breakfast time

5 min post.....bell is going to ring soon....

my breakfast from muar. dad got these. he went there on sat and came back on sunday bringing some hokkien association members for meeting.
yummy heong piah. i like the flat round one. really really good and frangrant!

2nd breakfast from ex-housemade: herbal jelly. quite bitter...but good to cool the heat in the body.

magazine junkie. i dunno why i bother buying...just want to have something to flip through? nowadays i skip all the beauty products pages. how many brands can one use and how many jars of cream does one need?? one of the best advice i have been given, stick to one brand so the products complement each other. so my brands are biotherm and la mer and a little of sk2. biotherm for day, la mer for night.

shopping, burger and roses

wahahaha....i had a fruitful shopping day. it was 3 hours shopping and 1 hour lunch. see....good time management. i had envisioned where i wanted to go and how i planned to use the time when i was there.

the parking lot was still very empty when i reached klcc at 10 sharp. my planning was down right accurate to the minute today.

however, the same could not be said about the waking up time. i set the alarm for 8a.m. but i woke up at 7 plus. not that i was willing to do that....but i could not do so because there was some talk going on in the mosque behind. gosh, who gives talk at such hour of the day? i did not hear the azan call at dawn usually so i guess i am kinda immune to the sound now. well, those who have slept in my room before will know. i you don't hear it, that means you have a good sleep.

so got downstairs and went out to buy the paper before 7.30a.m. oooh......the air was so crisp and fresh that i felt like putting on my jogging shoes and doing some work out. i thought about it only lah....like so motivated. but there was no jogging shoes with me and i was too lazy. it is not a good idea to go jog in the morning here, well, let me see if i am woken up early again next time. will make sure my jogging shoes are with me first.

ok...shopping right? TAAADDDDDDDDDDDDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA......shopaholic let loose??

nice or not???? bought a big hardcase trolley bag because my big bag is kaput. no more made in china counterfeit bag. learnt my lesson. this yellow hard case i got is from delsey....limited edition available in singapore and malaysia only. who knows anyway. 50% discount....original price rm760.

and oh, the gorgeous dresses.....i LOVE dresses. they are so comfortable and easy and femine. that green one was only rm139 (normal price). ok, i normally dun buy at normal price, but i doubt the dress will still be around when sales come. the pieces are quite limited for this brand (in isetan) and they all come in free size. yeah! i can fit free size now. hahaha.....

the black one......the biggest discount for the day- 70% off. original price rm290. cheap cheap cheap

and ooh ....the shoes. all got discount! can't stand wearing trainers everyday. i want to match my clothes to my shoes too!! when the feet scream pain, it will be trainers lah. in the meantime, suffer for the price of beauty.

the beige pair of loafers is from lewre. 50% discount. original price- rm240.
black sling back from clarks, 30% discount. original price- rm240
sandals from clarks, 40% discount. after discount rm220.
the clarks are really comfortable. thank you isetan for having clearance. sort of regretted getting the pair of lewre because clarks also have loafers on sale. well, next time....go to clarks first!!!
they are still having this clearance till sunday. so tomorrow is the last day. go fast!

shopping ended at 12.30p.m. efficient. some observations i want to share about our sales assistants here. sigh.......only the male SA who served me at the luggage corner in isetan was friendly. the rest....were unfriendly and acted like they did not see you. what is so hard about serving customers and making them happy? i even saw a middle-east couple throwing a shoe to the floor at vincci because they were fed-up of waiting for an SA to serve them. those SAs were just walking around without noticing them as if they were invincible. how rude! in malaysia, most sales assistants wait to be called or summoned. they do not serve you willingly and most of them preserve their smiles as if the laughing line would kill them. ok...maybe i exaggerate a bit.

do you have SA bending down and tying your shoelace for you when you try on a pair of trainers? i had...in hong kong ;P

next up: lunch at chilli's to satisfy the craving for burger.
we got a seat by the window and so we had a great view of the pool and the fountain. oh, quin came out to meet us too....and no, we could not finish what we ordered.
i had swiss burger, she had chicken tacos, mom had triple play which is a starter. not mom's taste. she likes her noodles more. i love my burger. satisfied. what is the next craving?? have to check cafe world first. haahhahah...

ok that 4hours seem super long on this blog.

let's go to something lighter....origami.
check these roses out. are they pretty or what?
ahem....as if i made them right? i wish. i tried learning but the steps are soooo complicated and there are many folds and twists involved. with more guidance, i am sure i can. next class with the kids...will have another session with them and make sure i learn it. it takes a lot of observation and visioning skills.
the small one was so delicate huh? i requested for 100 stalks on my birthday...hahaha...poor boy.
so boyfriend out there, this is something you can make for your girlfriend and it saves you a lot from buying roses which will wilt after 1 week.

ok time to read the day's papers on the bed. stack up the pillows and pull the blanket. gosh, i hope i don't fall asleep.

a happy holyday

i seem to have more things to write whenever i am home huh?
i wonder whether it is the air in tm or what? hahaha....kidding...

first up is a special request from a special cousin in melbourne.
atticus asked me to post this picture for all to see. so i guess it is his outlet to share things now??
according to him, this is Special fried rice from Petaling street in Hawthawn, Melbourne. hmh....i wonder which part of it is from petaling street??
well, anyone looking at that plate when they are hungry will definitely be drooling. i am not a big fan of rice but sometimes when you are hungry, anything will go. i love the smell of freshly cooked fried rice though. i like egg and prawn fried rice.....and i love my brother-in-law's tomyam fried rice too. it has been ages since i last had a plate of fried rice.

today is wesak day, celebrating the birth of lord buddha but.....it does not mean anything to me lah. it is a public holiday so i get to rest at home.

