Do you know what is the day just before Monday? Sunday? Lazy Day? Leisure Day? Cleaning-the-house Day? Entertain-friends Day? It is different for everyone but rather similar to all. It is the day we wish to do absolutely nothing. That was not what happened to me today but I have no complaints! This is because I did something nice, relaxing. I just sat comfortably and listen to good music and good performances. It was none other than The Sound of Music (at the Plenary Hall, KL Convention Centre).

The show started at just after 3pm before taking an intermission (break) for roughly 20 minutes. It ended sometime around 6pm. I do not have any problem sitting through out the entire show without having to take toilet breaks. But I do have a problem with people waltzing in to the hall late! Disturbing my view and concentration! Is this the Malaysian attitude? Oh wait, it has got something to do with the Malaysian time! Sigh… lack of discipline I must say. Sad but true. I also have a problem with parents who do not discipline their children! There was this mother and son sitting 2 rows away from where I was comfortably sitting. Let us call them Mother 1 and Son 1. I was loving the seat and the view and the music and suddenly, the boy stood up and moved around, back and forth, in and out… From the beginning of the show to intermission, Mother 1 and Son 1 were going in and out of the hall 3 times! There was this parents with a daughter and a son. Let us call them Parents, Son 2 and Daughter. Son 2 was trying so hard to keep quiet and whispered his words to his father as quietly as possible whilst Daughter was doing the same with the mother. During intermission, the mother spoke to her children in the most stern but soft manner telling them to behave. Guess what! Mother 1 and Son 1 are local whilst Parents, Son 2 and Daughter are English. The differences in the way the parents let their children behave was too obvious! My colleague who was sitting next to me noticed the same thing. Well, it is rather a known but rarely spoken thing. Nonetheless, which parent would admit this? There were other combos of parents and children there and I saw a mixture of attitudes displayed by the children. But hey, who am I to say much… I am childless ;D Just stating things based on my observation…

Anyhow, my Sunday was well spent. I have lost all the moods I have left to do work. I am only starting my Sunday, doing nothing…

To all, enjoy your weekends or whatever is left of it LOL

On Saturday, June 18th, I did some socializing. Well, not quite. It was just me with two others. We booked for four, as usual, girls need an extra chair to seat our handbags! They put us in the so claimed “VIP room”. I find it rather odd to have the VIP room just outside the kitchen. My only logic is so that the dishes are served hot and fresh from the kitchen!

Before going there, I searched the net for reviews and wow! the place had good reviews. So I thought, OK, good food, good company. Great Saturday! Oh and I thought it was the Social., the same one we have in Bangsar. I was wrong and obviously I find that out from the comments in the reviews!

My review this time around is going to be very brief as I do not have much to say about the food…. seriously. So here goes. We ordered the following –

(1) Ceasar Salad – a bit too much cheesy taste

(2) Peking Duck with Deep Fried Mantou Bun – oh this one is good! add a bit of the sauce that comes with it and yummeh!

(3) Aglio Olio Seafood Arabiatta – all of us agreed that there was something not quite right about the pasta. I found that there was too much of the chilli pepper… mixed with the olive oil… did not taste great

(4) Dark Chocolate Mousse – brilliant! loved it… loved it even more after having it together with the Crunchy Hazelnut Feulitin

(5) Crunchy Hazelnut Feulitin – yummeh! the taste was just right!

On the side, I have to say, the waitress could not speak good English and was unable to explain or describe the food there. For example, we asked what is this Opera Cake that they have in the menu, she said chocolate cake and just stopped there! We had to ask further, what do they have in the Opera Cake other than chocolate and to describe further. She just said something along this line “Like chocolate cake with layers…” and we decided to just order (4) and (5) as those two did not appear to require description and somehow we had that feeling that (4) and (5) were tasty and we were right!

