Soo Weng + Family

Soo Weng and her family (husband Peter, Alicia and Michael) are in Australia and have met up with Kin Fong, Foong Peng (Ivy) and SM for lunch to catch up on the latest happenings.

It was good to have them in Melbourne. 

 

Boxing Day STOBA BBQ @ Yarra River bank

Although we had intermittent showers from 11.00am when we started arriving at the BBQ site down by the Yarra we nevertheless had had a fairturn out of the ole faithfuls and the not-so-faithfuls.

We had plenty of food and booze to go around thanks to the contributions from various people. There was the ubiquitous fried mee hoon, congee, BBQ sausages and lamb, glutinous rice (?), rendang, 老鼠粉, bread rolls, 烧肉 (from 新发记) + more 烧肉 from Springvale, VB and Penfolds Koonunga Hill. Special thanks to Richard Leong Choy for his fantastic coffee!

Asia Travel Plans

2012 Travel Plans

Taipei and Taichung  - Eat, sleep 吃喝台湾

Hong Kong

Meizhou and Fenshuicun 梅州梅县汾水村 - my ancestral home

梅县城东

汾水村

下嶺背

曽敏新堂叔

86 753 2652343

杨沁华堂叔姆 

堂弟： 继亮，福亮 （753 2511744），鸿亮

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Info from baidu.com:

百科名片

梅州市隶属中国广东省，1988年设立。东部与福建省交界，南部与广东省潮州市、揭阳市、汕尾市毗邻，西部与广东省河源市接壤，北部与江西省相连。梅州是中国著名的三乡——“文化之乡、华侨之乡、足球之乡”，同时还享有“山歌之乡、金柚之乡、客家菜之乡，单丛茶之乡”美称，梅州同时又是国家历史文化名城、中国优秀旅游城市、中国自驾游最佳目的地、中国十大最具安全感城市、中国十佳绿色环保标志城市、广东首个宜居城乡示范城市。

中文名称： 梅州 外文名称： Meizhou 行政区类别： 市 所属地区： 中国中南 下辖地区： 梅江区、兴宁市、梅县 政府驻地： 梅江区 电话区号： 0753 邮政区码： 514021 地理位置： 广东省东北部

面积： 1.5925万平方公里 人口： 505.28万人(2008年) 方言： 客家话、潮汕话（只限丰顺） 气候条件： 亚热带季风气候 著名景点： 千佛塔、人境庐、雁南飞、雁鸣湖等 机场： 梅县机场 火车站： 梅州火车站 车牌代码： 粤M

东省梅州市梅县城东镇汾水村

镇东5公里，是丘陵盆谷区，塔子坳是该村的最高点。向东溪水流入城东竹洋，汾（谐分）水由此得名。含下、下两村，现有12个村民小组，500户20008人耕地1227亩，主种水稻，兼产黄豆、花生、有泥场、采石、锰矿、石灰等工副业。境内有丰富的石灰石、锰、铅、锌等资源。城东水泥厂、市铅锌矿设在本区。太平天国康王汪海洋与清军作战的塔子坳战场在本区。

Xiamen, Yongding - Fujian Tulou

Jogjakarta & Solo - Borobudur & Mt. Merapi

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Info from Wikipedia:

Mount Merapi, Gunung Merapi (literally Fire Mountain in Indonesian/Javanese), is an active stratovolcano located on the border between Central Java and Yogyakarta, Indonesia. It is the most active volcano in Indonesia and has erupted regularly since 1548. It is located approximately 28 kilometres (17 mi) north of Yogyakarta city, and thousands of people live on the flanks of the volcano, with villages as high as 1,700 metres (5,600 ft) above sea level.

 The mountain was still erupting on 30 November 2010 however due to lowered eruptive activity on 3 December 2010 the official alert status was reduced to level 3.^[2] The volcano is now 2930 metres high^[1], 38 metres lower than before the 2010 eruptions.

Hanoi

Beijing

Inner Mongolia

Building Wealth Beyond This Christmas according to Peter Switzer

Christmas is a time for giving so it's time for yours truly to give away the secrets for building wealth. In reality these gems that help you get richer are not actually secrets - no one has kept them from the population at large. Reality is that most people don't go looking for them.

Step 1

The first step is to look at what's holding you back from seeing your money grow. The answer to this perplexing question is quite simple - it's you! So, the starting point is that you have to start leading yourself to make changes. Without changing yourself, nothing significant happens.

After being honest with themselves and accepting that new attitudes as well as processes have to happen, some people make the decision to find a trustworthy financial adviser.

