Dear diary...

Won TVFXQ Live Concert tickets!

2006-07-12T11:11:00.000+08:00

Yeah!! Got an email this morning that I've just been selected as one of the winner of the Pizza Hut E-Message TVFXQ Rising Sun Concert Contest.

Got myself 2 tickets to catch TVFXQ live in concert on 14th July 2006, 8pm Putra Stadium, Bukit Jalil.

Well... too bad I can't attend it. Giving the tickets to my younger sister in Sunway. I seem to always have this luck... winning things, but cannot enjoy them. Why must the prize always revolve around the Klang Valley area? :p

That reminds me... Alvin, how was your holiday at the resort in Kajang?

Nevertheless, I'm still happy to win! ;D

My Big Day!

2006-06-30T18:17:00.000+08:00

Yes... it's the time of the year, and it is my BIG DAY again! :D

Nothing is as great as your special day! *lol*

I have a really sweet celebration this year. Well, first of all, a bunch of my gym friends celebrated together in a mass birthday style for all the June birthday people. Yup.. I know, others are doing mass wedding while we are inventing our own mass birthday style *wink*

Not to forget my special someone, since he has got me some presents way way earlier.. a handbag and watch bracelet this year ;-), so I thought I'll just be having a 'predictable' dinner and movie with him tonight. Yup, Superman Returns for me :D. Well, it doesn't stop there actually, I got a surprise yesterday when he presented me, 8 origami roses. There's a unique touch to that, as I'm not a 'fresh flower' person. I always thought that unless for special occasions, buying fresh flowers are a waste of money ;-p.

For those who are interested in how to make the roses, here's the link:
http://www.bloom4ever.com/howto/howto01.htm

There's more to come, this morning, my colleagues gave me a surprise too. Got a monkey soft toy as present and birthday cake for breakfast. Oh yea, Pizza Hut for lunch too. Hahaha.. all my forbidden fattening food.

What more can I ask right? But something is still in store for me tomorrow. My old uni friends are planning a surprise for me too. I'm to make myself available from dinner time onwards. But no one wanna tell me what's the plan. Sigh... I'm getting worried on what's the forthcoming torture :S

Hehehe.. just kidding!

Now, it's time to enjoy... office hours over... but pity my monkey...

Hahahahaha...

Is this love?

2006-06-15T12:54:00.000+08:00

I have always believe that in a relationship ...

A couple in love should not be clinging to each other for self nourishment.

Instead ...

They should be able to function as two independent individuals, and still able to inject energy into the relationship, into each other, thus making a whole new 'combined' entity ;-)

Therefore, I have always prided myself in knowing that I am still able to initiate and do my own self-improvement, as that's what I want and what I need. Boyfriend's support is NOT about him prodding and guiding me to better myself, but his support means that he is there for me at times when I am lagging behind from what I aimed for earlier. He'll be there as the subtle reminder, quietly strengthening my resolution.

However, why do I feel something is missing whenever he's not around me? It can range from a short time, such as few hours, to maybe lasting a few days. It's not that I need him to 'nourish' me and it's not just the mere feeling of missing him ...

but ...

I do feel that as the time slowly ticks away, signifying the duration that he's apart from me, I can feel that my 'energy' is slowly ebbing away too. I'll still be able to function as an individual, continuing with my life but then the things I do, become more and more meaningless, as more and more 'energy' seeps away.

Perhaps that's love ... maybe not something corny like "he's my soulmate", and though the movie line "he completes me" rings true, but this is more like I felt he is part of me, and I really cannot live without him. If I can't spend my lifetime with him, I will prefer to spend it alone.

So what can I say about this 'love'? Nah, I won't say it's a good or a bad thing, but one thing I know for sure is that I'm glad that I love him with all my heart. It'll be utterly meaningless though if this is not reciprocated, or if it's in a one-way direction, therefore I feel that I'm sooooooo blessed that I got his undivided love too. I have never feel someone love me as deeply as he does.

So here, what I would like to say is... I'm confirmed that he's THE ONE. And yes, I'm getting married to him!!! Yeah!!!

p.s. Psttt...and we just got our wedding bands too ;-) With no objections from both sides of our parents on the wedding... Double Yeah!!!

Update on Lexi

2006-06-09T16:02:00.000+08:00

An update on Alexia... she's growing well... getting cuter, starting on the baby talks too. So proud of her, my first niece.

Love cannot exists when ...

2006-05-22T11:34:00.000+08:00

Love cannot exists when ...
- your partner cannot accept you for who you are.
- and when you partner love you selfishly, and not self-less-ly.

Ghostly Encounter :S

2006-05-04T08:54:00.000+08:00

This happened to my bf yesterday. I don't know the logical explanation for it, so I'll describe as his first ever ghostly encounter :S

He stayed in the office till 11 plus pm yesterday, 11:18pm to be exact. Office is at 12 floor, and since it's pretty late, the main lights have all been switched off. So while waiting for the lift to come, at a totally darkened corridor, he heard ...

... a young girl voice, "Daddy, daddy...", and she was saying something else. The daddy is 'there' too. Responding to her, and playing with her. Luckily the voices are not near... they came from the balcony, just around the corner.

Thank gawd I called him at that time. He talked to me, so glad to be distracted. And in a short while, the lift arrived too. Nothing happened after that. But as soon as he got into the car, all the lights switched off too at the car park, and car park was in total darkness.

He was so afraid, saw him all pale when he arrived home. *sigh*

New arrival to my family

2006-03-22T10:10:00.000+08:00

There's a new arrival to my family yesterday. My newly born niece.. Alexia Christine Williams! Yeah yeah! Can't wait to see her... but have to wait till the baby is a bit older before she can travel.

English Valentine ... more surprises ;-)

2006-02-15T08:44:00.000+08:00

More surprises for this Valentine. Maybe my relationship is still new, so he's extra romantic and put a lot of effort into this day. Nothing expensive, and everything from the heart. Just the way I love it!

Continuing from previously I got another clue. For this, I don't need to do much. Just have to make a promise that I'll let the bed bugs bite me a bit earlier each day ;) And for that, I'll be getting a Valentine bonus even before I start dreaming. The bonanza is this ..

Very good effort! *applause* Notice the fan just beside the deco? That is needed so that the end result will be right on top of my heart, when I go to sleep. Thus, he has to painstakingly stick all the glow-in-the-dark 'hearts' in a warm n stuffy environment :p.

Not only that, when I woke up in the morning, there's a Valentine's wish for me, on the mirror! :o Yeah.. corny, but I really love the surprises!

Actually V'day celebration, we walked around shopping complex, and had a nice dinner at Pastasia. I would recommend the chef recommendation pasta for everyone! They are so yummy. Even their ice blended mocha is superb. The tiramisu is just average though, a bit too sweet for me.

Too bad, I didn't take much pic for this celebration. But it's ok, everything has been printed into my mind and heart forever.

Double-ly Babies

2006-02-13T11:33:00.000+08:00

Another happy news to keep me smiling all the day!

My housemate is pregnant! She's in her 4th month actually but I only got to know about this, this morning. Due in July... another cute lil' gal ;).

And double good news is, my elder sister is delivering soon. And the irony of it all, both my sis and my housemate used to know each other back in primary school. We are all school mates!

Two cute baby gals coming soon, in the year of the DOG! :D

Just went on a shopping spree last weekend, for my sister's first born. Will be going for another baby-product hunting soon for my housemate hehehe...

Chinese Valentine ... Happy Chap Goh Mei!

2006-02-13T11:23:00.000+08:00

Guess what Valentine's present I got this year?

It's something new, exciting, and so different from the norm. My partner brought me on a treasure hunt to find my pressie ;). Started last Sunday, and it'll last for a week *wink*. So, still waiting for clues now.

One of the task to accomplish in the hunt is.... para-sailing! :D Of course there's something I need to shout in the middle of the sea, dangling from the air. Hahaha... but I'll keep that off the public.

Really love the para-sail. Though we have to go on our own, both of us tried it. Our first experiences ... and I really love the feeling of being so high up in the air. Way way safer than bungee-jumping or sky-diving. And considering my phobia of heights, this is quite a exhilirating experience :)

After that, we went together on a jet ski (not part of the mission). Went crazy on this, we went soooo far, that we got a 'bit' lost. We thought we were heading back to the resort, when the guide came for us hahaha. Flagged for us to follow him back. Quite surprised initially that he drove off. Turns out, our resort, is way way off our 'mark'. Quite funny thinking about it ;)

Oh morning event is, we went for a normal breakfast at a new cafe, but I'm touched because he was driving around Penang, looking on a place where I can have my favourite food. That was part of the hunt too. Looking for my 'yew char koay', a chinese snack dipped in black hot coffee. He's really creative in this hehe.

Night event, meet up with a bunch of frenz, to celebrate her bday. Gave her a pizza in replacement of birthday cake. She loves the 'twist' hahaha! We went to this nice romantic cafe (Faces, in Penang) where there's live singing going on too. Their mixed fruit drinks are still as nice as ever. And really love the atmosphere!

Quite a day to celebrate the chinese valentine ...

Happy belated Chap Goh Mei everyone!

Introducing IconoMaker

2006-01-23T14:42:00.000+08:00

Today I'll would like to touch a bit on my working life, and rant on something techie ;)

Recently, for months now, I have been doing a lot of web programming, and learnt a lot in developing Graphical User Interface (GUI) for IT application product, on embedded systems.

Here is one of the software which I cannot do without... Icon Empire :D

As extracted from the website:
"IconoMaker creates and edits icons of any size, colored by virtual pen, brush, airbrush, ellipse, straight line or curve tools, compatible with Windows XP 32-bit color depth with 8-bit alpha channel. Users can roll, shift and rotate images, sort images within icons, and copy and paste images to other applications. This program supports ICO and ICPR formats, and now supports PNG images. Happily for Linux users, IconoMaker now imports and exports XPM and XBM images. For a total rundown of IconoMaker's features, visit www.free-icon-editor.com ."

You must be wondering why I am suddenly a strong 'advertiser'? Hahahaha... just so that I'll be getting a free license for the usage of this very same software *wink*

Million Dollar Homepage

2006-01-16T12:51:00.000+08:00

I am so facinated with this....
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3223-1824063,00.html

And a more thorough coverage...
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3223-1824063,00.html

More press releases on the original website. Check it out!
http://www.milliondollarhomepage.com/index.php

There are lots of imitations spawning from that original idea, for example, http://www.milliondollarhomepagebis.com/index.php, but they are not doing as great as the original one. Due to the original novelty oso I guess.

I am SOOOoo impressed!

Wacky ideas for wedding 'initiation'

2006-01-16T10:36:00.000+08:00

I practically left my blog for dead... but I guess, it up to revive again today. :D

Need some ideas for an upcoming wedding, on the tricks which can be used on the guys, from the bride's side.

Here are some current ideas... but desperately need more:
1. Choose one from 3 types of fruits (not deliciously nice ;p), which will be the bride's favourite. But there won't be any...muahahaha...
2. Have lotsa lip marks on tissue and guess which one belongs to the bride? Or maybe change it to lingerie instead? ;)
3. Confess his love (original lyric), with any current pop song.
4. Test his memory..what's the first date..first present etc? Nah...too mundane.
5. Have a mixture of food for the consumption of the guys...hmm...no...too dangerous for the tummy in case they could not 'stomach' it, and the wedding ceremony will be 'torturous' then :p

Hmm..what else? Any wacky...crazy..creative..even boring old ideas are welcome. And guys, please do not protect ur own 'species' :p It's all for fun rite? LOL!

Or maybe, he can dress up to be the hero of the day?? ->

Hmmm...on a second thought... I think we'll leave the 'dress-up' play for the night *wink*

'Honeymoon' stage

2005-11-25T14:23:00.000+08:00

I have not been blogging about my special friend for quite some time liow. But he has been making me very happy every single day ;)

He's quite a romantic too, and certain things which he said, are pretty heart-moving :D Things like, "I really feel like you are my custom-made 'little-wife'". And just now, he sent me a song which he sang himself (and recorded it), declaring his love ... hehehe.

