Spring in Aus 2008

It's been a long hiatus. Went Aussie for 2 weeks holidays 2 months ago. Left my mind in Melbourne and am suffering from the remaining of the withdrawal syndrome.


It was an impromptu decision that had brought me to Melbourne and Sydney in Spring 2008. The route of PJ->Singapore->Darwin->Melbourne->Sydney->Melbourne->Darwin->Singapore->PJ encompassed 3 countries, 5 cities and 5 airports. Quite statistical though it was only a 16-day journey.


Distance
It always makes me wonder, how far can the distance be between 2 people? How far is far and how near is near? At times, it's so near yet so far and so far yet so near...


It's Spring
It's spring time. I smelled it and felt it everywhere. All the flowers were so beautiful and in their full bloom. The trees and the grass were so green. The invigorating and cooling wind (chilling for me sometimes) under the hot sun and clear blue sky was bringing the best out of the spring weather in Aussie. It was wonderful roaming around the relaxing city of melbourne in spring.


St Kilda Beach - Loving It
Like St Kilda Beach very much. It's such a calming, peaceful and relaxing beach. A nice stroll by the beach embraced by the invigorating wind, a cup of nice coffee and the breakfast at Little Blue, St Kilda Pier, and the tranquil moment was the best time spent there. Found out that XW who went there somewhen in March also shares the same feeing on this beach - just loving it!


New Discovery
Discovered the same great voice - Joanna Wang in both Singapore and Melbourne from the trip. Love her voice, love her songs. Immediately bought her CD when I was back. Each time I listen to her songs, the good time and memories in melbourne linger in my mind...


The Desire
It felt great to have entirely left everything behind, care not where I am from and just keep going, enjoying every scenery along the way, setting myself free and breathing in the air of freedom. The thought and desire to leave everything behind to begin my journey to see the world started to linger again...


Adieu
The happiest thing about the trip was to be able to meet up with some people that I don't get to see often at a city so far away from home. It doesn't really matter where we went, it's the time spent together that matters more. Well, after bidding adieu, it's time to miss them again and look forward to the next meet up.


Thoughts
For every step I took, every place I went, I was in moments of thought in the wonderland very naturally. Had been thinking and wondering a lot during the trip, and having new thoughts and decisions.


Lost
Gone were the good times that did not last long, as always. Distance and everything are back to the original position. Back to reality, what's left is the feeling of lost...

A Merdeka Day with Love-Hate

When I was drafting this post, National day was just 2 days away. As I was driving home on that night in a crawling traffic in the drizzle, the word 'love-hate' crossed my mind and was registered to best describe my mixed feeling towards our country at this juncture, in conjunction with the 51st Merdeka Day.

Strategically located geographically, full of natural resources and almost free of natural disasters, this is the blessed piece of land where I was born and where my ancestors had set foot on and rooted.

Clear blue sky, coconut trees, hibiscus, kampung houses, beaches, rivers, tropicana fruits, loads and loads of awesomely delicious local foods and drinks, and the authentic smile and laughter of the people are probably some of the symbolic things that paint the picture of the nostalgic Malaysia in those good old days. This piece of beautiful land has given us loads of very unique Malaysian memories as we grew up.

When I was a kid, whenever there were Badminton matches between China and Malaysia, be it Thomas Cup or any other tounaments, I would naturally cheer for the Chinese players, ironically. It was probably the influence from my dad, who is more patriotic towards China comparatively, as my late grandparents were from China.

From the recent Beijing Olympics opening, I discovered that dad's heart is still more towards China, which caught me a little bit in surprise but on a second thought it's understandably not that surprising. Though dad was extremely sleepy, he waited till the China contingent to march in to the Bird's Nest Stadium and he sang along enthusiastically when the national anthem of the People Republic of China was played! I can't really recall if I've ever heard him sing the Negaraku in front of me but can clearly remember hearing him sing the national anthem of China more than once. Of course, he did sing the Negaraku on offical occasions but not in front of me. Well, when the people love the country but the country doesn't them in return... You know...

As I grow older, I started to be 'clearer' of my identity and feel proud to be a Malaysian. Patriotism started to grow within me. I love my country, that's where I was born and bred with lots of unique fond memories, with my dearest family and friends around.

When I entered university, the first thing that I was exposed to was injustice in student intake under the quota system and hostel allocation. Everything is not based on qualification but 'kulitfication'. While some friends scored straight As in STPM just to be denied an entry to University of Malaya, the uni and course of their choices, some people who got shitty results and didn't even deserve a place in uni were everywhere in the local universities. Nothing much has changed till today. Pissed and disappointed, these friends left the country to study in Singapore and have become doctors there and would never want to come back.

Over the years, when I get exposed to more and more realities that really bite and hurt, I am getting more and more pissed off and disappointed with the country, should say the morons in power to be more exact.

With rocketing crime rate, worsening economy, inflation, continuous brain drain, severe corruption, injustice, racism, one after another ridiculous political dramas and a lot more saddening situations, our beloved country has been turned into a very sorry state. Am even comtemplating to leave... So, don't get surprised if I tell you I am leaving one day.

I didn't find any reason and meaning to celerate the national day. Even Anwar's political come back into the parliarnment wasn't a strong enough reason. We, the people want something more, an entire change for the betterment of the country! Will that really happen on 16 Sep? I wonder...

It's a Merdeka with a love-hate mixed feeling. I didn't even bother to read or follow any news about the celebration. The only thing that I felt happy about on 31 Aug 2008 was a friend's wedding.

Chain Reaction Revisited

It seems that I have been in hiatus since my last post about a month ago. So many things are keeping me preccupied lately, not to mention the tireness of the eyes and mind after work, as a reuslt of staring at the computer for long hours.

Well, this is a backdated post, which I have wanted to pen down but just couldn't find the time. Since I am not going anywhere this weekend, am finally sitting down to write it.

The weekend 2 weeks ago was a happening one for me back in Ipoh. YT was back from Singapore and so was Pao. Chai was also back from Japan for vacation. I went back too, not knowing that Feilo, Sailo & Shyang were back too. Seemed that everyone was heading back to home sweet home in Ipoh coincidentally.

08.08.2008, Friday
Sharp at 5pm , I headed straight from office to Damansara Toll for the North South Highway on my way home, alone. Yes, I drive home alone quite often whenever I spontaneously feel like going home for a cup of nice Ipoh White Coffee and catch up with friends or feel like getting of town for a peace of mind. Occasioanally, there will passengers along with me. So, don't be surprised to spot me, probably speeding on the North South Highway one fine day. :)

It was actually quite boring to drive alone on the highway. I accelerated and speeded home, just in time to catch the grand Beijing Olympics opening at 8pm on 08. 08. 2008. What a prosperous date and time, especially to the Chinese! It was a magnificent and splendid opening. China has demonstrated to the world on how capable they are. The awaken mighty dragon is definitely going to rock the world for a long long time to come...

09.08.2008, Saturday
Being a sport lover, I was busy cathing the Olympics live on Astro on Saturday till I had no time to use my Dellnosaur (notebook) to go online, a routine in my daily life. In the evening, the electricity supply was suddenly out! The weather was bloody hot and I was under massive mosquito attack! Damn it! Quickily had my dinner and shower, and went out to meet up with the Chai, Pao, Feilo and Shyang for a drink.

