1 more month!

Did you see that? My daisypath says "1 month to our vacation" ... yippeee!!

I've practically planned it all out. Grand Palace, Ayutthaya day trip, Snake Temple, Crocodile Farm, Chao Phraya River cruise, Thai food, Thai massage, Thai shopping ... the excitement just mounts with every site I click, every new piece of information I find.

It's good to anticipate :)

Living your life

QUESTION : "Are you living your dream? Or just living your life?"

N : How come life so sian wan?
Me : Yah lor. Work's so boring. We're both not doing what we want to do. And then, it's not to say we're stupid people. We're quite clever people mah. How come we're stuck here ah?
N : Exactly. Life so sian. Wanna change job, but scared la ...
Me : But if you wanna change jobs, find what you like, jump fields, you gotta do it now right? (Look who's talking). I mean, after all, later got kids la and everything, then it'll be really hard for you to do what you want, cos by that time job security is important cos u got family to feed.
N : Yah lor hor. Aiyah.

~ an extract (paraphrased) of a phone conversation with a close girl friend earlier this evening

But it's all just talk, isn't it? One never gets off their butt to do something about their life. Well, I mean me la, actually.

If someone were to ask exactly what I'd like to do right now, I'd be able to answer without hesitation. Really.

But,
because of job security,
because I'm working towards having something to fall back on in the future,
because of this fear of the future,
because of not wanting to disappoint those who provided me with my education,
because I'm not strong or rebellious enough to want what I want,
I am here.

Sad case la.

But, if you look at it from the other perspective, I'd be a wimp to give up now. I'm already halfway towards getting my valuer's license. Halfway. Hmm. The light ain't there yet :P

ANSWER : Definitely, just living my life. Without a doubt.

(Something inside me screams - but I'm only 25! Why do I sound 75?? This discussion shall be continued.)

Pygmalion

... is in town! Well, it's a local production la, but still it'll be interesting to watch this musical that inspired the well-known My Fair Lady.

Maxis One Club is giving a 30% discount, which means the best seats are only RM84 (opened till 30 Sept 2005). Venue KL Performing Arts Centre, Sentul Park, Sentul West.

I cannot imagine Harith Iskandar as Prof Higgins. It'll be a musical comedy :P So, anyone up for Pygmalion?

BBQ King

The wonders of technology - having a BBQ grill without the literal huff-and-puff of starting the charcoal fire. A quick flick of your wrist and voila, fire hot enough to grill your burgers, chicken wings, satay sticks, sausages, you name it.

So, 2 days running of BBQ dinner. Luckily, all the work of having to move tables and chairs and tupperwares of food in and out of the house ensured I didn't eat much and digested everything by the time I flopped into bed way past midnight.

This picture on top shows the IBM Team Blue guys giving our new gas barbeque grill its maiden grill. My sis was host for one of their Friday-night bonding sessions (yah, on the night of the Malaysian Idol finals!).

Now, this picture below shows my friends working the grill with the previous night's leftovers.

And then we settled down to watch the results show for Malaysian Idol 2. So amazing that Daniel won it. Shows the power of the people. But I'm glad he won. He sings out of tune, but he dances well and looks cute on stage - total boy-band material, but boy-bands sell, right?

And so, an interesting weekend is over. Another week of work ahead. It's getting depressing thinking about work. And when you start finding it more and more difficult to get up in the morning, something definitely needs to be addressed. But not now.

Lanterns in the garden

3 months is up!

Been quarter-year since I handed in my valuer's log book for the first year and they told me I needed to do an extension of 3 months before I could proceed to my second year. Boy was I feeling dejected at that time.

But, 3 months is up. And I've finished writing up for the extension period. Shall submit it in again and hopefully this time, get approval to proceed with my second year.

It shall then be another year before I submit it again for the final time in September 2006.

A whole entire year before I can see a salary increase or a promotion. That is demotivating. Definitely one of those moments when you feel like you need your life back.

"Obstacles are those things you see when you take your eyes off the goal." This phrase has been running around my mind for the past few days. The part of the phrase that I think of most - the goal. Do I want to get there?

Looks like I have no choice. But to stick to this low-paying job that no-longer-offers-job-satisfaction-because-work-is-getting-monotonously-boring. Maybe I'm just in a rut. Maybe work is too dull. Maybe because I see no incentive (i.e. payrise, promotion) that keeps me going. Maybe because I don't see myself going anywhere in this company.

I hate being stuck in a rat race that cannot be influenced by my own abilities. No, doesn't mean I want to go into sales. I just don't like to feel unappreciated. Hah! There!

