BIG BAD WOLF BOOK FAIR

http://www.bigbadwolfbooks.com/

The last time I remember it was held in Amcorp Mall. Lazy to go there. Now that it's held nearer to my office (the Fair is @South City Plaza) I made an effort and took advantage of the Friday long praying & lunch hours to head out there

This is my first time. Before I I stepped into the fair, I told myself strictly that "I cannot be tempted to buy so many books cause it's not entirely a good thing to overload on anything"

But I was soo wrong! About my own self. I binged on so many books just now!

Actually comparatively, I bought 'NOTHING' cause I see ppl buying boxes and boxes of books!!! So cheap marr. Sitting down in the cashier queue some more. Haizz, kerr lian..should bring cash marrr....tsk tsk.

But what's cool is that even if you buy sooo many books...you don't go pokai here. Most books are new titles and still soo cheap! RM8 only for a hard cover of your fav fiction from Ken Follett or Grisham to Rushdie!

A tip: Bring cash (thankfully I brought cash!) cause it reduces your over-buying of unnecessary books (books-that-u-don't-actually-read-but-because-it's-cheap-you-purchase-it) and the cash counter was sooooo much shorter and faster.

Queue

Another tip: Bring along (and make use of) a friend or your mum or dad. Ask them to queue for you while you slowly find your good books. Then make use of them again to bring those books back to the car for you.

I went alone, and I really couldn't carry all my books....so I literally dragged them to my car!

My box of books. Total of 13 books...

My personal opinion is that the travel books are a pretty good buy. Bought a book about diving sites in the world, SouthEastAsia travels, and about err...about Long distant running (don't ask me why, but because it's mere RM5.00)

Those books will last me a year. Enough of books!! Barely even open the latest book I bought 2 weeks ago.

2

Bought 2 books - one fiction, one non~

But that was more than 2 weeks ago.

Only read 2 pages of the first chapter.

Stalled for 2 weeks.

Will re-start reading in 2 days time.

Or only when 2 major reports-cum-presentations to GM is done.



The fiction I bought. 
The Man Booker's prize winner this year 2010.
The last Booker I read was 'Life of Pi' by Yann Martell which blew me off.
 I am hoping this will too.

Remember, Remember the 5th of November

V: It is to Madame Justice that I dedicate this concerto, in honor of the holiday that is sadly no longer remembered, and in recognition of the impostor that stands in her stead. Tell me Evey, do you know what day it is


Evey Hammond: Um, November the 4th.


V: *midnight church bells ring* Not anymore. Remember, remember the 5th of November. The gunpowder, treason, and plot. I know of no reason why the gunpowder treason should ever be forgot....
 
 

- V for Vendetta

 
 
I vote this as one of the best movie I've ever watched. All time fav!
 
Okay.. now back to ANTM S14.

The 1-day-extra Diwali weekend 2010

Happy Diwali everyone! My company handed me soo manyof their own Diwali cards that I didn't know what to do with them. Even my next door neighbour had one from me this year (signed, H333!).

The weekend started early. On Thursday itself, after teaching swimming, we all went to karaoke to sing until 3.00am. This time, the regulars were joined by singing expert all the way from Tawau - our dear friend Adam and his darling FY!

Friends and I

Adam and FY in KL for swimming and K

Slumber overnight at my apartment, the next day, we went breakfast....then I picked up my parents. We all viewed the house we're about to purchase at Kota Kemuning. Nice area. Then we went to Empire to jln jln  sambil mencari tempat untuk membuang duit. Of course, duit terus dibakar on my new toy. Pink is the new black.

Went back my apartment with my new toy. Asked my banker dad about the PCG ESOS shares that I bought. Testing and charging my new camera (blekk... new broom sweeps clean), whilst lazing at home with my dear friends and family....

A shot of  my apartment using new camera

Friends and family lazying at home cause outside too hot

.....before leaving for Nref's Laksa-Mahjong party! 

(the mahjong was supposed to be side-activity actually).....

Nref's simple cozy apartment

Dry swimming

It's the Kickass Penang Assam Laksa night!! Nref's recipe memang tepat dan lazat giler! She made rojak buah. She even made her own belacan rojak sauce. I brought my homemade Tomyam fried meehoon while other brought drinks. More importantly, we got hold of Eric's boozes (my Swing!). 

