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.

Countdown to 2014

17th December - got the new car :)

Christmas Eve - chill with Buddies

Christmas Day - Family Day

Boxing Day - Joy ride with Dad to Kampar / Ipoh

Durians!

Lata Kinjang

Food Glorious Food in Ipoh

Fuel consumption less than a quarter tank from Ipoh to KL

27th December - Hawker food heaven at Pudu Wai Sek Kai (Glutton Street)

28th December - New cafe - Rekindle at SS2

29th December - New Cafe - Nowhereman at Bangsar Telawi

29th December , Dinner, - went back to Hawker food at Pudu with family.

30th December - SICK

New Year's Eve today - recovered in time for one last makan makan before a brand new year :)


HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Merry Christmas :)

RIP Uncle

A friend's father passed away yesterday morning after a long battle with cancer.  He fought hard and strong from the day of diagnosis, fought through unexpected complications from the initial surgery, fought through radiotherapy, chemotherapy.  Not single complain about not being able to eat and enjoy food as a normal person. Doctors had suggested ways to allow food in.  He once told the doctors - "It's ok, don't worry about food, I've not eaten for so long, just ease the pain, and I want to live"

RIP Uncle.
You're a role model to all humankind.
You fought hard and strong.
You showed us the real meaning of Treasuring Life and nothing is more important than having Health and Happiness.

You've given your best shot, now you can rest and enjoy your new journey.
As for us, we will continue ours, hopefully we can be as strong as you.

Decipher this :

One’s true worth as a human being is not a matter of outward appearance or title but derives from the breadth of one’s spirit.
— Daisaku Ikeda Quotes (@IkedaQuotes) December 19, 2013

It's here!

So..it's finally here.

I've got a brand new car.

My fourth car.

What's next?

Tired of waiting...

04.08.13 was the day of the accident.  There were no major physical injuries.
Life has to go on. The show must go on, I kept telling myself.

Work as usual. Play as usual. 

I drove again within a day or two after the accident. I've driven on the same road a few times but I still avoid that particular turn till today.  The bruises have cleared but the marks are still visible vaguely.  

The new car should be available this week but I'm still waiting... some delays in the registration process. It's quite normal apparently. It never bothered me in my previous car purchases but this time I was really agitated, it's like every additional day of waiting hurts a little bit more. 

I'm tired of waiting. I'm sick of waiting.  It's been four long months.  Although, I think subconsciously allowed myself to take it slowly, not wanting to rush things.  I thought I needed time to 'recover' and accept the circumstances..so to speak.

I needed time to accept that I should let go of the car, proceed with insurance claims, browsing and choosing the next car, deciding to wait or not to wait for the the old number plate, final decision on the the new car, waiting for loan approval, 

After signing the loan agreement and paying the down payment I became more and more excited.

When I officially applied and paid for a new registration number W####H, it kind of a officially signified that I'm ready to move on.  New car. New number.  


I'm Ready!


It was suppose to be Tuesday, latest Thursday.


Thursday came..it was still not ready :(    I think I went into depression... Grrrr...


Feeling better now after a good evening out.  Should get over the weekend pretty easily.  Hopefully, all will be sorted out, and I can drive home the new babe on Monday.  Fingers Crossed.

Livers!

Dad bought a whole tray of chicken livers and requested that we should have them for dinner.
Yucky...

I cringed while preparing them, yet, I was in a good mood and was determined to be a good daughter.

Meanwhile, I had no idea how to make them delicious and there aren't many Chinese dishes examples in the net.  Mostly are western dishes like these - HERE

After some comparisons, I concluded that Onions should be the must-have ingredient with livers.  With some common sense and my so called culinary experience, I believe there should be lot's of Gingers too.

Dad says I should cook them with the vegetables.  Again, my "culinary" gut feel tells me that I should not cook them together. And, I should cook the vege first.

Ta-daa....

Looks quite good right? Well, Dad didn't complain.

But...they are still livers to me.  Euw...

Recommended New Cafe (Kid) on the Block

There are more and more new cafes in town and even out of town.

Good news for us coffee lovers.  It may seem expensive to fork out RM7-10 or 11 for a such a small cup of coffee to some, well, only us coffee junkie will understand.

Hey, there are more serious coffee lovers out there who pays much more for specialty coffee.  I've yet to reach that level.


Anyway, here are two new kid on the block, less than 6 months old.  Currently, my top favourite. Mainly because the coffee suits my taste and location is very convenient to where I hang out and about.




Standing Theory @ SS2

Address:

• 26, Jalan SS2 / 103, Petaling Jaya

Benjamin Coffee&Tea @ Desa Sri Hartamas

Address:

• 40 Jalan 24/70A, Desa Sri Hartamas, Kuala Lumpur

Fascia

Alas, found something (finally) that concludes, summarise and explains all that I've learnt and gone through with my aches and pains over the years of being physically active.


Read more HERE

Please find some time to read through, relevant to all, regardless of whether you've an active or inactive lifestyle.

Fascia reacts to how we treat our body and muscles - how long we sit, stand, run, walk, hence, dictates and impacts our movements and flexibility.

Do you name your car?

Not too long after the accident, my friend's husband asked if I had a name for the car, "do you call it BABYYYY..." - he asked.


Just a while ago, another asked if my new  'BABY' is arriving soon.


LOL.

While I spent a lot of time in my car, and I do love each of them as my loyal travel companion, I don't think I have a name for them.


Well, I'm especially passionate about the last one cos I really was madly in love with it before thinking real hard and finally decided to pay so much more just to have it.  Plus, it also has a very special license plate bearing my name initials.  So, I often referred it to WSLXXXX.


