final curtain

The undisputed King Of Pop.

Michael Jackson.
Larger than life he is.
Thank you for the beautiful thought-provoking-life-unifying song lyrics,
Thank you for the original and unique music,
Thank you for the breakthrough music videos,
Thank you for the Moonwalk, the crotch-grabbing, thrusting & jerking dance moves,
Thank you for the fashion,
You are the blazing rock and roll,
You are simply the best – it doesn’t matter whether you are black or white.

rainbow; found

This has been way long over due :)

My Cambodian Adventure – 5D4N Siem Reap / Phnom Penh.

Day 01 >> Our flight was at 7am. So my girlfriends and I woke up at 3am, took the cab, check-in, had our early breakfast at Old Town Cafe and slept our way until AK846 landed safely in Siem Reap. Then to our shocker – there was 3 Mexican tourists who is on the same flight with us. Oh my gosh – Swine Flu! :) But thank GOD, no outbreak and none of us were infected. It was hot in Cambodia. It was also the low-peak tourist season in Cambodia as well, thus there were not many tourist around. Cambodia is very much like Malaysia – in the 60s; where there are not many commercial developments and the people lifestyle is very simple and less demanding. We checked in into our hotel. Most hotels you stay in, you don’t even think about the actual hotel building and the story behind it, it’s all about the latest & greatest features and fittings. But when you walk around the corridors of all the hotels in Cambodia, it’s hard not to be struck by a strong sense of history and presence. This country has gone through so much. It is very cool. The first place that we visited was a short sight-seeing trip at LES ARTISAN D’ANGKOR; a handicraft center. Lots of potteries, paintings, wood-carvings, stone-carvings, marble-carvings and almost all of their masterpieces theme is very much associated with their religion which is Buddhism.
Then we went up to the Bakeng Hill; the steps to the top of this Wat were very steep – with a 90 degrees angle. So everyone have to climb up the steps by crawling and by using their hands. We view the sunset from the top and the sight was just beautiful.

Day 02 >> After breakfast, we visited the South Gate of Angkor Thom – Bayon, Phimeanakas, Taprohm Temple, Elephant Terrance and Terrance of the Leper King. Actually, all of these are the smaller temples and the most grand of all is the Angkor Wat. Each Wat is unique in its designs. However, as you began to see more, they tend to look the same. Until I can’t even tell the difference. There is a very strong Thai culture in its architecture. So there are many carvings of the Chinese Buddha and Indian’s God in each of its designs. I adore historical characters in buildings. What is very impressive is how the past civilization builds all of these Wats without proper tools and technologies. After lunch, we continue to visit the Chao Say Devoda, Thommanon, Banteay Kdey, Srah Srong and finally the Angkor Wat; one of the seven wonders in the world! Exceptional architectural design, remarkable history :)

Day 03 >> We proceed to Phnom Penh (the capital of Cambodia) early in the morning by coach. It was an 8 hours journey. When we arrive in the afternoon, we visited the Independence Monument, the Victory Monument, the Chaktomuk River (the river was pretty dodgy, it was very old, run down and dirty but it’s a famous river because it meets up with the Mekong River) and finally the Naga Resorts; which is the Cambodia’s biggest international casino; opened by a Malaysian – nope, it doesn’t belong to the Genting Group.

Day 04 >> Our tours begin with the Royal Palace, the Silver Pagoda and the Toul Sleng museum which displays items of the inhuman acts of Pol Pot. My girlfriends and I didn’t enter the museum. Even though it’s not the famous Killing Field where thousands of innocents were killed and buried, my girlfriends who are very superstitious said it was better not to go near these negative energies. So we ended up having coffee instead in a little café. Actually it’s very sad because their own people kill their own people which causes so many unnecessary deaths. And the cruelty is so brutal. What’s more, it took place 20 years back, thus so many of the Cambodians are still carrying the scar and the memory with it. After lunch, we visited Wat Phnom, and then souvenir shopping at the Central Market & Russian Market. It’s really like our very own Central Market.

Day 05 >> Boarded AK275 and reach LCCT at 7pm.

I feel very lucky to be growing up in Malaysia. I think Malaysians are a very lucky lot of people. Everyone have free education, everyone has health facilities access and everyone have jobs as long as they are willing to work. Look at the Cambodians – it’s a poor country yet their trading currencies are in the US Dollar. Their children don’t go to school. When they see us (the tourist), they swarm us like nobody business, begging us to buy their hand-made souvenirs. Cambodia economics – is very much like Indonesia; run by the Chinese. Yes, the Chinese is everywhere conquering the world :)
It was a very good trip; soaking up the ancient historical architecture, civilization and culture. Loads of satisfaction :)

when you say nothing at all

Thank You GOD! :)
It’s knowing that I’m blessed. My love and faith is a deep and treasured gratefulness.

The Coleman “Let’s Go Outside” and “School’s Out, Fun’s In” Column Ad Promotion started off very shakily, then somehow it picks up in the middle and roar very successfully until the very end. RM57k and RM75k respectively.
I think the English got frighten. They were caught by surprise and unprepared. They have become very aggressively as well lately, fighting me and copying my assortment strategies in every corner. They even have the guts to ask my suppliers for my Master List and I caught Atticus taking pictures illegally of my implantation in my Subang store :) In a way, I’m very proud. It indicates to me that I’m doing something right, something that Iron Butterfly do not see, do not appreciate but the top management of the English does. Somehow I feel much more valuable.

