Month: July 2012

Dettol Men!

It’s Dettol’s new high performance range of products for men that keep you hygienic and smelling great. This anti-bacterial functions body wash and soap cleanses deep into the pores of your skin, to keep you protected from germs and smelling shower-fresh throughout the day.

It keeps you smelling and smelling like a man should and not like a garbage truck by the end of a day.

You can’t smell like a woman or a flower. When I was young, I never had the opportunity to use any of these great men toiletries. My Mum used to have a lot of those. I remember she had a bottle of perfume in her room. It was during Form 1 (just fresh from primary school) and we had our favourite physical education (PE) classes. I remember smelling terrible each time after PE classes. Mum’s perfume was the solution of the day. Now I remember why my friends looked at me funny. OH GOD WHY.

With this new Dettol Men product, I don’t need to share body wash with my wife anymore.

For an active person like me, smelling great (or at least not smelly) is important) during or after my..


Interviews/presentations. I can’t have potential clients running away once I finish my presentations.


Meetings with VIPs to lobby for change of certain laws. I will do no justice for civil society if MPs run away when they smell me.


Futsal session. I don’t want to be known as the smelly footballer.


Rock climbing sessions.

Marathons. It’s usually quite pack at the finishing line. But smelling bad during such time may give you some space to move around..hhmmmm

The Dettol High Performance series comes with two versions of shower gel and soap namely Extreme and Aqua. It smells great – just like a gentleman.

For all the events and conferences I attend as well as sports I do, Dettol Men’s shower gel do the job by keeping me clean and fresh-smelling, washing off all the grime and kills 99% of germs.

Dettol Men App

You must try out Dettol Men’s Unleash the Real Man App at http://apps.facebook.com/dettolmen-my/. It’s quite fun. Answer the questions in the App and find out what type of real man are you!

First they will ask you some questions like..

After a few questions, you’ll be asked to upload a photo of yourself.

Whack a wall until it breaks..

Tadaaa

I AM THE HUGEBALL CRUSADER! Click on Meet the Man, and you will see


Not sure why the kittens are there..uumm..


Me and another kitten. THAT’S MORE LIKE IT!

Oh, you’ll stand a chance to win a price if you use this App! 50th person of the day stand a chance to win a Dettol hamper!

Dettol Men is available at your nearest pharmacy, grocery stalls and hypermarkets!

Safer Malaysia

Those living in Klang Valley will know how bad the crime rates  are. Everyday someone is a victim of crime in Malaysia. Everyday, we live in fear. Everyday I worry when it will be my turn.

If you’ve been following Facebook / Twitter recently, you’ll see a spate of updates on street crimes. Some are caught on CCTV. Some of the victim’s injuries are posted. The days are so bad that my mother stop going out at night due to the fear of being a victim of crime.

Pictures speak a thousand words. The pictures below were all taken from Facebook.

To me, it is undeniable that crime rates are high. Unfortunately, our Home Minister said that the rising crime rate is a matter of perception. It looks like we, as citizens of Malaysia, are left to fend for ourselves.

My friends, Richard Wee and Yip Huen Weng, have taken this matter in their own hands by forming SaferMalaysia, a citizen’s protect which focuses on issues of security and safety of the citizens of the country. For details, please see below:

 

We are the representatives from Safer Malaysia and are writing to you for your assistance in our effort to make Malaysia a safer place.

Safer Malaysia is a citizens’ project, which focuses on issues of security and safety of the citizens of the country. It is a platform for people to CONNECT, to SHARE their concerns about crime and to COMMUNICATE with each other. Safer Malaysia is also a platform for concern citizens to COMMUNICATE our thoughts and offer suggestions and solutions to the government in the matter of crime. Safer Malaysia also hopes to CO-OPERATE with the relevant authorities to find ways to make Malaysia a safer place for everyone.We append links to our articles, interviews and announcements:-

i. LoyarBurok – http://www.loyarburok.com/2012/06/28/safer-malaysia/
– This is our principle plans at the moment

ii. BFM Radio – http://www.bfm.my/safer-malaysia.html
– Safer Malaysia was interviewed on 25th June 2012

iii. Malaysian Insider – http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/litee/print/malaysia/citizen-group-seeks-crime-solution-detailed-figures/

iv. Malaysia Kini – http://www.freemalaysiakini2.com/?p=38014

v.  Website – http://safermalaysia.com/

At the moment, Safer Malaysia has more than 400 followers on Facebook and more than 350 followers on Twitter. Safer Malaysia started on 11th June 2012.

