Rain OH RAIN!~

This is yet another post on the rain...ain't the rain becoming a celebrity on my blog?


I LOVE the rain....even though people tell me it's depressing
I still love it...I always find it so...'dreary and romantic' (quoted from my American friend, Anne)

Yeah, the rain's lovely...and it makes me happy.
They say that rain makes people depressed and the leading reason for the high number of suicide cases in states of Seattle and Portland in the US.
It's due to the cloudy weather and the constant need to stay indoors, as I say, it's highly psychological when people feel depressed and on the verge of suicide.

Back to the story, it has been raining CATS and DOGS in Penang - constant downpour since Sunday and it was like non-stop until yesterday (that's a total of 3 days~)
In fact, it rained so much that people were starting to worry about floods and also the possible sinking of the Pearl of the Orient.

Yeah, no joke...if you're going to smirk at that statement, Penang is after all, an island, ain't it?
And the rain didn't show any signs of stopping and that led to the flooding of several places on the island.
People are getting anxious, nervous, worried, frustrated, whatever negative feelings they can possibly have at the sight of big puddles of water everywhere and also the non-stop raindrops falling on their head...I don't think 'Raindrops keep falling on my head' is exactly their favorite song at the moment.
Imagine having to get up to work on a wonderfully rainy day when everyone are snuggling nicely into their blankets and hugging their pillows/bolsters to get more sleep while enjoying the loud tip tap sound of the rain on your roofs and windows!~
Ahhhhhhh....such bliss...

Funny though....the southern side is really sunny...and the clouds seemed to have stopped on this part of the hemisphere and they are definitely not leaving


But I still love the rain....haha, maybe coz I am on leave this week and I can choose to hug my pillows and bolster while enjoying the rain
Although I do go out too and it's pretty messy coz I have to face the possibility of getting wet, I still love the rain...

Anyway, the rain did stop in the evening yesterday and I was a little disappointed (although I do feel guilty coz there are people suffering from the heavy downpour)
The rain turned out to fall again in the middle of the night and it rained all the way until this morning and it just stopped.
I am predicting that the rain will continue this cycle every night...which I'm looking forward to.

I know people don't really like the rain that much and that it's depressing
Boy, I don't like to go to work that often either when it's raining this heavily...
Remember the possibility of the overflowing of this monsoon drain that I need to constantly be on the lookout for...for the fear of the flooding of the carpark..


But still, the rain's lovely..
I want to get my pillow, bolster and blanket....
today's not a working day anyway...hehehe...

Did I mention I was on leave?
Did I also mention that I loved the rain?....
So...please continue to rain...

Did I mention I love the rain?:)
*Smiles*

What is your Choice?

Imagine this situation:

If you only have 2 pints of blood and you have to choose between the following people who happen to be in a situation at the same time:

Your mum is very sick and lying in the hospital; critically ill and she is in dire need of blood to survive ( she has just undergone a major surgery)

AND

Your daughter has just got involved in a major car accident and lost a huge amount of blood. She needs an immediate blood transfusion to save her life.

**The hospital blood bank do not have blood of this type; and the 2 pints are the only ones you have now and they need you to decide **

If you are not married or do not have kids, just imagine you have.

Now, what is your CHOICE?

A Wave of Uncertainty

After a few days of bed rest and medicines and all, I am finally up and making my way to the office; humming a cheerful tune (a weaker one; as I still feel occasional bouts of dizziness)

I turned on my laptop and soon, I was greeted by hordes of farewell emails from people all too familiar to me.
Puzzled, I read through again and am pretty certain that it is indeed from this person, whom I know very well.
Now, that beats me as I was not even aware nor notified by her prior to this of her soon-to-be departure!
(I happened to treat her as a personal friend and we have been sharing common thoughts every now and then, which is what made me think that she'd definitely drop me a word that she'll be leaving)

I was still really puzzled until a colleague of mine; who was our admin, shed some light on this.
It seemed that this case and all the other sudden departures of our other colleagues before this was due to the Re-Organization activities which had commenced in the company.

OH MY!!
How could I have overlooked that? How else could you explain the sudden leaving of so many colleagues; they couldn't have found a better job all at the same time, right?
GOSH.....now I see light....I have been dizzy for so long (Literally!)

I can't believe this, this is really a surprise or should I say, a nasty shock!
I've been hearing from another friend in another department her worries and I have reassured her and now, the tsunami has hit my very own department.
Frankly, it is not easy to re-assure someone as you can re-assure yourself.
I can convince myself if I want, but hey, who am I kidding, coz when the big waves hit, it recognizes no merit, status, age, race, or gender!

And the best part is, I found out that the first wave was over and this was like the 2nd part of it.
HUHHHH?
I know I know...the previous batch who miraculously resigned at the same time...they have all been targeted in the first wave of re-ORG.

Now, why does this word sound so eerily familiar?

Because it's been going on everywhere!
Dell, HP are a few that I've read about in the news and there must be many more out there.
In fact, during one of our offline conversations, I've even heard about the drastic measures taken by the hospitality segment (hotels) in reducing the overhead costs in running the operations.

It is back; the wave of uncertainty is sweeping the world where hundreds, thousands, and even billions are shaken in faith as they persevere to hold forth what they have worked for this far and yet, they are drowned by the big and unpredictable waves.
Everyone is worried; about having a job, getting a job, and KEEPING your job!

What will happen next?
Who will be next?
These are the questions that have been clouding each and everyone's mind in the office each day; and it is not going off until the waves are back calm again, mind you.
I empathize with those who are the sole breadwinners in the families, those who have commitments and financial burdens - this is indeed not going to be easy.
Going to work each day is like preparing for the unpredictable; or some may say for the worst - it is even comparable to the battlefield where warriors are unsure whether they will have a safe return. In this case, whether they will still have a job to keep.

Times are bad, indeed and really bad, in fact, we need to prepare that this will be worse ahead.
The Lehmann brothers, AIG, those are not jokes...they are real and they have happened.
How bad is this going to impact the economy?
I can't tell you that, because if I can, I'd be the world's financial analyst or even Al Gore for that matter!

All I know is, times are turning really bad ahead, and it's time to organize your thoughts, stay calm and pray for the best.
We cannot predict what will happen or whether we can stop it, but we can do what we are taught to do, to pray.
Never underestimate the power of prayer and it is during these times, something this simple will be our main source of comfort.

We shall persevere and pray for the best!~

Sinus, an old friend/foe is back....

I was sick; really really sick yesterday - I could barely get out of bed!
(No exaggeration - you know those days when your head just feels so heavy that it can't leave the pillow and your body is so weak you feel so helpless and incapable of getting up?)

I was lying down and it was really depressing when the throat hurts when I tried to swallow and I couldn't even squeak a word (Seriously!)
I guess the sore throat got to me, I've temporarily lost my voice...

