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New Blog?

I've been itching to start a new blog.

I have this very strong urge to break away from this very old blog.

Yeh..alot of memories here.  Too much..

Many crappy silly posts too..

I wanna start afresh....

Too much had changed over the years.
I'm a totally different blogger now.
In fact, I think I'm quite different as a person now, relatively speaking.

But..I need a name for a new blog address.


????.blogspot.com

Crap!

My back is acting up again : (

Surprisingly it's been 4, almost 5 months since I went for Osteopathy. And, I've been well since.

Didn't realise I've actually been well UNTIL the familiar 'feeling' came back last few days.

Crap...

And, I've haven't been doing much really.  Just been to the gym for bodycombat on 1st and 3rd day of CNY.  That's all.  I even skipped the regular Tuesday class when I felt some strain.

I went for a short run yesterday hoping that it will loosen thing up...but :(


Sigh..I was looking forward to get back to running again to train for the MWM Half Marathon in March.

*FEELING UPSET*

Chinese New Year

What does Chinese New Year mean to you?

Traditionally, it signifies a New Year for the Chinese.  As with all other major festivals like Christmas, Muslim New Year, etc..family members gather and spend time with each other. Especially for those who's been away from home, festive season is a meaningful time for the family to get together.

I come from a rather small family. We don't need to travel back to our home town as our grandparents were already in town and had passed away when we were quite young.  Hence, CNY had not been a great deal as some other bigger families. However, my dear Mom had done a great job in 'training' us the do's and don'ts on CNY.

Year in year out, without fail she will bring us along to visit our elder relatives.  Not the most exciting event..especially when relatives asked questions like..our exam results - when were kids.  And then..as we grow older..they ask about our job and how much we earn.  And then...moving on to our love life. Duh..


And yet..our Mom made sure we tagged along each time, regardless of whether it's her own siblings or my father's.  My father, on the other hand, didn't really care.  We didn't have any car then, so we will take the buses or taxis.  I think I tried Once, only once, refusing to go.  Woah...was she MAD!  At that time, I didn't understand why she became so mad.  But, I never dared to suggest the idea of not going again.

Now that she's no longer around, for the last 20 years or so, the tradition continues.  The elder relatives, my mom's siblings have gotten much older, my eldest aunt and uncle has past 80.  The younger uncle is very sick.  My youngest aunt who is almost 70 (I think) the one closest to my mom and us, will come without fail, every first day of CNY, and we will troop to other houses together with my brother and his kids.


Like I said, it's not the most exciting event but it's just one day in a year. We see each other. Exchange the usual words.  Have a meal together.  Meet the cousins, bla bla.  For the closer ones, we try to meet more than once a year, of course. It's also a good time for the younger generation to meet each other too.  It's a joy to see the kids enjoying their ang pow collecting, and playing with different toys at different home. Hopefully they will continue the tradition when they grow up....

Hopefully, my nephews and niece will come and visit me when I'm 80..

It's up to us to instill the mindset while they are young...

Oh ya..besides family, CNY is also a good time to catch up with old friends.  Again, the usual exchange of words...

..how are your kids? How old?
..who's not married yet?


In the recent years, some new questions had popped up eg who's divorced?!
Oh dear..not a nice topic..but female being female..we like Gossips :P

When the Alarm doesn't Ring

I had an important event on Saturday morning.  I asked everyone to be on site at 7.30am.  

I planned to wake a little early so that I can have brekkie and do my usual stretches and exercises since it's gonna be a long day.

I set the alarm at 5 am ++, knowing that I won't get out of bed immediately.

The alarm never cam on...

You'll know why once you see the following:

I drifted in and out of sleep while waiting for the alarm.  I was too tired and sleepy to reach out to see why my phone's not waking me up.   It was already quite bright when I realised something's really wrong.

I sprung out of bed when I saw the time was 7.20AM!!!

omigosh...

I got ready in record time.  

Left the house at 7.30AM.

Reached the site at around 8.05AM.

Goodness..

RM10 Breakfast for 2

Hai Nam Cha, Kaya Butter Toast, Half Boiled Eggs @ Ah Weng Koh Hainan Tea, Imbi Market

Do you believe all these cost only RM10!  Most importantly, everything tastes good, better best.  Kaya & Butter toast? Sounds like an super easy combi for everyone to serve but trust me - this is the BEST you've ever tasted.  So far, I've not come across anywhere nor anyone who serves the same tasting ones.

I'm not too sure, but I suspect it's the Butter and Kaya that is used.

The steel container with a bowl on the right is filled with hot boiling water and two raw eggs. Half boiled eggs will be ready by 5 mins! This is the traditional way of making half boiled eggs :)


Well, our dads and moms would probably say that the above used to cost much more less.

Well, well, cost of everything has risen over the last few years. Partly due to price increase of key comodities i.e. electricity, sugar, petrol, etc.  Partly also due to change in our lifestyle.

