Adios 2008 - Mikemmery's Review

Today is the last day of 2008. Like any other years before, I look back of what I had been through and recap here, cherish the good memories and learn from the unpleasant ones. So here is my 2008 summary;

Career

In 2007, I was designated as the Asst. Product Manager in my current company LG Electronics. Due to certain circumstances, I requested for a transfer late 2007 and the company set up a new department for me to handle. 2008, I officially head the Business Development department. Ups & downs throughout the year, the best achievement this year would be the product placement in KLIA, 200 plus LCD screens. In terms of career growth, I had a few calls from competitors in my industry, I did gave a serious thought to it as I had been with the same company for many years now but finally decided to see through the difficult recession years to come.

Family

Not much changes. I had been going back to my hometown, Melaka pretty frequently. At least once a month, if not more. Mom been busy at the shop, at times she would say she wanna rest but since each and every of my siblings are scattered around, she would be bored to stay at home though. Dad as his usual self, had been bad in managing his work stress but overall this year it had been a happy year for him. At his age of 54, he's learning well on the internet. Bought him a wireless modem and besides his weekly football news, he would check on my blog once in a blue moon. Oh ya, my younger brother got married in November. The first in the family, it was a first time to all of us in the family.

Friends

Being single, you need friends. Out of those hundreds of friends, there are handful that you can really count on. Be it their companion or their presence when you needed them the most. My network had expanded tremendously. Blogger friends, clients & customers who eventually became my friends and we hang out together, drinking friends, facebook friends, friends I met during my oversea trips and the list can go on & on. And I wanna take this opportunity to thank you peeps for being there always. Let's rock 2009!

Love

Early of the year, I thought I opened up my heart for someone. She disappointed me a lot, during months of courtship and eventually a very low profile one month relationship, I tried to cherish the good moments. I did during these few months opened up my heart to love again. Well, I still feel I made the right decision to call it off. It is better early than later. I met a lot of new female friends but not many I felt the chemistry. The second half of this year, I had been keeping close touch with my ex, somehow on my past very few posts, I still miss her but conscious mind telling to move on.

Traveling

The country I visited most this year is Hong Kong. Three times in total this year. Besides Hong Kong, I visited Macao twice and stayed in the much talked about casino resort, The Venetian. Been to Thailand twice this year as well. Then as for domestically, been to Cameron, Ipoh, many times to Melaka tour guiding other friends, Kuala Selangor & Sabah. In 2009, confirmed destination for me so far is Thailand in Jan 09, Langkawi in Feb 09, China in Oct 09 & Hong Kong in Nov 09.

Economy

Everyone is talking about recession but our government are still optimistic about next year. I am not that confident though. In a way, I am glad I am still employed. I think this will be one of the worst recession cycle that I will need to pull through. My policy, stay in job & create value.

Movies

The best movie this year, I would award it to Ip Man. Quantum of Solace was a letdown. The Dark Knight is awesome too thanks to Heath Ledger but perhaps being Chinese I am a bit bias to award it to Ip Man.

Music

Age really got caught up with me. I do not enjoy listening to fast tempo songs. I no longer tune to Hitz.fm, my No.1 station now is Lite & Easy followed by Mix.fm. No particular songs I like this year but I learn to appreciate jazz these days.

Sports

Not treble but it is a Double. The Devils did it again. My favorite F1 team lost out though. And on Malaysian sports scene... sigh... just a silver, you will be honored a Datuk. Imagine how many Datuks & Tan Sris it will be if it is enforced in China. Those tidak apa attitude... sigh...

Financially

Improved a lot since the last 2 years. Tone down a lot on my impulse buying & shopping. Unlike those days where I will buy gadgets and landed myself in debts. Spent more on traveling this year and thanks to a friend (he is reading this) who had helped me during my bad days in the previous years. For the first time too, I have the urge to get a house on my own. Probably it will be in 2009.

Figurehead

This year I would award it to the respectable Barrack Obama, the first black president of United States of America. Malaysia? I give up!

Flip-flopper

This time around, let it be Anwar Ibrahim. His plan to takeover sounded like Chipsmore cookies, now you see it, now you don't!

Blog of the Year

Shadowfox! Do I need to say more? Check it out yourself here.

