Celebration, Food and Laughter

Yesterday nite has been one fantastic night. Managed to celebrate a very good friend's birthday yesterday at Penang Village in USJ. You must be wondering, out of so many food reviews on places to eat by "Joe who's constantly craving" why did I choose Penang Village. I actually wanted to try the new restaurant he just recently introduced at Mid Valley but we made the reservations much earlier and also due to the fact the birthday gal was a Penang food fanatic. So a friend actually suggested this place.

We had a superb night. Food and laughter with great company, what more can a girl ask for. We really did enjoy ourselves, non-stop laughing, I mean literally, we couldn't stop laughing at every single thing. ( I think the people at the outlet probably think we just escaped out from Tj. Rambutan asylum or something like that).

After satisfying our hunger we went to Baskin Robbins for cake and candle-blowing. Where else can you go? Not the normal Secret Recipe of course. We had to find something different. Why the clown cake? Cos we're a bunch of clowns. Hahahahah!!! No, really, we totally have so much fun, "clowning" around, hence the Tj. Rambutan asylum description earlier.

Anyway, Happy Birthday Andrena. It's been great knowing you all these years!!!!!

Food galore below.

(Hae Bee Butter squids)

I'll admit overall the food was up to par. I especially love the Hae Bee buttered squids. Yummy. So creamy and the smell of the Hae Bee as you sink your teeth into it, it's totally out of this world.

(Char Kuey Teow)

My Char Kuey Teow was delightful. Just the right taste, not too oily, and huge prawns. I have always thought that in KL, Mdm Kwan and Little Penang Cafe do really good Char Kuey Teow but this restaurant's got the kick.

(Otak-Otak)

The otak-otak was really first class. You can actually see succulent fish meat inside it, unlike some, where you can only taste a bit of fish taste and not see a single fish inside it. So thumbs up for this.

(Kam Heong Tofu)

Another extraordinary dish was the kam heong tofu. This is the first I've ever tried such a dish. Usually it's kam heong prawns or chickens but tofu, not bad. The tofu, I'm not too sure whether they used actualy tofu and fried it or they used tofu "pok" (I've no idea what it's called in English) but the taste was exquisite. Something totally different and I'll definitely call for it the next time I'm there.

The only slack was the asam laksa and the red bean cendol. The asam laksa had a too strong fishy taste, not sour and spicy enough. So, didn't really like it. The cendol was a total disaster. I'm not sure whether they put too much ice-shavings inside but there was not gula melaka taste at all.

All things considered, I'll give the food an 8 out or 10.

Thank you

Hallelujah! (This is actually an email I received from a colleague, congratulating me on my last day today, stating just that, in BOLD RED!)

No! No! I'm not filled with the Holy Spirit while I write this (though I wouldn't mind). Today is my last day as a slave in the "legal loan shark" company. It has been a long wait. 3 whole months and the feeling is not entirely pure bliss.

I'll admit that I have had pretty good colleagues here, real sporty and outgoing as well as crazy times we've all had when out of office or during office events. We've had our fair share of arguments on projects, disagreements on how things are done but in the end, it's been the friendship, the bonding session over a bowl of char siew rice that makes everything worthwhile. I'm definitely going to miss the yam cha sessions after work. All in all, it's a bittersweet moment as I left today.

It's finally hit home after I got back that it's finally happened. I supposed that I should be doing "the dance" to celebrate my freedom but I'm beginning to miss them already.

So, today's entry, is a tribute to the guys from "you-know-what-bank".

Joyous experiences I've encountered,

Memories etched in my heart,

Kindness that touched me,

Brings deep meaning to life,

Reminiscenes of bittersweet memories,

Still brings a smile to my face,

Friendships that I've gained,

Will be cherished forever.

Thanks guys for making it such a fantastic working experience.

Damn Streamyx

Damn Streamyx. The connection was so slow yesterday; I can’t even login to blogspot, let alone update a new entry yesterday. I wonder whether I can upload this tonight since I usually type out my blog somewhere before I actually post it up. I’m hoping that the new broadband connection that’s “supposed” to be coming in to Malaysian waters will be much better than Streamyx. I’m talking about WiMAX.

