Saturday, September 30, 2006

more points...

1) 2 applications sent out today... 2 more to be out on monday. i know it'll be hard for my current salary to be matched, so will be willing to accept lower pay (but not too overly low!) *praying hard*

2) excited over pd trip. it's practically the main topic of conversations between N and i nowadays... most of the lists are out: budget, shopping, things to bring, activities... Seb was teasing that we're getting too hyped up and it's still so far away! by the time we actually go, we'd be burnt out. hehe... well, like N said, it's not really the place we're excited abt, it's the ppl we'll be going with! hope everything turns out well... no, not just well. hope everything turns out excellent!

3) apparently traffic to this blog has dwindled to a very kesian level... i may be wrong, but i think only biow is sticking to her daily visits religiously. hmm... nvm lar. the main purpose of this blog is to record down the daily trifles of my life, my feelings at one particular moment, get my thoughts in order...

4) still harping abt the trip to kunming/shangri-la. gosh, i SO want to see shangri-la! but the package the parents put together is so dem expensive! and then there's the worry abt leave. what if i manage to start a new job around that time? and a friend told me today i'd regret missing this trip because the china market will see a big rise in prices beginning next year... so things there will start getting expensive. still struggling...

5) hope N could get extra fundings for her studies, so that we can go on a budget backpacking holiday somewhere... cambodia? vietnam? been so long since we've gone on a holiday together. i think the last time was our map-in-hand road trip to terengganu in 2003. thinking back, we were (are we still?) really 2 adventurous gals! dad would kill me if he knew!

6) looking for extra tutelage for my cello playing. i think i'm ready to move on to a more 'advanced' level... but again, this would depend on point #1. hope the difference in pay would not be too big and could still cover for this extra expense.

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

in point forms...

no mood (& lazy) to write long-long... so here are some updates in point forms:

1) the parents going to china again this year... kunming this time. was thinking of tagging along (at my own expenses!) coz the trip is gonna include shangri-la. i wanna go shangri-la! but in the end, decided against it. wish to see some balance in my bank account for once.

2) today, realised that where previously there's always music playing in my mind, now there's chanting. don't even remember when it switched!

3) in job-hunting mode now... so lost, and yet full of expectations. the future holds so many possibilities!

ok, lazy to think up more updates... that's all for now.

Monday, September 25, 2006

dem pissed...

been waiting expectantly for it for the past year... and then i found out that i don't qualify for it, because i'm short of a few days! not even pro-rated! sucks, man! i've been here for nearly 1 & 1/2 years! doesn't that qualify for something? ok, if u wanna calculate it by financial year, fine. but at least a pro-rate lar! takkan just NOTHING!

and that fella there is of no help at all. when i 'informed' him abt it, isn't it obvious that he should do something, taking into consideration his position? but no... all he did was give some sorry excuse abt not being aware of it, bla bla bla, and then packed up and left! so??? no conclusion???

*sigh...

it's as if i don't exist in the system this 1.5 years. so demoralized...

excuse me ppl, while i go mope for my poor self...

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

happy birthday to you...

dear y,

just wanna wish u a very happy birthday. how are you? hope u are happy and life treats u good, whatever path u choose. pls remember that u'll always have a friend in me, no matter who or what u choose to be. sending good vibes to u, wherever u may be...

love always,
stargal

----------

y was my good friend in sec school. we spent 6 years in the same class, starting from std 6, but i think we only got close in form 4, when we went to the same add math tuition class. y was considered the geeky one amongst our gang, coz she's always reading stuff and knows a lot of weird info.

we became really close in form 6, even tho' we went to separate classes. we would always be seen together during recess and after school. sometimes, one of us would purposely stay back in school when the other needs to stay back, just for company. of course, we would give excuses that we're staying back to study, but none of us would actually get any studying done, coz we would be chatting away!

after form 6, she went on to UM to pursue her dreams in law, while i went to another university in pursuit of my own future. we still kept in touch occasionally, and it was during our uni days that she revealed to me something about herself. well, to be honest, i wasn't very shocked to learn of her revelation, as i've kinda guessed it. we continued being good friends, chatting on the phone and meeting up to celebrate each other's birthday. this went on for a few years, even after we graduated.

