Yesterday night, I messed up with my biological clock and made myself unable to fall asleep for almost the whole night. During these hours, I recalled a lot of memories from the past, especially those memories that had happened in 2002 - third and final year in USM, Penang.
The memories involved two persons that's important to me, in a way.
2) I failed to appreciate her
She was someone I get to know on my second year in USM. In a way, it was related to my best friend (in part 1). If no because of him, I wouldn't have had the chance to know her. She was regarded by others as fierce and it was advisable not to step on her - no matter what. Well, I believe they exaggerated the situation. To me, she is someone adorable, independent, capable and yet cute. We met for the first time when we were having supper together with a group of friends including my best friend.
Thinking back about it now, there's a lot of great (and sweet, maybe) memories with her. While I cannot remember or recall all, yesterday night, but a handful of those makes me feel that I was making another mistake for the year as I failed to appreciate her.
Ever since we knew each other, we spent most of the time together (of course with other friends as well). I remembered of a trip to Perak, she volunteered her car for us to drive down to Perak and during that trip, nothing much that I could recall except for one place - Kellie's Castle.
Indirectly, that place was the first place that I hold her hand - well indirectly. We went to the roof of the castle, and tried to look down from that roof. It was not barred and therefore very scary to look down from the edge. In the beginning others in the party, some female friends wanted to take a look from the edge but afraid of falling to death. Therefore, I volunteered my hand to them so that they could hold onto something while starring down from the roof. Later, she also wanted to have a look and she held my hand just like what others did - the first time holding her hand, albeit indirectly.
She was also my partner on an annual dinner of an association. We, among with other friends, were invited to attend an annual dinner organized by an association, of which I can't remember the name of the association. In order to prepare for that, we, in a group went to buy clothes to wear on that night. There, she helped me to choose the clothes, and also tie - if my memory served me well. On that night, well, the idea of having a partner didn't come across our mind and it was decided on the spot itself. She became my partner for that dinner. If I still remembered clearly, both of us did have a dance too. Thinking back, it was a great night for both of us.
We had some childish acts together. One that I could recall was the time when she chased me from her room out to the living room. I wasn't very sure how this started, but I guess it's a time when everyone of us are getting ready to go out for dinner together. We are still waiting for her before we make the move. However, she was still inside the room having a nap at that time, and everyone was afraid to go and wake her up. I volunteered. I went to her and try to wake her up and when she woke up, she get down from the bed and the chasing started. Everyone was expecting that I get a hit or two from her, but when we reached the living room, nothing happened, it just stopped there.
I really don't quite remember the reason for the chase, and for sure, there wasn't any indecent things that I have done to her while trying to wake her up. Funny and puzzling enough to me - hahaha.
We had a few moments of doing things together - alone, if I remembered correctly. I don't know, it might be minor, but it came strongly to me. We went to listen to a presentation by a friend of us and at that time, it was only the two of us, I believed. While it might not be anything special, it could be just normal to the eyes of others, but when I recalled back, it gave me a very strong feeling, peaceful and at the same time, the happiness because of a companion. I wasn't sure if the feeling is for real or not.
She hinted something to me? One day, while taking the lift down, as usual, we were chatting, but I couldn't remember what we were chatting about. Right before we came out from the lift, she said something but I cannot remember what it was. It could be something like "yalor, I treat you so good but you don't realize", something like that. At that time and moment itself, I believe it was a hint from her. However, I did not react when she said that...
In the process, I failed to appreciate everything that has happened around the two of us. I should have went after her instead of her room mate. Yes, I believe I hurt her feeling, I should have sent the flowers to her and not to her room mate. I should have gave her the present that I bought for her to match her dressing on that annual dinner night mentioned above but I kept it to myself. I should have follow my instinct from that night onwards and pursue her instead. I believe at that moment, I did have some feeling with her, just that I dare not admit it. Even my best friend could see that, but I couldn't see that coming.
She's a good girl, and I missed the opportunity to start a relationship with her. Well, I regretted that now. But that aside, as she has got a good marriage with her now, what I should and can do is to wish her all the happiness from her current marriage. True from my heart.
Lee Hom - Heartbeat
Monday, October 12, 2009
2002 - The worst year in my life... Part 1
Yesterday night, I messed up with my biological clock and made myself unable to fall asleep for almost the whole night. During these hours, I recalled a lot of memories from the past, especially those memories that had happened in 2002 - third and final year in USM, Penang.
The memories involved two persons that's important to me, in a way.
1) My Best Friend
I get to know him for less than two years but we did a lot of things together ever since I get to know him in my second year in USM. We were in the same course and get to know each other when we formed a group for a course project. From then onwards, we were in the same group for most of the course projects. Our friendship built up fast that soon, we became best friend. It was also from this friendship that I get to know another person that I will talk about on the next paragraph.
At one point, somewhere between end of second and third year, something happened that changed our friendship. I would say a "mole" (person) has dropped into our friendship and intervened or changed everything. I was also to blame to simply let this "mole" manipulated me. Come to think of it, what the "mole" said was actually not really anything to be worried about as it was really not a big deal. However, I will skip this details.
The relationship turned sour when we started our final year project together - the mole, him, and me. Because of something that the "mole" warned me, it has put me on guard of him (my best friend) when dealing with the project. However, come to think of it, it really isn't anything that one should reacted like how I have reacted.
That aside, things became worse on the day of our final year project demonstration. The night before the demonstration, I made a modification for our project, and I passed the code to reflect the changes made to him in order for his module to suit the modified parts. When I passed the code to him, I did remember that I asked him to try and check this out to make sure that it's working fine. Since I still have a test to take on the next morning (the day of our demonstration), I did not follow up on that matter after passing the code to him and continue with my revision for the test.
The next day, I went for the test and came back to get ready for the demonstration. When I met with him, I was surprised, he openly yelled at me saying that the code that I passed to him didn't work. I understand the yelling as the frustration is there since we are in the final hour before the demonstration. However, I wasn't the one to be blamed, I did ask him to try out the code to make sure everything is working fine, and that was yesterday night. He has the whole night to try that out.
What happened then was he switched back to the old code and his part of the module was working fine. However, from then onwards, our friendship was completely broken into pieces. We never talk after that morning. It was indeed a saddest thing to me.
With that, it registered in my history as something important that I have lost in my life! If I can have another chance to mend the relationship, I will do whatever I could. Even my family members wished that we could mend our relationship but... sigh
The memories involved two persons that's important to me, in a way.
1) My Best Friend
I get to know him for less than two years but we did a lot of things together ever since I get to know him in my second year in USM. We were in the same course and get to know each other when we formed a group for a course project. From then onwards, we were in the same group for most of the course projects. Our friendship built up fast that soon, we became best friend. It was also from this friendship that I get to know another person that I will talk about on the next paragraph.
At one point, somewhere between end of second and third year, something happened that changed our friendship. I would say a "mole" (person) has dropped into our friendship and intervened or changed everything. I was also to blame to simply let this "mole" manipulated me. Come to think of it, what the "mole" said was actually not really anything to be worried about as it was really not a big deal. However, I will skip this details.
The relationship turned sour when we started our final year project together - the mole, him, and me. Because of something that the "mole" warned me, it has put me on guard of him (my best friend) when dealing with the project. However, come to think of it, it really isn't anything that one should reacted like how I have reacted.
That aside, things became worse on the day of our final year project demonstration. The night before the demonstration, I made a modification for our project, and I passed the code to reflect the changes made to him in order for his module to suit the modified parts. When I passed the code to him, I did remember that I asked him to try and check this out to make sure that it's working fine. Since I still have a test to take on the next morning (the day of our demonstration), I did not follow up on that matter after passing the code to him and continue with my revision for the test.
The next day, I went for the test and came back to get ready for the demonstration. When I met with him, I was surprised, he openly yelled at me saying that the code that I passed to him didn't work. I understand the yelling as the frustration is there since we are in the final hour before the demonstration. However, I wasn't the one to be blamed, I did ask him to try out the code to make sure everything is working fine, and that was yesterday night. He has the whole night to try that out.
What happened then was he switched back to the old code and his part of the module was working fine. However, from then onwards, our friendship was completely broken into pieces. We never talk after that morning. It was indeed a saddest thing to me.
With that, it registered in my history as something important that I have lost in my life! If I can have another chance to mend the relationship, I will do whatever I could. Even my family members wished that we could mend our relationship but... sigh
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Advice: Be extra careful when buying into warrants near maturity
Below is an article taken from The Star:
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/6/3/business/4034394&sec=business
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/6/3/business/4034394&sec=business
LATELY, as a result of better stock-market sentiment, investors are starting to pay attention to warrants. With their prices relatively lower than that of mother shares, warrants are viewed as an alternative to achieving higher returns and providing cheaper entry to the mother shares.
What is a warrant?
A warrant is a transferrable option certificate issued by a company that entitles the holder to buy a specific number of shares in that company at a specific price (or exercise price) at a specified time in the future.
Normally, a company issues warrants together with bonds to raise capital. Because investors can detach the warrants and sell them separately to get some returns, the coupon rates for these bonds will be lower.
As a result, we can treat this as a “sweetener” for investors to attract them to buy into lower coupon-rate bonds. Besides, capital raising through warrants will be less disruptive to a company’s earnings as investors are given a certain period to exercise their rights.
