Happy weekend, people!

I'll be starting my weekend earlier than most. Will be going on leave tomorrow & the half day Saturday.

Today's unbelievably hectic.

Mumue's on leave starting today, and will only come back to work on Monday 9th August.
Shars is still in HK.
Im is busy with one of the consultants from systems' vendor.
Icky Guy apparently dapat MC today. Demam he said. (Yeah right. He didn't sound sick when he called in this morning.)

And Jikin & me ended up spending half the day trying to arrange an ad-hoc meeting.
Check quorum, check time, check venue. Change time. Check quorum again. Check venue again. Confirm attendance. Enough quorum. Confirm venue.

Sheesh.

Leceh rupanya nak arrange meeting.
Now I have an idea what Jikin has to go through trying to organise various meetings that we have monthly.

Ahh.. long weekend has never looked more tempting.

Oh yes, my facial appointment tomorrow is confirmed. So lunch tomorrow @ KLCC - I'm meeting up Jikin & Lai. After lunch, off to Pertama for facial appointment.

Still have to confirm about meeting The Girls on Sunday. Maybe can do lunch. Or lepak-lepak minum petang.

Happy weekend! :-))

BSC dah settle

*Phewww*
BSC dah settle! Yeayy!!

My score? Hmm.. somehow I expected lower than last year. But surprisingly it's slightly above what I got last year (with the old Dept Head, who's supposed to be nicer. Hmmmmm..)

But of course, all the scores are subjected to Division Head's moderation. So, I'm not getting my hopes too high lah for this score to remain as it is. :Þ

Alamak!! Now I remember! Setting of BSC for this Financial Year has to be done with the Icky Guy. Ewww..!! Major yucks!

OK, it's almost 9pm on this fine (but so very penat) Wednesday.
And I'm tired.

Going home to my pillows now.

And dream wonderful dreams. :)
Good night people. Sleep tight.

Swollen eyes

I wore eyeshadow today. Sparkling blue colour. And mascara too.

Why?

Because last night, some unknown forces made me watch Kabhi Kushi Kabhie Gham.
And for the 20th time, I cry.

So, this morning woke up with swollen eyes. So very bengkak!

Thank goodness ada nice make-ups to hide the swollen eyes a little bit. LOLs..!

Things to get done by midnight, Sunday 1 Aug'04

1. Pay credit cards' bills
(Arghh..! Until when am I gonna be a slave to the credit cards?!)
Done!

2. Wash car
(Kesian tengok rims tu kotor.. hehehe)

3. Meet The Girls
(Breakfast? Lunch? Dinner?)
Cancelled. Although Sheils & Zuex did meet up with Mel.

4. Read up more on CFA - Chartered Financial Analyst
(I'm considering doing this professional paper)
Done! Will call & sign up for Aug 6th preview session

5. Shaklee closing - Saturday 31 Jul'04

6. Catch up on beauty sleep
(Not that it could make me any prettier :P but I still need it)
Definitely! Woke up well past 10am on Friday, Saturday & Sunday. And this morning (Monday) had one hell of a time to wake up.. LOLs (updated Monday 2nd Aug'04)

7. Tengok Konsert Akademi Fantasia 8
(Forget the concert, Astro service disrupted at home. Payment outstanding?!)
Note: Amended Wednesday 28 Jul

7. Check payment for Astro bill
Note: Amended Wednesday 28 Jul
Note: Amended Thursday 29 Jul

7. Tengok Konsert Akademi Fantasia 8
(LOLs... Abah sorted out the payment yesterday. So, I'm watching the concert this Saturday!)
Note: Amended Thursday 29 Jul
Linda out. I thought she was going to be one of the Top 5! What a shock! Well, at least I wasn't as numb as when Zarina was voted out. (updated Monday 2nd Aug)

Pheww.. Looks like I've quite a number of things to settle.

And it's already Tuesday. Eh, do I have enough time?

There's Love, and then there's Love...

Last week was wrecking. Prepared reports, rushing for deadlines. Attended meetings Prepared minutes to meeting. More reports. More deadlines. Argghhh!

