Merry Christmas!

Just a short one, Merry Christmas peeps!
I will be celebrating mine in LCCT, Air Asia…
>.<
….and MELBOURNE!!!
Here I come!!
\(^o^)/

I miss…

As the day draws nearer, I’m beginning to get excited..and I begin to miss the times we spent together..
I miss the times when there were less worries..
I miss the times when there were minimal stress…
I miss the days where we would study together till early morning, eat breakfast, and head to bed
I miss the times when we cooked together, experimenting with all the spices
I miss the times when we complained about how our housemates
I miss the times where we had to walk all the way home, with 5kgs of rice and a whole lot of groceries
I miss the time when we walked home after clubbing, at 5am, during winter, bare feet

But most of all, I miss you..

Conclusion: A lil random, but I truly missed those days..Perhaps I’m just over-stressed and gone a lil cuckoo. Perhaps I’ve always felt that Melbourne brought us closer, again. Perhaps, I really don’t need a reason to miss my one and only sister.
See you real soon! =)

Expectation gap

If anyone asks me, I would say things are about setting expectations. Set the right expectations, and all would be well.

I still remember very well that a few weeks back, I attended a wedding. Beforehand, I was told that the wedding dinner will be held at Sunway Hotel, in a super duper luxurious grand ballroom. Apparently, the cost per table was at RM1500++ for 8 course meal. (That’s rather expensive for Malaysian standard).
With that set in mind, I was obviously expecting something big, something posh…
And boy, was I disappointed when I reach there! The grand ballroom wasn’t really very grand, and well…it was actually HALF a grand ballroom. It was also not very spacious, and the hall was so long, that I couldn’t see anything that was happening in the stage (Yes, I was seated at the back)..The worst part? There was no projection on what was exactly happening in front!

The projector was showing slide shows of the newly weds the WHOLE NIGHT… and well, I can’t really see that too! (T.T)
I left dinner that night frustrated, angry and utterly disappointed.
But when I really think of it, it really wasn’t the worst wedding dinner I’ve attended to date. So, my disappointment was really from the fact that I was expecting more…it was as simple as that.

Applying the same analogy at other things:

What we expect:

What is REALLY happening out there:

Result: Expectation gap, frustration, disappointment, low morale
Cure: Make amendments to the expectations set.

Conclusion: It’s all in the mind…When needed, expect less, perhaps then, we’ll be happier! =)

Did you know?

The new lemon flavoured Ribena came out with blogs! Not one, but TWO!

My friend who is currently obsessed with contests came across the blogs of Bottled Lemon and Bottled Berry, and boy, was she excited when she told me about it!

I went to check them out, expecting to see how and what kinda promotional events were held to promote the new Ribena drink, but to my surprise, they actually, really, blog! They blog about happenings, events, what they did, a lil movies and books reviews, everything under the sun! And they are kinda funny and rather interesting too..the way their posts complement each other and all..They even linked each other! (They are supposed to be dating). Check it out and maybe you’ll know what I mean…

Conclusion: I just thought it was a rather interesting discovery, and what a way to promote a drink! The power of blogs!

New haircut

Nope! Not for me!

Mon Mon had a haircut…teehehe…dad was really contemplating about giving MonMon a haircut…for afterall, he looks soooo adorable with his soft white fur…

The reason he needs to get a haircut?
That naughty boy has been “working” very hard to get his fur all tangled up…successfully.
Dad tried cutting away the tangled ones, but he ended up looking as if he has some severe skin disease, with patches of his fur gone…
So, last Saturday, we finally decided to bring MonMon for his haircut.
He was gone the whole afternoon, and was only done at 8pm at night…
and when he first got home….the reaction of his siblings and Bailey…priceless!
None of them could recognise him..and hence, all of them were barking at him non-stop, for coming in to their “territory” I reckon!
Lucky even refused to eat so that she can just bark at him! And what’s funnier, Mon Mon happily ate her share too!
o.O

Mon Mon with his new look

The Full body pic

HAhahaha…I reckon he’s still quite cute tho…

And they got over his new look after a while, and well…they are playing with each other again…

Took a video of them today too!

Conclusion: I hope his fur grows back soonest. I reckon he still looks cuter with more fur. =)

Reflection of 2008

We have less than a month before it will be Hello 2009, goodbye 2008. And if everything goes well, I will be ushering the New Year in a place I’m oh-so-familiar with, yet, I’ve never celebrated my Christmas or New Year there.

With the new year coming, we are all set to set new resolutions, while at the same time, we look back to the year that has passed us by, and wondered what has been achieved.

And I know I have achieved a lil, although in return, I may have lost a bit too…

I reckon below are the few highlights of the year for me, personally:
1) The promotion and increment
2) Bailey came, and I overcame my fear for dogs.
3) Visited one of the 7 wonders in the world (or used to) – Angkor Wat (I reckon I sweat more during the trip than any other time of my life!)
4) Joined the gym, and regretted it….terribly…
5) See my friends leave the firm, one by one…It was depressing, to say the least
6) Went to the course Crossroads, only to come to my own crossroads 6 months later
7) Saw 3 days old puppies for the first time in my life, and subsequently, be the proud yet angry owner of 4 dogs!
8) Bought my first car, and used up my life savings..(>.<)
9) Met the most quirky person in my life, to date.
10) For the first time too, saw the opening of Olympics live, on tv..
11) Completing my CPA…finally (Ok, fine…I finished my paper last year, but my practical experience is just about to finish!)

