Notes of a song...

Sisterly Reminiscence: Part 2

2012-01-28T00:37:00.002+08:00

I don't usually do sequel posts but my last post really unleashed so many old memories that were weird but truly truly awesome beyond words. I just realize how wild our imagination was as kids. I don't have as good a memory as my sister so she remembered all this crazy stuff I imagined up!

1. After watching an episode of Bionic Woman about female robots called Fembots replacing humans, I imagined up our own Fembot lab where we too kidnap people & replace them with Fembots. We could monitor what the Fembots were doing through the monitors. So, detailed, siap dengan mini fire extinguisher in d lab. kakakaka

2. Another imaginary place I dreamt up. We were witches living in a scary castle surrounded by a bloody moat. It even rained blood! Indoors & outdoors also I drew!!

3. This is a drawing of our home's living room. Even the cushion cover patterns are exactly like this. The 2 heads sticking out from the couch are my sis & me. Sis said that I wrote a whole essay for this photo but I can't remember what I wrote.

4. This is one of the many "Be Bo Ba Bo" pages in my book. I invented that term for free-scribbles pages. Hahahah

5. And kiddy essays I wrote, the Malay one is about a Magic Coffin that can bring dead things back to life. (I think I must have been very fascinated with all things sci-fi, fantasy and the paranormal since little). The English one was about a boy my mom used to babysit whom I really hated. hahahah.

One conclusion is, I was one crazily imaginative child!!! But that was what made our childhood so interesting. We didn't have the luxury of travelling, having computers or other canggih stuff and had never even flown on a plane. How else can we have our adventures but in our minds?? In the end, I think our adventures were way more interesting, wouldn't you say??

Sisterly Reminiscence

2012-01-26T22:13:00.003+08:00

Just had dinner at parent's place again tonight. And we kinda brought up this old memory of me & sis cycling to the nearby kedai runcit to get my mom some onions when I was 12. We got chased by a couple of dogs (actually I remember they were only few months old puppies heheh) and I cycled soooo fast with my sis behind me that I lost control and cycled into a tree. Of course all the onions terpelanting all over the grass & the bicycle front wheel was bent. It was one of those old-school bicycles with a basket in front. How cool was that?

In this day & age, children no longer have the entire neighbourhood as their playground. Most are confined to their homes with their Macbooks, Ipads and Wii. Parents too, welcome this confinement due to rising crimes of kidnapping or human trafficking. They too have the opportunity to travel the world and see what other parts of the world is like.

Although we had never had a computer or traveled anywhere as children, I am so thankful for my awesome childhood... because entertainment & adventure was not provided to us, we used our imagination to dream up these sources of entertainment & adventure. I could never have had such an awesome one had I not have a little sister to share it with. It wouldn't be at all fun to do any of these things alone. Some things we did:

1. Before we slept, we'd have our imaginary adventures we called "kongabout". We'd set the premise of the adventure, then go along the adventure together through a conversation + narrative. Sometimes it is a different premise every night but at times it is a continuation of the story the day before. We'd continue until 1 of us gets too sleepy to talk or fall asleep.

2. We'd record ourselves singing, in harmony... sometimes to the piano, sometimes a-capella.

3. We even recorded ourselves acting in short stories where the characters in the story are ourselves & our cousins. (I know its weird but I'd give the world to find those cassettes again)

4. We'd go back to Penang during the year end school holidays. Occasionally we would also buy cute animal shaped Eden cakes and lepak at Youth Park or at the Botanical Gardens where we get to see the monkeys.

5. We'd go to our uncle's bungalow where we could swim, and can play hide & seek for hours coz the house was so huge, you can hardly find anyone. We'd even climb up his tall fences to go curi-curi play with his neighbour's fluffy white dog.

6. We'd make glutinous rice balls together with mom during Winter Solstice & see who can make the tiniest balls.

7. I remembered we even built "tents" with our blankets in our bedroom to have our pretend camp-out sessions.

8. We played batu seremban & getah at school, we were both excellent at it!!

9. We'd play with stray kittens together and get scolded for dirtying our hands with their germs.

10. Even as we got older, we performed in the school choir together. We were in the same schools in both primary & secondary school.

11. We have a singing group together called Karla Ryka, then changed to Dejavu, then changed to Citadel. The 2 of us and our friend Kim. We'd walk to school on Saturday mornings while we sing in harmony the whole half-hour walk there. We performed in our school's talentshow, other school's talentshows & even got through 1st round of Asia Bagus.

12. We'd stay back after school together just to lepak with friends, & even played in the mud in our school field.

Good times... Awesome kan? =)

Blood is thicker than water

2012-01-25T20:00:00.000+08:00

During this festivity where reunions are customary in this part of the universe, all the generations gather together and this is where this inter-generational conflict is most prominent. Your family; you love them... but you don't necessary like them all the time. They have their own ideals in life; financially, culturally and everything else. And the worst part is, the "I have eaten more salt than you've eaten rice" line. I am sure that they have good intentions behind all those expectations... but what is ideal for them may not be ideal for me. I have never neglected my daughterly duties to them, be it excelling through my studies, financial support, regular visits, running small errands eg. computer related stuff, or even bring them to the hospital if they do not feel well. I live 25 mins away, and am there for them. My sister even more so, as she lives with them. She even spares the time to go on vacations with them. But none of that is ever enough for them & they will not hesitate to voice their dissatisfactions. I really do not understand.

We still love them though... not just because the Bible tells us to but honestly, we still do. In my sister's words, "I just syiok sendiri treat them nice coz they don't seem to think that is nice anyway." and "You just angry sendiri coz mom bukan main proud lagi that she told you off about some CNY customs.". I guess we'll each continue to syiok sendiri then. Do things that we think, other'd appreciate. Whether they do or not... doesn't matter coz everyone has their own good intentions behind it.

Putting myself in their shoes, I am sure as a parent I too, would have expectations for my kids. No human is capable of real unconditional love, only God is capable of that. Would I behave like them if my kids don't meet my expectations?? Well, I guess I will never know... Because I have long decided not to have kids. I do not think I can handle more than 1 inter-generational conflict. I have come to accept the reality that parents and kids grow up in very different times and will always have different mindsets no matter what.

In this festive season, let us learn to accept each other's differences and come to the Reunion Table with sincere happiness that will manifest itself in smiles. After all, blood is thicker than water. =)

Gong Xi Fa Chai!! Happy Reunion!!

Of Sabbaticals

2012-01-21T13:21:00.000+08:00

Why don't most companies in Asia offer sabbatical leaves? I know of many European companies who practice this. I guess quality of life or work-life balance is more valued in that region & we have not quite caught up with them in that area. We all know the wonderful benefits of a sabbatical for the employee.

There are many benefits to the company as well. Let me point out a few:

1. It is an un-paid vacation anyway & incurs minimal cost to the company. This benefit will position the company as a champion of work-life balance... this will attract young talents. Whether they take it or not, it is there as a option.

2. It trains employees to work in teams, share their knowledge & expertise, rotate their roles with their peers so that in case 1 of them applies for a sabbatical, the entire team can still function effectively although slightly stretched without one of their team-mate. It reduces parasitic dependence on 1 person.

3. Benefit #2 extends to a situation when there is a resignation in the team. Recruitment process can take anything from 3 months to a year depending on what is the position to be filled and what profile of recruit you are looking for. With team-mates that can easily swap roles and do each other's work or share out the additional work; you have the luxury of time to look for the best fitted candidate or the luxury of changing the job function to fit a candidate you like.

4. The same also applies should the company want to send a high performing employee for a year-long overseas assignment/attachment.

5. It allow recuperation time for employees to recharge by doing what they love, be it just spending time with their children, learn up dancing or write a book. This recuperation time will prevent professional burnout and improve attrition rates especially for the middle to top management levels; which are most expensive to lose, recruit & train.

6. It allows the employee to develop themselves at their own cost in other areas outside their main job function that they most interested in eg; take up psychology or counseling diplomas which may help them do a better job as a manager or coach upon returning to their job.

7. It trains their employees to be financially savvy and disciplined because it take a high level of both in order to have the financial resources to be able to afford a year-long sabbatical.

Since I am working in this part of the world, I have no choice but to resign in order to take a sabbatical... at my own risk of unemployment 1 year down the road. But I am ready to take that risk. The benefits far outweighs the risk.

In a couple of months time... I will be on MY sabbatical. I can't wait!!! =)

Malaysian Girls Penang Tour

2012-01-16T23:22:00.001+08:00

Today is the beginning of a new era, the end of the Malaysian Girls pageant. :( Our beautiful journey of friendship, learning, creating something beautiful together has come to an end. We hope our audiences have enjoyed it as much as we have. So sad... I have never met a big team like this before; no drama, divas, bitching, back-stabbing or bad-mouthing. This kind of camaraderie is usually only achieved in smaller teams. So, "How ugly can it get?" Not ugly at all.... AT ALL. How rare is that?? This team is truly a gem... never will I forget this beautiful journey that I have walked with the Malaysian Girls. ♥ ♥ ♥

Our final run was in none other than my birthplace, Penang. And boy, was it a wonderful run! The 1 week of run in Penang, we had full-houses almost every night. And the audience really had no inhibition, they laughed and cried and gave us their all... and as all live performers, we feed on their responses. So, we too gave them one helluva show! We love the Penang peeps... so sincere, so appreciative. We all wanna do more shows in Penang now!! ;)

Girls Backstage

Our friends frm PCC there to support us!! Yeayy!

Will miss Pooja heaps... the sweetest person I know, so thoughtful & sincere

Bootilicious!

Our wonderful musical director & his awesome team of musicians

The man who made it all possible, Joe, our director

"Seksi bukan seksa ya girls!!" Cikgu Lex, our choreographer

Packing up after a big glam show like this is no small job...

Kee How from Penangpac

More penangpac peeps, the "V" guy did a fantabulous job selling our program books & CDs, & even sang Sydney Belle's Aria during the intermission!!! :) We didn't get that kind of promotion in KL :p

Glorious Penang food for the Cast Parteh

Yummy in my tummy

We also took a morning out to go for a nice Heritage Walk, courtesy of my hubs... proudly showing off his hometown. We started at the Esplanade area... food first, then Fort Cornwallis.

The myth is that the Sri Rambai Cannon can improve a woman's fertility if she hands a flower around it. You know who will definitely NOT be hanging any flowers there! ;-)

England dia banyak powderful... the bungalow is around the fort????

like this??? =.="

We then went to the state museum, which was surprisingly... well maintained & curated.

An old gerabak of the train up to Penang Hill / Bukit Bendera

Hubs telling people about his hometown, dengan bangganya!

Banana leaf rice!!!

Peeps with a full tummy of banana leaf rice are happy peeps!!

So happy to be sharing this journey with him, our first production together was so wonderful... we hope for more to come in the future!!! :) :)

Mervyn sorting out they payment... too much? too little?

This is what the Penangites call "kelena seow"

I will most certainly have terrible post-production withdrawal symptoms for Malaysian Girls... I will miss everyone dearly!! Sobs sobs :( :(

Learning the Ukulele

2012-01-06T20:52:00.000+08:00

I've always ALWAYS wanted to busk in NYC. Being a pianist, erm... nak angkut piano or keyboard to NYC tu... erm, not exactly practical coz unfortunately, teleportation devices have not been successfully invented yet. My only option is just sing a-capella busking solo, erm... not exactly ideal either. My guitar skills?? Tak lah terra, guitars are big & heavy too. Carry it on a 24hr-long flight with transits in between?? No way.

So, I have decided to learn up a much more practical street busking instrument to accompany my singing... light, portable & needs no electricity source... the Ukulele!!!

The minute I decided to learn the Ukulele, I immediately bought one to get started on learning it. As luck would have it, it came in pink Hawaiian-ish floral design!! Can you imaging my joy????

I figured if Google could teach me how to make a yummy Chikuteh, Google can also teach me the Ukulele. And don't ever forget the power of Youtube!!

Tuning the Ukulele: erm, this guys's notes are kinda out. I had to use my keyboard as reference instead.

Learning how to play the basic chords

Now if you'll excuse me, I have some tuning to do... and a lot of practicing to do. La la laaaaaa ;-)

Leap of faith

2012-01-03T19:00:00.000+08:00

I finally did it!!! I finally took the leap!!

It is indeed damn scary to step out into the unknown. My parents are not supportive. My friends are happy but worried for me that they've helped open up so many possible paths for me. I get more confused every day as more & more opportunities unfold... am I blessed or what???? Thank you Ellyne, Chris, Chloe, Natasha, Xendra, ... I love you alls!!! :) Hhhmm... but, which opportunity should I focus on?? I doubt I can do all otherwise I may end up busier than being in employment which defeats the purpose of my resignation. I want to do more performance arts, learn to cook, do volunteer work, do more of God's work...etc. I will need time to do ALL of those. Hhmmm... hhhmm. Think Karynn, THINK! Which path will be best to fit your plan??? @.@

My husband?? Still the bestest human being on earth who supports my every pursuit and dream!! Who has total confidence in me to make it in whatever I want to do!! Muaks!! I love you!!!

My God?? Lagi supportive!! I love You Lord!!!!!
“Then Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?’” (Luke 12:22-26, NIV).

Here. I. Go... BOING!!!!

The Asian Christmas for the White Chick

2011-12-26T22:12:00.000+08:00

The Malaysian Girls had a day off for Christmas Eve. And what do a bunch of singing, dancing actors do on their day off?? Partay!!

Each of us was to prepare or buy a dish that shows off our Oh-So-Asian roots to our guest star from Australia, Zoe! And Siti Farrah was gracious enough to host the party & welcomed us to her home.

She really took the time & the effort to spruce up her place to the occasion... The Asian Christmas!! Look at all the tanglungs on the tables & fence!!

The boys helped her to pack up the goodie-bags... macam factory-line workers. hehehe

The cutesies joined in the party too, Suria!! Meeoooww

And Bibi... isn't he such a cuddle wuddly teddy bear???

We kept ourselves occupied with some games. This one is Innuendo, a game that forces us to think of "clean" explanation of suggestive statements... the least otak kuning person will win. Not easy when played with a bunch of otak kuning people. ;-)

2nd game, our least favourite... Trivia. We could hardly get any of the answers... this soooo proves that our Malaysian education system is an epic failure when it comes to general knowledge, geography, history, chemistry, etc etc... and even entertainment knowledge about movies, TV shows and all. @.@

We then introduced our Asian dishes one-by-one to Zoe to let her know how what all these food are. All home made stuff by the Malaysian Girls Cast!! Terra tak??

