bleached 'mind' .. 'cleaner' post

have bleached my 'mind' ... so can get a cleaner post, me hope :)

Average 5.8%
... that's how much salary increase likely to be in Malaysia in 2006
quote : The Sun, Mercer Human Resource Consulting
self talk : and how's that supposed to be enough for us (me in particular)
.. no need to eat & yam cha ah? no need to put petrol ah? no need to buy clothes, shoes & 'ban leng leng' ah? no need pay bills meh? no need to ....
consider yourself lucky if you get more than that :)
however, if you are in the following industries, you may get a higher average
power sector : 6.9%
pharmaceutical sector : 6.3%
consumer goods secotr : 5.7% (this one lower abit)

6.25%
the BLR (Base Lending Rate) w.e.f 4/12/2005
previously it was at 6%.
rise in BLR will translate to higher cost of borrowings for consumers with housing & car loans as well as for business. Commercial banks are likely to raise their BLR after BNM's (Bank Negara Malaysia) announcement of hike in OPR (overnight policy rate)
don't ask me what is OPR ... yet to check what's that yet :p
However, deposits with the bank (savings/fixed deposits/any form of deposits) may earn you higher interest rates :)
self talk : had not been saving, so shall make 'saving' one of my resolution for 2006 :p
now me know, one man's meat could be another man's poison..

T+7
.. the new time frame for settlement of share purchases (soon to be implemented, decided 23/12/2005)
previously it was T+3 (meaning transaction date plus 3 trading days)
source : The Sun 24/12/2005
brokers can finance their clients for the period between T+4 and T+7.
It was believed that this will eventually lead to
... higher volume of shares traded when market sentiments improves by wooing retailers back to stock market
... benefitting momentum trader or speculators more
... more contra trading (where traders doesn't pay full cost of shares, just paying for loss or receiving from profit of the trafe)
... better trading volumes

1 second
the time delay for new year day 2006
Source : The Sun 29/12/2005 - Reuters -
23:59 on 31/12/2005 .. we will enjoy a minute with 61 seconds :)
scientist are delaying the start of 2006 by the first "leap second' in 7 years, a timing tweak meant to make up for changes in the Earth's rotation.
how? you ask
By sticking an extra second into atomic clocks worldwide at the stroke of midnight Coordinated Universal Time, the widely adopted international standard (US National Institute of Standards and Technology)
self talk : me try not to blink my eyes. doesn't want to miss this 1 second.

女人不坏，男人不爱

女人不坏，男人不爱

need not re-read the above phrase =p
you didn't read incorrectly
neither me wrote wrongly

me never really like people who smoke until recently
but me tried smoking
.. but regretted me didn't finish 1 whole batang
.. and didn't got the technique right
thinking of trying again =p

last time in the 'car wash' post ..
me think me left some important points
me .. besides like to wash car .. actually like to climb car too =p
err... not climb INTO car but climb ON TOP of car
* hehe..if can prance & dance around, better =p
and climb ON TOP of someone's car me did
the owner angry or not me not sure =p
what me sure ... the feeling was great

that night, me was very happy =)
accomplished 2 feats =)
and discovered that
' 我本来就是个坏女人啊， 不必去扮 ' =P

Santa was very kind to me

Remember what they used to say ...
'you don't get present from santa if you're naughty'

even in the song of 'santa claus is coming to town' ... it sings
.. you better watch out
.. you better not cry
.. you better not shout
.. I'm telling you why
.. santa claus is coming to town
.. he's making a list .. checking it twice
.. gonna find out who's naughty n nice **note this sentence =p **

me have been naughty all year long
especially so on christmas eve =p
yet santa was very kind to me ... gave me much more than me asked for
Thank you very much, santa claus =)

ps. were they lying when they say 'you don't get present from santa if you're naughty' or it doesn't matter because those present doesn't come from santa =p

“Pearl of the orient? Not food court of the orient meh?”

