Ending the year....

Agitated!
That's what..and how it's become for me on the last day of 2008

Don't ask me what, why or how...
I am just on the verge of explosion

Anyway, it was somehow not so bad
I don't know
Call it telepathy or something
But today, my good ol' bestie and one of my oldest best girl friends (chi mui) chatted with me online
And somehow they managed to lighten how I felt

Magic?
They didn't do anything actually....
And I didn't tell them anything either
But just talking to them somehow left me rather relieved
and I didn't feel that agitated

I don't know...
The magic of friends?
At the same time, they left me missing all my good old friends
Who have never forgotten about me wherever I am
My hometown friends
My school friends
My neighborhood friends

It seemed like a magical Christmas and New Year season for me this year
I believe I have truly been touched by the angel of love and friendship
And I felt blessed to have all of these wonderful all weather friends (definitely no fair weather friends)

You have reminded me that I am not alone
You guys and gals have always been there perfectly where I stand

I heard on the Chinese channel (radio) this morning; the DJs were posing a question
"If you were given one word to describe the year 2008, which word would it be?"

Which word would I choose?
I think I would choose Faith

I've experienced Change in this year
And it was not an easy decision
But it was nevertheless realized
And I know that had I not have the faith
I would never have done it

I had faith in GOD who ruled above
I had faith in myself
I had faith in people around me

And most importantly, I had people around me having faith in me!

Which word would it be for you for the year 2008?

Dilemma!

How do you tell someone when you are doing something for her own good, but yet you can't say it? (due to some certain reasons)
How can you say no without hurting her feelings?
How do you go about making her see that you mean no harm or ill-feeling?

How do you make her understand that you did not want things to be that way either?

Most importantly, how to make her happy?

Thanks, I have recovered!

Sorry for the late words of gratitude; but I've just finally gotten down to my keyboard and checking all those emails.
I have replied most of the text messages (SMSes) sent to inquire on my health condition, etc

I know, it's been really bad the past 2 weeks prior to the holiday season, I first broke down with dry throat which then launched into fever, sore throat(which really hurts, for the record), headache....that's a lot of symptoms, right?
I even had diarrhoea and vomiting, on the first

I went to the clinic, and was on MC for 2 days, and then back to work.
Over the weekend, I developed stronger symptoms which resulted in my loss of voice on a Monday and due to the aches all over the body, I had to take off again.
This time was worse, the pain in the throat was bad, I could barely squeak (or swallow!), and the fever's back and headache, and there's even a runny nose!
Talk about tough luck!
Not just that, the cough was starting, dry cough and then it felt like something's stuck in the throat and I just couldn't help feeling nauseous.

Second visit to the doc, and still no improvement.
In fact, the cough and pain got worse..and I am amazed that I was already on the antibiotics and there seems be no healing effect.

It was almost 4 days when I finally decided enough's enough and I consulted a doctor in hospital, and I was finally on recovery track!
Right on time for Christmas, and then I was smacked with another allergy problem, SIGHS!

Don't ask me about it, I developed some weird skin irritation towards a substance which was suspected in one of the mild stuffs I use, surprisingly!
Anyway, I had to be on medication again, for my allergy...through Christmas.

I am recovering now, so I just want to thank everyone of you who have sent your regards and were concerned about my condition:)
I am getting better and I will be great in no time!

You have a poppin' New Year 2009 too~

~~**Merry Christmas...HO HO HO!**~~

Went to Queensbay Mall for the past week and noticed the Big Doraemon and white stage for Christmas which gave me a very Christmassy feel.


Just want to wish everyone a very happy and Merry Christmas!
Rejoice for our Lord Jesus Christ is born to the world!~

The Rose

In this season of love, let us love one another as we love ourselves.
I find this rather meaningful to share and I am sure we are not strangers to this story, of
The Rose

Some say love......it is a river
That drowns the tender reed.

Some say love..... it is a razor
That leaves your soul to bleed.

Some say love..... it is a hunger
An endless, aching need

I say love..... it is a flower,
And you it's only seed.

It's the heart..... afraid of breaking
That never learns to dance

It's the dream.... afraid of waking
That never takes the chance

It's the one..... who won't be taken,
Who cannot seem to give

And the soul.... afraid of dying
That never learns to live.

When the night..... has been too lonely
And the road has been too long.
And you think.... that love is only
For the lucky and the strong.

