Goodbye 2010 and Hello 2011

Well, this post is going to be my last post for the year.

2010...It has been a really crazy year. It's not exactly a great year for me. In fact, it has been the most difficult year for me and my hubby. We've started this year with 10 holes and only 1 cover but together with the help from my family, we've manage to end this year with 7 covers. To some of you reading this, you may be confused about what I'm talking about but nevertheless, thank you for taking your time to read my blog posts.

Just a quick flashback on my 2010 moments:

• I started the year being unemployed - When I turn back and look at it now, it was definitely the right decision.
• This blog became a part of my life - Thanks to all of you who have been following my blog, even those who just took a quick peek.
• I started a new career and made new friends - Yes, I'm talking about you...Ai Nee, Fatin & Sharon (Together we make a really good 1 Malaysia team).
• I realised who my real friends are... the ones who stood by me in my darkest hour.
• And many treasured family moments - A BIG thank you to my family. Without you, we wouldn't have the strength and ability to overcome the obstacles and challenges throughout this year.

My key learning from 2010 :

• Nothing's more important than your family.

I'm glad to say that I am indeed looking forward to a GREAT year ahead. I'm not going to start listing down my New Year resolutions because it hardly works for me. So here, I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of you...

Happy New Year Graphic Comments

A Day Without My Car

13 November 2010 started with my hubby dropping me off at the Kelana Jaya LRT station because I decided to give my faithful MyVi a day off. I couldn't even remember when was the last time I took the LRT to anywhere.

With a Touch N Go card in my hand, I was able to skip the hassle of queueing up to buy a ticket. I headed to KL Sentral to meet up with my office buddies, Sharon and Fatin.

Sharon & Fatin

Our first stop, LUNCH! We decided to go to the Legend's Claypot Briyani House. Sharon and myself tried it and we both loved it. So we highly recommended it to Fatin.

Legend's Claypot Briyani House

The Menu

Mutton Claypot Briyani

 Once again the yummy food placed in front of me made me totally forgot about taking the "before"  photograph. When I finally remembered, it was already like this...

There was an elderly man sitting at a nearby table who kept trying to catch Sharon's attention. He was waving, smiling and even tried to get acquainted with her when I was taking the photo of the shopfront. This is how he looks like...

His lame pick-up line was, "You look familiar. Have we met before?". He even asked if she was single but she told him she was married. He immediately apologized and walk away.

Then we walked further up along the stretch of shoplots to look for Hindustan movie DVDs and bangles. We couldn't find any DVDs but we manage to get the bangles.

We went in a few shops selling accessories and the variety was quite amazing. But we finally came to a shop called, Dazzle & Sparkle.

The best thing about this shop is that we were able to customize our bangle set to the colour and pattern of our choice. The 2 uncles there were also very professional and gave really good recommendations to form a great combination.

It doesn't look that great in the photo but believe me, the actual thing looks really great.

After we've finished our bangle shopping, we decided to walk back to KL Sentral to go home. Me and my family used to live in Brickfields and I have some fond childhood memories of this place. So when I walked past the road where we used to live, I couldn't help it but took a photo of the street sign.

The walk back to KL Sentral seems forever because we were already tired and thirsty. And because of this, we forgot to buy the Laddu (a popular Indian sweet) that Fatin so wanted to try.

Since both of them were travelling back to Shah Alam via the KTM Komuter, I decided to accompany them till Setia Jaya, the station beside the Leisure Commerce Square. It was ages ago since I've travelled on a KTM Komuter.



I almost forgot how old school it was. It moved so slowly along the railway tracks that I became quite impatient. I kept asking, "Are we there yet?" When I finally arrived at the station, it looked so old that I once again can't help it but to take a black & white photo of it.

The day did not just end here.

Later in the evening, my brother and his girlfriend treated my hubby and I to an amazing Birthday dinner. Our dinner destination was Da Sa Rang, SS15 Subang Jaya.

Please forgive me once again because I was distracted by the yummy spread on the table yet once again. When I finally remembered, it was already like this...

We then headed to Sunway Pyramid to watch the new released movie, Skyline.

Not only this movie was a HUGE disappointment, we also discovered that TGV is now charging RM14 per movie on weekends. RM14 for this movie was simply not worth it at all. I don't even want to waste my time reviewing it. But trust me, even buying a pirated DVD for this movie would be too expensive.

