Calling my dad..

Ring ring.....

Dad : ahh...
Me : Hello..

Dad : ahh
Me : I won't be back for dinner tonight.

*CLICK* phone hung up...


I was like..huh!
Anyway...this happens ocassionally and telephone conversation with him has always been brief..very brief.

So..I assumed he has gotten my message.

About an hour after I got home....this happened:


Dad : Next time..I shall assume you won't be back for dinner every Friday
Me : ???huh???

Dad : Left food for you..and you didn't eat.
Me : ????? but I called this afternoon!

Dad : Where got! Didn't receive any call from you this whole week..



ooommmmgggg.....f a i n t e d~~~

Ask your Mother...

You know, nowadays, at the hypermarkets, we are bugged by pushy salespersons selling all kinds of products from credit cards, to slimming packages, to healthproducts..even to charity programmes...and etc etc.

I was at Cafrrefour on Saturday..there was this counter by Unicef ..not sure if it is man by Unicef staff or appointed agents but I am quite sure this goon that approached me is not from Unicef...must be some silly agent that was appointed.

It was a very brief conversation but...congratulations goon..you managed to piss the hell out of me within a record time!

Goon: hello..bla bla bla..(trying to introduce me to Unicef and then encouraging me to donate to Unicef)
Me : Thank you..but I am already donating to Unicef

Goon: oh..really? how?
Me : via XXX credit card

Goo : Oh yes ah..? What about your mother? Ask your mother to come donate too la.


What the....!!!!

The more I think about it....the more !%$#@ I get.

In the first place..it should be very clear that the person walking next to me is a 70 yr old man and not a woman.

And..my mom is Dead .....you idiot!

Facebook & Clearance Weekend

I'm still awake at 2am! Doubt I will be able to wake up for tai chi tomorrow. Was chatting away on Facebook with a long lost classmate. We sat together for 2 years in F4 and F5 but we never kept in touch for 18 years! To be honeset..I couldn't even remember her name and was kicking myself for that. Luckily..with the wonders of Facebook....over the years...caught up with quite a handful of school friends and theyhelped me to remember who my partner was :D

Guess what? She found us! Wonderful Facebook! BElieve it or bnot,.one of the many comment threats we were conferencing in hit 38 comments within an hour :D

Next...about Clearance Sales.

I went to 2 clearance sale in the last 48 hours!

Was at Atria for Adidas on Friday evening but was disappointed that there wasn't much left. I only manage to get a top. Only 30 bucks. Will post a pic of it when I am awake tomorrow



The next one..wasn't planned. I didn't even know about it. Was just doing my brother a favour -- sending over his car's spare key to him. And so...I spent $190 on a super value for money chrome cabinet organiser. Can't find any pic on the net..but it is really worth it la. Imagine those ..tall cabinet...in the kitchen..ya...I hv a special chrome canggih shelf now. But no cabinet :p

A Life is a Life regardless

Source: The Star
At least two Indonesian workers were killed when the old Jaya Supermarket building collapsed on Thursday evening, yesterday. I saw the commotion when I was on the way to the gym..but didn't know what was it all about. When I left about an hour later, there were ambulances and rescue units blasting their way from all directions towards the site. I had a stupid and extremely heartless thought when I heard the news. So heartless that I am rather ashamed to talk about it.

A human life is a human life regardless of whether they are Indoneseian, Bangladesh, Malay, Chinese or Indian. Those who died in the incident are also dear sons, husbands or fathers to their respective families. They came here to work hoping to provide a better future for their loved ones.

How can I even have the thought?

Happy not..why..

Borrowed this from Jane's site

She said that she looked like this on Monday.

It's Friday now..how come I look this too :(

Good night world...

Bad Example

FIRST he double parks right in front of the eatery so that it is ultra convenient for his whole load of passengers to just walk two steps to reach the targeted eatery. There are about 10 of them..about 4 adults and may be 6 kids.





NEXT...the kids got restless after finishing their food and drinks plus it was getting abit sunny and hot. Kids being kids..they requested for the car air condition to be turned on so that they can play in the car comfortably.



Guess what...?



He actually agreed. Turned on the engine and air conditioning..left the car idling in the midst of the hot sun..with the kids playing in it while the adults continued to chit chat for another 15-20 mins or so.



He looks about between 30 to 40 yrs old. Educated. Affluent.



Helo..mister.

Haven't heard of being environmental friendly ah? Setting such bad examples to kids!

Tai chi when it is not slow

Quite a few have asked me..why do I learn tai ci when it is so slow and boring.

Here is a demo I recorded quite some time ago. See above..it is not always slow ..you know?

As I said many times .. tai chi requires a lot of patience and depth. Was telling WK the other night..I was distracted quite a bit ever since I started joining active group classes at the gym, however I'm still determined to continue for as long as I can. As long as I live ..I hope.

The above may look 'fake'. Trust me..it's real. And he had not even release 100% strength..if he did..the 'opponent' would have flew out the window!

Learning tai ci is almost a lifetime process. No one dares claim to have learnt and master everything. If I may say..you don't stop learning until you die.

I've been so called learning for more than two years...mind me...I seriously believe that I only know about 0.01% of all there is to learn!

No doubt..I've learnt all the steps of the "four subsets of the short set" ..one of the very first things taught to newbies. Oh before that..we must learn the five 'warm up exercises'...that itself took us like two months..now you know why I kept saying tai chi needs loads of patience. FYI..we still can't do the warm up exercises Correctly!

