Drama...

Woke up this morning and spent 3 hours on the phone with various people. By the time I put the phone down, it was already 11am. Time to make a quick dash to Batu Caves for (hopefully) 6 laps of stairs, shower and pop into the office. Sounds like a simple plan, right? How wrong could I be...

The sun was high in the sky when I rolled into the car park. Several tour buses just arrived and spewed streams of tourists, totting cameras and water bottles.

I set the workout tracking software on my phone and started the 1st lap, working up a healthy perspiration. Halfway through my second lap, I got a call from my client in Klang. So I stopped by the side railings and attended to his call. Several tourists passed me by.

All of a sudden I heard a faint puncturing sound and a hiss. Then felt a slight jab on my right shoulder. I turned and looked into this hissing simian face. Phreak! The blurdy monkey bit me!

I moved away in haste but was still talking to my client. He was going on about how he felt about my latest audit report blah blah... I was pacifying him and figuring out a solution while continuing my climb to the top of the stairs. All this while my wound was bleeding a trail down my arm.

When I finally manage to placate him and cut the connection, it was a good 5 minutes past. First thing's first, call JH. He confirmed that I should go to the nearest clinic and seek treatment. Ok... Easy enough.

While I was setting the GPS to direct me to the nearest clinic (thank God for this wonder device), JH called again to tell me to go to the hospital instead. Apparently, hospitals are better equipped to deal with such emergencies. So I reset the GPS to General Hospital, KL.

Next, call my cousin (Dr PL) in GHKL for instructions, i.e. where to check myself in. I am to go to the A&E (accident & emergency).

The 7.2km (as the GPS says) drive to GHKL was spent on the phone with the office, my mom and uncle and a couple of friends who called to make lunch plans. Only my mom didn't laugh when I told her I got bitten by a monkey. Also took a photo of the wound while waiting at a traffic light.

Arriving at the hospital and looking for a parking was a nightmare. It was visiting hours and all visitor parking spaces were taken. I had to park about a mile away and, totting my notebook pack, walk that mile to the A&E.

When I got to the triage window and told the fellow behind the counter that I got bitten by a monkey, he looked enquiringly at my face to see if I was joking. I showed him my bloodied arm.

After getting my blood pressure checked, I got an anti-tetanus jab and got my wound dressed. Not before the nurse had a go at me ("monyet tu gigit you sebab you terlalu seksi kot"). Yeah... That's comforting. I got bitten by a female monkey!

Now the waiting begins. Wait for myself to be registered and given a queue number. Wait to see the doctor. I was #130.

I whiled the time away watching tv and people. For the time that I was in the emergency room, I was the only Chinese. Tells you something, doesn't it?

My turn came to see the doctor. He asked me what happened. I told him I got bitten by a monkey and he had this "oh-oh" look on his face. He looked at me and I could tell that he was trying to figure out whether to take me seriously or not.

When he figured that I wasn't kidding, he tried to cover up the "oh-no-what-to-do-now" look on his face. He looked through a pile of books on his table and asked his assistant to the "black book". She gave it to him and the cover says: Emergency Solutions. G-R-E-A-T!

Bad news! His book only covered dog/cat bite. He left the room (presumably to consult with his colleagues) and came back with a crest fallen look on his face. He daren't meet my eyes when he told me to wait outside the consultation room and he will come get me later. At this point, nothing can surprise me. Maybe it was post-traumatic shock.

More time passed when a nurse called out my name. I went into the see the doctor and he had written out a prescription for antibiotics and a slip instructing me to go to the nearest clinic to get a daily dressing for my wound.

On the left column on the slip was written "monkey bite" under "penyakit". I didn't know it was a disease *lol*

I took a walk to the main pharmacy and took another queue number (#4320). While waiting, I went to the cafeteria for a sandwich. Hadn't eaten all day. Felt kinda selfconscious with the big piece of gauze sticking out of my shoulder like a piece of armour, so I packed and left. Sides, the aroma in the cafeteria made me feel slightly sick.

My queue number was called. I received 2 foil-packed antibiotics. You know it's expensive stuff when they pack it in foil. That done, I trekked back to my car and drove home. All in all, I spent 2.5 hours at the hospital. Not bad for government service.

Dr PL called to asked how things were. I told her the episode with the doctor. It turns out when he left the room, he put out an enquiry to all the medical staff in the hospital. Dr PL's colleague told her while they were making their rounds at the wards and her colleague commented: who would get bitten by a monkey in KL? To which Dr PL said: that's my cousin!

It turns out that Dr Get-Help prescribed me a top of the line antibiotic which costs RM6 per tablet (I received 14 tablets in total). If I were to have gone to a regular, private clinic for treatment, this whole ordeal would have easily cost me RM50 not inclusive of medication. Guess how much I paid at GHKL?

That's my tax dollars put to good use! (",)

Anyways, here's a look at the wound in the evening.

Incidentally, I think Dr Get-Help went on the Net for solutions because I found this site when I got home (http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/768875-treatment).

Of Making the Connection

My Friday ended at 0130 hours on a Saturday only to begin again when the alarm went off at 0615 hours. Hitting the snooze button, I stole another 3 minutes of shut-eye before JH gave me a wake up call. No more snoozin', time's a-loosin'. I was out the door at 0630 hours, driving towards TPM to meet the rest. Today, we're going to train at the steps of Batu Caves. 10 showed up.

