Fruit of Eden

Being Still

2007-10-12T14:20:00.000+08:00

I've been getting calls, chats over msn, emails, sms-es and even face to face meet up on "so.. what have you been up to this week?". I thought i'll just direct em here.

I've accumulated so much junk these past years. In every aspect - my room, my wardrobe, my bookshelf, my physical body ( including bad habits )- spritual, emotion and mind.I thought it'll be a good time to reorganise myself. Just taking time off at home.

Reorganising...
My priorities : I didn't know how much i missed my time with my family ( and my childhood ) until this week. This week, i get to have dinner every evening with them. Just sitting around the dining table, eating wholesome meals and just catching up with my dad and bro. (i've the whole day with mom and my 2 dogs). I know that i should treasure this time and everyday i have with my family. My family reminds me that truely through thick and thin, they will love me. Our family is one where we love through Quality Time and the Acts of Service. Funny how my parents and my younger-but-seem-older-brother is concerned about me not having money to use keeps trying to push money to me. Don't look at me, I've turned them down.
And for the past few days, every morning I wake up to my mom asking me : "How are you feeling? Are you alright? You're not sad are you?". Then through her worried eyes, looks and me deeply trying to search my soul, gives me my breakfast, sits down and prays for me.

My room : I've decided to look into my piling system and try to put some filing system into place. So now i've use my old name cards as tags ( isn't it great that the DDB cards are yellow at the back! it looks great as tags!). So I've got a mini office set in my room. One thing that I'm dragging my feet is looking into my finances and getting it organised! I should get to this soon. Painful!!

Looked into my wardrobe and lingerie drawer to throw out fashion disasters and holey moleys or clothes that have grown furry after the many washes.Now that I've half the wardrobe left.. I need to go shopping! But first i have to decide what kinda style I'm most comfortable with. It's a great feeling that as I've grown older - I'm more careful not to fall fashion victim to things that isn't a jessica koh. No short short skirts for my thunder thighs, no spagetthi straps especially the square shouldery type because it makes me look like 100kg Xena and all material has to be solid and give form.

I've also started a "Kids Fun Bag" where i put empty papers, my markers, stickers, exercise books, extra pencils and erasers and UPSR text books which i've bought. So that i can lug it around and be the clown to entertain the kids during Kids Zone and Thurs Tutoring.

Me : I was determine to do a detox system for a week until i had lunch with YL on day 3, my detox went out with the sarawak laksa i had ( aiye, i was going to blow it with a BKT lunch anyway ). But i went back to it after. One thing that I couldn't keep off is coffee. What I couldn't bring myself to do is to get on the treadmill to do some form of exercise. Well I try to make it up by taking winston out to poo poo and running around like a siow poh with july around the house.

Started to tinkle with the piano and the guitar. Pestering Chris about the bar chords on guitar and really regretting that I wasn't serious about my classes when i was younger. Heck i would have been a good guitarist ya know!

Most importantly, my journey with God for the last few months, i feel this is the verse for me during this season, which made me look deep into my life, looked back and perhaps form little visions in my head :
God is able to do far more than we could ever dare to ask or even dream of infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires thoughts or hopes according to his power that is at work within us ( Eph 3 :20 )
wow! Beyond all that I am, All that I can every ask or even desire.
Well, it's not to say that during this week of going through very silent moments and being at home has been all bright and good. I have my fears - of the unknown future, I have my fears - of monetary needs, I have my fears that I'm missing out in life ( heck i should be travelling around the world ), i have my fears that i made a wrong choice...

I am learning my greatest lesson for this season, to
"Be still and know that God is God" , not me.

It's a really hard lesson.Especially when I've been living in the "I WANT IT NOW!" life for so long.

Jars Of Clay

2007-10-11T12:58:00.000+08:00

Bible studies & cells are boring. Dreaded. Everyone has to be holy - commoly and damn power in prayer. Smiles, like we "understand" what each of us are going through.

At least that is what i was accustomed to when I was growing up. And even through Young Adults fellowship. The only time where i really enjoyed going for any of this activities is during my youth days. That too was because I get to hang out with my friends, go to the mamak after and play! But I must say, that was a bond that made our friendship last , until now. Although we are all in different parts of the world now, our youth days held us together.

I feel compel to write about this, as at this point in time, i am really grateful that i am part of a cell.

My journey of self discovery and journeying through this time of "what's next" would not have made it this far, without their constant support and prayers. Funny how we were strangers coming together, but we bonded quickly. There were no feelings of inhibition, no pretenses and no difficult bible study books (which doesn't mean a thing because there were no application after just a mumbo jumbo of words ), just simple applicable steps.

Finally,i know truly grasps the true worth of the bible of being life's manual. Now I know that there are actually things / people / events that God used to guide us on how to lead our lives.

I've always thought that they were just bible characters ( like fairy tales in a historical sense ), but now I learn that each character is chosen with a purpose and they just come alive. That each one were meant to give me a clearer direction in live by. Yesterday i learnt that God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things! Even downright to the midwives in Exodus ( so insignificant, only 1 verse mentioned their name ). But by fearing God, they did what was was right. They were bold & courageous, they were risk-takers ( in doing right they didn't fear man (and the pharoah ) but God ) by sparring the lives of the israelite babies. Their little actions of compassion & kindness impacted generations - the freedom of the israelites from Egypt.

Most importantly, this time of searching for what's next in my life, i am glad for the heart of my cell leader - Adele who constantly cheers me by the side, on the baby steps that i'm taking in journeying with my heavenly Father!

I now look forward to Wednesday nights. Yeah, I traded Mambo Nights for Cell! But it's all worth it.

Printer

2007-10-08T17:48:00.001+08:00

Day 2 of just hanging around and realising .. hm, this is what bumming around feels like.
Waking up to nothingness, well i guess i gotto get use to this!
Started on my detox programme for the week - gone vegetarian again! Flipped through the papers with my cuppa of coffee, listen to my mom chit chat with my aunt, pulled ticks out from my dogs, being online for most of the day, sent my phone to fix ( i broke the LCD screen whilst screaming and throwing my bag like a catapult because some people in the room screamed RAT!!), did up an ad to sell of the family holiday home in PD, called KB who has been missing in action for the longest time just to check if he's still alive and kicking, well so much for the day.

Something nice to share... yesterday during church i was thinking ( yes one of those flitting random thoughts again ) that I needed a printer. Since i'm out of a job now, and i would be needing it to print out resumes, application forms for school, work-sheets / games for the kids at the shelter home or for kids zone. But looking at my financial situation, i guess i better hang on to that for a bit.
I got home about 8pm yesterday, and there it was sitting on my dining table ...a printer.
The office kind. My dad told me, a friend asked if he needed printers - b/w and coloured printers as he was giving them away. So my dad decided to take the colour printer home! yay! Provision no.1 ... God is good!

Final season

2007-10-07T22:54:00.000+08:00

My tai-taidom farewell gift from the gang..it really means a lot to me!

I've been writing a fair bit about my journey in DDBI, especially so in the last few posts. More so, because it is quite difficult to walk out on a life that i've grown so accustomed to for the last 6 plus years. But i know, that my season there has ended, things are getting too comfortable ( although things in there are still chaotic!). The old has to go for a new season to begin.

Through the ups and downs, i will remember the people i've passed and journeyed with which i hope in a way i've impacted them in a good way as much as they have left a little of themselves in my life. Some people who are dear but i've not really talked about in my posts...

my boss and mentor Long, who have taught me not only about work but guided me through life's ups and downs

renay, my one and only AE who is now a super AM... she taught me how to be "cool & composed" and what it means to grit your teeth and press on no matter how difficult life is. Now that i'm "steady-lah" , i say our learning curve in getting the team up and soaring wasn't easy! But we did it.

Uncle YT! I couldn't find a "single" picture with him from the lot. Wow, he's one person who's brain i can never fathom and the speed of coming up with presentations that make sense. I'm going to miss his Whipping!

And the lil one.. Hui Tsin, i didn't get a "single" picture with her too. We had loads of fun pictures outside... The only person who understood the whole journey well , together we graduated from Monash, got into the same job by accident, suffered under the same bosses.

Alex.. whoah i remembered the "hit the roof" arguments we had on projects ( and it was just only trainings ). But this young man has tenacity and brains , not to mention a great sense of humour when he warms up.

Zahir who - wetted panties.. this young man is really quite cutesy in his own ways, and he has grown up and decided to take flight away from DDBI in Nov.

Jessey & Alvin, my two hot babes who strives with me through the ups and downs and are still thriving! My lunch and dinner kakis and drivers and my drinking - babysitters!

Baby Cass who's now all grown up to be Mrs Tan. Well matured beyond her years, she taught me the true meaning of silent strength.

My girlies : joanna who i'll miss the wacky brainstorm sessions on brand foundations, ROI & comm plans.. ( oh, we thought it will never end.. the plans !) I'm going to miss her when she heads back to canada ( but that'll mean a place for me to stay! yahoo.. hahaha)

and ah - deh, who taught me sweet humility. The gentle dry humour and the kindness she has shown makes great acts of service ( thank you for your porridge !).

If anyone wants to learn ANALISM, ian tan will be the best person to train you on it. I would not have picked up all the SOPs if it wasn't for him...the long e-mails, chats and evaluations..

Remember this face for hugs, panadols, "aw poor baby" and chocolates.. mama jules is a great hideaway to go too..

The one who i'll miss lots and lots is Ah Soh! The sweetest supergran in the agency who makes coffee with so much passion and her zeal for life is inspiring! Every cup of coffee is filled with love! She was the one successfully made me bawl like a baby. Her grandmotherly hugs and her "ah soh - nmee seh tak lei". For the rest of the people, I could still get online and throw a sheep on facebook! But for this gentle lil old lady, it's hard ( especially with my broken canto ) to get in touch with. I would have to remember to make an effort to visit her!

not forgetting... the journeys of an AE's first torture - Studio! boy has my cantonese and "chup sang-ness" improved!

And the people who's not in the pictures..
Wan Hoon, who taught me the Obedience and Faithfulness in walking with God. Without her constant reminders I think i would have strayed far far away.

Shane & Terence, the best people to talk kok sing song with. Always ever ready to lend a helping hand even to the extend of driving me all the way hope to subang after glasses of wine.. :P

I'll always remember my journey, here in DDBI.

The DDBI wall of fame...

my ddbi journey 2001 - 2007

2007-10-03T14:27:00.000+08:00

What is my purpose in life?

2007-10-01T10:16:00.000+08:00

"you what? ( flabbergasted look )
why? what are you going to do now?
wah you very brave ah, quit with NO JOB ah..!??!!
you don't know your plans yet?
are you going into full time ministry?
you mean you won't be working anymore ah?"

I've been getting these questions since i told people that i'll be leaving DDBI. I didn't panic at first. But after all the panicky questions from people, i'm beginning to ask myself if i've done the right thing. I guess the sense of security is really important, and the fear of the unknown paralysing. I understant now why people rather stay slaves to their jobs passionless than to discover their truest potential. One of the worry -warts is my mom. She has already started on her barrage of questions ( signs that she is worried, no...let me correct that, Freaking WORRIED!).

I'm still trying to piece together my next move. What I know is this:
This is a season where my walk of faith will be exciting. I chose this road. To walk out to discover what brings joy and meaning to even my working life. The last couple of years I bought into the ideology of building brands. Only to realise that brands are dead. They hold no meaning, perhaps only to the owners of the brand.

I've been reading about the old testament characters and i am deeply encouraged by Moses, Abraham and Esther
( cheh.. like my old friends like that ). I realise that all these time I've been like a little frog under the coconut shell. My vision has been so myopic. It was really about climbing the advertising ladder - AE to AAD, then maybe regional positions then i couldn't see beyond that.

Once I started to look upwards, God started to put wonderful & inspiring people in my life , my aunties, pastors, missionaries, friends,cell members etc to show me, He is a God of BIG PLANS. And it's not just promotions in a company but claiming Nations for Him and impacting lives of generations. Wow! I am awed.

Just thought I share with you guys the little thoughts i have. I try to remind myself everyday, that when I walk in the will of God and remember that in all that I do, to remember his purpose first, He will guide me and propel me to heights that is far more than all that I could see or do.

I'm scared but I'm also excited and looking forward to the challenging walk ahead whilst resting in His peace. I'm already thinking bout what i'll be doing during my transition.

2 projects which I hope to take it off the ground till end of the year :
1. Tuition for kids in the shelter home ( i've shared with some of you, so call me if you want to volunteer as we need at least 10 more ). It's on Thursdays, 7-9pm.

2. Working on a project for the Malaysian Rare Disorder Society together with a friend to promote awareness and to raise funds through and art auction.

Pray with me as I journey to discover my purpose.

It feels so cold

2007-09-26T18:30:00.000+08:00

It's funny how when you've resigned and you've come to the tail end of your notice, people ( bosses & collegues ) somehow think that you're invisible and yet you'll still have to do the work?

I wonder if this is a normal ? This is my first job, so I really don't know.

I wonder if it's me, or people just don't know how to deal with someone who will be leaving the job ?
It's quite sad to say this but it is leaving a bitter taste in mouth the way things are being handled over here. Deadlines are still flying around, I'm expected to do the work yet there's no form of proper form of delegation of what do i do with it after. The feeling is , just do the work , don't ask. If we feel like it, we'll include you in, if not why don't you just blend into the wall or the carpet.

Now i know why some people leave this place feeling cold.

Domesticating the fruit

2007-09-15T13:51:00.000+08:00

I’m very careful that for my knife holding lesson today, I do not stab myself or lose my pinky altogether ( after the cut i was awarded for slaying the golden tortoise ). I learnt how to cut a pineapple today. I learnt it under the watchful eye of my dad, who is a pro with the knife. I learnt all my garlic and onion chopping skills from him. He is also extremely good with cutting fruits.

Doing documents, playing the piano, public speaking, organising things and implementing them, negotiating, using the computer – no problem. It’s really easy peasy. But doing housework, I guess I have a lot of head knowledge but not enough practical knowledge. Even downright to holding a knife properly , is at the moment a big challenge for me. The pineapple as you can guess is in the oddest mushiest shape possible. I think I should invest some money to get a few fruits and start mutilating them on my own as practice. Especially weird looking fruits with torns, skin & super ripe ones where it’ll turn to mush in my hands.

The knife holding lessons came about as I realised that before I even try to attempt to kill people with my cooking, I should learn the basics of :

Choosing fresh groceries – veg, chicken, meat, fruits ( my daddy is excellent in this. He does the grocery shopping).
Cleaning the food thoroughly after it is bought from the supermarket
Cutting them into the shapes... it is supposed to look like
Storing them to ensure freshness ( wah i sound so si lai – i think if i did an ad for fridges i’ll have good insights!)

So, I’ve embarked myself on a series of “watch” and try lessons from my mom. Saturday mornings at home is marketing day. So daddy will grocery shop while mom unpacks the veg, fruits, poultry, fishes, meat etc, clean them ( and i mean thoroughly clean them – scrubbed down, deboned & sanitised - to boiling them and removing the fats and dirty blood).

Those of you who’ve stepped into my house would know that there isn’t a hint of dust anyway, the walls are white and scrubbed clean, the kitchen always looks like it’s never been used ( though my mom had just cooked up a storm ), the porch is always clean etc. My mom is a clean freak, sanitation freak etc. Funnily, I’ve gotten none of her housekeeping excellence except to be “fussy” with my surroundings and not do the work myself , hah! So the thought of clumsy me trying a hand in her kitchen is quite a nightmare for her.

So far, i’ve gone through the lessons at a glance and a “try one fish, one fruit, one chicken at a time” before my parents takes whatever good looking produce there is and shoo me away for mutilating all their groceries.

I am one person that learns through experience and motions of doing it through practice. I guess i would need to find other avenues and opportunities to do this. So, anyone of you want to invite me over to your house to mutilate, i mean chop, cut, clean your groceries, call me!

Next on my list for learning, is how to handle a sewing machine and sewing. Good grief.

Fruit slays the tortoise

2007-09-14T13:57:00.000+08:00

For those who've heard about the rumblings about the feng-sui elements that I was made to put in my room in the office... I found the3-tier Golden Tortoise and have moved my table back to a normal position ( instead of the tilted 45 degrees angle which i've been sitting in ). Is this rebellion now that I'm about to leave my job? No.

I feel it's freeing myself from a spiritual oppression that there is something above my head and weighing me down.Plus the weird tilted angle which i've been sitting in is making my life tilted too!