We went to 'Indulgence', a colonial style bungalow converted restaurant that serves Malaysian and Chinese street fare on a more upmarket scale in Ipoh. It was actually my first visit there. Heard about this restaurant which is known to be a pricy place to dine at Ipoh standard and drove passed it many times prior to this. Well, the ambience there was cosy but the food was proven to be pricy. The guys ordered a bottle of white wine which tasted not bad and 3 pieces of cakes which just didn't satisfy my taste bud at all whereas I ordered a glass of warm water which was never served. Guess what, the bill cost us RM150++! Heard that the Sultan of Perak is a regular there. Maybe I should just give it a second chance to try some other food there to find out what's so special about this restaurant.

Indulgence closes at 11:30pm, which is considered quite early for us, a bunch of night owls. We left for 'Tong Sui Kai' (Dessert Street) near Sam Tet Primary School for second round to satisfy Chai's craving for Ipoh food which he can't find in Japan. Our table was fully occupied by food such as Wantan, Yau Yu Ngung Choy (Octopus with Kangkung), Rojak, 2 plates of friend noodle and Tong Sui (dessert). Chai whacked another bowl of Bubur Cacar after his Fu Chook Yi Mai. Looks like Chai really misses Ipoh food alot after few years in Japan. It was really a nice catch up with loads and loads of food till midnight. Too bad, the guys were swift in whacking the food when it was served, faster than I could take out my camera to snap a shot or two of the food.

10.08.2008 Sunday
Arrhhh... The great weekend had to come to an end and it was time to head back to KL. Dad had gone to Genting with friends to watch concert while mum was not around when I left home. Before I departed, I went in and out of the house to double check if I had left anything home. Usually mum will play role of nagging gently to ensure I don't leave anything at home each time I go back to KL. After checking, off I went to YT's house to carpool with him back to KL.

Had yummy Curry Noodle and nice Iced White Coffee near YT's place for lunch before we headed back to KL. The White Coffee was superb. The very first sip of it was so refreshing that it gave me so much ummpp and pleasure!

I drove for the 1st half of the journey and stopped at Sungai Buluh for a toilet break. While looking for parking, this conversation kind of amused me.

Me: Don't you need to drink water? Not thirsty?

YT: Not really, I am a camel mah. :)

Me: Hahahaha... LOL!

What an interesting answer. I think he really is a camel as he wasn't feeling thirsty and drinking any water through out the journey. Guess he must be doing the same during his extensive travelling.

I went off to the toilet and washed my face. YT took over to drive after the break and headed back to the hotel that he was staying in.

After dropping YT at the hotel, I realised that my glasses were nowhere to be found after searching through the whole car. Geez! I must have left the glasses in the toilet at Sungai Buluh when I took them off to wash my face.

Well, the power of glasses isn't that high. Am having lazy eye in fact with left eye:225, right eye:50 plus some mild astigmatism. I can still see bigger objects quite clearly with my right eye most of the time if the eyesight is not blocked. That probably explained why I didn't even realise that my glassese were taken off though I still had them on moments ago. It was about 5:30pm, the sun hadn't set yet. I could still see and drive my way home without my glasses.

When I reached home in PJ, I discovered something more disasterous than having a pair of missing glasses! I left my Dellnosaur at hometown!!! This is really 'big wok' (trouble), man! My notebook is something that I totally can't work without! How ah? What should I do? I was thinking hard for some alternative though I knew the ultimate solution was to go back to collect it.

Called Sailo who carpooled with Shyang back to KL to see if they had already left Ipoh, hoping that they had not and hence I could explore the option of crying for help from them to bring the notebook back for me.

Me: Over! Over! Where are you guys? Have you guys left Ipoh?

Sailo: What's up?

Me: I have a ' big wok' to deal with, left my notebook at home. Calling to see if you guys have left Ipoh and could help me to bring my notebook back to KL if you guys are still in Ipoh.

Sailo: We are even in 'bigger wok' lah. Shyang's car broke down, and we are now pathetically stranded at road side of the highway, somewhere near Rawang exit.

Me: Gosh! Why everyone seems to be so 'hak jai' (unfortunate) today ah? I also left my glasses at the toilet at Sungai Buluh rest point apart from my notebook at home.

Sailo: Hahaha... Why not you come over to pick us up and then go to Sungai Buluh to check if your glasses are still there. (this jovioul fellow still managed to joke at time like this)

Me: Where are you guys located exactly? I can come to pick you guys up but you have to tell me you guys' exact location and guide me how to get there.

Sailo: At the road side lor! Joking lah, Shyang is calling the tow truck now.

Me: Let me try to call Feilo to see if he's already on his way back. If he hasn't passed Rawang, probably he can come to rescue you guys.

Tried to call and sms Feilo many times but couldn't really reach him. Only got 1 pathetic sms reply from Feilo telling that his battery was running low and would be death at any time. Sigh!

On and off, I called the guys to check on their situation and talked nonsense to entertain them a bit as it was actually bloody 'sien' to get stranded at the highway like this.

Me: Over! Over! Apa macam?

Sailo: On tow now, both the car and us. :)

Me: The wind is chilling, isn't it?

Sailo: Yawor, very cooling and refreshing indeed to be on tow (refering to the wind blowing on them on the tow truck). Hahaha.... Yiii... Very interesting wor, the car is now moving by itself without anyone driving it. LOL!

Shyang: Fuyoh, my unmaneuvered car can even over take other cars somemore! Keng ah! (Yes, they are a bunch of crazy fellows who can really 'talk with their lungs')

Me: Ahahha... LOL! What's actually wrong with your car?

Shyang: The timing belt lor. It's almost time to change already. Thought of changing it during my next car service, who knows it went dead just now.

Me: Ok lah, since you guys are on tow already, am going off to have my dinner now. Enjoy your 'tow ride'. Bye!

Well, I thought I was unfortunate, who knew these guys were even in deeper shit. Sigh.. Decided to make another trip back home the next day to collect my notebook. Arrrhhh.. it's gonna be darn tiring!

11.08.2008 Monday
Took emergency leave, sent my car to workshop for checking especially for the timing belt to ensure it's in good condition (though I just sent my car for service not long ago) before heading to the highway for my way home, alone again. Sien! Sien! Sien! The first thing that I did when I reached home was to grab my notebook and put it at a very noticeable place so that I wouldn't forget to bring it back to KL.

12.08.2008 Tuesday
Woke up damn early in the morning. After having my super early breakfast, from hometown, I headed straight to the office in PJ, a journey of about 210km. The highway seemed lonely with low traffic volume. It was really very boring to maintain the speed at 110km/hr and I started to speed a little bit.

Somewhere near Tapah, the 3 lanes highway had shrunk to become 1 lane. I thought the lanes were closed due to some road works. Bloody hell, there was 1 team of traffic policemen lining up in front to catch everyone for speeding, on the spot and off-guard! Most of the cars were speeding and I guess most would be summoned.

Policeman: Ah Moi, lajunya!

Me: Yalah, nak rush pergi ke office mah.

Policeman: Mana you kerja ni?

Me: KL lah. I pandu terus dari Ipoh ni.

Policeman: Macam mana?

Me: You tulis saman lah.

Policeman: Nak tulis kah ni? (hinting for something you and me and everybody knows)

Me: Tulis lah, tolong cepat sikit, I ada meeting ni.

I paid attention to the radio which was broadcasting some Olympics updates while waiting for the policeman to issue the summon, not even looking at him at all. Well, I wasn't trying to be cocky as some might perceive it to be. I just wanted to leave him alone to quickily write the summon and waste no time.