A little background about Batu Caves for the uninitiated. There are 272 steps from rising from the foot of the hill, demarcated by a charming archway decorated with several avatars of the Lord Murugan / Subramaniam, to the mouth of the cave complex that houses the shrines of several Hindu dieties. It's approximately 28.9km away from TPM which took us about 35 minutes to get there (this after discounting the time wasted making a wrong turn).

We arrived without fanfare at 0745 hours and met PT at the base of the stairs. Our training aim today is to complete 4 laps (1 lap = completing 1 set, up and down the stairs) in 90 minutes. We took it slow with the 1st lap. Everyone broke pace and reached the top together. We took photos within the cave and walked around to shake out the kinks in our legs. Thereafter, everyone went their own pace.

I'm glad to say that the team did a good job meeting the training aim (Well done, guys and gals!). No drama, no incident, no sweat! Ok... Maybe not the sweat part. We all sweat buckets :) I, for one, pushed beyond the 4-lap aim and went for 5 laps and in the process, I struck up conversation with this uncle who "coached" and cheered me along. Thank you!

We had chilled Milo to quench our thirst at the carpark, thanks to PT. And decided to go for breakfast before going our separate ways. Me, being a weekend vegan, had a groundnut bao with "teh c special". That was lunch.

After a 30-minute nap, I was on the road again. I've signed up for the Bikram Posture Clinic in Subang. Rich Nichols (head honco for Bikram yoga teachers in this region) conducted the 2-hour clinic.

I've never been to a yoga posture clinic before and was quite surprised to see the studio packed from wall to wall. When usually we have about 4 feet between yoga mats, today there was only a 2 feet gap. The other difference was in the heat. It was not turned on and we had the windows slightly open. In spite of that, the class was sweating profusely 30 minutes into the clinic.

Today's session concentrates on correction and imparting tips on the standing series of the Bikram posture progression. Picked up some very good pointers at the clinic and I'm now seriously considering getting a tatt to commemorate conquering white water rafting at Padas and the peak of Mount Kinabalu :) Shhh..! Don't tell my parents.

Rich challenged the clinic participants to attend the 1600 hours yoga class conducted by Erik. Only 15 took him on. I must admit though, after 2 hours of posture analysis and learning even without the 40 degree heat, I couldn't make it through all 26 postures. Having said that though, I'm not disappointed in myself. As Sean (another Bikram teacher) always says, "it's yoga practice, not yoga perfect".

Since taking up Bikram, I have noted a marked difference in my physique and psyche. The improvement of the later resulted in my being able to stay focused, remember things better and push myself to achieve more because the brain is no longer setting up roadblocks for the body. It's a whole different life when your brain is not trying to sabotage your body's potential. It's the brain making the connection with the body for both to move in sync. My body surprises me everyday :)

Since signing up to join MY's colleagues to climb Mount K, we've been training together by going on hikes and treks. These have improve my cardio immensely. I find myself no longer out of breath / panting after climbing the 3 flights of stairs (a total of 63 steps) to my office everyday and, in fact, have started to take the stairs when going to JH's place on the weekend (he lives on a 4th floor apartment).

Now you are already starting to wonder: what's the point in all this? Well, I'm getting there :)

Many people have said that climbing Mount K is more mental than physical. I figured that in taking up this challenge, I am putting both to the test. In my daily grind, I find myself able to cope that much better both mentally and physically. So much so, somedays I feel almost invincible. And that is an incredible feeling.

If someone had told me 1 year ago that I would be going for 5 laps at Batu Caves (traipsing up and down 2,720 steps) thereafter attending a 120-minute yoga clinic followed by 90 minutes of Bikram hot yoga all in one day, I'd say, "Who me?" but here I sit today, blogging about it and feeling the endorphins coursing through my veins. Best feeling in the world!

Oh.. And did I mention that there was this incredibly hot Korean teacher at the clinic today. Wow! She turned my head a couple of times and I was so definitely gawking at her. She was HAWT! (",)

Hike #4: Bkt Tabur

6.30am on Saturday morning found me waiting in the dark in front of MY's office in Bkt Jalil. Woman said meet at 0630 but when I called her, she was still at home! (-_-)

Sun rises above the ridge

There were 7 of us this time around. 5 were noobs, PT (picture right) and hubby WA, JS, TL (picture left) and Tz. We made good time, scaling to 200m in 27 mins.

Group photo minus Tz

I'm glad to report that I aced my kryptonite boulder this time around. But the funny incident happened at the 2nd rope (yes, there is a 2nd rope which I neglected to mention in my previous entry - leave something out to blog about later na).

Anyways, there I was grappling with my decent when MY called out, "Use the 2nd knot!" and my reflex reply was, "To do what?" which incited peels of laughter from PT and yours truly. The men in the group have no sense of humour (tsk!).

More on Bukit Tabur

3 days after my most excellent adventure on Bukit Tabur, my knees developed some 'colour'. Behold...

One of my clients found it apt to point out, "Bruises cause your market value to drop, my dear." Such encouragement!

Was chatting with HT on Tuesday and he says, I quote, "i look up to u for taking the challenge.. a fren of mine broke her arm there.. didn't wanna scare u .." Now he tells me!

Keen to know more about Bukit Tabur, I did what most people would do. I Google-d it.

http://www.naturemalaysia.com/bukit-tabur.htm

Apparently, Bukit Tabur is a natural heritage site. It is the single largest quartz ridge in the world. Fu-yoh! I had no inkling that I was scrambling amongst greatness..

http://www.endemicguides.com/Tabur_hill.htm

"If you climb up Bukit Tabur, which is part of these magnificent quartz ridges, the view is breathtaking on one side and heartbreaking on the other. It is heartbreaking to see the devastation, ugly scarring and flattening of the hillsides in the vicinity of the Klang Gates dam and around Taman Melawati, Kemensah Heights, Kampung Kemensah (once famous for its streams and waterfalls which have now turned muddy) and Taman Zooview."

