The weather’s been utterly and horribly hot.

It makes the best of us wilt like soggy cabbages that someone forgot to put in the fridge.  My brains are addled, my eyes are on half-mast all day and I just feel like saying ‘No’ to everything.

Especially to Nooka.

Just discovered this funky brand of watch today during a day out with the sistahs.  At a glance, the watches looked cool. Futuristic, even.

But further inspection revealed that while the watches look good, they certainly make telling time a painful task.  Just take a look at these babies:

Nooka - Making simple things like telling time, harder

I mean, look at them!  I suspect those rocket-scientist wannabes may think this is the best thing invented since sliced bread.  For plain ol’ me, just the thought of squinting under the bright sunlight and making sense of the dots and line lengths to decipher time makes me want to either weep in despair or tear my hair out in frustration.

Telling time should be a simple, no-brainer task.  Not something like Nooka in a baking hot country like Malaysia.

Still, if I do ever get a Nooka watch (a pretty remote possibility but hey, they are not as pricey as they seem to be!) and if someone asks me for the time, I’ll just shove my wrist in front of their faces and let them decipher it themselves.  That way, I’ll still look cool and not have to tax my melted brain matter.  Heh.

Photo credits: Nooka

About 6 years ago, I was traipsing along Brooklyn Bridge, New York.  It was a beautiful day.  The sun was shining, the skies were blue and the bridge looked magnificent.  I was one of the hundreds walking on the bridge.  And then I passed a girl sitting on a bench.

Now, the bridge was quite a long stretch to walk.  So there were a few benches strategically placed along the way.

The girl who caught my eye was sporting a pony tail, had green fingernails, chewed gum and wore a long T-shirt over black tights.  Her slim body was curled on the bench while she read a book.

The book title was ‘The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People’.

Quite a number of pedestrians who walked past her, raised their eyebrows and/or hid their smiles.  I was one of them.  ”Why would a girl who’s serious about being a highly effective person be doing loafing on this bridge instead of doing something, well, productive?”

She probably knew what we were thinking – she was smiling broadly as she read the book.  But she didn’t give two hoots about what we thought.

Fast forward to the present.  I was reading a book the whole of yesterday.  It was pretty riveting and potentially life changing.  Right after I read the book, I declared to my amused brother that I was too lazy to do anything more and took a nap – which stretched to over 4 hours.

The title of the book?

10 Habits Of Highly Successful People.

Heh.

*Shakes cobwebs off the blog*

Hi ya, peeps.  Here’s a quick update of the weekend that was.

The weekend at Genting watching Dreamz with Bro, Celeste & Junnie was nice.  Quality time with bro and rather nice magic show.  First time ever I saw a man sawed into half and seeing his body parts twirled around the stage – and he’s still alive!  Or a woman with her head chopped off and transported to a different table from her body and both are still moving!  And the white tiger and lion were nice to look at.  Surreal.  The acrobatic stunts and dancing were ok but not mind-blowing.  And I wished the lovely princess sang in English.  But other than that, it was fun and exciting.  Thanks, Celeste for the free tickets!

When in Genting, act like a typical tourist, like me!

Then bro and I rushed to our room to catch 24 on the tv.  Thank goodness First World hotel had a clear reception of NTV 7.  Jack Bauer looked menacing and uber cool, as usual.  I watch 24 because he is a hero unlike any other.  But no, not an iota of crush on him.  Hah.

Morning came and it was deliciously cool.  If only KL was half as cold as Gentings, I’d be as pleased as pie.  We caught Star Trek and it is as what the others say – vastly entertaining even if one is not a Trekkie.  Sylar was very convincing as the young Spock and he does look a lot like the old Spock.  I’m also glad that there’s no cheesy romantic angle between some girl cadet and James T. Kirk.  It’s young Spock who got a lot of kissing action.  What a twist, heh. 

With the exception of LOTR and Indy Jones, I’m not a fan of sequels or pre-quels or whatever ‘quels’ there is but I’m actually looking forward to seeing Part 2 of J. J. Abrams’ version of Star Trek.  And that’s saying a lot.

All in all, a good weekend.  Time to prepare for Mon and a busy week ahead.

Nites!

More specifically Chek Hup.

Since my horrid bout of food poisoning last Saturday, I haven’t drank a drop of coffee.  Caffeine is not recommended when one has a troubled tummy. 

While I haven’t experienced withdrawal symptoms such as headaches and increased sleepiness, there is a huge sense of despondency that I cannot grab a cuppa whenever I want.  When stress hits, when I get writer’s block, when the word I want eludes me, when Grissom left CSI for good – I just want to make myself a potent brew of go-juice.  But I can’t.  Argggggh.

Now that it’s day #4, I think it’s quite safe to start off with my go-juice.  But it so happens that I am out of Chek Hup. Today of all days. Arggggh.

Somebody kill me.

Or.  I’ll just wait till lunch time and go get myself some coffee. 

After all I’ve been through, I think I deserve a cuppa.

I know, I know. My poor blog has grown cobwebs since I started writing for a living. This used to be the place for me to pour my pent-up writing juices back when I was working as an IT person. But now, there’s a lack of motivation to post things here – mainly because I’m chasing deadlines after deadlines and gallivanting about (locally!) to get the latest scoop on places, people and relevant products.

