My 2008 ....

The beauty of blogging :) , I read my previous blogs My 2006 vs My 2007 , to refresh my memory.... I have details for 2006, but nothing much for 2007 .... hmm, 2007 was all in my memory now ... it's good to keep some details , I guess...
So, here's the yearly report for 2008.....it's a VERY long winded version, I need to capture my major events.

January
For the first time, Bahija crossed to this new year with a gloomy mood, knowing that after June'08, she'll need to change her career path , and had no clue of what to expect from 2H of 2008, deep inside her heart, she had some fear ..

February
CNY day 1 early morning - received another 'saman' , an expensive Ops Sikap $300 summons , it's a clear sign to warn Bahija not to speed in future.

Mid Feb - Bahija attended a forum in church, when this man 'Lim Guan Eng' walked in, I asked my sister "who's him ? " ...my sis gave me a blank look. From that forum, I started to learn a bit about politics, about my little role as voter. It was a wonderful forum. Since then, I actively learning politics in Msia. Took the opportunities to discuss and asked my In-Kei colleagues during lunch. Fruitful short learning curve, within 3 weeks - from a political-idiot Bahija to a 'more-savy' Bahija, I'm proud of myself.

Feb 27, my youngest sis went thru her brain surgery, to remove a super tiny blood clog. We Thank God for all the prayers, wishes. It's a smooth surgery and recovery .... Again, Bahija appreciated the great family support, having a caring family makes things easy for all :)

March
First week of March - attended open talks organized by opposition parties in USJ 12 and Penang Han Jiang school - eye opener for me :) . Han Jiang Penang was a big crowd. I went with cab, and at 11 pm, I took an overview, noticed that the crowd was way too huge. Thus, I quickly got myself ready and left, afraid that if I waited till the talk ended, I may got stuck and no transport to go back to my hotel. As I rushed out from the school, the roads were all jam-packed with people and cars or bikes and policemen... now I takut, alamak, how on earth was I suppose to go back to my hotel in 1 peace safe leh. I quickly prayed. Right after my 'Amen' , suddenly a cab was in front of me in the middle of the road. I knocked and opened the door. In the cab, I heard christmas songs ... then I smiled. it's not easy to find one who played christmas songs in the month of March. I myself love to listen to christmas songs... christmas songs calmed me....Right there, I knew he's God sent angel to rescue me and sent me back safely to my hotel. Later, the driver told me he's off duty, and usually he didn't use that road to go back home from his parent's house, for that night, somehow he detoured and got stucked in the jam. I smiled and told him, that night his mission was to pick me :) Praise God !

March 8 - Helped in USJ 4 school voting counter. My job was to check the voters' name and IC No, ensure they are legitimate. I enjoyed the counting moment ... happy when 'rocket' is shouted out loud. It's tiring day for me, yet fruitful, I witnessed the voting process, ALSO , for the first time , I VOTED for my country , I did what I needed to do as a Malaysian Citizen :)

March 9- Bahija started a EE program organized by her church ( Full Gospel Tabernacle ) , it's a 13-weeks intensive training, with on-the-job trainings too. It's an eye opening for me, I've went thru the hurdle, ups and downs during this whole journey, the devils like to 'kacau' us when we want to do something for our Father Lord ...hectic weeks in 3 mths - yet I've managed thru , oui

March 23 - My First F1 experience @ Sepang F1 Circuit. Went with my US colleague Ms Frog and handsome son, it's a hot hot hot day, we bought the Grand Stand seats leh, costed me a BOMB. I'm not a racing car fan, couldn't appreciate the super fast speed car - zoomed and disappeared from my eyesight for a while. It's a good experience to taste the atmosphere. I'll go F1 provided it's free :)

March 24 - 28 - My In-Kei US team was in Penang, for the first out of US Face-to-Face meetings, and I think it's the last too. I had fun meeting them, we, the local girls were very tired as we worked 2 shifts, day shift - working, off-work shift - as tour guides ....Face to face meetings are very effective, thru those time , I got to meet their spouses, their likes and dislike , style and behavious - these are good and beneficial for a good working relationship ... ( unfortunately mine didn't last long - as my exit date from In-Kei was June 30 )

March 29 - Attended a wedding in Penang. During the prayer time, I closed my eyes, saw yellow and red lights flashing in my brain ...then suddenly my mouth opened and spoke in tongue - Hallelujah ! It's my spirit-baptism moment, I could pray in tongue liow ...haa

End March - Sayonaro to most of my Cyberjaya In-Kei friends and colleagues. It's very sad moment leh. Bye to my Sanguine Queen, she's the first cubemate I met in Cyberjaya. She helped me to adjust to the old time ATD + 1 work environment. ( I'll blog about her one fine day ). Besides Sanguine, I also have to say bye-bye to many others. aiiii

April
After Q1, entered Q2 , my heart was more 'un-peace', started to have strong fear of my future after In-Kei ....couldn't focus much on work anymore, everyday carried a 'lepak' 'chin chai' mood to go to work lor, stopped to take on new job tasks, everything pretty much passed over to Dockers' Pant and Fish, no mood for In-kei's work. Cyberjaya office was like a 'fridge' - super cold, super quiet , lack of human chi .... trust me, it's very pethatic , depress to go to office under those situation ...sometimes lunch also no kaki to go with :(

April 9 - Seriously needed to hear from God, hear his direction, need to know what He has to say ...attended 'Hearing God's Voice' class, it was an awesome training for me. Enjoyed the class so much, I learned to be sensitive to hear from God ....

