First purchase from mudah.com.my

I first encountered this new trading web portal (mudah.com.my) awhile back while surfing the net. Over time, this site has grown considerably and more and more people are posting up their stuffs for sale. You can find virtually anything in this site from apartments, cars, services like renovation and home tuition to basic kitchen utensils or even used clothings. One stark difference between this site versus other trading sites such as Ebay is that the business deals are done on a personal level, at a one on one basis, meaning to say, the seller will post their contact no or email address and then you deal with them privately. If a deal is cut, the items can be delivered by the seller through post, air, by them sending it personally or you can collect it themselves. With this mode, you do not need to open an account separately to use the site, the site is merely an avenue for people to sell their stuffs or services. However, we have to be wary of who we are buying or dealing with as most of the time, the identity of the seller is unknown or we will never knew since the buy-sell deal do not actually require a face to face encounter at most case.

I must admit that I have more or less "addicted" to this site lately. Without fail, I'll check out this site each day for any good deals. Being a cautious person, I actually bought something from this site having scoured the site for months!

I have always wanted this laundry bag from Ikea and it is retailing at approximately RM35 if I don't remember wrongly. Now this bag was selling at RM12!! I contacted the seller through sms and the seller told me that the bag was still available. He told me it was brand new (although I doubted it) but anyway it is just RM12, and the best part is that he has offered to deliver it over to my house!!

So here's my Ikea laundry bag!!!

Still wrapped up...

My white laundry bag!

I was so happy and satisfied with my purchase as I knew I had a real bargain!!!


Oh welll.....


This was shortlived however.....

Just last week, I was at Ikea and guess what I saw?

.

.
.

.

The Ikea laundry bag was ON SALE and it was retailing at just RM7.90.





I almost fainted.

Who moved my cheese?

5 years ago, when I first step foot into this company I am working in, I was an innocent, young and vibrant employee, very eager to learn and experience my very first job.

I still remembered, on the very first day I got into my department, there's not enough cubicles left at the area where a majority of my peers were seated. The next thing I knew, I probably fitted the bill as a weirdo thus I was immediately ushered to a reserved cubicle at a different section .I felt as If I was "marooned" there,as my seating area was pretty much isolated from everyone else. The place that I was seated consisted of a bunch of colorful personalities. There was this manager who unfortunately was infected with a stroke a few years back, an expatriate , a Chinese from the States who were based in Penang for a long term assignment, a cheerful Quality Engineer, who in the end migrated to the States after she hooked up with ironically a US ex-colleague of mine. Another guy who was a technician but treated like an engineer, a brilliant but kiasu talent sat just right beside me. There's a couple more quiet and timid but dilligent mechanical engineers too. On the first three days of my life, my life was miserable. I don't have an assigned tasks and worst still I don't even have a PC. Mine you, at that time, we were only allocated with a PC, not new one,ok.. My dinosaur PC was faulty, so it was sent for repair. As I was seated far away from everybody else, I was deprived of even to have some short conversation with my colleagues.

Imagine having to put up with doing nothing for 8 hours a day without a PC during work!
I was practically BORED to death. So I walked down to the Learning Center, which luckily was just a few steps away from where I was seating.

When I saw a rack filled with books, my eyes lit up. At least, I could grab something to read, I thought.As I scoured around, this very book caught my eyes. Interesting, yet appropriate for readings at work as it was applicable to work. So I grabbed it immediately and loaned it for the next few days.

The selection: Who moved my cheese?
The book is really interesting as it creates an analogy/parody to explain situation that may happen to us at work or anywhere or anytime in our life. Just a super short and crude summary. The main storyline focuses on two mice, Sniff and Scurry and two lil' human, Hem and Haw both living in a maze. Their existence is defined by how much cheese they have. They simply love cheese. Their drive is to constantly look for cheese station, the very station with an abundance of cheese supply. The difference in the characters of the storyline relates to their behaviour/attitude towards cheese.

Sniff and Scurry is always on the lookout for other cheese station despite having an abundance in their current station. They knew that supply will one day dwindle. Hem and Haw on the other hand took things for granted, not being aware of the dwindling cheese supply in their station. Once they found the "perfect" Cheese Station , at least it was perfect in their eyes, the will settle there and decided to live at the station for good. They believe that things will be as such forever. They believe that things are as good as it is and the station with such a cheese abundance is a rare find. All they wanted is this, and the felt blessed and lucky to be in such a great station.

Years gone by, and Hem and Haw was enjoying themselves so much that they are not aware of the dwindling suppy of cheese in their station. As such when the cheese supply was running out, they cursed, ranted and blamed each other on the lack of supply and even blamed each other for stealing the cheese. Obviously,their relationship turned sour. None of them could accept the situation that they are in. In fact they're doing nothing about it. All they did is to complain and blame.

