INFJ
"INFJ", that's the results of a personality test I just did courtesy of Janvier.
I= Introverted (70%), N= iNtuitive (64%), F=Feeling (76%), J=Judging (41%). And according to the test, that's what they refer to as the personality of an "Author".
Abstracted from the results:
- Strong drive and enjoyment to help others. (Sooooo true...haha)
- Complex personality. (Wah, so complex meh?)
- 1% of the total population. (Seems this personality is a minority, so I'm a rare breed..heh)
- These are serious students and workers who really want to contribute. (Really...my company should appreciate me more then)
- They are private and easily hurt. They make good spouses, but tend to be physically reserved. (What?!! Agree with the first part but what's this about being reserved...>:))
- People often think they are psychic. (Wow, watch out, I can read your mind, or at least I seem to be able to...=D)
"The agreeable nature and quiet personality of INFJs makes them particularly vulnerable to hurt feelings. Distress within close relationships can shatter the INFJ. Like all NFs under stress, INFJs feel fragmented and lost — as if they are acting out a part rather than simply being themselves." (Makes me out to be like I'm this sensitive, touchy feely being la, which I'm not, most of the time-perhaps only when feeling PMS-sy!)
"Being excessively cooperative and agreeable, the INFJ has a tendency to adopt values and beliefs of others as their own. When external conflicts grow, so does the INFJ's sense of personal disharmony. Disassociating themselves from others takes a great deal of effort for the INFJ." (And this states as if I have no mind of my own! Hey I can be opiniated when I choose to be OK and I know what beliefs are right and wrong! ie, mine is usually right, others wrong...hee hee)
Careers:
Career counselor
psychologist
educational consultant
special education teacher
librarian
artist
playwright
novelist/poet
editor/art director
information-graphics...designer
HRM manager
merchandise planner
environmental lawyer
marketer
job analyst
mental health counselor
dietitian/nutritionist
research
educational consultant
architects
interpreter/translator
Haha, noticed how I agreed with all the good points and scoffed at all the bad or weak points according to the test? Results not to be taken seriously,I think, just a test for the fun of it when you're in a holiday mood at work.
Yippee! Off to Vietnam for 5 days! Flying off on Monday, I can't wait, only about 60 hours more and counting...
Leaving on a jetplane
For some strange reason this afternoon at work, in the midst of writing an article about atopic dermatitis, I had the sudden urge to listen to this song, Leaving On a Jetplane. What the link is between a skin disease and a soppy love song is really the million dollar question...
I promptly did a search for the song on
Google, my all time favourite search engine and located a link for downloading it free. ["song title + mp3 + free"] Perhaps it's the rainy weather that has made me in the mood to listen to a sad song.
Chantal Kreviazuk
Leaving on a Jetplane by Chantal Kreviazuk
Ah...ah...
All my bags are packed. I'm ready to go
I'm standing here outside your door
I hate to wake you up to say goodbye
But the dawn is breakin'
This early mornin'
The taxi's waitin'
He's blowin' his horn
Already I'm so lonesome I could die
*So kiss me and smile for me
Tell me that you'll wait for me
Hold me like you'll never let me go
Cause I'm leaving on a jetplane
Don't know when I'll be back again
Oh babe I hate to go...
Ah...ah...
There's so many times I've let you down
So many times I've played around
I tell you now they don't mean a thing
Every place I go, I think of you
Every song I sing, I sing for you
When I come back I'll wear your wedding ring
* Chorus
Now the time has come to leave you
One more time let me kiss you
Close your eyes I'll be on my way
Dream about the days to come
When I won't have to leave alone
About the times that I won't have to say...
* Chorus
I'm leaving on a jetplane... (x many times till fade away)
This song actually reminds me of my pre-uni days at International College (IC),Penang in 1999, six years ago. The cover version by Canadian musician, Chantal Kreviazuk was released about then, around 1998-99 while the original version was by the late John Denver, released way earlier.
Hunky Ben Affleck
"Will I ever see you again?"
Also of a friend who told me that this song was his parent's special song. It held special significance for them becase his parents had a long distance relationship when his mum left for further studies and his dad would strum this song on the guitar for her. Sounds fairytale-like sweet dosen't it, as they obviously got married in the end...
It's funny how you sometimes associate particular songs with specific phases in your life, and listening to them again even after a long time invokes memories of certain incidences and people, fresh just as if you had experienced or met them yesterday.
My Ipoh hi-lites
As always, going home to Ipoh is a comforting pleasure.
