Christmas Day in Brussels

The two-hour early morning journey by Eurostar from London St Pancras International near Kings Cross to Brussels was not really comfortable. Whoever own the rail company really try to pack up as many passengers as possible for the sake of profit. Most of the seats face each other and the leg room was restrictive. I noticed that Europeans with long legs have to place them on the aisle! What was more disconcerting was when you had to travel against direction of train and face to face with strangers especially a "hot couple". The premier class was the same except they had newspapers so I decided to travel standard class. My left knee was aching. That was on 24 December 2008. The actual undersea channel tunnel crossing was only about 30 minutes.

Upon arrival, we took a cab to our hotel, the Royal Windsor located near the Grand Place. It cost us Eur 7.80. The driver was a Moroccan who only spoke French and he was listening to a nasyid-like song called "Thank you Allah" which sounded like a local group Raihan.

On 25 December I woke up to the ringing of church bells, so loud that they set off cars' alarm system. They went on for about five minutes or so. After having a full breakfast, we decided to walk in the city. The narrow streets were gaily decorated and street musicians, one was playing an accordion and another,a group was playing classical music at a junction. And there were beggars as well crouching against the walls. Some buildings appeared to be spray-painted by vandals.

Quaint stalls lined up the cobblestone streets, selling crafts bric a brac. Souvenir shops, Belgian craft shops dotted the lanes and chocolate shops, Godiva, Nehaus, Leonidas, Corne.. all famous Belgian chocolate makers were there scattered all over the beautiful city square. There were rows of cute small restaurants displaying seafood, lobsters, cockles, prawns you name it they were all there arranged decoratively in ice on the pavements. Christmas decorations of red, green and gold were a plenty lending color to the festivities. They have arcades which they call galleries, selling all sort of things from keychains, T-shirts, shawls, intricate Belgian embroideries, jeweleries to leather jackets.

As the day progressed, more and more people came out to the square and jammed the narrow streets shoulder to shoulder. The day was cloudy, overcast and chilly. It grew dark very fast, by about 3 pm it was already nighttime. The square, bordered on four sides by old and architecturally stunning buildings, came alive with modern rods emanating colorful dancing lights which appear to respond and gyrate to the modern invigorating music. The atmosphere was electric, people, families with children even the disabled on motorized wheelchairs were mesmerized. At the end of every musical session, the big projector would highlight the moving shadow of Santa on his sleigh of reindeer across the baroque building electronically sprinkled with falling snowflakes... it was a magical moment, a virtual technology concert.

We stayed for three musical sessions before deciding to walk back to our hotel, it was then nearly 8pm. What a Christmas day it was! Tiring and yet rejuvenating.

Premier Travel

I remember the first time I came to London some years ago when I was upgraded to business class and the seat, two to a row was similar but larger than economy class with slightly bigger leg room, the flight stopped at Frankfurt, distracting the journey and the immigration queue at Heathrow was incredibly long and most of the officers were elderly white and stiff. Terminal 3 was then under construction and the entry and walk to the immigration check was interminable. My second business class travel was more or less the same except the stop was at Dubai where I wasted some money as the duty-free shopping of high quality items were cheap.

My recent business class travel was something else. The seat was now fully electronic and could be reclined to any position from flat to any angle most comfortable to you and the TV monitor followed you. Such luxury in the air no wonder despite the cost, it was difficult to get a business class seat! The cabin was full. Moreover the flight is nonstop, no more distraction, financial and physical and less jet lag problems and before disembarkation you are given a "premier lane" immigration check form, you virtually breeze through, no more vexing long queue. The plane landed at 5.20am local time and I was out at the meeting point just before 6am.... incredible. In the past it wouldn't be before 9am and I remember how our bags were waiting for us, scattered on the floor! This time we were waiting for our bags.

Custom check was conveniently through the green lane. The arrival was pleasant to say the least and hardly a muscle ached despite the nearly 13-hour journey. Indeed for the businessman or woman and anyone else , that was really premier travel!

Saved by Shakir

Sunray shafts over London

I have booked for my MAS ticket to go to London way back in August but somehow there was a slip up as I did not follow up till mid-November and that was the start of my problem where being a gold Enrich member and a shareholder did not help! My booking was cancelled by the system as it detected double booking... yes the travel agent had not cancelled the earlier booking and when she finally did.. my second self booking had already been automatically cancelled and when I rebooked... guess what? Waiting list all the way, entirely my fault, no one else.

Countless phonecalls, going through important people at one stage even a Deputy Minister of Transport was mentioned to help me be on that plane as onward booking to Belgium and several theatre tickets have been purchased and what am I to do if I cannot have confirmed seats.. I persevered, humbling myself, begging to be helped.. the local MAS manager must have been rather fed-up of me with my desperate SMSes! Then enter Shakir.... Shakir the dedicated officer at Enrich MAS building KL.

Shakir listened to my sad tale and decided to go out of his way to help me... he sent memos to his supervisor almost daily to remind him of my predicament and to get me that seat. Can you imagine at RM24000 per seat all the business class seats have been taken up! After almost four weeks( 28 days of frustration), Shakir rang me today to confirm I have got that return seat to London... hey ZANA here I come! I must see who are those people who are going to be stuck with me for 12 hours.. very curious.

