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?

新不了情 (Xing Bu Liao Ching / Endless Love) by Wan Fang

I was getting bored of listening to the same songs on my laptop this morning, so was searching for this classic Mandarin song but it turned out that it was on the computer at my uncle's place instead. So, went to download it again and well...reminded me of the MTV. I only really watched the MTV when we went for karaoke last year (before New Year's Eve)..and it's mostly about the movie of the same title. I don't remember watching the movie, but from the song lyrics and the MTV, I can tell that it's one of those sad love stories.

Anyway, this song 1st caught my attention recently bcoz Aska Yang (杨宗纬) and Jam Hsiao (萧敬腾) PK'ed it on One Million Star Season 1. Jam sang a more jazzy/bluesy version and got 23 marks out of 25 while Aska sang the more conventional version with a few incredible runs that got the audience cheering like mad. He got 24 marks out of 25! You can watch this on Youtube, as well as Gary Cao Ge's live versions. All 3 sang the heck out of it. So yes, definitely a classic hit. It's pretty much a MUST watch if you like good Chinese music, or if you're an Aska or Gary fan.

万芳-新不了情 (Xing Bu Liao Ching / Endless Love)

心若倦了 (xin ruo juan le)
If your heart is weary
泪也乾了 (lei ye gan le)
And your tears are all dried up
这份心情 (zhe fen xin qing)
This feeling
难舍难了 (nan she nan liao)
Is hard to relinquish or forget.

曾经拥有 (ceng jing yong you)
I once used to have
天荒地老 (tian huang di lao)
All the time in the world
已不见你 (yi bu jian ni)
But I haven't seen you
暮暮与朝朝 (mu mu yu chao chao)
For many nights and many days.

这一份情 (zhe yi fen qing)
This love,
永远难了 (yong yuen nan liao)
Is forever difficult to resolve.
愿来生还能 (yuan lai sheng hai neng)
I hope in our afterlife
再度拥抱 (zai du yong bao)
We can embrace again.

爱一个人 (ai yi ge ren)
Loving someone,
如何斯守到老 (ru he si shou dao lao)
How do you remain faithful till you're old?
怎样面对一切 (zen yang mian dui yi qie)
How do you face everything
我不知道 (wo bu zhi dao)
I do not know.

回忆过去 (hui yi guo qu)
Reviewing the past,
痛苦的相思忘不了 (tong ku de si xiang wang bu liao)
The painful memories are unforgettable.
为何你还来 (wei he ni hai lao)
Why do you come then
拨动我心跳 (bo dong wo xin tiao)
To make my heart race.
爱你怎么能了 (ai ni zen me neng liao)
How is it possible to stop loving you?
今夜的你应该明了 (jin ye de ni ying gai ming liao)
Tonight, you should understand
缘难了情难了 (yuan nan liao qing nan liao)
It is difficult to escape fate, just as it is difficult to dissolve love.

Taken from: Chinese Music Forum

原來你什麼都不想要 (Yuan Lai Ni She Me Dou Bu Xiang Yao / Actually You Didn't Want Anything From Me) by Ah Mei

I was listening to Leo Ku's new medley of love songs...and this was one of the songs in it. And I just felt like downloading the whole song and reading the lyrics. I guess it suits me at the moment. Most of the time I'd say I'm a very logical person. BUt as with most ppl, it is when you really want something...or anything to do with feelings, your heart will overrule your brain. We're only human after all.

I've been busy over the past few weeks since my last update, but I'll blog on that later. Here's the lyrics to this Ah Mei classic.