Everyone makan Penang ori assam laksa

Home-made rojak and rojak sauce.

My fav junk

Je's flower = Burst!

However, the night was dominated by 3 mahjong addicts. Shame on us :P Whole night was just 'dry swimming swimming swimming'. My ass wouldn't leave the mahjong table. Thanks to Nref for having a lan-tou person like me to your party.

My flowers, pak-pan, joker and fatt choy. This round, I 'pau' di!

The 'Red middle'

Today, planning to run at bukit jalil. Penang Bridge International Marathon is in 2 weeks time..which means i need to: *intensify my training*


I can't wait for this Sunday: Running in Adizero & Running in heels with my kakis (read: membuang duit again).

Whole

The only obsession everyone wants: ‘love’. People think that in falling in love they make themselves whole?!? The platonic union of souls?!

I think otherwise.

I think you’re whole before you begin. And the love fractures you. You’re whole, and then you’re cracked open.

— Philip Roth

 

http://intherain.org/?p=169

Octopussy

Exactly at October 19, 2010 is my 1st Anniversary in Petronas!

I am loving every single minute with my team since Day 1. The work fits my personality and their technical demands is in line with what I had done during my Ph.D. There are definitely stressful times (like now!), where your brains are worked up 24-7 and you thought you just had a power nap in the office which turned up to be an hour's sleep at work! Opps! Since 1st anniversary is always known as 'Paper' anniversary = I have to say that I am given papers and tonnes of reports to do (Quarterly report, Annual Report, Monthly Report, you name it). Konon I am good in English here and I've been writing scientific reports during my Ph.D. years (but errr, wait til they read my pasar English in this blog). And errr...I am actually supposed to simplify all scientific reports here to layman's report. So, kononlah I am good in scientific report which doesn't fit the requirement anyway! Wuahahaha.

My department ppl are such foodie ppl, that I get FOC food all the time - Nasi Arab, Nasi Lemak, Nasi whatever, Bakso, Roti Jala, Sphagetti, etc.. Obviously no one here lets me cook - tak halal marr. Which makes me the luckiest person here! I am already known to just bring my stomach. Okay, okay, I did bring a watermelon or an apple or two. Only when being coerced.



Hari Raya company open house. HUGE HUGE HUGE buffet. YUmmmms



Makaning on the floor :)

I am known as the coffee addict at office. Who doesn't know that, eh? My colleague made me stop drinking coffee cause she saw me I drink at least two cups while in office - and if there's a meeting, make that three. Balik rumah, drink again...

My team had a team photo recently. My superior said this would be a photo full of great memories; might be our last (we all know why *wink*). Don't we all look like we came out from some penitentiary or what!??!!

BTW, half of my working life is actually in this huge 'prison cell' a.k.a greenhouse that requires hard labour. No matter how tough it is, I kinda enjoy every minute of it, esp. when you can start to reap what you sow, literally.

'prison cell' with plants.

soo amazing. plants growing soo well. All my hard labour.

October was also my luckiest month cause I get to see Adam Lambert live in KL! VIP seats some more. *muaks FP* His Falsetto is totally True. Better than what u imagined on TV's American Idol. Flawless. Such a handsome guy, but he needs a bit of gym work out. Spot his flabby arms while he danced gayfully :P I am still dreaming of the chances of being with him.

Next: My Halloween Party at my apartment 30 Oct 2010 7.30 pm. Wait for my personal invite. I will personally PM y'all.

Theme: Halloween, of course (hint: bedak sejuk).

Bad Romance! LOL!!!

I was sooo exhausted from everything that has happened this few weeks. First, was I had literally a work overload which i initially thought I could cope, but I obviously couldn't. I went down sick last Wednesday due to stress (I was not sick for half a year already!). Then, came more reports to write; my company's kinda having their mid year appraisal; and last but not least, I had a disease called 'Procrastination' - which elevated whatever workload I already had!

