Thursday, July 31, 2003

Dan is now actively looking for a job. Out went resumes to the online employment search engines. Next up, spamming companies I like. Third up, probing my contacts for jobs. What yet to do, inform boss. Don't plan to talk to him until I find another job. Don't want him to psyche me out of it. So till cafe materialises, to another job I go. Help appreciated :)

Wednesday, July 30, 2003

Food Review Day

Restaurant: Vietnam Kitchen
Location: USJ 9, same row as Maybank

Food ordered: Vermicelli with spring rolls and chicken, Rice noodles with chicken balls

Price: RM 6.90 per dish

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Overall: Pleasant ambience, cozy and well designed. Food is served at a fairly good speed and service is commendable. Non-stop free flow of iced water and a good range of desserts I have yet to try. Price is good for the portions. Great place to eat, sit back and relax.

Tuesday, July 29, 2003

Another day, another rant, another torment on the lifeless soul killed by misguided ambitions... (melodramatic ala spanish soap operas).

Sleepy, sleepy, sleepy. Colleague Beng came up to me this morning and said, 'hey, this is for you, from Jacq' and he presented me with two small plastic bags of black and brown bean thingy. I said, 'what's this' simply thinking that it's too little to make a meal, and Beng knows i'm not a junkie. After some pondering, we realised it was fertiliser for my dreadfully dying plant. (sorry jacq, I tried). Maybe the fertiliser will help, maybe... maybe... maybe...

Ladida ladida...

Monday, July 28, 2003

Darn... OogaBooga day... the weekend sure went by fast... especially since I had extra days off. Darn...

Am undecided about my future career plans. Cafe has to wait until I'm more financially secure. In the meantime, I don't know whether to stick to current company and hope it makes it or make a move to somewhere different. I don't like my current job though and that's starting to grate on me. Hmm...

Am keeping my options open for now. Will be on the lookout for a career change. No job is worth being unhappy.

Thursday, July 24, 2003

Something is wrong with me. Woke up this morning in such a lethargic state. Alarm ranged at 6, woke up, stood up for 10 seconds then dropped on the bed again till 7. Got freaked out, tried to go shower, then the next thing I knew, it was already 8+. And I was still tired. Seeing how I slept at 9 the previous night, I gave up going to work and went to see doctor.

Extremely unfunny doctor was going, 'So, girlfriend dumped you? Boss scolded you? Diabetes? Family history of psychological problems?'. GAH! Got diagnosed as fatigue, given medicine and have to come back after 5 days. If medicine and rest makes me better, it's just physical and nothing to worry about. If it doesn't, I have to do a blood test! WAHHHH!!!!!!! Good part of it is, I get two days off which means I have a four day weekend. :) Going to go home Melaka for some good home style pampering tomorrow.

So sorry Meng, I can't join you for lunch. Happy returning to the workforce though. :) Hope you're enjoying your job.

Cheers everyone, enjoy your weekend.

Wednesday, July 23, 2003

Good Wednesday morning. Woke up today energised, thanks to 9 hours of blissful slumber. I am such a pig.

No more freaky dreams last night. :) Had good dinner. Had dessert. Lots of tambun piah's (courtesy of Saw). Ah... pig heaven...

Can't wait to go back home this weekend. I've decided to join FirstShot and give it a go. Ladida...

Tuesday, July 22, 2003

Had to drag myself out of bed and did it by tempting myself with cold dessert. So sad... I hate mornings...

I had a nightmare that's still at the back of my mind. Worse part is, I remember each scene so vividly. Gah... Nightmare goes something like this:

'It was a dark and overcast evening in Malacca, when I waved my family off. Standing at the front gate, I felt a chill seeping through me and noticed that the once grey clouds had a tint of luminiscent blue. All of a sudden, appeared in the middle of the road two huge snakes, slithering menacingly with features unlike any snake I've seen. Shocking as it was, I stood agape in dream trance, unsure whether this is to be expected. What followed was a string of other animals, seemingly normal, resembling creatures familiar, but yet different. A spike, an extra limb, geometric patterns. It then striked me that we were invaded by aliens and all panic broke loose in my head.'

