The Big, SosoBAD, Fabulous Book Sale!

I read about the Big Bad Book Sale in the Sunday Star (Nov 22) and couldn’t believe I missed the first one!!

What rock had I been under all this while? I MUST pick up the papers more often, difficult to do when you work the night shift and all you want to do is sleep ALL day until it’s time to wake up and get ready for work the same evening. Sigh….
Anyway, after reading the article on the book sale and the fact that all books were going for 70% to 90%, I thought “Yeah, right!” but decided to go anyway. And I couldn’t have asked for a better first day of sale than Nov 26, when I had the day off, and so could catch up on my sleep once I got home. So I informed my book-crazy best friend, who was up for it as well.

Come Thursday morning, we met for breakfast, drove down to Amcorp Mall – where the sale was being held – and had to endure a long queue of cars entering the vicinity to find parking. Lucky for us, we didn’t take long to find a spot and promptly made our way into the building. It was 1030am when we got there, so the crowd wasn’t so bad, but within a half hour, it swelled. And during that time, I was picking up book after book after book!! I wasn’t too concerned about the damage it was about to do to my budget, but after a while, I couldn’t carry that many in my hands. I wasn’t prepared with my own bags, and the thought of lugging those boxes around looked like too much work. So I got a max of a dozen books, which were a puny amount, by my standards, and waited another half hour in line to pay for them.

My friend got about the same amount, and after paying for everything, I realized with dread, that I should have gotten more!! Then I realized that I had a big problem…. I was addicted to books!! So addicted in fact, I could feel myself shaking from not spending enough time at the book sale, not smelling and feasting my eyes on enough hardcovers, paperbacks, puzzle books, magazines!!!
When I got home, I told mum about the sale, and on Monday, Nov 30, she went there around 4 and came back with 6 books. Mum’s not much of book-crazed fiend like me, but she enjoys books all the same.

I was so excited about going back to the sale on Dec 2, I sit here behind my work desk, narrating this. So the last day of the sale, I was there at 12pm, and saw a smaller group of people browsing what was left after the whilwind that hit the first few days of the sale. This time though, all books above RM5 were going at that same price. FOr one last time, I made my rounds, picked up book after book of what I thought would be good reads, and this time I carried a shopping bag to put them all in. My brother, needless to say, join in the fun, and after picking up his 4 book, was afraid that he may taken too many (four is too many??) but I encouraged him along, and the damage later on, was a mere RM88, for about two dozen books. Still too little, but it was my first massive book sale experience.

I'm already waiting in eager anticipation for the next one, which may probably only happen next year, MONTHS away from now. For now, there is a pile to go through, and I've already finished reading two. :D

Seven days and counting...

It's a wednesday morning, OCt 21 to be precise.
I'm at work, multi-tasking - working AND googling - and couldn't be happier, in spite of the freezing cold confines of my office.
You see, exactly one week from today, I'll be on my way to Siem Reap, Cambodia - home of the Angkor Wat - one the greatest Hindu temple ruins in the history of the world's civilization.
I've always had a fascination for old buildings - structures that have stood tall and proud for hundreds of years and perhaps a milennia - with the most unfathomable stories that tell of its past.
It's going to be an early flight in, but I don't mind... i've been dreaming of going to Siem Reap for the longest time, and I can finally afford to fly there and soak myself in the rich history that was part of the Khmer people of Cambodia.
When I return, it'll be with a memory cardful of pics as well as great memories... ;)

I CAN'T WAIT!!

I've been hibernating

I'd like to think I've been hibernating the whole time I've gone AWOL, but really it's been nothing more dramatic than me working and not having any strength for much else after.
But I promised myself that I will continue to write something, ANYTHING, so that the more words I print on my virtual journal, the more Hemingway-esque my musings will be...
Onward!!

A Fab Film! And that's the ugly truth. :P

I haven't been here for a while now and that's because I have not been inspired lately to spew gibberish all over my page.

But on Sunday, I fell madly in love with The Ugly Truth that I'm shouting it from the rooftops, sotospeak!