Shakir, you are great!

Tumbling, crumbling, melting ...real humbling

The global stock markets started to become jittery late last year(2007) as the subprime crisis in US surfaced. Within less than a year, the financial crisis arising from the subsequent credit crunch, has deepened and swiftly affected the rest of the world. The credit crunch is mostly brought about by the loss of trust in the lending business. Banks are just not lending to each other like they used to. Some failed banks are being "nationalized" to protect depositors. Some banks suffer from a run as scared depositors scramble to withdraw their money.

Despite the massive government bailout or rescue package for the failing financial institutions, investors' fear rear its ugly head and has come to rule. Bourses around the world have lost their market values,the magnitude of which is unheard of in the last 35 years. Billions (USD) have been wiped out from stock markets worldwide within a couple of weeks in late September and early October 2008. This is reminiscent of the Asian financial crisis in 1997/1998 though on a much, much larger scale.

The stocks went on a merry tumble and now, at the time of blogging, have virtually crumbled. The melt-down may signal a global recession. Crisis of this magnitude has humbled many an investor whose investments collectively and cumulatively help create and drive the financial system which supports the economy of the country.

Devastating as it is, what can the poor individual investor do except to sigh and wait for the financial turmoil to evolve fully, bottom out and place a mark on the new seven-year cycle! For the courageous, this is the time to buy stocks of good companies at a cheap price, with a long term horizon in mind.

Keep your hand off that ear!

A 27 year old man presented with left ear pain and had begun to feel feverish. He revealed that a few days back, water had got into his ear canals and he used cotton buds to dry them up. About 24 hours later he started to feel pain. He medicated himself by using some kind of solution purchased over the counter (OTC), however the condition deteriorated and fever had set in.

Examination of his left ear showed some serous discharge and a small ulcerated area at 10 o'clock and fortunately his tympanic membrane (ear drum) was intact.The lesson drawn from this case is refrain from inserting cotton buds into you ear canal. Ear has the amazing mechanism of cleaning itself. Any attempt to clean it will risk injury and infection.

A SOjoURN.... A reAL HoliDay

It has been a most challenging month for me in terms of suffering from unbearable back pain which was unnecessarily prolonged, performing religious obligations and driving long distance in congested traffics to go to work, so yesterday afternoon I decided to give myself a treat by checking into a five-star hotel and just sit in the beautiful room and let myself be pampered by maids making up my room and having room service for my meals..no cooking, no washing and no cleaning for three days, thank you. And as luck would have it, I am upgraded by the hotel to a suite because all the rooms are fully booked!

The good thing about this holiday is I do not have to rush here and there shopping or sightseeing and the like. No schedules to keep just laze away and listen to the soft and soothing music from the hotel TV. As I am sitting here blogging away, the sea view is nothing but tranquil with yachts mooring by the hotel marina point and the green islands dotting the background. The two views above are from my hotel window.

I am now feeling invigorated, refreshed and motivated to return to work and deal with life challenges for the next few months. This sojourn is, in essence, a real holiday in every sense of the word.

Acute Back Pain is Really a Pain in the Neck!

Being very tired one day I fell asleep on the sofa while watching TV. It must have been the abnormal position of the body that the back muscle became strained and went into spasm causing, initially,niggling pain and after 48 hours it became unbearable. I could not bend down or even place my hand at the back. Luckily I had no dresses with back zippers!Fortunately for me, the aching pain was confined to the back muscle and did not spread to my legs, so heroically I still managed to drive to work. However sitting at work was a torture!

I first went for physiotherapy at the primary care level which could only offer ultrasound treatment.The pain did not go away despite two sessions of treatment and the week dragged on without respite and I even woke up with the pain, which was a bad sign. I was alternating paracetamol and ibuprofen to relieve the pain. I suffered through the weekend, vowing to seek treatment at the secondary care level where they have a much better physiotherapy facilities the following Monday. My oh my! Didn't I then feel I really and actually have a back? I took it too much for granted.

Mrs Tay, the hospital Physiotherapist was terrific, not only was I given the latest electronic treatment, she also gave me the human message which I really appreciated. After three one-hour sessions of human,electronic and heat treatment, my back gradually became better and no longer a pain in the neck!I was given a simple back exercise brochure to follow at home.All in all,the duration of my suffering was about 10 days. I am pain-free now and no longer "aware" that I have a back....

Young, obese, depressed and female.

There appears to be a rising incident of hypertension (high blood pressure) among the young in developed countries. This statement is, however, not evidence-based as there is no data to support this perceived trend, at least in this country.

Patients as young as 22 years old have been diagnosed as hypertensive (having high blood pressure). The symptoms are almost always frequent headaches and nausea with occasional blurring of vision. There is a specific examination work-up for young hypertensives to exclude causes such as abnormal hormone level and renal artery stenosis (blockage of artery supplying blood to the kidney). Young male hypertensives are usually obese (body mass index [BMI] in excess of 30).

