Stuffing potatoes with cheese

One slice, two slices over the fence
I nearly dozed off to sleep at my desk a while ago. I blame those pizzas we had for lunch. Ugghhh, so sleepy. Luckily nobody saw me. It would have been dreadful. I nearly dropped the book I was reading. Ok more awake now.

I booked two tickets to watch Kingdom of Heaven tonight, coz I wanted to claim my free birthday treat movie ticket. But now I feel tired and sleepy. I don’t think braving the evening traffic jam would be worth a free movie ticket…. Or would it?

I know I said I just had pizza for lunch. But now it’s 4.15 and I’m shovelling coleslaw into my mouth. Yummm….

Report is nearly done sir!
Okay, so I finally started on my report thingy that I have to submit by the end of June. I must say I’m proud of myself for being able to almost complete the report. It’s about 850 words now but then again it’s not a race to see who can come up with the most words. Kinda reminds me of school.

I remember learning to write a summary. At first glance, 100 words seem such a huge daunting number. Then we were taught to draw 10x10 boxes on our rough paper. Fill up each box with a word and in the end we’ll have our 100-word summary. Looking at the boxes, 100 words suddenly looked so brief. Those were the days.

Balik Kelate
On another note, I’ll be going to Kelantan this Saturday. My hubby’s cousin is getting hitched. Well, actually they’ve already gone through the akad and everything. It’s just that the kenduri can only be held during the school holidays. So Saturday night I’ll be flying with my two sisters-in-law and hubby will drive. And then I’ll be back next Wednesday. But I can only blog on Friday when I come back to work. Might as well have taken Friday off, as next Saturday will be another holiday. Ah well…. That’s already a long holiday for me.

I hope this time I’ll be able to go to the pasar and buy stuff. Hear that hubby? You’d better take me shopping this time….

Lament of the non-gemuk

Spent the weekend at mama and papa’s. Sunday morning hubby and I went for breakfast at my all-time favourite breakfast spot – McDonald’s! The two of us will always order the same thing, hubby will eat the Big Breakfast and I’ll have the Sausage McMuffin. I also had the apple pie. And then for lunch we had teppanyaki. Yummm…. If you’re familiar with my posts, you’ll know that food is constantly on my mind. I’m always thinking about what’s for breakfast, lunch, dinner (whatever the case may be). Even as I type, right now, I’m munching on kerepek pisang. Hmmm, a hot teh tarik would definitely complete my afternoon tea. Nasib baik, I susah put on weight. With the constant munching and lots of sugary carbonated drinks (I know, I know, they’re bad for me) I should be a bloated blimp but I’m not. Tough for me to put on weight.

Once when I was on my routine medical check-ups, my doctor told me I was a bit underweight. So he gave me some advice:

Dr: You should take more food to fatten you up.
M: But I do eat a lot.
Dr: Why don’t you take more chocolates…. (small laugh)
M: I don’t really like chocolates.
Dr: Ok, why not eat things like chocolate or cheese cakes?
M: I don’t really like chocolate cake. Or cheese cake, or any other cake for that matter.
Dr: Ice cream perhaps?
M: I’m not that into ice cream.
Dr: Hmmm, what a strange girl you are…. Most women would love to get this kind of advice.

See, I’m strange. The most I can eat of a cake is one small slice. Chocs? I don’t go looking for them. Even if I do get a craving (which is probably like once a year), one small bar is more than enough to satisfy me. Ice cream, if somebody scoops it for me, then I’ll probably have some. This is coz I’m just plain lazy – heh. And the most that I can eat? One huge scoop or two small scoops. That’s it. Nothing more. How to gemuk like that?

Submission

It’s a Saturday and I’m so happy. Stuck at work and I’m so happy. Going for lunch with mama and bro and I’m so happy. Did I mention I’m so happy?

Looking around me, I realise that there are many things that I should be grateful for. Things that I sometimes take for granted. I guess that’s adat manusia. When you’re having the time of your life, you forget to thank the Almighty. When you’re content with that you have, you think of all the moments when you’ve toiled and worked really hard to achieve all that you have. You forget that it is by His will that you are what you are today. You forget Him, as it was all you, you, you.

