Feeling Sexy...

No, I'm not menggataling again... Just feel a li'l bit vampy :) It's a wonder what an (unfortunately) expensive haircut and a little colour can do to your flagging self-esteem. :p

Am not a particularly vain person. In fact I can be categorised as downright sloppy much of the time, but recently, my propagation of white hair has been driving me to distraction! Flirted with henna at one point, then thought about colouring the whole lot red. The thought of slapping chemicals on my head was a tad disconcerting, so asked at the salon about an approximate cost. The answer: anything between RM215 to 405. OUCH! Ayo.. where got that kind of money la.. Kalau ada pun, it's budgeted for other things. Can't be throwing money around like that!

Later, made another call to the Artistic Director, who is a little buddy2 with me. She suggested just highlighting, the cost, somewhere around RM200 to 25o. PLus 30-40% off. Right... that sounds a little more affordable. But then, campur trim semua, still about RM200, right? Ayoo. Kenot la.

In the end, I bought a box of hair colour and spent a couple of hours working it in and rinsing it out, conditioning... And the result.. hmm.. not bad. At least my white hair not so obvious now. Had trimmed it back into shape a couple of days ago, so it looks pretty nice.. He he.. so happy. Woman, vanity is thy name.. and unabashedly so!!

Forgetting the Fun

It's amazing how we can actually forget to have fun in the midst of trying to get things done. You blank out all emotions and focus on the nitty gritty of the task at hand. And you don't notice how lifeless your article came out until your editor points it out. Padahal you're writing about something that is soo much part of your life, and there are many interesting stories to tell. And all you came out with was some wooden, stodgy bit of writing.. Duh! Sabar ajelah. Rewrite...

What a Weekend!

I haven't had so much fun in a looong time!

Friday morning, I switched the Kelisa for a Suzuki Grand Vitara in Glenmarie. The 'jumbo mama' was to be tested by yours truly over the weekend. Pumped full of petrol, it was a pretty sweet deal.
Other than it's hulking big size, the car is actually very easy to handle. With controls in the 'usual' spots, it has excellent suspension, great audio, audio control on the wheel, great climate control, and lots of storage space. The only reason I won't buy it is because I don't think it's right to use so much petrol just moving the great hunk of metal around town. It's not a 4x4, even though it looks like one. The fuel economy started at 9 km/L, which was bad enough, but for some strange reason, it went down to 4.6 on Saturday night! I was appalled! What did I do??? I know I idled quite a bit while waiting for people and showing off my 'elephant', but it was still quite ridiculous.

I ran around quite a bit over the weekend. On Saturday morning, I took an impromptu spin down the LDP and round the NKVE via Sg Buloh back to Damansara. Well, it was meant for a test drive, wasn't it? It made short work of the journey. Seriously. I couldn't resist showing it off to Loret and made a detour to her place. Chris thought it was his birthday present. You wish, Bear!

In the afternoon, I had to go pick up Graham & Norma, go back to the house and then go over to Aizan's for the nikah ceremony. Coming back, we stopped by Riana Green to say hi to the birthday boy and hand over his gift. The next day, had to go around buying breakfast and collecting a bookcase. The seven foot shelf went into the car WHOLE, I kid you not! Later on, Naz collected us to guard the wedding cake on its journey to the Istana. Then it was back to the house, get ready, send Norma to Putra station and on to the Istana again.

The makan2 was quite normal, but afterwards, it was quite a party! Look at the boys horsing around. Kelakar & riuh giler. Everyone morphed back into the camera whores we were and we had a whale of a time ambik gamba ramai2 and catching up with each other. It was late by the time we went home, but it was a real blast. Great to see you all again, guys.. Missed you all!

I Live in My Own World

Just read a colleague's blog where she was bitching about her minuscule salary and 'crazy work hours'. She even listed her 'saviours' who made life in the office bearable, and not surprisingly, I wasn't listed. I'm not upset or anything, because I feel closer to the much hated 'upper mgmt'.

I put it to differences in age, attitude, experiences and priorities. We're closer in age, my editor was my senior in school, and we work similar hours. We don't have clingy boyfriends to worry about. I see my friends whenever it's convenient and stay home (or office) at other times. We see work as a responsibility and a way to pay the bills. I think the one with the craziest work hours is my boss. I work pretty late, and often work at home as well. Plus sometimes I do overtime when I have a project on my plate.

This girl comes from an affluent family, and think nothing of spending close to fifty bucks over lunch, then complain she's underpaid! Dua ribu normal la for fresh grads. Dulu I start keja, even less than that. Her Daddy dearest pays for the nice apartment and car. All her money goes to shopping and makan2, hair treatments and stuff. Memang la tak cukup!!

Try having a dad yang lepas tangan and expect US to give him money whenever his stupid second hand Merc breaks down. All his money disappears in the hand of his bloody bitch, but he thinks I'm a bad daughter because I kept some family money for the adik beradik. Suruh la bini dia bayar for the car! And the girl thinks she has a hard time! Go figure.

Rindu

Sometimes I miss the old days so much. Carefree days of just going to classes and hanging out with people in college. That was SO long ago. Then there were easygoing days with Wek, Ali & the UM girls. Time when the canoe team always hung out together, had parties and went frogging on a whim. Later, there was the TEKAD gang who are constantly meeting up, having bowling tourneys and such.

These days, most people are married with kids. Even the single ones are bogged with work and more work. Plus family obligations. I guess I miss the camaraderie, the days of just hanging out, swapping stories, trading silly jokes... These days nak gi minum pun kena plan awal2.

Then of course there are people that I miss, people who have moved to the outside perimeters of our relationship, people who used to be a big part of my life. Now it's day in day out with girls in the office. Plus one or two boys. But by the nature of the job, we spend much of our time either running around like headless chickens or staring hard at the computer stringing words together, hoping they won't come back slashed to smithereens by the editors afterwards.

Life is pretty good, but somehow it lacks the exhuberance of youth, something often reminded to me by the pretty young things that share our sphere in the office. But then, change is inevitable, and who knows, some other things might change for the better tomorrow. All we can do is hang on, and make the best out of the present... Amin.

The Struggling Writer

People always think it's cool to be a writer. Truth is, it's not an easy job. Especially if you're writing for a publication. There are always 'rules' to be adhered to. Your pieces need a certain voice, a certain feel to it. It must always reflect the image of the publication. Then there is the need to find certain people for interviews, and photos. If you can't get someone, you're stuck. You can't sleep and your life is miserable. Until the day you get a scoop, you redeem yourself and the sun shines again...

Such is life :)

Adventures

I was being a total hermit on Saturday and never realised there was a landslide in Bkt Antarabangsa until I came down to watch TV that night. Immediately texted my Tai Kor who lived in the area and was assured that he and the family are fine. They had to abandon their condo and he's now looking for another place to rent/buy. He described having to plough through the jungle to get to safety. At that time, the cars had to be left behind. I didn't ask where they stayed that night, but must be hard on them with baby and all.

It's scary because just recently I mentioned in passing that I was looking for a place and he recommended his area. I said I loved his place because it was nice and breezy, but I wasn't keen on the area because it was prone to landslides. He negated this, saying that his side is safe, built on solid ground, etc. In a way, i suppose it's true because his condo is still standing, but you know how nature works. If one area has been dislodged, the areas behind will be at risk. Nobody wants another Highland Towers tragedy.

I vaguely remember a conversation with an Ampang Jaya official a few years ago. She told me that the whole area rested on a layer of clay (?). This means that heavy rain would saturate the upper layer and make them prone to sliding off the lower layer i.e. a landslide.

Now some people are blaming a 3 storey bungalow being built on the hill for the slope failure. It seems possible to me. After all, people have lived there for 20 years without any mishap, there must have been some kind of change that triggered the tragic event. Did the bungalow have proper permission to build there? Were all the procedures adhered to? Was there any dodgy dealing involved? Sadly, I must say it might be possible, because many departments are run by people who decide things based on financial gain and perception instead of hard facts.

I'm just glad that there were very few fatalities in the tragedy. Somehow, I wish we could change the way things are, because right now, too many things are being done wrong. What, then, would the future of Malaysia be?

Relief

After days of stuggling with the computer, thankfully I can work on it again. The system has stabilised, even though I'm pretty sure there's some kind of malware still lurking in the background. At least the ENTER key works again. Have you ever tried to type paragraphs without using the ENTER key? A clue to the malware: if I key in inverted commas ("), they won't appear until I hit SPACE. If I key in " and then type enter, it becomes ënter. See the two dots over the E? That's just a few wonky things that happen. If it's allowed to get any worse, eventually the keyboard gets a life of its own and starts new lines as you type, breaking up paras, even words, if you're not careful. One night, I left a document open when i fell asleep, the document was a few hundred pages long by the time I woke up! Even worse, trying to open up any document will result in LOTS of them being opened up at the same time, rendering the computer totally useless as you helplessly try to stem the tide of extra files! It's still blipping as I work, so I know the bad stuff is still in there.

It's something I picked up when I borrowed someone's computer for a job early this year, and the bleeping thing made it impossible for me to get any decent notes for the meeting.

On the other hand, I just managed to get a WIndows XP SP 3 and the latest Zone AV update, so I hope it can finally get hold of this menace and get rid of it once and for all. It was 2 days of installing, scanning, adding on, jamming, restarting, scanning again to get to this point, so I REALLY hope this works. Touch wood.

Barred

Doesn't it suck when something goes wrong and you know you share a large part of the blame? I had missed my phone bill deadline by a couple of weeks, mainly because my documents were a mess, and the laptop was acting up. Finally paid up before work yesterday. I thought it would be all right la, since the new bill tak dapat pun lagi. And then suddenly my line was barred this morning. Yeesh! Dah la I ada assignment. Kalau ada emergency nak contact ke, kan susah..

