The prophecy fulfilled...

Haha, 'prophecy' is probably too grand a term but I guess I was right in a way. Monday came, and right now it's a Thursday... sure enough, I have no mood to eat. I actually had only ONE meal yesterday. Hope this doesn't last too long.

I had plans for Monday lunch though. The night before, I bought me a loaf bread, some tuna spread, turkey ham, salad, self-made salad dressing (olive oil with grounded almonds some spices), and cheese spread. These were supposed to be the raw materials for my Monday 'bento'. Good news is, the meal was satisfying *mmhmmmm*. Bad news is, the meal occured on Sunday night itself :P So yeah, Monday was back to boring Dengkil fruits :P

On another note, a friend recommended a broadway soundtrack for a show called 'Rent'. Odd that I never actually heard of it, but he shared some samples from the soundtrack and I'm truly enjoying the songs the more I listen to them. Wonder if it's available locally. Time to go checkout a music store this weekend, hopefully.

Alright, better get back to work :P Wonder what the boss will think if he knew that bloggin' was happenin' durin' office hours. *I wonder*

Food galore~

Though I can't honestly claim that my appetite's back on track, I *can* claim that I had 2 nights satisfying meals. Had Japanese food on Friday night with 2 close friends; you have no idea how good it felt that night. It was probably the first meal in weeks that really 'touched the soul', haha.

Then there was Saturday, and the 'Pork Team' strikes back =Þ Yeah, I know it's a lame name, but at least we have one. Oh, the team includes my colleagues and me. We are trying to have a general food outing each month (if possible), and yesterday marks our 2nd outing. Location: Tanjung Harapan, Klang. Food: Seafood, Klang style (read as cheap and delicious, hehe). Man I was stuffed that night. I need to eat more seafood *drool*.

I just dread Monday *sigh*. Something tells me my lunch is gonna go back to routine 'urk, dun feel like eating' mood. We need good food in the green desert of MSC... desperately so.

Holy yikes~!

I was checking out this site today: http://bash.org/?random

Do check it out... some of these 'quotes' are really hilarious. Anyway, I happened to come across one about driver's license. It struck a note that compelled me to check my license... and to my horror, I learnt of a sorry truth.

It expired 3 months ago! =O And I was oblivious to it, thinking I had a whole year left =P Need to renew it first thing tomorrow morning. Let's just hope no 'uncle' in uniform decides to say hi to me tonight. THAT would be utter coincidence, OR someone cast 'Drain Luck 100 points for 12hrs' :P

To accidentally go where no man should have ever gone before...

Just a thought. Probably best left unsaid =Þ

Don't think, just act!

I've personally used that line a few times too many in my daily life. Now that I think about it, can't say that I've been following my own words much... at least not in recent history. I guess it's due time I took some proactive steps to spice things up in life again. After all, I remember times when I did what I wanted... and it felt good :P

For starters, I called up a language center this morning. In fulfillment of 2-years worth of New Year's resolutions that have gone unattended, I've finally taken my first step to fix that problem :) What about? Simple: Mandarin lessons. Since I have a HUGE number of Chinese friends, it would be socially (and professionally) sound to pick it up eventually. Enrolled in an introductory conversation lesson to be held sometime this coming July. I quote a friend:

Yi hou ke yi gen ni jiang hua yu le.

Hehe. Too bad I can't claim that I can recite the above correctly due to the intonation mangling that romanization causes =D Not yet at least :)

What else? Let's see... a colleague(s?) dared me to chat up with the *only* indian girl in the office. Trainee under a different project. Neva found her interesting, but the rest of 'em don't seem to leave it at that. So sure, thought I could shut 'em up at least... and who knows, she could be interesting... or so I thought. Let's just say my impression before and after the conversation didn't change much. Same goes to the other 2 trainees who were with her. Why? I have no idea... I usually go with the 'aura' excuse. Some ppl just don't exude the 'aura' that grabs your interest. But the point is, I initiated a conversation with someone I probably wouldn't have ever chatted up with under normal circumstances.

Oh, I asked a close friend out for breakfast. It was a meet-up that was 3 years delayed, no thanks to our clashing schedules and various other lame excuses :P Was fine and dandy with all the quick planning and single-tracked motivation of getting it dealt with. Unfortunately, even with all that effort, it didn't work out coz friend had last minute rescheduling of work. Probably gonna postpone it a week or two... shall hope my determination doesn't fizzle. Momentum of 'just act' feeling is strong at the moment, so I wouldn't worry too much.

Well, I guess 3 'motivated' acts for 3 days is kinda uplifting. Hopes there's more to do next week, hehe. Alright, it's now 2am on a Sunday morning. ZZZzzz...

Being brief...