After the movie was our usual tea session and then we all headed home.

Desperate Need To Blog

I woke up this morning with GREAT mood but just as I was about to leave my house to work, I received an sms that made GREAT turned to TERRIBLE! What happened?

Background....

A girl I hired recently to work as one of my promoters decided to throw in the towel on the second day of work! And the excuse she gave me... my husband doesn't allow me to work so far. She's staying in Kepong and she just need to come back to the office in Kelana Jaya for training before she goes on duty at the outlet. Kelana Jaya is far??? Hello???

Back to reality...

As I drove to the office, I just felt a desperate need to have Nasi Lemak + Sambal Kerang for breakfast. So I drove to the nearest stall to my office and bought a pack of that. I came to the office still feeling grouchy about the episode and took time to eat the pack of Nasi Lemak I bought. After that, I just felt another desperate need to blog. That's the reason for this post.

I've been disconnected from the cyber world for almost 2 months now because I no longer have internet service nor broadband service at home. The history was this:

• Started off with TMnet ....... the internet line sucks....
• Then I subscribed to P1 wifi (my TMnet was still active because I needed the phone line then)...... started off okay but then the signal turn from bad to worst and eventually lost .... I terminated the service without being pinalized because they admitted it was their fault.
• Wanted to to terminate my TMnet account but they asked me to give them a chance to rectify the problem. They did something which improved its internet performance, gave me rebate for the time I was unused internet time, and I stayed on.
• Months passed, the rebate did not show in my bill and the amount was still accumulated in my bill. They disconnected my internet service for a few times because of that. I have to call every time to explain the whole scenario before they reconnected my internet service. They charged me each time for reconnection.
• I finally became too irritated (till this day, the rebate still not reflected and is still under investigation) that I decided to subscribe to Maxis broadband (my hubby was using DiGi broadband and no problem given in Klang Valley so far). It also started of fine but then it turned into another P1 story all over again. I eventually terminated the service because they cannot rectify the problem and I'm still being charged for it.

So, that's the whole story. I'm Facebook-less for the time being because we're also blocked from Facebook in the office. I don't know how I manage to survive without Facebook but I am indeed still alive. Maybe it's because I've been occupying my time with work, watching Gossip Girl and Ghost Whisperer series, playing Sims 3 on my laptop, playing PS2 and PSP games. My husband uses his broadband when he's at home, so I hardly get the chance to borrow his.

I've not been blogging because I'm just not inspired to do so. When I'm inspired, I'm not connected and when I'm connected, I'm no longer inspired. Every time when I feel like blogging about the yummy food I eat, I was too caught up with the food in front of me and totally forgot about taking a "before" picture of the food. I guess I'm just a lousy blogger. I'm not even sure my followers are following anymore.

I need to go back to work now. See you soon...hopefully.

Today's Just Not My Day

I woke up this morning, feeling sleepier than ever...my own fault coz I sacrificed sleep time for the sake of my PS2 game. The thing about me is this... I don't always spend time with my PS2 but when I do, I'm sort of addicted to it till I completed the game (mainly RPGs). I'm currently hooked to Alterier Iris 2. Yeah, I know...little girl's game.

I was on slow motion mode and that resulted to me leaving for work only at 8.30am. Thank goodness the traffic was still clear due to the Raya holidays...I arrived in the office compound at 9.05am. Dragged my feet into the lift, then into the office and finally to my work station.

No mood to work at all...not because I'm lazy, it's because I've lost my direction. Too many things coming from all different directions. Some are within my job scope and some are not. The ones outside are somehow irritating.

Lord, please give me more patience and passion.

Thank God tomorrow's a holiday or else...*sigh*

*********************************************

Why am I feeling so sleepy?

And why do I feel so lost?

I think something inside me is not happy

And I wonder what's the cause.

Was it something I did in the past?

Is it something I didn't do today?

I wonder how long this feeling will last

Coz all I see is black and grey.

My mind is shutting down slowly

I think it's taking a break.

I'm waiting to leave the office quickly

Before I get a headache.

Stress Management

I read this somewhere and I'm just sharing it here again.

********************

How heavy is this glass of water?

The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long you have to hold it.

• If you hold it for 1 minute, it would not really be a problem.
• If you hold it for 1 hour, you will be having an ache in your arm.
• If you hold it for 1 day, you will have to call for an ambulance.