Called up the call center and asked them why it was barred. Rupanya the payment via M2u belum clear. Sheesh. Biasa sekejap je dah clear. Wanted to argue jugak, pasal bil baru belum dapat dah kena bar. But then, I realised it was me who refused to increase the limit, so logik la, my line was cut when it reached the call limit. Grr.. leceh sungguh. Dah tu they won't unbar until i gave them the transaction ref no. Masalah la plak nak bukak M2u just so they will unbar my line.. Hrmph.

Baru semalam buat resolution to be ladylike - which includes not being grumpy and not scolding people, especially those poor call center guys. Sheez. Tolak markah...

This is Why Babies Should Be Strapped In!

Malaysians have always been degil when it comes to strapping in their babies in a moving car. My ex-sis in law even lets Aina sleep on the front seat without any harness. Kalau eksiden, orang lain la yang salah... Please la people, invest in a child car seat. It can save their lives...

Infant dies in freak accident

MALACCA: A 7-month-old boy was killed in a car accident on the Alor Gajah-Malacca-Jasin road near Batu Gajah on Saturday.

Muhammad Amirul Rashidi Wahyie Abdullah was thrown from his mother's lap when the car they were travelling in crashed into the divider, spun out of control and strayed into the opposite lane at 5.30pm.

At some point, the left rear door was believed to have opened, and Amirul was flung out onto the road. He died on the spot from head and body injuries.

Seven others in the car -- the baby's parents, grandparents, and three cousins -- were treated at Malacca Hospital for minor injuries.

The family was believed to have been travelling from Muar to Port Dickson.

TGIF

You know, I really miss being home. I used to write in the morning, take it easy in the afternoon, and work some more at night. Now I come in early, work all day, and go home to deal with more work. I curi2 time to sort out my bills, do laundry, kemas rumah and clean my cabinets. Knowing me, I might buy Panadol one year and never take any for the next one and a half. Yes, I detest medications. Anyway, bottomline is, I like to spend time at home.

Unfortunately, for the sake of cari makan, I sometimes balik lambat, sampai my cat oso grow desperate for TLC. Maybe I should get Leo some friends... I was counting on domesticating Belang, neighbour's leftover tom, but Leo tak mau kawan dengan dia. Sheez. Territorial felines!

I cheating a bit this morning, went to an assignment straight from home instead of masuk ofis dulu. Gave sis the car and gave myself an extra hour and half of sleep. That was bliss. But I haven't had enough. I have nice stuff in the fridge, which I haven't had the chance to eat. Did I tell you about the brand new 5-star fridge I just bought? Anyway, am so looking forward to balik awal today, make myself a nice chicken salad, maybe put on a pot of Starbucks to brew, and watch TV/ downloaded movie/ TV series/ read. I'll deal with chores tomorrow. TGIF!

Poison Alert!

I can't believe I spent more than half a day fiddling with words so that I can tell the public about the risk of BPA from polycarbonate bottles.

As many of you know, I was totally enamoured of my Felton drinking bottles. They look good, are easy to carry around, and store enough water for a whole day's supply. I believed them to be eco-friendly because they are reusable, and since there was a triangle of chasing arrows underneath, recyclable.

Little did I realise that there is an ongoing debate about its safety! Apparently, PC is made up of various resins, and are NOT recyclable. Worse, bisphenol-A (BPA) is used to make many of them, and it is a toxin that has been linked to various maladies including obesity and diabetes.

I learnt about all this while surfing for information and understandably freaked out. I was drinking gallons of water from those bottles every single day! Questions ran through my head.

Did it have anything to do with my medical condition? God knows...

Did I often fill the bottles with hot water? Sometimes. Not always.

Was I using a worn out bottle? Not sure.

Did I often drink water left in the bottle for a few days? Sometimes. When there's no other cooled water to drink.

Does the water taste funny after a few days? I guess, but not really plasticky...

Arrkk! What have I done? Thus, I switched to a glass bottle I had saved because it's so pretty. The trouble is, it only carries 330ml, so I have to refill it every so often. I didn't dare go back to the plastic bottles, but it seems to me that the water cooler bottles are made up of the same stuff too! I used to hate drinking cold water from the cooler because to me it tasted funny. after a while I kind of got used to it. Oh dear.. maybe I was drinking BPA soup from there! Now, what if I brought cooled boiled water from home? But in the redoubtable Felton bottles? Hrm.. maybe not. Otherwise, buy an aluminum water bottle. But those cost a bomb... Or maybe find one which is made of other plastics.. Hmm.. that might work.. Sigh. So susah la like this...

Pening...

Do you sometimes feel that something's not quite right in your system? Like, you can't work fast enough, or think clearly enough. Sometimes I feel like my brain is as dry as cotton wool..

I like my work, but these days I feel like it takes so much time and effort to get things done. And I'm constantly struggling to keep up with deadlines and shoots and people and interviews... So tired sometimes. Even weekends are not spared. there's always something to deal with, either with work, Peregrine work, or personal stuff. Maybe it's my fault for taking up more than I can chew. On the other hand, I'm trying to deal with my past mistakes and make something of my future. There are so many things that I want for a better life, and one way to get them is to work through all that crud and get things done.

Hrmm... Pakcik is back, but he's boring me to death. Can I have a real other half, please?

Bugged. Again!

Isn't it exceedingly annoying when you can't trust your AV anymore? I have an old problem. Some bug that causes my cursor to have a mind of its own. It will start running off while I type, causing my sentences to break up as it moves to the next line without me hitting any button. And it has come to the stage where I can't control the ENTER button anymore, the virus does! It even screws around with the AV so that it seems to be scanning, but doesn't really do so. Sheez! A normal scan lasts for at least an hour. In the "new"version, it only takes 15 minutes!! And of course, there are never any viruses to be found. The thing is, only Zone seems able to control this madness. But I know it's gone cuckoo too. Sigh.. Deleting files is too tedious, and chances are high to accidentally delete crucial files and screw the system altogether. I'm no geek, after all. Maybe I should delete all my old files to stop this problem. But some of them are quite precious... Donno what else to do la. Other than reformatting, which is not a good option, because I have translation software in there which is not easy to get the code once I reformat. AGAIN. Wish this bug would go away :( I hate it!

Cravings

Ever since Ja offered to sell her place at a low price, I have been thinking of the apartment incessantly. No matter the development is run down, with many empty units, and situated close to a kubur Cina. It is also smack in the middle of KL, and very close to PJ. The units are beautiful inside. I love the layout, the floor, the size of the rooms and the sweet little kitchen. The view is lovely - treetops all around, quiet, with a lovely breeze blowing in through the balcony...

Unfortunately, will need to wait for a more opportune time, as my employment is still not secure and savings is really not much at all. Maybe I should visit the place, get it out of my system. Either that or fall in love with it all over again... :-) How I would LOVE to have my own pad for a change...

The Bitchy Whiny Post

No reason, just want to whine about general annoyances in our lives...

1) Traffic jams: Most of the time caused by idiots who most inconsiderately cut into an already long queue, causing people behind to wait forever if the person in front is not assertive enough to forge ahead.

One kid actually honked very loudly at me for blocking his attempts to cut in. Hello!! It was in UM during bulan puasa. Everyone was in a rush, including me, and I was wondering why the queue had not moved for over twenty minutes! It's one thing for people to come in from the Anjung Asuhan/ 5th College road, it's another for gazillions of cars to simply cut into the main queue just before the PJ/KL divide. The boy was lucky I didn't go pulas his telinga for being such an ass. It's still happening at the Sec 17 intersection leading out into Jalan Damansara and SS2 junction out to LDP and everywhere else in PJ/KL. It made a huge difference when traffic police waited there and no one dared to cut line. The jam actually disappeared! Bila la Malaysians nak belajar respect other road users voluntarily??

2) Over-opinionated people: I don't know what's the deal with this girl... She's nice and efficient and everything, but she really gets on my nerves sometimes.

One, with her whines and complaints over the most insignificant matters like SPAM flooding the general email. Come on la, banyak softwares that can put a stop to it. It's not THAT big a deal. Then the 'show-off' whine like, "I tak tau la budak2 tu suit2 kat I. They're young enough to be my kids, you know.." Right, I get it, you perasan lawa coz kena suit. Heh. NOT!

Second, her blanket announcements and unwanted advice on things that has nothing to do with her. Example: "Oh, you live ini DU? Very dangerous place. I kena snatch handbag kat sana twice!" Like, hello! I live there, and I feel it's among the safest and pleasant places to live in PJ. The roads are wide, well-lighted, and people actually make way for you to pass unlike in certain areas where they zoom at you in order to demonstrate their superiority! No one likes to hear people putting down their kampung, la. My response: "Ya ke? I duduk situ 30 tahun takde pun kena." Read: It's just you la. Duh!

Tadi, I just ajak her to turun Singapore, and she went on to say that the shopping not as good la, whatever. Her words were, "Babe, you go to Phuket better." Hello, Phuket I'll go jugak, eventually. Singapore I want to check out the chili crabs and bone steak. Bila masa aku kata nak pergi beli kain? Raya pun aku beli baju pasang siap... I'd have my own reasons la wherever I plan to visit. All I want to do is explore instead of going visiting all the time. Lagipun hari tu tak sempat turun jumpa my family. Heh. Cakap ajelah hang punya passport dah mati, tak mampu nak hidupkan balik. Heh, ok. That was bitchy. But seriously... Why must you lay judgement on my plans?

Other than that, life is good. Just need to finish this article before I go. Ciao!

Dream Worlds

Most of the time, watching TV shows and movies is just entertainment. Somewhere along the way, watching Grey's Anatomy and CSI Vegas has become an escape of sorts for me. They bring up topics we mostly ignore, and I actually feel something about the characters and storyline! I hated Erica & Callie. Glad they axed Erica Hahn. I hated that cold hearted b***ch. And the lezzie story? EWWW!! HATED that. I actually like the original cast, but seriously, something has to be done about the new interns. How do you expect them to become competent doctors with the residents hogging all the cases?