I've also learnt the steps of the Cane (tongkat).

Sounds like a lot...but knowing the steps versus doing it correctly vs doing it with depth and heart makes a difference.

Ok..I won't bore you with more details. In case you are wondering...there are many more stuff to learn..e.g. the long set, there's something called the 'kwan tou' (i.e. knife), the sword, the stick....etc etc etc.

But then again...doing it correctly and with depth matters. One may know all..but if he/she merely runs through the steps without proper execution...it defeats the purpose.''

You can ask me again in 10 years time...to see how far I progressed :)

For more info..click here http://www.huangtaichitenom.com/

The pain passes, but the beauty remains

Specially dedicated to a great man, a wonderful father to a great friend:

God looked around his garden

And He found an empty place.

And then He looked down upon the earth,

And saw your tired face.

He put His arms around you,

And lifted you to rest.

God's garden must be beautiful,

He always takes the best.

He knew that you were suffering,

He knew you were in pain,

He knew that you would never Get well on earth again.

He saw the road was getting rough,

And the hills were hard to climb,

So He closed your weary eyelids,

And whispered"Peace be thine."

It broke our hearts to lose you .

But you didn't go alone,

For part of us went with you,

The day God called you home.

Anon

Source: http://www.love-of-poems.com/sympathy-poems.html

Spot the difference!

These are my sister's darlings.

I know they look alike...this is not an edited photo..they are actually 2 different dogs.

Presenting..Zoe & Goldie.

*my aim is to confuse you*

I'm only telling once..Zoe is at the back ; Goldie is on front (nearer to camera)

.

.

.

ZOE!

.

.

.

GOLDIE!

.

.

.

now..which is which

..(A) = ???

.

.

.

(B) = ???

He he... can you tell? Half the time..I couldn't tell too!

How old are you?

'Someone' just got me all confused over how old I am!!

For as long as I live..calculating how old am I is as simple as 2009 minus 1973 ..
and that equals 36!

This 'someone' insisted that it should be one more additional year. I think that is the Chinese way..for some reasons..my old aunts will always insist that I am an addtional yr older. That I can accept..but not from someone in my era.

Somemore..she asked me to calculate manually...what??

Like this wor..using her age as example:

..1975 to 1984 is 10 years
..1985 to 1994 is another 10 years
..1998-2004 is another 10 years
..2005-2009 is 5 years.

so..she concluded she is 35! instead of 34???

I was like..wth?? Already..these days..I think I've lost 3/4 of my brain cells....this can't be correct even if I only have 1/4 brain cells left.

So...the last part of our argument went like this:

ME: 2009-2005 is 4
SHE: use your finger to count .. 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 ... FIVE wat

ME: 2005-2006 is 1 ...2006-2007 = another 1..2007-2008 = another 1

and SHE went...


hahah ... yeah hor
meaning I am only 34 meh ... so young?

What's this??

Guess...what's the red thing?

And..why is it at where it is as shown in the pic?

How well do my friends know me...

Total 14 Responded to the Quiz
(6 high school mates : 7 ex work mates : 1 family)

...50% and 14% thought I only had my 1st date at 25! and 35! respectively. Too much. Too much

....36% thought i aspire to be a Criminal Investigator
(well...it used to be my dream before Astro introduced Discovery Travel)

...less than a quarter knew me well enough to tell that the gateway to w.w.w (my notebook) is the dearest item that I will grab when there's a fire in the house (versus mobile phone & money)

...TWO actually thought that I am more afraid of MEN then my lifetime enemy Cockroaches!


tsk. tsk. tsk.

My poor house

Omigosh. May is coming to an end and I have yet to embark on the "House Project". I've already forgotten when I got the house keys. It must have been..2 years at least!

The last time I stepped into it was....err..January...may be.

Went to clear the letter box just now. Suddenly remembered that there are Bills to pay!

Look at all the electricity and water bills. But..what I was looking for is actually the Quit Rent and the other *forgot the name* bill..No sign of them ler. Those are 'critical'..they impose fine if don't pay on time. Darn. Will have to go back again tomorrow..to dig deeper into the filthy mail , box. Whoever designed the stupid mail box..why did you make it so deep.huge and..filthy?

So huge that it cal fill up...loads of newsletter, brochures....


Hey...remmber this??


Yup..the BBQ pit we used during 08' NY Eve do.

LOL!!!

Yea, yea, yea. It's still sitting there at the porch!

I'm HORRIBLE I know.

And this!

Some stupid irresponsible neighbour dumped their renovation waste into my trash room.

@#$!&@!

In case you are wondering if the house looks like a haunted abandoned house..here it is..

still very Healthy looking :)

Fuel Consumption - Nissan Latio Sport

My new babe is 5 weeks old.
Finally, here's a more reliable measure of it's fuel consumption at 5 weeks old.

Last full tank petrol bill on 13 May 2009 - RM76.87 for 42.708 litres
Driving condition - city driving with ocassional jam (not major crawl)
Warning indicator appears on 22 May 2009 night.
Drove another 20 km or so before refuelling - mileage was at 426.3 km (see above)


With that...some calculations concludes that the Nissan Latio Sport fuel consumption is at:

• ...RM0.18 per kilometre or 9.98 kilomtres per litre.

How's that? Is it good?
For me..it is definitely 1000 times better that my previous fuel-holic Kia Spectra!

