The Rise and Fall of Little Voice

It's lovely sitting here in the morning. I can see the new pictures from Ikea I've put up right in front me. The chair I bought from Jusco is so comfy and the old table upon which I sit this laptop is rather rickety. Makes me think of struggling writers in New York, sitting early in the morning and trying to write their next best thing. The only thing I am missing is a cigarette to drag on. I even have my soya bean milk (yeah, no coffee this morning - sacrilege!)

I hear the kids screaming at the pool, the green of the trees is so inspiring and fresh. Even the irregular sounds of traffic make me feel less alone. Not that I am alone. I am happy. I am satisfied. I haven't been able to say that in a long time but today I want to say I am happy. I see the hills in the distance and the bright blue sky, the sun glinting…..ahhhhh, I'm lapsing into this style of writing that I hate the most but…..well, just writing as I see it in front of me. I also see a random white male body in the pool, yucks!

Work has gotten very busy very suddenly as evidenced from my non-visits to Blogger and Facebook. However, a couple of days ago, I managed to sneak some time off to watch 'The Rise and Fall of Little Voice'. I had watched the film version starring Jane Horrocks and apparently Michael Caine and Ewan McGregor, some time ago but don't remember much of the movie except that the voice was wonderful. So when I happened to catch the advert at The Hilton for a performance of Little Voice by the British Playhouse, I thought it would be good to go.

I've never been for dinner theatre before so it was wonderful new experience. The champagne (and coke for me) was flowing and there was supposed to be canapes but I didn't see any….in their place was carrot sticks. Hmmmm…..Cop out? Cost cutting? Health attack? Anyway, for the prices they were charging, there should have been gold dust in my champagne! Hahahahhaha

So, anyway, had my first sip of champagne, didn't like it. Whinged abit that I was a cheap cheap girl who doesn't drink bubbly or eat sea cucumber or scallops or drink ginseng - you know all those expensive Chinese things! 

Then we were herded in the ballroom, quite nicely done up. Had a quick glance around the place but it didn't look particularly impressive for important events though it did have high ceilings (I seem to have taken a fancy for places with high ceilings, think they look more grand). So, then bread rolls were set out. The table for ten seemed awfully cluttered what with 10 million pieces of cutlery for each person. I had them take away my wine goblets. Hahahahah. We ordered some fruit juices and then the 3 pieces of Alaskan Snow Crab Claw rolled in Tuna Sashimi came along. Had one but ummmmm, Cheap Girl rose to the occasion again. So the waitress took my remaining 2 pieces away. Had some Cappucino de Celeriac soup which was quite nice, a bit thin but since I didn't even know there was a soup named as a coffee, I have no idea what it is supposed to be like. Then came our Seabass Fillet which was wondrous, orgasmic! I always quote Britney Spears and say 'Chocolate is Better than Sex' but whoa, this Seabass Fillet had me hungering for more! It was succulent, juicy, oh-so-smooth and silky, it just slipped down your throat, kinda like what people describe about champagne I guess……Anyway, it was really nice and there were mashed potato swirls around it - succulent le'poisson and la'potatoe - what else could be better?!

Then the show started, then the show went into intermission - which is when Dessert came.

(Oh by the way, the KL Hilton servers need a lot more training! First they spread out all the cutlery for dessert, then they took them all away, then they came back and set the cutlery for dessert…..hmmmm, and I absolutely hate it when people reach past me when I am still eating to clear away my bread plate! Not good. KL Hilton - take note!)

Dessert was quite wonderful as well with a warm chocolate medallion (which just looks like a little cupcake). It was all artfully decorated of course and I heard Gordon Ramsey say something to the effect of, "It ain't worth a f------ dime you know, all these fanciful drips and swirls, if the f------ food doesn't taste f------ good!" Hahahhahaha, so thankfully the chocolate main did taste good, then we had some chocolates come by and of course I picked this dark beautfiul square which melted beautifully in my mouth. Coffee was served but it wasn't my cup of tea - no body, no aroma!

And that was it. I had a lovely time.