With Friday off, I had a long weekend at home arriving on Thursday night. My mum had kept dinner for me, yummy stir-fried fish slices with ginger from a nearby family favourite restaurant, veg and home-made 3 bean (green, red and black eyed-the type of bean frequently found in bubur cha cha) tong sui. I polished off the meal despite having a bite before leaving KL.
It was a typical busy weekend at Ipoh. The usual helping around with chores, helping my mum with things she couldn't get done herself- gardening (ugh!), airing of carpets (*ahchoo!* double ugh!!), the trip to Jusco, dinner at another family favourite restaurant where predictably familiar and comfortingly delicious dishes were ordered, house visiting and watching Wah Lai Toi on Astro. Where I always get sneaks of enticing Chinese serials I can never watch in KL as we don't subscribe to WLT here, and myself being too cheapskate to purchase the series *sigh* wat2do. Ahh...Just another idyllic weekend in my life at home
Oh, there were the usual frictions between my parents and myself but the trip was too short to allow it to fester, thank goodness, hee hee. I also noticed that certain parts of the city were beginning to be really badly jammed eg, Ipoh Old Town, and it was such a bother finding a parking! But of course the problem was puny compared to KL's mad jams and crazy parking problems, so thank goodness again!
Some hi-lites of my weekend trip back to Ipoh:
Breakfast at Old Town
This is the latest innovation of the enterprising Ipoh White Coffee taukes.
Tastes as good as it looks!
A must try for fans of conventional kopitiam toast and half-boiled egg and is available at the store next to the famous corner white coffee store. This new idea saves the hassle of having to break the egg, pour and scrap the contents into a saucer and than seasoning it with soy sauce and pepper.
With this new way of serving toast, the wobbly egg, as you can see, is already on the toast. It is served pipping hot on thick buttery toast with just the right amount of pepper and soy sauce. Taking a bite, I can taste a combination of the saltiness and natural flavour of runny egg yolk and the addictive sensation of crisp on the outside and soft on the inside toast. It is pure undiluted heaven!
At RM 1 per serving, it's cheap as well. Ideally, I recommend it should be consumed with the famous Ipoh white coffee. I personally like mine iced. Mmmmm...
Note: Perhaps this idea is already served at places like Uncle Lim's or other similar copycat kopitiam versions of the real thing. But I bet that despite the taste being comparable, it would definitely be overpriced!!
Hair pampering at Des Hair Saloon
Been meaning to do something with my hair for a while but was deciding between perming, colouring again or rebonding. I decided that rebonding was the best option as it's comparatively low maintainance and the last time I did it was 3 years ago.
Tried a new saloon recommended by L. Hehe, I actually got the place wrong intially and ended up at Wisma Kinta instead of Bangunan Seri Kinta. No matter, a quick phone call to L set me on the right track, though I did end up RM 3 poorer due to parking at the first place after encountering an obnoxious, balding parking attendent who refused to refund me despite only parking there for 15 minutes.
I wanted to take pictures at the saloon but was too shy in the end. The saloon itself was brightly lit and air-conditioned. The surrounding closed down shops however, gave the place an overall rather seedy feel. Bangunan Seri Kinta is also known as the "old passport place" amongst Ipoh-ians as it was here where we queued up for ages to get passports done before the office was shifted to a newer, swankier building, where I'm told the queues are just as bad. Perhaps when the passport office shifted, the other shops closed down as well? I remember there used to be a newstand selling kacang puteh near the entrance. Ooops, forgive my reminiscing...
I was attended to by a senior hair stylist, Joe, who was great. He seemed to genuinely care about how my hair would turn out and even discouraged me from doing hi-lites (which he quoted only RM 20(!!) for) as he said my hair couldn't take it. They have about seven stylists, including Desmund (who is the owner, hence the name Des Saloon, I guess) and at some points, I had two stylists working on me. It wasn't due to lack of customers as there were a steady stream of them ranging from middle-aged men, teenaged boys, to aunties, grannies and little children. I must say that their service is fairly efficient.
I did encounter some ferocious mosquitoes, but perhaps, I was sitting near the doorway or it's just me. I can't help being attractive to mosquitoes-la, wat2do?!
Anyway(s), here is the result:
Me at my narcissistic best.
For RM 140 plus a trim and treatment, it's a bargain! Let's just hope the results lasts for a while..
Ipoh is certainly the place for cheap and good food, and cheap and lasting (I hope) hair rebonding. And that are just two reasons why I love the place.
