The purrs and grrrss of a wandering and wondering Kat

My new iphone!!

2008-05-15T11:56:00.005+07:00

Believe it or not, I just bought myself a new iphone!! Just after i complained about my klumsi-ness and skatty-ness.. and not forgetting how I am sooo not a techno savvy person....somehow I still bought that new phone.

It was not my intention to buy it in the first place. I was suppose to get one for my dad from here because apparently its much cheaper than in KL. Then a friend of mine went to the States and said that its only USD 399 overthere. USD 399, unlocked price. I checked with a friend here, the cost to unlock the phone and it still would work out cheaper to buy from there. So I bought (more like pesan) one for my dad... and this "cheeky" friend of mine here decided to pesan one for himself also.

I was actually annoyed with this cheeky friend. I am they type that I don't mind at all helping and buying things for my friends. But I do not like to trouble people that I do not know. So i don't like this habit of pesan atas orang atas orang, if you catch my drift. Worse still when this costs a lot of money and its not fair to ask other people (that you dont' know) to pay first on your behalf. What made it worse was this friend already owns one iphone and i know for a fact that he was going to sell it off and no doubt make profit from the transaction, courtesy of pesan atas pesan atas my friend....

By that time my friend in US had already bought 2 phones for me. After much thought and consideration, my options were either to sell it to my brother or just keep it for myself. After the PPA battle, I thought it is justifiable for me to reward myself with the new phone.... Yahooo!!!!! So that is how i end up with the canggih phone. Not planned at all.

The weird thing that came out of this is that, somehow miraculously that old troubled phone of mine (yang masuk longkang tu, see previous post) has gone AWOL. It just went missing and I don't know if i misplaced it or if it was stolen. If it was stolen (cos I probably left it at the office), it's just too late to try find it now. Somehow I think that old phone merajuk with me. You know what some people say about their personal belongings like cars.... those things can merajuk with you when it knows that they will be replaced. .. Kesian my Nokia phone. Even though it was such a nuisance when it comes to sms, it did serve me well. Definitely a girl's phone, slick looking and very stylo. But now it's time to move on.. and for me to start learning how to use my new baby.

Alamak!!

2008-05-15T11:45:00.003+07:00

Alamak....

Lamanya dah tak update this blog.....

My main excuse would be.... my penyakit kemalasan yang teramat amat melanda....

Apart from that, Im sure workload had a lot to do with it. Just finished (yet another) financial year end closing...(hurrah!!!), another PPA battle cycle and starting the new financial year... Boring boring stuff...

Apart from that I was busy Bollywood training, did a bit of travel in Vietnam (Da Nang) and outside (Jakarta)....... and that's about it.. Sungguh tak happenning hidupku!

Klumsy ole me

2008-03-04T22:32:00.005+07:00

Me and mobile phones don't really go well together. I have 2 phones. 2 supposedly good, original phones. Not the cheap made in China ones or the imitation ones. I have a real Nokia 6111 (bought it for aesthetic reasons) and a practical Motorola V6 phone. Yet, somehow my clumsy self will find a way to break them. And then I complaint why my phone don't work the way they are supposed to.

First it's the NOKIA. One fine day on my way back form work, I forgot that I put that phone on my lap (instead of in my bag), and when I got out of the car, the phone fell onto the road. Somehow that day the phone appeared to have wheels of its own and kept rolling....tup-tup-tup.... away from me... and into the drain hole..... I watch (in slow motion) as my phone went into the DIRTIEST drain hole you can ever imagine. With the black-est water, it was really disgusting!!! EEEWWWWW.....I could only watch helplessly my poor phone swimming and floating in that shitty water. Needless to say, my phone was NOT the only floating thing that day. Thank God (for me) my driver was around, so I insisted that he fished out my phone for me. I know picking up mobile phone in shit water is not part of the job scope but someone's got to do it. I felt really sorry for him, but not as sorry as I felt for my phone. So I turned all drama queen and insisted he got my phone out. He gave me his please-spare-me-from-this-ordeal face... but I turned up my drama up a few notches. Did not quite reach the water works stage yet (although I almost did), but I begged and pleaded him to save my phone. He picked up my phone in the end, with his bare hands (not that he had much choice cos my last resort was to exercise my "bitchy bossy authoritative position"). He even cleaned up my phone afterwards. The poor dude. Kesian dia. I did thank him non-stop.

