The year that was

2009 was unexpected in a number of ways, mostly because a lot of things were unplanned.

• Jan : Burnt dinner for the first time in my life. Learnt to cook easy-peasy after-work dinners (when I have the mood). Got myself a part-time maid who really made my whole year's weekends a lot easier.
• Feb : Legend Water Chalets Port Dickson (Valentine's day cum his birthday getaway).
• Mar : The US of A! My highlight of the year, this was definitely awesomesauce ...
• Apr : Earth Hour 2009 and tax submission.
• May : Flew in to Yogyakarta for Irma's grandiose wedding in Semarang.
• Jun : Rock-climbed! Chopped off my hair.
• Jul : Turned 29 and got a Wii! Flew to Singapore with Jetstar and got onto the Flyer. Ipoh trip with Maris and family.
• Aug : KP's wedding with YL. Didn't go to Hanoi - next time maybe.
• Sept : Hibernated.
• Oct : Melaka work trip - stayed in Holiday Inn.
• Nov : Hyatt Kuantan.
• Dec : Bangkok shopping and food heaven amidst Sheraton luxury. Couldn't ask for more.

Yes I seem to mark my annual events with hotel stays - but see, that's because I didn't expect to travel this year, and the local hotels are what made my year relatively bearable :P But honestly, I'm glad I got the chance to visit US and have that recent shopping spree in BKK.

And for 2010 I shall remember what I reminded myself about a year ago :

Success isn't determined by your gifts, your abilities or your opportunities - it is determined by your ability to develop a great team.

The Law of the Inner Circle - those who are closest to you determine the level of your success.

~John C Maxwell

My life as a tai tai

Today I walked till I dropped. Or, literally shopped till I dropped. Had no money left even to have lunch. Haha. Thank goodness I left some money in the hotel room safe - or I wouldn't have enough to last the next few days!

Shopping in Platinum Mall is awesome. Today I bought 6 tops and 3 working skirts. Each item costs about RM20 - how cheap is that? I managed to push myself to finish the 3rd and 5th floors before I felt like collapsing from dizziness (finished the 4th floor with KF on Monday). So on Friday, I shall return and finish up the 1st and 2nd floors - and maybe the basement. As long as my wallet allows.

My feet felt like I'd worn out my soles. So after I dropped off my heavy bags in the hotel room, I went to Urban Retreat Spa for a spa session. Went to the newly-opened Asok branch. Actually today was my 2nd time, I went there yesterday with KF for a 2-hour Thai massage (THB 550). Today I did a Himalayan salt scrub and macadamia oil massage. Skin feels so silky smooth and moisturized I tell ya. I love this place - far better than Healthland. Shall do a proper review for them later.

What's nice about this trip is that I get to relax and have my own time while the husband earns his living. Like right now, he's busy fine-dining downstairs with his colleagues. And of course, it's nice that we're in Sheraton where they come and service the room twice a day. This hotel's perfect in every way. Only minor gripe I have is that security is not very good here - no special access cards required in the lifts to enter the various floors. But well, I just have to make sure I bolt the door properly. The fact that the room's so comfortable and that I've been watching more Channel V than I've ever done since college days and blogging more frequently than ever means I got nothing to complain about. I love this tai tai lifestyle - could do this all the time ;)

A meeting in McD's

Occasionally, unexpected things happen to me.

For instance, today I met Tony Kaplan.

Actually, I just met him. Let me tell you the story.

My tummy was growling, I'd skipped lunch because the buffet breakfasts in Bangkok hotels contain enough pork to feed an army. Being a lazybum, I decided to go to the nearby McD's to grab a bite. Settled myself in with yummy Thai chilly sauce (I love the chilli here) and spicy McWings. I was biting into my yummy wings and enjoying the surroundings.

When I'm alone, I think weird thoughts. Like, plenty of women love to eat McD's in Bangkok - or maybe it's just this outlet on Sukhumvit Road. And Thai women are just Thai women - no Chinese, Indian, Malay, etc. Everyone speaks Thai, and it doesn't matter if you're a bit browner or a bit yellower. No wonder the government's trying unsuccessfully to make all of us speak BM to become 1Malaysia - the concept's good, but unfortunately it's not gonna work as long as there's segregated schools.

Anyway, as I was saying, I was happily enjoying my McValue. An old man walked past with his tray and smiled at me. Okayy, I went back to watching this group of young pretty women giggling and speaking elegantly in Thai - they even sat elegantly okay, crossed ankles and all, in McD's. After I was almost finishing my French fries, that old man came over with his tray and asked "can I sit here?". Okayy.