In each case, it's the same weight, but the longer you hold it, the heavier it becomes. And this applies the same with stress. The longer you carry the burden, the heavier it becomes and soon it would be impossible to carry.

As with the glass of water, we have to put it down and rest for a while before holding it again. When we're refreshed, we can continue holding up that glass of water.

So whatever burdens you are carrying now, let them down for a moment if you can. So, my friend, put down anything that may be a burden to you right now. Don't pick it up until you've rested for a while.

Here are some great ways of dealing with the burdens of life:

Accept that some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Always keep your words soft and sweet just in case you have to eat them.

Always wear stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.

When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.

If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.

Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.

You may be the only person in the world, but you may also be the world to one person.

We could learn a lot from crayons...some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names and all are different colours, but they all have to live in the same box.

A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.

Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.

Why We Should Go Home On Time

The following article is not written by me but was shared with me by my cousin. I'm sharing it here for the benefit of others.

I used to be one of those who worked long hours. That's because my job requires me to do so and secondly is because my ex-boss finds it disturbing if her subordinates leave the office before she does. And what did I get from working late? Nothing. It only caused me to be tired most of the time, stressed out and have lesser time for my family. I was rewarded with the ultimate prize of hormone imbalance. Was it worth it jeopardizing my own health for work? Definitely not!

Journal : Why We Should Go Home On Time

Mr. Narayana Murthy is undoubtedly one of the most famous persons from Karnataka. He is known not just for building the biggest IT Empire in India but also for his simplicity. Almost every important dignitary visits InfoSys campus. He delivered an interesting speech during an employee session with another IT company in India. He is incidentally, one of the top 50 influential people of Asia according to an Asiaweek publication and also the new IT Advisor to the Thailand Prime Minister.

Extract of Mr. Narayana Murthy's Speech during Mentor Session:

I know people who work 12 hours a day, six days a week, or more. Some people do so because of a work emergency where the long hours are only temporary. Other people I know have put in these hours for years. I do not know if they are working all these hours, but I do know they are in the office this long. Others put in long office hours because they are addicted to the workplace.

Whatever the reason for putting in overtime, working long hours over the long term is harmful to the person and to the organization. There are things managers can do to change this for everyone's benefit. Being in the office long hours, over long periods of time, makes way for potential errors.

My colleagues who are in the office long hours frequently make mistakes caused by fatigue. Correcting these mistakes requires their time as well as the time and energy of others. I have seen people work Tuesday through Friday to correct mistakes made after 5 PM on Monday.

Another problem is that people who are in the office long hours are not pleasant company. They often complain about other people (who are not working as hard); they are irritable, or cranky, or even angry. Other people avoid them. Such behaviour poses problems, where work goes much better when people work together instead of avoiding one another.

As Managers, there are things we can do to help people leave the office. First and foremost is to set the example and go home ourselves. I work with a manager who chides people for working long hours. His words quickly lose their meaning when he sends these chiding group e-mails with a time-stamp of 2 AM, Sunday.

Second is to encourage people to put some balance in their lives. For instance, here is a guideline I find helpful:

1. Wake up, eat a good breakfast, and go to work.

2. Work hard and smart for eight or nine hours.

3. Go home.

4. Read the books/comics, watch a funny movie, dig in the dirt, play with your kids, etc.

5. Eat well and sleep well.

This is called recreating. Doing steps 1, 3, 4, and 5 enable step 2. Working regular hours and recreating daily are simple concepts. They are hard for some of us because that requires 'personal change'. They are possible since we all have the power to choose to do them.

In considering the issue of overtime, I am reminded of my oldest son. When he was a toddler, if people were visiting the apartment, he would not fall asleep no matter how long the visit was, and no matter what time of day it was. He would fight off sleep until the visitors left. It was as if he was afraid that he would miss some thing. Once our visitors' left, he would go to sleep. By this time, however, he was over tired and would scream through half the night with nightmares. He, my wife, and I, all paid the price for his fear of missing out.

Perhaps some people put in such long hours because they do not want to miss anything when they leave the office. The trouble with this is that events will never stop happening. That is life! Things happen 24 hours a day. Allowing for little rest is not ultimately practical. So, take a nap. Things will happen while you are asleep, but you will have the energy to catch up when you wake.

Can't Sleep...

