My little piece of heaven

When life gets too much, this little scoop can get you away for just that 5 to 10 minutes... Depending on how long you take to eat it.

I take mine sloooowly... :D

Not that life was getting too much.. Just enjoyed watching RED.. So maximum cool. I love Bruce Willis in 2010!

Haha..... I love sundays~



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Otw home!

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testing email posting

Testing email posting! I'm loving this drink...
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the green issue: office plants

Just the other day I was washing my mug in the office pantry, I suddenly noticed that there were a lot of greeneries in my office pantry. Too many for such a tiny space - 2m x 2m. No, seriously, the office pantry is that small. No, seriously. Come have a look! It's free. :)

Anyhoo, sometimes, the office/working place/home #2 feels like a bleak place. But apart from the blinding number of emails and phone calls to answer, long hours, below zero temperature which freezes up your muscles, the very snug pantry aka Office Plants Graveyard (OPG) etc... we don't really have it as bad as the other living things in there: the abandoned plants.

With all the magazines out there screaming "GREEN iS the new Black!" I figured I too shall pay a tribute to the greeneries in my office. The under-privileged ones, that is.

Case #1: Mr Tall
Length of stay in OPG: more than 1.5 years
Location: Next to coffee machine
The Abandoner: Unknown.
History: It has just been there always.



Look at it grow - full of optimism and vitality. This plant has been there even before I joined this office. Like 1.5 years ago. It is like the pioneer of the Abandoned Ones. It has to be! Because no one dares to move it. It gets the premium spot of being next to the coffee machine. Recently the lower leaves have shown some loss of chlorophyll (and spirits), but the younger leaves on top badgers on for optimum sunlight, no flourescent light, to stay alive.


Case #2: Me-in-a-mug
Length of stay in OPG: about 1 year
Location: On top of mini oven
The Abandoner: Unknown.
History: Sudden appearance on a weekday afternoon.

OK, this one is quite sneaky because I never knew it was in a mug. I thought it was always in a jar, left on top of a tall cupboard in the office. Anyhow, when there are new colleagues, we would pluck some of it and place in a new vase to welcome the new-comer. Sad, right!!

Case #3 + 4: Mr One Leaf Jack and Mr Earthy (a duo)

Length of stay in OPG: 8 months / more than 1.5 years
Location: On the floor beside the water cooler
The Abandoner: Pending investigation
History: too sad...



OK so One Leaf Jack was left there because the leaves used to have white stuff, like it was ill. And then due to lack of care, it is now left with ONE LEAF. The one on the right, Earthy, it the only earth based one in here. It has always been there... and sometimes people accidentally kick it when entering the pantry... poor guys. Sometimes hot coffee splashes on them too. Poor guys indeed.

Case #5: Ms Honey Pot

Length of stay in OPG: One week (latest member!)
Location: Next to sink
The Abandoner: Comms.. well, not by choice. only temporary.
History: The beautiful glass vase which it once called home suddenly split, soaking documents and threatening the safety of the owner's computer leading to its temporary quarantine in an abandoned plastic honey container.

This plant loves its owner very much. The owner fell very sick and has been away on MC for a few days so I guess it got anxious causing the glass to split. No one else touched the vase! Now it is next to the sink. Sometimes dish washing detergent splashes in too. I've moved it a little further away.


Be strong plants! You will find new loving owners soon. Honey Pot, your owner will be back in no time!

Anyone who would like to adopt a plant, please do not hesitate to proceed to the pantry and do mother earth proud.

if i had a pet dog...

Random thoughts inspired by the dog blogosphere...

If I have a pet dog...

> I can throw all my stuffed toys away (except for ahpooh)
> I will treat it like my kid
> it will be a Chow Chow(teddy dog!)
> I will create a blog for it (like my friend's www.boxermoiselle.blogspot.com)
> it will be called Bobbee
> I will teach it to dance
> I will buy it its own Pooh Bear toy
> I will buy a short red tee for it so it will look like a Pooh wannabe
> I will teach it to fetch... 8Days and my Blackberry...
> I will be more motivated to exercise by taking it for walks
> it will be trained to bite good looking men's ankles when we are on our walks so I can go apologize after
> it will get treats all the time!
> I will try not to spoil it rotten..


