sing a song today

Day before yesterday, everyone in the HR department went for a karaoke session. There were 10 of us in total (inclusive of us 4 trainees of course). The rules were simple: everyone had to sing at least 5 songs. With the exception of Bin and Shiow Ling who were the Karaoke King and Queen (5 wouldn't be enough). So everyone else had their own little sneaky plans on how to avoid the 5 songs. You know, pretend to go to the toilet when the song is coming up. Fake a bad, bad mood. Just refuse (applicable only for Boss). Choose an easy song and pull everyone else to sing along. Sing a duet. Take more food and just say they are there for the food(Sanny has been planning this the whole day).


We went after work and somehow I guess 5 songs were not enough. Singing is such a good a remedy for a long day. Everyone was just letting go. It was nice to see a different person from what we normally see. All those sneaky plans? Erm, what sneaky plans? Even Sanny sang a few numbers. Boss was showing off his vocal prowess. I mean, he sings it like it is. Bin was showing off his Jay Chou songs. Shiow Ling and Jennifer were hitting the Canto ones. Ms. Presee was doing the oldies. Philip was the one with all those happy songs(because he didn't just spend 8.5 hours at work). Ardhan was doing very well with Peterpan's because he pronounced it like it is. Murni was really emotional with Ruth Sahanaya. I sang almost everything. Like if you need back up, I'm there. Whitney? Sure. Mariah? Sure. I even printed Han Yu Pin Yin lyrics of Shan Hu Hai by Jay Chou and Lara because Bin requested a duet. Sure.

The real hilarious one was when My Humps, which was randomly picked, came up, nobody wanted to sing and so Philip and I just went ahead with it. It rocked. We even had to do an encore performance and agree that it would be our song when we go karaoke again. It was fun. Although we secretly know that we might have sounded like William Hung. We were quite hungover the next day and somehow got through the Merdeka Celebrations with full on "semangat patriotik". Anything for Malaysia. Surprisingly, nobody called in sick. Not even Ardhan. Impressive indeed.

Overheard during the celebrations...
Ardhan : I'm not Malaysian wei.
Me: It's OK. You need to get a job here, right?
Ardhan : Tanggal 31! BULAN LAPAN LIMA PULUH TUJUH!!


Overheard during Merdeka lunch...
Boss: SO, when are we going for karaoke again?


Overheard at the office...
Shiow Ling: My humps... my humps

August

Being a Malaysian (or Singaporean or Indonesian for this matter), the month of August somehow feels more exciting and festive than other months. There are just so many activities planned out for the whole month to celebrate our independence. I can't wait to go watch the ongoing International Fireworks Competition at Putrajaya which I heard was one of the more brilliant ideas to promote tourism. I mean, seriously, it is actually cool. I wonder who thought of this idea. Please stand up!

Anyways, so far, August have been quite fun.


Things we do to make our office look less boring (I mean besides all those other props and photos that we have accumulated for the past few months):

No points for guessing who created this. "My goodness!" says our training manager.

Patriotism in the office:

-Malaysiaku Gemilang!-

Little Philip's last day:

That's Philip in the middle. This could easily be a poster picture for those anti-bully campaigns for high schools. Don't worry. It is totally posed. Yes, as usual.

We 'brought' Philip to Skybar. Just to experience a little 'night life'.

"Just for you, little boy."

Erm, though it is not a club, it is still a bar right, Philip?
Anyways, did I mention that he is 16? Not 17 as I have been lamenting about. 16! Shit.


Space dedicated to Philip (for sending me back! hehe!)


It was all good, clean fun as my parents would put it. Philip was really happy. He warned us about him turning 'wild' and 'scratching people'. We got worried. But eventually, nobody could get into a worried stage. Other than our colleagues who kept on telling us not to go home too late.

Murni was really happy too. She kept on feeding me with little drops of alcohol to "help me overcome my allergy". I like to see her drunk because that's the first time I see her without any stress. We should do this more often.

Burn was really happy too. He was doing lip things and was giving away kisses and talking and laughing and laughing and talking. We should do this more often.

I was, erm, still sober. OK, I was also happy. I got a free mocktail! :) Hurrah! (?)

Then it was FHM 2007!

Not For Him Magazine. Food Hotel Malaysia 2007 and Culinaire Malaysia 2007! Hello, food samplings!

I was too busy eating. These are some of the few things which I took photo of to pretend like we were interested in the function of the equipments and appliances. "This is so cool. I can totally see it in our hotel already. Better than the one presented yesterday. We'll look at their quotations first though."

We finished with Gelato. But not before we had this salad with Japanese salad dressing which was awesome. So yummy. I could see myself eating salad everyday after I find it in Isetan. Will recommend later. It was "orgasmic" in Burn's words.

After effects of FHM. Yummers.

come rain come shine

It is confirmed. My dissertation has been submitted. I can finally breathe now...

Just don't expect me to be too responsive for the next few days...

Yvonne @ work - yet again

These days, all I do is basically work and my dissertation. What else can one expect? Today was a little cooler than other days. Someone had a special mission.

I was given the chance to be a "sort of" guinea pig...

-me nails at 3.00pm-


-choices, choices-

"Which one would you like? Can't decide? I can bring a few bottles so we can test them out until you find one that you like!"

Oh, really?


-got a little scary here...-

Looks like my dentist's tray.


-an older photo of the place d'indulgence-

Since when did manicure include lying on a very comfortable bed with lotsa luxurious towels and lavender aroma theraphy oil and candles everywhere?


