AA: Welcome to American Airlines. Please tell me your flight no
Me: AA1067
AA: Now tell me the date on which that flight departs
Me: 24th November
AA: Do you wish to reconfirm an existing flight, book a new one or make changes to an existing flight?
Me: Make changes
AA: Please tell me your assigned number? If you do not know it, pls say I don't know
Me: I don't know
AA: You are on flight AA1067, scheduled to depart on Friday 24th November, is that correct?
Me: Yup!
AA: I am sorry but I did not get that. Please say yes or no
Me: Yes (duh!)
It's amazing that that whole conversation was with a machine... not a real human. I am so impressed! But it was slow and tedious when I had to do that all over again to actually make my changes to the flight.
Friday, November 17, 2006
Friday, October 13, 2006
Oops! I forgot my wedding anniversary
Yesterday, at about 3pm, Marido 'im'ed me to wish me Happy Anniversary. I was so surprised. One- becos I had completely forgotten about it and two - Gosh! It has been 3 years since we walked down the aisle to a lifetime together.
Marido then invited me to dinner at 7pm at the Le Meridien. So I got dressed up and all that to meet him at KL Sentral at 7pm. Upon sighting him, he gave a rueful grin and indicated at his daggy clothes. Yicks! He was dressed in a scruffy t-shirt and and.. i looked like a vietnamese in my ao yai/dai. We had a great meal at "Prime" - a steakhouse in the hotel. But we also brought back 6 oz of beef steak as I could hardly finish my meal. (remind me to share the meal with someone the next time!!)
3 years of marriage - wow! I feel really blessed to have walked that journey with him. Cheers! Here's to a lifetime together .... of creating memories and sharing the experience.
And oh! I am really glad that I am the one forgetting the date rather than him. ;)
Marido then invited me to dinner at 7pm at the Le Meridien. So I got dressed up and all that to meet him at KL Sentral at 7pm. Upon sighting him, he gave a rueful grin and indicated at his daggy clothes. Yicks! He was dressed in a scruffy t-shirt and and.. i looked like a vietnamese in my ao yai/dai. We had a great meal at "Prime" - a steakhouse in the hotel. But we also brought back 6 oz of beef steak as I could hardly finish my meal. (remind me to share the meal with someone the next time!!)
3 years of marriage - wow! I feel really blessed to have walked that journey with him. Cheers! Here's to a lifetime together .... of creating memories and sharing the experience.
And oh! I am really glad that I am the one forgetting the date rather than him. ;)
Saturday, September 02, 2006
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Stunts by the boys in the neighbourhood
Can u see that one of the boys is naked and someone else's hand is strategically blocking the view...
Sunday, August 27, 2006
Merdeka!! MalaysiaKu - 31 Ogos 2006
Yesuslah Tuhan yang layak ditinggikan
Layak disembah oleh suku suku bangsa
Dengan darahMu, Kau telah tebus bangsaku
Genapi Tuhan FirmanMu
Atas NegeriKu
Hatiku rindu melihat kemuliaanMu
Hatiku rindu melihat curahan kuasaMu
Di tanah tercinta
Negara malaysia
Ku berdoa Malaysia
Penuh kemuliaanMu
Malaysia bagi kemuliaanMu
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
E+E
Here we have Elysia' 4th birthday party in KFC Mahkota Parade. Look at the cute hats (it's BOOTS from Dora the Explorer) that her mum made all of us wear. Elyon is not happy (look at him wailing away) but Elysia sure is.
She looks so demure.... it's not real.... the real her is a terror!! I can't believe that she posed so well. But she does look sweet in the new dress I got her.
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Mondays with The Lees
I normally spend my Mondays waking up to a baby bawling his head off cos he is hungry and then after trying to ignore the cries for about 3 mins.. I hear a soft patter of feet coming into the room which I share with my sobrina (4 years old) and sobrino (4 months), then suddenly the little baby stopped crying as a bottle is stuffed into his mouth by his very bleary eyed father.
Then after another snooze of 2 hours, I finally get up to see the little girl get dressed to go off to her preschool classes. She looks so cute in her 'pinafore', 2 pigtails and the large bag in her hand. She waves goodbye at me and saunters off to the car with her dad.
The morning sees me carrying the little boy around the house, making gurgling noises at him and tickling him too. He is good in the mornings most times. However, as babies are wont to do, he would drool all over my t-shirt and sometimes squeal in surprise at his own poo-poo.
Naturally, I would have to give him a bath... the results hilarious. Elyon would smile when I say "Let's go Pom Pom!" but then proceed to scream when I lay him down on the little tub. Cleaning him is so difficult.. he is so heavy - about 8kgs... Mark was way lighter than that. But I manage ok.. the good thing is my sister is so cool about the not-so-right way of me cleaning him. I think she is so tired that any method is better than none. After bathing, Elyon would promptly put his fist into his mouth... mmmm...clean delicious fist... just my favourite thing!
Then the mak nenek sobrino would come back from class with plenty to tell... she would regale me with stories that I cannot comprehend but I just mutely nod or sometimes grunted in response to her enthusiastic gestures.
After lunch, my hermana and I would sometimes bake a cake or some cookies together or watch a silly movie while the kids are taking their afternoon naps... (these naps sure make them monsters at night). By 4pm, my sister is already exhausted from cleaning the large semi-dee house (it's more than 3000sqft easily), cooking 2 meals, baking, taking care of the baby and kid and the dalmation. I'd like to think that when I visit her, I am actually helping her out and not stressing her out.
Well... the 'joys' of motherhood!
Then after another snooze of 2 hours, I finally get up to see the little girl get dressed to go off to her preschool classes. She looks so cute in her 'pinafore', 2 pigtails and the large bag in her hand. She waves goodbye at me and saunters off to the car with her dad.
The morning sees me carrying the little boy around the house, making gurgling noises at him and tickling him too. He is good in the mornings most times. However, as babies are wont to do, he would drool all over my t-shirt and sometimes squeal in surprise at his own poo-poo.
Naturally, I would have to give him a bath... the results hilarious. Elyon would smile when I say "Let's go Pom Pom!" but then proceed to scream when I lay him down on the little tub. Cleaning him is so difficult.. he is so heavy - about 8kgs... Mark was way lighter than that. But I manage ok.. the good thing is my sister is so cool about the not-so-right way of me cleaning him. I think she is so tired that any method is better than none. After bathing, Elyon would promptly put his fist into his mouth... mmmm...clean delicious fist... just my favourite thing!
Then the mak nenek sobrino would come back from class with plenty to tell... she would regale me with stories that I cannot comprehend but I just mutely nod or sometimes grunted in response to her enthusiastic gestures.
After lunch, my hermana and I would sometimes bake a cake or some cookies together or watch a silly movie while the kids are taking their afternoon naps... (these naps sure make them monsters at night). By 4pm, my sister is already exhausted from cleaning the large semi-dee house (it's more than 3000sqft easily), cooking 2 meals, baking, taking care of the baby and kid and the dalmation. I'd like to think that when I visit her, I am actually helping her out and not stressing her out.
Well... the 'joys' of motherhood!
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
7 deadly sins
| Greed: | Medium | |
| Gluttony: | Medium | |
| Wrath: | Low | |
| Sloth: | Low | |
| Envy: | Medium | |
| Lust: | Very Low | |
| Pride: | Medium |
Take the Seven Deadly Sins Quiz
Ha ha... this is really farnee... I suppose it's quite accurate though I cannot imagine why the gluttony is so high..... must be that I eat out too much!!
Thursday, July 06, 2006
Orang Jepun
I keep thinking of the Japanese Occupation in Malaya .. altho I had never experienced it first hand, but stories I heard from my mother about them was rather frightening. I look at the Japanese who walked along the streets ... they are so polite and 'mild' that you wonder how they ever became so evil in the days of war. But my conclusion is that evil lurks in the hearts of men... it's so easy to turn to evil and that it takes a great deal of effort to stop the hearts from going down that path.
So back to these orang Jepun yang dahulu kala telah berperang dengan kami... they seem to have taken the 'politeness' and thoughtfulness to the extreme... look at the shower toilets that they have created. There is a button to press for music to cover the sound of your urinating, then 2 buttons to wash your fronts and backs and then another button for some 'wind' to blow on your bottom to dry them. The seats are also warmed up for the cold winter months where people dread putting their bum on to freezing toilet seats (reminds me of an old friend Elaine's story about England's university toilet seats- where during winter, everyone would wait for a yell in the morning which meant that the toilet seat would be warmed up by that first person and then now they can all line up for the toilet)
The hotel bus driver will greet everyone who comes on board and then tells everyone when he is starting the bus. Also the bus (after a long journey and they assume you have fallen asleep) will wake you up by putting nice music for a minute before making an announcement.
