New Hangout

Jill's friend introduced us to this new hangout at The Curve - The Teh Tarik Place. Its a cross between a kopitiam and a mamak place, and serves malay food (nasi campur) as well for lunch. Nice airy ambience for a quick drink or lunch that doesnt cost you a bomb.

Today i was there again with Jill to meet up with Shal, who just came back from a 20day holiday in England and Scotland. She was there for her brother's graduation with her entire family at the University of Sheffield - Shal, Jill & I graduated from the same uni, so we were keen to know what the place has become after so many years...Shal has loads to tell of her travels and pictures to show.

Shal, u should have a blog, or at least set up a fotopage.

Jill is all ears

After lunch, we had coffee at my current favourite starbucks in the area. There are 3 Starbucks outlets at Ikano/ The Curve. One in Ikano, another at The Street of The Curve and a small, intimate outlet inside Borders. Its less noisy and i was told the Baristas are cute...(so far, havent detected any cute ones, so dont take my word for it yet..hehe).

Wasn't a very productive day, but at least we sat down to finalise the artwork for our new name cards that will go for printing this week.

All About Death

I was flipping channels on tv after dinner last nite,..so called prime time TV. I was watching CSI: Miami. Then in occured to me how every night my form of entertainment is watching something death related....CSI, CSI Miami, CSI New York (and they come back to back), The Closer, Criminal Minds, Bones...even in Grey's Anatomy last nite Meridith's mum died...she almost did. Rather ironic aint it....

In my younger days, prime time is for The Cosby Shows, Full House, The Nanny and those kind of sitcoms...

Then i found refuge in E Channel, not that watching news on Britney & Kevin's divorce was anymore entertaining.....

Peace

I'm at peace with myself in ways that i cannot explain.

God must have answered my prayers.

Its a good feeling.

Picture: Sunset on Cenang Beach fr the Langkawi trip album

I'm Back

Settling in to normal routine after almost 2 weeks away.

Dad is doing much better, thanks for all your well wishes.

The Balik Kampung trip: Part 2

First the good news, alhamdullilah my dad was discharged from hospital yesterday.

Now back to the Balik Kampung trip.

The second half of my stay at home was mostly spent at the hospital ward with my dad. I have to say i now have a renewed perspective of the quality of care at government hospitals. Its been a while since any of my parents been warded at the GH. A few years in fact. The night of the emergency, it was mom's call to take Dad to the GH rather than the private hospital he goes for his regular medication. It was a good call i think. Any respiratory problems need immediate attention which the GH is well and ready even at that ungodly hour. At the private hospital, at least this particular one...the ER is not as busy at night and early mornings, and probably has a locum/junior doctor on standby. The physician will be asleep at home on call, and it will take at least half an hour if you are lucky for him to get there.

The ward dad was placed in the first 3 days of his stay had at least one doctor and 5 nurses working around the clock on 2 shifts. Since this is a male ward, they even have male nurses around. Gone are the days of rude, fierce loud nurses, or previously called 'misi'....now the nurses are pretty young ladies, and pleasant young man who are well trained, knowledgeable and have the best bedside manners i've seen in a while.

The doctors took their time with each patient, despite the long hours..there were about 30 patients in the entire ward i noticed...with more wheeled in from the ER nite and day. I counted...dad had doctors checking on him 2-3 times a day, with at least one visit by a specialist.

There was this one night, dad had a really bad attack about 2am, both my brothers were with him.....dad refused to get on the bed and wanted to sit on the chair. (Ward is cramped, each bed gets a plastic chair each). The doctor practically kneeled on the floor the entire time giving treatment, my bros sd it took quite long.

And looking around the ward, there's all sorts of people with all sorts of sickness. The taxi driver besides my dad's bed who has refused food for the last 4 months, the popeye-uncle whose bed ridden and forever making scary sounds, the snake-bitten teenager, the lonely Kalimuthu with yellow fever, the sweet pakcik Ibrahim whose sugar level passed way above any meter reading available.....

Except for Kalimuthu, one thing they all had going for them is family. A wife, a son or daughter....friends drop by during visiting hours...but those who stay with you while you ache, who change you when you are wet, who feed you when you can hardly lift your arms are your flesh and blood. And when it all become too unbearable, you whim and cry and ask for God.

It got me thinking and reflecting, at the end of the day, all these things we strive for on a daily basis will come to that.

The Balik Kampung trip: Part 1

2 saturdays back, i happily packed my stuff and left for home early in the morning. Usually i will start my journey about 7am so that i will reach there just after noon, in time for lunch. I'm beginning to enjoy the long drives alone, with the stereo blaring loudly. This is supposed to be just another trip home to be with mom and dad. No specific agenda.

Me having a quick breakfast in Tapah- my fav double choc donut and cold green tea.

The first few days at home was pretty normal and relaxed. Dad was having a bad cough and asthma attacks, so we fuss over him and make him comfortable. Other than that all was good.


Mom is having a small renovation project which turned our entire garden into a mini construction site. She spend her days "arguing" with Ah Hee, her resident contractor..mom loves to role-play architect and engineer, much to Ah Hee's irritation :-)...i think it makes mom happy - something else to focus on besides taking care of my dad. Mom would have made a great project manager i think!

The mess!

And this stray cat decided to stay over, so i had her to play with. She's cute isnt she, but she cant stay long. Mom said the cat will have to go soon. Both mom and dad are asthmatic and its not good to have cats around. Its ok if they can stay outside, but this one keeps running into the house, and likes to be around people, chasing after legs and all.

Poor thing!

Of course balik kampung means eating and eating and eating. Its 'musim buah', so there's manggis, and rambutan, and these...!
Kesian dad, we didnt let him have any coz he's coughing.

