Spare time is dangerous.

So the Chinese New Year holidays are coming up and my office will be closed starting tomorrow.

This is DANGEROUS. This means I will have lots of spare time on my hands. Only bad things happen when I have nothing to do.

I eat rubbish. Who doesn't? When on holiday, my diet changes to holiday food. It happens even on weekends. Will have to keep my eye on a goal and keep eating healthy and adding more exercise to my daily routine. My goal is to lose 10lbs by the end of the month (lost six since Jan 3rd) and I can't let the holidays make me look like the flake I have been. And I have a 5km target to help me have another focus if the 10lbs target loses its appeal.

I shop. With so much spare time, I have time to think. And bad things happen when I think. I'll think that I need things. Like 6 types of moisturisers for different sorts of moisturising needs. More shoes because a girl can never have enough shoes. Stuff in general, just in case. I already know I need DVDs and box sets. But I do! I found out I needed DVDs a few nights ago when I came home from work and had nothing to do for a couple of hours except think. It doesn't help that shopping is so appealing to the female species. No solution here.

I throw a pity party. I find I'm quite prone to pity parties, especially when there is idle time. Ugh. Hate that I do it, but I can't help it. Even if I had a dozen puppies running around in a million dollars in my living room.

A holiday would've been a great distraction but I'm still neutralising moving costs. The next break will be good. I promise me.

Retrospect 2011: Unresolved Resolutions

Before I go on about what I'm going to do differently next year, I thought it wold be worth reflecting at 2011's New Year Resolutions.

Resolution number one was to read more fashion magazines. Success. I bought many items which were not tank tops and second hand shorts. 

Resolution number two was to travel more. I obviously felt rich when I wrote this. I only made it to the UK, but was there for a good month. After that I could only travel to bars, and also had to save for my migration to the peninsula. Back and forthed three times since September. 10 check ins at the airport definitely counts as travelling more. Umm... Success!

Mandarin classes, shiatsu and beauty salons was number three. Pedicured three times then bought my own pedicure set because my pedicurists were too amazed at the state of my feet. Decided to "half-pedicure" my own feet before going to the salon so that the tsking would stop. It worked. No shiatsus nor Mandarin classes. One out of three. 

As I read the In Summary paragraphs, I ask myself why I thought I needed to smack talk. How embarrassing. Whatever did I mean by kicking ass? 2011 was a good year, but I can't wait to give it a proper send-off and be best friends with 2012. 

Chinese only

So, I've found a beautiful spacious room in an okay house in a great lowrise condo in the Damansara area. Although it wasn't that hard (I only looked at 2 other places before finding this one), it still felt like a long process because I had to look through tonnes of ads online.

I looked at least 50-60 advertisements on various sites, trying to find a room that was in a nice house, in a nice area. My list was narrowed down to about 7 or 8, and after successfully finding a place, I called the rest to let them know, and wished them luck in finding a new housemate.

Filtering through those ads was not easy and was mostly frustrating.

One reason was the words "Chinese only".

Almost all ads specified that I should be of the Chinese descent. At first, this didn't bother me. After about 30 ads, I began to hate the words "Chinese Female only". I called a couple of people who actually said "No" when I said I wasn't Chinese.

I eat pork. I do whatever else a Chinese person does. AND I smell good. Why can't I rent a room with you???

I got really frustrated and wanted to call each of the owners to give them a piece of my mind. Not that I would want to stay with them anymore, anyway.

But then, I managed to get a viewing at a Chinese only house by remembering that my mum is Chinese. Being half Chinese helped.

After visiting a house that advertised with the words "Chinese only", I realised that "Chinese only" was a warning. They would not be able to understand my crazy phone calls/conversations because they spoke Chinese only. I speak no Chinese. They spoke little English. I would have to explain all my jokes.

Awkward!

Photo randoms

Hello all, I was looking through my phone camera and thought a few of them deserve a space in the cyber world. 

Not owning a car in KL has its advantages. Things don't whiz past me. I get to take pictures. My mind has time to wander. 

Here are some pictures taken on my trips to everywhere. And the nonsensical thoughts that ensue.

This abandoned, broken bike has been here months, definitely for a while before I started walking this route. Too battered to have been stolen. I think an accident happened. The rider killed.

It says in smaller print: UNAUTHORISED PARKING WILL BE TOLL AWAY. Mind your Engrish. 

Did she get fed up of her heels getting planted in the ground and just kick them off? Or was there a struggle before she got pulled into the kidnapper's van?

Two days later and I'm still thinking about these red shoes. Were they my size? And if they were, would I wear them or would I be too creeped out about the kidnapped girl? 

How... hypocritical... 

In the parking lot. My guess is that the owner didn't think that that snapping sound was this coming off his car. 

Our public transport is filthy. This is one of the cleaner buses by RapidKL. Metrobuses are covered in 10 years' worth of grime and disease and people's boogers. 

