sleep! where art thou *&%#@!!!!!

sleep sleep...where art thou??!!!

it is not the first time i am complaining of insomnia right???
i thought i was going to sleep better now that i have got home sweet home...but i was wrong.
i moved to my room, slept with my aunt and i made her turn the air-cond to the warmest possible for her (23/24C). i decided not to sleep with in bro's room with the fan because of the irritating birds near the window every morning.
but damn it!!! the birds were also outside the windows of my room!!! ooh....how i wish to kill them all!!! if anyone knows anyway to get rid of the birds.....do share with me. losing sleep can really make a person lose her mind!

my body is not functioning right too. i have a bad cold since yesterday and i was sneezing and window shopping simultaneously at mid valley yesterday. face is in a horrible state with breakouts.

HELP!!!

so why was i at midvalley since i was having a cold???
well...trust me ya.....the cold only starting coming when i got to midvalley. i was quite all right with nary a sneeze at home before i left. must be all the germs accumulated in the carpark level. hehe....kidding. aunt and i went and we circled the place for like 20 mins before we managed to find a parking lot. haiz.....

i thought i was going to find myself a good bargain at anya hindmarch inside isetan since they were having 50%+10% discount for some of their bags plus the rm200 cash voucher that i have. but puuuuiitt.......the things were horrible. well, maybe not that horrible but nothing caught my eye. phew! save some $$$.

instead, it was aunt who managed to buy a kipling bag which she is going to give away as a gift when she goes to australia. it is a good deal....50%+10% discount. she only paid rm200 for the bag. can't find the bag in her room...so no photo.

we only shopped for small small stuff ...mostly things for the house and oh, lots of things for beanie from the pet's world.....dog shampoo and food.

talking about beanie, the poor dog has been suffering lately. ants bit his eye and it was swollen and red. his paws were acting up again, all red and sensitive and yesterday he was limping. ooh...how my heart aches when i see that. does anyone know why dog's paws are so prone to injury? is there any solution? please share.

back to midvalley. the joy was eating i guess. trying out new outlets.

jonker street's dessert stall and popiah for tea. the dessert was not good. would love to try the dough fritter (yaw char keow) there as the queue was so long at that stall....u know the basement level connecting midvalley to the gardens?

dinner at a restaurant serving taiwan food. opposite sushi zanmai. yummy. squid ball, seafood fried noodles and hot and sour noodle. even the seafood noodles is hot and aunt could not take a lot. so i ended up clearing most of the food. burp!!!

a mousepad from isetan for buying more than rm100 in a single receipt.

i also bought lots of crisps and loackers. haha..my snacks for this holidays.

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back at home.....my aunt has been going on a baking craze since joining a few classes of baking held in a shop selling baking ingredients in town. everytime she comes back from one class, she will bake whatever she has learnt for few days.
so there is definitely no shortage of bread and cakes at home.

this cake above was inspired by the hello kitty cake i got few days ago. i have not tasted the sponge cake yet but i heard it is very spongy and light. that will be my breakfast tomorrow. there is still chocolate brownie in the fridge and i think i am the one eating most of it. it is really good....with lots of chocolate that i like.

have to start jogging session soon if i still want to keep the weight under control.

this above should be my 'sleeping pill' for tonight. don't worry, they are only pills for my cold and i am only to take one at night or in the day time. i specially request for one which will make me drowsy and send me to slumber land. i really need it.

no rooms in the house are free of the chirping of birds. i want to cry when i think of this! even in the afternoon. i won't mind staying in an apartment in the middle of the city now. at least the noise of the traffic is more soothing than the chirping of birds!! twittering! ooh!!! help!

and today with the bad cold (sneezed till my lungs hurt and almost lose my voice), i couldn't even get a nap because it was soo hot! no electricity from 10a.m. till 7p.m. we got a notice on friday that it would be from 9 till 5p.m. guess this people just dunno how to start and end work on time!

sob sob...okok..i am going to sleep now. have to adjust my sleep time now i guess. early to bed and early to rise. only then will i be able to get enough sleeptime. good night.

good to better?

it is that time of the year again when school ends and goodbyes are inevitable.
everyone was looking forward to this holiday the only thing on their mind is- REST. that is all they want. it has been a hectic year and i also want my rest.

i feel rather lethargic and exhausted. there will be no specially planned trip this month nor in december. i will just sit at home and rest and recuperate and rejuvenate.

