Countdown 2009

Pheww, for the organinising committee of this countdown party, we can finally have a peaceful sleep. My "investigation" revealed that a majority of us, yours truly included, have been having sleepless night for the few days leading up to the countdown party. There were so many last minutes loose end to tie up and finally, it was all system go and whether we did a good job or not, it is for the participants to judge themselves, though I must say that those who knows how to party, have a good time and those who are still shy, there is always next year.

I didn't have opportunity to snap pictures, but I do know that Zafri, Venu, Tony and a few others took loads of photos. So, while waiting for the photos, I will attempt to capture some of the moments of last night in here.

Before I do that though, I think our Event Head, Ms Agnes Lim deserved to be awarded a medal for doing a great job, she was the busiest person yesterday night and doing 1001 things, without which, many of the things would not have gone so smoothly. Her kids, Michelle and Andy manned the reception. Also, she prepared the finger foods when the caterer was delayed by an accident. Organising the event, taking the lead in the party and many many other things that I didn't notice personally but I know she did it, out of passion, responsibility and love for the community. A big bravo Agnes (you are staying on permanently on this job, I'd say)

Of course, the rest of the organising committee for job greatly done, I will list here and any good Glencovers should thank them when you all see them during your evening walk, gym time and whatnots.

a) Mary Westholt - for wrapping the presents and making the whole presentation looked like a million dollars!!! And walking around the neighbourhood with Sheila selling the tickets and promoting the event.




b) Nicky and Doris - for running up and down to buy things, get things organised, leading some of the games etc.

c) Mary Wee - for arranging the presents for the carollers.

d) Sheila - for aggressively promoting the event and selling the ticket, at the same time assisting Mary for presents et al.

e) Tony, Dahlia, Penny, Albert, Padma, Jeff and Cathy - for assisting in organisation of the event.

And a few others who chipped in but probably skipped my mind, of course, the things everyone mentioned above did was not limited to that stated, it was definitely more than that, I am just listing what little I can remember. Of course, not forgetting the sponsors for the presents, Ganesh & Prames, Rajan, Syed & Sharifah and yours truly lah of course.

The event started around 10.30 with speech from Penghulu. Then some game, some lucky draws and we were at the eve of the year already. A quick countdown by Nicky and lighting of fireworks, again, sponsored by Ganesh and Prames. Everything goes so fast that I don't really recall the chronicle of events, suffice to say that it went as well as I could wish for and I am really going to let the picture tell the stories, later, when I get the photos, of course.

But some of the guys stayed on after the event proper, I was with them until 4.00 a.m and I think, most of them would have watched the dawn of a new year by the riverside as it was only 2 hours to go for that view. We shall know later.

Well, that's about all that I am going to write about this party, until I remember more. I do hope everyone enjoyed themselves.

Security Issue - Tony's Response

My good neighbour Tony is an avid angler/fisher/fish catcher. Apparently, he has seen his share of outsiders in the precinct in unearthly hours and following was his comment to the security issue posted earlier (it can be found under the main post too) - I am reproducing what he saw and along with his suggestions that I totally agree.

Quote

tony wee has left a new comment on your post "Security Issue":

Yes, yes Thomas. I agree 100%. The tight security is one reason we bought into this community, but recently there have been many "friends" who come fishing at the pier. sometimes overnight.

Perhaps one way is to insist that all who come in are not only registered, but that the host must stay with the "guests" all the time.

Another point to note is that the pier is often left very messy after their fishing session, and I have seen them climbing into the residents' boats. If they are residents and children of residents, we can always talk to them, but being strangers, its more difficult. Hope the Glencove CEO is reading this blog.

Unquote

I share Tony's sentiment and now, knowing that they don't even have respect for resident's property when they are guests, do we still want to be lenient? What if they are no more resident's friends or if someone posed as resident's friends? It is food for thought and we are the long term resident here, our collective decision in this matter is crucial to determine what kind of neighbourhood we actually want??

