2008 Round-Up.

As always, the end of the yr always feels like a punch in the face - completely unexpected.

End of the yr is also used as a moment of reflection of the how's, when's and why's - after all, isn't this the time to dust out the ol memory cabinet i.e racking the brain to see whether one has achieved their goals (if any) for the yr?

I will not go into the whole resolution thing yet - that goes into a completely different reflection time altogether but perhaps use this to see whether I have achieved anything at all in 2008.

Lets see -

1. I did a fair bit of travel this yr -

• Malaysia to visit my parents and friends
• Singapore for some catch up time with mates
• Japan to see what the hype was about - and absolutely loved it!
• Malaysia again - but this was because of Dad's accident - he is still in recovery mode but thank God he is getting there
• England (Leicester, Hinckley, Birmingham, Coventry, Milton Keynes, London)- to meet the future in law's, the rest of the family and to catch up with my mates
• Brussels ( Belgium) and Amsterdam (The Netherlands) - went with the future bro in law and sis in law
• Barcelona (Spain) - long set dream now a reality thanks to BF, went with the future parent-in-law. Great bonding time.

I know that I told myself that I would not travel as much in 2008 but the reality is, it is our lil vice - travel, and whilst I can afford it, I see no harm in indulging in a lil getaway before or until we get shackled by the responsibilities of children and old age.

2. I was asked, and the reply was "yes" aka I got engaged.

• Hmmm...some ppl are still surprised that I said yes, and I do still forget to wear the ring that "brands" me as engaged but unlike the other rships I have been in, I am not feeling like it is a burden to be in the rship. Perhaps it is true what the magazines say that Women like to be with men who make them laugh.

3. Workwise, it was a great yr.

• My yr-end performance review went great, I KNOW I did well overall and even though there is a slight smidgen of a cloud with the possibility of that US-based investment company wanting to take over the company, I am pretty certain that we will weather the storm even if we are bought over.

4. Not so debt-free anymore.

• Finally started thinking "adult" and got onto the property market. It felt like the right time and the place felt like home. In a nutshell, perhaps this would mean of my fancy free and footloose ways and the start of the more serious less gallivanting side of me perhaps - who knows?

Overall, 2008 was a good yr for me. Yes, my bank balance is definitely a lot smaller (think non-existent even) and my buffer is gone towards the home deposit and extensive travelling but do I regret anything I've done in 2008? Not by a long shot.

2009 will prove an interesting yr - indeed.

Broke - but celebrating ....

It is done. I am now a property owner.

My offer was accepted and I have received the signed contract by the vendors. Next will be paying the deposit (it was a private sale hence there is more time for certain things esp with all the holidays we are having) and then settlement in March 2009.

I am still surprised that my offer was accepted! The offer was slightly below what the vendors were after. Plus, I knew that the agent was going to the vendors with another offer at 6pm and when I did not hear anything from the agent by 730pm.. I resigned myself to the fact that I did not get it and had even started looking for other potentials.

Received the call from the agent around 8ish and he says that even though the other offer was higher, my offer was better in terms of settlement and long term rent-back etc so its mine!

Just got back from the conveyancer but there you go. Am officially broke - but in a good way :)

Home Sweet Home ...

If no one else puts in an offer come COB Monday - I will be the the proud owner of a 3 bedroom house.

Oh shit.

Holiday snaps - Europe 2008

Some of my favourite holiday snaps from last month. Now that I am refreshed and rejuvenated - I can concentrate on the house-hunt and the next snowboarding trip to Japan in Jan :)

Greetings from Milton Keynes!

Well - I know that it is rather a late blog update but it is the tail end to my month long holiday - I in fact leave England tmr arvo for the long arduous journey back to Melbourne!

All in all though, I must say that it was a great trip. I have *unfortunately* gained a coupla kilo's as all it was was a very long feasting and drinking sesh with old friends, new friends and the future in-laws. Travel wise, we've been to Brussels, Amsterdam, Barcelona, London, Leicester, Coventry, Birmingham, Hinckley and now Milton Keynes.

Weather wise, its been windy, rainy, gorgeous and sunny and today - we even had SNOW! Ah, being in Europe grand?

Will blog and update with pics when we get back on Tuesday. 24 hrs on a plane? *sigh*

p/s: Too be honest, I AM looking fwd to going back to work..as much as this break has been great, I miss not using my brain! hehheeh.

*bleh* update

This issue from work has really spoilt my weekend.

