Hectic week!!!

It's been a really hectic week for me.. I've hardly got the time to rest!
Hence, apologies on not putting up anything new last few days..
I was rather surprised.. but a couple of frens told me that they've been supporting my blog! :))
Cool... so in order not to disappoint u guys, I'll try to put in more entries.
Really thanks to you guys.. I've to admit mine isn't that fantastic stuff.. but then again, it's never meant to dazzle people.. it was started off with the objective to share & for me to babble my tots as I'd like.. :p

Ok.. stay tuned for the updates on my extremely hectic week (and one more hectic week in the making..)! But for now, I need my "beauty sleep"!!

Wanna take a flight with a first-class crew?

I had a great night yesterday.
I caught Boeing Boeing & it's well-worth the price of the most expensive ticket that I paid for.
From the start of the play till the end, I had been laughing non-stop... so much so that I think I missed out some parts of the play!

From the start, Emma Yong appeared in her JAL uniform... thanking all the sponsors & imploring the audience to switch off their hps.. She did this in fluent Japanese & with rather animated expressions.. That was a good start as it started the audience on a laughing spree.

Then came in Bernard (Lim Yu-Beng) with his SIA gf... whom Chermaine Ang played a convincing role of an Ah Lian :p
The Filipino maid, Rosa, did an equally convincing job with her sumo wrestler size.
Then in came Brendon Fernadez as Robert.. the first look at him seems to make me think that he's simply a supporting role.. a guy just playing the role of a nerd.

Enter Ms Cathay Pacific, Pam Oei & Ms JAL, Emma Yong & the picture's complete.
My frens & I watched with great interest how the plot unfolded with Bernard moving around the 3 women smoothly in the initial stage & how things started to move at a bewildering pace when the 3 women's flight schedules overlap. From a nerd, Robert transformed into a Casanova & ended up with Ms JAL.

Never mind how casually the 2 guys or the gals were treating their relationships.. throw out the ethics & morals & this show's pretty cool... Or you can simply take it that the guys/gals need some form of "inspiration" to know who's the love of their lives... Well... each to his/her own!

Summary: fantastic night out with a couple of good frens at a good play :)))

What do you do in the dark??

Hmm... One of my favourite hobbies is conducted in the dark..

I love to watch movies & the recent announcement about the increase in cinema tickets really irritate me as it'd to most avid movie-goers. What the cinemas are doing is simply to drive people more to watching vcds & dvds!!

To me, I belong to the old-fashion group that still prefer to go sit in the dark, carrying some drinks & snacks (all-time favourite: nachos!!! but of coz most sinful too...) & sit through that 1-3 hrs in full concentration. Somehow watching a vcd or dvd at home simply kills the joy of such an activity. True... you can just be in your pyjamas & dun even need to step out of the house! But to me, watching movies is meant to be a shared experience.. though there is not much interaction during the show, but having the presence of a friend is good. It also allows you to have a common topic for conversation. What's most important too is that I'll really sit through that whole show to complete it! (hence effectively prevents me from straying off to do some other stuff)

I've not caught a movie for quite some time.. Just watched Sahara today. 1 of my gal frens who watched it told me.. dun go watch.. it's just a couple of thin plots that are interwoven. However, 1 of my guy frens is a "treasure hunt movie" fanatic so asked me to go along. I went & enjoyed myself for 2 hrs. Indeed, if you do apply some rationality to the show, it's rather silly:
- how can 2 people survive in the desert w/o water for quite some time?
- how can they manage to change a crashed airplane into some sort of "surfing" equipment? (& how did those tools miraculously appear??)
- since the water source is polluted, shouldn't more people be affected? etc.. & the list goes on...

But throwing aside all rationality, it's a rather nice thriller.. & rather funny at times.
To me, not all movies require you to bring that genius brain of yours into a cinema.. it could simply be just some imagination that we need!

Friends

Though I'm not born with a sliver spoon, "looks comparable to a fairy, possess the figure of a devil" or has the brains of a genius, I'm rather fortunate in my own ways. My looks are rather average (a bit short lah... but being Asian, it's not too bad :p), figure is a bit round but not to the extent of fat (or so I hope :p) & as for intelligence, though I'm not in the top 5% of the world, I'd like to think that I'm rather witty.