The intrinsic value of a warrant is the value that an investor will get if the warrant were to be exercised immediately. It is the difference between the price of the mother share and the exercise price.
A positive intrinsic value means the warrant is “in-the-money” and the investor may exercise his rights now given that he can buy the mother share at a cheaper price. A negative intrinsic value means the warrant is “out-of-money” and the investor will not exercise his rights as he has to pay higher than the current market price for the mother share.
Usually, warrants are traded at a premium because investors are willing to pay extra for the benefits that warrants offer. However, investors need to know the premium that they are paying. Premium can be computed based on the following formula:
PREMIUM (%) = (WARRANT + EXERCISE PRICE – SHARE PRICE)/SHARE PRICE X 100
For example, if Company A’s share price is RM4.50 and the exercise price is RM3.75, Company A’s warrant (Company A-W) price of RM1.36 will imply a premium of 13.6%.
Premium = (1.36 + 3.75 – 4.50)/4.50 x 100 = 13.6%.
For any given warrant, the higher the premium, the more expensive the warrant becomes. If an investor pays a premium to buy a warrant, the underlying share must rise by a percentage equal to the premium before the maturity date to break even.
The main reason for the preference shown by investors in buying warrants instead of their mother shares is the gearing factor. It is computed by dividing the mother share price by warrant price.
Based on the above example, the gearing factor for Company A-W is 3.31 times (4.50/1.36). It means that by buying into Company A-W instead of Company A (with the same amount of investment), the exposure to Company A is 3.31 times larger than investing in Company A (the mother share) itself.
Hence, due to the lower price relative to the price of the mother share, gearing can show how many times a warrant is able to outperform or under-perform versus the mother share.
Capital Fulcrum Point (CFP)
CFP combines premium and time-to-maturity to provide a compound indicator. It can be interpreted as the average percentage increase in the price of the mother share per year assuming all other factors remain constant.
It is computed based on the following formula:
CFP = [{EXERCISE PRICE/(SHARE PRICE – WARRANT PRICE)} ^ (1/Y) – 1] X 100
Where y = the remaining years-to-maturity, ^ means to the power of
Based on the above example, if y = 5.82 years, CFP for Company A-W = [{3.75/(4.50 – 1.36)} ^ (1/5.82) – 1] x 100 = 3.1%.
It means that if Company A is able to grow by at least 3.1% a year, it will be cheaper to buy Company A-W than investing in Company A’s mother share.
In short, we can consider this CFP as taking the premium divided by the remaining time-to-maturity. When we take the above 13.6% premium and divide by 5.82 years, we will get 2.34%. Even though we cannot get the actual CFP, 2.34% can provide us with a close approximation to the correct CFP of 3.10%.
Due to the gearing factor, even though investors can get higher returns by investing in warrants instead of buying the mother shares, we need to understand the risks involved. Investors need to be extra careful when buying into warrants, especially those that are near their maturity.
Investors need to exercise the warrants or sell them into the market before the maturity dates because the warrants will become worthless after those dates.
● Ooi Kok Hwa is an investment adviser and managing partner of MRR Consulting.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Japanese Lesson 2
Counting...
Yes, knowing how to count from 1 to 10 is important, isn't it? Nah...
Anyway, for this lesson, let's do counting...
Japanese numbering is just like chinese numbering, it has the denomination of 10s [jyu-u]（十）, 100s [hya-ku]（百）, 1000s [se-n]（千）, 10000s [ma-n]（万）, 100000000s [o-ku]（億）. Therefore, learning counting in Japanese will be easier for someone with chinese numbering knowledge.
Let's start with 1 to 10:
1 - ichi [i-chi] いち（一）
2 - ni [ni] に（二）
3 - san [sa-n] さん（三）
4 - yon [yo-n] or shi [shi] よん（四）・し（四）
5 - go [go] ご（五）
6 - roku [ro-ku] ろく（六）
7 - shichi [shi-chi] or nana [na-na] しち（七）・なな（七）
8 - hachi [ha-chi] はち（八）
9 - ku [ku] or kyu [kyu] く（九）・きゅ（九）
10 - jyuu [jyu-u] じゅう(十）
After 10, of course will be 11, 12, 13, ...
Here, if you know chinese, the arrangement is the same, just that you need to read it in Japanese.
11 - jyuu ichi [jyu-u i-chi] じゅういち（十一）
12 - jyuu ni [jyu-u ni] じゅうに（十二）
13 - jyuu san [jyu-u sa-n] じゅうさん（十三）
14 - jyuu yon [jyu-u yo-n] じゅうよん（十四）
20 - ni jyuu [ni jyu-u] にじゅう（二十）
21 - ni jyuu ichi [ni jyu-u i-chi] にじゅういち（二十一）
22 - ni jyuu ni [ni jyu-u ni] にじゅうに（二十二）
23 - ni jyuu san [ni jyu-u sa-n] にじゅうさん（二十三）
You should know the rest, for 30, 40, 50 ...
So, now we will go for 100,
100 - hyaku [hya-ku] ひゃく（百）
101 - hyaku ichi [hya-ku i-chi] ひゃくいち（百一）
102 - hyaku ni [hya-ku ni] じゃくに（百二）
200 - ni hyaku [ni hya-ku] にひゃく（二百）
201 - ni hyaku ichi [ni hya-ku i-chi] にひゃくいち（二百一）
202 - ni hyaku ni [ni hya-ku ni] にひゃくに（二百二）
Now, for numbers from 300 until 399, bya-ku is used instead of hya-ku, keep that in mind and don't ask me why! Please let me know, if anyone reading this knows the reason...
300 - san byaku [sa-n bya-ku] さんびゃく（三百）
301 - san byaku ichi [sa-n bya-ku i-chi] さんびゃくいち（三百一）
302 - san byaku ni [sa-n bya-ku ni] さんびゃくに（三百二）
...
Same for numbers from 600 until 699, pya-ku is used instead of hya-ku,
600 - roppyaku [ro-p-pya-ku] ろっぴゃく（六百）
601 - roppyaku ichi [ro-p-pya-ku i-chi] ろっぴゃくいち（六百一）
602 - roppyaku ni [ro-p-pya-ku ni] ろっぴゃくに（六百二）
Also, for numbers from 800 until 899, pya-ku is used instead of hya-ku,
800 - happyaku [ha-p-pya-ku] はっぴゃく（八百）
801 - happyaku ichi [ha-p-pya-ku i-chi] はっぴゃくいち（八百一）
802 - happyaku ni [ha-p-pya-ku ni] はっぴゃくに（八百二）
Note: Did you notice that there is a small "tsu" （っ） for the above examples? Small "tsu" will be substituted with the same character following it, in romanji. For example, in ro-"small tsu"-pya-ku, "small tsu" will be written as "p" since the next character is pya-ku, which starts with "p".
Another example, mitte（みって）, "small tsu" is written as "t" in romanji. In Japanese, small "tsu" appears very often, and you will get used to it, soon.
Now, we will try 1000,
1000 - sen [se-n] せん（千）
1001 - sen ichi [se-n i-chi] せんいち（千一）
1002 - sen ni [se-n ni] せんに（千二）
2000 - ni sen [ni se-n] にせん（二千）
2001 - ni sen ichi [ni se-n i-chi] にせんいち（二千一）
2002 - ni sen ni [ni se-n ni] にせんに（二千二）
For numbers from 3000 until 3999, ze-n is used instead of se-n,
3000 - san zen [sa-n ze-n] さんぜん（三千）
For numbers from 8000 until 8999, notice that it is connected with an extra "s" (the smalle "tsu"), and "chi" from "ha-chi"(8), has been taken out,
8000 - hassen [ha-s-se-n] はっせん（八千）
Now, 10000,
10000 - ichi man [i-chi ma-n] いちまん（一万）
10001 - ichi man ichi [i-chi ma-n i-chi] いちまんいち（一万一）
10002 - ichi man ni [i-chi ma-n ni] いちまんに（一万二）
20000 - ni man [ni ma-n] にまん（二万）
20001 - ni man ichi [ni ma-n i-chi] にまんいち（二万一）
20002 - ni man ni [ni ma-n ni] にまんに（二万二）
100000 - jyuu man [jyu-u ma-n] じゅうまん（十万）
100001 - jyuu man ichi [jyu-u ma-n i-chi] じゅうまんいち（十万一）
100022 - jyuu man ni jyuu ni [jyu-u ma-n ni jyu-u ni] じゅうまんにじゅうに（十万二十二）
200000 - ni jyuu man [ni jyu-u ma-n] にじゅうまん（二十万）
I think you will get the idea for the rest of the number. Now, let's go to the last one that i am going to mention here, o-ku（億）,
100000000 - ichi oku [i-chi o-ku] いちおく（一億）
100000001 - ichi oku ichi [i-chi o-ku i-chi] いちおくいち（一億一）
That's all that I know, don't ask me those after o-ku（億）, I don't know...
Example れい（例）:
123456 - jyuu ni man san sen yon hyaku go jyuu roku [jyu-u ni ma-n sa-n se-n yo-n hya-ku go jyu-u ro-ku] 十二万三千四百五十六
Well, hope you can start counting in Japanese now! Have fun!!