In the end, out of sheer desperation, Haw with all his almighty guts, took his first step out of the maze. Hem on the other hand decided to stay put fearing on what he might encounter outside the maze. He prefers to stay on the current cheese station despite the dwindling cheese supply. As Haw ventured out, he was surprised to see that there are indeed some cheese supply here and there in bits and pieces. Not many but more than enough to survive.

Along the way, he also scribbled on the maze wall on the direction and pointers , hoping that Hem would follow his way one day. With some cheese collected, Haw returned to Hem and brought him some new cheese he found in the maze. He wanted to invite Hem to venture into the unknown with him when he gets back. To his surprise, Hem declined the offer and worst still, he refused to try the new cheese! Haw, feeling dejected, yet again ventured out of the maze, this time with more confidence from the experiences he gained previously.

This time, he is venturing further deeper downthe maze. Again, he left his scrawlings all over the maze wall as a guide to Hem. Feeling lethargic due to the long journey and sometimes lack of cheese along the way, Haw was on the brink of giving up when he stumbled upon a new cheese station. This time, the station has an even more abundance of cheese than their previous station! He was simply delighted. Haw stayed at the new station for awhile but learning from his previous experiences, this time around, he is not going to rest on his laurels. He is always alert and constantly on the lookout for new station.

In Haw's heart, he is still pinning for his good buddy,Hem. He hopes Hem will follow his path thus he never stop putting his pointers on the maze wall. On the largest wall in his Cheese station, he wrote this to Hem:

Change Happens
They Keep Moving The Cheese
Anticipate Change
Get Ready For The Cheese To Move
Monitor Change
Smell The Cheese Often So You Know When It Is Getting Old
Adapt To Change Quickly
The Quicker You Let Go Of Old Cheese, The Sooner You Can Enjoy New Cheese
Change
Move With The Cheese
Enjoy Change!
Savor The Adventure And Enjoy The Taste Of New Cheese!
Be Ready To Change Quickly And Enjoy It Again & Again
They Keep Moving The Cheese.

One day, he heard some movements in the maze apparently approaching his station. In his mind, Haw was hoping that it is Hem who has found his way here!

So what is the Moral of the story?

1. That change is inevitable in every scenario.
2. Do not take for granted on all the things we have now.
3. Always on the lookout for alternatives or new opportunity.

Why am I writing this?
Well, it seems that my cheese has been moved lately.
And the fact that this story has ingrained in my mind for a long time to come, and I'm amazed at how true and applicable it is to our daily life ...Please do take some time to ponder on this.

And quoting one of my friend's principle in life which is so appropriate as a curtain closer for my entry today:

"The Only Constant is Change"
..
Always bear this in mind.. :)

Have a good day!

A lazy afternoon at work

It's working time now, and I have not been "working" since this morning.
Gosh...the saying "It's easier said than done' has never been so true. I have constantly
reminded myself that things will get better if I have faith in it. Yes, I know I should persevere and every ups will be met with downs before going up again. This vicious cycle will never end but the down cycle seems harder than I thought. Bad news is a norm at times like these and the seed you sow will have slow or retarded growth regardless of how much water or sunshine you gave.
When is this going to end? Should I see this as a blessing in disguise? Where's the "blessing"? I need to find it!!

Enough of complains, I am striving to overturn the curse of me being branded a NATO (No, Action Talk Only).
I have my plans set and I have my will, I will weather the storm. More patience and Zen, that's what I really need now.
Right, back to work now...Focus..focuss....Hocus...Pocus...Puffffff...

When enough is really enough ...

At the time I'm writing this, I've already being home for at least a week.
This one week is nothing but pure bliss to me. I didn't think taking holidays is all that important until this time. Well, yeah of course you'll be "home" everyday, you may argue.
But what I'm trying to say is this.

Just imagine that ...

1. I don't have to wake up at 8 am in the morning, get dressed, and drives groggily to work.
2. I don't have to worry about tasks that needs to be completed.
3. I don't fret about unfinished tasks or projects.
4. I don't have to face the music for tasks not done properly (or think of excuses to save my a**).
5. I don't have to have close encounters with the great"taichi master" that I may loathe or meet people that are a fickle and hypocrites.
6. I don't have to feel frustrated for a good job done with lack of recognition.
7. I don't have to feel depressed when bad news or announcement looms or became a reality.
8. I don't have to read emails and respond to them.
9. I don't have to worry about lunch time and what to eat.
10. And finally, I don't have to spend my 12 hours on it.

All the points aforementioned pretty sums up to the dreaded four-letter-word of W-O-R-K.
And by the tone of the writing, you'll notice that it is very discouraging and filled with negativity.

Let's take a step back and trace how all this happened...