Aside from the fact that the sexy and funny Katherine Heigl and the yummiest Irishman on celluloid - Gerard Butler - were the main players, the film speaks to all of us who've been in love or are still looking for it.

Heigl plays this stiff knowitall and fixitall television producer who is a control freak and we find out just how this plays into her social life when she does a background check on a guy she was about to go on a date with, and later at dinner, spits out facts about bottled water really being tap water, when he orders some to go with his scotch! Needless to say, she goes home alone and (duh) to her pet cat.
She then chances upon Gerard Butler's character on a low rating tv show when her cat accidentally steps on the remote and finds him dishing out advice to women who are having trouble meeting men. Shocked by what she hears, she calls him up to tell him that not all men are shallowminded pigs but he shoots her down with more of his mcp bullshit.

I'm not going to ruin the rest of the movie for you but rest assured, it's plenty of laughs and brash one liners, mostly coming out of Butler's mouth! How hot is he!!
No guesses for what happens to the two characters at the end of it, but it is still worth your RM10, trust me!

I'll be spending another RM10 when I go see it again with another friend!!!

A Taste of New Orleans Jazz right here in KL!

I love jazz music!

Any chance I get, I'll drag my friends with me to a jazz fest or concerts that are held year-round in the city.

The Petronas Philharmonic Hall, situated between the Petronas Twin Towers, hosts jazz bands, mostly uncommercial but widely popular in their country of origin, from time to time. And I don't think I've missed a single show there (actually I did.... HARRY CONNICK, Jr!!!), especially since the tickets are dirt cheap!

Anyway, we were there to watch the Preservation Hall Jazz Band from New Orleans, who performed at the hall on Aug 15 and 16. I hadn't heard of the band prior to the concert, but I was aware of the rich history and legacy of the city of New Orleans in its contribution to jazz music. So I was really looking forward to hearing them perform.

Concert night, my buddy Kim and I went straight to the box office to collect our tickets and get dinner before heading up to the hall. I had forgotten that the dress code for this type of concert was smart casual. Still, I was shocked at what some of the audience were wearing!!

Does no one know what the term, "smart casual" means?? It does not mean wearing three-quarter drainpipe or cargo pants; neither does it mean wearing round neck tee shirts OR sneakers OR slippers!!! Yet, there were aunties that looked like they'd just gone grocery shopping before making their way to the show. Yikes! It looks some of us need to educate ourselves on what constitutes smart casual whenever an event calls for this kind of dress code.

Back to the concert... It was love at first sound for PHJB! The band members consisted of seasoned professionals both young and old (the band leader is 36-year-old cutie, Mark Braud) who've played with jazz greats and legends, past and present.
They not only entertained the audience with their talent playing their respective instruments, but got us laughing as well, with their solo vocal renditions that were more like stories told to the sound of bluesy, soulful jazz.

I still have goosebumps thinking about last week's show, which was way too short and ended way too soon. My love for jazz just quadrupled after watching them perform.

The band will be in Taipei on the 28th and will end their Asian tour at Taipei on Sept 1.

Man, I soooo wanna go to New Orleans now!!!

Another lame-assed weekend...

The weekend is here... and I'm broke!

Not like it makes a difference since I hardly do anything on weekends. I'm done at work early on Sat mornings, then I head home and straight to bed. It's usually 7 or 8pm when I wake up to dinner, some rerun on HBO, but this weekend at least there's live football on tv.

By midnight, I'm in bed again until 630am on Sunday, when it's church day. And for the rest of the day, there's nothin to do but veg out... which I hate doing!

But I have discovered a new hobby which is making stuff, like bags, for instance. I was so gung ho about bringing designs to life that I broke the sewing machine my mom bought for a steal!! My toy broken, I'll have to wait patiently for it to be repaired when I bring it over to the service center this weekend to have it fixed.

Looks like I'll have to go back to my beads and think up new designs... ones that'll hopefully make me some money.... :D

The Season's back, baby!!!

I'm stoked! It's the new football season!

It's back to noisy Sat/sun nights, cheering on the boys with mum and the siblings.

