Monday September 28, 2009. I met up with my Malaysian buddy Wong Soon Seng at the New Penang Garden restaurant. Both of us were excited for what is to be our chance in a lifetime face to face meeting with Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim. He is truly Malaysia's last hope for salvation, I believe that he can make a difference, despite what most people say. The country of my birth has gone to the dogs, so to speak.
Dato Seri was giving a speech on the current developments in Malaysia and what his party's plans are for the future of the country. We in the Bay Area have seen and heard stories that are sometimes hard to believe. More and more minorities in Malaysia are leaving the country, frustrated by the corrupt and unequal system.
According to Data Seri there are about 4 million Malaysian all over the world that can make a difference not by voting but by providing campaign contributions. He can't seem to understand why Malaysia does not allow for overseas voters to cast their votes from Malaysian embassies whereas every other country in the world (even the 3rd world countries allows it) allows it.
The speech was fantastic, everyone had a renewed interest in their homeland and was spurred on to contribute to the cause.
I personally had a chance to take a photo with the Dato and proudly sent it back to my family in Seremban. Imagine this, none of my family members living in Malaysia could get this chance but I got the chance half way around the world. I think it's a sign. Something tells me that next election is going to be a blast and there is going to be bloodshed and new victory for the opposition party. I hope I get to witness it or be part of it.
I just hope that my family will be safe when all hell breaks lose.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Thursday, June 4, 2009
A Milestone for Shaayla
I can hardly believe it. Shaayla ended her Jr K year at Merryhill School today. From the scared little girl who first attended preschool in Dec 2007, she has grown so much. Her reading skills amazes us all the time. It seemed like only yesterday when I was teaching her the ABCs, now she can read entire storybooks by herself. She has a voracious appetite for reading and the many books she has never fail to give her joy. She used to pick a book and run to us and curl up as we read them together....now we curl up and listen to her read instead.
She has achieved so many things in her past year in Jr K. And the person who influenced her the most was Ms Aimee, her Jr K teacher. She was funny, patient, and always took the time to talk with me to help me understand problems that Shaayla had coping.
It's going to be a challenge to keep Shaayla advanced as she starts elementary grade in a public school. As parents, it's up to us not to fail her.
She has achieved so many things in her past year in Jr K. And the person who influenced her the most was Ms Aimee, her Jr K teacher. She was funny, patient, and always took the time to talk with me to help me understand problems that Shaayla had coping.
It's going to be a challenge to keep Shaayla advanced as she starts elementary grade in a public school. As parents, it's up to us not to fail her.
A Long Journey to Our Own Home
On May 9, 2005, we landed in San Francisco, California to start a new chapter of our lives. On May 27, 2009, 4 years later, we stepped into our very own home here in San Jose, California, USA.
It's been a long hard road, through uncertainties and struggles over the 4 years, to be able to finally sit down in a home that we can truly call ours. As Suresh and I locked the door for the final time at Amberwood Drive, we took a deep breath and reflected on our lives from the moment in 2004 when we decided to take the plunge and packed our bags (and our lives) and move thousands of miles away from our family and all that was familiar to us.
Our first year living at Rivermark, Santa Clara, went by in a flash. Shaayla turned 1 year old on Nov 19, 2005. We went on our first holiday to Las Vegas during Thanksgiving that year, making that our first road trip. The following year in Mar, we had a great snow holiday up at Lake Tahoe - Shaayla's first time toddling on the snow.
Barely a week after moving into Amberwood, we made a trip back to Singapore & Malaysia for Shamini's wedding in Aug 2006. Shaayla and I stayed till Nov and grandparents really enjoyed her presence. She's grown so much since they last saw her. 2007 was a year of many achievements for Shaayla. She started many classes - mandarin, ballet, music, and gym. Every day was a joy watching her grow and learn. In April 2007, Suresh's Mum came to live with us for 6 months. We vacationed in Yosemite and LA and of course, Disneyland.
Every now and then, we have to remind ourselves to be prudent with our expenses. We never really thought about where we were going to settle down for the long term. I think it wasn't because we were not sure, it was rather we were so caught up with the daily grind of balancing our monthly budget. Living on a single income meant thinking twice before making a big purchase or going on holidays.
