Signs

– Nightmares. It has been nearly 3 months, but I’m still getting nightmares from it. It didn’t occur to me that I’ve had so many nightmares, until I realised I’m more tired than normal..that I’m losing sleep over it. I’ve just had one yesterday, which woke me up, and resulted in me having trouble to go back to sleep.

– I prayed. I prayed for things that I wouldn’t have prayed for, things that I wouldn’t pay much attention to 2 years ago.

– Terrified. I went to see a friend, and took one wrong turn on the way back, and ended up in a deserted highway, with no car in sight, no turning out, no turning back. At 12 midnight. I would’ve enjoyed the drive home…if this happened a few years back. This time…it was the complete opposite.

– Pessimistic? No..Paranoid. I don’t think it has anything to do with looking from the wrong angle, or being pessimistic bout the situation. Simply paranoid.

– Daylight robbery. People that were supposed to help us, turned their back against us.

– Lose lose situation. Whoever wins, we lose.

– Cost of living is getting higher by the day, yet the standard of living deteriorates. Things are getting more expensive, but quality isn’t getting any better than it was 10 years before.

– One step forward, three steps backwards. That sums up the whole situation.

Conclusion: It’s time to move on. 2 years ago, I had loads of reasons why I should stay back. 1 year ago, I started having problems reasoning my reasons. Now: If I can’t feel safe when I’m supposed to be at the safest place of all, what else matters?

Happy 2008, @ Singapore

Happy New Year!
Unlike most of my previous new year, I welcomed the new year in Singapore this time around.
It was a family trip, minus my dad (He claimed that he couldn’t get any leave…made me wonder how he managed to get those leave to go Melbourne….o.O)..

*Note: A photos intensive post*
The trip was a pretty last minute one, and as it was difficult to get bus tickets to Singapore at this time, due to the school holidays as well as the year end holidays, we decided to go for one of the more luxurious buses this time around. (Nope, I’m not a fan of flying, hence that was not an option).

View of the bus. The lower deck was just for luggages. (o.O)” *I wonder why they need so much space for luggages*

It was indeed a pretty decent ride there, which took us approx 4 hours and 30 minutes. Meals, free drinks (Coffee, tea) were provided. Besides that, it also comes with entertainment (games and movies), as well as WiFi! Not bad I reckon.

In the Bus. Mom said I should take a pic of them in the bus just to show how much they enjoyed the ride..hehehe

Camwhoring by myself, since no one offered to take my pic. (>.<)

The bus then stopped at Pagoh for 20 minutes:

Random shots taken during the stop

At the fruit stall. Mom decided to get Uncle Yuen Mun some fruits since we are such nice bunch of people *Cough. More like cuz we will be staying over at his place. Cough*

Another shot with mom happily looking at the camera!
In the end, we bought a soursop as well as some water apples, or more commonly known as Jambu Air among Malaysians.

Departed from Mont Kiara at 0800 hours, and we were in Singapore at approx. 1230 hours.
Uncle Yuen Mun picked us up and we then headed for lunch near Geylang after dropping our luggages at his place.

Proceed to Chinatown for shopping shopping and more shopping.

Random shot of the Chinatown

Uncle Yuen Mun with Walnut Paste, while I was having my favourite Sesame Paste, @ Mei Heung Yuen Dessert, Temple Street. *Apparently, this place is famous for their desserts*

Another random shot at the stalls set up along Chinatown.

The.. I-forgot-the-name temple. Mom reckons the giant lantern looks nice hence the pic with it.
=)
Popo was happily looking around (The one in blue)

By the end of day 1, we had so much food that I couldn’t remember how many meals I had…
Brekkie in the bus, lunch @ Geylang, Dessert at Chinatown, Ice-Cream with waffle in Chinatown, and Dinner….
I’m soo growing horizontally!

Day 2: Went to Vivo City, and for some weird reasons, mom and granny were super excited to see a Giant Supermarket there…and headed in straight away..
Me: o.O
Anyway, after a brief walk, we came to that “Instant Pastry” (As shown above)…It takes less than 3 minutes to make, and steam that “thing”…
Mom: We used to have that in KL…when we were still very young..
Me: No wonder I’ve never seen it in my life! (>.<)
Anyway, we bought a pack (which comes in fives) and it turned out to be alright..Mom loved em tho… They are just some weird-tasting-weird-textured-flour, and a choice of either coconut crumble or peanuts as fillings… *Geez..I’m super bad at describing this*
Anyway, yeah, that’s that.

