Have a Blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Christmas tree at home
Decor in Ipoh Parade:
Decor in Church:

Have a Blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Christmas tree at home
Decor in Ipoh Parade:
Decor in Church:

Checked my email this morning and received Pink Martini’s email containing their concert tour list. Scrolled down and saw that they are coming to Malaysia!!! Hooray!! Been waiting for a long time for them to come! I WILL NOT MISS THIS!! Anyone wanna join me? Will probably take 2 days leave for this…muahahahaha! Ok gotta save money first…haha…will go for the Monday night show..and maybe Tuesday also…see how desperate I am first..haha :P
DFP SHOWCASE
Pink Martini
Mon 15 & Tue 16 March 2010, 8.30pm
With a wildly diverse repertoire and a cohesive body of beautiful songs, Pink Martini can take you from a samba parade in Rio de Janeiro at one moment, to a French music hall of the 30s or a palazzo in Napoli the next. This unique ensemble, described by critics as “sophisticated and cosmopolitan”, will perform selected pieces from their various albums including their latest, Splendor in the Grass.
For more information about Pink Martini. Click here.
Ticket Price (RM): 180 | 150 | 110 | 60
Ticket Status: Available
Dress Code: Smart Casual
My few fave Pink Martini songs:
Pink Martini - Sympathique :: Official Music Video (Embedding disabled so go to YouTube to watch)
Can’t wait!! :D
Whoa! Look at the list of my friends who are November babies! (Taken from Facebook :P)
01 - Mei Ling Lee (age 27)
03 - Lai Yew Cheong (age 27)
04 - Kelvin Hoh Chee Wai (age 26), Neni Lode (age 50)
05 - Lishalinee Soosay (age 22)
06 - Syibba Beeba (age 26)
08 - Karol Wee, Toh Jo Cyee (age 24)
09 - Muhammad Ihsan (age 23)
10 - Irma Izzati (age 22), Mary Goh
11 - Jeremy Loh (age 22)
12 - Moon H. Ng, Paul Abisheg (age 20)
13 - Devaki Murgayah (age 24), Nicole Leehooi (age 25), Stephen Yaw (age 51), TWisha Winisha Molapo (age 20)
15 - Sheela Vijayan Tan (age 26)
17 - Andy Ten, WernJing Ding (age 24)
19 - Jenny Chim, Joanna Thina
20 - Kien Wai, Kim-Guat Goh
21 - Michael Chan, Nas Wazir (age 23)
22 - Atiah Bt Mohd Aminuddin (age 23), Azfar Hisham (age 23), Herin Nathan
23 - Anna Leong
24 - Anne Rahim, Sri Mala Kanniappan (age 23)
25 - Kelvin Lee (age 33)
26 - Patricia Ong (age 26)
27 - Joshua Navin
28 - Daniel Anand (age 21), Gillian Rayappen, Jonathan Yeap, Ngu Ling Yee (age 22), SitLooi Wong (age 23)
29 - Jo Kukathas (age 47)
30 - Elly Ismail (age 23), Supriya Nair (age 21)
Happy birthday to you all! :D
One thing I noticed, the people in the upper age group that I know (and are close to) happen to be born in November! Such as my mom, my aunt, Cik Nur Aini (My KH teacher in school) and Mr Mike (Techflow advisor). Hmmm….coincidence? Maybe these November babies are just special! :)
Oh and the 15th was also my parent’s 29th wedding anniversary! :D
Taken somewhere in Indonesia during our family trip a few years back. One of the rare pictures where we all look decent :P
I think you all were bored with my ramblings in the previous post so here are some pics! :D
I finally got a helmet! Just a trainee tho… Cool ear muffs :D
What does ‘latihan sangkut’ even mean??
We had to get magic markers to draw the flow on the technical diagram…hehe…feel like a kid again :D
Our classroom for 1 month.
Traffic light on the way back. Straight is going to Lumut, turn right is Billion and home :)
Helped my sis stick the kindergarten kid’s colouring and compile each kid’s set together.
