Gloomy Sunday

What a gloomy Sunday. I took my mom for a movie at Pavilion today. We watched Bodyguards and Assassins. It was slow... even my mom agreed. She says Ninja Assassin was better but I haven't seen that yet so I can't comment. After the movie I took my mom down to the food court area to see what she would have liked for lunch. We walked around a bit after which she decide that she wanted to have beef ball noodles at Jalan Tengkat Tung Shin. The place is called Ngau Kee. So off we went. I had the dry version and double... and I like to 'banjir' mine with their chilli sauce. Wow... damn syiok... my botak head was dripping with sweat. I'm salivating already...

Then after I sent my mom home I didn't feel too good so I just went home and lazed... and the weather didn't help either as you can see from the picture above.

For dinner, I decided to have something light since I wasn't feeling too good. So, I cooked myself a simple fish ball noodles. I think I need to get some rest and hopefully I'll feel better tomorrow...

Messed Up...

The past few days have been pretty messy. There was frustration. There was hurt... lots of it... I wished I could just take my heart out but alas I can't. There was anger. Some people just love to report half facts and get others worked up... really spoilt my days.

Anyway, thankfully I had planned to spoil myself last night and that kinda made up for everything for the time being. I bought myself tickets for Avatar-3D on Monday for last night, midnight. My last 3D movie was Jaws 3D... and I think I was about thirteen then. I decided on 3D for Avatar as I read somewhere that this would be a good movie to watch on 3D. To cut a long story short... I was happy as shit. Damn! It was so cool! Really cool... nowhere near what I remembered it to be. I was literally fascinated... switching views to see the difference... trying to touch certain things... and here comes the best part.... there was a scene with an explosion and  the debris flew towards the audience... I actually ducked! It was a good experience. Go try it... you won't regret.

This is a view that I should be seeing daily soon. I've always dreamed of having a beach-side house but I guess a beach-side workplace will have to suffice for now... really looking forward to it... get away from this place... away from everyone. Maybe I'll find peace there... maybe I'll just decide to sever all ties and start life all over again... maybe that's the best way since people can't move on... they just have to haunt you.

If the weather is good I'll go out for some photography tomorrow...

2012 and IDIOTS

I watched 2012 last night. I bought the tickets online early this week. This time round I decided to try Pavilion instead of my norm at Berjaya Times Square. I have not watched a movie in Pavilion in almost 2 years. Anyway, got there and the way to the cinema was not familiar. Only when I was queuing to pick my tickets up did things start to fall in place. There were a lot of people there. It was 9:30 pm and I was watching the 9:45 pm movie. 2012 was sold out right to the 1:00 am slot.

When I got in the cinema and sat down, I then remembered how comfortable the seats were compared to the others. They had more advertisements then most other places. Probably due to the profile of people who frequent Pavilion. The movie had not even started and I had already spotted an IDIOT. I'm quite good at spotting IDIOTS now. He was seated right in front of me. A foreigner. Probably Korean or Japanese, not sure. I was seated at row A... like I normally am as I always plan and I always buy online and days in advance. He had some friends at the front right corner of the hall. He went there for awhile and just as the movie was about to start he came back to his seat and get this... he was talking out loud to his friends at the front row. I was already annoyed at him but since the movie was only beginning I kept quiet.

Then... just a few minutes later a group of people enter the cinema... and they appear to be friends of his too. Then he starts talking to them again, aloud and it seems like he is telling them where their seats are. Some were at the front while a few were on my row at the far right... about 5 seats away from me. Others were annoyed as well and there were some remarks made by others and they quickly hushed down.

Alas, it was not the end of it. This IDIOT actually had conversations with his friend who was seated 5 seats away from me. And he did this about 5 times throughout the entire movie. They were not long conversations but definitely annoying. I was like, WTF!!! Really... I swear I would have told them off and probably even ended up smacking the IDIOT if he had any retorts of any kind but I was not allowed to by my partner. She knew I was already boiling so she kept me at bay.

What is it with these IDIOTS? No bloody respect for people whatsoever... tiu!

2012 is just so-so... kinda 'dry'. I really liked the seats of the cinema. It was a bit warm for me but maybe it was my anger. I hate the car park... from the cinema to the car park.... absolutely horrible. Maybe I haven't figured out a proper system yet like I did in BTS. In BTS I knew where to park and it was convenient.  I'll give this place a few more tries...

And again... incidents like this make me absolutely love my DVD and Blu-Ray...

Jennifer's Body

Ayu wanted to watch Jennifer's Body so I booked tickets for Alamanda as she wanted to go there as well. Not that I didn't want to watch Megan Fox but I could have waited for the DVD. After work I picked her up and off we went for dinner and the movie. Dinner was at Sushi King... yes, again... I just love my California and Soft Shell Temaki and Agedashi Tofu.

The movie was... urm... as I said... I could have waited for the DVD. So, to make up for that... here's the hot Megan Fox shooting a scene from Jennifer's Body.

Say what you like... she's hot and those tattoos make her even hotter...