Sigh! Sigh! Sigh! Due to some human errors (forgetting my notebook and speeding on the highway), everything happended like a chain reaction and I was paying the price for it - adttional cost of petrol & toll, tireness plus a summon!



Have yet to settle the summon till this very moment...

Where Do I Go From Here?

Have been in KL for about 10 years. I am kind of tired of this city and don't quite feel the sense of belonging here. Like many others from outstation who study in KL, I stay here to work after completing my Degree, as a matter of course. Recently, the thought of getting out of KL has been lingering in my mind. If I were to leave KL one day, some great friends made here and some of the delicious food would definitely be something that I miss the most.

At times, I was considering to go back to Ipoh for good, back to a town that I love and feel home for better quality of life, good food and more tranquility and peace of mind. But what can this town offer me in terms of job opportunity? Going back tantamount to letting go my career and probably have to start all over again by doing something else. Do I really have to wait till retirement?

I thought that I would never bother about politics and could never be bothered. I found that I am wrong when I am utterly digusted and pissed off with the ridiculous and sickening state of the nation the more I realise and feel the impact of what is going on. I bother and it bothers me though that's not my very choice. Prior to this, I had never thought of leaving the country, where I was born and bred. But now, I have this thought and given an opportunity, I will...

Too many thoughts in my mind, in search for a better place with better quality of life and more peace of mind. Depressed, sometimes I feel like hibernating or in need of a free fall which is only subject to the gravity of earth, to temporarily shut down my mind...

Where do I belong to? Where do I go from here? Where can I go? I wonder...

Gluttony In the Name of Birthday

It was my birthday yesterday. Don't feel like mentioning how old I am this year as this number will keep increasing every year... which is a bit scary as I can't freeze time.

Basically, celebration or to be more exact gluttony in the name of birthday started about 2 weeks before my actual birthday, which was a total surprise for me.

So far, I have had 4 rounds of makan-makan, courtesy of different group of friends, and there's another round to come with the parasites. Was too hungry when having the 2nd round and I had totally forgotten to snap some shots of the yummy food.

Let's take a look at what I have had.

Round 1 - Dinner @ Shabu Shabu, 1-U, New Wing:
Round 2 - Curry Fish Head @ Sec 17, PJ - No pics available, was too hungry till I forgot to take any but the food was heavenly good!

Round 3 - Lunch @ UME TEI, Amcorp Mall, PJ:Round 4 - Dinner @ Chilli's, 1-U, New Wing:

Round 5 - Soon to come, looking forward to it!

From the bottom of my heart, a sincere thank to everyone for all the treats, sms, and wishes! You guys have made my birthday special!

Struck

In Bowling, a player makes 3 strikes in a row to hit a Turkey. I hit a Turkey too yesterday. No, I didn't make 3 strikes in Bowling but I was struck trice with disappointment. Things weren't going that smoothly and I had a bad day at work.


Strike 1: X
2 appointments got cancelled by candidates at the last minute. Aeroplanes! Sigh, some people tend to change their minds in a split second.

Strike 2: XX
A candidate who is supposed to start work on next Monday with a client called to inform that she's rejecting the offer. She's been offered a position by her ex-boss who has joined a new company. I was driving from KL back to PJ after an appointment at KLCC without having lunch when I received the call. Mood index dropped immediately. So was my appetite.

Strike 3: XXX- Turkey!
Went to Taman Megah to grab something for lunch. When I was back to the office, I got to know that another candidate who is also supposed to commence work with another client on next Monday also rejected client's offer at the last minute. Mood index further dropped drastically. My packed lunch became tasteless. Anyway, I wouldn't torture my stomach and I finished 90% of it.

The rejection of offer by candidate doesn't only mean all the time and effort spent are to no avail. It also means that I am answerable to the clients. Fortunately, clients have been understanding in both cases. Well, this is beyond my control and I put no blame to the candidates.

Was a bit down. Anyway, some friends chatted with me in MSN before my day ended in the office. Some of the conversations did cheer me up and divert my focus on the negative mood. Some bullshitted with me while MC told me that she 'lau sai' 3 times during her recent 42KM SunDown Marathon in Singaore and how she kept farting, held her shit, and ran fast to look for toilet! That's quite funny. MC then helped me to download a song by Sandy Lam, "没有你还是爱你"，which I have been searching for. Besides, she also sent me another song, "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz. Quite a nice song, with light & easy beat & rythm. This song had indeed cheered me up. Thanks to MC and others for cheering me up on a bad day.

It was raining heavily when I was driving home, as if the day was not gloomy enough...

If the 3rd Newton's Law of Motion applies, there must be some good things happening soon as the equal and opposite reactions, I consoled myself.


Well well well, today isn't any better. The annoucement by the government that petrol price will go up by 78 sen at midnight - a 40.6 percent jump from RM1.92 per litre to RM2.70 has caused another strike on me and the impact is so great! Will foresee endless inflation to follow. The nightmare has just begun for the people...

Cockroach Attack!

How would you react when you see a cockroach? Well, some people will scream out of fear and some can't wait to kill it and make sure it's dead. It actually doesn't really bother me as much as a cat or dog does.

Generally speaking, I am not afraid of cockroach. The closest contact that I have ever had with cockcroach was holding its antenna to see it spin or catching it alive with my bare hand when I was a kid. Didn't really do it often though and of course I washed my hand real clean after that as the cockroach smell really stinks. As I grow older, realising that it's not hygienic, I have stopped having direct contact with cockroach with my hands. Nowadays, I will spray insecticide at it, hit it with an object or layer my hand with material such as paper/cloth/plastic bag/etc if I wanna catch it to get rid of it.

Of late, we have been noticing cockroaches (from small to big size) appearing in both the toilets of our apartment during midnight hours. As our toilets are always kept clean, we have always been wondering where they come from and why only at the toilets.

Last Sunday, BigTV was trying to trace the source of the cockroaches. The ceiling cover of her master bedroom toilet was opened to examine if there were any cockroaches there. To her horror, there were at least 100 to 200 of cockroaches there at the piping area on top of the toilet ceiling! She felt terribly shocked and horrified but still tried to spray insecticide to kill them and clear some of them. She couldn't clear the remaining as some areas were out of her reach. This happened while I was having an afternoon nap.

In the evening, BigTV came back with a strange and troubled look on her face and asked if I have any contact of cleaner and explained her 'discovery' which seriously bothered her. I called a friend who is working with a pest control company but found out unfortunately that they don't provide such service of clearing the dead cockroaches as they only provide treatment services.

BigTV sat there with a long face and her mind trying to figure out a solution to get rid of the remaining of dead cockroaches at the piping area asap, on the night itself! She mumbled and contemplating the idea of buying the cheapest vacum cleaner to clear them off. I suggested to her that I could try to borrow one from my office the following day but she just didn't seem to have the patience to wait till the next day. Her whole mind was occupied by cockroaches, feeling disgusted!

I went for my shower and when I was done, BigTV was nowhere to be seen. After a while, she returned with a vacum cleaner, borrowed from her ex-roommate.

I went in to her room to offer to help her. Sitting on the bed, she was devastasted in tears, feeling pathetic and questioning why she had to live with so many cockroaches in the same room! Initially she said she could do it herself and asked me not to watch her while vacuming as she would cry simultaneously. Knew she would not be able to handle it alone. I tried to pacify her and told her that I could help her to vacum as I am taller and not afraid of cockroach. She asked to be left alone to cry for a while and cool down before starting. Having no choice, I left her alone for some time off to continue sobbing.

