Go Shorty - It's Your Birthday..

It's my birthday today. I am 26.

The Partner gave me what is, without a doubt, the bestest, most thoughtful, most loving gift I have ever received- a Johnny Rzeznik-autographed Goo Goo Dolls single. I am not ashamed to say I wept from being so overwhelmed.

He spent weeks finding it, tracking it, and stayed up til 3am to ensure his was the final bid for it.

He also gave me a 5-speed electric mixer. With stand! No, no sarcasm there, I've been saying I've wanted one for a while now, just never had the money to get it.

I have the bestest boyfriend in the world. Bar none. :O)

MIA

It's been awhile since I first saw you,
It's been awhile since I could stand on my own two feet again,
And it's been awhile since I could call you..
Staind ~ It's Been A While

The hottest thing on the charts nowadays is Paris Hilton's confused new reggae single. Current new music is so crap, it makes me want to weep. KT Tunstall is probably the best thing at the mo.

Freedom of Opinion is morphing into myth in this country. Doesn't make anything worth talking about now, does it?

Best thing I've seen this week: Border's Gift Cards. Yeay...

Sigh. Sorry, all. Thing have been... busy. *smooches*

These Are A Few of My Favourite Things

Assam Laksa
Char Koay Teow
Rojak Buah
Anchovy Pizza
Balsamic Vinegar
Sour Oranges
Honey Mustard Dressing
Roast Duck
Foie Gras
Asparagus
Pumpkin
Sweet Pineapples
Lay's Salt & Vinegar Crisps
Over-ripe Persimmons
Ampang Yong Tau Foo
Creamy Mushroom Soup
Mushrooms
Cherry Ice-Cream
McVitie's Jaffa Cakes
Chocolate & Vanilla Chupa Chups
Sotong Tepung
Chewy Keropok Lekor
O'chien
Lemon Chicken
Bananas Dipped in Gooey Melted Dark Chocolate
Barbequed Ribs
Carrots Sticks & Thousand Island Dressing


... I'm hungry.

Brand Libra

Hey all. A friend just started a site on Introduction to Branding. I'd appreciate it if you would pop by and have a look.

Also, does anyone happen to work in a consultancy firm that pays bucket-loads and is currently looking for good talent (more specifically, me), please let me know.

>Op

Food For Thought

Now, I typically don't like reading theSun. I think it is a pile of sensationalist toss trying to pass itself off as "hard hitting journalism" (hur hur) and that it is only one small step up from The Malay Mail. Everytime I read it, I feel like hurling it across the room and the only reason I faithfully pick one up everyday from outside the cafeteria is because I can get kitty litter-box lining for free.

But I read the one I picked up yesterday out of sheer boredom and came across this bit I liked. It is from Shanon Shah's article about women's rights in Malaysia (or its almost non-existence and ridiculous attitude towards it) in general:-

"It's not a chicken-and-egg situation. The truth is, Malaysians are not starved for information, and Malaysia is not lacking in credible individuals and institutions that are capable of making meaningful change. What we are really lacking is the political will to create meaningful change, whether in policy or public attitudes."

- credited to Toni Kasim, a member of the NGO delegation to the UN's Cedaw review of Malaysia.

When will we be able to see a change? I would run for Prime Minister, only I think having a uterus disqualifies me. Besides, my breasts would probably cause a month-long debate for being too gatal.

Rampant Stupidity

Look at what I got in the company mail today (complete with smart-ass remarks!):-

~@~

1) Penaklukan Baitulmuqaddis.
Dari Auf b. Malik r.a. katanya,Rasulullah s.a.w telah bersabda:
"Aku menghitung 6 perkara menjelang hari kiamat." Baginda menyebutkan salah 1 diantaranya, iaitu penaklukan Baitulmuqaddis."
- Sahih Bukhari

~ dah jadi dah...


2) Zina bermaharajalela.
"Dan tinggallah manusia2 yang buruk, yang seenaknya melakukan persetubuhan seperti himar (keldai). Maka pada zaman mereka inilah kiamat akan datang." - Sahih Muslim

~ dah nampak dah...