My point is: I'm truly blessed in life.
And 1 of the main reasons is that I've many good frens around me.
Some of these frens have followed me through my most awkward years of growing up while some are those whom though I seldom keep in touch with, we're still rather close & our concern for each other has not diminished.
My frens are there for me whenever I need a listening ear or a scolding to knock some sense into me.

However, due to the nature of their jobs or studies, quite a no. of my frens have gone overseas.
I've just learnt that another fren of mine has decided to venture overseas as the job offers better prospects. Though rather sad that another of my fren is not going to be around, I understand that it's a a choice he has made for the better of his future & I truly wish him all the best.

Sigh.. life still goes on but I really do dread the fact that 1 other good fren might have to move overseas. It's sad that as we progress, more & more people are moving out of their own countries to work in other places. Pretty often, they've to give up quite a no. of things. The only saving grace is that technology has made it easier for all of us to keep in touch. Still, it only serves to lessen the impact but not to remove it.

Guess it's a change all of us have to learn to adjust to whether we like it or not....

Letting go... (Part 2)

Today, I met 1 of my gal frens.. she's extremely troubled over her relationship. She & her boyfriend often quarrel & she knows that she should just end the relationship but somehow could not bear to do so.

I've been through the same situation recently. Fell for a guy.. he told me he liked me too... but cited religion as the reason that we could not be together "officially".
I knew that I shld not even "go near" him.. I should at most just remain as friends with him. However, things went out of control... & I fell in deeper & deeper. Same situation as my friend.. knew that I had to let go but couldn't bear to do it. But in the end I did. My "defense mechanism" kicked in & prevented me from spiraling further down...

It definitely takes time for me to fully "recover" & snap out of it.. This guy friend of mine even mentioned he think he had "ruined" my life.. I beg to differ... It's a matter of choice..
Do I choose to let go or continue hanging on to this whole affair even though I know it's not meant to be?
It's simply a choice & a change in mindset. I chose to let go...
We've not reached the stage of love & commitment yet. Though it was painful, at least the "pain" was minimized.
I became a happier person & hopefully, gained a friend in return.

If my gal fren happened to read this, I would like to tell her that it's not an easy decision to make. It's never easy when we're in the relationship & our objectivity fails us. It's never easy when we think of how nice the other party is & we can almost overlook the "not so nice" parts of the relationship. It's never easy when the other party fails to let go & you've to be the one to do it. It's never easy when you think that as long as you compromise a bit, the whole relationship might work!

However, you know that it will not.. You're simply delaying the inevitable.
You do not wish to hate the other person... & trust me.. it's easier if you end it earlier.. If you continue dragging it on, both parties will end up getting deeply hurt.
I hate to comment on others' relationships especially when it involves passing judgement & "breaking up" couples. However, in this instance, I care more for the well-being of this gal fren of mine & I've seen how unhappy she has become. Time to let go then...

However, whatever decision she chose to make, I'd stand by her & give her my utmost support.. coz I know how difficult it is to be logical & do the right thing.. it's always easier to remain status quo & not make any decision.. You simply hope that with time, something good might come out of the relationship. If you really think that it'll, then do try on for a period.
But deep down inside, if you know it will not, just let go...
Definitely easier said than done... it'll take a lot of will power but it's something that you must do..

Ultimately, we all need to learn how to let go...

Letting go.. (Part 1)

Quite a no. of things happened to me in the past few mths.
2 of the major "events" would be a change of job & falling in & out of "love".
I changed my job after barely 3 mths coz of a sadistic manager that I could not stand working with. She was unhappy with me no matter what I did.. Acting like a superwoman & covering the job of 2-3 officers despite being new did not seem enough. Since I could not handle the "insatiable" demands of this woman (I had also come to realise that she preferred male officers), I quitted w/o a job & "lobo" for 2-3 mths before finding my current job.

A totally horrible experience but made me realise what are the important things in my life..
1) that working 12-15 hrs a day is not somethg I would want to do long term
2) that there shld be a balance between work & life
3) that there are plenty of unreasonable people in the world who think that others always owe them something
4) that customer service is not my cup of tea & that I would rather do somethg more meaningful instead of trying to satisfy these "crazy demands" of a bunch of unreasonable customers.

