back from the land up north!

sawasdee krub~~

sawasdee ka~~ i'm back! but cheh, things were so calm and peaceful, and everyone in the city went about their lives as usual, that we all really worried for nothing. we even had our driver drive us into the heart of the camp itself for us to take photos and see first hand how the situation is like. all is not as exaggerated and hyped-up as reported in the media and by some people...

more on the trip later, in a proper post hopefully! stay tuned! ;)

off to the capital of the land up north!

booking of flight - check!

booking of accommodation - check!

arrangement of land transfers - check!

confirmation of travel insurance - check!

confirmation of theme park ticket - check!

renewal of passport - check!

recharging of cameras' batteries - in progress...

packing of luggage - in progress...

coordination of meeting place & time for parties from 3 different locations - check!
exchange of currency - check!
activation of roaming service - check!
check-in of flight from the web - check!
noting down of tourist police and embassy numbers - check!

ok, all set to go! just hope we won't run into any trouble with the demonstrators there! our timing for this trip is all wrong. up until this morning, we're still halfhearted on whether we should really board our plane tomorrow... but after several phone calls to a few tour agents up north and a few thai acquaintances, coupled with a few inquiries to some thai nationals i met at the matta fair last weekend, we've decided to press our luck and get on with it.

so fingers cross, people! and if you don't hear from me by sunday, please send out a search party for 7 adults & 1 child!

shu uemura spray, spray, spray...

last weekend, N and i went out for dinner to celebrate the 15th day of the lunar new year. the 15th day, other than being the last day of chinese new year, is also the 1st full moon in the new lunar calendar and traditionally, it's a lantern festival for the chinese. but for N and i, it's just an excuse for us to meet up and go looking for good food! hehe...

but that's not what this post is about. it's what we bought that day. after dinner, we went on a shopping spree! ok, not really shopping spree lar... N ABSOLUTELY NEEDED to buy some skin care products, as she's been going to work with nothing on her face! and seeing that there weren't any sales person at the counter of the brand she always use, we decided to scout around for other brands that we can try.

and so, we strolled into shu uemura (according to google, it's pronounced as "shoo oo-eh-moo-ra". shy only! all these while i've been pronouncing it as "shoo yuu-moo-ra". and i studied japanese for 2 semesters! :P). long story short, we walked out totting a bag each. hehe...

but this post is not about our impulsive buying either, or rather, MY impulsive buying (anyway, my skin care products are also running low, so it's not really impulsive also!). this post is actually about this:

shu uemura's deepsea water facial mist...

i got a small 13ml sample bottle of their deepsea water facial mist with my purchase, and i absolutely love it! before this, the only facial mist i've used is the avène thermal spring water and i've only ever used it when i'm outdoors. after a hike or an outing outdoors, when our face is all flushed and hot and sweaty...

then N told me we can also use facial mist in the office, when our skin is most susceptible to dryness due to the air-condition. so i tried it, and it's been one of the MUST-HAVE things on my work table since, next to my phone, notebook and mug. the fine mist just felt so great on our face, especially when our eyes have been staring at the computer for hours and our skin is feeling so tight and dry and tired. just spray, spray, spray, and we'll feel instantly refreshed! energized! cooled! it's really great for our m'sian weather... (i really should contact shu uemura about some sort of advertising fee here!)

shu uemura's deepsea water mist has 9 scents and mine's the bergamot (orangey colour). according to the sales person, their best sellers are lavender and rose. but i still love the bergamot. i've been spraying so much that i think i'll need to get myself the regular size bottle soon, coz i've already used up 1/4 of my sample bottle, and it's not even one week yet! *sigh* more spending! :P

confidence overload...

it's funny how just one thing can change a person's emotions. a word from someone, a look, an event, a small episode, a smell, a sound, a thought... and the next moment, we can be elevated to the state of euphoria, or drop to the depths of despair, or just about anywhere in between. it's true what buddhism teaches us, about the ever fluctuating 10 worlds of the human state.

anyway, i'm currently brimming with confidence, at my own ability, capability, my skills, my working experience... why? because i was just offered a job by another company a couple of days ago, with a somewhat big pay jump (at least big for me lar, considering the peanut pay i'm getting now...). and when i tried to tender my resignation, my current company in turn made me a counter offer, to match the pay the other company is offering. so seeing that my company has at last come to their senses (hehe...) and showed that they are sincere in wanting me to stay on, i accepted their counter offer. but then when i wrote to the other company to reject their offer, they countered my counter offer!

this last turn really took me by surprise. and i was really flattered... am i so good that now i'm caught in a tug-of-war between these two companies? hehe, self-delusion... anyway, for about 10 seconds, i was really very tempted. i contemplated going to my current company and telling them of this latest offer. but that thought only lasted for a full 10 seconds... ok, maybe 12 seconds. but i didn't want this tug-of-war thing to go on. furthermore, i have already accepted my company's counter offer. if i were to go back to them again and tell them that the other company has countered their counter offer and i would like to accept it, won't i be not keeping my words and come across as 'money face'? bagi betis nak paha? (malay for "given a calf but demands for a thigh" - is there an equivalent english proverb? can't think of one now) it's best not to be greedy...

so i stood my grounds and told the hr manager of that other company to stop tempting me! yes, i really told her that. "stop tempting me!" she even answered in a cheeky voice, "it's my job to tempt you. so how? would you consider?" :P but boy was she pushy! she kept asking me what my current company has promised me in their career plan for me, how much increment, what kind of promotion etc. she even tried to sway my loyalty by asking, "why now only they want to give you an increment?"

actually, i've asked myself this same question before. why now only show that they appreciate me? all my hard work. all the hours i put in. all the assistance i've given. all the commitment i've shown... why now only they want to reward me, after there's a possibility of losing me? why didn't the company know how to give reward on their own accord? why? why? why?

well, we can't get everything perfect in life. likewise, there's no perfect company... every company has their own way of doing things, their own set of top management with their policies, their own strengths and weaknesses. so even if i were to forward these questions to my management, i doubt i will get satisfactory answers from them. so for now, i'm just gonna accept the counter offer, grit my teeth and plough on until i find the path to my dreams... and what dreams are those? hmm... i think i have shared a few here and there in my blog throughout the years, but to really list them out, i guess that will be for another post for another time...

in the mean time, all these offers and counter offers has really boosted my confidence in myself. at least all my hard work has not gone to waste. am happy! :)