Somber mood

This week hasn't gone well at all. Today is no better. It's bad enough having to work almost 18 hours straight yesterday that I have to face another dilemma.

I guess most people know there are certain risks in doing everything, including maintaining a blog. I learned today that penning down one's thoughts aloud can sometimes unintentionally hurt or cause someone to be in trouble. In this case, it was a good friend (you know who you are). I feel bad about it and the only thing I can say is that I am sincerely sorry that it had to happen that way. Perhaps I should have been more discreet or I should have just shut my mouth for good.

I don't know if this is going to help at all, but it will definitely make me think twice before penning my thoughts. Wonder how much more screw ups I am going to make before the week ends.

Mood: Distracted, dissapointed, sad, confused. :-(

Peak and Valleys

My brain is currently working like this chart. It has it's ups and it has it's down. Today is a down. In fact it may be going in tandem with the red line! WAAHHHH!!!! I think I took my stupid pills instead of the clever pills this morning. I had this feeling that I was missing something the entire morning while fixing breakfast and watering the plants. Normally it is the cell phones that I will always forget, but no. I had them tucked in my pocket. Well, I drove away and felt like something was dreadfully wrong. Halfway through, I realized what I've forgotten.....
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My Glasses!!!! **Matilaaa setengah rabun hari nih!!!

It's going to be another looooooooooong day!

Gridlock!

Despite the fuel price hike of up to 63%, most commuters still do not have a choice (or luxury, these days) of access to convenient public transport from their home to work.

The jam along Jalan Kemajuan this morning

Anyone looking for a foreign worker???



The traffic is still bad despite having a traffic police manning the cross junction

Well, managed to get to the office in one piece. Back to the same ol' same ol'...

Last night

Came back pretty late last night since there was some glitch on some last minute work stuff. I didn't feel like working out a storm in the kitchen since I was tired. Nevertheless, since I said that I will make dinner at home now, so, this is it lah...

Instant vegetarian noodles. Sedeh!!!!

Everything seems to be very quiet and still though, last night. Almost Zen like. I enjoyed the calmness while it lasted.

Itchy hands

I have itchy hands... I've decided to change/update my blog's look to make it more umm... snazzy. Yeah right!!! Because of that, I lost like a whole bunch of stuff. Site meter oso dunno how to put back. Arrgghhhh!!! Serve me right! :-(

Chicken soup for the soul?

Hayoo.... here we are talking about food again. I don't think all those serious weight watching and keeping the waistline intact and tummy flat is going to work anymore. Hehehehe... Well, as I was saying, I made some Chinese herbal chicken soup for dinner. Coupled with that, I 've decided to do something that is very foreign in my kitchen, which was to make "steamed-one-dished-rice." Literally translated from a Chinese word, meaning an all-in-one meal. Well, it may be quite a common meal to many other household, particularly the Chinese, but you see, I'm part Peranakan. So, that means I grew up with elaborate, spicy and robust tasting dishes. So, this is something new to me. Nevertheless, I tried my hands on this simple dish.

Fresh from the steamer. Steamed egg custard (chawanmushi) with dori fillet and wolfberries. Steamed rice with salted fish, ginger slices, Chinese greens and enoki mushrooms

Chinese chicken herbal soup

What's cooking inside?

After that, must have dessert lah, kan??? So, this is what's been cooking inside the crock pot all night! Bubur pulut hitam with kacang merah. I like this version better than the pure black glutinous rice.
I still remembered a friend from the States commenting that this dish looked like road kill. LOL! But, after tasting it, he changed his mind. He got hooked on to it! Hahahahaha!!! Itulah, don't judge a book by it's cover! Kan?

BTW, since Malim asked for the soup recipe, here it is.

Chinese Herbal Chicken Soup

1 whole free range chicken (ayam kampung) skinned and cut up. If free range is not available, get a mid-sized chicken and make sure that all the skin and fat is removed.
1 packet of chicken soup herbs (You can probably get this in a Chinese medicinal shop at Chinatown. Try looking for the A1 brand if you can. These are vegetarian products, so, I guess they are halal. I bought mine at Giant's regular shelves. )
20 pcs dried wolfberries (kei chee)
8-10 pitted Chinese red dates
5-6 pcs dried longan fruit

Fill up a medium sized stock pot with enough water to cover the chicken and put to boil.
Once water starts to boil, put in the chicken and let the chicken boil on high fire until all the fat starts to float. This is important to achieve a clear consistency broth. You have to start skimming off the fat from the soup at this point. Skim off as much as you can. This is one of the primary reason why a free range chicken is preferred for Oriental soups. They have very little fat. Once done, put the rest of the ingredients into the pot and simmer under low fire for at least 2 hours. Season with salt to taste and serve hot.

Good luck in trying!

Midnight slave

Wookay!!!! So, the kitchen is open again. Hehehehe.. I thought that since I needed something "nutritious," I decided to make some Chinese herbal chicken soup. Nothing fancy or difficult. So, got the ingredients and decided to make it the night before, so that I don't have to wait for it to cook today. So, dengan gigih nye, I started cutting up the chicken and preparing the herbs at 10pm. At the same time, I decided that I wanted some desert as well. So, masak lah jugak bubur pulut hitam, which was my first attempt. I dumped everything into the crock pot, by the way. After honing both the soups, I took a glimpse at the clock and it was 1 AM!!!!! Hayoooo!!! Masak soup oso that long!!!

So, I cleaned everything up, but the bubur pulut hitam was not even half cooked! I was afraid to leave it overnight after hearing horror stories from my sister saying that she burnt her's pitch black because she left her crock pot on overnight. But since I was too tired to wait, I took the chance by leaving it on (it was "low," of course) and went to bed. Lucky thing this morning, it was totally cooked and it wasn't burned. :-) However, it was a real bitch waking up this morning after slaving over the stove at night. This is worse than the 18th century!!! :-(

Will post the pics here soon. I found back my camera. Blek!

Kitchen closed for the day

Yesterday, I decided to take a break from the kitchen. I figured that there was just too much drama to handle, if I were to attempt another one of my slap stick tactics in the kitchen again. Besides, the day didn't go exactly very well also. Felt like the Big Boss above has either decided to test my almost non-existence patience level, or he wanted to have a little comedy, so as usual he has to pick his celestial court jester (aka moi lah!)

Anyway, by the time I dropped off the materials to my seamstresses, it was already 6pm and I've decided to treat myself at this little Japanese restaurant (can't recall the name since the brain's a little "lembek" this morning) at The Curve. I ordered their chicken Katsu set. Food's not bad (the chicken was a little hard though) on the overall and quite value for money. I would love to start taking pictures for this blog but I've to start looking for my camera. I actually can't recall where I left it. I also lost my thumb drive. Sigh!!!

After that, I went straight to Cine Leisure to catch "The Incredible Hulk, which was quite a rave among my neighbors and friend's opinion. It wasn't bad and I liked the CGI works, which was very realistic. The movie was a non-stop action packed thriller. Only part that was a bit "terpesong" was towards the ending, when "Mr Blue" suddenly became "bad." Also, how did Bruce came into contact with him since he was always on the run? Well, let's wait for the sequel,
shall we?

Another misadventure in the kitchen

Yesterday was definitely not one of my greatest days. I was not in the mood for anything and my mind has just decided to stop functioning. Now I know how it feels to be stupid (if there is such a thing, lah!) Anyways, I ambled myself to Starbucks again for some Java therapy and thought that a change of scenery might do me good. Well, it did perk me up a little but I was still too lazy to do anything else. I should have been on my toes ordering the curtain materials as well as the string curtains for my seamstresses to work on it. The dateline is coming up soon. But alas, I procrastinated again. Seeing that I was not going anywhere with my "self-negotiating"tactics, I decided it was best to just go home and make dinner. I took the chicken chops which were marinated the night before and heated the oven so I can pop them chicks in. Made a side salad with home made honey dijon mustard dressing too. Everything turned out great except..... THE GRAVY!!!!! Hayoooo!!!! How can anyone screw up gravy???? Well, I guess after such a long hiatus from the kitchen, these mis-adventures are bound to happen, kan??? kan??? kan???? BTW, Knorr's Barbeque sauce sucks! Wonder when in the world are they going to replenish those yummy Heinz Barbecue sauce???

hoo hum...

It's one those days again... it's not even the middle of the week and I feel like crawling into a hole and die. It was just last Saturday, I felt like I was on top of the world and today, I feel like the pits. Sigh.... I'm not sure if this is a clear sign of burn out or I am just giving myself lots of excuse because I'm plain lazy. I lose focus so easily nowadays and work don't excite me anymore. It's plain boring stuff now. Wonder how am I going to continue those projects with this attitude. It's bad...it's bad..... what am I to do?????