Hmm... the time now is 6PM. I can go on and on the list but time is really limited. Reaching the big 30 this year, unlike those younger years, where I would be eagerly joining the countdown sessions in the clubs, parties, boozing. But tonight I opted for a quieter outing. Going for a movie with my best friend and a colleague & his wife.

Happy New Year to all Mikemmery's readers. I love you all!

Business Plan... Done!!!

Just got back from Thailand last night. 2008 is ending in like 3 days and today I have no choice but to finish up the business plan for next year and email to my boss for review.

Phew, finally done it on a sunny Sunday at Starbucks, The Borders. Can't believe that 2008 is ending in like 3 days. What had I done? What had I achieved? What are the things in 2008 that I am proud of?

Seems like I am still in the dark...

My Christmas Eve

The time now is 9.28PM, I am at the Starbucks next to the Kotaraya with the orange juice, my macbook & listening to the jazzy tune of Christmas carols. It had been a while since I really hang out around this area.

Took the LRT from the Kelana Jaya station, another experience I want to forget totally. The Putra LRT sucks maximum, the train services in Malaysia might be newer than the MTR in Hong Kong but the former surely ailing badly.

Sigh... being single... being alone... Christmas will just be like any other day to me except that I do not have to work and perhaps there will be more SMSes today than usual. Thanks for the SMSes wishes. Right now, I am waiting for my bus at 10.30PM heading to.........

Well... Merry Christmas to all and I will definitely put another post to wish you peeps a Happy New Year too. Enjoy the parties, enjoy the booze, enjoy the Christmas sex & enjoy the pressies received. Do not disturb me as I will be celebrating my Christmas eve in the bus :)

Ho! Ho! Ho!

I Miss...

I miss the way you laugh at my foot toes,
I miss the way you call my nickname,
I miss the way you play with your nose,
Most importantly I miss you...



I miss the kids,
I miss your parents, your brothers & SILs,
I miss your uncles, aunties & cousins,
But most importantly I miss you...

I miss the chee cheong fun,
I miss the glutinous rice with char siew,
I miss all the nicest food you brought me to,
But most importantly I miss you...

I miss your scoldings,
I miss your nagging,
I miss your long winded complains,
But most importantly I miss you...

I miss going groceries shopping with you,
I miss having home-cooked food with you,
I miss tah pau your favorite nasi lemak ayam,
But most importantly I miss you...

I miss listening to your problems,
I miss helping you at your work,
I miss those calls you made when I'm working late,
But most importantly I miss you...




Hmm... I can go on & on with the list... Once in a while walking down the memory lane made me recall so many things. Only one girl in my life had successfully conquered my mind with this even after so long.

Will I ever find one, the one who I can grow old with and filled up my life with sweet memories. I need some hugs now...

December Welcoming January

I had great weekend last week. Went back to Melaka with 2 of my best buddies and we proceeded to Port Dickson the next day. It's always nice to have outing with your best mates but somehow last weekend something had been occupying my mind most of the time and when I believe I want to release my stress totally, I could not help but to think of it... It's my project.

The project is huge, multi-million project. I had lost 2 projects for the early 2nd half of this year. Two projects I followed up closely was hijacked in the last minute and this had somehow traumatised me and I only believe in myself but no others so for the project that I currently taking care of, I cannot afford to delegate to others because of the past experience. Today was the tender interview, lucky for me, everything went well. But the decision is not out as yet. I hope that the day will come where I can shout to my readers that I manage to grab the project. It will certainly be a milestone for me. Wish me luck peeps and I hope my hard works pay off.

It's 1030pm, office is becoming really chilly and quiet. Hungry while posting this. The coming 2 days will also be seriously busy for me. And tomorrow I will be attending a dinner in Solaris, for GUINNESS® Draught lovers out there, feel free to join us! Check it out here. And as for X'mas eve, I will be out of country again. And will be back on the 27th night and looking forward to a wedding dinner on the 28th in Kajang. A very hectic week for me indeed.

So in any event, any friends who called me on my mobile or MSN me which I had failed to reply or even find some time to speak to you guys, my apology ya. Hope that December will be gone soon and is very anticipated about January 2009.

