Short Talk: Star Online Launching?

Hi just got a call inviting me to go to Star Online launching this Saturday. What in the world is that? I also dunno but I think I rather go Ikea for the Ramadhan buffet!! ARGG!! Didi, dont scold me! :P

Will You?

I was telling my friends in Kuching that I am finally getting excited about the wedding in Dec. I mean, I was excited when we first decided we will go ahead and do the full thing, i.e. church & dinner reception. But then, after that, since everything was planned by our parents in Kuching, we basically don't really feel very involved. It is as if we are invited guests, albeit, the guest of honor but just am not so excited yet.

I guess that is why I been putting off my exercise regime and eat without much care (GRIN!). But after the bridal shop hunting and gown testing, I suddenly realised, Oh MY GOSH! I am going to call babe my hubby! And eventhough after more than eight years of dating and living in sin (as Nick said) for about four months now, the novelty of calling him as my hubby/husband, well, it just feel super romantic and sweet! Am I crazy or what?

I wonder he feels the same about this too. I mean, when he want to talk about me to others, eg his colleagues, friends, relatives, he will have to say 'my wife'. *grin!* But that babe is really such a tease because when I asked him, he said "I will tell them you are my sister!"..GRRRR! HAHA! Ok, ok, I am being silly and bore you guys enough will all this day dreaming.

*Yawn* Such a beautiful weather to sleep this morning. The sky is cloudy and I bet it will be fantastic to laze in bed under the blanket with absolutely nothing to do. But nowadays, even weekends, my brain refuses to shut down and leave work alone. So stressed up that I am even starting to dream about it. But I learnt something new to release the stress!

Yesterday evening, I left my laptop in the office drawers. Purposely don't want to bring it back because babe and I was planning to go 1U to take our passport size photo for our wedding registration form submission. Let me tell you, the feeling of going home without that heavy burden at my back was really good! I mean, most of the time except weekends, I will not on the laptop eventhough I brought it home with me.

But I guess just having it with me in the evening makes me feel all stressed up because I keep wondering if I should take out the laptop to do a little bit more work for the day. So, instead of that, unless there is absolutely something that I must complete, I will not bring the laptop back during weekdays. Just going to leave it here and go back. And if boss make noise, then too bad lor! HHMPFF!!

BEAUTIFUL OR EMBARASSING SUNDAY?

PHEW! What a weekend! Met up with Rose at Kelana Jaya station and we proceed to our friend stall at Taman Megah for Laksa Sarawak and tomato kueh teow and crispy noodles. Sat there for about an hour while waiting for another friend, T to meet up with us there before we go off to ss2 area for bridal shop hunting! We started hunting at 2pm and only finished at about 5.30pm. Three and half hours and guess how many bridal shops we managed to go to? THREE! Yup, only three!! How can that be???

Negotiation and testing of the gown and so forth, on average, each shop takes about one hour. And let me tell you, it is super exhausting but was finally, able to find one that is reasonable and more gown choices. Not an easy task especially for someone like me :( . Haiyaaa, Didi, regret didn't continue with aerobic now ....

Anyways, all the three bridal shop prices are pretty similar for the package that we are looking for. I guess you say that the price are reasonable. The difference is the extras/freebies thrown in as well the the gown selection. Basically, almost decided already and will be taking this package at Love Vision Bridal Shop. Reason for selecting the place? The price is ok lar and package is pretty standard but the gown selection and profesionalism impressed me though.

The package is something like this:

On photo shoot day:
Bride:
2 wedding gown
2 evening gown
2 costume
photo album x 2, 1 slightly bigger than A4 (25 post) and another is A4 (20 post) all 45 is different post.
3 table top with frame
1 5R + leather frame for table top
60 pcs 3R (5 post) size for postcard
1 big wall pic (I think it is 20 x 30)
1 outdoor photoshoot at PJ or KL area and the rest will be either in the studio garden or in the studio itself.
Also inclusive of Hairdo, hair spray, makeup, hair color, accessories, flower bouquet
DVD with the touch up photos (45post)
DVD with slide show, 30 post and 1 song

Groom:
unlimited coat to match the gown

(Photoshoot exclude: eye lashes-RM30 and ampulse-RM30/bottle)

Actual wedding day (This is for me to bring back Kuching for the ceremony):
1 wedding gown
2 evening gown
2 coat (1 for groom and 1 for bestman)

Total damage: RM3188

There is a package for RM2388 and the only different is the photo album. The album will be 1 x A4 size with 25post and a smaller album (I think 4 or 5R) with the same post as the big album. If want both to be different post, then need to add RM800 and they will upgrade the album to 1xA4 size (20 post) and the other one is slightly bigger than A4 (25post). But based on recommendation from Rose and T, they say might as well choose 2 album with DIFFERENT post because it will be so difficult to just choose 25post. Everything seems nice! hahaha...

