Protests in Egypt

The violence in Egypt still continues. The people are demanding a change of government, however, fights erupted in the major cities. I hope the unrest will be over soon. Egypt has been one of my favorite place with full of historical landmarks.

Also, one of my colleague was in Egypt for 3 weeks. I sms-ed her 2 days ago, and she told me she will fly out on Saturday 29th Jan, however, the hotel she lives in located at the center of the chaos. On the same day itself, the internet and telephone lines were cut off. The street becoming more and more dangerous, and curfews has been imposed. I hope she is safe and manage to get out from the country. I need to sms her again ..

From Reuters news this morning ..

Would-be looters broke into Cairo's famed Egyptian Museum, ripping the heads off two mummies and damaging about 10 small artifacts before being caught and detained by army soldiers, Egypt's antiquities chief said Saturday.

The tax levy for Queensland.

Just today, I heard if you are working in Australia, there will be this tax levy for the recent flood disaster in Queensland. The government need money to rebuild the state of Sunshine. What it means in lay man term, on top of your current tax, there will be additional tax. If you earn 60K a year, you will be tax around AUD3 a week. And if you earn 100k annually, you get tax of AUD5 a week.

Now, is that fair? The nation is debating on this, and some say the government is like a robin hood. Taking money from others to support the flood victims. According to the government, spending has been cut and channel some of those fund for the re-building. This in the end, will delay the country from paying the debts they already have.

What is my view on this? At first I think it's a good thing to do. After all, it's a national disaster, and fixing this problem is important. However, what bothers me is the taxes in Australia is already so high and yet, still do not have enough to rebuild a state.

I really don't mind about this levy for now, as I see the need. However, my greatest concern is this tax levy may become a habit for the government. People always used the history to justify their actions which is not always a best reason. It;s just a plain excuse for their incompetency.

Rafael Nadal in Australia Open 2011

Last night Rafael Nadal lost his dream in collecting his 4th Australia grand slam. Apparently he has injury and could not move to hit the ball back to his opponent. After the match, Rafa cited his team mate was better and he had tried his best. Though looking disappointed Rafa as usual is so humble in all his speeches. He is really a gem. He always acknowledged his opponent strengths whether he won or lost. My hats off to Rafael Nadal.

Totally opposite of him, there is this sportsman call Roger Federer. Next time when you read or hear him over an interview. Pay attention to what he says. It's all about him, and how lucky the others! Pooi!

Malaysian Food in Sydney

There were several Malaysian restaurants in Sydney, however, the one I really like because they have the Hokkien Mee is Sin Ma Laksa Restaurant @ Kingsford, Sydney.

Well when you crave for near-authentic Malaysian food, try them out if you are in Sydney :P

Bye bye Apple IPOD

Few months ago, I dropped my IPOD aged 4 years at least. It was in a perfect condition and never have any issue on it. However, after the dropped, the machine starting to behave funny. First I have to press a few times on the controller before I could select a song. Then finally last week, none of the controller worked at all.

Hence I went to Apple shop in Sydney. I described the problem to them and hoping they will service it for me. The Apple staff told me since it was not under warranty anymore, there really isn't anything they can do. They offered me a 10% off on my next purchase instead. I was thinking to myself and I felt it's a totally ripped off. Feeling dissatisfied I went to the Apple online shop and look for services related link. I found out that services was allowed for expired warranty IPOD however, you need to pay like AUD 126 for the service - even if they can't fix it!

My oh my, no wonder the Apple share doing so well in the market. Well I guessed they push me to make my IPOD a junk! So instead of getting a new one, I got myself a Sony S-Series an IPOD shuffle like player. Well I have to say it hasn't dissapointed me so far!!! So sayornara IPOD for now. I am not wealthy enough to keep your share to continue to become a premium one!

Changing Role

After 10 years in the same role, I have decided to change to a new role on Feb 14, 2011. It's a sweet date and hopefully a right move. After announcing to the department yesterday, there were a lot of surprises from many colleagues. There were all wondering why would I do that. I guessed they might thought I am moving away my comfort zone, moreover, I never talk about any dissatisfaction with the department.