3) Bermaharajalela alat muzik.
"Pada akhir zaman akan terjadi tanah runtuh, rusuhan & perubahan muka". Ada yang bertanya kepada Rasulullah; "Wahai Rasulullah bila hal ini terjadi?" Baginda menjawab: "Apabila telah bermaharajalela bunyian(muzik) & penyanyi wanita" - Ibnu Majah

~ S'pore Idol, Malaysian Idol, Akademi Fantasia, Anugerah...


4) Menghias masjid & membanggakannya.
"Di antara tanda2 telah dekatnya kiamat ialah manusia bermegahan dalam mendirikan masjid" - Riwayat Nasai.

~ memang dah nampak dah...


5) Munculnya kekejian, memutuskan kerabat & hubungan dengan tetangga tidak baik.
"Tidak akan datang kiamat sehingga banyak perbuatan & perkataan keji, memutuskan hubungan silaturahim & sikap yang buruk dalam tetangga." - Riwayat Ahmad dan Hakim.

~ ada anak tak mengaku ada mak/bapak pasal malu...


6) Ramai orang soleh meninggal dunia.
"Tidak akan datang hari kiamat sehingga Allah mengambil orang2 yang baik& ahli agama di muka bumi, maka tiada yang tinggal padanya kecuali orang2 yang hina & buruk yang tidak mengetahui yang makruf dan tidak mengingkari kemungkaran" - Riwayat Ahmad

~ boleh kira berapa jer para ulama' yg tinggal...


7) Orang yang hina mendapat kedudukan terhormat.
"Di antara tanda semakin dekatnya kiamat ialah dunia akan dikuasai oleh Luka' bin Luka'(orang yang bodoh & hina). Maka orang yang paling baik ketika itu ialah orang yang beriman yang diapit oleh
2 orang mulia" - Riwayat Thabrani

~ George Bush, Ariel Sharon....


8) Mengucapkan salam kepada orang yang dikenalnya sahaja. "Sesungguhnya di antara tanda2 telah dekatnya hari kiamat ialah manusia tidak mahu mengucapkan salam kepada orang lain kecuali yang dikenalnya saja." - Riwayat Ahmad

~ jiran sesama islam pon tak bertegur sapa...


9) Banyak wanita yang berpakaian tetapi hakikatnya telanjang.
Diriwayatkan dari Abu Hurairah r.a. "Di antara anda telah hari kiamat ialah akan muncul pakaian wanita & apabila mereka memakainya keadaannya seperti telanjang".

~ fesyen zaman skarang (tube, spaghetti strap, g-string etc.)...


10) Bulan sabit kelihatan besar.
"Di antara tanda2 telah dekatnya hari kiamat ialah menggelembung (membesarnya) bulan sabit." - Riwayat Thabrani

~ tak caya gi tengok...


11) Banyak dusta & tidak tepat dalam menyampaikan berita.
"Pada akhir zaman akan muncul pembohong2 besar yang datang kepadamu dengan membawa berita2 yang belum pernah kamu dengar & belum pernah didengar oleh bapa2 kamu sebelumnya, kerana itu jauhkanlah dirimu dari mereka agar mereka tidak menyesatkanmu & memfitnahmu" - Sahih Muslim

~ try baca akhbar2 & majalah yg popular skarang nie...


12) Banyak saksi palsu & menyimpan kesaksian yang benar. "Sesungguhnya sebelum datang nya hari kiamat akan banyak
kesaksian palsu & disembunyikan kesaksian yang benar." -Riwayat Ahmad

~ tengok kes peperangan Iraq...


13) Negara Arab menjadi padang rumput & sungai. "Tidak akan datang hari kiamat sehingga negeri Arab kembali menjadi padang rumput & sungai" - Sahih Muslim

~ Dubai dah turun salji... Mina dah kene banjir...


TOLONG FORWARDKAN KEPADA TEMAN LAIN!