On Friday, Sheils wrote about Love - only got to read it today.

There's this one kind of love, that fills someone's days with so much joy. And yet somehow it's not within their reach.
This is the love that exists between two friends of different genders.

These two people truly love each other to pieces, and yet they are not together (read: they don't date each other, they're not an item, they end up marrying other people).

But one thing is certain, they both LOVE each other.

Not even death could do them part.

"Private Number" calling

I got that displayed on my mobile screen this morning. That's the third time in 2 days.

Somehow, everytime I see "Private Number" on my mobile, I would automatically freeze. And would inevitably be walking down memory lane to a time when I was going out with AT. You see, whenever he called from his workplace, that was the display I would get on my mobile screen.

The first time seeing "Private Number" after AT and I (sort of) broke up, it was one of Ya's guy-friends, who chose a really bad time to play "Guess Who?" with me. Enough for me to say that I scolded him terribly that he decided not to call me anymore after that. Until today! Poor boy!

Another "Private Number" would be The Boss. Which is another reason I'm SO reluctant to pick-up calls which display these two words.

Yesterday, it was Maxis. Yes. Maxis the mobile phone company. Whose automatic voice message nicely reminded me that I have already reached 80% of my billing limit.

Today it was a lady asking for Christopher. Or some guy.

Sheesh.

I think the next I see "Private Number" displayed on my faithful Nokia Butterfly, I'll just plain ignore it.

The guy with many faces

He's a guy with many faces. Not only talam 2 muka, banyak muka.

I'm talking about the Icky Guy.

Came to office this morning with a long email from Shars. She said the Icky Guy asked her if it's customary for the others (i.e. Mumue, Jikin, Im & myself) to come in slightly later than 9am. Shars answered, Boss said it's OK, coz none of us goes back sharp at 5.30pm. Kiranya dah replace lah tu.
Icky Guy asked Shars, why don't you report to HR about this?
Shars got a shock and said: "No. It's up to the Boss lah."

Guess what Icky Guy said?
"If I raise this up to HR, only by myself, can't work. It should be the two of us..."

And then they both heard Jikin swiped the staff card at the door, so Icky Guy immediately stopped talking to Shars.

Bloody hell. The nerve of that guy!

And he's only 2 weeks working here!

It doesn't take a genius to guess that everyone's pissed off at Icky Guy. Did he naively expect Shars NOT to share this news with others in the department? Did he really expect Shars to take his side? No word at all in front of the rest of us. Ini jenis tikam belakang?

Muntah darah lah like this. HELPP!!

-NIL-

If I were a writer, what I'm experiencing now can be labelled as "Writer's Block".

But I'm not a writer.

So, what is this called then?

Driving in KL

Some thoughts about driving in KL:

1- You gotta be a mind-reader + psychic
A KL driver must be able to read what other drivers intend to do. A car in front suddenly turns right without a signal light. (That's where her office is and he/she has been turning into that road for the past 5 years. As such everyone must be able to read his/her mind that he/she will turn right and he/she doesn't need to use the signal light).
Also must be able to predict where those drivers want to go. Suddenly a car in the fast lane cuts across to take the exit on the left which is like 10 meters away. To survive driving in KL, one must be able to predict such insident.

2- You gotta have a strong heart
Well, yeah, to survive all those emergency breaks while driving in KL. And to try to NOT imagine how your sports rims are surviving the potholes in KL roads. And to try to NOT think about how close that car (who cut in from the left lane) got to your car.

3- You gotta have a colourful vocabulary
To help you get through the journey. There are quite a number of idiots behind the wheel in KL, you know.

4- You gotta think quickly
For an alternative road, that is. Do expects road closure - the authorities here so very rajin with repairing roads. Also with all the major government projects, some roads might be closed for quite a long period of time.

5- You gotta know how to entertain yourself
Very boring journey when the cars aren't moving. Being stuck in a jam is a great time for you to go over your notes for the presentation tomorrow. Learn to enjoy the CDs / cassettes. Or to learn playing the guitar. Learn to multitask. Imagine having a bite of sandwhich while you wait for your first coat of mascara to dry up a little - all behind the steering wheel while waiting for the car in front of you to move.
You decide. It's yourself that you're trying to cheer up. :Þ

Enough already. Thinking about driving in KL makes me tired lah.