A pic taken outside Vivo City, with Popo and Uncle Yuen Mun

This pic may seem random, but in 2 years time, a brand new casino (By Genting Group) will be standing tall at where all the cranes are now at..with Sentosa is just beside it.

Another random shot at Vivo City.

At…errr….the entrance of another shopping mall. *Craps…I forgot the name of this place…again*

One with everyone..almost…at Orchard Road at Night. We headed to Orchard Road on the 2nd night as mom was keen to see the Christmas decorations.

Mom mom mom (Also in Orchard Road)

More Orchard Road…

By the time we reached home at night…it was already 2300 hours…and we were out since 1230 hours… (o.O)
I nearly died from exhaustion. Mom’s title of ‘Shopping Queen’ wasn’t without any substance, surely.

Day 3: Headed to Bugis Street..I think that’s the name…yes..

Popo and Mom at Bugis Street…Me Me Me…at the same spot..obviously.

Another random shot, on the way from Bugis to some Chinese temple. I just thought this looks very nice, hence the shot.

At the Esplanade. Believe it or not, this were drawn by kids…the whole stretch of em…Some of em actually looked very very nice..
*Craps…these small kiddos can draw better than me!*

At Marina Bay. Those white “balls” floating on the water actually has wishes written on it by the locals and were thrown into the sea. These balls are like solar-powered lights. It glows at night! Wheeee!
Anyway, we were there at approx. 1800 hours, and we could already see people starting to come into Marina Bay to book themselves a nice spot for the fireworks later. It’s New Year’s Eve. On my side, however…was another thing altogether. No one, except for me, was keen on the fireworks…
In the end, we left at 1830 hours for home…to beat the jam. (-.-)

SINGAPORE..

One final picture with Mom. The esplanade as the background. =)

We walked and walked and shopped and shopped, and by the end of my 3rd day, I was broke. But of course, I came home with most things too…
Got myself a hairbrush…or comb, a wallet, a pair of shoes..or boots, a tee, shorts, and a dress…I think…
Geez…I’m soooo broke…
I wish I earn SGD…

Conclusion: It was a good trip, with great company, and fantabulous shopping!

On another totally random note, I’ve came to realised that the standard of living in Singapore is higher than Malaysia, yet the cost of living…lower. *Sigh* Why am I here?!

Reflection of Year 2007

Year 2007 had been a memorable one, as all my previous years had…
But I guess what made it more memorable is the fact that this is…so far…my worst year ever..

The year started off with a ever-so-terrible peak period at work in one of the industry’s biggest client….things didn’t go all well, and I had my shares of ups and downs, my share of doubt. It was also my longest engagement, which dragged up to approx. 5 months long…

April
And just when things seemed to get better…..I have now concluded that those were prolly a figment of my imagination…
I was on the way back from a meeting with friend when I was stopped…for speeding.
Fair enough, I was going beyond the limit set. And being the naive me, I had much respect for the Malaysian police, sighting a badge “Saya Anti-Rasuah”, I really thought things were changing around here. I couldn’t be any further from the truth. How did I know? The car behind me, which was also stopped, was gone within 2 mins, and I clearly saw that no summon was issued to the driver…and I wonder why….

May
First semester of CPA exams…A few days before the exam, there was no electricity in my house. What I thought to be TNB’s fault turned out to be some burnt fuse on our side. It was a Sunday evening, and we simply couldn’t get anyone to fix it at that time. I ended up studying in Genting Highlands, in my mom’s room (While my mom was sleeping), and had to follow my dad back early in the morning the next day. Not nice.

Going forward, things certainly looked bright, when everyone that came to me would say to me “Eh, looks like your luck is changing for the better”…I simply smiled..
The grass always look greener at the opposite side…it’s true.

June- July
My car, as most would know, is now in an over-depreciated state. The car is approx. 14 years of age, and it really is time to change. But me being the poor me, I really couldn’t afford a new car in Malaysia. So, I knew I was pushing my car to its limits, but hey! I do send it to service and all! Within that 2 months, my car broke down…twice. But I guess I’m lucky in a way, for my car broke down in front of my house, on both occasion, so, I saved myself the hassle of calling for a tow car. Blessing in disguise? I sure would like to interpret it that way..

August
For those who have been following my blog would have known that my trip to Melbourne has been an exciting one, in which we (Me & my family) nearly missed our flight. Right after we came home from the trip, I broke the rear lights of my car, while reversing out the car out of the garage.. (Wasn’t feeling well then).*Great*

September
Not long after the Melbourne trip, my house was broken into…and I lost some personal valuables.
What made the whole ordeal even better was that it happened on the day before my birthday. Simply fabulous!