Yup...am still in the 'honeymoon' stage now. Enjoying it while it lasts.

Got this in an email today...

To My Friends Who Are............NOT SO SINGLE

Love isn't about becoming somebody else's 'perfect person'.
It's about finding someone who helps you become the best person you can be.

Found a 'gem'! :D

2005-11-10T14:24:00.000+08:00

I have not been blogging much lately.

This is because recently, I found a 'gem' but since this 'gem' is still in the unpolished state, I do not plan to blog it out here here until it is more 'polished'. Furthermore, I could not think of other stuff to write as the 'gem' is the only thing who has been occupying my mind most of these days ;)

However, I'll make it an exception now as he uttered the three magic words to me yesterday. I'll write it in codes here....'143'....how beautiful *awww*. I feel like I'm on top of the world now :D

2005-10-25T17:51:00.000+08:00

Got this in my email today ... ;)

ENGINEER'S VALENTINE POEM

I was alone and all was dark,

Beneath me and above

My life was full of volts and amps But not the spark of love.

But now that you are here with me My heart is overjoyed, You turn

the square of my heart, Into a sinusoid.

You load things from my memory,

Onto my systems bus.

My life was once assembly code,

Now its C++.

I love the way you solder things, My circuits you can fix.

The voltage across your diode is, much more than just point six.

With your amps and resistors,

You have built my integrator.

I cannot survive without you,

You are my function generator.

You have charged my life,

Increased my gain and made my maths discrete.

And now I'll end my poem,

Control, Alt, and Delete

What kids will do ;)

2005-10-24T20:18:00.000+08:00

"Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending." -- (Carl Bard)

Recently, I had a 'mini-stumble' in my life. So, I was visiting my frenz house, to have a heart-to-heart talk, when we heard a knock at the door. Nope, this is not the ordinary old ghost story...hehehe. Actually the moment we opened the door, in came three bubbly, cute, energetic children. They are sooo cute, aged 5, 6 & 7.

And guess what they gave me?! These -->

Though they are just 'scribbles', but I think they are really cute ;)

Talking about silly childhood, I myself had a silly little 'fantasy' too when I was young ... that toys will come alive whenever I don't see them :D

Food Poisoning

2005-10-12T11:51:00.000+08:00

Was down with food poisoning the previous two days. So it's kinda good that I didn't experience the Monday blues ... whereby you have to drag yourself to work on Monday after a nice eventful weekend ;). Well, I think I have enough holiday this weekend. Four whole days! :p

I ate some curry based cheese baked chicken for dinner at Kim Gary on Sunday nite. And soon after that, my tummy does no feel too well. Had the food poisoning symptoms on Monday, and felt very weak on Tues itself. Haven't been eating well too for the past 2 days. The worst part is, I still force myself to eat something to gain back the energy, and each time, I'll feel nauseated after the food intake.

So I'm so glad that I'm feeling better to go to work today. But the embarassing thing is, everyone in my company know about my situation. Arghh...pai seh. But that's because they are concerned hehe :D

During my 'dreadful' moment, I can't do much besides resting on the bed, thus I managed to finish reading one WHOLE novel. Now I would like to recommend this to everyone...the novel is splendid! :D

It's Dan Brown - Da Vinci Code. Wish I read this book earlier before my England trip. Coz some of the places described in the book are in Paris and England. So it would be really nice to match the reality with what I have imagined ;) The only thing I'm not too satisfied with the novel is, how come the police officer 'Bull' suddenly realised his mistake and confirmed that Robert is not the culprit? No explanation whatsoever is given :(

Okie, lastly, something I found out today, if u are using Microsoft Windows, try to create a folder named 'con', and u will fail. Why? I oso don't know hehe :)

Song Translation

2005-10-07T15:40:00.000+08:00

I am sure most of you already know this Mandarin song by now. I used to love it.

Liu Ruo Ying ( Rene Liu )
Album: Shou Huo (Xin Ge + Jing Xuan)
Hen Ai Hen Ai Ni

xiang wei ni zuo jian shi
rang ni geng kuai yue de shi
hao zai ni de xin zhong mai xia wo de ming zi
qiu shi jian chen zhao ni
bu zhu yi de shi hou
qiao qiao di ba zhe chong zi niang cheng guo shi
wo xiang ta de que shi
geng gua he ni de nan zi
ni tai bu gou wen rou cheng shou you ya dong shi
ru guo wo tui hui dao
hao peng you de wei zhi
ni ye jiu bu zai xu yao wei nan cheng zhe yang zi

hen ai hen ai ni suo yi yuan yi she de rang ni
wang geng duo xing fu de di fang fei qu
hen ai hen ai ni zhi you rang ni
yong you ai qing wo cai an xin
kan zhao ta zou xiang ni
na fu hua mian duo mei li
ru guo wo hui ku qi ye shi yin wei huan xi
di qiu shang liang ge ren
neng xiang yu bu rong yi
zuo bu cheng ni de qing ren wo reng gan ji
hen ai hen ai ni suo yi yuan yi bu qian ban ni
fei xiang xing fu de di fang qu
hen ai hen ai ni zhi you rang ni
yong you ai qing wo cai an xin

And as I rummaged thru my mailbox just now, I found an old email where a friend sent me the English translation before. It's still as touching as ever *sniff* *sniff*. Hence I decide to blog it here.

Love you so much
================

I wish to do something for you, something that will made you happier
so that you will remember me
I wish the time could, out of you awareness
get the seed grow up into a tree

I think she is a girl who will suit you better
I'm not soft enough, and not mature enough
If I would 'downgrade' myself to be only your good friend
You will need not to be so awkward

I love you so much, so I do let you go
to get more happiness
I love you so much, only if you get the love, I'll be consoled

When I looked at her walking towards you, that's a wonderful scene
If I do cry, it's because I'm too happy
It's not easy for two person to know each other in the world
If I can't be you lover, I'll still appreciate the destiny

I love you so much, that I don't wish to stop you
from getting more happiness
I love you so much, only if you get the love, I will be consoled

Lucky Monday

2005-10-04T13:37:00.000+08:00

Got lucky yesterday. Hey there...no negative thoughts. Don't take my words literally ;)

There's this newly opened Metrojaya at Island Plaza, recently in Penang. So went shopping last weekend over there. I have always like their clothing style.

Currently there's this daily lucky draw organised by them, where there'll be a prize each day for the lucky winner.

I'm eligible to enter, for the contest on Saturday 1st Oct. One submission per RM100 or more spent. I submitted only one entry k? :p

Just yesterday, I received a call from them at noon. Say I WON!!! It's a 2-day 1-nite stay at Country Villas, Kajang for SIX person! I don't know how I'll be going there yet. But I'll just be happy first for now hehehe. Still can't believe I can be that lucky. I never have that kind of luck before :D

After collecting my prize yesterday, I went to the tailor to make some adjustment to my newly bought pants. As I tried to do some DIY first on the pants, but failed terribly. So I showed him my sewing, and said, that is why I need some professional help. And before I can even finish my sentence, he started giggling, on my bad handiwork. Nah, weren't offended. Coz he weren't rude about it. But that's still embarassing! :p

Each Choice

2005-09-29T14:32:00.000+08:00

Realised that I have not been blogging for a week for now. This past week, I have been bombarded with a lot of choices, and decisions to make. Been doing a lot of thinking lately.

I would like to share something here ...

As the eagle soars in the endless blue,
Its shadow races after it, far below.
Yet space does not divide: bird and shadow are linked.
So too each act — each choice and consequence.

(Source: Tibet, 18th Century)

Sing-Song-y

2005-09-22T16:30:00.000+08:00

Going to karaoke tonight ... yeah!! With 11 'crazy-headed' people, including me, who's equally as crazy too ;). And hopefully we all can sing till 3am! :D

All of us will definitely feel the after-effects when we have to drag ourselves to work the next day:)

Now am in a bit of a sing-song mood. I recall this one song now, back in my uni days, as it is quite meaningful to me then. I bet those who are from Lincoln College too, will definitely know what's this song. Too bad I couldn't remember the title and the singer of that song anymore.

Here is the song ... it's very cute :D

You always say I'm unromantic
Don't know ways to make a girl tick
I must say you are right about it
For I am truly unpoetic

But I'm not a ..., I'm not that stupid
It's just that sometimes brain not working
So I didn't sleep, use my little wit
To write as little bit

CHORUS:
You are my ice kacang
In this tropical heat
You are my favourite dessert (Ooh-La-La)
So inviting so sweet

Would you like to bu-bur cha-cha? (Cha-cha-cha-cha-cha cham bo)
Come along and dance with me
For you are my love, my tutti-fruity [REPEAT WITH "ONE ATAP-CHEE" IN THE 2ND CHORUS]
Someone I like to eat.
===

Everytime WHEN we go dating
First the movie then go shopping
You always hint I am unexciting
It has been so since the beginning

But, I'm not a ..., I'm not that stupid
It's just that sometimes I'm a blur kid
So I didn't eat, use my little wit
To write as little bit

REPEAT CHORUS

Each time I look into your eyes
I see some pretty colours, very nice
I wouldn't mind PAYING any price
I kacang over you, MY SAGO honey dew

REPEAT CHORUS

Ice Kacang!

Daily bits

2005-09-21T09:25:00.000+08:00

Yesterday I thought my credit card has been fraud cause I couldn't remember an online transation which I made in late August. It's until this morning, that I manage to recall what is the transaction.

Another proof that my memory is not as good as it used to be.

Feels better today. Just a few words with my good friend, and she puts my life in perspective once again. Thanks Jo! Finally found the answer I am looking for.

Don't give excuses. Don't give up easily. Ignore what u can. Remember the 'why-s' when I first start embarking on this journey. For enjoyment and passion, money is just minor perks! :)

Feeling very unhappy

2005-09-20T11:38:00.000+08:00

Got a call just now, first time I get a tele-interview, interview via the phone. Ever since I'm a software programmer, I never really memorise how code is exactly written. And I have always curse myself with my bad memories.

Anyway, they ask me only two simple questions, but I can even hardly remember how variables are denoted.

Feel so bad after the call. Feels like crying ... :'(

Things has not been going too smoothly at gym either. These few days, I have been thinking of giving up totally on this part-time passion. Already not much money coming out of it, but I am losing the passion too, due to all the politics going on there.

Butter Fingers

2005-09-19T09:29:00.000+08:00

Been a weird Saturday for me last weekend ... I kept on dropping my stuff!! :o

Was at gym in the morning, and I dropped my water bottle twice, and my purse while paying at the front desk. Even my friend commented "What was wrong with me?!", and I just casually answered, "Brain must still be sleeping ;)"

Went for lunch with my friend, and I dropped the serviette. By now, my friend doesn't care about me already. She said I can drop whatever I want hehehe.

After that, it's shopping time with my friends, luckily I didn't drop the steering wheel while driving this time LOL! :D

Why am I continuing on ... yup, that's right ... the weirdness hasn't end yet. Nope, didn't drop any clothing while trying them out. However at dinner, after the shopping trip, I dropped a spoon, even before we start eating. Then a fork after that.

Weird huh? :) The strange thing is, my arms and fingers do not feel 'buttery' or jittery or weak.

Radio Station

2005-09-16T08:36:00.000+08:00

Yesterday I just joined a contest with a Radio Station, 'My FM'. It's a chinese broadcast station, by the way.

Anyway, this competition starts with you registering your name with them. And they'll pick a name at random to call. The rule of the contest is, when they call you, the first sentence which has to come out from your mouth is their slogan "yam mok mou han, tip san hong gan" (translation: music unlimited, thus make this space close to you). Yeah, you can't start with a "hello" or "wei".

