Tattlerama

ANNOYED

2012-01-17T14:22:00.004+08:00

I don't know why but some people just annoy the crap outta you and you simply hate everything about them. You hate it when they talk. You hate it when they walk. You hate it when they laugh. You hate it when they listen to your conversations. You hate it when they do just about anything. Heck, you even hate it when they're in the same room sitting quietly in a corner like the dumbo that they are, looking lost but do not quite know how to be un-lost. They bother you even when they are not actualy bothering you. It's like the world would be a better place without them. In fact, I KNOW the world would be a better place without them.

Why do I feel this way? I have no idea.

But I do know that if I never have to see her again I would be a much happier person.

And that my friends, is not such a bad thing

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AKU KAYO!!!!

2011-08-03T12:17:00.003+08:00

Got this email today:

Assalammuailaikum, Saya ingin merpenalkan diri saya terlebih dahulu. Nama saya Puan Shahsilla Binti Sarippudin from Malaysia. Untuk makluman saya penghidap kanser di tahap yang serius. Dan doktor telah mengesahkan bahawa saya tidak akan dapat bertahan hidup lebih lama. Dengan murah hati nya saya ingin mendermakan segala yang saya miliki dan ini adalah keinginan yang saya dan arwah suami saya telah rancang sebelum ini. Memandangkan kami tiada di kurniakan cahaya mata. Assalammuailaikum, Dengan murah hati nya dan keikhlasan hati saya dan arwah suami saya. Dan saya percaya allah maha mengetahui niat saya ini. Dengan ini, saya menghulurkan atau menyumbangkan sejumlah wang sebanyak £2,000.000.00 (Dua Juta Paun) kepada anda. Dalam memudahkan semua urusan antara saya dan anda, saya akan meminta peguam saya menyediakan segala dokumen yang berkenaan. Dan dengan izin allah semua urusan akan berjalan dengan lebih lancar, dan pindah hak milik di antara kita tidak akan bermasalah. Semoga allah memberkati segala kerjasama dari anda dan gunakan lah pemberian saya ini dengan bijaksana. Salam, Puan Shahsilla Binti Sarippudin.

HAHAHAHA!
Over RM9.6Mil all for me?????
Just like that?
HAHAHAHA!

Sapa la yang takdak kheja asyik nak tipu orang je nih??
Memang jebon besau

If an offer or a gift sounds too good to be true, it most definitely is.

Random Ramblings Not Worth Reading # 12

2011-05-31T12:52:00.001+08:00

After a few months of using public transportation and marveling at how fast I can get home despite the jam and all, I’m now back to driving to work daily- 80kms to & fro!!! Whoa!!!

It’s fun driving in the morning because I come out very early to beat the jam before entering the highway, thus having a very smooth ride all the way to the office, enabling me to lepak at the mamak for an hour for breakfast before starting work.

But man, it’s no fun in the afternoon when, no matter what time I leave, (and I don’t have the need to stay back till after 7pm like I used to) or whichever route I choose to take, I still get stuck in the jam for at least an hour anyway. So, yeah, it’s not all bliss.

The amount of fuel that I burn these days is probably enough to operate a small factory I think. Err, probably not a plastic factory or toy factory or anything like that, but a keropok lekor factory will do. Anyway, you get the picture- I burn too much fuel!!

The environmentalist in me screams in pain. Granted, I haven’t been very active in environmental protection like I used to, but I do still practice recycling everything I use and take care not to pollute the elements around me. I can’t do anything about my cats’ pee and poop though. They do pollute the air in my house on an alarming scale!

Okay, so I’m exaggerating.. Maybe not so much for the poop, because I feed my cats premium food with odour control. No, that doesn’t mean their poop smell like roses or anything like that. It just makes it not stink that bad, which is very important since they’re indoor cats and all.

But cats being cats, despite the fully imported, expensive, high quality and very tasty (so people said- I’ve never tried, I swear!!) food I give them, they would still eat cockroaches and dragonflies they find around the house. Probably they are just honing their natural hunter/predator instinct, although I know for a fact that Blanket would run the other way if a rat strayed into our yard, but that’s beside the point. Anyway, that extra fresh insect flavour probably help to add a little bit of hydrogen sulfide to their system, so occasionally, yeah, their poop smell a bit. And Mopster’s habit of sharing a bite or two of my chickpeas, a snack I like so much, probably doesn’t help either.

Okay, so I’ve gone off on a tangent again. What’s new?

I am avoiding lunch with certain people today. Couldn’t help it yesterday since they literally dragged me along with them. I didn’t want to spend the whole time listening to them mengumpat their bosses. Not that I don’t indulge in a bit of office gossip every now and then, don’t get me wrong, I’m not being goody-goody. It’s just that some people just over-do this to the point where it’s just not fun anymore.

So as a ruse to avoid participating in these pointless, repetitious, insipid and banal gossip session, I spent the whole time SMS-ing Naz, disturbing her on her wild shopping spree at the endless sale they have at The Weld, where she reportedly went gaga over some, er.. mugs??? What the hell??

Okay, I’m exaggerating again… sorry Naz.. Just checking whether you’re still reading my blog, that’s all. Haha (I’m so obvious!).

Enough of my ramblings for now. A tout a l'heure! Or toodle-oo, in slang.

Wishing Well, Wishing's Swell

2011-04-15T17:05:00.004+08:00

Posted this on my facebook notes on Thursday, April 14, 2011 at 10:54pm.

Just thought I'd post this on my long-abandoned blog too, in case somebody still care enough to read.

------------------------------------------

Took the LRT home tonight, all tired and weary and so damned bloody hungry. At the 3rd station after I got in, a guy came in carrying a plastic bag full of what I imagined were freshly baked buns and pastries. "Damn, that smells like heaven..", I thought to myself, relishing the sweet aroma faintly emanating from the partially closed bag.

Much to my chagrin however, the stupid bloke then, without a care in the world, proceeded to take out one yummy looking pastry and started to eat it while standing by the door, oblivious to the fact that what was a faint sweet whiff of a scent before is now a full blown odor wafting through the air, straight into the nostrils of everyone in the coach, in particular, to one tired, weary and hungry woman who has had nothing to eat all day except for a roti canai for breakfast and 3 small currypuffs for lunch.

"I wish it'll fall out of his hand. That'll teach him a lesson for being so inconsiderate", I thought to myself, trying hard to stop myself from salivating whilst he gobbled up the last piece in his hand.

Not content with that one pastry however, the guy then took out another. "Damn!" I thought again.

And then, *plonk*

He dropped it right smack on the floor.

Hah!!!

I had to bury my face in my backpack and keep my legs steady to stop myself from laughing out loud, or worse, jumping for joy.

Boy, oh boy.. wishes do come true after all.

Now, can I wish that some people we all know but not necessarily cherish would fall flat on their faces with their bums hanging out for all the world to see?

If indeed my wish can come true like that, wouldn't it be swell?

What the...?

2010-10-28T13:53:00.006+08:00

I was told by someone that a certain blogger thinks that I am the person behind some malicious online attacks directed at him/her.

His/Her reason for accusing me?

The timing of the attacks coincided with my 'disappearance' from blogosphere...

WHAT THE HELL??

I'm not gonna explain my disappearance. In fact, I didn't even disappear, I just got so lazy to write anything. Too much has happened, and too much is still happening. So, in short, I don't have time to be attacking anyone by whatever means.

If my so-called disappearance is all that you've got, then I'm not even gonna dignify that accusation with a proper or an elaborate denial. It's a waste of my effing time!!

Go fly kite!

What's The Status?

2010-04-22T13:55:00.009+08:00

I don’t know how I fare amongst my FB friends in terms of my statuses. Am I whiny? Am I a show-off? Am I too out there? Am I a smart-ass? Do I complain about my job too much? Do I bug them?

I don’t think any of the above applies, but that is just a matter of opinion. My own, I mean. You may think differently.

Truth is, we may never know what others think of us unless they tell you about it. But more often than not, they don’t tell you what they think. And so we continue doing what we have been doing everyday, posting statuses after statuses updating people about what we have been up to, oblivious to the fact that nobody really cares, and worse, that those stupid statuses annoy the crap out of everyone.

I have read many articles and blog entries about the various types of FB users and I can’t help but agree with all of them. No point in repeating ‘em all here. We’ve all read them. It’s true that FB statuses can tell you a lot about a person’s character, his state of mind, and even his intellectual level. For that reason, I hope I do not put myself too out there, coz I’d hate to be judged simply on what I rant on a daily basis. There’s more to me than that.

Of course, I usually do not write about things that really matters, coz I’m not really that smart. I talk like I know stuff, but really, I know zilch. So, I think, if anybody on FB has already formed an opinion of me, it’d probably not be complimentary. Maybe I should re-think this whole FB thingy, avoid updating statuses and just play Mafiawars. But then again, I like ranting and venting and complaining, and FB is a fabulous outlet for all that. So how?

Ah well, I don’t give a damn what people think of me anyways, so, perhaps I should just do what I wanna do and don’t fret about anything else.

And so, I’m updating my status now to tell people that I just ate a ton at Desa Paku and now I am bloated.

But as much as I may be annoying to my FB friends, I don't think I could be any more annoying than this guy below. Tell me what you think.

And this came from someone whose daily activities consists mainly of this:

I forgot why I accepted his friend request a long time ago. Oh wait, I remember.. I needed to 'grow my mafia', that's why. Duh!

Knock-knock! Anybody Out There?

2010-04-12T17:27:00.005+08:00

I'm not gonna apologise for not updating my blog for yonks since, to begin with, I have no readers to apologise to anymore....HUWAAAAAA!!!!!!!!

Serves me right for being such a lazybum. I have this condition called Lazyfatassitis which has afflicted me since more than a year ago, maybe 2 years already, I dunno... It's quite serious I tell ya.

To whomever still checking my blog from time to time (Read: myself only), I'm not coming back yet. At least not regularly. Maybe I'll write on and off, but that's about it. My mind's not into it anymore. I find more pleasure playing Mafiawars on FB :-)

Maybe I should find myself another muse.

Until then, see ya... or not!

Race Me

2009-10-27T22:21:00.005+08:00

Race is not an issue where love is concerned – that is the stand of sexy Russian tennis star Anna Kournikova.

“(Malaysian men are) very cute but at the end of the day, it is all about the person and it has nothing to do with the race,” she said when asked what she thought of Malaysian blokes at the launching of the Showdown of Champions 2009 – The Grand Slam here yesterday

The Star, 27/10/09

Why must there be questions about race in the first place?

Malaysian reporters always ask the most stupid questions, don't they?

I have often wondered why the forms in our country, be it government agencies' forms or otherwise, must have a column for race at all. There have been occassions when I felt very embarrassed when a foreign client wondered what they are supposed to write in that column.

A Bangladeshi client filled up his as 'Sunni'. A Canadian Turk wrote 'Caucasian'.

Neither one of those are actually a race in the strictest sense, but I suppose in their countries, Sunnis and Shiites do differ in terms of culture and practice, and clashes between them are always referred to as a race issue.

Still, they, as did I, wondered why they have to write that at all.

Can't we just do things without putting race in the mix, for once?

I am reminded of a commercial, I think it was one of the late Yasmin Ahmad's, where a boy was asked what was the race of his friend.

He asked, What's a 'race'? You mean, 'race car", ah?"

Smart boy.

Conversation With An IT Guy

2009-09-30T21:21:00.005+08:00

IT Guy :Can I check something with you?

Me :What?

IT Guy :What does it mean when it says ‘DELETED’ over here?
*points to the right margin of a Word document on my computer screen*

Me :You mean, the balloon that says ‘DELETED: such and such’?

IT Guy :What balloon?

Me :Here,… *points to a Comments balloon*, the thing like this one..

IT Guy :Oh, it’s called a balloon..?

Of Bandits and Masks

2009-08-22T18:08:00.006+08:00

Growing up, one of the many games I used to play with my friends were cowboy and bandits. We put on a cowboy hat and ran around the yard with toy guns, shooting at one another (yea, yea, I was a bit of a tomboy, so sue me!). Some of us would be the sheriff and his deputies, and the others, the bandits. Truthfully, being the bandit was so much more fun. We get to ‘borrow’ our Moms’ scarves and tie it around our faces like masks. We felt like real bank robbers in the wild wild west.

It was a lot of fun. It was cool!

This morning, as I was walking down the aisle at Carrefour, doing my weekly grocery shopping, I was transported back to those times. I remembered how much fun I used to have playing that and before I knew it, I was grinning from ear to ear and chuckling to myself.

I immediately stopped when I realized that people might think I’m crazy for grinning like a donkey and laughing all by myself. But then I realized another thing, nobody could see me grinning behind the mask I was wearing…

…and that, ladies and gentlemen, is another benefit of the face masks that are the current fashion trend these days. It hides your syok sendiri moments.

Wear it.

H1N1 is on the rise. So many cases are recorded daily around the country. The numbers are alarming, yet the authorities doesn’t seem to be too concerned about enforcing the preventive measures.

I don’t know what yardstick they are using to measure the level of seriousness for this matter, but I think that when there are more than 500 new cases being recorded in a day, it’s looks pretty damn serious to me. Something needs to be done and it needs to be done fast. But in typical Malaysian fashion, the powers that be are probably studying the need to enforce a curfew, or impose ruling on wearing face masks, or to take other measures, and this studies may take months, mind you.

And as always, they leave it to us to take our own preventive measures, like they do in a lot of other matters, like, snatch theft- ladies shouldn’t carry handbags, rape – ladies shouldn’t wear short skirts, car-jacking – you shouldn’t drive alone, etc etc. In the meantime, crimes are on the rise and the authorities doesn’t do anything until something happens. And then they’ll start blaming you for not doing enough to prevent that from happening.

Stupid dum-dum.

Anyway, wearing the masks does not guarantee our safety from H1N1, but it does help to reduce the risk of infection by a huge percentage. Just like the use of the rubber thingy for prevention of AIDS, the use of face masks too does not protect us 100%. So, other preventive measures must be taken, preferably by law, so that those people who are still not alarmed by all this would do their bit to help reduce the spread of this infection.

In the beginning, when people started wearing face masks everywhere they go, I thought it looked completely and utterly ridiculous (I still do actually, which was why I resorted to imagining being in a game of cowboys and bandits this morning to ease down my discomfort). But as more and more people wear masks, those who are not cannot help but feel a wee bit alarmed at seeing all that.

I have to admit, I wear it now not so much because of the news I kept reading in the newspaper, but because everywhere I go, I see concerned citizens taking their preventive measures, leaving me feeling exposed and vulnerable and a bit left out. As much as I am always a non-conformist in a lot of ways, I am not planning to risk my health and my life, just to be different from everybody else. So I decided to join the crowd, even if I have to pretend to be in a game of my childhood years to do it.

And once I started wearing it, it was kinda fun actually, so much so that this morning, I didn’t take it off when I get into my car, and was still wearing it until I got home.

It’s not that bad really, these masks. It just takes getting used to. And if it helps to protect your life, why not? Why risk anything at all?

Join the crowd, be responsible. Help yourself and help everybody reduce the spread of this virus. It’s for our own good.

Ow, What's That Smell??

2009-07-27T22:05:00.003+08:00

I had just arrived at a client's office for a meeting this morning when I smelled something bad. I thought I had already caught a whiff of it earlier while walking out of the parking lot, so naturally, I thought that the smell was on me. Maybe I stepped on something. Maybe my cats soiled my outfit. Maybe somehow, some animal poo got smeared on me when I wasn't aware.

So, I quickly excused myself to go to the washroom before anyone else arrived at the meeting. Upon very very thorough checking (and I do mean, very very thorough), I concluded that nothing was amiss. There was no smell on me, except perhaps for my perfume.

I went back to the meeting and carried on, still smelling that thing but not knowing where it came from. The other attendees, Fred, Sam, Lee and Don didn't seem to be bothered by it, so I guessed it was just my imagination. I recalled what happened last Friday, when my cell phone was ringing of the hook, and I was on the line the whole afternoon till 8 at night till my battery died. Even after I went home and my cell phone was switched off, I kept hearing the ringtone. I knew then that my imagination can play tricks on me, and so, I ignored it.

As the meeting concluded and we were all walking out of the meeting room, somehow, the smell got stronger, and as Fred turned his back on me, I realised it was him. Or rather, it was his backside. WTF??

Aiyoh... penat aje aku terperasan sendiri. It wasn't me lah. It was that mat salleh guy.

Hey Fred, go wash your bum every once in a while okay!!

Say What??

2009-07-11T17:27:00.009+08:00

Donna : Hey Fred, how can you tell when someone is gay, I mean, by their earrings?

Fred : What?

Donna : You know, if you wear your earring on the left or right ear, it means you are gay, and if you wear it on the other, you're just fashionable? Which is which?

Fred : Where did you hear that from?

Donna : I read somewhere that you can tell if they're gay from which ear they wear the earrings.

Fred : It doesn't work that way.

Donna : Yes, it does. I read about it.

Fred : No, no. it doesn't work that way. What if they wear it on both ears? Some men do that.

Donna : But everybody say you can tell....

Fred : I dunno then. If it's so, it must be the **right ear,............... coz I wear mine on the left (points to earring)

*Names and places (ok, no places, just names) have been changed to protect the identities of the parties involved.

** Oh dear, I messed up again. Fred said the right ear, coz he's wearing his on the left. I guess that's why nobody got the joke... :-( Edited on 13/7/09

FRIENDS - Episode 3

2009-06-30T18:37:00.005+08:00

A few months ago, a friend asked me for help. She was in some kind of trouble, having discovered that she is short of RM10,000-00 in the accounts she was handling at work. Her employer was threatening legal action and she had no choice but to turn to one of her friends for a loan.

The instant I received her text message on this, and knowing what I knew about her dire financial situation, I had a feeling that the money didn’t just disappear into thin air. My dear friend was either negligent in keeping the money safe, or worse, she had actually embezzled it.

Either way, she was at fault. As such, I wasn’t so quick to jump to her rescue.

But as I thought about it the whole day, conscience took over- I had to help a friend.

So I did what I thought was best- I asked no questions, fearing it would make her feel awkward, or worse, that she would confirm my suspicions, and I gave her only a percentage of the amount she asked from me, giving the reasons of my then lack of income as an excuse.

I felt guilty for not being completely there for her, but I had to put my interests first. RM10,000-00 is a lot of money to give away, and I would be stupid to hand it over knowing that there is a chance I would never get it back.

Whether she pays me back or not was not an issue but I did wish to know whether she managed to raise the funds elsewhere and solve that little problem of hers. So, I called her after a few days to ask how she was doing. She didn’t answer my call. I then texted her. She didn’t reply.

The next week, I tried again. Still, no response from her.

Rationalizing that if she had thought that I had turned my back on her, she probably wouldn’t wish to speak to me, I decided to give her some space. I let her be for a few months before I tried to contact her again. Still, no response, either by telephone, text message, or email.

At this stage, I have come to terms with the fact that she's avoiding me. I am so very disappointed with her.

The money I gave wasn’t such a big issue at all, as I have factored in a possible permanent loss when I decided on the amount. But as a friend, I genuinely do care, and even though I may have thought of the worst about her, I had no wish to see her in trouble. And so, her cutting me out like this makes me feel really sad. It was as if I was only good for a reason, and when I didn’t deliver, what point was there for her to keep me around? She obviously didn’t value this friendship as much as I thought she would. That thought made me want to cry.

I spent days thinking how unfair she had been to me, and then I remembered that I had, on occasions, cut my friends out and treated them the same way she is now treating me, for reasons not attributable to them at all, although money has never been as issue in those situations. But the fact of the matter is, alienating friends is an M.O. that is not exclusively hers. It was mine too.

Perhaps this is karma.

Perhaps, the universe is teaching me a lesson.

Perhaps I deserve this.

Or ... *light bulb blinking*, ....perhaps, my friend is in jail!

AH, THAT MUST BE IT!!!

I feel a lot better now.

Lalalala

A Road-Trip With Mom

2009-05-25T17:09:00.003+08:00

I've just came back to KL from Alor Setar. I had to drive all the way there just to pick up my Mom, who has declared herself unfit to travel on her own to KL, either by air or by bus, even with her maid in tow. So, she requested that,.. no, let me rephrase that... she ORDERED that one of her children must come all the way to Alor Setar to pick her up and take her to KL.

So, being the only one without much commitment, it had to be me.

Leaving Alor Setar with Mom and her maid this morning, I finally understood why- Mom had stuffed the trunk of my car full of not only her luggages for her Umrah trip this Friday, but also a whole lot of coconuts, bananas, daun palas, all sorts of leaves and ulams, tapioca and even 2 baby coconut trees which she is planning to plant at my sister's house.

Luckily the rambutans are not ripe yet, otherwise she would've cleared her entire orchard and chucked everything into my car!

The 4 hours drive was smooth, thankfully. It rained here and there, but it wasn't all that bad. The only thing that bugged me was the fact that Mom and her maid could not stop eating during the entire journey. First it was sunflower seeds, then it was goreng pisang, then peanuts, then some kuihs. It didn't help that I had to make my usual stops at Bukit Gantang and Tapah to buy fruits and some pau, so they went ahead and chomped on those too.

Did I ever mention how much I dislike people eating in my car especially when I'm driving?

The smell of food is distracting, the sound of sunflower seeds being cracked open is distracting, the sound of people munching is distracting, the passing back and forth of the food packets is distracting. Everything about the whole thing bugged me big time. But of course, I couldn't say anything to Mom, lest she give me that look that says, "My daughter wouldn't let me eat..."

So, I just kept my mouth shut and threw a little tantrum inside my head.

I took her straight to my sister's house in Bangi, where, upon arrival, Mom announced that we are not having lunch as we had already eaten. She must've forgotten that I was driving all the way and didn't even have a sip of water.

So, I took the one remaining pau and called that lunch.

By the time Mom remembered that I hadn't eaten, I had already been sulking for a while and so I declined any offer for food and went out to play with my nephews' cute little kitten named Bob.

"Hi, I'm Bob!"

Bob is sooooooo cute, he calmed me down right away, so I'm not even sulking anymore now.

I'm going back home tonight, to my own cats who must be missing me like crazy. I'd have to come back here in Bangi on Friday to send Mom, my sister, my bro in law and my nephews to the airport.

Mom already told me that she'll be praying in Mecca for me to be a better person, be a better Muslim, wear the tudung, find a husband, bla bla bla....

Eergh... WHATEVERLAH!!

Beraturlah Wey!!

2009-05-21T09:50:00.002+08:00

Yesterday, I was at a certain government office to submit a form on behalf of my client. Whilst waiting for my number to be called up, an Ah So sat near me and asked for help to fill up her form. So I assisted her with pleasure.

After the form is completed, she asked me to submit it for her, since my number was coming up soon and hers was a long way to go. I politely declined, saying I have waited for my turn, as did everyone else, and she should do the same.

This Ah So insisted again and again, “Only one form, meh....How can cannot? I don’t want to wait too long lah!”.

Now, there is a line between helping people and letting them walk all over you, and I wasn’t about to let this Ah So walk all over me. So, again and again, I said no.

Disappointed, she sat up and walked away to another corner of the waiting area, perhaps looking for someone else to bully.

She didn’t even thank me for my help earlier.

Bitch.

Happy Mother's Day

2009-05-10T00:16:00.004+08:00

There was a time in my life when I thought my mom was a superhero.

Then there was another time in my life when I thought my mom was totally cramping my style.

It wasn’t until many many years later that I realized that she is just another normal human being, capable of making the wrong decisions, and are often-times misunderstood.

Orphaned at a very young age, my mom was raised by her eldest brother who, despite treating her well, had caused her to lose her harta pusaka entirely. Yet my mother had never once blamed him for the loss and she remained devoted to him till his last days.

Before she turned 20, my mom married a young widower and businessman with a very promising future – my dad, and was blessed with 5 children. Alas, the orphan girl finally found some happiness of her own.

Then my dad died when she was 35.

I do not remember or even know how she picked up the pieces and moved on, but I know that she managed to do just that and brought up her kids well.

As a single mother, obstacles and challenges were aplenty, including fitnah (slander) that follows the stigma of being a single mother in our society, a typical malaise that exists till today.

I remember the days when I came home from school and saw my mom sobbing in the kitchen. She would hide her face from me and pretended nothing happened. I learned much later that some very nasty lies had been spread about her by some jealous individuals, causing her many sleepless nights and a lot of humiliation. Being so young, I wasn’t able to do anything at all save for wishing that I could wring those people’s necks and kick their sorry asses to Padang Besar for all the heartaches they had caused my mom.

But, as cliché as it sounds, the truth prevailed in the end. Being an all around nice person, my mom has many friends who supported her and stood up for her. So she persevered, and she won the battle.

A lot of things that have happened to her throughout her life have shaped her into who she is today. Strong, independent, bossy, pushy and very critical of others, these are the traits that clash with me so violently.

I can’t say that she is the best mother in the whole world. And quite frankly, I can’t say I am the best daughter in the world either. We both have our differences. I have always found it difficult to see eye to eye with her on a lot of things. Many a time, I just feel like screaming my lungs out in frustration everytime I talk to her. But in the end, I am just the child to whom the mother would yell “Because I am your mother and I said so!”. So I would hold back my tongue and play along, and then go back to doing things my way when she’s not looking.

Despite all her imperfections, my mother is indeed a strong and independent woman, and as much as I hated it, I have to admit that I am very much like her in a lot of ways (although in me, it is considered stubborn and recalcitrant).

That aside, she is who she is, and nothing can change that. And if I can choose another mother from a long list of very fabulous women, I would still choose her and no one else.

She is my mother, and simply for that, she is special.

Happy Mother’s Day, Mom.

Of Chok Keria & Krispy Kreme

2009-05-02T15:41:00.006+08:00

Krispy Kreme has just opened its first outlet at Berjaya Times Square, so I'm told. L said it is divine, W couldn't wait to get her hands on some and R (or P, :-P) couldn't stop raving about how she had been waiting for years and years to taste it again.

Big deal, I said. The last time I ate a Krispy Kreme donut, I thought it was sickeningly sweet. So I never really cared for it that much. Besides, I pretty much prefer donut of the keledek variety, ie; kuih keria, or chok (cucur) keria.