Even picking the Top 2 winners from yday's Caulfield Cup did nothing to cheer me up *yes - it was a facade - that update I had on FB*

*bleh*

In Adelaide, South Australia for the week.. and it has not been one of the good weeks. Unsolved server issues, deadlines and wrong expectations set by the CM's to the clients set the tone for the rest of the implementation.

Can't wait till I get back to Mel and for some decent time out.

Why I still am doing what I am doing..

SEPTEMBER marked my 8 yrs working for this particular company. Over the past yrs, I have seen it being taken over (the term used was "merging"), moved roles, taken up responsibilities, worked with and reported to numerous team members, lived out of a suitcase and even moved to another country!

I wonder sometimes why I do what I do, why I am still here despite knowing that I am able to get a lot more (financially) if I had/have moved.

What I do know is that I find myself constantly challenged in this role, my manager gives me enough leeway to do what I do, I work flexi-times when possible and am still motivated despite the yrs and I enjoy what I do. It is not all about the money - it is also the lifestyle choices it allows one to do.

And when you do get appreciated and recognised not by your peers but by your clients - it is no wonder I am still here.

The large bouquet above was sent by a Brissy practice I have been doing this project work - and definitely put a cheer and a smile on this girl's face for the weekend.

Cheesed off *somewhat*

I'm feeling quite irritated - things that are somehow outside my control but yet, I know its because some mates mean well.

But seriously, the last thing I want at this point is ppl being getting rubbed the wrong way.


Will just stand back for a bit to see how things go - 11 more months to go and the issues are cropping up already!


Off to Adelaide for a day trip on the red-eye. Work stress really isn't helping in this situation.Can't wait for the break!

No weekend pt II

Have I reiterated that I hate doing tax returns?

No weekend

Spring is very much in season, there is this nip in the air but the sun is shining. It is good to be back in Mel again; was out in country Victoria the whole of this week and its good to be back - saying that tho, what the heck am I doing indoors? Oh right, bloody tax returns. *boo*

Spring in here!

Planted some daffodil bulbs last autumn and its in bloom.

It is amazing how little things can start the day off with a cheer.

p/s: First try at gardening - hopefully the tulip bulbs come out too.

Life lessons

I've been browsing through for my usual lazy Sunday blog reads and stumbled across this write up by a popular Singaporean blogger.

To cut the whole story short

1. She is currently living with her boyfriend who is Caucasian.
2. She is wanting to settle down, have the big wedding, diamond ring, mixed kids etc
3. He is saying that since they are living together already, why rock the boat as in his own words "We are as good as married"
4. Due to that, she in her mind thinks that they are "engaged"
5. She has logged on HIS Facebook account and changed his rship status to engaged.
6. And has accepted and both Facebook status now reads as "engaged".

But SERIOUSLY!

I don't know really. Is marriage really needed these days? I have been doing quite a bit of thinking now that it has come to a point where I have to start planning the logistics of my own. I have 12 mere months before I become a Mrs (I am planning to keep the Ms thank-you-very-much) and even though it is not freaking me out *yet*, a small part of me does wonder sometimes. After all, I have been independent and living on my own since 16, I have travelled the world, I have/am working abroad, am used to calling the shots.

I already see changes in pattern.

It is not so easy wanting to just drop everything and get away from it all. I have the other half to think of (living together has its responsibilities).

I cannot simply just say "Honey, I am wanting to go off now, see ya later!"

The old (single) me would have just went away without care and reason.

Getting married is not simply about the wedding, it is about the marriage.

It is about compromise.

I have started thinking about the wedding prep though; am still uncertain whether I will have a celeb here in Melbourne but the slightly bigger traditional do will be held in Malaysia. The guest list here will be just family but the traditional wedding will also still be small for Asian standards. Nothing more than 180 ppl with only my close friends invited and the rest being from my parent's guest list.

The date has been set, the countdown now starts.

Barcelona, Spain

I'm going here! So excited, tickets have been booked and paid for and all its awaiting are the departure dates and I am off!

Side note: It has always been my dream to go to Spain someday. It was suppose to be with my girls last yr but somehow or another, it did not work out. After all, trying to organise 4 ppl from 3 countries to meet in another country ain't easy. BF remembering my disappointment from last yr suggested a side trip to Barcelona whilst we are in England and I jumped at the opp.. :)

Also planning to go for a Barca match at Nou Camp.