I then went back to my room to look for a shower cap to protect my hair (which was just washed) from the dust falling when opening the ceiling cover later. Without leaving her much time to waste on crying, I went into her room again, getting her ass to move to start the vacuming. With a table stacked with a stool on top (as we don't have a ladder), I climbed up the stool, opened the ceiling cover, suffered some dust falling onto my face, snapped some shots of the cockroaches as proof for complaint purpose before doing the dirty job, from the the size of XS to XXL, dead or alive, while BigTV helped to hold and control the power of the vacum cleaner. Done with the vacuming, we sprayed another round of insecticide at the piping area before putting the ceiling cover back.


After we were done with BigTV's toilet, the Cockroach Buster crew headed by me then proceeded to the second toilet which was also under cockroach attack. Damn it! This time around, more dust falling onto my face while opening the ceiling cover! I got to close my eyes in order to avoid any dust from falling into my eyes. There were less cockroaches at the piping area of this second toilet comparatively, estimated at around 50 of them. Majority of them were big big & fat fat and were still crawling actively. Having goose bumps, huh? Haha... We did the same dirty job, vacuming them dead or alive, and sending them to hell! It was darn suffocating when I sprayed the insectiside before putting the ceiling cover back. I was joking with BigTV, 'It seems like I will die faster as a result of suffocation instead of the cockroaches!' Haha :D

Weather was hot, I was sweating like nobody's business after completing this one of its kind Sunday night special enough impromptu plan. Went for another round of shower and washing my hair.

BigTV took care of cleaning the vacum cleaner. Thus, I couldn't answer JK's question on if the cockroaches were ground into pieces in the vacum clearner. I seriously don't know and don't wish to see to know. It would surely be disgusting and nauseating!

Sungai Lembing - Day 2: The Sunrise And The Clouds

Didn't really sleep well the night before as it was quite cold. Knowing me as someone lacking of adipose tissue, how to resist cold? Haha...

Woke up as early as 5:30pm to get ready by 5:45am. Nothing much to prepare actually. The timing was so out that I didn't feel any urge for some serious business in the toilet. The schedule was to hike the Panorama Hill for sunrise first, then only followed by breakfast. Knowing myself would normally feel hungry quite immediately after waking up, I hastily bit a piece of plain bread (though I don't like plain bread) for some energy.

With a sleepy head, I walked together with the group to the starting point of Bukit Panorama which is located at the back of the morning market.


Staircase oh staircase, never ending and quite steep at certain stretches, all the way up. It reminded me of the Timpohon trail of Mount KK. I am always not in favour of staircase, would prefer natural path which is less taxing to the knee. While we were ascending, some elderly people were already descending, done with their morning exercise, hiking the Panorama Hill. They were definitely the early birds.

Reached the summit after about 45 minutes of hike. There was a such huge crowd there, easily 100 to 200 people including a big group of secondary school students and some other random groups.

Everyone was patiently waiting for the sunrise. While waiting, we heard a very loud snoring noise. Guess what, there was a guy who actually squatted there sleeping and snored as loud as he could. That's the first time I've seen people who could actually snore while sleeping the SQUATTING way despite the very noisy surrounding.

When the sun eventually rose, what else was next? Non-stop photo taking and endless camwhoring began! The sunrise was beautiful and so was the clouds. I took quite a lot of pictures. Not gonna describe much, let the pictures do the talking. For more pics of the trip, check out my facebook.



After Panorama Hill, it was breakfast time at the hawker centre near the morning market. 7 of us sharing the same table ordered 3 different types of noodles, the Cantonese Fried, Ketchup Mee and Spicy Mee. Guess what, it only cost us close to RM3 per person. Nothing fantastic about the noodles but the Taufu was really delicious.



Done with the breakfast, a 'lawatan sambil belajar' to the Sungai Lembing Museum followed. Leisurely, we took a stroll to the museum which is within walking distance from the main street. I made a 'pigeon round' at the museum and was lazy to read any description of the exhibited items. So for me, it was more of a 'lawatan tidak belajar' to the museum. Sungai Lembing...Sungai Lembing... sounds so familiar... Ahuh, this town name appeared in the our secondary school history text book regarding tin mining! That's all I could remember. What to do? Everything studied has been returned to the teacher. Haha... :D



Went for another cup of cold drink after the museum. It was then time to pack and leave the town. Had simple mixed rice before heading for the East West Highway.

The moment I reached home in PJ, I immediately felt the urge to release some old stocks accumulated in my intestine for 2 days. What a relief! Thank God it didn't give me any trouble or feeling of 'kap si' at the wrong time during the trip. Haha... :D

Overall, It was quite a fun trip though I didn't get to see the rainbow. Food was good and dirt cheap. I got to know some new friends, and enjoyed the sceneries. Snakebuster who is usually loud and talkative was totally outshone by Mr. Kanasai by his kanasainess during the trip. Also witnessed how the Ms. Small Wanderer could vanish and pop up the next moment, as well as some endless camwhoring with DSLR.

Joined the trip hoping to recapture some old memories. Well, the place is still the same, but the feeling and the memories are not the same anymore on a revisit. Every single moment, things are changing and it would not be the same the very next moment...

Sungai Lembing Revisited - Day 1: Where Is My Rainbow?

It was 4-5 years ago when I first visited Sungai Lembing, a tin mining town 42km northwest of Kuantan in Pahang, for the amazing Rainbow Waterfall and the sunrise with beautiful sea of clouds at the summit of Panorama Hill. The captivating sceneries linger in my memory every since and the place would definitely worth a second visit.

On 19 & 20 April, I revisited Sungai Lembing for a weekend getaway, joining a leisure trip organized by KM from OX (Outdoor Explorer). It was leissure in a sense that there would not be any camping in the jungle and we did not need to bring our big backpack up with full gear, unlike previous hiking trips with camping at the summit during the good old days when I was quite active with hiking with another group of outdoor kaki few years back.

There were a total of 17 of us going in 4 cars. We gathered as early as 4:45am at Kelana Jaya as the meet up point on 19 April. That means I got to force myself to sleep super early on Friday night in order to get adequate sleep and wake up darn early on Saturday morning. Ya, waking up so early in the morning is somewhat torturing but the joy of going places would always offset this feeling.

At the meeting point, I saw some familiar faces including the Snakebuster, Mr. Kanasai who came all the way from Penang, petite CM, whom I got to know them from previous hiking trips as well as Mr Big, someone I met before for work purpose, who seemed could not recognize me. There were also some other totally new faces, which included a Thai sweetie pie who is working in an MNC in PJ on a work transfer, Mr. Hum Sup (wearing a T-shirt that self delares that), Ms. Small Wanderer who disappears and reappears like a 'sip cheng guai', Mr. SK IV (Sammy Cheng only uses SK II, you can imagine how fair he is), and some other more normal beings. Interesting group.

Off we went, heading for the East West Highway. We exited at Gambang and arrived at the Sungai Lembing Town after about 3 & 1/2 hours of journey. The first thing to do was to EAT as we departed with empty stomach. We had breakfast at the happening morning market. Food and drink there were dirt cheap. I ordered a bowl of curry mee with 5 pieces of Yong Tau fu for only RM3.

