Balik Kampung Rush!

Balik Kampung again! It seems the petrol issues are still at large. The STAR online reports that some petrol stations are runnning out of fuels! This is one of the most important times in the Malaysian calendar, where people will return to their hometown for Eid Celebration and the hiccups is hopefully only temporary. Anyway, I wish all Malaysians Happy Holiday, Happy Hari Raya and drive safely and carefully to your destinations!


Balik kampung rush badly hit as pumps run dry in KL
By NG CHENG YEE and MEERA VIJAYAN

PETALING JAYA: The balik kampung rush for Hari Raya turned chaotic in the Klang Valley as many motorists who wanted to fill up their tanks were faced with “out of stock” signs at pumps.

The petrol stations that ran dry were mostly Shell stations but some motorists also complained that several BHP stations here had run out of supply citing “computer glitches” and pump problems.

An operator of a petrol station in Kuala Lumpur said if there is no fresh supply soon, he may have to stop operating by today.

Although most cases were reported in the Klang Valley, there was a report from Johor Baru of at least one Shell station running out of supply. There was no shortage at Petronas stations and other petrol stations.

The shortage in supply is believed to be linked to the recent 10sen reduction in petrol as dealers hedged their bets by keeping little stock.

The surge in demand by motorists returning to their hometowns made matters worse.
A Shell station proprietor here said he had to shut down two pumps as the company had not sent fresh supply.

One Shell station along Jalan Damansara shut down 10 pumps due to lack of petrol.
Shell Petrol Dealers Association chairman Datuk Hashim Othman confirmed that the problem was most severe in the Klang Valley with many motorists filling up their tanks before starting on their outstation journeys.

“Many dealers refused to increase their stocks because of the price cut.”

“Dealers are also having problems replenishing their stocks due to slow delivery of fuel due to the festive season, and the wide network of Shell stations,’’ he said.

A Shell Malaysia Trading Sdn Bhd spokesman said the company was restoring supply at the affected stations and expected the situation to normalise by tomorrow.

“A number of our retail stations are experiencing a shortage of petrol. This is primarily caused by the exceptional surge in demand soon after the price cut and also people filling up their tanks for Hari Raya and the holidays,” she said in a statement yesterday.

Petroleum Dealers’ Association of Malaysia president Abdul Wahid Bidin said the petrol storage at the affected stations was limited and would last until after Hari Raya.

“Petrol station operators would normally keep a supply of seven to eight days before Hari Raya during previous years but most of the petrol stations are only keeping a three-day supply this year.

“This is because they were trying to avoid facing losses following the reduction in fuel prices.
“Demand for petrol was very low last week after news surfaced that the Government would reduce the petrol price,” he said.

He said all petrol stations would stock around 200,000 litres each day and had to face losses of RM20,000 after the Government cut the fuel price by 10sen.

“If dealers were to keep seven days’ supply, they would lose RM140,000 each,” he said.
Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Shahrir Samad, when informed of the shortage, said petrol dealers should not blame the Government and the decision to reduce petrol prices for the petrol shortage.

He said that petrol dealers should have anticipated the increased demand for petrol for Hari Raya and managed their supplies accordingly.

When Curiosity Strikes!

I was busy preparing some dishes when I heard silence. Normally, the tv would be on and my little angels would be playing and strutting their voices up, wrestling their way to get the best seat in front of the screen while sometimes arguing over patty things.

Sometimes, they would test my patience by coming to me while I was handling the hot pan with a sweaty forehead, just simply to show me how much their fingers hurt or how much their knees bruised (with own inflicted hand drawn red ink).

Being the mom, I normally offer my sympathy while telling them the bruise will be fine after a few minutes. All they have to do is be strong, it's just a small cut. Sometimes, when the patience has gone to its limit, I would just say, this is just the ink of the pen and go and clean yourself....Being the 'Jackyl and Ms Hyde' sometimes you do get burn out with all kinds of demands.

