Have you?

Have you seen the sky,
During the sunset or sunrise?

Have you done a crime,
Unforgivable yet nice?

Have you thought of and done,
Something stupid yet kind?

Have you even tried,
To find yourself some time?

Have you asked yourself,
What your plans are for today?

Have you wondered why,
The sun shines so bright?

Have you asked anyone,
About what they did?

Have you gone away,
And wished you had stayed?

Have you seen a ghost,
And wished you could help?

Have you read a story,
So beautiful but sad?

Have you taken your time,
When you knew you shouldn’t?

Have you thought about yourself,
And wondered what to do?

Have you seen the moon,
And said that it’s nice?

Well, did you?
Have you…?

Written by Amelia Ho

Malaysian Politicians, STOP IT!

I have been following and reading the RSS feed on the latest development in Malaysia and the whole of this week is just CRAZY. And I wonder what's happening to my country with both side of BN and PR politicians having a field day slugging at each other just like what one would expect to watch the World Wrestling Ferderation match on TV, for now without the violence, YET!

Reading all the bulls, claims, accusations and what have you, I felt anger, frustration, cheated, fear and uncertainty, all at one go. Where am I to direct this bad energy and feeling of hopelessness to? All this is happening day in and day out with no end in sight.

It has been 4 months since the last election and it seems that the country is on an auto pilot mode moving in the wrong direction. And now with recession looming over our heads, I find my hard earned money shrinking as the days gone by and these politicians are still bickering over their positions, power and personal interest. What happened to the oath they made after their swearing in?

I am sick and tired of such stand-up political comedy act, it’s a big joke! And the world is laughing at Malaysia. It’s actually SINFUL. What I need are real politicians who can act and perform their duties without fear or favor in tackling the economic woes of the country. For all I care, do the politicking at your own time BUT not on mine. Stop all these nonsense and stand up to be counted, you damn bloody politicians!

AirAsia SUCKS BIG time

It happened to me before and it is happening again for this weekend, YES, I am talking about the ‘so-called’ re-timing of flights schedule so fondly practiced by AirAsia. When I booked my return KUL(09.50 for Jun 30)/CGK (18.10 for Jun 27) tickets in February 2008, I was so glad that at the time of booking, the timing was just perfect, after work, go to the airport, catch the flight and be home in KL before 12 midnight.

Then the big time shit came via 2 SMSs from AirAsia. The first SMS was on Jun 22 stating that the flight on Jun 30 departing from KL was retimed to 14.50. The second SMS came on Jun 25 for yet again another retimed flight from 18.10 to 20.15 departing from Jakarta on Jun 27. Can you believe this big time shit, on a single paid and confirmed ticket for a return trip both being retimed?

Of course, both messages came with the standard line “SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE CAUSED THANK YOU’. Hell ya! It’s damn inconvenient! The deal for the passenger is shitty. When you want to change your flight, you are slapped with a fee and the cost difference of the flight and if you missed the flight, then it is considered burned.

Obviously, I don’t bother to read their terms and conditions when I bought the tickets and I guess I would not be bothered reading it now. And since I have already paid for my all my tickets, the last one being in August, I guess I will have to sulk it up all in my own stride.

However, one thing for sure is that I won’t be making any bookings on AirAsia for my future travel as they can just change the flight schedule at their whims and fancies. This is just not on.

Now, everybody can be screwed!

I suppose this should be the new brand tagline that best describe what AirAsia is all about. Very relevant, compelling and truthful to the brand promise.

How Green is Green? – Property in Indonesia

Have you ever wondered how true are the claims by the various property developers that their properties are green as claimed in their ads? Or, is it just because they plant a few trees here and there and hence it’s green? Or better still, get their in-house graphic designers or ad agencies to ‘touch-up’ on the images with more trees and using green color fonts for their headline and there you have it, it’s green. Hmm… I wonder!

From what I gather, all the talk of going green amongst the property developer started feverishly after the UNFCCC talk in Bali back in Dec 2007 on climate change.

So I wonder on. Is there any property developer in Indonesia taking up this initiative of building really green homes? How much will it cost to build such a home? Can a single green home stand alone or it need to be built in clusters? Will there be any takers for such a green home? Is there a standards set by the authorities to classify such a home? What about harvesting the wind and sun energy in a hybrid home system? And the question goes on and on.

So far, I failed to find any information pertaining to green homes in Indonesia. The nearest would be in Singapore followed by Australia and New Zealand. Even so, it is not widespread. Nevertheless, there are a lot more information and green initiatives in the US.

At the end of the day, I suppose it will be more of a business decision to make more profit than to go about in building green homes. Unless and of course, if there is demand for such green homes selling at a reasonable price.

Is there any property developer out there that can build really green homes in Indonesia?

“My strategic proposal to this effect has now been adopted by my client and it is with the hope that the proposal is taken in full and not just on a meet me halfway tune” David Ho

The reason by Amelia Ho

I post this in conjuction with Amelia having her new blog.


Written with the thought of a group of three orphans in mind [ with no specific reason ].

‘The tide waits for no man’, as they say

I stand by the ocean and

Wonder

‘Why do these waves sound

The same…

Yet…

So completely different from the ones I know?’

But no answer comes

And I figured…

If I keep falling into

The darkness of the sea…

…Why keep trying…?

Then a voice

‘Stop mopping, you silly!’

With a bob to my head

I look at them – one frowning

Reprimanding and the other

Grinning, amused

I smile again

‘It’s nothing,’ I hear myself reply

But at the same time

The latter that has yet to talk

Grinned, as if

Understanding my dilemma

And I realized…

My friends…

They are all I live for…

Also…

They are the one I keep trying for.

~ © Amelia, 3rd April, 2007.

1 year service in MCJ EXCO

May 10, 2008 is the final day for me as one of the EXCO member in Malaysia Club Jakarta (MCJ) for the year 2007/2008. Although I was nominated to stay on for another term, I politely decline as I felt that a yearly change of the EXCO members is good for the Malaysian community. More so, for the club to be more vibrant and relevant with fresh ideas full of zest and life for the benefit of the community at large. Nevertheless, it wasn’t easy to serve in a non-profit organization on a voluntary basis. Granted that everybody have their work, business and personal matters to take care, but I suppose, with a little bit of passion here and there, the new EXCO will try to do their best for MCJ members.

I would not delve into what has been achieved or otherwise as the out-going President Mr. Ch’ng Chin Hon have given a full account which was adopted by the members at the AGM. What I would like to say here is to express my heartfelt appreciation to the previous EXCO that I’ve worked with. It’s been a joy and fun year doing my part as a Malaysian in serving the MCJ community. Thanks guys.

As an afterthought, if more Malaysian were to make themselves available and show just a little “Malaysianess” in them (obviously the more caring, concern and a sense of community living Malaysian minus the ahem... politics), I personally think MCJ will be a very much better club. After all, MCJ is for Malaysian by Malaysian.

With this, I wish the 2008/2009 MCJ EXCO all the best and success in their undertakings for the year ahead. You guys will have my full support whenever possible.

Annoyance - by Amelia Ho

Annoyance,

A stupid feeling,

That makes you mad,

For some silly reason.

Getting rid of this feeling,

Is a dreaded task,

For it just comes back

When you thought it’s gone.

Time and time again,

The same sentence is repeated,

‘Shut up!’ or ‘Get lost!’ or something like that,

and you then realize, ‘It’s too quiet now’.

Therefore, annoyance

To me, a strange feeling.

What about you?

What do you think?

© Amelia Ho, 2005