Selfless love

When you are planning for a future, do you plan your loved ones in? Or, you just care about who you will be, what you will have and where you will live? Have you ever considered what your loved ones want and need from you? If you only think about yourself, then you might want to re-think.

One of the selfless love I know is a malaysian husband willing to migrate to Australia for the sake of his indonesian wife. She fell in love with him when they were studying in university in his country. After graduation, she decided to stay on for him, under social visit pass. Few years later, they got married. However, she was unable to obtain permanent resident status after many trials. After much consideration, he then decided to migrate to Australia to start afresh with her. They chose Australia because her siblings were there, quoting him 'so that if I am gone before her, she won't be alone'...

Switch off

I have been busy this whole week...busy with work. I didn't get to meet my younger sisters who are sleeping in the next door under one roof. I reached home midnight almost everyday this week. I am feeling tired now...my back is aching because I have been sitting in front of my work desk the whole day. Darling always says I can't go on with my life this way. He wishes that I can be less workaholic. Well, I understand I am compensating my health for working this hard. As much as I wanna slow down too, I don't know how to!! Someone ever said this to me 'you don't know how to switch off, that's why you are tired.'. How I wish I could switch off!

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DIO wedding

We had our food tasting last weekend. Basically, the dishes tasted alright which I hope the actual dishes on 20-Dec will taste the same. Ring and I had comments on the food presentation, especially the 1st dish. Another thing which I thought it was unacceptable at all was the menu card. It was so so so ugly! Within a second, I told the hotel that I would prepare my own menu card. I am very confident that we can make a better one than that. So, we are going to DIO (do it ourselves)! Ring will be designing the card and I will be going round to look for the materials required. Suddenly, I realize the fun part of my wedding preparation. I guess the most important thing is we enjoy the process. This is the first wedding in my family and everyone is taking it so seriously. I am glad and really look forward to have a reunion with my family members & friends. :)


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Never a princess but queen

I was at the bridal shop for my gown fitting 2 weeks ago. Some of the gowns that I tried were quite princess-like, so the shop assistant innocently made a remark 'wow, you are like a princess'. By right, I should be happy receiving such a compliment. But I wasn't. I actually corrected her that 'no...I am a queen, not a princess!' I wasn't really fierce to her but i sounded firm with my tone. She was a bit stunned. Darling was shocked when he heard her comment too. He wasn't too surprised about my reaction then because he just knew how badly I resist to the word 'princess'. What's the reason? I simply don't wanna be the second princess. So, I wanna be the queen and accordingly darling is the king, upgraded from a prince. More powerful! :p

Wedding preparation

The wedding is less than 2 months from now....my gosh!! I just realized that I am getting late to start my preparation. We haven't finalized the wedding album. We have yet engaged make-up artist, photographer & videographer. We haven't finished our guest list. How about the seating arrangement? The program schedule? Ooh.....

What about myself? All the skin-care, hair-care and diet plan! Haven't started...will I look good on my wedding day? All girls naturally worry about this, right?

Darling keeps saying there is nothing much to prepare. Is it supposed to be so easy to organize a wedding? Then why are some couples quarreling over wedding preparation?

I think I am going to lose sleep again...stressed!

Love Paradise

you're always on my mind
all day just all the time
you're everything to me
brightest star to let me see
you touch me in my dreams
we kiss in every scene
i pray to be with you
through rain and shiny days
i'll love you till i die
deep as sea wide as sky
the beauty of our love paints rainbows
everywhere we go
need you all my life
you're my hope you're my pride
in your arms i find my heaven
in your eyes my sea and sky
may life be our love paradise

傻瓜

温岚-傻瓜

其实他做的坏事我们都懂
没有什么不同
眼光闪烁暧昧流动
闭上眼当作听说

其实别人的招数我们都懂
没有什么不同
故作软弱撒娇害羞
只是有一点别扭

傻瓜也许单纯地懂
爱得没那么做作
爱上了我不保留

傻瓜我们都一样
被爱情伤了又伤
相信这个他不一样
却又再一次受伤

傻瓜我们都一样
受了伤却不投降
相信付出会有代价
代价只是一句傻瓜

His love, my love.

