Birthday Fortnight

26th October 2008

Continuing on with my coverage of the birthdays in the month of Oct/Nov..lol. As mentioned in my earlier post, Mike's birthday was on the 27th of Oct, which was a Monday. It was also Deepavali and a public holiday for us in Selangor. YAY! To maximise our time, he decided to have his celebration on Sunday night instead. Being Mike, he chose to do it at Neway Karaoke at 1Utama and invited about 10 of us. Representing Swinburne (bsides the bday boy) was myself, Kwang Houg, Aileen and KC who was here for the long weekend. He'd also invited quite a few of his CHMNS1 friends. Even 1 of his friends working in SG was in KL for the weekend, which was good for him. So it was nice to be able to meet some new ppl from Kch working in KL. But i can honestly say we didn't have much time to talk. Y? Bcoz the package included buffet dinner!! We were all busy stuffing ourselves, there was a lot of yummy food to choose from. So Mike was busy choosing his songs while we chose the food. Haha.

Personally, I liked the appetizers more than the mains but the good thing was, if you keep coming down (they have like 2 flrs of rooms and we were upstairs), once a dish is finished, they'd replace it with a new one, usually of a different type. So there's really a lot to choose from! There was sushi, salads, seafood like mussels, prawns, crab, clams, Japanese noodles (where u can choose the style and ingredients), diff styles of chicken, fish, beef, lamb, vegetables etc. For dessert, there were fruits, jellies, puddings, cakes, pastries and an ice-cream bar! Oh my, I could just go on and on about the food. Basically, we were all just going in and out of the room with dishes of food. If we were lazy or accident-prone, we could also get the waiters to bring up our trays for us! Talk about service, ahah. Heck, if you felt cold, you could even borrow scarves from them!

But one thing about this type of karaokes, they make it compulsory for the snacks, which tend to be extremely over-priced. At least for us, we had 2 drinks each. Anyway, on to the main activity, singing! Each one of us had our own favourite singers and styles, so it was kinda like..Battle of the Stars, ahah. Mike's obviously was Jay, mine was Xiao Zhu, KC's was Lee Hom and there were quite a few songs from JJ, Jolin, AMei and more. ANd yes I have improved, coz I can finally rap Xiao Zhu's part for his song 'Lian Ai Da Ren'. Haha, thanks to lots and lots of practice b4hand. But Mike wasnt there to see, so no judge of my improvement :P I guess the other ppl thought I'm strange..coz i sing duet songs on my own!

Bday boy with KC and Aileen

We sang till almost 12 then Mike rang down for his bday package. Hahaha, the bday boy himself had to arrange for it, so kolien. He was given a free cake and bottle of 'champagne' (sparkling juice la). We had to wait quite awhile for it, so he pretended to cry like he was sooo upset. DRama king la him. Of coz when it finally came, we sang him the bday song in a few diff languages, which is probably a 1st for him. Then it was presents time! The Swinburne group got him an Arsenal casual tee, which he immediately wore the next day. I also got him the Friends complete DVD set (pirated arr..) when I was in Vietnam a few mths ago. He got quite a few presents, you can check out his blog for more details.

Me and Kwang Houg with his present from the Swinburne group (The couple already left ma)

However, unfortunately for us, we were asked to settle the bill and go at around 12.30 coz there were ppl outside waiting to use the room. The package was from 7.30pm to 12.30am, but if there was no1 waiting, we could actually use it till closing time, around 3-4am. But since the next day was a public holiday, guess every1 had the same idea as us! And there were still 6 drinks we hadnt claimed, so we went home with at least 1 or 2 bottles of Kampai, ahah! I think I was rather disappointed that we couldnt sing till early morning, coz it would have been a 1st and hey, I'd been practicing :P Mayb next time ya...hehe. But I really had fun singing, eating and laughing. It was a good celebration, I think MIke definitely enjoyed it with all his friends joining him :D

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1st November 2008

Talk about spontaneity and last-minute. I'd actually sent out Captain's present out to Johor earlier b4 my work trip to Penang when he texted me late on Halloween nite. Then he suddenly said that I should clean my apartment so that when he arrives it's clean. I thought he was just joking as usual but then he got Chee Fui to confirm with me b4 I could finally believe him. Then it was like..all out frenzy, coz the apartment was a little dusty. And being my mum's daughter, that cannot do! Started out cleaning my bathroom, then my room. Coz it was already almost 1, i was like...cannot..must continue tomorrow. So woke up early to clean the rest of the place and waited for them to arrive. And they know how to drive to KL, but then on, no clue. Somehow they managed to arrive someplace near my office so at least i could retrieve them n lead them back to my place.

After dropping their stuff and their car at my place, it was off to Ikea! Hmm, what isit with ppl from Kch and Ikea. Honestly, I've been there like so many times everytime some1 comes to KL. Haha, oh well, part of being the tour guide. Of coz we stopped for food 1st coz it was 3pm and none of us had eaten lunch yet! And i hadnt had a proper meal in 24 hrs, coz i spent most of it sleeping! Hahah. FOllowed them around Ikea trying out all the diff furniture, showed them the Curve's weekend flea market, Cineleisure and then it was off to 1Utama for some serious clothes shopping. Honestly, they're better shoppers than me i think. Kinda fun in a sense, coz they're like girls, can shop together with me. It was dinner time so we went for Vietnam Kitchen and it was the Captain's treat. Since it was his bday hehe. Ooo the golden mango prawn roll was yummy but i think all of us burned our tongues on it coz it was just fresh out of the wok.

