let's go minum!

of all the different cultures in the companies i've worked for up until now, there's one glaring thing that sets my present company apart from the rest... and that is their minum culture!

i've never drank with any of my colleagues before i joined this company, but it's a norm now. but i'm not a heavy drinker... just a social one. if i need to drive back after our minum session, i'll just have one glass of beer. if i'm at the resort/hotel and have only need to walk back to my room, i'll have 2 glasses!

from a session at quattro recently...

but one thing's for sure, i've become a heavy 2nd hand smoker! :S

vote earth!

wah... suddenly my blog is filled with the earth hour banners and logos! haha, just taking my cue from auntyjo!

anyway, i placed an order for the earth hour 2009 t-shirt last week, and it arrived yesterday! i was supposed to get it last week, but the organisers received so many orders that they just couldn't make it on time. and the wwf ppl were bothered to call me up to explain abt the delay... so nice and considerate of them!

front view...

back view... "see your world in a whole new light"

well, it's a good thing that they're getting so many orders, coz it means more ppl are supporting the cause! i think this year's earth hour malaysia will be a much a successful campaign compared to last year's. i think it really was due to ignorance rather than indifference, as the writer had hoped, coz i've not heard abt this thing last year. but this year, nearly everyone has some inkling of what it's all abt.

the other day in a meeting, the bossbossboss was even talking abt pledging to switched off at our hotels and resort. but sadly in the end, it was deemed undoable, because we talked abt it too late. these kinda things need to be planned way in advance... things like informing our guests, planning an activity for guests so that they would not feel bored sitting in their darkened room without tv, lights and air-cond for one whole hour, making sure no one gets trapped in the lifts, making sure there're enough food, safety measures, etc etc... hopefully we'll be more prepared for earth hour 2010!

neeways, here are my personal efforts in minimising my carbon footprints on this earth:

1) my housemates probably think me a miser, because whenever someone accidentally left the lights on throughout the whole night or forgot to switch off their lights when they go out, i'd sure to be the one to point it out to them! then they'll try to placate me by promising to foot a bigger share of the electricity bill... but even though i'll talk abt the skyrocketing electric bill, IT'S NOT ENTIRELY ABOUT THE MONEY! there's also the wasting unnecessarily and the effects on global warming...

2) i'm paying more attention to all my switches... to make sure whatever i switch on are switched off after use.

3) i've been having this habit of pressing the fridge door with my fingers everytime i walk pass it (to make sure it is shut properly) since i found it to be slightly ajar sometime last year. i think it's safe to say that most people, after they've taken out/put something into the fridge, would just push the door shut and walk away, without really checking to see if it has shut properly. maybe the fridge was too full and the door has bounced back out by something in there. so even though the fridge door may look closed, if the side rubber (is that what it's called?) did not stick, air can and will escape and that will cause higher energy consumption.

4) i try not to accept plastic bags whenever possible... but this really needs a big conscious effort because it's just so natural to receive something you've bought in a plastic bag! and i kept forgetting abt my 'yellow foldable bag' given to me by M in my backpack, put in there for the purpose of carrying my shopping in.

5) i try to separate out the recycleables from my rubbish bin. i rinse out aluminium cans and plastic water bottles at home and i reuse the A4 papers when printing in the office. i also have a special tray for papers that has been used both sides, so that i can pass it to the cleaning kakak when it's full (coz i know they sell them for extra income).

6) i always save up all the used envelopes (paper and plastic ones alike) i receive, and reuse them whenever possible, especially when the document is to be passed on by hand.

well, these are just a few of the things i can think of for now. but while i'm consciously trying to minimise my role in damaging ole mother earth, i know what i've done and am doing are nothing to shout about. more effort should be put in! i'll try harder, i promise! :)

read also:
1) earth hour malaysia - it's as simple as a flick of the switch!

pet peeve #104607: people who don't know the difference between formal and casual communications

i don't know... but friends who use "corporate language" in casual settings really get on my nerves! this is especially true in written comm. here are some classic examples, and tell me if i'm the only weird one who feels this way.

