moving back...

It was a mixed emotion for me. I felt both sad and happy. Sad for leaving my new friends in JB and happy to go back to the metropolitant city of Kuala Lumpur.

I've started packing and selling off some of my belongings to friends. I don't think I would be able to lug them back to KL. What with my queen size bed and 21 inch television.

I remembered the first day I arrived in JB about a year ago like it was yesterday and now Im leaving. Im going to miss Vivo. Not the food but the fond memories we shared there. The cheap buffet. Eat till you drop during that long lunches. Me, Baike, Carol and Ipah. Don't know when I'll be back to visit. I have a feeling it would be for a long time.

Bye JB!

news

It was official today. We are going to close down all our branches - Johor Baru, Malacca, Penang and Ipoh - starting on Oct 1.

What a sad ending. After almost a year doing all the ground works, its all going down the drain. Well actually not really down the drain.. but it was flushed down the septic tank!

For more than 12 months, our team that comprised only five people had work hard to introduce ourselves, the establishment that we represented, our intergrity and our sincerety in boosting good rapport, good governance and pure social responsibilty for the Johoreans for our newspaper.

In the end, this work did not benefit our paper instead our parent paper who had just gone tabloid who sashayed their way into our market and reaped the benefits. Talking about siblings rivalry!

Now I felt like one of those Akademi Fantasia student whose name had been announced by Aznil for the weekly elimination rounds.

Merdeka

Happy Merdeka Day

Since early this month I kept hearing the patriotic songs especially Tanggal 31 sung by Allahyarham Sudirman. I love the song. I have been singing that song since I was still in school. It was the time when we fly our Malaysian flag. That time it was still known as Bendera Malaysia not the Jalur Gemilang.

I don't feel anything about Merdeka Day except that it was school holiday and we got to watch the parade on the television. Mom always woke me up around 8am. "Dik, tak nak tengok tv ke? Merdeka hari ni."

And I would ran from the bedroom with the taik mata and all, parked myself in front of the black and white television (where some people those days turned their broken tele into an aquarium because it has flaps that goes left and right) and watched the two hour parade aired by RTM1 at 8am.

Dad never brought me to watch the actual parade in front of the Sultan Abdul Samad building. In fact, dad was always working that public holidays. So, I never seen the colourful costumes worn by those participants, but it doesn't bother me at all because the next day, he will bring back the Berita Harian or the Utusan Malaysia so that I can see the colourful pictures of the Merdeka Parade.

Now, each time I hear the Tanggal 31, I will always remember our black and white tele. How I will start watching the television from 8am - the Merdeka Parade - to cartoons, the old Malay movies such as P.Ramlee's Sarjan Hassan to my favourites Ultraman and He-Man.

And I will always remember my mom shouting "Mandi!"

Now it was my nephew's turn to hum that Tanggal 31 song but instead of...
Tanggal tiga puluh satu
Bulan lapan lima puluh tujuh....

he changed the lyrics
Tanggalkan seluar kamu
Bulan lapan beli seluar baru...

I wonder.....

Treasure Hunt

Its been a long time since I participated in Treasure Hunt.

Last week, Jules called and point blank told me that she included my name in Treasure Hunt and to make sure that I got off day at least today.

Lucky that Boss gave me four days off. A consecutive four days off. Well I deserve the four days off. I was working like a slave for the past 13 days!!

I shot down to KL yesterday and reached the office around Iam, waited for Jules to end her duty and went back home. Slept for about an hour then have to wake up and prepare for the day.. yikes!

Its the Malaysia Airport Berhad's treasure hunt. We participated two years ago and ended up the last to arrive.. hahaha.. thanks to Lan who was driving my Kancil and us who treated the hunt more like Jalan-Jalan Cari Makan programme.

This time, the treasure hunt is from KL to Malacca. We vowed not to be the last. We've upgraded our transport, from Kancil to Kelisa hahahaha.

I met my hunt-associates for the first time today.. so let me introduce.
Em - the owner and the driver of the one-year-old purple automatic Kelisa
Me - the lacked of sleep navigator.
Jules - the riddle solver claimed to be "only operating in the afternoon"
Azni - the novice riddle solver (not bad I tell you.. not bad)

By the way, I envied Em's Kelisa.. its spic and span and have many cute bunnies and teddies everywhere.. and I mean everywhere..

Ok back to the hunt.
We reached MAB after about an hour waiting for Azni in front of the office around 7.30am. Queue and took our goodie bags from the counter. I met MAB representative Faizal.. hey! Surprised! He still remember me. After changing into the red t-shirts (2 years back it was green) and listening to the last minute instruction.. we were ready to be flagged off! Yieppie!

I beg your pardon?

I was waiting for my turn at the clinic just now. It was my annual-ear-infection and follow-up day. It was boring waiting at the reception area.

Then there was this Chinese lady who was there earlier smiled at me. I smiled back. She asked me why I was at the clinic. I told her that there was a swell in my right ear. So I asked her illness.

"Oh my ears have hole in the middle." She told me frankly.

I beg your pardon?

"I was picking my ear when my son just sort of slammed on me and the ear pick went through my ears."

She was straight faced when she told me this. I was astonished first then laugh.

Err.. sorry, not trying to be insensitive but it was so bizarre.

"Yeah. It happened about two months ago. I can hear this wooshing sound, like gush of winds went through my ears."

Was there a lot of blood?

