Quiz time.

You May Be a Bit Dependent ...

You're more than a little preoccupied with being abandoned. You need a lot of support in your life, at all times. It's difficult for you to survive on your own... And you don't reallly think you ever could.

What Personality Disorder Are You?

maybe i am...

Four friends, blue skies and the cool mountain air. 

In Kundasang, trying to make my escape from the other drunkards... 

Under the sheets we go... 

and move behind the curtains... 

...a hop into the tub... 

...and into the closet 

Group shot...Still sober. From left:Daniel, me, Melissa and Haw. 

Back to the suite with our bottles of beer. 

Bar closed? No problem!  

Long weekend...again.

And so Sabahans revel in the long weekend, thanks to the Harvest Festival, or Kaamatan as we call it. Our weekend stretches all the way to Tuesday so if KL suddenly becomes infested with Sabahans, you know why.

My weekend plans? Nice and easy, with the occassional pub hopping (and yes, it's still for work). We have five pubs/clubs to go and then i can take a nice, long break from alcohol. I think my body needs it. Went clubbing last night (yes yes for work) and even after several encounters with Jim Beam, I hardly felt buzzy. My body must've developed some immunity to alcohol by now.

Where's the fun in that????

Drinking aside, I'm gonna catch Star Wars this weekend. Probably go at some odd hour because i don't like watching movies in the cinema with 5 million other people. Oh and Madagascar is out! Talking animals are always good in my book. My family wants to go on a picnic by the beach (how cliched, heh heh) one of these days. We haven't done that since i was 15.

I played futsal again last night. That's twice this week. I got a ball kicked on the left side of my face and i fell to the floor for a brief moment. My face was burning and ego bruised, but i played on. I also got kicked -leaving me a nice shiner on my right ankle- and let's just say women should be allowed to wear breast plates when they play soccer. Ouch. But that said, I scored three for the day so that made it all worthwhile.

I'm looking forward to doing nothing this weekend. Feels like i haven't had that in a while. Hope you all have a great weekend too.

"Flower man, flower man,
When you gonna grow...
When you gonna lay down,
Everything you know."
-Flower Man by Tonic. I'm not sure if the song goes like that but in my head it does...

Buzzy busy bee blogging.

Yes, yes, I know I’ve been missed. Or so I wish. Anyway, the last week has been crazy. Actually, now that I look back, it’s been about 13 days since I last blogged. Talk about time flying.

As I was saying, me busy. Crazy busy. It’s been a non-stop roller coaster of events, especially at work. I’ll do a little breakdown:

My Birthday, May 13
My birthday (thanks for the wishes. I’ve decided to stay 25 for another year, snort) was a laid-back celebration, which I preferred. The office threw a little cake cutting ceremony for all those celebrating their birthdays in May and my colleagues bought me clothes from MNG as a gift (thanks guys!). At night, Lester brought me out for dinner and we met up with Mia, Adrian, Sel and Pu for coffee after. Me so touched to have my close friends surround me on my birthday. Thanks for coming out peeps, especially since it was raining heavily that night.

Sunset Cruise, May 16
Had to do a story on the Kinabalu Sunset Cruise package so spent the evening on board the Pangkor. I have to admit it was nice to end a long day at the office cruising the South China Sea, watching the sunset and enjoying a glass of wine. Would’ve been nicer without the diesel fumes though. As the sun set, we enjoyed a buffet style dinner while I did the usual who/what/when/how routine with the owner of the boat. At night, we had a nice view of the city lights at the harbour. Just as we got back to shore, it started to pour. Went back home, hugged my cat and was off to bed.

Adobe Pagemaker, May 18-19
Yep, finally learned how to use Adobe Pagemaker. My boss has been urging me and Melina, my colleague, to learn how to use Pagemaker so we could get involved in design work. So off to a two-day course in Cosmopoint we went. Our trainer turned out to be my secondary schoolmate, Brenda. And, get this: There were only 2 of us in the class. So we had Brenda all to ourselves (wait a minute, that doesn’t sound right…). Morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea were provided and everything was smooth sailing. Two days later, we emerged Pagemaker extraordinaires. Heh. Certificates and all.

Pub inspections, May 21-23
And a-drinking we went. Haw, Mel C, Daniel and I (all of us colleagues) piled into the office Hilux on Saturday afternoon and made our way to Keningau (a town some 2 and a half hours away from KK) for our first pub inspection. We had dinner, witnessed a gang fight and, again, braved the rain. At nine pm, we switched to party mode and hoped for the best from Peppermint Pub and Lounge (the name wasn’t very promising to start off with…). To make a long story short, we started off the night rather mellow, drinking warm beer – I kid you not – and singing (or slaughtering) Bon Jovi songs. I dunno when it exactly began but I think it was somewhere between the fourth and the fifth jug of warm beer we started getting ‘happy’ and even the pub staff were having fun watching us having fun. I’m not gonna say much because the night was a blur of singing, dancing, crawling in the hotel lobby and spilling fish curry on my pink pajamas. I’ll let the photos do the talking.