After that, that phone has never been the same. Those who know me know the problem I have with this phone. I keep losing my messages because my Inbox is corrupt and I have problems retrieving my messages. I have zillions of unread messages which i just cannot read. If a message comes in, I have to rush and drop whatever that I do and IMMEDIATELY read the messages before it disappears into the twilight zone of my Inbox folder.

SO as a backup, I bought another phone. A simple but practical phone. Nothing fancy. Just a simple phone to serve its purpose. To make calls and send/receive messages. Everything is fine so far even if it's not the most user friendly phone..... Until today when I spilt half a glass of water on my working desk and directly on my phone. I can't explain how and why I spilt the water. I was not under pressure. I just picked up my mug to drink. I must have just missed my lips. Silly. Stupid. Clumsy. Scatty. Hence the name, scatty-Kat.

Now the phone is buggered. The keypad is useless. None of the key works. Can't dial or key in any sms. Perhaps because it's wet. So I have put it under the hairdryer for the past hour or so. Let's hope I'm not going to make it worse and have a short circuit in the phone due to overheating. So far this is not working. Arrggh... So I am back to using my old NOKIA phone.

Back to the days where I have to rush as soon as messages come in. Back to the days where many messages are lost and people get pissed off with me for ignoring their messages. ...Unless I invest in yet another phone, I will have to put up with this inconvenience... I guess part and parcel of being scatty and clumsy. On the upside, you always have "interesting" stories to tell and be laughed at and on the downside, its just really tiring being clumsy. Try being me for one day and you will know what I'm talking bout. Anyone up for swapping??

No to credit card fees!!

2008-03-02T13:40:00.008+07:00

I am a qualified bean counter who is not very good at managing her own finances. I endorse credit cards and spend lots by using them. I cannot imagine living without them. However I am pissed off with the banks for charging me (and the rest of us) annual fees for using the cards.

This really annoys me because the banks make millions through our transactions and from the interests charges. They can, NOT charge us. But still they choose to. What I (and many people) did not know is that you can ask for the banks to waive the charges. They would gladly waive the charges only IF you ask and request. This only works IF you know this. Those who do not know this will continue to pay the charges. Of course the banks are more than happy to take the extra income and make more profit from us. Very sneaky indeed!!

For those who are not aware of what to do, all you need to do is to contact the bank and ask them to waive the annual fees. 99.9% of the time, the bank will oblige and credit your money back. Even if the charges were from last year or the year before, you should just try and ask for a refund. They will not risk losing their customers because as we all know, it is much easier to maintain a current customer than to get a new one. I even managed to get a refund 6 months after they were charged and after I had already paid the annual fees. You never know if you do not try.

So, go, pick up that phone. Get your money back if you are due some back! Don't let the banks rip you off.

Of chocolates and (trashy) magazines....

2008-03-01T10:07:00.007+07:00

YEY!!! Just got my supply of chocolates from UK. Real Cadbury from UK. Nuts and raisins. I don't know what it is but chocolates just do not taste the same when its not from the UK. Seriously, they DON'T! I don't know what it is. Maybe its the milk they use or the butter (instead of palm oil...??) or is it the cocoa quality? Who knows? Anyway, my friend brought me 4 HUGE bars of cadbury chocolates, hoping that it would last me for a few months.... errr... maybe not. after half a day, I have gorged on 3/4s of a bar. And the weekend has not even started yet. I blame it on PMS. Makan berselera.. (yeah right)....more like makan berselera 24-7!

And my other indulgence for this perfect weekend ......... Supplies of trashy magazines, straight from UK also..... Not those dirty porn magazines in case your imagination is running slightly wild, its just the trashy gossip magazines... Heat, Closer, Now, OK! Hello!. I LOVE reading those magazines. haha. makes me sound shallow but its just so easy to read (Read: as in flip through in 30 secs). and easy to criticize people. The paparazzis, as annoying as they can be, do take some good photos and the celebs having bad body or hair days.. makes me feel bit normal...

Just for those interested to know the latest going ons... here's just some of what I picked out

Lots of baby news going around - Nicole Kidman expecting twins, Halle Barry & Jamie Lynn (who?) are expecting, Tom-Kat still not pregnant....
Posh has saggy tummy marks.... (apparently proud of it..yeah right!)
Kerry Katona from Atomic Kitten is HUGE.... like OBESE...... ok, she is heavily pregnant. But I've never seen her being that big!
Ashley Cole cheating on his wife - Cheryl from Girls Aloud..
Jordan aka Katie Price had a few jobs done on her face, got rid of her boobies and shes actually looking kinda hot, if I may say so.
Amy Winehouse still in rehab....

