I'm 30!

I'm 30! Tomorrow..... Oh well, some good things that I'm grateful...

1) Dinner today with family and andrew....for picking up the bill...it's wonderful eating with my family + andrew, well, coz we really enjoy it. Family activity. Too bad imn and tache's family are not here.
2) signed my loan agreement for my place yesterday......saved a lot of legal fees coz of 2nd sis.....(thx!)
3) paying up for the europe trip tomorrow....definitely a milestone for me + andrew. All the money we've been saving up is going somewhere now....
4) settling in with my new job now...@the 2nd month now....in yet another location.....
5) finally got a laptop that I can ACTUALLY use outside of office.......

turning 30 actually makes me wanna move forward ...to better things ahead....

The Great Fall

it's Andrew's 1st Anniversary of his Great Fall this Friday. Most unforgettable times. hehehehe. KY and B, thanks for accompanying us to Taman Desa Hospital then to MU Hospital. KY especially for helping to 'alas' his blood that he was snorting out on the way to the hospital with me driving. hehe, couldnt have done that without you(my car would have been stained with blood). And KY and Imny for picking up his car keys middle of the night near the 'site" of the great fall. And IMny and JE for sending it to us in MU Hospital thereafter. And i think he's really regretful for all the anxiety he caused to his parents. And.....kudos to the good dentist/doctor, Dr Ha and his good nurse.

The Little Things.....

SY told me she was elated to find kangkung somewhere in US......
I was happy to be finally free to surf on my new laptop....
My friend's my new colleague...
I have a lunch partner in my new posting.....
My nephew can stand on his own little feet.....
My cactus grew little baby shoots....
I had shanghai noodle cooked by my buddy.....
I dont have to wake up at 6am anymore.....
I have a new purse....
I've got new bangles....
ANd...it's finally FRIDAY!

(the little things that makes me go yay!)

Isaac Hayes

Isaac Hayes died yesterday at the age of 65.....

Convenient....

I had a conversation with a guy yesterday.....asking him rather flippantly about how he met the new current girlfriend. I did not intentionally want to know but asked him what he saw in her. He answered rather a-matter-of-fact-ly that she was one of the contenders and that he 'rejected' the other 2 because one was very garang and another was too 'wild' for him. This one was just 'convenient' because she stays nearby and he could 'find' her anytime he wants to.

Oh yes, girls, these men do exist.

It's My Life

K made me realize something last night. It's not always about me, myself and I, but it's not about other people's lives either. It we don't live for ourselves than what's the point of living. Of course the noble thing is to always put others needs before yours but really, how many of us are like that. I know my mother is. She takes care of us and the extended family members as well. Who has a heart like that?

I know for sure I'm much more selfish than that. I would like to say however, that has changed over the years. Giving leaves a much more satisfying feeling than receiving. Helping others do actually boost my morale up. I sometimes even wish I could do more. But ohwell, money and the energy put into those kinda things don't really permit.

If I could, I would like to say that this life is MY LIFE. But really, life is not about that at all. Our lives are enriched by the people we meet (not limited to just our other halves). MY LIFE takes a whole new meaning even further since I have a twin sister. For a while I guess we SHARED a life together growing up. And then it's your other halves etc. The essence of our being is still there just that we are LIVING in the lives of many, in many ways too.

I seem to be babbling here. So I'll stop right now. BUt ....food for thought ya!

Singapore!

I've never liked Singapore. This time round I had to be here for 1 week for work. Argh. Nevertheless I made an effort to roam a bit here. Was at City Hall, Ang Mo Kio, Chinatown, Bugis, Tao Payoh, Boon Lay of course because sis and b-i-l and the mutt are staying there. 

Caught up with my secondary friends and it's amazing how it feels like we are 13 again when we get together. 4 girls and 2 of their hubbies. We talked nonstop and I can't help feeling nostalgic about those pinafore cladded days where we used to sit bersila talking and talking. One of them was actually my friend since kindergarden, right till college. And, i've got lots of friends that came way way back then, and we go a long long way back. You know who u are. (those who are reading this). And we're friends for life and there's no buts to that.

