First of 2018

Dear Pipsqueaks,

Not sure where to start this post, so I'm just gonna write.

2018 had started off kinda like the free-fall slide at Sunway Lagoon - you get into the tube and the fella gives you a thumbs up to confirm your ready, but you stand there alone not knowing when you will actually drop...and when you open your mouth to try and say something...you drop. Hard.

I've got so much emotion built up inside for the last few months maybe even longer than that, I honestly feel like I was pretty close to losing it. BUT, I didn't. I went home to Vancouver and met up with all my old school and badminton friends. It wasn't like we did anything special - had meals, walked around and spent some time catching up - yet, it seemed to fill a hole somewhere. I needed that, and I was so glad everyone just stayed the same. Just like how I remembered. Home.

Then came Chinese New Year. Well, before that happened, it was probably the closest I've gone to the cliff. Let's just say, I now have a very special feeling towards Valentine's Day. And Christmas. And New Years. It's a bit awkward because I used to love that time of the year, but now I'd rather just not go there. So please, let's fast forward to SUMMER!

Selamat 2017

Dear Pipsqueaks,

I'm not going to start by saying, "it's been a long time since I last updated here!", because that's lame! Not going to start the first post of 2017 that way, and I certainly want to stop writing that. I need to find time and space in my mind to just sit down and write write write. Just yesterday, a friend had asked me about blogging, and the weirdest thing happened. I found myself talking non-stop about how amazing it is to blog, why she should do it, and how to set up the blog. I suppose that's what passionate people are like?

Yes, I'm passionate about blogging! Can't you tell? Okay, if you can't tell that I've changed to a whole new template, then you're a horrendous subscriber! Well, actually it's not completely your fault. I just haven't written anything for so long...brain becomes a bit scared to go full out. That's also not healthy because it just means my brain is STUCK! I don't want it to be stuck...so here I am! New look and feel which will hopefully bring me back to writing-mode.

So before I move into 2017, I want to highlight a few things about 2016:

• attended Thai friend wedding in Bangkok
• moved into a new area - new condo
• met up with baddy girls Monica Mui and Alice Man in Singapore
• hosted my friend Alice Man (hopefully she enjoyed her mini-KL getaway)
• played tennis for the first time in YEARS at Lake Club
• took a photoshoot session in Taipei
• included Cheng Wen Hsing into our Tuesday baddy group
• visited Macau and Hong Kong with the parents and le sister
• celebrated my birthday in Rio
• attended Bon/Steve's wedding back in Vancouver
• got a new windshield for my car
• watched 21 movies
• assisted at 9 tournaments last year - 11 weeks of work travel
• participated in my 3rd Olympic Games at Rio2016
• managed two successful dinners - Kunshan & Dubai
• delivered 99% of all promo activity requests from hosts/sponsors
• spent New Year's countdown in Hokkaido

Yup, definitely accomplished and experienced a bunch in 2016. Wasn't an easy year - I combed through my calendar and all I could see were what I labelled as "Work Reflections", which were mostly a recap of an incident at work that I just needed to write down to forget. Ironic eh? Writing it down to forget it. But hey, it works. Best part is, I can't even remember most of those incidents by looking at their titles - that normally doesn't happen as I do brag at times about my amazing memory of all things experienced. Yes, not always the most important things, but I remember them anyway.

So here we are in 2017. What the heck does that mean? It means, I've started my new approach to life. I've taken up bullet journaling - and I can't wait to go back to Taiwan for Chinese New Year because the bookstores are full of colorful pens to write with and stickers to go into my book; started to exercise more regularly and watch my health; and most importantly, take myself less seriously and learn to enjoy life. Whatever it offers.

Anyhoos, time to hit the gym. It's taken you a good 10 minutes to read this so time to move your bottoms too, peeps! Let's not just start strong - continue strong! Together.

Clubbing Age

Dear Pipsqueaks,

No time to get on the computer so I'm going back to my old blogging days of writing my posts on my phone (while I did the stepper in the gym). So forgive me for any typos!

Ever since I could remember, this friend of mine had wanted to go clubbing for her birthday. We kept missing the chance to go - especially with a discouraging group of oldies who would rather go chillax at a lounge. But we said we will so we shall! We scheduled a clubbing night last Friday to celebrate her birthday (today Sunday).

Because all of us are really not in the loop anymore about which club is better nowadays, so we went for the closest one to home in case we get really knocked out - The Roof near One World Hotel. Most of us dressed for the occasion as there are dress codes about what one can wear into a night club. For example, no sandals, shorts or jeans. Why the dress code you ask? So you don't get a bunch of fashion mis-fits in the crowd. Not to mention it's definitely not a good idea to be wearing any open-toed shoes unless you don't mind getting stepped on by 6 inch heels every other minute. Meh.

