New Heartthrob??

When the orang tak pernah tengok TV tertengok Salina, siap tak reti nak balik duduk depan TV orang. The culprit? Mamat si "Kamal" ni la. Cute giler.

Ahahaha.... So the la macam perangai budak2... Tu la, dulu time remaja tak puas nak buat perangai... Saba ajelah...

Writer's Block - Kononnya lah...

Gawd! What a mess!! This is the latest attempt to finish an overdue project - I dah tak larat dah nak layan projek ni. Tinggal nak buat write-up ajer... Kalau pasal blogging banyak la pulak idea aku. Sabar ajelah.

Macam2 alasan aku nak menangguh keja ni. Hari tu sibuk dengan keja la, social obligations la, nak cuci baju la, nak kemas rumah la, macam2. Bila ada masa, dok main game la pulak. Melampau betul.

Kalau siap keja ni kan bagus. Duit dapat, hati senang, boleh la nak gi berenang ke, nak keluar ke... My bottle is almost empty and my research still not done. Blame it on the smelly house. Blame it on my tired eyes. Blame it on the rain... Hrm... boring, boring. How ah?

Something Wrong Somewhere….

Crime is everywhere, but murders in Malaysia have usually been pretty standard issue compared to the elaborate cases seen on TV. One of the most obvious problems that arise out of killing somebody is getting rid of the body. Therefore, quite often Malaysians would (allegedly) use various kinds of ilmu hitam to make someone suffer instead of killing them outright. The most interesting murder in the past decade was probably the “kerat-14” cutting of a murdered YB by one infamous actress cum bomoh.

Recently, some high-profile dude decided to take his chances with the murder and blowing up of a Mongolian model. Hrmm… must have been watching too much CSI; or perhaps not enough of it! Interestingly, I noticed that when this subject comes up in any gathering, hardly anything is said about morality or kesian and such. Maybe because it’s pretty obvious la, no need to say anymore, kot. What IS often said is, how they could have done it better.

“Haiya, they should have thrown the bits into the sea.”

“Should have burnt the remaining bones la.”

"Use acid, better."

You get my drift…

Perhaps it’s desensitization; we have been over-exposed to violence and gory scenes. Even I found myself one day happily eating nasi inundated with asam pedas while watching a bloody slaughter scene on CSI. Chee… asam pedas same color as blood oso not squeamish, ah?

This morning, took a peek at the office paper and saw a blurb –

“Groom arrested during wedding”.

Took a quick look at the article and got the gist of the story. The police had sneaked into a gangster boss’ wedding to nab the man, who was wanted for 2 murders and a slew of other crimes. Relatives “pleaded for him to be allowed to tie the ‘thali’ to no avail”. “The police were heartless”, they complained. Who are the heartless ones here? Seriously.

Do they really want their niece/ sister/ whatever to be bound in matrimony to a criminal? A murderer no less. Now THAT’s heartless.

Are You Left Brained or Right?

You Are 45% Left Brained, 55% Right Brained

The left side of your brain controls verbal ability, attention to detail, and reasoning. Left brained people are good at communication and persuading others. If you're left brained, you are likely good at math and logic. Your left brain prefers dogs, reading, and quiet. The right side of your brain is all about creativity and flexibility. Daring and intuitive, right brained people see the world in their unique way. If you're right brained, you likely have a talent for creative writing and art. Your right brain prefers day dreaming, philosophy, and sports.

Are You Right or Left Brained?

Little Courtesies That Count

Sometimes I still miss my Tai Kor. There’s a way about him that makes you feel cared for, somehow. He’s frank, decisive and he doesn’t play mind games with you.

On being frank:
“Sorry, girl. You’re just not my cup of tea.”
Thanks for not leading me on, bro… : (

On being decisive:
R: Let’s meet up.
A: Sure. When?
R: This week busy la. Next Monday?
A: OK
R: Great. BSC, 6 pm.
A: Kewl : )

It’s not so nice when someone suggests that we meet up but doesn’t make firm plans. A vague “sometime next week” is neither here nor there. I’d be looking forward to something that might not happen at all. That sucks…

Monday: You get there at the time and place
A: Where to meet?
R: What do you want to eat?
A: Your call…
R: Chili’s. NOW.

I like Chili’s. Otherwise I would have asked to change the venue. I don’t like to choose. If he doesn’t like the place nanti I won’t enjoy the outing either. Tak best la.

If he sends you back, he waits until you enter the house before driving off.
If I was going back on my own, he’d accompany me to the car, especially if I’m parked in the basement or a dark area. Later he’d text and ask if I’m safely home. I really like that.

You invite him for something and he actually responds.
Yes: “Will be there.”
No: “Sorry dear, going to my Mom’s tonight”.
- He doesn’t keep me wondering if he’s going to show up. Being left hanging takes up so much of your precious energy!

It’s these little little things that makes life easier for me. Not that my friends are at all bad. Guess I’m just used to these little comforts, that’s all. It’s not too much to expect, is it?

More Than One Way to Skin a Cat

Not that I would actually do it. The stray that just moved in wreaked havoc in my house last week and I still haven’t banished it to the hinterlands. Do cats REALLY bring good luck, I wonder….

In any case, the phrase means that there are many ways to do something, and some methods work better than others. Or it may be just a case of personal preference.

