... two months and seven days later ...

Much has happened in the time of two months and seven days. I went to London and Paris for a good eleven days. Celebrated my 24th birthday at Paris :) [to me its one of the most unique birthdays i could ever get.] Plus went for AAR's concert just a few days ago during Halloween. What more could one ask for? ;)

My days at both London and Paris were amazing. God was truly great. The people were friendly (all cept for the immigration peeps), the weather was perfect, the places and scenery were amazing and the food was really good. I love it there. My time there can never ever be replaced and i won't give it up for the world. Before i touched down at the airport i was darn freakin terrified! (eventho i put on a poker face.. teehee) Tho i was surprised as how i had easily fallen in love with the place. Funny thing is, it wasn't really London at first sight. More like Basingstoke :) I really and truly like it there and i have no idea why. Maybe its because I had inner peace and that could very much sum up my feeling for that place. I was very amazed and proud of myself that i had manage to travel and see most of what London has to offer by myself. Yea sure having company would be heck fun but this was an adventure by its own and i'm honestly glad that i did so. I miss that place soo much already.

Paris was a little different. I had my childhood friend join me for this weekend trip and what can i say? We had an amazing time there too. I had heard stories and stuff about how snobbish the French people are but boy was i in for a real shocker. During our whole journey, we had the total opposite of what we had heard! They were friendly and very nice! :) I love it! I guess we had gotten it wrong. It's not wrong to be proud of your own language and i don't blame them really. I think we made a difference cause we did try to speak French. So glad that my time at French class didn't exactly go to waste :) The best part about Paris was that i had gotten to be a year older on a totally different place not called home. I didn't really party it out but hey.. Champagne for your 24th birthday and a view of the Eiffel tower from my hotel room window at night. I could have not ask for more. Blessings indeed :) My eleven days in Europe were the most memorable memories of 'o9 :) Thank you..

Last Saturday i had the chance to get AAR (The All-American Rejects) autograph and it was sooo worth it plus its free for me cause i'm a DiGi user ^^ The concert was a little later on the same day at 6pm. It started off a little late due to the prayers and soon after 8pm the concert had begun. The local artist had the honor of doing the opening act for AAR. They were One Buck Short, Pop Shuvit and Disagree. They each had about 4 to 5 songs to preform. However, the highlights of the show of cause were... (can you guess?) The All-American rejects. Tyson came out in a red indian costume cause it was Halloween night. He look cute tho not as cute as Nick :) They did rock the show that night and i loved it. Yea sure DiGi had a few hiccups to overcome during the show but overall it was still good :) So worth the free tickets! Teehee..

Wow.. Without realizing, i had just rambled on.. now that i had realized this i got not much to typed out. tee hee.. Well i shall end my chapter here. Till next time peeps. *muaks*

Ranting, forgotten how much fun that was...

From months to weeks.. It's finally the end of Aug and 27 days later, i'd see myself setting foot and exploring new places. Its funny really when at one point it was all i could ever dream about and now that my dream is finally materializing... I'm at a stand still. Why are people so darn complicated? Why can't we just be grateful for what is right there in front of our eyes? Ever heard the saying 'Count your Blessing'?

I can be such a pest, that is true. I am truly grateful yet somewhere deep down in my soul i can feel like i'm still dreaming. Dreaming while being awake? How much freaky can that get? Plus not to mention how unhealthy it can be too. Well, one thing i had learn to get over with is my over annoying 'thinking too much and for no reasons' mind. That didn't get me down as much as before and honestly i'm darn glad abt it :)

Well, i'm going back to my reading so till then.. Over and out :)

Sushi '09

Okay.. So, i know I've not been updating my blog for some time now. I know this yet i do nothing about it? Right... It's not like i had not updated on purpose. Hehe.. I'm just crapping here. Time to move on with the post..

As the title suggested, we went for sushi! Okay, who has not right? You'd be surprise. My best friend, Piaree, has not tried sushi before! Like ever! Fine, i was over exaggerating there. She's a bit picky when it comes to trying out new food or dishes (sorry babe, i let out your little secret) hehe. And on that note, she made a resolution to try new food/dishes. That's where sushi came into the picture. We picked Umaiya as our little eatery on one of the day after work. Barney, Nadia, Mini, Rae and myself were those who went for it, Piaree being in the spot light of course. It was a nice, simple and quiet place but with us being there (meaning me, Rae and Mini) it wasn't quiet for long. Rae did the odering since she has been to the place before. Once the food has been ordered, we just chatted away till it arrives.