April 15 - 18 - HP sponsored my eldest sis for an event trip to Bali Nusantara - 5 star Grand Hyatt hotel. Bahija took the opportunity, claimed mileage points joined her. I spent 3 full days on the beach, read books, had quiet time with God. The goal of this trip , was for me to have peace in my heart, and to hear from Him. Praise God, when I took my step of faith, God talked to me, He told me He's taking care of me, that I shouldn't be a lost child, shouldn't be in fear. He's in control. I brought a few books to Bali, one of them was a gift from RotiTelur, Monica and Ringgit ... God spoke to me thru that book :) . Third day on Bali Nusantara beach, a phone call came, I picked it up. It's a job offer - sound very good , fit what I needed, at that moment, I've sensed my peace , it's truly a blessing when I knew well that I was hearing His voice and getting the right message ( this job offer later came to a reality in July - God is GOOD ! ) ... I went to Bali as a lost child, sad. But I left Bali energetic, filled with hope and faith , and PEACE ... heee

May
This month busy at work - not for 'real work' , but to settle all the personal outstanding items such as medical checkup, dental claim, employee PC purchases, stocks handling, HR personal data updates, backup all my data, clearing data on the In-Kei's T42.

One POSITIVE thing was badminton ... Bahija consistently persistently played badminton almost everyday after work , actually during work , haa - from 4 to 6 pm. I've lost so much weight ..looked slimmer and nice - haaaa , OH, most important, from a dummy badminton player, my gurus praised that I've improved substantially - haaaa

Another GREAT thing - my wish was granted. Many moons ago, I had a wish to go Europe Contiki tour. Been talking about this for many many times, all NATO ( No Action Talk Only )...for some reason and good timing. I managed to secure ticket, and timing was OK - thus Sanguine Queen and Bahija adopt the 'JUST DO IT' attitude - we booked our Contiki tour spontatuously

June
First week of June - pretty much settled all my In-Kei tasks.

June 8 - Sunday morning completed my EE final test. night time - to KLIA - vioa - Amsterdam :) , I was off to Europe for 16 days :) .... Sanguine and Bahija have had a marvellous Contiki tour in Europe. I am soooo happy , sooo glad that we made it , it was such a memorable fun time for me forever. ( just a bit dissappointed that as of now, I've not uploaded the Europe photos , nor prepared a travellogue yet )

Deep in my heart, I knew this trip was blessed by God. He completed one of my wish ...because I was full with many activities ...it's amazing that the timing and flight ticket all worked out well out of sudden. THANKS Father !!

June 26 - Sayonari to Europe :( , landed in KLIA 6:30 am, rushed home , showed, then rushed to KLIA again, took a flight to Penang. My USA boss was in Penang for my exit day. I had farewell dinner with my Penang teammates.

June 27 - THE DAY arrived. It's my last day with In-Kei. My ex-managers, some good friends went to PG12 , bid farewell and took photos with me :) ... that was my 2nd exit , my 1st exit was I-Kei June 2002 - back then, I was very close with my team, thus farewell wasn't easy. This time round, In-Kei , the decision was made back in Nov 2007, dragged till June 30, 2008 - it's a long time , I suppose the mood already gone as time goes by ...my last day with In-Kei - I wasn't as 'sad' as it should be lor ....

July
Officially jobless....Initially thought could lepak for 3 months, rest and relaxed, take a missionary trip in September.

July 3 - received call, to attend meeting with business partners. Discussed the job tasks and details

July 9 - signed contract, meeting with my customer the Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negeri

July 10 - officially started my freelance consulting services work - aiii - fast and I didn't have much time to lepak , haaa. This was the job opportunity that came to me while I was in Bali talking to God. So this is a deal I couldn't let go ....

August
Super busy month , learning to adjust to new work environment. Busy with church activities, plus LA sister and nephew also back to KL visited us.. this was the month which started to drag me off track ... some negative emotional side effects started to stir within me :(

Aug 7 - 9 - escaped to Pulau Lang Tengah , great fun time with Josh, Jar , Ice Kacang, Lily and Benji. During this trip, I lost a battle, shamed on me - where's Milan ? I said France - from a person who visited Milan before , malu betul. I also officially annouced that I retired from banana boat , Bahija will not ride banana boat anymore , I'm too old for this sport , scary ....

September
Problematic month , started in August , dragged into September ... emotionally unstable, I've all that I needed, yet I wasn't happy .... not contented, that's the big issue. I was lacking something still, no inner peace. One of the main reason was me being single. All these years, I've been taking the 'single' status quite well, just not now , I struggled within myself. Started to skip QT , skipped bible reading, gradually slowing down my walk of faith as well .....struggled to lift up myself .....

