Rated 7.0 out of 10 by Blogged.com

Thanks to the anonymous blog reader who submitted my blog for review.

This blog has been "blogged". Got an email yesterday that my blog has been reviewed and it got 7.0 out of 10 by Blogged.com

The evaluation is based on the following criteria: Frequency of Updates, Relevance of Content, Site Design, and Writing Style.

Can view it at here

A total of 18,432 are listed under the "Personal Blog" category, and being rated 7.0 are those who are ranked between 5,926-7,667. A lot more for me to improve on, especially in terms of site design, writing style etc.

A check at some of other blogs that I know:-
Kenny Sia - 7.4
EducationMalaysia - 7.5

Thanks to all my blog readers for the support!

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Chen Chow's Other Posts
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Would encourage any of my blog readers to share with me any event that you come across. As long as the event/activity/initiative is education/charity/youth oriented and is not-for-profit, I would be more than happy to post it to share

Feel free to quote any post within my blog, as long as you link it back here. Sharing is always a good virtue. :)

How my blog does in April

It's May 2008 already. Time really flies... Happy Labour Day to everyone!!!

Since it is another month goes by, I guess I should share here on how my blog progresses. Thanks a lot to everyone for having visiting my blog. Am always surprised when a lot of my friends, whom I haven't told them about my blog, do know about it.... Amazed by how the information spreaded.

Thanks to a lot of friends for putting my link at your site.

My main reason of blogging, guess as you can see, is about sharing on various events/activities that I know is happening, and perhaps also on certain news/information. Would stay focused to areas of my interest - education, youth, charity, and perhaps a sprinkler of stuff in Malaysian politics and economy. Also on various organizations that I am involved in. :) and also for my employer lar. :)

The growth of my blog has consistently amazed me... I know that for May, it is gonna to be tough for me to get more people to come over to read my blog, since guess a lot of my friends do know about my blog already. :)

Total Visits:-
Dec 2007 - 1391
Jan 2008 - 2149 (up 54%)
Feb 2008 - 3181 (up 48%)
Mar 2008 - 4290 (up 35%)
Apr 2008 - 5283 (up 23%)

If goes by magnitude wise, it is going up by about 1,000 a month. So, guess for me to continue the trend, I would have to bring total visits to about 6,200. That's a hefty 200 visits a day.... My April figure is also brought up by early April, when a lot of people been scanning my blog for updates on US Universities Admission news.

Total Hits:-
Dec 2007 - 2244
Jan 2008 - 3267 (up 46%)
Feb 2008 - 4642 (up 42%)
Mar 2008 - 6658 (up 43%)
Apr 2008 - 8182 (up 23%)

Hits/Visit:-
Dec 2007 - 1.61
Jan 2008 - 1.52
Feb 2008 - 1.46
Mar 2008 - 1.55
Apr 2008 - 1.55

Guess can safely say that it is gonna hovers around 1.5 lar.

Again, thanks everyone for visiting my blog. I know that this stat does not mean much, but it is a motivation for me to keep on blogging!

Do feel free to leave feedback for me!


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Click here to read more of Chen Chow's posts

Would encourage any of my blog readers to share with me any event that you come across. As long as the event/activity/initiative is education/charity/youth oriented and is not-for-profit, I would be more than happy to post it to share!

Year of the Rat

It's The Year of the Rat already!!! Time really flies... I'm 27 already also.. It just seems that soon, I would leave my youth and my being in generation of 20s.. :(

It just flew by so fast.

What should be my resolutions for this year?

I guess first and foremost is definitely to reduce weight. That would take away the excess of several kgs... A few kgs? More like a lot of kgs, but guess lets try to take away as many kgs as I can. I chip off 2-3 kg in January, so hopefully, I won't gain it back during this CNY. Am still hoping to reach 80kg by June. Am around 84kg now.

In June, I would still have my CFA Level 3. So, would keep my fingers' crossed that I would be able to pass it. Really hope to go through all of those at one go.

Come March 1st, hopefully, I would be able to get promotion for my current job, to move on to the next level, as Consultant.