6:30pm on a Friday, and no plans for later. Need the rest, so its fine. But the weekend is a black void for now. Hope I can come up with something interesting to make use of the time. Shall write more when something worth mentioning pops up in my head.

Another weekend flew by...

Just got home from my weekly badminton games, got my shower and am snacking away at what I would deem a 'light' dinner (by my standards). Just a burger and a few nuggets. My colleagues would probably be screaming blasphemy at this and I bet they'd (predictably) respond with "Where're the other TWO burgers?". *sigh* Well, I'm happy with my meal right now.

Tiring weekend, it was. Saturday was the most tiring day I've had in a while. Had to drive to and from Sitiawan (Perak) for a cousin's wedding. Being the 'appointed' driver (felt more like slavery), I also had to drive my aunt back to KL on our way back. All in all, that was 600+ km in a day... and all on my expense. I actually didn't mind the trip itself; I just hate the driving part. Unlike my sis, I don't enjoy driving. I absolutely *hate* it when I'm driving alone! Which is why I really don't mind driving if there's company. But long distance is still a no-no UNLESS it was my idea or I'm eager to head somewhere. *cough* holiday *cough* =Þ

Today was pretty eventless aside from the huge amount of catching up I needed to do for a freelance project and preps for a product demo on Monday. Having lost my Saturday, unday sure felt like it was speeding past me unnoticed. I did encounter one moment of revelation close to lunch hour, when I was out in town sending mom to wherever she needed to go to do whatever she needed to do... Yup! Thats my standard Sunday morning schedule. Anyway, it went like this:

We were headed to a florist, but the shop was on the other side of the road (They're ALWAYS on the other side of the road!) and we needed to make this redundant turnabout. While stuck in queue at the turnabout, I happened to notice this elderly man pedalling his mobile drink stall towards the town. He was old, no doubt, and the load was definitely heavy. His pace was slow, and you could just feel the effort needed by looking at him. I was somewhat... inspired. It's rare to see such diligence and drive for survival. Sure, ppl would say it was just a drinks stall... but I'll argue that for that man, that stall could be his only means of survival. You don't even know whether he has a family he can depend on... what more a family that he alone may need to feed? I don't know why but that few seconds of observation triggered severe neurological activity in my head.

Well, that's just the intro :P I still had to take the turnabout, which means I was sure to pass the elderly guy again. Which I did, btw, but he wasn't cycling anymore by then. He had the unfortunate mishap of probably going over a pothole or something (I'm guessing) coz half of his stuff were on the road. He was picking them all up as I passed.

Our stop was quite a distance away. While mom does her purchases, I usually sit it out in the car. This time, I was distracted. I was seriously compelled to go give assistance to the old chap. I could barely get a glimpse of him from the rear-view mirror, but I tried anyway. I only got half the distance before he managed to get back on-the-road. Well, couldn't be a good samaritan today... but then I also managed to observe the harsh reality of our generation (or younger?).

It was close to the heart of town, and many people frequent the area. There were at least 2 groups of healthy, young human beings (notice I'm not using the generic 'people' term) who happened to pass the old man... just like how I passed him earlier, but they were on foot. The disappointing thing was no one BOTHERED to even offer the guy a hand. Heck, from my vantage point, I could SEE them looking at him the same way the average M'sian stares at anything remotely intriguing (mind you, the M'sian definition of 'intriguing' seriously needs reconsideration). Some things don't need thought... everyone keeps mentioning that we M'sians are a caring society. I will admit that there are several occasions I've seen this 'care' that gets proudly lauded about, but I've seen more instances of the exact opposite. You see it in the public transport services, you see it at banks.. heck, anywhere there's a crowd! True, some ppl actually DO have a thought crossing their minds to actually help, but for some odd reason... they won't act upon it.

As I was saying, it doesn't take much thought, if any at all. Maybe I'm blowing it out of proportions, and maybe I was just disappointed I couldn't get to the old-timer in time to help him... I still think it was heartless for them to not even offer.

And all that thought... just from observing a complete stranger and the microscopic events that revolved specifically around him in what would be an inconsequential ordeal over the macroscopic bustle of the town.

Ok, I'm at my last Chicken Tenders =Þ Time to get back to work, hehe.

The unknown

It's half past one, and I'm a bit sleepy from lunch and boredom. Would love to take a nap, but not sleepy 'enough' to actually benefit from a nap. Perhaps in a moment's time *grin*.

Feel rather peculiar. In fact, I've felt rather odd over the past 2 and a half weeks. My appetite is not what it used to be, that's one. I *love* to eat, so it comes as a surprise that now, even when I'm hungry, I just can't stomach the meals (is that considered a pun?). Point in fact: I've had 2 lunches this week in which I did not empty my plates. Heck, I left at least half of my meal unfinished. Why? I have no idea~

I'm not going through any emotional state of mind, nor am I stressed out from work at the immediate moment. Work is work, for now. Family's all fine; Income seems steady; Friends are in touch; Movies have been watched; I mean, nothing seems out of the ordinary... except for this eating disorder. Kinda ticks me off that I can't put a finger on it, that's all.