Then he introduced himself as Tony Kaplan. Said he was a poet. Gave me his namecard. Started rambling on and on about being in Bangkok so far for a week and this being his first proper Western meal, having another 5 weeks to go because he's in town for a week, saying he's been to many countries and he comes to Bangkok every year to get inspiration and write poems. Even took out his handphone to show me his website tracker and where his readers came from - 32 countries I believe.

I'm not very good at conversations with strangers - especially old men who show their hands and say they are "200% single" and ask if I am staying nearby. Maybe he just wanted conversation and more people to visit his website. I'm a very suspicious person, see - paranoia comes naturally to me. As soon as I could, and as politely as I could, I said goodbye and left.

So now I'm sitting here - after having gone thru some of his poems on his website. He particularly recommended "Chinese meal in Peking" (this was quite humorous - Peking duck or Peking dog? haha) and "Who cares if Thai girl is fair" (this was rather sleazy I felt, or maybe I'm just too upright). And I kinda like "I lost my best in Budapest".

His server seems to have worked itself up, I can't seem to load pages on it anymore - odd. Maybe later if I have time I will read somemore. Interesting episode this.

Thoughts in BKK

Hotels

• Dusit Thani's got a very nice lobby. But I think the service levels need a serious upgrade.
• Breakfast was good though - crispy bacon, cured pork meat, yumms!
• Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit has awesome awesome service! I think the bellboys here attend professional memory power training - or how could they possibly remember so many ppl by name?
• Sheraton's breakfast was pretty good too - standard fare but good selection.
• I didn't strike the lottery - big MNCs paid for the hotels, I merely slept on bathroom floors :D

Food

• Taling Pling in Central World has awesome tom yam kung! I want somemore!
• The Cream & Fudge Factory in Central World is expensive but tastes good.
• Tony Roma's in Siam Paragon has far better pork ribs than in Singapore - oh so soft and tender. What do they feed the pigs here?

Shopping

• Lingerie and underwear shopping heaven! Spent > RM600 on branded items in Zen Central World. There's stuff here you can't find in KL and if you can find them in KL, it'll be more expensive anyway. We get a 5% discount as tourist and 7% deductible in taxes at the airport. How cool is that?
• Then I found out that Siam Paragon has an even more extensive library of lingerie. Gosh. Should I?
• Platinum Mall is another cheap shopping heaven! A working shirt for RM17? I bought 4 pieces and it's grand total costs the same as ONE shirt in G2000 at a discount, geez. Suddenly feel that I've been exploited all my life.
• Apparently Naraya in Central World is a phenomenon I have never heard of - but got sucked into inevitably. Throngs of women in there like it's a Coach warehouse outlet in US. Loads of quilted and cloth bags in all kinds of sizes and shapes imagineable. It's like a "Lovely Lace" for bags. And it's thronging cos it's cheap. How come I never heard of this place before?

Ok, have to get back to work on the laptop ... another 3 more days in food, shopping and massage heaven ... I lurrvveee BKK! :D

Coffee club

I need to rant. I've been suffering caffeine intolerance the entire day because I accidentally drank Nescafe - don't ask me how. I'm feeling hyperactive and slothy at the same time. Running on adrenaline - or more like, caffeine. Went to work today and the chicken rice lady downstairs asked why I was there. Productive day today. But I need to get rid of this caffeine. Or else I'm gonna be ranting to myself the entire night and wondering how to kill that hidden cricket in the ceiling boards. Just saw a programme called Forbes Top 20 Power Couples in the Entertainment Industry on Channel E! ... some people have all the luck. I mean, I could have that (not THAT much, but definitely more than now), but do I give up comfort and free time for money? Big hmmm. There's this show on E! now called "Giuliana & Bill", and I just realized that's Bill Rancic - the 1st Apprentice on that Trump show. How tacky. This E! sure has interesting programs - I think I could watch it all day. And here I thought that the channel I'd watch the most is MTV - haha yeah, fluffy I know. Not like E!'s any less fluffier. But at least it's taking my mind off the caffeine. I need to pack - tom yam yum for an entire week!

What I look forward to in 2010

2009 has been a fantastic year so far, and it's gonna be even better because I've got 2 trips coming up in December! :)

So, what should I look forward to in 2010?

1. Finally getting that "coveted" V alphabet (and a big payrise?)
2. Celebrating the big 3-0 in July!

Of course, there's also Harry Potter's final movie in November. But that shouldn't count. Don't want to make my list too long.

Suzie's in the hospital because she has a water retention problem. The hubby keeps harping on the fact that I should have gotten a City instead, but I love my Suzie! And love is irrational, yes!

So much work (yah, complaining again). So, hands up, who's not "overworked and underpaid"? (A friend quoted that to me on FB).

Ok, signing off now - my ride's leaving.