It's sunday night... time for me to continue this reverie in my dreams... :)

bliss in Japan!

Look what I found!

One of the fancy shops in Omotesando Hills. snaps!


More photos and stories of Japan to follow... just need time~

1st Time : Petronas Family Day

After a bout of rah-rah about internet being back into my life, I didn't actually get back into the internet! 3 months later, I realize I'm paying RM60 (RM61.05 to be exact) for unlimited internet every month and using it only for 10 minutes a day (on average)! omg. that's 5 hours a month and that means, RM12 for an hour. Feels a bit like a loss. time to tell some stories...

Today I have a chance to join my colleagues in taking part in the Petronas Family Day. We have been taking part for 4 years and I heard it has been the same thing for 4 years. So really, all of us newbies are experiencing it as what it is.

5.30am: PJ gang decides to be different and goes for breakfast early in the morning. We still so cannot believe that Harry, who usually wakes up at 2pm on weekends, also joined us. We had dim sum. yum.

6.30am: Not sure where Bangi is. "No problem lah.. got time, got petrol.."

7.20am: We're here!! Omg.. we're early...

7.30am: The hotel sponsors hot air balloon rides and of course, we have to get on it first to test it out - is it safe, etc.. "Get on the hot air balloon first before the crowd starts queueing up!! yay!! "


8.00am: The rest of the team arrives staggeredly. Just like every year, we have nasi lemak for breakfast courtesy of Js who was late last year... and the year before that. Like really late. Like 10.00am late...

Wei having nasi lemak~

This year Js arrived at 7am.

8.30am: Soon the set up was done... the crowd started queueing up for the hot air balloon ride. I was assigned as the Hot Air Balloon Crowd Control with Lilian. Basically, we had gates for them to queue in and I basically have to tell them it is for 4 persons max and had to basically take lots of family photos for them. Nice job.

Just like every year, we had the Ping Pong game. You're given 3 ping pong balls, and all you have to do is try to land them into any of the 30 cups set in front of you. Easy right? And when you get even just one ball in, you get our limited edition Traders Eco-friendly Shopper Bag! (photo to follow soon). It smells organic too~ phew!

Now, if you don't get any of the 3 balls in, you can try again. and again!

And if we don't really want you to try anymore, you get our limited edition Traders Eco-friendly Shopper Bag!
*This cycle went on till 11.30 when we finish

9.00am: The candy floss machine starts up! Jon, our super multitasking dude joined us wearing his Pastry kitchen uniform. Just last week he was in Engineering. And the week before that, I thought I spot him in Front Office uniform. aaanyways, our machine was a bit cranky so yes, we got the orange candy floss on stick, nice and easy and made some kids happy. But the floss flies up a lot and covers poor Jon in melted sugar.
But Jon never fails to enjoy his job. Look how he stood out in blue!

It is also about this time we started giving out lollipops!

Oh, the sugar rush! Candyfloss, unlimited lollipops... you have some kids starting to turn cranky. An anonymous mom told me when I wanted to offer her son a lolli "No! No more! Look at him!"

The little boy was kicking her shoes with his left leg, and then his right and then goes around her and then repeats the kick again.. this went on for a while and I decided that, yes, he's had enough sugar for the day.

10.00am: Was abandoned by Lilian as she had to sit by the laptop to key in contacts. Was abandoned by Harry as he had to go smoke.

10.15am: The sun shines in full blast rays...



Just like every year, we stand around trying to be useful...


10.30: Abandons Crowd Control job. Too hot! Attempted to help with Ping Pong game. But picking up ping pong balls suck too. Abandons camp to go spread the word about Traders - by giving out our limited edition Traders Eco-friendly Shopper Bag.

Also took part in Impiana'sgame booth to try win some prizes but sadly lost. Chowchow got a free night stay at Impiana! With breakfast somemore! It is loudly suggested and rumoured that he will take Wei with him.

11.15: Hot air balloon does its last ride as it was getting too warm. Group photo!!! (photo to follow soon)

11.30: head on to the famous Sate Kajang~

12.00pm: Arrives at Sate Kajang! everyone ate the same thing - Sate. Only last year, one of our colleague insisted on Soup Noodles. This year, that did not happen because she has left. Everyone ordered Coconut drinks too. Instead, the dude brought out a crate of Coca-cola. Of course, we had them sent back and got us real Coconuts. And then they gave all of us plastic spoons so we couldn't scoop out the flesh.

