A coffee history

Coffee is said to have originated from the Horn of Africa, and initially it was taken as a form of food rather than a beverage. East African tribe known as Galla would grind the coffee cherries and mix it together with animal fat. This mixture is said to give the much-needed energy for the warriors. Coffee grew in abundance in the Arabian Peninsula, and in the 11th century coffee was first developed into a drink.

During ancient times, the stimulating effects of the coffee were thought by many as some form of religious ecstasy. Thus, it is not surprised that coffee earned a rather mystical sort of reputation, always associated with witch doctors, shaman and priest. According to one story, a goat herder from Ethiopia by the name kaldi, noticed his herd of goats were unusually active after consuming the red cherries. Curious, he tasted it himself and was overwhelmed by the revitalizing effects. A group of nearby monks noticed him dancing around with his goats, and soon they started boiling the cherries themselves and use the liquid for their meditation.

Some Christians believed that coffee were the devil's drink. Pope Vincent III heard this and decided to give it a try before banishing it. He enjoyed it so much he baptized it, saying: "coffee is so delicious it would be a pity to let the infidels have exclusive use of it."

In the mid 17th century the Dutch dominated the world's merchant shipping industry, and they brought along coffee cultivation to their colonies in the Indonesian archipelago. In the 19th century, a rare disease swept through coffee plantations in South East Asia. As a result, Brazil emerged as the world's top coffee producer, a title the country still holds.

Coffee Coffee

I have a confession to make. I'm an addict.... to coffee. Yes, I've been drinking coffee ever since I was around 6 years old. In fact, my cardiovascular system is basically choking with caffeine.

I still remember the first time I tasted coffee. While waiting for the school bus to kindergarten, my mom would make a pot of hot coffee. Instead of a cup of milo or horlicks, my mom would just pour a cup of her kopitiam style coffee for me. I guess it never cross my mom's mind that feeding caffeine-laden beverage to a young lad wasn't a good idea. But what the heck, I'm still alive and kicking anyway. Probably that explains my hyperactive attitude while in school :p

A day without coffee is like a drag. Brain isn’t working, can't think logically, speech is sluggish. My day just isn’t the same when I haven't get my coffee shot yet. I used to drink around 5 or 6 mugs of nescafe a day, to the extent where I can literally smell coffee when I pee. Anyway, Donna has been bugging me bout cutting down on it before I screw up any of my internal organs. I'm slowly graduating to 2 mugs a day now.

Supermarkets usually sell pre-packed superfine coffee powder, which is not good for my French press. But thank God for Starbucks!! They have quite a wide range of coffee to choose. Furthermore, they grind the beans to different qualities, depending on the type of brewer we're using. Price is around Rm25 for a 265g pack, whereas for seasonal coffee it is a bit more pricy, around RM28.

I just got a pack of French Roast recently, very intense and smoky! Good way to start a day, isn't it!

Makati

Was at Manila for three weeks in April 05, did my AutoPLANT training there. Here's some photos which I took:
Sommerset Olympia Makati is where i stayed, and it cost around USD$ 66 per day. Pretty decent, but the only complain I have is the noisy air-conditioning.



Jeepney: King of the road!!! You'll find this everywhere in Manila. Suppose to be leftovers from the US military jeeps.




Greenbelt park. There's a chapel in the middle of the park.





Lake Taal. About 1 hour drive from Makati, happens to be the world's smallest active volcano.






It takes about 45 minutes to walk all the way up to the peak. My advice, take a horse ride instead.





A combo photo of Mount Taal.

Proton sucks????

Received a forwarded mail from a friend recently. Apparently Some apek is really pissed off with Proton. Aiyah, what else is new la! Here's his story, gotta excuse him for his bad engerish, must be struggling to come up with a 651 words long article:

Dear all,
I need all yours help. Actuall this is my case, please help me spread out this news.

I own a proton wira 1.5A, I sent my car for second service(miliage 6k) at Johor Bahru Larkin EON service center(Jalan Langkasuka) on last saturday(17/9/05) morning. At the same time I make my complaint for my car's engine, it got abnormal sound inside. After the service advisor(Azhari_A) heard the situation, he told me is a major problem, estimate 2 weeks to fix the problem.

OK, that's just nice, I need to went to KL for job training 2 weeks(18/9/05 until 30/9/05) onward and go there by bus, so I told the service advisor I can left my car there for them to solve the problem for 2 weeks, and he can call me if anything need my attention.

So Monday I already at KL training, they no called up. Tuesday(19/9/05) afternoon the service advisor called up, telling me that my car already flushed the engine and ready for collect. BUT!!! He told me that they got the advise from EON HQ and PROTON manufacturing people that, the engine sound will be disappeared when keep driving until 15k ~ 20k mileage. I CAN'T ACCEPT THIS SOLUTION!!! So, I straight told them I can't accept this solution.