No one seems to cut into anyone on the streets, people apologise profusely when they bump into you. And bowing....Marido has to stop me from bowing as I was torturing them by bowing lower and lower... (unfair cos I can bow very very low). I find it rather amusing - the bowing thing... something you must try on your trip here.
Shopping here during the sales is like going to the pasar... the sales assistants will call "welcome!" ,in Japanese of course, really loudly all the time...
And CUTENESS! They are openly not afraid of being cute or wanting cute things.. mature women here think nothing of owning a hello kitty bag or a soft toy.. and men- they sometimes have a mickey badge on their cap...is that cool or what?? The young girls dress up as maids- complete with an apron, lace petticoat and a cute headgear. And they will be walking down the street with a rattan basket. Mits- a new Japanese friend told me that there are bars where the waitresses dress in maid clothes and serve men calling them "Young Master".. ooh how kinky!
Cool factor - There were people who really were into the Gothic look with inky black rims over their eyes, pierced noses, spiky hair and black robes. The women seem to have very stiff looking hair probably due to the repeated hair colouring and bleaching. The women are also very well groomed - I felt like a slob!! Apparently according to Mits, Japanese girls do not like hunky men. They prefer their men to be slender and beautiful... which explains to me why the boys on the street look almost like women. Mits also told me that the current trend was fair ladies - the trend before that was dark skin tone and there were bevies of dark skinned beauties walking around during those trendy days... how did they get dark and then fair? Amazing!
That sums ups what I think of Japan at the moment..
So back to these orang Jepun yang dahulu kala telah berperang dengan kami... they seem to have taken the 'politeness' and thoughtfulness to the extreme... look at the shower toilets that they have created. There is a button to press for music to cover the sound of your urinating, then 2 buttons to wash your fronts and backs and then another button for some 'wind' to blow on your bottom to dry them. The seats are also warmed up for the cold winter months where people dread putting their bum on to freezing toilet seats (reminds me of an old friend Elaine's story about England's university toilet seats- where during winter, everyone would wait for a yell in the morning which meant that the toilet seat would be warmed up by that first person and then now they can all line up for the toilet)
The hotel bus driver will greet everyone who comes on board and then tells everyone when he is starting the bus. Also the bus (after a long journey and they assume you have fallen asleep) will wake you up by putting nice music for a minute before making an announcement.
No one seems to cut into anyone on the streets, people apologise profusely when they bump into you. And bowing....Marido has to stop me from bowing as I was torturing them by bowing lower and lower... (unfair cos I can bow very very low). I find it rather amusing - the bowing thing... something you must try on your trip here.
Shopping here during the sales is like going to the pasar... the sales assistants will call "welcome!" ,in Japanese of course, really loudly all the time...
And CUTENESS! They are openly not afraid of being cute or wanting cute things.. mature women here think nothing of owning a hello kitty bag or a soft toy.. and men- they sometimes have a mickey badge on their cap...is that cool or what?? The young girls dress up as maids- complete with an apron, lace petticoat and a cute headgear. And they will be walking down the street with a rattan basket. Mits- a new Japanese friend told me that there are bars where the waitresses dress in maid clothes and serve men calling them "Young Master".. ooh how kinky!
Cool factor - There were people who really were into the Gothic look with inky black rims over their eyes, pierced noses, spiky hair and black robes. The women seem to have very stiff looking hair probably due to the repeated hair colouring and bleaching. The women are also very well groomed - I felt like a slob!! Apparently according to Mits, Japanese girls do not like hunky men. They prefer their men to be slender and beautiful... which explains to me why the boys on the street look almost like women. Mits also told me that the current trend was fair ladies - the trend before that was dark skin tone and there were bevies of dark skinned beauties walking around during those trendy days... how did they get dark and then fair? Amazing!
That sums ups what I think of Japan at the moment..
Friday, June 30, 2006
Japanese Gardens
I visited so many gardens that I lost track of which ones they are. I think this is Shoyo-en in Kamakura. Kamakura an hour south of Tokyo by subway.
To-shugu in Kamakura
These are called Ajisai... they are plentiful in Japan in summer (and they adorned vases in restaurants) and look great as a wedding bouquet but I don't think that they last long
Heian Jingu, Kyoto (3 hour ride west by Shinkansen- bullet train from Tokyo)
Too bad... no little froggies but plenty of huge carps
Managed to go really close without scaring the little blue dragonfly
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
My view of Tokyo's city life
Taken from the 52nd floor of the Mori Art Museum in Roppongi Hills. The day was dark and stormy looking... and blur!
Can you imagine that i had to navigate the subway that does not have any english signs... thankfully the characters are like Chinese and so I do a character match...;)..
Many many subway trains... in fact there are 14 lines... and they are not integrated... hrrumph! Reminds me of Star and Putra LRT..annoying!
You can imagine why Hollywood did not shoot the movie "Memoirs of A Geisha" in Japan.. you cannot run away from all the lines criss crossing above the buildings... even in the villages!
A shot of outside Shinjuku station (the shopping capital of Tokyo) where the huge 14th floor Takashimaya is.. pure shopping .. the things are divine and absolutely mahal.
Monday, June 26, 2006
Japan- top 3 things
What really impressed me about Japan:
1) The toilet seats that are warmed up so that your bum will not be freezing when the weather is cold... the water that comes out to wash either your bottom regions... so very thoughtful of the Japanese
2) The smiling and bowing people that repeatedly say nice things (thank you, excuse me, sorry, and hello)
3) The beautifully decorated women who look like they are off to a dinner or dance.... gorgeous! And the beautiful men... I am not kidding... they look almost pretty... slim, fair and lovely....sometimes I could not tell the men and women apart.
1) The toilet seats that are warmed up so that your bum will not be freezing when the weather is cold... the water that comes out to wash either your bottom regions... so very thoughtful of the Japanese
2) The smiling and bowing people that repeatedly say nice things (thank you, excuse me, sorry, and hello)
3) The beautifully decorated women who look like they are off to a dinner or dance.... gorgeous! And the beautiful men... I am not kidding... they look almost pretty... slim, fair and lovely....sometimes I could not tell the men and women apart.
Thursday, June 08, 2006
Junia
I spent lunch with Junia today... she is 28 this year and she is still studying. Her background: Junia completed her SPM and then at the tender age of 17 went out to the working world of banking for the next 5 years.. when she left the bank (after a VSS) she took the RM10K that they offered her and started her nursing course. After 2 years in nursing, she found that she could not fit in an institution that had so many women could did not seem to like her. She did not do well in her examinations either... patients love her but her colleagues despised her. I think she could not cope with bitchy women who thought that just because her Chinese sucks and she speaks English then she must be too proud to bother to learn Chinese.
After leaving nursing, she was already 24. After much deliberation, she opted to do Broadcasting. She spent 3 years in her diploma and now at 28, she is currently pursuing her degree in Broadcasting.
I met her when she was 20 . we clicked immediately, but my then boyfriend never understood our friendship.. it seem we were poles apart but I still felt that we had some things in common. Junia comes accross to many people as strange. She is dark skinned, long haired- right to the waist and looked like a Malay (really looked like a Malay). The strangeness was not from her colouring but more to the way she giggles at the slightest things, her extreme friendliness that got all the boys her age thinking that she is in love with them and how she seem far younger than her age when it comes to conversation.
She shares with me how disappointed she is in Chinese men when it comes to relationship... how they tried to 'touch' her when they would not dare with the 'fairer' ones. How some avoided her when all she wanted was friendship. She shocked me lately with the story of falling in love with a Mat Salleh..he is far far away in the US and they met on the net. I kept telling her that this is too difficult and why not look closer to home. She glared at me and said "Did you know that all my life, I have been told that I am too dark, too unappealing, 'why don't you try whitening products?", "Yeah.. Chinese guys prefer paler women"... etc... and for once, now I get people who tells me I am beautiful and my skin colour is perfect... do you understand why it's easy to fall in love with someone who likes my physical outlook and appreciates my 'beauty'.
These things that she shares with me strikes a cord somewhere in my heart.... I think psychologically, i may see a little bit of me in her.
After leaving nursing, she was already 24. After much deliberation, she opted to do Broadcasting. She spent 3 years in her diploma and now at 28, she is currently pursuing her degree in Broadcasting.
I met her when she was 20 . we clicked immediately, but my then boyfriend never understood our friendship.. it seem we were poles apart but I still felt that we had some things in common. Junia comes accross to many people as strange. She is dark skinned, long haired- right to the waist and looked like a Malay (really looked like a Malay). The strangeness was not from her colouring but more to the way she giggles at the slightest things, her extreme friendliness that got all the boys her age thinking that she is in love with them and how she seem far younger than her age when it comes to conversation.