Oh! Yes, the show. Ummmm…..Rachael Wood had a terrific voice and great capacity for mimicry in the style required by the show. Her mum was played to great aplomb but I guess the few non-British in the crowd may have found it hard to understand the accents. When there was no singing going on, it wasn't very entertaining I must say though. I had higher expectations of the entire show - but the night overall was still wonderful.

New additions to the family this year

Based on my previous posting, just wanted to boast that yes, recently I got my very own baby blue box with a white ribbon around it! :D

Also, here is another new addition - he doesn't have a name yet....Everything I've thought of so far didn't do him justice....hmmmm...maybe Awana? or Awie? :)))

Got him after my wonderful 2 day training stint at Awana.

But he is so darnnnn cute isn't he!!!! He makes me just wanna roll around with him all dayyyy lonngggg!

Top 5 Gifts for Valentine's

Sick again! Wow! This is not good for the soul!

Chinese New Year is around the corner and I am feeling super creative!!! Decorated the house to the extent that I feel really proud!! So, anyway, I shall be off on a pretty long break this year, meant to be longer but since work is crazy these days, it’s a little shorter.

A couple of other happy occasions beside Chinese New Year around the corner. Mum's birthday is up, Federal Territory Day is a holiday (not to mention yeay! Thaipusam!) plus Valentine's Day!!!

Hence my list of top 5 best gifts for Valentine's Day - from a guy to a girl that is cos I don't know what the heck is a good gift for a GUY! I maintain that they are the most difficult people to buy for!

Top 5 Gifts for Valentine's (in no particular order):

A little bit of cash involved:

Promise ring - doesn't have to be real jewellery
A shopping 'spree'
A self-planned treasure hunt around the city
A home-cooked meal candlelight, soft music and a little slow dancing after (make up the house real nice, you know where there is a real novelty change - for ideas watch Party Planner on Astro)
Tell her you will always love her, never hurt her and MEAN IT

More cash involved:

A holiday together - maybe a trip to Alaska, a spa retreat on a Mediterranean island,
A little baby blue box with a white ribbon tied around it
A gadget that she really wants - maybe an I-pod, an LCD tv, a sound system, just make sure it's a sexy gadget - not a washing machine or an iron (generally I wouldn't say this, but I've been wanting a laptop for too long now - just make sure it comes with enough memory/systems/applications to do what she wants it to do)
Horse riding lessons
Tell her you will always love her, never hurt her and show you MEAN IT by signing a contract where you pay her RM18 million should you ever break this promise - as decided by 2 close friends from your side and hers.
Alright, that's my list - geared towards somebody who is like me. Sorry guys, if your girl prefers the hiking, jogging life, the list above may not help much.

Although, I think the following are pretty cool gifts too!

Caving together
White water rafting together
Have a picnic and a cool swim in a pool by a waterfall where it's just the two of you and birds chirping and you can share a kiss in the beautiful waters
Salsa party
Throw a party together
Self-made vouchers for back rub, foot rub, get out of jail free, mood swing opportunity, etc.
Time away from each other (?!)

Yikes, no more time now.....bai bai!

Missing Lamb

Lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb. Lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb, lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb. Lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb! Lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb; lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb. Lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb.

Lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb, lamb lamb lamb lamb, lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb. Lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb. Lamb lamb lamb, "Lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb". Lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb. Lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb!!! Lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb.

Lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb, lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb. Lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb! Lamb lamb lamb, "Lamb, lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb; lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb". Lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb. Lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb. Lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb.

Lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb, lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb, lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb. Lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb - lamb lamb lamb lamb.

Lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb. Lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb. Lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb.

I guess I do MISS lamb that much!

Recent top showings on Astro

I’ve been dreadfully sick for ONE WHOLE WEEK and have had ample opportunity to watch Astro. Since I always give Astro a lot of flak I thought that perhaps I’d tell some other hapless, frustrated viewer that there are the rare finds once in a while.

