veni vidi vici

do you have to squint your eyes to read the words on the photo?? (well, you can click on the image to enlarge it)

what is the image that conjures in your head of the person being described there? i see someone very happy and bright with lots of positive energy oozing from her. ok, not trying to blow my own trumpet, but going through those adjectives there makes me think of a very positive person. am i?

before you go 'ooooooohhhh' how touching, well, just to let you know, the idea is not theirs. it came from yours truly who did one piece for all 31 of them based on adjectives collected from their friends in one of the lessons. they did not suspect anything at all because they quickly forgot about that piece of paper after a few months. but this is the first time i got one in return. so how can i not be touched? shall i frame that up? but if i did, i wouldn't be able to see 2 photos they have pasted behind. so maybe i will just keep it in a clear folder.

my favourite adjective from the list is 'irreplaceable'...no favouritism ok. i feel special thinking that i am unique. haha...okok..i am gloating. i also like 'sunny'....well for obvious reason you all know. sob sob...i think i can feel tears coming into my eyes.

it will not be the same anymore. i just don't feel as much attachment and bond with the next group. maybe it is a sign to leave...to a new place, to new challenges? this is all empty talk, i am too timid to leave...yes, when i talk of leaving, it will be leaving to another profession. not that i have anything in mind.

well, let's just leave this empty talk and savour the moment. at least it is safe to say that 'i came, i saw, i conquered'. excuse me while i go grab a piece of tissue.

food post

am having my meeting here in tm for 3 days aaahh....bliss.

had lunch today at secret recipe, my first time here. the deco is quite nice and it is quite a comfortable place. and lucky me, someone decided to buy me lunch. well, it is in return for the favour i am giving anyway...so i deserve my lunch.

ok, i am not that glutton to order 2 main dishes ok. i had the grilled dory with lobster sauce and a piece of strawberry chocolate cake. the sauce was too salty for my taste. my friend ordered the macaroni and cheese...i love it. i recommended it to her actually. to wash down all the food, i had a glass of warm water. hehe...i only order warm water nowadays when i go out to eat. a healthy choice. oh, i don't like the cake....it is just like plain chocolate cake with strawberry sauce. i will still stick to my yoghurt cheese next time.

next is dessert post....not in tm though. went out with some kids for dessert on tuesday night. have never promoted them here, so i am doing the boss a favour lah.
i think this is the only stall that sells dessert the whole day. it is known for its shaved ice menu. i dunno what you call the one on the left, but the one on the right is their ice kacang. yummy. quite generous with the topping....haha...i have forgotten how much i paid. well, if you are craving for shaved ice after having your duck noodles in bidor, go and ask for 'taiwan street' and you will find the stall there, corner lot.

check where your child is

cases of fake kidnapping have been appearing in the newspapers recently and today, i heard one that happened right in our town.
the modus operandi is to call the unsuspecting parents and tell them that you have their child and then demand a ransom. the child at this time is definitely not by your side. the thing now is to stay calm.

the story is told by mom...she was indirectly involved so i get the storylah. ok, mom fetches primary children to and from school. and as usual today, in the afternoon, she dropped one of the girls off at her house. then around 10 mins later, mom got a call from the girl's mom who is my insurance agent. she asked mom if she had seen her daughter. then mom told her that she had just dropped her at her house. actually the parent was not the one who got the call from the fake kidnapper. it was her mom or was it mother-in-law. luckily she called mom to clarify. poor anxious parent. i dun think the word anxious can describe her feeling. mom then told her to make a police report. oh, my insurance agent was in behrang at that time.

how did the fake kidnapper managed to get her mother's (or in law) handphone no? i shudder thinking of what the world has turned into. thank god the girl is not harmed. i am just dumbfounded. it was lucky that mom's no is in my insurance agent's phone book. my agent would have been so tortured.

sudah potong

is androgynous still the 'in' look?
i was contemplating what kind of look i want before going for my hair cut- androgynous, classic or elegant???

in the end, i left it to the hairstylist yet again. he said, 'why don't we try to keep the hair long.' and when i got up to go for a wash, i noticed the amount of hair that had fallen off from my head. that was a lot to keep my hair 'long'. hehee....noo....i am not angry. well, according to him there are many ways to keep the hair 'long'.

so my hair is short again....but only one side- the right side. the left side has more hair and the fringe is slanted towards the left. makes me feel like tilting my head towards the left more too...haha...it is all in the mind. from the right, u can see my ears, but not from the left. from the right, my eye is not covered, but from the left, if i am to pull down the fringe, it will cover part of my eye. well, go figure what my style is. it is definitely androgynous.

someone told me that i look 'not balanced'. hahaha.....i will see what the others say tomorrow at the workplace.

i have complete faith in my hairstylist. he has never failed me. he makes me have a certain attitude and character with these funky hairstyles he created with his magic fingers. when i told him that one side is purposely longer than the other, he replied, 'i am running out of ideas on what style to cut for you, so i try something more drastic.' haha....he makes sure i get a new style with every cut. so i can never say i go for a trim when i go to him. it is definitely a cut everytime.

but the bad thing is, i guess i will never look demure and ladylike enuf to attract guys' attention who seem to fall for those type with long straight hair. well, i will just 'rock' my style and be funky.

onto another thing...the dance. finally...it is coming. tomorrow. the rehearsal was actually quite horrible. it was their first time performing in front of their own friends (half the hall was actually filled) and everyone had stage fright. gosh, they looked so pale and lifeless. then the steps were wrong, they were not synchronised, etc. but in the afternoon when we did a few runs and everyone was sweating and hot, the moves came back. i better psyched them up a bit before their performance. they need the adrenalin. keeping my fingers crossed.