Safer Malaysia will host a candlelight vigil on 1st August 2012 at Bandar Utama Central Park at 9.00pm. We also strongly encourage all Malaysians to light a candle on that date and time wherever they may be and snap a photo of the same before uploading it to Facebook and Twitter. Our links for Facebook and Twitter are the following:-

i. Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/SaferMalaysia

ii. Twitter – http://twitter.com/saferMsiaWe truly hope your company can assist us in the sharing of this news, as this is a citizens’ issue, which concerns all Malaysians.

For avoidance of doubt, Safer Malaysia is initiated by two gentlemen, Richard Wee and Yip Huen Weng, who are both residing in the Klang Valley and both very concern for the safety of their family and friends. They may be contacted at 016-2750025 and 012-3111580, respectively.

I hope that you will take part in the candlelight vigil.

Great Eastern Live Great!

[Advertorial]

Last year, I was hospitalized for suspected dengue fever. I had to take 2 weeks off work to recuperate.

During the 2 weeks, I lost some pitches, potential clients and also business. Basically, if I didn’t work, I could not generate any income. Fortunately, I was a full time employee at that time hence the paycheque will come notwithstanding my absence.

However, things are different now. I am now self-employed. I’m like a taxi driver. If I don’t drive, I won’t get any income. Here, if I don’t do any work, I won’t get any fees. At times like this, I wish I have something that generates passive income.

While I try to save money to invest in passive income generating assets, I should take all steps to live healthily. Health is wealth as they all say.

Great Eastern (who also happens to be my insurer) recently launched an in rewards programme for their customers called Live Great. It is an integrated programme focused on Health and Wellness to help their customers live healthier, live better, most importantly, live longer.

In doing so, they came out with five great things.

This programme offers numerous benefits in the form of the following:-

1. Wellness Tools – find out how healthy you are and keep track of your progress.
2. Health Tips – a library of useful tips and information to help you achieve your intentions.
3. Mobile Apps – Mobile applications to help you live healthier, better and longer.
4. Workshops and Events – a full calendar of events promoting healthy living, including the Yoga for Life, Live Great Run and more.
5. Exclusive Privileges – Exclusive discounts and rewards at wellness merchants across Southeast Asia.

I went through some of them and personally found these to be quite interesting!

Ahem, to all my readers who smoke, do a calculation on how much you’ve spent on cigarettes. You could have bought a car with that amount!

I’m not a big fan of calculating calories but a 2700 calories a day seems like a good deal for me. Plus, if you’re looking at being on a diet this could really help you monitor your calorie needs and intake.

Ovulation Calendar..hmm..not sure what does this do xD

You should also check out the 21-Day App in their Wellness Tools.

Some people say that it takes 21 days to form or break a habit. Following this theory, this Android and iOS App is here to assist one to do so. Check-in every day to stick to your intention, set up reminders to motivate you to keep on track and share your goals with your friends on Facebook and Twitter so they can help support you as well. Check out the video below for more details.

I also found numerous health and wellness articles to read there. I didn’t realize cooking oil fumes can cause cervical cancer in women! An article on signs of whether you are having a stroke is interesting. Dengue article is a must-read but I understand that the symptoms for dengue fever nowadays vary.

Men and women have different signs and symptoms of heart attack. Apparently, older women may have no symptoms at all. They may just feel unwell and more tired than usual. Look out Mum!

By signing up for this programme, one can enjoy privileges, benefits and discounts from Great Eastern’s partners. Discounts are music to my ears.

These privileges are available throughout South East Asia ranging from spas in Thailand to Singapore Zoo. Nearer to home, there is a 25% discount off Health Screening Packages from Gleneagles Kuala Lumpur.