張惠妹-原來你什麼都不想要 (Yuan Lai Ni She Me Dou Bu Xiang Yao / Actually You Didn't Want Anything From Me)

Verse:
我知道這樣不好 (wo zhi dao zhe yang bu hao)
I know this is not good
也知道你的愛只能那麼少 (ye zhi dao ni de ai zhi neng ne me shao)
And I know your love is only this little
我只有不停的要 (wo zhi you bu ting de yao)
I just can't stop
要到你想逃 (yao dao ni xiang tao)
Want till you want to run away
淚濕的枕頭晒乾就好 (lei shi de zhen tou shai gan jiu hao)
(If) the pillow is wet from tears, just dry it and it'll be good
眼淚在你的心裡只是無理取鬧 (yan lei zai ni de xin li zhi shi wu li qu nao)
Tears are irrationally disturbing your heart
以為在你身後 (yin wei zai ni shen hou)
Because being by your side
是我一輩子的驕傲 (shi wo yi bei zi de jiao ao)
is the honour in my life
原來你什麼都不想要 (yuan lai ni shen me dou bu xiang yao)
You actually didn't want anything from me

Chorus:
我不要你的呵護 (wo bu yao ni de a hu)
I don't need your concern
你的玫瑰 (ni de mei gui)
Or your rose
只要你好好久久愛我一遍 (zhi yao ni hao hao jiu jiu ai wo yi bian)
Only want you to love me good and long just once
就算虛榮也好 (jiu suan xu rong ye hao)
Even if(your) vain, that's fine
貪心也好 (tan xin ye hao)
It's also ok if you're greedy
哪個女人對愛不自私不奢望 (na ge niu ren dui ai bu zi si bu she wang)
Which woman isn't selfish or hopeful in love
我不要你的承諾 (wo bu yao ni de cheng nuo)
I don't want your promise
不要你的永遠 (bu yao ni de yong yuan)
Don't want you forever
只要你真真切切愛我一遍 (zhi yao ni zhen zhen qie qie ai wo yi bian)
Only want you to truly and absolutely love me just once
就算虛榮也好 (jiu suan xu rong ye hao)
Even if(you're) vain, that's fine
貪心也好 (tan xin ye hao)
It's ok if you're greedy
最怕你把沉默 (zui pa ni ba chen mo)
I'm only scared you'll use your silence
當做對我的回答 (dang zuo dui wo de hui da)
as your response to me

Verse

Chorus X 2

原來你什麼都不想要 (yuan lai ni shen me dou bu xiang yao)
You actually didn't want anything from me

Taken from: Life in China Forums: Chinese Music

I Wish The Best For You and other songs

Over the last few days, I have been downloading English songs by the dozen...compared to recently when I would download complete Chinese albums. Most of these English songs are the clubby type but a few of them are really meaningful too. Currently one of my faves is 'I Wish the Best for you' by Emerson Hart, someone who I've never heard of b4. BUt yea, this song is nice.

Emerson Hart - I Wish The Best For You

How long can we wait here
To say goodbye?
The words once they're spoken
Are words that we can't take
Back to where we were, before
Things got in the way
Life gets so confusing
When you know what you're losing

Chorus:
You, Me
Why can't we see that there's
More to love than we'll ever know
Sometimes you're closer when you're
Letting go
I wish the best for you
I wish the best for you

We'll both regret the hurting
That we will do
You'll learn to forget me
And I'll try
I'll try to forget...

Chorus

If you ever need a place that you can run to
I'll be here, I'll be here

Chorus

Lyrics from Top 10 MP3 Download


Other songs that I really like are:
1. Teardrops on my Guitar - Taylor Swift
2. Kukatakan Dengan Indah - Peterpan
3. I Remember - Keyshia Cole
4. Feels Like Tonight - Daughtry
5. Fallin Down - Duran Duran Ft. Justin Timberlake
6. Taking Chances - Celine Dion
7. Before He Cheats - Carrie Underwood
8. The Way That I Love You - Ashanti
9. Stripper Friends - Tila Tequila
10. Leavin' - Jesse McCartney
11. Built to Last - Melee
12. 4 Minutes - Madonna Ft. Justin Timberlake

Quite an eclectic mix huh? Couldn't imagine that Duran Duran would be on the list too. Haha! BUt anyway, you can get most of these songs and lyrics from Top 10 MP3 Download

I will forgive and try to forget the pain and hurt that may have been caused, and remember the good times. I sure hope you do too. I really do wish all of you, the very best. Just know that I will be here for you :)

Bored Again, Therefore I Tag

I'm busy at work now, but felt kinda bored, so just thought I'd do a quick tag for a change of pace.