Even Zoe made something of her own, gingerbread!!! :)

I am very proud to have made Chikuteh for the very first time in my life, successfully!! My guru?? None other than good ol' Google!!!!

Merry merry Christmas!!!!...

From the cast of Malaysian Girls and friends!!! xoxo

A day in the life of a Malaysian Girl

2011-12-19T22:52:00.000+08:00

My day started out pretty normal... wake up at 7am, drive through the traffic jam, get to the office, do some paperwork....*yawn* not exactly blogworthy stuff. But as mid-day approaches, I zoom-zoomed off from the office to Sunway Pyramid in time for my totally overdue mani-pedi appointment. The girl was pretty slow but hey, beauty takes time!!

Pretty nails all done!

Beauty takes time!

I was happy to finally get my nails done properly as I had to perform with my DIY ugly albeit glittery nails since Opening Night on 10th. Pretty mauve!! Unfortunately, none of my Malaysian Girls costumer were purple.

Since I had skipped lunch to do my nails, I had a nice filling tea-break instead!! Had a healthy leafy sandwich with Sydney accompanying me. We were both on leave and decided to spend some sisterly bonding time together off-work.

Latte break! Mine's the bunny 1 :)

Hanging out wt Sydney although both of us are on leave

After that, I dashed off to klpac to get my hair and make-up done.

Complete Make-Up Tools!! Pro, kan??

Fairuz and Zul were our super make-up artists who had to do 14 girls' hair and make-up everyday for our show. They were superb and really know how to glam us up rather than our regular day-today make-up or "make-up pergi pasar" as Fairuz put it. ;p

Fairuz, MUA #1

Zul, MUA #2

Work in progress

Voila!!! Ready for the stage

Whenever hubby or I am free, we went around papparazi-ing the girls. :)

Anrie DIY-ing her hair

Zul working his magic!

Our casts' baby getting her make-up done!

The beautiful Aliaa

Pretty Pooja even before make-up

Un-Guccified Freddy

Our soprano songbird Zoe!!

BB's turn for make-up!

After the performance, it's time for some meet-and-greet, chewah... macam stars konon tapi meeting family actually. So glad that my mom & my sis came and they enjoyed the show a lot!! A bit disappointed that dad didn't want to join them though. Some day I must do something more Chinese-ish and familiar, perhaps then he will come and support???

Family Photo!!!

It starts all over again tomorrow!! Do catch us before the end of the month... our last show in KL is on Dec 30th. Details?? Go here.

Klue, Doh!!

2011-12-03T10:49:00.001+08:00

Last night was our last day off from Malaysian Girls rehearsals before intensive rehearsals leading to the bump-in & opening night next week. What do a bunch of entertainers do on their day-off? Be entertained of course.

Practically half our cast including my hubby & me went for the Preview Nite of Klue, Doh! at the Black Box, MAP Solaris Dutamas, Monk Kiara.

Our fellow Malaysian Girl, the beautiful Shiva was the Asst Production Manager for this show... and seeing her excitement in working for this show has got us all excited as well. It is an investigation of the murder of Datuk Jackson Mo Lest Ting who was a terrible man that everybody would love to kill. The question was, who???

It was an interesting concept... unlike other shows the audiences are split into 2 groups:

I was in the Witness group and we first had the view of the the crime scene, Datuk Jackson's Study room where his body lay face down, lifeless... played by Ui Hua. I really wonder how someone can lay face down for 2 whole hours!! But that's besides the point. We first witnessed the demure Indon-maid Gangbang Sukajolo Suprianto played by Nabihan Yaacab suspiciously cleaning up the crime scene with Datuk lying there lifeless with very obvious multiple possibilities of cause of death. She did a really awesome Indon accent I must say. Whilst she was doing all that, Datin Saras Mo, Datuk's bitter ex-wife played by Ann James was hiding right there in plain sight of us Witnesses ;-). Then a string of events happened in the Study to make us suspect practically EVERYONE in the story... the scoundrel Brother In-Law, Alagesen aka Alan Jason played by JD Menon... or even the gay wedding planner, Fleegan (not sure it that's how it's spelt) played by Jon Chew. There were witty funny lines along the way to tickle your funny bone besides the investigation itself keeping you at the edge of your seat wondering whodunnit?? Small little clues were left for us to pick up on and watch out for. Just like in real life, many things happen all at the same time so you may miss some details while being distracted by some of the other characters on stage. I missed an important clue which my observant hubby picked up on. It ended with the investigating police, ASP Hamzah played by Iqmal Shafiq having a eureka moment about who the killer is but we still do not know who it is.

At the intermission, we swap places with the Suspects and the entire play is repeated again. Now, we had a view of the Living room. This time it just starts with Charity Ho Mun Mun, Datuk's young gold-digger fiance played by Davina Goh singing Beauty and The Beast. On this side of house, the other half of the story is revealed and we also had the chance to fill in some blanks that we could not see from the Study earlier. This side it also ended with the young Inspektor Paku played by Ley Shahrwind having his eureka moment about who the killer is. This time, we too put all the puzzle pieces together and figured out who the killer is!!!

It was genius!!! Whichever side you sit in, you will only be able to figure out who the killer is after you have watched both sides of the story all the way to the end. It is only then that all the bread-crumb trails of clues make sense and are pieced together in your mind to give you the whole picture and the truth... and it is you who get the Eureka Moment this time. Genius!! It the the same feeling I got as a kid reading Sherlock Holmes... only funnier. ;-)

If you can catch it, please go catch it!!! Details... click here!

Wanted: Medical supplies

2011-11-27T21:54:00.001+08:00

A friend of mine who's a vet, will be going for an animal rescue mission for the Thailand floods. The volunteer team will need a bunch of basic medical supplies such as absorbable sutures, syringes, needles, anaesthetics, gloves, common drugs etc etc. If you or you know of any companies/hospital with short expiry or recently expired medical supplies, you can send it to SPCA Selangor (at Ampang near International School of KL) or you can drop me a message on my chat-box if you need more detailed directions. SPCA's telephone number is 03 - 42565312.

Animals are helpless in such situations, and will need help from their human friends. Let's lend them a helping hand in this noble rescue mission.

SPCA Selangor's initiative

A Glitzy Affair

2011-11-23T23:56:00.001+08:00

Yesterday was the Media Preview for Malaysian Girls at Pentas 2, klpac. It was very well attended by the press, bloggers, sponsors and of course friends & family of the cast. It was my very first press preview in the world of arts and I was super excited!! Obviously I took leave from my day-job to get all dolled up to sing & dance!! We were back in Pentas 2 dressing room, just like during Short & Sweet Festival... de ja vu!! Doing hair, make-up, warm-up, sound-check, lighting, etc etc. It's just a 15min preview but it was a lot of hard work behind it for both the performers and the back stage crew.

It was a sneak peak into what Malaysian Girls is all about... What is true beauty?? What is a Malaysian Girl?? And how ugly can it get??

Here is your very own sneak peak into what's in store for you this December in klpac and January in penangpac!! Get your tickets here now!!!

The full length video courtesy of the delightful Gabbie frm klpac!!! Thanks dear xoxo

Malaysian Girls Press Conference Preview from Gouden Roos on Vimeo.

Here's another video (shorter & more Malaysian internet-speed friendly ;p) courtesy of Living Arts Malaysia

Oriental Takeout Video

2011-11-21T07:23:00.001+08:00

Finally had some time to resize & upload this video!!

For those who missed the Short & Sweet Festival at klpac this year.... enjoy!!

Cheers to sistahood

2011-11-19T12:24:00.001+08:00

Some years ago, I wrote a post about besties or chi muis in each phase of my life?? My first ever best friend from Primary School was the only one whom I had lost touch with when she migrated to the UK. Recently, in a very random and coincidental way... I stumbled upon her on Facebook!!! Yvonne had moved around several times across the European continent and if social networking site were never invented, it would have been completely impossible to have made contact ever again in this lifetime.

It's also amazing the we both still remember each other after 20 over years!! We are now keeping in touch via Facebook. Doesn't Facebook make the world a much smaller place???

As for the bestfriend that I had just met at the time of the post...... Hazel and I are still the bestest of friends until now. In a blink of an eye, it's been 4 years of sistahood... been through thick & thin together. :D

Shared some mini-moments of fame

News Straits Times - 16 Feb 2011

The Star - 9 Feb 2011

Starved together (for a good cause k?? we are not anorexic coz we love our food! :p)

Run a marathon together

Cheers to all the chi muis of my life!!!

A part of Art History in Malaysia!!

2011-11-14T11:09:00.001+08:00

11-11-11: It was a a mark in the history of the arts in our country... and an event bigger mark in my birthplace, Penang's art history. That was the day that the Performance Arts Centre of Penang (penangpac) was officially opened. Located in the beautiful Straits Quay, in Tanjung Tokong... it has 2 awesome stages and 3 incredibly cool studios!!! (How I wish klpac's studio is that big & has that many mirrors!! hehehe)

The cast of Malaysian Girls were there too... to promote the show which will land in penancpac in January 2012. And boy, did we have a whole lot of fun together!! Backstage truly truly felt like a pageant... but a pageant with a bunch of girls with no sense of competition & rivalry hehehe. How cool (& rare!) is that?? Well, it is after all NOT a competition. We were helping each other with hair & make-up, taking lots & lots of photos together. Our hair & make-up turned out so great that the photos were super gorgeous & glamourous!! We ♥ them so much and wish these crazy backstage photos could be on the promo posters hehehe. Whaddya think??

dressing room

Zoe helping wt BB's hair

everybody wants some of BB's...

...bootilicious boooteh!!!

Strike a pose girls!!!

in perfect synch

Jai Ho finale!!!

We even came out for some "meet & greet" & took photos with our "fans" who are mostly our friends & family. hehehehe

this is a real fan :)

my uber cool sis in law!!

A must-have, hubby & I ss-ing

it is after all our 1st production 2gede!!

Of course with da cast!!

& our incredibly talented Musical Director, Mervyn!

The other acts also made their bang in the little pearl island:

The Hands Percussion team literally started the night with a BANG!!

The Tony Yap Company

Lee Swee Keong in Nyoba Kan

The stitch-bursting comedy "Indicine Live!"

The audience's fav, Indicine Live! We're Chinese!

One of our girls Sandee, even became penangpac's hero by giving up her glam and sash to lead the lighting & tech team to make sure we all look fabulous on stage!! You don't find selfless rare gems like this in real pageants. We girls were even preparing to take on 1 task each to collectively help her glam up right before our show but she couldn't make it on stage with us... sad. We ♥ you Sandee!!!!

We all cannot wait to go back in January... Penang, see you again!!

Short & Sweet; just the way I like it!

2011-10-22T22:19:00.002+08:00

I know I've been quiet for a little while now. Well, that's because I had so much on my plate it was really crazy. Between my dayjob and Malaysian Girls rehearsal, I went and agreed to take on 2 pieces in the Short and Sweet Festival Malaysia. I took on a role in Short & Sweet Musical, in a piece called Oriental Takeout playing the role of an Oriental callgirl. And I took on a dance piece called Colourful Bollywood Repertoire in the Short and Sweet Dance.

Although I was up to my ears in rehearsal and was tired as hell, I pressed on with my many rehearsal after work and on weekends. Since this festival is a competition, none of us gets paid for these performances. Yet, I found the experience totally priceless and would do it all over again!!!

Through 28 Sept - 1st Oct, 10 Musicals were staged in klpac every night. It was completely sold out the the last 3 days of the show and the audiences were awesome, that's the energy that we performer feed on. I had the opportunity to work with an awesome team led by Kimmy Kiew, a resident director in klpac. It was amazing to see how her vision for Oriental Takeout slowly unveil and come to life! I never realized how important the director is until this competition. Not only did we have a great time on stage, Oriental Takeout won 3 awards that night; Best Overall Performance, Best Actor (Male) went to our team's male lead Nick Dorian and Best Actor (Female) went to.... teng teng teng... who would've guessed, me!!! Me! OMG! Never thought very much of myself as an actress before this. I was always a singer first, dancer second and actress well... somewhere down the line. I am truly truly thankful for what I have learnt from Kimmy and it was a sincerely rewarding experience to work with her. I still feel like I'm dreaming! A really good dream! :)

Many of the other plays were really good too, although I only managed to watch them only in videos after the festival was over... I really liked the 2nd one, A Taste of Love (Which won 4 awards: Best Composition, Best Libretto, Best Supporting Actress and Audience Choice) and the last one Float N'Sync: The Rise And Fall of The Bad Streak Boys (Which won best Musical Director & Best Glitz and Glamour). Both pieces had very catchy songs and very witty lyrics/script!! I ♥ ♥!!

Me & ma girls!

"Chow Mien no bareback!"
Photo courtesy of DustyHawk.net

"Ppiiiaaakkk!!"
Photo courtesy of DustyHawk.net

"This is wrong don't think I can do it"
Photo courtesy of DustyHawk.net

The whole Oriental Takeout team!!
Photo courtesy of DustyHawk.net

Best Actress & Actor yo!!! :D

Our 10 minutes of fame extended to some local print media as well;
~ News Straits Times
~ Selangor Times

The next festival was the Short and Sweet Dance festival from 5th - 16th Oct. Our piece got into the finals, the Gala Night but we did not win anything. But it was still a good experience to learn up some colourful joyous Bollywood moves in the process. I've always wanted to learn Bollywood dance as I've been fascinated with the "kemeriahan" of the Indian culture. And I managed to recruit a friend, Su Yee to accompany me in the making of this colourful, celebratory dance piece! Tis always more fun to do it with friends... although I made new ones along the way. :)

turn turn turn

Pose it!

The entire Colourful Bollywood team!

Su & I

Right now, the Short and Sweet Theatre festival is still happening... although I am not a part of it (2 is all I can juggle!!) hubby is in Week 1: Life Decisions and he gets to be beaten up and killed. How cool is that???

