Monday 26 October 2009

Celebrating A’isyah’s 4th birthday

We had a small family celebration for A’isyah’s fourth birthday. I’m not really into big celebrations, preferring more intimate parties. So far, A’isyah’s getting similar treatment. Hehe. That might change as she grows older. I can’t say that I was never jealous of people having big, elaborate birthday parties as I grew up, and yet I grew to appreciate the smaller scale celebrations.

An early birthday celebration with her great-grandma
She actually had a pre-birthday celebration with her grandma in Ipoh, the weekend after Raya.

The cake A'isyah picked herself

A’isyah was certainly excited on her big day, dancing around, waiting to get her presents. When it came down to it, she almost opened her presents before anything else. I had to convince her that the cake-cutting wouldn’t take too long. We sang “Happy Birthday” to her, she blew out all four of her candles, cut the cake, then ran from the table towards her presents. Hehe. I helped her open her gifts while the rest of the adults went to eat. I managed to get her to eat a bit, and try at least a bite of her own cake (a design that she had chosen herself over the weekend).

A'isyah opening her presents

In the end, knowing that she was happy was worth it.

Wednesday 14 October 2009

NaNoWriMo 2009 is just around the corner

November is fast approaching, and that means the month-long writing “competition” is about to start. NaNoWriMo is really a competition against yourself, and in my past two outings, I have failed miserably. Hehe. Heck, I didn’t even manage to close out my previous efforts as I had previously thought I could do. To be honest, that was because I didn’t make the time. After all, that’s what it’s all about. If you’re serious about it, you’ll make the time. You’ll set aside part of your day to writing.

I had almost given up on that. I was going to avoid the disappointment with myself and not participate in this year’s NaNoWriMo. I’ve only just posted the sum of my efforts from 2007, over at Self-RW, a grand total of five (mini-)chapters. Yay me.

But I will not be deterred. This year, I’ve decided to put some planning into it. I’ll see if I can come up with a framework for my “novel” in the next two weeks. That should help with the writing.

Malaysian drivers and the rain

You’d think with all the rain we get year-round, Malaysian drivers would be better accustomed to driving in the rain. It’s obvious we haven’t adapted to the conditions though. Not when you still hear about all the accidents that accompany news of a downpour.

This morning it rained. And on the way to work, I heard the traffic reports on the radio. There was mention of quite a few accidents on the roads around town. We’re talking multi-car pileups, and it wasn’t even raining that hard.

People just refuse to adapt their driving to the road conditions. If it’s raining, visibility will be poorer. You’ll need just a fraction of a second longer to react to the brake lights of the car in front of you. The roads will be more slippery, with pools of water here and there. Even if hydroplaning isn’t an issue, drivers will still make sudden moves to avoid puddles. You could see abrupt swerving, sudden unexpected slowdowns, and all sorts of impulsive driving.

What should you do? Slow down! Turn on some lights so other drivers can see you clearly, but not your hazard lights, please. Come on, people! It’s not that hard to practice safe driving.

It’s not about you. It’s about the other driver. The one who’s not as good as you. The one who swerved violently when you expertly dodged that puddle of water, and who then rammed into your mother’s car, just behind yours. Think about it.

Monday 12 October 2009

So it’ll be ready after all

I was starting to wonder about the fate of the Meydan Racecourse. As confirmed by DubaiRaceNight.com, however, Meydan will indeed be ready for the 2010 Dubai World Cup. The Winter Racing Challenge’s probably gonna be held at a different racecourse. The Dubai International Racing Carnival will debut at Meydan, with a more compact schedule due to begin on 28 January 2010.

Friday 9 October 2009

Video tape

Yup, still buying them. I’ve got an old Panasonic NV-GS35 camcorder. It’s a pretty decent video camera, bought at a PCFair in 2006.

This is a PriceWatch entry, so I’m just entering details here.

Item: Mini DV video tape, 60 min, pack of 3
Brand: Panasonic
Price: MYR 45.00
Date of Purchase/Survey: 02/10/2009
Place of Sale: MidValley Megamall
Comparison: Dubai, 03/05/2007 (pretty much the same price)