Winter wonderland - VIC snowfields Aug 2008

I'll let the pics do the talking this time. No action shots but as am going up to the snowfields again this weekend, will try to snap some.

Money money MoneY

I'm feeling very guilty.

In this recent months of dire straights and financial difficulties (where depending on the bank ) the standard variable rate home loan is at 9.58 per cent , BF and I have been spending like there is no tmr.

Things spent over the past few weeks -

1. Golf set - for him (from me)
2. A golf putter - for him
3. A golf driver - for him
4. Snowboarding boots - for him
5. Snowboarding pants - for me
6. Snowboarding hoodie - for me
7. Snowboard bags - from me for us
8. Flight tickets to Japan for 2 (from him for us)
9. Accommodation deposit for Japan for 2 (from him for us)
10. Leather boots - for me
11. Snowboarding trip - Mt Buller for 2
12. A Hugo Boss suit - for him (I'm expensing 1/2)
13. A Hugo Boss shirt - for him
14. 5 sessions with the personal trainer - for me
15. Some beauty products purchase - Kose, Clinique, Benefit

This does not cover my unexpected trip to Malaysia and the medical and other miscellaneous expenses that came with.

On top of that, my best friend is coming to Mel later on for a month, a mates wedding, a few more snowboarding trips, our trip to Europe coming up in October, trip to Malaysia next Easter for the wedding preps and the trip later the same yr for our wedding.

On top of that we both want new snowboarding jackets and have yet to finalise our tix and accommodations for Bruges and Amsterdam and football tix for a Premier League match in England. OMG!

Don't get me wrong - it is not like we are strapped for cash and we have all this debt on credit - we don't. The credit rating is still pristine and we are not struggling to pay the mortgage + bills. We also put away money monthly although saying that, without all these "expenses", the bank balance would have been much healthier if you know what I mean. Yeah, yeah - I know that we can't take it to the grave yadda yadda but perhaps.. mayhaps.. hmmm..

Yeah it will be nice to have a bigger place but that means getting a bigger mortgage. Or if we go down the other track of saying it will be nice to go out on every weekend like what I used to do before, it literally means drinking the money away PLUS most probably feeling like shit the next day.

It is a lifestyle choice now isn't it?

Living in "sin"

Coming from an Asian background, it was never in my grand scheme of things to feasibly think that there would be a point in time in my very degenerate future that I would be living in sin (or so would my relatives think if they ever find out) before *gasp horror* marriage.

*Yes*, I miiggght have on a few occasions (in my terrible 20's) mentioned to my folks that living together was a much more appealing option rather than being shackled in matrimony but never in their mind (and mine!) did I ever think that I would be one of those who would. I was a "good girl" after all ... albeit a few discretion's here and there.

Fast forward 10 yrs later and I am now very much ensconced in a rship, my parents are aware that we are living together (my relatives do not, his do) and after close to a yr of being...I now understand why a lot of live-in-couples never do make it down the aisle of matrimony. Hell, I would be happy to remain as is if it wasn't for these reasons:

1. The disapproval from my parents would be thaaaat high
2. I already have the rock on my finger

In my opinion, (of which I completely understand) is that lot of my friends who are in these said rships are that either 1 or both parties are afraid. After all, why rock the status quo? It is an interesting discussion this one? I mean, why is it that we are afraid of change? My rationality is, if one can get along NOW..living together, seeing each others good and bad, getting used to each others idiosyncrasy etc, why not make it permanent?

Yes, I understand the argument where it might be suggested that ppl change - but hell, what is one (or both parties) looking for? Looking (or waiting) for something better to come along perhaps? It simply does not make sense!

Furthermore, if one is to bring a child into the equation - yes, I understand that its all "acceptable' now for 2 ppl to have kids without marriage but I personally am old-fashioned that way. No kids without marriage. Side note - we still haven't decided whether we want kids at this point.

Anyways, yes - I am living in sin... here.

No - I think if I was still in Malaysia, it would not have happened. *shhh..ppl will talk after all!!*

This June I am into....

Busy busy period so taking a note of a fellow blogger who keeps things short and sweet... this June I am into:

Wearing: Tights especially fishnet ones. Its winter, its colder but that doesn't mean I have to be wearing pants all the time.

Eating: Home-made chicken congee made with my slow-cooker. A bit of spring onion, plenty of ginger, a dash of soy-sauce and white pepper and away we go!