I really can't wait to be doing more of this and spend more time & effort on the growth & development in this passion of mine. This is obviously what I was made for, my calling. :-)

Lifeline

2011-08-22T19:44:00.000+08:00

Most big corporations I know has at least some kind of reference to commitment, be it in their mission statement, their company values or people strategy. Commitment. The culture or value they would like to inculcate is for their employees to put their work first on their priority list. Especially in Asia, people are proud to be staying back late for work and they boast of their important role that the company simply cannot live without them. Whenever you ask a friend out for dinner, for coffee or for drinks and a chit-chat, 9 out of 10 will be busy with work. That is considered "normal" here in Asia. If you are not busy with work, it means that you are less important or less significant in whatever you are doing, no?

Have corporations ever done any research to evaluate... is that commitment and the culture of going the extra mile truly beneficial for the company?? Does extra time or extra mile really translates to extra value to the company?

As a marketeer, creativity and innovation is key to coming up with new ideas. This is applicable for architects, designers, and any job that requires any form of creativity. Creativity needs to be inspired. Where then is one most often inspired? Within the 4 walls of your office? Or somewhere else? For me it is obviously on stage... where I recharge and refill all my inspirations for creativity and my inspiration for life as well. I am after all fueled by my many passions. It is not the commitment of extra time or extra effort that yields the ideas, but it is the inspired soul that yields those brilliant money-making ideas.

Remember Rapunzel's magic healing & youth-generating hair??

Once you cut it off to have all the whole length of hair to yourself, it loses its power

Your employee is that hair, their passion is Rapunzel and the company is Gothel. If they want the hair all to themselves and cuts it off of Rapunzel, the hair turns brown and loses its youth regenerating powers. So, the lesson is... all employers out there, please allow your employees to pursue their passions and they will in turn give you unlimited supply of their magic-youth-regeneration powers. hehehehehe ;-)

Breaking a Vicious Cycle

2011-08-14T00:32:00.002+08:00

Remember the virtuous vs the vicious work-rest cycle???

Well, I have a new vicious cycle to break... or to turn into a virtuous one. As you can see from my "heart's desires", I want a flexi-freelance job. Reasons for that are:
1. To control my own time in order to do more performance arts, yayyy!
2. To set my own pace, goals and objectives in my day-job rather than have these things thrust upon me.
3. To be my true self rather than conforming to what the corporate world deems a "proper" corporate citizen.
4. To set my own work culture, an office-politics and hypocrisy free environment.

How do I get there?? I need to start my own business... a simple yet practical solution. If it is that simple, then what is the problem??

Either I give up the number 1 reason I want this business so that I can free up some time to work on this business, or I give up my current dayjob and be super-poor while I work on this business. I can't recharge emotionally and creatively in the former which will affect both my capacity in my business and my employment dayjob. I can't possibly predict how long I'd need to be poor in the latter which stress me out financially till I cannot enjoy doing my business or performance arts. My parents will also ~~kill~~ nag me if I choose the latter as they are typical Chinese-ed parents who insists on money, status and everything practical for their children.

How now brown cow???

I need an anomaly to hit me & break this cycle before I go mad juggling so many things. Anomaly, anomaly... where art thou??

30hr Famine

2011-08-08T23:15:00.002+08:00

Last weekend, I spent it with a bunch of crazy colleagues and friend starving for 30 hours without any food or calorie containing drinks.

Why did we torture ourselves that way??? All for a good cause. It was for the 30hr Famine by World Vision. Many people would ask "What would starving yourself for 30hrs do to help those who are faced by famine and strife in lands far far away from here???" I asked the same question when I was first asked to go for this camp.

But I went anyway, and I learnt the answers to my question just being there at the camp. It was a fruitful and heart-tugging 30hr where we learnt not just by watching something on TV, or on the internet but we experienced what it would be like to be those people in developing countries.

Before the 30hr hunger journey, as typical Malaysians... we stopped for makan first. ;)

Then we arrived at the destination of our campsite, in Port Dickson... a simple but cosy house by the sea.

Sista was so nice to have joined me although I was the only person she knew at the camp at first. But later she made plenty of new friends.

Hungry sampai nak bunuh diri??? No la... drama je

Group-shot of some of us Abbottian campers

We still had some time to monkey around...

Yes, really really monkey around ;P

The Famine Challenges: where we learnt a lot about the tough choices the mothers in developing nations have to make. How do you make a choice on basic necessities??? Food or shelter or healthcare or education or hygiene or job??? How can you live if you can't have it all?? Every choice has its consequences and they have to live with these consequences because the MUST make a choice no matter how difficult. And they cannot have it all. Unlike us.

Reenactment of the scenarios: A widow and her child

A husband forced to join the army leaving his wife and kids behind to fend for themselves.

A drunken and abusive husband forcing the wife to runaway with her children for the sake of their safety.

We had to be in the shoes of either one of the 3 families above... and are faced with difficult choices? What were the options??? What were the consequences of our decisions?? It seems in the end that no matter which path they choose, there are negative consequences 1 way or another. Because they do not have the choice to choose ALL the things that are important. Teaches us that we are sooooooooo abundantly blessed that not only do we have the choice to have it all, we even have more than what we need. Simple things that we take for granted each day, are precious treasures to these people.

Some even brought along their little ones and they fasted with us... for 8hrs. You need to teach them from young to appreciate what they have.

Other than learning and suffering hunger, we had loads of fun too!! Sista & I did each other's make up blindfolded. Not bad leh??

Musical cotton ball, siapa lambat dia keluar!

Cert presentation to us campers

Then we all proceeded to Stadium Putra Bukit Jalil for the final 4hr countdown together with about 9000 other campers from other campsites.

Guest appearance by Angry Bird!!

Amazing how our energy was still up after zero calorie intake for 27hours!!!

Ah Niu was the finale performer for the day... he really raised up d energy level for everyone in the stadium!

Even our youngest camper stayed till the end!!

The final countdown! 5-4-3-2-1!! Buka puasa!!!

V-Soy never tasted so good in our entire life!!! :)

Congratulations to all the Famine Warriors who campaigned and stand up for a good cause. World Vision raised RM1.5million for all their relief efforts in developing countries as well as some local beneficiaries like retirement and disabled homes. Our hunger definitely made a difference in the beneficiaries' lives. And that, was the answer to my initial question!! :)

Short & Sweet Festival 2011

2011-08-02T21:49:00.001+08:00

I will be in not one but TWO Short and Sweet Festivals this year!!! Yes, the over-ambitious new-comer is gonna juggle 2 festivals and another full-length musical.... oh, and then there is my day-job too. :p

I auditioned for S+S Musical wt hubby and we both got through... He'll be the bf of an social media addict while I will be... ahem... a prostitute!! Where can I learn how to be a prostitute?? The Obedient Wives Club!!! hehehehe... whatever it is, it's gonna be fun. The script is crazy funny!! Haven't heard the songs yet though. Can't wait for rehearsals to start! :D :D

I auditioned for S+S Dance and got 2 offers... both for Indian Dance-styles!! Omg... I soooooo love Bollywood!!! So, naturally I picked the Bollywood piece!! The other was a classical Bharatanatyam piece... dah Youtube it, macam susah leh. My choreographer is Shobana Sahajananan and she is wayyyy cool & can really really MOVE IT MOVE IT!! I can't wait, can't wait!!!

Hubby also auditioned for S+S Theatre & is playing a suicidal fler who hired an assassin to kill himself. Dark emo-stuff by a happy-feeted cheerful playright BB. Can't wait to see it!

So, if you guys are free... please do come to Pentas 2, KLPAC and watch all of us in the Short + Sweet Festival Malaysia 2011. Am sure you will enjoy yourselves!!

S+S Musical Performance: 28-30 Sept
S+S Musical Gala Nite: 1 Oct 2011
S+S Dance Performance: 5-8 Oct 2011, 12-15 Oct 2011
S+S Dance Gala Nite: 16 Oct 2011
S+S Theatre Performance: 19-22 Oct 2011, 26-29 Oct 2011
S+S Theatre Gala Nite: 30 Oct 2011

I like to Move It-Move It!!

2011-07-23T21:47:00.003+08:00

It was National Rheumatoid Arthritis Day several weeks ago. I know that I always post only events about kidney disease but this time, I volunteered to help my colleague out in her disease area. Since dancing is my thang! ;)

the RA patients rolling their shoulders... macam thriller MTV zombies pulak. Perhaps that song will be the next dance class with them??? ;)

You wanna stretch it-stretch it??

Bollywood Jai-Ho!!

J.Lo's On the Floor... erm, I guess Latin stuff is not a good idea wt RA patients. Need to keep that in mind for future.

Me & my dancing team!!!

I wonder is there a job out there where I just organize patient activities???? Across any chronic disease....

Actress... me??

2011-07-12T23:03:00.005+08:00

Did my first ever pure acting job in theatre. I've always been a singer first, dancer second and an actress last. Never thought acting was in my DNA. So, even the acting jobs I took were those with singing and dancing involved.

But thanks to the lovely Alissa Roslan who casted me as her magnificent immortal queen... I have learnt that I CAN act after all. Through the games that we played before each rehearsal, I realized that I can embody and become a completely different person once I am engrossed in the character and the situation she is in. I even cried... which was surprising as I have always thought it was ridiculous that those Taiwanese actresses can cry so much. Haha. I could actually feel the sorrow my character felt. Weird but true *twilight zone music*

Anyway, after weeks of practice... finally... my debut as an actress.

Queen Ashalia, realising that her land is about to be conquered and her people has to leave her.

Chief Minister Graham

King Agares, the conquerer of kingdoms

Stab!!! Ouch

I am dying... there is no such thing as immortality

It was a really good experience to learn how to feel what the characters feel rather than just memorizing a bunch of words and saying them out faking the expression. The emotions real or fake, will be felt by the audience. So, acting is not faking it... it is believing and actually feeling it. It will make more sense if you actually try and do it. But I guess the danger is, can you always snap out of it at will?? Can you switch the character's ways, feelings and world on and off at anytime you want?

I still have a lot to learn in acting. This is just the beginning of another beautiful journey down the artsy path I have chosen. :)

Miss Mis - A Celebration of Two Legendary Musicals

2011-07-02T22:56:00.008+08:00

If you're wondering what Miss Mis is, it is the combination of songs from Miss Saigon and Les Miserables... the two beautiful melodious musicals with stories so sad, you'd cry everytime you listen to it all the way. I know I do. So beautiful, yet so so so sad.

Once again Broadway Academy has organized these monthly recitals for us to showcase the school as well as ourselves... muahahaha. All thanks to our wonderful music director Dominic. :)

This recital was different from all our previous ones because, ahem... so many of performance arts world's who's who were there!! Can you imaging the performers i.e. moi, being starstruck by the audience? Eh... terbalik nie... Joanna Bessey, Janet Lee, Michael Voon, some producer dude from Broadway New York, all were there!!! Stress right?? But sure was exciting, performing with us was also a celebrity:

Douglas Lim!! Besarnya mata in this photo:

Moi, Shahila & Soon Yoon

The one & only photo of my solo, blurrrrr!! Sad!!

Groupshot!

Crazee groupshot

Our beloved goddaughter Miaw also came to support us, never fail... every single recital she's there!! We'll miss her once she goes off to further her studies. :(

Isn't it ironic how we have 2 cat-kids with human names & 1 human kid with cat name??? Hehehehe

Da-do Run Run Run, Da-do Run RUN!!

2011-07-01T00:26:00.006+08:00

Not talking about the old song by The Crystals but all of us first timers managed to finish the Standard Chartered KL Marathon in the Half Marathon category last Sunday!!! Yayy for us!!

Chris, Chloe, Sista & me managed to conquer the dreaded 21km that we didn't quite have the time to train for. Hehehehe.

All of us took d shuttle bus to avoid driving into with all the roads closed, super early in d morning. The sun wasn't even up yet!

Along the way, sempat lagi I take some jakun photos of our good ol' KL the way we have not seen it before... on foot!! :p

When I saw the 20km milestone, boy did I RUUUUNNNN for my life!!!

Have never been so happy to see this tall flagpole before in my life!! :D :D :D

As I crossed the finish line, I saw the clock 2:31:xx.... shucks!!! I missed my personal target by slightly more than a minute!!
But the next day when the real results tracked via our RFID tags were out online, it was 2:29.07!!! Yippppeeeeee!!!! Achieved my target ya'll!! *spasm dance* Rank 179 in the Women's Open pulak tu... *extra hyper spasm dance* :D :D :D

Happy happeeee sista & me wt our medals

Chloe, sista & me with our medals!!! Yay!! We have earned the right to SS... woohoo!

Full marathon next year???? Erm... *gulp* tak nak pikir dulu la.

A Royal Appointment

2011-06-22T22:49:00.002+08:00

No, I do not have any appointments with any royalties... but I have been cast as a queen in the next edition of The Platform at KLPAC, in July 2011 in a play entitled Shevat by Alissa Roslan.

Why is being in a 15min play so exciting to me? Other than getting to play a mythical immortal royalty and the lead... this is my very first real acting role!!! No singing or dancing involved. :) I've always ranked my talents as 1. Singing, 2. Dancing and 3. Acting... so acting is the last of the 3. It will definitely require more practice, effort and time for me to embrace the essence of this character but I am sure it will be well worth the effort. Me?? An actress?? *_*

Look out world... here comes Karynn the actress, and here comes Ashalia the queen.

Date: 4th July 2011
Venue: Indicine, KL Performing Arts Centre, Sentul
Time: 8.30pm
Tickets: Free admission
(we artists are not the most practical people around, we even work for free... :p)
It will be a collection of 7 short plays.

Do come!! Watch and support us budding performance arts folks... brand spanking new writers, directors and actors alike. Since we are newbies, please do let us know what you think... we will appreciate the grind that will help us become better performers!! See you there!!! :D :D :D

A Dear John Letter to....

2011-06-10T10:56:00.000+08:00

Dear Corporate Race,

It's been nice knowing you. You have taught me much and made me the resilient person I am today. I have ran the rat race well and have arrived at the place I thought I wanted all these years. Somehow, it is not as I have imagined. Perhaps I had imagined it wrong? Or perhaps I have changed "wants"?

Whatever it is... I have decided it is not what I am looking for and it is not what I want. I will miss some of the happy moments I had with you. I will miss some of the perks I had being with you. I will miss the pride & the glamour of what you have to offer. But little did I know that all that "high" comes with the price. A price I do not have the strength to pay for. So, I have to do what my heart tells me to. To be happy, I need to be at peace with my heart.

It is not you, it is me. I guess I had put the wrong or unrealistic expectations of what life with you would be like. Now I realize my mistake and I want to make this right. I think you will be better off without someone like me anyway. I can continue this race but my heart will not be in it and I know that will affect you too.