On top of that, my whole body feels heated up and I know, I am running a high fever again
(Have I ever mentioned how scared I get when I have fever because it can up really high in temperature?)

Not just that, I am having really screeching pains near the bridge of the nose; between the two eyes.
It was just this bad and when I tried getting up from my bed, I couldn't shake off that dizzy feeling.
I had to anyway, I had to fight it...and I made my way to the bathroom, somehow (miraculously).
I brushed my teeth (DIZZY)
I grit my teeth against the cold water; shivering myself to death (almost!)
It was so coldddddd.....

I turned of all the fan or any form of cooling agents in the room
And I put on my shirt and my sweater...yeah, thank God for sweaters!~

Again, I felt the urge to lie down on the bed because I just felt so tired and dizzy
But I know I had to....
I walked reluctantly to my study table...
Searched for that familiar crate of aluminium foil
PANADOL...two left
I took my bottle of water, and proceeded to put them in my mouth, swallowed and took a gulp of water; erm, or several gulps

OH WAIT, I forgot my breakfast?
Oh NOOOOOOOO.....never ever take panadols or medicine on an empty stomach...I do know the consequences...
Thankfully, I grabbed a piece of pandan cake, now normally I am really picky but today, I just need something to accompany the strong effects of paracetamol
In a minute, I had to spit out the cake
It was a little stale already, I thought I bought it the night before?
(*Darn the seller!*....muttering slightly under my breath)
Oh well, Auntie came upstairs, my heart skipped a beat when she held me some pandan cakes
(Oh, thanks, Auntie, your cakes came to the rescue!~)

**You see, Auntie always bought me pandan cakes on alternate days, because she thought I liked them (erm, sometimes when I don't really have a choice:p)
And yesterday just happens to be the day she decided to buy for me **

Yesterday was like the day when I really needed it to layer my stomach lining before the effects of panadol just crush it (exaggerating? - not really)

After stuffing down a few bites, I pushed them away - enough for me because I really have no appetite. I felt so nauseous and I proceeded to sleep.

Slept till like 10.30a.m....and then woke up; still felt drowsy and all....nauseous

Finally I went to the clinic at about noon, and when I told the doctor about my symptoms (she was a really friendly doctor by the way, finally one that I can find in Penang), she told me that it's my sinus that's causing all of it.

Ermmmmm...I beg your pardon doctor, did I just hear the word sinus?
I thought I've recovered after all these years!!~

She diagnosed that I was having frontal sinus; which was why the pains appeared at the bridge of the nose area; around the eyes.
Seems that it was chronic frontal sinus (chronic somemore!) and she prescribed me a few medicine for the de-congestion and also to relieve my other symptoms.
When I walked out of the clinic, I couldn't help disbelieving that my old friend, by the name of Mr Sinus is back!
And He...he's causing all my misery (fever, sore throat, pains, dizziness, nausea) all this while

(Hmm, I'm such a sexist at times, labelling all the bad elements with the tag Mister and all pretty things as princess, miss:p)

I went home, I knew I had no choice but to take my medicine although I really need to lie down.
I got up and took some tablets; and remembered I was on empty stomach (again!)
I couldn't eat (really!), but I forcefully took a bite of the tofu and then I just pushed the whole plate away and went to sleep.
When I woke up, awwww.....it was really horrible....I felt so dizzy and nauseous and my stomach felt weird....
I knew I had to eat something.....
But what?
I could barely get out of the bed, and I know if I did, I would definitely feel dizzy again!

I fought against the dizziness and headed towards the study table to attempt to drink my favorite barley which Auntie had prepared for me and it was barely 5 steps
(sounds like a kungfu movie where the villain can never survive past 7 steps after drinking a poisonous potion)

I rushed to the washroom and ughhhhhh, I threw up:(
Sorry to gross you out...
I went back to my room; this time feeling better after that disgusting episode to drink my barley
And after drinking my barley, I walked to the bed again; hoping to lie down when I felt it again....
I had to make a rush to the washroom again......(no description necessary)

So, in the end, any food went into my stomach?
I guess a little....
And did I mention the amount of medicine/pills I was prescribed?

Fever, running nose, blocked nose, de-congestion, antibiotics (for throat) and panadol


Oh, and some cough syrup, gargle syrup and also nose drops and oh ya, something I haven't use in a while, my menthol crystals

Used for de-congesting the blocked nose effectively
Its strong smell; which was just like Camphor Oil (Minyak Angin)

And throw 1-2 crystallines will be good enough in a bowl of hot water...

Ahhh, the familiar old smell..... all too familiar for me to not remember how to do it despite it being more than 10 years back...

Sighs, darn the weather or the environment...
Why did Sinus come back?

As far as I remember, I haven't been THIS sick since the last hospital admittance; most of the time, there were fevers and occasional bouts of food poisoning, etc
But fever+sore throat+cough+headache+sinus+nausea+dizzy+throwing up......ermmmmm, never been that bad since...umpteen years ago....

I will recover soon...today I felt slightly better (well, at least I could get up and blog about this,right?)....and I still need to take them medicine...

Quote of the day:
Me: How long do you think this will take to recover, doctor?
Doctor: (Laughs), how long? If I knew this, I'd be in heaven!~ It really depends on your immunity, my dear
LOL!~

Ohhhhhhhhhh nooo, I need to lie down after this, my head's spinning again:(

DaiRY SMS-es - Real or FAKE?

I was lying down on my bed yesterday when I received an SMS on my phone which read:

Please help to sms to the others.
Due to the current China's milk situation, please take note of the following products which have been recalled:

M&M's
Snickers
Mento's Yoghurt bottle
Dove Choc
Oreo Wafer Sticks
Monmilk
Dutch Lady sterilized milk
Wall's All Natural Mango
Mini Poppers Ice Cream
Magnum Ice Cream
Moosandwich ice cream
Mini Cornetto
Youcan ice cream

Stores have been asked by AVA to remove them
If you have them in your house, don't eat them.

Now, I am aware of the recent China's situation revolving the infant dairy products which had to date resulted in 4 deaths and a number of babies still in critical condition.
Well, 53,000 babies is quite a number, ain't it?

The dairy products which were contaminated with melamine was the root cause of the whole situation and this only came to light last week.
(Oh yeah, that's why the whooping number of more than thousands! What have you guys been doing???)

It seemed that what these morons in China did was to include the abovementioned chemical substance; Melamine which was supposedly banned in food production.
Purpose?
This chemical; Melamine is an industrial chemical which is rich in nitrogen and when mixed with milk, it can make the protein level in the milk higher than the original content.
This is their cheapskate effort in increasing the profit margin in their watered-down or more diluted milk.

WHAT???!!!