The kitchen is open

Since the increase in fuel prices, I've decided to revisit the kitchen stove which has been long abandoned (my gas tank is more than 1 year old, ok!) for quite a while. I guess it is a good thing because my stomach has been reduced to a slime producing machine during the time when I decided to hang up the "senduk" and "kuali" for good to eat out everyday, in return for some personal time.

Anyway, after almost a year of not touching the stove, naturally, it takes a while to get used to cooking again. First attempt was really bad. Too much salt on everything. I might as well eat ikan masin and "harm choy." Second attempt was suppose to be easier, since it was Western style grilled chicken. Ended up cleaning the entire kitchen for 3 hours because I came back late and decided the frying pan was faster than the oven. So, go figure what happened to the kitchen floor after the frying pan decided to do a fireworks display. The chicken ended up kinda charred on the outside. I'll call it "Blackened Chicken." Hahahahaha!!!

Yesterday was much better. I've decided to go for Asian again. Fried a fish stuffed with sambal belacan, made some stir fry broccoli and some baked beans. Everything turned out nice. Only annoying thing is cleaning up the stove after that and the smell of fried fish lingering in the kitchen till this morning. Sigh... Whatever it is, it's much better than eating outside and then, having to pop those pills every so often when my stomach decided to do the spin cycle.

Cuti cuti Malaysia!!!

I find this article in The Star Online extremely hilarious but at the same time very real to those who are familiar with people who are from BN Land. Read ahead...

Thursday June 12, 2008

Suffer the children ... of some

BRAVE NEW WORLD
By AZMI SHAROM

Without exotic foreign holidays, life will no longer be the same.

The sun was setting as the Proton Perdana crunched up the gravel driveway of the bungalow on Jalan Kia Peng. The man sitting in the back seat was oblivious to the gentle glow of dusk that bathed the large well-manicured gardens.

His heart felt heavy and his stomach was knotted.

He was going to break their hearts and there was no way out.

“We are here, sir.”

The voice of the driver shook him out of his deep thoughts. With a barely audible grunt of thanks, he stepped out and with leaden feet walked towards the door.

Before he reached it, the huge oak edifices swung open. A small woman in a blue uniform retrieved his suitcase and collected his shoes as he slipped them off. He hardly noticed her, either.

From within the house, there were sounds of a loud X Box game in progress and young children shouting. The man walked into the living room. Expensive Italian furniture was arranged around a 40-inch plasma TV, its sleek modernity a stark contrast to the gaudiness of the sofas and armchairs.

A boy and a girl were transfixed by the screen, watching monsters get beheaded. A woman lounged in an armchair, her diamonds glittering.

“Listen, everybody, I must speak to you,” said the man.

“Not now, Papa, we are reaching level five,” said the boy.

“No, now,” said the man.

The sombre tone of his voice cut through the shrill screams from the video game. The children and the woman looked to the man, their normal indifference suddenly replaced by unfamiliar concern.

Seating himself, the man leaned on his elbows and stared at the floor.

In a voice quivering with barely suppressed emotion, he started to speak.

“Darling, children, I am afraid we can’t go to Orlando Disneyland this year.”

“Where are we going then?” asked the girl. “England? Europe?”

“We can only go to somewhere in Asean.”

The gasps from the family just about drowned out the crack in his voice as he finished his sentence. Then the barrage of questions started. Why? What happened? How can this be?

As the voices rose to a crescendo, the man snapped, tears running down his face as he screamed, “The oil price has gone up and we can’t go on holidays around the world any more!”

“But, darling,” said the woman, “I already told the girls I would bring back for them oranges from Florida. How can I face them in Carcosa at our high tea tomorrow?”

“Papa, you promised Disneyland. I hate you! I hate you!” shrieked the boy as he stormed out of the room.

“Wait, boy!” he called out. “You must try to understand. The whole nation is suffering. We must make sacrifices. It is for the good of the country and for the future.”

But it was too late; the boy had already disappeared into his bedroom. Soon, the sound of heavy rap played at full volume could be heard.

“Oh, darling. Think about the children. How are they going to face their friends at the international school? Where are we going to go on holiday?”

The man wiped away his tears of frustration and held his head as he thought of what to say.

Suddenly, he looked up and with a smile bordering on the maniacal, he said: “What about Singapore? Or we can even go local. Let’s go to A Famosa in Malacca. It’s fun, they have a theme park and an animal and cowboy show. Malaysia Truly Asia! Heh heh heh ...”

His laugh petered out as the girl and the woman stared at him icily, slicing through his forced jollity.

For the longest while, nothing was said. Then the rap music abruptly stopped. The three looked up as the boy walked back to them.

“I understand sacrifice, Papa. And I think I have the solution,” he said.

The family stared at him, hope shining in their eyes. “We can all go to Hong Kong Disneyland!” he exclaimed excitedly.

The man broke down again and buried his face in his hands. Between his gasping sobs, he cried,

“Oh, my son, my poor, poor boy. Don’t you know? Hong Kong is not in Asean.”

“Arrrgghhh!” the boy screamed and ran back to his room, wailing, “I hate you! I hate my life! I want to die!”

The girl, unable to bear the pain any longer, stood up. She loomed over the broken shell that was her father and said, “I know we all have to suffer because of the oil price, Papa. But why do WE have to suffer SO MUCH?” Then she too stalked away.

The man stared into the middle distance.

His pain was almost too much to endure. The only sound in the room was the clinking of his wife’s diamonds as her bosom heaved with racking sobs.

It barely smothered the sound of his shattering heart, for without their exotic foreign holidays, life would never be the same again.

Time management from Mars

I really don't get it with people here... making appointments and keeping up with time doesn't seem to exists here!!! You make appointment with me in the morning and you didn't show up. Now you say, "Let's have the meeting at 4.30pm." Without the slightest regards that I've been waiting for you the entire morning??? This is really fucked up!

Minyak naik lagi

The petrol filling stations were a mad frenzy all over Malaysia when news went buzzing around that the price is going to be jacked up at the stroke of midnight by 40%. You should have seen the queue!!! It was crazy!!! Anyway, to me it's a crisis that can't be helped at this point. But I'm pissed by our Mr "Lah" on how the news was delivered. Sending out the announcement at 6pm yesterday makes you look like a chicken who is is going to piss all over the ground sebab ko nih penakut! Your actions and silly remarks like "telling your rakyat to eat ubi kayu and keledek to substitute the high price of rice" also show how selfish you are. Ko ingat nih masih zaman perang Jepun ker??? Let's see what other stupid remarks you will say. Mebbe I can start a compilation of stupid remarks by Mr Lah and make it a best seller. Blek!!

This is an article that was in The STAR today.

Monday June 2, 2008

Malay students affected

PETALING JAYA: Increasing the quota for non-bumiputras for Public Service Department (PSD) scholarships without increasing the actual number of scholarships has drastically affected the bumiputras, the Umno Youth Education Bureau said.

Its chairman Ahmad Ikmal Ismail said while the bureau agreed with the Government to give more scholarships to non-bumiputras, it did not agree with the way it was done.

“The quota for non-bumiputras has increased from 10% to 45% but the number of total scholarships has remained at 2,000.”

Ahmad Ikmal said this meant that scholarships were being taken from the bumiputras to be given to the non-bumiputras.

“We object to this move because it now means that 700 scholarships for bumiputra students are gone,” he said.

Ahmad Ikmal said a better way would be to use the New Economic Policy concept to increase the number of total scholarships. He said this was to ensure that the bumiputras were not affected and the non-bumiputras would get even more opportunities.

____________________________________________________________________

When will they ever learn that PSD scholarships are meant for deserving students, regardless of race and religion background???? When will this racial game ever end??? Why can't anything be done based on merit alone??? We're back to square one with morons sitting on these positions.

Rekindled

I'm elated!!!!! NO!!! I'm beyond elated!!! Finally, after years of pursuing tirelessly trying to find these long lost souls from good ol' college days finally paid off. I'm finally in touch again with my close circle of friends from college. Facebook played a big part of it... but I have to admit, Google search did the rest. Words can't describe my feelings when I start receiving replies from all the inquiries I've sent out to unknown email addresses. It's not easy because most of the time they are not the person or those email accounts were outdated. Anyway, I'm a happy person today!!! Dummies, you guys are the best!

175!!!

Lot 175's meeting lasted for 4 hours!!! Woohooo!!!! We started before tea and ended with dinner. All in all, I'm glad that it was fruitful. Curtain's already in hand. Looks like we got the built-in contracts too. Good news is we have been asked to go to the site for measurements. So, 175's in the bag!!! I'm happy. This week, an apartment unit at Ampang and another at Damansara Perdana. Hope the tiling and ceilings are up. Hope these two will turn out well since they are recommendations from previous clients.