One more thing, they have this great promotion where they give 20% off on their A La Carte Menu, every Saturday (ending 30th June 2011) and taking note of the evolving world of smartphones and tablet and gadgets, they allow the voucher to just be flashed from your gadgets on top of accepting a printed out version (not very green ya). I had that voucher in my BlackBerry. Showed it to the staff and was told at least twice, that they only accept printed copies. We insisted that we are entitled for the 20% off nonetheless as the voucher says exactly that, that we can just flash the voucher on our smart phone. The staff came back, agreed to give the 20% off but with a condition that we fill in the survey form. We got the 20% off but I am just not happy with how it went… not that we can’t afford the food if we did not get the 20% off…

Also, no photos for this review as I did not feel like taking any photos… but hey, you can see nice photos of the place, the menu, etc here –
http://www.socialkl.com/index.html

“Do not mistake kindness for weakness“… perhaps the best way to explain it is by saying that “a person who is kind shall not be assumed to be easily taken advantage of”. Hands are not always opened. There are times when they are closed and become fists! This apply to all relationships; superior-subordinate, friends, family and just about anyone.

Kind people, pushed around long enough, will reach their limits, just like everyone else. Only difference perhaps will be the extent of “abuse” they can withstand. At the end of the day, the “abuser” will be the one losing. The kind acts will stop and life will not be as easy. One example, superior-subordinate relationship; one will be lucky to have a kind superior who rarely use his/her “powers”. The subordinate should know his/her limits as well. Just because for one whole year (for example) the superior had been nothing but nice and accommodating, does not mean the superior will keep being nice for the next whole year. Heck, the superior may stop being nice whenever. No, am not agreeing to superiors behaving unreasonably, abusing their authorities. My direction here is where on one hand, we have a kind superior, understanding most of the time and on the other hand, we have a subordinate who does not know his/her limits, the kind of subordinate who abuses the kindness of the superior.

So, after a period of tolerating the in-competencies of the subordinate (incompetent not because he/she is incapable but because he/she knows, someone will pick up his/her slacks), the superior flips. In this instance, who can we blame? More often than not, what will happen next is, the subordinate feels “abused”… that the superior is arrogant(ly using his/her authorities). To begin with, there is not even a humanly need for the superior to be kind. All the superior need to be is reasonable. I have not only witnessed incidences as such, in fact, had gone through it! (Indirectly saying am a kind superior LOL). Currently, I do not have a subordinate (prefer not to call those under me that though) and that solves one problem. Les headache for me. Whether or not I can cope with the amount of work I have, that is another story ;D

A friend, who at the beginning was a colleague of mine once said, “You’d be lucky if you become friends with your colleague, otherwise, colleagues will remain only colleagues.”. A superior may not always possibly end up to be your friend but you can always do your part to ensure the smooth progress of the daily work life. In this modern life, we tend to spend more than half the day at the office. There is definitely the need to have a harmonious relationship amongst colleagues, moreover relationship with the superiors.

(the usual disclaimer:  (1) this is not addressed to anyone specific and even if it is, am not going to disclose it ;D; (2) I apologize sincerely if my post here offended anyone. No intention of doing so at all!)

Insignificant encounters… those encounters we originally thought to be of no significance or we did not think anything of altogether. Little things that we ignore or fail to notice such as a smile. At dinner (no, I can not say much about dinner as I had the Prosperity Burger at Mc Donald’s!), the girl at the counter, taking the orders (that was not my first encounter of her), appeared to be rather extremely angry/moody/annoyed. I remember her very clearly as she was the same way the last time I saw her, taking my orders angry! Either last night was her lucky night or I was in a very good mood that no one and nothing could change how I felt. I ordered my dinner with a smile throughout and actually gave her that really honest happy smile and thanked her when she passed me my dinner, that she actually smiled! Seeing her smile somehow made me happier, thinking that I made her smile! Small thing, I know but the feeling is not small at all. What I realised was not insignificant as well.