I went to sleep at about 9ish and I woke up at about 11ish sneezing myself to death. Here I am wide awake with runny nose, drinking a cup of Fruit Tree Mango juice (with Nata De Coco bits) and making a blog entry.

Things I did together with hubby during the recent weekend:

1. Sleep.
2. Had lunch with a group of ex-colleagues in KL.
3. Took Ivan, Yoon Wei and their mom to shop for wedding stuff which includes red and auspicious stuff, wine and gold jewelry.
4. Had dinner at Cravings, 1 Utama with my mom, dad, Ruth & Adelene.
5. Send dad home to Shah Alam.
6. Watch DVD.
7. Make canopy rental arrangements for Ivan's house during his coming wedding.
8. Accompany Ivan and his mom to Ikea for shopping.
9. Shop for groceries at Giant, Puchong.
10. Watch DVD.
11. Had instant noodle at home.

I'm counting the days till the long holiday at the end of the this month. My long holiday will start from 27 through 31 August and that will be 5 days in total! These are the things I have lined up:

1. Clean the entire house and rearrange stuff.
2. Sleep...Swimming...Cooking.
3. Help out with Ivan's "Ko Tai Lai" ceremony.
4. Sleep...Swimming...Cooking.
5. Maybe make a day's trip up to Cameron Highlands with hubby to buy fresh vegetables and fruits.

I think I'm feeling sleepy again. Will try and go back to sleep now.

Tonight's The Night

Today's the 3rd day of the Kotra Pharma National Sales Conference and I'm once again seated in the ballroom (downsized for break out sessions) listening to the Brand Manager's presentation for Children Health Supplement. The room is extremely cold and you can see most people seated in here with their hands either tucked underneath their butts or in their armpits.

We had a GREAT night yesterday. We had a simple buffet dinner, more drinking (but not as much as the first night) and karaoke session. Everybody had their chance to sing, even our MD and his wife! It was super fun because everybody let their hair down and hang loose. No barrier, no shyness and everyone is equal. That's why I'm so loving my new workplace and colleagues.

Tonight we'll be having our themed night and the theme is..."Combat Night". I have already prepared my costume and props but the competition is very strong. I even saw a Tomb Raider wannabe. When I mentioned this on FB, my younger sister commented that I should then become GI Jane...shave my head, wear black bra with army pants and shoe polish on my face. But the problem is...I neither have Angelina Jolie's body nor Demi Moore's...*stressed*. I really should have brought the rambo knife...@#$%^&.

***Current Scenario (12.42pm)...

• Ai Nee is presenting the Adult Health Supplement report card and planning.
• Datuk is still sitting beside me. (Actually there's one chair between us)
• The MD is standing nearby.
• Sharon is shivering.
• Fatin is yawning.
• Others...can't wait to break for lunch.
• Me...busy multi-tasking.

It's 1.07pm and we're breaking for lunch now... I'LL BE BACK!

It's 1.56pm and I'm back....away (paying attention to the presentations)....and I back again (4.03pm).

I think I have to go again coz we're almost at the end. See you later!

My First Kotra Pharma National Sales Conference

I'm currently sitting in The Legend International Water Homes, Port Dickson's ballroom together with the management team, sales team and marketing team. My boss is currently presenting the Marketing Highlights and Plans. I'm sitting right at the back of the room beside my two new work buddies, Fatin & Sharon. Both of them are also currently LLB (but in actual fact, checking their FBs as well).

We had a great motivational session with Dato' Lawrence Chan Kum Peng yesterday. At first, when I saw his name on the agenda, I was thinking to myself, "Oh, no...not another old guy trying to make us feel good...". I was quite skeptical and was not looking forward to this session as well. But lo and behold, when the session started, he was indeed quite elderly but the way he presented was not old at all. It was surprisingly great, refreshing and motivating. Just so that you know, this is how he looks like...

Dato' Lawrence Chan

The session ended at about 5.30pm and then we proceeded for a group photo. We were all wearing our event T-shirt and we all looked so army like. (Will be posting the photo later)

Later at night we had our gala dinner where awards were presented to the top sales achievers. Then there were drinking, drinking and more drinking. However, the pregnant mommy, Ai Nee, Fatin and myself headed back to our rooms right after the dessert.

Today was a full day meeting in the same ballroom. Fatin is currently looking bored beside me as the song "The Final Countdown" is being played for the Plant GM to go on stage to give his presentation.

