So this is what it's like...
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visit Siem Reap :)
Ok so I really shouldn't have any excuse for not blogging as often since I'm connected all the time now that I'm bck in Msia. The only reason I guess I haven't done so is coz the page load is so slow and owh, the lack of things that I want to talk about. Well, that's a lie too since so much has happened. I guess it just boils down to the fact that I can't be bothered. Well since I'm here now, let see, am currently on a week's break. Was at Cambodia for about 4 days wt Puteri, Tab and Ann. It still seems unbelivable that I've visited Angkor Wat! It's one of those places that you'd like to visit bt nvr really made any serious plans to. so now, I can tick it off my list :) next will be the pyramids!
Anyway, we were there for the Angkor Wat Half Marathon. We only did the 10k bt everyone beat their personal best. Finished mine at 1 hour 14 mins! Pretty good for someone who hasn't practiced for 3 weeks prior to the run. Haha!
The day before and after the run, we had a tour guide called Vutha, who took us around the ruins and Siem Reap. V knowlegable fellow, learnt a lot about the history of the ruins and the Khmer's past. Highly recommends anyone going there to hire a tour guide. They are all trained and qualified by the Cambodian Tourism Ministry so v reliable. Fee is not that expensive as well.
Apart from the amazing ruins, we looove Khmer's food as well especially the Amok fish. It's like ayam masak lemak bt wt fish! Interestingly, diff shops will cook it slightly differently.
And the ppl there r friendly n truthful. So many times we got confused wt the currency coz of all the 000s haha bt they will not cheat us. Always returned us the balance :)
11.30 am - 11/12/2010
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to have a v hectic weekend
woke up late yesterday, well relatively late... went to the gym thinking i was going to run but ended up working out my arms...they've gone a bit soft now....it's like i have strong solid legs but the upper body is wobbly like jello....so i'm like jello on a stick! anyway, after the workout, went to carey island to pick up my hunny bunny *heheh*
went to shah alam to pick up my TM Lewins that i sent for alteration but she only finished one coz she said she wanted to see if it fits....it's been 2 weeks already! taking such a long time. i'm not sure what the problem is coz usually when it comes to all my other clothes it's always on time.
anyway, after that we were at puteri's for the tahlil. quite a good turnout. the soto was around again this year and we took great care wt the sambal! the last time, puteri's brother tricked us into taking the sambal last time, saying it wasn't hot at all!
after the tahlil, 4 cars convoyed over to alina's for an impromptu movie night....we watched the killers, a sort of funny chick flick action movie. they had beautiful scenes of Nice! lovely!
anyway, that was yesterday. today was another hectic day of shopping.
oops have to go...will blog later
4:22 p.m. - 2010-10-31
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to have 2 cups of tea in me.....
ok, so 2 cups of tea before bedtime is not a very good idea nor is it after spending the whole day staring at the computer waiting for your work to load on the bloody slow machine (the supposedly super fast one,where someone mentioned was like a "ferrari", crashed for the n-th time). my eyes are strained and yes, really, shouldn't be writing this but i cant sleep.
so a few interesting things happened this week. one of them was a 'classroom series' that i went to last night. it was the very first Teach For Malaysia's Classroom Series, where they had someone who has been working wt Teach for America and who helped start Teach for India gave a talk on her personal experience and what Teach for All is all about. So basically, TFM, which is now part of a global Teach for All network is going to start its operation in Malaysia. The whole idea of TFM is to get a pool of passionate educators and potential leaders from the graduate students to teach for 2 years in remote areas or schools that is less priveleged around Malaysia. TFM will provide training and support for the selected participants. There are interviews that you have to go for to get into this TFM program and it requires your commitment for at least 2 years. Definitely, not a part time thing. For more info, you can go to this website http://www.teachformalaysia.org/. They will be accepting CVs soon from those who are interested.
ok,so that was a free plug. haha
11:52 p.m. - 2010-10-29
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to give someone a second chance and find out that what you think might not be how it is
had quite a good workout again today at the gym considering the amount of ppl that were there. ok, so effectively i only did a 20 min set and prob spent the same amount of time in the steam room, but it was good enough for me. a relaxing one. which is appropriate for a monday i think.