Yes, knowing how to count from 1 to 10 is important, isn't it? Nah...
Anyway, for this lesson, let's do counting...
Japanese numbering is just like chinese numbering, it has the denomination of 10s [jyu-u]（十）, 100s [hya-ku]（百）, 1000s [se-n]（千）, 10000s [ma-n]（万）, 100000000s [o-ku]（億）. Therefore, learning counting in Japanese will be easier for someone with chinese numbering knowledge.
Let's start with 1 to 10:
1 - ichi [i-chi] いち（一）
2 - ni [ni] に（二）
3 - san [sa-n] さん（三）
4 - yon [yo-n] or shi [shi] よん（四）・し（四）
5 - go [go] ご（五）
6 - roku [ro-ku] ろく（六）
7 - shichi [shi-chi] or nana [na-na] しち（七）・なな（七）
8 - hachi [ha-chi] はち（八）
9 - ku [ku] or kyu [kyu] く（九）・きゅ（九）
10 - jyuu [jyu-u] じゅう(十）
After 10, of course will be 11, 12, 13, ...
Here, if you know chinese, the arrangement is the same, just that you need to read it in Japanese.
11 - jyuu ichi [jyu-u i-chi] じゅういち（十一）
12 - jyuu ni [jyu-u ni] じゅうに（十二）
13 - jyuu san [jyu-u sa-n] じゅうさん（十三）
14 - jyuu yon [jyu-u yo-n] じゅうよん（十四）
20 - ni jyuu [ni jyu-u] にじゅう（二十）
21 - ni jyuu ichi [ni jyu-u i-chi] にじゅういち（二十一）
22 - ni jyuu ni [ni jyu-u ni] にじゅうに（二十二）
23 - ni jyuu san [ni jyu-u sa-n] にじゅうさん（二十三）
You should know the rest, for 30, 40, 50 ...
So, now we will go for 100,
100 - hyaku [hya-ku] ひゃく（百）
101 - hyaku ichi [hya-ku i-chi] ひゃくいち（百一）
102 - hyaku ni [hya-ku ni] じゃくに（百二）
200 - ni hyaku [ni hya-ku] にひゃく（二百）
201 - ni hyaku ichi [ni hya-ku i-chi] にひゃくいち（二百一）
202 - ni hyaku ni [ni hya-ku ni] にひゃくに（二百二）
Now, for numbers from 300 until 399, bya-ku is used instead of hya-ku, keep that in mind and don't ask me why! Please let me know, if anyone reading this knows the reason...
300 - san byaku [sa-n bya-ku] さんびゃく（三百）
301 - san byaku ichi [sa-n bya-ku i-chi] さんびゃくいち（三百一）
302 - san byaku ni [sa-n bya-ku ni] さんびゃくに（三百二）
...
Same for numbers from 600 until 699, pya-ku is used instead of hya-ku,
600 - roppyaku [ro-p-pya-ku] ろっぴゃく（六百）
601 - roppyaku ichi [ro-p-pya-ku i-chi] ろっぴゃくいち（六百一）
602 - roppyaku ni [ro-p-pya-ku ni] ろっぴゃくに（六百二）
Also, for numbers from 800 until 899, pya-ku is used instead of hya-ku,
800 - happyaku [ha-p-pya-ku] はっぴゃく（八百）
801 - happyaku ichi [ha-p-pya-ku i-chi] はっぴゃくいち（八百一）
802 - happyaku ni [ha-p-pya-ku ni] はっぴゃくに（八百二）
Note: Did you notice that there is a small "tsu" （っ） for the above examples? Small "tsu" will be substituted with the same character following it, in romanji. For example, in ro-"small tsu"-pya-ku, "small tsu" will be written as "p" since the next character is pya-ku, which starts with "p".
Another example, mitte（みって）, "small tsu" is written as "t" in romanji. In Japanese, small "tsu" appears very often, and you will get used to it, soon.
Now, we will try 1000,
1000 - sen [se-n] せん（千）
1001 - sen ichi [se-n i-chi] せんいち（千一）
1002 - sen ni [se-n ni] せんに（千二）
2000 - ni sen [ni se-n] にせん（二千）
2001 - ni sen ichi [ni se-n i-chi] にせんいち（二千一）
2002 - ni sen ni [ni se-n ni] にせんに（二千二）
For numbers from 3000 until 3999, ze-n is used instead of se-n,
3000 - san zen [sa-n ze-n] さんぜん（三千）
For numbers from 8000 until 8999, notice that it is connected with an extra "s" (the smalle "tsu"), and "chi" from "ha-chi"(8), has been taken out,
8000 - hassen [ha-s-se-n] はっせん（八千）
Now, 10000,
10000 - ichi man [i-chi ma-n] いちまん（一万）
10001 - ichi man ichi [i-chi ma-n i-chi] いちまんいち（一万一）
10002 - ichi man ni [i-chi ma-n ni] いちまんに（一万二）
20000 - ni man [ni ma-n] にまん（二万）
20001 - ni man ichi [ni ma-n i-chi] にまんいち（二万一）
20002 - ni man ni [ni ma-n ni] にまんに（二万二）
100000 - jyuu man [jyu-u ma-n] じゅうまん（十万）
100001 - jyuu man ichi [jyu-u ma-n i-chi] じゅうまんいち（十万一）
100022 - jyuu man ni jyuu ni [jyu-u ma-n ni jyu-u ni] じゅうまんにじゅうに（十万二十二）
200000 - ni jyuu man [ni jyu-u ma-n] にじゅうまん（二十万）
I think you will get the idea for the rest of the number. Now, let's go to the last one that i am going to mention here, o-ku（億）,
100000000 - ichi oku [i-chi o-ku] いちおく（一億）
100000001 - ichi oku ichi [i-chi o-ku i-chi] いちおくいち（一億一）
That's all that I know, don't ask me those after o-ku（億）, I don't know...
Example れい（例）:
123456 - jyuu ni man san sen yon hyaku go jyuu roku [jyu-u ni ma-n sa-n se-n yo-n hya-ku go jyu-u ro-ku] 十二万三千四百五十六
Well, hope you can start counting in Japanese now! Have fun!!
Japanese Lesson 1
Note: I blogged about japanese lesson for a few reasons, 1) to help myself preserve this language that I have learned few years ago, I wouldn't want the hard work of 4 years learning this language vanished, 2) hope that this could be a starting point for others to start learning japanese.
I will be blogging based on the book "shin nihongo no kiso 1", however, whatever I blogged/explained here might not be completely correct, but I will try my very best to give the best guidance in learning the basic of Japanese language. Have fun!!
Learning Japanese is just like learning any other languages that existed in this world. Just like English constructed its words using alphabets starting from "a" to "z", Japanese language, too, has it's own alphabets/characters (whichever you want to call).
To start learning Japanese, one is better off if he/she knows the alphabets/characters. Below are the alphabets/characters available for use in constructing japanese words:
Note that all the characters are inherited from the very basic of "a", "i", "u", "e", "o".
a [あ・ア] (ah); i [い・イ] (e); u [う・ウ] (uu); e [え・ヘ] (eh); o [お・オ] (o);
ka [か・カ]; ki [き・キ]; ku [く・ク]; ke [け・ケ]; ko [こ・コ];
sa [さ・サ]; shi [し・シ]; su [す・ス]; se [せ・セ]; so [そ・ソ];
ta [た・タ]; chi [ち・チ]; tsu [つ・ツ]; te [て・テ]; to [と・ト];
na [な・ナ]; ni [に・ニ]; nu [ぬ・ヌ]; ne [ね・ネ]; no [の・ノ];
ha [は・ハ]; hi [ひ・ヒ]; hu [ふ・フ]; he [へ・ヘ]; ho [ほ・ホ];
ma [ま・マ]; mi [み・ミ]; mu [む・ム]; me [め・メ]; mo [も・モ];
ya [や・ヤ]; yu [ゆ・ユ]; yo [よ・ヨ];
ra [ら・ラ]; ri [り・リ]; ru [る・ル]; re [れ・レ]; ro [ろ・ロ];
wa [わ・ワ]; wo [を・ヲ] (o);
n [ん・ン] (ung);
ga [が・ガ]; gi [ぎ・ギ]; gu [ぐ・グ]; ge [げ・ゲ]; go [ご・ゴ];
za [ざ・ザ]; ji [じ・ジ]; zu [ず・ズ]; ze [ぜ・ゼ]; zo [ぞ・ゾ];
da [だ・ダ]; di [ぢ・ヂ]; du [づ・ヅ]; de [で・デ]; do [ど・ド];
ba [ば・バ]; bi [び・ビ]; bu [ぶ・ブ]; be [べ・ベ]; bo [ぼ・ボ];
pa [ぱ・パ]; pi [ぴ・ピ]; pu [ぷ・プ]; pe [ぺ・ペ]; po [ぽ・ポ];
kya [きゃ・キャ]; kyu [きゅ・キュ]; kyo [きょ・キョ];
sha [しゃ・シャ]; shu [しゅ・シュ]; sho [しょ・ショ];
cha [ちゃ・チャ]; chu [ちゅ・チュ]; cho [ちょ・チョ];
nya [にゃ・ニャ]; nyu [にゅ・ニュ]; nyo [にょ・ニョ];
hya [ひゃ・ヒャ]; hyu [ひゅ・ヒュ]; hyo [ひょ・ヒョ];
mya [みゃ・ミャ]; myu [みゅ・ミュ]; myo [みょ・ミョ];
rya [りゃ・リャ]; ryu [りゅ・リュ]; ryo [りょ・リョ];
gya [ぎゃ・ギャ]; gyu [ぎゅ・ギュ]; gyo [ぎょ・ギョ];
jya [じゃ・ジャ]; jyu [じゅ・ジュ]; jyo [じょ・ジョ];
bya [びゃ・ビャ]; byu [びゅ・ビュ]; byo [びょ・ビョ];
pya [ぴゃ・ピャ]; pyu [ぴゅ・ピュ]; pyo [ぴょ・ピョ];
( ) = pronounced as
[・] = hiragana・katakana
Source: Shin Nihongo no Kiso 1 - 新日本語の基礎１ （しんにほんごのきそ１）
Example (rei) [れ・い]（例）:
shin = shi.n [し・ん]（新）
nihongo = ni.ho.n.go [に・ほ・ん・ご]（日本語）
no = no [の]（の）
kiso = ki.so [き・そ]（基礎）
Hope that the explanation above will give a better picture about Japanese language.