I know, over my initial budget by about RM1,000 and I was thinking actually of just the RM2388 but babe said just go for the RM3188. I was thinking since the only different is the photo album and the number of post can select mar. But seems that babe don't think so and better just spend the extra lor..... I think he is secretly excited but pretend not to be! HAHA! After our teabreak/early dinner, he even ask what next. More bridal shops hunting? *PENGSAN*

Well at least that is one thing settled. Everyone that we talked to at the bridal shops are surprised that my wedding date is so near and I am just starting to hunt for bridal gown and taking photo. Apparently, it will take at least 1-2 months to get everything done. So, assuming that the photo shoot is early Oct08, I will only be able to view them in 2-3weeks time. Then choose and they will then make it into the album and photo frame. Then collect it early Dec08. Super rush lor but nevermind lar. Not too late *GRIN*

Photoshoot itself will take a day. Hopefully, there will still be empty slots on Saturdays or Sundays. If not, I will need to take 1 day unpaid leave for this. Which reminds me, I have not submit my leave request for my two weeks leave end of year yet. Although, I did inform my immediate boss and the purpose. I guess I am procrastinating because I know that the moment I submit my leave form, basically, the whole company will know! Not keen to let everyone in the company know yet lar, SHY MAR!!!! BLUEK!

I still need to look for my bridesmaid's gown. Most likely need to ask Didi to look in Kuching since the gown at the bridal shop are made for bride and not suitable for bridesmaid. Must remember to ask T to recommend some place. Or, if I find something here that I think looks good, I might just buy them here. I keep having this vision in my head for Didi though. A thigh length babydoll dress made of soft satin in either off-white, ivory or soft/pastel pink! I think something like that will cost around RM100-200? Hei, Didi, what do you think?

Also need to look for something to wear for the tea ceremony at my house. I wonder what I should wear? Something simple right? But definite NOT CHEONGSAM! NO WAY! Hhhmm..another dress? JIAK LAK, more $$$$$. Not forgetting back in Kuching, other than the wedding dinner reception bill, got the car deco bill, the makeup and hairdo bill, the church deco bill, liquor & beer for wedding dinner and the list goes on!

And also hunt for shoes. (Us gals and shoes, one of the most important thing in our life ok!) This will really depend to the wedding gown and evening gown. If the wedding gown is ivory, cannot get white mar! If it is white, cannot get ivory or off-white! And if dinner gown is maroon, cannot get blue shoes right???? Or if it gold color, cannot wear silver color shoes mar! Hopefully, won't face the headache I hear my friends faced in their quest to hunt for the perfect shoe. I hear there are some rules that cannot wear strap-y shoes and must wear cover all. I hate those kind of shoes!~

Thank god the gown I saw so far does not need me to get my own corset since the pattern is corset style. And no accessories needed since all will be provided and matching stuff,etc. Babe, I am looking forward to see you in all white! My prince charming in white and me in the wedding gown with super long train! WAHH...already dreaming....(sure nice sleep and dream tonight. Not even my sadistic bigman can spoil it!)

In all this, babe surprised me with one thing. I thought he won't have any opinion and be very bored following us, 3 gals hunting for gown. But he actually said for church wedding gown, must have those with long train! Abit only not enough. Long train than look nice walking down the aisle at church!!! WAHH!! That mean that he actually ever envision how the wedding will be! I always thought it is only the girls that dream all this thing. Never know my babe is SOOO ROMANTIC! MELT OR NOT? :P

Oh yah, another thing to remember for those that goes for bridal shop hunting with the intention to try the gowns, make sure that you wear your nicer bra and panties! And, err...be prepared to expose yourself (top lar) to the lady there who will be helping you with the gown! I know, I know, they must have seen more than their share but they have never seen mine mar! EMBARASSING OK!! But I can foresee more 'man-handling' during fitting session and photoshoot. *SHAKE HEAD & SIGH* The things that we gals endure for the most important day of our live!

Blue Sun? Gold Me?

Was watching Outer Limits with babe last night on Sci-fi. It is an one hour series marathon, starting from US-time 7pm till 4am. There this one series that really get to me and I just can't stop thinking about it. The series started off with a guy in college/university working as a lab assistance trying to decipher sounds that was recorded coming from outer space. Apparently he has been working really hard at it but nothing seems to give. As all workaholic, he just had to bring his work back home.

Back home, his younger sister stumble on the tape and was simply capitivated by the 'music' the tape is making. To her, it is the most beautiful piece of music she ever hears and can't understand how come her brother can't hear it. She actually fell asleep listening to the tape. The next day, she took the tape along with her to school and played it in her bf car. And the bf too heard the 'music'.

Now, the brother was really angry that his sister took his tape becuase he need it for work. He went to his sister school to take the tape back but discovered that others in the school, teenagers, can hear the so call music too. The sister and bf simply refused to return the tape to him and actually turn violent when the brother attempt to take the tape out of the player. The school principal actually had to threaten to call the police as the crowd is getting bigger.

To the surprise of the principal, the teenagers just left the place peacefully like the mice following the piper. All left and congregated in an abandon warehouse, dancing and swaying to the music. That is how the brother found his sister. He realised that the sister have something shining and metalic growing on her face and everyone else that is there. He finally found the source of the music and turn the player off.