then a couple of years back, she suddenly disappeared. no more phone calls nor sms-es. no one in our old gang has gotten any success in contacting her. it's as if she has vanished into thin air.

once, i met her in a shopping complex. i was so happy to see her but she seemed uncomfortable to have bumped into me. when i asked her about all those unanswered phone calls and sms-es, she said she's changed her number and will sms the new number to me. but she never did.

up until now, no one knows what has happened to her. maybe she wants to break all ties with her old life. maybe she doesn't want to involve us in whatever she's involved in now. maybe she doesn't want us to judge her for who she is. maybe..... all the endless maybes...

i'm writing this here not because she'll be reading it. i know the chances of her stumbling on this blog is practically nil. i'm writing this because i wanna put it down on record, that once upon a time, y came into my life.

and then she left.

Sunday, September 17, 2006

irrelevants...

1) i miss my poh-poh! watched 'the way home' again yesterday and cried buckets again. my granny was just like that! despite how ungrateful i was, how much i complained, how naughty i've been, my poh-poh would still be very patient with me and tried her best to please me. mom was always complaining that poh-poh spoiled me rotten, with me being the female grandchild after a series of males. and the very youngest grandchild of the lot! of course, i wasn't as spoilt and naughty as sang-woo in that movie, but i know sometimes i've hurt her. *sob*sob*

2) pissed with x. it's been months i've refused to see and talk to him, and YET he's still bugging me. what does he want???

3) looking forward to PD trip with a few gco friends this coming raya hols. as usual, i'm the kay-poh organiser... can't wait!

4) been really crazy at work. so many things that need to be taken care of! all urgent! pls do it now! eh, i only have 1 brain and 2 hands, ok? sometimes i really feel like smashing the monitor and cry loud-loud, in arms flailing and leg-stomping manner!

5) i find that i'm always observing ppl's fingers, especially guys'. dunno y... some guys have really sexy fingers! :Þ

Monday, September 11, 2006

phone gripe

me: i called my mom juz now n told her abt my new hairstyle...
n: then?
me: suddenly only, she starts complaining abt me not being serious in getting a life partner!
n: har???
me: yeah man, i was like 'huh?' tiba-tiba saja kena, u know!
n: wah... what she said?
me: she said she kept chanting and chanting for me, but still no results. apa lar, own prayers dun show results, blame me pulak! hehe...
n: aiya, my mom also same lar. always say i 'jor-teng' (take up space) at home. what kinda mother is that, i ask u??
me: haha... ya lor, what kinda moms we have ar?! kenot stand man!
n: hehe... eh, ask ur mom can chant for me as well ar?
me: ???

Friday, September 08, 2006

just exercising my consumer rights...

Customer Service Manager
Sushi Kin Sdn. Bhd.

Wisma Texchem
Lot 808 & 809
Jalan Subang 5
Taman Perindustrian Subang

47610 Subang Jaya
Selangor Darul Ehsan

8 September 2006


Dear Sir/Madam,

I would like to bring to your attention an incident which took place at your KLCC outlet between 6.30pm-7.30pm yesterday. As it was the last day of your Sushi Bonanza, my friends and I had wanted to make the most of our privilege cards.

8 of us had decided to go for the sushi galore yesterday. 2 friends and I arrived first, so we queued up at the line forming outside the outlet while waiting for our other friends. When our turn came, we told the waiter that there would be 8 of us, maybe more, and we would need 2 tables. He said okay, wrote down “8 pax” on the bill and proceeded to lead us to an empty table. He said we can sit down at one table first while he prepares another one for us as soon as a table becomes available.

