Leanne's Say

Back on the saddle again

2009-09-07T02:42:00.003+08:00

It's been awhile since my last post and in some instances, too much has happened; and in others, things never seem to change.

I can't bring myself to start commenting or blogging about the political situation in my beloved country. After all, what else can you say when you have lost total faith. A friend says and I echo, "I love this country, but I don't necessarily have to like the people who rules her." Aye!

So, I'll focus on life itself. How time flies and now, we are at the brink of yet another milestone. How often have I heard friends ruminating about what next for us. After all, we are Gen X babies and we are no longer the "in" generation. Many see that the best years have already passed them by. But have they?

I guess I don't blame "them". After all, in marketing, we are always trying to reach the younger audiences. We always try to remain relevant to the younger set. After all, no brands want to be considered an ageing brand. The younger audiences you reach, the more you can milk loyalty and transactions from them.

But marketers aren't the only one concerned with reaching younger audiences. How many columns have you read about youths in their 20s trying to make sense of life? What about jobs like journalism, news casting, etc. Again, it seems that the younger you are, the more opportunities are opened to you.

So I guess when my Gen X friends start looking at life in that manner, one can hardly blame them. But ... is this really all to life?

I find it difficult to accept. We are still hale and healthy. Many of us are, in our own ways, successful. Yes! We've experienced life but ... there's so much more to explore, so much more to live for. Yes, to some it may be about their kids ... but hey, you need time for yourself as well. We shouldn't stop living our dreams, just because we have to start fulfilling others' dreams.

After all, you only pass through this way but once. Why not make the most of it?

Name at least 10 weird/amazing experiences/things about your life.

2009-03-20T20:59:00.004+08:00

I was tagged to do this on facebook. Unfortunately, my facebook "skills" are not so fantastic. So here we are, back to my trusted blog.

Strangely when I sat down and started thinking about all the weird and amazing experiences I had in my life, it became an endless string of events ... good and bad, humourous and sad.

Here it goes ... beware it is not limited to 10. Then again, it's written up there "at least 10", not limited to 10. :p

1. Representing my school for badminton girls doubles at the age of 12, I stood frozen unable to hit a single shot during my first major tournament in a rival school. Imagine my mortification!

2. When I was 14, I jumped off a 10-foot high dive board as part of my swimming lessons. It didn’t help much that I am acrophobic and there was a bunch of hyper-active 6-8 year-olds queuing at the back of me eagerly awaiting their turns to jump. I never jump again. :p

3. At the age of 16, my friends and I took part in a cycling competition to raise funds for the building of the Velodrome Rakyat in Ipoh. We raced on huge grandfather’s bicycles for 20kms around major roads in Ipoh under the hot, sweltering sun. Who needs 10-speed bikes? :p

4. In Form 5, my friends and I conned a number of students and teachers into ordering perfume named “ty cus mer ty” and ly pas mer ty” during an April Fool’s Day joke. In actual fact, these French-like perfume names were derived from “tikus mati” and “lipas mati”. :p Yeap. We were incorrigible.

5. I was once conned into downing a glass of Long Island Ice Tea which I was told was similar to Ice Lemon Tea. Duh! No wonder the world was spinning on its axis when I finally stood up.

6. Despite strong objections from my parents, I backpacked Western Europe on my own in 1996 and never looked back since. Guess that started the entire crazy roller coaster adventure holidays thingy.

7. In 1997, during a scuba dive session around Sipadan Island, dangerous currents pushed me down way past the 100 feet mark advised for recreational divers. I kept diving downwards unaware of the situation as I was following fellow divers from the boat ... or so I thought. I was told later that no one was ahead of me and that I experienced hallucination caused by nitrogen narcosis. I did not realise how dangerous it was until I overheard that this story has been retold many times years later as “what not to do” within the scuba diving community. Hmm … my unknown “5-sec fame”.

8. I took a 9-month hiatus from work in 1999 to find myself … whatever that means.

9. I trekked up my first glacier i.e. Franz Josef glacier in that same year. That was a most spectacular trek despite my acrophobia acting up every now and again.

10. Still in the same year, I had a close encounter with “death”. I was involved in a jet boating accident in Queenstown where a passenger was smashed to death against the canyon walls when our jet boat “pilot” lost control. I had deep muscle trauma that made me limped for more than 3 months.

11. To escape “Armageddon”, my friends and I celebrated the millennium deep in the tropical rainforest of Belum National Park with bamboo cups as wine glasses and leeches as companions. Urgh!

12. I mistook a micro-lite for a sea plane and signed up for a half hour flight across Victoria Falls in 2002. See point no. 2 on my acrophobia. Gritting my teeth, I ended up going for the micro-lite as I had already paid US$100 for that. For the uninitiated, a micro-lite is like a motorcycle with wings. There is no barrier between you and the wind or you and the ground … way, way, way down below. Gulp!

13. I climbed Mount Kinabalu twice (once in 2003 and once in 2006) and had explored both the Timpohon and Mersilau trails. I would have climbed again if the cost of climbing had not shot up sky-high.

14. My friends and I walked over 100kms in 10 days when we trekked up to the Annapurna Base Camp, Nepal in 2003. This trek remains one of the highlights of my life although my more sedate friends thought that I was “nuts” to pay and suffer for a holiday.

15. In 2004, my friends and I took a public bus trip down from Nairobi, Kenya to Arusha, Tanzania. Till this day, the experience at the Nairobi bus station remains one of the scariest in my life. We were the only “foreigners” in that part of town. Imagine tiny 5-foot Asians versus above 6-foot, fierce-looking Kenyans.

16. I had severe AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness) on my climb up Mount Kilimanjaro in the same year i.e. vomiting and having severe diarrhea. At 4,800 m above sea level, a friend told me that it’s ok to quit. My stubbornness pushed me forward for several more metres as the peak was “so near, yet so far”. In the end, I made the smart decision. It was a blow to the ego of course but I am still alive to tell the tale.

17. I once took a shot (photo shoot lah) of real-life lions that were a mere 3 metres awav from my jeep. Woohoo!

18. My second close encounter with “death” happened in 2005 while I was doing a solo kayaking down the Soca River in Slovenia. My kayak overturned at the rapids and I was trapped for more than a few seconds under water. Luckily I was calm and methodical when I tried to free myself from under the kayak. I was told later by friends that they were so worried when I did not come up for air after a minute.

19. My friends and I made the most amazing discovery in Sarawak when we trekked across the Kelabit Highlands; leaving Bario in Malaysia, trekking over Indonesian territory and onwards back to Malaysia soil at Bakelalan. It’s a world in its own and simply quite spectacular.

20. I once helped my sales team win the beer sculling contest by downing a huge mug of beer in 2 gulps. Promptly after wining, I rushed off to the toilet to unload. This is not an experience I would try a second time. :P

21. We trekked the Pinnacles Trail in Mulu in 2006. After a heavy rainfall the night before, the limestone trek became extremely slippery. It was most bruising to my derrière and other unmentionable parts of the anatomy. I would never recommend anyone to do that trek. For once, the end did not justify the means.

22. In early 2007, a friend and I were caught in a terrible storm in East Java just the night before our exploration of Kawah Ijen, a volcanic crater lake. Due to fallen trees, our jeep could not take us past the route to the foot of the volcano. We paid a heavy price for a local to fetch 2 of us (yes, mind you two grown up lady pillion riders which makes 3 adults on a motorbike) up the long stretch of road to the foot of the volcano. It was a hair-raising ride.

23. Borobudur had been a wonderful experience. The tranquility and peace one experienced there is not easily forgettable.

24. The highest point I’ve trekked is up to 4,950 metres on the Goechala Trek in Sikkim, India. Braving AMS, the rain and the chilling cold weather, we scaled the mountain trek to reach both view points on Goechala. It was a beautiful moment when we finally reached the top.

25. In May 2008, I had my first pillion ride on a Harley; traveling at more than 100kms an hour. It was a most exhilarating experience!

26. Late last year, my friends and I made our way to the highest paved international road in the world i.e. Karakoram Highway (at 4,693 metres). We literally laid ourselves across the highway, getting our guide to take photos of us as proof that we had been there! Hehehe …

27. We were caught in a mini sandstorm around Karakul Lake and literally “ate” sand. Not something I wish to have on my menu. :p

28. Over the New Year, I climbed 4,865 steps (yep … someone counted) on my journey up Adam’s Peak, Sri Lanka to embrace the dawn of 1st January 2009. (In comparison, Batu Caves has 272 steps only. :p)

29. I spent 3-whole days scrambling around the ruins of Angkor Wat, posturing as Angelina Jolie (ahem!) at Ta Phrom, taking endless pictures of the ruins, going without lunch and getting back to the backpackers dusty, tired but extremely satisfied with my photography haul. :)

30. I had gone several days without “showering” while on high altitude treks. This, I was told, was to prevent AMS. Personally, it’s just the cold factor … like it is freezing cold up there! :p My first experience was at Kilimanjaro, my second at Goechala and my latest one was on the trek up to Muztagh Ata Base Camp. You can say that dirt/dust and I are pretty comfortable bedfellows during these trips. :p

31. I have been mistaken for a Japanese girl, a Thai girl, a China girl … and finally a Darjeeling girl during my travels! Yeah Darjeeling girl … go figure!

So there .. I believe the weird and amazing experiences will continue. That's how I wish to live that "dash" in my life.

Have a happy day you all!

Why can't they count?

2008-09-17T01:34:00.015+08:00

It's been almost 6 long months since I last blogged ... i.e. about the length of time since the historical political tsunami that befell Malaysian politics. Yet, what have been done since then? Nothing much really to improve our lot in life except to create further disillusionment.

Truly, it's been a political circus (or perhaps I should say disaster) with every trick in the book thrown in for good measure. We've been deluged with plenty of sandiwara; witless, thoughtless, vindictive remarks/comments; irrational decisions; irresponsible actions; the list goes on. Does one think the rakyat believes anymore? Oh puhlease ... do not insult our intelligence. Like the fabled 'shepherd that cried wolf', there has just been one too many of these.

And while the politicians bicker and struggle for power, the economy is slowly but surely heading southwards. FDIs are pulling (or have pulled) out of the country, the US banking & finance industry looks like it's heading for disaster (which of course would eventually affect our economy if not sooner), the quantum hike in fuel prices has bitten into the pockets of the every day man, the Ringgit is weakening against major currencies, the stock market is spiraling downwards and we're moving many steps towards the precipice of an economic downturn.

Who is really paying attention to the country's economy and the rakyat's future?

The funny thing is while the politicians 'fight' for how many % rights belong to the different races, they have forgotten the fundamental rule of mathematics. 100% of zero is still zero; whilst even 10% of RM1 mil would yield RM100k. The focus should be in making the pie bigger so that everyone can share the pie; not in arguing about whose slice of the pie is bigger ~ and to do that, they have to clean up their act and keep their eyeballs on the economy. Bring in the "smarts" who knows what is what about economics and economic policies ~ not those who act first (implement fuel increases) and think later (only to realise they have forgotten the repercussions and scramble to come up with alternative policies for businesses).

There is no better time than NOW for the government to act and vindicate themselves. To do that, it would mean that they would have to work with the opposition states to bring up the country's economy so that all could share the wealth.

But wait, perhaps they have miscalculated ... or perhaps I am giving them more credit than is deserved.

After all, if you can't count and you refuse to learn to count, the only way to go is to continue being the fabled shepherd.

Britain's Got Talent

2008-03-23T04:33:00.003+08:00

Something smart or something frivolous?

Looking at the hour, I'll blog about something frivolous.

If you have had too much of American reality shows lately, check out "Britain's Got Talent". Unfortunately I don't think this has reached our shores yet. I found it on youtube and it's fabulous. :)

"Britain's Got Talent" is the creation of .... (drum rolls) ... yup! no other than American Idol's Simon Cowell. He is one of the judges in this show and is equally nasty. It's a British reality show in search of the next best amateur talent act ... which is NOT limited to singing only.

The winner will receive 100k British pounds and get to perform for the Queen and the Royal Family at the Royal Variety Performance.

Now on to the interesting bits. I managed to "dig" out 3 interesting videos from youtube. Watch Simon's expression in all 3 videos!

I have been watching this video a few times and it has not failed to make me laugh every single time. Hope you enjoy it. Did you catch the judges' facial expressions? At first Simon looked real bored ... but then he perked up ... and laughed! That's incredible. I don't think I've seen him caught by surprise like that! Check out the other judge's reaction and the audiences as well.

This is another good one. Even I was taken by surprise. Without divulging much, check this video out! Again check out Simon's expression. Total disinterest at first and then ... Russel Watson's gonna get a run for his money!

This is a winner. Imagine a 6 year old singing "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" acapella. Listen to Simon's remarks.

Yup! Britain's sure got talent!

Dr. Randy Pausch's Last Lecture

2008-03-17T23:58:00.004+08:00

Here's the latest update.

Below is the 10 minute version.

And here's the long 76 minute version.

----------------------------------------

Let's take a moment away from the Malaysian political scene and watch this video. It will only take 10 minutes of your time but I assure you it's worth it.

It speaks of realising your childhood dreams and quote, "Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want."

A Three-Ring Circus in Perak

2008-03-14T01:35:00.012+08:00

I started naming this blog "'Dallas' in the Silver State", especially with the amount of drama in the last few days worthy of a popular soap opera. Then thought better of it. Perhaps "Too many cooks spoil the broth" is more apt. Then again, "The clowns are in Town" has a nice ring to it. Though this is no clowning matter, the whole fiasco is fast turning into a huge joke. After all, I'd rather laugh than cry in frustration.

But I finally settled for "A Three-Ring Circus in Perak". For the uninitiated, a three-ring circus is an idiom that means "a lot of noisy or confused activity".

Really! That's what this is all about.

Frankly, after reading through several blogs today, I can only conclude that the Perak fiasco should not be solely laid upon DAP/Uncle Lim's shoulders. PAS and PKR too should share some responsibility.

Consider the summary of events below - parts of which are taken from RPK's blog "Yellow card for the opposition" and the remainder from the Malaysiakini article, "PKR threatens to pull out of Perak state admin":-

1. As the DAP-PKR-PAS coalition could not come to an agreement as to who should be the new MB of Perak, three names (representing each party) were submitted to the Sultan of Perak. The three parties agreed to abide by the decision of the Sultan of Perak.

2. But before the Sultan could decide, PAS jumped the gun and announced that the MB will be from PAS in the hope that the 'early announcement' would leave DAP and PKR no more room for negotiations.

3. Then DAP decided to oppose the new Perak MB by boycotting the swearing-in of the new MB.

4. After much censure from both the public and the bloggers alike (although my cousin, Chris, believed the entire boycott was a political ploy - more on this in another blog), DAP decided to lift the boycott.

5. However, before the rakyat could heave a sigh of relief, PKR threatened to pull out from the Perak state administration on hearing that eight of the 10 executive council posts will go to DAP while the remaining two will go to other parties. PKR claimed that this agreement was made between PAS and DAP.

Now if this is not a three-ring circus, what would you call it?

Getting their act together

No wonder the Regent of Perak refused to swear-in the new MB today and had asked the three parties to go back to the drawing board to find a workable solution. Meanwhile, you can bet your bottom dollar (or Ringgit in this case) that BN is happily sitting back and giving enough rope to the coalition to hang themselves. And that's what will happen if DAP, PKR and PAS do not get their act together.

However, before things go any further, I believe DAP have to decide internally to what extent the individual state branch/representative is at liberty to make decisions on behalf of the party during negotiations. Case in point is the agreement made by DAP State Chairman, Ngeh, with his counterparts in PAS and PKR to present the three names to the Sultan and to accept the Sultan's decision; whilst DAP CEC claimed that they were only in agreement to hand in the two names from DAP and PKR.

I have no idea what transpired in these close door meetings between DAP, PKR and PAS, but could only speculate based on my experience in negotiations in the corporate world. It is necessary for the person involved in these high powered negotiations to be empowered to make final decisions in the event that the original proposal hit a snag/ stalemate. This is especially crucial when time is of the essence. Perhaps Ngeh faced such a situation and had to renegotiate. If the DAP CEC could not decentralised the decision making, then they should send someone from the CEC who is empowered to negotiate.

At PAS end, due to its party structure of decentralised decision making, some ground rules need to be set by PAS central leadership. Too much leeway given to the state branch leadership could cause PAS its credibility in the eyes of the rakyat and its coalition partners. Case in point the above "early announcement" made by the Perak rep and the statement made by the PAS central leadership to give a Kedah exco seat to DAP but none was given by PAS Kedah branch when it came to the crunch.

A little faith goes a long way but obviously DAP, PKR and PAS have not reached that stage in their alliance. Case in point of PKR's threat to pull out of the Perak state administration upon hearing the decision on the division of seats of the state exco. Instead of talking to the press, engagement and talks should have been made between the three parties to clear the air. Airing dirty laundry in public is not going to endear the coalition to the rakyat. In fact, it provides BN with new ammunition to attack the coalition!

Preventing BN its two thirds majority is the easy part and is only the beginning. The drama in the last few days are minor skirmishes at best. The war has yet to be fought. Does the coalition possess enough faith, passion and staying power to last the entire war? Or do they want to be relegated back to the position of backbenchers?

I confess my hopes have started to wan. Please prove me wrong!

Uncle Lim's Myopia

2008-03-13T02:30:00.005+08:00

my·o·pi·a (n.) (source: American Heritage Dictionary)
- Lack of discernment or long-range perspective in thinking or planning

Originally I was going to blog about the Perak Dilemma, but since I heard about DAP's intention to boycott the new Perak MB's (Perak PAS secretary Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin) swearing-in, my anger and frustration know no bounds.

Is this the decision of the DAP CEC or is this the decision of Uncle Lim himself? And if it was indeed the DAP CEC that mooted this ridiculous boycott, I would have expected Lim Kit Siang, in his capacity of advisor, to talk the DAP CEC out of such a move.

What in the world was Uncle Lim thinking?

Firstly, it was agreed by all three parties of the DAP-PKR-PAS coalition to abide by the decision of the Regent of Perak.

“All parties within the coalition have jointly agreed on the submission of the three names for his decision. We would like to impress upon the people that all three parties have unanimously agreed to fully endorse whichever candidate is chosen,” state DAP chief Ngeh Koo Ham said at the Perak DAP headquarters. Read here for more.

To boycott the swearing-in now would call into question DAP's sincerity and credibility in the coalition. It would also reflect upon the rakyat that DAP's words are as fickle as BN's.

Secondly, does it matter who is the MB of Perak? After all, as Ngeh pointed out in the same article:

"The post of Mentri Besar is just to lead the state government and state executive council. Whatever decisions to be made will be done in full consultation with all three parties."

And since DAP will have more people sitting on the state exco, what is there to fear?

Thirdly, all eyes are on Perak now for if the coalition prove to be a success in Perak, then there is hope for the other Malay states. The uniquesness of Perak, unlike Selangor or Penang or Kedah/Kelantan for that matter, is that there is a huge population of both rural Malays and rural-semi urban non-Malays.

Whilst both groups live in harmony and tolerance, their thoughts and ideologies are polls apart. It is for the coalition to prove to the non-Malays that they have nothing to fear over PAS and to prove to the Malay population that they too have nothing to fear over DAP. There is a larger objective at stake here than the rights/needs of individual parties.

Instead of boycotting the swearing-in, I would have expected DAP (together with PKR and PAS) to hold ceramahs for the non-Malay population to explain and ease their fears over the choice of the MB.

Finally, the non-Malays have so long fought for meritocracy, this is the time to put our money where our mouth is. In all the articles that I read, Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin has been singled out as the most qualified person to take over the Perak MB's seat. And if meritocracy is to rule the day, why should he be denied the Perak MB's seat just because he is a PAS member and not a DAP or PKR member?

I have utmost respect for the Sultan and the Regent of Perak. I believe that they would have taken the rakyat's best interest at heart when making this decision.

So please Uncle Lim and fellow DAP assemblymen, do not disappoint the rakyat. Do not destroy our hopes just when it has just taken flight.

Do you really want to pass the state government back to BN?
Do you really want to provide BN with ammunition to shoot down the coalition?
Do you really want to destroy your chance at fulfilling the rakyat's mandate?

Think before you act for the repercussions could be dire. It would not only impact the governance of the state of Perak, it would also impact the governance of the other coalition states. But beyond that, it would also impact the rakyat's confidence and trust in you. The RAKYAT ... that is made up of Chinese, Indians, Malays and others ... who voted against the BN and brought to power the coalition.

Uncle Lim and fellow DAP assemblymen, please see the bigger picture!

Malaysia has voted ...

2008-03-10T04:10:00.011+08:00

What do you live for?

What do you die for?

What do you fight for?

What do you stand for?

These were difficult questions asked in the movie, Lions for Lambs. These were the same difficult questions Malaysians asked themselves at the dawn of Malaysia's 12th General Elections.

To quote a statement from the same movie:
If you don't stand for something, you might fall for anything!

Truer words have never been spoken.

And on 8th of March 2008,
Malaysia voted for
CHANGE!

Malaysia voted
to STAND
for SOMETHING!

I never thought I would live to see this day! And I have never been prouder nor happier to be a Malaysian.

Was it only days before that I sat with a group of friends at a mamak stall; lamenting at the state of affairs in the country. We argued and debated over the importance to exercise our right to vote. Many felt the futility in doing so. After all, what can stop BN from achieving two thirds majority? And even if it was only a message the rakyat wish to send by denying BN two thirds majority, what would really change? What could the opposition really do?

Many believe things would remain the same or even take a turn for the worse after the elections. After all, did the rakyat not give BN over 90% majority vote just 4 years ago and pin our hopes on a new leadership to initiate change? But where did that get us? More obvious corruption, higher crime rate, rising prices, and the overuse of the racial card to make the errant rakyat tow the line. So much for "a government of the people, by the people, for the people, ..." And through it all, the rakyat felt frustrated, impotent and angry.

Despite the negative sentiments among the rakyat, despite the overwhelming need to send a strong message of our dissatisfaction with the government through the election, not many believe that BN could be denied the two thirds majority. After all, when it comes to the crunch, "better the devil you know than the devil you don't."

But on that fateful 8th March night, the results trickled in. One by one, the parliamentary and state seats started falling to the opposition.

It was unbelievable!
It was unprecedented!
It was bloody scary!
Yet it was exhilarating!

Here we were watching and living through the moments that will go down the annals of Malaysian politics. And it was because of the RAKYAT ~ the RAKYAT that had voted with ONE voice; irrespective of race, colour and creed.

In the final analysis, it was not so much of the rakyat voting for the Opposition. Rather it was the rakyat voting against the ruling party.

Whilst BN scrambles to understand what went wrong, they need not look far for the answers (if indeed they really want to know at all instead of living in a state of denial). All they need do is check out views and sentiments from bloggers and/or armchair political analysts. A few of the interesting analysis/write-ups can be found at the following links:
* Making sense of the political tsunami
* MCA drowns in ocean of disgust
* Election 2008 - the morning after (2)
* The Rakyat has spoken

For BN: A MATTER OF TRUST

I have only one thing more to add to these. TRUST! It was all a matter of trust.

Contradictory statements were made to different language newspapers to address different ethnic groups. But the ruling party forgot that we are a multiracial society who speaks, understands and reads multi languages.

Say one thing but do another. "Cakap tak serupa bikin."

Threats on one day. Promises on another.

Read this: Vote for a voice in the Government, says Abdullah

"Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi reminded the Chinese community that if they gave the DAP their votes, they will end up not having any representation in the Government."

"He said if the Chinese did not have representation in the Cabinet, their requests would not be heard."

And read this: Malaysia PM: Lessons to be learned

"And despite having fewer ethnic Indian and Chinese representatives in government, Abdullah reiterated his 2004 election promise to be the 'PM for all Malaysians'."

Yeah. Singing the same old song from 2004. A PM for all Malaysians but yet could threaten one ethnic group that their requests would not be heard if there is no representation of that ethnic group in the Cabinet.

Can the rakyat be blamed then for our lack of trust? Like in any marriage, once trust is broken, it takes ages and a lot of effort to mend. That is a huge and daunting task that the ruling party need to undertake. Regain the rakyat's trust.

For the Opposition: A matter of delivering on their promises

The dust are beginning to settle and reality is sinking in. For the Opposition who has been voted into office, beyond the euphoria, the work has only just begun.

It is time to make good on their promises. It is a delicate balance to manage between the voices of three parties and the needs of the various ethnic groups. The learning curve will be high and fast.

I don't envy their position.

The ruling party will be watching. And they will be brutal. Probably as brutal as the Opposition were about them.

The rakyat is watching. And we will be critical because with the Opposition lies the hope of a nation looking for change. With the Oppostion lies the hope of a nation looking for a stronger alternative party/ voice to provide checks and balances.

And with this election lies my fervent hope that the rakyat will stay strong and will not be drawn into racial debates. It is my hope that the rakyat will continue to act as one voice.

Power to the People.

"People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people."

Good morning Malaysia! You fill me with hope.

Citizen of the World

2007-11-12T20:19:00.000+08:00

After a 2-month plus hiatus, I have returned to the blogosphere. Guess I had better start blogging after the numerous complaints I received from friends & "fans" (hehe ... I wish) that my blog has not been updated in ages.

Where to start when so much has happened? The world moved on ... and so did I.

Guess one of the key things I experienced during all these years of travel either backpacking for pleasure or 5-star travelling for work, one common thing remains. More times than not, I have been mistaken to be a citizen of a country other than my own!

During the heydays (in the 90s) when I used to backpack alone, I have always been mistaken for a Japanese. I could rationalise away that perhaps because in those days, one rarely find Asian ladies backpacking on their own except for Japanese ladies. One of the most funny/exasperating experience was in Bali. I got "hit" on so many times by the local "toyboys" as they thought I was a rich Japanese lady looking for sex. (I was warned beforehand that it is quite the thing for Japanese women to look for sex in Bali.)

Then there was this trip to South Africa where almost every caucasian or African that I met would wish me "Konbanwa". My friend insisted that because of my "Japanese" appearance, we had probably been overcharged for a lot of things. Till today, I place the entire blame on the red bandanna that I wore during my trip. Perhaps that made me look a little like a Japanese lady. *shrugs*

But then, I had to view myself slightly differently when on a business trip in Tokyo, an old lady stopped my Japanese colleague by the roadside (we were walking and chatting while on our way to the train station) and asked him what nationality am I. She said that at first she thought I was Japanese until she overheard our conversation in English. It seemed that no Japanese spoke English the way I do. So, I was mistaken for a Japanese by a Japanese. Hmmm ...

During my backpacking trip in New Zealand in 1999, I met and travelled with a group of Europeans on this "hop-on, hop-off" bus service. Although we met a lot of Japanese backpackers throughout our journey, I never befriended any of them due to language breakdown. They spoke no word of English. Neither do I ( speak a word of Japanese). In any case, my travelling European companions commented that if they were to close their eyes and listen to me speak, they would think that they were speaking to a European. Moi? With a European accent? Huh?

Recently, during my trip to Sikkim, India last month, I had another weirder experience. Sikkim is a state of India but is unlike the India we expect. It is located at the northeast of India, bordering Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet. Majority of the population is made up of Sherpa, Lepcha and Gorkha. Most of the population looked more Tibetan than Indians. In any case, one morning while I was out and about the mountains taking photographs, I was stopped by a man speaking in Nepali (or Hindi). He was looking in my general direction and I thought he was talking to someone behind me. When I looked behind, there was no one.