The other night, I caught ‘Eight Below’ which is a beautiful story about beautiful huskies left, with a great deal of heartache of course, by their mountain guide owner in the Antartic (was it?) for almost 6 months during the winter season. He wasn’t heartless the poor cutie, he was quite torn up about it. But lordy, at the end of it all, when he did get anough funding to go back, he found almost all of them intact. A couple had died but the rest toughed it out by virtue of their thick luscious fur coats and their ingenuity in catching birds and tricking a leopard seal for food….though I was a bit shocked to see the carcass of a whale somewhere in that ice surrounded valley……It’s a movie that’s inspired by true events – that’s what they say nowadays isn’t it, ‘inspired’ instead of ‘based on a true story’ – I guess it gives them more poetic license.
Best Actor: All the huskies
(Note to self, buy a house, get some huskies!)

Next, I saw ‘Kinky Boots’ which was fantabulous. Those who know me, know I love a good drag queen and this one had one AND cool footwear AND the British accent, there’s no way it could go wrong…So though me meds were making me extremely sleepy, I fought through my drugged stupor to stay awake for the full nine yards. It was not a waste of time! Tells of the story of a young bloke who is left with the stolid shoe factory making (Beautiful by the way) shoes for men – oxfords, brogues etc….but with the new commercial business of ‘sell them less quality, keep them buying more’ motto of the new consumer market, he’s finding the expensive, life time guarantee shoes not selling. It’s then a matter of ‘move on or ship out’. So there on, the male protagonist branches out and finds his niche market – strong, solid, sexy boots that can carry its weight in men, so to speak….

The lead drag queen was played with much aplomb and oh, yes, it had singing and dancing in it as well – what else could make it better!
Best Line: The sex….is in the heel!
And yes, it was also ‘inspired’ by true events.

Last night, there was another ‘inspired by true events’ story on Hallmark, ummmm ‘What Kind of Mother Are You?’. Not really my cup of tea though this one. Firstly it had Nicholle Tom in it whom I hate – remember her? Maggie from ‘The Nanny’. And the mother played by so-and-so was so weak it made me want to puke. If it’s wrong to wallop your daughter and run her out of town when she leaves her five fingered imprint on your cheek and chin, then I don’t want to be right! But then again, I’m not a mum so what do I know.
Best Scene from Movie: none.

I also watched ‘Crossing Delancey’ yesterday I believe. It was a really good, happy movie. It had Amy Irving in it, whom to me, will always be Maid Marion from Robin Hood Man in Tights (remember that, Nigel??!) singing in a beautiful (fake?) voice. But well, it’s about this single Jewish woman for whom her grandmother is trying to find a man. She of course is not interested in the nice, sarky, witty, cute pickle man because she has fallen for the supposedly handsome cad of a writer she is in close circles with. Needless to say, pickle man won out but only after going through the most wonderful series of actions to win her heart – not in a soppy, common way but well, watch the movie and I’m sure you will see what I like about it.

Best Character: kooky grandmother
Best Scene: on female protagonist’s birthday, male protagonist sends her a cake and a hat – female protagonist gets the message. He’d told her she should try on a new hat and she’d get a new perspective in life.
Best Feel Good Moment: Female protagnonist finds out male protagonist did not see her for the first time at the match-maker’s, he saw her 3 ½ years ago and had wanted her ever since.
Best Pick up Line: "I have this book, I carry it around with me all the time. When I have a thought that I can see clearly, I write it down. Here’s one you’ll like – "How do I speak to Amy?" (Amy being name of female protagonist).
Best Name: Bubbie (for kooky grandmother)
Best Happy Moment: Female protagonist invites out Male Protagonist to introducce (sic) him on her friend. Friend is left sitting at the bar, waiting for the tug of the earlobe, to come over to the dinner table to be introduced…..

Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!

When will Malaysian tv be as interesting? I’ve never liked anything produced by our shores except Gol and Gincu! Most boring case in point – Mari Berdansa…..I guess a spoof of ‘Dancing with the Stars’….It’s a dancing show, come on! I watched the first 10-15 minutes of the show without seeing anything remotely close to a shuffling of feet, much less dancing! Jeeezzzzz, I don’t wanna hear anything, I don’t wanna know the history of zapin – it’s a dance show – so DANCE!

