Extremely Hot Days

Kota Kinabalu has been experiencing extremely hot weather these few days. Yesterday I had two fans directing at me in the office but I was still sweating. Right now it is about 10p.m. but the temperature inside my room is still 30 degrees Celcius!

This afternoon Sophia Tsen passed me her income tax form. I was able to send off all the forms over to Kuala Lumpur by courier service. I called the courier company twice to make sure that the messenger will come. Otherwise all of us would be in big trouble as the deadline for submission is tomorrow.

Tomorrow I also have to ask the office boy to help me make the balance of payment for my income tax at Public Bank Berhad.

I have started using the soaps I received as redemption gift from Shiseido for 2006. The soap smells wonderful and is not harsh on my skin. Instead my skin feel moisturised and smells good after my shower. The soap also leaves a very pleasant smell in my bathroom.

I also finished eating the Famous Amos biscuits. They were not too sweet for me.

One more working day and then it will be holiday. Yeah! I certainly need the break as I have been working 9.5 hours or more on every weekday this month. Time to sleep in and recuperate.

Dinner at Bella Italia Restaurant 28 April 2008 (Photos)

Dinner at Bella Italia Restaurant 28 April 2008

Yesterday after work, I drove straight to the city to meet my dining buddies – Lily Tan and Sophia Tsen for dinner. We were celebrating my belated birthday and I had chosen Emperor’s Delight since Sophia has not been to this restaurant while both Lily and I had eaten there previously.

There was major traffic congestion along the coastal highway as I drove to the city. The supposedly short journey took me almost twenty minutes. I was not being ambitious in finding a parking bay near the restaurant. I parked outside Nagasaki Japanese Restaurant and walked passed SCB to go to Emperor’s Delight.

Upon arriving at the restaurant, I discovered that it was closed on Mondays. So I had to decide on Plan B before my dining buddies arrived. I called Sophia on her mobile phone but I could not get through. When I called Lily, she was waiting just outside the restaurant for a parking bay. I walked over and joined her in her car. I told her I decided to go to Bella Italia Restaurant at Jesselton Hotel again.

Lily found a parking bay just across the street from the hotel. We tried to call Sophia to tell her the change of plan but to no avail. Lily tried to message Sophia but the message could not be sent. She also tried to call Sophia’s house phone number but no one answered the phone. I tried for half an hour and throughout that time Lily and I were chatting and trying to figure out what we wanted to order.

At 6.58p.m. one of the waitresses was kind enough to tell us that we had two minutes left to order to enjoy the 50% discount for all of the pastas and pizzas on certain pages in the menu. The 50% discount is only applicable for orders made between 5-7p.m. and not the time the bill is being paid.

Sophia was still nowhere to be heard or seen. Both of us thought that she must have forgotten to wake up from her late afternoon nap.

Lily ordered Fusili ‘Ai Frutti di Mare’ – Mixed seafood, garlic and chilli dry style and a 9” thin-crusted pizza with tuna, turkey ham and diced pineapple toppings. I ordered Spaghetti Bolognese – rich minced beef in tomato based sauce.

By the time Lily and I finished taking photos, the food was already cold. Lily and I shared the food we ordered with each other. Half an hour after Lily and I started on our dinner, Sophia finally called. She called from the public phone since she is having problems with her mobile phone. She enquired where we were and after a few minutes, she appeared. By that time, Lily had already finished eating her pasta. I was half way through my spaghetti and there were still a few pieces of pizza left.

Sophia ordered Fettuccine Marinara – Mixed seafood and chilli in tomato based sauce.
While waiting for her order to arrive, she had some of the spaghetti and pizza.

After dinner, we decided to have dessert. Sophia ordered Berried Treasure – Vanilla, Durian & Mango icecream shower with fruit cocktail. I ordered Tartufo – Vanilla and Chocolate icecream coated with cocoa and nuts. The cocoa in the Tartufo added a bitter taste to the icecream. I will vote for Tartufo anytime.

We had a last round of dessert before Sophia and Lily paid the bill. Sophia ordered Fantasia di Maria – Famous in Borneo, this is my wife (ie . the chef’s wife) famous chocolate gooey pudding. The pudding was slightly on the sweet side for me but taken accompanied with the Vanilla icecream, the taste came out just nice as the icecream was able to take away the sweetness of the pudding.

Once again all the food tasted divine but as for service, I had to call the waitress to fill up my glass of Sky Juice. When Sophia wanted to pay for the bill, we had to search and wait for the waiters/waitresses to appear as none of them was within our sight.

A big thank you to Lily and Sophia for your friendship, time and fellowship with good food. I always enjoy dining out with you both because ALL THREE OF US LOVE GOOD FOOD and do not care about the aftermath. Hehe

ATM

Yesterday morning before I went to work, I stopped by the Maybank ATM in Nountun, Inanam to withdraw money. Had to pay for my SCB credit card and balance of last year’s income tax payment.

The withdrawal transaction went on smoothly until the second when the money supposed to come out. Nothing happened except I could hear a loud noise. I tried to press a button, or any other buttons for that matter so that the machine would react! But all I could feel was the machine making a freeze on me. Oh no! What is happening???!! At the time I was the only one there so I could walk off eventhough my ATM card was still inside the machine.

I saw the security guard inside the bank and motioned him to come to help me but he ignored me. Forlornly I went back to the machine but at least the ATM card came out and immediately the ‘Out of Service’ sign showed on the screen. I went on to the next machine and quickly checked on my account balance. The balance is still correct. Phew!

I proceeded to withdraw the money I needed and left the bank to go to work.

As I drove off, I realised why the security guard ignored me. He had finished his shift and was about to go home as he was pushing his motorbike out from inside the bank to the entrance.

A Gastronomical Bean Story

Once upon a time, there lived a man who had maddening passion for baked beans. He loved them but they always had a lively reaction on him which was very embarrassing.

Then one day he met a girl and fell in love. When it was apparent that they will marry, he thought to himself: ‘She is such a sweet girl. She will never go for this kind of carrying on.’ So he made the supreme sacrifice and gave up baked beans. Then they married shortly after.

Some months later, his car broke down on the way home from work and since they lived in the country, he called his wife and told her that he would be late home. On the way he passed a small café and the occur of freshly baked beans was overwhelming. Since he still had several miles to walk, he figured that he could work off any ill-effects before he got home. So he stopped at the café.

Before leaving, he had eaten three large orders of baked beans. All the way home, he putt-putted his last.

His wife, somewhat agitated and excited to see him, explained delightedly, ‘Darling, I have the most wonderful surprise dinner for you tonight.’ She then blindfolded him and led him to the chair at the end of the dining table.

He seated himself down and just as she was ready to remove the blindfold, the telephone rang. She made him vow not to remove the blindfold until she returned, then went to answer the phone. Seizing the opportunity, he shifted his weight on one leg and let go. It was not only loud but so ripe as rotten eggs.

He took the napkin from his lap and vigorously fanned the air about him. Things had just returned to normal when he felt another urge coming on, so he shifted his weight to the other leg and let go again. This one was a prize winner. Whilst keeping his ear on the conversation in the hall, he went on like this for ten minutes until he knew the phone farewells indicated the end of his freedom. He placed his napkin on his lap and folded his hands on top of it. Smiling contently to himself, and was very picture of innocence when his wife returned, apologising for taking so long. She asked him if he had peeked and he, of course, assured her he had not. At this point, she removed the blindfold and there was his surprise ….


Twelve dinner guests seated around the dinner table for a happy birthday party for him.

(I had this joke since 1983 and I had kept it all this while. Tonight while searching for some past photos (which I have not found yet) I found it and decided to put it up here)

Absentmindedness

This morning I was running late for Canaanland Celebration. When I arrived in Kyrugma House slightly before 10a.m., all of my ushering team members had already arrived and were waiting for me as I was the only one who had the keys to open the cupboard.

(The reason I was running late was because my table clock did not show the correct time. I usually put it in the bathroom when I go to bed so that the ticking sound does not affect me from dozing off. When I was about to have shower, I put the clock back on my study table. In between the shifting, the battery must have become loosed and therefore slowdown the ticking process.)