At least now I know why I'm complaining.

It's good to be able to complain somewhere when you can't complain to the boss. But then again, bosses don't like to listen to complaints anyway.

This is the place I plan to visit next - Ayutthaya - listed as one of the World Heritage Sites of UNESCO since 1991 

Wonders of the World

Hands up those who can name all the wonders of the world.

My hands are down. And because I want to be one of those who can start ticking off the wonders I've visited, I decided to research a little bit on it.

The 7 wonders of the Ancient World

1. The Great Pyramid of Giza - a gigantic stone structure near the ancient city of Memphis, serving as a tomb for the Egyption Pharaoh Khufu
2. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon - A palace with legendary gardens built on the banks of the Euphrates river by King Nebuchadnezzar II
3. The Statue of Zeus at Olympia - An enormous stone of the Greek father of gods, carved by the great sculptor Pheidias
4. The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus - A beautiful temple in Asia Minor erected in honour of the Greek goddess of hunting and wild nature
5. The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus - A fascinating tomb constructed for King Maussollos, Persian satrap of Caria (I just copied this whole sentence, I don't know what "satrap of Caria" means)
6. The Colossus of Rhodes - A colossus of Helios the sun-god, erected by the Greeks near the harbor of a Mediterranean island
7. The Lighthouse of Alexandria - A lighthouse built by the Ptolemies on the island of Pharos off the coast of their capital city

Of this entire list, only one has survived time. Most people will probably know which one it is, since they would most likely have not heard of the rest. The oldest of the Ancient Wonders - the pyramid of Giza - definitely a place I'd like to visit.

Forgotten Wonders

1. Abu Simbel Temple in Egypt
2. Angkor Wat in Cambodia
3. Aztec Temple in Mexico City
4. Banaue Rice Terraces the Philippines
5. Borobudur Temple in Indonesia
6. Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa in Alexandria, Egypt
7. Colosseum in Rome, Italy
8. Great Wall of China
9. Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey
10. Inca City of Machu Picchu, Peru
11. Leaning Tower of Pisa, Italy
12. Mayan Temples of Tikal in Northern Guatemala
13. Moai Statues in Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Chile
14. Mont-Saint-Michel in Normandy, France
15. Throne Hall of Persepolis in Iran
16. The Parthenon in Athens, Greece
17. Petra, the rock-carved city in Jordan
18. Porcelain Tower of Nanjing, China
19. The Red Fort (Lal Quila) in Delhi, India
20. Shwedagon Pagoda in Myanmar
21. Stonehenge in England (oh yippee, I can tick this off!)
22. Taj Mahal in Agra, India
23. Temple of the Inscriptions in Palenque, Mexico

Modern Wonders

1. The Channel Tunnel (the English Channel between France and England)
2. The Clock Tower (Big Ben) in London, England (another tick!)
3. The CN Tower in Toronto, Canada
4. Eiffel Tower in Paris, France
5. Empire State Building in New York City, USA
6. Gateway Arch in St. Louis, USA
7. Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, USA
8. High Dam in Aswan, Egypt
9. Hoover Dam in Arizona/Nevada, USA
10. Itaipu Dam in Brazil/Paraguay
11. Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota, USA
12. North Sea Protection Works in Netherlands
13. The Panama Canal
14. The Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (wow, KL's in this list!)
15. The Statue of Cristo Redentor in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
16. The Statue of Liberty in New York City, USA
17. The Suez Canal in Egypt
18. The Sydney Opera House in Australia (4th tick!)

Natural Wonders

1. Angel Falls in Venezuela
2. The Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia, Canada
3. The Grand Canyon in Arizona, USA
4. The Great Barrier Reef in Australia
5. Iguacu Falls in Brazil/Argentina
6. Krakatoa Island in Indonesia
7. Mount Everest in Nepal
8. Mount Fuji in Japan
9. Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania
10. Niagara Falls in Ontario (Canada) and New York State (USA)
11. Northern Lights in Antartica
12. Paricutin Volcano in Mexico
13. Victoria Falls in Zambia/Zimbabwe

Underwater Wonders of the World

1. Palau - a small archipelago in the Pacific Ocean
2. Belize Barrier Reef
3. Galapagos Islands - 600 miles west of Ecuador where 4 major currents meet
4. The Northern Red Sea (Ras Muhammad)
5. Lake Baikal in Russia
6. Great Barrier Reef in Queensland, Australia
7. The Deep Sea Vents

Looks like the world's filled with lotsa things to see! I've particularly found the Galapagos Islands fascinating, and scary. Articles of it usually feature big monitor lizards that look like they belong to the dinosaur-age.