I wish you all the best for the future. Now, I need to take that leap of courage to step out of the familiar comfort of you so that I can finally be me.

Thank you for everything and we can still keep in touch. Take care old friend.

Love,

Karynn...

not the salesperson, the marketeer, the BUM, the corporate rat... but the real true Karynn. :)

My Mediterranean Adventure

2011-05-05T23:41:00.001+08:00

God is so good!!! Eversince several years ago when my ex-boss came back from her wonderful vacation in Spain, I had wanted to go to the Spain and the rest of the Mediterranean. She knows me extremely well, and if she said I would like it, I just knew I would! I just never found the time, the people, the money to do so. But my first travelling experience with my new job, I had to travel... all expenses paid to not 1, not 2 but 3 Mediterranean country!! This job which also God so graciously provided despite me doing a no-no during the interview to prioritize my passion over this day job. hehehe. Amazing right? Or my current bosses must be crazy muahaha.

First stop: Porto, Portugal. Met some new friends, tried some new food but not much time to see the place due to a super packed schedule.

Second stop: Español!!! And I had a weekend over there so I had time to walk around Madrid and experience the city, the tapas!!

However, I had the first adventure when I arrived. Flight delayed over 3 hours so I arrived in Madrid in the middle of the night. Took the first taxi I could get as I was totally exhausted. But the driver turned out to be a dishonest taxi and took me on a wild goose chase to the hotel which I had know was only 10mins frm the airport. It was damn scary as I was all alone in the cab so I didnt want to protest. The fare came up to €70!! Ridiculous! But I was thankful to be safe & sound in my hotel.

Third stop: Athens, Greece. My arrival was yet again greeted with a scary adventure. My airport transfer could not get to my hotel due to a public worker strike at the square in front of my hotel. So, I had to walk through a bunch of police in gas masks and shields. The police were kind and showed me the way but I could still smell the pungent leftover tear gas. Once I got to the hotel, I stayed put and ordered room service! Which was da wise thing to do as d next day, I saw d news reporting that protestors were throwing molotov cocktails around even at the normal civilians and the shops!! @.@

Strangely enough, although my new company is treating me well.... I miss my ex-boss and my ex-team. I also miss performing in a real production... nowadays, I don't even have time to make it for auditions. I had the best team in d world previously, still I left. Now, I have the best benefits and perks I could ask for, still I am thinking of leaving. Perhaps no matter which company I go, I will never feel truly fulfilled. Perhaps God gave me this new job to help me realize the epiphany that corporate jobs are not my calling??? Hmmm....

Sista & my story in The Star

2011-02-09T20:49:00.003+08:00

Our testimony was featured in The Star Higher Education today!!! Woooohoooo!!! Excitednya!! :) :)

Purrrfect Partner

2011-01-22T20:50:00.000+08:00

Much to Orked's dismay... and to mine, hubby brought home a new cat!

He was scrawny, hungry & completely jakun!! He followed hubby all the way to his car in the streets of Taman Megah and so, we called him Megah.

Hubby brought him to the vet to be all prepped up before we would introduce him to Orked.

But after a couple of weeks... we both changed out minds. Megah has won us both over with his muka seposen and super gentle ways.

Now they are best of friends, just like real siblings... aawwww

Strathclyde MBA graduation Nov 2010

2010-11-20T21:34:00.003+08:00

Finally, we've made it to the finishing line!!! Graduation!!! Woohoooo!!!!
More photos on fb... hehehe... too lazy 2 post all here.

Finally got my scroll! :)

Thanks 2 hubby for being understanding

Thanks to my whole family for their encouragement!

Thanks to Sista for sharing this wonderful journey with me!!! :)

The crazeeee MacRitchies!!!

Congratulations Class of 2010!!!

My debut wt Six2Eight!!!

2010-11-06T10:05:00.006+08:00

Last Thurs nite was my first ever performance with Six2Eight!! :) :)

It was a corporate function so could not ask all my gang & fans to come support me. Muahahah. Anyway, it was pretty fun to part of the team!!

Sound-check! Douglas Lim was there for a stand-up comedy act

The super beautiful & bubbly Jojo Struys was the emcee

They must have one helluva budget with all da big names performing. In fact, methinks they kinda overdid the performances by having too many performers. Dancers la, acapella singers [us, of course ;)], stand-up comedy, drummers, and lots lots more. How to fit all in one night???? Takpe la, orang terlampau banyak duit kot? :p

Six2Eight awaiting our turn to perform & snacking...teehehehe

Backstage!! Eh, d fler taking our photo menggigil ke?

Theme of the nite was... Grease!!!

This ain't no Greased-Lightning?

Va-va-vrrrrrooommmmm

Anyway, our performance was cut short due to time constraints. :( Expected pun, they had toooo many performances lined up for that night. Oh, well... it was a wonderful & fun performance anyway. Loved "We Go Together" the most!!! Wap-bap-belubap-a-Wap-Bam-Boom!!!!

Something's happening

2010-11-01T20:00:00.001+08:00

Performing at our friend, Zen's daughter's wedding!! Can't believe little Jo's all grown up!!! :)

The march-in

Zen, with her usual creativity & sense of humour made us sang this!!!

aaa...aaaa.... tum paasse aye, yun muskurayee, tum nena jane kya, sapne dikhaye

A singing resignation?

2010-10-11T00:30:00.000+08:00

My wedding was a musical, my life is a musical... so why not my resignation too, a musical?? ;)

I will miss her dearly... never have I ever encountered any boss-subordinate relationship like ours: such trust, such transparency & such sincerity. But sometimes in life we just have have to move on. I still love her & respect her as a friend, and will forever feel grateful to have her as part of not only my career but my life journey. :)

So, what is my song to her? Singing a Kelly Clarkson may be quite a challenge, but I'll do it for her. :)

Grew up in a small town
And when the rain would fall down
I'd just stare out my window

Dreaming of what could be
And if I'd end up happy
I would pray

Trying hard to reach out
But when I'd try to speak out
Felt like no one could hear me

Wanted to belong here
But something felt so wrong here
So I pray
I could breakaway

I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly
I'll do what it takes ?til I touch the sky
And I'll make a wish, take a chance, make a change
And breakaway

Out of the darkness and into the sun
But I won't forget all the ones that I loved
I'll take a risk, take a chance, make a change
And breakaway

Wanna feel the warm breeze
Sleep under a palm tree
Feel the rush of the ocean

Get onboard a fast train
Travel on a jet plane, far away
And breakaway

I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly
I'll do what it takes 'til I touch the sky
And I'll make a wish, take a chance, make a change
And breakaway

Out of the darkness and into the sun
I won't forget all the ones that I loved
I gotta take a risk, take a chance, make a change
And breakaway

Buildings with a hundred floors
Swinging 'round revolving doors
Maybe I don't know where they'll take me but
Gotta keep moving on, moving on
Fly away, breakaway

I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly
Though it's not easy to tell you goodbye
I gotta take a risk, take a chance, make a change
And breakaway

Out of the darkness and into the sun
But I won't forget the place I come from
I gotta take a risk, take a chance, make a change
And breakaway, breakaway, breakaway!

New Toy!!!

2010-09-29T19:37:00.000+08:00

Another strike off my wishlist!! Wooohooo!!

But more like a half-strike. I sacrificed having a pink camera for photo-quality!!!! Finally came to my senses & head triumphed over heart! ;)

Got new toy to play with!! Yippeee!!!!

Chun tak??? (both d owner & digicam, muahahah!)

A Bollywood Encounter

2010-08-17T23:04:00.007+08:00

Since the completion of my thesis & the Mamak Mee Ah 2nd run in both Penang and KL, I suddenly had a lot of time in my hands. heheheh. Macam tak biasa. TV, gym, blogging, and a social life that is beyond facebook!

After years of MIA-ing from the Muhibbah Network scene, I joined this year's first mixer... ala Bollywood!

Time to get all dolled up & Indianified for the occasion...woohoo!!!

Some yummy authentic Indian grub.... mostly vegetarian. Only 3 meat dishes which were placed separately on a different section. Very good!!! Reminds me of those wonderful dinners @Anish & Gauri's.

Our wonderful hostesses, Michelle & Neera. Thanks for organizing this!!

Our very own talented & beautiful Ellyne shakin' her booteh Bollywood style.

It was nice catching up with some old friends, Ellyne & Nyza.

And making new ones, like d crazy funny Nazeen frm Hyderabad.

I love having time!!! :) :)

Playing the wrong part

2010-06-16T20:46:00.003+08:00

Once upon a time, in a land far far away, there lived a beautiful pianist. She was a wonderful pianist who could play beautiful music that can touch hearts of millions. The orchestra recognises that she has an outstanding musical talent. They decided to groom her to become the orchestra conductor, leading the entire team to play a beautiful symphony.

They want her to learn the other instruments in order to grow her... one of which was the violin. It was obvious her talent was not the violin. She was struggling to play the violin and was not playing well. The orchestra directors had high expectation and hopes for this talented musician. They were very patient and forgiving towards all her mistakes in playing the violin. Being a talented musician in the first place, she can still get the basic right; rhythm, notes... but there was no soul in her violin sounds.

The pianist cringed everytime she hears her own violin sounds, everytime she hears the orchestra play together when she was on the violin. The symphony did not sound beautiful like it used to. The whole symphony is spoiled by her very own violin sounds. Although her director is forgiving, she is not happy with that sound. Being a musician that demands excellence made it even worse for her to hear an orchestra sound so bad.

Therefore, no matter how nice, forgiving & encouraging her directors in this orchestra is to her, she needs to look for a new orchestra. For one where she can play the piano, where she can be groomed to be the conducter with better and wonderfully talented violinists around to complement her weaknesses. Then lead the whole orchestra to play a beautiful symphony once more.

~The most successful people are those who know their strengths and weaknesses & find a role where they can use and sharpen those strengths~

I'm a STAR!!!... Well, sort of ;)

2010-04-26T20:56:00.001+08:00

I finally have the time to sit down and revive my poor poor blog...

Finally!! I can strike off doing a professional musical theatre production. For the first time, people are paying good money to watch me perform! It's not school, it's not church, it's not all for charity but a real life production!! Sold out the last 3 nights until they even had to add plastic chairs in the theatre to sell extra tickets!! How cool is that????

Mamak Mee-Ah, we truly rocked!!

We were in d newspapers:
The Star
- Delectable Fare
- Simple Yummy

The New Straits Times
- Buffet of Good Music
- Bellyful of Laughter

We were on TV(Astro Awani)

And even on d net!! With lotsa real nice photos of us too!! :D :D :D
- Dennis Lee
- Edward Foo

We even have fans adding us on Facebook and when I googled my own name, there are many hits!! Excitednye!!!!! So this is what is feels like to be famous?? Well, ok... semi-famous... for now... ;o)

Can't wait for our road show!!! Wooohoooo!!!!

Car for Adoption

2010-03-17T18:23:00.001+08:00

My Toyota Vios 1.5E (A) has been my trusty ride for the past...nearly 6 years. Now, it is time for me to move on and let her go. I have been her one and only guardian all these years. I am now looking for a new loving home for her.

She was born on 3rd June 2004. She is golden brown in colour (blondes have more fun rite? :p) She has been well taken care of, with all her service maintenance records filed since the day she was born. She has been very well behaved, never once did she threw a tantrum or given me any problems all these years. She has gone on many wonderful journeys with me and has walked 150xxxkm so far. I can hardly recall any day that I did not spend with her at all.

Here are some photos of her.

Good girl... *pat pat pat*

Ang gu gu...

At home

Her side profile

Inside of her

Her bootilicious booteh

Like me, she too has an artistic streak... @KLPAC

Adoption fee: RM50K or nearest offer.

Please drop me a message if you are interested to be her new guardian or you want any additional info about her.

Thank you!!! =)

Think With Your Heart

2010-03-10T22:05:00.002+08:00

Finally have a little bit of free time 4 my much neglected blog.

Back in my school days, I used to love Debbie Gibson coz I thought she was very talented... She writes songs, plays the piano and sings. I loved her songs too as they were all about idealistic love, the kind of love that I believe in. I particularly liked the album "Think With Your Heart".

Coz I believe in thinking with your heart... well, at least as far as love is concerned. And I used to love the first song "For Better Or Worse", dreaming of singing it & playing the piano to my future husband one day.

My sister and I used to play the album really often... it was a cassette! (yeah, I'm that old...hehehe) But now, with the extinction of the cassette player, I couldn't listen to it anymore. And I was hunting around for the CD but since that album didnt quite do too well, and it is really old... it was nowhere to be found. :( Then I sorta forgot about it after a while.

This birthday, when I unwrapped the pressie hubby gave me... guess what I saw???

Now I really have someone to sing and play "For Better or Worse" to. :) :) :)

This is my confession

2010-02-27T09:07:00.005+08:00

Note: In my newfound addiction for Glee, please note that the title of this post is SUNG out not read. ;)

Anyway, lately there are a couple of incidences that has really got to me head and my heart. It really does bother me that most people take mistakes for granted. Rather than confessing, apologize, repent and redeem themselves for mistakes... the more popular options seem to be:

- justifying that it was right. NOT a mistake at all.
- shrug it off... "just a mistake, I didnt do it intentionally."

Do they ever think of the implications or outcome of those mistakes on others close to them? Does it have emotional impact on the young innocent mind of your child? Does it put your family in danger to crime? Do they even THINK beyond themselves when a mistake happens?

In order for us to grow into better people, we cannot think that we are already perfect. We need to be humble, admit our mistakes and work on not repeating it, consciously. Just like in Christianity, being a Christian does not mean that we are oh so holy and perfectly sinless. But being a Christian means we need to genuinely confess our sins and admit our shortcomings to God. Then can consciously take effort keep on working on being a better person because we love Him.

If we are not aware that we are wrong in the first place, how are we going to become better? How are we going to ever improve?

Unless of course, these people don't love anyone else but themselves... then by all means, justify or shrug off the mistake. Even if it affects those close to you, it doesn't matter to you, right?

A soaring kite!!

2010-02-24T23:31:00.002+08:00

Read about the kite metaphor for the first time on Shannon's blog. I felt that it is a very good metaphor.

"I like to think that the relationship between wisdom and romance is like the one between a string and a kite. Romantic love is like the kite that catches the wind and tenaciously heads for the sky; wisdom is the string that tugs downward, holding it back. The tension is real, but healthy.