Day 2 we headed towards the mountain. Well actually, we had to drive back to KK for 2 and a half hours, have lunch, and drive another 2 and a half hours in the other direction. I was looking forward to the cool mountain air for a change. They had no more rooms in the hotel we checked into, being a public holiday and all, so we had to take what was left: A suite on the top floor. Heh, not complaining. We had an amazing view of the mountain! The bed was huge so we spent the earlier part of the evening ‘mattress diving’.
Evening rolled around. Looking for a decent meal in unfamiliar territories always proves to be an adventure. No gang fights this time around but the coffee shop was full of flying insects that kept landing on our food, nose, ears...You get the pic. Tired from our journey, all four of us lazed around in the suite watching Master & Commander (long movie, I wasn’t paying attention) and we only hauled ass at almost ten pm to the pub downstairs. The beer was cold, so that was good. Service? Bad. They turned off most of the lights, air conditioner, music and tv at exactly 12am. Problem is, we were still IN the pub. With half a jug to go. Annoyed and still thirsty, we bought six bottles of beer and brought it up to the room. Again, I’ll let the photos tell the story of Four Friends and Six Bottle of Beer.


Swedes on a Sunset Cruise, May 24
Last night, I went on the sunset cruise (again) but this time to accompany six Swedish gentlemen, who are checking out Sabah’s potential in hosting their next company event. Anyway, did the usual hand-shaking, name-card exchanging routine. What was supposed to be a simple four-hour meet and greet session turned out to be a drinking session that lasted till 1am. Beer, Chivas, Long Island Tea…I had ‘em all. I haven’t even recuperated from the previous drinking session so imagine my horror. Sigh.

…And today I am trying to deal with the shitload of work on my desk. FYI, writing this entry began at around 10am and I finally completed it at 2:30pm. Tonight, I’m playing futsal with my colleagues. I’m tired but, in some strange way, being this busy beats having nothing to do. And my French classes begin next week, aaarrrgh!

Coming soon to a blog near you: Photos of my weekend.

Cheers.

"Why do birds suddenly appear, everytime you are near?
Just like me, they long to be....Close to you."
-The Carpenters, Close To You. Yep, one too many karaoke sessions this week.

Look,ma, no hangover!

Yep, had another drinking session last night, all in the name of work. This is getting tiring. After a couple of beers at a couple of sorta-dodgy clubs, my team and I headed to Shenanigan’s (aka Den of Evil) to get some serious partying done. Well, more like serious drinking anyway. Out came the jugs of vodka lime, whiskey coke… And the inevitable bottle of Black Label. Hoo ha hoo ha a bit but after an hour or so, I decided to take a seat. Turned out to be a mistake because I started drifting off. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I actually nodded off in Shenanigan’s amidst the noise and crowd. Haw figured that was the cue for all of us to head back. It was almost 1am when we staggered to his car, me clinging to his shirt for fear of making facial contact with the tar road. Or getting hit by a moving vehicle as we crossed the road. Either way, wouldn’t be a pretty sight.

Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t drunk. After so many years of drinking, trust me, I’d know the difference. I was already exhausted from working the whole day and pub-hopping wasn’t exactly the most relaxing thing to do. Alcohol + fatigue = room spinning and inability to keep eyes open and head up. It was a weird sensation. My body felt like lead but I was still aware of everything around me. But my eyes were just…so…heavy. I decided Haw’s sleep-inducing collection of songs playing on his CD player was the last thing I needed to I slipped in some Bon Jovi CD. We both started singing Bed Of Roses at the top of our lungs and, for a brief moment, I was the best drummer in the world (minus the actual drum set. Heh).

Made my way up the stairs after checking all the locks on the doors. My cat, loyal as ever, meowed (in annoyance? Pleasure to see me? I couldn’t tell). Washed my face, brushed my teeth and picked up Gaya from the toilet bowl he fell in (and I thought I was tipsy). Wiped his paws dry, gave him water to drink and I plopped on my bed. Cringed at the thought of going to work the next morning.

But here I am. Sleepy. Drowsy. BUT no hangover. And I think that’s what matters most. Cheers all around.

Next pub-hopping outing: Saturday night. Sigh. Stay tuned for more Adventures of the Drinking Kind.

“I wanna lay you down in a bed of roses
For tonight I'll sleep on a bed of nails...”
-Bon Jovi, Bed of Roses. Didja know he wrote this song for his wife? Trivia for the day compliments of Haw.

Eye candy

I like him. He’s cute. I just need some eye candy right now. Van Persie. Arsenal player. Nice kan?

I’m in a crabby mood. Everyone in the office is in a crabby mood. Those who aren’t crabby are busy annoying the crabby people. Vicious cycle.

So I’m gonna post pix of cute guys for my pleasure.

Johnny Depp. The crankiest day would still be Mardi Gras if i came home to this.

 

I had an elf-crush on him as Legolas but in Kingdom of Heaven, he's just delicious. Manly, no?
(i just realised that he looks like Johnny Depp here...hmm)

And of course...

Don't you just wanna take him home? No? Ok, then i will.

My day is done. Everything is better now. Over and out.

I heard the two-tone look is very 'in' right now... 

My cat loves me.

And so I blog another day in the life of your truly. Let’s see…Weekend updates. Friday I watched Ridley Scott’s Kingdom of Heaven. Orlando Bloom finally decided to take a none-wimpy role (ie: annoying brother in Troy) that makes you wanna cheer for him throughout the movie. But I still believe he looks best as a blonde elfin archer. Yum. The movie was alright though I have to admit I kept waiting for a mind-blowing climax (aren’t we all, heh heh) but never got it. The themes were strong and interesting, action sequences good enough for me but…something was missing. Can’t quite put my finger on it. Go watch la, still entertaining nonetheless.

