Snap out of it

I really gotta snap out of my Lembek mode. Ever since Christmas I've been on a super-holiday-don't-feel-like-working mood.

Didn't help that the 5 days cruise on the Royal Caribbean was too damn relaxing. Been a long time since I spent 5 straight days of no internet, no calls and literally not really needing my brain (other than the few times i had to beat conrad at Chua Dai Ji). The moment you board the ship, everything is taken care of. You don't need to think about what to do to entertain yourself, don't need to think about where and what to eat, don't need to think about where to go. We didn't even disembark the ship when it was in KL, mostly because the taxi fare to the city was a total rip off! The taxi drivers charged a flat fee of US$65 to get to town! 

Anyway, we did get off at Phuket. I think we're the only ones on the ship that didn't get any sand in our shoes...that's cos we didn't even step on the beach! All we did was going to a real hideaway spa on a hill (in case got tsunami again), had a 2 hour long luxurious massage, drank freshly made pineapple juice on the villa's veranda, after that we headed for a early dinner. Again ontop of a hill overlooking the sea, watched the sunset and had the most lovely (but in very tiny portions) thai food dinner. Oh yeah, I didn't bother shopping at the pasar malam. The prices were really ridiculous for cheap looking, poor quality stuff. Imagine, a long sun dress that looks like something you can get at This Fashion for 30 bucks was selling at $70 there! The particular dress I picked out was literally falling apart at it's seams.

This was officially our first real vacation together. Even though we travelled extensively in the past, none of it really qualified as a real vacation since we usually had to get work over n done with first. But for this cruise, we made it a point of not talking or even thinking about work.

Ok now we gotta make it a point to really snap out of it and get in gear for business to resume...soon....after chinese new year....sooon.

One round of eating done

I'm half glad Xmas is over.....despite vowing at the beginning of every festive season "Not to eat too much", the vow goes out the window the moment the first party starts. It's been almost a week of non stop eating and now i feel like going on a 365 days strike against food. 

But that's wishful thinking, cos the moment I wake up in the morning, my uncooperative stomach grumbles for breakfast, so on boxing day, i HAD to eat the leftover tiramisu my mum made....

Doesn't help i had 2 pieces of zam zam mutabak, 1 mee soto, beef rendang & too much wine the night before at a party.....now, i feeel gross n fat n gross n fat *bleah* 

The next round of over eating's gonna be at the NYE party.... i don't even know I'm gonna be able to fit into my dress!! Think i gotta starve myself for the rest of the year.

It doesn't end at NYE.....on the 19th Jan, we're booked on the royal caribbean 4N cruise and there's gonna be FREE & ENDLESS food! Even room service is free and 24 hours. There's a gym onboard though and I've always liked the gyms on a ship cos the treadmill always faces the open sea...makes you feel like you're running on water into the horizon. But knowing me, there's a 20/100 chance I would actually go to the gym.  Think I'll let my dress on NYE decide how fat i feel.

After the cruise, it's CNY....this one no need to say, sure eat alot one....sigh

Maybe when i get to Sydney in Feb, I can go on a pleasant diet of fresh fruits & veg....n maybe walk everywhere....n maybe learn how to surf.....n maybe learn how to sail.....n maybe....

It's Xmas time again

To my dear friends,

Click here to view my secret Xmas wishes for you =)

Secret Xmas Wishes

Happy'R Us

What i hate most about my work

I generally enjoy my days at work, especially the control and flexibility, running your own business offers. 

But what I really really hate most about what I do is to have to chase and some times beg for payment after the job's done and complete. And I'm someone who hates to ask for money even if I'm perfectly justified to do so.

When we're in the middle of the project, the client calls like every other hour and expect things delivered like we're some super human-being with more hours in the day than others.

However, the moment's work's completed and when payment's due, the clients are suddenly uncontactable or evasive.

I just don't understand why this has to be the case.

The best thing about it is we are generally expected to give at least a 30 day (sometimes 60 days) credit term to our clients. Mind you, the clients we deal with are mega multi billion corporations like Nokia, HP, Sony Ericsson and yet, these multi billionaires expect my teeny tiny $2 paid up company to FINANCE each and every project out of our own pocket. What kinda logic is that?

Despite already giving them more than 30 days for their retarded accounts department to process our invoice, I still have to hound and beg them for payment!  

Sometimes, AFTER waiting through the 30days, the reply i get is "oh sorry we misplaced your invoice, can you send it again?"

