Models and Mortals...

So Near yet So Far

2018-03-06T05:46:00.003+08:00

Have you ever felt this? Being so near to your soul and yet you can't touch it the way that you hope you could? You ended up settling and being content with being able to be next to your heart. You try to savour the moment for as long as you can and be as close as you could to your heart.

Nowadays, being able to do so, I will feel so grateful and blessed. Compared to where I was 2.5 years ago, at least I am, well, not really "alone". My heart & soul are within my reach and I appreciate whatever time spent together although very professional than personal... Sometimes, when I miss the soft caress, intimate touches, I will reminisce alone the past where jokes were taken lightly and teases were challenged wittily... The flirts and glances from across the office to the laughs shared with each other as we eat and fag, before enjoying a goodnight rest... Yea, these days, I am grateful for the little things that I get.

Thank you, God, for waking me up to experience another day to be able to see and care for my heart and soul. You are the Most Merciful & I believe that this crossroad is my final hurdle to my next phase of life, wherever that may be. Like a wise old man said, have faith and this too, will eventually pass...

In the meantime, I will sail through these ups and downs with class and strength... Wish me all the best, my model & mortal readers...

Love all of you! Muah!

Mood: #ALLisWELL, #HaveFaith

Holding On vs Moving On

2018-03-06T04:03:00.001+08:00

Have you ever experienced to get yourself unstuck in a situation, you have to make that difficult decision of moving on with your life or holding on to the current state that you are in? Your friends and family may just push you to move on but your heart is telling you to hold on... Don't get angry with them, don't show your frustration to them... Just listen and let them know that you value them, you appreciate their love but please allow you to make that decision together and not influenced by any external factors... Afterall, you will live your own life and not them, kan?

My previous posts, one could see that I had so much of positivity in me. I have just overcame the darkest moment of my life... Yes, the trauma of losing Suhana has been the longest and darkest time of my life. So much so that, I pushed all the people who I love and loved me away to self-destruct myself, to ignore the grief and sadness in me and just 'torture' myself by shaming myself in closed doors yet out in the open, you will see the haggard yet smiley me... Alone, I self-blame, self-torture, self-loathe... Yea, up to the point of suicidal back in 2014... Yea, with the smiles on my face, pleasing those who don't matter, ignoring those who matter, up to the point that I thought no one will miss me if I just "go"... I am truly blessed that at that lowest point of my life, I remember there is God and that, suicide is not the answer to get over the tragedy. Got help from professional to get over my baby girl's loss and the healed me just want to move forward, catch up on the life missed... All I wanted is to live a happier life, no more self-pity, no more sadness and look forward to improve my current situation...

I know that things may not be easy and will definitely not be the same, yet I decided to hold on... Not knowing what I'm getting myself into, I decided in Sept 2015, after the Heidelberg trip that I will hold on to my precious life here & fight for what we still strongly feel for each other... Love is all I thought we need as that's the one thing that we could both agree on then... I was positive that love would conquer everything and I guess this is when the song, "Sometimes love just ain't enough" maybe makes sense?

Fast forward 2.5 years today, I'm still waiting and holding on. I still don't know what I've gotten myself into but the reality is definitely not what I thought it was back then and I guess, until all the cards are out on the table, I will still be in the 'dark' on what I agreed to let myself to be in... Maybe I will never know... I guess only God knows the answer to that...

I do believe in soulmates and that, each of us has one that is considered as our twin soul / twin flame... That person will never be able to love someone else as much as the love for you... This person will always be around in your life, that person will be able to see what's beneath your soul and understand you completely... That person who says, no matter what you do, I will never give up on you... You can live your life without that person but there will always be that emptiness in you that you can't seem to share or giveaway to another person. Some may be content to live life with this part being empty or some may feel that it is filled by kids or others instead of by their partner...

As for me, I believe that unless the phrase "given up" has been uttered, it is worthwhile to hold on rather than to move on...

There you go, amidst not knowing what is happening on the other side, I am holding on. I surrender to the destiny of this life... Sometimes, it may caused me tremendous pain or hurt but my faith is saying this too will pass...

Goodnight dear models and mortals... Please pray that I will not lose strength and always have my faith in this journey...

Love all of you! Muah!

Mood: #ALLisWELL #HaveFaith

Dream vs Reality

2016-03-02T01:36:00.000+08:00

Does dream really mean something to us?

I don't normally remember my dreams but at times, when I did, they have assisted in helping me to resolve a complicated assignment in Uni, helped to find a misplaced hard drive etc...

Most recent case was when I discovered something in FB... some sort of realization of the year 2011... It triggered deep sadness in me that I woke up crying... After I actually checked, the dream is actually true...

Today, some incidents triggered that sadness but I'm glad that I could somehow 'ground' it. The problem of just grounding and not channeling an emotion is that it will come back to remind you that it is still not being dealt with...

What I've learnt from Karla McLaren's book... The Language of Emotions...

Channeling sadness means one needs to answer these internal questions:

"What must be released"

"What must be rejuvenated"

Basically to release that which no longer serves you; this will restore flow, tears which will be the healing water to your body and your soul. When you can truly let go, rejuvenation and relaxation will surely follow...

Well, this sadness means a big step for me... A big change for me... A big release indeed... Since it will involve others and I will need to wait for the right time, I have to continuously ground this sadness until it is time to channel it... I am grateful to The Creator for giving me the inner strength to temporarily ground it & to reading materials on the coping method...

Wow... having a journal to actually write what I can't say out loud does make one feel better.

Now, time to list my blessings for 1st March 2016:

Grateful that it is pay day to settle rent, send money back home, pay bills etc...

Blessed that I didn't have to drive myself to work...

Glad that I went to a new mall & experienced a new billing system of its food court, The Canteen...

Thankful that I have nice free dinner + got a compliment that I have lost weight (although still consider myself as mortal, not a model) from a vendor whom I haven't met for some time...

Mood: Sad -> Blessed

Peaceful sleep, dear models & mortals...

Am going to entertain & laugh before bed by watching 'Blackish'...

#Positive2016 - the beginning

2016-03-01T01:31:00.000+08:00

#Positive2016
That's my mantra for this year...

I am ready to focus on ME... To make an effort to have a balanced life in all the 4 quadrants of well-being... Physical, Mental, Emotional and Spiritual...

I've learnt that one of the steps is to have a journal where I can store anything & I think that the best way is to have it stored somewhere in the cloud... I am an IT person, afterall :-)

Due to respect for myself & others, I have turned my blog to private... To those who have been approved as readers to this blog, I appreciate your discretion on my openness in this journal... Thanks for your understanding...

Tonight, I am grateful for I have finally 'woken up' and aware on the concept of inner peace... Better late than never...

Models or mortals... I wish all of you a peaceful day/night... wherever you all are...

Cheers to 2016!!!

p/s: Here are my Oscar remarks...

Congrats to Leo DiCaprio for finally winning an Oscar after being nominated 6 times & after entertaining us all these years!!!

