goodbye, HIMYM. you were and will always be legend-waitforit-dary.

Ah nine years. So much has happened IRL and in TV Land. But these were mostly good times, and we've been through a lot. We knew an end was inevitable as fans' patience is running its course.. and because nothing lasts forever, the ironical title of the 2-episode finale notwithstanding.

Warning: Everything ahead is a spoiler. Do not proceed below these images. You have been warned. :)




This is a truly bittersweet farewell because.. brace yourself, I'm gonna to rant for the rest of this write-up.

World Vision (a charity I happen to support) recently amended their hiring policy to allow for people in same sex marriage to be employed, and the Internet blew up. In America that is. People were pulling out their sponsorship left and right because they were so disgusted how a Christian organisation could so cavalier with their hiring practice. I must be so naive a donor, because I never bothered with a background check on the sexual tendency of whoever that manages the money I send to WV every month. I just trust that it would reach the child's community and that it would benefit them. Did you mean, doing this is about ME and my infallible principles, and not the kids? Aw.

Actually I don't understand some Christians' preoccupation with homosexuality. The way it's painted in the media is as if it's the ONLY sin ever spoken of in the Bible. Forget about love and grace and all that jazz! Evangelists with overblown ego and private jets? Wow, so charisma, much impressed. Mean spirited, slandering neighbors? Come, come, share thy juicy goss. Proud of your grotesquely shapeless shape because eating in moderation is for the poor? Double portions of blessing for you. Loud mouth gay basher with a sweet lying tongue? Here's a special seat for you. You're love some one of your own gender?! Here's your ticket, enjoy your journey to hell. Before that let me give you a taste of what that's like here on earth because like, that's my life's calling.

I mean, these people have no problem handing over their money to retailers who are in cahoots with sweatshops in third world country just so they could wear the latest designer dresses, and they don't check the credentials of the restaurant owners before making a food order. Because as long as I get my cronut wearing that trendy color-blocked top, who cares? But an illiterate child who's future is uncertain, you can't have my money cos there's a possibility that whoever I'm handling my hard-earned salary to isn't halal. So shut up cos I don't care what happens to you, can't you see I'm trying to make a point? And who you calling a hypocrite, punk!

Well done, guys. Your wallets have spoken. Call it principle and faith or what not, you know it's your money that talked and everyone heard you lour and clear. God is well pleased, as you are.

Clap.

Clap.

NB.

I don't know why I picked to write about this, I rarely ever speak on current issues pertaining to Christianity that don't affect me directly, but since I've been pretty annoyed the whole week about everything, I might as rant about this too. Because I'm unhelpful like that. Btw, World Vision reverted its policy a few days later, having succumbed to the pressure. Sigh~

cranky.

I've been especially cranky this week. Work, news, people, I was a walking time bomb. It's all the little things, they add up.

And the thing about getting worked up about every other thing that's in your face is that you get tired really fast, and more irritable of course. Vicious cycle.

Maybe it's that time of the month heh.

However, it's not all bleak. There were nice things that brought a huge smile to my face too, notably the Wang Family Barbershop Quartet (basically Leehom and his dad and bros singing an acapella version of Sweet and Lovely) and an awesome dinner at Adrian's with some of my most favorite people in the world.

double, double toil and trouble; fire burn, and cauldron bubble..

The heat is getting pretty unbearable here in KL. Just look at the numbers. They're so close to catching up with my age and that's real bad news! And I don't know if my air-conditioning needs servicing or if it just can't cope with the heat because it's not delivering the kinda temperature suggested by its digital interface.

But lookie here. What lovely chilly weather in these two cities, and the best thing is that I'll be on my over there for work in a few days' time and the timing couldn't be better. I've been looking forward to this trip for many reasons, but escaping this frying pan of my home city is somewhere on top of the list. Come soon, sweet reprieve!

warning: stay away

Man, do I feel miserable! Em to the ai to es to the ee.. My bouts of violent coughing have left my whole body aching, my rib cage sore, my throat swollen, my mood cranky, my outlook dim. I make terrible company right now because I'm incessantly whining and groaning, bursting into tears for temporary relief, and muttering for death as permanent reprieve (yes, drama mama).. I should have taken the antibiotics from the first doctor's visit. I'd thought I'd recover from a good night's rest, but nope. Oh woe is me and heavy is my yoke! And to add to my bodily misery, the weather is so. freaking. HOT. Was expecting the heat that usually comes with CNY, but this year.. I don't know if it was because I'm sick, I could feel the heatwave bouncing off my skin. Boing boing. In case I wasn't clear: I'm in super foul mood! @#$%^&*()!@#$%^&*()! Night night, world.

classic schmellis

We left home for church early this morning for breakfast and church, and when we got home from lunch and a hospital visitation (and a quick stop for cendol + rojak), we found our door and grille wide open like this:




Immediate thought: We've been robbed!!!
And shortly after: But why are my keys hanging there?
And then, OMG I LEFT IT LIKE THAT!!! FOR SEVEN HOURS!!! IN BROAD DAYLIGHT!!!