I think that's as much as I have read so far..I have only flipped through one magazine. Although I think the contents are similar in the other mags, I'm still keeping this one short. I have a busy indulgence weekend ahead. 3 1/4 bars of cadbury and 2 more magazines (and word puzzles..) to fill my time....:)

Have a nice weekend peeps.

Grey Quotes

2008-02-27T09:57:00.006+07:00

It's been sometime since I last updated my blog. I have been away on "holy-day", a spiritual journey some might say. Will be updating on that travel experience later on when I have got myself organized a little bit more.

In the mean time, I want to share some quotes (courtesy of Agnes, thank you very much) from my favourite tv show - Grey's Anatomy. (Bila la writers' strike nak habis nie???) ...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dr. Meredith Grey: You know how when you were a little kid and you believed in fairy tales, that fantasy of what your life would be, white dress, prince charming who would carry you away to a castle on a hill. You would lie in bed at night and close your eyes and you had complete and utter faith. Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, Prince Charming, they were so close you could taste them, but eventually you grow up, one day you open your eyes and the fairy tale disappears. Most people turn to the things and people they can trust. But the thing is its hard to let go of that fairy tale entirely cause almost everyone has that smallest bit of hope, of faith, that one day they will open their eyes and it will come true.

Dr. Meredith Grey: "Remember when you were a kid and your biggest worry was, like, if you'd get a bike for your birthday or if you'd get to eat cookies for breakfast. Being an adult? Totally overrated. I mean seriously, don't be fooled by all the hot shoes and the great sex and the no parents anywhere telling you what to do. Adulthood is responsibility. Responsibility, it really does suck. Really, really sucks. Adults have to be places and do things and earn a living and pay the rent. And if you're training to be a surgeon, holding a human heart in your hands, hello? Talk about responsibility. Kind of makes bikes and cookies look really, really good, doesn't it? The scariest part about responsibility? When you screw up and let it slip right through your fingers."”

Dr. Meredith Grey: A couple of hundred years ago, Benjamin Franklin shared with the world the secret of his success. Never leave that till tomorrow, he said, which you can do today. This is the man who discovered electricity. You think more people would listen to what he had to say. I don't know why we put things off, but if I had to guess, I'd have to say it has a lot to do with fear. Fear of failure, fear of rejection, sometimes the fear is just of making a decision, because what if you're wrong? What if you're making a mistake you can't undo? The early bird catches the worm. A stitch in time saves nine. He who hesitates is lost. We can't pretend we hadn't been told. We've all heard the proverbs, heard the philosophers, heard our grandparents warning us about wasted time, heard the damn poets urging us to seize the day. Still sometimes we have to see for ourselves. We have to make our own mistakes. We have to learn our own lessons. We have to sweep today's possibility under tomorrow's rug until we can't anymore. Until we finally understand for ourselves what Benjamin Franklin really meant. That knowing is better than wondering, that waking is better than sleeping, and even the biggest failure, even the worst, beat the hell out of never trying.

Dr. Meredith Grey: I've heard that it's possible to grow up - I've just never met anyone who's actually done it. Without parents to defy, we break the rules we make for ourselves. We throw tantrums when things don't go our way, we whisper secrets with our best friends in the dark, we look for comfort where we can find it, and we hope - against all logic, against all experience. Like children, we never give up hope...

Dr. Meredith Grey: Pain, you just have to ride it out, hope it goes away on its own, hope the wound that caused it heals. There are no solutions, no easy answers, you just breath deep and wait for it to subside. Most of the time pain can be managed but sometimes the pain gets you where you least expect it. Hits way below the belt and doesn't let up. Pain, you just have to fight through, because the truth is you can't outrun it and life always makes more.

Dr. Meredith Grey: Sometimes reality has a way of sneaking up and biting us in the ass. And when the dam bursts, all you can do is swim. The world of pretend is a cage, not a cocoon. We can only lie to ourselves for so long. We are tired, we are scared, denying it doesn't change the truth. Sooner or later we have to put aside our denial and face the world. Head on, guns blazing. De Nile. It's not just a river in Egypt, it's a freakin' ocean. So how do you keep from drowning in it?