Security Issue

The people in Glenmarie Cove really knows how to party and have a good time. One after another, we have drinking, eating, singing, jamming, gossiping, story telling and whatnots. A fine example of community living at it best. Slowly but surely, most of the main residents are getting to know each other pretty well and glad to note that, most do get along pretty amicably too, except for a few, which is common, as perfection is an ongoing process, if it is already perfect, then there is nothing to pursue anymore, right?

Well, during the parties, where I am pretty much a listener, I noted that many residents noticed that recently, there has been many outsiders coming and going at our precinct at their whims and fancy. Standards of security seemed to be going down. There has to be some sort of control to stop outsiders from coming in by just saying they are visiting a friend, especially at unearthly hours.

Even personally, today, I got back from a function in KL and reached the first guardhouse around 11.50 p.m. In front of me, there was a motorcycle. I saw the guard pointing to the Sri Santai but the motorcycle just turned left, without registering. I wind down my window and asked the guard, who were the two people. He told me that they were the friends of some residents, coming in to FISHING!! Apparently, he must know them, otherwise, how would he know they are just coming for FISHING?


I told the guard, why are they not registering at the counter Sri Santai? He immediately talked into his walkie talkie to ask the 2nd guard at the second guardhouse to turn them back to register.

My grouse now is this :-

At 11.45 p.m, can a visitor just be let in without verification with the resident? can the "visitor" just mention to go fishing and they are friends of A resident and be let in? It is fine if residents don't want their visitors to be hampered, but at 11.45 p.m?? Shouldn't the guard at least be calling the resident to verify and get the resident to vouch for this visitors? They are not even really visiting the resident but coming in to FISH, on the pretext that the resident is waiting for them. I think late night visitors should be subjected to more stringent procedure and may even need the resident to vouch PERSONALLY, or pre-alert the guards on late night visitors.

Also, what about the overnight visitors? (Taking this two fellows on motorcyle, if they are fishing, they would be "stay" overnight? Are we sure they are just "fishing"? Do we want to care?) Shouldn't the security be informed too by the residents? At least as a courtesy to other neighbours. We are all sharing the same precinct. Do we really want to wait for something untoward to happen before we put in all the precautionary deterrents? Do the residents want to cry over spilled milk?

I have also noticed on a few occasions that contractors (I am assuming it is contractor) that just come in, passed the first guardhouse and proceeded to the second guardhouse, without going to Sri Santai either. Then, they will wait at the second guardhouse for the security guard to open the boomgate for them. What I am not pleased about is that the guard DO open the door for them, probably they know each other well but procedure is procedure and it is put there for a reason! Start bending rules and regulations, that is where the problem all starts. On many occasions too, I observed that people leaving in cars and motorcycles waited at the second guardhouse for the security guard to open the boom gate for them. Meaning, they didn't register too, because otherwise, they would have their own touch and go key to slot in to open the gate!

I will definitely highlight this to the management and the security company, and our penghulu, after hearing it from fellow residents and observing it myself too. Most of the people in Glenmarie Cove are bought in the security and leisure lifestyles offered here. If we want to have strangers loitering around our neighbourhood, we don't have to pay a premium for our property and monthly security fees to get that. Any taman will have strangers loitering around anytime of the day and we can get that for free elsewhere for that matter, why pay for it?

Discipline has been wanting, rules has been bent, it is high time things are being righted. It is really a lovely neighbourhood with lovely people and we really don't wish to have any untoward incident to mar such a blessed place. Some residents might not like a strict enforcement of rules but if the majority requested so, the minority has to follow, that is called democracy and majority rules. The interest of the majority has to come first, I guess, though it sounded selfish but we just couldn't risk polluting a well just because some people refuse to take joint care of it? Granted, we are not under siege but everything starts small, to snowball into something that might be regretted later on. Nip it at the bud, like our penghulu always advised us.

Accolades

My humble apologies for missing the important mention of people who contributed their time and energy to make each of our event a memorable one.