Chaos took off the moment the music is off and the teenagers, his sister included, were writhing in pain. Everyone was taken to the hospital and quarantine. CDC was called to investigate the large number of outbreak. The brother suspected that it is the music that is changing his sister and everyone else. Luckily, he managed to convince his father and all other doctors. After some checking, there seems to be outbreak elsewhere in the world too because the brother has sent a short stream of the music to his friend in Japan.

This really puzzle the doctors because only those below 20s or in their teens seemed to be affected by the music. It seems to have no effect on the adults at all. But they discovered that it does affect those between the age of 20 to 24 but at a much slower rate. The doctors tried everything to reverse the effect including playing the tape backwards. But that only makes the pain worse and some actually died. They have tried this with the sister as well but her sister was in so much pain that her heart stopped beating.

Nothing the doctor did is working to revive the sister. Finally, the brother just couldn't bear to lost his sister and so he played the music again. Amazingly, the sister actually woke up and said, "It is ok. I am ready for the change now". That is when the brother realised, perhaps the music is not an act of war from outer space.

To make the story short (I can hear sigh of relieve), it turn out that our sun is turning into a blue dwarf that will emit high level of UV light. Under such intense UV, no living things including human can survive more than few hours after exposure. But the music is somehow making all living things stronger by changing the structure and somehow, are able to withstand the sun killing rays. The CDC is finally convinced that someone somewhere out there is actually trying to help them.

CDC managed developed a hormon that allows everyone who cannot change naturally to change too after taking the hormon and expose to the music. The change is a layer of metalic like layer that covers the whole of the skin making the new human hairless with a gold color hard layer of skin. The sister throwing away her makeup and comb since she no longer need them. The father chose not to change though and he had to stay indoor for the rest of his life. The story ended with the sun changing from bright red to blue and the sky around turned into reddish purple color.

This really got me pondering. The research done by scientists all around the world does indicate that our sun will one day turn into a blue dwarf and will be emiting harmful UV rays. Although this will not happen in a long time and definitely not in my lifetime, but it does make me wonder, when it does, are we ready for it? Will there be a kind alien race that wants to help us? Or do we just learn to adapt and go underground?

I guess I will never know. Like I said, Life is simply too full of surprises and it is waiting for our discovery. Open your eyes and look around. Live wisely but fully! HUGS and KISSES PEOPLE!! MUCKS MUCKS!

It is a PH!!

Poor me, all alone at home while others somewhere are working at the office.. (I am so bad *grin*). It is a public holiday here in the state of Selangor and also a few other states in Malaysia. So, here I am all alone because babe's company does not recognise today as a public holiday for their company. Apparently, their company follow the public holiday published by the Chinese Association.

Actually, I am not doing nothing now. I have already cleaned the floor (abit anyways, just need to vacuum), check my office emails, download the updated files, load the washing machine and wash the laundry and put all the dirty dishes in the sink. Also sms babe to ask him what he want for dinner. Right now, I am comtemplating what to have for brunch. Don't know what to eat lar! Maybe I will make myself some half boil egg with toast later...hhmm...

Not planning to do much today actually. Was planning to kl but since babe is working, I don't think it is a good idea to go there alone after much contemplation. At first, I was planning to go down by myself. Planned to take the taxi or bus from 1U to KL sentral and the take the monorail to Bukit Bintang. Then go to lauyat to get something for my dad. But with the current unrest and criminals seem to be getting more desperate, I rather not go anyway alone especially the city center.

Already asked babe to ask his friend at work. The friend do tend to overcharge abit but that versus the fare, it should be worthwhile. If he can't help, then babe and I will have to go down to kl this weekend lor. Unless bigman decided to send me to Kulim! He is there now and I am waiting for further instruction whether to go or not.

OKlar, brunch time!! Toasted bread with kaya + half boil eggs + milk tea!

I finally UNDERSTAND!

PHEW! It has been a really long turbulent two weeks and my thoughts, feelings and emotions has gone from super depressed to extremely peaceful now. Well, not exactly peaceful since I still have a lot of work related and wedding issues to settle! So what there are challenges. Like all things, this too will past! But the most important thing is that I learn something from all this right?

AT LEAST I learned that my bigman is actually someone good in the heart although his method of guiding and coaching us is truly unorthodox! But then again, once I look pass all those, I can see that he is really just a little naggy, rough on the edges but want the best for everyone especially the company! Hard as it is for me to accept that but the heart-to-heart talk we had last Friday, or rather, he talked, I listened and trying EXTREMELY hard not to shed any tears (which I am proud to say I succeeded because no matter what, never ever shed tears in front of anyone other than your love ones!!) really literally opened my eyes.

So, do I enjoy my job again now? Well, I am not so sure as it seems that God is really testing me and throwing one challenges after another at me. But I AM learning to cope with stress and handle situation better. Also, I am re-looking at the way I do things and realised that I really really need to improve myself in terms of minor details. I tend to overlook things in my haste. So, that is one thing that I really need to change if I intend to be a good planner! Must remind myself to slow down, breath and look at the things again! Don't rush and better to do things right the first time then being discovered that there is an error!