And hear this, this chemical is commonly used in the making of plastic and fertilizers!
So, you think it will be harmless to human beings?

Man, the morons are really irresponsible!~

Right now, due to their inconsiderate actions, 4 families have lost their newborn gems and more than 53,000 are still fighting the battle (which I pray they will not lose).
Are our food products today safe for consumption?
I don't know anymore.... for me, I have a case of lactose intolerance and dairy products are not of my concern BUT still, most of the products we have in the market today are one way or another; sent from their manufacturing plant in China.

Oh ya, our Health Minister has also made a call that these SMS-es are to be ignored and not to be spread around as it will be damaging to companies like Dutch Lady, Unilever's who have reportedly claimed that their dairy products were made from fresh local milk or sourced from New Zealand and The Netherlands; while Unilever mentioned theirs were from whey powder imported from Australia, New Zealand, Europe, and the United States.
Now, I wonder will they say the same thing when these countries were the one which were slapped with the reports of melamine contamination?
(Just food for thought; if you remember the mad cow disease a few years ago)

Anyway, just to reduce the panic level; please please do not spread rumours through baseless SMS-es before you are certain
(What's with all these SMS-es anyway; and how did they get our phone numbers????)

As for me, China products....dairy or not, I am staying away....
There's been too many cases; fake eggs, fake baos, fake this that, and now dairy......

*Shivers*

The Rain

5 o' clock this morning...that's when I heard it
The gush of drops from the skies which came without a warning
TAP TAP TAP
(The rough and heavy raindrops hitting against the roof tiles and the hard ground)

Awwwwww......i slid my feet deeper in the blanket...
Heavy rain...such bliss....
Then *cough cough*
(Clears my throat) Ahem ahemmmm....
Aaaaa....chooooooo!!
No no...not the cold....no no...
I don't want it....I am healthy...

The rain continues to patter hard and I refused to think about my dizziness...
Just want to curl myself up and continue to snuggle against the pillow, blanket and all to hear and enjoy the rain
it has after all been so hazy for the past few days...

Rain rain...I love you....awwwwww, such bliss.....

Oh wait...it's Monday!!!
Shucks.....have I mentioned I hate Mondays? (this is not good.....it must be the curse, it must be it....that's why I feel awful...it's the revenge of the Mondays)

I am not letting you (flu) get to me!
Aaaaaa....chooooooo.....
I am not....*coughs*....lett....*coughs*.....ARRRRRRRGHHH!

One Public Holiday - MISSED??

Either I've lost track or I've misread the calendar...
Or I didn't even see it
Or I'm just plain BLUR....

But I can't believe I missed out on one public holiday this week!!!!~
I did...I never thought I would but I DID!!!
Goshhhhh.....I've always prided in myself for having a knack at my memory and now, me memory's failing!

I am one blur girl....

I woke up, dressed up and drove to work as always
When I reached the car park, I was shocked that it was so empty
Was I too early? Nope, same time as usual...
And walked towards my office
Okay, it's open...there's lights and flashed my card and walked in
And then, stopped dead in my tracks.
NO ONE!
I repeat (slowly), NNNOOO ONNNNEEE....
Am I Blur or what?

Quick check on calendar; Nuzul Al Quran...
I thought applicable to Selangor only?

And that's where it hit me, I came to work on a public holiday?
Am I a workaholic or what?
(Ironically I used to laugh when I heard the story of my ex-department head who went to work on a public holiday and even thought to myself, 'How could anyone possibly miss out on a public holiday? I thought that's what we look forward to all the time?')

And look where the laugh got me...
I did it to MYSELF...


HAHAHHAAHA....a good laugh at myself (*smack my own forehead*)
And still, HOW COULD I miss out on the HOLIDAY???

What a waste, what a waste....

WASTED....

HOW COULD I?????

I can't get over this...can someone tell me how to get over it?

A series of unfortunate events

It's funny how I've empathized with my friend who went through a crappy day with her flight transition and all, and yesterday, I had my same share of a crappy day with a string of unfortunate events.
Yeah, it went in a series....something like out of Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events

The worst part is, it happened on my favorite day of the week - a Friday!~

Let me start...
I had a couple of meetings in the morning; so I had an early start of a day - shouldn't be that bad right?
It was cheery for me as usual...

When I reached this particular car park, it was full and I had to park outside and then there was this car reversing out of his place and since space was rather limited, I backed my car to give way to him (although I just came into the car park area from the gate)
Now, that's the key, I backed a little too much and BONK, the barrier at the gate hit the back of my car!
Thank God, I reacted immediately so there was no damage - yeah, good ol' car is tough!~
So, nothing major...yet...

Then when I walked into the building, I waited for the elevator with this American man who just came into the lobby as well.
While we were waiting for the elevator, the security guard came over, "Lif rosak, guna tangga"
(translated as 'the lift is out of service, use the stairs')

Ohhhhh, sounds great to me...coz I need to hike up 5 storeys to the office
I could use some exercise....hahaha, it's not all that bad...although I was starting to praise those geniuses who invented elevators...
So, nothing major...still controllable

And then internet breaks down, cannot connect and there goes any hope of getting to the World Wide Web...
Okayyy, it's okay....

After a couple of hours, I was out for lunch in my car and found this place near the side of the road. Of course, I'd steer into the place.
Problem is, it's on the main road....
That's no major problem - I still do have a little bit of faith in my own driving skills....
But problem is, all the cars seem to be rushing past and nobody gave way to me....come on, it's a 2-lane and I am not going to use a lot of space to maneuver my car but those cars....sighs, some even honked....
Can't you see I am trying to park? What is wrong with you people????

ANYWAY, I finally managed to park my car .....thanks to one W-plated car (Altis) who gave way (Thanks, KL-lian!~ At least I finally saw some sense in a driver! Proves that my courtesy of giving way to these cars when I am driving did bring me some good in return)

I locked my car and walked along the 5-foot way for lunch
I barely took more than 10 steps when the alarm went off
Oh no.....that sounds familiar!
I hurried back and ohhhhhh, it's my dreadful car alarm again

I am ready to burst into tears, oh wait...I must not cry...this is nothing to sweat about, k...
It went on and on for several times and there I stood at the side of the main road, looking like a crazy woman who doesn't know how to handle my car (how pathetic this sounds...and how familiar it felt...read my previous posts)

It finally shut up...and I had my lunch
Perhaps it was the incidents, perhaps it was my lack of sleep....
But I was really tired and exhausted.....
Why why why.....oh, why did it have to be in such a series....
My car, the elevator, my alarm, internet....all in all?

And did I mention that it was on Friday?
Should I still say TGIF? Not this Friday though.....

Crappy crappy day.....
I need some sleep.... and I'd better get some sleep.....SOON!!!!