Saturday I went to the hair salon. I’m trying to grow my hair out but it’s getting a bit dull so I got my hairdresser to put some layers in. It went well except when this blonde-wannabe dude started blow-drying my hair. After knocking my head three times with the dryer and burning my ear with hot air (“Aik…solly miss, solly miss”), I told him how unpleasant everything was. And you know what he said? “Pain ah? How come?”

He was lucky my hairdresser came over at that point and took over, or I just might have shoved a hairdryer up where the sun don’t shine and go, “Pain ah? Pain ah? How come? Tell me, bitch!” Anyway, I started ranting about how incompetent and unprofessional her new stylist was and she said I wasn’t the first to complain. That said, I’m happy with my new hair.

That evening, I had to play emcee for a cultural show in conjunction with Sabah Fest (as seen on our flyer ‘A celebration of Sabah’s natural charms!’). At eight pm, Lester swung by to pick me up so we could proceed for dinner. On the way, we had an argument, upon which I lost my appetite. 9:15pm, Haw picks me up from home and we’re off to our club/pub hopping for tourism inspection purposes (I kid you not). We meet with two other committee members at the Waterfront. By the end of the night, I’ve polished a Corona, Frozen Margarita, white wine, beer and more beer. Someone pops open a bottle of Chivas and after four glasses, I’m a goner. I’m not sure about the journey home but Haw escorted me home. Everything else was a blur but I woke up at 4am to discover that I was sleeping next to the toilet bowl and my cat’s on my lap (sob, just when you think no one could love you in that state…).

Sunday morning = hangover. And did I mention I was on emcee duty again that afternoon? So there I was, battling the disgusting aftertaste in my mouth and my churning stomach while smiling and raving enthusiastically about Sabah’s wonderful ethnic diversity. What I REALLY wanted to say was, “F*** all this shit, where’s my bed?”

The afternoon was spent with my cat as we watched a repeat episode of The Apprentice (Raj. Annoying. Very.). At night, went to my sister’s place for a simple mother’s day dinner (my parents are away so I thought I should spend it with someone else’s mother, heh). Played with my nieces and went home around 9 pm. Heavy downpour. Waited for Lester, who never showed up. Turns out he has food poisoning. Still, that doesn’t stop us from having another argument on the phone – what a waste of my phone bill. Annoyed, I call up a friend, we have a few beers and when I get home, I can’t sleep so I chat with Sel, who’s online. After a few rounds of annoying each other, I say good night, check on my cat and hit the sack.

Today is Monday. Enough said.

"Few times I've been around that track
so it's not just gonna happen just like that
'Cause I ain't no hollaback girl
I ain't no hollaback girl"
- Gwen Stefani's Hollaback Girl. Current song stuck in my head.

I promised.

I pwomise that I won't Kill Sel when I read this.

I will pay her RM59.99 plus tax for making me smile today.

Oooggiieeee ooogggiiieee yooooooo.

Salamdary Boos Bubu.

Group shot. Nice and burnt.  

Our boat. When it's cruising, the best seat is from the top deck where you get a bird's eye view of everything. 

Yay! First catch of the day. Happy smiles all around. 

Fresh bait is the best. We used a variety of smaller fishes and squid. 

Here fishy fishy... 

My first bite. Ah, the excitement... 

Hook,line and sinker.

So i spent Saturday deep sea fishing (words i never imagined to say). It's for a story i'm working on and although my initial plan was to just grab some brochures and interview some anglers, my boss decided the story would have a better 'feel' if i actually WENT on the fishing trip. Great.

And i did. My morning started at 5:30. I had one nagging fear. No, it wasn't hooking the bait. It wasn't the scorching heat. It wasn't even the fact that pirates could raid us in the open sea at any moment.

It was the high probability of getting sea-sick.

I don't have any problems with being on boats. Living in KK means growing up by the sea and hopping on speed boats for weekends on nearby islands (I *heart* KK, as certain people would say). But i was forewarned of getting sea-sick once the boat stopped moving at high speed. All that tossing and tumbling would guarantee at least three shades of green. So i popped in a motion sickness pill and hoped for the best.

The boat ride from the Sutera Harbour Marina took around an hour plus. I watched as the islands and buildings around us got smaller and smaller, and soon disappeared completely. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the open sea. It was just blue as far as the eye can see! I was in awe of my surroundings and, lucky me, the sea was pretty calm that day. The boat finally came to a halt and i instantly panicked. The boat began bobbing up, down, left, right, round and round and round.... I kept my eye on the horizon (the only decent point of reference) to avoid getting sick. I decided to keep myself busy so i wouldn't think about getting sick. I asked one of the anglers (there were about nine of us on the boat, me being the alpha female, haha) to show me how to bait the hook. I kept myself occupied thereon and, lo and behold, I was doing fine.

Anyway, we started fishing at around 9:30am. There were loads of unfamiliar equipment and gadgets lying around the boat and i made myself a nuisance by asking what each of them were, heh. And then, just when everything was getting a bit too quiet, someone caught a fish! It was exciting, i have to admit, but not as exciting as when you catch your VERY OWN fish! Yessiree, I caught my first fish that fateful Saturday morning. First, a tug and then your rod starts to bend. The other guys were all excited for me and started throwing instructions, "Pull, slowly slowly! That's it... Ok, reel it in! Not so fast....There it is...slowly, slowly...That's beautiful!" Here's what i caught:



Ok maybe not. But it was a nice big one by my standards anyway. By noon, the sun was merciless and i kept slathering on sunblock (but, as i'll explain later, not enough apparently). I sat right at the edge of the boat, near the motor, where i could dip my feet in the sea. The men were impressed that I was still doing ok despite the bobbing and rocking. Hell yeah, once you catch a fish you forget about everything else! I was determined to catch more and that was all i could think of. Damn nice, man. There's a lot of waiting though. Sometimes you wait almost an hour before you even feel a nibble. No wonder it's the perfect setting for a male bonding session:

Junior: Dad, what's the meaning of life?
Senior: Well, son, when i was your age...
Junior: ....Wait, i got something!
Senior: Reel it in boy! That's it, that's it!
Junior: Wow, look what i caught!
Senior: *tears in his eyes* I'm so proud of you.
Junior: I love you too, dad.

