Belinda's Territory

Friends, Idol, Life

Sep 25, '05 4:49 AM
for everyone

I'm enjoying every second of my semester holidays. I've been catching up with some friends, those whom I've not seen for months. It may not seem to be as long as meeting friends who are abroad, still it is long by local standards.

Cheryl, my study tour buddy cum room mate during the tour. It is thrilling to see that we get on so well in such a short time. It is probably fate. I hope our friendship will not be the 'passer-by' type. What pieced us as friends (Brisbane trip aside) is maybe our opinions on the world and people around us. They may be different but they are very constructive. I think this is one of the many parts that build friendships. Perhaps, that is the starting point. Also, we are of the same 'frequency'.

Alice, my primary and secondary school pal. We are really close friends. It has been our habit to exchange tapes (when CDs and VCDs aren't the in things), CD and VCD. It is also a norm for us to hang out in each other's house. Of late, since my move to KL, I've been visiting her during the festive seasons. Our friendship has been through a lot. We were good friends in primary school and first year of secondary school and then when we were in different classes, we grew apart. I was really sad because we were mixing with different groups who do not seem to get a long. That was the toughest time when there were prejudices. Upon entering the same class in Fourth Form, automatically, we became glued again. It was then that our friends started saying, "If you want find Belinda, go find Alice." We ate, we played, we discussed homework, etc. This friendship of mine is unexplainable in words. It has been ten years since we've known each other and we play an important role in each other's lives even though we have different sets of friends now.

I'm truly glad to have them both as my good friend and close friend respectively. Although they are of different faiths, I respect them whole heartedly and deep down inside, I know they have the same beliefs as I do. Thank you, Cheryl! Thank you, Alice!

* * *

I went to watch Drink Drank Drunk last Wednesday. I've to admit that I could not miss a movie that has Daniel Wu in it ever since... It was superb! I can't wait for its DVD. My darling Daniel was as leng chai as ever. He played Michel, a French-Chinese who backpacks around the world and ended up in Hong Kong because he ran out of money and he decided to set up a French eatery. Hongkies do not know how to appreciate authentic French cuisine and thus, Michel had to close shop and this is where Miriam Yeung's character comes in. Who the hell cares the name of her character. Both of them certainly make a good on screen couple, right from their Love Undercover days. I damn envy Miriam because she gets to kiss Daniel so many times. Imagine the number of takes and all that!!! Arghhh! Hehe!

* * *

Malaysian Idol. I've been following it closely. The show had been my entertainment in the jungle. I'm always looking forward to Friday nights. Finally, the results of the second season is out. Daniel is the second Malaysian Idol after Jac of the previous season. Daniel, a guy who still has boyish looks, has probably loads of female fans. He received a total of 1.2 million votes during the finale as compared to Nita who has only 500,000 votes. Both did very well when they battled out in the final showdown. Daniel started with the Malaysian Idol song, it's not the theme though, Mimpi and he proceeded with Heaven Knows, which was his favorite song I think and he wrapped it up with Angin Malam, an Indonesian number which was chosen by the judges for him. After Daniel finished Mimpi, Nita sang a Malay song (I forgot the title); then, it was the cabaret number Big Spender and lastly Mimpi. Daniel and Nita sang alternately.

My conclusion after the showdown was Nita's voice does not quite suit Mimpi. I felt that her voice was trapped and my mom thought she screamed too much and it stressed my mom out listening to her singing that song. Daniel prevailed even though he had pitching problems in his first song. Thus, I sent in about 60 votes! Haha! Madness, man! That was the first thing I did when I woke up. I changed to a SIM card which I got for free and kept voting. I'm not sure if I've dried up the credits. This was the craziest thing I did this week.

* * *

Gurney Plaza was hell on a Saturday. I could not get parking there and was caught in non-moving traffic for about 10 minutes on the service road. That was when I decided to drive to Belissa Row to which Alice agreed. Thank God a car reversed and gave us a nice spot in front of Coffee Beans & Tea Leaves. We decided not to go coffee drinking and ended up across the road at Baskin Robbins. *slurp* I had Double Scoop Sundae, Walnut and Chocolate Chips. Yummy! Shit! I think my waist grew by half an inch after that session. I hope yakking did burn off some fat.

Later, we ended up in Gurney Plaza. No place to park on top, so we went down... way down... *ahem* It was B2, ok? So It's way down. Went up to Popular Bookstore and spent a good two hours there. Checked out the magazines. Nothing interesting. I can't buy any more book as I've just bought one out of curiosity three or four days ago. It's called Don't Sit on This Book. It is about taboos. Interesting. Back to Popular. We spent most of the time pouring over recipes. Boy, did my stomach started grumbling! So many nice pictures for me to have good looks at and I didn't bother to look at the recipes. I even found French, Caribbean and Korean recipes. Then, I stopped because I could not take the inviting pictures anymore. I stood there staring at the covers while Alice continued flipping over them. Suddenly, someone pat me on my shoulder and called out my Chinese name. OMG!!! Before I could say, "Who the heck..." There she was, Wei Wei, my primary and secondary school friend.

Whoa!!! She looked so different. Better dress sense. Haha! She is already working with SQA as an engineer. She's still as loud as before. Her laugh is always so hearty. Did some catching up at that very corner. It was cool seeing someone you have not seen for two years.

* * *

My grandaunt has been admitted to the hospital again. This time, one of her wounds did not heal properly and the doctor decided that she has to undergo skin grafting. Praying hard for her speedy recovery. The first doctor who looked to her was pretty harsh when he said, "If your wound is not dry by Monday, it may have to be amputated." Poor old lady. She broke down when she told us what the doctor said. I could see fear in her eyes. She was totally wrecked by those words.

To those of you who do not know what it takes to carry out amputation, please take note. NO limbs should be amputated if they are healthy and not damaged. Damage to a limb can be due to circulatory problems or gangrene, which is the main reason for most cases. Also, if a limb has been badly crushed during an accident and the doctor decided that it could not function anymore, then it will be amputated. Circulatory problems are mostly linked to really poor blood circulation. Gangrene occurs when an infection gets out of hand. In all cases, the affected limbs would turn black and most will be numb and patients may not feel anything when touched or pinched.