I really really reeeeallllly hate how careless I am. *kicks self repeatedly* This was just so outrageous that even the husband had nothing to say. I... I... *cries and hangs head in shame*

Thank God, nothing is missing (afaik), but urgh!

agent #51773

There is so much I want to write about this coming 13th elections, but I think I'm being overwhelmed by the overload of information on FB. But I'm praying fervently for a clean and fair election. For justice and mercy to be instated. For change of government. The ruling parties have pretty much sucked the nation dry in the 55 years they have been in power, and I hope they won't get the mandate to continue to pilfer us for another five years.

Anyway, I've volunteered to be a Polling Agent, and I'm pretty much freaking out. My main fear is that I would fail in my duties (but I was assured that my presence in the room is already 50% of the battle won). It shouldn't be this hard, if the playing field is level. But it's not. The current gov is pulling all stops in ensuring that they hang on to whatever they have left. Blardy thieves and scoundrels!

But, this is it. My heart says, Ini kalilah. 

反感

當聽到某些政客在談論。

warning: long rant ahead.

call me naive, but my experience with the shareholders at my company's recent event left a real bad taste in my mouth. it's not like i have not seen or have not heard what they are capable of, because i have. every year, every time, everywhere, it is the same. i'm not sure why i am particularly affected this time.

but yeah, i have never met a bunch of people who are so, so greedy it makes me wanna puke. and nuke 'em.  i keep thinking about how those people making so much noise over the offer price (when it was at a good premium and much more than what they have paid for, but they wanted to suck the company dry. yes, they actually demanded for every last sen we have. sure, just take all the money. take my job and my bonus while you are at it. oh wait, you already took my bonus.), how they were so unruly when clamoring for the free gift (there were more than enough for everyone, but they were sooo kiasu and refused to queue. to the uncle who so loudly called me an idiot and questioned my ability when all i asked was for you to please queue up to get your gift, you disgust me still. some were just so shameless and even tried tricking us into giving them more! yes, i'm sure your voucher is with your friend who seemed to have mysteriously disappeared), how they shove food onto their plates and for goodness's sake, into containers they brought (we ordered for twice the number of people, and yet, there was not enough food!). some even brought flasks to bring home the coffee (which wasn't even good!)(is this how the rich stay rich?).. i know this is a some kinda game for some of them, but IT'S JUST TOO DISGUSTING. i cannot stomach it. and i just hate it. it's one of those times when i really hate corporate work.

this seething anger reminds me of my own failing. i hate it that i could fly off the handle over the slightest thing. i hate it that i cannot control my anger and self-righteousness. i hate knowing that it's not what Jesus would do, but yet, knowing that doesn't stop me in my track. i hate it that i fail again and again at every test (for patience, for anger) that comes my way. it's so frustrating sometimes. all the time. i wish i had handled that uncle with more grace than he deserved. but stopping myself short of putting him in his place with some choice words is all i could say i have achieved that day. not proud of myself.

argh! this is so energy consuming. maybe that's why i'm TATT.

have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love.
because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins.
wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin.
for I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night.
psalm 51:1-3 (NLT)

after reading this and for what they have done, i hope that these men will be inflicted with a flesh-eating genitalia disease that will very slowly and excruciatingly consume their private parts (and during this time, they will not being able to kill themselves and or have access to painkillers). and when they finally die of old age with their d*mned d**ks all ravaged by the disease, they can rot in hell forever and ever. same goes to any pedophile who has not been caught.

and for the kids... sigh... i can only pray for strength to face tomorrow and every day after.. that they could somehow be able to live a full, functional life. i wish someone could erase their memories. ;-(

just because

i *have* to post something here today, because it's Feb 29, 2012 (a once in 4-year day if you reeeally have to know).

what do i say, what do i say?

i have nothing to say, i have nothing to say!