I climbed on a chair to reach the styrofoam like ceiling and lifted the panels. It took me a while to search for it. As i poke and sweep my hands around. When i finally found it, it came tumbling down, crashing together with the potted orchids and butterflies that was on my top cupboard ( luckily my wine glasses didn't break ).

As i picked up this tortoise and prayed over it, i saw that there was a brown stain on my jeans. First thought that came to my mind was - is there ink markings on this? I checked the tortoise thoroughly and found none. Then as i arranged the orchids and the butterflies back in place, I thought - silly me, when did i spill chilli sauce on myself?
As i sat down on my desk and lifted the tortoise to have a closer look, i noticed that there were red spots on my white tank top. Again, I thought "oh no, which red marker pen did i stain myself with... or is this from the orchids? but the orchids are purple " ( so yeah Nut, this is what i got myself into ).

As i was turning the tortoise around examining it, i saw red spots on my fingers, and blood oozing out non stop from the cuts on 2 fingers. Ew, that's where the stains came from. And it's really painful too. I must have cut myself whilst hanging on to the steel rods on the ceiling.

Oh well, I'll take it as battle scars against the tortoise!

I've removed the tortoise from my room. I didn't know what to do with it, so I've left it at the binding machine area for all to appreciate it's beauty.

In which Zahir did..

Pineapple & Banana Fun in the Sun

2007-09-05T14:58:00.000+08:00

Ao Nang : love story unfolding

I finally had the time to sit down to share some bits about my Krabi trip and recover from my post holiday blues. From the day I returned from Krabi, the blues stayed with me, as i go through days of crankiness from Wed till today. Don't ask me why. I don't know. I'm a woman.

But as i write and post the pictures one by one, my thoughts are turned back to the expectancies I had for the holiday. I had hope that God would somehow make His vision clearer in my life ( the horizons are still fuzzy ), and that I would continue to walk closer with Him and learn to rest in Him. Were my expectancies met?

Yes.

I was rested. Very well rested - which is why i think i have problems bringing my physical & mental being back to KL.
After days of belly bloating ( from too much singha beer & spicy tom yum ) and recovering from bits of sun burn ( it's not too bad, i'm just allergic to the tanning oil and too much sun ), i'm missing my tom yum, pad thai, too much beer and lazing in the beach doing nothing.

I learnt that through the scariest moments in my life, and the times when i feel I am most alone & the odds were against me, I am able to call out to Him and be rescued.

He is a creative God. Who on earth could think of all the "macam-macam" islands except Him?

The highlights of the holiday were...
Total indulgence : food, drinks, daily massages by the beach...

The food in Ao Nang isn't cheap. We paid an average of RM25 - 30 on food every meal. That's for 4 dishes and beer. So expect to fork out your bits if Thai food is a priority. The restaurants that we went to had good Thai food (except for lunch on day 1), so parting with the money wasn't that painful. Beer is about RM3 a can of Singha and about RM12 (L) a bottle in the restaurants. And Lays potato chips yummily cheap!

Walk down to the end of Ao Nang beach and you'll discover rows of massage huts. You'll get really good body massage & free flow of pineapples & bananas. This lady Jin ( hut no.12 ) offered us services for RM15 - 1hour10minutes massage. Other places would offer about RM20 for 1 hour.

Free room upgrade
The place we stayed at Phra Nang Inn, was a little cosy inn - no frills. The best bits was the standard room in which we booked for, had utilities that started failing. The tap on the shower couldn't be turned off and then the toilet started flooding.

So at 11.30pm we had to drag our luggages to a deluxe room. Praise God for giving us a wonderful comfy room for the holiday!

New faces
I got to meet new people.Torge ( german ), Cindy, Joyce, Jean-nin & Desiree ( Singaporeans ) and for the first time in my life, people from Kazakhstan ( camelia and i forgot the other lady's name).

God answers, even when I did silly things
I met Torge & the Singaporean girls when i took a little adventure out to Krabi town on my own.
From the day that i arrived in Ao Nang, I've always wanted to jump onto the bus, just to experience riding in it. So one evening, I decided to hop onto a bus on my own at 5.30pm because JC & Al wanted to bask in the sun and do their own stuff. I got tired of walking around Ao Nang beach ( there's only so much shops that i could see and so much money that i can spend ).

The ride from Ao Nang to Krabi Town took about 30 minutes. The bus zipped through trunk roads ( like going through the little towns from Tapah to Ipoh ). I had the company of Torge who's studying Geology in Bristol telling me about his adventures around Thailand and the effects of the Tsunami area on the beaches. Also, luckily for him I got directions around Krabi town and a free guided tour through the streets and night market.

I had hop on the bus, not having a clue on where i was headed to and without a map ( i mean how teruk can Krabi town be? ).

It was only 7pm, but it was pretty dark ( Malaysia is 1 hour ahead ). So i said my good bye to Torge, and decided to hop onto the bus to head back to Ao Nang. I dreaded the long ride back through the trunk roads ( as we were passing by plantations & ulu kampungs ) and the thought of sitting on the bus alone doesn't seem so fun now.

I waited in the bus for 10 minutes and wondered why isn't it moving. I checked with the bus driver and he said: As long as there weren't any body, we won't be going anywhere. Unless, I could pay him RM30 to take the bus back to Ao Nang. He told me to wait for another 40 minutes, perhaps someone will come along. If not, the bus ride would be at 10pm.

I've never felt so helpless in a long time. I got out of the bus, pretty cheesed off. I had already texted JC & Al that i'll be heading to Ao Nang and they would be waiting for me for dinner. If i were to tell them now that " i 'm stuck in town alone by myself", this i dread their reaction! This isn't an option.

So I stood in the midst of thai speaking bus drivers talking to me in Thai, and i had a headful of horrid thoughts. ( I think Malaysia's crime rates have really instilled a lot of silly thoughts in me ). I decided, maybe i should walk around for another 40 minutes. It'll be alright. I headed down the road and realised that everything was closing and the streets started to look like a quiet Kota Raya area at midnight. I had offers to ride back to Ao Nang on motorcycle for 150Baht ( no way!) That's when i decided to turn around back to the bus station and prayed REALLY REALLY REALLY LONG & HARD.

I can't pen the feelings down. A little of me berating myself for taking the silly ride, a little of me saying - God will keep me safe, a little of me angry at broken promises ( how can the bus drivers not take me back to Ao Nang when it says ride - every 10 minutes) etc.

My saving grace. 1 hour later, God sent a gentle thai man ( reminded me of sean chen ) on board the bus. He became my translator amidst the thai drivers. I'm thinking - i don't think he'll harm me. Then, as if to assure me that I will be really safe, He sent 4 Singaporean girls who got onto the bus to ride back with me. And those girls, i had managed to catch a glimpse of their faces when we were paying for our massage the day before.

They said that they had intended to ride back earlier, but got delayed. That's why they are riding back with me now. Wow, such a wonderful God.

Some bits that i missed but wouldn't mind doing :
1. Mel the kayak man
We found him in the restaurant on our last night out. By day he's Mel the Kayak man who'll bring you around to his village Bhor Thor. A kayak trip through a village on stills in the mangroves and through the lime stone caves. I thought if i had another day to spare, i would definitely do the trip.

2. Rock climbing classes
Head down to Railley island. That's where the nice beach is and the rock climbing classes are. The beach in Ao Nang isn't good. It is during the island hopping that you get to get on the nice beaches.

Some bits that i thought was pretty interesting :
1. There's a Tesco in little Krabi!
2. Krabi is about 50% muslim population. And from the landscapes ( plantation of rubber, palm oil & the limestone mountains ) you would think that you are in Malaysia ( or in Ipoh). Some parts looked like Malaysia.
3. The monthly food allowance for Jin ( the massage lady's family ) is RM30. They buy their groceries from the market. The family eats out only about 3 times a year - for birthdays or new year.
4. Well the statistic of Mel the Kayak man & a police man cum taxi driver, can't qualify as all.. but i would say , most hold 2 jobs. We discovered that our cab driver to the airport was also a police. He drives the cab in the morning till afternoon and then does his patroling in the afternoon. He hangs his uniform and his gun at the front of the cab.
5. Penis gods. Not for Mojo orTongkat Ali effects but for prosperity in business and power. If you peer into the alters at the shops, you will see a wooden penis on the offering plate.

The legend of Princess Cave in Railley Island. Told by Ah Tu ( our island hopping guide ).
Where a fisherman and his wife pleaded for a baby with the Dragon God. Their wish will be granted with the condition - if the child is a baby girl, they would have to sacrifice her to the Dragon God's son as a wife. No prizes for guessing that the baby was a girl and she grew up falling in love with another fisherman.
The Dragon God was angry and started a war with the fishermen. The war had many casualties, and so a Hermit Monk interferred and turned warring tribes into islands ( including chicken island ).

This is the princess caves. Before the fishermen go to sea, they'll come to this cave to pray for a good catch and safety. And if you have been childless, couples praying to the Princess, you will be granted a child. For every child granted, the parents will return to the cave with a penis as offerings.

I'm getting lazy posting pictures and writing.. for more pictures, head over to my facebook.

Barbaric Dog Hunting Competition by the Selayang Municipal Council

2007-09-05T12:51:00.000+08:00

Hey ya top dog catchers.
The Selayang Municipal Council Dog Hunt is on!

For quick money, just catch as many dogs - alive, and Win RM15,000 if you are the
TOP DOG CATCHER.

For those who don't make to the top prize, there's a 2nd and 3rd prize of RM13,000 & RM 11,000.

Please note that the dogs has to be alive and kicking , and oh.. it will be audited by the committee. Just submit in a picture of the dogs as proof of capture and be on your way to winning the money.

* The Selayang Municipal Council will not be held responsible for any injury or damage caused by the individuals to the general public or themselves in their attempts to catch these stray dogs.

Happy hunting bam! bam!

This is DISGUSTING.
It's a SICK act & INHUMANE. Whoever thought about this competition disregards morality.

This would not discourage strays. This competition would only encourage more cruelty towards these helpless animals. And what's to prevent the series of dog-napping that has been happening.

Pertandingan menangkap anjing :
http://www.mps.gov.my/default01.htm

1.Pertandingan adalah antara Jawatankuasa Penduduk dalam kawasan pentadbiran Majlis Perbandaran Selayang.

2.Tangkapan boleh dilaksanakan sama ada oleh Jawatankuasa Penduduk sendiri atau
dengan menggunakan bantuan pihak-pihak tertentu. Majlis Perbandaran Selayang
tidak bertanggungjawab atas upah penangkapan.

3.Tangkapan dilaksanakan tanpa menjejaskan undang-undang Kecil 10(2)(a) Undang-undang Kecil Pelesenan Anjing dan Rumah Pembiakan Anjing (Majlis Perbandaran Selayang) 2005.

4.Tangkapan hendaklah diserahkan hidup-hidup kepada urus setia pertandingan untuk pengiraan/audit. Gambar setiap ekor tangkapan juga hendaklah dikemukakan sebagai bukti tangkapan.

5. Pertandingan akan berjalan sepanjang masa.

6. Projek yang bernilai seperti ketetapan yang berikut :
Tempat Pertama :RM15,000
Tempat Kedua :RM13,000
Tempat Ketiga: RM11,000

This is my appeal :
Even if there is nothing much we can do, at least let there be enough of us to stand for what is right.

1. Create the awareness that there are other means to curb strays and not mindless dog hunts!

Responsible dog lovers / owners , PAWS & SPCA are already educating the public on
neutering / spaying the dogs ( Midnight was taken from SPCA).

Dog lovers and vets are opening homes to strays, to get them vaccinated and spayed and on a constant lookout for good homes for adoption ( July was adopted from a vet ).

The internet has become a popular forum to advocate this cause.

2. Let us plead to the government and the authorities to look into this matter and stop this campaign immediately.

3. Have your voice heard :
You can do this by highlighting this case in your blogs, by emailing all your contacts and by writing to the press. Contacts are as follows (thanks to Nut's research):

Malaysian Press
editor@thestar.com.my
letters@nstp.com.my
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
editor@malaysiakini.com
editorial@sinchew.com.my
bhnews@bharian.com.my
news@nstp.com.my
metro@thestar.com.my
pengarang@utusan.com
editor@nanyang.com.my
tcpb@po.jaring.my
mmnews@nstp.com.my
am@hmetro.com.my
gmkl@guangming.com.my
bgns@bernama.com

Mix FM
richard@mixradio.com.my;
shazmin@mixradio.com.my;
serena@mix.fm;
ika@mixradio.com.my;
pietro@mix.fm

International organisations that you can write to:
wspa@wspausa.com
Info@peta.org
info@dogsdeservebetter.org
wspa@wspa.org.uk
wspa@wspa.org.au
wspa@wspa.ca
contact@gan.ca
info@bluecross.org.uk
afa@afa-online.org
press@api4animals.org
info@ari-online.org
info@rightsforanimals.org
info@speakcampaigns.org

Understand that dogs are not merely animals. To many, they are a part of the family, a companion and guiding light.

Losing Midnight was traumatic experience for our family. The pain will always be embedded in our hearts.What's more, to think of the many hundreds of howling poochies being torn away from homes or captured to be inhumanely slaughtered.

Stand up for your furfriends.

Another fruit exported to London

2007-08-04T17:56:00.001+08:00

Allybelly will be seconded to London in Sept. Sigh. Another one of my girlies going away.

I met Ally in uni and we've been girlies ever since. We attribute our strong friendship to me being a Pisces and her being Cancerian. And we are the only girls in the group who wants to get married and breed!! ( Leanne - don't tsk tsk ).

Through "kap chai-ing" in uni, being housemates in melbourne, beef lovers, i think she and me share about the same amount of EMO-ness, silliness and being tai tau har! So that's why she understands my life's drama.

I'm going to miss allybelly. Who's going to feel sympathetic and "aw" me when i manage to pull some stupid stunts? So mission number 1 is to get allybelly hooked up on msn, learn how to use *ahem* techonology - webcam for starters.. so we can telecon chat with the rest of the girlies.

hello leanney, diana & HT..from the dim sum sums in KL

The only thing that i'm really excited about is the Free accomodation in London and if i do get myself there, Ally's planned out a 2 hour train ride to Paris for coffee. Now, i'm going to pray hard that i'll make it to London, just for the coffee weekend.

Fruit is Simpsonised

2007-08-03T15:49:00.000+08:00

NUT introduced me to a cool machine : A ride into Springfield

So off I went with mr. Winston into the Simpsons machine.
And.. TADA....Simpsonised mr. Winston & me

Fruit searches for the real Heart-kun story

2007-08-01T11:09:00.000+08:00

Meet Heart-kun. born May 18

The world must be in dire need of love. This chihuahua pup bears the mark of a love starved world. A love starved world for more luck, more money.

TOKYO (Reuters Life!) - A chihuahua puppy has become Japan's latest heart-throb after he was born with a heart-shaped mark on his coat. The dog, named "Heart-kun", was born on May 18 at a pet store in northern Odate.
Shop owner Emiko Sakurada, who bred over 1,000 puppies, believes his unusual markings have brought her luck. "Since Heart-kun was born, not only I, but also many people who see him are getting luckier," Sakurada said. The dog became a celebrity after a local television station aired pictures of him. Since then, Sakurada has been flooded with calls from people wanting to buy him, which she has turned down.
"It may sound strange but since I saw him, my luck has been picking up. I won the lottery and won a concert ticket. That must have been thanks to the power of Heart-kun," said Sakurada's sister, Maki Matsuyama. Japan is a dog-loving nation. Earlier this year, an old dogs' home and a gym dedicated to exercising canines opened for business.
i'm a true romantic at heart.

It's so sad that man can make everything into a "luck - money making" opportunity.
I've not read about this "heart" reminding us about love for humanity, for the poor, the oppressed, the children... etc?

I'm no Mother Theresa ( i think she exemplified the greatest leadership traits in the world with her big big heart ), and i'm not lovely most of the time but i like to think that "heart-kun" was born to remind us of a bigger Love story. A reminder for us to have a humane heart - then, we won't greed or seek for that lucky - money charm.

A new season for the fruit

2007-07-28T12:43:00.001+08:00

Everything on earth has its own time and its own season - Ecclesiastes 3:1

When 2007 hit me, i knew in my gut that I'll be entering into a new season in my life. The end of 2006 I had already embarked on a lot of soul searching. A lot of me felt like I was floating i through life aimlessly. My heart was restless, my mind, wandering.

