"Only 122km/hour"

Ever been stopped by the police for speeding? Well, that's what happened to me this morning.

This morning I left my house at around 9.00am. My first meeting was at 12.00 noon. I knew there's no way for me to make it on time. Not unless I hit on the accelerator just a little bit. Kena pecut la sikit...nak buat camne kan. If not sure tak bole sampai punyer. Not when you have about 300 over kms to cover to the destination.

Travelling in the morning has its very own challenge. The POLICE what else. When one needs to speed, the POLICEMAN is not someone you'd want to encounter with. After a good two hours of driving, I was getting bored and sleepy too. Tried eating asam, nuts and drank lots of water too. I changed radio stations a couple of times. All of these didn't help pull me out from the boredom of the driving. To make matters worse, there were lots of road contruction along the way. Obviously, you'd have to slow down. Lagi lah boring....

I sped at times and slowed down at areas where I thought police would be hiding with their speed detector. One thing good about Malaysian drivers, they'd signal to other drivers when they see police on the opposite direction.

So to say I wasn't "informed" of a speed trap is not quite right. I saw a driver flashing its lights, telling me that there is police somewhere. I slowed down of course upon getting the signal. I was going between 100 - 120km/hr. But I guess there were times when I went slightly above the allowed speed limit. Mengantuk, bored and all, tak perasan yang I had gone faster.

About 20kms from my first flashing light signal was the police road block. Half of the highway was blocked and there were like policemen all over the place. As I passed the road block, the policeman told me to move to the side. Ahhh.....sudah....CONFIRM sudah kena!!! Urgghh.....macamana ni?? Macamana bole kena plak ni?? I thought I was really controlling my speed.

After I pulled to the side of the road, one policeman came to the car. I wind down my windows and gave him my most POYO (bored plus confused) face. The officer asked for my identity card and driver's license. Then he told me I was speeding. Yah..yah...I know. I wouldn't be stopped if I wasn't speeding right?

The officer said he was going to give me a ticket. Alamak...nak saman?? Ayoo....datuk, tak payah lah. Bukan mana laju pun. 122km/hr je. Kalau nak compare the Porche Cayenne infront of me tu...tak de mana nyer my Toyota tu lah!! So I tried all that it takes to get away from the situation. I even told the officer, I didn't have the money to pay the ticket. Not when minyak naik, harga beras naik and segala bende pun naik. But I guess, when I opened my purse to bring out my IC, he saw my fifty ringgit notes. Wei...itu money to pay toll lah. Tak kan tak tau kat Mesia ni semua benda nak kena bayar daaa...

Finally after a couple of minutes of bargaining on the ticket, he let me off. And you know what did the trick?? My baju kurung which was hanging at the back seat. The officer asked me where I work. Ohh....banyak la plak soalan-soalannya Datuk ni. Hai macamana nak kata eh, "Saya keje buat project korporat utk gomen??" Lagi lah tak faham Datuk tu kot. So I put it in simpler terms. I told him I had a meeting with some government EDUCATION officers. Wahhh...that got him to bend a bit. I guess he must be thinking, "EDUCATION, anything to do with it must be very important". Betol la tu datuk oii... Like I said, memang dah tekad nak get away scot free. Tak kuasa nak bayar saman lerr. Duit tu bagi kat gomen. They all use the money for pelik-pelik projects (like the latest one yg DPM kata nak give athletes a million ringgit if they came home with GOLD medals in the Olympics...crap lah) No way...no way. I am not going to part with my money!!!

Plus the other thing yang got me off was the little "gedik" attitude I put on. Buat la suara ala-ala ELLA gitu. Manja-manja skit.ha ha ha. Drama je tu....and he bought it. He then told me. "Lain kali bila nak go out station, bawak la kawan. Tak de la sunyi." Ok lah..ok lah...apa-apa pun I GOT AWAY OK!!! So much for a 40 something mengedik. WoW didn't know I still had it!! Still had the gedikness in me huh? Bakat terserlah secara natural bila terdesak!!!

So moral of the story is DO NOT SPEED. Stick to the speed limit at ALL times. If you do have to go fast and got stopped by the police, PRAY that the officer is a guy and then by all means girl...use all that you've got. Flaunt, gedik, tilt your head, play with your hair or twirl your tudung. Buat muka la kesian, poyo or muka in pain ker...anything that you can think of.