The long-planned trip to Penang by me and a few friends turned out to be a flop, for weather had not been kind to us. It was a wet trip. Rain, rain and more rain. Hence, most stalls were closed…not that I would like to sit and eat under the rain anyway. A planned walk along the beach turned out to be a cards playing session in the room. Sad case.

October
As I thought the worst has gotta be over, me and my mom was robbed, at knife point, in the mobile phone shop. I was robbed some cash, but mom got it worse. A few of her valuables were taken by the robbers. On the way to the police station to make a police report, I reversed into a van, which was parked at a non-parking spot, smashing my other rear lights…Just great!

The day before exam, I was talking on the phone with a friend of mine, asking about the exams and all…
5 minutes after I hang up, my phone went berserk…or so I think…it turned on….and then go on a weird mode which seems like off, yet the screen was lit up, and then turned on again…and the same process goes on and on…till u pull the battery out…
Now now…a screwed mobile on the day before exam….simply great!
On the day of exam, I was supposed to car pool with Shane, and he was supposed to pick me up at 1230….and at 1240, he was still not here, hence I’ve decided to call him…and I couldn’t get him! Afraid that he might not pick up unknown phone calls, I freaked out and started calling a few others to get them to call him for me…
At 1250…still no sign of him, no calls…I decided to get a cab there, thinking god-knows-what-happened to him…
At 1255, he came, and apologized..he left the phone in his car, that’s why he couldn’t hear the phone when he was having lunch…and it was on silent mode…so, he didn’t realise it was ringing…
(=.=)”
I asked my mom to cancel the cab…

November- December
This would what I consider to be the better months…
For things that really matter did turn out fine in the end.
I passed my final 2 CPA papers, with minimal drama..
I got the promotion I was waiting for at the end of November…

Nonetheless, the months didn’t pass without a drama…
On my final week of my Seremban engagement, things were getting busy, hence, have been working late nights. Nights where I would rather be home with my sis…but work is work. That’s one thing I came to understand after I started work.
On my final night in the engagement, we worked until exceptionally late. My work finished at 0330 hours, and with me exhausted, I dragged myself back into my room…
*15 minutes later* *Blacked out*
I was still changing when the room blacked out. Tried calling the reception, but at 0400 hours, I surely did not have much luck. Went down to the reception to alert them of the issue…and it seems that its only my room that was without electricity.
A black out in a hotel? Unlikely…A black out in ONE room of a hotel, and it happens to be mine? Geez…sometimes, the odds are really against me…Wonder if I would strike lottery if I bought one…
Lucky thing, the electricity came back after 30 minutes or so…

A few days before the year ended, I was in the office, and it has been a norm now that I would rather not drive when I’m heading back to the office. My dad went to pick me up at 1900 hours. Less than 500m away from office, my dad’s car broke down…
(-.-)”
Called my uncle to try to fix it, and when that failed, called AAM.
And gosh! AAM S.U.C.K.S BIG TIME.
First, we were put on hold for 30 minutes or so, and when someone FINALLY attend to us, this is what she has to say:
*For the first 10 minutes*
AAM: Hello? Hello? Line tak clear la..Putus putus. Saya letak telefon, u telefon balik k? (Line’s not clear, I shall hang up now, and could you pls call back?)
Dad: NO NO! I have waited for nearly 30 minutes before someone actually picked up the phone, and now u are asking me to call again??!!!
*After much discussion on whether or not we should hang up*
Dad: OK…now my car has broken down, and I need to get it towed away.
AAM Operator: Sorry sir, but all the tow cars are currently out. We would have to put you into the waiting list.
Dad: Alright. How long would the wait be, approximately?
AAM Operator: 2 hours.
Dad: (o.O) Fine fine.. put me into the waiting list then

I tried to make another call to another provider which I asked my friend to google for me.
Me: Hello there. My car has broken down, and I’m just wondering if your company could get someone to tow it away for me?
Kurnia Insurance: Sure thing. We just need a few details and the tow car should be there by 15 minutes
However, as Kurnia only offers car-towing service to those that were insured (For that particular service) under them, they could not get the tow car to come. Nonetheless, the gentleman on the line was extremely helpful, as he actually gave me a third party car-towing service’s number. We called, and he was there within 30 minutes.
At 2300 hours, we got a call from AAM, telling us they are ready to head to our place.
Thanks…but no thanks…

Conclusion: All in all, 2007 has been a terrible year. My worst by far. But when things were going against me, I’m glad that I still managed to get the most out of it. Looking back now, most were things that were beyond my control. Lessons learnt. Moving forward, I’m certainly looking for a much better year in 2008. Goodbye 2007, welcome 2008!