Conversation with TM Call Ctr

As mentioned before, I am a regular caller to the Telekom Malaysia call centre. I call so often that I can tell you how a typical conversation goes in my sleep. Today's conversation is slightly different though:

...TM IVR: tq for calling TM..sila tekan 1 untuk...(and all that crap)
...TM IVR : "sorry our customer service rep. are all busy..we will attend to you as soon as possible"

....(heard the above for like 50 times before someone actually picks up the line)


....TM rep: helo..tq for calling TM. How can I help you?

..ME : hi. can you check my connection pls. I think there's a hang sesion again.

..TM : ok...can I have your ID please?

..(typical verification process..ID, phone no. verification, my name..bla bla bla)

..TM: ok..Ms Wong. TQ for the verification. So...you have problems connecting?

..ME: yes...there should be a hang session. It happens very often.

..TM: oh i see. so ..u call here everyday la.

...ME: YES! Is there anything you can do about that??

..TM: ha ha..ok MS Wong. I need to put you on hold while I check the system.



niama.

Kalkitos "Official" Survey Findings

Posted this in Facebook yesterday.
See related post HERE
Might as well re-post here since I have nothing in particular to ramble today :p and I thought some of you may not log on to Facebook so regularly.

Here you go:

Total, N = 29*
(20 in FB, 9 in blogspot)
*Caution: Small Base
Respondent Age Groups: 60s to 80s Babies

RESULTS: 83% YES

Fine.
A fact remains a fact.
Subject closed.
I'm going to tend to my Farm Town now. Hmmph!
*sour grape*

Not a good start but I shall be good..

• took me whole morning to boot up Outlook and other working programs
• some websites are not loading properly...(like the above)..i think i forgot to bank in $$ for CC bill but I can't log in to check....where is the damn LOGIN button!
• i have a headache and still coughing away (depending on what the throat comes in contact with)
• my left rib is bruised cos I hurt myself in shower..(don't ask me how it happened!)
• some muscles are still sore from Sunday overworking
• I feel alienated becos of Kalkitos

but..I am still fine! Lunch time!

Nescafe & Antioxidant

Recently, a Nescafe promoter stopped me while I was browsing in Giant. Normally on a hot tired afternoon..after a heavy weekend lunch, I'd welcome free sampling from these promoters..especially, coffee :) Really don't mind. But she went on and on 'lecturing' me about the goodness of coffee (or is it Nescafe specifically, I don't know..) that contains antioxidant.



Stood there for a good 2-3 mins wondering what she expected from me. Only handed me a brochure..that I am not interested in. In my mind ..I was like.."at least give me a drink la..it will definitely wake me up and I will be able to respond to your lecture". I know she was only doing her job..at the end of the day..her job is to encourage us to buy a pack or two of Nescafe.



Jokes aside..but I believe in some ways there is something amiss in this campaign. Me ain't no marketing expert, just my thoughts, Nescafe is already a huge a household brand. Does it actually need to spend so much such campaigns..that I personally don't think matters to consumers..coffee drinkers in particular.



I'm a coffee drinker..can't do without at least one dosage a day. Antioxidant or not..I don't really care..I only know that I need it. and I gotta have it. Everyday. But...I don't buy Nescafe. I order it ocassionally at the stalls..but I don't normally make coffee at home. I prefer either a good latte at Starbucks, local kopi in a regular kopi shop or a brewed fresh milk coffee at the mamak joint. Only on desperate occassions when I am stuck at home..I will use whatever 3 in 1 brand that my father has in the house. But not Nescafe..even my 70 year old father has moved away from Nescafe. Not even 3 in 1.



I don't know what's the percentage of Malaysian households we represent but I really don't see how this campaign can convert us back to Nescafe. Do you?

What about non coffee drinkers? Will this campaign encourage non coffee drinkers to come on board?


Some background of the campaign :

The campaign aims to boost Nescafe's brand image through highlighting the natural antioxidant, an ingredient beneficial to health, in coffee.

"In this campaign, we wanted to return to the core and bring the spotlight on the source of coffee and Nescafe as well as the natural antioxidants it contains," Lee Szu Hung, ECD for McCann Erickson Malaysia, said.

"Through our findings, we realized that most people are unaware that coffee comes from coffee cherries which contain antioxidants. With this campaign, we hope to drive the awareness of this fact so you can enjoy another cup of Nescafe." Read more HERE

One fine morning..

I'm normally not very friendly in the morning.

One fine early morning a conversation at the gym reception made me grin from ear to ear.



We had to (sort of) register upon entering the gym e.g. let the reception swipe our card for them to make sure we are a legitimate member. The system will show a digital pic of us and they will make sure we are the person showed in the pic. Something like what the customs officers do la.



Anyway..as usual..on a fine Sunday morning..I handed over my card and waited impatiently for the gal to verify. While I was tapping my fingers impatiently..I heard her mumbling something:



Gal : ..... (couldn't hear)

Me : huh?



Gal : Your face here..much bigger. You have gone down alot.

Me : huh? oh oh. ..err thanks!



I couldn't think of anything else to say. Too blur in the morning.

But I was grinning from ear to ear la.



Ha.Ha.

Badminton Fever

pic taken from http://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1166168

ooh..love those muscles! He is so damn good. Too good.

Sudirman Cup fever was in the house for the whole week...my dad was tuned in almost 24 hours..er well....he falls asleep like every alternate hour..so he watches the repeat and repeat..and then gets himself all confused.