Good News - despite me backsliding , God still treats me well, He blessed me with my Black-B. It was such an easy smooth buy ....welcome to my world - Black B :)

October
Problem carried forward from Aug, Sept, I even felt depressed every Sunday after my special kids ministry. I was sad to see the special kids, to hear of their problems, their family issues etc etc...sundays seem like a dark cloud day for me - I dragged myself to church now...Luckily I had a short break to Hong Kong during Raya weekend. I'm such an expensive woman, I need to fly far far away to be by myself, away from family and friends, and read some good books ....gila hah. Anyway, solo in Hong Kong , besides some shopping and good yummy food, I spent most of the time reading books. Again, I have to say , God is Good. Yet another time, He sent the right books as my rescuer. I felt so much better after Hong Kong trip.

November
I started to settle down in my work. Emotioanlly, I was also feeling better, gradually lifted myself up step by step ....I've asked God to come help me, guide me thru this down moment. I was alive again, hee

December
Thank God ! Bahija is back to herself , I'm out of the miserable 'recession' moment. I'm doing well with my special kids now, I repented, prayed, asked God to help me enhance my walk of faith. God stopped talking to me since August, personally, I really missed His voice. This month, I seriously went for altar call, seeking Him into my life. Of course, now I'm back to have a relationship with my Father. He talks to me now, or rather I shall say I'm sensitive to His voice again, I can sense his message when He comes to me :) That to me, is very intimate and important .... so I'm super duper glad to march forward to 2009 with my current healthy state :) ...

Happy Blessed 2009 , May all of us have a joyful, healthy and contented New Year !

more active ....

To all my readers, some of you have stopped reading , bcoz as of early this month, I hardly updated my blog ..... but I'm back on track again, Dec 2008 - by far has the most entries .... a few more blogs to come , before I end it on 2008. Reading back, this is my 4th year on blogging - wow ! not a bad record ...it has captured lots of my thoughts , heee - I'm glad I started it !

My Facebook is way too crowded with too many folks , some I hardly known him/her, yet they keep asking me to add them , aiii - what to do - add lor ...it's a public space for me :)

Geee, I had coffee at 1pm today wor , not after 3 pm , why am I still up and not in bed :(
aiii, guess I am so reluctant to let Dec 31, 2008 just passing by easily .......

Dec 25 ...

Christmas is to celebrate Jesus's birthday ....when I celebrate my birthday, I received many gifts from family and friends ... so to celebrate Jesus birthday , I blessed some kids and some friends with some gifts. However, I think the most important thing is to please Him , what shall I do , or get for my Father Lord ..... I don't know what He wants...haa. I started my bible study very seriously Jan this year , it was progressing so well , until June :( ...then I stopped, then the chapters all piled up , now I'm still in Ephesian only , aiii , so many more to go , I doubt I can complete it. So after being a christian for 3 yrs , water-baptismed last Dec , I still haven't finish reading the whole bible. Started in 2007 - I stopped after Q1. 2008 try again, now it stopped in Q3. Hmm, at least I've improved some. HeHe Guess, I shall tell my Father that for His 2008 Christmas gift , I'll start my bible reading 'again' and hope by Dec 25, 2009 - I can proudly tell Him, I've delivered what I am saying now :)

Morning, went for christmas service at 9am.

Lunch, at Monica's house for the traditional christmas gathering , we used to have a big group of F.r.i.e.n.d.s ...now most of them out of countries, nevertheless, we still had fun. Ringgit and Ms World blessed me a great gift , they are so thoughtful , now I remember them everyday .....

Tea, church again , dressed formally in baju melayu because PM Pak Lah was there ... he as usual lambat lor. I spent time chit chatting with his outriders - tall and 6-packs , well built - haa. Met some folks from Jabatan Filem Negara.

Dinner, at my youngest sis's place for christmas dinner - mamamia - yummy dinner with lovely company ...also celebrated my birthday 'again' ....

After dinner, we watched the singaporean movie '钱不够用II, Money Not Enough Part II' ...it talks about singaporean life, getting tuff, want to earn more money , and family issue. It's a very touching movie. I insisted that my family watch it together. It's a good bonding time. We even had a mini post-movie discussion to talk about the known issue that every household will have to face one day ...'what to do with our ageing parent ?' ...next time I blog on this topic yea.

Dec 24 ...

Christmas eve, Bahija stayed at mum's house, worked until 7:30 pm , worked very hard to complete as much work as I could , so that I can enjoy the long Christmas holidays .... Ho Ho Ho ! Tonight was a special night for someone .... I was the angel , helping this young man putting up a christmas tree within 5 mins :) , reduced his panicking moment , helped to decorate the tree...

Viola , here is the end product ---->




It's quite 'cost-saving' approach , good ROI - Return On Investment ... spent > RM 200 for this tree and all the decorations ... this proposal 'tree' , instead of flower stay green fresh forever , and reusable for many years to come .... so 'dai' lor !

The young man , nickname him Ice Kacang ....he educated me , told me that the ornament on the christmas tree carry a meaning, for every good blessing happening in that household , those good things should be turn into a ornament and hang on the tree... Oh I see ,itu macam hah.