I will blog for Japanese Lesson 2 whenever I have the time. Until then, have fun memorizing the Japanese alphabets/characters!
I will be blogging based on the book "shin nihongo no kiso 1", however, whatever I blogged/explained here might not be completely correct, but I will try my very best to give the best guidance in learning the basic of Japanese language. Have fun!!
Learning Japanese is just like learning any other languages that existed in this world. Just like English constructed its words using alphabets starting from "a" to "z", Japanese language, too, has it's own alphabets/characters (whichever you want to call).
To start learning Japanese, one is better off if he/she knows the alphabets/characters. Below are the alphabets/characters available for use in constructing japanese words:
Note that all the characters are inherited from the very basic of "a", "i", "u", "e", "o".
a [あ・ア] (ah); i [い・イ] (e); u [う・ウ] (uu); e [え・ヘ] (eh); o [お・オ] (o);
ka [か・カ]; ki [き・キ]; ku [く・ク]; ke [け・ケ]; ko [こ・コ];
sa [さ・サ]; shi [し・シ]; su [す・ス]; se [せ・セ]; so [そ・ソ];
ta [た・タ]; chi [ち・チ]; tsu [つ・ツ]; te [て・テ]; to [と・ト];
na [な・ナ]; ni [に・ニ]; nu [ぬ・ヌ]; ne [ね・ネ]; no [の・ノ];
ha [は・ハ]; hi [ひ・ヒ]; hu [ふ・フ]; he [へ・ヘ]; ho [ほ・ホ];
ma [ま・マ]; mi [み・ミ]; mu [む・ム]; me [め・メ]; mo [も・モ];
ya [や・ヤ]; yu [ゆ・ユ]; yo [よ・ヨ];
ra [ら・ラ]; ri [り・リ]; ru [る・ル]; re [れ・レ]; ro [ろ・ロ];
wa [わ・ワ]; wo [を・ヲ] (o);
n [ん・ン] (ung);
ga [が・ガ]; gi [ぎ・ギ]; gu [ぐ・グ]; ge [げ・ゲ]; go [ご・ゴ];
za [ざ・ザ]; ji [じ・ジ]; zu [ず・ズ]; ze [ぜ・ゼ]; zo [ぞ・ゾ];
da [だ・ダ]; di [ぢ・ヂ]; du [づ・ヅ]; de [で・デ]; do [ど・ド];
ba [ば・バ]; bi [び・ビ]; bu [ぶ・ブ]; be [べ・ベ]; bo [ぼ・ボ];
pa [ぱ・パ]; pi [ぴ・ピ]; pu [ぷ・プ]; pe [ぺ・ペ]; po [ぽ・ポ];
kya [きゃ・キャ]; kyu [きゅ・キュ]; kyo [きょ・キョ];
sha [しゃ・シャ]; shu [しゅ・シュ]; sho [しょ・ショ];
cha [ちゃ・チャ]; chu [ちゅ・チュ]; cho [ちょ・チョ];
nya [にゃ・ニャ]; nyu [にゅ・ニュ]; nyo [にょ・ニョ];
hya [ひゃ・ヒャ]; hyu [ひゅ・ヒュ]; hyo [ひょ・ヒョ];
mya [みゃ・ミャ]; myu [みゅ・ミュ]; myo [みょ・ミョ];
rya [りゃ・リャ]; ryu [りゅ・リュ]; ryo [りょ・リョ];
gya [ぎゃ・ギャ]; gyu [ぎゅ・ギュ]; gyo [ぎょ・ギョ];
jya [じゃ・ジャ]; jyu [じゅ・ジュ]; jyo [じょ・ジョ];
bya [びゃ・ビャ]; byu [びゅ・ビュ]; byo [びょ・ビョ];
pya [ぴゃ・ピャ]; pyu [ぴゅ・ピュ]; pyo [ぴょ・ピョ];
( ) = pronounced as
[・] = hiragana・katakana
Source: Shin Nihongo no Kiso 1 - 新日本語の基礎１ （しんにほんごのきそ１）
Example (rei) [れ・い]（例）:
shin = shi.n [し・ん]（新）
nihongo = ni.ho.n.go [に・ほ・ん・ご]（日本語）
no = no [の]（の）
kiso = ki.so [き・そ]（基礎）
Hope that the explanation above will give a better picture about Japanese language.
I will blog for Japanese Lesson 2 whenever I have the time. Until then, have fun memorizing the Japanese alphabets/characters!
Saturday, January 17, 2009
DOW @ 16-Jan-2009
Today, DOW rose 68.73 points after the news of the final US$350 billion of TARP funds were approved earlier.
http://money.cnn.com/2009/01/16/markets/markets_newyork/index.htm
Upcoming Events:
1) President George Bush will be giving his farewell speech tonight.
2) Fourth-quarter earnings report for some 55 companies of the S&P 500 on next week.
3) Next monday, 19-Jan-2009, all financial markets closed for Martin Lurker King Jr. Day.
4) Next tuesday, 20-Jan-2009, Inauguration Day, Barack Obama will be sworn in as the 44th president of the United States.
http://money.cnn.com/2009/01/16/markets/markets_newyork/index.htm
Upcoming Events:
1) President George Bush will be giving his farewell speech tonight.
2) Fourth-quarter earnings report for some 55 companies of the S&P 500 on next week.
3) Next monday, 19-Jan-2009, all financial markets closed for Martin Lurker King Jr. Day.
4) Next tuesday, 20-Jan-2009, Inauguration Day, Barack Obama will be sworn in as the 44th president of the United States.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Holiday Mood - ON
First and foremost, Happy Valentine's Day to everyone!
Have a nice and enjoyable day with your beloved ones. For those who is still single, enjoy the day knowing that this world is full with loves and people who cares for you.
As Chinese New Year is also around the corner, it automatically turns my holiday mood to 'ON'.
Well, if not, then you won't be able to read this blog entry.
It's been a while since I returned to my hometown - Penang (Malaysia).
This friday night, I will be boarding a bus from Kuala Lumpur back to my hometown.
Can't wait for that day to come!
Thinking of Penang Island, it has also been a while, actually 4-5 years, since my last visit to the beach and enjoy the sea view from there. How relaxing will it be, I wonder. Almost forgot how it felt now. If I still remember correctly, my last visit was also the day where we had a gathering together for my farewell before I left for Japan back then.
Hopefully, I will be able to take this opportunity, Chinese New Year holiday, and spend some time on the beach to enjoy the sunset view again. I also hope that by going there, I could find peace in me again, as I needed it so badly. Life's hectic and sucks for the moment.
Back to CNY plans, a lot of happenings is expected and my schedule might not be favourable for beach visit. Up and coming will be, one of the event that most of my badminton friends, and me as well, are longing for - the badminton reunion event. In addition to that, a few visits to friends house will suck up most of my time while in Penang, not to mention about "old" friends reunion and all others.
However it might end up as, I will try my very best to enjoy these days.
Wishes all of you a Happy and Prosperous Chinese New Year 2007!!
Gong Xi Fa Cai!!
Have a nice and enjoyable day with your beloved ones. For those who is still single, enjoy the day knowing that this world is full with loves and people who cares for you.
As Chinese New Year is also around the corner, it automatically turns my holiday mood to 'ON'.
Well, if not, then you won't be able to read this blog entry.
It's been a while since I returned to my hometown - Penang (Malaysia).
This friday night, I will be boarding a bus from Kuala Lumpur back to my hometown.
Can't wait for that day to come!
Thinking of Penang Island, it has also been a while, actually 4-5 years, since my last visit to the beach and enjoy the sea view from there. How relaxing will it be, I wonder. Almost forgot how it felt now. If I still remember correctly, my last visit was also the day where we had a gathering together for my farewell before I left for Japan back then.
Hopefully, I will be able to take this opportunity, Chinese New Year holiday, and spend some time on the beach to enjoy the sunset view again. I also hope that by going there, I could find peace in me again, as I needed it so badly. Life's hectic and sucks for the moment.