Top 10 ways to get over a Broken Heart

Last night I caught Marriage Camp on Astro. I don’t think it would appeal so much to just anybody but I found it really soul-searching. It basically is about a marriage boot camp held once a month for couples who find they are at their wit’s end about their marriage. They don’t know how to communicate anymore, they don’t trust anymore and everything just ends up being worse than they ever imagined it could be. On last night’s show, there was a woman who said she wanted to cringe every time she saw her husband. I think anyone who’s ever been in a relationship will be able to identify with at least 1 emotion on the show.

Each episode usually focuses on 2-3 couples who have decided to take the plunge and attend marriage boot camp. They invariably describe it as a last ditch effort to either make or break the marriage once and for all. Even the counsellors say the same thing – the process actually accelerates the process of you finding and forgiving yourself and then your partner and rediscovering the love or shows you the way to go forward is out the door.

I don’t think the show is particularly useful because it is only a half hour stand alone episode per time and you don’t actually get to see every drill and every exercise the couples go through. It does however, show you that you are not alone in feeling the way that you do and the issues that affect couples are similar the world over. If you like a good cry every now and again from entertainment then this is the show for you.

I have recommended the show to some married friends of mine, firstly because I thought it would show techniques of how to communicate with and empathise with your partner. It doesn’t, if that’s what you’re expecting. But I guess it would be good to pre-empt couples fighting and that downward spiral that you know is there. It is so easy to just slide down without even realising it until one day you wake up and think, "Who IS this man beside me?"
I have watched the show twice and I have always cried because I can remember the roller coaster I went through myself. I understand and can relate to the different things the men and women are saying – when they talk about every little conversation turning in a big fight, when they talk about trust issues and I find that a lot of Americans have had infidelity in their marriages.

One thing I cannot understand though is this segment of the boot camp where the participants stand up, face their fears and FORGIVE. They stand up and vocalise what they have discovered to be the root of their current behaviour and attitude towards life, love, marriage, partnership, kids etc. Some blame their fathers for never loving them, some blame their mothers for introducing infidelity into their lives but unerringly, everyone blames one of their parents or step-parents. Perhaps it is true, just because of the huge influence parents DO have on their kids but at the same time, I have never seen anyone blame themselves. Now I’m not saying this is a legitimate blame target, but just wondering. It could be an extension of the nature vs. nurture debate all over again for we are also, our own persons with our own personalities.

But I digress. The part I do not understand is the Forgiveness part. Can you, in 4 days forgive the person who’s hurt you so much and begin to live a new life? Can you, in 4 days, even begin to really be honest with yourself about what you feel and what you do? Sometimes you just don’t know! We all know that forgivenesss is important to us growing and moving on and la di da but is it possible in that short a time? Or maybe it just doesn’t seem possible to me because I’m not there going through the exercises. Does one really turn over a new leaf forever? Well, the show tracks the participants many months after their boot camp and mostly I’ve seen success cases. …not always easy but the important thing is they are trying.

I guess what makes it so so hard is that there are 2 people in a relationship – sometimes more but let’s try to make this easier. Two people where the only thing holding them together is this intangible feeling of love or what they think is love. Love makes us stupid, love makes us vulnerable, love gives the other power over us to nurture us, make us happy and to hurt us. And the worst thing is that it is usually romantic love (which, in the big scheme of things, is not that important) that gives us the most heart ache. Is it because, unlike family ties, we CHOOSE to love that person? Therefore, it equates to us choosing to give this person the power, choosing to enable them to hurt us?

Oh, I could go on and on on the subject of love and its follies. I know of men who have turned 180% into someone their partners never knew and never understood. Men are simple I think – uncomplex – because they usually go out there and take what they want. There is hardly a conscience or a heart string holding them back the way women are bound. (Yes, yes, I know there are exceptions – geez, I have to make qualifications that I do know there are different kinds of people in the world every time!). Whereas a lot of women seem to take their husbands back after adultery, after battery, after lying. I will say again what I believe – do not knock the actions of another woman until you’ve been in the same situation yourself because god help you, you NEVER know what you’re gonna do! Do not, for an instant, believe you know better if you’ve never experienced it yourself. If you take nothing from my blog, take this at least.