Therefore, from now onwards, whenever I receive a call, you won't be hearing me say a single word till the caller says something. LOL! That's so polite of me. :D How's that in promoting phone etiquette. ;)

And this morning, on my way to work listening to this radio station (yup..becoming their biggie fan now :)), one of the DJ (DJ A) is talking about how people tend to spend long hours at work, or overtime a lot. And the main reason (according to him), is they tend to procastinate and leave all the work till late, to do them. And another DJ (DJ B) commented, if they should start speaking slowly from now on, so it'll last till 11-12 midnite. And the first DJ (DJ A), rebuffed by saying, "You talk slowly yourself, I'm a fast talker". LOL! They are so cute. :D

Trying to help

2005-09-14T17:33:00.000+08:00

One of my friend's gf has submitted an entry to one of this competition, where they have been listed as one of the finalist, and winner will get to win a cabrio car. Wow!

But he missed out one major step, before u can vote, you need to do register ur name first.
-> type "HITZREG {FULLNAME}" to 32111
So that'll be, for example, type "HITZREG BOBBY DOG", and send to 32111.

You are now eligible to vote for him. You can check out further details on the competition, the entry submitted, and how to vote, over here:
http://shadesizcool.blogspot.com/2005/09/can-you-help-us.html

Just follow the step-by-step instructions, as listed in his blog. It won't cost much, don't worry, just 50 cents only! :D

p.s. This is applicable for Malaysia mobile numbers only yeah?! ;)

RM1?

2005-09-09T15:51:00.000+08:00

Regarding the recent hoo-haa on the RM1 coins ....
Bank Negara to withdraw RM1 coin from Dec 7
Going in circles over RM1 coin

When usually I don't see them in my change, they are becoming a frequent part of my life now. Especially after the official announcement, for the past three days, I continually see them, at least once a day.

Usually I do not 'reject' them, after all, they can still be used.

But just now at lunch, while buying a box of moon cake, for the first time, my coin was rejected, and asked to pay with dollar note instead. The sales girl is very polite over it, so I do not mind it at all. I can still used them (the coins) on parking system anyway.

But now, I m thinking, should I reject the coins if I am given them again next time? That will save all the fuss of going to the bank when they are not valid anymore.

Aiyah...why I am doing all these 'si lai' stuff ah :)

Stupid-iest Doctor's Visit Encounter

2005-09-09T13:28:00.000+08:00

I was down with flu and a persistant cough yesterday, and I could not step down from the bed at all, as I was weak and my head was heavy. There is no way I could to drive to the panel clinic.

I was thinking of walking to a nearby clinic, but was discouraged so, as the claiming process might be tedious. So having no choice, I waited till I feel better (that's about noon) before driving to the office to get my doctor's slip and proceeded to the clinic. There was some delay as my office lunch break is from 12-1pm and clinic's break from 1-2pm.

So imagine my nerves, when I discovered that I am diagnosed sick but they couldn't give me the MC for the morning session, as I only go to the doctor after lunch. "Well, then just give me half a day MC", I said. That is not possible too, they don't cater for this kind of frequest. There's no half-day MC?! So the 2nd best thing they can do is, to give me a time-sheet which proves I have been to the clinic. But I am not sure if the time sheet proves that I am sick or not, but the doctor never dispute that though.

I tried to be rational, and explained why I couldn't go to the doctor earlier. But they stand strong with their decision, saying that company will lodge complains against them if they behave otherwise. However they still ask me to use the time-sheet to be reviewed by my company's management.

I called my company then. And I asked since the 'problem' has been tai-chi-ed back to the office, I asked if the company can make a call to the clinic on my behalf. After all, can't a doctor make a judgement, based on the condition of that person, if he/she is sick earlier? Are doctors that inhumane and insensitive to a patient's needs?

Guess what was the reply from company? Since the clinic can't issue me an MC, I am asked to take my annual leave. F** off man! I am sick and no way I am wasting my annual leave for this. And that is not only the problem. If I deduct my annual leave, that is implying that I am trying to 'cheat' an MC too. I felt 'caught up' in a loop-hole on company's and clinic's policy. I am not even aware about the before-lunch and after-lunch seeing doctor policy.

I wanted to go to another private clinic after that, but I am sure the 2nd visit will not be reimbursable. So what I can only do is to appeal for my medical leave. That's all. Sometimes, I also wonder why should I appeal, I have the right to it!! But that's life, play by the rules.

Anyway, here's the picture of my ONE AND ONLY panel clinic. The inhumane one among the lot ...

One Big Happy Family

2005-09-09T09:22:00.000+08:00

Note: This entry supposed to be for yesterday. But I was sick, so I'm only posting this today. As about me being sick, I have another story to tell. It's going to come out in a while. Hrmphhh ... *angry*

I never get too personal in my blog. But this time I'll make an exception today.

Would like to introduce some of my 'chi muis' (translation-: god-sisters) to you. For these 'chi muis', we have known each other ever since I start college. And having stayed together for nearly the whole course of college and uni life, our relationship are pretty much sisterly like. We have known each other for about nine years plus now.

And over the years, we came out with a lot of nicks for each of us. And they are so cute, I can't help blogging them:

Hong Yip (our big sister - 'dai ga che') - yip pa
Jay Mee - mee mee
Jo Ann - jo jo
Serena - na na
Soo Fong - soo soo

And there's Hui Chee too. But there has never been a nick for her. Or maybe there's one that I am not aware of? ;)

Actually there are a few others too who are still my good friends now. But if you see this article, don't be offended ya? Know that you all are always in my heart. Hahaha ... I know ... corny :p

Myvi's Twin

2005-09-07T15:09:00.000+08:00

UPDATE:
(Note: Source from http://www.channel4.com/4car/gallery/D/daihatsu/sirion/sirion.html)
And the third triplet ... Daihatsu Sirion ...

(Note: Source from http://toyota.jp/passo/index.html)
Come! Come! Come and see what I found. It's not big, it cannot fly ... and it's Myvi ...'s Twin! Let me introduce to you ... Toyota Passo!

Come play with me! Let's play spot-the-difference now with our own original and authentic Myvi.

Wish you the strength of all elements

2005-09-06T14:19:00.000+08:00

Update: Just got a chinese proverb in my email. Can't help putting it in here too :D.

Every Passerby
"A child´s life
is like a piece of paper
on which every passerby
leaves a mark"

== End of Update ==

Got this in a powerpoint today. Actually I have received this several times in my IT-lifespan, but today, the profound words touch my heart with a special feeling. Don't know why.

"The one who takes your hand but touches your heart is a true Friend"

"We seldom think of
what we have,
but always think of
what we miss"

"Don't cry because it´s over now,
laugh because it happened"

"The more precisely you plan, the harder destiny will hit you"

"What happens,
happens for a reason"

"Don´t make an effort
because the best things happen,
when you least expect them"

"The greatest events, aren´t the loudest,
but the most quiet hours"

"The most difficult lesson to learn is:
Which bridge in life to use
or which one to break off"
(Editor's note: This is the best. I feel on this statement the most)

"Everybody sees how you seem,
however, only some know who you are"
(Agreed - very true! Proven time and time again)

"He who would like to have something he never had,
will have to do something well, that he has not done yet"

"Perhaps God would want you to become acquainted with many different people in the course of your life, so that when you meet the right ones,
you can appreciate and be grateful for them"
(Quite cheesy :p)

"Give something a name,
and it will happen"
(Ok... let me try. Laziness. Yeah... it's happening... Zzzzzz)

I guess not all the words touches my heart eh? :p

"Love doesn´t require two people to look at each other,
but that they look together in the same direction."

"Life is drawing without an eraser"
(Yup, that's why I always make a point, try hard not to hurt others, especially emotionally. Coz that's something which you can never erase.)

How to stand body odour?

2005-09-06T10:48:00.000+08:00

It is not those bad ... bad. But the sweaty type is very hard to bear u c.

Ok ... I should at least give him a name, let's say Mr A. He has to walk from home to office every day. And it's not a short walk. If you are from Penang, you'll know the place near the Jelutong highway (Elken building), and the destination is UMNO building in Macalister Road.

So when he reached the office, he's all sweaty. And if the air-con switched on, it's quite, in fact, very nauseating (I am going to be sick).

I really don't want to say bad things about him, but I'm reaching my limit soon!! Coz this is not the first time. And what makes my life difficult is, he's my project member :( And that means discussion with him *sigh*.

Nowadays I only discuss with him only when it is absolute necessary. And I try to keep it as short as possible. But he'll have a lot of questions to ask, like what happened just a min ago. I know, he doesn't know the answer, so he's trying to help, but asking me questions.

But my mind is screaming most of the time, "please leave" "please leave". So I prefer to help myself :p

How to deal?!

Blurrrry Mobday

2005-09-06T09:01:00.000+08:00

I did a silly thing yesterday. Oh, had a typo too while writing the title of this blog, but decides to leave it as that ;)

Back to the silly story ...

Worked OT (overtime) last Sat, till about 2am! My eyes can hardly open then. Went back home, and decide to have some 'me' time. 'Hmm gam guan' (translation: not feeling satisfied) to just waste my day at work. So, started playing games. Too addictive. Couldn't stop. Slept at 7am instead :p.

Still wake normally (if 12 noon is consider normal ;)), to function, as per a zombie :p. Couldn't sleep early that day too. Yup yup, more computer games. And some DVD time. Hmm ... 'The Unleashed' movie -> ichiban *thumbs up*

OK...went back to work yesterday. Thot I can still stay on strong. I really thought so. My brain still work, can UNDERSTAND what the boss says :p. Can even finish some deadline with the feedback ... "Goooood!"

So, after work, off to gym. Got an hour to spare before my class begins. So, become a good employee, stay a bit more on overtime. Then, happily drove to gym, parked my car. AND .... I CAN'T FIND MY GYM BAG ANYWHERE!!!! I really searched through the car, and realised ... yup, I am THAT absent-minded.

No choice, back to home just to get my stuff. Need to head back to gym again coz I need to be on stage for the class after that. Lucky the drive is not long. If not, my vocab on 'harsh words' will increase tremendously :p

And, that is not the last to it. When I am on my way out to gym again, I realised I am holding on to my small little cute red handbag, which I brought to work. Must have look really ~~weird~~ funny, holding it, together with my gym bag. And guess when I realised it?! Only when I'm out of the house, and while waiting for the lift.

Prove my point? ;)

Cheeky No More

2005-09-01T13:25:00.000+08:00

It's time to tune down my cheekiness side. There'll be no more hearing of "Wow, he's cute. I wanna get to know him." ... or ... "You bringing your friend out. Is he han-sem or not? ;)" Cause this back-fires on me recently. A recent encounter turned out to be a total ~~disaster~~ ... err ... a total ... disarray?!

This story begins in a not-so-faraway land, not too long ago. One of my old friend aka ex-colleague discovered a relation between my sister-in-law and his newly-registered wife. It is such coincidence! :D ... but ... I shouldn't so so surprised rite? Penang ain't that big :p.

Excited with the news, we planned for a movie together, just to catch up. At that time, my old friend, let's call him F, mentioned that he'll be bringing a friend, L along. And he added that L has been looking hard for a gf. *Sigh* my radar should gone off that time, but it didn't. Why does it fails me when I need it most? :( How come I'm not alert to the RED FLAG! RED FLAG!? First thing in the morning tomorrow, I'm gonna get it fixed *eyes sparkling with determination*.

As expected that movie outing with my friends turned out to be a match-making event instead. He was asked to check me out. And I was asked to check him out. Aiyoh...'me yeh sei kai!!' (translation: what ice age is this?!). I am totally not comfortable with it at all. If we have not started off on the wrong foot, at least not in this manner, we might still be able to be friends. But sorry mate, this is just too weird for me.

Well, I really thought my nightmare is over after the outing. No news means ~~good news~~ you-should-know-by-now. But nope, that is not considered 'hint' enough. My old friend was ~~pestered~~ asked to get feedback from me :o. Wah lau! What you expect me to say wo. That I don't feel like giving out my number, and giving out my email is a 'charity'? Isn't not giving out phone number a doubly big HINT? I feel the F is in a more complicated position than me, so I decide to spare him my wrath :p

I'm really praying hard here ...please please don't email me. Please take the hint. But nope, the email came really fast. He agrees that emailing is a better start to know each other first. I am really knocking my head onto the wall several times by now.