Special thanks to :-

The event chairperson, Agnes, Santa Nicky, who have to wear a personal sauna, Uncle Joe and Auntie Stella for hosting the brady bunch every weekend and earlier this evening, Mrs Maria Ng, the choir master, Uncle Joe again, for guitar and lead singer, Clarisa Ng (Capt's daughter) who played the violin, Andy (Agnes' son) for chauffering the Santa, Mary Westholt for contribution, Mary Wee for the poem.

Also, must thank the hosts for participating in our inaugural carolling event :-

a) Mr Jason and Ms Ann
b) Mr Saran and Ms Anita
c) Mr Tony and Ms Mary
d) Mr Jeff and Ms Cathy
e) Mr Rama and Ms Viji (who is in India)
f) Mr Joe and Ms Stella

Personally, I must also thank Auntie Stella for her awesome coffee but I really must try to decline her offer for the coffee in future, much as I loved them, as I was not able to sleep due to the overwhelming effect of the latte, like kids on sugar - hyper...he he he. Unless if the offer was over breakfast, hint hint nudge nudge...

Carolling Event on 23 Dec 2008

After sacrificing a few weekends for practicing, finally, D-Day was here and earlier this evening, the group of carollers went around the neighbourhood to bring the spirit of joy and sharing to the neighbours. I must say that though not all of us are Christians, but true to our Malaysian spirits, all of us, irregardless of religion turned up in full regalia to paint the whole neighbourhood RED, literally. Take a look at the preparation :-



And we have our own tailored-made in-house Santa Nicky-laus to boot, literally!!! Look at our Santa and you will believe that the REAL Santa will lose some sleep over the competition, if ever our very own Glenmarie Cove Santa decides to venture outside his territory.



As the saying goes, behind every successful Santa is a Mrs Santa, in our case, BESIDE our Santa is a Mrs Santa, like Malays saying, bagai pinang dibelah dua, loosely translated, perfect match made in Heaven...



The group made the procession to the first stop. The sight was fantastic with the RED uniform and lighted candles.



The first house, Jason and Ann's house. Following photo is the graceful hostess, who are so generous with gifts and foods but we didn't have the opportunity to really sit down and savour the goodies provided. I am sure, next round may be, we will finish off every morsel of it....



Then, we were off to Saran and Anita's house. I tell you, Glenmarie Cove residents really spoilt "us" - us, as in the ADULTS as well as the KIDS. I mean, who can resist good food, yummy food and great hosts? Really, you can see for yourself how the hosts spoilt "us" - it is a wonder that all of us didn't end up looking like future Santa with all these generous residents around...





By this time, like the Ultraman button on his chess, my "cap ayam" camera signalled that it was running low on power, so, by the time we reached Auntie Mary and Uncle Tony's house, I could only managed to capture some photos before the camera gone kaput on me. Look at the lovely couple, with Santa acting as the "street lamp"...hmmph....What a role model to emulate...the loving couple, I mean, not the "lamp-post"...he he he.



After that, we were off to Uncle Jeff and Auntie Cathy's place, then onwards to Uncle Rama's place, Auntie Viji is off to India, this time, not around to spoil us with nasi beriyani, otherwise, we will eat, again!! Who can resist Auntie Viji's beriyani?? (at times I wondered, where do we find the space in our stomach for so many meals in one session???).

Last but not least, we adjourned to Uncle Joe and Auntie Stella's house where the kids had their party and gifts from both of them and again, the host spoilt us with wine, beer, cookies, coffee (which I couldn't resist, keeping me awake at this hour, posting this evening's event) and plenty of deliciously, sinfully fattening cakes and pastries. I don't know about the rest of the guys but I do know I won't be looking into mirrors for the next few weeks after all this overeating!!!

For more photos, click here.

And as usual, since my camera battery gone dodo bird on me, I have to wait for the resident cameramen (Uncle Tony, Uncle Albert, Brother Vennu, Brother Ganesh) to provide the rest of the pictorials.