Chok keria is one of my favourite Malay kuih, next to karipap, and kuih talam, and buah melaka, and pulut udang, and bingka ubi, and seri muka and... and...

Oh hell, I like everything, what can I say?

Chok keria is a kuih which I can never get tired of. It is simple, and it is down to earth, and it is simply yummy.

As far as donuts go, I have a thing for it every once in a while, but even so, I prefer the local flavour, like Duren Duren from Big Apple Donuts (Durian-lah, what else?). I love that yummy creamy durian filling, I can eat a whole dozen of it.

Sometime late last year, I practically binged on donuts day and night. It lasted for about 3 weeks, after which, I hadn't had a single donut since.

I'm sure I will have a craving for some more donuts pretty soon. I usually have this every few months. So, when the time comes when I can no longer sleep without thinking of donuts, donuts, and more donuts, maybe I'll try Krispy Kreme again to see what the fuss is all about.

But until then, I'll just enjoy the Chok Keria that I have in front of me right now. Yum-yum!

I Am Poke-Happy

2009-04-25T11:49:00.003+08:00

Friendster, Facebook, Myspace, Twitter. These are just some of the more popular social networking sites that are available on the net these days. I personally am a member of only 2 of them, and do not care about the rest.

When I first started, Friendster was the only way to go. All my friends were on it. But it all became kinda stale after a while because Friendster did not evolve much. Then, along came Facebook, and, to borrow a line from Jerry McGuire, they’ve got me at hello.

I went poke-crazy for a while there. I poked, slapped, kicked, slam-dunked, karate-chopped, punched, pinched, body-slammed, and did all sorts of unimaginable things to my friends. Thankfully, it was all virtual, otherwise in this seriously litigious world of ours, I would’ve drowned in a sea of civil suits by now.

Isn’t it a beautiful thing when we can stay connected to friends and family by butt-kicking them every once in a while to let them know we’re still alive?

Other social networking sites have their own styles and concepts, but having been very familiar with Facebook, I find it kinda awkward to Twitter or do anything else. It takes getting used to, I guess. New social networking sites are popping up on the net like crazy these days. It’s hard to keep track of what’s new out there now.

One of the newbie is Acobay.com. at http://www.acobay.com . This is a brand new social networking site which is still in beta release at the moment. It is different from Facebook obviously and has its own unique style and concept -of course, otherwise, why would anyone want to switch from an established poke-happy place to a new and unknown rip-off site?

At Acobay, you are connected with each other by sharing their ‘stuff’, ie; by their pets, or cars, or favourite sports, favourite movies, or favourite books, etc etc. I didn’t see anything comparable to the ‘poking’ thingy on Facebook but I’m sure there is something in there that can appeal to all those poke-happy people out there.

Owh.. did I mention ‘poke’ once too many times already?

What can I say, I’m very very poke-happy.

I can’t decide whether Acobay is better than any of the other social networking sites that we all already know, but then again, I didn’t know Facebook is better than Friendster until I’ve tried it for a few weeks.

So, perhaps, I should tinker with it for a while before deciding whether to stay on or otherwise. Maybe you should try it too.

In the meantime, I’ll get back to my Facebook right now, because somebody is picking a fight with me on Lexulous (formerly known as Scrabulous- I wrote about this already, didn’t I?).

Have a nice poke-happy weekend, folks!

Six Degrees of Separation

2009-04-04T23:47:00.003+08:00

Six degrees of separation is the theory that anyone
on the planet can be connected to any other person
on the planet through a chain of six people.

A couple of months ago, I started my online family tree on www.geni.com. When I started it, I was just having a little bit of fun tracing my roots while uploading pictures and creating profiles of my family members. As it were, I didn’t even know the names of my ancestors beyond my grandparents on both sides. So, my focus was simply to create a simple tree consisting of my immediate family members for my own reference.

Then I invited my 2 brothers to the tree, and they in turn invited some cousins, and these cousins invited many more and then all hell broke loose. People started signing up, adding more and more people, and I found out names, faces and relations I never knew existed!

Too bad that some of the newcomers didn’t even bother to check if the people they are adding already have their profiles created, and so we had lots of duplicate profiles being created.

Worse, they are some who experimented with the tree in their efforts to learn how to get around, and ended up adding multiple entries of the same person in different names and nicknames, and deleting crucial information already entered by others.

I was shocked to learn that someone I know has 8 kids instead of the 4 kids that I’m familiar with. The first thought that came to mind was, “Eh, dia kawin lagi satu ke?”.

But no, it was just another case of duplicate entries which nobody bothered to rectify.

What a mess!!

Suffice to say, I was a bit miffed at first. I couldn’t help feeling a bit protective over what I initially considered was my family tree. But then I had to remind myself that the tree isn’t mine alone. These people share the same ancestry, and when they sign up the tree is theirs too.

So I learned to let go, and just watched from a distance.

And now, with profiles from many other trees created by other people being merged with it, this tree ain’t mine no more, no sir! It has taken a life of its own, with new people cropping up on the news-feed everyday, most of whom I have never heard of, and new pictures being added daily.

The tree, in fact is no longer a tree. It is a forest with lots of old and new trees being merged daily.

I would’ve been satisfied to know my direct lineage without bothering with all the relatives connected by marriage and what-nots. But what I got out of it is totally unexpected. I found links to people I never thought I was linked to! Heck, I even found a link to fellow blogger Kak Puteri of Kata Kama!

(Just to clarify, Kak Puteri, if you are reading this- I’m not actually related to you. But there is a link between us, connected perhaps by about three hundred marriages and is possibly 18 times removed! Even the saying ‘bau-bau bacang’ would be stretching it too far)

Anyway, I saw quite a number of people whose name I recognized but whom I never thought are connected to me in any way. I cannot claim to be these people’s relatives or anything, but it is fun to know that there is a link between us, however remote.

So, even if I am now not actively updating my tree and my information, I am having a blast just looking at how the tree had grown. I keep scanning all the forests daily just to see who else I’m linked to. For all I know, I may even be linked to Brad Pitt!

Fat chance, you say?

Maybe.

Maybe not :-)

After all, like the Geni tag says, everyone’s related.

Lights Off!

2009-03-30T13:28:00.005+08:00

I was at KLIA at the time of that thingy everyone calls the Earth Hour, so I was blissfully unaware whether that campaign was successful or not. But then again, how do we measure the success, if it indeed was? Do we measure it by the number of people who actually sat in the dark for an hour with the air-con at full blast? Or by the number of people burning their car fuel to go out partying in the dark?

The commercialization of the campaign is much to the chagrin of the people who are genuinely concerned about global warming. The latter would tell the campaigners/participants that their 1 hour of lights off is a mere gimmick and would not make a difference at all, while the campaigners/participants would tell the latter to lighten up (pun intended) about the whole thing.

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the campaign, and just because I didn’t participate in it doesn’t mean that I don’t care about the environment. A lot of us do care, and we do what we can to conserve energy in our own ways. It’s just so funny that a lot of people actually used more energy in conjunction with that campaign, than they would have used in that one hour if they did not participate at all. Ah well, life is funny that way.

Speaking of lights off, my lights are indeed off. I have 2 broken light fixtures at home and I need to get it replaced. So, I browsed through some online lights shop, just to see what my options are, eventhough I know I would prefer to buy these things at the nearest Seng Hup, (or is it Seng Heng?) or similar shops than buying online.

Anyway, the options available at one particular site are fairly good. It has lots of cool light fixtures for the indoors and outdoors, and in various shapes and styles.

I looked at the selections for home lighting and the choices are all really nice. I only need something practical, nothing fancy schmancy for my home. It has all the choices I need. Then I looked at the bathroom light fixtures, and again, I’m looking at practical and they have lots of those there. Cool.

Then, I looked at chandeliers. Oh man,.. these are gorgeous! I wanna rip up my still functioning living room light fixtures and put one of these babies up there… until I remembered that my cats shed their hair all the way up to the ceiling! There’s no way I’m gonna collect cat hairs with a hard-to-clean chandelier, man!

One day, when I own a mansion and hires 20 housekeepers to keep the whole place spick-and-span, I’ll get one of these beauties. For now, I’ll just hop on to Seng Heng, or Seng Hup, (whatever!) and buy something cheap. So long as my dining room and bathroom are lighted up, I’ll be happy with what I have.

Happy Birthday To Me!

2009-03-20T10:33:00.002+08:00

It’s my birthday today and for the first time in many many years, I missed the exact time of my birth as I woke up late. It has been a kind of a ritual for me, singing happy birthday to myself at precisely 7.15 am on 20^th March every year. I missed the exact time this year, but I did it anyway, at 7.45 am on my bed, half an hour late.

It’s no big deal really, but I can’t help but feel bad about it. It’s a ritual which I made up years ago. There is neither a cultural element nor any superstition attached to it. Yet, I feel like I have missed an opportunity of a lifetime. I have no idea why but I hope it’s not a bad sign of things to come.

Too many things are changing around me. I am in a bit of a whirlwind and I can’t get out of it. It’s dizzying and it’s getting out of control.

I have been ignoring things that are important to me and I get too wrapped up in the nitty-gritty that has no significant impact in my life rather than focusing on what’s important and life-changing. Prioritisation is not my strong suit, I tell ya that! I have projects lined out but I am unable to concentrate. Perhaps I need to abandon everything, take a year off and go travel the world. I dunno.

Ah well, life is hard, we all know that. But I’ll worry about it tomorrow. Today, I’ll just chill out a bit. I’m having lunch with a friend today, and thereafter, I’ll go on a shopping spree—that’s another ritual I do every year on my birthday and I sure as hell am not gonna miss this one!!

Happy birthday to me.

Where's My Mail, Mr. Postman?

2009-03-19T10:22:00.000+08:00

I was shopping at a certain hypermarket the other day when I saw this quaint old red mailbox on the shelf. I couldn’t help but smile when I realized that despite all the developments going on in the city, with apartments and condos reaching up to the skies and houses with fences higher than their mempelam trees, there are still houses using that age old simple red contraption which purpose is simply to receive mails.

These days, most houses in Malaysia come with a brick wall by the gate which houses a built in mailbox with a tiny slot out in front for mails to be slotted in. It’s simple and it’s so very boring. Every house has one of those, and they all look alike. It’s so lame.

The old red mailboxes add a certain character to the house, even if every house in its vicinity has the same one. Well, for one thing, it’s red. So, that’s character. It may not be a designer’s choice, but it is sure ain’t boring like the tiny almost invincible slot we have on our walls these days. So lifeless, so lacking in character, so.. eergh!

I came across a collection of mailboxes which are so beautiful, I feel like ripping up my fences and installing one of these in my front yard. Check out the pics:-

Pics stolen from here

Beautiful eh?

This site has all sorts of mailboxes which are beautiful and practical. Personally, I have no use for anything other than the residential mailboxes above, but if I own a building, I might want to consider one of these Commercial Mailboxes. They are very nicely designed, you might want to go check your mails every hour.

Shop Till You Drop

2009-03-05T11:25:00.003+08:00

Have you ever purchased anything online? Many people I know have a certain fear of online shopping, particularly in light of the rising number of credit card fraud and internet scams these days. Their fear is not totally irrational or unfounded. There have been many cases of such fraud and scams happening online. It’s scary what a click on the mouse can do to your entire life.

When I first started shopping online a few years ago, I was very worried that someone might steal my credit card information and go shopping till they drop. Then I remembered that, hey… I don’t have that much available credit to begin with, so I suppose there’s not much they can steal from me anyway. So I continued shopping, and from that very first purchase- a book from Amazon.com- I was hooked.

I don’t shop online all the time. Many of the things I need can be purchased at the various stores in the city. I am one of those people who would rather hold, touch and read the label from A-Z before I buy anything, so online shopping is always a last resort for me. Besides, being in KL, if ever I buy anything from US or UK, the delivery charges are sometimes more expensive that the items I want to buy. So, that’s a bit of a put-off.

Sometimes, I visit shopping sites just to do some window shopping and then I find some items I have been eyeing to buy at the stores near me, at a fraction of the cost (yes, even with the delivery charges!). So, if you can get it for less, why not?

I found this new site, www.shopwiki.com. Well, I don’t know if it’s actually new or not –I just found it, so it’s new to me- *shrugs*.

This website fascinates me. It’s cute and very pleasing to my eyes. They have listings of just about anything you can buy online. What I like most about it is that is gives you tips, guides and recommendations about the things you want to purchase, so that you can buy something that really suits your purpose. So, I think that’s cool.

I checked out the Pets section (obviously, since I am a mother of 3 cats!), and was really amazed at the options available for cats accessories. My cats already have several very fancy collars and I am still shopping for more! What a way to waste money in these hard times, eh?

There’s a section for everyone I think, young and old. Games lovers would be pleased to see to many items available there. I am not much of a games enthusiast myself, but I do know what an Xbox is – it is a box of games….haha.

Anyway, I like the explanation at http://www.shopwiki.com/wiki/Xbox+360 about the Xbox 360. It’s ‘All You (Read:I) Ever Wanted to Know About the 360 But Were Afraid to Ask’ because it would make me look stupid and my nephews would roll their eyes at me. Now, I feel slightly more knowledgeable about games and can’t wait to show it off. So, I checked the options available for games at this link and the accessories at this link, and I am like, I gotta get me one of these….

At this rate, I’ll go broke in about an hour. Sigh

Calling Mr. Fauzul!

2009-01-28T22:26:00.003+08:00

I have been using the same mobile number since the year 2000. Unlike some people who keep losing their cell phones or changing their numbers, I’ve never once lost mine or changed its number, well, at least I didn’t lose it permanently anyway. I accidentally left my cell phone in a cab sometime in 2004 but lucky for me the cab driver was gracious enough to return it to me.

In hindsight, I think he returned it because he realized that the Nokia 1210 he found was so crappy and worthless that he would make more money if he actually return the old contraption to the owner instead of trying to sell it off.

Oh well, I gave him the benefit of the doubt anyway,.. you are truly an angel Mr. Cab-Man for returning my phone. Here’s 20 bucks for your trouble.

Anyway, I changed my cell phone 3 times since then but the number remains the same. Since day 1 of me using that number, I have been receiving calls from people looking for one Mr. Fauzul, whom I assume must be the previous user of that ever so beautiful number (IT IS beautiful, I assure you). Politely, I would tell them that it’s the wrong number and then they would apologize and then we both hung up. End of story.

Now, 9 years later, once in 2, 3 months, I still receive calls from people looking for this Fauzul fella. It’s getting very very annoying. Don’t these people tell their friends when they change their number?

Worse, one time, someone left a message for him and guess what? It was his mother!!! Goodness gracious!

I’ve actually run out of creative ideas on the appropriate responses when receiving these calls. I’ve been polite, I’ve been business-like, I’ve been curt and I’ve been mean. It all depends on the mood of the moment.

One time, a child called looking for his Uncle Zul, I actually entertained the little fella when he didn’t understand what wrong number means. Well, at least until he asked me to sing a song for him. I draw the line at serenading strangers!

Another time, the caller insinuated something inappropriate when he called at 2 in the morning and was surprised to hear a woman answering the call instead of the male friend he expected. I actually spewed a flurry of curses down the line …. never mind who that idiot was, he didn’t know me anyway.

Last night someone called for him again and I told her that Fauzul is dead and that as his grieving widow, every call like this one would make my heart bleed all over again. Suffice to say, the caller was stumped!

I hope it wasn’t his mother!

01012009

2009-01-01T23:59:00.003+08:00

It’s the New Year.

Everybody was all happy, happy, joy, joy. Firework display lighted up the sky all over the world. Parties were held everywhere. Toasts and cheers went on all night. People got drunk in the streets. Lovers danced the night away. Kids forced themselves to stay awake so as not to miss all the fun.

In the end, the streets are littered with garbage and many people woke up with hangovers on New Year’s Day. It’s the New Year, it’s time to let loose, they say.

Hmmm. Whatever.

What is the significance of New Year, really?

Is there anything so particularly special in the fact that the earth is in the exact same place it was in the solar system 12 months ago after completing a whole circle around the sun? I’m sure on 2^nd January 2009, the earth would be in the exact same place in the solar system as it was on 2^nd January 2008. Likewise, on 3^rd January 2009, or 4^th or 5^th. In fact, just pick a date, any date.

Other than being the returning date of the so-called 1^st day of the calendar year, it is not actually an anniversary of any particular occasion, is it?

So what is it that is so particularly special about this day, this January 1st? Did the sun come out differently or something?

I guess, what is deemed special about this day is more abstract than it is tangible. I can’t quite put my finger on it. Technically, we can have new beginnings at any point during the year. It doesn’t have to be on New Year’s Day at all.

But having a specific date which has long been assigned and accepted universally as the day for new beginnings probably have a special meaning. It brings a certain ethereal quality to it, as if it is a supernaturally blessed day to begin a new life.

Thus the endless clichés we often hear about New Year resolutions and opening a new chapter and blah blah blah...

I have long ago learnt that New Year’s Resolutions have no effect whatsoever on me. I can resolve all I want, but I never manage to make it happen. I resolved to lose weight, I gained more instead. I resolved to further my studies, I didn’t even manage to submit my application. I resolved to save money, I ended up buying more junks at the endless sales.

So this year, there is no resolution.

2008 was a difficult year for me, personally and professionally. Towards the end, I was consumed with so much rage and hatred that I have never thought I could ever feel.

People say that hate in your heart will consume you too (actually, Will Smith said it). I’d hate for it to consume me, but at the moment I can’t make myself stop hating things. In fact, I think, I actually do not wish to stop hating things. It keeps me on my toes. It somehow makes me feel alive. Most importantly, this hate in my heart heightens my appreciation for all the things I adore. I feel like I can love something more dearly now than I have ever loved before. I know it probably doesn’t make sense, but the heart wants what it wants, so, y’know…*shrugs*

I hope this year brings out the best in me in whatever I do. And having a bit of luck in everything I do doesn’t hurt either, so I wish for that too.

Happy New Year everyone, and I hope that all your wishes will come true this year.

The Little Linguist

2008-12-13T23:20:00.005+08:00

My nephew Danial speaks English very confidently. He may not get the grammar right every single time (neither do I for that matter, but who cares?), but he never let that stop him from saying anything. Sure, he mostly speaks what my sister calls the Disney language, ie; words and phrases picked up from cartoon shows, but isn’t that how kids learn English these days?

In fact, that’s also how I learned English. We didn’t have the Disney Channel then, but we did have the Mickey Mouse Club, along with other kiddy shows like The Electric Company and Sesame Street, and cartoons shows like Woody Woodpecker, Mighty Mouse, Tom & Jerry and many others. Boy, did I learn English from them all!!

Danial’s vocabulary is rather impressive too. I don’t think I could speak like that when I was his age. He once described to me in detail, a science experiment that he saw on the Discovery Channel, using words like trajectory and some others that I can’t even remember, let alone understand.

Of course, he has a habit of making up words too, so if he had just created some while talking to me, the joke was on me indeed.

The other day, Danial went to a friend’s birthday party and was chatting away with a Mat Salleh lady he met there. The lady was asking him all sorts of questions, including that about his parents’ occupation.

Danial knew that his father is an anesthesiologist, but he only knew how to say it in the Malay language, which is Pakar Bius.

So, imagine the look of horror on the lady’s face when Danial confidently told her that his dad is a Bius-er.

In Memoriam - Dr. N. Yogeswary

2008-12-08T14:33:00.002+08:00

When I first heard the news about the landslide in Bukit Antarabangsa which killed, among others, a veterinarian by the name of Dr. Yogeswary, I had hoped that it's not the Dr. Yoges I know.

But it was her, and I am consumed with grief.

The last time I saw her was last Thursday, when I stopped by her clinic to make an appointment for my cat Pippin. Dr. Yoges was her usual self that day, but I couldn't make the appointment in December as the appointment book was full for the first 2 weeks. The 2nd half of December was not available either as Dr. Yoges and her partner Dr. Chris would be on leave alternately leaving only 1 vet in charge, which is not an ideal situation when performing a scheduled procedure as there would be no one to attend to the walk-ins. January is free, she said, but couldn't set an appointment then because she still hasn't gotten herself a 2009 diary/planner to record it. We laughed about it and I promised to make that appointment with her later.

In hindsight, it's uncanny how she did not plan that far ahead this time. I hate to be someone who would associate a certain behaviour of a deceased person as their own presentiment, but sometimes, you just can't help noticing the oddity of the situation. It's like she knew she is not going to be there in January.

My heart goes out to her family and friends. May she rest in peace.

Dr. N. Yogeswary

Random Ramblings Not Worth Reading # 11

2008-12-06T17:12:00.007+08:00

WOW!

It’s been a while since I last updated, isn’t it? Strangely, I haven’t had the slightest inclination to pen my thoughts in these past few weeks. Maybe my blogging time is up. Maybe it’s time to tutup kedai, I don’t know. So many bloggers I know have closed shop. Perhaps, it’s time I do the same.

Or maybe,….

... maybe I’m just scared of Piah…..... heheh..!

(To those not in the know, Piah is a blogger whose sole existence is to kutuk other bloggers in her blog)

But then again, I’m not popular enough to be one of her subjects, so I guess I’m quite safe. Popularity has its price, you know. Thank God I’m not one of 'em popular bloggers!

On another note,...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO US!!!

We are 1 year old TO-DAY!!!!!

(the cats, not the blog, hehe.
Edited: Sunday 7/8/08)

MOPSTER

"What the hell is this thing on my head?"

BLANKET

"Oh well, if you must, just take the picture already!"

PIPPIN
"Ow... Do I look good in this? I'm so shy...."

Posting Saja-saja Nak Kacau Orang

2008-11-18T10:31:00.004+08:00

Recently, I wrote 2 postings about being betrayed by a friend. I didn’t elaborate on the ‘whats’ and the ‘whys’ and the ‘hows’, but I suppose, he/she who ate the chilli would feel the heat.

Okay, no such idiom in English, I know. Don’t complain.

Then, one fine morning- last Sunday to be exact, I received a text message from another friend asking me if I wrote about her in 2 of my previous postings. Instinctively my gut-reaction was, kau makan chilli ka?

Suffice to say, I was a wee bit miffed to have to layan orang perasan pagi-pagi Ahad ni.

Apparra….!

I don’t care if it’s post-natal paranoia or hubby poisoning your brain or whatever… if you didn’t do it, jangan perasan la woi!!!

And if for some reason you still haven’t makan chilli yet today, let me confirm, yes, this posting is indeed about you, N.

MUAHAHAHAHA!

(I suspect somebody will not be speaking to me for a while after today …..)

Chatty Kitty

2008-11-11T11:03:00.010+08:00

Last weekend, my kitties were begging me to let them play outside. I refused to do that as it was going to rain. Undaunted, Mopster kept following me around the house, running here and there wherever I moved, climbing on shelves and TV cabinet just to look me in the eyes so that she could ask me in her own cute little ways to let her out. Sighing, I picked her up and sat down on the sofa, holding her against my chest so that her face is level with mine.

“Why do you wanna go out so much? You should stay indoors. You can play with your toys. If you go outside, you’ll eat grass, and then you throw up. That’s not good.”, I talked to Mopster like a mother would to her child.

“So, why don’t we just stay indoors? Ok, Mopster? We just play in here, ok?”, I asked repeatedly, as if she was ever gonna say yes.

But boy, was I taken aback… for I could’ve sworn Mopster shook her head and said *“AMMAU!!!”

*Ammau: a childlike version of ‘tak mau’.

Obama-rama

2008-11-06T15:18:00.005+08:00

As I sat in my office reading everything I could find online on Obama, I couldn’t help but be amazed at how it is celebrated all over the world, this historic win of his. Of course, it is understandably a huge piece of news, for this new President-elect for the U.S of A is unlike any that they have had before, least of all, the current babbling, choking-on-pretzel President.

I understand the massive celebrations held in Kenya, as well Indonesia, for Obama has some connections to those parts of the world. But for the rest of us, particularly Malaysia, why are we celebrating so much?

I suppose, the lot of us celebrate because there is a certain sense of “if he can do it, we can do it too” feel. Given our own current political climate, many of us need to believe that things are going to change here too. Maybe that’s why we celebrate—because it brings hope. But let’s not go overboard, shall we? Obama is after all, an American President-elect, not Malaysian PM. To say that things are going to change here following his win is too much of a stretch. Granted, we all want things to change in our own backyard, but that’s probably not going to happen so soon. So, let’s just work together to find solutions to our current issues and try to make a little bit of difference each day. Change doesn’t come overnight, so perseverance is crucial.

At the same time, we also hope that Obama lives up to global expectations and be the kind of U.S President that will lead his country in a less arrogant way when dealing with other countries, including ours. Enough of the rhetoric, let us just wait and see what this guy can actually do.

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

At the breakfast table today, I heard some idiots proclaiming that Obama has a Malaysian connection too, and that for such reason, we must embrace him as our saviour.

PUHLEEEEEESE..!!!

The fact that his Indonesian step-sister (or half-sister, I dunno!) married a Canadian Chinese with Malaysian-born parents does not make him one of us lah bongok!!

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

I have to admit, Obama’s win inspires me somewhat, although it may not be in any way political or anything remotely connected to America and its policies.

On my way to work today, inspired to make a change for myself, I resolved to start up my own firm, instead of working for some idiots like I have been doing for many many years now. Hopefully, not having to answer to a sheep, or any other dodo out there who stresses the crap out of me on a daily basis will make me a better person in every sense of the word.

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

I shall be saying bye-bye to this stinking place very soon, and into a new and exciting world of self-employment. I thank Obama for inspiring me to take this step.

FRIENDS #2

2008-10-29T12:31:00.004+08:00

Someone asked me if anything is resolved since my last post. The answer is no. Nothing is resolved. Nothing will be resolved.

Some people say that true friendship can survive anything. Maybe it’s true. Maybe it can survive the test of time, or survive war and famine, or whatever the hell other tests there may be out there, but I doubt it can survive betrayal. Not with me anyways.

It’s quite a pity that a friendship that spanned years and years ended bitterly due to a mere 5 minutes lapse of judgment. But like the old saying goes, friends come and friends go.

