2010-03-30

counting phrases…

Haha… when I mentioned to him about what Geek & Poke said about consultant likes to use "at the end of the day"…
Oh, rephrase… to sound like a consultant, you've to say, "at the end of the day", 10 times in an hour!! ^_^

And that kinda give him some entertainment, which sometimes, he'll start counting, how many time, certain people say certain meaningless phrase like this…

Most of the time, people use it, as a connecting phrase, and most most most of the time, people use phrases, cos, they simply do not know what else to say…
And there you go,
"somehow rather" - shared by him, but I rarely hear from my side of the world, when I was working..
"to be honest" - again, not in my world, but then, I shared with him an article that I've come across before…, by saying that, does it mean, most of the time you're not honest?? And I personally often use,
"frankly speaking",
"actually…",
"… really!!",
Then, I reached a conclusion the other day…
I'm not sure about your mat-salleh/ang-mor friends, (later I'll share with you another phrase I hear them use often, or, maybe australian uses it, frequently) but my guess is, all these, "actually", "really", "to be honest", "frankly speaking"/"honestly speaking", comes from asian, or chinese mostly…
It's the way we're brought up,
Best example, "my cooking nice or not?", "nice!!" - well, you're not really allowed to comment about your mother/MIL's cooking, or your sis's cooking, or your wife's cooking…
"my hairstyle nice or not?", yep, you can't really comment your husband, or your best male friend's hairstyle, cos, I'm not sure why, I think, guy's something about their hair!! ^O^!!
So… sometimes, when we really wanna speak out, and share our opinion, our thought, we say, "frankly", ie. I'm telling you the truth on what I'm thinking and you'd better listen, and take it seriously!!

Sometimes, these phrase are overly used, to the extent that it hurts, while in a meeting… rarely in a casual conversation with friends, cos, like I said, when people do not have things to say, they use it, and when people need to bother to use such phrases, most of the time, it's not a casual conversation, it can be either a presentation, or a meeting…, or a discussion among co-workers…
If friends? Who cares? And who'll be so bothered about "connecting" your words?? Just pause LA!

My personal experience,
Twice, ya, it "hurts",
One matsalleh, keep saying, "you know"!! #$%#$^&% that's during a training, and he's trying to be like a smart-ass… by posting question and answering the question himself… sharing so-called experience, and ending each sentence with "you know!!", ya, I feel like chipping in and saying "no, I don't!"…

Another occasion, while I was still in the workforce, late 2008,
A meeting with a potential service vendor,
That so-called consultant, kept using this phrase, "let's put it in a simple way…!!"
#@%#$%^$#^$!$W#^$&@^@$%%(*%#*%&%$^$%#$%#W$
Ya, we're all so stupid to be in this meeting with you!!!
So difficult to communicate with us, don't come LA!!! Don’t' bother about getting partnership business with us LA!!! Bugger a$$hole!

AT THE END OF THE DAY,
In fact,
The rest is eliminate-able in my conversation, but, I still like to use,
"AT THE END OF THE DAY"… so that, I sound like a consultant, hahaha!!!

AT THE END OF THE DAY… I'm actually using Opera most!

Haha… sad, but true…
Firefox, the css/html problem with multiply.com is unsolved, as the reason's unknown, probably due to the firefox engine…
Google chrome, till the day they figure out how to backup the extension and how not to delete all the extension setting when you clear all your browsing data, I'll not really use it for "serious" purpose… ^_^,
And all the above problem, does not appear in Opera,
Except that, opera does not have "power twitter" kinda thing, however, that can be solved with seesmic…
(what does power twitter do? At least they give me the preview of tweetpic, if anybody tweet any pictures ^_^)…
The only small irritating "behaviour" of Opera is that,
If it's loading some heavy website, or doing something, you just don't know that it's doing something…
It's as similar as certain people, when there's something going on in their mind, they do not show it, be it happy or sad, they do not show it… even if you "poke" them, they still rarely show it…
I hate it in a way, cos, you have to continuously WAIT!! For something to happen, ie. if you're facing this type of people, you just have to wait, endlessly… (cos, you don't know how long you need to wait) for them to tell you, what's in their mind,
Same thing goes with Opera browser…
It doesn't show you that hour-glass thing that it's loading, or, it's "hanged", or anything…
It just doesn't show anything… but I guess… comparing to the above 2 big problem, this one I can just live with it…

2010-03-27

my ikea trolley

    (Can't remember if it's a "trolley" under IKEA category, but nevermind…)
    Hm… maybe I should add some colours into my kitchen too, besides the white/brown!
      
    Gosh!! I'm just so damn addicted to apartmenttherapy, it's like, it's never enough…
    Yep… that helps me to train my brain to its utmost imaginary skill… ^_^

2010-03-26

finally… she sleeps… soundly...