There is yet a class of young hypertensives who can be detected by their physical appearance. This is the female who, apart from being obese, is depressed, hirsute (having visible facial hairs) and suffers from abnormal menstruation. These unfortunate souls have abnormal metabolic syndrome as well, leading to diabetes and hypercholesterolemia (high cholesterol in the blood). This condition is referred to as polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). Left untreated, these people will end up with kidney failure.

Post- September 16 Stock Market

I believe there had been some minimal effects of the local politics on the stock market, though the major impact is, of course from the current financial turmoil coming out of Wall St in the US. Indeed global financial system and investors the world over are waiting anxiously for the revised bailout plan currently being debated by the US law makers to be hopefully and finally passed!

Since March 2008, some of the favorite stocks have fallen by more than 70%. Anyway, I picked up some SIME shares on 12 September at 6.00 per unit and look at the current price last Tuesday 30 September..but I also bought some SWKPLNT shares whose price is now at rock bottom and obviously not affected by local politics but by the low CPO prices and by the negative re evaluation of our plantations by some foreign bodies... such is the volatility of the market now, many investors are taking a "wait and see" attitude. For me, I will keep looking for opportunities created by panicky horde of investors.

Pre-September 16 Stock Market Tumble

It is interesting to see the panic in the market for the last week or so. As everyone knows that this is the week preceding September 16 threat by an opposition party leader that he would usurp political power through the shifting of allegiance by some existing members of parliament. The market response is anticipated given the political instability experienced by the country at the moment.

Whilst for some it is a moment of uneasy frustration, for others who have some cash , this is the time to buy. Remember this is a cyclical phenomenon. A lot of other factors contribute to market situation for example the current low CPO prices have affected the plantation sector badly and so has the windfall tax on the industry imposed by the government in the last budget. How much the current political instability is affecting the market still remains to be seen.

For those who dare take risks, it is time to get those bluechips .....enjoy the tumble !

Are Wealth Creation and Financial Planning in your Vocabulary?

The other day I met a helpful officer at the ASNB office in my hometown. He briefed me on the elements of financial planning which are investment, tax planning, insurance, retirement planning, estate planning and cash flow. Wished I had more time to listen to him. Anyway thank you so much Mr W for your time.

Over and above, I find that most people do not do this planning as they happily earn their money and spend it quite haphazardly. The reality of life comes to them as a shock when they are about to retire or are faced with grave life events such as accidents or sickness.

Most people depend on their savings, which when placed in a bank, would not have worked well for them financially. Just how much can you save with , say, a monthly income of 3000 at the current 3% P.A interest? That is why we need to delve into other financial products to make our money grow and help us in our hour of need. Needless to say, financial planning is meaningless without money in hand.

Financial products such as unit trusts, mutual funds, stocks, REITs, money market and bonds are there for us to select according to our risk profile. Indeed, wealth creation and financial planning should be in every able person's vocabulary and..... always aim to retire in style.

In the Nick of Time

A 55- year old lady came in with a rather flushed face, complaining of pins and needles on her left leg since the night before when she also suffered from an episode of breathlessness. She spoke of a tightening ring around her chest. Her presentation is not at all classic medical text book.

When queried further she admitted that she had been diagnosed as having high blood pressure a year ago but the drug prescribed did not reduce her headache instead she used some kind of "jelly" as suggested by her friend and found that it helped her a great deal and that her headache had gone. She took this "miracle food" for the last six months. She had never since seen a doctor.

Her blood pressure was measured and found to be 210/120, which was dangerously high and her ECG (electrical pattern of her heart) showed a markedly strained heart! She was promptly given a dose of blood pressure-lowering drug and within 1 1/2 hours her blood pressure was reduced to 140/90. She felt a lot lighter and her left leg's pins and needles were gone.

Had she not come to the clinic in time, she would have been a "stroke statistics". We all have heard of people who suddenly developed slurring of speech and paralysis of half of their body....yes, this is hypertension or high blood pressure, the silent attacker/killer. So monitor your health and stick to scientifically proven medicine.

Like Mother Like Daughter

There are these two sets of family consisting of mother and daughter. The first set, the elderly mother is always smiling and making jokes and the daughter also looks happy and contented to accompany the mother for visit to the doctor. The other set, the elderly mother is glum and hardly smiled and she complained of almost all aches you can think of and the daughter is just as glum and irritable. She looks unhappy to accompany her mother to the clinic. Both mothers suffer from high blood pressure.

The happy mother regularly came to the clinic to get her medications properly titrated as a result her blood pressure achieved the desired target. Her daughter was encouraging the mother to get better and one could see their non-verbal behaviours which reveal how close they are. The other set does not do well at all. The daughter was not happy to take her mother to the clinic at close intervals while the drugs were being titrated as a result this elderly mother's blood pressure has yet to achieve the target. The way this daughter sat showed her cold distance and taking her sick mother to see a doctor was a chore to her.

It seems that a daughter models her behavior on her mother! Ladies, you deserve what you get...

Recurrent tonsillitis and Antibiotics Resistance

She is a 32 year old working woman who came in with a bad sore throat and a high fever at 38.7 deg C. She looked distressed. History revealed that she had been having sore throat repeatedly , 3-4 times a year and she was getting desperate. For the latest episode, she had gone to see a private doctor who prescribed the usual course of antibiotics and acetaminophen (for relief of fever) three days ago however the fever has not subsided and her throat pain was getting worse.