Maybe the time is up for this friendship. Simple as that.

I shall not cry, nor shall I grieve, but having been in this situation more than once, I tend to be more guarded than usual. More guarded than is necessary, some might say. The wall that I’ve built around me had been lowered somewhat in the past few years. That wall is now up again, and it’s not just a wall now, it’s a fort. Complete with muskets and cannons.

Ramblings

2008-10-20T00:15:00.004+08:00

Some people display no loyalty whatsoever to the people they call friends. They speak nicely to you, share their thoughts with you on a daily basis, pretend that they care about your well-being, and then they turn around and gossip about you with other people.

Such is life. Some ‘friends’ will stab you in the back the very first chance they get.

I am very disappointed.

Selamat Hari Raya

2008-09-24T23:56:00.004+08:00

Ramadhan is almost over. It’s less than a week to go before Aidilfitri is here. Muslims look forward to this special day, for it signifies their victory in resisting temptations for the whole month of Ramadhan.

To some others, the real meaning of Aidilfitri may be lost, but that doesn’t mean the celebration is any less. We all rejoice, visit each other, ask for forgiveness from one another, and we eat all the ketupat and rending on the table. It is a day so meaningful that even those who do not fast and observe Ramadhan can still find a reason to celebrate it at a scale grander than those who do.

Children enjoy it the most I think, donning their colourful baju raya and going from house to house collecting duit raya. I hope parents do not let their young ones wander out too far, for we never know what evil lurks in a corner somewhere.

I will be going back north to my mother’s house in Alor Setar, a quiet unassuming place where cars travel so slow they cause KL drivers to go mad and start waving fingers, until the KLites manage to overtake and discover that it is an octogenarian Atuk who is driving at a pace which is probably just a little bit faster than a turtle jogging in the morning.

Having gotten over the Atuk, you drive further ahead, only to be stopped by a cow crossing the highway, while in a distance a BMW seems to be traversing the padi fields next to the highway at breakneck speed.

Such is the colours of Alor Setar road. One that hasn’t change for many many years and I suspect, will not change anytime soon.

I will be bored out of my skull over there, to be honest. Everything seems to be moving so slowly you’d think you’re in twilight zone or something. Immediately after passing the toll plaza at Alor Setar Utara, the reality sinks in, what with the traffic light at the Jalan Sultanah – Jalan Langgar junction letting only 3 cars go before it turns red again, and the single lane road all the way back to Mum’s place that lets no one overtake. Honking and swearing and waving fingers won’t do you any good here-- the cars in front of you just won’t go any faster. Maybe it’s the Atuk again.

*Sigh*

At least there’s one thing that I can look forward to though —the ketupat and rendang and all the yummylicious food readily available everywhere I go. I’m already smacking my lips at the thought of that!

My nieces and nephews will be expecting, or rather demanding loads of duit raya. The Minah Bakhil that I am, I only give to my nieces and nephews and usually do not give a hoot about other kids visiting my house, be it neighbours or cousins or whomever. Being the youngest child in the family has its advantages-- I can always hide behind my 2 brothers and 2 sisters. Let them give duit raya to all these other kids while I pretend not to notice, unless of course, if my Mum would be ever so vigilant and remind me to do the same, at which point I would have to feign forgetfulness.

“Eh, luckily Mum reminded me, I almost forgot to give duit raya. Here you go little fella”.

..and the child looks at me, almost angrily, “Singgit aje?”

Duh!

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

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri to all Muslimin and Muslimat.

Maaf Zahir & Batin.

Animal Planet

2008-09-17T11:53:00.009+08:00

My cats are not scared of dogs. Whenever JD, the next door neighbour’s 2 year old terrier comes out of his house, my 9 months old Mopster would always stealthily walk up to him assuming an attack stance and start hissing. Within seconds, there will be fight between them. Thank goodness for the fence or otherwise someone could really get hurt.

Mopster need only to hear JD bark at the door for her to go crazy inside the house and ask to be let out so she could go and kick JD’s butt.

Funny how Mopster is not at all scared of the bulky and loud 11 kg dog yet is so scared of the sound of the lawn mower 3 doors away that she would scamper away and hide in the bathroom behind the toilet bowl until the sound stops.

Last weekend, as the cats were outside, I heard JD whining and whimpering from behind his front door. I went out to check and found out that not only have my 3 cats climbed over to JD’s territory, they have actually made themselves very comfortable and at home in his kennel!!

No wonder the boy was whining.

----------------------------------------

My nephew Nabil wanted a kitten. His mummy said no.

Nabil then asked for a bunny. His mummy said no.

He later asked for hamsters. Again, his mummy said no.

“Oh, man!!” Nabil complained.

One day, his mummy came home from work to find him cleaning, toweling and talking to a polished rock from his garden. Feeling curious, she asked what he was doing.

Nabil answered, “I’m playing with my pet rock!!”.

------------------------------------------

I was chatting with Pugly today about lobsters and how they are often cooked/processed while they’re still alive and squirming. It reminded me of the following story:

My nephew Danial and his dad decided to go fishing at a lake in front of their new house. So off they went with their new fishing rods and a boxful of live worms. 15 minutes later, they returned.

My sister asked why.

“When we put the live bait on the hook, it squirmed. It wouldn’t stop. We could almost hear it scream in pain”, my brother-in-law said.

So that was the end of their fishing activity.

And so that's how Danial now has a thriving worm colony in a terrarium sitting prettily on his desk, next to his coca-cola can, and a plate of cookies.

Typhoon Sue, The Beginning

2008-09-15T16:04:00.002+08:00

Friends have asked me, why Typhoon Sue?

Gee, I dunno.

I coined the stupid name not long after Hurricane Emily hit Mexico (that was in 2005) followed by Hurricane Katrina in Florida and New Orleans. I guess I was trying to keep in line with current events at the time.

Storm, by any name, spells disaster and it is not one which man can easily overcome. Its raw power invokes awe yet leaves devastation in its wake. Thus, I thought it’s cool to name myself after one of these awesome events. But instead of going by the handle ‘hurricane’, which always remind me of that song Rock You Like A Hurricane, I chose another type of tropical storm, typhoon, which sounded much more uncommon.

And then Sue, being my actual name obviously, well, part of anyway.

So that’s the roundabout explanation on how my moniker came about, more or less. To be honest however, rationalization is often a mere afterthought, and this obviously is.

The actual truth is, the creation of the name was rather accidental in nature. I was just trying to create a new phony email account and the usernames I had in mind were all unavailable. So I just created one stupid name after another, mostly based on my favourite X-Men character Storm, without any thought whatsoever until lo and behold, I found one available variation which eventually evolved to Typhoon Sue).

And the next morning I wondered “What the hell kinda name is that???”.

But I’m stuck with it and I have no wish to go name hunting again. So there you go.

Pull My Finger!!

2008-09-10T12:52:00.003+08:00

I was sitting with my nephew Danial the other day when a popping sound came out of nowhere and he sheepishly said, “Sorry!”.

Cheeky fella, that one.

Flatulence, farting, breaking wind or its Malay equivalent ‘kentut’, is a common and normal biological process as common as eating and breathing. To put it another way, one can’t claim to be human if one doesn’t fart.

So you just can’t blame someone for having to expel their bodily gasses wherever they are, but manners dictate that you do it discreetly, and without causing discomfort (or harm, depending on how toxic the gas is) to anyone else.

I’ve heard of a term ‘kentut ubi’ being used by someone from my hometown. I have no idea what type of fart that is but I assume it is one of the smelliest farts produced by eating too much ubi kayu or tapioca.

Must be as potent as those produced by eating baked beans.

That’s not a myth y’know! The Mythbusters of Discovery Channel actually experimented with beans and concluded that eating beans does indeed give you gas. Lots of ‘em. Potent ones too. Very flammable.

So the next time you see someone picking up a can of baked beans from the supermarket aisle, just stay away from them for a while, will ya?

I do not know if there is any other variation like kentut durian or whatever but if you’ve heard of such thing, do let me know.

For yonks, flatulence have been the butt of jokes all around the world. There are fart jokes in TV shows, plays, political speeches and even in academic conferences.

Of course, no comedy film would be complete without ‘em. Remember The Nutty Professor? Or even better, that unforgettable scene by Carmen Electra as the blind woman in a wrong house in Scary Movie 4-- that was hilarious!!

Then there’s the usual prank “Pull my finger!” which we have seen in The Simpsons, Scrubs and countless other TV shows, where the finger works like a switch opening the valve to unleash gas. People never get tired of that it seems.

Farting is funny. No doubt about it. But how funny is it really if someone actually farts in your face and you have to smell the oh-so-nauseating gas?

When I was younger, I did have that ability to just unleash my noxious fumes in front of my friends – sometimes in retaliation to them doing it to me, and sometimes in an imbecilic farting contest. Now however, I find such things repulsive.

Imagine this, gas accumulates in your digestive tract, goes through your lower intestines, and comes out to the real world through your anus and flies straight into the noses and mouths of anyone sitting next to you.

Yucks!!

So it bugs me big time when a friend, while talking to me, casually lets one out right in front of me. The fact that the odour wasn’t so strong was not the point. The point is that the act itself is disgusting and ill-mannered.

Then another friend, while I was driving and she hitching a ride, casually shifted in her seat and hey presto-- I smelled her fart a second after. How rude!

Faint as the smell was, it still smelled of fart. It’s noxious gas coming out from her belly through her rectum into an air-conditioned enclosed space with other people in it.

I literally gagged and was so bloody pissed off. I still am.

Hey, I don’t claim to be a saint or claim to have never done the deed. But I’d like to think that I’m refined enough not to subject anyone else to breathe on my gas emissions. So, instead of polluting the air for everybody and embarassing myself to the point that I’d feel like sticking my head in the oven, I would surreptitiously slip to some corner somewhere to discreetly relieve myself of my predicament.

Of course, unlike my friends there, I would never fart in a car unless I’m alone in it!!

And now, having missed sahur this morning, I have been fasting on an empty stomach and I can feel gas begging to be let out. No worries though, as I’m sitting here alone in my office with the door closed, I can do whatever I want.

I’ll just sit here and pull my finger. Stay out of my office everybody!

Scrabble Babble

2008-08-28T15:28:00.008+08:00

Ah, now I know why I couldn’t find Scrabulous on Facebook. Thanks Blueberry for the info!

Apparently Mattel, who owns the rights to the board game Scrabble has sued the developers of Scrabulous for copyright & trademark infringement and pending the outcome, has forced Facebook to remove the application from the social networking site.

The absence of Scrabulous on Facebook have bummed me out big time, and I can’t help but be angry at the developers for putting up Scrabulous in the first place to the unsuspecting public without proper licensing from the creator and owner of the original game Scrabble, thus having knowingly exposed the unsuspecting public (Read: me!) to the risk of being robbed off their enjoyment of the game at a point when they actually eat, breathe and sleep Scrabulous.

They think, just because they change the letters “b-l-e” to “u-l-o-u-s”, they can rip off everything else about the game and get away with it?

Of course I’m angry at Hasbro and Mattel too for not developing their own Scrabble application on Facebook. All these hassles could’ve been avoided if they had done so. Oh, wait a minute, they have just put such application up, but darn it! Scrabble Beta is only available in US & Canada for now. Aaarrrgh!!!!

In the meantime, I’m hunting high and low for a substitute game to keep me occupied. So, eventhough technically the unavailability of Scrabulous should make me more productive at work by as much as 50%, my search for another game keeps me busy the whole day and productivity is still somewhat below par, but who’s counting?

I miss my Scrabulous. I miss my quarrels with strangers over Scrabulous. I miss my Life in the Scrab Lane.

*sob sob*

I’m so freakin sad.

The Amazing Race

2008-08-25T09:50:00.007+08:00

I have been on Facebook for quite sometime now and I have used and abused almost every application there is, particularly the games application.

One function that I have underused however is the photo album. I don’t see the need to upload every single picture there is about my activities for the entire network to see. (Well, err… not that I have that many activities to begin with, but that’s beside the point).

The only pictures I uploaded on my Facebook aside from my profile image, are those of my cats. I’m proud of those cats, I mention them a lot in my blog, and it follows that I want to show off their pictures in my Facebook.

Yes, the word is ‘show off’. That’s the whole point of creating a photo album online don’t you think?

Mothers show off their babies. Newlyweds show off their wedding pictures. Bachelors and bachelorettes show off their parties. Students show off their activities.

It’s a whole freak show out there of people showing off this and that.

Me? I’m content showing off my cats thank you very much.

I find it funny that some people, upon getting started on Facebook, immediately uploads photos of their travels, obviously to show off a little about their visits to other countries. Then, another friend get started on Facebook too, sees those pictures and start uploading his or her travel pictures as well.

Soon, we have a competition of sorts of people in the same circle uploading pictures of themselves in various places around the world and competing with one another, albeit subtly, on who visits the most countries.

“I’ve visited more countries than you!”

“No. I travel abroad more often than you!”

“No. No. I’m the one who lived abroad a lot longer than any of you!”

“No. Listen. I’m staying abroad right now, so I win!!”

Words unspoken of course, but we all know what the pictures mean. Makes me wanna whip out my photo collection and upload some of mine too, haha!

But no thank you. I’ll stay out of the show-off bandwagon. Let them compete with one another till they all run out of pictures. It’s kinda amusing. Maybe they should all go on The Amazing Race or something.

Heheh.

The Haunting

2008-08-20T11:36:00.007+08:00

I thought my pictures with friends from high school were fabulously funny.

I also thought some of those pictures were a bit barf-inducing.

And I even thought some of those pictures were utterly scandalous.

But I never thought any picture of anyone we all know would be even more fabulously funny, barf-inducing and utterly utterly scandalous.

I guess even a tall, dark, not so handsome Mr. Know-It-All has his cross-dressing moments at one time or another.

Old photos have a way of coming back to haunt you, don't you think?

I literally rolled on the floor laughing seeing this one.

Click here .

Blast From The Past- The Reunion

2008-08-18T09:54:00.007+08:00

I don’t know why I was hesitant about going to a gathering of a small bunch of old friends. They are just old friends from school, not outcasts, not bullies, not enemies. Just some friends whom I used to see everyday until we all went our separate ways.

Being prone to over-analyzing things, I couldn’t help but did a post-mortem of my issues about going there. The fact that I had another event to go to was beside the point. What matters now is the reason why I didn’t immediately jump at the chance to catch up with old pals.

It came down to one reason- it was the realization that it has been THAT long since we left school. We were 17 then. We are 30-something now. Seeing friends from my younger years made me realize how old I am now.

Oh boy, so it’s that age issue again.

*Sigh*

That aside, I did have a great time yesterday at Kelantan Delights.

I arrived about an hour after it started. Didn’t mean to make a grand entrance, nor was I fashionably late like a celebrity or something. I was just late. Like a klutz.

All in all, it was a great reunion. I had a blast. Till we meet again my friends.

Top: The huge orange blob (Moi), Mai, Zetti, Wani, Mira, Ajun, Tiya
Bottom: Suhaila, CT, Lin, Azida, Ida, Linda, Azil
My stupid camera chose this precious time to run out

of battery. Aargh! So, this is from my crappy cell phone.

Again, aargh!!

The good ol' days
Azil, Emy, Elly, Azida, Rory, Noroy & Moi

Mai, Ainun, Lini (Aruah), Aza, CT & Moi

I have so many more pix in my album but I'm not sure whether the individuals concerned would be too happy if I put 'em up here-- lots of crazy poses in inappropriate clothes I tell ya!

So, enough reminiscing for now methinks. It's time to get back to the present time and finish my work. So ciao.

P/S : After all that big noise about being shooed out of KLCC, Kelantan Delights moved to Sooka Sentral. Why lar???? There’s nobody there. We were the only patrons on a Sunday afternoon. And the restaurant closed at 6pm!!

Blast From The Past

2008-08-14T11:12:00.005+08:00

Updated 17th August 2008 7.58pm

Okay, so all the negativity was unfounded. The gathering was a blast. Will write about it when I have time.

The last few days have been quite hectic. My work took me all over the city. My cats took me to the vet and back. My love life took me to the moon and back. And most unexpectedly, my old friends from school emerged out of nowhere and started inundating my Facebook.

It’s an amazing thing, that Facebook, where old pals and long-lost family members can find each other and get re-acquainted. Long have I wondered where all these creatures have gone off to. I’ve heard bits and pieces about their whereabouts, but I have never attempted any sort of communications with them, save for a few whom amazingly I have remained in touch with since leaving high school.

And with this new development came the need to meet and catch up on old times. A dear friend is coming down from Sabah and a reunion of sorts is being planned to coincide with her being in town. It is an opportunity not to be missed so I was told.

Truthfully, this brings a kind of a funny feeling for me-- a mixture of fondness added with a certain degree of sadness, regret and apprehension, making me uncertain of whether I need to be there for this blast from the past.

I have a valid excuse not to go. My eldest niece is getting married that day so technically, I’m required to be at the wedding reception in Kajang. But on the other hand, these people are my long-lost friends whom I have not seen in years. I want to meet up with them despite whatever negative feelings stirring up inside me.

It’s only 3 days away and I haven’t confirmed anything. I’m still rather wishy-washy about the whole thing but knowing myself and my last minute decisions, I may just take off straight from the kenduri in Kajang and ran all the way back to the city in my baju kurung and all just to meet up with all these people. After all, I did spend 5 years of my life living with them, so yeah, they do mean a lot to me.

If, by any chance, any of you reading this happen to be from that boarding school up north, y’know, the one located in the middle of nowhere deep in a rubber plantation guarded by a tall being who can leap over a building in a single bound and which mission was for its students to ‘belajar dan berbakti’, yes I am one of you.

Email me.

Old Samples and New Samples

2008-07-19T10:13:00.004+08:00

If, let’s say, your DNA has already been extracted in 1998 for a criminal case, and the object on which the said DNA evidence has been paraded in and out of court every day for the whole world to see, and the word DNA evidence has been mentioned in every single line of newspaper reports on a daily basis so much so that an illiterate kampung guy who taps rubber for a living and doesn’t read newspaper and only gets his dose of current news from an afternoon coffee drinking session with his buddies also knows pretty well what DNA is, then why isn’t that DNA records already in the police database?

DNA doesn’t change. At least, that’s what I understand from years and years of watching CSI. It’s there, and it’s not going anywhere. And if it’s already obtained by the police, the genetic fingerprints should stay in the police records for comparison in future cases. Whether or not the DNA sample they still have in their possession is too old is immaterial as what they need should be the DNA profile, the genetic particulars of the sample which should have already been on records, already processed and in print, and not the DNA itself.

Unless the DNA sample is needed for more than just comparative purposes, which is therefore highly suspicious.

And more alarmingly, that despite making such a big deal about the DNA back in 1998 (10 years after the breakthrough in DNA technology and the first conviction in England based on DNA evidence), the Malaysian police has not even bothered to set up a database for DNA evidence they have collected thus far. How far behind are we in scientific technology?

What hope is there to find the killers of Nurin Jazlin and other victims of atrocious crimes then?

Of Ghosts and Ghouls

2008-07-14T16:29:00.009+08:00

Yesterday, my neighbour told me that a few weeks ago, she saw a creature of what looked like a tiny doll-man spying on her from her window sill. Upon leaning over to get a closer look, that creature flew away.

In Malay black magic culture she said, there is a creature the size of a doll, approximately 5 or 6 inches in height, traditionally capable of being kept like a pet by some people to put spells on their enemies. This creature is said to be able to stick to windows and walls, and fly/leap from one place to another.

My neighbour went on to tell me that our entire rows of houses have been inflicted with all sorts of woes, in that some neighbours have been quarrelling, and others have been having all sorts of ailments for weeks, and a few complains about having seen something flying around in their houses, yet they could not see what it is. This is all, she said, courtesy of this so-called creature.

And here’s the best part; my neighbour could see this creature because she has been a vegetarian these past year, and as such had purified her body and so she can see things invisible to the normal human eye.

Well, if you asked me, perhaps she was just hungry and was seeing things indeed! Go eat a cow, woman!!

But if I were to swallow that story hook line and sinker, it would have been convenient to blame my 3 weeks long TB-like cough on this little guy.

As it is, I am inclined to believe that someone played a prank on her by putting a Ken doll on her window and pulling it away with a string or something so that it appeared to have flown away.

Or it could have been a lizard and that her eyes were playing tricks on her.

Or simply, she’s cuckoo.

Generally, I’m a skeptic when it comes to ghosts and supernatural beings. To say outright that I do not believe in ghosts would probably be a lie, since I do get spooked whenever I hear a ghost story, and I had long been a die-hard fan of supernatural stories like Buffy, Angel, Charmed and Supernatural, and that after watching The Ring I did not answer the phone for a week, and that when the floor tiles in my living room popped out a couple of years back, the first thing that came to my mind was poltergeist!!!

I have been taught to believe that there are supernatural elements out there in this world other than us. They are God’s creation and they don’t usually bother us. I don’t have any problem believing in that. But I personally have never experienced anything paranormal, so I do not know whether to believe in these things beyond the facts that they do exist somewhere.

Back in high school, every now and then there was a so-called ‘sighting’ by a few of my peers in Asrama Puteri. The boarding school I went to was said to be a very haunted place and that during the Japanese occupation, it was used as a military headquarters. So, there were a lot of stories being circulated among other things, about students hearing the sounds of chains being dragged on the concrete floor and ghoulish voices screaming. Then there was also a story about how our Asrama Puteri is protected by a Hantu Galah (an extremely tall being, with extremely long limbs, enabling it to leap over tall buildings in a single bound….:-) …Okay, so I borrowed that line from Superman, so sue me), and that this Hantu Galah was known to have chased away countless bad boys coming over at night to peep at us girls (Good job there, Hantu Galah guy! Bravo!!!!)

I have seen a few of my friends being traumatized from their encounters with spooky apparitions and I have heard 1st hand accounts of how these people, friends of mine, had all these harrowing experiences from out of this world.

But I have never had any single experience of the sort on my own (not that I want to, mintak simpang!!!).

My mother has one simple explanation to this, “Kalau dah perangai macam hantu, mana ada hantu nak kacau lagi, dah kawan dia!!”.

*Sigh*.

I made a simple research and found a glossary of Malaysian ghosts in an article in The Star a few years ago. It says this:-

Pontianak or kuntilanak – A type of vampire in Malay folklore. (One of the spookiest of the lot in my opinion. Made spookier by Maria Menado but lost some of the spookiness and became the object of lust instead when played by Maya Karin)
Langsuir – A version of pontianak but said to be the deadliest banshee in Malay folklore. (ishhh… this one takut giler weyyy….)
Manananggal – The spirit of an older, beautiful woman capable of severing its upper torso to fly into the night with huge bat wings to prey on unsuspecting pregnant women in their homes. (or is it penanggal? The Indonesian version is Sundel Bolong, I believe)
Toyol – A mythical spirit in Malay mythology. It is a small creature created from a dead human foetus using black magic. (This one is used by its owner to steal stuff).
Orang bunian – Said to inhabit jungles and are similar to elves except they are invisible to most people. (They say this one kidnaps the people they like, and those in their captivities actually live among us but are invisible to our eyes)
Orang minyak (oily man) – According to history, Satan offered to grant worldly desires if the orang minyak raped 21 virgin girls within seven days and worship Satan as a God. These orang minyak usually douse themselves with oil and run around naked. Although the orang minyak is believed to be human, there are countless stories of them being related to the supernatural world. (Can’t we just light a match and throw at him since he is covered in oil and all?)
Orang halus (invisible people) – These dwarfs usually cannot be encountered unless one is purified by cleansing the body and wearing clean clothes. They live in the jungles and are conversant in Malay! (Ah, this must be it!)
Hantu galah – A male ghost, believed to be gigantic, with extremely long and thin limbs. (The security guard at my old Asrama Puteri)
Hantu pisang (a Mah Meri belief) – A beautiful ghost that is supposedly formed when the heart of the banana bud is pierced with a nail attached to a thread. (Never heard of this)
Mumiai (pronounced moo-mee-eye) – A poltergeist who throws things around and attacks people who are especially lazy or criminal. – (The only poltergeist I know is the one in the Mat Salleh movie, not this mumiai thing)

Okay so, assuming that my neighbour was not bluffing, the Ken doll look-alike would be ‘orang halus’ I guess. Our respective jungle-like backyard could be their little vacation spot or something. And if that is so, there must also be Barbie dolls look-alike flying around somewhere outside our kitchens! (Somebody call Mattel!! )

That being the case, I must stop eating cows so that I get to see these things….or mustn’t I?

I hope all this talk of hantus and everything won’t affect me tonight.

*Shudders*

I Am Numb And I Have No Opinion

2008-07-08T12:42:00.008+08:00

I haven’t said a peep since it all started. Honestly, I don’t know what to make of all this. I’m sick to the pit of my stomach and I just want to puke all day. The way my cats retched and gagged and puked their guts out everytime after they eat grass, that’s how sick I feel of the whole thing.

I’m talking of course, of the cold and flu that had been bugging me for almost 2 weeks. What else do you think I was talking about???

Oh, THAT!!

Yeah, THAT too I guess. Although I don’t quite feel like announcing loudly to the world on my blog and then have it all reported in all the newspapers of how sick and disgusted I am about it all (like some people), as if I had been sooooo holy all these while. Eh eleh….

So goody goody! Go flash your booby! Tsk Tsk.

My cold and flu has subsided but my cough is refusing to budge. I cough so loud I think my tonsils are about to come off. This nasty wind is spewed out straight from my lungs at at least 127 mph -- as fast as Serena Williams’ Guinness-Record-Breaking Fastest Serve ever!!! -- and it brings along with it germs of all kinds I’m sure.

As much as I want to keep all these germs inside of me (I’m getting attached to them, they’re like pets), I know I have to let them out at some point, so I have no qualms about spreading them all over my office now that I’m back at work. I have no doubt that my DNA and my pet-germs are all over the place today.

Aside from this nasty cough, life goes on as usual. My work had piled up since last week and my boss had emailed several reminders for me to report to him. Thankfully he didn’t bother me while I was sick, but now that I’m back at the office, I’m gonna start to tidy up some things quickly as I don’t suppose I can use the excuse of “I’m not feeling well” forever.