I may not know what I wanted as a career but I learnt that there're certain things I don't want to do.. hence, this experience helped to shape my career path to a certain extent - a blessing in disguise...
I got a new job which is both mentally & emotionally challenging. It is a job that I've to go through dozens layers of bureacracy & might not make any difference in the end. But in the very least, it does at times...& that is what that counts. I've to learnt to be objective in handling the different cases & not let my emotions get in the way. Tough tough.. but nevertheless, it's about letting go of your feelings & focusing on the problem on hand. I'm still learning... How to deal with the saddest stories that others encounter & yet not be affected... well.. I guess I need to learn that when I've done my best, I should let go of the case & try my best for the next one.. The end results are not up to me.. the most important thing is that I've been there & done that...

Two Wolves

One evening, an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.

He said, "My son, the battle is between 2 'wolves' inside us all.

One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, selfishness, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority and ego.

The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: "Which wolf wins?"

The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

Food Oh Glorious Food! (Part 2)

The fantastic Spanish restaurant that I mentioned in KL is La Bodega & the address is 31 Tengkat Tong Shin, 50200 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The lady boss is a friendly Caucasian who can give you some rather good recommendations on the wines. The staff there offer quite good service & there're some really interesting photos decorating the walls of the restaurant.

Another good place to recommend is this unexpected small "eatery" tucked in the heart of Orchard selling rather good ramen at a very affordable price. But as I'm currently trying to coerce a treat out of a fren who's crazy abt ramen (on the promise that I'd bring him there), I'd rather not mention the place just yet... :) The soup base is excellent & the food is prepared on the spot..

Food Oh Glorious Food!

In recent weeks, it's been a rather "stuffing" experience... by that I mean stuffing myself with food! Well.. this may really seem like a page taken out of a gourmet magazine... but still good stuff should be shared!

1) A Spanish restaurant in KL...
Set in a small lane that looks like some mini Chinatown, this restaurant serves great tapas & paella! The food was really good... their tapas were better than those set in S'pore & extremely nice ambience. Their choices of wines were impressive too... for a group of 6 & quite a bit of alcohol floating around, we paid only abt RM400.. Good deal, rite??

2) The Marmalade Pantry
Set in a posh shopping centre, this place serves great food such as desserts, sandwiches & pasta. I tried their presto chicken sandwich & it's really thumbs-up! The crab & pinenuts pasta that my colleague tried was just as good.. The 3 of us shared a chocolate pudding with vanilla bean ice-cream.. not too bad.. we wanted to try more of the other desserts but were really too full!

3) Al Dente at Esplanade
I went to this restaurant last Sat with a couple of my colleagues.. it's truly an enjoyable experience to sit at the top of the restaurant doing alfresco dining.. sipping some red wine while tucking into the excellent food such as their fantastic cheese pizza & creme brulee..

4) SilkRoad Noodles
Hopped over yesterday with my gal fren.. situated in millenia walk, it's a franchise of the famous Silk Road Restaurant at Amara Hotel but at a much cheaper price! For $9++, you get to enjoy a main course, drink & dessert. The noodles were fantastic! We gals tried the Sichuan Beef Noodles & the Pork Rib Noodles..succulent meat & fantastic broth! The must-try drink would be the Eight Treasures Tea! Very fragant & nice! Their desserts were ok but not too fantastic though.

5) Candy Empire
We decided to hop over to Candy Empire before the dinner at Silk Road. I almost went crazy over there... their selection of chocolates, chips & biscuits were extremely impressive! Saw some really nice biscuits that my fren bought from Australia.. Arnott's Kahlua biscuits!! Of coz I ended up splurging quite a bit there.. & thanks goodness the food I bought was meant to share with my colleagues.. phew!

6) Old Airport Road
Just came back from lunch there with my colleagues on a specially arranged trip. 4 gals shared some fish soup, kueh chap, fried oyster & desserts... Do try the dessert stall in front of table 225! Their red tea jelly with logan & evaporated milk on ice is fantastic..

Well so much for my gorging experience.. sigh.. need to put in more exercise to sweat off the calories!! Anyone keen on blading or gym this weekend???

