Wednesday 31 December 2008

happy.hogmanay.2009

AULD LANG SYNE
by Mairi Campbell and Dave Franci


Should auld acquaintance be forgot
And never brought tae mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
For auld lang syne?

For auld lang syne, my deor
For auld lang syne
We'll tak a cup o kindness yet
For auld lang syne!

And surely ye'll be your pint-stowp
And surely I'll be mine
And we'll tak a cup o kindness yet
For auld lang syne!

We twa hae run aboot the braes
And pou'd the gowans fine
And we've wander'd monie a weary fit
Sin auld lang syne

We twa hae paidl'd in the burn
Frae morning sun till dine
But the seas between us braid hae roar'd
Sin auld lang syne

For auld lang syne, my deor
For auld lang syne
We'll tak a cup o kindness yet
For auld lang syne!

HAPPY HOGMANAY 2009!!!

song.and.dance

The year end holiday season holiday has provided the perfect opportunity for us to watch two wonderful performances in the city of Glasgow.

*****

On Christmas Eve, the gang trooped to Theatre Royal for The Scottish Ballet's clever interpretation of Sleeping Beauty.

I enjoyed the ballet performance. The dancers were extremely graceful, the costumes were amazingly colourful, and the story was enchanting. Even the male dancers were really good.

Contrary to many who thinks that men who dance ballet are camp and gay. The men were strong and yet graceful, not overly macho or clumsy... except for one scene. It was the scene where the Prince and the Bluebird were dancing. It was quite a shocker and so wrong.

Nonetheless, it was just amazing! I'm so glad we went to watch it.



*****

Yesterday evening, we went to see Joseph and The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat at the Clyde Auditorium (a.k.a Glasgow's Amardillo).

It was another great performance, colourful and catchy songs. The costumes were not as elaborate as Sleeping Beauty but cleverly written and sung. Prolly it is one of the few performances which has more male casts compared to female (there were only five).

There were quite few good looking men. The ladies were really good dancers as well.

Craig Chalmers who played Joseph had the blondest blonde hair and whitest teeth, too white in fact. Tara Bethan who played the narrator can sing really high soprano notes. However, her overly energetic aerobic-resque dancing can get quite annoying at some point, especially when she danced at the highest step of the stage.

There were plenty of legs to see too (goodness I sound like a bloke!). Eve Marchant's legs went on forever - so envious. And there was one female dancer that sadly danced like she has the fits (mean! mean!).

All in all, everyone had great voice, even the little kids who were the Joseph Choir had so angelic voices.

*****

I'm so looking forward to next years event!

Thursday 25 December 2008

culling.part.one

It was 3649 text.
Last night.
Currently.
I'm down to 3355 3354.
Bring it on!

merry.christmas.2008



Have a blessed Christmas everyone!

o.holy.night


O HOLY NIGHT by Josh Groban

O Holy night, the stars are brightly shining.
It is the night of our dear Saviour's birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
Till he appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees! Oh hear the angel voices!
Oh night divine! Oh night when Christ was born!
Oh night divine! Oh night! Oh night divine!

Chains shall he break for the slave is our brother,
and in his name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we;
Let all within us praise his holy name.
Christ is the lord, that ever, ever praise we.
Noel! Noel! Oh night; oh night divine!
Noel! Noel! Oh night; oh night divine!
Noel! Noel! Oh night; oh night divine!

Wednesday 24 December 2008

christmas.isn't.christmas



CHRISTMAS ISN'T CHRISTMAS
By Jon and Joy


Christmas isn't Christmas
Til it happens in your heart
Somewhere deep inside you
Is where Christmas really starts
So give your heart to Jesus
You'll discover when you do
That it's Christmas
Really Christmas for you

Tuesday 23 December 2008

oh.come.all.ye.faithful


OH COME ALL YE FAITHFUL by Faith Hill

Oh, come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant
Oh, come ye, oh, come ye to Bethlehem
Come and behold Him, born the King of angels

Oh, come, let us adore Him, oh, come, let us adore Him
Oh come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord
Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation
Oh, sing, all ye citizens of heav’n above!

Glory to God, all glory in the highest
Yea, Lord, we greet Thee, born this happy morning
Jesus, to Thee be all glory giv’n
Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing

Oh, come, let us adore Him, oh, come, let us adore Him
Oh come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord
Oh come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord

Sunday 21 December 2008

fairy.tale.of.new.york

It's almost Christmas and I thought why not share with you a few of my favourite Christmas songs. Starting with my all time favourite...




