another One

i'd made it a point somehow to lament how come every year end, it's always almost immediately that i turn another year older right after i just turned another year older...
geddit??

anyhow... it's now, again. nearing another year end. Another 2 woeking days, and we'll be embracing the new year, the new Decade. Yes. the catchphrase this time around? Happy New Decade.
pretty neat i'd hav to say. it's like, "Yay! guys, we survived another decade!! woohoo~!!"

last december, i remember i'd posted here, in anticipation of the new year, "bring it on, Baby!"
this year though, i'd hav to say the enthusiasm is lesser.
perhaps, woek had been too hectic to bear last december, i had rather the days pass faster, and for work to complete faster.
this year, i had like a full month for me to slow down... before the new year hits.

as for 'the Resolution', well... i still cant make up my mind yet. at least not on anything concrete which requires 'follow-up actions'...
yes, the Days are short : do not waste your time while you are here.
but then again, who knows? perhaps i'll be penning down the same words come another decade later... ~~~

until then, here are some shots taken at a resort, local, east coast ... a 3D2N weekend trip... a LazyChristmasWeekend... a coastal and 'unmistakably malay' village resort...










but ultimately, i still, do look forward to Happy Days ahead~...
ahh, but dont we all ?

another itch scratched...

merry december~!

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indeed~! a merry December~!!

not that i wish to brag about this but still, the many holidays this december definitely helped in boosting the year-end mood! ^^

(not like we get to hav the festivities falling on fridays every december marh~...)

boss said yesterday, "today a lot of tasks ~ dun merry christmas yet ya"... to which i replied with a chuckle, "christmas oredi lorrhh...!"

birthday this year fell on a friday too~ XD

(it being the 'Awal Muharam' national holiday...)

i was therefore entitled to officially, legally, sleep-in on that day.... legitimately No Woek!!!

woohoo~!

bday eve was spent with an outing with dear Sis...

first a good dinner at Finnegan's at Hartamas, with some good main courses and a pint of good'ol Hoegaarden... (went there specifically as Sis was hooked on their Beamish... alas, they said they do not have them anymore... darn.)

the second part of the nite was followed through with a trip to Sis's favourite haunt...

finally met up with Winnie... Sis's friend which i've heard of so much...

well... the environment: something different, to which i'd sort of expected.

i'd just not expected that it'd go So well... i mean, i thoroughly did enjoy the nite..

and i saw that Sis did too.... =)

friday nite: the gang all gave face (especially carol the hot mom) and came out for some drinks at TTDI Plaza... wahts the name of the place again? cant recall.... turned out great too. when u throw in some dices and beer buckets at less than rm40 each... you'd pretty much get the whole gang going.... except Combust who had additional mi hailam halfway through... XD

behold: my bday gift from the K-squares.... my own Ayam:

the office was not left out on the celebrations too...

as per annual practice, the company threw a Christmas dinner on the 23rd...

this time around, they'd 'recruited' all the 'new blood' for the preparations and performance committee. Great. it'a about time 'old' staffs like me sit back and just enjoy the show.

jess... ahh, jess. she was not let off though. she's our santarina for this xmas... ^^

soon, it'd be drawing to a close. both December and the year'09...

but!

do Not let it stop.

as january kicks in, we will have the new year upon us.

and then february, and then the Lunar New Year =D

and then april: it's Taipei for me and Sis... (and bonus month too~ fingers crossed.. And maybe we can hunt for beamish there too~)

woek sumore,,, and mid-year kicks in with a beach-trip to phuket with the gang again...

hahahha!!

gettin' meself hyped up here.. but first: a lazyChristmasWeekend @ Tanjong Jara.. dungun, terengganu.

aren't holidays just great?!!

XD

another itch scratched...

words rang tru...

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The true tragedy of a routinely spent life is that its wastefulness does not become apparent until it is too late ... Nirmal ~ p.144
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She imagined the animals circling drowsily, listening to echoes pinging through the water, painting pictures in three dimensions - images that only they could decode.
The thought of experiencing your surroundings in that way never failed to fascinate her: the idea that to 'see' was also to 'speak' to others of your kind, where simply to exist was to communicate.
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In contrast, there was the immeasurable distance that separated her from Fokir. What was he thinking about as he stared at the moonlit river? Whatever it was, she would never know: not just because they had no language in common but because that was how it was with human beings, who came equipped, as a species, with the means of shutting each other out ... Piya ~ p.159




another itch scratched...