I have not been able to reply to that email till today. Everytime I want to type in something, I encounter writer's block. My fingers freeze up. But yet, I can't just ignore the email completely. That'll depict me as a nose high-high up bitch. I need to reply but I really don't know how.

So, I S-O-S-ed one of my good friend, we'll call her J here. I love her man, she really saves my day :D. From now onwards, I'll follow her mantra on how-to-give-a-polite-rejection ;)

Though she gave me her permission to blog her reply, I'll still keep her identity a secret to protect her privacy :D

K ... here it goes:

Let me try reply....(by the way, his name...makes him sound like a hunky thundercat, hehe..sure you don't like him just a tiny bit?)

Hi L*****,

You are a nice guy...but i think i'll never ever ever EVER like someone like you... so good luck. And bye!

Yours beautifully,
Serena, the goddess

Oh..oops, u want not to sound too much nose high high...hehe, sorry, okay here's a toned down version.

Hi L*****, (better avoid the word 'dear' here in case he puts some hope in this little word)

I pretty tied up with work these days. Sorry, for the late reply. (since u waited till today to reply, hehe, good. shows you are not eager)

It's nice meeting you too. And I'm glad we can just be friends. (hope he gets the hint here)

Thanks, and see ya around. (okay, the 'see ya around' part is quite dangerous, but it helps to soften the 'just be friends')

Bye!

(no need to sign off, to ensure the 'Bye!' effect is accentuated)

Really love her reply! Witty (left me in stitch :D), to the point, and most importantly POLITE! :D And my new prayer for today, please let him read between the lines ;)

Wish she has a blog. She's pretty and can write well too. I'm sure if she owns a blog, she would have made it into Kenny Sia Gallery of Fame :D

Oh, since everyone been writing about their Merdeka celebration, I'll also be copy-cat, with my half-hearted effort to be patriotic too (btw, I'm still listening to the "We Are Australian" song on my CD yesterday :p).

My Merdeka entry: I watched The Maid with friends. And I don't care if it gets good review or it is said to be super eerie. As long as the movie has ghosts coming out at every nook and corner of the screen and at every single second, means it's no good :p

How popular are you?

2005-08-30T13:07:00.000+08:00

Came across this site on name popularity, and decide to give it a try.

So I 'pumped' in my name and those of my siblings. Here are the results:

Note: Rank shows how popular the name is in the corresponding decade. A rank of 1 means it is the most popular name for that gender. A rank of 1000 means it is the 1000'th most popular. Bar graph statistics are compiled and published by the Social Security Administration, based on samplings of applications for Social Security cards.

*Sob* *sob* Why is my name (Serena) the least popular? :'( *Perk up* Nah, my name is just too unique, hence I'm unique too ;)

And actually, I do still have a youngest sister named Petrina. And why didn't I include her in the graph above. Nope, not because I don't 'sayang' (definition => love) her. But ... well, we let the picture below do the explanation.

Hahaha ... she's even more unique than me :D

Rumour or Misreading?

2005-08-29T09:35:00.000+08:00

There'll be a lot of quoting from me today ;) ...

Last Saturday (27th August 2005), one of our major daily english newspaper, The Star came out with this article. It starts like this ..

"'Two moons' event a hoax
PETALING JAYA: If you are planning to stay up late tonight expecting to witnesss at 12:30am the rare sight of mars looking as large as the ful moon, be warned that this is just a rumour spread over the Internet.
  ......
  According to Dr Chong, it is impossible that Mars will appear the same size as the full moon.
  "This year, Mars will be closest to the Earth on Oct 30, but not as close as Aug 27, 2003," he said."

And I re-check the email and here is the content ...

"Mars is going to be a second moon of earth for a day. NO ONE ALIVE TODAY WILL EVER SEE THIS AGAIN.
The Red Planet (MARS) is about to be spectacular! This month and next,
Earth is catching up with Mars in an encounter that will culminate in
the closest approach between the two planets in recorded history. The
next time Mars may come this close is in 2287. Due to the way Jupiter's
gravity tugs on Mars and perturbs its orbit, astronomers can only be
certain that Mars has not come this close to Earth in the last 5,000
years,but it may be as long as 60,000 years before it happens again.
The encounter will culminate on August 27th when Mars comes to within
34,649,589 miles of Earth and will be (next to the moon) the brightest
object in the night sky. It will attain a ma gnitude of -2.9 and will
appear 25.11 arc seconds wide. By August 27, Mars will look as large as
the full moon to the naked eye. Mars will be easy to spot. At the
beginning of August it will rise in the east at 10p.m. and reach its
azimuth at about 3 a.m. by the end of August when the two planets are
closest, Mars will rise at nightfall and reach its highest point in the
sky at 12:30a.m. That's pretty convenient to see something that no
human being has seen in recorded history. So, mark your calendar at the
beginning of August to see Mars grow progressively brighter and
brighter throughout the month.Share this with your family, friends,
children and grandchildren."

If you go through the content throughly, you would have notice that there has never been any mention of the year 2005 at all. And that is what I have replied to my friends too.

Reason for 'doubting the email'; coz I feel that the content of the email is too familiar, like I have seen it somewhere. And with just a few minutes of google-ing, I know that this has happened in 2003 before. Hence that explains my 'de-ja-vu' experience.

I bet this is the same email which was generated in 2003, being circulated again. Perhaps to spread a false rumour (which I do not understand, to whose gain), or perhaps because of the pure simple reason of ... misreading :p. I prefer to believe in the latter ... hehehe.

Hip-Hop Dance :D

2005-08-26T14:37:00.000+08:00

To my dearest hip-hoppers,
(fyi: I do my 'play-play' hip-hopping with my mates at the gym every Sunday ;))

Reminiscing on how our 'da-jie' (big sister) used to painstaking-ly draw for us those stickman figurines for our hip-hop moves, I decide to do this gif animation for the fun of it :)

Anyway, this is the actual dance we are currently doing for the month. Usually we'll learn part of the whole song each week, and slowly we'll add on the moves as the week goes by.

As for the animation below, it comprises movements from week-1 and week-2. Last weekend is the third week, but I have not incorporate the moves into the animation yet. Please bear with the unfinished product at the moment hehehe.

The image actually has a background song with it. But I decide to take out the song at the last minute, because it'll cause the 'aggravation' to my viewer ;)

New Skin ^-^

2005-08-25T18:09:00.000+08:00

Please do give some comment. Whether you like this new one ... or the old one. I am quite satisfied with the new one actually :D

Or maybe I should say, "Its my blog ... I don't care ... as long as I am happy?!" LOL! Just kidding. Feel free to 'shoot'. I am welcome to any constructive criticism ;).

Update: The 'Dear Diary' wordings on my picture are courtesy of Shades. Thanks! :D

A new fad is coming to town

2005-08-25T10:40:00.000+08:00

Yeah ... sing it along ... to the tune of "Santa Claus is coming to town" ;). You better watch out ... you better not cry ... you better not shout I'm telling you why. Google talk is coming to town ... LOL! :D

Yup yup ... u heard correctly .. another new instant messenger (IM), a brand new IM. And I already have four currently sitting on my desktop now; ICQ, Yahoo, MSN and Skype. I got introduced to them in that order too. I used AOL before, but that's only popular in my uni days.

I am not sure when is this IM being introduced to the public, but I only get the email invitations to join this google talk recently, to be exact, just yesterday. This is what the new IM looks like ...

On other techie news, 'changing-my-blog-skin' is still residing in my 'pending-task' slot :p. Promise to do it very soon ...very soon ... Zzzzzz ... :D

Silly Mind

2005-08-24T09:25:00.000+08:00

With the recent debate on Fitness First (FF) and Fitness Studio (FS), my mind went into a silly mode just now ;), while I was driving to work.

For the benefit of those who do not know, car plates in Penang starts with a 'P'. Did some 'calculation', and I know that the car plates, PFF and PFS, come out after the gyms I mentioned above are opened. So I was thinking, how nice will it be, if all employees of their respective gyms are driving cars of their respective car plates, PFF (Penang Fitness First) and PFS (Penang Fitness Studio) :D

On another moment of silliness, I have tried to change my blog skin numerous time yesterday. But failed miserably each time, as the new templates do not really fit in, to my current layout. I do not know why I can never do a good judgement of these templates before I even use them. Being silly I guess?! :D

What is happiness?

2005-08-24T09:14:00.000+08:00

I used to ponder about it, but as I grow older, I stop finding the meaning for it, cause I think there is none. Too many things constitute happiness. So as long as I am feeling it, I don't need to know the logical explanation behind it :). Yup, simple gal ... simple mind ;).

That brings me to the subject which I would like to bring up. Yesterday I had a chat with one of the gym member (nope, not a hot sexy momma, Shades ;)). He's a guy in his i-don't-know-what-age-ish. And he's from U.S. But he has been here in Penang with his wife for 14 years and 3 months (yeah...his wife told me the exact duration hehehe).

Well, they are going back to their homeland for good. As per his words, "for ever and ever" ... *sob* *sob* :'(. After all, all their children and grandchildren are still in U.S. We talked a bit more, as I am very curious on why are they away from their family for so long. And the sudden move to go back to U.S now, having to start all over again. They have practically 'NOTHING' in U.S for the moment :o. "Just two boxes" ... as what the husband says.

The next sentence explains everything. I come to know that they are here for such long duration is to spread their religion, Christianity, and similarly when they go back to U.S. They enjoy teaching so much, that they do not mind or scare about ANYTHING ELSE at all. I'll equate that as worry or trouble free ;). Then I start thinking to myself, isn't that really nice ... to live a life in that way.

This is so similar to my hosts in U.K previously. They are reaping the benefits of working so hard in their teenage years. And they are really enjoying life now, going travelling and all.

Aww ... that will be a life I want to live in :D. And before all that, back to hard work ... *toiling* *toiling*.

Dedicated to Shades

2005-08-22T14:50:00.000+08:00

Beware....'si-lai-s' are not just residing in your office. They can be anywhere .... ;)

"Do you save money for your daughter's education?"
Ya...plan to...in the future. Since my mum saved for all my siblings education. I really appreciate her gestures as we can then go overseas for the experience and also to study whatever we want to. Will always be eternally grateful and I will want my children to have the same opportunity too.

"Do you prefer white bread or wholemeal? What about brown rice?"
Wholemeal, coz it is healthier. And white rice, coz it is tastier, though brown rice is better for health.

"Do you know what a female circumcision is?"
Ya..but I'm NOT going to explain it here :D

"Do you get bad back aches before your menstrual?"
Err...no. But I have heard of people who do.

"Today you didn't put powder, izit? You seem a bit tanned..."
I never put powder one lar. Tanned ... hmmm, might have gone out a bit too much during the weekend.

"Do you know Lorraine Han? She's quite big in the media world and I saw her at Shang during the weekend..."
No...don't know who she is. Wah....u met her ah?!!

"Do you know Angelina Jolie recently just adopted an Ethiopian daughter?"
Of course I know. She wants to be same-same as her current boy-boy...so into adoption now ;)

"Do you know Soon Ai Ling? Apparently she said she doesn't mind being a single parent..."
Yeah...I know her, but she don't know me though. :p Huh...sure boh?!...single parent can survive in Malaysia one meh?

"Pamela Anderson wants a smaller waist and had a operation to remove some of her ribs..."
Okler..not such biggie news. She always want big things to be bigger, so small things should be smaller too.

"Why is it KFC's Hot & Spicy has more calories than the original?"
This is easy lar. Need I explain?! They are more crispy...hence more flour coating the chicken, so more calories lor.

"Would you kiss your children on the lips when they are small?"
Euii...gross. This sounds like incest to me :o

"Wah, it seems that Angelina and Brad are going out together now..."
Aiyoh. This is stale news lar.