For the past 2-3 nights, yes, roughly 3 nights I guess…
Baby's not been sleeping well…
She's been tossing and turning in bed… testing my patience…
Cos, that's what she'll do…
Drink milk -> turn away -> turn back to me -> kick kick kick -> 'ngek' for a while > drink milk…
Then, the procedure gets repeated… for another 5+5 time…
Yes, I counted…
Cos, I actually lost my patience, when she 'ngek' and kicked…
Yep, she could just kick non-stop… and it gave me nut…
And I 'piak' her for a couple of time…
That's what I told her, which I always tell her…
"you want to sleep, you sleep, you don't want to sleep, then, don't sleep, don't kick and ngek"…
Well… cos, I actually didn't know what she wants..
I know, the chicken pox is giving her uneasy feeling…
The thing is, she didn't really scratch, or showing any uneasy feeling, and therefore, I didn't know what I can do for her…
I sat up, carried her, LOVINGLY!!
She turned away, and started struggling… wiggling.. And tried to sit up..
I let her sit up, she tried to crawl, in bed… and started 'ngek'-ing again…
I let her back to sleep, next to me, she still 'beh song',
So, in the end, I also 'beh song',
Piak!!!

And as usual, following the 'piak', is the great sense of guilt!!
See!! I guess, all mothers… will eventually develop some dual personality kind of things… cos your mood just have to swing, that fast!!!
Anyway…
Since she could just turn and toss non-stop…
There'll be a time, where I'll just hold her back and 'forbid' her from doing such thing repeatedly…
She'll then, start to cry…
That's where I can get my clue,
Sometimes, her cry will be soft, and weak, that's when she's really ready to fall asleep…
But for the past 3 nights, whenever I do that, her cry will actually get louder and louder!!
And yes!! That's when I really didn't know what to do, cos, I didn't know what she wants..
Sit? Nope!
Sleep? Nope!
Drink milk? Nope!
Play? Err… maybe yes, but I won't want to encourage that…
Anyway…
I'm glad that her little birthday celebration went well tonight…
And that both of us were so 'cheered'… as well as her, I guess.. ^_^
And she's sleeping soundly now…

Happy birthday, my baby!!

Organizing your Desktop



Saw this pics from apartmenttherapy.com,
Lovely, isn't it?
Why didn't I think of it initially…

2010-03-23

a Discovery… which I call it, the million-dollar-finding… ^_^

Ah hahahahahaha!!!
Yep… when I told him about my finding, I mentioned it as "million-dollar theory", and he's obviously AMUSED!! And "ooh-tiong-tiong"!!

See, that's how it started…
One fine weekend morning, I was waken up by loud phone conversation… @_@
……
……
……
See… if I don't know who the person's on the other end…
I'll definitely be suspicious of such type of phone conversation,
Soft spoken, a lot of sweet talk, a lot of consoling, in cantonese, a lot of "tum"…
It just seems to me like… the person on the other end of the phone, continuously seek for attention, and nothing other than attention…
If I do not know who the person is, I'll probably be suspecting that, he's having an affair… ~_~
……
……
……
If you've read the once-upon-a-time famous fiction "the celestine prophecy", you'll learn about the 4 types of ways to get energy from others...
From wiki:
Here the four main "control dramas"—the Interrogator, the Intimidator, the Aloof and the Poor Me—are discussed. Each person unconsciously prefers one of these four to suck energy out of others (as described in the Fourth Insight). A way of getting these under control is disclosed…

Anyway… ^_^ this is not about more insights… I'm not that genius… but then… feeling my energy constantly drained whenever I encounter such type of events…
Suddenly something tickled me… and I wanted to recognize that feeling...
There's a pinch of jealousy… in me…
Yep… maybe… maybe there're other people who always like to eavesdrop other people's conversation, just like my favourite ex-colleague 2face, but then, I definitely do not like to eavesdrop… it's not that I've such good personality… but then, I'm the type of people who prefer to know less… knowing more, is only asking for trouble… if I'd like to know more… I'll use the paparazzi way… and paparazzi don't really just simply target ANYBODY… some people interest them, some just don't… get it?
So, I'm not that interested in such type of conversation, all time…
Especially it's pretty much, the same 'formulae' of the conversation…

However…  by realizing there's actually this negative feeling in me… I reckon, it'll be the same for the others too…

So… afterall… I realized something…

AFTERALL… IT'S THE SEPARATION ANXIETY… THAT AFFECTS THE PEOPLE WHO ARE CONCERNED, CENTURY BY CENTURY, ALL OVER THE WORLD!!!

Cos… trust me… I do seek for 'help', but then, what I found out was… irregardless you're asian, or american, or anybody, the thousands of years of domestic problem - MIL (mother-in-law) vs. DIL (daughter-in-law) was never resolved…
First, most of the people, ie. male, think it's just nonsense, it's just this girls problem, and chose to ignore it… and people just ignore it… some people even deny it!!!
Second, putting aside the 'ignore' part, mostly it's just a taboo topic… people avoid it!! Cos, if you talk about it, you're BAD… ya, that makes me BAD now…!!!