abort formation, engage all hostiles

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the brain's a flur of activities whenever the body refuses to just switch off.
layin in bed still hyper, over-triggered with all of the day's activities,
and of cuz, inzzpired by another fav song on the current playlist,
i'd rather slip outta bed and just gibber away here...
yeah, it's 1:29 am... but ahh, waht the heck!!

it's now at this moment, officially pre-birthday year No.28 :)
as the years pass on, and the person inside grows along,
i guess we tend to take in much more into the mind.. IQ and EQ and all... than what we used to..

working in my current office for more than 4yrs now,
i cant claim that it's one of those big corporate companies,
(however ambitiously they aspire to be),
but it is one helluva company where turnaround in human resources is extremely high.
this is touchy... i dont know why i cant sleep
and my mind wandered back to the office somehow
monica and hristine will be leaving us soon... for greener pastures (im sure of. again)
monica has decided to abort formation, and engage all hostiles (just caught Avatar tonite with the guys, this came from the mouth of the chief-villain-military-in-command. which i thought was kinda cool~...)
she is to us, the 'employee of the year' type (real straight, no hanky-panky, real hardworking)
still..no longer able to take in all the nuisance at the 3rd flr office, she has decided to forge ahead.
hristine has found her true calling after all.
now given the opportunity to do what she luvs most. Sing. with contract and allowance and all.
yay for hristine~! she is after all, only a twenty year old. just what has she got to lose? ? ?
the last time i quit... i chose to not put up with work 24/7. all for some mini sum of less than 3k. to forge and build a brand that belongs to someone else. it just didnt seem to make sense at all.
well... then again, that's just me i guess.
all is not lost i guess... it just turns out darn annoyingly that i've became quite acquainted with these two ladies... sigh... why cant normal people ever stand woeking here .. at least for some time longer?
and gulp, the monthly payroll duties would be rolling back to me then i'm forecasting... geezus....


anyhow.... today is still, somewhat special.
mom and sis got me pressies for this year's birthday .. wuahhahhah...
sometimes, somethings, just make u melt at the core ...
the most important of it alllll..... XD




another itch scratched...

it's my own design, my own remorse..

it was another one of those mornings...
where i simply did not care for the world or whatever's innit..
to just continue dozing off even when the alarm had done its duty for the day...

with the school holidays in full swing, Yang's having the telly to himself for the entire day
which left me with no other options other than Ratatouille followed by some Powerpuff Girls in action and then sumore of Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends... i must say, maybe it was the serenity at home, or maybe it was just me,,, i found that all the animations (a more proper name for Cartoon) to be quite entertaining and not realli that kiddy at all... (i think it was just me larh then~)

along the actions, i found Mojo Jojo singing this very familiar tune. a quick check with Sis online and some googling later, i found that it was Mojo Jojo singing Tears For Fears' everybody wants to rule the world... hahah~! now after listening to the real thing, i think i somewhat prefer Mojo Jojo's version!!! wahhahahh!!


welcome to your life
there's no turning back
even while we sleep
we will find you
acting on your best behaviour
turn your back on mother nature
everybody wants to rule the world

it's my own design
it's my own remorse
help me to decide
help me make the most
of freedom and of pleasure
nothing ever lasts forever
everybody wants to rule the world





the real thing... take yer' pick!




i kinda liked the lyrics to this one..
and with Mojo Jojo's comical interpretation of it,
i'd like to think it all sort of just clicks together, nicely ... For Today.
(^^)



another itch scratched...

up North..

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this is indeed, a merry December~

as the year looms to an end.. we in malaysia were bestowed upon, quite a few long-weekends with fridays off (Officially, as many national and states holidays fall on fridays this year...) ... which brings upon the more-than-usual-few opportunities for longer-than-usual weekend breaks

=)

3D2N

three days, two nights. that's what i'm talkin about...

and nothing of the usual prerequisite applications for 'joint-leaves' from the office... blearrgh~!


capped the month November with a trip down south to our neighbour across the straits, the Lion City.. Singapore that is. took the opportunity to visit bestie, (not to mention to bunk in at her place... free accomo, woot woot!!) and of course, the customary stroll down Orchard Road to soak in its relentless efforts in their annual Xmas decor~ yes, rolled-eyes, but still.. :)

and this weekend.. we in Selangor had the privilege of `celebrating the sultan's birthday on the 11th... yay!! All hail the Sultan~!!

me, Audrey, and Steven took the opportunity to get on with our long-planned break from the offce, up north.. to the Land of Smiles... XD

what started out as a designated trip to Hat Yai to feed our 'cheap-food-and-shopping' frenzy, turned out to be a most unexpected, relaxing one. cheap food nevertheless, Steven being the 'half-local' there, brought us around to places where no huge tour buses past the Bukit Kayu Hitam checkpoint would go...