What actually happened at no. 44

Phew.... I'm glad no. 44 is FINALLY over!!! You see, the reason for this major screw up on this unit is due to 2 factors. "Latin" wanted to save some bucks by going all out to buy her own materials. Then, she got screwed "kau kau" by the wholesaler who told her they could sew her curtains when this blardy wholesaler knew nuts about anything remotely close to curtains except for selling the material itself. So, there it was, "Latin" got the cutains in and when I hung them up, they look like shit! They were too long, the pelmet was badly made, wrong hooks were given, not put in place... in short, everything was wrong lah! This idiot has the cheek to put the blame on my rods and tracks wor??!!! Saying I didn't put the track high enough, so the curtains are touching the floor lor!!! Hello, I was the one who GAVE the measurements including all the details to "Latin", so how can that go wrong? Ayo... no experience say no experience lah.. want to make extra pocket money oso not this way lah... Kasi susah everyone. Tak tentu pasal, have to delay everything else for more than 2 weeks to solve someone else's problem. This "Latin" oso cow brains one, screaming like a mad women without thinking how the problem started. She thinks that by screaming, she will instill fear into people and she will get what she wanted izzit? I just told her straight, you got the curtains this time from someone else who has totally no experience at all, so, make that person repair them for you lah. I can only help so much as to give you advice. Perhaps next time, you will trust me on the entire project instead of trying to cut corners and ended up spending more money. My service may not come cheap, but at least you won't have headache lor. You pay for what you get mah?? Correct or not?? Tsk...tsk...

Dowan to think about no. 44 liao....have to finalise the drawings on lot 175 for this Friday's presentation.

Ode to my dearest Mee.

Ok, today I won't bitch about "Latins" from BN land, even I would like to vent it out from my system real bad. Spoke too soon on No. 44. That bitch wants to change again. Anyway, I digress.

This blog is a tribute to my dearestMom. We had a wonderful day spending time just the two of us yesterday. Since Dad's in the middle of a rain forest with Sis observing primates, I've decided to bring Mom out for some shopping and a dinner treat at 1U. Actually, I've not been really "there" for my family since I've started my business. Juggling time around two business basically took up all my time and sanity. So, if I am not in a good mood, I'd rather not be facing them because it shows on my face and I'd rather not drag everyone down into my mood swings. Anyway, yesterday was indeed great. We actually talked and managed to buy her some stuff that she needed. We decided to have dinner at Italiannies, one of her favorite places. There was a special menu for mother, which was complimentary for that special day. We enjoyed every morsels of the Marsala Linguine and Grilled Salmon.

Time passes by really fast when one's having a great time. We left the place soon after because Mom kept on insisting that I'd better go back early so that I can get ready for tomorrow. I guess she just can't help being Mom and I love every bit of of her for it. Yesterday's event taught me a valuable lesson where no money can buy. Spend as much time as you can with your parents as time stops for no one. Mom, I love you so much and I hope you had a great time too yesterday. Happy Mother's Day!

Schedule

Yay!!! No. 44 is done.... now time to start discussing no. 6 and lot 175.... back to the drawing board!!!

Tired lah!!!!!

I'm tired!!! I'm tired of going to BN land.... I'm tired of seeing "Latuks" and "Latins", I'm tired of looking at container boxes, I'm tired of sleepless nights trying to figure out how to juggle schedules....I'M TIRED!!!!!

Allowances

Our gormen have a lot of money. High ranking officers are given a huge individual design bungalow, additional housing allowances to furnish the place every 2 years, cars, driver, maid allowance, gardener allowance, wife allowance, 2nd wife allowance, entertainment allowance, child support allowance, hardship allowance... wah... no wonder we need to increase petrol prices.

I WILL KILL YOU!!!!

COWARD!!! Don't for once think that you can strike with a clear conscience without facing the consequences. NEVER forget that we are only one flight away from you. If you hurt her one more time, I swear that this will be a dual to the DEATH! We are watching you. We have laid out our plans if you so decide to strike again. You have no idea that this will eventually leak out, would you???!!!! You FOOL!!!! Soon, your entire family and community will know how TWISTED AND SICK YOU ARE!!!! YOU COWARD, FUCKING BASTARD!!!!!!! GO GET HELP BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!!!

Sealing their fate

Well, well, well... as the soothsayer of Malaysia sez.... fuel prices will go up again after the election. Isn't it the truth.

Friday April 25, 2008

Subsidy on diesel to go first, says Shahrir

By TEH ENG HOCK

KUALA LUMPUR: The restructured fuel subsidy scheme will see the removal of subsidy on diesel first.

Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Shahrir Samad said diesel would soon be sold at the market rate at the pumps when a mechanism to deliver subsidies directly to those entitled has been decided upon. (Gee... and I wonder who these entitled people are????)

“We are looking at diesel first, and how to ensure that subsidised diesel gets to the right groups, especially to the transport sector and (those involved in) certain economic activities which require diesel subsidy so that we can cut out leakages. (Wah!!! Better open up the grey area so that they can sapu without being noticed, ya???)

“Schoolbuses for example. We have to have a mechanism on how to deliver the diesel (subsidy) to the schoolbus drivers so that the cost of transport will not go up,” he said.

Without the subsidy, diesel will cost more than RM2 a litre. The price of diesel at the pump now is RM1.581 a litre.

Shahrir said the move to restructure the fuel subsidy was necessary to ensure the money was not wasted through various ways such as diesel smuggling. (But you can waste money through RM1000 dinner suits purchases and "table etiquette course", right?)

“We want to look at diesel first, then obviously we will have to look at petrol subsidies,” he said.

Shahrir said crude oil prices were at US$117 (RM372) per barrel, and the Government spent RM33bil on fuel subsidies last year.

He said another RM20bil of subsidy was spent on natural gas to subsidise Tenaga Nasional Berhad’s power generation.

“You are talking about RM53bil. And that does not include the subsidised amount that people pay. Our oil export in 2007 was RM77bil. (You've just spilled the beans, moron!!! Where is the rest of the RM23 billion???)

“So it is almost one-to-one what we consume and what we export,” he said.

It is scary to know that there are a bunch of uneducated, greedy morons running this country. Uneducated I can still buy, but greedy... you guys are running this country into the drain. Come on, Sabah and Sarawak MP's!!!! When are you guys jumping ship to boot out these idiots???

Back from hiatus

Just got back from Singapore over the weekend. Though it was a bit short, I enjoyed the break nevertheless. Mom and Dad came along and it was like a mini family vacation. Something which we don't get to do very often together as a family. Got to spend some quality time with Dad during our early morning walk at the East Coast Parkway (though we were dead pan tired from not being able to sleep, no thanks to the faulty pump right below our condo). The highlight of the day was of course the musical We Will Rock You! at the Esplanade Theater. It was one hell of a show!!! We all enjoyed it and I was quite surprised that everyone was on their feet dancing towards the ending. If you guys have time, do make an effort to go down to Singapore to watch it. It's showing till the end of the month. It's worth every single cent! Trust me.. you wont regret it.

This is the house that BN built!

Yet another day of having the displeasure of going to BN Land aka Putra Jaya to measure yet another boring mansion built with ill gotten money belonging to some hotshot "latuk." FYI, "Balinese" style is soooooo passe, "latuk!". I've nothing against rich people (after all, they are my rice bowl), but what irks me silly is the entire process of doing business with these Gomen "latuks" and their cronies. It's bad enough that I've to throw peanuts to all these tongue wagging "running dogs," but how things are done their style makes one wonder why the nation has yet to collapse in chronic bankruptcy??!!

I'll give you an example of what happens each time I've to attend to these monkeys. Once I arrived at the stipulated time, I've to call the PIC to inform him that I've arrived. After that, you've got to wait for AT LEAST 30 minutes before someone shows up on a scooter telling you this.

"Lu itu olang mau ukur lumah ka?"

After that, he will zoom off and you wait for another 30 minutes. Later, 2 cars filled with MORE monkeys will arrive and ask the same question. All of them will give you this intimidating look as if they have not eaten for days. Then one person will call the "latuk" to confirm that I'm already there. FINALLY, this person (the so called supervisor) will open the door and let me in. He will be the one following me around and trying to explain what the "latuk'' wants in the house (more like what he wants in the house, actually). While we do the walkabout, the rest of the 5 monkeys will be mulling around the empty house doing nothing. At one point when I was explaining to the supervisor what options are available, one guy actually has the cheek to lay down flat on the floor and fell asleep!!!! How's that on hiring the right people to do the job???

I actually wonder how many people are being hired by our dear Gomen to actually do nothing??? No wonder you all are losing!!! Tsk!Tsk!!

DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM????

I Just got a call from a fuming friend stating what happened last night when she was shopping at a mall downtown. This is a replay of the conversation...


Fren: (Accidentally brushed the arm of a woman). Opps, I'm sorry.