She shares with me how disappointed she is in Chinese men when it comes to relationship... how they tried to 'touch' her when they would not dare with the 'fairer' ones. How some avoided her when all she wanted was friendship. She shocked me lately with the story of falling in love with a Mat Salleh..he is far far away in the US and they met on the net. I kept telling her that this is too difficult and why not look closer to home. She glared at me and said "Did you know that all my life, I have been told that I am too dark, too unappealing, 'why don't you try whitening products?", "Yeah.. Chinese guys prefer paler women"... etc... and for once, now I get people who tells me I am beautiful and my skin colour is perfect... do you understand why it's easy to fall in love with someone who likes my physical outlook and appreciates my 'beauty'.
These things that she shares with me strikes a cord somewhere in my heart.... I think psychologically, i may see a little bit of me in her.
Sunday, June 04, 2006
Missing Marido
Everytime that Marido is due for another trip, I would turn with fawning eyes at him and say in a manja voice "I am going to miss you sayang"...to which, he would always reply "But I am not even gone yet??"
Oh well, the idea of him going away puts me in a melancholy mood but the moment he steps out the door of our home... the melancholy goes away and I promptly forget about him... ah! That is how it should be..... ke ke. OTherwise, I am going to be needy like jelly!
Oh well, the idea of him going away puts me in a melancholy mood but the moment he steps out the door of our home... the melancholy goes away and I promptly forget about him... ah! That is how it should be..... ke ke. OTherwise, I am going to be needy like jelly!
Friday, June 02, 2006
Thursday, May 25, 2006
Lunch by the sea in Spain
A friend Boo commented on another friend HD who just came back from a working trip to Spain, Holland and dunno where else "Fulamak! Syok betul, makan at sea side, somemore dapat menari....jealous betul... got vacancy ah? "
Disneyland HK (2)
Las fotos de mi hija...Lottie
Balloons Galore!!
A view from the Tarzan's Tree House
Night date with Donald
Balloons Galore!!
A view from the Tarzan's Tree House
Night date with Donald
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
View from The Peak (Hong Kong)
I finally managed to download photos taken during my last trip to Hong Kong. My camera got wacko for a few months. Got that fixed...Sony is so efficient in their service.
Anyway, this is the awesome view from the peak. You need to take the tram up to see this magnificient view. It really is a vibrant city... a beauty...
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Mountain roads
I have been finding my sleep filled with weird dreams lately. Why just last night, I dreamed of a long windy mountain road. I was somehow walking on it... and then I spotted 2 lions with big fluffy hair.. like lions are apt to have. I stopped in my tracks... in fear... who would not be afraid of lions....
They looked at me.. with twinkles in their eyes...strange! Then I saw a local woman with a basket on her head walking past those 2 lions and into a side gate. The 2 lions just blinked at her. Curiousity! I cautiously walked nearer to them and noted that they were just mountain goats... then my dream ended!
Monday, May 15, 2006
Why won't you love me back?
I cannot contemplate why you don't seem to love me. I have loved you since I was able to realise how beautiful you are. I cannot seem to imagine a life without you... yet you seem to push me away. Can't you see me... I have been here all this time.. all I do.. or most of it anyway, I do it for you.. for your sake.. for your good.. why do you not care about me? In everything, you seem to tell me to leave you, to start a life anew without you. You don't do me any favours, you ignore my existence except when you take something from me, you don't care if I married someone else..
How long will I be a fool? How long do I continue to have love unrequited? I love you so.. why can't you love me back??
Malaysia.. please love me back.....
How long will I be a fool? How long do I continue to have love unrequited? I love you so.. why can't you love me back??
Malaysia.. please love me back.....
My Malaysian Harry Potter
Here is my humble harry potter. This is the one whose girl friend feels ok with him hanging out with me cos I am soooo old I can be his sister?? Can you believe that I am not treated like an 'older' woman... woohoo! What an interesting feeling!
*Rubbing hands in glee* Hanging out with younger man does have its advantages.. no one seriously thinks that there is anything going on... esp the guy... he would be sooo comfortable... i get the benefit of a platonic friendship and some male companionship.... lucky older women!!! Seriously.....
Sunday, May 14, 2006
Sobrina, sobrino y mi hermana
Here is a pix of my familia here in Rawang... pix of Spotty will be up soon! I hope.
Thursday, May 04, 2006
Courting Spotty...
I have an obsession about dogs. I was supposed to go visit my nephew who has just popped from the oven but when I was there at my sis' place.. I spent more time chasing the dog then peering with pride at my nephew.
Sigh! Definitely no maternal instincts yet.
Instead of learning to bathe the baby, I ended up bathing the dog.
Instead of cooing at the baby, I was making clicking noises at the dog.. getting him to come near me
Instead of feeding Elyon with milk, I ended up handfeeding Spotty with dog biscuits
Instead of petting Elyon's head, I was ruffling Spotty's fur
The dog was definitely a star in my eyes. Sorry Elyon.. you have yet to become as interesting as the dog.
Double sigh! Either I am strange or the maternal instincts are buried really deep.
Sigh! Definitely no maternal instincts yet.
Instead of learning to bathe the baby, I ended up bathing the dog.
Instead of cooing at the baby, I was making clicking noises at the dog.. getting him to come near me
Instead of feeding Elyon with milk, I ended up handfeeding Spotty with dog biscuits
Instead of petting Elyon's head, I was ruffling Spotty's fur
The dog was definitely a star in my eyes. Sorry Elyon.. you have yet to become as interesting as the dog.
Double sigh! Either I am strange or the maternal instincts are buried really deep.
True Fitness as opposed to False Fitness
I was trying out the 7 day free trial for True Fitness. I had a one day free personal trainer named Kamarul. He was so softly spoken that I had to bend towards him to hear him. I felt a little uncomfortable having to be so 'close' to someone I just met. Anyway, he was professional in other sense.. took me around the place (4 stories of gym and classes..wow!) and showed me the equipment needed for all parts of the body.
It was good having an expert telling you what to do compared to when you are there the 1st time on your own and having to figure out the blasted machines yourself..er.. where do I stick my foot or am I supposed to be dangling from the cord? Why is there a piece of stick here at my armpit?...
True Fitness are really all out to get members signed up. With 40,000 sgft in Sri Hartamas and 80,000 sqft in Subang.. they must be suicidal. The club was virtually empty when I was there at 11am. However it's definitely a growing biz with the creeping in of obesity and the urban lifestyle... howlah to exercise outdoors when you come back from work late...dark, scary, dangerous. In any case, sometimes when I go jogging round my taman asso got creepy feeling when many men pass you by and looking at you... not that I the good looking.. it's just the feeling I get.
But there is one thing nice about jogging round the taman.. there are 2 kancils there Josie and Bonnie (Short for Josephine and Bonaparte).. they are so cute... Max brings them out for a run almost everyday at about 6.30pm. Ok.. they aren't kancils.. they are minpins... but that what Max tells all the Muslims he meets there.
Just got invited to Max's place for a drink next month.. cool.. can't wait to play with his cat too.
It was good having an expert telling you what to do compared to when you are there the 1st time on your own and having to figure out the blasted machines yourself..er.. where do I stick my foot or am I supposed to be dangling from the cord? Why is there a piece of stick here at my armpit?...
True Fitness are really all out to get members signed up. With 40,000 sgft in Sri Hartamas and 80,000 sqft in Subang.. they must be suicidal. The club was virtually empty when I was there at 11am. However it's definitely a growing biz with the creeping in of obesity and the urban lifestyle... howlah to exercise outdoors when you come back from work late...dark, scary, dangerous. In any case, sometimes when I go jogging round my taman asso got creepy feeling when many men pass you by and looking at you... not that I the good looking.. it's just the feeling I get.
But there is one thing nice about jogging round the taman.. there are 2 kancils there Josie and Bonnie (Short for Josephine and Bonaparte).. they are so cute... Max brings them out for a run almost everyday at about 6.30pm. Ok.. they aren't kancils.. they are minpins... but that what Max tells all the Muslims he meets there.
Just got invited to Max's place for a drink next month.. cool.. can't wait to play with his cat too.
Yomeishu="Heatiness"=Fever
I have finally discovered why I was down feeling like my head was going to explode. I was too "pou" - meaning.. having a bit too much good quality herbs to nourish my body. Strange though. I am suppose to nourish my body and it gets ill because it cannot take the 'nutrients' from the Yomeishu.
I have stopped taking it since. Will probably resume in a week... at the moment, I am drinking like a horse ... even the water in Spotty's bowl is beginning to look interesting (Spotty is my sis' dog).
I have stopped taking it since. Will probably resume in a week... at the moment, I am drinking like a horse ... even the water in Spotty's bowl is beginning to look interesting (Spotty is my sis' dog).
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Pimples, Blackheads and Blocked Heads
I still have pimples.. hey- i thought being in the 30's you get less and less but apparently my hormones must have gone haywire. There are at least 10 on my cheeks... sheesh! Good thing they aren't the jerawat batu types.