managed to clock in 2 solid hours of marking. haha....the rest of the hours of the day were spent on facebook, helping ppl to spice up their dishes and tasting them at the same time to get more cafe points.

oh, i got a surprise phone call from jason's mom. who is jason?? he is a boy from sarawak i met on my trip to beijing 3 years ago. i featured him before on this blog. i bullied him in the trip but we soon became close friends....he was really attached to me. the reason why his mom called was to make sure that i will be around during this june's holiday. jason made his mom call me. oow....how sweet. jason was afraid that i might not be able to recognise him any more after all these years. well, fret not jason, i saw how you look like in one of your photos tagged by your friend....and you still look quite the same albeit slightly taller already. i can't wait to see him again. i wonder what made a 10-year-old attracted to a 30-year-old huh? wakaka..

his mom invited me to join their trip to either a'famosa melaka or cameron highlands on the dates they will be in kl. luckily, i will be free on those dates....right before i leave for guangzhou.

well, i really do have a lot to look forward to in june. i hope jason and i still share the same kind of humour and chemistry.....and it is time i act young again. keeping my fingers crossed. by the way, where can i get extra large packet of rocky biscuits??? that would be a great present for him. he loved my rocky biscuits....that was what 'lured' him to talk to us. haha..ok...i am sounding like a paedophile now.

moving on to another topic now: retail therapy. well, yesterday i said that the best things in life are sometimes free....and today...i am going to say that i am going to spend some money to get some kind of happiness tomorrow. how gullible.

an sms came from isetan telling me they are still holding their anniversary bash...and it got me all excited. time to let the shopaholic loose for a few hours again.

so tomorrow, isetan klcc it will be from 10a.m. to 2p.m. not a minute more. a class is waiting for me at 4p.m. mom is coming with me too....so no big purchases. good good.

last but not least....................
the purple nails are making a come back this weekend. hope the new opi nail polish remover will do better and can remove the polish without harming the nails. i am still waiting for an opi nail polish to reach me. i wonder if i should get another bottle? i ordered a light pink. shall i go for another pastel colour....like pastel green or blue???

oh, i am craving for a beef burger tomorrow. the burger icon in cafe world started that craving. chilli's for lunch??

colour my world

ok, after the minor scare of having something growing in the brain, it is time for happy thoughts.

there is nothing i can do about the eye diagnosis at the moment, so i am just going to put that at the back of my head and not deal with it. will only deal with it 1 or 2 months later when i go to consult the ophthalmologist about the eye enhancement surgery again.

hmmh....shall i blow the dust away from my old spectacles frame which i still keep and bring it to the optometrist for glasses? driving is quite uncomfortable. they won't be my reading glasses, they will be my driving glasses instead. gosh....no sunglasses but prescription glasses for driving?!!! horror!!!

i should be able to take some rest this following week. except for marking papers, i can't think of other activity i will be busy doing. i just wish the stiffness in the neck will go away. well, at the moment, i can feel the heat in the back because i applied yokoyoko. it will be my best friend this weekend....and maybe will follow me back to bidor for the week.

ok so what keeps me happy? only thoughts....won't turn real.....because.......................................there is no way i can get the $$$$ for them. ooh.....to hold them in my hands!!! i am drooling just looking at them....see all the pictures below:

aren't they gorgeous???? my bones are just tingling looking at the pictures. hahahaha......will i get a sudden windfall? durian runtuh???

well, back on the ground, i am just happy with little things. satisfying my craving is one. i was craving for wall's cornetto chocolate this afternoon.....aah...the taste of the melted ice-cream going down the throat on a hot afternoon while driving. ok, having it while driving is bad. but i stopped myself from buying one. told myself: keep fit. in the end, no ice-cream....but it is ok, no extra pounds added, i hope.

well, seeing this box of colourful oil pastels makes me happy. colours are wonderful. i am not a black person. so that is my way of looking at life too. black and grey and white only occupy a little space in life. most of the other space is filled with COLOURS. aren't they exciting?
i want to colour my world!!

the dream of having those bags and jewelery won't become a reality and i did not get my cornetto today. never mind. sometimes, the best things in life are free kan??

anglia shandy bought for chinese new year (we still have a few cans at home) and shat ke ma (crunchy egg pastry) mom bought last week......they made my night and those few extra pounds too huh? well, you win some, you lose some.

so what is the colour of your world?

everything is ok with the brain

i am back!! and the mri scan showed that i am ok. my brain scan is ok. phew! everyone breathed sigh of relief.....

but dad also asked, how come the opthalmologist scan shows otherwise. why the dull headache?
i questioned why the stiff neck?

anyway, chinching will check with the doctors why the disc can be swollen if it is not due to brain pressure.

the neuro said, wait for a month to see if the condition remains the same.....that means no deterioration...then i can go ahead with my lasik. like all other doctors, he also said we fellows who go for lasik are brave creatures. why do we want to alter something god has given.....we only have one cornea, so why do we wanna cut it?
well, mine was already cut last time....so too late for that. and i am still keen to correct my eye sight and not to wear glasses

i will go back to blaming the stiff neck on bad posture. we have to bend our head too much when it comes to marking and reading the daily newspaper. yoko yoko is needed to relief the pain temporarily.
maybe i need to get a new pillow? new mattress?

paid rm1032 for the mri. the neuro did not charge me today. phew! i only paid rm5 for the registration fee.