Quarter life crisis is no joke ( my boss tells me it's "crisis at the summit"). It took a deep dent in my life and I was slowing rotting to my core. Whilst i searched and in my confusion called out to God - "Where are you? What is going on? Am I losing my mind?". Many of my friends would have heard me asking them - "do you think i need to see a psychiatrist? i think i'm a little mad".

Funnily, as random as my thought are, new paths begin to open for me. Books, people, circumstances, situations, emotions, timing - everyday, little by little strange and wonderful things started to clear the moss that had formed around my eyes the years of me rolling and tumbling.

I'll be leaving my job in mid Oct.

A life that i've gotten so accustomed to for the last 6.5 years. The journey which taught me so much about the hard knocks of life - the triumphs & downfalls, pride & arrogance vs humility, aggresiveness to submission, the "now" vs patience in time, visionary vs being narrow minded, different folks different folks = different relationship dynamics, the ugliness of human nature and people lying and deceiving without an ounce of guilt, but I also take heart that there are also people who thrived above it all.

"You resigned without a job?" , "What? Are you out of your mind?", " You better reconsider your decision".

The road before me is long. Honestly, at this moment the direction is still a little fuzzy. But i am assured that when God has already began His good work within me, He will continue to help me grow in His grace until His task within me is finally finished on that day when Jesus returns.

As a symbolism for myself and as a daily reminder that I have made my choice - that the new has come and the old is gone, i've decided to chop off my hair. Not a biggie for many, but for me, i have to wake up each day and try to tame my unruly hair into a presentable bob! That means a conscious effort on my part.

For all the other lovely lovely fruits of eden who has also been rumbling and tumbling with me ( including mommy, daddy, jo-boy, aunty yvonne & angie) ... Su Fei, Chris, Mark, Kit, Dorah, Jamie, Gin, Michelle, Yuez & Nut and all who have in their own ways polished, nurtured and prayed for this fruit to enter a new season of sweetness, thank you.

Su Fei's Fruit : The Wise Lioness of God

2007-07-24T18:13:00.000+08:00

When we were in our teens and through university, Su Fei and I would go into hyper coo & drool mode over pictures from Anne Geddes's gallery. The cutesy pictures of babies in animal suits or as little flowers will melt any harden hearts. We would buy the cards as christmas gift tags, birthday cards and as encouragement cards to be sent to each other. Especially so when we were studying apart - she in australia and me here.

Now, if i'm already coo-cooing and drooling over Anne Geddes, this little angel definitely sent my heart into a hyperdrive of warm fuzzy feeling. The feeling is also surreal, because the picture i'm looking at is not just of any baby but she actually popped out from my very good friend!

Sophie Ariel Sisler, born in Dallas, Texas.
Su Fei & Jason's little angel, born 11th July 2007.

I wish i could meet her in person.
Come back to Malaysia soon Su Fei & Jason!

While we are at it, maybe we should make some money out of her eh, su fei? haha

New joy in Fruit's life : His name is July

2007-07-21T18:16:00.000+08:00

Meet July! Our new furkid at home.
My mom fell in love with him the moment she set eyes on him at the vet. He was up for adoption and my mom fell into the trap of those "take me home" eyes.

He's real tiny ( only 2 months old ) and his paws are the cutest!
He's not as pah-pai as Winston cause he's a cross breed... But my mom adores him.

If this story was from gulliver's travel, Winston is the big men. Uncle Winston is trying to adapt to July. He's been sulking and strutting off everytime July bounces towards us. Too bad for uncle Winston... unlike little Bessy ( er, i think not so little anymore ), July is here to stay!

I think my mom's feeling the empty nest syndrome - probably trying to replace my brother and me with Winston and July!

The Fruit learns about Manuals

2007-07-20T20:49:00.000+08:00

I bought a new webcam and very excitedly started to fix it up onto my new laptop ( yeah, i got the Compaq+Streamyx deal ). I quickly unbundled the wires, stuck the usb port into whatever space that's rectangular, put in the plugs at the right places and popped in the CD and clicked "Yes" to install the software.

Sat back and waited for the installation to complete. Whilst waiting, i picked up the webcam's manual. The first line read :

" Do not plug in USB port before installation of software ".

What went through my mind :

"oh shit!!"

Frantic scrambling around trying to unplug the webcam. Needless to say the programme got a little screwed up ( okay a lot screwed up, because i'm still trying to figure out why some of the things ain't working ). I spent half and hour rewinding the processes that i did ( not to mention, I'm not too tech savvy ).

This incident reminded me that almost all the time I am too impatient with the way my life is unfolding. Just like how i deal with new gadgets, very often i jump right into unbundling the gadgets and piecing them together ( because - how difficult can it be? got hole plug in lah! what's so difficult?). And then instead of looking at a masterpiece - i have to spend time asking myself - why isn't this stupid thing working ? Actually I am the one that is stupid.

Just as in life, there is a manual and instruction book for me and intended for me. But i'm so busy thinking " I know! How difficult can it be?" I am not bothered about reading the manual.

In many situations and thorough life's journey, i jump straight into things and then get really angry because "eh - why don't work ah?".

So now, i have to remind myself, to not be in a hurry and rush through things.
To go back to my Heavenly Father ( the maker ) and read my life manual ( His word - the bible ) so that i understand the purpose of my being ( step by step of plans unfolding ) and learn how to troubleshoot instead of frantically trying to reverse processes ( because some parts would have already gone haywire - like my webcam).

So next time, if you ever catch me jumping straight in to fix things without first reading the manual, here is my permission for you to whack me on the head with the manual- as a reminder!

A painful dent

2007-06-18T13:10:00.000+08:00

Ever been trapped in a situation where there's a painful thud, a naggy feeling of lost and hopeful wish that you can blink your eyes, open and it's just a nightmare in a dream.

I crashed my car early Saturday morning. It was raining, i drove towards Eastin, didn't see accident no.1 ( they were trying to move accident case car No.1 out of the way ) and i had to ramp into them. I didn't manage to break in time.
To top that, i couldn't find my handphone ( yea my lovely sexy SE K610 ). It was stolen - not sure when i was at Somo or during the accident.

The car's damage's pretty bad - the bonnets crumpled, lights are gone and i think the radiator busted too.

Everything flashed passed pretty quickly. There were a lot of people, i think i was quite confused at the commotion. What's more painful is, I felt that - oh no, i've gotten myself into trouble again. And that my parents needed to bail me out of this mess... again.
And I'm 28!

The car's under my mom's name. The insurance documents are with my dad. And this is the 2nd accident in less than a year (the first was when the bus ramped into me ). Yea, so whilst i try to think of this incident of :
- everything happens for a reason, it's God's way of telling me something
- preparation for bigger financial lost in life
- i should count my blessings that i'm alive and unhurt
- my friends think i am very blessed that the toll truck guys didn't drive me off somewhere , when i decided to thumb a ride home....i was alone, the car can't move, it was rainning without a phone, couldn't remember any phone numbers besides a dear friend's with a bunch of men
- and KB managed to wake up after realising that his phone had been ringing continously 4 times in a row, and shane who kept calling the toll truck guys to make sure i was driven off to some oil palm estate...
- it was an accident waiting to happen and this has to happen to get bigger harm out of the way?
( 2 friends drove past me without realising it was my car, 2 friends tailed me but lost me - usually i'll take the toll but i drove into Eastin's road that day, the phone went missing so i had no one to call - except home which i chose not to)

How am I? I'm still floating in this "nightmare" and still in a surreal feeling. There's a sad feeling inside, i don't know why.

But through it all, i am learning to comprehend that God was with me through it all. In life, bad and horrible things will happen, sad and incomprehensible feelings will overwhelm me... as for me, I have to learn that HE is my security, if He is for me, no harm can come on me.

erm, am i conflicting myself?

Jalan - Jalan Cari Makan: Melaka,19th May 2007

2007-05-20T19:29:00.000+08:00

Sharita's been in DDBI ( an exchange programme for 3 months from DDB Brainstorm,Jakarta ) for the last 2 months, and the furthest she's been anywhere is KL. All work and no play makes mummy Sharita a dull girl.

Saw Gin had a brilliant idea to bring us all down to Melaka to jalan-jalan cari makan. So off we went in Rocky ( Gin's suave Suzuki Swift ) and headed down south. 4 girls, with absolutely no clue how to get around Melaka town.

Starting the trip with Breakfast. It was meant to be a toilet stop, but we couldn't resist the hot steaming nasi lemak at the Nilai rest area. They were calling out to us!

I've always knew Melaka as a quaint historical town, but have never realised that she is so rich in culture, heritage and arty farty places, people & interesting cosy cafes. And, I've discovered that these places are opened by ex-advertising people!

Our first stop in Melaka, the orang utan man's shop_Charles cham. Sharita got her "i love chicken rice t-shirt" from this place. Then to Gee's clogs. Very nice handmade-handpainted clogs here. For some reason, Melakans love Bruce Lee. Mr Bruce's picture is everywhere.The paper cutting shop is just opposite Gees (looks like a scene from a beijing hutong eh?)

A tour around the Baba & Nyonya house, i learnt that the early settlers are really smart. They have security features and peep holes that even the alarm system at home now pales in comparison. They even have an icecream machine that looks like the ice kacang hand grinder. How cool is that! And, i just discovered that they use their fingers to eat ( okay i admit i suaku ).

The front of the Baba & Nyonya house. We're not allowed to take pictures inside. Sharita thought she felt a dark feeling inside one of the room. While she was sharing the story, I felt a little tug on my pants while we were chilling out at the cafe ( goose bumps?).

Fooling around at the cafe next door whilst waiting for the tour to start. Like my "tai -tai" pose??

FOOD FOOD FOOD FOOD!

Melaka must have no 1 : Chicken rice balls, nice lotus peanut soup and assam fish.. yummy!Drown it with cool leong char.. burp! Anyone knows why it's in BALLS? Sharita's favourite Malaysian food is Chicken rice!

Melaka must have no 2 : Durian Cendol at Bibik House. You can get nice pineapple tarts here, freshly baked.

A full tummy, and aching legs, the ultimate pampering would be... a foot reflexology. And it's just across the street. I can't remember the name, but it has a Giant Foot as a sign board opposite Bibik House. The reflexologist were a bunch of ladies from China.

The reflexology session was really good. The moment the lady held my feet i was already in dream land. This pair of feet belongs to Wan Hoon.. all ready to be pampered.

Limau - Limau cafe was our next stop. Julie and Jo were raving about it when they came to Melaka last year.We decided to pop in. Very very pretty place. Beautiful art pieces and nice huge chandeliers. And fresh fruit juices of all sorts - cool & refreshing on a hot afternoon.

My Grape juice, Saw Gin's Nangka juice, Wan Hoon's Kiwi juice and Sharita's Lychee juice.

Wan Hoon and me High on juice!

At 6pm, we realised that we've brought Sharita all the way to Melaka but she's not seen the landmarks of Melaka and briefed on the history al tour! All we did was shop and eat. So under the light drizzle we hurried ourselves to the Dutch Square and the Fort. I'm still a little unclear about the history.

I was too busy looking at 2 kwai lou leng jai backpackers i stepped on my own slipper and it gave up on me.Boo hoo! Luckily we were already walking back to the car to head towards satay celup. I learnt that "lucu" is a slang for cute in Bahasa Indonesia.

Wan Hoon's ingenious idea of tying my slipper with her rubber band. The funky design is by mummy Sharita's skillful hands. With this new funky designer slipper, i was able to walk around with my rubber-band - funky slipper until i reached KL.

Last stop.. The trip won't be complete without going for the famous Satay Celup! About 70 sticks in total. It was See Hup Galore...

Melaka must have no 3 : Satay Celup. We went to the one behind HSBC bank. 3 rounds of getting lost and going in circles, if you plan to get there take the immediate turn after the Shell station, before HSBC.

Luckily i was dressed in my flowy shirt. At the end of the night, i felt 3 months preggars. My tummy was round and nice!

Places we missed, but will return for :
1. The Geographer, i would like to just sit down, people watch and indulge in afternoon beers. Hic!
2. Seafood at the Portuguese settlement. Someone needs to take me there, because I don't know the directions to that place.
3. There's a funky budget hotel, i think it's call hotel 21 on Jonker Street.

Next stop, we're planning to do Batu Caves and then Kuala Selangor Seafood! I've not been there, so it's going to be pretty exciting ( except for the long climbs... :P)

Picking a life partner

2007-05-09T15:12:00.000+08:00

Last Saturday, my cousin Su Lee got married. Whilst day dreaming during service ( hey, it was in mandarin - it takes quite a lot of hard work to pay attention to the pastor ), I'm reminded of this e-mail which Leanne sent. I've decided to revisit it today and share it.

PICKING A LIFE PARTNER:
With the divorce rate over 50 percent, too many are apparently making a serious mistake in deciding with whom to spend the rest of their life. To avoid becoming a "statistic," try to internalize these 10 insights.

1. You pick the wrong person because you expect him/her to change after you're married. The classic mistake. Never marry potential. The golden rule is, if you can't be happy with the person the way he or she is now, don't get married. As a colleague of mine so wisely put it, "You actually can expect people to change after they're married... for the worst!" So when it comes to the other person's spirituality, character, personal hygiene, communication skills, and personal habits, make sure you can live with these as they are now.

2. You pick the wrong person because you focus more on chemistry than on character. Chemistry ignites the fire, but good character keeps it burning. Beware of the "I'm in love" syndrome. "I'm in love" often means, "I'm in lust." Attraction is there, but have you carefully checked out this person's character? Here are four character traits to definitely check for:

* Humility: Does this person believe that "doing the right thing" is more important than personal comfort?
* Kindness: Does this person enjoy giving pleasure to other people? How does s/he treat people s/he doesn't have to be nice to? Does s/he do volunteer work? Give to charity?

* Responsibility: Can I depend on this person to do what s/he says s/he's going to do?
* Happiness: Does this person like himself? Does s/he enjoy life? Is s/he emotionally stable? Ask yourself: Do I want to be more like this person? Do I want to have a child with this person? Would I like my child to turn out like him or her?

3. You pick the wrong person because the man doesn't understand what a woman needs most. Men and women have unique emotional needs, and more often than not, it is the man who just doesn't "get it." Jewish tradition places the onus on the man to understand the emotional needs of a woman and to satisfy them. The unique need of a woman is to be loved -- to feel that she is the most important person in her husband's life. The husband needs to give her consistent, quality attention. This is most apparent in Judaism's approach to sexual intimacy. The Torah obligates the husband to meet the sexual needs of his wife. Sexual intimacy is always on the woman's terms. Men are goal-oriented, especially when it comes to this area. As a wise woman once pointed out, "Men have two speeds: on and off." Women are experience-oriented. When a man is able to switch gears and become more experience-oriented, he will discover what makes his wife very happy. When the man forgets about his own needs and focuses on giving his wife pleasure, amazing things happen.

4. You choose the wrong person because you do not share a common life goal and priorities. There are three basic ways we connect with another person:

* Chemistry and compatibility.
* Share common interests.
* Share common life goal. Make sure you share the deeper level of connection that sharing life goals provide. After marriage, the two of you will either grow together or grow apart. To avoid growing apart, you must figure out what you're "living for," while you're single -- and then find someone who has come to the same conclusion as you. This is the true definition of a "soul mate." A soul mate is a goal mate -- two people who ultimately share the priorities, values and goals.

5. You choose the wrong person because you get involved sexually too quickly. Sexual involvement before the commitment of marriage can be a big problem because it often precludes a fully honest exploration of important issues. Sexual involvement tends to cloud one's mind. And a clouded mind is not inclined to make good decisions. It is not necessary to take a "test drive" in order to find out if a couple is sexually compatible. If you do your homework and make sure you are intellectually and emotionally compatible, you don't have to worry about sexual compatibility. Of all the studies done on divorce, sexual incompatibility is never cited as a main reason why people divorce.

6. You pick the wrong person because you do not have a deeper emotional connection with this person. To evaluate whether you have a deeper emotional connection or not, ask: "Do I respect and admire this person?" This does not mean, "Am I impressed by this person?" We are impressed by a Mercedes. We do not respect someone because they own a Mercedes. You should be impressed by qualities of creativity, loyalty, determination, etc. Also ask, "Do I trust this person?" This also means, "Is he/she emotionally stable? Do I feel I can rely on him/her?