Physical examination showed that her tonsils were enlarged and inflamed with white patches especially on the right side and her right eardrum was also hyperemic (red) and true enough, she complained of right earache as well.

This is a case of antibiotics resistance, meaning that the germs are no longer sensitive to the antibiotics which are normally prescribed for this condition. Either she had not been taking the antibiotics according to the prescribed period, thus the resistant bugs, or due to possible lack of antibiotics efficacy/potency.

To kill off her resistant (and recalcitrant) bugs, the doctor has to carefully choose an antibiotics which are not regularly used by other doctors ( as culture and sensitivity studies of her throat swab would take 2 weeks!) to which her germs have not been exposed to and let us keep our fingers crossed for her!

On an advisory note, whenever you are prescribed an antibiotics, comply with the prescribed time even though you might have felt better before the course is finished.

Shopping for Doctors

A fifty year old lady presented herself with a history of a left red eye (conjunctivitis) for the last three weeks! Her left eye was extremely red and watery and half-closed and she was in some pain. When questioned further she said that she had had visited three private doctors, the first two had given her steroid eye drops and the third gave her an antibiotic eye drop PLUS oral antibiotics to boot! And altogether she had spent almost $200.00 in consultations and medications...

She said her problem started 3 weeks ago following an itchy and watery left eye which later became red and painful. It was observed that the three doctors had given her medication to treat the red eye but no medication to control her pain... so she went from one doctor to the other, trying to get pain relief and not getting it.. poor woman.

o8o8o8

What an auspicious date for China to launch the 29th summer Olympics opening ceremony! It was such a spectacular burning of the Olympics torch...such limitless resources and impressive combination of the old and the new. Looking at those Olympians smiling away as they marched in into the bird nest stadium really lifted my spirit and hope for all nations to coexist and become united through sports. China has also done an excellent job of preparing to receive international visitors. Beijing, despite the weather and the smog will be remembered long after the Olympic torch is extinguished.

Rich and poor nations come together in the planet greatest arena of human endeavors... hope it will not be spoilt by the likes of Ben Johnsons and Marian Jones. Quite surprising though that Brunei's participation was rejected due to late submission of registration?.. Brunei is a wealthy nation come to think of it..even Iraq has managed to get in, at the last minute, to fly aloft their country's sacred flag.

Good on China, there is so much to look forward to in a world infused with international understanding nurtured through sports.

Yet Another Case of Unnecessary Stomach Pain

A fifteen year old girl went to see a General Practitioner(GP) complaining of stomach pain. She has been suffering from this condition for a number of months now. The good GP promptly prescribed antacid for her and off she went. She returned again as her supply of antacids has finished.

It is indeed worrying that a 15-year old should suffer from such pain as it is bound to be chronic or longterm. She looked pale and tired and further questioning revealed that she had been having headaches and given painkillers the side effect of which is.... you guessed it stomach or in medical jargon "epigastric" pain. Her blood test showed that she was anaemic (lack of haemoglobin in the blood) as her Haemoglobin reading was 7.7mg/dl (normal level for female is 12-15mg/dl). The cause of the blood disease is being investigated and she was appropriately treated to normalize her blood haemoglobin level.

The point here is, had the anaemia been detected earlier, cause investigated and appropriately treated, the poor girl would not have to suffer the drug-induced stomach pain causing so much distress for her and affecting her schoolwork and general quality of life.

Heard of Helicobacter Pylori?

She is only 22 but she has been suffering from stomach pain for the last 7 years. She works as a supermarket cashier and quite often she misses her meals on time and this has only served to make her condition worse.

She is cachexic (extremely thin with hardly any body fat), her BMI is only 13.7 (normal for this part of the world is 23-25), her appetite is poor though she was not anaemic (lack of haemoglobin). Now, one treatable cause of frequent stomach pain is the presence of a germ called Helicobacter Pylori in the stomach and in our set-up, the test for the presence of this bug is performed at the Endoscopic Unit of the hospital.

The young lady was promptly referred to the unit and her actual status will be known in two weeks. Should it be H. pylori, she would be treated and her quality of life will be much improved.

Capital Protected Fund.. portfolio diversification

I just recalled parting with my 50k in January this year, after being sweet-talked by a lady at CIMB. She had advised me not to buy the mutual fund offered at around the same time as she said the price would fluctuate and I might lose in the short term. This reminded me of my negatively fluctuating unit trusts at HSBC... really frustrating to say the least, sorry Rob :)

She then offered me this product which, under good market conditions, has been calculated to give a return of over 15% PA. Even if the market did not perform I would not lose my capital! The catch is, you have to put in a minimum of 50k for a period of 3 years....sounds like a fixed deposit game to me..luckily I stopped short of adding another 50k.

Be careful of sweet-talking agent, I reminded myself, when she started on about putting my money in the money market, as a way of re parking my fund from the current depressed stock market. I see this capital-protected product as a portfolio diversification.

