Selamat Hari Merdeka!

Humble greetings from the office, to everyone! ...coz I don't follow Malaysian Calendar lar... working today :P

This is what I got myself yesterday. Hoo-boy!

And well... I didn't have enough time to charge up the batteries before I went for dinner with Ash, Joanna, and gang - up at Bkt Genting for some Thai fare.

The food was ok at about RM12pax... but the scenery would have been excellent if not for the sky being a tad too clouded.

But then again, I wasn't totally disappointed. Every sunset is unique after all.

I managed to notice a formation made by the play of light & shadows that shown through the clouds... It was a great big bird!

Its eye was the sun itself. The streamlined body and wings in flight were made out of the visible light passing through sparsely clouded areas. Pretty :)

Today, I've gone out again for another gathering. I think I wouldn't have gone out if it wasn't for Uma's great escape plan*...

* - ultra strict parents, she's the rebellious 24 yr old... who wanted to go on a secret date... prior to meeting back with the girls who will send her home in the evening

And so it went that I hosted Uma at my house for a short while (dad dropped her) - on the pretext that we'd go meet up with the other girls for some jalan-jalan at Gurney Plaza.

Well... we did go jalan-jalan... except without Uma... she came later lar... :P

All in all... a really fun weekend and an expensive one too. Sakitnya poket saya... but I'll get over it while I play with my expensive new toy.

Oh! Forgot to mention that I probably got mine at a real bargain from my dad's friend's shop.

With additional battery, upgrade to 256MB memory stick... + the camera bag & tripod that comes with the promotional package... I only paid somewhat short of 1.7K... huwahahahahahahahaha :D

Puteri Gunung Ledang

Having watched only Part 1 of the making of this movie, I'm already impressed.

Having gone to the website, I'm awed. It looks amazing.

For those in the dark, it's an epic based on an adaptation of a historical legend and a myth set in a bygone era of Malaysian History - the age of the Malaccan Sultanate.

Anyway, has anyone caught the MTV of this movie's signature song, "Asmaradana" - sung by none other than the leading lady Tiara Jacquelina...?

I find that the musical piece has a strong traditional Malayan/Indonesian (Nusantara) influence although it has been composed to attract the modern audience... terribly catchy, slightly haunting, and gee... I like it.

The dance cheoreography is also something to behold. It's so dynamic and ENERGETIC! These 2 words would rarely be associated to dances for traditional tunes but it sure works for this one.

Now, the golden question is, after all the hype and promo... will it live up to the expectations of movie-goers? We'll find out for ourselves soon enough... we sure will - just after the movie premiers on Merdeka Day, 31 Aug'04

p/s: I wanna see the movie, but I'm not nuts... not gonna step into any shopping complex on a PUBLIC HOLIDAY cum extension to SCHOOL HOLIDAT. I'll go watch it some few days or a week after it opens in the theatres.

Ah... IT'S GREAT to TAKE a LOOoooOoooONG BREAK!

But as they say, all good things must come to an end. Tomorrow it's back to work.

I had been on leave since last Thursday... which incidentally became day to settle all pending banking stuff. Great time to be in the banks tho' - all it took me was a 5 min wait in each bank before it was my turn to be up at the counter.

Been in KL since Friday. First thing I did after reaching the commuter station in Subang was to head to Carrefour's Burger King. A trip to KL just ain't complete w/o a visit to BK's!

On Saturday, I met up with Ling2 in the afternoon. We had lunch at TGI Fridays in 1U... loved my lunch and couldn't eat dinner after that.

Later in the evening I met up with Joce in town and followed her to her place in Mines... decided just to take up the offer of dessert since I can't take dinner...

By the time my bro came to get me from Mines... I was too poofed to give Kalamari (and gang) a holler to meet up over some kopi and football :P

Sunday was when I jalan-jalan(ed) around Bkt Bintang... and spent my last hour there by having a tiramisu and coffee at Dome. Did some people watching.

Monday afternoon was lepak and more shopping (lots more window shopping than purchasing)... at Sunway Pyramid.

Was happy that KY said he'd meet me there for coffee... coz basically all previous attempts of meeting up for the past 3 yrs ended up being cancelled because of time constraints by either party.