Lady Gaga's performance was so touching, I still tear when I re-watch the performance... Blessed are those survivors & let's pray for those who are still abused & oppressed... Let's all make this World a better place...

Mood: Motivated

After The Rain - Najwa Mahiaddin featuring Juny

2015-08-10T08:24:00.004+08:00

It's been a long time since my last entry... I actually have typed an entry in my draft folder as my opening entry or shall I say, relaunch of my blog - oh well, nevermind, that post is special and reserve to be posted only when it is ready :-)

In the meantime, I can't help myself but to post this beautiful inspiring song by Najwa Mahiaddin (daughter of Malaysia's recently-axed DPM, Muhyiddin Yassin). In the time of our currency turmoil & political distress, it is nice to have something inspiring to listen to - to remind us that there is a 'light at the end of the tunnel'. While the 'wolves' take what they shouldn't from the people, let's spread strength, courage & hope to one another. Let's pray that our nation can stick together and get through this...

You can watch the official video at this URL: https://youtu.be/P02EY59GtzM

Its lyrics is so uplifting and I am hopeful - let's hope that Malaysia will be able to recover from this! Hold your head up, Malaysia!

After The Rain

(Najwa Mahiaddin featuring Juny)

Opening by Juny:

We may all fall down

But we all get up

Hold your head up, Malaysia

After the rain comes the sun

Najwa:

We may all fall down

But we all get up

Hold your head up, Malaysia

After the rain comes the sun

When life gets cold and skies aren't blue

You're not alone

I'm here for you

My brothers and sisters

We'll see you through

We may all fall down

But we all get up

Hold your head up, Malaysia

After the rain comes the sun

These are the times we must get through

Courage and wisdom must live in you

The way of our future lies in you

Together:

From the rising of the sun

Together we are one

We are stronger

Stronger forever

From the rising of the sun

Together we are one

We are stronger

Stronger forever

We may all fall down

But we all get up

Hold your head up, Malaysia

After the rain comes the sun

Ooo...

We may all fall down

But we all get up

Hold your head up, Malaysia

After the rain comes the sun

So keep your head up, Malaysia

Over-sensitive and Kepoh

2013-08-17T23:53:00.004+08:00

2013 - 1st entry

My intention was not to write anything in my blog until... Oh well, that can wait.

So, be mindful that I am going to rant here - too much of negativity out there and it does have effect on others who are social-media active like me!

I am not sure on how to address the subject above subtly.

Sensitivity or more like over-sensitivity seems to be more apparent nowadays - up to the point of being so annoying. An example, our local celebrities' followers in social media channels like twitter, Facebook and/or instagram. First of all, these followers opt to follow the celebs and when the celebs post their pictures, these followers have the 'balls' to actually comment on the way they dress, or even having their manicure done - all because the celebs are muslims! I don't understand how people can be so overly-sensitive towards what others do - some put up sarcastic remarks and are being so judgemental. HELLO??? In the first place, you decided to follow the celebs and when you do not condone to their behaviours, does it give you the right to criticize them sarcastically? If you don't have anything nice to say, then just shut up and unfollow the artist - simple, right? Why do some people think that they could judge others that way? Why are we becoming so sensitive on what others do? As far as the celebs are concerned, they do not know you and you don't know them, so why judge then? Are we so perfect that we can have the right to judge others? Since when we are so 'KEPOH'?

Another example, during Christmas time, we see so many service-industry companies promoting their staffs to wear the santa hats - from hotels to shops. I was surprised that there are a few people who refuse to wear the santa hats, just because they are muslims. I don't understand their logic - it does not mean that when you wear a santa hat, you denounce your religion. Again, over-sensitive at the wrong place **sigh** I guess one's behaviour has nothing to do with which generation someone belongs to, probably it boils down to upbringing as well as one's exposure to his/her surroundings ie: family, friends, peers. Hmmmm, something to think about...

I hope that people can just mind their own business and this world will be a better place to live in.

Gonna continue with my night work now - till my next posting (which I am not sure when will I be in the mood to write again), peace to the models & mortals out there!

The Pricks in Politics

2012-10-12T23:49:00.001+08:00

When I was younger, I used to think that it is better to keep my political views to myself - just to avoid any trouble because my frank opinions may just be misunderstood. Now, too many of my relatives are involved in politics - be it pro or anti-opposition. When I say too many, I really do mean TOO MANY. When we all get together, we do exchange our opinions on the outlook of our political scene, especially in Sabah. The resignation of our granduncle, Datuk Seri Wilfred Bumburing, did not shock any of us actually. In fact, we were comtemplating among ourselves on which party that he would join when he resigns. Well, he retired from UPKO (a component party of BN) and join PR. I guess he has his own reasons - will try to ask him on what's his motivation to do the move. Hahaha!

Anyway, unlike Tun M, I am always with the view of "It is always better to be with the devil that you know than the devil that you don't" - in politics, there is no such thing as being an angel la. When a person is too nice, he will not be able to be a politician. This is my personal view - politics always has that 'dirty' element in it. I mean, come on, when the others are playing dirty, those 'new naive' politicians will have no choice but either to join them or be 'killed' in the process. Whatever it is, we, the mere mortals, will just try to sway ourselves from getting ourselves entangled in any political issues.

Recently something caught my attention, which triggered myself to be a bit more vocal in my political opinion. Like I've said before, I am not a pro-government nor am I a pro-opposition. I believe that in any country, it is always for the best when there is a good mixture of government and opposition representatives in the parliament. It creates balance.

Anyway, back to the original topic. This is about the recent Budget Report 2013, where the PM, announced that, "The Government will allocate RM386 million to ensure the prices of essential goods in Sabah and Sarawak as well as in Labuan are sold at lower prices through the opening of 57 KR1M (Kedai Rakyat 1 Malaysia); and to bear the cost of delivering products from Peninsular Malaysia to Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan including the interior areas."

I don't want to say whether it was a good idea for the PM to just make a general statement like that in his plan but I am sure that he is aware that every single point that he tabulates during his budget plan presentation, will be criticised to the max by the opposition parties - what more, GE13 is so nearby.

What I don't like is the statement from the opposition parties! I mean, if you want to make criticisms, please be more prepared with facts rather than shooting 'blanks' la.

Check out this media statement by Tony Pua Kiam Wee, DAP National Publicity Secretary & MP for Petaling Jaya Utara on Tuesday, 2nd October 2012.

Pua's big header of "Why is the Federal Government helping Mydin make astronomical profit to set up 57 KR1M in Sabah and Sarawak with RM386 million?" really amazes me on how shallow a politician's mind could be - if Pua wants to trick the public to turn against the Government by making such a remark, he has made a mistake - we are not stupid fool la. There are so many other things that he could pinpoint on the mistakes that the Government has made. Oh well, the remark is not accurate at all! First and foremost, who is helping who here? I don't think a big corporate company like Mydin will need any help to gain profit from the Government la. In fact, in the case of KR1M, Mydin is helping the Government to manage these shops as part of the company's CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) - check out this video by Mydin's Managing Director. Other big retailers will not even want to be part of it because they have to invest their resources (which could be used to gain profit for their own company) to assist in setting up KR1M stores.