Bottomline is, do ANYTHING it takes to get away not having to pay. It's worth it coz it feels good. So, so good....

I'm Yours...I'm Yours by Jason Mraz

Ooo... I am so smooched by this song. There's a lil bit of reggae in it that gets me tapping my feet throughout the entire song.

Well you done done me and you bet I felt it
I tried to be chill but you're so hot that I melted
I fell right through the cracks
and now I'm trying to get back
Before the cool done run out
I'll be giving it my bestest
And nothing's going to stop me but divine intervention
I reckon it's again my turn to win some or learn some

But I won't hesitate no more, no more
It cannot wait, I'm yours
mmmm mmm

Well open up your mind and see like me
Open up your plans and damn you're free
Look into your heart and you'll find love love love love
Listen to the music of the moment people dance and sing
We're just one big family
And it's our God-forsaken right to be loved love loved love loved

So I won't hesitate no more, no more
It cannot wait I'm sure
There's no need to complicate
Our time is short
This is our fate, I'm yours

Scooch on over closer dear
and i will nibble your ear

I've been spending way too long checking my tongue in the mirror
And bending over backwards just to try to see it clearer
But my breath fogged up the glass
And so I drew a new face and I laughed
I guess what I be saying is there ain't no better reason
To rid yourself of vanities and just go with the seasons
It's what we aim to do
Our name is our virtue

But I won't hesitate no more, no more
It cannot wait, I'm yours

Well open up your mind and see like me
Open up your plans and damn you're free
Look into your heart and you'll find the sky is yours
So please don't please don't please don't
There's no need to complicate, 'cause our time is short
This is- this is- this is our fate
I'm yours

Simply awesome this piece by Jason Mraz!

Spring Repair

I pass this eye catching signage everyday on my way back from work. I've been wanting to get a shot of it but no avail. Most of the time I was either too far from it or too occupied to remember snapping a picture. Today, I finally got it.

Written on stricking amber coloured card, it would definitely attract any passing driver's attention. Indeed it is good product advertising. I would give it an A for sure.

I guess with all the fiasco that's going on in the country, folks need to divert their attention onto "something" else. What interesting about the signage is its assuring promise "SPRING RETURN. ADA SIJIL KESIHATAN."

I thought "spring" was only used during physics experiment in school. The word "SPRING" transported me back to my days of doing physics in school. My physics sir used to say "spring anjal vs spring tak anjal". Uummppp...cannot imagine la macamana..heh..heh...

The adveriser is also bold enough to display his (or her coz maybe it's a SHE??) contact number. I wonder if there are folks who'd jot down the number and call to enquire. As for me, I'd like to see how long is the signage going to still be posted. If I recall well, it's been there for more than a month!! My guess is, as long as the signage doesn't get blown away by strong winds or knocked down by some crazy driver, it will continue to be there, attrating more and more curious people. And I really wonder out of the many who saw it, how many would actually have the guts to make that call.

FOR YOUR EYES ONLY

Off late there is just so much hu-ha about the salary of the top corporate figures in the country. However, this one news irked me more than the rest. It was given comprehensive coverage both by the alternative and main stream media. The news was none other than a certain CEO’s 100% salary increase. What??? A hundred percent increase? Petrol naik harga, beras naik harga and segala naik harga. Gaji of this cherubic face CEO pun naik jugak? And a hundred percent increase?? During these difficult times? You gotta be kidding…..

First there was this loud and proud announcement. Then last night, dear Mr. PM said, "Mana ada…blah..blah..blah….justify this and justify that.” Haiya…who are we to believe ahh!! That’s it for me. I don’t believe anyone of them. They are just talking through their @#$XX. It’s a whole bunch of crap they are talking. So, if these people don’t know what on earth they are doing, just please HUSH UP!!

Best thing was, at last night’s prime time news, even the figure was announced. Maybe I heard it wrong, but I thought I heard the figure came to somewhere in the millions. So now…more of the untold is revealed. The more these people open their mouths, more juice will pour out.

My other point here is confidentiality. Isn't salary supposed to be CONFIDENTIAL? Many years back, when I first started in HR, this was the first thing my boss told me. Salary is CONFIDENTIAL. What you see is FOR YOUR EYES ONLY.

Well, for a newbie in the department, I kept my mouth shut. Not a whisper would come out of me. I could have blurted my MD’s salary if I wanted to and also the handsome bonus the directors were getting. But to me, when I am entrusted to do so, I’d do as I was told.