"Sometimes I feel like a man trapped in a women's world. I need a guy colleague- please help."
Good luck, shades! :D

Time to Unwind

2005-08-19T08:37:00.000+08:00

In relation to yesterday's post, I just want to say that, no matter how stressed I am at work, I'll always try to take the time to unwind though it's a hectic day at work :D

And just this morning, I went out of my usual routine and went for breakfast at 8am with my colleagues. Yeah, it's a minor thing, but I always like to take some time off for friends, and catching up with them. This is important to me :)

Oh, and my point is ... LOL ... today, a guy colleague and I are dressed the same; dark maroon shirt and black pants. And to date (only 45 minutes has passed), and we have gotten four comments on how we are dressed like 'lover' hahahaha. One is even from a stranger on a bus. My other colleague who happened to be in the same bus, told us the story ;).

K ... short entry today ... "Go Go Jia Yue!" :D

What a pitiful, pitiful life ... :'(

2005-08-18T20:31:00.000+08:00

It's 8:31pm now ... and I'm still stuck at work. What a pitiful, pitiful me :p. Expecting a busy weekend ahead. Another project to rush deadline on ... as usual *shrug*

On a happier note, I'm very grateful to the person who captured the screenshots for me, when my blog received the 1000th visitor. Actually two screenshots were captured ... the 999th (even this number sounds nice :D) and the ~~100th~~ 1000th :p. Awww ...that's indeed very sweet. Thanks lotsa lotsa lotsa lotsa lotsa!

Too bad no prize for you though :p Hmm ... I'll just send you my well wishes then, and they are worth more than anything else in this world hehehe ;)

What am I feeling today?

2005-08-17T12:02:00.000+08:00

What am I feeling today? This is what I wake up to ... so take a guess. Picture paints a thousand words ;)

Such nice scenery eh?! It's near to 8am, and I can still see the ~~sunset~~ sunrise :D

In the meantime, I snapped another picture of the view outside my condo. Here is it ... crispy clear air ... ahh....

As compared to just last Saturday ... the same view ... hmmm ... bad-bad haze ...

News Divergence

2005-08-17T10:40:00.000+08:00

Wonder if any of you received a SMS recently on a plea to donate negative O blood? I received one myself, therefore, when a related article was published in the newspaper yesterday, I paid extra attention to it.

Do you know what's being reported in the New Straits Times? It's said that the SMS is the one who saved the child's life. It goes something about her mum being distressed of not getting that rare blood. And thus, one of her friend took the initiative and sent out the SMS, giving out the mum's contact number, and asked that the SMS to be circulated. And in the end, her daughter was saved, successfully going through an operation.

But when I read a similar story in The Star, it paints a different picture. It's written that the sick girl's mum is a nurse, and she has already appealed in the chinese newspaper earlier for the rare blood. And she got her wish, before the SMS starts its circulation, without her knowledge - ok, at least there is a similarity here, since the mum weren't aware of the SMS till later. Though the mum knows that all means well, with the well-wishers and donors signing up, she's still bombarded with too many calls and SMS-es. And she advises the public to verify the source of SMS before taking any action. Similar advice from the doctor too. :o

So I really wonder now...which side reflects the true story?

Arghh...my reputation!

2005-08-17T09:46:00.000+08:00

Check out this blog :- http://shadesizcool.blogspot.com/2005/08/kami-and-kita.html

My reputation going down the drain...but it's quite entertaining though :D

Beng-lish Time

2005-08-16T15:33:00.000+08:00

Read Kenny Sia blog today, and he created this simple English->Benglish translator . Quite a creative programmer ... really like his style ;). Interesting concept!

So I turned my site into a Beng-lish one too, as what most are doing today. Hehehe ... have a read on it ... http://benglish.kennysia.com/?add=http://bobdogz.blogspot.com

Going Down Memory Lane ... Literally :p

2005-08-15T14:24:00.000+08:00

This is a blog about my very old...old...old high school friends. A lot of them commented before that I changed a lot since high school time, hence they can hardly recognise me in gatherings or reunions.

Bumping into high school mates in Penang is a frequent affair to me actually. But usually they'll just walk right past, hardly recognising me at all. Same goes here, I'll hardly say hello also, cause I'm afraid that they might not remember me at all, especially if we aren't from the same class before. I don't want them to go "Serena who?" ;) Hey, it has been 10 plus years also right since the 'honeymoon' stage. Yeah, that's what we used to describe the high school time, honeymoon stage :D

Just now at lunch, I met yet another friend from my alma mater. For this friend, I thought it was alright to greet her. After all, we were in the same class since Standard Four till we graduated from high school, and we stayed in the same neighbourhood back in my hometown in Ipoh. But guess what happened? She also cannot recognise me!! :\ Roughly here is how the conversation goes ...

Went up to her table...
Me: Hey...H.H!!! (name abbreviated to protect the privacy of the person ;))
Her: (face went blank with a quizzical expression that goes without saying, "Who the h**l is this stranger?!"

... and a moment of awkward silence ...

Me: Serena here!
Her: (Face slowly registered recognition)
Me: (*Phew!*)
Her: Se...re...na?!!
Me: (Yeah, duh! Isn't that what I just said?!) Of course! (While trying hard to maintain a poker face :-))
Her: (Still has not recovered from the shock) You looked soooo different! (And went on and on describing my old geeky nerdy looks, back in the old times :p)

And I continued grinning sheepishly...

The story ends here, though our conversation didn't end there. We went through the usual pleasantaries, went on to exchange our numbers and I left after that.

On another extreme side of the story, I was out for dinner with some friends over the weekend, and I saw a guy at a table nearby, who looks very very familiar. As I was trying out to make a name out of the face, he greeted me! Waving and all. Argh....luckily he didn't come over to my table and start making small talk. Coz, not only I could not remember his name, I cannot remember at all how I get to know him in the first place! :o He left not long after that, of course after saying his farewell to me ... from afar (luckily :p).

Till now, there's no success in the 'remembering' part, but I'm not straining my brain cells anymore. Though, the whole event of not remembering how I got to know him, still feels really weird for me, up till now.

P-O-E-T-S

2005-08-12T09:36:00.000+08:00

Last day for me to finish off my work before the deadline on Monday. So it will be a "go go jia yue" (English translation = Go! Go! Add Petrol! :p) day for me today ;). Don't understand what I'm saying, then watch the 'Full House' show currently showing on 8TV at 8:30pm now. I guarantee you would not regret it :D

Thank gawd it's Friday today. Hence the title, 'P-O-E-T-S' (Piss Off Early Tomorrow's Saturday ;)). This weekend will definitely be the time for me to have my slumber bliss. Yesterday, I promptly fell asleep as soon as I lay on the bed, and it's not even 10 o'clock then.

So maybe that's the reason, the tiredness and my mind being occupied most of the time, I didn't notice this insect/ant bite on my wrist at all. And this morning, I realised that the area is swollen.

Cause for alarm? --> I hope not! :-/

Sweee...ppy...

2005-08-11T10:05:00.000+08:00

I am feeling so sleepy now. This reminds me of a newspaper article which I read yesterday, about a 9-year-old boy in India. He can sleep on and on and on without waking up at all. His father is an engineer...but there's no relation to it. Just noticed that fact coz I'm an engineer too ;)

Back to this boy, his mother has to purposely wake him up so that he can do his daily regime, then he'll doze back off to sleep. So, is that considered lucky or unlucky? I don't know, but I would like to be in his position now. No chance of that happening, so back to my daily cuppa!

Food Review

2005-08-11T10:04:00.000+08:00

I tried this new korean bbq/steamboat buffet restaurant (at the basement) in Gurney Plaza, with few of my uni friends yesterday. We like the buffet style as everyone can eat at leisure, while yakking away, catching up on our current lives. In actuality, one of my friend had an important announcement to make on that day, hence the gathering, but that is a different story.

Well, for this restaurant, can't believe they are so 'money-face'. There is already a standard charge for the buffet. But if you would like to have free-flow drink, do add in extra charge please. Yeah right, as if we don't need to drink. Of course we will pay the extra. Just for your information, there are different charges for different types of drinks.

That's not all to it, if you would like a different (no, they called it 'special' actually) soup compared to the usual clear soup, more money please. How 'special' can the soup be, it's just the usual spicy tom yam, ginseng chicken or herbal soup that other restaurants provide with no additional charge. So, no thanks for that.

For all of these, we have to 'negotiate' at the cashier itself, right in front of the restaurant, without even showing us to the table yet. Why?! Because you will need to pay first even before you step into the restaurant. Arghh!...how difficult can having a dinner be?

So the overall price is much higher than the one we expected (as seen on a notice board right in front of the restaurant). But at least, we are 'eligible' to step into the restaurant now... *phew* ... finally!

Start checking the food selection. What?! It's a korean restaurant and there's nothing korean about the food?! Well there is the usual poultry product for you to do the BBQ, and a little bit of seafood variation. Oh, for the fish, you have to request for them, they don't display them over the counter ... don't ask me why ... I would like to know too. Perhaps they are just too expensive :p.

On the next counter, there's the usual steamboat stuff lor. Nothing exciting to comment on anyway. Other than that, there's quite a variety of fruits (doesn't help much with the impression here anymore), and dessert consists of only ice-cream. *Eyes-rolling* ... we have paid for it, might as well start eating.

Lastly, to beat all that, while picking out the food, we saw a notice at the side. You will be fined a certain amount of money for certain amount of food left on the table. Ooohh.. next time you wanna enter this restaurant, please check that your wallet/purse is really 'heavy'. Did I just say 'next time' .... errr ... maybe in my next life?

Fresh air anyone?

2005-08-11T08:54:00.000+08:00

Saw this as part of the slogan in a recent Double A "No Jam No Stress" contest.

Considering the recent haze condition, I wonder what the reaction of the readers will be after seeing the slogan. Wouldn't this drive the contestants away instead of attracting them? ;)

Such bad weather?! :o

2005-08-10T17:29:00.000+08:00

I'm astounded. Two friends just IM-ed and told me that the weather condition is really bad in Klang Valley. Didn't manage to chat much as I have a deadline for my project on Monday itself. Hence my 'absentism' from the blogging too ;)

The comments include difficulty in breathing and raining 'stones' in the USJ area?!! That's quite serious. Couldn't help myself from taking an unofficial short break from work to surf around the online local newspaper for news. My suspicion is confirmed. Can't believe I'm so outdated and so unaware of this news :p

It is reported that air quality is at a hazardous level in area such as Port Klang. Even to the point that they are willing to cancel classes in school. And this condition will not improve for some days to come, at least not till October?! Wow wow wee...*whistle*. I guess besides taking precautions in certain matters, nothing much can be done. Do take care then, to those 'unfortunate' friends of mine.

Late blogging

2005-08-08T13:51:00.000+08:00

It's a late blogging post today. Very happy today. From my 'Major Decision' post earlier, I have decided to drop the program completely and even told my group exercise coordinator about it. Surprisingly, didn't feel too sad over it at that time. Like one say, if you don't take certain things too seriously, things aren't that complicated anymore.

Besides that, an old high school friend came up from Singapore. We had such good time catching up. And introducing to them (there are 3 of them in total) all the good food in Penang. It's really nice seeing them enjoying the food. You know how they go for 'food-crawling'? LOL! Yeah..it's the same concept as pub-crawl, but for their case, it's going to one restaurant for food, then 'crawling' over to another restaurant for another type of food. :D. Imagine having take-1, take-2 ... etc for lunch, pre-tea?!, tea, dinner...hehehe. No need to use the weighing machine, also I know I have gotten fat over the weekend ;)

That's why still in a light hearted mood now, and even after what I've decided for my 'Major Decision' can't seem to 'beat' it away. That's why I came to work late today, and hence the late blogging. Was going around Penang with my friend in the morning too.

When I came back to work just now, I saw a lot of replies in one of the forum where I posted about my gym woe. And they are all positive and encouraging replies, and even advices on how to 'adapt' to the program. So now, I've decided to give the teaching another try, and won't budge from my decision anymore. This is indeed a fairy tale ending :)

Weird dream

2005-08-05T14:31:00.000+08:00

*surprise* I have been getting more traffic than the usual ...

I actually got something else to blog about today. Maybe this has been talked about tooooo much, and add on with the fact that I didn't rest too well thinking about my 'Major Decision'. So I had this weird dream yesterday. Well I dreamt about the tsunami hitting Penang island.