Went back to my place where we all freshened up and then we went back to the Curve to check out Scarlet with my bro in tow. After all, its the Captain's bday, we must have alcohol! Hahah. We were early enough to snag a table at the side, but it was starting to get quite crowded. We had Glenmorangie single-malt as per my bro's recommendation, and it was pretty nice with the mixers. A little diff from Jack Daniels and Chivas. At 1st the music was just so-so, some house/r&b that we didn't quite recognize. The good thing about Scarlet was that 1 side of it is open windows/balconies so there was more ventilation, not to mention a nice view. As the night went on, the music got more retro and mixed. From Rihanna's Umbrella, they could go to 'oldies' such as Cranberrie's Zombie, Linkin Park's In the End, Bon Jovi's It's my Life and even....YMCA. Oh my. Hahha, it really made us feel old coz we knew the songs and we teased Captain that it was coz its his bday. It was kinda fun too, coz every1 in the club was just singing along loudly.

We left around 1am coz Chee Fui was falling asleep at the table (he hadnt slept for 24 hrs!!) and the rest of us had little sleep too, with husky voices due to all that singing. So I had 3 'salted fishes' sprawled out in my living room, coz KC was back in KL to get his car. KC was smarter tho, he went to sleep early and staked out a 'safe' position at the side. When my bro came in from watching football, he had to navigate his way around what little space there was with his handphone light and he nearly stepped on the Captain who was in the middle of the group. Since they were all exhausted, I let Chee Fui sleep till 12 noon b4 we woke him up to go for lunch. It was a little late for the dimsum place I had in mind, so we went straight for Mid Valley in 2 cars (so they could drive straight back after that).

Once again, on my bro's recommendation, we went for Mdm Kwan's for lunch. And dammit, he has expensive taste la! Since i promised i'd pay for dimsum breakfast, I paid for the lunch instead and ouch...it was RM100 for the 4 of us..-_- After that, we walked around, checked out the shops and showed them The Gardens, where it was just TOOO expensive for us to buy anything. We are all gadget freaks so we went from Sony to Nokia and so on to see the phones/laptops. My bro showed them the incredibly expensive jeans shop, with all the Evisu, True Religion jeans. Imagine, 1 pair is RM1k minimum! Crazy rite?

But soon, it was time for them to start the drive back to Johor and we said our goodbyes. Of coz they're welcome to come back and stay with us (with more advance notice pls!). Basically I am like the 'hotel' for my Kch friends who come to KL, ahah! But yeah, I had a good weekend too, though it was an expensive one. I think they found it more expensive though, what with their shopping. Anyway, it was a lot of fun, joking around, teasing/arguing, with the Captain getting hit a lot of coz. Chee Fui could just shake his head at how childish we were in public. But that is SOP - Standard Operating Procedure for us. Oh, no pics coz we forgot to take any, and lazy too! Heh. Till the next time then!

The Captain is 1/4 of a century!

This is yet another birthday post, what to do, October/November is like the peak period for birthdays for me. Imagine, in a duration of about 9 days, there are 6 friends celebrating their birthdays. -_- Anyway, today is the birthday of Captain Henry! He turns 25, which I keep telling him is old!...hHeheh

This is typical of the Capt..

Anyway, some of you may wonder why we call him Captain. He's also known as 'Lao Pan' which means Boss. Captain is bcoz he was really into Pirates of the Caribbean as I was, in the last 2 yrs, and we all thought that he was pretty much like Captain Jack Sparrow, what with him always seeming a little drunk with his crazy, spontaneous ideas and odd quotes/topics. Of course, he'd also do his charming bit with the ladies, misleading and confusing terms of speech and he even had his 'White Pearl'. Oh, and he also has a tendency to be clumsy like Capt Jack too! Last year for his graduation, we bought him a mini Black Pearl too. As for the Boss bit, well, he was like our ringleader, always coming up with ideas on what to do and all that.

So how did I first get to meet this interesting character? I think it was in 2004 when I joined Swinburne and Augustine became the new Council President after Evelyn left. August had this little group called FShit, bcoz of the boyband F4 which was super-popular back then. There were 4 of them; August, Henry, Dominic and Yii Leong, and they even had the same type/colour jackets! Kinda funny if you think back actually. So August being a friendly/gentleman, he introduced me to them. I remember having a 1st impression on all of them and Henry's was that 'Oh, this guy is definitely a bad boy or a player'. Haha! So I was just polite to them and didn't really talk much then.

Bullying 'Da Ge' at Capt's bday last yr

It was only in late 2006 that I got to know the Captain better because he'd just come back from his IBL in Singapore and joined Mike's FYP group. I'd also gotten to know CY better then and the 3 of them were in several classes together, so yea, we all started hanging out. Then it was the period of our Mahjong addiction from CNY onwards, where we HAD to play at least once a week. During the peak of our addiction, we'd play a few times a week, even though we were all in final sem/year! Crazy and risky, I know. From Mahjong, it progressed to Monopoly since I had 3 sets.

