Wednesday, December 26, 2007

About Boxes and Boxers

It’s boxing day. Third one after the melancholic Indian Ocean Tsunami. What’s in your box to the needy?

I am going to write something long. I don’t have the ability to write like Kenny Sia, short and funny. I need long sentences to be a little, just a little funny, that if it’s bearably long for you.

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PRELUDE

Much ecstatic Mew Choo has been dwelling extendedly enough at the very first page of this virtual chronicle while I have gone astray for a string of celebrations and merriments…gathering, dinners, weddings, teambuilding, Christmas gift exchanges, working towards my second product launch.. bla bla…a cacophony of helpless indulgences in showing up at each and every of them by conscientiousness, by devotion, to complement or to be there for.

Nonetheless the last thing that will happen to this blog is to fall into desuetude. Not about the minute group of readers. It has probably become a leisure pursuit. When uninvited boredom looms, when a handful of trivial tasks for you to leave behind, when driving a car full of passengers makes you feel desolated, when opening the locks of your house is like eternity…

THE GOLDEN COMPASS

I caught the movie the Golden Compass, the first of the trilogy of His Dark Materials yesterday evening, one day after the undomesticated-due-to-youthfulness-or-emptiness-of-soul celebration with colour sprays fell unlawfully on the posh-due-to-fleeced-by-government-tax cars parked alongside the muddy-due-to-uncontrolled-and-deficiently-planned-land-reclamation gurney drive seaside. The movie started with the monologue stating that there are many universes and many Earths parallel to each other. Will you choose to just hop to the other not familiar ones, let’s just say something smaller than an Earth, if you have had a luxury to opt?


CHILIS

Earlier I had this meal in Chilis. The waitress at the front desk was serving and frowning as if I have just quarreled with her, the not low-waist skirt was wore as if it was, the feet were dragging the opened high-heel shoes as if they were the sandals she wears at home to go pee. When we were leaving the restaurant, the manager just walked past, barely made an eye contact and turned away. Astonishing! (Even the RM2.2 best Laksa in Penang (refer picture below) woman serves better than any of them inside!). Oh, they dont have uniform, all out a sudden an auntie, popping out from the kitchen, placed the food on your table.

IRENE CHAN

Earlier I picked Irene up from her in-laws’ place and had a meal at the over-parked Queensbay Mall. After years in the States, she was rather amazed by three pieces of not-so-tiny deep fried soft-shelled crabs at RM7.90 at my much-loved Sakae Sushi shop. We talked in Hagan Daaz after the meal as a compulsive retort from the seemingly rising yet unsettled racial and bribery issues lately.

BULLSHITS FROM JAN

Where on earth that you take exams, score better than the others yet you will be still fine if someone fared much worse than you are sent oversea to study Med while you’re not?
Where on earth that when a government-monitored new building cracked or has its roof collapsed cases are vaguely closed by an hour or two press conference with someone with real laughable slang and its gobbledygook-like explanation?
Where on earth that you scramble to get a house when it’s launched while some others get automatic 3% discounts?
Where on earth that you will see under scorching sun a squadron of white uniform officers look so contented and happy with a broad smile when stopping cars at a road block, when there is not even one to issue a summon to the big Mitsubishi that parked at the yellow-lined corner at a T-junction with no driver and understandably wallet inside the car, blocking drivers’ views and inviting accidents and honks in the morning?
Why do I fare better, and born here, but failed to get a scholarship nor an interview for my tertiary education, ending up paying taxes sending some doctors off on a space vacation before coming down to anticipate a Datukship?
Roads are bad but people are able to tolerate as many loopholes as the system has. Unsightly objects and ghostly neon cost probably hundred thousands of ringgits decorated the busy roundabout. People can’t seem to stop grumble yet few seems to be remedied. Off-shore black gold is vanishing, no big plans coming to boost competitiveness neither in skill specializations nor in tourism or services while manufacturing migration to the north is unstoppable.


CHINESE PROVERB

The Chinese said, if you just sit there and eat, the mountain (of food) is going to collapse and gone one day. Food, sarcastically, can be a long-worked amity besides definitely the tangible black gold.

Sui Yan'S FAMOUS LAST HUMOR

Just to grumble about some facts on a lazy Boxing Day (My beloved friend told me that it’s a day for boxers! :P (In the ring or under my jeans? Hahaha, sorry SY, but it’s funny mar~~~and guys she meant those in the rings :)) ). No hard feeling yeah. Too, to my mama country’s home boys.


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PICTURES AND ACTIVITIES

Earlier this month many functions and activities scrambled into my timetable like cars into the jam-packed and furious Penang Bridge entrance every working day.