I said, "Are you talking to me? I'm sorry, I don't understand you."

And his reply, "Oh! I am sorry. I thought that you are a Darjeeling girl."

Me, a Darjeeling girl? Huh?

Then, just last week, I was in Bangkok for a meeting. The folks at the hotel and at the night market all thought that I was Thai and spoke to me in Thai until I kindly corrected them.

Am I a citizen of the world or what?

Now, this final experience take the cake. Upon my arrival at KLIA from Bangkok, and as I was walking out of the arrival hall, one of the taxi touts started hassling me. The first word out of his mouth was, "Konnichiwa! Taxi?" What??!!

On my homeground, with my own people, I am still mistaken for a citizen of another country!

Go figure!

Who says US cornered the market on conspiracy theories?

2007-08-28T01:24:00.000+08:00

Before I proceed with my post, allow me to set the context right ...

I am a fan of stories on political espionage and conspiracy theories. In my hey days (read teenage to young adult years), I would lock myself in my room for hours on end, voraciously devouring books by Robert Ludlum (The Parsifal Mosaic, The Materese Circle, The Acquitaine Progression, the Bourne trilogy: The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy & The Bourne Ultimatum, and many, many more) and Jeffrey Archer (A Matter of Honour, Honour Among Thieves).

These days, I'd rather sit in front of the idiot box or the silver screen and allow the story to unfold. It's a quicker process than reading the whole darn book; although watching takes the fun out of unravelling the mystery and the clues at every turn of the events. :) That was what kept me glued to the books previously. But then, I had more patience then. Talk about the MTV generation and having short attention span. Bet Cordy will agree that I have been vastly influenced by this generation.

I have digressed enough. Allow me to get on with my post. I came across this article "Malaysia's axis mysteriously shifting" on Asia Times Online and it got me thinking of all the possible conspiracy theories that could be built from this ... and then some. So I did some googling and voila! I found lots of stuff. True or false, ... guilty or innocent, ... I leave that to you to decide, my wise readers.

1. "... The 2004 proliferation case involving Scomi, a company owned by Abdullah's son Kamaluddin, which was allegedly involved in supplying dual-use technology to Libya's clandestine nuclear-weapons program. ..." Summary of the case and the outcome can be read here and here. The question is, IS there more here than meets the eye?

2. U.N Oil for Food Scandal. "New York - It began as a U.N. humanitarian aid program called "Oil-for-Food," but it ended up with Saddam Hussein (search) pocketing billions to become the biggest graft-generating machine ever and enriching some of America's most forceful opponents at the United Nations (search). ... " Read more here and here. And Malaysia's involvement in this? Read Raja Petra's account here.

3. The Altantunya Murder Trial. I confessed I haven't been following the trial but even a blind man could see that there is more here than meets the eye. Want to check out more premises for conspiracy theories? Read here. Although it was written almost two months ago, the blogger asked some interesting questions. Not enough to raise more flags? How about the following article written by Raja Petra.

It does make one pause and think, doesn't it? I remember an old idiom that goes, "there's no smoke without fire". Then again, a man is innocent until proven guilty.

Truth or lies? Guilt or innocence? Perhaps we will never know.

But these are surely great fodder for conspiracy theories. Time to write a book on one and earn millions. Perhaps be another Dan Brown in the making. All we need is one darn great book (ala Da Vinci Code) that creates enough interests and controversies that it becomes the talk-of-town. But make sure it's written under the "fiction" category so that you don't get sued (or hauled into ISA in this case).

Anyone up to the challenge of becoming the first Malaysian Dan Brown? :)

50 years of Merdeka but what have we really learned?

2007-08-25T01:53:00.000+08:00

Did you notice the recent spate of endless speeches from politicians (and the powers that be) and the frequent propaganda on TV, radio and print about how Malaysians are a tolerant society that lives in peace and harmony? Have you ever wondered how much truth is there in these statements? Are we really living in peace, harmony and racial tolerance? Have you ever questioned the sincerity of these statements? Are the people making such statements merely paying lip service?

Some of you might be laughing now. Questions like these are tantamount to asking oneself, "Is my mother a woman?"

Here are some recent statements made by our politicians:

An excerpt on the "keris issue" as written by Farish A. Noor:

" Former UMNO leader Mohamad Rahmat was among the first off the starting post when he uttered the dreaded A-word: “Don’t test the Malays, they know ‘amok’”. Melaka delegate Hasnoor Sidang Hussein added more blood to the feast when he bluntly stated that “UMNO is willing to risk lives and bathe in blood in defence of race and religion”. UMNO Youth Exco member Azimi Daim added that “when tension rises, the blood of Malay warriors will run in our veins”. (Prompting the obvious question: What happens when there is no tension? Whose blood is running in their veins then?) But the first prize for grandstanding has to go to Perlis delegate Hashim Suboh who directed his question to UMNO leader Hishamuddin Onn: “Datuk Hisham has unsheathed his keris, waved his keris, kissed his keris. We want to ask Datuk Hisham: when is he going to use it?” ... "

An excerpt from International Herald Tribune:

" Malaysia's prime minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, said Wednesday that frayed relations between the country's religious and racial groups had reached a "worrying" level and warned that the government would not hesitate to crack down to preserve peace between them. ... "

Does the above reflect a society living in peace, harmony and racial tolerance? Have we considered that statements made by certain powers that be could incite discontent which could potentially lead to violence? But that is another matter altogether and not the subject of this post.

As we approach our 50th year of Independence, instead of progressing in terms of tolerating each other, we seem to have digressed.

Why does it seem so easy for me to have close Malay friends in my younger days?

Why are so many issues and topics so sensitive these days, unlike say 15-20 years back?

Why is it that as the country progress, the fabric of unity within our society seem to disintegrate?

And as I ponder these questions, a few statements I overheard in recent months came to mind.

Quote:

"I pay ridiculous amount in taxes and they dare question my loyalty to the country?"

"I did not say I dislike my country. In fact, I love my country. I just dislike the people who rules her."

"Why is every issue about race and religion these days?"

"Loving something doesn't mean I agree with all their policies."

"Shhh! Don't say that so loudly. Walls have ears and you might end up under ISA detention."

Unquote.

As long as the powers that be continues to be an ostrich, discontent will continue to simmer. Whether this will erupt into a full blown conflagration will depend on how far the spark is left to linger and nurtured.

I came across this post while surfing, and I believe this young man said it best here.

Quote:

"We are reaching our 50th year of independence. But ask yourself, how far have we progressed socially? Do people have genuine friends from other races nowadays? Do people feel safe when they live as a minority in certain areas? What do people tell you if you get into a car accident at a kampung area?

If given a choice, would people of different races make the conscious effort to get together, other than for the purpose of politics?"

Unquote.

Check out the Southpark video clip on that blog. It's hilarious (that is if you have a sense of humour where these matters are concerned). But the clip, funny as it is, has quite a huge dose of truth in it.

One radio station has been zealously advertising and encouraging the good citizens of Malaysia to purchase a unity band. I laughed when I heard this over the airwaves. Do we believe that wearing a unity band would make us more tolerant? more united?

Something happened the other night that gave me some hope, however.

I was out having supper with a couple of friends. We were having a fine time jesting and poking fun at things ... when suddenly I realised I said "something" that might be taken the wrong way by my Malay friend.

Looking sheepish, I apologised, "I'm sorry, sometimes I forget that you are a Malay."

He replied, "It's ok. Sometimes I forget that you are a Chinese too."

We looked at each other and just grinned at our silliness. Now, that came from the heart. Nothing more was said. But yet, a subtle acknowledgement of friendship was made beyond racial boundaries.

Now, if only we could replicate this brief moment in time, a million times over, perhaps then there would be hope.

Happy 50th Merdeka to all.

Badminton - more, more, tell/show me more

2007-08-24T22:59:00.000+08:00

Fresh from the BWF championships last weekend, we were pretty inspired last night at our weekly badminton game (despite Malaysia suffering heavy losses at the BWF). It was a great night. I had some good double matches and a particularly tough single match. I have not played singles with any of these guys before but was dragged into a match yesterday. It was particularly tiring and by the ninth point, I was "punctured" ~ out of breath & out of energy. I was sending easy shots out and giving weak returns. I was also running less so my opponent took the opportunity and came from behind to finish off the game. All in all, we got a lot of exercise done and I thought my back would ache like crazy today BUT all's well thus far. It ain't too bad after all.

In any case, the purpose of this blog is not to yak so much but to post pictures of the Proton-BWF World Championship 2007. After all, a picture says a thousand words. For those who can't get enough of it, feast on ...

Lin Dan @ the semis - man of the match

Bao Chunlai - the struggling opponent

Our "senior citizens" - putting up a fight

The crowd came in droves to support our "senior citizens"

A moment of respite (or not) with Rexy

More advice - how much trouble are we really in?

KKK - one half of the dethroned pair

Sony - the "giant" killer

Sony & Lin Dan @ the finals. The "giant" killer tried hard. The "man of the match" denied him the victory.

Lady badminton attire - how far we have come ...

Men Doubles Finals - the Koreans played below par, the Indonesians didn't give an inch.

Proton-BWF World Championships 2007

2007-08-21T03:43:00.000+08:00

Venue: Stadium Putra – Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur
Period: August 13 – 19

My excitement over the World Championships this time round was understandable. After all, this would be my first time watching so many seeded players “live” as me and a couple of friends bought tickets for the semis and the finals matches. Prior to this, my first and last “live” badminton tournament was at the Commonwealth Games at Bukit Jalil. But that was totally different. No badminton tournament is complete without the presence of China and Indonesia.

Most memorable moments:

1. Lin Dan in action.

It was pure pleasure watching Lin Dan in action. Although I was rooting for the underdogs i.e. Bao Chunlai and Sony Dwi Kuncoro on both days, nothing could take away Lin Dan’s supremacy in the game.

During the semis, I felt that he was toying with Bao. Twice he dived for Bao’s shots and both times, he made a huge production of sprawling on the ground. But we knew it was faked as his eyes were not even looking at the shuttle. Besides, he stayed so much longer on the ground, posing for the cameras.

He was more serious when playing against Sony since he knew what was at stake. Despite Sony’s comeback in the second set, Lin Dan was clearly in a class of his own. He was simply too fast for Sony. His movements were fast and economical compared to Sony. It’s amazing how fast Lin Dan could get behind a shuttle for seemingly impossible shots and sent it back with careful, precise placements. Many a time Sony was left struggling to keep up with Lin Dan’s shots.

The way I look at it, no player could possibly beat Lin Dan on his good day. As a friend put it, “Lin Dan is the ‘Roger Federer’ of badminton.”

2. Men’s doubles semi final match between Korea and Japan.

Two young doubles players with lots of energy and the single objective to “kill the shuttle” as fast as possible. The game was so fast with smashes upon smashes, drives upon drives. It was a really exhilarating watch. Do not blink or you will miss the next point.

3. Baseline jumping smashes.

Dang! Can these players jump?! The final men’s doubles game between Markis Kido - Hendra Setiawan (Indonesia) and Jung Jae-sung - Lee Yong-dae (Korea) was unforgettable. They might be short but boy! can they jump?! What’s more, they can jump and smash from the baseline! That was what was missing from Choong Tan Fook – Lee Wan Wah’s game. They simply couldn’t jump and kill the shuttle.

4. Random comment from a spectator.

“I was shouting ‘Malaysia Boleh’ the other day and guess what. This Indonesian interrupted me and said, ‘Ya, Malaysia Boleh. Tapi Indonesia Lebih Boleh!’”

Eh, eh … ya tak ya jugak!

Major gripes and disappointments:

1. No live telecast of crucial matches on FTA (free to air)TV.

No live telecast for the quarterfinal matches between Koo Kien Keat - Tan Boon Heong and Shuichi Sakamoto - Shintaro Ikeda (Japan); and between Wong Mew Choo and Xie Xingfang (China). There was no delayed telecast of these matches either nor for the matches between Choong Tan Fook – Lee Wan Wah and Fu Haifeng – Cai Yun (China); and between Lee Chong Wei and Sony Dwi Kuncoro (Indonesia).

For a country that’s crazy over badminton and has world ranking players (although that’s debatable after this tournament), this oversight is unforgivable. Not everyone has Astro you know. Besides, if NTV7 can air the Football Champions Youth Cup Highlights, other FTA could at least show the Proton-BWF World Championships highlights.

Besides, not to be disrespectful, but how many TV stations are needed to air the live telecast of the 50 year Merdeka celebration? We can talk to death about a nation’s unity but if one wants to see unity in action, go to a badminton game and you will see Malaysians of all races rooting for one team, the Malaysian team! Now, that’s true unity!

2. Pea brain tournament organiser.

We paid good money for “what we thought were” great seats for the finals. We expected to watch the matches at centre court but some “smart aleck” decided to hold the matches at the other end of the stadium! Thus, the seats went to waste as we had to go to the higher levels (cheaper tickets with free seating) but closer to the court to watch the matches. Blardy hell! One wonders why the matches can’t be held on the centre court!

3. Selfish mentality of KL drivers.

Haphazard parking on non legitimate parking areas i.e. road shoulders, pavements, etc. whilst legitimate parking were available but located slightly further away. For the life of me, I could not understand the mentality of “supposedly educated” people. When they get behind the wheel, whatever good upbringing and education they received fly out of the window. Most act like “selfish b*****ds”!

4. Dismal performances.

Rexy was right when he slammed our shuttlers for failing to reach the world championship finals. This was our best chance with home ground support. Not only did our players NOT reach the finals, our hopefuls namely Lee Chong Wei and the Koo-Tan partnership did not even reach the semis! To add insult to injury, Lee had the cheek to blame chief coach Yap Kim Hock for his own failure to deliver. What happened to maturity, professionalism and taking blame of one’s own mistakes?

And THAT is my take on the Proton-BWF World Championships. May there be more interesting tournaments in future and hopefully, we (Malaysia) make it to the finals.

Tunku the Musical

2007-08-13T19:59:00.000+08:00

Riiiiiinnngggg!!!!

"Leanne, are you in KL?"

"Yes. Wassup?"

"Would you be interested in watching Tunku the Musical tonight? I have two free tickets!"

"Yes! Yes! Yes!"

And that was how I ended up at KLPAC last Saturday, watching Tunku the Musical ~ on opening night, no less!

The Story - as I see it

Contrary to the title, Tunku did not make an appearance in the entire musical. The focus of the musical was on events that occurred during the reign of Tunku Abdul Rahman as first Prime Minister. The musical started off with the celebration of Independence, followed by the separation of Singapore from Malaysia, and culminated to the events on May the 13th 1969.

Interwoven within these key historical events was the story of Syed, an aide of Tunku, aptly played by Tony Eusoff. Syed was portrayed as an ambitious political aide and a racist to boot. He despised the Chinese so much that he disapproved of his son, Malik's romance with Fauzia, who was of Chinese descent but was adopted by a Malay laksa seller.

Syed was among the vocal supporters urging Tunku to kick out Singapore from Malaysia due to PAP's shenanigans. While Tunku believed that the country was big enough for everyone, Syed believed otherwise. The musical also implied that Syed was instrumental in sanctioning the riots of May the 13th, after DAP won the election. Despite all these, Syed had a deep, dark secret ~ his mistress was not of Malay descent.

Jumping into this cauldron of power, deception and dark exposé was Paul, a hardcore political journalist. The role was played with "glee" (I can't think of any other word to use except that) by Douglas Lim. It was a joy to watch Douglas unleashed himself in that role and at times, he reminded me of a young Robert Redford in his role in All the President's Men, except that Douglas was just more rotund. :) Paul was always at Syed's tail, chasing him for comments as events unfolded and playing the devil's advocate. Paul never let up on Syed ~ pushing and pushing and pushing him. One wonders if perhaps it was partly Paul's needling of Syed's failure to foresee DAP's success in the election that drove Syed to sanction the riot.

As the story unfolded, after the separation of Singapore from Malaysia, Syed pushed his son Malik to study law in UK, thus separating Malik from Fausia. His argument was that Malik was meant for better things than getting stuck with a Chinese girl. Malik went along with Dad's wish but promised Fauzia that he would return for her.

Events heated up while Malik was away. Elections came and Syed thought he had played his cards well enough to win. But alas! DAP won instead. The public has spoken. But Syed could not accept that. Syed could not fathom his loss. And as DAP prepared for their parade in the city, Syed prepared for his own "parade".

Meanwhile, Malik was due home during that period. Fausia waited anxiously for his return.

As DAP gathered in the streets to celebrate their victory, gangs gathered in the streets to vent their anger. There were riots on the streets. Houses were burnt down. It was total chaos. Amidst the confusion, Fausia was attacked and raped by a Malay gang. Malik appeared too late, only in time to find Fausia's battered body. As Malik held on to Fausia, a Chinese gang appeared, seeking vengeance. They saw Malik with Fausia's body and assumed the worst. The Chinese gang then attacked Malik and stabbed him.

Meanwhile, at the aftermath of the riot, Syed was back on the streets with a group of journalists. His attitude was almost condescending, superior. To him, such destruction was a lesson learnt. If the opposition wins, the people suffer. He carried that attitude until he came upon a body. To his horror and grief, it was Malik's.

The scene ended and we were brought forward to present day Malaysia.

The Review

Malaysia is brimming with talent which we should continue to grow and nurture. I confess that I did not know what to expect and I came out pleasantly surprised.

Much had been said about Tony and Douglas and their characters above. I would not want to sound like a broken record here. Just an additional thought ~ the two leads have great chemistry. Watching the interaction between Tony and Douglas on stage was a pleasure. Special mention has to be made with regards to the three lady leads; namely Doreen Tang (who played Fausia), Evelyn Toh (Cik Tan) and Maria Yasmin (Maria). Blessed with beautiful voices, each of them is perfect in her role. I enjoyed Zamil Idris' (Malik) baritone and was shocked to discover that he was one of the finalist for Malaysian Idol. One wonders why he did not win the competition! The rest of the cast held their own.

There was one particular scene that warrants a special mention ~ the rape of Fausia. Truly it was an uncomfortable scene for me to watch but it must have been more uncomfortable for the cast to act. The acrobatics for that scene must have been extremely taxing. And the amount of choreography that went into that should be applauded. Watching Fausia being flung all over made me dizzy. Kudos to Doreen, the Malay gang and the choreographer for making this work.

I love the music and lyrics. The fact that they could hold my attention for the entire duration and enabled me to write the story above, speaks volumes of the writers' talents. The tunes were catchy and the lyrics were able to tell the story well without the need for extra dialogue. Among my favourite tunes are "Front Page News", "With One Stroke of Your Pen" and "One Moment Ago". "Laksa" was a memorable piece as it brought home the thought that we are truly one nation. Our lives are so intertwined that we could no longer tell if laksa is malay or chinese food.

Since I know nothing much about dance and orchestra, all I can say is that everything jived. The dance choreography went well with the music. The dance elements flowed well with the story. And to my untrained ear, the orchestra sounded wonderful. :)

The staging was simple but effective. It was a clever move to show original footages of our little piece of history on the big screens, and to intertwine that with footages of the musical, shown in black and white. That added authenticity to the acts on stage. Also, the choice of wardrobe in bland colours ~ i.e. white, black, grey, etc ~ during the historical scenes, and in full technicolour for present day Malaysia worked well.

Bloops and blunders

I guess it is no surprise that the best laid plans of mice and men will fail when it comes to computers. They are such temperamental "electrical circuit boards" - the bits and the bytes, the RAM and the ROM! In the midst of the show after intermission, the screens showed "error" although the footages were still running. Some technician came to the rescue and luckily for the musical, the problem was resolved without a further hitch.

Here's my two cents worth of feedback. When showing the "dead body" of Malik, my advice is NOT to pan the camera too close to his body. We could clearly see that Malik was breathing. That kind of "killed" the grieving mood.

The Ending

I found the ending to be rather abrupt. The story had build us up for a climax ~ the rape of Fausia, the death of Malik, the discovery by Syed. Then ... nothing! The scene changed to present day Malaysia. That was truly anti climatic. I am not sure what could have been done at the end but I expected more. A closure for Syed perhaps?

However, THAT should not, in any way, reduce the wonderful performances in the musical. Kudos to Joe Hasham and his cast & crew for pulling all this together.

One thing else this musical has brought home to me besides its entertainment value is the interest to read more about that time period. How could we have lost our unity (witness the tongue-in-cheek song of "laksa") and forsake that for suspicion, self interest and destruction? With recent events coming to a head in the last two years, one wonders if we did indeed learn anything in the last 50 years of independence. The last song about being "colour blind" remains perhaps a wish? an ideal?

Go watch the musical, if you have yet to do so. Check out the following site for more information.

Should bloggers join politics?

2007-08-06T19:53:00.000+08:00

Yes, I have finally surfaced on the blogosphere. This news is just too disturbing to let it pass.

When I first heard the news that Jeff Ooi is joining DAP, my reaction was negative.

Why?

Because I felt a teensy weensy bit betrayed.

Because his voice would now no longer be an "impartial" voice of the people. He would no longer be a regular Joe ... like you and me.

(I am using the word "impartial" here rather losely as no matter who we are, we can never be totally "impartial" as we would somehow be influenced by our environment and upbringing.)

Because by crossing over to politics, his say would no longer be his opinion. Party politics will come into play.

And yes, I would assume there would be conflict of interest.

And yes, I believe there would be political agenda behind his words.

As a friend said during a conversation on this, "Jeff Ooi would no longer be credible."

If I had wanted to know what DAP thought, I would have read Lim Kit Siang's blog.

At least that is what both of us felt.

What about you? Do you think bloggers should join politics?

Just Follow Law

2007-06-26T00:15:00.000+08:00

If you are tired of watching comic superheroes, retro movies, American propaganda, Hong Kong slapstick, et. al., give this Singapore movie a shot.

If you have spent years working in conglomerates or the civil service, you are sure to identify with some, if not most, of the corporate, political shenanigans in this movie.

And if you are being sucked into the quagmire of corporate or governmental bureaucracy, you will definitely feel for the characters in this movie.

Check out the movie review here. I'm sure you will love this.

The Break ~ Mulu National Park

2007-05-13T01:25:00.000+08:00

Finally I managed to take a much needed break at Mulu National Park. Didn't think my boss was too happy about that but ... how else to clear my accumulated 43 days of leave if I don't start clearing 1, 2 and 3 now? Besides, I don't think I was all that effective at work with all the "issues" hovering in my mind.

I digress. Back to Mulu National Park. The last time I went to Mulu was in 1994. Goodness! That sounds like a whole century ago ... :P I was supposed to climb the Pinnacles Trail then but alas! we were prevented from doing so by the forest ranger then due to heavy downpour at the mountains the night before.

This time round, I did not hold out much hope that I could climb the Pinnacles Trail. In fact, it was not in my original itinerary to Mulu as I had planned to do the show caves plus some adventure caving. Besides, I was wholly unfit due to my workload and I had more than a few trepidations about making the climb. After all, I am more than a decade older (although not a century :P). I had yet to recover from a knee injury sustained a couple of months back and my fear of heights resurfaced at the thought of doing vertical climbs on steel/aluminium ladders.

But my friends seemed to have more confidence in my fitness level than I. After a few feeble attempts to convince Val to do the caves only, I gave in. Truth be told, despite worry over my knee, it was also a matter of pride and challenge to complete the trail.

And boy! was I glad we did it, although I would never do it again!

As this was a budget trip, I figured that we could latch on to other individual travellers to hire a guide and share the boat fees. Thus, with day packs on our backs (we left our larger backpacks at the Mulu Headquarters), we set out for the 3 days Pinnacles Trail. Well, the trail to Pinnacles itself does not take 3 days.

Day 1 we took an hour's boat ride to the beginning of the trail to Camp 5. (Three hours if the water level is low and if we end up pushing the boat.)

Boat ride to Camp 5

From there, we made another 3-hour trek on flat land to Camp 5. Needless to say, we were feeling the toll of carrying our own backpack as the hours dragged on, especially with my weak knee and the muddy ground. Val swore that she will not carry her own backpack again! "Luxury trekking trip!" I could almost visualise the chant inside her head. :p We were pleasantly surprised when we arrived at Camp 5 because it was not just a campsite but a nice wooden building equipped with a very basic kitchen and clean public bathrooms for "he" and "she". Accomodations were also basic but decent and clean. Located next to a stream and amidst the tropical jungle and mountains, the surrounding area was really pretty.

Our humble accomodations @ Camp 5

But alas! by 3+pm, the sky suddenly opened up its heavens and started raining cats and dogs. My heart plummeted. Not again! I thought I'd never get to climb the Pinnacles Trail at this rate. It was still raining when we went to bed.

The morning dawned bright and dry on Day 2. What a surprise! Again, I was filled with trepidation at the thought of climbing vertical, steel ladders. The incline sloped immediately once we started on the trail. The first two half hours were tough. There was no "give" in the climb. We were trekking up at 60-70 deg incline for the first 2000 m. And it was up, up, up and up! Every time I thought I had overcome the toughest parts, I was proven wrong again. The trail just got tougher and tougher. At some point, I looked down the steep incline and wondered how I would manage the descent. But one barrier at a time, I thought. First, focus on the climb, then worry about the descent.

After the 2000 m mark, the trail flattened and I thought, "Gosh! Finally ... time to catch my breath and ease my wobbly legs." But not a few metres away, I came upon what looked like the end of the trail. By then, I had lost sight of the Belgian and Scandinavian folks who were slightly ahead of me earlier. And I could not see Val, our guide or any of the Singaporean and Canadian trekkers who were behind me.

Now what? Then I noticed the "red & white" paint (which marked the trail) on the rock surface beside me, and lo & behold! I caught sight of the vertical steel ladder indicating the start of the 400 m vertical climb. And beside the ladder, there was a signboard warning climbers not to climb that part of the trail after 11am as they might end up reaching ground level at nightfall on very treacherous trails.

Val and our guide arrived while I was still building up my courage to climb the blardy ladder. After coming so far, there was no way I would call it quits. Height phobia be damned! "What the mind can conceive, the mind can achieve." Blah blah blah .... "Alrighty! Time to move my butt instead of staring at the ladder," I thought.

From then onwards, it was kind of a blur for me. The vertical climb continued for the rest of the way. Sometimes, I could not even see where the trail led. Soon I lost sight of Val and the guide again. But I continued to climb. When I hit a snag or seemed to have lost my way, I looked for the "red & white" marks again. And always, it would lead on to more treacherous steel ladders or planks or crevices on rock surfaces or steel rings or ropes. It was endless. I did not allow myself time to stop for long and contemplate, as I feared I might lose my nerve once reality sank in.

After climbing almost an hour with no end in sight, I finally paused for a longer rest. Reality did sink in then. I had long ago lost sight and sound of any human. The eerie silence of the mountains began to seep in and suddenly it sank on me that I was totally alone in the mountains. Anything could have happened while I was climbing. Feeling lost and alone, doubts asailed me. I started calling out to Val, "On! On!" (that was our code in the jungle) but to no avail.

Suddenly I heard rustling above me. A caucasian head jutted out from above the huge mountain rock and one Hungarian appeared. They had set off much earlier that morning and reached the peak ahead of our group.

