sometimes, I feel like I don't give my mom enough credit. one, she loves National Geographic channel. it is such a breath of fresh air since I've had too many situations where I have to tune out from the drama series cited by my aunties.

so, we were watching NatGeo yesterday, about looking the last European leopard. I was telling my mom that I've never thought about looking at Azerbaijan ever and was nicely surprised at the location.

we were watching the TV, me as a couch potato, and saw this man aged 51 years old who can jump from one tree to another quite easily. it was to see him going around and my mom was saying that he is sprightly despite his age.

suddenly...

' has this man ever been to Malaysia? has he ever had any coconut water?'

really mom? how did that happened? they were hunting leopard and all you can think is if Babakhan has ever had coconut water?

P/S: they got the footage of the last Europe leopard.

office mystery 1

there has been whispers all around the floor. i mean, not really whispers because all i can hear is the sounds of fingers hitting the keyboards but that's another story.

there were rumours about people leaving the bottles containing important ingredients for beverage(s) not being tightened properly. i mean, i don't really understand the concern since i do not really pay attention to screwed or unscrewed containers. fyi, i usually walk around the place as if in a daze, wondering what do i really want to do in life? what is the right time to have middle life crisis? what is the right amount of dip you need on a medium size nachos? what size do we start considering a piece of nachos as medium?

basically the more important parts in life.

anywhoo, it has been two weeks and people are currently still investigating on the culprit(s). apparently the suspect:

1) goes to the pantry between 7.15am to 7.30 am as people have made complaints of such occurrence of loose lids after the abovementioned time.

i come at the times i feel convenient. the perks of having flexible hours. and sometimes i work from home, at the comfort of my house. by comfort i mean sleeping in until its time to panic due to flurry of emails.

2)

basically that's it.

i don't know what will happen but it seems that there have been suspects. one person has been eliminated from the list but we are all watching.

well, in my case, Youtube.

so long, farewell. weekend has just started.

'did she miss me?'

if you come here for a heart-wrenching story about someone missing their ex-girlfriend, I'm sorry to tell you, it does not exist.

actually, I'm not sorry. Why should I?

where were we?

ok. so, we will be having gift exchange next month. the usual theme, Secret Santa. will not be a secret by the way. usually, before the day of picking up the names of the Secret Santa, everybody knows theirs already. but whatever. why miss a chance of being surprised once in a while. well apart from myself, that is. because I get surprised every time I see my bank account. of horror, let's be clear on that.

so back to the main story, HR passed the box containing the names for once. I'm half tempted to just put in a tissue in the box just to scare everyone but decided against it. boss was directly behind me, sipping his cocoa (at 3 pm? can you believe that? but it's 9.30 pm somewhere anyways) and I got someone's name. someone new so we know I don't have the slightest idea who that is so yeah...

so the woman beside me, we were chatting. understandably, it's Friday. we are just empty vessels sitting at our desks. we were discussing something important (does eating yogurt makes you fat kind of important?) when I mentioned I have to start looking for gift for a girl. and she asked:

' eh? she didn't come by?'

' wait. maybe she will make her round later.' not realizing that the woman I was talking to did not leave her seat the whole time. it was as if she was covered by an invisible cloak.

' did she miss me? how?' a hint of panic there. the woman can be so sweet. she was afraid that HR will then have to go through who has not picked any name and it will add to the trouble.

' give her a minute' when I saw her peeking from the high wall of her cubicle towards HR,' she's having tea,' she told me over Lync.

' relax. once she completely forgot me when passing around the birthday cards for signing. maybe it's your turn now,' I said. it was meant to be a tongue-in-the-cheek comment but noooooo she went full fledged panic.

' do I go up to see her? do I email her? now?'

' relax. let her finish her shortbread. then email her. but if you want to do it now, I cannot control you.'

you see, for every action there is a reaction. I know it's Newton's Law but unsure which one and too lazy to check anyway.

update: she's just fine. HR came by to give her the box ten minutes later. right around the time I was about to order Xanax online. 

blackout

I have to say, life at the office can be pretty dull..and I mean this in the broadest possible way ever.

