Guilt-ridden

Retail therapy binge is over.

I had a chat with a student yesterday who had to stop studying due to financial problems. His family can't support him and he has 3 younger siblings. In their interest, he needs to work to be able to send money home so the family can eat and the kids can go to school.

With a huge chunk of earnings sent home, he can barely afford essential costs not to mention food. Dinner is forgone on most days, breakfast is bread and lunch is usually a packet of Maggi.

Times like this, I feel blessed, thankful and ever so guilty for having so many things taken for granted.

Needless to say, I no longer feel like shopping.

Retail therapy

It's good to be back after being away for a week in Langkawi and Penang. The island cities are such shopping havens that I've burnt my wallet and had a good time (outside of work that is!).

Back in KL the momentum didn't stop though. The megasale is back and as usual, I find myself in a shopping binge and frenzy! Someone needs to take away my credit cards everytime the sale starts...

These time, in less than 2 weeks I've bought:

- 10 pairs of underwear
- 6 pairs of socks
- 5 t-shirts
- 2 polo t's
- 2 shirts
- loads of chocolates
- a 3-piece luggage set
- a pair of shoes

I am a happy (but broke) boy. Meng and Chun, you need to rein me in when we're at Bangkok otherwise I'll buy everything.

Wanderlust...

Everyone who knows me knows I'm a homebody... I enjoy staying at home and an ideal day off is a day in front of the tv eating mangoes... Work however dictates otherwise. Come June and July, I will be off and away to quite a few places. So if my blog starts attracting cobwebs, you'll know why :)

So I'm packing bags and about ready to go to...

- Langkawi
- Penang
- Kota Kinabalu
- Kuching
- Singapore
- JB
- Ottawa
- Toronto
- New York
- Houston

and will be briefly transitting in Taipei, LA, Chicago and Denver, all in less than 2 months. Woohoo?

World... here I come!

Grr...

I love my life. It's not perfect but I really have little cause to complain. There are gripes however, and as petty as they may seem, it annoys me to heck! As work is a big part of my life, a lot of the things that rub me the wrong way are things that happen daily. So here's my top 10 list of things that makes Dan grumpy!

#10: The LRT stops at KLCC for a good amount of time as a lot of commuters stop here SO those at the back, you really don't need to push and shove your way out. Just move with the crowd otherwise I will step on your toes!

#9: Go take the free Sun paper but don't read it and walk. Having a barricade of slow-walking readers who can't move in a straight line tempts me to start pushing people. Don't tempt me.

#8: Mobile phones come in a silent mode. Use it. The only one who enjoys those annoying 3-minute long text alerts are you. Seriously.

#7: When parking cars, just go head in, especially when there are a line of cars behind you. I have better things to do then to spend 5 minutes watching you move in and out trying to straighten your car into the space backfirst.

#6: Gym equipments are not chairs. If you need to sit and rest, go home.

#5: Music in the office may soothe your soul but it aggravates mine. Use headphones.

#4: Don't smile at me and say hi when you are a backstabbing, incompetent ****. Colleagues with misplaced sense of purpose and authority should be torched, skewered and fed to ravenous birds.

#3: If you want something, just say so. I am not a mind reader.

#2: Where are all my pens!!!

#1: I don't care why the server is down. Get it up and working!

Let the good times roll...

I'm feeling very elated yet somewhat down both at the same time. It's confusing, brain-bending and it's culturing previously non-existent insomniac tendencies.

I've had a great (and final) housewarming makan with family last Saturday. Other than my immediate family, aunts, uncles, cousins and even my grandmother came for a really good time together. I am definitely thankful to be able to call these people my family (and thank goodness for that as you can't really choose your family!) and it was the easiest housewarming ever as everyone chipped in to do just about everything. I wished I could post some photos but I left my camera in my dad's car which is now in Melaka. Groan...

Anyways, when it's all over and done and everyone's gone home, it's utterly depressing to be alone in your house and missing the warmth and company of people you care about. I guess I'm still not quite used to living alone as I've always had people at home with me. Perhaps it was the rain that sparked the melancholy.

It's Monday now and I'm at work facing a deluge of things-to-do, courtesy of my five day weekend last week. Maybe jumping right into work will get me out of my doldrums... or maybe it's just a Monday thing.

Have a good week ahead!