My friendship with the Captain is interesting to say the least. People who know us would probably think so, since they all say that we provide all the entertainment. Haha, he's the Boss and I'm the Lady Boss. CY and Siaw Hui keep saying that Kch is so quiet after we both left. It's coz we're always arguing about things and we're super noisy! Obviously most of my guy friends like to tease me and I'd argue back and disturb them too. So since Henry likes teasing us so much, I am probably his biggest target. And the 2 of us are really competitive and we dont like to lose, whether at Mahjong, Monopoly or even any discussion. But in case anyone misunderstands that we don't get along, we're just arguing for the sake of it. To be honest, I think we both just enjoy the sparring. It certainly benefits the others when playing games with us, since they can win more easily since its just the 2 of us fighting so much. Plus get entertained for free. But nowadays, the arguing isn't quite the same since we're just doing it for laughs and we're both on the same wavelength, joking around, teasing each other and all that.

So yeah, despite his bad 1st impression (hmm, this seems to be recurring), I've come to find that he's actually a great friend to me. We always have lots to talk about, from work, music, movies, or just any old thing. There are definitely no dull moments when we meet up, probably coz we both agree that we cant' find any1 else to argue with us in KL/Johor. But he can be a good listener and gives constructive advice too. Of coz, he'd definitely be able to cheer me up when I'm down, what with his craziness. Basically, a really fun and generous friend to hang out with. Though ppl might talk bad about him being a player or a jerk....but for me, he's been a good friend. So yeah, that's more important to me. After all, I come off across as a snobby bitch to others but my friends dont think so.

Anyway, I count him as the other most important guy in my life at the moment (bsides family). We've been through some good times, as well as some stupid fights due to our tempers (esp mine). But at least we're more mature now and understand, respect and appreciate each other more. So here's wishing the Captain a very happy 25th birthday! You don't need an increment but I think you deserve a promotion for all the hours you put in at work. Here's hoping you'll keep improving on your stability/maturity ;). And pls dont do anything too crazy/stupid. Haha! Cheers to Captain Henry!

Happy 24th Mike!

Today is the birthday of Mike FV, who is probably one of the most important guys in my life (outside of my family of coz) so far. I think everyone knows that we used to be together, but are just friends now. And yes, i think ppl still get confused about this, coz we hang out a lot in KL. But hey, like we always say, KL is a big place, and there are not that many of us from Kuching who can mix around that well.

But moving along, what shall we say about Mike? Well, as everyone knows, he's a good singer (big big fan of Jay!) and enjoys making people laugh. Definitely a good friend to those that he cares about, and a gentleman. So yeah, good with the ladies in his own way ;). Summary is, he's the type of boy you'd wanna bring home to introduce to your mum. HAha!

How did I meet this guy? Simple, I was in Swinburne's Council in my foundation year of 2003 and he'd just joined the Council too. We were organizing this Valentine's Day sale and had to set up the booth. So after the initial introduction, the first thing i said to him was 'Can you go to the Council room to get the radio?'. Lol. Being the nice guy that he is, he of coz went to do it. But I guess he must have thought I'm so bossy. Which he did tell me later. And I thought he was easy to bully. Hehe, so bad of me.

Boy, this was like really back in those old days..ahha

Despite our somewhat...bad first impression, we got to know one another better bcoz of some shared interests, like music and something of an addition to IRC (it was big back then b4 we progressed to MSN). Even up to this day, 5 years down the road, we still talk about the things we both like, such as Jay, Mayday or any good Chinese music, Final Fantasy games (though I've only played FF8), movies, Swinburne gossip, etc. Basically, he's probably the contact with the biggest MSN log file. He's like the first that I'll tell my stuff to, even the most inane or boring stuff. What to do, he's a good listener you know. Makes him very good boyfriend material, and trust me girls, he was/is a good boyfriend. Just that this girl doesn't know how to appreciate him. Hey, we're better off as friends now. So...no regrets for being with him and even being his friend now though :)

Look how skinny you were then!

So yeah, we've been through a lot together, seen new places, both as friends and as a couple previously. But at least we're still good friends now. So before I sound too loso, here's wishing you a great 24th birthday. May you have a great year ahead, and all your wishes come true. Hope you'll get that much-deserved promotion and maybe another Europe trip? And of course, a good girl who will treat u like the king u are ;) You deserve nothing but the best! Cheers mate!

Ah Kong's double tag -_-||

It's a lot easier to do the tags than to actually update. I'm such a lazy person, ah well..i get very little rest time anyway!

Tag No.1
1. The last person that tagged you is?
Ah Kong aka Alex Kho

2. Your relationship with him/her?
He's my Ah Kong/Grandpa...ahaha...part of the Gay4 laaaa...

3. Your two impressions towards him/her?
He is hardworking but also can act cool....stubborn....go crazy sometimes...similar to me laaa..lol...wat to do..he's my Ah kong ma...

4. The most memorable thing that he/her has done for you?
Helped to take care of my house when I was away in Perth for a week!..ahaha...

5. The most memorable words that he/she spoke to you?
You're a really great gal, you're an important friend to me...he actually wrote this instead of tell me la...which guy will actually say this to me?..sure kena laugh or tease laaa...or we both turn red also..

6. If he/she becomes your enemy, you will....
Scold him laaa...what lo...become my enemy..i go find him n knock his head...or his car (his baby ma!)...hahah..