I normally hate it when shows get too weird, like that "father made pact with the devil" story. But the developments in GA is OK with me. Yes, it's rather strange, but I guess there'll be a valid reason behind it to be revealed soon. In case you're wondering, I'm referring to Denny Duquette appearing back from the dead. Like, huh? Didn't he already die?? But since he's so comel, and Izzie loves him so, I'll bear with it. Much better than trying not to muntah when Callie & Erica talk about having sex. Uwek!

The new cast don't seem very promising. After a few seasons, the writers really need to break open new doors, but do they really need to bring in new people? A lot of undeveloped characters already there, I think. It would be nice to have Burke back, but even if he doesn't, something about Mark Sloane actually developing a real relationship would be interesting. I think he'd team up with Callie a lot better than George and Hahn.

As for CSI, I guess I'm fine with whatever personal things go on among them, as long as they keep showing all those interesting cases. I like it when they are shown to have a little heart, just enough to remind us that they're also human.

I don't watch a lot of TV, so guess I'll forgive myself for loving these 2 series so much :-) In the meantime, work is work, and I'm so glad I'm here, even when the sailing is not so smooth. Having it easy is quite a miracle, so when there are obstacles, I just remind myself that it's par for the course.

So glad pakcik is back. Can finally indulge in restaurant testing again now that my dinner buddy is here. Cheers, peeps :D See you guys around soon!

Monday Morning Blues

I don't usually hate Mondays, but today has not been going overly well. My attempts to install K Ayu's hijacked speakers to the office computer has failed. When I brought earphones, the wire tak sampai because there's no port in front. When jacked into the port behind the PC under the table, the earphones reached to my shoulders. So I'm stuck with the huge Skype headphone which thankfully, has ultra long cables.

I'm not really awake yet and I can't remember what I was supposed to do first thing in the morning. What I DO feel like doing is berlingkar on the bed with le Leo until I feel more human. Ugh. I feel a little sick. Maybe I should get an MC.
Alt voice: Yeah, right. You're just bummed because you promised the boss an article by tomorrow, but you haven't got enough stuff, isn't it? Get off your ass, girl. That article ain't gonna write itself..

And with that, ladies and gentlemen, I'd better go pester some people... Ciao!

Trading Places

I came up with a vague idea of swapping houses with Abang until we get our own apartment. After all, he's got family while we're just 2 lazybutts who don't really have time to layan the big house. But that's not working out too well right now.

Knowing my sis, she's all NATO. Komen macam2, tapi tak buat homework/ research. I asked her to arrange viewing some apartments, but of course nothing happened. Made a few phone calls today and went to see a few places tadi after work. It was borderline tolerable.

I wanted a place that was dirt cheap while we sorted out the financing and stuff. The problem is, the real cheap spots are too far away, and the area is quite intolerable. We're used to safe, clean streets, I found most of the places too crowded for comfort. I don't really mind downgrading, as long as I have sufficient breathing space. We did manage to find some borderline nice places we could live in, but so far haven't found out the rental costs yet. I suppose the other option is to stay put until we get things set up.

Brings to mind the song Üptown Girl. We're not posh, but we're quite used to having a lot of space. My bedroom could fit most of the apt I saw today, my bathroom could fit their 2nd bedroom and I was wondering where I was going to put the fridge, washer, dryer and stove. It would be a massive downgrading, which I don't really mind in terms of house space, but I would mind cramming in the sense of access roads, parking facilities and general personal space in public areas. A lot of cars is fine, but not parked here there and everywhere, síl vous plait. I'd live in a hut kat tengah hutan as long as I can have fresh air and personal space! I'm not much for crowds, that's for sure.

The good thing is, I've spotted some places that is within our budget. But the rental thing still needs to be sorted out. Hmm.. buruk2 rumah ni, sayang la jugak. I spent a lot of time cleaning it up, and i know it's really cool inside compared to a lot of other places. Hmm.. donno la. Maybe we'll stay put until we find another place kot. With work and everything, tak larat la nak juggle banyak sangat. Nak blog pun tak larat. I'd get ideas while driving, but then takde mood nak write it up. Hmm.. oh well, insya-Allah, will get it done jugak in the end.

Challenges

I guess I was given a head-start where work was concerned because after months of easy- sailing, challenges have begun to spring into existence. Snippets had to be redone, articles came in from the wrong angle and had to be extensively fixed, time ran out and energy levels fizzled. My blood sugar was elevated last week and it was a challenge to think straight.

Now it's time to pump it up and fix the wrongs. Hopefully, more things don't go wrong, because working in a time sensitive industry, fixing troubles take up too much precious time! Guess I have no choice but to keep moving and getting things back in order. I still enjoy the work, it's just not so magically easy as before. Oh well, I was entitled to a break, and now it's time for elbow grease. C'est la vie...

Aeroplaned!

As a whole, I quite hate photo shoots. Especially afternoon sessions. There are so many people to confirm - subjects, makeup artists, hairstylists, and recently, location people too.. And every too often, someone will aeroplane me at the last minute, or I get too busy to follow up in advance and end up huru- hara trying to get things organised.

The past few days, have been as lazy as if I pulak yang Deepavali. Took a couple of days just to buy groceries and spring clean my room. Managed to find a fridge and iron, tadi lepak dengan the girls. Did clean my cupboards and go to the gym, but all in all, it took entirely too much time. Just remembered that I promised to send in an assignment by the weekend, so no choice, will have to do it tonight.

Got an unwelcome reminder as to tomorrow's shoot when someone called to reconfirm. Location had to be changed. Belum kasi tau the makeup people yet, and as I feared, the hair guy (or should I say 'gay'), aeroplaned me yet again. AAaarrrggghhh!! Shit. Called my whole list of hairstylists, but still kenot confirm anyone. Eeps. And I tried so hard to arrange things in advance! Sheesh. I hope I manage to find someone by tomorrow. Sheesh. This can be a very stressful job sometimes...

*aeroplane=fong fei kei=let you down/ fail to show up

MISS-communications

As much as I hate to see red marks on my copy, you have to admit that how you compose your text does make a difference. An invitation to an event started with :

DON'T LET THE MONTHLIES STOP YOU
With this, you can do just about anything, anytime!

(picture of a ring-like object)

Have sex, swim the ocean, climb a mountain, bla bla bla...

It goes on to say that it's produced by a HK based health care company and it 'offers women even more protection than ever before'. The impression I got was of some dodgy contraption which I wouldn't want to get within a mile of. Was forced to attend anyway, boss' orders, and found that the 'contraption' wasn't so bad at all!

(squeamish people can go away now)

It turns out that the sex bit is just an extra, since your vaginal area would be clear of any blood thanks to the contraption. But since it was the first thing listed, it gave a totally wrong impression to the reader (namely, me). Like, why would you want to have sex when you're having a period? How dodgy... Can't it wait? Obviously I have no authority in this area, but well, that's what ran through my mind anyway...

The softcup (that's the name) is a relatively new alternative to tampons and pads, which effectively caps the cervical area, collecting menstrual flow in a built in soft silicon 'cup'. It's thin like a plastic bag, actually. Since the material is like silicon, there are no fibers that swell if you jump in the pool, and there won't be any drips once you climb out. No mess, no leaks, no smells. I'm sold!

They'll be available in major pharmacies nationwide soon, retailing at RM19.50 per box of five. Yes, expensive, but I can save them for swimming sessions only. For the curious, log on to www.softcup-asia.com. I'd like to try them out too.

On Being Thankful

Sometimes I feel like God holds back something that I really want because I don't really understand why I want it. Sometimes I wish for something so much, simply because everyone else has it. In a way, if I don't have it, I'd feel less than normal, and that would make me feel bad. And in the end, when I have it, I'd be more grateful... most of the time. It's either that or I realise it doesn't suit me after all :)

A lot of people take being loved for granted. Someone we met the other day was telling us not to get married, because she felt her husband was an unnecessary encumberment. I wonder if she would be so glib about it if she lived all her life pining for something no one was willing to give. Would she take her spouse for granted if he hadn't married her? The way we saw it, all he wanted was some respect.

He works hard all day, and sometimes he comes home early only to find that the wife is gone. Is it too much for him to expect to be notified if she was going out? I guess, if the wife is tired of "being the maid" and waiting for a husband who always comes home late, then he should take the trouble to keep her updated too. They don't even have kids, for God's sake. Why can't they go out and date sometimes? Sheesh.

Choices, choices...

We were out of ideas to do the home test. I abhorred the column, mainly due to its terribly boringness. To me, of course. Very the ma fan...

Have been gila2 behind with the work this month, so have been working extra hard to catch up. Semalam dok lari sana, lari sini, sampai lupa which hotel I was supposed to be at! Haiya... Nama organiser semua tak ingat. In the end, terpaksa call office mintak bebudak tu tengokkan buku assignment. Saba ajelah.. blur katak!

Hari ni, wasted time dengan spa yang tah hapa hapa. Mahal gila lak tu. Nasib baik aku punya free. Actually it was all right la, i like the products. But that spa was not for impatient people who are desperately short of time. I felt it was way too long, macam slow motion facial spa for the whole body. I'd rather go for a Swedish to work out the kinks. Traditional or Thai massage pun jadik la. Lagi best. Guess it depends what you want it for la, kot. I was told ramai tai-tai pegi sana, monthly lagi. Heh. Kot nya la aku ada sugar daddy nak buat benda2 tu. Tak kuasa I!

Dalam kecoh2 tu, kena jugak pegi cari air freshener nak test. Dah test nak tulis citer la pulak. Masalahnya, what do you say about air freshener?? Bau sedap. Bau tak sedap. Sekian terima kasih... Hari tu masa dok fikir takde la terfikir pulak masalah takde idea ni. Pastu, setengah tu sebenarnya bau dia tak disukai ramai, tapi.... client la pulak... Macam mana pun, terpaksa kata benda2 yang best walaupun sebenarnya tak best. Hrmm... Arrrgghhh!! Bosan! Nak balik boleh tak? :P

Chuffed!