One more thing, where did Pua get the data that Mydin is making astronomical profit out of this KR1M deal? Even a layman will know that you get better profit if you sell things more expensive. The items in KR1M are cheap because the profit out of the items is low! I think Mydin would be better off sticking with their own business. Its MD explained this in an article that just came out today that it is NOT a fast way to get rich!

Pua also said, "We call upon the Government to make available the RM386 million to all small retail outlets already in existence throughout Sabah and Sarawak to ensure that the maximum number of retailers and consumers will benefit from the programme to sell basic necessities at lower prices." Seriously, I want to ask him, if he has millions to invest, will he want to risk the money on someone who has little experience in retail supply chain, or someone who has only a single shop, or a company who has a proven track record of opening various formats of stores across the country? Simple risk calculation, right? I think that even if the Government offers KR1M to any other businessman, not many will take it up. In fact, according to the Malaysian Digest article, after realizing how the model of opening KR1M is not a fast way to gain richness, a lot of those who were keen before, decided not to pursue it.

One more thing to add, having multiple retail outlets across the country to get into KR1M project will be a total management nightmare - consistencies in processes and even item assortments will be gone and tracking the returns of the money invested will not be easy! At the end of the day, isn't it commonsense that in order to minimise the risk of project failure (in this case, involving millions of ringgit), you would want the project to be handled by ONE party (this is simple project management la!). The more party is involved in a project, the more complex the project management would be! I mean, HELLOOOOO, how does he think that he could run a country without even deducing such a simple common-sense?

Another politician who made a statement about this issue is the Kota Kinabalu MP, Dr Hiew King Cheu. I realized that a lot of these so-called educated politicians just like to make general statements without getting their facts right - Dr Hiew said, "...KR1M shop is a direct competitor to take away the business and income of the local small business and sundry shop or kedai runcit. This KR1M has the government finance and capital support, and it is selling goods at very price would definitely "slaughter" the existing small businesses. How can the Kedai Runcit survive? This will even affect the business of the supermarkets too." Doesn't he know that the kedai runcit can purchase these items from KR1M (at lesser prices) and re-sell the items in their shops. In this case, the kedai runcits will gain more customers too! From the selling prices, I am sure that KR1M has always been targetted to assist the needy who are living in towns/cities. The target audience is specific and the range of products is limited to essential items. Therefore, I don't think that the sundry shops/kedai runcits will be 'slaughtered' by KR1M.

Having said all the above, there is one thing that I do agree with Pua. It is the transparency of the allocated budget! The Government has always been 'weak' in this. They should be more open in terms of how the money is disbursed and show that there is no hanky-panky going on in the background. Well, that's what we, as the public, hope la... The Government needs to win back our trust so what's the harm of being transparent to your potential voters, unless of course, you have something to hide la...

In conclusion, the PRICKS are those politicians who choose to just say whatever they want without doing proper research, playing TRICKS to the public, thinking that we could be fooled. In this era where technology is available to everyone, news travel and rumours get spread so much faster than before, it is hard to fool the people la!

In the end, the people will decide! Personally, most of the people in politics are always with 2 faces - it is up to us to see which party is good for us and the country.

I will leave all of you with the above pic that I find to be, in a way, true to certain extend.

Until my next post, let's pray that our country will be more peaceful and we can live in harmony regardless of our race, personal faith and sexual preference!

Note: My Vote

2012-06-18T11:59:00.000+08:00

"Political reality is very different from what it looks like outside. Always harder to be working than to observe & criticize" - tweet from Hannah Yeoh

When I read the tweet above, it does make sense. Yes! It is always easier to talk and criticize than to be in that person's shoes. Now that we are about to have our next general election (God knows when now), a lot of efforts can be seen from every sides; ruling and opposition parties are trying to out-do each other. Strategies are planned and people are 'pulled' from everywhere.

I know a lot of my relatives and friends in Sabah are very active in various political parties. Some, did asked about my view on our country's political scene. To be honest, I am not a fan of politics, mainly because of one reason: corruption! I have heard a lot of stories on how 'business' transactions are done in favour of one political party. I think that modern politics is always associated to personal gain. Most politicians (please note that I put the word MOST here) are in politics for their own gain first then for the people - that too, certain sets of people who are in their favour. In its true essence, politics is meant for the benefits of the citizens. But, all of us, mere mortal citizens, are aware that our politicians are in politics not 100% for us. You can see how when it's near an election, then only we see their faces in their areas. There are so many things that could be done to assist the poor, the illiterates, the under-developed villages etc. The attention is only given to these groups only when media is present or when the topic is 'hot'.

Do we practise true democracy in the country? There's doubt to this. Votes are bought and ballots are rigged - rumours? Maybe. But, I have seen for myself where certain party used lorries to deliver zinc pieces to home owners during election. Is this right and in accordance to the election rules and regulations? In Sabah, we have those non-Malaysians with our Malaysian Identity Card (IC) casting their votes for their 'sponsors'. Sad but true, democracy is manipulated fraudulently and its rules are bent just for the sake of winning the election.

Now, talking about our current political scene, the oppositions are gaining a lot of supporters. I see this as a good thing. I mean, the current government has never felt threaten in the past and it's about time that they do. I am not saying that the opposition will be able to take the throne this round but I believe that in anything, it is always good to have check and balance. If the parliment is monopolized by only the ruling party then decisions made may not have been thought through. With more opposition members in the parliment, at least, the governing party will be more vigilent and will be kept on their toes by the opposition members - it's only human nature, right? Afterall, monopoly is never good, what more in ruling a country.

There is so much of political 'heat' now, bloodshed events and sensitive topics (sexual orientation, religion, race etc) are raised without thinking of the consequences, which of course, is not giving any benefit to the public and causing a lot of mixed feelings among us. Innocents are caught in the middle of the political 'tug of war'. All we want is to have a peaceful country to live in. If only there is a way to measure the citizens' happiness (like the iPad game Kingdoms of Camelot) then any government can see whether they can balance the happiness with the economy of the country etc. Oh well, they just have to learn to listen to the general public more but not having those selective 'hearing' though.

Frankly speaking, I just can't wait till the election is over. The longer the wait, the more incidents we will face. At the end, I hope and pray that true democracy will prevail as my vote will remain unknown to others but me!

Till my next post, wishing all my readers, peace and let's vote!

From Captain America to Thor - My Review of The Avengers 2012

2012-05-24T00:30:00.000+08:00

To those who have not seen The Avengers, please do not read further as I do not want to be responsible to spoil the movie for you.

