清明时节雨纷纷。。

This year's 清明节 falls on 5th of April, but people have been going to their ancestors' tomb to pay respect since last weekend. Even my boss is taking leave tomorrow to pay respect to her deceased father.

Ever since my grandparents passed away, I have yet to make a single trip back to 扫墓. Sometimes I do feel that I'm not as filial as I should be. Because afterall, I am the one staying the nearest to my parents/Malaysia as compared to my siblings (Tokyo and Moscow). Maybe next year I will plan a short trip back for this.. 至少尽一次做子孙的责任。。

Which Sex and the City Vixen are You?

It is one of those quick Quiz thingy that decides which character you most resemble in a TV series, etc. I got the link from my cousin, Wei's blogsite (thanks Wei!)

Even before I try the test, I know myself enough to 'predict' that I will be most like Miranda.. and true enough I am..

You Are Most Like Miranda!

While you've had your fair share of romance, men don't come first Guys are a distant third to your friends and career. And this independence *is* attractive to some men, in measured doses. Remember that if you imagine the best outcome, it might just happen. Romantic prediction: Someone from your past is waiting to reconnect... But you'll have to think of him differently, if you want things to work.

Which Sex and the City Vixen Are You?

Hahahaha.. a prediction! Mmmm.. there is no one in MY past who is not taken.. nor do I want reconnect with.. Mmm....

And this got me curious, so I decided to take another quiz, "Which Desperate Housewife Are You?" from Web Tickle.

Lo and behold, I'm again the career woman.. Lynette...

You're most like Lynette!

Whether you're climbing your way up the corporate ladder or climbing after your kids on the jungle gym, you're a great gal who's got it together. You've got Martha Stewart and Suzy Homemaker beat because you're the best of both of them, even if you sometimes have trouble deciding which role you really are best at. You can sew kid's play costumes and do your family's taxes without blinking an eye, but maybe it's time you spent some quality time on yourself, too. We know, we know — it sounds too good to be true. But you and Lynette can make it happen. You know it!

Which Desperate Housewife Are You?

Interesting isn't it?

Dai ichi ka （第一课）

Went to my first Jap lesson today.

The class is small, there is only 13 of us, including the teacher, Ooya-Sensei. The class is quite tough in the sense that it forces you to remember and use the things she taught. There is a lot of interactivity within the class which is good. I can't comment on the effectiveness of the class as yet, but by attending an actual class, it forces me to set aside time to learn and practice Japanese.

We are supposed to read only Hiragana from lesson 5 onwards, so that leaves me with about a month to memorise all of them.. Hopefully, I can use what I've learnt for my planned trip to Tokyo this October. Gambatte!

Soreja mata. shitsureeshimasu....

你上一次痛哭是何时?

昨天，在回家的巴士途中，突然一个念头闪过：When was the last time I cried?

每天准时上班下班，回家上网玩game，看书看动画；周末打扫、洗衣、看书报、休息、跑步；偶尔约朋友或旧同事吃饭看电影，了解一下彼此的生活进展；每个月与翻译自修小组会面一次；不定时地作些英巫翻译project等。我喜欢窝在家里，做我喜欢的事情，他人无法干涉，也无权干涉。平平淡淡的，这就是我现在的生活。

从来都不喜欢人多的地方，不喜欢和人应酬，也不喜欢逛街。认为话不投机半句多，更不喜欢委屈自己讨好他人。我自认是个好朋友，但我不好朋友。我宁愿只有两三个知己也不想要一大堆的泛泛之交。我想我是个孤僻的人。

我的生活，平实。唯一会使我掉眼泪的就属电影、电视和动画了。但最近的那些电影只能让我感动，最多只能赚我几滴眼泪而已，还未到达让我感同深受的地步。也许我的心已经麻木了，也许我已经变得现实事故了，那些小说里的完美情节曾让我心动过，响往过，但我知道那些只会发生在小说里、电影里。我对世间的一切已不再存有任何遐想。如果真的遇见了，我不会逃避，但我不会刻意去寻找。

没有狂悲，也不会有狂喜。也许有人认为这样的生活还算是生活吗？对我来说，这是我生命旅程里的另一个阶段。曾经我也满怀希望，早拼晚拼地完全投入工作，想为自己闯出一番事业；同时也希望能遇见一个可以共同分享一切的人；但在我29岁那年，当头棒喝，我被迫重新反思我自己的一切想法及人生观。突然，我发现我并不适合当经理，我太直肠子了，也发现我不适合在IT继续发展，因为我已经完全失去对IT的热忱。曾经我对他人如何看待我，对我的评语好坏，是否重视我而耿耿于怀；现在我已开始学习对这一切处之泰然了。我觉得前30年的我似乎为他人（的理想/认同）而活，接下来的这30年我要为自己而活！

所以如果你问我：上一次痛哭是什么时候?
我会告诉你: 忘记了，也许是30岁以前吧。。。

How bad can it get??