I can't believe that I am sitting here in my living room with poor sick babe in the bedroom. I am still awake because it is public holiday for me tomorrow but not for babe. His company is situated in the state of Selangor and by right, it is a holiday for him. But because his company is of those old-style chinaman-style-calculative company, they don't get to have off on a public holiday. I am watching Sci-Fi, Tru Calling marathon and try really hard to keep my eyes open!!! hehe..

Hence, the bottomline is I finally UNDERSTAND! Hhhmmm...does this mean that I have grown up now and is in the grown up world?????

Note to Self: 12 Sept: 3.30pm

We had a 3 way conf call meeting with the customer and supplier at 2.30pm today. It is our weekly call. Big gave me another lecture and actually asked me if I sense anything different in the way he talked to me today. I of course said yes and he asked me what. In essence, I tried to be diplomatic and answered professionally. It was an hour plus personal talk (thank god that is it personal and private). I am not going to list down what he said but sufficient to say that I finally understand him and my respect for him has increased. However, this does not mean that he does not stressed me out and I am really not happy but I do not want to quit without a fight to proof that I can!

He said something that is super true. We are nobody in the world because even if we cease to exist today, the company, the country and the world still goes on. Life of everyone will pretty much go on eventhough we fail. But if we succeeded in doing something and makes a different, not only we benefited from it in terms of monetary and experience, but the company, the country and ultimately, the world too! I will keep this close to my heart when I am doing my work from now on!

Having said that, I do think Big need some more subtle people management skills! His intention is good but the way he did it.....sigh...no comment lar. But at least I know what his intentions are, and they are good, I am glad as I wont take it personally anymore. It makes life in the office much more pleasant!!!

An Award: BRILLANTE WEBLOG PREMIO-2008

WOW WOW WOW! Thanks TwoSuperHeroes ! You are both such babes! Although I too am not too sure what the meaning of this award but like you said, its great being appreciated no matter for what reason!! It does seems that there is a guardian angel for my blog because every time that I feel like quitting blogging or give it a rest, somehow, someone will sense this and do something to motivate me to go on!

So, dear twosuperheroes, you do not know what favor (or disaster???) you just done for the blogger world by keeping a blogger active as usual! LOL~! I hope you won't live to regret this! OOpss..I think I am being cranky and talking incoherantly again. So, I better go on and pass this award to a few people that I think I brilliant and wonderful although I only know some of them in the blog world:

Dumb-Baker (Your recipes always inspire me and makes me keep trying to find time to bake)
Anything Goes (Your blog always can bring a smile to my daily whirlpool madness)
Little Rainbow (I always have fun reading your fun and interesting blog!)
Life in the Secret City (Hi Gal! Come back soon!)
Ching's Secret Garden (Leng Lui! I miss miss miss u & ur bb!!!)
Rose World (I learn new things all the time from you!)
In Search of Life (Sigh, another gal that I miss!)
Melanchony Thongs (Some1 from the blogging world that I clicked incredibly well with!)

Err...I think I better stop here before you people thing I am into gals!! hahahaha

How to handle the B without confrontation?

I know, I know~ I am back here. I just can't stay away from my blog lar! The urge to login here everytime I am online is just too strong. But I curb it and make sure I am professional about this, ie. time management. So, since it is only 7.53am I went online and did some useful self improvement research on how to have better working relationship with the bigman, yap, the boss. I know what you are thinking, oh-oh another one of jenjen's grumbling so early in the morning.

But in actual fact, I am trying to be very positive about this. I like to think that in every troubled situation, there is a way to make things better. And boy, you cannot imagine how much unhappinesss I have been facing this week with the bigman. At one point, I got so upset that I actually had to tell myself to breath and not let the tears roll! I succeeded in keeping my emotion in its place, i.e. hidden but I can sense my colleagues ooze with pity and embarasment at the way bigman is acting out.

I am not a quitter (although I do believe in contigency plans, which is why I have already dust off and updated my resume on jobstreet, grin!!). Since I am not a quitter but I also can't change my boss, I have decided to find other ways to overcome this hurdle. I guess the first step would be to change myself. No, I don't mean go for plastic surgery or pretend to be what I am not. But rather, change the way I think and communication method. This is what I gather from the many many online research which I narrow down to this few:

1. Understanding
Remember this: YOUR BOSS IS A HUMAN BEING TOO! So, try to understand why he is acting out the way he is. Perhaps he have personal issues or he too is trying to proof himself to the management. Once I am able to understand this, I think I am less angry at how he treated me in public. (Oh, I didn't tell you that he actually publicly in front of my colleagues during a meeting? I was so upset that I literally force myself to shallow the angry tears that I can feel at the back of my throat and burning my eyes).

2. Watch & Learn
I think the first step is to observe how other colleagues communicate with him and his reaction and adopt those that seems to be working. So, I guess in the future, I will stroke (?) his ego first (men and their ego~!) and make sure that I don't interrupt him in the middle of his little 'lesson' or 'lecture' as this seems to make him even more agitated. Or shall I say, don't fight fire with fire!

