This comes so clearly when I was in the USA. Semesters are usually 13 weeks long and the final week was usually a week of exams and paper submission. I remember those days when I labored furiously to complete my revisions apart from taking jobs at the cafes and Business School as a graduate assistant.

Somehow, the best things in life was to see my results of the exams showing great scores. I know it's a delightful feeling. I know that it's always the same for my 2 boys.

Last nite, Jefferson got back his report card - he got 5 out of 42 students in the class. I was darn proud but I got back at midnite. He only told me about it this morning but Carol is always pushing him to do his best. We are still awaiting Cornelius' results.

Congrats Jefferson - stay focus and fortitude is always my advise.

I will be heading down to KL tomorrow morning. Still remembered 8 Jan 1989 when I boarded MAS and headed to LA. It was a long journey. I know this trip will change my life all together. We all live in a time of uncertainties. Of course, back then - it was my dream to finish my tetiary education and I did and pursued my MBA onwards.

I write these words because it was one of the most heart stopping moments in my life. I know it's never easy to be away from your loved ones. No internet to use. Emails was the property of the university and campuses only relied on memos back then.

I remembered my arrival in San Francisco and headed onwards to Dallas. There I boarded a Forker to Wichita and I knew that was the place I will be spending the next 3 years of my life. I did complete what I came for. Enjoyed the true American way of life.

18 years later, I am still continuing my pursuit of the dreams I have always wanted - to be the best marketer I always wanted to be. Today, my dreams are shared with my lovely wife, Carol. Through thick or thin, she is always there for me. My 2 boys - Jefferson and Cornelius - always full of life and always hopeful that their daddy will be giving them the best things in life.

As for me, I have seen betrayal, heartache and happiness. Carol and the boys are my happiness. Nothing will ever change that. So the drive tomorrow will be a simple one - 3.5 hours on my way. Starting my journey at 530 and arriving there at 830 am. Then onwards - to see some folks....

I miss my days really. Today I wished a friend goodbye. It was not an easy goodbye although both of us are of different age. I sense a bond and a connection that he wanted to hang on to. I too wished things were much different. I guess while I was driving back, I saw the sun setting down in the West. I am very sure it will rise tomorrow. I will be there in my car and my stereo greeting it - so tune in more ya...life is about a journey. A journey of dreams and hopes - not for the weak hearted.

Hi. Not trying to promote the product but I need to be honest. I do feel nostalgic whenever I see a packet of maggie mee in the kitchen. Many moons ago when I was in the US, this was my source of satisfying my hungry pangs. You see I lived in the dormitory and dinner is from 5pm till 7pm. After that, Pizza huts and others will roam the corridors freely. I never had that luxury to eat such things. Only friends like John Scott, Tony Dao and many American buddies know of my predicament - hard pressed for cash with limited resources to get my day to day activities.

I know that it was fun. They would order a pizza and I would share my maggie mee with them. They found out later that it was so cheap. One box of maggie mee of 24 packets cost only 1/6 of  a prize of Pizza.

We cooked it in the rice cooker and man - our room smells great. Guess many of American friends became lovers of Maggie Mee. I am glad they did. 18 years later, I am still eating my all time favorite food. It's my pleasure to share my enjoyment of my life in the US. Write to me at jeffreychewgimeam@gmail.com I am always answering my mails

Oh yes - someone sent me this - good to read and live the words of this wonderful person - Gandhi

When we see that we have gone wrong, it is our duty to retrace our footsteps and proceed again by the right path.
-Mohandas Gandhi

take care, till then Long Live Maggie Mee!

I sit here tonite thinking of my best moments in my life. One thing for sure, the comrade of a family unit. As I embark into a new horizon, I realized that at times, we as Asians do not share many things with each other until it's too late.

John Scott. He was a wonderful guy. I was in Arkansas to do my MBA when I met him. Well, of course, being an American, he has this reluctance to share many things with me. Only when I started to talk about my family, he realized we are not different. He knows I came a long way and I am lonely. No one to turn to at times and he decided to welcome me into his family. He married young and I was fortunate to know his lovely wife, Jenny.

His wife and John invited me to his house for dinner almost every forthnightly. I was the only "bum" as I can only work on campus whereas John works part-time at a convenient store.