So anyway, we got a cocktail table near an elevated platform close the dance floor. I did warn my friends that the dance floor will be empty until maybe 1am, and I was right. People just aren't drunk enough to bravely hit the dance floor. Okay, maybe I'm only half correct that the dance floor was empty. It was a bit crowded but not of people dancing - it was full of boys waiting for the pro comic-uniform dancer to storm the stage and show off their super sexy moves. It also didn't help that they pour free whiskey for those in front of the crowd. Hence, no space on the dance floor to dance!

And I thought my younger days were bad. We pretty much had a circle of boys standing around the dance floor scanning for their prey of the evening. Now, they boys aren't even interested in the girls - they're waiting to drool over the pros. Sad case.

What was the worst part of the whole evening? We couldn't even find ONE suitable guy for the birthday girl. The club was just too young! Some of them look barely legal enough to be in a club. So much for finding her a fling for the night. Sigh.

So what did we learn from a night at The Roof?

1. Music wasn't to our taste - definitely prefer house music over techno or whatever the heck kids dance to these days.
2. Crowd is too young to be fun - a more mature crowd would be more exciting.
3. Dance floor is too small - all the standing boys took up half the space! Where to dance?!
4. Wear dancing shoes - heels look great but they kill your feet!
5. Party doesn't really start until 1am.
6. Get a proper table so our senior citizens can have a seat!

We joked about this but seriously, they should have senior citizen entries for our 30+ who just want to go there and drink while chillaxing with friends. I shall be joining that group soon but I think I'm always up to hit the dance floor when the music suits my mood!

But lesson learned - let's stick with Zouk. At least there are four different dance floors with a range of music we can choose from. Maybe for my birthday then!

Going back to resting - a night out takes more to recover now! Ciao~

(Will add some photos shortly~)

Why Am I Not Surprised

Dear Pipsqueaks,

As my usual routine to work, I like to listen to BFM 89.9 Business Station just because they're able to explain what's happening in the world of business without my brains filling up with question marks. So, this morning, they touched on a topic I wrote about a couple of years back...

Malaysian-registered Taxi Drivers. *Taking a deep breath*

Apparently, they're getting upset with the rising popularity of MyTeksi and Uber. *Taking another deep breath*

Thanks, [2014] => Let's go, [2015]

Dear Pipsqueaks,

To be honest, I can't believe it's already time to write a reflection post for the year. 2014 felt like a very blur 365 days with no major happenings, but when I start to dive into the months, then flashbacks come to me...

Jan - Flew back to TPE to visit the family for CNY; always good to to see them during these holidays even though we don't do anything special. It's just good to hangout. Also gave my sister her ipad mini Christmas present. I'm not one for expensive presents, but I like giving something useful. See, normally I would be the one entertaining my sister either going out shopping together or trying a new restaurant together. We did everything together, and now that I'm not around, I can only provide her with some form of entertainment...except she uses that to play games and watch movie previews *faint* Oh wells, as long as she's happy with it.

Double Standards: Office No No

Dear Pipsqueaks,

It shouldn't come as a surprise that double standards confuse people. It normally doesn't have a good ending regardless of where it happens, and a good logic why it doesn't. Yet, somehow even the most experienced members of the workforce cannot comprehend the destructiveness of such behaviors. So, allow me to explain to you from beginning to end.

Firstly, just to clarify what 'double standard' mean - "a rule or principle that is unfairly applied in different ways to different people or groups." For example (and a very real one in fact), a senior director invites all his favourite staff - which coincidentally or uncoincidentally happen to be all the Caucasians in the office - to a company dinner and completely forgets about the rest. The irony in this is that this director always complained that "the rest" always speak Chinese in the office. Anyway, back to what I was saying, it just means to treat different people differently in an obviously unfair way.

Handling Stress

Dear pipsqueaks,

The past few weeks have certainly been a challenge, and in a good way, forced me to deal with things that I've dreaded to face. Nonetheless, just picturing what is ahead for me this month, I don't think I can afford to lose any more focus or control. You could say, I'm not setting myself up to fail or, worse, disappoint.

After all that's been said and done, "le bf" will no longer bring reference to anyone in particular anymore. It wasn't so much about being miles apart physically, but miles apart on the inside. I can't quite explain why at the moment, but it will be a subject for further pondering later on. At this moment, I cannot give anymore attention to this with everything else that's happening. Like I always say, if I can't do my best, I'd rather not do it at all.