While watching the semi finals last night...I had a strong itch to play too. It's always like that..old sickness. So..I texted Gan to see if she is playing today. She is!

I am dead dead tired and sore now. Tai ci, body combat and badminton all at one go. Siao. Can't wait to lie down after this post.

Next Sunday is futsal day pulak (if it happens). If not mistaken...I think I saw the online gym schedule for next week..there will be no BC class next Sunday..phew....lucky.
If not..it will be tai ci, body combat, futsal, badminton..LOL! It will kill me. Maybe I will skip badminton too. Can die...getting old for these.

Good Night. Staggering to bed now.

H#N#

Asked dad out for lunch this afternoon. Conversation as follows:

Me: Let's go eat?
Dad: you ok oridi meh? u were coughing away?

Me: (awww..tot he was too blur to notice I was unwell)
Dad: dunno what H#N# virus you have

Me: o.O

Darkness?

Some fellow bloggie friends have asked me before..how I can ramble on and on about anything and everything in here. I don't know actually...the rambling mood just come and go. I'm no professional writer nor blogger. I just enjoy fooling around here.

But today...I lost it. Everything went into total Darkness. Blank. Nothing was in my head. Nothing worth writing about. Nothing worth sharing. Zero. Darkness.





Suddenly..it felt like my life had fallen into total darkness. One Straight line. No excitement. No highlights. Mundane. Boredom. Dead.



Well...maybe there were some lights when GHY came to pick me up for lunch and then an hour at the gym in the evening..




and then...it started drizzling on my way home. it still is. weather is neither hot nor cold. cranky. there were loud thunders too. but little rain. cranky right?

Purrrrrrr.......Friday tomorrow. what do i do. too lazy to even plan anything. too lazy to go to the gym. think i shall take a break from the gym. both ankles and a knee are sore again.

I was sneezing non stop after shower just and then runny nose. Thought I can finally declare that I am officially Sick! Then can skip work tomorrow *haha*. Guess what...runny nose stopped after 30 mins. wtf. FYI...I am seldom sick. If I ever get knock out..it will be major problems like landing in the hospital with some mysterious illness. It runs in the family I think. My mom was a tough nut too..until she got hit hard by the Big C.


hey look...I have an entry done ! Rambling returns! Yea.

Ding or Dong?

Let's forget about which camp they belong, who they are, what they are.
Purely based on looks and first impression...which one do you prefer?

I am laughing already :DDD
Btw...DING's statement the other day made the whole Malaysia (may be the world) R.O.F.L when he likened himself to Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi....wtf.

I like DONG by the way =)

Let's all have chocolates instead!

Got this via mail from Jenny this morning..thought it's good one to start the day off. The pictures are suppose to be animated in the mail..here cannot..never mind la. As long as message is delivered. It goes like something this..

Swine flu - can't eat pork..

Bird flu - can't eat chicken...

Mad cow - can't eat beef
Heavy metal poison in sea..can't eat fish!

Insecticides, herbicides - can't eat vege...!

Hmmm..

that leaves Chocolate and ice cream!!!!!!!!

Remember - - - 'STRESSED' spelled backwards! is 'DESSERTS'

Have a nice nice day everyone :)

A bit of everything

goodness. it's past midnite. I dunno why i bother updating. had quite abit to talk about but it's all bits and pieces of....everything. nothing substantial....jus things that made me laugh..happy...may be a little annoying..etc. I can't even remember what they were by now.

Logged on about an hour ago and was kept entertained by two clown friends on Facebook. Seriously...crazy things that we do and say in Facebook is better than playing some Farm Town games...that's how we de-stress after a long day I guess. Eg. A simple wall posting by Elena last night about Kalkitos had generated close to 50 comments. I still can't recall playing Kalkitos during my childhood days...so they have dis-owned me from their era. Speaking of Farm Town..I'm stil fumbling around...no idea what to do with the sheep, cow, dog that I received as gift?? Any suggestions?


Busybee's My wee wee is warm also got me falling on the floor laughing out loud. Kids...

Oh,I had a blast at rpm just now. Think yesterday was a good warm up..so today I was full of 'power' . Forgot all about the irritating throat and headache that was bugging me all day. Was coughing mad right after the class though, hence, didnt enjoy BC as much....I still think it's Angie (my 4 mth old niece) who passed me the bugs...when I carried her last night. So much for gym..dun think I will work out tmrw..rest day..moreover I have an evening doc appt to go to. Sigh. Hope it won't be a long wait. Very sian. Last month I left without seeing him ..went to the gym instead =)

My phone went cuckoo just now. By itself, it started re-sending messages that I already sent 2 days ago. So..I have Jenny and fafa all confused. I have yet to reply them. Don't know how to explain.

I think I am done rambling. It's 1am..and I am sweating inside out! There was thunder at around 9sih just now..but no rain came. sigh..another hot day. Still got a bit of headache and slight sore throat...MC tomorrow ;P. Nahh....fat chance.


How to sleep when I have so much in my head....

Why am I not surprise??

Why am I not surprise by the sudden turn of events?
If only ..they are so efficient in other court cases ..

Why do I have a feeling that the world is laughing at these clowns?

sigh...

READ ON -- Perak has no one who can legitimately occupy the MB’s office if you are wondering what I am rambling about.

Posted using ShareThis

RPM and rambles

I skipped tai ci again. Sorry. Was just too tired after rpm. Again and again I wonder why I put myself to such torture..in fact I am beginning to think that rpm can 'kill' but..I am going again tomorrow :)

While I was preparing to shower..the deejay was playing some very old songs..brings back good memories.