Sometimes, I do prefer a good cup of Latte with nice Latte art, each latte cost RM10 :D
And, sometimes a latte is better off to pair with a nice slice of cake, a slice of cake may cost another RM10, sometimes more. lol.

Amanda

Ever wondered what it will be to be told you have only 3 more months to live?

What would you do?

A close friend of my BIL passed away recently.  When he realised and finally accepted that he has cancer, he told his wife that he doesn't wish to go for treatment and asked for his wife's support.  Friends and relatives couldn't understand why chose this path.  He would have survived if he went for early treatment, some thought..
But then, who are we to judge and criticise.  We have not been there.

Here's an enlightening example. A writer/blogger (Shannon) came across a twitter account of Amanda, a lady's tweets across the last 3 months of her life after being diagnosed with cancer.

Shannon created a video summarising the tweets here:





Shannon wrote about why she created the video HERE


The actual twitter page of the late Amanda HERE


Do take a look and 'feel' how one's life perspective changed overnight.  No more complains about little things. Everything that used to bother us suddenly becomes insignificant.
With Amanda, no time was wasted on complaining and frustrations, she went on bravely to live the last 3 months the fullest.  And, here in Twitter, she left behind some wonderful wisdom for us to think about how we should face our own life.

Check this out..

Do not say you will do it "someday," now is the time. Do not say "someone" will do it; you are the one.
— Daisaku Ikeda Quotes (@IkedaQuotes) January 15, 2014

Polo Sedan - so far so good

It's been about 3 weeks and I'm loving it.

I've been holding on to blogging about my experience with it cos I needed to understand it more and compile more facts. But what the heck, I'm not technically learned about cars and all those technical jargon.


I'm just gonna pen my thoughts about how I find it as a driver.  A simple woman driver who doesn't know much about all the technical specifications.

First question that most people will ask me is -- WHY did you go for a VW despite ALL the complaints and negative feedback?  Their FB page is full of complaints?!

Yes, I was very sceptical at first.  In fact, VW was not in the consideration at all when I initially starting looking around.  Firstly, I never thought I'll be able to afford one.  I did check the website when my sis recommended that I should - I saw that the cheapest model was Polo Sedan selling at 99, XXX very close to 100K. It was way above my budget and the Polo Sedan didn't look cool at all!


Secondly, VW's resale value surely sucks.

So, what happened?? Why am I driving a Polo Sedan now??


It all started when my brother informed me about it's new CKD Polo Sedan offer.  It's going to be cheaper. And, my siblings stated bombarding me with the good features and advantage of a continental car vs a Japanese car.  I was very sure I liked the Ford Fiesta more.

As I mentioned in my earlier post..Fiesta is like a trendy and young hunk.  Polo Sedan is more of a matured, practical but old fashioned Uncle.  I tested Fiesta at least 3 times. I viewed the Polo Sedan 3 times, bought it after the second test drive.


How ended up buying it on that faithful day, Read HERE
Yes, typical woman purchaser.  Fickle and impulsive :D

Now, I worry about resale value, cos I still see much on the road yet.  Ooops.

There are more and more of other models though, look left right centre, you'll see either a Golf, GTI or Passat near you. So, it's a very good sign.

Service centre issues is still one of their main problems, well, I only need to service once a year, HOPEFULLY by then, there will be more service centres and staff are more well trained.

After driving it for a few weeks, I'm totally in love with my "old man". Lol...

On the second week, I drove my dad all the way to Kampar, Tualang, Ipoh and back to KL.  We were on the road for over 12 hours. Drove over 500km ( I think) Stupid me, forgot to note down the mileage before the journey.  I cannot imagine my 80 year old Dad sitting in the compact Fiesta for 12 hours lor.  He enjoyed the ride. He seemed comfortable through out.  He also commented that the ride felt safe and steady through out the drive.


Yes, the long distance drive was above excellent.  So easy to handle.  Now, I know what good Road Handling means.  Fuel consumption displayed on meter 6.2 ltr per 100km on long distance.  I pumped full tank before leaving Ipoh, it only used up half a quarter tank when I reached KL.


Consumption and ease of driving is not that good for short distance and city / housing area driving.  The display goes up to 10 / 11 litres per 100km if I drive around running errands within the city when the car requires more slowing down, and picking up speed again eg traffic lights, speed bumps, traffic jams etc.

Ok..in summary:

I love:

..the in car comfort, feels quite luxurios
..dashboard interior, steering, door handle, gear, look and feel nice and luxury
..Seats are comfortable
..Spacious feel for driver as well as passenger
..Sound system equipped with SD slot, USB slot, Aux slot, Bluetooth ready *grins*
..Steering is light and extremely easy to handle

Basically, there are many little things that are very user friendly.  Even the seat belt seems to be more comfortably strapped.  Less blind spots, eg side mirrors seem to have very easy viewing.  All four windows winds up and down at one touch. All four windows has snap function eg will retract when there is obstruction upon winding up.  Boot and windows can be opened via remote.