It's also comforting to know that I have a familiar haven to retreat to whenever I need buffering from stark reality.
I see light at the end of the tunnel!
~Kek Lok Tong, Ipoh~
Of relatives and relatives
Over honey milk and apple juice with one of my oldest and best friends, L the other day @ Cafe 2046 in Taman Desa, in the midst of other girly ramblings, we somehow came to the subject of relatives.
No, not the yi ma ku cheh kind of relative as a noun (n.) but rather relative as an adjective (adj.), meaning in proportion or in comparison to. Sorry, this isn't meant to be a grammer lesson but understanding the two different connotations of the words helps illustrate my point. So bear with me, heh =D
If you really think about it, everything in life is relative to something. Mr X is rich relative to Mr Y who is poorer, but Mr X is poor relative to Mr Z who has a fatter bank account. Hot Babe is fetchingly attractive relative to Not-so-hot Babe but is just blah relative to Super Hot Babe. Someone is considered brainy, only relative to someone who is or appears less intellectual. You get my point?
I might be considered quiet and even tempered relative to someone who is more extroverted and more whiny and PMS-sy. But as L pointed out, I can be considered talkative and unpredictably moody by her standards. *gasps* Hee hee...
Lately, people around me and myself to a certain extent have been sorely feeling the down parts of life. Car accidents, job uncertainty, snatch thieves, crazy workloads, demanding bosses, back-stabbing colleagues, family problems, sticky relationship break up/make up/hanging in the air issues...Matters that to the parties involved are tough, very stressful and invoke feelings of self-pity, depression and rhetorical questions of "Why me?!!"
All very understandable and natural emotions, of course. It has, however, dawned on me through my own astute observation, that relative to other people, I have a lot to be thankful for even if just at a level close to home and heart ie, relative to the ups and downs of our nation of late:
Our PM and his family must be indescribably sad over the loss of a wife, mother and grandmother. Philantrophist and ambassador of the local art and fashion scene abroad.
Nicole David must be indescribably happy as the first Asian to ever win the squash British Open, a tournament regarded more presitgious than the World Open
In light of these two incidents of extreme emotions- one in the throes of the 7th heaven of happiness and one of mourning despair, our problems I think, fall in between. A pegatory, if it even exists, between heaven and hell.
The saying "Success is relative, the more success, the more relatives" is a play on the pun of relatives (adj.) vs relatives (n.) and is meant to mean that the more success you achieve, the more yi ma ku chehs want to be associated with you.
Hehe, I would actually say that, "Remembering relatives (adj. and n.) in times of fustration as well as happiness is the key to peace of mind." That is, it's always important to keep a wider perspective of things in good and bad times, and also always treasure your yi ma ku cheh cause they're the only yi ma ku chehs you have...=D
Once again, I am reminded to cherish the simple blessings in my life and not to take things for granted. I am really looking forward to going back home to Ipoh.
Hmmm, what do they serve?
On Sunday, after my Yoga class, I ventured into the winding alleys of Pudu, downtown KL on a quest for good food with my housemate and her friend. She had been rhapsodizing over a certain restaurant serving what she claims to be the best tiramisu she has ever eaten, period.
Hmm..what do they sell? Coconuts?
Coconut House, isn't that a strange name for a place serving Italian food? A well-known blogger in Malaysian blogsphere immediately came to mind when I saw the restaurant's sign. Yup, Kenny Sia
...Hee hee.
I later found out that there was a reason behind the funny name. The Coconut House chain of restaurants was opened by a local chinese writer/editor by the name of Zang Ruo. According to my colleague, he used to be the editor of a magazine, now no longer in publication, called Ye Zi Wu (Coconut House). The magazine used to publish contributions from readers in forms of poems or articles. From what I could gather, it was rather an elitist magazine with content in flowery Mandarin language that not every averge Joe can fathom. Hence, probably the reason why it's no longer in publication. =P
From top left, clockwise, 1.Outdoor seating, 2. More dining and lotus pond at back of shop
3. Main dining area with rack of CDs on wall, 4.Upstairs photo gallery and more dining
I liked the deco of Coconut House, simple, with no frills. The place had a light, airy feeling to it. It probably helped that the weather was cool that evening after a rain shower but the place would probably be very warm on hot days as they don't have air conditioning or it wasn't switched on. I did get bitten by mosquitoes but I am unfortunately rather attractive to mosquitoes so maybe it's just my irresistable scent- to mosquitoes that is...=D
The restaurant is actually a refurbished shop house. There were seats outdoors, in the main dining area which was decorated with a whole wall of CDs ( the reason for the unplugged on their business card perhaps?) and at the back room as well, just beside a lotus pond. Later, I discovered there were more seating upstairs where the art gallery was which was showcasing an exhibition by local photographer, April Ng Wei Ping. Have not heard of her before, though I have a uni mate with the same chinese name...hmmm...nah, it can't be...right?