After breakfast, what's next? 1 hours plus of lorry ride into the jungle awaiting us. I was quite impressed with how the lorry condition has imporved over time. It now comes with cushion seats and strings to hold on to accomodate to the bumpy route in the jungle. It's a big difference compared to the 'pig selling' lorry used for my last visit here, where everyone just squeezed at the back of the lorry with nothing to hold on, exactly like how slaves or animals are transported.



During the lorry ride, there were lots of branches and leaves from left right center corner along the path that posed some treat of hitting us as the lorry drove passed if we were not watchful. Thus people sitting in front were busy alerting passengers at the back rows. Everyone was busy avoiding. I was sitting at right side of the last 2 row, busy covering my face apart from avoiding. Haha, what to do, cannot afford to have my face scratched mah. :) Some parts of the route were really bouncy that you would feel like riding on a mad horse. On a milder extend, you would enjoy an Osim iGallop effect on the cushion seat. There were short stretches of river with shallow water for the lorry to cross too. The journey was quite fun though, filled with chit chatting and laughter by the talkative group.

After 1 hour plus of 'galloping' journey, which we were fortunate enough not to suffer from internal organ dislocation, we finally reached the starting point to hike in to the Rainbow Waterfall. I was excited and couldn't wait to see the rainbow.

There was a river to wade through at the beginning of the hike. River? How come I couldn't remember this river at all? Am I suffering from memory loss or it's a sign of aging?







It was a combination of natural and rocky path and took us around 45 minutes to reach the Rainbow Waterfall. As magnificent and splendid as it always is, something was missing from the waterfall! Where's my rainbow?! Aikss, we missed it! The rainbow would only be seen around 8-10 am something in the morning. We were just a bit too late to have missed it. I was a little disappointed as I was hoping to take some nice pictures of the rainbow with my new camera, my main objective of trip.



Well well, it seemed that I just had to settle with Rainbow Waterfall without rainbow and enjoyed the waterfall alone. The waterfall was gorgeous. The water breeze was so invigorating. It felt good to be close to nature with freshness installed in my mind.

Some jumped into the waterfall to enjoy the cold water, while some other were busy camwhoring. You could easily hear the shooting sound of the 4 to 5 DLSR cameras that the group brought along. It seems like everyone is into DSLR nowadays.



We had sandwich with tuna, sausage, scrambled egg, tomato, cucumber, as well as cup mee, some snacks and fruits for lunch by the waterfall side. It was self-service, you could stuff your bread with whatever you like to make your own sandwich.



After lunch, we hiked back to the place where the lorry waited for us and took a lorry ride back to the town. The sun was burning hot and imagine us having to endure it for 1 hour plus. I covered my face and neck with my jacket to avoid sunburn, which made me looked like an Aminah. Hahaha :D Lazy to apply sunblock thought I brought it with me for the trip. :)

As soon as we got back to the town, I immediately showered at our rest house and searched for icy cold drink to quench the extreme thirst from the hot lorry ride. We took a nap till dinner time.

Had our dinner at a stall at the market, where the dishes were pre-ordered by Mr. Kanasai before we came. A conversation at the dinner was the highlight of the day, which made me completely understand why MC (an outdoor friend who is also from Penang) called Mr. Kanasai, kanasai. Hahaha...

I Was sitting at the same table as Mr. Kanasai. The stall served only Chinese Tea and Herbal Cooling Tea (leong sui)which was 'Luo Hon Kuo' that night. Loh Hon Kuo was on high demand as the weather was very hot. It was not enough to cope our orders. After serving a few cups of Luo Hon Kuo, an auntie came to our table telling us there was not enough of it.

Autie (taking order): What would you like to order?
Mr. Kanasai (in Mandarin): Liang Cha (凉茶)。
Autie: No more Liang Cha, but next stall has. Only left with Chinese Tea.
Mr. Kanasai (Mumbling): Cannot be what, look at that pot of black drink, must be Liang Cha.

Autie walked away to serve drink, leaving Mr. Kanasai to decide on his order.

Me: Today's Liang Cha is Loh Hon Kuo, no more already. Only left with Chinese Tea, can you understand or not?
Mr. Kanasai: Impossible lah. You look at that pot of drink, black black one, if it's not Liang Cha then what is it?
Mr. Big: That is not Liang Cha lah. Auntie already mentioned it's Chinese Tea lah!

Autie came to our table again, serving the drinks.

Mr. Kanasai: Autie, no Liang Cha meh?
Autie: Next stall got. You want or not?
Mr. Kanasai: Don't want. I want 100 Plus.

The rest of us burst into laughter with his surprising final order, at the same time speechless. He's simply... kanasai! MC didn't tell me wrongly that he's kanasai and why every calls him kanasai. Hahaha...

Anyway, credit had to be given to Mr. Kanasai for the dinner that he arranged. We had rice with ginger spring onion wild boar meat, kangkung, Fu Yong Egg, Yellow Wine Chicken, Steamed Tilapia fish, and Yu Wat Soup. The food was good and satisfying, especially the Yellow Wine Chicken and the Steamed fish.


After dinner, we went back to the rest house for some TV and chit chatting before hitting the sack.

Lok Lok Speghetti

What is this? This is my dinner tonight. What is this dish called? Mmm... Let me name it 'Lok Lok Speghetti'.

Commercial Break: The 2 pictures were taken by my new toy, a Canon Ixus 960IS digital camera(my first ever camera), with 12.1MP, 3.7 Optical zoom, 4G memory plus this and that at RM1499. Hehe...

Ok, enough of advertisement and back to the topic. :) Where to get this (the food, not the camera)? No, you can't get it from anywhere, but you can custom make it. How? Just buy some 'Lok Lok' of your choice from 'Fatty Lok Lok', and mix the 'Lok Lok' & the Satay sauce with the Speghetti and vege that you cook yourself. Simple, isn't it? How does it taste? Of course nice! Love the sauce, love the 'Si Hum', love the 'Yu Pei', love the fishball, love the Taufu, love the vege... Slurp!

PMS

Of late, I learned that PMS (Premenstrual syndrome) is not the copyright for women only. It's no longer limited to only women menstruating to have PMS. Some men out there too unknowingly embrace some of the symptoms, especially emotionally or behaviorally. If PMS is to be made an adjective, some (SOME ONLY, not all) men can be even more PMS than women, from my observation. For more info about PMS, please check it out here.

Here are some of the symptoms of PMS:

Physical:
- Weight gain
- Fluid retention
- Breast tenderness
- Headaches and body aches
- Acne
- Hot flashes
- Nausea
- Cold sores and herpes outbreaks
- Constipation or diarrhea
- Food cravings
- Insomnia
- Fatigue

Emotional/behavioral:
- Moodiness/irritability
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Panic attacks
- Suicidal thoughts
- Crying fits
- Aggressiveness

So, are you suffering from PMS? Yes? No? If you are, but you are not a woman... then how ah? LOL! :D

A Tale of Mercedes-Benz and Myvi

Have your car engine even gone dead in front of the traffic light? Well, if it's red light, I guess you will be temporarily safe for that particular short moment. As soon as the the traffic light turns green, I am sure those impatient drivers at the back will definitely honk at you madly and cursing you for causing the jam.

It was totally a different story from an incident that I witnessed this morning on my way to work at Damansara Jaya, PJ.

It was red light, and I was stopping in front of the traffic light at the T junction with GSC on my right. Right in front of the opposite traffic light, a Myvi's engine just went dead. At the back of the Myvi was a Mercedes Benz. In an urgent manner, the Myvi driver quickly got down from his car and went to the Mercedes. I was not entirely sure if the Myvi driver was a Malay or Indian man as I was watching from a distance. The Mercedes driver, a Chinese man in his early 40s, got out of his car, had a short discussion with the Myvi driver and swiftly boarded the Myvi. Before I could figure out what they were up to, the Myvi driver started to push his car with the Chinese man in the Myvi trying to bring the car back to its life.

