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.