Tagged for 5s

I've been tagged on my other blog, so I'm doing a "human" version here while my cats do theirs on the other blog.

5 Things You Can’t Do
Eat by myself in public
Whistling
Say the F*** word outloud
Ride a bicycle (sad huh?)
Style my own hair

5 Things You Can Do
Watch repeats of Friends and Desperate Housewives
Eat French fries on a daily basis
Type without staring at the keyboard
Stay awake through the night to finish a book
Laugh non-stop for something not so funny (I've laughed for an entire school period until the teacher got fed up with me and complained to my Mom)

5 Things That Scare You
Death (my own, my loved ones, my princesses….)
Darkness
Creepy-crawlies
Dogs
Public speaking

5 Things You Love
Books & magazines
Chocolates (not white ones though)
Gadgets (but can’t afford much of them)
Taking a nap when it rains
Cooking (I hardly do it now because I’m also lazy)

5 Things You Hate
Waking up early
Going clubbing
Ironing cotton shirts
Shopping in a crowded place
Checking my car tyre’s pressure (that’s why someone has to take care of my car condition all the time)

5 Random Facts About You

Anything pink tends to catch my eye

I love watching Chow Sing Chee’s movies
I’m pretty anti-social
I like the smell of new books
5 happens to be my favourite number

5 Things You Want To Do Before You Die
Tell those who matter to me that I love them
Visit Egypt to see the Pyramid
Pay off all my debts
Leave my room clean (it’s hard for those left behind to clear my mess!)
Create happy & meaningful memories with family and friends

And now, 5 others to tag:
Daddy Nick
De Bookworm
Midnite Lily
Stargazer
Teh Tarik Satu

The Mysterious Battles for A Calculator

Me and calculators – I think it is a relationship that is not meant to be.

When I was leaving a particular company some time back, I was asked to return important company assets. Well and fine, because it’s the natural thing to do. But what surprised me was that the FIRST thing I was asked was whether I’ve returned the calculator. I thought there would be more important things like the company’s corporate card. Never mind.

And then there’s also this particular office where when I asked the stationery guy for a calculator, he was afraid to hand it over. So he referred me to go ask person B in Admin who may have more authority (to give me a calculator to do my job? Sounds odd but whatever). When I asked person B, she was also reluctant and asked me to go ask person C, who’s in COMPLIANCE department! OMG!! Am I asking for a lot here?? My response was “What?? Compliance Department needs to approve that I get a calculator?” And then I was told if I don’t want to go through the hassle, I should just buy my own. I gave up.

How come everyone else in my department gets a calculator but not me? I don’t know what I’m expected to calculate with. Maybe they are putting me to the test since I am an accounting & finance graduate?

I can’t figure out why calculators are such prized possessions. Or is it just me, having no affinity with calculators?

A valueable lesson for $1.10

When we were done shopping for groceries at the supermarket, Mom was a few minutes early for her next appointment at the same place. I, on the other hand, would be heading home. While she had time on her side, my parking time was ticking because this is a mall that still charged by the hour instead of a flat parking rate. I was soon approaching the end of the first hour and going into the second.

As we finished loading our shopping bags into the car, a "brilliant" idea came to my mind - I'd ask Mom to hang around the mall while I go off to beat the timer and save that additional $1.10 of parking.

Just then, before I voiced my idea, I felt my Mom's fingers slipped into mine and she held my hand. There is a sense of warmth and tenderness in a mother's touch and I felt comfort in it. I immediately abandoned the idea of asking her to wait it out herself. I stayed with her, strolling hand in hand for just a few more minutes before it was time for her to go meet her friends.

And then it hit me. What the hell was I thinking, saving $1.10 versus spending just a few more minutes with the woman who gave me life, cared for my well-being and offered me unconditional love no matter what or who I become. The woman who stood by me when I was down, who accepted me through my countless mistakes, who would give anything to let me have the best, who forgave me no matter how much I've hurt her and who has devoted her life to bring me up.