Sleepless night and a FULL moon

The title is not exactly linking any form of relevance between the two subjects.
A sleepless night and a full moon?
HUH??

Well, that shows how awake I am at this point...I could barely sleep last night and it was a whole night of tossing and turning, you know what it's like when you couldn't sleep.

Insomnia?
I don't know...it's the 2nd night this week where I had a hard time sleeping.
Stress?
I don't think so....but weather's been getting really hot these days...
But I do think I have been thinking a lot before I go to sleep....nothing negative, just all sorts of things running through my mind before I could hit the sack which was probably the main reason why I couldn't hit it at all.

The active mind is the key to keeping the whole body awake; I know that but I just couldn't shut my hyperactive mind from thinking, much as I tried.
Anyway, last night, I noticed a really beautiful and round moon from my window and I just couldn't resist taking a picture of it
(much as my bad skills at taking night pics allow me)


It didn't come out that bad!~ (phew)



Round....and it's just after the 15th of the Lunar Calendar....
I enjoyed taking these pics in the middle of a quiet night, and focusing my camera lens to capture the big moon
Suddenly, the dogs in the neighborhood howled....
EEERIE....
Am I the only one still awake? Or am I?

That was it, I went back to bed to continue my active thoughts and no more photography by the window - not with the howling (just sends the shivers down my spine)

Stop that racket!~ (My car is crazy (or ME))

My car's driving me crazy...I mean, literally speaking

Why?
Well, the car alarm has been going bonkers for the past few days (or was it a week?) - it just keeps going off each time I click on the lock button when I park the car.
I don't really know how to describe it in words, but I can tell you it's annoying.

I finally decided to bring it to the "hospital" (workshop) for a check-up and I was there, standing in front of the mechanic trying desperately to tell him what went wrong with the car and the reason I am there.
Let me give you a brief idea of how my car works (under normal circumstances):
Each time I lock the car, there will be one beep sound.
If I unlock the car, there will be 2 beep sounds.
This will be under normal circumstances - nothing unusual.

However, recently, whenever I stop the car and lock it, there will 2 beep sounds and then, the ALARM goes off!
Just like that!
Okay, then when I unlock the car, there will be 3 beep sounds.
(Now the additional beep sound always means that one of the door is unlocked or not closed properly - yeah, smart car, I know)

Instinctively, I will always walk back to the car, unlock and close the door which I came out from. After, all I only get out of the driver's seat right?
And thinking that will fix the situation, I lock it again and there it goes again.
I felt ridiculous when I had to open every single door and bang it as hard as I can...yeah, think Incredible Hulk who threw things with his might
(though do not picture me as that bulky green guy!)

And then the alarm goes off again - and I had to do that back and forth for 2 times MAX before it leaves me walking again in peace to my destination.
Okay, last week, it wasn't this bad and I didn't believe it when people were telling me something was wrong with my car.
I thought probably I opened the trunk of the car and didn't close it properly (that trunk door is the heaviest and really need a herd of elephant to shut it tightly) - that's exaggeration I know =p

But after repeatedly "screaming" at me everyday after I was pretty sure I locked the car, I couldn't take it anymore and decided enough is enough and took it to the workshop.
(I mean, it's embarassing and annoying when it always goes off and people are looking at you like you're the one setting it off delibrately, darn those accusing eyes!)

So when I arrived at the workshop, this young chap of a mechanic whom I know very well came to see what's the problem and I was explaining to him while trying to demonstrate to him with the click of the button on the key and waited for the alarm to do it again.
I can show you what I meant with my action and CLICK! ( I was like so proudly standing there, doing the I-told-you-so act)

You could imagine the horror on my face when it didn't... there was only one beep sound (like in normal condition)
It just didn't scream!
WHY???????
I guess my face was redder than a tomato or even a beetroot when I tried it several times, and it worked normally! (It was like being on stage performing a magic trick which failed miserably)
This is so embarassing, I know....and I looked (and felt) like an idiot standing there...
Drat the car (silently muttering under my breath)

He looked at me like I was speaking some language from heaven
(I know I looked silly standing there, but I tell you, I am telling the truth!!!).... but he was nice enough to say that he'll take a look at it.

He tried it several times and it was still okay.
( I could really hear the numerous sounds of the beeps when locked and unlocked the car - testing the alarm and locking system)
I was dismayed when my silly car just didn't want to prove my theory right....

He came back and told me that perhaps I could come back later if there's anymore problem as he couldn't find the problem at that time.
Okayyyyyyy...fine...I don't have a choice, right? =(

Reluctantly, I drove back (hoping he was right, it was just my imagination - he didn't say it but he must have thought of it in his head!) and drove into the garage, parked the car and locked it....walking away from the car and will you believe it.......the ALARM.... it went off again!!!

ARRRRRGGGGHHHHHHHHH
Why didn't you scream just now???

I had to drive back to the mechanic (no choice) but this time determinedly and I confidently told him....
"It (the car) did it again!"
I proceeded to show him with full confidence and clicked and waited....
And waited....

NOTHING HAPPENED!!!!
What is going on here????
(am I driving a phantom car? Or is this some early Halloween trick my car's playing on me? Help meeee.......)
I can tell you, I locked, unlocked my car and nothing....not even a silly squeak!!

I guess he sensed my desperation and he offered to try it and again, my car, my precious little car.... (I treat her like a princess and now she's embarassing me horribly in front of all these people) behaved normally.
NO SOUND!!!
Why.......
At that moment, I secretly wished that she will make that annoying sound (alarm) in front of him....and prove that I am not crazy!!
But my car....seems to be going against me....smirking at me...hahahaa...you lunatic, you're crazy!

I think he sensed my desperation (look at my dismayed face, it's like the world just ended) ; I totally looked like a poor idiot standing there (I felt like an idiot anyway) and told me he'd do a thorough check which they couldn't find anything again after 30 minutes.
I mean, I was sitting there for 30 minutes and could hear those beep sounds when they lock and unlock the car and it's normal....no alarm, no sound....
I'm losing it...am I imagining things?

He came back and told me he suspected that the root cause was probably at the alarm system and the automatic lock (my car will lock itself once I start driving) installation and directed me to their accessories' shop dealer where they have specialized alarm experts who can look into the problem.
I know they must be thinking I am some stupid woman driver (you sexists!)

I eagerly drove to this accessories' shop and told the mechanic about my problem.
I didn't want to do the demo anymore (I'm afraid....this is not a normal car....it's phantom!)

He took the keys from me and tested it; clicking to lock the car (BEEP!)
And believe it or not.....MY pathetic car refused to show them her symptoms.
NO SOUND, not even a little squeak!
I know....I must look like I am imagining things....

But the guy did something; he removed this

(What's this?)
You can imagine I am looking like a poor unfortunate lost soul who seems like she's driving a phantom car!