Lunch at Home Curry House – reserved for Fridays! :D
They have a simulator here…cool stuff! :D Our trainer said at the end of this OJT we have to try our hand at simulation…hmmm…hope nothing explodes :p
That’s all for today…more soon! :)
On Friday morning, I left a little earlier than usual for work because I wanted to pour petrol. Mana tau the car memang not enough petrol d, and I was stuck at home. Haha…had to call sis, she let me use her car to go to work. Then during lunch break (2 hours cause its a Friday! :D) I went to the petrol station, bought a 1.5 liter bottle of water, drank some of the water and threw the rest so that I could fill it with petrol and bring it to my car. Parked my sis car at the house and then took my car to work…hehe…usually my car still can jalan quite a bit when the warning light goes on…but this time….it protested! Anyway not my first time buying petrol and filling it in a bottle cause I had to rescue Cheeseman using that method before..haha! Experience is indeed useful ;)
Note to self: Next time pour petrol as soon as the warning light goes on! Even if not much money!
Yo ppl! If you haven’t heard, I am now a working woman! Haha…actually more like a trainee la….but for the next 1 year..im known as a ‘Jurutera Mekanikal Pelatih’. Where? A place I used to live – Sitiawan/Manjung! I guess they sent me here because of my FYP…aih…but ok lar at least my sis is here so I have a place to stay…the other 2 guys have to tumpang some the senior’s house…kesian rite…dahla we were only informed on Friday where we’re goin, and then lapor diri Monday, then no accomodation is provided…really weird la this company…no communication and no planning between HQ and here…and then they keep changing the training schedule for each batch….hmmm…
At the moment me and the 2 other guys have been assigned to OJT (On Job Training) so we will be sitting in the classroom and learning, and then we have a walk down session where we go on site to see the real stuff (in class we read the technical drawings). Oh and we have a mentor and a buddy! Hehehe…but haven’t really bugged my buddy…no problems so far, and hopefully it stays that way…:)
So far it’s been ok, everyone is really nice and always willing to impart their knowledge.
Monday – Lapor diri at 9am, then hang around while they decide what’s next. Then met up with our mentor – Pengurus Kanan HR (dunno why HR). He’s nice. And then one HR guy gave us a briefing on the Plant. And then in the afternoon we had a briefing on safety. After that it was lepak until time to go back :P
Schedule for the past few days:
Tuesday – They din know what to give us to do yet so we just sat in the meeting room till 10am. Then the HR guy took us around the plant in a Kembara…hehe…it’s a big area….and then in the afternoon we went to see the bosses and then lepak in the library till balik time…hehe…
Wednesday – Finally they had our schedule ready! So we started our OJT.
Thursday – Today!
I’m also writing all this here so that I can refer to it when I need to write in my logbook…hehe…feels like industrial training all over again….aih….
Good thing is there’s plenty of shaded parking, but the food – all Malay so i only eat at the canteen/outside once in a while…there are plenty of makan stalls around the area but all Malay food…it’s nice, but not much variety…i miss the economy rice stall in Serdang!! I could go out and eat but then it’s no fun travelling out and then eating alone …next week onwards plan to bring ‘bekal’ – sandwich…see how la…need to bring back the rest of my stuff from KL first…
Today I brought my laptop to work because our trainer gave us soft copies of the operation manuals with the drawings. So there’s a ton of stuff to read. There’s WiFi but I think only selected people have the password…hmm…have to work on that…my new project: find out the password! Heh heh heh….not that I don’t have internet at all, but using the computer without internet is pretty boring…its hard not being able to Google whenever I need…
Tomorrow is a Friday so it means 2 hour lunch break and work finish at 5! hehe! Will be going back to Ipoh and then going to KL for my dad’s medical thingy, then come back Sunday and drive to work Monday morning. As of now I will be going back every weekend…my mom didn’t give the orders, but it seems that it’s what i’m expected to do…hmmm….tricky situation…but if my car ran on water i would travel back to Ipoh everyday la…
p.s. I typed this post this afternoon and came back home to publish it..hehe…
p.s.s. I thought I would die of smoke inhalation from the coal ash or the staff smoking, but it turns out one of the pelatih guys smoke, so im already dying slowly from there….haha…

It's become a daily ritual for millions, but what happens when you de-activate your Facebook account and go cold turkey? Caroline Hocking - a self-confessed obsessive - finds out.