Although it was a small rental apartment, Amberwood held many fond memories for us. Two things will also be remembered - in Dec 2007, Shaayla started attending preschool at Merryhill School. I think I took her going to 'school' harder than Shaayla. For 3 years, I've been with her almost every day - going through joys and pains with her, watching her learn, picking her up when she fell - it was hard seeing her cry when we left her at the school in the morning. But it all turned out fine and she even made a friend on her first day of school.
Amberwood will also be remembered fondly as we welcomed Shayman to our family on Apr 19, 2008. My Mum had barely recovered from her jetlag a week earlier and this little bundle couldn't wait to join the world. Big sister, Shaayla, was all ready to take on her duties.
Day by day, news of the US economy threw a pall of doubt on us. Suresh left NetApp and we took a break at Fort Bragg. After he joined AMCC, he was definitely much happier - more work, but he was happier that he was learning things.
As the US economy made a downturn, the Singapore property market was soaring. In Jun 2008, we made our decision - sell our first property in Singapore, so that we can afford to purchase a property here in California. It couldn't have been a more opportune time. Property prices and interest rates in California were slowly cooling off. With federal housing assistance programs, it looked like we could finally afford something.
It was a long process with tonnes of paperwork, lots of documentation and many weekends of scouting neighbourhoods. Perhaps the thing that kept Suresh and I awake most nights is the worry of making sure that Shaayla and Shayman have the best education that we can provide them with. On a single income, we have to face the reality that private education for both of them will be beyond our means. We therefore spent many hours, often late into the night, researching on schools, areas to live, and of course, punching the calculator.
When we finally found this house, we thought 'how can it be otherwise'? The house numbers were good, the location was good, the house was reasonably upgraded, and it was at a price within our budget. We thought - this was it. But we didn't expect to be caught up in the middle of a sad family situation for the sellers, so things were delayed as we went through many rounds of negotiations. Even with the sellers agreeing to the sale price, we still held our breath as the underwriter sifted through our documents. It was not till May 14, 2009, when both of us signed on the title deed, that reality sunk it - we now own a house. And on May 27, 2009, with moving boxes sitting all over our house, we settled down for the night in a home to call our own.
It's been a long hard road, through uncertainties and struggles over the 4 years, to be able to finally sit down in a home that we can truly call ours. As Suresh and I locked the door for the final time at Amberwood Drive, we took a deep breath and reflected on our lives from the moment in 2004 when we decided to take the plunge and packed our bags (and our lives) and move thousands of miles away from our family and all that was familiar to us.
Our first year living at Rivermark, Santa Clara, went by in a flash. Shaayla turned 1 year old on Nov 19, 2005. We went on our first holiday to Las Vegas during Thanksgiving that year, making that our first road trip. The following year in Mar, we had a great snow holiday up at Lake Tahoe - Shaayla's first time toddling on the snow.
Barely a week after moving into Amberwood, we made a trip back to Singapore & Malaysia for Shamini's wedding in Aug 2006. Shaayla and I stayed till Nov and grandparents really enjoyed her presence. She's grown so much since they last saw her. 2007 was a year of many achievements for Shaayla. She started many classes - mandarin, ballet, music, and gym. Every day was a joy watching her grow and learn. In April 2007, Suresh's Mum came to live with us for 6 months. We vacationed in Yosemite and LA and of course, Disneyland.
Every now and then, we have to remind ourselves to be prudent with our expenses. We never really thought about where we were going to settle down for the long term. I think it wasn't because we were not sure, it was rather we were so caught up with the daily grind of balancing our monthly budget. Living on a single income meant thinking twice before making a big purchase or going on holidays.
Although it was a small rental apartment, Amberwood held many fond memories for us. Two things will also be remembered - in Dec 2007, Shaayla started attending preschool at Merryhill School. I think I took her going to 'school' harder than Shaayla. For 3 years, I've been with her almost every day - going through joys and pains with her, watching her learn, picking her up when she fell - it was hard seeing her cry when we left her at the school in the morning. But it all turned out fine and she even made a friend on her first day of school.
Amberwood will also be remembered fondly as we welcomed Shayman to our family on Apr 19, 2008. My Mum had barely recovered from her jetlag a week earlier and this little bundle couldn't wait to join the world. Big sister, Shaayla, was all ready to take on her duties.
Day by day, news of the US economy threw a pall of doubt on us. Suresh left NetApp and we took a break at Fort Bragg. After he joined AMCC, he was definitely much happier - more work, but he was happier that he was learning things.