My cats must be missing me like crazy today I’m sure, for having spent a very very long weekend at home, they have gotten so used to being let out to the yard every day and enjoying the sun, and eating grass to their hearts’ content and then throwing up their stomach’s contents.

I keep scolding these furry babies, “Don’t eat grass!! You’re carnivores!!” but they don’t listen to me! They keep munching on it every chance they get and as it turns out, they don’t even get to digest the grass—they’ll vomit it out soon after. Yet they keep doing it again and again and again, as if on purpose, to induce vomiting.

God, I hope my cats aren’t anorexic!

It’s noon and I’m somewhat hungry now but other than that I’m numb to everything else. The office is buzzing with activities, the lunch tables are buzzing with gossips, the newspapers are buzzing with all sorts of filth, but all my senses are in slo-mo and I’m in a trance of sorts. The only buzzing I hear is the one in my head, like a bee, and it won’t go away.

I’m sick physically and mentally.

I’m numb physically and mentally.

I hope all this baloney and poppycock in our airwaves will go away soon.

Perhaps then, and only then, I can taste food again.

The New English Word

2008-06-24T14:02:00.006+08:00

Just received this email today. Don't know how long it's been circulating but I thought it's absolutely hilarious.

New word
There are possible plans underway to include a new word to the Oxford and Webster in their 2009 dictionary:
badawi [baa-daa-wee] (noun): To start something full of promise but
end in disappointment, failure and/or disaster.

Eg:
'I'm trusting you to perform this task well; don't do a badawi, ok?'
'Whatever I do, I will always find a way to badawise it.'
‘France badawied their Euro 2008 campaign. England pre-badawied
theirs, while Italy were guilty of over-badawification.’

Thanks Chubby, for this gem of a junk mail.

What Goes Around Comes Around

2008-06-20T12:54:00.009+08:00

From time to time, when I was out of the office on business, I do take some personal “Sue-time” for an hour or two whenever I have the chance. I don’t feel particularly guilty about it because I was already outside and it was only for a short time.

Yesterday, unlike the usually spontaneous decision to go AWOL, I actually planned one.

I went to a certain government office to meet a certain government official. As I was hoping, he was in a meeting and wouldn’t be available for another hour. Exactly as I planned it the night before, I immediately left to run a few personal errands on office time.

In my head I was thinking, if anybody asked, yes I did go to see him but he was in a meeting for the longest time and so we didn’t manage to meet up. There would be no lying through my teeth as that is the absolute truth.

So I left and headed to the highway. Unfortunately for me, I missed a turn and ended up on the wrong highway. Later, I got out at a certain exit which I thought would lead me back to where I wanted to go but instead I ended up in some housing estate with very little signboards and hundreds of unbearably slow traffic lights.

At this point, I already realized that I was lost, but determined not to admit it, I didn’t bother to ask for direction and continued going around in circles. I managed later to get back onto that unfamiliar highway again and got off another exit only to have the same thing happening all over again at a different housing estate.

What the ….?

To cut a very long and boring story short, I was lost for about what seemed like eternity before I managed to wiggle my way out of the traffic jam that seemed to be everywhere, and back to familiar places. By then, it was almost 1 pm.

Suffice to say, I didn’t have time to run those errands, and only managed to grab a quick tapau lunch before headed straight to office, bummed out and so freakin' irritated.

Small matter actually, but it got me thinking.

This has happened a few times before. Whenever I’m up to mischief on a whim, I get away with it. But if I do plan it somehow, thereby having the bad intention, something will turn out wrong. In this case, my eyes were blurred. My mind was blurred. I got lost where I never thought I would. It cost me precious time, it cost me precious petrol, it cost me unnecessary toll.

I couldn’t help thinking that it is karma. I’m sure Sharon Stone would agree with me.

My own mother would agree with that too. The punishment was swift, she’d say.

To some people, including my mother, when bad things happen to bad people, then it must be ‘bala’ (punishment from God). If the same thing happens to good people, then it is a 'dugaan' (a test of one's faith).

The thing is, how do you decide which is bala and which is dugaan? Why, by judging who is good and who is bad, of course!

This is where I’m so bloody pissed off every single time-- because when someone pulled an Artful Dodger on me, when I got a flat tyre, when I lost all my money, when I got sick, all of those are deemed by my mother as bala.

Again, WHAT THE …?

There is a concept of “What goes around comes around” in Islam, and that the Quran has mentioned this in a few verses. But I doubt that God intended for people to use this concept to judge other people’s misfortune so swiftly.

Indeed, many people find it so easy to pass judgment on others and so readily label a tragedy as bala, thereby indirectly labeling the victims as bad people. The Acheh earthquake and the resulting tsunami, the flood in Johor, Hurricane Katrina in the States, Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar, those are just to name a few. In fact, a few miscalculated steps causing one to slip and fall on the sidewalk can also be a bala. Everything bad that happens, is considered bala. Until such things happen to themselves that is, then it’s dugaan.

When Sharon Stone said what she said about the earthquake in China and the Tibetan people, she said what a lot of people who are pro-Tibet were thinking but never said out loud because it is utterly ridiculous.

Of course, as much as I don’t agree with her, I actually applaud her for knowing what’s going on in this world, as opposed to Mariah Carey’s infamous blunder when asked what she thought of the (then) recent demise of the King of Jordan. “It is a great loss to the world of sports” or something like that was what she said, referring of course to Michael Jordan, the basketball legend, who actually is still alive and kicking till this very day!

Anyway, there were a lot of angry reactions from China and all over the world about what Sharon Stone said. She was eventually forced to apologize and I think the issue has since died. Whether or not it was bad karma we will never know. But she wasn’t the first person with such ideas and neither will she be the last.

‘What goes around comes around’ is a concept predominant in any society, traditional or modern. Heck, Justin Timberlake even sings about it! It is not a concept that will go away in the near future. It is also the concept behind the words "Padan muka!" that we use so often.

Personally, I do believe in fate and destiny and that there is such a thing as bala. But I don’t agree with us mere mortals to be in the position to judge what is bala and what is not, thereby judging who is bad and who is not. What happens, happens. Let’s just leave it at that and not judge one another.

Having said that, I know that as I am sitting here rubbing my sore neck which has been torturing me since Monday, I realize what my mother would say if I were to tell her about my stiff neck—it’s bala. No doubt. Although I have no idea what I did wrong this time, as in any other time.

And oh, I also note that the next time I want to skip work, I shouldn’t plan it. I’ll just be spontaneous. That way, without the mala fide or bad intention, hopefully, karma won't get to me :-)

"I'm With Stupid"

2008-06-18T10:57:00.007+08:00

Have you ever dealt with people so stupid and so stubborn you just want to smack ‘em in the head and throw their things straight into the longkang?

I’m having the worst possible time dealing with these idiots. I don’t know from which hole did they crawled out from. They pretend like they know everything yet they keep asking stupid questions and make all sorts of stupid remarks, and demand stupid things that I obviously cannot give them.

I have been to their office a number of times in the past couple of weeks trying to sort things out, but they have been very very difficult, and I’m getting more and more exasperated by the minute. I know I’m supposed to be professional and all but can you blame me if I have a screaming match with them every now and then?

This morning I received a letter from them which smacks of arrogance and sheer stupidity. They have resorted to writing letters now instead of meetings and discussions since all of us can’t seem to be civilized about it. I am fuming, and therefore I am taking my time replying since I do not want to write something nasty (which I am bound to do if I reply right away) and aggravate the already delicate situation.

What can I say? I have business with them, so I have to bear with them for a while longer.

But in the meantime, can I just shoot someone?

Random Ramblings Not Worth Reading #10

2008-06-11T13:55:00.004+08:00

There is this thing called Caller ID. No cell phone would be complete without it. It helps you be prepared of what’s to come-- whether it your Momma calling to scold you, or your boss calling to tell you to come to work on a Sunday, or your spouse calling to check up on you-- once you see their numbers on the screen, you brace yourselves and you know exactly whether to answer or how to handle the call.

It’s convenient. It enables us to screen calls. It’s even a life-saver.

Then there’s also this thing called a private number, where the caller’s phone number is withheld and we are left to guess who is calling.

I hate those stupid private numbers. The callers want to find me wherever I am, yet they don’t want me to know where they’re calling from. It’s so freakin’ rude. If I want to answer a phone call blindly, I won’t have Caller ID!

So, to whoever it is who has been calling me non-stop since Sunday, STOP WITHHOLDING YOUR NUMBER OR STOP CALLING, YOU STUPID COW!!!!!!

--------------

Everybody’s still angry about the fuel price hike. Moi included. But I don’t know what to say anymore. It is so ridiculously high right now that I’m seriously considering finding a job within walking distance from my home.

The rebate being promised is such a meager sum, like we say it in Malay, “lekat celah gigi pun tak cukup”. And now they have confirmed that it is not even an annual rebate!!! So, we won’t even have anything to try to lekat celah our gigi next year!

Bagero!!

--------------

I was involved in 2 minor accidents 2 months ago. One of the culprits paid the damages a few days after I told her the amount. It wasn’t so swift, but it was not delayed for weeks either. So, I’m pleased with that.

As for the other culprit, the damage she had done was so little and the cost minimal, but the fact remains that I suffered losses because of her, so she still had to pay nonetheless. I told her the cost and she didn’t reply my SMS. I sent a reminder 2 weeks later and she replied saying she noted and will pay the sum. However, till yesterday, still no money came in for me. It was 2 months after the accident.

I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it since the amount is so little but she did hit my car, so I couldn’t just let her get away with it. So I sent this SMS last night, “2 months since u hit my car, 1 ½ months since I asked you to pay RMXXX and 1 month since u promised to pay. Tell me Ms. XXX, are u an honest person?”

10 minutes lapsed while she was probably fuming, then came the reply, “Yes I am. Give me your a/c no and I will bank the money in” (paraphrasing).

And today, she SMS-ed saying money has been banked in. (I haven’t checked my account yet but I believe it’s in). There, there,… that wasn’t so hard was it?

So, friends, the next time someone is dilly-dallying from paying you something, just question their honesty. Don’t scold, don’t hound, don’t chase, don’t abuse-- just question their honesty. Chances are, they’re going to be embarrassed into paying, just to prove that they’re honest. Unless of course, they really are liars and cheats who do not mind being thought of as liars and cheats. So, that’s another story.

The Tale of The Bladder Queen

2008-06-02T14:17:00.007+08:00

I drove back to Alor Setar on Friday night to send Mom’s new Indonesian maid to her. This girl is from Jawa Timur, so the slang is a bit thick and she has difficulty understanding a lot of what I was saying, although I could understand her perfectly well.

The thing is, with the influx of Indonesian movies and songs invading our airwaves since decades ago, we Malaysians tend to understand the various Indonesian dialects much easier than Indonesians can understand our Malaysian dialects. So I kept forgetting that Siti may be a bit blurred whenever I open my mouth to say something.

On the PLUS highway, I stopped at Tapah to freshen up and asked her :-

“Siti mau ke tandas?”

“Nggak mau.”

Ok. So I went by myself and then we continued the journey.

Later, I stopped at Bukit Gantang, asked her again, "Siti mau ke tandas?", and again she answered me, "Nggak mau". This baffled me a great deal since the air-cond was rather cold and she did drink half a bottle of mineral water since the start of the journey.

I had already gone twice and she hadn’t at all. So, I thought she must have a bladder the size of a Ducati fuel tank or something. But I kept the thought to myself.

At Gurun (which is about 400 km from KL), I stopped again and asked her:-

“Siti mau ke tandas?”

“Tandas itu apa?”

“Errr… bilik air, err.. tempat cuci…err…”

Kencing??”

“Ya”

“Ya! Ya! Mauuuuu!!!”

Dang! She must’ve been holding it in since God-knows-when!!

The Legendary Tantrum

2008-05-21T12:46:00.005+08:00

Daddy is causing a lot of waves now. There’s no escaping the news. At the breakfast table, at the office, lunch at mamak’s, hi-tea, dinner -- the whole realm is buzzing with news about Daddy.

When Daddy left his pedestal not too long ago, everybody cried their eyes out and sang praises till the cows come home-- Ah, there goes our true father, we’ll miss you, you’ve been great, you’re a visionary, we owe you so much, you’re irreplaceable, thank you Daddy, you’re a living legend, blah blah blah.

All seemed well and Daddy seemed to enjoy his retirement. Then Daddy noticed that the New Daddy started to undo a lot of things that he did and which he was so proud of. So Daddy became upset and Daddy started to question New Daddy about all his decisions. The New Daddy insisted that he is doing the right thing and that since he is in charge, he will do things his own way.

Daddy was livid.

So Daddy started arguing with the new Daddy about everything, and the butt-lickers did not know how to react. They wanted to stay loyal to Daddy who has given them so much, but they also want that shiny new black SUV and a mansion up on a hill which probably can only be achieved by continuing to lick the New Daddy’s butt as well as those of his minions.

As such, one by one, Daddy’s butt-lickers left his old sagging yellow ones to go lick the younger buns and gave public speeches of how Daddy has been a bane in everyone’s existence. All of these, in the hopes of getting recognition from the New Daddy and his minions and huge rewards that guarantee them those huge mansions up on a hill with a lake full of cash floating around.

Daddy cried, Daddy ranted, Daddy cursed each and every one of them. Daddy tried everything to get his way including accusing people of a lot of things which he himself was accused of when he was at the pedestal. Nothing worked and Daddy felt dejected.

Spending countless of hours and days thinking and strategizing, Daddy came out with a brilliant plan. It is dangerous. It is lunacy. It is somewhat bratty. But it is classic Daddy.

At the risk of this act backfiring upon him and leaving him an outcast old dodo, Daddy threw a tantrum and left his family. Everybody jumped. The enemies clapped excitedly and the marauders sprang into action with glee but the butt-lickers and the minions came out in full force calling Daddy a brat, a nut, a senile old man, a traitor.

There goes the praises they heaped upon him when he left his pedestal just a few years ago.

There goes the adulation and admiration.

There goes all their respect to the man whom they used to call a legend.

Poor Daddy.

Or is it clever Daddy?

Let’s just wait and see.

Lazy Left Leg

2008-04-28T18:17:00.006+08:00

I have again been stricken with another bout of lazyfatassitis. It is a medical condition known to be capable of affecting people of all walks of life-- fat-asses or skinny-asses alike, causing them to have extreme difficulties in moving their asses off the couch and making these people do absolutely nothing all day.

Once diagnosed with this fairly common but highly untreatable disease, the patient is doomed for life -- no amount of spanking, slapping, poking, prying or kicking of one’s ass or whacking of the head attached to the body attached to the ass would cause it to budge, except maybe if you put a bag of Ruffles chips on the dining table thus causing that ass to maybe, just maybe, move like a friction of an inch off the couch while the body attached to it maneuvers a long stick/pole to knock the bag of chips off the table and towards the ass.

Sometimes, in a rare occurrence, one leg (say, the right one) will exhibit a patellar reflex out of nowhere, perhaps subconsciously telling the body that it has had enough and wants to start walking again, and so the body attached to the lazyfatass starts to make a move when the other leg, the lazy left leg exhibits a paralytic syndrome where it absolutely refuse to budge.

It’s like the left leg doesn’t know what the right leg is doing, or vice versa. And eventually, usually, the lazy left leg wins.

No surprises there.

So, the lazyfatass remains on the couch for a while longer.

There is no remedy, no cure, no antidote of any kind for this lazyfatassitis.

The only way to get rid of it is to give it time, because in time, the lazyfatass will get couch-sores (much like bed-sores) and will have to snap out of it, even if only to relapse in the near future.

And so, we just wait and wait and wait…

And we wait some more.

*sigh*

**Lazy Left Leg is a title of a 2004 movie which incidentally was such a flop that only a couch potato lazyfatass would know about it.

Bumper Stumper

2008-04-14T10:04:00.005+08:00

Last Thursday as I was driving to work, someone got into a little accident with me while my car was at the traffic light. The lady driver may have overestimated the little opening between my car and hers and tried to change lanes thus knocking into my bumper.

We pulled to the side, got out, assessed the damage, she admitted her fault and we exchanged numbers. That’s it. I didn’t even scream and yell. Too early in the morning for that and it’s just a minor dent on my bumper. No need to get my blood pressure up.

The funny thing was, eventhough our cars didn’t block traffic, the onlookers caused a traffic jam anyway.

Small fender-bender like that also want to gawk ka woi????

Anyway, I took it lightly. I didn’t even bother to go to the workshop over the weekend. I’ll do it next week, I thought.

So I went about and did other things and completely unperturbed by the dent.

This morning, as I was driving to work, again, another woman driver bumped me on the rear while trying to change lanes at the traffic light. What’s up with all these people not knowing how to change lanes??? Tak masuk sekolah memandu ke woi?

We pulled over to the side and lo and behold, this time got hole one!!!

Aiyoh… koyak bontot aku lorrr…

I was stunned because there are 2 fender-benders in 5 days and in the same kind of situation. This 2nd woman was in a hurry and quickly took charge giving me her numbers and promising to pay for the damage and all. I can’t remember what I said but I think I didn’t say more than 10 words. I was stumped. I was too blurred. I was too stunned. I was getting superstitious, I mean, twice in 5 days???

Okay, so I have to go to the workshop today and get the damage assessed. I’ve got to get this out of the way now.

Hello Kitty

2008-04-09T18:43:00.006+08:00

I have never been so sleepy in my entire life than I have been in the past few weeks. Maybe it’s because I have been waking up earlier than usual in the mornings to attend to my kittens. They are a demanding lot, them kitties. I have to play with them before I go to work, and pay full attention to them when I come back.

When they are sick I have to attend to them like mothers attend to their babies. I take them to the vet and give them antibiotics. I have to cuddle them and stroke them and make sure they know that they are loved.

I took them for their vaccination last Saturday and they were feverish thereafter. Mopster the eldest was very cranky and was seemingly angry at me for putting her through all that.

Understandably so. They were fine until I decided to take them to THAT place. “Nothing good ever come out of that place”, they must’ve thought.

“Everytime we go there, they shove that plastic thingy up our behind and then they stick a needle on our back”.

“That must’ve been why we can’t even walk properly afterwards”.

Poor kitties.

I find that I have been talking about my kittens at any chance I get. My friends must be so dead tired of hearing me speak now.

It’s much like those people with children- whenever you talk to them, they have nothing else to say except talk about their kids, and so you’re obliged to just say “Ooh!”, “Ah!”, “How cute!”, and just giggle along when they regale you with stories of how ‘adorable’ their kids are.

In order not to hurt their feelings, I have always found it necessary to just nod along and do all of the above, but deep inside, I have always thought, “GAWD! Enough already!! Don’t you have anything else to talk about?????”

Sadly, I have now unwittingly joined this group of people. Everything now revolves around my Mopster, Pippin and Blanket. I talk about them everyday and I think about them all the time, always thinking of what else can I do to make them happy. I don’t even care if I drive my friends crazy with all these kitty talk.

I have lost count of how much I have spent on their food, equipment, toys and medications. I know for a fact that I have spent more on them in the past 2 months than I spent on my own clothes, but I just don’t want to get the figures straight lest I pass out from shock.

And now, as I consider neutering my kittens, I can’t bear the thought of them being in pain from the procedures. I am not in favour of cats breeding all their lives, and with all the medical evidence pointing out the health benefits, it is clear that neutering of felines is good for them in the long run. But when I think of the pain they have to go through, I’m at a loss.

The good thing however is that my kitties are only 4 months old, so there’s time yet for me to think and prepare myself for the procedures. I hope I can get some perspective before the time comes.

Ah, how my life has turned upside down because of these 3.

Speaking of upside down, just last night as I was enjoying my dinner at home, I couldn’t stop chuckling at the irony of me eating raw fish that is sushi and sashimi whilst the kittens are eating cooked and processed tuna.

What a weird world this is!

Saving Fish From Drowning

2008-04-03T12:42:00.010+08:00

The country is abuzz with the stories about Sufiah Yusuf, the Math genius who entered Oxford at the age of 13. It’s sad that she has turned out this way, from a world reknowned prodigy to hooker. It’s a bizarre turn of events that made us wonder what triggered such a downfall and if such a thing could happen to us.

And of course the next thing that came to my mind is, “What a waste of our taxpayers money!!!”

Sufiah's mother is a Malaysian who had turned her back on her family in Johor. She married a Pakistani and lived in UK and only reached out to her Malaysian roots when she needed financial aid to put her daughter into Oxford.

And of course, being the greedy Malaysians that we are, we would stake a claim to anything that has any Malaysian connection whatsoever no matter how remote as our own and we embrace them and hail them as our greatest achievements with the Malaysia Boleh slogan blaring in the background.

Like how we so tak malu claim that Guy Sebastian is a Malaysian, remember that?

Our DPM as the then Education Minister decided to give this then 13 year old a scholarship.

AS IF she’s going to come and be of any use to us in Malaysia when she’s done studying.

And then, she had to run away from Oxford in the middle of her studies, so all our money spent for putting her there were flushed down the toilet.

And then the shocking news came out.

And now, the government has decided to intervene and start a mission called the ‘Save Sufiah Program’ led by that Mashitah woman.

Are we even sure that she needs saving in the first place?

By the way, correct me if I’m wrong but wasn’t it Mashitah who once said that it is alright for prostitutes to do what they do when they are desperate? Well, maybe Sufiah was desperate, so it’s justified, no? If they really want to help, just send her £100 and send her on her way.

There is no need to spend any more money on her than we already have when we don’t even spend much to help our own girls in the dark alleys of KL’s red light districts aside from arresting them from time to time and throwing them back out on the streets.

More so, please, please don’t send a delegation of 10 or so government officers on this so-called mission only to have them spend weeks staying at some 5 star hotels on our money.

If they really really want to help, we already have Malaysian representatives staying in UK, why not get them to help reach out to her? Some financial assistance may be given, but let’s not go overboard.

And more importantly, do it on the basis of humanity- People helping people, not as some tool to gain political mileage.

Let’s not use Sufiah any more than she has already been used.

Life In The Scrab Lane

2008-03-31T11:18:00.010+08:00

Since joining Facebook some time ago, I have been addicted to Scrabulous, the online Scrabble game. I play with my friends and I play with strangers from all over the world. It’s fun. Especially when you win.

So, I play again and again. I play in Cafes, I play at home, I play at the office. I play everywhere. I just can’t stop! My work suffers, my sleep suffers, and oh, my kitties scream for food, but I just continue playing.

Usually I play a Regular game - this is where the built-in wordlist will screen every word you put on the board, so there’s no room for non-existing words to make its way onto it. The Challenge game is where the word list is disabled, so that you can put any word you like, but if your opponent challenges you and the word is found to be invalid, you lose the word, and you lose a turn.

Any which game you choose, it’s bound to be fun, even if your vocabulary consists of strictly 3 and 4 letter words which more often than not gets repeated from one game to the other.

Of course, it’s definitely no fun when an opponent come up with a word like “CLAQUES” and scored 113 leaving me trailing pathetically behind, but as much as that one single move obviously defeated me, I continued playing because that’s the right thing to do.

Even when I encounter a stupid player like this one Stephanie O who hosted a Challenge game, but do not like being challenged, I simply played along, challenging one ridiculous word of hers after another while having an small argument over at the chat box.

Day 1
Stephanie: Why did you delete my word? A hound is a type of dog.

Me: HOUND is ok, but the resulting word LOPOW is not.

---
Day 3
Me: again, the resulting words QID and UHO is (are) invalid.

Stephanie: if you are going to keep deleting my words, please at least passa turn so that the game will be fair again.

Me: what is unfair is when I have to pass a turn in order to correct your wrong.
Day 4
Stephanie: my words were valid. I provide you with definitions.

Me: no definitions? I did not delete your words, I simply challenged it. The application found it invalid and deleted it.

Stephanie: There is no reason to be rude or nasty in this game. I have done nothing negative to you. Why do you insult me?
Day 6
Me: which part of that was an insult? Was it the part when YOU suggested that I was being unfair to you??

Me: for all its worth, I apologise if you think I was being nasty. I really was just defending myself. The validity of the word is determined by the application, NOT ME. I cannot simply delete my opponent’s words.

Stephanie: thank you for the apology but what I said about the game is true and what I said about other player deleting every entry of mine.
Day 7
Me: nobody can delete your words. The validity of the words are determined by the Scrabulous application using the TWL wordlist. If your words are challenged, the application will check it against the wordlist and delete it if necessary. Perhaps you should play a Regular game and not a Challenge game- that way, the words on the board will be validated automatically when played, and there’ll be no dispute.

Stephanie: are you not listening to me? This really isn’t worth fighting over. If you want the game, then fine, I can play another
Day 9
Me: No. YOU are not listening to me. The last thing I said was said in good faith. Why don’t you stop being so accusatory?

Me: why don’t you check the TWL wordlist and see if your words are valid. Your last word, DURO was ok, but the resulting word UR?

Me: I just challenged it and guess what? The fabulous Scrabulous application just accepted it.
UPDATED 1-4-2008 - Day 10
Stephanie: You owe me three turns. If you win this game without giving me those turns, then know that you cheated to win, and it was dishonest of you and you should be ashamed of yourself.
Me: Bodoh nak mampus.
Me: I owe you nothing.
Stephanie: you are a liar and a cheat
Me: and you are a dumbass

-----
I’m waiting for her reply. I doubt that it’s forthcoming. Hehe.

Arguing with an idiot stranger over non-existent words - Have you ever heard of anything so ridiculous?

But I must admit, it is a lot of fun, and I wonder if there’s many more Stephanie O for me to fight with?

That’s the *Fabulosity of Scrabulous!

* Fabulosity is a word used excessively by Kimora Lee Simmons. It’s an invalid word, yes I know!

A Post About Growing Old, Dying, Life Issues, Wrinkles and All Those Things That Come With Being Another Year Older

2008-03-19T14:15:00.008+08:00

I’m posting this today as I’m not gonna be around tomorrow. It’s my birthday. At 7.15 am tomorrow, I’m going to turn another year older.

*sigh*

It’s not a fun thought y’know, growing old. Everytime I see an old saggy granny, I shudder to think if I’m gonna look like that one day. Granted, it’s a long way to go, and given the kind of medical advancement and beauty care regime available these days, that old crinkly granny look may be a thing of the past even for a 70, 80 year old.

