<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss version="2.0"
	xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
	xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/"
	xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
	xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"
	xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/"
	xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/"
	>

<channel>
	<title>Gatenka dot com &#187; Blog</title>
	<atom:link href="http://www.gatenka.com/index.php/category/blog/feed" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://www.gatenka.com</link>
	<description>For Your Info, From A Malaysian&#039;s Point of View</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Mon, 11 Jan 2010 08:01:20 +0000</lastBuildDate>
	<generator>http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4</generator>
	<language>en</language>
	<sy:updatePeriod>hourly</sy:updatePeriod>
	<sy:updateFrequency>1</sy:updateFrequency>
			<item>
		<title>Om Nom Nom</title>
		<link>http://www.gatenka.com/index.php/2009/10/blog/om-nom-nom</link>
		<comments>http://www.gatenka.com/index.php/2009/10/blog/om-nom-nom#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 15 Oct 2009 10:53:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gat</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[durian season]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[durians]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fruit seasons]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rambutans]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[seasons]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gatenka.com/?p=378</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Kind of sick of eating durians and rambutans for a while. Blegh.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Ah yes, Malaysia&#8217;s 8 regular seasons. As usual, there are the 4 weather seasons:</p>
<ul>
<li>North-East Monsoon (also known as Retreating Monsoon)</li>
<li>South-West Monsoon</li>
<li>Hazy</li>
<li>Bloody Hot</li>
</ul>
<p>Also, there are the other 4 seasons that we know of:</p>
<ul>
<li>Mangosteen season</li>
<li>Lychee</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: center;">And our current seasons: <strong>DURIAN AND RAMBUTAN SEASONS!</strong><br />
<img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-379" title="Durians and Rambutans" src="http://www.gatenka.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/Durians-and-Rambutans-300x225.jpg" alt="Durians and Rambutans" width="300" height="225" /></p>
<p>Though after munching of them for the past few days (thanks to a <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">Malay</span> family friend who generously contributed all the fruits), I think I&#8217;m gonna grow sick of eating too much of it. Not to mention the &#8220;fragrance&#8221; that wafts up my nostrils each and every time I step back into the house. Ugh, and there goes my cholesterol levels too. But hey, it was all for <em><strong>FREE!</strong></em> So who am I to complain, eh?</p>
<p>Time for some beer. :P</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gatenka.com/index.php/2009/10/blog/om-nom-nom/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Gat Sets Up Shop</title>
		<link>http://www.gatenka.com/index.php/2009/10/blog/gat-sets-up-shop</link>
		<comments>http://www.gatenka.com/index.php/2009/10/blog/gat-sets-up-shop#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 07 Oct 2009 13:37:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gat</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[auction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[online auction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[online sales]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[selling online]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[selling stuff online]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gatenka.com/?p=310</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Time to start selling stuff online. Need to get everything sorted out first though. Heh.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I was just taking a look around the entire house the other day, and I realized just how much of junk has been piling up around here. I was wondering, just exactly how much would all this junk be worth? Even more so, could we sell this junk to someone who&#8217;s willing to collect them. Hmm..</p>
<p>So, I guess it&#8217;s about time to start auctioning things good and proper using either <a title="E-bay" href="http://www.ebay.com" target="_blank">ebay</a> and <a title="Lelong dot com" href="http://www.lelong.com.my" target="_blank">lelong dot com</a>.</p>
<p>Yep, time to start scrounging around for other nonsense to sell. :)</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gatenka.com/index.php/2009/10/blog/gat-sets-up-shop/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Cleanest Place In Malaysia</title>
		<link>http://www.gatenka.com/index.php/2009/10/blog/malaysia-cleanest-place</link>
		<comments>http://www.gatenka.com/index.php/2009/10/blog/malaysia-cleanest-place#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 05 Oct 2009 10:46:27 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gat</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Funny]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cleanest place in malaysia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[joke]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[malaysia clean]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gatenka.com/?p=301</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p style="text-align: left;">Yes, for once, it&#8217;s the cleanest place in the whole of Malaysia. Thank goodness for the best signage to keep it clean.