Later had dinner at Pizza Uno (Taipan) with dad and bro. Another splendid dinner! Mama-miAaaa... :)

On Tuesday, was supposed to be on the 2:30pm Plusliner express bus... except was told it's broken down :o

Ah well... free upgrade to the 3:30 Nice bus was nothing to complain about. I still get to arrive in Penang within the same time.

Today? Well... today was just a time for me to buddy up with my car. Went to get her a car wash, engine wash and a vacuuming. Oh yeah... pumped the tyres up too :P

Hmmm... have always intended to post this photo somewhere... :)

Had taken this one way back in yr 2000 when I was on a family vacation in Perth, Land of Oz.

Would bet that if anyone in my beautiful homeland dared to do this... it's off to the happy-land of life behind bars and plenty of interrogation.

Ooh... also would like to share a nice quote I came across recently

"I am only one; but I am still one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. I will not refuse to do the something I can do" - Edward E. Hale

Probably a good mantra when feeling like a helpless louse... because quite frankly...

A person with capabilities is never truely helpless unless they make themselves helpless via the destruction of self-pity, insecurity; lack of confidence, determination and a will to live.

The week past was one of blood, toil & tears... coupled with a wonderful weekend.

Blood, toil and tears???

Don't get me wrong. It was just that time again... QTR-END CLOSING. Yup. It means extra vigilance during the last 3 working days of the month (not going home before 8pm... avg 12-13hrs @ work) + accompanying my supervisor to come back to work for 1/2-day on Saturday.

How does one get through high-pressure days? Ok, I don't quite know the answer... but I get by. There were moments when my speech capabilities was equal to Ross Gellar (he takes ages to finish sentences)...

Definite indication of stress, no? Oh yes, it is! And it's quite frustrating when I couldn't seem to piece my words into coherent sentences.

But thankfully, there are some people who just know how to throw the right words back at me so that I can continue my train of speech. Just gotta LOVE them.

A WONDERFUL WEEKEND!

My 1/2-day in office wasn't bad... it was rather fun and relaxed in a sense... quiet office... a few other ppl coming in to pick up the last bits and pieces for the closing...

...and of course the capability to put up the speaker volume and letting tunes from my selected Yahoo Launchcast station blast away without having anyone telling me to tune down. >:)

After lunch, went to Baskins to stock up on ice cream. Would highly recommend the flavor of the month --> Far East Fantasy. It's a really delicious combination of lychee, soursop, and plum sherbet.

Btw, the color combination for this one is a really sweet combination of white, pale pastel pink and pale pastel olive green.

Later in the evening, went out to watch "I-Robot" with Jase. Superb movie! Interesting storyline... and somewhat a bit Alfred Hitchcock in a way. The Hansel & Gretel analogy was a nice touch to complement the plot. Genious!

Other things to appreciate were the animation & robotics... and not to forget... the nice Audi that Spooner (Will Smith) drives. Whether it is a concept car and/or animation in part... it sure looks spiffy ;P

Sunday: Woke up pass noon. MmmmmmMmmm... Nice weather to sleep anyway. It was raining from morning til sometime mid-afternoon.

Decided to go jalan-jalan at Gurney Plaza with mum in addition to catching a movie. Had my heart set in watching the Thai movie - "Beautiful Boxer". I was hooked since I first saw the trailer during my previous visit to GSC.

Based on the true story of Nong Toom Parinya Charoenphol, a kickboxer who wanted to become a woman, this is a truly worthy watch

In a nutshell, what made the movie interesting was how the story was artfully presented and filmed. You could follow the feelings and bond between the characters... while feasting on some of the most beautiful backdrops/sceneries

But the most important thing of all... was the message that was carried throughout the movie... "Follow your heart no matter what. Do what feels right for yourself, not others". :)

The story has a lot of heart in it... it really does... but that's just my thought. Go watch it if you haven't already done so and judge it for yourself! Maybe you'd love it as much as I do. :)

Alas the fool was played
A concrete wall but a gossamer dream
Whom art thought a bright star forth
Cheerful! Passionate! Divine!
Nevertheless an empty void
A lonely soul crying for help!
Was there pain behind that mask of smiles?
Did ever sadness cloud past those angel eyes?
Alas the fool was played

A lot of the time, we only see what's on the surface and take it as we see it. But well... sometimes what we see is just the facade after all isn't it?