And the black heads.. gosh... it's a skin therapist's heaven!
Been ill for a few days too. Fever, sorethroat, headache. All started when I spent 2 hours with Thomas T that lasted 6 hours. By then I was ready to strangle him as he went on and on about how to do a dissertation. The next day, I went over to Phoenix's place for her farewell (shez going to Miri to work with Shell.. cool!) You've should have seen the beautiful cake that Spot and Snowie made for her. It was an aeroplane with clouds at the side and the logo of Shell too!
I digress.. after the farewell, I zonked out for hours... really tired and felt ill. Then I could hardly finish my law assignment...*7(*&0Y^... I find law really complicated.. I think I don't understand they way they write things... had to read Law for stupid students...!!
today.. I feel better.. Finished my 2 law assignments- 2 more to go and another 4 more other subjects to complete. Sigh! I better go destress... brain freeze- if you know what I mean!
And the black heads.. gosh... it's a skin therapist's heaven!
Been ill for a few days too. Fever, sorethroat, headache. All started when I spent 2 hours with Thomas T that lasted 6 hours. By then I was ready to strangle him as he went on and on about how to do a dissertation. The next day, I went over to Phoenix's place for her farewell (shez going to Miri to work with Shell.. cool!) You've should have seen the beautiful cake that Spot and Snowie made for her. It was an aeroplane with clouds at the side and the logo of Shell too!
I digress.. after the farewell, I zonked out for hours... really tired and felt ill. Then I could hardly finish my law assignment...*7(*&0Y^... I find law really complicated.. I think I don't understand they way they write things... had to read Law for stupid students...!!
today.. I feel better.. Finished my 2 law assignments- 2 more to go and another 4 more other subjects to complete. Sigh! I better go destress... brain freeze- if you know what I mean!
Friday, April 28, 2006
Taking your fitness personally
I look at all the data that we've collected (Cindy, Harry and I) over the last 2 months and discovered :
1) only 3% of our population goes to the fitness centre
2) 80% of population do not exercise (like the way exercise is supposed to be)
3) 30% of population have heart related illness
4) 8% prevalence of diabetes
5) 50% of our respondents in surveys (which are the target market) are interested to join a gym (why they aren't already joining? Beats me.. I am one of them! Still evaluating mah..)
6) 81% prefer a flexible package due to either being a student, a senior citizen or simply do not have energy to go during weekdays
7) Location is the most important factor for choosing a fitness centre- duh!
8) 62% go to fitness centres for health reasons
9) Fitness First is the number one gym - surely this is based on location- hit the jackpot!
10) 13% cannot figure out if they are male or female
1) only 3% of our population goes to the fitness centre
2) 80% of population do not exercise (like the way exercise is supposed to be)
3) 30% of population have heart related illness
4) 8% prevalence of diabetes
5) 50% of our respondents in surveys (which are the target market) are interested to join a gym (why they aren't already joining? Beats me.. I am one of them! Still evaluating mah..)
6) 81% prefer a flexible package due to either being a student, a senior citizen or simply do not have energy to go during weekdays
7) Location is the most important factor for choosing a fitness centre- duh!
8) 62% go to fitness centres for health reasons
9) Fitness First is the number one gym - surely this is based on location- hit the jackpot!
10) 13% cannot figure out if they are male or female
Friday, April 14, 2006
Gubra with G-ni
I just returned from watching Gubra with G-ni. It was a sequel to Sepet(right)- a love story between a sepet Chinese man and a Malay girl.
I laughed terbahak-bahak intermittently during the show and was reduced to tears at some points. It was just beautiful. I am proud that Malaysian can actually come up with such a good movie.
There was a scene that touched my furry heart. The muezzin while on his way to the mosque actually stopped to pet a dog which was sitting in the middle of the road and told the dog to move aside in case it gets knocked down by the truck again. The dog then gets up and with 3 legs hobbled over to the side....
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (not sure who this is) said:
With regard to dogs, there are three views among the scholars:
1 – That they are taahir (pure), even their saliva. This is the view of Maalik.
2 – That they are naajis (impure), even their hair. This is the view of al-Shaafa’i and is one of the two views narrated from Ahmad.
3 – Their hair is taahir but their saliva is naajis. This is the view of Abu Haneefah and of Ahmad in the other report narrated from him.
This is the most correct view. So if the wetness of the dog’s hair gets onto one’s garment or body, that does not make it naajis. End quote.
Majmoo’ al-Fataawa, 21/530.
Now I wonder why all this time Muslims just simply detest dogs? No reason at all right?
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Sayang... manakah gigi tajammu?
Marido has a bad case of bruxism. It's amazing the amount of teeth grinding he has done in his sleep. I would wake up and give him a shove in hope that he stops. I then drift off to slumber and not be able to hear him again. It gets especially bad when he is having a rather stressful than normal day at work. His teeth has been ground to half its length and the face has kinda crumpled (like you got no teeth)
We saw 3 dentists for him... the 1st at Bangsar but the top dentist was always away and so we never got any concrete news from them obviously.
2nd was at Bangsar too but Marido felt really odd going to a dentist who has buck teeth and talks like ELmer Fudd.
3rd was my dentist in Centre Point who was not at all experienced in this matter and so he refered Marido to Dr SIm in Damansara Dental Centre. After a year, I finally made an appointment to see Dr Sim.
Dr Sim was a very patient man who spent more than an hour assessing Marido's teeth and explained all procedures to me as if getting my approval. Finally a man who knows that making the woman happy is key!!
He took an x-ray, made 2 sets of teeth imprints and also tested with really thin foil on how good a grip the teeth made (to identify how to reshape future teeth).
We should be getting a call from him in about a month to consider what options Marido has in reconstructing his teeth. Let's hope reconstuction is possible!
We saw 3 dentists for him... the 1st at Bangsar but the top dentist was always away and so we never got any concrete news from them obviously.
2nd was at Bangsar too but Marido felt really odd going to a dentist who has buck teeth and talks like ELmer Fudd.
3rd was my dentist in Centre Point who was not at all experienced in this matter and so he refered Marido to Dr SIm in Damansara Dental Centre. After a year, I finally made an appointment to see Dr Sim.
Dr Sim was a very patient man who spent more than an hour assessing Marido's teeth and explained all procedures to me as if getting my approval. Finally a man who knows that making the woman happy is key!!
He took an x-ray, made 2 sets of teeth imprints and also tested with really thin foil on how good a grip the teeth made (to identify how to reshape future teeth).
We should be getting a call from him in about a month to consider what options Marido has in reconstructing his teeth. Let's hope reconstuction is possible!
A letter I dug up (written during my corporate working days)
My dearest Amiga,
I wonder when is a great time to call you and decided that writing the stuff down is better so that I can catch you at your good time. I have been silent lately as time seems to be so short to me. Just yesterday(Sunday), I was at work until almost 6pm and I went for a walk after that and after dinner, I just felt so tired that I konked out before Marido even joined me.
THe house is in a mess-actually I think that even if I had more time, it would still be a little messy cos tidiness is not on my priority- kekeke I don't know how long my silence was. Maybe you can remind me. But I really have been very quiet due to a variety of reasons. Mostly becos of the busyness of work.
I am not sure if you have heard from the others.. I am planning to resign from my work. It is a hard decision. I who have worked so long and hard in this Company that the idea of stepping away freaks me out. How could I survive not being a part of the largest trading house in South East Asia. I had become, instead of Ame the person/woman/friend/Child of GOd.., the Business Manager of Diethelm Keller Siber Hegner. I had elevated my position and my work in my company to an almost God like presence in my life. I had neglected my own Jesus who is sidelined to the peripherals of my life .. like only on weekends.
In a way, I believe that the pressures of the work lately has been a part of discipline/pruning so that my eyes are opened to the fact that I had neglected all else except my obsession with work. I had even forgotten my own husband's birthday. How can a wife forget a husband's birthday? I had commited a grave error. An error fortunately for him.. he will never know as the day after, the palm pilot reminded me and I made up for that error.
I was/am so darn scared that I am no longer part of that elephant (big company), no longer having a title behind me saying that I am of worth in the corporate world. My values of myself is so tied to the market place that I even not want to have a baby as that will interfere with my climbing up the ladder. (also when you work you kinda lose track of the baby thing)
I also very much resent the people saying things like " why are you working... your husband can support you what?" .... I sometimes wonder why I feel my hackles rise when I hear comments like that. I guess that is becos I want to be someone by my self and not becos I married a certain somebody. Marido teases me on this "of course people are going to see you differently, you married someone "of a different colour" and people will always have that 'perception'. If you wanted a normal life, you should have married one of your exes".