FAIRY TALE OF NEW YORK
by The Pogues Feat. Kirsty MacColl


It was Christmas Eve babe
In the drunk tank
An old man said to me, won't see another one
And then he sang a song
The Rare Old Mountain Dew
I turned my face away
And dreamed about you

Got on a lucky one
Came in eighteen to one
I've got a feeling
This year's for me and you
So happy Christmas
I love you baby
I can see a better time
When all our dreams come true

They've got cars big as bars
They've got rivers of gold
But the wind goes right through you
It's no place for the old
When you first took my hand
On a cold Christmas Eve
You promised me
Broadway was waiting for me

You were handsome
You were pretty
Queen of New York City
When the band finished playing
They howled out for more
Sinatra was swinging,
All the drunks they were singing
We kissed on a corner
Then danced through the night

The boys of the NYPD choir
Were singing "Galway Bay"
And the bells were ringing out
For Christmas day

You're a bum
You're a punk
You're an old slut on junk
Lying there almost dead on a drip in that bed
You scumbag, you maggot
You cheap lousy faggot
Happy Christmas your arse
I pray God it's our last

I could have been someone
Well so could anyone
You took my dreams from me
When I first found you
I kept them with me babe
I put them with my own
Can't make it all alone
I've built my dreams around you

Friday 19 December 2008

christmas.party.08

Last night’s Christmas party was great!

It was a fantastic night.

I had a good helping hand from SM. Although, I’m sure she was still aching all over from her dash in Chicago airport. I was thinking of all the little things she helped, which in fact when you think back about it made a big difference.

The girls were looking gorgeous. Someone commented today that he never seen so much legs from the girls in the office before! *smiles*

The men were dashing. Everyone did their part to wear some tartan. I loved Debbie’s tartan ribbon in her hair and that heather tartan corsage was beautiful. Until now, I’m so glad that my pal Suzanne decided to dress in her gold frock instead of a typical black dress cos she was afraid her bump would make her look like a house. But she didn’t. And she looked stunning!

The ceilidh band turned out better than expected. I had a few dance during the first set and didn’t dance again until the last dance of the night. I was busy catching up with folks I haven’t seen for ages! And it was good to just chat with some of the old friends.

We later headed off to One Up for drinks. By 130am I just had enough and headed home to wonderful smelling cookies, and bed.

Some of the pics from last night were out. The decent ones. The dodgy ones (so they say) will be out soon.

Interestingly, there was lots of gossip to catch up on today as well. The accidents that happened - the top guy of the area fell and broke his wrist, he was a really happy man last night 'tho; the scandalous gossips that get tongues a wagging.

Oh, the power of alcohol.

At least this year, I didn't have a massive hang over and sore throat of my own doing that lasted me the whole holiday season!

So I guess this marks the start of the holiday season. I better stock up my alcohol (not that I really need to), and other festive goodies.

After all, this is the season of indulgence and gluttony!

Thursday 18 December 2008

every.mile


*Taken from Postsecret

Mine would read:
You ARE worth every mile!!!

Happy 17 month anniversary baby!
With lots love
xxx

Tuesday 16 December 2008

our.tree.


*Pic from Postsceret

Mine would read:
Next year I want to get OUR tree with you.
xxx

Monday 15 December 2008

the.last.full.working.week.of.the.year

So it has begun - the last full working week of the year.

And I’ve just only begun the first full working week since my time off. *Sigh*

What is this?!

What have I done in the past 50 weeks??

What have you?

Time certainly flies.

Thursday 11 December 2008

one.two.christmas

It's a week to office's Christmas party and two weeks to Christmas.

Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh..... Where has all the time gone??!!

I need to get a dress. I need to get Christmas shopping done.

Aaaaaaahhhhhhhh.....

Wednesday 10 December 2008

what.tomorrow.holds

I have just been thinking... tomorrow should be an interesting day for work.

I've been off work for six weeks. My mailbox should be overflowing with emails.

Coming home from the airport today was quite weird. Weird because the landscape is so different from when I left.

At 4pm it was like 8pm. Perhaps I am just tired.

Tomorrow will be a long day.

I hope so not....

home


It's great to be home!

The air was cool and crisp at 2 degree celsius. Just how I like it.

And it was a beautiful sunshiny day. Perfect!

Was rushing off the plane (thank God there was an exit at the back of the plane) as quick as I could to the immigration as I wanted to meet up with mom and SA before they fly off to London.

I was greeted with empty immigration desks for other (non-British/EU) passports.

However, I had someone who was probably on his first day.

*smacks forehead*

And as his mentor / buddy is guiding him on processing my entry clearance, the image that repeatedly played in me head is me banging my head onto the desk continuously.

After quite some time the process was completed.

Still... it is just great to be home!

Mom and SA has rearranged and decorated my flat - I needed some time to sink in. Don't get me wrong, it is nice. Just different.

And missing them all. Felt really sad that I didn't get to spend the past week with them.

Anyways, it won't be long until they are back. And then us all including SM will be together for Christmas. How good!

In the meantime, I will first look forward to TOH's arrival on Friday. This is the longest time we've ever been apart!!!