My mood sounded like this now...



Baby, you're not lost ya!


New Year's eve... what's the plan???

Nasi Wawoo Jipaban (Hokkien)

Weekdays been hell just like the peon in Warcraft chanted 'work, work'. And weekend, I am daydreaming of what will I do if I have a million ringgit.

Enjoy the video if you understand hokkien while I go buy my Toto...

The Meaning of Urgency for Dummies

I hardly post anything related to my work in my blog here. Very rarely indeed. But the attitude of some in the office really ticks me off. At my position as the Business Development Manager, I met corporate people from various industries and I do care of what I communicated to these people.

What triggered me to write this is the anger in me, the thought of some young cikus working attitude nowadays. When you blardy promised me something, you better make sure you do it by hook or by crook, no excuse & fast execution. I cannot afford to sit in the office for some people who is wasting my blardy time and blardy ignoring my instruction. If you think you fit to be on certain position in the company then you blardy lift up to the corporate expectation.

The moment we lag behind on certain decision making process, we will lose out to others in this competitive world. Please understand the word "URGENCY" for god sake.

I do hope these blardy young birds learn before it's too late.

For those who got things done for me today, thanks and I appreciate it. My day would be beautiful if not because of one person. Because of you, my project is delayed. Because of you, I am stressed for nothing.

DAMN!!!

Will You Go Back To Your Ex?

While driving to office this morning, I heard this interesting discussion over The Breakfast Show on mix.fm and events happening lately did triggered me to think about it on this beautiful Tuesday morning. I do not know whether I got the discussion topic right or not but it sounded like this, "Will You Return To Your Ex If He/She Comes For You?"

Hmm... that discussion got me think quite a bit. What is the possibility? I do not dare to write it off myself frankly. I had 3 relationships and all ended well, there are no sour notes between myself & my ex-gfs and we still very much keeping in touch. It had been 2 years though since my last relationship, I nearly got myself committed again mid this year and unfortunately in the turnaround of event, my heart & instinct told me that she is not the one and I decided to move on.

Going back to ex-flame, I believe it is very much depending on how that relationship ended. Will I go back to my ex-flame or will I ever find someone new? Or will I be better off being a single soul? Hmm... got to go back to my thinking again...

How about you? Will you get back to your ex?

Those College Years

Yesterday was a public holiday for Selangor in conjunction of the Sultan Selangor birthday. It had been a while having teh tarik till wee hours with my 2 bff. It's like walking down memory lane during the college days, we would talk about everything under the sun. From recession to my recent posting about Kenny.



Picture above was taken back in college, how I miss those days when I am so much slimmer, with earrings & tattoos. And the babe sitting beside me was my ex-gf which to date I do miss dearly. My 2 bff, brother Chong (with specs) & Rim (holding bag in the center).

Oh how I miss those college days. And there is this thing I realize about hanging around with guy friends, it is so hard to get angry & temperamental. While with gf, small little things, I exploded unnecessarily at times. With guy friends, no matter how our brother tease or irritate us, we still can keep cool. Funny innit?

Looking forward to an all-guys outing this weekend. Life ain't that bad being a single after all.

I Never Attack Kenny Sia

I am one of Kennysia.com's readers. I first met Kenny last year at the Bloggers Buff event. Yes, we shook hand ONCE. And yes we bumped into each other on other several events but I shy away as I am just a small little fly compared to him. And I do not have his number either. Yes, I used to be one of those regulars in his cbox and met some really nice peeps there.

When you happen to know someone in person, yes you call him your friend, whether it is a close friend or hi-and-bye friend. We are more like a hi-and-bye friend. The last time we met was at the GUINNESS® Gastronomic Workshop back in late October 2008. That was also the first time I saw Samantha Poh, his ex-gf. Back then, I did not even know she's his gf and I did not know what was the hate sites or whatsoever opera playing amongst the Malaysian big bloggers. See, how ignorant am I???

Then I bumped into Kennysai and read one of Samantha Poh's latest postings and found out she broke up with Kenny. And of course like many other readers of Kennysia sure wonder what had happened and of course Kenny has not officially say anything in his blog about the breakup and the reason. Then the next question arise now, why am I so nosy about somebody's else personal business? Well... then why so many people including Kenny Sia himself tumpang glamor on Chua Soi Lek's sex scandal? Simply because Kenny is somebody. The same goes to Dr. Chua Soi Lek, he is somebody. Try and see if I slept with someone who will even give a damn care?