Day 2 ...

sleep .. sleep .. sleep
some very noisy handphone were stuck to the tent
play.. play.. play
no idea what 'wake up' songs were played
wake..wake..wake
but me actually need more sleep !! =p

no brush teeth .. no wash face .. no comb hair
eat bread, use nescafe to gargle =p while smiling happily for the camera =)

pack..pack..pack
chee seng asked " where's the tent plastic cover?"
find ..find.. find
not found
see..see..see
the tent cover is in his bag ... aiyoyo

walk..walk..walk
breathe.. breathe..breathe
came out of the jungle liao

sleep..sleep..sleep
reach cheese's home liao
queue..queue..queue
take bath liao

then we go
eat.. eat .. eat
then sleep..sleep..sleep
reach kek lok si
pray.. pray .. pray
hope everyone safe & healthy

sleep .. sleep .. sleep
reach market selling 'tambun biscuits'
negotiate.. negotiate ..negotiate
bought 13 boxes of tambun biscuits
find..find..find
found stall selling famous 'teow chew cendol'
cough .. cough .. cough
also don't care .. makan juga

talk .. talk .. talk
suddenly want go Tambun for seafood
wait .. wait .. wait
finally got ferry
blow..blow wind
reach mainland ferry terminal
sleep .. sleep .. sleep
reach seafood restaurant liao

round .. round..round
then only got parking
stand.. stand .. stand
then only got table to sit
order..order..order
then only got foods to eat
knock.. knock .. knock
tear .. tear .. tear
then only got crab meat eat
count..count..count
then only 'mai dan' (pay)

sleep..sleep..sleep
reach island
remind .. remind.. remind
'someone' to buy toothbrush
pusing .. pusing .. pusing
then only go yam char
choose.. choose .. choose
then only settle for starbuck
chat..chat..chat
then only realised coffee sudah habis
chat..chat.. chat
then only willing to leave
snap..snap..snap
then only realised digicam no battery

sleep..sleep..sleep
reach cheese's home liao
watch.. watch..watch TV
movie..mandarin speaking
wash..wash..wash
everyone got ready to sleep
sleep .. sleep .. sleep
cannot sleep (coz daytime sleep too much liao =p
look.. look.. look
ceiling nothing to see
then disturb .. disturb chai yee
think .. think .. think
drink cough mixture to sleep =p
drowsy..drowsy..drowsy
and it works !!

sorry if the sleep..sleep..sleep appeared too many times. but me afraid that's the frequency it occured. can't help it =p
' duo duo yuan liang '

“Pearl of the orient? Not food court of the orient meh?”

Day 1 ...
"Rain rain go away, come again another day" best sum it all
It was literally raining for about 24 hours alternating between drizzle, showers and raining cats & dogs .. and that according to Addy's was because he was singing all the way