The Ugly Mutthafucker

Met an ex-colleague today and had coffee together while exchanging stories. In fact, too much coffee. I had 3 cups of brewed coffee on top of my daily cup early in the morning. The consequence.... was hyper all afternoon and didn't feel hungry till the late afternoon by which time it was no longer convenient to eat.

Back to the stories... Lembu punya susu, sapi punya nama... I had predicted this while I was in Kuantan. I knew without a doubt that I would not be there long enough to see the fruits of my labour. Somehow, I just knew it and I was right. Anyway, apparently my successor is a person who seems to like to bask in attention and is one who looks for personal glory. So this is a stark contrast compared to me who shies away from attention and personal glories.

It was rather amusing listening to all this come from someone who used to bitch about me and how I was supposedly 'indecisive'... just because I changed my mind about something. Well... as the saying goes... you never appreciate what you have until you've lost it.

I'll make a prediction here... I will turn this place around. The results will show and be very apparent but the credit will go to someone else... the story of my life. As long as the team gets the credit as well, I'm fine with it. As of last month, I am RM158K behind last year's PROFIT. So, by this month I would have exceeded last year by about RM500k and whatever we make in the next two months will be all extra.... and I think we will close RM1.5 million higher than last year in profits.

What did I do? Seriously, Jack Schitt... I merely played the role of Morpheus in The Matrix. I freed their minds... the minds of the team here and I got rid of their restraints. That's all I did. By the way... people say I look like Morpheus and some say I look like Yao Ming. Now I know how truly ugly I am... reminds me of Predator.. with Arnie saying, "You're one ugly mutthafucker!" No wonder I have no  luck with girls. Oh, well...

I got home close to prime time news... feeling absolutely famished. I wanted something fast to cook and good to eat... Maggi instant noodles. My usual 2 packets... double-whammy. My all-time favourite....

Intai-Intai to Kunang-Kunang

I woke up early again today. Made my coffee and decided to watch my DVDs. I managed to finish Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and also Quantum of Solace. Brunch was sausages, burgers and drummets again. Then I did some cleaning and lazed around a bit.

By 3:30 pm, I was hungry again and decided to go out and have some sushi... yes Ampang Point again. By the time I got to Ampang Point it was 4:30 pm. Had my usual fare and then I decided to check out what was at CapSquare. There wasn't much to see there. I was in and out of that place in less than 30 minutes. I had my camera with me with just my 50 mm lens. I didn't feel like bringing the 55-250 mm zoom lens along as I didn't think there would be much use of it. I managed to snap a couple of shots without spending too much time looking for an appropriate angle. Here they are... nothing fancy... just straight forward and thoughtless shots.

A shot of the Petronas Twin Towers is a must... gee, I'm so Malaysian now. Just like how each and every local movie or drama MUST HAVE a Petronas Twin Tower background scene. Hahaha... and if you look at the left, that's proof that I was there.... as if I need to prove this to anyone. Hahaha...

Then there's the KL Tower... this is not so popular these days. I have some ideas for this but it will have to wait till I get a sturdy tripod.

Got myself a coffee at Starbuck's and left. Drove around a bit and was just about to head home when I thought of a place that I read about. It's called Intai-Intai... supposedly a well-kept secret. It's located somewhere along Jalan Ulu-Kelang. I came from Jalan Ampang and as I drove slowly on the left lane looking for signs of this restaurant I noticed the traffic building on the opposite direction. As I drove further down towards Setapak I realised that it is probably located on the opposite direction but since the traffic looked bad I decided not to make a U-turn. So I just drove on. I see the Muzium Orang Asli signboard so often and today I just decided to follow it and see where it was located.

I drive and drive following the signboard and the next thing I knew I was driving on Route 68. It took me all the way to Genting-Sempah. This route is no joke... kinda eerie and looks like a good place to dump dead bodies if you know what I mean. Winding like the Tapah route to Cameron Highlands and narrow too. I drove pretty slow since I was not familiar with the route. I arrived at Genting-Sempah just after 7:00 pm. Made a quick run to the washroom and quickly made my way back to KL.

I was starving by now so I decided to head on to Kunang-Kunang since it was the nearest place I could think of. I got to know of this place back when I used to plough the Karak highway regularly when I worked in Kuantan. Everytime I stopped to refuel at Shell, northbound on MRR2 just before you turn off to Karak Highway I would notice this restaurant as I pulled out of the petrol station. Eventually curiosity got the better of me and I stopped there one day and checked it out. It was oklah... garden a la feed-the-mosquitoes-while-you-dine concept. Just a note though which I think needs to be mentioned just in case. Not that I am a racist or anything... but in the few times I have been there I only saw Malays. So, if you're not comfortable then up to you lah. For me, I hantam je.... I kan Muhibbah?

Laksa Kedah... I think it was RM8.90++. It was very good the last time I was here but today, kurang sikit.