I mean...really old..like this one:





Gasp right?! I must be like thirteen when I last heard this. Can't even remember who the heck is Baltimore. And Tarzan boy?? what kind of song is that?? But it's nice right?

There were more...Paula Abdul, Modern Talking, and god knows what else...nice but weird.
haha...

As usual...just rambling.

Damn ..

Trying very hard to tell myself that it's alright..it will happen sooner or later anyway. And more will come.

But oh...it's still so new. I'm talking about the car by the way. I just wrecked the skirting. So soft la..the damn skirting. What Impul kit..cheh!

Bored & Hot

Why is it so hot these days huh?

I wish it will snow..I mean rain.

So hot that I can't get in the mood to write.

But I'm bored. So..I'm blogging with pictures..instead.

So bored..so I'm learning how to farm in Facebook.

Planting potato, grapes, tomato..apples..I have a dog too..

Still dun understand how some of my friends manage to have such huge farms..with fences la, goats la, chickens la..crazyyy..

Phoebe adores me ..you see...trying so hard to keep her eyes open just for me.

Cats are not as loyal as dogs...don't give a damn..just let me sleep will ya...


err...that's my supplement herbal drink - ba zhen soup


The traditional formula eight treasures (ba zhen tang) has been used for thousands of years to treat anemia, fatigue, pale complexion, cold limbs, post-menstrual depletion, amenorrhea and uterine bleeding. It consists of tang kuei, rehmannia and peony (the chief blood-building herbs in Chinese medicine); ligusticum (which is traditionally used to improve blood circulation and aid in new blood formation); atractylodes and poria (to strengthen digestion); codonopsis and licorice (to tonify the qi); and ginger and red dates, which improve the absorption of the other herbs in the formula. Another common blood-building formula used in Chinese medicine is gui pi tang, often called shen gem or "gather vitality."

SOURCE:http://www.acupuncturetoday.com/mpacms/at/article.php?id=27606

Shall I? Shall I?

PIC TAKEN FROM http://newbalance-midvalley.blogspot.com

Birthday Party @ McD

I didn't go to the gym today, but I ended up so tired. More tired than enduring 2 hours back to back rpm and body combat classes. I think I have a headache too.

Why? Read on..

Today is Ashley's 5th birthday, the party was held at the McD, Centre Point, Bandar Utama. Thanks to mommy SY..each year, we get to attend at least one fun day at McD.

A day where the kids had so much fun at their favourite outlet, eating their favourite food, playing ,musical chairs and other games of that sort.

Was telling SY that her kids' birthdays are days when adults can indulge in free flow of burgers, fried chicken, french fries, apple pie, ice cream.simply BLISSFUL...and SINFUL.


Fortunately, I didn't get to eat much today..cos'..I had to take care of this fella.

Normally. in such parties...being single....my job is to buy the gift, turn up, show face, eat, catch up with with old friends, eat, gossip, play abit with the kids, eat, chat and go home. Today, I brought my nephew along. So stressful. From...

.. making sure he stays buckle up in the car,
.. making sure he gets some food,
.. making sure he drinks enough water,
.. making sure he enjoys himself,
.. making sure he is safe and doesn't injure himself
.. etc etc etc

Caught him on two occasions wrestling down two diffferent boys to the floor, one of them is Vincent whom I found later to be Ashley's so called boyfriend, in other words, SY's future son in law! lol!

Only 3 hours...I'm beat.

Happy Mother's Day to all Mothers out there. It's the toughest job in the World.
And..it is Lifetime job!

It's not even 11 yet but I feel like hitting the sack oridi *yawn*

1st Service @ Nissan

I meant to post these while idling at the service centre (at Jalan Kemajuan) yesterday but SM arrived to pick me up for early lunch when I was about to start. The rest of yesterday was eat, yak, yak, yak, only logged on again at night but it was so hot last night I lost my mood to do anything. It's still hot today...so hot that I can feel hot air emitting from my notebook now.

They called themselves TCEAS ~ Tan Chong Ekpres Auto Servis (it's Bahasa Malaysia, in case you are wondering about the weird spelling).

First impression...
TCEAS gives me a much much better feel compared to my previous experiences with Perodua and Kia service centres.

Proper waiting lounge that serves free refreshments anf free flow Walls Ice Cream...they actually have a Walls ice cream fridge! Well..there isn't a full range of Walls variants but..they have Mini Cornetto..:D Enough to make me happy.

And..most importantly..for a w.w.w. junkie like me..they have free wifi access. There are two desktop with internet access for those who do not have notebooks.

These are what I call little things, little intangibles that service providers can do for customers. Enough to soothe suckers like me :)

Those aside....unfortunately,, a few customers were complaining aloud about the quality of service provided by this branch in particular. Hmmph..not very good when this is my first time here. And for a first time Nissan user like me.

Most of the complaints are about the high charges for parts replacement...which is normal for all service cnetres..apparently we can get cheaper parts outisde at very very much cheaper price.

Secondly...they were saying that the attention given to customers complaints and needs are very little. Alot of complaints and request were not promptly and proffesionally attended to. In general..what I gather is...theimpression given was..the staff are not sensitive to customers' needs and requests. They operate like a typical operation chain..only do according to the 'chain' as per the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), hence, lacking in personal touch.

I'm not sure if I was influenced...but I think I feel a bit of that too.