~ Tree Hugger @ The Star Online (Monday, 20 October 2008)

There's even a site that has dedicated pages (with photos) of how to properly decend (there are 4 ways) my kryptonite boulder

http://thetrekkers.blogspot.com/

For those who plans to conquer Tabur, do visit this link http://www.mycorezone.com/main.php?section=resource&page=resource_view&article_id=131

Bukit Tabur @ Melawati

Our group for this weekend's hike was reduced to 5. The rest had something or rather and so the 5 of us made our way to the venue for our third hike which proves to be the most trying thusfar.

MY said that it is challenging and kidding she was not. In choosing to be ignorant, I was spared the chance to chicken out and trudged on with the rest. Unbeknowst to me, this trek would test my mental strength and challenge my very psyche.

There were warning signs posted at the start of the trail citing the latest 3 accidents to befall careless climbers. Somehow, the person(s) who made the sign only cited the accidents involving women... (-_-)

Making our way up through the cover of trees was not unlike our other hikes. It took us 30 mins to reach the first rest stop.

We were rewarded with a beautiful view of a lake with the morning mist still hovering over the surface of the water. I later found out that this was the Klang Gate Dam. Look closely at the picture below and you can see the ridges that form Bukit Tabur. Looks like a stegosaurus, no?

On the other hand, is civilisation. Twas a misty morning so the twin towers were shrouded in a gossamer shroud of (haze) doom!

Our trail continued uphill from there and just when I was beginning to think that the 'tough' part was all hype, we came to the first challenge, which I would like to call my 'kryptonite'.

There were 2 options to move onto the next ridge (side note: remember stegosaurus? - see picture) either we do the "dare-devil" which involves using a notched rope to scramble down the boulders or the "wussy" which involves walking around the boulders. Being enthusiastic and knowing our K decent will involve ropes, absailing and dare-devil type antics, we chose the former. There are no wussies here.

MY and TW surveying the 'drop'. Note the rope on TW's right. That's our 'insurance'.

TW was the first to take the rope. He made it, no sweat. Next was MY. She, too aced the rope. I was next. Oh-kay... Grab the rope with both hands. Easy enough. "NEVER LET GO," said MY. "Now swing around and plant your left foot on the left boulder". Done. "Lean onto the rope. Trust the rope and let your right foot hang down to look for a foothold." Wha..? Me brain froze at "trust the rope". Haaaaaalp!

There were some tense moments where I couldn't connect my brain to my hands and feet. My right hand kept trying to hang onto the boulder when it should be firmly holding onto the rope to help my left foot support my body while my right foot refused to budge. WTF! I'm so screwed!

MY and TW were tops, they talked me through the whole episode and I managed to scale down the boulder but not without scrapping my knee in the process. HY (pictured right) took to the rope and slope like a duck to water. I felt like chickensh*t after that. JH had long legs so he practically 'walked' down the slope. Double chickensh*t =(

The second challenge was a climbing one where we had to scale an almost verticle, jagged slope. MY said, "you'll have to do the spiderman here". Raaaaiggghtt~! Picked up more 'souvenirs' from here. Bruises to my knees and scrapes on my right hand. I'm such an apparent noob (T_T)

The last challenge of the day was to hop over a 'longkang' (drain). This so-called longkang was actually a chasm separating two ridges and the sharp stones do not exactly make it any easier. Imagine landing on it (ouch~!). Face first (OUCH~!!). Luckily, none of that happened (whew!)

Enough adventure for the day. We started our decent through more 'friendly' terrain. By friendly, I meant more trees (handholds), exposed tree roots (footholds) and damp soil to cushion our trek. I have never been more thankful for trees (,")

Post Valentine Hike

Our second hike of the series and we're going to Apaksan in U-Lik, Cheras. I have no idea what is its official name so "Apaksan" it is. There were 13 of us this time around with 2 newbies, WR (HF's hubby) and JS (the green guy as HF refers to him).

We met in front of TL's house and set off for Apaksan in 3 cars. Upon arrival, AP went in search of breakfast. The rest of us just stood incredulously at the foot of the hill waiting for him which gave HY ample time to get busy with her camera.

A partial-group photo while waiting for AP and JT

The trek posed a bit more of a challenge as compared to Gasing. And the hill-walkers were markedly different.

Whereas in Gasing we were cheerfully greeted by the uncles and aunties who passed our group, the people in Apaksan were a sullen lot. And there was this peculiar grandpa-grandson duo and several aunties who clapped their hands in unison whilst traversing the hill. I call them the 'clappers'. I reckon it serves to 'warn' the hill 'residents' of our intention to 'pass through' their 'territory' but MY figures it to keep the tempo of the walk. Her guess is as good as mine =)

Winded, we reached stop #1 with a good panoramic view of PJ. An uncle (not part of our group!) took out his harmonica, and we were entertained to several catchy Chinese tunes.

These were the last 2 to arrive.








Short rest and on with our trek. At stop #2, we were treated to a beautiful view of KL city vista. The KL and twin towers looked like miniature pin maps. WA mentioned that someone told him of a waterfall at stop #3. We trudged on...

