My life travelogue...

Vertigo

2011-11-12T21:11:00.001+08:00

I woke up suddenly on the morning of November 3. It was just before 2am. I was lying on my right side and when I turned to look up at the ceiling, the whole ceiling was spinning just like how the ceiling fan was spinning. I thought that there was an earthquake. I felt nauseous and was very scared. The spinning lasted for a few more seconds and then it stopped. What just happened? I felt like throwing up. I laid in bed, flat on my back. I waited for awhile and got up slowly. I didn't feel dizzy so I got up to go to the bathroom. I went back to bed and straight away put on head down on the pillow, lying on my right side and again the spinning sensation came back in my head. I was so scared. I thought I was going to die. I laid down for awhile and went to wake my mom up. I told her I was having dizzy spells. She asked me what was wrong and I said I didn't know. I felt nauseous so my mom gave me a pill to prevent me from vomitting.

I went back to sleep but I was very scared to close my eyes. I propped up my pillow and laid down again. I tried to lay on my right side but before I could fully turn my head to the right I could feel my head starting to spin again. So I slept with my head as straight as possible and it was really uncomfortable. I didn't sleep much after that.

I didn't go to work the next day. I went to see a doctor and explained to him what happened to me that night. He said it had to do with the food I ate. He asked me what I ate the night before and I told him I had squid. I thought if it was food poisoning shouldn't I be having a stomach ache? He checked my stomach and said there was a lot of air in my stomach so he prescribed me with medication for giddiness and to remove air from my stomach.

I stopped sleeping on the right side because everytime I tried, I could feel my head starting to spin again. For the next few days, I always felt unstable when I stood too long. Even when I sat down, I could feel my body slanting to my right. Luckily I could still drive or else I wouldn't know how I would get to work.

I went back to my hometown that weekend because it was a long weekend. I still felt unstable and couldn't sleep on my sides. I found that lying on my left side started to give me giddiness too. I wasn't getting any better and I was getting worried. So I went to see my family doctor in my hometown. I described my symptoms to him and he said that it sounded like I have vertigo! He said it is very difficult to pinpoint the actual cause. I told him that I was badly shaken up on my flight back from KL the Sunday before it happened. Due to the bad weather, the turbulence was shaking up the whole plane and the plane dived in and out of air pockets for at least five minutes. It felt like it was one of the scenes from the Final Destination movies! It was the worst flight I've ever taken and it was really scary. My doctor said that could have caused the fluids in my inner ears to become imbalanced and caused the vertigo. He prescribed me Betaserc which is the most effective medication against vertigo. Not only was I feeling unstable, I felt constant nausea for days.

After taking Betaserc for 5 days, I finally feel normal again. I don't feel unstable whenever I sit and stand, I don't feel nauseous and now I am able to sleep on my sides again without feeling my head spinning. Today I feel normal without having to take the medication. I hope the vertigo is gone. It was a really scary experience.

One thing my doctor told me which I totally agreed with him regarding vertigo. He said most people who experienced it for the first time thought that they were dying! That was exactly how I felt...

My first ride on Rapid Penang...

2010-12-19T17:40:00.002+08:00

Today my mom and I went to Queensbay Mall by bus. This is the first time we travelled by Rapid Penang buses because my car is in the service center.

It has been a very long time since I've taken the town bus. The bus ride was comfortable and most importantly the bus drivers didn't speed like the mini bus drivers last time. We had to take 2 buses to reach Queensbay Mall. It was quite fun not having to drive and worry about not being able to find a parking space.

In loving memory of Comel...

2010-12-18T21:19:00.003+08:00

Dec 18, 2004 was the day my cat went to kitty heaven. I cannot believe that it has been six years...Time flies...I still miss her very much...

Technology these days...

2010-12-15T21:07:00.003+08:00

I must be getting old because I find it extremely difficult to catch up with new technology and gadgets these days.

Recently a friend told me she now has an Ipad. I asked her what is that! She laughed and said that I am so outdated these days. And today I was chatting with another friend on MSN when she said she might get herself either a new phone or a Wii. I remember she mentioned about Wii to me before but I just couldn't remember what it is. I got some scolding from her and she told me to google it. I told her that I am not into these things these days because it is either that I am old or have reached enlightenment (just like Buddha!). She said it is for sure enlightenment! Hahaha.

My friend said that she was always confused between a Blackberry and blueberry! Well, she isn't the only one. I often said blueberry when I referred to the Blackberry phones. Hahaha. I told her that the day she sees me eating a Blackberry and using a blueberry to make phone calls, she better send me to an old folks home...

A mother's sacrifice...

2010-12-13T21:07:00.010+08:00

It has been quite awhile since I last wrote in my blog. I was caught up with so many things. Now that I have some free time, I want to write about something which touched my heart.

An old auntie from my apartment fell down a few weeks ago and broke her right thigh bone. The moment I heard about it from my mom, the first thing which went through my mind was who was going to take care of her during recovery and where would she stay. We went to visit her at the hospital and she told us that she wouldn't be able to use her right leg for 4 months and so she will be living at a nursing home during that time. My heart dropped when I heard that. A nursing home is a sad place to be even though if it's for temporary.

My mom and I visited "Ah Ee" (that is how auntie is called in Hokkien) on Sunday afternoon at the nursing home. I managed to find the place. I was trying my luck to locate the nursing home as I was not familiar with that part of the island. One thing I find funny about this island is that residential houses are often used for commercial purposes such as clinics, second hand car sales outlets, car repair shops, lighting shops and even nursing homes. There are no such things in my hometown. The municipal council would not allow residential premises to be turned into commercial premises.

The nursing home Ah Ee is staying at is an old one storey bungalow. The bungalow looked pretty run down. Even the tar pavement leading into the house was mostly broken and since it had been raining a lot for the past few days, there were puddles of water everywhere. We had to ask around for Ah Ee as we didn't know which room she was placed in. We only knew she is in a twin sharing room. We were directed to a room so we walked in and found Ah Ee sitting up on her bed. She was really happy to see us. I brought her some magazines to read as I figured she would be bored to her wits since she could not move around.

Ah Ee immediately went into her story telling mode the moment we sat down. Haha. She told us that she had her first check up the day before and she was now counting down the days to her next check up which according to her was another 29 days to go. Every day she would count down the hours and once it was time to sleep she'd look forward to the next day and when she awakens the next morning she would start counting down the hours again til the day ended. It was really sad to hear all that.

As usual Ah Ee spoke fondly of her children. She told us that her son who works in another state was back to see her and he asked her if she wanted to go home. Maybe her son could sense that she wasn't happy there. Mothers being mothers, Ah Ee told her son that she was happy staying there so that her son wouldn't get worried and sad. My heart dropped even more upon hearing that. Mothers...they really sacrifice a lot for their children. Good thing that Ah Ee's daughter visits her every day. At times like this what the old folks really need from their loved ones is their love and support and even though their loved ones cannot do much to help them, their presence would mean a lot to them. It gives them the emotional support which is helpful in giving them the will to recover faster.

We sat with her for about half an hour. During that time we didn't really look around. It was sad enough listening to Ah Ee's stories. She told us that there were 30 patients in the nursing home and she is the only one who can go home. The rest are either bedridden or couldn't move much anymore. While talking to her, I kept noticing her roommate's eyes looking at us. Her roommate had suffered a stroke and could not move anymore. I don't think she can talk either and she had a tube down her nose for feeding purposes. It was really sad to look at her. It seemed like our visit entertained her even though we weren't visiting her. I cannot imagine the feelings of these people knowing that they will never go home again. I wanted to go home so badly when I had to be hospitalized a few years ago. And that was only for 3 days!

We left the nursing home with a heavy heart. We will visit Ah Ee again sometime soon. We pray for Ah Ee's fast recovery so that she will be able to come home sooner. We really miss her.

Time flies...

2010-05-16T22:25:00.002+08:00

Time flies...April 5...my sis and Mike arrived from US. Today they flew back. Just like the blink of an eye, they were here and now they have gone home...I miss them already...sigh...

I felt the earth move...

2010-05-09T20:55:00.004+08:00

It was around 2pm. I was sitting on the sofa...watching tv, surfing the internet on my new laptop and reading the newspaper...multitasking as usual. All of a sudden I felt dizzy. It felt like the apartment was swaying. It lasted for a few seconds. I thought I was not well because I also felt a bit nauseous. Could I be imagining all this??? Was there an earthquake in a neighbouring country??? After watching so many disaster movies, I started to imagine the floor cracking and the building crumbling to the ground. Should I run??? I continued sitting on the sofa, not daring to move. I thought if I was meant to die that moment, running would not have helped. I shifted to another spot on the sofa. The dizzy feeling came back. I felt like vomitting. My mother was busy in the kitchen and she didn't seem to have felt anything. I must be sick I thought. I just sat there and soon the dizziness and feeling of nausea subsided. When my mother finally came to sit nearby I told her what had happened. I told her that I suspected that there was an earthquake somewhere. She said she didn't feel a thing. She said lets wait and see if there is news about an earthquake.

Watching the 8pm news, it was confirmed that a 7.2 magnitude earthquake had hit Aceh at 1.59pm...

My new laptop...

2010-05-09T13:45:00.003+08:00

My new Toshiba Satellite M500-S433. I got it on April 30. My HP Compaq of 3 years old has gotten extremely slow. It takes ages to startup and shut down and it often doesn't respond when I am on the internet. So it's time to get a new laptop...I love my Toshiba Satellite...

My first published article...

2010-03-13T18:23:00.003+08:00

This the first article I wrote which was published in Ezine...
http://ezinearticles.com/?Ways-to-Live-With-an-Open-Heart-After-Being-Hurt-by-Someone-You-Trust-and-Love&id=3890147

The tiger roars in...

2010-02-14T10:55:00.003+08:00

Today is Chinese New Year and it is the year of the tiger. Today is also Valentine's Day. I read that this has only happened twice in the last century and the next one will be 38 years from now in 2048. I wonder if I'll still be around then! With Chinese New Year being a bigger celebration, Valentine's Day seem to have taken a backseat this year.

I am looking forward to meeting up with some friends on the second day of Chinese New Year. This is the only time during the year where we get to meet up, catch up with each other and have a good laugh.

Wishing everyone a Happy & Prosperous Chinese New Year, Gong Xi Fa Cai & Happy Valentine's day!

My embarassing growling stomach...

2010-02-10T21:54:00.003+08:00

I have a major issue whenever hunger pang strikes. It's really embarrassing when it happens to strike when I am sitting close to someone and my stomach goes GROWLLLLL...It's worse if I am sitting next to a stranger...Gosh...It is so embarassing.

I was at training yesterday and today. There used to be refreshments served during break time but since the economic downturn last year, HR has stopped providing refreshments during training.

I took a heavier breakfast yesterday because I knew that I would not have the luxury of a second breakfast during training. I finished a whole plate of fried rice but it didn't last til lunch time. My stomach started growling just before 11am. The growl was rather loud and I hope that the man sitting next to me in the training room didn't hear it. More growls came...It just wouldn't stop. I kept drinking water with the hope that my stomach would silence itself. I read in an article that when we get hungry, drinking water would help us get over the hunger because the water would make us feel full. Obviously my stomach wasn't to be fooled and it wasn't satisfied with only water and continued to growl louder and louder! I think the man could hear my stomach growling...arrgghhh...how embarrassing indeed....sigh. Lunch time came and I quickly made my way to the cafeteria. I had a bowl of noodle which I knew would not last me for long so I bought some chocolate wafers so that I could have a quick bite during the afternoon break. We had a break at around 3pm and I ate some wafers. It didn't last long either because my stomach gave another one of its demanding loud growl about an hour later. Sigh...I felt like killing myself!!

