I need a Pigging Break

I really wonder if working 5.5 day week is ancient? Think again... yours sincerely here is still working on alternate Saturdays. I really need those pigging hours now that I wake up before sunrise and do not go home way after the sun has gone to sleep.

The need to make sufficient to see our kids and parents have a decent life is eating us up. This morning's chat with my "friendly" mamak stall is still... well, "friendly."

How much do we pay for a plate of plain rice now? It used to be RM1/plate. Two weeks ago it was RM1.30/plate. I was told it has gone up to RM1.50/plate now. All these while I thought these flers are using the 15% broken composition where the price is fixed at RM16++/kilo.... why the increase? My teh tarik has gone up 20sen... my nasi lemak has gone up by 20sen to RM1/=. My telur mata kerbau has gone up to 80sen each!

That aside, broth with some chicken in it is RM3.50 for a miserable bowl! Makes Bubur Mc.D to be quite value for money if you take the ambiance into consideration! A night's out at hawker centre can cost a family of 4 some RM40/-. While a dinner at a cookout restaurant goes for slightly above RM50/- sans drinks. Which I told my kids, we save on drinks we can eat better stuff.

Last night, took my MIL out for her birthday dinner... cost me RM141.00! But it was a meal worthwhile for 4 adults and 2 kids. I noted that they did not charge the 10% and 5%. Co-incidentally when I reached home, TV was showing news that eateries with turnover below RM3 million would not be entitled to charge the 5% Service Tax now! YIPPPEEE!!! But sheeesh.. they did not say when? They only mentioned that those eateries must now "APPLY" to have it exempted! So? Do we now boycott eateries that charge 5% Service tax?

Prior to all these increases, I really do not mind paying the 10% and 5%, but it becomes significant when your meals are going by hundreds.... so I guess in a little way, we save by eating at small eateries that do not charge 5%. So, next time when you pay your dinner bill, please check for the 5% and demand to see the letter that they are entitled to charge the 5%! If all of us do, I think Shahrir's ministry will be inundated by complaints... haha

For all my industry, I think I will take this weekend to be my pigging break. Gonna sleep in late! Laze the entire Saturday... visit the park for some exercise and do a round of detox.... sigh... drinking olive oil is YUCKY!

A Hoard of Issues

Came back from what was indeed a good break and many shocks too.

Arrived at Langkawi only to find out that Nargisa has hit Myanmar and to a certain extent the weather in Langkawi was affected. Sigh... but I guess that was not all. The issue of rice shortage is definitely high on the list of what went wrong in Malaysia of late.

There were certainly many plots of paddy fields in Langkawi and why was I not surprised that we are short of rice? The fields there are all overgrown with lallang. A sign that it has not been attended to for some time. But also on it you see construction that is on-going. Ahh... the farmers must have hit jackpot and are building their own lavish abode on their land. Much as I would like to believe our PM that we are 70% self sufficient, I really wonder if that is the case. Or was what I heard from Bernas not too long ago about the malady affecting our farmers who are more keen to sell their fertilizers and seedlings for easy money has caused the country to suffer the consequence of rapidly rising prices? Or are the millers hoarding the rice for better price?

Besides that, there is the nagging issue of National Service which claimed another innocent life. That is indeed sad and what makes it worse is that the authority are washing their hands clean off the issue. The bottom line is, IF they cannot ensure safety and well being of the participants, they should just scrape the whole thing altogether. I am sure many parents as I are as concerned to entrust the life of our precious young into hands of the irresponsible.