You get the pic. Anyway, i caught a total of three fishes that day, the last fish being THE catch of the day. It was a huge (and i mean 2 kilos at least) red grouper. I actually lost it while i was reeling it in but one of the Master Anglers of the Highest Order (Mr Chong to you) took the baby fish i caught (it had teeth marks all the way down meaning, Big Fish was after Little Fish but Big Fish got away) and used it as bait for round two. Less than three minutes later, he reeled in the Big One that Almost Got Away and gave it to me, "Here you go, girl...This one actually yours." All hail the Angler King!

The sea was getting choppy by 4pm so we headed back to shore. The ride back was relaxing, the sun setting behind us and the occassional splash from the sea to cool us off. Back on land, we took the obligatory group photo. It was nice to be one of the guys for a day and they were a fun bunch. I smelled like fish from head to toe but it was well worth it. And I loved the look on my dad's face when i showed him my catch of the day. No points for guessing what we had for dinner :)

The aftermath? The worst sunburn ever. I'm gonna look 'well done' for the next week or so but if you asked me to do it again, I'd hop on the boat in a heartbeat.

"Rock the boat, (don't rock the boat baby)
don't tip the boat over..."
-It's on the radio. How appropriate.

You're kidding me...

First, there was Catherine Zeta-Jones and grandpappy Michael Douglas. And then there's Calista Flockhart and Harrison Ford. On the other side of the coin, Ashton fell for mummy-of-four, Demi. Here's the latest 'you're-kidding-me' couple:

.


Cruise Dating Katie Holmes (http://movies.msn.com/movies/hotgossipb)
April 27, 2005

Katie Holmes may have to kiss her mile-high stilettos goodbye. It looks like the former fiancée of Chris Klein has traded up -- way up -- the Hollywood food chain.
Both People and the Insider report the onetime "Dawson's Creek" cutie, 26, is dating none other than Tom Cruise, 42.


(Hey, don't look at us, we're just as surprised as you are. And that sound you hear? It's a million voices all saying "whah?" at the same time.)

Cruise's rep confirmed the hook-up to People after paparazzi caught the new power couple holding hands in Rome Wednesday night.

i want i want i want

I think our generation is too ambitious. Don't get me wrong. I think ambition is a good thing. But i've been thinking of the unnecessary stress we put upon ourselves. It's the constant search for that ultimate job, in hopes of a high salary, so we can afford that nice car and fancy condo, where we can raise our children, who will attend only the best schools and excel in music/sports/origami, and then proceed to be lawyers, doctors and engineers. Bleh. And twice a year, we get to travel to some exotic location so we come back and boast about it to our less-priviliged (read: happy with their simple lives, non-money grabbing, anti-designer label wearing) friends.

Oh and i forgot to mention that this should all be ideally achieved by/before/at the age of 30.

Maybe i'm exagerrating. Maybe I think too much. Maybe lunch time is approaching and i don't know how else to deal with my hunger. Thing is, I'm a bit tired of planning for the 'perfect' future these days. Pursuing my postgraduate, buying a house, getting a better car, looking for a higher-paying job... It never ends. Whatever happened to 'come what may'? Ok, granted, we all need to plan some things at some point. But i think our generation is obsessed with the notion of having/doing it all as soon as possible. Sometimes we just want too much, too soon. And hey, like i said, a little ambition isn't a bad thing but when your whole life begins to revolve around 'I want, I want, I want', it's time to take a reality check.

I'm gonna stop doing that. Let's face it: Whatever we make, it's never enough. When you have what you want, you'll always want more. Maybe it's a new economic principle (that supply/demand one was getting old anyway). I'm gonna stop house-hunting because truth is, i don't make reasonably enough to buy one yet. And my postgraduate? It's not a priority. A better car? Mine will do for now (i need to get rid of that squeaking sound though). A husband and 2.5 kids? If it's meant to happen, it will (if not, there's always match.com. Haha). And yeah, who doesn't want a higher-paying job? But right now, i work with people who have become my friends, i get to travel, write and on Fridays, i get 2 and half hours for lunch. Life's good. Right now, my short-term plans include buying bread so i can make sandwiches for my deep-sea fishing trip tomorrow. Oh and I need to buy a new toothbrush.

What's that song again? Oh yeah: Que sera, sera...

Me samurai

You are a Samurai.
You are full of honour and value respect. You
are not really the stereotypical hero, but you
do fight for good. Just in your own way. For
you, it is most certainly okay to kill an evil
person, if it is for justice and peace. You
also don't belive in mourning all the time and
think that once you've hit a bad stage in life
you just have to get up again. It's pointless
to concentrate on emotional pain and better to
just get on with everything. You also are a
down to earth type of person and think before
you act. Impulsive people may annoy you
somewhat.

