Rowie's Scribbles

Effective 18 June 2017, the GrabHitch service has been discontinued. You may opt for carpooling service with GrabShare .  ---------- These days, Malaysians can opt for civilian driver service thanks to apps like Uber and GrabCar. The service is basically a relatively cheaper taxi service with civilian drivers behind the wheel, made convenient by the app provided. Simply key in your pickup and drop-off location, and the app will provide a driver + fare. I've used GrabCar (not Uber) and so far I'm satisfied with the service. Some friends have opted to drive for both/either apps as a part time occupation or in between jobs (considering the current economic slump); I find iMoney's article comparing the two apps in terms of commission a good read.  I've signed up as a GrabHitch driver -- what is GrabHitch? As per GrabHitch's site , it's a carpooling service. Drivers key in their route (either once-off or a routine one) and the app will match riders within t...

The wildly successful HBO series is based on George R. R. Martin's popular fantasy book series A Song of Fire & Ice. 6 seasons have been devoured by forever-hungry fans, each with 10 x 1 hr episode and producers have confirmed the final 2 seasons will have less than 10 episodes each. I've not read the books as they are complex,  featuring different POVs, each narration building the power struggle for the Iron Throne and the threat of the undead White Walkers. The dialogue is incredibly engaging & so well-delivered, thus it's no surprise that the series have won many awards. There's no lack of violence, nudity and shock surprises that will leave you yearning for more.  There is no hesitation in killing off characters for the progression of the story; hence it is common to become attached to a character, be it a protagonist or the villain, only to be shattered when he/she is cut down. People aside, the scenery is amazing as it is shot in various of Ir...

I've not seen the movie that this Syfy TV series was based on but I am enjoying every minute of the 12 Monkeys! Season 2 just ended and boy it was quite a ride! The series is set in a post-apocalyptic future: the Army of the 12 Monkeys unleashed a deadly virus plague that exterminated most of humankind.  Hardened physicist Dr Jones leads a group of survivors to send our reluctant hero James Cole through time and space to reverse the work of the 12 Monkeys. Cole enlists the help of Dr Cassandra Reily, a virologist who during an unknown time in the mid-future (?) sent a message identifying the 1 Monkeys as the culprit, hence starting the time traveling missions.  Dr Jones While the 1st season exposed the 12 Monkeys army as obsessed with "cleansing" the human rice by unleashing the virus, the 2nd season focused on the ultimate villain The Witness who is responsible for the catastrophe that has befallen mankind. The character development is solid: Cole has transformed...

I'll be honest: I never heard of SSMH (Society for the Severely Mentally Handicapped) until my music school principal informed that our string ensemble will perform for the event.  SSMH provides day care and education for the severely mentally disabled children and youths; these special children require regular therapy besides love and care. The society also aims to raise awareness of the needs of these special children and the work performed by SSMH to help the children gain more independence.  The objective of the charity carnival is to spread that awareness and to raise funds enabling SSMH to assist these children in gaining a better future. The children have cerebral palsy and there are full time therapists to aid them.  So if you're free on that weekend, drop by and lend a helping hand! :) I'll be performing with friends on the Sun; also there will be more than 40 booths offering various goodies ranging from fashion, food and so much more! The booklets ...

Some of you may notice the Go Green gadget on the left of this blog.  Typical household and industrial lighting methods employ fluorescent lamp tubes because it is relatively cheaper than LED lights. However many home owners are switching to LED for its following advantages: 1) Better cost savings While the price of a LED lamp is higher than the fluorescent lamp, the LED lamp has better long term savings as it can last much longer than the fluorescent lamp, hence replacement is not as frequent. This is especially true for industrial users, where frequent maintenance will require more downtime as well as labor cost.  2) Environmental friendly Fluorescent lamps contain mercury which is not only a pollutant but a toxic chemical. LED lamps are safer and it is not noisy. LED lamps also have better energy efficiency and consumes less electricity which contributes to a greener environment.  3) More durable & efficient LED lamps are not constructed from glass s...

I seldom put my mind to resolutions - they tend to be the same every yr and generic in nature. This time, I've more specific goals in mind and I'll just list them here so I can easily look 'em up whenever I need reminding :p 1) Play mahjong I never played or was exposed to the game much until last yr CNY at the bf's home; his family members are very skilled at the game and it was a rush of pongs, counting and pretty tiles clinking. I suppose it would be a good game to learn; after all, it is a good way to bond with others and adds to the CNY mood :D   2) Make ice cream & desserts The bf got me an ice-cream maker machine for my birthday. My 1st attempt of making coffee-chocolate ice cream (complete with choc chips) wasn't good; I'd too much water so the texture didn't turn out so well. There are various recipes and I want to try make some favorites - sweet corn, pineapple...I also want to make tau fu fah. My previous attempts with Konnyaku...

I was introduced to loom bands by the bf's cousin; the cousin and her sis were selling loom bands for charity. I got a few then I quickly introduced it to other people; friends, colleagues, relatives etc. The loom band was invented by a Malaysian (Malaysia Boleh!), read the Wiki entry here . The craze boomed after Kate Middleton was spotted wearing a loom band (available from her family business Party Pieces)!  The engineer behind the idea The Duchess and the loom bracelet It is an intricate piece of art - I like the symmetry and you can mix and match your favorite colors! You can also add key rings to hook a pendrive or even your car keys. There are so many types to choose from: jelly, glow-in-the-dark, neon, metallic etc. There are various designs to pick from: classic, dragon scale, spider etc. Charms like hearts and mini doggies are also available.  Mini engineering Use it as a keychain Dragon scale design Spotted bands The girls have a FB pag...