Tuesday 9 December 2008

thanks.and.missing.you!

It wasn't as easy leaving this time as I thought it would be.

This time, funnily wasn't the same as the previous times.

I felt homesick before I even left the country! Let alone the house!

The thought of it will be a while before I see all things familiar - my grandparents, dad, YenJie, Ron, the family home, the place I grew up in, the city that I'm rather familiar, my bedroom, the kitchen, the garden, the house, the dust, my friends, neighbours and everything around me that I've been in contact in the past six weeks.

I don't deny that there are some things I wished I had done during my so called 'exile'. But I wasn't in that 'place' to do so.

However, there are many things that I didn't thought I would have the opportunity to do so during this trip but managed to.

The unknowingly wait gave me the opportunity to celebrate Ron's birthday, attend the Nation's Sale (not that I bought a lot anyways), participated in a Rotaract project, met up with Katherine and Kellee, and spent lots of time with dad, YenJie and Ron.

I wished I had spent more time with my grandparents. We did spend some time together. Some days we just watched movie on tv together, other times, a little outing to the supermarket. There's more that we could have done. But the what little time that we had was really good.

There are friends that I wished I had spent more time with but there is always next time. And perhaps, next time around, there would be better planning and hopefully less obstacles.

In this time of my 'extended holidays' I've watched three Chinese serials. It was crazy but it was so addictive! The first serial I watched, I sat down and watched ten forty minutes episodes in one go!

I.Honestly.Need.A.Life.

Then there was the mahjong sessions. Initially I felt it was me who was entertaining the aunties, but then truth be told, it was the aunties who were keeping me entertained. Thanks to mom, Aunty BB and LanCheh.

It wasn't so much about losing the money playing mahjong, even though there will be a very small element of it, but more of the excitement of playing the game.

And as I saying then and now, mahjong isn't just a game. There is understanding, skills, and risk. As they say, mahjong keeps the mind sharp.

I must thank the various people who have been supportive of my extra time in KL and made it easier to pass time. To the people who took the effort to get me out of the house, the people who made this time away a little more pleasant, my heartfelt thanks to you.

Perhaps I shouldn't leave too big a gap between now and my next trip.

I will miss you all! I know I am already!

the.wait.is.finally.over


This is what I want to know.

FINALLY!!!

My thanks to all who had been supportive and helpful during the long wait.

Thanks, you know who you are!

xoxox

Sunday 7 December 2008

observations

Two men from SYABAS (Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor - Selangor State Water Supplier) siphoning water off from a fire hydrant into the SYABAS water tanker.

...Is it allowable?


Traffic slowing down on the Middle Ring Road causing massive jam at the Ulu Klang primary school, where the landslide evacuees are.

...Nothing better to do?

Saturday 6 December 2008

idiot

What an idiot! *Smacks forehead*

I've every good intention to attend my friend Sheera's wedding today.

But found out on site that I was there on the wrong date.

So I will miss her wedding next week and I've missed going up to Genting with my grandparents.

But honestly, what an idiot!

3.47.am

It was 3.47am.

In the silent of the night a rumble was heard, masses of earth moved, enveloped upon homes.

It was 3.47am.

They were sound asleep. Unknowingly to some of them, that was their final sleep.


Ever since I arrived home, all I see was development – high rise apartments and condominiums, new townships, more houses, and land clearing.

And all that I often said was ‘KL is over developed’, ‘Why nobody controlled these developments?’

Even the beloved Taman Melawati which had minimal or controlled development in the past was not spared. It is going through major developments and has even gone through a big change compared to my childhood days.

Do we need all these multimillion Ringgit projects? Or more of it?
Do we need more homes?
Do we need high migration?
Do we need more cars?

KL is getting more and more congested - with human and vehicles. Every home owns at least 2.5 cars. But public transportation has not improved much.

Are all these expenditure worth the lives who were buried under the landslide?


What about the lives that were lost?

What about the children who were looking forward to their school holidays?

What about the parents who had hopes, dreams, and aspirations for their children? For their family?

What about the people who were looking forward to a nice long weekend break?

What about their homes?

Did anyone realised the increased of developments caused more harm than good?


The influx of these developments has caused increased cases of flooding due to loss of water catchments areas.

Each time it floods in KL - our capital, home to the world tallest twin towers - The Petronas Twin Towers, it is a loss of tens and hundreds of thousands Ringgits.

These flooding prompted the government to spent RM1.9bn (USD514.6m) on the SMART Tunnel (Stormwater Management and Road Tunnel).

Has anyone ever put one and one together?

Has anyone ever thought of controlled development? Planning permission?

Yes, we could argue the benefits of all these projects - government spending, developing nation, reputational projects.

But do we want to be famous for the further loss of green areas?
Do we want to be known as a capital of flood?
Do we want to continue to waste more money during a flood?
Do we need a second SMART system?