Anyway, while researching on the many Wonders of the World (obviously there's more than seven!), I stumbled upon the UNESCO World Heritage List. So, the next time you're planning a trip somewhere, see if you can tick some places off - if not one of the wonders, at least one of the world heritages.

On days like this, I can't help but be amazed by the world we live in (dramatic-nya!).

Land of the Dead

Oh goodness, where do I start? Well ...

I liked this movie because I didn't get freaked out. That will tell you everything you need to know about it. I mentioned the unhorror-ness of this movie to my colleague this morning and he told me he'd laughed thru-out the entire movie. Ok, so there are parts which are quite gross where the zombies feast on live flesh - but other than that, you'll just zombie-fy yourself out watching these other zombies.

"What's in your head, in your head ... zombie, zombie, zom-bie-bie-bie!"

The Da Vinci Code, Illustrated Edition

I've read this at least twice on paperback. But, boy, is it a totally different experience reading it in this edition. It's, to say the least, beautiful. Slowly rifling through the glossy pages, smelling whiffs of that new-book essence, gazing at all the amazing architecture graphics - this is a real reading experience.

My little sister generously bought me a copy from the Times warehouse sale (it's over already, so don't rush anywhere). She won't let me know how much it cost her (so nice of her), but I think the market sells it for about RM100. And no, don't even think to ask to borrow it - it's the only book that won't leave my house. You're very welcomed to come browse through it at my house though, after you've washed your hands, of course :)

If anyone hasn't read it yet, go grab yourself a paperback - worth every single sen of RM34.90. Even without the pictures, the words are vivid enough for you to use your imagination. With the pictures there - indescribable.

So proud of my new book :) But I think the long nights of holding this heavy hardback has caused me to incur a minor wrist injury - honest. So working with a mouse and typing on a keyboard or writing something or even turning the steering wheel is done rather gently now, fragile right wrist you see. But still, this book is worth every single minute that eats into your bedtime.

Great OC pic! 

Reunion Season 1

Reunion stars another 6 beautiful people and airs on Fox after The O.C. The pilot episode, which I just watched, is of course nothing compared to The O.C. (yes I'm biased). But, it does star one of the O.C. people - Hailey, Kirsten's sister - and she acts like typical her in here (read: sexy slutty teenager).

The plot, however, should be more interesting than The O.C. It starts off with a funeral where one of the six friends has died (but we don't know who). Then it has flashback scenes to 1986, the year they all graduated, the turning point of things to come. The episode ends in the present day with an officer questioning one of the friends, a suspect. The next episode will be on 1987. Each episode is a year in flashback, so it'll work its way until the present day when we finally see who has died and who killed him/her.

American TV is really quite fun. This is coming from someone whose only regular TV program is Malaysian Idol spectaculars and its results show. I surfed a bit and found out that Desperate Housewives Season 2 is starting soon, along with The Apprentice 1 : Martha Stewart, The Apprentice 4 : Donald Trump, Lost Season 2 and Alias Season 5.

It's nice to have my computer up and running again :)

The O.C. Season 3

Brilliant.

The O.C. Season 3's 1st episode is totally utterly brilliant.

I absolutely adore this series.

My Saturdays shall never be the same again :)

Brand new

Finally couldn't take my demented computer anymore and decide to reformat it. Not like I'm typing this from my newly-reformatted computer - I'm too lazy right now to dig out my old boxes to retrieve those driver CDs to install my soundcard, videocard, modem, etc. Then I have to re-download my Winamp, Adobe Reader, Spybot S&D, AdAware, etc. And then, I'll have to re-download all over again Desperate Housewives of which I haven't finished watching (maybe I'll just watch it on normal tv) and all my beloved mp3s which are now gone with the wind :P So for now, my computer is still slowly recuperating from its brainwash. YESsss, virus and spywares and what-nots, begone!

You know that it's very empowering to make the decision to reformat your computer without transferring anything out of it? Well, not like I had a choice, because my computer hadn't allowed me to burn anything out and refused to detect my sister's portable harddisk. So I could do nothing but just erase everything - everything including my pictures, my mp3s, my music videos, all my various torrent downloads.

But, back to what I said, it's empowering. No wonder feng shui masters say it's bad chi to accummulate too much. I feel completely refreshed. You should try it too - not that I'm cursing your computer or anything. But, every once in a while, throw trash out - it's good for the soul.