Tuesday night I called their 24 hours customer service hotline(1800883003), show them that I am very unsatisfaction by their service. Then wednesday morning their EON HQ executive(Ms Chua) called up, she told me she will follow up by co-ordinate with the manager at JB branch.

Thursday I called up Ms Chua cause I wait her news until noon but she never called up. After that she told me that they were still trying to contact each other, whatever.

Friday JB assistant branch manager called me up, still telling the same STORY, asked me to drive the car until 15k to 20k then the sound will be disappeared. I REALLY CAN'T ACCEPT THEIR ATTITUDE OF SERVICING CUSTOMER.

Today I went there, I met the Manager there with my brother and the assistant manager together. So, they telling me that drive the car until the mileage then the sound will be dissapeared, so I request a report from them, I need them to state there that what they telling me, what their solution. So, if my car's engine really broken down on the half road, they must compensate for my loss and rental for a car, due to because I am working as a outdoor service personal, I need the car during my working hours. I only request for a small matter they also can't satisfied me. THEY CAN'T MAKE IT! They can't make any promise or report for that. SO, what all they telling me just like a story. Actually when I talking to them really voice up, because is really angry, this matter gave me a lot of pressure, wasting my time and money. At the last, you know how the manager do, "HE SAID, YOU WANT TAKE YOUR CAR NOW, TAKE IT, DON'T WANT, YOU GO OUT FROM MY OFFICE, DON'T ANGRY HERE"

Thanks for all you hearing my case, please let all your friends know this kind of service they provided if they intend to buy a PROTON car. So, I not yet collect my car, I am planning what to do right now, so anyone know who or which department I can get my help or advise, please let me know.

Thank you very much!

YOURS SINCERELY,
THC

Sunset at Kuala Lumpur

Took these shots from 31st floor of TA One Tower.

I'm going slightly fat.....

Got my medical report couple of weeks ago. Imagine my horror when "Triglyceride" was brightly highlighted..... 384?!!?!!! What the F**K?!! that's almost two times the maximum value of 200!!! sei lor.......

To all the dungus who doesn't know what's a "Triglyciride" ..... "A lipid or neutral fat consisting of glycerol combines with three fatty-acid molecules. Triglyciride are synthesized from the products of digestion of dietary fat: they are the form in which fat is stored in the body. High concentrations of Triglycirides in the blood, in the form of lipoproteins, predisposes to coronary heart disease (Oxford Reference Suite, MSDict v4.10)"

What really scares me is the "..... predisposes to coronary heart disease" part. In other words, I could get a heart attack anytime! Gosh, I'm only 29, not married and already in the verge of kicking the bucket. Anyhow, the lab was kind enough to run the test again, just to re-confirm the results. Still waiting for it....

Anyway, the high Triglyciride incident sorta jolted me to my senses. Seriously need to do something about my weight!! Ever since i quit gym (check out my previous blog) , i've somehow started to accumulate a significant amount of mass :P I guess it's high time I do some serious fat burning exercise!!

Gym is outta question! Ain't gonna spend a single cent at a faggot joint! Celaka betul..... Had a conversation with a friend recently, and he suggested that I get a pedometer and do some walking. Initially, the idea of "walking" as a form of exercise sounds kinda lame :-( only old apek and aunty do walking exercise la... Yuppies like me need something more macho, like jogging, swimming...etc.

Tried to do some jogging around my neighbourhood once, but muscle ache and out-of-breath kinda puts me off. Tried swimming too, but paying RM3 per entry and swim with a bunch of sick, overweight perverts isn't exactly fun either.

Nevertheless, I did some googling on walking exercise. No harm checking it out anyway. According to www.walking.about.com, "Walking at a moderate pace for 30-60 minutes burns stored fat and can build muscle to speed up your metabolism. Walking an hour a day is also associated with cutting your risk of heart disease, breast cancer, colon cancer, diabetes and stroke. "Hmmm...... never knew walking can bring such benefits, might as well give it a shot. After all, don't think I'll get muscle ache when walking, rite.

Last weekend, I finally got myself an Omron HJ-109 pedometer (RM79.80) , a nifty little gadget that hangs around my waist. It comes with some additional functions besides counting steps like calories burned, distanced walked and also counts aerobic steps too. Also, it comes with a seven days memory function. Did my first walking exercise yesterday, manage to achieve 11,452 steps, walked 4km and burned 265 Kcal! Whoooa!!! Best thing about it is no feeling of lethargic, no muscle ache, no running out-of breath, no risk of knee injury.

Bottom line is, walking doesn't have to be lame or un-cool. It’s the cheapest and most effective way to burn fat. What's cooler than that, rite!

already a year!!

damn!! it's already a year since i last blogged!!!