I knew about “it” but have never really noticed it. “It” being how a smile is infectious. About how you can affect those around you. We all know it but do we really take note of the incidences? The actual working of these facts that we know of. The actual occurrences. No, not usually, not in ordinary circumstances, right? Admit it, as we grow older, we tend to grow angrier. I have to admit that I am a little snappy but am not an angry person. At times, I would just decide to “shell in” and not argue at all, even when am not at fault. The way I see it (when that happens) is that the other person is already either angry or defensive (realising that he/she may be the one at fault) or honestly believe that I am at fault or had his/her mind-set at blaming others! In time, the truth will always come out. The truth will always prevail. Am I too falsely positive for thinking and believing that? Well, we have to believe in something and we have to have faith. Besides, why drag on or aggravate the anger/argument (of another)? Just so he/she knows your side of the story? So that he/she knows that you are not at fault? Well, yes, at times that is exactly what we all need to and must do! I do that when I feel very strongly about something. When I feel it is worth my time arguing. Otherwise, I tend to give up on people. Yes, I give up on people very easily but hey, not my fault (and I will argue this one!)

Back to the little encounter, well, you see, smile more, try not to get affected by the anger around us. Instead, let us “infect” people with our smiles, with happy feelings! You do know that smiling can help you look younger, right? Someone said to me before, do not let the garbage truck dump all its garbage at your porch. And here is a smile for you ;D

Well, incidents as that am going to tell happened far too many times to too many people. Here we go…

Today, I had 2 wedding invitations. The first one was that of my dear friend Farrah. On my way to the reception, well, I drove quite fast today (yes, I drive quite fast on weekends as there are usually less traffic), cars in front of me, on the fast lane, whenever possible, will make way for me. No, I did not do the “flash and honk”, telling them to make way but I think they could see how fast I was approaching from the rear view mirror! There was this Proton Wira, it too made way for me to pass but quite immediately after that, I could see how close it was following me. It was tailgating me as if I was going really slow on the fast lane, as if I was road hogging! For information on how fast I was, I was going at a constant 120km/h. Fast enough I think. Coming back to the Proton Wira, I could see that it was driven by a male driver and at an instance, I knew (you would probably have the same thinking as I am now!), he just could not accept that a girl overtook him! No, am not being sexist but I honestly believe that is what it is. Male ego! I could see no other reason. He was driving rather slow before I overtook him and when I did, he tailgated me, all the way to the exit slip of my destination?! Heck, he moved to the middle lane when my car was probably 50 meters away! Well, why else… Seriously, why?

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tailgating)

Tailgating is the practice of driving on a road too close to the vehicle in front, at a distance which does not guarantee that stopping to avoid collision is possible. Approximately one third of rear-end collisions involve tailgating.

There can be several reasons for tailgating:

• Tailgating can occur because of a lack of perceived risk in so doing. Thus, it is done unconsciously or negligently, very often by people who consider themselves safe drivers and generally obey the other rules of the road.
• In its worst form, it can be a particularly violent form of road rage and a form of intimidation. An example would be where the tailgating driver (the driver in the following vehicle) threatens damage to the leading vehicle and its occupants by driving aggressively — perhaps also with use of headlights and horn — to bully the leading vehicle’s driver to get out of the way. The driver being tailgated might not wish to comply, especially if doing so would involve breaking the law, such as by increasing speed beyond the speed limit or changing lanes without due regard for safety. Note, however, that in many jurisdictions flashing high beams is a normal and polite method used to signal the intention to overtake.^[2] Tailgating can also be dangerous to the tailgater, especially if he or she is driving closely behind a large vehicle (such as a tractor-trailer, or gas tanker). If the leading vehicle decelerates suddenly (such as when encountering a traffic jam, traffic lights, avoiding pedestrians, etc.), the tailgater has a high risk of causing a rear-end collision.
• A driver may switch into a lane in front of another driver, but without adequate clearance. The second driver is now unintentionally “tailgating” the first driver, although this is due to the first driver’s unsafe behavior. This is considered “cutting off” the other vehicle.
• A form of deliberate tailgating known as slipstreaming, “draft-assisted forced stop”, or “draft-assisted forced auto stop” (D-FAS) is a technique which has been used by people known as hypermilers to achieve greater fuel economy. D-FAS involves turning off the engine and gliding in neutral while tailgating a larger vehicle, in order to take advantage of the reduced wind resistance in its immediate wake.^[3] Note that this practice is extremely dangerous: while tailgating itself is inherently risky, the danger of collision is increased with D-FAS as power for power brakes can be lost after a few applications of the brake pedal and, with older cars, the pressure that causes power steering to function can be lost as well.^[4]

Honestly, I do not understand the ego of male drivers. As it is, the most common “believe” is that female drivers are lousy drivers but for more than 10 years of driving, (Alhamdullillah) never once have I caused an accident nor have I hit anyone.