If not, why the heck would people even write articles about feigning confidence?

If you look carefully, it's quite simple. Really.

There are real people who live their everyday lives doing what they need to do to survive yet another day without fainting at every little thing :)

Like... erm... what have I been up to lately?

Books... (I kinda juggle my reading if you notice the below list) a) How To Be Good by Nick Hornby ---> done b) Stupid White Men by Michael Moore ---> just started on it c) Business at the Speed of Thought by Bill Gates ---> erm... kinda lazy to finish it... been months and I'm just past Chp.1?!! Sure tells you how interested I am on this one d) Chicken Soup for the Soul at Work by J.Canfield, M.V.Hansen, M.Robertson, M.Rutte & T.Clauss---> someway through this one

Movies... a) Princess Mononoke (DVD) ---> Nice! Loved the artwork... the myth... and the cute but rather freaky looking little Kodama b) The Prince & Me (cinema) ---> lighthearted fare. Call it a modern fairytale. Loved this one anyhow... no matter how surreal and predictable the story was... I'm biased because I love watching Julia Stiles' movies. But anyways, watch out for Soren... the Prince's aid. He lends some comic moments to the movie... hehehe... c) Spiderman 2 (cinema) ---> Predictable? Yes... especially since we did kinda grow up reading the comics. However, the movie has some moral high-points. More details below.

ONE: Kids should eat green veggies (OK, this one was a sneaky one by the scriptwriters... but I'm gonna have a good time throwing this line back at some veggie-haters... hehehe...) TWO: With great power comes great responsibility and sacrifices. THREE: You might want to spare the one you love from hurt by pretending not to love them... but you can't stop that person from choosing to be with you since everyone has a right to make their own life choices. ;)

p/s: I managed to get off from work ETA 6pm for 3 days in a row this past week!!! Mon, Tues, Wed!!! Whoooopiiieeeee!

Looking back on the week just passed, I'd say I am drowning in my work. Normally, I'd be supporting my team of 12. But since Monday, 5-Jul, I was supposed to support an additional 12-13 people.

Why so? Those 12-13 people had just lost their team lead due to her resignation.

Now I have at least 25 people under my wing should they have any issues with the processes or the system.

My job is
(a) to be the walking encyclopedia of all matters covered under our daily job function;
(b) guru at troubleshooting for the root cause of any issues

It can get tiring when so many things come your way in quick succession. Is there ever a space to breathe? At the moment, I would say there barely is any space for me to come up for the sweet scent of fresh air.

By the way, did I mention that for the whole of last Monday & Thursday that I had to support yet another 12 people? Oh yes! That's a total of 36 or so people. Why?

Their team lead was out of office - she was at an offsite training on Mon and on leave on Thu.

Am certainly not looking forward to tomorrow either. Their team lead will be on leave again on Monday.

I can only just pray that nothing major happens... and even more so that people haven't sabotaged their own system entries out of carelessness.

Oh trust me on this. It doesn't matter if people have been longer experienced on the job or not. A lot of the experienced staff can still do mistakes that are normally done by rookies... and they do those mistakes at the same rate that the rookies do.

I can only quietly bang my head on the wall for these people since I'm too tired to repeat the mantra to them. But what am I talking about?!

I still have to repeat the mantra in section XYZ pertaining to the issue at hand, regardless. It comes with the job.

Broadcaster of crisis command central, gatekeeper, investigator, motivator, team lead, troubleshooter, tutor, walking encyclopedia... I'm seriously overworked and underpaid.

There's always a first time for everything. Without a doubt, there always is.

Today started out just like any other work-day. Was doing follow up for a particular mini-crisis.

It started with an email that I had sent out last evening to make sure that there was written proof that I was aware of the issue. Had also seeked confirmation with one of my favourite colleagues if a formal escalation ticket had to be logged.