In any case, that was good pre-lim lunch.

12.45pm: Head back to PJ! "This is a good time to sleep!" says I. JC plays game on his iPhone, everyone else try to get comfy and fitted into their little spot in the car. Driver AP feels crappy that he has to drive. It was at this moment that Harry says "This is a good time not to be driving!" After a short bout of F words, everyone doze off.

1.30pm: reach home!

2.00pm: knocked out.

internet! yay!

I really can't believe I have survived 2 weeks without my laptop! It felt like Lent all over again! but only this time, I'm actually sacrificing something (Yep, didn't do much for Lent this year. Last year was about chocolates. I know riiight.. but I guess I'm just not at the stage to sacrifice juicy meat for forty days, *faints just thinking about it*).

Anyway, my baby laptop has decided to go into a coma and of course it has been on life support for the past one month. I've just been in denial of its medical situation, decided to let it fight off the problem with its own brute strength. Finally, its heart beat stopped and so was reluctantly sent to the "revival" station.

The past 2 weeks of absence was the hardest ever in my history with my laptop. Of course, I worry about... wait, I just realised I didn't name my laptop. I named by car Bee. :).. yeah anyway, was pretty worried about my laptop's safety and more importantly...

my songs and photos are in there!!! its like my whole life in chapters stored in there. I was worried. Had sweaty palms sometimes just thinking about it. And of course, it also died on me during a time when I needed to do my major monthly e-bankings, bill payments, Tax filing. Aiyo.

And I try to while my time away by keeping myself busy... and then I realized that the only thing I do when I'm not working, or e-banking or e-filing, is done on my laptop. *cue drama!

O_O

So I did what most social outcasts did... I read endlessly... it was hard because I'm so not up-to-date with the world!

Like, why did X from Front Office break up with Y? Why, Yvonne? Why? Well, I don't know! argh. How can I not know! hmm.. I could see the disappointment in my Senior Sales Manager's face. "How come you don't know?"

and so... when that didn't work out (I mean, I can't be reading Waiter's Rant, Time Traveller's Wife and Dear John back to back for 2 weeks in a row), I tried texting people more, tried going out for dinners more. But it is just not the same.

I also wanted to practice some Yoga and then I realize I play my Yoga CD on my laptop because the recorded volume's pretty low and needed to be amplified on speakers. grr.

I also got mild OCD. I cleaned up everything that I see. Everything seemed to need a scrub, a rub, some polishing, some wiping. I felt like a grown up woman for once! The maternal instinct to keep things neat and tidy! Or maybe I was just bored.

And when my fingers decided to sound the alarm of abuse, I stopped cleaning and, hold your breath(!), took out my abandoned notebook and my fave pen and started writing a book!

But of course, it stopped at page 5.

So "ma kwai fun", Cantonese for "freaking troublesome", to write and when you think maybe "munch" is more interesting a word than, say, "eat" or "chew" or "snack", as in, "As I munched on that unsalted bag of chips, I suddenly remembered that I was supposed to ta pao fried bananas for my mom and her mahjong kakis". So should I use Munch, Ate, Chew, or Snacked?

Erm, anyways, so when you think you might prefer to use "munch" you have to either use white outs or draw a line across the unwanted word to axe it. So messy!!!

I miss you Microsoft Word!

So when I got my laptop back on my lap this afternoon, after driving 300KM back to Johor for it, I was almost thinking of dramatically shedding some tears of joy. Just to emphasize to my parents how much my laptop meant to me because they didn't agree to send it back to me in KL. -_-

I missed you. Don't ever die on me again, OK? Next time you do that, I'll just go queue for an iPad.

signs

signs that you have been all about work since counting down on 31 Dec 2009.


1) You have very bad skin
2) You look like you are suffering from malnutrition/could have more nutritious foods
3) You are putting on weight in the wrong places
4) You suddenly find yourself making regular appointments for reflexology and neck and shoulder massage
5) You look like you could use some sleep
6) You ache for a holiday (heeeelllppp)

I am at point 6 now (and all of the above). Ache.For.Holiday. and it is not even mid year yet!

soooo need this. right now.


and the list continues to more drastic side effects..7,8,9... but that shall be kept for another day. Let's see how I, little potato in need of some sand and sea, survive till June then.

innocent brutal honesty

I love people who tells me the truth.

