Looks like CNY is just around the corner. Almost everybody is winding up their businesses especially factory production. With the looming gloomy economic climate, many factories has taken this opportunity to extend the CNY holiday for a week or more in an effort to reduce production overhead cost. Some has even decided to cut employees salary as a move to reduce expenses. Though family reunion dinner celebration is a must, it looks like a mixture of “glad to be still alive but have to tighten belt” to face an uncertain future.

It is unfortunate the world economy has to centre itself on the biggest consumer market namely the USA. Whenever their economy goes down, so does the whole wide world. The cycle of wax and wane of the world economy has a very predictable pattern which no one seems to bother except the academics. It roughly follows a 10 to 11 years of boom and bust cycle. Some scientist even wonders whether it has something to do with the solar cycle activities which also follows a 10-11 year cycle. Strange coincidence indeed. The world’s economy is like a bubble, it just need a flashpoint to trigger it and the house of cards would just come tumbling down. (more…)

Here’s an interesting post in the BU4 community forum about electricity / energy power saving device. I have come across people selling these so called energy saving devices but was not sure of its effectiveness. With the escalating price of petroleum leading to higher cost of using electricity, we can be quite tempted to buy or install some device that would somehow reduce our electric bill. However these devices are over hyped and this is one myth worth busting.
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Was there something wrong this month or was it just my bad luck? The month of May feels like a month of people taking their sweet time to pay back their dues.

Company wise, there are a couple of customers delaying their payment. Personally wise, I have tenant that is now overdue in their rental arrear up to 2-1/2 months worth! And additionally, my AirKu water vending machine was not only broken in once, but twice. Must be the work of the same gang. (more…)

Yeay! Finally, I’m getting a new bed for my bedroom. Lena and I have been sleeping on the floor ala Japanese style for the pass several months. Having shifted our previous bed to the condo for full furnish rental. We had already scouted out the mattress and bed frame at Harvey Norman and just today, it was the last day of sale! Yes, we managed to get 20% off the sales price. (more…)

More hiccups! I would have hoped to have completed all the fixture installation. But unfortunately, the power driller belonging to my electrician, Alan, broke down. There was nothing much he could do without his tools. He did manage to install some of the items like water shower heater, air-conditioner before the power tool finally gave up on him.

Looks like I may have to take one day off from office during the week day to complete the installation of the condo. (more…)

The progress of readying my Condominium in Bukit Jalil for rental has been going on for long enough! These are the risk we have to take if we were to explore the various avenues of creating income. Going into budget overruns and extended renovation time sure really suck your cash flow.

Fortunately for me, I still have sufficient reserves. But I have to keep track of the expenses, because the longer the delay, the more I have to spend. That’s why timing is crucial; being behind schedule makes it tough for my pocket. (more…)