Back to CNY plans, a lot of happenings is expected and my schedule might not be favourable for beach visit. Up and coming will be, one of the event that most of my badminton friends, and me as well, are longing for - the badminton reunion event. In addition to that, a few visits to friends house will suck up most of my time while in Penang, not to mention about "old" friends reunion and all others.
However it might end up as, I will try my very best to enjoy these days.
Wishes all of you a Happy and Prosperous Chinese New Year 2007!!
Gong Xi Fa Cai!!
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Misery...
Life sucks recently, with all the happenings around me.
I tend to do things that I don't usually do, ask questions that I already have answers, and seek advices that I already am practising. That is to say, I am trying to keep myself busy in order to stay away from things that's affecting me, emotionally.
I no longer have the calmness and peacefulness that I used to have. My mind is not peaceful, it has things to deal with every single second, it just won't rest. It's creating heat that is causing me headache.
I started to lose sight, and passion in everything I do. I do things, but just for the sake of doing it. There's no real objectives or motives behind the things I do. I push myself to do everything but not on things that concerns me. By doing this, I know I am not creating long-term plans, but loads of short-term plans of which I don't think will benefit me. Or so I felt. And I don't like it.
Question is, am I on the right or wrong track? These things above seems bad, but does it also mean wrong? I, for one, don't relate good and bad to right and wrong respectively. Good choice doesn't mean it is right, and vice versa.
These might be a turn-around, but it might also be a dead-end to my life. God knows. Darn, I don't really like to leave my life to God. Maybe I am really lost, and running out of ideas as to how to walk my life ahead...
I tend to do things that I don't usually do, ask questions that I already have answers, and seek advices that I already am practising. That is to say, I am trying to keep myself busy in order to stay away from things that's affecting me, emotionally.
I no longer have the calmness and peacefulness that I used to have. My mind is not peaceful, it has things to deal with every single second, it just won't rest. It's creating heat that is causing me headache.
I started to lose sight, and passion in everything I do. I do things, but just for the sake of doing it. There's no real objectives or motives behind the things I do. I push myself to do everything but not on things that concerns me. By doing this, I know I am not creating long-term plans, but loads of short-term plans of which I don't think will benefit me. Or so I felt. And I don't like it.
Question is, am I on the right or wrong track? These things above seems bad, but does it also mean wrong? I, for one, don't relate good and bad to right and wrong respectively. Good choice doesn't mean it is right, and vice versa.
These might be a turn-around, but it might also be a dead-end to my life. God knows. Darn, I don't really like to leave my life to God. Maybe I am really lost, and running out of ideas as to how to walk my life ahead...
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
The return?
After being idle for so long in this world of blogging, I suddenly feel like making a comeback.
However, I don't know if I am going to make it.
I am afraid that it might be something like - hangat-hangat tahi ayam - kind of stuff...
Well, I will try my very best... so stay tuned for my next post!
However, I don't know if I am going to make it.
I am afraid that it might be something like - hangat-hangat tahi ayam - kind of stuff...
Well, I will try my very best... so stay tuned for my next post!
Saturday, April 16, 2005
Life without credit...
While Nee Shen's post describes the danger those credit card might give to a person, if improperly managed, I would like to give a different point of view for not owning a credit card.
Recently, I have been trying to do some of stuff using the internet service, buying books and booking an air ticket online. For books, I am trying to use the Japan's Amazon to purchase some books. Everything seems fine for the procedure from selecting my books until the registeration of the address to send these books to. When I proceed to payment section, I was near to hopeless in making this a successful transaction. The reason, as you might have figured out, it the use of credit card as payment. Well, I did mention that my transaction is near to fail, and luckily they, the amazon, have a COD (Cash On Delivery) service, only valid for local delivery - Japan, which helps me to complete the transaction.
Besides this, if I were to walk my way to the bookstores to purchase books, I will need to add extra transportation expenses to my gross payment for these books. Credits good??
Next experience will be the online air ticket booking, just two days ago I visited the JAL's website for that purpose. This website offers discount, for my case, mileage point discount, if I book the ticket online. Online services rules, don't they? Again, the process of booking the ticket goes well until I was asked for my credit card number. Without the number, I couldn't proceed further to confirm my reservation and complete the transaction. How sad when I know that I failed. Yes failed, JAL is not offering that COD service!Fine with that, I am going to do it by phone this time. I called their toll free number and was greeted by a "sweet" operator. I completed the reservation and the operator told me that I will be able to get my e-ticket in one week time starting from today. Great, I thanked her and disconnect the line. At that time, I was so happy that I have finally reserved my ticket. Later, I received a call from the centre asking me to recall them regarding my reservation. They actually need my credit card number to make the tax payment. Damn it, as expected, they still need credit card anyway.Then, I told the operator that I don't have a credit card and I would like to pay the tax with cash. She later told me to go to one of their ticketing office to get the ticket and make the tax payment. Ok, settled. Now, I need to add extra expenses to it - transportation. Besides that, I need to find some time to get to their office, which is not near, to get my ticket.From these two cases, it is obvious that credit card does have its good besides the bad. Sometimes, credit payment will ease the pain you will have to face when doing a cash payment. Furthermore, we are now in the age of networks. Most of the transaction will/might be carried out in terms of credit rather than cash.Therefore, my conclusion is owning a credit card does not always give harm to you. It will only do harm when you failed to control your usage with it. Like a sentence that I would like to repeat from time to time - A knife could harm or help you, depending on the way you use it. This goes the same for credit card. Manage well and you will find that it is indeed helpful. Our transaction has been evolving from the barter to the monetary and now the credit system. The system is to help ease the transaction.
Recently, I have been trying to do some of stuff using the internet service, buying books and booking an air ticket online. For books, I am trying to use the Japan's Amazon to purchase some books. Everything seems fine for the procedure from selecting my books until the registeration of the address to send these books to. When I proceed to payment section, I was near to hopeless in making this a successful transaction. The reason, as you might have figured out, it the use of credit card as payment. Well, I did mention that my transaction is near to fail, and luckily they, the amazon, have a COD (Cash On Delivery) service, only valid for local delivery - Japan, which helps me to complete the transaction.
Besides this, if I were to walk my way to the bookstores to purchase books, I will need to add extra transportation expenses to my gross payment for these books. Credits good??
Next experience will be the online air ticket booking, just two days ago I visited the JAL's website for that purpose. This website offers discount, for my case, mileage point discount, if I book the ticket online. Online services rules, don't they? Again, the process of booking the ticket goes well until I was asked for my credit card number. Without the number, I couldn't proceed further to confirm my reservation and complete the transaction. How sad when I know that I failed. Yes failed, JAL is not offering that COD service!Fine with that, I am going to do it by phone this time. I called their toll free number and was greeted by a "sweet" operator. I completed the reservation and the operator told me that I will be able to get my e-ticket in one week time starting from today. Great, I thanked her and disconnect the line. At that time, I was so happy that I have finally reserved my ticket. Later, I received a call from the centre asking me to recall them regarding my reservation. They actually need my credit card number to make the tax payment. Damn it, as expected, they still need credit card anyway.Then, I told the operator that I don't have a credit card and I would like to pay the tax with cash. She later told me to go to one of their ticketing office to get the ticket and make the tax payment. Ok, settled. Now, I need to add extra expenses to it - transportation. Besides that, I need to find some time to get to their office, which is not near, to get my ticket.From these two cases, it is obvious that credit card does have its good besides the bad. Sometimes, credit payment will ease the pain you will have to face when doing a cash payment. Furthermore, we are now in the age of networks. Most of the transaction will/might be carried out in terms of credit rather than cash.Therefore, my conclusion is owning a credit card does not always give harm to you. It will only do harm when you failed to control your usage with it. Like a sentence that I would like to repeat from time to time - A knife could harm or help you, depending on the way you use it. This goes the same for credit card. Manage well and you will find that it is indeed helpful. Our transaction has been evolving from the barter to the monetary and now the credit system. The system is to help ease the transaction.
Sunday, April 03, 2005
Q&A session...
Yesterday, I went to EF's blog and busybodying myself to ask her 4 questions in one of her recent entry. In return I have to post up a blog entry here to open myself for those who wish to have some bullet training. Ok, ready and fire accurately and gently. Remember, I will be able to answer them truthfully if your bullets do not hit the "correct" point.
Yoroshiku onegaishimasu...
Yoroshiku onegaishimasu...
Saturday, April 02, 2005
Another item into my inventory... (1)
Yes, I have just bought myself an iPod shuffle.
And I can tell you all that it is very frustrating for me to get this little gadget. Normally, we could get it at those electronic/electrical stores found everywhere in Japan. However, this time, we have to actually go to the counter and reserve it. Well, going to the counter and register, fine... but wait, yes you have to wait for 2 - 3 weeks before you could officially get a taste of it. Yes, 2-3 weeks is very long for me and I ain't gonna register and wait for it. I need shortcuts. The only shortcut that I know is to buy it directly from the Apple shop that is quite far from the place that I stayed previously and even farther from my new apartment.
What can I do? I couldn't wait any longer and therefore I had to do some extra spending in order to get it. Spending for train transportation is inevitable and it costed me around 800yen! (This is around RM 28!). Nevermind, I am willing to pay this rather than sitting in my room and wait for 2-3 weeks. I could have suffered more if I were to wait.