'The aliens were everywhere. Alien animals ravaging hidden lands. And alien controllers, human looking as they are, infiltrated corporations and government and began killing humankind while replacing them with their alien doppelgangers. The infiltration was so perfect that no alarm sounded. No one knew of it and humanity's death toll rose. I was struck by fear and panic until a rogue alien made approach.'

'The rogue alien was a defector, a rebel against this planetary onslaught. "Kill the leader and you disband them all", he said. So we made plans and identified the base of operations. After brutally making our way through perimeter defenses, the rogue alien left me for he was not able to go further. With instructions on how to eliminate the alien, I made way through with as much stealth as possible, and fear brimming inside.'

'I stood eye to eye with the bulky alien. Beneath the American beefcake exterior was the root of the invasion and it had to be extinguished. It was a hand to hand combat driven by fear and need. It was the scent of sweat that I remembered. The blood and gore flickered through my consciousness while the clumsy leader flayed as he fought to control the new body. It was an opportunity and with a massive swing of a steel pipe, he was beheaded. But that isn't all. In order to kill him (and save the world) he was to be disembowelled. And to task I went with bloodied hands wretching through skin and bone. '


Pardon the clumsy literary attempt (it's early in the morning, yawns). Just felt that the nightmare story needed an angle! hahaha... but seriously, tis the first dream where I had to behead and disembowel someone (alien or otherwise) and it was so disgustingly fun. As frightening as it was, kicking alien butt was exhilirating. I'm scaring myself... (DA DA DA DAM!)

Interesting article for the day and another reason why we shouldn't eat pork! < read this >

Monday, July 21, 2003

Morning... wet and bleak OogaBooga... how I wished I could be in bed. Am late for work as well... gah... not a good start to the work week.

Weekend was fun, though somewhat exhausting. First up, the Andromeda finale was disappointing. All soapy drama and not enough starship action. Grr... Then went to Megamall to meet Jin and his significant other. Had a good time talking though the crowd was a bit overwhelming. Had a nice Coffee Bean lunch thanks to buy 1 free 1 vouchers. :)

Also watched tween movie Lizzie McGuire. Yes yes... I know it's a somewhat kiddie show. Really no brainer but relaxing and very the feel good. Weird part was, kids made up only 1/4 of the movie goers. Everyone else there was in their mid-20's and above. Hmm... fun though... it's a Disney movie wot.

Sunday was great. Meng and HL came over for breakfast (which had to be hurriedly cooked at my aunt's place since the gas ran out). Standard American breakfast of ham, dogs, eggs and toast. Bobbie made sure to visit every one seated for scraps. Chun came later and off we went to San Francisco Pizza for a great lunch, courtesy of HL. Pasta's were half off and were good. Pizza is different and very the delish. Worth a second visit I think. Rest of the afternoon was spent with Monopoly. The winner goes without mention. Mua ha ha ha!!!

All in all, good weekend with lots of friends. Makes me dread today ever more. ARGH!

Friday, July 18, 2003

You are MARLIN!
What Finding Nemo Character are You?

brought to you by Quizilla


Weird (and funny) site.

:D
A Friday! A Friday! It's finally a Friday!

My 6 yr old cousin David has watched Finding Nemo a gazillion times and he has memorised the Dory song (including operatic impersonations). So all you have to do is say, 'David, sing the Dory song!' and he'll pucker his lips and 'Ohohohoohohhh... swimming, swimming....'. :)

I have a public service announcement for visitors to Kiara Park. If you see a black and white rabbit (by the name of Domino), please tell him that he's been away too long and needs to return home.