When you are indeed somebody, be prepared these sorts of things will happen. Whether it is good or not, take it like a man. It is not fair to take only the goods all the time. And in my previous posting, Kenny said I personally attack him. For what reason??? To gain more traffic??? What will those few hundreds uniques do to me??? I will still be the same old Michael Song innit?

Come on brother Kenny, perhaps you will think I tumpang glamor on this but frankly it is as simple as poking fun and my apology for making you the product of entertainment in my blog. There is certainly difference between personal attack & fun-poking. Just like during a conversation with a male friend, you said, "Fuck You!". It does not mean you really mean to fuck him innit? I am laughing while typing this, it's hilarious innit? Like the villain in The Dark Knight said, "Why so serious?"

Brother Kenny, just like you poking fun on Al-Rajhi Bank logo, what was on your mind back then???



Chill brother chill... take Dr. Chua for example. If you "holiao", no matter what people say, you will still "holiao". Don't merajuk, friend back?

Merry Christmas!!!

Kenny Sia's A to Z

This is what happened when you have a long weekend, not feeling well and surfing the internet the whole day at home. In Malaysia, we have our very own hero Raja Petra in the socio-political scene but of late the political scene been really quiet with not much of action in it.

Thanks to brothers Shadowfox & Kenny Sai, when I first bumped into their sites, technically I am not incline to believe what'd been discussed in the blogosphere on the self-proclaimed No. 1 blogger in Malaysia, Kenny Sia but as I scrolled through post by post and link up the bits & pieces from other bloggers that were involved in this saga, it does make sense and made Kenny Sia look quite stupid in a way. No matter whether he is guilty or not, once you made the girl a victim in love, you are guilty for everything.

Somehow rather, looking around the blogosphere, at times I do not understand why advertisers paid thousands to people like Kenny just for advertorial when his jokes are becoming really cold nowadays. Besides most of the time his postings, he enjoyed putting ham sap jokes and nowadays barely put any sense of entertainment reading it. The worst part of it, he can make jokes about our current VP of MCA, Dr Chua Soi Lek sex scandal while he himself trapped in a *ahem* *ahem*. While Kenny enjoying his glamourous time as blogger, one person we tend to overlook is the Muar rapper Namewee. I feel he is more original and more creative in many ways and with his latest controversy it triggered me into going back to my schooling days to do "sentence making" with ABC...







A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P (pause) Q, R, S, T, U, V (pause) W and X, Y, Z. Now I know my ABC, tell me what you think of me...

ABC Sentence Making

Kenny enjoys "Aa Aa Aa" without the need to know "Berapa" is the "Cibai". When the whole blogosphere question him, he asked everyone to "Diam Diam" lah while he continued his "Ee Ee Ee" with a few other chicks. Many other guys admire his "Fucking" & "Gan" skills and some even call him "Holiao". But little does he knows, while he enjoyed his "Iya Iya Iya" session, he got caught and this time "Jialat" liao because not only his pants on fire but his "Kukubird" & coconut-sized "Lampachi" also on fire. The moral of the story is, never "Mm Mm Mm" with someone else while you are in a relationship. "Na" now take it lor and think twice before you "Oh Oh Oh". Your action had made you like a human with "Pork" brain. "Q" damn 9 hard. I believe throughout these years while you "Rrr Rrr Rrr", you surely "Sibeh" song. And with this, I am sure you are very "Tulan" by now and if "U" continue to read this you will kexiao and you might need "Viagra" every time you wanna get hard. "Wow" you still wanna deny & tell a lie without blinking your eyes. To me, you really "Xiasueh" but to many others, they still wanna know "Y Y Y". Alah... time for me to "Zzzzzz Zzzzzz Zzzzzz", no time for low life like you.

Happy holiday & to complete this, watch the video from our brother in Muar.

Ku Wak Chai - Chow Kit Road

If you notice on my blog, Nuffnang has placed the adverts and out of curiosity I clicked on it. And beware, it is freaking addictive.