well, at least i now know how it feel like to go into the mri scanning machine. it is quite scary. i dun have to change my clothes, just have to take out my ear-rings. then i was given ear plugs. you lie down and they give you a blanket. then they pull some bars over your face and you go into the machine. it is really a noisy one. click on the video below and you will hear how bad the noise is. i was inside for like about 20 mins. so you can occupy yourself by thinking of all sorts of things inside the machine. and one of the things that went through my head was www.tessabitonline.com and how much their ysl bags cost. muahaha....this will prove that i am still sane to you all.
those who have phobia of an enclosed place, they will definitely freak out. i was given an emergency button to hold on my right hand in case something happens while i am in the machine. i closed my eyes most of the time when they were scanning. you could fall asleep there too.

well, glad that my brain is all right. so now i can relax and plan for my holidays without worry. oh, of course, finish marking first.

time saved, money spent

ok...if you had read the previous post and are expecting news of my progress......you will be disappointed. there is nothing to share still. wednesday should be the day. there is nothing to be fearful of as of today.

but let us go to this morning.........

woke up at 5.40a.m. and left the house at 6.20a.m.
first destination, hukm.....initially that was supposed to be the only destination!!!
we reached jalan loke yew at around 7 plus. the sights were familiar but there are additions here and there. and the roundabout which would lead you to hukm and maktab perguruan ilmu khas has changed. there is now an underpass straight from jln loke yew to right in front of the maktab. no more being stuck in the roundabout.

we reached hukm at 7.31a.m.....the time stated on the parking ticket. i was directed into pusat perubatan 2 and i told the nurse on duty there my condition.

here is what she told me: leave my referral letter with them, and my information(name, phone, ic) and they will get back to me within 3 weeks with an appointment date.
and if i don't hear from them within the time stated, i should make a call to a number given to enquire.

so what would you do?? i left the letter and my infor with them and i told dad, let's go to sime darby medical centre.
the place was already very crowded and dad likened it to a morning market. there were already about 30 plus patients waiting with their letters and appointments.
i gave up. money is not as important as time. sdmc is my plan b.

and so we went ahead with plan b and found our way into kesas highway which brought us to subang jaya. i reached the neurologist's office at 9a.m. the nurse told me that doctor would be there at around 10a.m.....but you know lah....they always give you the earliest time.

we waited till 10.30a.m. before i saw the doctor walked in.
doc ng was his name. he was a very patient and helpful man....explaining everything to me.

and as usual, there were some tests lah. he told me to lie on the bed, use my forefingers to touch my nose, scratch my soles, hit my elbows, and check the eyes to see whether the nerves are really swollen.

but of course his eye examination could not be as detailed as the one the opthalmologist did the other day because my pupils were not dilated this time and he only used a handheld equipment to run the test.

the doc said something about the back of my eye being slightly whitish....well, i dunno what that means really. he said the nerves were not bleeding so that was not serious. he went on to list down the possible reasons for the whitishness. one is i am born with it. hypertension is out because my blood pressure is normal and we don't have family history of hypertension. another possible reason would be a tumour....that is the worst case scenario which i did not mention in the previous post. another one is infection on the cerebrospinal fluid which is the fluid covering the brain. he got me to read some letters on a card and we ruled out the infection because i could read all the fine prints. so a lumbar puncture to get the fluid is not necessary.

actually it was just like a normal chat with a little consultation kan??? i am to return on wednesday for mri scan. it was full today and they couldn't fit me in. so the next available one is on wednesday. that should give them more detailed reading of my head i guess. he asked me if i wanted to go to the one in ipoh because i told him i work in bidor. but then he also said that the reading in the centre here would be clearer. different machine i guess.
how much would that cost? rm1300. WAAAHHAHAHA!!! my pocket money to china....half of my month's salary too.

the doctor's consultation fee today is rm185 and i did not get any medication. he did ask me if i want any painkillers......no thank you.

so that was my morning. there went my hope in the government. why can't they subsidise our medic fee at private hospitals since they cannot meet the demand?

well, time for lunch now. have to go to the pc repair shop. the cpu has decided to die again. i can't switch it off. when i press the power button of the cpu, all i hear is beeping sound. same old illness. luckily i have my notebook.
waiting for dad to come home too because i want to show him a hotel i found in shanghai which can fit 3 in a room with 1 single bed and 1 double bed. and it is at a very reasonable price.

thanks everyone for your well-wishes. will update again on wednesday.

p/s: the medical information given by yours truly might not be totally accurate.....u know lah, hear some dun hear some. so don't go and quote me ah.

from eye to head

now how do i begin this post....

on this saturday morning, the morning started earlier than usual. i woke up at 7.30a.m. came down, made myself two pieces of chocolate raisin toasts and a cup of coffee. grandma had woken up by then (we were the only 2 awake ones at that time) and upon seeing me wake up, she took out the broom and started sweeping the floor. she thought i had a class. well, sometimes i do have class starting at 8a.m. but not today.

i made an appointment with dad to drive me down to kl...i went for my eye check-up.
well, i did complain about my eye-sight getting worse again and my check last time showed that i had around 125 'power' on both my eyes.

since it is going to be a more detailed check this time where they dilated my pupils, i needed a driver because my sight was going to be blurry. dad said he would drive me when i called him to request his service.
we started our journey to vista lasik centre at the curve at 8.30a.m. and we reached there sharp at the office at 9.30a.m. my appointment was at 9.30a.m. very punctual indeed.
i had set my mind to do my enhancement laser the following friday because i know their surgery day is friday. and coincidently, next friday is a public holiday for wesak day.
i was dreading the wait because the centre is usually very very busy...and since chinching had to squeeze me in at that time slot due to a careless mistake she made earlier, i was expecting the worst.

but bless you chinching, the staff was very very efficient today. my name was called 5 mins after i went in and i was brought to a dark resting room....to rest the eyes before the check-up.