i got a special send-off this year in the form of this hello kitty cake below.
well, the cat's head looks more like a bear's but nonetheless, her effort and thoughts totally touched me. i did not expect this at all. it is this kind of gesture which tells me that what i have been doing all this while is worth it and i am on the right track.

the cake is also accompanied by a long letter. the card was given earlier this month. tears welled up in the eyes the first time i read that letter. this kind of thing is one of the reasons why i am still doing what i am doing now. but every year, i have got kids pushing me to leave and to charter another career path. one of the contents of this letter above also urged me to leave.

if they think i am doing a good job, why do they want me to leave? do i deserve much better than the good i am already getting now??

but the reality is of course- do i have the courage to step out of my comfort zone and start from the beginning with nothing in another field. i wish someone can just pluck me out and put me in whatever job they think i can do and i will start working. but of course, it will do nothing to improve my courage level and i will still stay the cowardly me. it takes fear to have courage and it takes trial and fall to earn the reward. and i....i don't have the courage to start all over. :_(

random

have been very busy in bidor this week, hence i am glad that i finally have sunday off. initially, i even had to go for a meeting on sunday. phew! thank goodness for fast completion of work.

so after a wedding dinner on saturday night in bidor, i only came back to tm this morning. will only drive back to work tomorrow in the morning before the sun is up.

coming back gives me some things to blog about. it will be sooo mundane in bidor.

this came via post few days ago. gosh....i am so so so so tempted to get something from ah. sale and rm200 voucher. who is not tempted? but the term is, the voucher can only be used when the purchase is more than rm800. well, if the bag has 50% discount and you add the rm200 discount, then it should be worth it i guess. aunt and i are planning to check out one of the stores......which one shall we go to?? klcc, midvalleys, pavilion or 1 utama??

beautiful buns....and very very delicious too. aunt joined a baking class this morning in a shop which sells all baking ingredients. she came back full of praises for the class and can't wait to attend the next one. all the buns look so nice right? more beautiful than those you see in some bakeries.

i have booked my tickets for harry potter movie this thursday. although i read some reviews that this episode is more like an appetiser for the real finale next year, i still am excited to watch it. i have never missed one. there will be that karaoke session after the movie i think. that is something to look forward to as well as it will be my first time in a k-box. lol

something sweet for bedtime

this is grandma's recommendation for a good sleep at night. someone told her to take a teaspoon of manuka honey at night and when she knew that i had insomnia, she quickly got this bottle for me as soon as i reached home from singapore. how sweet right???

i dunno who bought her this bottle of manuka, but i need to thank that person too. it is not cheap as all of you know.

so does it help??
well, i took it on sunday night and i slept like a log. but i was wondering whether it was my exhaustion from the singapore trip which made me sleep that way.

could it be psychology too? if you think it can make you sleep, then you take it and your mind is at rest as you are convinced that it can make you sleep.

anyway, i took one just now and i think i will have a good night's rest.

*had a really tiring day at work being bossy and running the show for the graduation ceremony full rehearsal. i just couldn't stand the flaws everywhere. even stayed back in the afternoon for the second run. damn it, some ppl just don't understand what is meant by FULL rehearsal. then they will start blaming others for all the mistakes that crop up during the real thing. they just do not realised that it is them who do not make things easier and smoother.

MI-ssion accomplished in singapore

ok...enough of marking. time to take a break now to update my singapore trip. better do it fast when it is still fresh and i still feel a bit excitement upon seeing all the nice photos taken.

left for singapore on 5th- deepavali day. did not even realise it was the festival of light.
took the komuter train from tm to sentral then boarded the klia express. waah....it was rm35 via the klia express ah....and it is the same price with klia transit too. it took me less than 30 mins to get to the airport. anyway, i found another waaaaaaaaaaaayyyy cheaper alternative from sentral already. they do have bus plying the klia route, rm10. take note next time!!!!

reached the airport early and had to wait for chinching. we took jetstar to changi.

no bags to check-in. so one backpack and one bulky handbag. was praying hard that it won't rain because watermark will stay on the leather.

what an irony. the book is supposed to put the reader off fast food but they are just the kind of food one will find at the airport. my lunch- chocolate milkshake and 6-piece nugget.

so the jetstar flight was just slightly late. in fact, i was wishing it could even be delayed longer hahaha.
it was a new plane and everything was still luminous and shiny on the surface. i think the cushion of the seat is thicker than airasia's. anyway, it was just a 45 mins flight and we arrived in changi terminal 1 before 4p.m.

