Finally an OAC trip after so long... Although I didn't get to go Kinabalu after so much futile anticipation, at least this Kukup trip made up for some of the disappointment.

Supposed to have 10 of us going because the package is S$750 for up to 10 pax but in the end only 8 of us went (feel sorry of Chay Ngee who last min pull out due to stomachache (...again)). Anyway, Kukup is a fishing village (or used to be one before turning to the more lucrative tourism) at the Southwestern tip of Johore. Quite near Jurong. After some delays at the immigration customs, we took a van there at 8am on Sat morning and reached there well before noon.


"Checked in" to our "Chalet on stilts" and rested for a while. The place is especially clean and new, complete with 2 giants speakers for explosive KTV at night. We took up only 2 out of 3 rooms which had 4 double-decked queen sized mattresses. So one bungalow can probably take up to 20 people or more easily. Windy and spacious, there wasn't much foul smell or anything even though it was low tide. So quite relaxing and at home generally the moment we checked in.

The seafood lunch was decent in terms of taste but kinda inadequate in terms of quantity. Had some "free" rice to hold up our half-satisfied hunger for the moment. We then went to visit the mangrove park (RM5 if you get a Malaysian to buy the tix) and Kelong which was free. Mangrove park.. kinda boring, Kelong... alright if you haven't been to one.


I think overall the trip was a short but really quite relaxing one. No strict itinerary to follow, just chat, eat, gamble the day and nite away. The main highlight for us I think was the BBQ dinner. Quite a good spread of sotong, stingray, chicken wings etc... Best part is, the owner of the house prepared all the cooking for us!! So hassle free, oil free and smoke free.... Chicken wings were awesome. The quantity this time was abundantly sufficient to the point we can't finish the food.

Then there was the fireworks which we bought for RM100. I think for the rest who never really played with fireworks (other than sparklers) before, it was something new. I played with fireworks during CNYs when I visit my grandparents in Selangor so I sort of guided them on what to buy. The girls had more fun than the guys i think. Guys are too "macho" to be excited over fireworks... Haha....

The next morning, unfortunately started rather abruptly with Yupinto's fiancee, Liting, receiving news that her father was admitted to hospital. So Yupinto and her rushed back first on taxi. Eventually, it was relieving to know her dad is not in as serious a condition as we first thought. Or else the holiday would have a bad end to it.

All in all, this was a good break for all of us and for me, before I start work in the coming week. Good to reconnect with these bunch of OAC friends again after so long. Wished more of the OAC bunch were able to come but there's always next time. Kudos to Yupinto for organizing!!

Photo Album:
http://picasaweb.google.com/kangwei.here/Kukup280608
http://picasaweb.google.com/yupinto/Kukup
Videos:
http://www.sgmahjong.com/MOV01429.zip

    

Having a 1 month break gave me some time to sort out things I had in my storeroom. Turns out there are some stuff in there that my dad have kept for ages!!! Some of them are real artifacts worth keeping but some are karang-guni-rejects standard.

Check them out....

1) Analogue video camera
Apparently there is a footage of me when I was still a baby captured using this but till date, no one has seen the footage yet because we need to use this camera to play the old old film tape. I think we can't find the battery or the cables for this camera to play it.




2) YASHICA film camera
This is the camera that took all of my baby photos. Wonder if I can still buy the battery at Peninsula Plaza. Anyone any idea?



3) My mum's Accordian
I wonder if there's anymore of this accordian in Singapore. Maybe it's an antique worth thousands!! My grandpa bought it for my mum. Still works!!



4) Typewriter
This isn't that old but still.... something rare these days. Need to replace the ink ribbon.
 

5) Black and White TV
I tried to turn it on but only got sound. Sadly no image. Dunno if it's fixable. Uses antenna. Wow....



6) 3M Portable OHP
This is like a toy.... It can transform from this briefcase....


Taa daaa.....to this OHP!!!

Apparently my dad says in the early days, they carry this on the PLANE to make presentations on transparencies!!

7) Oscilloscope
Don't ask me how I got this....


It was quite satisfying to dig out all the stuff in my storeroom and throw away some of the useless stuff. I would recommend you to do it some time when you can.

There are more but some are classified stuff.... haha.... just joking... next time then show... Anyone can do a valuation on these "antiques"?

Inspired after reading the book "Rich Dad, Poor Dad", I went for this Cashflow 101 Workshop by an entrepreneurship club last night. Cashflow is actually a board game created by the author of the same book, Robert  T. Kiyosaki.

The attendance was a little less than 100, comprising of mostly the working class. I was surprised at the number of club members who turned up to support the workshop. Ratio was about 3-4 attendees to each club member. 1st impression of the initial part of the workshop was that it felt like a game show, with the MC inviting the audience to applaud for any and everything.

"Give a round of applause to all of you for attending... *Clap* *Clap* *Clap*..."
(After asking for foreign friends in the audience...)
"Give a round of applause to our friends from Malaysia ... *Clap* *Clap* *Clap*..."
"Give a round of applause to our friends from Vietnam... *Clap* *Clap* *Clap*..."
etc...
(After a story about her mum and her going shopping...)
"Give a round of applause to my mum... *Clap* *Clap* *Clap*..."

Wow... This feels so artificial. But maybe it's just me, because everyone else around me seems so enthu about it. Maybe I've been in the army for too long and this was the norm in the civi or corporate world nowadays. I've heard from my friend about attending some financial course where the audience are super enthu about answering the speaker's every question with a resounding "YESSS" or "NOOO".

Anyway, I think the more interesting part of the workshop was when we really start to play the Cashflow 101 game. Attempting to simulate every financial aspect of our working life, there were everything from stocks, properties, spending money on "toys", getting retrenched and even having a baby (I had a baby at the age of 60 in the game). The game revolves around a balance sheet where we try to increase our "passive income" so that it exceeds our monthly expenses. When that happens, you can move out of the RAT RACE, and move into the FAST Track.

Imagine if we really are able to do that in our real life. Having enough passive income to cover our expenses. That means we can practically rot at home, without changing our lifestyle. Going to work would then be a past time instead of being a burden. It was not as easy as it sound though. We played for an hour to simulate our age from 25 to 65. At the ripe old age of 65, I retired with only $5000 and no passive income. Pathetic...

But I think having read the book, I do appreciate what the author was trying to convey. If we depend solely on our employment income, we will not be able to attain the "nirvana" state of "financial freedom". Of course, this don't mean we should dive into the next bank or brokerage firm we find and "hantam" our life savings in stocks and shares. In fact, with some research, you should find that property would provide more stable passive income, though it requires considerably more capital.

The science of investing surely needs much more study and research. I've only just began my financial education journey as I begin my working life. Hopefully, after gaining more financial knowledge, I would figure out how to get our of the RAT RACE.