Dari Abdullah bin 'Amir r.a., Rasulullah s.a.w.bersabda:
"Sampaikanlah pesanku biarpun 1 ayat..."

~@~


Hey, bengong. Sampaikan ayat2 yang bermanfaat lah!

I cannot believe in this day and age people have nothing better to do than this.

More unbelieveable, methinks is that they don't THINK. They hear things and take it at face value and DON'T THINK!!

Hei, benda-benda ni tak pernah terjadi ka? Baru sekarang je zina berleluasa? Baru skarang ada orang tipu dan mereka cerita semata-mata untuk berperang? Baru sekarang ada orang sombong?

The world would have achieved Qiamat more than a thousand years ago if the things fucking stupid people believed then came true. If the Christians had their way, we would've been fucking dead and judged 5.5 years ago.

What is wrong with people like this??? And if this is the way Muslims act and think, then how can we seriously expect people to take us seriously?? Small wonder that many civilised nations regard Islam as a regressive, backward religion. Sometimes, seeing as I see the majority of worshippers who act as though being Muslim meant you shouldn't use the brains you were fucking born with, I am forced to agree.

But maybe I am just annoyed that a group of Melayu kampung bodohs just had to congregate near my desk to discuss this inane shit, especially when I had a LOT of work to do. I had to leave after 10 minutes of their stupidity before I spat at their feet.

Absolutely disgusting. I am sorry, but I have little tolerance and absolutely no patience for stupidity.

Literary Week

Well, for me, anyway.

I got greedy over the weekend and got a glut of books to pig out on for the next week. And I didn't even go to the Times Warehouse sale. :Op

1. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
2. Freakonomics by Steven Levitt
3. The Secret History by Donna Tartt
4. The Art of Travel by Alain de Botton
5. Crystal Singer by Anne McCaffrey
6. All the Weyrs of Pern by Anne McCaffrey
7. How Opal Mehta Got Kissed Got Wild and Got A Life by Kaavya Viswanathan
8. Promise of the Witch-King by R. A. Salvatore
9. Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

Woooo hooooo!!

~@~@~

p.s. To those who have been asking about Max, she seems happy and is thriving. She's gained 3/4 her body weight again in the last 1.5 months. It's brilliant. Thanks for all the well wishes! *hugz*

My Newest Love

Have I told you about Max?

I was upset one Friday, and instead of just reading at the office for the looong Friday lunch, I decided to head to town with no better reason than to buy jelly ice-cream at KFC. I had just gotten my ice-cream and was walking back to my car when I turned the corner and found her.

She was more than half-dead when I found her sprawled by a post on the five-foot way with people simply stepping over her to get past. It was one of the most pathetic sights I had ever seen. Stray cats, no matter what, never sleep out in the open. Their survival depends on it, and here she was - so weak she didn't even have to strength to find a quiet place to lie - and die.

I sat on the curb next to her, next to the smelly drain catching run-offs from the nearby mamak. I watched over her, and waited for her mother to return to claim her. I knew, though, that it was futile. The weakest are always abandoned.

Her fur was so matted that she appeared almost bald. She was so malnourished I could count her ribs even from where I was sitting. Her eyes were so gummed up with mucus she couldn't open them. Cat flu, maybe even pneumonia. I've taken home some of those, they never survived, but never had I seen one in such a sorry state. The whole time I watched over her, she was absolutely motionless, save for the barest rising and falling of her shallow breaths.

After almost an hour, I picked her up. She was so small she barely filled my one cupped palm and so thin she weighed almost nothing at all! I could've wept. She couldn't have been more than five or six weeks old. She was so weak she didn't even have the energy to mew nevermind move when I picked her up, and I put her in my car. With my ice-cream. I had forgotten all about it.

I managed to find a vet, and had to call him away from his lunch to see to her. It didn't look optimistic, but even if she would die, I couldn't find it in me to leave her there. Even strays were worthy of some dignity and I would've cared for her until she passed on. Hell and God (and my mother!) knows that I've done that for many a stray.