Hmm…I reckon I had a generally…calm year of 2008.
But nonetheless, it will be a year worth remembering, while at the same time, welcoming the new changes that await in 2009.

p/s: On a random note, it seems like everything of mine is finishing these days..my shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, lotion, moisturiser, even 2 of my shirts were….torn apart…(No idea how that happened… o.O) and all of these took place in December…coincidence? hmmm…

Conclusion: I know it’s not quite the end of the year, but I reckon one does not need to wait to a new year to have a new resolution, or to reflect on what has taken place. Besides, it’s pretty closee….

Lies

Lies..
Everyone lie. That’s the bitter truth.
Clients lie, patients lie. Boyfriends, girlfriends, employees, employers all lie..I lie…
If anyone tells you he has never lied, he’s lying.

Out of desperation, people lie, thinking that it’s just a lil white lie which wouldn’t hurt. Which may be true. We live with it, despite knowing full well that the person is lying…on trivial matters.

But there are circumstances where a lie is intolerable. When it matters, a single lie destroys the whole reputation for integrity. For one, a relationship is built upon trust. Thus, the fate of the relationship was sealed the moment one party lies to another. It was doomed to fail.

If ones wants to lie, lie to the end. Lie so perfectly that the person being lied to will never find out. Lie even to yourself so that the it will be the truth, and not a lie. For or else, it will be a case of having 7 lids, for10 pots, where one lie leads to another, and ultimately, they will spill over, like it or not.

Recently, I found out that an acquaintance of mine has been literally copying and pasting my posts to her own blog. Sure, I was credited for one of them, but not the other post. Yet, I am angry not only because my own posts were “plagiarised”, but also because I reckon I went private for a reason, and I trusted her enough to allow her into my private blog.
I wasn’t sure if she was simply ignorant, or did it on purpose. Either way, I wasn’t happy.
But I gave her the benefit of doubt, that she was simply ignorant. Nonetheless, I confronted her.

But her reply what was made me more furious than ever.
Excerpt of it:

Yinfun, December 6 at 12:39pm

Hello there. I found out recently that you’ve copied 2 of my posts to your own blog. I understand that you gave me credits, but do understand that I went private for a reason.
Appreciate it if what’s in my blog, be left in my blog.
Thanks!

December 6 at 4:04pm

okay. i’m sorry. i actually copied some before u went private cos i think its kinda inspiring, just wanted myself to remember when i read those posts back. didn’t mean to offend u thats why i credited u.. having said that, it won’t happen anymore. sorry.

She actually has the guts to say that! I didn’t know I looked like an idiot to her. I was not only speechless, but utterly disappointed, for the posts she copied was definitely AFTER I went private. It was a failed attempt by her to justify what she did. And if I may say, it was cowardly. I’d rather she just admit it, apologise, and move on. Perhaps then, I would still have a lil respect for her.

Conclusion:Personally, I really do not know why am I so angry. Perhaps it’s simply because a person lied to me, and I do not like the idea of being lied to. Perhaps it’s because he/she thinks I’m dumb enough to fall for it. Perhaps, more importantly, because I know I can never learn to trust him/her again.

To stay, or not to stay

I’m generally a thinker, or so I think…
I think a lot, I ponder a lot. I think about my past, my future, and of course, my present.
I would wonder what if I didn’t head to Australia for my studies at the first place, what if I didn’t do what I did, what if I didn’t come home, what if I didn’t join the firm I’m with now..
Perhaps I would be a lawyer, perhaps I would be a pharmacist, perhaps I would be a psychiatrist, perhaps. But the fact remains as this: I would never know. Too many perhaps, too many assumptions, too many variables.

But people would still think about it. Think about their next step, think about their future, their career, their family.
For me, these days, more often than not, I’ll end up thinking about work. What’s to be done, what’s left. Time and again, I would stare at my laptop, looking at the impossibly long list of things to be done. And more often than not, I would feel that I’ve lost yet another battle, and I wonder, ultimately, what are my chances of winning the war.
I’ve wondered how did I get myself into this, working on a bare minimum of 10 hours daily job, with impossible expectations, way-off budgets, ridiculous clients, unachievable goals and unbearable workload. But most of all, I wondered how did I manage to last this long.

To be honest, I see no light at the end of the tunnel, I see no way out, yet, I have no idea why am I so determined to continue this..
Or perhaps I’m not. I’ve had thoughts of giving up, I’ve had thoughts of slowing down, to take a breather, to quit.
I’ve had my share of frustration, my share of depression, my share of failures, lost battles.
I promised myself 3 years ago, that no matter what, I’ll stay for 3 years. No matter what. And I have achieved that.
Looking back, I have indeed achieved much in the past 3 years. Qualifications, promotions, increments, friends made. Yet, in exchange, I’ve lost a fair bit too.. my personal life, time lost, deteriorating health, fast-aging look. Perhaps that’s the theory of equilibrium.
Yet, on another hand, the world economy is slowing down, and with the theory of last-in, first-out, this may not be such a good time to embrace change. More importantly, the temptation of good earnings if I continue to stay on for another 2 years is definitely not something I can discount.

I’ve finally come to my crossroads.

I do not have any answers. I really don’t. At this juncture, I have more questions than answers. And hence, for some whom are concerned, I’m not rushing to make any rash decision. Not until I find out what I truly want.

Conclusion: It’s a long winding road ahead. For everyone. And I truly understand that the grass always look greener on the other side, although, sometimes, they may not be quite the case.