I have a habit of eating something light at home just before I leave for work at around 7.30am. Then at around 9am I have my second breakfast in the office. I'd usually get hungry again just after 11am and I'd usually go for my lunch at around 11.30am to avoid the crowd at the cafeteria at noon which is our official lunch time. By the time others come back to the office after lunch at around 1pm I'd be munching again on some tit bits or fruits. I munch a lot in the office. It's either because I am sleepy or I am bored of my work. I wonder if the people from other department who are sitting near me notice that I am always eating. Sometimes my colleague would instant message me and ask me what I was eating because he could hear me munching on something from his cubicle! Yikes.

My friends said that I get hungry so easily because I have a high metabolism. Another friend said it is because I have a lot of worms in my stomach!!! Hmm...Funny thing is I am not like this at home. Maybe it's because when I am at home I am always moving around doing something. In the office I am always sitting in front of the computer and I get tired and bored easily when looking at the computer screen so I tend to want to eat something to kill my boredom and to keep myself awake. Also maybe it's because in the office the air-conditioning gets really cold most of the time so I get hungry faster. Aahhh...that could be it.

Dreams...do they mean anything???

2010-02-04T20:53:00.003+08:00

I always have a recurring dream where I find it so difficult to do something even though the task is as simple as walking. Sometimes I would dream that I was looking for something and I knew that the thing I was looking for was there but I failed to find it. I just had another one of those dreams this morning just before I woke up. I dreamt that I was driving into a small lane looking for a parking space. There was a man by the road side who started following me and shouting at me. He looked like a homeless man. I was really scared and I drove off. Even though he was on foot he managed to tail me. I stepped on the accelerator but my car only moved slowly. Every corner I turned he was just a few feet behind my car. I didn't understand why my car couldn't accelerate even though I was stepping hard on the accelerator. I was really scared. I woke up and felt so exhausted. My legs felt so tired today. Throughout the day, I felt like I was falling sick.

I really hate it when I get this recurring dream. These dreams invade my sleep quite often. What does it symbolize? I think dreams reflect whatever that is in our unconscious mind. I told my mother about some of my dreams and she said it could be because there is something in my life which I want to achieve but I have yet to achieve and it is something which I find difficult to achieve. I think that is true. There is something which is still lacking in my life and I don't have much hope for it because it is something beyond my control. I have put in a lot of effort in it last time but ended up with nothing so now even though sometimes I am still quite hopeful but unconsciously I have actually given up.

Just last week I was dreaming of rainbows. I happened to see a double rainbow outside my window after a rainy afternoon just before dreaming about it. I've read that there is a mystical meaning behind rainbow dreams. It means that a happy change is coming. I've never dreamt of rainbows before and it made me wonder if something good will really happen in my life. Well I guess not especially after what I heard yesterday. It was a piece of news which I wasn't looking forward to hear about and it made me lose hope again...Deep inside my heart, I am really frustrated and I think my frustration was reflected in this morning's dream...

Sigh! I am tired and frustrated...

2010-01-20T21:09:00.002+08:00

Just minutes ago, I was searching frantically for my pendrive which contained my writing assignment. I remember putting it into my laptop bag pocket last night but now it's not there anymore. I don't know if it had dropped out of my bag when I was fumbling for my car keys when I was going home after work or if I had left it in my pencil case in my office drawer. I hope it's the latter because I have written quite a lot for my second writing assignment last night and I was just about to continue writing tonight. Sigh! I am really forgetful nowadays. I am not sure if I have taken the pendrive out of my laptop bag pocket this morning and put it into my pencil case. I think I did but now I am not sure. I totally cannot remember at all. Sigh! I feel so tired from work every day. I am so mentally exhausted from looking at the thousands of data on the PC monitor every day at work. I haven't had a vacation for over two years now. My last vacation was in May 2007. I am so frustrated...I hope I will be able to find my pendrive tomorrow.

The library cat...

2010-01-13T21:27:00.006+08:00

This is a photo of Dewey, the famous library cat. I was playing around with my camera and decided to take a photo of the book cover. I was attracted to this book from the first time I saw it in Borders because I like cats. I have never heard of Dewey until I saw this book. I think I bought this book in 2008 or maybe last year but have only finished reading it tonight. I started reading it a few months ago but I kept on delaying finishing the book. The main reason was I didn't want to reach the last few chapters of the book where the author wrote about Dewey's passing. I didn't want to get to that part because I knew very well that I would start crying...Dewey died on Nov 29, 2006...almost two years after my cat died.

When my cat died, I cried for weeks and even until now whenever I thought of the moment before she died, I'd still cry. True enough, when I read the last three chapters of this book, tears rolled down my cheeks.

I still remember the days after my cat's passing, I'd come home from work and would miss her tremendously. The house felt empty and quiet. There was no more cat for me to tickle whenever I reached home. There was no more meowing in the house. There was no more silly cat action to watch and laugh at. There was no more cat to greet us good morning with her meowing. There was no more cat to chase after the mop whenever I mopped the floor.

My mum was really sad too and when she saw how devastated I was she said to me "No more pets. It's too heart breaking". I guess when my cat died, she took a piece of my heart with her. It is very heart breaking indeed. I am crying as I am writing this...I miss her so much...

2010-01-12T20:05:00.002+08:00

I called the car service center yesterday to make a service booking...After a few rings, the receptionist picked up my call.

Receptionist : Good morning, Toyota service center
Me : Good morning. I'd like to make a service booking
Receptionist : May I have your car registration?
Me : (Gave details of my car registration)
Receptionist : May I have your contact number?
Me : (Gave details of my contact)
Receptionist : Will you be doing your 200,000km service?
Me : Erm...no. It's for my car's 55,000km service...
Receptionist : Huh???? (Quiet for awhile...I think she must be puzzled as to why my car of almost 6 years has only traveled 55,000km). So would you like to book for your 50,000km service?
Me : Erm...55,000km.
Receptionist : (Quiet again...). When would you like your service done?
Me : (Gave details of the date and time)
Receptionist : (Repeated the time and date)
Me : Yes. Thank you.
Receptionist : Thank you.
I hanged up my phone...

I told my colleague and he laughed too...Darn...My friends also always laugh at my car's low mileage...

Damsel in distress...

2010-01-10T21:01:00.002+08:00

I was at the mall after work last Wednesday with my friend. We were there to get movie tickets to last Friday night's Sherlock Holmes. After getting the tickets, my friend wanted to buy dinner at the supermarket. While waiting for her, I decided to get some hash brown. I took a plastic bag and tried to open it by rubbing it against my palm. It didn't open. I then tried by rubbing it with my fingers. That didn't work either. The man at the weighing counter saw me struggling and handed me a plastic bag which he had opened for me. Even though he was wearing a face mask, I could see his big smile underneath that mask. When I handed him the bag of hash brown to be weighed, he was still smiling. When he passed the bag back to me after weighing and tagging it, he was still smiling broadly. Geez...I was quite embarassed. I quickly said thank you and walked to the cashier to pay. I hope he won't be able to recognize me the next time I am there.

I always have this problem of not being able to open plastic bags. Usually someone would have to come to my rescue!

Nothing ventured, nothing gained...

2010-01-03T11:04:00.003+08:00

I met up with a friend on Friday night for dinner. The moment we sat down I told him that he has lost a lot of weight. He said it must be because of him running up and down the hospital for the past 4 months taking care of his dying grandmother who recently passed away on December 26.

My friend is very attached to his grandmother because she was the one who brought him up. He told me that the hospital bill came up to a whooping RM74000 and he didn't mind paying for it.

We talked throughout dinner...most of the time he was telling me about what his grandmother went through during the last 4 months of her life. He said that his perspective in life changed during that time. Having been through what he had to go through, I understood what he meant.

Everytime I met up with this friend, he'd ask me how's my job. I would always tell him that I hope to get out of my line of career soon as I really don't like working in manufacturing. He'd always say it's important to know what I want instead of just knowing what I don't want. I have lost count on the number of times he has said this to me and because of what he said I've been thinking a lot on what I really want to do next. This debate has been going on in my head for the past 3 years or so now...I am still not sure but I think I've finally narrowed down my options to one...writing. To be frank I don't know if this will work out but I am going to try it out anyway...I really enjoy writing so I might as well give it a shot...Nothing ventured, nothing gained but I must admit that it's not easy to take the leap of faith and venture out of one's comfort zone. I am glad that I have some supportive friends who are giving me encouragement. They too are looking out for what they really want so they are very understanding of what I am going through. I am really glad I have such friends...

A new year, a new beginning...

2009-12-31T22:34:00.002+08:00

Last year's words belong to last year's language
Next year's words awaits another voice
To make an end is to make a beginning
Happy New Year 2010...

Home stepper...

2009-12-12T21:26:00.002+08:00

I bought a home stepper today. I've been wanting to get one for quite some time already but had never gotten to do it. It's a compact exercise equipment weighing about 8kg. The height of the stepper can be adjusted. The higher I adjust it, the harder I'd have to step on it.

I haven't been getting enough exercise. It has been raining for months and that has stopped me from going for my walks in the park. I feel so lethargic from the lack of exercise.

I tried the stepper just now and I managed to do 2000 steps in about 40 minutes. My legs felt so tired after that but most importantly it got my heart pumping hard and I started to sweat a lot just after working out on the stepper for 10 minutes.

The thing I like about it is that it's light enough for me to move it around wherever I want to do my workout. I can place it in front of the telly and step away while I am watching tv...

A simple, friendly call made my day...

2009-12-09T21:39:00.004+08:00

I've been feeling weird lately...like my heart is very heavy. Could be because of work or other things in my life. Or maybe it's because I haven't been getting enough sleep lately. I don't enjoy what I do because I am very technical minded and what I am doing now is very administrative which is very boring.

I got a call from a supplier whom I've been sending reminders to a few times for him to respond. It was certainly good to hear from him. Even though it was my first time speaking to him, it was like talking to an old friend. He called up to enquire on how to fill up the form I sent him and we both had a good laugh at how complicated the form actually is. I felt much better after speaking to him. He was really friendly. And about an hour after his call, I received his email with the long awaited file which I've been chasing for. A simple favourable reply like this from a supplier could really make my day. I was all smiles after that. How I wish that all the suppliers I deal with are as friendly and responsive as this one.

I want to be a writer...

2009-12-03T20:00:00.003+08:00

Writing is not something which I thought I'd like but it has become a hobby of mine after I was introduced to blogging by a friend in 2006. At first it was really difficult for me to write but as I got the hang of it, I started to enjoy it. Writing lets me express myself, it stimulates my mind to think, it lets me be creative and I can also improve on my English which has deteriorated a lot since I left school...

I recently enrolled on a writing course. I'd like to explore my potential as a writer...on a part time basis for now and hopefully I'd be able to land myself a full time writing job in future...whether it is technical writing or other writing jobs. My gut feeling tells me that a career in writing will suit my character well. It is time for me to venture into something else...I am definitely bored of what I have been doing for the past 12 years. It is definitely time to move on and I have to start somewhere. So, I hope that enrolling in the writing course will be my starting point...