I know I’m not yet at that age where I can be categorized as old, but that era is looming, so yeah, it is a disturbing thought.

People have always said that age is just a number, that aging is a natural process, that we must embrace it not fear it. Bleergh!!!

Sure, I’ve said that many times before too. But the truth is, and I’m not ashamed to admit it, I am scared of growing old. A lot of us do. We fear aging because it is something that is inevitable. It will come no matter what, and to some, it comes in more brutal ways than others. Rheumatism, osteoporosis, arthritis, and all sorts of ailments, and then you die.

The fear of aging is there because the fear of dying is inherent in everyone.

We just rationalize it in order to comfort ourselves that everything is fine, because if we dwell on these fears, it will cripple us and we can’t get on with living our lives to the fullest.

And so we try not to worry our poor little head about any of this. And we assure ourselves that it is mind over matter, that if we don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.

As hypocritical as it sounds, it is an accepted human behaviour in these day and age to discuss these life issues so that we can feel secure about our very existence. This is an era of Oprah Winfrey and Dr.Phil, so asking questions about life is a must. Looking for answers is mandatory. If you are an American (or if you are Americanised), leaving your loved ones behind to go ‘find ourselves’ is expected.

I’m not gonna do any of it. At least not at this time. I'm postponing that thought for now. Next year I may think differently. Next year I may worship the ground Dr. Phil walks on. Next year I may even go away to the desert to find myself like the Americans do. Who knows? The more you age, the more weird things you do.

But as at this moment, while I still don’t have wrinkles on my forehead, I’m just gonna chuck away whatever fear I have about growing old and console myself with the thought that I’m still in my child-bearing years, although child-bearing is sooooooo not on the agenda ever!

No need to rationalize anything. No need to find answers. No need to go anywhere. I’m just going to take it one day at a time.

I'm wishing myself a very Happy Birthday and I hope I don’t see those wrinkles anytime soon.

RIP

2008-03-11T12:09:00.004+08:00

I have complained about The Toad before. She is one slick woman who manages to get away with skipping work and causing all sorts of mess every so often. How she gets away with it all is beyond me as she appears to be quite dumb really, as in, very very dumb.

But then again, she’s quite good at playing politics and pitting the partners against each other. So, that could be her greatest asset, and that could be why she can do whatever the hell she wants in this firm without any repercussion whatsoever.

Recently I complained to The Sheep that the partners’ lack of action on The Toad’s shenanigans is causing the entire office some major discomfort (…and by ‘the entire office’, I meant me). The impression given is that she is given special and preferential treatment over and above everybody else and thus, the others are left feeling demoralized and feeling as if they don’t matter in this place (again, ‘the others’, me). I wasn’t playing politics and I wasn’t complaining about something The Sheep didn’t already know. I was just telling him how we (‘I’) feel about seeing a colleague getting away with such blatant disregard of office rules.

Sadly, The Sheep who is in a cold war with The Toad, appeared not to be able to do anything about it eventhough he seemed to have been a bit comforted by the fact that I am behind him in this instead of her.

Of course, my complaints about The Toad came right after my complaint about The Sheep himself to his face. So, I’m sure he was more than glad to get the criticism deflected away from him and onto The Toad. That could be why he appeared glad when I was criticizing her.

But I’m pretty certain that he wanted to do the right thing about her but the other partners put handcuffs on him, as I have already expected.

Politics suck.

In a later discussion (or rather The Toad bashing session) with a friend over the phone last weekend, I likened The Toad to Dato Zakaria Deros, the man who got away with building his palatial residence illegally, operating a satay restaurant illegally and not paying assessments on his property(ies) for years and years.

We may have nothing to do with Dato Zakaria and whatever he did or didn’t do have no effect on us physically, but as citizens of this country, we expect a fellow citizen like him to be given the same treatment as we would receive had we done the same offences he did. I’m sure if I even build an illegal extension to my tiny little kitchen, the authorities would steamroll everything down in 2 seconds flat.

But not him apparently. He got away with a mere slap on the wrist. So, of course we are all mad. And I told my friend that I wish someone would just shoot this guy dead.

Today, I found out he died this morning of a heart attack. Read here.

I don’t really feel bad, but the man died, so I’ll stop bashing him.

Rest In Peace.

I’m just wondering though, if I wish someone would shoot The Toad, would she end up ‘splat’ in a few days? Mati katak, so to speak?

Why am I having this image of a disemboweled frog in my head?

And why am I smiling gleefully at that image?

Don’t say it! I’m so bad, I know.

A Wake-Up Call

2008-03-10T08:55:00.005+08:00

Wow! That's all I can say.

It's been a pretty hectic day on Saturday, and an amazing day on Sunday. I half expected to see people dancing in the streets, but hey, we don't need those FRUs to shower us with their love again do we? No thank you. We're fine just dancing in our own kitchens.

It's amazing how even with the worst nightmare coming true, some people can continue sleeping in and overstaying their welcome.

It's mind-boggling to say the least.

To the sleeping one,

WAKEY, WAKEY!!!!!!!

Selamat Mengundi!

2008-03-08T10:15:00.003+08:00

Marilah mari
pergi mengundi
jangan lupa kewajipan
pada negara

lalalalalalala

TIRU MACAM SAYA!

2008-03-04T15:15:00.016+08:00

Last edited 6/3/2008, pic added. See at the bottom.

Thank you soooooo very da much Pi Bani for alerting me.

Now, WHO IS THIS ABSOLUTELAYLA & WHAT IS SHE DOING PLAGIARIZING MY WRITING????

Pi Bani alerted me today on a blog posting she found similar to mine. So I checked out the blog, and my of my, several of my postings are there. The plagiarist (I won’t call her/him a blogger because she/he is severely lacking in originality) posted my blog entries verbatim, except for some names and situation which she/he changed to suit her/his situation.

Check this out:

1.
My post:
Here Comes The Smear Campaign – 15/2/2008
The Plagiarized post:
Here Comes The Smear Campaign -18/2/2008

2.
My post:
Traffic Jam Up Ahead, Please Go Right In – 31/1/2008
The Plagiarized post:
Traffic Jam Up Ahead, Please Go Right In – 26/2/2008

3.
My post
Let’s Have A Baby! – 11/2007
The Plagiarized Post
Let’s Have A Baby! –1/2008

4.
My post
My 3rd Blog – 1/4/2006
The Plagiarized Post
My 2nd Blog – 3/1/2008

APA TIRU-TIRU ORANG NIH? TAK MALU KE WEY??

Going a step further, I actually made a search on all the postings and I found that all her/his postings are copied, other than me, from Princesswaffzonkle’s blog.

1.
Princesswaffzonkle’s
At the work place -24/3/2006
Absolutelayla’s
At the work place -24/2/2008

2.
Princesswaffzonkle’s
I’m still at it - 6/6/2006
Absolutelayla’s
I’m still at it…- 20/2/2008

3.
Princesswaffzonkle’s
*rubbing eyes* - 14/3/2006
Absolutelayla’s
*rubbing eyes* - 11/2/2008

4.
Princesswaffzonkle’s
Saya the despatch- 18/6/2007
Absolutelayla’s
Saya the despatch mama – 10/2/2008

5.
Princesswaffzonkle’s
Dooped- 9/3/2006
Absolutelayla’s
Dooped- 28/1/2008

There’s nothing original in this blog at all. Everything is copied. Heck, even the tagline I use "I am somebody. I like being me. I need nobody to make me somebody” is copied. (That, by the way, is a quote by Louise L’Amour)

People say, imitation is the best form of flattery. Some people may tell me to be flattered that this person, whoever she or he is, find my writing worthy to be plagiarized. But really, I don’t quite know how to make of it. On the one hand, yes, I am somewhat amazed that someone would copy me. But on the other hand,…

OY! SAYA PENAT-PENAT TULIS TAWWWW!

*flashing middle finger*

Edited. Pics added.

As at 5.14pm on 4/3/2008, the blog absolutelayla.blogspot.com has been removed.

Guess i scared her off....... MUAHAHAHAHAHAH!

Edited again on 6/3/2008

Screen capture pic enlarged so that you can read the copycat version.
Pic added, one I nicked from her profile (without her permission of course, but who needs it when she has conveniently curik what is mine? An eye for an eye baby!):-

Email : absolutelayla@gmail.com

Another Birthday Blues

2008-02-21T14:16:00.002+08:00

In a month’s time, I will turn another year older. As always, whenever my birthday is coming, I will turn into this moping sulking mildly neurotic bitch who will find fault in everything and everyone. I’m starting to turn into one now.

Just a while ago, I scolded my clerk for making too many mistakes in her draft and early this morning, I almost had a screaming match with a very important client. NOTE: almost, so yes, good sense prevailed in the end, thank God!

I just have to keep reminding myself about not letting out too much in this firm. You see, gossip is usually the essential meal of the day for a certain type of people. A lot of this people happen to work in my office. So, if you give a certain information to them, that information will more often than not, be blown out of proportion.

Yesterday, I kicked up a small fuss about having to attend to The Toad’s file which she claimed is not hers. As I’m not on talking terms with The Toad (I talk, she croaks), I informed the clerks to just find the file next time and dump it right under her nose since her initials are all over the file cover and she can’t claim that it’s not hers. Soon after, I heard the girls gossiping about how Cik Sue is VERY angry at Cik Toad for not doing her work. VERY angry? I don’t think I even appeared angry, but if they want to embellish it so, so be it. I just hope that the stories won’t evolve into me stuffing the entire file into The Toad’s mouth or something like that, although I must admit the thought of such thing is very pleasurable.

Anyway, I was planning to go to Indonesia for my birthday since I had been dying to see the Borobudur temple. As it turns out, my friend is unable to make it and since I have just recently had ‘kids’, I wasn’t very disappointed in not being able to go away for ‘D’ day. Sure, I lost some money there as the Air Asia tickets are not refundable but at least I am feeling kind of relieved for not having to leave my babies with anyone else.

Maybe I’ll just go to PD again.

Since I’m not spending money going on a vacation, maybe I should buy myself a birthday present- things I have been hoping people will give me but no one ever had. I wanted a PDA, people gave me books. I wanted a new laptop, they gave me food. I wanted a new cell phone, they gave me stationeries. I had to buy my own freakin’ cell phone because people around me are all so kedekut!!

So now I’m thinking of buying myself a new iPOD since my old MP3 player is all in pieces now. I’m also getting myself a new camera since my old trusty camera is no longer working and I’m just using my cameraphone which is crappy. And oh, I’m also thinking of getting a treadmill so that I can exercise at home while watching TV. (I find that I have come up with too many excuses about not going to the gym or go for a jog - all TV related excuses of course)

I hope that in a few months, I would be able to fit into those bikinis I’ve been raving about on my last birthday blues, hehe.

Till the big day comes, let me just sit back and wallow in this bout of birthday blues. I’ll get up and rejoice once the day has passed.

Here Comes The Smear Campaign!

2008-02-15T14:51:00.004+08:00

Now that election fever is here, politicians have started showing their ugliest sides. Some will have skeletons dragged out of their closet and some others will act all goody-goody while gleefully digging other people’s skeletons and throwing ‘em out in the open. Either way, these are all the repulsive acts of politicians and their cronies during any political campaign. I expect the mud-slinging to get worse in the next few days.

I was directed to one particular site by rockybru today. The site made me sick to my stomach. No, it is not so much the contents that disgust me but the intention behind it. The site purports to expose the lifestyle of a certain single female politician. Long have we heard rumours of this particular politician’s sexual orientation, but we can never verify the accuracy of such rumours.

I’m not proud to say that I actually checked out the site, but if the title suggests raunchy information, I expect to see such information and not just some unverified and unsubstantiated stories with pictures of some kids’s birthday party and some holiday trips abroad with family and friends. Typically, the site is written in the manner of someone seeking to sensationalize the pictures. But the pictures themselves are nothing but ordinary. There’s nothing sensational at all about it.

The caption at the bottom of the page reads:-
“Gambar sudah menjadi bukti. XXXXXX berprofil buruk. Menteri yang membela rakyat kini menjerumuskan rakyat ke arah sesuatu yang menyonsang dari lumrah.

Apa yang kita tunggu lagi? Mahukah kita meneruskan kegiatan sumbang XXXXXX ini bermaharajalela? Pak Lah mestilah mengheret XXXXXXX ke Jawatankuasa Disiplin UMNO! Lucutkan semua jawatan XXXXX dalam kerajaan dan politik!”

Bukti apa? Really, what do the pictures prove?

The photos show this politician hugging and kissing her daughter, the child’s birthday party and some family trips. The captions throughout the site refer to the little girl as ‘anak’ XXXX (with inverted commas- as if an adopted child is not worthy to be called someone’s child) and the ‘anak’ lesbian. I pity the child for being labeled as such.

Whether or not the stories are true is beside the point. An exposé, if that is what this site sought out to be, should be backed by actual evidence, not some twisted interpretation of some photos from a family album.

I myself never liked this politician and will never be a fan. So, I don’t really care if she is a lesbian or not (nor do I think it is any of our business if she is), but I do sympathize with her for having to face all these crappy rumours, truth or lies notwithstanding.

Over the next few weeks, I’m sure we can expect more personal attacks like this one. What a nasty thing this politics business is!

The Kids

2008-02-11T11:49:00.004+08:00

My mom’s in shock, my sister is wide-eyed, my friends all snickered. It’s like the world’s most shocking news.

It’s so unbelievable it sounds like something out of Twilight Zone.

“Sue has kids”.

These words spread like wild forest fire. It swept through the community like a raging inferno threatening your very existence- unstoppable, unrelenting, unforgiving.

How can this be?

Is she fit to be a mother?

She doesn’t look motherly at all.

Is her house clean enough for her to raise kids?

She is so messy, I wonder if her house has proper ventilation.

She can’t even take care of herself, let alone take care of kids!

The poor little ones must be starving!

Oh, the horror, the horror!

Such horror!

Errr.

……

……

Now wait seminit, kids?

They’re kittens la! Aiyah….

I understand why my mom is worried that my house will stink to high heaven, but really Mom, as messy as I am, I am not dirty. My house is unkempt because I’m rather disorganized, but I’m actually quite clean. So my house is far from filthy.

My sister kept referring to me as a mommy, and she kept calling me every night to check on the little ones. As if I’m gonna let them starve or something. It’s rather annoying I tell ya, but I’m taking it in stride and assume that her concern is more about them cute kittens which she probably wish are hers, and not about my ability to take care of the young ones.

My friend M asked “If I go to your house, is it possible to walk around barefoot without stepping on cat poo?”

Aiyoo.

So far, it’s been great. They are 3 cute 1 ½ months old kitties of mixed breed. They are manja, they are playful, they are fluffy, I just want to cuddle them all day long.

I must admit, cleaning out their litter box is not a favourite part of the job, but it has to be done. So I just have to hold my breath and do the deeds. For very very small kittens, they sure poop a lot. That’s all they do, eh? Eat, sleep, play, poop. Eat, sleep, play, poop. I wish someone would invent a machine that can just collect the stuff out of the litter box every time after they use it. It would make my life a helluva easier.

Aside from that, the kittens are fabulous. I played with them so much, I smell them everywhere I go. I have scrubbed clean last night and had a very good shower this morning and put on clean clothes. I only patted them good bye and washed my hands before I left, yet here I am at the office, with my hands sanitized and without any cat fur on my clothes, still smelling them kitties wherever I go. What can I say? My nose is in kitty zone.

So, here’s my little ones:

Pippin- cute like an apple seed, small like that little Hobbit in LOTR, and reminds me of Pip, the pipsqueak in Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations (although the latter is a contemptible one, and in no way reflects Pippin the kitten).

Pippin tidur terlentang

Blanket- because she likes to hide. I tried to put fresh blankets in their cage when I first brought them home, and she wouldn’t move from a corner. So I covered her with that blanket, and there she stayed for a good few minutes, hiding away.

Blanket not hiding anymore- I guess this means she trusts me now.

Mopster- initially named Tassel because of her lion-like mane, I renamed her after a mop, because she mops the floor under the coffee table every day. At first I thought Mopster is a boy because of the size (a whopping 750g at 6 weeks old!) and the fact that she’s the cheekiest of the lot. But it looks like it’s a she. Still, it’s quite difficult to tell at this tender age. We’ll just wait a few more months.

Mopster-looking like a mobster

So there you go. My kids. My beautiful beautiful kids.

Traffic Jam Up Ahead, Please Go Right In

2008-01-31T11:54:00.002+08:00

I have been so lazy in updating my blog for a few months now. If there is an award for the biggest lazybum blogger on the planet, I would get it hands down. So here’s something to keep you occupied while I try to get my blogging momentum back.

Stuck in traffic this morning, I was thinking of what to write in my blog when Patricia Patrick’s traffic report came on air. I used to rely on it every day, until I realized that it is as accurate as the government’s statistics on just about everything.

There were times when I was at Jalan Jelatek when Patricia said, “Jalan Jelatek is at an unusual crawl all the way to Jalan Ampang” and I would be taken aback as there I was at a supposedly ‘unusual crawl’, yet my car was moving along just smoothly and jam-free.

What does ‘unusual crawl’ even mean??

There were also other times when I was headed to the same area when she said “Jalan Jelatek is smooth flowing”, and so I went ahead only to get stuck in a bumper-to-bumper crawl for almost an hour.

Talk about inaccurate reporting.

And I’m sure we’ve all heard her whining and complaining about onlookers and gawkers at accident sites. Don’t slow down to look because it would cause traffic jam for miles, that’s what she keeps reminding.

Yet this morning, I heard her reporting that there’s an accident at such and such place and she said, “If you are in the area, please call and tell us about the accident”. Huh?

Okay, I’m getting mixed signals here. Am I supposed to look at accidents now?

Oh yeah, I also heard her say Jalan Jelatek is smooth flowing this morning, and sure enough, it was jammed up.

Man, their reports must be about an hour late.

I think I get better information just sticking up my finger in the air checking wind direction than relying on these radio traffic reports. It’s mush I tell ya.

Backup Credit Card

2008-01-18T16:58:00.003+08:00

Is there such a thing as a backup card for Visa and Mastercard?

I received a suspicious call from someone claiming to be from Somerset Card or something like that. This woman called from a mobile no. 016-3324573 and presumably also from 016-4339149 (which I didn’t answer) and explained to me about this service card purportedly used to help us control our spending and stay within the credit limit. This woman proceeded to ask for confirmation whether I am using Visa or Mastercard. I refused to confirm as I was sure they would ask for the particulars of the card next.

I just told her before I hung up, “I know how to control my spending and stay within the credit limit, thank you very much”.

In hindsight, I should’ve played along, giving false information of course, collect all the necessary information about them and hand it over to the authorities. It would definitely make me feel good to play P.I. for a bit, but as usual, I’m always in a hurry to end these annoying phone calls and thus, never bother to pose questions. I really gotta change this habit.

Seriously though, why would we need a card to help us use another card? Unless I’m really dense and do not know anything about the latest financial product on the market that could have possibly been introduced by AKPK for the benefit of all those little earner big spender dimwits, I am dead sure that it is another scam to collect your confidential information and ultimately, steal your money.

So friends, be wary.

Sighing Very Very Loudly

2008-01-15T17:20:00.006+08:00

I was at a lunch meeting with a client today when I picked these up coming out of the mouth of The Sheep:-

On the One-child policy in China
“There are exceptions. In some places in China, they are allowed to have 2 childs”

On the politics in Malaysia
“Kids follow their parents. If you grow up a child, you grow him up with your ideas and political beliefs.”

(On the phone with his secretary)
“Can you give me the breaknow of what Ho owes me?”
(I assume he meant breakdown)

*Sigh*

Reminds me of Billy, the man-goat in the movie Stardust; eventhough Billy just went “mbeeekk” all the way and didn’t speak a single word, the impression left by him was nonetheless similar.

Love Thy Neighbour (Or Not!!)

2008-01-11T11:55:00.002+08:00

About 2 weeks ago, I had my front and backyard cleaned. All the rumput and lalang and all sorts of wild growths in my backyard were cut off. It’s fantastic, I can actually see the longkang again.

The pakcik potong rumput then dumped the 10 garbage bags full of the unwanted weeds out to the front of my house. If there were just one or two bags of soft grass, I would’ve dumped them across the street next to the playground, but because there were some very wild and thorny plants sticking out of the 10 bags, I didn’t want any kids passing by to accidentally poke their eyes out or something.

So, the bags just sat there next to my front gate awaiting pick-up. A week passed by and still no collection. Then one fine morning, I noticed some branches of a palm tree with red trunk were dumped on those bags as if that is a proper dumping site for those things.

My next door neighbours have those palm trees on their front yard and it is newly trimmed. So, it must be them.

I fumed.

The plot outside my fence may be common property but it is right in front of my house. Just because I put my garbage bags there doesn’t mean it is a dumping site for everybody. So for them to dump their junks there and not in front of their own house is very kurang ajar.

Nevertheless I said nothing. It’s just a couple of branches. It will be collected eventually, I hoped.

2 weeks passed and still no collection. The bags (and the branches) were still there sticking out like a sore thumb in front of my house. So, last night, I decided to carry them across the street as I couldn’t stand the sight of them next to my gate. Of course I had to position the bags carefully so as not to endanger the kids if they were to come near it.

Whilst transferring the 10 bags, I thought, what the hell, I’ll carry the palm tree branches too. It’s no big deal. I can be nice to these people even if they are not nice to me. It’s a small matter.

So I picked up the branches and in so doing noticed a garbage bag with some rectangular object sticking out of it. I took a closer look and found that it’s a 15 x 20 inch frame with some ugly print on it. HOLY STINKING CRAP!!! These people not only dumped their trimmed branches, they actually dumped their actual rubbish there. RIGHT THERE!!! In front of my house!!!! The nerve!

I threw a bit of a tantrum right there and then. I flung the branches one by one with full force right back in front of their house and kicked the bag with the frame over there too. Never mind that I hurt my toes in so doing. I need to send a message to these idiots. CARRY YOUR OWN GARBAGE YOU SOD!!

As the anger subsided, I finished what I was doing and went back inside. After locking the gate I counted the bags I had transferred across the street.

There were 13. Ciss!!!

Random Ramblings Not Worth Reading #9

2007-12-27T10:29:00.002+08:00

I have been very busy running around and when I wasn't, I have just been plain lazy, very very lazy.

The end of the year does this to me. Every freakin’ year!!

I have been cursed with the inability to move my big fat butt off the couch during holiday seasons, and in the off-chance that I did manage to move my big fat butt of the couch during this holiday season, I would march straight to the kitchen to find food and march straight back to the couch to stuff myself silly while I turn my already big fat butt into an even bigger and fatter butt, all in just one holiday season.

Yes I know, I need to get me a life.

---------------

I saw a trailer of some entertainment show on TV last night, where a reporter asked Dato’ M. Daud Kilau if he is gay, to which the latter asked what gay means, and after a simple explanation by the reporter, answered, “Belum lagi”.

Uiks!! He’s expecting to be gay soon kah?

-----------------

I think I’m going away again this weekend. In the past years, I have managed to get myself lost in the crowd at KLCC, get my toe stepped on till it swelled to double its size and get myself stuck in traffic jam at 3 in the morning on a somewhat regular basis on every New Year’s eve and New Year’s Day. So, this year, I’m avoiding it at all cost. Gotta keep my BP in check. So, I’m going away where there’s no party, no noisy fireworks and there’s absolutely no one around to make my blood boil.

(… and of course, I’ll be doing more lying around which translates into making my already big fat butt into an even bigger and fatter butt, but that's besides the point.)

I’ll be ushering in the New Year in total bliss this time around, I hope.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!

Another Day, Another Tag

2007-12-12T12:26:00.001+08:00

I haven’t been tagged in a while. So, when Manal tagged me recently, I felt a bit malas to go for it. Honestly, I don’t think the tag is particularly interesting, but since I have nothing better to write and I haven’t updated my blog since 2 weeks ago, I think I better do this.

It’s just Q&A anyway, so it's no big deal. Here we go:-

1) Name of a person who made you laugh last night
My cousin Liza, who told me of her 6 year 0ld son’s operation to correct his lazy eyes; He complained, “Adik nak tengok operation tu tapi doktor buat kerja lambat. Lama adik tunggu dia buat operation. Sampai adik tertidur dia tak mula pun lagi.” (I wanted to see the operation but the doctor worked so slow. I waited so long for him to do the operation. He didn’t even start until I fell asleep.)

2) What were you doing at 0800?
Relaxing on my couch, fully dressed for office but contemplating skipping work today because I’m having flu.

Then I remembered that I have tons of things to do, and since I was on leave till yesterday, my pile of to do things may be stacked up to the ceiling by now, and I can’t afford NOT to do any work today. So, at 8.30 am, I lazily picked myself up and got into my car and drove off slowly, and took my own sweet time on the road and arrived at the office at 9.05 am.

3) What were you doing 30mnts ago?
Complaining to my friend that I didn’t have breakfast and now I’m hungry.

4) What happened to you in 2006?
Quit my job in July and only got back to work in November. Spent some time travelling. Spent lots of money on unnecessary things and practically blew out all my savings by going on a shopping spree. Spent a month trying to clean up my house in its entirety, but gave up eventually because after I’m done cleaning up one room, I messed it up again while cleaning up another room, and the cycle continues till I realized it’s a lost cause altogether. So, I’m living in dust and grime, till now. Maybe that’s why I’m having flu today.

5) What was the last thing you said out loud?
F***

(I sneezed, so I swore)

6) How many beverages did you have today?
I drank orange juice in the car. That’s about it.

7) What colour is your hairbrush?
Lime green in my bedroom. Blue hairbrush in the study. Black one near the living room mirror. And oh, light blue hairbrush in my handbag.

8) What was the last thing you paid for?
Orange juice, a copy of The Star and a box of Kleenex at 7-11 this morning.

9) Where were you last night?
Skiing in Aspen.
(Ooops, was that a dream?)

10) What colour is your front door?
Dark brown.