* * *

Today is a lazy Sunday. I was supposed to wake up at 7 a.m. and go for a walk at Gurney Drive with my mom and aunt. However, the laziness in me was more superior than my will to go for the walk. Besides, I was having sweet dreams. Three in all. I was enjoying every second of them. One is where I was somewhere in Australia with my cousins playing around the garden. Then, another one was located closer to home. I did not see any of my family members and the people I stayed with were strangers in real life. I felt like I was ill treated by some old bitch in that place. Everyone under that roof anti-ed me except for this one person whom I presume was that bitch's son. Could not remember who he is but he was my best friend in that dream. I even saw some of my old friends when I went out of the confines. Chatted with some. Then, the third dream was about... I could not recall it right now.

Anyway, I helped mom make some apple strudels. Stopped helping when I cut my left index finger with the knife while cubing the apples. *ouch* It was so cool to get everyone's attention just by saying, "Shit!" loudly. Felt so pampered. Haha!

I'll tell you how the strudels are as they are now in the oven. No wonder a strudel can cost a bomb outside. The process is really tedious. Cube the apples, cook them, mix them with raisins, crushed walnuts and a host of other ingredients; folding the pastry from scratch... There is a technique to make the pastry layer-y.

* * *

Time to sign-off. Until I have enough story to blog, which I think I will have on Thursday or Friday. Perhaps I'll blog a bit on Tuesday. Do check this out soon! Take care y'all!

Incident after Incident

Sep 19, '05 2:38 AM
for everyone

Semester finals had just ended and the papers were rather tough. As of now, I've passed three subjects - Business Taxation, International Business Environment and Portfolio Management. The last one was the toughest of the four subjects I had to take this semester. It is about investment and it contains calculations, which I don't particularly like. I'm waiting anxiously for the outcome of the very last subject, Corporate Governance. I think I did okay in the finals. Once I know its outcome, I'll be the happiest person on earth that day.

I remember bragging at the end of one of my entries recently. My guess was right, that guy actually tried to take action after the exams ended. He called me up the very I arrived home. Yeah, I'm now back home in the Pearl of the Orient. I asked him what's up and he replied nothing. It was already 11 something at night and I was dead tired as I woke up at 6 a.m. that very morning and started my journey back home at 7 a.m. and had not really slept since I set foot at home. The last thing I wanted was an unimportant phone call. Fine. When he asked where I was and I answered without a doubt, "I'm in PJ." Come on, man! I asked what does he want and he said nothing, so I assumed it was unimportant. The moment I hung up on him, my sirens started blaring. This time really really loud.

"I've got to do something now!" I told myself. I found myself wide awake soon afterwards. Tried watching Love Story in Harvard on my laptop as I've already planned doing that since I was in KL. I could not concentrate on the show and text Jil. Gosh! I was laughed at! She knew all a long what is going on but did not tell me. My next thought was I had to tell him by tonight, by hook or by crook. Closed the Windows Media Player window and opened Microsoft Words. There I was typing away in the comfort of my own room. The whole place is totally quiet.

I tried very hard not to let my emotions take over. Otherwise, I'd be ultimately rude in that very Friendster message. I used a lot of Caps to emphasize my points and to clearly send my message across. I won't be sharing the whole message but here are some excerpts. Do tell me what you think, ok?

"I started wondering about the ISSUE when you first asked me out for dinner and you mentioned “you and I”. Let me give you my piece of mind. I do not think it is a good idea to go out on a one-on-one dinner. I consider that a DATE. Frankly, I’m UNCOMFORTABLE with that. DO NOT ask me why. I’m just NOT cool with it."

"The outcome will not affect me but it will DEFINITELY affect YOU."

"Did you realize that YOU and I were the objects of a game when we were still studying in PJ? For the first few months maybe you do not feel anything but nobody can be so SENSELESS when this thing has been going on for ages."

"I may not have told you this but this is the TRUTH whether you want to accept it or not. Right now, we are friends. From what I see in you, you want to take our FRIENDSHIP to another level. I have already felt this for quite some time and I’ve thought over it before. A FRIENDSHIP is a FRIENDSHIP. There is NO WAY we can be more than friends. I CAN’T give this more-than-friends thing a shot BECAUSE in my head and my heart, there is only one person and that person is NOT you!"

"Do you have good GIRLFRIENDS? This is not a PROVOCATION. Relationship of good and best friends of the opposite sex may seem STRANGE to you. Maybe you have not really experienced that kind of PLATONIC friendship. Among the many BOYFRIENDS I have, I am particularly close to ONE. We always share our thoughts and freely discuss issues. I did give our friendship a thought about it being platonic but your body language and the way you address me sent me the message that there is no way we can be more than NORMAL friends."

"Another thing is it is not time for me to pursue anything else other than my studies yet. I will truly APPRECIATE it if you give me space."

"Finally, I really hope we can settle the ISSUE via email instead of talking over the phone or meeting up face to face. I do not want to SPOIL my holidays."

So, there you are, the excerpts which are actually 90% of the whole Friendster message. After sending it to him, I immediately sent him a text message "I've got a message for you on Friendster." I decided to keep it short and let the cell phone company earn some money. When I checked the inbox the following day, there it was - his reply. He probably don't know that Friendster has a limit for typing messages and posting bulletins. I went through each and every word in the message and it was all mine! I wonder what was his reply. Or was this another "nothing" reply??

W called me when I was out and I've told her the night before not to tell him my whereabouts. It was after our hellos that I told her I've dropped him the bombshell. She said she'll handle him from then on. I hope she does.

Some of you may say I should be thankful that there is someone after me. I beg to differ. If it was someone who is more extroverted than I am and most importantly from whom I can have a better sense of security as well as talk to me normally as a person, I may give him a chance. Here, I am facing a guy without guts. Out to dinner?? Don't you think it's a bit outdated? Furthermore, I've hinted for so long that he does not have a chance in my life at all! How can a human be so blur not to see those strong rejection signals. I'm not that numb to the extent where I could not feel him advancing. You can say that I'm pretty good at reading body language.

High expectations? Not really. I believe there should be some sort of chemistry between two persons. Not in this case. There was zero. Even if there is, it is probably in the negative figures. The click was not there at all... Just not my cup of tea.

Jil and my other close friends are right when saying HE has got to be someone like Daniel Wu. Well, not that I know him personally but there are certain qualities in him that I wish for. Height, attitude, adventurous, open minded yet conservative, long limbs, nice eyes, kissable lips *ahem!*, truly fluent in my first language - English, have some sense of intellectuality... The list is endless. As many has said countless times before, "The good ones are either taken or are gays." It was also quoted in the Singaporean movie "I Do I Do".