And my finding is… based on certain rules, that you've to remember…
The first and most important point is…
Men and women are totally absolutely different species… men WILL NEVER REALLY UNDERSTAND WOMEN, and vice versa… it's not that I'm real fans of the mars vs. venus theory, in fact, I hate the names, but then, yes, men and women are totally different…
Once… there's a wise man said, "don't bother understanding women, just accept them the way they are"…

See.. My theory's not trying to conclude anything, or to scrutinize anybody, or to solve any problem, or even to say what's right, or what's wrong… however… it is kind of a finding, at least, for myself… maybe some "genius" at the other end of the world is thinking the same as me… right now… so, it's nothing too 'private' too…

Remember?? Men and women are totally different species and that, we'll never truly understand each other…
Some women may say that, they understand their men, I've another theory… understanding him, as the real him, or understanding by observing the living habit and so on… is different… please take note!!

Ok ok… my theory…
It's about the separation anxiety…
Most of the time, MIL find the DIL a problem, and therefore, vice versa, it's because MIL's not grown out of the separation anxiety towards their son…
If you want a better picture??
Go read DH Lawrence "sons and lovers", though I think it's a crap piece… ^_^

You see… mothers who've sons, please do retaliate if you disagree… ^_^,
You see… all this while, your son, your cute and handsome son (as always) treat you as his only woman in life… (nothing kinky or sexy over here, ok??)
If there's anything wrong, or, he's sad, or he's in trouble, it's always "mummy!!", or "ma!!"…
(of course, there some sons, who grow out of it!!)
You're the only one…
Serious!!!
He smiles at you most of the time,
Probably shares the same dish,
He calls you all the time when he's away,
You're his only woman, in his life, for maybe 20-30 years??
(I say this, cos, putting aside son vs. daughter, that's what I feel about my baby… my baby has me… and relies on me fully… she's out of me, and we're just so closed!! I fully dedicate myself to her!! And I AM ALREADY EXPERIENCING THIS SEPARATION ANXIETY, imagining how it'll be, when she grows up…!!!)
From a cute young kid, growing up to be a cute, handsome, and smart man!!
Wow!!! It's my product, you know!!!?

And one day,
Some stupid woman comes into his life,
Less call from him,
Less dinner together with him,
Or, less whatever from him,
All because of this young woman!!
And all he sees is this young woman, he hugs her, he kisses her, he just looks so sweet in front of her… and now, it seems that, his ONLY woman's another person… sad huh??
Now, in fact it's already too late for the mother to start thinking about GROWING OUT OF THE SEPARATION ANXIETY, it's already too late…
Cos, jealousy's already burning in you!!!

And that's where the problem starts…
See!!!
I've to say,
Initially, no woman will want to ask for trouble!!
ESPECIALLY KNOWING THAT, SHE'S HIS MOTHER!!!!!!!!! Eh!! Big deal you know!! Especially for chinese women!! (but then, it's the same everywhere, cos, this is a sadly male-dominated world!)
But serious, no woman will actually want to ask for trouble… except when trouble starts looking for her!!
When we married to our man, what we expected to see, if basically something that we might have daydreamed before, as a girl…
Ie. found a man who loves you so much, and that you also love him so much, spend all the time together… everyday loving loving… cooking dinner for him, make him sandwiches, even ironing his shirts is such sweet thing to do everyday… and your man also talks to you sweetly, sharing every moment together, sharing secrets, sharing fears, sharing happiness… etc…, the thing is, reality sucks… being a stranger in the big new family is never easy… especially in the chinese society, a real male-dominated society!! Being a stranger in the big new family, IS never easy…, especially you're… most of the time, not expected to be left alone… there's rarely such thing is, leaving that loving couple, alone… cos, chinese, generation to generation, believes that, big families together, is one big happy family…, if you read those chinese literature, you'll probably come across that many time… like I said, I'm strongly influenced by the famous chinese author, Ba Jin, for his "Jia" (home), "Chun" (spring), "Qiu" (autumn), which he exposed the rotting, invaluable traditional chinese belief… oh… to simplify it, WOMAN'S NOTHING! I cried my heart out and my eyes swollen when I read the books… especially, ahem… the DIL's super ill-treated… ok ok… I'm not like any of the characters in there… just an example… in fact… we do have our own space… most of the time…

Well, unless the man's married to your family, than case closed…
Else, you're the ONLY one when fronting them, ok??
It's not easy, if not impossible, to really reach this one big happy family scenario, unless… first, the mother's willing to grow out of this separation anxiety thing… trust me!! All mothers have!!! The only difference is, whether you can get over it, OR NOT!!!
If the separation anxiety's resolved, there'll be no funny little acts… or constantly seeking for attention, or sweet talk from your already married son… cos, it's just 'burning' to imagine that, the sweet talks been channeled nearly 100% to that woman!!
Worse still is, when most of the time…
There's comparison involved… it doesn’t matter if it's comparison done by a third party, or just done by yourself…
What?? she can't even cook!!
What?? She can't even tidy up the house nicely as I do…
Ok… even if she can… theoretically…
Next is, who's better…
See!! It's neverending sad story…
Cos, simply, there's jealousy… caused by separation anxiety…