1. Real name => Andrea Chan SY
2. Nickname => And, Drea, Ah Girl, Lao Pan Niang, Aunty/Grandma (BLEK!)
3. Married => Mrs. Luo Zhi Xiang..I wish!..BUt I would get controlled :P
4. Male or Female => Female..but too much guy influence already
5. Highschool => SMB St. Teresa
6. College => Swinburne University of Technology (Sarawak Campus)
7. Short or long hair => Long, around shoulders
8. Are you a health freak => Trying to be more healthy in terms of eating and exercise
9.Height => 152cm +
10. Do you have a crush on someone => Yes..Xiao Zhu!..Hehehe.
11. Do you like yourself => 85% of the time..there are times when I dislike myself for what I've done etc...so u can say i'm no narcissist
12. Piercings => one in each ear
13. Righty or Lefty => Right-handed lo

FIRST'S
14. First surgery => To stitch up my wounds from a bad fall. Other than that..only if necessary. If plastic, then only to fix my flat nose bridge
15. First piercing(s) => for my ears, around 8 yrs old i think!
16. First person you see in the morning => myself..in the mirror
17. First award => milk drinking competition against my lil bro..ahaha
18. First sport you joined => er...running in kindy gua....or else swimming
19. First pet => rabbit i think
20. First vacation => KL i think!
21. First concert => Leo Ku in KL, 23rd Dec 2007 (if u don't count sch concerts to perform in and etc...)
22. First crush => in kindy..most of the class girls had a crush on him but he was my line-up partner (due to height) so we had to hold hands etc..eheheh...ah...kids

CURRENTLY
23. Eating => Half a biscuit earlier
24. Drinking => Milo
25. I'm about to => continue on my lighting designs..the list of projects to do seems to keep growing :(

YOUR FUTURE
26. Want kids => Max 3, but 1 boy 1 girl is good enuff
27. Want to get married => yea...sure..but..not anytime soon lo
28. Careers in mind => Something not so technical, like my current job..but i want to move up lo

WHICH ONE IS BETTER
29. Lips or eyes => I'd notice eyes first, but sometimes lips can really stand out. For example, Angelina Jolie..so it depends. But mostly eyes lo. Window to the soul ma..ahah
30. Hugs or kisses => Most girls would prefer hugs coz of the secure feeling they get. But kisses are good too...just different feeling. Both mean that you're loved :)
31. Shorter or taller => Since I'm considered short..of coz prefer taller la
32. Romantic or spontaneous => A good mix of both...i prefer to plan my stuff out, but its good if can be spontaneous at times...romantic enough..not too mushy laaa..
33. Sensitive or loud => Loud when need to liven things up, but sensitive when i'm moody gua...
34. Trouble maker or hesitant => Every1 who knows me knows that i prefer bad boys..as in..get up to more crazy stuff..as long not criminal stuff..or fights etc...cannot be too hesitant..esp in making decisions

HAVE YOU EVER
35. Kissed a stranger => err..nope...kissed by acquaintance..then yes la
36. Drank bubbles => u mean champagne?...nope
37. Lost glasses/contacts => i don't have..therefore no
38. Ran away from home => Thought of it, started packing for it, but didn't
39. Liked someone younger => Yea...i think twice, but not too serious
40. Liked someone older => i mostly like older guys..so yes
41. Broken someone's heart => Er...quite often..sad to say...but not always that serious i think (i hope!)
42. Been arrested => No and don't plan to be
43. Cried when someone died => Definitely..it's only human
44. Liked a friend => OMG..this happens all the time..coz i don't really go for the 'love at 1st sight' thing...n guys don't fall for me like tat too. Seriously it's hard for guys n girls to be friends without some feelings developing