I felt terribly ashamed of my "oh-so-brilliant" idea of saving that stupid $1.10. Come the day if Mom is no longer around, I will pay anything just to spend a minute in her presence.

It'll take a while to wash off the shame I feel of myself for that moment. But at least I've come to realise that one should never take for granted the time you can share with a loved one. After all, all the money in the world can never buy you a parent.

So much to say, so little to write

So much thoughts are flashing through my head. I tried to pen them down but failed. It's as if the mind is narrating at the speed of lighting and the hand can't cope to write it all.

The things going through my mind are not disturbing. On the contrary, they seem to "enlighten" me in my own little ways. That's why I want to jot them down in case one day I get clouded and forget. But I can't seem to put them into words.

Maybe it is a humbling experience and no words come close to describing it. It has left me quite speechless...

More toys to play with now

The weekend was very "gadgety" for us. At first we only planned on getting my mobile phone checked out because we suspected there was some problem with the in-built microphone. We went all the way downtown to the service center in Low Yatt Plaza. We went early to beat the weekend traffic as well as to be the first at the service center. When we got there, most shops were still not opened so we went for breakfast at a café called Hainan Coffee. The food was so-so but the coffee was excellent! Best coffee I’ve had so far. No doubt about it.

Anyway, I’ve digressed…Coming back to the phone story….

After we dropped off the phone for repair, we went to shop around the IT floors and bought ourselves Bluetooth connectivity devices. Next, we shopped for CDs. Then, we spent the afternoon playing with our new toys and discovered one of the Bluetooth devices doesn’t work at all. It was quite a disappointment.

So after our Sunday brunch at the famous coffee shop Yut Kee, we were back at Low Yatt Plaza again. However, the shop was closed. But that didn’t stop us from browsing the place again. This time we bought some 4-port USB hubs and more CDs. See, there’re always things to buy even if you go 2 days in a row!

Today, Ray has gone back for the 3rd time to get the defective thing exchanged. I wonder how he’s doing…will he find more things to buy for the 3rd consecutive day? Only time will tell…

Sg. Besi Wan Tan Noodle (Non-Halal post)

Note: This post may be offensive to Muslim friends. Please skip this non-halal post of mine.

Last weekend we were in town and was looking for a place to have dinner. We decided to go for the famous wan tan mee in Sg. Besi. I'm not a big fan of wan tan noodle and it was my first visit to the stall. But the food was good, although a bit on the pricey side.

The menu is quite varied with different combinations of ingredients for the noodle. The signature selection is the one with char siew (barbequed pork). We ordered two different types, the one with chicken feet and chinese mushrooms and the one with wild boar curry. We ordered the char siew as a side dish.

Chicken feet and mushroom noodle

Another shot of it

Wild boar curry noodle

Signature char siew dish

The char siew was really something. Very tender and delicious. Apparently, the secret recipe is to steam it first before barbequeing. Don't know the details too much as these are all hearsay, so don't quote me outloud OK? Maybe some food expert like FoodCrazee can comment and give us some tips.

Our meal of 3 plates of wan tan mee, char siew, 4 pieces of fried suey kow, vege and 3 drinks cost us RM40. The char siew alone costs RM10. There is always a price to pay for good food...

A love for most things Korean

As I drove home from work yesterday, I suddenly realised I was surrounded by many things Korean. I drive a Korean car, use a Korean brand mobile phone, listening to Korean songs on my CD player and I was wearing a suit that I bought in Korea. Later that night, I was even glued to the TV watching a new Korean drama called Green Rose.

And now, a Korean post for today.

My Korean collage

I was in Korea some 2 years back. Each trip I made, I never failed to:

1. Make a trip to the wholesale markets in Dong Dae Moon and Miong Dong
2. Buy Korean green tea
3. Buy Korean music CDs and soundtracks
4. Eat authentic Korean dishes (minus the kimchi. Too much of it isn’t great)

Of all my hotel stays, I enjoyed it best at Seoul’s Shilla Hotel. They paid every attention to the smallest details and provided fine services. The people I met are also very polite and respectful. It makes a difference to have all the little niceties to make your stay that much more pleasant. I also find the city very well planned and connected, infrastructure and technology wise.