There is quite a lot that I have been deliberating. I know in the end that becos I had chosen to marry, I should naturally be part of the progression thereof.. ie having kids, being a super mom, and etc. My hats off to you for your courage and foresight. Marido thinks that you have planned and executed your life well.. getting married at an optimum age, had your first child and another one is on the way.
With all the things warring in my mind, I think that I need to take time off to reevaluate my life. I must be grateful that since GOd has blessed me with a husband who does not mind me not working for a while, I must take stock of my life. And I should let anyone make me feel any lesser.
I wonder when is a great time to call you and decided that writing the stuff down is better so that I can catch you at your good time. I have been silent lately as time seems to be so short to me. Just yesterday(Sunday), I was at work until almost 6pm and I went for a walk after that and after dinner, I just felt so tired that I konked out before Marido even joined me.
THe house is in a mess-actually I think that even if I had more time, it would still be a little messy cos tidiness is not on my priority- kekeke I don't know how long my silence was. Maybe you can remind me. But I really have been very quiet due to a variety of reasons. Mostly becos of the busyness of work.
I am not sure if you have heard from the others.. I am planning to resign from my work. It is a hard decision. I who have worked so long and hard in this Company that the idea of stepping away freaks me out. How could I survive not being a part of the largest trading house in South East Asia. I had become, instead of Ame the person/woman/friend/Child of GOd.., the Business Manager of Diethelm Keller Siber Hegner. I had elevated my position and my work in my company to an almost God like presence in my life. I had neglected my own Jesus who is sidelined to the peripherals of my life .. like only on weekends.
In a way, I believe that the pressures of the work lately has been a part of discipline/pruning so that my eyes are opened to the fact that I had neglected all else except my obsession with work. I had even forgotten my own husband's birthday. How can a wife forget a husband's birthday? I had commited a grave error. An error fortunately for him.. he will never know as the day after, the palm pilot reminded me and I made up for that error.
I was/am so darn scared that I am no longer part of that elephant (big company), no longer having a title behind me saying that I am of worth in the corporate world. My values of myself is so tied to the market place that I even not want to have a baby as that will interfere with my climbing up the ladder. (also when you work you kinda lose track of the baby thing)
I also very much resent the people saying things like " why are you working... your husband can support you what?" .... I sometimes wonder why I feel my hackles rise when I hear comments like that. I guess that is becos I want to be someone by my self and not becos I married a certain somebody. Marido teases me on this "of course people are going to see you differently, you married someone "of a different colour" and people will always have that 'perception'. If you wanted a normal life, you should have married one of your exes".
There is quite a lot that I have been deliberating. I know in the end that becos I had chosen to marry, I should naturally be part of the progression thereof.. ie having kids, being a super mom, and etc. My hats off to you for your courage and foresight. Marido thinks that you have planned and executed your life well.. getting married at an optimum age, had your first child and another one is on the way.
With all the things warring in my mind, I think that I need to take time off to reevaluate my life. I must be grateful that since GOd has blessed me with a husband who does not mind me not working for a while, I must take stock of my life. And I should let anyone make me feel any lesser.
Thursday, April 06, 2006
Hermana arriving
Mi hermana (sister) is finally moving up to Rawang. Her marido is going to pastor a church in Rawang after being an assistant pastor for many years in Melaka. He felt that it was time to move out of Melaka and tendered his resignation in June last year. By February he was out of "work" but God gave his this church who welcomed him with open arms. They even provided him a home to stay.. at first it was an apt and then they upgraded it to a Semi-D... wow! Actually hermana is not pleased with all the space and nooks and crannies that she will have to clean. Not to mention that she will have to take care of 2 kids all by herself and cook as well... I think she will be very grumpy very soon.
However, I am thrilled that she is moving here. I will have my family close by..I think for me, it's another support that is going to be good for me. Poor Dada is back home in Melaka but i don't think that he minds very much. After all, all his friends are in Melaka and smum is there with him too. Thank God he is still healthy and still jogging around Bukit Cina... Smum joins him now too.
The journey from Rawang to PJ takes 1 hour.. actually quite far eh? I thought it would be nearer. It would be nearer if I moved to Damansara Perdana ... but at the moment... not yet.
However, I am thrilled that she is moving here. I will have my family close by..I think for me, it's another support that is going to be good for me. Poor Dada is back home in Melaka but i don't think that he minds very much. After all, all his friends are in Melaka and smum is there with him too. Thank God he is still healthy and still jogging around Bukit Cina... Smum joins him now too.
The journey from Rawang to PJ takes 1 hour.. actually quite far eh? I thought it would be nearer. It would be nearer if I moved to Damansara Perdana ... but at the moment... not yet.
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Phantom readers
I wonder if there are any phantom readers on my site? Why do you stay a ghost? Reveal yourself!
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Closing my eyes
At my age- 68.. I should be enjoying the world on a whirlwind tour with my darling wife (though I would never dare to call her "darling" to her face - I am not going to be like the younger generation who carelessly toss around terms of endearments) who has been such a great supporter of my life, work and .... just being my great supporter. But sigh! I am stuck in a hospital in Melaka .. why? Pneumonia. Can you actually believe that you can contract pneumonia in an Equatorial country like Malaysia?
Enough said... one of my lungs collapsed last night. I find it hard to breathe and what is worse..hard to have coherent thoughts. My life flashes past me. I had the most beautiful glimpses of seeing my bride's radiant face beaming at me, our first child.. and the others that soon followed.. what a wonder to be able to hold them and have my heart almost bursting with joy of being a father. I hope that I had stood by all of them through their lives and shown a good example. *Pause*....I see my younger days when I was running bare foot in my kampung.. ah those were the days.
*Sharp pain* I am jolted from my memories to see my family crowding round me. Their heads were bent in silent prayers. I know that they are praying for my recovery. But I know better.... I know that it's time to go. I am just hanging on to see my youngest daughter who has yet to arrive from Hong Kong. I told Jesus that if He would allow me to see her, I would be ready to go home to Him. I wondered all the years that I never believed in God.... what wasted years.. I could have done so much more. But I have a feeling that actually my life's work is done. I raised a beautiful family, did my share in this world and at last am going home to the one who has rescued my soul from eternal separation with God. Though I am sad that I have to leave them but since knowing God, I am relieved to know that they are in His hands.. what a comfort, I cannot ask for more security than this.
Ah, Friday - my dearest child is finally by my side.. I see her hopeful face and felt strength returning to this tired body. I am happy.. finally able to see all of my precious children. Just for a few days, I am fed by the happy hormones that my body is producing. I know she will leave on Monday.. I will have enough to last until then. My thoughts are really fuzzy now. All the sedatives are keeping me really sleepy.
On Sunday evening, I awoke from my fuzzy slumber. Someone else was in the room. I see a white figure approaching my bed. He was smiling at me. A flash of recognition. This is the one whom I have surrendered my life to. I acknowledged him by raising my hand to welcome him. He raised his eyebrows in question. My heart responded, "Yes Lord.. it's time for me to follow you".
I felt a lightening sensation in my spirit as the hours passed. I floated above my physical body and my eyes roamed to see all my family, yet there was no more feeling of regret or loss. I closed my eyes.. feeling a surge upwards.. I am going home.
Written in memory of WS's father whose spirit left his physical body to be in eternal life on 27 March 2006
Enough said... one of my lungs collapsed last night. I find it hard to breathe and what is worse..hard to have coherent thoughts. My life flashes past me. I had the most beautiful glimpses of seeing my bride's radiant face beaming at me, our first child.. and the others that soon followed.. what a wonder to be able to hold them and have my heart almost bursting with joy of being a father. I hope that I had stood by all of them through their lives and shown a good example. *Pause*....I see my younger days when I was running bare foot in my kampung.. ah those were the days.
*Sharp pain* I am jolted from my memories to see my family crowding round me. Their heads were bent in silent prayers. I know that they are praying for my recovery. But I know better.... I know that it's time to go. I am just hanging on to see my youngest daughter who has yet to arrive from Hong Kong. I told Jesus that if He would allow me to see her, I would be ready to go home to Him. I wondered all the years that I never believed in God.... what wasted years.. I could have done so much more. But I have a feeling that actually my life's work is done. I raised a beautiful family, did my share in this world and at last am going home to the one who has rescued my soul from eternal separation with God. Though I am sad that I have to leave them but since knowing God, I am relieved to know that they are in His hands.. what a comfort, I cannot ask for more security than this.
Ah, Friday - my dearest child is finally by my side.. I see her hopeful face and felt strength returning to this tired body. I am happy.. finally able to see all of my precious children. Just for a few days, I am fed by the happy hormones that my body is producing. I know she will leave on Monday.. I will have enough to last until then. My thoughts are really fuzzy now. All the sedatives are keeping me really sleepy.