Woman: (Turned her tong drum body and revealed a garishly made up face with chunky jewellery all over)... OOOIII!!!! Watch where you are going lah!!! Are you BLIND???!!!

Fren: I said I was sorry, right?

Woman: (While shaking her wobbly arms and exposing her "Christmas ornaments" on her arms). Excuse me???? Do you know that I'm a DATIN????!!!!

Fren: (Fuming and beh tahan liao) SO WHAT????!!!! I DON'T FUCKING CARE IF YOU ARE DATIN OR NOT!!! EHHH, KO BERAK KUAR TAIK JUGAK TAU!!!!! PERASAN!!!!!

Woman: (Walked away red faced)

So, my dear friends, the moral of the story is.... DATINS ALSO BERAK TAIK JUGAK!!!!!!!! WAKAKKAKAKAKAKA!!!!!!!!

We Will Rock You! Queen: The musical

Since I'm on the ball with this concert thingy, I might as well wear it ALLLLLL out lah. Make sure all the adrenaline and juices are squished out and then I can go back being boring ol' me.

I'll be leaving for Singapore this weekend to watch Queen: The Musical at the Esplanade Theater. Mom and Dad's tagging along on this one. Good ol' sis will be picking us up when we arrive at Kiasuland. Nope, the musical's not about Freddy Mercury but it's a tribute some sort where the entire musical revolves around the music Queen made. You can check it out here.

It was fantabulous!

I have to admit, I wasn't too keen on going at first, but after much coaxing, I relented and bought
the tickets. Well, you know what??? She's REALLY GOOD!!! I've always been a sceptic, when it comes to real live performances, because I know a lot of artistes can't belt out a song to save their lives without the help of sound studio engineering.

Well, Celine Dion was not only consistent, she sang non-stop (with only very short breaks) and her voice was spectacular. No words could describe the entire hour where she sang 22 of her hits. It was a night truly to be remembered for a long, long time!

Celine's in town!

After much anticipation, Celine Dion, one of the most prominent female artist in the world will be performing live at Stadium Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur tomorrow at 8pm. Malaysia will be her only stop in the South East Asia Region through out the Taking Chances World Tour Concert.

I can't wait to be at Stadium Merdeka tomorrow!!! Yay!!!

Food for thought

I feel compelled to pen down my thoughts today. Last night, I was enlightened by true experiences that made me realise how blessed my life has been. I had an unexpected guest knocking on my door just as I was about to have my dinner. It turned out to be a long time friend who happened to be living in the next block. Well, since he was at my doorstep, I decided to invite him in to share my dinner while we chatted.

It was during this time that I actually had the chance to know my friend deeper. You see, he's always portrayed himself as the know all, super macho kinda guy. Makes you feel a bit meluat sometimes, you know what I mean? He was excited to tell me all about his first paint ball game he had the day before and I listened as he spoke with gusto and showed me the bruises he got from the game. In return, I also showed him some of the photos taken during my recent holiday. We continued to chat and somehow, we began to talk about our younger days. That was when his real story revealed. You see, my friend works in the clubbing business all his life and his life is, well, kinda wild. I thought that was something that he loves and that's why he chose that career path.

He later told me that he ran away from home when he was 16 because he was abused by his step mother. He came to KL with only the clothing on is back and no money. He has slept on the streets and also lived with street urchins, pooling in whatever money they have to feed their stomach. At that point, I began to understand why he was always extremely protective over his friends and was extremely proud of his belongings. Before this, I always thought of him as a bit of a show off. Everything was build with his sweat and blood. He literally begged for a job at a club at that time and was later waiting tables at the club illegally because he was underaged. All these while, his family didn't came looking for him and neither did they bother to send him any money. He eventually worked his way up and became what he is today. He was a real life Oliver Twist. I have immense respect for this guy now that I understand him more. My life achievements are so small compared to what he has gone through. My life is extremely blessed, yet I complain all the time. In every success like my friend here, I wonder how many who did not make it due to drugs and exploitation. Makes me wonder that there is so much more out there we have not experienced.

Busy bee

Yeah yeah yeah.... I know I've been extremely pathetic when it comes to updating anything here of late. Truth is, I've been extremely busy juggling with these two business and I've not stopped since last Raya. Why? Because the house which was suppose to be done before Raya was only completed last 3 weeks ago and all the other projects were also delayed and snowballed to the same time. Imagine having to finish up several homes all at the same time. Pening ok??? There's another upcoming home in Country Heights which will need special attention probably by mid April, early May. Then, probably have to seriously look into those Palauan projects, since launching will be done by Sept.

Anyway, the only compensation I got from all this non-stop work was a weekend getaway to Phuket/ Krabi last week. Managed to burn myself sillly and stuff myself like a pig with good food (expensive though!!!). I've decided not to post any pics here in the blog since blogspot is so kedekut in pics space. I've got all the pics up in FB though. Those who have my FB account can view them there lah. Those who don't... too bad!!!! Hehehehehe

Why the coalition did not win this time around

I know it's been way too long since I've last penned anything in this space but the recent round of election results do render some form of thoughts to be squeezed out from my simple mind. Actually, I was not surprised at all with the recent polling results, judging from how high handed and big headed the ruling party has become after all these years of winning hands down. No doubt the coalition has done quite a fair bit all these years (actually the opposition parties was not given a chance to prove themselves until now, to be fair to them actually), but giving the people a sentiment of over confidence has certainly backfired this time around.

In fact, I as actually very surprised to receive a thick multi-colored booklet under this ruling party ticket in my mailbox a couple of days before the actual voting. What troubled me is this. There was a printout stub stapled to the booklet which contained my full name, my address, my IC number, voting number and also my voting centre!!! How the hell did this party get my full details? I thought all our data stored by the Election Commission is suppose to be P&C? Isn't the EC suppose to be impartial to any parties, be it ruling or opposition??? When I opened the colorful booklet, it turned out to be a hodge podge scrapbook compilation of some sort for the candidate who was contesting under this ruling party's ticket. Now, one will begin to wonder where did this women get so much money to print a 20 odd page booklet in full color showing off her "illustrious" carrier as an MP for our constituency. Actually, it looked more like a bunch of pictures showing what she was doing during her tenure (which was more like posing with VVIPs, taking pictures with people, frying noodles, giving prizes and showing off her overseas holidays with her family!!!!) rather than what she has done to the constituency. What has her holiday trips to Europe got to do with influencing me to vote for her???? Don't they ever learn?

But I guess the biggest blow has to go to the State of Penang which was a classic case of counting the chicks before the eggs hatched. Weeks before the voting, headlines were splashed all over major papers talking about the shortlisted candidates (from the ruling party, off course) who will be taking over as the Chief Minister of Penang. They were so cock sure that they will win. Well, guess what? Not only did they lost the entire state, none of the shortlisted candidate even won a single seat. Now the former Chief Minister can really have time to do some soul searching on what went wrong, since he will no longer be busy at this moment.

Well, some people have a lot of lesson to learn after falling off from their high and mighty horses. Meanwhile, for the opposition who have won, now it is your time to show and prove to the people what you have promised. Malaysia has given a chance to all of you, so don't let us down.

Another proposal???

Too much to do and so much more pending... tak tau lah what I got myself into. Anyway, there's this proposal from a potential investor who wants to partner with us in KL. I'm leaving my options open since I've no idea what their proposal is at this point of time. I'm more concern over whether our plans to expand next year to the Middle East will take place or not. Can't wait to go to Dubai in Feb.

Because of all this, my plans to crop those pix in photoshop all terbengkalai. Hope I hv time to at least do some tonight. Sigh....

I need a PA

Ok!!! I'm well rested (er... I think lah) and once again my very interesting life is swarthing me with curtains (back logs yikes!) and shipping demons creating havoc. I'm suppose to be away in Bangkok this coming Thursday too. Can't believe that I'm still contemplating on continuing with the trip or not???!!!! (I've got the hotel and limo in Bangkok all booked) Mebbe I should go and spend a big hole in my pocket. Besides, Christmas is around the corner and I need an excuse to spend money. I'll just worry about the rest once I get back. And there is also the pictures that needs to be cropped from the Langkawi vacation. The kids were just sooooo adorable!!! I miss them so much! Must make it a point to post them in the blog!

There is also this nagging thing about me losing too much weight in the past 2 weeks. 4 kilos!!! That's way too fast! But, then again that's just me... I lose it fast, I can also gain them back in a jiffy! So, I might just remedy that tonight when I make myself a batch of my killer Tiramitsu. BTW, a cafe actually asked me to make them a sample! Hmmm... finally my answer to escaping the shipping demons? I might just make one for them and see what happens.

Last day.

Today's the last day for the Novena Prayers.... looking forward to some good company, good food and also good fellowship. We'll all be looking forward to a good rest after this. At least I am.

