Bye bye 2007

Can't believe that we'll be in 2008 real soon... it's been an interesting year. My reflections on 2007 - nice to know that i'm lucky enough to have found another friend who i can truly call a good friend who i can add to my small group of close friends. I'm also happy to note that despite the distance, work and family commitments my close friends and i still manage to keep in touch and keep updated on what's going on in our lives.

It's been a lonely year... but I've also learnt to deal with that and enjoy myself more and be more positive. I've also taken small steps to leading a healthier lifestyle.

I just had the nicest closure to year 2007 - ladies potluck party with a small group of friends that we had this afternoon. We had so much fun eating all the yummy food, catching up with what's going on in our lives and gossips!. It's an amazing group of ladies - we know each other directly or through mutual friends - who i don't get to meet often (except for a couple of them). It was a wonderful party organised by a friend who is really into planning a party, so we had gift exchanges, group photos and all guests wrote a note to the hostess before leaving. Thank you ladies... for the wonderful afternoon.

Overall, it's been a good year. I feel beautiful and confident.... so, I'm looking forward to entering 2008 with positive vibes....

The fish is dead!

I don't know what happened or what i did wrong.... but the fish suddenly looked very sick this morning, and finally died in the afternoon.

I had to call my friend and told her that the fish is gone. I feel like a complete failure... can't even keep a small fish alive even for a week. I only got him on Thursday and now he's dead... my friend and i even gave the fish a name - we call him Mr. K.

Maybe, i'm not fit to have a pet... maybe i should start with taking care of plants first, then move on to getting a pet... hmmm... i don't know what to make out of this. Oh God... my friends would have a field day tomorrow making jokes about this....

R.I.P Mr. K .... sorry for being the first victim of my incompetence...

My first pet

Yesterday i got my very first pet. It's a fish... a fighting fish.

A good friend of mine surprised me by giving me one of her fish when she found out that i don't have any plants or pets in my house. She brought the fish to the office complete with fishbowl and fish food.

The fish actually went on such an adventure yesterday before coming home with me. His day started in Putrajaya where my friend took him on ERL to Kl Sentral, then LRT to KLCC. He also took express lift to our office in the Twin Towers. Then, i put the fishbowl on a table near the window so that he could enjoy the view of KL from higher up. After all, it's not everyday he'll get to enjoy such spectacular view.

When it's time to go home, i took him on a car ride. I almost got him killed before he got home!. I put the fishbowl in a plastic bag and put it on the floor of the car. I made a u-turn, and to my horror....the bowl toppled over, spilling the water and the fish out of the bowl into the plastic bag. I immediately pulled over and franctically put back the fish into the bowl with whatever left of the water.... and to my great relief... the fish survived the accident.. phew...!!! i certainly didn't want to have to tell my friend that i managed to get the fish killed even before it got home.

After such an eventful day, the fish is now safe and sound in the fishbowl on my dining table....

I'm feeling lucky.....!!!

I am deliriously happy... the reason? today i won an iPod Shuffle!. Yayy!!! i've never been lucky in terms of winning prizes at any functions. i've never won in any lucky draws in the many functions that i attended - not even any cheap gift- i always end up with just the door gift which of course everyone would get.

But, somehow.... today, i was very, very lucky.... yes! yes! yes! i've finally won something and it's a good one... hehehehe... my lucky number for the day = 10, lucky colour yellow. I picked no. 10 as my participation number in the simple quiz held after the course that i attended, so i became "contestant no. 10". When i managed to answer the question, i got to choose the gift in various envelopes. i chose envelope no. 10 and picked yellow card in the envelope - it's an iPod!!!! i was really surprised and so very, very happy. i was practically grinning for the rest of the afternoon....

It never crossed my mind to buy an iPod 'coz i'm not into gadgets and latest technology stuff... i'm "technologically challenged" person.... i don't know how to operate this kind of thing.... so, if not for this free iPod, i'm definitely won't be buying one for myself.

So, this is going to be another journey to discover how to operate some gadgets (and hopefully without embarrasing myself - i tend to ask stupid questions....) iPod...here i come!

Ok, now..... how do i start this iPod...? hmmmm.....

Keep on dancing

It's been 3 months since i joined the dance class for 1 hour a week. I'm enjoying the class especially last week's and today's class when we are starting to put together the steps for the entire song. No, i still can't dance as gracefully as it should be, but i'm getting better. My friend used to laugh at me during the first few weeks of the class 'coz she thought that my dance moves looked more like hip hop rather than zapin... hahaha... that's ok. i was more than happy to keep her amused during the class. Now, she thinks i'm getting better.

so, i'm gonna keep on dancing....

