Happy 1 Year Old

It all started when a friend casually reminded Mrs Banana and I, "Don't just enjoy the process, mind the final product as well!" We agreed it was high time to settle down and have a baby. I thought, hmmm.... wouldn't it be nice to have a blog to record down the baby's journey after when he/she is born? That was what prompted my to experiment with this strange thing called blogging.

70th postings later and still no baby, but this blog is already 1 year old! I still remember the hardest part of all was to choose a name for this blog. I chosed Second to Minute, as a journal to record the happenings of the supposedly baby. As it turns out, this blog has became my personal ramblings!

My little brother-in-law first reaction on hearing this blog was "Wow! Can get rich already. Sign up some advertisement and repeatedly click on the link." No. As you can see, there's zero advertisement in my blog and I don't even care about the readership. This blog is to share with my friends some of my latest happenings and interesting stuff. I did not and will not want to be a celebrity blogger, though I got to admit that there are some repeated readers lurking in and out.

Thanks for dropping by!

Trust

Heard something interesting from the radio this morning. Lite FM deejays were asking listeners to call in and give a two cent about trust.

Normally, I would not be able to catch these conversations very well because of the traffic jam. If you have driven on streets of KL during moring rush hours, you would know what I mean by that. But today, for some strange reason, the traffic was unbelievably smooth and I could enjoy a relaxing cruise to office.

Back to Trust. A listener called in and gave a thought provoking insight of his view about trust. The essense of his view is that trust is like a bank savings account. In the begining, it was full and it is our nature to trust people completely and whole-heartedly. But being human, we eventually experience lies, betrayals and dissapointments. Each incident is like an expense, to be deducted from this account. Many lies and dissapointments later, the account would be empty and it will take a long time to build this trust again.

But then again, he stressed that trust is a multi-faceted account. He gave the example that if his wife cheated on him before, he may not trust her words anymore but at the same time, he could still trust her in taking care of their daughter.

That's pretty deep for a Friday morning. But he got me thinking and I could relate it personally.
I used to trust people easily and had my fair share of betrayals and lies. Once I realised that person can no longer be trusted, I will build a shield and be extra cautious when dealing with him again.

Do you agree with what he said?

This is worrying

Average worker will have RM120,000 in EPF

By ZULKIFLI ABD RAHMAN

KUALA LUMPUR: An average worker will have about RM120,000 in his Employee Provident Fund (EPF) account by the time he reaches the age of 55, Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah said in Dewan Negara on Monday.

He added that the amount, which was calculated based on the person's working life of 30 years, would provide him with an average of RM500 in monthly returns for 20 years after reaching 55 years.

Ahmad Husni said the amount would enable him to meet basic expenditures.

However, the person must contribute more than RM120,000 to his EPF account to enjoy a more comfortable retirement life, he told Senator Ikhwan Salim Sujak.

Ahmad Husni said the EPF had strategies to ensure workers were prudent with their savings and they should invest their savings in proper schemes.

He also said EPF contributors were allowed to withdraw from Account II to buy a house or a second house if they had settled the loan on their first house.

To a question, Ahmad Husni said there were no plans to compel contracted or part-time workers to contribute to the EPF.

If the Minister thinks a person can retire with just RM120,000, he must be living in somewhere else. RM120,000 can't even get you a decent house in the Klang Valley today, let alone 20 years down the road. Hell, RM120,000 is barely enough to pay for a Civic or Altis!

I read in an article not too long ago highlighting the adverse condition of our pensioners. It showcased the plight of single pensioners, those without children or widowed. You see, in the past, a lot of government servant opt for pension instead of savings in EPF. The promise was that, upon your retirement, you will be paid half of your last drawn salary every month. If your last drawn salary was RM5000, then you will receive RM2500 every month until you die. Sounds good?