"There was. I came here for the past two weeks. Its ok now. The hole's getting smaller. By the way.. the price here was expensive eh?"

Err.. yeah. Quite.

Suddenly the nurse called her name for her medication and next appointment. She took out RM100 and another RM10 notes from her wallet.

On the way out we smiled at each other.

And I was still smilling an hour later.

Still on the Endau-Rompin saga.

This time the Third Boss called me today and asked what update we got on the aloeswood thieves.

Again, told him that we did not get any picture of the illegal campsite. He asked me why not send the photographers there. Told him that we need a guide first to go inside the forest and the police did not have anybody to spare for us. Not even orang asli.

"Are'nt they (photographers) orang asli?" hahahaha

Duh? Its a joke?

Paris and forest?

I don't know that Paris and Endau Rompin national park has many similarities.

First. Paris is considered brick forest while Endau Rompin is.. well dense forest?

Second. Parisian is non-humans?

Forgive me. Im not demented. Neither lost my mind. (Is'nt that the same thing?). Anyway, we were doing some follow-up on the aloeswood theft in national park, so we need to brief the second boss in KL. Since Mersing is far far away from Johor Baru, we normally get our story over the phone.

This time Da Boss want a picture of the illegal campsite, so I told him that it may not be possible to get the pictures now as the campsite was deep in the forest and the police would only be able to provide the pictures after two weeks.

so here's my conversation with Da Boss.
me : The OCPD said that we can get the pictures later. They only come out from the forest two weeks later.
DB : In that case you can send someone to go there.
me : Err.. its only the two of us girls today. Three went on leave and both of us had morning assignments
DB : This is the time for you to prioritise. Anyway, you have experience right. You went menjelajah (his actual word). You went to Paris.
me : (Confused) yeah.. but in Paris if I get lost, I can always ask for direction but in forest, who to ask? monyet? hehehehehe
DB : hehehe. Try to get the picture.

Here you go. If you think that Paris is one of the best European city, don't save money and take leave or even thinking of spending 13-hours in flight.

Instead, why not take a drive down south and up to Mersing and spend time in the Endau Rompin National Park.. you may see the communication tower.. nope.. its Eiffel Tower, but don't think of climbing it, maybe you get electrocuted.

And yes. The next time you saw monkey on tv... remember, they are Parisian, hahahaha.

countesses..

went a day trip to KL this morning. Was thinking of buying power cable/cord for my laptop.. yikes! RM40 a piece.. thinking thinking.

Supposed to have dinner with Jules but she said 6.30pm was too late and she had to man the desk. Wokey! Asked Sue instead.

Decided to have dinner at Strudle Bangsar. OK. Had chicken chop, Sue ordered speghetti meatballs and Zurd took the fish and chip.

Had a jug of Berry Dream for the three of us.. hahaha the colour was so red that almost look like blood.

We are the countesses of Dracula from the land of Transilvania drinking the virgin sacrificed blood..

why virgin? hehehehe over induldged with the liquid sugar..

Glued to seat today. Just felt so lazy to get up even to go down for lunch. *terrible*

Called Batu Pahat CID chief for my routine rounds. Told me that there was a murder today and I had to get the details from the OCPD.

Called the OCPD and got scolded for calling him late in the afternoon..

"Im playing golf la. Nanti I suruh my boys to call you back."

Cheh! Hantu golf rupanya.

Waited for the story and its already past 6pm when suddenly a call came in. Yep, from the IO. Got scolded again. "Apalah susah sangat nak dapat ni." Apa taknya.. he asked for Utusan Malaysia. Podah!

Got the story and after typing... tada! not even 15 para.

hehehe...

I put the weather pixie today and clicked on random for my boy/girl indicator... today my girl is wearing a bikini...

me in paper

saw myself in paper today.. lansing.

Got pushed to do so since I escaped any games that the organiser organised during the press night.

not a pretty picture.

So boring today so called Jules.

She sounded happy though. Out of the blue she asked me to go for another trip in January next year..

ahem! forgotting something? We should do our umrah first before going elsewhere...

Ya lah..

Life is ordinary.. until you make it extra-ordinary

It all started three hours ago at a Press Night organised by Pulai Spring Resort..

It was the first time I attending such function organised especially for the Presss men and women (politically correct) since I was transferred here in Johor in August 2003.

And I guess I need to tell about my mundane life here.. its so mundane its bordering boring.. I need to get away. AGAIN.

Anyway, about last nighth...

I was not keen to attend though not just I am always a bit of anti-social but because it has a specific theme. This time it was a night at the ranch.

Actually, everybody need to dress up as cowboys or cowgirls and being me, I got nothing to wear except my jeans shirt and pants. I have a cow stuffed pillow in my car but don't feel like carting it around.

We were late. We as in me and Baike. We thought that we can finish early by 5pm but of course Boss always got some things that he want to clarify so we ended up chained to the chair until 7pm.

Sent Baike back to her house. She came out with checkered shirt and jeans.. not bad. Then to my house. Changed and zoom to Pulai Spring.

Well, it was already 9pm and I was so hungry I can eat a horse. Luckily or unluckily there was no horse. Made a bee line to the food area and concentrated eating. Its an open air affair, so it was not that bad..

Got a bit confused with the array of food though. Besides sirloin steak, sausages and salads, I found nasi goreng, squid and pasta.. eik? should this be a night in the ranch?

And why was the host said "its time to lansing" rather that c'mon its time to knock your boots off or something along the line?