-the ons therapist-


-voila! shaped, buffed, polished and moisturized-

Mission accomplished at 4.30pm.

I also learned a thing or two about the various gadgets, tools and products used by the therapist. Anyways, it was good. Good good. Wonder if they need someone to test out the massage range...

sushi and me

I don't think I qualify as a sushi lover but Japanese food just delights me every time.

It looks good.


Its rather light and healthy...


It is not just about raw fish...


And when it is fish, it is really good fish.


And ooh, dessert!

Not forgetting that the flat rate green tea is a superb plus point.

*photos taken at Sushi Zan Mai. Current fave dinner place. :)

watch them sleep

On a break from my Big D, I saw this post on Friendster. Meaningful and beautiful. Made me realize again how every language has its own beauty. And yes, watching someone sleep may sound quite silly but it is one of the most meaningful way of spending that few minutes. Connect with them. Watch the truth slowly reveal itself with every breath, outlining that soft face. Try guessing their peaceful thoughts; their dreams. All you want to do at that moment is to stop time, to protect them, to wish them the best and may they remain in that blissful state forever. And when they wake up, you pretend nothing has happened but something has changed and things are not the same as before - things get better.


(gosh, I miss my bed) >:)


Melihat orang yang kita sayang pada
saat dia tidur.....

Renungkan/lihatlah betapa sayangnya
kita pada mereka.....

Pernahkah anda menatap orang-orang
yang anda sayang saat mereka sedang
tidur ?
Kalau belum, cubalah sekali saja
menatap mereka saat sedang tidur.

Saat itu yang tampak adalah ekspresi
paling wajar dan paling jujur dari
seseorang.

Seorang artis yang ketika di panggung
begitu cantik dan gemerlap pun
akan tampak polos dan jauh
berbeza jika ia sedang tidur.

Orang paling kejam di dunia pun
jika ia sudah tidur tak akan tampak
wajah bengisnya.

Perhatikanlah ayah anda
saat beliau sedang tidur.
Sedarilah, betapa badan yang dulu kuat
dan gagah itu kini semakin tua dan
lemah, betapa rambut-rambut putih
mulai menghiasi kepalanya, betapa
kerut merut mulai terpahat di wajahnya.
Orang inilah yang tiap hari bekerja
keras untuk kesejahteraan
kita, anak-anaknya.
Orang inilah, rela melakukan apa saja
asal perut kita kenyang dan
pendidikan kita lancar.

Sekarang, beralihlah. ...
Lihatlah ibu anda....
Hmm...kulitnya mulai keriput dan tangan
yang dulu halus membelai- belai
tubuh bayi kita itu kini kasar kerana
menempuhi kehidupan yang mencabar demi
kita.
Orang inilah yang tiap hari
menguruskan keperluan kita.
Orang inilah yang paling rajin
mengingatkan dan membebeli kita
semata- mata kerana rasa kasih dan
sayang, dan sayangnya, itu sering kita
salah ertikan.

Cubalah menatap wajah orang-orang
yang kita cintai..sayangi itu...
Ayah, Ibu, Suami,
Isteri, Kakak, Adik, Anak, Sahabat,
Semuanya...

Rasakanlah sensasi yang timbul
sesudahnya.
Rasakanlah energi cinta yang mengalir
perlahan-lahan saat menatap wajah
mereka yang terlelap itu.
Rasakanlah getaran cinta yang mengalir
deras ketika mengingat betapa
banyaknya pengorbanan yang telah
dilakukan orang-orang itu untuk
kebahagiaan anda. Pengorbanan yang
kadang-kadang tertutupi oleh salah
faham
kecil yang entah kenapa selalu saja
nampak besar.

Secara ajaib Tuhan mengatur agar
pengorbanan itu akan tampak lagi
melalui wajah-wajah jujur mereka
saat sedang tidur.
Pengorbanan yang kadang melelahkan
serta memenatkan mereka
namun enggan mereka ungkapkan.
Dan ekspresi wajah ketika tidur pun
membantu untuk mengungkap segalanya.
Tanpa kata, tanpa suara dia
berkata... "betapa lelahnya..penatnya
aku hari ini".
Dan penyebab lelah dan penat itu?
Untuk siapa dia berpenat lelah
Tak lain adalah
KITA.....

Suami yang bekerja keras mencari
nafkah, isteri yang bekerja keras
mengurus dan mendidik anak, juga rumah.
Kakak, adik, anak, dan sahabat yang
telah menemani hari-hari suka dan duka
bersama kita.

Resapilah kenangan-kenangan manis dan
pahit yang pernah terjadi dengan
menatap wajah-wajah mereka.
Rasakanlah betapa kebahagiaan dan
rasa terharu seketika menerpa jika
mengingat itu semua.

Bayangkanlah apa yang akan terjadi jika
esok mereka "orang-orang tersayang itu"
tak lagi membuka matanya,
untuk selamanya ... "

have faith

My companion for the past week and for the next 10 days:

-My pile of papers-

I slept in today. I feel guilty but it felt oh-so-good. hmm...

Only ONE goal this weekend: Complete my dissertation (and put an end to this suffering) (and fish myself out of the deep shit).

*nod.*

Update!

Dissertation passing up date has been postponed for a week! Hallelujah!

Anyways, I felt the need to blog about something. Here is a short update in a nutshell:


Murni's still on diet and we take the stairs with her.
I'm still in deep shit because my questionnaires are not back yet.
Burn is my new bestfriend. We have an informal contract of 10 years. During this friendship, he shall take care of all my IT problems. :)
No comments about Ardhan and Philip. :P

OK, back to work. :)