Before long, we reached stop #4: The Guinness Stop. Quite an interesting choice of name. And there was a rudimentary map tacked onto a tree. There were some Chinese words which I made out to represent 'top of the hill'. HY told me that the other words were 'long route' and 'short route'. Dang! I should've paid attention in Chinese class =p

We were certain we did not miss stop #3: Waterfall and surmised that WA was had. So after a short break, we began our decent down the same path we took coming up. Along the way, I learnt how to 'break' into my Vios (courtesy of AP as he once locked his keys in the trunk of his car) with needle nose pliers and that Toyota keeps several of such experts on their payroll to assist car owners who were ever caught in a predicament without their keys... call Toyota Assist.

Hike over, dim sum time! TL took us to his favourite haunt and we had to have an especially big table to accommodate all of us. I likened our breakfast jaunt to a swarm of locusts. No sooner had the food been laid before us when it was cleaned out. This happened 3 times and I lost count of the number of times we had to get our teapot refilled. Admittedly, we are a rowdy bunch and it's great that we can get along together cos, as MY said, "get use to it cos we'll be spending 5 days together" (".)

A virgin no more

It was an accident. Things just progressed too fast and getting caught up in the moment, it happened... I stepped into the gym for the first time in my life (-___-)

Twas the wee hours of morning. I dragged myself out of bed to go for Bikram but unbeknowst to me, the blurdy centre changed the schedule without prior notification. What's a girl to do at 6.30am, all geared up for a work-out but none to be had?

The answer was a row of treadmills and electronic gadgetry which are guaranteed to make you sweat. Since I'm going to climb a mountain in May, might as well work up some stamina.

Pulling on my hand-me-down Nikes, I headed for the first machine that looked like it wouldn't make me resemble a hamster running the wheel. Some sort of cross-country skiing machine maybe? Looks easy enough.

5 minutes later, my heart rate was up and I'm breaking a sweat. Good! But no more skiing... I can't feel my legs.

Hopping off, I scan for the StairMaster. A doctor friend recommended that I do 30 mins of stairs 3 times a week to prep for my climb. None to be found on the ground floor so up to the 1st floor, I went.

In a corner was something that remotely resembles a StairMaster, though I'm not quite sure. There was a nice gentleman resolutely stepping on the peddles and it looked like he was climbing so I decided to give it a shot (virgins don't know better).

Programming the darn thing should be a cinch but it isn't. 30 seconds later, I gave up and must have looked thoroughly baffled when the nice gentleman called out, "the higher the effort number, the easier it is". Thanks but how do I apply this information?

The machine displayed a message: lift your knees one at a time. Aah.. why didn't you say so earlier?

The effort level was adjusted to 25 (min is 1, max is 25). Then comes the next instruction: keep speed at 270 spm (presumably means 270 steps per minute). Ok.. let's go!

5 minutes later, I'm no closer to 270 spm (hovering between 130 to 150 spm) although I've never stepped so furiously before in my life. Yet the instructions kept flashing: keep speed at 270 spm. Before I passed out, I hit the "pause" button. "The higher the effort number the easier it is." Yeah right!

There has got to be an easier way, think I, the gym virgin. Let's try setting a "Goal". 5 km, I tapped with the numerical keypad. "Lift your knees one at a time". This time I lifted slowly with as little gusto as I could muster. Effort set at 3. Aw-raight!

"Keep speed at 60 spm." Hurrah! That's do-able.

Step left, step right... My calves were starting to protest. "24 minutes to end". I glanced at the timer and it's been only 5 minutes. OMG! How to survive 24 minutes? Distance stepped was only 1.5km. Keep going... "Climbing a mountain is not so much stamina and endurance but also mental strength". Right-o...

I cannot begin to describe the immeasurable relief when the "Goal" indicator blinked 5km. Yapari! I've done it. I can't feel my legs for the first few seconds but thankfully I didn't fall flat on my face.

I am so not cut out to be gym bunny :(

Getting the hang of it

Plans were made to ease the climbers into hiking and trekking which will gradually prepare us for the Big K in May (hey, that rhymes!).

After the big hoo-ha over Christmas, New Year and Chinese New Year, the group was ready for our first hike. BT organised the hike, most of us turned up. Our quarry was Bukit Gasing.

We met bright and early at the 1st meeting point and set out in 2 cars ferrying 8 climbers. When we reached the 2nd meeting point, another 3 cars joined the motorcade bearing another 5 climbers. At the destination, we added another 1 to our ranks.

HY and I wore our new Timberlands to break them in. MY just lost hers the week before CNY (blurdy house thieves!). AP wore slippers (he da man!).

The hike was timed for 2 hours to give everyone ample time to finish the trail. And a hike it was.

It rained the night before so new Timmies were soon muddied. We passed a little stream (Goretex: guaranteed to keep you dry) and the highlight of the hike was the suspension bridge. Now MY is afraid of heights and she was ahead of the rest of us. Needless to say, we just had to shake the bridge when she was at mid-point. Thanks for being a good sport, MY!

When we reached the 'top' of the trail, HY whipped out her camera and recorded more "evidence". We didn't look so much worse for wear, if I do say so myself.

All in all, twas fun and I'm looking forward to the next hike. There will be 12 altogether so that should keep our weekends busy (",)

The makings of an adventure

This is an excerpt of an actual phone conversation between HF and me:

Me: Timberland shoes at RM149. Can buy ar?

HF: That's cheap. Timberland shoes are usually between RM 300 - 500. Grab it.

Me: But what would I need a pair of Timberlands for?