• Chai yee route : her home – my home – keef home – foong ling home. Don’t know why but girls couldn’t help comparing … including sizes of luggages :p however, our main concern was whether addy’s car can accommodate all ?
• Tmn Segar petronas station : fill petrol, buy tid bits & Saturday The Star newspapers .. that reveals that everyone is looking for some new job opportunities.
• Kampar : this is where we stopped for breakfast .. the ‘duck thigh herbal soup mee’ is really delicious especially on a rainy morning. Me think me can gulp down another bowl if not because me reserve my stomach for more food in penang :p
• Penang : penang bridge is much longer than me thought and we paid 7 bucks for it :) just arrived and we travel around town like pro. Thanks to our ‘KL – turned - PENANG DRIVER’ :p
• Giant – Pragin Mall : where we got our food stuffs for camping tonight … bread & tuna spread, cakes & biscuits, snacks, muesli bars, mineral water … wanted to get more but since me not willing to carry them hiking, so has to eat lesser loh =p
• Pragin Mall : ‘Cheese’ our unofficial tour guide was working half day thus we are to meet him after work. Me lost count how many times we past 'that' shop and took the escalator before we settled at Metrojaya. But by then, sorry gals, me really no more energy liao to look at the nice clothes…me need to eat (was hungry) & sleep (thanks to the cough mixture) And when Chee Seng finally arrived and said "ngor dei hui sik yeh shin" (we go eat first).. me was the happiest person around :D
• Makan place near cheese’s home : we eat, eat, eat & drink. Since the ‘renter’ didn’t managed to get us the camps, the guys has to do the hard work of getting the tents from TESCO while we gals go home, bath & pack. All were drenched wet except me..hehe :p why? because me selfish lo.. doesn’t let others shade under the umbrella that doesn’t belong to me :p
• Chee seng’s home : cheese’s friend (that time still dunno name) came but seeing us (very noisy gals) inside, refused to come in.. despite numerous attempts to invite him in :p now, we wonder…are we that scary??
• Tmn Negara Pulau Pinang : it was about 5pm++ and we were sort of rushing as we want to reach the beach before it gets dark. Got ourselves registered before embarking on ‘journey to the west’ =p pity the guys, they had to carry all the heavy heavy things, some more had to take care of us =p nevertheless thank you very much =) in the jungle everyone is ‘ah bingo’ and surprisingly ..we still have energy to take photos =) At one point, foong ling slipped and twisted her ankle with the ‘crak’ sound, we were worried but she is definitely one brave girl, continue hiking with us to the beach.
• The beach : It was dark when we arrived. Mosquitoes are chasing us around happily …it’s their feast day =p me learnt to set up camp =) we decided to have our camp under the open sky instead of the hut. While the guys are busy looking for fire woods on a rainy day?? we gals attend to foong ling’s injured feet. The foods were tasty. Weren’t they? Sorry but I need to tell you all this … I prepared those tuna & salmon sandwiches with the same pair of hand me used to massage foong ling’s legs. And you wonder why you can’t help but have a second piece =p
• Round-fire camp : honestly, me really enjoy the time when we sit around the kerosene lamp (made-belief campfire) eating, chatting and singing our hearts out. Only then we got to know cheese’s friend’s name is Jeff. He really can sing like our local talent ‘Pin Guan’ and our friend Addy was not bad either :p even our shy friend Chee Seng started singing chinese songs too :p allow me to say this : at one point of time when the 3 guys were singing, me felt like we are a bunch of lucky gals being serenaded with songs .. yah, me know that’s silly :p singing is a temptation, me think me forgot I’m a girl, threw my cautions to the wind and started singing never mind the missing lyrics =p
• Jetty at night : it was windy & chilly there. A lot of people were fishing and ketam’ing. The walk at the beach was romantic =p but the trip to toilet wasn’t. Imagine going into a dark filthy toilet with your torchlight along =p no simple feat.
• Inside camp : if it's not because the rain was getting heavier and camp started to collect water, we wouldn’t have moved back to the hut. Chee Seng and Jeff went to sleep in the rain, holding the umbrella on top of the tent with his leg .. salute =p we played cards, and being one of the loser, me posed ugly for photo but nothing beats Addy’s ‘gam yu lou’ look =p
  With Addy and a deck of cards around, you’ll hardly not have tarot reading :p so we started to see who’s the …. Ranging getting rich fastest, changing jobs, getting married, most children, who’s the most dislikeable person, most clumsy, most ‘dai tao ha’
• Tidur time : " I’ve been robbed off my innocence" that’s what you get when you put 4 gals & a guy in a 6-men tent. Now we wonder what happened?? =p

“Pearl of the orient? Not food court of the orient meh?”