However, this waiter became very busy after that, working at another part of the shop and probably forgot about us. By this time, there were already 5 of us squeezed into one table, so we decided to tell another waitress about our table requirements. But upon hearing this, she told us that someone would need to queue up again outside for another table. We were already eating halfway, and found her answer utterly ridiculous. We told her about the promise her colleague made to us, that he would prepare another table for us, but she still insisted that one of us go outside to queue up. And apparently, she has consulted the outlet manager and this seemed to be the manager’s directions. At this time, the manager was standing outside manning the growing queue. We told the waitress that we would like to see the manager, but after waiting for some time, the manager has yet to come, even though he kept looking at our direction. So I made eye contact with him and motioned him over. When he finally came, we told him about our predicament, pointing out that we specifically told the waiter that there would be 8 of us, showing the bill as proof. Had the waiter told us that each table would need to queue up separately, I would have asked my 2 friends to go in to the 1st table first while I continue to line up for the 2nd table. The next available table would have been ours anyway. But the outlet manager kept insisting that one of us go line up outside again, saying there are a lot of people waiting outside and it’s unfair to them. Then he went away without any conclusion or offering any solution. By this time, all of my friends had arrived and were crowding around our one table. When a table near us got available and the waitress (the same waitress who told us to line up again) was clearing away the dishes, some of my friends went to stand next to the table. But she said we can’t have that table and motioned to the customers at the front of the queue to come in.


That was when we realized that they planned to just ignore us and let us stand around without giving us a 2nd table! What kind of service is that? We tried to reason with the waitress again, but all she said was “Kamu kena beratur” and walked away with a dark stormy face.

After awhile, another table became available. So 4 of my friends who had been standing all these while went over to sit there even before the waitress managed to clear away all the dishes. After that, we noticed that service to our table has stopped completely. Teas were not refilled and plates were not cleared, and we had to request for tea refill a few times. Luckily there was a trainee waitress who was still very professional and did her job wonderfully.

The Japanese are well-known for their superior customer service and courteous manners. Shouldn’t these traits be reflected in an outlet that sells Japanese food? Just saying ‘irashaimase’ and ‘arigatou gazaimasu’ is meaningless if the speaker says it with a sour face.


Yours sincerely,


--------------
(stargal)

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

'cleft', not 'hare'

received an email from singaporean cousin w today:

Have received your birthday card & present for K last Friday. She loved it. K is now at hospital. She had gone thru an operation on Monday. Plastic surgeon took a small pc of her soft bone from her waist and joined in between her gum. So far her condition is quite well if compared with others patients. Her gum is not as pain as her waist. That day, after the opeartion, she tried to walk slowly by herself. She needs to do that in order to recover fast. But musn't walk too much cos her wound will split. Now, she can just drink or eat in liquid form but not solid food. You can call her @ +65xxxxxxxx or +65xxxxxxxx for J*.
*j is the maid

9 years ago, niece k was born with a cleft lip. cousin w went thru hell with her mom-in-law, coz according to chinese superstitions, a child was born with a cleft lip coz the mom handled sharp objects (like knife, scissors etc.) during the pregnancy. and because of her condition, niece k cried a lot during her baby-hood. it's such a torture feeding her (had to use special bottles)!

after a few months (forgot how many), niece k went thru a correctional operation. plastic surgery these days are a miracle, i tell u. niece k was a changed person! completely! other than a tiny scar above her left lip, u can't tell that she's had cleft lip! no one would know unless we tell them.

anyway, after that first surgery, niece k would need to go thru another surgery at the age of 9, when her gums and whatnot had taken a more definite form. and then that's it for the rest of her life! ain't science great?

when i called her just now, she sounded her cheerful and bubbly self. yeah, she can talk normally despite having had surgery on her gums! she just complained of a little pain when she walk. oh, and she's bored to death! hehe...

well, niece k is considered lucky because from what i read, approximately 35,000 chinese babies (in china) are born with cleft lips and palates each year and because of their defect, they are often abandoned at birth.

here's a pic of niece k, taken during cny this year. she's the one with maid j's arm around her (and dun tell me u dunno which is maid j!).

during cny

neeways, been reading up a bit on cleft lip on the net. and here are some facts (for those interested lar) copied from widesmiles:

- Fathers, as well as mothers, can pass on genes that cause clefting but some clefts are caused by environmental factors, which means it didn't come from Dad or mom.

- One child in 33 is born with some sort of birth defect. One in 700 is born with a cleft-related birth defect.

- Most cleft-affected babies are boys, however, it is not uncommon for a girl to be born with a cleft.

- If a person (male or female) is born with a cleft, the chances of that person having a child with a cleft, given no other obvious factor, rises to seven in one hundred.