I suppose there are times when a kite feels tied down by the string. 'If this bothersome string would just let go of me, I could fly really high,' the kite might think. But that isn't true, is it? Without the string holding it in the face of the wind, the kite would quickly come crashing to the ground.

In the same way, romance without wisdom will soon take a nose-dive. It becomes selfish, indulgent, and even idolatrous. Have you been a relationship like this ? Have u witness such a relationship in the life of a friend ? what was missing ? The answer is wisdom."

I think that it is not just limited to a romantic relationship. It can be extended to other parts of our lives.

Wind = passion
String = wisdom
Kite = us

Although sometimes in the stress of my work, I feel like giving up... go full force into theatre: sing and dance for life!!! Sounds wonderful doesn't it? After all people say that if you find a work that you love and is passionate about, you don't have to work a single day of your life!! But is "not working" really healthy for you? Will you still enjoy it when your very survival depends on it?

Take me for example, if I were to pursue my hobby fulltime... would I be bored of it? Would I still always have a goal to work towards? What happens to my parents? They are retired and depend on me & my sister. What about my marriage? Would it be fair if I am completely dependent on hubby? Would he be ok about the additional burden? There are so many concerns that will affect me and the people I care the most about... would I still be happy then?

If I only do my dayjob, I may get burnt out, stressed out and demotivated. Financially I'll be ok but will I enjoy my life??? Will I look forward to another day of work? Would my work give me any meaning then? Unless there comes a day when singing and dancing is able to give me the same income and the same challenges for me to work towards, I will need a day-job to keep the "tension" in my string.

So, my hypothesis is... no matter how hard it feels to juggle and balance both right now, I need to do it. I need both. As the kite, I need both the passion and the string to fly high. And I DO wanna fly high!!

Whether in both my career AND my love-life... I shall SOAR!!! Let's all SOAR!!! The sky is the limit!! :)

Mamak Mee anyone?

2010-02-07T23:18:00.003+08:00

After our super memorable musical wedding last year that has got the relatives talking up to today, [chewah! ;)] both hubby & myself has ventured into something a little bit more professional and a little less SS. Hehehe.

Hubby's is something a little more serious called Adam: The Musical, highlighting awareness on HIV.

I got involve in something a little less serious and a lot more laughs... God knows we need higher doses of that in this stess-laden era. The Actor's Studio present:

Mamak Mee-Ah: The Musical Spoof!

Practices has been going on for over a month now. And we've even had our photoshoot. Some preview to wet your appetite...

Mr Director

Mrs Director / costume coordinator

Make up please!

D lawyer & his hot assistants

Our pretty choreographer

d crazy cast

d entire cast!

It's a story of... well, just come watch it when it opens on April 8th at the brand spanking new Actor's Studio, Lot 10. Come bung cheong my theatre debut! Hope to see you there!!

Dare to Dream

2010-01-23T18:34:00.016+08:00

Every year most companies will have their annual dinner. It is the chance for people to get dressed to the nines and have a good time together outside of the office. Some have fancy themes: Bollywood night, Arabian nights, Latin Salsa, Beach Luau... etc. Others are just glamourous red-carpet-esque events.

We do that too...

Da Malaysian Dream Team

My ex-monkey :p

Every man's fantasy... hot nurses! ;-)

Me & my renal gals!!

Da man we will all miss, sobs

Charlie's angels?

Vivian & moi

da man who signs our paycheques... our finance mgr flanked by 2 pretty gals

But... instead of having dress themes, we have inpiration themes. Every year, our director shares stories about inspirational people that motivates him to be the best and in turn cascade down that inspirational feeling down to all of us at the country level as well. Last year's theme was Reaching New Heights. This year's is Dare to Dream.

Rather than setting a ridiculously high target and commanding us to do it... the leaders have put it in such a lovely way... inspiring us to achieve the company's objectives. It's not "we need to make more money to keep shareholders happy" but "we can build outstanding careers, make a meaningful difference to patients' lives & to society by creating more jobs as our business grows." Clever, very clever! Who wouldn't want to be a part of that?

We even had an inspirational guest:

Mark Inglis

Mark flanked by my boss & me

He lost both his legs from the knee down from frostbite, being stranded up an icy cold mountain for 14 days!! Did he wallow in his own self pity party? No! Did he give up his mountaineering dreams??? Absolutely NO!!

Mark conquered Mount Everest without legs!! It was not an easy task at all even for normal able bodied people like us. On the way down... his knee stumps were bleeding buckets due to the pressure of his weight on his prostetic leg sockets! He still climbed up to the summit and made it back down to share his story with his family, with the world! He even used his super inspirational story to help other people who are unfortunate and started Limbs 4 All.

What is our daily struggles compared to that???

I don't think anyone in the room felt stressed by the new sky high targets for the company. Everyone came out inspired to outdo that target set. Myself included. Eventhough I've been in the company for 5 years, I am still impressed. Here's to a great 2010 where dreams become reality!

Useless Maxis vouchers

2010-01-16T22:37:00.001+08:00

Just received this from Maxis in the mail several days ago...

pretty wrapping

pretty booklet, printed on expensive-looking paper

quite a lot of pages too

Let's see what are the vouchers inside??? Does it really matter if they were vouchers from shops that you would go to when....

one expires 31st Jan 2010

another one expiring 31st Jan 2010

as I looked on... it gets even better...

31st Dec 2009!!

Another 31st Dec 2009

Then what is the point!!! What a big fat waste of perfectly good trees and more of the earth's resources!!! Don't these people at least think first then do? Having customer retention programs for the sake of having isn't going to help you retain customers. In fact, it makes it worse when they do moronic things like this. So, Maxis flers... if you are reading this, take this as a big fat customer complaint!!!

Judging a book by its cover

2010-01-09T23:51:00.004+08:00

"Don't judge a book by its cover"... a common advice people give. But how many are actually practitioners of this phrase? Saying and practising are 2 completely different things. In corporate lingo: a plan is only as good as the implementation. They tell us not to take things at face value, must always uncover the whole situation, must analyse... blah blah blah.

But when it comes to their image in the corporate world, they still judge people very much by the packaging.

What sparked this topic? Well, recently there has been a terrible crisis at my workplace that has gotten my entire team pretty emotional, myself included. While my team & I were doing our job, extremely well I would say, given the situation... I still expressed how I felt to the top management of the region on behalf of the team.

What I got wasn't a pat on the back for being so passionate about my job, or being so involved and committed. The only speck they saw was that I was putting emotions into the job, I was not "controlled" and that is interpreted as immature & that if I ever wanted to move any higher up the organisation I must need to learn to act more mature.

Definition of mature: "Of, relating to, or characteristic of full development, either mental or physical"
If you have developed fully, mentally in this case and have very sound and wise judgment... does it ever mention in the definition that;
- you need to be purged of all emotions??
- Or that you need to be less human??
- Or that you must conform to the norm??

My stand on this is that having emotions about your work means that you are not doing it out of routine or force. It means that you genuinely have passion for it. Passion drives excellence in my vocab.

If this line of career means that I have to be less human, less passionate and less me... then I think it will not be the path that I would want go along for long. Item #12 on my wishlist is juz itching moved up a few notches. Luckily, for now I have a very human boss. So, I can still be me for now. Maybe I don't want to go up any further anyway, coz I want to keep my humanity. I want to keep my emotions. I want to keep my passion.

So, lantak la these people!! They're miles away anyway. I'm still going to do my job with passion for now and be darn good at it! I'm still going to carry my pink organiser, bling bling kitty hanging on my phone and dress like a diva to work. I'm still got be transparent with my emotions. I'm still gonna live a public life on FB. I'm still gonna be the one and only ME!!

Too bad if you don't like the cover of this book... coz it's all good stuff on the inside!! :p

Tong Sampah, where art thou?

2010-01-03T16:05:00.001+08:00

Went to Chee Cheong Kai wt hubby for d infamously spicy grilled fish & seafood the other day. As always, this place brings back a very nostalgic feel of KL in the past. Still remember the very same shop my family used to go and buy Chinese New Year decorations without fail every year. The shop is still around, I just wonder what they sell the rest of the year????

Anyway, after having a nice cool cup of soy bean milk... I was looking for a place to throw away the empty cup. Mana tong sampah???

As the government tells people to take care of the city's cleanliness and not litter, they forgot that in order for people to comply to that, they would first need to provide more trash cans around the city.

As we looked through every corner and every street... all we saw was:

DIY tong sampah a.k.a. lantai??

Bukit sampah?

Trolley sampah?

Oi!!! Tong Sampah!! Where art thou?

Alas, upon walking out of the Kiew Brothers yoke gon shop... we saw it, standing mightily at the corner. You can almost hear the heavenly hosts sing and an aura of light surrounding it.

The one and only Tong Sampah in Petaling Street!!!

p.s.: DBKL flers, if you are reading this, please please, invest on some tong sampahs around the city ok?

Workout fueled by fantasies

2009-12-28T20:55:00.000+08:00

Hubby always blogs about fitness and gym stuff. Here's my turn... from a regular gym member's point of view.

Why do I only go for 3 types of classes and treadmill?
- Bodyjam (is da BEST!!!)
- Bodycombat
- RPM

People say "reality bites". Which is rather true as nothing in this world is every perfect. Reality means you need to accept the good along with the bad in everything. But in fantasies, you control what happens. You determine what's in it. You can be doing anything you want, anywhere you want, with anyone you want.

In the dance inspired Bodyjam, you can imagine that you are performing on a big fancy stage ala the Grammy's or in Broadway. Or your shakin' ur bootie to a hot raggaeton beat in Miami's hottest club. Or you are the back up dancer to Gwen Stefani in her Japan tour concert! It doesnt matter how you dance in reality, all that matters is that you eat, drink and breathe dance in your fantasy. You can be THE best in your fantasy. It's your fantasy, you can even BE Gwen Stefani if you want. ;)

In the more aggressive Bodycombat, you can be fighting side-by-side with Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan or d hot Jet Lee! Or you could be in the boxing ring muay thaying someone in the beautiful Thailand. Even something a little closer to home, you can be punching the guts out of your boss or your most annoying customer. Wouldn't that be fun? :p

In RPM, you can ride in the wind across the Himalayas... or if you are more imaginative like me, you could be riding out at sea or even in outer space!! You can close your eyes and just go by the sound of the instructor's voice. There is never any traffic, there is never any risk of hitting anyone or anything if you close your eyes. If you're a romantic, like me, you can be cycling in the rain in black and white!! lol!

Finally, there's the treadmill. I can close my eyes and be running along the canal in front of d place I was staying in Glasgow. Beautiful!!!

Isn't that more fun than the reality of just going to them gym, working out on a yoga mat/step-board and exercising those calories away????

Selfish selflessness

2009-12-26T16:15:00.005+08:00

You know how some people do good things hypocritically for selfish reasons? ...to obtain a good reputation, to market themselves to the opposite sex, to mask their evil intentions, or even to satisfy their conscience after doing something bad.

Judgmental and self-righteous people will most definitely criticise these people for being such fakes.

However, have you ever thought of what these insincere good deeds do for the recipients??? If an orphanage was the one who receives a self-motivated contribution, would they feel any different from receiving a contribution from a sincere person? Unlikely. A good deed, no matter what the motivation ... is still a good deed. If a insincere millionaire gives money to build a home, homeless people get a roof over their head. If a socialite wants to raise her public profile by publicy "volunteering" her time to help sick cancer patients... these cancer patients still feel good that someone is there to help them, and even receive more publicity that can spur more others who would want to help after being aware of their plight.

To the recipient, a good thing still happens and there is a positive impact on their lives. A good deed does something good no matter what the motivation behind it.

As for me, I too am human... more often than not motivated by self-interest and self-centred-ness.

Why do I brave d sun, get my hands dirty to plant trees and sort & recycle my waste?
To ease my conscience that I contribute to the consumption and pollution on this earth.

Why do I help refugee kids develop artistic talents despite d fact that I absolutely dislike being around kids?
To feel that sense of achievement that I had progress further than the music ministry in church to other ministries. I want to progress and get promoted everywhere, not just at work... but in church, in theatre, in academic.

Why do I do nice things for the people I love: hubby, sister, parents, best friends?
Because I get a nice warm fuzzy happy feeling when I see them happy as they matter to me.

The journey can be a good deed, motivated by the destination of self-interest. In my opinion, it doesn't matter what the endpoint is... if something good is done, there is a positive impact on someone somewhere.

Go on... be selfish. Don't judge others' motives. In this festive season, think of the less fortunate and do a good deed. It is not as selfless as you think. You will be surprise what YOU can get out of it. =)

Blessed Christmas and a Joyful New Year to all!!!

Mission: Accomplished!

2009-11-30T20:18:00.006+08:00

Last Saturday, for the very first time I was leading a mission trip! :) Was pretty worried that things would be chaotic coz I was so busy with work I didnt have much time to plan or even delegate properly in the journey of getting the workshop going. But thanks to a wonderful wonderful team of people, things turned out well. Phew! Praise the Lord!! :) :) Guess in Him anything is possible even if you are juggling one thousand million things that seem to be too overwhelming.

We had a creative arts and music workshop to help these kids find an avenue to express themselve artistically since they never have the chance to do so in their normal school classes. The essentials are the only thing the teachers can cramp into their limited syllabus due to lack of teachers, time and resources.

Praise and worship led by Iggy.

The kindy kiddies wt their teacher Jocelyn

The pre-schoolers led by Nick

The 1st graders' class led by Marissa... cikgu!

The teenagers and their recycled version of Stomp!

Ben and Fong Li doin' their DBKL thang after the workshop is over.

Group photo!!!!

I hope our presence gave them that opportunity and will spark them to continue to develop those hidden talents.I hope our presence gave them that opportunity and will spark them to continue to develop those hidden talents.

Looking forward to make a difference in more people's lives in the near future! When you have God's love, spread it! :)

Who got me to my cheese?

2009-11-24T00:15:00.008+08:00

~reposted with ending~

Everyone has heard of the book "Who moved my cheese?" but I have my own little version called "Who got me to my cheese?"

Once upon a time, I had this boss whom I thought was a pain breathing down my neck, policing my every move. Pushing and pressuring me at every turn. Used to complain about it and got pretty annoyed with it. But like strong cheeses or durian, you normally hate it at first but it starts to grow on you. He started to grow on me. I started to realize this person was actually looking out for me. The more I realized it, the more he got off my back even.