dad had earlier wanted to browse a bookshop looking for information related to his china trip and i suggested that he went to popular at ikano since they have more chinese materials there.

and so i came into this room to rest. both the massage chairs were already taken and i found myself the found with the calf and foot massage machine. gosh....i will never put my legs in the machine ever again. and don't buy this gintell machine if you are looking for a leg massage ok. choose osim's. we have that at home and it is much much better. this gintell only squeezed and prodded your calf hard without any massage. it was painful and uncomfortable. before the auto-timer came to an end, i had already switched it off. urrgghh!!!!

and soooo went into the rooms for test pressure, test short-sightedness, etc. i think it is good news that cornea thickness is around 470....that means i can still do the normal no-blade lasik.

last procedure- to have consultation with the doctor.....and this was when thing took a twist.

doctor went through the report of my checks and suggested that i take the nasa custom lasik and only do it on one eye....the dominant one...which is my right eye. if i do the normal one, chances of me wearing reading glasses at the age of 40 is high, but if i do custom, i won't be needing it. although i am only doing it on one eye, it won't make a difference since it is my dominant one we are correcting.

well, i was prepared for his suggestion before i went into his consultation room because he suggested it in my last visit. but now, he only suggested that i do it on one eye....man, that was good news....i will pay less.

then he brought me to a machine to check the flap made on the eye last time for the previous surgery.....and he found more than i bargained for. bless him for that....

ready for this?? i am.

the doctor took some photos to show me his discovery. the nerves/discs in my eye are slightly swollen. he showed them to me in the photos taken. that is not a good sign. the reason why they are swollen is because of pressure in the brain. then he started asking me if i had headaches, or nausea.

well, i do have headaches and my head do feel heavy on and off, if you recall me complaining. and remember my vertigo episode once last month?? so i told the doctor lah.
let's not think of the worst case scenario for now although the doctor did tell me what it was.

so for now, i am to go for consultation with a neurologist and to get an mri (magnetic resonance imaging) scan. the doctor refered me to a doctor at sime darby medical centre and he wrote me a referral letter for that purpose.

i was very calm listening to all this....there was no anxiety or whatsoever because i have always been prepared for the worst. i actually had a premonition of this kind of diagnosis once but let's not get to it.

so for now, no enhancement lasik. i am going for another consultation on monday. so it's a day off for me from work.

so the consultation with the eye doctor ended and i paid rm50 for that. i left the lasik centre at around 12 noon. it was really efficient and early this time.

then i called dad to check where he was. popular bookstore was his answer.

on my way to ikano, i called kaixian, my speed dial doctor for opinion on mri. hahaha...
he told me that hukm in cheras has neurologists and they do have mri scanner there....so why don't i go there because i won't have to pay a cent?
but going to government hospital is equivalent to a lot of waiting. i said i would think about it.

got hold of dad in popular and he got the books he wanted on china tourism and shanghai expo. i also got a galaxie and female magazine.
told dad what the doctor said.

then i suggested going for lunch, my stomach was already growling and i think i needed some comfort food as well.
dad told me to choose the place to eat and i chose paddington house of pancake...that was the comfort food i could think of at that time. chinese restaurant ain't gonna offer me the comfort i need....i needed starch.

dad looked more worried that i was although it was not obvious on his face. but you knew that he was thinking of all sorts of things in his head.
he ordered a ribeye steak and i had crepe by the name of 'frankfurt'. i wanted some sausages and cheese and fresh mushroom and beef bacon.
both of us had long black (coffee). i know too much coffee is not good but i think i needed that one....something more bitter than what was going on in my head.

i love my crepe....it was dry and not very starchy. not sure what kind of wheat flour they used but i would recommend this to you.

dad called his pharmacist friend who was coincidently at sime darby medical centre for an endoscope at that time and he helped us ask the price of an mri scan there. it would be around rm1000-rm1500. i called my insurance agent to ask if it was included in my coverage and she said 'no'. but they would foot the bill if they found something and i had to do a surgery.

so that got me thinking.....save time or save money? in the end, money won. so hukm is where i will go on monday.

after lunch (which dad paid), we went back to vista to get another referral letter from the doctor because the previous one he gave had the neurologist's name from sd mc. he wrote me a general one this time around and the lady who was with me during the whole consultation was very helpful.
so i sat down and wait for another 15 mins or so while dad waited outside. i would be lying if i said i was not thinking of the worst at that time. in fact, all sorts of possibilities came. then i was running through my head all the symptoms that i have- heavy head, stiff neck, vertigo, pressure in the eyeball, and mistakes in saying out words which i did not mean to say at all.

i did not want to be pessimistic so i started playing with the camera on the phone. then i decided to take the photo above to remind me how comfortable i was to be in my favourite gears- my evisu jeans, my marc by marc jacob black tee, my burberry bag and my acupuncture shoes. so why should i complain? i think these gears will accompany me to hukm on monday. i need them to give me the comfort.
and so another referral letter was handed to me and the parting words from the staff who attended to be were 'take care' with a touch on my back. gulp!

dad said he would accompany me to hospital on monday. bless him. i hope i would be able to do the scan that day. i might scoot to sd mc if they give me another date.

right now, the neck feels stiff again and the head is heavy on the top. the brain feels like it is swimming in a pool.

i better stay non-chalant and not think too much now. so please don't call me to ask me to repeat the whole thing again or for more details. tears might come into my eyes and i have typed out all i know and experienced today here.

i have already got a day off from work because coincidently my superior called me when i reached home at around 2.30p.m regarding flight tickets to shanghai. she was also planning to go there with her sister. so i told her i won't be going to work on monday. i just told her i am going for a scan....man.....i should have not blurted the word out. it scared her....and me too after that.