The vet treated her for the pneumonia and worms, and gave her a glucose jab. She was too weak to even eat. The prognosis was not good, and the vet offered to put her down instead.

I took her home in a box and left her to recuperate while I was at work.

It is amazing what only two weeks of food does. She is now unrecognizable as the kitten I picked up that jelly-ice-cream Friday. She darts across rooms and scales my sofas as though she were a monkey. Her belly is now beautifully rounded and pink as kitten's bellies should be. Her ears are twice the size of her komeng face, and after two weeks of daily wet-wipe cleaning (which she strangely enjoys!) her fur is a beautiful tortoise-shell tabby. She has beautiful jungle-cat spots and stripes.

Her eyes - and personality - are huge and amazingly alert. She's an absolute ball of energy, a far cry from the lifeless thing I picked up off the sidewalk! And she is incredibly affectionate, one of the most affectionate cats I've ever come across. She is absolutely fearless with humans, and a prickly little hissing thing when other cats pass by outside her door! Lol. Oh, and it took only an hour to litter-train her, I kid you not.

She refuses to let me pet her, unless she wants it. She wrestles with me ferociously instead! And then she finds her way into the crook of my arms, the crook of my knees even if only for a nap.

She never strays far from me when I am home. She has a favourite shelf in the kitchen she naps on while I cook and have my dinner. She plays near the TV cabinet when I'm watching the ole Astro. She curls up in my lap and scales up and down the sofa (and sometimes the curtain!) when I read. She nibbles at my toes while I'm on the 'net. She finds her way to me every night when I sleep. She loves to sleep under my chin, with my breath on her belly.

:O)

The opportunity to love so deeply and be adored back in return doesn't present itself very often. I have been so fortunate as to have found - and to have been found by! - two.

My hunnybunch, I love you. :O)

I must be one of the luckiest women in the world.

Gubra ... Aiiiiiyooooo!!!!

I am dead disappointed with Yasmin Ahmad's new film, Gubra. What a pile off toss!

Aiiiiiyyooooooo!!!

Why must they speak in that horrible (kononnya) "Malaysian" accent?? It sounds terrible! It sounds like they know how to speak English properly, but are purposely trying to mangle it wan. Aiyo! Say what you want about our atrocious accent, but nobody in real life speaks the way the Gubra cast does. Why did they put it (so fakely!) on??? Was it really necessary????!!!

Aiiiiyooooo!!!!!

Why was every scene shot like a Petronas ad? Every single scene! I mean, the Petronas ads are great and all - I look forward to them every Hari Raya, CNY and Merdeka Day - but 2 hours worth?? The 5-minute ads are brilliant, but back-to-back for 2 HOURS??!!! It's absurd, I tell you, not to mention nauseatingly mawkish.

Every scene has a "moral-of-de-story". Every scene has some higher, noble sentiment. Every scene ends in some poignant phrase, look or emotion. Every fucking scene ends in that same meaningful, intended-to-be-pregnant pause.

Aaaiiiiiyyoooooo!!!!

The plot only just barely qualifies as one. Well, there is (are?) a story/ies, it does have a beginning and an end (of sorts), but I felt cheated. The story development was succint, cliched, and ... half-baked. It was as if Yasmin Ahmad was so caught up on the minute details of each scene so fecking, heart-wrenchingly perfect that she lost sight of the bigger picture as a whole. I felt cheated.

And as for the "controversial" aspect?

Aiiiiyooooo!!!!!

I know there were some supposedly "controversial issues" in Sepet, but for this movie, Yasmin Ahmad seems to have taken whatever supposedly valid "controversial issues" (as maaaaaaany as she could get her hands on) and chucked them all into the movie merely for controversy's sake. None of them add to the value of the story as a whole whatsoever. It appears that they exist in the movie (eg. naked butts) solely for the purpose of creating waves and perhaps amusement. It would not have affected the story one iota had they been omitted.

