Posted by eirene83 at 11:47 PM on September 1, 2007.
Hrmmm, new layout for Tabulas...
I dunno, I guess it's a lot neater and cleaner now... But I rather miss the old archives where all the entries were just laid out from month beginning to month end instead of having to click each title individually now...
Plus, I also can't cheap anymore by tampering with the dates 
And now there's no need for that squiggly thing (~) when typing in the address and I can do this >.< finally!!
Posted by eirene83 at 12:42 AM on September 2, 2007.
It's sooo cute!!! I love turtles, I so so want this!!!
Except I can only get it from Amazon and Malaysia isn't one of the countries they apparently deliver to, dammit!
*pouts*
Posted by eirene83 at 11:31 PM on September 2, 2007.
I was reading the papers today when I came across this column about invasion of personal space. Everybody has their own limits when the question comes to when is being close, too close.
It varies really, depending on the situation as well as location. While we won't glare at someone for breathing down your neck and hovering over your shoulder in a crowded train, that changes entirely when the same person is sticking close to you in a deserted carriage.
But I absolutely detest the most is when I'm shopping and the people in the shop insist on taking 2 steps for every 3 steps I take. Being helpful is one thing; getting on my nerves in another things entirely. They hover so close that every breathe I take is scented with whatever expensive perfume they're using (If I'm lucky... or extremely strong BO if I'm not...).
I'm not sure if this only happens in Malaysia, but during my recent trip to Hong Kong, it was a great shopping experience not only due to the bargains but the fact that all the people there went around telling the shoppers that we could browse freely and that if we needed assistance, another size, colour or design, we were free to ask. And without hovering!
So much better than here where I feel like I'm being suspected as a thief because I'm being trailed around the shop and peered at suspiciously as though I couldn't afford to pay! Talk about being too close for comfort!
Posted by eirene83 at 11:47 PM on September 3, 2007.
... and get paid chicken feed...
RM500 for the first few months and if I'm lucky, an increase to RM750 depending on my performance...
Come in early, stay late, and get crap pay.
As compared to the PA who comes in early, goes early and gets 3 times my pay.
Dammit... I'll have to work like a dog, get yelled at for not knowing stuff they never taught me in school anyway, and on top of it all, be grateful that they're even paying me as opposed to me paying them for the privilege of working there.
DAMN!
Posted by eirene83 at 12:04 AM on September 4, 2007.
Okay, whoever you are... I'm assuming you're reading this and that you're doing this on your own; i.e. as an individual... Can you please tell me who you are because it's getting rather creepy receiving parcels when I know I haven't bought anything lately...?
And well, I'm assuming you read my blog because every one of those parcels are books that I've put on my reading list and that's the only way you could have found out.
What I want to know is, who are you; why are you doing this; and is there any reason why you refuse to identify yourself after all this time?
Posted by eirene83 at 12:14 AM on September 6, 2007.
T_T
It's bad enough that I'm getting lousy pay... As long as I learn something, it's not so bad...
But what really gets to me the most is the boss coming in at 5 and telling me to do some research and put it on his table in an hour's time.
I don't mind working hard... Just don't leave it till the last minute and tell me to do it when I'm looking forward to going home... Especially with the fact you were in the office since 1 and knew I didn't have anything urgent to do.
Posted by eirene83 at 12:15 AM on September 6, 2007.
Gosh!
Looks like the Malaysian timing even extends to places like the highest court in the whole of Malaysia!
Or could it be because the Federal Court is in such a forsaken place like Putrajaya and judges aren't too good at estimating travel time? Though I would have thought that judges had drivers of their own to make sure they wouldn't be late?
Still, the Federal Court is a pretty fancy place... Change the furnishing a little and you could just mistake it for a really expensive luxury hotel!
Posted by eirene83 at 10:43 AM on September 7, 2007.
Lesson #2
Sometimes, it doesn't matter how much money you have; if you just don't have the health, it's not going to be enough to see you through things.
Posted by eirene83 at 11:35 PM on September 8, 2007.
How many pair of shoes can a girl have before she's considered to have too many pairs?
Because I just saw this utterly dreamy pair of low-cut ankle boots in Vincci that I really, really, really like... For a whopping RM89.90 (and a helpful 20% discount thanks to a coupon from a magazine, which makes that RM63-ish...)