Still the scenario is soooo weird, in the dream, I live with my parents at a condo in the town area itself (that's not even a fact, my parents live in Ipoh). And when I opened the window from my condo, I'll be able to see sand and a beach (and in reality, I can't see any beach from where I lives, and the nearest place with water is Gurney Drive, yet Gurney Drive doesn't look the way as I dreamt it).

Well, this dream happened in the morning (don't know which day, don't ask me). And I saw my brother and dad going to the beach from my condo window. So I decide to join them. However, I can't remember what I do at the beach also, coz the next scene is we are heading home again as the water is behaving weirdly. As we are walking home, the sky also behaves weirdly. Like changing to unnatural colour, and white doves flying in flocks above the sky, creating some pattern too. We were very bewildered in the dream. And we thought that it must be some prediction that a tsunami is coming. Why we come to that conclusion, I don't know :p

So I went home, and packed. Dad told me that the tsunami won't hit us much. The most is getting the condo all wet. As we'll only be getting the end of the waves, even though it'll be 3-storey high tall. Whatever dad said, he must be right ;). So what we do is protect all the electical stuff...and also clothing etc, so they don't get wet and dirty.

Not long after, the tsunami really come. The waves start going higher and higher, but it doesn't affect Penang much yet. And thus, we speed up with our process of packing. Then suddenly, the sea become calm....total calmness. So we thought, "Is it over?"

No, not really. The waves suddenly escalates to extreme heights...and it went up really high from one-storey.... to two-storey building...till I can't see all of it anymore from the condo window. I was quite scared that time also, waiting for the waves to hit us. I think the waves did hit us. I am not too sure, but it doesn't affect our place much. And that was the time where I awaken also (to go to work :p), so I don't remember much about it anymore. Nevertheless, it has been an interesting dream.

Major decision to make

2005-08-05T09:53:00.000+08:00

To talk about this, I'll have to introduce to you my other side of 'life' ;). Besides working as a full time engineer, I am currently training up to be a fitness instructor. My experience includes training in 'Body Balance' (BB), a type of yoga class. And step aerobic, which is also called 'Body Step' (BS).

Though I am new to the above area, especially in instructoring. I have passion for the programs, deep immense passion, hence the decision to take up the instructor course. With my BB program, though I have things to work on with my instructoring skills, I grew to become very comfortable in teaching it.

BS is my second course which I took. The teaching style for this is rather different. I learned recently that an authoritative, powerful, commanding voice is essential for this program to make the participant 'listen' to you. Well, that is one of my weak point. I don't have this kind of voice naturally. So I tend to 'shout' a bit in my learning process to teach the class. And lately, I realised that I'm getting more and more uncomfortable in this area, as it is just not me, or my style.

Hence I was thinking of dropping the notion to teach step aerobics, but it's still bothering my mind still. Yeah, it's natural for people not to teach after taking the course as they learned from the course that teaching takes more than what is expected. But that is never my original intention in the first place. At that time, I really thought I can do it, and was once very confident about that decision too. Well, the money wasted on the course, it can't be helped. It's not really the factor which is pulling me back. I'm just worried .... really worried, if I'll regret making the decision. The passion is still there, but I'm not sure till how long more...

Fong Fei Gei Queen

2005-08-04T15:37:00.000+08:00

This is a self declaration...I'm officially one now...

Let me translate the meaning of 'fong fei gei' for those who does not know the chinese dialect, it literally means 'letting the aeroplane go', i.e. break an appointment or visit which you have promised to a friend.

I've tried very hard not to do that, as I know how it felt to be on the receiving end. Yeah, of course I'll have a valid and important reason for it, but still the generated feeling to the other person is never nice.

As for these two recent weekends, I just broke two promises back-to-back :'( to many friends. But for this particular friend, I did it to her two times in a row. Felt so guilty over it. I just broke my promise to go to Cameron Highlands with her last week and this week, I broke another promise to go down to Malacca. Created quite a few trouble, but my important matter cannot be left unsettled also. :-(

Humour Time

2005-08-04T09:41:00.000+08:00

It's was a rainy Wednesday afternoon, and I was walking back from lunch ... sounds very story-book-ish?! ;) Hehehehe ... ok serious mode. But this funny event really did happened yesterday afternoon. Since my shoe was rather slippery, I slipped right in front of the lifts on my way to the office. Luckily I didn’t fall flat on my face :p, thanks to my ‘Balance’ class :D (fyi, Balance is just a type of yoga class at my gym ;)).

I was giggling away that time, partly due to the ‘near-fall’, and also because of my friend’s antic. He was walking beside me at that time. And guess what he did when I nearly slipped? Right after I managed to compose myself, he started….DANCING! Yeah, you heard me right! I would never expect that! LOL! It’s partly to divert the attention of others, and also to make my ‘slipping’ movement looks like a dancing move :D. And thanks to this, none of my friends notice my ‘near-fall’ ;). They even jokingly comment that, if I had really fallen down, it would be better. Hmmm...why is that?! Coz it’ll then be performance time for him, and he can slide down on his knees towards me ... hahahahaha

Ok, if you think that is not funny enough, here is Take-Two! I got this from an email.

For those who are lucky enough to own a jaguar, you will surely remember this -->

And for those who want a more economical version, please don't fret ... there's always something for everyone ... ;)

Proud owner of ...

2005-08-03T11:43:00.001+08:00

Hi people, today I would like to introduce in a family member of mine, my Creative MuVo N200 mp3 player :D.

I just got it yesterday...yippee yippee yeah yeah! :D and I'm quite satisfied with the quality of the music :). Well, the line-in recording from any audio source (my cd player in this case) doesn't sound that good though. It picks up and really amplifies on the noise though I didn't move both the players much while recording. But that is alright, as I won't be using this function much.

For those not too familiar with this new cutie of mine, it's really micro sized yet fully packed with features. Though it is mentioned that it is perfect for any lifestyle, I'll use it mostly for gym (The instructors can't seem to live without a mp3 player these days ;)). So I hope that the skip-free audio feature is really working :p Soon to test this out hehehe.

Besides that, there is the usual FM Radio, Voice/FM recording and of course LCD display with folder management. And lastly, to wrap things up, before you know my 'plaything' too intimately ;), the choice of vibrant colours (8 of them in total) attracts me too. They are very appealing, as I don't like the mundane yin-yang black and white colour. I do know of people going for black and white as their first choice though. Hmmm ... can never learn to appreaciate that *shrug*

p.s. btw, I just broke my own 'first-character' tradition ;)

W-R-T

2005-08-02T10:37:00.000+08:00

What is the title about?! Don't worry, it's not some code for some government secret. Nor it is some well-known computer abbreviation. And I definitely didn't go cuc-koo, not just yet :)

It is just that when I look through my blog just now, I realised that the titles for my previous posts, have a repetitive starting character, in doubles; W-W, then R-R, and lastly T-T. Now that I realise this, will I be able to continue on the trend? ;)

Yup...proven...gone over the line now. Finally has cracked. Too much work pressure hehehe.

Two cool news

2005-08-02T10:31:00.000+08:00

Can't find a more witty title for that...unlike my creative/imaginative friend, Shades ;)

There are two news which I heard today, which is really cool.

One is related to my work. It's about wireless networking, and in one of the competition, the 3rd Annual Defcon Wifi Shootout Contest., a new record has been stated for unamplified wireless networking range. Check this out... 125 miles!!!! "Bo Ko Leng!!!" (translation = Impossible ;)) That's about the distance between Ipoh and KL. Meaning I just pluck a satellite dish in Ipoh, and another in KL, then I'll be able converse with another friend on the Internet without any cable/wires at all. That's cool or what hehehe. As if I'll have enough money to fund that myself :p For more down-to-earth, and technical news on this, check this out: http://www.wifi-shootout.com/

Second cool news is, someone forward me an email about the planet, Mars being very close to Earth on August 27, 2005. Yeah...it is stated in the email, 2-0-0-5. I was thinking, "What?! This year? Doesn't this happened not too long ago? So I find my all-knowing master, Mr Google. And found out that this has happened two years ago. That is 2003. LOL!, my friend is a bit outdated ler. So moral of the story, you can't trust everything that comes via email. And 2ndly, you can't trust everything that is being said. Coz when I say TWO cool news, in reality there's only one LOL! :D It is further proven with this.... I rest my case.

To make-up or not to make-up

2005-07-29T11:22:00.000+08:00

I just saw a posting on this in one of my friend's blog, and since my comment to her is rather long, I decide to blog it here.

Well, I put myself in her position, and if my partner request repeatedly for me to put on makeup (never get the request before though...thank god), I won't give a d**m to what he says.

Yeah, he can gives his opinion, but if that makes me uncomfortable, then I won't do the makeup. No matter how repetitive is the request, I'll just smile at him and say nothing. No point in making myself sad over it. It's my face, so ONLY I will have the SAY on what to do with it.

Though it's not easy, but my advice to her would be, try not to feel too bad over what he comments. Everyone loves to see beautiful stuff. And beauty has different meaning from one individual to the other. To him, he equate beauty to the beauty of makeup. While for others, such as my brother, he prefers his girl to be in her natural state *no pun intended* :p He always comment that girls in heavy makeup are like actors in chinese operas LOL!

It's true though that makeup can enhance one features. But in the end, what's most important is being comfortable with your own self. Coz that's when you are the most confident and thus, the prettiest ;)

Well for me, at the moment, I also don't do makeup, unless there's a formal occasion too. I believe that, that is when you need to respect the occasion by dressing to the nines :D. Yeah right! It's actually for my own selfish reason to look nice on that rare special day.

However for some period of my life, I think about 3 years ago, I'm so into makeup that I never go out one day without it. After that, I totally stopped using one. But just a few months back, I relapsed into that period of my life, and now I'm back in my 'all na-tu-ral' state.

So what I am trying to say here is, it doesn't matter what you do, just do whatever your conscience says, what you currently feel like doing, and what you feel most comfortable with. That's when you will the happiest.

p.s. Pstt! Psst! hershey, when I first know you, you gave me the impression of a lively, cute, pretty girl. You still do ... :D

Royal Mail

2005-07-28T12:41:00.000+08:00

Ever noticed one of these before? If you are from Penang, you might have seen it before. This is just an ordinary royal mail post box.

Hmm...I thought that it's supposed to be a 'trademark' of what is U.K. And I even got myself a lapel pin of the royal mail post box after my trip from England, as a souvenir.

But do you know that I already noticed two of those just in Penang itself? I am not sure about other places, but there's one in Macalister road and another in Dato Keramat. So guess it's not 'unique' anymore :(

Revelation

2005-07-28T10:45:00.000+08:00

Note: Please be warned that the following post is kinda techie and a few jargons are involved.

Came across this just now. It is claimed that a while() loop is actually the simplest of the loops, while a for() loop has a relatively complex syntax.

So, why is then a for() loop so popular and commonly used, and while() loop being otherwise?

The reason is simple, for a while() loop, you wouldn't not know how many times a loop will execute. And on the other hand, for a for() loop, it will be run for a specified number of times, exactly as how you state it.

Both their functions and the end result are still the same, but yet, they suffer different fate.

That just proves how human likes to be in control, eh?! :D

What's the craziest thing you have ever done?

2005-07-28T09:27:00.000+08:00

Just before I go to bed yesterday ...

I realise that there's not much crazy things which I have done in my life. Searched my memories high and low, but can't recall any. Can't believe I am such low risk taker.

Anyone out there care to share their crazy experiences?

What's the connection?

2005-07-28T09:10:00.000+08:00

I went to my friend's blog this morning, and saw that she wrote something about 'sign'. Coincidentally, I was planning to write something in the similiar line :o

This morning, I saw a Mini Cooper on my way to work. Aww....my fav car, in my fav colour too, R-E-D. The funny thing is, I'm with the car (behind it, not in front of it ;)), nearly throughout my whole journey to work. And majority of the time, I was wishing really hard that it's me-amour who's driving the car :(.

I have heard people say, at times when you wish really hard, you get what you wish? How come I didn't see that happening to me? *sob* *sob*

The other thing which I can praise of, is that the driver (he/she) has good driving skills, doesn't drive slowly (if not, it'll really waste the car man), and is not a car-bully.