"Hello there!" The mat salleh called out.

"How far more to go?" I asked.

"Not far. You're very close ~ about five minutes away," was his reply. Then one by one his group (the Hungarians) clambered down from the rock.

Just when I thought everyone had descended, Bjorn ~ our new Scandanavian friend ~ called out to me from above, "Hey you! Not very far to go!"

I looked up and saw Bjorn making his way down, followed by June (his girlfriend) and Derrick (the fireman from Belgium) who were all part of our group.

"You guys on the way down so soon?" I asked.

"Yup. Nothing much there. Half hour is enough. We want to get down for a dip in the river," was his reply.

"What time did you guys reach?"

"About 5 past 10."

A look at my watch indicated that it was 10.30 am then. Hmmm ... not too bad. We were not that far behind.

Then I heard Val's voice from the back. Yay!! My troop was finally here. Hehehe ...

After everyone clambered down, we made our way up quickly with renewed energy. In a few short minutes, we arrived at the peak ~ tired and drenched with sweat, but very elated!

WE DID IT!!! And we were the first Asians to reach the peak that day! Woo Hoo!

At the peak and looking at the Pinnacles

And yet another look at the Pinnacles and the ladies who managed to reach the top! :D

OK. So it didn't look as impressive as we expected. But heck! this was still quite amazing. (That's what we kept telling ourselves.)

We did not linger though and started the descent at 11 am. The vertical downward climb was tough at first but we got the hang of it soon enough. Progress was slow but much easier (in hindsight) compared to the descent after the vertical part.

We "collected" Ing (one of the Singaporean ladies) at the last steel ladder (she did not make it to the top due to her weak knees) and continued our downward journey. The second phase of the descent was so much tougher. Walking down 60-70 deg incline was much worse than climbing down 80-90 deg incline!

I slipped and fell so many times that I lost count. Once again, I lost sight of Val, Ing and the guide. But I could not stop. I worried that if I do stop, I might not walk another step forward! By then, my legs were trembling so badly. Every step was pure agony. I was very careful in deciding which part of the ground to step on to prevent further slips.

However, I had collected numerous bruises by then. After one exceptionally nasty fall, I just sat on the ground and contemplated what idiocy had made me do this climb! :P

Despite the knee guard, my injured right knee felt bad. My good left knee started throbbing. I was placing way too much pressure on that leg. Goodness, I was physically falling apart! Drama a bit la! hehehe ...

In any case, it was an incredibly tough descent. But I wanted to get it over and done with fast! My aim was to reach camp and shelter before 3pm to avoid the downpour which had occured for 2 consecutive days at around those times. Lucky for all climbers, the dry weather held. I managed to arrive at 2.50 pm. It had taken me 3 hours 50 mins to descent.

Back at camp, I quickly gulped down cupfuls of water. Most of us were almost dehydrated as we tried to take minimal water up the climb to lighten our load. It seemed that poor Bjorn vomitted on the way down as he was very close to dehydration. Thank god for June who helped him along the way. Next on the agenda was food! Once I satisfied these basic needs, it was time to jump into the stream to cool off. Gosh! That was heavenly. By late eve, all the climbers had returned to the campsite. We were all vying for equal share of voice to talk about our experiences and to compare bruises.

Day 3 dawned and despite aching limbs, we had to make the three hour trek back to the river. Strangely enough, despite our tiredness and injuries, the trek back was much faster. We made it in 2 and the half hours. And it took us another hour by boat to reach camp.

Woo Hoo! Back to civilisation!

Despite the original plan of going adventure caving, our injured legs couldn't take in more abuse. Thus, we decided to rest and enjoy the Park going to show caves instead. Even so, the trails on wooden platform were quite a challenge. By then, I had also contracted allergy to something. I was scratching and scratching and scratching. As usual, hypochondriac Val also felt like scratching after watching me! Thank god for my ever ready supply of "minyak angin".

We took it real easy the next few days. We went to visit the Lang and Deer Caves. I love both caves as they were more interesting than the Wind and the Clearwater Caves (which we visited earlier on the way to the Pinnacles Trail). Lang Cave was the smallest but it was real pretty. Deer Cave was huge, smelly and different. But the sight of water falling amidst the dark interior, illuminated by streaks of sunlight at the mouth of the cave was incredible and beyond words. At the end of the walk, a most incredible sight greeted us. The sight was aptly called Garden of Eden.

We also went for the longest Canopy Walk (480m) which cost us 30 bucks. It was really not worth the money though. Our final morning, we went to Moonmilk Cave on our own. Although there was no entrance fee, it was really not worth the walk either ~ which included a climb of 425 steps (or so it said in the brochure).

What was worth waiting for was the swarm of bats hunting for food in the eve. We took the 3.8km walk to the Bat Observation area for two days in a row to catch this incredible natural phenomenon. The first eve was a disaster. No bats were in sight and we got caught in the downpour on our return trip.

On the second eve, we all waited in anticipation. 5pm came and went. Then 5.30pm and then it was almost 6pm. We thought it would be another "no show" eve. Suddenly, we noted activity at the mouth of the cave high above ground.

And then .... the most amazing sight! I have never seen anything like this before apart from the "whirlwind" barracudas at the Sipadan dive site.

Bats out on a hunt for food

Another look at the bats during dusk

For a photo travelogue of this trip, check out this link.

And there you have it! A wonderful break away. Granted, my troubles did not go away. But for those few days, different things took priorities in life other than work.

Mulu ~ I'll always treasure thee!

Something gotta give soon!

2007-04-24T01:17:00.000+08:00

I am ...
* mentally exhausted,
* physically drained,
* emotionally repressed.

My infrequent postings tell all.

Time ~ where has that all gone?

Work ~ how can something I enjoy turn into an endless nightmare?

Play ~ why does the thought of going out to workout or socialise fill me with reluctance?

Something gotta give soon!

Or I will go "crazy" ....

How does one deal with global managment that do not trust?

How does one deal with a management that insists on micro managing?

How does one deal with different bosses with different agendas? I feel like the proverbial "deer" that was caught in the middle of the fight between the elephants. (Gajah sama gajah berlawan, pelanduk mati di tengah-tengah!)

How does one deal with arrogant, a** s**kers whose main aim in life is to climb the corporate ladder by any means ~ fair and foul?

How does one deal with inconsiderate, jealous b****es/b******s whose sole purpose in life is to stab anyone and everyone in the back so that the said b****es/b******s will look good in the eyes of greater authority?

How does one deal with an environment where "fighting" internal battles is more exhausting than "fighting" competitors at the market place? Or perhaps there is just no time left to fight competitors after all the internal bickering.

How does one deal with endless processes and templates to be filled and ridiculous internal bureaucracy that is worthy of a GLC?

I am so tired. I feel like I am balancing on a very thin/ fine red line. Something gotta give soon!

Is there a light at the end of this tunnel? Or is this just my exhaustion speaking?

I am looking forward to the coming holidays. Perhaps I can put some perspective back into my life and the job I "used" to like.

Goodnight Malaysia whoever you are.

It’s a matter of Mind over Matter

2007-03-30T04:48:00.000+08:00

Ever wondered that perhaps the things we think we could not do could actually be accomplished if only we put some positive thoughts behind them? And many a time our failure to do so is compounded by our own “defeatist” thoughts and the disapproval from the people we seek support and/or approval from i.e. our parents and society at large?

It’s hard to fault our parents because they believe they have our best interest at heart. And it’s hard to fault society for its whimsies, for after all; we could ignore them and just get right on ahead with what we want to do.

Yet, how often are we caught within this mire of needing approval from our parents and society alike?

If you had asked me ten years ago if I could trek for more than ten consecutive days, 5-6 hours a day on the Annapurna Base Camp (ABC) trail, I would have said, “No. That is impossible.” I would never even dream of attempting such a feat.

Why? Well, because it never crossed my mind that I could. After all, the easiest and most effortless answer is No. I would most likely be the first person to volunteer to drink up the sight of the Himalayas from the “safe harbour” of Pokhara. Secondly, my parents would be most discouraging as they would be worried for my health and safety going to such a country. Thirdly, it was not the “thing to do” in society’s eyes as young ladies should be genteel and not go traipsing around third world countries on their own.

Isn’t it strange that we are so easily influenced by the need for others’ approval and support?

The longer I live and the more experiences I garner in life, I realise that we need to balance what we want to do against outside influences. We are our best judge as to our own capabilities and limitations. I have also learned that if we could break huge goals into smaller ones, slowly but surely we will be able to break one record at a time. And soon, we would hit the larger ones.

Interestingly enough, the things that I thought I could never do, I actually did after I hit 30. People say that with age, we should realise our mortality and therefore, taper off doing crazy stuff. My take on this is; it is when we realise our mortality that we should treasure our ability to do something. And just do it! Full speed ahead and damn the torpedoes!

Just last week, fresh from my personal victory in the 10km run, I made an attempt to run non-stop from start to end at the Kiara Hill trail within half an hour. For many people, it’s an easy feat. For me, I was never able to do so. Thus, on that fresh Sunday evening, I donned on my gear and then, it was me against the hill and against time. And … yes, this time, I did it! It was exhilarating! Next, perhaps a half marathon? Hmm ...

It’s truly a matter of Mind over Matter! And as the Adidas slogan goes, “Impossible is Nothing!” when you put your mind to it.

KL International Marathon

2007-03-21T02:48:00.000+08:00

Warning! Long post ahead. Read at your own "peril"!

Yup! It’s been that kind of week. Read “Damsel in Distress” if you have yet to do so.

Remember the blog Cardio! Cardio! Cardio!, where our Siau Club President (SCP) signed us up for the KL International Marathon? Thank God he registered most of us under the 10km category instead of the half or full marathon. Only SCP and Manny, the Hill Rabbit got the honours of registering for the half and full marathon respectively

Well 18th March, the D-Day, finally arrived. And six out of the 12 registered did not turn up! Notably, our SCP was missing. He had a last minute training. Sister Mary had a RPM class at 11.30am and PW had to attend a last minute company function at 8.00am. The rest were Derek, Shane didi and Ming (former SCP), who for various reasons, could not make it for the run either. That left Manny, Sir Kyle, Viv, LK, Val and yours truly to uphold the Siau Club flag on that fateful day.

Ok. I admit I slacked terribly in my training after our initial registration. In fact, I had absolutely no training at all except for a wee bit of cardio from my weekly badminton game and my off-and-on whenever-we-can-wake-up weekend trekking trips up Gasing Hill.

Thus, on Saturday (the day before the run), Val and I decided that we REALLY must make a valiant attempt at the race. So, off we went to the gym for my first and also last training for our first 10km outdoor run. I managed to do a 30 minute run on the treadmill but that would have to suffice. Both Val and I reckoned that if we could not run all the way during the race, we could at least walk. We could also rely on the miracle liquid drink (Power Gel) discovered by sister Mary during our adventure up Mount Kinabalu. She swore by that now and after witnessing the effect on her (she literally had a spurt of energy and zoomed ahead of us after taking the drink!), we decided we had nothing to lose using that stuff. Back to matters at hand, we figured that no matter what happened we must complete the race.

As Manny was the only one who signed up for the full marathon, he had to arrive at Dataran Merdeka at 3.30am for registration as his run would start at 4.00am, whilst the rest of us (the 10km category) were required to register at 6.30am as our run would start at 7.00am. Kyle volunteered to fetch Manny down whilst the rest of us would arrive later. We all thought that it was really sweet of Kyle to do so, as he not only had to wake up blardy early, he also had to wait a good three hours before his race began. I am not quite sure if I’d have done that for my best friends were I put to the test.

In any case, the ladies arrived in time for the race. There was no sign of Kyle but we expected as much, as the crowd was tremendous. We all brought our handphones with us and decided on a place to meet up after the race should we part during the race.

The gun went off and so did we. The initial 100 meters were slow going as we had to weave our way through the thick crowd. In any case, I felt a burst of energy (which was natural and had nothing to do with Power Gel! :p) and was itching to capitalise on that and cover as much ground as possible. But I was torn between staying at my friends’ pace and going off on my own. But after a couple of minutes, and with them sensing my “impatience”/”energy”, they urged me to go ahead.

Off I went! And it was exhilarating ~ overtaking participant after participant. I knew my burst of energy would deplete soon but my plan was to run 30 minutes without stopping, then take a five minute walk, and run the rest of the way! At the 20 minute mark, I was getting thirsty and my pace had slowed. I ran on, determined to hit the 30 minute mark before I gave in. Everything was a blur as I paced myself against time. Minutes ticked by slowly. My steps ate the ground slowly but surely. Yet no drink stops were in sight.

The moment the minute hand hit the 30 minute mark, I slowed down to a fast walking pace. Barely five minutes later, I spotted the drink stop. I grabbed two cups each of water and 100 Plus, and gulped them down one by one. With my thirst finally quenched, I started my run again. But this time, I couldn’t quite get back my running rhythm. I was running and walking and running and walking. At one point, my right calf muscle and instep were giving me a lot of problems. I could feel my muscle getting stiff but I needed to complete the race and preferably well within the time stipulated. My competitive spirit asked it. My pride demanded it.

A look at the watch and I noted that 50 minutes had lapsed and I was still on Jalan Sultan Ismail. I saw Sheraton Imperial and thought we were headed for the highway. My heart plummeted as I realised that there was no way in hell I could finish the race within the stipulated 1hour and 30 minutes if we took that route. I had no idea how many kilometres I had already covered. For a moment, I toyed with the idea of taking the Power Gel. But I decided against it as I felt I was close enough to complete without the added help. Besides, I wanted to complete the race on my own steam if I could.

I ran on, still determined. Suddenly, a participant stopped in the middle of the road and groaned. He had pulled his muscle quite badly. I watched in empathy as an official came to his aid. Fearing for my right leg, I continued my run but took care to slow down a bit more. I’d rather be slow than to end up not finishing the race due to muscle injury.

To my surprise and joy, the route took a left turn into Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman and on towards Dataran Merdeka! I was in with a chance. I picked up my pace and ran, hopped, walked all the way to the finishing line! I managed to finish in 1 hour and 10 minutes, and got a medal and certificate for the run in the process. That was way cool!

Val came in merely five minutes after me, whilst Viv and LK came in a mere five minutes after Val! We all made it within the stipulated time and I was mightily impressed that the ladies actually ran all the way. Hip Hip Hurray for all of them!

We then hunted for the boys. We sent them smses, but did not receive any reply. We called them to no avail as we only reached their voicemails. Half an hour later, we received a call from Kyle. It seemed that he ran the half marathon instead of the 10km run (taking over SCP’s place). We were all very impressed that he actually completed the race, … and in 2 hours and 35 minutes no less! That was blardy fantastic although I refused to tell Kyle then (just in case it went up to his head)! Hehehehe …

We had great fun during the run. But it went down hill from then on … from a planning perspective, that is. Is it a man thing not to plan ahead on where to meet after a race? Especially since one party did not have his handphone with him during the race and he ran a different distance from the other party? And the other party actually moved his car away from the original parking space where the first party knew he parked?

In any case, we thought we lost Hill Rabbit. We could not find him. We called him but remembered that his handphone was in Kyle’s car. We then called another fellow gym member who was running with him and had his handphone with him. Unfortunately, we reached his voicemail. I attempted to get the officials to make a missing person’s announcement but to no avail. Finally, we thought that Hill Rabbit would be resourceful enough to find his way home. The only thing was, he just had to wait for Kyle to find him to hand him his condo keys.

Next on the agenda was breakfast. We were famished and as Kyle did not think he could drive, I took over his car while LK went back for hers with the rest of the ladies. Enroute back to PJ, we received a call from the fellow gym member who was with Hill Rabbit but alas! Kyle’s phone went flat. (Why have a handphone if one doesn't plan to charge 'em batteries? grrr ...) Then we received a call from LK. The good news was, they found Hill Rabbit and friend. The bad news was, her car and several others, were blocked by two inconsiderate drivers who parked at both the entrance and exit of the parking area! It’s Murphy’s Law ~ everything that could go wrong went wrong!

In any case, Kyle and I decided to shower at my place first before meeting the rest at the restaurant ~ seeing as how it could take awhile as the authorities had just called a tow truck to tow ‘em cars away. Midway through the journey, I remembered my keys were in LK’s car! Dang! What did I just say about Murphy’s Law? Then I remembered Dad was in town and he had a spare set of my keys. I managed to catch hold of him, got the keys and then drove back to my place. Finally, something right came about!

We managed to get ourselves all cleaned up in no time at all. Then came the call from Hill Rabbit. He would leave first via public transport and would stop at the Kelana Jaya LRT station. We would then pick him up, pass him his keys and fetch him home. We then received another call from the ladies. They were finally on their way to the restaurant. Strangely enough, they arrived much earlier than Hill Rabbit. Kyle decided he would take Hill Rabbit home and forego breakfast with us, whilst I drove straight to the restaurant to meet the rest of the ladies!

What a dramatic end! Success! Chaos! Adventure! What else can we ask for? : )

A big thank you goes to SCP for registering the race for us and helping us get our T-shirts and running numbers despite not being able to go for the race himself in the end. Three cheers to SCP!

And three more cheers to all my running partners! You go girl! Boys included … : )

P.S. Just found the online published results. Kyle, you did it in 2:37:29 official time and 2:36:58 chip time. Check this link and look for Alex's full name. Way to go!!! Woo hoo!

Damsel in Distress

2007-03-21T01:35:00.000+08:00

“Damsel in distress” is just not a term people would associate with me. Thank God!

But last Friday, I probably acted like one. And I’m not proud of it. But heck, I should cut myself some slack, shouldn’t I?

Anyway, I was all ready to go to work (as usual) but my car just won’t start. I turned the key, the lights came on, and the engine came to life but then sputtered and died. Yeah! Grrr … I turned the key again and this time the lights came on, I heard the “click” sound but then … nothing. My heart dropped.

“This is so NOT happening to me,” I thought.

But no matter how many tries I made, the engine just won’t start. My first thought was to call Dad. After all, he used to take care of all my car service needs. Unfortunately, all my attempts only got me through to his voicemail. I then tried calling my sister’s place in the hopes that he would be there, but no one picked up the phone.

“OK girl, you are now on your own,” I thought.

At this point, one would ask why I did not call AAM. Well, for the simple reason that this is a company car and it’s not registered with AAM. One would also further ask why I did not call the nearest mechanic. Well, the car is relatively new (barely two years old) and is still under warranty. In addition, it’s one of those continental contraptions ~ good to look at; complicated to work on with all the high-tech, advance, electronic gadgets ~ with limited authorised workshops around.

I digress. Anyway, I got down the car and tried to open the bonnet, in the hopes of finding a loose wire connection or something. OK. This might not seem like the brightest idea but several years ago, I was in a similar situation (but it was a different car, a Japanese one) except that the engine just went flat ~ no lights, no warning, nothing! I thought it was the battery but it turned out to be a loose wire connection then. Hence, the above attempt.

But alas! I found the latch to the bonnet but couldn’t unlatch it. Before one starts on any dumb blonde jokes (since I am neither dumb ~ I probably need more conviction after this incident ~ nor blonde!) and in my own defence, let me say that a Peugeot car latch is a bit different from the local or Japanese ones.

In desperation, I called my friend who owns a Peugeot to figure out how to unlatch the bonnet. In the midst of our conversation, I heard someone called to me. Neighbours! Help! Yes! Helpful neighbours! My heart lifted when I saw them walking towards my car. Gosh! Am I in need of help!

The hubby helped me figure out how to work the latch and voila! the bonnet was finally opened. They made a call to another neighbour (who is more into cars) to seek confirmation as to the car’s “ailment”. Yup! It was confirmed ~ all indications that the problem was the battery.

They then woke up another neighbour, borrowed his jump-start cables and his labour, and got my engine revving. Aww … the sweet sound of a revving engine was music to my ears! Never thought I’d say that! I managed to get my car to the workshop ~ got the battery changed and the car serviced. (Incidentally, I was just a little over the service period!)

In any case, I am incredibly grateful to my neighbours especially the wife who was late for work that day because of my car problem! I owe you one folks!

All I can say is:
Thank God for helpful neighbours!
Thank God for a helpful friend (who tried to help me through the mobile).
Thank God for Dad (who I finally got hold of and who fetched me from the workshop).

Lesson learnt:
I need to find an authorised workshop that does “house calls”. This means I’d have to hunt for another authorised Peugeot workshop just in case. Also, despite how busy I am or how difficult it is to get an appointment with the authorised workshop, I’d better ensure I get my car serviced way before due date. One never knows with these continental models.

There you go … one reluctant damsel in distress!

Lady, you still single? Here's why! :P

2007-03-13T18:34:00.000+08:00

Now, we get to the crux of the matter. Only 0.0009% of available men are Mr. Right. Statistics does not lie. :p

International Women's Day

2007-03-09T10:56:00.000+08:00

Do you know that 8th March marks the celebration of International Women's Day? No? Well, neither do I ... until I received several sms and emails yesterday, wishing me "Happy International Women's Day"! Everything seems like a cause for celebration these days. It's the darnest thing isn't it?

In any case, on further "investigation" (i.e. googling), I found the following site.

"International Women's Day is the story of ordinary women as makers of history; it is rooted in the centuries-old struggle of women to participate in society on an equal footing with men. In ancient Greece, Lysistrata initiated a sexual strike against men in order to end war; during the French Revolution, Parisian women calling for "liberty, equality, fraternity" marched on Versailles to demand women's suffrage."

I suppose we should celebrate 8th March then. After all, without these "sisters" of ours, we could still be living in the middle ages ... being seen only in the kitchen or the bedroom, being subservient to men, being repressed, etc, etc. While I am not into the "bra burning" feminist movement, I do believe in women's rights.

So, here's a big thank you to these "sisters" of ours who have made life a lot better for women today!

I'll leave you folks with an interesting email I received yesterday. While I do not fully subscribe to the language used, I am fully in agreement with the sentiments conveyed. Hehehe ... Do read on. These are classic one-liners! And my favourite ones are in BOLD! Phooeeyyy!

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY!

---------------------------------

THINGS STRESSED WOMEN MAY SAY AT WORK :

1. Okay, okay! I take it back. Unfuck you.
2. You say I'm a bitch like it's a bad thing.
3. Well, this day was a total waste of make-up.
4. Well, aren't we a damn ray of sunshine?
5. Don't bother me, I'm living happily ever after.
6. Do I look like a people person?
7. This isn't an office. It's hell with fluorescent lighting.
8. I started out with nothing and I still have most of it left.
9. Therapy is expensive. Popping bubble wrap is cheap. You choose.
10. Why don't you try practicing random acts of intelligence and senseless acts of self-control?
11. I'm not crazy. I've been in a very bad mood for 30 years.
12. Sarcasm is just one more service I offer.
13. Do they ever shut up on your planet?
14. I'm not your type. I'm not inflatable.
15. Stress is when you wake up screaming and you realize you haven't gone to sleep yet!
16. Back off!! You're standing in my aura.
17. Don't worry. I forgot your name too.
18. I work 45 hours a week to be this poor.
19. Not all men are annoying. Some are dead.
20. Wait...I'm trying to imagine you with a personality.
21. Chaos, panic and disorder .. my work here is done.
22. Ambivalent? Well, yes and no.
23. You look like shit. Is that the style now?
24. Earth is full. Go home.
25. Aw, did I step on your poor little itty bitty ego?
26. I'm not tense, just terribly, terribly alert.
27. A hard-on doesn't count as personal growth.
28. You are depriving some village of an idiot.
29. If assholes could fly, this place would be an airport.
30. Look in my eyes . Do you see one ounce of give-a-shit?

Not again!

2007-02-25T23:25:00.000+08:00

Chinese New Year and Valentine’s Day are probably the worst days of a singleton’s life; especially for those who are over ripe for the pickings. I mean, if you want to find a day when people lay on the guilt about being single, well, these are the days!

It’s incredible really. The pointed questions asked, the numerous advices given, the never-ending and sometimes malicious teasing. And subtlety be damned! A colleague of mine even went as far as “reading” my “pat chi” to find out if marriage is in the cards for me. And to his glee (“his” mind you, not “mine”), it seemed that I would not be an “old maid” after all.

And here we, poor single sots, are put in the spotlight to defend our single status. My goodness! Why do we have to pander to society’s whims of how the cycle of life should be? Why should it be a cycle of birth, education, work, marriage, babies, retirement and death?

While I am sure a lot of these people mean well, I wonder if they ever thought of the feelings they might have hurt with their endless bout of queries. The questions ask sometimes make one feels less than he/she really is … as if not being attached or married means some sort of failure in life.

Is it any wonder why so many marriages fail these days? How many people hop on to the marriage bandwagon due to society’s pressure only to find out later that that is the worst mistake of their lives?

Heck! If finding a mate is so easy, any Tom, Dick and Harry (or Sissy, Sassy and Sally) would do! And while we are at that, does it mean if we can’t find a mate that fits, do we force fit ourselves to pander to society’s expectations? Marriage is already difficult enough. Would this not be a recipe for disaster?

Perhaps it is time for one to think before he/she speaks. Think of the impact of your words to a singleton. It’s not as if what you are saying is anything new. We have heard it all probably a zillion times before. If you can’t add anything new, and you can’t offer any real help, then isn’t discretion (or silence) the better part of valour?

Do give the singletons a break! Life and relationships are tough enough without the added pressure of getting married when one is not ready yet, not ready at all or might not ever be ready! Think of how hard you have to work at your marriage, at your relationship.

I stand at the gateway of life and wonder if that elusive mate even exists.

Like any other day ... NOT

2007-01-30T18:04:00.000+08:00

This has not been the best day of the year so far ... and it should coz it's my "ngau yat"or literally translated "cow's day" or the actual meaning Birthday! :p (Don't ask me why it's called "ngau yat" as my Chinese speaking friends have no idea either!)

Why has it been a bad day?

1. It took me blardy 30 minutes to get out of my condo this morning as the whole road turning into the LDP was stuck. Some idiots decided to ignore the red traffic light and the crossroad under the flyover was all messed up as cars were cutting in from every direction. Grrrrrr ...

2. Finally when I cleared that hurdle, I found that there was a massive jam going into town because some smart aleck decided to have a "raptai" for the city day parade which falls on 1st February. It took me blardy one and the half hours to reach office. Jam! Jam! Jam!

3. I am now having a blinding headache and all I want to do is go home and sleep.

4. I can't go home because I am supposed to be having my performance review today and my boss has yet to call me in.

5. I have a birthday dinner celebration at 8.30pm and I still have no idea if I can reach there on time due to point no. 4. If I don't get there on time, I might piss off my sister royally since she originally wanted to do it on 1st February but I insisted to have the dinner tonight. Sigh!

That's why it is not like any other day ... it's worse.

Now, on to happier thoughts. I am very touched and thankful to my friends and family.

Why?

1. I have been celebrating my "ngau yat" with friends and family since Saturday. There was the Saturday Shangri-la high-tea (thanks Mon), the Saturday Pangkor Fish house dinner (thanks L3), the Sunday Sunway condo joint dinner party (thanks siau gang and birthday boy Manny for doing the cooking) and the Monday The Ship dinner (thanks P1 & bro-in-law). And there's more to come in the next few days!!! :D

2. I have this funky new calendar on "365 Great Things About Getting Older", courtesy of the siau gang.
Today's great thing is: "There are only three ages for women in Hollywood - Babe, District Attorney, and Driving Miss Daisy. - Goldie Hawn"
Why is age always such a great bother for women? Why not men too? Bah!