So what else is happening? Well, work for one. Moving for two.

Singing Our Way to [Genting]

Dear pipsqueaks,

Blessed by a wave of holidays during the first couple of months in the Malaysian calendar, trips were just too tempting to turn down. I haven't had the chance to recap our trip to Langkawi at the end of January, but certainly that'll come after this recap on Genting Highlands.

Genting Highlands- I had heard so much about it previously, but never pulled through on the plans and such within the last 1.5 years here in Malaysia to make it happen. Then by chance, a best friend of mine- who shall now forthwith be referred to as JQ- had suggested that we head up on "KL Day" Friday. Two possibilities: one, complete madness with traffic that we will be in total regret for attempting to go up on a KL Public Holiday; two, absolute freedom while ascending into the nice and breezy weather. Actually, it was over Tuesday lunch that a coworker had shared her nightmare experience up at Genting where they only moved about a few km in 1.5hrs or something. That would be just horrendous.

But what do you know? Jessy does get quite lucky when she travels- it's too late to jinx myself as the story of ant army invasion had already taken place (will be covered in the Langkawi post)- no traffic whatsoever. On top of that, the weather couldn't have been more agreeable. A solid 18.5 degrees with a slight breeze, we couldn't have asked for better.

A Huge "Working" Question Mark

Dear pipsqueaks,

Having just had my yearly appraisal with le boss, I came out with a huge question mark above my head. As much as our discussions are open, I still feel that stubbornness in him as I, a fellow Leo, also possess.

Actually, this very topic had been butchered to death earlier last year when my ex-coworker was making her own path through chaos...

How should one's salary be set? What is it based on exactly?

Emergency Kit & Go Bag

Dear pipsqueaks,

After a quick phone call with le parents, I've been directed to prepare an "Emergency Kit" and a "Go Bag". Not that I believe the world is coming to an end- simply, I believe in being ready for whatever may happen. Be it this 21st of December or whenever. It's always better to be prepared.

It was quite a funny follow-up discussion with le sister. She was trying to coordinate a  meeting point for the family to meet should some disaster strike, and came to the conclusion that we shall meet in our Keelung home. What crossed my mind- obviously something she overlooked- was that I'm in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Should the world collapse, it will be more than a challenge to find them in Taiwan, let alone Keelung house. Then again, I wouldn't be on any schedule in particular, so to spend my life looking for them would be a life well spent in any case.

See But No Play in [Bangkok]: Day 8

Dear pipsqueaks,

Staying in a dorm always makes waking up early difficult, especially when all the beds were full. With the pick-up time set at 6:15, I woke up at 5:45 to quietly sneaked out to brush up and organize a locker to store all my junk until I get back. Even though I would have officially checked out by the time I return, the hostel provided locker service for 20thb and lent me a lock for free. The morning could almost be described like some dream where everything happened so automatically, and poof, I was on the bus circling the city picking up the rest. The next hour or so was a blur as I fell in and out of sleep...

Finally, we were officially on our way to the Floating Market around 8ish. For some reason, I've always been a car-ride sleeper; therefore, the worst candidate to be at shotgun as I will most likely fall asleep, epically failing to keep the driver in company for long hauls. Nonetheless, I appreciated the long drive, allowing me to do some catching up on sleep so I wouldn't look like a cast on The Walking Dead at the Floating Market (actually, technically it would be "The Floating Dead", just kidding). Anyway, we arrived at a dock where three busload of us hopped on long boats.

It felt a bit as if we're being taken to some sacred place, but soon that feeling had been painted with noise and fumes from a field of mechanically-run long boats. Chit-chats from both tourists and locals filled the air. Overdose. But I promised myself to give this place a chance, so I chance I shall give.

(We're finally here! Took us long enough...except we're on my worst element: water!) 

See But No Play in [Bangkok]: Day 7

Dear pipsqueaks,

For the oddest reason, now that I had the whole weekend to do whatever I wanted, I had nothing planned. At most, I have to check out of this hotel by noon and check in at the hostel by 1pm. That shouldn't be too difficult since it was only two stations away, and I was armed with a map! There was also a post office just by that station, so I could pick up some stamps on the way for my postcards! Great plan, until 1pm.