If I remembered correctly, there were 4 major companies who gotten the bid and they are Asiaspace Dotcom, Redtone-CNX Broadband, Bizsurf (a unit of YTL Corp) and Packet One Networks, but (I’m gloating here) that TM didn’t get it. I mean, come on, give others the chance. Just because you dominate the entire country in telecommunications doesn’t mean you’re the best. Proven already many times, one of it was yesterday. I will give them leeway, as in there will always be a chance where the connection might go haywire once in a while, but the frequency of it happening at least once a month or even more is starting to irritate me. That shows that something is seriously wrong there. So I’m still waiting here. Starting to have cobwebs growing out of my hair. But still no sign of WiMAX yet.

Let’s speculate a little, one reason WiMAX is taking so long to get started is probably because after the deal has been signed, there still needs to be the construction of the IT platform, location picking bla bla bla. I’ve no idea in these matters. Or another reason could be because certain “authorities” decides that, no way we’re letting all these big-ass companies take over the broadband industry. What’s going to happen to our “baby Streamyx” if they’re better than us? Then, start improving your service, dim-witted people!! You’ve gotten so much $$, you can build a whole kingdom of infrastructure! Think about that for a second! It’s all possible, if only you would spend the time and $$ in R&D, rather than idling away!!!

Sigh. I better not go on. You know how it’s like. We are free to actually voice out our opinions but only opinions that are soothing to “their” ears, if you know what I mean. I won’t elaborate further.

I'm not surprised

KL lure for Middle Eastern tourists. This is the title of an article in TheStar online metro section today. There has been more and more Middle East (ME) tourist here in KL and I personally sometimes think that I’ve just stepped into an Arabic Land . That’s how I feel each time I go out for lunch at Bukit Bintang (BB) area. There seems to be more of ME tourist from the month of June till August. That’s what the hotels here call it, the Middle East season. I’ve not gotten the chance to actually find out why they all flock to Malaysia during these few months, other than I know it must be some school holiday and probably because Malaysia is claimed to be an islamic country by many politicians here.

It’s funny how all these shops started mushrooming in BB area, are putting emphasis on the ME feel. I mean we’ve seen a steady stream of tourist from all over the world, bus loads of tourists from China and Taiwan but how come there aren’t any shops opening with the entire Chinese feel to it? I’ve gone shopping at KLCC too many times and it is hard not to notice the armful of designer shopping bags, on the arms of ME tourists. I’m beginning to think that the businesses out there are targeting the ME tourists because they’re not that conscious of their spending but just keep on spending and spending, hence more shops to target their $$ instead. I’m not that surprised if this is one of the reasons behind the mushrooming of increasingly popular ME stores. Well, I’m not complaining, as long as there’s no riot, or any bombings. They’re supporting the economy. I’m totally fine with that.

Another thing that surprises me though is when these ME women are all dressed to cover up; their children are totally the opposite. They’re dressed in skimpy outfits, spaghetti strap tops, or clothes that are too short that they show their belly buttons. What’s with that? I mean, is that how you do it? Just because they can’t wear these outfits, they dress their kids in all these clothes. I mean no disrespect. I’m just curious as to why they do so that’s all. All these cultures really fascinate me but at the same time I find them really weird. I can’t seem to understand the concept. A little help here maybe from anyone who understand??

Still it feels a little weird to be surrounded in all black hooded women. Scares the shit out of me, especially when you’re walking at night and then some hooded figure suddenly stands beside you, I mean waiting for the traffic light to cross the road. What were you thinking??