Some brought a lot of fun: HY’s wedding, TAO teambuilding (I am the organizer, and you got to check out the video below!), WS birthday, bi-yearly personal treats from/to the operators, boss' promotion treat, back to university to visit, KL yearly xmas gatherings (all in this time! Got a keychain and a thumb drive, where three out of the five gifts are thumb drive) and of course some blokus and Cat5, Penang Xmas gift exchange (got small fan with strong wind!) Sakae Sushi treat, finally, from the losers (second from left, fourth from left), bought a pair of Nike shoes, made a powered sunglasses at only 5 bucks :))… bla bla…


Watch out for the FLYING YELLOWMAN!

Some are queuing: Going to Singapore for a year end leisurely vacation for myself (Not that I like Singapore, it’s just that there will be free accommodation in a 4-star hotel haha), going to Genting (WC you’d better be around me!), awaiting WC’s good echelon’s and KC’s star engineer of the month’s treats, and TANG TANG TANG TANG, co-sponsoring (with YK of course) the return of the Majestic Kampung Girl to Penang!



Married, and move North!


At Kim's Blink-Blink Gypsy Style Apartment


Took us 6 consecutive wins of 15-point game, before Ah Beng and Ah Zhun finally agreed to bet on a single game when I was just back from HK, trying to take advantage on my lethargy. Too bad, crawled back from 4-11 down. YC, we are just Kings of Comeback! hahahaa


HY's wedding and my bodyguards! Isn't it like posing at the Cannes?


Good food, good smile, good cowokers!


Oh I like these two stalls. Excellent food. And friendly owners. I think she wore a pair of sandals, but definitely walk in a more elegant way than the waitress in Chilis!


Try out this buffet in Tanjung Bunga. A comfortable, as in temperature, place for BBQ cum steamboat.


Thumb drive #3 owner


Dinky is happy with what she got!


Outback, not so good food, serious.


I won! yay!
(ps Keat, my colleague said you are CUTE. ??? huh???)

Monday, November 26, 2007

Wong Mew Choo


I do not have any memory of any illustrious woman badminton player from my own country. I am 28 years old.

Sylvia Ng? Who’s that?

Yet this down-to-earth lady has achieved something spectacular. Beating 5 current/ex Chinese player and among those 3 current/ex World Champions in China Open yesterday, she carved her name into the history book of the badminton.

Yes it might be just a fleeting wink of glory. But who cares anyway?

Saturday, November 24, 2007

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy?

It was quite a hastily-planned yet very enjoyable (plus kiasu as in have to pay a visit to as many places as possible) trip to HK-Macau that resulted in I have to work LIKE more than 14 hours a day for the past two weeks.

Reckoning that there are just too many pictures to be shared, I opened another blog jsut for this trip. Click HERE if you would like to catch a look. Here's one I like the most!



I am working very diligently (I hope it will be a "was" this coming week) to get my second product launched. Here's my first product!

http://www.home.agilent.com/agilent/facet.jspx?kt=1&cc=US&lc=eng&k=P9400A

And yes, there was a veiled (now not since publicized here) sense of proudness when the first unit was sold last month. :P

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

More pictures


A decoration stall in Fussen. Peaceful angles!




Theatinerkirche, the beautiful yellow baroque church at Odeonsplatz.
It was built to look a bit like the churches of Rome or Venice that's why it is one of the most beautiful churches in Munich.

Renovation is on going, which is why the woman is there!


Neuschwanstein castle (Disneyland's castle was inspired by this!) from far


Moulin Rouge, Paris


Not sure what's this! Near the Louvre, Paris


It's feeling so good to have some hot chinese food!


Sculpture in the Louvre


Code of Hammurabi, the Louvre. There are 282 codes written.


Underground tunnel at Neuschwanstein Castle


Every city/town/village has one, telling you what it offers. This is Hohenschwangau's, Bavaria.


Nick and Nancy! Met during day trip to Salzburg, and met again in Hohenschwangau on the next day!


Cool window decoration in Munich City


Les Invalides in Paris, consists of a complex of buildings in the containing museums and monuments


Alps at Wolfgangsee, Austria


Corrine, met during a day trip to Salzburg, Austria


Alps at Upper Bavaria, Germany


From Hohenschwangau castle, overseeing Neuschwanstein castle (so that King Ludwig II can monitor its progress!)


A Xmas shop in St Wolfgang, Austria


Naked women sculpture in the Louvre, Paris


Munich City from one of the twin DOMs


Married


Available! :D (Germany's traditional customes)


Art, Old men and Bike. Salzburg, Austria


Notre Dame by the beautiful Seine River, Paris


Eiffel Tower behind an ad board


A weird building at Rue George V, Paris


The beautiful Seine, Paris


New Town Hall at Marien Platz

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Paris


A couple in Jardin de Luxembourg


Ferris Wheel of Paris


Sacre couer. Marred only by human dots, me in.
Two adjectives. Looming. Majestic.


Where she died


Drawing Notre Dame under the bridge


Eiffel at sunset


Lone star, solitary moon, forlorn bridge, solo boat, and the tower by itself


Notre Dame at sunset


Notre Dame at night


Moulin Rouge