Main weapon: Sword
Quote: "Always do the right thing.
This will gratify some people and astonish the
rest" -Mark Twain
Facial expression: Small smile

What Type of Killer Are You? [cool pictures]
brought to you by quizilla.com

Colour me pretty.

The Luscher Colour Test (http://www.viewzone.com/luscher.html). Here's what it said about me:

PROBLEM UNDERLYING THE PRESENT STRESS -- The fear that he may be prevented from achieving the things he wants leads him to play his part with an urgent and hectic intensity.

DESIRED OBJECTIVE -- Preoccupied with things of an intensely exciting nature, whether erotically stimulating or otherwise. Wants to be regarded as an exciting and interesting personality with an altogether charming and impressive influence on others. Uses tactics skillfully so as to avoid endangering his chances of success or undermining others confidence in himself.

CURRENT INAPPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR -- Believes that he is not receiving his share -- that he is neither properly understood nor adequately appreciated. Feels that he is being compelled to conform, and close relationships leave him without any sense of emotional involvement. (this is inappropriate behaviour? Hmm.)

i like this. 

A very annoyed fridaycat. 

Annoyed.

I am annoyed because the magazine should be done but it's not.

I am annoyed because it's so hot outside.

I am annoyed because I received an annoying letter in the mail saying i have to show up in court eventhough it has nothing to do with me (don't ask).

I am annoyed because construction work is still going on and i can hear them drilling and knocking all day long. Shut up you bastards.

I am annoyed because my throat is sore and i don't know why.

I am annoyed because I'm getting hungry.

I am annoyed because Lester cancelled our lunch plans to do work. Yawn.

I am annoyed because there are still five hours to go before i get to leave the office.

I am annoyed because I am now OFFICIALLY hungry.

I am annoyed because i don't know what i want for lunch and i know whatever i have, i will STILL be annoyed with my choice.

I am annoyed because I had a bad dream and it's still annoying me.

I am annoyed because I haven't found my not-too-tall, not-so-dark and handsome knight in shining armour who will whisk me away from all my annoyances and build me my own shopping mall where I can shop to my heart's content.

I am annoyed because my nails look horrible.

I am annoyed because David Duchovny should never have left The X-Files.

I am annoyed because it's Tuesday and the weekend is still a bloody four days away. Wait, i have to work this Saturday...

Shit, now i'm really annoyed.

"My shadow's the only one who walks beside me..."
-f****** annoying song by Green Day. Boulevard of Broken Dreams.

To the tip and back.

I spent three days at Kudat. We organized the Sunset Symphony – basically someone’s bright idea (which usually means, we do the dirty work) to invite the KK Orchestra to perform at the Tip of Borneo, in Kudat. It was the first time the orchestra performed outdoors so it was quite a challenge, logistics and all. Plus, some of the musicians were so annoying that I wanted to chuck them and their squeaky violins out the bus half the time.

It’s a three-hour drive (another hour from Kudat town to the tip itself) and I’m not a big fan of long road trips. Especially when it’s with difficult and fussy people. “Aiyah so hot lah”, “Why the bus so smelly one?”, “Are we there yet?”. You get the pic. If they think they’re tired, they have no idea what it’s like to babysit 80 whiny musicians who think life is unfair because caviar isn’t served on the bus. Ok la, granted there were a handful of nice musicians who bothered responding to our ‘Good morning’. Ah well, you win some, you lose some.

As in other events, I’m usually in charge of the media people, which is cool because most of them are my ex-colleagues anyway. I told them the only off-limits area was the front of the stage, so they could take shots from anywhere else. They took that literally because the next thing I knew, I had a line of cameramen standing on top of the sound and lights truck! Anything that gets the job done I suppose.

So there we were, at the northern-most tip of Borneo (if you look at the dog-shaped map of Sabah, it’s right at the tip of the left ear). I have to admit, the view there is spectacular. Standing on the cliff, you can see the meeting point of the Sulu and South China Seas. And, interesting historical fact, Magellan stopped here to repair his damaged ships. But the natives also say it’s a sacred site so we have to be careful whenever we hold events there. Basically, as a sign of respect, we’ll always have a native priest or priestess conduct the necessary rituals to appease the spirits a week before the event. They do some chanting, slaughter some chickens and chant some more. It might sound like a bunch of hullabaloo to some people but we know better than to mess with the natives and their beliefs.

Anyway, we worked under the blazing sun two days in a row. It was so hot that at times I felt like we were actually ON the bloody sun. Oh and did I mention our official uniform was black pants and black shirts? Why not just make us wear a winter coat while we’re at it? At night, it was the usual boozing/card games session, while the rest of us channel surfed (who am I kidding, the hotel we stayed in had a total of 3 channels so it was either Bintang RTM, Drama Minggu Ini or the SAME Chinese movie aired four times a day.)

Good to be home.

"The hills are alive, with the sound of music,
With songs they have sung, for a thousand years..."
- yeah they played a medley of 'The Sound of Music' favourites. Still ringing in my head.

Tee hee.

My weekend was alright. My fever went away but it was replaced by a case of the sniffles. However, none of it mattered because… Lester is back! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, my boyfriend who has been out of town (sporadically) over the last seven weeks is finally back and won’t be leaving town till the first week of May (but only for a couple of days so…yay!).

Today is Monday. The day isn’t too bad. My boss is on medical leave for two days and my other colleague is on emergency leave for a week (a family member passed away). So it’s kinda quiet in here, which isn’t such a bad thing.

I think it’s the medication but I feel a bit high. Like happy high. Like everything makes me giggle.