Of course, in this new year, I would want to have more time for myself to relax and enjoy myself. Youth would not wait for me, so I better make better use of it, while it is still here (or it has gone)

This CNY, somehow seems like there is less firework. I'm biased. Am based on what I could hear from my house. :P Is it due to stricter enforcement? Is it due to the economic situation?

Lets hope that my country - Malaysia, would be peaceful and able to develop progressively. Hopefully, that the upcoming General Election would be smooth and Barisan National, especially MCA would be able to win convincingly. Hopefully, MCA would be able to do better than the last General Election, under the capable leadership of YB Dato' Seri Ong Ka Ting, a very sincere and humble leader.

To everyone, Happy Chinese New Year!!!


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Click here to read more of Chen Chow's posts

Happy Chinese New Year

To all readers of my blog,
Happy Chinese New Year and Gong Xi Fa Cai!!!

Thanks for visiting my blog!

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Click here to read more of Chen Chow's posts

4 Months Blogging

Time really flies. It has been almost 4 months since I first blogged. My first blog was on 4th October 2007. It is a good 4 months since then.

Do I enjoy the experience of blogging? Definitely, yes~!

I have also seen the tremendous growth of visitors to my blogs.

Some of the statistics include:-
Month Days Visits Hits Visits/day Hits/day Hits/Visit Growth(Visit) Growth(Hits)
Oct-07 28 347 708 12 25 2.0 N/A N/A
Nov-07 30 1443 2144 48 71 1.5 288% 183%
Dec-07 31 1391 2244 45 72 1.6 -7% 1%
Jan-08 31 2149 3267 69 105 1.5 54% 46%

Managed to ramp up my hits in January finally, by a good 50% or so, after a pale December, which shows a slight decline compared to November.

For the last week of January, it is even more fantastic. It has an average visit of 94 and average hits of 139. That's another 30-40% increase from average January.

Hopefully, by February, total visits would be able to cross 100 and total hits would be able to cross 150. Seems like a growth plan. :)

It is interesting to see many people come and visit my blogs. I know my blog is boring, but hopefully it does come with some information for those who are in need. :)

A US Program Junior Got Lymphoma

Life is really unpredictable. Just barely a day after the funeral of my cousin, I heard of another bad news. This is of a junior of mine, from ATU 7, a JPA Scholar who went to study in U.S.

He has successfully graduated from U.S. and eventually managed to get a place for PhD to study in University of London.

During the medical check up, he was diagnosed to have lymphoma. Things are just so unpredictable. He is undergoing chemotheraphy now. Really hope that he would be able to recover from it. Life is really unpredictable. Really hope that he would stay on and fight determinedly against the battle of lymphoma!

(For privacy purpose, I do not disclose his name here. If you happen to be from his batch, do contact me via email, and I would share with you a little more.)

Cousin passed away due to leukemia

Life is really unpredictable, and often things just turned out not what we wanted to be. On 22nd January 2008, my cousin, Chun Chong lost in his determined battle against leukemia, and passed away on that day. There went the future of a very bright and determined youth, who had just a few years ago, was granted JPA Scholarships to study in Germany.

Eventually, he never managed to make that journey to Germany. He got leukemia when he was in preparatory program, and was hospitalized for many months. Managed to fight through the battle of sickness, he managed to go back to Multimedia University to do his foundation program. But unfortunately, his health turned bad again in May 2007 and finally lost his life on 22nd January 2008. He had been fighting determinedly to recover from his sickness.

I can definitely sense the sadness in my uncle and aunt, who really gave their very best in taking care of him. That's the beauty of parents' undivided love for their children. However, things are just not what we can predict.

He managed to write a will to his family before he passed away (The letter was only found after he passed away). He passed on his laptop and books to his younger sister. He asked his family members to eat vegetables, fruits and drink more water. He asked his family not to feel too sad about him.

Am very sad about this. Hope that my uncle, aunt and family would be able to go through this. I was able to be back in Parit Buntar for the prayers last night and the final prayers this morning before he was brought to Taiping for his funeral. Condolence to my uncle, aunt and family.