Cliched lah. This whole movie was one tired cliche after another, scene after predictable scene, dialogue after worn dialogue, culminating in just one huge cliche of a movie as a whole. As you watch the bloody thing, you understand that she meant it to be heart-wrenching, but it is so blatant an attempt that you are inevitably left rolling your eyes instead.

And I went in wanting to like this movie! I really did! I was really looking forward to it, hoping (because I had read stellar reviews!) that this would be far better than Sepet, which I cannot honestly say I liked a great deal, but neither did I dislike. I was so disappointed!

The only reason I stayed to the end was because:-
a) I wanted to see how it would finish and I was hoping it would have a redeeming end (it didn't)
b) my feet were tired from walking around all day (Berjaya Times Square - 'nuff said)
c) we didn't have anything better to do or anywhere else to go until dinnertime, and
d) my popcorn belum habis (I ended up chucking a quarter of it out anyway. Peh.)

The only thing commendable about the whole movie was the cinematography. Very nicely shot, if trying to be a weeeee bit too artsy at times. I mean, there are only so many times you can watch a scene starting from the sky/ceiling/treetop panning down to the actors before you start wishing that sometimes it might be nice if Yasmin Ahmad could just get on with it.

Oh! Harith Iskandar, Ida Nerina & Adibah Noor. Hee hee. They are adorable. I thought they were the best part of the movie. Oh, and so was the actor who played Jason's mother.

:O)

But seeing as how I wasn't as impressed with Sepet as the rest of the world seemed to be, I guess that many might disagree with me over Gubra too.

[snip]
I've always wondered if all those people truly enjoyed Sepet, or if they only thought so because they felt compelled to agree with the reviewers who, every sheep-like one of them, touted it as the future of Malaysian movie-making. God help us all. That's the equivalent of Kiera Knightly being nominated Best Actress at the Oscars this year.
[unsnip]

The movie should have ended, just before the credits, with "This was a Community Service Message, brought to you by Yasmin Ahmad."

As "art"/independent movies go, Spinning Gasing was far better. Yasmin Ahmad should stick to ads.

The Worst Part..

.. of being an Adult?

Having to pay your own Bills.

:Op

Do You Remember...

Your childhood?

1. Transformers (Viva Optimus Prime!), Strawberry Shortcake, SilverHawks

2. Nik Eizwan :O)

3. Mima Land

4. Tiny Nutella Snack Packs

5. Egg tarts

6. Valencia orange juice

7. Being a mermaid. (I know someone else who should remember this. ;O>)

8. The Raintree Club

9. Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go!

10. Books

I was going to say they don't make times like those anymore, but perhaps I'm simply too old now, too jaded. I've forgotten how to appreciate them.

QuarterAge Angst

Oh, this is so going to sound like a 15-year-old's whine, but...

When the hell will she effing leave me in peace?

I've had a SHIT week at work. The last week has been absolute hell with me walking into the office at 7.30am and leaving no sooner than 10pm with NO BREAKS in between, no not even lunch because I couldn't afford the fucking LUXURY, running around all day - and all night! - just trying to get the fucking job done, then getting home, only barely managing a shower and not even bothering with dinner because I could only just manage to stagger to bed. Come Friday, though, I said, "Fuck everything," and was out of there like a shot the minute the PA went du-du-DU! The weekend was finally here, tank de lawd!

After a hellish week doing shit for other people, is it too much to want the weekend for yourself?

Fuck, No.

But apparently, to my mother, it is. She wants me to spend the whole of Saturday doing fucking stupid things she wants to do for my house, so even my Saturday will have to be spent in the HickTown of Boredom where I already have to spend five fucking days a week. And she tells me this not 4 days before, when she planned it, no. She tells me half-an-hour before work ended, only half-an-hour before my eagerly-anticipated, dreamily planned weekend.

Fuck That.

It's my house, I don't need extra shit.

You know, I thought that I would have some semblance of peace once I moved out.

No Dice.

Shit, does that mean I'll actually have to get fucking married before she leaves me alone? I thought she would leave me alone once I moved out, so it looks like even if I were to fucking marry just so I can play the card, it still looks like

No Dice.