i had cake for bfast this morning. it was a scrumptious chocolate cake. a big slice of moist, fluffy goodness frm Whisk. had the Bub cake last night (it was a banana, peanut butter and cream cheese heaven) and thought to save the choc cake for today. glad i did it. monday blues werent too bad today :P
on a somewhat serious note though, i kinda lost respect for someone today but gained a whole new one for someone who i didn't really like before. he redeemed himself (in my eyes at least) by showing that he's a v principled man, someone who has integrity and will not take advantage of his position for petty personal gain....which was how i lost respect for the other guy.
no matter how small or petty something that's obtained by abuse of power, to me. is equally as bad as any sort of power abuse.
maybe that's why i always feel uneasy when someone demands or request for our service providers/contractors to treat us for a meal. yes, they do have special entertainment allowances but we have no right to demand. it's up to the person how they want to spend it. u never know, they might have used up their allowances for that month and is actually paying for it with their own money.
11:27 p.m. - 2010-10-25
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to run again.....
it's one of those rare times when i get a chance to sit in front of the computer and write this. funny how i dont have time to blog anymore or maybe i'm jst not making time for it....the truth is, most of the time, i'm either too tired or not in the mood. i've been coming home late from work or hanging out wt my friends but when i do get home early, my brain feels so spent that i'd jst slump on the couch and zoned out....
i've been trying to run again. it's proving to be quite successful what with the latest gadget that i got. it's a nike device which tracks the distance and pace of your running. the details can then be uploaded into the website, where it'll store and monitor the progress of your run. there are also challenges that you can join or create where you can compete with other ppl. a bunch of my colleague set up a challenge between women and men. so far the men are leading. i've not been contributing much coz i jst didnt have the time to run around the park anymore. next week is the last week, will try to clock in as many distances as i can.
the last run that i did, finally managed to past the 5 km mark, actually i only had 40m to go bfore reaching 6k but i stopped because i really do not want to past out at the gym while i was there alone!
getting used to the new gym. ok, so ppl still stare at you but i think i've found windows where there's practically no one around so i can use which ever machines that i want. there's gonna be a new one opening near my work plc, cant wait to check that out! :)
12:14 a.m. - 2010-10-24
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to lose the creative touch
i find myself feeling less creative as i grow older, i dont know if that's even possible but that's what i'm feeling right now. was cleaning up my room yesterday and i remember the time, during high school, whenever i cleaned my room, it meant redecorating and i'll come up wt new 'layouts', poster arrangements and even will make something to put in it...now it's just clearing the clutter, unwanted bills and random brochures that i took home wt never an intention to read nor file them for future readings.
managed to clean only 2 portion of the bedroom and i was so dead tired that i had to take a break for a day and a half now haha, so yes it is ramadan but that's not an excuse. before this, i could spend a whole day in my room, exploring my creative side, now i jst feel a bit overwhelmed looking at all the 'stuff' that i have in there...really need a bigger space (or stop shopping, but we all know that's not going to happen any time soon)
currently, my room (or 2 portions of it) just looked sterile and organized *urgh*....
6:19 p.m. - 2010-08-15
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when you can't stop talking about other ppl
been reading this book for a while now on "How to Win Friends & Influence People" by Dale Carnegie. Seen this book in the bookstores for some time now but only recently decided to get it. The 1st lesson or 'Principle' that we had to follow was "Don't criticize, condemn & complain" and you know what, i've gotten through a lot of the book's 'principles' but the first one is still the hardest to follow! Have managed to or remember situations that i have applied the other principles but the 1st one! omg! why is it so hard to apply?
guess because am so used to doing it that sometimes i forget that, it is actually wrong and not worth while at all.
will try harder nxt time, was trying to apply it earlier today but it was SOO hard
(was about to tell the story of how i did not apply Principle no. 1 but that would have beaten the purpose of my wanting to apply principle no. 1)
so today, at least realised when i was criticizing someone, that could count for something haha...now just need to stop doing it and figure out what to do instead when confronted wt the same situation/emotion....