A lot of gals will get jealous when their partners spend more time on their interest than spending with them. I am different. I love what my darling loves. He's been in love with basketball since young. To be exaggerating, basketball is his first love and the love shall never die off. He was a great player when he was younger. He is still good even though his age is catching up. Lately, his team is partcipating in a basketball league and has appointed darling to be their coach. Darling is so serious about the coaching that he specially made this training board as his training tool. He improvised it from a magnetic chess set. Isn't this cute?

However, I think darling is cuter. His passion towards basketball has melted me, 10 years ago and so is now. I love his love for basketball. Of course, I love his love for me too. :)

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Breathing Therapy

The nose has a left and a right side; we use both to inhale and exhale. Actually they are different; you would be able to feel the difference. The right side represents the sun, left side represents the moon.

During a headache, try to close your right nose and use your left nose to breathe. In about 5 mins, your headache will go.

If you feel tired, just reverse, close your left nose and breathe through your right nose. After a while, you will feel your mind is refreshed.

Right side belongs to 'hot', so it gets heated up easily, left side belongs to 'cold'.

Most females breathe with their left noses, so they get "cooled off" faster. Most of the guys breathe with their right noses, they get worked up.

Do you notice the moment we wake up, which side breathes faster? Left or right? If left is faster, you will feel tired. So, close your left nose and use your right nose for breathing, you will get refreshed quickly.

This can be taught to kids, but it is more effective when practiced by adults.

My friend used to have bad headaches and was always visiting the doctor. There was this period when he suffered headache literally every night, unable to study. He took painkillers, did not work. He decided to try out the breathing therapy here: closed his right nose and breathed through his left nose. In less than a week, his headaches were gone! He continued the exercise for one month. This alternative natural therapy without medication is something that he has experienced.



So, why not give it a try?


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Cookyn with Mervyn

We had team outing yesterday. My colleague suggested a cooking session for the team. This was something different from normal team outing, so we gave it a trial. 'Cookyn with Mervyn' was recommended by Celeste whom I met at novena square while shopping there last weekend. She went for the cooking class and recommended it was good at a reasonable price.

I personally love cooking, so I enjoyed it very much. Some of my colleagues who never like cooking also had fun during the session. I guess a lot of people could never imagine cooking can be that easy.













We have learnt a full course with 3 dishes:

Appertizer - Steamed mussels done provencal-style




Main course - Roasted chicken leg stuffed with feta cheese served with mediterranean-style & olive oil rice with raisins




Dessert - Strawberry panna cotta




As a group of 9, we shared the loads for the food preparation & cooking. The most interesting part was when we stuffed and seasoned our own portion of chicken leg. It was a specialized dish that we made for ourselves as we could adjust the portion of cheese, herbs, pepper & salts according to our own preferences. Some prefer more cheese than another, some prefer it less salty etc. My chicken leg was sinful, cheesy & salty!! Haha...but I loved it! :p

It was a special experience for me to learn cooking with my colleagues. We sat down to appreciate the dishes after 1.5 hours of cooking. Hmm...yummy! I would definitely practise the dishes at home. Hubby will love the chicken for sure. I will also register for other classes with Mervyn in the future. :)


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Time to say goodbye

Feeling sad. My boss has resigned. He is the boss whom I respect the most in my whole career life. A helpful boss who has rendered his fullest support to me during the past one year. Without him, I would not have become mentally strong. Without him, I would not be able to be a real SME banker within a year. I appreciate him very much. Since he has decided to move on for a bigger challenge, I wish him all the best. Till the time we meet again, hope we both achieve what we set for ourselves then. I look forward for another opportunity to work with him again. Boss, all the best!

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Pre-wedding photo album

Blogging from iPhone

I have just downloaded a program that allows me to blog from my iPhone. So cool!! Now, I can blog anywhere and anytime. :)


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iPhone 3GS

Not as excited as the first time. I changed my phone again, from iPhone 3G to iPhone 3GS. There are slight enhancements on the latest version. It has video camera now. I haven't got time to explore other features yet. Anyway, iphone won't be wrong. It's the best phone! :)



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I am who I am

Someone say I am smart as I know how to manipulate people. I know how to please people that are 'useful' to me by sending gifts to them. To a certain extent, I think presents are useful. But, put in a more appropriate way, those small gifts are tokens of my appreciation. I mean to thank people who have been of great help to me. This is life. Not everyone who knows you truly understand you. That's why we got this word called 'misunderstanding'. I won't bother to explain to anyone. For those who trust me, you will trust me. For those who don't, whatever! I don't really care how you think, serious!