7. If he/she becomes your enemy the reason is...
Is most likely coz of our tempers la..we have the same type of temper, very fast get angry and explode de...but we recover quite fast. Err..i think i recover better than him...and I will say sorry more easily than him..esp if I care about the person...sure I will end up say sorry to Ah Kong first..ahah

8. The most desirable thing to do for him/her is:
Pray that he will become happier and get a good job like what he wish for! And one day, attend his wedding..i think u'll b faster than me guaaaa...

9. How do you feel people around you feel about you?
Hmm...i think most of my friends will say I'm a good friend...i asked them this recently..they seem to all say that I'm a good listener, will always do my best to help them no matter what...and i'm not very judgemental...i give good feedback? Good organizer/secretary? I'm just repeating what they say la...suppose they will say i'm serious!..or used to be very la..can be moody n hot-tempered...

10. The character of yourself is?
I try to do my best in everything I do...i tend to put my family and friends' needs over my own. Though I can be lazy and procrastinate..i will be a perfectionist/control freak about things I really care about..i like to plan things...even the unforseeable future..lol.and i can get stressed over things I shouldn't be, making myself moody...can be easily angered but I think i've improved...can be very quiet at times unless I'm with my own gang(s)

11. On the contrary, the character that you hate yourself is.....
My temper, my over-seriousness at times and being too quiet sometimes...coz i find it hard to intro myself to someone new and talk a lot to them...sometimes i just prefer to keep quiet...coz trying to think of topic maaaa....then my temper has gotten me into a lot of trouble...oh! and emotionally detached...i'm too 'cool'...guess coz i'm trying to protect myself from getting hurt...

12. The most ideal person you wanna be is.....
No1 is ideal so I'm happy to be me...just that I want to improve myself...still have a long way to go....one step at a time...

13. For the people who care, say something about them:
Thank you to all my family and friends for all the support, encouragement, advice, time and love. Really appreciate all of it..hope that I can be a good person to you in return..God bless all of you...Happiness and health to all! (Sound like Santa Claus ler)

Tag No.2 (slightly modified)
Ten people to tag:
1)Ching Yi
2)Siaw Hui
3)Vicky
4)Linda
5)Michael
6)Henry
7) Serena
8) Yi Chan
9) Ah Kong
10) Julia

Who is Number (2) having a relationship with?
Our Lao Da, Ting Chyi Yeou...ahahha...looking forward to Dec, when I can bully him again!

Is(6) a male or a female?
95% male..ahha..jk laaa boss

If Number (7) and Number (10) got together, would that be a good thing?
NOOOOO...they are straight!

How about (5) and (8)?
Hhaha!! Cannot la..they're both guys..plus Chan already got gf liao....

What is Number (1) studying?
She graduated same time as me..but she's probably going to learn about automation soon...hehe

Say something about Number (3):
She's like this bubbly girl....who can be blur sometimes..has a great/crazy sense of humour...hiaaaoooo!!...*ahem*...great to chat with...good listener...i miss her and the other G-Gals!!...Muwaaakkkss

Long overdue Tag from Serena

Got tagged by Serena...so..just a quick one then:

1. State the person who tag you
Serena Sim Shing Yin (correct rite? hehe..still remember)

2. List your five favourite dinners, in your place.
in my place?..this is kinda hard but I'll just put both those in KL and Kch

a. Ah Tao Seafood (Kch)
b. Jln Song - coz of the variety! (Kch)
c. Tomoe Sushi - cheap and good sushi (Kch)
d. Sushi Zanmai - cheap and good sushi (KL)
e. Grandma/Mum's cooking

3. Tag five people then.
- Michael FV
- Kwang Houg
- Alex Kho
- Linda
- Vicky

Turning 23 (Part 2)

I know, it's been over 4 months since I blogged. So this is really a very delayed birthday post. Haha. What to do, life has been hectic for me. Anyway, on with how my birthday went this year. Well, a big difference was that there was no big party as per previous years. All I had was a karaoke session with Mike and Kwang Houg at Neway 1Utama. Also had a dinner with my uncle them, and a little cake session in the office pantry when I brought out my cake (courtesy of my auntie) to share with them. All of these were before my actual birthday, except the cake session.

On my actual birthday, I was woken up at the ungodly hour of 3am due to Stephen Apek's msg (wonder what he was doing up so late). To be honest, I was actually kinda down for the rest of the day, coz I didn't really receive many msgs in the morning. And it's also my first bday away from family. Overall, I think this was an interesting birthday though quiet. At least I had a lot of time to think over what I've done in the previous years. So here's a point-form summary (at least it wont be so long winded rite?) in chronological order:

- Elected as head prefect in Form 4/Form 5, which was something of an achievement for me since I was never a prefect till Form 4 itself....much to the displeasure of many ppl

- Joined Taekwondo and managed to win 2nd prize for Pattern competition (heh, at least something for sports right?)