You seee...For the past 6 months, I have not have any proper rest as I have been slogging and slogging like no tomorrow at work trying to get my tasks done. And I may have thought that I'm a superwoman of some kind, and I'm doing this without any break. Zero. No break at all until ....well the Chinese New Year, but guess what? I' was STILL WORKING and supporting my counterpart on Chinese New Year as well. So that doesn't count as a proper holiday as well.

And being so overwhelmed with work plus all the stress, frustration and sometimes tense situation has got the better of me and so I've turned into a grouchy tiger waiting to pounce and chomp someone's head off at any moment. I was a live ticking time bomb about to explode.This definitely triggers the chain of event that follows:

Needless to say, I need to mention that I'm easily irritated by things or scenario that changes all the time. No firm answer, that's it. I hate it!
I wonder why is it so hard for someone to make a decision and be firm about it.
A "confirmation" is liken to a "maybe". And someone's "yes" is actually a "no" and vice versa.

Just imagine this (I know its not the greatest example..but...who cares).

Scenario:
You felt the urge to pee. And you walk to the toilet and there in front of you lies the urinal.

1. Do you actually think before you pee? Should you pee or not?
2. Do you change your mind then decided not to pee?

Come on, for most people , the answer would be NO and you'll just pee.,right?..but for some strange reasons, there are people that turned back and walk away. But why???
Why can't you just stick with the damn decision??

Also, why do some people will not admit any mistakes despite being starkly WRONG?
Does uttering the word "SORRY" takes so much effort?

And and, can you just do whatever you like, selfishly without thinking of how other's might feel?
Like changing a certain stuff/processes to suit you needs and then causing grief to the so rightful owner of the stuff/processes you've changed? Gosh..please have some common sense. The least you can do is just ASK.

All these peculiar events could not have happened at a better time. And that's how they drove me up the wall. So on a very fine day, all hell broke lose and that's when I showed my stripes (a.ka harimau menunjukkan belang). Crouching tiger have at long last appear from her hidings in the bush, ready to unleash her mighty power. I wasn't happy to be frank and that's when I snapped and cursed and throw hurtful remarks. Nothing could stop me.

When that happened, this is it...I know it's time that I needed a break. A long break. A long hiatus.AWAY from WORK....that's it.


So here I am now, writing this blog on my favourite spot on my comfy couch sipping my favourite milk tea.

As the saying goes "Every cloud has a silver lining" and this has never been so true to me.
I felt that I have lost control of my life and now it's time for redemption. Not that I've done anything wrong, but with the time that I have now, I'll redefine my goals and this time ensure that my work life should revolve around me, and not the other way round! I need to set my priorities right, and work will never be the first priority again.

Quoting what Suze Orman always preach, "People first, then money, then things".
I'll live by this rule now.

Don't worry, once I'm fully recharged, I'm back not with a vengeance, but the same ol' tamed ellwye (imagine puss-in boots in Shrek.. lol ;)) taking charge of her life and beyond!

Have a good day. :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

This year's Valentine's Day seemed to be the most memorable one for me. I guess it's because BS and I did actually do something together this year on this special day, well, almost as we had a simple Valentine's dinner on the eve. I tried to reminisce my previous Valentine's celebration but somehow I couldn't think of any! Hahaha!

Over the past four years we've been together, both of us were so overwhelmed with our work that we tend not to celebrate anything about "Us" on the exact date! Valentine's day celebration were usually postphoned or celebrated earlier, the same goes for our Birthdays. In fact, we have not even celebrated our Anniversary before! As for gifts, yes, we do give each other gifts but again, that was usually some practical gifts rather than those "cutesy hearty stuffs like soft toys or flowers!".

Ok, I am not trying to complain about how unromantic BS is but I got to admit it myself that I am not a fan of having a big bouquet of flowers with 99 roses signifying his love to me etc etc...

I am a practical person myself and yes, I have received flowers from him before and I felt that once is enough. To me, flowers will wither and die, and I always wonder what was so special about flowers to girls in particular. To me, that was just a plant's reproductive system! No offence to those who loves flowers though. Personally, I would rather receive something more of practical use like kitchen utensils or even home improvement tools!. This year, as if it was fated, my poor handphone met with an "accident". More stories on that at my previous post. As I was mourning for the loss of my poor handphone, BS has agreed to get me a new handphone. So that's officially my Valentine's gift! Thanks hunny !!! :)

As for dinner, we went to a Vietnamnese restaurant at E-gate called Ms.Saigon.

I have been craving for Vietnamnese restaurant for sometime already and I'm really glad to have found one that's not too far away from where we were staying. BS just hates driving to town!

I ordered a weird sounding name dish which I can't even remember. The dish consists of brown rice with 3 sticks of kebab-like seaweed rolls with chicken and crab meat as fillings. The dish was not bad and has a distinct flavor. BS on the other hand ordered limegrass chicken rice set. The dish was a bit dry without much gravy but the chicken was tender and just nice when eaten.