What a weekend...

Life has been pretty hectic of late so it's been awhile since I've watched a decent movie at the cineplex. I managed to find some time last Saturday so I went to watch Spiderman 3 and POTC back to back.

I have to say it wasn't the best of decisions and because I couldn't really commit to the time, I went to watch alone. The movies were long and for such highly anticipated movies, they were kinda lacklustre. I was entertained but I wasn't blown away. And both movies had somewhat unsatisfactory endings. Gah...

Then on Sunday I had my 2nd housewarming. Thanks for those who came bearing food and gifts! It was good catching up though I must say I didn't quite appreciate the ghost story sharing session. Not a great note to end an evening with especially when you have my imagination and are living alone.

When I get my airconditioner installed, let's have more such evenings! :)

Housewarming... literally

I had my first housewarming session last Sunday and it was exhausting but good! It's a nice feeling to be able to welcome friends over but the preparation and the cleanup can be a chore.

There was tonnes of food so am a little worried about my future housewarming sessions. A potluck is a lot of fun but sometimes the amount of food can be overwhelming. There were only 10 of us but we had enough food to feed 40 easily! I'll be eating leftovers for the good part of this week... and that is after food has been doggie-bagged to everyone who came!

Am looking forward to it again this Sunday with you guys. Do dress lightly tho, my place can get a little warm... no aircond mah!

Sleepiness...

I need sleep. On average, I need a wholesome 8 hours to be doing good. Any less and I'll be prone to grumpiness and any more indicates signs of a great day ahead. These days, I can fall asleep standing. I need sleep.

Sneak Peeks :)

Am quite settled into my place and slowly feeling comfortable here. Still a little obsessive with keeping things tidy but am sure it's going to 'really' be home very soon :) Here's some sneak peeks!

My dining area/classroom.



My hall.



The master bedroom.



My kitchen!

Mouse in the House

Caught this mouse at the old house a few weeks back. So cute but it chewed through so much stuff! Released it at the Kelana Jaya LRT station on my way to work :)

Food Day

Food is such an important part of the day :) Breakfast sets the tone, lunch perks the day up and dinner ends it all! Here's a snapshot of a pretty good day food-wise!

Excellent breakfast of fried bihun, yamcake and soy+cincau.



Lunch was pretty funky. Not sure what this is exactly but got it at this vegetarian place near KLCC.



Dinner was at an event launching at the Galeri Petronas. Good food is even better when free!

Moved, settled and satisfied

It's been a long long week but have finally moved and settled into my new place. Everything is where it should be and there's nothing left to do. Am relieved and happy and now look forward to making the place lived in :)

Legally though, still some obstacles left. Last few transactions still pending but am hopeful it will be resolved soon. There is just so many steps to take in buying property that it's a wonder how businesses even get started. Just one delay at one step of the process can wreck the whole timeline. I'm just glad at least the move is resolved!

New is good...

I've finally been to the Dewan Filharmonik Petronas! After years of wanting to, finally took the initiative (albeit motivated by free tickets) the Fri before last with Chun for an MPO performance (of which I dozed off a bit) and last Fri for a theatre performance. The theatre was a traditional Malay play done in Mek Mulung style. It was very very interesting and am glad I went. Am definitely looking forward to more!

I'm also finally moving into my new place. Will be off from Wed onwards to move. Started cleaning yesterday and begun assembling some DIY furniture I bought from Carrefour. I bought two units of a 3-door wardrobe for my humongous and mostly unused pile of clothes (which now literally is scattered in 2 rooms). It took me 3 hours just to completely assemble 1 of the wardrobes. Gosh... not looking forward to the next.

Lots of new projects at work too. With the college, just finished trialling a whole new workshop on learning approaches that used soap, eggs and root beer. Fun fun fun! And come May, I'll be kicking off a Science Scouts project!

So many new things... :) Feels like Christmas almost!

501

This is my 501st post... and it's one done in sombre reflection on the massacre at Virginia Tech. It's hard to fathom the depths to which people can sink in depression and it's frightening to see how minds can be distorted and disillusioned.

It's also a reminder on how life is unpredictable. Start the day right, live it well, and end it counting our blessings. There's really too much to be thankful for to let the inevitable hiccups ruin it all.