3. A friend promised me a Balinese birthday massage at Puri Santhi. Yippee! (Thanks Val. Hehehe ...)

4. I received this really nice decorative candle from Tasmania. It's now in my display cabinet. (Thanks L3.) And a nice 5R photo frame for 3 pix in a row from IKEA. Just what I need to put up my Tanzania wild animal photos. (Thanks Mon.) And for all the other pressies that I have received and will be receiving soon (wink! wink! wink!), thanks folks, you're all so sweet. :D

5. I received many sms, email and messenger birthday wishes and also F2F (face to face) birthday wishes today. Thanks folks. I'm touched to be remembered. :)

Alrighty. Speech all done. Head feels better. But still no word from boss.

Back to work and the grindstone!

Cheerios!

What messages are we conveying to the youths of today?

2007-01-27T17:27:00.000+08:00

Bombarded by increasing commercialism and frivolity from the media and a progressively modern society that is more concern with the paper and $$$ chase, I have my fair share of concern over the younger/future generation. Witness blogs like Xiaxue, and reality shows like The Bachelor and The Swan. Note the popularity of Paris Hilton and her reality show, "The Simple Life". What messages are they leaving today's youths?

As if that's not enough, note the increasing number of slimming centres and plastic surgery clinics. Witness young girls who are stick thin and yet still go on diet. Listen to talks of plastic surgery for a nose or boob job as if that's an everyday occurance. It’s no wonder more and more kids grow up with a skewed view of the world.

I remember being approached by a college student in Sunway Pyramid more than a year back. She was doing a survey on what constitutes beauty and self confidence to a woman. As the survey progress, I realised that my answers to her questions were more personal than just a survey.

"Would you rather be pretty or smart?" "Is it easier to get ahead of life if you are pretty compared to being smart?" And so on and so forth.

I can't help but feel that she is trying to find her self worth. When the interview ended she commented, "Thank you. Just one last question and this has nothing to do with the survey. How do you get so confident and at ease with yourself?"

The sad thing is that there is absolutely nothing wrong with her. No, she is not gorgeous, but she is not ugly. She is neither stick thin, nor voluptuous. She is an average Jill who has a girl next door look. And she was struggling to find her self confidence and self worth amongst a society that is so preoccupied with external or physical beauty. It is tragic. What messages are we conveying to today's youths?

Perhaps Simple Plan sang it best in their song, "Crazy".

"Crazy"

Tell me what's wrong with society
When everywhere I look, I see
Young girls dying to be on TV
They won't stop till they've reached their dreams

Diet pills, surgery
Photoshopped pictures in magazines
Telling them how they should be
It doesn't make sense to me

(Is everybody going crazy?
Is anybody gonna save me?
Can anybody tell me what's going on?
Tell me what's going on?
If you open your eyes
You'll see that something is wrong) *

I guess things are not how they used to be
There's no more normal families
Parents act like enemies
Making kids feel like it's World War III

No one cares, no one's there
I guess we're all just too damn busy
And money's our first priority
It doesn't make sense to me

(Repeat * once)

Is everybody going crazy?
Is everybody going crazy?

Tell me what's wrong with society
When everywhere I look I see
Rich guys driving big SUVs
While kids are starving in the streets

No one cares
No one likes to share
I guess life's unfair

(Repeat * twice)

I don't envy growing up in today's world. The question is what can we do to help change that?

Cardio! Cardio! Cardio!

2007-01-27T01:19:00.000+08:00

I believe I mentioned that the siau gang never do things half measure. Well, once again, I am proven right!

We have been told by the new Siau Club President, Alex (herein known as SCP) to bring along cash payment for en masse registration for the Kuala Lumpur International Marathon on 18th March 2007. Luckily, he did not put our names for the half marathon as per his earlier threat. Thank God for small mercies!

SCP will of course do the half marathon (as expected of every President although Ming escaped that during his tenure), while his cohort, Manny the “hill rabbit” ( :p ) will go for the full marathon. Having witness Manny’s speed and stamina during our Bukit Gasing treks (which he ran instead of trek) left me in no doubt that he would wing this one easily.

Now, the rest of the very fit men and ladies of the siau gang (who averagely work out at least three times a week) will have no sweat in completing the 10 km run in no time. Which leaves ME, the most unfit one who has not gone to a gym in eons (probably more than 3 months), to fend for myself. My only claim to exercise hall of fame is my weekly badminton game and my once in a blue moon weekend trek.

Dang! As 18th March is not that far off, I had to get back to the gym today. Despite being 15 minutes late for combat class, after 15 minutes of high impact cardio, I was out of breath. By the half hour mark, I can feel stitches at my side. Towards the end, after jumping and kicking around for only 45 minutes, I had muscle cramp on my foot. Gee wheeze! Talk about totally out of the fitness and stamina radar.

Nevertheless, the spirit was willing even though the flesh was weak! Really weak! I continued on at the treadmill and managed to run 2.6 km in 20 minutes! At this rate, I’d likely take an hour and a half (if lucky) to complete the 10 km run and I’ll be eating everyone’s dust. Oh boy! I certainly have a lot of work cut out for me.

My mantra for the next few weeks will be, “Think cardio. Think high impact cardio!”

Siau!

What is a Jew?

2007-01-26T18:46:00.000+08:00

One of the things I miss most from varsity days is hanging out at the mamak and discussing/debating about anything under the sun. Curiously enough, I have rediscovered that with the badminton gang at our weekly Thursday night mamak session.

Random conversation.

Moi: "So what is a Jew? Is it a religion or a group of people?"

BK: "It refers to a group of people."

Moi: "Really? It's not a religion? You mean as a Chinese, I cannot become a Jew?"

BK: "I don't think so."

Moi: "So what religion are Jews? I mean is there a name to the religion?"

BK shrugged.

Moi: "Judaism perhaps?"

BK: "Isn't Judaism a religion for Judas followers?"

Moi: "Err .. I have no idea."

OK. So this converging of minds didn't really work out. But curiousity got the better of me and here are some facts.

According to Wikipedia:

Jews (Hebrew: יְהוּדִים, Yehudim; Yiddish: ייִדן, Yidn) are followers of Judaism or, more generally, members of the Jewish people (also known as the Jewish Nation, or the Children of Israel), an ethno-religious group descended from the ancient Israelites and from converts who joined their religion. The term also includes those who have undergone an officially recognized formal process of religious conversion to Judaism.

Judaism shares some of the characteristics of a nation, an ethnicity, a religion, and a culture, making the definition of who is a Jew vary slightly depending on whether a religious or national approach to identity is used. For discussions of the religious views on who is a Jew and how these views differ from each other, please see Who is a Jew?.

Generally, in modern secular usage, Jews include three groups:
1. people who practice Judaism and have a Jewish ethnic background (sometimes including those who do not have strictly matrilineal descent),
2. people without Jewish parents who have converted to Judaism; and
3. those Jews who, while not practicing Judaism as a religion, still identify themselves as Jewish by virtue of their family's Jewish descent and their own cultural and historical identification with the Jewish people.

Thus from the above definition I infer that I can become a Jew if I embrace Judaism.

Right?

The Different faces of the Siau Gang

2007-01-22T02:03:00.000+08:00

It was barely two years ago that this crazy group of gym goers got together and christianed ourselves "the siau gang". And like all friendships and relationships, we had our fair share of ups and downs. From 'impossible' cardio activities, juvenile antics, huge gastronomic get togethers, inappropriate conversational topics, ... to extreme disagreement and blow-ups, ... we have never really done things half measure. Frankly, I never expected the friendship to have such staying power. But thanks to a few folks in the group (you know who you are), the group prevailed in spite of our differences.

Recently a key member got hitched and everyone pitched in to "help". Whether we actually helped more than we confused the wedding couple was questionable ... and up to individual interpretation ... but we certainly had a jolly good time "helping out"! :) You can read the step by step naration of the events leading to the wedding from this site. But fair warning, whatever you read from the site is from the eyes and interpretation of the narator and may be exaggerated. :P

In any case, I finally got hold of the wedding photos tonight. While looking through some of the pictures taken during the wedding, I can't help but compare them to our previous pictures. Boy! We certainly look very different all decked up.

Thanks folks for all the fun and the craziness! Here's a walk down memory lane.

To Friendship!

Young, fresh and innocent-looking (taken at my place in early 2005)

The Gluttony (taken during potluck dinner at my place in 2005)

Coming of Age (taken during Alex's birthday in 2005)

Another round of gluttony (taken during New Year 2006 celebration)

All in the Siau Gang family (taken during Ming's "retrieve the bride" ceremony last week)

The Wedding Reception (taken during Ming's Wedding Dinner last week)

Siau Gang Chuen Kar Fook 14 Jan 2007

Looking for American Idol Bloggers

2007-01-18T18:58:00.000+08:00

Talk about the power of the World Wide Web or perhaps the power of search engines!

I received the following email today, inviting me to join the American Idol Bloggers as they "supposedly" came across my site while searching for bloggers who blog about American Idol.

I couldn't recall ever posting such a blog. I had to "google" the following "Leanne's Say"+"American Idol" to get to the page on my blog that mentioned American Idol.

Guess what?! It was in the following post on ... OLD MAN'S CLUB

I only had the following two lines stating the words "American Idol" ...

"Getting sick of watching American Idol on national TV? Need a dose of a little more excitement? "

"I’d rather spend Friday night watching the hunks in the gym having a go at the weights or watching the gorgeous “Ace” belting away on American Idol."

Hahaha ... Guess it doesn't take much to qualify as an American Idol Blogger!!!

Anyone interested? :)

Goodbye 2006, Hello 2007

2007-01-16T02:03:00.000+08:00

A Happy Belated 2007 to all. Yes, it’s been a month since I last blogged. Busy at work, busy travelling, busy holidaying … yes to all that. At times, there was so much I wanted to express. At others, the mind was a veritable desert.

The change of calendar year came and went without much fanfare. I was in Surabaya with a friend but instead of celebrating the occasion (as we originally planned); we almost slept through the event (or non event) due to exhaustion. We were woken up by the sound of fireworks, rushed out of the backpackers in time to observe the final few seconds of 2006 slipping away.

I have not had much time to reflect on 2006 nor was I driven to make any new resolutions for 2007 since then. I realise that I should not view a change in calendar year to reflect upon what had occurred but to review events in my life by the blocks of time I have invested in them.

“Does the end justify the means? Is the ROI (Return on Investment) worthy of the time, effort and emotional sacrifice? Have I been so focussed on the results that I have forgotten to enjoy the journey? Have I been swayed to take the easier path instead of standing state fast in my beliefs? Have I played it safe for too many years?”

These are but a few thoughts that have been running through my head. More and more I wonder if the path of independence was the right one to take. If I do not lean on me, can I trust someone else (divine presence excluded) to lean on or to champion my cause? If I change that, am I changing the core of “who I am”?

Stephen Covey spoke of the three stages in life; when we first came into the world, we were dependent. Then when we grew to adulthood, we wanted independence. But along the path of life, we will recognise that we need to live interdependently. Perhaps it is time to let go of that independence, throw caution to the wind, and welcome interdependence into my life. It’s a big step for me, and I am not sure I am ready for that.

Well, goodbye 2006 and helloooo 2007.

Shall We Dance?

2006-12-21T02:42:00.000+08:00

I was convinced that the world was made up of two types of people ~ those who COULD dance and those who COULD NOT! I obviously fell into the latter group.

A couple of years back, a software vendor of American and Japanese mix invited me to learn the salsa at El Nino's. Having always wanted to learn latino dances but lacking male partners who were interested to do so, I foolishly said yes! But alas! Instead of getting into a beginner's class, we accidently went to an advanced class and were promptly shown how inept we were (or at least I was) at dancing. My partner at least had some rhythm since he was into swing dancing, whatever that is. (Must be an American thingy.) But me, having born with two left feet, had to brave out the entire situation even though I must have looked stiff and klutzy.

In the intervening years, I have kept away from latino dances. Once burnt, twice shy. There are some limitations in life even for me. :p

An old schoolmate of mine returned from US not too long after that, and lo and behold, she turned out to be one heck of a salsa dancer! (Must be an American thang!) Ever since her return, she has been bugging me to join her for salsa but I declined politely. I ain't never gonna embarrass myself again in a whole room of "professional" salsa dancers. EVER! (Yeah! Famous last words!)

As in everything in life, never say never. Last Monday, this same friend invited me to her birthday bash at Qba, the famous salsa dancing club in the city. I went but thought I could sit out the whole salsa thing and make a quick getaway if things got a bit sticky.

Unfortunately, I met this crazy, persistent Malay chap who wore down my resistance and dragged me down to the dance floor. Surprise! Surprise! It didn't turn out as difficult or as bad as I thought. He made it seemed much easier by repeating similar steps over and over again. He was also a pretty good and strong dancer as he led the steps and threw me into twists and twirls! He was up to all sorts of funny dancing steps and it was a hilarious affair. This time was so different from my previous experience where I felt so tense and stiff. Even the close body contact with a complete stranger did not faze me. He was clowning around so much that half the time, I felt like I could actually dance!

Weee ... the fact was I quite enjoyed myself on the dance floor in the end except for the burning sensation at my calf after a good few minutes on the dance floor where I thought the song would go on for all eternity! :P Eventually, I had to call it quits.

Blinking hell! Trekking or playing badminton or going for combat class is a lot easier and less strenuous than salsa dancing. But then, it doesn't seem like such a difficult thing to learn now.

Hmm, perhaps ... Salsa anyone? :)

Airport safety ... Singapore versus Malaysia

2006-12-15T03:06:00.000+08:00

Airport safety ... there are standards, and then there are STANDARDS!

Malaysia

I never meant to put this to the test but I unwittingly did so with scary results!

Don't ask me why but there was a screw driver in my computer bag! A huge screw driver mind you, not a small one. But that got pass the officers with the scanner at KLIA.

Then I found a razor in my toiletry bag. I forgot that I left it there but as I was too lazy to check in my luggage, it went through the scanner as hand luggage. Once, again, it got through the officers at KLIA!

On my return trip at JB airport, once again both these items got through the scanner!

I only found these items when I unpack my stuff at home.

One wonders what the officers are looking at when they scan the hand luggages.

Singapore

Now, compare the above with Singapore.

Luckily I found the items and took them out before I left for Singapore.

On my return trip at the Singapore Airport, I was surprised that we had to take out our laptops/notebooks from the computer bag or day pack and put these separately through the scanner.

Now, don't you just feel safe when travelling through the various airports in Malaysia? If you don't believe me, you can put it to the test yourself!

Thank God for Thursday nights!

2006-12-15T02:42:00.000+08:00

I am in an extremely buoyant mood. We had a good game of badminton tonight, and for the first time since last Thursday I saw glimpses of my old game (honed during high school days) returning. I never expected that my passion for the game would return either. After all, I have hung up my badminton racket due to lack of regular badminton partners a long time ago.

Since early this year, Zack has tried very hard to pull our group of ex-MBA course mates together for a regular game of badminton. I did not put much hope that he would succeed. After all, through my years of adulthood, such attempts tend to peter out after awhile as work and family commitments would intrude eventually.

On my part, I was also hard put to commit to a regular game schedule. It is only in recent months that I started making it a point to do so. Call me crazy but I have been known to reschedule customer dinners and even family dinners, just to ensure that I can go for the game.

Who would have thought that our group would hang out together because of the game? The enthusiasm, commitment, competitiveness and fun we have on and off court (i.e. supper at mamak after the game) make a big difference.

All I can say is thank god for Thursday. It’s fast becoming my favourite day of the week! :D

My little misadventure in the Pearl of the Orient

2006-12-14T19:17:00.000+08:00

I am beginning to believe that I have a dual personality. One is my "easy going, anything goes" personality and the other, my corporate persona! Before my recent adventure in Penang, I would have strenuously protested to any accusations of having a corporate persona whatsoever. But, the truth stared me in the eye whilst I was there ...

Last weekend, we had an event in Seberang Jaya. Due to the recent spate of travelling, I was tired of driving and took the flight to Penang instead. We left the airport at almost 7.00 pm. The taxi driver warned me that a trailer broke down at the bridge earlier at about 5.15 pm but he expected that the roads would have cleared by then. Unfortunately, he was so wrong! The wonderful road system in Malaysia is such that any breakdowns/ accidents would cause a massive jam in the vicinity which would take hours to disperse!

In any case, we decided to take the ferry across instead. So off to the ferry terminal we went ... and lo and behold! we got stuck in a long queue as everyone else had the same thought of avoiding the jam at the bridge.

One wonders why these people do not turn back and rest at home after witnessing such a massive jam. I would have done so if I am a Penangite! Unfortunately, I had no choice!

At that point, the taxi driver was hinting at me to get down the cab and get on the ferry as a passenger. I was extremely resistant to that thought due to 3 reasons:
1. I have already paid RM60.00 to be taken there.
2. I had 2 pieces of luggage and it would be a hassle.
3. I was a little wary as I am unfamiliar with the place. It was night, I was alone, and I wasn't sure if it was safe.

However, in hindsight, it was a very sound plan as I would have reached my destination much earlier.

In any case, I just kept quiet and waited. As the minutes dragged on, the taxi driver became more and more restless. He once again tried to convince me to take the ferry on my own. I remained adamant!

Finally, just as it was our turn to go up the ramp onto the ferry, the taxi broke down! The taxi driver tried to start the engine but to no avail. (Call me suspicious, but I think he was acting that part out.) In any case, I could hardly call his bluff!

Reluctantly, I got off the cab but managed to get back RM20.00 from the driver since he did not take me to my destination. Each step forward I walked in dread. I quickly called my sales staff to inform them that I was taking alternate transport to the place (just in case I get kidnapped or robbed).

I got on to the ferry and realised that there were many folks using the ferry to cross as well. As the ferry chugged along the Straits of Penang, my earlier trepidation slowly left me. My entire demeanour relaxed.

With the wind blowing in my hair, the far-off city lights blinking along the horizon and the noisy din on the ferry, I felt almost like a holiday-maker on one of my backpacking trips. It was then that I realised that this little adventure was no different from any of my numerous backpacking adventures overseas. In fact, I faced more dangers of the unknown when we were in Tanzania and South Africa! This little misadveture should have been a piece of cake for the likes of me. In fact, it was a piece of cake for me. I ended up at my destination by 9+pm with none the worse for wear.

Strange isn't it how our minds play tricks on us when we don on different personas ...

Home Sweet Home

2006-12-14T17:11:00.000+08:00

It felt like I have been away from home for a long while although I was just travelling in spurts the last two weeks. It probably felt worse because I was working over the weekend as well.

First it was down south to JB, then it was back to central in Genting. And then it was up north to Penang (oh what an "adventure"!) and straight down south to Singapore. I hope that's the last of my work travel for the year.

I miss my sofa!

I miss my bed!

Ahh ... home sweet home!

Road blocks

2006-12-02T02:33:00.000+08:00

Have you ever wondered how police make decisions on who to pull over during a road block?

I used to think that people who look suspicious or drunk ~ other than those who committed a traffic offence i.e. speeding ~ would get the short straw. (Besides, I have never been pulled over before when I am innocent of any wrongdoing.)

But after tonight’s hilarious incident … I am not so sure anymore how the police make their selection.

We had a late Friday night badminton game. It started late @ approximately 9.30pm and ended later still @ 11.30pm. By then, we were tired, dirty, smelly but darn thirsty. Therefore, we decided to adjourn to a nearby “mamak” stall for sustenance. Thus, the five of us ~ “old man Tuck”, “steel man Suresh”, “Zack the Jack Black fan”, “Steph the drop shot Queen” and me ~ piled into Tuck’s eleven year old white Proton.

On our way back, we encountered a road block and expected to continue on. Tuck even said, “We should be ok la. After all, this car is very muhibbah. We have an Indian, a Malay and three Chinese.”

However, we were all stupefied/ mystified … yet amused … when we were asked to pull over. There we were ~ five dirty, smelly persons in soiled t-shirts and shorts! Wonder what activity the police thought we were up to. Hmmm …. The police checked the road tax, Tuck’s driving licence and identity card (ID). Then, he shone the torchlight into the car and asked everyone to hand over their IDs.

Zack tried to explain. “Encik, kami baru habis main badminton.”

The police continued to check our IDs one by one, until he was finally satisfied that we are who we are.

Once we pulled away from the road block, we all collapsed into laughter. We theorised that the police thought Tuck was the pimp, Steph and me the China dolls, and Zack and Suresh were the very satisfied customers (since they were hard put to contain their amusement during the entire incident).

Zack laughed and said, “Luckily I didn’t just say ‘kami baru habis main’. He might wonder what we just ‘main’.”

What say you? Do you think we hit the nail in the coffin with our theory? : )

And the serious bit:

Do you know why road blocks are conducted?

According to this North American website,
“ … The stated purposes of roadblocks are usually legalized excuses to stop and scrutinize motorists for which there would otherwise be no reason to do so. These excuses include "sobriety checks," license and registration verification, possession of insurance, proof of citizenship, and seatbelt usage. The desired effect is to establish a sense of fear and intimidation among the population. …”

Yup. That sounds like in Malaysia too.

Additionally, these could be potential avenues for “excess funds” from road users. Otherwise, why are road blocks frequently set up during weekends? And usually at stretches of roads where party/pub goers would pass? If it is to ensure road safety from drunk drivers, then the drivers who have been summoned for drinking should pull over to sober up. How many times have these drivers been allowed to go their merry way once they have “negotiated” their summons? And of course the other telling point is, during and/or close to festive seasons, the number of road blocks set-up would increase substantially.

Peace descends on Nepal

2006-11-23T22:50:00.000+08:00

FINALLY! Good news at least in one part of the world!

The mountain trekking and mountain climbing community would be rejoicing now. At least I am. :) The long awaited end to the civil war in Nepal has finally come to pass. And it would be wonderful news to the Nepalese as tourism (especially mountain trekking) is a key contributor to the country's economy.

In 2003, my friends and I made our way to the Annapurna Base Camp (ABC) in Nepal despite the civil unrest. We were lucky that the situation was not so bad at that time. Prior to our trip, a few friends who went to Nepal got caught in Kathmandu when the city declared a state of emergency while they were there. They were trapped in the city for a few days before they were able to get flights back.

Our experience were a lot milder.

We were told beforehand that we need to pay "passage fees" ala "cukai pintu" to the Maoist during our trek. We were also told to insist on a receipt as there were many Maoist "soldiers" manning the Himalayan mountain treks. If we hold on to the receipt, we could show the said receipt to the next group of Maoist "soldiers" who asks us for such fees. The Maoist will honour that receipt and will not insist that we pay a second round. I can't remember now how much we paid for the "fees" but it was no small amount. It was definitely more than RM100 per person.

In any case, we did meet with the Maoist "soldiers" and they had rifles/guns with them. They looked quite ordinary except for the weapons. Val almost took a picture with them but we prevented her from doing so as we heard that the Maoist would also confiscate cameras from trekkers as extra fee payment. We got off lightly.

However, some other trekkers that we met were not so lucky. One group of volunteer workers from Belgium (I think) had to pay the fees twice because when the group split up to go on different trails, only one group was able to keep the receipt, Thus, the other group who did not hold on to the receipt was "taxed" again. Unfortunately one Belgian lady from the group had no more cash with her. She ended up having her very expensive camera confiscated as payment. The camera itself was worth more than 5x the fee!

We also met an American couple who had to pretend to be Europeans so as NOT to get "taxed" heavily. Americans were the least favoured folks with the Maoist as America contributed heavily and were strong supporters of the Nepalese monarchy then.

In any case, this new "peace" is certainly great news for all of us and we hope that it will last ... well, at least until after our next two trips there. We are eyeing the Everest Base Camp and the Annapurna Circuit. We are certainly looking forward to returning to Nepal again as this is a beautiful country with some fantastic treks and amazing scenery. Besides, the people are just simply wonderful!

Check out this site for photos from my previous trip to Nepal in 2003.

Is this a sign?

2006-11-23T19:49:00.000+08:00

I received an email a few days back from Jobstreet. It seems an employer has read my resume through the Jobstreet database and requested for me to apply for a vacant position with the company. It was a nice surprise as I can't even remember the last time I updated my resume in Jobstreet.

I guess God works in mysterious ways. It was only last week that I was asking myself if I am getting too lackadaisical and unambitious. Now I am being prodded once again to do something about it.

Perhaps I will ride along this wave and see where it takes me.

Have I (we) trusted the wrong man?

2006-11-23T01:32:00.000+08:00

It's strange how fast fortunes can turn. The once almighty, unstoppable Tun Dr M must be asking himself the above question repeatedly. After all, not only has he been at the losing end of the battle for one-upmanship and power recently, so has his son.

But the more urgent questions should be asked by us, the faithful minority citizens of this country. Have we trusted the wrong man? Have we been fooled? Are we led by a wolf in sheep's clothing?

In the following article that appeared in the al-Jazeera's website, it provides an interesting view of the state of "racial" political affairs in Malaysia and the role of our PM in "creating" the differing impressions. To the uninitiated, al-Jazeera is the Arab satellite news station owned by the Qatari government since its foundation in 1996. It is the most popular source of news in the Arab world with a regular audience of between 35 and 50 million, and is a rare gem considering that it provides uninhibited reporting and free expression in a region where strict state control of the media is the norm.

The fact that the following article is published in this site provides a certain amount of credence, at least to me. Consider the article and you be the judge.

------------------------------------------------

NEWS ASIA-PACIFIC
Racial tensions on rise in Malaysia
By
Romen Bose, in Kuala Lumpur

Critics say Abdullah has failed to address "the plight of the other races". The Malaysian prime minister's warning to citizens to stop the debate on race and religion has rankled some in the country.

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi outlined the challenges faced by Malays, who form 60% of the population, in a two-hour speech to thundering applause at the opening of the United Malays National Organisation's (Umno) general assembly.

But while his speech promised much in terms of national development, the problem, according to Fazil Mohd Som, a political analyst, "is that it neglects the real issue at hand, which is the plight of the other races".

Abdullah is head of the Barisan Nasional coalition led by Umno and comprising the Indian-based MIC and the Chinese supported MCA, along with several other minor parties.

Liow Tiong Lai, the head of MCA's youth wing, said the statements made by young Malay leaders at the general assembly were vicious.

"It is regretful that the Umno youth assembly was shrouded in an atmosphere of fiery and emotional sentiments, remarks that were more poisonous and unreasonable than those of the opposition," said Liow, who is also a deputy minister in the Abdullah government.

Status quo

Abdullah's unwillingness to alter an unwritten social pact among the various races in the country has caused much consternation.

There have been many calls to revise this unofficial contract of political power distribution, which the founding fathers of Malaysia developed prior to independence in 1957.

Many today argue that the agreement is outdated and that non-Malays should have a greater say in the country.

Abdullah said in the English media that he wanted all races to work together, but his comments in the Malay-language Utusan Malaysia were stronger.

