Sunday, January 28, 2007

Voices from Next Door

Damian’s 28th Birthday – an intimate dinner at Eat Workshop. There was more bitching, gossiping and giggling about life & love than an episode of ‘Sex In The City’. It was hilarious. We enjoyed it so much. We ate so much good food – escargots, grill salmons, squid with salsa sauce, grill mango chickens, scallops with risotto, brownies with vanilla ice-cream toppings and tiramisu :)

Club 21 – M had a housewarming party yesterday; a lovely house in the new residential area in Section 7. The interiors were contemporary and elegant. I love the IKEA furnitures & the built-in cabinets and wardrobes; space was spacious, I love the colors in each room, they were so well-coordinated. M’s friends from school & college were there. Met a lot of pretty strangers but introductions went around quickly. I was also greeted by faces I knew well. Everyone looked so…grown up! I couldn’t help but look around and gawk at these familiar faces. It was so weird and good feeling inside at the same time. G looked so sophisticated, J looks changed, mature. Luckily no one was balding. Some put on weight. Some lost weight. They are same, but different :) Later on we made ourselves comfortable and gather around to watch the Malaysia-Singapore football match. It was heartbreaking that our country lose out on the penalties after drawing 1-1.

Work Tales – heard from Lucius that Boss is back at the Assunta Hospital again. The bleeding must have gotten worst because Boss is forbidden to go home until the health condition have been stabilized and Boss is only allow to be discharged in mid-Feb. Apparently further observation is required. Nonetheless, Boss being Boss, Boss is planning to make a comeback somewhere in April. Frankly speaking we really need Boss right now. Even though Lucius is the appointed caretaker but there are several zones that Lucius has no power of. Lucius’s voice has yet to reach a point where it is able to command.
We also had 2 farewell parties for our 2 top commanders. One will be heading to Pakistan and another will be holding a regional position in South-East Asia. It’s sad but they have to go anyway, they are expensive to maintain and the new management certainly do not require any of their services anymore. The British Armies have not put a foot wrong. I’ll be doing the same thing if I were in their position. I will come in fast, attack viciously and immediately establish my power & authority. All the M13 top post will be replaced by my own people. I will immediately bring in my own set of cultures, rules and procedures. Those who rebel will be executed. So my only plan is no plan. React and adapt accordingly. Objective: survival for as long as possible. Avoiding people. Avoiding involvement. Corporate takeover is nasty but it has been eye-opening & life-affirming :) I’m mentally, emotionally and physically prepared for any dramatic changes.

Saturday, January 20, 2007

FREEDOM GIG

Fly Baby Fly – Baby Sister have landed safely in the United States of America. She had her 3 days of orientation in Washington DC before flying off to her foster family in Portland, Oregon. Happy 18th Birthday :)

Friday Nite Live – M13 had her very last Annual Dinner last week with a Hawaii Beach theme :( It was a big occasion for all of us. There are 19 of us in the team, we took up only 2 tables in the ballroom and we were responsible for half the noise. We were very loud! :) Hugs and kisses and photos went all around. And it was hard to say goodbye :(

I had an evening date with Chihiro on last week Sunday. We spent a couple of hours sitting in Coffee Bean updating each other on our latest happenings. My trip to Bangkok & Pattaya, Chihiro’s family vacation in Vancouver, Seattle, San Francisco & L.A., our relationship, our work, our friends, general happenings etc etc. We found the perfect way to unwind and forget all about the pressures that we are in :)

Work Tales – the integration process has begun!

Just had rocking over-the-phone-conversations with CZ & IVY :)

Saturday, January 06, 2007

Love At First Stripe!

The British Armies moved in swiftly. They surveyed the terrain, marked the X-spots on the important territories and quickly put everything into motion. They were focus, determined and passionate; very different from The Dutch. Introductions went around, from the low-ranking officers to the Lieutenant, Captain and General ranks. I remember vividly, such a scenario; I only get to experience them from my College & Uni days through the business textbooks, economics journals & industries case studies – all theoretical information but to actually gain first-hand experience of such an event like this week was very educational. I see myself as nothing to lose. I don’t see the need to go. No need to raise Code Red for now…but we shall see…after all, we are anak tiri :) I can sense that we are not a priority but excess baggage. Nonetheless, I have projects to look forward to. I’m still cracking my head for this year strategies. The category hits 1.5 millions :) The benchmark has been raised. I need to deliver & perform.
Seth, Celtic & Wyatt has been putting ideas into my head, they were like going on a brainwashing rampage. Again, I don’t give a damn :) I have better things to do & to think about!