I've gotten over the whole episode. I still had the fear in me from a previous experience. It was rather scary. I told my two bestest friends about this, my mom and grandma. Thank God I have them! They were such great listeners and supporters! I've loved them since the day I could recognize them and would continue to do so for eternity. Besides them, there are a few friends whom I wish to thank. Tai, AL, Jil, W, Pauline, Mich, thank you for your ears and advices! I love you all!

Just as I was recovering from the 'trauma', another disturbing drama went on reel. This friend, HT, whom I knew from ICQ and who was from the same college sent me a text "Hi, wonder how u look like now? Can to mms me ur photo? Do u know how i look like now? We exchange photo. Mms or email me ur photo, ok? - HT (his name in full)" For God's sake! I'm on his Friendster list and he is on my list! I replied him and asked him to go to Friendster and check out my photos. Here's his next reply "Still waiting for your photo, u can mms or email me ur photo, ok? Kinda miss u. Want to know how u look like now, hehe..." At that point, I've this inferno in me, burning wildly. I rudely replied him "Dang~ Does photos really matter to friends? I thought one doesn't bother how his friends look like after sometime." Come on! Firstly, I can't even afford a camera phone. Secondly, I've told him he can go to my Friendster profile to check out my photos. I just did not tell him I've my latest photos there, which I do have. Thirdly, does it make sense that you ask for your friend's photo out of the blue. Those flirtatious text messages just turned me off! I had just told someone I don't like him and within 48 hours, I got more thrash that are almost similar.

I did not care to reply the last text message. Not even future ones from this fella unless he apologize. I don't know why I'm experiencing these crappy stuff of late? I was not even good with HT. He's still some online friends. Are guys these days experiencing serious hormonal imbalance? Girls have PMS (Pre-Menstrual Syndrome). What do guys have? Pre/Post-Horny Syndrome? Pre/Post Dreaming Syndrome? Post Hurricane Syndrome? Only God knows!

* * *

I finally saw my grandaunt. She was in a rather good shape. She was discharged from hospital only four days after her surgery, which was very fast. In total, she spent 23 days in hospital. Her heart bypass and repair of the hole in her heart was a success. She can now walk on her own although very slowly. Also, her wounds are healing very nicely. The only incident was the surgeons could not find suitable arteries in her calves, so they had to harvest arteries from her thighs. I wish she could get well really soon. I'll be helping her distribute cakes to the people who helped her on her road to recovery.

Let's see my food list. I mean the food I've taken since I came home. I had the best RM2 rice ever! Malay economic rice which has a drumstick, curry and pickles. *slurp* Then, ahhh... My grandma's cooking!! Simply out of this world! I missed fish and she cooked pomfret (pek chiau - Hokkien) for me! There are of course other yummy dishes which I might not finish listing. I've had ban chang kuih (small version), Hokkien-Lor loodles, fish ball soup with glass noodles, the REAL claypot chicken rice (AL & MICH & Yin, you gals should try this stall out, it's at the food court beside Petronas and near Island Plaza on Jalan Tanjung Tokong), Som Tam (Siamese papaya salad), peanut soup (dessert), keropok lekor, steamed corn, char hor fun, Hokkien char, Singapore Fried bee hoon, steam chicken (pak cam kai - Cantonese), chicken intestines, packet nasi lemak, Mom's apple strudel, Mom's sushi, Mom's chicken curry, Grandma's curry prawns......

I've been to Gurney Plaza and it has changed a lot! Almost got lost. *kidding* Three bookshops there - MPH, Popular and Big Bookshop. Any movie marathon anytime soon??

Drove my family to mamak two nights ago. Had the most delicious nasi lemak which I've always been dreaming while I was in KL and the most ideal Milo wor kosong ice. I asked for roti goreng and that fella went, "Hah?" I repeated and he could not understand that lingo and I presume it is the trademark dish of the mamak in the jungle. Maybe when Abu (the boss) is more free, I'll explain what roti goreng is to him and ask him to cook it up for me! Hehe! Only I can have this dish in Penang. Roti goreng is the one and only dish that I miss from the jungle. Yin, Pos Laju for me, ya?? Craving for it ler...

Drivers in Penang are equally crazy. On our way back from mamak-ing, one Wira agitated me so much. I tried defensive driving but it did not work on the young driver, definitely younger than me. Geramnya aku!!! Then I turned into a monster, right in front of my family. I did curse a bit. Not the high-class words yet just asshole this asshole that. My mom was terrified I guess. I honked, I accelerated... It was fun though. Dad didn't say a thing, so I presume he understood. I'll recognize the car, a golden colored Proton Wira with the alphabets PFH... I know it has zero as its third number. I'll have a good look at the driver next time I 'bump' into him. Throw him my KL monster look and gnaw at him. Hehe!

This is a long one already. Cheerios!!!

Home I come!!!

Sep 13, '05 11:35 AM
for everyone

Exams are finally over! Sat for Corporate Governance on Monday, which was the last paper. Not that tough neither was it easy. Oh, thanks to Enron and WorldCom that we've to study this subject.

For quite some time now, I've been thinking of moving my blog to somewhere else because Multiply does not give me the freedom that I want. I want to have a Tagboard on my blog so that I can interact with you better. At least, we don't have to wait for ages for the message page to load. I've already found one but I'm not done with the design. Hope I'll pick up some HTML these coming weeks.

I'd blog more when I get back home. Gotta head for bed now. 11pm but I've to be up at 6am so I can start my journey at 7am sharp! See ya!

Been all worked up

Sep 10, '05 1:31 PM
for everyone

It's Saturday night! Yoohooooo!!! Everybody, let's P-A-R-T-Y!!!!! But wait... hold on a second... I haven't finished my semester finals, so, too bad, I can't join you people at the most happening places. Dang~

This semester finals is killing me. For the next two weeks, please forgive me if I don't maintain eye contact with you when we talk. My eyes are just not presentable. *sorry*

Sat for Business Taxation on Wednesday. Gawd! I did some silly mistakes. I hope I'll get anything above C. The calculations were ok although I left out certain parts where you give discounts (exemptions) to taxpayers.

Friday was Portfolio Management. OMG!!! I just want a pass for this subject. I think I didn't do too well in the compulsory question. Hopefully, the questions I selected in Section B will save me from hell. Please, everyone, please pray very very hard that I will pass Portfolio Management. Do I need to give you the subject code and my exam index number as well???