During my days there, I love the food; the culture. As I looked back, American culture is not bad after all. I guess moving forward, I will talk about the good values of Asians as well as American. I may not have the best values in my life, but the best of a fusion culture is far more important.

Remember to love your family more. ya?

Gosh, while I was driving back from my late father's final resting place, I saw dark clouds approaching. I know it's going to rain but I guess being a little worried, I rushed to into my car immediately. Why do we fear the rain? Sometimes in life, rain is a source of life. It provides life in many ways. Even the dry deserts of Mars were once covered with water.

Sometimes in life, we do things without thinking. Hence, having done many wrongs in life tend to put one into a mode of self denial. I for one has experienced that. Sometimes in life, when we go into a mode of self denial, you may think it's done and over with but the truth catches up.

As a good friend told me this afternoon, there is a sun behind the dark clouds. I truly believe the words are true and real. Thanks alot for those words. As I sleep tonite, I will put my pillow high up and see what is in store tomorrow. It's never easy and I wish to explore further. Really, the world is not enough, but it must be done with heart and no BS...

Hi...I am still around. Just watching the world plays itself out. The weather is great done in Penang....hope it's on your side. Take care and god bless.

Sometimes, one wonders why things happened for a reason. I guess many things have happened and it keeps happening. I believe we all need to keep our resilience and focus on the big picture. But one would ask, what happens when the big picture becomes cloudy and worrying?

I guess we all have to labor on. I am quite sure there are answers all over the place. We all just need to find it ... trust me it's not difficult. It takes lots of guts and pain to do that.

I am shutting down for the week. Hope to get back online next week. Lots of things to do but will try to update my blog.

Jeffrey

Georgetown, the capital city of the Malaysian state of Penang, has moved up in the list of best locations in Asia for Asian expatriates, a latest survey shows.

The city, ranked 12th five years ago, is now ranked 10th in the Location Ranking Survey conducted by ECA International, a leading knowledge and solutions provider for international human resource professionals.
The Malaysian capital city of Kuala Lumpur is in ninth position, down from seventh five years ago.

Undertaken annually, the survey compares living standards in 254 locations globally according to categories including climate, air quality, health services, housing and utilities, isolation, social network and leisure facilities, infrastructure, personal safety and political tensions.
Overall scores are used by ECA member companies to establish allowances which compensate expatriate staff for the difficulties of living in their assignment location.

Singapore retains its leading position in the ranking, followed by Kobe in second place. Two other cities in Japan, Tokyo and Osaka, are in joint third position, followed by Hong Kong (5th), Macau (6th), Taipei (7th) and Bangkok (8th).

Karachi, Pyongyang, Islamabad, Dhaka and Dili are the locations in Asia which afford foreigners the least favourable quality of living, ECA International said.

"Excellent infrastructure and facilities, coupled with its cosmopolitan make-up, low crime rate, socio-political stability and favourable climate make Singapore a very favourable location for foreigners, and justify its top spot in the rankings," said Lee Quane, General Manager, ECA International Hong Kong.

Singapore also retained its number one position in the top 10 best locations in the world for Asian expatriates, followed by Sydney and Melbourne in second and third respectively.
Other cities in the top 10 best locations in the world for Asian expatriates are Kobe (4th), Canberra (5th), Vancouver and Copenhagen (joint 6th), Wellington (8th) and Amsterdam (9th) while Osaka, Tokyo, Brussels, Bonn, Dublin, Basel and Geneva are in joint 10th. (Bernama)

Sometimes I get chided whenever I say Penang is a good place to live..etc etc...somehow I can't comment too much about the traffic cos we are on island. Yet again, Spore has a population of more than 2 Million but they are able to manage their infrastructure efficiently. So, what makes Penang different from the rest of the cities in Malaysia?

I really can't get away from making the following comments so that at least one who knows me that I love my state as well as my country. DO YOU FEEL GOOD, a senior politician asked yesterday?

Well, the feel good factor greatly depends on the following:

1. Sincerity of the people around you. I know it's hard to justify some of my past actions but I have moved on....

2. The crappy stories about polticians acting they are above the law - closing one eye; anti-corruption officer accused of being unclean - sounds so bloody lame.