Life is short. I want to spend the rest of my working life doing something I like. I am not a person who's interested in the rat race. I want to do something which gives me a sense of achievement and that I have contributed something positive to people. At least when I am old, I can look back and smile and won't regret that I have spent 30 years of my working life doing something I don't like...

2009-11-30T18:44:00.002+08:00

Good friends can and do disagree while still liking one another, but they do not threaten each other. They respect and trust one another...

Adam Lambert...you ROCK!!!!

2009-11-29T20:50:00.005+08:00

After waiting anxiously for months for Adam Lambert's CD it was finally released about a week ago. I just couldn't wait to get it. After buying it yesterday, I couldn't wait to listen to it...I quickly ripped open the plastic wrapper and popped the CD into my car's CD player.

Two of his songs just makes me want to get up and dance the night away. It has been a long time since a song has such an effect on me! The two songs are "For Your Entertainment" and "If I Had You". I listened to his CD, especially the two songs repeatedly as I was driving back to Penang. I am really tired today and the songs kept me awake throughout my journey.

Adam Lambert is definitely the best new talent in the music scene...so what if he kissed a man during the American Music Awards...It was for our entertainment...

If he ever holds a concert in Malaysia, I'll definitely be there...Adam Lambert, you are such a great entertainer...

Why did that dog follow me???

2009-11-28T21:14:00.005+08:00

I was walking with my mum to our favourite curry mee stall. Suddenly I noticed a dog following us. To be exact it was following me but not my mum. It was happily tailing right behind me, wagging its tail. I wasn't sure if it was a stray or if it belonged to someone at the restaurant where it started following me.

I was getting quite freaked out when it wouldn't stop tailing me even after I stepped onto the walkway of a row of shoplots. What was it doing? When we were about to reach the curry mee stall, the dog came up to me and cornered me. I was a bit scared because I wasn't sure if the dog was going to bite me or what. It looked friendly and was very happy to see me. I like dogs but one thing I cannot stand is that they like to lick the people they meet and I wasn't going to let an unknown dog lick me. The dog seemed like it was going to plant a wet one on my legs. My mum quickly waved the umbrella at the dog and it ran away.

I thought it was already gone but when I sat down waiting for my curry mee, I saw the dog again. It was walking near where we were sitting but it didn't see me. It was trying to find me by detecting my scent but I guess there was too many people around and the smell of the food around the stall probably blocked my scent from reaching the dog's nose. After searching frantically and not able to find me, the dog disappeared.

I wondered why the dog followed me. Maybe I smell like its owner. Did it get lost and was searching for its owner? Did the owner abandon the dog because it was old or sick? The dog didn't look that old and it didn't look sick. Or maybe the dog is a reincarnation of someone I knew or maybe we were friends in the past life??? So many things were running through my mind. I've never had a dog follow me like this.

When we walked back to my car, I saw the dog underneath a car parked in front of the restaurant where it started following me. Good thing it didn't see me this time. I hope it has an owner and was just being playful with me. I really hate people who abandon their pets just because their pets are getting old or sick or because the owners just simply can't take care of them. I still can't get my mind off that dog. I hope it is ok.

Aaarggghhh....it's really frustrating...

2009-11-18T18:59:00.002+08:00

Why is it that I keep on forgetting his face??? It's the one face I want to remember but I just keep on forgetting it. Is it that I have a serious problem with my memory or is it because I am trying too hard to remember and end up forgetting instead??? Why is it that I can remember a face of a stranger who I have only seen once but I cannot remember this man's face eventhough I have seen him a few times. Sigh! I hope the next time I see him, I will be able to memorize his face...

Hope...

2009-11-15T16:08:00.002+08:00

It's good to have hope but sometimes when we have high hopes for something and it doesn't happen, it can be very disappointing and frustrating. These days I do not hope much for anything because I don't want to end up disappointed or frustrated or even hurt. I can't take the heartache anymore...

My Lumix gang (",)

2009-11-11T20:26:00.005+08:00

I made a few friends online through Facebook. We started connecting with each other there through the Panasonic Lumix Club in Facebook and all of us are owners of the Lumix FZ35. I'd say that this is my first time making friends online. We'd comment on each others' photos which we post in Facebook. I really like looking at the photos they post. I have never met any of my new friends. Most of them are in KL and I've got a new friend added today who's from US. This is fun indeed.

2009-11-06T20:31:00.001+08:00

There are many things we can play around with...People's feelings is not one of them...

A very meaningful speech...

2009-10-26T19:48:00.002+08:00

I got this email from my friend at work and I'd like to share it here...

This was a speech made by Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Anna Quindlen at the graduation ceremony of an American university where she was awarded an Honorary PhD. Most brilliant, to-the-point speech to get all of us thinking.

"I'm a novelist. My work is human nature. Real life is all I know. Don't ever confuse the two, your life and your work. You will walk out of here this afternoon with only one thing that no one else has. There will be hundreds of people out there with your same degree: there will be thousands of people doing what you want to do for a living. But you will be the only person alive who has sole custody of your life. Your particular life. Your entire life. Not just your life at a desk or your life on a bus or in a car or at the computer. Not just the life of your mind, but the life of your heart. Not just your bank accounts but also your soul.

People don't talk about the soul very much anymore. It's so much easier to write a resume than to craft a spirit. But a resume is cold comfort on a winter's night, or when you're sad, or broke, or lonely, or when you've received your test results and they're not so good.

Here is my resume: I am a good mother to three children. I have tried never to let my work stand in the way of being a good parent. I no longer consider myself the centre of the universe. I show up. I listen. I try to laugh. I am a good friend to my husband. I have tried to make marriage vows mean what they say. I am a good friend to my friends and them to me.

Without them, there would be nothing to say to you today, because I would be a cardboard cut out. But I call them on the phone and I meet them for lunch. I would be rotten, at best mediocre, at my job if those other things were not true.

You cannot be really first rate at your work if your work is all you are. So here's what I wanted to tell you today: Get a life. A real life, not a manic pursuit of the next promotion, the bigger pay cheque, the larger house. Do you think you'd care so very much about those things if you blew an aneurysm one afternoon or found a lump in your breast?

Get a life in which you notice the smell of salt water pushing itself on a breeze at the seaside, a life in which you stop and watch how a red-tailed hawk circles over the water, or the way a baby scowls with concentration when she tries to pick up a sweet with her thumb and first finger.

Get a life in which you are not alone. Find people you love, and who love you. And remember that love is not leisure, it is work. Pick up the phone. Send an email. Write a letter. Get a life in which you are generous. And realize that life is the best thing ever, and that you have no business taking it for granted.. Care so deeply about its goodness that you want to spread it around. Take money you would have spent on beer and give it to charity. Work in a soup kitchen. Be a big brother or sister. All of you want to do well. But if you do not do good too, then doing well will never be enough.

It is so easy to waste our lives, our days, our hours, and our minutes. It is so easy to take for granted the colour of our kids' eyes, the way the melody in a symphony rises and falls and disappears and rises again. It is so easy to exist instead of to live.

I learned to live many years ago. I learned to love the journey, not the destination. I learned that it is not a dress rehearsal, and that today is the only guarantee you get. I learned to look at all the good in the world and try to give some of it back because I believed in it, completely and utterly. And I tried to do that, in part, by telling others what I had learned. By telling them this: Consider the lilies of the field. Look at the fuzz on a baby's ear. Read in the back yard with the sun on your face.

Learn to be happy. And think of life as a terminal illness, because if you do, you will live it with joy and passion as it ought to be lived.

Road Survival Skills Workshop

2009-10-25T20:30:00.005+08:00

I attended a workshop on road survival skills yesterday. It was a very interesting workshop and I really enjoyed myself there with my friend. I attended a workshop by the same trainer a few years ago on fire and rescue. He is indeed a very good trainer. He has gone on search and rescue missions in Aceh during the 2004 tsunami, last year's earthquake in Sze Chuan, China and the earthquake in Bam, Iran.

During the workshop he showed us many gory photos of accident victims, some already burnt to death, a woman had her body cut into half at the waist after a road accident, a man's face (the facial skin and almost the whole set of his teeth and his tongue) was lying on the road just a few feet from his body with a pole pierced through his neck into his face after his car knocked into a barrier in the middle of the highway which was under repair and many others. I could not bare to see some of them because they were so horrible and I was afraid I was going to throw up.

He taught us on how to use the life hammer to cut the seat belt and also to use the sharp end of the hammer to break the side window to escape from a car that is involved in a car accident. He also taught us how to make temporary stitches just by using a band aid and how to use the car jack to release trapped victims in a car accident or if someone's leg got stuck in between a drain cover. There were many more things that we learnt. He said that whatever he was teaching represents only 1% of knowledge but I left the workshop with a whole lot of knowledge.

Another trainer then took over and demonstrated on the right way to use a pepper spray against attackers. He recommends the water-base pepper spray instead of the aerosol type because the aerosol type would behave like mosquito sprays whereby the smell of the aerosol would be around us. We don't want to have that with a pepper spray because we only want the attacker to suffer the effects of it and not us! Press using the thumb and not the index finger because it is actually quite hard to press. Our thumb has more strength than our index finger. Stretch the arm straight and spray like the movement of a fan moving from one side to the other to make sure that we don't miss the target. Then run!

The RM40 spent for the workshop was the most well spent money in recent years. All participants were given a free life hammer which retails at RM49 and were also served refreshments and lunch at the hotel restaurant. I am so glad I didn't let go of the chance to attend this workshop and I am sure going to attend future safety workshops conducted by him.

Very touching photos...

2009-10-23T20:35:00.005+08:00

I got these photos from an email my sis forwarded to me. I can't help but feel very touched by them.

When I think about it, even animals of different species can get along but we humans which is suppose to be the most intelligent creature on earth just seem to want to harm and destroy each other over every little thing. At the end of the day, it is humans who are going to destroy each other and the world.

Many people think that animals don't have feelings but I strongly believe that they do. In fact, I've seen some animals behave more humanly than humans themselves! I've come across people who are so emotionally stunted, angry and hostile, cruel, cutting and sarcastic, cold and unaffectionate, insensitive to others' needs and inconsiderate of others' feelings that it felt like all the human kindness has all dried up in them. It felt as if underneath the skin and skeleton, there was no soul...only hollowness. They cannot even cry during times of sadness. I don't know whether to pity them or to empathise with them for not being able to feel and show normal human emotions and feelings. Even animals can show love and affection.

Can money buy happiness???

2009-10-22T20:39:00.003+08:00

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/10/22/columnists/londonlog/4933618&sec=londonlog

I really like this article I read today about true happiness. I totally agree with what the writer wrote...that money may be able to buy happiness to a certain degree...it can buy us something which can put a smile on our faces and let us do the things that we love to do but true happiness comes from being with our loved ones and genuine friends...something which cannot be bought or sold.

I love to sleep...hehehe...

2009-10-22T20:21:00.002+08:00

Sleep...aahhh...the thought of that makes me smile...I love to sleep these days...maybe it's because I feel very tired from work...Sometimes I even feel like going to bed at 9pm because by then my eyes will only be half open and I can hardly stop yawning. Sometimes I'd yawn like crazy, my mum feels like giving me a few tight slaps!!! I'd usually wake up with my eyes half open and go to work with my eyes still half open!!! Terrible indeed...I always look forward to the weekends where I don't have to wake up so early...at least I can sleep til 8am...Aahhh...weekend is just around the corner...I am definitely looking forward to it...