As the US economy made a downturn, the Singapore property market was soaring. In Jun 2008, we made our decision - sell our first property in Singapore, so that we can afford to purchase a property here in California. It couldn't have been a more opportune time. Property prices and interest rates in California were slowly cooling off. With federal housing assistance programs, it looked like we could finally afford something.
It was a long process with tonnes of paperwork, lots of documentation and many weekends of scouting neighbourhoods. Perhaps the thing that kept Suresh and I awake most nights is the worry of making sure that Shaayla and Shayman have the best education that we can provide them with. On a single income, we have to face the reality that private education for both of them will be beyond our means. We therefore spent many hours, often late into the night, researching on schools, areas to live, and of course, punching the calculator.
When we finally found this house, we thought 'how can it be otherwise'? The house numbers were good, the location was good, the house was reasonably upgraded, and it was at a price within our budget. We thought - this was it. But we didn't expect to be caught up in the middle of a sad family situation for the sellers, so things were delayed as we went through many rounds of negotiations. Even with the sellers agreeing to the sale price, we still held our breath as the underwriter sifted through our documents. It was not till May 14, 2009, when both of us signed on the title deed, that reality sunk it - we now own a house. And on May 27, 2009, with moving boxes sitting all over our house, we settled down for the night in a home to call our own.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Congratulations to Najib, the world's first murderer/minister
This is when I love to shout out "Malaysia Boleh". Ironically, this was a chant created to help the confidence of Malaysians to compete in the world arena by our dear Mahatir. However, we all use it for all the things that are wrong with the country, someone becomes prime minister after there is conclusive (the judges would deny this though cause they are not puppets of the administration!!!) evidence pointing him to the murder.....Malaysia Boleh!!! Indian protesters jailed for voicing out their opinions and how they felt after being suppressed for so many years.....Malaysia Boleh!!! Corrupt Indian MIC leader who has no constituent to govern can still remain as the party leader .....Malaysia Boleh!!!Religious freedom is denied to the minority, although allowed in the constitution, if you so much as express yourself, you're thrown in jail but the majority can yield their "keris" and talk down on other religions and it's perfectly ok.....Malaysia Boleh.
People leave their birth place for different reasons, but for Malaysian minorities, it was too obvious. When I tell people in America that minorities are below worse than animals in Malaysia, they seem shocked cause that only existed in the 50's. Well Malaysia is in it's 50's, sad to say. Why has there been no progress...(please don't look at the Petronas Towers and tell me that is progress....i would have to spit at that), 2 words "brain drain".
Brain Drain people brain drain....and mind you it's because of the exodus of minorities who knew a long time ago that they never stood a chance in the country of their birth. What happened after that, they all moved across the border south and made that country a jewel in South East Asia. Don't believe me!! If you can get your hand on the number of Malaysians in Singapore that are currently working there or converted their citizenship from Malaysian to Singaporean, you will be shocked. To this is say ......Malaysia Boleh!!!
Have fun Najib.....hope you and your crony's get rich during your term.
People leave their birth place for different reasons, but for Malaysian minorities, it was too obvious. When I tell people in America that minorities are below worse than animals in Malaysia, they seem shocked cause that only existed in the 50's. Well Malaysia is in it's 50's, sad to say. Why has there been no progress...(please don't look at the Petronas Towers and tell me that is progress....i would have to spit at that), 2 words "brain drain".
Brain Drain people brain drain....and mind you it's because of the exodus of minorities who knew a long time ago that they never stood a chance in the country of their birth. What happened after that, they all moved across the border south and made that country a jewel in South East Asia. Don't believe me!! If you can get your hand on the number of Malaysians in Singapore that are currently working there or converted their citizenship from Malaysian to Singaporean, you will be shocked. To this is say ......Malaysia Boleh!!!
Have fun Najib.....hope you and your crony's get rich during your term.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Shaayla's Winter Show
Today, we felt like our little girl Shaayla is really growing up. She's been practising hard in school for their winter show and finally, today was their performance at the Milpitas Community Center. She's been really enthusiastic about it and practising hard every evening as well.
This was going to be the first time she'll be performing on stage in front of a huge crowd. We had no idea of what to expect. But it turned out really well and she looked like she enjoyed herself.
This was going to be the first time she'll be performing on stage in front of a huge crowd. We had no idea of what to expect. But it turned out really well and she looked like she enjoyed herself.
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