“No one should know about salary. When others know, they will start to compare and that’s when things can become haywire.” Those were the exact words of my HR Director. She’s retired now. But her good advice still comes in very handy.

Now, back to this publicized salary thing. See…what has happened now? There is just so much unrest over the whole matter. It has indeed become the talk over morning breakfast, lunch, tea and dinner. And most of the comments were rather negative I must say. Not enough with the coffee shop talk, throngs of people are debating it in forums on the Internet.

To me something is not right somewhere. Here you have someone getting a 100% pay hike while there are others who have to keep two, three jobs to make ends meet. Now, even Mr PM is encouraging this, allowing people of the lower income group to moonlight!! Wah…now, we have this new term in the service - legally moonlighting. Ummpppp……what say you??? So I guess, I’d be seeing more of the office to office business sprouting? Thumbs up folks coz’ in Malaysia apa-apa also BOLEH!!!

Envious Emails

I wonder if this has happened to you guys out there before. Why is it when colleagues hear that you are going out of town, they assume that you are off on a holiday. They then send you some envious sounding email like have fun, enjoy the sun and the good food etc, etc.

I received one of those emails last weak when I was in Paka. I wasn't like upset or anything when I received it but when I replied, I purposely added all the spices that could be added to it.

Well, the email, in a few words implied what fun I was having lazing by the beach under the sun and indulging the good food. Ooppsss...how wrong can one get. This was a work trip and it was not those holidaying by the seaside kind of thing.

The pool at the resort. And the closest I got to the waters. No way I was going to swim in here..eiiyeww...

The naughty me replied the email in these few words too..."yup, having a splendid vacation. hunks in shorts are all over the place. care to join me?"

Ha..ha..ha...anyone green with envy yet??

Crazy Tuesday

Discovered this online today.

Ticket price from KUL to Dhaka is now going at RM977. Goodness, just two months ago it was going at almost 3K!! Air Asia and MH are advertising back to back in the local dailies. The airlines price war is really for real.

I texted my sister who is away in Miri. She responded almost immediately. She said, "If you go Dhaka, aku nak kirim." Haaa...tengok tu...how great minds think alike.

Luckily there were no takers to my CRAZY mid week travel bug (plus I could almost visualize the relief look on ABE's face..heheh..heheh) . Otherwise, I'd be making some folks from this 3rd world country very happy.

Here in My Home

Day 3 in Paka. Rise and shine!!! Tonnes of work to be done. Hope to wrap up my work by tonight and head home tomorrow.

My mood is better today. Probably because I don't have much time to think about personnal matters in the last 48 hours.

A friend posted this video in my Facebook today. A real nice one and also one of the reasons to my spirits being uplighted today. Thus, I am putting the link here to share with you readers.

Turmoil Aftermath

I am writing this in entry from Paka, Terengganu. A small town which is situated half way between Kuantan and Kuala Terengganu. Located by the sea and a slow 10 minutes drive gets you to the Petronas Oil Refinery and Gas Processing Plant stand like mortal structures.

On my way to the resort last night, the Refinery plants were brightly lighted. It was such a beautiful sight, seeing the massive complex stand majestically to one's eyesight. This was the first time I am seeing such a sight. Impressive, very impressive.

As I stared at the burning gas at the tip of the tower silo, a sudden chill came to me. The flames reminded of what my feelings had been over the past few days. The incident which took place between "a certain person" and me over the weekend was still bothering me. There were "flames" every where. Hurt and deception overpowered any attempts of logical thinking to take place. In a way I am glad to have this time away to cool off so to speak. Deep in my heart I tell myself I want "things" to work out BADLY. But I am too cluttered right now to figure out how best to resolve things.

Being composed is something I really need to be and strong willed is a booster I need to have to survive this next few days.

I know it's a dugaan from the All Mighty. Thus it's in Him I put my faith and my trust for only he who knows what would be best.....

Current state of mind: confused, SAD, furious and HEART BROKEN :-(

Anyone With Bright Ideas??

On my way to work this morning, one radio station opened its lines to have listeners call in and share ideas on how to manage with the recent petrol price increase. The responses were mixed, some gave really bright ideas while some opened their mouth without even thinking. As always, car pooling, going out less, switching to smaller cars were some of the advices given.