DO YOU BELIEVE IN
45. Yourself => 90% of the time
46. Miracles => Its good to do so
47. Heaven => Yea...something to aim for in life...
48. Santa claus => Nope, but its a nice idea
49. Angels => WHy not, I think I have them physically by my side and also the invisible ones

ANSWER TRUTHFULLY ~*
50. Is there one person you want to be with right now => I have feelings for ppl, but I don't think I'm ready for anything now. If it's Xiao Zhu, ok, sign me up!..ahah coz he won't be here all the time
51. Do you believe in God => Yes
52. Tag 5 people => Serena, Mike, Linda, Mark, Vicky

Busy Month of Work and FOOD

I JUST had to update today, after all, this day only comes once every 4 years right? Hehe, guess if u always check my blog, u must b surprised at the rate i'm updating this month. It always seems that the more busy I am, the more I blog. Must be how I release stress or something. Or that I just had to blog about how I'm feeling etc. But I'm really backlogged with posts, I have a list of things to blog about and I'm forcing myself to post based on the time sequence instead of jumbling everything up. Call me perfectionist but yea, I think it'll b less confusing for me when i come back and read my old posts.

Anyway, this will just be a quick update on what I've been busy with this whole month so far. It's been pretty hectic, since it's such a short month and then you include CNY into it. So let's see, I went back to Kuching on the 6th till the 10th for CNY which I really enjoyed. It was all that I was expecting and a little bit more. I'll blog on that later. Then went back to work on the 11th :( but most ppl in the office were still on leave, so it was pretty quiet too. There were also fewer cars on the road, guess a lot of ppl in KL basically took longer leave since CNY was close to a weekend. Oh and Valentine's Day here was pretty quiet. I think I saw that only the receptionist received roses. This year, I treated myself to some books and dinner at Chili's. Hehe...which was pretty ok too. Of coz, I did all this on the 15th of Feb, instead of the day itself, so as not to get ripped off by the exorbitant prices. :)

The company organized a CNY lunch with the customers of lighting department on the 18th of Feb, at Oriental Pavilion, Jaya 33. Each table cost about RM1000 and had some pretty good stuff. Shark's fin soup (where u could see actual PIECES of fin), cod fish, yee sang (total of 4 for me this year, hopefully it will pay off!), suckling pig, roast chicken and more. I must say, most of us went back to the office around 3 something feeling rather full and sleepy :P. And that night, there was a testing and commissioning of a project in KL, near Sogo. Basically we had to adjust the angle of the lights to get the required effect on the facade of the building. So I got to learn how the changing of the angles appear in real life, as well as the colour difference of the lamps. We reached the place around 7 something and finished at around 9, which is considered early..a lot of times they tend to finish at around 12 -_-.

I had to go for the Project Dealer's training from the 19th to 20th at Boulevard Hotel, Mid Valley. 1st day was mostly about the lighting products, including the newly acquired LED lights and I admit, I kept falling asleep! This is actually pretty common for me, I tend to feel drowsy during this type of trainings/meetings, unless we have to do some practical work. I must make sure I sleep earlier on the nights before any meetings/trainings. It's not good to continue this!! But the next day, I didn't have any time to sleep as I had to help my supervisor with the training. The project dealers, as well as our own sales engineers were taught how to use the software we use to do lighting calculations. They had to try out some simple examples and the other 3 of us designers were assigned a group to take care of. So yeah, I had to answer their questions and I did feel worried if I was up to it. Luckily, it went pretty ok.