You wanted to be the nice and caring and understanding mom, but at the same time you are just a human being. There are times where you feel like you do not want to get disturbed and have silence surrounding you. You wish you can have a sip of tea while reading your favourite book and watch the birds fly outside the window. But that seems quite hard to get now. The only time where I can get total relaxation is when they are gone to bed, and by that time you are also in need of dire sleep. And there it goes, the same routine, day in and day out.

Lately, my patience have been tested to the limits. Maybe its curiosity, being in their tender age of four and five plus, everything they see belong to you is all great, new and exciting! The first victim was all 25 of my magic colours that I kept in my small drawer... have gone! Then I discovered 'creative art work' on the wall and on their faces. Okay...fine. I asked them to keep them back. After a day, they were missing...again! Fine!

But, that's not it! It didn't end there! I discovered my lipstick and make up kid dissappearing from my compartment and hey...I caught them hiding behind the sofa with colourful blotches all over their faces! And clothes! Okay...Okay...fine. I was a bit fiery...but I was still sane! I took them back and warned them!

I thought they learned their lesson...but I was wrong! The next day, I found most of my small drawers empty! My kimono clad bear key chain which was a gift from my sis from Japan was missing (and they were the front door keys) and my cd markers, white board markers...in fact most of my stationery were gone! Fine....I could trace them back...which I did with some...but some are still missing until now!

One by one....and then there were none! This best describe my life in the past two weeks! Not only my stationery and make up kid have become their 'testing ground', some of my brooches and earing collections have been missing too! Oh No....I found out they took some of them out from the box and transfered them to a small purse that I got for myself. Ok...enough is enough. This was tooo much.

With a mom's 'power' that I automatically have :), I 'rocked' the house with my made-up 'stern' voice and ordered all of my belongings were handed to me spot on! Huh! Like a hurricane, they handed me my stuff, and huh...how I learned my lesson!

Since then, all of my stuff are stuck on top of the cupboard....until they grow up...maybe...or until they are high enough to pick them!

Hmmm.....Indeed, once they tried to climb a dust bin and reached for the stuff, but I discovered them before they could do anything!

Hmm...why are they too smart or too curious? Well, we do want them to be smart, don't we? But this? Huh!

Mom...I love all your things....they are all beautiful...my eldest came to me the other day.

I pretended not to hear....

Dog Called As Witness In Court?

What the world has gone up to? Before only humans can become the witness in court, now dogs also have the potential to stand as witnesses if a crime is committed. I wonder, how can an animal answer a question and how can he responds? Barking? Wagging its tail? Licking its fur? Or simply drooling its saliva? Or panting perhaps? How can a dog understand a human conversation? How can his 'answer' be viable in court? Can his answer be used as an evidence anyway? Hmm....the world has gone quite insane to suggest this method...Maybe the humans have lost their common sense and therefore seek an animal which cannot talk to be a crime witness? I have no idea....no idea at all! Read on...

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In what is believed to be a world first, the investigating magistrate has invited a dog to take the stand as a witness.
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Scooby will give evidence as he is believed to have been with his 59-year-old owner when she was found hanging from the ceiling of her Paris flat.
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Police believe the death was suicide, but her family cry murder - and the only witness to see the alleged crime is on four legs.
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It is hoped Scooby can collar the potential perpetrator, having already played a leading role during a preliminary court hearing in Nanteree, a Paris suburb.
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He is said to have hounded a suspect, "barking furiously" after being taken out of the kennel and into the witness box by a vet.
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French judge Thomas Cassuto praised the mongrel for his "exemplary behaviour and invaluable assistance".
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But lawyers barked back - insisting the bizarre spectacle "proved nothing".
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One said: "Human evidence is unreliable enough, let alone canine evidence.
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"Besides, the victim died two and half years ago, which is seventeen dog years! How is the animal supposed to remember that far back?"
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A spokesman for the Palais de Justice in Paris confirmed that the appearance was the first time a dog had appeared as a witness in criminal proceedings in France.
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He said: "It was a preliminary hearing. The judge will now decide if there is enough evidence to go to trial."