On Sunday evening, I awoke from my fuzzy slumber. Someone else was in the room. I see a white figure approaching my bed. He was smiling at me. A flash of recognition. This is the one whom I have surrendered my life to. I acknowledged him by raising my hand to welcome him. He raised his eyebrows in question. My heart responded, "Yes Lord.. it's time for me to follow you".
I felt a lightening sensation in my spirit as the hours passed. I floated above my physical body and my eyes roamed to see all my family, yet there was no more feeling of regret or loss. I closed my eyes.. feeling a surge upwards.. I am going home.
Written in memory of WS's father whose spirit left his physical body to be in eternal life on 27 March 2006
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Dear Dr Thornborrow
I think Malaysians do not quite like confrontations. That may in some way explain why people are not so keen on the Student Staff Consultative Committee. Perhaps also because they are so used to the lack of outcome after they complain (at the country level) and so they remain mute. However, this is really quite detrimental to the ‘image’ of the country or the organisation for that matter as we understand that if a customer is not an apostle for the organisation but instead become a ‘terrorist’ then it takes a lot of effort to quell this bad mouthing that is happening out there. Yes, I suppose we do need to be coaxed to attend these meetings and also reassured that our complaints will be heard and action taken. There is another thing- the whistle blowing policy. We should be also assured that when we do complain, we will not be “penalized” in any way.
I would like to highlight a few things that could be improved to help us students
1) Management of Change :
I believe that the way the assessment for the 60% heavy group assignment is not very fair. This is because the first group only has effectively 3 nights to prepare (Sun, Mon and Tuesday).. and out of this, perhaps they already have prior engagements on the weekend that cannot be avoided and worst, they have classes in the evening on Monday and Tuesday (Business Commercial Law) – so in reality the group only has perhaps only one night of work. [Please note that we are talking about part time students here who have to go to work in the day. You would also note that for the case of Timothy who has to fly to KK in the middle of the preparation time and presentation time, it would not be fair to that person if the group marks him down for participation when it really is out of his hands to control his ‘fate’ when it comes to obeying his boss (being an employee and all)]. In such a short time, there is no way the group is able to come up with superior work. If the group is graded on ‘equal’ scale compared to the other groups (2-5) which have different length of time to complete the assignment, it won’t be such a surprise that there will not be many students doing this course in the next semesters. The reason given that “this happens in the corporate world too” really does not reassure us of the kind of managers that we hope to become nor what Nottingham is molding us to be in the future.
It would seem that the ones who have plenty of weeks to finish the assignment would take their own sweet time and only rush at the end..but what if they are the Type A personalities who are really hardworking, have a chronic sense of urgency and etc.. don’t you think that they will be really looking into the subject matter and start reading and researching for all the materials? I am sure that they would have the time to pick and choose from the choicest morsels of information. I am also sure that they will see the lecturer to show what they planned to do, to get advice and have plenty of time to act on the advice. Of course the work will be so much better than the 1st group which only managed to scramble to gather their thoughts and put that little bit down on paper.
Suggestion:
Assuming that there are 5 groups, then 10 topics are given. In the first week, the lecturer picks up a number out of the 10. That number is then put on one of the pieces of paper. The rest of the 4 pieces of papers are blank. All the groups draw lots. Therefore only one group gets the number (the rest do not have any numbers). The assignment is due in 10 days from the time that the lots were drawn. Then the next week, another group is chosen for a number (also chosen by the lecturer by drawing lots too). The last group (which is 5) will not be able to guess which number they will pick so they will not have much of a chance to prepare beforehand. I am trying to show a more ‘fair’ method for everyone.
2) Books
It is really amazing that our reference books eg Services Marketing only arrived in the University Bookstore when we are 80% finished with our module. How can this happen? Last semester we faced the same problem and this semester…. It’s really not a very productive use of the students’ time when they have go running around town grabbing the last book in the city book stores. It would be helpful if the books can be in the bookstore before the start of the semester.
3) Reading lists
Believe it or not, some students would like ALL the reading lists way ahead of time so that when they attend the classes, they would have already read the required chapters and so are able to ask ‘good’ questions that are beneficial. I know as I was one of those people who called Ashley 1 month before campus started in September last year so that I could catch up because I know that I would be competing with brilliant students and those with great working experience.
4) Toilet cleaners
I am not sure if I should be writing to you about this but the fact is that the cleaners (male) that sit next to the ladies’ toilet especially during the quiet (no one around) weekend classes are giving the women an uneasy feeling when they go to the toilet alone.
5) SEM and SETS (Lecturer accessments)
It would be better if this was carried out by someone else rather than the lecturer involved and the papers collected by that other someone too. It makes the lecturers and students rather uncomfortable when the above procedure is not carried out properly.
6) Weekend blocks
Having a 18 hour study weekend on top of many people’s schedule of 40-60 hour work week may be not be conducive or learning. This effectively gives no one any rest before the cycle begins again the next week. It would be best if the Sundays are left alone so that students can rest or catchup with study or even have time to meet up with group mates for the group assignments.
Well thanks for your listening ear and your openness to our feedback on the MBA and other things. Also, thanks for taking over the Directorship and I know that you will do a good job. In fact, I would like to thank you for listening to all our moanings and groanings earlier (we definitely feel at ease with you) and allowing us the chance to have an honest dialogue with you.
Your obedient and faithful student
Mia
I would like to highlight a few things that could be improved to help us students
1) Management of Change :
I believe that the way the assessment for the 60% heavy group assignment is not very fair. This is because the first group only has effectively 3 nights to prepare (Sun, Mon and Tuesday).. and out of this, perhaps they already have prior engagements on the weekend that cannot be avoided and worst, they have classes in the evening on Monday and Tuesday (Business Commercial Law) – so in reality the group only has perhaps only one night of work. [Please note that we are talking about part time students here who have to go to work in the day. You would also note that for the case of Timothy who has to fly to KK in the middle of the preparation time and presentation time, it would not be fair to that person if the group marks him down for participation when it really is out of his hands to control his ‘fate’ when it comes to obeying his boss (being an employee and all)]. In such a short time, there is no way the group is able to come up with superior work. If the group is graded on ‘equal’ scale compared to the other groups (2-5) which have different length of time to complete the assignment, it won’t be such a surprise that there will not be many students doing this course in the next semesters. The reason given that “this happens in the corporate world too” really does not reassure us of the kind of managers that we hope to become nor what Nottingham is molding us to be in the future.
It would seem that the ones who have plenty of weeks to finish the assignment would take their own sweet time and only rush at the end..but what if they are the Type A personalities who are really hardworking, have a chronic sense of urgency and etc.. don’t you think that they will be really looking into the subject matter and start reading and researching for all the materials? I am sure that they would have the time to pick and choose from the choicest morsels of information. I am also sure that they will see the lecturer to show what they planned to do, to get advice and have plenty of time to act on the advice. Of course the work will be so much better than the 1st group which only managed to scramble to gather their thoughts and put that little bit down on paper.
Suggestion:
Assuming that there are 5 groups, then 10 topics are given. In the first week, the lecturer picks up a number out of the 10. That number is then put on one of the pieces of paper. The rest of the 4 pieces of papers are blank. All the groups draw lots. Therefore only one group gets the number (the rest do not have any numbers). The assignment is due in 10 days from the time that the lots were drawn. Then the next week, another group is chosen for a number (also chosen by the lecturer by drawing lots too). The last group (which is 5) will not be able to guess which number they will pick so they will not have much of a chance to prepare beforehand. I am trying to show a more ‘fair’ method for everyone.
2) Books
It is really amazing that our reference books eg Services Marketing only arrived in the University Bookstore when we are 80% finished with our module. How can this happen? Last semester we faced the same problem and this semester…. It’s really not a very productive use of the students’ time when they have go running around town grabbing the last book in the city book stores. It would be helpful if the books can be in the bookstore before the start of the semester.
3) Reading lists
Believe it or not, some students would like ALL the reading lists way ahead of time so that when they attend the classes, they would have already read the required chapters and so are able to ask ‘good’ questions that are beneficial. I know as I was one of those people who called Ashley 1 month before campus started in September last year so that I could catch up because I know that I would be competing with brilliant students and those with great working experience.
4) Toilet cleaners
I am not sure if I should be writing to you about this but the fact is that the cleaners (male) that sit next to the ladies’ toilet especially during the quiet (no one around) weekend classes are giving the women an uneasy feeling when they go to the toilet alone.
5) SEM and SETS (Lecturer accessments)
It would be better if this was carried out by someone else rather than the lecturer involved and the papers collected by that other someone too. It makes the lecturers and students rather uncomfortable when the above procedure is not carried out properly.
6) Weekend blocks
Having a 18 hour study weekend on top of many people’s schedule of 40-60 hour work week may be not be conducive or learning. This effectively gives no one any rest before the cycle begins again the next week. It would be best if the Sundays are left alone so that students can rest or catchup with study or even have time to meet up with group mates for the group assignments.