Yeah, I know some might be saying - that's easier said than done - but I think that is a cop out. There are good doctors and bad doctors and the same goes for accountants, lawyers, plumbers and builders. By the way, many of these people charge more than financial advisers.

But I you want to make your own changes and embrace the processes of change to build wealth, so the following steps will really help.

Step 2

The first thing an adviser does is to ask the client what their goals are. So write your goals down using a timeline to retirement and then come up with an amount you'd like to have when you toss work in. So, if you wrote down a million dollars and you take 5% of that, it means you could have $50,000 a year to live on. This is a base amount and a conservative investment return but it gives you an idea of what you're shooting for.

If you're in your late 40s, then a million or so could be a decent target but I'd be shooting for at least $1.5 million. If you're in your 30s, then take it up to $2 million because inflation undermines the purchasing power of savings.

Your goals should include your desire to own a house and/or investment property and the need to pay school fees and major holidays that could be ahead. Others goals include plans for weddings and higher education for children.

Once you work out your future, then ask the question - am I on track to make it happen?

 The answer is usually no.

One thing an adviser can do is put some figures down - that's what they're trained to do - to show you where you're heading and what you have to do to make it happen. However, if you want to do it yourself and you don't think you can make those calculations, then simply follow these recommendations.

Step 3

You have to do a budget to see where you're spending your money. Then work out how you can cut back on your spending to increase your weekly savings. You have come up with a savings amount, such as $100 a week, which will give you $5,200 a year. This in turn will be invested in shares, an investment property or in paying off your home loan really quickly. This latter strategy is tax effective, as you don't pay capital gains tax on your home.

By the way, there are many ways to increase your savings and they include looking after your stuff so you don't have to buy new replacement things all the time. Buy second hand and buy items such as leather shoes that can be resoled. Also, don't rule out a second job on the weekend or a part-time business.

Remember the people who build wealth better than the average Aussie are exceptional or different people and so they do live a more unusual life.

Don't be afraid to borrow an affordable amount to buy shares or an investment property, as the interest on the loan is tax deductible. Don't get greedy and borrow too much. And work out what you'd do if you lost your job or the stock market fell by 40%.

Step 4

If you want a simple way to build up your wealth then buy a home you want to live in and then use salary sacrifice to build up your super. The experts say to retire on 66% of your final wage before you end work, you need to save 15% of your income in superannuation for 40 years! Most of us have not done this and so salary sacrifice helps us play catch up.

Getting richer is a time and regular process game. I often tell people that if someone saved $2000 a year between the ages of 21 and 30 and made a return of 9% on average, this would turn into over $500,000, even if they stopped at age 30. The snowball effect of compound interest makes this happen. On the other hand, if they stuck to their $2000 saving strategy, the end-amount goes over one million dollars!

Imagine if they actually saved $3,000 - that's $60 a week - and they bumped it up as their wages grew with seniority and promotion.

Of course, there are many ways to build wealth but finding the savings is the smart step. Then you use tried and tested methods, such as buying good quality real estate or great quality stocks that pay handsome dividends.

The main step

Don't get greedy. Don't try to get rich overnight and don't ever forget that the bigger the return offered with investments, the bigger the risk.

The great secrets to getting rich are to get started as soon as possible, create a plan, build up your savings amount, invest in proven assets and stick to the process.

Remember, be different - either pay for great insights and advice or else teach yourself everything you can to build wealth.

As the old saying goes: "seek and you will find".

All the best, to everyone, over Christmas.

Peter Switzer is the founder of the Switzer Super Report, a newsletter and website for self-managed super funds. www.switzersuperreport.com.au

20 Nov lunch

Sunday 20 Nov we go out to Lygon St Carlton to grab a bite. We decide on Zingarella because SM heard over the radio that they cook a pretty decent wood fire pizza. Zingarella sounds like Cinderella but it's not. We order a seafood pasta and a Zingarella wood fire pizza of proscuitto, rucola, parmesan and balsamic glaze. Plus house white + coffee. There are not many diners at this time. Maybe just 10 people on a Sunday afternoon, that will hurt the proprietor. There must be about 40 Italian restaurants on this stretch of Lygon St selling pretty much the same stuff so business is a little slack.

We have our meals al fresco on their sidewalk and watch the people around us. It is 20 C and it is  kicking up a bit of a swirl. We relax and enjoy a nice lunch making small conversations.  

We walk to the nearby Gelatissimo and buy a pistachio + Belgian Chocolate gelato. I ask the server to please place the pistachio on top because I am not a big fan of choc gelato. Sitting in a park bench and thinking I am relaxing and life is ok no matter what ..... We take time out and it is good; just the two of us.

After all 20 Nov always features high on our calendar .....