Will be staying back this weekend, a first after a long while. I've been going back a lot simply to avoid being called back on weekends to work by boss. Seeing how boss is away this weekend and lots of plans in place, I foresee a pleasant weekend without highway driving. :)

Woohoo... gonna start my day tomorrow with 2 hours of Andromeda. Those who have watched it, don't tell me anything. I so love space ships.

Anyways, have a good weekend everyone! Safe driving to Penang Saw.

Thursday, July 17, 2003

Ah... after only a two day blogging hiatus... my blog already seems grossly out of date. :)

It has been a weird week. If I was a Boeing 777, I would have had a hijacking foiled, near mid-air crash, and endured stormy turbulence, while my 1st class passengers drank wine and watched movies. Contradiction... tis the word. (would be nice to be a plane though... somewhat heavy I would think).

Been reading the heated HP5 debate in The Star. Seeing how the articles have no editorial value, I'm guessing The Star is giving them print space for the sake of sensationalism. Tis sad. Stupid debate. A book is a book is a book. Everyone has opinions, and seeing how it has no consequence whatsoever to anything (HP is a fictional character, Daniel Radcliffe not withstanding), people really should keep their emotions in check. And Star really shouldn't have published that spoiler article.

My car is still electronically dead. I am never buying a Malaysian made car ever again. (Except possibly the Proton Jumbuck, aka Arena.)

Now, important announcement for today:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HSIANG LIN! WOOHOO! BILA MAKAN?

:D



Monday, July 14, 2003

Oh... what a beautiful morning... oh what a beautiful day... (am trying to psyche myself up to be positively happy ala mary poppins).

I've decided to blame hormones on my recent spate of grumpiness. For a while there, it felt like being in university all over again! Hehehe... especially since I was grumpy almost all the time there. Can't stay grumpy for long though so gonna take a leaf from Dory's book and just keep swimming, swimming, swimming...

I have lost trust in Proton Edar, seeing how everytime I go there for a service, I leave with bigger problems. An intermittent electrical problem claim to require replacement of parts (thankfully under warranty) but just a few days after the service, the intermittent problem became permanent. My car has a dead clock, dead interior lamp, dead radio, dead central locking... luckily the aircond and lights still work. Grr...

I had the most nerve wrecking dream of being in a fight for your life situation. Situation being taken from a chapter in Order of the Phoenix (those who read it will know). Wizards and witches everywhere. Wands ablazing and everyone shouting spells. What was nerve wrecking is that I had to constantly run and crack my head twice over to remember the spells galore. All I could sadly remember was the lame-o spells that did nothing but made enemies laugh in feigned terror. GAH! Thank goodness however that (uh hum) dream witch Piper (yes, Charmed again) came to save me day. Hehehehe... sigh... dreams are good...

Checked company site statistics since we had some adverts running recently. We have an average of 500 hits daily, 2000 when we have an ad out but this time, it hit the 8000 mark! Woohoo... :) It feels great to have ads you designed pulling in that much interest. Hehehe...

Happy OogaBooga everyone... if that is in any way possible...

Friday, July 11, 2003

It has been an emotionally eventful week and like many others, I'm grateful for the weekend. Happy Friday everyone and a good weekend to one and all.

Tuesday, July 08, 2003

Was boggled by nightmares last night. Here are snippets:

1. Went to Cameron and accidentally stirred the wrath of a vengeful demon thing. (I know, I know, I watch too much Charmed). So, on a bicycle (yups, bicycle) I had to pedal like heck avoiding splitting roads, fireballs, lorries deadset to run you down and etc. only to reach sea level and realise that the demon can find me there as well. Thus ends snippet 1.

2. Was at a family picnic and I brought Wallaby and Wombat (they were both still babies in the dream). Let kid cousin play with them and they suddenly got loose and a whole group of cats began chasing them down. Rest of the dream ensued by cat chasing rabbits, and me chasing cats. Needless to say it was both exhausting and futile. Wallaby and Wombat died. Muaaahh....