I can go and on :D


So, you get the picture..I do love my Old Man :D


But...my advice...If you mainly drive around housing areas, and your main routes has a lot of speed bumps, stops, traffic lights, this is not an ideal car for you.  It's only enjoyable when it picks up speed after the 4th gear. So, if your journey requires alot of stops and you have to start picking at 1-3rg gear all the time...it can be very frustrating.

I was told this is due to weight of the car and Polo Sedan doesn't have a turbo function, and something about Drive By Wire.  No idea what's that yet.


In lay man term, courtesy of my brother.  Basically.the technology of continental car is different from Jap cars.  Jap cars can pick up very easily from a stop but power remains quite stagnant at 4th or 5th speed.  While continental cars pick up slow initially but changes to 5th 6th gear very quickly and the car rolls on speedily.  Which I noticed it's quite true...the car rolls effortlessly the moment it reaches 4th gear onwards, in fact sometimes it goes too fast!  That is also the reason why..fuel consumption is most efficient on highway drive.


Ok...sekian berita.

Will share more..if I think of anything else :0

Status: Self Employed still

I wrote these in Dec 2011 :

Today is officially my last day as an employee.
Today is also the last day of a company that I've been part of for the last 8 years.


I personally do not wish see it as an end.  It's a new beginning.  A beginning of a new path.  New relationships.  New experience.  Whether it will be a smooth or rocky path, I'm not sure.


It's been 2 years! Oh dear, how time flies...

You might asked, did I make the right decision not to stay in the work force?

Till today, I can't give you a definite answer.

But I do know for sure, I'm still reluctant to go back to the rat race world no matter how great the remuneration is.  Not that I'm worth that much..in fact, it can be something to worry about eg my monetary worth may be declining for staying away too long.

Oh well, long story cut short.  It all depends on what one wants or rather the personality that one has.  A 'go-getter', high flyer, or like me.  Describing myself...I'm not ambitious, I don't see myself being up there in the corporate ladder, I prefer to do what I do best,comfortably, at the same time, having sufficient income to support my rather 'comfortable' lifestyle.

When I was choosing the car..my sis had repeatedly stressed on her point about.."I should be driving a car of greater status and value at my age..bla bla"  I don't agree with her at all.  At the end of the day, it is about value of life.  Yes, if I'm employed with 30K gross income a month, I can go for a bigger car.  Or..I should go back to a jobg with 20-30K gross income in order to drive a bigger car?  Go figure..

I'm very happy with where I am.  I'm happy with my little Polo Sedan.  I've not been travelling for leisure for last 2 years..I do miss travelling once in a while..but don't have an urgent need for it, as yet.

So..you must be asking..so HOW WELL AM I DOING FINANCIALLY??

Ok...ok..it's good news in 2013.  Rough count.. margins (total revenue minus direct business expenses) exceeds my minimum target.  My minimum target was set based on fixed financial commitments eg loans, insurance, etc and daily expenses.


Not too bad eh?  But but...I must stress that total income is still LESS than my last drawn salary. Go figure :)

1st Sunday of 2014

Is it really 2014 already?


Time pass too quickly for me, so quickly that I have to keep checking the calendar for the date and year.

As per last post, I had a relaxing an enjoyable jolly season.  In fact, I think a ate a tad bit too much that my digestive system decided to go on strike since the day before new year's eve.  Haven't been able to eat much since but fortunately for me, not too serious, hence, I could still enjoy the eve and New Year's Day.

Can't remember what I did on New Year's Day tho.

Oh ya..back to some working out at the gym yesterday and today.  Felt a bit weaker than usual, must be lack of food :D

Been quite crappy for a foodie like me, feels like I haven't eaten my normal portions for ages.   And, I miss coffee. I miss my morning cereals and milk.  Been told to stay away from milk and oily stuff.  Well, all good food are oily. And good Coffee has milk!

I took a risk and ordered a latte today though, ended up it was too strong for me..I asked to take it away, hoping that I could sip it slowly..at least enjoy half of it.  Well, sometimes things just go in different ways. This particular cafe operates by a 'old' school' concept.  So, everything is designed based on the 'back to school' idea.  Try guessing what pack format did the latte ended up in?  No way I could fit in a plastic bag-ed coffee into my new car lor.   I offered the drink to a 'look-like' homeless man.  I hope he liked it.


So, ya..how was your brad new year so far?  Mine was "good", well, I was hoping that I could rest a little longer (like..till after CNY?!), but work came a calling.  Got two jobs confirmed and gotta start work last week itself.  Means I should be quite tight up in the next few weeks till CNY.


Means, I won't have much time to do the usual spring cleaning.

Hence, I decided to come back after gym (and lunch) to catch up with some work, start some cleaning  and wash my 3 weeks old car for the second time, on my own that is.


Progress?

..I'm blgging as you can see, no work done yet.

..cleaned a small part in the kitchen area, threw away two bags full of old plastic containers. Not environmental friendly, I know.

..Done with blogging after this sentence, I'll head out to wash some hand wash clothes, and the car - IF it doesn't rain.

..Oh..I'll be preparing Dinner too.


Ta.