The worst thing was I discovered I did not bring along the most important thing I needed to bring along with me for Ivy Voon. Ivy’s company and my company, I mean the company we are working for respectively are consultants for one of the upcoming projects in Lahad Datu and I had promised the boss that I would pass the drawings to Ivy in church today.

I explained to Monica Leong my predicament and told her to help me out in ushering.

My absentmindedness caused me to make a trip back home just to get the drawings. I left Kyrugma House at 10.04a.m. to come home and arrived back there at 10.25a.m. I was driving like a mad person. Thank God for protecting me.

Famous Amos

This afternoon I was so surprised when I went to reimburse Daisy (my Shiseido skincare consultant who helped me to pay for the Shiseido skincare products last night), she gave me these Famous Amos biscuits.

Doesn’t the tin itself look so cute? Daisy said the biscuits taste very nice as well. I will try one of these days.

BonusLink Member’s Day

Yesterday was Parkson BonusLink Members’ Day. BonusLink members’ privileges are as follows.

- 5x Bonuslink Points is awarded for every purchase.
- Parkson Discount Voucher with every purchase of RM120 made in accumulated receipts.
- Parkson Promotional Voucher with every purchase of RM100 from the Cosmetics and Fragrance Department.

I was too lazy to drive to Parkson Grand after work yesterday. Moreover the rain was pouring down like cats and dogs. I called Daisy, my Shiseido skincare consultant and requested her to get the Shiseido products for me using her credit card. I would pay her back today after work.

After work today, I drove to the city and there was a massive traffic congestion in the city and even on the way back from the city at 3.30p.m.

With the Parkson Discount and Promotional Vouchers, I was able to get some personal things for free. In addition to that, I also redeemed 9800 BonusLink Points for RM100 worth of Parkson Gift Vouchers.

I also obtained these two bags FOC from Shiseido. I will give the beige colour one to mum.





On top of all that, I was rewarded 3x birthday points for the Shiseido skincare products purchased.

Shiseido Camellia Club

I have been using Shiseido skincare products since 1996.

Before that I was using Blackmores skincare products and I liked the products very much. But when I returned from Down Under, I had great difficulties in sourcing the products for sale in Malaysia. Whenever I found a pharmacy in Kota Kinabalu selling some of the products, I would request the pharmacist to specially order from the distributor in Kuala Lumpur. After two years of doing that, I gave up because most of the time even the distributor did not have the products I wanted.

When I started working in Tg. Malim in 1996, every Saturday afternoon my uncle and his family would send one of his daughters, Yeng Yeng to Petaling Jaya for ballet lessons. I would go along with them. Once my uncle drove me to the Blackmores distributor and I found out my assumption was correct. They do not order the full range of Blackmores skincare products. I had to resort to use another brand.

Since Shiseido was first produced in Japan, I thought it would suit my skin better as compared to other Western brands. Some friends did ask me why I did not choose Kose. I guess it is not as well known as Kose. And at that time SK II was not available in the market yet. And even now I do not want to switch to SK II because the products are way beyond my budget.

Once when my uncle, his family and I were shopping in 1 Utama Shopping Centre, I went to the Shiseido counter and asked the skincare consultant regarding the products. I automatically become a Shiseido YOU Club member upon buying the skincare products.

But after 15 years, Shiseido YOU Club bowed out and Shiseido Camellia took over at the end of last year.

At the beginning of this month, I received a card from Shiseido Camellia for my birthday. Shiseido Camellia rewards members 3x birthday points for every purchase made on the special month.

Mango

One of my favourite tropical fruits is the mango.

When I was growing up in Sandakan, we used to plant mango trees besides the flat where we were living in. The mango trees grew to three to four storey high. We had to wait for a few years before the trees started to produce fruits. But once they started to do so, the harvest each year was bountiful.

Absolutely yummy!

Change in habit

Tonight as soon as I arrived home from work, I went straight to shower. This is not my normal habit. Usually I like to sit down in front of my pc, login the internet and surf for about 45 mins before I shower.

Why the sudden change in habit?

Four nights (Monday) ago just before 7p.m. as I was about to have my shower after surfing the internet, suddenly there was a blackout. I did not proceed to shower and had my dinner instead. While and after eating, I spent the time to chat with mum until 9p.m. On weeknights we usually do not talk much as she likes to spend time watching the television while I surf the internet in my room. We normally talk more during weekends.

By 9p.m. that night the electricity still did not come back on so I had to resort to having my shower without any hot water. Mum told me to use the gas stove to boil some hot water but I was too lazy. So she advised me to shower as soon as I arrive home from work to avoid having to shower in cold water in case there is a blackout.

That night the blackout was caused by the collapse of an electrical tower nearby which triggered a power trip to a power plant. I went to sleep at 9.30p.m. that night but was still awake when the electricity came back on at 10.40p.m.

Today the downpour came down after 4p.m. When I left work after 6p.m., I thought the roads would be flooded but they were not except there was water everywhere. Since it is raining, there’s more likelihood of a blackout. And hence, my instant reaction to have my shower first before doing anything else on arrival home.

Scolded for Other People’s Mistakes

Today I was scolded by the boss for overlooking something he had done wrongly. I should have spoken up when I discovered the mistake or at least query him for the mistake. Another lesson learnt.

I was also scolded because of something my colleagues did not do. I am so used to this, that I just listen in one ear and out the other. Otherwise I do not think I could sustain in working for the boss for almost ten years.

And this blog is a good channel for me to release all these stuffs out and not keep them in my heart.

Encounters with Morons

The following conversations happened through the phone this morning.

1) A new staff (let’s called her Miss X) from a client/developer’s company called up to check whether we could issue a letter on the stage of work of their contractor. I told her I could not since our Clerk-of-Work (COW) was supposed to go to the project site to check yesterday and today the COW has not come to the office to report on his inspection yet.

Then Miss X asked whether the COW is SG? I told her NO! SG is the boss.

(For goodness sake, please check your facts straight before talking to me! You do not even know who is who, so ask your colleagues who have been working longer in the company in order to avoid bloopers!)

2) After half an hour Miss X called again. She asked me whether a Plan for one of their projects has been approved by the City Hall or not. She said the name of the housing estate but our drawing no. she quoted was for another one of their projects. So I told her so and told her to read out the name of the project on our drawing. She did not do that but instead passed the phone line to her boss GC. I knew that Miss X is new to the company so I can ignore her mistake. But GC is the boss of the company and she also repeated the same mistake like her employee. Because she is the boss, I give her face. Otherwise I would have scolded her like anything. I told her I will check and get back to her after we sorted out the facts correctly.

3) After I had checked I called back Miss X. That was when she told me she made a mistake, she meant the other project that I mentioned and not the one she was asking for in the first place. I told her definitely we have the approved drawings since the project is almost at the Application for Occupation Certificate stage. I told her I could extend to her one copy of the drawings when she requested for one.

4) When I was about to find the drawing, Miss X called up again and told me she does not need the drawing anymore. I was about to tell her off for wasting my precious time but I refrained myself.

I am glad that I did not lose my cool. I am learning to be more patient as the days go by. That is definitely not an easy task for me to do but I am trying my best to do it slowly. Lord please help me.

Salted Duck Eggs

Yesterday the boss was away in Putrajaya to attend a meeting at the Education Ministry for an upcoming project.

Eventhough I was not in a full working mood yesterday, I was glad I got some work done and even before the boss asked for them this morning, I already put them on his table. Sometimes it feels good to be ahead of him.

Yesterday my colleague NE asked me whether my appetite was back to normal. I was about to say ok when I felt otherwise. She was going to pass me a bottle Brand’s Essence of Chicken. I declined her offer and had to tell her frankly I do not like that stuff. Yucks!

Today after coming back from a project meeting, the boss was carrying a tray of salted duck eggs. Apparently one of the contractors gave them to him and the lady boss divided them among all of us. I took three home eventhough I do not eat them.