And then, my other half (the twin half) had her Austrian friend and an Italian friend to meet up with me and bunked at KY's place. I frankly had quite a ball. It's nice to see the reaction of gwailos when they eat our local favourites. And I ordered the black sesame pudding just to see what they'll say. hehehe. We went to the Merlion today. HAHAHA. I haven' t been there since i was 12 maybe. OMG. It hasn't changed but the view is kinda tarnished by the construction site for the casino there. Got them to try tau sar piah and it was a hit, how odd. It's weird that Andi says it feels like he's talking to Imn because we sound alike, and we joke and the accent is all the same. How horrific! (hehe)

We've also concluded that the food in Malaysia is better than Singapore, and so that's why Andi is gonna come to Malaysia. To compare his sambal with the REAL sambal. Those nasi lemak eaters would have to join us. Prepare to eat!

All in all, I still love Malaysia more. Except that the MRT is great. That's the only thing that Singapore has. And please, i can't stand the jialat this and jialat that. Alamak me anytime.

Vendor Management Solution

Ok. so that's what i'm doing. I've come to a point where i just wiki it and send it to people who asked what i'm doing. IT"S NOT RECRUITING. It's really something quite interesting and looking forward to this new job that i've got. Best is that we're pioneers in our company so we've got a free hand in almost anything. Great stuff.. And a new beginning to vendor management and hiring :)

Penang....at last

I haven't been to Penang in such a long time. THe last time i was there was 2 years ago when i had a short stop at Pulau Aman for seafood on the way from Kulim. Here are my thoughts...

1) it's windy....

2) why won't they upgrade the Penang INTERNATIONAL airport...

3) there's the original Chef n Brew restaurant at Krystal Point...

4) Queensbay Mall is actually not too bad.....

5) had a great Chicken Tikka at Kapitan....

6) it's really really windy...

7) The road leading to K's place is really really ulu...reminds me of Kuala Terengganu...

I didnt make it to the hawkers' stalls though...:(

Cost Down Tactics

Well now....since the whole petrol thing happened, been thinking and practicing some cost down activities:
1) breakfast at home: i used to buy breakfast at work....be it toast or kuih-muih or nasi lemak...well, i'm resorting to just plain wholemeal gardenia bread just before i take off for work
2) less dining out: checked through that most of my expenses are on dining out...well, now we're eating more hawker food that's equally as tasty, less fuss and great all the same. As opposed to RM50 up per meal, now i'm spending maybe less than RM20.
3) less roaming : i dont go out unless necessary nowadays....
4) cents-sibility: do not underestimate the cents you have chucked aside....i've been using all those coins to pay for toll for 3-4 months now....
5) no more short trips: me n andrew used to take short trips to places but now the furthest we've been is to Ipoh....but make no mistake, we're saving up for a much awaited long trip we're gonna have in oct. sacrifice the short little trips for the one dream trip!
6) there are those some absolute expenses that you cannot avoid so spread out the expenses and always look for great bargains.

the most dramatic tactic was actually changing jobs that has given me at least a good increase on basic salary. just a tip: if ever you think of changing jobs, always ask for at least 30% more....

Shopping for Home

One too many trips to Ikea lately and hunting for cheap buys all over KL too for my new home. Well i haven't done the loan agreement yet....and haven't got the keys yet....but then, better to spread out the expenses anyways over the months before I actually move in. Plus with the inflation going on....there are really some great bargains out there....

Did you know that you can't buy everything in Ikea or else your place might just look like every other home....hahaha....and not everything there is cheaper and nicer. Rugs are actually nicer from Jusco. Erm....i got some RM10-for-5 plates in Bangsar (some bungalow-converted-to-shop along jln ara)...STONEWARE, mind you. And nowadays if u see those warehouse sales that says TODAY ONLY...well, chances are these stores would still be on sale the next month. So don't be conned into making a decision straight away.

I need a coffee table, some reliable and nice stools and a bed. And a table lamp. Maybe a few of those....got a thing for lamps...

The Kite Runner-the movie

Touching..and it was almost as good as the book, but then there are just some things better explained in words.....

it was brilliantly told though, much better than i expected. the kids were amazingly good, my favourite being little Hassan.......

Change!

Am ready for yet another challenge in my life. Finally i'm ditching the china-fied job and am embarking on another career path. Hitching a better basic salary pay now and moving on to consultancy. The money was good in the china-fied company but it didn't really gave me the job satisfaction i used to have in my previous company. Well, yar I'm a sucker for all that. Somehow K reminded me that sometimes smaller companies offer something she and I both wanted: A challenge. Life's not only about work, and work's not about just money.