7. You pick the wrong person because you choose someone with whom you don't feel emotionally safe. Ask yourself the following questions: Do I feel calm, peaceful and relaxed with this person? Can I fully be myself and express myself with this person? Does this person make me feel good about myself? Do you have a really close friend who does make you feel this way? Make sure the person you marry makes you feel the same way! "...Do I want to be more like this person? Would I like my child to turn out like him or her? ..." Are you afraid of this person in any way? You should not feel you need to monitor what you say because you are afraid of how the other person will view it. If you're afraid to express your feelings and opinions openly, there's a problem with the relationship. Another aspect of feeling safe is that you don't feel the other person is trying to control you. Controlling behaviors are a sign of an abusive person. Be on the look out for someone who is always trying to change you. There's a big difference between "controlling" and "making suggestions." A suggestion is made for your benefit; a control statement is made for their benefit.

8. You pick the wrong person because you don't put everything on the table. Anything that bothers you about the relationship must be brought up for discussion. Bringing up the uncomfortable stuff is the only way to evaluate how well the two of you communicate, negotiate, and work together. Over the course of a lifetime, difficulties will inevitably arise. You need to know now, before making a commitment: Can you resolve your differences and find compromises that work for both of you? Never be afraid to let the person know what bothers you. This is also a way for you to test how vulnerable you can be with this person. If you can't be vulnerable, then you can't be intimate. The two go hand in hand.

9. You pick the wrong person because you use the relationship to escape from personal problems and unhappiness. If you are unhappy and single, you'll probably be unhappy and married, too. Marriage does not fix personal, psychological and emotional problems. If anything, marriage will exacerbate them. If you are not happy with yourself and your life, take responsibility to fix it now while you are single. You'll feel better, and your future spouse will thank you.

10. You pick the wrong person because he/she is involved in a triangle. To be "triangulated" means a person is emotionally dependent on someone or something else while trying to develop another relationship. A person who hasn't separated from his or her parents is the classic example of triangulation. People can also be triangulated with things as well, such as work, drugs, Internet, hobbies, sports or money. Be careful that you and your partner are free of triangles. The person caught in the triangle cannot be fully emotionally available to you. You will not be their number one priority. And that's no basis for a marriage.

This past year has been a long soul searching for me ( Turning 28 is not easy! ).Here, i try to crystalise my thoughts and remind myself that :

1. We have to fully understand ourselves first. Who we are? What do we want in life? Why do i want a relationship? What i my values & principles? What can I tolerate and can't? etc. ( Which was illustrated in points #4, 6, 7)

2. We are individuals. Hence we are accountable for our own lives. I like what Nige said : "I came into this world alone, i'll leave this world alone". Therefore, we shouldn't go into relationships thinking that the other person is accountable for us. We have to be a glass full. We can't expect our partners to complete us. Because, the only person to complete ourselves would be "I". Can you imagine your man telling you : "You have to complete me". Or we assume so. So we cook and clean, pay for him, mother him smother him, takes his tantrums, help him kick an addiction etc etc... ( Illustrated points #9). In the end, we become slaves to the emotional abuse and instead of a relationship which builds you, tears & demolishes you.

3. TRIANGLE. I think we are all hook to this. Especially since women are likely to HURT longer. So, why not let go of TRIANGLES so that we can start anew and afresh. So that we come FULL & COMPLETE, FAIR and full of LOVE in the our new relationships.

Which is probably God's reminder to me : "Jess.. I've always been there, but you chose to see other means."

So, why not try GOD?

Mayday Play by Winston

2007-05-04T11:22:00.000+08:00

My owners think that i'm really stuck-up, because I don't like being around other doggy friends.

But, really, i'm shy.
I've been brought up all alone when i was with Uncle Paul. The only time i've seen other doggies is when i stayed at the dog hotel or at the vet. You can't do much being stuck in a cage or having a thermometer stuck up your ass.

I feel more comfortable with human friends. See, they seem to know me well too.
Like when I'm hungry. When I'm excited and want to play. When I want a belly rub and tickle. When i need to pee pee and poo poo. When I want to go walky walky. But with other dogs, they baffle me. Especially bitches! I wurve them, but gee, they baffle me!

Sunshine & Bessy came to play on Tuesday. It was the Wesak day holiday, so Yue li and Wei Na brought them over.

I'm trying to get re-acquainted with Bessy. She comes, she goes, she comes, she goes.The last time she stayed for a week. I wonder when she'll be back? I'm also trying to get use to her hyperness. I can't see properly when she paws my face. I want to look at the leng luis Yue Li & Wei Na. She stifles my style.

I try my best to stand still and upright to impress the leng luis, but Bessy keeps coming for me.. sigh!

I must say, Bessy is very adorable...when she's not pawing my face or my water bowl (don't tell her that okay.. cos I'm too macho to say it!)

And this is the 3 of us playing - me, sunshine & bessy. Well, i was playing for a while, then i got too tired from the 2 ladies' prancing around.

My "girlfriend" potential wifey Sunshine. You would have probably seen our first date blog. Being the male i am, i really don't know how to approach Sunshine. She's very fierce ( i like!).

She likes to bark at me and try to snap at my face all the time. I think i'm not dark and handsome like Midnight, that's why. I was so rejected and heartbroken by her barking, i had to run and hide in my corner to recover...sniff.

I'll try to do better and be more charming next time when the laydees are around. My owners are telling me to "BE BRAVE". Woof!

April Sunday Outing

2007-05-03T14:57:00.000+08:00

I refuse to admit that we are Old, though i've been feeling it.
Also, it's not that we don't have the stamina to or party the way we used to (yea..right!). Rather I'd like to think that we should be Wiser to know that we shouldn't put our body through physical torture for the sake of Fun. Yet, we repeatedly do so. Why?

Older but not wiser.

The physical "torture - fun" that we through last weekend:

The Malay Mail Fun Walk

Dragged out of bed at 5am so that we can make it to Dataran Merdeka for the Malay Mail Fun Walk. It wouldn't be so bad, if we didn't stay at Lawrence's place feasting on yummy steamboat and drinking till 1.30am. Crawling into bed at 2.30am and dreading the thought of having to wake up in 3 hours,trust me, i debated with myself over and over again whether to FFK or not. It started raining heavily, so I thought maybe, I could do the cowardly text messaging to say, "guys it's raining, guess i won't be going!".

Well, at least i had people who "suffered" with me!

7.30am : At the starting line. I've not stood so close to the Sultan Ahmad Shah building before. It is actually quite pretty.

There goes uncle Lawrence at the starting line! And me at the end of the walk. The padang which we had to finish is one big MUD POOL! My feet had a mud bath which unfortunately felt more like a growing ground for fungus and not a foot spa.

Hulu Langat, Sg. Gabai Waterfalls

12.45pm : Walking towards the waterfall, with our snackies & freebies from the Big Walk Goodie Bag.
Best goodie was the 250ml bottle of Johnny Walker, hidden in Lawrence's bag.

The start of the waterfall....

Why does chasing waterfalls have to be such a long climb upwards? Huff huff puff puff...
Well at least this waterfall is bigger and an easier and shorter climb vis a vis NUANG!!
( pictures were taken from my Sony Ericsson phone.. There's no zoom feature, and i was afraid i'll fall into the waterfall with my phone, so i took this from a distance...that's why the ant-like people. But, I must say, SE phones rocks, it's easy to use and i can easily capture pictures everywhere i go! except for the non-zoom features)

Another icky thing about chasing waterfalls is, there's no place to clean up.. so it's just change as fast as you can and head off! or just change behind your car doors.. muahahahaha

Kajang Satay Feast : KB's Birthday makan

The Birthday boy is the champion - 33 sticks

Willy boy lost out - only at 30 sticks

Aivan... I won't reveal how many sticks you had, in case Lily reads this blog, and sees you trying to hide the sticks.. oops!

I managed 10! Shane at 27, and Terny ...what a lovely picture.

240 sticks in total - ada ayam, kambing, lembu dan itik

BURP! smell my onions! such a great Sunday!

For more Pictures..

Singapore Sling

2007-04-25T18:22:00.000+08:00

Only across the causeway, yet the trip down Singapore was quite a culture shock for me. I reckon the trip down Singapore this time, gave me a good insight and prepared me for the eventual move down ( when i do find a job ).
Everything is so clinical. So clean. So structured. So strict. So judicial. I'm even afraid to cross the street or hail a cab in the middle of the street, in case i get fined. Getting a cab during rush hours is nightmarish, so be sure to have at least 5 cab companies' numbers in your mobile phone. And if you ever want to catch a cab at 11.45pm, tough luck, cabs only appear at 12am, because that's when the double surcharge kicks in.

There is also a SMOKING ZONE law passed now, which made it very hard for smokers to light up. Smokers are confined to their little yellow line / zone. Sitting outdoors at cafes and restaurants, should you want to light up, you'll have to walk away from the table, and stand in your corner to smoke. In 3 months time, smoking will be be prohibitted in clubs. Personally, I think it's a very good law! However, I don't think, it'll ever be successfully implemented in law abiding Malaysia!

Singapore has changed so much ( i last visited s'pore in March 06). It's even more cosmopolitan now. Oh, there's also an "eye" of Singapore being constructed. The new buildings and architectural structured being constructed now are magnificent. Such a vast difference from that of KL. It made Singapore look almost futuristic.

That said, I've also been on the "dark" side of Singapore.. When Evie unknowingly booked us into Hotel 81. Quoting Murphy : "Goong Hei lei! Lei Singapore zi Kai Tau!". Well, although Hotel 81 on Bencoolen street is a "better" budget hotel, it still was a "Kai Tao" / "Akua" joint. Walking into the Hotel at 3am in the morning every night didn't help. Oh, and Alvin found a used condom in the lobby toilet ( ha ha ha ). I guess it's a first for us, to be staying in a "Kai Tao".

Another thing which i learnt, don't be fooled that Singapore is only KL big, you can get extremely lost in it. I was rushing down for an appointment - a chat for a job in Singapore, and had to get myself to Orchard. From Tuas, we so heroically drove ourselves to Woodlands checkpoint trying to look for Cairnhill circle ( thanks diana!). Few calls to Adrian later, got us back on track. I made it in time for the chat, but had to push the appointment and hour back. Which means, I was late for hi-tea with Aunty Yvonne & family. That's when the "can i hail a cab in the middle of the road dilemma" happened. I decided to take the MRT instead. Not realising that at City Hall, there were 2 entrances. And i had to pick the wrong one on the first attempt to get to Royal Scotts hotel. Another getting lost incident happened on Sunday, when Evie and me decided to follow a "tourist map" and went in circles around Singapore trying to get into Orchard, Shaw Parade not realising that, Orchard is a one-way street. Therefore you'll need to go through an alternative road ( Nut, i don't know how you did it, driving around!).

Now for the fun bits! Highlights of the trip!

Day 01 : Meeting up with Aunty Yvonne, Unc Eng Loo, Ryan & Celia...I was so late for the hi-tea. I was there 5.10pm and hi-tea ends at 5.30pm. So you can imagine the gobble gobble gobble. This is Celia's 20th year with the family, and she'll be leaving for Philippines for good!

Day 1: 7pm, Me and me first dwink - Kilkenny at Penny Black, Boat Quay.. ahh...

Day 1: 8.30pm ,Dinner at Bobby's, Chijmes.. It's a lovely place.. but i still don't quite agree on the concept of changing a church area into dining / pubs. They have lovely ribs & steak! yum yum..this is where i discovered, the "SMOKING ZONE". Those who wanted to smoke had to step to the next table ( hi bar) which is just next to us!

Day 01: 10.30pm, Timbre - Couldn't take much of that place. Basically a place to cultivate young budding Singaporean musicians. It's open air, set with wooden chairs and tables. The place is like Laundry, The Curve. I was told they do fantastic Bon Jovi covers. I guess that night the band that was playing was too young to know who Bon Jovi was. I feel SO OLD!!

Day 02 : 12pm,Met up with Bee & baby Ethan for Singapore Hei Mee. I must say, for Singapore food, this hei mee is quite tasty! Baby Ethan's pouty, cos he just had his jab!

Day 02: 4.30pm, Hui Tsin, Diana, me & Evie ( not in picture) catching the Phantom of the Opera at the Esplanade.

Day 02: 6.00pm, Funny sign at Sentosa's Carpark : Telling visitors that their cars may be "violated" by Peacocks during mating season. Especially if your car is shiny and polished, as male peacocks may mistaken their reflection as a mate and attack the car.

Day 02: 6.30pm, Chilling out at Cafe Del Mar, Siloso Beach, Sentosa! Had a few rounds of cocktails by the jugs, nice breezy evening, great company... Bliss!

Day 02: 9.30pm, Dinner at Brewerks, Clark Quay.. The selection of BEERS are gorgeously rich. Fruit Beer! haha my way of saying - is this healthy or is this healthy!? We ate so much, it's sinful.. cos there's so much leftovers. The portions are so huge, the ribs are succulent, the creamy mussels melts in my mouth...and BEER BEER BEER!!

Day 02: 11.30pm Clark Quay has changed so much! I really liked the concept of this bar - Clinic. Very conceptual.Follows through the name and theme, tone & manner. You can even drink from the "Blood Bag". Unfortunately i didn't have time to pop by. Next round, i'll check it out.

Day 02: 11.45pm, Next stop, MOS, Studio 54! I lurve the music here. It's better than MAMBO. It's RETRO and 80s. So kids that are 25 and below are totally lost in here ( yeah.. jo is ). Why don't they play these kinda music in KL? I'll be dancing my night away! Check out these cool bobble seats. It feels so GROOOVVVVY.

Day 03 :1.30pm , Last day in Singapore... Dim Sum Lunch at East Ocean Teo Chew Restaurant, Shaw Parade. Quite the yum yums. The slack thing is that you feel so hurried to eat. Everything is very luin sui, because there were too many people around, and even with reservations, you would need to queue. Met up with Yoke Kheng, and finally, after a LOOOONG time, Murphy.

Day 03: 3.30pm, We had to wait for Tze to come in from Batam, because he "injured" his knee in some wild night out, and he was following us home to KL. So we decided to head towards Demsey Road to PS Cafe. I wonder why KL doesn't have gorgeous places like this. You could turn few bungalows in Bukit Tunku into a warm cosy house with high glass windows. I was tempted with the Double Chocolate Cake and ice cream... orgasmic!

So now I'm back from my weekend sling, 1kg heavier ( amidst all that walking! how did that happen?) , RM1000 broke, a visit to the doc & heavily medicated. I've also learnt that the next time i head down to Singapore, i'm bringing my flaties. Running & boogie-ing around the island on heels is too detrimental to my poor knees!

My Singapore Sling Pictures

Minnie & a new Disneyland

2007-04-17T18:11:00.000+08:00

A young girl, fresh out of university, knocked on the doors of 119, DDB International, 1 year and 11 months ago. She was timid as a mouse. With a Laptop on hand and a brand new Picanto to drive, she survived the gruelling interviews set by Long, Ian & Cass.

Today, this young little girl ( note i've dropped "timid") has grown out of the shadows of giants above her, and soon she will be moving on to her new Disneyland in FJ.

Angie, is the underdog. With quiet determination to succeed,again and again, she has proven herself worthy in standing on her own two feet. Her timidness, seen by others as a weakness works to her disadvantage, as she tries harder and does better than those louder and stronger.

Angie will be leaving us on Friday. I won't be able to see her off before she begins her next journey.
So here goes..Good luck young Minnie! We will miss your sweet smile and voice. And boy it sure will be weird, to see the "SHE" missing one band member.

The infamous SHE stunt

I'm sure your mama-san will also feel a little lost without you ( don't cry Cass!). And i'm sure papa-Al too!

The family photo - al's taste of fatherhood!

But it is never good byes.
More like.. "see you around". And don't forget us, when there's a good sale coming up...!

I Got Tagged.. Again! Another Me! Me!

2007-04-17T03:53:00.000+08:00

I always get tagged by Yuez.. *SULK* hehe..
Oh well, all in the name of good fun... here's my 9 parts
( wish it included bigger boobs!)