My article for next month was selected and it went on TV!! NTV7 invited the nutritionist I met and they talked about the content. My page even went on air, with my standfirst proudly displayed for all to see... Hehehehehe... this job is cooler than I expected :D So guys, watch out for November issue of Her World - Losing It. Now, have to go mandi. Got photo shoot in 10 minutes. Erk!

Isn't it strange...

...that sengau voices singing rock kapak songs from the 80's can be uplifting?

...that I feel happy despite living a demanding double life?

...that people who never invited me to their open house can ask me to host one just so they can come? Get with the program, dude. My open house was held on Raya Pertama.

Jammed!

For once I'm glad of my gluttony... Had scarfed a mini pizza and chicken curry pau in the car while driving back to office from Ampang earlier. It took me 2 hours. Midway, got desperate and stopped by a petrol station to borrow their loo. The road was still jammed 20 minutes ago, so stayed for a bit to deal with an ad which needed attention. Timing is quite bad today, so many things sangkut while I was out of base. At least I managed to get my story, so now I can actually balik and do it at home. Nak calling2 pun, my phone batteries are completely dead. So I guess the best course of action is to bungkus whatever is necessary and start for home la. Hopefully the roads have cleared. Kalau tak, I'll stop by a shop/restaurant and makan while waiting for the jam to ease. Kind of 'sad' to makan sesorang, but sometimes no choice lah. I was thinking of going to the gym and pump up my metabolism, but at this hour... maybe not kot. See la how... Really have to go work out. My muka bulat macam bulan oredy.

Back to the Grindstone...

Raya holidays over, have started back at work and MAN! Is there a lot of work to do!! My other assignments are coming in as well, plus yang lama tu nak disiapkan. In between social obligations and work commitments, I'm back to depending on my good old friend, Mr C(affeine) to keep moving. Plus, MUST make time for the gym, because for some strange reason, physical activity actually boosts my energy while too much rest makes me as lemau as kacang goreng tepung masuk angin... Also, because I'm writing a story on Power Jump, a newfangled thing brought in by Celeb Fitness just launched last month; and I happily promised the instructor I'd show my face in class one of these days... Adeh... Have to do double duty this month pasal banyak keja tergugat bulan lepas... Hmm... Bukan senang nak senang, ya?

Lazy Raya

This must be the boringest raya ever.. To begin with, didn't feel much like preparing. So only half-heartedly touched up dodgy wall in the hall. Must budget for a proper paint up job, seriously. Also wanted to change lights, sofa and wall hangings. BUT... we're planning to swap houses soon, so might be better to save up for the new place instead.

Dragged myself to buat lontong. Itu pun pakai acuan. Daun dari pasar, cuma 10% yang cukup lebar utk buat lontong Jawa. Kuih2 semua orang lain buat. Lodeh K Ayu masak. I cuma buat rendang je pagi.

Pagi raya, visit Aunty Rose sebelah, ada a few friends datang, petang baru nak gi kubur Mak, then pegi Kg Pandan & Selayang. Next day visit Abah kat Sg Buloh. On the way balik sepatutnya singgah Kuang, tapi really ngantuk, so balik terus. Malam jalan2 sikit, then balik. Nak go S'pore tak jadi pasal ada orang takde passport. Nak balik kampung, Mak Ngah takde. Kitorang pun satu family sakit perut. Apa ada "ramuan tambahan" ke makanan kat rumah makcik tu?

Saturday kemas rumah, cuci baju & setelkan house linens. Lepak2 main game. Konon nak siapkan projek yang berlambak-lambak belum siap. Habuk pun tarak. Holiday mood sungguh! Sepatutnya nak balik BP hari ni, but found out Mak Ngah still kat Singapore. So I guess esok je la I turun BP for some family matters, balik hari.

The only good thing was I managed to settle some really overdue household matters and dapat pegi shopping. Plus that *&^%# company finally paid up. Saja je nak buat dajal, bagi cek pukul 6.00 petang hari Selasa. Nasib baik gaji dah masuk. Kalau tak, tak ke naya orang nak raya? So now kira duit raya la. OK jugak. Things are looking up... Sigh.. holiday almost over. Will be back on the grindstone soon. Adehhhss...

Time, Time, Time

We do take things like wristwatches for granted until they cease to function. We were at a marathon catch up session on Saturday, when someone exclaimed that it was almost 3 a.m. I glanced at my watch and saw that it was still only 12.30. However, a quick check on the handphone confirmed that it was already very late. My trusty Casio had apparently run out of juice...

Didn't get a chance to change the battery until yesterday afternoon. Running from one event to another, I kept pulling up my sleeve only to find my wrist, no timekeeping device strapped onto it, as was normal. I parked at the Weld, hoping that there will be a watch shop there. I was annoyed to find that there was none. Luckily, my sources pointed me to Wisma HLA, next door to where my event was, and the battery was quickly replaced. What a relief.

Being a clock watcher, I seriously don't understand people who insist that they don't need a watch. I know handphones and various other devices around us offer to tell the time, but how reliable are they, compared to a simple, personal device that can tell us the time at a glance, instead of fiddling with handphones or looking around for a public clock? But then, I know watchless people who are way better at keeping time.. so i guess it boils down to the person also. Oh well, at least my watch works again. Maybe I should take the trouble to fix my other watches, at least I'd have a backup at the ready.

High and Dry

Due to the peculiarities of thought, I now find myself stuck high & dry without a single sen of the remuneration due to me in hand. I have been working my butt off for the past few months, day and night, to meet deadlines and expectations, but for some reason, the money is not coming in!

I thought DANIDA would pay up pretty fast. Well, it's been three weeks and I haven't received their payment. Local companies, even ones owned by "nice guys" have a tendency to dilly dally with payment. Kalau keja, nak cepat aje. Hari ni bagi, esok nak siap. Payment, dah dekat dua bulan tak bagi2 lagi. Semalam janji nak bank in cheque. Hari ni, call pun tak nak angkat. Geram betul!

WWF normally pays fast, tapi kena pulak project officer yang dah lemak keja dgn NGO lain, nak check document 2 minggu, invoice dah seminggu aku hantar, dia baru nak check email. Dah la aku kasi discount murah gila, sacrifice my b'day lagi nak betulkan keja orang lain. Saja nak melambat2kan payment aku. Aku seligi karang...

Even my highly esteemed company pun bayar lewat kat contract staff. Full timers ok la kot. Contributors lagi la tunggu lama. Tadi diorang bagi hamper raya. Kemain lawa lagi. Nice, thank you. But hello!! I need cash la. Bila nak sain cek? Kuih raya tu bukan boleh pakai bayar bil. Aku ni dah la keja siang malam, sampai buka kat ofis, keja hari Sabtu nak siapkan assignment yang berlambak2. Jangan la lambat2 bayar gaji. Aku nak makan apa macam ni?

Claims lagi satu... Aku submit awal bulan, proses la dulu. Boleh dia tunggu 15th, biar semua orang terkontang kanting nak submit (lambat takleh claim), dah berlonggok, baru la terhegeh-hegeh nak proses claim aku. Boleh tak, buat peel macam tu? Siap slash lagi kalau aku balik rumah straight lepas event. Sial. Trip 50 km, dia kira 40 pasal "Shah Alam standard limit 40 km". Hello! Ingat aku ni penipu ke hapa? Dah rumah kawan tu jauh 50 km.. Aku pakai trip meter la, bukan saja2 nak claim lebih! Each trip means petrol, and parking bukannya murah. Each event in PJ Hilton, parking RM8 - banquet rate. KLCC, at least RM5. No receipt, no claim. Abih kalau resit tak keluar - rugi la aku. Macam ni gajah pun mati..

Kompeni sial lagi satu tu lagi la. Payment aku konon dah pos. Pos kat mana pun tak tau. Tunggu replacement dah dekat dua bulan dah ni. Dia kata bos dia tunggu statement. Pantat dia la tunggu statement. Mintak aje kat bank, dia bagi. Bayar pun singgit. Takkan la kompeni nkau tu sengkek sangat nak bayar singgit pun tak mampu. Memang sengaja nak melambat2kan payment orang. Biasa la tu. Ingat freelancers tak payah dibayar. Lemak. Aku claim via tribunal karang.. So far, dah lebih enam bulan dah payment tu sangkut.

Pagi tadi ada event kat Marriott. Dok fikir nak isi minyak, nak bayar parking... Mintak duit tak dapat2. Aku rasa pengemis tepi jalan tu pun lagi banyak duit dari aku. Tadah aje, mesti ada orang bagi cash. Padahal aku yang keja bertungkus lumus ni, habuk pun tak dapat. Aku nangis.

Mamma Mia!

If anyone ever needed a pick me up, this is it. I hate musicals, but I do love ABBA, and Meryl Streep, and Pierce Brosnan... So free tickets to the movie was just the thing to do with the girls on a Tuesday night after weeks of constant working and trying to work.

And in conclusion? I LOVE IT!!

It's just so funny and sweet and raunchy and cute... With lovely scenes on the island and the Mediterranean sea - makes the Ikan Paus want to jump in and swim along! For once, it's not in Hollywood or anywhere near America. The whole show was hilarious. If you're like me, born in the seventies, you'd have grown up listening to ABBA, so it's a journey down memory lane as well.

Meryl Streep looks exactly like who she really is - a lovely woman old enough to have a grown up daughter. And Pierce Brosnan looks much older too. Older, but has aged gracefully. He has dignity, the look of a loving father. Ha. I remember having a crush on the much younger man when I was a kid. Remington Steele - anyone remember that series? I thought he was the most handsome guy of all time. Of course it was before meeting my sexy tai kor and "all the guys I've loved before".

Just the ticket to warm up this jaded woman who can't be bothered to hope anymore. Well, who knows, maybe someone would take the trouble to marry me sometime. If not, oh well. who cares? I'm happy enough. Why make yourself miserable because you can't find a certain kind of happiness, right? :) Life is hard enough, just enjoy the roses as they come along. Carpe diem!