He explained that this is another device which is connected to the main alarm system and this is for the automatic locking of the car.
Apparently, it seems that this thing did not come together with the main alarm system and was installed by the car salesman during purchase (probably a cheaper device which wasn't designed to work with the main alarm).
So it has caused some short circuit to the main alarm system.....- drat you guys for causing me this nightmare!
He commented that most of the cars from my range has had this same problem; even recent new cars because of this installation.
Most of his customers came to him because of this as well....and I am one of the lucky ones who only experienced this after a few years?
(oh I see, so I am lucky to be crazy after a few years when others have been crazy earlier? Nice words of comfort...)

Okay, to cut the long story short, will this fix the problem?
He assured me it will and I can go home and see if it does.
If it doesn't, it may be the alarm system and he will look at it again.

Erm, I came here for a definite answer; not for some trial and error trick....
Okay, I don't mean to be sadistic, but I am paying to see if this removed thing will still trigger the alarm?
What are mechanics for???
And what if it goes off again?
My car is really driving me crazy now!!

I paid RM15 for his service (Amazing world, I need to pay somebody to remove something from my car....^_^)


I thought it would solve the problem and drove back feeling slightly relieved; looking at this silly thing which was removed... ( perhaps it's psychological, but thinking that a removal may have removed the sound....)


And SHE did it again.....
ARGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
I tell you, if I had a BIG crucifix at that time, I am gonna place it on my car and tell whatever it is to please leave my car alone

HUHUHUHU....sob sob
I knew this is no solution and since I paid, phantom or not, I demand an explanation
So, I drove the car to the workshop (AGAIN!!) - for the 4th time

By now, I am about to burst into tears or even explode into a fire ball of fury....
I arrived at the workshop in no time and this time, another mechanic came out...
How many times do I need to explain this story again and again? (GOSH!)
I told him (poor guy, I was pretty frustrated by now) the whole story (by this time, I felt like I am psycho who seems to be imagining things).


He took a good look at the car and he was kind enough to include some humor when I told him about the alarm...phantom thing
I told him that I parked the car inside the house and also car park and the alarm always goes off.
He told me "Haha..miss, probably you should try parking the car outside the house instead of inside"

Trust me mister, I can park it inside outside upside downside....it's gonna be the same!!!!!
My car is playing a joke on me, telling me to Catch her if I can... (I was yelling inside)

BUT BUT BUT, why is it not reacting whenever it's at the workshop!
Drat that car....

He really tested the car thoroughly and he told me of his suspicion...
WHAT? (I am desperate now)

He said that since the beep always indicate that the door is not locked/closed properly, it could be some sensor problem
He added a small rubber pad to the side of the door....and told me this pad would probably make the sensor sense the door is shut properly (contact with the sensor system)
It should do the trick.
WHAT?
The whole day I've been running around like a lunatic and it's all because of a stupid small little rubber pad????
(I apologize for the use of the word stupid but I had to use a strong word to describe how I truly felt at that moment)
Whatever, he told me that if there's still problem, just send the car back and they will check again.

Do you think I have nothing else better to do than to send my car to the mechanic the whole day???
Sorry, I know he's only being helpful but I felt like a fool the whole day standing in front of all these mechanics!

Anyway, I smiled and told him, "If it goes off again and if you see me back here, i am removing the alarm system!"
He laughed...
TO me, that's no laughing matter when your car starts to make your mind go haywire - I am hearing the alarm all the time and even when I was in the room or anywhere, I constantly had to go look at my car to make sure there's no sound.

GOSH....this is nervous breakdown...
I even stopped the shower when I thought I heard an alarm....
I couldn't get it out of my head...the alarm sound is ringing on and on
STOP IT STOP IT....

And all, because of a single pad on the door added?
Coz it stopped the racket alright....
And is this still the culprit?


I don't know, but all I know is...it hasn't made a squeak since yesterday but I am still keeping my fingers crossed and my heart is still pounding...I hope it will be normal today...

Otherwise, princess or not, I am removing your voice and......and...

I will bring you to a hardware shop and melt you and sell you as a piece of metal!!....

I mean it...don't you smirk at me...let's see who's the owner when you are a piece of wreck


(I am going crazy...I need to sit down and relax)

Suspiciously Hazy

I am not sure whether I am right; but as I drove along the coastal highway yesterday morning, I barely could see the factories on the the other side (mainland)
Is it me or is the haze back?

There was also this distinctive burning smell in the air again....something's burning and it's big....
Please stop those open burning!!!~

I DO NOT WANT the HAZE to come back!!!

The 90/10 principle

Have you heard of this principle which was shared by Stephen Covey? (a genius, I may say for turning a simple daily thing into a principle)

How many of us really know what is this 90/10 principle?
Stephen Covey mentioned that the 90/10 is all about the ways thing happen in our life and we go about taking control.
The 10% is about things we cannot control while the 90% is the way we react to the things which happened.

My parish priest talked about in his mass and he put it in another manner; where the first 10% could affect the 90% of your day.
Not entirely wrong and still applicable; let me tell you in the following example I am about to share.

(I am sure most of you may have read this before through forwarded emails, blogs, etc)
Picture this scene in a normal family on a weekday morning:
Dad is sitting at the dining table; all dressed up for work in his crisp ironed shirt and in his hands were his daily newspapers which just arrived this morning.
His son walks into the dining hall; ready to have his share of breakfast before going off to school and he stumbled, causing a cup of coffee to spill on dad's shirt.
Dad got up in shock and instinctively shouted at his son for being so careless.
Son mumbled, "Sorry dad"
Dad continued to grumble and scolded him and turned to Mum who was preparing the breakfast at the stove. He shouted for a new shirt and reprimanded her for putting the coffee cup near the edge of the table.
Mum got cross and yelled in return for dad to get his own shirt.
Son started crying and missed his bus.
Dad rushed upstairs to change his shirt and rushed to send his son to school; grumbling the whole way over the entire incident while the son was quiet throughout the journey to school.
Upon arrival, Dad said goodbye to son but son did not reply and ran into school without looking back.
Dad arrived late at his office and found that he left his briefcase at home. His boss reprimanded him and he had a hell of a day at work.
Dad looked forward to going home but upon arrival at home, found that Mum and son are still in a cold war with him and everyone refused to speak to him. The situation went on for 3-4 days.

Does this sound familiar to any of you?
I am sure each and everyone of us had somehow gone through this kind of episode not once; but several times in our life, in different scenarios/occasions.