White flag

I surrender. When my efforts do not get the expected returns, I give up. As much as I still wish to fight till the last minute, I think I have no energy to continue this battle. I spent half a day doing nothing today when it is a working day. I am not taking leave, neither am I on MC today. I just do not feel like working, do not feel like working hard like I used to. I do not know how much more I can do. I am not certain if my hard work will be paid off. I do not know if I am strong enough to go on. I think I need to rest before I find all the answers for myself.

3rd party?

Venue: Sunway Pyramid

Him: I met someone just now. Guess who?
Her: Hmm....(wondering if it could be his ex)....dunno, who did you meet?
Him: My ex's best friend.
Her: (Awkward) Oh I see....so did she greet you?
Him: I think she saw me but never intended to greet me. I greeted her first.
Her: Okay...was she okay to see you again?
Him: Hmm....it's been so long and we are all grown up. She is currently working in KL, your company subsidiary.
Her: Was she alone or with someone?
Him: Alone, shopping. She asked if I came here alone too. I said I came with my wife.
Her: (Happy) Ohh...the news will spread, so I guess you will receive MSN message from your ex in the next few days. :p
Him: Actually, I have already received her message 2 days ago. She congratulated me for our wedding.
Her: Is it? You never told me that.
Him: Nothing important. I only replied her with thanks.

Bandar Sunway is where his ex lives. Sunway Pyramid is the most popular shopping mall within the area. It is also one of the favourite shopping venue of his wife. What will happen if three of them meet again? Will his ex still regard his wife as the 3rd party?

PST sucks!

PST sucks! No integrity, no conscience! Shame of bankers! Sorry...they are just telesales. Opps...sorry again, not all from PST suck! I only wanna condemn a person named John Teo. His full name? I try to recall...sorry for the third time...I can't remember the name of a son of bitch! F***er!

P.S. There are millions of John Teo out there, but I only hate one, the one from PST at Cisco Centre! The rest, sorry!

Public generally hates bankers. Why? Because of the black sheep! To all bankers, we are not supposed to cheat or con for business. Please stop doing the dirty jobs.

Need a break

My last break was Phuket trip which was about 3 months ago. Why am I so exhausted again? A bank sales job can really drain our energy. Knowing this, my boss is actually quite 'considerate'. During last week sales meeting, he said we could take a day off before 10th July. Otherwise, it will be forfeited. It's 9th today and I have arranged 3 appointments ranging from 10am, 2pm and 4:30pm. Then, I have to attend a full day exhibition on 10th. My break is gone! :(

Let's look forward to the next public holiday. It should be 9th Aug. If not mistaken, it will be a long weekend. One month from now. Darling, any plan?

Look younger than actual age

When someone compliments you, maybe he/she is just being polite. But, if there is more than one person compliment you, does it mean they are telling the truth?

Lately, when I tell people that I am turning 30 this year, they say I don't look that old. Some even guess that I am just 25! Muahaha...no one can resist to this kind of flattering. To gals, it doesn't really bother us much if they are speaking it from the bottom of their hearts because we would rather believe they are.

Looking younger by 5 years than my age is what I have been aiming for. That's also why I have been spending so much on facial courses since I was 22. It's all worthwhile now. Of course, I also need to thank my mom for my chubby face. It makes people misinterpreting that I still have 'baby fat'. My advise to ladies over 30 years old is that we should not be underweight. Try to be a little fleshier than our younger age. Attention, you should not be fat or overweight either. In a nutshell, you should be 'slim yet fleshy'. Get it?

Nowadays, I am eating bird nest everyday. High consumption but I think it's gonna be worthwhile too. Hmm...It better be! :)

Work life balance

Darling has been nagging at me for my unhealthy lifestyle. He wants me to plan for regular meal hours, regular sleeping hours and regular exercise schedules. But I can't. My work is being given the top priority for now. I wish I can take leave. I wish I can slow down. I wish...but it is not possible. My workplace requires my full strength. My bosses require my 120% everyday.