Sailing for Dummies

I was watching Monsoon Cup this afternoon and realized that sailing is quite interesting to watch. I haven't watched any race during this year's or previous year's Monsoon Cup. Well, that's not a surprise since i'm not interested in sailing, thus has zero knowledge about sailing - the closest thing that i knew about sailing is that America's Cup is the most prestigious sailing competition.

Anyway, i "stumbled" upon the live coverage of the final match race on tv while surfing the channels for something interesting to watch. I had no idea what match point racing is all about, but it got me hooked looking at those sailors going back and forth from one side of the boat to the other pulling those strings to control the sail... or whatever it is they need to do to outrun the other team. They also received penalties by the umpire who followed the 2 boats closely. It was fun to watch. In the end, Ian Williams, Skipper of Team Pindar won the Monsoon Cup, defeating Peter Gilmour. Ian Williams & Team Pindar was also crowned the World Champions of Match Point Racing - apparently the teams competed over the series of racing throughout the year, collecting points to determine the World Champion, something like F1 racing (i googled the Monsoon Cup website after race...)

BTW, i also googled Ian Williams 'coz he's kind of good looking... hehehehe... he's British, apparently, he left his work as a lawyer in London to race full time....

Hmmm... maybe, i'll start watching sailing after this ;-)

The week in review

It's been an interesting week....

Monday, 26th Nov.

Managed to survive 45 minutes of rigorous aerobics class.... but my legs turned to jelly afterwards... I had thought that i would have muscles pain the next day, but lucky i felt fine. Looking forward to attend this class again next week.

Tuesday, 27th Nov.

Got my exams result. I took 2 subjects last semester, managed to get A- and B+. Very happy with the result after such a challenging semester and crazy schedule that I had during last semester. Current CGPA 3.33. I hope to maintain this CGPA in the next semester which would be my final.

Went to Zapin class where we learnt new steps which required us to do some rigorous movements. Had great time at the dance class but ended up with a really bad muscle pain the next day.

Wednesday, 28th Nov.

The muscle pain was pretty bad. Walking up and down the stairs was such a torture. Decided not to go to the gym to allow my muscles to rest.

Thursday, 29th Nov.

My friend and I are so into buying scarves. She thought that her scarf didn't match her outfit, so she asked me to accompany her to get a new scarf. We sneaked out from office at 10.30am to go to ou favourite shop in KLCC and chose new scarf. Somehow I also ended buying 2 scarves - 1 for me, 1 for my sister (it'll be a surprise gift for her). My friend happily came back to office half an hour later wearing a really nice new scarf!. Hmmm.... the benefits of working in KLCC - very easy to solve any fashion emergency...

Still in pain.... but decided to go to the gym for some light exercise to loosen up the muscles. So, I just cycled for 10 minutes and did some stretchings to relax the muscles.

Friday, 30th Nov.

My friends and I went to Ampang Park for lunch and also to check out the many kiosks selling blouses and scarves. All 5 of us ended up buying something. I, of course, got myself another scarf!.

My legs are getting better but decided not to go to the gym 'coz i wanted to go back home early. Hopefully, next week i could stick to my self-imposed rule i.e to go to the gym 3 times a week. It's going to be difficult 'coz next week i would also be attending class twice a week at UIA. But, i'll persevere... after all, i'm an iron lady! hehehehe.....

Plumber? No, thanks.

I'm so proud of myself. Yesterday, i managed to solve a minor plumbing problem in my bathroom.

The past 1 week i've been using the bathroom downstairs as i had to turn off the water supply to my bathroom due to the leaking steel hose attached to the water tank for the flush toilet. I tried to tighten it, but ended up with the hose coming off. I had no idea how to fix it - whether i just need to replace the end part of the hose or just to apply a "special glue" (just one of the many possible solutions that i thought of).

I went to a DIY shop yesterday and was overwhelmed with the many tools, parts and all sort of other stuff sold there. I had a hard time explaining to the sale assistants what i was looking for coz i wasn't actually sure what i needed to fix the problem. Somehow, a customer there tried to figure out my problem and showed me a steel flexible hose which i immediately rcognised to be exactly the cause of my problem. he suggested that i needed to change the hose. However, i wasn't sure what kind of hose that i need (i had no idea there'll be so many different types and length...). I decided to go home and bring the faulty hose to the shop but i couldn't take off the hose. Then.... suddenly... i had a light-bulb-above-head kind of moment.... to take photos of the faulty hose with my phone. So, i took some photos, showed them to the sales assistant at the DIY shop, got exactly what i need. I even bought an adjustable wrench (before i saw the receipt, i had no idea that thing is called "wrench"... i've seen it before, but never knew what it's called) to enable me to change the hose... i went home and use the wrench to take of the old hose and fix a new one.