annual dinner

it is the second last month of the year and the work calendar is almost coming to an end. so the end-of-the-year dinner at the workplace is inevitable. previously, mine was just at the workplace, but this year we went out and got ourselves a place in trolak residence- anjung restaurant. urggh....just the mention of the name makes me wanna puke now. the food sucked big time.
some friends in kl had theirs at the palace of the golden horses. wow...how posh is that. i have heard of some who went to jogoya at starhill and some even went to pavilion. jealous. well, my place is a small one with very limited budget.


anyway, i drove down alone to trolak at before 3 and reached there on the dot at 3.30. was one of the last to arrive...hey the rest were early, but the boss was not there yet.


this is the drive from the main entrance of trolak residence to the restaurant.....what a long long way through bends and slopes. but the green was soothing for the eyes though.

took this down because i liked what i saw. just behind me.

if anyone is looking for a retreat, this might be the place for you...rolling plantations and free from any traffic sound. there are 2 tennis courts too. not sure how much they are charging for the rooms here. if you are bored, bidor is just about 20 mins away....go there for the food. and sg klah hotspring in sungkai is not far too.

the entrance of the restaurant...we were the only ones there. it was soo soo soo quiet. if they continue to serve that kind of food, this place will soon be history.

the restaurant eating area.

what did we have? nasi goreng cina, ayam percik, lamb chop, prawn, hotdog (for a proper meal?!!!urgh!!!) and fries. i wonder how much we are paying per head.

the salad and dessert place...cucur udang, agar-agar, cakes, water-melon, salad and satay. the satay was tough. but they said the cucur was good. u can actually see prawns inside.

our souvenir- a recyclable bag in different colours (green, purple, blue and pink), notebook and towel. my colleague got the pink one for me...well, it is the most striking colour among the rest. i was surprised to get them, remember the limited budget? and the balance in the account after all was spent....haha.....rm0.60 to bring forward to 2010. good financial planning.

some of the ladies in attendance. quite a few did not turn up. let me see.....around a dozen did not make it....some i bet on purpose....one i knew had a headache, one went back to kelantan to support the football team.

sigh...kinda sad thinking of the condition we have at the workplace. most of those non-locals take the place as a touch-n-go lane. they will only be parked here for a while before they get their transfer approval. so there is no sense of belonging at all to the place and when this is in the heart, where is the dedication? although i am a non-local as well, it has never come across my heart to just do a lame job. politics in the workplace is worse in some departments and some have just refused to co-operate. sometimes they are too selfish. in the end, it is the kids who are going to suffer. (well, i am telling myself and the kids that we should believe in karma.) there are others good ones as well of course and they are those who have managed to upkeep the excellence in the workplace so far. the local folks better keep their fingers crossed that these people will still be around for a few more years and better learn to appreciate them.

visitors to melbourne in march 2010

anouncement uncle, aunt, siblings and cousins.

you are going to have 2 visitors from malaysia in march. yes...you heard me right: TWO not one.

first one to confirm the booking of ticket is aunt. we did the booking and stuff last week. she will depart from klia on 10 march and coming back on 8 april.

the second one....this is just confirmed few minutes ago. my dad...yes....dad is going to join aunt on the flight to melbourne on 10 march but he is coming back earlier on 27 march.

dad wanted to go when he heard that the tickets were so cheap. em tai tak ah. but of course he couldn't get aunt's price of rm1005. his is rm1230. ok lah....return wor.

so start planning....

rehearsal update

been practising the dance everyday now in the afternoon, only 1 hour each day. so far so good. no one has quit the team, so that is a good sign.
everyone has got the moves quite synchronised. some are still slower than the beat, but that can be improved.
we still haven't got the chance to do the formation of the dancers placing on the stage, so am keeping my fingers crossed that we will get it tomorrow when we get to use the hall and the stage.
the crew has been very dedicated, staying back and no one is complaining. well, of course you hear them saying they have aches all over their bodies now, but it is part of the fun i guess. haha...they are discovering muscles which they have never known exist on their bodies.

as for me, i have stayed back every afternoon and missing lunch in the process as well. ;( well, part of the sacrifice i guess. my neck, shoulders and calfs are feeling the strain.

i think i am under some pressure here because i have to mark and meet deadline at the same time. sign that you are under stress- more hair is falling after a shower. read that it is because less oxygen is getting to the head as it is used elsewhere. no wonder the head feels so heavy as well.

well, can't wait for the weekend for a break. maybe i can reward myself with a piece of yoghurt cheesecake from secret recipe? but then again, i need to lose whatever i put on yesterday. sucks.

a nap is calling now.

eat. drink. teluk intan.

2 hours after steamboat buffet....still very full, but the eyes are getting very heavy. no choice, definitely heading to slumber land after this post.

the place: teluk intan.
occasion: nothing special, just have to finish using the money from fine collected.
the location of this restaurant is on jalan padang tembak, it is on the road heading to pangkor in teluk intan town. the price is rm17.90 per person.

i think inside there are about 20 tables. there is a small stage too and i think the locals use this restaurant for wedding banquet as you can see from the big signboard outside the restaurant. the diners when i was there were mostly ppl from out of town, looking at the way they dressed, but there were some locals as well.

there was a lot of food to choose from so one is really spoilt for choice. however, ok...must have complaint lah....the seafood pieces are kinda small. small prawns, small crabs, small clams, etc. the fish fillet was not that fresh today. but it is still worth eating there lah if you really like seafood and can eat A LOT!

some precooked food. well, i am too tired and lazy to go and label all the food here, so whatever you see lah.

seafood corner.

vege and mushroom corner.

jelly, cakes and tarts corner.

sauces for all taste buds.

kinda sure this is salad and fruit corner. i think we are early, hence the salad was not out yet. oh, we were there by 6p.m.

drink corner.

some close-ups.

ok...the end. i'm gonna sleep now.