Ok… now, what about daughter??
Remember what I said? Men and women are different…
And I can assure you, one day, when my daughter knows a man, maybe the most handsome man in her life… I'll probably be feeling anxious…
Is he good enough? Just like him, her father?
Or, is he bla bla bla bla bla…
But the thing is…
There's a difference… for those who's daughters, I do hope you'll agree with me…
Mother and daughter… the minds (in chinese, 'hearts') are just so close to each other… we may argue, quarrel, disagree from time to time, but we'll always hug each other back, and love each other more than we used to… that's just between mother and daughter… I don't have a son, and I don't know how's it… but then, as based on my theory is…
Since women also will not truly and fully understand men… (again, let's put aside those 'understand' as in the daily living observation, like how he'll respond, or what he'll prefer for dinner)
When… there's another woman in the picture, the insecure feeling will be enhanced!!!
When there's no other woman, at least you know your son's running around in the field, or drinking with friends, but then… when there's another woman in the picture… the story just get complicated…
And it'll be worse, if you're a stay-at-home mother, cos, your mind's not occupied by any other thing, besides your children… yes, sweet and lovely… but it can have negative impact too…
Therefore, if you're a SAHM, please make sure you keep in touch with your friends…, as close, and as long as possible…!!! (even though I don't have a son, but that's what I'm doing, cos, I'm exactly as what I'm describing… SAHM, I don't have a career to occupy my mind, but at least, I need some friendship to occupy me, besides just my daughter.. Oh!! Did I say 100%?? Haha… ya, when she starts calling "mama ma", I'll ditch all my twitter, facebook and blog, etc, and will carry her, look at her, smile at her… yes, that time, 100% ^_^)

So, do you get what I'm trying to say…
Separation anxiety, inevitable! But what we can do is, to make ourselves to work towards growing out of it… as soon as we realize…, or, at least prepping ourselves to grow out of it…!! (I know it's easy to say, but then, I've seen/heard cases where there're mothers who manage to get over it!.... Cos… see!! AT THE END OF THE DAY, the negative feeling of jealousy is not easy to hide, and when it spreads, it's just neverending sad story…)
(hm!! Come to think of it, maybe sending our sons to babysitter in the very beginning is a good idea, cos, then we start to cope with this feeling, much earlier!!... Ok ok… we'll see!)
And why son, not daughter?
Like I said, mother and daughter, the minds are connected…
So, with daughters, we don't have that type of 'insecure' feeling…
(mothers with daughters, if you do not agree with me, please voice out! We'll brainstorm towards a newer theory)
Why do I make such statement, cos… long time ago, my mother was very eager to see that, I've children… (sadly, she left without seeing our lovely baby!) and I asked her once, "why? You already have 2 cute grandsons!!" She told me, it's different… son's children are different from daughter's children…, well, I do not know how true it'll be, but then, I hope I'll grow old enough to witness it… and that multiply is still 'alive', which I can then post my statement… ^_^, but I do get what she meant!!)
I do not dare to proudly say that, my mother's one who's grown out of the separation anxiety with her son, my brother, cos, I know very well that, she did have her 'sad moments', however… I know she was trying to overcome it… rather than to make it worse!!
Because… to me… men, really most of the time, are not unpredictable… (that's what makes us love them so much right?? ^_^ cos, women like challenge! Again, that's this women-y thing!! But when we hate, we also hate them so much!! ^_^)

Another reason of why… why this is happening century to century and it's never been looked into, and tried to be resolved??
The problem is… being a woman…
I can tell you, though I don't represent all women!!
But I can tell you…, most women, after going through some hardship… they'll start to think, "if I can do it, why can't you??", or something like, "if I have tolerated all this $Q%$ before, why aren't you not doing it?"
That's also the same reason… why I prefer a male gynae… let me just side-track a little bit… men, as gynae, probably will be more gentle, cos, if you said you feel the pain, they believes… cos, they really do not know how it feels like… and they can't tell you bullshit like, "I never feel that pain before, and why are you feeling such pain now?? You must be exaggerating,", and probably they start to think that you're lousy as a person…
Yes, I did get that from one of the nurse, at the hospital, after my delivery… it's simply bullshit…
Now back on track…
So, some women tend to do that…
They tend to think that, if they've gone through certain hardship before, as a wife, as a mother, as a woman, and how on earth, and who are you, that you should escape from it…
THAT'S WHEN THE SAD STORY continues, for centuries!!!!!

Did I say that, this million-dollar theory of mine's not conclusion nor resolution??
If it's to be termed… probably I'll call it a Realization / Reflection!!
And to all my friends… who're reading this…
Unless you really do not experience any separation anxiety with your sons… that's fine, and congratulations..
If you do, as a parents… better start prepping yourself now… for 20-30 years down the road, the real big separation anxiety with your son, that you'll have to overcome…!! And if you do, please just do acknowledge it yourself… living in denial doesn't help… and living in lie definitely won't do anybody good!