well, actually i do, i always do, but the thought of having to construct whole sentences that make sense is too daunting. i'm at that stage in my life where i'm just. too. layzee. to. urm. whatever.

oh, did you know that i have eight wedding invites for this year alone? yes EIGHT. don't get me wrong -- it's not that i'm not happy for my friends who are settling down, but you know what i'm implying. with the escalating cost of wedding banquets, an invite naturally places a financial burden on the invitees (yes, me and the rest of us who are going through the economy slump AND have vacation plans :D). so please understand why i'm going solo although you invited my other half who doesn't really know you at all. and i sincerely still want to be there for you, even if you have not contacted me since we left school 15 years ago (yes, one of those). and yes, i can get a bit grumpy at the quality of food, especially at *that* price tag. ok, sorry about the rant. i feel guilty cos i know the special day means a lot to the couples. i'm not upset at any one in particular.

just the collective group of you. haha!

btw i'm semi active again on twitter. almost abandoned it for good as i couldn't deal with the information overload, but gonna give it another shot. uh oh. this is gonna be another complaint (the husby is right, i do complain a lot! :D). i have this friend whose tweets flood my homepage by RT-ing (that's retweet for you non-twitterers, i.e. quoting someone else's status verbatim) everything her friends say. like "hello" and "good morning". and other nonsense that are so not RT material. this explains why she has 11,000+ tweets when she just joined twitter less than half a year ago. no, i can't unfollow her, due to certain "social pressure", if you catch my drift. yes, i succumb to that sometimes.

ok, i shall limit myself to two complaints.

i've been watching this TV show called Community (now in it's third season - i'm a slow adopter). and it's HI to the LARIOUS! it's an awesome cast and scenes and i haven't literally LOLed so much in a long time watching a TV show (even movies for that matter)), not even with HIMYM or TBBT or Modern Family (all of which i still love uninhibitedly). oh here's a pic of the cast (the only pic i have for this blog post):

last one before i ciao, (maybe you can click on this link to leave this blog) check out Caleb Wilde's blog. i've been following him for a while now and i enjoy his writing. he writes mostly on more sombre topics like death, not just because he's a sixth generation funeral director. his writing about dealing with death and loss, theological thoughts, and his vocation as mission, offers a rare insight into a world we rarely and reluctantly tread, and is worthy reading.

happy leap day!

*hops away*

Ought to be shot.

I'm being openly judgmental here but there is this divorce that's all abuzz online right now that everybody saw coming (probably not so soon but if you thought it was gonna last, you must be the last of the dinosaurs) that I frankly have nothing nice to say about the marriage and the breakup. I buy nothing of the sobs and geez, I'm just so so annoyed at how irreverent their view of the institution of marriage is, and I sure was thinking unholy thoughts when for some reason E! thinks that there are still milkable moments from the wedding episode and I happened to tune in when the bride uttered the til-death-do-us-part part of her vow. Obviously it meant nothing to her. That, or she's dead now. Heart broken? Boo-xxx-hoo.

off the roof!

no, it’s not about my level of awesomeness, or anything remotely that.

I just received the medical report for the basic blood and urine test I did a few weeks back, and highlighted in pink are numbers pertaining to my physical wellbeing that in no way reflect how I feel. in other words, I feel great but my numbers suggest that I am a walking time bomb. yeah, my cholesterol level is so high that instead of a number, I got an asterisk (*), which my physician told me it was because the number so high their machine can't put a number to it. Yao mou. Pffbt.

right now, I’m thinking that ignorance is bliss when it comes to health. the worst that could happen is that I drop dead la. but noooo.. I’ve got to worry about if the next morsel of food entering my mouth is deadly, whether if I’m working those muscles enough, blah blah.. life is short enough as it is and now this? *GROANS*

i worked late last night, leaving the office just as a carriage somewhere turned back into a pumpkin. but late nights are not common so i don't complain. plus i guess i need to make up for the cumulative hours i get in late in the morning. and the hours i spend not working. i digress.

i like what i do. some. there are a lot of things i wish could be better, but till the tide turn, here i am. and one of the things i enjoy is editing. by now i can somewhat confidently (yeah, contradicting, i know :) say that i'm pretty good at it. i think. i suck sometimes, i'll give you that. but overall, better than the average yusuf on the street. i have to be, it's my rice bowl :) i digress again.