3. Don't Take
I always believe that you should not let anyone step you all over the place or else they will continue to do it no matter what. But having said that, I do not mean that you fight fire-with-fire. Instead, I always believe professional approach in order to handle a situation more effectively.

4. Respect
No matter how negative my thoughts are of him, I will try to find ways to respect him. After all, if he is holding a managerial position, I am sure he has some good points! So, try to do things in such a way that I will be able to work with his strengths and weaknesses too. By respecting him, hopefully, he will be able to respect my abilities and trust me too.

5. Take notes
This is another tip from my research that I will start on, i.e. document every incident somewhere so that I can look back and digest on the situation. Also, in case there is ever a legal dispute (I hope it will not come down to this), at least there are some reference and records to fall back on. Also going to list down all the projects and daily task to be used as evidence of work done if there is ever a request from anyone especially HR.

6. Know when to quit (and proceed to contigency plan)
I will always try to remember that the next time the bigman puts me down or critisize me in public, I will remember that it is NOT MY FAULT and he is human too. And no human is perfect! HOWEVER, I must also know when to call it quits. To me, the problem takes on greater urgency if the abuse starts to make you feel bad. If you chronically suffer high blood pressure that started only when you began working for your boss; or you feel nauseous the night before the start of the work week; or if all your paid vacation days have been used up for mental health breaks.

When the bullying has had a prolonged affect on your health or your life outside of work, it's time to get out. It's also time to leave if your confidence or your usual exemplary performance has been undermined. Ironically, based on my research, it seems that the targets of abusive bosses tend to be high achievers, perfectionists and workaholics. Often bully bosses try to mask their own insecurities by striking out.

I remember reading a story somewhere that teaches us that there is always a good side to every situation no matter how bad it is. I will remember to keep this to heart and see things from different perspective and angle. Above all, I will try to make sure that it does not affect my personal life and the people around me especially my darling babe. He has been trying really hard to cheer me up that day and I realised that by bringing my upsets home, he will feel upset too. So, nope, what goes on in the office, stays here. (But of course babe will be my sounding board for me to complaint! Hahahaha)

Note to Self: 10 Sept, 5.40pm

Today OM came to my desk and ask me to use the right terminology when writing to vendors. Asked if I know the difference between the term pull in and pull back. He proceed to explain that pull in = when we want to ask the vendor to do us a favor and expedite shipment. Pull back = when vendor delay and we ask them to pull back. He also said to use the term 'stick to commit'.

Proceed to lecture for about 15-20minutes on this. Totally confusing me as I felt that the issue is really minor and does not warrant him walking to my cubicle and give me such long lesson. Oh, I was on the phone at the time and he asked, who are you talking to. So, I thought it was urgent and end the call immediately.

Am I being too sensitive? I don't know....

Short Talk:JenJen Taking Short Break

WOW! Cant believe that it is Wed already. So sorry for no updates the last 2 days. Been really busy at work and super lazy to go online once I am at home. I might have to take a break from blogging for awhile especially with my busy schedule. Hopefully things will get better in a week or two!

In the meantime, feel free to come in and drop your comments under this post. I will still check them every other day! hahaha!

MUCKS & HUGS!!!

CS = People Person?

Babe: We have a BBQ on Saturday.
Jen: Oh, why? who?
Babe: House warming of XXXX.
Jen: Ah? So far....
Babe: Silent
Jen: I don't want to go can or not?
Babe: So funny lar you. How can say don't want to go..
Jen: Silent

And that is how I ended up having another bbq for tomorrow night. It is not that I don't like bbq but I am feeling lazy because I know the bbq will only end way after midnight. After that, need to drive so far to get back to our home. Definitely not looking forward to it lor. Furthermore, they are babe's friends mostly mar. Although I do know and am pretty close with some of them, but somehow, I can't really click with their wives. Sigh~

I am the type of girl that somehow always seem to be able to click better with guys than girls. I am not very sure why. I just don't have much things to say to their wives. As much as I want to make meaningful and interesting conversation with them but nothing seems to come to mind. Perhaps we have not much in common, the wives and I. But I try lar for babe's sake. After all, I am sure there will be plenty of such gathering in the future.

Actually, although I am a customer service person by profession, I realised that I am not really that comfortable with strangers during social gatherings. On the job, I am perfectly fine to walk up to a stranger and have conversation or discussion. Somehow, when it comes to small talk, I am just lost. I would prefer to sit, listen and assimilate the details of the conversation between people around me.

Despite this, I enjoy working with people. I know I am contradicting myself but hear me out. I think when there is a sense of purpose, such as helping others, achieving targets, making something work and so on, somehow drives me to excel and motivate me to work well. This can be very tiring sometimes because you will need to put yourself in the other person's shoes before you can fully understand the person.