Coincidentally, a friend told me her experience a couple of days before. On the Federal Highway, tailgated, flashed and honked by a silver Perodua MyVi. Yes, male driver and yes, she overtook him! However, her experience was scarier and more dangerous as he did not stop at tailgating her, flashing lights at her and honking her. He went to the extent of driving on the next lane at par with her, overtook her and kept hitting the brake whilst he was in front of her! Road rage of a road bully! She googled the Prerodua MyVi’s registration number and to make the story even scarier, there was a report (translated Chinese Newspaper report) that said the driver of that car had been reported missing in year 2007! I told her, it was either a ghost or… a ghost LOL! She on the other hand, said that perhaps that guy ran away from home and is a schizophrenic! He snapped and went crazy! I said that is even more ridiculous than thinking that it was a ghost! I mean, if he is crazy, how did he get the money to pump in the petrol for the car? How is he still able to renew his road tax and insurance? He needs money, which means he would probably be working but assuming that he is a schizophrenic, wouldn’t he snapped at work too? Oh well, let us just forget about him and go back to the point i.e. male drivers’ ego.

It is never my intention to offend anyone but honestly, as common as the believe that female drivers are lousy drivers, it is common believe too amongst female drivers that male drivers just cannot accept it when female drivers overtake them.

Anyway, I apologize sincerely if my post here offended anyone. No intention of doing so at all!

I couldn’t wait till tomorrow to post this, which means there should be something else tomorrow (of course if I have something to blab about tomorrow that is).

Just that these questions came up very recently –

(i)    how do you like a person who is so not like-able?;

(ii)   how do you not hate a person who tends to do (every)things that you hate?;

(iii)  how do you face the one face you don’t like and is trying with all your might, not to hate?;

(iv)  how do you make yourself not feel bitter when things that would make you want to scream your heart out is done repeatedly to you?;

(v)   how do you move on?

Simple answer to (i) is, you just don’t. Don’t like that person who is so not like-able. Simple answer to (ii) is, tell yourself, hate takes up loads of energy and time and no person is that worthy to hate. Simple answer to (iii) is, a man has got to do what a man has got to do, which should apply to us ladies to. Tell yourself, a girl has got to do what a girl has got to do. No, don’t tell yourself “girls just wanna have fu-un”. Simple answer to (iv) is, feel bitter, go ahead and go through the stage and the process of becoming a better person. Realising that things can hurt will (hopefully) teaches you to consider other people’s feelings. Simple answer to (v) is, by moving on itself! Tell yourself you are moving on and continue with the moving on.

Oh, but of course, things usually are a lot easier said than done! At times I feel jealous with people who are oblivious to their surroundings and their own feelings (not that I am very emotional, just don’t try me) but these people rarely have any strong feelings. They rarely dis-like other people. They rarely feel hate and hurt. It is very easy for them to move on. I have been told that everyone is “wired” differently. That is why these different characteristics. The way that would work for me almost every time is to think that no one is that worthy to hate and dis-like. That all that hate is just a waste of good time. You can go and be a non-existence to me. “Who? Oh well, yeah, I know that name but whatever.”

p.s. – this is not addressed to anyone specific and even if it is, am not going to disclose it ;D

Yes, I have written on football, well not actually on football but something about football. This second installment was never in the pipeline. Did not think I would have to write something football related again but here we are. All thanks to the Germany – England match last night.

As mentioned in This Thing About Football, it is the kind of sports which nobody really cares who you are. All everyone cares about is the club they support and in the case of the World Cup, the country. My favourite has always been the Germans. Yes, Germany, followed by the Netherlands, Japan and Spain (this one is mainly due to certain players). Argentina is also good. Brazil, well, that 5 times champion, what can I say. Nevertheless, having favourites doesn’t mean I would insult and sort other teams. No, no one should do that but, as I have expected, whenever Germany meets England, people get rather emotional. As Joachim Loew put it, “old rival”. Still, that doesn’t mean the rivalry extends to being hurtful or hateful to each other.