Well thanks for your listening ear and your openness to our feedback on the MBA and other things. Also, thanks for taking over the Directorship and I know that you will do a good job. In fact, I would like to thank you for listening to all our moanings and groanings earlier (we definitely feel at ease with you) and allowing us the chance to have an honest dialogue with you.
Your obedient and faithful student
Mia
Friday, March 24, 2006
Lenny's girl
Now would you believe that she was born the same day as my sobrino? Seeing that she looks like her mummy Susan.. very nice.
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Mi Sobrino Elyon
My nephew was born on the 21st March 2006. He looks healthy and well- kinda like a loaf of delicious bread. He was 3.35 kg and looked so wrinkled. Christened Elyon Gabriel (meaning Messenger of the Most High).. what an honour to be the messenger of the most high God. I think that we may call him El (it means “he” in Spanish). And we can call his sister Ella (means "She" in Spanish)Short for Elysia
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Kids say the darnedest things
Last night I was sitting with my niece (henceforth titled Sobrina) who is almost 4 years old. We were colouring using my new highlighter pens and doing her school homework together. When we finished, I turned to my own Services Marketing in Asia book and started using the highlighter to highlight some important sentences that I wanted to remember. Sobrina looked at me quizzically and asked “Why you colouring?”
“Tia is studying,” I smiled at her. (Tia is Spanish for Aunt)
“Tia go to school?” Sobrina queried
“Yes, Tia goes to school” I replied
Sobrina came closer to me, with a look of concern and asked earnestly “What happened?”
My family and friends who were gathered round the dinner table burst into laughter. Really, Sobrina must think that her aunt is such a nut to be studying when only little girls went to school while people like her mum and dad went to work.
“Tia is studying,” I smiled at her. (Tia is Spanish for Aunt)
“Tia go to school?” Sobrina queried
“Yes, Tia goes to school” I replied
Sobrina came closer to me, with a look of concern and asked earnestly “What happened?”
My family and friends who were gathered round the dinner table burst into laughter. Really, Sobrina must think that her aunt is such a nut to be studying when only little girls went to school while people like her mum and dad went to work.
Thursday, March 09, 2006
The Kissing Game
Today, I had a chat with an old friend. We ended up talking about how many people we had kissed on the lips (not the chaste kissing your lovely niece type). I was almost ashamed to say that I could count them on one hand and knowing that I only dated 3 men and married the last one.. it does not take much to figure out that I am definitely a katak di bawah tempurung in this aspect. My friend was equally bashful when he counted his too. At least he could count on both his hands. We were wondering why we had never kissed each other... big laugh!* Grin* That would have definitely been a disaster!
One wonders if I had had too sheltered a life.... But I just never met many people I wanna sink my lips onto. Ok ok.. so there were a few hunks that caught my eye.. but they were not catching mine... so those could not have possibly been my victims. Not to mention I was not exactly a delicious morsel to begin with. But I have to say that I have kissed so many animals (esp dogs) that it cannot be counted.. ;) *Smooch!* Come to mama you cute little and big doggies!
I wonder what is the average number of people you have snogged before getting married or even just a plain.. how many people have you snogged? Anyone wanna give me a snogfest count of your life? Humour me.. I am curious. If you are shy.. just be anonymous or create a fictitious name.
One wonders if I had had too sheltered a life.... But I just never met many people I wanna sink my lips onto. Ok ok.. so there were a few hunks that caught my eye.. but they were not catching mine... so those could not have possibly been my victims. Not to mention I was not exactly a delicious morsel to begin with. But I have to say that I have kissed so many animals (esp dogs) that it cannot be counted.. ;) *Smooch!* Come to mama you cute little and big doggies!
I wonder what is the average number of people you have snogged before getting married or even just a plain.. how many people have you snogged? Anyone wanna give me a snogfest count of your life? Humour me.. I am curious. If you are shy.. just be anonymous or create a fictitious name.
Because of You
Read Kelly Clarkson's Because of You lyrics for the first time today. It strangely reminded me of my mother... many bits of it.. altho not with the bitterness that Ms Clarkson screams...
I will not make the same mistakes that you did
I will not let myself
Cause my heart so much misery
I will not break the way you did,
You fell so hard
I've learned the hard way
To never let it get that far
Because of you
I never stray too far from the sidewalk
Because of you
I learned to play on the safe side so I don't get hurt
Because of you
I find it hard to trust not only me, but everyone around me
Because of you
I am afraid
I lose my way
And it's not too long before you point it out
I cannot cry
Because I know that's weakness in your eyes
I'm forced to fake
A smile, a laugh everyday of my life
My heart can't possibly break
When it wasn't even whole to start with
I watched you die
I heard you cry every night in your sleep
I was so young
You should have known better than to lean on me
You never thought of anyone else
You just saw your pain
And now I cry in the middle of the night
For the same damn thing
Yeah.. so I watched her die.. in my arms... I guess that would qualify me to be able to see the winged horses called Thestrals. I wonder if people who witnessed death are able to see things other cannot.... maybe not in that physical way but perhaps we do.. as though a veil has been lifted from our eyes.
Yes Ma.. I will not make the same mistakes you did. I will not let my heart (like your unforgiving heart) cause me so much misery. I must not break the way you did. Yet.. I will not allow your mistakes to stop me from embracing joyful things nor welcoming needed pain.. it is in the depths of sorrow that we can experience wondrous joy...
I knew you had to go Ma... you've been waiting for a long time. I knew you finally found joy!
I will not make the same mistakes that you did
I will not let myself
Cause my heart so much misery
I will not break the way you did,
You fell so hard
I've learned the hard way
To never let it get that far
Because of you
I never stray too far from the sidewalk
Because of you
I learned to play on the safe side so I don't get hurt
Because of you
I find it hard to trust not only me, but everyone around me
Because of you
I am afraid
I lose my way
And it's not too long before you point it out
I cannot cry
Because I know that's weakness in your eyes
I'm forced to fake
A smile, a laugh everyday of my life
My heart can't possibly break
When it wasn't even whole to start with
I watched you die
I heard you cry every night in your sleep
I was so young
You should have known better than to lean on me
You never thought of anyone else
You just saw your pain
And now I cry in the middle of the night
For the same damn thing
Yeah.. so I watched her die.. in my arms... I guess that would qualify me to be able to see the winged horses called Thestrals. I wonder if people who witnessed death are able to see things other cannot.... maybe not in that physical way but perhaps we do.. as though a veil has been lifted from our eyes.
Yes Ma.. I will not make the same mistakes you did. I will not let my heart (like your unforgiving heart) cause me so much misery. I must not break the way you did. Yet.. I will not allow your mistakes to stop me from embracing joyful things nor welcoming needed pain.. it is in the depths of sorrow that we can experience wondrous joy...
I knew you had to go Ma... you've been waiting for a long time. I knew you finally found joy!
Monday, February 27, 2006
My ex-boyfriend's wedding
Gee... sounds like My best friend's wedding.
Anyway,....
He was exactly as I left him.. ok I did not leave him. We mutually agreed to leave each other. But he looked like he did when we parted. It's as though we never said goodbye properly but the fact that he was getting married was goodbye enough.
One of my friends asked me if I ever regretted not carrying on the relationship with him. I think that the answer depends on a few things - if I was still single.. I may feel a little bit of regret.. ok a lot of regret... he was/is a good man.. someone whom I would recommend to anyone (however given the state of events it would not be nice if your ex-boyfriend dates your friend whom you have recommended).
However since I am already 'safely' knotted............ And in the safety of current life... my thoughts drifted to the myriad reasons why it did not work out with us. So many reasons.. some of which are revealed to me as the years went by. Simple, small reasons...(the bigs ones were obvious then)... that only creep up on me. Sigh! Relationships are so tough. You thought you found the right one only to discover that when you dig deeper through the surface things are not what it seems. I am glad that we were honest enough to discuss 'real issues'. Issues that I am thankful I did not sweep under the carpet.
His bride was a sweet, fair faced, bright eyed and petite lass. Everything I am not.. except for the petite bit -- but but she is smaller than I. I wondered if I would have liked her. (Someone told me once that you will hate the person who has your personality) I did not say anything much to her.. wonder if she even knows who I am... of course she would... so perasan I.
I was surprised when he invited me. I made up my mind to go even without Marido (Marido was away- again!). To my glee, half the PERKEBians were there. And the church members turned up in full force. As you can imagine, I had a ball flitting from table to table. One of the church members commented "Eh.. did he hire you to do PR??". Hmmm.. I think that if I DID NOT move around, these shy people from his church will not come over to talk to me.