It didn't take long for the food to arrive and soon it was the moment of truth! Hehe. Piaree didn't really mind sushi.. I guess sashimi and most of the semi raw stuff are not her thing. Can't blame her you know. Everyone has a set of likes and dislikes.. I'm just happy she even decided to try sushi in the first place! Bravo my dear! Now, enough words.. On to the pics =)

From left: Nadia, Barney and Piaree

Yummy Sushi =)

Mini & Rae

Kays.. That's abt all. Till the next post amigos. Muaks!

Arigatou

Nadia & Keigo :)

Introducing Keigo. The first time I meet Keigo was in the month of Feb, can't really remember which date. He was passing by our workshop with his grandma when he stopped and stare into our little 'fish tank', fascinated by our Lego display on the shelf. They both walked in looking at the Lego display. Both myself and Nadia were standing nearby just in case they would enquire a little more. As soon as his grandma looked at us, smiled and started to talk, we both knew we were in for a little hard time. It's only because of the language barrier that was in our way. They both can't really speak English well but they seem to understand what we were trying to say and we were trying our best to understand what they're trying to say. The one notable and remarkable part of this all is that she was trying her best to understand and learn what we were saying. She was so sweet, always a smile on her face.

After explaining what we're about and what we do, we found out that Keigo was only here for a holiday and would soon go back to Japan, in a month time. She signed up for the month that he was here and will be starting the week after. Keigo was beyond shy that first day that I met him. Only when i spoke a bit of Japanese to him (courtesy of the countless of animes and Japanese songs that i watch and listen to, hehe) that he looks up and smiles. I smiled back at him and without realizing, he had somehow weave his way into my heart and made a small spot for him there.

When I first became an instructor, I had told myself that I should treat the kids I meet equally and not have any that I liked more than the rest. I never realized that I was only fooling myself. It was somehow difficult to walk the talk, you know. I liked Keigo the first time I had meet him and during that one month teaching period that we had with him (there were a few days that I didn't get to teach him) , I treasured every single moment. The more often he came to the workshop, the more chatty he became and his smile is so sweet, it always puts back a smile on my face when i lack of it.

The second last class came, his grandma brought her camera and started snapping away photos and taking video of her grandson during class. Before they left, she took a snapshot of us with Keigo. It made me sad knowing that he was going to leave soon. The last class he had was on a Monday, 31st March, I know this because I had school to go to and Nadia was on leave. Norm when we come back from AISM it was going to be 5 something pm. Here I was looking forward to seeing Keigo again as Nadia and I were planning to get something for him before he leaves, Ender told me that he had already came for his last class that day and it seems he was sad that his classes had ended, he cried.

At least I don't think that I'll be seeing him again after his last class, I was wrong. Those last few days left in Malaysia, they came to visit us and to give us a gift. It was really sweet of them. Really stamped a spot in my heart =) We thanked them for the lovely gifts and we said our goodbyes for one last time. I watched him and his grandma walk away from CTWorks. Missing him already and still do. Tho here's the good news that his grandma told me. The next time they were back in Malaysia again, they'll definitely come back to the workshop. Hehe =) Looking forward till that day.

One of the gifts from Keigo and his Grandma =)

Movie Time for CTWorks

Thursday, 26th March 09

It was a night out for the CTWorks staff, new and old; full time or part time. It didn't matter if some of us knew each other before or not. The idea was to get us together and have a good time. The plan was to meet Mid Valley GSC as a meeting point about 7 something pm. Once all has gathered, we moved towards Oasis for dinner. It's a food court concept and it was near the IT center of Mid Valley. The food variety was good and pricing was reasonable as well. Expected it to be a little pricey so gotta count your blessings and be happy that it turned out reasonable. We were the nosiest and I mean it. You could poetically hear the 11 of us laughing and trying to talk to each other, seeing as some of us would be sitting far apart. It was a nice feeling to me, sitting there and watching the rest mingle. Talking about the old and new things in their daily life. What Piaree had said before is true, it is not easy to find people that you can work and get along with as well as them. Something to appreciate and not take granted, that's for sure. Here's some snappy of us at dinner. Hehe.