1) sms from a bf/gf
"Please advice the best time to come and pick you up"

2) e-mail reply from a good friend, when informing him/her of something
"Noted with thanks"

3) sms in reply to an invitation from a close friend
"Sorry, I am unable to attend due to work commitments"


i mean, hello?!? don't we get enough of "corporate talk" in the office? i even switch to casual comm when typing out an e-mail to some of my better acquainted vendors, for crying out loud!

maybe the reason some ppl write this way is becoz the only time they speak english is in the office and that's the only way they know how to communicate in the language? or maybe they do not want to use bahasa pasar (bm for "street language"). but there are many ways of communicating casually without having to resort to bahasa pasar wat!

for the examples above, won't it be more intimate and not so starchyly-stiff if its written a bit differently?

1) "what time shall i pick u up?"

2) "ok, thanks!"

3) "oh, sorry i can't make it. i have work to do"


but personally, this is how i'll write it:

1) "pick u up at wat time?"

2) "okie! :)"

3) "kenot lar! need to work!"


so to friends and acquaintances out there, please ar! don't use corporate language with me hor!!

"3 drops of sweat" conversations...

stargal: *grumble*grumble* company making money, and yet force us to take unpaid leave...
bossboss: must think positively. this way, u can go home more often mar
boss: yeah, must spend more time with ur parents...

a few days later...

bossboss: wah, u're taking so many days off for cny?
boss: yeah lar. how can take such a long stretch?
stargal: must spend more time with the parents...
bossboss & boss: *sweat*

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

KL: hello, i won't be going for practice tonight ok?
stargal: har? then how?
KL: so u all just do ur own sectional lar
stargal: sien lor. why u can't come???
KL: my car broke down lar. u wanna buy me a new car?
stargal: ok, so u dun have to come lar! bye-bye!
KL: *sweat*

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

aunty: why u keep carrying your backpack like that? put it down lar...
stargal: hehe... it's ok. i'm used to it
aunty: don't you feel very "san-fu" (canto: difficult) carrying your bag like that while eating?
stargal: no lar, i'm always doing this. besides, i'll be the first to go if we need to "jao-lou" (run away)
aunty: *sweat*

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

stargal: KL, those extra cake, u bring home for your Tiger lar
KL: har? who is Tiger?
stargal: ur dog's name is not Tiger meh?
KL: since when? no lar...
stargal: eh?? then Tiger is whose dog?
KL: how i know ar?
stargal: i dun care! ur dog is Tiger!
KL: *sweat*

typing with the right fingers...

it's really quite amusing to see some ppl type. the boss types with only 2 fingers, with the index fingers of each hand. the bossboss types with 6 fingers, using the thumbs, index and middle fingers of each hand. the bossbossboss types with all 10 fingers, but not the right way.

other than the bosses, i've observed many amusing typing styles in many ppl. and that being said, the bossboss particularly loves watching me type. during meetings when i'm typing out the minutes as they speak, at my work station where she'll linger just for the sole purpose of watching me type, or even at HER workstation, where she'll push her notebook towards me for me to type out an e-mail reply while she dictates. i guess she finds my typing as amusing as how i find hers amusing...

actually, i got to learn how to type the correct way rather coincidently. since we were young, we had this big ass manual typewriter at home which belonged to mom. sometimes we would insert a paper into it and just type things out with our two index fingers just for the sheer fun of it. then when we got older, maybe around 10-12 years old, mom would try to encourage us to learn how to type on that typewriter. because u know, there's no harm learning a new skill and u'll never know when u'll need them. anyway, neither the bro nor i payed any heed to mom's words and just continue tapping away with our 2 fingers.

fast forward to 1996. the brother has just gotten into uni and has bought a pc. whenever there's a sem break, he'd bring the pc home and i'd go crazy going online everyday! that was the era of icq and geocities websites... anyway, the brother had this cd-rom that teaches us to type. but instead of those really boring prog that tells you where to place your index fingers and which letter should be tapped by which finger, this prog is really awesomely cool! they formatted it into a sort of a game, and i was so hooked with this computer game that i was typing away in just days!

who could've imagined that typing is really so easy? before i got hooked with that typing game, typing seemed like a really serious and difficult thing to learn. i guess i got that skewed perception from one of my tuition classes all those years ago. when i was in form 6, i had 2 classes of tuition in this old crickety building in jln trengkera, known as something-something chamber of commerce. it's one of those pre-war 2 storey shop houses that line that part of m'ca, and all our classes were conducted upstairs. but in the main hall of the downstairs, there's a classroom with desks and chairs... and an ancient, bulky metal typewriter on each desk. at first i thought that classroom was just a remnant of times gone by and is now not functioning anymore. and those typewriters were just left there to rot. but then one day, as i was passing by to go upstairs, i saw a small girl of about 10 years old sitting at one of the desks and typing out something. in the desk next to her sat the skinny aunty whom we all thought was the building's caretaker. she actually has a second role as the typing teacher! she was practically breathing down the little girl's neck in trying to make sure she's using the right fingers to type out her exercise. yikes, how boring to be learning to type on an antique typewriter, in a dusty classroom in an old rickety building and with an old scrawny aunty as your teacher!