Was reading some blogs by several Malaysian bloggers on issues and news that were happening back in Malaysia... Maybe it's norm that people tend to report the bad and not the good (好事不出门，坏事传千里), nothing I've read is encouraging or even remotely motivating!!

First there was the petrol subsidy issue that will save the government 4.4billion a year (and so coincidently MAS said that it needs 4billion to bail itself out), the peaceful mass protest at Twin Tower but were forced to dispersed by police wielding water canons, the DPM Najib asking the people to change their lifestyles, then the idiotic quest to send a Malaysian to space (what a total waste of money, although again the DPM claimed that no money was paid, hellloooo, if the 'thing' used to pay for those Russian is not money, then what are they? Hell money??), the bird flu outbreak in Perak, the 'scenic' bridge that the government insist on building, the Parliment session where the circus goes to town again with all the 'mp-rimates' busy trying to outperform one another in hope for promotions, the opposition of the creation of the IPCMC (Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission) by the ruling BN members (gasp! and I thought they were supposed to be the guardian of the rakyat!!) and many more sad/idiotic/depressing news.

It seems to me that the government is busy trying to outperform the rest of its neighbours in ways that is beyond comprehension.. They were doing good things with PTP (Perlabuhan Tanjung Perlepas) when they grab away 2 big customers from Spore Ports Authority, to name a few. Now? Seems to me it is doing all kinds of things to distract the citizens of the existing problems. What is the use for us to have a Malaysian astronauts? We are using tax payers' money to pay for 1 Malaysian to hitch a ride to space. So what is so proud of that? It's not as if we are part of the exploration/scientific team who will be able to contribute to the space research! Unless the person is willing to be the guinea pig for the other astronaut-scientist to experiment on!

What is the benefit of championing the cause for a 'National Space Program' when our MSC is languishing and rotting away? We are wasting precious god-given resources on programs/projects that do not value-add or help with national development. No wonder Singapore is more than happy to take all the non-Bumi talents from Malaysia and give them PR/citizen-ship so that they can work and contribute to Singapore instead... Mark my word, in around 2020, when Malaysia is supposed to achieve 'developed' nation state, it will see the (beginning of the) rapid decline of Malaysia if the current situation is not reversed, fast. In my small way, I will vote in the next election, hoping that my 1 vote can be the drop of water in this ocean of change that will see the reversal of Malaysia's fortune.

TGIF!!

Was quite irritated this morning. Nowadays, those bus passengers like to put thier legs up against the seat in front, making the person sitting in front felt as if someone kept pushing against their back. It is sooooooo irritating.. If that is not bad enough, those idiots like to shift around, makes you feel like you are sitting on spoilt massage chair..

When I reached office, I got an email.. Good news.. :) Boss on training, thus no team meeting today!! Yippeee!! This piece of news really made my day.. It has nothing to do with my boss or what, but it's just too draggy and dry... So instead of being stoned at the end of the day, I will be fresh and still able to do some thinking.. That is one reason why I will not schedule any course or lesson on Friday evening if I can help it..

And the fortune teller said...

It was a very weird week...

Public transport in Singapore, I'm refering to public buses there, dont usually break down. But, well and behold, I was so 'fortunate' to have encountered it twice within this week!! Once on Tuesday and the other was yesterday.. Yesterday also was not really my day, with my system application deciding to take a rest.. causing all users in AP unable to use it.. siao... and the solution to this problem was.. restarting the application involved in all the servers!! I didn't even have to reboot the servers..

During lunch time, I went to MPH. Saw some books by that Malaysian Fortune Teller lady (you should who I meant) and took a brief look at what she had to say about Tigers in the year 2006. And guesss what, according to her, this month (Mar 4 to Apr 6) is supposed to be ultra super 'suei' for Wood Tiger (those born in 1974). Her advice was to just hid at home as everything we do/encounter will be bad, and we are a walking disaster waiting to happen..