</p>
<p>For all those who don&#8217;t understand Malay / Indonesian, the sign reads &#8220;I&#8217;m an ingrate that likes to litter everywhere&#8221;. Guess it would work better if more signs like this were placed The Cleanest Place In Malaysia]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="text-align: left;">Yes, for once, it&#8217;s the cleanest place in the whole of Malaysia. Thank goodness for the best signage to keep it clean.<br />
<span id="more-301"></span><br />
<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-302" title="Kurang-Ajar" src="http://www.gatenka.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/kurangajar.jpg" alt="Kurang-Ajar" width="570" height="428" /></p>
<p>For all those who don&#8217;t understand Malay / Indonesian, the sign reads &#8220;I&#8217;m an ingrate that likes to litter everywhere&#8221;. Guess it would work better if more signs like this were placed around to keep Malaysia clean, eh?</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gatenka.com/index.php/2009/10/blog/malaysia-cleanest-place/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Another New Beginning</title>
		<link>http://www.gatenka.com/index.php/2009/10/blog/another-new-beginning</link>
		<comments>http://www.gatenka.com/index.php/2009/10/blog/another-new-beginning#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 05 Oct 2009 07:31:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gat</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[blog traffic report]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[september 2009]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[traffic for september 2009]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gatenka.com/?p=295</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Blog traffic for September 2009.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Well, guess what Linus said the other day, with 3 pints of Guinness was just about right. Letting go of something, to gain something new. I never really expected to let go of something that I liked doing so much; as a wise man once said: &#8220;Lucky is the man who enjoys his work the most.&#8221; But I guess, all good things must come to an end some day, and I never really liked the thought of letting go.<br />
<span id="more-295"></span><br />
It&#8217;s high time to start afresh. Again. 1 year of bumming, 4 years of slumming. With a urine and blood pressure test around the way. Insurance policies are such a pain in the arse nowadays, having to go for this test and that test, blah blah blah.</p>
<p>Anyway, it&#8217;s been about a month since this site has been up, and it&#8217;s rather surprising&#8230;</p>
<p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-297" title="September-2009-Update" src="http://www.gatenka.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/September-2009-Update.jpg" alt="September-2009-Update" width="800" height="479" />328 views in September alone, without much activity, even though most of what I&#8217;ve posted up has been mostly rubbish, and other stuff taken from e-mails to remind myself. Hmm, I wonder what I can do if I did actively involve myself in blogging on an almost full-time basis?</p>
<p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-298" title="Year-Update-2009" src="http://www.gatenka.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/Year-Update-2009.jpg" alt="Year-Update-2009" width="762" height="67" />Hopefully more than this amount of views, huh. Yep, so anyway, September&#8217;s come and gone in a blink of an eye, and another month rolls on by.</p>
<p>Oh, how I hate physical exams. Just hope they don&#8217;t need to break out the rectal thermometer.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gatenka.com/index.php/2009/10/blog/another-new-beginning/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Benefits of Insurance</title>
		<link>http://www.gatenka.com/index.php/2009/09/blog/benefit-insuranc</link>
		<comments>http://www.gatenka.com/index.php/2009/09/blog/benefit-insuranc#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 28 Sep 2009 09:03:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gat</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[benefits of insurance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[insurance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[insurance benefit]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[insurance policy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rant]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gatenka.com/?p=291</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>Right, it&#8217;s been a couple of days since my last update, and I&#8217;m rather busy of late, so I think I might try making this as short as possible.</p>