So, for their 7 years of relationship, Ice Kacang prepared all the sweet memories into ornaments, hang on tree. I have to give credits to him la, it's quite a thoughtful idea :) ...he brought my sis her fav musical box, propose to her on christmas eve, as my sis likes the christmas mood ....Ice Kacang recorded the whole process, from unpacking the tree until it's done , and me - Bahija was involved :)

Oh, my youngest sis was away with friends for christmas eve dinner , her friends and I knew about this thingy, and 'pakat' liow....

And Most of ALL - I really like this part - it's a L.O.V.E diamond - Haaaa - this, I have to strongly pad Ice Kacang's shoulder and said ' pandai yea , it's a great buy, good choice ' ... when he wanted to show me the cut , the hidden secret - I told him , no need la, I know it all - he mata besar ...haaa :)

Bahija ended christmas eve sweetly , well, this couple ended theirs super duper sweeter than mine la of course ! Bahija shall go dreamland , dream about hers , haaaa

Before year end

1 more week - bye bye to 2008 :( - so this remaining 1 week - Bahija busy busy with the following :-

Work - been cracking her head to produce a system and DB health check report for customer, due Dec 31 ...and sad / happy thing - there's only 3 more working days nia , aiii - really no mood to work , yet have to 'force' to complete it ...it's very torturing at this moment ....

Thanksgiving - prepared gifts, hampers to thank my youngest sister's friends and colleagues - they helped us a lot when my sister discovered her blood clot in her brain and went thru her brain surgery. The chinese saying '出外靠朋友' English version 'when you are outside of your house, you are relying on friends for support'. This saying is very true. We received great support from my sister's friends and colleagues. Thus for this christmas, I prepared hampers, gifts as well as sumptuous dinner for them. To extend our gratitude to them , to appreciate them :)

Points - Bahija has to last minute ensure all my travel mileages are intact , for those which is expiring , decide to extend or do something lor ... while I am checking this , Bahija realized I've claimed 3 Hong Kong tickets from CX, 1 Bali ticket from SIA , though the wish to claim London ticket is gone , I'm very happy and thankful to In-Kei for all those 'side-travels'

Tax - Before the date change to 2009 , I need to decide my 2008 taxation - do I want to maximize the $1000 books purchase, spend more for expenses etc ...

Medical, Dental, Optical claims - this year, all these claims completed in May/June before I left In-Kei. Now , self-employed , no more such privilleages ...oh, except a $500 personal health check which can be deducted for tax (I'll use it for 2009 tax )

Christmas Eve - there's ONE BIG thing happening for one of my family member - it's TOP SECRET now - can't tell yet

Christmas Day - Bahija is all set for christmas, nothing fancy , just attend christmas service at 9am. Then go to Monica's house for christmas lunch, then go back to church for a special event - to meet all the politicians - the ministers including our PM , Deputy PM leh :) , then family christmas dinner ...

Boxing Day - grocery shopping and cooking at home, hosting 2 parties for friends

Dec 31 - Plan for my 2009

Miracle

Today I was off from work , hippie ! FINALLY had the chance to go to malls , walked past those nicely decorated christmas trees, listened to christmas songs, to feel the season , of course - this is the commercial side of Christmas :) , this atmosphere makes me feel good , like it's time to wind down for the year. Bahija had a deep thought, for 2008 , what shall I get for myself ? I have the tradition to buy myself a gift every year in December - 'killing many birds in one stone lah' - as my little reward for the hardwork I put in this year , as my bday present, as my christmas present. Thought for days and couldn't figure out what is an ideal gift ..... today , when I walked into the mall , viola - I got myself a MIRACLE. As I am hoping , wishing, praying for a MIRACLE :) ...... The best part is my Quiet Time (QT) with the Lord, QT for Dec 22 - 'December Desire' , it talks about miracles , so 'kiew' eh - hohoho, hahaha, hehehe. Bahija is goin to dream land now - and it is a sweet one , sweet miracle :)

in the car ....

In my blog , I remembered I've blogged about being 'irritated' with someone yelling at me while I was driving, that was many many years ago.... since then , I've not had another incident which 'again' irritated me ...haa, until last week. Ross, Monica, Chandler , NLK and me ( Phoebe ) , met up and went to Hartamas Ripless for a good makan. Usually I don't carpool NLK but others, others - we are F.r.i.e.n.d.s , so we are so used to each other liow. That night, I proposed to meet them and picked them from office, as I need to introduce my sweet Black-B to them. NLK was sitting at the back seat, behind me. Throughout the round trip journey, NLK instructed me, the driver a few times, watched out for cars next to me, watched out for this, for that...

Last time, I do feel offended if my passenger keep opening his/her mouth and commenting this and that while I was driving. Now, I will just take it as 'advice' , as a reminder. Still, the truth is , to me , it's quite irritating, as if someone is always at my back , keep telling me what to do :) .... macam tak respect me , and if I were to be more 'negative' - I would think NLK tak trust me.. ( which I know she's not la , of coz ). I can understand that in some situation, the passenger has to help look out and help the driver, especially when the driver is new, not familiar or when the driver himself is asking for help...otherwise, for my style, I would leave the driver alone, after all , he's the 'driver'.