It's an ugly scene when I watch my team play live. Real ugly.

I love them! And it's about the game, not about the men, where women football fans are concerned. So get with it boys!

LFC RULE!

My daily grind

It's a friday morning, on Aug 14 2009.

I'm at work. Yes, I work the graveyard shift, permanently. It's not difficult to figure out the kind of business I work for. My employer is a BPO. Our clients are a major pharmaceutical company and we run the HR call center to take care of their staff in the States.

I started out as a voice on the phone, now I monitor the performance of those voices on the phone. It's a fun job, sometimes. But it's no fun being the bad guy (that's what the call center people think of you anyway), analysing the performance of these employees and telling them to suck it up and do their job cos that's what they're paid to do! Alas, that is what I'm paid to do.

Sometimes, though, I wonder if there is more to life than just this job I'm in. I'm certainly grateful to be gainfully employed, what with today's recession being felt the world over, but really... have you ever stopped and asked yourself what all this will lead to in the end?

Think about it! You go to work to get paid at the end of each month, only to use 1/10 of your hard earned money to pay for the food you eat daily (mostly takeaway from a mamak restaurant near work). Let's not forget the hire purchase payment you have to make on that car you don't-really-own, plus gas and toll money to help you get to work so you can get paid and start the cycle each month without fail!

Some of us may not even like what we do for a living!

When fresh graduates join the workforce, their first job is a stepping stone to something bigger. So they stick with a company for one, maybe two years, and once the experience is gained, they add it to their one page resume and put as much detail about their first two years on their first job to make it two pages. Then ship off this newly updated resume to other companies offering not necessarily better jobs, but ones that pay more. They continue to do this until they find: a) a job with a dream-employer (read: one that has a better benefits package); OR b) a job that will take them up the corporate ladder.

I started my first job after leaving secondary school. The initial idea was to save up enough money to go to college, as back in the day, banks didn't offer study loans. But the money earned from working was just too good to put away for something better like tertiary education! So I worked, and with each job, with promised myself to go back to school each year or stay long enough to earn a promotion. But I was always bored with every job I found! I could only do something for two years at the longest. And then I'd get restless, which is when I start making plans.

Before I knew it, I turned 30! I was ashamed. I had accomplished very little in my 12 years of being corporate slave. It wasn't too late to do something about that though. So I enrolled in college part time, to study law. Three years later, I've put my pre-law exams off (for the last time, I swear!) as I've had trouble juggling the graveyard shift, evening classes, and completing assignments.

Today, as I sit in front of my company-owned laptop, waiting for my ride to finish her work for the day, I am trying to figure out what life has planned for me. What the heck am I here for? There has to be a reason for living, and it's not just about slogging at the office 8-12 hours a day, five days a week, to bring back a paycheck where you only get to enjoy 10% of your earnings.

If I die tomorrow, I'd like to have a good life flash before my eyes, one where I've accomplished what I was set here to do, and not just that of an average human being who worked like everyone else, didn't contribute much to society and is now dead and buried with nothing to show for her 30-something years of living!!

While I wait for God to whisper my life's purpose to me, I will simply fill my time and eliminate boredom by banging on the keyboard a bunch of gibberish I call my blog entries, while trying my hand at crafts, a new hobby I'm so into at the moment.

Somebody get me a cup of instant coffee!!

What happens next...

It's over.

After months of planning and the final few CRAZY days of getting things done up until the 11th hour, my sister married on Sat, Jul 11.

And the "wedding party" as the bride and groom called it, did not disappoint. There were only good things said all around, which wasn't anything less than we expected as was evident that night. Practically everyone who attended had a blast of a time.

As I write this, she is honeymooning in Phuket. Was completely bowled over by the resort she's staying at, when she got there. Had to call to share the news of what an awesome place it is.

When she gets back, I'll see her for a short time on Thursday. She'll be collecting the rest of her things and permanently moving out.

So after holding it in all of saturday, I let it rip! Couldn't control my tears. All I felt was the pain of emptyness on Sunday, when she spent the first night at her new home. I still tear up now and again when I think that she will not be home every night.