and so the wait began.........................................................................

oh, we were joined by mz. 3 crazy fans on a quest for their idol- sammi cheng.

we needed some energy to go star-chasing. so it was early dinner at starbucks in the terminal and some caffeine booster!

and soooo.....................friday's MI-ssion was indeed a success.
her flight arrived at 1810 and we were at the gate when she came out....but that was after we saw a group of fans from taiwan coming out from the same flight as her. the heart felt a heavy thud.
hanjin- a singaporean artist was with her, her guest artist at the love mi more concert.

so our only aim was to take a photo with her.....and we got one, albeit not individually and not in a brighter lighted place. 3 of us, plus mi and hanjin. after some editing, the photo turns out quite nice and sweet. lol.

not putting up the photo here though. it is for our secret viewing.

she also autographed for us and wrote our names. then it was just walking all the way till the curstom check. did not even get to chat with her since she had so many ppl around her. i talked more with hanjin. he was impressed by our 'dedication' to wait for her there. hahaha.
so this was taken at the baggage claim area. they were waiting for their luggage and that was when all the fans swarmed around her to ask for photos and autographs. although her assistant told them not to, they still glued themselves next to sammi and got their photos taken. i could have done the same too at that time and got an individual photo with her. how stupid hor??? but i was very polite and ooko...kokok...cowardly also la. even the airport staff got her to sign and take photo with them. she obliged out of courtesy i guess.

and so...everyone walked out of the terminal when she walked out and the commotion outside was 100 times worse than what was inside. i also could not wait to escape. all those screams and cameras clicking away. really a big star had arrived.

i went into a friend's car and we headed to our next destination- the stadium. haha....we really chased.

she had a short rehearsal at the stadium and when she left....we also left and followed all the way to mandarin oriental, her lodging for the weekend. did not get to see her at the hotel as she was wwwwaaaaaaayyyy faster. i mean the driver was really good.

our group went for some supper after that at newton food court. it was nice catching up with all my singaporean Mi friends. we get to know each other because of Mi but we have kept in touch all this while too. cool friends definitely.

and so i checked in at york hotel at around 10.30p.m.
was quite disappointed because whatever amenities in the room were the most basic....they did not even have a toothbrush! i had to call housekeeping for one. yes, opppss....i forgot my toothbrush. it is a 4-star hotel and i expected better. give lah some body lotion. since we travelled light, we did not bring more liquid than we were allowed on the flight.

din get a good sleep because the pillow was hard. no more york hotel next time. founded by the malayan banking group owner lagi.

so saturday....one whole day in singapore. have to be touristy a bit since i was already there. can't just go star-chasing and waste my time right???
walked along orchard and weaved in an out of malls. this pic above is ion orchard, one of the latest malls to hit that stretch. not as big as expected. no sale. so can just see see lah. anyway, the things inside are all super branded ones.
we had brunch at the food court inside ion and i had singapore hokkien prawn noodle. the specialty here on this island. totally different from our prawn noodles and it was good. the secret lies in the broth used i think. yummy. too bad they were quite stingy with seafood and egg cracked into the noodle.

we walked walked walked and walked walked walked. went into uniqlo, j+ range of coats were really nice but kinda expensive. the prices in singapore are lower than those in malaysia, even after the exchange rate. they have both prices printed on the tags, so i could make the comparison. the exchange rate on the tag was S$1=rm2.50.

anyway.........i shopped lah. bought something jugak. was looking for a pair of shorts when i found this:
the only one in the 50% discount bin and my size. got it. mom asked, "why do you need another windbreaker?" beats me. it is in tangerine and not the pink in this photo. the lights made it look pink. i paid S$69.50 for it.

it was 3 plus after i paid of that jacket and we were contemplating whether to go to the hotel to see our STAR out on her way to the stadium. we half-heartedly decided to go and boarded the mrt, but fate brought us to the wrong stop. hahahaha

we thought since mandarin oriental was at marina bay, the stop would be called marina bay.
but it turned out that we were across the river and we were actually closer to marina bay sands.
so it was fated lah....anyway, we heard fans were shooed out from the hotel. so we did not miss much action anyway.

it was quite foggy at the bay but of course the 3 towers of the sands still stood out.

we went up the skypark, S$20 to get the view of the whole island. as the name suggests, it is a park right on top of all the 3 towers of the hotel.
view from skypark.