We have been having another busy week at work and it is already middle of the working week. Time passes by too quickly.

There is no public holiday this month and so I am certainly looking forward to next Thursday 1 May, Worker’s Day. Yeah!

Homemade Artpiece

Dinner at Gaya Seafood Restaurant 20 April 2008 (Photos)

Dinner at Gaya Seafood Restaurant 20 April 2008

On the way back from Veda Blu to Kyrugma House, Sharon Lai asked me where I was going to have dinner with my family that night.

I told her I preferred to go somewhere other than our usual place at Gaya Sports Seafood Restaurant. Maybe Emperor’s Delight Restaurant in the city – to try the ‘xiao long bao’.

But when I arrived home and suggested to mum Emperor’s Delight, she said she still preferred Gaya Sports Seafood Restaurant. Oh well, don’t say I did not try.

The restaurant was half full when we arrived at 6.40p.m. I ordered deer meat with ginger and shallots, poached prawns, wet buttered crabs, shells and ‘kangkung’ veges.

When I went to wash my hands, I saw one of the captains Peter and chatted with him. He said I have not been patronizing the restaurant for a long time. I told him the previous time I was there was during Chinese New Year. I did not want to disturb him at the time because it was his night off. When I was taking photos of the dishes, he was curious and enquired what I was doing. I jokingly told him I was doing a write-up for a magazine. Haha! He said he wanted to see them in hard copies.

The deer meat arrived first. By the time we had dinner, as usual on a Sunday night, everyone was hungry. The deer meat was very soft but the chef did not put enough gravy on it so Alistair cannot have the gravy with the rice. As a result, he only ate white rice that night.

Next we were served the ‘kangkung’ veges. This was the only dish that did not look too appetising and the portion was too big. When too little, we complained too little. When too much, we complained too much. We are indeed a bunch of hard to please fussy customers. This was the only dish with leftovers.

The poached prawns were the third dish to be served. The prawns were slightly on the big side but tasted juicy. Mum mentioned when customers did not order the prawns fast enough, then the prawns would keep on growing until they are served on the dinner table.

The shells were the fourth dish to arrive. This time they were quite big size and Barnabas had a fun time taking them out from the shell.

Lastly, the wet buttered prawns made it grand entrance. It was the most superb dish of all but the gravy was slightly on the salty side. But if eaten with rice then it was ok. The crabs tasted very fresh and yummy. Even mum who usually does not take much of crabs had some. We thoroughly enjoyed eating this dish including Chloe.

At the end before I paid the bill, the complimentary papayas arrived. I did not take any since I do not eat papayas.

Icecream at Veda Blu 20 April 2008 (Photos)

Icecream at Veda Blu 20 April 2008

We decided to have icecream at Veda Blue instead of ordering desserts at Bella Italia Restaurant.

There was a slight drizzle as we walked across from Jesselton Hotel to Veda Blu at Gaya Street.

Our orders were as follows.

Sophia Tsen – Belgian Chocolate
Sharon Lai – Hazelnut Chocolate
Monica Leong – Mango
Spinxie – Mango

We enjoyed ourselves so much and our laughters were the loudest in the whole shop. Sophia suggested that I took photos of the empty icecream containers. haha

Lunch at Bella Italia Restaurant 20 April 2008

Lunch at Bella Italia Restaurant 20 April 2008

I was thinking extra hard of where to have lunch for my birthday. I wanted to go somewhere where the food is excellent but would not leave a big hole in my pocket.

Then I thought of Bella Italia Restaurant. I went to this Italian restaurant at the Ground Floor of Jesselton Hotel (formerly Wishbone) about two years ago after work on a Saturday with Liew Su Li, a friend I came to know through work. I remembered we ordered a pasta each and shared a pizza. Eventhough the toppings on the pizza were slightly on the stingy side, the taste was fantastic. We saw the chef and had a ball.

As usual Sharon Lai, Monica Leong and I decided that we car pooled instead of everyone drove to the city. Sharon drove while Monica and I were the passenger.

We had a difficult time in ordering and took quite a while to do that. Even when Sophia Tsen arrived to join us, we did not manage to order yet.

Our orders were as follows.

Sophia Tsen – Fettucine Bolognese / Watermelon Juice
Sharon Lai – Fusili Marinara / Lime Juice
Monica Leong – Farfelle Gamberi / Sky Juice
Spinxie – 12” Pizza with Turkey Ham, Beef Pepperoni, Diced Pineapples and Sliced Mushrooms / OJ

The complimentary starter arrived first, accompanied by two small plates of sauce. The bread were very hard like rock. (Previously they served Su Li and I a basket of french bread with butter and jam).

The drinks arrived next. We observed that Sophia’s Watermelon Juice was on the diluted side. I liked my OJ and Sharon had no complaint about her Lime Juice. Monica forgot she ordered Sky Juice and complained that the Lemon Juice did not have any taste. Sophia and I reminded her that she only ordered Sky Juice.

Lastly the food arrived. We were taking our own sweet time in taking photos until the food became cold. Eventhough each of us ordered a dish, we shared in eating all the dishes so that everyone can sample each kind of food.

When we digged into our food, everyone gave positive reviews about the food. I was so glad everyone enjoyed the food. The ingredients inside the pastas for instance like the seafood and the minced beef were thoroughly marinated and gave out a distinct taste. The thin crusted pizza tasted superb as well. I think this time there were more ingredients on the pizza.

Eventhough the serving of each dish was not a lot, our tummy felt so full after eating. Pastas and pizza indeed are so filling.

When the bill came, the waiter also gave us a piece of paper with a red pen to comment on their food and service. We nominated Sophia to fill it in and we chose the correct person since usually only teachers are allowed to use red pen. We gave the thumbs up for food and service but mentioned that improvement needed for the Watermelon Juice.

We adjourned to Veda Blue for ice-cream.

Canaanland Celebration 20 April 2008

Mr. Ha Kwan Kiang, the husband of the late Ms. Chan Wee Chu came to Canaanland Celebration on Sunday. That was the first time I saw him coming to church. He brought Luisa and Louis with him. Did not manage to ask him why Ian did not come. I am sure everyone is so happy to see them.

When it was time for the children to have their own activity while the adults listened to the sermon, Louis stuck to his dad like super glue and did not want to join the children’s activity.

Happy Birthday to me

Yes, today is my birthday. The years flew by like a twinkling of an eye. Eventhough another milestone is coming up in the not distant future, I still feel like I am only in my twenties.

And despite of having a nightmare just when I was about to wake up this morning, I still thank God more than ever that I am alive. There is no other person just like me in this whole wide world, and even if I was not born into this world, there would never be another person like me. Each of us is indeed unique and special.

Each time my birthday comes around, I feel much loved. But please do not get me wrong. That statement certainly does not mean that I do not normally feel loved.

Birthday greetings have been coming in the last few days until today through emails, gifts, birthday day greeting card and messages in facebook; message on skpe and msn, sms and call on the mobile phone, e-greeting card and personalised home made cards from Alistair, Barnabas and Chloe (my ABC).

Thank you all for making my birthday such a special and memorable one.

What a Dream or was it a Nightmare?

Last night I did not go to sleep until after midnight. This morning I woke up at 6a.m. and went back to sleep since I do not have to wake up until 8a.m.

Before I woke up I had a dream of someone from my past. We have not seen each other since I left Down Under in 1994. I have lost touch with him for a few years now.

I feel kinda of weird and puzzle to dream of him especially on my birthday and after not seeing him for fifteen years.

Today's Happenings

Started off the work day with a hearty laugh for my colleague NE and I. I was going to write 'jangan staple' (meaning do not staple) on a small piece of paper I usually attached with the tracing paper I needed the printer to print out using their printer into blue prints. But I ended up writing 'Jangle'. I showed NE and both of us laughed until like there is no tomorrow.

My colleague KY forgot he had stepped on dog’s pooh pooh at the project site before he came to office. How could one forget when the smell stinks so badly? He kept on apologising profusely. Thank God for the office boy cum part-time cleaner to clean up the smelly mess. At that time even the ammonia printing pungent smell smelt better.