Part 1: on the outside
name : Jessica Koh Pei Tzer
( My chinese name means - admirer or poetry ( art ). "Pei" is a generational middle name. All my "Koh" cousins' names starts with it too)
date of birth : 12 March 1979 (freakkin' twenny aight!)
current status : Waiting for the right man to drop from the sky...
(in the mean time, i'm busy digging for things to do to enrich me singlehood)
eye color : Dark brown
hair color : Black but have recently mutated to blondish streaks
right of left handed : Right
zodiac : Dreamy Pisces

Part 2: on the inside
my heritage : Teo Chew ah nya (1/2) + Hokkien ah moi (1/2), hometown subang jaya, but always mistaken for Muar Poh- girl, cos my daddy comes from there, and we always go back to Muar.
my fear : CATS!!!, All things dead or smashed up, Dirty toilets, Losing the people i love, stricken by cancer, being disabled physically, dying a slow death ( wah, that's a lot of fear )
my weakness : Fun... just tell me, anything that says.. "It's fun..." And i go all weak!
my perfect pizza : Lots and lots of salami, peperoni, capsicum and anything meaty (except pork) yum!

Part 3: yesterday, today & tomorrow
your first thought waking up : i hope i recover from this wretched flu - cough-itchy-scrtchy-throat in time to have FUN in Singapore
tomorrow : It's too far to think about tomorrow...
your bedtime : Please... let me sleep well. I've been an insomniac for the last couple of months. It's either i need to see a psychiatrist soon, or go on heavy doses of sleeping pills.
most missed memory : i have lots to miss - Aunty Alice & my grand pa, Midnight (sniff-sniff), times in Melbourne, people that's far away.. hanging out with Su Fei, Amy, Audrey, things that i wished i could have done better, relationships i wish i could turn back time to right the wrongs...( johnny hates jazz's - turn back the time is my timeless favourite)

Part 4: your pick
pepsi or coke : Coke Light!
mcD or burger king : BURGER KING!Double whopper... YUMS!!! (but MCDs for the fries, nuggets & Oreos McFlurry)
single or group dates : are you kidding me? are we in high school?
adidas or nike : Nike... i lurve em funky clothes though it cost a bomb to get em. I like the attitude better.. JUST DO IT! don ah chi ah cho...
lipton tea or nestea : Doesn't all ice tea taste the same? I'm more a coffee drinker.
chocolate or vanila : Chocolate
cappuccino or coffee : Both

Part 5: do you..
smoke : can i not answer this??
curse : what's that? :P

Part 6: in the past month
drank alcohol : HIC HIC HIC HIC HIC
gone to the mail? : Does going to my client's office, that's opposite pos laju count?
been on stage : if my life is a joke.. does it constitute as being on stage?
eaten sushi : absolutely favouritest...and sashimi!

Part 7: what were you doing
1 minute ago : Blowing my nose ( stupid cold ) & coughing my throat out
1 hour ago : Trying to go to sleep. It's Friggin 4:12am now!
4 1/2 hours ago : Watching a Tony Leung & Sammi Cheng romantic comedy...( yes.. i'm AH LIAN!) I lurve it when they go "Be-Be" & "Chu-Chu"!!Eeee... so "Lum...."
1 month ago :I can't remember...
1 year ago : Back from my Bangkok, Sonkran Holidays.. Sick & miserable being back at work. Missed my Tom Yum, shopping and fun!

Part 8: finish the sentence
i love : To be loved
i feel : Lost and confused at the moment... Wonder if i need a shrink?!
i hate : Feeling depressed, sad, angry and "pained" from too much hurt & betrayal( yes, i'm very emo!)
i hide : My true self, until i really know the person i'm dealing with
i miss : Childhood, where everything seems so simple and uncomplicated then
i need : Sleeping pills to sleep?!, Money.. lots and lots of it, To clear my head and wipe out every emotions that's in turmoil inside me right now

Part 9: tag five people
1. Chris
2. Audrey
3. Butterfly
4. Max
5. Gin

I say, i've been tagging the same 5 people, but they've been ignoring my TAGS.. *SULK*

Dancing in Singapore - 20 - 22April 2007

2007-04-16T16:51:00.000+08:00

After what seems like eternity - the long wait to watch Phantom in Singapore ( Diana booked the tickets in Jan ), finally i'm heading down south this Friday, 20th April 2007.

The last time i stepped into the Republic was last year. A trip down Singapore is always for me to run-away, when there's a crisis. Then it was my 27th birthday. hah! This year,surprisingly,there's nothing to run-away from.

The group heading down this time : Evie, Terny, Jessey, Jo, Alvin and Hui Tsin.
I'll be taking a day off on Friday, and heading down with Evie & Terny in the morning. Whilst the rest will try. ( they said they will ) to knock off from work at 6pm.

I'm trying to sort some personal stuff out in the afternoon. Try to meet up with Aunty Yvonne, to finalise some communication materials for her company and try to meet up with some headhunters.

Slow & easy Friday
9-ish : Timber ( Life band - i been hearing they play excellent Bon Jovi cover! so i must pop in) Option after Timber : MOS (studio 54) or Velvet.
This depends on car 2. If the rest are too tired, we might not club.

Music packed Saturday
2pm : Phantom ( YEAY!)
6pm : Cafe Del Mar ( i heard that sunset's the best time to be there ). After that it'll be St James Power station at night.

German beer and sausages galore Sunday
Brunch at a German place. I think it's a Pauliner place. It's sausages galore and Pauliners before we head home. YUMMY!!

I can't wait to catch up with the Diana, Karen & Adrian C ( Terny's bitchy twin! ) and Erika.
I'm a little ambitious, as i'm also planning to meet up with Pei Fern & TJ, Bee, Jen & baby Ethan.

3 days (technically 2 days minus the travelling ) and 2 hard night of partying.. and the possibility of Hotel 81turning up to be a sleazy hotel (that means hearing "ooh-aaah - ta li yi tien" in the middle of the night!).

Most important agenda of my week, is to recover from this wretched cough, sore - husky-scratchy throat and runny nose!

It feels like it's going to be a good trip away. Oh dear, April's an overdosed of partying!
I'm not complaining.

Friday the 13th - Witches prowling

2007-04-14T11:45:00.000+08:00

Friday the 13th left me emotionally drained. Leading to physical exhaustion ( wah so DRAMA right!!). It's true, for a Sanguine, because their emotions are erratic rollercoasters, any spike upwards in their emotions, wreck havoc to the body. Causing extreme tireness! hah!

I didn't intentionally think about FRIDAY the 13th, until late in the evening after all the hoo-haa, as i was talking to Gin about "EVIL", did she cheekily reminded me that witches run loose on Friday the 13th.. ahhhwwooooooo...!

1st emotional drain : The morning started off with a tiff or rather a very tense confrontation with a colleague. On the way projects are being run.

2nd emotional drain ( and extreme headache ): With the head of the company. Who marched into my room, and requested for me to step out because some "Neutralising" had to be done to my work station. This meant burning some "fu" under my table. All this came about because someone had moved my table before the "appointed" feng sui time. And now some neutralising action had to be done. This, is not for me, it's for the good of the company, i was told. Tired from fighting and knowing that my "NO, i can't.. it's against my religion" would fall on deaf ears, i stepped out. Later, i was told smugly.. "Ok.. IT IS DONE".

I returned to the room, all miserable, angry and a little teary ( yea, quite cry baby...especially when i'm angry and i have to suppress it ), only to be greeted by a blanket of smoke. Guess you can imagine the nasty smell. The account management department was silent. My face was as black as the black attire i was wearing.

Later that evening, ms. HEAD came back cheerily asking me, "So, everything ok?". Blind to the fact that the "Neutralising action" made me so miserable that I wanted to quit. It's a Religious Harassment. What if, I am a Muslim? Will this happen to me? Does religion mean nothing? Perhaps, this is a way of showing "care" for the employees?

So much for "Neutralising".

Well, I've decided not to be defeated by it all. I said a prayer, and had the comfort of wonderful friends - saw gin, chris, yuez, wei na, wan hoon who prayed with me and encouraged me to make light of this "neutralising" situation.

I couple of checks with lawyers and advise for HR managers, note this - The employer has the right to do all these rites, because it is their premise. What they can't do, is to make you perform it. There is no employment ( labour laws ) to protect us on this matter.

Friday the 13th 2007. The witches prowled. I bumped smack into them. Did you?

Syabas Jabatan MYKAD & JPJ!

2007-04-11T16:53:00.000+08:00

And i really mean it.

1 hour for application for a lost MYKAD
(And a very nice photo makcik who complimented that i look better now compared to my old MYKAD photo! haha)

10 minutes for a new driving license.
(you have to go through this flirty counter pak cik, who questions you on why you lost your license, how you lost it and the mandatory questions of "gambar ada? MYKAD temporary ada?")

I had braced myself for long queues, hot stuffy departments and getting angry because everything's so slow. But what a pleasant experience i had. WOW! I am impressed.

Come to think about it... My HSBC credit card is not even here yet! It's the first card that i called to cancel, and it's been a week now.

Week of Fun and newfound Friendship

2007-04-08T16:55:00.000+08:00

Last week was really an overdose of partying. The last time i partied this hard was September last year.

I must finally admit, being 28, age is REALLY catching up! Nevertheless, all for the cause of good fun and meeting good friends, "die-die" also must play "kow-kow".

MAMBO NITES
I had 2 doses of Mambo nights! Wed & Saturday.
Always my favourite night out. This craze started started in Melbourne, and I never got rid of it. I've always suspected that perhaps i'm born in the wrong era, perferring retro music to that of the current POP where everything sounds pretty much the same. Plus, recently I met Adrian L who is equally as crazy about MAMBO-ing!

Unfortunately, I never learn, that MAMBO's on Wednesdays will definitely make you a zombie at work the next day. A long night out of dancing, jugs of long-islands, a run-in with the cops and a new friend who's accessory for the ride home is the puke bag = walking around in a daze + quesy stomach +staring at clients blankly while you try to make out what they are mouthing. But it was definitely and eventful night out!

2nd MAMBO night was on Saturday. A little special do in Zouks for the F1 which unfortunately stopped playing Retro at about 12-ish. How sad!
The aunty-ness sunk in, as i surveyed Zouks with my bunch of friends and realised that
i. We ain't recognising the music here...
ii. These kids looked like they just snuck out from their houses to party
iii. When we walked into Velvet, we suddenly felt at home...There were more oldies like us around.. haha! I feel right at home. Wow, i must say, there were tons of "eye candies" in Velvet that night.

NEW & OLD FRIENDS
My definition of a good time is meeting, catching up or getting to know someone better ( yes, even without alcohol). Better still, if we're out there dancing the night away.

Meeting...
I finally met Karen & Adrian C. The Singaporean group which Leanne & Diana hangs out with. Their names popped up frequently in our conversations but I've never really gotten to meet them until now! We were so comfortable hanging out, it was as if I've known them for years. So birds of the same feathers do flock together!

Another PISCES! Karen's also a Pisces. So that makes, 3 PISCES in the group - Karen, Diana & me. YAY! I'm excited ( not sure if she is) because that means there's another dreamy, loony like me out there. Tho she appears more matter of fact than I am. Definitely very girl power! And I had to embaress myself at the first "hullo". Me, head filled with jugs of beer, eyes irritated from the smoke decides to put on my glasses.
Me trying to poke my eyes out whilst removing my lenses and then panic strikes. "Shit. Where's it?", a frantic search for a missing lens cover, when Karen pointed out - "it's on your lap dear..". Aiyoh, quite the malus.

Last night out in Skybar.. Sunday night (Karen's in black)

I'm truly amazed that there is another "BITCH" so same-same as Terny! It's great! Adrian Chan is the Singapore version of mah BITCH cum Bridesmaid, Terny. Right up to the shaka shaka bum bum dancing. Their mannerism and how they're so "chi mui" with us, is amazingly clone like. I can't wait to get them drunk on our next partying trip down Singapore ( which is about 9 days from now.. YIPPEE!).

Diana and our bitch..

er, somebody left this behind?

Catching up...
Another group which I managed to catch up with was Russ & Chris. The beer guzzling boys from the states, night out kaki in KL 2years ago, Bangkok last year and back again to KL this year. One night out with them in Rum Jungle on Friday.. I'm filled up for at least with half a year's worth of beer. BURP! ( I salute you Erika for the marathon race with them.. really, i can see you're also committed to your cause! )

Dawn & Nige. It's a been a long while since I partied with Dawn. Our busy schedules and new found friends kept us busy. Aside from our MSN chats, bumping into each other in Vintry and bitching over SMS-es, i missed partying with my drinking buddy. So it was nice, just chilling out with her that night, feasting our eyes on eye-candies.

Dawn & me chillin'.. Wriau

KV & wifey Penny. Never had a chance to talk to Penny before. Last Sunday, was the first time that we caught up. I found another F1 fan. And she recognises drivers by their helmets! Wow!

me trying to sober up.. with Penny, my new found F1 kaki

Getting to know better...
My mambo kaki. Ok, I promise no more long islands...for now.

28 and Illegal
Hungry stomachs led us from Zouk to Aivan's "it's just at the corner" mamak which turns out to be a painful-high- heels 20 minutes walk to the mamak in front of Thai club. And everything was close! I had to beg the nice mamak aunty to use up her remaining maggi mee and what ever that is left for 8 plates of maggi soup and goreng.

Then this is where it happened. I dropped my card-holder-cum-wallet for the night. In it, my MYKAD, driving license and my credit card. By the time i realised that I've lost my "Identity cards", we were already in Shane's car half way home.

Well, if you know me well enough, it's amazing that i've only lost my MYKAD and driving license at this age. The only cheering me up thought that i could think of is, hey, I'll have a good picture of me, in my new driving license!
In one week, i had 2 run-in with the cops. Both after MAMBO nights. I had to make a police report for my loss. Mr cop looked at my report and asked - "pukul 4 pagi? you buat apa?". I don't think he bought into the idea of me studying since the card was lost infront of Thai club!

(I have so far managed to do my MYKAD, which is surprisingly fast! 1 hour for the process. 1 hour of me getting lost in Kota Damansara!)

PRICE but PRICELESS
I'm sounding like an "akua" now. Thanks to the sore throat that's developing and the screwed up sleep time that i have. 3 - 6ams have been my going to bed time. I'm also suspecting that my imsonia for the last couple of nights are withdrawal symptoms coupled with too much coffee.

But i must say, it's worth it. Though i'm paying for now.At 4.30am in the morning, i'm awake, blogging, because sleep just won't come.

EXCITED & RECHARGING FOR NEXT
So this week i've really caught up on what i've not done for the past 6 months.

From Mambo on Wed night, Fri at Rum Jungle,Atrium and yummy Teo Chew Porridge,
to more food fest on Sat at Tmn Tun Lou Shi Fun , Chinese Rice Wine Chicken, Yong tau foo then coffee in 1U and partying in Zouk/ Velvet (
Did my best to crawl out of bed for Easter Service, a mad dash to BKT in Ah Sang, F1 in Chillis BSC and then ending it sky high in Sky Bar.

I can't wait to repeat this feat in my Singapore trip, 20 - 22nd April.
(Though the day after i return to a 24 hour TVC shoot!)

The Amazing Race Asia II deadline extended

2007-03-30T16:57:00.000+08:00

Aiyah! Should have found out about this earlier!
Then i could have more wine at Vintry. Grrrrrrr....
Luckily we didn't pay for the super super fast DHL service .
That'll cost us another bottle of wine!

The Amazing Race Asia II deadline's been extended to April 13th 2007. sigh

Run Jess Run!

2007-03-30T15:00:00.000+08:00

The submission made it in time!
Friday, 3pm. Big PHEW! Jess & Jeff's Amazing Race Asia submission reached AXN in time.
It was a big risk yesterday that we had to take yesterday, whether or not to use DHL's normal service or overnight (100% guaranteed) service to Singapore. Seeing that the difference was RM120, and that we were broke, we decided on the normal service.

We finished our video on Wednesday night. Yea, cutting it a little too close weren't we? And we had to finish the last bits of the video after 1 beer and quarter of vine each, since we were celebrating Jeff's belated 28th Birthday at Vintry.