The 10% was the coffee incident; it was something which was not in anyone's control.
Dad didn't see it coming; son didn't do it on purpose and Mum didn't delibrately place the cup on the edge.
But the 90% was something we can control; how we react to it!
A twist to Dad's reaction could've made things turn out differently:
(let's rewind)
Son accidentally hits the cup and coffee spilled on Dad's shirt.
Son says "I'm sorry Dad"
Dad brushed off the coffee from his shirt using a cloth and said, "It's okay, son", and rushed upstairs to change his shirt.
He will bring his briefcase down with him and son and wife will bid him goodbye before departing to work/school respectively.
Things will be normal at work and he will not be late.
When he comes home, there will be a nicely cooked dinner and wife and son waiting for him for dinner and they will have a nice and warm family conversation just like everyday.

See the difference?
Another way of seeing that 10:90 is this; that 10% in the morning or the way you react affects the 90% of your day.
Look at how Dad reacted to that coffee incident. Because he lost his temper in the morning, he went to work a grumpy man and it became worse when his boss also lost his temper at him for being late and forgetting his briefcase and there goes his entire day (90%)
If only Dad didn't lose his temper, things would've progressed nicely and he will keep track of his schedule and list-to-do (briefcase, car keys, etc) and 90% of the day, the normal and happy family man who enjoys his day of work while looking forward to home.

Look at how the whole thing turned out when the man just snapped.
Put on your thinking cap and tell yourself, is the coffee incident really that bad? Do I really need to lose my temper at the poor boy who clearly didn't mean it?

Do you see how we can all take charge and control our own life?
Most of the time, when unwanted things happen which mess up our plan, we never stop to think that I could've reacted differently. Do I really need to go that far as to lose my temper? Do they really mean it? It was just an accident; nobody wants that to happen.
And that's how we overcome that anger and cool ourselves down.
But sadly, most of the time, most of us will just lose that cool and SNAP!
The ending? You see for yourselves...

At the same time, when you are in control of your own feelings, this doesn't mean that you should just suppress it all the time.
No, no....as a matter of fact, suppressing one's anger is worse than letting it out.
However, the way you handle/manage your anger is the key point.

Let's say you're feeling crappy today (frustrated with work, had a fight with your spouse/partner, you lost your belonging, car broke down, whatever) and one of your joker friends came and was about to share with you on this piece of juicy gossip he just heard somewhere.
You're clearly not in the mood and you really feel annoyed at his presence at this moment, so how do you react?
a. You shout at him to get the hell out of your face
b. You tell him that you're in a for a bad day and could he save this for later

If you chose a, you need serious help and I suggest you get a self-help book for anger management because you clearly didn't get the message from the story I shared above.
If you chose b, congratulations because you have learnt how to express your anger the right way.

Yeah, you're in a crappy mood but is your friend in the same crappy mood?
No! He had just been nosey (as usual), and he found out some interesting and probably a rotten scandal about someone; an arch nemesis of you guys and he's so hyped up and excited to tell you all about it to have a good laugh.
So, he's in a great mood and can't wait to laugh it out with you.
Imagine if you were to lose your temper at him, he will get cross and you'll both never talk to each other for a week or so.
You're only in a crappy mood for today (10%), do you want to be unhappy for the rest of the week when your friend refuses to talk to you after the big blow? (90%)

So, to avoid that, and you don't have to suppress your anger, you can just tell him slowly, "Today's not my day, I am really crappy....and perhaps we can talk later because I may lose my cool if we were to talk now"
Seee?
You still get to tell him you're really pissed at something and that you can't talk without losing your temper at this point. But by saying that, he knows he has to step out of your boundary and he will give you your alone time.
He will understand you and you get to crap to yourself, and later in the afternoon, who knows after a few rounds of sack punching, you feel ready to indulge in the juicy conversation with him?

The 90/10 principle is really a great way of managing our anger and I'd love to share this with everyone.
There are still lots out there who have not grasped this principle; coz being humans, we just tend to get our emotions get the better of us.
That's why we see lost friends, angered and dysfunctional families, divorced/separated couples, etc.

If we learnt one baby step at a time to express our emotion the right way, we can make this world a much better place to live in.
I am also learning but I can tell you, once you try it, you will see things differently and you will enjoy it; trust me - coz I love it:)

Stories on board - MAS flight

I wanted to blog about this earlier; but I decided to went on ahead with the news which plunged at my screen this morning. So the auspicious date today actually stole the limelight from this post.
Well, it's not outdated yet anyway.

If you read my blog, you will know that previously I have posted my dissatisfaction on my business trip on MAS flight. As if that is not enough, right now, I have an unexpected sequel to this on my recent flight.

(Lets out a big SIGH first!)
Well, let's see, I was on this domestic flight to KL; and of course, I am not expecting any jumbo jet or 747.
What I had in mind was the normal 737 but little did I expect the condition of the plane which welcomed me.
The flight stewards and stewardesses were of course, as usual, very friendly and greeted us boarding passengers with a great smile and showing you the way.

Incident #1 (departing flight) - Help myself
I was lugging my little luggage bag and it was really those type which were sizable enough to be your cabin luggage. But as I was lugging it along the little alley to get to my seat, I couldn't understand why it kept hitting some of the seats! It was definitely not so when I was on SIA (*scratches head)
(It didn't hit me then that the plane was definitely much smaller than even Air Asia - this bag can even go through on Air Asia flight!)

Okay, I finally found my seat; and I needed help to heave my luggage bag into the cabin. I sought help from one of the male steward; and he was a pretty cheerful guy who greeted me in a rather ladylike manner (erm, excuse the description).
Anyway, he smiled graciously at my request
"Oh by the way, I need your help as well to help me to heave this luggage of yours up into the cabin"
(*smiles politely but with an arched eyebrow)
(What??? The reason I asked for your help in the first place was because I know I couldn't possibly heave this...I don't even have the strength! call me a brat, I don't care:p)

But since he was so nice, I didn't mind...but I was truly disappointed that a male steward cannot assist a brat like me who can barely lift her own bag:(
Aren't male stewards supposed to be strong; don't they have to go through some tests to enable them to be a steward??
Not that I discriminate, but seriously, as passengers, we do really appreciate kind assistance when we are on board and I personally do not ask for help unless I really need it...
Sighs....

Incident #2 - Air ventilation
I finally settled down in my seat and strapped on my seat belt. It was a bit stuffy, and I thought it was due to the afternoon sun (I secretly vowed to never take afternoon flights anymore - if I can help it!)
But then, it was starting to become more and more stuffy even when the plane is starting to take off.
As I mentioned, I have always liked the moments when the plane take off and I couldn't resist looking out the window at the bright scene that laid in front of me when we were taking off, although I will still be flying back in 2 days.
After we took off, I still continued to look at the scene below...the manufacturing and the high rise apartments and condominiums...and that was then, that I felt myself getting giddy and nauseous.
It could be the staring out of the window in the midday sun; or it could be the air-conditioning which was clearly sweating me out.
I seldom complained about a/c but I am surprised at the temperature MAS set in their small little plane...is this their way of cost cutting?
Sighs....