Dr. Meredith Grey: At the end of the day, when it comes down to it, all we really want is to be close to somebody. So this thing, where we all keep our distance and pretend not to care about each other, is usually a load of bull. So we pick and choose who we want to remain close to, and once we've chosen those people, we tend to stick close by. No matter how much we hurt them, the people that are still with you at the end of the day - those are the ones worth keeping. And sure, sometimes close can be too close. But sometimes, that invasion of personal space, it can be exactly what you need.

Happy TET @ Happy Lunar New Year.

2008-02-07T01:37:00.011+07:00

Chuc Mung Nam Moi 2008..... Happy Lunar New Year 2008

TET is the Vietnamese version of the Chinese New Year, also a celebration of a new year in the Lunar calender. This is the biggest cultural celebration in Vietnam and is the most celebrated holiday season here. The culture is very similar to the Chinese culture (even if they do not admit to that). They have the same 12 years animal sign with slight differences - Instead of the rabbit year, the have the Cat year ( what a coincidence one might say.... Kat born in a Cat/Rabbit year).

One try for guessing what zodiac year it is this year......

I am getting mixed reviews about this Rat year. What I heard generally this is a difficult year. However, hard work will be rewarded. We shall see. Cats are by nature quite lazy creatures... wonder what will happen to us.. we shall see.....kakaka.

Zillions and zillions of motorbike... quite a typical scene in Ho Chi Minh City, except maybe during the wee hours of the weekend mornings.

They are everywhere, on the street, pavement, anywhere with an inch gap of space.. Crossing the road is a fun challenge. Best thing to do is to close your eyes, walk slowly. InsyaAllah the force shall be with you. Try it. Test it. Make sure you have your insurance in place as a precaution...:)

My very own limau tree, courtesy of Sedona Suites Management;

It's supposed to bring you good luck for the year. Before i left the limau was still green and not eadable. By the time I came back after the hols the tree was gone! Cleaners removed it cos it probably died due to lack of water and sunshine.. Aiyo...No chance to eat the limau. Hope my luck doesn't go away with it....

Below are some pictures of the decorations along the main streets in District 1 in Ho Chi Minh City. Each year the Vietnamese government spend lots of money to come up with a unique design for the whole street. Nguyen Hue Street is closed during the public holiday period for the public to wonder around , perhaps admire the decos and take photos. (Btw, Vietnamese LOVE to take photos, complete with the peace hand sign...)

Ugly Malaysian

2008-02-05T13:29:00.000+07:00

First of all, do not get me wrong when reading that title. I may have lived away from home for a while, but deep down I am still patriotic about my country. So that term Ugly Malaysian, is admittedly a very bad generalization of our countrymen. I am sure there are many many civic minded and considered Malaysians around. However, I just want to share this particular incident that happened to my sister that brings back that Ugly Malaysian term back to my mind...

My sister parked her car (at a perfectly legit spot) whilst waiting for my brother to get some money out from the ATM. Along comes a big 4WD and scraped past our car and drove ahead. The bumper of our car became loose and so my sister decided to speak to the driver. The 4WD happens to be a government car, belonging to the "Jabatan Perhutanan" (Forestry Department), to be precise. The driver denied his wrong doings and started SCREAMING at my sister when she told she that she was in the car and saw everything that had happened.

The bugger was cornered to confess. However, he thought that his government vehicle and government position (God knows what his real position is - probably a "kuliketip" like the rest of us, at best..hehe) would intimidate my sister. He thought that he was having another field day and could use his government status to scare people off. (Piirah Mabuk, who cares!!) .... So he challenged my sister, if she dared to make a police report, claiming that no action would be taken because no one would touch a government officer.

He then started to use vulgar languages, calling my sister names such as "BETINA BABI" (literally translated meaning women pig??). Apparently two days before that, he had another incident with another woman on the road. I doubt if she reported the incident and that surely made this idiot felt powerful. What an asshole. He should be kicked right up where the sun don't shine!!

After that, my sister reported the incident to the local police station, with whatever details that she managed to get. She also decided to take the matter further and complain, via email to the Jabatan Perhutanan and the Ministry with regards to the (1) potential abuse of the government vehicle, considering the non-reported scratches, bumps and what-have-you and also (2) the rude and appalling behavior of a civil servant. Is that what we expect from our civil servants? As the name implied, they are supposed to be CIVIL servants. Yet some may think that is their ticket to behave like macam bagus lunatics.