Being a responsible parent

I’d love to start this entry with loads of swear and vulgar words as that’s how I feel now, KKNCCB, %*@@##!!!. Pissed to the core. Recently I have been splurging quite a bit, not only for myself but for those close to me. My fiancée’s sister’s (let’s just call her Samantha) desktop just “died” on her. Since I love her so much, I decided to buy her a notebook. No, I’m not some rich datin where I can afford to give everyone a new notebook but since she hasn’t been that lucky in getting a new computer, I became Santa Claus for a day. Got her a new Acer notebook, with minimal features, just enough for her to surf the internet to do research, sufficient for her to do her assignments and of course not forgetting her much adored DVD-rom. She’s an avid fan of all TVB series. I mean, come on, every student surely needs time to unwind with their favourite pastime, and hers happens to be watching TVB series. J

Well, she brought back the notebook back to her hometown last weekend, and being the kind-hearted soul she was, she consented to allow her cousin’s son to play some games inside her notebook. But being a child with another younger sister, you know how kids play rough. They fought over playing the notebook and somehow they managed to cause a hairline crack on the screen. I know, you’ll be swearing up and down. When Samantha called me, I thought that it was a small crack. That night, she brought over the notebook and my GOD!! It was not hairline crack. There are 2 bloody big cracks all the way from bottom to the top. And here’s the ultimate, she said the kid’s mother, Catherine won’t be paying for the repairs. She blames Samantha for the crack, saying that she shouldn’t have let her kids play with the notebook in the first place. Yes I know, it may sound quite true to a certain extent, Samantha shouldn’t have let the kids play with the notebook, but come on, I mean, let’s say, you go out to the shopping complex, your kid accidentally break something, doesn’t it state clearly that, “Once broken, considered sold” which basically means you need to pay for it. Or another scenario, let’s say you borrow your friend’s car to drive and you got into an accident, shouldn’t you pay for it?

I don’t know. I’m really pissed off at the same time wondering whether I should demand a payment for the repairs. I’ve checked with Acer as well as the computer shop and they already said there’s no way that a warranty claim can be done for a crack notebook screen, even though we’ve just only bought it for a month. But Catherine is adamant to claim for warranty. Her reasoning being that we are supposed to tell Acer that the notebook is faulty, poor quality. By the time she said that, I really felt like banging her head to the wall. I mean how stupid can you get man! At least for an educated person, think of a more valid reason. Poor quality. Good Lord! Of course being a hot tempered person I am, the argument got really heated so I said irregardless of what happens she has to find a way to fix it. I don’t care whether you cheat someone of a new computer, steal or even go to the extent of bribing the relevant parties, I want it fixed. There’s still no conclusion at the moment.

To be continued….

Marriage Shock

Wedding bells ringing, exchanging of rings, the beloved groom and bride all dressed in white, holding hands, being blessed by the minister and a 1985 Rolls Royce Silver Spirit waiting to take the blissful couple to their honeymoon destination.

Doesn’t this paint a quaint picture, makes you feel all lovey dovey? You can forget all that. I mean you can have it all happen but not before you go through all the hassle of preparation, the ceremonies, all the shopping for gowns, finding the right attire for the groom, last minute co-ordinations for the dinner, the list is endless.

I was discussing with a couple of friends about wedding preparation as we’re all still young and innocent (puke! puke!), still in our early twenties where one by one, we’re slowly jumping on the marriage bandwagon. Of course the stories range from where to find the best make-up artist, to where to find the most glamorous gowns for dinner and the topic stopped at relatives involved in the marriage preparation. Boy oh boy do the stories get juicy. Get a load of this.

One of my girlfriend mentioned that she, as usual is planning the normal marriage tea ceremony and dinner. But she found out a couple of months before her wedding that her husband-to-be’s relatives aren’t what you exactly call accommodating relatives. The first “horror” story she told us was, her husband’s relatives have bought her gold for the tea ceremony. Tea ceremony is where you serve tea to those who are older than you and in return they either give you an ang pau (red packet with money) or gold. I don’t exactly know the reasoning for this ceremony other than it is a way to show respect but I just know that’s how it’s done. Now comes the grand finale; (Drum rolls) the relatives decided NOT to give any ang pau for the dinner because they’ve bought her gold!! How good can this story get man! We were in total shock! I mean, how can you call someone a relative, and yet be so stingy??!! I always thought that during wedding dinners, it’s the relatives that actually help out by giving more in terms of ang pau so that the couple can use it to cover for the dinner, in case there happen to be RM5 ang pau given. Oh, did I mention that she was told the gold bought for her was shared between 5 families of relatives. I was totally dumbfounded. All I’ve got to say is, I feel really sorry for her. I know as a friend I need to help her so as a close friend, at least RM500 from me and my fiancée when I attend her wedding dinner. Don’t you worry my friend, I’ll try to help you as much as I can.