I love the movie! It is the best Marvel movie ever! I love the action part of the movie - how the Avengers fight with the fleets of Chitauri in the middle of New York City! Now, it's always New York City, right? The city has been through so much and even Marvel likes to use this city as the location of Stark HQ. Those one-liners are cheeky, although yeah. some are corny ;p Oh ya, I laughed so much when Hulk hit Loki again and again on the floor - that was so funny! Check out the YouTube video below:

One thing that I could not help but notice is the similarities between this movie's Dr Banner and the TV-series' Dr Banner.

Don't you guys think that Bill Bixby and Mark Ruffalo have some resemblance?

And how hot is Scarlett Johansson as the Black Widow / Agent Natasha Romanoff? Taken from this site - where she confesses that she wasn't wearing anything underneath that unitard!

I don't mind watching this movie again! It is just done so brilliantly! A definite 5 out of 5!

Email: Good or Evil?

2012-05-23T09:54:00.000+08:00

This blog entry has been sitting in my draft folder for ages! Been trying to finish it but work just got in the way. Last night when I was monitoring the stocktake processing, I manage to finish this off!

So, enjoy my "Email: Good or Evil?" posting!

This was the logo used by Digital Trends in their article "Europe's Largest IT Company Bans Email". Cool eh?

Here's the thing - if we ask any professionals nowadays on what is the most important thing to have for their work, many would say, "Email is critical for my work". Actually, what they really mean is that "Communication is critical for my work" and the most used tool to communicate is the email system.

Now, let's put it this way. In a day, we have 24 hours of 60 minutes each - so, in a day, we have 24 x 60 = 1440 minutes. I receive around 1500 emails daily and 90% of the emails are internal - I am managing 3 projects with various vendors so 10% of the emails come from them. Thanks to the well-managed spam filter by our data centre team, junk email is rare. With the large number of received emails, it is hard to do your work and keep up with the incoming emails. I try to spend each and every free minutes to clear my inbox so that I don't have massive backlog on my email. If I use half-a-min for an email, that will take, like 12.5 hours already! Wow! A lot more can be accomplished if the 12 hours are spent on proper work. Gosh, once we start to quantify things, perspective would change drastically!

Most of the internal emails I received, are of type "for-info-only" but they are cluttering my inbox, making it difficult for me to filter the urgent emails out of the "for-info-only". Some senders just want to loop you in, just in case ;p Honestly, I am also guilty of these so-called "for-info-only" emails. I would write an email TO a particular set of people for them to action on the content but I would CC those who just need to know that the task has been delegated and will be followed up. I also need most things to be done via email because I use it as my personal tracking system. Having verbal communication is great but people tend to forget so, usually, I will put down the discussion into an email to ensure that I do not forget anything and that I can refer to the email for future references.

Catch 22 situation eh? To email or not to email? For me, the "for-info-only" emails are good to read when you have enough time in your hands so can they be channelled through other tools other than email? I think that taking email tool out of an organization like what Atos did would require a lot of effort to educate and change people on how to use an alternative communication tool like Yammer or Podio. But if it could take away even half of my incoming emails daily, I would want to give it a chance!

Verdict of Email: Good or Evil? You decide!

Till my next post, peace and adios!

Hammer the Yammer

2012-05-02T01:34:00.001+08:00

Nailing Yammer into our organization!

"The first step is the hardest" - I do believe in this proverb. It is always difficult to adopt something new or to impose change. Those who have read the book, "Who moved my cheese?" will be able to relate to the process of changing people's mindsets.

My objective, at the end of the day, is to reduce internal emails by using Yammer to be our collaborative tool but since this is the beginning of a long journey, I can already see some challenges at hand.

Firstly, Yammer vs Email. Email is very personal. You can control who to address it to and therefore, you can write it with those intended audience in mind. Language and email mannerism can be tailored accordingly. Social networking, on the other hand, is opened to a wider audience thus, making it a bit more complicated for an email-person to adapt to. How does one write things in social network channel as compared to writing an email? This is where Yammer groups can be used to assist those users - when writing to a particular group, you imagine as if you are presenting in front of them so your updates in Yammer can still be tailored to a particular group of people. Now, when you write an update in "All Company", you just have to imagine that you are presenting in front of the entire company so you, in one way or another, automatically tailor your updates as if you have your colleagues from same and other departments as well as your bosses present in front of you.

Next, Yammer vs Facebook (FB). Well, it does not help that Yammer does look like Facebook. Therefore, the young users in our company tend to use Yammer as if it is their FB page. They identify themselves as someone who we don't know of - using nicknames that are not familiar in our working environment. Talking about profile picture, some are not bothered to put up their photos at all while some, put their kids' pics as their profile pics. I mean, I'm sure that you want to show how your kids are etc, but just ensure that you put up your pic as well. No one knows who you are if your kids' photo is your profile pic and your name is put as 'Lady Gaga', right? For this cases, just to remind them that this is a professional network and not personal social network. Once professional is mentioned, then people will change their names and pictures to be more professional. Save those glamorous nicknames and nice photos for your FB page, ya?

"What are you working on?" vs "What's on your mind?". Although in Yammer, it clearly asks for "What are you working on?", we still get updates like "I am hungry and lunchtime is still so far away" or "It's raining outside and I need Nescafe". Yes, these are the typical facebook status updates. Again, Yammer vs Facebook syndrome here. So, just need to ensure that the users are guided accordingly on what are the suitable updates in Yammer. Actually, you just have to remind them that the bosses are reading your updates in Yammer and then, the users will be more cautious before clicking on the Yammer update button :)

Novelists in our midst. I think that there are times when we need to stress that updates should be limited to a few sentences or at most, a paragraph. Some users tend to use the Update section to write 'novel'. Other colleagues are reading Yammer to get quick updates on things that are relevant to their current task and if the updates are so long, the time spent on Yammer will be longer than what it should be hence, shorter time to perform the actual task. I think that this is the hardest to implement - some people just cannot write simple updates and Yammer does not have the 140-character limitation. It can also be discouraging when users post long updates and they get feedback that their updates are too lengthy - then, they may just stop sending updates in Yammer. Personally, I am still thinking of how to address this one, so anyone who has an idea on how to help me here, please do send your comments.

Yeah! In short, 'pushing' Yammer to users is not that simple. Our implementation is still in progress - as of today, we have 58.4% of our users online. Just need to learn on how to 'hammer' this tool to see whether we can achieve the target of reducing our internal emails traffic. It's normal that internal adoption/promotion is the hardest to do.

Till my next Yammer posting, let's hammer the Yammer!

Holy Week 2012

2012-04-08T02:23:00.001+08:00

I have been blogging on my Geeks'tuff label these couple of weeks, so this Easter (while trying to stay up to monitor the stocktake processing in my laptop), I thought of just sharing something about the holy week.

Last Friday, 6th April, I had the opportunity to attend the last Way of the Cross and the students did a very good re-enactment of the stations of the Cross - unlike in other few countries, no one got seriously nailed on the Cross here ya! I was so touched by the whole re-enactment that my tears just suddenly flow throughout the whole service.