For full details of all the benefits, please visit http://livegreat.greateasternlife.com/ and https://www.facebook.com/GreatEasternLifeAssurance

www.xes.cx Facebook Page

Finally! We have a Facebook page! Please like us at www.facebook.com/www.xes.cx or click Like on the far right Facebook widget!

We may be closing our Facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/groups/6658602241/.

A Facebook page is definitely better than a Facebook group page. A Facebook page allows me to install all sorts of Apps into my page. One of the Apps I use is the RSS Graffiti app. It allows automatic update of the status of my page whenever I update my blog or TwitPic page. NetworkedBlogs looks like an alternative to RSS Graffiti. However, I’ve yet to try NetworkedBlogs.

Thank you for your support!

Our New Home

As an employee in Kuala Lumpur, it is very difficult to get a decent place. I was saving money for a place since I started working but recently, the property prices shot up tremendously. 3 years ago, single storey houses in Happy Garden, Old Klang Road were selling at RM200,000. But now, they’re selling them at RM400,000. BIG FAT FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

Fortunately, my Dad was kind enough to give my wife and I a roof to stay. The only problem is that the house was a run down house. We had to renovate it.

When I first saw this place, I thought it was haunted. My contractor was scared when he first entered the house. He even did a little ceremony to “calm the spirits” before starting the construction. I even consulted a fengshui master to check whether it’s haunted!

Fengshui master said, “Not haunted-lar”. Suddenly the house doesn’t feel so scary anymore.

Here are some pictures showing the transformation of the house.


I always thought this toilet was haunted.

I had to smash some walls, change all the toilets, piping and wiring system, repaint the house, replace the tiles and kitchen roof, rebuild a kitchen and build a pergola. It all costs me slightly above RM200,000. It was all worth it! But now I’m poor. Please don’t rob me.

I had a little hiccup when my house got broken in by copper wire thieves. They carted away all my copper wires. Bastards!!


After that my contractor devised a way to seal the house..


He used an old door to cover the window.

As for furniture, I got mine from a local manufacturer by the name Hin Lim. Their stuff is reasonably priced but the only problem is that we need assemble the furniture ourselves. The dining table was fairly easy but the sofa was tough as their wood is hard.


Fortunately, my buddies KF and Umeng helped me to setup my sofa. I think we went home with blisters on our hands.

Another of my buddy, Hen sponsored my house an office chair. His family business manufactures and supply office fixtures. You can get some of his awesome office fixtures at http://www.ysbusiness.com.my/. Satisfaction guaranteed!

My wife and I moved in during Chinese New Year and we had couple of open houses. One of them was a Luk-Luk party. We had a Luk-luk truck to come our place for RM800. I didn’t need to prepare or clean up much!

I still have couple of outstanding furnitures that I need to buy. But without a fixed salary now (since I started my own law firm), I have to be vigilant when spending.

Hope things will turn out well!

New York City Food Guide – Part 2

My wife and I didn’t do much research on the places to eat. Most of the places we were found using Yelp when we were around a particular area. Fortunately, free Wifi was ample in Manhattan and we could surf the net anywhere we wanted. In fact, you can even get Wifi at parks!

Cafe Lalo @ Upper West Side

Apparently Sarah Jessica Parker, the star of War Horse, goes here. Famed for their organic food, you won’t find any pork or poultry on the menu.


Notwithstanding that, food was pretty good especially their Belgian waffles. Their crispy waffles is served with maple syrup, cream and fresh strawberry. Heavenly I must say!

There is usually a queue to get a seat especially during peak time e.g weekends.

Address
201 West 83rd St.
New York, NY 10024

Website: http://cafelalo.com/cafe/
Opening Hours:
Monday-Thursday: 8am-2am

Friday: 8am-4am
Saturday: 9am-4am

Sunday: 9am-2am
Holidays until 4am


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Clinton Street Baking Company

This place is located amongst the good eateries of Lower East Side of Manhattan. So good that the queue is extremely long queue. The wait can go up to 1 hour but fortunately we got in within 20 minutes. There is a cafe, namely Pause cafe, which serves good coffee and free WiFI. We had coffee there while waiting for our turn to be called.