Like a mouse in a maze, it could not really see the big picture. Which turns should it make to get to its cheese? There are many routes, and if it were to blunder its way through this maze, it would take twice or even thrice as long if it weren't for a human who was pushing or nudging it to take the correct turns. When it eventually sees the cheese within its sight, it knew exactly how to get there. By then, it was so close that the human no longer needs to nudge it from behind in order for it to run for the cheese!

This "human" nudging me "the mouse" was looking at the big picture and helping me reach my cheese in the fastest, best possible way. This "human" is Anish, my country manager. And this post is a thank you for being my "human" helping me get to my "cheese". It has been a wonderful journey and I have enjoyed this maze race. I'm really grateful and glad I had him to push me towards the right direction.

Thank you, Anish and all the best 2 u & ur family in this new beginning! You will be missed!

Are my belongings gonna hurt me???

2009-11-16T19:58:00.002+08:00

Is my handbag gonna eat me up??
Or is my shopping bag gonna strangle me to death???

A moving target

2009-10-18T18:14:00.002+08:00

I've been in the sales line as long as I have been working. In sales, it's always straightforward:

1. Set your goals
2. Plan how to achieve them
3. Put those plans into action
4. Achieve those goals
5. Get rewarded for tho$e a¢hievement$

But in life... too often, people do the same. They set the goal, work out a plan then work towards those goals so religiously that it becomes an obsession. With money, status, power... etc.

In life, it is not as simple as a sales plan. It is not a linear path. It is not a constant target. It is much more complicated, if you look at the target properly... it's moving! A wishlist will have new items and some old items which are not crossed out will just drop out of the list.

Yes, it is crucial to have goals and plans and work towards them... give you a sense of purpose. But once in a while, take a deep breath, take a good look around. You might just find that your target has moved. You need a new plan. That there are other bullseye that are more important than your current obsession.

- You could be working so hard to earn that 1st million so that your family can have a life of luxury, you don't realize you've left your family and loved ones behind.
- You could be working so hard for that promotion, you don't realize that it's the wrong career path.
- You could be chasing that perfect Prince Charming, you don't realize the one is right in front of your eyes.

Take some time off, breath and take a good look around... do you need to move your target??

Hmmm... do I???

A juggling act

2009-10-03T12:38:00.002+08:00

Everytime I interview a candidate, I'd ask them if they have done anything beyond what is required of the job for the company or for the team. Just to gauge if they have the teamwork spirit and the passion to go that extra mile for their career, to take on additional responsibilities.

It's a good quality to look for isn't it? It's a good quality to practice as well right?? And you must practice what you preach, leadership by example...blah blah blah.

But this is not a fair world. Good qualities lead to good actions... but it does not necessarily lead to good outcomes. What people see and judge you upon are only the outcomes. If outcomes are not out, not matter how much "extra mile" you put in, it is not enough.

In fact, the more willing you are to take on the extra, the more extra people will put upon you. Then you'll be left to juggle ALL that extra balls. You only have 2 hands, so 2 balls are in your hand... the rest of the balls are in the air. With so many balls in the air, what kind of outcomes do you expect? All the balls will be in the air la. People with one or two will have it in their hand.

A stupid clown, juggling...juggling...juggling.

Nothing but a circus act. Any more balls you wanna throw at me, world???

Mommy, my cat is broken!

2009-09-23T21:32:00.004+08:00

It's been 3 weeks since our baby Orked came come with us. I discovered a few weird things about her.

1. She doesn't like fishy foods... especially wet ones.

2. She prefers to play wt ice cube than to have a piece of treat.

3. She bites!! She greets you at the door! And she plays with balls!! Maybe she thinks she's a dog?

4. She's not really anti-water, she likes to sit and wait near you while you shower!

She must be a broken cat... hhhmmm, but super cute nevertheless!! You can't help but love dat funny little furball. Aaawwww....

The art of being happy for others

2009-09-15T18:30:00.003+08:00

Everyone has an ego... some more than others. That's when the braggarts are born.

Why do people brag? To give themselves a little ego boost or to belittle others... or both. Are they happier after that ego boost??? Nope... ego-boost is like a drug, you'll just crave more and more of it. Some people even live out of their means and get into serious financial trouble due to this "drug".

It is also highly contagious... if a person is around ego-boosters all the time, chances are, it rubs off on them and they become addicts themselves unless they have super high self control and humility to bring them back to earth. Or they have a "wake-up-call" buddy to slap them back to earth everytime.

Does pride and ego = happiness? Far from it.

Friend says: I got promoted!!
Egoholic: I am also in the running for a promotion at work.

Friend says: I just got engaged!!!
Egoholic: Gosh, what a tiny diamond you got.

Friend says: I'm pregnant!!
Egoholic: Eeew... babies are so disgusting.

Friend says: Welcome to my housewarming dinner!
Egoholic: Such a small place. I just went to see a much bigger more expensive place. Thinking of buying it.

Does putting others down make the egoholic feel better or happier? We've all been in the egoholics shoes at least once in our lifetime. Did we feel good after putting people down? Nope, from my experience, it followed by a feeling of excruciating envy.

So why do they still do it? Beats me... as I have learnt the art of being happy for others. That way, I have more share of happiness... mine as well as a gazillion other people's happiness. Yup, it's happiness melimpah-limpah... :)

The next time you feel compelled to react egoistically to a friend or family's happiness, step back and think how would you feel if you are in their shoes. When you receive a happy news... would you want someone who shares your excitement or someone who belittles it?

Perhaps next time you can learn how to "tap on" to others' happiness, the art of being happy for others. Even if the good news for them may not be good news for you, you can still be happy for them.

Friend says: I got promoted!!
Egoholic: Oh wow!! Congratulations... with all the hard work & stress you've been through... you deserve it!! :)

Friend says: I just got engaged!!!
Egoholic: I'm so happy for you!! Finally reaching for your happy ever after eh? :)

Friend says: I'm pregnant!!
Egoholic: Congrats!! You've always wanted to be mom! Now I can have 2nd hand experience of being a mom hearing mommy stories from you, since I've decided not to have my own. :)

Friend says: Welcome to my housewarming dinner!
Egoholic: Thanks for inviting me into your brand new home. Must be exciting to have your own place! :)

Trust me, you'll be a much happier person even if you don't outdo them. :)

Orked

2009-09-07T20:27:00.005+08:00

There's a new arrival at home...

Isn't she cuuuuuutttte???? :)

Greener grass afar

2009-08-26T20:15:00.003+08:00

The grass always looks greener on the other side doesn't it?

Works both ways:
An employee will always look at a new company as better than their current one.
An employer will always look at a new employee as better than their existing ones.

You can always see both the strength and the weaknesses of those closest to you... and as with everything else, the negative stuff always stand out.

Those from afar, always look more perfect. With flaws nicely hidden from view from a distance. If you took the time to look closer or to check with those who has been close enough to that patch of grass... you'll know it is far from perfect. Far from flawless.

Look closer....

Fueled by passion... tank empty

2009-07-28T21:49:00.003+08:00

Life's been so crazy lately, juggling all the "excitement" at work and mounting assignments for my mba. Even my blog has suffered negligence.

I just hate it when life becomes so overwhelming it's like a you're drifting in a strong river current...unable to swim or hang on to anything. After a while, you stop fighting the current, just give in and let the current carry you where it is heading. Drift, drift, drift...

How I miss swimming along a nice calm stream enjoying the journey, in control of where I'm heading, and most of all, I was swimming in the stream because I actually WANT to. It was not moving by clockwork, it was fueled by passion.

I miss all that passion I had; for my job, for my hobbies, for my relationship, for my entire life! And now the tank is empty. I need fuel, anyone knows any stations nearby I can re-fuel??? :(

Quality of Life

2009-06-09T03:22:00.003+08:00

While I was in the dialysis biz unit in my company, quality of life was something we preached to all kidney failure patients. To help motivate them to live their lives to the fullest despite the circumstances.

Just what is quality of life or QOL???

In Asia, all people ever do is chase after something... a race to earn more, a race to have a higher position, a race to acquire fancy cars, luxury homes, rich husbands or supermodel girlfriends. People work later and later, and even on weekends. In the chase for their definition of QOL... riches, power and status!

Have they ever stopped to smell the flowers, to enjoy the scenery, to just spend time NOT chasing anything. A concept the ang moh's seem to know better than us. So, her we are, not chasing anything, left our responsibilities, our jobs, our troubles halfway around the world. Here we are... learning from these ang moh's, stopping to smell the flowers, to feel the fresh green grass, to breath the fresh air...

From Glasgow with love

2009-06-04T05:05:00.006+08:00

Been too busy to blog lately. Posting photos up on fb has made thing much simpler to share ur life with ur friends, don't you think?

Anyway, Glasgow has been pretty sunny since we arrived. Apparently, this is not normal. Guess we must've brought d sunshine with us when we came! :) :) :)

Here r some random pics! :)

Career Marathon

2009-05-16T00:20:00.000+08:00

Been training running lately. Initally boss made it compulsory for the whole company to join the Standard Chartered KL Marathon in end June. But drew back the compulsory bit. Obviously alot of people pulled out. But since I had aleady started training and have gotten hooked on how inspiring running can be when coupled with some emotionally stirring music... I have decided to press on.

I noticed how I always add on a little more every time I train. A couple of km more, a few minutes faster. Everytime you add on that little bit of challenge, your body feels like giving up but you press on. The next time it feel easier. Then you give yourself a new challenge...add a little more to your target. I actually look forward to my next run every time.

I guess this is also how work life can be. The career marathon. Everytime you get good at what you are doing, you take on a little bit more... so that things don't get so boring and routine. Everytime it gets easier, you take on even more... and grow even better in the process. I used to look forward to the next challenge to take me out of my routine. However, lately I've been pretty tired of pressing on at work. Sick of the routine, sick of the frustrations. Everyday it is the same thing over again. I wonder why can't I motivate myself to press on, and add that extra 1km more today... and another km more tomorrow. I used to be able to do that pretty well. What has changed? Perhaps running in itself is the routine... doesnt matter how many more kms I add?

Perhaps it's time I take on swimming???

Cat food... meow!

2009-04-22T21:19:00.006+08:00

Ok, I did not literally eat cat food... just Kuching food. ;)
Here are some of the yummy stuff I had on my East Malaysian trip last week. Mostly in Kuching as my colleague was more familiar there.

Sarawak Kolo Mee...mmmm

Wantan

Lotsa lotsa lotsa seafood... habeh my cholesterol level.

The aftermath

Had this super huge chicken pau which was good too but was stuck in the hospital till so late we were super hungry so tak ambik gambar lagi tuh. Same case wt the KK seafood. Oh well, there's always next time!! :p

My fav videos

2009-04-17T17:45:00.002+08:00

Am @d Kuching airport Starbucks awaiting my flight... bored. Cant post d Kuching food stuff up yet coz cant transfer d photos yet. So, juz tot I'd post my 3 fav videos on youtube here. Am watching them now anyway... :)

Our wedding: The Musical

2009-03-26T22:40:00.000+08:00

Yes, I am still alive!! And so is my blog!! :) Just been too busy to post anything till now. This is just going to be short post as d craziness of the MBA is yet to be over.

Here are some photos from Alvin and my wedding... :)

Our church wedding

Daddy giving me away

Hubby & me

The "I do"s :)

With God's blessings

The dinner

Opening gambit duet

Our singing speech!

The bride and groom's first dance.

The Grand Finale!!

It was a lovely lovely musical wedding that was super memorable not just for hubby and me, but for our guests!! Will never ever forget this day d rest of my life!! :)
Have yet to receive all the photos from my official photographer. These are just stolen from my friend's albums from facebook. Heheheh. Anyway, I better get back to my assignment!! Gotta finish it before our lovely honeymoon!!! :) :) :) :)

Gong Hei Fatt Choi!!

2009-01-26T17:34:00.004+08:00

Here wishing everyone a Happy Happy Chinese New Year!!!

May d year of the Ox brings everyone good health, prosperity and most of all happiness!!! :)

And of course...
"gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme gimme more, gimme gimme, gimme gimme more..."
I know I sound like Britney now but it's d last year I get to collect angpau leh. So, keep 'em coming!! ;)

My veil!!

2009-01-03T22:14:00.005+08:00

Have finally finished making my veil!!! With bling blings!! :)

D whole veil

D bling blings

D comb to fasten onto my hair

My very own design and my very own efforts... One of a kind tau?!!
Isnt it pretty??? :))))

Where time stood still

2008-12-29T19:08:00.003+08:00

Took a trip down memory lane today with my sis. We decided to do something that we have not done in a gazillion years, since our schooling days when we were living in Ampang. We took the Starlink LRT down to Petaling Street or better known to us a Chee Cheong Kai!!

As we arrived at Plaza Rakyat station, we walked that ever busy path down to Chinatown. Once, we turn left... we saw that really familiar place where we used to shop once a year for Chinese New Year decorations when we were small!

It's still there! And still looks the same.

Smells of bak kuah and sounds of tong-tong-chiang CNY music fills the streets. It really brings us back to the good old days.

We had lunch at this small lane between 2 shops. I miss the yummy grilled seafood there in the evening but it was too early AND I still have my monster sorethroat so can't fulfill my cravings today. :(

I can, however satisfy my cravings for my favourite air mata kucing!! It still tastes as good as ever... somehow their Midvalley branch cant do it quite as well.

The reason I went there was because, from the Malaysiabrides forum, I got to know that there is a shop somewhere in Petaling street which sells wedding stuff at a very cheap price. So I bought an off-white veil material-thingy there. I sooo love Malaysiabrides forum... I find that happy people are always the most helpful. And who are happier than a bunch of bride-to-be's??? I got so many tips on wedding planning, wedding vendors and DIY tips there. :)

We then took a walk in S & M jewellery to look for the black comb-piece to be sewn on the veil... and found it! All in only for about RM20!! Yet the bridal shops wanted to sell me a plain ol veil at RM280!! Gila! Now I can get started on my sewing! :) In S & M, they are even playing pop songs from the 90's. It was truly like time did not move at all since we last came!

