dixonthum

Yasmin Ahmad : Gone Too Soon

August 11, 2009October 4, 2010 dixonthum

I believe everyone (at least Malaysians) knows who Yasmin Ahmad was… and need no further introduction about her contributions to the local movie and advertising industry from me. Those who have been following my blog would notice that I have links to her blogs (the old and new one) since a long time ago. I have been reading her blogs all this while.

From her blog, she’s such a great person that I have noticed. I do not only mean how she interpreted her feelings through her movies, but I also meant the meticulous way she answered her fans’ comments in her blog. You can actually feel her heart and emotions whenever she’s responding to a certain comment/issue. She’s so good at being herself. She’s been there in my daily life whenever I read her latest posts. From her last post, I can tell that she’s still got so much things in her mind to present to us. She’s still got so many projects planned. But she’s left us. And all her plans would not be fulfilled anymore. No matter who is taking over her projects, those will never be the same again. There’s no more "Yasmin Ahmad" touch anymore.

I will always miss her… She’s gone too soon… A great person has left us and I do believe that God loves her more.

(Even by the time I’ve finished writing this post, I still couldn’t accept the fact that she’s left us. She’s left such a great impact to myself.)

Travel

A Flora Paradise

August 4, 2009August 4, 2009 dixonthum

It’s like a paradise of flora here… Our eyes got captured by the 3 huge hot air balloons, floating in the air. It’s also my first expedition with my Canon EOS1000D. Once we got out from the car, we were too excited but to dash to the field where the big balloons were. Looking around, we realised that there were a lot more photographers, professionals or amateurs, handling their own gadgets, trying to get the best angle for their pictures. I got intimidated a bit as mine is just a "beginner" set. But I think I’m good enough to have my own DSLR. So… whatever!

We then walked around and reached the indoor area. Walked in and were welcomed by a breeze of cold air. So cooling in the closed tent. There, stood tall was the flower tower and a cute little flower tapir. There was also an area with the underwater world theme. Paradise of birds was just next to the underwater area. I don’t get it quite well. Why was the kuaci seeds rhino got fixed together with the birds? Maybe a kuaci rhino can fly kot…?! 😛

After that, it’s the burning outdoor again. We didn’t bring any umbrella. So, we walked around under the hot sun. There were numerous stalls of art and painting demos. The area I liked most was the orchid farm area. The orchids were extremely beautiful and of all species and varieties.

After walking around for quite some time, we reached the 1Malaysia theme park, with a huge number "1" and replica of KLCC Twin Tower as well as a fish (dunno what it represents)… Next to it, we found my favourite flower – HIBISCUS! But those there were not as eye-catching as those in Cameron Highlands… Oops! So, where were we actually? With all those flora and flowers I mentioned, I bet some of you might think that we were in Camerons but we were actually in Putrajaya! Yes! It’s the FLORIA’09. The Flora Festival held in Waterfront, Precinct 2, Putrajaya.

Those interested, you guys can drop by anytime ’til 9 August 09. So, be quick!

My breakfast…

Look at those photographers below the balloons…

Flower Tower! So high!!!

Little flower tapir… Cute kan?

Painting demo…

Beautiful painting! So colourful…

花… Orchid lah…

Bunga raya aka hibiscus…

Orkid hutan?! Looks like a crab to me…

Walking flora… aka flower boys?!

The loving couple… Jangan jealous…! Hehehe…

The photographer… aka Dixon Thum… Muahaha!!!

Nature

Natural Fertilizers

July 29, 2009July 29, 2009 dixonthum

Look at the picture above and notice those things pointed with red arrows? Well, this is how I fertilize my plants in the garden. I use all-natural fertilizers like fruit skins and egg shells. The great news is… my plants grow bigger and healthier… My aloe vera grew bigger!

Try it at home… It’s a healthier way for all of us… and also to the environment.

Health & Wellness

First Time Running in Putrajaya

July 26, 2009July 26, 2009 dixonthum

It’s my first time running in Putrajaya. Participated in the Men’s Health Run 09 with my usual running partner, CF and 2 other newbies, Jeff and Khoon. Ip, Mein and May ran in the fun run. Got quite a lot of free goodies but not as many as last year. Anyway, I found that it wasn’t easy to run in Putrajaya and i dislike the traffic there. There are some points that the organizer could take note for improvements :

1) Traffic – Although there were a lot of traffic police there to take care of the flow. But, I find it disturbing with all the cars queuing so long and some even horned while we were running and puffing. That’s not good!

2) Water stations – The workers who take care of the water stations were quite slow and I had to stopped for awhile to wait for a cup of water. That’s not good!

3) 7UP Revive – This sponsor was particularly "stingy". When I reached the finishing line, it was still early but there were no more cold 7UP Revive for us. Who took them all? They should have prepared more… for the sake of creating brand awareness to the people there. That’s not good!

4) Lucky draw – No lucky draw this round?! That’s not good!

My initial target was to get a medal in this run. There were only 75 medals for grab for each category. However, sad enough, I did not manage to get one. However, I managed to conquer the full 11.5km in 1 hr 12 mins. That’s not a bad record! But, could have been better. Try again next year…

4 of us in Category A…

They were in Category F (Fun Run)

Smart runners…

The "super" pair…

Loads of goodie bags!!!

The "unofficial" spokesperson for Nature’s Valley???

Sausage 1901…

Grab ’em all!!!

Me and the crowd…

My Personal

Quit!

July 25, 2009October 4, 2010 dixonthum

Have you ever wonder what will happen IF you quit your job?

What will happen to the house loan? What will happen to your family? What should you do after quitting? Who is going to pay for your food? What is going to pay for the petrol? No more KFC? No more nice clothes? No more fancy restaurants? No more MONEY???

Basically, everyone dreams of sitting down and relaxing at home. Shaking legs and doing nothing would be the ultimate bonus! Having time to fly around the world. Gosh… how I wish this can happen to me…!

There are so much thoughts I have in mind when I think of the question above. I really don’t know what will happen next. So much responsibilities and burden to consider. I believe everyone has their one responsibilities as well which kept them continue working although most of them do not like their jobs. So, no matter how bad you think your job is, be strong. Keep reminding yourself that you need the job to earn a living, for a better future, for your family and for yourself. This will make you feel a lot better.

But to tell you the truth, I’m looking forward for the day when I need not work but just lay back and relax (+ shake legs + do nothing) without worrying about money. Wouldn’t that be great?