Mushroom pizza with 3 kinds of funghi,and a slice
of vegetarian pizza on my plate with capsicum and eggplant...
We sat at the back by the lotus pond and ordered two kinds of pizza- mushroom and vegetarian, mushroom soup and tiramisu for dessert. The pizza was baked traditionally in a clay firewood oven and was very good with a thin, slightly burnt crust. I personally felt it was a bit too cheesy as we asked for extra cheese. The mushroom soup was yummy!! I'm a big mushroom fan, you see. I liked the soup because it's the fresh kind, made up of 3 kinds of blended mushrooms, hence the dark brown colour with bits of mushrooms in it, not the typical Campbell cream coloured kind.
The place also had quite an extensive pasta, salad and drinks menu. A salad entry that caught my attention was cherry tomatoes and pesto sauce. It had a fancy name I can't remember and a rather exorbitant price, and as my housemate was buying, I refrained from satisfying my curiosity. (In retrospect, there probably wasn't anything special about it, just a simple salad of cherry tomatoes and pesto sauce, I can even make it myself...heh)
Next, the star of the show, tiramisu! I'm not a tiramisu expert really (my expertise being chocolate cake ;D) but according to my dinner partners, the standard had gone down and there was lack of Kahlua® -coffee liquer- in the confectionary. I still found it good though. The chocolate sponge cake bits were soaked in coffee that gave it a bitter tinge and sweet liquer. The cheesey like mixture was smooth and not overly sweet. I could only manage half as I was stuffed from the pizza and soup.
Overall, it was a good dinner at a restaurant with a unique name and setting at an affordable price. And apparently, they have this value added service as well...
I wonder if anyone actually takes part...Reminded me of Will Smith in the movie Hitch.
Sun Exercise
Went for my first Yoga try out lesson today. I liked it! And am definitely going to sign up for the course. It's really afordable at RM 120 for 3 months of one hour sessions per week, as it's organized by the Devine Life Society which is a charity orgnization. I've been scouting around for a fitness class, and this is one of the best deals I've come across. They are still accepting participants in the beginner's course for the next two weeks, so if anyone who lives in the Klang Valley wants to sign up, do give it a go, it's fun and good for health!The class I'm joining is the Beginner's class at the IJM-Cobra sports centre which is near Asia Jaya LRT, Tun Hussein Onn Eye Hospital and Armada Hotel. The class was conducted in the badminton hall and had about 15 participants, of which 14 were girls. Hee hee, guys, this is a good chance to meet chun babes and to get all sweaty with 'em...=DThe instructor gave a brief introduction on the different types of Yoga. The one that I would be learning was called Hatha Yoga, which he explained was for good health both mental and physical, and not achieving other higher goals like being able to levitate yourself...haha, no-la, he didn't say that, but I can't remember what exactly he said about higher goals because I was too eager for the practical part of the class to start.
We were taught a "simple" series of positions called the Sun Exercise. It consisted of a series of 12 steps. I have to admit that some of them were fairly easy, but I had difficulty with some, especially nstep 6 where you have to touch the floor at 8 points (2 hands,2 knees, 2 points of toes, chest and forehead!!), and step 3/10 where my hands hung helplessly just below my knees.(the demonstrator could touch her head to her knees with her hands firmly on the floor)
The instructor and the demonstrators were really helpful and encouraging. In about one hour, we managed to complete 4 repetitions of the Sun Exercise. However, we were told that in a normal sessions, they usually completed 6 repetitions (that's 72 positions) in the span of five minutes before proceeding to more challenging positions...Gosh, looks like there's a long way to go before I can -if ever- emulate their graceful, perfecty poised and smooth, fluid movements of the lady who demonstrated for us.
I'm all excited about getting a Yoga mat at the moment. Some of the girls at the Yoga class told me that Carrefour has a good deal for Yoga mats at just RM 29, or should I get the Nike one at RM 80...