This German – England rivalry went way back when and that shows how good these two were but some supporters get too emotional when one doesn’t win and the other does (I believe no one loses as one gains in some other ways). Some get too emotional all facts of the world history is laid out. Again, I have also mention in This Thing About Football that it doesn’t matter when it comes to football. History, past or present doesn’t matter. North Korea is still a communist country hated if not feared by some. Israel is still loved by the United States of America, hated by most, making most people angry. The Serbs did commit a heinous crime against the Bosnian. There are still loads of killing in the African continent. Greece is on the verge of going bankrupt. Oh not to mention the “personal” crime against my own country, Malaysia, committed by whom you ask? History showed that we were invaded by the Portuguese, the Japanese, the English and the Dutch. Well, we were back then a country so small and new we didn’t know better. My late grandmother can go on and on and on about her experience those days to the day Malaya gained its independence, the day the Union Jack was replaced by the Bendera now known as Jalur Gemilang.

As I have expected that there are more English supporters than the German supporters here, I decided that it is not wise for me to watch the match at open places. Not that it is not safe, it’s just that, people tend to get emotional. Yes, I felt the hurt when Germany lose to the Serbs but that was that, one match for the Serbs. When the Serbs won, I was watching the match with my friend at a mamak and the crowd weren’t all that emotional. Yes, that particular night, the mamak was filled with German supporters! I didn’t hear supporters for the Serbs insulting or taunting us German supporters as Germany has been the favourite and thus the Serbs and their supporters would most definitely be excited and overly joyful. However, the ambiance is always different when the English meets the German. Exchange of words, hurtful words, unnecessary history lessons, were all to expected. I don’t know about other German supporters but I most definitely do not and will not unnecessarily try to bring back history. IT IS JUST FOOTBALL! History aside, death and cruelty aside, it is just football. So, I really wish for others to try to refrain themselves from going and saying things that are rather emotional and over the board. Again, it is just football [emphasize added]

Let us focus on happy thoughts like the best team winning the World Cup. Not necessarily Germany. Could probably be Argentina. It is highly most likely that Argentina would but hey, who knows. As my brother always say “S**t happens!”

Smile and rejoice for today is a new day. History is for us to learn and not to be vengeful!

Trust, there can only be one thing when it comes to trust. No matter how we put the word “trust” in a sentence, the effect is just the same. When we say, “I trust that you are well” or “I trust that you will get it sorted out”, the effect is still the same isn’t it? We are saying that we believe. If we say “I trust you”, that definitely means we are putting our believe and trust in that person.

When it comes to trust, most of those who know me knows that I have issues. To me, it’s not really an issue as I trust myself. It is others who have issues with my level of trust if that bothers them. Am sorry, I really am, if that is too harsh. I believe, at least with me that is, trust, similar to respect, is gained. No one should just give trust without proof that it will not be misused, abused or wasted.

Trust, to me, is something we decide whether to give or keep. It can run very low or just kept reserved. Mine is mostly kept reserved as it is low in the first place. It is mine to keep or give. When I decide and do give, it’s no longer mine. I do not take back the trust I gave. What happens next is either it is safely kept by and with the person I gave it to or it’s just gone, dies of, kapish! When the later happens, chances of trust being given to that same person is, I dare say, is nil, nada.

There are times I wonder, why can’t everyone think carefully before doing stupid things or things that hurt others. All we need to do is put ourselves, imagine ourselves in the other person’s shoes. How would it feel? How would you feel when that little trust that you have and gave is taken for granted? It’s not difficult isn’t it then. Just ask yourself this kind of question and you know what you should and shouldn’t do. Trust me, it’s not that difficult. There you go, am asking you to trust me. Knowing how it feels to be betrayed, would you and I lie and betray the trust given to us? You go ahead and ask yourself that question. I suppose it’s tougher for those who has no problem trusting others and those who have never been betrayed. On the other hand, good for them to have never been betrayed. My brother did say this though, “Well, s**t happen!”.