so it is still fuzzy for me but as always, there is a silver lining in the dark clouds.
stay with me.

a sunny egg to start the weekend

my specially prepared breakfast today. wholesome??
and did i make it myself? sorry ler, there is no ingredient at home to cook at all.
so this is specially made by carmen when she promised me another surprise breakfast on a friday morning.

the hotdogs and crab sticks are boiled...so it is not oily at all. even the fried egg sunny side up was not oily. good job.

so what's for lunch? i am craving for kfc's black pepper chicken but i have dragon fruit and 3 oranges waiting to be juiced at home. so that's lunch.
dinner will be mom's cooking.
aah...the weekend is here.

sweat and toil...pc addict for the day

i am very very tired.

officially on the timetable i had 6 classes today. but it felt like i had toiled for all the 10 periods and more.

woke up at 5.30a.m......half an hour earlier than my usual wake up time. switched on the computer...plug in the broadband...and i surfed.
found something i like, but could not make the decision because i did not want to do it on my own.
hence, decided to ask a colleague to join me as soon as i get to work.

colleague 1 answered 'why not' and i started my work on the computer. voila, no problem or any glitches. i got what i wanted.

then we extended the good news to more colleagues and friends. 2 more jumped on board and we had to start searching again. but luck was not on their side.
the internal server of the website was already clogging and progress was even slower than the tortoise.
i continued repeating the same steps, clicking back and again when the error message came up, sitting patiently in front of the pc whenever i was free. it was non-stop anxiety and frustration till evening.

yes, i was still in front of the computer although i had left the office.

so imagine the strain i am experiencing now on the neck and eyes and not to mention the back too. i need a massage!

luckily someone pulled the plug and kicked my ass out of the house to go for a jog at 6p.m. we had to thank the weather too. it drizzled in the morning, then the day got so stuffy and humid that i was practically emitting and burning oil from every pore in the body. in the afternoon, it rained then stopped. at around 5, the sky cleared and the sun came out jubilantly. now, it is 9.30p.m., it has begun to drizzle.

so i have decided to sleep early because tomorrow, i have to start the cycle of clicking on the mouse again at 5.30a.m. if no one is successful to get what we want online tonight.

oh.....what the heck am i rambling about??

the answer: airasia 1 million free seats.

the travel bug is always here and who can resist a good bargain.

so march 2011, yogyakarta is where i am heading for 4 days 3 nights.

and i got it for 0 fare!!! plus the baggage fee and breakfast in-flight, i am only paying rm85 return. what a deal huh.

until now, we have got 4 tickets (including mine) at 0 fare. another only has one way at rm0.
we are now desperately searching for 2 more...with at least one way 0. or else someone would have to share the extra cost....not worth it loh.

GAMBATEH!!!

well, not so much...but ok lah.

it was quite a boring celebration this year. YAWN! games were boring and not exciting at all nor funny. lunch was quite a simple affair....i only had 3 pieces of chicken, cakes and watermelon.
and no luck at lucky draw.

and the weather is a killer. it feels like an oven outside. luckily i have shut all the windows and doors so no heat gets into the house.

i can feel a headache coming soon.
time to rest.

shanghai...i am coming

ok china trip update....shanghai.

confirm going. i have booked my ticket yesterday and what a big hole it burnt in my wallet.
i am flying via MAS on 4 september and coming back on 13 september. i wanted to come back on 12 so i have one day to rest before going back to work....but all tickets were sold out...the only choice was flying on first class. no money.
i paid rm18++ for economy class straight to shanghai pudong airport. the number of ticket i bought- 1. for myself only.

oh...but i won't be travelling alone when i am in shanghai. phew!
dad and uncle pek are coming to join me. they will go to china earlier and do some travelling on their own. i have just booked their tickets via airasia. dad stood behind me to make sure i click on the correct dates...haha....make sure i do not repeat the melbourne blunder.
so they are going first to hangzhou on 1 september and coming back on 20. their tickets cost rm2400 for 2 persons. so each of them have to pay rm1200 only. how cheap.

now i have to help dad to plan his itinerary and maybe search for some hostels for him. have to get a map of china too. i still haven't decided if i wanna go 5 days or 7 days into the expo. my colleague cautioned me that i might get bored after day 3.

well whatever it is, i am definitely going in september.

the masks

are they PRETTY or what???

i bought these masks in my trip to shanghai few years ago and i have been keeping them in their boxes gathering dust. initially, i thought of giving them to friends....but when i take a look at them, they are just so beautiful that i want to keep them for myself.

and finally, this week, i managed to pester mom to bring them to be framed. the cost of framing is rm35 for each one. i think the masks were all less than rm50.

although i am not well-versed in chinese cultures and stuff, i did know that one of the places we visited in shanghai area was famous for its masks. hence, i went hunting for them when we were brought shopping. when the rest in the tour group saw the masks, they also wanted me to show them the stall. i got to choose the best from the selection first since i was the first to buy. clever me. and there were not many to choose from too. i think there were only about 10 including the 4 i chose.

so now, where am i going to hang these four frames? in the living room or the wall along the stairs??

elm street ain't nightmare....lindan was

i am a movie buff but i am never a fan of horror movie. i am a coward when it comes to watching really scary or revolting stuff. but i do have my share of horror movies that mould my fear for this genre.

there are 3 movies that i can remember rather vividly. first is nightmare on elm's street (the original one donkey years ago). next is 'it' based on the novel by stephen king. i still think of 'it' whenever i see a clown. and third is a thai horror called 'nang nak'. although i can't understand the language, it was not a problem reading the subtitle. these 3 are good horror movies to watch in my list.....well, also because these 3 are the ones i really watched. hahaha....