"If we change this balance and if we are forced to meet all over again on the rights of every group, it will not be the same as now. It would be far from satisfactory. Whatever the new formula, it will not succeed because the old formula is enough, is already maximum. As everyone had agreed to this before, why do we want to disturb this and meet again?" he said in the Utusan.

Playing to audience

Fazil said the prime minister was playing to his audience.

"People who read the English papers are middle class, rational thinkers and value logic. They expect a more moderate position and tone. He is saying the right thing to them. For the people who read the Malay papers, they are more the working class, more emotional and the points he is making to them is definitely much stronger. He is saying and doing the right things for them politically."

Malay Muslims make up 60 per cent of Malaysia's 27 million population.

Some non-Malays are also unhappy with the continued application of the country's New Economic Policy (NEP).

The NEP was implemented in the 1970s to reduce the income disparity among the different races, especially between the poor Malays and rich Chinese.

It was supposed to have been achieved in 20 years but the policy carried on after 1990 under a new name, the New Development Policy and was to have expired in 2000.

A National Vision Policy was to have been implemented after 2000 which would be more equitable to the various groups but the government under its 9th Malaysian Plan, launched earlier this year, reinstated the original NEP.

A huge debate then ensued over whether the NEP target had been reached with the government saying the NEP would now continue to 2020.

In his speech to the Umno general assembly, Abdullah said: "The debate is now about the process rather than about philosophy and objectives". He said his government will continue to "focus on reducing the income gap between races" as "true balance is a prerequisite for sustainable development".

Liow said the NEP "should have ended in 1990".

"Whatever policy is drawn up should take into account the interests of all races. I hope the government can honour its promise to implement the National Vision Policy."

Inter-faith commission

"... the nation understands that religious issues should not rightly be brought up. This is not on the agenda for discussion. Accept the formula that has been determined by previous leaders"

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Malaysian prime ministerAnother area under the spotlight is the setting up of an inter-faith commission. Various groups have been pushing for an independent body to examine issues that have given rise to conflict between the different religious groups.

Many Muslim groups have viewed this as an attack on their religion and there have been confrontations at several forums discussing the creation of such a commission.

Khoo Kay Peng, a political analyst, said the commission was initially rejected by other Umno leaders but Abdullah's attitude was to go slow, postpone discussion and see what happened. "He did not reject it offhand," said Khoo.

At least not in the English media.

In the interview with Utusan, he said: "Actually, I did not at any time say that we in Malaysia need an inter-faith commission. This is because I am of the view that in this country all of this is secure and the nation understands that religious issues should not rightly be brought up. This is not on the agenda for discussion. Accept the formula that has been determined by previous leaders."

Abdullah said that he has provided a "more open environment which has allowed debate but this has digressed to a level where the line on religion and race issues have been crossed".

"The openness we are seeing today is a new phenomenon for Malaysia", he said.

He added, however, that "no one should even attempt to test the government's resolve on this issue. If the need arises, the government will act swiftly and firmly in enforcing the existing laws to ensure that our peace, stability and prosperity is not jeopardised."

Fazil said Abdullah was playing "an old game".

"I think for the non-Malays they are in a cul de sac. Where else can they turn to? The only credible party that can win in elections is Umno and Umno is playing that card."

Said Khoo: "He has actually strengthened the people's perception of him. Many view him as an Islamist, as a real champion of the Malay agenda. He is not a Renaissance man as many thought previously."

Source: Al Jazeera

“I have a Dream”

2006-11-20T01:17:00.000+08:00

My sister’s best friend recently completed her doctorate. She can now call herself Dr Chung. We are all so happy for her.

She had come a long way from that young girl from a one-street village, who was brought up with little money as her dad passed on when she was young. Due to the local education quota system, she was unable to get entrance to the programme of her choice at a local university.

Instead of accepting her fate or waiting for hand outs, she took a chance and went over to Australia to study with only enough money to last one semester. Once there, she got herself a job as a waitress which earned her enough money to see her through university. She told me that those were the worst times of her life. She had to travel two hours to her place of work and rushed back to study. Her determination to succeed in life saw her through those tough times. That’s perhaps why, upon graduation, she left Australia for good, as it meant leaving the memories of her hardship behind.

Then, she went on to Hong Kong and found a career working her way through a few large multinationals. A woman with a voracious appetite for knowledge, she slogged through two Masters programmes whilst working in Hong Kong. Not an easy feat, considering what a powerhouse Hong Kong is when it comes to work and stress. Then, a couple of years back, she was retrenched. She decided then to chase another one of her dreams i.e. getting a doctorate.

Recently, she sent us an email regarding her triumph. Her mail touched me and made me think. Here is what she had to say …

“The thing with 'dream(s)' is just do it when the opportunity comes...worry about $$ later...I have no money now...but God is kind enough to 'arrange' a job for me...although I don't like to be based in Dubai...I will resign very soon...and run my own business.”

“… what is there to lose leh...my home.. flexible one...just sell it and rent....my car is in the market now...although (it’s an) old Mercedes Benz...try already enough la...no need to (be) 'attach' to it...”

It’s a pretty interesting philosophy in life. We are always so attached to material things that we think we cannot leave without them. But if we could only take our blinkers off and view life from a different angle … perhaps these material things are not as important as we think.

Kata Leanne

2006-11-18T16:57:00.000+08:00

It's a blardy Saturday afternoon and I am down with a pounding headache, flu and runny nose. Certainly not a sight to behold!

In any case, since I am grounded at home, I thought to try out the web translator recommended by my cousin in his blog. It's hilarious! Check out my blog in the translated BM version @ Kata Leanne.

Below are some fine translation that would get Dewan Bahasa and Pustaka busy for a long, long while. Hehehe ...

It’s not a Bond movie. => Ia bukan satu Ikatan filem.

There is no infatuated secretary. => Terdapat setiausaha yang tidak tergila-gila.

It is not a bad movie. => Ia bukan satu celaka filem.

The truth is out there! => Kebenaran keluar di sana!

Even some of your pen names are not spared ...

Dangerous Variable => Pembolehubah Berbahaya

discordant_dude => diskordan_mat

And your posts as well ...

L B said...
This struck a little chord somewhere deep down... Better the devil you know.....

translated to:

L B berkata...
Ini dipanah sedikit perentas suatu tempat dalam bawah... Lebih baik syaitan anda tahu.....

Dipanah ... dalam bawah??? Ouch! Hahahaha .... ROTFL

And check out some of the funnier blogname translations.

Are You Rooted? => Adakah Anda Berakar?
Curiousity Kills the Cat => Curiousity Bunuh Kucing
Little Monster Speaks => Beberapa Raksasa Bercakap
Semi Charmed Kinda Life => Semi Dipukau Kehidupan Kinda

I had a ball of a time. Hope you enjoyed as well. Alrighty, quarter of the weekend is gone. Good day!

Casino Royale

2006-11-18T02:26:00.000+08:00

It’s not a Bond movie.

Here’s why. (Caution: Spoilers ahead.)
~ There is no infatuated secretary. Moneypenny did not make an appearance.
~ There is no gadget man. No signs of Q.
~ There are no snazzy gadgets except for the tracer and the machine that saves Bond’s life.
~ There is no modified car.
~ There is no bevy of beauties. Only two.
~ There is not much fooling around. There is not much wild, fun-loving romp.

~ Bond has to work too hard for his mission.
~ He has to get too physical; too much fist work and blood are involved.
~ His Martini is neither shaken nor stirred.
~ He falls in love! A big NO NO since he usually just love ‘em and leave ‘em.
~ He is too serious. So is the entire movie.
~ The movie is too long.
~ Some parts of the movie are too mushy.

~ And Daniel Craig is just not Bond material.

I can envision him as a cold hearted killer. But I can’t envision him as a suave, charming, womanising, cold hearted, secret agent!

For that, we have to look back at previous Bonds.
* Sean Connery oozed with that.
* Roger Moore had quite a fair bit of that.
* Timothy Dalton had some of that.
* And of course, Spaghetti legs … oops! … I mean Pierce Brosnan had loads of that.
* But Daniel Craig, sadly, just DO NOT have that! He is a good actor but he is just not Bond.

Don’t get me wrong though. It is not a bad movie. In fact, I would have enjoyed it more if it is marketed as another secret agent movie. It started off with a great chase scene! It has some good car chase sequences. There are a few interesting twists here and there (nothing unpredictable though). And I enjoy the wittiness on Bond’s part during the torture scene. It’s certainly a good watch for a free weekend.

But, it’s clearly just not a Bond movie! For me at least.

Musings

2006-11-17T01:24:00.000+08:00

Am I being too unambitious and lackadaisical? Have I fallen into the vicious cycle of contentment and inertia?

Recently, I came to know of an internal job opening within the company but with another business unit. The job however warrants the candidate to be based either in China or Vietnam. I couldn't be bothered and like any other email with regards to internal openings, I moved that one to the trash bin too.

Then yesterday, a colleague brought up the subject of this opening and encouraged me to apply. But I was resistant to the idea. The main issue is that I would have to relocate if I get the job. And then, there is also the fact that I only know a smattering of Mandarin. And the job is in another business and on a product that's not very exciting. Also .....

Dang! I'm doing it again. Giving a million and one excuses of why I should not go for it. Which brought me to this post tonight. Another colleague brought up the subject of this job today and when I offered the above reasons (and more) of why I cannot move, he shot down every excuse and made me think and question myself.

Why the inertia?

Granted, there are not a lot of pull factors for me to go. But upon reflection, there are not a lot of pull factors for me to stay on either. Yet, I am in no hurry to leave the company. Truth be told, I have had a few calls from friends asking me if I am interested in leaving my current company since they know of suitable positions that are available elsewhere. I have given them lukewarm responses all this while.

It dawned on me that since I joined this company three years back, I have been bombarded with so much office politics that I have grown an enormous fear of moving anywhere. After all, "better the devil you know than the devil you don't", right? And in my current job level, it is difficult to avoid office politics wherever I go. One has to be smart about this ~ either you learn to side step the politics or you dive into it full speed ahead and damn the torpedoes. Unfortunately, I am the type who tries to side step them but have gotten singe along the way.

But today I realised that I have, subconciously, allowed this fear to rule my head and my heart many times in the last few years. So much so that I sometimes feel suffocated having to toe the line over issues I can't agree with. While we have to be smart about playing our cards right, we have also to balance that with honouring our views and giving them a fair chance for discussion.

It's clearer to me now after articulating my thoughts in writing. Whether I apply for the said position is immaterial. The point is I need to straighten out my priorities and direction of where I want my career to go. Perhaps my destiny is not meant to be with this company. Perhaps my destiny is not meant to be in Malaysia. Hmm ... I would have to give this further thought.

Goodnight Malaysia wherever you are and thanks for "listening" in the wee hours of the night.

One day of indulgence, ??? days of reckoning

2006-11-14T02:17:00.000+08:00

Caution: Long post ahead. Pure rambling about nothing of significance. Read at your own peril and boredom.

I guess I’ll never learn. But life is short. Thus, when I have to spend a weekend working, I tend to over compensate (read over indulge) the following weekend. And so I did last Saturday. Having spent the previous weekend on a roadshow out of town, I couldn’t wait to catch up with my regular activities.

With the Sikkim trip cancelled (a sad tale of which I have yet to lick my wounds), Val, my trekking buddy decided to go AWOL. After all, there are no more mountains to train for a climb this year. Thus, I had to rework my exercise regime. So, the plan was to meet up with Bell for Body Combat at FF Menara Manulife @ noon.

But that was not to be as I was caught in The Curve with ze parents, helping them with some banking matters. Yup! Banking on a Saturday is unheard of these days but CIMB just opened a new branch at The Curve which provides banking services 7 days a week! Smart move by CIMB ~ catering to the upper middle class clientele of Mutiara Damansara and its likes. (Incidentally, I am excluded from this reference.)

I digress. In any case, I ended up spending more time than I intended and missed the Body Combat class. By the time, I completed the task of being a filial daughter, I decided heck(!) I really needed the exercise. So, off I went to FF The Curve, got on the treadmill and pushed myself for a 15-minute run @ 9.5 level with a 5-minute warm up, warm down walk. Boy! I was so out of breath and out of shape. Bah! I was probably breathing very heavily and felt stares upon my unremarkable self. It was not until later that I discovered that just the week before, one chap in his 30s or 40s collapsed and died on one of the treadmills at The Curve. Talk about eerie.

In any case, the run was not enough. With determination burning in my heart, I went for the Body Attack class. Yup! I must be insane. After all, I haven’t been doing any high impact cardio sports for months. (Trekking doesn’t count as it involves more stamina than immediate energy.) For the uninitiated, Body Attack is an extremely high impact cardio class with non-stop jumping/ hopping tracks. It helps work out your leg and arm muscles as you are continuously moving during the entire session. Halfway through the class however, I had to call it quits. The flesh is willing but the body is weak. Truly, it was weak to the point of body aches. Bah! In any case, I had a dinner party to attend later in the eve to celebrate Bell’s 30++ coming of age. Hehehe … She’ll kill me if she reads this.

I had only an hour between to rest before I was out on the road again to pick up Bell and gang for her birthday bash. Bell, with her nose for finding cosy, expensive fine dining spots, directed me to a restaurant called Cava (which serves Spanish and Italian dishes) in a little street somewhere in Bangsar. The ambience was great, the food fine, the wine well chosen, the company a riot! And thus the inspiration for several conspiracy theories was born on that fateful evening.

The night wore on and we moved on to Souled Out for after dinner drinks to join more friends and friends of friends. Surprise! Surprise! There was a life band of old foggies playing at Souled Out. And it was in celebration of Octoberfest. Yup! Strange things do happen here. The Germans celebrate Octoberfest in Malaysia on November 11th. Hmmm … Despite the crowd, we managed to find seats for more than 10 people. Truth be told, I can’t recall how many people joined us in the end. The crowd were singing along to songs from ABBA and an older selection. Conversations were rife. The guys called for a bottle of Black Label. Alrighty, it was a long night of much liquor and loud conversations. After nursing the second glass of Black Label mixed with coke, I decided to quit while I was still ahead. I was feeling sleepy and that’s a clear sign that my alcohol tolerance level was about to be breached.

The party ended at 1+am, I think. The night was still young for some but I certainly had enough. After doing my driver duty, I got home, had a quick shower and hit the sack. I did not surface until well after noon the following day. My day of reckoning has arrived. And it was a quiet day at home to recover.

We are now into Tuesday, and I am still recovering from my single day of over indulgence. Perhaps age is catching up.

To those who actually read through the entire rambling, hallelujah! And good night, sleep tight and don’t let the bed bugs bite!

The truth is out there!

2006-11-13T20:03:00.000+08:00

The recent (alleged) brutal murder of a Mongolian model has left the nation in horror and truth be told (and apologies to the victim and her family) in fascination.

Alleged because till today, forensics have yet to confirm that the bone fragments belong to the said model.

Horror because despite some really sensational nasty crimes in recent years, nothing thus far has reached this magnitude.

And by the same token, fascination because the world that we inhabit has not been touched by such "evil".

Therefore, it is of no surprise that the crime has been "the talk of the town" and has captured the imagination of the nation.

And as the story unfolds, the following questions plague our minds:
1. Was the (alleged) accused blackmailed?
2. Why should the (alleged) victim be killed in such a manner? Isn't there an easier and less messy way out?
3. Why involve persons of authority?
4. Who tipped the authorities?
5. Is there a cover up?

Conspiracy theories began to form even before new evidence are found and released for public consumption. In a recent gathering with friends, budding conspiracy theorists had put forth their versions for discussion.

Disclaimer: Please note that these are just conspiracy theories that hold no truth of evidence whatsoever. Read for the pleasure of imaginations gone wild.

Conspiracy Theory #1
The (alleged) victim demanded/blackmailed the (alleged) accused. In a heated argument, he accidentally killed the woman. Fearing discovery, he quickly called in reinforcements to help him dispose the body. However, this theory has lots of loopholes.
1. Does he have that much influence over people of such authority to do the dirty job?
2. Why choose such a drastic way to dispose the body which could clearly point back to the source?
For an intelligent man (i.e. the alleged accused), why would he act so stupidly in covering up a crime?

Conspiracy Theory #2
The (alleged) accused is made a scapegoat for a huge cover-up for a high ranking official. The high ranking official could have used the (alleged) accused premises to have a lover's tryst but ended up committing a crime of passion when the (alleged) victim threatened him. As in theory #1, the high ranking official then seeked the assistance of people of authority to help dispose the body. However, the question still remain, why use such an obvious method (i.e. C4 explosives) to dispose the body? And could he have summoned up these people of authority so quickly to do the dirty deed?

Conspiracy Theory #3
As in theory #2, instead of an accidental crime of passion, it could be premeditated. The (alleged) victim could have blackmailed the high ranking official. To safeguard his position, he could have planned the murder and called in the people of authority to execute the crime. He could have told the (alleged) accused that he needed to use the (alleged) accused premise as a point for a lover's tryst, but unbeknownst to the (alleged) accused, the official could have planned the crime and the cover up as well. Again, the question of why use such an obvious method of disposal that would clearly point back to the (alleged) victim's executioner? Even if he could cover his tracks by implicating the (alleged) accused, the truth would eventually surface by virtue of the fact that he used the people of authority to dispose the (alleged) victim. Pretty weak planning for one to commit such a crime, don't you think? It'd be easier for him to get away with it without involving these folks.

Conspiracy Theory #4
The (alleged) victim was a spy. She was on a secret mission and was supposed to meet her contact at the (alleged) accused premise. The (alleged) accused was not aware that his premise was used as a meeting place to pass on secret information amongst the spies. Unfortunately, something nasty happened. The (alleged) victim was double crossed and found herself at the wrong end of the gun. She was carrying some secret codes on her personal self which could be detrimental to world peace. And despite a thorough body search, nothing could be found on her. Fearing that the bad guys could get ahold of these codes on her body, the powers that be decided to blow up the body to get rid of the codes. Far fetched as this might sound, at least there is an obvious reason why the body was blown apart.

Now there ... the last conspiracy theory sounds like it. It has all the stamp of a Hollywood movie ... likely due to the influence of The Bourne Identity, The Departed, Alias, ... you name it!

Conspiracy theories anyone?

How do I love thee NOT?

2006-11-08T01:34:00.000+08:00

I don't think there is much to rejoice these days when we read the local news. Perhaps we should just quit reading the newspapers altogether. Then we will feel more like we are citizens of this country that we love and perhaps we will respect the governing body more. But with each dawning day, one can't help but feel a little bit more disillusioned. Another ideal bites the dust!

Here is a satirical spin to Elizabeth Barrett Browning's (1806-1861) poem, "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways..."

How do I love thee NOT? Let me count the ways.

I love thee NOT for the slipping ranks of the graft index
Where the filthy rich gets richer without paying tax
Where councillors build "palaces" without approval
And got away with resignations and mere disapproval

I love thee NOT for the way the ASLI report was being handled
Where the core issues were dismissed and were not being tackled
Where politicians sparked off a racial storm with their verbal diarrhea
Over the much beleaguered, much debated rising bumi percentages

I love thee NOT for the levels of issues raised
Where every issue becomes a matter of race
From meritocracy in education to double festive celebration
Is this how we are going to build a strong nation?

I love thee NOT to the depths of the stupid remarks made
By seemingly moronic reps that form the government parade
But worse it is when spouted by an "Oxford graduate"
Remorseless he was in his insinuation that sparked off a racial debate.

I love thee NOT for countless other transgressions
The latest being the issue of Bangsa Malaysia
Yet, like a battered wife I return for more transgressions
And like an addict, I love thee with an unexplainable passion.

And the Saga continues

2006-11-02T13:36:00.000+08:00

People in positions of power should NOT abuse the power and mandate given to them, or so that should be the case. But then, reality is far from ideal. And over the centuries, we have seen enough of power abuses. After all, "absolute power corrupts absolutely".

In the case of UMNO Klang division chief Datuk Zakaria Md Deros, who is also a councillor in the Klang Municipal Council (MPK), he was probably one of the unlucky few who DID NOT get away with it. As a friend gleefully ranted in his blog, Justice is served... FINALLY!, not only was Datuk Z called to task for the above transgression, he had several other transgressions lined across his belt! He further lay the blame for the non-submission of building plans squarely on his architect's shoulders. Now, isn't that the epitome of a "highly respected exemplary leader" who lays blame elsewhere for his transgression?

One wonders how he could have gotten away with all these transgressions over the years. Hello?! Is someone sleeping on the job? Shouldn't that person be called to task for letting such a huge error escape his attention? It boggles the mind that no one noticed! Or are there a whole can of worms behind this saga? Perhaps, those who kept silent had reasons doing so ... I leave that to your own interpretation. Thus far, two more councillors have been identified for the same transgression. Would more be coming out of the woodwork? And yet another one lay the blame at the feet of his architect. But at least, he took responsibility for the act and resigned.

So, what next? Building plans are still not forthcoming. Is there a deadline for submission? Would the transgressors be further penalised? Are more investigations underway? What are the punishment/ penalty for the transgressors other than stop work on the buildings while awaiting approval? Should they still continue to serve as councillors?

Or as with all "hot news", would all these blow over with no answers after a few weeks of being headlined in the papers? The slow arm of law and laidback government bureaucracy strikes yet again when dealing with issues such as these.

What happens when your male buddy becomes attach or gets married?

2006-11-01T20:33:00.000+08:00

Or what happens when your male buddy is already attach or married?

The former means you know him before he got himself hitched or attached and the latter simply means you know him after he had done so.

Would the friendship just peter out and die?

I wish there is a guide book for this sort of situations. What are the Dos and Don’ts and how do we maintain peace in his household while we continue the friendship?

Buddy 1
I was having a nice Thai dinner with my male buddy when he received a call from his girlfriend who was residing in Australia. It seemed that she had waited for his call but the “dungu” fella forgot to call her. She threw a tantrum and threatened to break off when she found out that he was having a dinner for two with moi while she was patiently waiting by the phone for over an hour for his call. It wasn’t my fault as I was merely having dinner with my buddy (whom I knew before he got attached to her) but I was made to feel like the guilty party. Dang!

But thank god things worked out later and she is now his wife. She is now based in Chiengmai and he comes back to KL every now and then to visit his family. We do hang out but infrequently these days as I had to back off just in case the wife gets the wrong notion.

Buddy 2
The wife was my gym buddy and the husband, my squash and wine drinking buddy. Things were pretty cool until I found them arguing one day about whose turn it was to go out ~ gym or squash. Then she got pregnant and baby number two came along. I took up a new hobby i.e. mountain/ road biking which he was into as well. He then became my squash, biking and wine drinking buddy albeit irregularly. When I realised that some of those irregular times were infringing into his time to “jaga” his kids, I had to back off a lot more. These days my squash has deteriorated quite tremendously, my bike feels like a white elephant but the wine drinking part is still flourishing. However, I feel a lot easier (and safer to avoid misunderstandings) to text the wife for these get-together sessions.

Buddy 3
He was one of my best male buddies. And I had a shock discovery of him dating this girl during a dinner for three. (Sounds like ménage a trios NOT! :P) He said nothing but she was all over him, as if marking her territory. Boy! Needless to say it was an extremely uncomfortable dinner. I believe I could be scarred for life! :P Strangely enough, I had not realised then that I was a little possessive of the friendship.

So, I demanded the next day why I was not told beforehand and he answered that he didn’t know how to tell me and that it should not change our friendship. While agreeing that our friendship would not change, in my heart I knew I was telling a big fat lie. I tried really hard to keep things going but it is difficult when you don’t really know the girlfriend and the memory of those uncomfortable territory marking moments put you off further get-togethers. After awhile, the friendship died a natural death due to lack of nurturing. It’s a real pity.

So there! Stories of my three buddies; the second friendship is thriving, the first is surviving and the third is quite dead. I am still hunting for a guide to handle friendships with married or attach male buddies.

Any clues? Or is it a “Don’t go there!” territory?!

Migration

2006-11-01T00:07:00.000+08:00

MIGRATION!

In recent years, that seems to be the buzz word. Everyone is talking about secondment or migration. And quite a few have done it too. A few friends have in fact garnered enough points to migrate over to Australia, a few others have left for secondment in UK/Australia. Others have married foreigners and live abroad.

And then there is me ~ someone who is totally happy and contented to stay on in Malaysia. There have never been enough push factors for me to leave nor pull factors in any country for me to move to. But Val would likely beg to differ as she thought I was in danger of moving over to Vancouver at one point in my life. Sure I wish to travel to this country and that country for a visit. But home is always Malaysia to me and home is where the heart is. Nothing beats the food, nothing beats the people, nothing beats all the idiosyncrasies one can find only here in Malaysia ~ the good, the bad and the ugly.

Strangely, despite this contentment, I am beginning to wonder if I am being too lackadaisical about the whole thing. We are no stranger to the issues facing the country. As years go by, more and more folks get disillusion with how things are run. I have always been the first to defend the country when conversations turn that direction (as they inevitably would) and I would also be among the first to point out to these folks that they do not know better because after all, they left the country but we stayed on to fight the battle.

Or did we? Did we stay to fight or did we stay because that's the easy way out? Did we just allow issues to drift until one day what little hope we have would peter out and die?

Do I sound disillusioned? Melancholic even? Perhaps a little. What we sometimes forget is that though we may suppress our voices, we can never suppress our thoughts. And fear feeds on suspicion and lack of transparency.

The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, some would say. You bet they are. But I have heard enough counter arguments to expect life NOT to be on a bed of roses.

Does this mean I would pack my bags and leave tomorrow? Certainly not. I am just voicing out my thoughts and concerns. I certainly hope that day would not come but ... I should not remain so lackadaisical. Leastwise, I should perhaps start thinking of options. Just in case ... and what ifs ...

And the mountain beckons

2006-10-31T01:59:00.000+08:00

It’s that time of year again where the mountain beckons and my feet are itching for a long climb.

Looking around the globe, we have to rule out Nepal (due to political unrest), South America (due to cost issues) and East Africa (also due to cost issues). This leaves us with India ~ Sikkim to be precise. Situated in the eastern Himalayas, Sikkim is spread below Mount Khanchendzonga (8534 m), the third highest mountain in the world. For more information on Sikkim, please refer here.

Our aim is to reach the southern foot of Mount Khanchendzonga, not to climb the third highest mountain itself. That I leave it to the experts. I am not a lunatic. : ) The trek we planned to do is known as the Goechala Trek, which would lead us from Dzongri to Goechala Pass, reaching the highest altitude at 4,940 m of the trek. The trek would take about 7-8 days with an average trek of 8 hours a day.

Considering our fitness level and our current work commitments, this vacation is looking to be quite an ambitious endeavour! To date, I have postponed our flight tickets once (which were earmarked to kick-off during the Deepavali/Hari Raya hols) and we look set to postpone the second one which I targeted for 10th November. It’s extremely frustrating as the longer we wait, the colder it gets at the peak. I still have nightmarish memories of trekking in the night at Kilimanjaro. The cold was beyond description. We were told by our guides that it was negative 20 degrees Celsius then. This is going to look like a repeat of our previous climb. Bbbrrrr …

We have also just started to trek again to build up stamina. Our travelling and working schedules for the last few months had been at such a crazy level that it was difficult to coordinate our fitness training. But we kicked off our training in style (or was it in insanity?) last week. Four treks in a week is a feat for me, i.e. a 3.5-hour trek in Fraser’s and 1.5-hour treks a day for 3 days at Bukit Gasing. This weekend would be difficult to train as I am travelling yet again. However, the plan is to work out on the “stepper” machine in the gym. At some point, I’d probably ask myself if I am going stark raving mad pushing myself at this level. Then again, even if the answer is affirmative, I doubt we’d stop. We are women on a mission! Hahaha …

But wait! I’m still on tenterhooks. Everything is now dependent on whether the long leave is forthcoming.