It was very fortunate that I could sit in the main church where the re-enactment took place - to be able to imagine and feel such torture and suffering - I can't imagine how a person could go through that much. Well, His love for us is so great that he is willing to show how he would suffer and bear the torture for us - I can't help myself from feeling so remorse after the whole thing. Good Friday has always been a holiday for the East Malaysians and the mass is always at 3pm. Since it is not a public holiday in West Malaysia, the mass is scheduled to be during lunch time and after office hours. I'm glad that I went for the 7:30 pm mass because I don't have to rush back to office after that. It also gave me time to reflect during the drive back home - John 3:16 says: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life"

Dad used to say that Easter should be a bigger celebration than Christmas. I never thought about what he said seriously before. Now, come to think of it, it does make sense for us to celebrate it more than Christmas. The significance of Easter is more because it shows us the hope for salvation and redemption. This is the time when we should be celebrating Easter with our family members. This year, since we are quite busy with the stocktake and many other activities with the other projects, plus I was already away last week for a family event in Singapore, I've decided to spend the holy week in KL. I don't know why but it is not the same - to have at least that Easter Sunday brunch with the family seems to make my Easter more complete. It's like celebrating your birthday alone - you don't mind but it would be more meaningful to have family and friends around, that's all...

So, to my dearest family back home, have a wonderful Easter and I miss all of you so much!

Till my next posting, to all my readers, I wish you all a great weekend and to those who are celebrating Easter, have a blessed Easter! Peace!

Yammer-ing Away!

2012-04-03T23:51:00.003+08:00

Yes, Yammer is live and the network community is increasing by the day.

While I am still in search of a better mechanism to introduce some steps / guidelines to our new Yammer users, I found some materials from the WWW that may be usable in our company.

My initial perception of Yammer was... an intranet 'facebook'? Hmm interesting and has potential... This will definitely attract those Gen Ys and Gen Zs team members!!!

I like the idea of having our external IT consultants to be in Yammer where we can create our own network and collaborate. This will definitely reduce spamming in our mailboxes. One drawback is that everyone is so used to emails and therefore, Yammer notification is something new and not being looked at as frequent as emails. At this point in time, I will NOT encourage any users to configure their notifications to receive real-time notification for every feeds in our Yammer network, that will just create a lot more traffic in our email server.

Nowadays, I prefer to ask general questions in Yammer rather than spamming a lot of people's mailboxes. At least with Yammer, you can post your question to a particular group or network of people. With that, unlike emails, my question is targetted to a selected set of people within my network without me forgetting who to include in the TO and CC mailing list. If I were to ask a general question for the entire company, I will be able to do so and I can get feedbacks from various team members from other departments as well.

Another thing that I like about Yammer is that its support on mobile devices - which is a useful thing to have. I am planning to get a group of people who usually are assigned to work out of the office to test this out. Basically, get their mobiles installed with the Yammer app and then get them to send updates via Yammer in our group. At least, less emails and they can freely update everyone involved while they are on the road too. I think that they will be more receptive to use Yammer to send updates because it looks more casual than sending an email out. If the response is good for this group of 'guinea pigs' then, what we can do is to encourage more out-of-office team members to do the same :)

That's all for now, will post some #Yams again soon! Till then, peace to all readers ;p

To Yammer or Not To Yammer

2012-03-29T02:11:00.000+08:00

The company has decided to introduce Yammer as a collaborative tool for us. I see this move as a positive move to bring all staffs 'closer' virtually. With so many staffs in a company from various departments, it is a good channel to get to know each other and share opinions on certain topics.

What we need to do is to promote Yammer not only as a tool to improve productivity and efficiency but also to achieve it in a more fun waY! Yes! The Yammer WaY! Since they are a lot of users who are working outside of office, with the cloud solution, they can still keep track of what is happening in the company and still collaborate with the rest of their team members. Yammer client can be installed in all major smartphones, Blackberry, Iphone, Android, so we can always contribute in Yammer from anywhere.

The 2 challenges that I see now are:
** The level of maturity across all the users
It is not easy when some users are more internet-savvy than the rest. They can differentiate the usage of a corporate social media channel like Yammer as compared to personal social media channel like Facebook. So, Yammer tips and tricks in both English and Malay will need to be written to, hopefully, educate all users.

** The corporate readiness
Policies are to not established yet so users are confuse on the usage of Yammer in the workplace. First step is always to introduce, next step: need to outline policies of what are the Do's and Dont's within Yammer networks.

I am excited about Yammer in the company but at the same time, concerned that something good like Yammer will just 'die' off if nothing is done to promote it for work purpose. So, a note to self, first step is to dig up some good reading materials from the Net on how to get Yammer working as a productive tool and then share slowly with the hope to guide all users to see the benefits of Yammer and then eventually, get positive buy-in from top management :D

So, to Yammer or not to Yammer? Definitely, Yammer all the way! :D

Till my next posting, peace to you all out there!

My review on the movie, 'The Help'

2012-03-21T19:53:00.000+08:00

Last week, I had the opportunity to watch "The Help". At first, I thought that it would be one of those draggy drama movie. But to my surprise, it was an engaging movie!

The movie is a roller-coaster ride for me - there were times when I was laughing (Minny's special pie for Hilly?), scared (hearing Minny's voice over the phone during the Leroy's incident?) and of course, touched (by the relationship between Aibileen and the 3-year old Mae Mobley). This adaptation of Kathryn Stockett's novel, centres around a writer who is trying to reveal the stories behind closed doors on the black maids and their masters. Although it is predominantly based on racism in the 1960s, it touches the value of difficult friendships (in the case of Skeeter and the maids) and the courage to stand up on what you believe in.

I feel that being Skeeter is the toughest. It is not easy to have a different point of view from the rest of your peers and being able to stand by them. She could have done what her mum did, just follow along even though she does not agree, but no, she stood by her opinions, even when she knows that she would lose everyone around her. Not an easy choice but at least, her conscience is clear.

I give this movie a 4 out of 5! Worth watching -> better not in the theatre though, get the DVD, it is better to watch at home :) unless you want the cinema-quality popcorn, of course!

Till my next posting, peace to all!

Fri, 9th March 2012: Of My Friday Frustration

2012-03-09T09:07:00.000+08:00

Firstly, let me start by saying that I still love my job - it is never boring and I am blessed to have very committed & hard-working team members!

I just feel down right now - maybe should not blog when you are emotional but hey, this is why I've put up this blog in the first place - for space to release my thoughts and feelings! Prior to writing this blog, I've just posted a tweet:

When it comes to my work, I try to be a strong and professional person and try to be better at it everyday, but this morning, I could not help myself from shedding some tears after reading an email. I feel that sometimes, emails must be re-read repeatedly before clicking on SEND button. Sender may send it with good intention but when the good intention is put wrongly, the intention is lost hence, the emails will be perceived wrongly. At the end, wrongly worded sentences can hurt and de-motivate people very fast.