This other customer was saying..in life you have to find a good friend in each of the following profession:

..a doctor

..a lawyer

..a mechanic

If you have a trustable mechanic...it makes owning and taking care of a car so much easier and less stressful.

I'm rushing this post. Gotta go. Time to go to McDonalds :D Ashley's birthday party. Taking Danial (nephew) with me. Kid's will have a blast while adults indulge themselves in unhealthy fast food...hmm....thought my tummy looked relatively flat this morning...sigh.

Talking to Air...

Blogging is like talking to the air... can ramble and rant without even getting a response. It can be an illness when blogging too much. I am beginning to think that I'm lacking basic socialising skills..talking and interacting with a human being for example :D


Blogging, Intant Messaging, Facebook, Twitter, SMS...all these are supposedly THE socialising and networking tools for the current era but I think a serious social stigma is in the making.



It is indeed amazing that I can keep track of what's happening to a friend or a cousin living on the other hemisphere of the globe just by logging into Facebook without even lifting a finger to write a personal message. For instance..."oh..I saw a Facebook update the other day..she is attending baking classes"......another good example would be..FY just updated via mobile FB about the arrival of his little princess...instead of calling..we left messages on FB instead. Is that a better way? then calling? When was the last time we make an effort to 'talk' or at the very least write to each other. Sending virtual poke and hugs doesn't count k...

Same goes for mobile text messaging -- the telco companies are earning more from text messaging than anything else. Yesterday, I had at least 5 sms exchanges with SM while trying to arrange a day out with her on Friday. A simple phone call would have been much simpler, I think. Especially..nowadays..sms gets lost in transit. I have a few people telling me that htey didn't receive my messages..again talking to air.

By the way..how many of your Facebook friends are close friends?

When do I use what? I had a choice of using MSN, Facebook, Twitter or on the blog here itself. Let's see..



....I twiit when I wanna say something silly...or something that I don't want too much attention ..e.g. things like "I m bl**dy sleepy" (Facebook has too many contacts..from friends, to ex colleauges to family). Twitting is like talking to the air....don't need or expect a response. Now that SY has her phone linked to Twitter...sometimes I twit rubbish just to irritate her :p




...I blog when I have more things to ramble and rant about. Like ....now ..and all the other stuff that I've been flooding this blog with. Things / Thoughts that I wish to share..or to gather feedback..so comments are appreciated and welcomed. When there are no comments...again..it's talking to air. Ermm..I must admit..sometimes I blog just for the sake of blogging...pressure ma...must keep you people entertained.



...I put up a Facebook status update or note when it is something I want to share with more people. Something more substantial and relevant. In Facebook..I have an image to upkeep :) Can't post rubbish.



...Lastly..instant messaging. It's suppose to be instant as in you get a instant respond. But.recently..there were alot of problems...lost connections. Messages don't deliver. I've had several 'arguments' with KT..I assumed she was busy while she was waiting for me to respond or vice versa. In actual fact..some messages got lost in transit. Again..talking to the air.

So..am I talking to the air now or what...?

Let's just make more effort to talk with a voice..it will make a diffference...I think.

Hazardous Drivers (may be only applicable in Malaysia)

Few days ago, Just for fun, I googled for 'types of driver" and found this site : http://youthecho.com/ that listed down "top ten most hated type of drivers in malaysia" as follows:



#1: The driver who parks in the middle of the road

#2: The driver who switches lanes without indicating.

#3: The driver who indicates left, but keeps right, and turns at the last moment.


#4: The driver who drives with the hazard lights on during a storm

#5: The driver who changes the gear without pressing the clutch.

#6: The driver who drives with high beam when there’s a car in front of him



#7: The innocent victim whose bumper/door/car mirror is hit by another errant driver.

#8: The driver who does not hesitate to run the red lights.

#9: The driver who begs the policeman to settle the case with a dismal

#10: The “hip” driver who winds down the window and blasts the noise – erm, music – to let others listen to what he is listening to.



I would like to add on to the list...may be I will call it differently.


~~Hazardous Drivers on Malaysian Roads~~
(strictly based on my own on the road experience)



#1 Drivers who weave in and out switching lanes just to be one or two cars ahead

#2 Drivers who drives at 20-30km per hour in the middle of an empty road
(Hazardous level multiplies when there are more than one of the above driving side by side)


#3 Drivers who take more than 5 seconds to move when the red light turns green

#4 Drivers who stop in the middle of moving traffic to figure out whether they should go straight, left or right


#5 Drivers who are lost, slow down to use the mobile phone (no hands free) asking for directions


#6 Drivers who speed towards the Touch n Go lane at the toll, realised he/she doesn't have a card and weave to the cash lanes on the left in split seconds..still speeding


#7 Drivers who cruise leisurely next to you (most of the time at your blind spot) neither fast nor slow and do not give way nor speed up even when you have indicator on to change lane

#8 Drivers who don't stop when entering a roundabout

#9 Motorcyclists! Not all..but most.

#10 oh...also..drivers driving a new car (like 'you know who')

...and the list goes on and on and on..Feel free to add on ...

Here's a classic example ..fresh from this morning..while I was on the way to work:

A lady. driving at about20-30km per hour along SS2. There wasn't any cars in front of her..Me, on the other hand, was stuck behind her cos it was too dangerous to over take her...as there were ,many other cars on the right ..sometimes stopping to turn right. After a while..I was relieved to see her left indicator on..good good..she is turning off...BUT..NO! She didn't...see what I mean?