The Nike mat that I spied one of my yoga class members having was powder blue in colour with a navy blue lining...so nice compared to the Carrefour one that was just plain peacock blue... Aiyo, I am torn between aesthetics and practicality!!To choose brand or economy?!!
My Jazzy encounter
For some strange reason, when I think of Jazz, the American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald, author of books like The Great Gatsby and This Side of Paradise, pops into my mind. Being the internet junkie that I am, I proceeded to do some searches on my favourite online encyclopedia, Wikipedia and I found the missing link:"The Great Gatsby, has often been described as the epitome of the "Jazz Age" in American literature."Reminiscing, I think some time during my teenage years, I read a romance book (might be Sweet Valley) set in the roaring twenties, where the heroine was a big fan of F. Scott Fitzgerald. She was madly in love with a writer who moonlighted as a waiter at the many Jazz Clubs in 1920s America with snazzy names like The Black Cat. Somehow, the book made a big enough impression on me to associate Jazz with Fitzgerald. I remember envisioning the heroine all decked out in the trendy flapper-styled duds of that era (ala Marilyn Monroe), with the pale foundation and red, red lipstick slow dancing with her man in a dark, smokey club where men and "liberated" women smoked cigars, sipped cocktails all soaking up the crisps jazz notes from a live saxophonist and band.
After which the hero and heroein would recite parts of F. Scott Fitgerald's novels to each other and...*censored*
Yes, I know, I know, cheesy, stereotypical, trashy romance novel, but I was young and impressionable then OK?
Anyway(s), I had my own encounter at a jazz club on Friday with a bunch of good friends. No, there was no sexy live saxaphonist, no tall, dark and handsome waiter to sweep me off my feet and err, no book recitation *sigh* Welcome to reality...hee hee. But what was present in abundance was good cheer, great drinks, live music, much commiseration over "bosses from hell" and "unlucky black stars", endless laughter and most importantly of all, fantastic company.
A wise person (my mum) once told me, "It's the company that matters most." True, I agree, but I believe that the place we were at totally RAWKS as well!!
We were at Bangkok Jazz @ Chulan Square along Jalan Raja Chulan. This place with the snazzy name offers a restaurant serving Thai food and also a bar that has live jazz on Friday and Saturday nights. The ambiance there was superb, definitely worth a second visit! Tea candles in coloured holders bathed the place in a dim glow, comfy leather sofas with throw pillows that you can just sink into in the private booths and low wooden chairs surround coffee tables in the main lounge area. The air was cool and not overly smokey with a *ahem* cultured crowd. It was lively but not too packed.
Time flies when you're having a blast. The band performed three gigs with 2 intervals in between, finishing at about 1.30 am. Although the band was not particularly outstanding IMO, but having live music did make things more spontaneous rather than flat, pipped music. What I liked about BJ was that, the music was loud (we were sitting just next to the stage) but yet not so loud that you couldn't hear each other.
The drinks were good as well. Among us, we had a jug of Sangria, Heinekken, Stout, a large variety of cocktails including Singapore Sling, Daiquiri, Pina Colada, Graveyard, Manhattan...
Hic!! *giggly laughter*
Riding on the high of the night, my friends and I thought of checking out Zouk or 12SI, taking advantage of the Ramadhan month, evidently the cause of the abnormally jam-free KL roads on a Friday night. After a few wrong turns, a Christmas carol (Felice Navidad!) and a thousand crappy jokes, we finally found our way to Zouk, but ended up deciding against paying a cover charge for just an hour of clubbing as the club would be closing at 3am.
In the end, we ended up at one of my favourite haunts in Pee Jay, the 24 hour A&W near Amcorp Mall, where although the food isn't that great 'cept for their curly fries and root beer, was bustling at 3am in the morning.
Sleepy @ work
Currently craving: Piping hot Cafe Mocha from Starbucks with CosmicRays
Currently listening to: You're Beautiful by James Blunt, my latest song addictionCurrently feeling: Sleepy and cold...Brrrr...*shiver*
Current workload: Piling up, but lacking concentration due to wooziness
You’re Beautiful by James Blunt
My life is brilliant.
My love is pure.
I saw an angel.
Of that I’m sure.
She smiled at me on the subway.
She was with another man.
But I won’t lose no sleep on that,
‘Cause I’ve got a plan.
* You’re beautiful. You’re beautiful.
You’re beautiful, it’s true.
I saw you face in a crowded place,
And I don’t know what to do,
‘Cause I’ll never be with you.
Yeah, she caught my eye,
As we walked on by.
