Asian Tiger

Today, I did a day trip down to Johor. I started driving at 8-ish and reached my destination after three and one half hours. I did my stuff and then drove back to Kuala Lumpur that took 4 hours because of rain along the way.

This kind of driving is quite normal for me and I have been doing so for the past 10 years. However, half the time, I will feel sleepy as driving on the highway is very monotonous. There’s nothing to see except for oil palm trees to your right and left.

Here are some things I do to keep myself awake:

1. Sing along to the radio - it helps when you know the lyrics. Otherwise, just pretend you know the lyrics or simply create your own.
2. Chewing gums - chew on those gums for as long as you can. Gums have helped kept me awake for hours. Sweets or candies don’t last very long, that’s why I opt for gums.
3. Take a nap - stop by a lay-by or rest area and take a nap. A 10 minute nap can do wonders. Trust me.
4. Chit chat - if your occupants are not asleep, strike a conversation. Gossips are wonderful sleep-killer. If you are alone, call someone on your mobile phone.
5. Slap yourself - when all else fails, slap yourself silly.

Last week, I took a read of IKEA’s furniture magazine and some some furnitures that could grace my home.  Little did I know, I was soon engrossed at measuring my son’s room and started devising a floor plan.  Actually I wanted only a simple bookshelf costing RM165 but over the weekend, I ended up spending over RM1,200 for 4 bookshelves, a study table, delivery and installation.  Yes, I know we can assemble IKEA’s furniture with ease but for RM50, I rather let the professionals handle it.

My son’s room is now nicely decorated with ample space for his book, his toys, his bags and his other belongings.  After a couple of days admiring my son’s room, I sat down and wondered how I could have spent the extra RM1,000 without even a second thought.  Was I hooked to shopping furnitures like how the girls shopped for shoes?  Was there hypnotic verses in IKEA’s magazine?  I know if I had gone to a local furniture shop, I wouldn’t have spend this much; in fact I wouldn’t have spent anything.

I think the reason is simple.  IKEA makes their furnitures practical and yet can elegantly grace your house.  If you really browse through IKEA’s magazine, with a little creativity and imagination, you can find simple solutions for your home.  If I went to a local furniture shop, the furniture looks all the same, as if the is only one manufacturer.  Furthermore, the selling point was the wood type; nyatoh, merbau, etc.

Looking back, it was worth the money. My son is now excited about his room and spend most of his time there.  From homework to playing toys.  He’s now asking for a computer and TV to complete his “home”…

Heard of the age old saying “charity begins at home“? I’m sure we all have and I’m pretty sure there are many out there who is as baffled as me on the meaning. We all know that charity is good and we should practice giving away to the needy when possible. I would understand that most of the time, we have our own constraints and our wallets/pockets don’t seem to fatten up. Who says you need to be charitable from your own pockets?

FreeRice.com which is a sister site of Poverty.com has came up with an ingenious way to help people be charitable. It combines a vocabulary puzzle and prize for every correct guess. Each correct guess earns 10 grains of rice which will be donated to the needy. All you need to do is make correct guesses. You have nothing to lose and all gains go to the poor.

The puzzle does work up your brain muscles as some words are unheard of. I had a great time testing myself and managed to reach a vocabulary level of 27 with over 2000 grains of rice won. They had me at “twaddle“. If you want to know the answer, it’s nonsense. Now, do your bit for charity and enjoy yourself at the same time.