Anyways, dull office life, the slow thump-thump in the ribcage as the corporate world continues to consume our souls and all, tapping away on the keyboard and leaving the dreams, we noticed the light flickering. It has started flickering since seven am (most of the people here got in at around seven, semi flexible working arrangement) but no one cared enough to make any noise. we pretty much keep things to ourselves or within the windows of Lync.

it was around nine that I noticed the increase in temperature and while I was discussing with a friend on a certain report to be sent out that morning, we noticed the office keep switching on and off, revving as it do so. naturally, I panicked, saving the documents I was working on a few times because it was an important client (a client originating from the nation between Malaysia and Indonesia. they can *cough* be quite a challenge) and admittedly, I let out a huge breathe after I click send on the report. we are just praying for no immediate *cough* comment.

again, the lights continue to flicker and at one point, some lights went off. I continue to type with one hand while the other hand started putting things into my handbag, just in case the management let us continue our work at home. but it was just false alarm.

the air was thick with anticipation and adrenaline (adrenaline from typing as much as we can while continue to hit save repeatedly). and the other part anticipating an announcement letting us go home.

we were like kids in school, waiting for the bell to ring.

we were like kids at college, waiting for a lecture to end. setting an alarm at the end of the lecture; that happened.

we were like kids, waiting for recess.

we were like kids...ok basically we are actually all kids in a grown up body.

at one point, i closed my eyes and covered my eyes with my palm; just a habit. and I was confused for a few minutes afterwards because I was pretty sure I opened my eyes but all I can see is darkness.

a bit of an exaggeration there but you get it.

it was dark, except from lights from the window and from the emergency exit. we immediately rushed for the front door, letting the light go in and pretending to appear flustered by the heat when all we can think of is 'let us go back.' some even suggested lunch but I was more excited for the going home option.

I ended up socializing with a friend, asking about Fantastic Beasts. it almost became a picnic when someone tore open the chips and chocolates. I have no idea how we have those ready but it was God sent.

from the pantry, we moved to the reception area, placing ourselves as near as possible to the door so we would not miss any announcements of being able to work from the comfort of our homes. in the darkness, our eyes shone of hope (actually of the light from the emergency exit but for the sake of this entry, just let it be from hope). we were hopeful, hardly able to stand still.

chips being passed around while we can hear people laughing, a rarity at such hour. but this was a special day, which may not come again for several months. it almost felt like a joyous occasion, except we shared the joy in the dark.

alas, the light flickered back and everything was bright again. I can see the obvious disappointment on our faces once the power came back on. I can't believe we were that excited to go home.

oh the power failure was because of the defect in the air conditioning system. and we continue to be working in the warm environment for the next several hours until three pm.

Careful when walking to the pantry

you know, pantry, the only place colleagues visit in throngs, with mugs in their hands.

zombie-like in the morning, zombie-like in the evening.

and so, it was the usual story; needs coffee to fuel my body with energy. ouh save the caffeine-dependent souls.

walked into the pantry, nearly walked into the wall because of sleepiness.i was just about to have my fair share of coffee when a colleague who was sitting down, got up.

'careful there,' he said (casually? not casually?).

i was alarmed. did he know what happened last night? that i sabotaged my diet with fries and tons of cheese?

'w..whyyyy?' i asked, with heart pounding against my ribs without the help of caffeine.

' i just farted in there.'and he just walked away, dead pan look.

and i just stood there with my mug, too late to move away from the wafting smell.

Yokohama, resting in port city

Yokohama was fine. The port city is of course, a little bit cold. but not as cold as Tokyo (no nosebleed so that counts I guess).

Spent a few hours looking at this.





Admittedly, there were not many things to look at but Ramen Museum and Cupnoodle Museum are very educational. Entrance to museums are not free; not as much as we can find in Tokyo.

Be right back. Still fatigue from all the travelling.