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I don’t know but there’s this thing about football. I read an article once that said something along this line, that football is the only game were everyone can actually get together and not care about citizenship, status, race and religion. I somewhat agree. Nobody cares about any of that when it comes to football. Look at the World Cup line ups. Even a communist country can proceed to try out and actually go ahead and compete! Nobody cares that North Korea is a communist country (honestly am not so sure what is it that is so bad about being a communist if everyone is happy). Nobody cares about the history of the Serbs and the Germans! (In fact I support Germany in each World Cup events). Doesn’t even matter if you are dirt poor like most African countries.

The thing is, if you recall, I did say I somewhat agree with the earlier statement, which means I do not agree completely. Reason being, outside of the stadium where the actual match is being played or was held, we can still see (in the news) that there are fanatics causing riots and injuring others. Although this kind of incidents are not as common during other football seasons e.g. EPL, there are still fanatics. Some fans care which club or country the others are rooting for and when the club or country they support loses to the one others support, all hell break loose! Here comes the hooligans!

I am (although not a hardcore) nevertheless a fan of this sport (am actually a fan of many sports including golf (although some think that golf is not actually a sports)). As I have mentioned earlier, when it comes to the World Cup, it is Germany that has my heart and support. When it comes to the English Premier League, it’s Arsenal. I don’t care what others may have to say about Arsenal but I also do not go around “praising” Arsenal, provoking supporters of other clubs. I usually (I actually prefer to) watch football alone. That way I can express my frustrations my way without offending or provoking others. Also, it may not be very lady like of me when I watch football. I think everyone gets the idea ;D

There is this thing about football that other sports may not share, the way the fans cheer, the way cable television subscriptions increase, the way the fans accommodate the time of the matches with their sleeping hours, the way the fans love the game and the way the fans love their clubs/countries. What other sports activities get the whole world together, sometimes or most of the times, at the same time?!

I would normally read the newspaper after working hours, unless of course I get lucky in the morning or during the day. So, as usual, after work yesterday, on my way out, I stopped by the reception counter at my office (soon to be EX) and got myself a copy of the newspaper. Folded it into two, put in at the back seat of my car, drove home, took a shower, sat down and started flipping through the pages of the newspaper. At page three, I saw a news article I considered of interest to me. An article on the Malacca Government’s decision to proceed with the construction of three animal testing laboratories.

This particular piece is of interest to me as I love animals, most of them, and I do care. Yes, it worries me that the Malacca Government decided to go ahead with the project notwithstanding the objections and protests by many. Reading through the news article, apparently the WHO gave its go-ahead for the proposed project. Well, WHO is concerned with anything health related, not animal testing, correct? The one concerned with anything animal would be PETA, correct? Thus, by saying the WHO approved the proposed project, was he also implying that the WHO approved animal testing? I don’t know, you tell me…

What bothered me the most was actually the replies and statements made by the Malacca Chief Minister, for example, (1) “Why do they (NGOs) protest everyday? Don’t they have other work to do?”; (2) “They say they do not test on animals, but many medications were tested on animals. So when they are sick, do not take these medicine, eat only vegetables.” (I quoted what was allegedly his statements in that particular newspaper and am not trying to put it out of context)

First of all, correct me if am wrong but NGOs are mostly consist of activists and/or lobbyists, those who lobby and protest. Second of all, he should instead inform the public (or at least be politically correct) of the reasons or grounds this proposed project and animal testing methods (which as we are all aware of had been protested against for many years!) is good and should not be objected against. Address the issue for goodness sake! Do not re-direct people’s attention to other things like the job scope of NGOs!

I got worried thinking these are the kinds of statements that came from our politicians. It is to me, rather embarrassing! Statement not substantiated by substance. It seemed like child-like verbal fights. I don’t know, perhaps it’s just me…

p.s. – Do not mistake my sentiments as sentiments against any political party and/or personnel. Am not interested in politics generally.