11) Where do you keep your change?
Everywhere. In my car, in my handbag, on the TV, on the computer, in the drawer, on the shoe cabinet, in my pocket. I’m very disorganised that way. Wherever I get the change, that’s where I put them. So, if you were to reach over the window and give me the change whilst I’m on the loo, guess where I’ll put it then?

12) What's the weather like today?
Cloudy. I’m sure it’s gonna rain again and soak everything up again.

13) What's the best ice-cream flavour?
Anything with macadamia in it. Love it! Love it! Love!

14) What excites you?

Food. What can I say, I love eating!

15) Do you want to cut your hair?
Yup, but I don’t know which hairdo will make my hair look more presentable. You see, my hair is naturally messy and unruly. Take a look at my baby picture on the sidebar – that’s how my hair looks like right about now. It’s been like that forever!

16) Are you over the age of 25?
NO.
I’m serious! Hihi!

17) Do you talk a lot?
Yup, but like in everything else, I have my moods for that too. I can just jabber on and on when I feel like talking, and the next minute I’ll be quiet as a monkey on opium.

18) Do you watch the O.C?
There was a time when I was crazy about that guy ... can't remember his name though.... Then I got bored of it.

19) Do you know anyone named Steven?
I have a client named Steven.

20) Do you make up your own words?
Yes I do. Especially when I can’t find a suitable word for something, I’ll just make one up. Usually it’s plagiarized from another language. I’m not all that original.

21) Are you a jealous person?
Insanely.

22) Name a friend whose name starts with the letter 'A'
Amy.

23) Name a friend whose name starts with the letter 'K'
Karmila

24) Who's the first person on your received call list?
Mummy

25) What does the last text message you received say?
My nephew saying “I love you Maksu!”.

(Ah, I’m gonna cry!)

26) Do you chew on your straw?
Nope. But I chew on my hair whenever it's long enough.

27) Do you have curly hair?
It’s curly at the ends.

28) Where's the next place you're going to?
I dunno. I can’t plan things till the very last minute. It’ll never happen otherwise.

29) Who's the rudest person in your life?
My clients, my boss, my mum.

30) What was the last thing you ate?
Last night’s nasi for dinner.

31) Will you get married in the future?
Not counting on it, but if it’s meant to be, then so be it.

32) What's the best movie you've seen in the past 2 weeks?
Haven’t been to the movies lately.

33) Is there anyone you like right now?
There is someone, but I’m not telling.

34) When was the last time you did the dishes?
This morning, the dishes were in the sink since last Thursday.

35) Are you currently depressed?
Very!

36) Did you cry today?
If snot running down my nose would count as crying, then yes.

37) Why did you answer and post this?
Err, I dunno.

38) Tag 5 people who would do this survey.
Do I have to?
I'll leave this tag open, as always. Whoever wants to do it, please help yourself.

I AM IN LOVE WITH JAMES MORRISON. AGAIN!

2007-11-30T11:21:00.001+08:00

The Accoustic Concert held at KL Convention Centre last night as part of the Live & Loud KL 2007 was fantastic!

OK, not the whole concert, just the James Morrison part. If you don’t already know, I am a big James Morrison fan. Click here for my past posting on a video of his song.

The show kicked off at 9pm with Dayang Nurfaizah who warmed up the crowd with her hit songs and some covers. She did OK I guess, but I am not a fan, so I wasn’t too thrilled. In fact, I almost fell asleep during her performance. Luckily she didn’t take too long doing her thing.

The organizers could do a bit more in the organizing department though. They took painfully long to get things going. I guess the saying about Malaysian time is correct on every level.

Rick Price (or is it Pryce?) came on next. He wasn’t bad, he just took too long. The only song of his that I know was “Heaven Knows” which that Daniel ‘Prissy-Boy-Who-Can’t-Sing-But-Won-Malaysian-Idol-Anyway’ Lee had forever spoiled for me.

So, when Rick Price was doing his thing, I was just so anxious for him to get to the song, because that would mean the end of his show. The guy was quite good really. He sang well. He played guitar, piano and harmonica well, and he was a one man show throughout. It was kind of nice, but it did have a sort of a troubadour feel to it, a street performer kind of thing, y’know. His fans might beg to differ. In the end, I must say, he was just not hot enough to get my full attention. Perhaps he should have taken his shirt off or something.

James Morrison came on at 11pm after an agonizingly long wait. The crowd went wild when he first appeared, and continued cheering throughout. Understandably, since it is an acoustic show, the air wasn’t as electric as say, the Linkin Park concert and James Morrison wasn’t an electrifying performer like say, Gwen Stefani. So, obviously there were no incidences of the crowd pushing each other and fans fainting and panties being thrown up on the stage. There was at the end though, a fan who managed to get up close and personal on stage to give the artiste a bouquet of flowers before being whisked away by security.

Also, at the risk of embarrassing myself, I must say, there were lots of swooning fans (moi included) that were quite close to being carried away on a stretcher.

:-)

Nevertheless, James Morrison is special in its own way, and the show was superb in its class. I absolutely love it and I absolutely love James Morrison.

And oh, I didn’t buy the most expensive ticket, but since there were many vacant seats at the front, I did get a whole lot of value for each sen I paid. After all, with less than RM200, I got to see James Morrison from less than 10 feet away, how cool is that??? The people who paid almost RM400 must be cursing themselves silly.

Suffice to say, I had a really really good time last night.

Colour Me Red!

2007-11-28T10:40:00.002+08:00

I heard this piece of celebrity news on the radio this morning about Madonna being criticized by animal rights group for dyeing her pet sheep in multicolour for a Vogue photoshoot. I laughed so hard I almost had a fender bender.

I don’t understand why the animal rights groups are kicking up so much fuss about it. Dyeing sheep in various colour isn’t gonna make them sick, unless of course if they use toxic colours, which I’m sure they didn’t. At the most, the sheep will feel a bit weird about being different from the rest of the sheep in their flock. But even so, who knows, the sheep might actually enjoy being different and may think that for once, they get to wear colour just like human beings.

Besides, even if the colours don’t wash off , sheep gets sheared don’t they?

Read more here

Among others, the animal rights campaigners are saying that it is sending the wrong message to the public and that if there are copycats, they may use the wrong type of dye and may actually harm the animals.

Hmmm, sounds like some people we know here.

(On another note, I’m imagining The Sheep at the office in technicolour. Must be funny.)

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Animal torture happens everywhere. From Africa to Asia to the good old U.S of A. In fact, more often than not, it happens in our own backyard. We just don’t realize it much because we think it’s nothing.

Here, I wrote about how much I love animals, especially my fishes.

Then here, I wrote about torturing insects while proclaiming that I love animals.

But, animal lover that I am, I have been known to let them starve and die.

Yesterday morning, as I came down the stairs, I saw one of my fishes floating in the fish tank. Mork has died. I’d like to think that he died of old age, considering I’ve had him and Mindy for a few years now. But my gut tells me that he died of starvation, because I always forget to feed them. Parrot fishes are actually kind of hardy. They can go a long time without feeding. But even so, if you do it often enough, they would be malnourished and obviously will get all sorts of disease. So, all in all, I think I am totally to blame.

Mindy is left all alone now, but I think, her days are numbered too. She just hid in the corner of the tank refusing to eat when I tried to feed her this morning. She moved so slowly too, like she has lost all the will to live. Maybe I should get her a new partner. Maybe I should take her to see a shrink.

Anyone knows where I can find a fish therapist?

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When I was a kid, I used to bully (or torture, depending on how you look at it) my cats despite loving them with all my heart. I remember I used to pull a whisker of my cat and then shoving it up the cat’s nose. He will then sneeze, and will try to lick his nose clean. I would then quickly close his mouth just as he was doing that, thus leaving his tongue hanging out.

All of that was because I wanted to study the cat’s tongue. So, out came the magnifying glass and ice-cream stick, and the torture will go on till I notice the cat’s eyes pleading at me to let go.

I don’t know why but I did do that ‘experiment’ a couple of times to different cats. Didn’t feel a speck of guilt back then. But I do now.

Thank God I never did anything worst than that.

----------------

As for colouring animals like Madonna did, yes, I did that too. Except that I used my mom’s red food colouring, and I didn’t even manage to colour them right. Worst, the colours won’t come off my hands so I was caught, literally red-handed.

Padan muka when I got my punishment later.

Random Ramblings Not Worth Reading # 8

2007-11-22T23:51:00.001+08:00

When I was a kid, my siblings often found pleasure in teasing me that I was adopted. Stupid that I was at that time, I believed every word they said.

One sibling would say I was picked up from Papua New Guinea (why PPG, I have no idea, and stupid me, I didn’t even realize that I look nothing like anyone from PPG). Another would say someone found me near a trash can in town. Someone else would later say that they picked me up from a remote orang asli village in the jungles of Gua Musang. The creativity mind you, was limitless.

The stories would change so often but their laughter remained the same. They found it hilarious that I believed it and would be so affected by it that they teased me even more.

As outrageous as it may have been to an adult with full brain processing capacity, the stories were in fact plausible and believable to the tiny bird brain of a 4 year old. Thus the reason why I was often found cowering in a corner somewhere, feeling sorry for myself for being abandoned by my ‘real’ parents. At one time, I even packed my clothes in a suitcase, thinking that nobody loved me and that I should run away. While I was sobbing, I wouldn’t even believe my mum when she tried to assure me that I was her own flesh and blood. I don’t remember what happened after that, whether my siblings were reprimanded for severely taunting me or if they got away scot-free. My memories of that moment are rather hazy.

My then-teenage siblings never actually quit taunting me after that, at least not until I was old enough to recognize and point out that I look sebijik like them. Even so, every now and then they would drop hints or innuendos that made my self-doubt creep up again. This, of course, would be their idea of a fun time. Nasty buggers.

It does bring us to the question though, Why would it be so bad if you are adopted?

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with it. But kids being kids, being adopted equals being abandoned. The fact that someone loves you enough to take you as their own child is irrelevant.

--------------------------

My father was himself an adopted child. He had 8 siblings, and when he was 7 years old, his aunty who was childless offered to adopt one of her sister’s children. My harried grandmother (possibly too tired to refuse) asked her kids if anyone would willingly want to be their aunty’s child. Guess who came forward then? My dad.

Suffice to say, he became the only child of his aunty, loved and pampered, and didn’t have to share anything with his siblings.

Now, that boy, my dad, nobody could ever taunt him about being anak pungut. After all, he volunteered!

-------------------

Anyway, this story was one of my favorites about my dad. At those times when my siblings were mercilessly teasing me about being adopted, I actually wished someone else who are childless would take me away so I would be their only child.

The irony of wishing to be adopted to escape the taunting of being adopted was somehow lost on me in those days.

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Have a good weekend everyone.

Let's Have A Baby!

2007-11-14T12:50:00.002+08:00

My friend W suggested a few days ago that I adopt a child. I almost fell off my chair when I heard that. W said she had resolved many many years ago that if she’s still single by the time she hit age 30, she’s adopting a child. So she’s doing it now and wants me to do the same, preferably taking a child of the opposite gender to hers so that when they grow up we can marry them off and be ‘berbisan’.

What the bloody hell?

I have to admit, the thought never crossed my mind at all. I do not know where she got it from. W, as far as I know is someone who is exactly like me in a lot of ways. She enjoys being single and she is independent and headstrong and completely comfortable in her own skin, warts and all. So it came as a surprise that despite her cherished independence and fancy-free lifestyle, she wants to adopt a baby.

W told me matter-of-factly, “Sue, don’t get me wrong, I don’t need to get married. I don’t need a husband. I just want to be a mother”.

Well I’ll be damned. “Are you sure you’re not just trying to be Angelina Jolie?”

“No lah! I’ve always wanted to have a child and since I’m not getting married anytime soon, I don’t want to wait for that to happen before I become a mother”.

“Oh, okay then”.

“What about you, Sue?”.

“Hell NO! I don’t think I have it in me to be a mother, married or not. I lack the patience and I’m too selfish to take care of anyone but myself. Besides, I value my sleep too much”.

“Hmmm…”

So that’s the end of the subject for me. But for W, her new life is about to begin and she’s pretty excited about it.

Surprised as I am at her decision, I am slowly beginning to understand it. She is not desperate or lonely. She is not doing this for the companionship or to compensate for her not having a man. She is doing this simply because she really wants to have a child. And I think it’s noble of her not to place an emphasis on having her own flesh and blood. After all, with the number of orphaned and unwanted kids out there needing parental love, people should really start thinking beyond preserving their own genes and accept these kids and love them unconditionally. For this, I think any child would be very lucky to have W as a mom.

I’m glad that W is confident enough to do it on her own. I have nothing but respect for single mothers. My own mother is a single mom who had raised her 5 children single-handedly. And so I have no doubt W too, can be a good mom in her own way.

I just hope that she won’t be asking me to baby-sit.

The 102nd Post

2007-11-04T00:12:00.002+08:00

Bloggers normally make a big deal out of their 100th blog posting. Some write something very profound to commemorate the event. Some others start tags. There are also those who finally come out and reveal who they are on that special occasion. Then, there are also those who decided to be all dramatic and quit after the 100th post. I’m telling ya, it’s like soap opera in here.

Not me though. I completely missed the whole thing. Post No.100-- not a big thing. Neither was 101st, coz I missed that too. So this is my 102nd post.

Looking back at all that I’ve written in here, all 101 previous posts, I can't help but wonder how I have ever gained readership at all. This blog is nothing but an online diary, where I say what I want to say, off the cuff, unrehearsed and unplanned. Thus the reason why so many times I would contradict myself over and over again, say the wrong thing all the time, and babble on and on about absolute nonsense.

To paraphrase Seinfeld, Tattlerama is a blog about nothing. It’s not serious. It’s not informative. And it’s not the least bit funny. But it does give me great pleasure to just ramble away in here just to let off some steam. Whether or not people actually read it is irrelevant. When I’m tired of rambling on and on in my own blog, I blog-hop, and when I do this, I’ll be stuck online for hours and hours.

Blog-hopping can be time-consuming, as I’m sure many here would attest, and when you find one with a post you want to be a part of, rest assured, you may just spend half a day posting one comment after another in that one blog. And if there’s at least 10 decent blogs with discussions that you want to participate in, rest assured, you would probably just makan gaji buta at the office the whole day.

Some blogs can get to you from the first hello. Others are acquired tastes. Some others, you keep coming back because you feel like you’ve known the blog owners a long time, even if you’never met them. Whichever one is the reason, some of the blogs and bloggers out there are pretty amazing and always leave you wanting more.

I’m hooked on quite a few amazing blogs. The first being, The Kimster whose sleek penmanship I find hard to resist. He’s smart, he’s witty, he’s sardonically funny and at times, he’s very moving. What I love most about him is that he is humble and unpretentious, unlike some blogger who writes some pathetic lines and call it a gem (like me?), OR those who uses too much big-word adjectives in order to impress rather than express (definitely not me, coz my vocabulary is limited to 7 words), OR those who romanticise everything, even their trip to the loo (no, I’m not talking about you babe, in case you’re wondering), OR those who refer to their readers as their fans (bleergh!!) OR those who think that just because their Letters To The Editor were published in yesterday’s newspaper, it means they are now accomplished writers (a case of syok sendiri).

Okay, I’m ranting again. Let’s get back to The Kimster. This guy has taken to writing only short notes for now, or nuggets as he calls them, but I sure do hope he’ll find it in him to carry on producing more intellectually stimulating pieces as he has done in the past. Hurrah to Kimmy!

Another favourite blogger in my list is Pugly (Yes Pugs, I’m mentioning you again for the umpteenth time, SO SUE ME!!!!). Too bad, Pugly has called it quits for now, presumably in order to concentrate on poking people on Facebook. However, due to overwhelmingly alarming death threats and basketfuls of rotten eggs being thrown her way, she has promised to return to blogging one day. I sure hope she does, for it is a pity to lose a blogger like her who exercises strict quality control in her writing, never writes anything that is tantamount to random ramblings, and writes very well-thought out and usually non-partisan posts on various subjects. I’ll be waiting for the day when ‘the eyes’ open again, but until then, I’ll be content just spanking her on Facebook on a daily basis.

Kak Teh, I’m sure we all know her, the articulate journo-blogger who often entertain us with her tales of her life and experiences in the UK. Kak Teh’s writing is often beguiling to say the least, for she has a way with words that just sweeps you off your feet and takes you laughing, crying and smiling along with her.

Makji Esah is another blogger whom I can’t seem to get enough. I first discovered her through the blogger search bar, when I was looking for posts about Raja Nazrin and his then-impending wedding. Her brutally honest rant and self-deprecating humour is hysterical and hugely hugely entertaining, and I never looked back since.

Then there’s JT, a Malaysian in the States, who is smart and funny and is a total sweetheart. She writes about everything under the sun and even when she’s having one of those thingy we’d like to call a writer’s block, would find something from the net to post just as a filler, just so her readers wouldn’t be disappointed.

Another blogger, Pi Bani writes about her work with HIV+ patients, and giving us an inside information of what it’s like to be living with AIDS. I must admit, I’m totally ignorant when it comes to AIDS sufferers and HIV carriers, but through her blog, I’ve gained a considerable amount of knowledge and understanding about it and its related issues, not from the medical standpoint but from the people standpoint. It’s amazing what she does, and I wish I have half the courage to be dealing with the kind of things she deals with on a daily basis. Hat’s off to Pi Bani!

To those bloggers I neglected to mention (you know who you are), my humble apology for I did not mean to cast you aside. If I were to mention each and everyone of 'em fabulous blogs and bloggers, my post would never end, and you would’ve skipped to other sites and would not still be reading this now.

There are many other blogs that I like immensely, but sadly the owner has thrown in the towel for whatever reasons known only to them. But with each one that quits, 2 more start blogging, and so this realm we call blogosphere is growing ad infinitum and we will never be short of things to see and learn from it.

There are various styles and themes to all those blogs out there. Some deal with serious stuff, and give you update on politics and breaking news. Some deal with entertainment and other light issues. Then, there are also those that seem to be a cry for help. The latter seems to be a trend these days. I found quite a number of disturbing blogs that tells of the bloggers troubles, depressions and suicidal tendencies. Whether it’s true or mere gimmicks I wouldn’t know, but it’s heart-warming to read in the comment box such wise and kind words coming from the readers that may help console these poor beings who poured his or her hearts out to strangers online. If anything, it shows that people do care.

As I was saying earlier, I do not know what made people come to my blog and I know I am not yet at that level where I can claim to be a writer. But then I realised, people read blogs not so much for the quality of the writing or lack thereof, but for the interaction that comes with the writing. Whether it is mine or any other blogs they habitually go to, it is a means of communication like any other, except that the players do not normally know each other out of the online world. We are basically strangers, who grew close in blogosphere, and bonded through written and unspoken words. Such is the world today, where our pain, angst and desperation drive us not to the arms of our loved ones, but to the flickering computer screen of a person who lives half-way across the world and whom we’ve never met and possibly never will. And more often than not, this person, this stranger, this virtual friend, can be a better confidante and give you a bigger shoulder to cry on than someone you know back home.

So, cheers to all that.

Cheers to the internet.

Cheers to blogs.

Cheers to friendships.

Happy Halloween

2007-10-30T23:42:00.001+08:00

Due to the kong-ness of her computer at the office, the kura-kura-ness of her dial-up connection at home and the lazyness of Her Royal Bigbumness to go find a hot spot, Typhoon Sue has suspended her online activities since the past week and may only resume her blogging by next week or once her beloved unbranded cikai not-worth-a-sen computer at the office is returned to her by that clueless IT guy Antonio who sounds like a hunk but really isn't.

To those Americanised Malaysian folks all over the country, Typhoon Sue wishes them, "Woi! Kita orang Mesia mana celebrate Halloween woi! Aparraaaa!!!"

Happy Halloween anyways and don't drink and fly!

Post Raya Ramblings

2007-10-21T00:41:00.003+08:00

My Hari Raya this year was rather uneventful, mostly because of my refusal to do the kunjung mengunjung thingy. It wasn’t for any particular reason really. I just don’t like to go to people’s houses, simple as that. That’s not so hard to understand, is it? Thankfully, my mum did not make such a big fuss about it this year, so I got away with it unscathed.

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My 8 year old nephew Nabil was on a money-making tour. He was practically reminding everybody to give him duit raya as well as duit puasa, because he did not skip a day of fasting throughout Ramadhan. To top it all, he lost two of his front teeth while he was eating ketupat on Raya morning, so, that’s another reason to collect money from grown-ups, he figured. After all, there were so many fairy godmothers around him that day.

I betcha, he collected more duit raya than I ever collected when I was a kid. Shrewd little fella, this one.

Nabil’s picture from last year. I didn’t have a camera this year,
and so far nobody has given me copies of this years’ photos.
If my brother is reading this, ehem, pix please bang!

-------------------------

Nabil was expecting duit raya from a certain cousin, who said that if he wants it, he had to take a picture with her. So, Nabil flatly refused.

According to my brother, yes he wanted the duit raya, but it has to be on his terms.

Hmmm, sounds like someone I know.

-----------------------

As I was saying good-bye to my mum and the others on my last day there, my mum urged me, no, instructed me more like it, to give duit raya to Ningsih, her maid, who had to serve so many extra people on those few days. I promptly walked away, said my good-byes and drove off without saying a word about it, even though I had every intention earlier to give duit raya to that girl.

On my own terms mummy, on my own terms.

Guess Nabil has a bit of me in him, no?

----------------------

I’m reminded of the many incidences when, even as a child, I had always wanted things to be on my own terms, not others. As a kid, my mum woke me up every morning to go to school, and I’ve always found it difficult to get up. My mum would always leave me to rise on my own after she’s awoken me from my slumber, and I will do so in my own sweet time, without anyone prompting me. If she yelled at me from downstairs just as I was about to get up from my bed, I would lie down again, and wait for that moment to pass so that I could then get up as and when I want to. And 5 minutes later, I would rise and quickly make some noise like slam the door or something, so that she knows I’m awake and will not spoil my morning by calling me again.

Stupid, maybe. But that’s just me. And that is why I have so much trouble with people wanting me to do things their way.

-------------------------

Going back to the office after the holidays is not a fun thing to do, what with things piling up and clients wanting to get their things done. In situation like this, of course priority is given to the most urgent of cases, and the most lucrative ones. But, more often than not, it is the client with RM100K deal and 2 months deadline that gives me the most headache, not the ones with RM100M deal and 2 weeks deadline.

Nevertheless, in the service industry, clients are clients, whether it is RM100K or RM100million, we have to satisfy them all, and so I had to suck it in, forced a smile and attend to their insufferable demands. I couldn’t help but have a number of heated exchanges and a few shouting match, but after a while, I had to give in because I lost my voice screaming. Perhaps it had something to do with the amount of ketupat I ate.

How I wish I can pull my usual “on-my-terms” crap every single time!

---------------------

Today, I indulged in some retail therapy, and so I’m flat broke now, but that’s okay, because I got myself some new clothes! Yay!

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Also, after much hesitation, I have joined the one thing that has been dubbed the Devil Of The Internet-- Facebook. I’ve actually joined it quite a while ago but never did anything on it, until someone made me really spend time on the bloody thing. And now, I’m hooked, although I’m not as badly hooked as some people who actively goes around poking, spanking, sheep-throwing, trout slapping, and killing other people every 5 minutes.

At least I’m content with checking out all the other applications and just superpoking someone every few hours. What I enjoy to do is just feeding my Fluff Friend and racing him every hour to earn more ‘munny’. I go broke betting on the races and somehow those strays that are under-fed and under-pet always win. It just doesn’t make sense. But I still race anyway, and go broke again and again.

Another thing that I do on Facebook and am fast becoming addicted to is to play Pacman. I haven’t played this game in ages! Now that I found it on Facebook, I can’t let it go. I want to play Pacman all day long. My score is 71280 and Pugly says I need to get a life.

Maybe I do.

Or maybe Pugs just said it because she cannot beat my score. Haha!

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And oh, this is baby Wajdi, my 3rd cucu. I’m a Toksu 3 times over.

Wajdi is the first (more to come?) son of my niece Wani,
who is the eldest daughter of my half-brother.

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I feel so old now.

Bon Jour!

2007-10-19T17:07:00.001+08:00

Bon Jour!

Je n’ai ecriré pas dans mon blog dans la semaine. Je suis m'occupée celebrér L’eid á chez ma mere á Alor Setar. Quand je suis retournée a chez moi, le mardi, j’ai dú faire la lessive, repasser les vetements, nettoyer la maison et tondre la pelouse, alors je suis m'occupée toute le jour. Le mecredi, j’ai allée a travaille et le stress de travail a été difficile. Mon patron commencu exiger ceci et cela, et mes clients commencu aboyer comme d’habitude. Zut, zut et zut!

Je deteste ces gens beaucoup et je veux tuer ces imbeciles. J’ai aboyée rendre à plusiers reprises jusqu’au j’ai perdu ma voix pendant deux jours. Maintenant, je deteste toutes les choses et toutes les personnes au mon bureau.

Ce soir, je vais crier et je vais pleurer et je vais lancer l’effets hors de la fenêtre . Quand je suis calmer, ou si je suis fatigue, je regarderai mon film preferé L’orguille et Le Prejudice que j’ai regardu bien des fois, puis je vais bouder toute la nuit.

Alors, laissez-moi tranquille s’il vous plait.

**I'm just practicing. To the French, this is kindergarten stuff. To me, I spent an hour this afternoon to come up with this. Grammatically, I know I suck big time. So, don't laugh. If there’s anyone here who’s fluent, please feel free to offer me a few pointers.

I haven't written in my blog for a week. I was busy celebrating the Eid at my mom's house in Alor Setar. When returned to mu house, I had to do the laundry, iron the clothes, clean the house and mow the lawn, so I was very busy all day. On Tuesday, I had to go to work and the stress of work was overwhelming. My boss started demanding this and that and my clients started shouting as usual. Darn, darn and darn!

I hate those people and I want to kill those idiots. I shouted back at them again and again until I lost my voice for 2 days. Now, I hate everything and everybody at my office.

Tonight, I'm going to scream, I'm going to cry and I'm going to throw things out of the window. When I am calm, or if I am tired, I will watch my favourite film, Pride and Prejudice which I have watched many many times, then I'm going to sulk all night.