Ooops! Look at the time!
I better get my car keys and go fetch Mak from her class.

Weekend, I'm welcoming you!

Dear Weekend,

I'm really looking forward to seeing you again. You'll be here in a few hours' time, right?

It feels like we've been separated for TOO long, but the reality it has only been 5 days. When 5 days are filled with work, work and MORE work, plus a truckload of other stuff, dear Weekend, I'm welcoming you with wide open arms.

What I intend to do with you? Must you ask? :Þ

Let's start with sleeping in. How does waking up at 9 or 10 sound to you? Well, even if any one of us wakes up at 6 or 7, let's just snuggle in bed beneath the warm and cosy blanket.

And we can do some cooking (Only simple ones please. Can't bear to work myself to a frenzy on the weekend.). And we'll eat. And we'll watch TV. Maybe take a little walk to the small park / lake near the house. Oh yeah, why not we visit Sha and her new baby. Beautiful name - Rozahan. I'm still thinking of what to call my new "god-son". :D

Dear Weekend, let's not take things in a rush these next couple of days. We'll enjoy the slow pace. After all, I only get to see you once a week. Why rush?

Already looking forward for your next visit :)

Truly,
Yam

Dah demam?

Yeah, as of last night, I'm definitely one of those yang 'Dah demam'. What other demam could there be but the fever of Akademi Fantasia.

I can't believe I stayed up until 3.30am this morning just to make sure I see the whole of Konsert AF 5. With Mak pulak tu!! LOLs..! Mak wanted to see Zarina perform again - she actually did watch the concert yesterday noon, but she insisted to stay right till the end (Zahid & Zarina were the last two to perform that night).

And boy was it worth it. By far it's the best Konsert AF ever.

Zahid was OUTSTANDING! No wonder Principal Ramli sang high praises for him in one of the diary installments. Suddenly I'm so proud I once knew Zahid - walaupun kenal dalam chatroom :)

Zarina's voice: HAUNTING. That's the best word to describe it. She really nailed Misha Omar's Pulangkan. And Sahri's appearance really made me sat up straight and enjoyed the song even more.

Though I was disappointed with Mas' performance. She definitely could do better, but somehow in that concert she didn't go 'all-out'. Suara tak keluar. Can't make sense what she sang. AND, she forgot her turn to sing during the bonus song. Sheesh.. her mind must've been somewhere else.

In my eyes, Zahid was the star in Konsert AF 5. He really shone that night. Really. Even Adam's rendetion of Tipah Tertipu would not have been as enjoyable if Zahid didn't do his part well. Or Bob's Akar & Bumi - without Zahid it wouldn't have been as cute.

OK OK, it's SO obvious that I vote for Zahid. What can I say? I think he's talented, and I don't think I'm the only one who thinks so.

Go Budak Gombak!

It's a boy!

Got an SMS from Sha this morning. She gave birth to a baby boy!

The Girls & the apples of their eyes:
Rina has 2 lovely daughters - KissKiss & MinMin. And another baby is on the way - though she didn't mention if she's hoping for a babyboy this time.
Affiq (yg comel sangat) is Liya's son.
Fara's cute babygirl Yasmin is only a few months old.
Mel is pregnant - expecting an addition to the family some time in January 2005.

Fara is going to visit Sha, maybe over the weekend, and will bring along baby Yasmin. Best nya tengok baby baru. I think I'll do that too. Maybe I'll arrange something with Darls.

Sheils & Zuex in Korea

Sheils & Zuex are both in Korea. Their flight was on Monday 5th July, at 1am. Suddenly I miss them both. My Inbox seems highly inactive without emails from any of The Girls.

And Sheils sms'ed my Sunday afternoon saying that she's not feeling well. Alahaii.. hope it's just a bug that goes away ASAP.