well, actually i don't reallly know what's my point in writing this post. it's just that i get so amused with the bossboss staring at my fingers flying about the keyboard everytime i type in front of her. anyway, in retrospect, had the brother not brought back that cd-rom all those years ago, maybe i'd still be typing out this post with only my 2 index fingers!

anyway dear readers, do you type (the right way)? how did you learn? a curious gal wants to know...

earth hour malaysia - it's as simple as a flick of the switch!

read abt this in biow's blog...



What began as a campaign to get Sydneysiders to turn their lights off, has grown to become one of the world’s biggest climate change initiatives. In 2009, at 8.30pm on March 28, people around the world will turn their lights off for one hour – Earth Hour. We’re aiming to reach one billion people, more than 1000 cities, all joining together in a global effort to show that its possible to take action on global warming.

Earth Hour started in 2007 in Sydney, Australia with 2.2 million homes and businesses turning their lights off for one hour. Only a year later and this event had become a global sustainability movement with up to 50 million people across 35 countries participating. Global landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Rome’s Colosseum and the Coca Cola billboard in Times Square, all stood in darkness, as symbols of hope for a cause that grows more urgent by the hour.

Earth Hour 2009 is a global call to action to every individual, every business and every community. A call to stand up, to take responsibility and to get involved in working towards a sustainable future. Iconic buildings and landmarks from Europe to The Americas will stand in darkness. People across the world will turn off their lights and join together in creating the vital conversation about the future of our precious planet.

Over 64 countries and territories are participating in Earth Hour 2009. This number grows every day as people realise how such a simple act, can have such a profound result in affecting change.

Earth Hour is a message of hope and a message of action. Everyone can make a difference.

Join us for Earth Hour 2009, turn off your lights at 8.30pm Saturday 28 March and sign-up here to be counted.

crocheted wrist bag

*update: realized that "tote bag" means "large, 2-handled open-topped bag (usually of canvas material)". so i've renamed this as a "wrist bag" instead.

here's my latest craft... a wrist bag for N, who just started working for a new company. it's for her to carry her purse and handphone in when she goes for lunch.



found this pattern free at www.katcrochet.com

angel amigurumi

my colleague, A is leaving the company to go backpacking in china. so i made up an angel amigurumi as a farewell gift to her, to watch over her and keep her safe in everything that she does... completed it yesterday.

front view...

side view to show a bit of the wings and halo...

close-up shot...

read also:
1) i'm ami sifu!
2) more amis
3) amigurumi angels

post-cny post...

ok, so cny is not over yet... but for us workers, they sure as hell are! even though it's just the 10th day and i'm still getting one or two ang-pows, nothing bursts the "yay-it's-cny" bubble like having to drag urselves out of bed in the morning and sitting thru an hour of traffic to get into office on time!

on cny, it was ok lar... spent a total of 11 days at home! pure bliss, i tell u! but after all the bingeing and lazing around, it's kinda good to be back. i watched so much astro at home that i did not even touch the two books i brought home to read!

anyway, i would love to post some photos of my cny, but the very clever me brought home the camera case without the camera! ok, don't anyone mention about the weight difference and all! i was packing in a hurry and rushing to leave the house, ok?

ok, i think that should be all for now. gotta get home early and get some good rest today. stayed up late to finish up marley and me (2nd read) in prep for the movie. gosh, i always hate the part where they die in the end. cried my eyes out, which resulted in a blocked nose the entire night. and puffy eyes today. and a headache from sleeping on tear-soaked pillows! :S

crocheted baby booties

remember this? well, as i was making the carrier bag in the office, my colleague saw it... and immediately ordered one for her niece! so here it is... completed it before cny, but as i was already on leave, i can only pass it to my colleague tomorrow (she's on leave today). anyway, here it is... in pink as requested. photos taken by the brother, who dubbed it "goody 2 shoes"...




read also:
1) ah bao's baby booties