I am so disappointed and in some ways, feel under-appreciated now! I understand that currently, the system implemented is not perfect, but it does not mean that we are letting our hands off from the issues. We are pushing so many parties to look at the problems - not easy to push these vendors. We are getting responses now although not as fast as what I've expected but at least, something. Just like all other things, systems need time to mature and people take time to adapt to new changes everywhere. At the same time, year-end and stocktake activities are coming - 2 tasks that a lot of people from other organizations question - how come we are the champion of these activities whereas in other companies, Finance is to champion both activities while IT is to just provide the tools and system. I told my team that in this company, it has always been under our department and because of that, we are better and more experienced in planning and executing the tasks, that's all. I have a team of IT team members in the warehouse performing inventory tasks to help to clear the paperwork pending - I am proud of our teams who never questioned me on why are they doing other department's tasks.

Back to under-appreciation, it is so sad to see that the many effort and tasks done well are not given recognition. I am not asking for myself because I believe that without the team members that I have, there is no way that I could perform my work. I think that the best way, although may be viewed as extreme, is to imagine the company without these team members! Or imagine we are back in year 2000 (12 years ago), before this department was established.

There is a way to motivate team members to perform better and more, but before we demand for more, I believe that we should, at least, give credit where it's due. It does not take much and it does not hurt to simply say, "thank you for a job well executed & keep up the good work!". I've always believed that without these team members and those certain vendors that we have been doing business with, there is no way that we are in this position in the first place. While the objective is to push our people to perform better, let's not forget to reward them for the good job that they have done all this while. Else, tiredness will sink in and the feeling of being taken for granted will emerge - soon, we may lose those valuable assets.

Oh well, what a start for my Friday, ya? I wish the rest of you to have a better day today! To my team members, thank you for your all your contribution & keep up the good work, you are appreciated! Okay, got to rush for my acupuncture! Till my next post, peace for now!

Speech done for Mum's Retirement Party

2012-03-06T13:19:00.000+08:00

In order not to lose this special once-in-a-lifetime speech, I 've decided that it is best to place it in my blog. So here's the speech that I did for mum's retirement party.

"A very good evening to all who are present here tonight. The excellent principal of SM Maktab Sabah, Pn. Hj. Nuinda; Chairperson of PIBG, Datuk Fatimah Syara; Penolong Kanan Pentadbiran, Pn. Samsiah Almalik; Penolong Kanan HEM, Datin Rosiah Liman; Penolong Kanan Ko-Kum, Mr. Jahid Paki; other teachers, wardens, staffs & all the students of Maktab Sabah.

First and foremost, my mother & our family would like to thank you for celebrating her retirement together with the Hostel Annual Dinner. This is such a perfect timing for us as the hostel has been our home sweet home for the past 26 years.

I remember when my mum was transferred from SMK Menggatal to here, I was only 9 years old. This hostel compound was the playground for my siblings and I. I am proud to say that my sisters Linda, Veronica & I, together with our brother, Valentino, are Maktab Sabah products. Royline, on the other hand, joined SM Stella Maris, unfortunately :)

It was not easy for us to be in a school that our mum is working in, all my teachers know my mum so cannot be too naughty in class lah :D but mum managed to integrate the hostel students as part of our extended family and we grew up having hostel friends and seniors to help us in our studies too :). I guess that is one of the plus points of growing up as Matron's children. So personally, the hostel is a sentimental place and will always be dear to my heart.

On this special occasion, my mum and our family would like to thank the hostel management and the school for the home that we have in the hostel and for the 26 years of having our family to be part of the hostel family. We, also, would like to apologize for any shortcomings or anything that may have offended or hurt anyone throughout our 26 years here.

Finally, we are proud of my mum that she has spent her 26 years with this school. I cannot imagine of any other place for her and for us, siblings, to grow up in. It has been such a wonderful 26-year and we hope that the school and hostel would continue to excel for many-many more years to come. This place will always be remembered and will always be special in all of our hearts :). Once again, mum, we are proud of you, happy birthday & we all love you dearly.

Thank you very much."

To those who would want to watch the video, just click HERE

Please forgive the quality of the video as my sister was using my iPad to take the video and also, please ignore the background noises/comments too. Hahaha, Presley's shout, my sisters talking etc... anyway, still love all of you!

Till my next entry, peace to all models and mortals out there!

What a leap day for me and Erykah Badu!

2012-03-01T22:29:00.002+08:00

29th Feb 2012 - What a day! 29th Feb comes once in 4 years and yesterday was definitely, a memorable one!

Salary came in and I have a few things to settle. So, went to the ATM to do my withdrawal. Entered amount to be withdrawn, waited, card returned, screen went back to main page but no cash received. I thought that maybe I wrongly did something or maybe I missed any notification on the screen, so I tried again. Entered amount to be withdrawn, waited, card returned, screen went back to main page and again, no cash received. I was puzzled and decided to check my bank balance, WHAT THE HELL? My balance got deducted and here I am, still cashless! So, I had no choice but to go to the bank to settle the problem. I explained the situation to the bank officer, she said this is not a common occurrence but it does occur. Yes, there was a court case reported in Sarawak on this.

Well, back to my story... The bank officer checked in the system and yes, the system says that I have made 2 withdrawals but I told her no cash came out of the ATM. She said that they will check the system etc and will call me back. Today I received a call from them saying that they are still in the process of verifying etc and that my account will only be credited after a week, if it is legit. A week??? What the hell? Don't they know that people have commitments and bills to pay? What a disappointment!

Another disappointment that is worth mentioning is about Erykah Badu's banned concert. She was supposed to perform last night, 29th Feb 2012 and due to the publication done by The Star on Mon, 27th Feb, the concert is banned by the Malaysian government. The published photo of Ms. Badu was questioned as she had the arabic word of 'Allah' tattooed on her bare skin (pix below):

Here's the news clipping taken from Telegraph UK:

Malaysia bans singer Erykah Badu for Allah tattoo

Muslim-majority Malaysia has banned a planned concert by Erykah Badu after a photograph appeared of her with the Arabic word for Allah written on her body.

The Grammy-winning R&B singer was scheduled to perform Wednesday in Kuala Lumpur, but some Muslim groups said Badu was an unsuitable role model for young Malaysians after seeing a publicity photo of her with what appeared to be temporary tattoos of the word Allah on her bare shoulders.

A government committee that includes police and Islamic policy officials decided to forbid Badu's show because the body art was "an insult to Islam and a very serious offence," Rais Yatim, the information minister, said in a statement.

The photo of Badu had "triggered public criticism that could jeopardise national security and cause a negative impact to the government's image," the statement added.

The 41-year-old, Dallas-born singer had already arrived in Malaysia. She can stay as a tourist but will not be allowed to perform, an anonymous Information Ministry official said.

Razman Razali, managing director of the show's Malaysian organiser, Pineapple Concerts, said his company hopes the ban will be reversed.