For Bahija, I always like the time spend in the car. Because I can observe others when one is driving , a case like NLK , usually this person turn out to be slightly dorminant type person, sometimes can be controling type , sometimes can be those who doesn't trust others ...it is in this person nature. These are not negatives... I'm just trying to bring out my point that , there are many good observations when we're in a car - hee. Sometimes I can tell if the driver has high EQ , bad temper or kind hearted person .....Lastly , the truth is , Bahija can tell if I can be comfortable with the person or not - in the car :)

my day ....

Today is a blessed day. Bahija's handphone and facebook were busy :) - TQ for remembering me , making my day ! Today Bahija officially disqualify for Contiki tour :( , expired liow... Early morning , called YaYa. Then went to Curve, Mr.BusinessCard treated me movie and huge popcorn. Waubulan treated me yummy lunch at Mum's Place. Now I know why whenever I suggested Mum's place for the past 2 years, my gang always ignored me :P . This time, since it's my day , have the right to decide where to makan. Anyway food so so only, nothing great , YET very expensive. I won't go if I have to pay ..haa. Likewise, the movie 'AUSTRALIA' is quite good , I enjoyed it. I think Waubulan , Mr.BusinessCard enjoyed too, slightly exaggerated initially, quite funny at the beginning....if the story is true, then we learn something about the aboriginal's culture. Nicole Kidman is slim, face very sui - no fine lines at all ( guess the magic of comestic surgery helps her a lot ) , she looks good in all the baju she wore la. nice :) - This movie emphasize on various races, so we can see the native, australian, english, japanese, chinese ...and of course the cute little boy - the 'cream' boy :) - go watch this movie la , oh - it's a long movie , 2 1/2 hrs ..

Bahija enjoyed their great company. Wish we could have more yea ... Next, I rushed home, changed and rushed to church for christmas dinner. 9 of my family members attended. The church was crowded with all the guests. Riuh-rendah - we had some good feast.

Then stayed back, helped clean the church ....did some exercise while mopping the dirty floor. Then went home, sat next to my christmas tree, gathered my gifts, and snap a photo - oops, left out my first gift from Sanguine Queen , coz I'm using it liow ... Here's my gifts - snap one for my memory later .....

YaYa is home for my bday ......

Hee, bday is not a big deal. I don't fancy big celebration or gifts or anything ....just very happy that my dear friends remember me and pray for my well being. This year , Bahija is super duper happy , because one of my dear friend, YaYa, is coming back home for my bday and christmas..... this was how she communicated to me 'Me and baby will be back for your bday' , hehe. Indeed, it's the best gift for me. I love to see YaYa and her lovely baby girl. Oh, btw, they are all the way from USA. I'm longing to meet all my bulatan kakies. If RotiTelur and Phoebe cannot come to KL before year end, perhaps this time round , we whole bulatan - shall make a trip down south ...

YaYa and baby - welcome home sweet home, it's really great to have you back even though just for a short while !

well blessed ....

Bahija is really pleased, blessed to have many loving family and friends around me...way back on Nov 22, I've received my first bday present from Ms.Sanguine, a very lovely pouch. Tonight, I was invited for a home cooked dinner. This elder, who is 70+ wanted to bless me bday and christmas meal, she asked me what food do I want ? I replied 'nasi lemak' - which was a bad idea actually, because it takes A LOT of effort to prepare nasi lemak. I kinda felt 'paisek' ... Anyway, this elder cooked chicken rendang the day before , rendang is nicer after 1 day. This morning, she prepared the rest of the items (plus sambal petai), she used fresh coconut milk, peeled lots of onions, cooked this super delicious yummy dinner for me ..... then her whole family showered me with many gifts too, WOW , what can I say , Thank God for the blessing, Thank God for having this great friends :) I ate whole plate of rice tonight - very very kenyang and sweet in my heart, sweet in my blood, sweet in my body all the way ....To this family who made my day so special, thank you very much - muaks !!!! Belum habis , then I also had supper with my cell members - yummy USJ 14 Yong Tau Foo and a blackforrest cake, most memorable of all , we took our cell group photo. It's rear to have 2 cell members having same birthdate , tonight we celebrated. It's the last cell meeting for 2008. Gosh, time super duperly fliessssss ....As I'm enjoying every single moment and remaining days of December , I can't help but to recall my 2007 Dec .... this time last year , I was in USA. My last business trip sponsored by In-Kei. Those were one of the best moment in my life too, managed to meet my old friends, spent a great evening with some of them, I really miss them , miss the places , miss In-Kei and of course, miss my sister and nephew who are in LA. To all of them, I wish them Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays , Happiness and Healthy always ......missing all of you across the milessssssss

christmas tree is UP

Finally, Bahija stayed home , cleaned up , cooked, wrapped presents and setup the christmas tree .....my calender starts to fill with various makan times deee .... it's a dangerous time - time to put on extra pounds. I still have this empty wish - to be away for a mini holiday ,aiii ..

How I wish no work this month , and get to slow down , enjoy December ....

Here's my christmas tree ....