Does time heals all wounds???

2009-10-20T12:08:00.002+08:00

There is a saying that time heals all wounds. I don't believe this is true because years later we can still be terribly sad about what happened..whether it was due to someone who has hurt us badly or the death of someone we love. Personally I still feel the pain of old scars from people who have hurt me and still miss the people who are gone...even my dear cat. I think whenever we get hurt or lose a loved one, the scars remain unhealed. The best we can do is to acknowledge the pain and to live on in the present the best we can and to be happy with what we have in the present...

Beautiful firework...

2009-10-17T22:48:00.003+08:00

I wasn't sure what was the occasion last night...I think the Chinese were celebrating the upcoming Nine Emperor Gods Festival (九皇爺) which starts tomorrow. I could hear fireworks the whole night...some just right in front of my apartment, some quite far away. I was already in bed actually but I couldn't help getting out of bed to take photos of the fireworks.

I fumbled in the dark for my camera...turned it on and switched to the firework scene mode. Still learning how to use the various functions in my camera, I clicked away as I was standing in the dark looking out my bedroom window. I managed to capture a few photos of the fireworks which was quite clear. I wanted to use the burst mode but didn't know how to activate it...sigh...I am still reading up the camera manual which is 219 pages. It's a slow process because the manual is in softcopy and every time I want to read up something I'd have to turn on my laptop...Sigh!

Sunset...

2009-10-17T21:40:00.002+08:00

Took this a few days ago. I was looking out the living room window and noticed the sunset. I quickly got out my camera. I remember there is a sunset mode so decided to try it out. The photo turned out quite well.

How did I go through it last time???

2009-10-08T20:14:00.002+08:00

I attended a 2 day training yesterday and today. When I signed up for it little did I know that there was going to be so many tests throughout the training. Altogether there was 1 close book test and 5 open book tests. Even though the tests were open book, I found it quite stressful. I started to wonder how did I go through all the tests and exams during my school days and university...18 years of my life from primary school to graduate school in university. If back then I had the attitude I am having these days, I would have dropped out of school even before I finished my secondary education!!!

My brain was totally drained after the training today...In fact, I was really tired after the training yesterday too...I slept at 10pm last night and could hardly wake up to get to work this morning...I don't think my old brain can take much more of technical stuff anymore...

The full moon...

2009-10-07T19:09:00.000+08:00

I was having dinner on Sunday night and suddenly noticed something bright outside my living room window. It was the moon. I quickly whipped out my new camera and took the photo. As I didn't have time to set up my tripod, I stabilized myself on the window pane. I was still shaky when I took the shots but I think the photos turned out quite well. These photos were taken at 18x optical zoom so I'd say that the POWER O.I.S. really works. Usually camera shake will be a problem when taking telephoto shots. The photos (especially the ones where the moon starts to disappear behind the clouds) kind of reminds me of scenes from a horror movie...just before a vampire or werewolf appears!!! Spooky...

Was it a dream or something did fall???

2009-10-04T22:16:00.001+08:00

I suddenly woke up from my sleep last night. I wasn't sure if I was already awake when I heard the loud thud or did the loud thud wake me up. The sound of glass shattering followed a second after that. I wasn't sure if I was half dreaming or it was really something which fell to the ground floor but the loud thud and shattering glass sent shivers down my spine. It sounded like something fell from a higher floor of the apartment to the ground floor and got shattered or the object shattered a car's windscreen.

I laid in bed for a few more minutes not sure if I should look out the bedroom window. I was scared to look because I didn't know what had fallen down. Just last Saturday, a mentally unstable woman killed herself by jumping off the 16th floor of my apartment. My mum and I had gone home to our hometown and we didn't know about it until some friends of my mum told her about it on Monday. My mum's friend who was on the 9th floor said she heard such a loud thud when the woman hit the ground. That was why the sound of the loud thud last night sent shivers down my spine. I prayed hard that it wasn't another person who just jumped off the apartment.

I got up from bed and looked at the clock. It was 2.30am. I went to the toilet and then before returning to my bed, braved myself to look out the window. I wanted to check that my car was ok. It was ok and I couldn't see anything unusual. I went back to bed and fell asleep again.

When I woke up this morning, I quickly took another peek downstairs. Everything looked fine. Maybe a flower pot or something fell and broke. My mum said there was strong wind in the middle of the night. Maybe that was it...Thank goodness it wasn't another person who jumped!

Panasonic Lumix's new Power O.I.S. really works...

2009-10-04T21:56:00.002+08:00

I took this night scenery last night with my new camera. Usually night shots taken without using a tripod would be a disaster because the photos will turn out blurry due to the slower shutter speed used for night scenes and camera shake. Surprisingly Panasonic's new POWER O.I.S. really works and this photo which I took handheld turned out pretty good. My 4 year old Lumix camera would need to be mounted on a tripod to take night sceneries even though it also has O.I.S. (but not POWER O.I.S.). I think Panasonic did a good improvement to their image stabilization.

Finally...I am the proud owner of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ35...

2009-10-03T21:37:00.000+08:00

I went shopping this morning with the intention of buying a new camera. I emailed a camera shop a few weeks ago and 2 weeks ago they finally informed me that they already have the camera in their shop. I couldn't make it to the shop because I was going home to my hometown for the whole week. I finally have time to shop for the camera today and I thought the Panasonic shop at the mall would already have the camera but to my surprise the salesman told me they still do not stock up the camera because it's a very new model. What??? I walked across to another camera shop and was again disappointed when the people there told me that the stock has not arrived. I tried checking these two camera shops first because I parked my car at the lower ground floor parking and these two shops are at the lower ground.

Feeling a bit moody already, I made my way to the second floor of the mall where the camera shop I emailed to is located. I approached the salesman there and asked if they have the model. He smiled and said yes. Phew! I thought he was going to tell me that there was no more stock and I'll have to wait for the new stocks to arrive.

I asked if I could see the camera and he took one out of the box for me to see. He explained some new functions of the camera to me. I was really satisfied with the camera. He said if I want to purchase it he can give me a bit of discount. It was only RM30 discount but better than nothing. I asked him if the camera came with a tripod (which I obviously know it doesn't). He sighed and said he'd throw in a free 5 feet tripod for me. Hehe. Luckily I asked!

I can't wait to go out and take some photos with my new camera. I already charged up the battery and it should allow me to take up to 470 photos before I'd have to charge the battery again. I will have to take some time to familiarize with the functions of the camera. For now, I'll put it on iA (intelligent Auto) mode...just let the camera do all the adjustments needed to take a good photo while I learn how to play around with the manual controls. I have already tried the 18x optical zoom. Fantastic indeed.

Love is the most wonderful feeling...

2009-10-01T21:58:00.000+08:00

Love is indeed a wonderful feeling...To love and be loved back is the best feeling in the world...People say that when a person is in love, it shows and there is no way of hiding it...I believe this is true...But it is a shame that there are people who cannot love no matter how hard they want to...It would be very frustrating to live like that...I am thankful that I am not one of them...

What is life without love? Emptiness...

Honesty...

2009-10-01T21:23:00.000+08:00

I've learnt that I need to be honest with myself first before I can be honest with anyone else in my life.

Inspiring indeed...

2009-10-01T21:08:00.000+08:00

http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=8577255250907450469&hl=en

2009-09-30T21:17:00.002+08:00

It is not a weakness to ask for help...

When a dog loves a cat...

2009-09-24T22:19:00.004+08:00

That is the title of the chinese series I am watching now. I usually do not watch much Chinese series but this one really caught my interest because of the animal characters in the show. Tonight's episode was really touching. A dog named Balley died because it had a cancerous tumour in its brain. Balley was very sad when she knew that she was dying and would be leaving her owner soon. Her doggie friend named 小巴 (Siu Pa) came to visit. Balley told Siu Pa that she is going to die and that she's very scared and also very sad that she'll be leaving her mummy (her owner) soon. Siu Pa told Balley to spend the rest of her days being happy instead of feeling sad because being sad would only cause her owner to be sad. Siu Pa told Balley that the most important thing is to make her owner happy so that her owner will remember their happy days together.

While watching tonight's episode, tears ran down my cheek. It reminded me of my cat when she was dying. It was really sad and heart breaking to see my cat lying on the floor just waiting for her moment to go.

I do believe that pets come into our lifes to teach us an invaluable lesson...the true meaning of unconditional love and how to have a good heart. Pets love their owners no matter how they look like, whether they are rich or poor, smart or not. They are by their owners side no matter what happens...whether it's during good or bad times. One thing I learnt is that with pets it is very safe to love them with all our hearts because they will never hurt us back. With humans, sometimes no matter how much we shower our love and affection to that person, there is a risk that the person will hurt us back very badly and just walk out of our lifes no matter how good we have treated the person and how much we have sacrificed for the person before. Some people cannot even be honest and would lie to the people who love them. When I really think about it, animals are honest and don't hurt us back...so which one is more human??? You decide...

Relationships...

2009-09-24T21:46:00.000+08:00

A relationship is not only measured by just the good times. How we respond to great challenges, loses and hardship can strengthen a relationship...

2009-09-22T22:04:00.001+08:00

What matters in this life is more than winning for ourselves. What matters in this life is helping others to win, even if it means slowing down and changing our course.

2009-09-22T21:51:00.001+08:00

Sometimes it is the unseen support that makes for the biggest gifts of joy...

2009-09-22T21:48:00.000+08:00

There are two kinds of sparks, the one that goes off with a hitch like a match, but it burns quickly. The other is the kind that needs time, but when the flame strikes...it's eternal, don't forget that.
Timothy Oliveira

My heart...

2009-09-18T22:06:00.003+08:00

Something happened last weekend...My heart no longer feels heavy...It felt like the baggage I have been carrying in my heart all this while was finally thrown out...My heart feels light...like it's ready to venture out and experience the world again...Was last weekend the turning point in my life??? Only time will tell...All I can say now is that my heart feels good again...

Caveman laser pointer...

2009-09-15T21:42:00.002+08:00

Yesterday, I attended a meeting with some colleagues from US and Europe. It was the first time I've met them in person. I have only heard their voices over the phone during teleconferences.

When Bill started presenting he said "First let me take out my caveman laser pointer". I thought what was that. He went over to his bag and pulled out a pointer...you know those which looks like a radio antenna and you pull it out to extend its length. When we saw that, all of us started laughing. Mark said "Hey use this" and handed him a laser pointer. Bill replied "Oh, I can't use that".

It has been many years since I've seen anyone use the "caveman laser pointer". I can't even remember when was the last time I saw one...

How can this be???

2009-09-10T21:50:00.001+08:00

I was shocked when I viewed my blog tonight. The webcounter showed that there has been 11896 page views of my blog. Just last night the counter was only showing 740. How can the number jump over 11000 over 24 hours??? I think something must be wrong with the counter...

My friend's wedding...

2009-09-09T21:05:00.004+08:00

I missed my friend's wedding last November all because of a SQUID!!! Yup...I ate a squid which was not fully cooked and got an allergic reaction from it. Almost my whole body was swollen and itchy and I looked like a steamed lobster! I was really looking forward to his wedding...but at the last minute I couldn't make it...sigh...