Took the train to reach a station called "Ginza". This place is the place where luxurious stuffs are being sold and most of the people who shop there have a lot of money to spend around. If I could accidentally get to know one of them, man, I would not need to work for the rest of my life, I suppose. But, who cares, my current mission's to get my little gadget. Don't give a damn about these people walking around.
Reached the station, and wah..., that's my first time going there... and I missed the oppurtunity to take some photos for memory. Haha, as if I won't be going there anymore in my life! Wait, I still have not mentioned anything yet, and I've already jump into photo session? Crazy me... sorry.
Took my first step to the station and slipped my train ticket to the ticket counter located not far away from where I got off. Okay, now problem arises, which exit should I take? I don't even know where this Apple shop is? The station is under the ground, yes a subway, therefore I couldn't get a sight from here. Haha, just press my luck then. Walked for around 5-10 minutes before I decided to take a stair up above the ground for fresh air and some sunlight.
Ahhh, out from the subway, and err, which way to take... *follow my instinct and it says I should take the left path* and so I did as instructed. Walked for about 10 minutes and still I couldn't see any Apple trademark imprinted to a building. What I saw were some automobiles showroom and a Ferrari showroom, wow, really hope that I have my camera with me that time... *keep walking* Was going nearer to another train station already, which means I will cross the Ginza border soon. No hope, should I go back to the starting point and take the right path instead? Decision made, and so I went back to the initial starting point, *another 10 minutes walk*. Okay, all my effort wasted for the past 20 minutes.
Go right! Go right! 1, 2, 3, and 4 steps taken *stop for a while and peep around for beautiful chicks, woow... i saw girls here and girls there and apple there*. Alerted when my mind spoke the apple word. Don't tell me it's... yes, Apple shop laid just right in front of my eye. And it only took me 4 steps from my initial starting point to locate it! Stupid me to follow my instinct, ceh.
Without wasting anymore time, I rushed myself to the other side of the street and finally I reached the Apple shop. It is a 4-story building, with all the floors selling Apple products. And my "target" could be found at the ground floor. But the pay line was another challenge. What? I have to wait at least 20-30 minutes to pay? Alright, what's 20-30 minutes to me now. Quickly rushed to the corner and grab my gadget (*kiasu style*). Target secured.
While following the queue, I noticed that some bought more than one of the iPod shuffle. Wow, Apple must be earning a lot by now... *still dreaming around with my iPod*
*tsugi no okyakusama douzo* (next customer please) - yes, my turn to pay, quickly grab my wallet and pull out my one and only one 10000 yen note and another 1000 yen note to complete the transaction.
Cashier: *tii tii (scanning)* omataseshimashita, kochira no goukei ha 10980yen to narimasu. (Sorry to keep you waiting, the total is 10980yen.)
Me: Hai. (yes) *putting my 10000 yen and 1000 yen note in front of the cashier*
Cashier: Hai, 11000yen wo oazukarimasu... (Allow me to take care of your 11000yen) *toot toot toot - pressing the machine*
After a while...
Cashier: taihen omataseshimashita, otsuri no 20yen to resiito to narimasu. sorede, kono kami ha hoshousho no okawari to narimasu no de, moshii nanika gozaimashitara, kono kami... *don't know what's the remaining sentence* (Really sorry for keeping you to wait, this is your 20yen change and the receipt. And this paper represents the warranty for this product, if there is anything with your product...)
Me: Ahh, hai, wakarimashita... (Ahh, ok, I understand)
Cashier: arigatou gozaimashita, *other staffs also said the same* (Thank you very much.)
Finally, got it!!
*Fast fast rush back to get it to work*
...to be continue
And I can tell you all that it is very frustrating for me to get this little gadget. Normally, we could get it at those electronic/electrical stores found everywhere in Japan. However, this time, we have to actually go to the counter and reserve it. Well, going to the counter and register, fine... but wait, yes you have to wait for 2 - 3 weeks before you could officially get a taste of it. Yes, 2-3 weeks is very long for me and I ain't gonna register and wait for it. I need shortcuts. The only shortcut that I know is to buy it directly from the Apple shop that is quite far from the place that I stayed previously and even farther from my new apartment.
What can I do? I couldn't wait any longer and therefore I had to do some extra spending in order to get it. Spending for train transportation is inevitable and it costed me around 800yen! (This is around RM 28!). Nevermind, I am willing to pay this rather than sitting in my room and wait for 2-3 weeks. I could have suffered more if I were to wait.
Took the train to reach a station called "Ginza". This place is the place where luxurious stuffs are being sold and most of the people who shop there have a lot of money to spend around. If I could accidentally get to know one of them, man, I would not need to work for the rest of my life, I suppose. But, who cares, my current mission's to get my little gadget. Don't give a damn about these people walking around.
Reached the station, and wah..., that's my first time going there... and I missed the oppurtunity to take some photos for memory. Haha, as if I won't be going there anymore in my life! Wait, I still have not mentioned anything yet, and I've already jump into photo session? Crazy me... sorry.
Took my first step to the station and slipped my train ticket to the ticket counter located not far away from where I got off. Okay, now problem arises, which exit should I take? I don't even know where this Apple shop is? The station is under the ground, yes a subway, therefore I couldn't get a sight from here. Haha, just press my luck then. Walked for around 5-10 minutes before I decided to take a stair up above the ground for fresh air and some sunlight.
Ahhh, out from the subway, and err, which way to take... *follow my instinct and it says I should take the left path* and so I did as instructed. Walked for about 10 minutes and still I couldn't see any Apple trademark imprinted to a building. What I saw were some automobiles showroom and a Ferrari showroom, wow, really hope that I have my camera with me that time... *keep walking* Was going nearer to another train station already, which means I will cross the Ginza border soon. No hope, should I go back to the starting point and take the right path instead? Decision made, and so I went back to the initial starting point, *another 10 minutes walk*. Okay, all my effort wasted for the past 20 minutes.
Go right! Go right! 1, 2, 3, and 4 steps taken *stop for a while and peep around for beautiful chicks, woow... i saw girls here and girls there and apple there*. Alerted when my mind spoke the apple word. Don't tell me it's... yes, Apple shop laid just right in front of my eye. And it only took me 4 steps from my initial starting point to locate it! Stupid me to follow my instinct, ceh.
Without wasting anymore time, I rushed myself to the other side of the street and finally I reached the Apple shop. It is a 4-story building, with all the floors selling Apple products. And my "target" could be found at the ground floor. But the pay line was another challenge. What? I have to wait at least 20-30 minutes to pay? Alright, what's 20-30 minutes to me now. Quickly rushed to the corner and grab my gadget (*kiasu style*). Target secured.
While following the queue, I noticed that some bought more than one of the iPod shuffle. Wow, Apple must be earning a lot by now... *still dreaming around with my iPod*
*tsugi no okyakusama douzo* (next customer please) - yes, my turn to pay, quickly grab my wallet and pull out my one and only one 10000 yen note and another 1000 yen note to complete the transaction.
Cashier: *tii tii (scanning)* omataseshimashita, kochira no goukei ha 10980yen to narimasu. (Sorry to keep you waiting, the total is 10980yen.)
Me: Hai. (yes) *putting my 10000 yen and 1000 yen note in front of the cashier*
Cashier: Hai, 11000yen wo oazukarimasu... (Allow me to take care of your 11000yen) *toot toot toot - pressing the machine*
After a while...
Cashier: taihen omataseshimashita, otsuri no 20yen to resiito to narimasu. sorede, kono kami ha hoshousho no okawari to narimasu no de, moshii nanika gozaimashitara, kono kami... *don't know what's the remaining sentence* (Really sorry for keeping you to wait, this is your 20yen change and the receipt. And this paper represents the warranty for this product, if there is anything with your product...)
Me: Ahh, hai, wakarimashita... (Ahh, ok, I understand)
Cashier: arigatou gozaimashita, *other staffs also said the same* (Thank you very much.)
Finally, got it!!
*Fast fast rush back to get it to work*
...to be continue
Hari April Bodoh...
Haha,
Sudah sekian lamanya saya tidak menulis blog ya. Harap maaf.
Sebenarnya, bulan April merupakan bulan ulangtahun saya. Ulangtahun untuk apa? Untuk menulis dalam BM loh. Tahun ini merupakan ulangtahun pertama saya. Masih ingat, tahun lalu, saya menghantar surat elektronik kepada beberapa kawan saya dan mereka terkejut apabila membaca isi kandungan surat itu. Dengan segera mereka menulis semula kepada saya menanyakan kesihatan saya sekarang. Haha, mereka bimbang yang saya ada sesuatu yang tidak betul namunnya...
Tetapi, memang sukar bagi saya menulis dalam BM sekarang disebabkan penggunaan BM bagi saya amat jarang, hampir kepada 0 peratus. Sudah sekian lamanya saya tidak lagi menulis mahupun bercakap dengan menggunakan bahasa kebangsaan Malaysia.
Saya masih keliru dengan singkatan "BM", adakah ia singkatan bagi "Bahasa Malaysia" ataupun "Bahasa Melayu"?
Apa yang telah berlaku kepada saya kebelakangan ini? Mengapa saya jarang menulis blog? Ini adalah disebabkan saya memang sibuk dengan kerja saya, malah malas untuk melayan ke halaman blogspot yang memang membebankan talian internet saya.