The problem was that most of these pensioners were at clerical level and back then they only receive about RM600 to RM800 a month. Back then, RM600 could feed an entire family. But now, RM600 could get you nowhere. Imagine getting half of that. Try to survive 30 days with a monthly income of RM300. And I am not talking just about food. Consider electricity, water, medical, clothing and other essentials as well!

We need to take inflation into the big picture. Last year, a bowl of noodles cost about RM3.50. Begining of this year, it was RM3.80. After the recent petrol hike, it sky rocketed to RM4.00. And that is just one year apart.

Live for another 20 years after reaching 55 years old with just RM120,000? You must be dreaming, Mr. Minister. The only solution is that either you die earlier or keep on working like a donkey. Sorry for such a grim fact.

Funny signs

It's been over 2 weeks since I updated this blog. No excuses, no lies. I was plain lazy. And on top of that, I felt like a zombie and didn't even has a slightest motivation to blog. Actually, I still feel like a constipating bulldog - restless and full of angst!

But since it is Friday, I guess it is better to laugh off it. Here's some funny signs I Ctrl C + Ctrl V from the internet. Enjoy :)

Royal Park Hotel

This is the hotel that my subsidiary company booked for my stay in Hong Kong last week. Royal Park Hotel, a 4 star hotel located in Shatin, Hong Kong. For the uninitiated, Shatin is located way north of Hong Kong and Kowloon and the main reason I stayed there was due to the proximity of the hotel and the company.

To my surprise, my room was very spacious. My last encounter in a hotel in Hong Kong was claustrophobic (the room was so cramped and packed with the fittings). But to be fair, that was a 3-star hotel and was situated in Mongkok. Guess you get what you pay for.

The lobby is well lighted and its elevators give you a nice view of the hotel's surrounding through the glass doors. I thought the smartcard security access at the elevators was very thoughful to provide privacy for the hotel's guests because the hotel is connected to the adjacent New Town Plaza.

For a corporate rate of HKD880 per night, I think it was quite worth it. Not forgetting to mention that it comes with a welcoming fruit plate (an orange, an apple and a pear) and drink at the bar, daily buffet breakfast, complimentary mini bar with daily replenishment (just beers, soft drinks, and mineral water) and a complimentary shuttle bus to Tsim Tsa Shui (didn't even use it due to the typhoon). My only complaint was that they should throw in the internet connection as well.


The elevators

The 8th floor

Spacious room, with LCD tv, and full of mirrors



















The sofa was tucked nicely at the corner


















It even has a long bath, considering space is scarce in Hong Kong


















The WC and rain fall shower. Check out the disability friendly designed.


















An external shot of the hotel when the clouds were away


















The nearby Shatin Town Hall


















And incidentally, the hotel is the official hotel for the Olympics games in August. Hong Kong will be hosting the Equestrian events in Shatin and major refurbishment works were visible. Here a mascots still under assembly, shot from my room window.


















And the best surprise of all, after a full day work, I got back to my room at 10.00pm. Then, the phone in the room rang. I picked it up and the hotel staff wished me happy birthday and told me they were sending a cake up to my room! Wow! I was speechless. Talk about Customer Relationship Management. They noticed it during the check-in and made a note of it. Guess not many hotels in Malaysia will do the same.

While I received many birthday wishes from my friends in Malaysia, I purposely kept it from my Hong Kong colleagues. They have been treating me well and I didn't want them to spend more than they should.

Anyway, back to the cake. It was a big strawberry cake and there was no way I could finished it by myself. I called Mrs Banana to tell her that this hotel was really great!


















The birthday card


















Looks delicious


















Time to make a wish


















Very berry strawberry



















Yummy and happy

Would I stay there again? Of course I would. In fact, when I left for the airport, the bellboy who hailed down the taxi for me gave me a note. He has written down the taxi number and the hotel contact number, just in case, if I were to leave something in the taxi. Now that's customer service.

P/S: Not to worry about the cake. I managed to finished it the next when I was trapped in the hotel due to the typhoon.