So, what shall I call the next one?

It should look something like this, unless I change my mind (again) in the next few days :P

PHOTO CREDIT : http://polosedan.com.my

I'm not Unemployed

The questions never strike me, but a quite few have asked me these...

1. Can you still get a loan? You're unemployed
2. Why are you still looking at cars at these price range? You're unemployed.

Firstly, I'm not unemployed, I'm self employed.

Secondly, while I may not have a stable flow of income, I still have sufficient income to support my current lifestyle and commitments, otherwise I won't be able to sustain for the last 1-2 years.


Still, applying for a loan is quite different.  It was so much more simpler then, being a salaried worker, where all you need are last 6 months pay slips and bank account statements to prove your steady income flow.

Being self employed, especially smaller business with lesser transactions, 6 months bank statements may not be enough to prove that there are have sufficient income flow to service the loan.  Basically, the bank will evaluate your overall financial status eg other loans, credit cards, property ownership and/or rental income if any, etc.

I had to submit prove of my company registration, company account statements, personal account statements, other relevant documents to prove that my other loan commitments are taken care of.

My loan was approved :)

So, what it means is, the criteria of getting a loan doesn't solely depend on one's employment status.  More importantly, we should maintain healthy repayment habits.  I.e. Pay loan repayments on time, clear credit cards bills every month and on time, etc.


*Touch wood* I'm still able to maintain those habits so far :)



As for, why I didn't opt for a more economical option eg a lower price range car? Hmm..I think I 'll have to address that in another post.  It's complicated.  Think..in between, comfort, safety, money and err...of course status and / or style.

It's a matter of which is more important. The accident is still very fresh in my memory. The loud and strong crash, the impact, the pain, the shock.  I still jump at the slightest sound of honk or when a car comes too closely to my car.  While many may argue that life and death are beyond our control, I don't mind spending more on a better car even if it means letting go of some other luxuries in life.

The Necessary Art of Subtraction

By Leo Babauta

The tendency of our lives, businesses, art, is to keep adding: more furniture, clothes, gadgets, tasks, appointments, features to websites and apps, words to our writing.

Continual addition isn’t sustainable or desirable:

• Too many things to do means we’re always busy, with no time for rest, stillness, contemplation, creativity, time with loved ones.
• Overwhelming customers with choices means they’re less likely to make an actual choice. They’d prefer that we curate the best.
• Too many possessions is clutter, visual stress, cleaning, maintenance, debt, less happiness.
• Too many tasks makes it harder to focus on any one thing or get anything done.
• Too many things we want to learn means we never learn anything well.

Subtraction is beautiful: it creates space, time, clarity.

Subtraction is necessary: otherwise we are overburdened.

Subtraction can be painful: it means letting go of a child.

Subtraction is an art that improves with practice. Subtraction can be practiced on your schedule, task list, commitments list, possessions, reading list, writing, product line, distractions.

What can you subtract right now?

Source - http://zenhabits.net

Freelancing

Last night's message from a friend goes something like this - "Need you to accompany this Friday, can? Help me to read map while I drive to xxx"

I paused for a while after reading it...it was close to midnight, brain was shutting down.  Well, we've shared some adventures together taking leave and going out together.  There was a time when she was taking a break from the workforce, she came to pick me up from while I was waiting for my car to be serviced.

Those were the days.. we've not done that for some time..


So, my next reply was - "Er, I got work la"

And, her innocent reply was - "Eh, I thought you freelancing"

Lol..I think there are some misconception to the term "freelancing"


I was guilty too.  Before I started freelancing, I imagined myself, spending a lot of time working and/or relaxing leisurely at cafes. Unfortunately, that didn't happen often enough

1. Going out means cost eg petrol, parking, food, drinks all translates into cost
2. Going out also means time eg being stuck in jam, looking for parking
3. And it costs even more at places with wifi!
4. Oh, at home, I can work in my most comfortable shorts and sleeveless top  :D

So, realistically, it's always more realistic and efficient to stay indoor.   Well, once in a while, depending on work load and urgency, I do give myself a treat - hanging out with a latte cafee at my favourite, using my flashy Asus, with my sunglasses on the head, lol. Not often though. 

FREELANCING is a very broad term.

• It doesn't mean freelancers are free all the time, in fact, Free time means No Income for us!

• However, the no. hours worked vs. income earned very much depends on the type of work that a freelancer's skill set, and this can vary greatly from professional consultancy related services to mid-executive support roles to less professional but more hours-intensive desk job

• It can be quite different from those with a passive income.  Yes, if one had worked hard enough to establish the base to get sufficient passive income, yup, these group can idle and yet have some form of income in-flow

Unfortunately, the third point doesn't apply to me.  So, I gotta work my ass off when there jobs.   The only difference is I don't have to report to work on a fixed time period everyday.  And I get to control how much I can take on.  Eg I can choose whether I wanna work 20 hours a day to earn more or less.

Some jobs are relatively easy, eg just monitoring, hence, I can afford to be away from the desk, as long as I respond when needed.  Some jobs requires me to be glued to the desk 12 hours a day, like now. 

In conclusion, Freelancing is not a bed of roses.  I believe many freelancers work their asses off  in one way or another.   Especially, when there are more than one job, and we only have ourselves and no one else to do the work.

The nice part is we can opt to take a rest during quiet times.  But remember, the expenses bills continue to run when we rest, ya :)    As opposed to being employed, one can have paid leave anytime.

So, which side would you like to be on?