the jacuzzi spots and hotel pool at the sky park. what a view from the pool. i wonder how comfortable those hotel guests feel swimming there being watched by all the skypark visitors.

a transparent chute outside shoppes at sands. ppl were throwing coins aiming at that small hole in the middle. can grant any special wish??

the shoppes inside sands. and there is that canal ala river with 'sampan' ride too for a price- S$5.

we did not go into the casino and walked walked walked every floor at the shoppes.....just to kill the time. we were waiting for the buffet spread at rise to start!!!! had to treat our stomach to something good.

so we walked till 6p.m. $68++ per person for the buffet at rise.
luckily we were there sharp at 6p.m. the queue was horrible and the diners were so impatient at 7p.m. everything served here was good!!! yummy!!! top quality. even their mini baguette tasted good when my stomach was already full. i thought i would have to force that piece of dough down my throat since i could not resist putting it on my plate on my 3rd trip to the counters. boy, i was wrong. i was savouring every bite actually. salivating now.

definitely worth the money paid. i want that marshmallow dipped in dark chocolate fondue!!!!

ok, stomach full, it was time for the concert. love mi more singapore.

i had very good seat. yup. brilliant! 5th row so near!! very good photo ops too as it was towards the middle.

most of the photos turned out very clear....i mean for my lousy camera lah. don't compare mind to those dslrs ok.
here are some according to the sequence in the concert:




wearing a lanvin collaboration with h&m. it is not even released yet in the shop. she also carried lanvin's bb bag. hmmh...to get sponsored items.



i want that tee!!! also lanvin with h&m. keeping my fingers crossed now. hope i can get it online and sent to the uk.

so she did a double encore. came down to shake hands with the fans...which was totally unexpected. but her voice in this concert was rather bad due to her mild cold she caught. well, the fans did not notice as they were screaming non-stop as soon as she came on stage. but it was really nice of her to do the second encore.

and once the concert was over at around 10.45p.m. (it started at 8.30p.m.), it was back to star-chasing mode!!!

quick quick quick...run into the car and shoot to the hotel!!!!

we were indeed faster than her van this time around and reached at the same time as the van.

and my group of 4.....just walked into the hotel without bothering the bellboys standing outside. nothing to make them suspect that we were fans...no banner, no poster, no fan shirt. just poised and confident slow walk into the hotel lobby. hahahahaha....

i did not even realise sammi was already inside the lobby because there was no commotion at all since there were only 4 of us. i only realised when i turned to my right and there she was walking right next to me. what a shock!!! but of course i kept my poise and complimented the tee she was wearing. it was really nice! truly! and she smiled and said that, 'yes ah, my shirt is nice'. duh! i did not shake hands with her although the others did. just did not cross my mind. her assistant had the worried look looking at us. better spare her the paranoid.

aaah....that silly exchange with sammi made our night!!! we were on cloud nine.
and we even had a little celebratory toast! hahahaha......cheers!!!
only sodas and juice. no champagne. my MI-ssion is not accomplished yet. that encounter at the hotel was not a planned one, so it was the extra cherry on the cake.

yawn! our night ended just slightly before midnight. what a tiring day filled with lots of walk.

ok....now to sunday...the last day!

crazy star-chasers checked out of the hotel at 6.15a.m. and headed to the airport hoping to catch the last glimpse of their idol.

already other fans were waiting and one even waited the whole night. so compared to her, i am not that nut right?

ching and i got our airasia boarding pass verified and started our wait. she was rumoured to be on 810 flight. my flight was 1210. ok...now you can call me crazy.

nope, she did not turn up. there was another flight at 1010 and nope...not that one.

chinching and i were already agitated and hungry and groggy due to lack of rest, so we went into the terminal and waited there instead. we said our goodbyes to our friends outside and they promised to keep us updated with the progress outside. bless their souls.

we got all the updates while having breakfast at coffeebean. this was my brunch set. only enjoyed the toast. did not like the egg and i did not have that big appetite too. the wait was torturing!!!

she finally came into the terminal at around 10.20a.m. for her 11.25 flight. phew! and at that time i just got out of the toilet. haha...chinching was standing there waiting for me with anxious look holding our all bags. i did not even get to finish my coffee!!!

there were a few fans getting cleared at the custom but sammi and her group used the premier entrance, so they were waaay faster. and we did not even noticed they were already inside the terminal as we were only looking at the general custom check point.

so follow follow follow......only ching and i. haha...those taiwanese were also there on the same flight back to hk..but they did not get close to her. they would have all their chances in hk anyway.