I have been a super workaholic. Few years ago, my dad already warned me to take good care of my health. He said the potential medical fee could exceed all the money I earned if I continued to neglect my health.

Both of dad and darling love me, so they care. Should I continue to be stubborn? I really need some time to think about it...

3 weeks ago, I felt a sharp pain on my back. I was terrified then. Was it because of my long hours at work? In spite of my worries, I did not consult doctor. I let it heal by natural course. Inside, I am suspecting if it is not bone problem then it must be kidney as I have bad sitting posture and I love extremely salty foods. Either one is surely not a good news.

I need to change...I need time. Darling, give me more time. I know you are getting impatient with me or rather feeling hopeless about me. Don't give up. Be more fierce towards me. Be firmer with me. You pamper me too much that I have gone overboard. Do you realize? If you want me to have breakfast with you on Sat morning, just tell me so. A tip for you: sweet talks work best for gals. :)

Together is the nicest place to be

I always love Precious Moments. I love its figurines and also like what that two words literally mean. From hundreds of its figurines, I found this. This is truly a reflection of my precious moments as I always love lying on darling's laps while watching TV. Darling says the posture will hurt my back but I never for once listen to him because I just love to be intimate with him...

When you love someone, there's no place you would rather be than right beside them. This figurine features a couple cuddled up on the couch with pillows and their little kitten and puppy by their sides. So sweet...

Happiness vs sadness

Him: If I left you one day, what will you do?
NQ: Hmm...I'll continue to live....I still have my job and my family. What about you?
Him: Same. Love is just a part of my life, you are not everything to me. I still have my family, career, dream and interest. But, I am glad to hear your answer because you always make me worry that you will not survive alone without me.
NQ: :)

We can't expect each other to die on the same day, at the same hour, same minute and same second. Hence, the one who is left behind will have to bear the pain. God is fair. It grants us emotion. When someone treats us nice, we feel sweet. When someone lets us down, we feel sad. So, if we get to experience the happiness, then we should expect the sadness too. When we are happy, we never ask why we deserve the happiness. Then, when we are down, why do we ask why?

Macau Trip - Day 4

We went back to Macau on the 4th day. We hired a tour guide for our Macau itinerary. The place of interest included Ruins of St. Paul's, A-Ma Temple, Mount Fortress etc. Macau was not as crowded as Hong Kong. I personally found the air was fresher there and my breathing was smoother too. :D

We stayed at Venitian Macao located at Taipa Island. The room was beautifully decorated. I felt like a royalty for staying in such a hotel.

We met Stacey's friend who was working in Macau for dinner at a Portuguese restaurant. We ordered a few signature Portuguese dishes. I love salty food but I thought Portuguese dishes were too salty for Chinese taste bud.

After dinner, dad and mom went to casino for some exploration whereas the rest of us chose to laze around in the hotel room. The room was just so comfortable that we would only want to spend more time in there.

Hong Kong Trip - Day 3

We had dim sum for our breakfast on our third day. It was the only one which opened for business in early morning along Nathan Road at Tsim Sha Tsui. The dim sum tasted OK and the price was OK too.

After breakfast, we took a stroll at Avenue of Stars and had crazy photo-taking session over there. Then, we proceed to Victoria Peak by taking Star Ferry to Hong Kong Island and then bus to Peak Tram Station. Not surprisingly, we saw long queue again. It was extended from the station to road side! We waited 30-40 minutes for the tram.

We visited Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum where we saw a lot of wax idols of famous celebrities. The wax museum consumed the battery lives of our camera batteries. All 3 cameras and 1 video cam died flat after our visit to the museum.

We also visited The Peak, the place for us to admire the stupefying view of Hong Kong city and Kowloon. The scenery was magnificent. You will realise why this is one of the tourist attractions that you shouldn't miss if you visit Hong Kong. It is just too beautiful, both during daytime and night.

How could we forget Temple St and Ladies St in Hong Kong? Both were our next destination after Victoria Peak. I managed to get myself some accessories like stocking, earrings, bracelets from there. CHEAP!!