The link for Chun Chong's blog

Attached is an article on Kwong Wah Jit Poh

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本报独家报导惊动各界　亲友纷往丧府慰问
二零零八年一月二十三日 晚上十一时四十四分


（巴里文打23日讯）凭着过人的意志力和斗志，与血癌病魔拼搏了2年半的时间；一度他战胜了，再次重新回到了校园重拾书本，不料，老天爷却与他开了一个人生中最大的玩笑，于去年5月份开始，再次要他折腾于化疗的痛苦过程，杨俊忠终究是不曾放弃过，甚至连医生亦不愿意为他进行最后一次的化疗前提下，他毅然坚定意志地说：“我要与血癌放手一搏”！

然而杨俊忠最终还是于昨日上午8时30分，离开了最疼爱他的亲人以及关心他的朋友们和读者们。

本报在获晓此消息后，第一时间前往丧府采访，详细的独家报导于昨晚刊登出来后，即惊动了原本祈愿俊忠经已痊愈的热心人士、朋友、同窗同学、社团领袖等，纷纷于昨日前往丧府慰问。

坚持到底精神可嘉

俊忠的生前同窗友好和师长，阅报后获知噩讯，纷纷到来瞻仰俊忠的遗容，惟俊忠所留下的坚持到底精神，会永永远远鼓励大家积极面对人生，不管是再大的风浪和挑战，也要勇敢地面对和克服。

感激院方等热心人士　杨锡初铭感五中

其父杨锡初向本报指出，这些日子以来，院方医务人员无微不至的照顾，国州议员、学校、华团领袖和热心人士，有者甚至是素昧平生的，也亲自送来善款，在俊忠病逝的消息传出后，也赶紧到来慰问的义举，深深令他感动。

他也通过本报向广大关心俊忠的读者们和朋友们致谢，也感激本报这数年来多番详尽的跟进报导，以及广大热心读者的捐助，引起了各地人士的关注，他及全家人都铭感五中。

《好人好事》雪中送炭

他赞扬本报数十年以来，除了为读者们提供翔实的报导外，也积极推动慈善公益活动，其中《好人好事》是最有公信且筹款率最高的，病人得以从中受惠，俊忠就曾在本报的《好人好事》中重拾生命。

自小就非常乖巧和成绩不错的杨俊忠，就读巴里文打新华小学，曾担任过学长团团长，以及当选全校男模范生，续往吉辇中学深造时，成绩和课外活动表现依然标青，活跃于校内的资源中心和红新月会，中三那年的大马初中评估考试，也考获8科A的特优成绩，是师长们和同学们疼惜和爱戴的好好学生。

Youth '08 & MCA 9 Point Party Platform Expo

Since Friday, I have been at PWTC. Was helping out at the JPA Scholarships booth for MCA, to share some of my experience with fellow Malaysians who want to know more about the scholarships. Haven't met that many interested students. Occasionally, there would be interested parents coming along to ask questions.

Why I am doing this? To me, this is a good way for me to give back to community. I am lucky to get scholarships to study abroad, so now, it is a great way for me to give back to community. Why shouldn't I? After all, I have spent so much of taxpayers' money on my education!

MCA has put up 35 booths on the 9 Point Party Platform, to showcase various aspects that MCA has put in efforts over the past few years. A long list of MCA leaders have visited the booths, and often, they really spend time at the booth, chatting with us and try to find out more from us!

YB Dato' Seri Ong Ka Ting, MCA President led a delegate to visit the booth on Friday afternoon, around 5pm or so. Dato' Seri did spend a few minutes at the booth to know more about the JPA Scholars. Dato' Seri even told us that he had sent 1,773 emails to Chinese JPA Scholars to reach out to them! That's no easy feat! Dato' Seri Ong Ka Ting has definitely put in a lot of hard works in ensuring that JPA Scholarships are obtainable by fellow Malaysians, including Chinese community. He has brought up suggestions to Cabinet and eventually accepted, including the idea of providing guarantee JPA Scholarships for those students with at least 10A1s and with family income less than RM1,500. Dato' Seri Ong Ka Ting fought this policy, not just for the Chinese Community, but for all Malaysians, irrespective of races!