My birthday month is coming up so what better way to treat myself than to an array of freebies? :D  Here's a list of birthday freebies that interest me: 1) Body Shop I'm a huge fan of Body Shop; I get tingles whenever I get emails/sms on promotions. Being a Love Your Body club member, I get to restock my shower gel and lotion collection for my birthday!  2) Wong Kok I love milk tea. It's one thing I can crave for, "just coz" I want milk tea. Wong Kok's birthday offering is a huge jar of their popular giant milk tea!  3) Red Box, Green Box I guess a karaoke session is in order :D 4) GSC GSC members get 2 free movie tickets and 20% discount on meals at the Glitters cafè. Maybe I'll watch Maze Runner!  5) Pinch of Salt I'm entitled to a RM30 cash voucher at any of the following brands: 6) Tutti Frutti Show your IC & you'll get 20% discount off your fro-yo! :D 7) Daily Grind If I remember correctly, you c...

I've been using the same IC (Identity Card) since I was 18 yrs old, and lately I've been having problems with the chip. I decided it was time to renew the IC and headed on to the JPN site for more information. MyEG also has a good write-up on IC replacement.  Renewing the IC is easy:  1) Set up an account with the online system - a user manual is provided to guide you step-by-step through the process - you may select the type of renewal: I upgraded my chip - below are the various applications for the IC - did you know that you can get discount at various parks and attractions in Malaysia if you show your IC?  2) Check if your particulars are still valid - address, name spelling etc.  3) Pay the renewal fee RM10 - you may opt for MyEG/online banking/credit card 4) Collect your IC - Bring your receipt from (3) - If you select the Putrajaya branch for collection, your IC will be ready within 1 working day. It will take min 2 weeks for other bran...

Oh how time flies. I can't believe my juniors who were first-yrs when I was a final yr student will be graduating come October. Seriously, where did all the years go? Now they're hunting for jobs, going for interviews, some of them already got a job. I remember my path was somewhat similar, albeit easier I suppose. I miss 4 things the most from university life:  1) Living solo I stayed away from home for the first time when I enrolled at UMP. Somehow the transition wasn't difficult for me; I enjoyed my space even though the dorm was nothing to shout. I enjoyed driving out to shop for groceries or just for a meal. I liked the routine of running the machine, folding clothes; somehow since I got home, I've not been able to adjust to living with other people again. I'm improving but I sometimes yearn to lie down in my small narrow cot (top side of a double-decker bed) under the fan and dozing off alone in the room.  2) Freedom The only curfew I adhered...

Funny thing is, I've not heard about proofreading until someone lamented about the amount of errors she found in a document she had to review (for a friend). According to UK National Careers Services , a proofreader has to be proficient in the language, attentive to detail and highly motivated to meet deadlines. I suppose in this IT-dependent world, fluency in IT is a must.  I recently helped a friend proofread her master thesis, and received payment for services rendered...this got me thinking that proofreading be a good activity to try out. Randomly Googling "proofreading Malaysia" brought up several interesting points: - most of these professional proofreaders are highly qualified eg language lecturers, teachers - basis of rates range from no of pages to no of words - most of the work submitted are theses, reports from students in higher institutions of learning -"turnover" is an important aspect of the service - intellectual property belongs to the...

I'm expanding my tea drinking experience in an effort to reduce coffee intake. I used to be the toss-a-tea-bag-&-add-hot-water kind of tea drinker. I've no input whatsoever when it comes to ordering tea during dinner at the typical Chinese restaurant. A few things changed my outlook on tea: - My trip to Cameron Highlands led me to visit the Boh tea plantations and there was something about the rolling green fields and different aromas that perked me up. - An excursion to Klang would not be complete without having bak kut teh and I noticed it's pretty common to bring your own choice of tea leaves to the restaurant. So I decided to drink tea by brewing the tea leaves and straining to get my cha. However it's not practical to bring a mini teapot; the volume's too big and it'll be messy to clean plus I don't have a lot of desk space. Solution? Get a tea infuser. A tea is a miniature strainer typically sized for holding a small quantity of tea lea...

Time flies so quickly; before I knew it, I was attending a NYE celebration party at an ex-colleague's home, and I took opportunity of the public holiday on 1st Jan 2013 to visit a colleague who's on maternity leave.  Lemme list some of the memorable events in 2012: 1) Undertook ABRSM Grade 5 music exam for violin - I'm proud to say that I scored a distinction in this exam, which is amazing seeing that I felt I bungled some notes and I ended up using my beginner violin (after a merry goose chase borrowing "better" violins from others) - I scored 134/150, which is considered a high-scorer list. I was not selected to perform at the ABRSM High Scorer concert but I've a cert and the score sheet to gloat over :D - I'm ambitious enough to buy the Grade 7 book and since the repertoire is valid until 2015, I plan to prepare for at least a year before partaking the exam in 2014/2015...Wish me luck! 2) Welcome aboard Ichthys - This is the biggest career ...

Malaysia turned 55 today, so I decided it was my duty to sleep in. Despite clocking in at 3am this morning, I couldn't sleep after 10am and went out with the family for brunch in Pudu. I've wanted to take my family to the Fatt Kee store opposite Pudu Plaza for duck and chicken rice. The store opens around 11.30am; don't be mistaken with the other chicken rice store (that opens earlier) in the shoplot, Fatt Kee's store is on the pavement. While waiting for the workers to set up the store, I ordered some yao char kuay fresh from the wok! :) We ordered half roasted chicken and some duck. Apparently the white rice wasn't ready so we opted for the oily rice. There are various sauces available for your consumption: soy sauce, chilli and ginger. We also ordered peanut soup and salted vegetable. Needless to say, everyone came home with a full tummy and I slept the entire afternoon for the 1st time in a long time. Must be the rice!  Okay done with the food talk, on t...