We took the LRT back as well and I'll bet others thought we were tourists coz I was busy snapping photos. Teehehehe! But they must be baffled when we said that this stupid incomplete structure has been around and been an eyesore to us for more than a decade. ;)

After we got back, we decided to check out a shop near my house. Another bride-to-be friend recommended. ;) There were so many pretty pretty craft materials and stuff, it must have been heaven for my sis, who's the creative craft kind of person. I even finalized what I wanted for my flower arch 4 d wedding and put in a booking! Yay!! :)

Bitch-fit!!!!!

2008-12-20T20:13:00.004+08:00

Recently, I've been forced to crack d whip on some people who had no sense of urgency in finishing a task. I don't like throwing these bitch-fits but this time my patience finally ran out.

For those who know me well will know that I always play nice when I need something done. I may use feminine wiles or even inflict guilt but I ALMOST never play the bitch card. My philosophy is, we are all adults and we all know what needs to be done, whether at work or in any other areas of our lives. You would think people doing a Masters degree would be mature enough to research, read and do what they need to do without being pushed but boy, was I soooo wrong!!... not only did these people not have the sense of urgency, when they finally do the task, they don't read through what actually needs to be done. Instead some of them just fill up some slides with statements pluck from thin air!!

We are NOT doing things for the sake of doing. Every step has a purpose and needs to be supported by facts. This is not a kindergarden project. This is not writing up a fictitious story. This is an analysis!!

Instead of thanking me for pushing them to do it, I get snide sarcastic remarks about throwing a ~~bitch-fit~~ temper. HELLLLOO!! You are NOT doing this assignment to appease me. This subject is for ALL of us to learn and to hopefully pass!! In case they haven't notice, ALL of us are in this boat together.

We have so much holes in it, so many ideas pluck from thin air, I'm not even sure I know how to lead them to fix this mess. :(...
I really don't know what to do anymore, the deadline is close by... and I have sacrificed enough time & effort on this to pull out & just defer the bloody subject.

Was it a mistake to want to venture out of my comfort zone this semester? I had decided not to stick to my usual group of friends for all assignments this semester. Was that a bad decision?

I don't think so, it's still a good experience. At the very least... I learnt 2 things:
- that it is crucial to have good team mates. People who work for the same purpose and are equally committed. People who are proactive and need not be pushed as they see the goals as a benefit to themselves as well. So, choose carefully if you have that option.
- that if you do not an option, you need to manage people and manage the circumstances. You need to be strong & get emotional even when you feel like crying. You need to bring out any personality that can get the job done even if it not the real you. You don't need to like it, and neither do they. Coz it's business and not personal.

Wish me luck... God knows I need lots of it.

Wet cement

2008-12-13T08:42:00.004+08:00

After teamteaching with sifu ie. Kenny a couple of nights ago, got him to reassess me. :)

After giving me the usual feedback session, something he said, made a lot of sense. He said that the 1st 3 months is extremely crucial for any new instructor. This is when our habits form and sets in place. It is also when we make our first and lasting impression on members. Like wet cement, if you mold it while it's still wet, it takes the form you want. If you wait till it is set, sori lah...

So for the next few months, he advised me no matter how bored I am of the 2 releases I have, (which I am!) stick to it so that the moves become reflex action without having to use the brain. Instead, use the brain space, time and effort to improve on coaching. Members will also be happy to see us improve eventhough we teach them the sames songs. He gave a lot of very practical coaching tips too. Thanks sifu!!

So, its BJ 45 & 46 for me all da time... sien!!! :s Lucky after Christmas got BJ 47. :)

Caution: wet cement! Don't step on me ya? ;)

Community Service @Lifespring

2008-11-30T14:26:00.003+08:00

This post is totally overdued... but nevertheless deserves space on this blog still. :) A few weeks ago, the Young Adults Ministry at my church, Revival Centre, did a community service program at Lifespring Orphanage at Balakang. We decided to do a paint job for them as one of the rooms there was burnt and in dire need of repair. We wanted to do something that had a lasting effect and not just a touch 'n go kind of visit.

A lot of people make the mistake of doing social activities with orphanages just once off and end up hurting the kids even more when they leave. These kids are deprived of a real family and clings to whoever shows them love and care with all their might. If someone visits the orphanage once off bearing toys and socialize with them, they will feel the sense of abandonment when these people leave. If a volunteer wants to build a relationship with these kids, it has to be a long term, permanent arrangement. Like twice-weekly tuition classes...etc.

Since most of us could not commit our time in the long term, we thought a building revamp would leave behind something more meaningful. :)

Cleaning up de place before we started de paint job

Mixing paint and delegating jobs by colour groups!

Me attempting to be a green thumb heheheh

Moving out all the furnitures

The murel team!

The kids there make their mark in the building as well!

The finished product, and de artist behind it!

Nice new coat of paint

It was a wonderful day for both the givers and the receivers. It was amazing how much provision could fit into one of our church member's small Viva... hehehe. God is great and so is His love!!!

Underpaid :(

2008-11-26T23:55:00.001+08:00

Recently, I had to look through quite some resumes and speak to the headhunters to hire some new product specialists (tis just a nama glamour for medical sales people :p). The more I looked, the more depressed I got!!

I am soooooooo BLOOOOODDYYY U-N-D-E-R-P-A-I-D!!!!

I guess recesssion is not applicable to the medical & healthcare industry if so many companies are still hiring and all the candidates are still asking for such high salaries. From what I see, the only way I can get anyone good (and I have no intentions to get crappy people for my own team) I need to outpay myself!

Hmmm, maybe I should apply to work for myself in order to get a raise!!
@#%*&#~>@$$=#$&*@!!!!!!!

I also know that the other manager is getting higher pay than me!! And his workload is even less. Unfair! Unfair!

The only reason I am still here is because my direct boss is such a dear. She is a true rarity, a good boss is such an endangered species these days. I think my company knows that, that's why they think they can pay us (who are under her) crap because we have her to hang on to.

Maybe it's time to step out of our comfort zone to find out what we're really worth... and get paid what our work is TRULY worth.

My very own first Bodyjam class!

2008-11-24T22:59:00.004+08:00

Had my very own first Bodyjam class today in IOI!! It was an unexpected one, initially thought my first class would be the one in DU on Thurs...hehehe.

Ta-da! My name's on d board!!! :))))

Was kinda nervous coz wasn't really well prepared especially for the tracks from BJ45 which is a bit rusty since I was practising BJ46 like crazy to do clearance. Hehehe. But overall it was fun!! Looking forward to Thurs! :)

What a GGRRREEAAATT day!!

2008-11-17T23:06:00.005+08:00

Today, I was nervous about 2 things... my first surgery (as a helper not a patient k?) and my Bodyjam clearance.

The surgery which was an abdominoplasty, lasted for about 6 hours!!! I only managed to have lunch at about 3.30pm! Had to stand all the way throughout the surgery and my legs ache. But at least d doctor asked to have the Mamma Mia! soundtrack playing and we even sang along! ;) Not only the surgery went super smoothly... my part in it also went super smoothly that the surgeon wanted to learn more. And he was singing praises about my product to another colleague of his while we were having a bit together till she agreed to use it!!! He said that his patients love the effects and the faster healing. I didn't even need to do any selling AT ALL!! :) Isn't that a nice warm fuzzy feeling?

Then in the evening, I made my way to Summit for my clearance assessment by Leo. Arrived early so I did some last minute practising. During the class, it wasnt as non-intimidating as IOI would've been since there are more people and I don't really know them. I guess sometimes my nervousness showed, sometimes I managed to hide it, hehehe. Adalah some mistakes here and there, lotsa improvements to be made still... for both cueing and technique. But final result??? I cleared!! I cleared!! Yay!!! Yay!!! Now am truly part of FF's Bodyjam team! Dance 4 life! :) Another warm fuzzy feeling!!

Wasn't it such a beautiful day??? :)

A eureka moment for Bodyjam

2008-11-09T16:13:00.006+08:00

Last Fri evening I had planned a BJ46 practice wt a fellow trainee. But when I reached Axis, she was no where to be found. Called her a couple of times but she did not answer. I was ffk-ed!!! Sigh! So since I have already booked d studio wt Teoh, I might as well practiced alone. Luckily, Sista was gymming with me coz I was staying over at her house that day. So, I suggested she become my "member" while I conduct a class of 1...hehehe.

Sista was nice enough to teman me while I practice. Then halfway through class I had a "Eureka" moment. I realized I didn't have to struggle to memorize what to say and how to cue. Because I was trying to get her to follow what I do, I never ran out of things to say....which is a mistake that happens to me ALOT!! How she danced and how well she could follow me became like this feedback loop that prompts me what to say next. So, next time, when practising chorey get instructors...when practising cueing, get members eh?! ;)

Yay!!!! Thank God for Sista!! Hugs!!

Counting blessings...

2008-10-29T19:40:00.010+08:00

Everyone has their down days. I am having mine today. Why? I really can't seem to pinpoint the reason. Perhaps it's PMS? Or work frustration? Or wedding jitters? Or it's hitting 30? Or the problems I'm having with my new home? I don't know. I need to literally count my blessings in the attempt to cheer myself up.

1. I am blessed to have a fiance who loves me and we are getting married in March.

2. I am blessed to have the best boss in the world. She's understanding, she gives me the right balance between guidance and empowerment, and we have a very high level of trust between us.

3. I am blessed I don't look like this! And can still turn a few head even at my age.

4. I am blessed to have a bunch of friends I have a lot of good times with.

5. I am blessed with many talents. I can sing and dance... and I am blessed with the opportunity to use these talents.

6. I am blessed with a close-knit family and we are all still together.

7. I am blessed to have known God and is able to turn to Him for whatever.

8. I am blessed with good health... my thorough medical check-up report just came back all perfect. Even the doctor said that it is not common nowadays.

And the list goes on...
Then how come I don't feel all that blissful today? I hope it is just today... and when I wake up tomorrow morning, this feeling will be gone.

SSing in KLPAC

2008-10-26T19:23:00.017+08:00

This post is long overdue coz I just got the photos from baby for his birthday celebration this year. No more kidnapping this year... ;)

It was just a conventional dinner...

And a show to follow.

But while we were at the KL Performing Arts Centre, we might as well try to be artsy as well. With a touch of our signature ss-ness. hehehe ;p

The show Broadway Parodies Lagi Lah! was not as good as the original Broadway Parodies Lah! There were several bad singers in the cast... but still there were a few moments of laughs. Perhaps after I'm done with my studies we can audition for the 3rd or 4th sequel together just for fun??? ;)

House kelam-kabuting

2008-10-19T16:53:00.013+08:00

Yesterday, Zwi and Daniel hosted a pot-luck dinner for a bunch of us from church.

Plenty of food

Am not much of a cook, only know how to do very few dishes without screwing up. Even this dish, the last time I cooked it was probably around 10years ago!! ;p

My fried spicy nissin noodle wt luncheon meat!

One of the attention grabbers for the night was Thong Thong... their 1 yr old silky terrier with never ending energy. Hyperactive like crazy!! Super friendly too.

Mason & Steph playing with Thong Thong. They are in my cell-group and will be getting married 2 weeks before us... wonder would pastor let us keep d church decor up for 2 weeks? Heheheh

Me and d lovely hostess, Zwi

Yeap, definitely kelam-kabut

Coz there were 2 kids running about besides d hyperactive Thong Thong. ;)

Zwi even gave us all a little doorgift for her party... so sweet!

The other attention grabber of the night was the dance mat!! Here's our lovely hostess showing how it is done!!

I stayed the night at her place... and woke up this morning greeted by Thong Thong. :) She's so cute!

Mamma mia!!

2008-10-15T22:57:00.006+08:00

Just watch Mamma Mia the movie with baby today. It is absolutely positively GOOOOD!!! Such a fun movie to watch and I bet it was fun to make as well. A true feel-good movie. It is entertaining and heart warming.... I still have the leftover warm fuzzy feeling inside right now. Aaawwww.....

Loved the music soooo much too. I must must get the soundtrack.

I love it!! Love it! Love it!! Love it!!!! Cant wait for the musical!!

Only thing was that some stupid people were singing along with the ABBA songs. Oi! Nak nyanyi gi karaoke ok? Cinema is not d place!! Dah la these people cant sing... those who can sing (ahem!) also haven't bersuara!

We watched it in Sunway Pyramid. I realize that that place has the most confusing floors ever!! Look at this!

why 2 F's? and 2 LG1's? But only 1 G? Howcome got LG1 and LG2? Which is the lower level? Then why is there no CP1??? er.... pening!

Since I still feel warm and fuzzy and think that the world is all beautiful... did anyone see the rainbow in the evening on Monday?? Pretty isn't it? It really made my drive to my night class pleasant. :)

Rockstar slide!!!

2008-10-12T17:22:00.002+08:00

What's this?

My scraped knee... thanx to practicing the Rockstar slide for Bodyjam 46 cooldown on Saturday morning.

But I sooooooooooo love that song and sooooooooooo love that move... it was well worth the pain. Gila kan? hehehehehe... can't wait to do BJ46 on stage soon! :)

Flowers, flowers a-bloomin'

2008-10-11T00:17:00.014+08:00

I love orchids... but the problem with them is the arrangement. There's rarely any purely orchid bouquets around. Normally orchids are not the "star" of the arrangement but rather the "back-up singers". Just like forget-me-nots. I love those too. I guess I have a thing for supporting the underdogs. ;)

Anyway, today was my office grand opening party. So, we got lotsa flowers from suppliers galore. So, I took several stalks of orchids back home to experiment on the arrangements for my wedding.

Thought I'd have simplicity in the design, simplicity is classy. Also, I can probably get friends to help out and save on florist expenditure too. Dad's friend owns an orchid nursery.... yay!!! So, daddy can pull some strings for her little girl.

Back to the designs... what do you think?

single stalk

single blossom

stalk surrounded by a few blossoms

single blossom surrounded by a few blossoms

I kinda like all!! Feel so indecisive for once. I just love orchids, they are pretty to me however they are arranged. I can always decide later... after I check with baby. At least I have some pretty orchids to brighten up my room for the next couple of days!

Make-up artist

2008-09-27T14:58:00.006+08:00

Just did my trial with my wedding make-up artist, Suki today!!

Before

After

Itu pun I took the "after" photo after I took off the fake lashes otherwise d eyes would've been much nicer, more dramatic!! :)

Notice the "after" photo my eyes don't look symmetrical? Well, that's because I wanted to try out different colours and different effects to see which I like best. So each eye was done up differently. I like the left-eye better!! Earthy-tones but glam up with shimmers and dark dramatic eye liner! I love it!!!