It should not matter who or how big you are, that should not give you any reason to be rude or nasty to other people. Did we not learn "Tatarakyat/ Moral studies" when we were young? Even so, it does not take a rocket scientist to figure out the basic rules of living in a harmonious, civilised society. Polite, courteous, respect one another. Do unto others as you want others to do unto you.Why is that so hard?

Let's learn some Viet-glish

2008-02-03T20:40:00.000+07:00

One of my biggest challenge of working here is the communication breakdown with the local staff. The weird thing is, most of them have taken some form of English proficiency test either at intermediate or advanced level. And most even have passed the test.Yet I find it hard to understand them. The most common problem is when asking them to pronounce anything that begins with a "P" or ends with an "S". The P becomes a "B" - because there is no alphabet P in their language. The "s" ... i don't really know why. They have the alphabet but just not used at the end of a sentence.

So you can imagine how confusing it can be when the following words are used in a conversation:

Scenario 1

Boss = Bot(h)
Post = Bot(h)
Pot = Bot
Piss= Bit
Yes = Yet

And if gaving an instruction like so....
"Both your bosses want you to post this asap or they will be very pissed"
.... and will be repeated as
"Yet, (*) Bot your bot(h) want you to bot this asap or they will be very bit"

* - Vietnamese normally start their sentences with Yes.. But or No especially when responding to anything - conversation or orders..., so even when asked to repeat your instructions, they tend to start with their usual..yes... or yes..but.... or No

Scenario 2

Following from the above scenario, this is the conversation that I had: (from real life experience)

Me: Have you sent the documents by registered post or fast courier?
Staff: (Spelling here to reflect local accent). I ekplen to you (**). I call the offit to get the addret. It ok.
Me: You are not answering my question.
Staff: Yet. Yet. I see. I see.
Me: No you don't see.
Staff: I see. I see.
Me: No you DON'T see. What do you see? Oh my god, this is frustrating.
Staff: You wait me one minute. I ekplen you **. I call the offit to get the addret. It ok.
Me: (Had to start changing my own accent) Wait! Top it. Listen to my question. You pot oredi?
Staff: Oredi
Me: You ut fat bot? (You use fast post?)
Staff: I ut regitter kuwer
Me: WHAT?? What is that?
Staff: Yet. Yet. It ok. fat bot. same same reggitter kuwer. (By that time, she started to put it in writing...... reggitter kuwer = registered courier...)

** - Most Vietnamese that I know are very methodical especially with their thinking; almost as if they have been programmed to start everything, every conversation from the beginning. In this instance, she must explain from beginning the process that she has done to complete the task from A-Z, rather than just jump to the end result.

I have many many more examples that I can think of. It can be funny at times but most of the time the communication breakdown drives me up the wall!! Imagine if simple instructions like posting something can take such an effort, how difficult it really is trying to explain technical stuff......... At the end of the day ... my tips for viet-glish survival..

Lots and lots of patience (which i don't have lots of, see previous post)
Talk very slowly;
Be prepared to repeat yourself many many times;
Adapt the local accent;

most important of all..

Get ready for your English to deteriorate :P

New addition to the clan, akikah & cukur jambul

2008-02-02T09:49:00.000+07:00

We welcome baby Rina, the latest addition to our clan. That makes it the fourth addition to the third generation of AWA family. As is always with the Islamic (& Malay?) tradition, we had her kenduri akikah and cukur jambul.

This time around, the event was quite a grand event compared to the previous akikahs. With pink being the theme colour, everything was decorated in shades of pink. Bunga telur, door gifts for the marhaban group and even the specially decorated cradle for the acara "mendodoi". That was the first time I saw the event so I cannot explain its origins or whether its a cultural or a religious thing. I have decided to put up lots of photos of the event because it would explain the event much better than my attempt at explaining it.

Introducing baby Rina

L-R

Decorated coconut;
Bunga telur

The "tempat dodoi" Door gifts

Marhaban Rina in the buai The upacara "dodoi"

The Mohawk guest boy

Guests at the kenduri Having full shave & Rina
still in zzzzz land

Cyclical bio-clock

2008-02-01T18:27:00.000+07:00

I am worried and very stressed. Not quite pms yet although I SO wish that it is pms time. I just have around 10 days left before my holy-day and now so more than ever I need my cycle to not be unpredictably un-cyclical.