Digging into an orange this morning, I realised that I actually prefer to tear off the peel, mandarin style, and pop whole sections into my mouth as opposed to eating neatly sliced pieces as I was taught to do when I was young. There was a whole article in a magazine I bought once about your personality revealed by how you deal with your oranges. It said there was something prissy about neatly cutting the fruit as opposed to savagely tearing off the peel to get to the juicy flesh. I forget the details as it didn’t occur to me then that I would start eating oranges any other way.

Everyone knows that oranges are high in Vitamin C and fibers and generally are good for you. But until recently, I avoided them, mainly because of the way I was taught to eat the fruit. You see, eating orange slices is fraught with danger. You never know its acidity level until it comes into contact with your tongue. It MIGHT be nice and sweet, but too often it’s not. And not being an asam addict, thanks to my disapproving father, sour oranges is just not for me.

However, thanks to Siow Cheng, I discovered that the sections will not assault your senses until you actually bite into them. And the knowledge that you have that tiny bit of extra time to be prepared makes all the difference in the world…

So how do YOU eat your oranges? :-)

The Reality of Mentality

During an outstation exhibition recently, there were people selling some stuff which was supposed to boost your antibody. Since I had been feeling like s*** lately, I decided to buy a bottle.

Later in the day, the ‘boss’ of the group came over, pretending he just wanted to ‘lepak’ with me. In the beginning he asked about my work, so I explained a little bit about what I do. Then he started his spiel, citing stories of people at death’s door who had been cured by the miracle product and trying to tempt me into joining his business. He also proudly stated that he had had no sleep for 48 hours. Hrmm… I think it would have been rude to tell him that he wasn’t looking too great at the time.

I've been taking the product for a few days now, and I do think they're pretty good. What scares me is the way people selling these ‘miracle cures’ would often think that the products make them invincible. Fine, we all lose sleep every now and then, and it would be very helpful if we are less affected by the deficiency. But I would rather not make it a habit of it! We should still make an effort to get good nutrition, enough sleep and exercise. It's just common sense, isn't it?

The other thing that gets to me is the focus on beating the effects of pollution on our health. It's a selling point. The world is polluted so we have to buy this and eat that just to enjoy basic good health. Did anyone actually think of what we can do to AVOID polluting our environment?

The truth is, too many Malaysians are sacrificing their good health in the name of convenience. And worse, declining to do something good just because of 'malu' for behaving out of norm. The solid waste management hierarchy is to REDUCE waste generation first, REUSE what we can and then only should be RECYCLE what can no longer be reused.

Is it so hard to walk instead of drive to the nearby bank or nasi lemak stall? Can we politely decline that disposable plastic spoon and use a reusable metal one instead? Can we bring our own container to tapau food instead of packing it in styrofoam or plastic bags? You DO know that plastics can leach chemicals into our food, right? Especially when soft plastic meets hot soups. We might be ingesting more than we actually meant to...

Many people think, it's easier to do first and deal with the consequences later. But there comes a time when we can't afford to do that anymore. We can't always reverse the adverse effects brought by chemical pollution in our bodies. Check out "Our Stolen Future" and read all about why some men behave like women and how some 'females' turn out to be males and many other scary stories, including how it affects the size of you know what in Florida alligators... (hey, don't condemn me, we're talking scientific facts here).

We do know that have to live more sustainably from NOW, before it's too late. What can we do to build a better future? What are you willing to change? Think about it...

Relieved

After months of miscellanous obligations - puasa, travel, raya - things are finally getting back to normal now. Am relieved to see registrations coming in for my Energy Efficiency briefing next Saturday (18th Nov). Boss is not around, so takde la stress sgt. But still need to make sure things are done for the upcoming briefing and National Seminar. Kalau tak, org tua tu balik je, tengah penat2 jet lag tu, silap sikit mengaruk la dia... saba ajelah kalau dia dah naik angin... he he...

Retail Therapy with a Twist

Why does this insatiable craving for retail therapy always come when you're broke? For whatever reason, today I found myself thinking about, of all things, Estee Lauder lippie...

Okay, it didn't start today. I started having this weird feeling when the level of my three favourite colours started looking a bit low. It's crazy. I've got tubes of lip colour I barely ever use. I've been using the kit for almost a year, and you know lippie is like toothpaste - there's always a little bit more... So I really had no business going to a mall and checking out the merchandise. Yet I just couldn't stop thinking of expensive makeup... When you start on the good stuff, Maybelline just won't do it anymore... Figured I should at least find out how much a tube of the paint costs so I'll know if I can afford to even think about buying it.

Rolled up to One Utama and illegally parked near the taxi stand, something I normally would not do. Fear of kena saman would ensure I don't linger too long and risk whisking out the electronic equivalent of the good ol' "buku tiga lima" to purchase stuff.

Went all around the cosmetics department checking out le tres cher makeups, perfumes and skincare... In short, things I can't afford to buy :p Maybe it's a good thing I'm broke. I knew I wasn't going to buy anything anyway, so there were no limits. Just try everything!! If I had actually planned to buy something, I'd have been less adventurous. And I found some things I actually liked!

Maybe I'll come again and buy something sometime. But for today, the cravings have been appeased, without succumbing to temptation. Went back feeling good. The wonders of retail therapy...