Me feel there’s a need to mention this… :p
Me have been receiving SMSes for me to update the blog.
I’m sorry oh.. as compensation me try to give a more detailed itineries :)

Year-end holidays will not be complete without a trip … well, for me at least =p
So when there was a suggestion to go on a ‘makan’ trip … there’s no way me not joining =p

Prelude
As with any other days before me going for trips … anything at work doesn’t and cannot affect me, not even nasty customers =p me was nastier * sneaky grin *
Waking up every 2 to 3 hours to look at the time wasn’t a fun thing to do especially when lack of sleep.
Pai seh :p my father has to wake up 5.30am just to make sure me not still sleeping. Yah..me know me can sleep better than pig :p

a more-spacious home

a more-spacious home ...
not me, but my tortoises really need it.
It dawn on me one day, that they can sue me for negligence ... because me not looking after their welfare :p torturing them by not providing a conducive living environment :p
try imagine 2 palm size tortoises in a standard small plastic aquarium, they can't even stand side by side without being on top of each other. don't think they have much spaces left to move about. now you know how horrible me can be :p

have thought of buying a new more-spacious home for them ... but just didn't know why days passed and me had still not bought them their new home. me guess me thought me was buying a home for myself gua ;p

the tortoises are lucky :) fortunately at last, someone ... a good samaritan actually bought me to look high and low for their home, then only found a more-spacious home for them. else the tortoises may have to suffer in the cramp aquarium for another - don't-know-how-many-days - ( or weeks)

here i'm .. on behalf of my tortoises (n myself :p) would like to say 'thank you' to the 'good samaritan' :)

ps. this good samaritan taught me something as well ... "it's the thought that counts" :p

no more ...

1. Open your wallet or purse
2. Look into it ... do you see any more gold coins denoting RM1 or $ 1 ?
3. If you find any, well they are now souvenirs :p

Me was digging out coins to buy chinese newspapers (night edition) when me found a few gold coins. Then only it strike me that ....
Effective 7/12/2005, RM 1 coin is no longer legal tender.

will miss those gold coins ...
but me happy because go supermarket, trolley no need to insert coins liao :p

photos

today after attending norhayati's wedding reception, we went to chai yee home ... memang sengaja sibuk sibuk.
me couldn't believe me occupying so much of chai yee's time to look at her photo collections... ok, mine was never complete ... some here, some there, some dunno where.

as we look through the photos ... both hard copies & soft copies ... stories unfold, trying to remember what happened when the photo was taken ... trying to relive the emotions during then .. trying to remember how fun was it and what we had been through
it is true that they say "photos capture the moments"

still not enough, at night, me even looked through the photos again ...
photos, they can be addictive ... especially those with happy smiles ;)

who?

got experience before?
... got sms from someone which you had given your number to, but can't remember who? =p
especially sometimes when you met someone in a rush, you gave them your number and ask them to either miss call or sms you,
then only receive the sms a few days later
by then, me cannot remember who is who liao, might have asked a few people to do same thing within that few days ...
me think next time better ask people give me their numbers, then me miss call them or sms them =)

open house that open minds

me really enjoy open house, not only can have opportunity to try nice foods
also opportunity to meet back alot of friends ... some we didn't meet for years

was at zarul's open house last saturday, meet alot of schoolmates last time ... it was a wonderful day never mind the heavy rain ... would have regretted if me was not there.
strange ... how friends can remember our names and me kept mismatching their names & faces =p
ahmad fadzly became ahmad fadzil
lutfi became hanafi
couldn't remember rizal, azrin, aishah ...

we talked about so many things, about everyone we know .... last time till present, also about future
suddenly feel that everyone is progressing very fast except me
Nur Affendy studied aerospace & currently with NASA Malaysia...
'Ah Pai' actually qualified to the 3rd stage (9 candidates left) under the pemilihan angkasawan malaysia nationwide
nadiatul syima is working as enforcement officer
forgot who became lecturer
rizal came with wife ayu ( a down to earth girl me enjoyed talking to)
a few street away, Riyas was having kenduri kahwin

also to share ... pretty girls do get more attention =p
because the very first thing our guy friends asked me is this
" thong siew leng sekarang macamana? lebih cantik dari dulu? "

next time me know, me can't be so 'chou lou' =p
a girl has to learn to duduk bersimpul (if sitting on the floor) ... both legs together folded one side either left or right and not with the legs crossing one another

will try to post the photos when adilla email to me =)
and we plan to have a 'huge gathering' for all of us =)
was told they had organised a 'buka puasa' gathering earlier and met alot of long-time-no-see friends

why do stars twinkle?