Lengloi tulisan Maria Kajiwa

Lengloi biasanya dikaitkan dengan perempuan cantik. Ya, betul. Memang perempuan yang dipanggil Lengloi itu cantik tetapi...

Kedai buku merupakan salah satu tempat lepak yang saya sukai. Jadi, tidak salah rasanya kalau saya lihat-lihat koleksi cerita seram yang berada di pasaran. Bagi sesiapa yang mempunyai abang atau kakak atau ibu bapa yang gemar cerita hantu, anda boleh dapatkan ulang cetak Siri Bercakap Dengan Jin dari Tamar Jalis.

Sebenarnya bukan itu yang ingin diberikan perhatian tetapi yang ingin diceritakan adalah buku Lengloi tulisan Maria Kajiwa. Bahasanya kemas, jalan ceritanya bagus malah dialek untuk setiap bangsa cocok sekali digandingkan bersama. Dari gaya penulisan, memang jelas kelihatan Lengloi disiapkan dengan penuh sabar. Garapannya teratur dan membuatkan saya teruja untuk tahu apa akan jadi seterusnya.

Sekalipun mungkin boleh diagak siapakah yang mengganggu Muthu, namun Maria Kajiwa tetap membuatkan saya ingin meneruskan pembacaan tentang Lengloi. Dari seorang pemilik kedai kemudian berpindah ke seorang lagi, Lengloi sentiasa menjadi igauan ngeri setiap pemilik kedai. Bukan itu sahaja, tok sami dan tok bomoh yang dipanggil juga nampaknya tidak mampu untuk menghalau Lengloi.

Saya suka garapan cerita ini; sangat teratur gaya bagaimana setiap yang terlibat dikaitkan dengan Lengloi (samada mereka terlihat atau terserempak dengan Lengloi). Bagaimana Pak Kassim yang sentiasa ada berdepan dengan Lot 55 dan sentiasa ada dengan penyewa-penyewa yang baru.

Jelas kelihatan usaha yang dicurahkan untuk menulis Lengloi bukan sedikit. Yag membuatkan cerita ini lebih seram adalah bilamana dikatakan cerita ini berdasarkan kisah benar.

Harapan saya cuma satu; supaya kita dapat lihat lebih banyak buku ditulis secara 'bermaruah' seperti Lengloi.

Feminism

everyone is a little feminist. but anything that is overdone is of little use.

Google your interview answers and paraphrase them

kids, if you are applying for a job, you really must learn how to search for information online and paraphrase stuff. yes, we all Google our answers, that is not a secret but remember to paraphrase them too.

just a short ramble from an exhausted mind sitting behind the desk.

the one with the accent

i'm not sure why, but some people, especially in malaysia, take immense pride in being able to tell people they come from KL. yes, it is a city but there's no need to be so cruel as to embarrass other people if they don't hail from KL.

usually, when in public or in a taxi, i usually try to speak like those coming from north. yes, cakap utagha. i can easily pass as a kedahan when i speak the accent. so, i was using the same accent while talking to the taxi driver. oh boy, he was having a field day making fun of my accent. he mocked the accent two or three times, feeling very city like.

up until i tell him, there, in front there is where i was born and raised. his tone changed altogether, from too haughty to somewhat humbling.

please, just because you can speak like someone from the city, everyone else is not so kampung ok. and yes, it is sad to see that some of these drivers will take advantage of you if they think you're an outsider (a kedahan in johor is considered as an outsider in some cases and vice versa).

this must stop and i really hope this is a one off case. there's nothing wrong about coming from a kampung, it's just fine. there's nothing wrong to be ashamed about.

i don't understand why some people are so hung up in speaking the best english and sounding the most urban. chill, sit back and relax. some people just couldn't care less.

Lesson Review

i'm finally really studying Kanji. I've been delaying it for so long although I know the date to be in the Land of The Rising Sun is fast approaching.

Well, we don't call it procrastinating. We call it delaying panic.

