Wishes for my dear friends

Hock and Lai Kin, congratulations on tying the knot!

Well, technically you already done that quite a while ago but hey, the wedding's lunch was held today and I was invited so that's that. =)

May you live happily ever after and be blessed with Hock and/or Kin junior aplenty. ^_^

Start working on it already! =P

Thank you so much for inviting me to share your big day. Sorry for being late, even already given you advance notice I still dislike being late. Ah well, the sons are the kings.

I just realised you did have a wedding invitation card for me, and a pretty classy one too. Only you picked the wrong delivery man, Mr Tak Boleh Harap handed me the invitation card after the wedding lunch ended and after I have exited the restaurant.

For those who do not understand Malay, tak boleh harap means hopeless, can't count on.


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Talking of said Mr Tak Boleh Harap, also known as (a.k.a.) Edison Teoh, a.k.a. Lim Pee Hoe, happy birthday to you!

33 already, act lar like your... nevermind. =P

Wanted to celebrate the birthday with you but I guess things just didn't work out. Not sure you wanted us to celebrate with you anyway since there was that lady friend of yours who you didn't bother to introduce.

My guess is that you had better plan with your girlfriend, I totally understand that, you being... well, you.

For a moment there thought you were handing out YOUR wedding invitation when you handed me the card. You really veli the beh!

Hope you have a fantastic birthday, remember the rubber. =P




I intended to share the jackpot with all who left a good luck wish in the previous entry, since no body bothered and I didn't hit the jackpot, it's moot. =P

Luck and Wishes

I probably have written about this before, possibly a few times already, but thanks to my goldfish memory I am not entirely sure, so here it is (again?).

Nothing wrong with repeating the same topic anyway, just boring. But that's no different to all my other entries, so all is good. =P

It's my belief that we have this special account that stores luck instead of money. Luck is automatically deposited into the account when we perform good deeds, and deducted when we do bad stuff. I supposed you can think of it as an account for our karma points.

I also believe that when we wish someone, say good luck in something, we transfer some of our luck to his or her account, the amount depends on just how sincere our wishes are.

Ditto with the little prayers before exams, happy birthday, all the best, get well soon, et cetera, all those wishes we made sincerely. If the recipient is ourself, then the luck is used up instead of transferred.

To me, gambling is purely a game of luck, so that definitely drains the account. This is one of the reasons why I don't gamble, I prefer to use my luck in other things.

Hey, when I sincerely wish you well or something, I genuinely meant it, I am giving you some of my karma points! =)

Not sure if there's anyone with the same belief, but this is one of the rare few things that's truely original for me. I just believe this without being influenced or told by anyone.

Anyway, I am going to visit the casino for the second time in my life, and this time I intend to play. I just hope I have accumulated enough luck, heaven knows I could use some extra money.

Wish me luck, anyone? ^_^

Home Alone

Been alone since I drove wifey and sons to the inlaws' in the weekend, will only reunite with them end of this week.

I guess I just want to do a warning kind of thing.

If you find me crankier, crazier, grumpier, more sarcastic, more wicked, more antisocial, more sinister, duller, grouchier, more irritable, more sadistic, eviller, and/or generally more unpleasant than usual, please don't call Tanjung Rambutan forgive me.

You know, without the better half and the two bundles of positive energy to counteract the huge ball of negative energy (that's me!), things tend to plunge straight down slide a teeny weeny bit to the worse.

Oh, given that I can walk about naked at home now, so if by unlikely chance anyone wanted to pay me a visit, please call or notify ahead of arrival. I don't want you to be traumatised or mentally scarred for life. =P

Besides not having the daily dose of happiness and positivity, there's another issue that plagues me everyday...

What to have for dinner huh?

歌词乱凑

忙是为了自己的理想还是为了不让别人失望？

友情对我来说是另一中财富，在心灵上不再孤独

没有承诺却被你抓得更紧

给我关怀为我解忧，为我凭添许多愁

我不是你眼中唯一将领，却是不起眼的小兵

我不相信一瞬间的勇气，我只接受一辈子的约定

让我走出一片天空，让你尽情飞舞，放心的追逐

孤独的黑夜向谁说话，难道你真的那么傻

有些事情你现在不必问，有些人你永远不必等

解脱，是肯承认这是个错

什么…都自然



不要担心或胡思乱想，我只是一时兴起把我喜欢的歌词写下而已。没事没事。

When shit happens...