CareMart

This is CAREmart , a grocery store situated at USJ Industry area. nearby my church. This is a community program. My church setup this CAREmart , to help the needy folks. 'My Church' means I also involved leh. My church members contributed the cash , time, effort to setup this grocery store. For normal folks, we buy the items at normal price ( slightly higher than the giant supermarkets ) , the profit from the sales will be used to fund the poor. Those poor folks will have to register themselves with my church office. Those who qualify will be able to purchase all the basic necessary items at 30% discounted price. Necessary items are rice , bread, sardine, milo, detergent, toilet tissue etc.... Nescafe, coke , snacks are not necessary items - no discount ...

So so , if any of you pass by USJ , please come and shop shop la , for anything that you are buying , you are helping the poor ....

baptism ...

This morning , I was very busy with my special kid ministry (prior to church sunday service) .... too busy to notice that today was the water baptism day .... Last year Dec 2 , it was my big day. I was water-baptised then. My family members , RotiTelur from Singapore, DockersPant and hubby from Penang, Gary N Rachel , Ringgit came to witness me :) .... wow, it's been a year. Unfortunately, today , I also stood up - confessed that I'm a backslider, there are many areas in my life where I haven't done right , and get right with God , I miss the joy , the special care , the still voices that my Lord used to communicate to me .... I've lost them somehow , really hope to revive and receive them again :) ... pls My Lord !

busy nov 22 ...

Nov 22 - is my eldest sis bday as well as CC's bday too .... Bahija's weekend has always been very fruitful, I hardly get to sit N rest at home...I don't even have time for my sweety Black-B, she hasn't taken her bath for > 3weeks liow, she's very very dirty, I'm very pai sek when friends hopped in to my dirty car. Well - sabar la , what to do , her owner is busy cum lazy too..

Today, early morning, I'll go visit a handicap center, an event organized by University Hospital Epilepsy Society, the center is called Shuang Fu Disabled Home , located at Old Klang Road. Too bad , due to system peak time, my customer aka the Tax Dept can only scheduled 22/11 for me to work, what a good timing yea :( ... the system downtime is from 8 am to 8 pm. Bahija has to go Shuang Fu Disabled Home in the morning at 8:30 am , then go to work from 12 noon to 8pm. It's my first visit to Shuang Fu, I hope I won't miss out the fun time when I have to cabut early ...I want to finish my work ASAP , praying hard all the database related tasks run smoothly , as I'm going for a fun chat at 6 pm .... already postponed my sister bday dinner to next Sunday -> discovered this little italian restaurant at Medan Damansara - yummy food , next sunday when I go for the feast, I'll snap some photos and show yea :)

Pray that I have good rest now, that I'm re-charged and have all the energy to enjoy Nov 22 ...
Oh , Happy Blessed Birthday to my dearest sweetest sister Ms DaiKarCher , and dearest chee mui CC :)

mentality ....

Ringgit blogged about 'wayarless' .... it's hillarious how we translate english into malay , eg komunikasi ( communication ) , fleksible ( flexible ) , motivasi ( motivation ) .... this week , in our country , there are another 2 gila things .
Firstly, govn't allowed our cab drivers to sell phone cards and drinks inside the cab ...hmmm , when I heard about this , I laughed it out , I would never dare to buy any drinks from the cab driver , who knows he/she is a good cab driver ? would he / she put 'special' pills into the drinks ? selling phone card ? why ???? what's the reasons ? As it is , our cab drivers are not reputable, our cab drivers are labelled one of the worst in Asia, now coupled with selling drinks and phonecard - aiyuh , I can imagine it's so rojak ....

Secondly, utara-selatan ( north-south ) highway , 10% discount from midnite to 7 am ... memalukan to the rakyat actually, it's better that they remain status qua than to propose this idea. To encourage drivers to travel within midnight to 7 am. Some rakyat called to radio station and commented that the toll company is not 'sincere' about giving their discount , as in they are not caring for the road drivers. This discount idea clearly promoting night travellers, whom most of them said dangerous to drive at night , harder on eyes , tired body , more prone to accidents, or even some culprits could easily setup 'fake accidents' in the dark night ...

Aiii , I pray that people use some of their brain juice , put themselves in the 'rakyats' shoes, think wisely and suggest more feasible , sensible ideas , sometimes it's quite memalukan reading all the hillarious jokes .... 'msia boleh' , I sincerely wish 'msia maju' lor , can we ?

I'm happy.......

This year , Bahija managed to read quite a few books , i think I broke the record this year :) .... I've learned to find the joy from reading, I've learned to find encouragement from the books .... lately, I'm busy reading and trying to catch up with all the books I bought , sometimes too kat cheong that I forego my beauty sleep - that's not a good habit ... I am also thinking how I could plan my schedule, so that I can go Cameran Highland or Genting Highland or Cherating - just relax, lepak, do nothing and read books .... a time to clear my mind , recharge my soul

Tonight , I had dinner with Ringgit and Mystic_Grey, Mystic_Grey bought me a gift - a book ( the bottom one ) ---> I already sensed that it's going to be a good read when I received it from her :) , Mystic_Grey , TQ so Much !

benefits for OKU

Firstly, OKU stands for Orang Kurang Upaya , which means the disabled folks. The disabled folks can go to JKM ( Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat ) , get the OKU application form, then go to government hospital , and get the doctor to fill in the form, then submit to JKM for application. Once approved , a red OKU card will be given. For those who is poor, underprivilleged, they can also apply for mthly allowances - they carry a different OKU card.