As a friend, even as a colleague if I go to attend a wedding dinner, I’ll give at least RM80-RM100 (for one attendee only), depending on how well I know the couple and also where the dinner is held. I mean, come on people, you know how expensive all things are, at least have the courtesy of giving a decent ang pau for the dinner?

What about you? How much are you willing to give for a wedding dinner?

To work or not to work

I have been reading an article on Oprah.com. Yes. I’m a sucker for her programmes. I find their topics are worth listening or more of reading about.

The topic of discussion was whether should a mother stay at home after giving birth or should she go back to work after her maternity leave. I believe in the society nowadays, there are quite a number of hard-core career-minded women out there who have really made their mark in the working world. Look at all those successful women, such as Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister for Britain from 1979-1990 or maybe someone nearer to home like Bridget Lai, CEO of Alliance Bank. I can’t comment whether they’ve been doting mothers or not but which women wouldn’t be loving towards their own children. Point being, all women’s maternal instincts will kick in when they get to a certain age.

It has been a topic of discussion between me and my fiancée before. I have no idea what kind of mother would I be, probably on the strict side since I do have the tendency to have an impatient nature in me. So when the topic was discussed on Oprah, it made me think whether is it a wise choice to stop working entirely and throw myself into the livelihood of being a mother or still continue working? My mum used to work when we were young and she managed to bring us up just fine. More than fine I say. All my siblings have terrific careers with well-known multi-national companies. We have never had any deprived childhood, it was wonderful. My mum was always there when we needed someone to fuss over us, though I’ll admit she tend to be a bit strict since she’s a teacher.

I’d love to mirror my mum. Being able to work while taking care of the family, but I feel it’s more of a wishful thinking. I know with the working hours that I keep, it’s going to be pretty challenging to actually build my career while being a fantastic mother. There’ll always be the guilt of not spending enough time with your child, worrying that you’ll be missing out significant moments like when they utter their first word or when they take their first step. The “trend” nowadays for working mothers are either to send your child to daycare or get your in-laws or own parents to take care of your child when you go to work or maybe trust the care to the maid. I know one thing for sure I will never give that responsibility to the maid. Too many accounts on maid abuse on children. Nor would I want my in-laws or my parents taking care of my child. I’m not being daft but I think the roles of grandparents are more to spoil their grandchildren once in a while, and not be a full time nanny. They’ve done their job as a parent and now it’s our turn. No harm in getting them to come and play with their grandchild once a while, supervise or give their opinions on child-rearing but it’s really tiring and tedious thing for them to chase after a toddler that probably has the energy of 10 adults combined together. It might give them a little exercise but it will definitely take a toll on their health. Think about their stress level which can lead to high blood pressure, all the running around and excitement won’t do their joints any good either.

I do sometimes dream of having a rich husband where I wouldn’t need to worry about $$ and stop working. But then, being what Cantonese call “fan chin” meaning, even knowing how lucky you are, you’ll still go and create a complexity I’ll still complain being a “tai-tai” (rich wife with worries only on what colour to choose for manicures, what dress to wear for my afternoon tea meet-up; kidding!). I’ll think how wonderful it is to work and have your own $$ without depending on your husband, being able to dress up in that power-suit and walk into the office, you know the drill. All in all, I’m not sure whether I’ll ever be able to find the perfect blend to be a career woman while being a devoted mum. Until I find the perfect permutation, I’ll just have to make an effort when the time comes.

Like what the famous psychologist, Dr Robin Smith mentioned, “the goal isn’t to have it all because we can’t have it all, but to be attuned with yourself and your children”. I guess I’ll have to be attuned then.

A woman

This was a poem written by an Unknown and I want to share it with you.