 

T Shirts

I ordered some t shirts a while ago for this summer..... aviation theme. These I will keep for a while. T shirts are such unique items you will find people wearing t shirts that say a lot about who they are and what they do .....

What are your t shirts like? 

Things not worth a cent

 I was doing some spring cleaning and threw out a bunch of cards + letters I received over the last 5 years. Some of them I am keeping because they naturally mean a lot to me. A lot of people would have things they treasure. A tv show in Australia comes to my mind - American Pickers starring Mike Wolfe and his partner Frank who go around everywhere in USA buying stuff that ordinary Americans keep in their junk yards and sell them for a profit. One will be surprised with what people keep as their treasures. Advertising signs, bikes, spare parts, oil cans, toys, cars, light fittings, spark plugs, juke boxes. Check out their site American Pickers.

Anyway I am keeping 2 notes my ex-boss sent me which clearly are not worth a cent except the words he expressed in his handwritten notes.

 I am also keeping several goodbye cards from my Malaysian and Singaporean co-workers. They gave me the cards when I left for Australia. I do miss these good people.

 And I am keeping these 2 cards. One of them was given to me from my Melbourne office receptionist Janet. Bless her soul she was a kind woman. It says, " To invent an airplane is nothing. To build one is something. But to fly one is everything". Wow.......

Capt Khoo & Angela

 Capt. Khoo and Angela visited us in Oct 2011. We did not have many photos because they were out of the house most of the times to do their travels.

President Obama's visit to Australia

Happy lunch date

BRUNCH AT DEGRAVES ST CAFE OF spinach, cheese, mushrooms and omelet on toasts

A busy Saturday afternoon with lots of locals and tourists taking advantage of the cool Spring day

Picture taken at city square cnr  of Swanston and Colin Sts

SM is happy to see these cup cakes on display

Corrinne May performs Journey.

J O U R N E Y
Written by Corrinne May Ying Foo
Copyright 1999, Corrmay Gourmet Music (ASCAP)
It's a long, long journey
Till I know where I'm supposed to be
It's a long, long journey
and I don't know if I can believe
When shadows fall and block my eyes
I am lost and know that I must hide
It's a long, long journey
Till I find my way home to you

Many days I've spent
Drifting on through empty shores
Wondering what's my purpose
Wondering how to make me strong
I know I will falter I know I will cry
I know you'll be standing by my side
It's a long, long journey
And I need to be close to you

Sometimes it seems no one understands
I don't even know why
I do the things I do
When pride builds me up till I can't see my soul
Will you break down these walls and pull me through?

'Cause it's a long, long journey
Till I feel that I am worth the price
You paid for me on calvary
Beneath those stormy skies
When Satan mocks and friends turn to foes
It feels like everything is out to make me lose control
It's a long, long journey
Till I find my way home to you

Madame I don't eat six days

Northcote House

 The flowers are blooming. This tree at the house next to my brother's has no leaves but just all flowers.

The house next door has an updated weatherboard front section. They recently put in a new rear double- storey home. The new home contrasts with the older style weatherboard so well that I have to record it as I am impressed with the innovative spirit of the owner. It is the best house on the street in my opinion. The house is North facing and so it gets the morning and evening sun. Love it.

STAY HUNGRY, STAY FOOLISH

A great Visionary. A great Inspiration to our generation.

MISCELLANEOUS

PAST FEW DAYS HAVE BEEN FRUITFUL FOR ME ....

Went to United Voice in PJ to review their operation and activities on behalf of a sister-in-law. UV's a self advocacy society of persons with disabilities. They believe in giving their members a voice, an independent voice in daily living and decision-making.

Some members are producing art and crafts (paintings, book marks, greeting cards) and they bake biscuits for sale.

These members are paid a salary and they learn to do a routine, they learn discipline and independence. UV truly does a GREAT and noble job.

I am 3 sleeps away from going home. I bought some shoe bags from Daiso (100 Yen shop) at The Curve. Also some compression bags to help me keep my clothing down in size/volume (but not in weight). Daiso has some great products; all priced at RM5.



I compressed (using a household vacuum cleaner suction) about 12 pieces of cloting into this.

I love wind chimes. Recently I sort of collect them when I come across them for sale.

Darren + family took me out for dinner at Bijan Bar & Restaurant, Jalan Ceylon. Bijan is sesame in Malay. It offers Malay food in a fine dining setting.

The appetizers were ok but we loved their mains. We had rendang tok ayam kampung, kerabu pucuk paku and masak lemak udang tempoyak.

I never tried tok before but it was a beautiful rendang. I have had tempoyak before but found out from Darren that it is fermented durian.