Thursday, February 28, 2008
Lights out in the city
Was out for a 2 days 1 night work trip to KL, and had to put up at the hotel where Hard Rock is located.
After an early morning 4 hours drive from Singapore to KL (my colleague the F1 aspirant), full day of meeting and salted egg yolk crab dinner, I checked in to the executive suite at 930pm. I relaxed for awhile watching TV, and then decided to take a shower before working on the next day's meeting.
I took off my clothes to head to the shower stall, but decided to go to the toilet first. Just as I sat down, I heard a loud boom and then it was BLACKOUT!
I was in the inner-most part of my room, with no windows, doors closed and it was PITCH BLACK! ARGHHHH!!!
I could only pray it WAS a black out.
I hurriedly stretched out my hands to touch and open the glass door to the toilet stall, then gather my clothes from the floor and wore the oversized t-shirt top before proceeding to open the wooden door into the main room, but ARGHHH!!! I touched something soft! YEEKS!
ok, ok, it is soft and fluffy, it's alright. it was the bath robe that i've hung behind the door. OK, wear it.
More hand stretching to the wooden sliding door to the bedroom.
ah. finally i can see faint outlines. there were no tall buildings across my room to throw lights in.
I bumped into the bed, where i stretched for my handphone. SAVED! switch handphone to lights mode.
There is a light at the main door, must be the emergency light. where is the torch light that should be near the main door (of most major hotels that i've been to)? ARGH, no torch light.
I took a peek into the corridor, the lifts were still working, and only alternate lights at the corridor ceiling were on.
Called the housekeeper.
"Hello, this is J calling from Room # 17**"
" Yes, Ms. J"
"The power in my room is out!"
" Yes, Ms. J, we are checking on it"
"Is it just me, or the whole floor?"
"No, Ms. J, it is the WHOLE HOTEL"
pause.
"In fact, it is the whole road"
"Even the Hard Rock Cafe?"
" Yes, mdm"
"How long is it going to be? an hour?"
"We hope not, but we don't know, we are still checking"
"errr... ok."
"Good night mdm" Wah, damn steady.
10 minutes later, I was cradling my handphone and staring at the battery indicator, DING-DONG. A hotel staff brought me a torchlight.
No aircon, no hot water, no shower, no internet, nada.
I crept to bed and tried to sleep.
BOOM!
1:30am. it was lights on again, blowing out the 2 light bulbs at the bedside in the process. But I was too tired to turn out the remaining lights before falling asleep again. Besides, there was no guarantee that they will come on again after I turned them off, right?
At least the toilet lights were on the next morning.
I checked out in haste and tried to wrangle a discount from the hotel staff. Fat chance.
No more Concorde KL for me next time. First and last.
After an early morning 4 hours drive from Singapore to KL (my colleague the F1 aspirant), full day of meeting and salted egg yolk crab dinner, I checked in to the executive suite at 930pm. I relaxed for awhile watching TV, and then decided to take a shower before working on the next day's meeting.
I took off my clothes to head to the shower stall, but decided to go to the toilet first. Just as I sat down, I heard a loud boom and then it was BLACKOUT!I was in the inner-most part of my room, with no windows, doors closed and it was PITCH BLACK! ARGHHHH!!!
I could only pray it WAS a black out.
I hurriedly stretched out my hands to touch and open the glass door to the toilet stall, then gather my clothes from the floor and wore the oversized t-shirt top before proceeding to open the wooden door into the main room, but ARGHHH!!! I touched something soft! YEEKS!
ok, ok, it is soft and fluffy, it's alright. it was the bath robe that i've hung behind the door. OK, wear it.
More hand stretching to the wooden sliding door to the bedroom.
ah. finally i can see faint outlines. there were no tall buildings across my room to throw lights in.
I bumped into the bed, where i stretched for my handphone. SAVED! switch handphone to lights mode.
There is a light at the main door, must be the emergency light. where is the torch light that should be near the main door (of most major hotels that i've been to)? ARGH, no torch light.
I took a peek into the corridor, the lifts were still working, and only alternate lights at the corridor ceiling were on.
Called the housekeeper.
"Hello, this is J calling from Room # 17**"
" Yes, Ms. J"
"The power in my room is out!"
" Yes, Ms. J, we are checking on it"
"Is it just me, or the whole floor?"
"No, Ms. J, it is the WHOLE HOTEL"
pause.
"In fact, it is the whole road"
"Even the Hard Rock Cafe?"
" Yes, mdm"
"How long is it going to be? an hour?"