(pause. I kicked the table. And now my toe is bleeding. Enter profanity).

As I was saying, I’m giggly. And a bit clumsy. And when I do something clumsy I giggle some more. Dunno la. I went for lunch today with Haw (it’s pronounce How by the way) and he couldn’t fathom my giggly-ness, so he figured fresh air might do me good. The minute we stepped into the coffee shop, it started again. First, I dropped the plastic container cover (which holds the chilli) into my bowl of soup. So bye bye soup. And then it took me a whole minute to chew a piece of sweet and sour pork.

Haw: What’s wrong now?
Me: Tough la the meat. I can’t chew it…
Haw: Don’t eat it.

So I proceed to spit it out and move on to the next piece of meat. Which is just as chewy and to prove my point to Haw, I try to cut it into smaller pieces with my fork and spoon. And then I accidentally bend the spoon. Hey it’s not my fault it’s one of those cheapo eating utensils ok?

So I’m still hungry after that. I decide to grab an ice-cream. One of those X-Choc Cornetto/Walls ones, I forget which one. Anyway, first two bites and I’m in sugar heaven (which probably isn’t such a good thing considering I’m giggly). And then as I’m halfway done, Haw looks at me, shakes his head and tells me to look in the mirror.

Yep, chocolate all over my mouth and chin. And my tongue is brown.

Anyway, I’m still in pretty high spirits eventhough my toe is bleeding. Maybe I should do something about all that blood…

It's like that y'all (that y'all), that y'all (that y'all)
Da da da da, I like that y'all (that y'all)
It's like that y'all (that y'all), that y'all (that y'all)
Like da da da da, I like that y'all (that y'all)
-Mariah Carey, 'It’s Like That'. Once again, her songwriting skills are incomparable.

Pass the panadol.

I’m not well. Sniff. Fever, sore throat, the works. I hate being sick. I especially hate being sick when I have loads of things to do in the office and I’ve planned my weekend. I took a sick leave yesterday but today, even if I’m frothing and having convulsions, I can’t afford to take another day off. There are just too many things to settle in the office. I’m gone for a day and already I have sixteen emails in my office inbox. I’m gonna fight this fever, no matter what it takes. Lester will be home for ONE day and I’m not going to waste it by being in bed nursing my fever. It’s so annoying. Why couldn’t I be sick earlier in the week?

Ok, let’s see. Bright side:
Today’s Friday, which means lunch is from 11:30am to 2pm.
Tomorrow is a non-working Saturday. Yay.
I get to spend the whole day with Lester. Double yay.
I can wake up late tomorrow.
I’m feeling a bit better than yesterday.

Not so bright side:
My body feels funny.
I feel so drugged up form the antibiotics and what nots.
I’m getting hungry but I have a sore throat so I’m limited to non-yummy stuff.
Deadlines. Grr.
I have to work tonight.

Alright, back to work. Damn deadlines.

“Closing time, time for you to go out, go out into the world.
Closing time, turn the lights up over every boy and every girl.
Closing time, one last call for alcohol so finish your whiskey or beer.
Closing time, you don't have to go home but you can't stay here.”
-Semisonic, Closing Time

My current wallpaper. Blonde pole dancer, haha. 

My trusty work companions. Sometimes, I still dunno how to spell ciggar...cigarre...A smoke. Oh and i recommend that book right on top by Mike Haddon.  

This is what happens when the boss is on leave and they leave the office camera lying around.  

Smoke, pee and party.

People shouldn’t smoke in the office. I have nothing against smokers but I do have a problem with inconsiderate smokers. There’s a Board of Directors meeting going on in the conference room right now and someone is smoking in there. I know because the whole office reeks of cigarette smoke. That’s just not nice because the office is an enclosed, air-conditioned area and the majority of staff here doesn’t smoke. Plus we have a number of pregnant women around.

And my nose is getting itchy.

I have another peeve: People who can’t aim properly in the john. What is with that? The office toilet is usually spotless until an outsider visits the office. There’s pee all over the toilet seat and on the floor! How hard can it be to pee INTO the toilet bowl? Are our office toilets oh-so-different from the ones other people have at home? I think it’s a safe assumption that the perpetrator was male (probably the smoker in the conference room too, grr). Pardon me as I get a wee bit detailed here but I always figured that it would be easier for guys to pee and not cause such a mess. First up, they’re standing and no removal of garments is required. Secondly, they actually ‘handle’ their ‘equipment’, so they should have better control of where all the urine is going. And they say men have better hand-eye coordination, pah.

Anyway, on another note, Friday night was da bomb. I haven’t gone out like that in ages so it was pretty fun. Mia, Pu, Sel, Carol, Yo and I got a hotel room at the Hyatt so none of us have to drive back after a night of boozing. The merriment began during dinnertime. Beers all around! Around 9pm we headed back to the room, got dressed (which was an event by itself when you have six women applying make-up and getting dressed in one cramped bedroom) and continued our drinking session. We had three bottles – names of which are all a blur to me today – but we didn’t polish them off. We just needed a bit of a buzz before we headed to Shenanigan’s, where my good friend Jim Beam awaited us in eager anticipation. The current live band still sucks but good enough for us to sing along and shake our bon-bons to. I knew the drinks were doing their thing when Yo and Pu start getting louder (yes, Pu can actually get louder, haha), Carol starts scoping the bar for cute guys (wait, we were all doing that…), Mia starts ordering tequila shots and I’m trying hard to make the room stop spinning. Sel had to work a bit so she only re-joined us after midnight (sober as ever, sial. Making her the sole credible witness to the night’s events). When the music stopped and the lights came on, that was our cue to head back to our room.