and i watched all 3 on tv at home. no silver screen for me. the timid mouse inside me is squirming everytime i thought of buying a ticket to watch a horror movie.

i think my siblings should remember nightmare on elm's street as well.....because all of us watched it together all huddled up in front of the tv on a rainy night. i think i was in secondary school at that time. no adults were home at that time and we closed all the doors of the house because of the rain outside. halfway through the movie, all of a sudden we heard knocks on the wooden door. it made us jumped and we braved ourselves to open the door. when we opened it and saw no one (!!!), we quickly closed the door and were prepared to run up the stairs when the knocks came again. again we deliberated...finally someone went to open it and there stood our neighbour. phew! i can't remember why she knocked on our door at that time....but i still can remember the fear which attacked us the moment we saw no one outside when we opened the door. this incident cemented freddy krueger's reputation in my life.

well, that is until few hours ago. went to watch nightmare on elm's street on the silver screen in ipoh tonight. the cinema hall was quite full and i was expecting a scary journey. after all, it was dear freddy we are dealing with. oh, how i remember him. the star newspaper gave the movie a 2/5 review....so that was bad. and it kinda was that bad. i was not scared at all although the scenes where the characters died were quite disgusting and gory. blood and slits and cuts. the freddy here was not as mean. i wonder if my age played a part....older and more realistic?

anyway, those of you who have never seen our mr krueger on screen before should go and say 'hi' to him. and those of you like me who is thinking of reconnecting with the ghost of the yonder years....well, don't. the old ghost is a better one.

hmhh.....would robin hood be a better choice tonight? but the thought of russell crowe as the thief with honour and cate blancett as lady marion puts me off. again, i have my preconception....blame it on robin of sherwood series i watched in the 80's. i loyally followed that every week. russell crowe is too well-fed for the role and cate is too old. someone please go and watch it and tell me how wrong i am.

and so i won't be getting any nightmare tonight but i think the malaysian thomas cup team had just faced theirs at putra stadium tonight. i managed to catch lindan and lee chongwei's second set after the movie ended. i purposely looked for a dining place with big tv screen to catch the matches.

our hope of reaching the final is dashed in 3 games. i think most ppl know that lindan is a better player than our leechong wei although the world ranking states differently. tonight, lindan again showed that world ranking does not matter. but at least leechong wei did make him fight for some of the points.

i am not pissed with malaysia losing. this time, i am damned pissed with lindan. oh his arrogance. i think he has something against malaysians. did you see how he celebrated after winning the match point? was it necessary to take off his shirt? what? to show off his muscles? and then...oooh....geramnya.......the next thing he did was to flex his shoulder muscles from right to left ala a hip-hop dancer. it was as if telling us what an easy match it was for him that all his muscles were still relaxed and he could flex them without any trouble. i can't stand it. i don't want to watch lindan play anymore!!!!

can't wait to read what the newspaper will report tomorrow.
ok better hit the bed now. have to rest for gotong-royong tomorrow. i wonder if i will be sweating it out cleaning the place or from pointing my fingers and giving instructions. haha....after all, we will have kids assigned to help out. i am sure they are keen to lighten our burden.
have a happy weekend.

of racism and honesty

i have been labelled a racist by a colleague at work (where else) and i am very pissed.
i have beed labelled a snob, proud, arrogant, moody, etc before but never this strong word.

i am really offended. and she did not call that name in front of me, she accused me of being a racist in front of my superior. i got to know because my superior told me.

you know at work, we have to do peer evaluation and since i am the head of my department, i am assigned two to evaluate. when i saw those two names, i already moaned. first of all, these two have always had bad track record in their jobs. even if you give them gold, they can turn the final result into trash for you because of their incompetence. and one of them can nag and nag and nag all the time instead of doing what she is supposed to do within the period. everyone at work knows this.

and so i evaluated them. both of their results came out almost the same. their marks are satisfactory and in the middle band. one came to see me begging for more marks. the second (who called me a racist) accepted all the comments i gave when i talked to her after the evaluation.

and now, one week later, she decided to go and complain that i am not fair, i am a racist. she thinks her marks should fall on the good band. haha....i could not believe it.

luckily, my superior has been very supportive and she said she would talk to that colleague of mine and discuss about her weaknesses based on my comments.

well, that colleague of mine can go and ask for a second round of evaluation from someone else lah. i have done the job i have been assigned to do. try as i want to increase her mark, i could not make it go to the good band. sorry lah.

so my dear readers, am i too harsh in giving my evaluation? okok, you guys do not know the whole story.

sigh...am i too strict? am i a snob who thinks no one is better than me? but wait a minute....i gave a colleague of the same race a very good band last year! and my superior asked to see me because of that.....because she could not believe the marks i gave. i justified it and that very good band stayed of course.

let me tell you that lying comes very hard to me. i really don't know how to beat around the bush and lie in your face. i am the type who will shoot directly and i guess in a way, that makes me offend a few lah. i will rather keep quiet than to lie. and i am certainly not a RACIST!

do i need help in polishing my social skills?