I stumbled upon this video from a blog I followed. It totally cheered me up! It totally released 50% of my stress. You need to watch this: It made my day!!! I hope it made yours too. It would be one of the cutest skit ever done. One of the best music videos by Gaga, became this:



BTW, it reminded me of Chin Yee & Ling2's wedding where the heng-tais went up to sing Robbie William's "Better Man". They were all soooo brave and amazingly 'prepared'. HOWEVER, what would be more interesting is that, I am putting (imagining) if my friends were these students who did Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance".




Take care y'all! ZzzzZzzzZZZ

I am confused:

• Oh gosh, my blusher is running out. Nope it's actually more like - broken into pieces! I need one like right NOW. I'm confused: some say you can use your lipstick/lip gloss as blusher. Is that true?

• The first time in Pacific Coffee, I was immediately overwhelmed with awe with its interior. But I am confused: The wireless internet connection did go connect eventhough the baristas kept insisting the pwd and username was right (digi broadband rejected the pwd/username). Sheeesh....

• I can't find time to teach swimming; there's no more space for new members too. And yet I keep sayingYES to every new potential student: mostly ah chee ah chor who wants to bring their kids or themselves (aunties) to swim. Some as far as Kepong! I am confused: With myself, cause I always wonder why I can't say 'no'.  **errr...maybe the money's good? Incentive to work marr...

• I lost my pendrive (the new one). I hope I misplaced it somewhere in the car. I am confused: I think I remembered not bringing it out from my home. So then, where is it? Cannot be....so important!

• I told him YES that I'm coming, but now I decided to go against it. So, I am confused: With myself again!

• But one thing I am not confused. And I know I made the right decision by saying NO to the romantic approaches of:
• A married man (scandal giler!),
• A man who doesn't believe in marriage (he told me on the first date that marriage is pointless),
• A man who already has a gf (and what's worst, she was soo nice to me),

         in a span of a week!
   

Confused:Not confused is 5:1, therefore...

I am still confused.

I did a Social Experiment....

Early this February, I told my a dear friend that I was bored with FB. He was laughing it off. But I still am. Today, I am sick of it. There's nothing much to look in there in actual fact. All of ppl's rubbish and crap feelings, includ. mine, I admit. Gives you soooo much negativity, doesn't it? Emo. Some purportedly put these statuses up to gain sympathy and/or gain comments so that you can also sympathize with them. They demand a comment/response as if it is what they deserve. If, so, I prefer to meet face to face.


"So that everyone will care about what you feel" - Nope, that's not what I wanted in the first place. Many statuses are MISINTEPRETED. A whole hell lot of SPECULATION in FB; even positive msges can be speculative. It's useless. Sometimes, I do believe the status has no meaning in it. Many just simply click on 'like' although it has nothing to do with u at all. Don't perasan. What a shame to be trigger-happy on FB!! Tsk Tsk.

One time, I did a social experiment and post a nonsense msg (simply write a stupid depressed msg, which I totally create out of nothing :P ) - and guess what?! Ppl go and comment and wrote so-called 'positive' comments on it. Tricked! Kena bluffed. Hahahaha...For the fun of it.

Well, this is what FB is for anyway. For kaypoh ppl and sensitive ppl to dwell upon. As if what I wrote is true. I love social experiments; I made-up statuses on FB to see how perasan ppl react. I accept that it is a social media where ppl are sooo kaypoh and they start speculating what it actually meant, and eventually (as always) most ppl got the whole meaning WRONG! Gosh, I put up some sad song from YouTube, then they misinterpreted it that the status is about them or is about me being sad. Comments like: "Don't be to sad. Life will be better" pops up!? Huh? I shared a sad song, but that doesn't mean I am sad! That's why, I prefer Twitter where most status goes unnoticed! Maybe it's just me, I like low profile.

***Some ppl are perasan giler. Go get a life! Why do you think everything I say or DO must be related to you (sensitive!) or you must know (kaypoh). Who are you to me that demands my attention? Why some ppl so kaypoh in what you do on FB vs. ACTUALLY really meant? If I untagged my photos, it's just means that I don't like my facial expression and how I look in that photo, it DOESN'T MEAN ANY THING ELSE. NOTHING ELSE. IT DOESN'T MEAN I DISLIKE YOU BEING IN THE SAME PICTURE AS I, GET IT!?!?!?! My reasons are as simple as that. Why sooo sensitive and emo over what I do? Even my mum don't give a damn, why should you? Democracy - I get to do what I like to do. Thanks for being kaypoh over what I do on FB. Get a life of your own, pls! Fuck off.