I can remember very well an incident while I was working in my first company. I remember receiving a call from the receptionist telling me that there is a very angry father at the lobby and if I can help. So, I went down, not knowing what is going on and saw a red faced man in his 50s perhaps with a young man, obvious just finished his secondary school. Turned out one of our marketeer was giving false promises when they were on their roadshows.

Basically, the moment I asked him to tell me what is the concern, he immediately start ranting and getting louder. I find that when dealing with irate parents or guardian, the best is to let them talk and let of their steam. At the same time, listen to what the true grievances are. The father, having come all the way from a far away town, was really angry when he was told there is not such offers. And if he would like to have any extras, he will have to pay for them.

So, the immediate course of action? Admit that there was an error and misinformation. Requested the head of marketing department to meet us in the counseling room and explain to the father clearly and exactly what we offer. Apologise again for misleading him and causing him to come all the way to the college. And provide him the next best solution, explaining the pros and cons.

The father was much calmer after that and basically he decided to enrol his kid into the program anyways as he truly felt that it is what the son needed. Although we were not able to give the extra perks and so forth.

So, as I was saying, the next time you met an irate person and insist that you are wrong, let them talk all they want first and let off steam. While they are ranting, listen carefully and try to get as much information as possible. No matter what, do not look as if you do not care. While listening, show your interest and concern by nodding or asking useful open ended questions. The whole idea is to let the person release his pent up frustration at the same time, you gather as much detail as possible, i.e. killing two birds with one stone!

GOSH! I am turning philosophical so early on a Friday morning! Anyway, as I was saying, I clicked better with guys but luckily I was able to find a few good gal friends in my lifetime (U know who u are lar) . OK lar, I better stop here and start early on my work at hand! HEHEHE!

MOM??

I am starting to hyperventilate again just thinking about 29 Dec 2008! I called my bro yesterday to ask him how the discussion between both sets of parents on last Friday was and what the conclusion was. He basically told me that we will need two cars; one is the normal car with ribbons on the door that send the groom to church from the groom’s house. Another would be the main car with the full decoration and ribbons on the car which will be picking up the bride (me lar) from our house to church. After church, we change and then proceed in the main car with the entourage to my house for tea ceremony and lunch. Eh friends, don’t disappear after church. Everyone is supposed to follow us to my house for tea ceremony and lunch after that.

After the tea ceremony, basically it would be free and easy until time to get ready for dinner reception that night. But I think I won’t have much time to rest. Most likely will be going to the hair saloon to wash out the gook in the hair and get it set for tonight.

There are also a few things that babe’s mom need to do or something like that lar. I also don’t know what. Have not asked in detail yet but I read on the Chinese Wedding Guide (www.chinese-wedding-guide.com) that it is the tea ceremony gift set. Not so sure what this is lar but will ask more I guess. I also found out that the tea set is purchased by the bride’s parents as part of the dowry.

Other than the general details, nothing is arranged yet! Babe just only thought of who to ask to be his best man. And as for me, I only just asked DD to be my bridesmaid but what these 2 suppose to do, I don’t know wor. I know we need to rent a tux for the best man and a gown for my bridesmaid. Best man would be easy because he is here in KL and we just need to rent him a jacket. As for the bridesmaid, she is in Kuching! How to get here to try the gown and make sure it is the right size? Do I rent it for her here or perhaps should ask her to rent in Kuching! OMG!

Even the DJ/MC for the night is not fixed. Not sure if we will be having a band or just DJ with karaoke. Wedding card is also not ready, not even selected or planned. I always assumed that the restaurant will be providing x% of free wedding invitation card in the package. Most restaurants after certain quantity of tables, they will definitely give a lot of freebies. But it seems that this restaurant that our parents chose does not have that. Or perhaps the restaurant is just bullying the elderly, i.e. since they didn’t ask, they don’t tell. I heard that the package does not even include the usual free flow of soft drinks and Chinese tea. What kind of package is that?

We have not even started looking at the bridal shops here for gown/tux rental and wedding photos! I know I know, it is already September and the photo need to be taken at least one month before the actual event itself. On top of that, also need to go hunt for the accessories such as shoes, brassiere, corset, jewelry, etc. Speaking of jewelry, we have not even got about to look for our wedding rings! How last minute everything is! LOL~! I heard the worse is looking for the right shoes. Hhmm, 3-4 gowns mean 3-4 pairs of shoes??? I already have some idea how I want the wedding gown to look like but hopefully it suits me.

Oh yah, also not yet book our airticket back to Kuching!!!! I was waiting and hoping that AirAsia will have their special end-of-year promotion but I guess if they don’t have them by this month, I better book our ticket or else sure expensive! I checked online today and found they have promotion from now till the 14 Sept for travel in Nov till 14 Dec (I think). If after this promotion, there is none for year end, then for sure no more promotion. At least AirAsia is still cheaper than MAS. I can get return ticket from KL –Kch for around RM400 per pax. So, both of us would be RM800. If MAS, it would be RM700+ per pax, ALMOST DOUBLE!!!