Badu is "worried and dismayed," he said. She was slated to perform in an auditorium that can hold about 3,000 spectators.

It was the first concert by a Western performer to be banned in Malaysia in recent years. Several other stars, including Gwen Stefani and Avril Lavigne, were told to dress modestly while performing.

The photograph of Badu, which also appears on her official fan website, attracted attention after Malaysia's most widely read English-language daily, The Star, published it Monday.

On Tuesday, the newspaper apologised to Muslims for what it called an "oversight," saying it deeply regretted any offence sparked by the photo, which was "inadvertently published." The Home Ministry summoned The Star's editors to explain the photograph, which caused some Muslim activists to demand the newspaper's suspension.

I saw 4 comments to this news and got curious, so here they are:

In Foxnews, there were more than a thousand comments. Very mixed reactions from so many people but mostly... *sigh* I remember in 2002, when I went to Australia for a business trip, when we told the taxi driver that we were from Malaysia, he mentioned about Anwar's sodomy case. Now, we will be known as the conservative Malaysians who banned Erykah Badu's concert.

While I do not condone to such display of temporary tattoo in a sensitive nation like Malaysia, I am amazed with the amount of negativity received by our Malaysians, up to the point of banning her concert. I thought that once a personal apology is given, we would be liberal and matured enough to forgive a foreign artist for a photo-shoot taken somewhere else, and continue with the concert and we could enjoy her music and the event organizers will not be losing their investment. It's not as if she purposely put the temporary tattoo especially for her concert here and it's not as if she's planning to perform with that 'accessory' in her concert here. It was a photo taken somewhere else and for something else! Again, very disappointing... *sigh*

What have we become? We should uphold our values but at the same time, be more tolerant and considerate of others, and be more forgiving to those who may not understand. Frankly, my fellow Malaysians, I am very disappointed and at the same time, I am scared to be living among those who are too fanatic. Here we are, a multi-cultural, multi-racial nation, living together in a community and yet, there are some of us who are so narrow-minded. IF the number is so small, I don't think that the ban would happen. IF the tolerance level is this low for a foreigner, what would the tolerance level to a fellow Malaysian then? I don't want to even think about it.

Sad but true, we are so far away from being the 1-Malaysia that we dream of or we claim to be. What a disappointing leap day *sigh*

Anyway, my mortal and model readers out there, I wish you peace and let's pray for a better and more tolerate nation.

Celebrities and Leaders: Individual or Representational

2012-02-26T17:58:00.002+08:00

As someone who is quite active in social network channels, I can't help to notice that more and more celebs and famous leaders are using these channels too. For mere mortals like me, I don't think that my opinions are taken too seriously when I post anything on my Facebook status/wall, or tweet something on my twitter page or even what I write here. Recently, something struck me... when someone as famous as Bill Gates tweets, will people see his tweets as his own personal view or will people start associating his view/values to his company, Microsoft?

Something closer to home, last year, when the tsunami hit Japan, our Prime Minister's wife made a comment that was resented by a lot of people. Her distasteful comment was taken so seriously, I remember reading so many tweets about the FLOM's (First Lady of Malaysia) blunder, right after her vid was shared all over the Net:

I am sure if she tweeted it, she would get the same reactions from the public. Again, even if it were to be her personal opinion, but once voiced out, people will associate it to what she is representing ie: Malaysia.

What about Mel Gibson? His racist remarks, "The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world" has caused him losses and his reputation went down the drain. What about the recent tweet by Blake Shelton, which he had to apologize profusely the day after the first tweet. When I read it, it didn't even cross my mind on him being homophobic or anything but to the gay community members, they were outraged and demand for explanation and apology.

I am sure that it is a challenge for someone who is recognized by the public to voice out anything personal anymore. At the same time, can the public ever treat those opinions simply as that person's personal views? I guess our human mind is very associative in nature. Naturally, when we say Obama, we immediately think of US, and when we say Steve Jobs (although he is no longer in our midst), we instantly think of Apple.

Therefore, I think that, whether the celebs and leaders like or not, it is part and parcel of their jobs that their opinions will always be taken seriously and associated to what they represent. In a way, once you are famous and represent a big association, you, in a way, lose your right to voice out your personal opinion without getting your remarks/comments associated to whatever that you represent. It's sad but it's true, that the public will no longer see you as an individual but as a representational figure of your position.

Peace for now, models and mortals out there. I am hoping to write again soon.

Blog Disclaimer

2012-02-24T22:47:00.000+08:00

I never knew that my blog has an audience until recently. Thanks models/mortals out there for dropping by.

Therefore, I believe that I should be putting up a disclaimer for this blog. It's never too late ;p

Disclaimer for "Models & Mortals"

"It is your own responsibility to read this disclaimer prior to reading my blog. Upon exiting this disclaimer page and upon reading any part of my blog, you immediately provide an agreement to this disclaimer and therefore, waive all rights for any legal action against the content of this blog. So, do think twice before reading further.

Please note that this is my personal blog. The views written here are personal in nature. This blog is merely a virtual place for me to express myself in whatever mood I am in at the point of posting its content. Whatever written here has nothing to do with the people, organizations, institutions or companies that I may or may not be related to. This blog is just a collection of my random thoughts and therefore, my employer (current or past) will not be liable to it. I created this blog with NO intention to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company or individual, or anyone or thing, especially those with the ability and desire to fight back. This blog also, is not a reviewed journal nor is it a paid publication. Therefore, to the grammar nazis and/or the spelling-bee champions out there, excuse me for any of my grammatical mistakes and typos.

This blog is created to do no harm, to not injure others, defame or libel. It contains my personal opinions and not counsel. What I have written on my blog is not to be taken as fact nor absolute. I will not be held responsible if anyone uses my opinions, tips, techniques and/or recommendations, and is injured in the process. Moreover, I will not be responsible to those who use or rely on the information posted here - they will be responsible for any action, content, products, services, damages or losses, indirectly or directly, caused or alleged, to have been caused by my writings. While I do refer to and/or include links of other third party web pages, I am not responsible for the content, products or services of those web pages. If I refer to or post any of your creations and you feel that it has not been used properly and/or you are not fairly credited for it (to my best knowledge/try on finding the original creator of the external materials), please do contact me in my email. Similarly, those who use any of my personal materials posted in this blog are required to provide credit to my page as the source of the material mentioned. I think that this is a win-win situation for all bloggers.

COMMENTS POLICY

You are welcomed to disagree with me, challenge my views or even tell me that I am completely weird in the comments section placed at the end of each posting entry. Please take note that all your comments will be moderated by me at my own sole discretion. Any tasteless, rude, blasphemous, profane, abusive, racial or insulting comments will be deleted. Spam or marketing messages are not allowed and will be deleted.

While comments are moderated, I am not responsible for the content of any comments nor will be held liable for any posted comments submitted by anyone on this blog, nor the laws which they may break in my country or theirs through their comments' content, implication and intent.