I've always wanted to see his wife. I asked my colleagues who attended his wedding dinner if they took any photos of the couple but none did. Today, while getting bored at work, I was asking my friend about cameras and he gave me this link to his friend's photo blog. His friend is a professional photographer and was the one who took his wedding photos. Aaahhh...I finally get to see my friend's wedding photos and his wife

http://ardenkhoo.com/page/3/

Not only there is photos of my friend's wedding, there is also photos of Nicol David's sister's wedding!

I quickly browsed through the webpages and I'd say that the photographer is really good. He even managed to make the dirty and not so nice Lim Jetty look good! That is what I call a good photographer.

Acceptance...

2009-09-08T21:45:00.002+08:00

We are all eccentric in a certain way...That is what makes each and every one of us unique...That is what makes us appeal to certain people but not to some...I have some of the most eccentric people as friends...I know that I can't change their personality and neither can they change mine...So how do we get along so well and not get on each others' nerves??? I guess it's the ability to accept one another for who we are...Remember that each of us are different...I cherish them for how they are and hope they will do the same for me too...

Change...

2009-09-06T21:19:00.001+08:00

Change is a very long and difficult process for most...

Abuse...

2009-09-06T21:17:00.002+08:00

Abuse led to the behaviour. Further abuse isn't going to fix it.

2009-09-06T21:16:00.001+08:00

Don't go along to get along...

Messing up is a part of life...

2009-09-06T21:12:00.001+08:00

Sometimes we have to mess up before we can make ourself whole again...

The agony of waiting is killing me...

2009-09-06T11:32:00.003+08:00

Oh! I simply cannot wait to see the Lumix FZ35. I have been waiting eagerly since I saw the news about this new camera in early August. I even joined the Lumix Club in Facebook to get the latest news and to see all the nice photos from the club members taken with their Lumix cameras. Now the latest news is that the FZ35 will be in stores in mid-September. Gosh! The agony of waiting is really killing me. I am also still pondering about the GH1 which is my dream camera. Even though it is very expensive, I still cannot take my mind off that beauty. I am getting really moody just waiting to see these two cameras...sigh...when can I see them??? For all I know, maybe later there will be news that the camera will only be available in stores in October...Sigh!

Hungry Ghost Festival...

2009-09-06T10:15:00.005+08:00

I noticed that the Hungry Ghost Festival this year is not as merry as I remembered it last year. Even my mum and my colleague commented the same. I remember that there were lots of fire works and concerts last year but it's very quiet this year. Hmm...I guess the economic crisis is not only taking a toll on the living but also on the dead!

2009-09-05T12:56:00.001+08:00

Better by far you should forget and smile than that you should remember and be sad...
Christina Rosetti, British poet (1830-1874)

2009-09-05T12:54:00.000+08:00

Expect nothing in return...

2009-09-05T12:53:00.001+08:00

There are two sides to every story...

2009-09-05T12:50:00.000+08:00

The only one standing in your way is you...

2009-09-05T12:46:00.002+08:00

Happiness belongs to those who choose it...

What is life all about???

2009-09-01T11:37:00.007+08:00

2009-08-26T20:54:00.001+08:00

Putting up a wall around our hearts doesn't protect us. It only keeps people away...

What a day...

2009-08-25T20:57:00.005+08:00

Sigh! Today is really an adventurous day for me. It was time to go home. Went into my car and turned on the ignition. My car went "krek, krek, krek" and it wouldn't start. Oh my gosh! I tried again and it went "krek, krek, krek". What was wrong??? I was beginning to worry. I tried a few more times and it just gave that same sound. I quickly called my colleague to come down and see what's wrong with my car. Once he came down, I tried starting my car again and he said it sounded familiar. He said he experienced the same thing before with his car and it was the starter problem. Darn! I just had my car serviced about a month ago. Then he said it could also be the battery problem. I called the 24 hour breakdown service but nobody picked up the line. So I called the service center to see if they provide any car breakdown service. They told me to call the toll free number which I called earlier. So I called again and luckily this time someone picked up my call. The person told me to give her 5 to 10 minutes to make arrangements for someone to come to my rescue! My colleague waited with me for awhile and before he went back to the office told me that he'd be leaving in 15 minutes time and to call him if nobody calls me and he'd drive me home and just leave the car in the company and only to settle the problem tomorrow. Sigh!

A call came after about 10 minutes. The mechanic was coming. I quickly called my colleague to tell him. He said that he was going home and if I needed help again to call him. I thanked him. I called my mum to tell her that I was having car problem and would be home late. She asked if I had enough money to pay for a new car battery or any kind of repair. Gosh! During the time of panic, I totally forgot about money. I had some money but not enough to pay for a car battery. Then I thought if really needed I could always walk to the cafeteria as there is an ATM machine there. I just pray that the machine isn't out of service.

I waited for the foreman at the guard house. I asked the guard there if the foreman is allowed to enter into the company compound and he said yes. While waiting, the guard had a nice chat with me..the topic of conversation ranging from car problems to the National Day parade! He said it's the fasting month now and he wonder if there will be a National Day parade.

The foreman came. He registered himself at the guard house and then rode his motorbike into the company car park. He was equipped with a spare battery and a jump-start cable. He told me to start my car. Hearing the "krek, krek, krek" sound, he told me that my car battery is too weak already. Darn! There was no warning signs at all this morning when I started my car and drove to work. All of a sudden the battery just went flat. The mechanic connected his battery to my car and jump-started my car. He told me to drive to the nearest car battery shop to get my battery replaced. I asked him where is the nearest shop. He asked me where do I stay, so I told him and he said there is one tyre shop near where I stay and I could get my battery changed there. I thanked him and drove away.

I could really feel that my battery was weak. My car engine felt quite jerky and I was so scared that my car would just stop in the middle of the road. It was getting late as I left the factory and the after office hour traffic jam already started. Sigh! That got me even more worried. Whenever I had to stop at a traffic light or at a junction I was so scared my car would just stall. I wouldn't want to cause a traffic jam on top of the already heavy after office hours traffic.

I quickly called a friend to ask if he knows of any battery shop nearby where we work. He told me to try the nearest petrol station because he was not sure if the shops were still open at that hour. He told me once I get to the petrol station I should ask them first if they are selling car batteries and he told me not to turn off the engine while I go ask them. I was so glad he told me that. In a state of panic I wouldn't have thought of that at all. I would have stupidly turned off the engine while I get down to ask the petrol station workers if they sell car batteries!

Just as I was turning into the direction of the petrol station I saw two car tyre shops there. I drove into that road and was relieved to see the sign of a car battery outside one of the shops. I slowed down my car and a lady came out to ask me what I was looking for. I told her what I wanted and she nodded. Gosh! What a relief.

While the mechanic changed the battery, I walked across the street to a bank to withdraw money. After he was done I paid him. All is well now. What a day indeed and what an experience!

Attitude

2009-08-21T20:37:00.002+08:00

Attitude Is Everything by Jim Rohn

The process of human change begins within us. We all have tremendous potential. We all desire good results from our efforts. Most of us are willing to work hard and to pay the price that success and happiness demand.

Each of us has the ability to put our unique human potential into action and to acquire a desired result. But the one thing that determines the level of our potential, that produces the intensity of our activity and predicts the quality of the result we receive, is our attitude.

Attitude determines how much of the future we are allowed to see. It decides the size of our dreams and influences our determination when we are faced with new challenges. No other person on earth has dominion over our attitude. People can affect our attitude by teaching us poor thinking habits or unintentionally misinforming us or providing us with negative sources of influence, but no one can control our attitude unless we voluntarily surrender that control.

No one else "makes us angry." We make ourselves angry when we surrender control of our attitude. What someone else may have done is irrelevant. We choose, not they. They merely put our attitude to a test. If we select a volatile attitude by becoming hostile, angry, jealous or suspicious, then we have failed the test. If we condemn ourselves by believing that we are unworthy, then again, we have failed the test.If we care at all about ourselves, then we must accept full responsibility for our own feelings. We must learn to guard against those feelings that have the capacity to lead our attitude down the wrong path and to strengthen those feelings that can lead us confidently into a better future.

If we want to receive the rewards the future holds in trust for us, then we must exercise the most important choice given to us as members of the human race by maintaining total dominion over our attitude. Our attitude is an asset, a treasure of great value, which must be protected accordingly. Beware of the vandals and thieves among us who would injure our positive attitude or seek to steal it away.

Having the right attitude is one of the basics that success requires. The combination of a sound personal philosophy and a positive attitude about ourselves and the world around us gives us an inner strength and a firm resolve that influences all the other areas of our existence.—Jim Rohn

Pet plastic surgery????

2009-08-18T21:13:00.003+08:00

I saw a program about plastic surgery for pets on Sunday. I really couldn't believe it. I know that pet owners really pamper their pets these days...dressing them up in fancy clothes, letting them wear shoes and sunglasses, doing up their hair but plastic surgery is something which I never thought would happen to pets.

One shar pei dog underwent eyelid laser surgery to correct its eyelids which tend to fold inwards. That I think it necessary because the eyes gets irritated whenever it blinks. There was a bulldog which went for wrinkle removal..yup...it had too much wrinkle around its neck. Then the most ridiculous of all...a dog which had implants so that it could have bigger testicles!!! Gosh...What will people think of next???

Enjoy it while I can...

2009-08-18T20:44:00.003+08:00

We got news today that our normal pay will resume in November. That means no more 10% pay cut and two days off each month. Many people are happy but there are some who are already so used to the two days off every month that they wish they can continue on with the pay cut!

When the pay cut started in January, many people were gloomy. For me, I was quite ok with it. I have survived in worse situations. I actually felt blessed because what is 10% pay cut compared to those who were losing their jobs. I too have gotten used to the two days off every month and a part of me somehow wished that this will continue on for a bit longer! Ya, as crazy as it sounds I would opt for the days off rather than the money! Of course the few hundred dollars gone can be a pinch. Money does not come easily but to me health is much more important and the greatest wealth is having health. Without health we will not be able to work and there will be no income. Maybe I am also getting lazy as I age...yup, that could be the main reason why I rather have the days off and a pay cut ...Geez, I think I've got an attitude problem now.

November is coming up in just two and a half months so I better enjoy the time off as much as I can. I am sure gonna miss it...

The importance of having friends at work...

2009-08-17T21:54:00.004+08:00

A friend of mine took some time to instant message me at work the other day. It has been awhile since I saw her on MSN Messenger. She told me that she was really busy at work and was very tensed up with her family life lately. She also told me that she doesn't have anyone at work who she can consider as a friend who she could talk to about her work frustration and other things. She has worked in her current company for over a year now.

It's not that easy to find friends at work. I never realize the importance of it until recent years. I met this friend of mine at work. I started work in our previous company 2 weeks before her. I remember that we used to have lunch together in the factory cafeteria. That was how our friendship started.

The turnover rate at our previous company was really high at one time until the HR manager had to call some engineers for a one-to-one session. I remember the manager asked me one question "Do you have friends at work?" and I said "Yes". She told me that it is very important to have friends at work. I didn't see her point at that time but now I do especially with this friend of mine telling me a few times already that she can't seem to find any friends at her current workplace.