After about 10 meters, the Myvi started to move chokingly and it was quickily driven and parked at the parking bay at the left side of the road. The Chinese man passed the Myvi back to its owner and he quickly ran back to his Mercedes which was left in the middle of the road with the engine on. I was not sure if there was any passenger in the Merc as I couldn't see clearly from my car.

It was already green light while the 2 men were in their effort of saving the Myvi. Surprisingly, cars at the back blocked by the Mercedes in front patiently switched lane and drove past the Mercedes, without honking at all.

I wasn't sure if the 2 men know each other, but I was deeply moved to see how one helped another. I was also sure that other drivers who witnessed the incident would feel the same too.

Election was just over and the people power has prevailed in the first step of a much desired change. The incident linked me to some thoughts. After 50 years of deliberate division, a god damn sin by those selfish idiots to fulfill their own political agenda personal interest, What I witnessed today was totally priceless and was really really touching! It has demonstrated the maturity of the people and has shown that we Malaysians, regardless of race can actually live in harmony and help each other. For those whose hands are filled with 50 years of sin, you will be irrelevant very soon!

For The First Time

On 9 March 2008, for the first time in my life, I woke up feeling hope, not for myself, but for the country. What a feeling! I believe that a lot of people are feeling the same too, smiling from within their hearts, and happy with the 12th General Election results.

The people have spoken! The wind of change has created the biggest tsunami in the Malysian politics which has been dominated by BN for the past 50 years. Enough is enough! The 12th General Election has witnessed the opposition denying BN from a 2/3 majority in the parliament as well as capturing 5 states including Penang, Selangor, Perak, Kelantan and Kedah, with Penang as the biggest shock. Am not going to elaborate further on Malaysian politics and the election here as there are so many better sources out there.

Fo people who are pesimistic and doubtful about the change and the ability of opposition, give an opportunity to the people's choice to prove it. Don't forget, WE, the PEOPLE, are the BOSS. We hire and we fire. If the new government doesn't deliver, we can change it in the next election like what we have just done! For those who couldn't be bothered to register or vote, get the facts right, people is the cause of existence of politics. No people, no goverment, and hence no politics. Whether you like it or not, you are part of the country's politics. At times, bad candidates are voted by good voters who do not vote. Every single vote represents a voice and every single vote counts! Please exercise your right!

8 March 2008 would definitely be a date to remember. It marks the beginning of a new era for Malaysia.

Am really looking forward to a better Malaysia for all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, and culture! If there is a reason to feel hope, just feel it!

Little Sasha Said

Went to KY’s place on Chap Goh Meh night to learn how to make vegetarian ‘Siew Ngor’.

The sweet little cutie, Sasha (aged 6?), who is sort of like a PR at KY’s house, came into the kitchen to join the crowd.

When Sasha first saw me, she asked KY in Mandarin.

Sasha: Is this your friend ah?
KY: Yes.
Sasha: So skinny one?
Me: You are also so skinny what.

Hahaaha… LOL! Everyone (KY, KS, and I) in the kitchen burst into laughter. What a ‘Little Skinny’ calling the ‘Big Skinny’ skinny drama. Sasha has such a skinny and tiny body but she doesn’t look that skinny from the pictures that KY took though. She is THIS skinny and I am THAT skinny (for people who know me in person, you know how skinny I am), and she was calling me skinny. That’s funny! Hahaha :D That’s how we started our conversation, with the skinny commonality. We clicked well quite instantly in the kitchen.

While watching us to make the ‘Siew Ngor’, she was talking a lot and asking a lot of questions and I bullshitted with her with some nonsense.

She was drinking a winter melon packet drink.

Me: Since you are drinking winter melon drink, so you are little winter melon lor? You see, you look like the winter melon in the packet too, slim slim and small small.
Sasha: So what are you then?
Me: Human lor!
Sasha: If I am a small winter melon, then you are a BIG winter melon lah!

LOL! She’s so smart! She then continued.

Sasha: Then Ah San jeh jeh is BIG BIG winter melon and KY jeh jeh is BIG BIG BIG winter melon!

LOL! She continued to talk and ask non-stop.

Me: Can you speak Cantonese ah?
Sasha: Can. 'Hou kan yiu wong' (好紧要黄/旺) ah! (That’s the famous phrase from the Digi ad).
Me: Wah, so wong ah?!
KY: Give '4 ge zi’ lah. ('4 ge zi=4个字 in Mandarin, which can mean 4 numbers or 4 words in that context. KY meant 4 numbers)
Sasha: Hou kan yiu wong (好紧要黄/旺)! Hou… Kan… Yiu… Wong… (counting with her fingers), 4 words lor!

LOL! You will never expect what a kid can answer you!

Sasha is such an adorable and humorous little one! She had definitely added a lot of fun to our ‘Siew Ngor Night’. LOL! :D

A Coughing Chinese New Year

I am back from Chinese New Year holidays!

Had a miserable coughing CNY back in hometown. I headed home for CNY with sorethroat and cough, at the very wrong time. When I was back home, sorethroat had subsided but the cough had worsened exponentially.

Chicken being one of the main dishes almost on a daily basis during CNY, I took a few pieces of them and 1 piece of dried meat made of chicken. Believe it or not? Like a curse, my slowly subsiding cough had worsened dramatically and drastically! I coughed terribly at night till 3-4 am at midnight, waking up my whole family with my disturbing cough. The saying of not to take chicken when one is having cough has been testified and proven to hold some truths! So, touch wood, if you ever get cough next time, never ever take chicken or you'll suffer! Don't play play!

So, no Mandarin Oranges, cookies, cold drink, and hot and spicy food for me this CNY. Lots of food and drink that I couldn't really take though they were right in front of me! Kanasai! It was darn demotivating! I was losing appetite and didn't really each much.

The weather was super hot, like sauna. I was staying at home most of the time, resting, watching TV, playing with my niece and nephews, had mahjung with sisters or went online. Well, while online, people kept sending me different URL with photos of Edison Chen sex scandal, which is one of the hottest news in town now. :) Didn't manage to catch up with many friends, only managed to meet up with Ms. Aeroplane and WL who's back from Sydney for CNY with hubby and little Isaac. Ang Pow? Not to mention. I didn't get much as I didn't visit any relatives or friends except Ms. Aeroplane and WL.

The only delighting moment was when mum, dad and my second sister stroke 4D on the New Year Eve. I was happy for them though I didn't strike any. Since it's CNY, everyone was having the mentality of 'once a year only' to bet or gamble in order to 'fatt choy'(strike fortune). Almost my whole family members were betting on a few streets long of numbers EACH, which was a bit too 'happening', like money isn't money. Anyway, this would ONLY happen during CNY, never during normal days.

It short, it was quite a boring CNY. I have coughed away my CNY and 1kg of hard gained weight! 1kg means a lot to me! For me, gaining 1kg of weight is as hard as some people trying to lose it. Give me back 1kg of weight!!!

Home

I am home! After driving for 2 hours 15 mins for a journey of 210KM alone on the North-South Highway, I am finally home to start my Chinese New Year holidays.

It's really a relief that the traffic was smooth and there was no jam at all. Glad that I have strategically made the right choice of day to go home to avoid the massive jam.