Er, and then I had a sandwich and I went to sleep. The end *innocent whistling*

Disclaimer: The author reserves the right to withhold any information pertaining to the night in question. The author also reserves the right vehemently deny reports of untoward behaviour due to intoxication. The author was a little tipsy but still made it to work the next morning.

I'd rather have bad times with you, than good times with someone else
I'd rather be beside you in a storm, than safe and warm by myself
I'd rather have hard times together, than to have it easy apart
I'd rather have the one who holds my heart
-Luther Vandross, I'd Rather. Ya a bit mushy la but it's on my playlist and it's the only lyrics ringing in my head now.

School daze.

I was listening to the radio today. They were asking listeners who took Additional Math in secondary school if they found it useful or relevant today.

Yeah, I find it about as useful as installing an air-conditioner in an igloo.

Come on la. Here’s what I really learned in school:

Chemistry – Always have a good lab partner. Preferably someone who knows what’s going on. Mine was Puei. She would be busy calculating the formulas while I played with the air suling bottle. Also, Mr. Ang (our chem teacher) knew I hated chem. and relished in calling me up to the board to complete the equations. Evil man. (And to top it off, I had to see on Tuesday and Thursday nights for extra chemistry tuition. Grr.) SPM result: Pass, 8 units

Physics – That it actually IS common sense but it’s the formulaic babble that makes it a complete bitch to learn. F=MA. E=MC². I=DNT/CARE. And inertia. Ok at least I found that concept interesting. And that small Indian men with big moustaches should not wear carrot-cut pants. EVER. SPM result: Pass, 8 Units

Biology – Of all the sciences, this I was slightly better at. Mainly cuz it just required lots of reading and remembering who’s who on the kekunci dikotomi (dichotomy tree?). But there was an interesting moment during my SPM practical examinations where I had to identify a piece of gooey blob on a petri dish. It looked so strange and after classifying it as “no backbone, clear, water based”, I decided that it closely resembled a jellyfish. After the session was over, my friends were excitedly debating about the seven specimens they had to identify. “Seven?” I asked. “But there were eight on my table.” After I described what it looked like, my friends calmly held my hand, “Mel. That was the petroleum jelly for the second experiment.”
SPM Result: Pass, 7 units. (it would have been a 6 if not for the Vaseline tragedy)

Math – If I gave the chicken rice lady RM5 for my RM3 chicken rice, I should expect RM2 back. Ok la, this one a bit useful. SPM result: Pass. 3 units.

History – Parameswara. Sultan Muzaffar Shah. Melaka. 1816. Ogos 31, 1957. Perjanjian Versailles. Laksamana Cheng Ho. Stamford Raffles. Sir David Attenborough (wait, that’s National Geographic). Boring as hell but I survived. I also learned that the kingdom of Brunei used to be huge but the King kept giving away land and today it’s swamped by Sabah and Sarawak. SPM result: Pass. 5 units.

Additional Math - …was the biggest mistake of my life. It was this or Accounting (they both had numbers so I figured I was a goner either way). Still, I should have chosen the lesser of two evils. The memories of algebra, trigonometry and Satanism (well it seemed that way) still haunt me till today. I don’t think I’ll ever be the same. SPM result: Pass. 8 units.

BM – ok la. I can bullshit it both English and BM so this was a breeze. SPM result: Credit. 3 units.

English – ditto. SPM results: Credit. 1 unit.

English Lit – My favourite subject. The only one I didn’t mind attending class for. The only one where I did extra research. The only one that didn’t make me wish the science labs would explode and classes would be cancelled. The only one where people asked ME for MY homework (hey, I was always on the other end so this was a big deal for me). SPM Result: Credit. 2 units. – I was pretty pissed because someone totally undeserving and copied my work day in day out got a 1 (carol, pu, sel, mia and yo: u know la who).

I’m not even gonna discuss Moral Studies. It doesn’t deserve any space on my blog. (I just mentioned it. Doh.)

K la. Enough reminiscing for now. My secondary school days ain't nothin' to shout about.

"Child, don't you worry
It's enough your growing up in such a hurry
Brings you down, the news they sell ya
To put in your mind that all mankind is a failure
But nobody knows
What's gonna happen tomorrow
We try not to show
How frightened we are"
-Duran Duran, What Happens Tomorrow

Yawnie yawnie yawn

Die la i'm so sleepy...It's 10.40am and i'm trying to keep my eyelids open. I've lost count of the amount of times i've yawned. I try varying the things i do so i won't get bored but everytime i start on a task, i start nodding off anyway.

die die die die die die.

I only had four hours of sleep (don't ask). I can't read because it makes my eyes heavier. I can't write because the words aren't coming out coherently. I can't take a walk around the office because i feel too tired to move. I can't go shopping cuz i don't have money (oh wait, wrong blog). But you get what i mean.

"And everytime i close my eyes i thank the Lord i've got you.
And you got me too..."
-Babyface, Everytime I Close My Eyes. Whatever la. I just wanna close my eyes and take a nap.

Home.

Was too lazy to blog yesterday so pardon the disappearance. Yesterday was just a lazy lazy lazy day. I think I wrote two articles in the morning (which sounds like total crap now that I re-read it) and I was done for the day. Verrible terrible but I was malas to the max.

