80 feet high

Today I went up on a crane, 80 feet above ground. It was a photo shoot of a building conducted by my company's photographer. As I was on the crane at a height that is despairingly high, it brought back memories of my old 17 storey flat in Penang.

I used to live in a one room flat on the 8th floor. It is a highly densed flats with about 20 over units per floor, multiply that with 17 floors and you will have more than 300 units per block. In the areas where I used to lived, there are about 10 blocks of flats, multiply that with 300 units and you will have more than 3,000 units and multiply that with approximately 5 person per household, you will have..... well... more than 15,000 people.

Rifle Range Flats in Penang

My flat has a balcony (yes despite it being a one room flat) it does have a balcony. My block is apparently the best as it faces directly to campsite of "FRU" (Federal Reserve Unit). I used to run to the balcony each time the sirens goes off and loads and loads of police trucks would drive out. During the evening, I would sit at the balcony and watch the men playing "sepak takraw" and football at the open field. Yes, it is amazing to know that lots of activities can be seen from my little balcony.

The place is practically so convenient, you can find food anywhere and anytime.. ahh.. I still remember "Ah Teik Char Koay Teow", "curry mee" and the economical Fried Bihun Mee... not forgetting "Koay Kak" and on the wheel "fried chicken"... yummy!

The evening market along the main road

Famous "Kek Lok Si" Temple

Beyond the yonder, there are the hills where you can see the famous Pagoda and the beautiful "Goddess of Mercy". It is exceptionally beautiful during chinese new year when the Pagoda is all lighted up.


Well, coming back to being on top of the crane, I have not been up so high for a long time and it does give me the goose bumps when I was up there. I do not have fear of course as I am quite used to height but somehow, today, I still felt a faint quiver when I was 80 feet above ground.. I guess age is catching up on me.

Mixed emotions

I have not been sleeping well the past few days. There is a lot of mixed feeling inside me. If everything goes well, I may be leaving the country. Everything is still in discussion but here I am, thinking of many many things. I do feel excited and yet at the same time wary of my decision. There is really a lot to think and a lot to do if I ever leave the country. Until things are being finalised, I am still in a "in-between" feeling.

Bird Tongchai McIntyre

I am not a Thai song fanatic but my recent exposure to a thai song by a friend lead me to being very interested... especially to one particular singer famously known as "Bird Tongchai McIntyre".

Geez, one song I heard on "You Tube" got me hooked for hours searching all his songs. I am just amazed not only at the number of fans he has but also the fact that young and old alike are simply crazy about him. To add to the fact that he is quite charming on stage. My search on his biodata revealed that he is actually 50 years old and yet he looks so young and good.

Even though you have never heard thai song in your life and do not understand a single thai word, you should still check out the following link:

Bird - 2007

Bird - Medley

Beautiful creature

Beautiful creatures live amongst us. I was praying the other day, in my house and I chanced upon this grasshopper right on top of my Buddha statue, as if silently meditating.

You Raise Me Up

This is a beautiful song dedicated to papa and mama...

You Raise Me Up - Josh Groban

When I am down and, oh my soul, so weary;
When troubles come and my heart burdened be;
Then, I am still and wait here in the silence,
Until you come and sit awhile with me.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up: To more than I can be.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up: To more than I can be.

There is no life - no life without its hunger;
Each restless heart beats so imperfectly;
But when you come and I am filled with wonder,
Sometimes, I think I glimpse eternity.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up: To more than I can be.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up: To more than I can be.

The Wooden Bowl

I received this beautiful piece through email and thought it would be nice to share and remember. Message from the sender - "I guarantee you will remember the tale of the Wooden Bowl tomorrow, a week from now, a month from now, a year from now...

The Wooden Bowl

A frail old man went to live with his son, daughter-in-law, and four-year old grandson. The old man's hands trembled, his eyesight was blurred, and his step faltered.

The family ate together at the table. But the elderly grandfather's shaky hands and failing sight made eating difficult. Peas rolled off his spoon onto the floor.
When he grasped the glass, milk spilled on the tablecloth.

The son and daughter-in-law became irritated with the mess. 'We must do something about father,' said the son. 'I've had enough of his spilled milk, noisy eating, and food on the floor.'

So the husband and wife set a small table in the corner. There, Grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed dinner. Since Grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in a wooden bowl.

When the family glanced in Grandfather's direction, sometimes he had a tear in his eye as he sat alone. Still, the only words the couple had for him were sharp admonitions when he dropped a fork or spilled food.

The four-year-old watched it all in silence.