Evening Primrose Oil.....My Experience

I remember many years ago I used to suffer badly from acne and my friend who has a degree in nutrition from prestigious Cornelle University USA, recommended that I take evening primrose oil capsules as she said she had benefited a lot in terms of better skin and painless menstruation. It so happened that she was an agent for the oil imported from New Zealand. At 85 per bottle, it was not cheap.

I began taking the "miracle Oil" and sure enough after about three months of diligent intake, I found my skin was baby smooth, gone were the hated acnes and I was very happy ordering, three bottles at a time, to last for the next nine months. Then on the 5th month or so I noticed my leg veins were showing up and I immediately attributed the condition to the oil. I would rather have acnes than varicose veins!

I stopped taking the oil and told my friend of its effect on the veins, of course she would not listen and continued taking. It took months for my condition to recover. And yes, I observed that my friend was using tight supportive stockings whenever she walked...

On a different note, the effects of Evening Primrose Oil may be different for different people but if you see those leg veins coming up, we are likely to share the same effects!

Effects of Antibiotics on your Gut

Antibiotics are best taken on doctor's prescription to ensure that the benefits outweigh the disadvantages. Be that as it may, it has been speculated that the use of antibiotics have resulted in the increase of allergic conditions such as asthma and eczema.

There are several classes of antibiotics and most are not selective in their action on germs. There are many "good germs" in our gut and these are also destroyed by the antibiotics. So it is advisable after a course of antibiotics we try to repopulate our gut with these "good germs" by taking probiotics, yogurt, fruits and vegetables.

I am going to take yogurt (with live culture) for the next five days ....

Chicken Soup... my Very Own

When you are not feeling well or when the weather is cold or even when you are hungry... a good chicken soup would make your day. Yes there are ready made soup packets(with food stabilizers and conditioners to boot!) in the market but I like mine freshly made and one which can be prepared fast. Here is my recipe:

Ingredients

4-6 bite size (500g)chicken pieces
6 small onions (sweeter than large onion)-slice
3 pips garlic -slice
4 cloves
2.5 cm cinnamon stick
3 tablespoon cooking oil
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
3 cm ginger -sliced
600ml freshly boiled water
1 chili- slice (if preferred hot)
salt to taste

Method

1.Heat oil in the pot and fry star anise, clove and cinnamon stick and add in sliced onions, garlic and ginger. Fry till fragrant.
2.Add chicken pieces and sprinkle in the turmeric and fry and keep tossing the chicken so that evenly cooked under slow fire for about 3-4 minutes.
3.Add the freshly boiled water and adjust fire at simmering temperature and leave it for 15 minutes till chicken is tender, then add chili slices and salt to taste. Serve hot with rice (or boiled potatoes) for a balanced meal.

(You can spoon the soup out into a smaller pot and add in veges like broccoli, cabbage, mushroom or tomatoes and boil for 1 minute). Soup can be refrigerated for at least 3 days and reboil with selected veges.

The Saga of the Cold ...Finally Ending

The dinner last night was wonderful, having made some new friends and renewed acquaintances with old ones. We returned just before midnight and I was very careful not to have the night shower on account of my cold, instead I just sponged myself. I had the room air-cond on and a fan as well, as drier air would help to dry my sinuses, I reckoned.

This morning I woke up quite early, 5.30am on a Saturday morning! And felt my nose still a bit blocked and my cough still irritatingly productive. I figured I must have some exercise by doing some laundry. After hanging out the washings, I had a cup of warm chocolate and took my antibiotics (4th day today). Initially I had wanted to go for my regular 45-minute brisk walk but later decided against it and went back to bed instead! I was out for 3 hours with a fan on... and when I woke up, I felt so refreshed and my nose was clear and dry!

My cold saga started on 1st July, became better on 3rd then it recurred on the 5th,(loved one admitted to hospital on the 4th), took the first course of antibiotics on the 7th, coughs and congestion turned out somewhat better only to worsen again, I noticed every time following night showers. Started the second course of antibiotics on the 16th and on the 17th I surrendered, flat-out and was given a sick leave for 2 days!

And this very instance, my nose is clear and throat a lot better and coughing a lot less, no more annoying nasal discharge, such is the power of a good rest! Thanks God, I am healthy again!!

You need to be sick sometimes in order to celebrate health and feel grateful.

Charity Dinner and Charitable Mood

One of the best way to collect as much money as possible for a non-governmental organization (NGO) is through a charity dinner. In this instance, the organization happens to have a wealthy patron who has resources at his fingertip. Then invite an influential guest of honor, arrange for a reasonably good entertainment outfit and hold an arts auction of paintings from reasonably well-known artists and cap it with a favorite master of ceremony and there you have it, a packed five-star hotel grand ballroom.

The NGO has supportive programs for the terminally ill people and this itself would bring out the caring element and the generosity thread of human nature. I went to one last night. It was a black tie event with gentlemen smartly dressed and ladies glamorously attired and bejeweled. Some tables cost 5000 and 10000 each. I would have just donated some money without attending but since we received a special invitation, I decided to attend despite my nose being blocked and throat sore.