For red OKU card , following is the benefits :-
1. Bus - 50% discount
2. Kommuter - 50%
3. LRT - 50% from Prasarana Negara Berhad
4. Airplane - 50% discount on MAS domestic
5. Car - 50% discount on national car sales tax for OKU ( those not physically challenged )
6. Telekom - free mthly rental, free 103 service
7. Income Tax - tax deduction on OKU or parents who are taking care of OKU
8. JKM - mthly allowance for OKU who is working and mthly salary < $750
- custom tax deduction on equipments for OKU
- free to attend training or rehabilitation organized by JKM
9. Immigresion - free on passport frees
10. JPA - pension fund for selected folks
11. Education - $25 mthly for primary and secondary student
- $25 mthyl for student in Pemulihan Dalam Komuniti ( KDK )
- $300 mthly for student in IPTA and polytechnique
12. Hospital - free for government hospital and clinics
13. Parking - can enjoy the handicap parkings

*** our country is still trying to improve its social services. When I was young , it's very tedious and hard to bring Teddy Bear shopping , as we didn't know how or where were the facilities. Thesedays , handicap facilities have improved .... theseday, if I bring Teddy Bear out , I will park in 'Handicap' parking lot , display his OKU card, to show others that I need that facility, it makes my life so much better :) .....

so so , please help educate those folks who simply like to park at the handicap lots even though they are physically fit ....those are very bad behaviour

Black B

This is my new baby , the Black B ....welcoming her to my family, she's 56750 kilometers, born in 2003. Bahija hopes she'll be a great baby :)

Docker's Pant was the first passenger :) .... to all my fellow kakies , I hope you make it to my top 10 list ....

Byeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Sweety faithfully served me 12 years ... it's really hard to let her go, last weekend, I've been spending quality time with her, driving her around and kept thanking her , for her wonderful service. Both of us spent many wonderful time together, be it sad or happy moment ....some of you may think that I am crazy, somehow , she is 'alive' in my world. aiii, indeed I'm very sad to let her go ...... I didn't make it to 300,000 kilometers. Today, she finally changed owner, clocked in 297,854 kilometers for me... her new owner is in construction line , sweety will have to go to construction sites very often ....I wish her the best

6 more days ......

Aiiii , 6 more days - sept 28 - will be 3 mths since I left In-Kei , aiiii - the truth is Bahija really deeply misses her wonderful working life in In-Kei. Bahija needs to move forward , for the past 3 mths, I have been constantly reminding myself to be positive , to explore the new things ....don't look back , just be greatful that I have had those great moment in In-Kei.
Sept 28 , I will also let go or forfeit more than 1000 shares ( they are under-water now ) , aiii - that is a great loss to me :(

Finally .....sayonara to my sweety :(

Bahija has been talking on this topic for many years ....every time after calculating the mthly installment , I will park the 'desire' on one side. Lately the desire is back, this time - I prayed for it , I talked to people , contacted some friends for help .....today, 2 phone calls came, 4:30 pm , Bahija and her BIL ( brother in law ) went to check out the car , 6 pm - paid deposit liow. Wow , thesedays I am really 'shocked' with Bahija, her decision making is so fast , too fast that it's kind of scary. Anyway , the deal is done. Surprisingly, I am not excited or happy yet, likewise, I am actually sad to let go of my faithful sweety, she's been with me for > 12 years ...gosh, now she only worth RM6k nia , so sakit hati..too bad I can't keep her with me :(

Sept 22 - may the new sweety be as sweet as my current one ...

June 27, 2008

Today is Microsoft founder Bill Gates' retirement day .... hee, it's also Bahija's last day of work with In-Kei. The site shutdown annoucement was announced last year Oct, I made the decision on Nov ...dragging till now , it's been quite some long time, basically, for this first half of 2008 , I've not been very productive ....

I spent 6 yrs in I-Kei, and now 6 yrs in In-Kei. Ringgit reminded me how I ended my I-Kei farewell parties - back then, I was very sad to leave, there's strong connection, attachment .... I even cried at my team farewell lunch ....

Hmm, perhaps now - this thing has been dragging too long , thus I've gone immune, mentally have prepared for this date for way too long, until I have no such strong feeling, neither sad nor happy ...just feel nothing .... perhaps this is my 2nd time farewell, thus I'm good at it - haa

Anyway, my US boss made a special trip to PG , to bid farewell , sent me off , my PG team gave me a great dinner, and all my teammates plus ex-bosses , friends from FM gave me some awesome gifts ...when I opened the gifts, deep in my heart, I know I've made some fabulous friends along my 6 yrs in In-Kei, that they know me so well, and presented things I valued most ..to all of you , Thank You Very Much ....

** Both of my last day happened during Euro cups ...hurray ! First time - we ate dinner at Hartamas, and watched some Euro games then.... This time, I went to Austria, Switzerland, passed by some stadiums too , watched the games via TV live ...

my contiki trip

Things happened very fast ....within 2 weeks, Bahija and Sanguine Queen decided to 'Just Do It' , we went for 16 days Europe Horizon Contiki trip from June 8 to June 24. It's very fun and exciting. I've talked about goin Contiki for many years, it's great that I've made it while I'm still eligible ( for travellers from 18 yrs old to 35 yrs old only )

We have a friend in Amsterdam, thus both of us stayed extra days in Amsterdam, we also extended a few nights in Paris and enjoyed some shopping.... this year , Bahija didn't get any US trip, thus I enjoyed the little shopping spree at Paris :) ... I'll post more stories and photos later !