Upon reaching the T-junction traffic lights...(where you either turn right to go further towards SS2 / Paramount area or turn left towards the Rothmans roundabout)....she had her RIGHT indicator on...but she was still travelling on the left lane as if she is turning left....!! Amazing right? That's not all. Upon reaching the junction.....I saw the car swift slightly to the right...then she changed her mind..and turned left, with the right indicator still ON!

*FAINT*

I am deeply Obsessed

Lisa Gerrard is considered a contralto vocalist. Her vocals have been variously described as rich, jaw-dropping, unique, deep, dark and mournful. Her range spans from contralto to mezzo-soprano on such songs as "The Host of Seraphim", "Elegy" and "Space Weaver". On the other songs "Sanvean" and "Sacrifice", Gerrard performs in the deep contralto range.
Gerrard sings many songs in a language of her own invention, which she has developed since age twelve. She thinks of it as "speaking to God." Read more in Wikipedia - HERE

Anol Shalom
anol Sheh Lay Konnud De Ne Um {Shaddai}
flavum
nom De Leesh
ham De Nam Um Das
la Um De
flavne…

we De Ze Zu Bu
we De Sooo A Ru
un Va-A Pesh A Lay
un Vi-I Bee
un Da La Pech Ni Sa
(Aaahh)
un Di-I Lay Na Day
un Ma La Pech A Nay
mee Di Nu Ku

(Fast Tempo, 4 Times)
la La Da Pa Da Le Na Da Na
ve Va Da Pa Da Le Na La Dumda

anol Shalom
anol Sheh Ley Kon-Nud De Ne Um.
flavum.
flavum.
m-Ai Shondol-Lee
flavu… {Live On…}
lof Flesh Lay
nof Ne
nom De Lis
ham De Num Um Dass
la Um De
flavne…
flay
shom De Nomm
ma-Lun Des
dwondi.
dwwoondi
alas Sharum Du Koosshaley Koot-Tum.

What do you smell like today?

What do you smell like today?

Well, I smelled of Clinique's Happy until I poured coffee all over myself (AGAIN!).

It's a brand new baby blue blouse...grrrr!

And so..I smell like coffee now.

I have so many padlock keys that I can start a collection box named..keys without padlocks.




I fell in love with a song today. Heard it for the 2-3 times as a final cool down track in body combat..today it really touched my soul...Gladiator theme - Now We Are Free - Lisa Gerrard

I am still not in bed now because I've been pulling my hair trying to embed the you tube video here...argghhh...failed failed failed.

I had a drink and roti telur with M just now before going to the gym. Nice meeting up. She said I'm using her as time filler...hehe...no lar...it takes heart to make the effort to leave a lil earlier to meet her altho in the end we only manage to chat for an hour.

Roti telur is probably not a good choice of food before a work out :( Had my longest one hour(s) at the rpm and combat class. sigh. may be becasue I 'lost too much blood' oso :p

I oso bought two cheap tshirt blouse at 19.90 each at plaza damas before meeting M.

I m bl**dy sleepy now.

And I m hungry too. Only had a bowl of porridge at about 11 just now.

Just reached out for a packet of Anlene Concentrate. It should settle the hunger for the time being. Finished. Now..only my dad take out the Gardenia Delicia that he was hiding from lil nephew. &^%$ have you ever heard of any grand father who hides food from his grandson???

Yes..I did this on purpose. Completely random post. I wanted to see how many different things I can ramble about at one go :D

GOOD NIGHT.

Great..tomorrow morning I wil be a zombie.

I Wanna Be a Cat...

PIC TAKEN FROM:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/photocats/discuss/92712/page3/

Do you know that cats sleep on average 16 to 18 hours aday? Some may even sleep all day if left alone.

Meow..wish I'm a cat now..purrr...zzzzzz

Read more about cat nap here

Financial Aid for the Disable

I have a cousin who is special. She is mentally handicapped and unable to speak. Should be around 30 yr old by now. My aunt (her mom) is not very well off. Last year I got to know that the disable community is entitled for some kind of welfare financial aid up to $300 a month and asked my aunt to apply for it. $300 a month is a lot of money and can be put to very good use in the long term.

Unfortunately, they were given such a hard time at the Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat in Jalan Raja Laut (Welfare Department of Malaysia). Application was submitted donkey months ago (around mid 2008). By now she has been called to the office many times but nothing has been approved.

Basically (in summary) she was told that my cousin is not entitled to the $300 because one needs to work to be entitled. It's part of the rules and regulations to encourage the community to work (regardless of salary) despite their condition. Ok...I can understand the rational behind this rule.

Lemme tell you..my aunt works as a hawker. Doesn't have own transport. We know that it is possible to find some simple job for my cousin in some disable centre...but what about transportation? My aunt can't afford to stop working.

The officers kept telling her about not being able to approve the aid bla bla ba ..becos she is not working but none gave her any solution to make life easier for her. Help her find a job that provide transportation for example?

Apparently, some MCA rep tried to help look into the matter. Of course ..all these took over a few months to happen. One of the solution offered was to have my aunt 'act' as an employer instead...bank in an amount into my cousin's account officially each month..so that there is an official salary record. But some officer at the department disapprove to this suggestion. So..it's all back to square one.

My aunt is totally put off now by now. She has made so many trips, wasted so much time and effort talking to them over and over again..and yet nothing is achieved. They did offer her some $80 a month instead since my cousin is not working...and my aunt is willing to accept that...but even that..is taking so long to be approved!

