SeMiNit wAkTu..

went there yesterday with my dad, mom & little sister.

i've been under stress for quite a while now, and so to relieve it i did this:


bought myself a new camera bag.

ahem.

just kidding. i bought this:


my very first dslr!

just a basic one though. the exact same model yuna's promoting now, aka yuna's camera.

and yeah. its red in color!

i'm not sure if i got it at a bargain though. i was not planning to get a canon actually, because i dislike it's on-lens image stabilization system. this means upgrading the system is very pricey since we have to buy pricier lenses that have the IS system built in. which is also why i'm shying away from nikon.

i was actually thinking more along the likes of sony, pentax or olympus because their IS system is built in the body. but a few inquiries made at several shops at berjaya times square & lowyat plaza discouraged me from pursuing those brands. seems like in malaysia, its either canon or nikon. and we are talking about the availability of spare parts in malaysia.

so i ended up with canon. the salesman from the last (the third actually) shop managed to convince me to get canon. and the price was within my range too, eventhough the total system (1 camera, 1 kit lens, 1 pancake lens, 1 polarizing filter, 1 UV filter, 1 cleaning kit, 1 tripod & exclusive canon camera bag) cost me more than half of my salary. i was not crazy enough to go from one store to the other just to compare prices, thats why i mentioned earlier that i'm not sure whether the price is really cheap. all i did for price comparison was checking the price at the shashinki.com website. and since the price the salesman quoted me was below the price of the exact same thing on shashinki.com, i dont hesistate in buying it.

half a month of my monthly salary. wow.
but i'm saying, "hey, i deserve it".

so i've been goofing around with my new toy since this evening when i got home. see the result below:

the winner is, of course, abba.

meryl streep and il divo - well, u've tried ur best.

i was having lunch with one of the managers from another team when he asked me how do i find working there.

to which i answered,

"hmmmm.... very hard to say...."

and tried to switch the subject.

he wouldnt let it drop though.

"i noticed that your teammates have not extended their warmest welcome to u..."

"err... well, yeah.. not really..."

"i think it shouldnt be that way.. considering u are a newbie here....."

hah. ki no sei janakattanda.

still need to find a way to break through this barrier.

sigh.


update: i recently found out that this could be nothing personal. they just dont like my boss. haa... spillover effect? what am i supposed to react to that piece of intel?

while the week was hellish (i was made bad in front of everyone which resulted in me not going to japan this month end. but thats another story), the weekend did bring some feel-good moments which made my day.

yesterday morning after subuh prayer (and a 3-hour sleep), i sped off to melaka to my alma mater where i took my pmr exams when current form 5 students were only babies. there was a career event for form 5 students organized by the school alumni so i signed up to be one of the speakers. must thank zue for alerting me to this program.

the last time i went back to my old school was 4 years back, when our batch celebrated the 10th anniversary of high school graduation - although i did not graduate there but i still feel closer to that school and my friends there than the school where i graduated from.

even though i'm heavily involved in my japan alumni activities, this was the first time i participated in such programs organized by the school alumni. come to think of it, i doubt if i've registered myself as a member - another action item for me. insha allah, if God wills it, i will still commit myself to this program in the future.
 
so yesterday, i got myself 2 speaking slots. well, 3 actually, but the first 2 was on the same topic but to different audiences. in the morning i promoted studying in japan to a bunch of future engineers (there seems to be a declining trend in the number of applications for scholarships to japan post 2011 earthquake-tsunami-nuclear crisis) and what i know about becoming/being an engineer, while in the afternoon, i talked to the whole batch of form 5 about the industry i'm working for, as part of the career awareness campaign that my department has embarked on.

i'm going to give myself a pat at the back for being such a convincing speaker. before i talked to the kids for each session, i asked how many of them wanted to study in japan. both sessions saw only 3-4 hands raised. but after blabbering for 30 minutes or so, when i asked again the same question, all of them raised their hands. i mean, what else could i ask for after getting my saliva all dried up from talking?