<p>So here&#8217;s the thing; insurance. But before I go on, a reminder: Our dear 5th granduncle passed away peacefully last night. He was 88. A prosperous number The Benefits of Insurance]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Right, it&#8217;s been a couple of days since my last update, and I&#8217;m rather busy of late, so I think I might try making this as short as possible.</p>
<p>So here&#8217;s the thing; insurance. But before I go on, a reminder: Our dear 5th granduncle passed away peacefully last night. He was 88. A prosperous number to pass on, in my opinion. On one hand, it&#8217;s a little sad that I won&#8217;t be seeing him around anymore (Mum still refers to him and our 8th grandaunt as the &#8220;old people&#8221;. Funny how that works, since Mum&#8217;s approaching her 60th birthday next year). On the other hand, in retrospect, Dad&#8217;s side of the family hasn&#8217;t exactly been much of importance to Mum, hence all her griping and the like. She went on to whine about the terms of burial, the entire cost of the funeral, etc. May he rest well until his next life.<br />
<span id="more-291"></span><br />
Anyway, back to the point, insurance. Our 5th granduncle, nor our 8th grandaunt for that matter, possessed any insurance of any sort. Sure, bank account balances are there, but how much of a bank balance would one need to actually pay off one&#8217;s hospital bills, especially those which cost tens of thousands, eh? I guess, unless one has the amount worthy of calling himself or herself a millionaire, nobody is ever free of the rising cost of health care these days (though in retrospect, the medical industry should actually stop charging a few hundred percent extra for their damn drugs just because they probably mixed up some cocktail with a bunch of placebos and other nonsense that claims to &#8220;keep &lt;insert disease name here&gt; at bay&#8221;. Whatever.</p>
<p>Again, I&#8217;m ranting off sideways again. So, I recently purchased some insurance under <a title="Great Eastern Homepage" href="http://www.lifeisgreat.com.my" target="_blank">Great Eastern</a> through my cousin&#8217;s husband (and funnily enough, I never recalled actually being asked about whether I actually DO need it. Great, there goes Mum and her wild assumptions again). So, after a 30-minute session, with him explaining all the intricate little details and the like, we got to the purchasing part.</p>
<p>Well, being a guy in the insurance sales line, he bragged on about how great his policy was, that covered him up till almost a million (lifetime payout though, of course). As with most people my age, unfortunately, we rarely see the importance of insurance until we&#8217;re in our 30s or 40s, when we start having all sorts of ailments and diseases that we could barely afford to treat, aside from our car installments, our house mortgage / installments, credit card bills, utilities, and so on. Right, I guess in the long run, insurance policies really are a good investment, that is, if you can afford it, of course.</p>
<p>On one hand, it was a little relieving, not having to undergo the entire process of having to meet up with some other agent and going through the whole &#8220;eye-contact-I-stare-at-you-and-your-mouth-while-you-blab-the-whole-nine-yards&#8221; situation, and just cutting to the chase to get my insurance. On the other hand, it&#8217;s RM150 a month. That&#8217;s a whole bloody RM1,800 a year. Okay, okay, so it&#8217;s not such a small issue to some, yet&#8230; I was actually hoping to get my insurance a little later, when I&#8217;m actually, individually, financially stable at last.</p>
<p>Long story short, I&#8217;m covered by my insurance should I ever end up wanting to break a leg. Or an arm. Or my neck. At the least, covered until I run out of money. As with most annoying situations, it usually concerns the monetary value in some way or another. Great. Just. Effing. Great.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gatenka.com/index.php/2009/09/blog/benefit-insuranc/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Happy Arthur&#8217;s Day!</title>
		<link>http://www.gatenka.com/index.php/2009/09/blog/happy-arthurs-day</link>
		<comments>http://www.gatenka.com/index.php/2009/09/blog/happy-arthurs-day#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 25 Sep 2009 09:55:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gat</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[arthur guinness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[arthur's day]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[guinness]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gatenka.com/?p=285</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p style="text-align: left;">&#8220;TO ARTHUR!&#8221; That&#8217;s the phrase of thanks and acknowledgement for the day. As most of us drinkers already know, Guinness has been promoting Arthur&#8217;s Day for a while now. It&#8217;s to commemorate our dear Irish brewer and entrepreneur, Arthur Guinness.