Anyway, Tuesday seems to be much better. I had nasi lemak for breakfast at a coffee shop nearby (yum) and was off to attend some income tax talk. I know it sounds deathly boring but I actually volunteered to attend it. It wasn’t so much a talk, more of a step by step introduction on how to calculate your taxes and how to fill in the form (aka Taxes for Dummies). I learned lotsa new stuff, such as

1) You’re entitled to RM500 worth of magazines and books in a year as long as you keep the receipts (basically they deduct this from the total tax amount you have to pay)
2) You can also deduct medical bills for your parents up to RM5000 a year
3) You have to pay by April 30th or else they fine you a minimum of RM50 or a percentage of your taxes

And most importantly:

4) I don’t have to pay taxes yet. Yay (of course this also reflects the peanut-pay I’m receiving).

My KL trip was good. Brief but good. But tiring. I forgot how exhausting KL can be. I’ve never been a city girl at heart anyway. I like the laidback pace of KK better. But nothing beats the shopping and nightlife buzz of the big city, I must admit! My colleagues and I checked into Parkroyal Hotel around 2:30am on Saturday, hit the sack at 3 and was up by 8am. We managed to hop to Sungei Wang for some browsing before we grabbed a cab to get to Istana Budaya (where the Sound of Music musical was held) around 1pm. We were given a special tour backstage and met the stagehands and music producer. It was really cool to be backstage and see the technical side of the production. Did you know the whole stage is actually as big as half a football field? Yep, you only see one third of the stage during the performance. And it’s seven floors high! This is to make space for the props and lights that are suspended in the air.

Anyway, the musical itself was amazing. I can see why it was an award-winning Broadway production: the costumes, the set, the cast and the music…Everything was amazing down to the last detail. And since it was the Sound of Music, I couldn’t resist singing along most of the time, haha. I hardly felt the 2 and a half hours go by.

So back to the hotel we went, humming The Lonely Goatherd all the way of course. I met up with my brother, Johann, and we went shopping at One Utama. Took us an hour to get there from KL. Suddenly the ten-minute ‘traffic jam’ after work here in KK didn’t seem too bad after all. And all those toll booths. The amount we paid was enough to cover my lunch here for a day. Note to self: Only consider job opportunities in KL if pay offered is between RM3 to RM5 million.
Johann said I could have anything I wanted for dinner.

Johann: So what u want?
Me: * looks around * Burger King?
Johann: * stunned silence * You flew all the way to KL and you want to eat at Burger King?
Me: They have Whoppers…
Johann: No. Choose something else.

And that was that. So we had dinner at Friday’s. Which turned out to be a better dining choice after all, heh heh.

Sunday was crunch time. If I didn’t buy anything now, I’d probably end up with nothing. I was happily traipsing along KLCC when suddenly I felt my right eye go blurry. I started seeing spots and people were talking louder and louder. Ah shit, I knew immediately what was happening. Migraine attack. The last one I had was late last year and it was so bad I had to pull over till my vision came back. Anyway, there I was in KLCC with my left temple pounding and my right eye going blurry. I bought my meds at a pharmacy, gulped it down and prayed for the migraine to go away. My colleagues decided it was best if we went back to the hotel and grab lunch along the way. In the taxi, I felt like my left eye was going to pop out of my head at any moment (not the best feeling…Gee you think?). At the chicken rice shop, things were improving but I cringed everytime the waiters dropped something or dragged a chair across the floor. Migraines mean everything is five hundred times louder and brighter, so go figure. It was like having someone rattling spoons while screaming Hakka obscenities inside my head. Bising oh.

But come evening, all was well and by the time I boarded the plane, I was looking forward to sleeping in my own bed that night. Yeah, KL still has its charm and nothing beats retail therapy in the city. But come to think of it, nothing beats the familiarity of KK’s tight roads, annoying jaywalkers and ten-minute traffic jams.

"One is the loneliest number that you'll ever do
Two can be as bad as one, its the loneliest number since the number one
No is the saddest experience you'll ever know
Yes is the saddest experience you'll ever know
cause one is the loneliest number that you'll ever know
one is the loneliest number even worst then two."
- Filter, One.

Play nice.

I started my morning writing the nastiest blog. Profanities, swearing and full-blown venting. Someone in my office pissed me off big time. But after re-reading it three times, i realised it wasn't worth the risk of the person reading it (you never know who stumbles across your blog these days) and causing bad blood in the office.

Cuz it was really nasty.

I almost scared myself when i realised how horrible I could sound. I mean, sure we have our bitchy days, but when you see it in writing....Wow. It ain't pretty. I hate my temper. I'm relatively slow to anger but once i do lose it, the term 'blind fury' brings a whole new meaning. Ok, note to self: Vent, don't dent.

I'm not so pissed at her anymore but she's pretty much the last person on earth I want to have a conversation with right now. Ok happy thoughts, happy thoughts...

It's raining crazy outside: thunder, lightning, huge-ass raindrops. I can leave the office early today (yay) because i haven't packed (oh no). I'm really happy about my KL trip. The show is Saturday afternoon which means i have the whole Saturday night to do...whatever I want! First things first, gotta look for the food. I'm meeting up with Johann, my bro, and it'll be mall hopping from there onwards. Too bad it's only till Sunday otherwise i'd love to call up my buddies and just hang with them. Haven't had a good mamak outing for a while :) But let's focus on priorities here.

Shoes.

"I'm leaving on a jet place, dunno when i'll be back again..."
-Chantal Krevaziuk (well that's the version i remember anyway), Leaving on a Jet Plane. See u Monday.