Must See

TOKITSUMUGI - The Grain of Strands From Some Moments
Bustle gallery
10 Apr 2007 - 13 May 2007

GALERI PETRONAS and the Japan Foundation proudly present TOKITSUMUGI - The Grain of Strands From Some Moments, an exhibition of kinetic sculptures by Japanese kinetic artist and 3-4 dimensional space designer Masato Tanaka . Showing for the 1st time ever in Malaysia from 10 April to 13 May 2007, the exhibition presents a unique display of 12 moving sculptures which combine art and technology to create free movement, dubbed a 'scenic movement presentation'.

GALERI PETRONAS and the Japan Foundation present this unique exhibition to the public in celebration of Malaysia's 50th Year of Independence and the Japan-Malaysia Friendship Year 2007.

Feeding Optimism

I've been quite in the dumps of late. Life has been beleaguered with challenges (sounds nicer than problems!) and I've been stressed more than I can remember. My mood has been bleak and I've been rather whiny at times.

An obvious 'challenge' is the house of which moving into seems to be a dangling carrot always beyond reach. Things should resolve within a month but the pessimist foresee more problems to come. Then there's issues with relationships of which a lot is left in limbo. Heart break and stress does tend to magnify things into a narrow perspective. Then there's work which has my workload quadrupling.

I've been so narrowly obsessed with these that life became for the first time in a long while, a chore. Until yesterday that is when I had a revelation again.

We had a gathering at work yesterday and a colleague whose dad recently passed away went up to stage (all new staff have to sing) to sing a song. I can't remember the title but it's something about smiling even though there's nothing to smile about. And it struck me I guess.

I have 'challenges' yes, but there are really good challenges! I have problems with a house but eventually, I will have one! I am able to afford one and no matter how difficult, it is a problem that I really should be thankful for. Relationship issues are always touchy but I've known love. Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all! And work? For all the stress, I love my job and it pays me well. I can still remember the interview way back then when I was hoping so much to land it.

When things get tough it's easy to forget optimism. I am thankful that I remember to be thankful! Life isn't easy but thankfully my problems are not about paying bills, getting shelter or finding food even. I have really good problems and for all the crap I've yet to face, I'm thankful so bring it on!

Hmm...

The Keys to Your Heart

You are attracted to those who have a split personality - cold as ice on the outside but hot as fire in the heart. In love, you feel the most alive when your partner is patient and never willing to give up on you. You'd like to your lover to think you are optimistic and happy. You would be forced to break up with someone who was emotional, moody, and difficult to please. Your ideal relationship is comforting. You crave a relationship where you always feel warmth and love. Your risk of cheating is zero. You care about society and morality. You would never break a commitment. You think of marriage as something that will confine you. You are afraid of marriage. In this moment, you think of love as commitment. Love only works when both people are totally devoted.

What Are The Keys To Your Heart?

F1 Fever? Nah...

F1 is back in town and those who know me will know I'm unfazed. Anyways, point of this is that right now at the KLCC Concourse, there's an F1 roadshow with lots of merchandise on sale and if any of you guys are planning to buy them, well, bring me along for discounts! I get 30% off BMW Sauber merchandise and 20% off Petronas F1 merchandise. You know how to reach me.

This is a public service announcement.

Finally!

It has been a long but interesting 6 months but finally, I'm confirmed :) Woohoo!

Ye Olde Comfort Zone, Closed

It's April and I've yet to move in to my house. I'm definitely not too happy about it as I've planned stuff such that by today I should be in my new place but there have been legal delays that I have no control over so moving in will not take place for another 2-4 weeks. Gah...

So I'm now living in a house with almost every thing in a box. And being me, I labelled none of the boxes so I've been buying stuff I already have because I'm too lazy to open up boxes to search.

Worse still, I was and still am feeling sick and malaise these past week. It's a terrible feeling and it just drains the energy levels. Am still adjusting to a lot of changes but thankfully have been meeting up with friends who have helped.

What capped it all was when I went to Borders yesterday, I flipped through Lillian Too's predictions for my Chinese sign this year and it said that for March, I should expect delays in projects and energy levels will run low due to poor health. My gawd, how on earth can she be right? Was compelled to buy the book but afraid to learn more. Did sneak a peek for April though and it's supposedly a great month where things will finally fall into place and energy levels will be up. So guess I'll definitely be moving soon!