Suki is really professional, flexible and accommodative... she tried out different styles of make-up for me so that I can decide on which one I wanna go with during my big day. Then she took a photo of me to ensure she remembers the look I love best to re-create it on my big day!!

Yay!!! :)

A world without strangers

2008-09-23T23:26:00.007+08:00

I am most definitely not promoting Giordano here. My blog stays non-profit, non-commercial!! It's just a nice tagline. :)

I realize that we Asians can be a tad paranoid when it comes to strangers. Can't blame us, so many criminals and con-person around every corner. You can never be to careful, right? But are strangers always bad people? I don't think so. Just a few bad ones doesn't mean all are bad.

Pondering back, I've met a few strangers throughout the journey of my life... some just a passing friendship, some blossomed into something more. I can remember a few...

Last week, I befriended an elderly couple while doing my annual medical check-up. I know that they were cautious about their health because the old lady has 2 brothers who has had a angioplasty. She even gave me one of her home made healthy muffins made of wholemeal flour, rice bran oil and a array of seeds. :)

On the way to the airport while in the ERL, I befriended an Air Asia stewardess who shared about her fun experiences working in the company. And how her family was not too thrilled about her choice to be a stewardess but her boyfriend stood by her.

While applying for our EPF, bf and I befriended the lady at the counter who turned out to be also a Fitness First member. She was soooo nice, I had an entire post dedicated to her!!

The girl I befriended on a bride's forum who was nice enough to offer and email me photos of herself to help me decide on which make-up artist to choose for my own big day.

The old woman I met while waiting for a doctor in a public hospital who was staying in the hospital because her son would not pick her up for her regular follow ups. She was a chronic kidney failure patient. Hers was a really sad story... that was why she kept refusing her treatments.

These are just the passing friendships... Others stayed on...

The crazy teenage girl I met when I attended my first youth camp. We totally clicked although we knew each other for 3 days. We then moved on to sell perfume together and hang out together... and we have been BFFs for 10 years now!!

The ballet teacher I befriended through my blog because I was looking for a house and she was selling off hers. She has moved overseas but we still keep in touch on our blogs and facebook. We've never even met...yet! Hope to meet her some time in the future.

The group of friends I met at the Jazz Festival in Mont Kiara 2 years back! They were complete strangers at the time. They organized a weekly dance session and I showed up in a then stranger's apartment all alone as I was the first to arrive... all ready to dance!! We've since had some good times together and are still in touch till today. This was us learning the Hawaiian Hula.

The doctor I met on Facebook who's currently practising in Hong Kong. Turns out her sister stays nearby and is practically my neighbour! She'll be back for holidays soon I hope to meet her for the first time.

How about the distant colleague from the northern office in a "Dale" shirt in a sales conference in the remote area of Lumut? Found out at the time that we both liked chocolate ice cream and singing.

Dale from the Rescue Rangers ;)
This one really blossomed... it went beyond friendship. And I am marrying him come March!! :)

So, take a few risks... get to know a few strangers. Who knows?? The world can be a more beautiful place with that one stranger less.

A Canton Experience

2008-09-13T13:23:00.001+08:00

Canton... or better known as Guangzhou now. Just went on a short break there since am MBA-free for these couple of months. (yippeee!)

You would think the people in Canton would be able to speak Cantonese but nope... about half of them do only. The rest speak Mandarin. Alamaks!! So, there was a bit of communication breakdown. Dah lah their Mandarin sounds different from ours.

We arrived with only basic info on the whereabouts of our hotel. So, we went on a wild goose chase looking for the hotel which turns out to be truly truly 2min walk from the train and subway stations... as stated on the website. heheheh.

What a relief after walking in the heat for so long! Our room!!! Air-con!!!!

The next morning we went on looking for food... noodles were good but the char siew sucks... I still prefer good ol Malaysian char siew. :)

Sis had yue chuk which was also so-so saje.

We then went for a walk around Beijing Lu... there were shops galore! A lot of brands that we don't get here. I suppose they are local China brands. Their fashion is quite HK-ish... so a bit too lala for our taste. Dah lah it's not cheap leh! I guess our currency value doesnt give us an edge to shop overseas. :(

Every single day, we had to have our daily dose of caffein at the local Starbucks!! Damn expensive... about RMB35 per cuppa. But when you need your fix, you need your fix!!

We also went to Renmin Nan Lu and Shangxia Jiu Lu where there were more shops and more cafes to keep us occupied.

Although it wasn't much of a sight-seeing trip. We still manage to take a few touristy shots! :)

The weather there was pretty much like here. Hot and humid!! We were sweating like pigs walking around so much all day. Lucky there are plenty of icy cold drinks and desserts all over the place. We particularly liked this chain store selling fruity blended drinks. Heavenly for that kind of weather. It is truly blended fruit and not flavouring... so it was refreshing and healthy too!

How can one go to China without experiencing some typically Chinese things like...

Bad Engrish,,,,

Farnie toilets

We managed to go the Zhujiang River side near the Haizhou Square for dinner one nite. The city view was pretty at night... I guess most cities are pretty at night. :)

1920 restaurant. They serve a mixture of Western and Eastern cuisine, and also a vast vast selection of cocktails. A lot of foreigners there too...

Black blood... the cocktail I ordered looked so cool and gothic. Like Bodyjam 45... heheheheh. It tastes really good too.

We both had some porky thang... portions were HUGE!!! Caters to gwei lou's appetites I guess.

Both my sis and my orders were really yummy... very good pork. You cant taste that porky smelliness like the pork you get here in KL. Very well prepared. Mmmmm.... that was actually the only food that we had in the whole trip which tasted really good. The rest were only so-so. Hong Kong and Malaysia still has the best Chinese food around.

We moved around mostly using the MRT. Convenient and most easy to interpret... the station names are also written in English. And we can be sure we will not be ripped-off. :)

Some more touristy shots around Martyr's Park.

Like all vacations.... the ending always comes so soon.

Choi kin, Guongzhau!!!

Wall-e

2008-09-06T10:35:00.005+08:00

Watched Wall-e with baby on Wednesday. A very cute movie... not much dialogue yet still heartwarming. A kid in the cinema even cried so hard when Wall-e lost his memory of Eve after the repair. Didn't his mom tell him Disney movies never have sad endings? Trust Disney to create that magic everytime.

Only Disney can make a trash-compacter machine and a roach adorable...

...and create romance between 2 machines

...and give machines charater and behaviour... like obsessive compulsive disorder...

reminds me of my BFF Joyce, heheheh.

Loved it!! :)

Casablanca

2008-09-02T20:43:00.003+08:00

Baby bought the Casablanca DVD and we watched it together last nite. Don't you just love movies from that era? They are so romantic... nothing made in the recent years can come close to that warm fuzzy feeling these old movies give you. But I was kinda sad that Rick and Ilsa did not end up together despite their deep love for each other. True love should always have happy endings... I intend to have mine! ;)

I love it!!

Here's lookin' at you kid!

Mission Indulgissible

2008-08-24T22:10:00.002+08:00

After our exams last Tuesday, it was celebration time for us Strathclydians. Our komplikated family decided to take a makan trip up north to indulge in some sinful food and celebrate together. There is Uncle (Chong), cousin (Jack), Ah Gor (Allan) and my sistas (Hazel and Jun Yi). Chris & Chloe, and also Vicky was suppose to come with us but ffk-ed at the very last minute. Hah!! Looking at what we've achieved in this mission, I'd say it it is definitely their loss... hehehe.

We left KL at about 7am and made a pitstop in Ipoh Old Town for some yummy Ipoh Hor Fun, Pork Satay and of course their famous White Coffee. Heavenly stuff!!

Sista enjoying her satay

After filling our stomachs we left Ipoh for Penang. The mission agenda was to have stomach refills every 2 hours. So, 2 hours later... we reached Penang. 1st stop was Bangkok Lane for the best Mee Goreng on earth!! I don't normally eat mee gorengs but this one is my favourite food on the planet! I never go to Penang without having it.

mmmmmmm

sista loves it too!

Ah gor & Junyi shared coz they wanted to cover more variety not quantity

For me, without the quantity, it won't satify my craving! Sista too! Gluttons!! But we deserve it as we've been really rajin to go RPM lately. ;)

The houses on Bangkok Lane are really nice and charming. Some were converted to shops and beauty parlours. One must be owned by someone with a green thumb, it was converted into a hutan belantara!

Sifu, me & sista in front of the hutan belantara wannabe

After checking in to the apartment we rented, we were out again... on our food trail. Next stop was Penang road.

Cendol, Char Koay Teow and Assam Laksa!

We even made the usual compulsory stopover at Ghee Hiang for some of their famous Tau Sar Pneah and Sesame Oil.

Ang gu gu... koochi koochi koo...proof that men never grow up! hehehe

You are only as old as you wanna be. And in this trip, I think we were all acting like 6 year olds. Hehehe. I think after the exams, we left our brains in KL to truly enjoy the trip to the max.

Later that day, we had dinner with Chong's friends and family at this place on top of the hill near Paya Terubong. Coolest parents we ever met... both with a crazy sense of humour!

Pretty sunset

We had seafood.... crabs are a must!

We then took the longer road less taken to Batu Ferringhi for some shopping. Nice quiet drive there. After shopping.... back to food!!

O'chien and otak-otak somewhere in Tanjung Tokong area...

The we headed back to the apartment and freshen up before heading out for some drinks and partying. However, we only stayed for drinks as none of us smoke yet the clubs there were all so smoky and full of la-la's. Hehehe... I think we will stick to partying only in Euphoria where we needn't suffocate while we dance! :)

This morning, we headed out back to Penang Road to Line-Clear Nasi Kandar. It was seriously good!! It was orgasmicly GOOOOD!!! I had nasi briyani with the mutton and some super sinful telor ikan!! It was the best nasi kandar I had for ages! Beating Kayu and Pelita hands down!

Coronory-disease on a plate! Mmmmmmm

We then left Penang using the more scenic mode of transport, ferry! Brings back a lot of old memories.

Sista feeling nostalgic

me & sista time-travelled to the 60's

The entire gang... ah gor howcome pose so girly one? hehehe

On the journey back, we stopped by Ipoh again as the gang craved for durians.... except for yours truly. Tak suka!! They had durians the traditional Malaysian way...

squatting by the roadside!

I just had some crispy apam balik and more white coffee! Our journey on the highway (both ways) was a mobile karaoke session!! So fun!! We should do this more often. Hhmm, imagine, just the end of a semester we feel this liberated.... I wonder how crazy will we get when we finally complete the MBA??? ;)

Mission accomplished!!!

The best things in life are free!!

2008-08-04T22:04:00.012+08:00

Recently had a friendly debate with a couple of friends about having a wedding planner. I was totally out-numbered as they insisted that the wedding planner does everything for you the way you want it to be. So in the end, you will still get the wedding customised to your whims and fancy. It will still be unique. Yes, true... customised but not personalised.

Somehow for me, it gives me a totally different feeling if some stranger were to execute my wedding plans for me. Customisation is NOT personalisation!!

Customisation can be done as impersonally as possible but personalisation can only be done by someone close to you, someone who would be emotionally involved in the process.

More often than not, customisation are done by professionals and the results are far better. Personalisation is less perfect, but it comes from the heart. But it's the little flaws that makes it more human, closer to the heart.

I guess there are 2 types of people in this world, those who want the finer things in life. Which is perfectly fine, you deserve what you want.
The other type believes that the best things in life are free!!
I am definitely the latter. What I value may not be valued by others. Like beauty, value is also in the eyes of the beholder.

Some examples:

I think you get the picture...

Maybe that's why I've never dated a rich bloke, don't think they will understand me. Or perhaps it's because I'm just dead broke and can't afford to taste the finer things in life eh? Er, but I just came home from an English Afternoon Tea and Dinner at the Carcosa. I would much rather be having Char Koay Teow fried by my baby at our new home. Guess my value scale is just not the same as the world's. I am just different, so friends... just accept it ok? I have nothing against all of your kind advice, thanx but I am just different. I may be stressed out now but I will survive this.

Busy... I don't like!!!

2008-07-31T22:55:00.003+08:00

Life has been so crazy for me lately. I know many of my friends say that they are incredibly busy, too busy to meet up with friends. No time for leisure. I guess some people just love being busy, makes them feel important.

Well I don't!!! I totally DO NOT like having a busy life.

With my promotion, work has been soooooooo stressful!! With too many things all happening at the same time. So much to do, so little time, only 1 of me, cannot split. Argh!!

Then there's my studies, with an assignment deadline this Monday followed by 3 exams!! Argh!!

And newly passing Bodyjam, I gotta practice and practice and fit in as many team-teach as possible so that I can continuously improve. No TT = No feedback = No improvements!!! And I haven't cleared, cannot allow myself to get rusty. Argh!!

Then there's the new house, so many documents to sign. Once we get the key, gotta get quotation la, plan renovations la, ...etc. Argh!!!

Wedding plans. Photographer (not checked), invitation cards (not checked), pre-marital counseling (not checked), guest list (not checked)... er is there anything that I HAVE done??? Argh!!

Church: still gotta continue serving what... where can neglect God? He's d one who gave me everything I got. Cannot be so ungrateful one. Argh!!!

I want my life to go back to normal... and soon too before I turn gila!!

So, if any of you think that you have problems... I'm gonna crawl right out of this blog and cekik ya'all!!

Scared yet?

You'd better be!! Muahahahah...maybe too late, I HAVE turned gila...

KWSP: Anda Keutamaan Kami

2008-07-28T19:20:00.002+08:00

Just went to the EPF Jalan Gasing with baby today to apply for the downpayment for our new home.

We took a number and within a couple of minutes, before we even sempat complete our forms our turn was up. We were greeted by a lady named Nor Hayati at the counter. She taught us how to correctly fill the forms and what documents we need for the application. I did not bring my account passbook with me and we needed that for the application. She even taught us to go to the nearest bank (which was across the street) to get a verification/statement. She told us to come back to her once we have all our forms filled and the documents completed.

We went back to her and she processed for us and even told us she'll try her best to expedite things for us without us even asking. So kind of her!!! :)

This must be one of my best service experience in a government office so far!! Kudos to KWSP for being true to the tagline they displayed at the counter "Anda Keutamaan Kami"!

Thanks Kak Yati!! You're the best!!