I'd done it. My (virtual) life was over. After two years on the online social networking site Facebook, I'd taken the plunge and killed off my account - in Facebook speak, I was "de-activated".
It hadn't all been bad; we'd had some good times. I'd enjoyed a bit of snooping as much as the next person and found it useful enough as a way to check out potential love interests, flog unwanted stuff and organise the odd shindig or three.
As a newbie to online social networking, my first few forays into Facebook had been cautious and brief. It had been a guilty pleasure - an enjoyable escape which tapped into a basic urge to share and compare.
Facebook has an estimated 250million users worldwide |
But over two years, I'd turned into a Facebook fiend, uploading over 30 photograph albums, posting countless inane status updates and acquiring hundreds of online "friends" (350, to be exact).
I'd got sucked into semi-stalkerdom and felt something akin to separation anxiety if I ever found myself offline for more than a few hours. What had been my favourite waste of time had morphed into a demanding and anti-social addiction.
The turning point came when I completely forgot about a long-planned reunion with a friend one evening because I'd been sidetracked by mindless Facebook mulling. This is ridiculous, I thought. Surely social networking was supposed to enhance my social life, not to trash it?
And the whole set-up had started to grate: so much pathetic posturing, fakery and careful cultivating of one's online "brand". People posted anything and everything, surrendering their own privacy and their friends. I didn't NEED to see pictures of strangers' weddings or the drunken holiday antics of mates' mates.
'Liberated'
I told myself that I'd managed perfectly well pre-Facebook and resolved to return to simpler times. I would still keep in touch with people I liked. I had a mobile and I was perfectly capable of bashing out an e-mail or penning a letter. And so I decided to de-activate. It only took a few clicks and was pretty painless.
Facebook demanded to know why I'd left - it even gave me a helpful little list of possible reasons why I might have fallen out of love and suggested ways around them.
But my mind had been made up. I wanted to see if I could cope without - for at least a week. It gave me the option to return at any time and resurrect my account, but I felt liberated.
Is sending a letter really such a hassle? |
One person, who thought I'd removed them alone from my list of Facebook friends, sent me an anxious text message, citing - and apologising for - all the things they had done which might have offended me and prompted a "de-friending".
Leaving Facebook was clearly seen as a BIG deal to them, indicative of something being "not quite right". I was flattered that people cared about me and felt a little ache for the ol' Facebook camaraderie.
Of course, not everyone worried about my departure - or even noticed. One of my flatmates was perplexed after seeing that their Facebook friend count reduced by one, but hadn't investigated who might have gone AWOL.
But one day into Facebook cold turkey and my fingers had itched to log back on. I felt bereft and out of the loop. I missed the online chatter of which I had become so contemptuous.
'Lazy'
Sure, I could have messaged people direct, but that is the beauty of social networking sites - while they make spies/personal detectives of us all, they also cater to the lazy. They allow you to be passive, throwing information at you which would otherwise take time and effort to seek out.
Facebook had made one-stop communication so easy and many of my friends were devotees; some only communicated via the site. Would people invite me to events if it meant they had to send me a separate invite rather than include me in a Facebook scattergun missive?
| |
I thought I'd enjoy bags of free time in a Facebook-free life, but instead I've just reverted to other distractions, like trashy celeb magazines.
And, even though I couldn't be actively involved in its machinations, I still found myself gassing about Facebook. I might not have been frittering away hours browsing its pages, but the site - and my departure from it - became my favourite topics of conversation. What did other people think about Facebook? What did they think about me leaving?
I found myself leaping on any Facebook-related story in the news with disproportionate enthusiasm. It proved hard to let go completely. The break (up) was tough and eventually - well, after just 10 days to be honest - I found myself reactivating my account.
Caroline lasted just 10 days without a fix |
My world hadn't fallen apart by going offline, I managed to stay in touch with the people I cared about, even if took a little more energy on my part (although I never did get round to penning any letters).
But absence had made the heart grow a little fonder. My package holiday-sized abstention reminded me how useful Facebook could be, particularly for organising and remembering events.