I love durians with gardenia white bread:-) strange?

All was good until early Friday morning. We rushed dad to the ER at about 1.30a.m. He was coughing badly and had a bad asthma attack. The nebulizer (that little spray asthma patients carry arount) didnt help at all. He was gasping for breath. Me, mom, my sis took turns in and out of the ER acute bay because its actually a no entry zone. They had dad on the "gas" thingy but its not working...i ran around for the nurse. The ER was frantic and seemed understaffed. "Help, get a doctor....its not working, he still cant breathe". Pure panic. Dad was also panicking and rambling deliriously. This made his heart beat too fast. Lucky a doctor passing by noticed, and finally he's getting the "EMERGENCY" treatment we came for. They hook him up with wires, and gave shots, and the nebuliser through the oxygen mask. I left mom there and had to wait outside, peeping occasionally when the door is opened. My sis went in despite the security guard staring disapprovingly. She came out.."doc sd he's not stable...another doc ask dad to mengucap, lets call Abang". Shit, i couldnt find my phone in my handbag. Lucky my sis had hers on her. Nobody was awake at the hour - my 2 brothers had their handphones off, and tidur mati - cant hear the house phone. Anyways, it'll take them 5 hours to get there...so i just left a message.

By 3a.m dad was breathing a bit better, and they are moving him to the ward. A little relief for all of us. Another doctor attended to him immediately at the ward, and mom stayed with him while me and my sis waited outside. The ward had huge sliding windows and we can see his bed from where we were sitting. He didnt sleep till daylight.


Its Day 4 and Dad is still in the ward. He's weak and the asthma attacks still comes and goes. He's been moved out of the acute ward into a single room tho. One one hand i hope he gets discharged today so he can rest at home....but when the asthma attack is bad, its best that he's there.

I've been back since yesterday because i'm running 2 workshops tomorrow and thursday.

(..to be continued)

dot com dot my & More Pics

Yesterday i met Jill to discuss business. Its been so long - since her dad sakit and passed away, this is the first time kita jumpa. She's gonna take a long break to be with her family so i'm gonna be pretty much on my own next month. Company I ada dua orang je (obviously!). Anyway, semalam we decided nak buat business card baru - dah dapat domain name with ....com.my, with own email address. So lepas ni nak all out buat marketing rasa "best" sikit...before this dot.gmail je....nampak sangat lekeh. We have also agreed on our tagline and have it on our business card. Nanti la satu hari when I (we) are ready to share, i will reveal all...

Before met up with Jill, managed to squeeze a 1 and a half hours at the gym..7.30a.m. dah sampai...semangat ok!. And 10 minutes in the sauna. Baru 3rd time masuk sauna...hehe, last time tak berani..now its a must. Its good to sweat it all out - sd wahdi (http://wahdi.blogspot.com/)! Sempat ambik gambar tau dalam sauna...

Mogok & Ocean's 13

After a lousy meeting with a client that lasted till late on Monday, yesterday I 'mogok' sekejap, refuse to do work...itulah privelege kerja sendiri..hehe...well, even an employee can get a sick day off or emergency leave when you are soooo not in the mood.

Anyways, in the afternoon i decided to catch a movie - Ocean's 13. I really enjoyed it. The great cast, the clever plot..everything - its one of those rare movies where you wanna side with the bad guys...I love all the Ocean movies: Eleven, Twelve and Thirteen. Ocean's 12 is still my favourite so far i think. I just learned that Ocean's Eleven in actually a remake of an old movie starring Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis and gang...i hope to watch this version as well one day...tapi nak cari kat mana?

Dah habis mogok semalam, today have to get back to work...tie-up loose ends before balik kampung this weekend. Mom has summoned me back for some daughter duties, which means a week away from broadband!

The Not-So Fantastic Four

Its not the kind of movie i would go to the cinema and watch in the first place...but it was a friday nite out with the girls, so majority rules. I went with little expectations, and true enough i didnt really enjoy it. Unless you're a big fan of comic based movies, you can just wait a year or so and catch it on HBO.

Sorry...& the picture i promised

Sorry if u have been dropping by and there's been no updates. My mind has been too occupied with stuff...depressing stuff actually.

Anyways, here's the picture of the my "new toy" i promised loooooooong ago...

Yes, that's the new all-black lappie!, and besides the normal sling bag, i got this Targus backpack as a freebie. Its functional, but a bit big n bulky tho..dont u think?

It'll be a working weekend for me. I am running 2 workshops on 27 & 28 June and have to get the materials to the organisers by Monday. Its gonna be tough as my brain is in a somewhat hibernation mode:-(

About Yesterday

Gambar sekadar hiasan...tidak ada kena mengena denga cerita dibawah;-)

(From the Langkawi Album)

Yesterday’s plan was to get my new laptop from Geek (its an IT shop at New Wing 1 Utama, cute kan nama dia). I’ve been scouting around for a new laptop since the “lightning strike” sending my modem n beloved laptop to the dumps I’ve narrowed it down to a few choices, but mostly I checked online.. On Monday, masa jalan-jalan lepas gym, masuk Geek to check out the laptops.

Sometimes, the sales person does determine the purchase. These days laptop prices are pretty standard so prices memang dah fixed no matter where you buy. This guy at Geek, lets call him Geekguy was just amazing (and did I mention cute…no, no, that didn’t influence me…yeah right).