Even the streets are somewhat organised by product type. There was this street that we drove on – it was a long stretch with shops on both sides of the road. Almost all the shops on that street are pet stores. I asked the locals why it was so and wouldn’t that mean huge competition. I was told that the shops were planned that way - a certain street houses one particular type of product.

One day, I would like to visit South Korea again. And if it happens, I wouldn’t miss venturing to the famous Jeju Island. I remember reading from Daddy Nick’s blog that he has visited Seoul (probably for honeymoon?). Did you like it, Nick?

Signing off,
The Korean fan

He spoils me, he spoils me not?

I was lucky to endure only about an hour of peak traffic getting out of city centre after a heavy downpour yesterday. I had mentally prepared myself for at least 1.5 to 2 hours drive home and thus a delayed Valentine dinner. But when it was less than expected, it gave me some cheap thrill.

We didn’t decide on a specific place to eat as I told Ray let’s not indulge in flowers and fancy restaurants. So we went where our legs brought us and ended up at Dave’s at 1U. It was packed and tables were already booked in advance. But the restaurant was releasing tables of those who didn’t show up after a 5 minute grace period. So even with no pre-booking, we got a table in 10 minutes.

I’ve always liked Dave’s food but yesterday they couldn’t cope with the large crowd. The food was not up to its normal standards and the working crew were agitated with each other with many rounds of outbursts amongst themselves. It isn’t the right mood for a Valentine night. But we didn’t let that bother us. We still had a great time. Despite some tables complaining about delayed service, we happened to get everything we need in reasonable time. So we were quite happy.

While we waited for our orders to be served, we read cards and opened presents. I was so pleased that Ray got me The Zahir which I was already thinking of getting since I’ve gotten positive recommendations from fellow bloggers recently. I got Ray his long lost and missed cash-clipper.

After all the exchange, we were chatting and sipping tea when I suddenly realised that my phone, which I placed on the table earlier, was missing. I was frantically rummaging through my bag and it wasn’t there. I asked Ray if he has seen it and he brought out a phone I’ve never seen before. He bought me a new phone! I just love it!! Imagine my surprise and delight. *Grin*

He spoils me; he spoils me not; he spoils me; not...

He spoils me, don’t ya think? =)

My Valentine’s day so far

7.15am: Alarm went off. Wished it was weekend.
7.25am: SMS Ray a Valentine message
7.45am: Fed princesses, wished them Happy Meowantine’s Day. 1 kiss each.
8.00am: Drove to work
8.15am: Tuned in to Mix FM’s Battle of The Sexes show. *Read more below.
8.50am: Signed in 5 minutes late to work.
9.00am: Rushing my 9.30 deadline
9.30am: Rushing another before-noon deadline
10.30am: Boss took me out for tea. **Read the story at the bottom of post.
12.30pm: Lunch with friends
2.00pm: New assignment, so more work, work and work
3.30pm: Got a call from a headhunter to send in my CV (good luck or what?)
4.00pm: Raining cats and dogs. How long a jam do I have to battle later?
5.06pm: Rain has trickled down. Phew!


I hope to be out of here by 6pm to have a Valentine night =)


* As usual, Richard the Breakfast show host, got 1 guy and 1 female on air to battle it out. At the end of the show, the guy called Richard back and asked for the girl’s phone number. Richard, being the cheeky fellow that he is on air, called the girl and put them both on air! Richard told the guy to ask the girl on air if she would give him the number. What a fix the poor girl was in.