7:58 p.m. - 2010-07-18
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to be malas
there were 2 topics that i thought of during the day that i could write about, obviously, the thought has dissapeared as soon as i sat down again to do my work. i did say to myself that "maybe i should write this down" and of course i didnt. have to get rid of this laziness of not doing what i'm thinking.
i thought a lot of things that should have been done but never bother to follow through. sometimes i wonder if it's a disease, why cant i jst do what i think? i guess most of the time, thinking about things tires me too much, that i dont have any more energy to do it....but then again, that's just an excuse. from now on, i will do what i say/think...even the smallest of smalls...let see how long this will last....enthusiasm takes up a lot of your strength! (my legs still hurt)
went out for lunch wt 2 of my high school friends whom i've not met in ages, soon yew and elaine (yes, she is still alive, lyn...if ur reading this). the last time i met her was while playing mahjong at lyn's house and since then, i've gotten my very own mahjong set from my gfs (thank you again!), she was v impressed and asked if i've gotten myself a mahjong table haha, i told her that will have to wait when i get my own place. she was well excited and has invited herself over for a game of mahjong. that is a good idea, i am going to have a mahjong/gaming table in the new house (boleh kan, ayie ;P)
10:40 p.m. - 2010-07-14
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to be a certified presenter haha!
after completing the 2 day presentation course, i now have a certificate,gold framed and ready to hang on my wall/stand on the desk haha....i am now certified to give an impromptu presentation, a high impact one at it!
as un-natural as i felt the whole experience was, looking bck at the video of my 1st presentation and the 6th, there were a lot of changes in delivery, intonation and body language...we'll see if it actually works when i do a technical presentation haha....
funny thing happened during breakfast or more like, while we were walking bck to the training room after breakfast. was walking wt one of the trainer, a lady, she asked if i was single, so i said "yes but unavailable" and she replied "hmm, then i can't introduce you to my son" HAHAHA i told her she can introduce him to my single gfs and proceeded to talk about my own bf (yes, ayie, i do talk a lot about u to other ppl :P)...whatever made her want to hook me up wt her son pun, i dont know....wasnt exactly a "model" student through out this training session...
10:35 p.m. - 2010-07-13
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to be a story teller....
ok this is ridiculous,it's not like i've been away for THAT long from the gym, why is it that my legs still hurts from the work out. worst of all, now my shoulder does too :S
spent the whole day at the training centre learning about effective communication and giving a 'high impact' presentation. quite honestly, i feel like i'm learning how to speak in a 10 year old story telling competition, the last presentation that we did was so OTT that we jst went all out, no one held back and presented as 'crazy' as we could. to be honest, this is quite a task when your article is on the DNA double helix wt all it's jargon and unpronouceble protein names. luckly, mine was on some composer named Brahms....it was a 'romantic' piece but of course when ur asked to present 'crazy' there was nothing romantic about the article at the end of it. we were made to do 'angry in the library', 'laughing meeting old friends', 'angry in a football stadium' and the best one 'talking to a 5 year old kid'....again, imagine doing that wt the DNA double helix article...
they video taped the whole session so that you'll get individual feedback on your presentation, which i found really useful, since i've nvr seen myself standing in front of a bunch of ppl talking crap....i've learnt a lot from it, especially on my 'default' stand, hands clasped together like i was ready to be part of the 'nasyid' group. they're teaching me to use my hand gestures a lot more and not to move so godamn much...apparently, i like to wander when i talk...talk about hyperactive....apart from the negatives, it seems i do have some redeeming qualities like being 'friendly' (apparently i smile A LOT when i'm nervous haha!), 'good eye contact' and 'conversational' in my presentation....i'm still trying to figure out how this form of presentation skills will help when am delivering a technical talk....how DO you make geology interesting?
maybe we'll find this out tomorrow....
10:56 p.m. - 2010-07-12
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to be watching the World Cup 2010 finals
this morning will be the last time we'd hear this thing blaring through the tv (hopefully)
it's d world cup finals in South Africa. so here i am in d living room wt my mom watching the match between spain and holland. i'm all about the Oranje tonight, mostly because i thought they were going to fight the germans and since the germans won 3rd plc last night (woohoo!) i guess i'm supporting holland now...it's also because ayie supports spain, so i'm jst going to annoy him by supporting the other team :P
i am going to miss staying up to watch the matches though and SO not looking fwd to the training tomorrow...
3:10 a.m. - 2010-07-12
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to hang out wt the one posted in dubai
went to the gym again today, beginning to like that place a lot now :) we were supposed to be joining one of the classes but by the time i picked up hiza it was too late. so instead of the calm, stretching exercise that we supposed to have, hiza asked me to be her PT for the afternoon haha so we went through some of the exercise that my PT showed me. let jst say the pain has not subside, even for me haha it's been awhile since i've done any workout, so my muscles are still a bit sore. felt so guilty for inflicting pain on hiza that i bought her a carton of milk so that she can "rebuild" her muscles :P
went home for a quick shower before heading out again wt hiza for banana pancakes wt the rest of the ladies + amar
it's been so long since we saw hiza and she's only bck for a few days...so it was good to see her again!