I’m not the most technical person, but I do want to understand the specs I’m getting…like what difference does it make if I get a 1.86 compared to a 1.73GHz processor, core duo v core 2 duo, vista or xp, vista basic or premium……..anyways the Geekguy came to the rescue, explained everything but not pushy or selling…gave options to dwell on. When I’ve decided I could just call him one hour before pick up so that he can install software and setup the notebook. Excellent. Doesn’t it irritate the hell out of you when these people practically shove things on you, oversell….’buy this one la…very good one…”

Back to my day, I woke up at 5am and couldn’t get back to sleep. I was still in two minds whether I should upgrade the Vista Home Basic to Home Premium, whether I have that option, if yes would the graphic card support the new Aero feature….so I got on the net to find out more. I couldn’t call Geek at 5am, so I had 5 hours to kill. So I thot….

At 8.30a.m the client who remained silent the entire week called.

“Cik Anne, sorry I tak call you …nak call semalam but it was already late, but there is a meeting at 10a.m. today, and if you don’t catch this person today….bla bla”

(between last nite and the morning of the meeting, which one is later…go figure woman)

I jumped out of bed. This lady said she will call again to confirm the logistics with another lady whom I never met. So I jumped into the shower, and got dressed with whatever that doesnt need ironing. By the time she called to confirm-confirm…it was after 9, and I have to get to Taman Tun to pick up this other lady, drive to Seri Kembangan and be there at 10am. Shit.

And the meeting was disorganized and bordering unnecessary. All these people using terminologies while not understanding what they mean. Tiring! However, we firm up some dates which means some revenue for me this month (thank god!). While the other ladies ramble over things that didn’t concern me, I was frantically sms-ing friends whom I promised to have lunch with at 1Utama. And I haven’t called the Geekguy!

I thot I can just drop off the lady back at Taman Tun, still make it for lunch which I’ve conveniently arranged 2 floors down from Geek, call Geekguy during lunch to finalise the specs, jalan-jalan while Geekguy do the setting up and then collect my new toy. No…..the lady after convincing me that I can get back to Damansara in 30 minutes from Seri Kembangan wanted me to detour and drop her off at Sri Hartamas for her lunch date. (Bad idea at lunch hour!) By the time I got to Bakerzin, my friends finished lunch. Though I hadn’t eaten the whole day, I was too flustered to eat. I finally settled for some profiteroles and the girls had to leave soon after.

Anyways, dipendekkan cerita all ended well. I got my laptop one hour after calling the cute Geekguy. Very happy coz I got free ram upgrade to 1Gig, so that I have enough memory to use Vista Premium (the graphics' far nicer), which Geek upgrade for add-onn of RM100 only. Nantilah later I letak pics. Still using my borrowed laptop to settle some work before I play with my new toy.

Uneventful Weekend

The picture is taken in Langkawi...dulu kan nak buat posting of my adventures in Langkawi...tapi dah lama sangat put on hold sebab came back from Langkawi terus busy kerja...so i will just letak the pics here and there. Sedih kan gambar ni, macam lonely je...like me about now.

The weekend has been uneventful (all the berita kematian not included), i dont have to wait for the weekend to be over to say this...because i know nothing exciting will happen today either. In fact the entire week has been uneventful. My daily rountine consists of constantly checking the mail inbox for some news on the workfront, masak and makan, watch tv. Masa kerja dulu you apply leave just so that you can do nothing....but too much of anything is not a good thing kan.

For some variety i try to do some business planning work, tapi tak best sebab sorang sorang..Jill takde so no one to bounce ideas with. I list down some To-Do list just to make me feel useful. I read Trump and Rich Dad Poor Dad for motivation. All these are mostly done on the sofa of course. Kalau sofa tu boleh bercakap, or even better move...dah lama dia campak i keluar tingkap agaknya.

Tomorrow i've scheduled time out of the apartment - go gym and kalau jadi have lunch with a friend...bukan apa...the TV & Astro decoder needs a break, dah panas nanti meletup. This slow period also allow me time to catch-up with old DVDs yang dah lama pinjam tapi belum tengok. Yes, i am embarassed to admit, as of yesterday...baru tengok Lord of The Rings 1 & 2, (i watched bits n pieces before before but they just put me to sleep).....now i understand the hype. Best rupanya.

And today evening is the French Open Men's Final...that would be about the only exciting thing for me today, cheering for Nadal to win over Federer!

Condolences

About 8pm last nite, a friend i'm supposed to meet up for dinner with called to cancel, his auntie and his sister's father in law passed away.

About 10pm, my mom called. My dad's cousin passed away. I hope Dad wont be too upset. He's surviving many of his younger cousins. Dad's 76 this year, Alhamdullilah.

About 7am, got an sms from Jill. Her dad passed away this morning in Kelantan. My deepest condolences goes to Jill, Lizzie n family.

My prayers goes to my uncle and Jill's Dad - semoga rohnya diberkati Allah, dan ditempatkan bersama orang orang yang beriman. Amin.

Depression Busters

I am a bit depressed, since Monday. To cut it short things are not happening as it should work wise, and some other personal stuff. So today i'm gonna just indulge myself in this depression, just for today and prepare myself to get back to work and normal routine tomorrow.

Let me share with you my indulgence or you can call it depression buster tips. Warning: You can try it at your own risk, i'm not even sure if they worked on me, ok..

Living alone and working from a home office doesn't help at all. So get online and talk to friends or family. If they are in 'deeper shit'(pardon the expression) than you, the better. It'll help you feel guilty for being depressed in the first place.


Eat well. Hunger will make you more grumpy. Cook a pot of hot asam pedas...the more masam and pedas the better. My version has ikan tenggiri, tomatoes and terung. Eat with nasi putih panas-panas and ikan masin.


Cooking itself is therapeutic. After that hot lunch you would be sweating by now. Get into the shower. Hot shower works for me. Then lather your body with some nice smelling cream. Put on some comfortable clothes...not the baju kelawar...something you feel cute in.

(Ni takde gambar..heheh)

Then light a few scented candles. I like vanilla.