Just remember..... in the winter
Far beneath the bitter snow
Lies the seed that with the sun's love,
In the spring, becomes the rose.

I mean shopping...as in shopping

Have you ever done it before?
I mean, you go shopping and you want to get something but you end up getting something else along the way, and I mean, many more other things?

It's like a natural; I was heading for one thing in my mind, and then, took a peek here and there which I couldn't resist and then, hey, that's not bad for that price, etc.
It's a trap; it is!

Anyone of you who had the same problem or am I the only one who's lost it?:p

**I pride in being a very disciplined person when it comes to buying; I am a controlled shopper and I don't spend unnecessary since young; probably due to the culture I was brought up in. However, a girl will always be a girl yea?:) **

All I want for Christmas is...

I have already prepared my wish list of course; and posted in my blog but I do have a very very important wish which I list on top of all...
I want my good health back...

It has been a disaster; I don't know why am I so prone to injuries these days; from my right knee sometime in June
Then my left foot recently; which hilariously got caught by a huge tree root of a century-old tree and turned out to be such a nasty wound that there is no place for laugh anymore.

Then I was slapped with fever, vomiting and diarrhoea last week; after my Johor trip (no pun intended)
And I thought I'd recover; but I woke up with a bad throat this morning and I even lost my voice!
Yeah, laugh, I was practically speechless for 2 days and I was put on antibiotics.
It's been almost a week now; and I have completed my course of medicine but I am still having the dreadful sore throat.

I am surprised by how long this sore throat took to heal and it's making me want to choke, vomit and even cough!
Great medicine and diagnosis huh; I went to get well and yet I ended up getting worse right now; with an additional number of symptoms:(

And to even add to the bad situation, yesterday my left arm hit against the wall and the metal door hinges which is now giving a big and swollen bruise on my arm.

God, I really do ask for no mishaps, wounds and sicknesses anymore...I want to get well for Christmas!!

I am thinking of going for another consultation; this time with a different doctor/clinic....I want to get well soon

A Night of Masquerade Mania

I did it again; I have donned on that mask again for my annual dinner and dance this year after the last masquerade party in my company.
This year, in this company, they also decided to choose the masquerade theme for their yearly function.
I don't get it, what's with the masking effect where you can't even show your face to the public?

On a lighter note, I am intrigued by the fancy dresses and costumes inspired by this theme since the Renaissance period and who will not think of the Phantom of the Opera when the word masquerade is mentioned?
Made popular by the movie and the mystic feel of this theme, it has been widely used as the themes in most parties and even corporate functions!

In the earlier months, our HR has already circulated emails to seek the opinions of all the employees on their favored themes for the upcoming annual event. We were required to vote from 3 themes:
1. Masquerade Mania
2. Carribean
3. Exotic Hawaiian or something like that

No prize for anyone who guessed the finalized theme; since I've already revealed it in the post title.
I was stunned for a while when they announced the results as last year, yeah, just last year, I went through the Masquerade night as part of the organizing team!!
Yeah, I was sort of the theme style-design choreographer in my organizing team and was in charge of the deco, posters, layout and even tickets design!
Needless to say, I was definitely in the know about this theme.

I was looking forward to something more new, exciting and interesting; something which I've never experienced, oh well, I just decided why not, go ahead and let's see what they have in store this year.
After all, new environment, new people and I am not even in the organizing team!

For a change, it's back in my hometown this year where I have my beloved family members to give their opinions on my attire, etc and I can give my wardrobe a big hug, something to cheer about, eh?:)

I arrived on Thursday night; late night flight as the following Friday morning, there was another scheduled event in another hotel.
We even get to go off at 3pm to get ready for the dinner and dance!
(That was actually the cool part; although I doubt that we'd have enough time to prepare for the dinner; especially the ladies...hairdo, make-up, dressing up, etc etc)

Great for me, this year I didn't want to waste my money and time on all these; as I dread the horrendous traffic should I get stuck after all that wonderful work.
Furthermore, my 'sisters' are not around so half the fun's gone!

I had plenty of time; and I was on time despite the matching of my shoes, bags, hairdo, etc to snap a picture of myself before I headed out the door.