That was the first 2 incidents/experiences on the departing flight....and I prayed that my returning flight will be much better. Well, I guessed right - 50% of it anyway.
The fact that it was night flight, I could dismiss the stuffy part altogether right? And provided I do not look out the window to look down to make myself giddy....but half right..
My returning flight was again in the 737 jet and the a/c was set at the same temperature (I think) as it didn't feel that much cooler. (At the same time, it didn't feel that hot probably due to the fact that it was at night - compared to the afternoon)

The a/c part didn't bother me the 2nd round though....but the following did:

Incident #3 - Cabin luggage (again)
This time, I still asked for the assistance of a male steward. This male steward didn't have any trouble to heave it up but he found that he couldn't fit it into the cabin.
Like I've said, this is always the cabin luggage used and it never had any problem going into any of the cabins. But now, this male steward couldn't fit it in and insisted that I remove some of my stuffs.
Now, frankly, the bag was not overstuffed and I was pretty confident that it could fit into the cabin if I were to have a go at it but due to the fact that there were waiting passengers, and the male steward ushered me to the back of the plane to remove my stuffs (at his insistence!).
To make him happier, I removed 1-2 stuffs from the front compartment of the bag into my handbag. Mind you, the size of the bag remains the same (there is no difference whether with or without the 2 items I removed)
Somehow, I was too tired to see how he fit it in and got into my window seat at the back of the plane.
(It fits in when I looked up after I have buckled on my belt)

Incident #4 - the SMELL
At this point, I was sitting with 2 elderly ladies who seemed to be fidgeting about something. Typically I smiled at people but they didn't return my smile and looked rather hostile so I just let them be.
Anyway, they were exchanging words in Cantonese and at one point it got a little annoying as they seemed to think that I do not understand them.
Well, I realized they wanted to change their seats and were pretty sure that the plane is gonna have vacancies and not fully booked. I do not what is the reason but they mentioned something about smell or something like that and they got rather restless and was trying to stand up to get a good view of the vacant seats while the steward was trying to assure them to be at their seats and they will get the chance to change their seats once everyone's settled down.
Urmmm...don't think it works, coz the minute the steward disappeared into the back of the plane, the 2 ladies got up and walked toward the vacant seats in front.
I could see the look on the steward when he caught sight of them walking along the alley and he just shook his head and mumbled a few words to his colleagues.
I was still pretty ignorant and since I had a good book, I settled down to read my book.
After a few minutes, the smell got to me.
Yeah, I smelt it....it was more of a stench to me....it wasn't pleasant, mind you, and it was disturbing. Now I know why they were so stubborn about changing their seats!
It was too late for me; but I did hear the stewardesses flushing the toilets a few times and they sprayed something - not that it helped, but it did minimize the stench.
I practically stuffed my nose with my little hanky!~
Sighs....

I don't know whether it's me or MAS was just not up to the standard.
If you think I am writing a post to bash our own airlines, boy are you wrong.
I have been a frequent flyer on SIA previously and have always stood by SIA as my preferred airline but at the same time, I have always wondered about our very own MAS which had their own share of awards as one of the world's best airlines and also the best cabin staff.

I was thinking; why not support my own airline but my first flight with them went very wrong and.... my following flights? Sighs!~
Read my previous post - my business trip on MAS was delayed without any explanation nor compensation.
My complaints went un-replied and they didn't even bother to at least explain to me!~
I must say I really changed my views on them since then...

But I still decided to give them another chance and another...and what did I get?
Cancelled flights and no explanation....

And they still wonder why they lost to SIA? (here)
I don't wonder at all....

Am I still gonna take MAS? Ermmm.....

Malaysia Today

I was about to blog this morning about my experience on my flight aboard our local airlines but I had a quick peek at the Star online and I was shocked to see a few headlines; enough to grab my attention and wake me up after my sleep...

Anwar claims the numbers, PM says 'not'
PM in pow-wow with DPM

Are we talking about a new government?
Our PM has reassured the country that we should not listen to rumors and there is no reason to panic and that this is just another gimmick.
Whatever it is; let's just pray:)

Rumors aside - 916; or September 16th marks the commemorative day when Malaysia was formed with the joining of Sabah, Sarawak, and Singapore in 1963.

It has always been a question that Malaysia should celebrate on today instead of 31st August as this is truly the birth of Malaysia.
However, do not forget, we obtained our Independence mandate during that time from British and thus, 31st August is marked as the Independence of Tanah Melayu or Malaya at that time.

Perhaps we can consider 16th of September as the Birthday of Malaysia....haha, but will that incur another bunch of expenditure for another lavish celebration or parade after 31st August?
Hehe....but all the same, I wish Malaysia a very Happy Birthday today and let's take a moment to remember the hard times passed to achieve a final union of a beautiful country today!~

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MALAYSIA!~

Moments on a plane

Whenever I am on a flight, the moments that I always look forward to is the taking off and the landing part.
Of course, I am sure most of us have the same tendency to look forward to those same moments and also enjoy looking out the window (if you happen to take the window seat).

For me, I always bid the place farewell and the taking off moment can sometimes leave a longing and heavy feeling in the heart whenever I am leaving a place I have grown fond of; for instance, my own home country or even favorite travel places.
I will take a long last look at the surroundings (which usually is the airport area and runway) and reminiscence those sweet memories during my time there.
If it is a place that I was waiting to leave asap, the taking off moment is more the reason for me to savor:)

Oh, but make sure you don't stare too long especially when you're in a small plane and when you're taking an afternoon flight (when the sun is shining brightly) or else you will end up feeling giddy and sick the whole flight and even after landing...like me.

Do you have your favorite moments on the plane?

Mooncake festival is drawing near...

Just wanted to take this opportunity to wish everyone of you out there,

~HAPPY MID-AUTUMN FESTIVAL!~

*Will post photos on mooncakes in my food blog soon*:)

Being a Malaysian

I am astounded by the number of non-political blogs turning to hot political posts recently; it was like most of the blogs that I read start to post at least more than 2 posts sharing their views on the current political situation in our country.

I am no political writer and don't intend to write about politics either (thank you very much) but even I have to admit, the non-political me is also starting to be intrigued by the politics going-ons.
First we hear of the riots and chaos in our neighboring country and then a big hoo-ha over traveling there.
Comments fly by, talking about the show put on by the people there.

Now we are getting our own share of problems....
I am not going to write about how who should behave or act in what way as that is clearly not my intention.

I am shocked and upset by the turns of events which took place recently.