Saturday (hey, isn't it today??). International Business Environment, an elective paper. I sort of freaked out when I saw a two-page case study. Some of us speculated that it will brag about China but instead, it was India. Fine. Rather interesting case though. I enjoyed it. Whoa!!! Time to give my opinions. First two questions are worth 10 marks each. Fine. Did as they asked. I think I did alright. Next is Question 3, the question is 'Given what is occuring now in the Indian economy, do you think that the country represents an attractive target for foreign multinationals selling consumer products? Support your answers.' Upon seeing 'do you think...', I thought to myself, "This is your chance, Bel. Kick some ass!" I wrote two and a half pages for this 20 mark question. The longest I've ever written. When I was checking through my work as the exam is coming to an end, I found myself using very strong vocabulary. All except those superly bombastic ones. Haha! Kids may be reading, so I'm not gonna type them here. In my beginning paragraph, the first words were 'No, India will not attract...'. Then followed by some sentences which I said the Indian politicians were chicken and are risk adverse. They always have 'what if' up in their heads. I almost included kiasu but I did not. Their policies were absurd and I actually included that word. I think my lecturer would have a good laugh at my criticism of the Indian Government. Now, I think what I wrote maybe too strong. I hope Mr. Lau would be able to digest my opinions. No offence to India and its citizens, I had to be critical for the sake of getting reasonable grades. Moreover, this is my favorite subject this semester.

Right now, I'm looking forward to wrapping up this semester finals and go home for a well deserved break. I'm overworked this semester. Thesis and exam is already killing me.

I've been all worried over the past two weeks about my grandaunt. The only surviving sister of my grandma. Now that she's undergone surgery to her heart, I'm all so relieved and happy. I'm truly looking forward to see her when I get home. She had a triple coronary bypass and the surgeon repaired the hole in her heart which she has had since young. My mom told me that she's eating porridge today although she was all groggy. I bet she'll be surprised that I drop by her bedside this coming Wednesday. I just could not wait!

Has anyone watched Love Story in Harvard yet? I'm so in love with the movie and its main actors, Kim Tae-hee and Kim Rae-won. I hope I got their names right. They are like a match made in heaven. So, now, I shall announce to you what I want for Christmas this year. All I want for Christmas is Love Story in Harvard's OST and DVD or VCD set. Please listen to Track 9 of the OST, it's translated into 'To your side'. The melody is so wonderful and the husky voice of the singer makes it even more meaningful. From what I can feel is that it is trying to say whenever you need someone, your most loved one will always be there for you. It doesn't matter if there are obstacles, your loved one will always appear before you when you needed him/her most. This song is just romantic. I can feel the tension in the song, it is as if the singer is longing for someone. Gosh... I can just brag about it. Just listen to the song and watch that show!

Sep 5, '05 2:51 AM
for everyone

Exam fever

Sep 2, '05 2:26 AM
for everyone

Here I am sitting in front of my computer when I'm supposed to be studying hard for my semester finals. In fact, I'm in front of the computer for most of the time, playing my favorite tunes. I'm one weird person who needs beautiful music to warm my brain and keep it from cooling off and stop absorbing materials I've studied.

Taxation on the 7th, Portfolio Management on the 9th, International Business Environment on the 10th and finally, Corporate Governance on the 12th. Four subjects in six days. It's quite challenging. But then, this will be my second last time experiencing exam fever in the course of my undergraduate studies. I'll give it my all and give a full assault. I wish to pull up my CGPA and enjoy every moment of my graduation next year.

All of these are inspired by Yin's graduation, which I attended last Sunday. The atmosphere at the venue is simply indescribable with words. The looks on every person present is simply amazing. They are all glowing especially the parents. Yin's dad for example, was smiling from ear to ear all afternoon. I can't wait to see the looks on my parents and grandparents' faces, it'll be worth a zillion bucks or more concisely, priceless! Dad especially, I want to make him the proudest dad on that day. It would be nice to see my down-to-earth dad express his proudness. As for mom, I want her to know that our 'separation' is worthwhile. Also, I want her to display her happiness and tell the world that the day of my graduation belongs to her!

It would also mean I can prove to my critics (those aunts and uncles who say Mass Communication is useless) that I can succeed in any field I chose. I'll kick their asses in the near future when I achieve my dream of entering into the broadcasting world or continuing my education in broadcast journalism. The more you say I can't make it, the more I feel that I can grab the opportunities available and be successful. As a business graduate, I can become a business writer/journalist. Perhaps one day, I'll have the chance to be the next Lorraine Hahn. Interviewing top businessmen and ladies and also head of governments. Again, I'll dedicate those moments to my parents who've worked hard and gave me their blessings to strive for my dreams.

* * *

Of late, I'm into reading other people's blog. Kennysia is amusing. Then, there is Karen Cheng who talks about her family life. Her kids are so cute! How can I forget Sarong Party Girl??

* * *

For now, I shall give my best in the coming semester finals. So, I had better stop bragging and start studying.

Yin, welcome to housea41!

Cheerios everyone!!!

Great getaway

Aug 22, '05 4:50 AM
for everyone

Wednesday, August 17, 2005
Searched for the best hotel/apartment deal for our (housies and I) weekend getaway to the Historical City of Malacca. I strongly recommend Cuti-cuti Malaysia. They have the most reasonable offers. Grabbed the RM242.50 package which consist of a three bedroom apartment that faces the sea. Name of apartment - Garden City.

No credit cards needed. All you have to do is to wait for Cuti-cuti Malaysia's email. After some exchanges, they gave me the bank account details and a dateline to bank in the money. What's so difficult with third party transfer after all??? After transferring the money, I sent them an email (although they asked to fax) informing them of my payment.

Thursday, August 18, 2005
Woke up for 9a.m. class and returned home at about 10a.m. The first thing I did was to switch on my computer. Logged into my email and there it was, an email confirming our stay at Garden City Apartments. Have to wait another day for them to email the voucher.

Friday, August 19, 2005
Damn it!!! Internet was down since Thursday night. Gosh... my e-voucher!!!!!! Downloaded the e-voucher from campus and printed it straight away after reaching home. Feeling so excited as this will be my first trip with friends to Malacca and my first time driving down south. Simply exhilarating. Can't stop showing the voucher to housies and later Yin.