Since i don't go to Chinese school, it's hard for me to learn the strokes (but this can be done; i strongly believe this). Referring to the bracketed statement, it can be done either the super hard way or a way. So, i found a way; WaniKani.

The beauty of this website is there will be lesson reviews at the end of the lesson and either we like it or not, we have to pass the review to enter another level. it is a bit like gaming, but more to like competing with ourselves.

Why I'm typing away right now? because i'm waiting the clearance to test my kanji knowledge (there's a window of 30 minutes for every lesson review). And yes, I just answered a question wrongly so I'm stuck at the level. Now I'm forced to remember the character which is good in a way (because it sticks in my head) but pretty frustrating for me too.

So, good luck for me. May the force be with me.

LRT fare increase

ah politicians. i suppose people believe what ahlong says compared to what politicians say.

so, the fare for public transportation will be increased. a few eons ago, Malaysians were asked to use the public transportation to save money. now, there's no way of saving money. now, i don't mind paying more if only it is justified. not because KTM has to bear the higher electricity rate but for better efficiency.

looks small? think carefully.

this small increases will build up and in the future, burn a whole in our pockets. crime rates increase in Greece when the country asked for the third bailout. it's not going to be very different here. crime rates will increase.

i pray for nothing but the wellbeing of everybody. stay safe people. we only have us to protect ourselves.

#RakyatForRakyat

'We are going to be flying at 30,000 ft..'

while i appreciate the pilot's effort to inform us that we will be flying at the abovementioned height, i will always find myself thinking, what should i do with such information? should i be commenting 'well...thank you. that's my favorite height' or should i be screaming in horror and exclaim,' but I so like 16,000 feet better!'

or i should just shut up and pray with all my might to arrive safely at the destination.

Spirits are high

It has been two days since the announcement on toll hikes were made. Of course, people are furious. Spirits are high. Of course, what with the GST and stuff.

I admit, it is rather discouraging to see such development. with the GST and increasing house prices and toll hikes and the already high cost living here, it is rather amazing that a certain place where the leader is in is still intact. but there is no denying that the rakyat is feeling the pinch.

come on, RM 4,000 salary is considered miskin bandar already. so we are left with nothing but dreams.

almost yearly, there will be news on toll hikes and everytime people are furious. without being able to focus on the solution, more increases are introduced. like seriously? have our leader no shame to still be in position when obviously he's doing nothing? did we realize that the taxi price has increased about RM 1.00 since last year that it used to cost me RM 5 to an LRT station from my house when it used to be RM 4?

but it's after lunch and i'm working on a public holiday so yeah..let's continue working.

12 October 2015

It's a typical Monday morning. 

it was not anyone else's fault that i woke up groggy this morning...racking my brain to find excuses not to come to work.

but at last, i made it out the door.

time to be thankful i have a job.

Generation X, Y, and Z

' These younger generation...they're so manja.'

I heard the statement again. I looked to my left and I saw an uncle around 60 years old.

I sighed inwardly and continue to eat my nasi goreng ayam (sans a smartphone in my hand). I don't blame them. every other generation blames the other generation after them.

I heard the uncle talk about younger generation being guled to our phones and needing the Internet all the time. What can we do? We rely so much on the Internet. Allow me to illustrate.

The world is becoming more and more international. We used to be separated severely by geographical boundaries. I used to have a penpal back in school. These days, I can talk to a Greg across the ocean real-time if I want (and if he chooses to, taking the time difference). Meeting with a colleague located on the other side of the earth are unheard of a few decades ago but we can schedule a weekly teleconference every week now.

Going back to letters; the fastest way to communicate used to be the telegram but now, all it needs was a touch of a button to send an email. Some jobs require us to be almost on our toes all the time. And then requires Internet and all the mobile devices.

I used to work from home. Sometimes I still do. And because of this, I was sometimes accused of lazy and not working. In this era; this fast-paced world, our generation strives for work-life balance. Work is work, while family time is still family time. We work hard and still want to spend time with the family. So, is it wrong to work from home for a day or two in a month to send our kids in the morning and not have to rush to work and arrange our own timetable? If we spend too much time at work, we believe the older generation will blame us too for putting work before family.