Afterall… I'm just like anybody, and I'm a no no good mother I supposed…
Again, let me side-track a little bit, and that, you may see how such a complicated mind I have…
Before I knew that, my baby was a girl…
I was like… asking myself…
Cos, I did acknowledge this negative feeling… though, during that time, I've not recognize it as "jealousy" yet…
But knowing that, I've such type of feeling, in fact, I felt bad… (see!! I'm such a good person, there're people, who don't even feel bad, but yet, feel righteous about it!! Hm!!)
And I was telling myself… If I were to carry a baby boy in me… then, that's a punishment!! (let me clarify, I'm not saying that, if you've a son, then, it's a punishment, everybody's story's different, ok?? It's just for me!)
Cos, by having a baby boy, ie. a son… God's trying to tell me and teach me how it feels to be a MIL!!!
However!! Blessedly… I've a daughter… ^_^ yippee!!!
AND… let me whisper to you…
Now, I'm scared to have a son… if I were to be pregnant again…
It's not that, I'll still view it as punishment as what I've just said…
But I AM worried that, I'll not be able to overcome my own SEPARATION ANXIETY!!

Ps: if the man's the only son in the family, that'll be worse!! Arrghh… if you're the man of such, please prep your mother, and your wife, altogether… ok?? Afterall… well… another way to look at it, your mother's have you, as her "sweet son" for 20-30 years already, solely by herself!! Now it's time for another woman!! Of course, reality sucks.. No woman can actually get the 100% from your man, but then, at least, the more the merrier… so, mothers who've sons, be prepared, and man… please help prepping your mother too… for the sake of domestic… of the whole world!!!
And… to those men who're the only son in the family, if you can get a wife, you're super-blessed… and your wife definitely is super-brave woman!!

2010-03-22

I'm not rich, and my husband doesn't print money

You see… I know most people think that, I'm a rich "tai tai" (wife, literally, but most of the time it's used to describe the wife's a stay-at-home, not working, and enjoying a good life...), and most probably they also think that my husband prints money…
The fact is, I'm not a rich "tai tai", and my husband does not print money,
To make it sadder… my husband's still a "da gong zai"… (employed!)
And of course, there're friends who know us well, know the very real fact… we're just like anybody…
I mean, any commoner on the street…
Living in a condominium, which's not high-end, nor expensive…
^_^

And the fact is… (after you read, please don't cry!! Haha!)

I don't wear anything branded… my most branded outlet's vincci… and my most expensive pairs of shoes, probably's from vincci, somewhere around RM60, sport shoes, addidas, probably around RM200-250, bought in shanghai, when he's on his allowance… ya, that little bit helped… I bought most of my stuff, baby's stuff online lately, and 90% I bought when they're having sales…

I don't carry branded handbags… my most expensive BAG, probably will be crumpler… around RM250, maybe… but there's no prada, or LV, or gucci, or even guess, or other things on my shelf… and lately, I fall in love with cloth-bag… ie. petshop, or any handmade bags… ie. the original idea is the japanese zakka… (from baby clothes, bib, training pants, to linen clothing, something like what muji's offering, to tote bags, lunch bags, and so on… cloth, handmade… I simply find them lovely, and I'm aiming to pick up the sewing skill so that I can make those thing myself…)

I don't use cosmetic… hm… which I think, it's the main pool of any girl's expenses monthly…, my most expensive product on my shelf, that can be applied on my face, is probably the first olay "total effects" that I've bought, again, RM65 roughly…

I don't do anything to my hair… which I think I should, and I will later… DIY, from cosway… so, I don't perm, I don't colour, in the long run, 0 maintenance, and I cut my hair @ quickcut!! RM12 per cut… ^_^

I don't do facial regularly… which again, maybe I should but now, I really will not have that luxury time (and I really can't be bothered) to be parted from my baby and get my face pinched and squeezed and I ouched all the way, in fact… it's always suffering session to me…

I don't have gym membership… which, I did have, for 1 year, went there 2-3 time… wasted thousands over dollar… learnt a lesson… gym's never for me, even I do have a gym buddy… out of that one day, half year I was pregnant, another few months, I was mourning over the loss of my beloved mother…, got "sum cheng" (mood) to go gym?? Ya, I'd rather sit there, sob and lick my own wound…, that's my way of therapy…

I don't eat expensive food… though many of you may think I do… but the fact is I don't… in fact, one of my favourite food for lunch or dinner's this "chap fun" (rice-set) from Mabo@Pst Bdr Puchong… only that store… when I was alone, if he went oversea to work, I could practically drive there lunch and dinner, just to takeaway the rice and dishes! And most of the time I'll be hanging around on the internet looking for decent but yet affordable food, for example… the place we just went, IR1968@terrace@hockchoon's not expensive afterall… yes, the bill's just slightly off RM100, but then, it's because it's the first time we went, and we didn't know the portion of the food, in fact, the amount of food can easily feed 4 adults, ie. that place's worth going again, with more friends and family…, next I may seems to love japanese food a lot, which I do, but we always go to jyuraku in subang, which, we've an idea how the food will be served at that amount of money… see!! If you do some 'homework' you'll be able to find some decent food with affordable price, of course, don't tell me you're expecting a set of sashimi that cost RM5 per portion, if there's, I won't dare to eat, cos, those fish may be poisonous… (do read up difference between farmed and wild salmon, else, you can catch one of the episode of Boston Legal, where Alan Shore "discussed" about it in the courtroom)… see!! Places like Mandarin Grill or The Sage are never for me… cos, those places simply offered food that's nice and sweet to look at, no quantity to fill up my stomach… and EXPENSIVE!