Saturday, August 20, 2005
Had an additional class at 9a.m. I woke up at 8.30a.m. Surprisingly, class ended at 10a.m. It was supposed to be two hours. Who cares? Chatted with some friends and headed back for a shower and finalising our journey. Watched some badminton on TV. It was the World Championships in Anaheim, California. Wish I could be there as I can kill two birds with one stone by watching the event and also visiting Disneyland... Hrmph...

1p.m. Stomach demanding for food. Everyone agreed to have some lunch without Yin. It was brunch for most of them. Headed back home to wait for Yin's phone call. Ring! Ring! Nah, it's no longer that tone. It was AL's mobile's tone which sings "xie xie ni gei wo de ai...lalalalala" Made sure the house is secure and all of us rushed out. Yippeeeee!!!!!

2.35p.m. Sped out of the jungle and headed for the North-South Highway heading south. First time driving to an unfamiliar place. Feeling a bit insecure. Great sights along the highway. Got caught in a crawl somewhere along the highway and two more traffic jams awaited us. Luckily I'm driving an auto. It took us one and half hours from jungle to Ayer Keroh toll. Pretty fast and we weren't speeding. We?? Yin and I, we drove one car each.

Thanks Kuan for the directions. We managed to get to Garden City slightly before 5p.m. Well, we got lost along the way. Yon was a pretty good navigator though. One complain about the signboards in Malacca - They are simply too small. I missed many turnings because of them. Rested a bit in our rented apartment and at about 6p.m., we headed out to Capitol on Jalan Bukit Cina for the famous satay celup. We really enjoyed ourselves. We waited for about 15 minutes before we were seated. Seven of us ate like nobody's business. The sauce in which you dip your food in will some how stick to the sides of your mouth when you are de-sticking the food. We certainly looked like toddlers with the mess around our mouths.

What's so special about satay celup? Unlike Penang's Lok Lok, which allows you to dip your food in boiling hot water, satay celup lets you cook your food by dipping it into some kind of peanut sauce that is a bit spicy. Thoroughly enjoyed it. It was so delicious and most importantly, all of us had fun. The bill => RM105.XX

Next, we headed for Jonker Street. It's something like KL's Chinatown aka Petaling Street. This one is unique in the sense that the road in narrow and the stalls are backed by beautiful pre-war buildings. The architecture is simply amazing and beautiful. Some of them still preserve the doors, windows and tiles which are still perfect. This place had been recognized as a Heritage site by the UNESCO World Heritage Council.

Ate the most delicious cendol in the whole wide world. It's called Baba cendol. No other cendol can beat this one.

Next stop - Tengkera. At first, we turned left by mistake into another main road and at the traffic lights, I made a U-turn. Never knew if it was illegal or not as there was not a single road sign where the 'U' has a slash across it. Went into the right road, Jalan Tengkera. As we went up the road, there was this crowd on the opposite side where cars stopped on both sides but the drivers are missing. Our mission now is to find putu piring. We didn't know it was that store, although I suspected it was when we passed by, until Yon said it must not be that far up. Made a three point turn on the porch of a shop and a dangerous cross over with a bus coming towards my direction. Ing said it honked at me but I didn't hear anything. I'm safe, I'm safe. We are safe! Stopped near the famous putu piring stall and several of them hopped down to make our purchase. Our supper was putu piring at our rented apartment.

Yin and I crashed out at 12 something and slumbered on until eight o'clock the next day.

Sunday, August 21, 2005
I could not wake up until 8.30a.m. when I realised we had to leave for prawn noodle in half an hour. By 9a.m. we were off to Jalan Bunga Raya where we had a sumptuous breakfast at a kopitiam opposite Southern Hospital. Yummy!!!

Rushed back to apartment as we had to check out by 12p.m. I had a nap while others showered and they woke me up at 11.30a.m. Showered and changed and now it's time for check-out and lunch.

Overall, Garden City is a nice place to stay. It has a huge swimming pool. Ah ha! Although it looked a bit run down on the outside, it was superbly clean inside. Thoroughly enjoyed my stay especially its very cool air con. Will post the pictures once AL has transferred them into her computer.

12.XX p.m. Went down to Jonker Street again... this time, we are looking forward for some chicken rice balls. This is highly recommended. There is no other place in this world where you can find this. OK, it's situated at the junction of Jonker Street and the bridge from Farmosa or more fondly known as the Red House. It's just right opposite OCBC bank. There's a car park right after you cross the bridge, if not drive around and find some place nearby.

After that, we decided to pay Yon's maternal grandma a visit as it was raining and we can't really walk-about. Spent an hour or so at Yon's grandma's and aunt's place. As we can't think of anywhere else to go, we decided to head home.

* * *

The getaway was great and enjoyable. The driving is all right and not as tiring as driving back to Penang. It really charged me up and I can now fully concentrate on my upcoming exams.

I guess, before I can proceed wholeheartedly on striving for a better CGPA, I've to solve one heck of a bugging problem. What I've expected has come true. This is truly personal though and I don't want to hurt another human being as I've already drawn a line a long time ago. Maybe not that long as it was slightly more than a year ago.

Some close friends may have been aware of a 'prank' played on me and another guy by one of my group members a year ago. Sometime last year, I had sensed that he had changed towards me, it's not a normal friendship. It is as if he is demanding more. OK, fine, problem resolved when Jil stepped in as asked him and things has been clarified. Now, as of today, things are not fine again. He suddenly called out to me and my usual response was, "What's up?" He asked, " Are you free tonight?" My mind was still struggling to recall the stuff taught at the lecture which has just ended and I had to stop thinking of studies and concentrate on this fella. His body language is indicating something else and so I said, "I'm not sure, I've to help my housemate with something. Why?" He replied, "Just want to have dinner with you." I just said, "Maybe next time. Bye, I gotta go." And I sped out of the lecture hall and home. So many things went through my mind. I'm rather bothered as I don't know what W said to him even though I've publicly made it clear that we can only be good friends and nothing more than that. He's not even the type of guy I like and I don't mind being friends with him. I've a very good guy friend in T and the way we communicate is not like that even if it meant going out for dinner and those kind of stuff. Sudden attitude change is definitely disastrous to a friendship. I've already hurt someone by being direct four years ago. I don't want go through the same episode as I'm living away from my family now. I was stalked by that guy last time after I said NO. It was definitely scary. My instincts are buzzing like crazy and they are telling me that this time episode two is in the making. Gosh! Why must they all come to me when exam is approaching?? Last time, two weeks before exam, this time, also two weeks before exam.