At Ladies St, I also managed to find "奇华" for its famous pineapple tarts and cookies. What a fruitful day! :)

Hong Kong Trip - Day 2

We began our second day with a long walk of 40 minutes. Over-confidently, Dad suggested we took another route from the hotel. At the end, we lost our way! Well, perhaps it was blessing in disguise, we actually found a really good and reasonably priced restaurant for our first breakfast in Hong Kong.

Taking photo while waiting for food to be served

Noodle soup...Hong Kong people really know how to make good soup base

You Tiao is super delicious!! Crispy yet not oily...

Yummy century egg pork congee. Smooth!

We then proceeded to take MTR to Admiralty station for bus to Ocean Park. Hong Kong is much crowded than Singapore. We literally surrounded by crowd all the times, at MTR station, bus terminal and of course Ocean Park! We didn't get to enjoy ourselves much due to the overwhelming no. of people. There were queues for every ride, game or shows. Average queueing time was 1.5-2 hrs. The most exaggerating one was 3 hrs!! Hilarious....Due to that, we were force to end our activities at Ocean Park earlier. We left around 4:30pm.

Buying MTR tickets

Ring & I at MTR station

Stacey & mom in the bus

Ocean Park! We are here!

Roller coaster up the hill

Themepark

Going up the hill by escalator...luckily!

Nice scene

In the skytower

Vainpot!! Self-taking...

Going the down...see the slope!

Our second night activity was shopping again, till midnight. Dad and mom preferred having a drink at the pub opposite our hotel. They had a great time there and we had ours too. :)

Hong Kong Trip - Day 1

My family and I went to Hong Kong and Macau during CNY. Our first time to Hong Kong! This was a free & easy tour. We booked air tickets, arranged hotels and planned itinerary ourselves. It was not as perfect as professionally planned. Overall, we were still happy with ourselves. :p First day, we touched down at Macau International Airport. Quickly, we rushed to the jetty to catch the ferry to Hong Kong. The ferry took about 1.5-2 hr. All of us caught a nap during the journey, to conserve energy!

Rush hour...they were eating lunch while waiting for the ferry departure to Hong Kong

We arrived at Kowloon ferry terminal, which was nearer to our hotel, Stanford Hillview Hotel located at Tsim Sha Tsui. We had our first night out shopping at Nathan Road after dinner. Giordano was selling very cheap in Hong Kong. My sister, Ring, got herself a trench coat and some cosmetic products straightaway. She is always fast in spending...

Our hotel - Stanford Hillview Hotel

Our hotel room

Ring's first night victory

The shops were opened for business till late, around 12 or 1 am. No wonder people always say it is a shopping paradise. :) We ended our first day around 1:30am, satisfactorily.

My deepest condolences

On April Fools' day, Y gave us a biggest yet saddest joke with his suicide. He was never in my mind that he would do such thing. I don't know why. In fact, nobody knows why except himself. He brought the secret with him to another world. We are left with a lot of questions unanswered. His beloved, C, is going through the toughest path in her young life, unwillingly. May God heal her broken heart and shaken soul. May God bless her with a new and happy life.

Are you ready?

I have been telling you that I am not ready for long term commitments. Know why? Because you are not 'ready'.

CIQ complex

JB new customs is finally in operation. For those who don't know its name. It's called CIQ complex.

C - Customs
I - Immigration
Q - Quarantine

This building has taken a very long time to complete...around 5 years? Forgot already! Anyway, I am quite impressed by it. It's not easy to build such a building like that but it's even tougher to maintain it. Hopefully, the officials will do a good job for the maintenance in the next few decades. There is a Chinese saying: 创业难，守业更难. Gambate!

Fruitful Sunday @ JB

I followed darling to JB to run his errands today. We hang around at City Square the whole day. I had my hair trimmed and coloured at Jantzen (RM144) and also had a facial at Jean Yip (RM70). I also made darling do facial with me. Hehe...it's his first time!! He complained that was really painful as he was not used to being squeezed so hard for his black heads on the nose. :p Guys, so now you know how much we suffer in order to stay pretty huh? Haha...