Top 10 ways to get over a Broken Heart

1. Write down (sms, email, letter) what you want to say to him, and then just save it because you know it doesn’t do any good to contact him. This helps because you get the raw burden off your chest but at the same time you are not contacting him still.

2. Remember all the bad stuff he did. Remember when he slammed the door in your face, remember when he shouted at you, "I don’t want you anymore!", remember when you saw him furtively making that loving call to her. Reliving the emotion you felt then gets you angry and when you’re angry, get even angrier and you won’t even be in the mood to think his name.

3. Use the mirror. See how pretty your eyes are, trace the outline of your nose and notice how slender the curve of your neck is. You are a precious person. You are important and crucial to people in your life. He may not be one of them but then who is he to you? He is just a man, he’s just one man. There is no reason to elevate him to the status of god where he can trample on you and where he can tell you you are worthless to him.

4. Talk to yourself, shout if you have to, slam your palm against your forehead! Tell yourself you are kicking him out of your life. Tell yourself you deserve infinitely more than what he is able to give. Remind yourself he is a cruel selfish man who didn’t know what he had with you. If you are getting weak, berate yourself if only to make yourself stronger – are you really that much of a loser to call him again, only to have him slam the phone down on you?!

5. Challenge yourself. You can get through the next 15 minutes without talking to him. You Can get through the next 1 hour without calling him. Celebrate your little victories because I know every little bit counts. Check it off on your calendar every day you’ve continued to live without communicating with him.

6. Recognise that it won’t take just today, not just this week, perhaps not even just this month to get over your relationship. It was a big part of your life, it made up part of or completely who you were. But now, it’s over and you WILL cut yourself that slack and realise that it may take 1 month, 2 months, 6 months, but one day you WILL wake up and realise it is such a beautiful day just because you are you and you are happy.

7. If you’re the kind of person who needs friends’ support, tell them. Tell them your plan, have at least one of them around with you and have them kick your ass if you so much as start to get that faraway look in your eyes….you know that spaced out expression you get when you start reminiscing! It helps to be completely honest with them about how you feel and what you need to do to start ‘rehab’. True friends will help you hide the body! :)

8. Do not drink, party all night long, have one night stands because they may make you forget at that point in time but they do not make you feel better the next day. It is a temporary patch for a deep rooted problem. A problem that can only be solved if you DECIDE to solve it because you KNOW you deserve to be happy. Shopping til you drop only gives you an adrenalin burst at that moment but when you get home and sit amongst your brown paper bags, you will bawl your eyes out….again. No use wasting money like that….BUT if getting dolled up and pampered makes you feel prettier and more confident, go right ahead and make sure your friends take you out that night and make sure you play hard to get with all the guys drooling over you. At the end of the night, when you get back to bed, I guarantee a smile on your face. And if you start wailing, "…but I wanted to look pretty for him……", slap yourself!

9. Change your phone number, block his email address, move! If you keep wondering why he doesn’t call, well honey, you KNOW he won’t be able to call/contact you if do the above so you won’t feel bad!

10. Sign up for Dr House’s electro-shock therapy for the brain that fries your memories. Geez, how many times have I wished for that!

Bonus Tip
Get together with girls in a similar situation and be there for each other. When the focus isn’t on yourself and how bad you feel, you get stronger. There may be epiphanies along the way!

Face to Face but not really....

It’s weird, I’ve just latched on to the Facebook phenomenon! I’ve never been interested in stuff like this you know – Friendster and the like (yeah, the only reason I only named Friendster is because I don’t know anything else!!). I’ve never given it much thought and definitely had no time for it.