Calamities which we faced :
- The last bits of the video with me inside had me with only one side of the contacts, because my left eye was bloodshot ( not from the wine ) and it was hurting.
- Our final video was close to 5 minutes long, so one eye jess here and jeff had to be brutal in cutting down the time. Oh while we are at it, we kidnapped Jo from her bed at close to midnight to get her to hold the video camera for us
- I didn't have a recent passport picture ( and i was too busy running around during work to do it ). Thanks to technology and the changgihness of digital cameras, I managed to capture a "passport" picture of myself, half high from the alcohol, one eye blind, stinky 3 day old t-shirt that says "I'm incredible" and a pasty oily face.
- Tada, after everything was done, forms filled up, photos taken... we couldn't play our video on a DVD player. The time, 3am. ARGH! That means, that leaves us Thursday morning to convert the video into a VCD / DVD format!!
- Frantic calls and sms-es were made whilst i was driving my self to work, to check on how we could get the video into a DVD format. And both Jeff and i had 11am meetings.
- After half a day of frantic calls, getting Julie ( thanks babe!), Chu ( our IT guy at work ) and Arleen to help convert our video, we had to rush ourselves to DHL. Problem is, we both have 3pm - 5pm meetings, which means might miss the courier deadline.
- Much excuses made to wiggle ourselves out of the office, me passing the VCD to Jeff at his BAT office, and then off to DHL.
Before the Amazing Race Asia has even started I am already feeling tired!

Work is on again!
It didn't help that finally God heard my prayer of "Give me some work before i go nuts". Right when there's a personal project that is rushed, work begins to pile itself.
- The approval for 3 TVCs came in. Which means going on shoots, and this being overnight shoot. Another zombifying day.
- One other client kept rejecting our creatives. Finally after a long uphill task, they've approved the press ad. Another rush, we have already exceeded our deadline for the other POSMs.
- The adrenaline rush that i experienced this week is really amazing. I could literally feel my creative juices oozing out. During trainings, brainstorm, discussions & personal projects, the ideas came really easily.

This week flew past really quickly. Too many waking up at 6ams and sleeping at 3am, makes me delirious in the head and a liver that quivers ( i didn't have enough of vine at Vintry!)

Fun Bits
- Vintry : Small little reunion with Chris, Jeff, Kelvin & Jean. Good food, good vine ( just not enough) and good company! Though Jeff was the birthday boy, Kelvin took most of the bantering as we spilled his "ex-es" story to Jean! Sigh, nothing too scandalous, though lots of colourful characters that he dated.

- The Traveller : Spinning a story for The Traveller. They recently won Tatler's 2007 Best Travel Agency in Singapore ( Yay Aunty Yvonne!). Best bits about writting the story is to imagine that i know Singapore really well, and romantising it for a traveller.

- Babysitting Bessy : Today's the first day Bessy came to stay with us for the weekend, as Yuez & Nut climb KK.
Now i truly understand how tiring it can be for Yuez, as her little girl is really really really hyper. 6am wake up call for me, to feed her and a 2 hour wait for her to poo poo, because she's gets so excited and just want to Play. Even Winston's energy level couldn't match hers. And it's really funny to see how Uncle Winston gets all grouchy because of Bessy's over-enthusiatic love for him. Jumping on him, smelling his "ku ku", licking him, prancing around in front of him taunting him when he's at his Lazy Dog pose saying "come get me, come get me"

Unwinding for the evening
It's Friday evening, I'm sitting in my room in the office, chilling whilst waiting for the rest to finish off what they have so that we all can go for... BEER & DINNER, yummy yummy chicken wings, kam heong la la at Jalan Alor, and then heading off to Atrium at 10pm for Little one's birthday do. Hic! What bliss!

The race towards Amazing Race Asia II

2007-03-28T06:04:00.000+08:00

What a whirlwind weekend and week it has been... And it's only Tuesday.

We have approximately 48 hours to complete and send in the Amazing Race Asia II ( TARA II) video & applications off to Singapore. Okay, we - as in Han San ( ahem - Jeff as he is known to others ) and me.

And we are already, so tired from the planning, running around and filming for a 3 minute video. It is harder when the both of us are working and we have to accomodate our camera man's ( kudos to Matt ) time, whilst trying hard to catch whatever daylight that we have. And the headaches of changing scripts because of impromtu learnings about each other and nuggets of ideas that popped up along the way .

Why so last minute - wan?!
Well, last Thursday, during our daily MSN chat, Yuez told me that the entry for Amazing Race Asia II closes on the 30th March 2007. She's joining TARA II with Nut, and so why donch I try too? ( She is also instigating me to climb Mt KK next year ).

It might be a spur of a moment thing, but the very situation i'm in right now, I need to feel alive again.

Opportunity comes to those who seeks it.
I met up with HS that Thursday night, his treat for my 28th birthday ( a week late, cos Mr. Superacheiver here was climbing KK the week before ).

During dinner he was rattling off his holiday plans, whilst i was comparing notes with him on where we could co-incide countries. It's really ironic, that our travel plans never co-incide. We were always at the similar places / countries but different months. Top of the list complains.. we are always broke. At the end of all the travelling - say good bye to branded bags, shoes, hi-tech gadgets, not to mention the home - pack-lunches-to-work to save money.

Half way through our yummy iron pot rice ( you gotta try it at Sugimotos! ), i asked :
"Eh.. let's do Amazing Race Asia lah! Win already, can travel FREE mah.."

So that's when the mad rush begin.
Calling Chris after dinner, bugging her about ideas on the video that we have to do, calling Shane to speak to Andre to ask "from a directors POV...", texting Long to pick his brains on what would excite the audience.

All that phone call.. All that chatting.. When the idea for the video has always been something that is obvious to both of us.

The idea was conceived after 4 glasses of wine at work and a night out at Somo. HS hijacked the video camera and kidnapped his friend Matt as videographer ( poor Matt, being bitten by mossies and enduring our bickering ). Bad planning ( my bad.. after all the years of sitting through Pre Production Meetings, i didn't plan this "shoot" efficiently ), HS was late and frantic search for location left us high and dry. Me and my impatience showing as we try to catch the remaining bits of daylight. Sigh of relief after i checked with Yuez & Nut's team that they too haven't quite finish their video.

oh, HS celebrates his 28 today.
He sure has a great birthday - spending the night editting the first part of the video.
Up at 6am, we were ambitious to finish our video. Did i say ambitious? That was it, because we only managed 75% of it. 25% more to go, 48 hours deadline. WOOOOHOOOO... i love it. Adrenalines rushing. Tension mounting.

HS told me today : "I had forgotten, but now I remember, how impatient you are". I realised that through this Video, it is a good test to see if you and your partner can heck each other's idiosyncrasies.

Even if we don't make it through to the auditions, we both have a substantial amount of self discovery and learning, priceless as this was like a shortcut to learning about one's strengths & weaknesses.

Ironic as it may seem, me the dreamy, emotional girl, laid back & often cruising through life, when push comes to shove for work or a project, i turn impatient, kan cheong & timeline obsessed person.
While he, super achiever, go getter and always on the move, when push comes to shove, approaches things calmly, a little laid back so he can think things through and very patient indeed with my antics.
What an oxymoron.

A little teaser...

Tell you guys more when we next meet! Good news to share i hope.
Very very excited about the video.

By the way.. Chris is in the BLOG HOUSE too.

Looking from the other side

2007-03-27T17:03:00.000+08:00

Being in the Ad industry for the last 6 years, I've always been on the Account Management / Client side of things.

Last weekend's activities allowed me a glimpse ( a glimpse because I was just scratching the tip of the iceberg ) of the other side - the print & TV production.

Part of my "Investing in myself" resolution this year, I decided that everything NEW that comes my way, I should try it, for the experience of enriching my life.

Now i know how difficult it is being a Print talent
Lawrence & Jac ( owners of Beauty Gallerie ), my yumseng party kaki, invited me for a FREE makeover - photo shoot at their salon on Sunday. Since, I've always been the one sourcing through talent cards, commenting on the talent's make-up or with the creative team dictating the tone of the makeup, watching from the sidelines and sometimes shaking my head if the talents are too "kaku" during photo shoots, I decided to put myself on the other side, just to experience what it felt like.

So off i trod to Lawrence & Jac's place for my 2pm appointment. To be made up and to do the photo shoot. If you've watched the Dove commercial ( about real beauty ), i felt like the talent Inspired by the ad. I asked for - higher nose, double eyelids (hah!) and i was even offered, longer eye lashes, which i politely declined.

Before the photo shoot started, i told the photographer.. "Er, don't make me look FAT!" .

like that ok-ah?

Standing in front of the camera, was a challenge. You have to somehow imagine that there is a cable pulling your head up and you are gritting the iron bar of the trapeze with your mouth while smiling, so that you get a good posture.

that's the only time you don't catch me slouching

After a while, I figured that the photographer seems to have a formula in getting the angles he wanted. It starts with " arch your back, sway your hips to the side (right-left- back- front ), tilt your head ( right - left- back-front ), eyes looking at his finger.. and SMILE.. SMILE.. SMILE!"

my trademark lansi CB face when i don't smile

Steph & Willy-boy were my fans. The above pictures were taken by Steph whilst the real action was going on.
I'm waiting for my touched up pictures to come... There'll be 1 in this dress, 1 in a cowboy hat ( i love love love that shot ) and 1 more in a leather jacket - wriau!

Now that I'm on the other side - where the camera , make up and glamour is, I realised SMILING and POSING is really hard!

Thanks Lawrence & Jac for this FUN FUN FUN experience.
(For those who's interested, Beauty Gallerie is located in SS4 next to the famous chicken rice stall opposite the Catholic church. So pop in to pamper yourself silly for facials & beauty treatment)

Oh, how can i leave without my parting trademark JESSHYBABY shot..

Wrisu ...

Police & DBKL allowed to break the law

2007-03-27T10:56:00.000+08:00

I wish I had a camera with me to snap the pictures.
I wish I was the enforcement officer who issues the summons.
I wish the government, who is so gung-ho about cleaning up the act of the govt services could see this.

I am pissed off and utterly disappointed with the POLICE and DBKL ( what else is new right?!). Nevertheless, if we, civilians employed under any company, wearing a uniform, driving the company's car and even carrying the name card know that we represent the company and ought to carry ourselves right, what more the law enforcers?

Shouldn't the "law enforcers" have an extra responsibility to abide by the law. Behave righteously. Always and at all times, given that they are empowered as enforcers?

9.50am, along LDP highway merging into Sunway Mentari - A policeman in a Police patrol car, talking on the phone. How disgusting is that?! Isn't this a traffic offense? If we were caught, it would be RM300 summon or "see you in court". I've thought about all possible excuses - duty, emergency etc.. Would we, if we were caught talking on the phone have the priviledge of these excuses?

10.15am, Menara Manulife, lobby drop off point - Mr. DBKL in DBKL jeep decides to hold traffic by trying to park "illegally" in the main lobby. What's even more interesting was Mr. DBKL has an assistant who stands by the road to wave us incoming cars to move out of the way, so DBKL jeep can squeeze into a non-existent carpark. No apologies from Mr. DBKL traffic assistant for holding up traffic, DBKL jeep was tinted therefore the face of the driver couldn't be seen. I would love to clamp the wheels of the DBKL truck!

Lesson learnt today :
1. As a police men you are allowed to talk on the phone whilst driving. Don't worry about being a hazard on the road.
2. You are allowed to park illegally if you are driving a DBKL jeep.

This is such a disgrace to the police force & DBKL officers who have conducted themselves well.
Especially, if i am not mistaken, this is the week where we remember the contributions of the Police force.

麻坡的華語 Muar Chinese

2007-03-21T12:05:00.001+08:00

Since i'm the topic of my daddy's home town - Muar Po,
A friend who is of the same "heritage" as me ( parents from Muar but a KLite ), send me this link - which i think is hilariously funny, but has captured the essence of Muar-Po.

For Nut & Yuez, who's done a makan makan trip down to Muar-po with me, you will see Tanjung & the monkeys, the teo-chew char kueh teow, Wetex ( the mall next to the hotel, where we went to collect D's wallet )

Yes lah, i admit, i quite ah-lian! This video is FUNNY! I like!
(erm it's in Muar Po mandarine... so Bananas, you probably won't find it funny- duh)

Stop overcompensating

2007-03-20T17:40:00.000+08:00

A night out with friends last Saturday had us talking about the familiar topic of "Men - Women".

From the guys to us girls ( i won't mention their names, it will be a betrayal of themselves to the MAN-united - BROtherhood for revealing the flaws of MANkind), the popular phrase for the night was
"Stop overcompensating".

Stop overcompensating for things that isn't your fault. When obviously they are the ones with the flaw.

Stop overcompensating because you fear you will lose that somebody. Because you lose yourself in the end. And that will be the perfect excuse to dump you.

Stop overcompensating when you are being treated badly. You should look at your relationship as a friendship.
How did you and your friends sustain your good-long-term friendship? It's because you have a standard of what you like and what not to like as friends. If the very basis of your relationship with a guy cannot pass this test, then you have the answer that he is not right. He is worse off then your friend.

Stop overcompensating and doing everything for him, waiting for him hand and foot. He has his hands and feet. If he is able to want to have sex, then he should be capable of doing things for himself! You are not his mother, so don't start acting like one!

Stop overcompensating and making excuses for him just because the guy is a coward, who needs to run away or disappears from the face of this earth because he can't face you to tell the truth.

Stop overcompensating and make excuses for the guys who isn't sure if they want to date you. He is not SHY, he just isn't interested. A guy will not ask themselves - "er.. do i or don't i want to date the girl? We don't think. We just do. Women are smarter. They think before they do. Guys just want to have sex. Then maybe they think".
The best line i heard for the night : "If the guy wants to get into your pants get him to do all the work! If not keep your pants on."

This had me thinking. The drive from The Attic to USJ, through the weekend and till today, where i finally could piece it all together after much rationalising.
As much as i hate to agree with those bunch of guys, i must say they are right.

So girlfriends, why are we, the independent women who is capable of earning our own money, buying our own apartments, owning Gucci - LV - Prada bags, driving beautiful cars, pampering ourselves with the most expensive spa treatments and skin care, running the best times in the marathons, managing departments & portfolios worth millions of ringgit, stoop ourselves so low.

When did we start overcompensating?

This is a HARSH reminder to myself that I am WORTH so much more.
If ever, i fall into this "Overcompensating" mode again ( which i find myself there most of the time), please, girls & GUYs, you are most welcome to hit me on my head so hard that the word OVERCOMPENSATING becomes obsolete in my dictionary.

( Dude.. you know who you are, thanks for IRRITATING THE HELL out of me Sat night, but it was indeed an insightful conversation. For now.. BUZZ OFF! haha )

3-Tier Golden Tortoise

2007-03-20T11:54:00.000+08:00

Yesterday morning's weekly WIP announcement by the head of the company, brought many to think if there is any hope left in the leadership. Or rather, if there were any to begin with?

We were greeted with an opening speech from the head :
"We invited a Feng Shui master in last week because the company hasn't been doing so well, and there has been conflicts & politics which are no good. According to the Feng Shui master, to bring back balance & harmony, we will be moving some furnitures & adding some elements".

The morning was abuzz with the head walking around the office, proudly proclaiming the "feng shui" tips to a group of people - from admin, from the head's office, from finance. They were frantically jotting down notes so not to miss out what to buy, what to shift, which walls to break down, what elements to move, which person should be moved facing a certain direction.

Things heard through the open office :
- To those sitting in positions with their backs facing the head of the department, they will need to shift,so that
they now face him.
- The cabinets at the back of the dept will now have to be taken away to make way for 8 golden horses
- Things i heard that has to be added in some rooms : Bowl of water with pebbles which has to be changed every 3 days, the world map, walls to be painted blue, picture of a koi fish, cystine money tree, gold coins, door bells hung from each room, 8 artificial roses, elephants ... etc.

Then came my room.
The prescription for me the Goat.
"You have to move your table diagonally.
We will add a blue carpet, which you must sit on it and put your feet on it.
There on the right hand corner on top of the cabinet, we will place a 3-tier golden tortoise"

I'm not sure if this "career suicide", as i told my HEAD, "I can't put the golden tortoise". It is against my religion"
I was asked : "Why you christian-ah?"
I nodded, but was told : "Oh don't worry, we'll hide it in the ceiling so you won't see".

Through this, i question myself :
1. Is good & hard work no longer rewarded, if superstitions as such supercedes what people have been doing right so far? Or have we been wrong?
2. If this is the way, the HEAD feels would motivate the people, it has in fact DEMORALISE many and cast DOUBTS about the leadership. ( again, what leadership??)
3.So now, with Feng Shui in place, should it now be the basis of the KPI of the employees or the benchmark of success of the company? If something screws up, can we now attribute them to Feng Shui?
4.Would superstition breed biasness - an honest worker who so unfortunately is born under an animal sign which is BAD LUCK to the HEAD?

I can only sigh and tell myself - don't bother la.
Just pray hard everyday for patience to accept the things that i can't change.
( i've yet to google what the 3-Tier golden tortoise mean for me, and i don't intend to )

Bye Bye Lau Chew Ma (1911-2007) : Part II

2007-03-16T14:12:00.000+08:00

I should have put this up a month ago. Procrastination is my middle name.