Besides, I bought 2 shoes today, one from Vincci and another from Summit (both RM60). I really love shoes that are made in Malaysia (my motherland). Especially these few years, I almost bought all my shoes from Malaysia and none from Singapore. Woo...suddenly feel proud of myself for my loyalty. :p

Lastly, I bought one shirt at 50% discount from Padini (RM49). This is my favourite local brand for working shirt. Again, I think all my shirts are from this brand. :)

Today is very different from my usual lazy Sundays and that's why I say it's fruitful. Darling hopes that our activities today will exhaust my energy so that I can have a good sleep tonight. But, he is the one who is sleeping like pig now! :D

New bag for 2009

In 2008, I had been working so hard that I think I should deserve a present from myself. So, I bought a new bag. At first, I was thinking to get myself a Louis Vuitton. But, after few hours shopping, I still prefer Burberry and this was what I got...simple and nice! I got 35% subsidy from darling for this bag. He said he didn't wanna subsidize in full as he was afraid that would spoil me. Hehe! He always has his 'excuse'... :p

Sleepless...

I have been troubled by insomnia lately. I can't sleep before 3am. I really need good rest but darling forbids me to take sleeping pill. Instead, he hopes that I can overcome insomnia by doing more exercises. He thinks I just need to get myself physically tired during day time so that I can have good sleep at nights. Tomorrow, we are going to try his method. If it works, hooray!! Otherwise, I just gonna rely on medication. :(

Some of my colleagues also suffer from insomnia. Most of them are on pills now. Darling asks me why is that so? It should be work stress. For those people who are envious about bankers' life, we are not as good life as you think we are! Everything comes with a price, alright?

Lay's potato chip

Him: See what I got for you? (flashing Lay's to me)
NQ: Wow....Lay's! You always discourage me to eat junk food. Why are you so nice to buy me that?
Him: I missed you when you were not around yesterday. I wondered if you would feel like eating it when you are back. :)

So sweet....That's my dearest darling.

Bad lot

What would you do when you draw a bad lot? I choose to believe.

2 weeks ago, I drew a bad lot at Waterloo St temple. I was asking about my health and career. The lot said I shouldn't force too hard on myself as there would be danger if I go further.

So, I decided to give up on pursuing the target. I thought I would be sad as I was actually very near to the target. However, I was not sad at all. I was glad that I could finally pace down myself. I felt relief after putting the pressure down. :)

Love is....

Love is....
when you can't sleep, he stays awake to accompany you....

Happy 2009!

I love new year. It represents a brand new chapter for me and I can write different stories in this chapter. So, what would I do differently in 2009?

1. Work life balance
I overworked in 2008. This year, I am going to restrict myself for overtime up to 3 times a week. If not necessary, I will leave work on time. Overtime is a bad habit for workaholic like me. :p

2. Healthier lifestyle
More exercise, better sleep quality, less salty/sweet/oily food in 2009. Seriously, my health is deteriorating. My knees are very stiff recently. Sometimes, I can even hear the cracking sound when I try to bend my knees. Also, perhaps due to low blood pressure, I feel dizzy easily. I have neglected my health for the past few years. It's time to emphasize on this now because after all I am not young anymore.

3. Self enhancement courses
For those who know me very well, I guess you all have been hearing from me that I wanna attend cooking and dancing classes since many years ago. This year, I am finally going to make it happen. I swear!

4. Pass all CLSB (Commercial Loans to Small Businesses) modules
I failed all modules in my first attempt to CLSB in Nov 2008. Due to hectic schedule, I actually attended the exam without preparation. It should be my biggest shame and regret in 2008. This year, I gonna study hard and pass all modules.

5. Save more $$$
2 ways to save more money:
a. earn more;
b. spend less.
Know which one would I choose? I choose c. both!! :D

6. Quality time with loved ones
More trips to be planned for my family this year. During CNY, we will have Macau/HK trip which was suspended last year. In July/August, we will proceed to Adelaide for youngest sis's graduation. As for darling, we will have some short breaks as his schedule will be quite tight. We already have some destinations in mind like Bintan and Sipadan.

7. Career progress
Promotion/increment is for sure as I will continue working hard towards it. Besides, I am setting these challenges for myself:
a. strengthen alliance network
b. widen product knowledge
c. improve punctuality

8. Make good investments
Simply blue chip stocks!! Buy low, sell high. :)

That's all I can think of now. Hopefully, I can accomplish all during next year review. :p