- Asked to take part in Swinburne's Inaugural Debate, leading to us finally joining the Inaugural Yayasan Sarawak English University Debate (the actual name is too damm long) and we got 3rd - Elected President of Rotaract Club of Swinburne Sarawak and managing to help the club to achieve its 1st Presidential Citation and a few District 3310 awards

- Becoming Organizing Chairperson for a few big projects like Swinburne's Prom Night 2005 and the Rotaract/Interact fundraiser to buy books for rural Sarawakian schools

- Helped to set-up and run 2 new clubs in Swinburne: Explorers Club and Photomedia & Design Club, both of which were also very successful

- Completed my studies till bachelor's degree (2nd lower honours only, but hey, I'm not a good engineering student)

- Went for many job interviews in KL and even Johor, with the result of 4 job offers

- Ended up working in Philips Lighting, which I'm pretty happy with since they are all willing to guide me and there's constant learning on the job, what with all the trainings, new products and travelling to project sites in the various states

I suppose you can say that I've achieved a lot in terms of studies/career and co-curricular activities. Sometimes it kinda makes me feel like I'm old, since it seems to be over so many years. I bet all those more 'mature' ppl are gonna scold me about this though. But besides all these, I've also learned a lot from my personal life. Some of which are as such:

- Met and remained close with 7 other girls, and we are known as the Gathering Gals. Honestly, we have had some great times, some of which we still crack up over and fondly think back on. I miss all of u gals so much..hope we can meet up soon, though I'm not in KL

- Became friends with a whole bunch of different but amazing ppl in uni. They consist of various groups, such as the Gay4, JL.MFV.AC.SS, Mahjong Club, Debaters Club and so on. My 5 years in uni were definitely the best of my life so far, and I think it'll be hard to top that. You guys are all so great, I always enjoy our times together. Though we might not have so much time or opportunity to meet up now, but we always have a great time when we do! MIss u all!

- Got involved with a few different guys over the last few years and went through a lot of things, both good and bad. Fell in love with a great guy...but ended up as best friends. No regrets whatsoever, just wish you all happiness, you guys deserve it.

- Moved to KL to work, and later got a place on my own (shared with my bro and Aileen though). It's not easy coz it can get kinda tiring and lonely as there are just not that many friends in KL as compared to in Kch. But at least I'm doing ok

- Learned how to drive myself around in PJ and certain areas...i can't really drive to KL yet...but give me another year and I'm sure I'll be able to....(will be forced to, one day)

For me, no matter what I go through, whether it's good or bad, I just try to learn something from it. I'm really quite a perfectionist/control freak when it comes to organizing things or planning out my stuff. But I've also realized that things can't always go your way or be under your control. So I've just tried my best to plan for things, and when they don't work out that way, just try to figure out the best solution and work with it. I've also become more open to trying new things, ideas and experiences. Just listen to what ppl have to say, how they think and yea...just be more open to spontaneity. Live life more. Take time to relax, chill out and maybe let loose a little. Be a little crazy/wild, especially when there's a lot of stress, so things can balance out.

Learn to understand myself and my needs/wants. Instead of being so calculative about prices, pamper myself occasionally. I need to love myself more before loving others. Look more on the bright side of things, see the good part of ppl rather than just the bad part. Accept the ppl I care for as who they are totally, even with their faults/mistakes. Don't always judge a person by their looks, they can sometimes surprise you. Don't care too much about the past, or worry about the future. Start living now, coz today is a gift, that's why it's called the Present.

I learned most of the above 'philosphical' stuff from my various experiences, many wise friends/ppl, some of whom are slightly misunderstood. Lol, its surprising that you expect so little from certain ppl, and they end up giving you the most. Anyway, just wanted to share what I was reflecting on this past birthday and what I've learned. Thank you, each and everyone of you, for your contribution to my 23 years of life. I appreciate your friendship, love and all that you have given me in one way or another. Hope we can still remain friends till we're old! Hehe. Thanks again for all the birthday wishes and everything else :)

Turning 23 (Part 1)

Today at around 6.30pm, I turned 23 years old. To me, this can be considered a milestone in my life. You may ask, why the odd number and not 25? Well, 25 is of coz a bigger milestone, but I will treat this as a milestone for a few reasons. Firstly, I am no longer a student, after 20 (?) years of studying, I am now in the first 6 months of working life. At the same time, this is my first birthday away from home and on 'my own' in a sense. I have closed one major chapter of my life and am moving on to a new one. Therefore, it's pretty true to set my 23rd birthday as a significant point in my life.

So I shall take this opportunity to look forward to the next big milestone in my life - turning 25 years old. Wow, that's a quarter of a century! That's a big number, especially for those of us who still remember just turning 18 not too long ago. Lol. Yeah, I guess it is a big number. Anyway, instead of worrying about getting old, I shall take it as a measuring stick for achieving my goals. What do I mean by this? When I turned 21, I was upset with myself for not being who I thought I would be by that age. I used to think that by the age of 21, I would be someone self-assured, accomplished and capable (those from Swinburne, think someone who carries herself like Corina). So I was gloomy for that birthday till someone pointed out that it was unrealistic to measure myself like that. I should just measure myself against what I have accomplished over the years. My consolation now is that by the age of 22 and 3/4 years old, I have more or less become what I wanted to be by 21 years old. So it's only a delay of 1 and 3/4 years, ahah!

Anyway, I shall now set some more measurable goals for myself to achieve or things I want to do by the age of 25. Even though it's good to have goals, I think it's better to set a specific period or date for them since it gives me more motivation to work harder. I estimate that 2 years should be enough time for these. If I can't accomplish all by then, at least I'd have tried my best. That's what's important. I guess I may have been inspired from watching Randy Pausch's "The Last Lecture" on "Achieving Your Childhood Dreams". Though some of these goals might seem easy, they're still goals that some of us may keep putting off and never get around to doing.