THEN I'm expected to wait ANOTHER 30 days for the "new" invoice to be processed!

Geeze

More Reasons than One

It's a slow sunday afternoon after having prepared the rempah for my impending Assam fish tonight, cutting my fingers in the process of peeling shallots, I came up with an idea for my new entry: Real Reasons Why I want to live in Australia. (and no being able to buy a cheap bmw is not one of them, even though it IS freaking cheap! but noooo...it does not qualify as a REAL reason)

Ok, so here goes:

1. I love walking under the vast blue australian sky

2. I love the 4 seasons, the smell of spring, sitting in front a fire place in winter, soaking up the summer sun in a convertible, watching the delicate descend of golden autumn leaves.

3. I love the coffee in Australia

4. I love finding quaint, tucked away lil cafes in places you'll never expect

5. I love the Orange Poppy Seed muffins & Toasted Banana Bread you'll find in most cafes in Sydney

6. I love being able to smile at strangers and having a warm smile back in return and you know there's no ulterior motive to that smile

7. I love the idea of having a herb garden in my backyard, being able to pluck them fresh as and when you need them

8. I love that there's more to life than work and more to a person than his/her namecard

9. I love the fact you don't need (alot) of money to be happy. eg. Walking along the beach, having a picnic by the river, BBQ's with friends, taking a drive to the mountains or along the coast, watching the sky turn burgundy when the sun sets, sipping a glass of wine on your balcony are all wonderfully happy things that don't cost alot of moulah

10. I love the fact that most Ozzies don't give 2 hoots whether you're a hotshot lawyer or you're someone who works in construction so long as you make an honest living.

11. I love being able to bring my dog everywhere without having grown adults scream in terror when my dog's like 10m away

12. I love the fact that kids can have a real childhood 

13. I love the positive-mindset most people adopt towards their work and life

14. I love being able to make friends so easily even if that friendly chat was only for a day

15. I love how you can cook up a simple meal just be relying on the quality of fresh foods and vegetables for it's flavour

16. I love being able to get my driving license quite easily (i hope). Oh btw, anyone can teach you driving, all you need is to put an "L" plate on your car. When you're ready, you just go sit for the test. 

17. I love the idea of being to escape back to nature just a few hours drive away from the city

18. I love the fact that there's always things to do, places to visit on weekends

19. I love how creative alot of Australians are

20. I love how the culture of positive-ness inspires me to be a better person and do better in whatever i do

So there's that. 20 Reasons on the top of my head.

Ok it sounds pretty biased so here's one reason why I hate Australia:

1. I hate it that it's so damn difficult to get a Australian PR!

Appalling

Latest news:

"an 84-year-old woman and her mentally-ill son reached an
agreement with on a partial refund from DBS Group Holdings Ltd. (D05.SG) on
derivatives backed by Lehman, the South China Morning Post reported Friday,
citing the woman''s younger son."

While it is good news that the bank is doing a PARTIAL refund for this case (i really wonder how partial is partial)

But it really makes me wonder how on earth can any banker or simply a human being bring themselves to sell a complex structured product to a 84 year old woman and a mentally ill son? How on earth did the bank's management allow such a sale? Isn't the age 84 years old already a super RED FLAG on the suitability of such a product to this person??

This is just one specific case that has surfaced and reached a conclusion but from what i've read so far, the incidences of gross act of alleged mis-selling to elderly folks by DBS seems quite rampant! The majority of the outcry comes from these elderly folks who, more likely than not, had no freaking idea what they were getting themselves into. 

So for those who think this is a laughing matter that people shouldn't get "uptight" about it. Please have abit of compassion and empathy towards the plight of these people. Don't be naive and think this is just about money. The reason things have blown up to this proportion and the source of anger of most of these investors is because: TRUST WAS BETRAYED! The foundation of the banking industry is TRUST and INTEGRITY. (That is why people leave their monies in banks and not under their pillows). 

Think about it. Every damn investment now (whether it's Unit Trust, Stocks, Currencies etc) would have seen the values halved or more but you don't see huge PUBLIC outcry and protest do you? Why this product in particular? 

I'm not even a victim of this saga and yet i feel their pain not because money has been lost but more importantly the pain from the injustice of the trust betrayed. 

Even if you don't wish to show that teeny tiny bit of compassion, the very least you could do is not rub salt to wound.