One evening before supper, the father noticed his son playing with wood scraps on the floor. He asked the child sweetly, 'What are you making?' Just as sweetly, the boy responded, 'Oh, I am making a little bowl for you and Mama to eat your food in when I grow up'. The four-year-old smiled and went back to work.

The words so struck the parents so that they were speechless. Then tears started to stream down their cheeks. Though no word was spoken, both knew what must be done.

That evening the husband took Grandfather's hand and gently led him back to the family table. For the remainder of his days he ate every meal with the family. And for some reason, neither husband nor wife seemed to care any longer when a fork was dropped, milk spilled, or the tablecloth soiled.

On a positive note, I've learned that, no matter what happens, how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.

I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles four things: a rainy day, the elderly, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.

I've learned that, regardless of your relationship with your parents, you'll miss them when they're gone from your life.

I've learned that making a 'living' is not the same thing as making a 'life..'

I've learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance.

I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands. You need to be able to throw something back .

I've learned that if you pursue happiness, it will elude you but, if you focus on your family, your friends, the needs of others, your work and doing the very best you can, happiness will find you.

I've learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision.

I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one.

I've learned that every day, you should reach out and touch someone.

People love that human touch -- holding hands, a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back.

I've learned that I still have a lot to learn.

Accident and the after that

If you ever are involved in an accident, the last thing you want to do is to go to the police station. Yes, you would hope that you can settled the matter with the parties involved without having to report police. However, two days ago, hubby met with an accident and as the damage was quite bad, we had to make insurance claim and make a police report.

It was a motorbike accident and hubby was knocked down by two cars. Yes, horrible. Imagine my shock when I got a call from him. But thank God, he is fine and the injury was just minor. The night itself after the accident, we head our way to the police station. In case you are not familiar with the procedure of making an accident report, here is how it works.

1st step - you fill up a form listing your name, vehicle number etc.

2nd step - you pass the form to an officer and wait to be called.

3rd step - when you are being called, you will have to enter your details in the computer system. The details involved would be your name, address, ic, vehicle number, driving license number etc.

4th step - you will proceed to type your own report on how the accident happened. A sample report is paste on the side panel of desk and provides you a guide on how to use it. After finished typing the report, you are to save it and print it out.

5th step - the officer will take your report and assigned you to meet a sergeant in charge. He will tell you to go to a particular so and so floor at so and so counter.

6th step - the sergeant will ask you questions and interrogate you on how the accident happened. They will proceed to write their own report to deduce who is wrong and who is not.

7th step - the sergeant will then follow you to your vehicle to take a photograph of your vehicle.

8th step - you go back home and will have to come back the next day to buy the report.

Now, that is the last step. Not too hard really. Except that a few questions popped into my mind. Now, what happens if I am illiterate and what if I do not know how to type? Would the officer helped me? Why the impression? Cos, I do not find the officers to be friendly. I saw a poor guy slowly typing, struggling to find the letters on the keyboard.

When we were assigned to the sergeant, we have to wait more than 1 hour as he was away for his late supper break. Question - why would we be assigned to someone who is on a break? Unless he is not suppose to go for the break? or they don't really care do they?

During the meet up with the sergeant, we realised that we did not mentioned a certain details in the report. So after meeting up with the sergeant, we went back to the counter to make changes to the report. Well, what you need to know is - changes to the report can only be made within 1 hour after filing the report! We waited for the sergeant for more than 1 hour and we were not able to make any changes after that!

Well, the ordeal of an accident is bad enough and it does not get better when you have to go through such lengthy procedure at the police station. Sigh..

I just want to run away...

Sigh... if you believe in fengshui, I would say this month is a quarrelsome month. I am just so tired. Just this one month alone, I have met from rude people to arrogant, self-centred, bossy, sarcastic, immature, destructive .... the list is endless. As I write this, a few faces comes to mind.. 1,2,3,4,5,6,....

The world is really not that big. Life is short. Why the need for such attitude. Well i believe in repercussion, that you will reap what you have sown. I pray that these people will see it soon enough so that they make amends. People like this, makes you lose hope in the society sometimes, people like this can demoralised you and shun your beliefs that there are good people out there.

I have been feeling down the past 2 days. I have encountered the most unpleasant personality of a particular person. I make a resolute decision to let go and forgive. I woke up this morning and unhappiness sets in. It seems that the episode still plays in my mind and I am trying to forget. Ya, moments like this comes and goes.. one moment you are ok and you decide to move on, let go and forgive, other days, you remembered and it gets you down, it makes me angry and sad. So I only have to remind myself there are still good people out there... there are still good people out there...