Let me tell you a bit about Fatin...

Fatin is the Admin Assistant under the Marketing Department. She's the hands and legs of the department coz the Brand Managers and my Boss are constantly calling out her name for assistance. She's also a die hard fan of Siti Nurhaliza. Everyday after lunch, she'll definitely make a trip down to the mini market to flip through newspapers and magazines for Siti Nurhaliza's pictures or news. She'll buy them only if it contains a picture of her idol. She also loves the colour pink. She prefers everything with pink...even ice-cream! She constantly refers to herself as being the cute one. So, we now calls her - Fatin cute.

Well, so sorry for the detour. I think I need to concentrate on what's happening in front now. Will catch up with you later.

Lost For Words...

Since my last post, it has been really difficult for me to find the right words to put in my blog. It's not that I don't have the time, I just refuse to sit down and collect my thoughts together.

My husband's gone to Singapore yet again for pleasure and for work. His company organised a Staff Day and treated all their staff to a day at the Universal Studio. He'll be staying for a few more days after that for work purpose. So, here I am home alone again.

I've been trying very hard to occupy myself with work so that I have no time left to have other thoughts. I'm thankful and grateful for all the kind and concern comments on my previous post but I still don't have the courage to face the worst. I am a very emotional person and I can't be strong as I want to be. I'm already broken in parts and I'm not ready to be broken to pieces.

It hurts so much just by being around pregnant ladies and looking at babies. I'm happy for them but I also envy them. 3 Ladies & A Diary... Do you remember why 3 Ladies? It was suppose to be a single lady, a wife and a mother. I met up with my classmates recently and one of them asked me, "We already have our hands full, so when's your turn?". How I wish I have the answer to that question.

I've started attending yoga classes again with hopes that it would help with my situation. I'm also going swimming once a week. My mom bought me some chinese herbs to help as well. I was hoping that this month would be a regular month but it's absent again.

All things happen for a reason?

I'm Devastated!!

I went for a hormone test few days ago (due to my irregular menstrual cycle for the past one year) and got my results today. The results I received shocked me and almost killed me. I was not ready to hear what the doctor had to say. When the doctor explained to me my test results and what I have to do next, I was actually sitting there listening to him in a state of shock.

Only when I walked out of the clinic and into my car did I realize what the doctor had said. As my mom was so anxious to know the results, I called her first. When she answered the phone, that's when I broke down and cry.

They actually tested 6 types of hormone. 4 out of 6 was normal and 2 was found exceptionally high. And these 2 are the LH and Estradiol hormone. The high level of LH is the one causing the irregular menstrual cycle. It may also cause Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. That's why the doctor advised me to visit the gynea to have some scanning done. The high level of Estradiol puts me at risk of endometrial cancer, stroke and breast cancer.

These 2 problems  = INFERTILITY. Because of these 2 abnormal hormones, I was told that I would not be able to conceive normally. If I want to conceive, my current options are taking an injection to get my eggs released before "project B" and going for IVF which would caused me not less than RM13k-14k each attempt.

At this point of time, I'm feeling exactly how I felt when my doctor told me that my baby had stop growing and it's heart is no longer beating. I'm going through the same pain all over again. So many questions went through my mind at this point of time...so many what ifs.

...What if I cannot conceive at all??

...What if my husband is disappointed??

...What if I'm having early menopause??

...What if I have cancer??

It's so scary and emotionally painful at the same time. Why me? What have I done to deserve this? Why can't I be normal like everyone else? Why? Now I'm afraid to visit the gynea because I just don't know what to expect. Should I go expecting the worst or should I go and hope for the best?

During times like this, I really wish I have someone other than my husband to share my pain and worries with me.

The Rice Dumpling Festival 2010

Happy Rice Dumpling Festival to everyone out there!!

The Rice Dumpling Festival (Duan Wu Festival) is a widely celebrated festival amongst the Chinese community. Days or even weeks before this festival, you'll see more of these Rice Dumplings being sold everywhere especially places with higher Chinese population. These Rice Dumplings comes in a few shapes (usually in the shape of a pyramid), sizes and in many different types of fillings.