Priorities & Balance

These days I seem to be scrambling just to keep an even keel. Many things are good, but some things threaten to put a plug in my efforts at times. I have bits and pieces I'm doing for people, plus lots of work, and the result is often lack of time. However, despite my scrambling to hand work in on time, payment will too often take it's own sweet time. Plus some that you really have to fight to actually get.

I've started going to the gym, something which I normally detest, but once you have committed to it, walking the treadmills don't seem half bad. It's just a necessary evil, which can be done at night, after work, rain or shine. Above all, I'm actually feeling good! After a while you body quits complaining and you can actually enjoy the results.

The only thing from all this work and gym sessions is that I'm hardly home, and when I am, I'm in front of the computer until I fall asleep. So my cats are definitely not getting enough TLC. Pseudo needs the vet, but I need to wait for my money to come in first. And the house is in desperate need for a cleanup. Maybe I can call for the cleaners to come. But that again will need money. It's nonsensical how I keep expecting to be paid, and yet time and time again I end up waiting and frustrated before I see anything. Urgh. Bayar cepat sikit boleh tak?

Pushing Forward

I'm just so exhausted these days... Kalau tak puasa tu, ok la sikit, boleh telan caffeine. Kalau puasa, ubat dia, kena cukup tido. Tak makan takpe, jangan tak cukup tido, takleh nak bergerak!

Finally went to the gym on Sunday. I have 2 free sessions with a trainer. Second one malam ni. Oh so malas nak pegi... Lepas train nak reward myself dengan donat boleh tak? hehehe... After that, I'm on my own, except for tips I can get from friends and the internet.. see if i can bribe my trainer to give me tips every now and then. Nak bayar for full sessions, tak mampu la.

Have a million things on my to do list, lagi pulak kena cover mangkuk2 yang blah cuti tak siapkan keja depa. Tak pasal aku pulak nak kena cover, keja aku tak sempat nak siap. Pastu ada some articles yang more challenging than usual, so have to go round the world looking for solutions. It's almost mid September and I'm still working on last month's stragglers. Then ada my personal projects lagi nak disiapkan. And chasing after stuck payments... Ayoyo... bayar la cepat wei. Aku nak beli kasut pun kena fikir doblas kali... tak pasal2 aku tension. Aku sue diorang ni karang, lawyer la pulak yang kaya... ngehehe...

Hrmph... bila laa nak setel benda2 mengarut nih...? Hmm... kalau balik boleh terus tido kan best... Saba ajelah.. sikit je lagi. By bulan depan everything clear la kot. Insya-Allah, Aminnnnnnnn.

I Was Tagged By Acik

Ha ha.. Lama tak kena tag, tengah busy2 ni, kena pulak tag dengan Acik. OK, time out sekejap (ni still kat ofis ni).

BILA KALI PERTAMA MENAIKI KAPAL TERBANG? Masa umur sembilan taun - the one and only time satu family pegi holiday overseas. Masa tu excited giler. Pasal takut mabuk, my dad bawak la gi doktor ambik ubat. Ubat tu buat kita ngantuk. Tapi pasal flight sekejap sangat, atas plane tak tidur, sampai Medan takleh nak bukak mata!

KALI PERTAMA KE OVERSEA?

Singapore kira tak? Since my family separuh kat sana, dari kecik lagi selalu ke Pulau Singa. Kalau tak, then the Medan trip la.

KALI PERTAMA DUDUK BERJAUHAN DARI KELUARGA?

Form 1, kat sekolah yang bergelar "KaTaK". Whatever la, we love our little tempurung. Hahaha...

TERINGIN SANGAT NAK MELANCONG KE…? Kanada! Land of wide open spaces, mountains, lakes, forests, black bears, mountain goats, salmons, whales, etc, etc, etc. Insya-Allah, one day...

FAVOURITE ACCESSORIES? Rantai & loket + anting-anting pemberian arwah Mak. And also her diamond ring.

KALAU ADA DUIT ??? Setelkan all my hutangs, beli keta baru and get a nice apartment, with a pool, naturally.

SIAPA YANG ANDA NAK TAG ?
Sherrie
Naz
Anaz
Bet
Marissa
Capt 9
Acat

My First Byline

I guess it's a writer thing. I'm not exactly thrilled with my first article in a commercial magazine. The few others published in DOE newsletters are even less exciting la. I really feel it could have been better. But there's always a first time, and I have loads to learn...

So ladies and laddies, please pick up a copy of the September issue of Her World. Guys, I'm sure yr wives would appreciate the gift. And as a bonus, there's a voucher for a session at Body Contours spa inside. Males are welcome too. I really liked the session I had the other day. It's worth more than RM100, at least. I'm not sure what the catch is, but T&C applies.

Go-mei food,ah?

As everybody knows, I like to eat. I budget for two to three 'makan besar' sessions with pakcik & my darling girlie friends a month (provided I have money la). And now, I get to makan besar free now and then. Also got vouchers for slimming session free afterwards. Heh. Don't care la, local or imported cuisine, for me, food must be wholesome and worth the hard earned money. Last night, Manhattan Fish Market had some kind of media thingy to promote their Ramadhan Berbuka Package (Worth 26.90). The the verdict is the same as previously... Not Worth The Money.

I can't write this in the magazine, but personally, I think they're a bunch of frauds. First thing, the company has nothing to do with the US. The food has never gone anywhere near the Manhattan Fish Market. It's most probably locally sourced, or imported from a nearby country. They don't use top quality ingredients. There's not much imported cheeses and ingredients to justify the high price. The recipes are bland. Whether local or western food, they're neither here nor there. Portions are not as big as Chili's or TGIF. There's no ambiance like the other spots. They're basically fast food that's charging like crazy.

In fact, the company is actually local, with one Singaporean partner. I don't care if a company is local. It's OK if they're local and selling western food. But I hate overpriced food. I think they're only expanding because everyone suckered to eat there paid so much for the lousy food that they cannot rugi.

Compared to Dave's Deli, they can't win. I think the food at DD is really tasty and good value for money. I don't know why they seem to be disappearing from the local food landscape, though. I should check it out again sometime. Without Pakcik, because he scoffs at the shepherd's pie. Heh.

Woman's Reflection ..........................

Read & Reflect

The article below is an immensely well written article. Looks like the writer is an Iranian woman. However, whoever or whatever she is, I think she deserves full marks for a very well presented article.

Woman's Reflection on Leading Prayer: Yasmin Mogahed

'Given my privilege as a woman, I only degrade Myself by trying to be something I'm not--and in all honesty--don't want to be: a man. As women, we will never reach true liberation until we stop trying to mimic men, and value the beauty in our own God-given distinctiveness.'

On March 18, 2005 Amina Wadud led the first female-led Jumuah (Friday) prayer. On that day women took a huge step towards being more like men. But, did we come closer to actualizing our God given liberation? I Don't think so.

What we so often forget is that God has honored the woman by giving her value in relation to God not in relation to men. But as western feminism erases God from the scene, there are no standard left but men. As a result the western feminist is forced to find her value in relation to a man. And in so doing she has accepted a faulty assumption. She has accepted that man is the standard, and thus a woman can never be a full human being until she becomes just like a man-the standard.

When a man cut his hair short, she wanted to cut her hair short. When a man joined the army, she wanted to join the army. She wanted these things for no other reason than because the 'standard' had it. What she didn't recognize was that God dignifies both men and women in their distinctiveness—not their sameness. And on March 18, Muslim women made the very same mistake.

For 1400 years there has been a consensus of the scholars that men are to lead prayer. As a Muslim woman, why does this matter? The one who leads prayer is not spiritually superior in any way. Something is not better just because a man does it. And leading prayer is not better, just because it's leading. Had it been the role of women or had it been more divine, why wouldn't the Prophet have asked Ayesha or Khadija, or Fatima-the greatest women of all time-to lead?

These women were promised heaven-and yet they never lead prayer.

But now for the first time in 1400 years, we look at a man leading prayer and we think, 'That's not fair.' We think so although God has given no special privilege to the one who leads. The imam is no higher in the eyes of God than the one who prays behind.

On the other hand, only a woman can be a mother. And God has given special privilege to a mother. The Prophet taught us that heaven lies at the feet of mothers. But no matter what a man does he can never be a mother. So why is that not unfair?

When asked who is most deserving of our kind treatment? The Prophet replied 'your mother' three times before saying 'your father' only once.

And yet even when God honors us with something uniquely feminine, we are too busy trying to find our worth in reference to men, to value it-or even notice. We too have accepted men as the standard; so anything uniquely feminine is, by definition, inferior. Being sensitive is an insult, becoming a mother-a degradation.

In the battle between stoic rationality (considered masculine) and self-less compassion (considered feminine), rationality reigns supreme.

As soon as we accept that everything a man has and does is better, all that follows is just a knee jerk reaction: if men have it-we want it too. If men pray in the front rows, we assume this is better, so we want to pray in the front rows too. If men lead prayer, we assume the imam is closer to God, so we want to lead prayer too. Somewhere along the line we've accepted the notion that having a position of worldly leadership is some indication of one's position with God.

A Muslim woman does not need to degrade herself in this way. She has God as a standard. She has God to give her value; she doesn't need a man.

In fact, in our crusade to follow men, we, as women, never even stopped to examine the possibility that what we have is better for us. In some cases we even gave up what was higher only to be like men.

Fifty years ago, society told us that men were superior because they left the home to work in factories. We were mothers. And yet, we were told that it was women's liberation to abandon the raising of another human being in order to work on a machine. We accepted that working in a factory was superior to raising the Foundation of society -just because a man did it.

Then after working, we were expected to be superhuman-the perfect mother, the perfect wife, the perfect homemaker -and have the perfect career. And while there is nothing wrong, by definition, with a woman having a career, we soon came to realize what we had sacrificed by blindly mimicking men. We watched as our children became strangers and soon recognized the privilege we'd given up.