Till the next update, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. See you all in the countdown party...ho ho ho...

Tony and Mary Wee's Christmas Gathering

Tony and Mary had their Christmas Gathering on 21 Dec 2008. Most of the usual people were there, with addition of two new faces, that is of Ernest and Rachel, Tony's immediate neighbour to the right and Tuan Zaid and Zarinah, the neighbour opposite me, who are based in Kuwait presently (who came despite their hectic schedule, just to say hello to the neighbours).

The party started with the usual makan-makan, good food, good company, good wine. Halfway through the night, all of us gathered in the living room and good ol' uncle Joe provided some guitar music with the kids singing some Christmas songs. Then, we had Chris singing a song, Pat and Sheila leading a dance, etc.

The host wanted the guests to play a game of "Know Thy Neighbours". The game turn out to be a huge fun because of "argument" and "contradicting answers" - where in the end, the owner of the questions will decide the final answer, hehehe, where the team of Wand To Be Tree (Road 1, 2B, 3) scored higher points against team Two Ayes (Road 2A).

One of the most argued answer to a question was the name of Cathy and Jeff's yacht, the answer was "Rapscallion" or as our team answered "Rapascallion" - the actual answer was Rapscallion of course, but we as got our answer from Cathy's sms, thus, we "present" our case as the owner themselves had given the answer, we couldn't be wrong, with proof to boot. In the end, we won though the other team was correct, factually but on technicallity, we won, hahaha. That is "the rule of law" for you!! hmm... I wonder if the court play by the same rule... scary....

There was so much to tell but I think, some pictures will do it more justice. At the same time, I managed to record some clips using my handphone, though I have to add that unless you are there, I doubt you would know who is who because the clips were soooooo blur....





My apologies because the video were side way, got to slant your head a bit to see, didn't realise the setting on the handphone were landscape at the time.

Sheila and Padma reliving their younger days, where dancing was their dating game, hmm.

Nicky, giving some instruction, I believe.

Mike and Taizo having some discussion.

The most expensive cleaner in GC. Mr Taizo helping to clean some rubbish inadvertedly created by another neighbour...

Mary having a chat with Tuan Zaid, our latest addition. 

Another angle of the most humble big boss of the day.

Countdown Itinerary

GLENMARIE COVE RESIDENTS’ 2009 NEW YEAR COUNTDOWN
Wednesday, 31st DECEMBER, 2008
FROM 10.00 PM TO 2.00 AM
SENANGIN JETTY

TENTATIVE PROGRAM

10.15 pm Welcome Speech by Mr. Padmar, President of
Residents Pro-tem Committee

10.25 pm Light Refreshments

10.45 pm Dancing / Games

11.30 pm Performance by Residents’ Talents
[dear fellow residents, please come forward to share your talents !!]

11.59 pm Countdown

12.00 midnight “Auld Lang Syne”

12.30 am Lucky Draws

12.45 am Dancing / Games

2.00 am End of Fun Night


*************************

New Year Countdown Party

GLENMARIE COVE RESIDENTS’
2009 NEW YEAR COUNTDOWN !!!!

Wednesday, 31st DECEMBER, 2008
FROM 10.00 PM TO 2.00 AM
SENANGIN JETTY

[dress in your wildest party garbs !!!]


“A Night of Fun”
for ALL Residents, Families and Friends of Residents

Tickets are available at RM20.00 per head. The tickets sale proceeds collected are for miscellaneous expenses [Music Machine & DJ, stage & lightings, light refreshments, lucky draws, etc……..etc……].

Payment in cash preferred. Make your payment to Mrs. Mary Wee or your Road Reps. Early payments are appreciated. The contributions collected are non-refundable. A statement of account will be issued to all contributors after the event.

For further information or enquiries, kindly contact :-
Mary Lowdik
Sheila Padmar

Thank you for your support and looking forward to your participation in making this event a success !!!