Another Fillipino part-time cleaner who works only on Friday afternoons brought her daughter who graduated from airline management in the Philippines to work as well. The cleaner wanted the bosses to hire her daughter to work in our office. The bosses asked me whether I need an assistant after I was summoned into their room after lunchtime. I told them not the new graduand. Am I being mean and do not want to give her a chance?

I would give her a chance if I have the time to train her. But frankly speaking I do not even have enough time to go to toilet each day, how can I spend precious time training someone whom her accent I can hardly understand?

I do need an assistant period. But one that does not need to be supervised or told what to do, ie. one who can work independently and is proactive all the time. That sort of person is difficult to find nowadays, especially with the mentality (couldn’t care less attitude) of the new generation.

Have migraine in the afternoon and slight fever in the late afternoon.

After shower, migraine decreased while fever increased. Will go to dreamland early again tonight.

Threatened to Resign

I felt refreshed after having almost eight hours of sleep last night. And thank God that I did not have fever anymore when I woke up.

I had one of the busiest days at work again. But thank God for His strength.

My colleague CP who was on leave yesterday banged the door behind me. She also threatened the boss through sms (since he was out in a meeting) that she wanted to resign after one of contractors asked her to visit one of the project sites. I really do not know what she was thinking and who is supposed to be the boss.

She comes to work late almost each day and most of the time she’s the first one to leave. I have given her a new nickname ‘LIFO’ (last in first out). We have been tolerating her behaviour for far too long. If I open my mouth, she would say that I am acting like a boss but does not her action prove she is one herself? This is the type of people who practice ‘I can do it but you cannot’. I think she is the type of person that can join the colleague who resigned on 24 hours’ notice. So the bosses must go for a backup plan or Plan B now and find someone to replace her before it is too late.

Minor Fever

Last night I only managed to sleep for six hours. I woke up with minor fever and the weather had been very hot since I opened my eyes this morning. But thank God for the rain coming down since 5.45p.m. until now.

With a heavy heart these few days, I have been making minor mistakes at work. I have not been able to think properly and just took my boss's words without confirming things. But thank God my mistakes did not cost the company to lose thousands of ringgits. *phew* I should have checked properly, be more diligent and alert.

Today with EY on leave until Friday, another colleague CP also went on leave but without applying. Most probably CP sms boss and told him she would be on leave. Yes, people can apply leave via sms in my company. It is definitely an easy way out for not having to directly talk to the boss.

By lunchtime another colleague AC also went on leave but she did apply for it yesterday.

I am just wondering what is going on at work recently. Extra bonus has been given out but people are avoiding their work and pushing their responsibility to other people who have to make the deadlines on their behalf. Today five people are doing ten people’s work. Nobody says life is fair.

I still have minor fever until now and I resort to retire and hope to get my much needed eight hours beauty sleep.

Heavy Heart

Since last Sunday when I heard that Ms. Chan Wee Chu took a turn for the worst, my heart has been feeling very heavy. My heart feels even heavier until now when I received the news of her demise.

I think the reason I have been feeling this way is because of the three small children she had left behind. My heart goes out to them that they have to go through this difficult time at such a young age.

When I first heard that Ms. Chan took a turn for the worst, I did not why but I knew that she would not able to make it eventhough I did not go and see her. This was the same sort of feeling I had when grannie and dad fell sick. It is kinda amazing. I did share with some people especially concerning grannie. It is not that I did not want them to get well or that I do not have the faith for them to be completely healed but I somehow felt that they would not able to pull through and if God chose to extend their life, then all of them would really need a miracle from Him.

Death is not something people like to talk about. But as long as we are born into this world, it is a matter of time each of us will return to the dust. Some will go sooner while others later.

There are times when fatigue controls my whole being, I would question myself “What am I doing here?” It is not that I do not know the answer. Tiredness has taken over my brain cells and I cannot think properly.

As I am writing this post, I noticed the Famous Quotes displayed on my Facebook page …

"The worst thing that can happen is death, and that's not the worst thing in the world either". By James Stockdale

The coincidence is that James Stockdale during the October 1992 United States of America Vice Presidential debate started of the debate with the questions, “Who am I? Why am I here?”

As a Christian, I agree with James Stockdale’s quote but I have no idea whether he is a Christian or not. Death is only a change of our abode. And as Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 1:21 “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain”. Why would dying be a gain? Because it is only through death we will be united with Christ. And what a glorious union that would be! I look forward to that day with great anticipation.

Bitter Bitten

Since last night, TV2 has started showing a new Hong Kong series at 7p.m. entitled Bitter Bitten, a story that mainly took place at the Panyu Zoo, People‘s Republic of China.

I visited this zoo nine years ago and took the following photo.

Sad Day for Canaanland Celebration

Today after noon time I received a sms from Sharon Lai informing that Ms. Chan Wee Chu was taken to be with the Lord. Ms. Chan had been battling cancer. She left behind a husband and three small children. May her soul rests in peace. My heart felt so heavy after reading the news.


This shot was taken on 23 December 2007 of Ms. Chan's three children Louisa, Ian and Louis with Catherine Chok (a too dark photo)

When I started attending Canaanland Celebration on Sundays at the beginning of 2007, Ms. Chan and her children had been attending before me. We did not talk much to each other but we always smiled at one another.

Thank God that Ms. Chan had been released from all the sufferings she had to endure all this while. But on the other hand, her family and we at Canaanland Celebration are going to miss her tremendously.

Her funeral will be at 9.00a.m. on Thursday 17 April 2008 at Fook Luk Siew Funeral Parlour.

‘Vomitted More Blood’ Today

This morning when I arrived at work, my colleague EJ had already put his annual leave application on my table. He will be on leave for the rest of the week.

Somebody else had to take over his work, which is nothing new.

When the boss came in after his meeting at 11a.m., I told him the bad news. All he could react was a surprise look and shook his head. *sigh*

A New Beginning for a New Week

Before I entered the office at 7.20a.m. this morning, I was thinking since this is a new working week I should have a better attitude towards my colleagues ie. be more patient with them and see the best in each of them. Unfortunately this new attitude was shortlived and only lasted for 40mins.

My colleague KK went for a project meeting last Saturday. When he was there, he was reminded that the drafting team had to come out with the remaining drawings within this week.

This morning when KK arrived in the office, he quickly reminded everyone involved in the project. He did not receive any negative comment except from the laziest person in the whole office – EJ. EJ told KK to ignore their request! Can you believe such an answer? Sometimes I really do not understand people. If they do not really want to work, why do they work then? Might as well stay home and do nothing. Their sense of responsibility is zilch.

KK did not answer him and on the way back from EJ’s desk, KK had to pass by my desk. KK asked me if I heard what EJ said. I told KK I heard EJ loud and clear. Both of us wanted to ‘vomit blood’.

Adapted from http://www.timeout.com/sg/en/aroundtown/feature/what-talking-you

Vomit blood Yet another graphic way to denote extreme frustration and annoyance. ‘My flight was delayed for five hours. I waited until vomit blood’.

Maybe the boss should ignore EY’s salary at the end of this month. Haha

Bishop in the House

Today for the first time since his appointment as the Bishop of BCCM Sabah, BCCM KK including Canaanland Celebration at Kyrugma House has the priviledge of having Bishop Thomas Tsen to preach the sermon and conduct the Holy Communion. Bishop Thomas Tsen is also Sophia Tsen’s uncle, her dad’s younger brother. He preached on the topic ‘Together in God’s Mission’.

We had lunch fellowship after Canaanland Celebration.

I could not resist not taking photos of Mr. Johnny Liew’s car.

Wong Yong Vui & Steve Tai’s Wedding Banquet 12 April 2008

I left home at 6.15p.m. to attend Wong Yong Vui & Steve Tai’s wedding banquet at Promenade Hotel. When I arrived, Yong Vui took two seconds to recognise me. She was so happy I was the first one from BCCM to arrive.