New online game, join me here. It's good to be at home when you are sick but playing the Malaysian online game here.

What Is Happiness???

What is happiness???

Happiness is when I can make "you" happy. I know "you" are reading this as my silent reader. Be it the first man like what "you" said or I will be the last? Like "you" said, "you" can't predict the future, so am I.

So be it, I am happy today because "you" are happy. And it makes what I did in between my busy-ness more worthwhile.

Talking about busy-ness, lately I hardly update my blog thanks to my tight & hectic schedule. I will be flying again tomorrow, this time around domestically to Penang to witness the launch of Penang Cultural Fest. I will be back on Friday and need to rush back to Melaka for one of my best mates bachelor's night. Then be one of the best men for his wedding on Saturday.

Hopefully I will be inspirational enough to post more regularly.

So peeps, what is happiness means to you???

Ronaldo's Secret (Nike Pro)

Once again Nuffnang make it happen for the bloggers. I was scratching my head a bit when I receive a call & an email about this. After much research and surfing the advertiser's site. I found it pretty interesting as I am one of the millions of Red Devils around the world.

Watch this video below, it's really worth watching. Ronaldo's secret finally revealed. This gonna blow the blogosphere for a while.

Discover Simple, Private Sharing at Drop.io

For details, check out this link here.

Hong Kong Revisited - Thanks Ally & Jo

OK... sad & pathetic week aside, I revisit Hong Kong for the second time this month. This time around was for a business conference & seminar, The Infocomm Asia 2008. LG had a prominent booth this time around showcasing range of commercial LCD & Plasma panels & also the hotel interactive TV.

In between the working days I had, I managed to slot in some time to meet up some of my Malaysian friends who work in Hong Kong. Thanks to Ally & Josie for allocating their precious time to bring me around, had good food & plenty of pictures.



Moving around Hong Kong during November is a pleasure for its nice weather. Average of 16 degree Celcius, it's pretty cooling. Met up with Josie at the Causeway Bay exit C, went for great Shanghainese food and she brought me to Times Square. As Christmas is around the corner, most of the major malls in HKG are up with amazing decors. Pictures ahead.

















Had a great 2 hours or so with Josie who bought me some really expensive food stuff in one of the most expensive supermarket in HKG. Thanks Josie for the time.



And after that afternoon, met up with Ally in Tsim Sha Tsui, another Malaysian blogger friend who is working in HKG. We met up with another group of Malaysians who are her colleagues & former colleagues. Went for traditional HKG food which I will post it in another post in near future. And after that we walked around the Harbour City. It has one of the best Christmas decor I had ever seen. The locals mentioned that Christmas is more happening than Chinese New Year there. If you happen to visit HKG this coming month, the Harbour City & Times Square is a must. Pretty pictures ahead.





Ally & Josie - thanks a million for the lovely time in Hong Kong.

I miss you girls & I miss Hong Kong...

Shit

I do not smell like one but I am definitely feeling pretty shitty right now. By writing this piece, hopefully I will feel much better. At times, I am thinking - I can handle the corporate people, chalking million ringgit projects around Malaysia, whatever the hurdles & barriers, I will manage to pull myself through it.

I am thinking also - many times guys are regarded by the opposite sex that if they have money, they will think through their brain in between their legs. Many times we heard about girls got cheated, third party, et cetera. But look - I am a pure victim in love. So let's not be sexist and hurl accuses to only guys. To me, girls nowadays can be seriously scary. I met some really nice and I had bad experience with some too.

But I am glad, I walked out. I walked out before I indulge deeper and hurt further. Close friends who know about this relationship of mine, had persuaded me to hold on. I even had a conversation while I was in Hong Kong to hold on. I understand their good intention but my stubborness is the right thing to do after knowing or rather seeing what I fear most. Thanks to people who consoled me. Many times, my past relationship was her major concern. Now 2 months past since our complicated relationship status, I am very much single. Being together, there should not be any doubt on each other.

I am going to put my relationship priority aside from my life for a little while. I somehow rather accumulate phobia due to the unpleasant experience I had with this girl. It's scary.