She could see from my face that I was,
F***ing high,
And I don’t think that I’ll see her again,
But we shared a moment that will last till the end.
*Chorus
You’re beautiful. You’re beautiful.
You’re beautiful, it’s true.
There must be an angel with a smile on her face,
When she thought up that I should be with you.
But it’s time to face the truth, I will never be with you.
I just found this much nicer pix! *gasps* Didn't know JB is so good looking!
RM 150 poorer
With one hundred and fifty bucks, I could have:- Bought that lovely, comfortable pair of dark purple mules with tassles from Hush Puppies
- Given my cranky laptop a upgrade and reformatting at Low Yatt
- Bought three to four CDs of my choice that are too old to have pirated versions
- Treated my family to a nice dinner in Ipoh
- Watched fifteen movies!
- Put aside a contribution for a planned trip to Glasgow
- Paid office parking for 50 days
On Monday, I paid RM 150 to replace the dead batteries for my Baby. *sigh* Actually, can't whine la because if my Baby is out of action, it's like I've lost my right arm lor...So, I'm really glad that I've gotten back full use of my "limbs" now.
SCREW-ing myself nuts!
I meant screwing with a screwdriver and nuts as in nuts and bolts OK, honestly, what were you thinking? >:)
Anyway(s), bought a table from Ikea over the weekend. As I have been doing a lot of work at home lately (unfortunately!), figured I needed a better workstation than the low shelf that has been doubling as my internet + working + chatting station since I moved to Pantai Hillpark a year ago. Terribly bad for my back and posture as I have to hunch over it.
Well, I was all excited over the table (it has a white top with silver legs) and I didn't bother to check how to fix it before I bought it. I figured DIY from Ikea would be a piece of cake. Well, lesson learnt! Always check how to assemble something before buying.
Actually the assembling of the legs parts itself was easy. It was the screwing of the table legs onto the top that drove me NUTS, pun totally intended.
Screw, screw, screw for all you're worth! Fuh...
The stupid %&*#@ pre-drilled holes for the nuts/screws were so damn small. It was so difficult to screw the nuts in with my bare hands. I practically had to half hammer, half force it in, all the while gritting my teeth. I don't usually have a problem with simple DIY stuff OK, but this was really a test of what limited brute strength and boundless patience I possessed.
Bearing in mind, there were 5 nuts for each leg, making a whopping total of 20 nuts to be screwed. In the midst of screwing, PL called and told me that her housemate who had bought the same table and had it fixed up for her saw the guys from Ikea actually drilling holes to make them bigger prior to screwing! %&*#%!!! No wonder, so damn hard to screw!! Ahhhhhhhh!!
It took me freakin' 3 hours, from 8.30 pm to nearly 11.30 pm to finally get the table to have some form of stability.
Wobbly table with legs that are not completely straight
My work process--> I screwed (using a screwdriver) for all I was worth for as long as I could take it before taking a break for MSN or toilet or a snack to rest my pitifully red and aching hands, which are still sore at the moment.
*ouch* whine whine, my hands hurt!
Ten breaks, one snack, many complain SMSes, two phone calls, and a few MSN conversations later, I managed to get all 20 nuts screwed more than three quarters of the way in. Thankfully, my housemate helped me with the last quarter of the screwing. The table is at least of acceptable wobble-ness now. You know like those old wooden exam desks where you need to slip a piece of folded up newspaper under one of the legs?
Using it to blog ermmm..work right now. =D
The results of the workstation makeover...
Before
Drab and dull. This is an old pix, if not
the table would be cramp & cluttered as well...
After
Trendy and bright with an illusion of ample space!
Whadya think? Almost as good as the room makeovers in Queer Eye for the Straight Guy eh? I can almost hear Thom Filicia (the guy in charged of interior deco) purring his approval. =D
Horrible?! Any suggestions then?!! Hee hee
Basket Case
The lyrics of this super old Greenday song from their 1994 album, Dookie (which is slang for faeces according to Wikipedia seems fittingly appropriate considering the drift of my upcoming posts...*whine whine*Disclaimer : I'm not really much of a whiner in person. Whining in my blog de-stresses me...hee hee...so bear with me.
Basket Case by Greenday
"Do you have the time to listen to me whine?
About nothing and everything all at once
I am one of those Melodramatic fools
Neurotic to the bone
No doubt about it!"
*Sometimes I give myself the creeps
Sometimes my mind plays tricks on me
It all keeps adding up
I think I'm cracking up
Am I just paranoid?