3. Was reading through documents and realised that I was reading autopsy reports. Got pretty engrossed until I realised I was reading my own report. FREAKY!!!

I need a break...

Monday, July 07, 2003

Yawn! Don't quite know what I did today but it felt like I was busy the whole time. Yawns... which explains why I'm blogging in the evening instead of the morning as per usual. Darn OogaBooga.

Woke up sleepy and grouchy and came to work to an empty office. All the programmers were on sick leave. So it's me, by myself, in the main office area. Bored bored bored.

Also realised that an interview me and Boss did for a company program for Computimes is out today. Photo included. Not going to reveal more but if you go by hints, you can probably find out where I work now! Hahaha...

I'm also very doozy today. Lightheaded and dreading the week. We have two more ads out and everytime that happens, we get a flood of phone calls from people who can't read. Nearly everything they need to know is in the ad but they seem intent on making me repeat verbatim my sales pitch over and over again. Cruel...

Dreaming fondly of Friday...

Friday, July 04, 2003

The dark of early morn bade greeting with a chilly breeze wafting through the half-open shutters. In the daze between sleep and awakening, I welcomed the new day with a renewed vigour unique only to this particular moment. Because darnit... IT"S A FRIDAY!!!! WHOOPEEDOOO!!!!

Had an interesting workday yesterday (note: 'interesting', not ARGH!). I went for a last minute meeting casually dressed (I wasn't expecting a meeting), had to wait in a bank for 30 mins for the car to pick the more important guests, then waited another 30 mins for meeting to begin and then got ushered out to wait for another important (and late) guest outside the bank by the main road, only to wait for 60 mins and realise that the late guest has entered the meeting covertly by sneaking behind my back and that the meeting was over. Weird... but hey, 3 hours of paid loitering! Woohoo!

Did some preliminary research on Summit. Rental rates are less than 2k, cafe operators there make on average a nett profit of 5-6k. Also, I've received a pleasant and unexpected windfall yesterday that has left me almost debt-free! I'm so positively encouraged I could just pretend to cry! :)

Have a good weekend everyone.

ps: Meng, if you are in Melaka, give me a buzz.

Thursday, July 03, 2003

I will not complain about work anymore. It's pointless. I will now focus energy on making my plans work. Ta da.

Wednesday, July 02, 2003

It's finally the middle of the week and I'm downright excited about the future prospect of tending in my resignation, grumpy with the neighbour and they're inconsiderate parking, miffed with the weather and bad traffic, and finally am all on edge about what will happen with Harry and his friends and hopes my guess on who dies isn't correct. Tis a day of jumble'ism. And I suspect that the Order of the Phoenix is having a big effect on my mood. I can't believe it'll take 2 more books (and hopefully not 6 years) before this series ends! GAH!

On another note, my tasks for this week is to manually scan about 100 documents, assemble them together with powerpoints and notes, and on top of that answer marketing phone calls, draft emails, format Word documents, and nods head to boss. Does that sound like something a manager would do coz I feel like a PA minus the skirt. Maybe I SHOULD wear a skirt and complete the image. Hmm...

Tuesday, July 01, 2003

It's a sad morning when you have a friend retrenched. Best wishes Meng and I know you'll bounce back stronger than ever. And at the worst case scenario of not finding another job, you can always come and work for me! :) I need a chief pastry chef. Hehehe...

Anyways, I need honest feedback from you guys. I'm all about ready to plunge into this cafe thing. Briefly, I'm describing it as an arts cafe with a niche market of students and young adults designed for lounging and arts appreciation. Basically, kick back, drink, and soak in the art work while playing board games and pokemon. But before I go any further, I need to know what you guys think. Is this a good idea? Is it workable? And more importantly, I would need to depend on friends even more! Share your opinions :)

*ponders name of cafe while I aimlessly waste time behind my desk*