And so only now-given the choice-women in the West are choosing to stay home to raise their children.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, only 31 percent of mothers with babies, and 18 percent of mothers with two or more children, are working full-time. And of those working mothers, a survey conducted by Parenting Magazine in 2000, found that 93% of them say they would rather be home with their kids, but are compelled to work due to 'financial obligations'. These 'obligations' are imposed on women by the gender sameness of the modern West, and removed from women by the gender distinctiveness of Islam.

It took women in the West almost a century of experimentation to realize a privilege given to Muslim women 1400 years ago.

Given my privilege as a woman, I only degrade myself by trying to be something I'm not--and in all honesty--don't want to be: a man. As women, we will never reach true liberation until we stop trying to mimic men, and value the beauty in our own God-given distinctiveness.

If given a choice between stoic justice and compassion, I choose compassion. And if given a choice between worldly leadership and heaven at my feet - I choose Heaven.

REDHA

MUZIK : HAZAMI
LIRIK : HAZAMI & TRIS (MUSIC & ME PUBLISHING)

SEGALA SYUKUR PADAMU
KEREDHAAN KU PASRAHKAN
HANYA KAU TAHU ISI HATIKU
PUJI PUJIAN HANYA UNTUKMU

ADA KALANYA JIWA GELORA
WALAU TERLENA KU KAN TERJAGA
SINAR CAHAYA KAU LIMPAHKAN
AGAR DIRIKU TETAP BERSAMAMU

CHORUS :
KAU SENTUH JIWA
TUNJUK PADAKU
TAKKAN SENDIRI
KAU DI SISI
DI HATI SELAMANYA

KAU MENGUKIR
YANG TERINDAH
KU KAN BERSAMA
KU KAN PERHAMBA
NESCAYA HATI TERUS REDHA

OH TUHAN LINDUNGILAH
KEKUATAN JIWA HAMBA
HANYA KAU SAJA NAN BERKUASA
SEMUA PADAMU HARAPANKU

BRIDGE :
FITRAH MANUSIA
KEIMANAN DIDUGA ADA KETIKA
DAKU REDHA KETETAPANMU
KAU NAN BERTAKHTA
YANG KU PUJA

Translation Horrors...

Linguistic nitpickers like me cringe at bad translations. And there's A LOT of them out there. Here's my all time unfavourite.

From Lord of the Rings:
... the ring that was forged...
...cincin yang dipalsukan...

Right... Forgery = palsu. Heh. Korang ni tak reti cakap Melayu, tak faham Inggeris. Hampeh!! Ever heard of the word "tempa"??? Sheez...

Right now am helping Chitra edit a screwed up translated document. Tu la, aku dah banyak kali offer nak tolong buatkan korang punya documents, hang pi hantar kat ntah sapa2 tu buat apa? Buat lagi hantar kat kroni. Kan dah susah nak kena cari editor.. It's obvious whoever did it was not strong in English, and weak in BM. Everything out of context. Ada parts yang tertingal-tinggal lagi. Very sloppy. Saba ajelah...

On the other hand, it's well understood among translators that knowledge of a subject matter is crucial to get good results. A finance person will find environmental jargon a mystery. Too often, you'll end up using all sorts of foreign phrases that does not fit into the professional lingo of the material being translated. I awal2 dah angkat tangan kalau legal document. I DO NOT speak legalese!!

But I did land in hot water because apparently I didn't do a good job with an Annual Review. Have to admit financial reports are not exactly my cup of tea, but at the time I thought I could swing it. But then, they have failed to provide me proof that it was indeed poor quality that held up my payment, instead of the fact yang diorang memang liat nak bayar freelancers!! Planning to pick up a copy and check if this is really the case.

Whatever it is, have committed to fixing up the freaked out file, so guess I'll just wade through as best as I can.

Under Siege

As I've often said, dreams are messages from your subconscious. The other day I had a pretty disturbing one. The country was in chaos, we were under seige. Bands of guerrillas roamed, striking fear into everyone. Don't say it had anything to do with "Blood Diamond', because i watched that one ages ago. Anyway, someone aimed a gun into the place where I was hiding with a pile of other people. I was hit - somewhere at the neck-shoulder juncture. Somewhat reminiscent of the injury Warrick was inflicted with. I bled profusely, I thought I was going to die. Fortunately, it being a dream and all, I survived. Someone patched me up. The bullet? Donno la, still there or not. You know la, mimpi. Kena tembak pun tak sakit. Like weakening only. Next scene, injury was healing already. The country was still a little chaotic, but recovering.

So what would all this mean? I hardly remember my dreams, and usually they are pretty tame. But this one was pretty intense. The only thing I can associate it with is my work and finances la. It's been hard going for a while, with cheques being lost and payments being delayed - I really felt I was bleeding to death. Mainly because the job necessitates a lot of travelling, while petrol and parking can be very expensive. Plus, I don't have much time to cook, so a lot of the time, I have to eat out. Luckily, every other day or so I get fed at events. Now payments are starting to come in, plus extra work, so I hope to 'get well soon'.

Sayang, will have to farm out new assignments under Peregrine, but have to be practical la. My job can be rather demanding- my TO DO list is a mile long and I have to juggle 7-8 assignments at a time. I stay back a lot to write, because days are filled with events, calls, meetings, interviews and shoots. Needless to say, I don't have much time for Peregrine anymore. Even weekends aren't sacred. Right now I have a couple of small projects under way, and even that is straining at the seams. But I'd like to keep it going. Peregrine is my baby. Will have to sub out the big chunks and just take a little here and there. Well, everyone knows that life is not easy, so I'm going with the flow, and praying everything works out.

Cheers, everyone. Have a good week/weekend ahead!

Overload alert!!

My boss had warned me earlier to tell her if my workload becomes too much. I think she needs to stop piling on the platter for a couple of days so I can clear my plate. Kind of difficult with last minute assignments vying for time with current assignments. Last week's happy2 assignment was fun, but it stole precious writing time and now I'm struggling to catch up. It's a bit hard when your body's tired, but the mind can't rest until the job's done. Someone was sidetracked from working on a column so mine was fast forwarded, which mucks up the schedule even more!

Top it up with a couple of personal projects and I'm seriously feeling the strain. Sigh. Will need to clear some of the load tonight so that I can breathe tomorrow. Deadlines, deadlines... Gotta suck it up la. No choice. Gotta go. Work's waiting...

The Penniless & The Peugeot

Was excited to be assigned a test drive trip on Thursday. A bit on edge, though, 'coz I'm pretty much penniless at that point. Most meals will be covered, but you know la, if anything happen, kena ada duit jugak kan? Luckily, we were quite well pampered for this outing. Even got a bit of pocket money from the organisers. So happy..

On arrival, found that most of the party are guys. Only 3 girls from the media - so we shared one car. By 9.45, all of us are in our 407s and heading on to Lumut. The first part, highway, Huey Ling drove. I took the next bit - the federal road from Bidor all the way out to Damai Laut. Needless to say, we all fell in love with the car la. Such a sweet car to drive. Very comfy, great suspension, special v-cool like windscreen, great handling, good brakes, great acceleration. I'm usually quite apprehensive to overtake, but with this baby, no problem! The boys really put the car through its paces, but we pushed pretty hard as well. But seriously.. as a passenger - it was so stable that I felt totally comfy even while cruising at 150 kmph. On the small road towards the resort, we tested braking and suspension when I failed to notice a speed bump until the very last minute. Result - back passenger still happily seated. Coming back from an outing, i witnessed the xenon lights - excellent beams. Bright as daylight, but automatically leveled down so as not to blind oncoming traffic.

Being on 'the gravy train'. as pakcik says, we had a good time at the resort. BBQ, karaoke and island hopping was part of the package. I managed to make use of the pool and did a bit of work in between, but it was mostly a pleasure trip.

The only challenge for me was to look for the interesting food, 'coz that's the angle of my story. It was pretty slim picking, I must say. In between the activities, couldn't run out on my own in an unfamiliar spot. Did manage to get some tips from one of the guys, so at least I got SOMETHING to work on... We were supposed to stop in Bidor to buy fruit on the way back, but we missed a turn and ended up taking the Sabak Bernam coast road instead.

Despite getting lost in Meru, we managed to get back to Glenmarie before seven. Was gatal enough to go to a media party that night, but decided to call it quits at eleven. There's only so much loud music my poor ears could tolerate. Seems that I'll be paying my dues this weekend. Had to attend an interview this morning, and God knows how many articles need to be sorted out in the next couple of days. A little worn out right now, but no choice la. I suppose I could steal some time off here and there. I'll survive... Urm.. girls, spa, anyone?

Prioritize, priorities...

Am in the mood to finish the e-abuse story, but will have to deal with the other one first. Hrm.. sigh... A few pieces are lagging behind - I need additional info, so can't do anything about it now. A few other things are waiting, waiting. Lalala... Now, should I go to that party on Saturday? Mmm.. donno la. Loret, u going, ah?

Gedik Gedik...

Lesson learnt: It's fun to be gedik. From gedik clothes to gedik shoes, there's a certain feel to being gedik. It's the ultimate expression of femininity. It says, I don't give a d*** about being ayu. Look at me being gedik in my ultra gedik heels. Am off to a pampering at the spa. It makes me happy.

The kitchen will always be there to pull you back to reality when you get home. In the meantime, power to the ultra gedik!

*Disclaimer: author may be under influence of happy-hormone inducing spa treatment. Ladies, anyone interested in a session at Body Contours? I can get 50% off.. Offer ends in a couple of weeks.

The Ntah Hape-hape Story

Selepas 2 1/2 minggu berlalu tanpa cek yang kununnya dah dipos, aku pun mintak la cek pengganti. 2 jam kemudian, accounts dept diorang telepon - kalau stop cheque, bank charge RM15. Sanggup tak tanggung kos tu? Iya ke? Bank aku takde pun charge. Kalau orang dah bank in nak stop mungkin la. Ini cek hilang. Siapa lak yang nak bank in? Takkan la malaun nak masukkan dalam akaun aku? Cek tu berpalang, bukannya dulu2 cheque takde palang. Takde palang pun orang bubuh palang. Standard procedure dari zaman tok adam lagi.