In the afternoon, they were divided into smaller groups to try designing the lighting for a cafe and presenting it to everyone about the concept, lighting fixtures used and calculations. Since I wasn't in a group, I just thought I'd give it a try and see how I would do. I ended up having to present last as my supervisor thought it'll be good to show them what I did, since I'm considered to be more experienced than most of the other participants. After presenting, there was this silence in the room, till my supervisor asked them to ask me questions. To which they asked me to demonstrate how I did cove lighting, explain about the lighting etc. -_-|| Luckily i could answer! But the main thing was that we were very well fed over the 2 days of training. Breakfast and 2 tea breaks were quite ok, but the lunches *phew*. 1st day was buffet lunch where I really did try to eat more veg...and 2nd day was set lunch where there was salmon and lamb!...wow..I think I grew fatter in that week alone.

Main Course of Set Lunch: Salmon & Lamb (L-R)

I think I gained even more in the next week as a few of us were assigned to do a lighting audit at a 5-star hotel in KL for 2 days. 14 of us were divided into groups to audit the different areas, which was pretty interesting. My group got to go to the pastry kitchen where we saw them baking, decorating cookies and cakes, and making chocolate!! Oh the temptation...but we didn't get to try anything though. There was even a sausage making room, ehhe. But we also had to audit the rubbish compacting room :( Overall, I think our group was pretty lucky since we didn't have too hard areas. Other groups ended up with the huge basement car parks. Since my task was to count the lamps according to type, i would have really suffered in the car park, since there are so many! On the 1st day we started late as they were discussing the methods to audit, so I had late breakfast with 2 of the male sales engineers, which was on the senior one (Thx D!). I had a HUGE chocolate croissant, which they doubted I could finish, but I did! Heh.

And not long later, we had lunch...which was buffet! This is considered 1 of the best buffets in KL and it costs about RM100 per pax. OMG...I was like in heaven when I saw the spread. The buffet was divided into different areas by type of food. There was loads of fresh seafood like oysters, mussels, crabs, prawns, sashimi and sushi in the front. Then, there was the Chinese area complete with dimsum, porridge and get this..duck's tongue..EWWW. The Indian/Malay food area, Western roasts area and so on. But the area which I really really went weak for was the dessert area! My eyes literally brightened and I started noting down mentally which desserts I wanted.

Here's my only plate of mains, the meat was too tough tho :P

Though the food was pretty good, I made sure I saved up space for those yummy desserts. There was this counter with a see-thru panel where spoons were stuck through, and these spoons were holding little fruit pastries. I took like 2 of them and I wasn't sure if I had to take the spoon together with the pastries, but I think I did. Hehe. There were lots of yummy-looking cakes and also their own ice-cream, but I stuck with just the choc/fruit/cheese cakes. They also had quite a big selection of their handmade chocolates and even a chocolate pizza...WHOAAA. And finally, I went for the ultimate...the chocolate fountain! After all, it was my 1st time actually dealing with a chocolate fountain on my own. So I chose some fruits and marshmallows to dip under the glistening waterfall (imagine a mini version of the choc waterfall in Charlie & THe Choc Factory). After they were thoroughly covered with melted chocolate, I sprinkled them alternately with chopped nuts, raisins and sprinkles. Surprisingly it wasn't too sweet, but just nice. Later I found out that they use dark chocolate, which is my fave! THat was seriously the best buffet I've ever had, pretty much worth the RM100. I would go just for the desserts ok! So, I think I will go back just for their hi-tea, which I'm sure will have EVEN MORE DESSERTS! Did I make anyone drool yet?