** Boss took me out to have a chat. In my mind I was thinking “Die, die, die! What did I do or not do?” She said she wants to confirm me and asked what I thought of it. I voiced my concerns and she seemed OK in addressing them and giving me some form of assurance. Then she went on to talk more about life in general; that life is too short and we should have more non-work related reasons to live for. By the end of the advise session, she was suddenly crying! Scared me a little. Anyways, I guess I’ll be confirmed soon.

Valentine

"Valentine"
By Wendy Cope

My heart has made its mind up
And I'm afraid it's you.
Whatever you've got lined up,
My heart has made its mind up
And if you can't be signed up
This year, next year will do.
My heart has made its mind up
And I'm afraid it's you.

Prelude to Valentine's Day

Since tomorrow is Valentine's Day, here's something to share on the eve.

A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, "What does love mean?" The answers they got were broader and deeper than you could have imagined.

"When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love." Rebecca - age 8

"When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth." Billy - age 4

"Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other." Karl - age 5

"Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs." Chrissy -age 6

"Love is what makes you smile when you're tired." Terri - age 4

"Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK." Danny - age 7

"Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss" Emily - age 8

"Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen." Bobby - age 7

"If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate," Nikka - age 6

"Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday." Noelle - age 7

"Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well." Tommy - age 6

"During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore." Cindy - age 8

"My mommy loves me more than anybody . You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night." Clare - age 6

"Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken" Elaine - age 5

"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford." Chris - age 7

"Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day." Mary Ann - age 4

"I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones." Lauren - age 4

"When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you." Karen - age 7

"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's gross." Mark - age 6

"You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget." Jessica - age 8

And the final one -- Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge. The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child. The winner was a four-year-old child whose next-door neighbour was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbour, the little boy said, "Nothing, I just helped him cry"



"Bless all my friends in whatever it is that they may be needing this day! And may their life be full of your peace, prosperity and power, courage, compassion and wisdom as he/she seeks to have a closer relationship with love".

Chap Goh Meh

Chap Goh Meh - the 2 things we know about this day:

1. It's the last day of the Chinese New Year
2. It's the Chinese Valentine's Day

Unlike the western style of commercialised Valentine's romantic candle-light dinner with music, flowers, candies and gifts, the Chinese are more practical people. According to tradition, people throw oranges across the river to the person that he/she likes.

My personal take on this orange throwing: after 2 weeks of Chinese New Year, people still have tonnes of oranges left and if not eaten quickly, they will rot. So what do you do when it's the last day of Chinese New Year and you still have a crate? Go throw it at someone and pretend it's a gift la!

Ooh...I hear the drums and it's definitely lion dance at my neighbour's! Gonna catch it since I've not seen any so far for the year.

Happy Chap Goh Meh!

Real-life bloopers

I love watching bloopers when some movies screen them at the end of the show. Most of Jacky Chan’s movies come with bloopers at the end. It’s not about watching people’s mistakes and laughing at them. I just like candid moments.

As a kid, we were probably the most candid we could be, like this:

{Click to enlarge & expand picture}

Some real-life bloopers:

Many years ago, we were a bunch of gymnasts. During one of our training sessions, some of us were taking a break and watching another team mate perform her routine. It went well until one point she did a graceful leap in the air and suddenly we heard a loud "proattt!". She farted. We giggled.

On one of my connecting flights into Africa, I was seated next to a guy who struck a conversation with me. When the plane took off, I fell asleep. I was dead tired and slept the whole journey. When I woke up, the first thing I saw was his face. He was staring at me sleep. The blooper part of this story is that my mouth was wide opened while I was sleeping!

One of my worst bloopers was some years back when I attended a training session. I felt that the facilitator liked to pick on me even though I’ve not annoyed him. Because of that, I became very conscious whenever he called upon me to give my comments. One such time, I was so nervous that I used the wrong word in the worst way ever. I wanted to say “ejection” but I ended up saying “ejaculation”. The minute I heard myself say it, I felt my face blush. The facilitator, delighted with my mistake, didn’t wait any second longer to jump on my "accident".