...it comes in big stinky overflowing bundle that drowns you.

Work life is pretty much a bloody mess now until some form of finality sets in so there's clarity and I could regain some sense of direction.

Skin rashes out of nowhere that refuse to become better, not that the doctor I consulted seemed to know much about it. Next appointment I will ask for a referral to a specialist.

Younger son is being difficult, simply doesn't want to sleep at night lately, making both wife and me exhausted, and subsequently short-tempered.

Lousy piece of shit software that just stopped working for no reason, fine until yesterday night, kaput tonight. Still getting nowhere with it as of the time of writing this. Think I will just uninstall that piece of crap later today and reinstall a fresh copy.


The night has gone like this:

Arrived home. Quick goodnight kisses to the sons as they were still up. Dinner while watching news. Dishes. Shower.

Wanted to do a bit of surfing but computer problem with the anti-spyware and anti-virus softwares. Stress.

Booted up laptop while trying my best to debug the home computer, use the laptop to download latest versions of those softwares and their definition updates. Managed to get the anti-virus software to work again but the anti-spyware still forever stuck at the loading stage. More stress.

Scanned the home computer with the anti-virus software while I checked and read some work e-mails. More rubbish. Frustrated.

No virus found, just some harmless tracking cookies which I deleted.

Gave up on the craptastic anti-spyware. Wanted to play a quick game or two, my form of stress-relief but no dice as younger son started crying and wife was frustrated to the point of not caring. I took over and brought him out of the room.

Kept him entertained and quiet while surfed the internet using the laptop. Booked the badminton courts for 18th of August as midnight came.

Son was tired but refused to sleep, threw tantrum. Eventually he wanted nothing but mommy so back to mommy he went.

Already past 01:00 hours. Meeting in 6 hours. Going to start another day tired.

Shitty shit.

Principles

Principles, beliefs, moral codes, attitudes, not sure which one correctly reflects the stuff I am writing about here. Perhaps it's a mixture.

I am just going to use whatever I think sounds better in the sentence. =P

So, do you have these?

For I do, and here are some which are at the top of my mind:

- Never hit a lady

Husbands who hit their wives, guys who hit girls, are just cowards. I am not implying the ladies are weak, there are plenty of women who can easily knock me out. To me, this is just a men's thing.


- If it's worth doing, it's worth giving your best (if it's not worth doing, don't bother)

Most often than not, half-hearted attempts are just a big waste of time and energy. If you want to do something, give it your best shot. Else just don't do it.


- Side with the underdogs

If there's no personal affiliation, always side with the weak. That's why in the rare occasion that I follow a sports event, and if neither teams is my home or favourite team, then I will always cheer for the underdog. Underdogs unite! =)


- Human first

When it comes to charity, always help the human beings first before animals or planet. And given the choice, always help the babies and children before adults.


- Truth and frank

There is no point trying to pass myself as someone better than who I actually am, I am who I am. Only give promise I intend to keep. Be honest and frank, say what you mean, mean what you say. Don't lie, it takes more lies to cover your first lie.


- Be punctual

I strive to be on time, for time is precious. If I cannot make it on the time I promised, I would try my best to inform the others. Don't waste other people's time.


Okay, mind's coming up blank now, time to stop. =)

Having Fun

The annual departmental Olympic Games has begun. Badminton's the first event and the quarterfinal rounds were held today.

My team doesn't really have any superb badminton players, given that they think I am their best hope. HA. HA.

Do not equate being passionate with being skillful. Just because I like it doesn't mean I am good. I freely admit that I am mediocre, it's the truth and my ego doesn't need empty boosting. Badminton just happens to be a sport that I don't suck as much as the other sports. =)

Unfortunately, the team competing against us does have a superb badminton player that we know of. I am a realist, if the team assumed I was their best hope, then we do not have a chance in single match. I made that plainly known to the team.