Or I'm just stoned?!
I went to a shrink
To analyze my dreams
She says it's lack of sex that's bringing me down
I went to a whore
He said my life's a bore
So quit my whining cause it's bringing her down
*Chorus
Grasping to control...
So I better hold on
*Chorus
Super cannot make it looks but their music
more than makes up for it!
Re-discovering myself
Erratically moody, chronically sleepy and constantly jaded are three understatements that describe my condition of late.
Raging hormones? Or is this period of late merely part and parcel of the ragging that freshmen [fresh novices] have to go through before graduating as seniors [seasoned adults] in high school[the rat race]?
Bullying of freshman Will by his arch enemy in Sky High
If my tumultous teenage years were filled with angst at my parents/nosy relatives, constantly feeling painfully conspicuous about my appearance, (like a microorganism on a slide under an electron miscroscope) and low self-esteem, my 20s has me confused about other deeper, more intricately complicated issues.
Beliefs that I thought were carved into me, being shakened and questioned. And this time around, it's even more scary, because unlike in my teenage years, in my 20s, I actually have the power to do what I want, within logical limits of course.
Although cliched, the quote "With great power, comes great responsibility" from the movie Spiderman aptly epitomizes what I am feeling. The realization that you have the power to do what you want and yet, not knowing if what you're doing is correct. And the realization that you have to bear the consequences of what you do, be it good or bad.
One of my fav scenes from Spiderman
No longer is there a parent or teacher figure to tell you, "That is wrong" or "That is correct."
Worst still, in most situations, there is only a fine line -if there is even any- between what is black and what is white. There is usually always a dubious, grey area that is anybody's game.
Feeling ill equipped to make decisions for myself is what has me in this turmoil. Unsure of what I want is another. Stress from peers that your early 20s is the time you either make it or break it also affects me more than I care to admit.
At 24, there is so much yet to be experienced, yet to be seen and yet to be tried. The future holds so much uncertainty that it scares me. And yet, paradoxically, it's these uncertainties that adds spice to life. I find it surprisingly that it's the little nitty gritty, everyday decisions that has me in limbo.
Should I go out of my way to help someone ie, be obliging? I am naturally, but what if they keep coming back for more and more?
Should I continue to hang on to a friendship that seems merely one way? When the person says they are too busy one time too many, are they really too busy? Or...?
Is making use of someone bad, or is it OK if it's two way?
How do you evaluate who is worth your time and who isn't ie, how do you prioritize your valuable time?
And the ultimate:
What should you do when you feel that you're being taken advantage of?
a) Assess that person and his/her benefit to you. If no use, reject and reduce contact, if got use, layan only-la, wat2do?
b) Tell that person straight "I don't like to be made use of/make use of people"
c) Jokingly tell that person, "You ask me do this, next time you must help me-ar.." and help, hoping that that person will help you when you really need it.
d) Dunno, never think.
Deep down, I believe everyone wants to make their mark on the world, everyone wants to be recognized, be it writing that greatly influential Pullitzer-prize winning book, finding that miracle cure, owning the biggest mansion, driving the most expensive car. Nobody wants to reach a significant age and look back on the "Could haves, should haves, would haves..BUT..."
Hence, the sneaky competitiveness, stress and mad scramble for money, power and a good catch for a life partner, the particular order of priority depending on the individual. It's hard not to get caught up in the tide of things and feeling that you are wasting your life if you do not have a particular, ambitious goal in mind.
However, reading a recent email from a good friend about Charles Schultz's (the very successful creator of the Peanuts comic strip) philosophy in life sort of put things into perspective for me.
Schultz says that we might not be able to name the five richest people in the world, the last five Nobel and Pullitzer Prize winners or the last five Academy Award winners for Best Actor/Actress...
"None of us remember the headliners of yesterday. These are no second-rate achievers. They are the best in their fields. But the applause dies. Awards tarnish. Achievements are forgotten. Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners."-CS
But everyone will be able to name three friends who have helped them through a difficult patch, five people who have taught them something worthwhile, five people whom they enjoy spending time with and people who have made them feel appreciated and special.
"The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are the ones that care." -CS
I think, albeit rather idealistically, I will continue being someone who cares.
Swamped with work
Supposed to be working but blogging instead
Stuck at home working on a Saturday sucks.