The food was delicious, though my sense of smell was a bit impaired, the overseas entertainment made up of four people pretending to be a famous group in the 70s belting out recognizable hits with the audience singing and dancing with them.I virtually got up with the others and had a bit of a swing myself ;)

But before that you should have seen the paintings' auction... from 1000 became 5000 in less than a few minutes and the icing of the cake was a painting donated by the benevolent guest of honor with the starting bid of 10000. I was asking my friends jokingly whether I should bid higher as I was sure it would go up further especially when people were in an amazingly charitable mood. I needn't have bothered, as a quick succession of raised hands had finally brought the price to 50000! Dizzying...

That is charity dinner for you.. for me it was good food and good company and thank you EO for inviting us, you are such a superb philanthropist!

The Cold That Didn't Get Away

I "boasted" in my previous post that I hardly suffered from a cold as I had a method of stopping it. Last week I did just that but unfortunately the stress of caring for a sick "loved-one" in the hospital had bogged me down and before long I found my cold had refused to go away.... it got worse as the phlegm became brownish indicating minor bleeding of some parts of the sinus.

The last time I took an antibiotic was in 2004! Last Saturday I took a three-day course of an expensive broad spectrum antibiotics. I was better for a couple of days then I made a big mistake of showering at 1 am, it was a warm shower mind you, and washed my hair then the very next day, my nose was almost as good as blocked and my throat was sore and I was croaking! Gallantly' I still went to work, coughing away. Somehow I recovered and feeling a bit better and only sponged in the evening in place of a full shower.

Then after work yesterday I noticed my phlegm had turned yellowish-green and my cough had worsened. I then decided to take another course of antibiotics (despite my abhorrence of medicine), this time, the not so expensive one (5-day course). Being a creature of habit, I once again had a midnight warm shower and this morning my nose is really so congested and my coughs are so bad that I finally have to take time off work :(

I will try not to take those night showers whenever I have a cold...and now I remember my mother used to warn against showering at nights. Strange indeed how our body reacts to temperature change when it is not in a normal state. Normally, the warm night shower is so calming to the body and soul.

Child Endowment Fund- Did I Make the Right Decision?

Like any other insurance products, the financial gain is calculated on risks. On many occasions, the purchaser of this kind of "forced saving scheme" base the decision to buy on the strength of trust on the agent. I took out mine because the agent was my ex-staff. Dutifully I paid the premium through a bank standing instruction and have forgotten about it for years till it matured recently.

I hardly looked at the finer points of the documents and only remembered the amount due to me at the end of the maturity period. So when I finally received the cheque I was surprised to discover that had I saved that amount in the bank I would have got the same amount of "interest" and had I invested the same amount in PNB Unit Trusts I would have got double the amount via so called 'dividends". The only factor in the equation was "the risk" that was, should anything have happened to my child during the period, I would be paid the insured amount... Hmmm.. one can always be wise after the event. But then, for the aggressive risk-taker, this is not a good method of wealth creation especially when there are currently so many good financial products offered by banks and Unit Trust Managers.

By the way I received about 9% less than the amount promised and my agent has long migrated to Australia!

Laughter is the Best Medicine

A friend sent me this poem by an anonymous poet. I would like to post it here for a good laugh.. here goes..

A Wife's Poem

He didn't like the curry
And he didn't like my cake.
He said my biscuits were too hard...
Not like his mother used to make.
I didn't prepare the coffee right
He didn't like the stew,
I didn't mend his socks
The way his mother used to do.
I pondered for an answer
I was looking for a clue.
Isn't there anything I could do
To match his mother's shoe
Then I smile as I saw light
One thing I could definitely do
I turned around
and slapped him tight...
Like his mother used to do!!!!!

Exercise Yourself to Better Health

He has been diagnosed as a diabetic just a week ago. It came as a shock to him but somehow he had it coming as his lipid level has been high for a long time and he also has been suffering from hypertension for the last ten years. It is part of what is called a metabolic syndrome.

Apart from the lipid-lowering drugs, the antihypertensive and now the antidiabetic drugs, the best thing for him to do is to walk briskly for about 45 minutes for at least three times a week. Besides losing some unwanted weight, you can tone your heart muscle and make it easier to respond to unnecessary stress.

Through exercising, he has found that his sugar level is much better controlled enabling him to choose his diet carefully in small portions and eating virtually what he wants... no restriction in food variety only in amount of serving and quantity of carbohydrates and fats.

Avoid That Blinking Stomach Pain

Stomach pain, or in medical jargon, is referred to as epigastric pain or dyspepsia can be caused by many factors such as stress either physically or emotionally and by some painkiller tablets. On many occasions, it is due to tablets used to relieve headache, joint pain, muscle pain or even menses pain. It is then advisable for people who suffer from such pain to use paracetamol first and see whether the pain can be relieved. Paracetamol, in stated doses, does not irritate the stomach. In fact studies done have shown that paracetamol is just as effective in relieving joint pain or arthritis in many cases. Paracetamol can be purchased over the counter (OTC) at any pharmacy outlets.

When you see your private practitioner who is most likely to give potent painkiller you should ensure that he/she also prescribes antacid tablets to avoid or ameliorate stomach pain. Some painkillers are enteric-coated to reduce irritation to the stomach lining and these tablets are normally more expensive.