Before all that happened, I enjoyed my last buffet breakfast, finishing it up with a nice scoop of coconut ice-cream and a glass of carrot juice. Not sure why- possibly an influence of another friend- I've come to a pleasant addiction to fresh carrot juice. Supposedly, it's good for the eyes, and since I'm a rabbit in Chinese calendar terms, it isn't too weird that I love carrots. Even the attendant at the juice stand recognizes me, and by the 3rd day automatically prepare a glass of juice upon my arrival. Talk about great service :)

As I did a great job packing the absolute minimum for this trip, it wasn't too difficult to clean up the place for check out. All I needed was the essentials for another two days, and the rest can be stuffed into my luggage that shall be left in the keeps of my coworker who will be staying in the hotel. We were scheduled on the same shuttle to the airport, so I trust her not to lose my luggage before then.

See But No Play in [Bangkok]: Day 6

Dear pipsqueaks,

Of all the meetings, this last one always took the longest. That was probably why I planned absolutely nothing because it will most likely take up the whole day. No surprise, it didn't end till 5pm. Though, on a positive note, the buffet lunch was fantabulously delicious. Okay, maybe I'm being a bit bias towards their spinning ice-cream display and rows of bite-sized chocolate cakes, but seriously, a dessert heaven for someone like me! Plus, I did need the sugar boost to last another 5 hours more...

(I had the urge to say, "One scoop each", but I didn't want to scare the lady. Plan B: come back after I finish the first two scoops :P) 

See But No Play in [Bangkok]: Day 5

Dear pipsqueaks,

Looking at my schedule, today could be the more "free" day for me, with only a 2-hour duty just after lunch. It would have been nice to join the group heading to the Floating Market, but as there was no guarantee when they will return (approximately 1pm or later depending on traffic), there was no way I could go knowing I will most likely be late for work. So, the responsible me said no. On the bright side, I did get to sleep in a little longer, take my time at breakfast, and write a post all before duty.

After checking with my boss that he wouldn't need me post-duty, I decided to squish in a Thai massage between the end of my duty and the dinner cruise departing at 5:30. Hearing about this "Health Land" for the millionth time, it was finally my turn to check it out. Honestly one of the most organised massage places ever. A huge stand-alone building, its services ranged from short foot massages to full on body scrub. As we were pressed for time, a 90-minute full body massage was the most we could do. So, in a rush, we were hurried into our private rooms and the rest of the world was quickly forgotten for the next 1.5 hour...

(Just look at this super pro-looking massage place. Keep in mind, it's a legit massage place...so not where you would go looking for happy endings!)

See But No Play in [Bangkok]: Day 4

Dear pipsqueaks,

Meeting first thing in the morning is probably no one's preferred itinerary of any day, but it wasn't a choice, of course. I remember I'm here for work, and it's nice to feel helpful, if not needed. So, apart from dropping by Terminal 21 for a Chinese lunch with a few CM, I was mostly hotel-based for minute-taking and finalization. It didn't help that I had duty, which confined me to this room full of chit-chatting. Not sure how we're expected to work in these conditions, but with my headphones and constant training of the selective caring, I managed anyway.

Meeting weeks are usually full of events, and let's just say, our hosts never cease to surprise us with their entertainment schedule alongside the meetings. Though not all of us were invited to the Grand Palace for a special presentation to the King of Thailand yesterday, we were invited for the dinner at the Crown Property Bureau tonight.

Of course, even that couldn't go smoothly- we were on a manhunt for one of my coworkers while the rest of the group couldn't be held up any longer without being totally late and left the four of us behind. Supposedly, another mini van was to pick up the leftovers, but it got impossibly lost in the streets of Bangkok, and as we wouldn't wait anymore, we had decided to take the public transit to a less trafficked area and finish there with taxi. That's fine, at least we had two locals. Except, I can't say I enjoyed the challenge of traveling with public transit in my dress. Nonetheless, I survived.

See But No Play in [Bangkok]: Day 3

Dear pipsqueaks,

(A known issue with blogger photo storage problem, I'm officially stopped to add more photos at this point, but will certainly "complete" this post when it's once again available for me to upload!)

(Problem solved...I think!)

For the first time this whole week, I was not slotted for morning duty! Of course, I wasn't about to let it go to waste. Though nothing was set solid, I knew I wanted to head out of this hotel for a bit, even if it were only for a short morning. Possibly to the Grand Palace or the famous Wat Pho as they're both in the same area. I thought to do more planning at breakfast...

Just when I was coming to my senses hearing the alarm jump, I saw a text message from a friend of one of our CM. Apparently, he had arrived the night before and was wondering when I would be heading down for breakfast. Having had to wake up at 6:45am for the past week, I wanted to have just as much time to see a little bit of Bangkok when I could, so I woke up around 7ish too. (For those that know, I LOVE my sleep, so to sacrifice means a lot :P).