Talking about being bullied, I encountered TWO kancils on my way to work yesterday. And BOTH of them, drove really dangerously. Thus, when the second one, cut in front of me. I lost my patient, and drove after him :p. Halfway through it, I was thinking, what am I doing?!! *Sigh*...getting influenced to be like one of them LOL! Well, in that matter of seconds where I have my doubts, the kancil squeeze in between two cars and left. And I left my pursuit too. No point in doing all that.

Arghhh...I drifted again. Not my car, but me :D. Back to the Mini Cooper, well, that's the end of it. Love the car, and respect the driver too. Good *thumbs up*. Or maybe, I'm just biased ;)

Oh...just recall that I put the title of this post as "what's the connection". Don't know what's the connection of what I have mentioned, to the title? Hahaha....now I'm coming to it.

As soon as I reached work, I saw an email and it's a small video clip file. And guess what's it all about?! Hehehe....it's about Proton being critizised in Europe. Oopsie, and just a split second ago, I was going in awe with an European car. So what's the connection? Is that a sign? :D

There's something going on ... :D

2005-07-27T16:23:00.000+08:00

Yesterday, I did a launching program at gym with two of my fellow team mates. And something funny happened, which I think is worth blogging :D

Well, there's this one track where the word "energy ball" has to be mentioned. And somehow, my team mate kept on mistakenly says it as "medicine ball". So at the start of the launch, someone went up to her, and teasingly says "energy, energy, energy" and kept on repeating the word so that she will not forget it. She jokingly replied, "Ok, when you says energy, I'll go medicine". :D

K..that was that. And guess what happened?

Yup, yup. Correct-to-mondo ;). Halfway through the track, and when she has been mentioning "energy ball" earlier, somehow, it's conveniently changed to "medicine ball". LOL! All three of us tried very hard to control our laughter, and thus, there's a sudden silence, coz no one can speak while bursting with laughter ;)

So at the end of the launch, we were teasing her about this like mad. We even asked her...what's the connection between "medicine" and "energy"? They don't even start with the same character. :D

So till now...we remain baffled. And mystery remained unsolved ;).

Have you ever wonder...

2005-07-25T09:32:00.000+08:00

This post is not about the past anymore. Hmm...not really on the present too ... maybe past participle? ;)

I am driving to work this morning, and there's this white Satria that suddenly swerved into my lane, at the very last minute. I had to apply emergency brakes then, so imagine my anger, knowing that I can hit onto his side anytime, or that my emergency braking could cause accident.

Instictively, I pressed on the horn, a short loud one, in anger. That is something I seldom do, as I see honking as something rude. I prefer to use the flashing light signal to signify turn-in etc.

And now back to the geez of the post, I was thinking after that, what if the person you just honked at, is someone you know..a friend of yours? Luckily I never encounter it, if not, that will be very embarassing to me.

Mum's turn

2005-07-25T09:29:00.000+08:00

New flashback ... I still have to be fair right? When there's dad, there's mum too ;)

This happens one sunny afternoon while I was on my way to school. I'm taking school bus then coz mum will be busy with her kindergarten. But still, she'll personally get us ready to go to school with a pat on the back, "Study hard, yeah?"

Yeah right...just kidding. It's nothing that cliche :D It's just the ordinary 'get-ready' process and making sure that we are at the front gate by the scheduled time :p

I remember it's 'uncle' bus that day. Yeah, we do called our bus 'uncle' and 'aunty'. This is because the school bus is operated by a husband and wife team. 'Uncle' will drive a bigger bus and it usually consists of passengers from the boy schools too ;), while 'aunty' usually just take girl's passenger in a smaller bus :S. Coincidentally, my current housemate is a girl who used to sit in the same 'aunty' bus as my elder sis and I. :-)

Ok ok...enough straying off, well, as soon as I got up the bus, my mum went back inside and realised something, "That 'kepala udang' forgot to bring her 'package' for art lessons"! :o Luckily, mum is not one who believes in the concept, 'If one forgets her stuff, one has to take responsiblity for it'. Nah, none of the bulls**t.

And though there are still children left, right and center ... I mean everywhere ;) she still picked up her car keys and left that place. She asked a teacher to be in charge for a while though, so it's nothing that dramatic :-).

She managed to get to the bus even before it is out of my housing estate. Wah...that's pretty fast. I missed all the chase though, coz from what I know, at one point I was busy daydreaming by the side of the window (maybe on N.K.O.T.B, or perhaps Leon Lai ;)), and at the next point of time, the bus suddenly stopped, and a package was shuffled through the window, right in front of my face. Truthfully, at that time, I didn't feel much. Just had on a black look and the usual reaction, "Wow, lucky I get this, if not I'll be really bored during art lesson" :p.

However, when we grow up, we start to reflect, or maybe I should say, matured, and know that both of our parents really do sacrifice a lot for me and my siblings. Just the simple gesture above, it does touch my heart :-)

Candid Moment

2005-07-25T08:52:00.000+08:00

LOL! ... I can't stop writing about my childhood now. Flashback after flashback are coming through, but there's this special one which has a little candid element to it ;)

When we are young, my siblings and I will take Vitamin C every day. And being child and how we love sweets so much, we tend to take more than once a day ;). And... having a clever dad :p, he also predicted this, and only buy the ones with children protection lock. Hahaha, they must have a very hard time bringing all these naughty kids up ;) For those who do not know what is a children protection lock, it's applicable to the 'cover' of the vitamin's bottle. Instead of turning it to open the cap, you have to press it down first before turning it, and that is a thing that supposingly, only an adult will know :p

So what our dad told us is this ... we can only eat ONE tablet a day, and that is given by dad only. And if you want to take more than one tablet, or try to take it 'illegally' (i.e. without dad's permission), the bottle will know and won't let you open it. Of course we did not believe him. Who will, right? :p

So when they are out, the first thing we do is climb on the table to reach the kitchen cabinet, and reached out for the Vit C bottle. I remember the three of us; me with an elder sis and a younger bro, work hand-in-hand for this. Ya...we like to imitate McGyver when we are young ;)

K...as in all story, it's 'alls-well-ends-well' scenario. It doesn't take a genius to know that we definitely will not succeed. But our reaction then is really candid...we goes "waaaahhh....what our dad said is the T-R-U-T-H"...and our eyes go wide-wide ;)

That's not the end to it, and since my little experiment has been proven, there's no more space for me to doubt him. So when I grew up, I slowly forget about the magic bottle or trying to find the 'reasonings' behind it. But in the middle of one conversation which I had with my roommate while I was in college, we were talking about our childhood and somehow, the 'magic' bottle incident came up. I distinctively remember how I was teling her that I still didn't know why the bottle 'behaves' that way, and we don't see this kind of bottle in the market anymore. And that is when she introduced me to Child Protection Lock Cover...LOL!. (Do you remember this, Grace? ;)) Arghh...imagine my embarassment man. So I went back to tell my dad the whole story, and we had a good laugh out of it. He also could not believe that I trusted his 'story' till I'm so old. It's not that, it's just that I never question it :p

So the moral of the story is, be extra careful on what you tell your child next time, they might believe you till their adult lives ;)

The importance of good parental guidance

2005-07-25T08:38:00.000+08:00

Editor's Note ;): This blog is dedicated to my beloved sis, Angela.

Yesterday, I read something on a book which I have long forsaken, just the same as how I have been neglecting my blog for nearly a week now :p.

Well, since I'm planning to quote from the book, here's the full details on it. It's Emotional Intelligence - Why it can matter more than IQ, by Daniel Goleman.

It is written in the book on how the first four years of our lives are terribly important as the key emotional lessons' starting block. And what is written about it having a lasting effect on the child's life, if one is brought up negatively, is a big eye opener.

As quoted from pg 223, here would be the consequences,
"A child cannot focus his attention, who is suspicious rather than trusting, sad or angry rather than optimistic, destructive rather than respectful and one who is overcome with anxiety, preoccupied with frightening fantasy and feels generally unhappy about himself - such a child has little opportunity at all, let alone equal opportunity, to claim the possibilities of the world as his own."

This reminds me back of my own childhood. Though I can't say it's all a bed of roses, and there are some parts where my parents did made some mistakes, but like what one said, to err is human. Nevertheless, I can still generally sums it all up, as quite a positive upbringing environment. I am also lucky in the sense, that I am able to find various group of friends later in my life, which bring futher positive impacts on me, hence remedied what is lacking in my profound early learning experience ;)

Ok...beware beware...'Phoebe' having a premonition now, but since I'm not Phoebe from Charmed, I can only see flashbacks from my childhood scenes ;) There is this particular flashback which I would like to blog though.

It happens when I'm still very young, I just started on my primary school I think. And my parents recently took some shots on the manual camera (yup, those old days where they are still using manuals hehehe :)). If I'm not mistaken, it's some shots on me with the kindergarten kids. And somehow, I think there might be some sweet memories or something, coz for some reason, I really want to keep the pics.

I haven't reach the peak of the story yet :p. Well, my mum doesn't know how to rewind the camera, and she took out the film after it's done, just like that. So any Tom, Dick or Harry will know what that means. Since it's exposed to daylights, the shots are gone :'(

Being the ~~innocent~~ ignorant me (I'm still young here, ok? ;)), I still 'pressure' my dad to develop the film. And, I really can't believe this, instead of neglecting my feelings or saying something negative to me, he really did process the film for me, just to prove it to me. But that's after hours of trying to explain to me that it won't work LOL! :D.

I really appreciate how he 'waste' his money on the processing fee though, knowing that it won't possibly work, just to satisfy his child inquisive nature ;) Well, that is what I called a positive nurturing...not the wasting money part though :p LOL!

Highlights of my weekend

2005-07-18T09:21:00.000+08:00

As usual this weekend for me only shout out three words, Fun! Fun! and... Fun! :D

But I guess the highlights will be on the Bon Odori festival, as we practiced so hard for it. Well, we do get some token of appreciation though, free t-shirt and boxed dinner/drink for us. Not that it matters, I'll still do it for the charity and fun of it all. :)

Here is some picture on the performers. And talking about pictures, actually 5 of us (one of them is me amour ;))appeared in The Star paper also last Saturday :o. It's a coverage on the festival itself, in the metro section for northern area. That's really exciting for me, as I never get to be in the paper before :p. The event ends with a magnificent display of fireworks. But too bad I missed it, coz I nearly drop dead from the exhaustion. Still, if I have just stayed on for 10 mins longer....*sigh*. Friends told me that the fireworks are just right above the field where the event is held, so it's very beautiful, and it lasted quite long also this year.

Oh another highlight is, Tan Sri Dr. Koh Tsu Koon came and visited our booth and took pictures with this cute japanese girl. LOL! My crystal ball says ... believe it or not ... she's going to be famous! ;)

Mystery of the day

2005-07-15T15:44:00.000+08:00

From the traffic statistics, I noticed that the traffic climbed everytime I update my blog. And the more I update, the higher the traffic will be.

So my question is, how come my 'viewer' knows when to check my blog? I never update my blog at a particular interval of day, or time. Hmm...weird.

Is there something which I do not know? Perhaps there's a feature on my blog, that is informing my viewer-to-be that it has been updated?

Any taker for this mystery solver?

Let's talk about children ;-)

2005-07-15T08:58:00.000+08:00

The title is not as what is seems :) No, I'm not into marriage nor I am into children now. And I definitely did not get bitten by the 'mushy' bug.

It's actually about this new friend whom I met at gym. She's quite pretty and sexy ;), and then I get to know that she actually opened this nursery and kindergarten at Tanjung Bungah. She don't do the teaching much but more on overseeing the whole operation and disciplining the kids :D

We can relate in that matter as my mum used to open a nursery & kindergarten too. And the name for the kindergarten is from mine LOL!. I practically grew up in that environment hehehe. Well, sometimes, when my mum is short-handed, I have to replace to teach some classes... something which I really dread. Coz they have been treating me like one of their big sis. So I can never keep them in control. The more I 'shout' :p (trying to portray an angry strict image but failed miserably), the more they'll run around. *sigh*...I really don't know how I manage to survive the hourly class, now that I think back on it :p

Well, this new friend of mine, gave me some tips. It doesn't really matter anymore, as my mum has changed her profession, and we have sold the kindergarten license. The buyer is still operating it (with my name on it of course ;)) just across my house now.