This is on the way to viewing a condo at Metropolitan Square. I could tell I was going to be disappointed with what I would be seeing from the curtains on the windows along the way. The 'curtains' were made out of random pieces of cloth, newspapers, posters... And the unit I'd visited had dead baby cockroaches on the floor. 

On the pedestrian bridge I cross twice a day - once on the way to work and once on the way back - there is a skinny mother with a child that is always sleeping in her lap. They weren't there when I saw this, but I thought this might be his. Or it might've been anyone else's. Should I have picked it up to give it to them when I saw them again? I left it there in case someone came back to look for it. 

The man next to me - a foreign national, with a bleeding thumb. I thought about giving him the plaster in my handbag, but didn't think it would be of much use - his thumb bled too quickly. He got off at KLCC. 

This is the pedestrian bridge with the abandoned plastic doll, on a different day. In its place was a one-legged man, with his prosthetic propped up next to his head. When he awakes, he will sit right in the middle of the middle of the path, like a toll collector. But people will ignore him as they brush past him anyway. 

Apartment hunting in KL

To be precise, master bedroom hunting in PJ, Selangor. So the blog title is a bit of a misnomer, but I figured it rolls off the tongue a little easier.

Due to recent developments, I'll have to move to a different town within the next two weeks.

So I've been apartment hunting. Or master bedroom hunting.

I found my current place while I was still in the comfort of my desk at Fieldbase in KK. I found it online at ibilik.com and it was one of two rooms I'd considered. The other room was being rented out by an Iranian. My criteria was only that it be walking distance to work.

Carol, a friend of mine who lives in KL, was my proxy for the viewing. The Iranian went to Genting on the day the room was meant to be viewed and that annoyed both Carol and myself and earned an instant strikeout.

Luckily, room 2 was more than satisfactory. It's a tiny house with three rooms, and I have a room with that fits only a single bed and a wardrobe and a study table. The master bedroom  is occupied by the landlady and the other room by a girl and her brother.

At first, at 8ft x 10 ft, RM800 seemed expensive. But that was the price around the area, and mine included all the utilities, including internet and satellite t.v.

On my relocation now, I thought it would be just as easy. People who rent out places would definitely spruce things up to make it attractive to the tenant, right? So wrong.

In my head, I thought I'd be looking at places like these:

Somewhere in Colorado, US

Mentari Condo, Cheras

Vista Damai Condo, near KLCC

It didn't help that most ads for places to rent do NOT have photos to show what the product is. They'll have lots of photos of the building: the north side, what it looks like from this side of the road, then the other side of the road, about five feet away from where you were standing before, etc. Everything but the unit itself or the room for rent. Mega annoying.

As you see, I don't have high expectations, just realistic ones. I wasn't expecting a room that looked like Nate Berkus  just swished his magic wand in it. I did think it but after looking online at ads that did have pictures, I knew I wasn't going to get a room like any of these:

I went to two viewings last Sunday and was hopeful that either one would be IT and would be stress free as per usual. Unfortunately, despite the price and the descriptions that matched my "fully furnished master bedroom in a well maintained condominium" criteria, the first place I viewed looked more like

add lots of dead baby cockroaches on the floor. 

The second room was a bit more put together because there was already someone staying in the room, but the kitchen was practically like this: 

Very disappointing and disheartening but tonight I view two more rooms. They somehow sound a little more promising, but who knows! Wish me luck!

Weekend in Penang

Didn't take many photos on my weekend away in Ipoh and Penang. And when I did use a camera, it was with my borrowed HTC Desire HD. Although I did take shots without using a camera app of some sort, I'm posting just the ones with special effects, mostly because I think they make my plain pictures more interesting. 

IPOH - The capital of Perak. Ipoh was our breakfast stop on the first day and out late lunch stop on the way back. 

Taken with Retro Camera in Ipoh, Perak. We stopped there for lunch and had a bowl of chicken and prawn hor fun (and pork satay and beef noodle soup) in an old. I would recommend this shop, because it was absolutely delicious, but I don't remember the name of the shop!

Another thing Ipoh is famous for is the salted chicken. This shop had a PROPER queue outside, and when people walked out they had BAGS of the stuff. In retrospect I should have ordered a box for myself but at the time my IQ was a bit low to be thinking strategically.

And random images: 

PENANG - Now I know why the food is cheap. 

Here are some images from Penang. I shouldn't have played with the settings because I couldn't really see what was on my screen with the bright sun. I was disappointed to see that the setting that I was on made most of the picture blurry for the soft effect. The rest of these were taken with the Pudding Camera app. 

This was an abandoned building, but someone had put some decorations in it. Come to think of it maybe the whole row of this building was a live museum of some sort? No idea, but if you know, let me know.

This is not a drawing on the wall, but is actually a cast-iron piece placed about a foot away from the wall. You can see its shadow on the wall.