"We hope not, but we don't know, we are still checking"
"errr... ok."
"Good night mdm" Wah, damn steady.
10 minutes later, I was cradling my handphone and staring at the battery indicator, DING-DONG. A hotel staff brought me a torchlight.
No aircon, no hot water, no shower, no internet, nada.
I crept to bed and tried to sleep.
BOOM!
1:30am. it was lights on again, blowing out the 2 light bulbs at the bedside in the process. But I was too tired to turn out the remaining lights before falling asleep again. Besides, there was no guarantee that they will come on again after I turned them off, right?
At least the toilet lights were on the next morning.
I checked out in haste and tried to wrangle a discount from the hotel staff. Fat chance.
No more Concorde KL for me next time. First and last.
Labels: to Travel
Monday, February 18, 2008
my "true self"
took a personality test today
and it surprised me
my true self is more sociable and less emphatic than what i feel myself to be...
hmmm...
and it surprised me
my true self is more sociable and less emphatic than what i feel myself to be...
hmmm...
Labels: to Read Think
Friday, February 15, 2008
modesty in a dress
Bought a new dress during pre-CNY sale.
It looked alot like this one, but more military looking, with pockets with flaps in front, and pockets at the side of the dress, and normal upturn non-puffy sleeve. Came to mid-thigh on me when standing, shorter when seated.
Totally black so couldnt wore it for CNY proper, so I wore it for a presentation at work instead.
But it had been eons since I wore a dress or skirt to work, being a nice top + pants/ 3/4 pants/ jeans + heels type of girl.
And a long while since I wore a dress when I needed to drive.
What a novel experience.
- Placing my left foot closer to the seat and left knee at an angle pointing towards the right knee, instead of just placing my foot on the footwell and knee pointing outwards.
- The unexpected urge to close my knees whenever I was to step on the brakes.
- Feeling the seat fabric beneath my thighs.
- Getting out of the car gracefully.
I should buy and wear dresses more often, if not for the compliments ;)
Have a good weekend ahead.
Labels: to Drive, to Shop Buy
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Homemaking vs Career
Had some very interesting conversations with several of my relatives over CNY.
An aunt and a cousin-in-law stayed home to look after their kids when they started or about to start schooling with very good results of well rounded kids with good values and close family ties.
A cousin who is a teacher expressed the same view and even to homeschooling her kids (if and when she has them) as she is disenchanted with the school system obsessed with KPI and principals' careful portfolios.
To be fair, there were also examples of stay-at-home moms with wayward kids, and working moms with amazing kids...
My sis is thinking about quitting work to devote her time to her kids too.
We both feel financially we can afford it if we are careful with our money, provided the hubbies' jobs are stable.
BUT.
Do i have what it takes to give up my work to stay home and be a homemaker without going bonkers?
"Poorer leisurely mad housewife whose sole focus in life is her kids" vs "Well-placed harassed but fulfilled careerist who is drained everyday".
What kind of kids will my children turn out with either choice?
What kind of marriage partnership will it be?
What kind of woman will I be when the kids are grown?
It can't be a black and white either/ or choice.
There must be a balanced place where a woman's career is on a steady (stable but no longer sky rocketing) course while being able and having time to communicate with the kids, giving them space to learn to be independent and thoughtful human beings.
The search continues.
An aunt and a cousin-in-law stayed home to look after their kids when they started or about to start schooling with very good results of well rounded kids with good values and close family ties.
A cousin who is a teacher expressed the same view and even to homeschooling her kids (if and when she has them) as she is disenchanted with the school system obsessed with KPI and principals' careful portfolios.
To be fair, there were also examples of stay-at-home moms with wayward kids, and working moms with amazing kids...
My sis is thinking about quitting work to devote her time to her kids too.
We both feel financially we can afford it if we are careful with our money, provided the hubbies' jobs are stable.
BUT.
Do i have what it takes to give up my work to stay home and be a homemaker without going bonkers?
"Poorer leisurely mad housewife whose sole focus in life is her kids" vs "Well-placed harassed but fulfilled careerist who is drained everyday".
What kind of kids will my children turn out with either choice?
What kind of marriage partnership will it be?
What kind of woman will I be when the kids are grown?
It can't be a black and white either/ or choice.
There must be a balanced place where a woman's career is on a steady (stable but no longer sky rocketing) course while being able and having time to communicate with the kids, giving them space to learn to be independent and thoughtful human beings.
The search continues.