i like examining the nuance of each word, then fitting and arranging them in a sentence not unlike a puzzle, throwing paragraphs around, weighing every comma and period, mindlessly making use of keyboard shortcuts, googling for alternatives and inspiration.. all until i hear the *click* and everything falls into place and all is well with the world. haha.. something like that. it's rather exhilarating. it's one of the few things that can hold my attention once i'm into it. but ultimately, it's time-consuming and totally exhausting. which is what i am now, totally ready to crash at 11:50AM.

so please don't insult my work with that 15-minutes chop job that you call "edit". but thanks for the attempt. gave me a good laugh.

for some reason, my sidebar info are now at the footer of this blog. i've no idea how to fix it. this is annoying. grrr.. >:(

update @ 16-mar-11 -- it's back! on the side, where it belongs. welcome home, side bar! ;)

iPhone 4 = 3G smartphone

FaceTime = iPhone 4's video call function
FaceTime = doesn't run on 3G, ONLY over wifi, and ONLY iPhone to iPhone
FaceTime = Apple proudly claims that it's "phonecalls like you have never seen before"

mm.

well, obviously they haven't seen my OLD Sony Ericsson which has a similar function (which worked perfectly over 3G, cos wifi-only is what i'd call presumptuous).

urgh.

random moments of annoyance. i have loads of them. why why why.


[via]

bee tee double u, i've gone private on twitter. happened to google myself recently and my tweets are all over the place. for my career's sake, i shall hide the fact that i spew lots of passive-aggressive one-liners from my future employers. get an account and follow me if you like to read angry and vague statements out of context. :)

pants on fire

i was introduced to a friend's friend yesterday. when asked what he did, he said he washes aircrafts, for MAS. at first i was like, what? that's a job?! but being the naive person that i am, i believed him (i don't know any better the intricacies of airline operations, and he was rather convincing).

and being the friendly person that i am (ahem), i asked him questions throughout lunch as i was stuck with him next to me, and it was much, much later into the conversation that i found out that he was pulling a fast one on me.. when i caught him at something he said.

i was less than amused.

maybe he lacks joke delivery skill and didn't notice that the sell-by date on his joke has passed 2 minutes after pulling it, what more after half an hour. i'm all for pranks but please, don't cross the fine line between a bluff and an outward lie. i barely knew you. it's unnerving having to be conscious of the fact that i have to be careful of you, of what you say. first impression: fail.

maybe it was because my friend has told me earlier that this guy is somewhat "complicated", whatever that meant. and how she subsequently said that he was not in his elements today, and again, whatever that meant. there was something not very together in the way he carried himself -- but maybe it was in my head.

or, maybe it was his OTT reaction to show what a banana (basically, a chinese who doesn't speak chinese) he is - i don't know how to explain this but he practically raised his hand and exclaimed "oh i'm a banana too! :D" when my friend kinda poked fun me for not getting a joke that was going on around the table in chinese -- who does that??). that, plus his earlier exchange with the waiter which i wouldn't elaborate here, had this going on in my head: hello, what are you so proud of? you are not more superior because you don't speak chinese. you are actually LACKING. it means that you are not an effective communicator in another language other than you own tongue. annoyed, i tried to speak as much chinese as i could in subsequent conversation.

maybe i should be more forgiving, since i don't really know him.
i'll just eat my word later lah.

i was supposed to be making this:

garlic and lemon roasted chicken with potatoes


but the chicken ended up being an ingredient in this:

chicken lotus root soup with peanut, red dates and wolfberries

which is still very yummy but for the circumstances about it. cos you see...


/begin rant/


arggghhhh..

i'm all miserable and whiny now. it started with that tiny cough on Tuesday evening just before i met up w FL in bangsar (glad to finally meet up, and again, congrats re. the bun in the oven! :D) -- i knew the moment i coughed that cough that it was not a good sign.

by the time i met up w my parents and bro (who came back for a quick visit) on Wed nite (ate in serdang.. yummy!), the itchiness has flared up..