This is the view from our lunch venue on Jalan Datuk Keramat. In the back is a freezer a size of a house. Just above the two men sitting down there is a sign saying the shop is an ice-cream distributor. 

So, I finally experienced cheap Penang eats for myself but I have to say it's not all what it sounds like. Food is cheap and good, but the servings are significantly smaller. Not entirely a bad thing as it left space for more food, of different kinds!

Our trip was a really short one so I hope to head over to Penang again for a little more sight-seeing. Penang has lots of interesting colonial architecture left over from history and I'd like to get to know the place a bit more. If you have been to Penang, or are from there, do let me know if there are more reasons to visit Penang!

Am I still mad as hell? Every time I read the papers!

Came across this from Niamah

Are you still mad as hell?

A good friend of mine wrote this which I thought you all might like to read and think about...


Dear Malaysians, if you fail to be outraged by the multiple abuses of power by our Government in power, you are condoning their actions. 


There have been so many cases of corruption, crime and incompetence, they tend to wear down your resistance and sense of justice. 


They are banking on your inaction, lack of protest and defeatist attitude to continue their malpractices. 


As long as they stay in power, they make and break the rules. 


Stay outraged. Keep your fire burning. It is a marathon we need to complete to finish them. 


If you give up now, they will win again. Then, all will be lost.

Not everyone is interested

I had a blog outburst yesterday, lamenting the apathetic society that Malaysia is.

I must say though, that there are people who care, who think and are fully passionate about the state of the country, for which I am grateful. There just needs to be more of them.

There is hope for our future, I hope.

"Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person." - Mother Teresa

We All Get Old

Be fabulous when you are young, do all that you want, say all that you must. 

No, that isn't one of Zsa Zsa Gabor's quotes, it's what I just made up. Her quotes are mostly about men and about divorce. 

Today I read that Zsa Zsa has been hospitalised again. I remember her as all glamour and gorgeousness, so when I saw her photo today I didn't recognise her. Zsa Zsa has been partially paralyzed since a 2002 car accident that left her in a wheelchair. She also suffered a stroke in 2005.

Keep smiling, Ms. Gabor. 

Macho does not prove mucho.Zsa Zsa Gabor

Who cares?

I don't understand people who say they are patriotic and yet fail to join the fight for common rights regardless of race, religion and gender; protest against government wrong-doing and fearlessly act for a better country.

More and more I see that beyond most of my friends, there is little I have in common with the majority of Malaysians.

1. Today I read in the papers that the government, who is primarily against Seksualiti Malaysia (an awareness programme about the LGBT community), has said that there is no need to look out for the interest of minorities if it is going to upset the majority. If this is the policy we're meant to go by, then the nation is fucked.

2. Recently it was revealed that the government overspent the national budget on unnecessary and outrageous acquisitions. Examples quoted from an online news portal:

Bizarre overpricing — the National Youth Skills Institute (under the Youth and Sports Ministry) approved the purchase of a car jack that cost RM50 for RM5,700, a digital camera that cost RM2,990 was bought for RM8,254 and RM1,146 was paid for a set of technical pens with a market price of RM160.
Negligence — the Police Air Wing purchased two helicopters worth RM117.75 million, which could not be used, as they did not meet specifications. Another RM15.4 million was spent to train pilots to fly these helicopters.
Incompetence — Customs Department under-utilised its RM290 million information technology system but was planning to spend another RM451.30 million to develop a new one.
Source

I think there was a couple of days where the people went WTF and then dropped the subject. In a normal world where people care about their country and the future of their children, politicians should be held responsible for their actions and buck the fuck up or get out.

Instead we feed them with power through apathy and our fear to protest.

3. The rally for clean and fair elections was faced with persecution, abuse and threats, an entirely bewildering and frustrating episode in our nation's history. What's so shocking is that there ARE people who are against fair elections! WHAT PLANET ARE THEY FROM? Again, these are people who are so afraid to rock boats and are happy to sit in a pile of shit.

If you read the papers (like I unfortunately have to), you'll know there are neverending issues on various things (but hey, if you're Malaysian, you probably don't care).

If you don't read the papers, you'll just have to cross the littered pedestrian bridge to see 1- 5 beggars with a money plate for you to help fill. Or take a bus and witness migrants verbally abused by bus conductors because the migrant don't understand what "satu stengah" means. Then watch the same bus conductor giggle like a school girl as he tries out his English with the white man who has boarded a bus that he hopes will take him to his destination. See the man who has accidentally dropped his heavy plastic bag to spill the contents out be pushed about by irritated people going down the stairs at an LRT station.

Love thy country. I'll try not to scoff. I know there are some positives to this country. I'll write about them another time when I am not so angry about the un-awesome majority.

It's not hard to see that I live in a nation that lacks empathy, a people who will fight only for the interest of their own race and religion (not all, just one, and guess which one), and apathetic towards issues that are going to slap them in the face in the future.

Who cares?