Dengan ini, apa yang harus saya tulis untuk kali ini? Kita baru saja memasuki bulan April, dan dua hari yang lalu merupakan hari "April fool". Tetapi, adakah "April fool" hanya disambut pada hari pertama bulan April? Ataupun kami boleh menyambutnya sehingga ke hari yang terakhir bulan April? Baiklah, adalah lebih baik untuk saya menghentikan perbincangan yang tidak bermakna ini sebelum pembaca tidur di depan skrin komputer... haha.
Seterusnya, saya ingin memberitahu kamu semua yang saya telah berpindah ke apartment lain kebelakangan ini. Sebelum ini, saya tinggal di apartment yang hanya mempunyai sebuah bilik dan satu dapur sahaja. Rumah di Jepun memang sempit. Tetapi, sekarang saya telah berpindah ke apartment yang lebih luas dan sempurna. Ya, ia merupakan rumah dengan 3 buah bilik, 1 ruang makan, dan 1 dapur. Di Jepun, mereka memanggilnya rumah "3DK" dimana, "3" bermakna 3 bilik, "D" bermakna dining room ataupun ruang makan, dan "K" bermakna kitchen ataupun dapur.
Jadi, rumah yang saya tinggal dahulu merupakan rumah jenis "1K".
Memang, rumah tersebut bukan hanya saya seorang sahaja yang tinggal. Masih ada seorang pekerja baru dari Malaysia (eeh? sudah hampir satu tahun dia berada di sini, masih baru?).
Baru sahaja, musim sejuk telah berlalu. Tetapi, musim sejuk ini merupakan musim yang terbaik bagi saya dalam tiga tahun ini. Ini kerana banyak salji turun untuk kali ini. Tetapi, saya masih tidak berpeluang untuk pergi meluncur ais?? walaupun terdapat banyak salji yang terkumpul di seluruh Jepun. Sungguh sayang sekali...
Baiklah, jangan ungkitkan perkara-perkara yang menyedihkan ini.
Sehingga saya menulis blog lagi... jumpa lagi!
Sudah sekian lamanya saya tidak menulis blog ya. Harap maaf.
Sebenarnya, bulan April merupakan bulan ulangtahun saya. Ulangtahun untuk apa? Untuk menulis dalam BM loh. Tahun ini merupakan ulangtahun pertama saya. Masih ingat, tahun lalu, saya menghantar surat elektronik kepada beberapa kawan saya dan mereka terkejut apabila membaca isi kandungan surat itu. Dengan segera mereka menulis semula kepada saya menanyakan kesihatan saya sekarang. Haha, mereka bimbang yang saya ada sesuatu yang tidak betul namunnya...
Tetapi, memang sukar bagi saya menulis dalam BM sekarang disebabkan penggunaan BM bagi saya amat jarang, hampir kepada 0 peratus. Sudah sekian lamanya saya tidak lagi menulis mahupun bercakap dengan menggunakan bahasa kebangsaan Malaysia.
Saya masih keliru dengan singkatan "BM", adakah ia singkatan bagi "Bahasa Malaysia" ataupun "Bahasa Melayu"?
Apa yang telah berlaku kepada saya kebelakangan ini? Mengapa saya jarang menulis blog? Ini adalah disebabkan saya memang sibuk dengan kerja saya, malah malas untuk melayan ke halaman blogspot yang memang membebankan talian internet saya.
Dengan ini, apa yang harus saya tulis untuk kali ini? Kita baru saja memasuki bulan April, dan dua hari yang lalu merupakan hari "April fool". Tetapi, adakah "April fool" hanya disambut pada hari pertama bulan April? Ataupun kami boleh menyambutnya sehingga ke hari yang terakhir bulan April? Baiklah, adalah lebih baik untuk saya menghentikan perbincangan yang tidak bermakna ini sebelum pembaca tidur di depan skrin komputer... haha.
Seterusnya, saya ingin memberitahu kamu semua yang saya telah berpindah ke apartment lain kebelakangan ini. Sebelum ini, saya tinggal di apartment yang hanya mempunyai sebuah bilik dan satu dapur sahaja. Rumah di Jepun memang sempit. Tetapi, sekarang saya telah berpindah ke apartment yang lebih luas dan sempurna. Ya, ia merupakan rumah dengan 3 buah bilik, 1 ruang makan, dan 1 dapur. Di Jepun, mereka memanggilnya rumah "3DK" dimana, "3" bermakna 3 bilik, "D" bermakna dining room ataupun ruang makan, dan "K" bermakna kitchen ataupun dapur.
Jadi, rumah yang saya tinggal dahulu merupakan rumah jenis "1K".
Memang, rumah tersebut bukan hanya saya seorang sahaja yang tinggal. Masih ada seorang pekerja baru dari Malaysia (eeh? sudah hampir satu tahun dia berada di sini, masih baru?).
Baru sahaja, musim sejuk telah berlalu. Tetapi, musim sejuk ini merupakan musim yang terbaik bagi saya dalam tiga tahun ini. Ini kerana banyak salji turun untuk kali ini. Tetapi, saya masih tidak berpeluang untuk pergi meluncur ais?? walaupun terdapat banyak salji yang terkumpul di seluruh Jepun. Sungguh sayang sekali...
Baiklah, jangan ungkitkan perkara-perkara yang menyedihkan ini.
Sehingga saya menulis blog lagi... jumpa lagi!
お久しぶりです．．．
お待たせしました…
本当にすいませんでした、もう何ヶ月の間にブローグを記入してなかった。ごめなさい～
実は最近忙しいし、話もないし、いろいろ困ってることを考えすぎるので、ブローグはちょっとの間にやめちゃった。
今もそうだけど、EFからのリクエストで久しぶりブローグを記入すると決まりました。
それで、今回のブローグ課題はなんでしょう？４月に入ったばかりで、"April fool"というの日でしたよね。
でも、"April fool"とは本当に月の一日だけですか？あるいは今月ず～っと３０日まででもそういう日ですか？
もういい、こんな無意味の話はやめましょう。
次はなんですかね。そうだ、先月は引越した。もっといいアパットに引越した。前住んでいたアパットは１Kなんですが、今のアパットは３DKだよ！嬉しくな い？そ、３DKのアパットに住んでいる僕はもちろんほかの人と一緒に暮らしてます。その人はマレーシアの新入会社員？？（だってもうすぐ一年経ってるよ） です。そう言えば僕の後輩だね。ハハ…もう先輩になっているだな。
終わったばかりの冬は僕にとってはこの３年間の一番最高の冬でしたな。雪はよく降ってるだからね。初めての冬と比べると…えっと、比べるの？全然比べないですね。そう言っても、スキー旅行とか行ってなかったけど…残念だったね。せっかく雪が多いなのに…
もういい、悲しい話はここまでだ。
またいつかね…
本当にすいませんでした、もう何ヶ月の間にブローグを記入してなかった。ごめなさい～
実は最近忙しいし、話もないし、いろいろ困ってることを考えすぎるので、ブローグはちょっとの間にやめちゃった。
今もそうだけど、EFからのリクエストで久しぶりブローグを記入すると決まりました。
それで、今回のブローグ課題はなんでしょう？４月に入ったばかりで、"April fool"というの日でしたよね。
でも、"April fool"とは本当に月の一日だけですか？あるいは今月ず～っと３０日まででもそういう日ですか？
もういい、こんな無意味の話はやめましょう。
次はなんですかね。そうだ、先月は引越した。もっといいアパットに引越した。前住んでいたアパットは１Kなんですが、今のアパットは３DKだよ！嬉しくな い？そ、３DKのアパットに住んでいる僕はもちろんほかの人と一緒に暮らしてます。その人はマレーシアの新入会社員？？（だってもうすぐ一年経ってるよ） です。そう言えば僕の後輩だね。ハハ…もう先輩になっているだな。
終わったばかりの冬は僕にとってはこの３年間の一番最高の冬でしたな。雪はよく降ってるだからね。初めての冬と比べると…えっと、比べるの？全然比べないですね。そう言っても、スキー旅行とか行ってなかったけど…残念だったね。せっかく雪が多いなのに…
もういい、悲しい話はここまでだ。
またいつかね…
Monday, January 10, 2005
New year spending...
I admit that I have been over spending for the past two weeks. In brief, I spent most on my winter preparation, like getting myself new winter clothes, and stuff like that. And it costed me an amount of yen.
Furthermore, I also bought myself a 40GB portable harddisk, one of my wish list's items. Hehe, couldn't imagine that I achieved one of my wish list's item in such a short time. No, it is not my new year's wish list anyway. Just a wish list, and that's it.
Besides that, I also got myself a book - The Golden Ratio by Mario Livio, another wish list's items. So far so good for my wish list, huh?
Other necessary/unnecessary expenses goes to a trunk and a bicycle trump cards. The trunk is to make my life easier when taking my luggage to the airport on this coming February! Hehe, well that's not the only reason. Previously, I was using a carrying bag to pack all my stuff into it whenever I travel back to my hometown, Penang. However, the strap's supporter? was broken and therefore I couldn't hang it to my shoulder while walking anymore, which gives me a burden when carrying it with hand - I am small in size, remember?