We live in hope. And after that, we have to pray hard for great weather. Dang! The lengths I go to for a climb. Perhaps I seriously have to visit the loony house. :p

The irony of racial discrimination

2006-10-15T01:23:00.000+08:00

Random conversation

Me: Do you realise how the issue of race seems to be popping up more frequently in the news these days? I just can't understand why everything has to be about race. How can we claim to live harmoniously and tolerant of other races and religions when every time something goes wrong, the first thing that's brought up is race or religion!

Friend: That's the beauty of Malaysian politics. I was reading an article on the quota system and discrimination recently and it struck me the irony of the situation we are in.

Me: What do you mean? What situation?

Friend: Recently, we ran an essay competition in one of our workshops for teenagers. And we were supposed to pick the top 3 winners. When we realised that all the winners picked were Chinese, we had to go back, check on the names and re-select a Malay and an Indian winner. And since there was only 1 Indian, she won the prize. But the two poor Chinese girls who didn't get the prize was not because they aren't good, it's because they are Chinese!

Me: See ... why should everything be about race? That's what I can't understand

Friend: I thought it was sooooo unfair! But I can't argue with the other committee members. It was something "non racial" when we "blindly" selected the top 3. But to appear "un racist"... we had to reselect... based on their race!!!!!!

Me: I can see where you are going with that. You had to do something racial so as to appear non racial. And that's the irony of racial discrimination!

Thinking Out Loud

2006-10-14T17:59:00.000+08:00

Why is it that one has to work hard at conversations with some people and mere seconds seem to drag on for hours? And yet, for the one person that is off limits, one can have the most delightful conversation and hours seem like mere minutes.

Perhaps that is Fate’s practical joke.

Have “we” been looking at the problem the wrong way?

2006-10-13T05:05:00.000+08:00

It is amazing how one study can create such drama, strong emotions, accusations, reactions, debates … the list goes on! Of course I am referring to the “controversial” study by Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute’s (Asli) Centre for Public Policy studies, which found that bumiputra corporate equity ownership could be as high as 45%, instead of the government’s figure of 18.9%.

While a political figure flew off the handle and called the study “irresponsible”, “rubbish”, “useless” and “has an ulterior motive”, and subsequently, the president of the institute retracted the report stating that the calculations and assumptions used were faulty (some parties were of the opinion that the retraction was due to pressure), and then the head of Centre for Public Policy Studies resigned because of "... the need to defend the position and integrity of independent and non-partisan scholarship", the entire point has been missed! It is not about percentages and race! If I remember my Pengajian Am correctly, both Buku Hijau (The Green Book) and the New Economic Policy (NEP) have two core objectives i.e. to eradicate poverty regardless of race and restructure society so as to eliminate race identification with economic function.

I agree wholeheartedly with Zainon Ahmad’s sentiments in his recent column “What They Say” in The Sun dated Tuesday October 10, 2006. The title of the article, “What have ratios got to do with need?” The following excerpt from the article makes a lot of sense.

“Zain: Actually I do not understand this obsession with whether the 30% equity has been achieved or not. Ok, so it is 18 something per cent or 45%. So what. Meaningless. Take the Indian ownership for example. They are supposed to be owning 3%.”

“Mohan: Two Indians may be owning it all!”

“Zain: Exactly. So it is the income disparity that needs to be looked at – and across racial lines …”

Very well said. What has race got to do with being poor? Instead of using race as a yardstick, the criteria should be the definition of poverty and all Malaysians who fall within that definition should be given assistance.

The criteria and the implementation of the policy should also be looked into i.e. is the assistance given to the “wrong” group of people? For example, is the assistance given to really poor Malays as opposed to average/ rich ones? I remember meeting a number of Malay students who were on government loans or scholarships, but yet have cars and drive to the university. (This was more than 10 years ago.) The questions that begged to be asked then were:
1) Isn’t assistance supposed to be given to the poor?
2) What is the definition of poor? (Obviously not those who can afford to drive to the university.)

It is interesting to note that when the NEP ended in 1990, official figures showed that Malay corporate equity ownership was only between 19% and 20%. But the NEP was then extended under a new name, the National Development Policy (NDP). Now, sixteen years later, the government numbers showed not an increase but a slight drop to 18.9% of Malay corporate equity ownership. Despite the billions spent, there seemed to be no improvements. Therefore, if this is the true percentage claimed by the Economic Planning Unit (EPU), shouldn't the more urgent action be to enquire why the results were so dismal after 16 years (instead of arguing over the methodology)? The parties concerned should be asking the following questions instead.
1) To whom did the money go to? Did it go to the right people i.e. the poor?
2) Was the money lost in transmission i.e. did the middle man swallow part of the money?
3) What was the money used for? Were they effective spending?
And so on and so forth ...

It is only when all these have been reviewed that the shortfalls of the policies can be corrected/ amended. What’s the point of continuing decade after decade, policy name change after policy name change if vast improvements cannot be observed? After all, even for social funding, the social return on investment (ROI) should be measured. Otherwise, it is a total waste of taxpayers’ money.

Finally, a wise man once said, “Give a man a fish, he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish, he eats for a life time.” Are there policies and programmes in place to “teach” these people to “fish”? If not, then the giving of “fish” would be tantamount to breeding laziness and expectations that the government/country owes them a living.

It’s like the unemployment policy in Australia where one can collect “dole” from the government if unemployed. According to a friend of mine, this is where the policy breeds laziness among the young adults as they continue to live at home and rely on their parents’ goodwill for food and lodging, while they collect enough “dole” to enjoy life. There was no need for them to look for a job.

Therefore, have “we” not been looking at the problem the wrong way all this while? First, understand the root cause of the problem and acknowledge that it exists (and not jump the gun on something else), then review the current policies, actions and loopholes, and then plug in all the loopholes and resolve the problem, while putting in place check and balances to ensure that all actions drive towards the core objectives.

Sounds rational and logical right?! But then, I am no politician. : )

If you think you are being marginalised, then consider the plight of the Chinese in Brunei

2006-10-13T04:50:00.000+08:00

While the debate/ argument/ bickering rages on over the statement made by Singapore’s former Premier Lee Kuan Yew regarding the marginalisation of the Malaysian Chinese, I was shocked to discover the plight of the Chinese in Brunei.

According to my Brunei distributor, the Chinese in Brunei faces by far, a worse situation.

Did you know that …

1) A Chinese in Brunei can only claim PR status but not citizenship, even if he/she is a second or third or forth (and so on) generation Chinese born and bred there!

2) A Chinese in Brunei have to pass an exam conducted in Malay to claim citizenship. And passing the exam is subject to a minimum yearly quota.

3) A Chinese in Brunei (who is not a citizen) carries a PR passport and have to apply for visa for whichever country they visit even West Malaysia (except for Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore).

4) A Chinese in Brunei (who is not a citizen) do not have the right to own land in the country.

Now, that would have been bad enough but it seems that there are people in Brunei who are even worse off!

Did you know that …

1) There are groups of Chinese and ethnic minorities (i.e. Iban, etc) in Brunei who are considered “stateless” people. This came about due to their parents’ (who happened to be East Malaysians who went across the border to work) ignorance! These Malaysian parents were ignorant over the fact that if their children were born in Brunei and if the parents did not register the birth with the Malaysian nor the Brunei government, then these children will be considered “stateless” as Brunei would not grant them citizenship nor PR even though they were born and bred there.

2) These “stateless” people are not given a passport. They live in the country on work permits which in turn allow them very limited travel i.e. within Brunei, Sabah and Sarawak.

I extracted the below from the US State Government website.

Brunei
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2005
Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
March 8, 2006

National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities

There were a sizeable number of "stateless" persons and permanent residents, mostly ethnic Chinese, including persons born and raised in the country, who were not automatically accorded citizenship and its attendant rights. They had to travel abroad as stateless persons and did not enjoy the full privileges of citizenship, including the right to own land. Stateless persons and permanent residents also were not entitled to subsidized medical care. In 2003 a reform to the nationality law allowed some older, stateless persons and some permanent residents over age 50 to acquire citizenship by passing an oral rather than a written nationality test. All stateless persons and permanent residents became entitled to free education at government schools and other vocational and technical institutions. During the year 680 persons were granted citizenship, including more than 150 children.

How about that?! It is no wonder the Chinese is a shrinking population in Brunei. Year on year the migration level is high among the Chinese population. Currently, Chinese form approximately 15% of the country’s population.

So the next time you think you have been marginalised, consider the plight of the Chinese in Brunei!

What's your poison?

2006-10-09T02:17:00.000+08:00

Mine is Vodka.

My love affair with vodka started four years ago in a beautiful stretch of land called Southern Africa ~

With warm safari sunrise

Beautiful savannah land

Amazing BIG FIVE

And Vodka! What a combination!

Not being a hard liquor drinker, I prefer vodka served diluted with lemon squash or lately with 100 Plus. It should be served with 4 parts of diluting substance to 1 part vodka. That's probably blasphemous to serious vodka drinkers but I loved my vodka served that way. :0)

Here's a little bit of info on my poison:

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Vodka is typically a colorless liquor, usually distilled from fermented potatoes, but can also include alcohol made from other raw materials such as grain. The word is a diminutive of the Slavic word "voda" (voda, вода) for "water."

Except for various types of flavorings, vodka consists of water and alcohol (ethanol). Vodka usually has an alcohol content ranging from 35% to 50% by volume. The classic Russian vodka is 40% (80 proof).

At strengths less than this (40%) vodka drunk neat (not mixed with other liquids) can taste 'watery' and above this strength the taste of vodka can have more 'burn'. Under US Federal law, the minimum alcohol strength of vodka is also 40% by volume, whilst in Europe the minimum is 37.5% by volume.

Although vodka is generally drunk neat (not mixed with other liquids) in its Eastern European and Scandinavian homeland, its growth in popularity elsewhere owes much to its usefulness in cocktails and other mixed drinks, such as the Bloody Mary, the Screwdriver, the Vodka Tonic, and the Vodka Martini.

In the subsequent years since, I have had the opportunity to try out various brands of vodka. Here are a few that I enjoy:

Stolichnaya - Russian vodka - and the cause of my love affair with Vodka! :o)

Absolut - Swedish vodka - a recent acquired taste. I love the packaging!

Smirnoff - Russian vodka - also a recent acquired taste. Among the cheaper brands around but offers an interesting array of flavours. My all time favourite is the citrus flavoured vodka. My most recent purchase is an apple flavoured one though and it has such a sweet apple cider smell.

Finlandia - Finnish vodka - a friend introduced me to my first taste of vodka kept in the freezer for a freezing cold consumption. It was interesting. Hmm ... perhaps I should try that again.

Skyy - US vodka - was introduced to this by another friend who is a strong vodka drinker. He had once challenged another friend to a 1.5 bottles of vodka drinking contest. He claimed that he could drink a lot more than that. :o)

And that's the end of the vodka lesson. For more details, check out Wikipedia!

It is a sad day for Universiti Malaya

2006-10-07T03:31:00.000+08:00

PETALING JAYA: Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) has supplanted Universiti Malaya (UM) as the country’s highest ranked university in the latest survey conducted on world university rankings. (For the full report, go to this link.)

I was bombarded by the news the moment I walked into the office today. My alma mater, our pride and joy (or it used to be).

Those days, students fight to get into UM. Those days, it meant something to be from UM. Those days, one gets respect from job interviewers when they find out that one is from UM!

But alas! Those days were gone!!! And somehow I am not surprised by the downward spiral of the university and its reputation.

According to The Star Online, Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang attributed Malaysian universities' poor ranking to the failure of the institutions “to practise real meritocracy in academic appointments and promotions, as well as in student intake.”

I am not quite sure of the situation now although I don't think the quota system has changed overly much from my time. And based on my experience (which was more than 10 years back), it's a great divide between the entree points for different races. But even that would not have mattered if the end justify the means i.e. the students who were given the opportunity were able to catch up or in quite a few instances, even bother trying to catch up.

But that's only one side of the story. The other is the quality of lecturers! For a premier university, the lecturers attached to the university (or at least those in my experience) left a lot to be desired. I could count on one hand the total number of good lecturers I have had in my four years of education there. Isn't that absolutely sad?!

As if that wasn't enough, I recently discovered from a friend who is doing her MBA at UM that one of the worst lecturers I ever had the misfortune to encounter, is still lecturing at the university and that she is one of the senior lecturers there now and is of some standing within the faculty. My jaw dropped!

In any case, I believe in giving people a second chance to redeem themselves. But what irks me was that I heard that this lecturer's attitude has not changed i.e. she is still that prissy woman who is also a royal a**hole (pardon the language). It seemed she shut up an MBA student by saying that a certain question asked is not in the syllabus and thus not open for discussion. (I had it on good authority that it was a reasonable question.) In any case, how could a lecturer suppress the learning process especially within the environment/confines of an MBA Programme? To top it off, from what I heard, she still teaches her lessons using the OH Projector. And it wouldn't surprise me if the slides she is using are the same old ones she used to teach me in my first degree. (Yeah! Yeah! That's a bitchy remark.)

Gosh! If lecturers as bad as these still get promoted and are roped in to teach the MBA programme, is it any wonder that the quality of students and the quality of research produced have gone on a downward spiral.

To drop in ranking from 89 in 2004 to 169 in 2005, and to have a further drop of 23 places to 192 this year is shameful and inexcusable for a university like UM. But true to form of a Malaysia Boleh type of mentality, the downward ranking caused a national debate on the status of the premier university and the validity of the criteria used for the rankings. Yeah! Right! Blame it on the criteria instead of looking inwardly to seek for areas of improvements. How would we ever progress if at the first signs of criticism, we react defensively?

It's just a sad, sad day for Universiti Malaya. I weep for thee and for what you could have been.

How candid should you be when you blog?

2006-10-07T02:06:00.000+08:00

The bare naked truth … how comfortable are you in baring your soul in your blogs?

I have always thought that my life is an open book and that I am the most open person around. There’s nothing to hide. What you see is pretty much what you get. And my friends know that from the onset (or so I assume).

Thus, it came as a surprise to me when I started blogging that indeed there are things I am not comfortable in revealing to all and sundry. There have been blogs that I have conducted self censorship and there are others that I had misgivings in posting them but decided to do so in the end.

The oddest thing is that my discomfort stems from exposing my vulnerability to folks who already know me. It’s like revealing the bare naked truth about your innermost thoughts. And sure enough, friends whom I never thought would read my blog would have read them and picked opportune moments (i.e. during lunch) to shock me with their knowledge of … well ... my innermost thoughts! (Thanks for the lunch tip on silent blog readers Tim. :p)

I have no qualms if the blogs were only read by total strangers who came across them, likely because there is no history between us and there is no “vulnerability” felt. That’s probably why chat rooms and forums are thriving communities especially to shy and timid folks, who could act out the alter egos and fantasies behind the web screen. Perhaps the anonymity gives them Dutch courage.

Back to blog candidness, I am still not totally convinced that total candidness is the way to go although in most times, I just tell myself to post it and to hell with the consequences. Thus far, I have not reached hell yet with the consequences. Hahahaha …

To bare or not to bare the bare naked truth? Now that’s the question. ; )

Moon Cake Festival booboo

2006-10-07T01:58:00.000+08:00

I received the following message from my sister and a friend today. It read:

“I look at the moon,

The moon is beautiful …

I look at you …

I …

I …

I …

I’d better look at the moon again …

Happy Moon Cake Festival!”

Ha ha ha ha … I loved it. I thought it was a riot and promptly sent that out to friends whom I thought could take it as a joke. I had a few good laughs from the replies I received. Most were amused except one who seemed insulted by the message.

Then it got me thinking that perhaps the rest who were silent and did not reply me were insulted as well. Dang! What a booboo to make on this festival.

Therefore, to friends who might have been insulted by the message, my apologies to you. It was meant to be something funny that we could laugh over together. I have a whacky sense of humour and it just never crossed my mind that THAT could be insulting to you.

Thousand apologies and a sincere Moon Cake Festival wish to all of ya!

Managing People 101

2006-10-06T03:21:00.000+08:00

Every Tom, Dick and Harry (as well as their female counterparts) wants to be a manager these days. In fact, almost every young graduate I spoke to wants to be a manager. It’s the money and the status, I believe. But I wonder if they comprehend what the role entails other than just a title to flaunt.

The biggest concern of a manager is people management. No management guru can teach you how to manage people and how to study the nuances of the politics behind these folks. You can get the best books with the “best” advice but the bottom line is one person’s attitude, character and traits very much differs from another. And handling people in certain situations differs very much from another.

I have been at this for a few years and yet, it has always been a constant struggle. People are not static, they are constantly changing. Dealing with bosses is certainly different from dealing with peers, which in turn is different from dealing with subordinates. There's no one size fits all advice in dealing with them. Besides, if an issue arises, we have to resolve it then and there as these are the “in your face” kind of things where one can’t very well sweep a problem under the carpet.

For example:
How does one handle an unreasonable boss?
How does one thread the ground when dealing with local and regional bosses that do not see eye to eye?
How does one deal with a non performing peer who is co-running a project?
How much “face” should one accord the peer before jumping down his/her throat?
How does one deal with an over achiever subordinate?
How much of a leash does one give to an over achiever subordinate?
How much of the whip should one apply and how much of the carrot can one dangle?
How much authority should one delegate to an average Joe?
How much coaching should one give before it becomes spoon feeding?
How much … blah, blah, blah, …
And the list goes on and on ...

It is mind-boggling the amount of engagement, diplomacy and energy needed for this. I’m usually tired out after a full day of dealing with the various relationships and inter-relationships amongst the people I manage and the people who manage me! Being non confrontational yet cognizant of the fact that I should not allow people to bully/step on me, it is always a struggle to find that fine balance.

But ultimately, one learns this very fundamental lesson; "You can’t please everybody all the time."

Weekly Thursday Night Badminton

2006-10-06T02:53:00.000+08:00

Boy! Talk about missing in action for months. I haven't seen my MBA coursemates in yonks i.e. since I have dropped outta the weekly badminton tourney with them.

It was a darn good two hour workout tonight. And these guys had no mercy! Blardy hell!!! I was scrambling all over the court, retrieving shots. I bet my muscles will start protesting tomorrow.

But it was a good sort of pain. Yeah! Yeah! Perhaps I am a masochist. :p In any case, I am making a wow to myself to join them every Thursday if I am in good ol' KL.

I'm glad that they continued with the mamak session to end a perfect game day. It's a great way to catch up and start bitching about how the uni ripped us off! Hahaha ...

Life's A Bitch Till You Day. But sometimes, there's a silver lining in the clouds! ;)

It's GREAT to be back!

Back in business again!

2006-10-06T02:19:00.000+08:00

Wow! Three blogs in four days ... and still counting!! Am I back in business or what?!

I took a hiatus from blogging and other activities for awhile as I was caught up with my DVD marathon every night that I am home. Also, my muse was clearly not working and thus, it was better to be entertained than to entertain in the last few weeks! :p

And when I am not home, I'm out busting my butt for work. Been travelling a fair bit lately for work too ~ Genting, JB, Singapore, ... and counting ... although I have a mini reprieve for now.

JB was tiring. I left home at 8 am on a Friday morning, drove down to the office and picked up a few colleagues, then onward to JB. Reached there about 1.30pm, checked in, had a quick lunch, and off again with my sales guys to visit a few customers. We ended up having dinner with a customer at 8.30pm in Kota Tinggi, and by the time I got back to the hotel, it was already 11.30pm. Gosh! Talk about fatique! The spirit may be willing, but the flesh is weak!

The next day, we had to attend a roadshow. Thank god that only starts at 3pm but it ended way past midnight. The plan was to drive back to KL at 10.00 am the next day, BUT I only managed to wake up at 10.15 am. By the time we left JB, it was 11.00+ am. The drive back was pure torture as my eyelids were ready to close anytime. It didn't help that my passengers were all snoozing soundly at the back of the seat. By the time we reached KL and I have sent the rest home, it was 4.00+pm. Gosh! Talk about FATIQUE!!!

I'm glad that I will be grounded for a few more weeks before the madness began again.

Friendship

2006-10-04T15:04:00.000+08:00

I came across a few quotes that ring so true about friendship.

Quote:
I believe-
that we don't have to change friends
if we understand that friends change.

My say:
You might no longer see things the way I do.
You might no longer do the things I want to do.
And though I no longer hang around with you,
It does not mean that I no longer need you.

Quote:
I believe-
that no matter how good a friend is,
they're going to hurt you every once in a while
and you must forgive them for that.

My say:
Your words were harsh, your thoughts unreasonable.
I lashed out in pain, but that was inexcusable.
Harsh words were said but we couldn’t call them back.
We were both wrong; can we not just forgive and forget?

Quote:
I believe-
that true friendship continues to grow,
even over the longest distance.

My say:
We parted ways, five years or more,
Separated by oceans, both on different shores,
After a long, long while, we met once more
It felt like only yesterday we were young gals in pinafores!

Quote:
I believe-
that my best friend and I can do anything
or nothing and have the best time.

My say:
Be it hours of chatting, and paying hundreds in phone bills,
Be it wine drinking sessions, or trekking up hills,
Be it watching the sunrise or listening to the birds chime,
Whatever it is or is not, we are having the best of times!

This is for you my dear friends ~ you know who you are.

He says, she says … but what do I say?

2006-10-03T21:03:00.001+08:00

My love life has been fodder for speculation for a while now. Therefore it is of no surprise to me to find out that that has been a topic of conversation even when it is out of my earshot. :p

Recently a friend told me about a conversation she had with another friend regarding my requirements for a man. It seemed that I am a “lost cause” as I am believed to have very high requirements for a man i.e. one who has a better job/ career than me, earns more than me, is better educated, etc., etc. Hahaha … What a perception! I now wonder what kind of vibes I have been sending out.

I recalled another conversation I had with another friend, who said in jest (or so I thought), “You have all the Cs (as in the 5Cs). So what do you need a man for?” I remember replying flippantly, “Hmm … companionship?”

Another friend believes that I need a man who is not around half the time and is willing to allow me my independence. One more believes that only “gwei los” would be a match in heaven for me. Yikes! That made me sound like a sarong party girl. One even went as far as to comment that the kind of man I look for is extinct but did not elaborate on what kind of man that is.

Hmmm … all these speculations!

It’s high time I come clean on the subject and squelch more speculation. Here is my say on the subject. Instead of asking me my requirements, let’s start by reviewing the type of man I have fallen for thus far.

The first one was good looking with a boyish charm about him. But what truly intrigued me was his MIND! He had one of the best brains I have ever come across. Not just book smart, he had an amazing yet convoluted philosophy of life with the most interesting views and interpretations of our social structure, and of human and marital relationships. He believed that we should choose with our minds, and not with our hearts. He believed in challenging the status quo at every turn. He had barely a penny to his name; but he had lots of ambition and a self confidence that’s larger than life.

The second one was bestowed with the gift of wit and humour. Life was a laugh to him and yet he was one of the most caring and honest guy I had the good fortune to know. The best part was that we could chat for hours about anything under the sun. He was like a best friend, a playmate, a soul mate. He had a huge appetite for knowledge and a love for the great outdoors. And he had the patience of job. There was a “connection” with him that’s beyond physical attraction and is difficult to put into words.

I connected on both work and education level with the third one. I could bounce off ideas regarding issues at work, and I could get a logical and impartial view from him, which helped me in finding a solution to most work related issues. Unlike the other two, which I felt I was on equal footing, the third one was like a mentor to me ~ someone I could look up to. Conversations with him were easy. The physical attraction was exciting, yet disconcerting. What attracted me most were his maturity and his mind. I had a lot of respect for him.

Hmmm … so what do I really require in a man? Not so easy to define eh? I don’t even know myself. Are my friends’ perceptions true? Are my requirements too high? Have I been sending out the wrong vibes? Gee … I am more confused now.

And the verdict is … only god knows. :D

A sojourn to Kiasuland

2006-09-15T02:48:00.000+08:00

It's natural for Malaysians to react negatively when conversations of our southern neighbour arises. The reasons for these negative reactions likely stem from their superior attitude, arrogance and selfishness. And of course, their "kiasu"ness. But that's a pretty harsh verdict to heap on an entire nation of people. Therefore, I would restate the above by saying that many, not all, have a tendency to be like that! :P

Personally, my dealings with them have been relatively pleasant but mostly, lacking in sincerity ~ notwithstanding all of the above. Interestingly enough, despite all these, I got along very well with one Singaporean friend. She is born and bred there although since graduation, she worked overseas for several years ~ a stint in China and another in Malaysia. I used to joke that her "stints" away from home have been character building ones and made her into the person she is today, muting all the negative traits without losing many of the positive traits of a Singaporean.

The other thing I do not like about Singapore is that I feel extremely suffocated in that concrete jungle. High rise buildings aplenty and very few "green" places available to get away from it all. Food is another issue as my first encounter many, many years ago, with the Singaporean sweet sauce wantan noodles there has scarred me for life. My memory of Singaporean food had always been that single plate of wantan noodles. *shivers*

However, a recent sojourn to Kiasuland has changed some of my less than flattering views of our southern neighbour. I was pleasantly surprised by their amateur theatre. It was pretty impressive and I had a ball of a time watching two plays at the cost of only Sgd 30. Over here, we have to pay at least RM50 for a play. Dollar to Ringgit comparison, it's far more worth watching the play in Singapore if I earned Singapore Dollars.

Next, the food. I thought I'd never live to see the day I'd say this. My friend took me to a fish head noodle soup hawker stall in Holland Village. It was delicious and far exceeded my expectations. Even the touristy Newton Circle offered some pretty good seafood dishes. And surprisingly enough, the cost of food in Singapore is much cheaper if I earned in Singapore Dollars.

Overall, the cost of living, other than the cost of condos, seems generally cheaper than in Malaysia. And even though Singaporeans pay a lot for their condos, the maintenance and services are a whole lot better. At the end of the day, the nett nett effect could be that we are better off purchasing a condo in Singapore!

What impressed me most on this trip is the national and public libraries! When the Singapore Government says they want to inculcate the reading habit, they go all out to ensure that the people gain easy access to the public libraries which are equipped with a wide variety of old and new books, CDs, VCDs and DVDs, which could be borrowed by members. Membership is cheap and easy to register. I think all it takes is a payment of Sgd 10 to be a member. Books, CDs, VCDs and DVDs are properly indexed and keyed into a central database that could be access via several computers in these libraries. And borrowers can borrow from one location and return at another as the entire computer system is linked between the national and public libraries. IMPRESSIVE!

I wonder if we could implement this in KL. Even as I say this, I also wonder if Malaysians have the honesty to return the borrowed books; seeing as how many refused to/ pretend to forget to repay the government study loans long after they have graduated and started working. The state of our libraries leaves much to be desired as well. I can't even remember the last time I walked into a public library. All I remembered was that many of the books in the public libraries were old and outdated.