I am not responsible to reply to each and every comment moderated and approved. While I appreciate each and every comment, I do reserve the choice to post my response to it, depending on my capacity to do so. Please understand that I do have a full-time job and I do want to keep it."

Disclaimer as of 24th February 2012

November is gone, December is here!

2011-12-01T14:37:00.000+08:00

Gosh, I must have been so busy in November that there is not a single post done :(

My hands have been itching to write in this blog but as usual, many other things got in the way.

Just a simple note for now, life is good and hoping for a better tomorrow.

Happy Retirement, Mum!

2011-10-15T19:56:00.002+08:00

I'm back home in KK for 2 reasons. One, to renovate (or should I say fix) our house in Petagas and two, to celebrate my mum's retirement with other family members & mum's colleagues and students.

I know that we have been in the school hostel for a long time but when the school announced that mum has been with the school for the past 26 years, I've just realized how LONG it has been. This place has brought so many sweet and bitter memories to our family. Personally, I've grown up here. I remember when I was in my primary school, I would be woken up by some punjabi kids who were worshipping in the Gurdwara opposite the hostel. Then, when I joined the high school, I would walk to and from school with my schoolmates who were boarding in the hostel. During exam times, my mum would ask me to go to the hostel hall to join the study time after dinner. At times, I didn't feel like going but I would feel guilty too as all my other friends would be studying while I just feel like sleeping at home. I'm glad that my mum encouraged me to study there. The study hall was quiet and not distracting hehehe... ***for everyone's benefit, the study hall for girls is at different location than the boys so, no distraction!

Anyway, am proud of my mum that she has spent her 26 years with this school. I cannot imagine of any other place for her and for us, siblings, to grow up in. It has been such a wonderful 26-year and we hope that the school and hostel would continue to excel for many-many more years to come. This place will always be remembered and will always be special in all of our hearts :). Once again, mum, we are proud of you!

Blogging is long overdue

2011-09-02T13:32:00.001+08:00

Talking about something that is long overdue... Blogging... There are some moments worth sharing in this blog but time and mood just cannot sync together. Blame it to my procrastination!

Anyway, one thing worth mentioning is the success of my sister's wedding in Sabah! I think that it was one of the most beautiful weddings ever! Not only the location is perfect, but the setting is also picture perfect. Am so glad that the cake turned out fine too :D

Here are some pics to show how beautiful the wedding was:

Transparent canopy hehehe...

Family pic

Janang presentation from groom side to bride side

Thematic door gift to guests

A memorable guestbook

My creation!

Cake details

All the sleepless nights were worthwhile! We enjoyed the night and we hope all the guests had fun too!

Now, am wondering what is the next cake creation ;p I am thinking of sharpening my royal icing skills with string works etc, but that requires a lot of time. Hmmmm....

Another thing that I've been doing, or shall I say, my personal project is to renovate the house in KK - so far, Phase 1 went well :) Here are some pics of the repainted and tiling work done on the master bedroom:

From outside of the house - paint work in progress

Front view after exterior paint work

Side view - need to change the frame colour (Phase 2)

In & Out paint colours

Living Room: Marble polishing and treatment in progress

Living Room - After cleanup (please ignore the broom and mop hehehe)

Another view of the living room - love the cool blue effect

Master bedroom: Carpet is removed & replaced with tiles

Entrance to master bedroom: Love the colour combimation

Master bedroom (where at the moment, I have the freezer in hehehe): love the tiles!

Dining area: Nice :) There maybe Phase 2 work to be done here...

Next major work is the ceiling (Phase 2)

Now, am planning for Phase 2 of house renovation: Ceiling, Car porch tiling & maybe extending the dining area to have balcony? We'll see how it goes la!

Alright model and mortal readers, until next update (hopefully soon), peace!

My toughest challenge so far - "You Lost Me" by Christina Aguilera

2011-04-03T03:23:00.000+08:00

This is by far, the most challenging song for me. The technical difficulty of this song is high and to perform it live is really difficult. I have to remind myself on where should I be able to 'steal' some air throughout the whole song & I never really liked songs with a lot of ad libs / runs. Although it is challenging, I do enjoy learning it - I guess I'm one of those people who love challenges hehehe...

Anyway. here's the lyrics for those of you who would want to give it a go!

You Lost Me by Christina Aguilera
Songwriters: Christina Aguilera, Sia Kate Furler, Samuel Ronald Dixon

I am done, smoking gun
We've lost it all, the love is gone
She has won. Now it's no fun
We've lost it all, the love is gone

And we had magic
And this is tragic
You couldn't keep your hands to yourself

Chorus:
I feel like our world's been infected
And somehow you left me neglected
We found our life's been changed
Babe, you lost me

And we tried, oh how we cried
We lost ourselves, the love has died
And oh, we tried, you can't deny
We're left as shells, we lost the fight

And we had magic
And this is tragic
You couldn't keep your hands to yourself

Chorus:
I feel like our world's been infected
And somehow you left me neglected
We found our life's been changed
Babe, you lost me

Now I know you're sorry and we were sweet
But you chose lust when you deceived me
You'll regret it but it's too late
How can I ever trust you again?

Chorus:
I feel like our world's been infected
And somehow you left me neglected
We found our life's been changed
Babe, you lost me

--- End of Song ---

Now, to all my model/mortal readers, tell me how did it go with your try & wish me luck :-)

Especially for my cuzzy & A...

2011-03-29T03:33:00.000+08:00

Don't be stupid, dude! You can still change your fate to be with the one you love bah!

England Dan & John Ford Coley
Sad To Belong

I met you on a springtime day,
You were minding your life and I was minding mine too.
Lady, when you looked my way,
I had a strange sensation and Darling, that's when I knew...

That it's sad to belong to someone else,
When the right one comes along.
Yes, it's sad to belong to someone else,
When the right one comes along.

Oh, I wake up in the night,
And I reach beside me hoping you would be there.
But instead I find someone,
Who believed in me when I said I'd always care...

Oh, it's sad to belong to someone else,
When the right one comes along.
Yes, it's sad to belong to someone else,
When the right one comes along.

So I'll live my life in a dream world,
For the rest of my days.
Just you and me walking hand in hand,
In a wishful memory...
Oh, I guess it's all that it will ever be...

I wish I had a time machine, I could,
Make myself go back until the day I was born.
Then I would live my life again,
And rearrange it so that I'd be yours from now on.

Oh, it's sad to belong to someone else,
When the right one comes along.
Yes, it's sad to belong to someone else,
When the right one comes along.

Oh, it's sad to belong to someone else,
When the right one comes along.
Yes, it's sad to belong to someone else,
When the right one comes along.

Oh, it's sad to belong to someone else,
When the right one comes along.
Yes, it's sad to belong to someone else,
When the right one comes along.

Oh, it's sad to belong to someone else,
When the right one comes along.
Yes, it's sad to belong to someone else,
When the right one comes along.