- Some clefts are related to identifiable syndromes. Of those, some are autosomal dominant. A person with an autosomal dominant gene has a 50% probability of passing the gene to an offspring.

- Many clefts run in families, even though there does not seem to be any identifiable syndrome present.

- Clefting seems to be at least in part related to ethnicity, occurring most often among Asians, Latinos and Native Americans (1:500), next most often among persons of European ethnicity (1:700) and least often among persons of African ethnicity (1:1,000).

- A cleft condition is determined during the 4th to the 8th week of pregnancy. After that critical period, nothing the mother does can cause a cleft, and nothing a mother does can avoid the cleft. Sometimes it is determined even before the mother is aware that she is pregnant.


"Harelip" - The Dark History of an Unfortunate Word

The accepted and appropriate word that defines a birth condition in which facial tissues fail to fuse during gestation is 'cleft'. However, the parent of a cleft-affected child does not go far before hearing the term, 'harelip' instead. And we do not like that term. Why? Isn't it just a word? Most people don't mean anything negative by using it. Well, perhaps knowing the history of the term may help us to understand why it is so inappropriate. And so here, excerpted from an article from WIDE SMILES, is the dark history of the word, 'harelip'.

In the 16th century, it was a French Doctor who, when discussing a patient with a cleft, first coined the phrase that would be translated, "Lip of the Hare". In English it was more comfortably shortened to "HareLip". It was an unfortunate pairing of similes. The good doctor was only reflecting that the lip was split, as is the lip of a Hare (and every other rodent). But unfortunately for those who were born with a cleft, the hare had also long been associated with witchcraft!

It was believed throughout the dark ages and even to relatively recent times that a witch would often take the shape of a hare. And if a hare were to frighten a pregnant woman, she would give birth to a child bearing the mark.

In the 17th century the hysteria surrounding witchcraft rose to a new and frightening level. And it was during that time that the hare had become a symbol of Satan himself. A woman bearing a child with the mark of the hare, or a harelip, at that time, was thought to have had to have had relations with Satan. And thus, the cleft-affected child born of a woman, say, in Salem Massachusetts during the mid 17th century, in the midst of witchcraft hysteria would have condemned his mother to a violent end. That baby would have constituted "irrefutable evidence" of his mother's unnatural liaison with Satan.

Fast forward now to the 20th Century. Many people still use the term, "HareLip" when they mean to say, "Cleft Lip". Do they associate our children with Satanism and witchcraft? No, surely they don't. But it is nonetheless a term that has persevered in our language, long after a more accurate, more appropriate term has been coined.

At the very least, the term, "HareLip" likens our children to a common field rodent. It is not a soft, fluffy bunny. It is just a rodent. At the very most it harkens back to a darker past. A past that would never have happened were it not for massive hysteria on the part of a superstitious and almost militantly religious population. A past that condemned our children as the Devil's Seed, and condemned their mothers to death.

re-opened...

sorry for the password-ed setting yesterday. hehe...

i was on mc yesterday and my clg wants me to give my pc password to another clg, coz his own pc conked on him. so terpaksa give lor... and terpaksa faster-faster online from home to password-protect this site, lest this said clg is as kaypoh as the previous clg.

neeways, i'm still trying to figure out y some of u can't sign-in... blogger help is of no help at all... *sigh...

Monday, September 04, 2006

a morning shower

rainy night

tiny droplets fall

lightly, almost silently
soft veil for the night
the world awashed

so fine it's almost mist
a light curtain
for the september morn
surreal

Sunday, September 03, 2006

back to square one

hmm... seems like this new beta blogger version has a glitch somewhere. some of the readers in my list can't seem able to log-in. *sigh... well, it being beta, i should've known it's still in the trial stage n will cause some trouble. so i'm removing the password for now. i'll try to find out more from the blogger ppl...

for those who've signed-in successfully, u can use back ur gmail account to sign-in once the glitch has been rectified and the tightened security is reinstated.

Friday, September 01, 2006

upgraded security

as all of u may have noticed, i've included additional security here... i know it's quite tedious to have to sign-in everytime u come here, but please bear with me, ok? i'm still not comfortable having all my thoughts and musings be freely available in the www. with this added security, at least i know who is reading... sorry for the inconvenience caused! :)