HF: Well... I'm sure you'll find a need for it.

Me: Like what...?

HF: I dunno... Maybe you'll want to climb a mountain?

15 mins later

Me: It's me again. I think we have to look for a mountain to climb soon.

I was on my last errand when I saw the bunting: Timberland Warehouse Sale. My curiosity was piqued. Never mind that checks and plaids are not cuppa tea, or that hiking boots and lumberjack jackets are not my thang, I just gravitated to the sale venue.

What happened in the next 20 minutes is summed up by the phone conversation above. What happened thereafter will culminate in a snap decision and forking out of more money to climb Mount Kinabalu, flight tickets, accommodation etc. Yes, I saved some money on a pair of Timberlands only to pay more than I saved to climb a mountain.

But I'm taking all of this in good faith. Never mind that we're sedentary women managers whose only strenuous exercise is Bikram yoga twice a week. Never mind that we have membership / access to gyms to which we have never visited since the day we collected our membership / access cards. Never mind that we have not 'roughed it out' since school days and have gotten all too comfortable in our cocoons. We're going to climb a mountain and the highest one in South East Asia no less.

As if that's not enough, we're going via ferrata, which I hear, involves walking on iron rungs and ropes sticking out of the sheer cliff side of the mountain.

And the clincher? We're going white water rafting the day before. Woo-hoo! Bring it on!

Another milestone..

I'm thankful for another healthy year gone by
A year where I realise how truly blessed I am
More friends who remembered my birthday
Extra good wishes and presents my way
That much more good food to share (more love handles!)
Creating such happy vibes and a warm glowing in my heart

Thanks to all my mates
You've really made my special day awesome
Thanks for all the well wishes and gifts
Cheers to another splendid year ahead

Spot Came Home

My dalmation (aptly named Spot) went MIA 2 Sundays ago.

What started out as irritation (he bolted out the door again!!) turned to worry (did he get run over by a car?!?!) before blossoming to utter dismay (he's gone!!!!! *sobs*).

Just when we gave up hope of ever seeing Spot again, there he sits, coolly by the gate, patiently waiting for someone to let him in.

Spot Came Home =) There's a good fella.

Personalities & Gifting

I've been reading (still in the process although got the book about a month ago) about the different personalities, their characteristics and it's simply fascinating. Put my bestest galpals and self on the enclosed test via email and figured that amongst us, we've got 2 Popular Sanguines (MY and me) and 1 Powerful Choleric (J). HF hasn't responded yet. She's not very consistent with the emails therefore suggesting that she is quite highly likely a Popular Sanguine as well ;-p

In a nutshell, Popular Sanguines are the life of the party. Always armed with a story to tell and keeps everyone entertained. The Powerful Cholerics are the leaders. They are the decision makers and like to stay in control. They keep the Popular Sanguines out of mischief.

The other personalities discussed in the book are Perfect Melancholies and Peaceful Phlegmatics. The Perfect Melancholies are the logical, thinking ones. They adore systems and make great engineers. The Peaceful Phlegmatics (nothing to do with the stuff you expell from your throat) are the "dudes and dudettes" (laidback) of the lot. They prefer to just go with the flow and have a general "whatever" view of things.

Since reading this book, I've been actively thinking and categorising my friends. Then Christmas came along and it's interesting to see the choice of gifts each personality type came up with.

Since yours truly is a Popular Sanguine, I list here my gifts of choice:-

• Barney slippers for my (unofficial) 'god-son'
• cheerful coloured, woven silk ties with just the right balance of professionalism and vibrance so as not to appear boring
• magic 8 balls to help out when making a decision is just too difficult
• bracelets of pastel coloured pearls in irregular shapes - no need to say why this gift appealed to me
• plushie giraffe for a tall friend
• eye mask for my manager with 4 kids
• UNO game for another manager with 3 kids

Gifts I received:-

• a notebook backpack from my beloved - practical gift (and color as well) as he saw that my current one is falling to bits. Me thinks he is either a Perfect Melancholy or a Powerful Choleric. Probably both.
• a candle holder with 2 adorable cherubs - me thinks the giver is a Peaceful Phlegmatic
• a mechanical pencil with very retro zig zags - I discovered that I can actually get giddy looking at it rotating in my hands. I'm thinking this friend is a Peaceful Phlegmatic (it's a pencil!)
• a book entitled "Mr Jones' Rules for the Modern Man" - an engineer gave this to me. Go figure!
• a pretty crystal pendant on a delicate sterling silver chain - definitely a Peaceful Phlegmatic
• a starter charm bracelet with a 4-leaf clover charm to start - from myself. Yep! Only a Popular Sanguine would buy herself a gift at Christmas *lol

So what did you get for Christmas?

Merry X'Mas Everyone!

A young man named John received a parrot as a gift just prior to Christmas. The parrot had a bad attitude and an even worse vocabulary. Every word out of the bird's mouth was rude, obnoxious, and laced with profanity.

John tried and tried to change the bird's attitude by consistently saying only polite words, playing soft music and anything else he could think of to "clean up" the bird's vocabulary.

Finally, John was fed up, and he yelled at the parrot. The parrot yelled back. John shook the parrot, and the parrot got angrier and even ruder. John, in desperation, threw up his hand, grabbed the bird, and put him in the freezer. For a few minutes the parrot squawked and kicked and screamed.

Then suddenly there was total quiet. Not a peep was heard for over a minute. Fearing that he'd hurt the parrot, John quickly opened the door to the freezer.