At least I had the power point presentation of their love story to keep me occupied for a while.

When everyone I know arrived, it felt like having fellowship time again because we have not seen each other for so long. At least I managed to catch up with some of them.

At first Sharon Lai was sitting on my right but when Nicholas Pang and Carol Yap arrived, she had to move to the next table to make room for both of them since there was another empty seat on our table.

When the first dish of hot and cold combination arrived, I saw Carol so easily took the food from the other side of the table without moving the 'Lazy Susan’. So I made a comment about it. The reason I commented was an admiration because I could never do that. She took it as if I was hinting to her to take the food for me. Haha So the whole night I was so blessed by her for taking the food for me.

I had a good time exchanging stories with Carol as this was the first time we sat next to each other during a wedding banquet. Jessisca was busy talking to Nicholas. We had so much to talk about until four of us were almost the last ones to leave.

We also talked to the newlyweds for a while before everyone went their own way to go home.

I did not sleep until 2a.m. Most probably the food was taking it’s sweet time to digest and normally I do not take food by 10p.m.


Standing Left to Right: Jessisca Aliah Umbukan, Nicholas Pang, Steve Tai, Wong Yong Vui, Carol Yap, Spinxie, Raymond Wong & Edward Voo
Sitting Left to Right: Dianna Chew & Yeoh Chuan Shuan

Sharon Lai's Birthday Celebration at Upperstar, Damai Plaza 12 April 2008

Straight after work at 1p.m., I drove to Damai Plaza. There were so many drivers searching for a parking bay. After one round of searching, I drove and parked the car at the carpark behind Tong Hing Supermarket.

I was the last one to arrive for Sharon Lai’s birthday lunch celebration at Upperstar, Damai Plaza. Some people had already started eating. Altogether there were 25 adults including Sharon and Rev. Lee and 5 children.

Since I had Wong Yong Vui & Steve Tai’s wedding banquet to attend last night, I did not want to eat something too filling. I had a small plate of ‘nasi lemak’ only for RM2.90.

Shelley Chew, a fantastic cake maker baked Sharon’s birthday cake. The total weight of the cake should be more than two kgs. It was yummy and just right for my taste, not too sweet.

Some of us took turns to recite bible verses to bless Sharon. We also all shared in buying her a chain with a cross pendant.








The Tai Family


Isaac Tai

Work 12 April 2008

For three consecutive weeks, I have been neglecting my filing work. There are so many documents to be put into their respective files. Yesterday from 8a.m. – 1p.m., I spent five hours straight in filing and I did not manage to finish doing it yet. *sigh*

As I get older and as the company’s business is growing, my colleagues and I find that we have more and more work to do. We are not complaining and we are thankful of the work to keep us busy all the time. But sometimes there is so much to do until we really do not know where to start. It is during this kind of hour that I pray to God to guide me and to lead me. Everything seems to be urgent and due the day before. Therefore, everybody is going through tremendous work pressure. No wonder the white hair on my head is a never ending story.

Back Up Files

Two days ago when I was switching on my work pc, my colleagues and I smelt a bad burning smell coming out from it. I quickly switched the pc off and restarted it again. After that I quickly use my personal pen drive to back up all my files.

Up until last year, for nine years I have been backing up all accounting files but I never back up my admin files. Suddenly the harddisk drive failed on me twice within a couple of months. The good thing was that I had printed out a hard copy of most of my admin work.

From then onwards, I make sure I back up all my files at least once a week. But sometimes busyness and forgetfulness can prevent me from doing so.

I requested the pc technician to come and check for me. He said it might be one pc component got burnt but that component did not affect the running of the pc as a whole and that I could continue using it until something happens.

Form BE

Once again a reminder to everyone that your Form BE ie. Return Form of an Individual (Resident Who Does Not Carry on Business) for Year of Assessment 2007 will be due at the end of this month.

Tonight I am disciplined enough to sit down and sorted out all the relevant documents pertaining to this matter. I have also finished filling in the form. I am so proud of myself. I do not have to think about it for another year. Hehe! Yeah!

This time round I have to pay additional tax of more than double of what I paid last year. Money comes in, money goes out. Is that what makes the world go round? Haha Of course not.

Senior still Need to be Spoon Fed

The boss was in the office for almost two hours this morning. My colleague ‘dog’ (let me called him EJ from now onwards. I feel rather bad calling him ‘dog’) did not show the boss the work he had finished.

After the boss left the office, he called me on my office mobile phone and told me to check on EJ’s work. After hanging up, I asked EJ whether he had finished the work. He said yes. I asked him why he did not show the boss earlier on. That moron had the courtesy to tell me boss did not ask him. Upon hearing that, I cannot control myself any longer. I reprimanded him for not taking the initiative to show the boss first. Afterall for as long as I have been working in the company, the boss has been reminding everyone to show him whatever work he/she has done and not to just sit on it. I also asked him how is the boss supposed to remember everything everyone is doing when he has been extremely busy lately. EJ kept quiet.

This is the kind of attitude the boss and I have to face each single weekday. People cannot just be proactive but still need to be spoon fed. And this guy is supposed to be a senior. What sort of baloney is that!

Last week after the junior left on 24 hours’ notice, the Senior Design Engineer reprimanded EY for pushing the bulk of his work to the junior. Yesterday another colleague also revealed something shameful he had done. For too long everyone has been keeping their thoughts about him to ourselves but when we could not stand it anymore, everything came out consecutively. Serves him right.

Also when KY came to office this morning, EY also had the guts to tell KY that the pizzas he bought the other day were not sufficient. I did not hear KY’s respond but if it was me, I would have given him a piece of my mind and told him to get his own if he so wants to eat more.

Recently the boss has also been chasing another colleague NE for her work. She managed to finish it and we had extended the amendments to the client yesterday. When NE told another colleague AC that she had completed her part and therefore AC has to continue on doing her part, AC scolded NE for doing her work so fast. AC said that NE should take her sweet time. Can you believe this is the kind of attitude people have? They rather sit down there doing nothing and get paid for it. Truly unbelieavable.

Back to Basic Black

I used to love to wear black from top to bottom – blouse or shirt, pants or skirt, socks or stockings and shoes including high heels when I was in Down Under. I have not done that for almost fifteen years.


Photo taken on 23 July 1988 (almost 10 years ago)
in a friend's room in North Wollongong, NSW, Down Under

Five months ago when I was in Kuala Lumpur, I bought a black colour blouse and a black colour t-shirt. Last month when I was there again, I bought another three black colour blouses. The first one has white stripes, the second one has gold stripes while the third one is completely black. I only managed to wash some of the clothes recently and the maid ironed them for me.

Today I wore the one completely black with black pants to work. Only the belt is brown colour. I also wore black colour shoes.

No bonus :(

Today the office boy TI asked me whether I forgot to pass his bonus to the boss to give it to TI. I did not want to be the villain in this situation but I told TI that not everyone received the bonus this time round, which was the truth.

The problem with some of my colleagues is that they like to blab this kinda things out ie. bonus or increment. They cannot keep it to themselves.

In fact the first person to receive the bonus was the Senior Design Engineer PT. So I asked another colleague KK who sits in the same room as PT whether he mentioned anything after receiving his bonus. KK said PT did not utter a single word. This is the type of person I think my boss appreciates.

One colleague even told the rest of her gang she received two months bonus. If that is how she counts then on her next pay I can just write in her cheque the figure of only a third of what her real pay is. This person likes to tell white lies all the time. She does not know that people can countercheck with each other to see whether what she was saying is truth or lie. Not that she cares. She can tell lies without blinking her eyes. I suspect she was the one who blurted out to TI re. the bonus.

After hearing what I said, TI went to get his EA Form and showed me his bonus amount. Ya, as if I do not know, whereas I was the one who prepared it. The boss must have told him that there is still a balance in the bonus amount to be given. But I had to explain to him that the balance would only be given out at the end of May. Then he left me with a dejected look on his face. Poor guy.