Yes...!!! i did it... my first plumbing job ;-)

1st day at the gym

Got 1 hour of exercise at the gym today. I'm starting slowly. Spent 20 minutes on treadmill going quite slow, then continue with aerobics. So far so good. Looking forward to go to the gym.

Signs of old age....?

At the ripe old age of 33, i finally signed up for gym membership today. It's such a momentous event 'coz i'm not one who exercises regularly. In fact, i've never set foot in a gym before... and i signed up for membership today without even trying out the facilities there. I signed up based on my friend's recommendation. She's been trying to get me to join her at the gym for a while now, but i kept saying that i might consider joining the gym next year.

So, what prompted me to sign up today? well, i kind of had a health scare today. I went for a health screening test conducted at KLCC in conjunction with "World Heart Day" and the test result shows that my BMI and glucose level are good but the cholesterol level is very high (to my horror!!!). I have to admit that i kind of expected that my cholesterol would be a bit high considering that i'm not exactly living a healthy lifestyle (no exercise, eating whatever i want whenever i please..) but i wasn't expecting such a very high level... it certainly scares me. I was advised to eat less oily and fattening food and start exercising and check my cholesterol level again in 6-month's time. If the level remains high, then i might need to take medication.

It's a real wake-up call for me. i need to change my lifestyle - change my eating habit and get some exercise. i'm not going to take drastic steps and forgo all my favourite food... but will make the change slowly. Luckily, i have a friend who will be my gym buddy and will 'push' me to commit to go to the gym.

I'm not fat and I've always been healthy... haven't even sought medical treatment at all in the last 2 years and never had MC since 2000!. But, today... i'm scared and feel like the old age is catching up way too fast...

i don't want to suffer heart attack or stroke at 33 years old... so, i'll do my very best to lead a more healthy lifestyle from now on...

Channels surfing

I'm one of those people who loves to switch channels when watching tv. I would always switch to other channels during commercial breaks or watch 2 or 3 programmes at the same time by switching between the channels. Some of friends think that it's very annoying when their husbands do that. Lucky me, i'm single... so the remote control is all mine.... hehehehe..

However, recently my channel surfing has come to a halt when Astro changed the channels number starting 1st Oct. So, i have to learn the new channel number to all my favourite channels. It's really, REALLY annoying!!!. And now the channels are in 3-digit number.... so, more effort on my part to surf the channels... besides the extra mental efforts of having to remember the new numbers. Arggh.... i hate this... to make matters worst, i'm not really good at remembering numbers. That's why I took up law. So that I don't have to study math...

I know, it's the holy month of Ramadhan... i should be more patient.... But, Astro is really testing my patience this time, especially when the Astro Guide actually made a mistake in listing the new channel numbers. For example, 8TV is listed as on channel 706... when it fact it's on channel 708!. I was searching high and low for 8TV before i found it on 708.

It's been a week... and i still haven't got around to remembering all my my favourite channels. I miss the good old days of channels surfing....

:-(

My Favourite Things - Part 2

I love music... it keeps me company during those endless hours of driving, it lifts me up when i'm feeling down...

But, what i like best about music is the way it could transport you to a certain period or place. Any song from my favourite Alanis Morrisette's best selling album, "Jagged Little Pill" would bring the memories of the time when i was in university. So does Oasis's "Wonderwall" which was a big hit during my student days.... those were the days when Brit bands rule!

Songs by Nirvana from its MTV unplugged album and "Use Your Illusions" by Guns n Roses were the soundtrack of my life in college studying for A-Level. So whenever i listen to their songs, it makes me feel 18 again...

And there are those songs which fit perfectly with some special occasions.... the best break-up song - "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor - this is also great for karaoke session with friends or to sing along in the car.

Bon Jovi's "Welcome To Wherever You Are" will lift you up when you're hitting a low point in your life. I especially like the part when the words go "When you want to give up and your heart's about to break, remember that you're perfect; God makes no mistakes".

Other notable mention -

Alhamdulillah - Too Phat & Yasin - it reminds me of how small we are...