Aku yang dah naik menyampah dengan orang2 yang ntah hape-hape tu finally kata - whatever la. Asalkan korang ganti cek baru. Dalam hati, aku rasa cek lagi satu tu diorang tak pos pun. Sekor kata, setau dia dah pos. Sekor lagi kata, dia kasi kawan dia pos. Hrmph. Jangan2 dia pos kat tong sampah, aku kat sini dok menunggu macam orang gila. Duit gaji lagi 2 minggu. Duit article - lambat lagi. Duit website - tunggu jugak. Hampeh.

Alhamdulillah, nasib baik la ada rezeki dapat keja time tengah semput ni. Tak sabar nak tengok my first 2 articles kuar bulan depan :D Tungguuuu!!!

Cramming it all in

I don't think I've ever felt as exhausted as I was the past three weeks. I kept dozing off any time I lie down! Finally, on Sunday, something snapped and I regained my lost energy. Oh! What a relief to finally be able to deal with the poor old, neglected house.

I still have a few unfinished business, which I'm trying to complete during my spare time. And I try to meet all deadlines, so sometimes I do work until late at night. Right now, I'm trying to at least get the gist of my interview down into a document which i could refine tomorrow. Well, today, I guess, since it's already past midnight.

Had joined up with the gang for dinner earlier, and later we went off for a drink. Forgot how overpriced pubs are and paid an arm and a leg for a glass of lime juice. Darn. Remind me to ask for plain water next time. I must have been more tired than I realised, because coming back, I did a number of silly things like stash the parking card in the bag instead of on the dash..

Feel a little tired now, but still want to finish that little piece. Now, what am I doing, blogging again? Geez, my brain needs straightening out..

Frustration Is...

.. when you were too busy to pick up that long awaited payment, and now it's lost in the post. I feel like screaming out loud, except that it won't do me any good. Work payment has not come in. I'm wondering if it's going to be paid on the 15th, since that's when I started. Wow! What f**king bad luck I have. I suddenly have a spate of gatherings and no money has come in. Plus the amount I spend on petrol these days due to necessary work travel. I could ask them to cancel cheque and issue a new one, but somehow I have the feeling that the moment that happens, the missing cheque will reappear. Is it as bad as looking into the mailbox everyday willing the cheque to be there and only to find a pile of rubbish? Am getting really antsy now.. Geez, this sucks!

It's a Sign...

Sigh.. after YEARS of avoiding gyms, they're being thrown in my face these days. Must be a sign la.

Last night, had dinner at Rest Rebung Chef Ismail. Nak melantak pun tak boleh, kena berPR PR dengan the hosts. Interesting people, tapi sayang la all that food, kan...

At the end, ada "Dip n Draw" (they all don't believe in Luck). OKay.. whatever. and I won the biggest goody bag with.... drum roll...

- 2 AIkido classes
- 3 mths membership to Celebrity fitness
- Shapemaster thingy
and entah hapa2 lagi.. Hai yaa....

Minggu depan, ada AmInsurance event, dekat Spa. Hah? Event kat spa? Apa kait mengaitnya insuran dengan spa? Macam tau2 aje aku ni memerlukan professional help. Saba ajelah...

Stressing Up..

Schedule says - Monday morning, there are 2 shoots, back to back. Then sambung interview, petang Editorial meeting.

Sunday evening, interviewee messages - she's in JB, can shoot be pushed back by one and a half hours? Aiyoh! How la? Have to check with hairstylist, makeup artist, stylist, photographer & studio boss... No, nothing is simple anymore... And can I finish interview in time for afternoon meeting? Adeh.. blood pressure rising oredy.

You can't contact boss, so decide to enjoy evening party. And then feel panicky afterwards. Nothing settled. OK Ok, calm down. esok pagi can settle.

Monday morning - check with makeup, hairstylist, studio boss, semua ok. Stylist was late - keta rosak. OKay.. keep calm, keep calm.. bos tak masuk lagi nih..

Check with interviewee - oredy done exclusive with competitor. Alamak!!! Tell boss. Cancel everything. Suddenly - message. It was 3 years ago. Laa.. Apasal tak cakap siang2?? Burn la.

So now - kena cari angle/ interviewee lain. In the meantime, there are articles to refine, stuff to write up, people to follow up, ideas to cari... Ha ha ha. Busy siot. Err.. how did I happen to be here again?

Time Flies..

Took a peek at Izreen's blog and saw that it was already her 3rd anniversary. Inky tomelion besar oredy. Realised that it's been almost 4 years since Tekad Selangor. A lot of time has passed. Have i got anywhere, relationship wise? Sad to say, it's a big, fat NO.

Malay guys I liked - never worked out. Been hanging out with Pakcik for 2 years, more or less. Want Malay/Muslim guy, but go lepak with bule. Why? Coz no one ever asked me out. Ye la, Malay guy like that la. Cari yang lawa2, muda2. No one ever tried to look deeper. Not supportive, not caring. Just want ultra gedik budak kecik to bawak kulu kilir. heh. Yg dah kawin pun, just looking for trouble. Cheh!

I know la I tak cantik. But I baik what.. Bukan I nak orang tanggung pun. Just need someone to share life's up and downs. At least Pakcik wants to spend time with me. He's supportive and nice. But we're only friends. This isn't ever going to go anywhere. So how?

Sweetening the Pot

It's kind of strange to be working so hard. I'm so used to a flexi timetable, and now I'm rushing to make it to the office by 8.40 - so that I'd have 20 minutes to fuel up before starting work.

Yesterday I had 2 interviews. One in the morning, so had to rush to Brickfields by nine. Came back to office, had to do some changes on previous work. Worked right up to the last minute sampai tak sempat nak lunch, then rush to KLCC. It was a miracle to arrive there within half an hour. Dah sampai sana pulak, discovered that I'd left my phone on my desk. Menggagau nak contact orang! Did the interview, went to cocktail party (mainly for the sake of getting the freebie. Heh!), then balik ofis to siapkan the thing I left halfway done. Then tersilap cakap my boss that I wasn't the very the busy, so ended up staying back to get extra info for a column. Needless to say, the rest of it landed on my plate, la kan? By the time I went home, it was already past ten. Makan pun biskut and tuna je.

Itu pun kebetulan ada tuna. I saw a hungry cat on the way back to the car in Brickfields. Rupa sikit2 macam (arwah?) Jack. Macam disuruh2 aje, I beli some overpriced tuna kat kedai India, nak bagi dia. Tapi bila cari, dah hilang la pulak kucing tu. So that's how I ended up with tuna in my possession. Bagus jugak.

Hari ni, nak siapkan keja, tetiba blackout separuh ofis. Rupanya diorang tengah repair amende entah, our row takde api. Leceh gak la, tapi try to cover2 pakai sebelah yang ada letrik. Baru bercadang nak cabut balik, lampu menyala. Hmph.. kena la sambung keja... But today balik awal. Tu pun, sampai rumah, melepek... heh heh.. systemic shock. Tak biasa keja direct 9-12 hours non-stop.

But then, banyak inofficial perks, so don't mind working hard. One thing, seronok meet people at events, bosses baik, colleagues okay, ada freebies... PLus, I'm writing interesting stuff. It makes it so worth the effort. Just hope that I make the grade :) Have a good weekend, peeps!

Saying What You Mean...

One of the hardest things to control for me is blurting out exactly what I mean, and sometimes what I don't really mean as well. I have been bestowed the title of 'mulut takde insurance', something that is sometimes fair, and sometimes not.

Last night, after dinner, I couldn't help mentarbiah someone to lose weight. Yeah, right, when I sendiri struggling to lose 3 stupid kilos. I looked at her face and knew she must be thinking, "Amendeee la minah ni. Orang belanja makan mahal2, dok suruh aku lose weight la pulak."

But the truth is, I grew up among people who tegur each other, without being mean. My Mak Long always pesan, "Jangan makan nasik banyak2. Makan lauk lebih tak apa. And no Maggi. Kalau malas sangat, nasik dengan telur goreng pun boleh." My tailor said exactly the same thing. My uncle is always obsessing about the amount of sugar in his tea. And some friends have pointed out bad habits I have, like wolfing down that bit of fat floating in my bakso instead of banishing the offending item.

And in the wake of those press conferences drilling in the fact that over half of Malaysians are clinically overweight, and its link to terminal illnesses, especially diabetes, high blood pressure and cardiovascular diseases, I have started to be more aware of my unhealthy lifestyle and acknowledging the truth.

Maybe I'm just trying to find more healthy living buddies. I need to exercise more. Been ages since I hit the pool. Right now I'm counting the hours I spend tottering from parking lot to office, parking lot to train, and train to event venues. PLus runnning up the stairs to collect something I've forgotten. And housework. Obviously it's not enough, but you gotta start somewhere...

As for food, I'll never give up nasi lemak or roti canai. I just eat them less often. I'll still eat rice. I think it's silly to limit the types of food you eat, and skipping meals is a no-no. The only concession I'm willing to make is to make healthier food choices (which is why my weight loss is so darn slow, la).

But as I go along, I realised how much easier it is to make healthier choices, because over time, it has become a habit. I now understand why kurus people cringe at the sight of me over-eating, or taking too much fat-laden foods. The problem is, unless you have the similar standards, it's hard to accept such personal criticisms. Just how much is too much, right? Consulting the professionals might help. And I'm not even thinking of being drop-dead gorgeous. I'm thinking more in the lines of being healthy.

I guess the only difference is WHY they're even mentioning the fact the you're overweight. A lot of people ridicule your 'big size' because they're mean and want to put you down a notch. On the other hand, there are people who love you and want you to live a healthier, happier life.

So sis, I'm sorry if I offended you, but I belong to the latter category. Thanks a million for the scrumptious dinner. We'll go do that dim sum thingy next, ok? Muahs!