The answer he gave me yesterday and early this morning was, "It's OK. You don't have to do that. :) I'll handle it from my end."

Thus I left it at that and went on to look into other matters. That was until before lunch time.

He had email to say "Please log a call :)". Not just a direct reply to my earlier inquiry. He was responding to someone in my team who had asked about the progress of the issue.

Now why didn't he just tell me to do the escalation thing earlier on?! Wasn't I supposed to be the gatekeeper/collection point so that he doesn't get a barrage of direct inquiries from the grassroots?

I can't believe it happened and what made him trip up like that. And that really pissed me off. Oh yeah! That's the first ever time I was truly and absolutely angry at him.

I told him so and I told him off. We are all overloaded but that doesn't mean that we can screw up on something so simple.

2 odd hours later, I had calmed down and told him I'm cool about the whole episode now. The response he gave me displayed sheer relief.

You see, I wouldn't expect his response to be any less than that. It's just that everyone knows that I don't get worked up easily.

Thus if my temper erupts... it means that someone had crossed not just an inch over my tolerance level - they have gone past it for more than a mile.

The best challenger to beat is always your own self

It's no use comparing yourself to others. I'ts always better to challenge yourself to do better.

For example, I feel GrReeEeaAAT that I finally managed to take an extra 2x50m lap swim today in the same time I used to take my usual 10 laps.

Will raise my target slowly but surely... but for now... over-exerting would mean jelly-legs when I get back to walking on solid ground...

This means that should I be overly ambitious, there would be a very high potential that I'd fall flat on the floor... NOW THAT WOULD BE PAINFULLY EMBARRASSING!!!

Hmm... so adorable are the lil' critters... yet always such painfully tragic endings do they meet... and who would have thought cartoon shorts can be more violent than South Park?

Meet the Happy Tree Friends!

Am feeling a tad artistic today. So I pulled out my yearbook and flipped to the page where there was an anime style drawing of every single person in my class - faces only.

It was the handywork of Takako, a Japanese exchange student that my class had hosted while I was still in Form 5.

Looked out for my face and scanned that into my computer... cleaned the lines a little... and slowly applied layers of colour into it... and soon... wah-lah!

What do you think of it? If you ask me... I'm proud of myself that I still remember how to make use of Adobe Photoshop to do stuff like this.

It's 10:09PM on the computer clock. Am still in the office... *sigh*

Have just listened to Summer Sunshine by The Corrs over LaunchCast... I think I'm gonna go buy the CD.

Ooh... fast tune!! It's Walkie Talkie Man by Steriogram playing now. Damn! Haven't heard anyone sing in (spurts of) supersonic speed since Scatman John.

Edit: I ended up leaving the office sometime round midnight and bolted to get into office for a teleconference at 8am the next morning.

After the telcon, the only sane thing to do was ask my boss to let me off on a half day paid-time off. Exhausted as I was... I kept myself going until noon.

After that, my mind just wasn't functioning anymore. I wasn't able to listen to much anything that anyone was saying to me.

Gladly drove myself home sometime before 1pm... made myself a simple lunch before going into a long peaceful slumber... ZzzzZzzz...

Before I can say "ABRACADABRA!" it's almost Monday again. What?? Monday??? Geesh... time sure flies when there are so many things going on.

I can say that the past week at work had been a semi-nightmare... thanks to some genious who did some serious under-estimation. The side effects just rippled on from there...

I found myself giving pretty much the same reply many times throughout the week, occasionally peppered by a few additional words when updates came along. It was frustrating!!!

I felt like biting off the head of the 3rd and subsequent innocent inquirer each and everyday. Its not them... I think it's just a normal response when any person remembers saying the same thing for more than 2-3 times a day.

Had to keep reminding myself to keep a smile on my face and in my voice... yup... breathe... bReathe...BreaThe... ahh!!

Soon, Friday comes and goes and whaddya know? It's Saturday. As usual I had to routinely pick my gramps from his office at about noon... but when I reached there - gramps declared "Come back in 30mins"

Now, what do I do with 30mins? I'm in the town center with nothing better to do. Zilch, zippo! Nah-dah!!