Yummy Chocolates! (taken from sheryl0202.blogspot.com)

Chocolate Fountain! *drool* (taken from sheryl0202.blogspot.com)

The next day, we had lunch at the chinese restaurant there, where they ordered lots of interesting stuff. One of which to note was duck with kiwi instead of the usual orange duck etc. It was slightly sour and tart, when I expected it to be sweet. This went down really well with the guys at my table who ordered another plate. But my fave was the scallops dish! They sort of made nuggets out of whole scallops with eggs, water chestnut (i think) and stir-fried with a sauce. Those scallops were really really sweet and fresh and I had 2. There was a platter of mixed roast pork, a plate of mostly roast chicken skin and so on. I was the only girl at my table and they kinda treated and called me a princess *blush*. I felt so paiseh, coz they always made me take 1st. BUt yeah, I could keep up with their appetites..eheheh. It was an incredibly expensive lunch..2 tables of 14 ppl...the bill came up to over RM1000 -_-. Turns out the scallops dish was one of the more exp ones..eheh..but hey..they ordered it..i just eat ;)

We also had this meeting/training for our new lighting concept on the 28th, where I had to give a presentation about some project examples. My 1st time presenting at the company so I was kinda worried but yea, it turned out ok. And they ordered Domino's Pizza and KFC for lunch! Good grief, talk about fattening me up huh? Well, it was my first time trying Domino's which is pretty good, I think better than Pizza Hut, but not as good as Romeo's at Centrepoint. I think I had like 2 slices of pizza, 2 chicken wing parts and 1 KFC piece, not sure what part it was. The next day, I went with some female colleagues to this restaurant at Bangsar. Our company is organizing a function there in April, so they had to coordinate on the food details while I was there to do measurements of the features we planned to light up with our new products. What they didn't tell me was that they planned to have lunch there 1st. So yes, more fattening up with pasta and worse..they ordered dessert, which was much nicer than the pasta. Warm chocolate cake with a molten center and some pancakes with fruits, ice-cream (strangely, with sweet olives!). It was also my 1st time going around measuring things with a measuring tape and I nearly fell backwards down the stairs while measuring how high they were -_-.

In addition to all this, my brother was in KL from the 19th to the 27th and of coz, we brought him to all the good food places like Pangkor Seafood for our fave lala, Jake's for the steaks, Rakuzen for Japanese and so on. So yes, I think I definitely gained weight and I can feel that my pants have gotten a bit tighter. Even though we did work after eating..but still. Damm..after all that effort to eat healthy and maintain my weight! I was so happy when I found that my pants were looser just b4 CNY.....!! So in March onwards, I must control my food intake!....BUt it will be hard when I have cupboards with my stash of CNY food -_-......Pls don't tempt me too much ok?....Esp with desserts..they're my weakness :P

F.R.I.E.N.D.S

This is kinda a continuation of my previous post on my strange feelings about one of my best friends changing jobs/moving. In the days following that post, I've been thinking a lot about it. And I've come to think that, though we may be in the same city, it doesn't necessarily mean that we are free to meet up too and all tat. Like CY and Hui, they're both still in Kuching, but bcoz they're both busy with work and new colleagues/friends, they rarely meet up too. What more to say the rest of us who are scattered over West Malaysia, or the rest of the world? But of coz, I know that when we do meet up, we're still the same as ever.

I've also started thinking about certain friends and how they seem to treat me. Like u know sometimes, u'd get phone calls from ppl who want something like assignments, projects, books, answers etc? And other times, you don't hear from them at all? That kinda happened to me few days ago. Normally, I'd be more than happy to help out my friends, especially this friend who I've always helped out. But I guess bcoz I was always willing to help out, this friend kinda took it for granted. So there was no 'Please' or 'Thanks', but more of 'commands'. And I felt a bit pissed, but I did tell this friend in the end, to which they kinda joked it off by way of explanation/apology. Somehow, I know this friend is kinda like this, as in tend to 'use' ppl but I also know that we are still friends, just that maybe the tone of their 'command' sms sounds too much like commands.

Thinking it through, I guess this is actually normal for people to 'use' each other. I mean, how often do u call some1 up just to talk about nth at all? There is always a reason to call up ur friend, whether to ask them out, ask for something/help/advice etc. I think a major reason for this is that we're all so busy with our own lives (or it seems so anyway!), that we don't have the time to just call up our friends to chat aimlessly. There is always something we want out of it, not that it's always for materialistic stuff. It can be for support, advice and etc. So yeah, I guess it's normal for this friend to call me up and ask me for help with documents. I've always gotten requests for help with documentation...they say it's due to my English? I should feel honored that there's something for ppl to refer to me....after all, I always feel so lousy in other stuff. Oh, and also event management...lol..