Come to think of it, I've worked in my current company for almost 14 months now and I can count the number of people I really know...only 8 to be exact including my boss. I would say that only half of them I consider as friends, the rest as colleagues. My friend said at least I am better off than her. She said she has a colleague who she talks to sometimes but tries not to because her colleague would always make her look stupid by talking to her sarcastically. That's terrible. I would avoid such people too and would never consider them as friends. I guess by comparison I am better than my friend.

I am closest to my colleague who reported to work on the same day as I did. Both of us would exchange thoughts about our job and the frustrations that we go through at work. He is the only one I can really trust among my colleagues. So I guess that makes him a friend rather than a colleague. At least I have someone I can confide in. It would be boring without him to chat with. Sometimes just to take the tension off our work, we'd start giving nicknames to the people around us!!! So far there is Lydia Sum, noisy uncle, shrill voiced girl, cartoon girl, Cruella...

I also have a regular lunch mate...my naive and innocent colleague. I consider her as a friend also. Her innocence can be very annoying at times and I really feel like tearing my hair whenever she pops one of her childish questions but she's actually quite nice to talk to and a nice friend to have. She doesn't take things seriously and it is always laughter when we talk to each other. Come to think of it, behind all that innocence is a person with a good heart. These days it's very difficult to find people who has a good heart. When my car had to spend 3 days in the service center last October, she was the only colleague to be concerned on how I was going to get home after I left my car there. It was really thoughtful of her to ask even though she herself doesn't have a car and carpools with a friend to work and takes the factory bus home every day. I told her not to worry and I would find someone to fetch me home. Today she treated me apple juice during lunch because she felt so guilty for infecting me with the flu! She felt so bad when I had to go on medical leave last Thursday. When I went back to work last Friday she was on leave and she text messaged our colleague to ask if I was back at work. She was also worried that I would pass the flu to my mum which in fact I did!!! She was concerned for my mum because my mum is above 65 and with the H1N1 virus going around, people above 65 are in the high risk group. Luckily all of us got the normal seasonal flu and not the H1N1 flu.I was getting very worried myself because I was having difficulty breathing and was even more worried for my mum who started having sore throat.

Anyway, having people who we can relate to as friends at work is very important to keep us sane. Even though we can talk to our friends outside of work about our work frustrations, sometimes they would not understand our problems because they are not working in the same place. So it's our friends at work who know what we have to go through who will understand us better when we vent out our frustrations. Even if we don't have any work frustrations to vent out (which is something very rare!), we'd still need friends at work to laugh with, joke around with, share knowledge with each other, to encourage and support each other and many other things...

OMG! OMG! The Lumix GH1 is finally here but....

2009-08-06T20:31:00.003+08:00

As usual, I like to have a quick lunch at the cafeteria and go back to my desk to spend the rest of my lunch hour surfing the net for the latest news. It has been almost 2 weeks since I checked on any news about my dream camera. Today, I decided to Google it again and to my surprise Panasonic has finally launched it here on July 29.

Omigosh! Omigosh! Omigosh! I couldn't believe my eyes...It's finally here... Besides the GH1, Panasonic has also launched 4 more Lumix models - DMC-FZ35K; DMC-FX65; DMCFP8; and DMC-ZR1 and 2 models of camcorders. I quickly read through the article because I wanted to know how much is the price of the GH1. When I got to the bottom of the webpage, my jaws dropped! The retail price is RM6999 Why so expensive??? It's even more expensive than I thought it would be. I was breaking out in cold sweat and was in a stage of denial...not wanting to believe what I just saw. Sigh! There goes my dream of buying the GH1...

Reading through the article again, the DMC-FZ35K caught my eyes. Is that the successor to the FZ28 which I've been waiting for??? I quickly googled the FZ35K. YES! It's the successor to the FZ28. Just weeks ago when I was at the Panasonic AV Fair, the nice salesman told me that there won't be a successor to the FZ28 so soon. Luckily I didn't take his words and bought the FZ28 that day because I read in some discussion thread on the net that every year Panasonic will come out with an upgrade of an existing model and it has been about a year or so since the launch of the FZ28. So many people were expecting the successor to the FZ28 to be launched soon and true enough it has been launched. I think I would tear my hair if I were to buy the FZ28 just weeks ago and now find out that there is an upgrade of the model in the market already.

I am quite disappointed that Panasonic didn't consider putting an articulated LCD screen for the FZ35. I really love that feature. The FZ35 comes with a 12.1 megapixel sensor and some other improvements. The retail price is RM1699 which is within my budget. With that I think I have finally decided...It's gonna be the FZ35 for now...But I'll still check out the GH1 for the fun of it...Come to think of it, if I put away RM400 every month for 17.5 months I'd be able to buy the GH1...Damn...that's so darn long to wait...By the time I save up the amount, an upgrade of the GH1 would already be in the market...Sigh! Anyhow, the weekend is just around the corner and I can't wait to go check it out...Yippeeeee!!!! GH1 here I come...

ASTRO blamed for fewer babies...

2009-08-05T21:01:00.006+08:00

I read an opinion column on last Sunday's NST by Marc Lourdes. The writer wrote about how ASTRO has contributed to fewer babies in the country because instead of spending time making babies, couples now prefer to spend time after work, Saturday and Sunday nights to watch ASTRO rather than making babies.

He also wrote about the issue of underwear contributing to lesser babies these days. Reading that, I recalled what my Form Six Biology teacher, Mr. Khor spoke about underwears being linked to male fertility. Mr. Khor said that in the olden days, men wore baggy underwear...something like boxer shorts or what he called "Vietcong" shorts! I remember my class mates and I were laughing like crazy when he mentioned the Vietcong shorts. He said that baggy underwears are better for men's fertility because they allow good air circulation and because they are baggy, blood circulation in the male reproductive organs are also good. Here I quote what Marc Lourdes wrote " I clearly remember the kind of underwear my grandfather used to wear. They were either the Crocodile/Scuba brand briefs (spectacularly unstyllish, very roomy) or striped, baggy boxers. And what do they wear these days? Tight, "bikini style" briefs. Very flattering, I'm sure. But all that mashing up is bound to do some damage. No wonder my grandpa had seven kids while I still don't have any little Marcs scampering around". Hmm...what Mr. Khor told us last time must be right.

Flipping the paper, a few pages later, I came across a piece of news titled "Minister: Watch TV, make fewer babies". I thought, now what...I just read someone wrote about the decline of birth rates due to couples watching too much TV and now there is a contradictory one who tell couples to watch more TV to reduce birth rates! It was news from the Health Minister of India who believes that late night TV would make for good birth control. He said that when there is no electricity, there is nothing else to do but produce babies. If there is electricity in every village, then people will watch TV and then fall asleep and won't have a chance to make babies. Hmm...I guess this is also true. I remember when I was in university, there was a nationwide blackout for many hours. The whole country came to a stop! I actually read that many women got pregnant on that day...they couldn't watch TV, they couldn't go out...So to kill time and boredom...I don't think I have to elaborate more...

The greatest loss...

2009-08-04T22:51:00.001+08:00

Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live - Norman Cousins

What a squeak!

2009-08-03T21:10:00.005+08:00

My brother forwarded me this email and it's so darn cute. I love getting emails of cute animal behaviour...Gotta post it here so that I will remember it years later...It is simple things like this that can really cheer me up no matter how gloomy I feel

This mouse diced with death when it tucked into the lunch of a hungry leopard.
Seemingly unaware of the beast towering over it, the mischievous rodent grabbed at scraps of meat thrown into the African Leopard's enclosure.
But instead of pouncing on the the tiny intruder the 12-year-old leopard, called Sheena, appeared to be afraid of the daring mouse and kept her distance.
At one stage she tried to nudge the mouse away with her nose, but the determined little chap carried on chewing away until he was full.

Excuse me? A perturbed Sheena the leopard looks on as a cheeky mouse nibbles her food at the Santago Rare Leopard Project in Hertfordshire...

The extraordinary scene was captured by photography student Casey Gutteridge at the Santago Rare Leopard Project in Hertfordshire.
The 19-year-old, from Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, who was photographing the leopard for a course project, was astounded by the mouse's behaviour.
He said: 'I have no idea where the mouse came from - he just appeared in the enclosure after the keeper had dropped in the meat for the leopard.
'He didn't take any notice of the leopard, just went straight over to the meat and started feeding himself.
'But the leopard was pretty surprised - she bent down and sniffed the mouse and flinched a bit like she was scared.
'In the meantime the mouse just carried on eating like nothing had happened.

...but even a gentle shove does not deter the little creature from getting his fill...
'It was amazing, even the keeper who had thrown the meat into the enclosure was shocked - he said he'd never seen anything like it before.'
Project owner Jackie James added: 'It was so funny to see - Sheena batted the mouse a couple of times to try to get it away from her food.
'But the determined little thing took no notice and just carried on.'
Sheena was brought in to the Santago Rare Leopard Project from a UK zoo when she was just four months old.

She is one of 14 big cats in the private collection started by Jackie's late husband Peter in 1989.
...so the mouse continued to eat the leopard's lunch and show the leopard who was boss

My friend who always loses my mobile phone number!!!

2009-07-31T20:36:00.005+08:00

I got a call from a friend just now. He called my home phone and I was wondering how did he know I am back home. He told me he was just trying his luck and that he has been calling my home number many times the past few months to see if I was at home.

He called to ask how I am doing and apologized for not calling because he lost my mobile phone number. It has been months since I spoke to him and I don't even remember if I wanted him to call or anything when he said he was sorry he didn't call back. I have lost count on the number of times I have given him my mobile phone number but he seem to be losing it all the time! Amazingly he never lose my home number.

My friend is quite a weird guy but has a good heart. He'd call out of the blue just to ask how's my work, how my mum is and just how things are going generally. Hmm...it's always good to know that a friend is thinking of me. It is always the little thoughtfulness from friends that make me appreciate them no matter how weird they are. I am glad to have them in my life.

All Star National Chingay Championship - 26 July 09

2009-07-26T20:14:00.006+08:00

I found out about the All Star National Chingay Championship last weekend when I was at the mall. I happened to walk by a counter at the mall which gave out free "Visit Penang" pamphlets and calendar of events for the second half of 2009. The Chingay championship caught my eyes. I have never seen one from up close. I always watched it on telly.

Chingay originated from China. It is a street art where performers balances a giant flag that ranges from 25 ft to 32 ft in height and about 60 pounds in weight.

I almost cancelled my plan to watch the championship this morning because the sky was all dark when I woke up this morning. I kept on looking out my apartment window. There was also strong wind and it looked like it was going to pour any moment. So I decided not to go. About 15 minutes later, the sky started to clear and was much brighter. I decided to quickly change and drove to the Esplanade. When I reached there it was already after 10am. I drove around to find parking nearby but couldn't find any so I had to park quite far and walk to the Esplanade. I managed to catch the last 2 teams competing.

It was so crowded I could hardly find a spot to take good shots of the competition. The best I could do was to stretch my hand as high up as possible while holding my camera and just clicked away. I didn't know what I was shooting at. At that moment how I wish I owned the G1 or the GH1 which has the fully articulated LCD which would allow me to take shots from any angle. I'd be able to see what I was shooting at from the free-angle LCD even though it is a high angle shot. Sigh! The late morning sun which was glaring didn't help much because my camera LCD is the old type and cannot have it's brightness adjusted according to the surroundings. I couldn't see anything on the LCD. The whole LCD appeared black. Sigh! Luckily the photos turned out fine. I guess that is why compact cameras are called point and shoot cameras. You really just need to point and shoot and the photos will turn out ok. My friend calls it the idiot's camera.