Here are some pictures, of Lau Chew Ma, which i thought is so beautiful, it'll be a waste to only hog it for myself.
Through these pictures, i realised that regardless of age, you can be INSPIRING.

Lau Chew Ma : Inspiring Lives
She came to Malaya at the age of 14.
Ms Tan Jooi Kuan ( i only knew her name, at her death ) because all this time, i only know her as cute old
"Lau Chew Ma"

This is my favourite picture of her
"Huo Tau Lau, Xue Tau Lau" (in mandarine). It means, "To learn, till the end of your life". At 96, she is able to memorise biblical verses , hymns and even Psalms, reciting them in Teo Chew.

Her favourite is Psalms 23, The Lord is my Shepherd.

"Huo Tau Lau, Xue Tau Lau"

The Lord, is truly her shepherd. Till her end days.
"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil;for You are with me;

Picture taken by a youth who visits her often at the old folks home. As the pastor prays, she finds comfort in her Lord.

"Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

Day out in Tanjung. Chilling by the beachfront, enjoying the breeze

"Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me, all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever."

Her 4 generations of children.Taken outside the parish.I only know half of the family members here.

The Koh Family. ah Ma, is the eldest in the family. Joe has a pretty cool close up her sleeping in the coffin.

Her final resting place, in the Lutheran Church Plot, Bakri

Earth to Earth, Dust to Dust

Till we meet again, Lau Chew Ma.

Ah Kong's house is now KMart

2007-03-16T12:51:00.000+08:00

Since i was a baby till 4 years ago, every year, we would head back to Muar-po, to Ah Kong's house.
127,Tanjung Agas, right in front of MRSM, before the old bridge to town.
What i loved most about the concept was that on this piece of land, his 2 other brothers also built their own houses.

Ah Kong's house was longish, from the porch to the kitchen leading to a massive backyard, housing chicken & duck coups, a dog house, coconut & rambutan trees and once in a while, a hiding place for Mr. Python & Mr. See Ka Chua. Our favourite games with our cousins were the 100m dash from the front of the house to the kitchen and back and hop scotch on the mozaic floor. The older folks, would sit around the dining table, my dad & uncles with their drumlike bellies protruding proudly, snacking and chatting, while the women of the family, busy, cooking up a storm.

As a kid, i would, in the evenings run through the gates which separates the houses, to visit my grand uncles and their families. And then run pass the last house which was my uncle's bengkel to the row of mini mart to buy ice cream (yum!).

4 years ago, the piece of land was sold, to a company. And with that money, each family bought newer homes across the bridge in different housing areas. As for us, we are now in Sg. Abong.

Our trip back this time we were told, that there's a new supermarket in town.
K-Mart Muar-po version, now stands on the ground where Ah Kong's house used to be.
It had a supermarket, a Karaoke & a foodcourt. And it's 3 stories high.

Out of curiousity, my family decided to drive to K-Mart.

Where Ah Kong's house used to be now stood the New Muar-po K-Mart

We estimated that this would be our portion of the house.
The laterite yellow road which used to house cars from 5 families is now a public parking lot.

Well at least, they kept the longkang intact. I used to play in there, and Ah Kong had to fished me out.

There is a tinge of sadness, when we left K-mart.
For progression, for a better standard of living. This can't be avoided.

127, Tanjung Agas
There once stood a home, which housed memories of at least 3 generations and 4 families (and the occasional 2 families who would be back ).

Self Worth

2007-03-14T19:54:00.000+08:00

A friend & a mentor once told me :
" No matter how much you hate to work, work actually gives you, your self worth.
Through work, you build your self esteem. By working, you earn achievements.
If work does not exist, your life would be meaningless "

Unfortunately, what he said is true.

As i sit around at work, waiting for the next job opportunity, and it seems ages before anyone calls... i feel worthless.

As i sit around with no more passion in my current job, because of problematic clients, campaigns that do not seem to be going anywhere, and people getting more and more small minded, work comes to a standstill. I feel no pride in what i do, i feel no joy at being at work, i feel worthless.
With this, my mind wanders, i feel lifeless. I feel trap.
(Who ever said the idle mind is the devil's playground is right)

Patience is not my strength. But i know that the BIG man up there has BIG plans for me.
I just need to be still, and wait.

I hope i have work soon. Then, will i find my self worth. Then i won't feel so lifeless & trapped.

Me Doggie.. Woof!

2007-03-14T19:10:00.000+08:00

Winston got tagged by Bessy..
Though he only smelled her presence on me He's already hiau hiau for her!
(can't wait for Bessy to come stay for the long weekend when aunty yue li's away!)
Don't get him wrong, he's not a pedophile, just a very nice older-dog!

WINSTON
but now after being Ah-Bengnised... @ Kau Kau@FATTY BOY

Date of Birth:
15 March 2003 ( I'm a PISCES doggie )

Breed:
Golden Beige Labrador

Favourite food:
FOOD...Drool...
FOOD...Drool...
FOOD...Drool...

Favourite Activity :
Play?.. Play,Play,Play,Play!
Walk walk
Play, Play, Play, Play!

Favourite Toys:

i wuv mah balls...all size and colours!

Favourite annoying yet cute habit:

Woof..

Sleeps by:
the front door, unnerneath the car

Barks at:
Dirty looking stwangers,
CATS!!!! KILL EM!! KILL KILL KILL!
Other Doggies... woof!

Likes being :
Hug real tight,
Tickled on his tummy,
Scratch behind his ears,
& Likes to play Nose Nose...

When meeting people, likes to:
WOOF.. (how do you do..)
WOOF.. ( play?)
Sniff Sniff...(hm... i like you ..)
Roll over.. (scratch me... puhlease..)

Often seen:

in the mode of orgasm-ing

Knows how to:
Sit, Hand Hand, Fetch, Jump, Heel

take ang-pow

Fancies having as a girlfriend:
Sunshine... ( Winston's got the HOTS for Sunshine.. woof woof )

sun-shine...wooohooo... come back sweetie!

Bessy...( when she grows up.. feewit!)
Mandy...(one day.. i'll go up to Ipoh to meet her)
Crystal...(going to meet her this weekend!)

Has travelled to:
Sri Hartamas ( my old home)
The Vet in Damansara Heights
Ben-Ben's house in Sri Hartamas
Uncle Boon's place in Mt Kiara
Aunty Yue Li's House to be babysat
Around Subang Jaya & USJ

Scared of:
Being abandon & left home alone.. :(
No more food in this world!

And now, Winston would like to tag:
1. Hugo ( a-go-go)

2.Shakespeare (tho he's in Texas with Aunty Diane )
3.Ben-Ben

28

2007-03-12T12:18:00.000+08:00

I turn 28 today.
I am now "late-20s".

At clubs, i would be in the category of "aunty" dancing
My friends are all breeding and their brood have officially changed me from"cheh-cheh" into "aunty"
Everything falls apart...(Well, technically, everything falls apart after 25 ). The ass grows exponentially, the beer belly aint shrinking, the freckles breeds (ARGH), the skin dries up like a prune, the spots won't disappear..
The issues in life ( which i've been hiding from all this while) becomes REAL: Financial independance, Retirement funds, Health scares - all forms of women cancer, Tendency to be naggy, Fear of losing loved ones to death / illnesses, Mom wants to be grandma real bad (time to get another dog) etc

The favourite question for the day is : "how do you feel turning 28?"

28 feels good. It feels like it's going to be a GREAT year!

And like what good friend Diane rightly put it "Being 28 this year and still rockin & rollin’. Conquering each year…achieving more….and most importantly, being more true to ourselves. As we get older, we become more confident, self-assured and definitely say whats on our mind more."

So, amidst the growing pains, looking back ( and forward ), i am truly truly blessed.

At 28, i learn the true meaning of contentment.
Through my life's journey God has put in place beautiful masterpieces that surrounds my world. Each one, being a little piece of who i am today.

wonderful self sacrificing parents, for without them, i would not be the person i am today
a younger but acts older brother who's the sweetest dude, putting up with a bratty older sister
great friends, who has pulled me through my hardest times, celebrated normal mundane moments with me each day and unfortunately having to put up with my ahem,klutziness
fantastic girl friends who are really RAH-RAH FIRE POWER - each one though different, is a true inspiration.. rubbing off every part of their goodness & wisdom in me..i have truly learnt so much from
angels, people who have touched me unknowingly, during times of troubles or creating opportunities for me
people who have hurt me and tried to harm me... how can i forget these gems, for teaching me HARD LESSONS that I'll never forget and spurring me to be better than ever.

I can feel it in my fats & bones.. It's going to be a great year ahead!

( I also turn 6 years old in my workplace today. The young graduate, 6 years ago, too excited to get a job, too fearful that she couldn't get one decided to start work on her birthday!)

My Turn to ...Meme! Me!Me!

2007-03-09T16:47:00.000+08:00

So i got TAGGED by Yuez.
(I had to sheepishly ask her what this Me!Me! Tag-ging business is all about)

Anyway, this is my 3rd attempt to post this, because the last 2 post just KABOOSH into thin air.
If this doesn't get on the post, that's it, i'm not doing it again.

Anyway, to be a good sport ( and to appear busy at work ), here goes :

Three things that scare me:
1.Losing my loved ones
2.Anything dead
3.Icky animals - CATS! LIZARDS! RATS!!!!

Three people who make me laugh:
I'm easily amused. It doesn't take much to make me laugh, so...
1. Me ( i do shit loads of stupid things.. first i look back and feel damn embaress about it, i blush a little, regret a little then cover it up by laughing )
2. Anyone silly
3. AnyDogs ( they are more people then some people out there)

Three things I love:
1. Food Food Food
2. Fun Fun Fun
3. Love itself

Three things I hate:
1. Cheaters!
2. Disasters ( big or small, anything bad happening to people i know and LIKE...)
3. Fear ( I hate being afraid )

Three things I don't understand:
1. Why do GOOD people have BAD endings?
2. How is it that HORRIBLE people, seem to have a BETTER life?
3. How can some BASTARDS, ABANDON their PARENTS to live a lonely life?

Three things on my desk:
3 Things?! I can't even find my desk!
1. My computer
2. Half drunk cup of DDBI Ah Soh Best Kopi Pak
3. My first birthday pressie for 2007 ( Vodka Shots Chocolate from JULIE!!!)

Three things I'm doing right now:
1. Pretending to be real busy at work
2. Sitting cross legged on my chair
3. Thinking about Aunty Nat's Nasi Goreng Petai Sambal which i'm going to order for dinner!

Three things I want to do before I die:
1. Get married & breed ( though i have frens who told me "why bring innocent kids to a disastrous world")
2. Own my own business ( at least i get the dough doing something i like, when i like )
3. Make peace with God.. ( i do want to go to heaven )

Three things I can do:
1. I've got a really long tongue ( you wanna see? )
2. Natural klutz & calamity Jess ( don jearous okay.. it's an inborn talent)
3. Natural ability to have free-flow of tears watching & heart warming scenes in movies or when someone pissed me off badly

Three things you should listen to:
1. Moms ( i hate to admit this, but sometimes they can be darn right! damn!)
2. Positive people
3. Your heart ( it'll land you in trouble.. and for people like me, DEEP SHIT or EMBARESSMENT , but who cares?)

Three things you should never listen to:
1. Bullshit
2. Negative - woe me people!
3. Fortune tellers

Three things I'd like to learn:
1. To always be happy
2. To dissapear from the face of this earth when i want to
3. Accept the things that i cannot change

Three favorite foods:
1. Anything that's totally artery clogging
2. Everything spicy & sour
3. True blue Malaysian foodie

Three beverages I drink regularly:
1. Water
2. Coffee ( Muar -poh 434 & DDBI Ah Soh's Kopi Pak is ze best )
3. Coke Light

Three TV shows/Books I watched/read as a kid:
1. Thunder, thunder, thundercast HOOOOOOOO!!!! , Jem ( yes i love em JEM too ), Smurfs
2. Enid Blyton, Hans Anderson Fairy Tales, Sweet Valley High ( heeeee....)

Now that i've successfully wasted some time, it's time to get other people to waste their time doing this too..
At the wave of my magic fingers, I hereby tag..
1. Butterfly
2. Gin
3. Audrey
4. Max
( i know i know it's more than 3..but for all the missed blogs that i did, i should be entitled to tag as many people as possible )

Bye Bye Lau Chew Ma (1911-2007)

2007-02-14T10:39:00.000+08:00

Lau- Chew- Ma went home to be with the Lord - midnight of Valentines day.
She is 96.

Though our meetings are brief ( I only see her CNY, birthdays, weddings in Muar ), and with the little Teo- Chew i can speak, she is quite a character of her own. At 96, her mind is sharp, so don't you dare try to bluff her, because she remembers. The many great grand children that she has, it's amazing she can recall the names and which kid belongs to whom. "Puay Si, Siam Koong kai!" ( Puay Si, Siam Koon's kid ), that's me!

Here's a memorable image of her before our granddad's birthday dinner a year ago, getting her hair done at the old folks home. So it's true. Women of all ages want to look pretty.

I guess this is the best gift that God can bestow her.

A chinese new year reunion of 5 generations to send her home.

More on Lau Chew Ma :
Joe's jottings (my cousin blogged about her too!)

And more pictures of her funeral to be posted.

Hak Chew Luk Yuk

2007-02-12T23:47:00.000+08:00

The dating game is mind boggling ( well at least to me, it's a hell of a roller coaster ride ).

Was it much simpler back then during our parent's time?
You meet the person and then you get married.

Today, you meet someone, and a game begins.
The books & your male chi mui friends tell you - Man are hunters. They are suppose to hunt. And, so what does that make us? The little deer that's suppose to be running around happily waiting to be shot? Goody! If we don't end up as a meal on a nasty hunter's plate.
Does that mean the theory of - happiness is in your own hands, no longer works in this matter for the ladies?And all we do is WAIT?

No No. Says the book.
"You should go out and have fun, and enjoy life. Don't wait around for him to call. Have fun. Or at least pretend to".
Ok. I get the have fun , enjoy life bit. But "at least pretend to"? So if i wait around, does that make me a doormat?

Now that the hunter has hunted the deer ( or so they thought ), there's rounds of endless games and running around the jungle - mind games, emotional games, physical games...Both deer and hunter trying to outwit and outdo each other. If they're lucky, they live happily ever after ( do they really? ).

Most of the time, after the hunt when the deer is dead or the hunter decides to hang himself , there is the stone cold silence.

I try to reason, and understand how 2 people could have shared , known, cared & liked each other so much( down right to the number of moles ) could turn cold and against one another. The endless turmoil of emotions - forgive or not? forget or not? talk or not? angry or not?

So if this is the rules of the game. What are the rules? I mean what's the winning rule?
Do we or do we not comply with it?

Or should we play the game based on our gut feel.
I hope my gut feel doesn't land me in as a "black pepper deer" dish on someone's plate.

Winston & Shine - First Date

2007-02-12T17:42:00.000+08:00

First dates are exciting... because you get to suss the other party and enjoy the thrill in uncovering the exciting bits about them. Not sure how it works in the doggie world. I think Nut & I are the ones excited about Winston & Shine's first date.

Yes - la, my maternal instinct is kicking in. So, if i'm not ready, maybe i can live my life through my boy? ( quite sick hor?!)

Winston's a real shy dude, so he masked it with his "I'm so cool" attitude. Unlike Midnight, Winston is "dog-shy". Sunshine is true to herself, ever warm & bubbly. She's a true girl power, terrorising Winston and stealing his thunder.

Overall, i think it was a good date. They seem to like each other ( though there were some rough play and WRAFF GROWL..!! from Shine, when Winston tried to hump her.. )

My feel is that there'll be a 2nd date soon ( I hope ). This time around, I hope Winston's gets a little more excited, and Shine a little more horny!

Now that Winston has his date, I wonder if there is any nice men out there with female labs, so that Winston and I can go on a double date .. haha

We are now MIX FM's target?

2007-02-09T11:53:00.000+08:00

Serena C, Ika & Pedro now replaces Shaz & Richard over the morning time belt.

So reality sets in that we are now the "MIX.fm" target.

I still remember the time when i was slogging away for SPM, SAM up to University - the flavour then was HITZ. fm with Flyguy & Lil Kev babbling over the radiowaves.