3. Hearing fresh grads unable to get jobs when the govt spends millions of dollars retraining them. I never had anyone train me before. I "worked hard for the money"

Therefore I promise my next blog will focus on Penang rules. So to all those farkers in the higher ground (Parliment and authorities), you will need to get your act together. I represent an angry voter. I have had my life turned upside down with this bloody feel good crap. The temperature is hot and I don't intend to be an ostrich. NO way jose!

Over to you Penang

Truly wished that leaders in this country will take heed of the inspirational words by Master Cheng Yen

Not meant to be critical of anything or anyone but I think I have had enough of all this crap. How can a big instituition release their findings without going into the details ?????? See this latest report about teenage problems and 99% said they had sex before....and now....change in tune.

I strongly suggest any parties to check their findings first before doing anything....yes create an uproar - get pressured by politicians...and change the results. How can the public trust anymore of these findings?

Like what Tun M asked the reporters yesterday - Do you feel good?

NO I DON'T!

"Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place and it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t how hard you hit; it’s about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward. How much you can take, and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done. Now, if you know what you’re worth, then go out and get what you’re worth. But you gotta be willing to take the hit, and not pointing fingers saying you ain’t where you are because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that and that ain’t you. You’re better than that!"
Rocky Balboa
Speaking to his son in Rocky Balboa (2006)

My oh my! MAS is launching its own budget airlines -FIREFLY. This airline will ferry passengers to various domestic locations such as Kota Bahru, Langkawi, Kuantan and Kuala Terengganu. For the international destinations, Phuket & Koh Samui are being mentioned as the probable locations. All this will happen in April and the major hub would be in Penang.

I am excited about this new flight service due to several reasons:

1. Able to fly to Phuket without having to fly to LCCT and catch a flight to head to Phuket from there.
2. Able to visit Kuala Terengganu and enjoy the nice beaches there.

Read more about it here.

My god...this is really a very depressing news. First, all the glitz about corruptions tackling the problem .... now this. ... aiyoo..the country needs to get their priorities right ....urgently.

Darkness falls across the land...

The midnite hour is close at hand

Creatures crawl in search of blood..

To terrorize the neighbourhood....

(Late Vincent Price - rap in Michael Jackson's Thriller)

Yes folks. Power failure at the office. Sometimes, it makes me wonder how the world would be when all of us are so dependent upon computers to run our everyday stuff.

It took almost 4 hours to get back the power. Guess it was fun to work in darkness but man...the heat is a killer. Try sitting in the office without the air conditioning on and the heat outside is scorching hot - 97F.

Anyway, it was fun cos for once, I became less dependent on the computer and worked hard on stuff that is available via my notebook offline.

Anyway, glad it's back online .... nothing much to report other than ... hoping no more power failures in sight ... otherwise, i will go straight home.

I caught this interesting program and true enough, many of Malaysia's industry captains went through tough times. I saw the one that featured Datuk Tony Fernandez of AirAsia.

Surprisingly, Tony really practised the MBWA (Management by Walking About); knowing every of his key staff's name - ground and on air and greeting travellers with warm and high fives.

Somehow, this is the secret ingredient of a successful company. I believe all Malaysians should make a point to watch this program. Worthwhile and heartwarming. No political BS but how businesses are being built with sweat and tears.

Guess what, Mark Chang of JobStreet.com will be featured. That will be a good programme to watch. Read all about it here.

For all frequent travellers on AirAsia, be ready! Be very ready! The version of Budget Hotel ala Air Asia is now ready and able to take in bookings starting April. I am sure that many budget travellers will find this development a sigh of relief. Paying hundreds of ringgit just to warm the bed is no bed of roses.

Since I am not getting anything out of this by reporting the opening of the hotel, let me give you the website - www.tunelhotels.com Interesting concept and looks clean. I am sure it will prosper and give the rest of the hotels throughout the country a run for the money. Hope to see one in Penang soon :)

Jeffrey

Wanting to wish the above 2 - the Beauty and the Beast - Happy Anniversary. Radio has never been the same since then. Jefferson and Cornelius - now able to sing many tunes and mimic some of their signature tunes....

Carol and I won prizes via Red fm. David and Nell - hope to continue hearing you guys for another 1 more year! Gave me a chance to be in your studio some months ago.... Again, a fitting tribute to the sexy Nell and the ever friendly David.