I confess my heartbeat had quickened a little when I logged in. When my homepage fired up, I'd felt a small surge of joy at being reunited with my long-lost friend(s). I was back and I was downright curious: what had I missed?
Not a huge amount as it turned out. It was like I'd never been away: acres of holiday snaps, numerous links to interesting news stories and YouTube marvels, and some funny/not-so-funny status updates.
I logged out within a few minutes. I've been back since, uploaded some pictures, dashed off a few messages, commented on a few links and acquired a couple of new Facebook friends.
But I no longer had the same urge to plunder the latest online goings-on and see what people are up to quite so regularly. I knew I could cope without Facebook - just. And if it all gets too much and I feel myself slipping back to my old ways, I can always take another break.
It has been quite some time since I posted up a picture post so here are some random pics I took:
WZ made this egg-potato-onion-herbs combination and cooked it using the sandwich maker (hence the triangular shape) because she wanted to finish the potatoes.Tasted quite nice :)
The next time i passed the road the sign wasn’t there already…but if you need ubat kuat lelaki u can always call the number :P
Nice clouds early in the morning (these taken with handphone camera):
They didn’t arrange the food properly like they’re supposed to :( Looks like it was just dumped on the plate. @Pizza Hut Alamanda.
Starbucks giving out coffee grounds to be used as fertilizer! Cool!
Cinnamon Roll & Caramel Frappucino @ Starbucks, Mines…:D Sat there for approx 6 hours and used KFC’s free WiFi :D
Some nice cloud pictures on a bright day in August (these taken with DSLR, view from my apartment):
Hope you all like the pics….any comments? :D
Don't copy if you can't paste!
Over the weekend, the equipment used to connect the student apartments to the internet encountered a problem and failed to function properly. In the future, please inform your Resident Councilor or Resident Fellow if you encounter problems with the network or the internet so that they can get in touch with the ITMS staff on standby.
We are sorry for the inconvenience caused due to the failure.
Pada hujung minggu lepas, peralatan yang digunakan untuk menghubungi pangsapuri pelajar dengan internet mengalami masalah dan tidak berfungsi dengan betul. Di masa depan, sila hubungi Residen Counselor ataupun Residen Felo anda jika anda mengalami masalah dengan network ataupun internet supaya mereka dapat menghubungi staf ITMS yang tunggu-sedia.
Kami meminta maaf di atas segala kesulitan yang dialami semasa kerosakan tersebut.
ITMS
5 October 2009
===============================================================================
Oh hey, thanks for the info! Maybe you could give us the direct contact number instead of making us go and bug the residen felo? Oh and if it happens on a public holiday who are we gonna call? Ghostbusters?? Cause nobody picked up the phone the last time i called!
Wonder if they know its been happening for a few weekends already. Don't mess with the student's internet connection ok! Was so close to TP-ing ITMS the other day!!
Two weeks ago, the weird housemate moved out!
I awoke on a Tuesday morning to the sight of her stuff packed in those blue plastic bags of hers and neatly stacked on a trolley. Her parents were also here and they helped her to pack, move and clean her room.
I was a little surprised because I didn’t expect her to move out so suddenly, and without warning. But she did do one weird thing on Monday evening - before leaving:

Cellophane-tape secured tissue paper lock! (Not available in stores)
When WZ went to ask the accommodation staff, they said that she accused us of stealing her book and RM5. RM5! Why would I steal RM5?? Wanna steal might as well steal more right?? And steal her book? Hello, we’re masters students lah! Anyway 99% of her stuff is in her room, and her books are never outside. Oh and that would explain the ‘lock’ she put in the pics above. It wasn’t the first time she moved apartments tho, because the staff told WZ that she has moved so many times that they’re used to it d. And everyone complains about the same stuff – tissue bits, water everywhere, excessive washing of hands.
We told her nicely to try not to wet the kitchen floor after she washes her hands (which takes around 5 mins – or more! - and a few roundtrips from kitchen sink to room). And because she wears slippers in the apartment, the apartment gets dirty really fast – because her room is filthy with tissue, hair and dirt on the floor! Usually I have to clean the apartment every few days because its so dirty!