Besides Dato' Seri Ong Ka Ting, other VIPs who have visited the booth, included YB Datuk Liow Tiong Lai, YB Datuk Ong Tee Keat, YB Dato' Ng Yen Yen, YB Dato' Fu Ah Kiow, YB Senator Datuk Lee Sing Chooi, YB Wong Nai Chee etc.

Talking about this event, Youth'08, it is a great initiative by Youth '08 led by Joel Neoh. I got the opportunity to meet up with him during the Traffic Jam (the bloggers' gathering). Over there, Timothy Tiah, Founder of Nuffnang was there too!

Besides these celebrities, I got the opportunities to chat with Su Ann , whom I have chatted before on Gtalk several times, but never really chatted face-to-face. She reminded me that we have met before during Malaysia Student Leaders Summit. Sorry, Su Ann (or fondly known as pinkpau) for not able to recognize you. But hey, I did drop by your blog station at PWTC leh! :P Good Luck on your university applications~!

Christopher Tock from UKEC was there too, and had a great chat with him. Met Nicholas Chay, who was formerly from Accenture and is now with Nuffnang! Thanks to Ern Sheong for dropping by too! Saw Kenny Sia there, but didn't get the chance to approach him.

Guess I must have left out some names of people I have met. Really sorry.

I would also like to thank a long list of JPA Scholars who have willingly volunteered to be at the JPA Scholarships booth, as well as sharing on stage. Thanks a lot!

Thanks a lot to Kok Siong, as well as those from Lifelong Learning, led by Quek Ngee Meng, Sue, Hellen, Mavis etc.

10 years since left Malaysia

"10 years since left Malaysia"...

That's not for me...at least, I haven't lived abroad for anywhere near 10 years...

Today, 7th January 2008 is the 10th year anniversary for Jiin Joo . I assume it would be similar as well for others like Ying Ying, Mean Yeit, Chieh Suang and many other my grand seniors, especially those from RJ.

Time really flies. I would strongly encourage you guys, especially those who know Jiin Joo, or you have heard about him, to read his blog post. Jiin Joo is a guy who has been a great role model for many. From Hua Chong Junior College, he moved to Carnegie Mellon University to Stanford University to Amazon.com and then back to Singapore Computer System and now Infocomm Development Authority.

These bunch of seniors (or I should call them grand seniors), because they are really 2 batches my seniors, and that's how we call them during our ASEAN Scholars day.

Reflecting back on what Jiin Joo wrote, my 1st journey out was on 21st January 2000 (that's about 8 years ago). Time really flies... :)

And similar as what Jiin Joo wrote, his first flight was on his flight to Pittsburg. Mine was on 20th August 2001, for my flight to Ithaca, New York, where Cornell is.

Time really flies. The last 8 years have been exciting. Many things that I have never expected to happen, has happened.

Many things were beyond my expectations.

Before I left for Cornell, I would never imagine meeting any Nobel Prize Winners. But today, looking back, I have met quite a few. Including Professor David Lee , who used to sit in my Physics 213 lecture. At one point, I even thought that how come this teaching assistant is so old. Only much later did I know that he was actually Nobel Prize Winner for Physics for 1996.

Other Nobel Prize Winners that I have chance to cross path while in Cornell, include Shirin Ebadi - Nobel Peace Prize 2003 , Jody Williams - Nobel Peace Prize 1997 , Joseph Stiglitz - Nobel Prize for Economics 2001 etc.

That's definitely interesting, and beyond my imagination. Last year, back in Malaysia, during Khazanah Global Lectures, I managed to listen to Joseph Stiglitz again, as well as 2 other very prominent Nobel Prize Winners. Kofi Annan - Nobel Peace Prize 2001 and Muhammad Yunus - Nobel Peace Prize 2006

All those, might be just a meeting of an hour or two, but definitely significant. Something that before I made that maiden journey to Singapore 8 years ago, I would never have expected it. I wouldn't say that it is because of my studies at Raffles Junior College, that opened my doors to all of these, but I would say that a combination of various factors, and definitely include my days in Raffles Junior College did shape my future.

Okie. Would blog more later on. My life after SPM is not just on those Nobel Prize Winners. That's definitely just a little part, just that somehow I started on it, and I would let it stay there. Would blog on many other more interesting experiences on other occasions..