It rained rather heavily that evening; kinda dampened my spirits a little....remember that song sung in Grease?
~ It's raining, on prom night...my hair is a mess... It's raining, it's raining...oh oh oh~~

Yeah, baby, exactly how I felt at that time, although I wouldn't want my hair to be a mess!
Due to the heavy downpour as well, the traffic was rather bad! Bummer


I arrived there on time and was greeted by wonderful environment; which made me feel like a princess.
After all, this is Mandarin Oriental; one of the 5-stars hotel in the capital city!
I walked up the spiral stairway which was covered with red carpet all the way; wow, talk about extravagance!

I was considered the early birds; judging by the crowd at that time.

I was led to the registration table; and the deco were so cool, isn't it?
I love the way they formed this magical gifts tree; which they used to hang all the door gifts on it.
Great idea; noted...

They even have a hall of fame!

You stand behind this make-up backdrop, which was lined with red carpet(again!) and you get your picture taken by a professional photographer and you will get the hardcopy of your photo printed and embedded within a memorable photo frame later.
FOC!!
Talk about stardom; this is ultimate Hollywood-nism man!

A peek into the Grand Ballroom; admittance was restricted before the start of the function



Taking a good look around, there were so many interesting costumes around!!

These people are really into the theme huh; I bet they spent $$ and time on their make-ups and attires.
I am impressed by the good sports in these people, who took the effort to appreciate the theme!


The Mask of Zorro!

And his friend, Sor Lou? (No pun intended; and no offense)

I applaud the cool factor in these gentlemen; for dressing up for this event.
I could cry tears if I was the organizer to see so many theme-abiding folks this year; compared to my last party.

Look, I spotted another cool guy who donned a Renaissance costume; kinda like Francis Light/Stamford Raffles or those Victorian styles back then (as my bro said)


This is what I call STYLE!


I couldn't resist taking a pic with this German guy who was obviously the center of everyone's attention!


And I love this girl's mask, which was DIY from the white mask frame given by the company!



They even had a magician; a rather amateur one but nevertheless an entertaining guy who makes an effort to keep the crowd happy:)


And this is our President; a sporting guy who also made his own black and white mask:)


Some random pics of my colleagues; we traipsed through the red carpet and also cam-whoring everywhere!






Finally, the start of the event at about 8.30pm
The ballroom doors were opened and there was a loud chiming of the opening beats of the Phantom of the Opera song!
(That was the idea I proposed to my team last year! But it was banned, saying that this was such a sad tune:(
I am glad my idea was rather creative after all; I should be an event organizer, huh?:)

Lovely lovely.....I loved the settings

We marched into the ballroom; and the ladies were greeted by costume-fitted servers who handed us fresh roses from their baskets (the roses had slightly wilted; but I was still thrilled by the extravagant welcome:)

They had a big mask on the stage; which was also the same thing I thought of my annual dinner last year; and I even used that for our opening ceremony!

Lightings were dim, and laser lights were beamed around the room

There were light scented candles with petals of roses on our dining tables; which were arranged in long tables


They even had an amplified voice of the Phantom which gave the opening boom and the orders that everyone is to have fun and nothing but fun for the whole night!


Did I mention how much I was enjoying the night?
The deco, the settings, the music, and the food was buffet style; and they had the courtesy to let the ladies to the buffet line first before the gentlemen.

There were so many performances and games that night; and the lucky draw prizes were cool as well.
Only bummer; I didn't win anything despite the beautiful number I had on my ticket:(


Oh well, they had additional draws the week after, and I still won something - consolation prize:)
So, better than nothing.

This was definitely a night to remember!
*But please, no more Masquerade themes*

I was told that this event was partly organized by an event planner and I was thinking, hey, most of the ideas were similar to mine....hehe, am I qualified or what?
Just some wishful thinking:)

A horrifying experience in Johor Bahru

It was the occasion of marriage of our close friends which brought us all the way to this state in the south.
I had been looking forward to this wedding; not just to grace the blessed union between both wonderful friends but also to the gathering of all my old friends whom I have rarely seen over this year.

It was definitely a heart-warming occasion to see one of my best girl friends getting married in style and to be able to help her out with it; which I shall blog about it soon with the photos as well.

After the wedding dinner, there was about 6 of us in the same car who decided to take the night further to explore one of the famous university hangout place in the other side of Johor Bahru; called the Anjung Warisan.
The other bunch of friends had no choice but to return to the hotel first as they had to return the car they were riding in to the groom's mother.