The Director is back! Drop by to see how we are doing. The Director was in glittering form. It was a sweet visit :)

Eye On Malaysia – the giant Ferris Wheel in Taman Tasik Titiwangsa will be launch today. I can’t wait to sit on it, must plan for a day trip :) The Ferris Wheel is 60m high and is fitted with 42 gondolas. One VIP gondola is fitted with glass flooring, leather seats, tinted glass, plasma screen, DVD player & a refrigerator – which I’m sure the Prime Minister will have the honor. The wheel runs at 0 to 1.5 rpm (revolution per minute) and when one reaches the peak, one will be able to view KL’s significant landmarks – Petronas Twin Towers, KL Tower, Istana Budaya and even Genting Highlands. The wheel takes approximately 12 minutes to make a full circle and can accommodate up to 336 people & carrying a weight of 25 tonnes. RM30 million is being funded to build this toy in conjunction with Visit Malaysia 2007 and it’s the largest transportable wheel with SwissGerman technology from The Netherlands. The RM15 entrance fee will be worth it.

AirAsia X – Guess what: Malaysians are now able to fly to Manchester at the cheapest air ticket = RM9.99! Crazy or what. Tony Fernandes, the MAN behind AirAsia came up with another aviation Business Model – the launch of the Malaysia’s maiden long-haul, low-cost carrier. AirAsia & AirAsia X business will be run separately but the same tag AirAsia will be continue to use for branding purposes. The KL – UK route will be ready for take-off in July and more destinations will be added on later. This is so cool. That means I can go to Liverpool for as low as RM300! :) But there is a catch. Low-cost means no-frills. No food served and in-house entertainment. But who cares. We get to save so much. I don’t mind. With the money save, I have more cash to spend in the UK. The whole country is really proud. Malaysia have its very own Richard Branson; the founder of the Virgin Group who owns Virgin Blue Airlines.

Analyst Forecast – Local Economics & Fund Managers said that good times are ahead for Malaysians. 9MP Projects rollout, Visit Malaysia 2007, a stronger Ringgit – will be able to sustain this country’s economic growth and improve corporate earnings. Well, some industry like Tourism, Retail, Construction & Aviation will make it and some won’t :)

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

a coffee-fueled kid

It was the best New Year Eve, the best Countdown ever :)

We were so kiasu that we drove down to Mutiara Damansara at 5pm. Traffic was smooth on the LDP and we were very very lucky to get a nice parking space in IKANO. We hang around in the mall for a while, met up with the rest and look for a place to eat. Every eateries was CROWDED! It looks like everyone decides not to stay indoors and decides to eat out. From KFC to McDonalds, to Kim Gary to DRAGON-I, the queues were long; people were getting impatient to be seated. We signed and it looks like we didn’t have a choice so we had sushi for dinner instead. We just grab the only table that was available to us. After dinner, we went to the flea market and drop by at the carnival. The sun began to set and the crowd grew bigger and bigger.

We head to the stage area – found a nice spot where we get a clear view to see all the actions. The concert was a blast. All the acts were fantastic; the hip-hop dancers, our local indie bands, Jaclyn Victor & Reshmonu rock the crowd! It was hot! Damn, it felt good to be in a party atmosphere again. The place was crawling with good looking, very funny, very intelligent eligible bachelors (I think) :) Then the countdown begins…5, 4, 3, 2, 1…the fireworks exploded. The view was spectacular. And colorful. The place looks so pretty at night! Sparkly and glittery and tiny lights as far as the eye could see. My attention was engaged and captivated the whole time :)

After midnight, we crawl out from the place. There were lame drunk people everywhere, people squishing past us and how utterly gross our hair smells after. The night was good :)

I had a new haircut too. New year, new look. I’ve had short hair all of my adult life. Short hair is easy to manage as I’m too lazy with my hair anyway :) I’ve always been attended by ladies hair dressers who are feminine by appearance but this particular hair dresser that was attending to me today was an exception. She was tomboyish, dress in baggy shirts & shorts with Adidas sneakers; she has tattoos on her legs and neck. But her hands were tender soft, very fast, very expert and very skilful on my hair. She basically snipped and snipped huge locks of my hair one at a time until she was done. The way she handle my hair left me feeling absolutely divine. Confident, strong & purposeful.

The normal routine from all the hair dressers that I’ve been to would lead me from the basin to the chair with my hair sopping wet & wrapped in a large white towel. After they have washed and blow dried my hair, then they would proceed to pin up all my hair with colorful clips except for a little skirt at the base of my neck.
Cut. Let down a bit more. Cut.
Fiddle with the length. Let down a bit more. Cut.
Tilt my head down a little. Cut. Compare the lengths of hair.
Cut a bit more. Fiddle. Fuss. Make small chat. Which I usually ignore. Ugh.

My hair is short now – I’m a rock chick :)