One caller even suggested that we ride on horses to go places!! Ummmpppp.......can we? Perhaps we should take a look at how the Amish does it. I'm sure there'd be some minister who'd voluteer to do a study trip (to kaji and kaji and kaji lagi....) to the Amish community in the States.

One caller hilariously mentioned that we should carry less weight in the car. So to those guys with 3G (Gemok, Gempal & Gebu) partners, you either get them to shape up or go get a lighter "baggage". Huh??? Some people sure are very creative... But I'm sure that wouldn't help much in measures to deal with the increasing petrol price.

I'm already thinking of not driving too much. Work in the morning and back home in the evening. No more detours to the favourite kedai kain...despite knowing that there is a heavy jam all the way there. Ooouch....there goes my stress diffuser!!

I'm also thinking of not using the air cond in the car too much. Have the car windows down and enjoy the "whatever" that is outside. But how far would I last I wonder. First there is the heat. Then there's also the CO2 emitted from the other cars which I'd be inhaling. Short distance maybe lah...but all the way that 35kms to work. Oooopss....I'd think again.

How about a motorbike then?? At times on Saturdays I'd have to drive in out in out several times to send kids to Kumon lah, art class lah, music lessons lah, tee kwan-do lah etc etc. This is not counting trips to the groceries, hair dresser, dry cleaners, McDonalds, nasi lemak stall, taufu-fa spot, kopitiam, goreng pisang joint, mamak's bistro etc etc. Kalu on bike bole gak cilok and rempit..hehe...hehe. Ada berani kaa?? The agony of going several rounds looking for a miserable parking spot would also be a thing in the past. Ummppp...not a bad deal eh??

I guess I shall keep my options open. Bottom line is, I gotta at least try out something and see what would be the best solution for me.

Petrol Price Hike

Dear oh dear...must they do this to us the Rakyat again??

Mr PM announced yesterday that the price of petrol would increase effective midnight last night. Didn't they increase the price a couple of times last year? Berapa kali mau naik daaa?? The new price of petrol is RM2.70. It is a 78 cent increase from its current price then.

As usual the moment the announcement was made, vehicle owners thronged to the petrol stations to have their car tanks filled with fuel. The queues at the petrol station were riddiculously crazy. People were queing for like 1 km long just to ensure that they'd fill up to the brim and hope that the petrol would last forever. Kiasu mentality to the max....

Why bother lah!!! It's not like you'd buy petrol that only one time. Two days from now, when your fuel tank is empty, you'd be heading back to fill up again.

The roads were jam packed yesterday. No thanks to these queues at the petrol stations which some had spilled over onto the highways. And no thanks to the heavy downpour during home rush our yesterday either.

Guess...this is what development means. What a life....what a life!!!

Farah - Fifteen Today

It's Farah's 15th birthday today. ABE and Nissa got her a cake and we indulged in it after I came back from my work out. Nissa as always was the more enthusiastic one when it comes to birthdays. Cut the cake, served it to ABE & I and her sister. Plus running back and forth into the kitchen to entertain bibik who later joined in singing the birthday song.

No Dipping Tonite

I had wanted to go for a swim tonite. Unfortunately, when I got there, it started to drizzle. I was hoping that the drizzle would stop and I could do a few laps in the pool. Then suddenly, I saw a flash in the sky. Urgghhhh.....that was the lightning. So, no can do. Looks like I'd have to forget about going for the swim.

Rain and more rain

The other option was to hit the gym and sweat it out on the treadmill. Not too bad actually. I kinda enjoyed the work out, much to my surprise.

Shopperholic Talk

Does this make sense to anyone?

kay : yr tudung is suda siap
jupe : ok. me collect tomorrow
kay : tudung so cantik
jupe : plenty more where that came from...hint..hint
kay : joms...m'sia airlines got free & easy hanoi
jupe : godaannnn...
kay : mambang yg menggoda bukan sebarang mambang..mambang shopping freak
jupe : = pompuan gilos
kay : gilos + weng + stress = hanoi, shenzhen, jakarta. take yr pick
jupe : houston we have a problem
kay : do what must be done
jupe : we r what we do
kay : beam me up Scotty
jupe : encounters of the shopping kind

Special Branch dont get us wrong. These are just codes from one shopping freak to another. Doesn't make sense to you? Well, that's too bad. Guess you'll need to be just like us...shopperholic of the worst kind!!