I don't wear expensive maternity clothing/shoes… while I was pregnant, I got most of my stuff off the 50% sales from again, Padini and group, Miki Mum, and also, the rest is from JJ.. Hahaha…!! And my maternity shoes, was actually Crocs…, yep, I wore to work, the thing is, I didn't need to go see customers, and my boss was not that particular, as long as it's not strikingly "casual"… kekekeke…

I don't drink expensive drink… the most I've now, is probably pacific coffee since they opened an outlet nearby… my all-time favourite's The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, which is slightly cheaper compared to Starbucks for their cup of iceblended… of course, despite the pricing, I personally do prefer Coffee Bean's iceblend, cos, it's less sweeter, and it's not just like any other iceblended american style coffee… other than that, I made my own local style white coffee… which, lately, I discovered the brand Combywide's much better than the original OldTown White Coffee… if you do buy those pre-packed 3-in-1 coffee off the supermarket shelf… do give it a try… and you've to use that tall IKEA glass to make, else, It'll appear to be sweeter and maybe more bitter for the Oldtown version… yep, both of these brand, I use the IKEA glass... Not the usual mug… and they give you the umph of the day… kekekeke…

I don't eat a lot of meat daily in my homecook food, and therefore, simply vege's cheap, AND HEALTHY!! Easy to prepare too!!! To make it even more 'dramatically sad' (to your definition, not mine, maybe!!) is that, I actually use 3 pieces of chicken parts only, for our soup of the day… kekeke… still tasty and yummy…, the rest of the other 2 dishes, are mainly vege, or vege with mushroom, or maybe egg dish - fried eggs, eggs with tomato, eggs with baked beans… so, usually after a weekend of over-indulgence, oops… yep, if we accidentally do it… I'll make the meal even more simpler for the weekdays… just to 'recover'...

I don't go to expensive places like Dome Café… EVEN if I do go, I don't order any of their food, except their pot of tea, RM10, and their set of scone, total bill, RM20, still got change… kekeke… but the fact is, I don't really go to Dome Café, their price just too expensive, and there's nothing spectacularly good… and you'll be dump if you order their twister there, come on!! RM20 for a cup of iceblend??  Yuck!! It's disgustingly expensive!

I don't use expensive mobile phone, and I don't change my handphone based on trend, I use it till it dies on me… as simple as that, my most expensive phone's the one that I'm carrying… SE W880i, slight over RM1000… and I subscribed to the cheapest digi call plan, DG30… the catch is… haha, I activated the "unlimited internet 58" plan!! Kekekeke… cos, I'm a supposedly otaku…

I don't swipe my credit card all the time to buy whatever items in my wish list… though you may think that's what I've been doing, in fact… I wait for the 'installment' to be finished, then only I proceed to my next item… that's why I do have a wish list, pending… and it gets trimmed sometimes… cos, when you actually wait a little while, you'll know that, there're things that you don't really need… for eg. My wish list was wacom bamboo fun, sewing machine, new SE phones.. But then, now, it's just wacom bamboo fun (cos, I want to pick up some illustration hobby, or maybe just improve my photoshop skill??) and a sewing machine…!!

Since I don't do all these things listed here… you may think that I don't have a life??
Well… I may not have your life, but I've my life… ^_^
You give me astro… which you may also watch,
You give me internet connection… which you may also tap on,
You give me a decent desktop/notebook… which you may also use… (probably that's one of my expensive item on the table, but yet, it's the lowest and cheapest configuration from Dell)
You give me a phone that can snap photos, doesn’t have to be top notch quality, and can do some internet when I need, or when I'm in bed… which you may borrow sometimes…
That… I'll be happy…
Good enough…
Ya, my life…
But of course, my life's  more than that… other than spending money to get a life…
I spend time with my cute baby,
And I cook for my family… healthy cooking's also something that I enjoy…
Other than that… yep… planning for a trip…
That's where the majority of the money goes, I supposed…
Cos, AT THE END OF THE DAY,
Food and travel's my main concern… yep, that's why I love the "travel and living" channel… ^_^ and that's why, food's included in the idea of travel… inseparable…
And food & travel are best, when done with your loved ones…
That's my definition of life, practically my life, and that's my definition of quality life… ya, my quality life…
Of course, that, will be different from your quality life…

And don't get me wrong,
All the things listed above, is the cause, not the effect…
Ie. that's just me and us, the upkeep's considered low in the beginning…
It's not because I've stopped working, and that I've to thrive to this extent…
However… by having such "simple life" (which I call) we can afford to have a little bit of indulgence, or pampering session, such as good food (decent but yet affordable range), coffee session, and traveling…
… once in a while…

Ps: yes, traveling's my lifetime favourite, even by just planning for a trip, imagining it, get me thrilled!!