why do stars twinkle?

because it is a long long journey =)
stars twinkle because their light has to pass through several miles before it reaches the eyes of an observer
remember last time in physics we learn about 'pembiasan' =)
eg. how a coin at the bottom of swimming pool seems to wobble from side to side?
similarly, stars twinkle because their light has to pass through several miles of earth's atmosphere before it reaches our eyes.
It is as if we are looking up at the universe from the bottom of the swimming pool

modified from "ask the expert" column - The Star, Sunday 20/11/05

if got time, try looking at the sky for stars, you'll find them smiling & twinkling their eyes at you ;)

happy

visited http://chengkim.blogspot.com/
me guess these few days are happy days ...
me happy too ... also don't know why =)
happiness is so simple yet sometimes we think it's hard to get =)
ironic isn't it?
read somewhere " we thought comfort & luxury were the chief requirements, yet all we need to be happy is something to be enthusiastic about (look forward to)

fridge n now washing machine

fridge ... washing machine
me guess they need rest & rejuvenation too =)

just around 2 to 3 months back, the fridge at my home was not a fridge =p
... was basically just a storage area which consume electricity
... doctor (the foreman) say "your fridge need to 'masuk gas' and change organ 'thermo-something'
... and the hospitalisation & surgery fees cost about rm500++ (got kena tipu or not ... me dunno)
... me suggest maybe buy new one better loh... but my mother say 'give fridge a chance, maybe after fridge recover, it'll be better"

and now
washing machine also 'fall sick' liao
refused to help wash our clothes ... perhaps too tired from so many years of washing.
now me considering whether should let go this and get a new one
one thing for sure ... any one me choose will also need money

haha...me think fridge & washing machine 'pakat' one ... they know usually bonus will come near year end ... so clever =p

Sparks fly

It’s Friday night and sparks fly …… from the electric cables in front of opposite row of homes.
The same thing happened before near a friend’s house in midah http://p4n6.blogspot.com/2005_03_01_p4n6_archive.html
There were sparks flying … at one point traveling across the cable from right to left (it was a sight to behold actually but I didn’t managed to capture it like pang did)
Lucky nothing happen to the cars park below the cable.

As busybody as I’m … I go sibuk, aunties opposite house asked if me can call TNB.
So ‘103’ me dialed to get TNB no. ‘15454’
A report was lodged and my details taken … they afraid me making pranks call gua =p
Cik Siti : kita akan hantar technician ke alamat cik
Me : agak-agak bila ye? (asking because need to go fetch my sister)
Cik Siti : secepat mungkin

True to her words, less than 30 minutes, a medium TNB service vehicle came with 3 techicians looking for me. So me let them know what happened.
As soon as me finish talking & pointing, I was surprised when they got back into their vehicles and one of the guy said " kita balik report dulu" …. Off they went.
I stood there at the gate for a while … did nothing … at that moment, my mind couldn’t register what happened.
Remember me came into the house telling my mother " ask them to come repair, they go minum kopi woh"

Around 10.30pm++ after come back from fetch sister, someone pressed doorbell looking for me … thought friend … only to be informed he’s from TNB.
That guy is on motorbike … what can he do? I was puzzled??? Did the 3 technician ‘balik report dulu’ and now they send a technician on motorbike???
Again, me ‘replay’ the story … wondering the earlier 3 technicians ‘balik report dulu…report apa??’