And do we need further loss of lives?

Did anyone realise how much it costs for those rescue missions?


It was 3.47am.

The emergency services have been wailing its sirens periodically ever since.

Rescue efforts has been aggressive - the police, the army, the fire and rescue services, civil defence department, ambulances, local authority, SMART (Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue) team, helicopters, diggers, and even dumper trucks, rushed to the scene providing their best efforts.

Are we as smart as we think we are?

Is this another event where ministers come out to show their faces and sympathies?

Another event for hoo haaas - ‘No hillside development’, ‘Planning permit required’, etc.

Do they not understand it is not all about hillside development - it is about over development!

Did anyone remember that on 11 December 1993, a very high profile landslide tragedy happened not far down the road from here, caused a residential block - Highland Towers Block 1, to collapse and claimed 48 lives?

And what about the numerous landslides around the Ulu Klang area?

Or the various landslides that has been happening in KL of late?


It was 3.47am.

I woke up to the power cut.

It was 3.47am.

A landslide happened in Bukit Antarabangsa, destroying the homes and lives of many.


When will we ever learn?

All pics are from The Star Online Gallery, for more pics click here.

Thursday 4 December 2008

plea


There must be something
that can be done. Will someone
give me answers please?!


Wednesday 3 December 2008

the.story.so.far

TS teased the other day about my ‘exile’ in Malaysia.

I suppose it does all really seem to be an exile, which I can only hope it is not. You know, you don’t really want to joke about things like this.

My worries and stress started months ago, when I embarked on this journey in obtaining my working visa.

What appeared to be an easy, straightforward process had grown arms and legs, at least that is how I felt.

Should it not have just been a swap in visas?

Could it not have been done in UK?

And let’s not get started with the other issue that really disturbed me.

To the unknown, to get a working visa in UK, one will first need a work permit. With this work permit, Malaysians who plan to work in the UK requires an entry clearance, or what is also known as a visa. (But then all changed on 27th November as well...)

After weeks of fretting and worrying the possibility of getting the work permit, there were issues that could render complication with the work permit, I was relived to obtained it.

My initial plans of coming home to attend SA’s graduation and play tour guide to TOH, has turned into a tri-purpose trip as I was required to submit my visa application in KL.

So there was the commotion of preparing all documents ensuring that I have all required before the journey home, and any other preparation to ensure that the visa will be obtained in the shortest time possible.

In my mind, I was thinking that three days was all it takes to get the visa. After all that was the case in the past. But past it was.

When I submitted my application, I was told that it would take minimum 10 days to maximum 30 days to process.

Yikes! 10 days?!

But I didn’t have a choice. I NEEDED it. I needed this visa. So 10 days it was.

But then 10 days came and gone.

They said it was now minimum 20 days to maximum 30 days.

Great...

But then 20 days came and gone too.

So has my trip to Dubai. So has TOH returned to UK. And I’m stuck here.

And now even mom and SA has flew off to Glasgow – seems like we are each house sitting for the other.

I’ve spoken to and emailed the visa centre on numerous occasions; I’ve even got myself in the firing line of the British High Commission’s telephone operator – oh yes, she barks!, but there was nothing.

No one could give me a definite or even a tentative answer. No one knows which stage of the process it is in. No seems to want to help. No one could give any advice nor any reassurance. Nothing. Zilch.

Poor? If you are in my shoes, I’m not sure if poor is the word to describe it.

I try to empathise with them - issues with their system and the backlog of work; issues with the change in visa application; and anything else I can think of - a blocked toilet?

But all I want is a definite answer.

At what stage is the application at?

How long more is it going to take?

When will I receive my passport and visa?

Is there anything else you need from me?

Why is it taking so long?

What can I do to speed up the process?

I just need questions like this answered.

Unfortunately it seems that no one really gives much of a toss, or so it seems. Thankfully there are the few who are very supportive and encouraging.

But, there are still not many people who would understand and just feel that all this is just procedure, that this is how things work. That it is other and not me.

I’ve been absent from work for three weeks now. My work is piling up. I’ve missed out on quite a lot for my RICS APC training. And more importantly do I still have a job when I get back?

I can only solemnly hope so.

Yes. Who would have thought that it would be so complicated?

I just want to be back to the job I love, to be with the people I love, to the place I love and to spend Christmas with my family.

I know this is a long post. A post of what have been bottled inside for the past six months. Yes, six long months.

I’ve never really wanted to say much about it for all this while as I don’t want to jeopardise the approval of my visa.

But I feel wretched and I feel hopeless.

I just need answers and results.

I just want all this to be over.

Anyone out there can help?


Tuesday 2 December 2008

weird.frustration.dejected

Weird to see mom and SA away in the taxi and I'm still here.

Frustrated that nothing has been resolved.

Dejected beyond words can describe.

*sigh*