Goals to achieve by the age of 25 (in no particular order):
- Promoted to 2 grades higher at work
- Check out the view from the Skybridge of KLCC
- Visit Bangkok/Phuket/Taipei/Bali/Kota Kinabalu/Pulau Tioman
- Visit all states of Malaysia (for work or play)
- Try an 'extreme' sport of some sort: parasailing, rock climbing, bungee jumping, skydiving
- Lose enough weight and exercise to become more fit/healthy
- Upgrade to a better camera (mayb semi-pro!) with more skills gained

Other long-term goals include:
- Take MBA
- Visit the other Disneylands in the world (except Disneyland in California)
- Visit Japan/Hong Kong/Australia/Florida

As you can see, some of the goals do overlap each other. And of coz, when I think of more, I'll add them to the list. Then in the next post, I'll look back on the highlights and significant points of my 23 years on Earth, and how I spent this birthday. But first, thank you to everyone who remembered my birthday and wished me a happy birthday. I felt touched with everyone's msgs, comments, posts etc. Even if some ppl were 'reminded' by certain things. Lol. Thanks anyway :) *hugz n kisses*

CNY 2008

And once again, I am updating about something that happened so many months ago. What can I say, I really tend to put things off a lot. Even in work. >.< must change this bad habit of mine, coz it makes me delay things till the last minute and then I'd have to rush, and yea, makes me late quite frequently. But i know a lot of ppl are like tat, yet this doesn't make it ok.

Anyway, back to the update on hand. This year's CNY marked the first time that I am going home for CNY. Every year, I'm already at home to celebrate it, or maybe going away some place to get away from it (against my will mostly). But this time, I have become one of the many ppl working outside of their hometown and have to take leave to go back home. Kinda strange feeling to me. Thing is, I'd only been working for about 1 mth (1 mth on 1st day of CNY to be exact), so technically I was only allowed to take 1 day's leave. So that's y I took that one day on CNY eve itself and flew back to Kch that morning. Among all of us who are working out of Kch, I was the last to arrive back. Burger was back the earliest by a few days (lucky guy!) followed by the Capt who reached just a few hours before me.

The very 1st thing i wanted to do was hunt down a bowl of yummy Sarawak LAKSA! Sadly, since it was CNY eve, they were all closed :( So i settled for my fave dumplings from Jade Pot instead. The twist was, Jade Pot was also closed for CNY, but my parents went there the day b4 and bought the uncooked ones n learned how to cook/heat them up. Not quite the same, but hey, beggars can't be choosers la, esp since I haven't had them since I left for KL. Having recharged my 'battery' (or satisfied 1 of my cravings), it was off to Eric Hair Salon! Lol i always joke about having my own hair stylist and I guess it's kinda true since I only get my hair done by Eric, who's my cousin on my dad's side. Affordable, yet with quality and friendliness :) And surprise surprise, the Captain was also getting his hair done, being the vainpot that he is. DIdn't get to talk much since we were seated on opposite sides of the salon but we did try to arrange for one of our much-missed MAHJONG sessions for the next few days. As for my hair, I just got a relaxing wash and trim, plus they set it in curls for me. *blissfully pampered*

There were just a few hours left till the family reunion dinner, so I just lazed around watching tv, sneaking some CNY tidbits and playing with the fat cat. Of coz I did try to help out, but there wasn't much I could do as well. It was kind of strange though, though I was back for CNY, my grandma and auntie had gone to spend it in KL -_-|| but she did prepare her infamous dark-sauced duck (infamous not for the taste, but for the events related), ngo hiang (meat rolls in beancurd skin), ingredients for the soup and more. The thing about the women on my mum's side, they tend to prepare food in large amounts. They're always worried about us getting hungry, hence the reason y I became chubbier once i stopped all-day school. My Uncle Jeffrey and cousin were there to help finish the food, but there were still many leftovers, which we would try to finish over the next few days. After dinner, we just sat around, catching up and playing blackjack. For once, I joined in the betting, but only RM1 per bet, which was the lowest among the rest. Hehe and I ended up winning the most, about RM20. But it was just for CNY, so yea, no long-term betting for me! My brother then took off for his REAL gambling session while I watched more TV, which wasn't much in terms of CNY entertainment this year :P till it was time for the great CNY countdown! It's pretty much tradition that all of us are back home for it, so my brother rushed back with my uncle for it. And every year my mum just tries to sleep through it -_-||

As most Kuchingites might know, though we have a firecracker/fireworks ban in Malaysia, it doesn't really seem to affect us for festive seasons. However, from what I hear, they've been harder to find this year. Of course, being ever resourceful, my family managed to source some out and though I enjoy them, I always have to comment 'WHy buy so much? You're just burning money!' But everyone else in the neighbourhood was probably as kiasu, if not more. Well, just the regular families anyway. The number of ppl doing the CNY countdown has gone down over the years. Anyway, it was still pretty much the same - loud, smoky and somewhat dangerous. You never know when a cracker will explode and send things flying over to the next house/neighbour or an empty firework shell might land in your roof gutter and keep burning and so on. This year, the alpha males of my family had finally bought some BIG fireworks, the ones that are packed like individual 'grenades' and produce only 1 big 'flower'. Each 'grenade' has to be loaded into a metal launcher with the fuse trailing out and it will then shoot up into the sky to explode. Of course, there's always the risk of it getting stuck in the launcher and blasting it to smithereens and so forth. *shrugs*