Ah heck! After taking a quick mental pow-wow, I guess it'd be great to drop by Giant (Pg Plaza) and do some grocery shopping... or so I thought until I got there and saw the amazingly long queue at the cashiers.

Nah-ah! No way I'm going into that... and that is how I ended up going into Book Zone and getting out of there with Chicken Soup for the Working Soul and John Irving's A Son of the Circus.

I didn't mind getting the CS book this time... it's the smaller paperback version and cost 28.90 only. It's more compact and way cheaper (by about $10) compared to the original sized ones.

The John Irving book would be for dad on Father's Day. Can't go wrong by helping him to add another book to his reading collection since he is an avid reader.

Oh! And did I mention that I had to go into work today? Oh yes... two others + yours truly had been asked to go in to do some testing starting 5pm today.

It was quite hilarious actually. First, the 3 of us had 15-20 mins of confusion. None of us were clear on what we were required to do and did not quite know who to contact.

Then of course we also found that we had a logistical nightmare. We were unable to call anywheare outside Asia Pacific for some reason, no matter which office call system available to us was used.

Do or die... we had to contact our US counterpart... Desperate times call for desperate measures...

Last resort - email... that's the worse communication method in an office when dynamic communication was required. After a long 10min wait, a reply! Joy! Except... err... wait... I had to explain our phone system dilemma... and suggested that we connect via Yahoo Msger.

A few minutes later... ho-boy!! Yay!! We're connected and many clarifications were made within a span of 15 mins.

By now, an hour had been nicely wasted off my Sunday evening... time that could've been used on other more trivial pursuits like lazing, hanging out, and lazing.

Delight later then was the fact that the newly upgraded system did not come up with any errors. Brilliant!

Except now I have another problem... I'm very short of time. I had to rush home to take both mum and dad for a quick dinner before dropping dad off at his rendezvous point to meet up with his car pool back to KL...

Yes! You guessed it!!! It was time to drive like the wind along the causeway; with the observation power of an eagle; and reflexes like a cheetah!!! Tally-HoOoooo!!!!

It was a pretty eventful past week... let's start with the 5-Jun! Well... my pal here, Jase, had booked Harry Potter and the Prizoner of Azkaban tickets for a Saturday that was

One: A public holiday... and
Two: during a school holiday

Sweet... and of course... Jase had to break just about every traffic rule to make sure that we can still collect our tickets on time. *LOL*

Later in the evening... it was time to go for my 2-yr old cousin's birthday party. Plenty of kids running around the place in addition to aunties and uncles who are catching up with one another... *yawn*.

7-Jun (Mon): Ah well... just when every other colleague of mine are enjoying an additional day off (perks of ppl working for MNCs practising 5-day work-weeks)... I had to go in to work. Simply because... I don't work following the Malaysian calendar.

Anyhow, Umayal SOS-ed me in the afternoon... and thus I ended up going out for some window shopping in Gurney and later having a magnificent dinner in Dome...

Tired as I felt... that was a blissfully enjoyable evening.

9-Jun (Wed): Dinner with some of my schoolmates at a place called Little Cottage. There was Guats, Bowie, Chin, and Uma. Oh... btw! I loved the Lamb Chop... it was so beautifully done.

Later on... we headed off for CBTL at Belissa for coffee and a touch of dessert... Royal Chocolate Cake! Oh yummy!!!

11-Jun (Fri): Went out for a really nice Thai lunch with my colleagues. Our reason for making noise celebration was because we have just passed the 1-year mark into our job. There was S.Huei, Mich, Pearly, M.Nee, Lay2, Vennee, and Lynette.

Too bad I couldn't stay on for a chat... had to rush back to the office for a 1pm meeting... only to later find out that it has been pushed out to 4pm. Grr...!! All the rush for nothing. Ptui!!

Later at night... joined Mal, Ash, Joanne and a few others for some teh tarik near Line Clear. Could have sworn that I think I almost got hit by the car park's bar thinghy... but thankfully... I got away without a dent in my skull.

12-Jun (Sat): Good gosh!! I overslept!!! Bathed and grabbed everything I needed for the teambuilding. Christabel told me she thought she was late... (she came to my house at 9:15am)... but looks like I did one up on that. Could not stop apologizing to Mich as we were supposed to meet her at her place in Air Itam at 9:15.