God said :
When I created woman, she needed to be special.
I created her shoulders strong enough to bear the weight of the world…
And soft enough to be comfortable
I gave her the strength to give life,
The kind that accepts the rejection that often comes from children
I gave her the strength to allow her to go on when everybody else give up.
The kind that takes care of her family, despite illness and fatigue
I gave her the sensitivity to love her children unconditionally
Even when they have hurt her deeply
I gave her the strength to endure her husband in his faults
And to stay at his side without weakening
And finally, I gave her tears to shed whenever she needs them to be shed
The beauty of a woman resides in her eyes.
It is the door to her heart ;
the door where Love resides
And it is often through her tears that you see her heart go by

The words really brought an awakening, touched me deep inside. It has given me hope to be a better daughter, a more understanding friend, a more thoughtful sister, a loving wife and a doting mother in the years to come. Now I understand why God made women different from a man, why women are able to multi-task while carrying the burdens on her shoulders, why a succesful man always have a pillar of strength of a wife, why even though how much heartache a child causes his mother, she still loves him unconditionally, why she can be a good listener to a friend in need even when she has had a demanding week.

God made each one of us special in His eyes and let us not forget that but continue to bring out the best in us, in no matter what we do or wherever we go.

Goodrich Wallpapers

During the whole of last week there was a home deco road show at 1Utama. Manage to go and catch a glimpse at what’s the “in-thing” for house designs nowadays. There are all sorts of designs for the entire house, furniture, other bigger designer brands but mainly outlets in 1Utama that participated in this road show.

(Flamboyance 003)**

One thing that caught my attention was the use of wallpaper for most of the designs for bedroom to living room. Goodrich Global actually sponsored their wallpapers for the living room and bedroom at the road show. (No, the company isn’t paying me to help them do any write-up on their products, but I wouldn’t mind if they do. ). That is one of the “in-thing” now for ID (interior design). I’ve got no eye for details, let alone anything to do with art; hence I’m not that up-to-date with all the latest gadgets to lifestyle designs for the house but the wallpapers somehow seem to catch my attention, especially the bedroom design. (Sorry, no photos taken cos my hp was almost out of battery that day). So, gone are the days when wallpapers were only flower motif. Now they’ve really got really flamboyant styles. Some I just couldn’t accept (probably cos I’m still an old-fashion aunty to a certain extent). But for the most part, they do have a variety of choices that do please the eye.

How many of you will actually use wallpapers for your house? I’ve hmmed and ahhed and calculated whether it’s worth the $ to actually use wallpapers for the house since it is quite costly to paint the house nowadays let alone using wallpaper. The choices for wallpapers are considerably extensive. Bounds of leather books containing so many samples to choose from. Oh, did I mention also, they allow customization too?? Talk about state of the art. If so happen you do have a particular picture that you want to be made into wallpaper, just let them know. The number of selections just for house walls alone is overwhelming enough. What more can you say for the rest of the house? I think, I’ll get those wallpapers only for my bedroom. (I’ll put up pix of it when the wallpapers are up)

(Wallpower Unlimited 051)**

Ok, people. If you want to have a peek you can always drop by their website at http://www.goodrichglobal.com/.

**Pictures, courtesy of Goodrich Global.

So late...

I’m so late to office today. Had this niggling feeling about being late and even though I’ve already told my manager I’ll be late I still have that contrite feeling inside me. I’ve always had this fear of being late in no matter what I do or where I go and I end up literally snapping at anyone who gets in my way. And it kinda ruin the rest of my day, till I somehow manage to get that I’m-so-guilty-cos-I’m-late feeling out of my system, which I never do. It’s always been the way that I’ve brought up, that it’s not good to make someone wait for you, let alone being late, a definite no-no. Also the feeling of being so harassed because you’re rushing to do everything and rushing will never do anyone good, whether you’re rushing on the road or rushing to do something, it always comes out with some sort of unpleasant result.

Does this sound familiar to you guys or most of you couldn’t care less if you’re late to office or to an appointment. I do wonder how some people can actually stroll into an office casually, without that harassed looking look, being all cool even though they are late. Tell me. How do you do it?! Well, I’ll admit the feeling of being late does bring an air of “superiority” to some, as most bosses come in late to office.