Our favourite dish were the Vietnamnese special spring rolls! It was too yummy!

I'll let the pictures do the talking!

The dish I ordered

Limegrass Chicken Dish

Vietnamnese Spring Roll

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!! :)

My new baby - G705

Last Wednesday, on a routine visit to the office toilet, just as I was about to remove my pants and bend down, I heard a "plop". Eee...you may be thinking that I was up to some "big business" right? Haha..well, re-read the previous sentence, please. I want to reiterate the word "just as I was about to" to you, this means that I haven't lar...

Back to the "plop", when I turned and looked into the toilet hole, gosh...my heart sanked.

My poor handphone has dropped into the toilet!!! Arrrgh...my favourite Sony Erricson handphone of 3 years has drowned. The next step I knew was that I actually stucked my hand into the toilet hole (it was a squat toilet btw) to retrieve my handphone. No glove, nothing...Gross enough? :D

When I picked it up, my faithful handphone was still alive, so I switched it off and washed it. After that, with a friend's help, he opened up my handphone case (shame on me, I still don't know how to open the cover..*lol*) and that's when I left my handphone battery and the set to dry for a day. Having suffered without my "lifeline' for a day, I promptly turned it on the next day. Boy, lil' faithful was still alive!!! Ok, of course it's not perfect now (and has never been). It was definitely a lil'more cranky now than before having suffered a bad concussion after I dropped it. The mobile OS also tend tend to reboot by itself a few times a day..Oh well, I think I can still live with that for now.

I promptly reset the time and date and reuse my lil' fighter again at night especially the alarm clock mode. The very next day when I woke up, I got a shock of my life when I realised the time was already 8.30 am! Dang!...it occured to me that my handphone alarm was not working! When I looked at it, the time has reset back to the default state. In my heart I knew that it was time to say goodbye to lil' handphone.

Time for a change..yippy!

I have been diligently surveying around for the last couple of days for handphone that met my specs. I knew I wanted a phone with at least a 3.2 megapixels camera, preferably a 3G phone, would love to have one with GPS and also wifi-enabled. Also I am picky about brandnames too, I would just buy either a Nokia or Sony Erricson phone. The specs in N-series Nokia looked great, but the size of it put me off because I am looking for a small handphone. Having scoured around, I narrowed my decision to two models ...I was having a dilemma to choose between Nokia E66 vs Sony Erricson G705.. Both met my specs, in fact I took a fancy of Nokia E66 initially but again the size of it lead me to consider G705 as well. You see Nokia E66 is larger than G705 and one important criteria for me is to have a small phone that I can easily slot into my pockets.

A hard decision to made, but ultimately, G705 is the winner, because of its user-friendliness and small size. As for E66, I strongly recommend it to guys rather than girls. Somehow, G705 looked more feminine to me while E66 looked more masculine! haha...

So here it is .... presenting SE G705 .....

My new baby (picture courtesy of www.mobile88.com.my)

Kong Hei Fatt Choy!

Happy Chinese "Niu" Year!!!!!!!!!!!

Simple CNY decoration at home this year, yes,lazy me ..hehehe..

At the time I am writing this, it is already the 8th day of Chinese New Year!!!! Gosh! How time flies!!

Every year, I'll actually help my mom and sis to bake our signature CNY cookies, butter cookies or pineapple jam tart. However now that my sis is already married with a baby in tow she will not be home until the 5th day of CNY. As for me, due to work commitments, I can only get home a day before the reunion dinner. So no CNY cookies this year :(..

The very thing that I absolutely look forward to each year is the sumptious "chai" or vegetarian dish that my mom cooked! It tasted heavenly I tell you although the dish consisted of mostly vegetarian varieties in the likes of mushrooms,black fungus, "Fatt" choy, cabbage and etc.

Too bad I don't have any picture to show, hate my camera batteries, its deader than ever :(.

At work, before I went home for the CNY holidays, a few of my colleagues and I went to Double Good Restaurant at Bukit Jambul for a chinese new year feast. We even had the chance to toss "abalone yee sang"! Yummy! In view of the current economic situation, hopefully, what we wished for would come true!! Also, thanks to our "American" colleague, CW for giving us a treat on that expensive luncheon!

Abalone yee sang

Back home, it is good to be able to see all my childhood friends and not to mention my adorable nephew!!! How I missed him!! :)

Kong Hei..Kong Hei... :)

Mischievous lil' E Shane. *heart melt*

I'll be off until the 9th day of CNY after the "Thni Kong" a.ka. Jade Emperor's Birthday celebration. After that, things will be back to normal mundane working life..Nooooooooooooooooo!!!

.....Now that I have another two days of honeymoon period, I better cherish it!!


Alrity, Happy Chinese New Year everyone!! :)