Sorethroat is slowly subsiding but I am still coughing like no body's business. Damn hate coughing! Turned the air-cond to blow side way to avoid irritating my throat but I still coughed sporadically while driving on my journey home. It was very torturing! It had given me a little excuse to speed a little to reach home faster, as the traffic was damn clear.

Going home for Chinese New Year is supposed to be something happy and exciting... but it seems to have also become a nightmare of massive traffic jam which is really testing patience.

Last year's experience was a total nightmare. I attemped to go home 'twice' on the same day before I actually got home. The jam started right after Damansara Toll in PJ and after about 1 & 1/2 hours, I still hadn't reached Sungai Buloh! If you are a frequent traveler on the North-South Highway, you know what I am talking about. I wanted to pee so much, but the traffic was not moving, and the nearest rest point was nowhere to be seen. If I continued to get stuck like that, my urine bladder was going to burst for sure. When I was near the Gurthrie highway exit to Shah Alam/Klang, I made the decision to exit and detour back to PJ to sleep, of course to settle the urgent business first! I went back again at night. It was still jam but less jam and more tolerable. I was glad for my decision to detour. The massive jam was from Damansara Toll to Jelapang Toll in Ipoh, covering 200 over Kilometers and it was covered in the front page of all the major newspapers! It took 6-8 hours for a journey of 2 hours plus to reach home if I chose to continue the journey in daytime.

Enough of recalling last year's experience. Dog tired of driving and coughing today, but feel peaceful as I am home and not part of the victims of the massive jam this year. Time to hit the sack.

Wishing everyone a Happy Chinese New Year. For those who are traveling home, safe journey home. For those who can't come home for Chinese New Year for a reason or another, Happy Chinese New Year too and home is where the heart is.

Curry Car

While other people own a Curry House restaurant, I owned a CURRY CAR last night.

Had a long day running around to client's place at Shah Alam and back in the office. On my way home after work, I turned to Damansara Uptown to pack the yummy Curry Chee Cheong Fen with fried dried shrimp and Yong Tau fu from Yip Hup Kee for dinner.

God knows, the curry sauce spilled and splashed on the window, the door and the safety belt of the passenger seat in front. Not only that, the curry disaster also contaminated both sides of the window as well as on the cushion on the left side of the back seat! Don't ask me how could it happen technically, it just happened! Damn it!

I was dog tired and hungry, and there's no way that I was going to spend time to clean the mess myself. Thus, I sent my car (which was just washed not long ago) for washing at a Shell petrol station on my way home.


At the car wash of petrol station, I was having problem communicating with the 4-5 workers there comprising Bangladeshis (I assumed) and Indonesians. The Bangladeshis were helpful but just couldn't understand what I said when I was telling them to clean off the curry sauce in the car. When I was trying hard to explain to them, 1 of them asked me if it was 'darah' (blood) in the car while I repeatedly mentioned 'Curry'. I almost vomited blood. Their English and Malay proficiency as you and I know, are registered under private limited. On the other hand, the Indonesians workers were showing bad attitudes. There were like deaf and not listening when I spoke to them in Malay. I had to stand there to supervise them (even using sign languages) to get rid of my problem, to wipe off the curry sauce inside my car before they turned stain.

RM10 gone for the car wash. Not much of an issue for the RM10 but the frustration, tireness (as I started to have sorethroat and feel like falling sick) and the hunger...

What a day! #$@#%#^%&%^*^&(&*)*()*()*(!@#!@#!$!

I am done cursing... and I am still breathing.

Moment of Truth

The weather wasn't good on Sat. It rained in the afternoon and was still drizzling a little in the evening. I had to call off my plan to go for an evening jog in UM campus, where I usually jog. I went to the gym at my apartment instead. Comparatively, I prefer to jog outdoor as I can feel to progression as I jog and enjoy the natural scenery. However, indoor gym would be the alternative due to weather or if I am lazy to drive out.

I jogged for 45 minutes and cycled for about 15 minutes. After an hour of exercise, i had a good sweat. It was around 7:30pm. I went up to my place only to realize that I left the key of the extra padlock (recently added) in my room! 1 house mate has gone to Taiwan while another was out for dinner. I didn't bring my handphone with me too since I was just downstairs, within the apartment compound.

Without handphone, how to contact my house mate for rescue?! So shit! Since I couldn't go in, I went down again, wandering around, trying hard to recall my house mate's mobile no. No matter how hard I tried, I still failed to recall hers and other contact numbers of some friends who have my house mate's number. Those contact numbers that I can remember off hand belong to friends who are too far away to come to my rescue. I was wandering here and there trying to figure out who could I contact and trying hard to remember their numbers. Unfortunately, all my attempts failed thoroughly.

Imagine with my sweaty body after exercising for 1 hour, with chilling wind blowing everywhere that I walked, I felt so cold. I was looking for a place that's less reachable by the chilling wind but there was none! I felt hungry too.

Finally, I decided to go to the guardhouse for shelter. I borrowed the phone and made a call to a friend who is usually quite mobile, and whose number that I could remember. Too bad, he was in Kajang and too far away to come to at least take me out for dinner instead of just waiting endlessly.

Knowing my house mate as a not so outgoing person, I decided to wait for her to come back as she normally won't be back too late. I waited patiently at the guardhouse. The guards actually passed me a locksmith's contact number but I decided to hang on for a while.

Time seemed to pass so slowly. Apart from being uneasy with my sweaty sticky and body, I started to feel tired and hungry. How I wished the time to pass faster or my house mate to return earlier. I had been wandering around and waiting in the guardhouse till 9:30pm. What if my house mate was returning very late or not returning for the night? Finally I decided not to wait any further and called the locksmith considering if I I kept on waiting and if the night got later, I would be dying of hunger and the locksmith might charge me double or sky high.

Within 10 minutes time, the locksmith arrived. He was a tall and fair guy. He brought along all his gears from lightweight to heavyweight. After he looked at and examined the padlock, straight away he told me, that kind of padlock is very hard to open, and suggested to saw the 'ears' of the gate, where the padlock was placed. I told him to try for a while first before using that ultimate solution as it will be troublesome for me to get people to seal it back. I even told him that I would rather pay him even without him opening anything if my house mate came back any time, than sawing the 'ears' of the gate.

Anyway, he kept on trying while I was praying hard that my house mate would return in time. He kept telling me it would be better to use that ultimate solution while I kept buying some time. I asked for the last 5 minutes and he agreed. On the 4th minute, he was already getting ready to saw. I asked him to hang on for another minute as time was not up yet and told him that a lot of things can happen in 1 minute.

Suddenly, I heard a 'ting' sound and saw some people coming out from the lift. I was dissapointed that I couldn't find any sign of my house mate's face from these 4-5 people that walked out from the lift. On a second glance, in that moment of truth, I spotted a familiar face and it was my house mate! Thank God!

'See, I told you!', I said proudly to the locksmith. He smiled at me and said, 'Luckily you insisted till the last minute.' However I still needed to pay the locksmith the minimum charge of RM50. He's a licensed locksmith and he did show me his license and the list of authorized charges. At first, I was trying to negotiate for a lower charge but after that I saved my saliva to bargain with him and paid him RM50. He deserved it as he was willing to come to my rescue (though no actual rescue done ultimately) so promptly and don't forget it was on Sat night. Guess what? I had only RM51 of cash with me, just enough to pay the bill with RM1 left. Haha...