In general, other methods or approaches of pain relief should be tried and one must make efforts to avoid that blinking "drug-induced" stomach pain.Indeed, recurrent stomach pain does affect the quality of life of the sufferer.

The Lady with Stomach Pain

A middle-aged lady has been suffering from recurrent stomach pain for which she takes antacids either over-the-counter (OTC) or on prescription. And today she has come for her regular prescription of antacids. Yet closer questioning revealed that she had been taking "pain-killers" for her "migraine". Sometimes she obtained the pain-killers through prescription and many times it was once again OTC at the pharmacy. The pain-killing drugs, unfortunately, have caused the gastric pain. When her blood pressure was taken, it was 170/110 mm Hg (normal is 120/80 mm Hg) and very likely this has been the cause of her headache, mistakenly termed as "migraine". Had this high blood pressure been detected earlier, she would not have suffered the misery of stomach pain as adequate treatment of her high blood pressure would have taken care of her headache.

Should you have frequent headache, please get your blood pressure checked!
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Low Risk Takers Go for PNB Investment Products

When you no longer have reliable "pointers" as such is the case in a depressed and volatile market, the tendency for most investors is to look for stability, good dividends and capital-protected investments. Let us look at PNB, among the products offered by its investment vehicle, ASNB are ASB, ASN, ASN2, ASN3, ASW, ASM and ASD. Some of these products are exclusively for Bumis while others are open to the public. All of them have been paying good dividends since their individual launching. Some unit trusts like the ASW, ASM and ASD have fixed price (capital-protected) while others like ASN, ASN2 and ASN3 are variable. I am especially attracted to ASN2 which has recently declared a 9.9% dividend and currently its price is very good at RM 0.9712 and likely to slide lower next week. Prior to March this year (2008), it was about RM 1.1200. It does look like it is the time to buy folks! Despite the fact past performance does not guarantee future income.

How to Avoid an Ingrown Toenail becoming Painful

Quite often people suffer from a painful ingrown nail usually of the big toe. Such a nail would traumatise the surrounding tissue causing it to be red, swollen and painful. The pain is such that there were times a surgical excision of the nail is the answer to relieving intense pain permanently as painkillers only offer temporary relief.

Before the nail becomes like this, you would already felt
creepin,nagging pain: that the time you should start massaging the skin next to it away
 to allow for space for the growing nail and reduce pressure and pain.

Again the trick is to be aware of your body and feel the initial minimal pain creeping up your toe. what you need to do is to soak your feet in salt water ( 1 tsp of salt in every 500 ml warm water) for about 10 minutes then dry them. ( If in a hurry just use diluted OTC antiseptic). Then put 2-3 drops of olive oil ( cooking oil will do) on your fingers and message the skin next to your affected toe gently away from the nail and do this a few minutes every time you message the toe. You will find that the nail will be able to grow normally after a few days and the initial pain would be gone as you gently tease out a space for the nail to grow. Later when the nail has grown longer, make sure you cut it straight and not curved.

Nail care is important

By the way, this measure will not really work if the ingrown nail is already infected and swollen... too late.. you may end up getting cellulitis and have to take antibiotics and the nail may need to be removed under local anesthesia. Infected ingrown toe nail is bad for people suffering from diabetes so good footcare is essential.

REITS : Are they worth investing in?

I am quite intrigued by REITS. I read a few articles on the net about it before buying STARREIT , Amanah Raya REIT and TOWERREIT in 2006 and early 2007. I bought a book on this topic but due to busy schedules have only managed to read about 20 pages of a 300-paged book .. tut tut..I found that this "investment product" is not for the people who are in a hurry to create wealth. They are very stable... too stable for my liking, the price movement is at a snail pace and I notice each REIT seems to take turn to achieve the highest volume of the week! Some week was STARREIT, then AXREIT then ARREIT.... indeed they are taking turns!

My TOWERREIT is doing fine, having made 30% on paper... I am not happy though with STARREIT despite the golden triangle properties it is managing neither was I happy with ARREIT..... yes I am aware that this is a low risk and long term investment but too slow for me after two years... so I picked up the phone a couple of months ago and told my remisier to dispose of my STAR and RAYA REIT at a small loss and buy BSDREIT ( Golden Hope company managing palm oil plantation assets/properties) which has promised to give higher dividends (much better than the bank at least). I invest in these REITS to get stable dividends as a form of portfolio diversification.... a term I learn in the net. And Hey presto!... my BSDREIT climbed up from RM1.39 to RM1.42 last week... small rise but still something I love seeing as the two I disposed off hardly rose all these many months, I am really looking forward to receiving good dividends from BSDREIT..... small investor joy :)... and yes I promise myself to finish reading the book on REITs and share what I learn with visitors to my Blog.

Creating Wealth in a Volatile Market

When I started blogging early in 2007, the market was for the picking! Now things have changed starting from the subprime crisis and the so called impending recession in the US and later that fateful election when the government lost its two third majority, the stock market has gone haywire though the KLCI index has actually risen compared to the years previous to 2006.

I was quite naive to buy MRCB just before the election... as it was sliding and I thought it would have not declined any further..... gosh I lost so much on that stock... luckily it was all my money gained from the sale of Sarawak Plantation stock which I bought at RM3.08 and it went up to RM3.46, in fact a few days after I sold it , the blinking stock climbed up to RM3.80!