DRA

It's labor day today, a public holiday for all the workers :) ....when I logged on to check my office emails, saw a congratulation email - received a DRA ( Divisional Recognition Award) . Hmm, it's funny that the 'happiness' is not there, the 'excitement' is not there ... this is my 1st DRA from In-Kei , the last too and the only one too .... usually Bahija is very contented with even a small little thank you note ....after all, people took time to appreciate what I've done for him/her .... this time round , things just different liow , guess I'm preparing to shift out from office , and winding down my career here .....

some updates on me - my last day of working is June 30. I wish to take 3 mths break , spend time with family, go vacation , then perhaps a short mission trip. Wish to start working on Oct 1, this is the ideal plan. Bahija hasn't actively looking for jobs via head-hunters. However, I've received a few calls from my own contacts , I'm very blessed and very happy that people remembers me , and wanted to offer me jobs. I hv peace in this , knowing Father Lord will take care for me ....He'll open the right door for me :)

April 1

It's the April Fool again ....it is also Bahija's work life anniversary day (Bahija started her first job with I-Kei on April 1 many mooooons ago ) . There's nothing special this year, as the office will be quite empty, cold and dull too, as there isn't many folks left. This will be my last year spending April 1 in In-Kei ... I am looking forward to playing badminton at 5 pm

I spent 5 hours karaoke the night before with some of my newly upgraded 'ex-colleagues' , those who know Bahija, I wasn't a karaoke fan , but but things changed.... guess I've learn to enjoy karaoke , had some fun time singing out loud , singing some sad songs in time with my sorrow mood , then also singing some upbeat songs to cheer things up a bit ...

I just want to wish & pray for all my ex-colleagues a.k.a friends - hope each of you is able to find your next path and continue the life journey happily ..... this is an end, but it is also a great start :) .....

March 31 ...

Time flies ... end of Q1, march 31 - is another date where most of my office colleagues leaving In-Kei. It's really not fun to see my lunch kakies, my sanguine kakies, my chat kakies , my badminton kakies - left the office , and tinggal me seorang to 'hang in there for another 3 mths' ... Last week, I was away in PG , this morning when i walked into office, the office was decorated with all the lovely memorable photos taken throughout the whole 7+ years since the day this CJ office was setup - aiii , it's really very sentimental , for some of my friends who were the pioneers, I'm very sure they would have some special 'feeling' ..... Nov 16, I sent off first batch of folks ( mostly the IT folks ) , March 31 , I sent off the 2nd batch , this time, emotionally unstable ( slightly la) , heart is burdened and sad to see them leaving ...... the 3rd which is the last batch is June 30 - I don't know how would I feel then , that day will come very soon, which also signify my next chapter of life ......

my 1st Grand Prix Formula One ....

KL Sepang Circuit celebrated 10th yrs of hosting Grand Prix Formula One. This year, Bahija had the chance to experience the live competition. The weather was hot, but my seat was in covered grand-stand, so it wasn't that bad, just applied lots of sun block and drank plenty of ice cold water :) .... The most important to bring to this race is ear-plug, the loud engine noise is toooooo strong for our ears. I've enjoyed the whole session, after all - it's my first time ma .... however, Bahija most likely will not spend this expensive ticket and go F1 again .... at least not in KL ...Singapore night race may be :P ... I think staying at home and watch from TV is more enjoyable and comfortable :) ...

Q1 ....

Hi all ... hope everyone is doing great yea :) .... my last post was Jan 2 , and now it's March - Q1 is over soon ...Bahija appreciated all those who have went online to catch me, phoned, emailed or smsed me yea, I'm doin OK

Jan - work life was really busy, besides doing my own project, also need to add on performed maternity coverage ...

Feb - hurray , maternity coverage done ! ... happily celebrated CNY. After CNY, my youngest sister went for her brain surgery to remove her cavernoma ( 5 mm blood clot ) on her upper left frontal brain.

Mar - mum busy taking care of sister, I helped out with other things .... this month Msians also busy 'kek-poh-ing' in politics , get ready for election on March 8. End of March, most of my friends at my work place will be leaving the company :( , i surely will miss them very much ...aiii , next - my US team members will be in PG ...I'll be ambassador again :)

2008 resolutions ...

Bahija is learning from a new friend of mine , mnm :) role model some of the good habits from him. Bahija received 3 speed summons in 2007 , aiiii - pocket betul2 burned, must do sth to stop getting more ... for 2008 , I have 4 'S' to focus on ...

Slower - driver slower , observe speed limit + 10km :)

Simple - try to think , act , observe things in a simpler way - 'simplicity' , dun complicate life

Save - enhance value and dollar sense , try not to buang duit , it's not how much one earns, is how well one can save, control expenses or make good investment returns on the savings

Spirit - so much more to learn, to grow .....