So, please leave me alone.

EID MUBARAK

2007-10-11T00:43:00.001+08:00

Typhoon Sue will be away for Raya holidays from 11 October 2007. She will be at her kampung halaman at Jalan Sheikh Abdullah, Langgar, Alor Setar, Kedah, feasting on loads of ketupat and rendang and other yummylicious foods.

Typhoon Sue expects to be back in KL and back to blogging (not that she cannot blog from Alor Setar, but she will be too preoccupied with eating all the aforementioned ketupat and rendang and other yummylicious foods to care about anything else) on 16 October 2007.

She also expects to return to KL at least 10 kilograms heavier.

Typhoon Sue wishes all Muslimin and Muslimat her very best wishes for Hari Raya.

Have a blissful Eid.

SELAMAT HARI RAYA AIDIL FITRI
MAAF ZAHIR DAN BATIN

Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word

2007-10-08T13:15:00.002+08:00

I was at Jaya Jusco Alpha Angle last Saturday to do some grocery shopping. Bought a few bottles of carbonated drinks among other things, and placed them on the cashier counter. When the cashier moved the conveyor belt, the thing jerked a bit and caused one of my bottles to fall off. I managed to catch it before it hit the floor, so realistically, no harm was done. But it did catch me by surprise and irritated me a bit.

What irritated me more though, was the fact that the cashier didn’t say a word about it. So, when she moved the conveyor belt again about 2 seconds later, and it jerked again causing more bottles to topple (None fell down this time because I was prepared to hold it steady), I commented to her that it was so kasar. She shrugged and said “Ntah!”.

No excuse. No apology. Just that ntah hapa-hapa attitude.

Is it so hard to say she’s sorry? Granted, I know it wasn’t her fault if the conveyor belt was faulty. But as a representative of the seller, isn’t it her duty to provide a service satisfactory to all customers?

Many people think that saying sorry means accepting blame and admitting fault. This is why so many people find it difficult to say they’re sorry when they think the fault does not lie with them.

In reality, saying sorry may not mean “I’m guilty” at all. She could’ve said, “I’m sorry that happened to you” or “I’m sorry your bottles fell off” or “I’m sorry this thing is so jerky”. All of these simply means that she feels bad that all that happened. It does not imply guilt, it does not confer liability, it would just make me, as a customer, feel better, that’s all. Unless of course, if she thinks it is not part of her job to make customers feel better, in which case I would suggest she quit her job and go scrub a toilet.

It all boils down to good manners methinks. If you have it, the words ‘Please’, ‘Thank You’ and ‘Sorry’ will always be at the top of your list.

Someone I know might say that I did the same thing just this morning, refusing to apologise to someone for something which I obviously did but do not consider to be wrong. That is a different story I reckon. However, I did give an excuse which, translated loosely, could be interpreted as an apology in itself. So, that’s a helluva lot better than “Ntah!”, isn’t it ?

Whatever.

I’m so sorry you have to read my boring rantings today.

Of Peacock and Old Money

2007-10-03T11:30:00.005+08:00

Yesterday, a friend was complaining about another friend at the office who talks so big we all want to puke everytime he says something.

This friend was telling me how the other friend, let’s call him The Peacock, was bad-mouthing The Sheep who is now what he calls nouveau rich. The Peacock then proceeded to boast about being born into wealth and despite his beat-up 10 year old Proton Wira, he could bloody well drive a BMW if he wants to.

Bleergh!!

The Peacock is the type of person who would boast about himself every 5 minutes, and would always want to ‘one-up’ other people. Everything is a competition to him; “I’m better than you”, “I’m richer than you”, “I’m more stylish than you”, and he always has to win, even though nobody else is playing the game.

He is a slave to fashion and style. He wears only branded clothes and he’s obsessed with keeping himself in shape. Just take one look at him and you’ll immediately notice his immaculate dressing, creaseless shoes and perfectly manicured nails. In fact, another friend of mine, upon meeting him for the first time, whispered to me, “Is he gay?”. To which I think the answer is yes, but that is beside the point.

Every now and then, The Peacock would come to my room and ask, “Eh, do you think I look fat?”. Honestly, I feel like slapping the idiot everytime he asks that.

Another time, The Peacock was carrying a waist pouch which was very stylish and did not look like a waist pouch at all. So, someone asked him, “What is that?” to which he answered, “Gucci”.

I’m telling you, this is one guy who, if you ask what something is, he’ll tell you the brand!

On 29/8/2007 ( I remember the date because I started taking notes of his weirdness on this day) I went for all-you-can-eat buffet lunch. The Peacock wanted to join me for lunch that day but declined when I told him where I was going. Upon me coming back an hour later, he remarked, “So fast, ah?”

So, I said, “Ye la. I can do a lot of damage in 1 hour you know!”. The Peacock retorted, “I can spend RM20 thousand in half an hour”.

WTF???? I was talking about eating, you nincompoop!!! Like I said, this boy always has to compete, even if nobody is competing with him.

Now, he is bitching about The Sheep being nouveau rich. I have to say that I still cannot understand why people who consider themselves ‘old money’ have to constantly bitch about people whom they consider ‘new money’. So what if the newbies have only recently become rich? So what if the newbies have had a hard life and only now have it easy? So what if the newbies are nouveau rich?

The fact remains that the newbies are in fact, rich, and that they do have money. If they want to announce to the world that they have arrived, if they want to splurge on a ton of bling-bling, if they want to go jet-setting around the world, IT IS THEIR MONEY and it is their prerogative.

In fact, we all know that many of these so-called old money are now mere has-beens. They have a family name that invokes awe. They come from a long line of respectable individuals. But other than the family name and the fact that they still move in the elite circle, they are actually not-so-much-money-anymore. But most still continue to live in a bubble thinking they’re so much better than all the other rich people because their ancestors were rich and wealthy. Never mind the fact that they probably have to borrow RM10 for lunch from a friend today or buy their Paul Smith shirts at a reject shop in Bangsar or have their credit cards cancelled for non-payment due to their over-spending, to them, they are always and forever will be classy.

I do not know if The Peacock is actually old money as he claims. Other than the fact that he wears designer stuff all the time and make boastful claims every so often, he doesn’t actually look very wealthy to me. Maybe he is, maybe he isn’t, I may never know, nor do I care to know. But what I know is this, the last time he wanted to borrow money from me about a month ago, I told him I was broke because I know from experience that it would take forever for him to pay it back. So what does that tell ya?

I don’t hate him, if that’s what you’re wondering. I’ve accepted long ago that he is who he is, and despite his barf-inducing boasts, he can be a good friend at times. So, I’ll just let The Peacock spread his feathers any which way he wants, but I bloody well leave him alone when he does that or I’m going to vomit all over his Paul Smith.

No News Is Good News

2007-10-01T13:30:00.001+08:00

I think I’m going to stop reading and watching the news for a while. It’s getting too upsetting lately. There’s bad news everywhere. With murders and mayhem happening everyday and absurdly idiotic statements made every so often by the people who are supposedly running this country, it’s scary to note what our country has become. It’s as scary as the thought of travelling on highways these days-- who knows when a concrete beam might fall on us? And if it doesn’t, rest assured, you’re going to wish it had, because it would save you the trouble of paying toll up ahead, which incidentally, is on the rise again.

I’ll stick to watching Spongebob for now thank you very much, and not driving on the highways.

Random Ramblings Not Worth Reading # 7

2007-09-27T21:38:00.003+08:00

I’m glad that they’ve decided not to charge Nurin’s parents. Compassion and understanding aside, I think that the issue of negligence in their case is somewhat hazy.

So, all in all, I’m glad that the issue is out of the way. Now, let’s hope they can catch the monster soon.

-----------------------

Speaking of negligence, the next time you are at a swimming pool, do observe the behaviour of some parents who probably think that just because their kids can swim a few strokes, they can take their eyes of them the entire time.

Kids being kids, will do all sorts of stunts especially when they’re in the water. I cringe every time I see kids as young as 6 or 7 years old jumping into the deep end of the pool and their parents are nowhere to be seen. My own two adult feet can’t reach the floor, let alone their short little ones. Yet, their parents seem oblivious to the danger.

If, in fact, something happens to their kids, I bet my little toe they would blame the swimming pool management or the life guard and take none of the blame themselves.

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On the office front, I was told by a colleague that The Toad thinks that I have stopped talking to her, hinting on the possibility that The Sheep may have influenced me into not being friends with her anymore.

What the hell? I thought it was she who stopped talking to me after I snapped at her, not the other way around.

And what the bloody hell was she thinking, hinting that I can be so easily influenced?

Dumbass.

-----------------------

The other day, while putting my nephew Danial to bed, I lightly patted his bottom, as his mother often does, to rock him to sleep. Apparently, my light pats were none the lighter, for he exclaimed, “Maksu! That hurts! You are not a good mother!”.

WHAT THE BLOODY HELL??

“Darling, I’m not even a mother. I’m just your auntie and nobody’s mom”.

“Then why is it that I have to call you Mak?”

*LOL*

Took a while for me to explain to the poor thing of the whole Malay thingy for aunts and uncles and that the ‘Su’ in ‘Maksu’ refers to anak bongsu and not part of my name.

While I was at it, I also had to explain that my brothers, Danial’s Ayah Tam and Ayah Teh, are not named Hitam and Puteh respectively.

-------------------------

Some of my friends think that calling one’s aunts and uncles in the Malay way is archaic. Most of them get their own nieces and nephews to call them Auntie this and Uncle that. A bit more modern that way I guess. Although it is undoubtedly a matter of preference, I must however say that I find it a little lacking in character for my taste and that I wouldn’t trade my Maksu-ship for anything in the world.

I can’t always remember the sequence of the terms, so I always try to recall my father’s siblings in order to get it right. This is it:

Mak/Pak Long (or Chak, in some parts of the Northern states)
Mak/Pak Ngah
Mak/Pak Lang
Mak/Pak Anjang
Mak/Pak Andak
Mak/Pak Tam
Mak/Pak Teh
Mak/Pak Chik/Uda
Mak/Pak Su

I think the sequence may differ from state to state, so, please do tell me of any variation elsewhere. I’m keen to know.

------------------------

The Sheep has just approved my Raya leave, but complained that it’s too long.

It’s just ONE BLOODY WEEK!!!!

------------------------

But on the other hand, he’s anxious because he’s going to be in China around that time and needs someone he can trust to stand by in case he needs to give instructions from there.

Well, considering that there are several other lawyers here who may be able to do my work (although probably not as well as me if I may say so myself, haha) , I’ll take that as a compliment.

Negligent, My Foot!!

2007-09-24T12:20:00.001+08:00

I haven’t been in the mood to blog lately, and it’s not for a lack of stories. The scene at the office was chaotic the whole week. The screaming clients continued screaming. The Sheep continued spewing psycho-babble crap out of his mouth. The Toad continued having her syok sendiri moments again and again. The staff had their usual daily little tiffs with each other. Work, leisure, affairs, gossips. It all thrived. In other words, there are loads and loads of stories to tell.

Yet, it all seems so trivial and petty now.

In the wake of the brutal murder of little Nurin Jazlin Jazimin, many of us are feeling a little sense of helplessness. Helpless, because we weren’t able to do anything to help when she went missing. Helpless, because we weren’t able to lift a finger to help her family when she was found murdered. Helpless, because in spite of the tragedy and the danger still lurking for other children, the powers-that-be and the police, our so-called protector, are more inclined to punish the grieving family than finding the brutal monster who did that to her.

Nurin’s family had suffered tremendously since her disappearance on August 20. The parents must have been beating themselves mad for letting her out of their house. What an ordeal they had to go through in trying to find their daughter and having no leads whatsoever on her whereabouts. To top it off, some measly little creatures took advantage of the situation to get a little high by tormenting the parents with hurtful words and accusations via telephone and SMS. Not to mention, all the gossips being spread around by irresponsible people about the family, it must’ve all hurt really really bad.

But what hurt the most must be what happened in the end, when the parents, after being in denial for days, finally saw the truth and accepted the fact of the unspeakable horror that happened to their precious child, and that she is forever gone.

As if their torture isn’t enough, the powers-that-be and the police are now talking about hauling them to court for negligence in failing to protect their child from harm. What utter nonsense is this? Negligence, my foot!!

The powers-that-be are known for speaking through their asses. But stupid though they may be, they are the ones in power and it’s always scary to note what idiots can do if they have the magic wand. In this case, instead of using their magic wands as our elected representatives to raise the alarm on the abduction and to help find Nurin alive, they are waving it now, after Nurin is already dead, to punish the family while the vile beastly monster who had broken a thousand laws is still at large. If only their magic wands were used to do something, ANYTHING, at all to help Nurin and her family at their most desperate time of need. If only.

The police on the other hand, are the action guys we all thought we could depend on. They are the protector of the society, the ones who are appointed and paid to serve the people and keep the public safe from harm, the ones who are supposed to bring back Nurin to her parents alive and well.

The police failed to do just that and failed to apprehend even a single suspect until now. What have they been doing since she disappeared? Did they manage to get any leads on the abduction in that whole month? Did they find any trails of her whereabouts? Did they take adequate measures to find this missing child? Did they do anything, ANYTHING at all to find her alive?

Excuse me when I put it to you sirs, that the powers-that-be and the police are all negligent in discharging their duties. Haul your own asses to court, you morons!!!!

It's Her

2007-09-20T17:29:00.001+08:00

It’s her.

It’s Nurin.

DNA tests have confirmed that the body of a little girl found in a gym bag in PJ last Monday was that of Nurin Jazlin, the girl who was reported missing since a month ago. Click here for the story.

The brutality of the crime is beyond belief. It made me sick to the pit of my stomach. How could anyone do all that to a little girl?

I can’t imagine the pain and anguish that her family had to go through when she went missing, and for it to end like this, it is utterly devastating and heart-wrenching.

I am grief-stricken, to say the least.

My heart goes out to Nurin and her family.

Al-Fatehah.

Ramadan

2007-09-16T12:02:00.001+08:00

It’s the fourth day of Ramadan, and my tailor informed me that my baju raya is ready. Yahoooo!
I’m gonna go and collect my green baju raya soon and try it on and send it for dry cleaning before I wear it on Raya day. I have already been window shopping for a nice selendang to go with it and will go buy it soon. Next on the agenda are shoes. Must get me a nice pair of green shoes.

Now, what else?

Jewelleries, purse, and oh, bunga api. Yay!!

*voice from above*
OY!! BARU 4 HARI POSA DAH NAK RAYA KA?

Okay, let’s face it. When it comes to puasa and raya time, I’m a bit of a kiddo. A bit manja on the puasa side, but tahan nonetheless. I’ll gorge during berbuka, and then skip sahur altogether. The next morning, when my tummy starts grumbling by 11 am, I’ll be whining and complaining that I’m hungry because I didn’t take sahur. No one to blame but myself, but did I ever learn from it? NO!

This has been happening for years and years and on average, every Ramadan, I only get up for sahur once or twice depending on how early I go home to my mummy’s and have to force myself out of bed lest she pours a bucket of water on my face.

Yes, I’m THAT lazy.

As the youngest in the family and the only one who’s still single, my brothers and sisters always entrusted me with the unenviable job of baby-sitting their off-springs. Not such a fun thing to do when you no longer have that youthful energy to go chasing after them around the house.

Playing with fireworks- that’s about the only part of baby-sitting that I truly enjoy. While the kids play with the sparklers and other lame stuff, I get to light up the fancy ones and the popping ones. Yeah! Can’t wait to light up the sky again. This is gonna be fun.

As always, Raya will not be Raya without some meriam buluh being fired in the middle of the night just as you are about to fall asleep. Annoyed as we may be by the noise, as caring adults, we are mostly more concerned if the kids firing up those cannons may get themselves injured or worse, killed. Every year we read about kids losing their eyes, fingers, arms or even lives in meriam buluh mishaps. Yet, every year this keeps happening again and again. They never learn, do they?

I have yet to read of any such incident in the papers this year. Good sign, I guess. But then again, it may be too early to rejoice since we are only in our 4th day of Ramadhan; the explosives experts are probably still scouring the jungle for the perfect bamboo for the job.

I used to know a few of these ‘experts’ back in my younger days growing up in Alor Setar. They seemed to know everything about making meriam buluh. They come up with all sorts of plans and designs to make the blast louder. Looking at them at work, one may think that they are geniuses, and that they must be marvelous at chemistry in school. But in fact, most of them flunk their science subjects with flying colours.

It is sad that the brilliance, ingenuity and passion of these kids were confined to the making of meriam buluh and nothing more.

Sadder still, when their passion backfired, and they ended up in the hospital fighting for their lives.

Even worst, if their so-called expertise brought them into one of those extremists groups.

*sigh*

I hope to not see any news of meriam buluh mishaps in the papers this year. May all the kids perform their fasting steadfastly and avoid maiming themselves at all costs.

Selamat Berpuasa
Selamat Berbuka Puasa &
Selamat Bersahur

to all Muslim readers

… and don’t go firing up that meriam buluh now, ya hear?

Random Ramblings Not Worth Reading #6

2007-09-11T23:51:00.001+08:00

My computer at the office is acting up again. I tell ya, that old thing is a piece of junk not worth repairing. It hangs while I’m browsing, it hangs while I’m drafting, and most annoyingly, it hangs when I’m blogging! Arrrgh!!!!!!!

It has gotten from bad to worse now. Since last week, I can’t even go online. Bugger!!

It’s a total freakin’ nightmare. I now have to do my blogging from home, and you know what’s the worst thing ever?

Dial-up!!

Yup. That’s what I’m using at home. Double the nightmare. Aaaarrrhhh!!!!

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

There’s this commercial being aired on TV right now. I’m not sure what it’s about but the name of the woman appearing in it kept popping up in my mind. She’s the Miss Malaysia/Universe 2005 and her name is Chermaine Poo.

I’m sorry. I don’t mean to make fun of people’s name…

but then again, …Poo?

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

Can somebody tell me what the difference is between duku langsat and dokong?

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

I just bought a brand new handbag in silver metallic which I fell in love with at first sight 2 nights ago. But now after I bought it, I feel like it’s something straight out of a Vulcan spaceship.

One word; Tacky. What the hell was I thinking???

Oh well, knowing how fast I can change my mind, I’m sure come tomorrow, I’ll love it again.

We’ll see.

Slip Slip

2007-09-03T16:16:00.001+08:00

I was coming out of a certain shopping centre in KL today when not far in front of me, a woman slipped and fell down on the floor. Behind her, a group of young women stopped right in their tracks and giggled. Some men at a nearby Starbucks stared at her and one guy actually stood up and craned his neck to get a better look. But nobody, I mean, NOBODY did anything to help.

Yea, not even me. But then again, by the time I reached her, she was already up and about. So don’t blame me for not trying!

She must’ve been quite embarrassed I reckon, judging from the look on her face and by how quickly she got up and walked away. I noticed she had a slight limp. God, that must’ve hurt!

I know exactly how she must have been feeling. The same thing happened to me once. There I was happily walking away when all of a sudden, “PLONK!”, my purse flew high up in the air and I was flat on my butt on the concrete slab. How embarrassing!

When it happened to me, there was only one other person around the area (at least I thought so). He didn’t move an inch and just stared at me. Thankfully, with the exception of that one insignificant being, nobody else was around and therefore I was spared a huge public humiliation. So I quickly picked myself up and walked away in a hurry, hoping nobody else have seen it.

It was quite an irony actually. On the one hand I was rather annoyed at that man who was there and looked but did not offer to help. On the other, I was thankful and relieved that he didn’t make a big deal out of it and thereby prolonging my embarrassment.

How would you feel if you were in that situation? Would you want attention from passers-by, or would you rather they just pretend they didn’t see you?

It’s embarrassing enough to lose your balance and fall down flat in front of everybody. Worse still, if people make a big fuss and draw more and more attention to it.

But I guess it’s different if you’re injured. There’s nothing embarrassing about being hurt, no matter how. I’m sure our fellow Malaysians, as uncaring as they may seem at times, will stop to help an injured stranger. No shame there.

So, the next time you slip and fall in front of a crowd, if you can’t stand the embarrassment and can’t seem to get up fast enough to get the hell out of there, perhaps it’s best to feign pain. Better still, pretend you’ve fainted! If you’re lucky enough, maybe you can even get a mouth-to-mouth from a handsome bloke! Haha!

Excuse my silliness, please.

On a more serious note, and further to above rantings, I propose the following:-

Pavements and walkways should not be tiled, unless of course, the tiles are the self-polishing kind that gets rid of its own mold and mildew and whatever slippery material.

Slopes, wherever situated, should never be tiled unless it is made of very dry abrasively hard material that causes extreme friction and will grip everything to a standstill, even a rolling football.

Respect women with heels by giving them proper walkways in buildings; carpeted from end to end if need be. Better still, provide travelator or moving walkways, like in the airports, so that we don’t have to walk and endanger our lives everytime we take a step.

High-heeled shoes should come with super grip material at the heels. Peter Parker can supply the formula for that extreme grip. So long as we can step on everything without fear of doing a split and ending up with our skirts over our heads, cost is not an object.

Any more brilliant proposal, anyone?

P/S: I'm so in love with my new layout. Yay!! Changed today @ 5pm.

Post Merdeka Day Ramblings

2007-09-01T17:15:00.001+08:00

Post Merdeka Day. I'm upset again. In 1 post and over 3 days, my blog has been hijacked twice. By the same stupid racist character no less. I'm moderating my blog now. God knows I hate to do that, coz that means I have to log in every so often to check and approve comments. If any of you leave comments and they don't come out for days and days, my apologies in advance.

I am well aware of the racial and religious sentiments that are going around right now. Just because I blog about toads and sheeps doesn't mean that I don't care about politics and current affairs.

I do understand the frustration of the non-malays and non-muslims about a lot of things and I agree that they should speak out and ask for a reform. So many people are not happy with the way things are now and they do come out and say it out loud, but they do it in the proper time, in the proper place, in their own names, without playing the racist card and without imposing themselves on other people's time and space.

That's how changes are made in the civilised world. It may not come as swiftly as you and I would like it to be, but I'm sure it will, in due time, if we all work together and not tear each other apart.

This idiot who has been going from one blog after another insulting Malays, Islam and prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and spewing words of hatred everywhere he goes is the one thing that is wrong with the fight for reforms. Instead of tackling it intellectually and acting with class, he chose to spread seeds of disunity by insulting other people's race and religion. He chose to be the bigot that he really is, albeit a bigot with his tail between his legs. He is one who dares not speak up. He is the type to shout insults and run away like a coward. Coward he really is. A loser. Nothing more.

I'll give him no more mention after this. Not another breath, not another thought. Just saying my peace on this post merdeka day.

On another note, here's something I found on another site and thought I could share with you for a laugh. Don't forget to switch on your speakers ya! (Also, please switch OFF the background music via the MP3 player on the sidebar)

The Toad

2007-08-28T13:01:00.004+08:00

What would you do if your co-worker is a toad who has no regards to rules and regulations and who thinks so highly of herself and who struts around the office everyday acting like a celebrity?

We bitch. That’s all we can do. Most of the time, these people don’t normally do anything bad towards you, well, not directly anyway. They just annoy the crap out of you. That’s all. And that’s why we hate them.

Alright, I hear ya. ‘Hate’ is such a strong word. I take it back. Let me rephrase the last sentence -- And that’s why we dislike them, in a, loathe-their-shadow, repulsed-by-their-smell, detest-their-smirks, disgusted-by-the-way-they-eat, abhor-their-speeches, resent-their-very-presence, disapprove-of-their-works, nauseated-by-their-voice, irritated-by-their-tardiness, abominate-their-arrogance and despise-their-existence kind of way.

I so wish I can just leave her alone in her own little bubble-gum world thinking that everybody likes her when they don’t. But I can’t because I am so freakin' annoyed that she skipped work for an entire week without a good reason and without the bosses' permission and got away with it unscathed! Not even a scratch! The bosses were bitching about it when she was away, and because of that I waited with bated breath for the showdown when she came back, thinking this must be it, that woman is history. But hell! What happened when she did come back the next week? Nothing. N-O-T-H-I-N-G!

The bosses' balls shrunk into their asses izzit? Stupid dum-dum.

And this woman has been strutting around the office ever since acting like she’s untouchable. Crap! Crap! Crap! Crap of the highest degree. Sheep crap. Toad crap. Baboon crap. Every one of them crapping like they have never crapped before.

Too bad I'm powerless here. Otherwise I’ll kick this woman's ass all the way to Timbuktu.

I so don’t like The Toad.

TAGGED: Blonde Bimbo Moments

2007-08-23T10:05:00.002+08:00

I have been tagged by Makji Esah for my blonde bimbo moments. Now, while I pride myself to be a smart, savvy, sharp, shrewd, slick, sly, intelligent, cunning, brainy, brilliant, astute, gifted, knowledgeable, nimble, clever, witty,… (okay, I’m running out of adjectives to describe myself here…).. , I do have to admit, rather sheepishly of course, and without disclosing anything too humiliating, that every once in a while, not that it happens often but it does happen once in a blue moon so to speak… (notice how I’m dilly-dallying here?)… I have had my fair share of blonde bimbo a.k.a stupid-dum-dum moments. I would attribute that to hours of staring at the idiot box, in particular, watching Spongebob. Spongebob makes me act stupid. Ooops, did I just use the words ‘me’ and ‘stupid’ in the same sentence? Oh no!

Ok. Enough of that. Let’s get right to business. My blonde bimbo moments. There is no rule to this game izzit? All the better. Here goes.

Blonde Bimbo Moment No.1

Like Makji and I suppose, like most other women, I was a very naïve young girl once. Err…Who am I kidding? I am still a naïve young girl now! *Pulls legs closer together* *Sits up straight* *Acts demure* *Tunduk malu-malu*

Sungguh! Tak tipu! Tak caya sudah.

Anyway, back to the story. As a 7 year old, I already knew about the birds and the bees. In those days, this was considered advanced. These days, kids know about the birds and the bees from their pre-school!