I love honesty.

I definitely love people who are transparent.


Now that I have made that clear. Anyways, the world will be a beautiful and awesome place with everyone being honest and kind and wanting no more than just joy and bliss for everyone around them. What a happy place to be.

*no, I'm not on some Happy Pills.


But there is a little something called Brutal Honesty.

These are people we should learn to love because they tell it like it is. I am still learning to open my heart wide enough to accept these sharp, killing words with a smile and warm embrace. I truly am still learning the art.

Today, I received Brutal Honesty in its purest form.

It just so happened that I was feeling fine and dandy and on top of the world after having an awesome lunch with awesome drinks and awesome clients to meet.

I was feeling so awesome I was smiling to myself. Like, what a beautiful day, right?

Then I met 2 colleagues who caringly told me:

"Oh Yvonne, Yvonne, you have become fat, I can see." (direct translation)


I held my heart (well, left side of my chest) and feigned a fainting face. Like, seriously!

And I thought by doing that, they will pull back their words with a smile and laugh it off and start talking about donating to charity. But NO! it is not meant to be...! Instead they earnestly looked at me with the expression that says something to the effect of "why are you treating this as a joke? we're serious, darling."


My life just came to a halt for 1/10 of a second when I realise that they were not in anyway trying to spoil my day. It is just plain old innocent brutal honesty which slipped past the Mincing Department. It came Whole. Cold and hard handed over with warm hands.


Of course I did not feel like a major super star after that. I just felt like I needed a jog.


See why we need more of these? I felt like a jog after what seemed like years of deprive. I need more brutal honesty in my life.

Sneak Peek

*wow, 2 days of posting in a row. we're on a roll aren't we?


Sneak Peek: A day in Yvonne's work week...

It's been a super hot day scouring the streets of Nilai, some 70km from my office - so hot that I thought I was going to die of heat stroke. Then and there, no less. I wondered who was going to collect my body. Like, will they inform my parents?

I did save "mummy" and "daddy" in my phone.


And then it rained and based on my superstitious believes (inplanted into my head since I was like 2 days old), some rain drops got to my scalp and that, my dear friend, is the beginning of the end of my health as I know it. If I get flu, it's caused by those drops. If I get cough, it's caused by those drops. If I get fever, it's caused by it too. If I get diarrhea... you get the picture.

And then because I itchy-buttedly drank some super strong coffee lovingly brewed by my client, I got this massively epic headache which bounces from left to right.

BUT!

It could have been caused by those rain drops.


And then I got stuck in traffic, ON THE WAY BACK. (wow wee!)


On top of that, I have 2 ulcers on my tongue which was caused by heatiness (duh, everyday in the sun) and I was supposed to drink lotsa water. But how was I supposed to be motivated to drink when everytime I drink, it hurts like faaarrrrkkkk... literally. And when I wanted to tell my colleague that I wanted to puke, he thought I wanted to peel. Peel what? (raise eyebrows, raise eyebrows)

seriously. this was worse than bad hair day. or staining your shirt with curry right before an appointment. or accidentally eating garlic before a meeting. and have no access to Listerine. or going into the Touch N Go lane without your Touch N Go card! it's worse than stockings tearing in the middle of Shah Alam! With no spare!


.....


Wait, I'll have to re-consider that.



And all I wanted to do was to sigh a long "cibaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii" when I got back to the office. And so I did. Trust me it feels good. Try it, today!


OK, I conclude, stockings tearing in the middle of Shah Alam with no spare is really sucky. touch wood touch wood.

It could be

It could be...

... that I'm SO busy

... that I'm SO uninspired

... that I'm SO caught up with this thing called life

... that I'm SO freaking turning mid-twenties this year

... that I'm SO supposed to be doing something else right this moment

... that I'm SO over-exposed on Facebook

... that I'm SO spending more time researching Blackberries and Iphones

... that I'm SO daydreaming

... that I'm SO in need to stay away from computers (!!!)



It could be these reasons that I'm not updating my blog anymore. Nonetheless, I still feel the need to pen. Look out for my book in your friendly neighbourhood bookstores this summer.






Not.



:D