And this week begins with another nail-biting situation: 'a HEALTHY you' campaign. Again, sales are not ringing in. It’s driving me crazy. I even went a step further by having a joint cooperation with Fitness First; hoping to create a healthy-like-atmosphere-event for the customers. The pressure is incredible. Uninvited stress for sure. I never imagined that this promotion is going to be so difficult. Working alone and being the only one around who knew what's needed to be done was probably another reason for all that pressure. Nonetheless, I can't be grateful enough for all the encouraging remarks from everyone. Its hard work; but definitely tolerable at this point! No doubt; I'm gritting my teeth and soldiering on! Inevitably; I'll be rallying my whole team in moving forward with new & outrageous business plans. Sometimes I really pity my store people. No sales, means no bonus. They worked so hard and they deserve so much more. This is reality. If you can't hit your KPI, you ain't getting anything. And I'm trying very hard to help them to acheive that.

Timing is everything. Crossing fingers – I can pull this one off as well.
Best I could do is to shrug it off and go, “Well, at least I tried!” and move on to trying something else!

supernatural

Tomorrow is Sunday, then it’s Monday – sigh, have to get back to work :(
I’ve been very tense for the past few weeks. I’ve got a lot on my plate. Can’t seem to wade through these urgent to-do’s in a graceful manner :)

Some people ask me how do I do this? The truth is, I don't actually know. I become someone else, when given the job; I drown myself in the pages, I drown myself in the schedules, I get lost in the deadlines - they tighten it, I deliver them, regardless. Like a monkey on a leash, I bounce around in excitement, whenever given a task - I am like that :)

let it shine

My world has been through a lot of transformations over the last few months.

“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves” - Viktor Frankl

you had me at hello

I’m 27 this month! :)

Ah; how time have change my plans :)
Who would have thought that I would carve my career in the retail industry and make a name for myself in the last 4 years? Some people said that I will not be able to survive it all but I did! It still feels a little surreal to me how I've finally parked myself comfortably into the retail world. Well; not exactly as comfortably as I would have expected; but certainly thrilled about it nonetheless! I know it's difficult to take my child-like persona seriously at times (from the suppliers, the store people, the top top management, the support crew, fellow comrades); but I'm really not the type who sits back when others begin pushing my buttons! Well no doubt; in my line of work there will always be moments where people decide to have a go at my confidence or credibility, and being the idiot that I am; I would spend the next 2 hours questioning myself *slaps forehead* I need to stop worrying; it's holding me back :)

I re-write my career path. If I have remain faithfully and patiently in BCI Asia – I would be doing marketing research, copywriting, media and publishing; related subjects that I undertake in my undergraduate studies...instead of retail merchandizing.
The first 5 months of this year was a tough journey for me - I stopped for directions, I’ve shifted gears; and in some cliff-hanging moments – I was actually clinging on to my dear life. It truly felt like that. Do-or-die-situation. This year I've sacrificed all of my Saturday afternoons...it wasn't so much about how scared I was of growing older; but more so of the significance of letting the 27th year of my life to go to waste. I know that the sleep deprivation was shocking. My brain was completely fried. I was walking around like a cute zombie :) There were moments where I’d rather push myself, than be a lazy blob :)
No doubt, it gets more and more difficult trying to stay strong. I completely understand how I'm not the only one in the world pursuing my dreams; I am not alone, I know for a fact there are so many of us out there searching for inspirational others. I could make a list about a 100 things that I dislike about myself, I could make a list of 10 habits I should work on changing every day, but I can't seem to make a substantial list of reasons to give myself a pat on the back. This is the very sad part of me. I really have to stop taking each poor sales results failure as a personal failure which I beat myself up about each night. No doubt; occasionally things go wrong, people make mistakes, external factors playing up; but I as the person behind it all; should take it as the responsibility of an entity as a whole, instead of convincing myself what an idiot I was to not have done THIS or THAT!
That's ridiculous! I've always taken full responsibilities for my actions; but when it's the actions of more than just me; of people working for me; working with me; working under me; against me, I can't control all of that; I must let go. I can't change the world by worrying about every little mess-up; I can't build my experiences by being petty over the littlest details which upset me. I'm trying to do all I can, and all I know…I never go to sleep each night without thinking to myself; what if it isn't enough? What if I'm too ahead or far behind of myself? What if people think of my career as a joke? Silly huh? I've always been a confident and brave person; but I guess even the strongest of us have our moments. I have not been performing the way I had intended; I wished there was a 'mental'-gym I could sign up for to train myself to health again :)
I've grown to accept that an easy life isn't necessarily a blessing and a difficult life isn't necessary a curse. The KEY word here is BALANCE - balance in life; between work AND play. Reminder: Living a balanced and fulfilling life.
Where am I headed next? :)

Then there is the families, friends, colleagues, foes, communities - the craziness of the relationship that I have with each one of them :) It might be the tiniest, most insignificant thing – yet it would instantly make me feel unreasonably upset, angry, irritated, guilty, sad or scared. Nonetheless I’m very proud and grateful to be a part of their lives somehow. Thanks for coming into my world and filling my life with more meaning than I ever could have imagined. Thanks for letting me see the other side of the world again through different eyes. And everyday gives me the opportunity to look for that special-ness with them, and then choose happiness :)

I am indeed a lucky and blessed woman. Thank You GOD!
Never have I been happier. Yet, never have I realized.