(Candles in the picture are the latest addition to my collection. Thanks Sue Ann!)

Then, think of things you need to do....depends what your problem is. For me, its Plan B if all the things lined up for June doesn't happen. Don't do any of the things today as this is your depression day. You have to allow yourself that depression time (or so i tell myself)

Then find a good DVD to watch, the longer the better....like a Trilogy.



Cukup-cukuplah merepek kan;-)...I'm gonna go watch those DVDs right now. I hope i'm out of this depression tomorrow.

Pirates of The Carribean: At World's End

SEEN IT, LOVED IT!!!!

Since i slept through the first one years ago at the cinema, and missed the second one...i think i should get the DVDs! Yup, it was that good!

Bad Lunch

After the minor injuries (yang jatuh tepi longkang tu...), i decided today i should get back to the gym. Dah boleh pakai socks. Anyway, i wanted to get movie tickets to Pirates for tonite. Promised Shal we would go together. Its school holidays plus its friday night, the sms reservation is fully taken up.

After my workout (my personal record...tak pernah over 2 hours kat gym tu), i thot might as well have lunch at the One Utama food court (old wing) before i go home for a nap. I hear Pirates last for 3 hours, so nanti tertidur pulak. Rasa nak makan nasi biasa je hari ni...so i took nasi putih, tempe goreng, sayur campur and ikan masak asam rebus. Cost me RM6+.

So i sat down, first taste dah rasa tempe tu manis gila, then kuah asam tu weird...but still boleh makan. Then i dissected the fish....macam undercooked je, but still i had a few bites...then sampai part dekat tulang..nampak merah2, like blood still visible...i stopped. This is not good.


I took the plate back to the cashier...which is quite a sight, dengan handbag, dengan gym bag, dengan pinggan lagi..

Me:"Kak, ikan ni tak masak"

C:"Meh sini nak kasi masak"

Okaayy, i thot i was gonna get a refund, but i just stood there and she took the plate inside.

C:"Kak, ikan ni memang banyak darah"

Me:"huh?"

C:"Kak mesti tak pernah makan ikan ni"

Me:"Ikan apa"

C:"Ikan patin"

Another C:"Ikan ni ubat tau, elok untuk kulit. Customer complain kalau kita masak sangat, esp orang cina"

Me:"Saya tak tau"

Waited, and waited.

Me:"So, apa yang lama sangat ni"

C:"Microwave"

My stomach was feeling quesy already, with this fishy, sweet taste in my mouth. Do i really want the plate back. Then this makcik came out with the plate screaming "Panas, panas, ambik tray."
Memang smoking the plate. I took a look at the fish,,...still look the same.

I kept quite, carried the tray and sat down. Stared at the plate...melamine plastic. Not a good idea to microwave plastic....Nak makan ke tak?...Sayangkan, rezeki. But i really couldnt stomach it...dah kembang and all the rice (the pix is after the microwave treatment).

So i walked away, paid the parking and left. Came home to an orange juice. I dont think i can stomach anything just yet. Maybe i'll drag Shal to supper later after the movie...

I look like hell (I think)

I look like hell, my face look tired, my eyes has darkcircles...and top it all, there 3 pimples on my forehead (at my age, that is pure embarassment, so juvenille!). I blame it on some hormone screw-up because last nite i found myself crying for no good reason.

OK, maybe i have things to cry about - but hey, i'm hanging in there.

The past 48 hours of working on another proposal (u're gonna here a lot on "proposals" on my blog these days) have taken its toll on me. And yesterday i had to go to a 'fee negotiation' meeting alone without Jill. I take that as my weakest point, i'm so gullible (if you have tips to offer, leave a comment please).

Anne: I have taken into account the fact that you are a non profit organisation...as you can see we have significatly dicounted the fee from our normal rates...

Client: But still, this is too much...my bosses are going to jump out of their skin

Anne: What range of figure are you looking at, may be we can start from there

Client: We have volunteers at hand to help you..

Anne (to self): (Volunteers...volunteers...what will i do with a bunch of volunteers.)

Anyway, it didnt get anywhere. They'll call me back.

Pending that, i'm gonna put on some concealers and meet some friends for lunch, window shopping and maybe catch 'Pirates' if there's tickets.

So much for all the plans....

Since i left my job, and go on this business venture with Jill, the last 2 days workshop is the first proper project for us. So memang dah plan nak celebrate...even small achievements should be celebrated right....the plan was to watch Pirates of the Carribean, then go have lunch, jalan jalan shopping (window shopping je sebab payment belum dapat..hahaha.)Early morning, Jill sms saying that plans cancelled, she's on the way balik kampung - her dad is very sick. (My prayers are for you, Jill).

I wanted to upload some pics of the workshop, tapi dalam digicam Jill. The workshop went ok i would say, but the most nervewrecking thing for me is reading the participants punya comments, takut nak baca...tapi of course la nak tau sangat. In the car driving back, Jill read the comments and ratings while i drove. This group memang susah nak predict how they would rate the programme, tak tau kenapa...so i braced myself for the worst...tapi ok;-)...mostly above average ratings...ada la the minority few kasi average je (hmmm...nanti korang)..but it was more than i can expect.

Since plans cancelled, rajin pulak datang mood nak basuh kereta. Dah malu nak drive around with my car that dirty. (Padan muka nak sangat beli kereta hitam, buruk betul bila kotor). Baru nak start basuh, i tak perasan lubang kat washing bay tu, termasuk kaki inside,,,bercalar, berdarah, lebam semua my left feet. But dah start sabun kereta, i cant stop and leave it like that...so suck it up and finish washing..oucch, pedih!!!