Am up to my eyebrows trying to make sense of clinical trials of a drug, with bits and pieces from the press kit, transcripts from the webcast and information from the trial CD. What makes it worst, I didn't attend the talk, so I have to wade through all that information, read everything extra carefully and make sure I get the correct thrust of the presentation. &*%#@!!!
Listening to Rick Dees weekly top 40 countdown on Hitz Fm at the moment on. Coldplay's Speed of Sound is playing. *yawn* I'm so sleepy, I need a breath of fresh air.
My rickety fan, stereo, hairdryer and stack of
colourful CLEO mags and misc stuff
I am going out to get some food maybe at the Ramadhan Bazaar at Kampung Kerinchi.
'Cause it's bittersweet...
The word "Bittersweet" cropped up In a conversation with a friend over the phone. It got me thinking about a song that I've been addicted to lately. Playing it in a loop on the website [www.theclickfive.com] as I'm blogging this. Just the Girl by Click 5
She's cold and she's cruel but she knows what she's doing
She pushed me in the pool at our last school reunion
She laughs at my dreams but I dream about her laughter
Strange as it seems she's the one I'm after
"Cause she's bittersweet
She knocks me off my feet
And I can't help myself
I don't want anyone else
She's a mystery
She's too much for me
But I keep coming back for more
She's just the girl I'm looking for"
She can't keep a secret for more than an hour
She runs on one hundred proof attitude power
And the more she ignores me, the more I adore her
What can I do? I'd do anything for her
*Chorus
And when she sees it's me
On her caller ID
She won't pick up the phone
She'd rather be alone
But I can't give up just yet
Cause every word she's ever said
Is still ringing in my head
Still ringing in my head
She's cold and she's cruel but she knows what she's doing
Knows just what to say so my whole day is ruined
*Chorus x 2
Street Parrr-tay!!
A trip to the vibrant heart of KL which started out more of a chore turned out to be an enjoyable outing. The mission was to go with PL to Low Yatt plaza, where she wanted to get something for work. During lunch, I spotted Jason Lo(!!) at DOME, Times Square. Jason was there for the Hitz TV Street Party. It was about 1.30 pm and the Hitz TV crew were setting the stage, which was just outside DOME and testing the sound system and lightings.
Bright & airy, DOME @ Times Square
I've always had a soft spot for JLo (our very own Malaysian JLo, not Jennifer Lopez) since I first watched the 8TV talk show, Latte@8 last year, which he hosted.
Latte@8 at Sunway Pyramid
After that, (a bit SLOW, I know) I found out that Jason had two albums to his name (Days Without Dawn, 1999 and Fire Fighter, 2001) and was quite the accomplished musician, on top of having a BSc in Accounting and an MBA in Finance. Plus DJ-ing at Hitz Fm...fuh..Amazing!!
Gaya-nya...!!
I think his eyes look a bit like dreamy Josh Hartnett's don't you think? Heh..
Another hottie, IMHO
A warm, heart melting, doggy-like gaze...*swoon*
=D see any likeness?
The street party which
was more like a mini concert started at 3.30pm. We stood (in heels!) for 3 freaking hours (!!) listening to the gigs and hoping for freebies (we didn't get any in the end) from the Hitz TV crew. Many of them are recongnizable names/faces of DJs on Hitz Fm like Serena C who's tiny but hot!, JLo who's oh-so-huggable, the inseperable Rudy and JJ and Ian who's cuteeee!! Also Jay, tall and slim, a VJ for Hitz TV.
JLo in action, wearing his Chelsea FC jersey!
Rudy and JJ, Hitz Morning Crew!
The band we were waiting for -in vain- was Frequency Canon. PL's a fan and I wanted to hear for myself to see if they were that good. Frequency Canon were the winners in the band category of Blastoff, a Hitz TV show to discover new local talents.
Frequency Cannon, band that we missed
But all was not lost, as we caught some pretty good local artists in action. Some better ones to name a few, were Admonition, Media Puppets, Edge of Fire and James Baum (who initially I thought was James Bomb! =D).
James Baum- "This guy very cool wan!"
The super hyper Deja VooDoo Spells Media Puppets lead singer flanked by Serena C and Ian.
Time Square was indeed a happening place on Saturday. AXN was also having some sort of competition. One challenge that we saw involved 2 participants pushing a Kembara with the engine off, while the other member of the team steered to a designated parking area.
My legs already aching from merely standing for three hours, I admired the people who actually had the physical and mental stamina to willingly challenge the extent of their strength in activities such as these...
*pant pant* PUUSHHHH!!!