The parrot calmly stepped out onto John's outstretched arms and said, "I believe I may have offended you with my rude language and actions. I'm sincerely remorseful for my inappropriate transgressions and I fully intend to do everything I can to correct my rude and unforgivable behaviour."

John was stunned at the change in the bird's attitude. As he was about to ask the parrot what had made such a dramatic change in his behaviour, the bird continued, "May I ask; just what did that turkey in there say?"

It was all a misunderstanding

Waitress: I would like to deny that what was reported ever happened. The ex-Minister did not fondle or molest me. It was all a misunderstanding.

Reporter: What made you make that report then? What actually happened?

Waitress: I did feel someone putting his hands on my backside. Then I felt the hand going higher. I protested, but it did not stop. I tried to pull the hand away, but the owner of the hand is much stronger than me. He was also drunk because I could smell it from his breath.

Reporter: What made you initially suspect that it was the ex-minister who did it?

Waitress: After pleading for sometime, I couldn't take it anymore so I screamed. Then they on the lights and the ex minister was next to me.

Reporter: You suspected that he was the one because he was next to you? It could have been others right?

Waitress: I thought it was him, because that night, he was the only customer. There was no one else in the bar except the bar boy, two other waitresses who were with the bar boy, the ex-minister and me. That was why I thought it was him.

Reporter: It could have been either of the waitresses or the bar-boy right?

Waitress: No it couldn't be, they were at quite a distance away. The lights were on only seconds after I screamed.

Reporter: Then how come you are now sure that it was not the ex-minister, since he was the only one close to you? Anyway, how close was he to you?

Waitress: He was very close, about 6 inches away. I only realised that it couldn't have been him when the police and his lawyers visited me a few days ago.

Reporter: How many of them visited you?

Waitress: 20 police personnel and 12 lawyers.

Reporter: So many of them? What did they say or do?

Waitress: They told me that that club is haunted. They said that a few years ago, a drunkard lecherous old man was shot dead for molesting a woman there. They added that it could be his ghost who did it.

Reporter: And you believed them?

Waitress: I was confused, but they brought an ex waitress who confessed that the same thing happened to her and coincidentally, the same ex minister was beside her. They said that, the dead man was an enemy of the ex minister so that was why his ghost did it every time he is around.

Reporter: Since the place is haunted, are you going back to work there?

Waitress: Oh no, I don't have to work anymore. The ex minister was so kind. He said that he took pity on me because I was molested by the ghost of his enemy. He blamed himself for what had happened to me. He gave me a cheque for 1 million ringgit, a condominium and an expensive car. He said I don't have to pay for the condominium. To show how he cares, he even took a key and said that he would be checking on me, to see if I need any help or if the ghost is still haunting me. That is why, I feel so bad that I had implicated a very good man.

KUALA LUMPUR:

The woman who lodged a police report alleging a former cabinet minister had outraged her modesty at her workplace in a hotel in KL Sentral cannot in law withdraw the report, said Gelugor MP Karpal Singh.

Karpal, a lawyer, said a person who lodged a police report could not at her whim and fancies withdraw a report by way of a letter or statutory declaration. The person ran the risk of lodging a false report and was bound by the contents of the report, he added.

"The police have to investigate the woman's report despite withdrawal of same by her. If the allegations against the ex-minister, as set out in the police report, are true, then the police have no alternative but to take action," he said.

Karpal said this was a serious offence under Section 354 of the Penal Code, which carried imprisonment of up to 10 years or fine or whipping or with two of such punishments.

He said that if it was revealed in the course of the investigation that the contents of the police report was false, then the woman concerned should be charged for giving false information to the police.

This was an offence under Section 182 of the Penal Code, which provided for an imprisonment for a term which may be extended to six months, or a fine which may extend to RM,2000, or both.

Karpal thus called on the police to carry out an in-depth investigation to determine the culpability of the ex-minister for allegedly outraging the woman's modesty, or the culpability of the woman concerned for giving false information to the police.

This would be in the public interest, he said.

The woman retracted the report lodged against the ex-minister, saying that she misunderstood the incident.

My favourite piece on our post-election analysis

Malaysian voters open the door for Anwar Ibrahim
Michael Backman
The Age
March 12, 2008

MALAYSIA Boleh! (Malaysia Can!) is Malaysia's national slogan but after last Saturday's elections, the real slogan should be Malaysians Boleh! for ordinary Malaysians are to be congratulated. The humiliation they handed their government at the federal and state elections demonstrates how politically sophisticated and mature they have become in the face of a high-handed and patronising government.

Five state governments were won by the opposition and federally, the Government had its worst showing ever. But it was the clinical precision in which voters went about their business that was most impressive.

Zainuddin Maidin, the information minister, lost his seat. A measure of how complacent the Government had become was its appointment of the inept Zainuddin to the role in the first place. His appalling performance on Al Jazeera television late last year was a very public international humiliation for all Malaysians. Voters did what Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi did not have the guts to do: they removed him from office.

Malaysia's media has become so discredited that local bloggers are now hugely popular. Zainuddin had patronisingly warned Malaysians about false information spread by bloggers. They responded by voting one of the most popular bloggers , Jeff Ooi into parliament.

The birthday of Samy Vellu, the long-serving public works minister and head of the party that represents Malaysia's Indian community, coincided with election day but it was Malaysians who got the birthday present. Samy lost his seat.

No one is more to blame than he for driving Malaysia's Indians into their pitiful state as second-class citizens. His deputy also lost his seat, as did the head of the party's youth wing, its vice-president, and the head of its women's wing. The party barely exists now.