Time for a change!waiting for it to happen :)

Broke

I've made 3% payment. And now, waiting for the S&P to be drawn up, and that's another 7%! On top of that the calculated stamp duty etc, that's another payment for that. And then there's the bank loan - and estimated 1K per month payment hereafter i get the keys.

My first big purchase I must say. It makes me kinda nervous and excited at the same time. I can't remember the last time i bought anything expensive except for the small kelisa i bought in 2002.

Home!

Closed the deal yesterday for my own place! at a good reasonable price considering i won't need to put in extra money to do any renovation. The place is in tip-top condition (2nd hand lahhh) and love the lush surroundings! I'm gonna be a lot poorer but well nothing beats having your own place....!

post some pics soon....

Indiana !!!!

What can i say, indiana jones 4 blew my mind!!!! Harrison Ford is irreplacable...! old but still my hero!!!!!

many funny moments, i especially like his one-liners that i won't be revealing here! GO WATCH iT!!!!

And the Hunt Continues......

Hunt for a place, that is...! Had lunch with W yesterday and was really happy that she's got her own place now, but the headache that comes with it......, sheesh, the contractors etc. And she's right about budget-ting, we don't always need to go for the ultimate glamour-expensive works, but opt for a medium range stuff in accordance to budget.

So now i'm stuck with an iffy budget for mine, and it seems like such a big responsibility yet exciting still. Will be seeing more this weekend, with the help of endroog and sis, maybe i'll finally find something i like; that i COULD afford...

W asked if i would opt to stay at home more if I've had my own place.....i said MAYBE, but really I doubt i would anyways .....!

Just The Way You Are

Dont go changing, to try and please me

You never let me down before

Dont imagine youre too familiar

And I dont see you anymoreI

wouldnt leave you in times of trouble

We never could have come this far

I took the good times,

Ill take the bad times

Ill take you just the way you are- Billy Joel

I guess we can't help but complain about our other halves, or our family members, or our siblings. Why do we sometimes find it hard to just accept someone just the way he/she is..... Maybe it's because since young or by our peers, we have set a certain requirements and standards for what we perceive as to be the best partners/family for ourselves. We can't help be influenced by sometimes superficial standards. And if we close one eye, won't we be just one of those who are tihtahpah about life? No one is perfect, but it doesnt mean we should just accept things the way it is....

I think the most important thing is that we try. We try to be better. Everyone should try to be better.

Liar Liar

City girls just seem to find out early how to open doors with just a smile.
A rich old man and she won't have to worry. She'll dress up all in lace and go in style.
Late at night a big old house gets lonely, I guess every form of refuge has its price.
And it breaks her heart to think her love is only given to a man with hands as cold as ice.
So she tells him she must go out for the evening to comfort an old friend who's feeling down.
But he knows where she's going as she's leaving, she’s headed for the cheating side of town.
You can't hide your lying eyes and your smile is a thin disguise.
I thought by now you'd realize, there ain't no way to hide your lying eyes. -LYING EYES (EAGLES)

We've all told a lie or two in our lives. We lie because we think some things are better left undone. We lie because the truth hurts. We lie because we just can't be bothered to dwell on the details. We lie because things are just easier that way. And some just lie for fun. I remember I once bluffed my best friend that my dad was working as a communist in Uzbekistan. I also bluffed my Math teacher that I won a green Kancil thru the Milo ad. I cheated in college and university papers, midterms and assignments. I had to *grin*. It's just the way the world works. I lie at work so I sometimes don't have to entertain idiots and annoying customers and colleagues. Because I had to. It's just easier that way. If you really think about it, lying is an art. How to come up with a believable and great lie. How not to get caught? How to be a good liar without ur face revealing it? Lying helps. Who's never told a lie before? Let me know.

Pissed...

I'm on a hormonal rollercoaster I think. Ever since I started working with this company I'm all flared up and pissed off all the time! with the work, the moronic people and everything.

I really gotta find my patience and try to not be so opinionated all the time, and learn to shuddup for good because it never gets me anywhere actually. Having said that, I've spoken up a bit TOO LOUD to 2 moronic bosses of mine, pointed out to a Project Director about his project managers incompetency...all in this week.

Anyone's got vacancy anywhere?