7:20 p.m. - 2010-07-11
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to find out that your loves one finds you tasty haha
Created by Oatmeal
that's quite a high percentage isn't it ? haha
11:22 a.m. - 2010-07-11
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to go to a new gym on your own
wow never thought i'd update at 3:42 am but here i am with a big slice of red velvet cake and a cup of earl grey tea :) god knows how this is going to helpme sleep later, i'm already super hyper as it is....
anyway, yesterday afternoon i went to the new gym for the first time on my own. i dont like going to new places on my own, it's nerve wrecking and i am sure to make an ass of myself, especially at the gym wt all the complicated and heavy equipments. well, what do u know, i did, of course....there was a leg curl machine that was just a bit stuck, so i asked someone to help me release it and he seemed annoyed by it but it was my fault, he was doing something else at the time....it didnt work, it still was stuck so i had to call one of the PTs who proceeded to interview me haha maybe coz i looked like a lost sheep...managed to get my sets done in the end and had an overall good workout. must say though, i like the new gym, it's more open and spacious. they have a pool! did not venture in there yet, will prob save it for another time. need to find my swimming gear! :)
before the whole gym debacle, had lunch and coffee wt M (bukan nama sebenar). we were discussing 'friendship', she made a point that you know who your true friends are by the advises they give you, so the better they know you, the more personal the advice. as in, they won't just brush away the problem. I agree to an extent because i think it only works wt your girlfriend, the rule doesnt seem to apply to men (this is a gross generalization as i know OF some men who are good at giving advice and some women who dont), most of the time they will jst brush it off, dont want to talk about it or ignore it all together.
this conversation of course led me to some do some thinking (as much as i'd like to avoid the "thinking too much" syndrome, it usually creeps in at moments like this) mainly because i've felt the same way about a bunch of ppl but i jst thought some ppl are not good at giving advices/talking. SO i dont know really, what/who makes a good friend ? i guess i was blessed to be in a bubble of good friends this past few years but what happen when u have to venture out of the bubble (or worst it burst!)....ayie said i trust ppl/men too easily, which is true, i have a blanket trust wt everyone, until they f* up of course.....
owh well, we'll just have to deal wt it when the times come (this is what i say when i know i've been thinking too much and realised it's pointless!)
the match's nearly over and my German boys are leading 3-2 :) it's for the 3rd plc at the world cup *fingers crossed*
3:42 a.m. - 2010-07-11
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to have a new layout
yay! have learnt something new today : 'how to pun an image on your blog'...that was the exact google search that i did in order to put up a picture on the RHS. it was a picture that i stumbled upon when i wanted something to stick on my project notebook. suffice to say, it is no longer on said notebook, due to my inability to be neat and careful wt my stuff....i think it fell off somewhere between the lake district field trip and the earth sciences dept...
anyway, this layout was one of the default diaryland layout that i tweak-ed a bit here and there...i'm getting there, one google html search at a time...a long way to go before i can start from scratch...
woke up early this morning, not by choice though...woke up with my heart beating so fast, not too sure what i was dreaming about that made me woke up wt a start like that. after morning prayers, just thought i might as well get up...had some cereal and pomegranate tea to calm myself down and proceeded to go online while listening to my new playlist compilation....
hoping to tire myself so that i can sleep early for tonight's 3rd plc match :)
9:35 a.m. - 2010-07-10
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music
wow second day in a row, this must be a new record :)
did something today that left me feeling like a smug adult or jst like an adult atleast, by initialing A LOT of papers and going to the solicitor's office on my own. the first time i did it, brought my mom along, mostly because i was worried i'd get lost! haha anyway, that's done, so we'll jst sit and wait :)
i've also decided to compile songs on my laptop in an effort to be organize. they're all over the place and i dont listen to most of them anyway....there were some that i got while i was offshore and now wonders why did i take it in the first place. it's not my kinda thing at all...i guess it was one of the moment where i felt like being adventurous and try something new....or it was just one of those genre moment, like the time i only listened to chinese music or indonesian rock bands...so offshore was, listen to only hard rock music and be one of the boys!
9:12 p.m. - 2010-07-09
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