Labels: to Invest, to Read Think
CNY traditions
the dreaded 大扫除 (spring cleaning) that must be completed before 初一 (1st day of lunar new year which was on 7 Feb 08) almost killed me. Mostly becos work was crazy, and I had to do most of it alone since E was out of town more than half of the time earlier this year.
But i doggedly went on with it, and slowly I saw the wisdom in 去旧迎新 (getting rid of the old, welcoming the new)
In the old days, the Chinese probably took the last few weeks before spring to shake out the lethargy of winter by making everything clean, repairing old and broken stuff, cleaning away unrepairable/ useless/ no longer suitable things that would have been merely in the way or even dangerous. They then decorated the house for the new year, and by doing it thoroughly, they could afford to spend less time in maintaining the house and more on the lucrative farm work that could not wait. By having new/ clean and well functioning items, the family could be healthier and more productive.
I found the clearing of nooks and cannies that had stuff stored over time therapeutic, not only in lifting an invisible (even if they were out of sight, your mind will know they are there) burden or a cleaning up very real and unsightly molehill of junk or dirt.
I bought and replaced
- new clothes and shoes for everybody at home
- new bedsheet sets
- toothbrushes
- bath towels
- cleaning supplies like mops, brushes and sponges
Threw away
- old bank/ credit card/ statements & bills,
- old and tatty clothes,
- wobbly shoes
- broken toys
- expired cosmetics products
- old pillows
- that last bit in skin care bottles that i never got around to use, etc
Recycled or gave away
- clothes that the kids outgrew,
- bags that were no longer in fashion,
- electrical cords for the appliances long since thrown away,
- 2 fans that weren't able to oscillate,
- a sofa bed
- faded bedsheet sets etc.
Unfortunately the exercise also winded me.
While it is wise to slow down and take stock, cleaning out the house/ body/ mind of unwanted and toxic things/ habits/ emotions;
it is also important to do so periodically, not just once a year,
Because modern city-dwellers like us have no winter breaks.
But i doggedly went on with it, and slowly I saw the wisdom in 去旧迎新 (getting rid of the old, welcoming the new)
In the old days, the Chinese probably took the last few weeks before spring to shake out the lethargy of winter by making everything clean, repairing old and broken stuff, cleaning away unrepairable/ useless/ no longer suitable things that would have been merely in the way or even dangerous. They then decorated the house for the new year, and by doing it thoroughly, they could afford to spend less time in maintaining the house and more on the lucrative farm work that could not wait. By having new/ clean and well functioning items, the family could be healthier and more productive.
I found the clearing of nooks and cannies that had stuff stored over time therapeutic, not only in lifting an invisible (even if they were out of sight, your mind will know they are there) burden or a cleaning up very real and unsightly molehill of junk or dirt.
I bought and replaced
- new clothes and shoes for everybody at home
- new bedsheet sets
- toothbrushes
- bath towels
- cleaning supplies like mops, brushes and sponges
Threw away
- old bank/ credit card/ statements & bills,
- old and tatty clothes,
- wobbly shoes
- broken toys
- expired cosmetics products
- old pillows
- that last bit in skin care bottles that i never got around to use, etc
Recycled or gave away
- clothes that the kids outgrew,
- bags that were no longer in fashion,
- electrical cords for the appliances long since thrown away,
- 2 fans that weren't able to oscillate,
- a sofa bed
- faded bedsheet sets etc.
Unfortunately the exercise also winded me.
While it is wise to slow down and take stock, cleaning out the house/ body/ mind of unwanted and toxic things/ habits/ emotions;
it is also important to do so periodically, not just once a year,
Because modern city-dwellers like us have no winter breaks.
Labels: to Read Think
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Rabbit with bite
a couple of incidents on the road set me thinking:
1. Stupid male driver in car park lot see me coming the ramp and probably thinking (a) small nissan march, (b) driven by a girl, (c) equals "don't give right of way, die die go in front otherwise kena stuck behind going down levels of ramps to go out of carpark"
so i let him go, and then tailgated him every turn of the carpark and down the ramp, more heat than he had expected and he almost scrap against the pilars going down. heh.
2. Stupid male driver coming up in lane 1, i overtook from lane 2 with room to spare, he tailgated me, for about 5 seconds... before i pulled off and he ate dust
3. Stupid male driver tailgating me in lane 1, which had a column of cars going slow because of road hog up front, i move to lane 2, zoom up and overtook the stupid male road hogger. The stupid tailgator still highbeaming every car in front to make them give way. duh.
i may LOOK like a rabbit,
but this is a rabbit with BITE.
pretty cool rabbit gif huh? made it myself via http://picasion.com/
Labels: to Drive