Keeping Up with the Janeses

Years back, I joined an NGO where dressing UP is entirely unnecessary. Dressing down was the norm. Over the years, my wardrobe has deteriorated abominably. Over the past week, I've had to rummage in my cupboard for something "nice" and was forced to actually switch on the iron. I had to sacrifice some cash to get myself a decent handbag and a new pair of heels.

People who knew me from long ago would probably be amazed to see me tottering in a pair of 3 inch heels. Way back then, I had to refrain from any heels because the boys I was consorting with were damn pendek, so being taller than them would severely bruise their poor egos. Anyway, thank God I'm tall enough not to need anything higher than that. I already had a scare this morning, when gingerly walking down the stairs of The Apartment (at The Curve), I failed to notice the drop to the landing, and almost fell. Nasib baik I managed to regain my balance and walk away with only my pride a little bruised.

If you watched Devil Wears Prada, you might understand what I'm going through. There's a need to look casually smart without being too formal nor too sloppy. Which is why I had to migrate from my sensible court shoes to stilettos...

And I discovered yesterday that I had to ALWAYS be dressed to go, because yesterday I was informed at the last minute to attend a MAC event in KLCC. I was dressed OK, but had decided to wear my old granny glasses instead of contact lenses. Cute glasses had a broken lens and right now, can't afford to replace it yet. As it is, the Anuar & Raja Petra cases combined drew away everyone else, so I ended up practically having an exclusive with Dato' Marina Mahathir. Not Richard Branson at his resort, but a girl has to start somewhere...

Pussyfooting

In the literal sense, I saw Pak Belang actually tiptoeing past Pseudo to get to the grub. Rugi I didn't have the camera with me right then.

As for me, it's struggling to mind my Ps and Qs in a new environment. So far, things are looking OK. Can't believe it's just been 2 days. Feel like I've been doing this forever! I have a number of projects on my plate, most of which are half-baked. Will need to kaotim them before the deadline, though. It looks doable, just hope nothing screws up in the last minute.

Had a rude reminder of how much pocket money one needs on hand when you are constantly driving around, parking, eating out, not to mention socialising with co-workers. I had to kick myself in the rear for going along to the "Italian Place". The cheapest option I had, a sandwich, cost me about fifteen bucks. Ouch! How I wish I had done the antisocial thing, cite the need to attend an event, and went to eat at the gerai tepi jalan then!

Urrrgghhh... am really in a tight corner right now, with F**king clients making a mountain out of a molehill with the AR translation job, which means, I haven't seen a single sen after 6 months of the 1st assignment and 4 months of the next. HW articles are scheduled to be out in September and October, which means I'll only get paid towards the end of the year. The IMR job is still half-done, and knowing these people, God knows when I'll see the money. The other project will also take time to complete.

The worst bit is, I'm left high and dry right now while waiting for this month's paycheck. Communal money I forked out to someone hasn't been reimbursed, right when I need it most. Reinforcements has not kicked in as yet. And I need to SPEND money in the process of going to work, feeding myself, attending events, etc. Could use a sugar daddy right about now, s'il vous plait...

Am praying that this works out. Will definitely do my best to deliver, but seriously hope nothing happens to jinx it. I need to deal with a lot of things, and I'm getting really sick of crawling along. I'm pretty sure my BP is sky high right now, so much to worry about. If only people would be so kind to pay me my f**king money, it would be so much f**king appreciated. [Cue exasperated groan]. Dammit. Kenot tahan oredy. Tension.

Are We There YET?

Has anyone noticed the slew of rude kids appearing in advertisements lately? Especially Astro channels. It quite worries me to see such things touted as if its normal.

At the moment it's the radio ad for CIMB instant money. Right, you want to stress how difficult it is to be kept waiting. Trust me, I know all about not getting paid on time. But to show it as a kid demanding from her dad, "ARE WE THERE YET?" is beyond the pale. I'm not the polite goody goody either, but seriously, I don't like it.

On TV, it's the ngada2 kid that always kacau the parents and then gets his own TV. Amboih! I'll have to admit its kinda funny oso la. But to get your kid his own TV so that he can tengok katun puas2? Shouldn't there be some kind of disciplining to do? Teach him to respect the elders, esp parents who work so hard to pay for his very expensive upbringing? In my time, Abah would change the channel to bola, and we all won't say anything. Tengok sekali la. Granted Malaysian football was so much better in those days. He's not mean or anything. The simple fact is, he bought the TV, he supports all of us, we should all show him some respect and defer to his occasional fancies. That's all.

The one that really ticks me off is the one for Astro replay recorder thingy. I forget what it's called. The poor nenek, tengah sedap2 tengok citer drama, the cucus dengan maha kurang hajar tiba2 datang tukar channel. The nenek just sighs and looks disappointed. Then the atuk who must be very rich kesian look at her go and buy that damn mahal recorder thingy. But even if she manages to record, when can she watch? Tengah malam2 buta after the spoilt cucus dah tido, izzit? IF, they sleep, knowing how teenagers are. Notwithstanding the fact that the cucus should be living in their own house, how come the kids are not taught to give priority to their nenek? She so susah2 kemas, masak, etc, then have to defer to the kids pulak. Aiyaa.. kenot la like that...

The one that the guy gets Astro for his parents is OK. Nampak la ada hormat and sayang parents. TV is so much a part of our lives these days that like it or not, they do influence us. And continously showing kids bad behaviour should not be allowed.

Shitting Raisins

This is what (according to Mark) Germans call people who make a fuss about small, inconsequential things.

Maybe it's a mark of mild OCD, or simply being stressed, but it really ticks me off when my sis puts things in the 'wrong' direction. Like putting the plates in the rack facing you instead of facing away. Or putting knives with the blade side up. Not sharp knives, butter knives; but it still annoys me. The other things is putting the kettle with the spout turned towards people instead of away.

Maybe because I feel that there's a threat attached to the thoughtless habits. Knives are sharp objects. You hand it over by offering the other person the handle. Butter knives, although not sharp, the blade is the 'working end', so should not be soiled by a person's fingers prior to being used, right? But for whatever reason, fork and spoons are usually stored with the business end pointing up and they don't bother me at all... Maybe it's more psychological, but hey, these things are not unique.

Kettle spouts jutting into the path of passers by really bothers me. Ye la, kot tersangkut karang, tak ke naya kena air panas?

The other other thing that really riles me up is storing the eggs with the wrong side up. OK, I'm probably brainwashed, or as I said, shitting raisins, but at one point in life, I learned that the egg has an air pocket at the blunt end. You know what I mean. A hard-boiled egg has that concave bit at the end, right? So, according to my revered teachers, eggs should be stored with the blunt side up, so that they stay fresh longer. Something to do with the air-pocket not pushing against the egg membrane la.
















So for this tiny reason, it really irks me when she takes all the eggs, which have been packed in the right way, and turns them all upside down! And I guess what bothers me most is that despite gentle reminders and (unnecessary) conversations about the stupid thing, she still stores the bloody eggs with the pointy side up. AAARRGGGHH!! Dia ni retarded ke hapa??? Kalau dia biar aje benda alah tu pun takpe la. Instead of turning everything the wrong way round. Sheez.

I'll admit that it's a stupid thing to bicker about. But sometimes I wonder if her brain is turned the wrong way round. She did insist on coming out bontot first. Maybe it's a sign. Sigh.

Self-defeating Moves

There's one lady in my ex-school group who always posts all these religious reminders. Short snippets, but quite a number of them, almost every day. I keep some, and delete the preachy ones. So today she came up with this nonsensical thing about how having 4 wives will contribute to the ummah. I went PBBBTTTHHHHH... What utter pile of crap, man! Is she Arqam trained, or what? Again, I'm not against poligamy, but no need la to promote2. Guys can find their own excuses for doing it. How many of them are thinking of the ummah when they go menggataling? PLease la.

I deleted mine, but someone else was so incensed, she requested to be taken off the list. Now, that's counter productive, I think. The group is such a wonderful resource base, I'd rather ask the person to desist, rather than take myself off the list. What for? Same la like me blogging about it rather than jumping in and pointing out that fact. Well, maybe I would, if no one else does it, I guess. There's a kind of pecking order here. I remember our much hated rule of yore: SENIORITY BASIS.

Somehow it reminded me of another self-defeating move. After the fuel hike, someone wrote to the paper, saying that thanks to the fuel prices, his wife had to quit her studies. Okaaayyy... Why? Because minyak had become so mahal, that he could no longer afford to commute between Melaka and Putrajaya every day. So his wife had to quit school so that she can follow him back to their Serdang house. So all her studies so far will have to be wasted la. I groaned. I'm sure a pile of non-Malays would be laughing at this dude. Why can't he suck it up, and live on his own until she finishes her studies? On the other hand, SHE might not want to allow that, because then, there'll be a big chance he'll 'bukak branch baru' (even tho he can't afford to commute). But think about it, she has about a year more to go. They probably took a loan, or PTPTN, or something to pay for the studies. So what happens now? No thanks to the 'fuel hike' (I say it's the hubby), she can't aim for a better job. And the loan will probably be left unpaid. That's sad...

My point is, why can't they tough it out for a while, to aim for a better future? But then, I'm not them, and they must have thought it through; so I'll desist and let them make their own decisions. Still, I have to disagree.

Malingering

I've been a bit lembap for the past one week. Well, a little more lembap than usual la. Been having sort of a almost flu + slightly sore throat + kind of demam2 air + a bit of batuk2... Don't even know what it is. Just hope it's not one of those things which are deceptively mild, then make you end up in the hospital!

Been so blur2 that I can't even play Scrabble anymore. In addition to getting the most terror and ganas players on the net, my tiles are all crap, and my poor brain can't come up with a single decent word to play. In the end, I just leave it hanging. Nasib la. I just can't THINK right now. Nasib baik can still work. Yeah, work is less taxing than play, can you believe it?

Will need to get over this soon. I'm too lazy/ tired/ sick to clean up, and the dustiness is getting to me. Sabar ajelah.