I did a quick check at the website and found out that there is another form of aid called Bantuan OKU Tidak Berupaya Bekerja (Aid for Non Working Disable) of $150 a month. NOW...why wasn't aunt offered that!

I feel like going with her one day and give these people a piece of my mind!

I am begining to wonder ..what exactly is the objective of the welfare department....by making things as difficult as possible??

Never happier to see "Ms P"

As a teenager..we dread to see "Ms P" who Has to come visiting every single month. "P visiting" means huge inconvenience to most young girls. Can't play sports. Can't swim. Stomach cramps. Worried about stains on underwear or worse still stains on the skirt (#$@!). I have friends who had such bad bad cramps that they had to beg the doctors to give them the fastest solution - a Jab in the arm!

There were times, when I was younger and very much ignorant, I'd be more then happy if "Ms P" doesn't visit. Better still!

As we get older...it becomes a Love-Hate relationship. When it comes..urghh...troublesome. mood swings. cramps. total inconvenience. When it doesn't come..ooh..what's wrong? what did I do? Did I forget to do something? those who are married (or attached) will be scrambling for pregnancy test kit. Some will be worrying about fertility issues..the pride and (may be) joy of being a woman.

So...we learnt to be more sensitive to "Ms P" pattern of visits. Ideally..it should be a 28 days cycle. Start counting on the first day of visit. Those planning to have babies will tell you which are the most fertile days for *ahem*

For me...it's a totally different story. It worries me when "Ms P" comes late or doesn't arrive. I get worried that there may be a relapse of a previous condition. Worried that..I may have to go through another round of medication (I dislike medications) or worse still another surgery. Fyi, I had a scare in end 2006, when the doctor told me that there were some cysts outside my uterus and advised me to go for an urgent procedure to remove, investigate and most importantly rule out possibility of cancer. Thank God...it wasn't cancer and it turned out that I had severe endometriosis. See related post here

My "Ms P" didn't visit the whole of last month. Got me worried sick. And I have a doc appoitnment in mid May...he will normally frown if I tell him that "Ms P" was late...he will frown even more if I tell him that "Ms P" did not turn up!

Ooo la la..."Ms P" finally arrived today! *Hugs* *Hugs* *Hugs* I miss you sooo soooo much my good friend! I'm so so so happy to see you!!! Please come don't be late again yaa...I promise I will take my supplements on time *hehe*


Phew...a burden off the shoulder.
Hmmm...I wonder if I can go for RPM tomorrow?
See what I mean by inconvenience..

Here's something hilarious but somewhat relevant from nicolekiss:
http://nicolekiss.blogspot.com/2008/02/monthly-income.html

In Memory of Adrian Lai Chee Keong

He passed away on May 7th, 2006. I can't believe it has been three years! Thanks FY for reminding me about our dear friend. I wonder where you are now? I wonder if your son looks like you? How is after life? Or if reincarnition is true, how is your new life? Or..if heaven exists..how is heaven? I'm sure you are in heaven if heaven does exist. You were a darn nice person :) oh well..I used to hate you for being so uptight about a stupid badminton game. But that's just you isn't it..giving your 100% in everything that you do.

So..people...yes YOU and ME of course...lucky dudes who are still alive. How have you been treating life? I'm posting this as a little reminder to all of us on how short life can be. We should not complain too much about how tough life treats us..instead..be grateful that we have a life to live. That..we are living to be with our loved ones. That..we are living to do things that we love to do. So on so forth.

The beauty of blogging! I managed to track down my previous posts after learning about Adrian's passing. Took me so long to re-trace them. They were in my old ancient msn space blog! How fast time flies..... Thanks to FY again for the clue. For the life of me, I couldn't even remember which year it was. Can't expect much from someone who can't even remember her mom's death anniversary!

For the benefit of those who missed previous posts:

May 8th (no title) - A day after I heard the news
May 9th (no title) - A day after attending the wake
May 9th (Striking a Balance) - Same day after attending the wake
May 10th (Long Lost Tears) - Day of funeral

We were not that close but I sure am missing you right now..my dear friend.

It's almost 2am in the morning. I can hardly keep my eyes open. Why am I here. Don't even know what I wanna talk about. I just wan to post these photos. GHY demanded that I have this up cos she took it with her Sony Ericsson ..supposedly should produce better quality than my outdated antic Motorola.

We ended up in Jalan Alor to have the famous Wong Ah Wah chicken wings and of course a few other most unhealthy dishes that you can think of ........ermm....like...Hokkien Mee, Intestines, Clams. Mmm hmm..yes...not very healthy but tasty. Forgot to take photos lar...too hungry as usual.

Second round was at Pappa Rich. I must say they have quite good stuff to shoose from for foodie like us..especially those looking for post meal drinks and snacks.

Check out ...my milo dinosaur, GHY's soya bean cendol with gula melaka...and the peanut butter toast that I couldn't resist. I read somewhere that says that peanut butter doesn't have alot of sugar..so it is not that fattening : D


I learnt how to use a PDA phone to surf and Twiit. Ya..for a blogger I am that 'outdated'. Not very user-friendly..it gets better as you get use to it..GHY says. But I think I am a little long sighted...the key pad is soooo small..I can't find my alphabets!
I must go get some sleep. Taking the Latio ....(my dad, I mean) to Kampar and maybe Ipoh too..wooo hooo!