A Homemaker’s Diary

I don’t know why time passed by so quickly these days. I promised to upload the pictures of people in front of Istana Negara during Agong’s birthday last Saturday and yet I could only manage to upload them today, on another Saturday..huhu..

Hubby drove so fast because we were running out of time. Luckily the traffic jam in front of the Palace did not last too long otherwise I could not get to the shops in Jalan TAR before they close at 6:30pm. I don’t understand why do they have to close the shops there so early and some even close on public holidays..they should open till 10pm because I’m sure there will be people who like to shop after office hours.

See the happy faces of Pakcik dapat pingat on Agong’s birthday..haha. Sorry guys, the Palace guards were nowhere to be seen in this fast moving still image I managed to snapped in the hurried car.

Next time I’ll go and take their pictures. See whether the guards maintain their rigid faces for the shoot. Do you think our palace’s guards can beat those guards at Buckingham Palace or not?..haha..

Lately I am very interested about all things related to learning about money management. Since I have been in the bad debt trap and now having the chance to revive myself from such trap, I think it is only fair to let others be aware of how important this money management lesson should be in our life.

At one point in time, I even think of going for credit counseling since I can’t see how my debt could go away with the money we had in hand. Luckily I found few ways to earn extra income so I think if I know how to manage my money well, sooner or later I would be able to lead a debt-free life (at least get rid of most of the exploding amount of debt)

For now what is most important for me is to be able to control my desire to spend. After all I should bear in my mind that making money is not as easy as spending it so no matter how tempting the offers at the retail stores I should be able to control the urge to spend..haha!

It’s very easy to fall victim to buying on impulse when actually we don’t really need the items. Like shopping for groceries with empty stomach and realize later that you buy too much cooking ingredients that will never see the pot and the pan.

Or picking up a shirt because it’s on sale but after coming home you realize that the color won’t match with any pant or skirt you have.

Perhaps for a start I should try the tips they write on entertainment budget: Having Fun Without Spending a Fortune.

Oh, I’ve done 2 things in order to manage my money. I have canceled my gym membership and most of the magazine subscriptions which I really don’t have the time to read. The lure of being a member to some sort of prestigious club or hype health group is sometimes taking the toll on the pocket so it’s time that we make it a final cut. After all is not everyday I manage to go to the gym and I can always run up and down the stairs of my double storey house.

If you are looking for news on Pak Lah kawin lagi..maybe you will find some juicy and more dash news on others blogs. But for my blog, you can only see the picture of the First Lady (do we consider her as First Lady in Malaysia? unlike in US where they don’t have any DYMM Agong and such and only President to rule the country..hehe)

Anyway, she Jeanne Abdullah is his ex biras (or any other better term in Malay? it’s the connection you have with the spouse of your bother in law) which make her the aunt of his children.

I think it’s quite common in Malay culture, to remarry to your sister in law (something my grandma called as ganti tikar) or someone else in the deceased wife’s family. It’s better than to have a complete stranger wreak havoc in your family.

At least that would make it easier for the children to adjust to life with new step mom when the real mom was no longer there…huhu..I don’t know… Sometimes people marry for love, but most of the time people marry for necessities – anything like power, influence, support, money, connection and love could grow later.

I hope Pak Lah will be more happy and will be better taken care of by his new wife. It’s hard being alone without spouse. Having children is not enough, they can’t take the role of a wife or a husband.

The role of a spouse goes beyond the sex and everything else young couples look for and single people thought about, especially when you are in the veteran age. You need someone to rely on for comfort, for support and encouragement especially when you are running a country. Marriage is more than the heat between the sheet.

For me, if I were to die from terminal disease, I would find a replacement for Hubby before I die. At least I know once I’m gone he will be taken care of by someone who could love him (at least) as much as I do…(seriously, I’m not joking!)

Who cares about the money that the second wife will enjoy, after all I’m already dead..why should I be jealous of the living, right! If you are the best wife, you will still be his No.1 no matter dead or alive.

If you are familiar with retail outlets you will notice that they have POS system at the counter (well, at least most of the retail establishments have be it the one with touch screen or the standard Point of Sale system).

When I was in my final year in University, a friend proposed an IT project for a bunch of us to set up POS systems at his father’s chain of mini markets and that was the first time I got to know about all this POS set up.

There are actually many brand and type in the market. For example, one of them is IBM point of sale systems. A standard POS system usually has a display mount, POS keyboard, receipt printer and terminal.

Or if you are looking for one without keyboard, you can have the one with touch glass. And if you are planning to accept credit card and use barcode on your product, make sure you find point of sale system with magnetic stripe reader and barcode scanner.

They are many companies that sell POS system which even maintain and do all the upgrade job for you. Make sure you find one that has good reputation because in the business especially for retailers, efficiency in working devices will perk up your numbers of satisfied and returning customers.

It seems that we are having monsoon season soon. It’s only June but in KL and Selangor it has been raining everyday from 3pm onwards.

So if you are planning to take your children out (it’s school holiday till 10June), make sure you do it before 3pm or otherwise you will be caught in the heavy rain.

See how heavy the rain was. Half of the Menara KL was gone in the dark cloud. I made a wrong judgment in going to KL on Agong’s birthday. The shop I wanted to go was closed and there was massive traffic jam in front of Istana Negara.

So many people get Datukship on his DYMM birthday, huh! (Will post the picture later, can see the handsome Palace’s police..haha!)