I am born in Malaysia and received all my 11 years of education in a sekolah kebangsaan. Although people tend to associate me with Koreans due to my surname, as far as I can remember, I have been a Malaysian Chinese and proud of it.
In fact, I sometimes go by I am a Malaysian; as I am proud of being one and do not feel the need to state that I am of the Chinese race. Most of us do that too, I am sure, carrying the label of Malaysian wherever we go because it is our nationality.
I had never feel embarrassed to talk about my country when I am overseas and could not help feeling thankful that I am living in a country which can be termed as a paradise to everyone else around the world.
I can even feel upset when people talk as if my country means nothing to them and that we live on trees!
I am as every bit a Malaysian as each and everyone of us here is!~
I respect the song Negaraku and I also know the lyrics to most of the patriotic songs such as Setia, Dirgahayu Oh Tanahairku, Untukmu Malaysia and I liked the catchy tune of the Jalur Gemilang song!

I can even remember the 5 Rukunegara principles!~
So, am I still an immigrant? whatever is said...do we need to let go of what we believe in and is proud of all the while?

I do not know why, but I find it disheartening instead of angered by the statements and all that has been happening.
I am not going to pinpoint nor to judge who is right or wrong or what they should do as clearly, this is not the main point here in my post.

At the same time, I am still happy to see that despite all these, there are still a lot of us out there who are happy with each other; regardless of race.
I am proud to have friends who are of different ethnicity, race and religion here in Malaysia.
We are the nation, which made up the beautiful country; Malaysia and we are unique because of our culture which no one can find in anywhere else in the world.
We are one of the only and rare countries in the world which is composed of more than 3 races and yet live in harmony with each other.
We are independent, free and enjoy the splendid mix with our fellow friends and all those festivities where we explore and understand each others' culture so well!
Food is also the unique part and tourists have never been bored by our neverending boast of colorful variety:)

Are we going to put an eraser to all those wonderful moments with each other for a few remarks?

Here's to our country and our continuous harmonious culture!~

The magic numbers - the story behind it

As promised, I will now share the story behind the 5 magic numbers which was favored by most Penangites.

A friend of mine told me about it; so no legal implication of the truth or the relevance to others in the same context.

It revolves around a fortune teller somewhere in Penang island; who relates these numbers as the main contributors to boost one's fortune or luck in life.
He encouraged that these are the numbers with the high "qi" factor which can bring changes in one's life and it's best if someone have connection to these magical numbers to make change in their life for the better.
Since most of the numbers in our life are either fixed or non-changeable, the only one is the car plate number (that is if you have a car).

That was why most of the cars on this island has either 2 and above of these number combination!~
In fact my friend's relative was the one who went to this fortune teller and he started implementing the idea of these 3 numbers on almost all the cars in his house; except for my friend's!

Now, when I see these numbers popping out everywhere on the car plates in Penang, I am starting to wonder whether they have seen the same fortune teller guy?
However, I am also skeptic that the entire island could've met this hermit; and another conclusion is that either Penangites are a superstitious lot or the car dealers are the ones with the superstitious minds.

These numbers do denote some importance in the Chinese numerology and the sound of the numbers when pronounced bear similarity to words like, "Life", "All the way", "Prosperity", "Luck"

Now, do share with me if you have another opinion of the reason behind the magical numbers, as this is the one which I've heard...

The magic numbers...

I observed one unique commonality in most of the cars up here in Penang:

3
1
9
8
6

The magic numbers up there appear in almost every single car plate on the road.
I can tell you that there is bound to be a combination of at least 2 or above of those numbers.
And most of the time, it will not be hard for you to find a handful of cars with 4 of the numbers!~

Wanna prove me wrong?
Well, do your own study sample and tell me after a week or just 1 day :)

(I will tell you why in my next post...*grins*)

Rain - Love or Hate?

I know most of you out there hates the rain because of numerous reasons; it gets messy, getting wet, inconvenience, there goes the play time, no outings, gloomy, clothes will never dry and a long list of many other reasons.
I am ironically, someone who sits on the other side of the fence.
I like the rain; in fact I LOVE the rain!

It's always so nice when it rains and I feel so happy, calm and relaxed. Of course, I do agree with the getting wet/messy part and canceling that outing because of a downpour - and there goes the love part.

However, of all the reasons that elude you and me, there is another which is much much more distracting when it rains; FLOOD.

The word Flood brings to mind the sight of water everywhere and rising to a higher level than the ground. In short description, it's like a low-level filling up of the bathtub; only with much more detested results.
Muddy and murky water and soggy pants or dead car engines or worse, furniture and houses filled with water.

So, see, while I enjoy the rain, I feel sad that there are people suffering out there - cries for the loss of their valuables and sometimes even loved ones (if the flood is at a critical depth).

These days we have been experiencing a moody and gloomy weather in our whole country and floods are everywhere.
The rain went on for 2 continuous days; starting from Friday afternoon and for the whole day yesterday.
It finally stopped early this morning - much to the relief of most flash flood victims who were probably busy saving their furniture and belongings while we worry about getting drenched in the rain if we do not have an umbrella.

The rain is really controversial sometimes; it is either a love or a hate relationship...I pray for all those who suffer from the rainy season that they will find peace and solace soon.

What do you think? Are you a rain lover or a cynical fan?

Elevator Crisis!

For the first time in my entire life, today I experienced the panic of being trapped in an elevator!
Okay, it wasn't such a long moment (THANKFULLY!~) but still enough to invoke the cheetah heartbeat and sweat from the forehead.

I was taking the elevator and I pressed on the number 1 pad to the Lobby on the Ground/First floor.
When the elevator reached the first floor, the door opened but less than an inch!
I was wondering what was wrong (*Sweats) and anticipated the next; a power blackout.

No no...too dramatic...the door just wouldn't budge!
I pressed on the Emergency Bell button (that's the norm) but no response.
I kept pressing continuously for 3-4 times and no response.
Sweats*

Then suddenly, the elevator moved and went all the way down to the Basement floor!
The door opened there....
I ran out of the elevator as fast as I can...before you can say "YEAH"

I don't know what was the matter with the elevator but when I made my way to the staircase to go upstairs, I saw the 2 security guards sitting right in front of the elevators, doing nothing and dozing off!!
GREAT way to work!

And then, the emergency bell went off again...I wonder who are the unfortunate souls again...and again, the guards were just so naturally solemn; like it's a natural thing.
Kudos right? (*sarcastically*)

Thankfully, the two fellows got out of the lift - I have no idea how they did it!

That was when I noticed that there was a notice on that dysfunctional elevator to inform on the problem.
GREAT!
So only people at the ground floor are informed and how about all the other levels?

SIGHS....my first experience and thankfully not a harrowing one where I can be stuck for more than a few hours; waiting for the rescue squad (like in the movies)
Dramatic?
I don't think so...anything can happen!

P.S.: Thank God this didn't happen during the 7th month of the Lunar Calendar, else...I am really gonna wonder why all the way to basement, any significance?
*Shudders at the thought*