But last week I joined Facebook at the behest of a friend and to my amazement, it’s completely exploded onto my scene. If you are checking out my page, you will see that my status update is that I am finally logging out after a long long time of telling myself that I will. It’s so cool and different from Friendster probably because of all the games and features I can put on it. I’ve only actually been in it half a day and I’ve practically choked up my page – I’ve got vampires and slayers (not gone into zombies), hugs, SuperPokes (I’ve chest bumped a guy! Can you believe that – CHEST BUMPED!!!), growing gifts (which are SOOO much fun, I would love to have one of those hatching eggs too and the flowers look so nice as well). I can rate other people’s personalities and ask questions for my friend’s to lend a philosophy to, but perhaps one of the coolest things is that I have a Map! A TravelAdvisor Map that tracks where I’ve been and where I want to go to. Of course, all my ‘Going’ locations are not actually plans in the making already but places I’d like to visit at least once in my lifetime. Hmmm, I still need to add Machu Pichu and Petra, Jordan!

The bottomline is I can’t believe I’ve just fallen headfirst into this thing. For the moment, I spend more time ‘personalising’ my page than visiting others’ but now that I’ve logged out for today, I remember all the ones I want to go to so let’s leave that for tomorrow shall we….although it will be VERY BAD NEWS if my office tracks me! (I love this CAPITALISATION of phrases I want to emphasise – which author uses it now, I just can’t get my tongue around the name).

Anyway, Facebook has also made me want to whip my camera out and take a picture of my nodding head doll….the thing that made me smile when I first got it. Now it just nods away in front of me and I hardly notice it. (I think my nodding head doll is ALIVE though….when I first got her, I gave her several names to which she did not want to nod to, but when my colleague suggested ‘Sweetie’ she started off and has not stopped since!

Oooooh, I wanna look at people’s photos and see how they’ve grown and changed over the years. I ‘met’ up with an old classmate who now has a CHILD! Of course, she’s not going too fast, it’s me who’s going too slow……

Btw, just wanna say SALUTE! to Szup – your time on the net really pays off – she is like the Slayer Jedi and Vampire Emperor and all that – meaning she’s infected and slewn and bumped off enough other vampires/slayers/werewolves/zombies to be crowned Numero Uno. I’ve bitten some other people but don’t find it much use…..not sure what I can do with it at the end of the day, although my persona – the Catholic Vampiric Schoolgirl is way cool and you’d definitely want me to suck on your neck! Hahahahahaha

Woe is Now.

Guess what! Tenaga N@sion@l Berh@d proudly advertises on each bill the telephone numbers to call for enquiries or complaints – 15454 and their office number – 62506020. I called these numbers today.

As I had a question/complaint about my bill, I called the appropriate number – 15454. I got to the normal menu of press 1 for Bahasa Malaysia and 2 for English. Am not sure what other languages/dialects they offer cos my choice was English.

To my horror, the Interactive Voice Recording (IVR) told me I was customer No. 16 and to press ‘1’ if I wanted to wait. Anyhoo, I waited. Surprisingly, it was quite fast when I got to the customer executive.

Also surprisingly, he spoke to me in Bahasa Malaysia. Surprisingly he asked me for my name (not how to spell it mind you and Errolyn is not an easy name if you’ve not seen it before), surprisingly he asked for my full address. This despite me asking him at the beginning if he wanted my Account Number since he hesitated and seemed at a loss as to how to start the conversation. Not surprisingly though, he spoke as if he was in a deep slumber.

After giving him my address, he told me, "Brljsdfjk Sdfliu wkg eoowo elsmfL."
"What?"
"Telefon nombor enam dua lima…"(Call the number six two five….)
"Then, number 15454 ini untuk apa?!" (Then what’s this 15454 number for?!)
"You nak tanya tentang billing, ini untuk kerosakan." (You want to ask about billing, this number is for faults)

I was fuming at the ears! So much so that I said ok and hung up the phone to call the other number. It was 4.05pm by that time and I was afraid they would not answer the phones anymore, it being so close to quitting time…..TNB is now privatised right – that means their working hours should be until 5pm but yeah I’d rather not take the chance. Even though, usually, logically, call centres are 24x7!