But when things aren’t so great, you blame fate. When you are suddenly struck with disaster or fall ill, you suddenly remember Him and ask for help. When there is no one else who can help you, you finally turn to Him and beg for His guidance and mercy. Why is that? Why is it that we humans tend to forget Him so easily and yet, when we are troubled, without missing a beat we turn to Him for help? How ungrateful of us, mere human beings to conveniently forget and then just as conveniently seek Him whenever we please.

I am humbled and ashamed….

Bonus? What bonus?

I am so freaking bored now. We just got our paycheque. There was an added bonus. You’d never believe how much. 20%. That’s it. 20 crummy percent. That’s about 500 something as my salary is so small. It’s pathetic. Still, having an extra RM500 means I get to spend! Hehehe, I can almost hear hubby screaming at me now. Come on, I’ve earned it right? Hmmm, what will I spend it on? I know the Body Shop is having a great sale. And places like Jusco, which is my neighbourhood store. But I’m thinking splurging on books would be great. Yeah…. And maybe I could get something for my mum. And my sisters. And Kak who’s expecting a baby girl.

Going for lunch in a while. My office mates are going to buy me lunch, coz during my birthday we didn’t get to do anything. Yeay… So maybe I could see what I could get for Kak. I love baby stuff.

Hmmm, or better yet, spend all the money on me! Muahahahahahahaha…… (evil laugh).

Modern Laws of Nature

I just got this through email from my brother. Whoever came up with this, really pandai. Now I know that whatever I’m going through is somehow tied to these laws of nature. And I've added one of mine at the end. Hahaha!

Modern Laws of Nature

Lorenz's Law of Mechanical Repair
After your hands become coated with grease, your nose will begin to itch.

Anthony's Law of the Workshop
Any tool, when dropped, will roll to the least accessible corner.

Kovac's Conundrum
When you dial a wrong number, you never get an engaged one.

Cannon's Karmic Law
If you tell the boss you were late for work because you had a flat tire, the next morning you will have a flat tire.

O'Brien's Variation Law
If you change queues, the one you have left will start to move faster than the one you are in now.

Bell's Theorem
When the body is immersed in water, the telephone rings.

Ruby's Principle of Close Encounters
The probability of meeting someone you know increases when you are with someone you don't want to be seen with.

Willoughby’s Law
When you try to prove to someone that a machine won't work, it will.

Zadra's Law of Biomechanics
The severity of the itch is inversely proportional to the reach.

Breda’s Rule
At any event, the people whose seats are furthest from the aisle arrive last.

Owen’s Law
As soon as you sit down to a cup of hot coffee, your boss will ask you to do something which will last until the coffee is cold.

Mudslinger's Law of "Not Now?!?"

The day you wear new shoes to work is the day that it will rain.

Fakin' it

We here at this establishment are required to submit a written piece on our experiences or knowledge gained while working here in order to form a network for knowledge sharing and a knowledge management system. This written piece is to be submitted by end of June and will make up part of our assessment. Meaning that we will be graded and whatever grade we get will determine how much increment we will get. So what do I write? I’m at a lost for topics and have not been able to come up with anything so far. Zilch, nada, zero. After an hour of staring into space, I was suddenly hit.

How to look busy when you’re absolutely free at work
* Spread papers all over the place
* Open files or big fat folders and place them haphazardly on your desk
* Leave a half-empty coffee mug on desk – shows that you had no time to have a decent break
* Complain loudly that you’re feeling stressed as you have too much work
* Type furiously on your keyboard – even though you might just be blogging
* Have one word document open on your PC, preferably with a half typed article on it, in case you’re surfing – you can easily jump from one window to the next should the need arises
* Sit thoughtfully at your desk and come up with inane lists like this one and look like you’re brainstorming for your report

The story of the beaver and the jellyfish

Here I am, staring into the screen of my PC. Trying to look busy. That’s my target most days… trying to look busy. Am I not busy, you ask. Well, no. When I’m swamped, I’m swamped. When there’s absolutely nothing, I’m left high and dry.