What else? Hhmm….suddenly thought of the fact that after 29 Dec, I will be calling babe’s mom as mom too instead of auntie. And babe will be calling my parents pa and ma…… WAHH!! I hope I can say the word out. You know lar, already so long say auntie, suddenly need to call mom……weird mar!!!!!

Things People Hang on Their Main Door

I know I just posted a super long posting already today but can't resist a little gossiping. I can't help noticing one door of one of the neighbour at the apartment that I am staying now. At a glance, we thought perhaps since she have two young kids, she is just teaching her kids but hanging up reminder at the door grill.
We didn't dare to stand at the door too long to take a better pic but even from this pic, can see alot of paper and stuff hanging on the grill. And on the door itself, alot of chinese amulet/charm (sp?). Anyway, since it was just the end of the ghost month/festival, this is hardly surprising right? But upon closer inspection, this is what we found written on the paper hanging on the grill:

It says:
Mind you own
business.
Jangan jaga
tepi kain orang.

And someone has added the word:
Why not?

It says:

Do you pay any of my bill?
No?
GO AWAY!!
Private property
Trespasser will be prosecuted!

Don't ask me why like that or if she is unstable. I think maybe but I dare not find our. Later she amok and run after me with a cleaver how?? :P

Rain Rain Come Tonite

***WARNING! SUPER LONG POST***

Woke up with a heavy feeling in the heart today. I guess part of it was because I have to come back to work today but mostly is because of the dream that I had last night. I dreamt of Tommy again. I dreamt that I had to go away and say good bye to the dog that has been by my side since I was in college. He felt so real in the dream that I can actually remember touching is soft fluffy fur! Whenever I say “Let’s go!” to him, he will jump up with excitement and can’t wait to see where I will bring him. The last time that I said that to him was when I gave him away. How I wish I can hold him tight to me. He has one of those tough meaty huggable body that is so irresistible. D@mn, I miss him so much.

Actually, there were more in the dream after that, which when I think about it, was really depressing and scary. As with all dreams, one story fades out and another come into light. I do not pretend to understand what it mean but perhaps it has something with what babe said to me last night. His friend is telling him about a few hundred openings in one of the government agencies back in Sarawak which will be available is a year or two. And babe asked me what I think.

To be frank, I have no idea what to think. I would rather not think about uprooting myself again so soon especially when we just finally settled down in our new apartment and start to call it our home. And even if he accepted into the government agencies, it would mean that I need to start looking for work back home too. Some more, it might not even be in Kuching. Might be in other towns in Sarawak. How in the world am I going to find a job in a place like Sibu. Bintulu and Miri perhaps but not many MNC there that can afford the salary that match what I am getting here. Despite what some think, the cost of living in Sarawak is actually on par with here, i.e. KL.

Perhaps I am thinking too much when we are not even sure if it will even happen. Hard to believe that a silly little dream can make me feel melancholic and heavy hearted on a Wednesday morning! I should be feeling superb today actually because I will only have 3 work day this week, Wed, Thurs & Fri. And SK will be here again on Thurs till Saturday. After that, Rose will be here on Sunday for 3 weeks for her training. And the wedding plans seem to be going smoothly in Kuching. On our side, we have not gone out to look for studio for our wedding photo and gown renting yet. Guess we will need to do that soon though. But feeling lazy now!

Am so sleepy now! After 4 days waking up at around 11-12noon, I am really yawning away at my desk now. Am definitely looking forward to seeing my pillow and bed tonight! Guess I better tell you guys what I did during the 4 days break before I doze off! Let me see.

Friday, 29 Aug
We went to Tesco after work to get groceries and stock up the fridge. Cannot really remember what we got but the freezer is filled up again. Then went to the mamak near our place to eat.

Saturday, 30 Aug (eve of National Day)
Went to the MPH Warehouse sales while babe was at work. I bought 3 books for RM28 only! One is a book by Stephen King, hardcover sold for RM19 and another 2 books are RM2 and RM5 each but I can’t remember the author. I basically read almost anything especially when I am desperate for books, I just buy them since they are so cheap! After lunch and a nap, babe and I went to Giant Supermarket at Kelana Jaya. Wanted to have a look at the tv on sale that was advertised in the newspaper. Super cheap, 29 inch Haier for RM599 only and it is one of those newer models which was originally priced at RM749. After just a moment of hesitation, we bought the tv!

After paying for the tv, we decided to walk around, saw this really amazing looking bbq set. It is about 1 feet tall with cover and basically look like one of those that you can use to make smoke meat and stuff. There was actually another bbq planned for the next night at a friend’s place but not sure whether it will go on or not. At the spur of moment, we decided to just buy it and have a bbq that night and start calling our friends. We thought, since the bbq set have cover and we have that itsy bitsy balcony near the kitchen, we will try roasting our meat there. And if it gets too smoky, we will just move to the pool side!

Turn out this is one of those no regrets purchase because the meat came out really juicy and there was not much smoke since we can cover the thing up. The fire was really even as well although we were bbq lamb. Usually, when bbq lamb, the fire is rather hard to control because the oil drippings from the lamb fat will ignite the charcoal causing big fire. But with the lit, the meat was cooked rather nicely. Babe and I am talking about getting those hickory woods at hardware store to do smoke meat! Just imagining the smoked chicken, fish and pork is making me drool!