Do you know about the "Secret?"

I bought the book much earlier, read it and never really took it seriously. In fact, my verdict then was it was no more than a "feel good" book. Well, after the incident, I decided to take that book out and have a feel good session. But, this time I actually let myself immerse into the meanings and also the know how from that book. Last 3 days, after the prayer session, one of my friend was helping out with the dishes. He happened to take off his diamond ring when he did the dishes. Later that night, he was frantically looking for his ring and couldn't find it. Since there was easily 40 people in the house, anything could have happened. Anyway, I told him that I would look for it when everyone was gone. I searched every inch of the house and I couldn't find it. My verdict then was it was either in someone else's pocket or it could have gone down with the rest of the trash. I told my friend that I couldn't find it. From his tone, I knew he was sad because it is his favourite piece. That was when I remembered what I read and I concentrated on wanting to have back that ring. I seek and asked for it before I went to bed.

The very next day, just before the prayer session began, one guy came up to me and said, "Is this ring yours?" It was my friends diamond ring!!!! OMG!!!! I couldn't believe it!!!!! It actually worked!!! Scary? I didn't think so. I was so amazed!!!

Check out what "The Secret" is all about at http://www.thesecret.tv

Coming to terms and moving on.

It's been an emotional roller coaster ride of late. Losing someone dear so suddenly, picking up the pieces and trying to move on, work and other commitments have had me on wits end. At least we are still alive and life needs to move on.

On behalf of Beth's family, we would like to sincerely thank everyone for their personal assistance, words of comfort, prayers, guidance, and every little thing that slipped our minds during those period of bereavement. You guys are the greatest and no words can describe our most heartfelt appreciation. We'll miss her dearly but at least she's in a better place.

She's gone

She's gone...

A prayer needed - update 3

Phone calls in the middle of the night is always a nightmare. It's almost always never good news. I received a call at 3.30 am this morning. Lilibeth is on life support after her heart beat dropped drastically. For the first time, I cried after getting that phone call. I don't know what else to do but to pray and to seek for everyone to pray for her.

A prayer needed - update 2

Lilibeth is still in a coma when I visited her yesterday afternoon. It was her birthday. I wished her "Happy Birthday" and told her to keep on working on getting up. The doctor said that there is a high chance that she can hear us speak. She had a slight fever and her hands felt slightly cold. I did notice though that when they are held and lightly massaged, she seems more relaxed and her heart rate will slow down slightly.

Her hands and legs are have shown some slight involuntary muscle movements. We are taking that as a positive sign. No matter how small the improvement, we take it as positive as possible. She will be going through a small surgery to ease her breathing through her throat today. I feel sad for Aunty Maria for having to go through all this test. It breaks my heart to see her holding on to Beth's hands everytime and to see her eyes water when the other patients around moves out of the ICU unit into the regular wards. It's been 6 days. I'm really praying for a miracle to happen. I hope you all out there will pray for her to get well too.

A prayer needed - update 1

I rececived a call yesterday morning that Lilibeth has been transferred to KLGH for an emergency surgery to drain the fluids from her brain and to reduce the pressure. The surgery is a success and she's warded in the ICU unit for close monitoring. Praise the LORD and also the medical team from Kajang Hospital and KLGH for not giving up and working at such a speed. Now, we're just hoping that she will pull through this period and wake up from her coma by this week. I managed to drop by the neurology ICU ward in KLGH to see her. Her vital signs look good and I hope she gets lots of positive vibes.

Honestly, I didn't have very much faith with our govt. hospitals initially (can't blame me for that after seeing and hearing all the horror stories and long waiting periods there) but after seeing how they acted and took care of Lilibeth, I was indeed glad. I'm also very sure that a lot of these good things are happening because of your prayers and good wishes. I'd like to personally and humbly thank those who did. There's nothing more meaningful than a prayer in confidence for another person.

A prayer needed

I received a very sad news yesterday afternoon. A good friend of mine had a fit attack yesterday in her office and was rushed to the hospital. They did an MRI scan and found that she had a brain hemorrhage. It was something that had occured for quite a long time, it's just that she was not aware about it. Now she's in the Kajang Hospital ICU unit fighting for her life.

I need my dear friends and readers to pray for her health and to give her and her family strength to fight through this trial period. Every prayer counts and wish to thank you for doing so.

Reality of being a mature & responsible person

I was going through my bills last night and making payments out and realised that my overhead is actually damn high! I can't imagine that society's idea of being a responsible mature person means putting yourself into a huge pool of debts. I mean, think about it, here I am with a car loan, property loans, business loans, utility bills (at least 6 every month), car maintenance, credit card bills, insurance, gym membership, groceries, emergency cash, etc... wah!!!!! No wonder there is hardly any moolah at the end of the month for savings! It's kinda scary once we actually put everything out on the table. I tabik lah to those, after paying all the above and still have extra to spare for luxuries in life.

Indeed it is not cheap to live in KL anymore. Even if one is to compare the demography with other cities around the world like New York, London or Tokyo, one must not forget, we are only earning RM, not USD or Pound Sterling! So, compared dollar to dollar, so to speak, it is very, very expensive to live in KL.

So, here I am now mapping out on what options I have to reduce the overheads (which should be essentially short term), because nobody wants to alter their lifestyle too much, right? The next big thing is to try to pay up the property loans as fast as possible. Not easy, I know... but somehow this has to be done, especially when there is more than one to worry about.

Anyone want to hire part time???

At peace on Aidilfitri

Elow you alls!!! Firstly, Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri to all my Muslim friends and readers. Minta maaf jika ada yang tersilap, tersingung and all the other "ter's' that you can think of lah. Hehehe... So, we start back zero-zero ok!!

Anyway, didn't do anything this Raya... no visiting, no merry making, nada!!! I packed my bags and went to an undisclosed place to recuperate from all the activities last 3 weeks (finishing up my client's house before Raya, entertaining the family from US, and generally from all the shit that life throw at me everyday). So, yes... it was a good three days of not doing anything except to vegetate, meditate, read, watch loads of DVDs and sleep.

Hope this euphoria wil last a lot longer than the previous one before I become this high strung, overworked, workoholic again. But at least I managed to do a lot of soul searching and also managed to map out what would make my life more meaningful. It's not easy to make peace with oneself for all the challenges that comes along in life. It's easy to get angry and blame all that shit at people, God and everything in general. But it's not so easy to forgive and to move on. Well, this 3 days thought me a lot about that. It taught me a lot about making peace with others, and more importantly, with myself. Now I am clear on how to move on with a clear head and without emotional baggages in tow. I have a lot of people to thank for that. More importantly, I have God to thank for showing me the way and by answering my prayers most of the time.

Well, enough of emo rantings.... I'll be posting pictures of the little circus troupes soon during our recent trip to Langkawi. They are a handful yet they are so adorable and I am already missing them terribly. Hope I'll be able to detach away from work next year to make a trip over to the States to celebrate one of the boy's birthday. So, watch out for this space soon.

Hiatus

Oli will be out of town for a few days. You guys be good ya! Muacks! Catch y'all next week!

Industrial Prostitutes

I know, I know.... lots of you out there have told me a zillion times that when we start a business, we have to take the good, the bad and the ugly. And trust me, after 5 years, I've seen lots of good bad and unfortunately, ugly (like Mdm W!!!! Ugghhh!!! Uweeekkkk!!!!!) What I can deduce out of the different portfolios I carry, there is this common trait I see which is quite disturbing. I'll call them industrial prostitutes. Why? Because there is this group of people who will make you do everything (and most of the time, more) and then complain that you've not one enough. Then, they will make sure that they squeeze you dry from any form of profit because they feel that no one in this world should make a profit out of them. And these people are unfortunately (and I'm very ashamed to say this) MALAYSIANS!!!! I've never encountered such issues with foreign clients. Be they for interior design consultancy or the freight forwarding business.

Case in point. I have this new client who have this urgent (take note, urgent!!!) cargo that is on it's way form Hong Kong via sea. They frantically was requesting for us to be their forwarding agent and they have no idea how to start. Fine. So, here we are trying our best to educate them, explaining to them the costs breakdown and what needs to be done and so on and so forth. Since it is an import cargo, we basically don't make anything except for a small agency fee. Guess what??? These jokers only want to pay us RM30 for all that running around, getting their import permits done, their tax cleared and their goods reach safely on their doorstep!!! GILER BABI WEH!!!!! Well, I told then that they can go shop around and the pricing is pretty much standard (of course, lah!!! Almost everything is charged back-to-back anyway!!) So, after haggling, and the shipment is almost reaching, these jokers start to panic and then said, fine, we will appoint you all. But MUST GIVE FURTHER DISCOUNT! Hapende lagi discount nak kasi if we are making a measly RM100 from this lot of shipment???? Clear from A-Z you know??? Not just clearing Delivery Order!!!! So stupeed!!!! Then, tell us that they want to apply for their import permit themselves (kononnya want to save money lah) Tak tau buat, pagi-pagi buta call people and disturb. Want free advice. Lepas tuh, bila dah buat salah, said want to charge me for the resubmission.