Lately, I've been receiving all sorts of negative stuffs and connotations in FB. Worst still, it has been clogging up my mailbox. Gmail allows you to prioritize your emails lately, but to me, it's still a whole lot of mails. I created a new gmail solely for my FB msg already....

Yes...which ultimately leads to what I am about to say: I am quitting FB. Just FB. No one knows what happens to me anymore. But if you do, then Twitter me. Or Buzz me. Or chat with me (I need to say this too: I loathe FB chats!; interface sucks). Want to go out yum cha? - call me. Also, my company is slowly monitoring on websites that staffs are surfing on. I don't want to be top of the chart and/or being categorized as an FB-addict at work. :P I am totally moving away (I'll try).

I believe it will remove all negativity that some fb-friends have indirectly imposed upon me. If you wanna see me, or miss me, then text me....like it always have been. Come out face-to-face to meet. I am sooo willing! SMS me whenever u like. Don't FB me as it'll not be read. Though I know u like to pose all your happy pics (just like I did before), I don't give a damn anymore. I am posting all my pics in Picasa.

I won't lose anything. I won't lose True friends. I won't lose connectivity. I've seen many of my friends not having/not updating FB, and lose nothing. That's what I call Life.

So, want to know what I do daily then? .....

...."DON'T SOOO KAY POH LAH"....

P/S: This is also a social experiment for me, to see if I can live for months/years without FB.




Fullstop to FB.

The L word

As ppl move on, I don't think if this post will ever bring much meaning to many. Many of my friends has passed this stage. And a stage where I believed will never get out off. A stage where love was still not found, or yet to be found and where I loneliness seemed inevitable. I am late to mature; I am late to have found real love or to be truly loved. A time where I almost believe that I should only devote everything to myself (and love myself selfishly) and devote to myself alone because no one else ever will. Past experiences have led me to believe that Love was never there. I am afraid to admit, but as much as I want Love, it's difficult for me to receive it. Past experiences has dissappointed me ample times, leaving me unable me to let love into my life. I query Love. I always sabotage all love that I received because deep down, I thought I'd never deserve it. I am told that good things come unexpectedly and good things come to ppl who are patient. I hope this is true.

Lately, I have shown aloofness to my many, dampening off any of their hopes into digging into my life further. They try to korek (actually you don't have to. If you are sincere in asking, I will tell u everything about myself. EVERYTHING). No one needs to korek anything from me. When I tell you, it certainly does mean that I WANT TO tell you. And if I don't feel like telling you about my life, you expect answers such as: "I'm doing great!" (a partial lie), or "Just the same old me lahh" (3/4 lie) or better even "Nothing new lately" (that's definitely a lie!). Don't ask me; I will tell you. Don't dig; let me tell you.

I am such a big-prawn head ( I am proud of it, for I share a similar trait to Thomas Edison :P). That is why I try to keep one of the date in July 2010 glued into my brains, repeating it daily, making sure I'll never forget it: 2*July 2010. The day where I could not stop myself from wondering if the decision that was made that day was a dream or reality. It was all too quick, but it was a Yes - a subtle acceptance has caused my soul to go into a to stir, a battlezone between my stubbornness and pure imminence. My brains and heart battles hard between "What have I gotten myself into?? versus "I want this, cause I have always been waiting for this moment". Nevertheless, I am grateful for his kind, caring and sincere love shown to me til now. The bravest man I've ever met!

When you get into a r/ship, the whole environment changes. All your selfish devotions to your ownself now translates to US or WE.  Less of I or Me. I pray to change. Change me into a person who is not selfish (hyper-independence syndrome :)) , and able to love and accept love. I do not want to dissappoint, but pls give me time to change. Give me time to accept your kindness and care. Allow me to make mistakes.

I am ready. But give me time. Give me time to start loving again. Give me time to allow love to enter  into my life (once more).


July is coming to an end and I wonder what has gotten into me cause I just realised that this is my first post of the month. Compared to the previous years, I was more actively updating my blog compared to this year. This month alone, yes...only ONE. There's always a first time for everything. :)