so these are my autographs. the one on the left was signed on friday while the second one was on sunday. love the first one for obvious reason.

we wanted individual photo with Mi but her assistant said group photo. ok loh.
her assistant even told us to say 'cheese'. lol she was not that cruel to let us wait in vain.
and oh, i hate my face so much in this photo!!!! it is not a very clear photo actually but it is definitely brighter than the one we took on friday.

ok i hate my face because i was soo soo soo soo super bloated!! water retention! those cheeks! those puffs under the eyes. OMG!!! why??! why that morning??!!! and the hair looks ugly!!!! so loose and shapeless. urgghh!!!

oh Mi was holding a red bottega venetta purse which i also have in brown. luscious. feel like using mine too but part of me dun want to abandon the wallet i am using now.

anyway, they left for the lounge after taking a photo with us and we waited at her gate. said goodbye to her at 11a.m. and then it was MI-ssion accomplished!!!
phew!

flight was not delayed. reached lcct and took a bus to sentral. then from sentral it was komuter back to tm. only reached home at 5p.m. on a cloudy and drizzly evening.

so, what do you think of my MI-ssion??? not one you will imagine a 33-year-old to take hor???

mom and aunt scolded and said, "if she can't even remember you, why do you even bother to chase and waste your time?" ouch!

you think she remembers me? well, i will just forget about this in a few days time and live my life as usual again.

chicken soup to prepare for the weekend

okokok......everyone's comments have been noted. normal size it is. i guess the large font must be taking up quite a bit of space on screen and it is quite irritating to scroll down. am i right???

well, yesterday was date water....
today chicken soup it is.
did the date water work???
the answer is no. i went to bed at 10.30p.m. and by 12 midnight i was still awake. i knew because that was the time aunt came into the room. so she offered me a sleeping pill instead and after 15 mins of popping that pill into me, i was totally knocked out. yup, i don't think i will call that sleep because i could not recall sleeping at all the whole night. i was just OUT till 9.30a.m. and i did not even hear the alarm clock that was supposed to ring at 9a.m. did it or did it not ring??? aunt would have heard it right??

it was my first time taking a sleeping pill. so that was what it felt like. hmmh.
that zombie-like feeling was not in me today. but it was replaced by lots and lots of sneezes. it is not a bad thing- sneezing i mean. i think that means those viruses which have been hibernating in me are finally finding an outlet to get out of my body right??

the sneezes have reduced but now the nose is red and sort of wet. hope i won't scare ppl later when i go out to get my singapore dollars.

i am getting my singapore dollars from kwei who is coming back tonight. phew...i can save a little bit from the high exchange rate now. kwei got it at rm2.38 for me.

oh, i will be in singapore this weekend. it is love mi more time....another sammi cheng concert. it is going to be a whirlwind trip for me. flight is in the afternoon tomorrow and i will be coming back at noon on sunday. now you know where my october salary is.

photos from agoda.com

this hotel above, york hotel, is where i will be for 2 nights. 4-stars and i got it at www.agoda.com
i like the discounts given at this website and i have managed to accumulate some points which i have exchanged for this booking. i booked my guangzhou and shanghai hotels via this website.
chinching and i are paying rm450 for this room per night after i got rm80 discount. well, i only want good sleep.

ok....waiting for kwei now. think i will take that glass of wine to ensure some sleep so i won't be walking like a zombie in singapore.
wait for my updates on monday. it is mi time.

shall i enlarge the font size of my writing in the blog?? this is normal size.

this is large size. so which one?

mom and aunt to the rescue

i have been sleeping badly....to put it mildly. the truth is, i have not been sleeping at all for the past two nights. i know yesterday was bad, not even a wink.

why? i dunno, i thought only woman facing menopause has to face this problem.
stress i guess. the amount of work i have to deal with and my brain just refuses to take a rest although it is the time to rest. and the head feels damn heavy! i have not yawned a single time the whole day!!! can you imagine? what is wrong with me??

i only want my sleep!!!!

and today i have been walking around like a zombie. i know i am not well when i have lost my appetite to eat. trust me, losing appetite is something that seldom happens to me. and today, whatever i put into my mouth all tastes bland. was not hungry in the noon. only ate at 6pm.

so since i am home, of course it is the time to get some attention right? there is no better place to complain than mom's.

i thought of downing myself a big glass of wine to make sleep come, but mom boiled me dates water upon aunt's suggestion. hard liquor is the next thing on my mind if sleep does not come.