What I meant by knowing about the birds and the bees is that, I knew as much as what I could get from books. I didn’t understand how it worked in the practical sense. I had a collection of science books and encyclopedias at home that I always spent hours reading. The books say, babies are created when a man’s sperm enters a woman’s body through her vagina. They never elaborated on HOW it enters the woman’s body.

In my naïve kiddy brain, the sperm comes out at night when everybody’s asleep (much like monsters under my bed) and enters the women nearest to him. That’s why married people sleep together, so that the sperm goes to the wife and nowhere else.

It wasn’t until I went to boarding school at 13 that I found out the whole story. Oh, so THAT’S how! And after that, everytime I see a pregnant woman, I’d go, “Aha! What has she been up to lately???”.

Okay, I’ll admit, child naïveté and blonde bimbo thingy are 2 very different things, but we all have to start somewhere, even bimbos.

** I noticed that when people talk about blonde bimbos moments, they always stick to the ones referring to sex and bodily functions. Why, ah? Let’s talk about something else then.

Blonde Bimbo Moment No.2

There was a time when I was going to court and outstation on a daily basis, my car was my 2nd home. I had all sorts of things in there, clothes, shoes, food. Heck, I’d install a toilet in there if I had the space!

Anyway, one day, as always, I was rushing to court in the morning, and I parked my car at Kg Baru LRT station in order to take the train. Changed my driving shoes to my court shoes and off I went.

After my case was called up for mention, the Judge stood it down until 11 am for the hearing. So I waited outside the courtroom, just sitting idly watching people pass by and looking at the floor when all of a sudden I saw something I couldn’t believe my eyes. On my left feet was a black shoe and on my right was a brown one. Hell! I have been walking around for 2 hours wearing mismatched shoes!

I contemplated leaving it as it was since it was almost 11 am, but decided against it because I was already feeling so self-conscious about the whole thing. So, I dragged my 10 inch thick briefcase (you know, the big black one with a trolley that lawyers always drag all over the place?) all the way back on the LRT to Kg Baru and back again to court. I could’ve just left that heavy bag in court but I needed something to cover my shoes, so I had no choice. Came back to the courtroom just slightly after 11 am and got a scolding from the judge for being late. Didn’t tell her the truth of what happened though, I’d sound too stupid.

Blonde Bimbo Moment No.3

At some places in Thailand, they accept Malaysian currency. So, one time when I was there, I bought fresh buah Tai (I don’t know the proper name for it, some say sea coconut, some say palm fruit, but we all know it as Nata De Coco) from a street vendor. She said Ten Baht per pack (which is equivalent to RM1). I took two and in my usual blur sotong kind of way, I gave her twenty Ringgit instead of Bahts, and walked away. Took me a few minutes to realize my mistake and of course by the time I went back, the seller was nowhere to be seen. Luckily it was just 20 bucks. Still, it would have been much cheaper to buy the processed Shamu Nata De Coco in heavy Syrup at Carrefour than to buy the fresh one like I did.

Blonde Bimbo Moment No.4

Was driving home up north on my own one Chinese New Year and heard on the radio of the massive jam at Rawang and Bukit Beruntung. “At a standstill” was what Patricia Patrick said, so I decided to take the back roads thru the MRR. Wanted to go onto the highway at Tanjong Malim or somewhere to avoid the jam, but I wasn’t prepared with maps or anything like that to take the trunk roads. Worse, I didn’t even know whether the names of towns and places I saw on the road signs were heading to or away from the highway. (Signboards should state clearly, THIS WAY to PLUS highway, THIS WAY to the jungle). So, I just drove and drove and drove, digging myself deeper and deeper into the grave, and I ended right smack in some very very big and scary plantation in the middle of some God-forsaken place in the middle of nowhere. Even worst, my fuel tank was nearing zero and there was no petrol station in sight!

I thanked my lucky stars when I finally came across a quaint looking petrol station just before my car ran out of fuel. I managed later to get out of the trunk roads and onto the highway just before reaching Ipoh. And I arrived in Alor Setar 7 hours after leaving KL, without even being caught up in the jam! Goodness, I’ve never been so lost before. Can’t imagine being stranded ALONE in the middle of that plantation with no one in sight.

Hah! Itulah. Next time amik bas!

Blonde Bimbo Moment No.5

Let’s go back in the 90s when I first entered law school. Fresh out of school with no basic law training whatsoever (except all 8 seasons of LA Law, if u can call that training); after the first few lectures and my friends were bad-mouthing a particular lecturer who hated lawyers so much,

Friend: Did she ever practice (law)?

Me : Practice? Practice what? (As in Netball? Basketball? Football?)

Little wonder that after almost 8 years of working as a lawyer, I am still, just practicing.

----The End-----

Okay, so I have to admit further, these are the least humiliating stories. The rest are just for me to slap my forehead again and again every once in a while, and for you to never know. Kena jaga pride jugak wey… malu ah nak citer semua.

As usual, I don’t want to tag anybody, lest they are not happy to be tagged. But if I leave it open as always, then nobody would carry it out, except JT of course, I know she’s game (aren’t u dear?).

So maybe I’ll just hint at them, and if they want to do it, they’d come out. If they don’t like it, they can pretend they never read this entry (they way I pretended not to have read Makji Esah’s Turkey Trip Tag last week and even lied about it thereafter! HAR! HAR! HAR! Pecah ghosia!!!!!)

So, these are the few unlucky or blessed (depends on how you look at it) F*R*I*E*N*D*S whom I am tagging:-

The one in Germany who doesn’t normally shy away from tags
The one in Ulu Dengkil who left the old job there and went back after a month and now wants to be Prime Minister.
The one who is ‘comel sangat’ and loves ciplak-ing.
The one who is limboing the bimbo (and who never did the first tag I sent him many moons ago)
The one who works with HIV + and AIDS patients and comes in here every once in a while.

HAVE FUN BIMBOING Y'ALL!!!

It's A Windy Day

2007-08-20T16:16:00.001+08:00

I’m coughing rather badly these days. It’s been 3 weeks and there’s no sign that it’s gonna stop although it’s not as bad now as when it first started. The violent “Kung! Kung! Kung!” coming out of my throat which almost made me regurgitate my supper every time has now been reduced to a whimpering “Kui! Kui! Kui!” that almost sounds like a puppy stuck in a manhole.

I’ve seen 2 doctors and I’ve tried all types of cough syrups and cough drops, none of which worked. All the Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa in the world doesn’t work on me anymore. The same goes for air asam jawa and other traditional remedies.

My friend J said that this is the 100 days cough. It won’t stop no matter what, till at least 100 days. What? These germs can count one ah?

Whatever it is, I’m sick of trying to make it go away. The cough medications are making me groggy and all the pantang larang are making me lose out on a lot of things.

So, I’ve decided to give up trying to get better and I’m gonna ignore all the pantang-larang and whatnots and enjoy life as it should be enjoyed, and eat whatever I feel like eating, even if that means I’ll cough my tonsils out tonight.

Can someone get me some ais kacang please?

Despite the cravings for the sweet, ice cold and nutty ais kacang, the cough also caused me to lose my appetite, particularly in the morning. So I’ve been skipping breakfast these past few days, to more detriment than good, unfortunately. Now, if skipping meals of this nature would result in me losing weight, I’d already be Kate Moss by now. But no, in terms of weight loss, NONE whatsoever! Damn it!

What it does to me though, is give me gas. Sorry, don’t mean to be gross, but flatulence is only a natural bodily function that most of us find hard to discuss in public. Men do talk about it a lot. Women simply don’t. It’s unladylike. But I don’t care.

With my grumbling empty stomach getting harder and harder to ignore, I went ahead and had a good lunch today, after which, my tummy produced this humongous flatus waiting to be expelled. But for some reason unbeknownst to me, I can’t expel it at all. Maybe I’m just shy, maybe I’m just self-conscious or maybe I’m just scared of causing an explosion. After all, these gasses are known to be flammable.

Whatever it is, this anatomical whirlwind has been going around my intestines and bumping into things and making quite a big ruckus in there. My oh my, it’s Hurricane Katrina all over again, albeit on a slightly smaller scale of course.

Damn, it hurts.

It’s a windy day today, and that’s why I can’t do my work (as if I actually do my work any other day!).

Perhaps ill Verses, ought to be confined,
In mere good Breeding, like unsavory wind.
Were Reading forced, I should be apt to think
Men might no more write scurvily than stink.
But 'tis your choice, whether you'll read or no;
If likewise of your smelling it were so,
I'd Fart, just as I write, for my own ease,
Nor should you be concerned unless you please

(John Wilmot, the 2nd Earl of Rochester (1647-1680) )

No Title, Just Babble

2007-08-13T09:30:00.006+08:00

Woke up this morning all bright and cheery
Came straight to office all smiles and bubbly
Sat down on my chair and it dawned on me
How time flies, the weekend’s over already?

That feeling of dread soon came in full force
Not fear, not apprehension, not remorse
Just sort of numbness, like a feeling of loss
Guess this is what happens if you hate your boss

Damn it! Damn it! Why do I have to work?
I need to go where The Sheep doesn’t lurk
Far far away from here like Captain Kirk
Boldly go where no one has, just to escape the jerk

I want to quit my job and go globe-trotting
Not a care in the world, just out there chillin’
Have fun and adventure that I’ve been craving
And while I’m at it, maybe I’ll go man-hunting

But while I was planning all this, it occurred to me
This place isn’t horrible, although it can be quite stuffy
The Sheep is the only reason that life here is icky
But then again, he’s not always bad, at times he’s quite funny

Maybe I’m over-dramatic, maybe I’m over-reacting
A little bit of tiff and I’m already huffing
Perhaps I should just carry on and pretend it’s nothing
Because really, come to think of it, it’s not a big thing!

Looking on the bright side, the Sheep thinks I’m okay
He just likes to push and make everyone earn their pay
Can’t blame him for that, it’s what bosses do everyday
Okay, so I’ll shut up now, do my work and live another day

A Little Peace And Quiet Please!

2007-08-09T19:06:00.002+08:00

Whilst having dinner with a friend at a fast food restaurant recently, our enjoyment was rudely interrupted with the loudness of the voices coming from the next table. A young couple was having a fight, and by the look and sound of it, it was pretty intense.

I did not wish to listen in to that argument, nor did I wish to be anywhere near fighting couples, but there I was minding my own business and I couldn’t help but hear every single word being uttered by both parties, swear words included.

It was a simple enough issue between them, not uncommon between couples, and not altogether difficult to resolve methinks (but I wasn’t about to butt in and offer a solution to the warring couple, Hell, No!!)

But it’s not what they were arguing about that is the issue here. It’s the fact that they were arguing in a public place, in full view of everyone who may or may not know them.

It’s easy enough to understand that when emotions run high, you don’t really care where you are. You shout when you feel like shouting, you cry when you feel like crying. You don’t care about the viewing public at all.

But isn’t there also a code of conduct somewhere that says we have to exercise self-restrain on a lot of things when we are not in the privacy of our own homes? After all, it’s not about whether or not you are washing your dirty linens in public. Heck, you can ‘wash’ all you want and the Malaysian public would simply stop doing what they were doing and gawk at you till you stop. There simply are too many people out there who thrive on gossip and would love to watch such a spectacle if you are not embarrassed about creating it.

But apart from those busybodies, there are many of us who do not want to be a part of the whole ruckus, even as a mere bystander. These people simply just want to chomp at their burger and enjoy their root beer and have no wish for their enjoyment to be interrupted. That’s all that it was; an interruption, a disturbance, a nuisance.

Sure, arguments can crop up at the oddest places. But any decent human being should be able to restrain themselves from creating a scene, not specifically for fear of publicly humiliating themselves, but out of respect for other people around them who do not need to have their hearings assaulted by the screechings of a hyena and the hootings of a gorilla.

*** And oh, yeah. I'm still at the office at this hour, and the sheep is around, which explains my mood to blog..... What can I say? The guy's my inspiration whether I like it or not!! :)

Of Sheep and Monkeys

2007-08-06T14:08:00.003+08:00

Okay, so, I haven’t gone to Phuket or Bali or Mauritius or whatsoever exotic island there is. The fact of the matter is, I haven’t gone anywhere but PD, for only a day that is.

All talk and no action huh? Well, that’s me. If I’m thinking of doing something, I would talk about it for months, saying it again and again, till everyone get bored to death and yell, “Oy!! Shut up and just do it already!”

Same thing with my job, really. Time and time again, I would say I want to quit my job. No matter where I am working and how much I’m getting, nothing is ever enough. I always want to quit after the first few months into a new post. I’ll continue to talk regularly about resigning till finally I would bring myself to do it, perhaps 2 years later. That’s the average time of how long I can procrastinate.

I have now been in this job for almost a year. So, I figured there’s at least a year to go before I finally do something. In the meantime it gives me plenty of things to say about The Sheep, who is by the way, back in the office and have started his baa-baaing to me about 2 hours ago, hence this post.

I have also just realized that in the entire week when The Sheep wasn’t around, I totally neglected my blog and didn’t feel the slightest inclination whatsoever to update it. Yet, the minute he walked in, I totally couldn’t get any work done and just felt like surfing the net all day long. Funny eh?

Maybe I really shouldn’t work and just read the newspapers all days. Haven’t had enough of that lately. So many stories to read; Murders and mayhems galore, and most importantly, monkeys in cyberspace. Speaking of monkeys, many of us would probably agree that at times, watching a Parliamentary session is akin to watching monkeys in a cage. So, the question now would be, who are the bigger monkeys? The ones who write their thoughts in cyberspace or the ones who scream, shout and swear in a cage?

Can somebody give them a banana?

On another note, in light of current events, I am currently putting on hold my year long fixation of finding a place to buy via auction. For the past year, I have been scanning through pages and pages of Proclamation of Sale of property in the newspapers in the hope of finding the best property to buy at an auction. But now I’m reconsidering my options as I really don’t want to find chopped up bodies in a fridge.

:-)

Random Ramblings Not Worth Reading #5

2007-07-27T09:04:00.002+08:00

Woohooo!!!!!!

With The Sheep being away, life at the office is expected to improve somewhat. Nobody to breathe down my neck, nobody to dump some urgent things on me at 6pm just as I’m about to leave the office, nobody to bug me with unimportant stuff while I’m rushing to beat the deadline for matters of topmost priority and most importantly, no annoying baa-baa sound to be heard from that corner of the office. Life is indeed a bliss.

The Sheep Has Left The Building!

------------------------

I’m thinking of taking time off work to go to Phuket, but I’m kinda scared. Would I be lying on the same beach where hundreds if not thousands of people lay dead more than 2 years ago? Not that I believe in the supernatural or anything but hey, watching all those Thai horror movies do have an effect on me somewhat.

Maybe I’ll just go to Bali, but then again, Bali too, has its own curse.

Ah well, perhaps I’ll just be like a total nerd and go to PD instead.

-----------------------

Much have been said in blogosphere about the current trend of politicians accusing bloggers of this and that. Lawsuits, criminal investigations and police reports have been widely used to shut people up. Of course it is worrying, and of course there are human rights violations, but isn’t this how it has been for how many decades already? The very people who have practiced it then and the very people who have been supporting people who practiced it then, are the ones who are now going against it as if it is just beginning.

The only difference I see is that, now, people can speak louder. And in handling this little problem of theirs, the powers-that-be employ methods that, shady though they may be, are still a tad more civilized than the draconian ISA which was so widely used back in the days.

Of course, a wrong by any other name is still a wrong, no question about that. I just find that it’s funny how things turn out now, that’s all.

But hey, what do I know?

-------------------

Tomorrow is Saturday.

But I gotta work. DRAT!!

Zut, zut et zut!

HP7

2007-07-23T10:17:00.004+08:00

Muggles came out from their dainty little houses all over the world last Saturday to buy J.K. Rowling’s last Harry Potter book. The book, I heard, sold out in all the major bookstores within hours. Indeed, Harry Potter is undoubtedly the world’s best loved character in a book.

In Malaysia, the bookstores have been promoting it like crazy for months now, only to have 4 popular bookstores, MPH, Times, Popular and Harris, pull out from the sale at the last minute in protest to the sale of the books by Tesco and Carrefour hypermarkets at RM40 cheaper than the retail price. With the price war going on, the booksellers’ decision not to sell the books is considered by many as a lost cause.

We all can sympathize with the booksellers when they grumble about these hypermarkets ‘stealing’ businesses away from them. But I doubt if backing off from the sale altogether is the solution. Consumers always have choices, if they can’t find what they want at one place, they’ll go to another. It is not all about price. Many readers actually still went to MPH to buy the book despite knowing about the price slash at the hypermarkets (to their disappointment of course since the books are not available there unless you have pre-ordered them). In fact, Borders, which is not too far away from Tesco, had all its HP7 books sold out in a matter of hours. So, if MPH decided not to sell, it is their loss.

As for me, as much as I love Harry Potter, I am actually a very patient person. I haven't bought HP7 because it is in hardcover. My collections of hardcover books include law, history, archeology and philosophy books, you know, the serious stuff. I never buy fiction in hardcover. I don’t see the need for it. I can wait a year or two for the paperback edition to come out. Then, I can buy it at even cheaper price than what Tesco and Carrefour are selling now.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not all about money. It’s just about making my bookshelves look organised. My entire fiction collection is in paperback, including Harry Potter 1 to 6. So, I can’t now add HP7 in hardcover, can I? It will not look nice and even with the rest of the collection on my bookshelves.

What can I say, I’m weird that way.

Say Thanks, Will Ya!!

2007-07-16T12:34:00.003+08:00

Every now and then, I would travel on the LRT during rush hours. At times like that, I consider it a miracle if I were to get a seat. Even if I do actually find one, I would inevitably have to give it up because somehow or rather, old people and pregnant ladies always find themselves drawn to me like magnets and therefore within barely half a minute of enjoying that hard seat, I would find myself staring into these old people’s swollen knuckles and pregnant women’s bellies. Always, as all the seated men are either busy reading or pretending to be fast asleep, I had no choice but to give up my seat for all these people who needed it more.

I won’t lie and say I’ll gladly give up my seat for every old people and pregnant women out there. I’m not that holy or noble. I do it only because I have to (Hey, I'm just being honest, ok!).

When I’m in a crowded train, normally I’m dead tired and would be ready to collapse at any minute. So, I’d want to get a seat so that I can relax a bit. But there would always be that thing at the back of my mind saying, “That uncle needs the seat more than you do”, or “That makcik is about to faint soon”, or “That kakak might just go into labour now if she has to stand for another minute!”.

In any event, I would always remember that as hard as it is for me to stand, it’s even harder for them to do the same. So, I stood up, and act all noble and holy, and gave my seat to those who needed it more.

It would ease my pain a bit if they say thank you. That tiny bit of gratitude for the much coveted seat would give me a good night sleep that night. I’d feel good about myself and feel much more willing to help others the next time for the sheer pleasure of lending a helping hand.

Sadly though, more often than not, when I give up my seat, the recipient would quietly just sat down and acted as if the seat was theirs to begin with, and I get nothing, NOTHING!!! Not a thank you, not a smile, not a simple nod of acknowledgement. Heck, they don’t even want to look at me in the eye. It’s as if I’m the scum of the earth or something.

Yeah, I know, some holier-than-thou creatures out there will be telling me not to expect credit or acknowledgement when I help people. Sure, keep telling yourself that. I’m sure if you do lend a helping hand, you would publicize it like there’s no tomorrow and dramatize the goodness of your heart till people think you are the reincarnation of Mother Theresa. Go ahead and say whatever you want. Just please don’t preach to me about not expecting anything in return.

I gave my seat up, and my feet were swollen from standing too long. Don’t tell me not to expect a thank you for that!

One of the first things our mothers taught us when we were little was to say thank you. It’s an expression of gratitude, to be said when something is given or done to us, for which we are thankful. In fact, whether we are indeed thankful for it or not, good manners dictate that you say thank you every single time someone does something nice to us.

Orang berbudi kita berbahasa, isn’t that how the old saying goes?

Lunch On Me, But My Office Is Paying

2007-07-11T16:33:00.004+08:00

I was talking to Naz a while ago about some people who take advantage of their company all the time, whether in terms of expenses or office hours. We all have come across incidences of such nature I reckon, and I bet many of us are even a party to it at one point to another.

It’s not uncommon to hear about executives throwing a birthday bash for their friends and submitting a claim at the office the next day for entertaining clients.

Or, officers traveling outstation for leisure purposes and charging the expenditures to the office for purportedly attending meetings.

Or, clerks using office computers and printers during office hours to do their little side businesses.

The list is endless. There are many ways to save money or to earn extra money or just to relax, all at the expense of the company. All you need is just a little bit of creativity.

In my early years in practice, I used to take advantage of my daily trips to court. Say, if the actual works at the courts are done by 9.30 am, I would just lepak at Warung Uncle Don with some friends, eating Mee Rebus and sembang-sembang till noon. Sometimes, when I had to go to Seremban or Malacca in the morning and I got things sorted out by 10, I would rush back to KL immediately only to go watch the matinee show at KLCC at 11 am. Then I’d go back to the office at 2.30, acting all tired and telling my boss, “Just came back from Seremban, boss!”. And he would nod and walk away, probably thinking, “Bagus budak nih…Tak pernah komplen kena lari sana sini…”.

But that’s all I’ve ever done so far. In fact, I don’t even do that anymore these days. If I were to lepak-lepak outside during office hours, there’s nobody left in here to do my job and in the end, when work piles up, it is me who would suffer. So, the smart thing to do is to work at the office like a dog and go out and have fun elsewhere after office hours.

But on the other hand, I blog during office hours, isn't that the same thing? Nah... I reckon that doesn't count.

Says who?

Says me!! Shhhhh... don't tell The Sheep okay!

As for using the firm/company’s funds for personal purposes, I have never done that and I’m pretty sure I never will. It’s not about being goody-goody two shoes, or about not being brave enough to do such things. It’s just that, I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night if I were to do that.

Some people think that there’s nothing wrong with getting a little bit more from the office, no matter how. That’s why they have no qualms about stretching out their traveling claims to also cover lunch and dinner, and sometimes, even a souvenir. They may be able to sleep at night with that but if it ain’t right, it ain’t right, no matter how you rationalize it.

My mom taught me never to steal and never to take what is not yours to take, even if nobody owns it. But that same mom who taught me all that also brought back airline cutleries everytime she came off a plane. It’s not stealing, it's there for us to take what...that’s what she says.

So how?

Introducing, The Sheep!

2007-07-10T19:24:00.008+08:00

Do men have PMS? I heard on the radio a few days ago about men having symptoms quite similar to PMS, except that it’s called IMS or Irritable Male Syndrome or something like that. Apparently it has something to do with the reduced level of testosterone at certain times of the month or year depending on the individual.

If that is so, that explains a lot about my boss. He must be having one of those today.

Don’t ask.

-------------------------------

Just made some research online and whaddaya know…… there is such a thing!

But hey, they discovered it in sheep and other animals. But I suppose there’s no difference there. Man, Sheep, grunt, eat, sleep. It’s all related.

Read the article here.

---------------------------------

I’m imagining this is my boss.

HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!

---------------------------------

On another note, this is 2 of the New 7 Wonders of The World they named yesterday. Been to a few, not been to most. Dying to go to these 2 though.

1. Petra In Jordan

2. Chichen Itza in Mexico

I’ll be there someday.

Or maybe I should just pack up and go there now. Gotta leave this place. Can’t stand the sheep. He smells. Must be the load of crap he produce everyday.

--------------------

The other 5 New Wonders of The World as announced yesterday are:-
Christ Redeemer, Brazil
Taj Mahal, India
Great Wall of China
Colosseum, Italy
Machu Picchu, Peru

Been to some of these but I wouldn't mind going again someday.

Tattlerama

*ANNOYED*

AKU KAYO!!!!

Random Ramblings Not Worth Reading # 12

Wishing Well, Wishing's Swell

What the...?

What's The Status?

Knock-knock! Anybody Out There?

Race Me

Conversation With An IT Guy

Of Bandits and Masks

Ow, What's That Smell??

Say What??

F*R*I*E*N*D*S - Episode 3

A Road-Trip With Mom

Beraturlah Wey!!

Happy Mother's Day

Of Chok Keria & Krispy Kreme

I Am Poke-Happy

Six Degrees of Separation

Lights Off!

Happy Birthday To Me!

Where's My Mail, Mr. Postman?

Shop Till You Drop

At this rate, I’ll go broke in about an hour. *Sigh*

Calling Mr. Fauzul!

01012009

The Little Linguist

In Memoriam - Dr. N. Yogeswary

Random Ramblings Not Worth Reading # 11

Posting Saja-saja Nak Kacau Orang

Chatty Kitty

Obama-rama

F*R*I*E*N*D*S #2

Ramblings

Selamat Hari Raya

Animal Planet

Typhoon Sue, The Beginning

Pull My Finger!!

Scrabble Babble

The Amazing Race

The Haunting

Blast From The Past- The Reunion

Blast From The Past

Old Samples and New Samples

Of Ghosts and Ghouls

I Am Numb And I Have No Opinion

The New English Word

What Goes Around Comes Around

"I'm With Stupid"

Random Ramblings Not Worth Reading #10

The Tale of The Bladder Queen

The Legendary Tantrum

Lazy Left Leg

Bumper Stumper

Hello Kitty

Saving Fish From Drowning

Life In The Scrab Lane

A Post About Growing Old, Dying, Life Issues, Wrinkles and All Those Things That Come With Being Another Year Older

RIP

A Wake-Up Call

Selamat Mengundi!

TIRU MACAM SAYA!

Another Birthday Blues

Here Comes The Smear Campaign!

The Kids

Traffic Jam Up Ahead, Please Go Right In

Backup Credit Card

*Sighing Very Very Loudly*

Love Thy Neighbour (Or Not!!)

Random Ramblings Not Worth Reading #9

Another Day, Another Tag

I AM IN LOVE WITH JAMES MORRISON. AGAIN!

Colour Me Red!

Random Ramblings Not Worth Reading # 8

Let's Have A Baby!

The 102nd Post

Happy Halloween

Post Raya Ramblings

Bon Jour!

ANNOYED

FRIENDS - Episode 3

At this rate, I’ll go broke in about an hour. Sigh

FRIENDS #2

Sighing Very Very Loudly