First half of the table (from left to right)
Vijay, Piaree, Hooi (sorry if I didn't spell your name right! =p), Ender, Hazel and Anna

The balance half of the table (from left to right)
Meself =), Rae, Jeff Goh, Kafai and Barney

With time left to spare before the movie, (it starts at 9.45pm) we walked around aimlessly. As our aimless walk continues, we bumped in Jeff Yong and his friends. They were there for a movie as well titled Knowing. After a brief chit chat we walked around again till we reached the cinema area again. Oh by the way, we got separated as it turns out. Hehe. So Rae, Goh and me were waiting for the rest to get back to GSC. Once they arrived, we meet up with Nadia and John (they came a little later). Now that everyone is gathered, off we go for the movie! Before that as usual, snappy of us all together (too bad John ain't in any of the pics..)

CT Workshop Family =)

.. 60 Earth Hour ..

Tonight 28th March '09 at 8.30pm to 9.30pm, you have the choice to either switch on or off your lights at home.
Help save the Earth or walk away not caring on it.
You decide.
It is after all, Your Vote.

... a toast to Youth, Friendship and Loyalty ...

Sunday, 15th March 2009

I was dead tired when the house phone started ringing. I was wondering as who could it because all i wanted was to sleep when i didn't get my rest due to the intense ghost story telling just a few hours ago. I picked up and heard Sandy's voice on the other end. She asked if i was sleeping as my voice sounded raspy and groggy. No, I lied to her without thinking twice. I wonder why i had done such a thing when it was really silly to lie. She reminded me to call Aliaa on the transportation to her place later for a BBQ later that day. Right, to be honest i had totally forgotten to give Aliaa a msg or a call the night before (was enjoying my time watching footie!). I assured her that I will make that call and ended my conversation with her. Immediately after that I called Aliaa and she too had just woken up. Hehe. Made the transport arrangement with her and chatted for awhile before hanging up and heading to the shower.
She arrived at about 12 something and we headed off to summit as Sandy wanted us to get some games for her. We searched around for the titles she was looking for but we're outta luck. All the games that she wanted was sold out. Yikes... We got an extra coke for later and off we drove to her place. Almost reaching her place we gave her a call on the parking arrangements and we did as told only to find that she's out to get some last minute items. So, we waited for her at the car park just chilling in the car, talking about life & us while listening to Jason Mraz's latest album "We sing, We dance, We steal things". His music is uplifting and it motivates one to live as carefree as possible. Forget your worries and problems for the day and just enjoy life as it is. Listening to his music made me realize how stressful my life is and i keep forgetting to stop and smell the flower. To truly appreciate what we have that's right in front of us. Yup, Mr. Mraz has made us think deep indeed. Hehe.
Sandy got back after a couple of songs and brought us to her place. As we opened the door we could smell all the food that had been marinated and was about to the marinated. Man, it smelled good that's for sure. Her mum, her two aunts (her mum's sisters) and her two cousins we're there to greet us as we waltz right in. We asked if we could helped out but no help was needed in the kitchen as mostly all was under control and being prepared by aunt Karen (she's a fantastic cook!!). We headed to her room to jam on Guitar Hero!! Hehe. Mostly I wanted to try it out as Sandy had gotten the guitar controller for the game. All I could say was that it is super addictive. It definitely takes time getting used too but it's a party game and it's really fun. As the time arrived to start the BBQ, we brought some of the items down with us and noticed that it was drizzling slightly but that didn't stop us from preparing the place and getting ready to start the fire. The only downside to all this was that we didn't have the fire starter to get the charcoal burning. So, us three musketeers tried everything we know and could do for about two and i repeat 2 hours before we got the fire going! Haha. Was real fun tho. Managed without the fire starter. We should be proud!
It's only after that the real work begins as aunt Karen did her magic with the cooking. All the food and salad she'd made was fantastic!! Absolutely fantastic! Even the sauce she made from scratch!! Awesomeness!! The weather that night was good as a cool breeze swept through the place. Sitting at a corner eating good food and looking at her family and friends being merry, we looked at each other in silence. It was like there was a silent consent between us for a few brief seconds. I don't know what went through their minds but to me, it was as if this was it. This is what we've been missing out on. So busy with our working life or whatever it is, that we keep missing to see this picture. Happiness with friends and family. It's not all about the money or how great your career is. It can only last for that brief moment when you're still working. Happiness however has a whole different story to it. We then toast to youth, friendship and loyalty. And pray that we stick to it by all means. The night went on from there with good food, laughter, and great company.
Overall, the BBQ was amazing. I'm so glad I went for the BBQ. It was a great weekend for me. Another event I wouldn't trade it for the world. Now, can't wait for May to come!