Then me purposely mentioned "tadi sudah ada orang TNB datang, tapi sekejap sudah cabut loh’ =p
Poor chap explained "oh, itu tadi medium size, nanti kita hantar truck besar datang"
Me : ini sudah lewat ada kerja lagikah? 24 jam ah? Servis banyak bagus woh =)

Me don’t care lah… tomorrow me no at home =p hehe
If they are coming, should know what to do when ‘truck besar datang’
… I sudah cakap ulang 3 kali loh, encik =p


ps.. haha… me think either my communication skill very bad that no one understand what I say OR me must be a great liar that they need 5 people ….the telephone operator, the 3 technicians and another technician on bike to check whether I’m telling truth before they can take action =p kekekek

your money & you

me sleepy so couldn't think of anything better =p
___________________________________________________________
come this 12 - 13 November 2005
there will be a FINEX ... FInancial Expo 2005 at Mid Valley Exhibition Centre, Hall 3.
time is from 10am - 8pm

" how to be sen-wise and ringgit-smart : for once, you can pick the brains of the experts"
" finally, all you want to know about making money work for you and taking prudent steps to protect your resources. Come talk to the movers and shakers of the industry and find out more about the latest development in the financial world. Be money-savvy!"
"learn more, earn more"
____________________________________________________________
source : The Sun 10/11/05

most probably me going on 13/11
anyone??

WATER – what’s water to you?

Once, there is a small ‘fish’ living in an aquarium yet doesn’t know the existence of water.
Only upon having the opportunity to jump out of the aquarium, small ‘fish’ discovered that it has been living in water.

Youth to some people is like water in the aquarium. Upon losing it, only realized youth & time were wasted. We only come to realize its preciousness when we no longer have it.

What about you, my friend?
Have you neglected your youth?
Live life to the fullest..so that life is ‘mo yin mo fui’ …no regret

I love this short voice tag aired over MY fm cause it strike me hard, right at my heart.
Pardon my no-good translation. However, if have chance, catch it over radio

Mirror in lift – what are they for?

Ever thought what are mirror in lift for?

Some say it’s for us to adjust our clothing before stepping out of lift.
Some say it’s to create a sense of vastness in the lift
However, it’s actually to enable handicapped persons on wheelchair to maneuver themselves without the need to turn around.

No matter how open our minds are, we tend to view things from our perception first.
(sorry…I forgot what was the last line lah)

Another short voice tag which me think is true especially the last part…
This one is by Lee Chung Shen, also aired over MY fm.
There are more but meanwhile these are the 2 me can remember

Woke up LOL

It could be the holiday mood
Me didn't know me capable of waking up LOL =D
Had a hilarious dream … one that made me LOL in my sleep and find myself laugh till wake up.
It was 4.39am.
ps. me woke up liao and watch a cantonese movie "ngor zor ngan gin do guai" translated "my left eye see ghost" .. nice watch =)

Me don’t think had experienced this previously (maybe I had but I didn’t wake up)
Strange ... me laughing but couldn't remember what made me laugh non-stop.
just remember last scene was
I swayed my hand towards a guy head and said ‘soh ga lei?’ translated ‘gila wan ah u?’ or ‘crazy wan ah u?’

Tried to recall while brushing my teeth but nothing came back.
Guess it’s best left that way.
How nice if we get happy dreams like that always =D

Happy Deeparaya

wishes all our friends .. Happy Deepavali & Selamat Hari Raya Aidifitri !!! ; )
me know a bit late =p
what's nice about malaysia ... we get longer holidays & more fun when they are joint celebrations =)
read in THE STAR the other day that neighbours ... a muslim family & a hindu family eating halal 'loh-sang' .... that's the beauty =)

as usual, some nice quotes from print advert

Astro : time can never dim the light. It can only make it shine all brighter. Happy Deepavali
Calsberg : An ancient tamil proverb says "When blesses with benefits, share it round, so the world is improved too" Happy Deepavali
Petronas : Tunaikan tanggungjawab dengan ikhlas, tanpa mengharap balasan. Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri.
Honda Malaysia : hari raya aidilfitri kunci penyatuan, maaf dipohon dan restu dipinta, raikan bersama sanak saudara dan rakan taulan, semoga siralturahim erat sentiasa.
TM : united we stand, divided we fall. TMcelebrates the spirit that is uniquely Malaysian.
Digi : because there's no limit to a child's imagination in traditional story telling. For this year's joint celebration, share this tradition with your children and you will give our past a future. besides entertainment, story telling also helps bond families and friends.