Over breakfast, without trying, I had managed to change his mind about having a pool-day today and joining me for an adventure. So the itinerary for today: take the taxi to Grand Palace, lunch, walk over Wat Pho, and then taxi back for my afternoon duty. As simple as that, *laugh*, if only...

See But No Play in [Bangkok]: Day 2

Dear pipsqueaks,

It was another super early wake for me, but it didn't feel as painful because I went to bed at 11pm! That must have been a record as I almost never sleep before midnight, but I knew I would probably die mid-day if I didn't. So it was all good. A delicious and healthy breakfast also helped: salad plate, two chocolate pancakes, three pieces of sushi, the end of a french bread with cold cut stuffing, glass of carrot juice, shot of super juice (I think it was dragon fruit with pineapples?), and tea. If you know me, that was a SUPER breakfast. In a way, it did good both physically and mentally because I was in such a good mood for eating good. It's not secret...it's a cycle!

(Yes, I had only remembered that I should have taken a photo when I was half way into the salad...so no photo today! Maybe tomorrow ;P)

Something that caught my eye at breakfast- a mother attending to a girl of maybe 7 or 8 years old. She had a cute ponytail and a pink baby backpack. All dressed up, the only thing that was totally out of place was her smile. You could tell she was in a grumpy mood as she didn't want anything her mom plated for her and refused to go select a dish herself. There was no pleasing her. Yet, the mother didn't give up, and tried again and again back and forth looking for something to her liking. It crossed my mind that I may had very well been this way when I was younger....what a nightmare!

See But No Play in [Bangkok]: Day 1

Dear pipsqueaks,

Day one was on a whole new level of dreadfulness in my dictionary: I woke up one hour earlier than I should!! *faint* So how did I manage to do that? I usually use my phone as my alarm clock, so when it sang this morning, I swung my leg around the edge and let gravity force me off the bed. Somehow, this part of mornings like these were all so blur. In the end, I'm dressed, packed, and ready to go. Just when I was putting on my watched, I had noticed the time was one hour earlier. Quickly, I glanced at the clock under the TV- it was only 6:15!? Unless I went back in time, there was no way it could have been 6:15am. Then...it came to me. My phone was in KL time...crap.

Fine. Even my phone was against me. No worries, no biggie, said I while I slipped off my work dress...and slipped back into the warm and comfy bed for another hour! Sweet as~

See But No Play in [Bangkok]: Day 0

Dear pipsqueaks,

With a 12:25pm flight, I didn't think the morning would be so dreadful, but it was anyway. It didn't help that we had such a big steamboat dinner the night before, bed time wasn't until 1:30am. No worries though, it seemed that if the situation calls for it, I will somehow manage to get up and get ready.

Mind you, I didn't pack until the morning of. The idea is that if I were to allow myself lots of time to pack, more likely than not, I'll end up packing stuff I don't really need. So, an 8am wake seemed sufficient. By the time I finished brushing up, it was about 8:20am, and the packing began. Not wanting to repeat my London over-weight, I only packed 3 casual t-shirts, 2 office uniform shirts, 1 pair shorts, 2 sets of gym clothes, 2 one-piece dresses, 1 pair of runners, 1 suit and 2 flats. All of that including my toiletries and charger bag didn't nearly take up 2/3 of my luggage. How about that?! The rest was left loose with a corporate gift that I was asked to bring. When I zipped it all up, I took a step back with a feeling of proudness. Cannot believe I managed to fit everything in AND  still have space!

On top of that, I had about half an hour to troll around and double-check the place. When all was ready, I randomly decided to open the fridge....

[KL Know-How]: Taxi-ing

Dear pipsqueaks,

Counting in total, I've already been working in KL for a little more than a year and three months. No one really asked me how I thought about this place. Really, it isn't too too bad. Having said that, there are *rolling my eyes* tons of tidbits that seriously causes some major point deductions. Of course, with this topic, I can write as much as a book, but I’m not about to fill my life with all these negativities that shall be forgotten as soon as I move out of this country. Actually, I’m quite glad I’ll always have that choice.

Now, what kind of “tidbits” am I taking about? In particular, today, a visit had to be paid to the nearby hospital for my minor toe infection caused by ingrown nail. Don’t ask for details, trust me, you don’t want to know. But a little medical advice, never ask for oval or squoval when doing pedicures as they may cause ingrown nails due to the growth of the flesh to cover the receding corner only to face the slow growth of the nail later on. It can be uber nasty, so just avoid as much as possible. If in doubt, oval or squoval only in the white regions of your nail tips. Any shorter and you’ll end up like me- a pus-sy toe that smells like overdue milk. Gross.