In fact, I like the department very much. However, circumstances changed. I am back to college, and I need flexibilities in my job so I can squeeze in the hours for assignments. Also, a break is good, and who knows, if I go back to the same job, I come back with more experiences.

Whatever the reasons are, it is a big move for me in 2011. I hope my decisions are right and life are full of amazement ahead.

a-ha? What is that?

I am pretty much of an 80s kids. One of my favorite group when I was in school was a-ha. A Norwegian group that sang many of my favorite songs. However, last year in 2010, the group has decided to split. Suddenly I felt so old, the band I know for a long time is retiring??? OK never mind stay calm, it's just part of aging.

Then today, I walked into a CD shop in Sydney. I wanted to look for their collections and hopefully their last farewell concert in Oslo, Norway. I approached a young looking staff, tall lanky guy, with heavy rock metal tee, his nose and ears were pierced and his hair was waist length. I said, "Do you know where I can I find the DVD for a-ha"? He responded, "a-ha, what is that? Is it some kind of singer name, or a movie or folk band? At the back of my mind, I was like traveling in a time machine, remembering the songs often played in my room and cassettes. And this young chap did not even know the band exist?! Suddenly I felt so old again! I could not lie to myself anymore! Time is moving very fast, aging is not that fun yet!

a-ha details :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A-ha

Rijksmuseum .. kinda dissapointing ..why?

I went to Rijksmuseum today. The museum itself is historical and housed most of Rembrandt and Veneer's paintings. However, I was a bit disappointed. I found out that the museum is still under constructions since 6 years ago. There were many red tapes after the refurbishment took place. In the end, it' taking longer than expected and only due to re-open in full scale in 2013.

During my visit, I have on visited one wing of the museum towards the back. Only selected or mostly world famous paintings were on displayed including Rembrandt's Night Watch. Most of the art work are really exquisite. However, my advise if you like to visit Amsterdam, if possible, come in year 2013. The Rijkmuseum is really grand looking from outside however, the constructions are kinda messy right now.

What must I eat while in Dutchland?

Today I spoke to a shopkeeper and I asked what sort of dutch food that I should try. However, it has to be dairy free based. I was asked to sample 'kroket. It's basically deep fried croquet made of flour, and inside it has sauce with some beef pieces. I felt it's more like snack and for me it's a bit saltish.

Then my friend told me I must tried their famous pea soup or known as Erwtensoep. It's basically thick pea soup and served with cut sausage. It's yummy but really filling.

Biutiful Sounds from Westerkerk, Amsterdam

Come ride with me at the Amsterdam Canal for 2 minutes

Anne Frank Huis

I heard so much about Anne Frank for the longest time. Finally, I came to Amsterdam to visit the building she and her family hid. The building is also an office of his father's spice business. Going through the sections of the house was rather humbling. There were words quoted directly from her dairy about what she felt, heard, seen and finally her hope to be able to see and feel the air outside the house. At the end of the tour, Anne's father Otto Frank, formed a foundation to fight against prejudices against races, religions, and etc. I feel Otto was a great man and protective over his family.

The story of the Moustache T-Shirt

In year 2009 around Christmas I have written an incident in a t-shirt shop at Covent Garden, London. Basically, the shopkeeper got his IPOD stolen from the shop! The full story here :

http://rantingkiasuching.blogspot.com/2009/12/t-shirt-thief-and-missing-ipod.html

I finally bought the t-shirt, after visiting them few times and ran out of sizes.

This is how the t-shirt look like :P

I aMsterdam

I am finally in Amsterdam .. I stayed at Stadhouderskade where it's very near to Van Gogh and Rijksmuseum. The city is not big and walking around the city seems pleasant so far :)) Enjoying it.

So it's 2011, what's next?

For 2011, I have decided to do more subjects in each term. If I am on track I will finish my college by the end of 2012. And after that I can practice as a counselor. The number of hours spent on counseling work are more important that the college paper work apparently. The recognition and salary is seems to be based on experiences and exposures. However, I will also wanting to take up the Master degree. With master degree and I can operate my own counseling license. My biggest challenge would be the pay, I need to make sure I meet a break even for my expenses. One step at a time.