My guess is that both Sheils & Zuex are having a good time, seeing new places & new faces. :D

I think I'll reserve one night for sleepover at Sheils' place. Am sure she has wonderful stories to tell me about Korea. :-)


p/s: Have I mentioned that The Girls include Sheils, Mel, Darls, Zuex, Rina, Fara, Sha & Liya? And yours truly here, of course! :Þ

Tuesday blues (and I do love family gatherings!)

Yeah I know, normally the blues are for Mondays. But yesterday I was on MC (the doctor gave me 1 day off), so today feels like Monday to me. Even Mumue asked if I'm OK. Jikin asked me if I didn't get enough sleep. I checked in the mirror, and... alamak, swollen eyes rupanya, no wonder they both made those remarks!

Sunday makan-makan was wonderful. I DID end up making the baked macaroni. Mak made rendang ayam, and told me to masak nasi himpit (the segera one, of course!). MakTon made kuah soto (and hence the reason for the nasi himpit). Both Uncle Sam and Uncle Ed made it to the makan-makan, and Uncle Ed made Pineapple Turnover Cake, and also some Tea-Bread. Rajin betul lah him! Iyin bought Secret Recipe's Chocolate Banana. OMG! There goes my sugar level! LOLs...

Food was aplenty. And I really mean that. A LOT!! And a lot of them were actually eaten up on Sunday itself (sheesh, talk about everyone having big appetite!) Let's see what's still left in the refrigerator this morning - 1/3 of the Choc Banana cake, 1/4 of the Pineapple Turnover. The rest... long gone!

Awene's babygirl was there - Alya. COMELLLL sangat! And she didn't take that long to warm up to me. And seeing the way Mak holing Alya made me wonder if Mak was hoping for a grandchild in the nearest future.

Lene was there too, on her way to work she said, but she dropped by and ate a little, and played with her two boys for a while.

Seeing Kai enjoying the macaroni bakar made all the effort SO worth it! Seeing Ya sleeping half way through the gathering (with the soft snoring and everything) made me grin - evidence of how tired she was kena kemas-kemas the house for guests to come. Well, it could also be due to the fact that she just loves to sleep :P

At the end of the day, I love family gatherings.
Despite kena cuci pinggan and kemas-kemas all. Despite having sore arms the next day (adoi, my arms are still a bit sore actually).
I still love gatherings, especially with the people who are close in my heart.

That's family gathering. Hmm... Let's see when should The Girls gather pulak.

Big makan-makan tomorrow

Eii..!! It's coming close to 4pm on this working Saturday. And I'm still at the office!

OK, gonna get home and gotta do some groceries. Our house is having this makan-makan tomorrow - for lunch + tea + dinner - and I actually have no idea what's the menu like. Though I do recall Mak asking me to cook the baked macaroni. So let's start with buying the ingredients for that dish, and see where it goes from there.

Another busy weekend this will be. Oh well, at least that will take my mind off a few things.

Like the doctor's appointment this coming Monday morning. Let's hope everything goes well.

More on the ICKY guy

OK, I swear he is NOT my fave topic, but I could only resort to blogs to pour my heart out.

Just now while I went downstairs to do my banking transactions, apparently Icky Guy asked how old everyone was.

When I came back to my desk, Jikin told me what happened. Gosh, I really cannot tahan this guy lah.

And I caught Mumue rolling her eyes & making faces, and while saying "Please Lord give me patience".

I think the Icky Guy is really getting on everyone's nerves. He's definitely getting on mine.

(Not) Adapting to change (He's icky!)

I'm having difficulty adapting to change. What change? The new boss thingy. Well he's not the Dept Head, he's the Section Head.

There's something about him that just doesn't sit well with me at all. It's ... well it's icky. He's icky.

I know I know, I'm passing judgement when I don't know him that well. But I can't help myself. HE'S ICKY! He's damn good with his politics - probably that's the reason he got this job.

Arghh!! How the heck am I going to work with this guy?!?!

I think even Mumue is having regrets about hiring him in the first place. Hehehe.. Sheils, probably Mumue feels exactly what your boss is feeling!