I have been told to try the following to "induce" the timing:

Eat pineapple for breakfast, lunch and dinner;
Drink sugarcane until I don't stop pissing;
Go see doctor (or alternative medicine, jamu etc) and get anything that could make me come. (With the risk that doctor/people thinking I am trying to abort an unborn fetus)

last and not the very least (which I think is the funniest suggestion)

4. Jump up and down... (I cannot see how this would work. I will need to put on that "Jump Around" song non-stop at the house to do this... and risking further injury to my old age knees)

I have my own better theory on what I should do.

I should sleep with a woman having her menses. Eeeww! Disgusting!!Controversial!! Kinky...... not to mention very sinful indeed...

I don't actually mean sleep, SLEEP. I just need to be spend lots of time and be in close proximity with another woman. Theoretically women tend to synchronise their time of the month when they are together a lot. Apparently.

I shall now be on the hunt for women in their cycle. My mission for the next few days. I wonder if it would work much better (thousand times better) with woman who had just delivered?? Surely hormones are airborne and flying all over the place?? Hmmm...

An untested theory. Perhaps i should try. Watch out you ladies. I'm gonna getcha good!! GRRR!

Burrrrpp....

2008-02-01T14:22:00.000+07:00

Lunch was yummy. HE was yummy! Very yummy indeed.

He makes me giddy each time. Almost feline. Catlike.

Oh, and apparently he is single again.

Need i say more......... Meeooowwwwww (with the gentlest scratch!)...Grrrrrr

Illegal immigrant???

2008-01-28T14:38:00.000+07:00

I am officially staying illegally in this country (name of country withheld for obvious reasons!). Perhaps I should not be publishing that fact or risk being caught and jailed here. In my defense, I actually have a permanent residence permit here. And to top it off, I have an emergency travel certificate issued by the Consulate General of Malaysia in this country. So i guess technically speaking, I am probably not THAT illegal.

Anyway, I sent my passport back in KL to get a VISA done for me, for my other trip scheduled for 10th Feb. The idea was for that VISA to be ready, well in time before me leaving for KL on the 7th Feb and I will get someone to take that passport back to me. Unfortunately there has been some delays with my VISA in KL, and it is likely that my VISA will only be ready on the 10th itself. Which means I may have problems to get to KL in the first place.

Here is where, in most countries the emergency certificate would come in handy. One could use that and is a legally accepted and valid travel document to be used in emergency cases (which mine is). However, it is not so here. For some reason it is not accepted. I can perhaps understand if they do not allow me to use that to ENTER the country, but here I am trying to LEAVE the country. Yet they will not allow me. In most other countries where the government is eager to deport any illegal immigrants, including those visitors who have overstayed their allowed duration, here is quite the opposite. Even with a valid visa, if you have overstayed your duration, you are NOT allowed to leave, instead you must have a valid visa to leave the country. I find that weird. In that situation, one could probably not have an extended visa, for example end of contract period.. Would it not be better for them to leave the country than stay illegally and possibly unemployed??

Oh well, that is the scenario here. In the mean time, I am praying hard that my VISA will be ready well before the 10th of Feb whist at the same time looking around very hard to find anyone who is travelling to this city and willing to bring my passport back here. I feel like I'm almost fighting a losing battle here, considering its that time of year where people are leaving to go back to KL for the holidays and not the other way around...

But I am still praying and hoping that it will somehow miraculously work out for me. That I will get to go to KL when i want and on to my onward journey later...

Patience is a virtue

2008-01-28T14:31:00.000+07:00

Indeed it is. I really envy people who just happen to naturally have this trait. I wonder if this is something one is born with or does one learn to be one. Is it the case of nature vs. nurture? Because I am sure that I am not born with it and perhaps my upbringing and the environment around which can be stressful a lot of the time resulting in my patience running really thin to the point of almost non existent these days.