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from skynews

A Dog's Day Dream

Zzzzz......This is a perfect day for me to have a nap! Ergg...zzz...The shoe is killing me. Better take the old red polka dot stilettoes than this one. Huh! A big mistake! It can't even fit in properly in my foot! Hmm..zzz....nevermind. I'll creep in tonight, and I'll swap the shoes. he..he..he...that poor old lady will never notice it. She's too old to wear that shoes anyway. zzz...good...good...zzz...Hmm..better sleep well...tonight will be a busy night!Zzz....red polka dot stilettoes...salsa dance with lucy under the moonlight...zzz...i can see her furry brown feet with that heels! Great!zzz...doze...

Can He Beat His Fifty Years Of Age?

It was 1984. The tv had been showing repeats of Michael Jackson's video clip "Beat It". I was tuned in to the beats and the lingo that this black man was delivering. He was carefree, young and enjoyed dancing his moves from one spot to the other. I saw him flipping his hat, doing his moonwalk and standing on his toes. His high pitch notes sometimes gave me a cringe. But I enjoyed his youth and his presense. He was famous and he made all the girls screaming for his names.

I was at a very tender age of fourteen when Michael Jackson had a hit with his "Beat It" song. I remember coming back from school and seeing his videos on the tv back to back. His persona and presense had captured many hearts and at that time, he was the King of Pop. After "Beat It" he made more albums and songs and had won multiple grammy awards. His albums have been sold millions all over the world.

But as time goes by, Michael seems to lose his powerful impact. I do not know what had happened in his life, but it seems he has been 'lost' somewhere over the years and has become a very secluded man. He has changed his appearance too many times and his jovial, smiling face has turned into a sad and sluggish tired face. Too much plastic surgery has made him looked more sad looking.

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I do not know how he can turn his dark skin fairer. Too many theories have been put into an argument and less is known anyway how he did that. Maybe the technology and money can make him do all the impossibles. Hmmm...this is what people with lots of money do. They spend it on unnesessary things where people like us calculate every single penny in our wallet.

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Anyway, he is still a human being, and believe it or not it has been 24 years since his "Beat It" years. And he is now a 50 year old man. He recently celebrated his 50th birthday and goodness...how time flies very fast! It seems like yesterday that I saw this man dancing and moonwalking and making us all smile with his moves.

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I wish him a very happy birthday and many happy returns!

Aussie Mayor Calls For Ugly Women

The mayor in an outback Australian town has come under fire for urging ugly women to move to the town and help out some of the dateless menfolk.

John Molony, mayor of Mt Isa in the state of Queensland, made the remarks in response to the overwhelming local ratio of males to females.

He told a local newspaper: "May I suggest if there are five blokes to every girl, we should find out where there are beauty-disadvantaged women and ask them to proceed to Mount Isa."

He added that many women who already live in the remote mining town seemed quite happy.

"Quite often you will see walking down the street a lass who is not so attractive with a wide smile on her face," he said.

"Whether it is recollection of something previous or anticipation for the next evening, there is a degree of happiness."

But his comments failed to impress the local female population.

"There's a lot of anger circulating among the community at the moment - a lot of passionate anger," Mt Isa chamber of commerce manager Patricia O'Callaghan said.

"There's a lot of women voicing their opinions."

But speaking on national radio, Mr Malony stood by his remarks.

"I said beauty-disadvantaged. Now beauty is in the eye of the beholder," he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

"Beauty can be a good set of teeth, beauty is nice wavy hair. Beauty can be blue eyes or green eyes.

"There is such a thing as disposition, temperament, manners, general attractiveness, attitude and demeanour, all those things tend to make a person attractive."

excerpt from sky news