Except I really do have a lot of shoes... The latest acquisition being a striking electric blue, peep-toe pumps and a pair of low-cut sneakers, Converse-style...
So... boots or no boots? I'll ask my bank account and see.
Posted by eirene83 at 12:15 AM on September 9, 2007 in Thoughts.
I was reading this article in the Sunday Star about the effect of blogging on our lives nowadays. Sometimes we treat blogging so much like writing in our diary that we forget that we are actually catering to perhaps a much larger audience than we realised...
What's the worse that could happen right? Sometimes, nothing more than getting to know a few more people... But sometimes, it could be our boss finding out and we end up without a job. Still, that doesn't stop most of us from treating our blogs as our private confessional: We say anything we like and it has the feel of being anonymous.
It is good therapy though, I think. For me, I spill out everything that I can't say in person and it feels better to have finally let it out somewhere, even if no one's going to read it. Of course, there's occasional added benefit that someone might read it and realise what's going on and help.
Confession and divine intervention! What more would you ask for? To be able to talk at will, taking as long as you like... and then someone reading it and actually putting things into action. Now, that's therapy.
Posted by eirene83 at 01:00 AM on September 9, 2007 in Music - Songs & Lyrics, Personal.
Posted by eirene83 at 10:40 PM on September 10, 2007.
You know that feeling where you're just so utterly lost for words at some of the things people can do? That happened to me today... I was early for work so I thought I would sit down and have a leisurely breakfast in the hotel cafe.
I could have gone for buffet but I reckoned that I wouldn't be eating much anyway, so went for ala carte. Nasi lemak; how bad could that be? I figured that since it would have been pre-cooked already, there wouldn't be much of a waiting time. Right?
Wrong. I waited nearly 15 minutes for it to arrive... Rather long, in my opinion since there wasn't a breakfast rush (everyone else was having buffet) and it's supposed to be something ready. I was almost about to just help myself to the buffet nasi lemak and call it quits. After all, it's right in front of me and frankly, much much faster. And after those 15 minutes, guess what happen?
A kitchen staff came out, carrying 3 bowls, and filled it with rice (nasi lemak rice, to be specific), curry chicken and sambal along with nuts and ikan bilis and then went back into the kitchen.
...
5 minutes later, my nasi lemak came out.
...
I should have just helped myself to the buffet. Would have saved a lot more time! Bleks!
Posted by eirene83 at 09:45 AM on September 11, 2007 in Thoughts.
You know when you do something nice for someone; like hold the door open for them, or give up your seat for a pregnant/old person, or give way to someone on the road even when it's your right of way? Ever wonder if it brightens the rest of their day? Or maybe, they feel touched just for that moment and happy because something unexpectedly nice happened to them... and then they go on with the rest of their day buffeted by problems, stress, bosses and everything else?
I mean, doing a "good" deed nowadays is rather rare in this dog-eat-dog, rat race of a world. We stop expecting cars to give us to us when we cross the road; expect to stand the whole of the journey in public transports because no one will give up a seat no matter how old, how pregnant, how laden with things you are... Things like that.
So when someone actually does something unexpectedly nice, do we feel touched for that moment and smile because for that moment, things feel just that little bit lighter... But after that, our moods just go right back to normal and we go on stressing and worrying and basically just darkening the whole day back. Or does it make your day better and go about with happier moods? Because somewhere along the day, someone did something nice.
What do you think?
Posted by eirene83 at 05:12 PM on September 12, 2007.
It's so rare to be able to go back home and sit down with my family for dinner. More often than not, I've ended up doing OT (for pretty not-so-urgent stuff, so god knows why I'm even OT-ing)... Even when I say I'm leaving early, it's actually more like 30 to 45 minutes after the actual finishing time!
So yeah... It's so nice to not have to work late, go back home when it's still bright(!) and have a nice dinner... Not to mention being able to wash my clothes and everything while it's still bright!
Joy for being back home!!
Posted by eirene83 at 09:11 AM on September 13, 2007.
Lesson #3
Sometimes things just come at you all at once and you instantly feel overwhelmed and panicky, trying to cope with it all. Usually, we end up not doing things well at all.