So I called the other number and guess what! Surprisingly, the operator did NOT answer the phone, I had to call again to get the right department, upon which nobody answered the phone and the IVR asked me to sms my problem or email to m-e-s-r-a-k-djbf@zfkgbfkbg.

There was no repeat of either the telephone number or the email address. Now, I am timing the years until I get a response.

Having worked in a Call Centre environment before I can’t imagine how any Call Centre can be set up with these sorts of procedures and Service Level Agreements.

1. Staff do not speak appropriate language
2. Staff do not practise active listening
3. Staff are not energetic and helpful, instead, worst! They are a hindrance
4. Instructions for contacting the company on the bill and on the phone calls are unclear or perhaps staff are not trained to appropriately manage queries or calls that come in on correct channels
5. There are unsuitable procedures for call taking
6. There is much opportunity for improvement in their process flow of call taking

It is a disgrace contacting them and perhaps it is a tactic so that customers do not even bother trying to query any bill/service level/service/personnel.

You know this kind of service and organisation makes me sick! Sick to the core that there is a monopoly in this country that promotes growth and proliferation of attitudes, values and service promises like this. Any Tom, Dick or Harry could do better, without even thinking too hard about it!

This smacks of what Obama talked about – the twins – Corruption and Incompetence! Instead of sending angkasawans to space (at the cost of proper roads, transport systems, education systems, fair and broad based aid for all Malaysians, clean public toilets, safe neighbourhoods, social graces training for our ministers in the dewans, crime reduction etc,) let’s focus on what is near and dear and important.

I do not complain about the keris brandishing – it is your culture, live with it, be proud of it, but don’t let brandishing it be the first and last step. We are slowly sliding down the slippery slope to being a fourth world country! I don’t want to say we’re better than Iran or Iraq or Mongolia or Cambodia. I want to say, "We aim to be where ‘Switzerland’ is now; and this is how long it’s going to take me and this is what I will have to do - a,b,c."

This many years after kemerdekaan, we are STILL lamenting the racial differences. No! We don’t just lament, we shamelessly MAKE IT AN ISSUE! We BRING IT UP, we SHINE THE SPOTLIGHT on the fact that you are Malay, Chinese, Indian, Melanau, Kelabit, Serani and what not. I don’t reckon there is a multi-racial country without any issues but for heaven’s sake, do we need another 14 year old girl to tell us that we are all humans who happen to live together in one country, so let’s make the best of it?

I wonder at the state of our civic consciousness and our sense of responsibility. We have an angkasawan who after burning up RM100m, has the audacity to voice his desire to SHORTEN his contract so he can get MARRIED! No, not to research how to cure cancer, not to save the rainforests, not to learn how to reduce our energy footprint, but to get MARRIED! By George, I would have preferred to have heard him speak up before zooming off! I’m sure Captain/Major Faiz would have been happy to take his place!

On top of that, we’re BUYING that hunk of metal that he zoomed up in? I suggested the other night that our gofermen should have negotiated with Russia to land the shuttle next to our ‘Eye’ at Lake Titiwangsa! Besides that, I can’t think of anywhere else to store this white elephant – warehouse next to Muzium Negara????

Can we please grow up! It’s not about teh tarik in space, it’s not about warming up in London in a spanking new facility for the sake of the Olympics. It’s about the people right here, in this country, struggling under the cost of tolls (on roads that lead away from and towards new jams), monstrous crimes against little children (where our agents fly to America to learn nothing) and even education where the teachers give answers by recitation to students during class!

God Help Me, I can’t speak anymore.

A Picture is Worth A Hundred Words....when it isn't a very good pic that is.

It’s about time I uploaded my pics – well, I’ve gotten D to help me with them so you can check them out here. There are firstly pictures (some nice, some not, some fat) of me from when I took part in the Estee Lauder Model Contest. Needless to say I am the silent annonymous winner! :D

I am definitely not catwalk material – too short and too curvy but I WILL have you know I have been approached to do photography work before! So there! (Several times!!!!)