The first attempt is always the riskiest, since we all weren't very sure of the success rate. Usually 1 of them will light it and then run back to where we're all standing, quite a distance away. We watched the lighted fuse disappear into the launcher with bated breath. *POOOOFF* The grenade launched itself up and out and exploded barely over the roofs of the houses in our road. Resulting in all of us ducking and swearing simultaneously, as bits of the packaging and whatnot came raining down on us. -_-|| Our conclusion was that our area was a bit too low to get the full effect of the firework. Since I was attempting to photograph the fireworks, I resorted to crouching between a neighbour's car and his dustbin, to avoid getting hit by any exploding bits and to get the full 'flower'. This worked out pretty ok, but it was still pretty awkward. Lol. After the end of countdown, we were all smelling of smoke, slightly dusty from gunpowder and coughing slightly as usual. But yea, i wouldn't want to miss this part of CNY :) My brother of coz went back to his friends' place and I was back online and watching tv. Oh, and comforting the poor fatty who was frightened by all the noise and cowered in the corner for once. I think he actually went up to join my mum, being the manja cat he is.

The best shot I could come up with

Anyway, on the 1st day of CNY as usual, we started the visiting by visiting the houses of both sides' grandparents. At my dad's parents' house, I got to meet my new 'nephew'. My oldest cousin on that side of the family had given birth to Zyan a few months ago, and this was our first time seeing him in person. He was chubby, cute and big-eyed, awww. He reminded me of my brother when he was young, since he was kind of big for his age and fair too, with a little cheeky grin. Haha. After that, we went to a few relatives' houses, friends of my parents and so forth. Oh, and at one of my dad's friends' place, I got to have my laksa!! Yea, imagine, they serve laksa at their open house, which they made themselves. It was pretty good too, since their father used to set up a coffeeshop. YUM :)

CNY Family Photo 2008

My mum with Zyan in matching outfits

Later that afternoon, I went with Captain and August to go visit Dr. Dennis at his parents' house. We talked about our jobs, what we'd done so far and etc. And I got mistaken by his grandma as their relative -_-||. Since it was a hot day, we went to McD's for ice-cream then back to my house for MAHJONG! As there were only 3 of us, my dad joined in as the 4th person. Kinda strange for me since I've never played with my dad and he also doesn't play by the rules that we follow or know the combos that we do. A lot of adjusting on all our parts, especially for those of us who like to set up big combos. All thru the day, Captain and I were bickering/bantering/discussing (as usual!) and August just shook his head since he's used to it, Dr. Dennis was bemused and i think my dad was probably thinking "hmm..wat's wrong with the 2 of them"

After dinner and more visiting, we had our OFFICIAL mahjong session, this time complete with playing for money. My dad had decided since the 3 of us were now working, we could afford to play with money, which we'd never done. So he explained the rules and said we probably won't lose more than RM50 at most. To which we all exchanged looks that said 'HA? RM50 ar?!' but since he said though we might lose a round, we still can win some money, we were like ok, just try. As the most 'kiamsiap' person at the table (probably coz i'm the only girl), I was the most worried but strangely, I ended up leading for the first few rounds. Till I made this comment "Hey, I haven't had to pay you yet" to the Captain and almost immediately, I had to. -_-|| So the superstition they say about this type of comments IS true. Anyway, after 1 full round of the 4 winds, the end result was the Captain and I winning most of the money with my dad and August losing about RM10 plus each. So yea, had some luck at gambling this year, which is mayb due to me being the only girl.

My family usually has 'open house' on the 2nd day of CNY but on a small-scale, as in no dishes like curries or what served, just cookies, tidbits and so on. There wasn't exactly a rush of ppl unlike my younger years but still quite a steady flow. In between I was of course online, refilling containers, preparing drinks and the usual. Later that afternoon, I went to visit Dr. Chua with CY and we had a good time talking about Swinburne and our jobs. His little boy Eason was so cute, helping to serve us food. And after serving us, he'd quickly cover the containers like he didn't want us to eat anymore. His mum asked him to give us one of everything, so yea a lot of eating. But sometimes he'd only serve CY instead of both of us, so it was funny. We joked to Dr. Chua, now you know what type of girl he'll go for huh? LOL.

Then, that night was MY open house as per the previous years. Most of my Swinburne friends from the E&CS ppl who were in Kch, Serena n the debaters turned up at different times. So we had mahjong, lots of catching up and gossip, just like what we used to do. Really missed it, though I'd been away for just one month. The Mecha gang of Yi Chan, Thong Wei, Stephen all turned up on the 3rd day and of course, more updates on jobs/training, gossip/reminiscing about the good old days when some of us fell down, got into love triangles and so on. Lol. CY and KC came over that night too and talked about the E&CS gang, who would be the first to get married etc etc. The usual. My summary was that everytime when u meet with ur friends that you might not have seen for awhile, the topics tend to change over the years. When you're in high school, you complain about studies, tuition, guys etc. When in uni, you still complain about studies, guys and lack of time/lousy lecturers/crazy assignment deadlines. Then once you leave uni, you talk/complain about work, supervisors, salaries, number of days for leave and so on. Basically, it just makes u feel old n you'll miss the previous stage of your life. But yea, I really enjoyed catching up with everyone.