Is our Malaysian mentality of wanting freebies and haggling attitude getting out of control? If we are, then we should not be making fun of Singaporeans for being kiasu because I feel Malaysians have surpassed them on this matter. Malaysia Boleh!!! Yeah right! I shall quote Patric Teoh's blog on this matter that I feel really disgusted about our bad habits...NIAMAH!!!!

Buka puasa!

It's the time of the year again and it's always a welcoming sight to see so many stalls opened specifically catering for the breaking of fast. More so lah, for me who just can't resist a good ayam percik or the wide variety of kuih muih they sell out there.

Most eateries are also banking in on this season to start promoting their buffets as well. I've been out several times either to entertain customers or friends. By far, my fav places are still Mdm Kwan's, Nikko Hotel and Hilton PJ. The variety is great (too bad I don't take good pictures like Oliviasy) and the food's fantastic! As for the stalls, TTDI has a great variety of good food (not those selling for the sake of selling) as well. So, go out and try! You don't have to be "puasa"ing to enjoy these delicacies! Ayo.... all this talk about food is making me hungry.

The circus is coming in a weeks time!!!!

Geee..... how time flies!!!! Mom just called to remind me that 2nd sis, hubby and the circus will be arriving next Monday. So, we'll need the kickass truck to the rescue (Need to carry all that baggage mah). It's been like 4 years since we last seen each other face to face. More so, now with an additional 2 kiddies in tow from just one the last time we met. The entire 2 weeks agenda has been planned and I hope they will enjoy their holiday kaw kaw lah. Especially when she have to go through 23 hours of flight time with 3 screaming kids in a plane. That is certainly no fun, come to think about it. Well, we'll be off to Langkawi this time since 2nd sis has never been there. We'll be staying at the BonTon for a totally different experience. The last trip to KK (Sutera Harbour Resort) was a blast! And then, we'll figure out what other places we can bring them around, especially to keep the kiddies occupied. Any suggestions??? (besides Genting??? Urrghhh!!!) Those with kiddies? Your input please??? Shaz???

Kissed on the Ass!!!

Alright, my kickass truck was kissed on the butt a couple of days ago. To be specific, it was a kiss and blah. So, yeah, my car was officially molested. What I don't understand is, how can someone langgar my car in an empty parking lot??? To whoevah chicken shit yang langgar my car and ran away, I curse you with continuous diarrhea for 7 generations!!!!...Errmmm come to think of it, how to have 7 generations when you are constantly having diarrhea??? Hahahahaha!!! Anyway, constant diarrhea for 7 generation it is.

BTW, anyone know of any workshop who can knock out a chrome bumper?

High on Java

The mind is a wanderer today and it makes absolutely no meaning to be in the office trying to look focused and in control. I have decided not to be responsible today and resign to half a day of reckless caffeine and sugar indulgence. So, here I am at Starbucks, spending my daily meal ration on uncopious amount of coffee and patisseries. I'll relish my delights with recklessness and drown myself in a sea of drip brew Java. I will embrace the jitters of caffeine high like ecstacy. Ah....The love of Java. Thy shall immerse thyself in your aroma and envelope in a cocoon like blanket from your velvety flavors. I think I'll fly real high today....Wheeeeee!!!!!!!!!!

Dementors

Ever wonder why there are some people who are so negative??? These people will suck life out from everyone in a room the moment they enter. They are like dementors (these floating ghouls from Harry Potter) waiting to drain you out. Why are some people like that huh?

I happen to meet this "dementor" just now. Some supplier lah... He looks like he fits in the Adams family chart pretty well. When he speaks, OMG!!! The only thing my brain can register is,

"Can I get the hell out of this hell hole???!!!"

The whole experience is just MORBID!!!! Firstly, there's this lingering putrid stench of stale ciggie when he's around. Then, every word that comes out of his mouth is either F**k or M*c*uc*b*i. There is not a single positive tone in his voice and suggestions. After the meeting, I just felt like dropping everything and go home to mourn over my lost soul. Wonder how many of you people have experience these morbid dementors??? Eeeeeeeeeeee..... (Shudder)

Breaking down another wall...AGAIN!

The past 2 weeks was really an all expense paid trip to hell and back!!!! Not under MATTA fair summore! You see, I've this client who is so fickle minded that they have so far changed the entire structure of the house 5 times since we started working on it. Now that they have moved in, they have decided to pecah a few walls again!!!! Ayoooo!!!!!!!!! It's bad enough that they are rushing for Raya (which is impossible to achieve), now they want to demolish and rebuilt one section again!!!!! I mean, they are really nice people and they are willing to pay (which is a very very important factor). But still, I personally feel it's not worth the hassle of living in constant dust and noise (not to mention the risk of your valuables kena sapu by these workers) and you have to fork out lotsa $$$ for all these inconvenience. Anyway, my other projects are all delayed because of this massive home, which again is being broken down. I'm proud of my work here but I don't know when it will be finished with the rate we are going.

Next Year's Major Feat

After our "victorious feat" hiking up Sg Palas' tea plantation at Cameron Highlands, SP and I have this crazy idea to do the impossible (at least for sedentary people like me) :-P Actually, I should correct that sentence. It was MY crazy idea and I coaxed her into doing it with me. We will be climbing Mount Kinabalu early next year!!! Something I have to strike off my "List of things to do before I die" thingy, and it is also SP's spectacular goodbye trip before she head off to Toronto for the next 6 months (or possibly permanently) for her intense karnatic violin training. Some of you must be thinking, Cheh! Mt. Kinabalu only wat! So difficult meh??? For those who don't know me, well, um... if I have my way, I would not need to lift a finger to DO ANYTHING, let alone climb a mountain!!! So, yes, it will be one hellova feat for me. SP was so excited over this trip that she called another friend to join in. I pulak out of the excitement, gatal-gatal go and call this friend from the US and invited him for the trip. He said yes! So, there will be 4 of us trying to kill ourselves next year climbing up a mountain. One sedentary contractor Cina Apek, 2 forty plus women (who happen to be fitter than me) and an Ang Moh art curator who is a chain smoker. I can't imagine what's going to happen during that trip since we are such a motley crew.

Anyway, before we even GET THERE physically, we're all busy "training" at this moment. I've no qualms that SP will be in tip top condition since she power walks about 3 hours a day, couple with daily Yoga sessions. So is her other friend. Well, I started training last week by pledging to climb up and down the stairs of my condo (I live on the 15th floor) instead of using the lifts. I thought, ala... sure no problem lah doing this everyday. So, 2 days ago I started my so called training after work. It was late at night and I was dead tired. But nevertheless, the training have to start. So, I began climbing up the stairs from my basement 2 carpark all the way up to the 15th floor. At first it was ok until I reached the 8th floor, Suddenly, everything was a blur and all I could think off was Adibah Noor standing at the corridor with an Ogawa foot massager! "Macam diurut dengan tangan!" Bwahahahahaha!!!!! I did reach my floor that night but I was so out of breath and looked like some kangkung layu by the time I was at my front door. If 15 floors also want to die, how to go up 4000 plus meters lah.... hope Adibah Noor will be at the pit stop with her Ogawa foot massager at that time.

Budak budak 80's

I don't get these kids born during the 80's. What is it with these kids born during the era of Dynasty, shoulder pads and aeroplane hairdo that makes them so lazy and annoying??? You see, I used to have this young ciku as my sales who was a product of the 80's. He's so lazy to the point that he has excuses for every single task that is given to him. Things became worse when I found out that he would rather be sitting in the office yacking on the phone rather than be outside getting the business in. Talking to him requires one to brace him or herself because sooner or later , you will be wretching your guts out ala Regan McNiel from the Exorcist because he's just too stubborn to listen. Alang alang bodoh sombong nya lah. Anyway, the day he tendered his resignation, I was so elated that I almost called the caterers to celebrate. He thought that I would be dissapointed when he threw in his letter. Hah!! I was more than happy to ask him to pack his stuff and blah!

Now I've 2 young ladies, also from this twisted era. Same shit. They don't take the initiative to learn or even ask, if they don't understand. Then, they go bitching to the other staffs that they are not learning anything from this company.... yadayadayada.... Perhaps I may have been out of the circuit, but since when the hell has telepathy been the order of the day in our lives???? I can't read minds, period!!! You want something, ask! You don't understand something ask! Isk!!!! I hate babysitting these overgrown spoilt brats!!! If this continue, I'll probably be like this poor fella!!!