I’m one of those who cannot work with a messy desk or workstation. I like to keep everything neat and in its place. Everything on my desk has its own proper place. Plus I file all documents as soon as I receive them, leaving none to pile up in my trays. My in-tray is almost always empty, unless I go on leave for a few days. Even my desktop in my PC is clean. I do download, but to store them on the desktop? Tacky and menyemakkan. What can I say, I’m a geek. I’ve seen those signs which say A clean desk is a sign of a sick mind. Maybe that’s true. Hahaha!

I had a colleague once who was so messy. She manages to mess up other people’s places with her clutter as her own place looks like a beaver’s home. I don’t understand it. Papers stacked a mile high. Two or three coffee cups stained with lipstick and crawling with lil ants. No leg room what with the storage boxes under her desk. No available space to write on her desk. Books, files, magazines fight for space. Her partitions? Filled with notices, brochures, and little scribbled notes which upon closer inspection is from two years ago. Her PC is framed with yellow post-its. Her phone is there somewhere, underneath all that clutter. So how does she do her work? I don’t know. That’s why she’s always at other people’s workstations. Other people with neat desks and clean desktops. Other people like me. Why am I always the mangsa?

One time, I was away from work for about a week, and when I came back, I had a beaver’s apartment under construction on my desk. And my desktop was half full with all the things she’d downloaded and copied and pasted and what not. She apologised and said her PC rosak. How to get angry like that? Just grin and bear it lorr….

Okay someone get me some spine….

Joyously joyful

The joy of coming back to work (yeah, right!)
Penat ah… (déjà vu). Had a great four-day holiday, so this morning was very reluctant to come back to work. Watched Star Wars and had fun praising and kutuk-ing the movie after that. Spent the weekend at in-laws place and watched more tv. Man, nasib baik I have no Astro at home, or else I‘ll be watching tv all the time. But then again, no Astro tak bestlah. Looks like Astro will have to wait when hubby and I move to our own house. And that would be in about one and a half years from now. Anyway, got loads of work done today, am quite proud of myself.

The joy of having a phoneline
Hubby went to the TM outlet to enquire our status for our fixed line. And then they said, Oh yeah, your phone can now be installed. Looks like it should’ve been installed some time ago. Really? You don’t say?? So if hubby didn’t go to check on them, does it mean that we’ll still be waiting for our phone line? Yeah, probably waiting until the cows come home.

The joy of laughing out loud
I finally finished my book, Empress Orchid by Anchee Min. I liked it and will probably look up her other written works. Can’t wait to read Life of Pi. On the topic of books, hubby and I went to Borders on Saturday. While he was busy looking at his e-biz books, I grabbed a copy of Baby Blues. I really love this comic and all its characters. They’re just like you and me. You have Wanda, the stay-at-home mum who is always busy with her kids that she never has time for herself. Then there’s Darryl the hubby who works and doesn’t help out (until Wanda screams for it that is). Zoe the big sister who’s a bully when playing with her brother, and Hammie the baby boy. Well, he’s no longer the baby as Wanda and Darryl have another kid. Can’t remember the kid’s name now…. Anyway, I was reading and couldn’t control my laughter so I laughed out loud. People ignored me (I think), but my hubby wanted to know what was so funny. So we shared some comic strips in between us.

Eh sleepy lah…. And hungry…. Wonder what’s for dinner….

Starry eyed with a crick in the neck

Penat ah…. Been cramming all my work into today. Will not be coming in for work tomorrow. Am so looking forward to a long weekend. Finally, tonight is my turn to watch Star Wars.

Star Wars, enuff said….

The young and the blended

My eyes are killing me. I‘ve been checking students’ transcripts since morning and now I feel nauseous. I can feel an ache creeping at the back of my neck. I mean, the printing is so small and I have to go through each subject to determine whether or not they get to graduate. Thought I’d take a break and blog for a while.