Much better now that I vomitted out here. I was even warned by this girl before not to post anything about her in my blog. No worry, you will remain anonymous to many but congrats you found what you want in life, and glad that finally you are ready for some commitment. All the best to you and I shall get rid of my shitty feeling in me real fast.

Michael Song, YOU CAN DO IT!!!

Love Song

Another hard battling day for me. From work to personal matters, I do hope I did managed it well though. Hmm... perhaps I would give myself 60% marks today on the way my EQ works. I did felt a bit jumpy at work but it all ended well.

Of late, I had been learning this new Chinese song, to add to my favorite karaoke titles when I go to Redbox or Neway. I am a non-Chinese educated and learning the song by hard way like many others I believe. And I had been googling for this song for quite a while and I am not able to find the romanized lyric. So here I am to share with readers who are in the same shoes as mine. Enjoy!

Love Song - Khalil Fong 方大同

wo xie le zhe shou ge
shi yi shou jian dan de　bu fu za ye bu nan chang de na yi zhong ge
zhe bu shi na zhong　zhi sheng xia na gang qin de ge
ye bu shi na zhong　bu neng zhi shi peng you de ge
zhe bu shi na zhong　liang ge ren de gu shi xie zai yi ben xiao shuo
na xiao shuo li you shei hui zai hua tian li fan le cuo
zhe jiu shi yi shou xie gei ni ting de yi ge

Love Song　yi zhi xiang xie yi shou
Love Song　ni gei le wo yi shou
Love Song　na DJ hui bo fang
zhe ye xue hui shang bang
bu guo wo zhi xiang xie chu yi shou
Love Song　yi zhi xiang xie yi shou
Love Song　ni gei le wo yi shou
ni jiu xiang na xia tian de liang feng
chui guo wo de mian kong　qing xiang fei
zai wo xin di　ni jiu shi wo di yi (yeah) xiang shuo ai ni

wo xie le zhe shou ge
shi yi shou jian dan ge　bu fu za ye bu nan chang de na yi zhong ge
zhe bu shi na zhong　tong hua li hui yu jian de ge
ye bu shi na zhong　zhen zhen qie qie ai wo de ge
zhe bu shi na zhong　liang ge ren de gu shi xie zai yi ben xiao shuo
na xiao shuo li you shei pei ta kan liu xing zai jiang luo
zhe jiu shi yi shou xie gei ni ting de yi ge

Love Song　yi zhi xiang xie yi shou
Love Song　ni gei le wo yi shou
Love Song　na DJ hui bo fang
zhe ye xue hui shang bang
bu guo wo zhi xiang xie chu yi shou
Love Song　yi zhi xiang xie yi shou
Love Song　ni gei le wo yi shou
ni jiu xiang na xia tian de liang feng
chui guo wo de mian kong　qing xiang fei
zai wo xin di　ni jiu shi wo di yi　xiang shuo ai ni

ru guo ni shi yi fu hua
ni hui shi zui zhen gui de yi fu hua
ru guo na hua jia shi fan gao de hua
you he gui ren qian lai you qian hua　ge ge xiang ni qiu jia
fan gao ta shuo　ni men dou gai hui jia

you huo zhe ni shi Melody jiu shi zui dong ting
suo you de ren du hui gen a ni qi chang
jiu suan zai ye wan　ni de xing tai liang
rang wo wang le yue liang dai biao wo de (love....)

Love Song　ni gei le wo yi shou
Love Song　naDJ hui bo fang
zhe ye xue hui shang bang
bu guo wo zhi xiang xie chu yi shou
Love Song　yi zhi xiang xie yi shou
Love Song　ni gei le wo yi shou
ni jiu xiang na xia tian de liang feng
chui guo wo de　qing xiang fei
zai wo xin di　ni jiu shi wo di yi

Lovely isn't it?

Forgive Me

Ever since I am back from my trip, I seems to be facing depression. A lot had been done during my absence here. Shocking internal movement in the company I am working at. Works piling up like nobody's business. More rigid and strict protocol to abide. No more flexibility in business.

So much changes. So little time for me to cope. Wish I can spend more time here on my blog. I got dozens of photos taken in Hong Kong to upload. Tons of traveling tips to share with you guys. But I cannot seem to find time & motivation due to many other reasons (mostly work wise).