The images that i used to conjure in my mind of MIX.fm target are that of aunties or si-lais at home stuck with a bunch of running kids or boring fuddy duddies stuck in cold cubicles, secretly calling the radio station to entertain themselves.

Don't get me wrong, i do listen to MIX.fm, it's just to show the "MAMBO JUMBO" side of me.

Now that they have put in place the Serena, Ika & Pedro, who what we advertising people say "who your target audience identify with", gulp, we are finally turning into fuddy duddies!!

2007-02-07T17:13:00.001+08:00

Leanney's found her wings

It's been 2 weeks since Leanne spread her wings to NY.

I must say, she is the bravest amongst the 7 of us.

Our long girly chats of finding our world, finally one of us, decided to take a stab at the world.

We're missing the spunky spiffy Leanne Chin Su Yin.

However, she's promised us to :

- Export quality men of any nationalities back to Malaysia ( with me as the QC!)

- Be our "shopper" when we find something we like in the States ( yahoo.. me endless supplies of victoria secrets body splash)

- "You go girl" news from the other side of the world

We are 7,

now 6... but the journeys of our lives continue..

(Miss Chin, we'll be rooting for you... here's a toast to your ahem export business!)

winsome winston

2007-02-07T17:13:00.000+08:00

After 2 heartbreaking weeks without Midnight,
and for those of you who's followed my daily episodes of "mom wants to adopt the whole PAWs, SPCA, rottie etc.."
the family decided, that it was time we get together to start hunting for a new pooch

Saturday 27 Jan, led us to the hunt, first to the Dog Farm in Klang, to the pet shops in USJ ( to buy a cage.. well mom almost took home a golden retriever too).. to a chanced phone call from Boon to Jo Boy that there's a "golden retriever" up for adoption.

So off we went, looking for the goldie. Well, Goldie turned out to be Winston.
Not quite a goldie. Our friend had gotten the breed wrong.

Winston's owner was pretty much comfortable with us, and decided let Winston come
home with us.

Winston's real sexy. He's a blonde version of Midnight.
( he's a real ang moh dog, and only responds to the kwai lo slang, as his last owner is one)
Lean with with a small waist, and he walks with style too.
Oh, he has balls too... literally. Balls that poor Night Night lost when he was a baby!

Winston has a winning smile..
especially when you scratch behind his ears,
when you do that, he thinks you are "best in the world" ( to borrow a term loosely from Nut )

At 3 years old he is full of energy. He never tires. At 3am in the morning he will greet you at the gate with his ball or chew bone to PLAY.. PLAY.. PLAY..

Winston's been with us for 2 weeks. It feels like years that he's been with us.
I'm just so anxious for him to meet Shine.

Shine Shine has a new bf..
I can't wait for Winston to be fully ours ( because he is still on probation ) and then Nut & me can become "in laws" !

To love like Midnight

2007-01-17T00:20:00.000+08:00

We fell in love with you, the moment we laid eyes on you,
Never mind, you were not what we set out to look for,
With your gentle nature and trusting self,
You walked into my arms

It seems like forever that you were allowed to come home with us,
4 weeks we waited, for you to be strong and well ( they even spayed you!)
I remember holding you close to me, as we travel home from SPCA
That long journey, you stayed by my side, snuggling close to me

We watch you grow day by day,
We clapped with joy when you thrilled others at doggie school
We felt our hearts stop when you were bitten on the ear
(the stitches did not stop your silly antics)
We watched with pride when you sit-sit, hand-hand, down-down
We keeled over with laughter when you run in fright
We loved it so, when you brought joy to others
We gush when you had your first date with Sunshine

We, and not you, are the lucky ones
Who have felt and learnt what unconditional love means

Our gentle giant,
Always allowing others to have your share
Always protecting, those who are smaller
Always loving, even when it’s unrequited
Always waiting, no matter how late we get home
Always growling hello, but runs away when others are near
Always manja for that little belly scratch
Always so contented, even if it’s just a pat on the head

Now that you are a big boy, you’ve decided to go away
Were you in pain? You did not say
Were you calling out for us? We couldn’t hear you
Were you saying good bye in your own way? You should have told us
Were you looking up to heaven? And saw God’s outstretch arms?

You walked us through our loneliness,
You took away tears of sadness
You filled our hearts with laughter
You brought us love we never knew
You melted the hardest hearts
You listened to our endless grumbles

The porch is now empty, you no longer greet me after a long day
The grass is comfy, but you no longer laze to accompany daddy
The grill gate no longer clanks, mommy misses your smileys in the morning
The balls no longer squeak, joran watches wistfully to play

To love like Midnight
Though you lie, outside the house
Your spirit stays with us all, at home
– Daddy, Mommy, Jo & me

Midnight smiles from heaven to Sunshine, his woof woof gang & his beloved human friends :

Wandernut's tribute
Yueli's tribute
GeekChic's tribute

You'll never fully embrace yourself for pain

2006-12-16T18:04:00.000+08:00

Melv & me parted ways yesterday.
I guess no matter how much you've geared yourself for the pain, you'll never fully embrace yourself enough for the pain of good bye.

I've never asked for together forever. All i did was wonder how far we can go. What started off with "i don't know" eventually ends with the uncertainty.

All i know is that i have tried. And my very best at that. I guess time will heal what reasons cannot. I would like to erase all that there was... but i know that every experiences that i go through, although i may not see it now, makes me truly who i am.

Restless in KL

2006-11-06T15:47:00.000+08:00

Everyonce in a while, I am overwhelmed by the feelings of
restlessness
envy
being trapped
frustration

I envision myself in faraway places,
walking through strange lands, seeing different people different places,
being in totally new environment outside of malaysia

then i snap back to reality, only to find myself in my little cubicle at wor
my mind still wandering, my physical being here

This time my urge to get away is even stronger
with the changes in the work place
seeing my friends leaving Malaysia one by one, till there's only a handful of us left

I feel lost
I feel trap
And i wander aimlessly - my heart, my mind, in search of a solution for myself

Some say that the reason why i'm aimless is that i fail to plan ( i say i don't know what i want )
Some say, the grass is always greener on the other side (i say, if i've not tried, how would i know)
Some say it's only phase, i'll just need to find an anchor ( i say, i've found an anchor, but my anchor is like me too )
Some say "you didn't ask God, you walked your own way" ( i say, true, perhaps i'm too afraid what HE will unveil )

I'm hoping that through writing this feelings of frustrations, these feelings of reslestness & my everyday search for answers, I will eventually be at peace with myself, where ever i maybe.

2007 = 2003

2006-11-03T10:54:00.000+08:00

The company was doing so well.

We were so sure we could hit the target that was set for 2006.
The year end looks like a time for big celebration.
We were all running the race heading towards the finishing line.

Then the news came.
We lost our biggest client.
With that the year end became murky.
Feelings of - what, where, how became jumbled.

With that lost, our billings for 2007 goes back to 2003.
2003 meant - the struggling times.
It meant the endless rounds of pitching.
It meant lots of struggles and lots of tears.

I don't think it was only monetary loss that was felt,
It is the pain that only a certain group people knew, what it meant going backwards.
For those who have not been there would not have shared the same fight, the same passion, the same pride.

This setback is a good lesson,
to always always be prepared, for you never never know what will happen.

Only God knows.
And this time, He is saying, it's time to take a break. I am giving you guys a wakeup call.
You have been sprinting so long you are turning tired.
Because you think that you are good,
You have become arrogant.
It's time to come back to Me.
For I will give you rest.

Night of Miscommunications

2006-10-27T17:17:00.000+08:00

Tuesday night out with Han San, Chris, Kar Shian, Nish,Poh & John @ Wong Poh ( finally ) then drinks at Summer Villa with Kelvin & Jean joining us.

Never was there so many micommunications in a night's outing.
1. HanS thought I was driving, because Chris's sms said I would meet at his house. Usually when we do go out, Han San will drive. So, he got a little excited thinking that for once he will be driven.
2. I thought Chris was to meet at Han San house too. So when Nish called and asked for the house number, I told her I would buzz Han San for it. Nish said it was OK, she would call Chris. So I left it at that. So poor Nish had to wait in the car for half and hour.. because I was late. I had to turn around to get the bottle of wine.
3. Apparently Chris was to meet us at the dinner place - Pantai Seafood. The time she got there, the restaurant was filled, and the line was till Timbaktu. So quick change of plans, we moved to Wong Poh.. Well Chris mentioned Wong Poh.
4. So there we were (Han San & I) finally in Wong Poh, soaking from the rain, ordering our food, when i called Nish ( who was tailing HanS & I ) to check on her whereabouts. "We are in Starlight. ChrisC is here. We've got a table and we've ordered tea". huh?
5. Finally we were all in Wong Poh except for Kar Shian who we were frantically searching for because of the change of place. After a few missed calls & SMS, finally Kar Shian called. He left his phone at home and he was waiting for half and hour at Pantai Seafood... ooooopsssssss.

The food broke the jinx. Everything went on well after.

Menu of the night :
Cheese crabs, ham tan crabs, kung poh lai liu ha, 1 soup with gazillion balls, kai lan garlic, deep fried otak, spring onion ginger brands chicken essence frogs legs, yim kuk kai & mantau buns.. burp!

Next stop. Wine at Chris's home.
John brought the evillest drink - Bali Tuak. 40% alcohol. erm, i didn't quite enjoy the taste on it's own. I thought i was drinking "toner". But, a shot of that into Sunkist Orange Juice...plus after half a bottle of wine, everything is A OK!

We stayed till 2.30am, just reminiscing about old times - which was only 10 years ago( i sound like an old lady !). The days of school, the days of college, then touching a little on venus & mars stuff and after a whole load of drinks debating marketing cases ( that was the wine talking!)

At 3am, I had to text Terny to ffk them for the morning hike at Gasing..again.

Life of her own

2006-10-26T22:19:00.000+08:00

23 Oct : Monday Night out, dinner & drinks : DawnL & MichelleY @ Socials, Bangsar
I kinda missed DawnL. My work drinking buddy turn close girl friend. It’s been a while since we last caught up. Again, it's the.. where do we begin? It's been such a long time. Perhaps the latest piece of news would be good.

DawnL is one of my sanity check points.
We share a similar doses of girly emotional up and downs. And so we remind ourselves that in order not to be too hung up over girly – men issues, a girl just need to get a life of her own. Regardless, we will just have to get out there, and do the things that we want to do. Catching up with MichelleY and her dose of street wiseness, just re-affirms this thought.

DawnL & MitchelleY had to go to K's open house. The night continued on with HT, Jessey, Al,Aivan ,Terny & KayB popping by. 2 bottles of wine ( between HT & myself), 1 tom yum soup at 12am, half a maggi goreng (shared with Al at 1.30am ) later, I was ready to crawl home.

Mah Jong.. I'll never learn!

2006-10-26T10:20:00.000+08:00

Mission #2 : Fatt Fa Teen

Saturday, 22 Oct : Lawrence & Jacq @ Bar B201
Tonight must be my lucky night. Instead of paying for tuition fees for a 101 on Sam Ka (3 leg) Mah Jong, I finished with a handsome RM1.60. JacQ attributes it to me “fatt fa teen”.

Don’t ask me what the game is all about, because I still can’t grasps the game. I just can't.

I don’t know :
1.Where do we start? Clockwise or anti- clockwise?
2.How do you count the tiles? & where from? Clockwise or anticlockwise?
3.How do you calculate the points? I am still confused over the “Wus” and when can you or can’t you “game”? gh.

I know :
1. Arrange the tiles – same pattern, running numbers
2. to be safe, always throw away the tile that everyone else is throwing
3. to call for the cards ( to make 3 ), it’s “Pong”
4. to grab a card to make 4 tiles ( as a flower, if I’m not mistaken.. ) call “Kong”
5. don’t simply grab the tiles from any end of the queue. Ask if you don’t know where to grab, and most importantly don’t daydream. You will be penalised badly – pay for the winner and the runner up if I am so lucky as to throw the tile to help them “game”.

New list of words I’ve learnt :
“Kam Kam Wu” – Something to do with gaming with your own “moh”
“Tai Seong Koong” – Too many cards can’t game
“Siew Seong Koong” – Too little cards can’t game

It's funny how i don't even know the game, but i know that it is pretty addictive.
Sigh.
When do we play again?

Tracking down the MIAs

2006-10-25T22:23:00.000+08:00

I realised that work has taken up so much of my time, I’ve lost track of most of my friends. I missed spending time with them. I missed my child-teen hood. Meeting up with them, meant that I could relive my past and be in denial that I am now a grown up. Well at least for a while.

The long DeepaRaya holidays promised a good break. But with too much time idle, I tend to go through some time of holiday blues. Since BB is back home in Ipoh for the holidays I decided that I should scroll through my phone book and organise little get togethers.

Mission #1 – Saturday, 21 Oct : Kshian & HanS @ SS2 Tai Chow & KTZ
I’ve not seen Kshian since Amy’s wedding and HanS since ChrisC’s last home coming from Penang.

Har Ko Nai Yau Har (Salted Egg Mantis Prawn ) & Curry Tau Hu . Absolutely yummy. Pork Knuckles for the boys. All that is missing is ze beer. But after a Chivas filled week in D’Haven, I resorted to only non-alcoholic drink for the night.

I was mighty excited at the sight of Kshian’s Frontier ( which I stupidly thought it was a Hi-Lux). Being the sua - ku that I am, I chose to travel in this monster of a car to KTZ.

I thought that it was funny that when you hang around a group of friends often, you tend to bump into them, even though you are out with another bunch of friends. So there they were, KayB, Terny, Aivan, Jessey, Willy & Steph. We took over their seats, as they were making their way to a movie.

For dessert I had Mango Lo Lo ( bliss!).
It brings back good memories, my Mango Lo Lo - SMSJ times, at Sunway Pyramid overlooking the skating ring with Amy, Murphy, Audrey, Kelvin & HanS
- First time getting our driving licence, at Jalan Alor, after a joy ride from SJ ( either HanS or Wilfred or Kelvin drove) – SAM Taylor College days, at somewhere Kepong following the slip road from Segambut Dalam.
That night, we sat from 10pm – 1.30am. Such great fun exchanging views & stories about Venus & Mars.

Potato Slut

2006-10-25T13:00:00.000+08:00

I made my first potato salad today.

It’s a recipe borrowed from Nut’s blog ( seafood bbq ) & improvised from YL’s recipe .
Improvised along the way, as this kitchen dummy is definitely nervous about the potato salad not turning out right. My secret fear is that instead of a nice sunny bbq party at Kayb’s, we might end up with a lau-sai party.

Daddy was my first guinea pig. He came for back for seconds. Yippie!

Nothing exploded in the kitchen today.
Nothing got burnt.
Nothing was spilled, and I didn’t came out unharm.

The only casualty was that I had to wrestled the kitchen from mom.
So this is a big deal for me.
For those of you who have visited my home will know that my mom is a clean freak.
Her kitchen is clinically white and spotlessly clean.
Everything I’ve touched has to be wiped clean, before it goes back to it’s place of origin, the walls has to be wiped and kitchen utensils washed and dried to before I step out of the kitchen.

I had to sneak down to the kitchen to start my PS mission, before she discovered that there was a storm brewing. She eventually wandered into the kitchen.
I could see that she was nervous, that I would burn down the kitchen ( hey, I have learnt from the egg-in-microwave episode okay ).

1hour 45 minutes, a potato salad for 15 people. This is hard work. I really got to try harder, if I really want to be a domestic goddess.

Hot Hot Chicken Shit

2006-10-24T18:32:00.000+08:00

I'm back (yes again)

For those of you who've known me long enough, would know that i am hot hot chicken shit.
I guess, which is why, i've never excelled in anything.
I console myself with "it's the experience"i am after.

This is my 4th attempt, in my blogging adventure.
My diary days have never lasted. I wonder how long I would last this time around.
My motivation this time, is inspired by my friends, or at least the long distance conversations that we have.

"Hello.
How are you?
Good. You?
What are you up to now?
Aiya, donchknow where to begin.
So many things have happen, it's kinda hard to know which story to tell you.
Ah, mebbe, i try the latest that happen.

You did what when? how with who? you did not i don't believe you? why didn't you tell me? i am excited disappointed shocked yew really?

Oh i have to go.
Call soon k? Email at least? oh msn mebbe? i've posted pictures online on msn.
We should do this more often.
Take care miss you."

So guys, this is dedicated to you.
It's time I am able to be the little showy limelight hogging person that i am (hah!)