It was around 10:30pm when I actually got in to my place and I hadn't even had my dinner! Was initially planning to cook rice & dishes for dinner if the homeless incident didn't happen but I could only settle with Indomee and tofu, a speedy istant dinner. What a night!

I wasn't angry or anxious in the process of waiting as it wouldn't help. Instead, I was calm to think and waited patiently. The sky wasn't falling down anyway.

Was I lucky or unlucky? Come to think of it, it was my own carelessness that lead to this homeless incident and I would consider myself lucky at making the right decision at the critical moment, though there was a price of RM50 to pay for it.

If there is a piece of white papar with a dark spot on it, I choose to see the white area rather than the dark spot to make myself feel better. Move on, life goes on!

2007 Flashback

Another year has passed. As we grow older, the more we feel the lost of time as each year passes. There are so much more to be done and yet time is passing without slowing down, whether we like it or not.

Looking back at the year of 2007, these are the few things that flash back in my memory.

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Somewhen in January, I went to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam for 4 days to attend my ex-company annual conference, gathering 13 offices from Asia. Most of the time, we were attending back to back seminar and training in the hotel ballroom or outdoor team building event. It was more tiring that working! From the conference, it reflected that in the name of commitment, some people have actually traded their life balance and even the importance of family for monetary rewards and to survive the highly demanding and pressured environment. My inner self was wondering ‘do I want to be like them?’

I didn’t really have the chance to visit the city much due to the tight schedule. What I would not forget about the city was the chaotic traffic and mentally torturing non-stop honking noise, fatal road accident every single day (life is so fragile on the road in HCMC) and the most disgusting taste of pork on earth that I’ve ever tasted in my life when I bit on a spring roll! I almost vomited! I wished to have more time to see the city.

Unhappiest Chinese New Year Ever
I am a person who works and plays hard. I can be working very hard through out the year but Chinese New Year is a time for me to rest and be with family and friends. 2007’s was the unhappiest Chinese New Year I’ve ever had. Due to the selfishness of some bitches, I was deprived of spending adequate precious time with family and friends back in hometown. I’ve never encountered this before in my previous years of working life. I started to wonder, where has this person (that I respect as far as work is concerned) positioned the importance of family in her priority of life… Work seems to supersede everything, including her family.

Home
Felt no sense of belonging with my last job, the house of notes, and the city at times... I headed for home very frequently, more frequent than I can expect. Just wanted to get out of town, stay at home, do nothing and enjoy the tranquility and mum’s delicious cooking. When I needed a sip of Ipoh white coffee, Ms. Aeroplane was always there for me, and she still is.


New Beginning
There were a few new changes in 2007. I took big risk and opted myself out of an environment where I don’t belong to. I quitted my last job and I shifted out of the ‘House of Note’ to my current place where I can cook again, and I learned something about ‘Wok Seasoning’ when I bought new wok for cooking. I bought a new anti-static mattress to ease my static dilemma. I am happier now with all these changes that I have chosen. If you are stuck, find your way out.

Blogging
Started my first ever blog in April and my Chinese blog followed in September.

KK Trip
Went to the Land Below the Wind in May. Had a great time with Padas River white water rafting, Mount KK hike, the seafood, coconut pudding, grilled clam… the memorable ‘will you marry me drama’ and every moment of the trip. It’s the most luxurious hiking trip that I’ve ever experienced as compared to my other previous hiking trips.

Good Luck or Bad Luck?
My luck had been on a roller coaster ride. One moment I could be darn lucky and it could be followed by a bad luck incident the next moment. Fell at the staircase and sprained my ankle 1 week before my KK hiking trip. Fortunately, I managed to recover in time and still made it to the summit. Got parking summon from MBPJ for the monthly pass that didn’t stick well on my car’s windscreen and dropped out of sight of the officer. Stroke 4D (with small amount of reward) a few times this year. Hehe... Got an ugly triangle burn scar (which seems no sign of going off… sigh…) on my left hand while cooking in a camping trip. I slipped and fell 3 times in 60 seconds (for unknown reasons…) at the Curve and it was legendary! Till today, it still puzzles me how did it actually happen.

Tioman – The Island of Cat
I went to Tioman Island in August for an escapade with some friends who went diving. We stayed at Salang Bay. Since I am not a diver, I took my own sweet time to relax on the beach. Unfortunately the trip was pretty much spoilt by cats! I was VERY MUCH ANNOYED with the presence of cats all over the island, especially when they surrounded our table each time we dined. I couldn’t really eat or wander around in peace. Don’t ask me why, I just don’t like cats and am afraid of them!

Fireworks, The Aeroplane & the People That I Miss
Went to catch the Malaysia International Fireworks Competition at Putrajaya for 20 minutes of splendour with 2 hours of jam. Saw an aeroplane flew passed the sky filled with the splendid fireworks and it reminded me of people who are apart from me. I actually miss them and I wish them all the best, no matter where they are.

Wonderful People
Met some wonderful new friends including some special ones and I enjoyed the moments spent with them. It takes sincerity, truthfulness, caring, sharing, understanding, and acceptance of differences to reap the most out of friendship.

Damaged Hair
Rebonding is an inaugural event for my yearly calendar for easier maintenance of my hair throughout the year. I have never had any problem with rebonding as my hair stylist has been doing a good job for the past few years. I was lazy to locate where my hair stylist’s salon has shifted to, and I wanted to try a new salon at Taman Megah, PJ. The result was disastrous! Money and time spent, and my healthy hair was severely damaged and it looks like dried grass! I was so pissed off and sad! Lesson learnt, always stick to the hair stylist who understands your hair the best and can always do a good job for your hair.

Many Late Nights
Hit by facebook mania and couldn’t stop watching HK TVB series one episode after another! Spent many late nights on both. My Panda eyes are getting darker and darker. This is not good. 1 of my New Year resolutions is to sleep early!

New Toy - Sony Ericsson K770i
My Nokia 6020 just died all of a sudden till it couldn’t even be fixed or turned on. I was forced to get another new phone. As X’mas was approaching, I got myself a new Sony Ericsson K770I as X’mas present. It’s the most expensive X’mas present ever for myself.

I Wonder
Started to wonder where have all the teachings and values gone for some people, when it comes to pursuing personal happiness and love. Reality hurts…

X’mas
I had a round of gluttony at Datin’s place on Christmas Eve. We, the ladies were being asked by R if we are ‘L’ (Lesbian). Ahahaha… We are definitely 200% not ‘L’ and but we are ‘L’adies.

New Year Eve
I had dinner, spent my New Year eve in church, and had Satay for supper with some friends. I am not a Christian but have no issue attending church on certain occasions. I have been to church a few times prior to this. Enjoyed some of the hymns and gained something from the preaching. Peace is in a person. I think peace is most needed for a friend who is suffering from depression at the moment. I wish her to find peace in herself. From the dinner and the Satay session, I learned that Prince of Sweet & Sour Pork is a hardcore fan of anything sweet & sour other than pork and he actually drinks (instead of eating) Satay sauce, and Mr. Ice Bandung can actually have 2 more cups of Ice Bandung during supper after having 1 cup during dinner. The spirit is really hardcore, man! Ahahaha… Well, there is nothing wrong with it as they are just being faithful to the choice of food or drink that they love.

There might be some memories in 2007 that have slipped my mind but it doesn't really matter. Life goes on and there's a wonderful year ahead, I hope.

Wishing everyone a happy and a better new year in 2008!