OK, I don't feel like telling anymore bloopers before my self-confidence goes down the drains...tell me yours!

Meme of 4

No topic comes to mind that I feel like posting today. And since I've been tagged by Stargazer to do the Meme of 4, might as well give it a shot. So here goes!

4 Jobs I've Had In My Life

* Multi-tasker at Domino’s Pizza, UK
* Internal Auditor
* Business Development
* Product Development
(Not the most interesting of jobs)

4 Movies I Could Watch Over & Over

* My Best Friend’s Wedding
* The Wedding Singer
* The American President
* The Wedding Planner
(Why do I get attracted to movies with “wedding” in the title?!)

4 TV Shows I Love To Watch

* Friends
* Desperate Housewives
* CSI
* Lost

4 Places Where I've Lived

* Johor Bahru
* Kuala Lumpur
* Petaling Jaya
* Colchester, UK

4 Places I've Been On Vacation To

* Hong Kong
* Holland
* Belgium
* Switzerland

4 Places I Would Rather Be

* Home
* London during Spring time, watching Phantom of The Opera with Ray
* On a vacation in a brightly lit city
* Warner Brothers studio, watching the filming of Friends

4 Of My Favourite Foods

* Pasta
* Hokkien mee
* Anything mango-ish
* Chocolate

4 Websites I Visit Daily

* The Star
* Blogger
* Web Sudoku
* Google

4 Beautiful People Worth Tagging

* Charmed One
* Daddy Nick
* FoodCrazee
* Pah

A good book is what I need

It's lunch hour and I'm surfing Amazon, looking for a good book. The last that I read was Dan Brown's "Digital Fortress", during the Christmas period.

I feel like another book but not sure what's out there. Haven't scanned a bookstore for some time. One of the books I was told is good is James Patterson's "4th of July". Pretty good reviews of 4 stars from 100 odd readers. Not bad.

Then I visited De BookWorm and she was talking about Sophie Kinsella's "Confession of A Shopaholic". It's got 4.5 stars from over 700 readers. I bet all are female.

Then there's also the temptation to read Paulo Coelho's "The Zahir" which I read about at Gina's some time back. I've always liked his work especially The Alchemist.

Whilst 4th of July is the kind of thriller I like, Shopaholic sounds light and fun. Zahir is thought provoking and offers some insight about life. I like those too.

Choices, choices, choices!

Snake & Ladder, & life changing decisions

When I was a kid, I used to love the Snake & Ladder board game. It was exciting when you’ve climbed the many boxes upwards and landing on a ladder to take you up a few notches. Of course no one likes to have to land where a big, long snake is waiting to bring you all the way to the bottom and starting over again.

Isn’t that what we have grown up to be? Our lives is really about waiting for a chance to land at the ladder and dodging the snakes that lead to rock bottom. To stay on top of the game, many of us have learned to work hard and to do all it takes. And through this “Monkey See, Monkey Do” behaviour, we all emulate each other through generations. So much so that some of us may not even realise why we are doing what we’re doing.

People work because we need the money to survive. The higher the rank, the more money you earn and the better life should be. People get married because it is a norm in society. People have children because every married couple should have children. Nowadays children must go for tuition because it is the only way to beat the neighbour’s children. Almost every Tom, Dick and Harry get a degree today because it is the only way to secure a job. The story continues in the same cycle. And that, my friend, is what we call Life.

So when or what is the trigger that makes one make a life changing decision? Is it an unexpected incident that changes the way you think and make you realise what you really want out of life? Is it a near-death moment that clears your vision and bring out the heart’s true desire? Is it a long harboured passion that never got to see the sunshine? Is it when God has had enough of your blindness and decides to slap you on the head one day and all of a sudden, your life’s goals seem clear? Is it when you have lost what you consider to be everything and there’s nothing more to lose?