Maybe all we need to do is to sit back, take a deep breathe and reassess the situation. More often than not, we're actually able to take control of the situation if we just calm down and take things one at a time.
Posted by eirene83 at 09:23 AM on September 14, 2007.
2 years college education : RM 12,0003 years tertiary education : RM150,000
(including 2 years in UK)
2 years' attempt at CLP : RM 5,000
Total : RM167,000
Being asked by your boss to tidy up formatting for his PhD: ...
Priceless!
Posted by eirene83 at 01:22 PM on September 15, 2007.
It's a funny thing. I know so many people who don't take coffee because it gives them a headache or something along those lines... And they really just stay away from coffee...
But my colleague... She makes a big cup of coffee in the morning but ends up throwing about a third away. She can't finish it because too much will make her dizzy. Yet she'll still go on with making a fresh cup each day!
Me, I try to avoid most coffee since it'll end up giving me a vicious buzz and headache... but if it's like the coffee you get in kopitiams, then I'm more than game! Buzz or no buzz.
Posted by eirene83 at 12:49 AM on September 16, 2007 in Food, snacks & restaurants, Foodie stuff.
I had the pleasure of encountering the most luscious, most expensive, delicious, grape-iest bunch of grapes today. The skin was so purple, it was almost black and it looked as though it was mildly frosted.
The taste... Mmmm, divine! Sweet and at first, it seemed like it had fermented but if you let it linger on your tongue, it tastes positively grape-y!
Korean Kyoho grapes, which according to Wikipedia, is a hybrid grape and is a slip-skin variety which explains why it was so easy to separate the skin from the fruit. The flesh itself was pure juice and sugar but the skin was rather a contrast in study since it was rather bitter.
Expensive it may have been (RM18/500g), but totally worth it! Found at your local Jusco stores (I think ), it's best served chilled!
Posted by eirene83 at 11:16 AM on September 17, 2007.
Trying to avoid all those rush-hour heavy traffic, the irony is:
If you leave early to avoid the jam, you end up being extremely early.
If you try to leave on time, you end up late.
And needless to say, if you leave late, you wind up being extremely extremely late.
Unfortunately, there isn't such a thing called being on time when it comes to traffic.
Such is life...
The irony of it.
Posted by eirene83 at 12:43 AM on September 18, 2007.
I look terrible. My eyebags are so obvious and the shadows are so bad, I can't even hide it with makeup (If I wore makeup to begin with, anyway )
I'm starting to wonder how some females look so sparkly and fresh, day in day out. I know there's makeup there... but still, they look so alert!
Or maybe, they sleep at a normal time compared to me.
Oh well... I blame it on the fact there's a lot to do at home and I didn't get most of it done before I started work.
Currently feeling: thoughtful
Posted by eirene83 at 10:06 AM on September 19, 2007.
Those bloody fools...
I don't know if they do it intentionally or if they're really just that inefficiently efficient. (Yes, paradox but true nonetheless.) The results are out and nobody's been expecting it for another week and now everybody's been caught by surprise.
Nevertheless, I don't have anything to complain about. I've got part of what I wanted and what I didn't get... Well I'm working for it now.
So overall, it's all good... Though I still think they're bloody idiots.
Posted by eirene83 at 09:28 AM on September 20, 2007 in Music - Songs & Lyrics.
Is it obvious to you
When you walk into a room
Your face is all I see
And my heart races so fast
I never knew a rush to feel like that
Every time you're touching me
I never did believe in anything
I couldn't hold between my fingers
But the way you make me feel
It's just so real the way it lingers
I get lost inside your stare
Lost when you're not there
When everything I have doesn't mean a thing
If it's without you
If it's a dream, don't wake me up
I'll scream if this isn't love
If bein' lost means never knowin'
How it feels without you
I wanna stay lost (forever)
(I wanna stay lost forever with you)
No, this feeling doesn't end
It's with me everywhere I am
Hope it never goes away
It's like defying gravity
Losin' all control and bein' free
And I always wanna stay
I never thought that I'd let go
Long enough to fall for someone deeply
Who had the power to erase my fears
And find me so completely
Don't tell me where we're goin'
I don't wanna know
I like the mystery (I like the mystery)
I can't believe we've come this far
So far away from where we started off
You found me when I wasn't lookin'
Posted by eirene83 at 11:12 AM on September 21, 2007.