The funny thing is, because we work different hours (me doing the graveyard shift), we only see each other on weekends. Why should it be any different now? Well, the finality of her absence in our home is felt.

It's going to take a lot of getting used to... not having her around. But I'm pretty sure that she'll be visiting on weekends.

I miss you, Cher. I miss you so much!

Two days to go...

It's a Thursday afternoon. I'm in Starbucks, finally figured out how to work the wireless internet from my work laptop. I've never been a techie.

In two days, my sister will be married to the man she's been with for the last eight years. There have been ups and downs between me and him, but there isn't much I can fault him on. He's a great guy, and he is a keeper.

There is still so much to do for the wedding. I have been tasked with getting the corsages ready tomorrow and I have an appointment at 2pm. Trying to figure out how to manage my time so I get the most out of it.

I have to make this appointment. If I get this job, I'll be rid of my present employment, and I'm happy to leave.

I can't stand the management. The project I work is run by a bunch of imcompetent idiots! They think they know better, but they seriously do not.

I intend to tell them that on my last day with the company.

I really wish I didn't have to move again, but once you are no longer excited about getting up to go to work, and find your self taking sick days more often than usual, you know you have to get out of there.

I have to get back to my resume.

So much for a three-day weekend...

I’m back from a three-day weekend and not loving it.
First off, I did not get much rest. Friday night was my sister’s hen’s night. Her friends did a pretty good job of getting her drunk and passed out, but my other sisters and I had to hold her up and get her to the toilets in time for her to barf – three times. Then we had to get her into the car and get her home.
Home at 3.30am sat morning, lights out at 4am. Five hours later, we were up and preparing our home for a pre-wedding casual dinner party. Ma wanted to have this for the 2nd cousins that weren’t invited for the adults-only wedding dinner reception a week from now. By the time we said goodnight to the last guest to leave at midnight, I was passed out in bed. I had to drag my ass to the bathroom about 90 minutes later to shower and wash up so I could get a goodnight’s sleep.
Well, that didn’t happen! Had to wake up at 930am on Sunday morning and get ready for church. Then it was off to the furniture store to check out some beds and wardrobe for the bride and groom who will officially be husband and wife in a week and didn’t have a decent bed to sleep in.
That took the rest of the day, as we went from store to store, finally settling on the cheapest wardrobe Ikea could offer but still no concrete decisions made on a bed.
I was finally glad to be home at 7pm, and after a nice hot shower, had a nice meal of leftover chicken curry and briyani rice with fish varaval.
Usually, I’d stay up until 2am to catch up on Dirty Sexy Money and Ghost Whisperer reruns, but by 1030pm I was tucked into bed, too tired to care about tv.
I woke up way too early Monday morning, at 1030 am. Caught the reruns of DSM and GW then. Tried going back to bed for a quickie, but it was too damn hot to sleep! By 430pm, I was up again and getting ready for work, which is where I am at press time.
The next few days leading up to wedding aren’t looking any better. All of a sudden, I have a thousand things to do, and it’s just like my sister to throw things in my lap at the 11th hour.

Introducing...

I'm starting over.

I had a blog on blogger.com, that was filled with travel stories, random tales about my everyday life and other insignificant stories.

It excited me at first and helped me brush up on my writing skills. But then I found myself staying away from it. I had nothing to share. Work and life took hold, leaving me little time for anything else. So I threw it out!

And now, I'm starting from scratch. Everyone deserves a second chance, and so does my gift of writing. You don't know it yet, but you will be drawn like a moth to a fire, once you chance upon my tales... of love, hate, indifference, but ultimately, the mystery that is... life.

Where are my manners?? Allow me to introduce myself. I'm what is known as a woman in this world. No, I'm not a girl. Well, I do have my girl moments. But woman fits me more accurately. I'm also a daughter, a sister, a cousin, a niece and a friend.

You're probably wondering when I'm going to explain the title of my story. What am I bowing at? Well, you'll find out soon enough as everything is slowly unravelled.