Whatever the moment is, it is moment of truth. But whether we take heed of that moment of truth is yet another story. Today, I had one such moment. In that very moment, I knew what exactly I wanted to do. For that brief moment, I felt peace and clarity in my heart. But when I said “brief”, I really meant brief. It was gone the moment the mind started applying thoughts to it. The human mind is conditioned to think of consequences and more often than not, they are negative and become natural barriers.

When the picture is painted with consequences, the moment of truth dies. The fear of failure and uncertainties far outweigh everything that you want. Through our much calculated risks and actions, we stay put where we are and bury the “want” six feet under. And then we call that buried thing our Dream. Don’t we paint a nice story to kid ourselves and others?

It takes a very brave person to bite the bullet to be true to himself.

So blue

After the long CNY break, I was happy to return to the working week with 2 days of training that is today and tomorrow. It means a short week at work and I was all mentally psyched up for it.

So off I went today, taking a leisurely drive to training and feeling very relaxed and casual. Got to the building, went to register and only to be told it's postponed to a week later! Though I accepted the fact, my mind was willing it to be untrue. I need my 2 days of training!!!

I dragged my feet to the car park again. With each step I kept hoping that someone would call out after me and say there's been a mistake. It didn't happen even as I drove through the exit.

So here I am, back in the office, totally unprepared for a working day. *sigh*

Kevin's Full Moon Dinner

Last night we were guests at Kevin's full moon dinner. We arrived just on time and Daddy Nick brought us in to sneak a peek at Sleeping Kevin. I was telling Daddy Nick how I wanted to carry Kevin but when I finally saw him, I got more nervous because he's so small and fragile!

Anyway, we seated ourselves and began cracking open the fortune cookies layed for us. On the Lazy-Susan, there were also the must-have "red eggs" (actually I don't know what it is to symbolise. Anyone has any idea?).

The first dish was Yee Sang and Ray's wish for me was to get 1-year bonus while Daddy Nick's wish for me was to have a non-working Friday week. My wish, obviously, was for all that to come true! Hahaha.

As for the rest of the dishes, we were too busy eating so no one took any pictures. But we do have a picture of "Nick's Angels" (Asian version) who were seated with us and who steadily posed for us at the end of the meal.

To see pictures of Kevin, visit Daddy Nick.

I'm so bored!!

Read between the lines

First day back at *groan* work.

Very sulky happy.

Office is empty full of bubbly people.

A good day to sleep finish lots of work.

Yeah, right!

The only good thing about today: TGIF!

Yawn.

Colours of CNY

Hello again! Hope everyone's CNY was great. Mine's pretty quiet, more of family gatherings. We have a very large extended family (12 siblings on dad's side and 7 on mom's; now you do the math) and CNY is the only time when you get to see almost everybody.

On the 2nd day of CNY, we visited 7th Aunt's house like we always do. She prepared a huge meal for us - 10 dishes and 2 types of soups with steamed rice. Not to mention the softdrinks, chinese tea and wines served too. Before and after the meal, we were all munching on crisps, cookies and light savoury snacks that make the CNY platter.

How not to put on more weight?? OK OK, I shan't turn obsessive on the topic of weight management again, otherwise Daddy Nick might publish a chubby picture of me back in college days.

Yesterday we went to 1U to catch a CNY movie. It's almost a self-made "tradition" for us to catch a CNY movie every year. There were 3 to choose from, Fearless, My Kungfu Sweetheart and The Shopaholics. We went for the latter. Although quite exagerated, at one point it did bring tears to my eyes. It's a good love story amidst all the comedy. Recommended if you need a light movie without the logic.

Anyway, apart from the family gatherings, friendly visits, sumptuous meals and mandarin oranges, I also look forward to watching the CNY TV advertisements. The 2 that I like this year are:

1. Petronas - the one with the old ladies talking about their sons. Love it!
2. Perodua - the one with the kids playing lion dance.

If you haven't seen them, do try to look out for them. Very meaningful.

I have the next 2 days to enjoy the remaining CNY break...and then it's back to work on Friday. Hope everybody's CNY was colourful and enjoyable!