Because someone cannot keep her mouth shut, another person is not happy. *sigh*

Lizard Lurking Around

Last night as I was lying in bed about to go to dreamland, I saw a lizard on the ceiling at a position exactly on top of my face. I think it must be trying to catch a mosquito. I was so scared it would drop directly on me.

I was about to switch off the bed light when I heard a sound of something dropped. Yes, the lizard dropped and thank God at that time it was not directly above me. Otherwise I think I would become hysterical.

The drop did not deter the lizard from giving up in catching the mosquito. Once again, I saw it lurking around on the ceiling and I gave it a chance to go around my room twice before I switched off the light.

Happy Half Century

Yesterday my colleague KY who advised me to exercise asked me another question recently. He asked me whether I like to eat pizza. So I told him yes.

The reason he asked me the question was because when another collegue treated us ‘goreng pisang’ (fried bananas) last week, I did not take any. The reason was also because I was coughing. (Btw, I am still coughing right now). In fact I like savoury food more than sweet food. If I go for buffet spread, I can miss out on dessert totally.

Yesterday when my colleague Nanie Enggam and I were on the way back from our lunch, I told her that KY asked me whether I like to eat pizza. Nanie told me I should have told him “Yes I like to eat pizza. Where is the pizza? I wanna eat now!” Haha

So today I wrote her a note when KY was passing by our desks. “Spinxie speaking to KY: ‘I am hungry right now. Can I have the pizza?” Nanie laughed and told me I should tell KY directly. Of course I would never do that.

At midday, true enough KY came back to the office with three Pizza Hut pizzas and two bottles of Pepsi. Nanie and I just stared at each other. We did not speak a word about the note I passed to her so there was no way KY knew what I was thinking. It was just pure coincidence. And one of my wishes that came true right before my very eyes! Hehe

When the boss saw KY holding the pizzas, he announced to everyone that there were pizzas to eat. On hearing this, the ‘dog’ (the one who recently said that he had been working like a dog) who is a very thick face person quickly went to the kitchen. On the way there when he saw only three pizzas, he had the audacity to utter ‘Where got enough?’. Luckily my boss heard what he said and told him that he was a bit too much.

My boss and some colleagues asked KY whether today is his birthday. He did not answer them and said ‘Oh, just want to make a happy occasion, that’s all’.

My boss suggested that we should each take turns to treat each other once a week. If he ever says that again, I will definitely nominate the ‘dog’ first. You see, this ‘dog’ has been in the company for more than ten years but he has never treated anyone to anything. He can even ask a colleague to buy lunch for him but when the food was placed in front of him, he had the guts to tell the person he did not have money and told the person to take home the take away chicken rice for dinner!

In fact in our books, this ‘dog’ has always been too much ie. too much eating (esp. when there are free food available) and wasting time plus passing the bulk of his work to the colleague who just resigned last month on 24 hours’ notice. He is supposed to be a senior but he is so slow in his work.

So today we gave him a new nickname ‘Works like a tortoise but eats like a tiger’. (In this case the phrase ‘slow but steady will definitely not win the race’)

There are two dozens pieces altogether in three pizzas shared among 12 people. We calculated as follows.

1. 3 people only ate 2 pieces each ie. 3 x 2 = 6
2. 2 people only ate 1.5 pieces each ie. 2 x 1.5 = 3
3. 1 person only ate 1 piece ie. 1 x 1 = 1.

The total of that was 10 pieces eaten by 6 people. The balance of 14 pieces were shared among another 6 people of which half were females.

We think that the ‘dog’ must have eaten at least 4 pieces. That is the kind of person he is. He is so damn selfish and never think of others. When it comes to food, he can gobble up anything you put in front of him at the speed of light but when it comes to work, he can just shirk his responsibility to someone else! Everyone else still had to have lunch after eating the pizza/s but he was the only one who skipped lunch.

He is so damn lazy until I suspect he must be the one who put the spoon he used to stir his hot drink into my cup filled with hot water (to get rid of the Milo stain) yesterday since I did not have time to wash it until 5.30p.m. If I can catch the culprit doing it, I will definitely shove the spoon down his throat!

When I had time to check on everyone’s birthday this afternoon, only then I found out that today is indeed KY’s birthday. He turns 50. Happy half century KY.

Extremely Hot Weather

The weather has been extremely hot these two days. I have been wearing very thin cotton blouses to work but yet I can sweat in a 16 degrees Celsius room! I thank God I did not have migraine in spite of the hot weather.

Oh ya, talking about migraine. Yesterday two of my collegues who are based in different project sites asked me whether I like to go fishing. I told them I do not even like the sun and that I can easily get migraine. Therefore, I do not like to go fishing at all esp. under the very hot sun.

(I digress - I like fishing but I used to do it during winter in Down Under. Ya, my friends and I used to be so crazy. We can go fishing in the middle of the night under freezing condition and enjoyed ourselves. Really missed those times).

One of my colleagues then told me his wife has been having migraine for a decade. But when she started to go jogging six months ago, the migraine disappeared with her exercise. So he advised me to exercise as well. Then the other colleague chipped in by saying that since I live only four kilometers away, I should walk to work instead of drive. I told them I walked from home to office once before and it took me slightly over half an hour. But there is no way I would do that again.

I think I should go back to the gym one day and start exercising on the treadmill again.

(I digress again - Besides migraine I also have astigmatism (Cantonese ‘san kong’). I think I started having astigmatism when I was born. My mum told me I like to squint my eyes since I was small and that I never like the sun.

I have been wearing sunglasses for two and a half decade. Now I mainly wear spectacles when I am driving. I do not like to drive at night because the lights from incoming cars can cause my eyes to be painful).

Speechless but Happy!!!

Eventhough the bosses are really busy with their personal stuff this week, today they dropped by the office after 9.30a.m. As they went into their room (they shared the same room), they closed the door behind them. Usually they would just leave the door open unless they need to discuss something private and confidential without the hearing of the staff.

After thirty seconds the bosses summoned me into their room. Usually in this kind of circumstance, I being a pessimistic person would usually think of the worst scenario, like for instance what have I done wrong now or who has done something wrong and I will get the scolding for it?

But then the bosses told me they wanted to give out bonus today and this bonus is on top of the one we would be receiving at the end of next month. Today’s bonus is for A/Y 2008. I was speechless but happy at the same time.

My colleagues and I do not know what had transpired during the weekend to make the bosses decided to do something so wonderful for us. Either they overheard some of the complaints or they read this blog (hi boss if you are reading this :)). Anyway it does not matter if we never find out because it is not important.

But as human beings, we are usually not satisfied with what is given to us. One of my colleagues is confused and does not understand why the bosses gave out bonus for A/Y 2008 today and then at the end of May only they would give out the accrued bonus for A/Y 2007. I told her she does not need to understand anything but to receive the bonus with a grateful heart. Afterall, I am the one who has to prepare all the bonuses and I am certainly not confused at all. In fact I am extremely happy and thankful for the extra few thousand ringgit in my bank account right now. Yippee!

Thank you boss.

Rooster Crowed at Midnight

At midnight last night as I was doing my small business in the toilet, I heard a rooster crowed a couple of times. The rooster must have mistaken the time of the day or it could be blind.

The sound reminded me of disciple Peter’s thrice denial of Jesus as mentioned in all the Gospels.

I was asking myself if I was under the same circumstance as Peter was going through, would I have denied Jesus? Sometimes we do not how we are going to respond to something unless we are going through it ourself. We may judge Peter and say that we will never do what he did.

I was also asking myself if someone was to point a gun at me and ask whether I am a
Christian, would I have just blatantly answered no?

These are points to ponder upon.

Malaysia is a Muslim country but Christians here do not experience much persecution as compare to a lot of Christians in other countries. For this I am thankful to God for allowing me to be born here. Nevertheless I also pray that God would continue to give strength and courage to Christians worldwide who are experiencing persecution. May they continue to remain steadfast in their faith in spite of the persecution they are going through.