The origins of Rice Dumplings are traced to the legend of Quan Yu, a famous Chinese poet. The legend involves a really long and complicated throne-fighting war and political history. But to make the long story short: Qu Yuan was also an important minister back in Chu Kingdom in ancient China. Known for his patriotism, Qu Yuan tried unsuccessfully to warn his king and countrymen against the expansionism of their Qin neighbors. However, His Majesty had not taken Qu Yuan's advice seriously, and he eventually got himself trapped and captured in a foreign land by his enemies, which then lead to his own death.

Sad and angry at the corrupted, dying Kingdom, Qu Yuan tied himself to a big rock and threw himself into the Miluo River. According to legend, the people then made rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves and threw them into the river. They believed this would stop the fish from eating Qu Yuan's body. Some would even row down stream in a boat, beating drums and shouting out loud in the hope to scare the fish away (it was believed that it is how the Dragon Boat event is related to the festival.

Since then, the 5th day of the 5th month in the Chinese calendar has been set as Duan Wu Festival to remember the incident. Another version of the legend states that the dumplings were made to placate a dragon that lived in the river.

- Qu Yuan -
However, I do not understand the Chinese
characters written in the picture.

The Rice Dumplings are glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo leaves. However, the leaves of lotus, maize, banana, canna, shell ginger or pandan leaves are sometimes used as substitutes in other countries. Each kind of leaf imparts its own unique smell and flavor to the rice.

The fillings for the dumplings vary from region to region. Fillings may be sweet, such as mashed yellow beans, or savory, and may include pork, sausages, Chinese mushrooms, salted egg, and chestnuts. Some types of Rice Dumpling contains no filling at all, in which case they are usually eaten with sugar or syrup.

Wrapping a dumpling neatly is a skill which is passed down through families, as are the Chinese recipes. Dumpling-making is usually a family event with everyone helping out.

The dumplings need to be steamed or boiled for several hours and one superstition says that dumplings will never cook if a pregnant woman enters the kitchen whilst they are being steamed. Dumplings may also be frozen for later consumption, but must be boiled instead of steamed when stored in this fashion. The salty Rice Dumpling is easy to cook when compared to the most difficult and hardest Rice Dumpling, the red bean (sweet). The red bean Rice Dumpling takes many hours to prepare. The red bean used to make the filling must be slowly cooked and simmered for at least 12 hours to turn the hard beans into a soft sweet paste. Disruption of any kind in the cooking process will end up producing in a Rice Dumpling that is sub par.

I personally do not know how to make them but love to eat them...only the savoury ones though. My favourite would be the simple Rice Dumplings with fillings containing green or yellow beans, pork, salted egg and chinese black mushroom. I'm not sure whether a family Rice Dumpling recipe is available within my family and that's simply because I've never seen my mother nor grandmas making any. However, my mother in-law makes them every year for this festival and I love the ones made by my brother's mom. They are simply DELICIOUS and I'll be having some tomorrow, yeah!

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Today, I had 2 super delicious Rice Dumplings made by my brother's mom for dinner. I was told that someone offered to buy the last four from her but she turned it down simply because it was saved up specially for me and my husband, Ken. Thank you so much!

Homemade Rice Dumplings - SUPER YUMMY!

The fillings were simply heavenly!

This is a once a year occassion and it's too bad that I only get to eat this once a year. 

Data, data Go Away!

Today's not exactly a fun day at work. I almost snapped today. Maybe it's because my analysis had been  staring at me for the past 3 weeks and it's inducing so much pressure on me.

First of all, creating that analysis was a nightmare mainly because all the information comes in bits and pieces from all over the place. I had to pick them up one by one and place them in a common spreadsheet before I can start to analyse it. There are so many information to gather but so little time and limited resources.

After assembling the big picture, I had to go line by line to analyse details of 47 people. The worst part of it all was that I had to recommend the group of people who are not performing and decides who should leave. My heart almost dropped onto the floor when I'm asked to submit the list. To me, I just think it's not fair to make such recommendation when I've only met them once.

So during a discussion today after the meeting with the "Top Man", my colleague and I came to a disagreement and got ourselves frustrated with the information staring at us from my laptop screen. It's not that we fought or anything, but I think I raised my voice a little out of frustration and my colleague was not happy about it.

That's when I decided to pack my things up and go home (it's already 6.30pm then). I've also decided that I'm not going to look nor think about it till tomorrow. My mind seriously needs a break! I've been having those data on my mind...even when I'm sleeping and it's stressing me out.