This is the Nasi Lemak Rendang Daging which I think was RM4.00++. No... I think it was RM4.00 extra for the rendang. A bit too much sliced serai in the rendang and a bit too much cardamom in my opinion.

The other side of the platter for a better view of the condiments. The ikan bilis was nice...

This is my favourite drink for this place... Watermelon Lychee. Totally refreshing and generous with their lychees too. The damage for those two dishes, my drink and a mango puree was RM32.00.

Happy Deepavali

It's Deepavali today and I'd like to wish all the Hindus a very Happy Deepavali.

No Hindu homes to go to this year. Strangely I got an SMS inviting me for Hari Raya open house today. But I didn't feel up to it. I was awake by 8:00am. I decided to watch Transformers again on Blu-ray. Then I cooked some sausages, burgers and chicken drummets for breakfast. Had to clear my perishables before I move at the end of this month. After that I did some cleaning and had leftovers for lunch.

After lunch I lazed around a bit, fooled with my camera and played or rather tried playing some games on PS3. I  don't think I'm any good at PS3. Then I felt like watching Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen so off I went to buy some DVDs. Didn't get to watch any DVD when I got home as I had a dinner to attend at the Shangri-La Hotel.

I took the monorail there. Walking into the hotel brought back memories. Just as I walked in I was startled by someone calling my name. Looked around and I saw a familiar face but for the life of me, as usual I couldn't remember the person's name. She's asked me what I was doing now... I replied...

Coolie...

Yeah, right... come on... Director of what now?

Director of Garbage

Seriously, Director of what now?

Nolah... not even a Director... just a Manager...

Ala... you ni poyo lah...

I guess I am... nice to see you again.

Off I went... I wasn't in the mood for chit-chat. She must have been there for... let's see... 12 years at least as I have left that place for the same number of years. Frankly, she looked horrible. I guess it's true when they say that GENERALLY women don't age as well as men. I proceeded to have dinner with my colleagues at Lemon Garden. Dinner was okay... nothing spectacular. Food was just so-so.

I saw a few familiar faces and they too recognized me despite my lack of hair now. Two of those I met have been there for over 20 years! Geesh... that's a long time.... and does not seem like they have progressed much with their career.

This got me to think... I have been with this company for over 10 years. Next March it will be 11 years. At my 10th year I received one month's salary as ex-gratia for my long service which was fine. But... to a person like me, that's not important. I hold a senior position in this company. The least for me was for the owner or his number two at the least to call me and thank me for my long service and if they could not accomplish that then a letter from either one of them would have sufficed. But NO... I got a letter signed by my Human Resources Manager. I have made it a point that all the long service employees got their letters from me and not the team leaders. I felt this was important to recognize employees. My bosses harp about taking care of employees but they don't seem to walk the talk.

So, if this is the way I am appreciated then it only compounds that I really should move on. A great Deepavali thought. The festival of lights probably gave me light...

The Witwicky Motto

No sacrifice, no victories. That’s from Transformers if you didn’t know.

True. But when you look back and ask yourself. Is the sacrifice worth it? Was sacrificing the well-being of about 70 persons worth the victory of 1? OR let’s look at it from a different perspective… were they pampered and were they becoming like Proton? Hmmm… good question don’t you think? To each his own… an opinion is like an asshole, everyone has one and some really stink.

So, I guess the answer to the paragraph above is relative.

I have been called many things in my lifetime. Campur, kacukkan, panjang, anakanda, cibai-face, muka ketat and recently my self-claimed botak. I am botak so it gives me the right to my self-claim. Through the years I have heard the same comments over and over again. When I first met you I thought you were the most stuck-up and arrogant person ever. Ok… tell me something I don’t know. The question now is… Am I really?

Thankfully, over these same years I have made many friends. Many true friends indeed. Some have asked me what the secret is. And I have also been asked how I managed to keep my department together through the years. Yes, a 70-strong team excluding the extras (Banglas lah). It’s no secret… and neither can it be taught. This is what I have always responded. Some think I am selfish. I am not. I am being truthful. It cannot be taught. You either have it in you or you don’t. How can that be they ask?

You gotta have heart, miles and miles of heart. And this, my friends… is a caption from the movie The Replacements. Go get this movie and watch it boys and girls. It stars Keanu Reeves and Gene Hackman. You’ve got to care… GENUINELY. The Malays say…kena ikhlas. Can this be taught? You can fake it… but I tell you… when you fake it, they can smell you a mile away. And nothing is more insulting than fakers.

Our religions teach us this… Do onto others what we want others to do onto us. And NOT do onto others what we do not want others to do onto us.

How did I ever become like this? I wonder too. First of all… I am a thinker. I think a lot and in most cases, if not all… I think of others. I try putting myself in their position. Secondly as my naughty girls eloquently put it, I like to ask questions. Questions that help me ascertain the many things of an individual. What moves them? What do they think? How do they think? What are their expectations? Etc.

Anyway, it all boils down to caring...

Apa yang saya membebel ni? Gee… I don’t know. It’s my diary so I don’t give a shit. It’s just my ramblings.