Today’s Happenings

Today at Canaanland Celebration we had a guest speaker from the Gideons International. His name is James Redas and he hails from Kuching, Sarawak (our neighbouring state). It was indeed refreshing to hear him shared so many testimonies of how the Word of God have touched lives through this ministry all throughout the world.

I also met Mr. Johnny Liew from The Design Centre. He is an Interior Designer and he introduced some of the projects to my company. About five years ago, I think it was my sis-in-law who told me who he is when we saw him having lunch at a restaurant we were also patronising but I did not go up to him to introduce myself. Today I introduced myself and he was happy to have finally met me since we have spoken through the phone for almost a decade and have never met. After coming back to Malaysia for so long, he still have British accent.

After church I did not join church friends for lunch because mum needed to do the grocery shopping since we have not done it for a month. I came home for lunch and had two pieces of bread with Yeo’s Vindaloo Chicken, which I had for breakfast as well. For those who cannot take spicy food, I do not recommend you to take the Vindaloo Chicken. The normal curry chicken is still a better choice.

Today there were lots of people at Servay Hypermarket, Likas. I saw Andrew Chan (who also attends Canaanland Celebration like I do) buying packets of coffee which he’s going to bring with him to his company in Indonesia. We also saw Carol Yap, one of the church members from Abundant Life Celebration. She said I have lost a lot of weight. Long time before I know Carol, I already knew her husband Nicholas Pang and her parents-in-law in Sandakan. Nicholas was my senior in school and her parents-in-law were among the ones who gave me rides to church.

Mum and I bought a trolley full and when we were queuing up to pay at the counter, I saw the lady in front of us paying via credit card. Half way through as the cashier was scanning the things we wanted to buy, I got the shock of my life when I saw the sign ‘Cash Only’ appeared in front of me. The credit card facility had suddenly gone offline.

Since I already used cash to give to mum her monthly allowance, to pay the tailor yesterday and gave my tithe this morning, I did not have more than RM200 with me. Mum’s RM50 saved our embarrassment. Otherwise we would have to ask the cashier to take back some of the things we wanted to buy. This was my first encounter and so I better be prepared next time to make sure I still have enough cash as backup for payment. Anyhow, the cashier did remind me there is an ATM outside the hypermarket to save my day or face.

Tonight mum, Chloe and I went out with my brother James’s family and his parents-in-law for dinner at Hong Kong Seafood Restaurant. Mum brought along some of the fishes she bought from Sandakan to the restaurant to ask the cook to steam for us. The restaurant charged RM15 for the service. I thought that was kinda expensive.

My brother ordered slices of beef stir fried with ginger and shallots, ‘ko lo’ chicken, wet buttered prawns and stir fried lettuce. All the dishes tasted nice this time. But the serving of the rice was so small. Most of them ordered extra serving of rice but I did not do that because I had to finish eating the steamed fishes. I think I ate almost half of the dish.

My brother treated us and the bill came to RM117.


Slices of beef stir fried with ginger and shallots


‘Ko lo’ chicken


Wet buttered prawns


Steamed fishes


The amount of 'leftovers' on my plate

Apology that the photos did not turn out good this time round. I must be too hungry since I only had four pieces of bread the whole day and as a result my hands must have shaken while taking them. Plus it was kinda hard to take when everyone was so hungry and just wanted to dive into the food.

Office Tracing Cabinet and Calcium Tablets for Life

The drawings done by the draftsmen/ladies at work are placed into a tracing cabinet upon completion of a project.


Tracing Cabinet


Tracing Cabinet with Tracing Papers Inside


Tracing Cabinet with Tracing Papers Inside

When the tracing cabinet is full, the weight can become extremely heavy.

Exactly two years ago when I was looking for a set of tracing papers urgently without anyone like my assistant or the office boy to help me, I forgot that the tracing cabinet was very heavy. I opened it quickly and suddenly I hurt my back.

I ignored the back pain and did not go to see the pysiotherapist. I only took painkillers to numb the pain and was trying to cut down from taking too many tablets to only a tablet a day.

A few days after hurting my back, my company went to Pulau Tiga (Survivor Island) for our company trip on 8-9 April 2008. Pulau Tiga is also called Survivor Island because the first series of the Survivor reality show took place on this island.

I almost recovered from the back pain but it got worst after the company trip. The sea was very choppy when we were on the way to the island and as a result, I could hardly move and did not enjoy the trip. During the trip, my boss was telling me that I did not do enough exercise and as a result, I was having back pain. I really wanted to tell him the truth but I refrained myself.

The recovery was slow and on 26 May 2006, I finally went to see the bone specialist Dr. S Paramaswaran at Sabah Medical Centre on recommendation from a colleague from my company sister’s company. I had to take half day leave because my appointment was at 11a.m. but the doctor did not arrive until 11.30a.m. and I was his first patient for the day.

I told the doctor was had happened to me and he was very patient in hearing me out. We asked each other lots of questions. He recommended me to take calcium tablets for the rest of my life because my bones have become brittle after taking steroid for my asthma.

Tailor Made Pants

I woke up at 6.15a.m. today. I dropped by Maybank before arriving work at 7.30a.m. Yesterday my insurance agent was chasing me for my annual premium. He had paid on my behalf first using his own cheque. I need to pay him back.

Boss is busy with his personal matters from today onwards until next Saturday but he did drop by the office to ask me to do something urgent. I was glad I managed to finish it before I knocked off at 1p.m.

I drove to the city and parked the car near Milimewa Supermarket eventhough I was going to go to Wisma Merdeka to have lunch and then to Segama Complex to buy materials for the tailor to sew my work pants. I do not like to park in Segama Complex because usually there is traffic congestion on Saturday afternoon with people fancying double parking.

I walked over to Wisma Merdeka and took the elevator up to 2nd Floor. The coffee shop is at the entrance of the 2nd Floor elevator in Phase 1. This shop is famous for ‘har mee’ (prawn noodles). I ordered a bowl of ‘har meehoon’ and was happy to eat the noodles again after a long time. The soup was very concentrated and with the sambal belacan (prawn paste) adding to the taste, I enjoyed the whole bowl thoroughly. It cost RM5.

I dropped by at Watson’s and Guardian Pharmacy but did not buy anything from both shops. Then I walked over to Wah Yoon Trading Sdn. Bhd. to buy the four pieces of materials for my pants. This time the owner served me so I was able to ask for some discounts.

I went to my usual tailor recommended by one of the workers from Wah Yoon Trading Sdn. Bhd. when I first bought the materials from the shop. Lovely Fashion Tailor is located on No. 6, 1st Floor, Block J, Segama Complex.

The tailor was surprised to see me because I have not asked her to sew any pants for more than one and half years. She had to measure my body once again because she said she cannot use the measurements from previous occasions since I have lost so much weight. She said even the pants I was wearing did not look good on me because it was too big for me. Haha I told her that she was the one who sewed it for me. She said my weight loss is simply too drastic.

The weather was very hot this afternoon so I decided not to go shopping eventhough I was already in the city. When I was walking back from Segama Complex to the carpark, I noticed that indeed there was a major traffic congestion in Segama Complex and was glad I did not park the car there.

When I arrived home, mum and James had already arrived back home from Sandakan. After travelling for about five and a half hours on the road, mum still had the energy to cook a storm for tonight’s dinner. I really admired her for the amount of energy she has. She cooked prawn omelette, stir fry lettuce with pork, steamed chicken with mushrooms, chinese pork sausages and fried beancurd; and steamed fish.

I however had a two and half hours sleep before dinnertime.

Searching for Something That Does Not Exist

I woke up at 6.10a.m. today and arrived work at 7.12a.m. I had two minor deadlines to meet so I wanted to be early to get them over and done with so that I can proceed to other matters.

Since yesterday the boss had been having problems with his mobile phone. Apparently he had dropped the thing into water and it is malfunctioned after that. So he told the office boy to take it to the shop where he bought the phone from for repair.

The boss gave me a mobile phone to use at work since two years ago. He also told me I could bring it home but since I have my own mobile phone, I preferred to leave the office mobile phone in the office when I go home. Other colleagues are also allowed to use this mobile phone to make work related mobile phone calls.