Out of spital

Ahhh... sis is finally out of the spital and that's good news. Even better news is that the surgeon managed to repair all the tendons on her fingers!!! It's so good to see her fingers move again even though she has to be in a cast for the next couple of weeks. Kudos to the doctor for doing a wonderful job!

Not so good news is while I was at the spital, my beautiful kick ass truck kena scratch liao!!! I don't know who is the stupid architect or contractor who design Pantai Hospital lah... the ramps at the car parks are so blardy narrow, it seems like every car that passes it would either scuff the front bumber or back wheel arch. @##$%%^%$!!!!! These architects must be die hard fans of tiny cars. I was already worried when I approach the ramp when I saw that it was seasonally stained with car scuffs. Nak reverse also cannot, because there was like a million cars behind me waiting to get their car scratched (breaking out in cold sweat during this time). So, no choice lah, my back wheel arch became the victim. BENCI!!!!! So today, my beloved truck kena masuk workshop to respray the scuffed part. Lucky thing the workshop people was nice enough to loan me their Kenari to move around.

Spital

Ayoooo!!!!! I've been so busy with a whole shit load of work, I'm going to be drowning pretty soon in either bales of curtains or paperwork from my shipping company!!! Thank God for this blog, otherwise, I can't seem to find any other alternative to release my tension (tak kan I go ranting my worries and frustrations to my staff, kan???)

Sis called yesterday and said that she's in K.L. I was kinda surprised over her unannounced trip. Anyway, she told me that she was here on emergency and she is in the hospital. Imagine my horror!!! She broke a tendon on her finger. Anyway, I was with her at the Radiology Dept. to wait for the MRI scan. Her right fingers are limp and she can't lift them anymore. Athritic Psoriasis can be such a terrible disease. She has already lost the feeling of 2 fingers. I hope they can save this third one. Her doctor said that she has to be referred to a hand surgeon and this blardy country only have 5!!! So much for Govt. incentives to curb our brain drain. Anyway, the doctor was based in another hospital so, we have to make separate appointments lah.

I called her today and asked how she was doing. She said that she was at the surgeon's office waiting for her X-rays to come out. The doctor wanted to analyse and see if he can salvage the entire hand rather than just repair the tendon. I'm really praying that some miracle can be done lah. She's been so damn strong over the entire 15 years or so ordeal. I just wish that there will be some medical breakthrough that will help her condition. There was this new medicine that was doing wonders to her but it's only considered preventive medicine and it requires self injection every couple of days (like diabetic insulin) and the cost is extremely high. She's very lucky that her company is picking up the tab. I cannot imagine how anyone who doesn't make a fantastic salary can afford the medication. There were some people who told me to seek for alternative medical remedies. But I don't know lah... can trust or not???

I hope she gets an appointment for the surgery soon. That means, next week I better keep myself free to ferry her as well as make sure all her makan minum in order during her recuperating period. Mom and dad will be away next week some more... pening... pening. Sob...sob....:-(

Something to reflect on

We definitely have it good... Idora, thanks for the ads.

My baby

Saw some idiot driving on the road ala Britney Spears, He was carrying a baby on his lap while driving. Stupid pig!!! To complete his "idiotness," he has another child next to him jumping the couch like Tom Cruise pulak!!!! If accident, I don't know lah how!!! Anyway, don't want to talk about orang-orang bodoh today. We'll leave them to the aliens to do anal prodding.

BTW, this is STEVE! He's our naughty little boy who keeps mom and dad busy and entertained. Isn't he CUTE!!! We adopted him from a neighbor, when her dog gave birth to a litter 4 years ago. Considering that he was born around my God son/ nephew's birthday, we've decided that he gets to celebrate his birthday on the same day as my god son. Steve's considered besar panjang already, as dogs age much faster than humans. If I'm not mistaken, the ratio is 1 human year : 7 dog years. So, Steve should be around 28 years old in dog years.

Despite being an "adult" kononnye lah, he is spoilt rotten and best of all, doesn't realises that he's a dog!!! His absolute favourite snack is keropok udang, especially those bought from Sekinchan (He sure know's his stuff!) Yep, he knows how to pilih some more!!! Well, he doesn't get to eat a lot of junk food, actually. We try not to give him because the salt's not good for the fur (Try telling that to dad. He feeds him everytime we're not looking.) But sometimes, those sad looking eyes are SOOOOOOO difficult to resist. And everytime after he gets his share, he will wipe his ass and blah! So much for suckers like us! On birthdays, he gets lamb chops from mom or a piece of juicy steak. Talk about luck! Steve doesn't need to work, sleeps off half the day, makes everyone scratch the back of his ears, have people bath him, feed him and comfort him during a thunder storm... hmm... being a dog isn't so bad after all, huh?

Pea brains are back

What I've found of late is there are quite a few motorcyclist who would rather risk their lives riding on the main road rather than the special bike lanes build for them (like those on Federal Highway). These imbeciles are growing by the day. I mean, JKR's been spending millions of your money to built these lanes, use them lah!!! Nih takde, they would rather zip around cars and risk kena lenyek from other vehicles. As it is, our Federal Highway is already congested nak mampos and these daredevils are not helping the situation at all. Just the other day, I saw one of these morons with a pillion rider happily scooting around cars from my rearview mirror. I was quite delighted since there was a motor patrol trooper in front of me. This one sure kena lah! But you know what happened? These 2 jokers on their 2 wheeler highway terror just zipped passed this traffic police and the traffic police buat dunno!!!!!! WTF????!!! I mean, this traffic police is actually scared of these 2 kapcai terror is it? His huge Honda trooper bike bought with our moolah is used for what? Show off ah? If I have my way, I would have mowed these two bugges down with my truck. Then, I'll mow down that stupid police man too for being to chicken to get that two idiots off the main highway.

No ASTRO??? So suaku one!!!!

Ok... I know technology kinda rule our lives, but is it such a crime that I do not have ASTRO??? Just a couple of days ago, I had this friend who keep on drooning about the fact that I do not have ASTRO!! To add salt to the wound, I own a very old 14" tv which I use to watch the news. It's so old that it doesn't even have a jack for a DVD player. So, as usual, I'm always the butt of the joke when it comes to TV tech. Sad, you think? I don't think so. I just don't see the need to own a plasma yet. I don't mind watching my movies via the laptop (not that I have time for them anyway).

Personally, having a book in hand is just so much more blissful. I can actually go on a book reading marathon if I want to. One thing good about not having a canggih manggih TV is, I won't be stuck on it 24-7. So, what I don't watch, I won't miss, so, that's a plus point. And then, I'm saving electricity, which is good for the environment. There is also other great points such as people will not want to hang out too much at your place because your tv sucks, there will be no rowdy marathon movie nights at your place because your tv sucks, and plenty more of *fill in the blanks* "because your tv sucks" reason lah. Good isn't it? Hahahaha!!!!

Well, I guess it's personal choice lah when it comes to all these stuff. Meanwhile I think I can still procrastinate on the plasma until mom makes so much noise because she can't follow up with her ASTRO soaps whenever she visits. Then, MAYBE I'll consider changing the TV...

Something old...something new....

Wah!!!! It's been a really really loooooooong time since I last put anything into this space. As usual, my ever unpredictable life is always as busy as ever. Just when I thought I can relax a bit, something else will crop up to make sure I'm back on my toes. At least I know how the Energizer Rabbit feels like (NOT in that manner, ok??? Hamsup you all!!!!). Well, the shipping side is suddenly on the rise and having an overseas office now seems to add on the workload. The ID side pulak is on high gear since everyone wants to complete their jobs before the Lunar 7th month (Ghost month mar). Even during Ghost month I would not be able to rest, since there is 2 Mat Salleh projects to get going during that period. So much for hoping for some breathing space during the pantang month.

The only thing exciting happening lately is that my brand new spanking kick ass truck is finally here!!! Yay!!!!!! Now, nobody can bully me on the road (except for 18 wheeler trailers lar). It took me a while to get used to the height and size but now I find it pretty ok to drive and I have improved my parking skills now. Hehehehehehehe!!! I really missed my old faithful at first, 7 years kamching, you know?!!! But I was told recently that she have a new owner oledi. Someone have bought her 1 week after I took the truck. So, I hope she will give the same joy and pleasure of driving to her new owner as she did for my entire 7 years.

Ayam bag

Ayam bag!!!! Ayam bag!!!! It's been a whirlwind trip but I guess all things happen for a reason. So, I guess the roller coaster ride starts here. You have no idea all the things that was going through my head when we were snipping the ribbon. Scared, overwhelmed, excited, dunno what the heck am I suddenly doing in Shenzen, all these feelings rolled into one. Alas, the party is over and the real work begins. Our first China office is officially opened and we have to kick off at high gear.