As my soujourn to Singapore drew to a close, I can't help wondering that if I could start seeing Singapore in a better light now, perhaps my perspective of her people might eventually improve if I give them a chance.

A biking we went ... weeeeee!

2006-09-10T19:51:00.000+08:00

Gosh! A full weekend free from work and other commitments! I feel absolutely liberated. But alas, it went by too quickly.

Guess I can no longer deny the fact that I am a child of nature and the great outdoors. The first opportunity I get, it's off to the hills!

With a few of the "siau gang" in tow, namely Supermom Mary and Canadian Kyle of my poetry "The Perfect Man" fame (and a newbie, Aubrey) we went for a short but strenuous bike ride on Saturday evening. Up Kiara Hill we went. For those who frequent Kiara Hill, you would be able to empathise with us. Running or jogging up Kiara Hill is enough to cause shortness of breath. Biking up that hill ... boy! ... I must be mad! OK, ok. It was a challenge from another friend who said that it is not easy for beginners (as in beginners for mountain bikers) to finish the trek, and I so wanted to prove him wrong!

So up the hill we went ~ huffing and puffing. I swear my calves and thighs almost gave way in the initial 100+ metres, but I persevered. Using low gears and rotating between sitting and straddling the seat, I managed to ride the bike to the top and the starting point of the trek. From there, we had an easy downward ride but instead of going straight from that point, we turned left instead so that we could "enjoy" the steeper trail up at the end of the loop.

There was another trail that leads off to the Kiara Equestrain Club, which I had always wanted to explore. So, off the beaten trek we went. Weeee ... It was an exhilarating downward journey! But a painful upward one. At the beginning of the upward trail, Supermom Mary had "chain" problems. The front gear chain was stuck and we couldn't push it to the smaller gears. Kyle and Aubrey went ahead whilst I helped Supermom Mary with her "chain". The night was fast approaching but the "chain" remained stubborn. A nice uncle (who was taking his evening walk) was concerned and told us that we should get out of the place soon as it was getting real dark. Luckily with a bit more brute strength and a turn of the pedal counter clockwise, we managed to "unstuck" the chain.

Finally, by dusk, we have completed the trail. What a ride! But then, the muscle aches were relentless the next day. Oh well, just shows that I need to practise more before attempting the more challenging slopes of KKB and Genting.

I live in hope! :)

Random thoughts

2006-09-07T05:22:00.000+08:00

A few events have touched me in recent weeks.

The fragility of our health. Our regional director was recently hit by a mild stroke. He lost his speech and is half paralysed. The doc gave him two months to recover but … would he fully recover? Would he still be the same person? Would the mind work as fast? Can he still handle the stress? He is in his early forties, is a vegetarian and lives a pretty healthy lifestyle or so I am told. He got married a couple of years back and the wife gave birth to their first child just last year. And now this! Is the job, the stress worth this breakdown in our health?

The direction of our lives. Am I in control? Or am I allowing events in my life to take the driver’s seat? My intent was to do something worthwhile that contributes to society … but I seem to have lost sight of that goal over the years. What happened to my ideals?

Making unfair judgements. Have I erred in my dealings with a colleague? I do not agree with his handling of his private affairs, i.e. womanising on the sly while portraying himself to be the epitome of the perfect husband and father, BUT that should not colour my judgement of his work. However, he did use company time and events to womanise, and his work has been far from satisfactory with these distractions. Have I been unduly harsh with him? Can I be objective in dealing with him?

Good versus evil. There are lessons to be learnt from Paulo Coelho’s “The Devil and Miss Prym”. Good and evil live within every person and it doesn’t take much for a person to justify doing something evil for what he/ she perceives to be the greater good. It made me take a few hard looks at certain decisions in my life.

Facing up to the truth. Forty nine years after independence and the racial issue is still a political triumph card to be played within certain factions. Can we face up to the truth about ourselves? Watching “Crash”, the Best Picture award winner, was an extremely disturbing affair as the movie portrayed the inherent racism that lives within each of us. But no matter how disturbing it is, we have to face up to the truth, because if we do not acknowledge that the problem exists, how could we then find the solution or at least the anecdote to hold it at bay? I doubt “Crash” made it through the censorship board here, but if you can get your hands on the movie, do watch it. Take note of the characters. No matter how bad they are, there are also some inherent good; and vice versa. You can neither like nor hate any of the characters in the end.

“What gives?”

2006-09-07T05:15:00.000+08:00

“What’s with the MTVs and the movie reviews?”
“No updates on your blog?!!”
“Taking a break from the blogasphere?”

This is my first blog in more than a month. Prior to this were mere jottings on MTVs, song lyrics and movies.

“What gives?” A few friends asked me.

I’m not quite sure really. Just when I thought I had it all together, life threw me this curve ball. There’s a sense of “disconnect” with the “real” world. It’s as if I am on this roller coaster ride, rushing head long into the ups and the downs of life with no real control over it. I’m not unhappy, just disconnected.

Yes, there was madness at work! “Same shit different day.”
Yes, the politics have been worse than usual!
Yes, there was a bit of travelling, plenty of late nights and a hell of a long working weekend!

Yet,
I managed to squeeze in time for biking. We had a few great weekend-rides at Bukit Jelutong and Putrajaya. And we recruited yet another “member” into the “siau gang” biking club.
I held a marathon movie night with friends and we had a ball.
I spent the pre merdeka night with my family and we had a fine time at the street carnival, watching a life concert.
I am, once again, lured back to the annual month-long run-a-muck event; trying to contribute to the team by clocking up as much exercise hours as I can. “The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.”
I even managed to get some reading done, frivolous though some of the reading materials may be.

I would have thought that this is pretty much a balance life. True, I am often tired out. My brain is not functioning enough to think deeper than all my current commitments. And time seems to coast along much, much too fast! That’s the crux of the matter. Where has it all gone? And am I doing something worthwhile with my time?

The Lake House

2006-08-02T05:13:00.000+08:00

"How do you hold on to someone you've never met?"
"What if you found the one you were meant for... but you lived 2 years apart?"

This was the premise of the movie, The Lake House.

I confessed that originally, I was extremely curious about the movie from the scientific angle. I wondered how they could explain away the time travel or time split bits. Certainly, I am no Albert Einstein nor Steven Hawkings but I like a good time travel theory as much as the next person.

BUT, if you go into the movie with the sole expectation to find a rational or at least a semi rational explanation for this interesting premise, you'd be sorely disappointed as no reference was made to that at all.

BUT, if you go into the movie and suspend logic for two hours, you just might be charmed by this tale of love and romance across time.

Based on the Korean movie Siworae (2000), the gist of the story is as follows ...

A lonely doctor, Kate (Sandra Bullock) who once occupied an unusual lakeside home begins exchanging love letters with its newest resident, a frustrated architect Alex (Keanu Reeves). But there's a catch! They are both living two years apart i.e. Alex lives in the year 2004 and Kate in the year 2006. Strangely enough, Kate and Alex had met in the past but it was not a memorable moment in her life then. However, the journey of self discovery, connection and romance that followed is one of the most touching ones that I have ever seen. And though at times, the movie can get a bit draggy, those moments were important in building the characters and carrying the plot to its finale.

Call me a sentimental fool but I couldn't quite get the movie out of my mind since I watched it last Saturday. I am not sure what has so drawn me to the movie. Perhaps it's the simple yet complex plot, or perhaps it is the chemistry between both the lead characters (although I often find Keanu's acting a little stiff), or perhaps it is the curiousity to discover how the lead characters manage to overcome the time issue, etc. It sure had me rooting for the two lead characters and for once, I was also rooting for a Hollywood ending.

But what makes the movie magical and memorable could also be drawn to one particular scene from the movie. In the words of a reviewer, Jon H Ochiai from Los Angeles, CA, ...

In a great scene from "The Lake House", Kate Forster (Sandra Bullock) tells Alex Wyler (Keanu Reeves) what she loves about Jane Austen's "Persuasion". What Kate loves about the book is that love can occur at the wrong time, and even when the characters wait it doesn't work out. Alex again inquires why it is Kate's favorite. Kate laughs. Magical chemistry. This is part of the brilliant charm of Director Alejandro Agresti's "The Lake House". It is a touching and funny love story about Kate's conceit that you wait for the right time and for the right one. Those familiar with the movie's trailer know that in the story by David Auburn (based on previous work by Eun-Jeong Kim and Ji-na Yeo) that time is the insurmountable obstacle posed to Alex and Kate.

Makes one wonders if there were moments in our past that we have missed. A missed romance? A missed opportunity? Perhaps I should also read the book mentioned in the movie; Persuasion by Jane Austen. I am rambling here. Hahaha ... I have my lapses. I am a sentimental fool.

Alrighty, I shall write and say no more.

Go for the movie and judge for yourself.

My favourite quotes from the movie:

[from trailer]
Kate: [voice over] Ridiculous. For argument's sake, what day is it there?
Alex: April 14th, 2004.
Kate: No. It's April 14th, 2006.
Alex: It's the same day two years apart.

[from trailer]
Kate: It's kind of a long distance relationship.

[from trailer]
Henry Wyler: Do you have a girlfriend?
Alex: Uh, you're going to think I'm crazy.

[from trailer]
Alex: She's more real to me than anything I've ever known.

[from trailer]
Kate: One man I can never meet. Him, I would like to give my whole heart to.

The Lake House Trailer

The Lake House (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) - Rachel Portman

2006-08-02T05:12:00.000+08:00

There were two memorable songs from the movie soundtrack i.e.

1. This Never Happened Before - Paul McCartney (which I can't seem to find from the net) and,
2. Somewhere Only We Know - Keane (which I have downloaded for your listening pleasure)

Somewhere Only we Know - Keane LIVE!!!

I walked across an empty land
I knew the pathway like the back of my hand
I felt the earth beneath my feet
Sat by the river and it made me complete

Oh simple thing where have you gone
I'm getting old and I need something to rely on
So tell me when you're gonna let me in
I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin

I came across a fallen tree
I felt the branches of it looking at me
Is this the place we used to love?
Is this the place that I've been dreaming of?

Oh simple thing where have you gone
I'm getting old and I need something to rely on
So tell me when you're gonna let me in
I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin

So if you have a minute why don't we go
Talk about it somewhere only we know?
This could be the end of everything
So why don't we go
Somewhere only we know?
Somewhere only we know?

(break)

Oh simple thing where have you gone
I'm getting old and I need something to rely on
So tell me when you're gonna let me in
I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin

So if you have a minute why don't we go
Talk about it somewhere only we know?
This could be the end of everything
So why don't we go
So why don't we go

HmmmaaaAAAA.....Ahhhoooooo....

This could be the end of everything
So why don't we go
Somewhere only we know?
Somewhere only we know?
Somewhere only we know?

Graduation Day!

2006-07-28T01:37:00.000+08:00

I DID IT!

I didn't think I'd finally pull it off! There were moments I swear I almost gave up on writing my dissertation. I even wrote a poem on my dissertation blues! It was just too time consuming and I was just too tired juggling between work and research. I thought I'd just graduate with a post graduate diploma instead. But luckily, I persevered. I suppose the difficult part is in getting started on the writing. But once we overcome that obstacle, the rest is a lot easier!

Now, after 4 years 12 modules and one dissertation later, I finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel! Wahoo! Most of the folks during my batch and the batch after me have already graduated. But I really took my time. I confessed I really enjoyed the whole programme except for the final part of writing the dissertation. It takes a lot of discipline to sit down and read and summarise and think. Oh well, that's all in the past now.

Another year, another milestone. Although I did not really plan on attending my graduation earlier, it didn't take much persuasion from my parents to do so. And I was one lucky gal as a few friends and my entire family braved the long distance to get there. My family lost their way in the process while my friends accompanied me and faced off hunger pangs and boredom while awaiting my family to find their way to the campus. All in all, it was a great day although I was absolutely pooped in the end.

Thanks folks for coming to the event. It meant a whole lot to me!

We finally made it!

What would graduation be without the traditional mortar board throwing shot! And there they go ... up, up and away!

And what were my friends doing while I sweat it out in the "monkey" costume? Let's take a look.

All: Take our photo! Forget about Leanne. She has enough shots already!:p

Derek: AHAHAHAHAHA .... That's wayyyy tooo farnie!

Alex: Watcha' looking at?

Me: Hey! Look! Look! The SIAMESE TWINS ... NOT!

Me: Now, open mouth and show me your pearly white teeth!

Val: Did you see that dude? Phooey! Way cool man!
LK: Which one?
Val: That one with that large soulful eyes!
He just walked pass not 5 mins ago!
PW: Which one?
Val: ..... blah blah blah blah ...

Val: Aiyoyo! Enough already la! Is she still taking pictures? I'm hungry!

Val: I'm hungry!
PW: Me too!
Derek: Me three!
LK: Let's have ikan bakar!

Me: Sorry folks. Forgot to take the ikan picture. Took the mutton instead.

Pussycat Dolls PCD World Tour 2006 "live" concert in Malaysia

2006-07-27T19:25:00.000+08:00

We found out a friend was organising the above concert recently. And by sheer luck (and thick skin), I managed to get two free tickets to the concert.

Another friend who also received two free tickets ended up not going because he didn't know who the PCDs are. Talk about NOT knowing what he is missing! His last words to me, "go along and play with the kids tonight". Hahaha ...

Another friend asked me if I have mid-life crisis. Hmmm ... from listening to PCD? Does being over 30 mean we only listen to 80s and 90s music? I would have thought music is universal and surpasses age, race and language barriers.

In any case, the dolls were HOT! HOT! HOT!

But alas, I was very late for the concert. Luckily it started late and I merely missed the opening act and 1 PCD song (was told it was Buttons). The venue of the concert at Sunway Lagoon Surf Beach was also quite unconventional. At least for me! We were literally standing on sand while swaying to the beat of the PCD songs. But as we were standing quite far away from the stage and it was too hot to wedge ourselves among the crowd, we couldn't quite feel the 'beat' of the concert. I couldn't quite see the dolls from where I stand and thus was looking at the huge screen most of the time. After awhile, I was wondering what I was doing there. It would have been better to stay in the comfort of my home with a glass of wine in hand and sway to their music. :)

All in all, the concert was just alright. As they have only one album, they performed all my favourite songs i.e. Sway, Don't Cha and Beep. Loved the tongue-in-cheek lyrics of the latter two. However, the concert was too short (i.e. 1 hour) to rush all the way from KL to Sunway.

Frankly, the next concert I go to, I should either be up front near the stage or I stay home and watch.

Dont Cha - Pussy Cat Dolls

Single - Natasha Bedingfield

2006-07-26T11:59:00.000+08:00

I will take a break from the final part of Steve Jobs speech for this interesting song. :)

I was driving to work today and caught this catchy number over the Fly FM airwaves. The lyrics seem most appropriate and I wish to dedicate it to all my single friends out there!

Ladies, enjoy your singlehood and be groovy! Oh Yeah!

Natasha Bedingfield - Single (UK version)

Intro:-

Ah yeah that's right
All you single people out there
This is for you
Yeah

Verse 1:-
I'm not waitin' around for a man to save me
(Cos I'm happy where I am)
Don't depend on a guy to validate me
(No no)
I don't need to be anyone's baby
(Is that so hard to understand?)
No I don't need another half to make me, whole

Make your move if you want doesn't mean I will or won't
I'm free to make my mind up you either got it or you don't

Chorus:-
This is my current single status
My declaration of independence
There's no way I'm tradin' places
Right now a star is in the ascendance

I'm single
(Right now)
That's how I wanna be
I'm single
(Right now)
That's how I wanna be

Yeah, uh huh, that's right

Verse 2:-
Don't need to be on somebody's arm to look good
(I like who I am)
I'm not saying I don't wanna fall in love cause I would
I'm not gonna get hooked up just cause you say I should
(Can't romance on demand)
I'm gonna wait so I'm sorry if you misunderstood

ooohh yeah

Chorus:-
This is my current single status
My declaration of independence
There's no way I'm tradin' places
Right now a star is in the ascendance

I'm single
(Right now)
That's how I wanna be
I'm single
That's how I wanna be
(Right Now)
I'm single
(Right now)
That's how I wanna be
(Right Now )
I'm single, oh oh ooh

Verse 3:-
Everything in its right time
Everything in its right place
I know I'll settle down one day
But 'til then I like it this way...
It's my way
Eh, I like it this way, eh

Make your move if you want doesn't mean I will or won't
I'm free to make my mind up you either got it or you don't
'Til then I'm single

Chorus:-
This is my current single status
My declaration of independence
There's no way I'm tradin' places
Right now a star is in the ascendance

This is my current single status
My declaration of independence
There's no way I'm tradin' places (Right now a star)
Right now a star is in the ascendance

I'm single
(Right now)
That's how I wanna
I'm single
(Right now)
That's how I wanna be
I'm single
(Right now)
That's how I wanna
I'm single woooh

Part 2 ~ Don’t Settle

2006-07-20T02:03:00.000+08:00

Don’t you just hate it when you meet people who know exactly what they want from life and exactly where they want to go? For example, they would have their entire life mapped out for themselves in terms of personal and career i.e. when to get married and have the first kid; when they would become manager and director of a company; when they want to make their first million, etc. Yes! I have friends like that in varsity days and yes, a few of them are doing very well in life now.

Perhaps hate is too strong a word. Don’t you simply feel envious of these people who seemed so sure and confident of themselves as they trudge forward in the path of life while you struggle to come to terms with who you are and what you want from life?

The second story from Steve Jobs’ speech at Stanford University addressed this issue.

From the mouth of Steve Jobs:

My second story is about love and loss.

I was lucky - I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started Apple in my parents’ garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees. We had just released our finest creation - the Macintosh - a year earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got fired.

How can you get fired from a company you started? Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so things went well. But then our visions of the future began to diverge and eventually we had a falling out.

When we did, our Board of Directors sided with him. So at 30 I was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating.

I really didn't know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down - that I had dropped the baton as it was being passed to me. I met with David Packard and Bob Noyce and tried to apologize for screwing up so badly. I was a very public failure, and I even thought about running away from the valley. But something slowly began to dawn on me - I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over.

I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life. During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar went on to create the worlds first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, I retuned to Apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple's current renaissance. And Laurene and I have a wonderful family together.

I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn't been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking.

Don't settle.

As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it.

Don't settle.

~~~~~ To be continued ~~~~~

Whilst most of my friends stayed on at one or two jobs or at most three and built their careers with these companies, I have changed a total of 6 jobs in the span of 11 years of working. It was never part of my grand plan in life to move so frequently. I am cognizant of the fact that a rolling stone carries no moss. I badly wanted to stay on at one job and build my career, but it was never meant to be.

Part of the problem was me. I was always looking for a challenge. I hated routine and which job didn’t become routine after awhile? I did not want to settle in a job where I feel no passion for it. After all, I probably spent 60% of my waking hours at work. And I figured I darn well better enjoy it! The other part of the problem was the circumstances that befell me. In one instance I was retrenched and in another, the company wound up.

Be that as it may, being retrenched was never a great feeling. No doubt you get a chunk of money from your employer. However, you can’t help but feel like a failure in some ways. Even after you moved on, the stigma still remained and it would take months to regain your level of confidence. But as in the case of Steve Jobs, being retrenched was probably one of the best things that happened in my life. It moved me away from a situation of contentment and complacency and put me right back into the race to fight for something I feel passionate about.

What I have learned in the corporate world is that there is no such thing as long term employment. Restructuring comes and goes. Bosses come and go. One has to learn to roll with the punches. But the one important thing I learnt about myself is that I have to feel passionate about what I do and enjoy my work. The day I quit doing so would be the day I would look elsewhere to paddle my wares.

And as in work, life and matters of the heart, the words from Steve Jobs ring true, “Don’t Settle.” I have yet to do so though the pressure has been great in recent years. My creed in life for so long has been to do something because I feel the passion and the joy for it, not because society demanded it of me.

Marching to the tune of a different drummer is not easy. Sometimes we falter because settling for something is always the easiest solution. In matters of the heart, there is a constant fear that we would settle due to the constant urging of good meaning samaritans who believe in conforming to society’s time line of getting married and having kids. I certainly hope not.

I shall keep the words of Steve Jobs close to my heart.

You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking.
Don't settle.

As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it.
Don't settle.

Yes! Don’t settle.

P.S. Look out for Part 3 – Death

Part 1 ~ Connecting the Dots

2006-07-19T16:28:00.000+08:00

Recently, a friend forwarded me an email on a simple but yet meaningful speech given by Steve Jobs (to the uninitiated, Apple Computer CEO) at Stanford University on June 12th 2005. I thought to share it with you as the speech “spoke” to me on so many levels.

The following is a transcription of that speech, which I will break up into 3 blog postings i.e. one story for each posting.

From the mouth of Steve Jobs:

I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college.

Truth be told, this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation.

Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That's it. No big deal.

Just three stories.

The first story is about connecting the dots.

I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit.

So why did I drop out? It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking: "We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?" They said: "Of course." My biological mother later found out that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She only relented a few months later when my parents promised that I would someday go to college.

And 17 years later I did go to college. But I naively chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my working-class parents' savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six months, I couldn't see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking back it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out I could stop taking the required classes that didn't interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting.

It wasn't all romantic. I didn't have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends' rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5' deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on.

Let me give you one example: Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every drawer, was beautifully hand calligraphed. Because I had dropped out and didn't have to take the normal classes, I decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif and san serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can't capture, and I found it fascinating. None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life.

But ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, it’s likely that no personal computer would have them. If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later.

Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something - your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

~~~~~ To be continued ~~~~~

I remembered my first major interview with the folks from Effem Foods (the company that produce Mars and Snickers, M&M’s, Pedigree, Whiskas, etc.) I had graduated recently and had only one year of working experience behind me. I was among eight final candidates vying for a position in Effem Foods.

In those days, interviews to get into corporations like these were long, drawn-out one-and-a-half to two-day affairs. We had to go through various written tests (which encompassed multiple choice questions, written essays, calculations and questions on general knowledge), performed five-minute impromptu individual presentations to the panel of interviewers, put through various group dynamic tests and of course, a final sit down dinner at the end of the interview to test our social etiquette.

After going through the battery of tests, I figured I’d most likely get the job; except for one person standing in my way i.e. this other Chinese chap. He oozed self confidence in every sense of the word but he had one major flaw ~ he never listened to anyone and was opinionated on everything to the verge of annoyance. (Note: I could be biased since I was vying for the same position.)

In any case, “gwei los” (who happened to form part of the interview panel) have a tendency to admire self-confidence in a person. Not that I lack any; just that I do not come across so strongly ~ if you know what I mean. Anyway, we had to go through a final group dynamic test where all the eight candidates were secluded in a room and were given a task to come up with a solution for a case study within a stipulated time. There were “examiners” observing our behaviour while we discussed the case study and arrived at a solution.

I was pretty sure that I had bagged the job the moment this test was presented to us. Why? Because as usual, Mr Oozing-with-Self-Confidence had his say and pretty much shut everyone up because he thought he knew what the best solution was. I watched his antics with glee as I knew the purpose of the test was not the solution in itself but how a leader manage his team and provide a platform for everyone to say his/her piece before arriving at a solution. And I believe I passed this test with flying colours and ousted my strongest contender for the position. As they say, the rest was history.

One may ask, what did this have anything to do with connecting the dots?

Well, during my varsity years, I was deeply involved with this student organisation called AIESEC. I spent a lot of time and effort with the organisation that in some ways, I neglected my family and my studies. Often, my parents questioned me on my time spent in this organisation and what I hoped to achieve out of it. Well, other than the fun, the games and the networking, I learned about handling group dynamics. We organised and attended lots of sessions on the above. One of which was the same test that I went through in my interview in Effem Foods.

And that was how and why I knew I had the edge over the rest to win the job at the end of the day. It was nothing as ground breaking as what Steve Jobs did with the Mac but if you had asked me at that point in time what I hoped to achieve from joining AIESEC, my reply would have been fun, games and networking. Little did I know that it would have helped me succeed in getting the highly sought after job with Effem Foods later on.

As Steve Jobs said,
Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something - your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

I shall leave the above for you to ponder over.

P.S. Look out for Part 2 – Don’t Settle

Bad Day

2006-07-14T01:01:00.000+08:00

Bad Day - Daniel Powter

I love this song and finally found the lyrics.

Song lyrics

Where is the moment when we need it the most
You kick up the leaves and the magic is lost
They tell me your blue sky's faded to grey
They tell me your passion's gone away
And I don't need no carrying on

You stand in the line just to hit a new low
You're faking a smile with the coffee to go
You tell me your life's been way off line
You're falling to pieces every time
And I don't need no carrying on

Cause you had a bad day
You're taking one down
You sing a sad song just to turn it around
You say you don't know
You tell me don't lie
You work at a smile and you go for a ride
You had a bad day
The camera don't lie
You're coming back down and you really don't mind
You had a bad day
You had a bad day

Well you need a blue sky holiday
The point is they laugh at what you say
And I don't need no carrying on

You had a bad day
You're taking one down
You sing a sad song just to turn it around
You say you don't know
You tell me don't lie
You work at a smile and you go for a ride
You had a bad day
The camera don't lie
You're coming back down and you really don't mind
You had a bad day
You had a bad day

Sometimes the system goes on the blink and the whole thing it turns out
Wrong
You might not make it back and you know that you could be well oh that
Strong
Well I'm not wrong

So where is the passion when you need it the most
Oh you and I
You kick up the leaves and the magic is lost

Cause you had a bad day
You're taking one down
You sing a sad song just to turn it around
You say you don't know
You tell me don't lie
You work at a smile and you go for a ride
You had a bad day
You see what you like
And how does it feel, one more time
You had a bad day
You had a bad day
You had a bad day

World Cup Lessons

2006-07-12T19:52:00.000+08:00

Yes! I did finally get into the World Cup Fever, beginning from the quarterfinal matches. Sadly, my samba boys (Brazil) did not clear their quarterfinal match and allowed the Frenchies to stride into the semis and then the finals. Neither did my German cuties made it to the finals. A very sad World Cup Finals for me indeed.

But the match that left the strongest impression on me (I didn't watch that many matches after all) was the one between Germany and Italy. Their match was tied at 0-0 right up to the 29th minute of extra time and suddenly the Italians scored two goals straight! What a waste!

Lessons Learned:

Lesson 1
No matter how vigilant we are, the moment we relax our defences, our competitors will find the crack and hit us where it hurts. Witness the Germany versus Italy match.

Lesson 2
It doesn't matter if you are a legend. You butt (headbutt), you pay (red card)! Poor Zidane. What a way to go.

Lesson 3
When in Europe, the Europeans will triumph.

Lesson 4
Everyone's an expert on football. From beauty queens to sexy teens. From mat motor to pak mamak.

Lesson 5
Football fans become nocturnal animals. Comatose by day, vampires by night.

Lesson 6
Not hitting sales targets? Reason: everybody's too busy watching World Cup to stimulate the economy!

Lesson 7
The less you know about football, the higher the chances of winning your bets!

Lesson 8
World Cup is more popular than Wimbledon!

Lesson 9
Late to work? Blame it on World Cup!

Lesson 10
It doesn't matter if everyone lies. You can be sure of one thing. Your hips don't lie! :p

Here's to my samba boys!