I'm now finding the right time to sit down with him and sort things out. Probably this has to wait until after the exams. Any suggestions on how to tell him NO in a nice way?? A way that will not hurt his feelings and cause him to go cuckoo... I especially appreciate opinions from the guys...

Post thesis

Aug 16, '05 12:06 PM
for everyone

Now is the time for me to catch up on my precious sleep and fully recharge myself after a month of last minute rush. I never liked last minute work but I can't help it. I've never put so much of my heart and soul into my assignments until I come across this one. It will determine my survival as without it, I will not get to graduate from university.

I'd definitely cherish the challenging moments completing my group thesis. The sleepless nights i had together with my groupies, the meetings with our supervisor, the brain storming sessions, the endless hours spent in front of the computer... the list is endless. As we neared the dateline, we fumbled and almost tumbled. Thank God, we were all strong deep down inside and our spirit made us battle on.

* * *

Sleeping at 4 or 5a.m. seemed to be a norm. Getting less than five hours of sleep is a norm, too. Sad to say this but the less sleep I get, the more moody I become. I heve not had such terrible mood swings in years. I found myslef to be throwing more tantrums during those stressful days. I'm sorry if I had took it out on you... you know who you are. Anger is something I still have to learn to control even though I seldom loose my cool and blow my top.

The most frustrating thing would be our supervisor, Mr. C. I hate him for being fickle minded. His fickle minded-ness had caused us several unnecessary delays. I hate him for his indecisiveness. He always comes up with new ideas that confuse us. Thus, we kept changing the contents of our thesis. Damn him! This is when my stubbornness comes in handy. I've to let my feet down and convince my group leader and members to stick with our plan instead of allowing ourselves to be brainwashed by Mr. C. You can call me a rebel but at that point, we can no longer afford to start all over again. From Maxis, we moved on to 3G mobile and finally Air Asia... it was Mr. C's suggestion anyway. Personally, I was not really happy with it because a lot of people have done something on Air Asia. The ideas are simply not fresh. Well, he managed to convince my group leader, so be it if it can please him.

The lessons I've learnt from doing my dissertation is, dare to try. Many times during the past six months, we arrived at dead ends. It was then that we have to think out of the box and try other moves. We kept on trying and encouraged each other not to give up. That I can say is the most beautiful thing about team work.

Arguments are never ending. I may be an idea stopper as I'm rather stubborn with my beliefs and decision. I'd always stand up for what I believe we should do and how we should execute it. I tend to find myself talking in raised voice. I don't know if it helped to challenge our objectives or otherwise. When a NATO member exist in the group, you sometimes cannot help but to overwhelm her. She always gets me on my nerves when she start boasting. Allow me to 'evaluate' my members and leader. This is more like a better understanding of their characters after the whole month of working day and night together.

W - She's truly a sales person. She talks like a machine gun. She's a quick thinker. No doubt, she's naughty. Perhaps, she knows that and nicknamed herself 'naughtygal'. The creative juice in her doesn't seem to stop flowing, like spring water. Interesting character. She's just one sleek talker and sadly a NATO person. I sometimes wish she can just do something to improve on that. My hints are fallen to deaf ears. The only thing she knows is to play 'pairing' games. I was a victim. If only she can keep to her words and does as she has suggested. Her antennae is just so long. She hardly goes to class but yet she knows a lot. As I've mentioned, she's good at talking and thus, she'd tell you this and that. Her words almost screwed up my Portfolio Management Assignment 2. Luckily, her words did not manage to penetrate into my brain and that of M's.

M - She's very quiet but in actual fact, she knows more than you do. This is the type of people I respect. Talks only when the need arises. She has got fully functioning brain unlike mine which is probably functioning at 50% at its peak. Haha! She's pretty easy going as anything goes with her except when she's sick, which is very often. Maybe stress took control of her body. Her mind is very strong. She's always so determined to pursue education and never miss class unless she can't get out of bed. She's very helpful too. The best part of the thesis is the part she's incharged of. Kudos, M!

J - Our group leader. A lady whom guys would take a second look at. Truly unique. Another beauty with brains. One of the best students in our class. A quick witted person. Play hard and study hard... she can really balance both. She's definitely the guiding star in our long journey to the completion of our thesis. Sometimes, you can just feel the pressure of working with her. It's terrible man! I feel so small when I work with her although physically I'm bigger. As she's easy going and not strict during normal times, we tend to take her for granted. Sort of had a bust up with her on the final day of working out our thesis. Guess, everything is solved after we thrashed it out online. Phew!!

Our team seriously needs to have better time management. It's bad to rush at the eleventh hour and also work at ungodly hours. I know we can do well if we managed our schedules better.

* * *

Gots some errands to run... will continue later!!

While housies were away...

Aug 6, '05 3:27 AM
for everyone

my life when they r not around...

AOLer Translator

Aug 2, '05 3:19 PM
for everyone

Link: http://ssshotaru.homestead.com/files/aolertranslator.html

English language translator. Check it out! You may learn something from a 12-year-old...

I NEED MORE SLEEP!!!!!!!!!!

Jul 30, '05 1:30 PM
for everyone

"Never mind, you've got only a few more days to go and then you can chill as much as you want," I kept reminding myself. I'm really sleep deprived as the Thesis submission date is closing. Over the next few days, I shall be cracking my head and working OT to rush against time to complete my part of the Thesis. Come Tuesday, I shall be straining my eyes and draining my brain when I proofread and add words to the Thesis. I wonder what's the memory capacity of a human brain? Mine for sure is not as big as Einstein's thus not as much memory storage space.

For the past week, I've been working so hard together with my group members. We meet up almost every night after dinner to put things together. This is one week which I will not forget in my entire life! In the middle of the business, we had to break into two groups (there are four of us in one) to complete our respective Portfolio Management assignments. Yes, you read it right... Assignment 1 & 2. It was really stressful. I slept a total of <10 hours on Thursday and Friday mornings (I slept at around 3.30 or 4 something a.m.)