It really has been such a long time since these old friends saw me. To them, I had changed a lot (physically). I had comments like "Oh dear... cannot pinch u anymore!", "what happened to you.. stress is it?", "Wow,.,. what is the secret?" and the strangest "Do you want a compliment or should I tell you the truth?"
At the end of the dinner..all I thought of was that it was gracious of him to invite me to enjoy myself with people whom I had spent 3-4 years of my life with during my younger days... And I remembered to whisper a prayer "Let him be happy... content and loved!"
Saturday, February 25, 2006
JenQ
I was at Services Marketing class when a young man walked into my class. I felt my jaw dropped and heard my own mouth form an awed whisper "It's Harry Potter!". All at once, the rest of my class looked up and stared at the new comer. "Harry" was quite embarrassed at being scrutinized and shrugged his shoulders as if to say "Can't Harry Potter be interested in muggle studies too?"
I found out to my utmost disappointment that it's not Harry Potter after all.. as if Daniel Radcliffe suddenly aged 10 years and be in Malayisia. The young man who eventually joined my team for the assignment was a bashful, intelligent young executive working in an oil and gas company. His name- Jenq. While he was talking about himself (we were to get to know each other in the team), I was just gawking at his face with the bushy dark eyebrow, the fair almost white skin with glasses that accentuate his 'Harryness". To top it all, he even smiled with the crinkly way that I can imagine Mr Radcliffe would when he reaches his 20s.
When the conversation ended.. he turned aside to me and said "You can call me Harry if you wish".. what a laugh... he is so sweet. Let's hope that he is better in his teamworking and his assignment ability.
I found out to my utmost disappointment that it's not Harry Potter after all.. as if Daniel Radcliffe suddenly aged 10 years and be in Malayisia. The young man who eventually joined my team for the assignment was a bashful, intelligent young executive working in an oil and gas company. His name- Jenq. While he was talking about himself (we were to get to know each other in the team), I was just gawking at his face with the bushy dark eyebrow, the fair almost white skin with glasses that accentuate his 'Harryness". To top it all, he even smiled with the crinkly way that I can imagine Mr Radcliffe would when he reaches his 20s.
When the conversation ended.. he turned aside to me and said "You can call me Harry if you wish".. what a laugh... he is so sweet. Let's hope that he is better in his teamworking and his assignment ability.
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Cynthia's dad
Another death this month. It was Cynthia's dad and he passed away on Thursday 9th March. He was 70.. he was already having some difficulty with diabetes and also needed to do a bypass. It was during the bypass procedure that his heart started to fail and 3 days later, he passed away due to heart failure. Cyn was already planning all the medication and treatment for her dad but it seems that he did not want to linger. In fact, just over Christmas, he pulled aside one of Cyn's old friend and told him that he was contented to go... after all, he had everything, 4 beautiful and financially successful children.. more grandchildren than he can keep up with and a wife that still called him a husband... He knew that his end was near.
I think about losing my own father and shudder to think how I would cope being an orphan in the world. True.. I am no longer a little child but losing someone who has been such a rock will surely cause my own boat to feel more of the storms of life. Here is to appreciating our fathers - (for those who have had wonderful fathers or mothers who has passed away.. I hope that you remember the beautiful memories)... and to remember that we are only mortal.
I think about losing my own father and shudder to think how I would cope being an orphan in the world. True.. I am no longer a little child but losing someone who has been such a rock will surely cause my own boat to feel more of the storms of life. Here is to appreciating our fathers - (for those who have had wonderful fathers or mothers who has passed away.. I hope that you remember the beautiful memories)... and to remember that we are only mortal.
A picture on my table
There is a picture of on my hi-fi top which has a photograph of me in a hat and a shaggy white dog that I just picked up from the side of the road. It was taken by a friend Laurence who waltzed into my life right after uni days. He was a sweet fella. He took me out a few times and the photograph was done one day when he dragged me for one of these multi-level marketing talks where they heaped make-up on my face and made me look better. Laurence insisted on taking a few shots of me. Of all the shots, the one with the dog was the one I loved best.
Just few nights ago, I was with some friends (they never knew that I knew Laurence) who mentioned that he passed away in a diving trip. They did not know the details but they took out the obituary of him and showed it to me.
Laurence smiled and stared back at me. I oftened wondered about him when he waltzed out of my life... did he find a girl to marry or pursued his dreams... I never knew and would never know. Laurence, 38, an avid photographer, an architect, a kind man who left a little mark in my life... may you rest in peace.
Just few nights ago, I was with some friends (they never knew that I knew Laurence) who mentioned that he passed away in a diving trip. They did not know the details but they took out the obituary of him and showed it to me.
Laurence smiled and stared back at me. I oftened wondered about him when he waltzed out of my life... did he find a girl to marry or pursued his dreams... I never knew and would never know. Laurence, 38, an avid photographer, an architect, a kind man who left a little mark in my life... may you rest in peace.
Saturday, February 04, 2006
Disneyland Hong Kong
I was so excited about visiting Hong Kong Disneyland. Growing up on Mickey, Donald and Goofy certainly contributed to the huge expectation that kept on growing through the years of feeding on them. Cinderella, Snow White....to the latest princesses Jasmine, Belle... etc.
The train ride to Disneyland was great... the train has miniature statues of the characters, the window were mickey shaped and other disney character on the train. The walk to Disneyland was quite spectacular.. kinda reminded me of the summer palace of Louis XIV in Paris. Once we purchased the HKD 295 tickets, we were off for a day of adventure. It was a Monday and we *Charlotte and I* were shocked to see the huge throng of people. Sigh! Surely, this means long queues at the rides.
We only took a short while to finish walking round Disneyland. It really was very small. Thank goodness they have more land to built more rides. Lottie and I really only went on 2 rides.. Space mountain and the Tarzan Tree house. We queued up for 45 mins on Space Mountain. The ride actually stopped halfway for 5 mins as there was a failure of some sort and it ruined the excitement of the ride for us.
Tarzan Tree House was cool. It was high on a fake tree with rather real looking leaves and branches and elephants. I could peep at Jane and Tarzan, spot the gorilla that took care of Tarzan and peer through the windows to see how they (the humans) lived.
We really did not have much time left after waiting for those 2 rides. We proceeded to just walk around, view the parade and spent another hour plus waiting for the fabulous The Lion King show. I was so impressed with that show, they had beautiful music, dancing, people (foreigners and locals) and fire!
The night ended with the wonderful fireworks display over Sleeping Beauty Castle. Lottie and I were camping for 1 hour in the front of the line and seated on the cold winter ground... but it was worth the wait. I was spellbound for 10 mins... so was everyone else with me. But it seems quite a waste to have 10 mins of beautiful lights that polluted the place... 5 mins will do.
All in all, the Gold Coast Australia Movieworld is still loads better but Asia's Disneyland is still affordable and easier to get to from Malaysia.
Thursday, January 26, 2006
Exams are done.. for this semester anyway!
Gosh, I have had such a hectic time studying.. I am sure that my eyesight has deteriorated since then. I find it hard to drive at night now! The car number plates are not recognisable from a decent distance. Dang!
But I really enjoyed studying for the exam.. I felt so strangely fulfilled. Mind you.. it was not easy.. British exams are all about memory work unfortunately but then again.. reading all the stuff sure feeds my brains.
But honestly, I doubt I could have lasted more than 2 weeks of exams.. it's really tiring and I felt as though I was falling sick at the end of it all cos of the pressure. I was so worried that I would fail Strategic Management... too difficult but thankfully "Stuck in the middle" came out and also "Porter's 5 forces". I prepared for those!
There is no way one can do this part time with 6 modules. Most of the part-timers take 2 subjects per semester. And they take 7-10 days off to study too. So that is doable. Well, I was thinking that it's really a blessing to be able to do this fulltime though I would not recommend doing this unless you have got loads of discipline and don't mind loneliness. It was really a lonely period but I guess that it's only for a season and sides.. I get a break in between to visit my in-laws in Australia too!
But I really enjoyed studying for the exam.. I felt so strangely fulfilled. Mind you.. it was not easy.. British exams are all about memory work unfortunately but then again.. reading all the stuff sure feeds my brains.
But honestly, I doubt I could have lasted more than 2 weeks of exams.. it's really tiring and I felt as though I was falling sick at the end of it all cos of the pressure. I was so worried that I would fail Strategic Management... too difficult but thankfully "Stuck in the middle" came out and also "Porter's 5 forces". I prepared for those!
There is no way one can do this part time with 6 modules. Most of the part-timers take 2 subjects per semester. And they take 7-10 days off to study too. So that is doable. Well, I was thinking that it's really a blessing to be able to do this fulltime though I would not recommend doing this unless you have got loads of discipline and don't mind loneliness. It was really a lonely period but I guess that it's only for a season and sides.. I get a break in between to visit my in-laws in Australia too!
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