Too bad I missed the performance from my home state's team. Once the competition ended many people left so I had a chance to go all the way to the front and managed to take more photos without human heads obstructing my view. I still couldn't see what my camera was aiming at. Sigh! I really need to get a camera with a viewfinder.

Surprisingly, visitors were allowed to go nearer to the chingay teams after the prize giving ceremony. I took the opportunity to take more up close photos of the teams and the Chief Minister of Penang.

I am glad that I decided to go in the end. It was quite an experience. For more photos of the chingay championship, please visit my photo album.

The floor tiles cracked again...sigh!

2009-07-25T20:58:00.002+08:00

My mum and I was just back from shopping. I just had a shower and just sat down on the sofa with my Saturday newspaper in front of the telly. Then I heard a weird sound. It sounded like sand was being poured from a sand delivery truck onto the ground. I looked to where the sound came from. It was getting louder and louder. I thought the ceiling was going to collapse. The I noticed the dining table moved. I stretched my neck to look and noticed tiny pieces of broken tiles splattering all over from underneath the table. Piece by piece the tiles started to pop from underneath the table all the way straight to the other end and then it stopped. It was quiet again.

This is the second time the floor tiles cracked since I stayed here about one and a half years ago. The first time it happened was just about 2 months after I moved in. I was at work and only my mum was at home. She just came home from the market when she suddenly hurt a very loud sound like someone was trying to drill through the concrete wall. It scared the hell out of her and she started shouting. Then she noticed the tv cabinet started to move and then only she realized the floor tiles were cracking. The apartment is already 10 years old and when we walk we can feel that most parts of the floor are hollow underneath the tiles. The tiles have separated from the cement underneath creating airspace between the cement and the tiles. I suppose the hot weather has caused the tiles to expand and contract and created some pressure which caused them to just pop!

Thank goodness my landlord is a nice man and would fix up any defects in the apartment without making a fuss about it. He is a structural engineer himself and told us not to be scared.

I immediately called my landlord just now and he immediately called his staff to come take a look on Monday. I hope it gets fixed soon. It's scary to walk nearby the cracked tiles. Some of the tiles around the cracked ones are also hollow underneath and it gives a creaking sound when we step on them.

Facts...

2009-07-24T21:33:00.001+08:00

To ignore the facts, does not change the facts...

Underneath that hard shell...

2009-07-24T21:30:00.002+08:00

Under everyone's hard shell is someone who wants to be appreciated and loved...

Priority vs. Option...

2009-07-24T21:28:00.000+08:00

Don't make a guy your priority when you are just his option...

Poverty...

2009-07-24T21:25:00.001+08:00

The most terrible poverty is loneliness and the feeling of being unloved....Mother Teresa

It's the little things that matters the most...

2009-07-22T20:45:00.002+08:00

I got this youtube video from a friend. The message from the video is very touching and truly meaningful.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mx9ocubowMs&feature=player_embedded

It is indeed true that "in the end, it's the small things that you remember" and "it is these little imperfections that make the person perfect for you"

Age...

2009-07-19T21:04:00.002+08:00

Age is a quality of mind
If you have left your dreams behind
If hope is lost
If you no longer look ahead
If your ambitions' fires are dead
Then you are old

But if from life you take the best
And if in life you keep the jest
If love you hold
No matter how the years go by
No matter how the birthday flys
You are not old!

Anonymous

Up close and personal with the Lumix G1...

2009-07-19T16:53:00.011+08:00

I was hanging around outside the Panasonic shop while waiting for my mum who was buying something at the pharmacy. One man saw me looking at the promotion poster they had outside the shop and gave me a consumer brochure for the Panasonic Digital Imaging products. I quickly asked them if they know anything about the Lumix GH1. They said they don't have it yet and don't know when will the model be launched. The shop assistant then told me that they have a truck just outside Starbucks displaying all the Panasonic AV and digital imaging products and I should go there to check out the G1. Boy, was I excited. When I reached the truck parked outside the mall, they were still setting up but I managed to take a glimpse of the G1 on display. It was really small from where I was standing. Oh! I just couldn't wait to get up close and personal with one.

After having my lunch, I finally got my hands on the Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1, the first micro four thirds system camera in the world. It is a non-DSLR camera with interchangeable lens. The camera is very much smaller and compact compared to a DSLR because it doesn't have the mirror box used in DSLRs. The micro four thirds lens is also so much smaller and lighter than the lens used in a DSLR.

It comes in 3 body colours - black, blue and red. I especially like the red one. It simply makes the camera looks naughty and fun. The texture of the camera body was simply superb and gives the user a comfortable grip of the camera.

What I love most about this camera is the live electronic view finder and the fully articulated 3" LCD display which can rotate 180 degrees horizontally and 270 degrees vertically. There is a sensor at the side of the EVF. So when the sensor senses the eye going near to the EVF, the LCD will automatically switch off and when you move away from the EVF, the LCD switches on again while the EVF automatically switches off. Simply superb!

The only thing bad about the camera is the price. It's selling at a whooping RM2999. I think the camera is not selling well because of the price. Consumers can actually get an entry level DSLR at RM1000 cheaper. Sigh! There goes my dream of buying the GH1 which I can't imagine how much it will be when the G1 is already so expensive. The nice salesman told me to wait for a few more years for the micro four thirds system camera to go down in price because it's too new in the market...the new technology was only announced in September last year by Panasonic and Olympus.

The nice salesman told me to go for the semi-pro which is the FZ28 because it gives DSLR quality photos and it has all the manual controls of an SLR camera plus an 18x optical zoom. There is also no hassle of changing lens and having to service the interchangeable lens regularly which is the downside of interchangeable lens. The price is also much more affordable at RM1499. The FZ28 also comes with an EVF but I found that the EVF on the G1 is much better and the LCD on the FZ28 is fixed. How I wish that Panasonic will come up with a successor of FZ28 with EVF and fully articulated LCD like the G1 and GH1. I really love that feature.

Sigh! So now I guess the most affordable camera is the FZ28. I'll wait til the end of the year to decide...Who knows by then there will be a successor to the FZ28 with improved EVF and fully articulated LCD. I pray hard that there will be one

Not going down that road again...

2009-07-15T20:44:00.005+08:00

I've decided not to waste any more time
Not going to waste time trying to avoid getting hurt
Not going to clutter my mind with thoughts of "what if"
Not going to keep spending my energy trying to make things work and putting my energy in all the wrong places
Because if I do all this
I'll only feel disappointed and drained instead of being inspired
So I am not going down that road again
It feels more peaceful now
To appreciate and be contented with whatever that I have
To only look back at things that brings back sweet memories
To acknowledge that I've stumbled and made some mistakes
To let go of the anger and frustration
Until I let them go, I'll never realize my potential
I'll only hold on to the things that really matter
Life is much more simpler and meaningful this way

Goodbye Michael Jackson...

2009-07-08T20:54:00.002+08:00

I watched the Michael Jackson Memorial just now. It brought tears to my eyes. I really liked the way Brooke Shields told the story of her friendship with MJ. It was really touching.

I must admit that I am not much of a MJ's fan. I liked some of his earlier songs though. I remember I was one of the dancers for one of my secondary school concert. I think I was in Form One then and my classmates and I danced to MJ's Thriller. We followed the dance steps in his music video. I was one of the zombies. I think Roselinah played the role of the girl in the music video but I don't remember who played the role of MJ already. I also remember always doing the moonwalk which was popularized by MJ too. Haha. Boy! That was so long ago.

The sadness of MJ's death didn't hit me until I watched his memorial...May he rest in peace.

When is the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 coming to our shores???

2009-07-05T16:47:00.006+08:00

Sigh! I have been eagerly waiting for the new Lumix to be launched here but until today I still don't see it. Even the people at the Panasonic shops have not heard of the model. I went to enquire about it again just now because there was a promotion counter for Panasonic Lumix cameras and the nice man there told me that G1 is the latest model. I told him that there is a GH1 which has been launched in Japan in March and in US in June. He looked at me and said "Oh! So far the latest one in the market is the G1". How can this be??? This is the second time I've asked and nobody has heard of it. Well, at least this man was nice. The first person I asked from was a couple of weeks back at a different shop and he was standing there arrogantly and giving me one kind of look when I asked about the GH1.

I hanged around for awhile asking the nice man about the TZ7 and the FZ28. He corrected me and said it's a FX28. I was pretty sure it is the FZ28 and not the FX28 but I didn't want to argue with him because I am kind of senile and I could have mistaken the "X" for a "Z". I asked if that is a semi-pro camera and he said yes. Then I asked if it's the one with the 18x optical zoom camera. He said he doesn't think that the FX28 has such a high optical zoom. That was when I wanted to tell him "Ok sonny boy, step aside. I think I am more qualified to be in that counter selling the Lumix camera than you do!!!"

He also took the time to show me another model...LX3. I thanked him and walked away still thinking about the GH1.

Curious, I came home and searched the net for the FX28 and found that it is the same as FZ28. Maybe it's named differently in different regions just like the TZ7 is known as the ZS3 in the US. Ok, I forgive that young man but I was still right about the 18x optical zoom.

Aaahhh...the TZ7...That is one heck of a point and shoot camera with Leica lens and a 12x optical zoom. Simply superb! I have meddled with that camera a few weeks ago. I was curious with the bad reviews given by many about the mode dial knob which was claimed by them to be very loose. I didn't find it loose at all. Those critics...never believe what they say. Better check out the stuff yourself and then decide if it's really as bad as what they say. I absolutely love the 12x zoom. Simply marvellous. I considered getting one but it does not have the flexibility of manually adjusting the settings such as the shutter speed. At least my 4 year old LZ2 gives me the option to set the shutter speed. I am still waiting around for the GH1 before I decide but I think the price of the GH1 will definitely be a downside to the camera sales. It is priced at USD1500!!! There goes my dream of buying the camera

Time flies...

2009-07-02T21:27:00.006+08:00

Yesterday was already a year that I started working here. Things came and went like a bolt of lightning. I remember the time when I was so busy, I hardly had time to go out or meet any friends. I didn't meet up with a single friend for 6 months straight! Hang on...there was only one time I met up with friends who came up from my hometown and I had dinner with them. That was my only social activity during that time. I even stopped forwarding emails to friends. Some of my friends thought that I had fallen off the face of the earth! A friend even called up to ask if I was ok because she got worried after not getting any forwarded emails from me. The last time I went silent like this, I landed myself in a hospital!

I felt like I was going crazy because my life was only about work and nothing else. That was certainly a very tough time. I hated it because I was tired all the time. I had so much work to do that I had to work nights and weekends and yet I couldn't finish what I was doing. It was terrible. At times I really felt like vomitting work! I'd feel so nauseated in the morning as I fire up my laptop. Everyday at lunch I'd be sighing away , feeling so miserable. The suffering seemed endless. I couldn't see a light at the end of the tunnel...My mind was full of only negative thoughts...It was hell The only company I had to keep myself sane was my blog. No matter how busy I was I'd squeeze in some time to write some blogs...

It is only the past 2 months or so that I am able to breathe easy and relax more. At least now I can spend my time away from work not thinking about work! I am catching up on some of my hobbies these days.