Friday, 29th July 2005, 12p.m. Portfolio assignments due. At 11.50a.m., I started printing the assignments. WTF~! The granny printer FOCKED up at 11.55am. Dashed to AL's PC table to grab the box of refill ink. Filled the ink cartridge in desperation but the ink would come out from the container. 11.57a.m. Three more minutes!!! Luckily my clocks (mobile phone, computer and watch) are five minutes faster. Managed to drop some ink into the cartridge and printed a few pages until the printer FOCKED up again. Adrenaline rushing like mad. Took the pin and poked thru the tip. Damn it! Some ink just squirted and stained my skin instead of my white T-shirt. Phew!~~ I don't mind that. Finally, I finished printing the assignments. Grabbed my keys and dashed to the Mr. David's office. Thank God I live across the street from campus! I ran with all my might hoping that Mr. David is not in his office as the official time now is 12.03p.m. Damn it! I'm late!!! Hui May was trailing behind as I was speeding through the lobby like Speedy Gonzales... Had the people around staring at this mad girl. "Who the hell cares what you think people?? I'm late!!!" I screamed aloud from my inner voice.

Two other girls were at his office and he's not there. Phew!!!~~ Hui May managed to reach a few seconds after me. We were panting real bad. Almost breathless but that was the last thing I wanted. checked our stuff again. SHIT! We forgot to include the marking scheme!!! Once again, Speedy Gonnzales sped back and grabbed that piece of paper and returned to the office. There he was!! Mr. David went, "You're late! No more submission!!!" My mind went blank for a while and I found myself saying, "I forgot the marking scheme but the assignment is here." "I'm gonna deduct 5 marks," Mr. David said. "No way, Mr. David!!! My assignment's in you room before 12p.m. (I lied of course!!!) I ran home to get the marking scheme." "You ran home?? Where do you stay?" "Right across the street." "And you ran??" Damn it, man! I'm sweating like hell and feeling so tired and Mr. David is teasing me. Anyway, he accepted it. Thank you Mr. David for stapling the assignments! Thanks loads!!!

After lunch with Hui May and Wan Foong, I headed to my aunt's house. Met my uncle at the gate and then headed upstairs to see my cousins. May, Fay, you really miss me that much kah? Missed you both too!! As they were doing their homework, I went to their room and crashed out. I must be super duperly tired. Slept for more than an hour until aunt came back from her outing with friends. Missed her voice... especially when she shouts!!! Hehe! Stayed on for tea and headed home at 5p.m. It took me almost an hour for the 40 minutes journey. So, still ok ler. Luckily the traffic is moving albeit really slow.

Malaysian Idol was quite okay. Not that satisfied though. The best part was when Roslan criticised about Farah's performance saying that she does not have the thing and Paul refuted almost immediately saying that Farah has it all. The argument went on for almost forever (air time basis). I had the laugh of the week when Nora (the guest judge) said, "Hi, Adam! Adam ada suara jantan tapi kelakuan juga kena jantan." (Hi, Adam! Adam, you've got a male voice but the way you carry yourself has to be like a male too.)
<== Adam <== Farah

Tonight, finally I found the chance to drop by the site where I had to change my tyre a couple of weeks ago. Encik Edi was not there so I passed some stuff to his colleague. Again, thank you Encik Edi!

I shall blog again next weekend. That is if the internet connection does not FOCK up. It was down twice this week. Until then... cheers, mates!!!

Are we rich or poor?

Jul 25, '05 1:53 PM
for everyone

Thanks Eliza for emailing me this. I think it's time for all of us to reflect on our lives, not making comparisons but to feel grateful for what have been showered upon us and given to us.

Cheers, mate!

One day a father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the firm purpose of showing his son how poor people live. They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family.

On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, "How was the trip?"

"It was great, Dad."

"Did you see how poor people live?" the father asked.

"Oh yeah," said the son.

"So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?" asked the father.

The son answered: "I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon. We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us, but they serve others.We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them."

The boy's father was speechless.

Then his son added, "Thanks, Dad, for showing me how poor we are."

Isn't perspective a wonderful thing? Makes you wonder what would happen if we all gave thanks for everything we have, instead of worrying about what we don't have. Appreciate every single thing you have, especially your friends! I do! - that's why I'm sharing this with you!

Please pass this page on to friends and acquaintances to help them refresh their perspective and appreciation. "Life is too short and friends are too few."

MySplash.net

Jul 25, '05 5:48 AM
for everyone

Link: http://www.mysplash.net/

Malaysia'a Premier Online Swimming Community
It's the first Msian swimming forum, which covers almost everything about swimming. Check it out

http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2005/7/19/focus/11509392&sec=focus

A Rather Happy Day

Jul 19, '05 2:45 PM
for everyone

This time, writing to a newspaper didn't get me into trouble... PHEW!~

I've always a flair for writing. Simply loved to write. When I was younger, I didn't know how to appreciate my works and just threw away those little stories that I've written after some time. During my teens, I started to like poetry and wrote my own. Quite fun as I can freely express myself. I remember getting a poem published twice. Once in high school, another when I was in college. I'll always have a sense of satisfaction after completing my piece of 'art'. My emotions are all thrown into it and I have no worries of hurting other people's feelings. And I do believe that the pen is mightier than the sword. Perhaps, now it's 'the keyboard is mightier than the sword'.

Below is the URL and my latest piece of 'art'. I can hardly find time to write now. All that I write are assignments and tutorials. Just to explain why I wrote this piece... Firstly, I felt strongly of the issue debated. Secondly, the profession involved my beloved dad. Thirdly, people can be so narrow minded until they forgot to look at an issue from different perspectives.

Pa, this is for you (Mom, you as well). I know you've read it in the papers and also online and thank you for saying it is well written. Those critics out there forgot that teachers have families too. I'm just telling them how much mummy and I missed you when you had to perform you duties some where else. *P/S: Hopefully this will become useful in the future (as you said). Yes, I'll print a copy and keep.*

--------------------

July 19, 2005

Teachers often sacrifice family time

IN SUPPORT of Have A Heart’s letter “Teachers work longer hours than it may seem,” (The Star July 15), I would like to share my opinion as a child of a teacher.

Very often, teachers have to put in extra hours for extra-curricular activities before or after school and even on weekends.

In the last few years, my father had been sent to various parts of Malaysia for seminars or workshops where each session lasted a week. There was an average of one session per month. Some of these seminars or workshops were carried out during school breaks.

Very often, my family’s plan for a holiday had to be put on hold or even cancelled at the eleventh hour.