Listening: Estelle feat Kanye West - catchy; with plenty of hooks to keep one captivated.

Watching: How I met your Mother season 3.. its the new Friends!

Enjoying: Just living. Sometimes one takes things for granted. Its the lil things that matter, really.

Planning: Whether I can afford to go on another holiday in Japan in January09 when I'm going to Europe in Nov08 and trips back home for wedding plans next yr.

**************************************
Am currently in Sydney and sneaking a breather ...

FREE GIFT!! - Paying it forward

It has been a while and things has just been a complete chaos over the past 2 months - but I have always been reading other peoples blogs which includes one from sourrain.

What it is:

This idea is based on the movie Paying it Forward, if someone does you a good turn, you pay it forward doing three good deeds to three other persons, requesting that they do the same and pass it on. The theory is that the world would be a better person by the good deed power of three.

I will be putting together some ‘care packages’ which will include due to the nature of my work bits and pieces from my work travels around Australia ~ or items which might be Australian in nature e.g. Tim Tam's, postcards, a eucalyptus leaf etc. This is really the least I can do for the support and comments that I have got from my blog (new and old)

How do I participate:

Leave a comment on this post (I will leave this open till month end) and I will pick a minimum of three names to send packages out. If I only get 1 comment - well, you will be the lucky one!

When will I get it?

I will probably be sending this out asap but it depends on where I go over the next 3 months. I have a coupla trips to Sydney coming up as well as to Darwin and of course some nic-nacs from Melbourne. Obviously, if you’re in Australia, the package will probably reach you in a day or two rather than taking up to three months. Yes, this is open to all my readers irregardless of where you live.

I will be sending out items in a a few months *promise!* which means you should receive it about a few weeks after the posting have gone through. Who knows - you might want to open it as a surprise on Christmas morning instead.

What is the catch?

The catch is that upon receiving the package, you promise to do the same on your blog. If you do not have a blog, a token sum donated to my chosen charity would be very much appreciated.

I have questions!!

Then please email mirebella at gmail dot com

Can I specify my gifts?

I am not Santarina so sorry - no! I will try my very best to provide a happy surprise rather than a nasty one.

PS: Please either leave your email address on the comment or email me at the above mentioned email otherwise I will not be able to get in touch with you!

Whoo Hooo !

Pic courtesy from Soccernet.com

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!!

- And my beloved Giggsy scores the winning penalty AND makes his record of 758 appearances for Manchester United to become the club's all-time leader in appearances

A little bit of happiness

After all the drama's and going-on's - these new addition to my shoe cupboard added some cheer to my otherwise downer week. Wore it to work this Friday and *yes*, I did add an additional skip, hop, jump to the step.

p/s: Dad is still in hospital, albeit recovering.

Bad things come in 3's

Its been a hectic, long drawn past few weeks - lack of sleep, long nights, very stressful.

The reason ? Dad was involved in a bad accident and I rushed back to give support to Mum and help in any way possible. It was not even his freaking fault. It was a head-on collusion no doubt but due to the driver coming from the opposite loosing control on a notorious blind corner (and it was raining!), spinning and hitting the car coming from the other side (the car driven by Dad).

In a nutshell - Dad suffered/suffers a fractured skull, his right leg broken in 3 places.

• If one thinks about it, it might seem like he got off lightly if not for the fact that Dad has always had an irregular heartbeat.
• And the med's that he is on thins the blood.
• Which means until the docs need to take him off the meds to start the thicken his blood again so that surgery could be done on his leg
• Which means it adds more pressure on his heart as it now needs to work harder as the blood is getting thicker.

Its a Catch-22 situation innit?

• It took a good 10 days before the doc's even dared to take dad to the operation theatre.
• 10 days where his leg was in "freefall".
• 10 days where is thigh bone was so jarred that it was 1 cm apart
• 10 days where his shattered bone was so jagged that it was cutting into his muscle.
• 10 days where no pain-killers could be given due to his heart-condition
• 10 days where there could have been a possibility of catching an infection
• 10 days where he DID get water in the lungs

We needed a neuro-surgeon so Dad was rushed to Pantai Medical Centre in Melaka which is a good 2 hrs away from home. Hence my 2 weeks was spent at the hospital - and thats it. I was such a regular face that the hospital cafeteria workers knew my drink of choice; and the local convenience store kept my daily reads booked as newspapers sell like hot cakes.