My point is, the world is changing. Fast. Even looking for a job requires the Internet. It's very rare to have someone send a resume by post these days.

Yes, we understand that sometimes we get carried away (face on mobile screens during family meetings) but as we grow older, we know that we have to divide our times between work and job. And one of the ways to do that will be through telecommuting.

So, please forgive us if we look as if we don't want to let go of the mobile phones. We're trying to make the best out of all this.

MySale Online Shopping, I Love Thee

If there's another war for in the modern age, I would have to vote shopping as top of the list. I mean, please tell me there was at least one occasion where we come up with a whole list of tactical strategy on how to attend a limited time sale event. Or there was a time where we arrange our sneakers and purse and car keys and shopping list by the door and three alarms (just in case we need two more 'another 5 minutes sleep') for an early bird sale. Or the whole where-we-should-begin-our-shopping-route-to-cover-the-most-area.

Told you, shopping requires tactical analysis and the mind of a war general. It can get in the way of our daily tasks (or the other way round) or it can take a toll on us (remember the eight-hour shopping trip for christmas? Ok maybe not but a two-hour shoe hunt perhaps?). And thanks to the advent of the Internet, we have online shopping. Better still, we have MYsale online where we can shop to our hearts' contents.

There are a few reasons why I love online shopping and these are the following:

1. It helps my research

Knowledge is power and when it comes to shopping, research is extremely powerful. Of course, I enjoy roaming shopping malls to get a pair of shoes, afterall it's a great exercise form too but nothing beats clicking several sites to look at the nice shoes while still sitting. I can compare prices and colors easily.



2. Discounts
Whoever said 'money is not everything' obviously does not live on a payroll. Afterall, if I can save money on a dress to get another top, why not?

3. Vouchers
This is related to (2). I so love rebates and vouchers available when filling up my carts. Well, virtual carts I mean (where else can we have carts for our clothes)

4. Timing
It can be anytime and almost anywhere. No more having the headache of synchronising the time to avoid a whole car park, heavy traffic or limited time frame for certain sales.

5. Opening parcels
I'm sorry but I love opening parcels. I even love to hear the chime of the doorbell for parcels. And the feeling of taking out the fabric from boxes and parcels.

Ah online shopping. How I love you.

So, that's my story about online shopping. How about you?

Colours in Life

Colours in the broadest sense of the world. It can be in terms of experiences, people that we meet, and the mishaps that happened to us.

Just take it all in.

Victoria Bridge
Ipoh trip, April 2015

"Why do bad things happen to good people?"

It was just a little bit after lunch and I was not feeling good. An article was removed from the system with a note to completely kill the article and I think it killed me a little. Not much although it did motivate me to watch '10 Facts to Help Restore Faith In Humanity'. I was devastated.

Sometimes I get hungry when I'm sad. Sometimes, I just refuse to eat. Today, I was in a state of confusion. Before lunch, I did not feel like eating anything but come after lunch, I was famished. Famished but still not wanting to eat to much. A couple of biscuits will do.

And so, I dragged my feet to the pantry for a glass of Milo to dip the biscuits in. I did all these while reflecting on the rejection of the article, along with other aspects of life (or lack of it). I was a bit in a pensieve mood while preparing my drink.

Nothing special with the beverage though; just several spoons of Milo, warm water and cold water. I pushed my glass to the water tap in pin; making sure I also pushed its button to release hot water and then moved to the other tap while again, going back to reflecting all the important questions of my existence on earth.

...only to find the other tap was turned to Cool instead of Room. I can almost hear my heart breaking. One thing, I just need one thing to be right today. If I cannot have my student loan settled today, I was hoping I can have a perfect mug of Milo but no, it has to be warm-towards-cold. Why? Why? Isn't there enough misery in the world? Why do bad things happen to good people whyyyyy?