That particular ringtone

I was in the ladies this morning when I heard that particular ringtone. Immediately I could see AT's face flashing across my mind.

You see, when I was going out with him, I assigned that particular ringtone to AT, and AT alone.

Today that particular ringtone is left unassigned in my mobile.

And when I heard that particular ringtone this morning, came the realisation: I still remember AT. So very much.

I think I need a break

Yeah.. I think that's exactly what I need. Even more so after finding out that Sheils is going to KOREA!! Best nya!
(Oh yeah, did I mention that last year I followed her to Brisbane? Heheheh.. she went there to work, I was just menyibuk - free accomodation baby! - of course I would go along!)

I know Sheils loves to travel. Can't believe she and Darls (plus 2 other girls) went on a 1-month Europe trip by train in summer'98. Slept in train stations, youth hostels, sometimes they didn't even know where they were going to sleep that night.

I don't think I'm able to do that. I'm the type that prefers sleeping in hotels or B&B or a friend's house. Train stations are a NO-NO. I'm not adventurous enough to lay out a sleeping bag in an unfamiliar place (wide open public space pulak tu) and try to catch my forty-winks there.

Hmm.. probably that's why I haven't gone on proper vacation for a long time. BUDGET issue!! :Þ

Planned to visit some relatives in Singapore this coming end-July, but honestly, I don't think that visit will take place after all. What with all the work I foresee I'd have to finish at that time. Going on a vacation at that time, I think my mind would keep coming back to work, and work and work.

Arghhh! If that's the case, then how to rest eh??

That (elusive) thing called 'Love'

Well I think it's elusive. Once in a while, it seems to be within reach, but *blink blink* and suddenly it's gone. *Poof*

I remember when I was younger, I used to day dream that one day I'll meet this great person. And we'll both fall in love.
And get married.
And have great kids.
And grow old together.
(You get the drift...)

But being the person I am today, I'd say.. "I was THAT naive?"

No no, I haven't given up on love. Err, not yet anyway.
Only.. lately I've been leaning towards being a believer that Love, well... it's one hell of a slippery thing.

I'm sure a LOT of people out there might disagree with me. Probably with these points:
1. I've found 'Love'. So it does exist. And I managed to catch it.

2. 'Love' is NOT everything in life. Learn to live without it, honey.

3. I've found 'Love' and I've lost it. And I'm still suffering from the pain. (I think I remember reading somewhere - can't recall though if it was supposed to be a sarcastic remark - "Those who said 'It is better to have loved and lost, than not to have loved at all' must not have been in love before.")

4. Etcetera, etcetera.


I guess what I'm trying to say is: Love is out there. Somewhere. It's just that I have yet the chance to say "I've found love."

So, until that day comes, I'll just keep on praying.
And keep on hoping.


And maybe, just maybe, it will be one day soon.

Baked macaroni

Follow up on the baked macaroni.

Mel LOVED it!! Hehehehe... all my effort is well worth it! I'm sooo glad she likes it. In fact, she sent me an e-mail this morning, thanking me for the macaroni (which I delivered to her yesterday). And another e-mail after that asking me if I can bake another for her. She's even willing to pay! LOLs... Can't believe she offered to pay.

So I told her that if she really wants to give something, she can always buy the ingredients & I'll be more than happy to cook it for her.

And Mel agreed. :-)

So, I'll be baking the macaroni again. Erm, tomorrow night I think.

Another friend, Liz (secondary school group of friends) sent SMS earlier, asking a few friends to hang out tomorrow night, probably karaoke. And I have to decline - coz I'll be at home baking the macaroni.

Guess what's her reply?

"Ishh teringin plak nak rasa macaroni bakar yang Yam masak tu ekekek"

LOLs..

And an SMS from Sha (one of The Girls) who read Mel's e-mail this morning:

"Yummy, dapnye macaroni cheese. napa X-nak bagi aku gak?"

My verdict? Our house will be filled with the smell of baked macaroni in the coming 2-3 days.

Judging someone

Call it human nature, but a person is always always judging someone else, whether they realise it or otherwise.