It has been 3 weeks since the accident and thankfully Dad is on the road to recovery. He is still in rehab with daily visits to the physio. He has metal rods now going through his bones (his new name from me IronMan) but he is slow on the uptake and he is a shell of the man he was.

It has not been an easy few weeks.

I pity Mum who has to bear the brunt of the responsibility now. It will take a minimum of 6 months till Dad will be back on his feet - and his rehabilitation has been much slower than expected.

I think it is a fear in most children to get a phone call that relays the news of a parent's demise/accident etc. To watch from the sidelines and not being to do anything but to support and pray.

I am keeping my fingers crossed.

In Lust

I am in lust! In lust with these oh so adorable ballet flats.. I want I want I want!

Oh dear, it is not looking good. Have already spent $$$ on Estee Lauder foundation and eye liner only just yday AND bought a new pair of leather heels (my excuse is that I need it for work ..heheheh) and as I was browsing.. I saw these ballet flats and I oh so want... Been resisting temptation..its from Marc by Marc Jacobs and its going for £168 on Net-a-Porter.

Problem is, BF says I have too many shoes as is but another pair - esp as it is flats wouldn't do much harm now innit?

Which brings me to another point really. I realise that my shoe preference (and fetish) has changed since moving here. Back in Malaysia, it was predominantly heels, sandals or kitten heels - but its mostly open toe typed shoes and manicures and pedicures is an essential must for any a groomed girl's list.

Over here though, I don't really own that many open toe shoes. On the ones I do have, these are the ones that I brought with me when I first moved over. My brand of choice? Nine West or Wittner although I secretly covet Miu Miu. Flats are an absolute wardrobe must as we pretty much walk everywhere and the weather is nice enough to encourage walking (without the heavy bag and laptop naturally).

I still want those ballet flats...

Just practicing

50 words

Click here to test out your own ...Speed Test

I tried this online speed test just to see how well I am should I need to leave my job and perhaps take more of a PA role perhaps?

Hmm... would I get a job?? Any takers??

The quest to keep fit

I am guilty as charged - I have never been a fan of exercise.

Call me a couch potato, call me plain lazy .. *whatever* .. but at the end of the day, it would take something really convincing to get out on a cold day and actually get my ass onto any type of exercise.

Well, lets get some things straight though. I do like walking (especially when it is combined with shopping) or on the days I take public transport to work. I have walked from St Kilda to Southbank on a whim but the simple thought of going to gym just makes me go all blank and decidingly less enthusiastic.

I must say however, I have been quite successful with my current resolutions and despite some slow starts, I have been rather consistent and have been getting my sorry lil ass up.

The initial mental block is still there and I still abhor going when say I am exhausted and all I want to do is lay down on the couch with my feet up and the telly on but min 3 days a week, I head to the gym where I go through the motions of 40 - 45 mins of cardio and a series of rep to tone and strengthen the upper body.

I read recently that the most common New Yrs resolution is to start going to gym/exercise but like most resolutions; these either fall over by the 1st or 2nd month or even don't get started at all! I am 4 months in and admittedly, it is baby steps yet, but I am adamant that I will keep to it this time around.

Brrrr...

Winter is here! Whoo hooo!

Yeah, some ppl might think its weird that I am celebrating the start of the cold season but I do like the colder months .. serious!

Winter to me means :

1. Fabulous winter fashions - knee high boots, coats etc
2. Stockings
3. Snow and snowboarding
4. Hot chocolate

It has been a slow start as March recorded some of the hottest days this period but a mere week and got us down to high's of 20' rather than the usual 32'.

Time to dig out winter clothes from the back of the cupboard now.. yeaaa!

The hunt for the"perfect" ring

So BF and I started on the whole wedding prep by looking for the appropriate wedding bands this weekend. Fortunately, BF is not so fussy with the rest of the arrangements (he is leaving it up to me and my wedding planner aka mum), but he has in his mind very definite ideas on what the wedding bands should look like. We have also decided that we would not mind spending a little bit more on the rings which is fine by me as we are going to be using it for the rest of our life (touch wood - esp as we both are very anti-divorce).

Well, taking advantage of the long weekend holidays, we went around the Mel Little Collins area in the CBD and started on our research.

The aim - Wedding bands

Budget - Up to $5000 for 2 (around RM 14000)

Outlets visited - George Jensen, Tiffany & Co, Canturi

BF has taken a fancy on the Canturi "Comfort Band". The prob now is, my engagement ring is a solitaire and being a single stone, the wedding band has to be equally complimenting. I personally do not fancy a plain wedding band esp if one is paying quite a bit for it. I did try and liked their white gold "Upswift Band".