I managed to squeeze a bit of time to put up this post. And I will be attending an appointment with my customer at 830PM later. Life sucks here!

May God Bless this poor soul...

HKG: 100,000 Jobs On The Line

I read over an article over the Hong Kong newspaper which I think it will be a good share to all. Below article is courtesy of The Standard, Benjamin Scent reporting.


Almost 100,000 more Hongkongers are in line to lose their jobs, with unemployment set to spike in the fourth quarter, economists predict.

The worrying news comes even though the government said yesterday the unemployment rate rose only slightly to a lower-than-expected 3.5% for the August-to-October period.

KPMG, one of the "Big Four" global accounting firms, added to the misery yesterday by laying off about 100 staff from its Hong Kong office, a source told The Standard.

Economists now estimate that up to 154,500 people, or 4.2% of the workforce, may be without a job by the end of the year, up from 131,800 at the end of October. As many as 220,700 people, or 6% of workers, from a wide range of sectors will be without paychecks by the time unemployment peaks some time next year, they predict.

Hong Kong has not seen unemployment levels that high since early 2005. "Things will get worse rather quickly in coming months," Bank of East Asia chief economist Paul Tang said.

Still, the situation is not predicted to be as gloomy as the 2003 SARS crisis when unemployment surged to 8.6%.

The government said unemployment rose to 3.5% for the August-to-October period, up from 3.4% in the July-to-September period. The figure was lower than the 3.6% median forecast of eight economists surveyed by Reuters.

Total employment actually increased by 3,600 during the period, while the numbe of unemployed people fell by 2,200.

"In the coming quarters we are going to have a much deeper recession," Hang Seng Bank senior economist Irina said.

Secretary of Labour and Welfare Matthew Cheung said yesterday the government expects 100 public works projects to come on steam in the next nine months, which will create 40,000 jobs for the construction sector.

"We will leave no stone unturned to promote employment on all fronts," Cheung said.

Financial Secretary John Tsang said that under the current circumstances it is hard for Hong Kong companies to avoid layoffs. He added he believes the unemployment rate will probably rise further in the near term.

DBS Bank (Hong Kong) senior investment strategist Daniel Chan said the trend in the labor market is "quite worrisome."

Chan added, "The unemployment rate may start to increase sharply later. If you look at the export orders, the outlook is very bad."

Chan said the poor performance of Hong Kong's banking sector will have a spillover effect on small & medium sized enterprises. The pain will also spread beyond the trade and finance sectors into tourism and consumption-related sectors, which will see high-end hotels and pricey restaurants take a hit, he explained.

"Only the fast-food industry can have a good performance," Chan said.

Citi economist Joe Lo said fears about job security will continue to keep consumers & home buyers cautious in spending and home purchase decisions.

Meanwhile, KPMG is laying off 100 staff, sources said.

Just last month, KPMG International deputy chairman John Harrison said the firm did not plan to change its hiring plan because of the financial tsunami.


So thinking of finding a job in Hong Kong? Not the right timing though. Sigh...

Holiday Aftermath

Upon returning back from Hong Kong,

• I have depression
• I have 200 emails to reply to
• I have works & papers piling up on my desk
• I am having a headache right now
• I have no time to do a proper blog post
• I have mental block
• I am wondering why am I born here and I feel disgusted about my own country
• I am not use to driving anymore
• I have tired eyes
• blah...
• blah... blah...
• blah... blah... blah...

But the good news is that, I'm flying to Hong Kong again tomorrow at 9AM

:)

Talking About Change

Change - it can be revolution or evolution. Malaysia? I am currently in Hong Kong, there are so many reasons that this country I felt safe & happy with. Malaysia? When back home, some still arguing whether the PM can be a Malay or a non-Malay, US had shown us the way. Does it really matter what color are you? What ethnic are you? Who care? As long as you are capable, I do not even care if you are orang asli. Like the China former president said in a Chinese proverb,

"... no matter if it is a black cat or a white cat, the cat that can catch a mouse is a good cat..."

After the political tsunami on 8th March 2008, we heard of Sept 16th, it did triggered my hope about this country, and after it fails, now we heard of rumor this December. Dead boring with Malaysian politic circus.