as for the afternoon session, i still managed to engage the students, but alas, these old bones had a limit after all. lack of sleep and excessive talking in the morning and during lunch (i made full use of the time i was there to talk to the students, even when eating lunch), together with nasi minyak + ayam masak merah, made me very sleepy. tell me, what can be more dangerous than having a sleepy speaker, other than sleepy audience? so i tried to wrap up my afternoon talk as fast as could be decently done. i hope i did manage to create awareness to the students about the industry.

the program was held for 2 days actually, saturday and sunday. i had packed my bag and was ready to have a good time having a barbecue with the rest of the speakers and committee members but alas, i had to go home after my afternoon session, which was also a blessing in disguise actually, because this morning, i was struck with a very bad tummy cramp that rendered sitting up impossible. luckily i was in the comfort of my own bed rather than being in some strange place, or worse, in the car while driving.

all in all, being back at my old school and talking to my super duper juniors was time and money and energy well spent. i like doing it and i'm glad i did it. it took my mind away from office (hanky panky) stuff for a day. a brief but very much needed respite.

tomorrow is monday. i have to get ready for another battle in the office.

if there's one thing that i remember from my schooling years, it'll be my Form 1-3 science teacher, cikgu isa, drumming this into our young, impressionable heads:

for things to change, i must change first.

sadly though, fast forward to the 21st century, i do not heed to cikgu isa's teaching.

u know why, despite my vow to just enjoy the saturday, by 4pm, i was already back to my laptop, and no surprise, working.

sigh.

right after breakfast (i had 2 1/2 piece of cheese utthapam *gasp*), i watched downton abbey (again!) with my mom & abo, to finish off season 2. by the time we finished the christmas special, i was too lazy to go out, and so was my sister. a text message from my boss prompted me to open my work laptop, eventhough when i replied him, i said i'd take a look at whatever it was that he sent me later tonite.

but me being me, being unchanged me, just have to get back to work, like there is no tomorrow.

dont get me wrong. i'm not sucking up my boss. have yet to learn the art of doing that though.

so what am i trying to prove then?

i just dont like leaving things hanging in the air.

i want closure.

good morning malaysia!

i wonder what's happening out there in KL, with the Bersih 3.0 gathering and all. having shunned social media (i dont do FB unless someone sends me a message there, and i dont have twitter account, or whatever it is that people use now) and being anti-social myself (its true, despite my job now that requires lots of meeting people), i'm quite in the dark of the going-ons outside my own surrounding, until i read/hear/watch them on mainstream media. but for everyone's sake, i pray that there be no violence. otherwise, selling malaysia to foreign investors (which is what i do now) will be a very very tough thing to do.

aaahhh... saturday morning, at home and in bed.... what a wonderful thing to do. i am determined to be cheerful today and not let anyone to spoil my mood. frown and scowl (and yeah.. tears) - get away from my face!

lets see.... what's my plan like for the day.

joining the rally?? nah... i'm apolitical. if anything, i hate crowd and crowded places. unless if it means the opportunity to grab a (few) coach at 70% discount at the outlet store in Gotemba on new year day. *grin*

the Bersih 3.0 thingy renders going out to KL impossible. so, if my sister is still persistent about it, i'm going out to alamanda later today to watch julia roberts in mirror mirror, or maybe salivate over chris evans in the avengers. but most probably chris evans will win. hahaha. yesterday my sister sorted out all my tudungs, and in return, i promised to bring her to the movies, popcorn inclusive. sisters bonding it is for today then.

and i'm promising myself to only look at my work email on monday and not think about it until then.

or. well, maybe at least until tonite.

 ..and i'm still working!!

4 weeks in a row now, working on friday nights.

no wonder i'm in a constant foul mood nowadays.

luckily tomorrow i can have the time off. and also my boss granted me one replacement leave for working 3 saturdays straight, even though the company rule states RL is only if i work on sunday. i'm soooooo going to stow away my company laptop under my bed and not think about it until monday morning.

i do really need to get a life. a life other than working.

2:52am : hey there. how are u. just checkin' on u. hope u're okay with ur work n all. cheers.

msg read at 4 something. tossed n turned, self-debating whether should send a reply.

5:45am : no not really. thx for asking anyway.


somehow the rules have changed.

i'm old. i know.

i've been toying with this idea for quite a while now.

maybe i'm meant to die young.

just thinking out loud.