oh dad, oh mum

urgghhh......it is so frustrating planning a trip.
i still haven't found cheap tickets for shanghai. the cheapest is still airasia at around rm1400 return but the only snag is, they only reach hangzhou and there will be 3.5 hours bus ride to shanghai upon reaching.
malaysia airlines' price is around rm1800. china southern also flies from klia to shanghai and i think the price is slightly cheaper than malaysia airline, but the travel agent quoted me rm1800. so no difference.
i am now looking at other alternative that is flying out via singapore. i know china eastern fly to shanghai from singapore....so now looking for singapore contact.
every weekend when i come back and i see dad, i will automatically think of the shanghai trip. stress stress stress

so it is mother's day today. and noooo.....i am not going to dedicate a post for mom. i can't express myself in public. just can't....not brought up to do that.
but of course, mom is mom and we know she worries and fusses about us. she cooks, she washes, she tidies, she nags, etc.
my siblings and i got a moisturiser set for mom as mother's day gift. hope she will happily use it. hahaha....
no cake for the celebration because it will all end up in my stomach.
and although i am not a mom, i still get mother's day wishes. wakakaka....kids call me their 'mom'. i wonder if i do really mother them so much. in a way, that is an honour right? kinda touching to get mother's day wish today.

euro and pounds update- pounds is around rm4.93 few days ago and euro has dropped to rm4.20. time to buy and keep.....if there is so much extra cash lying around. most money changers are running out of euro. england and europe is definitely on travel plan right? so go and save some rm to buy euro and pounds now.

my burger and happy mother's day

this is the spicy double chicken mcdeluxe burger i had on friday night. does it look tempting???

well, i took almost one hour to finish my meal this time around. i was going through the fries slowly while reading friday's newspaper which i brought along with me to ipoh.
then to make sure i finish the whole burger, i ate it layer by layer. it was easier that way. putting the whole burger in the mouth would be a bite too big each time.

first came the top of the bun, then the first piece of chicken, then the bottom of the bun, then another piece of fried chicken thigh again. voila! i managed to do it. it was really spicy though and my mouth felt all numb. my only complaint is the mayonnaise is only on the top. i thought they would put mayonaise on the bottom too. so the second piece of chicken was a bit dry. i was satisfied. chicken mcdeluxe is my fav mcdonalds burger.

ironman 2 was all right. i was expecting worse from the comments i heard. there were some dull moments but luckily they did not last long because robert downey jr appeared on the screen and he sparkled yet again. scenes without him were dull. the last fighting scene reminded me a lot of the fighting scene in transformer 2 where automus prime was killed at the beginning. it was in a clearing and it was like deja vu. i had no regret catching the show.

oh, i would like to take this opportunity to wish all moms who are reading this a happy mother's day. hope you guys have a great day where the kids will behave and show you love. to betty, audrey, ashley, fely and qahina....you guys are doing a great job!

BURP!!!

dear tummy,
i have sinned last night. i preached to others not to have a heavy meal before sleep time because it is going to cause indigestion and will make you lose some sleep.....but yesterday, that was exactly what i did.

i went out for a meal at the mamak stall and i could not help myself from indulging in a piece of fried chicken, a roti telur and some naan. the roti telur was really good.....crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. the piece of fried chicken and naan was so-so. it had been ages since i had supper and i could notice the big bulge in the stomach when i get home at 10.30p.m.
i could feel the heat released from the curry and the stomach working extra hard to digest everything.

i have read that the body releases more heat when we eat meat and to be cool in this tropical weather, one should eat more fruits and vegetables.

so yesterday's sleep was not a sound one. in fact, i was woken up at around 3a.m. by a deafening thunder and lightning clap that lit up the whole room. it really gave me a big jolt.

so this morning, i woke up with small dark circles around the eyes. luckily i have a lot of free time this morning....so it is not taxing at all in this state.

do i expect a better sleep tonight? err....i have planned to chomp down a double chicken spicy mcdeluxe burger from mcdonalds in ipoh today. the two slices of chicken in the advertisement is too tempting and i drool everytime i see the advertisement. so to stop my craving once and for all, i will stuff myself till i can't take it in anymore. am going to watch iron man 2 too. hope it is good.

so now, let me starve for a bit to leave some space for the piece of succent fried spicy chicken burger.

this made my day

...................................... X is not very beautiful but looks good. she has short hair and looks like a tom-boy. but sometimes, she looks like a beautiful lady when she wears some clothes that are beautiful.
every evening, she goes jogging with some friends. after jogging, she has class. she is just like a 'superwoman' because she does not rest.
X is not married yet. i don't know if she has a boyfriend. i hope she can quickly find a good man and marry.
*sorry if any words displease you!

the above extract is taken without permission ;P but it has been marked and approved for posting....whatever that means.

oh how i love thursday! it is my free night and work seems to get less on this day. the timetable is just planned that way. i am going to enjoy my free thursday night by checking for rooms in guangzhou. just booked myself a room in pullman baiyun airport hotel for one night. it is a 5 star hotel woohooo.....one room is only around rm231. cheap right???

fruit overload....

ok, these are what i pack for the week from home:
3 dragon fruits
a big bunch of grapes
3 mangoes
3 apples
1 pear
1 big tub of extra creamy and fruity yogurt

these are what i still have in the fridge here:
1 orange
3 apples

i am wondering how i am going to finish them all by saturday. yesterday night i had the orange. this morning i had a mango, and after lunch i had a pear. gosh, still so many more to go.
don't worry, i still have food from my caterer, so i am not on a fruit diet or anything.
the thought of having an apple a day kinda makes me sick. maybe tomorrow.....

an otherwise smooth sailing labour's day

the labour's day holiday went quite well....well....except for a minor accident just before the clock struck midnight.

it was a bright and sunny and hot morning. breakfast was goober's peanut butter jelly and toast and a cup of coffee. then class with 6 teenagers.
noon came and it was time to go online. time to harvest my crops and dishes at barn buddy and cafe world respectively.

sold dad the idea to go to shanghai's world expo and he was immediately hooked. he watched me at the computer as i searched for related information. we are most probably looking for 2 more to make a group of 4. more companionship i guess. the agent selling admission ticket in usa has replied to me. so no worries. just flight and accommodation now. lunch was in front of the pc.