So much for all the plans, might as well laze around in front of the TV and rest. Penat tau berdiri dan bercakap 2 hari...hehe, lucky i tak pernah teringin nak jadi cikgu sekolah ke...;-)

p/s - American Idol finals - glad Jordin won over Blake

One Down

Phew...one day completed, one more to go.

Standing & talking continuously for the entire day has worn me out.

My back hurts.

Cant wait to wrap things up tomorrow.

Thanks to all who wished me luck:-)

Off to bed now...zzzzz

Nerves

I'm all nerves...i'll be facilitating this 2 day workshop tomorrow ( i did mention the last 2 posts). Its not my first time so i dont know why i'm so jittery. I suppose a little bit nervous is good right.

Busy, busy, busy preparing for my delivery. I leave all other administrative things to Jill - she's very good at that, in her own organised chaos way (hehe - i mean that in the best way Jill).

Cant wait till Friday. I'm gonna go celebrate - its good to celebrate small achievements right. Going to watch Pirates Of the Carribean. Sape nak ikut?;-)

Konsert Akhir Akademi Fantasia 5

Mila, the newly crowned champion. You go girl!!!



Aznil bid farewell as AF host after 5 seasons. You will be missed dearly.



Pictures courtesy of AF official website (www.astro.com.my/akademi_fantasia)

Retail Therapy

Busy day.

Finished paper some paperwork I’ve put off for weeks.

Managed some work out time at the gym.

Met my business partner to discuss next week’s event at Old Town Kopitiam One Utama.



If you are into coffee, the Hazelnut white coffee is a must try. I tried the French Toast as I skipped lunch and the workout made me hungry. Normal French toast except it had peanut butter filling in between the toast. Not bad actually.

Then we discussed my wardrobe for the upcoming event…(hehe macam artis la pulak). I’ll be facilitating a 2 day workshop at a company I worked for 5 years back, thus the pressure to look good.!

Followed by some retail therapy.. I had a shopping list in my head, but I had to be home by 9 to catch Diari AF, so tak sempat buy much….but I managed to buy 3 belts. Plan nak beli satu new belt to wear with my grey pants for the workshop next week…but they had a sale, and I liked the big buckles type for casual wear – go well with blue jeans. Check these out!



The far left is for work, the other 2 for casual.

Retail therapy memang bagus untuk jiwa kacau.

Trainspotting over Low Fat Latte

Most of the time i work out of Starbucks or any other wi-fi cafe besides my own crib. Today, Jill and I left a meeting and needed to sit down somewhere to finish some work. We wanted to get to Maju Junction, one of Jill's favourite Starbucks, but we took a wrong turn and ended up in KL Sentral.


I didnt have my laptop with me, so i just enjoyed my low-fat latte and watch Jill work.


(no, Starbucks dont pay me anything for this product placement;-))


Too bad my camera phone takes bad picture of things moving...can you spot the train?


Dont think i would be hanging out here as the parking memang cekik darah. I paid RM9.60 for less than 3 hours.

The X File

Jill & I have been working out of Starbucks since morning. I am determined that the proposal should be finalised today, delivered to client tomorrow morning. And so we figured everything out....me giving the inputs, and Jill capturing everything into the power point file. We are almost finished, just minor editing....and Jill lost the file. Lost, gone, no trace of it can be found anywhere...she searched everywhere, temp folder, this folder, that folder, auto recovery...Zilt!

Now she's trying to do an express cover version of the X file while i wait here patiently.....

Shit Happens!

As fate would have it

We spoke again just now. This time more briefly than last, but still what are the odds?

Jiwa ku kacau lagi!

Technology's Slave

My late laptop & modem...huhu

I have been "off-line" mostly the past few weeks. My laptop died on me. My modem got "burnt" during a lightning strike....the cable was connected, and i think affected the laptop motherboard as well as the repair-man said its burnt beyond repair. It's too expensive to replace the motherboard, almost the cost of a new laptop.

My sis kindly lend me her new laptop until i get a new one. But the first few days that i brought it home, it started to give problems. It hangs all the time and certain programs - most importantly the Internet Explorer wouldnt launch. Then it got worst, i couldnt even work on my power point slides.

The whole thing made me jumpy and restless...i desperately needed to get online. There are the must-visit blogs and forums to catch up with, online friends to talk to. You know what i mean....

I finally got the laptop working again after removing one corrupt antivirus program. Then i got a new wireless modem. Then it rained, and there was thunder and lightning for almost an entire day and night. Learning from my lesson, didnt dare to plug in the modem. Then i took 2 and a half days to get the modem set up and running because streamyx was not stable, and some setting problems ....which was finally resolved after speaking to 5 different tech people at the TMNet Helpdesk.

Anyway, all is good now (fingers crossed).

So many things to catch up: 2 long overdue proposals, workshop materials, case study research, upload langkawi pictures.

But its good to be back

When it rains, it pours

I thought friday was bad.

Then something good happened early Saturday. (really good!)

I wasnt thru smiling to myself, when i got hit by another bummer of a news.

I just got news.....

I just got the news.....today i am inconsolable.

Post Langkawi

Got back last friday. Had a breather on saturday, then plunged straight to work on sunday, monday, tuesday. Had an important business meeting on Tuesday evening, which ended past 5pm. By that time, Jill and I was hungry. We had dinner at Naili's Place @ Sentul before i dropped Jill off and drove home.

Dinner was my favourite cucur ikan bilis, and nasi lemak with rendang ayam. I love Naili's ambience...we were early so got to sit and the small pondok, duduk bersila and all. (If you havent been to Naili's Sentul, u just have to take my word for it becoz i cant seem to upload pictures to Blogger this morning)


I was already not feeling so good after the meeting, had the worst sore throat all of a sudden. Spent the whole of yesterday being sick and flu-ish. Much better today. Still havent uploaded the langkawi pictures...soon, i promise.