Whenever the scouts had campfires or three-day-two-night camping, my father (as their advisor) would be there supervising them even if it meant sleeping over in school.

Now that he has been suddenly given the task to teach Form Six, he has to do a lot of revision and exercises so that he could properly impart his knowledge to his students.

Whenever I go home for the weekend or semester breaks, I’d find him with a pile of revision books in the afternoons.

My semester holidays hardly coincide with school holidays, except in December.

Even then, my father would be invigilating. I only get to see, spend time and talk to my father for a few hours each night before he goes to bed and prepare for the next day of invigilation.

Teachers basically work all year round, even more than other civil servants. So, stop accusing them of working only half-days and start thinking of the sacrifices they make.

A TEACHER'S CHILD

Teachers often sacrifice family time

Jul 19, '05 6:13 AM
for everyone

Link: http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2005/7/19/focus/11509392&sec=focus

I wrote this to The Star last weekend. Glad that it's published... :D

Grammar is important...

Jul 19, '05 5:41 AM
for everyone

This is an email which I received not too long ago. It's an official email with avoidable grammatical errors.

Dear Student,


Thanks for participating the talk on: "What Employers Want" on 18 July
and 19 July 2005. I am sure that you have gained some insights out of
the talk that you had ever joint, isn't it?

Beside explored you onto the points which you have to be cautious of
during your job application, DSA Counselling pleased to organise you Mock
Interviews sessions in order for you to practically practise what you
have been learned from the talks and personally experience a real
process of interview session. This experience would be more meaningful and
useful as you could see how far you could present yourself during an
interview session.


The Mock Interview Sessions are as follows:



       Target group -- All Graduating Students (Y3S2 students)


.......................................................................

What is a mock interview?

** Mock Interview is a practice interview with a career counsellor or
human resources from local business and organizations.


.....................................................................


Why should I participate in a mock interview?

** Practice interview in a supportive environment

** Receive feedback on your responses to interview questions

** Receive feedback on non-verbal communication

** Ask any questions you have regarding the interview process



.......................................................................


When is the mock interview ?

Date:    28th July 2005 (Thursday) & 29th July 2005 (Friday)
Time:    10.00 am to 4.00pm
Venue   KA 509



......................................................................


How do I register for a mock interview?

Procedure

Step 1: Sign up your time slot Counselling and Guidance Service (Ms
Loh) at DSA before 23th July 2005.

Step 2: Obtain a Job Advertisement from newspaper/internet for the job
you wish to apply.

Step 3: Prepare Cover Letter and Resume.

Step 4: Submit the Job Advertisement, Cover Letter and Resume to DSA
Counselling and Guidance Service (Ms Loh) 3 working days before the date
of Mock Interview.

Step 5: Be punctual, dress appropriately & attend the Mock Interview
Session.


......................................................................


Pleased be informed that writing your cover letter and resume is a very
essential point to determine whether you would be called for an
interview or not. Therefore, please put in your effort to compose them.

You are welcome to make an appointment with Ms Loh at DSA (M Floor) to
refer some of the samples if you come across with any difficulty in
composing your cover letter and resume.


*** Do bear in mind that reservations are on the
FIRST-COME-FIRST-SERVED basis ***

Do not miss any chance to improve yourself.


Thank you.

Eventful day

Jul 16, '05 5:17 AM
for everyone

My bruise from the incident

another bruise

Encik Edi and the umbrella man

What the heck is this?? Good question... Answer ==> They are good samaritans. Story is not that long but it is interesting.

Yesterday evening, all of us headed to Giant Saujana Kajang to stock up our groceries. On our way back, we had to do a U-turn about 1.5KM away as there is no junction nearby. U-turned... passed Giant... waved goodbye to Giant Hypermarket. Weather was not good yesterday evening. Raining since we arrived at Giant. Still raining when we left for home. The road was bad enough as it was like roller coaster, up and down and up and down... All the way... We were kind of in a rush as we wanted to catch Malaysian Idol at 9.30pm. Not exactly speeding... overtook a few vehicles on the slow lane as they were just too slow. I was going at 60 kmph, not that fast right. *KABOOM* on top of one of the 'hills'. I heard a loud bang... *shit*... but I drove on anyway because that place was too dark and dangerous to stop and get down to check my car... Not gonna waste time... just kept on driving until I felt my steering wheel is prone to the left... *shit* P-U-N-C-T-U-R-E!!!!! Stopped atop another "hill", brighter and Yin was behind.... Hopped off to check the left side of my car... OK, a flat... OMG!!! The rim was injured... I'm almost broke for the month of July... and NOW!!!!...... Geezz...

Can't change a flat on a slope.. learned a valuable lesson from dad when I was back home a couple of years back. Long story... Decided to drive on to the nearby so-called rest area... Hazard lights on... Passengers all moved to Yin's car... Arrives at R&R...Actually, just on the shoulder of the highway... Great!!! Raining still... Transported all the groceries to Yin's car... Took the bucket of tool out and then pulled the spare tire with all my might... with Pauline's and PI's help... As I was about to go into action, an Encik Edi from a Proton dealer at the R&R came to help... Thanks to AL and Neo for asking for help... I can change the flat but I'll take a longer time... Encik Edi managed to change the flat in about 15 minutes... pretty fast... Terima kasih! Refused my reward... you call that a reward, right?? Will have to buy something and give it to Encik Edi one of these days... Really grateful to him. Then, I slowly drove home... Up until now, I still have the phobia when I see holes on the road... I will always remember the KABOOM!!! sound...

Took the car to be checked today... damn paranoid that the mechanic would cheat me off my bucks... decided to go to another shop... pretty decent... uncles but they give advice... I even got tutorials on how the bolt should be tighten and in what direction... cool man!!! TO ALL OF THE MECHANICS OUT THERE... DON'T TRY TO CHEAT ME ANYMORE!!! Again, it's a long story of the mechanic who did not adjust the alignment but charged me RM15 for that service. I WON'T GO BACK TO YOUR SHOP!!! Luckily it was only the valve that exploded... Thank GOD!!! Did balancing, changed the valves and also reshape the damaged rim... All for RM15... I thought I had to change a new tire, which will cost me RM130!!! PHEW!!!

Told dad the incident first.. then mom called this morning but she didn't know about it. Ooops... sorry, mom, don't want you to worry, so I told dad first... Everything's fine now...

It's now 5.20pm... and time to do 30 laps in the small pool... ta, peeps!!!