When I was growing up, I noticed that I had very little patience when trying to tutor my younger siblings on any subject matters that they had problems grasping. Not that I am of a particularly genius breed, but I just could not comprehend why they could not understand my teachings. Their confusion frustrated me which sometimes led me to losing me temper because some things (to me) were so straight forward. Instead of trying harder, soon after that I would give up being their tutor and insisted that my parents took private tuition. At that time I concluded that teaching is not for me, not because I do not have the patience to teach but I (consoled) myself that perhaps I’m too smart to be a teacher and only “those who can’t, teach!”. (Boo Hoo, macam bagus!!:p)

This teaching problem does not stop there. Now that I am working and getting on more responsibilities, I find that I have to learn to delegate more and more to my subordinates. Unfortunately for me most of the delegation work that I do involves a huge amount of spoon feeding or else the result will not come out the way I expect it to. Even after lots of spoon feeding with extra special silver platter spoon, the result more often than not does not really meet my expectations. In certain circumstances and especially when dealing with tight deadlines, I often choose the quickest (but wrong) option of doing the work myself. The end result is the overloaded work landing on my already high piled desk. If only I have the patience to sit through with my subordinates, I think that (very) slowly but hopefully surely, they will come round to delivering exactly what I want.

Now this patience problem is also affecting me when I am on the other side of teaching. I have started to learn new games such as golf and tennis. OK, maybe some people are more talented than others ( I guess it’s the same for academic intelligence as well) but I do not like the fact that I am not picking up the games the way other people do. I know that I am no Olympic champion material, nor could I represent my school during my student years but I think I can and should be able to pick up some games. (Any games!!).. Or maybe im just dellusional with my own ability, my own physical strengths, my own hand-eye-feet coordination (or lack of it!)

So far my experience with tennis or golf or even bowling has been very frustrating. Some times I hit the balls good or can hit multiple strikes at bowling, while other times I will falter so badly its too embarrassing to even mention it. On both occasions, I do not know what I did right or what I did wrong. My brain just cannot comprehend it. My hand-eye coordination just does not jive together. I think something must be missing in my brain. Perhaps in too left brained… too analytical.. so anything involving spatial awareness, distance, coordination is not for me..

Anyway, I was told not to give up on the golf. It’s a good game for many reasons – good exercise especially for those feeling the old age creeping up and also good for networking… with fellow colleagues, or increasing your social circle or even to rub shoulders with the bosses. For now, I have no choice but to stick at it. I’ve only had 2 attempts at golf, and probably hit around 100 balls in total. Very early days I guess. Not time to give up yet. Patience and resilience is what I need. Someone, please tell me how I can get them. I really envy those who have them. Argh.

New Year in Phnom Penh

2008-01-14T00:36:00.000+07:00

Some of my photo and story collections from my New Year 2008 trip to Phnom Penh Cambodia.....

Mr Porky's head being offered at one of the temples..

Beetles and cockroaches as delicacies........Yummy!

Killing Fields - place where millions of people were killed during the Pol. Pot regime.

I never really understood the real reason behind the killings. Was it ethnic cleansing? Why cleanse your own people and what would be left if you get rid of your own people? My research of this matter is limited and from the little that I managed to gather, there was no real explanation on why or which group was targeted or who were tortured.

The remains...millions of skulls and bones.

To serve as a purpose as what used to be and never to be repeated again. It’s a wonder how during those years, people around the (killing fields) area never knew that this was going on. The world was oblivious to this outrageous atrocity. No one really cared

. It was never broad casted to the world then. Perhaps because the country did not have much to offer. No natural resources to justify bombing or assassinating the killer.

Another thing I learnt from my trip to this country. The disgraceful and widespread occurrence of child prostitution. Parents, either wanting a quick option to make some bucks or in act of desperation, resorting to selling their children. Absolutely despicable!! They should be cleansed by Pol Pot for doing that to their own flesh and blood. I even witnessed one such arrangement whilst I was having lunch in Siam Reap. An old (fat and huge and ugly) having a nice lunch with an innoncent young girl, who could not be more than 12 years old. She was with a male "chaperone". They had lu

nch in silence. My theory is that its the precursor to the big one. Sick bugger.

I also met 2 young Caucasian during my trip to Siam Reap in 2005. They had been traveling around South East Asia for a few month

s. They admitted to being very tired of trying to avoid the sex o

ffers. It’s a general misconception th

at young, adult Caucasians are always looking for a lot of Tender Loving Care(TLC) with extra benefits. Whatever means of TLC that they choose to have, or not is their private affair. However, one should NEVER condone to the children-sex act. Pedophiles. Shame on you!! The kids are too young to be able to think, judge and make decisions. As adults, part of their HUGE responsibility is to protect the children from harm.