Have to get back to work.. :(

5th January 2008

Still not sure how long more my posting in Singapore would be, so guess should make full use of it. :)

Today, had lunch with Siaw Ling. Having known her for many years, this afternoon was actually the first time met her. Had lunch at NUS Arts Canteen, after met her at the bus stop at NUS Central Library. The canteen at NUS has quite a number of stalls, although not many open on the Saturday.

After that, Siaw Ling is very nice to walk me to Engineering Auditorium, for the StartUp @ Singapore's talk. Would blog on this talk further in one of the next blog posts. It was an interesting talk. Met Sue Huey, one of the Malaysians from Taiping, who has gone on a NUS-Silicon Valley program, and have involved in some VC company and also some initiatives in Vietnam. That's fantastic.

Yee Hoong and Howard went as well. Yee Hoong is on his transit in Singapore.

So, after that, we went to Howard's place at NUS. Spent an hour or so, and then we took a cab to Somerset. After putting Yee Hoong's luggage there, we went walking down to Paragon. Actually not too far from my place. About 10 minutes walk. Had dinner at a place called "My Mum's Cuisine". Not too bad, although they served tea very slowly. And apparently, free-flow of tea is only for hot tea. If you order tea with ice, you don't get refill. :(

Then, we walked down past Tangs, and took MRT from Orchard to Clarke Quay. Showed Yee Hoong there, especially on the Reverse Bungie jump. Of course, we didn't take it. And then, we went walking around the area. It seemed quite crowded, although it is mainly caucasian.

From there, we walked towards Boat Quay. There were a lot of restaurants there, but business was slow there. It was about 11pm. So, not sure whether at dinner time, the place would be crowded. But the way it seemed, it would be expensive there.

Taking a cab back. We spent an hour at my place, and took a couple hours of nap. Had breakfast with Yee Hoong at 4am at a mamak stall near my place. After that, Yee Hoong left for airport.

Yee Hoong , an ATU junior, who has really been making full use of his opportunities at Northwestern University. It is interesting to hear him involved in Engineering Students Council and many other activities there, including research as well. That's very good. He is looking at research opportunities in Germany, as well as China Synergy Programme . Keep up the good work!

2nd time in Gym

After my first gym experience on Christmas day at Banyan Condo, today is my first time checking out the gym at Somerset Orchard. Thanks to Chieh Suang, Lin Lee and Jiin Joo on the encouragement!

Yes, would try to cut down my weights, at least partially through gym, and also through taking care on my food intake.

If I am not wrong, cutting down 7000 calories in total, would cut 1kg.

Today's exercise cut down about 250 calories as well. Did 25 minutes of fast walking (won't say very fast too lar, on average around 5 km/hr to 5.5 km/hr, and did a 10 minute cycling. My cycling of 10 minutes is about 5.7km.

Hopefully, I would be resolute enough to keep up on exercises, to reduce my weights, and hopefully in the long run, improve my health.

On a side note, this morning, nice to have breakfast with Mean Yeit (who came visiting Singapore), Jiin Joo and Chieh Suang. After that, Jiin Joo and Chieh Suang came visit my condo. Had chats in my room, the roof top swimming pool area, as well as during desserts. 3 of them are definitely fantastic seniors, who were same batch as Ying Ying (i.e. 2 batches my seniors). Mean Yeit, Chieh Suang and Ying Ying were from Raffles Junior College, so my direct seniors; whereas Jiin Joo was from Hua Chong Junior College.

Place I Stay in Singapore

Since last Saturday, I have moved over to Somerset Orchard .

It is located within 3-4 minutes walk away from Somerset MRT, which is just 1 stop away from Orchard MRT, and it is on Orchard Road.

My previous accommodation was at Banyan Condo. It is at Pasir Panjang on Chwee Chian Road.

I would say that both of the accommodation are great places, with each of them has its pros and cons.

Somerset definitely is better in terms of connectivity, especially on MRT access, although it is much further from my client site. In terms of food, Orchard Road definitely has a lot more choices, but that also means that there is higher tendency to go for more expensive food. :)

In terms of maintenance, would say that Somerset ones are better. They come daily, except Sunday.