What comes around goes around - Justin Timberlake - best 'revenge-is-sweet' song... hehehe.. actually, i just love the beat, especially the intro.

Gemuruh - Faizal Tahir - my current favourite due to the spirited singing and great message, you'd feel like you're ready to take on the world!.

Lashkar Cinta - Dewa - peace message + good music.

Sway - Michael Buble - it makes you want to get up and do the cha-cha-cha...

Those are just some of the songs that i would always turn up the volume for whenever it's on the radio. Gosh... there are so many songs that i love.... it's impossible to list every single one here. I better stop my list now.... and continue to enjoy the sound of music...

Cheers,

Miss Singleton

Dancing Queen

"You are the dancing queen

young and sweet, only seventeen

Dancing queen, feel the beat from the tambourine

You can dance, you can jive, having the time of your life"

"Dancing Queen" - Abba

I may not be 17 anymore, but it doesn't mean i can't be a dancing queen ;-)

I started my first dancing class today. No, it's not ballroom dancing or belly dancing.... but it's traditional Malay dance of Zapin, Inang and Joget. I've never done this before, so it was so much fun to learn the basic of traditional dance steps. There were quite a lot of people in the class and everyone was eager to learn. The first thing we learned today was to listen to the beat and slowly move to the beat.

This dancing thingy is actually part of the efforts by my employer to promote awareness and appreciation of arts and culture among its employees. I think it's a great idea... i appreciate the beauty of traditional music but i couldn't really tell which tune is Zapin or Inang, so hopefully after taking this class i would be able to learn more about traditional music and could dance gracefully to the music. The graceful part, may be a bit difficult to achieve.... but, well... who cares. I'm not here to be a professional dancer. So, i'm just gonna have fun...

And, the best thing is that.... it is fun! Can't wait for our next class.

Here comes the Dancing Queen...

Retail Terapy

So, what a girl to do to cheer herself up?

Retail terapy, of course!

I bought new clothes and a handbag yesterday. Very happy with my choice... got exactly what i've wanted and at great bargain too. Can't wait to wear them.. hehehe.... retail terapy, it works every time!

:-)

Dear God...

Please forgive me for thinking that You've forgotten me.

Please forgive me for thinking that my prayers have been left unanswered.

The reasons for this momentary lapse of faith? Well, lately i've been feeling like whenever i desperately need for something to work, the whole world conspires to not make it happen for me. So, many times it left me feeling sad and frustrated... and during those low points in my life, it's very hard to look at the world through more optimistic eyes.

Please give me the strength to weather this storm. I'm just an emotionally frail human being and i'm seeking solace in You...

My Malaysia

There was an air of festivities in KL in the last few days culminating in the big celebration last night and this morning. Yes... it's the 50th National Day celebration.

Every time i left office in the last few days, i would look up at all those buildings basking in the lights and see the flags are everywhere... and all those tv programmes and newspaper talking about the struggle to gain independence and what Malaysia has achieved in the last 5o years.. well, it makes me realise how lucky we are to be leaving in his peaceful and prosperous country. Suddenly feeling patriotic... don't get me wrong, it's not that i'm not proud of my country before. It's just that sometimes when you're here in Malaysia, quietly going through life, you tend to take it for granted. But, whenever you're out of Malaysia, i think most people would suddenly feel more patriotic, talking proudly about Malaysia. I know that's what happened to me when i was studying in UK, any mention of Malaysia would feel me a sense of pride...

This morning, as i listened to the national anthem, "Negaraku" at the end of the National Day parade, my heart surged with pride... 'coz i love my country...it's home...

Happy Merdeka, Malaysia.... my Malaysia.

Amazing

Yesterday i watched a documentary on the construction Petronas Twin Towers. As i was watching the complex process of such a major construction, i was in awe of the ingenuity of those people involved in its construction. It makes me look at the Twin Towers in a different light knowing the amount of time, money, passion and commitment poured into making this Malaysian icon a reality.

As i was leaving office this evening, i looked up at the Twin Towers basking in the lights, standing majestically in this concrete jungle, it dawned on me how beautiful they are... what an amazing sight!

Crazy Driving

I did something stupid last weekend...