so i have downed the cup of date water, and now, i am keeping my fingers crossed that sleep will come.

bored

bored....feel really really bored.
the weather is so gloomy and cool.
the shoulders are stiff from lots and lots of marking.
have to stay back today to watch some performances rehearsal.
hope it won't rain today and i can go to jog.

feel bad about neglecting the blog but there is really nothing to update.
went to klcc last wednesday to meet my friend from hk. had dinner at the food court.

this friday- heading to singapore for the weekend, coming back on sunday. hotel is booked- york hotel. will definitely update next week about the trip.

have foundation will travel

watched a little of a documentary about bridge-building in greece. one thing that caught my attention was how much they emphasized on the building of the foundation of the bridge.
it is the foundation that will hold the bridge and make sure it is safe.
the most meticulous planning and work is done in the design of the foundation.
when the foundation is not ready and mistakes occur, it is back to the design board and ways to improvise or to rectify the weakness are taken.
once when the foundation is settled and it is deemed strong enough to support the bridge structure, only then the rest of the work to complete the bridge can start.

and what makes me babble so much about making the foundation of the bridge???

i just can't help from applying this to our quality of life ... if we care to build strong foundation in everything.

take learning a language for example. if a child gets proper guidance from his parents and nursery and primary school in learning the correct use of a language, it will help a lot when the kid grows up and learn to master other subjects. you can't read other subjects without the knowledge of a language right? and i won't call language a subject to learn. a language is something which is best learnt via immersion.

my english is not good enough for what i am doing i think. do i have strong foundation in the language?? well, my parents do not speak to me in english. i learn all my basic english from tv programmes and cartoons! thank god for all those cartoons in english. sesame street, electric company, he-man, thundercats, mighty mouse, captain planet, etc.

come primary school, i transferred to a national school from a vernacular chinese school at 8 because my uncle who is residing in australia thought the school would provide a better learning opportunity for me to learn english.

well, i started having friends of different races and strict teachers who spoke to us in english and i found plenty of books in bm and english to my delight. all my chinese characters started being swept away to be replaced by these 2 languages. oh all the happy stories penned by enid blyton filled my primary years. i love the faraway tree tales and i always imagined that the big tree in the playground in front of my house was one. hehehe....didn't all who read the book? and i love the investigative stories of gemuk and inspektor goon. yup, i read my famous five series in bm.

in secondary school, i was introduced to 'modern bible' aka mills and boons. wakakaka....my friend and i even rented the books and exchange them from one of the bookshops in our small town. 'modern bible' was coined by our english teacher who caught us reading the books in our drawer during his lesson. maybe these tales had influenced my 'idea' of an ideal man.

however, my english skills are only used a lot in reading and writing. there was minimal speaking and listening as i conversed with my classmates then in chinese and malay and with teachers too.

come college time, well, it was the time i really learned my english. it was so intimidating to hear those who could speak fluently coming out with a string of english words so confidently and using those big words. gulp! i could not even make a proper sentence without a grammar mistake if i did not run the sentence through my head first. and it was in the college when i was pushed to do my first debate. i think i only got through the debate because i had facts and figures to support my arguments and not because of my language proficiency. it was bad. but those years in college had sort of made me change my thinking language into english. i would think in english and sometimes in cantonese. i dunno why it is easier and faster to think in cantonese than in mandarin. blame the influence of tvb dramas?

well, then there was the one year in england. the spoken english got a little better but not the confidence level. and i worked in a chinese restaurant mind you and my boss was a cantonese. haha...so more cantonese than english sometimes in a day.

going to america during easter while in england loosen the tongue a bit. those who have spoken with americans would know how words can fly out so easily from the americans and they are less reserved compared to the british. so it was yadda yadda yadda for 2 weeks in america.

back on the home soil after 1 year abroad, the confidence level was ok. being sent to a good training ground for 3 months in pj forced me to act like i know the language well. those kids could eat you up if you lose your rein just for a second. one of the girls was already reading 'war and peace' by leo tolstoy at 16 (i still haven't read the book till now!!)!!!