In a way, if someone calls u up for some purpose, there's one good thing. At least they think highly of u in that aspect...and in some cases, at least they're thinking of u! For me, if I don't think highly of them or feel that they're not up to 'standard', I definitely won't even think of calling them for anything. Unless i absolutely have to! And another thing that I kinda came to a conclusion about is....that it doesn't really matter what ppl do to u. The most important thing is how we feel about ourselves. It is up to us what makes us happy and what doesn't. And I think it's really pointless to care about what others say, bcoz u can never please every1. So, I am trying to think in this way. As long as I've done my part as a friend, I won't think too much about how my friend treats me/returns the favour. My conscience will at least be clean. My happiness should not have to depend on any 1 person or people. I should be able to make myself happy first.

But I'm definitely not denying the power of friendship. My caring for friends is kinda what led to me to think about all this stuff. If I didn't care so much about them leaving/moving or the way they treat me, I wouldn't analyse this into detail. You know, ever since I watched Friends, the series...I've always wished that I could have that. One day, live with a bunch of friends and going through the best part of our lives together. But I also realise that it's fairly impossible. People come and go all the time, off to uni/work/married. Old friends drift apart, you meet new ones and so on. And like in the series, they themselves change too. Relationships change over time, from friends, to being a couple...then back to friends. I can honestly say, it is really RARE for a guy and girl to just be friends. Most of the time, feelings will develop, mayb on 1 side, or both, and it can go 4 ways.

1. They don't end up together, but their friendship becomes stronger.
2. They don't end up together, but things bcome weird between them and there goes the friendship.
3. They can be togheter, but if they breakup, things might be weird.
4. They can be together, and after breaking up, they're still good friends.

Trust me, I've been through all 4 of them, lol. But I have a lot of good friends so far, so I'm really glad to have met all of them. There are a few groups of them, like the 1st batch would be the Lodgians (all you Point 3's!) and of coz the Gathering Gals! Then, we have G4 (stands for Gay 4, ahah!) from Swinburne....I am the only girl, so yea, I think that's where the whole Princess thing came about. But they rarely treat me like a Princess....they bully me! And of coz, I've learnt to bully them back. Then there's JAMS, where MIchael is the only guy and was our brother. Last but not least, it's the Mahjong/Monopoly/clubbing kakis! Though I only got to know them better for the last 1 year, they were the ones that I really wished to have the FRIENDS experience with.

Part of the Gathering Gals and Point 3 ppl :)

The incomplete G4: Chiet, me, Yi Chan, Stephen (Thong Wei's missing)

JAMS: Jenny, Mike, me and Serena

Mahjong/Monopoly/clubbing kakis: CY, Henry and Siaw Hui

Though I know that most likely, i will not be able to have the FRIENDS thing with any of these groups, because we're all in different places/jobs/situations....I still adore and miss all of you. Though we may drift apart, and stop keeping in touch so frequently (this ALWAYS happens...coz we're busy/lazy/forgetful etc)...I know that when we do keep in touch, or meet up...we will still have that camaderie, all the crazy teasings and fun/silly stuff we always get up to.

So yes, I am feeling better about myself, and the position I'm in. I can now say, I'm proud of my friends, what they've achieved. And I wish everyone the very best in their future undertakings. You'll always have a supporter in me. I do hope you guys feel the same way about me too :) But if you don't, that's ok. I'll still support myself! After all, its better to love someone without any expectations of them loving you back....it's the most painful, but sincerest type of love. Hmm..somehow this isn't coming out the way I'm thinking. Must b too tired....hehe..Muakz