Well, well, well... So there is a culprit for all my misfortune this month!! I will believe it, yeah right! I will not put whatever that happens to me this month or any other time to feng shui/ba zhi/horoscope/zhi wei/etc. Yes, I do believe that these things do influences, however subtlely, our lives, but I will not put the blame of whatever that happened to me (good or bad) on them. We all have a choice, we are ultimately responsible for ourselves, and we should take our lives into our own hands. We have to make do with whatever cards that life has dealt us. We can use all those advices/insights that we gained from all of these to make better choices. We should be the master of our lives, instead of letting them dictate how we should live.

TransAmerica was okay....

Went to watch Transamerica just now. It was not too bad.. But comparatively, the story is so-so, but the acting was good.

The actress who acted as a man who wanted be a woman is very good. Felicity Duffman earned her Oscar nomination. As I did not watch Walk the Line, I can't compare her performance with Reese Witherspoon. Hillary was well-known for her role in Desperate Housewife, but I think this movie might be one of her greater performance. The way she portray 'Bree' (aka 'Stanley') was very good. Her every moves and posturing expresses the desire to be someone who he/she was not born to be. And I must say, the young man, Kevin Zegers who played his/her son is cute! :P He too put up a good performance.

Some of the scenes were hillarious, some somber, and there are quite a few where I do felt pity and sympathetic for Bree/Stanley and people like them. It's a movie that wants people to take others as they are, no judging of what they do/did/will be doing. Just accepting them for what they are. The part where his/her family finally provided the money he/she needed to get back to California, and his/her son, after learning the shocking truth, came back to look for her shows that the world is willing to learn to accept the fact that he/she wants to be a woman.

It did not try to preach nor judge, just presented it the way a man would feel/encounter in his quest to be a woman. All in all, I would give it a 2.5 out of 5.

Petrol price up.. in Malaysia...

Couldn't help but noticed that the Malaysian government has imposed a 30sen increase on each litre of petrol.. My goodness!! How are the common folks in Malaysia going to survive?? When petrol prices go up, the prices of everything else will follow, sooner or later..

Many of my Singaporean friends asked me how the common folks in Malaysia survive with less than RM500 per month. I told them very badly. That is why the subsidies has to come in. Yes, the cars are cheap (compared to Spore), the petrols are cheap (as compared to Spore), well, actually everything is cheaper as compared to Singapore. However, the average pay for a fresh university graduate is less than RM1,200!! Imagine one has to get a car to commute to work, as the public transportation is hopeless. Imagine the interest one pays for loans, be it housing loan and car loan is about 1.5 times Spore's. Even if the daily groceries are subsidised, everything else is about the same price as Singapore, if one lives in big city like KL or Penang.

Over here in Singapore, the government is giving out money to its citizens (not PRs though) as the government did well the last financial year. While over at Malaysia, the government is effectively taking money from its citizens!! What a big contrast!!

There was a big protest in KL over this price increase, but I don't think it will do any good. Unless something is done at the ballot boxes, the current government will continue with what it is currently doing... I feel for the common folks in Malaysia...

Chocolate Buffet... humbug!!

first of all I must confess, I am not as much as a chocoholic as I thought I was..

The selection of the Chocolate Buffet at Fullerton Hotel is quite frankly pathetic.. With the high pricing (S$28+++) per person, I would expect a gallore of chocolates and endless choice of chocolates presented, where one would feel like Hansel and Gretel stumbling upon the candy house, where everything and anything should be made of candy, where in my case should be made of chocolates.. Alas, all they have is 3 small tables, one for the chocolate fountain, the other displaying less than 20 types of chocolate desserts, and the last one, a chef making chocolate drink from less than 10 types of chocolates..

That was it!!! My goodness!! Personally, I would say "What a rip off!!" So what if the hotel is a 6 star hotel? So what if it was a friday night?? One should not advertise the buffet as a 'Chocolate Buffet' unless one has more than 30 or 40 different kinds of chocolate cakes/desserts/whatever!! And I can't even find dark chocolate!! Frankly, with the kind of money paid (after adding up the +++ , it came to almost S$33 per person!!), I can stuff myself silly with nice chocolate desserts from other restaurants/bakeries...

Aiy... felt sooo cheated...