tried to get a nap when it rained cats and dogs in the evening. but the brain just refused to shut itself.

at night, cooked myself a packet of korean instant noodles and dumped 7 meat dumplings which mom steamed for dinner. burp! it was really a filling dinner. i had it in front of the pc. so my plan to turn into a couch potato failed. i turned into a mouse potato instead.

before turning into bed, i watched sherlock holmes. it was brilliant!!! love jude law and robert downey jr's chemistry. love their witty lines as well. can't wait for sh 2.

at 11 plus, switched off the computer and went into the room. no air-cond to me because of my sensitive nose. so the small stand fan is my mean of cooling the room......and that was when minor disaster struck.

the fan has always made a sound...something like a rattle as parts of its cover shakes and it irritates me. i can't sleep with the noise. so i always have to adjust it to a certain position where there won't be that rattling.

yesterday was the same.....but maybe i was overzealous in fixing the sound. i made this happen to my right middle finger:
before and after pic.
so what did i do? i accidentally pushed my finger too hard while fixing the cover of the fan and it got though the metal bars and i was cut by spinning fan blade. the reflex action was fast enough and i got the finger out in no time. obscenities came out of the mouth as well and i went straight to the basin and turned on the tap.

there running water washed away the blood that was flowing profusely from the cut. it was not that deep but i was at the sink for about 5 mins. it stung and 'ouch' finally came into the head.
i was contemplating whether to put iodine on the cut.....having no experience with this kind of accident made me helpless. i was wondering if iodine would sting. haha....coward. the left pic was after all the washing in the toilet. you can still see water mark on the other finger.

so went into mom's room and asked her opinion. i did not expect her to sympathise me and i was right. the word 'stupid' came from her before she told me to just put a bandage over the cut.
like an injured kitten, i went downstairs and bandaged my finger. the tip of that finger was feeling all numb.

then i headed back to the bedroom to get that sleep which i had earlier intended to get. and guess what? that bugger of a fan was spinning smoothly without any rickety-rack!
ooohhhh.....how i cursed it!

well, i hope you guys had a relaxing labour's day without any accident.

have a good week ahead. mine will be filled with travel arrangements to guangzhou and shanghai.

pondering....

someone asked me if i could envision myself 10 years from now. i wish i could give her a positive and all feisty answer...but i just could not. do i see myself going anywhere in my career? NO. the future looks quite plain and life seems to have reached a plateau for yours truly. and this made me down for a few days
.........................................................................................................until....................................................
this morning...voila! i know what motivates me and what i want to do! i want to earn lots and lots and lots of money and be financially secure. am i pathetic or what? i am 100 and 1 percent submerged in this materialistic world. i don't have a spouse or child to 'jaga' at home. i am still free to do what i want and go where i want.
some call money the root of all evil, i call money my motivator.

and then, another light bulb lit in my head....i want to travel the world and the seven seas. well, it is not a secret right....i am sure everyone has this dream. but right now, the place i wanna go to is shanghai world expo 2010. did you see the opening ceremony on tv? i caught a glimpse on the news and i was blown away. I WANT TO GO!! this june i am going to guangzhou for 6 days but i am most prob in guangzhou for a day only. am planning to fly to guilin for 3 days since it is only an hour's flight away.

but shanghai....world expo. and i sold the idea to dad....and yes, i have got a travel partner. dad is very very very keen to go. i can go for 11 days in september. have to start checking all info about the expo, ticketing, flight, accomodation, etc. the cheapest flight so far is from airasia which is about rm1300. expensive hor? and that flight is to hangzhou...have to take a shuttle bus which is 3.5 hours to shanghai. air asia does not fly there.

anyone happens to have an extra room in shanghai? lodging in shanghai is generally more expensive than other chinese cities. 3-star hotel is enough lah. i am planning to buy 7-day standard admission ticket for the expo. so i will only be going to the expo first thing in the morning and only leaving when the expo closes. there will be 1 or 2 extra days for sight-seeing. well, i have been to shanghai, but not dad.

wa....i am talking as if all the preparations are already made and i am 100% heading there. keep my fingers crossed and yours too for me ok? anyone want to join??? dad is planning to ask his friend and i should find a partner too if he has one. i found an online agent which sells ticket to the expo. so that is settled. going to set my mode into "money making machine" this year.

oh, let me share this ugly sight with you....
picture of one of my right toes..........without part of its nail. it is not painful at all cutting the nail because it has totally got itself unattached from the skin. i guess this is a result of wearing right fitting show.......especially those pointy ones. well, the price of vanity of course. i still wear my sneakers to work but sometimes, when the feet are back to its normal self, you do have the urge to parade those feet of yours in dainty lady-like footwear right? reminder now, wait till all the nail has grown back to its place before wearing those kind of shoes again.

oh, i wonder how long we should keep our credit card billings. they send you the statements every month and i do file them....but i asked myself, 'why do i file them?' i check my bill online and i do it punctually. everytime i refer to the statements, they will just remind me of my shopping habit. hahaha....so are they reminders to us to be more frugal? i have decided to only keep statements dated all the way to 2 years ago. the rest, into the recycle bin.

the home pc is kicking up a fuss. it will shut down if i leave it idle....for how long i dunno. dang!! the beeping sound will come after it shuts down. bro said the blue screen will come out too. hmhh....... previous experience with the notebook, blue screen problem occurs when you do not shut down your computer properly and the settings are not saved. i am counting down to the days when i need to send the pc to be formatted or repaired.

ok...have to go down to finish my saturday papers. been here for a while surfing for info about the expo. lunch was in front of pc too. please dun shut down after this.