Meanwhile, a lawyer who championed the rights of Indians and who has been detained without charge since December because of it, won a seat in a state parliament ­ a seat in which the majority of voters are actually Chinese. It seems that ordinary Malaysians have a greater sense of fair play than their Government.

The Government lost power in the state of Penang. Lim Guan Eng, the much-respected new chief minister, was arrested and jailed in 1994 after he distributed a brochure complaining about the handling of claims that the (then) chief minister of Malacca, Rahim Thamby Chik, had sexual relations with an under-age girl who happened to be one of Lim's constituents.

Unbelievably Thamby Chik was not charged for what amounted to statutory rape but Lim was, for having distributed the pamphlet. How embarrassing for Abdullah that he must now deal with a chief minister that his Government so unfairly jailed.

Only the state government of Sarawak was spared voters' ire but only because it had its elections last year. But nature will bring change there too. Its long-serving, outstandingly greedy, cancer-stricken chief minister is soon to learn that a shroud has no pockets.

More broadly, the very legitimacy of Abdullah's Government is open to question. At the federal level, the opposition received 47.8% of the vote; a remarkable result given voting fraud, a frightened media that gives the opposition almost no positive coverage, and severely rigged electoral boundaries. As it was, about a third of eligible voters did not vote, meaning that Abdullah's Government was returned by only four out of 10 eligible voters.

Late last year, I met with former finance minister and senior ruling party lawmaker Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah at his residence in Kuala Lumpur. He told me how appalled he was by the direction Malaysia had taken. He said that Malaysia needed a free media and a truly independent judiciary. He decried the corruption and nepotism that had beset the leadership of his own party. "But why don't you stand up in parliament and say these things?" I asked.

"Because the media would be instructed not to report it," he said.

If the opposition parties and their leaders can put their egos aside and think strategically, they have a chance of giving Malaysia what it sorely needs, a stable two-party system.

Opposition figure Anwar Ibrahim will become eligible for election next month with the expiry of the ban following his criminal conviction.

The nightmare scenario for Abdullah is that Anwar's wife, who was again elected on Saturday, will resign in the coming months, forcing a by-election at which Anwar will be elected. He might then help to coalesce the opposition parties into a more unified and effective voice. If he were to lure the Chinese-based MCA and perhaps the Sarawak-based United Traditional Bumiputera Party away from the ruling coalition, then the opposition would have precisely half the members of parliament. And if just one more government member were to walk, ­ Tengku Razaleigh perhaps ,­ then the Government will fall after 50 years in office. The current 13-party ruling coalition would be replaced by a five-party coalition. Whether or not this happens, there will be constant tension from the fact that it might.

Abdullah has emerged as probably Malaysia's most pointless prime minister. The election results are an unmitigated disaster for him and his Government. If the opposition is sufficiently disciplined and the ruling coalition starts to crack, then his nightmare has only just begun. Could Abdullah negotiate such a minefield? So far his political talents don't seem to have stretched beyond using chemical-laden water cannons against his own people.

It would seem his days are numbered.

40 things you'd like to say out loud at work

1. I can see your point, but I still think you're full of sh*t.

2. I don't know what your problem is, but I'll bet it's hard to pronounce.

3. How about never? Is never good for you?

4. I see you've set aside this special time to humiliate yourself in public.

5. I'm really easy to get along with once you people learn to see it my way.

6. I'll try being nicer if you'll try being smarter.

7. I'm out of my mind, but feel free to leave a message.

8. I don't work here. I'm a consultant.

9. It sounds like English, but I can't understand a damn word you're saying.

10. Ahhh... I see the screw-up fairy has visited us again.

11. I like you. You remind me of myself when I was young and stupid.

12. You are validating my inherent mistrust of strangers.

13. I have plenty of talent and vision. I just don't give a damn.

14. I'm already visualizing the duct tape over your mouth.

15. I will always cherish the initial misconceptions I had about you.

16. Thank you. We're all refreshed and challenged by your unique point of view.

17. The fact that no one understands you doesn't mean you're an artist.

18. Any connection between your reality and mine is purely coincidental.

19. What am I? Flypaper for freaks?!

20. I'm not being rude. You're just insignificant.

21. It's a thankless job, but I've got a lot of Karma to burn off.

22. Yes, I am an agent of Satan, but my duties are largely ceremonial.

23. And your crybaby whiny-assed opinion would be...?

24. Do I look like a people person?

25. This isn't an office. It's Hell with fluorescent lighting.

26. I started out with nothing and I still have most of it left.

27. Sarcasm is just one more service we offer.

28. If I throw a stick, will you leave?

29. Errors have been made. Others will be blamed.

30. Whatever kind of look you were going for, you missed.

31. I'm trying to imagine you with a personality.

32. A cubicle is just a padded cell without a door.

33. Can I trade this job for what's behind door #1?

34. Too many freaks, not enough circuses.

35. Nice perfume. Must you marinate in it?

36. Chaos, panic, and disorder - my work here is done.

37. How do I set a laser printer to stun?

38. I thought I wanted a career. Turns out I just wanted a salary.

39. Who lit the fuse on your a**?

40. Oh I get it... like humour... but different.

Where not to eat..

If ever you happen to go to PJ Old Town, there is a food circus.. er.. I mean.. food court diagonally across the traffic-lighted crossroads from Public Bank. If you also happen to be hungry, this is as good a place as any to find good food for a reasonable price... with one exception but we'll get to that later.