3D/2N Langkawi

I'm off for a short holiday. Be back with stories and pictures.

I never said it will be easy

Raymond: Anne, I mentioned to Mr C that u left your last job, and started yr
new venture

Me: What did he say?

Raymond: He said you made a mistake. It won’t be easy

….and Raymond said something I hardly remember because I was not paying attention anymore. Mr C is somebody I looked up to…technically..and I regard as a mentor of some sort. I suppose I should be disappointed for the lack of support but surprisingly I am not upset. I know many people are not convinced that I will make it. I just have to prove them wrong.

Cicah

My brother went balik kampung last week and brought me back some "apple" mango...at least that's what we "northern people" call it - Mempelam Apple (We dont say mango, that's cakap orang KL..hehe). They are half-ripe so i found a tub of kuah rojak in the fridge. I cant remember how it got there, mum must have brought it her last trip here.

So there you go, CICAH!!! Its a funny word rite when u spell it out, but cicah sorang sorang not as much fun. I am reminded of childhood days when cicah is almost an event, round keliling rumah tengok pokok ada buah tak, kait lepas tu kupas and cicah ramai-ramai. That's how its supposed to be.

A Song for Halley

May you find love, wherever it is?

Ceritera Cinta

Bertanya sang bayu padaku
Mengapa kau masih disitu
Tiadakah jemu kau menunggu?

Dan buat seorang perindu
Penantian hanyalah waktu
Di kamus hatiku tiada istilah jemu

Hentikanlah saja jenaka bermadah
Biasa terlalu sering ku dengar
Ceritera cinta tiada berubah
Hanya mimpi yang indah
Akhirnya nanti kecewa

Bukalah sedikit hatimu
Kenali siapa daku
Perit ku pendam rasa hati
Malu mengakui

Hentikanlah saja jenaka bermadah
Biasa terlalu sering ku dengar
Ceritera cinta tiada berubah
Hanyalah mimpi yang indah
Akhirnya nanti kecewa

Tanpa mahu mengakui kau pun dihati
Diluar sedar kau ku rindui
Penantianmu hanya ruang waktu
Tiba masa kan terbukti cintaku

Tak mudah percaya pada pengakuan
Aku dihatimu yang tersayang

Hentikanlah saja jenaka bermadah
Biasa terlalu sering ku dengar
Ceritera cinta tiada berubah

Hanya mimpi
Akhirnya nanti kecewa

LOST AND FOUND

Lost it

Searched everywhere

Gave up and deal with the loss

Decided to give it another go

Found it

What a relief!!!

I want my Mommy!!!!

Its close to midnight and i'm lazing in front of the TV, feeling like a snack. My mom loves after dinner snacks while watching TV. Some fruits, tid-bits, kueh, cakes...whatever. Mum will settle for plain water, but i will have my hot milo or plain tea. Then mum will doze off while i watch tv until i wake her up to go up to bed.

This is a more elaborate sample of our after dinner indulgence...its not always this elaborate. This picture was taken only a few months back, we had guests for tea, and plenty of leftovers.....




Now, let me go find something in the fridge....(no mummy tho:-()

Lazy Crazy

After a short meeting at our second office, we went for lunch at Little Penang. I had the prawn mee and Jill the curry mee. We both decided on iced chinese tea, which came overly brewed, and looked and tasted almost like coffee.


that's jill in the background, and see betapa hitamnya teh ais tu

I promised myself if I have a meeting with Jill, I will coincide it with my trip to the gym, coz its just around the corner. Of course after the lunch I was conveniently finding excuses not to go.

Yesterday’s excuse was to get home to check on the streamyx DSL signal on my new modem. Its been five days and I still haven’t got a connection. I subscribed to the self installation package, which saved me RM88…i.e. a month’s fee. It’s not rocket science to set up the modem at the phone line, and install it to your laptop.


this pix i took a week ago when i collected the modem, like a kid with a new toy...so much for the shortlived excitement

However, the people at the Clickers center seem to think that I am illiterate or something, and couldn’t for the life of them belief that the problem is no DSL connection is coming through. Only today, they are instructing someone to re-jump the port, and I will have to wait another 24 hours and see if that works. Bad service even before it starts, but i heard that is to be expected

Arrgghhh....

Tengah marah ni! Irritated sampai pening kepala.

I hate waiting!

I hate people who off their handphones conveniently...memang la dia punya handphone dia boleh buat apa dia suka, but dont set appointments then off your phone.

And because its a client, i cant verbally abuse this person when he eventually calls.

I dont like to keep people waiting, and i expect the same from other people....it doesnt work that way i guess.

I am still waiting. I thot posting this would make me feel better, but apparently not.

Arrgh.....grr.......

The Tagg

Mr. M tagged me for this challenge…. tell 6 weird things about myself on my own blog... , then i need to choose 6 people to be tagged, leave them a comment on their blogs.So here goes mine:

6 things you don't know about me...(not necessarily weird)

1. When I’m stressed at work, I talk to myself.

2. I don’t like sugar….not for weight control or diet reasons…since small, I would make a big deal if someone put sugar in my drink.

3. I am a natural procrastinator (but I’m trying hard to fight it)!

4. I have a very low tolerance level for cold temperatures. If I sleep with the fan or aircond on the whole night, I will wake up feverish.

5. I almost always have a hot shower. If the water heater is not working I would rather put the kettle on and wait then brave the cold shower. This behaviour has no correlation with the room/ outside temperature!!!

6. I watch Akademi Fantasia religiously, from the first season.

The 6 chosen ones:

1. Cik Dory

2. Alex

3. Javard

4. Syana

5. Lollies

6. Wahdi

I feel...