I think the reason she moved out is because i used her mop – she doesn’t like people touching or using her things. I only used it because she wet the kitchen floor really bad and the other mop was wet. After she saw that I used the mop (I left it near the kitchen sink for convenience) she kept her mop back with her pail, covered it with a blue plastic bag and then put it with her other stuff near the shoe rack! Wahh super powerful ahh that blue plastic bag can deter ppl from using ur stuff wan! sweat…
I guess she hasn’t found housemates that are usually not around, minds their own business and doesn’t really care about the cleanliness of the apartment. I’ve seen really gross apartments, and maybe she should stay with them…anyway, so relieved I don’t have to worry about tissue bits, water droplets and dirt everywhere anymore :D
Hopefully she didn’t freak out the new housemates…haha
Those were the last words I spoke to him…on Wednesday before Techflow started. But I didn’t join them after class finished that day. Suddenly it’s Sunday and he’s missing. And then it’s Monday and he’s gone…
Gary Leon Robert, my favourite Chindian, passed away a month ago due to extreme dehydration after a marathon.
One of the statistics.
It was so sudden…so unbelievable…
Especially on the day I had a job interview…and he would’ve been one of those I would look forward to tell ‘I got a job!!’
I don’t have many close friends, and I considered him a really good friend of mine…we had so much fun working together during Christmas Night 07 & 08…and in Techflow…
We all wonder why this happened, especially to one so loved by all…
But I guess God loved him more and we are blessed to have known him…
I don’t have a brother, but he was like a brother to me…annoying at times but also supportive and full of encouragement…
I miss getting forwarded messages or replies of forwarded messages from him…
I miss the greeting ‘Chindian!!’ followed by a big hug whenever he sees me…
There’s so much more I could say…but words escape me.
When he was doing his industrial training, we chatted almost every day….talked about all kinds of things…and we even talked about MJ’s sudden death…
Now all we have of him are memories that we will cherish…until we meet him again in Heaven! :)
Pictures not following time sequence:
Christmas party at his house, 2007

21st birthday party, 2008
Christmas Night Thanksgiving Dinner, 2008

With another Chindian @ Christmas Night Thanksgiving Dinner, 2008
Props Crew @ Christmas Night Thanksgiving Dinner, 2008
Christmas party at his house, 2007
Christmas party at his house, 2007
Techflow Camp @ Penang, 2008
Techflow Camp @ Penang, 2008
Techflow Camp @ Penang, 2008
On the way to Techflow Camp @ Penang, 2008
On the way to Techflow Camp @ Penang, 2008
On the way to Techflow Camp @ Penang, 2008
Techflow Camp @ Penang, 2008
Techflow Camp @ Penang, 2008
Techflow EGM, 2008 ‘C for Chindians!’
Techflow EGM, 2008
Techflow EGM, 2008
Techflow EGM, 2008
CPR @ PD, 2008
CPR @ Kuala Selangor, 2008
Techflow Camp @ Penang, 2008
Techflow Camp @ Penang, 2008
Techflow Camp @ Penang, 2008
Techflow Camp @ PD, 2007
Techflow Camp @ PD, 2007
Techflow Camp @ PD, 2007
Techflow Camp @ PD, 2007
Dressed up as Woody & Cowgirl for Techflow Camp @ PD, 2007
Techflow Camp @ PD, 2007
Techflow Camp @ PD, 2007
Techflow Camp @ PD, 2007
Techflow Camp @ PD, 2007
Techflow Camp @ PD, 2007
Techflow Camp @ PD, 2007
Techflow Camp @ PD, 2007
Group pic, Techflow Camp @ PD, 2007
Group pic, Techflow Camp @ PD, 2007
Group pic, Techflow Camp @ PD, 2007
Techflow Camp @ PD, 2007
Techflow Camp @ PD, 2007
Techflow Camp @ PD, 2007
And my fave pic of all:
Chindians! @ Christmas party at his house, 2007
In loving memory of Gary Leon Robert
18 August 1987 – 3 August 2009
Chindians Rock!!
What I think is blogworthy!