A colleague mentioned that some managers have a different mind set, where it’s alright to come in to office late since we’re “expected” to stay late while there are some exceptional managers who think it’s better to come in to office early and leave on time. Which kind of manager would you prefer to work with? Manager A, who condones coming in late or Manager B, who sticks to the rules to coming in on time? I guess as much that there will be a mixture of responses in picking which manager they prefer, especially those who love sleeping in a bit more would prefer Manager A while those who want to go back on time especially those with small children would rather prefer to have Manager B. But when I think of the jam that’s seems to have gotten worse year by year, I’d like to work with Manager A, probably for a while till I start my own family. So complicated, so many options. If only life could be easier.

Life's too short for the wrong job

This was the title of the email in my mail box when I opened it this morning. What a motivation for an early, dreary Monday morning. It really did catch me at that particular moment when I received another email talking about how good my life is compared with all these sorrowful pictures of people suffering, not in terms of where they don’t have arms or legs but more of the condition of their livelihood. I’ll let the pictures speak for itself today.

After seeing these pictures, do I feel that I'm really blessed.

“Many of us persist in believing that happiness will be just over the next hill. But happiness is not a destination; it is a journey. Don’t brood over what would make you happy tomorrow. Instead be grateful for today” quoted by Janet Congo.

Of Hauntings and break-ins

Hauntings and break-ins. These are the 2 major things that happened to the place I call home here in KL.

No, I wasn’t haunted by an apparition or something like that but there was this entity residing in the house many years back before I stayed in the house. I moved into the house not knowing that we would have this unfelt presence with us. I didn’t feel the usual hair-raising sensation that most people would feel if something wasn’t right. No one even bothered to mention that “this being” was actually staying with us. I think any idiot would be smart enough not to say a word on this. It’s a taboo subject, let alone to tell the new tenant renting the room that the house is haunted.

Only got to know about this entity when a couple of my housemates were sharing stories that made me realized they were actually talking about “this being” in the house I’m staying. I didn’t freak out, why till this day I don’t know. Probably was because firstly I will never believe until I see with my own eyes (not that I want to) and 2, “it” has never bothered me before. They told me that the usual “disturbance” was when they were at the sitting room; they thought they saw a shadow passed by the corner of their eye.

One hair-raising story was when one of my housemate, Kit was doing her work late one night at home with a friend and they were listening to a cd. It stopped for quite a while and they did not realize it till the cd suddenly started playing. Only thing was, it kept repeating this particular song, over and over again. She thought that the cd was faulty, so she stopped it but in less than a minute, it started playing by itself again. This time they really freaked out, stopped working, switched off everything and ran up to the room to bed. I’m not too sure whether she actually slept or pretended to sleep but she assured me that “it” did not came in the middle of the night to stare at her sleep.

I think “the being” decided to be kwai for a while. It decided not to alarm any of the occupants in the house for a few weeks till one night, while another housemate was sleeping, he felt someone prodding him on the side. He thought it was his girlfriend, so he just mumbled, “Stop disturbing me and go next door to find someone else to disturb.” Apparently “the being” really listened to him and went to my other housemate’s room and observe him sleeping. Even though he was sleeping, my housemate has this niggling feeling that he was being stared at (beats me how he felt it) but he suddenly woke up to see, a small kid and a lady watching him sleep. When he yelled out, they disappeared. (I think I would have pissed in my pants. Damn!) Now, is that hair-raising or what? But I really thank God that “it” never bothered me throughout my stay in this house.

Straight after that incident, they decided they had enough and came back the next few days armed with “fu”, “chinese datuk” (whatever that is cos I’ve got no idea on all these rituals, prayers and chants) and they weren’t bothered anymore to this day. The only thing I can be thankful for is being fully protected by God and by reading His word I’m real blessed that’s all I can say. This has strengthen my faith in Him to protect me as He has countless of times.