Relieved........that the pending proposals were finally completed and sent to the client

Tired............been having trouble sleeping the past few nights

Excited........as i look forward to the start of AF new season tomorrow

Happy.........that i bought a new pair of work pants today

Hungry.......but i'm too tired and lazy to do anything about it right now

New routine

Amidst this new found freedom, i have yet to find my routine. My independent work i consider stated off this week i.e. last Monday. Monday i was at home the entire day reinstalling software to my laptop...part of being independent is not having an IT Dept to send your laptop to...hehe. I managed tho;-). I was going to sign up for streamyx and get the wifi package - supposedly my top priority, has now slipped down my ToDo List Top Chart - thanks to an anonymous neighbour in the building leaving an open wireless connection..dont i love thy neighbour.

Yesterday, Jill and I camped at Starbucks at the Curve to get some proposal drafts out. Its so nice to work in my jeans n tshirt...i'm contemplating wearing my Guess jeans, a cotton shirt and my black suede jacket when i drop off the proposal at the client's office friday but i'm thinking the client is not ready for denim. I need to be taken seriously.

Today, i havent done any work. Spent the morning at Immigration Dept Shah Alam getting Sally's (Mum's maid) work permit renewed. Then i stopped by at a cafe for a quick breakfast...i hate eating out alone, almost never...but i promised myself to go to the gym today. It's been almost 2 months....i enjoyed the workout and am now in a much better mood. Must be the 'happy chemicals' released during exercise.

I better go get some work done, or maybe i'll take a short nap. Isnt it nice to have options..hehe to Seema, SueAnn, Aerena if you're reading...jangan jealous..haha!

My new life: Prologue

16 feb: My last day at the old office. The official farewell party....we had banana leave lunch at my fav place in PJ. The handover run-around, the superficial goodbyes and best wishes, the genuine hugs and kisses. Finally.......

18 feb: the long drive home to be with the folks

18 feb - 1 mar: the extended holiday, it was more for mum and dad having someone around to cope with things. dad is doing much better physically. i tried to enjoy the break as much as i can in between the day to day chores.

1 mar: the drive back....to a new beginning

2 mar: felt so weird....the transition period i think, from employed to self employed.

i have to say the freedom is very liberating.

The Steamboat

On Saturday nite, Shal invited me n Jill to her place for a steamboat party..."al fresco" as she put it. A very small crowd of me, Jill, Shal, Shal's mom n sis. We had it on Shal's balcony. Shal has been wanting to do this for a while....Steamboat Party Kylie Kwong Style. She had the egg fried rice ready, chicken broth boiling in the electric pot right in the middle of the table. All types of vegetables nicely cut and laid on a bamboo tray, bowls of marinated meat, prawns, cuttlefish, and boiled telur puyuh and fishballs. Chilled Sparkling white grape juice to wash down the hot soup and condiments.

Me and Jill stopped by Tesco to get dessert, but we got a bit lost finding Shal's place, so it was slightly melted vanilla ice cream with canned pineapple & peaches for dessert, and black coffee for the midnight drive home.

Thanks Shal for having me and Jill over.

i'm bored

For the past 2 days, i've been working at a client's office up in Tower 2 KLCC. As i am in the handing over stage, there's not much to do. I am so bored. Lucky the whole floor is on WIFI.

To make matters worse, 4 of us are sharing this small roundtable...such proximity...hmm..too close for comfort.

The thing is our security passes is not ready yet, so we are pretty much confined to this small project room. Just not the wifi got disconnected, my team members went for a meeting, and i was bored out of my wits, and decided to take pictures of KL






7 days and counting to 'Freedom At Work'.

On a happier note.....

1. Dad was discharged from hospital this morning.

2. Today is the last working day for the week. Esok public holiday, and Friday i'm on leave.

3. Kakak will be home from Haj tomorrow.

4. I'm going shoe shopping with 2 girlfriends tomorrow.

5. Tomorrow is the Amazing Race Asia finale.

(Jill, see no mopey post today;-)! )

Losing friends………

16 days from today, I will no longer work here.

I am staring at my laptop thinking I will miss my office friends. I have only worked here for 2 years, and a few of us gals got on pretty close the past year or so. I wonder if we will slowly grow apart, just like the rest ….

Back in my school days, I had a “geng” just like most people…….i don’t keep in touch with any of them after SPM. There were the odd postcards and letters the first year out of school, and one or two keep in touch once in a while during university days. Then, nothing.

I made many good friends during A Level days…..a few I still keep in touch until today, but we don’t contact each other that often, though I know where to find most of them.

Then there a friends from Uni, a special bunch of people…some will be reading this blog…the ones that remains close, I can count with one hand…the rest, are somewhere leading their own lives.

Then there are friends from the previous workplace….we were really close, like second family almost. We do keep in touch…another handful, but not like those days.

There’s Jill, Baby and Halley (in another country!)– I guess these 3 peeps wont drift away anytime so soon, but the rest will. Maybe it’s me – not making the effort…it has to work both ways I guess.

I Feel......

Mom, dad and mak ngah has gone home after a month at my place.

I'm half relieved that my life is returning to "normal".

I'm lonely to come home to an empty house.

Dad was not feeling so good on that Saturday, and mom took him straight to the hospital upon arrival.

I feel guilty for not being there.

The Last 7 Days..........

Last Friday

It was supposed to be a wind down day turn frantic coz the "power puff girls" of the department had to be sick....one had a hospital appointment, one had asthma attack, and another had food poisoning. Anyways, i already promised my 2 "moshi gals" for a lunch treat to make up for christmas presents that i never got round to buying for them. After settling the things at the office, we went for a late lunch. I let them choose the venue.