As soon as I finish publishing this post, I think I'll retire to bed early (it's 8.26pm now). I hope I'll have a clearer mind tomorrow so that I could see a clearer picture and know what I'm suppose to do.

So, good night everyone...!!!

Males Are More Colourful???

Today during a drive out for lunch with a few colleagues, the topic of discussion was male and female animals. It started when my guy colleague showed us his family photo taken with a python. Then he went on talking about a white tiger being available for photo session as well.

Then the conversation went like this:
 Pat : Was the tiger a male or a female?

Daniel : I'm not sure coz I didn't check underneath the skirt.

Me : *Laugh* I think lions are easier to differentiate. Did you know that in the bird kingdom, you can tell the males from the females by looking at their colours?

Pat & Daniel : How is that?

Me : The males are more colourful and in a way better looking than the females. Just take these few birds for an example...

Peacock

Mandarin Ducks

Ostrich

Turkey

Pat : That's so unfair!! Why does the males have to be the more attractive one when the females are so dull and ugly looking??

Me : Coz the males need to fight with other males to get the females attention.

Daniel : Then how about crows??? How can you tell the male from the female?

Me:

Me : Emmmm.... Maybe the male crows are blacker???

OTHERS:
 




Then, later I found the right answer.

But if you were caught with this question, what would your answer be? I know you can easily find the answer in the wonderful world wide web...but I just want to know the first answer that comes to your mind.

Girl Dies Because BHP Attendants Refused To Help

On Thursday, 4 June 2010, my Facebook Wall was flooded with the following article (exact words from the article originated from Teo Chai Yong):

 Related articles:
The Star - Article 1 / The Star - Article 2 / The Star - Article 3
MSN News / Photo Link

The whole accident was very tragic and it's a very heated topic among the online community.

I don't understand why the BHP managment is trying so hard to defend the 2 BHP attendant. They even gave stupid comments like:

"...according to company procedure, the fire extinguishers were only for station use."

"...the attendants had refused to open doors because robberies were common at that hour."

How much does a fire extinguisher cost that a company have to be selfish and stingy on life saving equipments like that? You can't even spare one for emergency cases as such? The company will go bankrupt if one fire extinguisher is lost?

If the attendants were concerned but yet afraid that they might get robbed, why can't they ask this Mr Teo to step a few feet away from the glass door and quickly place one fire extinguisher right outside the door before re-locking the door? I think they just couldn't care less simply because they are not the victims of the accident. They even mentioned that they did not open the door because he did not acted calmly. Hello??? This is a panic situation and you're expecting this Mr Teo to smile, say please and talk slowly??? If that's what he did, then I won't blame you for being suspicious.

Commenting without thinking or even considering other people's feelings is just unacceptable. Now that one life is lost and all you could say is that you're sorry?

I discussed this accident with one of my friend and his comment was that if he was in Mr Teo's position, he would just rammed his car through the glass door, grab the fire extinguisher, save the life first and all else comes later.

I'm sure the witnesses of this accident will have a hard time forgetting the face of the burnt victim and her cries for help while being burned alive that eventually fades off.

At this point everyone has their what ifs, why didn't this and why didn't that...and that everyone includes myself. It is very sad that one young life is lost in such manner and there's nothing that anyone could do now to bring her back.

My heartfelt condolences goes out to the family and friends of the deceased.

Moving forward, every car should have one fire extinguisher. Some say that the government should make it compulsory under the law but I think car makers or dealers should include a small fire extinguisher as part of the emergency kit. What do you think?

It's better to have it when we need it. We may not be using it to save our own lives but we may be able to save others.

I Need More Time

In a scale of 1 to 10 , I think I'm only a 2 for a blogger. Why? Mainly because of the following reasons:

• I don't update often... I'm currently very busy with my office work.
• I constantly run out of ideas to blog...but when I'm inspired, I forgot my camera....
• there's no specific theme to my blog... a little bit of everything...
• the amount of traffic I get is pathetic :o(
• someone else's blog always seem better than mine.

I wish I had more time for myself. I'm always glad when Friday arrives but in a blink of an eye, it's Sunday already. Every Monday morning I would wish I could stay home and do other things, for example, sleep...haha. That's why I really envy those who can work from home.

I dread going to work because I don't have friends there. I have colleagues but no friends. There's no one I could really talk to. I take my breakfast alone every morning and alone during lunch (unless someone from my own department remembered to invite me). So that's the reason why I go home no later than 6pm everyday.

