Fond Memories Of Year 2010

Year 2010 is ending in an hour time. Many revelers are busy partying, ushering in the new year. I choose to stay in the comfort of my home and appreciate the last hour of year 2010. This is simply because year 2010 has a special meaning in my heart. It is my year....well, literally. It's the year of the tiger (which happens to be my Chinese zodiac) and 2010 rhymes with my birthday (10th October). But achievement-wise and making-new year's resolution-come-true-wise, year 2010 is not really my year.

Nevertheless, there are still many fond memories throughout year 2010:

January
- this month past by in a daze, maybe because it's the first month of the year. I still have plenty of time to achieve my goals (or so I thought).

February
- this month is all about Chinese new year. Cookies baking, spring cleaning, shopping for new clothes and of course collecting red packets.
- bought a new hand phone with my bonus.
- did prayers at the temple because the Chinese lunar calendar tiger year is supposedly not a good year for me. This praying ritual is known as 'sip tai sui' in cantonese.
- had a wonderful time at the Penang state level Chinese new year celebration.

March
- bonding session with mummy, daddy and brother on board of the Star Pisces cruise.
- attended the thought-provoking 'Siddharta, The Musical'. I understand the roots of Buddhism better and am not shy to tell people that I am a Buddhist.

April
- went for my 'dream' job interview and aced it (it turned out the job is not really that ideal).
- news of many friends' relatives and friends deceased. This makes me appreciate life and the people around me more.

May
- put in extra effort and extra time at work because it's my last month there. Although it's work, I enjoyed every moment with my colleagues and time seems to be flying by so fast.
- attended too many farewells for myself. All these make me miss my then-colleagues even more.

June
- a month of emotion roller coaster. Am very reluctant to leave my nice boss and amazing colleagues, yet I am keen to move on to a bigger corporation.
- started my new job in the middle of the month.
- discovered a very big hole (the size of two cars piled up) outside my apartment. Luckily, repair work quickly took place and no one was injured.

July
- Spain won World Cup for the first time in history. I am a Spain supporter (well, actually a huge fan of the goalkeeper, Iker Casillas), so I was really happy with the victory.
- had a great time at the Georgetown Heritage festival, which was held to commemorate Penang as a world heritage landmark.
- appeared in the nation newspaper. I joined a tour around Georgetown and was photographed by the journalists.

August
- went to cut my hair at a classic beauty parlour and the hair stylist is an old uncle. But the result turned out to be satisfying.

September
- nothing extraordinary happened this month. I was busy trying to adapt to my new job and trying to not miss my former colleagues.

October
- it's a wonderful month. Why? Simply because it's my birth month.
- brush shoulders with a local celebrity and an international starlet, yet I let the opportunity to snap photographs with them slip off my fingers.

November
- my proudest moment of the year. I completed the Penang bridge marathon within a given time frame and was awarded a qualifying medal.
- went for free trial french class. Totally love the language.

December
- the Malaysia football team was the champion for the Suzuki AFF. It has been so long since our country's team last brought glory home. As a result, the last day of year 2010 was declared a public holiday for Malaysians.
- it is the last month Penangites carry their purchases with plastic bags.

There goes my year 2010. May year 2011 be a more meaningful and better year.


Goodbye year 2010



Welcome year 2011

2nd Anniversary !

Fuh! Finally manage to post an entry. Had not been super occupied for Christmas. No party, no crazy drinking and binging. In fact, I am not in Christmas mood at all. I actually feel kind of moody and I wonder why. Sigh.

I should be happy with my current life. I should be grateful. Why am I going through one of those down-for-no-reason-moments again? I hate it when this happens. I know I should not waste my time sulking and I should enjoy every second of my life but things are easier said than done. Feelings are so difficult to control, especially since I am of the fairer sex.

I should be grateful because although I am not a masters graduate, I am qualified enough to earn a decent job. My paycheck does not secure me a worry-free retirement life but at lease it's enough for me to meet my commitments and to do a little retail therapy. My family is not broken, my parents are still together, and my brother is leading his dream life. See, my life is complete, why am I feeling so shitty??

I guess it must be because of loneliness. I have friends but something is just missing. Will elaborate more in my next entry. I feel so inspired to blog nowadays. Good news!

It's always at times like this that I am truly happy that geniuses come up with blogspot. I always do feel better after pouring my feelings here. Muacks Mich's Monologue. Happy 2 years anniversary!







Merry Christmas! Love, Peace & Joy!

Is There A Difference ?

Since the moment you are born, you are made and taught to take sides. Which nipple do you prefer to get your milk from, which is your favourite toy. Then when you are a toddler, which cartoon character is your favourite, what is your favourite subject at school, who is your favourite teacher and the ultimate question of all time.....who do you love more? Mummy or Daddy?