We ordered Pancakes with warm maple syrup (USD12) and Southern Breakfast.


Blueberry pancakes was extremely good. Fluffy and large in portion. Maple syrup complements the dish.


Southern dish on the other hand was interesting. Their sugar cured bacon was awesome but the rest was just okay. I would order something else if I had another chance.

Address
4 Clinton Street (btw. East Houston & Stanton)
New York, NY 10002

Website: http://www.clintonstreetbaking.com/

Opening Hours:
sunday:
open 9am to 6pm (no dinner on sundays)
monday thru friday:
open 8am – 4pm and 6pm to 11pm
saturday:
open 9am – 4pm and 6pm to 11pm
The restaurant is closed Monday thru Saturday from 4 to 6pm.


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Yonah Schimmel Knishery

With over 100 years of history, the premise aged together with the business. Yonah Schimmel Knishery doesn’t have beautiful decor but it does have a lot of history on its walls. Sitting in the shop itself can be a history lesson of the place.

A knish consists of a filling covered with dough that is either baked, grilled, or deep fried and it is a Jewish snack food. To me, it taste like a savory tar sar peng but with potato fillings.

Address
137 East Houston Street
New York, NY 10002
Between 1st & 2nd – The Lower East Side
Phone/Fax (212) 477-2858

Website: http://knishery.com/


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Laboratorio del Gelato

As the name suggest, this place looks like a laboratory. Its interior is mostly white and the walls are made of glass.


You can actually see how gelato is made in their kitchen.

It’s just a few streets away from Clinton Street Baking Company. It’s been featured in many mainstream medias.

We had their strawberry gelato. It was not bad. Salted caramel seems to be pretty popular as it was the only flavour that ran out.

They also have other unique flavours. Ginger is one of them. Big fat Euw!

Address
188 Ludlow Street
(at East Houston)
New York, NY 10002
Te: 212 343 9922

Opening hours:
monday to thursday 7:30am – 10pm
friday 7:30am – midnight
saturday 10am – midnight
sunday 10am – 10pm

Website: http://www.laboratoriodelgelato.com/


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La Mela Ristorante @ Little Italy

Another Zagat rated restaurant on Little Italy. This Italian ristorante occupies three lots.


Three Types Pasta was awesome. Although small in proportion, one dish was enough to feed my wife and I.

Surprisingly, their cafe latte was not bad.

Tirasmisu on the other hand was just alright. Nothing to shout about.

I would recommend people to come here for their pasta.

Address
167 Mulberry Street
New York,
NY 10013, United States
Tel: (212) 431-9493

Website: http://www.lamelarestaurant.com/


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Norma’s @ Le Meridian

This place was a little bit upscale. Food starts from USD20. Cappuccino was USD7 and orange juice was also USD7!

Apparently this place is well known but Yelp criticized this place like mad.

But I must say that their Crispy French Toast (USD21) was great. Sprinkled with crispy rice, it was massive in size. Crust was crispy but the bread was soft. My wife and I shared it and it filled the both of us up!

[Note: Also try Burger Joint if you’re in the same building]

Address
119 West 56th Street
New York, NY 10019,
United States
Tel: (212) 708-7460

Website: http://www.parkermeridien.com/eat1.php


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Totto Ramen
After waiting for 30 minutes for a spot, we finally managed to squeeze ourselves into this small tiny Japanese restaurant.


Maximum 4 people per table.


Niku Ramen was good. It was a meat galour. Full of yummy tender beef!


Half meat, Half Fat. Ah.

Broth was thick and flavoured. But it is not as good as Ichiran in Fukuoka. Although the first few bites were good, the taste sort of died down towards the end. It is no where near Ichiran in Fukuoka!

Address
366 West 52nd Street
New York, NY 10019,
United States
Tel: (212) 582-0052

Opening Hours:
Mon – Fri 12pm – 12am
Sat 12pm – 11pm
Sun 5pm – 11pm

Website: http://tottoramen.com/


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