I remember my uni days. Compare that to what my sis is going through now, I can see a major difference. When I was doing my matriculation, we didn’t have cell phones. I only got a phone when I was in my first year. But now, even kids in schools have phones. I used to think that being a uni student, I was all grown up and matured. But when I look at my sis now, I still think of her as a lil girl. And they are all so naïve, these uni students. Back then when I graduated I thought I knew all there is to know and was ready to start the working world. Now when I see the graduates who join our company, I can’t help but look at them like budak sekolah still. Maybe it’s just me…. Or did others see me the same way back then?

Short blog. Gotta get my brains back to the blender… err….Nose to the grinding wheel…or is it emm…. Neck on the chopping board? Whatever….

It's just monkey business, nothing personal

Dear movie-ing
It’s the 16th today. 3 more days before hubby and I get to watch Star Wars. Ooh, so excited. It’s been a long while since we went to the cinema. I can’t remember what movie it was that we saw last. For me, the whole experience is so enjoyable. From the getting ready at home to looking for a parking space to entering the cinema with the intoxicatingly sweet smell of popcorn. From the sitting in a lighted theatre to watching trailers of upcoming movies to watching the movie with great anticipation and the promise of a good story. *Sigh* I love the cinema. If only tickets weren’t so bloody expensive. How much this movie is probably gonna cost us this Thursday night….

Tickets for two – RM26
Dinner – RM30
Refreshments – RM10
Parking – RM1
Total – RM67

Mahalnya my wayang outing. How can we afford to go often? Unless we just go for the movie, minus the food. But where’s the fun in that? Especially for me, the budak gemuk….

Watching street fighters and geeks
Eh sleepylah today. All coz of watching The Apprentice. Still cannot watch the second half of OC. Hmmm, maybe my bro will want to buy the DVDs. Heh heh. I know he’s right now watching the complete first season of Alias. Maybe he can buy OC after that. Or 4400. I managed to catch a few episodes and thought it was worth watching. What happened after that I wonder? Or was there never a second season of 4400?

Grim lawyers playing baseball
Am still reading Empress Orchid. Wanna maybe get Grisham’s The Broker next, but it’s still not available in paperback. Bummer. Or maybe will read his A Painted House. I’ve got all his ‘lawyer-lawyer’ books (which incidentally, I love) but have yet to read Bleachers, Skipping Christmas, and A Painted House.

Hmm, next Monday will be a holiday. Maybe I can go to Borders or Kino. We’ll see….

Walk up the garden path

My bad: I’m watching Star Wars on the 19th, not the 20th as said in the previous post. Okay, enough about SW.

Yesterday we went traipsing in Ikea. Fun fun fun! Ikea has a knack for making me want things which I would never have wanted otherwise. Like suddenly I wanted a big potted plant. Or a small cut bamboo with mushy crystal jelly in a vase. Or a bright blue watering can. Or those brown deco thingies you hang in your garden. Semua tengok semua nak. What’s with me? I seem to have no power of restraining myself….

Today it’s a work Saturday. Boring! We are all in the office, but work is the last thing on our minds. The boss has gone to Melaka to meet the bigger boss, and all of us are using this time to go around yapping and laughing and playing games and blogging (ehmm, that would be me).

But today the blog is short, coz I wanna visit my neopet. I know you’re rolling your eyes, and going, Get a life girl….

All the same, wish everyone a great weekend!
And hubby, go fill up your kotak kasut….

Makan and star-gazing

Yesterday turned out to be a good day after all. We went to MidValley after work, and got our tickets. There were some crummy seats left. It was either right in front, or at the far side or at the back (twin-seats). Hubby got the twin seats. So we’re going to see Star Wars on the 20th. Yay!

We went to MPH and hubby bought me a book. Another yay! Great birthday gift. I love books. I’m just running out of places to store them. I got the Life of Pi. Anyone read that yet? Is it Pi like in pi (3.142) or like in pee? Haven’t read it yet, though. Have to finish Empress Orchid first. So far it’s ok.