Fucking fucking fucking hell.

I wish I had a place closer to town so I didn't have to come fucking back here for the weekends just so I can come into town to feel civilized.

And when I expressed all this (albeit sans cussing), this is what I got:-

"If being with your boyfriend is more important than being with your family, when I'm ONLY doing things because I want the best for YOU, then go lah."

Oh, shut up the lot of you who are thinking to yourselves, "Ingrate."

1) You didn't have my shit week. It was very long, very harried and going home feeling like you were coated in grime.
2) You didn't have quiet weekend dreams of a quiet dinner (or two) and of just enjoying a bit of quality time with your 4-year-old brother upset at the fucking last minute.
3) You don't have to deal with my mother.

Sorry, babe, guilt trips don't work on me. You'd think that 26 years of dealing with me would have at least taught her that. I'm calling it in, I'm taking back my weekend for me. She can think and do whatever the fuck she wants. I certainly will. I deserve my weekends.

Fucking hell.

Lovers of Loving Love

I've only recently got around to uploading my mp3 collection onto my iPod (with Video!). I can now listen to music continuously - sans repeats - for 3.2 days. Yes, that's a LOT of songs.. and the best thing is there is room for 3x more! *G*

Being stuck in the CAD room up to 8 hours a day, I decided to bring my iPod to work. Because my mp3 collection has been built up over several years, I heard some music I would otherwise might have to dust vinyls off to hear (read: U Make Me Wanna by Blue).

Aiyo... Cut me a bit of slack... I'm not totally unsusceptible to catchy pop choones. Besides, it's only just that one song.

>Op

AAaaaaaaaaaaaaaanyway.... This gem came up:


Funny faces
In sunny places
Being in love
It feels so great!

And all I need is
Two ingredients -
My buttercup
And the perfect place

Me and you
Here's what we'll do:
Walk hand in hand
Into Lover's Land
Aaaah!

You're the best
And I can't resist
A kiss on the lips
Aaaah! Aaaah!

Don't talk, just watch the world go by
As it floats away, in slow motion
So special, it's so special
You are the girl I see
I am your boy to be!

I'm so happy!
I'm so happy!
That I'm a boy
And you're a girl - alright!

I'm so happy!
I'm so happy!
I'm overjoyed
We're going to hang out tonight.

I can't walk, can't move
'Cause I'm paralyzed
By your love
- And that's OK by me!

I'm so happy!
I'm so happy!
It's real great we're
Lovers of Loving Love

La la lalala!
La la lalala!
La la lalala!
La la lalala!

It's so hip
To give you a kiss
And taste cherry Chap-Stick
Aaaah!

It's our secret
Our little secret
We'll never tell
Aaaah!

Love!
It's love!
It's love!
It's love we're dreaming of..

It's Lovers of Loving Love...........

~ by The Aquabats

Ok, so I added the "la la lalala" bits, coz that's how I sing it, but isn't it such a silly song?! And the music is even sillier to hear! It had me laughing out loud all by myself in the CAD room. They must think me strange. :O)

Sorry, I just think that the best love songs are the simple ones, like this. No need for lyrics of romance and walking on clouds, and you are my one for ever after, when in real, everyday life, this is when love is really felt - heart-melting moments in simple, everyday occurrences. Watching him haphazardly cut his waffle across the waffle-squares (not along it *gasp!*) and thinking, "Oh, how I love this person."

:O)

Of course, the roses and candle-light are pretty sweet too. ;O)

Happieeeee!!!

I can't explain it, but I've been riding on an amazing wave of happy-high this week. :O)

Also, there's this.

Now, anyone who's read my blog knows I am an Internet-Quiz Addict. I won't even try to deny it. :Op

Humour me.

Thanks to a merescribbler for fueling my addiction for ever-more-revolutionary quizzes.. :O)

Irritated

Sigh.

My car was broken into last night. They took my CD player.