We proceeded; all 6 of us, to look for the place; with the guidance of 4 of the ex-UTM students in the car who were the ones who talked about the place.
The direction was to use the smaller lanes by the highway as the place was located within a secluded housing area.
Upon embarking on the little lane, we noticed two men on each side of the road stopping another car in front of us as we were approaching.

Instinctively, the guys (there happened to be 3 guys and 3 girls in the car) checked to see if all the car doors and windows were locked upon approaching the 2 men in front who did stop us; one of them walked to the middle of the road, put up his hand to put our car to a halt.

The man on our right ordered our friend, who was the driver to wind down his window.
The rest reminded him to only wind a fraction of the window and not all the way down to prevent any funny tricks played by this man in plain clothes.

The man requested for our identity cards for check, and one of my girl friends spoke from the back of the car
"Encik, mana ID? Sila tunjukkan pas pengenalan encik!"

The Malay man gave us cold look, especially at my friend and continued to demand for our identity cards, while my friend continued with the same persistence demanding for his identity pass to prove that he is a policeman as well.
"Tak boleh macam ini, Encik. Pak Lah sudah kata kena tunjukkan ID encik sebelum menghentikan kereta. Ini tak mengikut undang undang negara!"

The Malay man finally gave up after the argument with us and started to search for his ID in his shirt; and then taking out his ID from a small slit in the wallet.
He flashed the ID for a while at our window and demanded for our IC again.
My friend tried to take the ID from him, claiming that we couldn't see very well and we cannot believe that he is a real policeman.
After all, this is a rather lonely stretch of a road, and we do have the right to ignore him and drive straight to the police station should there be any arising issue.

The Malay man got rather frustrated and somehow told us to stop in front.
Our friend drove the car slowly ahead while most of us persuaded him to just ignore and just leave the place as it does not seem to be an actual operation by the authorities.
A few metres ahead, we spotted another Malay man by the road; with a walkie talkie who gave us a look as well.

We still drove past him slowly, without stopping although our friend believed that they are police due to the walkie talkie he had in his hand.
However, we were still not convinced as walkie talkies can be obtained anywhere and anyone can own it.

A little bit further, we start to see white police cars parked by the side of the road and there was indeed an Ops going on.
I tell you, I could really breathe in relief when I saw the cars!
I mean, I have never been fond of them anyway, and I have had this phobia since my last incident with these so-called law enforcers on the highway 3 years ago (but I still will not judge all of them based on my own prejudice, just that I never felt comfortable with them)

Anyway, we were flagged to the side by a man, this time, one in the full police uniform and as our friend wound down the window, we explained to him about our thoughts.
This policeman was rather kind in responding and he informed us that the men who stopped us earlier was higher in rank and was actually CID; which entitled them to be in plain clothes while on duty.

We explained that still, it is according to the country's enforced laws that plain clothes policemen had no right to stop us without first flashing their ID clearly in front of us.
Furthermore, with the arising number of crime cases in the country and the bogus policemen around, we couldn't help doubting the people who stopped us and if they are law enforcers, they wouldn't be going against the law, right?

The kind policemen just assured us that we were stopped due to the overload at the back of our car; where there were four of us.
According to him, this is against the law and we could be fined RM300.

(Someone please correct me, has the law been enforced? I thought it was announced in the newspapers that the law will be there but JPJ and the government will not enforce it due to the inconvenience imposed on families with children?
Is there something which is not known in the police force?
Somehow I felt they are never in sync with the approved laws or decisions made by the government)

Anyway, we didn't push the issue as the kind policeman just decided to let us go without any charge or summon; and just warned us.
Furthermore, it was probably due to our car plate which was registered in Penang that he didn't push the issue further.

Frankly, I was rather relieved when he returned all our ICs and let us off the hook.
I guess he realized that we were terrorized by the earlier so-called higher ranking officers who were obviously ignorant to the country's laws and the advice provided by their head to the public on avoiding bogus policemen.

After that, it was rather a gloomy mood and everyone was no longer enthusiastic to go to the place and yet, we couldn't turn back for fear of bumping into the operation again.
We went around the quiet and dark neighborhood, searching for a way out and miraculously, we found the place.
It was nothing but a unique tree house mamak hangout place which was rather quiet and desolated , surprisingly, since it was a Saturday night!

Anyway, we went in for a drink and tried to avoid the topic but ended up in hilarious results on how we should have responded to the police, thanks to our hilarious friend.
But it was definitely a horrifying experience for me, and I think it deepened my prejudice too!