I used to balk at any suggestions by people that I should try to let my hair dry naturally. The horror of it! I've been blow-drying my hair since probably some time back in high school and the very idea of going about with wet hair was horrifying.
For one, I can't stand having wet strands of hair stuck on my neck. And for another, my hair becomes incredibly poofy when it hasn't been tamed by hot air and a brush.
But when the other day I had to go without blow-drying because I was in a rush... I was genuinely surprised to notice that it wasn't quite all that bushy and it (obviously) looked less dry.
So now I'm temporarily giving up my hair-dryer except for blasting it with cold air to hasten the process... and it's actually not too bad. But let's see how long this phase will last.
Posted by eirene83 at 10:57 PM on September 22, 2007.
I joined Facebook a while back but didn't actually activate the whole thing till a couple of days back. I just wasn't really bothered with all these social networks. Heck, I barely touch Friendster nowadays...
But quite a number of people had already added me on Facebook so I reckoned it was time to go in and see what was going on...
And now, I'm addicted to Facebook. Sending drinks, pokes, chocolates and Pirates! Thank goodness there isn't much to do in the office nowadays since I'm too busy updating my pirates level!
Anyway, time to go! Pirates is calling
Posted by eirene83 at 01:00 AM on September 23, 2007.
This makes so much sense!
In a roundabout kinda way.
Posted by eirene83 at 11:32 AM on September 24, 2007.
I just figured out something I can do at the office while doing other things:
Download that list of manga I've bookmarked for so long but never managed to complete downloading because I'm so rarely online!
Thank goodness I'm hooked up with the LAN cable... and that no one can see my computer screen! I've finally completed the major ones that I want to read and now going onto one shots and anything else that seems good or that I forgot I wanted to read.
Posted by eirene83 at 02:53 PM on September 25, 2007.
I like looking at the bubbles going up in the water dispenser and popping when they reach the surface of the water every time I refill my bottle.
It's so cute.
Hehehehe, just a random thing.
Posted by eirene83 at 05:10 PM on September 26, 2007.
The mice will play...
Or rather in my situation, the employees will disregard the dress code and come in jeans and t-shirts and order in breakfast/lunch.
Anyhow, it was spring-cleaning today in my office and now everything looks a whole lot cleaner and a heck lot less dusty! Plus I've been relocated so I'm no longer in some extremity of the office where people tend to forget that I'm around.
But anyway, time to get back to work. I've got a lot of files and I want to try and finish them by Friday!
Posted by eirene83 at 12:52 PM on September 27, 2007.
I'm going vegetarian for 2 weeks and dammit, it's so hard to find food around my office! Unlike my previous office, there's really not much vegetarian variety here... At least, none within walking distance anyway. At my previous office, there was both a Chinese and Indian vegetarian restaurant just around the block and the food was good! And tasty!
Anyway, now I'm just looking at restaurant reviews and pizza menus... which led me to thinking, why do so many people prefer Pizza Hut? It used to be good but now it's rather tasteless and the crust is rather akin to eating cardboard. Not to mention that it's expensive!
For the same price we paid yesterday for Pizza Hut, we could have gotten a heck lot better deal at Domino's! Not that I'm promoting Domino's (though I do admit to liking their pizzas a lot more... And Shakey's as well) but still, it tastes better and it's cheaper... Plus it actually arrives hot.
Oh well...
Posted by eirene83 at 12:56 PM on September 27, 2007.
What a field day...
Everyone's been strolling around the office in pretty much home clothes and I don't think much work has been done today...
On the other hand, we did get pretty much most of the office springcleaned and whitewashed!
At least my office doesn't look so grimy anymore! Hehehe, and since apparently we can decorate it a little as we like, I'm going to look for a nice painting because a picture of horses in a canyon just doesn't quite cut it for me.
Posted by eirene83 at 03:51 PM on September 27, 2007.
Once you have something you want, other things become redundant in comparison.
Life is simply not long enough for them.
Posted by eirene83 at 03:52 PM on September 27, 2007.
What a great weekend...
I've gorged myself silly with fantastic food; spent heaps of time with my family; actually managed to get my room clean and threw out so much junk and to top it all off... I spent a blissful 60 minutes being massaged...
Ahh, don't you just love pay-day?!