Therefore, I suppose that the 25th of September every year would be known as Happy Arthur&#8217;s Day!]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="text-align: left;">&#8220;TO ARTHUR!&#8221; That&#8217;s the phrase of thanks and acknowledgement for the day. As most of <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">us</span> drinkers already know, Guinness has been promoting <a title="Guinness Arthur's Day" href="http://tinyurl.com/ya4xlk8" target="_blank">Arthur&#8217;s Day</a> for a while now. It&#8217;s to commemorate our dear Irish brewer and entrepreneur, <a title="About Arthur Guinness" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Guinness" target="_blank">Arthur Guinness</a>.<br />
<span id="more-285"></span><br />
Therefore, I suppose that the 25th of September every year would be known as Arthur&#8217;s Day (this would generally pick up fairly quickly especially when there are beer and discounts involved; I&#8217;m pretty sure of that). So, what are you waiting for? Oh right, Happy Hour. Cheers to Arthur from this little corner of the world. :)</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="640" height="385" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/nWsm66Q89KI&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0&amp;color1=0x006699&amp;color2=0x54abd6" /><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="640" height="385" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/nWsm66Q89KI&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0&amp;color1=0x006699&amp;color2=0x54abd6" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></p>
<p>Oh, I almost forgot, best to check out this link if you&#8217;re in <a href="http://www.arthursday.com.my/" title="Malaysia Arthur's Day site" target="_blank">Malaysia</a>.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gatenka.com/index.php/2009/09/blog/happy-arthurs-day/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Ring Finger Theory</title>
		<link>http://www.gatenka.com/index.php/2009/09/blog/the-ring-finger-theory</link>
		<comments>http://www.gatenka.com/index.php/2009/09/blog/the-ring-finger-theory#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 08 Sep 2009 19:01:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gat</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ring finger]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ring finger theory]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[theory]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.gatenka.com/?p=91</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[So why exactly do we wear our wedding and engagement rings on our ring finger? Here's an interesting little theory behind it.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>So, why exactly should one&#8217;s engagement / wedding ring be worn on the fourth finger? There is a beautiful and convincing explanation given by the Chinese:</p>
<ul>
<li>Your <strong>thumb</strong> represents your <em><strong>Parents</strong></em></li>
<li>Your <strong>index</strong> (second) finger represents your<strong> <em>Siblings</em></strong></li>
<li>Your <strong>middle</strong> finger represents <em><strong>Yourself</strong></em></li>
<li>Your <strong>ring</strong> (fourth) finger represents your <em><strong>Life Partner</strong></em></li>
<li>And your <strong>pinky</strong> (little finger) represents your <em><strong>Children</strong></em></li>
</ul>
<p><span id="more-91"></span><br />
Now, try this:<br />
<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-92" title="image001" src="http://www.gatenka.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/image001.gif" alt="image001" width="271" height="185" /><br />
Firstly, open your palms (face to face), bend the middle fingers and hold them together &#8211; back to back as in the image above. Secondly, open and hold the remaining three fingers and the thumb &#8211; tip to tip.</p>
<p>Now, try to separate your thumbs; they will open, because your parents are not destined to live with you life-long, and have to leave you sooner or later.</p>
<p>Please join your thumbs as before and separate your index fingers; they will also open, because your brothers and sisters will have their own families and will have to lead their own separate lives.</p>
<p>Now join your index fingers and separate your pinkies; and they will open too, because your offspring also will leave you one day and settle down on their own.</p>
<p>Finally, join your pinkies, and try to separate your ring fingers. Surprised? Unless your joints are extremely flexible, you <strong>can&#8217;t</strong>, because spouses are meant to remain together all their lives &#8211; through thick and thin!!</p>
<p>So there&#8217;s a theory, on why we wear our engagement and wedding rings on our fourth fingers. :)</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.gatenka.com/index.php/2009/09/blog/the-ring-finger-theory/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
	</channel>
</rss>