The party or rather gathering lasted till around 2am. And babe and I only finally sleep at 4am after cleaning up, shower and watch tv for awhile. So, Saturday night bbq and we got out tv!

Sunday, 31 Aug (YEAH! National Day!)
How did I celebrate the National day? Let me see…..Woke up at around 1pm (LOL!). Had American style brunch, toast+bacon+egg+sausage. Babe vacuum the floor (hehe!) and I mop. Then he wash the toilet without having me asking him to (ok ok, I hinted a few days ago that the toilets are very dirty). Then we went out to Carrefour,Subang at around 3pm since the other bbq was on and it is near Puchong. Were suppose to gather at the friend’s house at 3pm and we all go out shopping for the bbq stuff. But since there were so much food leftover uncook meat from Saturday bbq, we decided to just cook that one of the friend bought pork to add on. Bbq lasted till around 2am and by the time we home, it was already 3am. Shower and then sleep.

Monday, 1 Sept
Woke up around 11am. Lunch and tv. After that, we went to MPH Warehouse sales again since the first time that I went, I only had RM50 in my purse. If I had more, would have bought more books! Haha! We spent almost 2 hours there and paid RM94 for our 4 books. So, all in all, I have 7 new books plus another 2 more that we bought previously from Borders sales. Hence, total spent for books so far is RM122 and not including the 2 magazines that I bought. Thank goodness we can claim tax relieve for the books & magazines.

After that, we went out to Carrefour, Subang because we saw this tv rack that is really cheap, RM40 and looks durable. It was on sale and normal price is RM79.90 (I think). Anyway, we also planned to check out the dvd player as well since we have tv already! Then we walked around at the supermarket and bought some ingredient for my baking. Finally got the cream cheese, 1kg for RM31.50. A pretty lazy day actually. We really took our time and relax, very idyllic. I think the knowledge that we have additional one day off the next day makes us so stress free! We finally got home around 9.30pm, ate dinner at the mamak near our place again.

Oh yah, before that, we went to Don Sushi at Carrefour Subang since there was a promotion, 50% discount on all items on the conveyor belt. There was not much choice on the belt actually. I think due to the promotion, they actually only put selective items on only. So, it was not a very satisfying meal at all. Paid RM33+ after discount. Then on the way back, suddenly realised that if there were no discount, we will be paying RM60+ for those few non-satisfying plates of sushi! GASP! Better go Shogun or Saisaki lar!

Tuesday, 2 Sept
Initially, we planned to stay at home only today and just enjoy ourselves, also to catch up with the house chores such as ironing and cleaning. But the night before, we realised that there is a screen discoloration on the bottom left corner of the tv. Took the big heavy tv back to Giant Kelana Jaya and was told that there is no stock of the same model available at the moment. They asked if we want to wait or change to another model. We decided to wait since he said that the new stock will be here in a few days. Rather disappointed actually because I think they know exactly that the there is something wrong with the tv since the electrician did not even bother to turn on the tv and test to see where the problem is.

I guess they were hoping that we didn’t notice and the 7days refund policy expires, then we will be Haier problem instead of theirs. Of course, this is just my suspicion and I can’t proof it at all. But I guess at least they are very prompt and the customer service is really good, efficient and polite. And didn’t deny that there is problem with the tv. If they have argued with us, I was prepared to fight and have war with them. Am I scaring u? hehehe

After returning the tv, we thought we might as well go to the Ramadan stalls at Kelana Jaya. I heard that the Ramadan stalls here are pretty good. Turn out, there is not much things that is different during at these stalls compared to normal night market. Abit disappointed actually. Babe and I just buy 1 packet of nasi lemak ayam merah, 1 packet of nasi briyani kambing, 1 stick of ikan tenggiri that is wrapped in pandan leave (something like otak-otak but the shape is cone) and 1 packet of soya drink (which was super sweet!). On top of that, it rained rather heavily while we were walking halfway through the street and had to power walk back to the car for umbrella.

We rushed home after that as we don’t want to be caught in the after office hours jam. Managed to reach home around 5.30pm. Although we only have the tv for a few days, the apartment felt weird without that big noisy box in the living room. Babe keep on giving me loud sigh while looking at the empty tv rack! The dvd player look so lonely sitting there too! What terrible tv addicts we turn out to be! HAHA! Hope it will be back this weekend or else babe will be giving me even louder sigh.

Feeling super drowsy.The sky outside looks like it is going to pour really heavily soon. The best kind of weather to sleep!! Nevermind, today is already Wednesday,halfway thru the week liaw!!!

Home At Last!

This will be a super short one. I am still on leave today and definitely not planning to stay online too much. Just going to share some photo of my used sofa and my new homey looking living room.

The blue sofa cover is mine. Thought we better cover it up since the sofa is ivory white color and very easy to be dirty

The modern rocking chair that the lady gave to us for free! It is actually a pretty comfy thing!