The Delivery Guy

The other day, the delivery guy came to deliver one of my online order…
While I was sleeping, cos, it's weekend, and he accepted the package on my behalf…
When I got up, he told me the delivery guy mentioned that he's come to our place several time already…
Hearing that… my response was, "what?? He came several time? I ordered this only 2-3 days ago, these people!!! They never bother to buzz the bell, and just come and assume that nobody's at home!!!"
He said, "no, not this delivery, what he meant was, he's come to deliver packages quite a few time already!!"…
Oh I see… @_@ (act blur!!)
Meaning… this delivery guy, (I think it's the poslaju guy) actually 'gossiped' with my husband!!! ~_~
Meaning, this delivery guy's trying to tell my husband that, "hey!! Your wife's been ordering stuff online man!!"
Hm!!!

Then, I started to think other way… ghee…
If there's online ordering for cute guys, then, this guy will be saying,
"I've been delivery many handsome blokes to your house a couple of time already, man!!"
@_@

2010-03-21

My Nostalgic Apartment...

Most of my friends know that I've some preference in staying in high-rise, ie. condominium, or apartment…
Besides the security reason, not that it's 100% secured, however, I do have a peace of mind, somehow… especially those days, when he's traveling, and I was working in KL, alone…
It's really freaky, if I've to deal with a big house, solely by myself…
Well… that's past…

Just the other day…
While I was lying in bed… in the middle of the night, trying to fall asleep…
I heard a motorbike passed by… on the road, far away, up on the hillside opposite our condo…
Then… I realized, what I've missed in my statement about my preference in staying in condo…
With that sound…
My memory flashed back all the way, to nearly 20 years ago… (gosh, yes, I'm disclosed my age, but it's not a big deal, I've never intended to hide)
When I used to go to my uncle's house in pekeliling, yep… the "17-floor" area… where there's this pekeliling bus hub for travelers from some other states in malaysia… (some of the buses are from here, some of the other buses were from pudu)
My uncle's unit was on the 16, I may have remembered wrongly though…
There, I used to stand next to the balcony, at night, after dinner…
Looking up onto the roads downstairs, look kinda small… where vehicales "flew" by…
I kinda enjoy the sound if it…
So near, yet so far… you just stood there, watching…

AND that perhaps also explains, why of all heroes, I love Batman!! (of course, the major part of it, was because of Christian Bale!) I love the way, The Dark Knight stands up high, on top of the building, watching the city he loves, yet disappointed… a nostalgic city for him…

That… again… brought me back to an even earlier, much earlier years of me…
While I was indulging on all the chinese language fiction, mainly city love stories… (oh… if  I was younger, then, I may enjoy SITC series…, which I simply don't, anymore! That's for SITC, for the story books' stories, yes, I still do, I believe…)
And most of them, were composed by HK female young writers… in fact, I said, "most of them", that's just trying to show that I READ a lot, which I actually don't…
It's just this writer, amy cheung… amy cheung siu han…
I know some people may think that her stories are shallow, just about love and love and love between men and women, and heart-breaking and so on… but then, I did enjoy them, and I did cry over some of the sad stories that she wrote…
Though, as of today, I'll of course, try to make myself sounds a little bit more with depth, and that, I proclaim, I like zhang man juan, a taiwanese female writer, whose story-telling, or short articles definitely, have more substance… and yes, I truly love her… she's different from anybody and she's a lecturer in the university… unlike amy cheung…

And now, probably you get it…
HK's the key word, where most of the people there…
Stay high up in the highrise…
1 huge blocks, many stories… many lives, many sad and happy souls…
And probably the handsome bloke you bumped into, at the lobby, will be staring at the sky at his balcony, or watching the cars and motorbikes "flying" by…

Whenever I hear this night-riders "flying" by…
I'll be wondering…
Hm… where's he going to?
Who's he meeting??
Is he a happy person?
A lost person? Or a sad soul?

….
Ps: and that's why~~~ I'm into apartmenttherapy.com now…
(haha, how I wish, I'm advertising for this website now… the fact is, I don’t!)

And just let me side-track…
After sharing with him about my "finding" regarding my preference on highrise, or apartment…
We explored further into our preferences…
And a few places in the past popped up…
Like the fisher hall that I stayed in london,
Or, this lodge that I stayed in gatwick,
Those houses with cozy basement's living lounge…
Those english houses along cromwell road, or simply, a few blocks away from fisher hall, or bernard sunley house…
Hm…
So, the fact is, I'm not that against 2-storey, or 3-storey…
The point is that, it's to be cozy..
And my terms of coziness's to be a little bit colourful, homey, and maybe even crowded with stuff…
For eg. Bookshelves full of books… different sizes…
A bench with some colourful cushions,
A console with some photos, some books, or everything on top.. Just like the one we've now, which we bought from ikea… I simply love this piece of furniture, it makes my dining area more homey and cozy now… kekeke…
If you still do not get what I'm saying… just go see the apartmenttherapy.com pictures…
Small, colourful, homey and cozy…
Just by looking at those pictures, I can imagine spending time with my loved ones in these area… doing nothing… maybe just sit around, chat all night… drink all night… and whatever…

Ya… that's my~ apartment~~
Ps: if I've money, if I'm rich, I won't by more houses in this crap country, this crap city which is full of crime, a country's that marching its way to hell… I'll probably spend my money, buying small apartments in cities that I like… ^_^ sounds like a good and sweet deal huh?? That's ONLY, IF!!!