A lesson learnt

He is born in a rich family. Anything that he wants, he gets. He is always instructing and never gets instructed. He does not have to work hard for money, he never has to work for his Ferrari and yet he condemns those who drives a Proton with their hard earned money. He is a boss without having to work his way up and yet he belittled those who have. Just because he is rich, he automatically becomes smart, wiser and obviously powerful. With money, he threatens, he provokes, he criticized, he condemns those who have not.

What do I feel when I meet someone like him? I feel sorry for him. For he will walk alone and he will never have the liberty to know who his true friends are. I pitied him for he will not understand love, humanity, laughter and joy. I pitied him for despite having seen the world with his richness, he has such small heart. I pitied him for his piercing words on others will one day find its way back to stab him.

What have I learnt when I meet someone like him? I learnt that there are people like that everywhere and that I have to learn to face them. I have learnt that even though I am not born with a silver spoon, but yet I am so lucky is so many ways for I have been born in a family that is rich with love and humanity. I have learnt that everywhere I go, I am surrounded with people who loves and cares for me and most important thing, I have learnt that I never have to walk alone.

This caption from my heart, is dedicated to my husband and my true friends (you know who you are).

The world is full ??

What is happening to the people around? They are so arrogant, rude, self centred and close minded. I really feel sorry for them, for the way that they are. Yes, they are rich, but being rich does not give you the right to be rude and arrogant. I have been meeting this people for the past few days and here is what I want to say to them:

Mr Y - Do not think that money can buy you power and that it can buy you respect. You do not have a single respect from me. Despite your so-called richness, I am surprised that you continue to demand for free lunch and free things. Are you not ashamed? Stop flaunting your so-called generosity - you have nothing but greed and arrogance. You knowing "this person" or "that person" has got nothing to do with me and I am not bothered by it. Do not think that with money you can make people listen to you or that people will respect you. I pray that you will not fall one day, for if you do, is going to be a hard one.

Ms L - You have such narrow mind and immature heart. You talked about things that are not of relevance to you and you have such red eyes over things that other people has. Grow up! Goodness! You are a mother of 2 and yet you act worst than a child of 5! I have no words to describe your behaviour but do hope that one day you will wake up and realised what a fool you have been.

Ms Bitchy - I only have a few moments with you and seeing you, I am just ashamed that someone like you exist in our world. You stormed in the office, speaking rudely to us. You are so impatient and plain rude talking to us. You think that you have a rich husband, that entitles you to treat everyone else as if they are not worth a dime? I can see within the fairness of your face, that you have a tortured soul. Your eyes are full of hatred and anger and I feel very sorry for you. I know that one day, you will realised what a bitch you have been but I guess it will be too late then.

Sigh... now I feel so much better!

Yes, just quit

I do not know why but some people uses the short cut way to end things. Face with small problem and they just chooses to quit. This tells much about the life that they lived in. Things can be resolved easily if only they would let go of their ego. Sometimes, we know we are wrong but we are too egoistic to admit it. Where does that get us to? We keep grudges and revenge in our hearts and we have only ourselves to hurt.

Certain point in our life, we will realised that things are not what we use to think it is. As for me, I think things are easier if you let go. And the most important thing is to let go your ego. Some people mistaken ego for self respect. So they chooses to be stubborn. This is what I

Geez.. what am I talking about? I am talking about the many egoistic people I have met, about people who chooses to quit rather than to persevere. I am talking about people who thinks the are right, they are right and that they are still right. I am talking about obstinate people who stick to their guns even though they know they are carrying the wrong one. I am talking about this people who makes the world a ugly place to live in.

Drained...

Is been really busy the past few weeks. Most of the nights, I come back late feeling tired and drained. Yes I do enjoy what I do but sometimes I just get tired.

Next week we have a night launch and because we organised this without the help of a event organiser, we had to spend considerable amount of time to plan. Every angle must be thought of so that we do not miss anything important. Basically, we are the event organiser. It is really not difficult when you have set your planning right. Infact, I just love the challenge. It is just that, I wish I have more time....

Birthday

This year birthday is indeed a pleasant one. It is rather unexpected for me as I wanted to just quietly celebrate with hubby. Instead, my birthday turned into a series of celebrations:

1- Dinner with Khor, Lisa, Yin and Hubby at Apartment on Friday night. Is my first visit to the Apartment at the Curve. The seat was not that comfortable. Ambience is so-so but I would say the food is really good. My birthday cake was a delicious chocolate cake bought by Lisa from Chocolate World. Yes, I love chocolates.