Next stop - Tiffany & Co. We immediately fell in love with their "Sheamerice" white gold band for him and it does come with a female version. However, the feminine version was overshadowed by my current band and we started looking around. The "Channel" 2mm complimented mine precisely (oh the sparkle!) but decided to head up to Georg Jensen ... but not before I eyed this gorgeous diamond 0.1 pendant which is on my "wish list" for the mo. ;)

At Georg Jensen .. we both liked the "Fusion" collection. BF doesn't want any diamonds on his, I am still contemplating my options but the 3 tone effect looks good on him whilst the 2 tone effect (yellow and white gold) suit me better as I have (and I say this without sounding like a vain pot but all of the sales ppl say it), long delicate fingers.

Heading to Chaddy tmr to look at more rings. Rather we do the research early than be stuck later on. Furthermore, it gives us more time to budget!

p/s: Yeah, BF and I are engaged. We got engaged over new yrs. He asked my dad for permission first. Its a good thing that he did too.. as apparently my dad was going to have a 1-on-1 if he didn't.. so he got brownie points for that.

Proposal venue - At my parents - His original plan was to do the whole she-bang thing back here but as he wanted to show them the ring, the wasn't any hoopla on it. :)

The ring - Platinum set, "Love Diamond" single solitaire from the C-Club (formerly Carat Club), Pavilion - KL

Melbourne Comedy Festival 2008

The annual Melbourne Comedy Festival is in town.. *whoo hooo*. I try to make it to at least a few shows each yr, and lets be honest - rather than pissing the $$ on drinks or even a movie, I rather catch a good act - be it a play, ballet, symphony and most definitely a live act.

I managed to get tix for Russell Peters again this yr; and might I say I was laughing from start to end at Russell's - he IS much better in person and being that this yr is my 2nd time catching him "live", he is and much to my enjoyment in his own words "First Class!" (and say that with a very VERY strong Indian accent) ;)

Ross Noble is on this Sun - and an added bonus is us having this nice long weekend. I hear he is quite good and I am looking fwd in simply not doing anything and hopefully some "Ha-Ha's" long the way! I did go to some less than stellar acts last yr - supporting the up-and-coming comedians but perhaps it is the lack of experience, not being able to read the crowd or simply because the just weren't that good - some of these acts were rather disappointing. This time around I am going for the more established comedians.. so fingers crossed!

Work whinge pt1

Let me tell you this, travelling on a Sun ESPECIALLY when it is not for a holiday is NOT fun. Business travel that eats into your personal weekend time is a pet peeve and I am definitely looking forward to the end of the project and when life gets to back to some resemblance of normalcy. BF has fortunately been supportive; but it is more sooner rather than later when he is going to be whinging of the fact that I am more away than around. After all 80% of my time this month has been spent AWAY from Mel and 1 day (2 nights) in Mel this week and off I go to Queensland this time around.

There is 1 silver lining to all this travel tho; it has taken me away from the extreme heats currently hitting Victoria. Sydney only experienced at most the highs to 30' last week and Brisbane is currently at a mild 27' - and when it has been all around min's of 30-32' all of last week (high's up to 40') in Mel - I am not complaining (as much).

Well, am taking advantage of the good services of the Qantas Club whilst I await my connecting to Rockhampton (aka Cattle capital of Australia). Plenty of others also waiting for their flights away. I am filled with some envy at those exotic names such as Nadi (Fiji), Noumea or Port Vila (Vanuatu) and if time permits, I am already thinking of taking a long weekend getaway for a bout of snowboarding later on this few months ( I am not really a beach bunny).

Time for happy thoughts .. a mere few weeks...that's all there is... a mere few weeks to bliss ..*or here's to hoping*

The ppl have spoken. Malaysia elections 2008

I really did not want to do a post about the Malaysian election as I was disheartened and discontent. One of the key reasons? Malaysian citizens not residing in the country are lawfully not allowed to exercise their rights. Yes, I checked. As soon as I heard that it was elections time again, I checked at the embassy and later from Wisma Putra

In short,

***********
REGISTRATION OF VOTERS

Registration of voters for Malaysians abroad is divided into two categories:

• Postal Voters / Absent Voters consisting of:·

Armed forces that are in service.·

Government Personnel (Federal Government, States Service or local authorities) who are in service abroad.·

Individuals studying full time abroad (only if they are sponsored by the Government).· Spouses to the list above.