Anyway, there are also pictures of my house in its virgin state – the kitchen, the yard, the hall, the bathrooms, the rooms and then pics of when renovation was in progress. As you will see from the pictures, I only did minimal work – adding electrical wiring, a wet kitchen and kitchen cabinets. The rest of the house is still untouched! No plaster ceiling, no cornices, no built up feature wall, no hacking down of walls. My skills with this little camera of mine in tight enclosures with no tripod leaves much to be desired but for those of you who just want a quick run-through, you’ll see everything you need to see.

Forget the last few pics – just stuff I wanted to sell off.

The house is rather different now, with the wet kitchen fully done up, the rooms done up, the sofa in, the curtains in and the dining table as well. My wardrobe from Signature Kitchen will be installed on 17 Nov and then I shall be able to really unpack and for the second time in my life – will no longer have a Winter and Summer Wardrobe Collection.

My little joke with my ex-colleagues from HSBC – I had insufficient wardrobe space for all my clothes so half of them were packed away in suitcases and bags and half a year around, I will switch. So there you go. The first time of my life I didn’t have a half yearly wardrobe is when I lived at home and had to depend on daddy to buy me clothes….hehehehehehehe

Now I depend on ECC – Eon Credit Card! Hahahahahahaha

The Baby Blues

Oooh, Sookie is pregnant! It’s so exciting – I finally have a close friend who is here in Malaysia when the process of growing the baby is happening right in front of my eyes.


Last night we met for dinner and she is really unaccustomed to ‘not seeing her toes’ as I put it, but truth be told, the bump isn’t all that big yet, she’s just not used to not being skinny! :)


I love feeling baby bumps – and they really feel different as compared to just a big tummy. They are more taut and just that little bit harder. Of course, my dad’s tummy is hard too – wonder why…..


But I digress, the main reason why I’m so excited about this baby is because it’s happening for the first time to her and I love her, she is a very close and dear friend ….or maybe I’m just ecstatic cos it’s novel….Anyway, she is experiencing all the tiredness and lethargy and nausea that usually plagues new mothers. I never knew it was so tiring but I can hear it in her voice and I can see it in her body. She goes home after work and sleepssss, I never knew new mothers did that.


She has gained some weight, or so she says but doesn’t quite have the appetite – the poor girl couldn’t even finish her dinner! I reassured her that after the first trimester, she’d probably stop throwing up and eating everything in sight!


I wonder what it would be like to have a child, to have a baby growing inside you. I have sometimes put my hands on my round belly, trying to visualise and emote. I think it’s a miracle cos it’s something you and your partner made together – a true symbol of love and commitment (yeah, let’s forget the ‘accidents’ though I know a lot of you will say, "A child is God’s gift" but honestly mate, not EVERYONE thinks so, so let’s be realistic here ya!) And then the carrying the baby for months, developing it and then out it pops! Yes, I AM simplifying it somewhat….


But basically that’s the part that is alright, the part that scares me is when the child starts growing up, turns 2 for example, I really have no idea how I would educate a child, how do I teach him manners, compassion, kindness, honesty, consideration, empathy, joy, responsibility, style,….


It is the largest job in the world and so many people can so easily/do so easily get it wrong. There is such a fine line between education and pressure but sometimes a little pressure is good. There is a fine line between giving and spoiling but sometimes a little spoiling is good. So how do I know I’ve got the right mix and the right stuff? Does daddy’s style clash with mine, do I always have to play the disciplinarian? I know for sure my style would have been different from my ex’s and I wonder what that would have brought about – but then I also thought we would have talked it out and decided together on a course of action/strategy/technique. But who knows????


This is a fear I always have, what if your son grows up and turns into a Mat Rempit, what if your daughter is one of those hanging out with Mat Rempits at Damansara Uptown at 2.30am in the morning? How do you bring them back to the right side? It’s way too difficult and I am not sure the ROI is good!


I think I will stick to feeling friends' bumps for now!


P.S. Last night I had banana leaf rice and after dinner, with my hands on my belly, I seriously felt as 2 month pregnant as my friend! :)