I wonder when will I really start to enjoy my work...*sigh*

My Name Is Khan

I've just watched the movie - MY NAME IS KHAN. I would recommend everyone, and I really mean EVERYONE to watch it.

No, it's not a James Bond wannabe movie. And NO, it's not just another Sharukh Khan movie and surprisingly it's NOT one of those typical Hindi movie filled with lovey dovey stuff, singing and dancing. I find it very moving and inspiring.

I think that this is a very important film that people need to see. It shows one must not stigmatise a culture just because of the actions of a few. The events of 9/11 were horrific but the racism which followed only added to the hate.

Put your movie preference aside for a moment and just give this movie a chance. Watch it with an open mind. Don't shove it aside because it's a Hindi movie or because you don't like the actor or actress. It's not about who's acting, who's directing and the creativity of this movie. It's the meaning and the learning found within are the ones I found most inspiring.

Watch the whole movie first, THEN tell me what you think about it.

Cheated By The Toll!!!

I know that I have neglected my blog a little but I've been really busy travelling all over Malaysia for work purpose. Tomorrow I'll be travelling to East Malaysia... to be exact, Kota Kinabalu, Miri & Sibu.

I'm currently in my office waiting for an ex-colleague to confirm our lunch appointment. It's already 12.30pm and I'm STILL waiting. I've decided to steal some time to post this is because I got irritated while preparing my monthly claims.

As I was sorting out my toll receipts, I noticed an 80sens LDP toll receipt. I triewas cracking my head to recall which LDP toll that actually costed me 80sens and guess what? There was NONE! I surfed in to the Litrak corporate website to reconfirm the rates thinking that maybe they were having a 50% after midnight rebate. Again, there was NONE! The only 80sens rate I saw were for taxis & buses.

I immediately recalled the time when I passed the Sunway toll towards Puchong the other night, also after midnight. I paid RM1.60 and as I was driving out of the toll booth, my husband noticed that the toll charge screen was showing 80sens. We thought nothing much about it because we thought the screen was not refreshed. No wonder the toll attendant sounded shocked when she thought we asked for a receipt.

Now that I have the receipt in my hand, I finally added 1 and 1 together. The toll attendant was stealing our money from their company! The scenario is this:

We paid RM1.60. They punched in 80sen, a taxi rate. We drove off without noticing the dispute on the screen. Even if we asked for a receipt, majority of us do not check the receipt at the point of receiving it. At the end of their shift, they just submit 80sen to the company and the balance 80sens goes into their pockets.

10 cars = RM8

RM8 x 30 days = RM240

RM240 x 12 months = RM2880

The above is only a "reserved" calculation for 10 cars but do you know how many cars drive through a toll everyday??? You do the math!

I'm feeling irritated and frustrated because we are already burdened by the expensive daily toll charges and then to discover our hard earned money is being stolen by the middle person. Some may think, "Well, we've done our part by paying the published toll rate and they are only cheating their company.", but isn't that money they are stealing our money too???

Maybe it's a scam after all. Maybe they are pooling the money together to create a FAT bonus for their staff / management? Is the government aware about this?

Guess The Movie - 1

Today's 21 May 2010 (Friday) and I've finally presented the prize to the winner of this challenge.

The Prize - 2 TGV Movie Voucher

The winner - Mr Lee

So you see, the prizes mentioned are genuine and the winners are real. So, if you would like to win some goodies from me, follow me on my blog for more challenges.

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Let's see if you can guess the movie title of the scenes below:

SCENE - 1 : ANSWER: 10 Things I Hate About You

SCENE - 2 : ANSWER: Blast From The Past

SCENE - 3 : ANSWER: Sweet Home Alabama

SCENE - 4 : ANSWER: The Sweetest Thing

SCENE - 5 : ANSWER: The Lizzie McGuire Movie

SCENE - 6 : ANSWER: Just My Luck

SCENE - 7 : ANSWER: Bring It On

SCENE - 8 : ANSWER: She's The Man

SCENE - 9 : ANSWER: The Princess Diaries

SCENE - 10 : ANSWER: Maid In Manhattan

The first person with all the correct answers will win 2 movie vouchers from me. So, please state your answers (example: Scene 1 - Movie Name) in the comment box and don't forget to include your name. Have fun!