Thursday night i was a good girl and stayed in, but the cough persisted. i'd begun taking cough syrup (remainder from a previous visit) - it was the non-drowsy type so i was kept awake until i slept from tiredness.

by Fri morn, it was *coughcoughcough* and when i got into the office, i felt feverish. saw the doc, got a half day MC, hung on for a meeting after lunch (thankfully, it ended early) and left for home by 3. hubby said he cld pick me from work but as the weekend coincided with the PC fair, driving to town is insane so i took the train.. got home by 4ish. had lunch/dinner. spoke to chongy for a bit (which reminds me that by now she kinda owes me a story :D) and went to bed by 6.

slept til 3ish when my fever came back and got me really restless. i was going up and down the stairs going to the loo, drinking water, taking panadol (i just finished a whole strip in 24 hours argh) and more cough syrup, re-cooling the ice pak each time it got warm, switching on and off the aircond to adjust to my body temp, and generally waking my hubby up each time i move about. arggghhh...

hubby woke up at 6 to go hiking at bukit gasing -- about the same time i fell back into prolonged sleep.. got up and 11ish, stayed in bed til 4ish. watched the Informant! (matt damon ooh) nose started to get runny and itchy. went for music prac nevertheless (i hope i didn't infect anyone -- i stayed far away from everyone). came home aft prac. drank soup (yums!) and now. in bed. miserable. argh. ARGGH.

i feel like my weekend's been robbed! noooooOOOoOoOoOoo.. why? WHY??

/end rant/

God, i pray that tonight's sleep will restore health to my body. thank you that my body is working hard at combating whatever germs and diseases i've caught.

i walked from my office in klcc to pavilion after work yesterday to meet my hubby who was trying out true fitness' one month free trial. he's quite serious about this exercise thingy - even waking at 6am on Sat morns to go for walks. me? hahaha.. my body is aging faster than my speech rate.

anyways, it's not a long walk, just a 15-20mins depending on what shoes one has on. hehe.. anyways, the route took me past the kuala lumpur convention centre where the government is doing the PEMANDU drive/forum (driver drive? haha..) which, if i'm not mistaken, is an effort to pass the subsidy bill.

there were about 15 banners hanging from the wall telling us why it needed to be passed and how the Government is paying so much in subsidy yadda yadda.. i read every single word on those banners and as i did, i could just feel my blood boiling lah. someone correct me please if i get this wrong, but really.. i was/am just so pissed off.

i thought of the recent by-elections (and all the elections prior) and the money they poured into each constituent. the multi million dollar contracts to undeserving fat cats. the useless MACC. the poorly built roads and cracking multi million dollar structures. the iskandar project. the bakun dam. the energy and telco monopoly. the arrogant face of bung mokhtar. the taxes we pay for our cars. our human rights commission. no minimum wage.

all these and they still dare ask if they could reduce or remove subsidies because the government's coffer is depleting?! it's just downright preposterous!!!

and justifying it with buzzwords like 'moving forward' and 'negara maju' and 'defisit' and telling me sob story about how much you have given us (RM12k per household per year, which in my calculation, is about RM200 per person per month, which i think if you put it that way, is NOT ENOUGH) and how we are one of the highest subsidizing countries in the world --- i'm just not buying it OK?

!@#$%^&*()


...

i can't talk about this without getting emotional and all riled up. sorry.



and this just in:

Fugitive Malaysia Today editor Raja Petra Raja Kamarudin should reveal the identity of the people funding his stay in Britain, said Umno supreme council member Datuk Dr Abdul Latif Ahmad. He said Raja Petra, or RPK, should explain to Malaysians whether his sponsors were politicians, corporate figures or those from foreign countries.

what kinda of stupid is that? who in the paper even decide that this fella deserve the time of the day for the nonsense he is spouting? should i hold a press conference to tell you what i had for lunch and share my bowel movement schedule with the nation?

so near, yet so far.

none* of my musical loving friends would be attending the musical west side story, except for two very very lucky gals who got free premium tix. yeahhh.. corporate clients are such wonderful creature. i wish i still worked at that institution. but nah, the tix wouldn't have gone my way in a million years. yes, i'm all green from my nightly vege dinners and deep envy of their fortuity.

but really, the price structure for this show is very frustrating. prices start from RM190 for seats furthest from stage, and quickly move up by a quantum of RM100, with prohibitive RM500 tickets covering a huge section of the seating chart. i don't think the local organizer quite understand what the public sentiment is and the depth of our pockets. 500 buckaroos is a lot a lot of money ok.

and i think that the government could do well subsidizing the cost so that more people could have access to such rare opportunities, instead of blowing a couple of million for those shameless advertisements on NYTimes. really, "first lady", your "family and friends" would far appreciate it than knowing that you won some obscure award for some dubious achievement.

mm, maybe this being the musical's only stop in SEA, they hike up the price cos they know the singaporeans could afford it? whatever it is, i will be sulking at my corner til this is over.

bah, humbug!

* update: ooh just found out over FB one musical bug actually went! :) happy to know it, and naturally also terribly envious. tsk tsk @self. hehe..