Had the most scrumptious dinner yesterday. We went to Manhattan Fish Market and had the platter for two. Yumm-myyyy.. The prawns were so sedap. Was so full I could barely get out of my seat. Oh I saw the singer Fazley at the restaurant. He was with his family. Looked nice with his hair long. Hubby said, "If you were to fall in love again, I wouldn’t mind if it were Fazley, coz I think he looks good with long hair." Wha?!? I mean… you okay hubby? You’d better be joking.

Maybe today we’ll go to Ikea. Have to get another wedding present.

Maybe the force will want to be with you

Today is my birthday. I am 29. And like any other 29-year-old adult I am fretting. I have yet to purchase my Star Wars ticket. To my dismay, I found out that it was already on sale yesterday at TGV and today in GSC. So this is my haiku – can it even be considered a haiku? Probably not. Whatever. Hear my lament.

Tickets to Star Wars
Are all probably sold out
Unbelievable

Maybe I can try lah to get the tickets…..

Do or do not. There is no try.

The building that is me

Truth is stranger than fiction.

Well, not exactly stranger, but probably weirder, and full of funny coincidences and contradictions. Consider the following:

I have a mother and a father, and a stepfather and a stepmother. I have one brother (same mum same dad), two sisters (same mum different dad), and one brother sister pair (same dad different mum).

I hate all vege that starts with the letter ‘C’ – cucumber, cauliflower, cabbage, carrots, but I love coleslaw (cabbage + carrots).

I was the only kid in our standard six class who had never been to the museum (so meng-embarassing-kan).

In school, I used to speak Malay like a Chinese speaking Malay (and I’m a melayu, malunye).

I have no gallbladder and no spleen.

My husband and I have names that begin with the same letter.

Our mothers were both born on the 2nd of July.

My great-grandparents were bestowed the titles Sir and Lady respectively.

After 28 years of age, I finally tried eating a manggis last year.

Full of contradictions, I am.

After all, I’m a work in progress….

Counting sheep and pigeons

So sleepy today. Nearly fell asleep at my desk. I had little to do and had loads of time on my hands. A bit boring to be left alone without any work. Still haven’t finished my book. Man, this is taking so long. I used to be able to read a novel in two days. What happened to me? Aiyah, too sleepy, so the blog has to be short today.

Zzzzzzz…

Pop-quiz:
In which movie was this line said?

The sun has gone to bed
And so must I….

The mudslinger sometimes hides truths

Crossing all borders

Yes! I finally went to Borders last Saturday. Hubby and I got there at about 10am, and then we split up and roamed the super-store. I was so busy looking at so many many many books and stuff, and realised I was suddenly hungry. Looked at my watch, and yikes, it was already 1pm! Time sure flies when you’re in a bookstore.

Ever felt like you had so many books to see and buy, and once you reach the bookstore, you forget the title of every single book on your list? So whaddaya do? Write it down, and sure enough, when you go to the bookstore next, you forget where you put that damn list!

Then we had to stop for lunch. Well, I had lunch alone as hubby was still fasting and I unfortunately was too hungry and cannot wait to get home to eat. So I had chicken rice and he bought some DVDs. We went back to Borders to continue our gallivanting. And we bought mama a book for Mother’s Day. All in all, I’d say it was a pretty good outing.

Watched The Apprentice yester-night. Hmmm, promising. However, looking at all the contestants, I can’t say I like any one of them. But then again, we should never judge a blog by its title.

Why you frontin' biatch?
Oh, I did buy a book. After going round and round and restraining myself to just one purchase, I finally chose something called Empress Orchid. Haven’t started on it yet. Still reading something else… What, I hear you ask? It’s Virginia Andrew’s Willow. There I said it. You happy now?!?

Pop-quiz:

In which movie was this line (or something to its effect) said?

Fate, it seems, is never without a sense of irony....

To be or to not be, is it a question?

Yesterday during lunch, my dept mates asked how to pronounce lasagne. And so it led to a whole discussion on pronouncing certain foods which are non-Malaysian. Funny how we have our own Malaysian way of pronouncing and phrasing things. Not to say that I’m perfect and have not made any mistakes, believe me, I have. But all in the spirit of learning folks!