lunch at the Water View Restaurant.... with attap huts by the lake... NiCe~

accomo was prebooked by Niu at the He Jia Grand Hotel at Ban Dan Nok, in the district of Sadao.. yes, although infamous as a border town dubbed 'mini mehsia' and notorious for its uhm,.. mildly-put, "nightlife" (another story for another day..) still, we had plenty of enjoyable downtime for the entire 2 days around Dan Nok... (~think clean Thai massage and foot rubs..)

day 2: Further up north, past Hat Yai, into Songkhla province...
up Tang Kuan Hill for prayers .. with its symbolic Prathat Chedi Luang royal pagoda..
yes, i prayed too, (gawk) a first for me.. that, and the view around the hilltop too... (gawk 2)... Unexpectedly nice...

lunch by the Samila Beach side....
~good and cheap seafood (and the smoked calamari gets my vote for this meal!)

it being a sat noon, the place was packed. nevertheless, the sea breeze and the ocean view pretty much made up for it...




well i'm beat by now... up Next, the real-deal at somewhere east coast for the christmas weekend. this time, it's goin to be local here in gud 'ol malaysia...
:)




another itch scratched...

another itch..

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how many times have you felt that you'v bought the wrong book?
i mean, just what DO you do when you're halfway (or worse, just started on less than the first 50 pages) of the book, and you realize the dreadful truth that you simply cannot go on with it.
compare that with some feverishly adored titles, titles where you could devour the entire series of four books in less than ten days. say... that would be close to like two and half days per book.. Go figure~!
which brings me back to the first question..
some of these are even "highly recommended bestsellers". either that, or they've been written by some bestselling authors. so not ALL of their works win your heart.. even though they are touted as bestselling.. the irony.
i guess it's more to my personal choice of lit then?
mystery? murder? family themed? or forbidden love?
how do you go about identifying which books to buy then? when even bestselling authors with bestselling titles like The Lovely Bones goes on to produce sadistic, uncomfortable, boring second titles like The Almost Moon?
sigh... books arent that cheap really here in kl... even after the occasional 30% off.. they're still considered kindof a splurge to me... (any single trip would have me ending up with at least three new ones..)
oh well... i guess it's really going to be up to me then.
as you stumble along, you'll learn to appreciate the path more right?
so now what do i do with my Coelho and Sebold?




another itch scratched...

swell~

another great piece of news to usher in December.... one of my favouritesst months of the year (yes, i am quite a bit greedy sumtimes... )

saw this while flipping through the New Straits Times at work yesterday near the tender announcement section....
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Malaysia in Top 10 Countries 2010
MALAYSIA has been chosen as one of the world’s top 10 countries for 2010 by Lonely Planet, the popular travel guidebook that recently published its fifth annual collection of the world’s best journeys, destinations and experiences for the coming year.

The Best In Travel 2010 presents the top 10 countries, regions and cities to visit in 2010, chosen by Lonely Planet’s global team members comprising authors, travellers and writers. Joining Malaysia in the list are El Salvador, Germany, Greece, Morocco, Nepal, New Zealand, Portugal, Suriname and USA.

Lonely Planet describes Malaysia as such: “Diversity is what Malaysia is all about. From chaotic and modern Kuala Lumpur to the near mystical wilds of Borneo, there are mountains to tackle, beaches to bake on, coral reefs to dive and malls to shop. And if this incredible geographical variety isn’t enough, wait till you meet the people. Malays live in rhythm to the mosque’s call to prayer, while just around the corner, garlands of marigolds are sold in front of towering Hindu temples and the sweet smells of incense emanate from ornate Chinese Buddhist clan houses. Top off a multi-cultural day with an Indian curry, Chinese noodles, Malay rice dishes with spicy sambal or the region’s most famous fusion dish, coconut-curry noodle laksa.”

The listing is even more meaningful as Malaysia is the only Asian country in the top 10 countries for 2010. Some of the events and festivals highlighted in the latest guidebook are Thaipusam, Harvest Festival in Sabah and Sarawak, Dragon Boat Festival in Penang as well as the Rainforest World Music Festival in Sarawak.

In addition, the guide has also identified Malaysia as one of the Best Value Destinations for 2010, promoting Malaysia as a clever choice for travellers on the lookout for a bargain.

Details at http://www.lonelyplanet.com/

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i was all smiles right after, and still am now.... XD




another itch scratched...