I went to KLIA on Saturday night to pick up my friend who was coming over from Jakarta. We hadn't seen each other for a while, so on the way back we were catching up with what's going on in our lives... lots of stories to share, laughing... then suddenly i realised that i missed the exit that i was supposed to make. We ended up in unfamiliar area while trying to get back to the highway.... and i made the mistake of turning into a wrong side of the road. So, there I was in the wrong side of the road with the oncoming cars streaming through the traffic light junctions and honking me!!! arghhh.... it was scary... but honestly, at that point i was more embarassed that scared - because i always consider myself as a good and sensible driver (am apparently not!). I felt like a complete idiot and people from other cars were staring..... the waiting for the traffic lights to turn green seemed to take like forever....

Well, the good thing is that i'm still alive to tell the tale... Thank God for that!

Busy week ahead..

I went back to my hometown to be with my family. Came back to KL this evening. It was long drive from Kelantan, but luckily my brother was driving, so i got to sleep most of the time.



It's going to be a busy week.... starting tomorrow. I'll have another roadtrip, but this time for work. I have an 11am and 3pm meeting in Perak, so i'll have to leave early for a long drive to Perak and back on the same day.



I also just started my 3rd semester of study. I'm studying for Masters at a local university on a part time basis. It's been quite challenging trying to juggle work commitments and studies. I have to prepare for a test this Friday (only started reading a little bit.... i'm freaking out!!!!) and i have a presentation for the same subject the following Friday... arghhhh.... this is turning to be the most difficult semester, i'm starting to regret putting myself through this "torture" of going back to school. But, i'm not the one to give up... i'll finish this... i'll persevere and sacrifice my free time to make this work... after all i'm already half way through. Well, that's just me trying to motivate myself to get down to studying. Doesn't sound very convincing, huh? here i am writing my blog instead of studying. Better get back to studying...



But, before i sign off, i need to comment on some news over the weekend. Nothing serious like the war in middle east or the latest bird flu outbreak, but more on the lighter note - such as tennis and football.



Yes... football is back!!! or rather the new season of EPL, because i only follow EPL. Not a good start for my favourite team, MU who only drew with Reading, but it's ok. It's still early in the season.



As for tennis, i was quite surprised to find out that Federer lost the final of Montreal Masters to Djokovic. I guess Djokovic just announced to the tennis world that he's ready to be a real threat to Nadal and Federer. BTW, Djokovic is a funny guy.... check out his antics in YouTube. He did hilarious impressions of some of the top tennis players.

Au Revoir Grandma : (

My Grandma passed away this afternoon. She was the last of my grandparents.

May she rest in peace. Al Fatihah....

My Favourite Things - Part 1

I'm a tv addict.

I love watching tv. Thank God for the guy who invented tv... whatever his name was - somebody told me his name a long time ago, now i can't remember his name. Anyway, i've learned a lot from watching tv - and i watch a lot!

The travel & living channel is nice... ooh... i really love watching those beautiful places that i couldn't afford to go and watch the cooking show where the hosts cook up lots of yummy food that i would never try to cook myself.

Discovery channel now has better programs than Nat. Geo - i really love "Everest : Beyond the Limit" shown on discovery recently. I could practically "climb" Everest in the comfort of my own living room... which is really great coz i don't have to worry about losing my toes to frostbites and the only hiking that i need to do was to go to the kitchen to get a drink! this is what i call a great life...

I love sitcoms... My all time favourite sitcom is "Friends". i think i've only missed a couple of episodes from the entire seasons and it still makes me laugh whenever i watch the re-run of the show on tv.

My new favourite show is "Heroes". i think it's a really cool tv series. Can't wait to watch the next season....

I think i better stop now before i start writing about the many other shows that i love.

i'm signing off to go to TVholic Anonymous meeting.

Miss Singleton

The Beginning

Dear World,

About 10 years ago i read "Bridget Jones's Diary" by Helen Fielding. It was hilarious and i really enjoyed reading about the adventure of Bridget Jones being a 'singleton' surrounded by 'smug married' people. Little did i know that 10 years later, i 'd be in the same shoes.... well, sort of. Like Bridget Jones, i'm still single at 33 (which is a big thing in our society!) and still looking for my Mr. Darcy....

i'm a singleton surrounded by smug married people! Since all of my close friends are married, i no longer get much time to bore them with my ramblings about everything under the sun. So, i'm gonna do that here, in this blog - i'm finally getting out of stone age era and entering the 21st century by jumping on the bandwagon of bloggers!

Anyway, i'm going to write about a wide variety of topics that caught my attention or just to share my thoughts and feelings. I also hope to share some thoughts and views with some interesting people out there, so please feel free to leave a comment or two.

That's all for the beginning...

love,

Miss Singleton