So today I’m paying tribute to all those mispronounced words and phrases that I’ve come across. The following are the wrong ways to pronounce them, mind you.

Lasagne [la-sag-nah / lasak-na / la-zag-nia]
Steak [stik / stek]
Bolognese [bolog-nis / bolok-nis]
Fillet [fi-let / fi-led]
Pizza [pi-sa / pi-za / piz-za]
Pastry [pest-tree]
Cake [keg]
Bread [braid]
Flour [fla / flar]

Thanks god as in "Thanks god I wasn’t at the scene of the accident!"
That’s mean as in "That’s mean we have to fill out the form."

These deserve special mention, as they’ve become somewhat of an inside joke with my hubby. These two (real mistakes) are courtesy of his so-colourful friends.

I come to peace (piss?) said to mean "I come in peace."
Who’s that could be? said to mean "Who could that be?"

I’m sure we’ve all heard many and had our own experiences of mispronouncing stuff. Heard of any recently? Feel free to add yours to the list.

Thanks god it’s Friday!
Hehehe…

Watching the sheep cross borders

The safest pedestrian crossing ever…. Or is it?
While on our way to work this morning, we stopped at a certain cross-junction. This particular junction is really odd. You know when you come to a junction, there are green lights and red lights for certain lanes, and there are also the pedestrian crossings with the green man walking? Well, at this particular junction, there is one point in time when all lanes get the red lights and the pedestrians can cross. So what’s odd about that, right? Well, for one, all cars have to stop and look at each other wondering what’s happening and why everyone’s stopping. And another thing, the pedestrians who were supposed to cross? Well, they’re non-existent! The simple reason? This is Cyberjaya! No one walks from home to office. So all of us will wait and stare at each other like idiots for about 20 seconds before the lights go green again.

To sleep and perchance to dream….
Yesterday night we went to buy a bed for mama in Ikea, and as we walked through the store, we saw people dressed in pyjamas. Then I realised that Ikea was having its sleepover party. Hmmm, wonder how that went. Looked really interesting. Which I was part of that. I remember the ad in the papers stating that registration was on a workday, so that was already a no-no. All the same, it looked like marvellous fun.

Borderline case of schizophrenia
I heard that Borders has opened its doors in Berjaya Times Square. Man, when can I go? I know there’ll be another one at The Curve. I need to go. I haven’t been to a bookstore in ages. Last time was Kino KLCC I think. Or was it MPH? Such a long time ago. And that’s a shame. I love the smell of bookstores, the scent of books, the feel of new pages, and the promise of a good story between the covers. I love them…*sigh* which is why I have to go this weekend. I have to, I have to, I have to.

Hubby…. Sayang… can we go? Please? Please say yes….

Nak pegi jugak.

Twisting Oliver's View Askew

Never fails to happen. There I go tip-tapping on my PC and the whole thing gives up on me. Sheesh. So much for technology. It’s Wednesday. I missed an entry yesterday and Monday and Sunday. Monday was a public holiday.

We were at mama’s and us four girls (minus kak) decided to watch tv. So we watched Oliver’s Twist and drooled over the popsicle that Jamie Oliver was making for his daughter, Poppy. Ilyana got it down pat when she commented that the people who watch Jamie’s shows don’t cook, and the people who cook don’t watch his shows.

Since it was lazy Monday, which was fitting for a Labour Day holiday, we continued watching tv and switched to a Malay film, "just for laughs" said Anick. The said film directed by a certain Datuk certainly provided us lots of laughter. We were hysterical watching the stilted acting and unrealistic dialogue as well as the implausible storyline. Seriously….

What do the so-called critics see in these films? Often giving reviews like lakonan yang berkesan, jalan cerita yang menarik, dapat memukau penonton and other BS.

We should give a chance to new directors and film makers to give us something that’s not so run-of-the-mill, something original, creative, enlightening. And folks, let’s try watching other films rather than the usual "box-office" hits directed by the likes of Datuks and Prof Madyas.

Even Jamie Oliver’s half-hour cooking show has more substance….