now coming to the present situation, i think it is the kids who cannot understand my babbling in the english language in front. i speak faster when the ideas come because i don't want to break my train of thoughts. but i hope it would give them a practice of how people would speak in real-life. i can sort of place some grammar rules in the head while uttering my sentences and keep the sentence grammatically correct. when speaking with peers, i will not falter nor will i stand out. those who work in the city speak the language more and their choices of words are more bombastic now that i even have to guess what they mean sometimes (some words you only see in books before and never really have the chance to use them). i do pronounce words wrongly because i was never taught how to pronounce them at school. i can only imitate the pronunciation when i hear the word spoken either by a person or on tv. and gosh, some words are are pronounced differently in england and in america. so which should i follow?? headache.

i will not drown nor will i climb to the highest mountain with my level now. but i do hope i won't tumble down on my walk up like jack and jill.

so if you want to give your kids a stronger stepping stone, do invest in early education and be a good role model. don't turn into a half-filled bucket like me. i can't stand parents who teach their kids wrong english just so they can show off to their friends the english they know. i shudder having to correct the kids when they grow up. so is this the moral value of my sharing???

wakakaka....i think i have digressed far and wide from what i started with...have i or have i not???
remember....no cutting corners when it come to setting up a strong foundation. only then the ideas and plans can go smoothly and with minimized glitches. ;P

live a happy life

am feeling rather melancholic now because i have just heard news of the death of a 16-year-old (form 3) and the injury of another. i am not familiar with this kid but do remember seeing him. dunno what exactly happened but it sure is tragic.
why can't there be a year where we can go by without any death?? it is already nearing the end of the year!
it is a road accident...but not sure if it involves another vehicle besides the motorcycle the deceased was on. will know more tomorrow when i go back. have to go back to check stock.

life is too short for this kid and i feel that i have lived for so long compared to him.
so those who are enjoying life now.....remember to enjoy your life. don't waste it.

live it happily. happiness is the key to a great life.

live a life with no worries.
no debt.
no regrets
no secrets (the secrets weigh like tonnes of boulders)
take care of your health.
indulge when you can afford to and pamper yourself.
have great friends.
have great hobbies
love your family and friends and have no enemy
don't complain
be strong

gosh...not that easy huh? be at peace with yourself.

lekor-ing on a freaking hot day

am i looking for trouble here?? i feel uneasy because i can detect a certain congestion in the nose. there is no phlegm in the throat nor do i have a runny nose. but i do sneeze hard occasionally few times these few days. signs of illness to come definitely. it is just under control at the moment. once i lose control of it, i am sure i will be down with a bad bout of cold.

and looking at my lunch time snack here- it really spells trouble kan??
crispy keropok lekor bought from a mobile van outside a primary school. rm2. my lunch.
the weather is freaking hot outside as well and my whole body feel so hot. need some herbal tea but dunno how to boil it myself. so have to rely on 3 freshly squeezed oranges for my vitamin c. later will make myself glasses of honey.

here are my dishes for dinner and 1 soup.


i have never been so relieved to see vege. but the sight of the curry stingray....hot hot hot. maybe get myself a beer later.

and i can't sleep these few days. woke up in the middle of the night covered in sweat. want to be an eco-warrior and sleep with only the fan switched on, but it is really impossible. still end up waking in the middle of the night to switch on the air-cond. the heat is unbearable! the loss of sleep is also due to some hormones playing games with me. hate it. have the pimples on the face to prove.

to another thing. how do you feel when you are reading a good book?? i feel the world is so small and i am in my own small enclosed cave. no matter how big the room or the bed is, i will only squeeze in that one small corner and be engrossed in the story i am reading. everything seems to have vanished the moment i start reading the lines on the pages. do you feel that way??

this is the book i am reading now. have only reached chapter 3 but it is really good. my brother bought it and i think the book won man asian prize few years back. i feel totally transferred to the mongolian plain and crouching there in the snow cave with the characters watching the wolves attacking a herd of gazelles. totally mesmerising and beautiful.

keeping my fingers crossed that i don't get sick.

pressies from shanghai

well, it is such a boring night and it is such a good night to finish blogging about shanghai trip once and for all. i am sure many will breathe a sigh of relief that this 'trip' is finally over. the travel bag weighed 25kg on the flight back to kl from shanghai pudong airport...and i was threatened with a fine of about 500rmb. so at the airport, i unpacked and stuff some heavier items into my backpack and sent the bag to be weighed again. it became less than 22kg and they let me off the hook. i only had 20kg baggage allowance on my ticket. so did i buy a lot??? a big NO!! see whether you agree.
souvenirs from the expo. a cork coaster from portugal pavilion, a fan from hk pavilion and a glass block from saudi arabia pavilion.