We had lunch at Delicious@Ms Read, One Utama


I would higly recommend this Watermelon n Lychee Blast, a perfect combination



I had the Spicy Seafood Spagetti



The gals had Spagetti with Duck Confetti and Spagetti Bolognese

I would have to say i prefer pasta dishes at Fasta Pasta than here, but there are many things on the menu i would like to come back and try.

After lunch came back to the office, had a meeting and decided to do an early exit, drove to USJ coz dad was not feeling so good. Big mistake!!! Only to be called back. Left USJ at 6.00pm, in the ugliest of traffic, reach office at 7.00pm, emailed whatever, headed back to USJ (meredah traffic jam sekali lagi) to fetch the folks, and half dead by the time we reach Shah Alam.

The Weekend

Saturday was nice and easy. Abang came over with the family for breakfast. Dad loves to have the kids around, puts him in a good mood. I went out for grocery shopping, and they decided to stick around for lunch. Lupa nak ambik gambar...my sister in law Kak Z made her famous fish curry ala Kayu Nasi Kandar, i made mixed vegetables with fresh cameron cauliflowers and sauteed mushrooms and Sally (the maid) took care of the rest...fried fish, fried chicken, sambal belacan, ulam. Simple kampung style feast...tapi makan ramai-ramai memang best.

I wasnt prepared really for Sunday. My second brother invited us over for lunch but dad was not up to the long drive. So we had all of them come over. They brought loads of Nasi Ayam...they must have wiped out the entire gerai. Good that i dont have to cook lunch:-)
After lunch, in the true spirit of Malaysia Boleh we cheered for our shuttlers - Malaysian Open Badminton Finals live!

Then 3 aunties came over to visit...at this point, there are 15 people in my tiny apartment. Then a cousin called to drop by...+ another 3, then Abang decided to drop by...only with Kak Z and Sabrina, so that makes it 21 people sharing the living and dining room space. People everywhere...every chair in the house was occupied, including the dining chairs, the plastic stool and people on the floor. Lucky all guests brought food and snacks (phewww), so Sally just had keep boiling water and make tea.

Orang cakap tetamu datang rumah, dont complain...bawak rezeki. Insyaallah...Amen.

Jinx?

I have come to a conclusion that any of my dealing with banks, financial institutions or related matters is bound to have some problem. I just got off the phone with the insurer. I have refinanced my house last year ( a huge problem that one...i've blogged about it before i think), and i should have gotten the refund for my MRTA. The last time i contacted the insurer, this nice lady told me they are waiting for the cheque to be signed...that was around october/november. Today i decided to follow up, and this officer for the life of her could not understand why my claim has not been paid. She kept saying you should have been paid, but the system showed no record of any payments issued. I was asked to resubmit my claim all over again....(just in case we cannot find your documents, she said.) Arrrgh

Just last week, i received a telegram (yes, a TELEGRAM in this day and age)from the finance company that legal action has been initiated against me for missing 2 car installments. The old car.....I traded in the car when i got the current one in November, which explains why i am no longer paying the loan. So i had to call the dealer and make a hell of a noise...and call the finance company to explain.

And then there's the credit card company chasing me down for a RM90 payment (its the full balance ok, not the minimum)...the thing is i have been to the cash machine of 2 different branches a few times but it didnt work each time. Then, sometime this week, i got another call from the same lady telling you have to bank in cash today or else......So i did, and paid over the counter.

too free?

My current job is mostly project based. With me leaving in about a month's time...35 days to be exact (termasuk hujung minggu dan cuti umum;-)), i'm not taking on anything new. And the project i'm supposed to be finishing has been put on hold at client's request...but hey, whose complaining.

So during the working hours, i'm pretty much on a frolic of my own...reading blogs, surfing the net, gmail talk...lunch being the highlight of the day. Today the whole gang went out for lunch to this place called The Courtyard near our office, nice ambience, ok food - i wanted to take pictures but it was pretty dark inside the place. Our boss got a promotion, so it was free lunch today.

Two days back was more interesting.....my colleague Willy decided he need new shoes, so 4 of us drove to midvalley and pick out new shoes for him. Willy settled for a pair of black no-lace shoes from Primavera....and i played "stylist" cum "paparazi"..Today Willy's complaining the shoe is a bit loose...I told him leather shoes expand and to go for size 7. Tu la, next time listen to your stylist!


That's Willie browsing


Trying out a few pairs

There's a possibility that my pending project will re kick-off, i will know more on Monday. Fingers' crossed it will be in February or something, then i can have the new manager take over;-).

I need to rush to an office networking event in 1.5 hours, beats me why they planned this after work on a Friday. Meanwhile, i have time to plan my 2007 shopping wish list. (Jill, we better win the Dubai project;-))

Can be too careful

I just got back to work yesterday, after another trip with the folks back to hometown. Did i I mention the last trip cost me my windscreen. The lorry (....or was it a bus) in front must have run over a stone and it landed on my windscreen....leaving a small star-like mark....too small for an insurance claim...however huge enough to irritate me...


This trip, another stone flew over from the other side of the highway and dented my front bonnet....this rather deep dent the size of a 20sen coin.... aaarrrghhhh!

I've been really careful with the car to be honest. I suppose its natural when its brand new, you tend to fuss over it more than usual....and this happens.

I wanted to upload pictures but loading was too slow...;-(

Happy 2007....Counting Days

Its now a ritual....sharp at midnight of the new year, i will stand by my bedroom window and watch the fireworks display. The countdown is over for most people but for me i'm still counting days. 44 days to be exact before i leave my current workplace, and embark on a new beginning.

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Happy New Year Everyone!!!!