Anyway, one of the tips is that we can't resort to shouting as they are very much in-tune with it already, and hence has no effect on them. Furthermore, we have to be extra sensitive to the children's needs, as in no wriggling of fingers in front of them etc. Or they'll learn the bad habits :D One even asked her mum not to do it....so cute. They are really so innocent and adorable. And can absorb knowledge just like a sponge.

All these reminds me of my childhood too. I used to be so naughty in my own kindergarten. Like I know I'm invincible or something as my mum is the headmistress :p When the teacher is not around, just because the children says they are feeling the heat (I'm not saying the word 'hot' anymore after I seen the preview on Fantastic 4 ;)), I went ahead and climbed up on the table just so that I can switch on the fan for them. Hahaha...a hero in my own world LOL! :D A good experience nonetheless, who gets to be in a kindergarten where her mum is the headmistress ;)

Enough about living in the past, let's get to the present now. Lately, I have been listening to this CD with chinese songs that my friend compiled for me. And I become obsessed with two particular songs. Note that I don't know any mandarin characters k? So I usually don't know what's the title or the singer, but I think they are the recent hits now. One is about "rat in love with grain" (lau su ai dau mi). While the other is about a girl crying on Valentine's Day coz she just broke up with her boyfriend and another guy is by her side to console her. The song begin this way (in mandarin) "Ching ren jie the na yi tien, ta li kai ni sen bien". I found out that the title of this 2nd song is "we'll still be frenz" (wo men dou se peng you ??), but forgotten on who's the singer already :p.

Wednesday etc. etc.

2005-07-13T08:57:00.000+08:00

For those who have seen my posting earlier on the Bon Odori festival, please note that it'll be held at the old venue, Esplanade instead of USM. Seems that this information has been conveyed to us earlier but I am too blur to notice it :p

I just watched the show Amityville Horror yesterday. I still prefer the old movie though, it's actually scarier. Wonder why they change a bit on the story line too. I always thought Jodie is the good ghost, cause if I remember correctly, she's the one who manage to let them out from the house at the very last minute.

Well, in this movie, she seems sad that they manage to escape. Even tried to 'kill' the youngest girl so that she can play with her forever. That makes me wonder, are humans really selfish by nature? Or its just a kid's mentality?

Origins of my nick

2005-07-08T16:00:00.001+08:00

Some of you might ask..."Why am I using the nick 'bobdog'"? LOL! Guess what I was thinking just now?! HTML programming...with the double (") and single (') quotation. Especially those who have been writing javascript or CGIs for HTML programming will know what I meant. Confused?! I know...I'm a proven-nerd ;)

Well, come straight back to the topic (for the benefit of those with attention span of 20 lines), this particular nick has a 10-years history to it! Other nicks I have been using frequently are; "unicorn" and "pegasus". Cause, first of all, they are mythical creatures, can fly (reminds me on how I love freedom), and they are related to horse. But, that is another story.

Back to the nick bobdog, I have been using it ever since I'm in college. I have a lot of bobdog accessories, used it in public online forums, in my email account (hotmail and gmail) etc.

One weird encounter about this is, one of my friend who have been out of touch with me for a long long time, managed to google out my bobdog gmail address and he decides to write to me, in case I am that person that he knew. Turned out his intuition is right. It's good to be back in touch with your friend this way huh? And it's good to be 'loyal' to your nick too. ;)

Just yesterday, when I passed my blog link to another old friend of mine, his first reaction is laugh out loud, and then asked me in near disbelief "You are still using the bobdog nick ah?" :D

Well, this nick has a sentimental reason to me. And the story is pretty romantic hehehe. When I was just 15 years old, one of my admirer (he's a national swimmer :)) gave me a present; a doggie with the wording "I love you", a cassette of love songs with 'bobdog' cassette cover, and I still remember that he was so sensitive that he did some pattern out of the wrapping paper. Cool huh? Not only that, the year after, he gave me a gold medal which he won, but I have to return it back as it is just too valuable. I never get to know him though, and I don't think he remembers me anymore.

However, I started using bobdog accessories as soon as I get to college, and that cartoon character slowly grew on me. Is that love?! LOL! So now, I am stuck with the nick and can't seem to get rid of it ;)

Birthday Bash 2005

2005-07-07T08:36:00.000+08:00

This is my third entry for today, so I should keep this short and simple. After all, one attention span can lasts not more than 20 minutes, I think. *Shrug* that is applicable to me anyway, whenever there's any serious reading involved :p

Well, this posting is about my much-much belated birthday party (though I just received another phone greeting today ;)...a very delayed one because I am really 'out-of-touch' when I'm on the island, i.e no mobile phone coverage). My excitement for this has died down, and it's losing its novelity too. So I guess just the pictures will do? :D

Actually I do still feel very happy that most of my friends here decide to celebrate that special day with me. It's definitely worth rushing around to prepare for the party. I prepared it all by myself you see; the fried noodle, pizza (at least I ordered it :p), sandwiches, salad, marinating the chicken wings, preparing the BBQ equipment, and I did all that, the minute I touch my toes back in Penang after the vacation. I did not stop at all, right till the very last minute, and it's really on the dot. When my friend came to pick me up, I just finished the last bit on the sandwiches.

Ok ok...I admit...I lied a little :p, I had trouble finishing all the preparation, so a few friends have to help out in the end. Being the co-chef (just the preparation bit, not the cooking :D), getting me the ice plus the ice box, and helping me to bring some other accessories and stuff. Not forgetting chaffeuring me to the place too, and that's the most important role LOL!

Over there, most of them enjoyed themselves. Besides having a lively party going on ...

... my friends manage to occupy themselves by having a ball, and I meant that literally :D

... while I jet-ski into the horizon with a handsome hunk ;)

Uh-oh...this is getting long. Has it touched the 20-mins mark yet? Ok, fast-forward to cake-time. I love that moment. A James Bond 007 came out with the cake, chocolate cheese cake (thanks jie!) in the dark. He is accompanied by two pretty gals, holding a candle in each of their palm. It's indeed a nice atmosphere. Too bad I didn't capture it on photo...too taken by surprise hehehe. Just jk, actually my camera ran out of battery...what a spoiler! So I have to make do with just the description, and also this ...

my name on the birthday cake :D

Lastly, I have to give some credit to these few other groups of BBQ-ers on the beach. They are quite creative actually. One did it very nice and professionally. Even created a 'drain' marking their perimeters, and lined it with candles. Very nice! I have a picture of it, taken with my friend's camera...thanks Jo!

Not only that, there is this other group who marked a 'love' symbol on the sand, with a 'circle' covering it. Then the 'love' symbol is lined fully with candles, creating a romantic atmosphere...awww....sorry guys, no picture for this too. So you cannot 'steal' the idea to impress your girlfiends. Well, you can always use your imagination though ;)

K...I better stop here then before everyone falls asleep :D

Pulau Lang Tengah

2005-07-07T01:57:00.000+08:00

Well, some good news though. Your patience has finally paid off my friends, here are some updates and photos of my vacation. I went to Lang Tengah last week with my family and my beloved sister who paid us a visit from U.S. The trip is pretty relaxing and enjoyable. There aren't much to do besides snorkelling, jungle trekking, and playing netball. Well, there are diving trips too and island hopping, but all come with an extra cost. Besides, I can't dive :p.

Actually, I expected the trip to have karaoke session, disco and playing mahjong. Yeah yeah....I know...very 'city-gal' :p. But we really do have that kind of activities when I went to Pulau Redang three years ago!! No regrets though, it's good to be relaxing, away from the hustle and bustle of the city, and spending quality time with your family. You can't afford to do that much once you've started working.

The place is actually very beautiful, just check these out ...

culprit of my sunburn
patio overlooking the entrance
dining hall
resort & swimming pool at the background

Nice eh?! More to come ... crystal clear water ...

And finally the most beautiful scenery, sea view at sunset.

Live life moderately...no extremes please

2005-07-07T00:56:00.000+08:00

I've learnt my lesson the hard way. Though it has been a fantastic gateaway, but nothing can be done too extremely. All work and no play makes Jake a dull boy. But all play and no work makes bobdog a sick girl. And, this is the end result of it all ...

==>

Fatigue has finally sink in. Still feeling my sore-ish throat now and its accompanied with a persistant cough. Sigh, a slight fever is slowly creeping in too. So I guess ample and adequate rest for me, for now ... *boring* *boring*

Back at work :(

2005-07-05T13:47:00.000+08:00

This reminds me of the song "Back at One"....hahaha...still kinda related. It's my first day (hence the word "One") back at work (and the word "work") after a week-long holiday. See the relation there?! LOL! I must have taken too much coke...as in the drink, k? ;)

I have so much things to update; what happened during the holiday, my birthday bash :), and also an upcoming Bon Odori festival. But one thing at one time. I will need to compile all the photos (from my frenz camera too), before choosing the elite ones to be posted on the net. Yeah yeah, I have been getting a lot of requests on this...sorry...be patient ya? ;)

For the trip, I got one ugly sunburn on just the right side of my hand coz I fell asleep on my way to Pulau Lang Tengah, and I left my hand dangling over the side of the boat. So it's pretty dark now with patches of whites (protected from the sleeves and the bracelet...euii..that even makes it uglier :()

As for my birthday bash, a short summary is that I had a great time. It's really nice celebrating with a big group of frenz at a nice venue. Everyone love my fried tom yam noodles and marinated chicken wings. Coz every single one of them asked for the recipes, especially on the chicken wings. Maybe I should consider changing my profession to be a coke, eh?!...oops...I mean..cook ;)

Anyway, regarding the Bon Odori festival, here are some updates on it, for those are interested.

Date: 16th July 2005
Venue: Esplanade, Penang
Time: 5pm - 10pm

I'll be one of the performer also on stage. And our performance time will be at 7:55pm.

As for my first day at work, wow, I'm really bombarded with the emails. Spent half a day just going through them. So can't do much to my blog today. But I added this really 'cute' chat box and a visitor stats to it. I love them, especially the chat box :D

Can't contain my excitement!! :D

2005-06-28T16:10:00.000+08:00

I'm sitting here in the office, calculating the hours away. Am in an excited mode now actually, as I'll be on vacation soon!

Adventure begins from after work today. Rush back home, eat 'hau liow' dinner (coz dad cooked petai today LOL!), then leave for Lang Tengah at 3am! This is rather important to me as my sister is back from her 'rare' visit from U.S.

Vacation in Lang Tengah will last for 3 days....hehehe...cool breeze, sexy attire, and cute guys :D Like what one of my friend always say, she will visualise herself sitting on a deck chair, trying to act cool, sipping on a pina colada under the tree, and attracting cute guys ;) LOL! How I wish the dream will come true.

Not only the vacation is keeping me happy, but I'll be celebrating my birthday with my family too while vacationing there. And if that is not enough, as soon as I get back to Penang after the vacation, I'll be throwing a birthday bash to celebrate with my friends.

A romantic BBQ party on the beach, with 20 or so people. Wow! I can visualise the image now...the noise, and the fun of it all! There'll be a stereo 'melodising' in the background too. What more can one asks rite? ;)

Ok...just hope that I'll be able to survive this weekend and won't drop dead from all the tiredness. It'll be one hell of a week for me, but it'll definitely be worth it LOL!

First ever posting...

2005-06-24T04:30:00.000+08:00

This is my very first posting in my very own blog....this is rather exciting actually. And I feel that the first posting should be rather significant. But I can't think of anything at the moment.

Besides having a little tiff with my colleague this morning, everything has been settled after the misunderstanding has been cleared up, and now I'm back to my usual mundane life.

Well...other than that...MNG is having a SALE NOW! So for those who are in Penang, and who might be interested, u know what to do. ;)