coca-cola for kee hon. special editions released for shanghai expo and another can from japan which i found from one of the malls in nanjing street.

dad's green tea leaves and local snacks. next time don't buy all these pre-packed ones. most of those packed are already past their expiry dates. cheats!!!! but they are still edible and no one suffer any stomachache from eating them. phew!


gifts for others. pouches, burberry edt for brother, handphone accessories, magnets for aunt and expo teeshirts.
finally.....for myself. a 3d keychain of myself (!!! nice hor?? only rmb20 from the science and technology museum), hello kitty love shanghai phone strap from japan industrial pavilion, postcard from zhu jia jiao and legging from uniqlo (rmb79). wonder how much it will cost in malaysia. uniqlo will open on nov 4 at the latest mall in bukit bintang area, fahrenheit 88. dunno when i will wear that pair of legging but i just gotta have one. i love grey!!!!

and mulberry has so many grey bags this season. okokokok....i only checked it out once. won't check again. i know, save money.

the good and the bad

have you seen the latest mcdonalds burger advertisement??? it is sooo yummylicious right???
go to the website and see how succulent the burger is. the advertisement is also on tv and everytime you pass by a mcdonalds outlet, i am sure it is the burger screaming at you.

however, when you go to order the real thing, this is what you get:

on the left is spicy chicken mcdeluxe and on the right is black pepper spicy chicken mcdeluxe. hmmh....actually the photo effect is more flattering to the burgers. but to hold the thin burger in your own hads and to see that miserly piece of fried chicken thigh, urgghh....you wish to throw a tantrum there and then. oh yeah, i can be very temperamental when what i expect does not materialise. so please do not inject any expectation in me if you do not want me to be disappointed.
so yes, i am disappointed with the black pepper chicken mcdeluxe because the piece of chicken thigh fried in black pepper batter is so thin and the meat is not succulent at all (because of its thinness??) and at the price they are charging, almost rm10 for the burger, it makes it so exorbitant.

luckily, i find another cheaper way to satisfy my craving for something high in calorie. it is non other than our office boy- hairy wife's chocolate moist cake.
it is so rich in chocolate and everyone at home has nothing but praises for it....even grandma exclaims how good it is! it is almost 2/3 gone now from that container. i only pay rm14 for that. i think it is going to last one more day in the fridge.
so if you want to have your share of the cake, fork out that rm14. oh, you can tell me and i will help you to order the cake.

random ramblings

• oh no..i won't be able to accumulate all my credit card points and exchange for a sony vaio netbook! sob sob sob! my american express credit card points will no longer be included in maybank treatpoints since amex card will not be under maybank anymore. i hope amex members get good rewards too. does that mean i need to have another fund for my notebook?? and do i need a notebook??
• that notebook will be used to access my cafe world game on fb hahahaha. our cafe world game has reached another level. right now, i have 2 other players' login names and passwords so i can help them collect their dishes at the designated time. how is that for crazy? i have also given my login name and password to someone for the same purpose. and i am not the oldest in my group of cf friends. one is almost reaching middle-age.
  
• going to singapore during the deepavali weekend for sammi's concert. another fanatic thing to do. and i am lamenting at the high exchange rate. definitely no shopping. money will only be spent on transport, lodging and food. haven't even paid for my concert ticket. haven't bought my flight tickets nor booked my hotel. now u know where my next pay is going to.
• sob...only rm500 so called special assistance to civil servant in december. my heart aches and bleeds hearing that. on the other hand, the big amount of allocation given for education sounds good but...let's hope that the implementation is equally good. instead of spending so much to raise the standard of the languages in malaysia, can they spend the same amount of energy to only select the most qualified to join the teaching profession? if you only enrol those who pass their subjects in spm and want them to teach your kids in secondary schools, what kind of quality are you going to get? when you have a strong and qualified human capital, you won't need to spend so much of tax payers' money to buy softwares and teaching aids to help in the teaching because the person conducting the lesson itself already embodies everything good that you need in the lesson. hmmhh....am i getting what i typed?
• an increase of 1% in sales tax from 5 to 6. don't feel like eating at these places anymore. save $$$.
• import tax for 300 types of goods to be abolished. good news for shopaholics? i have never bought any branded bag in malaysia xcept for my first mulberry which had a 50% discount tag on it. perfume and cosmetics yes. so cheaper facial goods?
• time to get my ass off this chair for some marking. finished watching this week's episodes of glee, greys anatomy and gossip girl.