Sometimes their judgement is reserved, and sometimes the judgement is being broadcasted to any listening ear.

Personally, I try NOT to be too judging. Hmmm, come to think of it, is there such thing as being too judging? Either you judge, or you don't. Full stop. Right?

What right do I have to judge someone? I'm human being.
And as Billie Myers put it nicely: "Perfectly flawed"

Monday oh Monday...

I swear it, Monday = superglue to the eyes.
It's just SOOO hard to wake up on Monday morning. And the fact that it's SOO hard to sleep the night before doesn't help at all.

Oh yeah, I did bake the macaroni yesterday. Twice. The first batch was only enough for my family (considering the last time I made this dish was ages ago... everyone dug in & makan puas-puas!). So I baked another one for Mel.

Which reminds me, I haven't called Mel to tell her that the baked macaroni is ready for her taking. Better do that around lunchtime.

Another thing, the new Section Head is here. Hmm.. will reserve judgement until appropriate time (Gosh.. since when 'passing judgement' became a trait I've developed?!?)

Suddenly it feels like it will be a long Monday, and an even longer week ahead...

Pregnancy & "Mengidam"

LOLs.. OK OK, so I used the word "mengidam" in the title for lack of knowledge of a suitable word to replace it in English. Hahaha..!

Anyway, one of The Girls called me on Thursday. Mel is about 3 months pregnant. And honestly, we haven't talked on the phone for so long (my phone conversations lately are rather limited to making calls to Sheils and Darls.) So I wondered if something's going on in Mel's mind. She asked me if I felt like cooking the baked macaroni (which I used to do a LOT when I was in Newcastle) in the near future, say over the weekend?

And I went: Alahaii, Mel if kau teringin, of course I would make it for you. I'll bake it over the weekend, kay?
Mel: No no, I'll be at my parents' house this weekend.
Me: No worries, I'll keep it in the fridge, and give it to you Monday night. OK?

I've heard of pregnant women having cravings (Gosh! That's the English word for 'mengidam' right?!), and I KNOW some have really weird cravings during pregnancy - food that's only available in that woman's kampung (you husbands, count yourselves lucky if her kampung is in Kajang and not Kuching), eating Lux soap (I swear! A Malay Language teacher - at one tuition centre in KL - shared with us students about one of her 'mengidam' during pregnancy), and many others that I haven't the opportunity to hear of.

But this is Mel, one of my closest friends. And of course I would make the baked macaroni.

And besides, Mak has been asking me, "Yam, bila lagi nak buat your macaroni bakar?"

Hehehe..

So 'Baked Macaroni' it is for today's menu! :-)
Hmm... I'm killing 2 birds with 1 stone. See, I can be efficient when I choose to...

Blog This, Blog That

I've just discovered blogging.
Well, I've read other people's blogs in the recent past, only lately have I develop a liking to writing my own (and MORE active reading of others'..)

Anyway, for a split second, I felt kinda guilty. I mean, should I be reading on these people's private thoughts?
But then I thought: 'If takmau other people read, then why put it on the Net?'

Right?

Yeah, I guess so too..


And Sheils, if you ever get to this page, love you lots :)

Things to Get Done

Hmm.. suddenly it feels like my "To Do" list is getting longer by the minute.

Arghhh..!!

Where did all this work come from? Is there a tag that says "Hi, I love taking in more work, so just give 'em to me" hanging on my neck??

Gosh..

Hmm... back to the depressing world of work, work and more work.

New boss??

Apparently I'm getting a new boss!

After 3 years plus without a direct supervisor, and now I'm getting one?

Sheeshh..
Leceh lah..

My Dept Head dropped the bombshell yesterday afternoon. And in my reaction to the news (read: shocked + speechless) I could only continue doing my work without analysing my feelings... :P

I guess I'm just gonna welcome him to the department.

Yeah right..!
I'm still in shock. Hahahaha... I guess the thought of having someone constantly behind my back & looking at my work, well, it doesn't sit well with me.

We'll see what happens on Monday.

Oh yeah, which reminds me.

I better start getting up earlier.