Then there are those friends and colleagues, always trying to 'recruit' you to their team in the invisible popularity race. Not to forget the country, with so many political parties trying to fish for your votes.

In the recent weeks, I became really sick of all this taking sides stuff. Can't people just stay neutral? Wouldn't it be more peaceful if human are not required to take sides?

At the home front, when parents argue, the children are indirectly made to take sides. It is definitely impossible for the child to stay neutral and not dislike one of the parent more. Siblings likewise.

Then at work or school, when two of your friends go into a misunderstanding, you are made to listen to their gossip and to agree with them that the other party is indeed bitchy and stuff.

On the political front, we are brain-washed to bad-mouth the other parties.

This are all human nature. Although I strongly disagree with this behaviour, there is no denial that it is part of the human character. However it is not the people that encourage sides-taking that suffers. The people whom are made to take sides suffer more. Why?

Well, I for example do not agree with taking sides because to me, both parties are not in the wrong, it's merely a big misunderstanding. At the end of day, when you are at your death bed, does all these really matters? I believe that everybody is born with a kind-heart. It's just that due to peer pressure and influence from the surrounding, one became mislead. Therefore, I befriend everyone and do not take sides.

But in the people-who-encourage-sides-taking opinion, they do not think that you are being neutral. When they gossip about the other party and you do not participate but merely listen, they think that you support the other party. When you talk and treat the other party nice, they assume you are on their side and instantly make you their enemy.

It is really a fine line between being neutral and being a two-headed snake. People constantly misunderstand you as the latter. But being a librain, I will continue my journey being the former because I find happiness by doing that.

Straits Quay @ Penang

The pearl of the orient, my beloved Penang island is going through some evolution. Nope, I am not touching the political side. I am talking about turning Penang island into a one-stop shopping heaven. Many shopping complexes have mushroomed on the island itself this year.

My favourite new retail theraphy location is Straits Quay, not because of the shops or anchor tenants (currently, only 10% of the shop lots are occupied). I love this new place simply because of its majestic and sophisticated architecture. Call me shallow?

In my opinion, there is a reason for this building to be built in such a majestic way. Straits Quay was built on reclaimed-land. Gasp! Questions start popping in my mind. Will it sink in say a two or three decades time? Can the mighty tsunami sweep the whole building away?

Anyway, it is a not-to-be-missed place to visit in Penang. Just enjoy the evening breeze while walking along the promenade or enjoy a cuppa while over-looking the sea view, and for the shutter bug, it's a place to click, click, click and click your camera.

A modern place with vintage touch.

















The theme for this year's christmas - Christmas in Candyland

Back From Hiatus

It had been so long since I last updated this blog. I hate mentioning this and I am sure you are bored of reading this ever-so-familiar sentence as a starter for most of my entries. I am sick of it too but I just can't help it. Life had not been super busy. This past few months drifted by as though I was in a dream. I feel as though I am living each day without fully participating in it. Yeah, it's complicated but I am not emo....will be able to figure this out soon.

On a happier note, I suprised myself by participating in the Penang Bridge Marathon and shocked the people around me by completing the marathon in a short time, hence qualified for a medal. Yay! Finally something to be proud of. Has not been achieving much since I left high school, sort of miss my glorious days back then (I sound as though I am an old lady reminiscing her younger days).

The marathon was divided into several categories but generally there was the full-marathon, half-marathon and quarter-marathon. I only decided to join about two months before the race and being a first-timer, I opted for the quarter-marathon. The race started at 6am but I was already up at 3am. I went with my brother and a couple of expatriate friends. With their company, the morning was much more fun. We ran in the rain, which was not a bad thing since Malaysia is a humid country.

Time flies while we were running and enjoying the morning breeze. Soon after the race, we begin to feel muscle sores but we enjoyed the pain. We felt a sense of achievement and at that point, we made a date with each other to participate in the half-marathon next year.







On a totally unrelated note, for the first time in my entire life, I saw a person faint right in front of my eyes. It was a casual weekend outing with my two buddies. We had sushi for lunch and then we headed for the cinema. It was a really cold evening and by the time the movie ended, we were starving. We decided to have dinner at a double storey food outlet. Since the second floor was very crowded, we decided to head downstairs for a more strategic table. One of my friend missed a step and fell. She bruised her knees but luckily she did not sprain her legs. It was equally crowded downstairs, so we waited. Suddenly, the friend who fell turned to me and said, "Quick, talk to me. I am about to faint." I was taken aback by her remarks and was speechless at that moment. Suddenly, her face turned pale and she fainted. She nearly knocked her head on the sharp ends and I felt helpless. I was too freaked out to re-act because I did not actually thought she would really faint. Luckily she recovered really soon and by then, our table was ready. What a way to end our day.