to be a woman of faith onto God. A bold witness into where you may be and a faithful servant in everything that you do.

Enjoy this day my love as you're only 25 once!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY LOVE!

I Love You!

An early celebration...

2011-03-14T21:46:00.002+08:00

Over the weekend we had an early birthday celebration for darling with a couple of close friends at the Apartment in KLCC. I think I still need some practice with the new gear in taking photos in low light conditions indoors.

But I am reasonably pleased at how the outdoor pictures as dusk turned out. Here's just two photo's I've managed to put together. I've just recently installed Lightroom on the Mac. It's easier to find it for PC but way harder for Mac. So far I'm liking what I see. It might actually convince me to turn back to Adobe and put iPhoto aside for a while due to its simplicity.

p.s If you haven't already seen the previous post; do take a read at the link from the previous post and click 'Like' to help me out in sending me for a holiday. It's the poor man's way of trying to earn himself a decent holiday since I blew most of it on the new photo gear.

Need of assistance...

2011-03-13T19:05:00.004+08:00

I've never really done this before. But it'll be great if anyone could spare themselves a couple of minutes to read my blog post up on the IMASTravel website. It's about my adventures in Spain a year ago.

The link is right above.

Read through it, and see the adventure I went through with a darling and a couple of friends. Then click LIKE at the bottom of that post. If you have no time to read it, just click LIKE and read it later when you have the time.

I've never really won anything in such competitions before; so hopefully this will be my first God willing.

Many thanks in advance!

The Yellow Boy...

2011-03-01T15:58:00.005+08:00

This is a picture I thought I've lost a long time ago. Have been searching for it through the old HD's and laptops. It was taken while on assignment during my internship 4 years ago at an orphanage. I reckon to date this remains one of my favourite photo's. I can't remember this boy's name. But I think he would probably be about 8 or 9 years old by now. I wonder if his fortunes have changed and found himself a nice family who cares for him.

Burung Marah....

2011-02-28T12:02:00.003+08:00

Just had to post this up; the likability scale of Angry Birds Artillery.

You + Me = Awesome

2011-02-24T16:53:00.002+08:00

The Union of two sets... me & darling = awesome! =)

The Social Media Year Book of 2011

2011-02-23T09:33:00.004+08:00

Flowtown - Social Media Marketing Application

The revolution of information...

2011-02-22T17:04:00.004+08:00

This is how information is being presented and will be presented from hence forth in the world.... makes things a whole lot easier in'it?

2 for 1...

2011-02-14T00:00:00.001+08:00

Happy Birthday Grandma & Grandpa!!!

as well as

Happy Valentines Day Beautiful! =)

and this photo should have won the Star /Canon most romantic photo contest. Notice the resemblance with the Grand Prize winner? Grrr....

What is Corporate Branding? (Part 3 of 6)

2011-02-11T11:46:00.010+08:00

What is Corporate Branding all about? This post will attempt to tell you what exactly it is and how it relates to the research I conducted some time back ago. This part's going to be a little draggy and at times too technical. But I'll attempt to water it down as much as possible without losing the essence as to what I'm trying to say.

What is a Corporate Brand?

To fully understand what corporate re-branding is, we first must understand what a Corporate Brand is. Whether we like it or not; we’re bombarded by brands each and every day of our lives.Sherry, 1995). Their significance to the modern business is undeniable and businessmen have begun to pay more attention to it and its gaining prominence in an organisation’s corporate level agenda as a strategic tool (Urde, 1999; Balmer, 1999; Macrae, 1999; Balmer & Gray, 2003). Through an organisation’s corporate brand, it allows various ways for the organisation to communicate its values and promises to differentiate itself from its competitors, obtain leverage in terms of esteem and to elicit loyalty from its various stakeholder groups. It is continuing to gain importance as a navigational tool to its various stakeholders for an array of functions (Balmer 2001a, Balmer & Gray, 2003). These functions include employment, investment and consumer behaviour. Corporate brands do as well posses a cultural aspect to it as they reflect on an organisation’s sub-cultures in an attempt to extract emotional responses from the various stakeholder groups (Balmer, 2001).

Corporate branding is multi disciplinary at its core. Among these its foundations include the organisation’s strategic development, culture and its corporate visual identity (Hatch & Schultz, 2003 cited in Curtis et.al, 2009; pp. 405). Through literature, product brands and corporate brands differ on many levels; however the biggest disparity between product branding and corporate branding is that corporate brands entail establishing differentiation at the organisational level rather than the product or service level (Balmer, 2001b; Balmer & Gray, 2003; Curtis et. al., 2009). However, there are scholars who suggest that a greater disparity would be a corporate brand’s target audiences that go far beyond consumers and comprises all its stakeholders which include its employees, shareholders, suppliers and at times the general public (Ind, 1996; de Chernatony, 1999; King, 1999). The fact that the audience of the corporate encompasses a wide range of audiences allows for them to exercise a wider range of discriminators that include both intangible and tangible product / service elements (King, 1991).

As a corporate brand involves creating a favourable viewpoint from all its stakeholders, it is a multi disciplinary field that combines various aspects of strategy, communications, human resource, marketing and organisational culture (de Chernatony, 1999, Knox & Bickerton, 2003). As corporate branding involves various disciplines working in synergy it holds a distinct advantage in uplifting an organisation’s image further in comparison with a product or service brand. (Xie & Boggs, 2006; cited in Curtis et. al., 2009).