Horoscope

Below is a piece of self-gratifying description of what a Gemini woman is like...
Well... though not everything is entirely true, I do find it rather accurate to a certain extent..
It's up to you guys to judge for yourselves how true you think this piece is reflective of me!
I especially like the first part on "a good-looking woman with brains"!! :p

GEMINI WOMAN

A good looking woman with brains, a very interesting person.
She moves fast and cannot sit still or stand still for long.
She is able to do many things at the same time and do it fast.

If you date her, you will feel like you're dating many women at the same time. You can not tie her down with the word "Love" because though she cares about love, it is not a major factor of her life. You have to be able to adjust yourself to get along with her many different characters.

She is a dreamer and has many dreams. She eager to learn something new all the time. Even though she is the 2-in-1 mixed character type, she is quite lucky in love. You have to put all your efforts to win her affection. Even when she likes you and wonders about your wits, she will also see and inspect your bad side at the same time, because it is in her nature.

She able to keep all kinds of mixed emotions without annoying you or letting you know at all. She can cheer you up by acting like a free little bird. Her conversation will not bore you. She is able to talk to you in any subjects. She can make you feel like you are the luckiest man alive. She can make you feel like she needs all your care, but once she needs to stand alone, she can stand alone firmly and comfortably.

She can be your best buddy and talk to you about anything. She can join all your activities with the same energy that you have. She is a quick-witted person and learns new things very fast. She can see your projects and she can give you good advice. If she thinks you are not sure that you want her for yourself, she will only act like your best friend...a cool woman.

She can easily make a guy fall in love with her. Her multiple changes and many moods is a "Charm" for many men. She can be laughing for 2 minutes and turn suddenly quiet. She wants to find only 1 true love and she wants to meet her dream guy. She expects a lot and nearly too much. She is constantly waiting for her knight shinning armor even she is with a steady boy friend. She can fall in love or be fond of someone else while she is with you. If you break up with her, she will forget you quite fast, because change is in her nature. The Gemini woman breaks more hearts than women in other Zodiac signs. Because she is a dreamer and is always waiting for her knight in shining armor, her love life can be complex or in a mess.

She hates to write a long letter, so if you write her a letter and expect a prompt reply, forget it. Because she has multiple personalities and multiple idealogies, she hates to put them down as it's written proof. Because she knows
what she believes today can be different tomorrow.

She could communicate in more than 1 language , a real gifted linguist. If she wants to tell you any bad comment, she won't say it straight away, but she will talk to you about many other things and incidentally come to that subject without offending you. Normally she will not lie.

She will work hard and once in a while, take a long rest. She can get bored and tired with her own surroundings more than at work. She never feels content with her present work, money, or reputation and she will strive to have more. Don't ask her what is her ultimate contentment for she will not have an answer.

Once you get to know her, she will be a supportive person and always be beside you. She has a beautiful dream and she loves to have someone walk side by side with her, together and equally.

Why on earth did I create a blog???

Well... to be honest, it beats me...
I'm not exactly a savvy person... be it in technology, fashion, whatever.
The first time I heard about a blog is that 1 of my gal friends had actually started a blog!
& I was left wondering why would anyone wish to publish their diary on the web (where the whole world can access!!)
(& I've to admit that since I do not hold a rather high opinion of this fren of mine, I did not really care... I always thought that she's a bimbo.. but again, not exactly coz she doesn't have the quality to be one! :pp)

However, things were about to change.. I came across some rather interesting blogs & realize that it's simply a venue for people to share their thoughts/emotions/creativity, etc... It doesn't have to be personal...
In the past few months, many things have happened to me.. & I have this penchant for writing (& hopefully the flair too) so why not just post some things that I do like & would not mind sharing with everyone?
Well... let's hop on to this ride together (at least hang on for a short while till I get the hang of it) & I do hope you find whatever I've posted enjoyable! (in the very least, try not to form the opinion that I should join my bimbotic fren...)

My Philosophy in Life...

I would rather be ashes than dust!
I would rather that my spark should burn out
in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot.
I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow,
than a sleepy and permanent planet.
The function of man is to live, not to exist.
I shall not waste my days trying to prolong them.
I shall use my time.

~Attributed to Jack London (1876-1916)~