2 - Dinner with father, brother, Hui Yin and hubby at TGI Friday's on Sunday night. I still love to go Friday's despite being there few times. I only go to Friday's on birthdays.. whether is mine, hubby's or with friends.

It was the first time for father and brother and I wanted them to have a taste of good western food. We went to Friday's at One Utama. I was very disappointed with the service. I expected the service to be good as I have experience the same with Friday's at the Curve but this was different.

A young indian girl took our order, without greeting nor smile at us. I find it rude that she did not acknowledge that she have heard me. I was even more surprise that she did not even repeat my order to make sure that she has got it right. Later our food arrived. We were left waiting without utensils. I find it odd that they were so unprepared and unfriendly. My brother wanted to get the staffs to sing a birthday song for me but looking at the staffs forlorn face, I asked him to abort the idea. Despite all that, I am still glad that my family still enjoyed the food.

3. Monday morning was a pleasant surprise. My colleagues gave me a surprise gift - an extremely beautiful bouquet of roses and a delicious cake. I later treated them KFC and pizza for lunch.

4. Tuesday night - is my real day. After much celebration, I went for a quiet dinner with hubby at One Utama. We decided to settle for a simple Japanese dinner.

5. Thursday night - another dinner with my ex-colleagues, Pauline, Tok, Sharon & Ema. It is another pleasant surprise as I do not expect them to gather for my birthday. It was Pauline's thoughtfulness.

So.. here I am, eating all the way from Friday to Thursday.. Is time to exercise and go on diet!

Accident

Hours ago, I had an accident...

Where: coming out from Tropicana heading to Sprint highway somewhere the front of old Sony office
Who: 4 cars (including mine)
How: A van hit an Iswara where the Iswara hit onto a BMW and the BMW banged my poor honda city.
Why: All disobey the rule of leaving a one car gap in front of the other - except for me of course as, Thank God! I was far away from the car in front of me.

To share something funny though, minutes before I felt the bump behind my poor honda city, the car in front of me actually hit the other car in front. So while I was witnessing an accident in front of me, I was being hit from behind. So is a good thing that I was not too close to the car in front, otherwise, it would be a 6 vehicle accident with mine being the 3rd car.

My "banger" decided to settle out of court. I would say that I was lucky that I was "banged" by a rich guy who is also a pure gentlemen... from my 1st impression... I will be checking the extent of my damage and will be forwarding my claim to my "banger" - which I hope he will "gentlemanly" pay.

Looking at all this, it just looks as if this episode is meant to be.. well.. I specifically chooses to drive today after not driving for weeks, and I offered to fetch my bosses where usually I would be the one hopping into their car, and I chooses to make a stop over at another office before heading back to office.. . So if I did not choose to make the stop over, I would not appear at that point of time and if I had chosen to hop in my bosses's car, my car would be safe at home and if I had allowed my husband to drive me to work, I would not be having this accident.

So, my thoughts are.. maybe, it is a destiny for me to meet my "bangers" - afterall, they really are very nice and very gentlemen (all the 3 other drivers were male). So who is the terrible driver now?

How do you cope?

My ex-colleague's wife passed away yesterday. I believe she was only in her 30's. Cancer took her away. She left behind 2 young boys. It is difficult to imagine .. the sorrow of losing someone dear and close to you.

My friend made a remark - "husband and wife" are meant to be together. Being married, is fate that brings them together and to think that yet, there are so many couple out there going through divorces.

Few years ago, my close friend lost her husband in a car accident. He left behind 3 girls, the youngest was just months old. It is tragic to lose someone you love this way... and I do not think is easy to cope with such losses... My prayers goes out to these two friends of mine who lost someone dear to them..

Hyderabad as I see it

This is my 3rd visit to Hyderabad. This time around, the weather is hot, about 38 to 40 degrees. Yes, Hyderabad actually has 4 season and it is summer right now.

Walking on the streets of Hyderabad is very different than here in Malaysia. There are scores of people everywhere, literally packed with thousands of people walking on the street. The poor are very poor and when you sit in your car, being a foreigner, you would find poor children, ladies with their babies, old man and women knocking on your window screen begging for money. As you travel along the outskirts of Hyderabad, you will find rows of tents made of torn fabrics by the roadside. Yes, that is where the poor lived. Cows, chicken, goats can be seen loitering at the roadside. It is a common sight in Hyderabad.