My heart seems to be at peace too. I am not sure why. Maybe it's because I don't have to work 24-7 now or maybe something has changed. I am now able to think more positively even though the situation is not a favourable one. I choose to be glad for what I have. I still have my moody days though...especially Mondays!!! But generally I am happy. I still don't see a light at the end of the tunnel but now I have a torchlight to shine my way through the darkness...Let's hope the battery doesn't run out so fast!

Money does not come easy...

2009-06-28T20:03:00.004+08:00

I was out shopping with my mum yesterday. At the entrance of the supermarket, we were greeted by this cute bear which was giving away balloons to little kids. Whoever was in that bear suit had difficulty in moving around. He or she had to be guided by another man who had to help the person and told the person to walk straight or turn left or right. I wonder how the person felt in that suit. It must be warm in there but I hope not because it would be really torturing to be sweating profusely in there.

This brought back memories of me when I had to work in a Class 100 clean room in my first job. I had to put on a bunny suit. Every part of my body was covered except for my eyes! It was suffocating even though it was cold in the clean room. I still remember the procedure of how to don the bunny suit. First you put on the hair net, then the face mask, then the bunny suit, zip up, then put on the booties and last comes the gloves. When you take it off it'd have to be the reverse. Well, to think of it positively, going into the clean room was a great way of escaping from the boss He wouldn't be able to recognize who is who in there! The first time I donned on the bunny suit and walked in the clean room, it felt like I was walking on the moon...well, not that I've ever walked on the moon but it was really weird. It took some getting used to.

Coming back to this person in the cute bear suit...all I can say is that people do all sorts of work just to earn some money. Money doesn't come easy at all especially in this economic situation...Thoughts of getting a part time job has crossed my mind too...mainly because I want to learn some new skills and explore alternative career line...

When we were done with our shopping we saw the bear again. I was walking towards it and it started waving to me...aawww...so cute

A new day...

2009-06-28T11:38:00.002+08:00

I am the type of person who lives for the weekend. My weekdays are filled with thoughts of how I would spend my weekends ...I woke up this morning to a sunny morning but an hour later it started to rain. I love it when it rains. It has been so hot lately that I feel like I am going nuts!

Best way to handle anger...

2009-06-24T20:58:00.001+08:00

"Don't suppress anger. But don't act on it" Chogyam Trungpa, a Tibetan teacher...

Hazy days...

2009-06-21T16:28:00.003+08:00

I hate hazy days. I don't like looking around and everywhere is blurry. I can't see things clearly. It gives me a gloomy mood...makes me think of things I don't wanna think about...makes me feel sad. So I hope the haze will go away...

Eat to live or live to eat???

2009-06-20T22:12:00.002+08:00

There are two types of people...those who eat to live and those who live to eat. So which one am I? I think I am both depending on my mood and appetite! My brother-in-law is the latter. He said to shoot him when the day comes where he cannot eat anymore!!!

Dare to be different...

2009-06-18T20:48:00.003+08:00

I attended another one of the training sessions conducted by tight pants today. As usual, he was wearing his ultra-tight jeans and a shirt buttoned all the way up to his collar. He was walking around the training room bare-footed. Ya, that's his style. That's the uniqueness of tight pants. I think he knows that people look and laugh at him because he wears such tight jeans and body-hugging t-shirts to work. It's really good that he doesn't care what others think about him or his dressing. He walks around with a happy face all the time. I think it's very rare these days to find such people. To a certain extent, most of us would be affected by what others think of us. Some would even change or put on a mask to hide their true character just to blend in. Sometimes people worry that if they are different from others, they would be isolated so they rather become someone who they are not just to fit in. I really salute tight pants for daring to be different. At least he's happy. Being different doesn't make us less of a human. Just as long as we are happy, we don't harm or hurt ourselves and other people, it's ok to be different. If god made us all the same, then it would be a boring world to live in.

Think before we say something hurtful...

2009-06-15T21:25:00.003+08:00

I was quite moody today. It was because my mum was nagging me the whole day yesterday about my allergy and she was telling me not to go on my next trip. I never use to mind and would keep quiet every time she nags but as I get older I am actually quite bothered by her constant nagging whenever I want to do something which she doesn't approve of. She nags whenever I don't put some money into my savings. She nags whenever I want to buy something. She nags whenever I want to go on a trip. She'd nag even more if I get sick after a trip! Sigh! Every time she nags me, she just spoils my mood to do whatever that I wanted to do. All my excitement would be gone.

The older I get the more rebellious I am and feel like saying something back whenever she nags me. Just like today, I was really moody at work and was not looking forward to going home after work because I know that the moment I stepped into the house she'd ask me about my allergy. I was thinking of ways to tell her not to nag me anymore because it wasn't that I purposely wanted to get the allergy. I was actually drowsy after I went to the in-house clinic for some allergy medication and felt like asking my boss's permission to go home but when I thought of my mum nagging me I decided to stay at work!

I know that she nags because she cares for me. But she has to realize that I am no longer a little girl. I have always been tolerant, always obedient, always there for her. I just wish that she would let me live my own life every now and then and trust my judgment instead of putting my decisions down every time I decide that I want to do something. I also need to get away for awhile every now and then.

There were so many passive thoughts running through my head today. True indeed, the moment I reached home she asked me how was my allergy. I spoke calmly to her and told her that it was a bit better. It was a good thing that I decided to take that approach because if I had spoken to her the way I had imagined it to be, that was to tell her off, I would definitely have hurt her feelings. I wouldn't want to do that because she is my mum and I love her dearly. I was angry at her for nagging me but if I had expressed my anger destructively at her I would not have achieved anything either. Expressing my anger would not have made me felt any better. I would be more miserable. Further more, it wasn't that big of an issue.

I was so caught up in the moment of annoyance of my mum's nagging that I didn't even realize that I had left my phone in my drawer when I left the office today. Sigh! I only noticed after I got home. So I had to drive back to the office to get it. Being annoyed with someone only drains my energy...Nothing positive comes out of it.

I think most of us gets annoyed with our parents's nagging or their involvement in our lifes. We must think that we are adults now and we don't need them anymore. Seeing the bigger picture and putting myself in my mum's shoes, her children will always be little children even though we are all grown up. That was what my dad said too. He told my mum not to tell me about his illness and that he was dying because I was too young. I was already 29 then!!! Our parents are so used to taking care of us that they do not realize that we are all grown up and are capable of taking care of ourselves. As they get older, they only want to feel that they are still needed. So don't push them away whenever they give us advice or want to still take care of us. I feel blessed that I still have my mother to take care of me and that we have a good relationship even though I admit that sometimes I get annoyed by her naggings...If she didn't care, she wouldn't have bothered to nag at all.

Pantai Kerachut - 13 June 2009

2009-06-14T19:16:00.011+08:00

I made a trip to Pantai Kerachut at the Penang National Park with some friends yesterday. PF drove and we went over to Elaine's mum's wanton noodle stall for breakfast before heading off to the park. I already ate something at home so I decided to take something light instead of the wanton noodle. I was very amazed at how skillful Elaine was in preparing the noodles.

It is now the dry season but on our way to the Penang National Park, we saw that the sky was really cloudy and gloomy. There was also lightning and thunder. Oh! Oh! Of all days, the rain decided to pour on the day we were going to Pantai Kerachut. We were all getting a bit worried because we had to jungle trek for 1.5 hours to reach Pantai Kerachut from the entrance of the National Park.

Luckily it was only drizzling a little bit when we reached the National Park. We registered at the office and then proceeded on our journey.

In the beginning the trail was so nicely paved...We thought "Ah, this is going to be easy!"

After walking for about 15 minutes, we came to a small bridge. That is when the adventure starts...

We had to turn left after the bridge and that is where the jungle trek starts. After walking for awhile, we had to start climbing some pretty steep steps. It was really tiring. Elaine kept on saying that she trekked to Pantai Kerachut before during her school days and this wasn't the same trail which she used. She didn't remember having to climb such steep steps.

It was not so bad after that because we were just trekking on flat land and we didn't feel so tired anymore. We passed by a few small streams. Then it was all the way downhill...The first flight of steps down was really steep. We were actually quite happy going downhill but then we thought this would mean that we would have to climb these steep steps on our way back! Yikes...

After about 1.5 hours of trekking, we started hearing voices of people laughing and talking...aahhh...finally, we have reached our destination.

There is a Meromictic Lake just before the beach. It is a seasonal lake which can only be seen 6 months in a year. It is only one of the two of such lake in the world (the other Meromictic Lake is in Australia). I was hoping we would be able to see the lake but to our disappointment the lake was almost dried up as it is the dry season and low tide now. Sigh!

This lake is unique because during high tide, the sea water mixes with the fresh water resulting in two layers of water with different temperature. The salt water from the sea at the bottom layer is warmer than the fresh water on the top layer.
We spent about over an hour on the beach. PF, CP and I were busy taking photos of the beach while Elaine and her friends were lazing around admiring a guy whom they said resembled Andre Agassi!!! Elaine just couldn't stop mentioning about the guy.

We were contemplating on whether we should take the boat back or trek back. There were seven of us and to take a boat back would cost us RM100 per boat. It was really tempting to take the boat back but we said we'd walk back...After resting at the jetty for awhile I was actually beginning to feel very lazy to walk all the way back!

Just before leaving, we went to the turtle hatchery at the end of the beach. We were really excited to see baby turtles swimming in a tank. We were allowed to take photos of the baby turtles but we were told not to use the flash on our cameras. The baby turtles were really cute. Too bad we were not allowed to hold them. I heard the man at the hatchery explained to a group of visitors that the baby turtles would not eat for the first 8 days after hatching. After that they will be fed with jelly fish. Here's a video of a very cute baby turtle which liked to tuck its fins underneath its shell. It looked like it was learning how to swim...Aaawww...So cute...

After visiting the hatchery it was time to head back. I was still wishing that the group would change their mind about walking back...hehehe...The thought of having to climb the steep steps that we descended as we were approaching the beach made me feel like it was going to be a long journey back. It was indeed very tiring and PC was so tired that she couldn't even smile or say a word! She was kinda wobbly too and I was quite afraid that she would lose her balance. The few of us were way ahead of her. We stopped every now and then to wait for the rest to catch up. Half way, PC had a can of 100Plus in her hands. Where did she get that??? There is no food or drink seller on the beach. Probably a good samaritan gave her the drink because she was so tired. We even joked about trekking all the way to Muka Head to buy ourselves some 100 Plus and then only head back to the entrance of the National Park. All of us laughed because it was a crazy idea. Muka Head is way, way much farther than Pantai Kerachut and it's on another trail on the other side. It would be so much nearer to go back to the entrance than to go to Muka Head. Hahaha...

Thank goodness there were no leeches. However, I developed some skin allergy after the trip. Sigh! It must be because of my hand brushing against some forest plants. It is quite itchy now...But overall it was an interesting trip and enjoyable even though it was tiring. I thought my whole body would be aching today but surprisingly no. Ok, maybe just a little

Next trip...Muka Head Light house...that would be over 4km of hiking and jungle trekking. Erm, can we go by boat this time???

Words of wisdom...

2009-06-14T19:15:00.000+08:00

The way you speak to others can offer them joy, happiness, self-confidence, hope, trust, and enlightenment. Mindful speaking is a deep practice.
..................................... Thich Nhat Hanh