On room size, then I would say that Banyan Condo is about double the size of Somerset, although the air-cons at Banyan Condo is definitely very old and occasionally with cockroach too.

Banyan Condo has much bigger swimming pool too, although I won't complain on the roof top swimming pool of Somerset. Both have very low density of occupants, so both are very quiet.

In terms of gym, Somerset would have it bigger and also, it has a TV, which would distract my attention when I exercise. That's good, as I won't feel as much the tiredness, as I can watch news while exercising.

Welcome 2008!

Good Bye 2007, and Welcome 2008!

One more year older....I'm 27...wow...getting older. :) Time really flies...

How's 2007? Guess ups and downs... Certain good aspects, and of course several downs as well.

Would 2008 be better? Of course, everyone hopes so. Just that would it be better? That's the bigger question, right?

Several main aims for 2008:-
1. Obtain my promotion to consultant for Accenture (Hopefully March Promo lar, although I know it is tough)
2. Pass my Level 3 of CFA (This is challenging too, especially since the books are accumulating dust, and Level 3 going to be tough, but it's the last round. :))
3. Reduce my weight... hopefully would be able to cut 6kg to 80kg... (This is challenging)..

Guess enough on aims, or else, I am not going to meet it.

Essentially, hope to develop myself professionally and personally. Hope to chart my development, so that I would be ready at the next level, especially with me inching nearer to the age bracket of 30.

theCicak eBook

For those of you who haven't read it, you should really download the eBook from theCicak on a bunch of unsung hero out of theCicak 50 Years 50 Heroes competition.

Congratulations to:-

First place: Debbie Wong who wrote on Sarah Lasung. Read it here
Second place: Gabrielle Chong Yong Wei who wrote on Ping Xuen . Read it here
Third place: Clement Chan who wrote on Brandon Chan . read it here

Gabrielle also won the People's Choice Award.

Heartfelt thanks to Yee Hoong for writing this

Flu

Not sure why, but since this evening, I have been saddled with a flu and a little feverish. Not sure how it started, but it seems to make me feel weak. Should be fine. No worry, but it has been quite some time I get hit by general sickness and now this is hitting me...

Hope I would recover soon :)

Am In Singapore

Guess after writing a lot about all those issues happening...Let me write on myself..

I am now based in Singapore, on a 2-month project here. Would be based mainly on Raffles City Tower, Accenture HeadQuarter (on top of City Hall MRT Station), and also at Ayer Rajah Crescent, where the client is.

For accommodation, I am staying at a cozy condo, called Banyan Condo at Chwee Chian Road (off Pasir Panjang Road). It is very hard to get taxi to come here, as literally, I have to flag down 3-4 taxis before one know how to get here.

Overall, life in Singapore is not too bad...It has been interesting project, although I guess it is going to be challenging. It is going to be great learning experience for me.

What should I blog?

Since this is my personal blog, what should I blog on? I have been asked by many or given comments that my blog is too dry.. Nothing fancy.. Just normal posts...

Some do come by to read about news or event announcements...

Some, I am not sure why they come in... :P

But guess, this is my portal, so I think it would be on sharing what is in my mind... What I care about...Events that are happening around in Malaysia mainly and the world, events/announcements that I think I could help do some public service announcement to promote it, and also on any random stuff that I can get my hands on..

Do hope to see more people leave comments... It is always nice to see people read and respond to!

Busy working

It is Saturday night and I'm not going anywhere and stuck at home....Sigh..Sorry friends that I couldn't make it to Velvet with those BUM Activities team people, as well as to Laundry (Sorry Jien Sern, Rashid etc for your birthday party)...

Had to work.. Shouldn't have to sound so negative. After all, it is very interesting work.. To those who want to know what I am working on... Nice try :) I can't tell you :P

Today lunch time, went to Ifi's open house. It was nice there, meeting a bunch of colleagues from my previous project. Nice to enjoy the delicacy and also iSqueeze. That is a good relaxation.

Munir, sorry that I couldn't attend your open house. Have too much work to work on.

Sunday - working in KLCC office... of course, would have lunch..Thanks Chiew Yen and Kem Wui for coming all the way to KLCC to accommodate me.