Another sight that is common is the habit of the people peeing by the roadside. Within a 1km stretch, you will sight at least 10 people or more peeing everywhere and anywhere. Most of them are men but I was told that the woman does the same but I have yet to witness it.

Driving in Hyderabad is almost impossible. It is a norm for the drivers to honk ... infact is a must to honk if you want to reach your destination fast. You must be bold and be prepared to have your car scratched or knocked when you drive in Hyderabad. So forget about driving luxurious car. Not only do you have to watch out for the millions of motorist on the road, you will also have to watch out for the countless pedestrians among the crowd of cars, busses and lorries. Traffic light are very much useless but you will find that the police force controlling the traffic does command respect from the motorist.

I like the people in Hyderabad. Being a chinese girl, most of the time, I do get pleasant stares from the people. Makes me feel like a superstar! They would be very happy when you take their photo and would willingly smile and give their best post. However, it would be a disadvantage to visit street markets. There was this one time where I was being "mobbed" by the local traders trying to sell me their products. This was after I made a big purchase at one of the stores. So, shopping is almost impossible at the street markets...

Streets at Charminar - the place I was "mobbed"

One of the things to learn in Hyderabad is the terms of communication. Certain words are used differently there. Example, cars and motorbikes are called 4 wheelers and 2 wheelers. The taxi is actually a 3 wheeler vehicle. Bungalow is termed as independent house and the word square feet is just called SFT. I have still a lot to learn.

As for food, I have not mustered the courage to eat the food by the roadside coffee shops. Most of the time, I frequent good restaurants and cafes. However, if one were to work in Hyderabad, restaurants and cafes would be too much of a luxury. It is advisable to be careful with the water that you drink. So I either drink from a sealed bottle of water or fresh coconut water which is abundantly sold by the roadside. It is extremely cheap to drink coconut in Hyderabad and in the hot weather, it can be very refreshing.

Refreshing coconut

There is one restaurant in Hyderabad which serves Malaysian food. The staffs, chefs are from Malaysia and it is a ritual that I visit this restaurant, Awana, before I take my flight home to Malaysia. The food is simply delicious and is a good place to be when you misses home. It has a touch of old good feeling you get when tasting your mummy's food.

Delicious local Malaysian food served at Awana Hyderabad

Being here in Malaysia, a place so different than Hyderabad, I would say that I am very fortunate to be living in Malaysia. I would say that anyone who has been there would find our homeland to be the best place to stay...

Hubby's Birthday

Hubby's birthday was celebrated earlier this year as I had to be away to India on his real day.

So. on Saturday night, we went to the Curve for a sumptous dinner at Itallianies with Khor, Lisa, brother and Hui Yin. It is packed as usual at most of the restaurants at the Curve and we have to wait for 15 minutes to get a place. It is the first time for us at Itallianies. The ambience is just right for the occasion, lively and yet cosy. Staffs were pleasant, friendly and helpful. We ordered few different servings. I find the chicken lasagna to be good.

The staffs sang a birthday song for hubby of which hubby was then asked to say a thank you speech to all of us. I would say that hubby is always a good sport in these kind of gesture. A delicious chocolate cake and the company of good people makes the night a pleasant one.

The year of progress

Ahh.. time flies yet again and again. Each year passing and what have I achieved? I would say that 2007 has been a good year for me. A year full of changes and a good recovery from 2006. I know that I am always blessed and somehow deep inside me, I know that the almighty above is somewhat watching and taking care of me. I am all thankful for that.

2008 is going to be a year of progress for me. That is the thoughts I have instilled in me. A progress in my career and in my family circle i pray... So if all comes in together, it will definately be a whole lot of new experience again. So what do I ask for in the new year of 2008 - the strength and courage to do and carry out duties that have naturally been bestowed to me!

I just got back

I just got back from a 10 days trip from Macau, HongKong and Shenzhen. Went there from 26/12/07 to 04/01/08. Came back with a sore leg and amazingly a lot of photos. I hope to write about it and show some pics.. now all I need is to find time to do it..

Dilemma

What you do if you are in this situation? You have been with a girl for more than 10 years. You have trust and sense of responsibility towards her. But somehow, you lost that magic. It is not as magical as before. Passion is somehow lost. But the love you have for her is unconditional.

Then came along a girl in your life. She is all you wanted. The magic and the passion. The compability is just perfect. But she is someone new and you are not sure if it will last. Trust is yet to be established. Security is uncertain.

In this case, who would you choose? Well, that is the dilemma one of my friends are into. So what would you do if is you?