Well, it was truly a horrid end to a lovely trip/wedding...and we were really affected somehow.
I am still thankful to God for looking after me that night and my friends, for I dare not imagine what could have happen had it been not an actual operation.

To all my friends out there, do be careful and remember to ask for their ID when you are stopped by plainclothes policemen.

Let this serve as a lesson/reminder to all of us and of course, can someone let those in the law know as well?

AGE-ing gracefully~

During a talk show, a famous HK veteran performer Eric Tsang said,
"I am proud to be old today. Everyone has been young before, but not everyone can live to a ripe old age and still be happy. To be able to age with time, is a privilege; as not everyone will be granted this opportunity"

His wise words remain in my mind till this day and I must say I am impressed by the positive side he looked at on the state of growing old and aging gracefully. He even made the prospects of death look so positive. It is no wonder he maintain to stay so cheerful all the time!~


(picture from www.southbirminghampct.nhs.uk)

The idea of aging is never an entertaining thought; what with the women worrying about sagging skin, wrinkles, and the men worrying about their receding hairline, bulging tummy, etc and not to mention the idea of death looming near.
All these being on the list of things to worry about for all of us, but yet at the same time, it becomes an opportunity for all the cosmetic and health products to introduce new anti-aging packages into the market, to thrive and capitalize on the biggest fear among all genders across ages.

The truth is, are we able to combat aging with even the mightiest of all products?

I am not steering this to lash out at all the cosmetic products or to prove that they are of no effect, but to ignite that realization in each and every one of us that age is not our enemy, as perceived negatively throughout ages.
Rather, age should be regarded with respect and pride as it is a gift from above that we live in goodwill and health to witness the wonders of the world.

Eric is not wrong when he said that everyone gets to be young; it is part of the process, but how many will be blessed with the increasing age and still be alive to see the wonders of God's work on the world?
Looking at the high mortality rate due to accidents, disasters, diseases, illnesses, etc, I doubt the number of senior citizens will surpass that of the younger generation.
So true yet at the same time, why do we constantly have that nagging feeling that we hate celebrating our birthdays after 21 years old due to the fear of being reminded of one's increasing age?

I am not spared from this gloomy prospect and somehow, I, too, will dread the thought of becoming older.
Sometimes, when we look at the mirror, we tend to freak ourselves out when we notice how dull we look after those late nights of TV, work, partying, etc.
That's where we start to worry again; and totally kick the idea of aging into reclusion and never want to think of it at all and at the same time, invest our hard-earned money into the ever-booming business of cosmetics, facial or any beauty-enhancing gimmicks which promise immediate results.
All for the sake of disguising our real age and looking younger by years!

Sometimes I wonder, we can disguise and lie to the whole world about our age, but does that make us feel any better?
Does that really masquerade the real age and will that blanket the increasing number in our age?
Face the truth, we can never lie to ourselves as we are aware that no matter how, age is definitely catching up and it is a solid number staring at us.
Of course, wanting to look great is still of vital importance, after all, we are vain creatures, aren't we? (there is no distinction between the genders in this issue as I believe even our male counterparts are scared of the aging process)

The simple solution, that I can think of is, well, just STOP worrying.
The increment in the age number will still come, no matter what, and our constant freak outs will not help at all!
The time we spent thinking and avoiding the issue of our increasing age, can be spent enjoying ourselves and creating all those lovely memories in our photo albums that we can truly pride in when we are at the age where we are entitled to sit in a rocking chair, poring over the beautiful photos of our youth.

Of course, go pamper yourselves with spa, beauty facials, massages, etc, anything that you believe in which will make you feel younger and more beautiful, and confident, whatever it is...just indulge yourselves in that load of fun which can lighten your mood and make you happier (of course, at the same time, keeping a watch on your pocket as well)

What I am trying to say is, the aging process is part of our life and can never be deferred or ignored no matter how we try to avoid.
But instead of making ourselves miserable with the thought and looking haggled (which is worse than aging), we can entertain our thoughts with how to make ourselves look prettier and younger, etc, and take off those worries off our mind on the solid number you get when you subtract the current year from your birth year.

Aging is not such a big issue, isn't it?
Not that I am such a great fan of it, but I personally want to be happy my whole life...and besides, look at the positive side of it, senior citizens do get special privileges and discounts everywhere, don't they?

That's a comforting thought that I will be loaded with wealth and fortune by then!