Can't really say it came as too much of a surprise, though. It was less a matter of hoping it wouldn't happen than an issue of when it would happen. Crime hereabouts has escalated to an alarming degree. At its worst, 11 cars were stolen from just 5 streets alone in one week, with the thieves actually locking people in their houses by chaining the grilles, then taking the gates off their hinges and spiriting the cars away. Mostly flashy cars, like Imprezas and modified Hondas, etc. So my CD player was just a crime waiting to happen, really.

So, no, I wasn't too surprised.

But still..

I like my music. :O(

Bother

Wish I was too dead to cry
My self-affliction fades
Stones to throw at my creator
Masochists to which I cater

You don't need to bother
I don't need to be
I'll keep slipping farther
But once I hold on
I won't let go 'til it bleeds

Wish I was too dead to care
If indeed I cared at all
Never had a voice to protest
So you fed me shit to digest

I wish I had a reason
My flaws are open season
For this, I gave up trying
One good turn deserves my dying

You don't need to bother
I don't need to be
I'll keep slipping farther
But once I hold on
I won't let go 'til it bleeds

Wish I'd died instead of lived
A zombie hides my face
Shell forgotten
With its memories
Diaries left
With cryptic entries

And you don't need to bother
I don't need to be
I'll keep slipping farther
But once I hold on,
I won't let go 'til it bleeds

"Bother" ~ Stone Sour

Gua Banyak Bosan...

Hidup gua banyak boring lor... Gua sula mau jadi gila......

Aiyo...

Sorry, I just remembered something to rant about:

If you're looking for the most expensive, mediocre-I-can-make-this-at-home-for-nothing-with-one-small-aubergine-type food with the worse service in town (except, of course, if you're mat-salleh or/and obviously-royalty-with-10-huge-bodyguards *takes a breath* I recommend 'Shook!'.

For those of you with masochistic tendencies, you are Guaranteed! to have THE most unsatisfying meal available in KL AND pay through your nose for the privilege. It is little wonder the place is the favoured dining spot of KL's superfluous, superficial rich: OTT, lacking substance, shallow, pissing-off-ly-pathetically pretentious, pretty on the outside, blah within. Superficial lah. Nak harap lawa je. Quality: ZERO. The menu wasn't even that interesting. (Literally) Thick as a plank and just as much content.

We had to call the attention of a waiter to be seated. We had to wait 15 minutes before our orders were taken. 20 minutes for appetizers, half an hour for my pot of jasmine tea - which came as lemon, so I had to wait some more, 15 more minutes after the appetiser plates were cleared before the mains arrived, and I still had to come home and make myself Maggi Mee a scant hour-and-a-half later because the food was so forgettable. Oh, but the last straw was when they cleared the whole table of done dishes and unused cutlery while I was still eating my main course!! The waiter got a right fucking earful for that one. Needless to say, we didn't bother with dessert.

I knew there was a reason we decided to not patronize the place, I can't believe I forgot. The last time we went, my mother had to yell before we got our food, and walked out refusing to pay the 10% service charge because "your service is shit, you don't deserve to be paid extra for it." *snicker* Amen to that.

Reflections

Once in a while, you re-evaluate your life.

What are the things worth wanting? What are the things you really need, and what are they worth?

Are they worth fighting for? Are they worth compromising for? What are they worth giving up?

What are the things worth pursuing, and for which do you give in?

How much are they worth? Are they worthy of you? Are you worthy of them?

How much are you worth? To yourself?

Sometimes, you seem so certain, but I look around me, at the people who have supposedly 'been there' and 'done that', and I think that maybe you will never find your answers.

As Time Goes By

I can hardly believe it has been almost a whole month since I last posted! Wither hath time flown?

Things have been hectic. At work, in relationships (not speaking of any one in particular, just in general), with the family... I find myself having no private time left.

Fortunately, I will not have to work the whole of next week as the company has decided that we should all go on leave. You don't hear me complaining.

It is a much-needed respite.. and I hope it will actually feel like one. I seriously need time back for ME. No obligations, no demands. If only for just one week.