The 1 thing that maybe annoyed/bemused me during the whole trip was that I kept having to update everyone about my job. Some ppl who totally didn't know would ask if I was still in high sch/uni and those who knew would ask about Sony. Basically I had to explain about the situation or about what I did at Philips many many times. My parents did summarize for them but when they ask in detail, that's me. Sometimes i just wished I had a big card in front that said it all, or a voice recorder, but ah well that's life. And it just means they care about what's going on with you, though they'll probably forget it and ask again next year.

My trip back came to an end all too soon for me and I was really down at the airport. My parents were there and yea, I was kinda distracted with the lighting. But once I got through the IC check and was by myself, it really hit me that I was leaving Kuching again. Leaving my family, friends and all that was familiar, and going back to 'cold', busy and dusty KL. I admit to shedding a few tears but managed to pull myself together. After all, I made the choice myself and it's for my own good. I'm strong enough to accept this new challenge, I must stick with it so I can gain more for the future! Yep, that's what I told myself, but I of course still missed everyone :P Before coming back to Kch, I made lots of plans to meet everyone, to do lots of things (eat laksa, dumplings, go to Spring, play mahjong). I'm glad to say, I managed to do everything and spent quality (not quantity, sadly) with everyone dear to me. Basically, the trip was all I'd hoped for and more. THanks to everyone who played a part. I miss u guys...and I miss those that I didn't get to see (away for holidays or overseas). Till the next time! *hugz*

Leo Ku Magic Moments Concert 2007

I know that this is a very late post, but u know how I am, procrastinator supreme and all that. Better late than never right? Anyway, I was in KL in December, around Christmas since I had a few job interviews before and after Christmas. It just happened that Leo Ku (古巨基) was in KL for his Magic Moments Concert on the 23rd of December. I'm not really a big fan of his, since I rarely listen to Cantonese songs, but I do like a few of them, especially his 'Golden Melody' (勁歌.金曲) song, since it's a compilation of many nice K-songs. Maxis was one of the major sponsors of the concert and since my uncle works there, he'd gotten 2 free tickets and asked if I wanted them.

Since I had nothing better to do, and I've never actually been to a BIG concert, I thought ok, don't waste the free tickets. Yi Chan, Chiet them were all in KL and I msged them to ask if anyone wanted the extra ticket, but apparently no1 did, so I just went alone. My relatives dropped me off at Stadium Merdeka after church and dinner and I was kinda apprehensive since I'm new to the whole thing but it was fairly easy as it was already close to the starting time. I got my bottle of water confiscated at the entrance but other than that, it was pretty easy to find my seat. Did i mention what seats they were? No? Get ready for this, they were VVIP seats! The very FIRST row and CENTER, baby! Talk about a good start for my 1st concert huh? The VVIP area was even closer to the stage than the most expensive tickets being sold at RM360. The only people closer to the stage were the press and the organizers. And I'm not even a huge fan. Lol.

But knowing that Leo Ku is known as one of the New Heavenly Kings in Hong Kong, and he's a good singer, I thought it should be a pretty entertaining and good concert. The stage was very nicely decorated as a sort of fake forest, with a sort of fantasy/fairytale theme, hence the name 'Magic Moments'. Heck, Leo Ku came out suspended under this huge mechanical bird thing for his entrance. Throughout the whole show, you could see many fantasy elements, such as dragons, sleeping princesses, clocks running around ala Alice in Wonderland and such.

See what I mean? Fancy silvery butterfly wings and all

For me, the highlight was probably when he sang 'Golden Melody' and actually walked down the stage to walk around the VVIP area, shaking hands with both the VVIP area guests and the guests in the RM360 ticket area. I got to shake his hand twice, which is pretty cool even though I'm not a huge fan. But it was a nice thing for him to do, and he could still sing the heck out of the song while walking. C'mon, its a 10 minute song, with several difficult parts, that's pretty amazing.

He also did an Aaron Kwok song, not sure of the title, but it's that fast one with the famous dance moves and he did pretty ok, though its totally not like his good boy/balladeer image. When he went down for a change of clothes, Justin (側田) came up and sang. Then, they had this beatboxer, with Justin, Leo and 2 other guys to form this sort of boyband thing which was pretty interesting and different from what I expected. All in all, it was a good concert, for my 1st one anyway, and yes, Leo Ku definitely can sing. Justin too, even though he had only 1 solo song. I was busy taking photos throughout the whole thing, so I might have missed out some happenings, but yes, definitely a good experience. Thanks Uncle A for the GREAT seats! And free too..hehe... ;)

Typical boyband pose huH?

I wonder how those guys can see anything at all

Leo Ku wasn't the only one with a fantasy theme. Most of the shopping centers were using the whole Fantasy/Fairyland theme for their Christmas decor as well. These pics are of Mid Valley, which I think had the prettiest Christmas decor for this year. They even had story telling sessions with fairy story tellers and the kids participating could dress up as fairies too. Kids nowadays really have everything huh?