With the boss’s mobile phone malfunctioning, he has to use my office mobile phone. So it was a day of inconvenience for me to switch between SIM cards using my own mobile phone.

Today the office boy is on leave to attend to his own private matters. Everybody was busy doing their own work. After 5p.m. the boss received a phone call from the quantity surveyor for one of the projects we are working on as a team requesting for some tender drawings to be issued to them by Monday so that tenderers can go to their office to collect the drawings.

My boss, colleagues and I could not find the tracing paper for those drawings anywhere and we were searching for them high and low. The boss even called the office boy and asked him where he put them. But upon checking the record, I found out that the drawings are not even in tracing yet. We had wasted so much time in hunting for something that does not exist. Even those who were involved in the project could not remember that they have not printed the drawings on tracing paper yet. But at least the boss can cool down. He was so fussed with the office boy until he could eat anyone up at that time.

At the end, all my colleagues and I could do was to laugh at the whole episode to keep our sanity intact.

Have been working so hard these few days until I feel so tired and sleepy right now. Going to have a very early night tonight. I certainly need some deep sleep to recover and be refreshed once again.

Today’s Happenings

This morning as I was about to get up at 6a.m., there was a blackout. I prayed and told God that when I woke up, I hope the current would be back on so that I can have my hot shower. Since I am still coughing, I did not want to take a cold one. True enough, as I was about to wake up, the current came back on. Thank you Lord!

With so much of water down my system yesterday I thought I would not have no problem in passing motion but quite the opposite happened. I was so surprised. I felt so uneasy the whole day.

The salary was given out today since the boss was not free to sign the cheques yesterday. Normally I only see most of my colleagues who are based at the project sites on pay day. Today one of them told me I have lost weight. I should be happy and I am. I have been trying to eat a lot to gain back the weight but I am still 41.5kg. Tonight my sis-in-law’s mother also said I am too thin.

After the salary was given out, most of my colleagues in the office were not happy. Recently during a drafting department meeting, the boss had told them to help him to meet the drafting deadline and promised that bonus would be given out soon but he never said it would be at the end of March 2008. But most of them expected to receive it today. They started to write out a petition to demand for their much deserved and promised bonus. But no one dared to hand it in to the boss. So morale is a bit low in the office. They even planned to go on strike! Eventhough I know the bosses’s good intention in giving out only at the end of May 2008, I do not want to burst the bubbles by telling them the truth.

I had an extremely busy day and was glad to come home. I had to force myself to sit on the throne because I know that all of us need to pass motion at least once a day for the sake of our health. I was glad that I finally passed motion before I had my shower.

(I digress – the worst time for me for not passing motion was when I was visiting my aunty in Tg. Malim. From visiting them, I ended up working for uncle-in-law for two years. His house uses a squat instead of flush toilet. For the first three weeks of staying with them, I could not pass any motion. The thing would not come out at all. Can you imagine the amount of toxic in my body?! But thank God I did not feel uneasy though.

Thank God for cousin Christopher Chong for having to move to Kuala Lumpur for a few months to attend to his law training to sit for the bar after I went there. Upon entering his brother’s condominium, I went straight into the common flush toilet. The thing just came out naturally. What a big relief that was for me. I celebrated that night itself but forgot how I celebrated.

From then onwards, I did not have any problems in passing motion in the squat toilet in my uncle-in-law’s house anymore).

Yesterday’s Happenings

When I was going to put on a long sleeve shirt for work yesterday morning, I had a premonition telling me not to wear long sleeve. So I hung up the long sleeve shirt and put on a short sleeve blouse.

Yesterday I also started to cough quite seriously. This is probably because when I was leaving work to go home the day before, there was a slight drizzle and I was too lazy to open the umbrella eventhough I had one with me since the walking distance is so short.

At about 4p.m., there was a blackout. I was really glad I did not wear the long sleeve shirt and heed the warning given to me. I also drank quite a lot of water, nearly 2 litres.

We had probably been working too hard and so we needed a break. I quickly tied up some loose ends and left work at 4.30p.m. After shower, I surfed the internet for about half an hour before having an hour nap.

After dinner at my sis-in-law’s, I changed and drove to the petrol station to fill up petrol for the car. Then I dropped by Tong Hing’s Supermarket at Damai Plaza to buy two packets of US turkey ham for my daily sandwiches for breakfast.

Attended the Canaanland Celebration Committee Meeting at Kyrugma House from 8-10.10p.m. Sharon Lai brought some snacks and cakes there but I resisted since I am coughing. I only drank two cups of water.

Most Memorable April Fool’s Days

My most memorable April Fool’s Days happened when I was a Form One and Two student at Sung Siew Secondary School, Sandakan. Both Form One and Two classes were in the afternoon.

Mrs Sylvia Alsisto – Form One
We had a disciplinary teacher called Mrs. Sylvia Alsisto. She is a Filipino but she has been in Malaysia for a long time. When I was in Form One she taught my class English and History while in Form Two English only.

She actually taught us to sing the National Anthem ‘Negaraku’ (my country) during our History lesson and each of us was assessed on it if I remember correctly. In fact I think she assessed us on everything, from reading out loud a paragraph, to every exercise we were given to do, to answering a question, etc.

At the beginning of the year when she gave us a map of Malaysia to draw for our History lesson, most of us only passed up shoddy work because we did not want to waste our colour pencils. When she returned our work after marking them, this was what she told us ‘Warna cincai, markah pun cincai’ (shoddy colouring, shoddy mark!). From that time onwards, we made sure that our blue colour pencil remained the shortest because we needed to use it a lot to colour the sea on the map.

During April Fool’s Day that year, I forgot whose smart aleck’s idea was that to sing the National Anthem instead of our usual good afternoon (in Malay) greeting. Anyway, when she entered the class, we started singing but there was no emotional response from her. She was so cool and the whole thing backfired on us. We automatically reverted back to our good afternoon greeting without any prompting. She did not say anything about the whole episode during that class at all.

Seniors told us that she liked to set her own subjective questions for exams. All we had to do was to memorise the whole book inside out. Yeah, that was some kind of revelation! Anyway, I did not know why I did not follow that great tip. I studied and memorised answers from past years Government exam papers and there were all objective questions.

I was so elated when the History exam paper was passed to me. I spotted nearly every question. I felt like I was winning the lottery. After she had marked our exam papers, when she was passing back the result to us, she looked so angry when she passed it back to me because I obtained 94%. I think nobody had ever obtained such a high mark in her class before. She must be cussing herself for being lazy once for not setting her own questions.

Trainee teacher - Form One
We had a trainee teacher from the Teacher’s College teaching us in Form One during that April Fool’s Day. She was a short Malay lady and a couple of boys decided to put the duster on top of the blackboard. When she finished writing on the whole blackboard, she could not proceed with the class and she did not ask any of us to assist her. Poor lady! She let us did whatever we wanted for the remaining of the class.

Science Teacher – Form One
He is descended from royalty since his name has a Tengku in it. Whenever we cannot answer his question, he would tell us to stand up on our chair and then our table. On April Fool’s Day another smart aleck told us to stand on our chair to greet him when he entered class. He had a smirk on his face upon realising our prank. One of those occasions that we can actually see his teeth!

Form Teacher – Form One
I forgot what her name was and I also forgot what prank we played on her.


Spinxie's Form One Class

Form Teacher – Form Two
A day before April Fool’s Day we decided to nominate a person for our prank. The person had to go to Encik Zamri’s staff quarters to find him and tell him that the Principal wanted to see him pronto! The person had to make sure he went there early and the best time would be when he was having a shower before our afternoon class session started. What evil minds we had!

On the day itself, this was carried out and Encik Zamri forgot it was April Fool’s Day. We had never seen him ran so fast before. Haha! And the thing was that he was not angry with us when he came to teach us Mathematics that day. He just laughed. That's why our class liked him so much.


Spinxie's Form Two Class

Both of these classes were top class in the respective form out of six classes in each form. And yet we can be so naughty!