Corporate Branding in Education

The publication of marketing literature on the branding of educational institutions has been discussed since the early 1980’s (Rosenthal, 2003). A branding approach to education specifically higher education, allows for potential students and parents to identify the product and services offered to drive purchase desires (Harvey & Busher, 1996). The importance of branding education institutions Kotler & Fox (1995) propagates that it adds value to the educational establishments’ offer and provides a higher degree of consumer satisfaction. It is also through the application of corporate branding in institutions of higher education, the organisation would be able to distinguish itself from its peers and seek to build the reputation of the institution (Blanton, 2007). Over time this reputation in turn strengthens the corporate brand of the institution. However attempting to create a differentiation between the institution and its competitors is not the whole purpose of corporate branding in higher education. It is about constructing an element of belonging towards members of the institution (Hatch & Schultz, 2003). The obtainment of a qualification from a particular university allows for a sense of belonging and identification to the institution even so after graduation (Curtis et. al, 2009). The attachment allows for a means of defining a person’s individuality. The general public would also seem to offer a larger measure of support if the organisation has some level of recognition (Blanton, 2007).

Brand names communicate to consumers the values and provides and insight on to what the organisation is all about. Within the organisation it also allows a fundamental guide to employees to better understand its brand values (Heaney & Heaney, 2008; Curtis et. al., 2009). The success of an institution’s corporate branding efforts is an alignment of various parts of the organisation from the upper echelons of its management right down to lower level staff in delivering a coherent and consistent promise to its various stakeholder groups (de Chernatony, 1999; Balmer & Greyser, 2003a; Blanton, 2007).

Studies have been conducted to scrutinize influences of cross-cultural values into the positioning of internationally renowned educational institutional brands (Gray et. al.; 2003). The significance of the study conducted justifies the importance for corporate branding in educational institutions in order to avoid adopting a more product orientated branding strategy (Goi & Goi, 2009).

In the context of private higher education in Malaysia, it attracts foreign students from South and South East Asia (i.e. Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan as well as China and Taiwan). Hence it is of utmost importance that considerable consideration must be given to upgrade the image and reputation of these institutions. Multi-aspect improvements in an education institution’s corporate branding in meeting global benchmarks is pivotal, as it is crucial in serving as the foundation for Malaysia’s higher education industry to compete in a more demanding and challenging global education market (Wan, Kaur & Jantan, 2008).

Corporate Reputation Management of an Educational Institution

Through literature, a tangible and concrete definition of corporate reputation has been hard to come by. If the terms were separated into its two root words corporate and reputation, Concise Oxford English Dictionary (2009) has ‘corporate’ defined as “relating to a large company or group”; where as ‘reputation’ is defined from the same source as “the beliefs or opinions that are generally held about someone or something”. If we were to merge the two definitions together, ‘corporate reputation’ could be summarised as the opinions or beliefs that are held about an organisation.

However, that would be an ambiguous definition at best. Though it has managed to create a centre of attention among marketing academicians and practitioners, Gotsi and Wilson (2001) attribute the difficulty in unambiguously defining corporate reputation due to the multi-disciplinary perspective taken by various authors regarding this matter.

Through their research, Gosti and Wilson (2001) have identified two schools of thought pertaining to the development towards a precise definition of corporate reputation. In summary of the two distinct views, corporate reputation can be defined as:

“A stakeholder’s evaluation of a company over time. This evaluation is based on the stakeholder’s direct experiences with the company, any other form of communication and symbolism that provides information about the firms actions and/or a comparison with the actions of other leading rivals”

(Gotsi & Wilson, 2001; pp.29).

With the definition of corporate reputation being mentioned as such, reputation is not only limited to that of corporate organisations. Corporate reputations of educational institutions are often overlooked. However it significantly influences the institutions achievements and success (Karaköse, 2008). As illustrated earlier, reputation is the perceptions formed by perceptions of internal and external shareholder groups over time (Gotsi & Wilson, 2001). It is these perceptions in question that have to be managed in tandem with its brand values, missions and visions. As the stakeholders of the organisation come from within and outside the organisation, it is important to properly manage these perceptions in order to achieve a favourable reputation. Reputation management in terms of educational organisations can be defined as efforts for controlling perceptions of internal and external shareholders of the institution and directing them by conforming them to organisational goals (Karaköse, 2008).

(Part 3b will be up soon)

jon+mah

A little help needed.

Save the date:: Su Ann & Jonathan

In the works...

Dear Me...

God's Christmas present to me...

Kamboja...

A Cow based Economics Lesson;

*Got this piece off Facebook and find it quite hilarious.

A MALAYSIAN CORPORATIONThe government gives you money to buy two cows.You sell both and buy yourself a condominium.

Langkawi...like finally...

It baffles me how fast time flies...

The day the Theater of Dreams became a palace of nightmares...

The Bangkok Post...

Roadtrip!!!

365:730

One Thing...

Tanjung Sepat...

Paul Scholes- Manchester United Legend

Closer to the edge...

A day out in the sun...

Graduation...

Made in Thailand...

Where do I even begin?

Nostalgia...

Happy Mother's Day!

Picturesque...

Switchfoot 2.0!

Up Close With Switchfoot...

Will you follow Jesus today?

Darling's Graduation...

Reasons why I need a holiday.

Holiday desperation mode...

One Last Chance...

I can take a nap now...

So how has it been?

Your chance for some FAQ's

I spy with my little eye...

If you haven't done so already...

Happy Birthday!!!

An early celebration...

Need of assistance...

The Yellow Boy...

Burung Marah....

You + Me = Awesome

The Social Media Year Book of 2011

The revolution of information...

2 for 1...

What is Corporate Branding? (Part 3 of 6)

A MALAYSIAN CORPORATION
The government gives you money to buy two cows.
You sell both and buy yourself a condominium.