Regarding the bicycle trump cards, I bought it out of curiosity. I read from Internet that performing magics with this type of cards is better. Therefore I am curious of how and what kind of cards it is. Well, the differences that I could tell is that bicycle trump card is harder and that's it. That cost me a 1000 yen (RM 35.80)!!! Hmm, fine, just take it as my new year present. Plus, I get some magic gadget that comes with the cards. Let's see if I know how to perform the tricks explained in the sheet (in Japanese)... hmm, 全然分からない.
I believe that's about all for my winter, err... new year spending.
Furthermore, I also bought myself a 40GB portable harddisk, one of my wish list's items. Hehe, couldn't imagine that I achieved one of my wish list's item in such a short time. No, it is not my new year's wish list anyway. Just a wish list, and that's it.
Besides that, I also got myself a book - The Golden Ratio by Mario Livio, another wish list's items. So far so good for my wish list, huh?
Other necessary/unnecessary expenses goes to a trunk and a bicycle trump cards. The trunk is to make my life easier when taking my luggage to the airport on this coming February! Hehe, well that's not the only reason. Previously, I was using a carrying bag to pack all my stuff into it whenever I travel back to my hometown, Penang. However, the strap's supporter? was broken and therefore I couldn't hang it to my shoulder while walking anymore, which gives me a burden when carrying it with hand - I am small in size, remember?
Regarding the bicycle trump cards, I bought it out of curiosity. I read from Internet that performing magics with this type of cards is better. Therefore I am curious of how and what kind of cards it is. Well, the differences that I could tell is that bicycle trump card is harder and that's it. That cost me a 1000 yen (RM 35.80)!!! Hmm, fine, just take it as my new year present. Plus, I get some magic gadget that comes with the cards. Let's see if I know how to perform the tricks explained in the sheet (in Japanese)... hmm, 全然分からない.
I believe that's about all for my winter, err... new year spending.
Haloscan comments... gone?
I wonder if I am the only one experiencing this. My haloscan comments accumulated so far has been deleted from my account. What is happening? Is this the way haloscan works?
Memory of the past
Today, I dreamt about the past. The time when I was still a secondary students in Penang Free School. However, those inside my dream was from 1st GTS (Georgetown South) scout members.
To name a few, they are Selwyn (not sure if the I still spell the name right?), Huan Keat, Kok Seng, etc... these are the people that I think I have not met for a long time and therefore they appeared in my dream. Strange thing was that, in my dream, before they appear in my dream, I think I am still in Japan. I saw myself somewhere near my current apartment and then suddenly I found myself with Huan Keat. Then we both went to a basketball court and at that place, old-free guys were there! However, the environment was kinda like mixed. I think I was in a winter season while they are enjoying the hot summer. I recalled that I was with my jumper when I said "Let's play ball", and I tried to take off my jumper. Why this difference and what does that mean?
Too bad that the dream couldn't last long enough because I woke up after that. Well, it was not a nightmare for me, ok?
After I woke up, I rethink about my past secondary schooling life. One of them was a time where I went for my Pengajian Am tuition center. Still remember that we sit at a corner of the classroom and made stupid stuffs from time to time. Those people, if I could still remember well, were Ding, Shean Hor, Chin Hoong, Brian, Nee Shen, Teik Chai and me. I think that's about all the members we have for that class. At that time, I had transportation difficulty but Chin Hoong, Nee Shen, and Teik Chai took turn to help by providing their services to me. Thanks for being my driver at that time!
Recalled that, I provided my comics for this group of people and they read it while the teaching was been carried out. Haha, I wonder what grade did you all get f0r your PA paper? Evil me right?
However it was, that was my first tuition class with a group of my friends in it and I enjoyed that. Thinking back, I also realised that this tuition center is/was earning a lot from the students. Imagine that a student pays around RM30/month and inside that class, there were like 40 and above students. And this class is not the only class they have! No wonder they can afford luxurious cars. =)
To name a few, they are Selwyn (not sure if the I still spell the name right?), Huan Keat, Kok Seng, etc... these are the people that I think I have not met for a long time and therefore they appeared in my dream. Strange thing was that, in my dream, before they appear in my dream, I think I am still in Japan. I saw myself somewhere near my current apartment and then suddenly I found myself with Huan Keat. Then we both went to a basketball court and at that place, old-free guys were there! However, the environment was kinda like mixed. I think I was in a winter season while they are enjoying the hot summer. I recalled that I was with my jumper when I said "Let's play ball", and I tried to take off my jumper. Why this difference and what does that mean?
Too bad that the dream couldn't last long enough because I woke up after that. Well, it was not a nightmare for me, ok?
After I woke up, I rethink about my past secondary schooling life. One of them was a time where I went for my Pengajian Am tuition center. Still remember that we sit at a corner of the classroom and made stupid stuffs from time to time. Those people, if I could still remember well, were Ding, Shean Hor, Chin Hoong, Brian, Nee Shen, Teik Chai and me. I think that's about all the members we have for that class. At that time, I had transportation difficulty but Chin Hoong, Nee Shen, and Teik Chai took turn to help by providing their services to me. Thanks for being my driver at that time!
Recalled that, I provided my comics for this group of people and they read it while the teaching was been carried out. Haha, I wonder what grade did you all get f0r your PA paper? Evil me right?
However it was, that was my first tuition class with a group of my friends in it and I enjoyed that. Thinking back, I also realised that this tuition center is/was earning a lot from the students. Imagine that a student pays around RM30/month and inside that class, there were like 40 and above students. And this class is not the only class they have! No wonder they can afford luxurious cars. =)
Tuesday, January 04, 2005
帰ってきたよ！
もう何ヶ月ブロックを書いてなかった、本当に申し訳ありませんでした。
やっとプライベットインターネット接続できましたから、これからインターネットに自由的に接続できるんだ。これは最高ということですかね？
さて何を書くのかな？残念だけど、頭の中になにも考えてない。
まぁ、今はこれで終わっちゃうのかな。言いたいことがあったらまたここにポストしますから、その時まで待っててね…
あっと、忘れる前に一言があります：
明けましておめでとうございます。今年こそ新たな夢を叶うようにお願いします。で、夢は何なんですかな？
まだ願ってなかった…
みんなさんも、いい年になれるように頑張りましょう！！
やっとプライベットインターネット接続できましたから、これからインターネットに自由的に接続できるんだ。これは最高ということですかね？
さて何を書くのかな？残念だけど、頭の中になにも考えてない。
まぁ、今はこれで終わっちゃうのかな。言いたいことがあったらまたここにポストしますから、その時まで待っててね…
あっと、忘れる前に一言があります：
明けましておめでとうございます。今年こそ新たな夢を叶うようにお願いします。で、夢は何なんですかな？
まだ願ってなかった…
みんなさんも、いい年になれるように頑張りましょう！！
Thursday, September 02, 2004
Merdeka, with a happy news...
Two days after our Malaysia's Independence day, her 47th Merdeka of course, Malaysia has got good news for this family members: Anwar is now free!!
From Malaysiakini, excerpts :
Timeline for Anwar's case
source : The Straits Times, Singapore
Hope his surgery will be successful...
From Malaysiakini, excerpts :
In a 2-1 decision, the country’s highest court today set former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim free after quashing his sodomy conviction. Also freed was his adopted brother Sukma Darmawan Sasmitaat Madja who had been convicted of the same offence.
...
Anwar, upon hearing the judgment, gave his family and reporters a tired smile.
Later, he thanked Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi for not interfering in the judiciary, unlike his predecessor Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Anwar also brushed aside rumours of a secret deal with Abdullah which resulted in today’s decision
Meanwhile, outside the court, Anwar’s supporters were seen hugging and shouting in jubilation.
...
He is expected to fly to Munich, Germany later in the week for an urgent operation to treat a long standing spinal disc injury, which he said was aggravated by a police beating after his arrest in 1998.
Anwar’s appeal on both conviction and sentencing was made on the grounds that the conduct of the High Court trial four years ago was deeply flawed.
...
Timeline for Anwar's case
source : The Straits Times, Singapore
Sept 2, 1998: Then Prime Minister Dr Mahathir fires Anwar from the Cabinet after an economic policy dispute.
Sept 20, 1998: Anwar is arrested hours after he leads a protest demanding that Dr Mahathir resign.
Sept 29, 1998: Anwar appears in court and pleads innocent to corruption and sodomy charges.
Nov 2, 1998: Anwar's trial on four counts of corruption opens.
April 14, 1999: Anwar is convicted and sentenced to six years in prison.
June 6, 1999: Sodomy trial opens.
Aug 8, 2000: Anwar is found guilty of sodomy and sentenced to nine years in prison, to begin after completion of six-year corruption punishment.
Nov 25, 2000: Anwar is temporarily hospitalised for a back injury he blames partly on a police beating after his arrest.
July 10, 2002: A three-judge panel in Malaysia's highest Federal Court unanimously upholds the corruption conviction and six-year prison sentence.
April 14, 2003: Anwar begins serving the nine-year sodomy sentence after the corruption term is reduced by one-third for good behavior.
Oct 31, 2003: Dr Mahathir retires and hands power to new Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
Sept 2, 2004: A Federal Court panel overturns Anwar's sodomy conviction and sets aside the sentence, freeing him. Family members said he would travel to Germany for back surgery.
Hope his surgery will be successful...
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