Life has been exciting. One heck of a roller coaster ride. I’ve learned and done things I never thought I would. Still, the journey has just begun and there are many, many more experiences ahead to relish.

Now the Chinese New Year is coming and it will soon be exactly a year since I made the career change. I have no regrets in the year that has been. But there were a couple of losses when it comes to letting go of toxic baggages which I do not want to carry over to the New Year. With each loss, hopefully there’ll be new gains – a lighter soul, more laugh lines and a gaggle of friends (rekindled & new).

I learned that life is about taking chances. Against my normally cautious and water-phobic self, I decided to write about whitewater rafting. Once that decision is made, everything started falling into place. Before I knew it, last Saturday I found myself snug as a bug in an inflatable raft at Kampar River along with 15 others – garbed in helmets and life-jackets with paddles in our hands.

Before reaching the terrifying ‘Boom Boom’ rapid, I gulped down all fear of tumbling out of the raft and met the challenge head-on. It was indeed heart-stopping to finally reach Boom Boom. We were suspended on air for several long seconds before crashing hard to the rapids below. I couldn’t recall if I screamed. But something which I didn’t think I had broke to the surface. What was this strange thrill and adrenaline rush that I am feeling now? Could this be what bungee-jumpers feel right after they take the plunge?

I yelled out in victory to my colleagues.

“Woo hoo!!! We did it!!!”

So we did. And so we shall continue to do.

I’m now paid to blog at work.

Yep, you heard right. For 5 days a week (5 and a half on alternate weeks), part of my responsibilities is to manage and populate the company’s blog. And that’s why I’ve been silent on my own cosy little blog.

Kinda feels as if I’m being unfaithful to Coolcat’s Jottings though.

Well, we’ll see how it all pans out and if this weird feeling will fade.

:P

Kwipex, a discerning reader asked me if I ran out of Chek Hup in the comment section today. I was like, “Wah, how did you know??!”

Normally, I would err on the side of caution for the sake of my dear Chek Hup brew. I pride myself on being a coffee connoisseur and this packet of instant coffee gives me the perfect cup every time – at home, in the office and whilst traveling. Very, very convenient! I normally over pack on my Chek Hup sachets just in case I bump into a fellow coffee lover whom I can introduce this magical brew to.

So it was a shock to find myself stranded on an island quite far away with just one measly packet of Chek Hup to last me three whole days and two nights. What’s a coffee lover to do?

First, I hyperventilated silently. Next, I prayed that the hotels that I’ll be staying in will have good coffee. Lastly, I made my packet last for as long as I could – three servings. As suspected, I met a new coffee kindred spirit in the island and gave her that third serving. She gulped it down delightedly and as her Chek Hup introducer, I was saddened that I couldn’t offer her any more.

The first hotel we stayed had horrible coffee – (one sip and I went bleh!), but the second one had better ones. And my newfound coffee buddy and I made a pit stop at Starbucks near the marina (oooh, glorious Caramel Machiatto!). So things were fine, on the coffee side of things.

In less than two weeks, I’ll be off again for an even longer period of time. This time, Chek Hup sachets will be the first things I shovel into my backpack. I couldn’t contemplate suffering through another cup of bad coffee. That would simply ruin any trip!

So many things happening all at once and I feel like I’m in a lot of places almost all at once, too!

Firstly, I’ll be moving out to a nice apartment nearer to my office. I had no time to go scouting for a nice place so my future house mates did it for me. I just had to have a look at two of their final choices, made my choice, we cleaned the place up yesterday and we’ll be moving in there pretty soon. Mom and dad approved the move because they worry every time I have to drive a long distance home from work. I approve because it saves me a heck lot of time and money. So everyone’s in agreement but we’ll definitely miss each other :(

Tomorrow I’ll be off again to some island. No divers this time around but will be snorkeling about. Hope to catch up on some sleep amidst the fun activities the organisers have planned out. Happy weekend, folks!

The three of us walked into the office yesterday and our colleagues greeted us with loud cheers.

“Eh, two of them got more tan except for Ariel. Her skin color is still the same lar!” observed one dear colleague.

I needed no further invitation to regale them on my unfortunate bout of sea-sickness. “And so, while these two were busy diving, I was busy sleeping off the effects of the motion sickness pill inside the air-conditioned cabin! That’s the reason why I didn’t get tanned at all!” PL, my editor laughed at my story.

One of my melancholy tanned colleagues was aghast, “Eh… this kinda stories are embarrassing leh. No need to tell that you got seasick wan!”

Sanguine PL and I gave him an equally aghast look, “Why not? It’s funny what!”

So that highlights yet another difference between the melancholy temperament and the sanguine. One would rather keep ‘embarrassing’ stories to themselves and the other, would enthusiastically narrate them because of the entertainment factor.

:P

As you can see, there are some changes to this blog’s look. Not really intentional but the upgrade process hit a snag and one thing led to another and now you are staring at a transitional look.

Shall tweak more on this when I have the time. Off to a shoot now.

Be good!