• Normal Voters·

Comprising of Malaysian Citizen other than sated above.

Registeration of voters for Malaysians abroad is divided. When the time comes for election, normal voters need to return to Malaysia to cates their votes based on the area they are registered in.

*****************************

What Bullsh!t. Is this democracy? Yet another strategy to manipulate the outcome. Typical Govt propaganda -afraid of loosing power as Malaysians abroad (unless they are Govt officials or students (unless Govt sponsored, not private students) are deemed to susceptible to "outside" influences or are indebted to the Govt.

Don't get me wrong here now though. I DID exercise my rights during the last election as I was fortunately in the country and I did vote for the BN coalition. But seeing how the country is going to the dogs and the injustices and corruption all over, one but feels somewhat defeated esp as Malaysians have always had this lackadaisical "Tidak Apa" attitude when it comes to anything political. More "We'll let the other person do the work" than the "My vote sends a message".

Why am I *finally* putting up a post election blog? My daily reads of the Malaysian dailies and the results are in. No 2/3 majority and a massive 4 state control loss + 1 retain control win. Some of the major "stalwarts" in politics have been defeated by freshfaces. Some of the biggest heads has rolled.

The ppl are speaking in volumes.

A *belated* Valentines post 2008

A month later is not too late to blog about Valentine's Day is it? Both BF (more on him in some other post) and I are extremely practical ppl. And even though it is nice to be "surprised" at work with flowers/chocs etc, personally, I rather we keep the money and use it for something else! Or be surprised on some other non related occasion.

Anyways, this yrs Valentine's was not even celebrated as I was away on yet another work trip. We did do the gift thing *surprisingly* this yr tho.

Anyways - this is what I got BF (to replace his XBox 360 that he was tiring off)

And this is what I got ....

Yeah, it is good to be practical sometimes! :)

Suprises!

There is nothing nicer than coming back home and being greeted by these :)

My life thus far..

Lol.. I am on a roll aren't I..*not!* 3 post in 3 months does not a blog make.

Well, lets start with the lil things..its now March...eeeks! How quickly do the days fly by. Oh dear... It has been a constant stream of flying, meetings, collateral updates and then some.

Basically, my trips for this past few weeks were or are looking like this:

• 27 - 29 Feb (Syd)
• 11 - 14 March (Syd)
• 16-19 March (Brisbane/Rockhampton)
• 20 March (Syd)
• 25 - 16 March (Syd)

Am starting to detest the airport now. Furthermore April is likely to have some trips to Perth. Oh well.

There has been several new developments on the social and work front for me. It is all looking rather positive and 2008 has been good to me so far. Mind you - my hol back home over new yrs all seem like a distant memory now. Not to mention this absolutely fab fab trip to Tokyo in Jan ...

Yeah, its been good.. thus far...

Yet another....

Sigh.. I really should get my act together and start putting thoughts to words..

Tomorrow...*yes* ..tomorrow...

10 things I learned in 2007

1. Working hard is pure evil. Working smart is the way to go.


2. I can put aside pass griviences. Not forget mind you, but put aside at least


3. I need to put time aside for self pampering ..


4. Money does not grow on trees.


5. I can live on a budget


6. Credit cards are a necessary evil... and I still pay it off in full at the end of the month.


7. Travel less, but experience more.


8. Good friends are forever.


9. Life is about compromise.


10. Snowboarding is not as painful as it looks!

New Year, New post, New Beginnings?

Oh goodness me... its already 2008.. and its close to the month end already...! Where are the days flying by to?

Anyway - its a brand new yr so why not celebrate by having a brand new blog? The old one was focused on the single life *more on that later* and some but as it IS a brand new yr... I figure its also a great time to start a new blog.

Lets start with lil steps wont we - New Year resolutions.. lol. How often do we say we will start something and then a week later just decide that its not for you and kick it?Admittedly, I slacked off late last yr (hey.. 6 months on resolutions ain't that bad !) so lets put this down on paper .. (err.. online) and see how this yrs go...

1. Goto gym at least 3 x a week
2. Loose the jelly belly... *eeks*
3. Save money
4. Don't be a bloody workaholic
5. See a bit of when travelling for work
6. Don't keep ol hatred's. *Forgive.. but don't forget*
7. Excel

1 post down.. several more to come.