All the establishments here seem quite.. well.. established (",) with a steady stream of customers and all available tables taken. Never mind that the weather outside was sweltering hot and humid, the patrons keep coming in. Luckily, the drink sellers were prepared with their renditions of ice kacang and '"leong sui" (herbal tea)

There is this particularly well patronised stall that sells "char-siu" (barbequed, glazed pork), "siu-yok" (barbequed belly pork) and "siu-kai" (barbequed chicken) available with your choice of rice or porridge (congee to some folks).

Now, my boyfriend LOVES pork. Ergo, he made a bee-line for this stall and ordered "chair-siu-kai" (which is a combination of equal portions of each served with rice, for the benefit of those who are not well-versed with Chinese fare).

As he sat down at our table, he kept a firm eye on Stall 41 and noted that there was never a time when there weren't people standing on the sidelines, waiting for their take-away orders. The only server manning the tables was a harried Indonesian lady but she was efficient.

When his order came (cost him RM4.50), the portions were too small for his liking, so he decided to add a side order of "siu-yok". This came shortly after in an even smaller portion (yes, it was possible!) at a staggerring RM3!

I counted that there were only 7 bite-sized pieces of pork with 2 slices of cucumber and a careless garnish of chinese parsley. Wow! The only excuse for such a steep price tag would be the taste. So we each picked out a piece and chomped down, fully anticipating a good treat for our palate.

Alas..! Disappointments abound. There were no taste explosions. No heavenly amalgamation of flavours just regular barbequed pork. Nothing remotely spectacular about that taste to warrant the premium pricing *sigh* What a disappointment :(

I wonder if there is a "char-siu" sellers' association that I can refer to for guidelines on price setting?

If Life Were Like A Computer:

• You could add/remove someone in your life using the control panel.
• You could put your kids in the recycle bin and restore them when you feel like it!
• You could improve your appearance by adjusting the display settings.
• You could turn off the speakers when life gets too noisy.Y
• You could click on "find" (Ctrl, F) to recover your lost remote control and car keys.
• To get your daily exercise, just click on "run"!
• If you mess up your life, you could always press "Ctrl, Alt, Delete" and start all over!

Would that be grand?

Running up the tab

It's the year end and there are mega discounts and price slashing galore. Being the bargain hunter that I am, yours truly decided to hit the shops and scout for cheap buys. Armed with my credit cards and a sweater (because of over-zealous Christmas-spirited shopping mall operators - see last entry in blog), I went on a pilgrimage to pay homage to the Queen of all Sales.. The Malaysian YES (Year-End-Sale).

I spent a whole day at one of the 5 imminent malls in the Klang Valley with my childhood buddy in tow. We walked the floors and scoured all our favourite shops, which was approximately 60% of the mall barring the cinema, food places, books and toy shops (never pay regular prices when there are warehouse sales abound!). I came out of it empty handed except for the purchase of a can of green tea, ice cream and dinner. How truly disappointing :(

Keeping my spirits up, I decided to check out 2 book companies' warehouse and moving out sale respectively. That endeavour was more satisfying in that I have suceeded in stocking up a year's worth of reading supplies and some VCDs (original only mind you) for the nieces and nephews. However, my boyfriend did not appreciate spending 3 hours with his head tilted to one side in order to read the titles off the book spines. Needless to say, there was a grumpy face driving us home that evening and a tired but happy bookworm hoarding my 'spoils of war' *hyuk! hyuk!*

Today, I gave my staff the day off and am contemplating to launch an 'assault' on the latest, upmarket mall to hit the town. According to my childhood buddy, the mall we went to was child's play in comparison to that. Ooooo... a challenge if I ever knew one! I've checked the traffic conditions online and put out my shopping shoes so as soon as I can peel myself away from my comfy perch in front of my laptop, I will be off. Wish me luck! And to you, dear reader, have an excellent New Year!

My dad...

My dad is my hero. He brought me up the way all typical, olden-day Chinese dads do: keeping a stiff upper-lip and is hands-free in my up-bringing (he leaves it to mum). He never praised me in front of anybody and down-played praises by well.. anybody. It's not that he isn't proud of me, he is, it's just the conservative Chinese way. However, lately, he's been taking over the role of mum, i.e. nagging, scolding and when all else fails, resorts to emotional blackmail and 'cold wars'.

Don't get me wrong... I'm not complaining that my dad is conniving or sly, he's just reaching out to me in the only way he knows how. You see, growing up with a dad conditioned me to be close to mum while maintaining a cordial and respectful distance (physically and emotionally) from dad. Mum says something, I listen. Dad says something, I ask mum if I should listen :) So I get it that he feels insecure and therefore the theaterics.

Take this New Year weekend for instance. I called dad up on Friday to discus holiday plans. He said, quite nonchalantly, "You're not coming back (to my hometown) for New Year?". Now when dad says that, he means, "I want you to come back". So I mulled over it, taking into consideration the mass influx of people who will be travelling back to the Klang Valley from their galivanting a.k.a. "cuti-cuti Malaysia", I called him again to hint at not going back in lieu of the anticipated traffic jams to which he replied: There is no jam if you take the old (trunk) road. So there... Dad has decided.

So drawing from all my years of growing up with dad, I called up mum (naturally, this being the 21st century, it means calling mum's mobile phone as opposed to just asking dad to pass the line) to ask her opinion. To cut a long story short, mum said, "Don't bother coming back" and so here I am, holed up in my city home, blogging :) Dad won't be happy but mum has spoken.