We arrived at Sandy Beach Paradise Resort about 10am... just about time when everyone else actually started to arrive. Great!! At the conference hall... we met Dhupinder's little girl... 3-yr old Bakshinder. She's such a cheerful little cutie.

Bless us all who sat around that child... because we weren't really paying attention to the presentations that went on... we were playing with Bakshind. ShHhhHh...

Later, we were broken into groups... and hence the games begin. First, we had a sorta follow the leader dancing thinghy... and then we had a Limbo Rock session before lunch.

After a delicious buffet makan... it was time for beach games under the hot sun... ;P

We played Fire Brigade and Tug-of-war. My group was lucky in our first round of TOW... we pulled when the other team was not just when the whistle blew... hehehe... but then again... 2nd round? You can say that we don't have the pulling power... and the ground beneath us was very dry and very loose... no foot grip. We were sliding deep into the sand. Argh....

Oh well... for today, I just feel that my legs are sore... and I'm beginning to find signs of blue-black spots all over myself... sigh... but it had been a really fun weekend!

Woke up this morning to the beat of yet another odd dream. ODD.

First, I find myself walking past a gate, across a huge field of grass through a garden, towards a house.

Along my way... I walked past a giant fish. It was like a 7-foot long version of a parrot fish. Then... I strolled by another one.

It was yet another giant... imagine an 9-foot long cod fish. The only thing now is... this fella caught my leg with its flippers and didn't wanna let go...

Gee... talk about being caught by a big fish... literally too.

We had intended to go to Coffee Bean at Gurney Tower last night but saw that it was dark. If not a power failure, it must be closed. But we wouldn't wanna risk parking and find out that IT IS CLOSED.

Ash had the sudden brilliant idea that we could go watch a late night movie... "How about watching Shrek 2?". I was like, "Yeah. OK! Let's go to GSC, get tickets and we could sit at one of the coffee places while waiting for our movie"... That being said, Mal drove us all to Gurney Plaza. Woo-hoo!

Let's see... it was only about 10++pm when we got our tickets... and we ended up sitting at Dome - having a drink and some yummy potato wedges (no... I'm afraid I don't know the meaning of health freak diet).

The movie began very promptly at 11:45pm. Shrek 2 is really funny from start til the end!! I don't think I ever laughed so much for any other movie within the last year.

As per the original Shrek tradition... they have yet again done subtle spoofs of scenes and characters from other movies. At my last count... there are at least 8 of those. Won't list them out less it becomes a spoiler to anyone who hasn't watched the movie! :)

These days, I feel that I'm lucky to have a pretty amazing bunch of people as my colleagues. Among the things we do for each other...

There are the few that will stop and ask "How are you?" or "How's your day so far?"

...and then of course - we have the occasional joker who will do or say something absolutely insane... witnesses will not be spared from fits of laughter. Great stress relief mechanism, isn't it?

For example - colleague #1 recently "crushed" her toe and her foot is now in a cast. She proclaimed that how it happened was embarrasing.

Colleague #2 in S'pore just found out about it from #1 because I had refused to tell him why #1 was on MC earlier in the week.

Then over a phone call this evening... #2 sneakily diverted the conversation. He started with "we should give a minute of silence for the injured toe" (huh?? *speechless*)

...then he went on to "hey, you know what? you should go over and visit the toe and say aww toe-eee *kiss, kiss* (shh! don't tell anyone I said that. *laughs*)"

Gosh! I really didn't see that one coming... but I should have known better since this one is an absolute nutcase after all.

Ooh... forgot to mention... have finally watched Troy on Tuesday night. I found the movie flow was good for a 2hr 45mins movie. I wasn't dozing off... :P

Hector (Eric Bana) the noble prince and hero of Troy, Paris (Orlando Bloom) was the wimpy bother of Hector who needed to grow up mentally, and Archilles (Brad Pitt) the fearless (and virtually emotionless) Greek warrior were among the key characters.

They had spiffy Greek costumes... and of course... the infamous Trojan horse was also portrayed in the movie.