On a much lighter note, I must say that I h

ad a really great New Year. The company was just the "coolest" company, the accommodation was superb!! (Check out the photos) and the hospitality was second to none. Thanx peeps for a great time!

CFA exams - to do or not to do......

2008-01-13T23:54:00.000+07:00

15 February 2008 - the next CFA deadline registration for the June 2008 examination. That is less than one month away for me to ponder and decide. I have had this dilemma for at least one and a half years now. Each time the CFA exams deadline registration looms, I will always contemplate should I or should I not do it. The same question will be played over and over again in my mind.

1. Do I need the qualification?
I am already a (professionally) qualified bean counter. Even though I only needed to get slightly more half the exams (>50%) to get my qualifications, I am pretty sure that I could still do some analyst work if I need to. So why would I need another qualification. My only justification is that it would give me the option of working in more sectors (specifically financial , banking related) sectors should I wish to leave the industry.

2. Why am I even considering to do CFA if there is no obvious benefit?
One reason could be because I am feeling a bit KIASU and that I need to do this to differentiate myself from other people. I (or we all) live in a very competitive world. Nowadays more and more people have extra letters behind their names and the number of professionally qualified bean counters are getting "un-countable" (if there is such a word). Especially so in the organisation where I work, where supposedly "the cream of the cream" of the Malays are all competing to get to the bottleneck top. One needs to do what want needs to do to get ahead. Perhaps this is what I need - extra amour to support myself against the other competitors.....

Another reason is because I (think) I have free time here in Vietnam. My working hours are still as crazy here, but the social engagements and commitments are definitely a lot less here compared to my life in KL. So if I were to consider doing any more exams, this would a very good time to do it. The (slight) extra income here helps a lot. At least I can afford to pay for the exam fees. Rather than spending more of my money on other stuff (my expensive hobby - travelling), I could invest some of it to my future.........

3. Am I ready to slug it?

This is the hardest dilemma for me. Can i really put myself through the excruciating torcher of studying whilst working. I worked my ass off and went through hell - back and forth and many times over when I was trying to get my previous exams out of the way. But I had many reasons to push me and points to prove....And completing the exams was one of the hardest things that I have done in my life. When I finished passed my finals, I thought I could never do an examination EVER again.... until now......

The problem for me now is I do not like to do things half way and if i do something I want to do it properly and see it through till the end. That would mean real , 100% unwaivering commitment.Do I want this bad enough. I am just worried that if my motivation for doing this exam is not right, that means I will not push myself the way I should.... and risk not getting the qualification in the first place...

So for the time being, I am at a cross road and have been here for some time. Instead of taking the plunge and decide one way or another, I procrastinate on my decision and keep contemplating ......To do or not to do... that is the question.......

Chuc Mung Nam Moi 2008

2008-01-06T15:14:00.000+07:00

English - Happy New Year
Malay - Selamat Tahun Baru
Vietnamese - Chuc Mung Nam Moi
Spanish - Feliz Ano Nuevo
Javanese - Sugeng Warso Enggal
Cantonese - Kong Hee Fatt Choy

This new year marks the start of my new blog, my new resolution to start some kind of writing, any writing will do. My Scorpion horoscope for 2008 is pretty boring except for the fact that i should be starting and polishing my "creative" writing skills... Hence the birth of this blog.

My resolution for this new year...

1. To start playing golf (a carried forward resolution from 2007)
2. To be a better Muslim in every way - thought, deed and action
3. To get that PPA bonus (although strictly this should not be a resolution for 2008 as this depends on my performance between the period April 2007 - March 2008, which means 9 months of the period had already lapsed..)
4. To start and seriously maintan a blog.. and perhaps attempt to do some writing in Malay
5. To learn a new skill (salsa in particular)

As usual, I received many New Year greetings, wishing for a good and prosperous year but the best wish that i received was from a very dear friend, who wished for me - "Unwaivering faith, strengthened determination and wiser judgement". Three basic but very important aspect of our daily lives - faith, determination and judgement. This is nothing that I do not already know and I am certain that most of us have them. However I know that in times of despair and when severely tested, some or all of the three may crumble or maybe weakened. This is just a reminder for us all to trust ourselves and our believes at all times.

Once again, have a happy , good and prosperous new year!!