Recently there was a break-in at my house. It happened last Friday. Nothing much was stolen other than my housemate’s keys and a notebook. I’m still thanking God that this baby wasn’t stolen, if not there’s no way I can blog about this now. This thief must have been “camping” nearby to know the time we keep and where my housemate usually place his keys. Yes.Yes. I know. You’re stunned that our keys are practically lying out in the open. It’s not totally in the open, it so happens my housemate’s “smart” enough to leave his keys on his table next to the window. I’ve no idea whether the window was open or not when the key was stolen. So being a moron, obtuse git he is, did not realize something was amiss when his house keys were missing. He thought that one of my other housemates must have taken his keys by mistake. But HELLO!??!! Everyone’s supposed to be at work. No one’s home other than you guys??!!! I really wanted to say that but I think I’ll keep my cool. So when he came back with my other housemate Kit, she suddenly realized that her notebook’s gone. It’s been stolen. Yea of course it’s been stolen. What do you think??!!! It walked off by itself??!! Only then, did they realize that the back door was wide open. The thief had the “brilliant” idea of using the stolen keys to leave using the back door, leaving the padlock behind for us!!!

I can never know how dim-witted someone can be but these people really deserve to win an award. (“And the greatest imperceptive award goes to…drum roll please”). The first time round, when the keys were missing, was before they were went out. This practically means they went out, left the house “vulnerable” and open to the thief without knowing it. Ok ok. I’ll stop blaming them since nothing else was stolen. We’ve changed all the locks and of course made a police report. It’s been a hard lesson to learn for them and everyone else.

All in all, I’ve learnt that we cannot control all the circumstances in our lives but we can control how we respond to them, whether it makes us a bitter person or a better person.

What d'ya think??

I think after reading this headline, many out there are ready to kill me! How in the world should I put this so that I don’t offend anyone?

I’ve been thinking, yea there are good points as well as bad points in having the petrol stations closing at 10pm. One thing for sure, there would be less people using stolen cards to pump petrol cos lets face it, all these stolen credit cards somehow are used late in the night. Don’t ask me why but probably because they think it’s safer in the dark and not easily caught?

Another point why it might be good for the stations to close earlier is, we can actually tell our employers that it’s going to be real difficult to work late since petrol station close at 10pm. Then again, you might say, the employers can’t be that stupid, they’ll say it’s a lame excuse, just pump during the day if you know your petrol tank is almost empty. So this means that everyone will be scrambling to the nearest petrol station before work. Unless our employers allow us to go out for longer lunches just to pump petrol or either we start work late since petrol stations opening hours are from 7am-10pm. I mean there has to be a compromise here people. It can’t be a win-win situation for everyone. Someone will surely have to give in and I wonder who that will be?

What else can be a good reason for the change in hours? Maybe like what they say, less robbery at the petrol stations which means they’ll target other places now. Maybe the robbers will target mamaks or our houses?! Damn! Not that good is it? Does this mean that since the “petrol associaton” intend to close the petrol stations earlier the police will have more man-power to patrol housing areas? I’m not too sure whether they do regular patrols for petrol stations as I don’t own one.

Also, why do they want the customers to bear the 1% for using credit card? Aren’t they making enough $$ already from the increase in petrol price, what more with the items they sell in their petrol station cum convenient store? Oh, I forgot, every human being always has this greed in them, whatever we have will never be enough. Should we judge them? Should we be blaming them for wanting the consumers to bear that 1%? Is it because the banks have increased the merchant rental? Seriously I’m really at a loss here. It seems that the consumers are always losing out in this vicious cycle, where every business out there wants a piece of the cake.

What d’ya think people? Tell me! Tell me!

Carl's Jr at 1Utama

Burgers, French fries, Mustard, Onions and Pickles. Yummy!!!! That’s what it was when I sank my teeth into a Carl’s Junior Burger! It’s finally opened!!

As I do my usual weekend shopping at 1Utama, I chance across this outlet, still under renovation with Carl’s Jr on the outside. I didn’t think much about it until my fiancée mentioned that it’s one of the famous burger outlets in the US . That got my attention. Anything to do with fast food or chips, I’m game for it. Though it would be a gamble to keep feeding myself with all these scrumptious food and neglect the fact that I might not be able to squeeze myself into my wedding dress end of this year, it has always been well worth the bite.

