KL BOOK FAIR 2010

People are reading everywhere. Another good sign of our current reading culture

Karangkraf, the biggest exhibitor for KLIBF 2010

This hall is meant for novel lovers

Another view from inside karangkraf exhibition hall

PTS using big balloon to attract attention

The bridge linking exhibition halls

Dr Fazley spotted at BESTA booth

The wealth motivation speaker Azizi Ali in the house

The main event stage where people will get opportunity to meet with the writers

My favourite booth SELVAM HOLDINGS

It's one of my must go event every year and for 2010 I've decided to go on the last day which also happens to be my birthday. This year is the biggest so far with almost all the venue at PWTC building used by the exhibitors.

My favourite booth will be SELVAM MAGAZINES where imported mag like esquire,men's journal and all my fav baseball mag (although backdated issues) were sold at RM 3 each. Also there's another booth selling political books at RM 5 each (I can't remember the company name). Karangkraf is the biggest exhibitor for this year where the whole hall at the first floor is theirs and for malay novel lovers that is the place to go.

The other reason I decided to go during the last day is to try my luck on the last day clearance discount but only few booth did that and mostly children books. Overall it was much bigger than the previous one with more participation but probably the organizer should start thinking about finding a bigger location.

RIZAL

PUTRAJAYA HOT AIR BALLOON 2010

ZORBING ...(not this year, probably not next year....)

KMX rider patrolling the area......(it's not cheap)

The Levi's Jean Balloon

This is what you get for RM 10 plus the long queue ...a 20 feet balloon ride

This is taken at 8.15 am .....am amazed at how early the arrive


The balloons


The queue


The .....Mr Darth (what a surprise)

I've never been on a hot air balloon (imagine being in a small basket and lifted by a big balloon) but when the above event was held in PutraJaya I've decided not to missed it. I was told by few friends to be there early so we manage to arrive at the location roughly around 7.45 am and to our surprise it was jam pack (maybe next year we should be there by 5 am ....)

There was a very long queue for people who have paid to ride the hot air balloon and although it's only a short ride the number of people waiting in the line is amazingly a lot. Well probably next year we'll give it a try.

Apart from the hot air balloon exhibition other attraction such as the remote control plane, go cart, mini superbike, ZORBING,water balloon and others manage to get the crowd attention. My 2 kids manage to persuade me to pay for the 15 minutes ride of a unique bicycle called KMX bike costing RM 20 !!!!

Obviously another well plan event and will make sure that for next year fiesta we'll try the hot air balloon. Morning is the best time to go since the weather is better, once the sun is up it can be a bit hot so plan your journey well.

FITNESS CENTER : IS IT FOR REAL ???

Last week I had a great "Teh Tarik" session with an old friend of mine and one of the topic is fitness center. It has been quiet a trend nowadays especially for the young and not so young executives to join such center. It's like a good and healthy routine right after an intense day at the office, where you get to release your tension while working out.

However we did argue on the ROI (return on investment) of the program since average monthly fees range between RM 150 to RM 250 depending on which fitness center do you join. One need to discipline him or herself trying to go to the gym probably at least 3 time a week (and it's not easy).

I remember another good friend of mine who had joined a fitness center for the past 6 month and having a problem to give the commitment to go there at least once a week (it's more like once a month...) due to working commitment.

Whatever it is, we're not denying what a wonderful urban trend FITNESS CENTER is but without good planning and proper time management it could waste a lot of money.

RIZAL

MY RUGBY DAYS

standing row, 3rd from left

Looking very confident, first row, first form left


Standing, first from right

Standing, 7th from right

3rd from right, front row

I was a between moderate to good rugby player during my student days. When I join Sekolah Alam Shah in 1986 immediately I was asked to join a rugby selection exercise due to my size (which was big for a form 1 student) and the rest was history.

During my playing time among the highlight was several trip to other boarding school like MCKK, STJ,MOZAC and others. I still remember how intense the game between our traditional rival either Selangor Science School or the Royal Military College. I've had few injuries here and there but overall the game teach me on how to be a responsible person and a better perspective on working in a team.

I just want to share some very old picture showing me and my team. Thanks to FaceBook the photo was able to be shared with the rest of the team members.


RIZAL

HOW MUCH IS YOUR SALARY VS HOW MUCH DO YOU SAVED?

I've read a very interesting books by Tom Peters and at the end of my reading journey I've started to realized the importance of savings and the significant of the big question HOW MUCH DO YOU SAVED MONTHLY ?

You can earn big amount of money (definitely I'm not one of them...hehehe) but at the end of the month not many people (according to Tom Peters and even RT Kiyosaki) check on how much they manage to save. I remember talking to a friend of mine who is getting a handsome amount of salary but not being able to save, where one of his problem is lack of motivation to save but lots of motivation to spend. And I do agree with his statement.

So my plan for this month and hopefully the next month onwards is to start saving hopefully with 3 digits and I'll try my best if possible before end of this year to increase it to a healthy 4 digits saving. My motivation ????? It's back to the magic word ...HOW MUCH DO YOU SAVED MONTHLY ...

RIZAL

ME AND EXORA

The long CNY holiday break give me the opportunity to go back to Kulim. As usual we utilize the PLUS Highway and due to the perfect timing we manage to avoid the traffic jam. one of the highlight of this year travelling is the large numbers of Proton Exora, the newly launched MPV by Proton on the highway, the MPV is almost everywhere.

I've to admit, I'm one of those who is a bit sceptical when comes to Proton cars but Exora changes my view on national cars. It's big, beautiful and affordable. I'm actually planning to buy a replacement car for my current daihatsu ascend and Exora is currently top on the list.

There will obviously be lots of positive and negative feedback from the exora's owner and i will definitely use it as the tools to assist me when the time comes for me to buy EXORA.

RIZAL

SOCIAL GOLFING

Golf is a sport that has always been connected with rich people, expensive , time wasting and other negative feedback. Social golfing is totally the opposite of all the negative feedback that has always been associated with this sport.

As a social golfer myself, this is a sport that allows me to exercise (both mind and body) while having a good ‘chit-chat’ with old friends .And to reduce the cost there a lots of cheap golf course to choose from. Or to even reduce it just do it once every 2 months.

The last outing was at Nilai Spring in Nilai, Negeri Sembilan. It was a well maintain 18 holes golf course with long and easy fairway. Social golfer like me will not be too serious looking at the score but more too having fun and catching up old stories. Nothing beats the feeling of having a good hot shower at the clubhouse after completing the game.

Looking forward ti the next outing end of February at Kota Kemuning.

RIZAL