Happily Ever After?

Recently I read an interesting article in 'In The Black' magazine (formerly the Australian CPA magazine) when I was at my in-laws place for dinner. They had this write up by Thea O' Connor regarding health of couples in and out of marriages. (Online version of the article HERE)

Some interesting points that the article mentions -
- Men derive more health gains from marriage than women. One US study, for example, showed that while non-married men have 250 per cent greater mortality than married men.

- Non-married women have a 50 per cent greater mortality than married women.

- Married women score higher on mental health measures such as optimism, happiness and coping and higher in general physical health than single women or women in defacto relationships

-The stress of conflict within a marriage is also hazardous, as it turns your primary support into your primary stress.

-Professor Janice Kiecolt-Glaser of Ohio State University has researched how marital arguments change our physiology. In her study of 90 newly wed couples, Kiecolt-Glaser and colleagues found that those couples who used sarcasm, put-downs, overt nastiness and dismissals during discussions showed a measurable weakening of their immune system compared to other couples who behaved more positively.

I could not agree more with what was written. Personally after marriage, I don't remember a time where I've felt more in the pink than I have now. My wife has really taken care of my health with her cooking and I've not taken any junk food for quite a while now.

There are times when I do work night shifts and when I do, she will always make sure that I get something nutritious to eat too after I get back. Used to be I will stop by a nearby KFC... -.-"

Nice warm dinner and novel, what else can I ask for? (Cold beer maybe...)

As an appreciation for the hard work that my wife has put in over the month in the kitchen, I decided to let her take a day off and do the cooking for her recently.

Mussels with honey and mustard

Grilled salmon with cauliflowers

So how does it feel to be married? We just celebrated one month of married life last night and it may not be much but its a start. It has not been without conflicts, but thanks to the marital advice of many married friends who have been through more than we have, we have been able to solve many. Its very much a learning process for us and we always have to remind ourselves to have a positive outlook. To all married people out there, remember to treat your spouse with respect always yea.

How Liverpool can still win the title this year

I blogged last year (HERE) about why I do not believe that my beloved team Liverpool will win the League title this year...and unfortunately I was proven right. I will be lying if I said that I didn't want them to win. They have been playing really fantastically recently but alas its too little too late.

Jamie showing Arbeloa how white teeth should look like

I have to hand it to Manchester United. They were good week in week out (something Rafa can learn from here) and the only one capable of actually destroying their title hopes are...well...Man Utd themselves. As long as they soaked up the pressure and kept to their winning ways, no other team had a chance. But if they slip up, their rivals are ready to make them pay without any second invitation needed.

It is this way that Liverpool can still technically win the title this season despite Gary Neville having lifted the trophy last week. Think about it... Man Utd still have 1 more game. So they need to do something catastrophically stupid ...like try to rasuah the referee or the other team. Then not only will they lose the title but they may be playing in the Championship next season. Wahahaha!

Ok there are more chances of it snowing in KL than this happening. If there are any Liverpool supporting bomohs out there...you can give it a try and put a hex on them or something.

Breathe Right: Do they work?

GSK has been very aggressive in marketing the Breathe Right Nasal strips and the sales volume speaks for itself. Its in the papers, on the radio and everywhere you are sure bound to hear about it.

Does it really work? - that's what everyone always ask. Well first of all, it is printed on the box...

Breathe Right Nasal Strips open your nose to
-Reduce snoring
-Relieve nasal congestion
-Breathe better

Despite this, I guarantee you 9 out of 10 customers will come and buy this product to stop snoring. Why? because...that's how it was advertised. The radio ads featured 'Ways to stop your partner from snoring' and this is very effective. The message that consumers hear is 'buy this product to stop snoring'.

I can also tell you that 100% of return customers tell me that this product does not work for snoring (my wife can testify to that too). In fact, this is not a new product. It has been in the market for quite a long time. I remember seeing athletes wearing it a long time ago as you can see from the young Robbie Fowler in the picture below (which was taken in 1998).

That picture was taken from this news report (HERE) which also claims that the strips were ineffective when used by athletes. Having tried out this product myself, I can say that it does open up my nostrils. However, having big nostrils doesn't mean you won't snore right? If its true then all gweilos won't snore...

So the answer is no, it does not work.

It's finally here

This weekend, will be the day I marry my fiancee, Li Xia. A pastor and good friend of ours reminded us to not spend too much time preparing for the wedding ceremony and dinners only, but to prepare ourselves for handling the marriage itself. The festivities last just but a day, but marriage lasts a lifetime. Very wise words actually. So we've been preparing ourselves mentally, going for pre-marital courses and counselling...and the day is finally here. To all relatives and friends coming to Kota Kinabalu this weekend, hope you have a safe trip and see you all soon.

Tax Day

The ghosts of taxation in Malaysia has come once again to haunt us all...have you done your taxes? You have few days left...unless of course you have a biz income. I wasn't very satisfied with my tax deductions in 2007 and began 2008 with an intention to try and reduce my income tax. One of the ways I could think of was to spend as much on books and magazines as possible, since they other options under the 'Deductions' section are more or less like that already. I spent RM440 on books and mags in 2007.

So last night I collected all my 2008 receipts and calculated...
RM439?!! Whaa?? Aiyo... I thought I really bought a lot but apparently I didn't. I guess I also forgot about it as well since the tax ghosts comes once a year only.

Well, I've spent RM235++ on books so far this year...Hopefully I will not make the same mistake as last year. Lol...

Die!!!!!

Its not the first time I had problems with ants actually, but this time they were starting to get on my nerves. Insecticide sprays are quite efficient when I was staying in a single rented room. Just spray any trail of ants you see...and if its not in my room, its not my problem. Heheh...

Not anymore though. If its not the wet kitchen, its the dry kitchen. If its not the dry kitchen its behind the cabinets...and insecticide sprays may take out part of the colony but they will come back with a vengeance. The only way to wipe them all out is to get rid of their leader...the queen ant and after consulting with many people, ant baits are the way to go.

They didn't have a supergeng ant killer..so I bought the OK one

I managed to find these China made ant baits (you can tell its a genuine made in China product by its english instructions) at a morning market at Lido. RM1 for 4 packets. That evening I sprinkled some of the baits at different locations and within minutes it was an instant hit.

Ants dragging the bait back to their HQ (top right hand corner where there is a gap in the cement)

I was expecting ant carcasses when I woke up this morning but seems there were still some ants crawling about. They took all the bait though... Hmm, maybe it takes some time to work?

Its only a game

Some people take football way too seriously...(LINK)

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Iraqi shot dead attempting goal

Associated Press

BAGHDAD -- Police say an Iraqi soccer player has been shot dead just as he was about to kick what could have been the tying goal in a weekend game south of Baghdad.

Police Maj. Muthanna Khalid says a striker from the Buhairat amateur team was facing only the goalie during a Sunday match in Hillah when a supporter of the rival Sinjar club shot him in the head in the final minute of play.

Sinjar was leading 1-0 when the shooting occurred. Khalid said a spectator was arrested.

More Iraqis are turning out for sports events now that security is improving. Major matches in Baghdad are heavily guarded but security in amateur games in smaller cities is often lax.

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