Then I heard this market rumor that IOI Corp was going to buy over UNICO plantation so I went on a buying spree and acquired quite a number of lots... somehow the parties have been putting on hold that plan... and now I am stuck with this "minnow" stock. I also happened to read "nice" articles on the prospects of another plantation stock MHC and went on another frantic buying and again suffered colossal losses. Another losing plantation stock is KWANTAS... such is my luck in 2008! I also lose on HSL despite the attractive write-up on the company about getting construction jobs in Sarawak!! It looks like a volatile market is not for the uninformed and giddy retail investor like me. My only consolation is that these companies pay pretty good dividends minus 28% tax!

How to create wealth in the current stormy market? May be the opportunity is there because for every down, there will be an up... but how long? The so called investment Guru Warren Buffet made his millions through long term strategies... well I do not know when he first started to invest, looks like he started very young as surely I cannot wait years to see my investments grow! I will be too old to enjoy my wealth then.

I have one jewel though in my portfolio, the fledgling company PICORP, I am breathless looking at how the stock has appreciated within five months! This jewel has offset my other losses. Hey Zak and T, thanks for persuading me to put PICORP in my portfolio, it is my life saver. I had thought the plantation stocks would help me ride the volatile market but PICORP is really a dark horse... thank you guys... please work harder for "my company" ;)

My THPlant is doing well at the moment, do you know why? Simple, because they are going to declare a 21 sen per unit dividend on 21 May. Shall I sell now? I have already made 60% profit and do I ever need the money to renovate my new house! I love this stock which I bought in the middle of 2006 at RM1.95, well it is often said that it is best to dispose of the stock when you begin to love it...

Creating wealth in a volatile market means having a longterm strategy, buying those undervalued stocks with strong fundamentals and hold them despite what some smart Aleck banker's advice that we must keep our money in "liquid" form, ie keeping in banks and make those guys richer with our hard-earned money. I would put my money still in the stock market in volatile times and just wait for the storm to boil over like old smart Warren Buffet... of course that guy got millions to start with.

After all I went into the stock market like a skipping child going into the garden, looking at the flowers, smell them and just enjoy. The "losses"? it is part of the game, just do not borrow to buy stocks.

I re post in this blog to share my joy and tribulations in a wealth creation journey .

Fungal skin infection vs allergic skin condition

Both skin conditions are itchy. Their early appearance is also almost the same in many cases. Quite often when one goes to a pharmacy, the very word of "itch" on the skin would lead the "outlet attendant" to suggest a steroid cream. Now fungus seems to thrive on steroid, if the skin condition happens to be fungal, then within a matter of a week or two of steroid application, which by the way could have initially reduced the itchiness somewhat, a generalized fungal skin infection would erupt. In the case of ringworm infection, you would see many "rings" with central clearing and reddish borders, especially on thigh and hip areas.... and believe you me, they are really itchy.

So do visit your doctor when you are not sure whether it is allergy or fungus which is irritating you so that you would get the correct diagnosis and given the right cream and hence be spared of an unnecessary suffering.

Cold And Nipping It

I have not had a cold for many months. The last one I had was sometime last year. No I do not take any preventive medications, in fact I am the last person to even take a panadol for my headache. In a nutshell, I never really like medicine in general. What I normally do when I am about to get a cold is to nip it in the bud. To do so you have to really be aware of your body's reaction. In my case I could feel that I am about to catch a cold when my nose started to feel "congested" in which case, I quickly prepare a bowl of fairly warm water and add a bit of common salt and soak a face towel in it then you wring out the water and press the towel onto your face over those sinuses... for 5-10 minutes and believe me it works... the trick is to catch the "watery and congested nose" very early.... once the cold is fully established this remedy will not work ...... try it, it will save you from missing out on work or having to visit your doctor.

(A note of caution, make sure the water is not too hot for you before applying the compress)

I also have a remedy for stopping a sore throat... if anyone would like to know.. be glad to share.

An Avid Investor by Accident

I learnt how to save when I was at primary school and somehow this habit continued at secondary level and later on when I went to study in Australia. I would have continued saving in banks and invest in low risk unit trusts had it not been for a chance meeting with a friend's friend who worked for the local stock broking firm. Unfortunately, I was not market savvy then, buying into shares of companies I hardly knew and suffered paper losses. I also did not know when to exit the market and of course I did not monitor my shares. In fact I treated them like saving banks.. how hilarious!

With the help of the internet, I have managed to educate myself on the intricacies of the stock market and had successfully recovered my losses in the first quarter of 2007. I have no fund manager to manage my portfolios but I am fine. Though the market is down now I am not worried as I have carefully chosen companies with strong fundamentals.... by the way I should have listened to the various blogs during pre-election and stay away from GLC stocks, well you can never win all the time can you? But one thing I will never do that is to borrow money to buy shares... heard ugly stories about those who do.

At the moment I am visiting many blogs of people who talk about "financial freedom" and believe me there are pearls of wisdom out there and people are just so willing to share their ideas, it is just amazing.