Even Taiwan shocked us with the arrestment of former President last night while we are famous of arresting somebody big accusing him backfucking (yet to be proven though). Deep shit!

Hong Kong Continues - Tips

I am still compiling all the pictures taken in Disneyland and Ngong Ping 360. Allow me some time and I will share with you guys my experience.

Today I will like to share with you some important tips when you travel around HK. One most important card you must have is the Octopus Card. Just go to any MTR station, enquire within and purchase the card for HKD150 with HKD100 pre-loaded in it. HKD50 as deposit which will then be refunded if the card is return. The card is a must when travelling with MTR, public buses & taxi. It also works like a prepaid card where most of the chain outlets like 7-11 allow you to deduct the credit when you are doing the purchasing.



The MTR line is very convenient and my advice is not to take taxi in HK. It's killing. Even Hongkie who works here adviced the same. Always go for MTR or mini-buses, tram or the double-deck. Taxi is a no-no.



Other tips you might want to keep in mind is when taking the automatic escalator, please keep right if you are not walking thru the escalator. People in Hong Kong walks like super fast, even on the escalator too, so be considerate and keep right always.

Unlike many other countries we go, the power plug point in HK is the same as Malaysia so multi-adaptor is not needed here.

When travelling out, and you feel like buying bottled water, my advice - always bring your own bottle from the hotel or the place you stay because bottled water here is blardy expensive. If you really thirsty and in need of some liquid, go for Coke Zero or Sprite Zero, it's Zero calories & fat all together, just like water and the best part of it, it is priced the same as bottled water. And do not shop for drinks in 7-11, always head for the nearest supermarkets as you will get a better bargain. Even for beers and other alcoholic drinks. 7-11 only caters for those midnight cowboys.





And sometimes I heard a lot of complaints from friends that travelled to HK about the price of food here. Well, there are also good place to dine at affordable price. Do not expect Malaysian mamak price here but if you are on a tight budget, stay away from restaurants inside the shopping malls or hotels. Two highly recommended local food chainstores from myself to all are Coral De Cafe (Tai Kar Lok in Cantonese) & Tsui Wah restaurants. The former got really attractive package meal offer (main + soup + drinks) and the latter is much like char chan teng. And these are Chinese fast food outlets they called it. And about the origin of Kimgary & Wong Kok - these are solely creation of Malaysian - lousy so called Hongkie food. You can find none here in HK. And oh ya, some restaurants here in Hong Kong do offer discount up to 20% after their off peak period, let say around 9PM, so do check out those leaflets & posters on the restaurant.





And another tips - to visit museums in Hong Kong - choose Wednesday - because Wednesday they do not charge entrance fees. This only applicable to museums run by the government.

Hope the above help to those who plan to visit Hong Kong soon.

Cheers!

Shopping In Hong Kong - Citygate Outlets

When comes to shopping in Hong Kong, one must not miss this - The Citygate Outlets in Tung Chung. This is the only shopping arcade that housed most of the major brands outlets. The meaning of Outlet here - you can buy off season stuff or certain latest product at a very good bargain. My Malaysian friend who I met up 2 days ago, told me that the Citygate Outlets really worthwhile to shop, you can get stuff 50% compare to Central.

How to get there? By MTR - take the Orange line, last station Tung Chung. From Hong Kong International Airport - take shuttle bus S56.

Following below I will include some of the brands that can be found here.



I bought a pair of shoes in K-Swiss. It's unique and not easily available back in Malaysia. There's also Sony Outlet that sell some gadgets.







There's Puma, Adidas & Nike Outlets here. Imagine you can buy Nike shoes at HKD200. Adidas & Nike T-Shirts at less than HKD100. So who says shopping in Hong Kong is expensive? You must go to the right place.



Bodyshop - Shower Gel less than HKD30. I did not check much items though but dirt cheap!



Then there's Timberland Outlet. When you visit here, you felt blardy cheated back in Malaysia. And Esprit Outlet here the price are cheaper than you shop in FOS in Malaysia. There's more like Benetton, Armani Exchange, Burberry, Polo Ralph Lauren, etc.













And ladies, there is this too... kekekeke...



Thinking bout migrating? Think Hong Kong!