So, when it finally opened I so happen to be at 1Utama again (it’s meant to be, God just wants me to enjoy my love for food) I made a bee line to Carl’s Jr. for lunch never mind the fact that I had a late breakfast. When I got there, it was already doing brisk business. I couldn’t bear the anticipation, and when it came to my turn to order I didn’t go berserk but I was loss for words with so many choices. Wondering whether I should try their Chilli Cheeseburger or the Guacamole Bacon burger or SOOOOOO many other burgers? In the end I decided that my love for bacon supersedes my other choices. I settled for Western Bacon Cheeseburger and my fiancée ordered the Guacamole Bacon burger.

(the Western Bacon Cheeseburger. I'll admit the pix doesn't do it justice cos I took this with my hp camera)

It was love at first bite!! The taste of the bbq sauce just brings out the taste of the charbroiled burger and the bacon, DELICIOUS. Together with mustard sauce, the burger’s to die for. The size is just huge. Let’s just hope that they maintain the size, rather than growing smaller as they progress like some burgers that came to Malaysian shores. But one downside was, the bacon was chicken not pork. That’s the sad part of it. I’ve also managed to try my fiancée’s Guacamole Bacon Burger and the texture and the taste of the guacamole taste like the authentic version, not a copied recipe. It’s a funny combination to have with burger but it was surprisingly good.

Then the fries, pretty good. I’m impressed. I always thought that McD still rule in the fries department but Carl’s Jr. just won my vote on their fries.

In terms of price, it can be a bit pricey for fast food but with the serving size, I’d like to think it’s well worth your $ spent. It’s not as if you’re gonna eat it everyday.

So there you go guys, go give it a try. It’s well worth it.

Travel and Living - The way to live.

Rajasthan, Udaipur. Having a meal with the Maharaja, more of like having the meal being cooked by the Maharaja. How good can life get?

No, I'm not talking about myself. I'm talking about Anthony Bourdain. Just watched No Reservations where this famous cook is travelling in Rajasthan (no idea where this is, since my Geography sucks). He got the chance to actually eat a meal cooked by a Maharaja. I think that only happens once in a lifetime, on television that is.

Sometimes I feel that they, the "television cook cum travellers" have the time of their life. Travelling the world, seeing the different cultures, trying exotic foods. That's what you call living life to the fullest, or is it? I do tend to daydream at times, thinking how it will be like if I'm in their shoes, when it suddenly came to mind how I get tongue-tied and camera-shy when I get in front of a real camera.

Oh well, there isn't much to be jealous of, since we always seem to think that the grass is greener on the other side, how their lives are better than ours. It's time to remind myself that the grass can be greener on my own side as long as I tend to it, water it and let God work his wonders.

By Force???

Hmm….How do I put this topic in a more subtle way. I’m still irresolute in how to word it without giving away too much information.

I was corresponding with a friend from work through email. (no, it doesn’t mean I don’t need to work and no it does not mean I’m using company resources). It just so happen she was asking me about my opinion in buying a certain property. She also mentioned something about credit cards. And the topic came to a point where we were debating whether to apply for company credit card or not. (yes we both work for “legal money lenders”) But do we really need it? I mean yea, sure it is free, and we won’t need to pay for the annual fee as long as we’re employees of the company. Other than that, what else? Oh yea, forgot to mentioned that it is a gold credit card. What’s the big deal? What more nowadays with platinum or even titanium cards out in the market? It’s all just another scheme to make you spend more. So, the big question is would you grab that card if it’s given to you free?

There have been companies out there who “force” coerces their employees to apply for the credit card. Reasoning being that, it would do the company good by portraying a better image. But what if the employees do not want the card? They don’t find the need for an extra card (cos the benefit sucks). Well, of course there will be a way around that. How, you ask? “Employees are only allowed to use company credit card for company expenses. Any other credit card used for company expenses will not be acknowledged as an official claim” How does that sound to you?

Just apply. Since it’s free and no harm done you say? Alright! Alright! What happens then if you go outstation for a company trip and that one company credit card decides to fail on you? Does this mean you can’t claim for the expenses because you don’t use the card? Anything is possible eh? It’s the voters say on this. We’ll see what happens in a few months.