Well, hope the day doesn't get held back by it. Need to get my nap now :P

The weekend's over!?

It's Monday, 1am. In 7 hours from now, I'm gonna think back to this very moment and curse my stubborn-ness for not getting in to bed sooner. As much as the average working person dreads a Monday, it comes as a surprise to me that I can't get a good nights sleep... especially since we actually WANT to sleep more just because the chance won't come again for another 5 days *sigh*.

Saturday was quite an eventful (and blazingly hot) day. My youngest cousin brother had a church wedding. Simple and short, just the way I like it. Crowd was not bad... not too large, not too small. Too bad I didn't know half the ppl there; most were his church friends. Made an acquaintance with a lady named Ester. Chatty woman in her early 50's (I'm guessing). She sure didn't hesitate to invite me to her church, haha... and that was before we even exchanged our names. Awkward, that :P Oh, did I mention that the bridesmaid was HOT!? I don't mean in a slender, sensual, and drop-dead-gorgeous kind... more like elegant, sweet, regal, etc. She had a beautiful nose, too (yeah, I have this 'thing' for eyes and noses).

Then came the dinner. That was NOT the best of events for me; kinda spoilt the end of what could've been an interesting day. Seating arrangements were messed up big time, no thanks to Malaysian civility. I was supposed to be seated right up front with the groom's family (we're the closest to his family, hence the honour). Imagine my surprise when we got there and our table was taken by god-know-who! Didn't wanna make an issue out of it since a lot of people have apparently been 'ousted' from their rightful places.

Then there was the MC who kept making lame jokes. The audio system was appalling... way too loud on the higher frequencies; paired with mid-range speakers, and you get the perfect disaster. The audio-guy (anyone knows what they're called?) had a poor taste of songs for the occasion, plus his volume control 'sense' needed major tweaking. I had a feeling someone forgot to tell him the obvious: It's a WEDDING dinner, not a disco party. Food was cold, servings were small, plus they weren't particularly delicious. Disappointing, considering it was a hotel-organized dinner.

Thank heavens for some close friends who decided to go 'mamak'-ing later that night. Was hungry, but my appetite was dead... so only managed to join them for drinks and friendly chatter. Feels good to meet... with the recent spree of work and more work, it was a refreshing assurance that the simpler thing in life are indeed more satisfying than the lavish :)

Nothing much to be said about Sunday. Boring, hot, and... oh god! I forgot to wash my car today *slaps forehead*. Looks like gotta wake up earlier a bit to give it a quick wipe. Oh, one last thing. Mom made vegetarian muffins~... Yes, vegetarian coz it contains no eggs! Turned out really good I must say. She makes cakes frequently, but I'm not a fan of standard butter cakes, however these muffins were a sellout to me. Shall brainwash her to make more of them, hehe.

It's 1:40am. Monday...

Work can be a Pretzel

Well, I gotta hand it to myself that I'm posting twice within 7 days. Quite an achivement, for now.

Anyhow, its gotta be the most messed up week in a while. Had all sorts of meetings that I neva knew existed; or I just ignored their existence until now. It's amazing how people get any work done with so many meetings getting in the way. Someone should make it a global policy that reads 'Less meetings, more l33t-ings' =Þ Ok, that was lame... but I defend its intention. Striking a balance between the two is a SERIOUS consideration that I wonder how many people actually take into account.

Boring stuff aside, just finished a rather private discussion (during office hours... man, this is screwed up) with a close colleague of mine. It's a 'she', and no, I'm not interested in her in 'that' sense. Thought the topic of discussion was the small gossip going around the office about just that. Can't a guy and a girl be close friends? Sheesh... and to think grown-ups would have some sense of maturity. I'm just glad we were both fine with the gossip since we get the last laugh. Since from my point of view, she's the 'unknown' equation, it would have sucked if she took it personal and caused things to go awkward in what is a simple, satisfying friendship. I feel so nice having so many easy-going, understanding friends. I only wish more would follow suit and grow-up (IF a colleague ends up reading this by some god-forsaken strike of luck; yeah I'm talking 'bout YOU!)

As for the fact that it's a Friday evening and all I have in plans are to head home to a vegetarian dinner and do some freelance web-stuff, and do a bit more Flash application prototyping... HOLY COW! Putting it in words sure puts things in perspective: I NEED A LIFE :P

Btw, neva realised that KLIA is only 50 minutes to-and-fro my office. Useless fact, but just thought of ending this post with something totally unrelated :P