Breath, and take 2 steps back

OMG!!!! The past 1 week and for the next 3 weeks is HELL!!!!! I've never had so many things happening all at one time. Sei lor!!!! It really feels like the roof gave way and crashed over my head. My logistics company took a twist and suddenly there are some crucial decisions that needed to be made. That also means, I've to give a miss on one neighbor's wedding dinner because I'll be overseas at that time. Interior design side is also a big cramp in the stomach since everyone is trying to "kow tim" their projects before the "GHOST FESTIVAL"!!!! Ayo!!!!!!!

I actually woke up yesterday and had a panic attack. No joke!!! I hyperventilated like crazy and could not get out of bed. It took me half a day to actually come to terms and sort everything out. This is what I found out to be extremely effective when one is in the verge of a mental breakdown.

1. Stop whatever you are doing and BREATHE!!!
2. Pray if you are religious. It will help calm the nerves.
3. Start to list everything that needed to be done in black and white. It doesn't look so bad once it is taken out from your head. Also, cancel out one by one when it is accomplished.
4. We tend to get more negative news (via email or telephone) during this period. It only seen so because you are in a bad mood and tend to link everything to the root of the problem. DO NOT RESPOND to any email or calls before you take a step back and analyse. The "problematic" emails and calls may not seem so serious after you have re-read and analyse them.

I did just as the above and true enough, the problems seems to have lifted by itself and they were solved one by one. Although I had to work really late to accomplish that, I was really satisfied with the results and at least last night I had a good night sleep. So, let's hope in the next 3 weeks, I can be in control over the situation and they will not be as bad as they look. Wish me luck!

We know we are seeing trouble in the face...

1. When we put a person with an ego the size of a trailer truck in a Kancil.
2. When we put a sign saying "free samples" in a supermarket isle on a weekend sale.
3. When we decided to have dinner at an "Eat all you can" Japanese buffet restaurant.
4. When we give a despatch boy an urgent document and he has blood shot eyes and reeks of alcohol.
5. When we see the lady/man in front of you at the check out counter starts to contemplate which item she/he wants to buy and which she/he doesn't.
6. When the only table available at McD's is next to the one full of screaming kids squirting milkshake and ketchup at each other.
7. When the air stewardess' crowd around an ill passenger like she was a freak show instead of helping her.
8. When the foreign waiter doesn't understand anything you say and he is the only waiter available in the only restaurant in the place.
9. When what you thought you ordered turned out to be something gross like bull's testicles.
10. When everyone suddenly leaves a particular place and you find that you are alone in that place.

A new beginning

It is sad that despite all the achievements human kind have championed and gained, many more are stuck in a state of oppression. The American Black community fought long and hard during the 50's and 60's for their rights to live equally among the Whites. The Africans fought hard against the Apartheid for the simple right to live. We are seeing the same struggle now in our homeland when a woman fought for her rights to choose her own religion. It is quite sad that she was denied that choice simply because she was born a Muslim. As we know, there is this ruling in our country that prohibits a Muslim from converting to any other religion. However, how does one justify a person's religious status is permanent when he or she doesn't even practice it anymore? In the end, the Religious Department will only have a number. But how many are actually practicing is another story all together.

I'm sure many may may disagree with me on this just because it touches on a religious aspect, but I'm going to voice out my opinion anyway. I believe that for a nation to move forward and be progressive, the people must have a freedom of choice. Be it religion, education, job opportunity, etc... Otherwise, what's the point of forcing people to be what they are not? In the end, all you have is an impressive number. I know that this case will bring a change. It may take a long time, but someone started to question it's relevance. I'm sure many more will also step forward in the near future. Our people are better educated now and changes are inevitable. Perhaps one day, the laws will allow them the freedom of religion, just like how I wish, that one day I will have the equal rights and benefits as they do.

Back to basics

We live in this world full of gadgets, internet, broadband, etc... to make our lives "easier." They are suppose to make things more convenient, efficient and work faster. Now focus on the last word, "WORK FASTER." Don't everyone agree that we basically lost the sense of timing, especially now that we are relying so heavily on email and the internet? Gone are the days where we wait eagerly for the postman to receive that long hand letter. Now we only receive bills, statements and junk mail from the mailman. Gone are the time where one have a few days to think before they reply a mail or another person's inquiry. Nowadays, you are slow if you don't reply your email within 1 hour. Where have all the time gone? We are working 100 times more than we used to because of this "efficiency." Perhaps that's why our choice of words are no longer personal. We've instead, been introduced with standard, non descriptive and generic productions of forms and templates to reply mails or communicate with people. I'm not saying that working hard is bad but we are moving towards a lifestyle that may drive us to the grave earlier. We are working harder, yet we spend longer hours in the office. We spend less time with family and friends. We excercise less, we eat out most of the time.

Somehow, I feel that one day, something's gotta give. There's only so much a person can do, right? People always say, "find a balance in your life." It's easier said than done most of the time. How many times have I encountered massive "rush hour" traffic at 8.30pm???

Perhaps that's why mental breakdown cases, divorce cases and suicide cases are on the rise. Maybe all this technology and advancements are not that good for us after all.

Bliss is...

- Waking up on a rainy morning and finding out that it's not a working day.
- Curling up on the sofa with your favourite book.
- Having lunch with your best friends.
- When your phone did not ring the entire day.
- Smelling the fresh wet hair of the one you love.
- Eating roast duck with wine while discussing folk art.
- The sensation of warm brownies and cold vanilla ice cream in your mouth.
- Taking your time to check out the flea markets for interesting gifts.
- Savouring the cup of freshly brewed coffee in your hand.
- Taking long walks on a weekend evening in the park.

Selling ourselves short

I've always wondered what is so special about these Mat Sallehs, huh??? Why are some of us Asians looking up to them as if they are GOD??? They Agung agungkan these people like they are some celestially superior beings. I've the displeasure of meeting up with some assholes lately, who thinks that they are superior because they happen to work for some "International" company, i.e., Mat Salleh company lah. Come on lah, just because you work for the fucking American Embassy or some international movers, that doesn't make you a Mat Salleh, ok??? You are still AND WILL ALWAYS BE as yellow or brown , flat nosed, slit eyes as the day you were born from your very Asian parents!!! I hate how these Mat Salleh wanabes try to please these Mat Sallehs like some slave and then trample all over you like some dirt because you are not one. I guess this racist game has taken a new twist. Instead of marginalising another race, it is now all about hating your own kind, because it might just boost your broken ego that's hidden somewhere within. What a load of crap! No wonder these Mat Sallehs love to be here. They know that they have the privilege to be superior because some of us actually let them be by selling ourselves short.

Crash Boom Bang

Last night, some women crashed into the side of my car at the Giant open air parking lot. Talk about luck. She said that she didn't see my car. My car must have been really small or invisible. Sigh.... Anyways, she gave me her card and told me that she'll call me on Monday to arrange to have my car fixed at her workshop somewhere nearby. We shall see on Monday if she will call me or not. She better or else... Now my car REALLY look like a true contractor car! :-(

So Lame!!!

I think Mix FM has hit rock bottom by putting in the 3 Stooges (Pietro, Serena C and Ika) into the Breakfast Show!!!!! Ayo!!!! Can the topics for discussion get any lamer than the one before!!!??? Come one lar!!!! "Men doesn't know how to buy presents for women." What the fuck is that!!!??? And there will always be some stupid bitch calling in complaining that her husband buys her "CHEAP CUTE STUFF" instead of DIAMONDS!!!!!??? You know what? If I were the husband, I'd ask her to fuck off!!! How ungrateful can this bitch be??? And to make matter worse, half past six DJ's like Serena C will love to rub salt onto the wound. Please lah, you are no where NEAR Richard and Shazmin coz you are so fucking fake and bias with your comments.

Anyway, back to the main reason for this entry... The old Breakfast Show used to discuss REAL topics, topics picked out from the daily paper or even if it is not, it is always something sensible and lighthearted. Not some stupid lame topic that was racked out while you put on your headphones and having the producer counting down before you go on air. It used to gear me up in the morning and probably even make me ponder a thing or two from the topics in discussion. Now it's full of crap and worse, made up drama... like that one time this dude supposedly proposed to Serena C on Valentine's day? That was all made up, in case you didn't know. Same thing with the so called Dial the World segment where they were suppose to call people up around the world and interview them impromptu. That was all made up as well. I mean, why all the lies??? I've been an avid listener to the Breakfast Show for the longest time, since Richard and Shazmin's days. But it seems that the Breakfast Show might as well just get scrapped off the schedule and thrown into the bin with what's being installed lately. Hey, I've tried and given these nuts a chance since they took over from Richard and Shaz. But looks like they might as well flush it down the toilet. If I were them, I'd start looking for a new job. Heck, no more Mix Morning Breakfast for me anymore.