Hips Don't Lie

Are you lonesome tonight?

2006-07-06T19:40:00.000+08:00

Akon - Lonely

Lonely a. solitary, isolated; (sad because) companionless
Company n. being with another or others
Companion n. one who accompanies or associates with another
Source: The Little Oxford Dictionary

I recently heard that a friend of mine is getting registered for marriage. Strangely enough, she was crying with tears of misery when she told this to another friend. She was happily into this comfortable relationship and would have continued with the status quo if she had not been pressured to choose either marriage or nothing at all. Fearing the loss of the companionship and loneliness, she succumbed in misery. Is loneliness reason enough to get married?

A couple of weeks back, another friend had to face the reality that the four-year “on-again off-again” flirtation she had with this guy might not go anywhere. She was devastated. And during one of her low moments, she said, “I don’t want to grow old and lonely. But I fear that in order to avoid doing that I might one day succumb into a relationship with a married man.” Is loneliness reason enough to get into a complicated relationship?

There’s this story I heard about a chatter who goes on dates with guys she met online and because she wanted/ needed the “love” and companionship, she was willing to sleep with these guys on their first dates. Sadly, at the time of the telling, she had not found one willing to go the whole nine yards i.e. red picket fences and the little house on the prairie. (Story is hearsay and unverified.) Is loneliness reason enough to sleep around?

A friend once asked me if I am lonely or if I fear loneliness. I answered; of course I get lonely sometimes. Don’t we all? It is not necessary to be alone to feel lonely. We could be among a sea of faces and still feel lonely. But I have learned that loneliness hits when our emotional well being is at its worst or when we have long periods of idleness or aimlessness. And we have no one to talk to about that. After all, an idle mind is a devil’s playing field.

Do I fear loneliness? I have not given that much thought. Perhaps because I live a reasonably good and fulfilling life; with a family who loves me and friends who keeps my life interesting and exciting.

“But your friends won’t be with you forever. They would eventually settle down, get married, have kids and live a life of their own,” my friend persisted. “You don’t want to grow old alone do you?”

Hmmm … now that’s food for thought. Not that I have not considered this aspect before. But getting married and having kids do not guarantee that we would not end up alone and lonely. After all, there are no guarantees in life. Here today, gone tomorrow. Who knows? *shrugs*

Should fear of loneliness spur us into relationships that we do not want or are not healthy for us? To what lengths would we go to avoid loneliness?

I would like to think that I would grow old surrounded by friends and family; whether I am married or not. And I would expect I will extend the same support and friendship to my friends and family.

Perhaps that’s the eternal optimist in me!

The Perfect Man

2006-06-27T13:09:00.000+08:00

The following missive arrived at my inbox one fine day.

As Kyle's life and career coach I actively encourage him to seek out new opportunities and nurture productive relationships with other people. One recent initiative he's taking is looking for a life partner. To facilitate his search, I've ... blah blah blah

PL, please advise when you've written the personal ad for him on your blog.

Best wishes,
Kyle’s life & career coach

The thing about my life is that I have really interesting (read whacky) friends. Never a dull moment, eh? Hehehehe … In this case, I have been tasked with a heavy responsibility to create a personal ad for this friend, Kyle. And for the sake of his future, I dare not fail. (I shall ignore the fact that I had joked and volunteered for this during one of our trekking trips.) I hope I still have two friends after this. No regrets Kyle & Kyle’s coach. Regrets are for sissies! :p

I ain’t no personal ad writer, so here goes nothing …

Kyle Seto
-------------------------------------

Canadian citizen, Chinese born,
Canadian accent but he ain’t no blond.

A rojak influence of East and West,
Dare I claim that he comes from the best?

A steady income, a noble profession,
In education, he shares his passion.

House keeping skills, that’s a probability,
Green card options, perhaps a possibility.

Not too young, not too old,
Just ngam ngam thirty five years old.

Not too tall, not that short,
No bag of bones, certainly not bald!

Cutesy in purple, snazzy in blue,
Watch out for the smile that he flashes you.

Cutesy in Purple ...

Snazzy in Blue ...

Is he what you are looking for?
If yes, then wait no more!

The queue is long, the time is short,
His fans are beating down his “fort”.

Clear your calendar, book his time,
Catch this social butterfly at his prime,

Quick! Drown him with photos, drop him a line,
Grab this perfect man for he is a real find!

------------- The End -------------

From the creative juices of Leanne’s shrinking muse

P.S. Hey Kyle, if this really works for you, I get finder's fee ok. You better make it a huge one! :P

For Money or for …

2006-06-27T02:39:00.000+08:00

Career.
Happiness.
Job Satisfaction.
Security.
Etc., etc.
What do we work for?

These thoughts have been on my mind a lot lately. Not because I am in a dilemma (although it’s worth taking stock of our situation every now and then) but because the people within my circle of influence are.

My eldest sister for instance, finally handed in her resignation, after much prodding from us. It is not because she dislikes her work; it is because of the untenable company system she works within which she has tried to change but failed in the last few years. She has finally given up on hitting her head against the brick wall.

My younger sister on the other hand has an opportunity to move to a position that she has dreamed of for a long while but … she has to sacrifice quite a large sum of her current fringe benefits to attain what she wants. We shall await her final decision.

My cousin, who has just graduated and joined the rat race, has resigned after a month in a research company and returned to the world of academics as a lecturer. Many would have said that career wise; it’s not such a good move. But knowing my cousin, the job of a lecturer would probably be perfect for him. His musings on education can be found here in his blog.

Then, there’s this friend, who has recently given up on a cushy job and decided to work full time as a gym instructor.

And another friend who has refused to take up a high paying job with an investment company in KL because it would mean she has to uproot herself from her comfort zone in Penang.

One friend, despite her unhappiness, has not moved from her job because she wishes to complete her MBA first.

There are two Canadian friends who have forsaken better remuneration lecturing elsewhere for an experience to work in Malaysia.

And if I dig deep enough in my memory bank, there would be many more instances and examples.

What really motivate all of them? Obviously not merely money.

For me, remuneration would always be part of the total package but it is not THE top priority. After all, I have taken a tremendous pay cut to join a dotcom company once upon a time. Job satisfaction, social circle, company culture, company politics, and remuneration ~ all these play a part in the final decision.

My philosophy is simple. There is no perfect job (at least not within the realm of my experience) and there is no perfect company. When I am very unhappy and dissatisfied with the job and/or company, I’ll go through the following line of thought.

“Can I change the situation? If yes, I stay. If no, then … can I change my attitude/ perception and accept the situation as is? If yes, I stay. If no, I’ll leave.”

Some say the reality is not as simple as that. Sometimes we are stuck with responsibilities that make leaving the job more difficult. (This is in situations where we do not have a better option.) But again, the choice is ours. We could sacrifice on certain part of our lifestyle if we really cannot stand the situation. Or if we really want to continue with our lifestyle (that clearly shows where our priority lies), we have to adjust our thoughts and attitude and accept/ tolerate the situation.

So perhaps, it is really that simple after all.

From the mouth of babies!

2006-06-25T07:37:00.000+08:00

Recently, a friend forwarded me an email on letters from kids to God. I found the following letter and thought that it was a gem of a letter from just a kid. Profound isn't it?

kid's letter to god, originally uploaded by Leanne's shots.

Another failed attempt

2006-06-25T07:14:00.000+08:00

Why am I blogging at 6 in the morning? Good question! It’s because this is the second failed attempt to go biking and I can’t go back to sleep.

Sometime back, a few of the siau gang considered going on a cross country road bike (as in bicycle) tour later in the year. Needless to say, I was tempted.

Nevermind that I didn’t own a bike.

Nevermind that I might not have enough leave to go on a cross country road tour.

Nevermind that I am not an RPM fan in the gym and that those who are planning to go are either RPM instructors or RPM hardcore riders.
(Note: To the uninitiated, RPM is a cardio class offered in the gym where one spends 45 minutes on a stationary bike simulating hill rides and races.)

“After all, what the mind can conceive, the body can achieve.” Yeah! Yeah! Will have to relook at this quote later. :P

Just a couple of weeks back, the siau gang decided that the first trial would be to cycle to Port Dickson and back. Now, that is over 100kms one way. I was sceptical. First attempt for a non RPM goer and a non biker. That’s like committing physical suicide! :p It’s a little over the top even for me. So, we decided to go on a short trial ride to Bukit Jalil and back. I am told that it’s about 20kms but I stand corrected.

And thus, a couple of weeks back, I went to a bike shop to borrow a bike to go riding with these siau friends of mine the next day. The guy at the shop took one look at me and said that he did not have a bike my size on loan. Ehhh … to the unitiated, a bike my size would mean a smaller frame. After all, not everyone is born to be more than 5.5 footers!

What to do? No bike and I desperately wanted to try biking again. My first attempt was in 2002 and I have been considering this sport ever since. However, I resisted as I did not want another “white elephant” in my “closet”.

I digress. In any case, I made a rash decision and bought a spunky new bike! I blew RM1,300 on it and another RM470 on accessories. Yup! Rash decision it was. But look at my spunky new bike. He’s a darling, ain’t he? :D

My new baby!

Peik Lean Y.

I am now fully equipped to go biking!

Unfortunately, the next morning dawned cloudy and rainy. And it rained and rained and rained. Thus the trip was cancelled. The next few attempts were not as disappointing as I did not have to get up as early as 5.30 am to have it cancelled again.

But today … well, another failed attempt! :( The only male member in today’s riding trip is down with a sore throat and had to opt out. After hearing all the scary stories about women biking on their own, we decided to call it off again until we get more male muscle to join the trip. Sigh! At this rate, I fear my bike is gonna be another white elephant.

Oh well, what the mind can conceive, the body can achieve. I just have to keep bugging my siau friends to fulfil this part of the bargain. Hahahaha …

Dang! And it’s such a beautiful looking morning too!

When ignorance is not bliss!!!

2006-06-14T20:07:00.000+08:00

Warning: This post is neither politically correct nor diplomatically written. It may be offensive to some and vulgar to others. Therefore, read at your own peril. If you can’t take it, ditch it!

Safe sex and preventive measures ~ who is responsible? Do we even know what that entails?

Recently, a friend broached the subject and I was a little shock at her ignorance and blind trust. She left it entirely to her boyfriend to take care of the matter. (As the relationship has only recently developed and he is rather the dark horse, there was some cause for concern.) He told her that she would be safe as long as he ejaculates outside her womb. As she was told the same thing by another friend, she felt safe. I was appalled.

In this time and age, pregnancy is only one concern; the other concern is the number of diseases a person can contract if her lover had indiscriminate sex prior to that. Thus, it is important to at least try to find out where his “dipstick” had … well, dipped. Otherwise, check if he had a recent health check and been pronounced “clean” by the doc. Ultimately, if all else fails and one must still get on with it, then using a prophylactic would likely be the safest.

Ejaculation outside the womb at the end does not mean that leakage would not happen while in the process. And to paraphrase the following line “a single drop of water and the desert blooms”, well we could literally say “a sheer drop of semen and your womb blooms!” Dramatic as that might sound, it is always better to be safe than sorry. There is a Cantonese saying that is very appropriate, “mmm pah yat maan, hai pah maan yat!” Translated, it means “fear not of the 10,000 consequences but be fearful of that ONE out of the 10,000 consequences!”

Being a woman is no excuse to be ignorant about sex and its consequences. It is no excuse for women to leave the preventive measures solely to men. Because ultimately, the person who stands to lose the most is the woman.

Sex education … It’s no more a matter of should we or should we not. It’s a matter of when. It’s appalling how ignorant we are and that is not limited to teens. Being pious and religious is no excuse to be ignorant. Being part of the decision makers on education and censorship policies is no excuse to bury our heads in the sand like an ostrich. We could no longer pretend that if we do not talk about sex, write about sex, watch sexual acts and teach about sex, we would not have sex! Just like if we do not teach the young preventive measures, they would not have sex! Ridiculous as that may sound, that’s precisely what the actions taken by certain powers that be are propagating.

But the power is in our hands; especially when it concerns our ultimate well-being. Do not leave it to others to dictate our own safety because ultimately, ignorance is NOT bliss!

Dad & Mom, I have not said “thank you” enough.

2006-05-30T21:14:00.000+08:00

A recent event triggered this post. How often do we take our parents for granted? And yet do we realise how often their actions have our best interests at heart; whether we appreciate it or not?

Sometime last year, we decided to purchase a new car for our parents. We felt we are financially stable enough to withstand paying off another loan and since this one would be shared among the three of us, we encouraged our parents to get a better car. Suffice to say they started to worry that this purchase would be a huge burden to us, even before they placed a booking.

After some nagging, they finally took the plunge. But then we discovered yesterday that when they calculated the repayment value, they included a portion to be paid off by them. When asked why, mom replied, “Your dad and I feel guilty about burdening all of you with a huge loan repayment. You have other responsibilities and commitments.”

Consider this; my parents were the ones who helped us get started when we first graduated by paying a large down payment for our first cars. And now, they who are pensioners and are getting a monthly pittance from the government are willing to fork out money to pay a portion to lighten our supposed financial burden. I am humbled by that thought. Suffice to say, we talked them out of that hare brain scheme.

Looking back, there have been so many instances in our lives that they have sacrificed and influenced. If not for them, I might not have developed a love for reading which has allowed me to explore a whole new world. If not for them, I might not have known and appreciated the value of money. If not for them, I might not have learnt that there are values that one just can’t compromise. If not for them, I would not have challenged the status quo and pushed the limits of acceptance.

My parents brought us up on a government servant salary and while we have no trappings of great wealth, we grew up relatively comfortable, psychologically well-balanced and physically healthy. We are no rags-to-riches story but I am thankful to my parents because their influences have shaped my past and present, and they will hold me in good stead to face the future.

How often would you venture that our parents’ thoughts and worries are for us? How often do we show our appreciation in return? How often do we put their interests at heart? My struggle has always been to maintain a balance between what I want to achieve and what they need, and that has not been easy. Because when we get down to the bottom of it, all they ask for is our time and our presence. Is that too much to ask for? Probably not.

Dad & Mom, thank you and I am trying.

Of Gay and Lesbian relationships

2006-05-30T10:40:00.000+08:00

There have been many conversations centred on gay and lesbian relationships (especially gay) since I met the siau gang. I could only accord the interest to several reasons. One, since we joined the gym, we have been exposed to a large number of gays who seemed quite obvious and open about their sexual preferences. Two, it is human nature to be curious about things we do not know and cannot comprehend. Three, the gang is curious enough to engage in open conversations on these relationships. When we say we are ok with these relationships, are we truly accepting them or are we merely paying lip service? After all, talk is cheap but do we walk the talk?

Two years ago, I was in London on a project which stretched over two weekends. Coincidentally, I spent one weekend with a gay friend and his partner, and the subsequent weekend with a lesbian friend and her partner. In my mind, I have never referred to them as that gay friend or that lesbian friend. They are just good friends of mine who have moved to live in a country that is more accepting of their sexual preferences and way of life. They have never made me uncomfortable before regarding their sexual preferences.

In any case, it was in London that I first spent more than a few hours in the presence of gay and lesbian couples. It was truly an eye opener. Knowing something about your friend is one thing. Seeing that something in action is an entirely different experience. There were no obvious moves but like any normal couple, there was a lingering touch here and an intimate look there.

The nature of these relationships truly hit home when during a conversation regarding my lesbian friend’s ex-husband (She once tried to lead a normal life; i.e. acquired a husband and the whole works but it didn’t work out!), her partner laughingly said, “But he has something that she doesn’t want.” The obvious reference to the male anatomy was not lost on me. And the seemingly innocuous remark stopped me in mid conversation for a few moments as I quickly recollected my thoughts. I hope I looked sufficiently blasé and did not gape like a fish. :p

The second incident was at the gay couple’s residence. We were watching a movie when a bed scene of a heterosexual couple appeared. The “female” gay partner suddenly remarked, “Look at those hanging boobs! It’s so disgusting!” And he promptly changed the channel. I was stunned for a moment and suddenly felt so inadequate about having boobs. Thinking back, it was hilarious. I was at a total lost for words and at that moment, I wished the earth would open up and swallow me whole.

My point, it is easy to say that we accept gay and lesbian relationships but when faced with the reality of those relationships, it is more difficult to handle and accept them. One of the siau gang recently caught the movie “Brokeback Mountain” and her comment was that she was uncomfortable with the scenes between the two gay lovers although these were only kissing scenes and there was no humping and pumping. She wanted to pass me the DVD but I was reluctant to take it. I told her that it’s because I couldn’t bear to watch such a manly guy like Heath Ledger playing a gay role. But could it be that I am, unconsciously, unable to accept such a relationship? Hmmm ….

I remembered watching “As Is”, a theatre production on a gay relationship, between characters played by Jit Murad and Zahim Albakri, more than a decade ago. It was a very controversial piece at a time when gay and lesbian relationships were not publicly discussed and HIV/ AIDS were universally feared. But it was a wonderful piece of work that probably changed some of my outlook on these relationships. A review of this play which was performed in another country can be found here.

I have walked through an entire emotional roller coaster with a friend who had to decide between conforming to norm by sticking to a heterosexual relationship or throwing caution to the winds and following her heart. It was no easy choice for her at that time and love is love irregardless of whether the relationship is hetero or homosexual. It doesn’t make watching her pain then any less real. And it doesn’t make watching her happiness now any less joyful. How then can I object to or censure such a relationship?

Yet having gone through all these experiences, I am still unsure of where I stand. A part of me (that part which was brought up in a convent school and was used to conforming to society) would like to take the moral high ground by saying that this is not normal! Another part of me (the one that has travelled much and had gone through that emotional roller coaster with a friend) feels compelled to defend these relationships. After all, they can’t help their sexual preferences.

Or can they?

I shall leave the morality issues to those who think they know better; because I know not. All I can do is to sigh with regret when I am told that a delicious-looking man that I have been eyeing is gay.

“Nothing that looks that good is straight!” A friend told me repeatedly.

Darn! Putus steam saje! And another one bites the dust! Life is tough. Not only are our choices dwindling fast but we have to “fight off” the womenfolk as well as the men folk. Who says life is fair? But despite all these trials and tribulations, I shall still stick to my personal motto, “a plug must go with a socket”! Hahaha …

Have a good day ahead!

YES! I DID IT AGAIN!

2006-05-18T17:50:00.000+08:00

OK. Confession time. Part of the reason I was Missing In Action for so long was because I was also on vacation recently. And yes, I was up in the mountains seeking for my muse, my inspiration and another triumphant tale to tell.

Three years ago in May, a group of friends and I climbed Mount Kinabalu via Timpohon Gate, and we (the whole group) emerged triumphant.

A week plus ago, another group of friends and I climbed the mountain again, this time via Mersilau Trail. And this group too made it to the top!

Mount Kinabalu, the highest mountain in South East Asia, @ 4,095m! Three years might have passed, but the beauty of the mountain has not changed. Below are pictures from both occassions.

The journey up Mount Kinabalu via the Mersilau Trail, a week plus ago

Water falls found along the trail

Streams found along the trail

Bonsai Trees or Sayat-sayat along the trail

The Mersilau Trail joins the Timpohon Trail
about 2km before Laban Rata

Laban Rata

South Peak

At Low's Peak

Low's Gully

The journey up Mount Kinabalu via Timpohon Gate, three years ago

Sunrise at Low's Peak

At Low's Peak

St John's Peak

Time ~ those fleeting moments

2006-05-18T03:42:00.000+08:00

I have been blog silent recently. My Slovenia account was stalled for awhile but I have just updated it. My apologies that it is slow in coming but it is after all at the mercy of my muse and of course, time!

Truly, being busy is only part of the reason that blogging has almost come to a halt. The other reason is that blogging has lost its initial lustre. More and more, I find myself struggling to prioritise my time between work, activities and the people who matter in my life. I wonder if it is only me that has this problem. Perhaps I am totally hopeless at time management.

Time flies, doesn’t it?

I just found out that an ex boss of mine has been posted to Taiwan. I have not met him for years. We have been talking about meeting up since forever but we never really got round to that. Now, he has already left for Taiwan.

Another friend called recently asking if I have dropped off the face of earth. The last I met her was just after she had given birth to her second kid at the end of last year. The kid could probably crawl by now.

How fleeting these moments are and how soon they are gone. It made me think perhaps I have not made as much of it as I should have.

How do you measure time?

I was chatting with a friend recently. His work is marked by the period of each contract and he just got into another three year project in Saudi Arabia. To him, time is measured in blocks of weeks that he gets to come back to Malaysia.

Another friend works as an engineer on a vessel. His job requires him to go out to sea for four months at a time. When he returns to land, he gets a four-month rest with absolutely nothing to do. For him, his time is measured in blocks of four months.

For me? Time seems to be immeasurable. I seem to fleet from one thing to another and before I know it, six months have passed. Somehow I find myself unable to take control of it.

Can you?

I leave you with this beautiful piece on …

Time
(from The Prophet)
by Khalil Gibran

And an astronomer said, 'Master, what of Time?'

And he answered:

You would measure time the measureless and the immeasurable.

You would adjust your conduct and even direct the course of your spirit according to hours and seasons.

Of time you would make a stream upon whose bank you would sit and watch its flowing.

Yet the timeless in you is aware of life's timelessness,

And knows that yesterday is but today's memory and tomorrow is today's dream.

And that that which sings and contemplates in you is still dwelling within the bounds of that first moment which scattered the stars into space.

Who among you does not feel that his power to love is boundless?

And yet who does not feel that very love, though boundless, encompassed within the centre of his being, and moving not from love thought to love thought, nor from love deeds to other love deeds?

And is not time even as love is, undivided and paceless?

But if in you thought you must measure time into seasons, let each season encircle all the other seasons,

And let today embrace the past with remembrance and the future with longing.

The Project

2006-04-09T00:40:00.000+08:00

When I first started blogging, the idea was to blog about my travels. But along the way, the project died down because it was such a huge undertaking. In any case, I promised myself I shall get right to it once I completed my studies. And so here they are.

Check them out on My Travel Experiences on the sidebar of this blog. Check out my first travellogue on my trip to Slovenia.

How to be rich?

2006-04-03T00:48:00.000+08:00

Money makes the world go round or so it seems. Those who don’t have it wants it, those who have it wants more of it. It’s an endless vicious cycle.

In Rich Dad, Poor Dad, Robert T. Kiyosaki wrote “The Rich don’t work for money. The Rich have money work for them.” Which simply translates to, money makes more money. But how to get THAT money in the first place before we get it to work for us?

You might want to check out Mr Kiyosaki's book where he divulged secrets on What the Rich teach their kids about Money - that the Poor and Middle Class do not!

Peik Lean Y.

In the mean time, you could also check out the following advice from a very philosophical colleague. In all seriousness, he told us,

“Young ladies, you can’t choose your father BUT ... you CAN choose your father-in-law!!! Please do not waste that choice like me. I can’t do anything about it now that I am committed but you … you still can. So, while you still can, choose wisely!”

Ahah! That’s one way. Marry a man with a rich dad.

In any case, during an extremely "stressed out" at work period, a group of us ladies gathered and discussed ways to become women of leisure. We concluded that we could only do so if (in addition to the above) :

1) We marry a filthy rich old man who adores us and lavish tons of money on us. That could only happen if a) we are extremely beautiful and b) we are willing to become trophy wives. Then again, there are so many SYTs (sweet young things) around that one day; someone would surely supplant us in that position.

Or 2) We have a filthy rich dad who dotes on us and grant us our every desire.

Or 3) We get a sudden windfall from a filthy rich relative who has no descendants and we are the next in line.

Or 4) We win the national lottery BIG TIME and become filthy rich all on our own.

However, being practical people, we saw no possibility of achieving any of the above. Thus, we will have to settle for slogging away to earn our keep and live a humble and peaceful existence. :p

Dang! What a pity! Any one has an extra million dollars to spare? I promise I’ll make that money work for me!!! :D

I can resist anything except temptation!

2006-03-28T02:39:00.000+08:00

Bubble Shooter

Peik Lean Y.

It all started more than a week ago when I finally gained my freedom from the self imposed prison (herein known as "that episode" in my life). I met up with my sis for dinner and she showed off her brand new PDA. While messing around with this "new" toy, I discovered "the bubble game"!

Now, I know it's not new to the tech savvy and the "in" folks but as I did not aspire to be an "opinion leader", this toy is kinda new to me! Ya! Ya! I am a marketer's nightmare! I refused to be trapped into keeping up with the Joneses by buying all these costly gadgets which would become a white elephant in no time! :P

I digress. In any case, I started playing that game on the PDA throughout dinner. I was so hooked. I only returned the PDA to my sis on threats of dismemberment. Bleh! Anyway, being the smarty pants that I am, I had this great idea to google the game and download it on my computer. And so I did!

Thus began the journey of succumbing to temptation and getting drawn into total addiction. I have been playing that game every night and I played it till the wee hours of the morn. Every time, I would tell myself it's only for an hour, but I ended up playing like 4-5 hours! My god! I was soooo hooked.

However last night was the last straw. Once again, I exceeded my allocated one hour of play. The game was taking over my beauty sleep. It was taking over my time to blog and to reply emails. It was taking over my life! Goodness!

I finally took a huge step in prevention and self preservation! I uninstalled the game. Oh boy! Temptation is sooo difficult to resist! So far so good today. I have yet to download the programme. I best go off to bed now while my will power is still strong.

Good night Malaysia wherever you are.

Disclaimer:
The link for the game is at the top if you want to check it out. However, I shall not be held responsible for any addiction and temptation. You are on your own. Try it at your own peril! :P

Old Man’s Club

2006-03-25T13:55:00.000+08:00

Running out of ideas on what to do on a Friday night?

Tired of the endless rounds of hanging out at a “meat market”? That’s what one of my ang moh IT contractors called Beach Club and the likes. He claimed that folks go there to “trade their wares”. He also claimed to have been approached by quite a few SPGs (Sarong Party Girls, to the uninitiated).

Getting sick of watching American Idol on national TV? Need a dose of a little more excitement?

You can try the old man’s club at Rain Tree Club! For those who are old enough to have heard of the club during its heydays, yes! it is still around! A friend has been raving about this old man’s club he has joined in recent times. He said it’s the best place to de-stress and talk his troubles away. He claimed that his “old” friends there (literally old) have been a fountain of advice and good cheer.

In any case, you would understand my lack of enthusiasm when my trip to JB was cancelled yesterday, and another friend called me up and asked me to join them to chill out there. Chill out on a Friday night at the old man’s club?!!! I’d rather spend Friday night watching the hunks in the gym having a go at the weights or watching the gorgeous “Ace” belting away on American Idol. But, went there I did. After all, what are friends for if not to give way some times to hare brain schemes? : )

But enjoyed the night, we did ~ drinking and karaoke! We (my other girlfriend and I) caused a bit of a stir when we walked into the pub. Understand this ~ the club is a hangout joint for retirees and semi retirees and they are mostly men. So there! For certain, it was good for the ego and of course, one feels very young there. : ) But what is interesting is the regular patrons there. Beers and conversations flowed easily in an intimate setting. And everyone seems to know everyone else. And if they don’t, they warmly welcome you to the pub. It reminded me of the sitcom “Cheers”, where everyone knows your name.

Now, that’s the way to live after retirement! : ) Cheers!