Sharing: Why You're Fatter Than Your Mom

Saw this from one of my subscription today, pretty interesting…

Thursday, March 18, 2010 - 5:36 pm ET

Throw away your TV, car, and vacuum instead of joining the gym. The BBC reports on “The Slimming Sixties”:


Thursday, March 18, 2010 - 5:36 pm ET

2010-03-18

Songs of the Seasons...


I'm sure when every one of us listen to our favourite music… there's some pictures in our mind…
That'll be interesting to know right?? Just like… our dreams… I mean, dreams we dream at night…
There're only  certain songs I like… I mean, like to the extent I can listen to it, over and over again…
And of course, throughout the years that when I grow older, my taste changed…

As of now… my type of music, tend to be the quiet type…
But there's some, like Radiohead, quiet, yet rock… ie. alternative rock… hehehe…

These 2 music - instrumental that I've just uploaded…
It's not one of my 'quiet' music that I can listen over and over again… however, these 2, remind me of certain seasons of a year…

Late spring, midsummer, early autumn, late autumn, early winter…
These are the time of the seasons I like… and these 2 pieces remind me of these seasons… particularly,
Late spring, or the whole autumn itself… ya, I'm an autumn person…

Secret Garden - though it's an "ang mor" piece… it just keep bring me to this old Shanghai place… maybe somewhere in the Fuxin Lu, or some small hutong (small lane)… autumn...
Haha… sometimes, I wonder if that's my past life…

Then… there's Canción Triste (it means "sad song"), reminds me of somewhere in europe, a small town… late autumn, early spring…  haha!!!
All have a little big of 'romanticism' in there… that's my definition…

有些歌,讓你想起有些地方,
不一定你親身到過那個地方,
可能夢中曾經相見,
然而,這些歌,讓你在腦海裡,去了那個地方,那個季節,千百回。

這兩首音樂,就是這樣,
它讓我想到季節,
中文名稱較好聽,又或者我的英文不夠勁。
晚春,仲夏,初秋,晚秋,初冬,
我最喜歡的季節,秋。
那種不想冬天的寂靜,
卻又沒有春天的喧鬧,
我喜歡這類的音樂。

它也讓我幻想著,
自己身在另一個過度,
百年前,上海市的一個角落,
也可能是復興路,或者任何一個上海市的小胡同。

靜靜的,
悲悲的,
有點兒浪漫,
卻又有點而含蓄的快樂。

這是我的音樂。


2010-03-15

iPhone & Ling Chi Ling


Don't ask me what's the real connection, but when it comes to me… I somehow can manage to "connect" these two… hahaha!!!
Why? And how?

Well… for a while, serious, for a while… I was distracted…
I call myself sony ericsson's fan, but then… I was distracted, and deviated for a while, ie. looking seriously into iPhone, especially as a digi subscriber, I'm eagerly waiting for them to be in the iPhone's play… and yes, they've announced it… to be launched this June, and the pre-order's available now… (ooh… I don't get anything by "advertising" for them… ^_^)

Anyway… I'm not against iPhone, definitely not, and I do like anything from Apple… it seems like, most of their products are just so lovely… and I miss that Apple shop in Shinjuku… (is that Shinjuku? I gotta check my photo album first)

Ok… let me tell you how Ling Chi Ling comes into the picture…
And that, now, as for me@choong, I've kinda equated Ling Chi Ling to iPhone… (maybe you think somebody else deserves it, or that iPhone does not deserve it, that's your opinion!!)
See… I suddenly thought of how I got distracted…
It's just like…
As a husband, as a man… who's a wife, ie. sony ericsson… and that you vowed to be loyal to her…
Then, one day, you see, all male around you, are having a Ling Chi Ling (ok, she's at least one of my approved chinese goddess in this century… and I can't think of others)… oh, I mean, all men around you, all your friends are having a Ling Chi Ling-like wife next to them… in and out, happily, contented…
Don't you just wish (oh! Come on!! Just admit it, man!!) that you'll have one too… next to you??

Then, one day… in the middle of the night, awaken from your sleep…
You suddenly realized… you've a wife, sony ericsson, which you've vowed to be faithful and loyal… (I'm just exaggerating, I didn't sell my soul to sony ericsson…, I'm just dramatizing things ^_^)
… and that… you decided, to go back to your wife… sony ericsson…

And therefore…
I'm not looking into some affordable range of sony ericsson, which give me these features,
3G, GPS, wifi (my current one only has 3G)
Of course, on top of that, play music, and take photos… (these have already become a "by-default" thing to me)
The models are…
Aino, Satio, Xperia X10



And of course, of all… the only one that… so-called affordable to a semi-tech-savvy housewife like me… is Aino… yet, it's already near to RM2K… @^%$@&@^#%!#%^@&%^