As we need to win at least two out of three to proceed to semifinal, and the three matches being one single and two doubles, our chance was in the double matches, in the hope that the opponent would pair the superb player with someone who we could capitalise on. That's assuming there's no other superb badminton player in the opponent team that we are unaware of.

The best case scenario for us would be if the opponent superb player was in mixed double, leaving the men's double to others, then I would say it's 50-50 (him being in single is a given).

Well, if the opponent was wise, they would put the superb player in single and men's double (with their second best player) to ensure their best chance of winning.

That was exactly what the opponent did. Well, I would too if I were them, so kudos for playing strategically and winning!

Since there's no published rules before the competition coupled with the dictatorial style the committee is running this Olympic Games, rules were created on a whim so somehow it's okay for the opponent team to compete even though they only have three players, they simply recycled their players. Meaning we ended up having our mixed double (which was fantastic!) against their weaker men's double, and our men's double against their stronger men's double.

The results? Erm... let's just say we are taking the first step in fulfilling the "Last" Olympians promise. =P

Well, I am not saying that we would win if we stuck to the original team formation, but I do think we would have a better chance of at least winning one match if we did. Instead of a whitewash.

I have no problem taking one for the team, so when the captain told me there's a change of plan and asked me to go be the sacrificial lamb in the single match, I duly did so. Thanks for all the cheering even though we all know there was not a fat chance! No worries, I am a realist without ego issue and in truth I believe.

I just didn't realised that being the 'best hope' was also so expendable, all for saving the captain's face.

There is having fun while winning, and there's having fun while losing. Given choice I prefer the former.

Maybe, just maybe, the captain will put what's best for the team before himself in the coming events.

We can always hope.

Candy

After the drop of the "atomic bomb" last week which left the department in pieces and casualties in a less than pleasant state, the management took a leaf out of the politicians' book in today's business update meeting.

They gave out candies.

But unlike the election time politicians version of bribes "candies", the management literally gave out candies. As in, they gave each of us an edible happiness.

I suppose it's cheaper this way compared to getting fire resistance attire or Kevlar vest. =P

Either the trick worked or we simply couldn't be bothered, no body raised any nasty questions in the Q&A session.

On a side note, Chin Chin tried to con me out of my Dairy Milk, saying it's for my own good since I'm lactose intolerance.

Taking away my chocolate?

Neva!!!

Eat until puke also worth it. =P

Why?

Why do people think it's alright to litter? Out of the vehicle window. Unwrap and drop as they go. Disposing trash in the drain, river, sea, anywhere they feel like it.

Why so many road users are so darn selfish and senseless? What's wrong with your indication light? What's with driving in two lanes?

Why safety consciousness is so lacking?

Why are there so many irresponsible people?

Why so many have no sense of time? What happen to punctuality? Other people's time is worth less?

What happen to the courtesy of giving people heads up if you are running late?

Why as the technology and gadgets in communication get better, people communicate less effectively, or not at all?

Why is it okay to leave an hour later than the planned meet up time, with at least half an hour of travel time needed?

Why have people stop aspiring and striving to be a better person? And instead want only to drag the others down to their level?

Why is the service at many restaurants so horrible nowadays?

Seriously, what's wrong with all these people?

Why doing a great job and being an excellent employee do not guarantee job security?

Why are weekends more tiring than working days?

Why is it so darn difficult just to live a simple, decent life?

Why do I still bother? Why do I care?

Crossroads

Judgement Day?

Will tomorrow be the judgement day?

Since I cannot see into the future, and am only a kacang puteh very far away from the top management circle, all I can do is to speculate.

Probably won't hit my group too hard, likely to hit my department in some ways, and think it's going to hit the sister department which my department is closely linked to fairly significantly.

Once the sister department goes under, it will only be a matter of time till my department follows suit.

Should I stay with my group since I have a decent manager, or should I start looking elsewhere where the future is a tad more secure?

Probably the question should be whether or not my manager will stay or jump ship, and if he did abandon ship, could I and should I follow?

You jump I jump?