First MC at company

I want my weekend. Apparently with next week booked up, I guess I have no weekend again. Sigh... which is also the reason I am home today, not at work ... on medical leave. Kinda weird I am going to apply for a MC on the first month of my new job. Anyway, I think I should since I worked yesterday on a Sunday. No exactly work per say but still considered since I was selling and producing the products.

My brain isn't working. Need a rest.

Beri Xmas !

Its Xmas eve already! Wanna take the chance to wish everyone a festive holiday, Mary Kerimas and a Hapi Niu Year ...

LGB is bored in office doing the inventory check ...

The Penang Heritage trip

*This post is 19 days late* So sorry!

I am back from Penang! I make it a point (or at least try) to travel to Penang at least 3 times a year, for its food, culture and also people. Vynn, or also more famously known as my “san jie”, allowed me to tag along and stayed with her family during my two days trip. Thus, bringing back many fond memories, back when we travelled together in Uni and also my own nostalgic moments during my childhood spent at Grandpa’s place.

So, after dim sum with Grace (Ta Jie) and Vynn (San Jie) on Friday morning, Vynn and I started our journey north ... Grace did not tag along due to scheduling. We missed her presence dearly during our entire trip...The place we had dim sum was (which I reviewed previously a few weeks back) and decided to give it another round of commentaries – Kindly click here to view the updated post on Hong Kee dim sum.

Back to Penang

This trip is a bit different from the previous ones, mainly because I met a new friend who had this deep interest and passion for heritage. He introduced me to so many new places, cultural ventures, historical monuments and even took the time to explain the hidden stories, architectural concepts and symbology of each place that we visited. For the first time, my Penang trip has been fused with food ... and also learnings of new culture and heritage.

My Food trails :

Maggi Tom Yum Fish Fillet noodle

Red Bean blended with coconut


Pat Poh Gu Ling Ping

Henry, an educator at Penang Inti College and also an active community activist in heritage and culture of Penang took the effort showing me around some of the places I never even knew existed in Penang. Our first destination after breakfast was the Peranakan Mansion, or what I like to call the “Little Nyonya House” where you get to witness the Baba and Nyonya arts and symbology in a nutshell, all under one roof. The beautiful house was restored and showcased a series of story in architecture with its symbology stories, crafts, culinary collections, fashion, feng shui and many more. You gotta be there to know more! Here are the pictures of my heritage footsteps:

One of the back alley in a 1940's back street

Snake temple

Hand made clay wall decorations

Peranakan Mansion

Peranakan Mansion's original non-refurbished window art work

More to come :

Hand pasted floor tiles, piece by piece

Gold decoration in Khoo Kongsi

Hand painted wall murals

Hand made clay wall deco with confusious storyline

3D-roof deco made from clay and plates

I also met some golden citizens of Penang, one of a kind craftsman with skills that no one can inherit or replace. They are the real art guru, specialising in their own turf and field – hand making past essentials for decades without the intrusion of technology and mechanic. It is the truth that the products they create are more refine and holds a higher value for its craftsmanship. According to Henry, it was my lucky day that I manage to visit 3 of them all in one day. He hardly scores that kind of luck w;

It has been a short yet knowledgeable experience for me this time around. A short trip, too short actually, but well lived. I left Penang with a huge dream and hope that I can do something for the terminology and continuity of heritage for Penang. If any of you are interested to have Henry bring you around ... do give me abuzz!

My humble apologies

I know! Its been quite a time since I blog. To be honest with you, I am really busy these days. Since my new job took off ... I've been traveling extensively, working long hours and trying to spend equal quality time with friends, family and also K. Since my boss is away and he did request that I take the nice long weekend to unwind, I have decided to blog then... A post almost 20 days late! Haha ... Hope you guys are up for some old stuff

Bye Bye Manila

I am at Clark airport now. Yeap they have wifi here! Damn cool...

Woke up about 530 am this morning and had been traveling since. Driver drove me from my accommodation to the bus terminal, waited for the bus, then the bumpy 1 1/2 hours bus ride to Clark Airport at Pampanga, then 30min to check-in and waited about another 1 1/2 hours for boarding and now I anticipate the 4 hour flight back to LCCT and the 40min ride back home. Gosh, traveling like this is a huge headache and definitely tiring. Gone a FULL DAY!

I just hope next time I get to at least fly into Manila. It saves time I am sure. If I ever get to come back that is. Well, I better pack up my laptop and send our my final bye-bye SMSes to all my work colleagues at Manila. Boarding the plane in less than 10 minutes. See you guys back in KL, can't wait to hit the gym after the delicious Philippine meals I had here... hehe

Pictures later!

Changing luck?

I think I was jinxed yesterday. Had some bad luck all the way, no cabs, late for dinner, late for shopping, no warm shower and thrown some rotten bananas. Sigh.

Woke up late today, stuck in a jam, running late to meet the vice president of the company and a cab wanted to charge me 250peso (RM25) for my ride, where the average is around 65-85peso (RM6.50-rm8.50). What a day! He told me it was Friday and I raised my eyebrow and told him, forget it ... I work on Friday and I don't get paid extra 250peso!

I waited for another cab and had the average charge billed to me. Rushed to the office, my vice president texted and said she will be late too. I quickly checked my pass MBA unit results and I got a Distinction for it! Woosh! Changing luck?

No luck yet

Sometimes luck just ain't on your side! Been trying to get a cab for the past 30minutes and failed to even wailed down any. I didn't manage to order what I want to eat last night too. Sigh, I hope my luck changes soon. Can't afford to miss my bus to the airport early morning on Saturday!

I've actually counted;

Missed cabs about 20 plus, Available cabs that did not want to pick me up 3 cabs (maybe because I look like a terrorist with my black bag pack), 2 pick up bus which I was advised not to take and 1 motorbike. OK, that kinda freaked me out ... so here I am back in the office blogging...

I've taken some pictures! Can't wait to go back KL and blog about my trips. Yeap, starting with Penang then Manila. Stay tune guys!

lemongrassboy at PH

I am at Manila, Philippine ... my new workplace, undergoing training. I will be back in Malaysia this coming Saturday and then perhaps I can talk more about my hectic week since last Friday. Yeap, I had so much to write about and just couldn't find the time. Hopefully I can input some tonight back at my accommodation, not sure if there is wifi but will try to find one.

In a nutshell, I am excited to be in a new place and venturing into meeting new people, learning new culture and also the business, but I am also very tired due to the ungodly hours in traveling and accustoming to it. Sigh

MEC 2009

This post is a bit late, last saturday and sunday me and two of my seniors, Sunny and Gilbert attended a workshop by Dr Kenneth Tai for Entrepreneur. Basically it was a challenge where the winning team gets a stack of traveling vouchers, one of it was a free 5 days 4 night stay in Phuket/Bali ... along with the famous Scholarship for Certified Marketing Professional Program worth RM 7,800 and trophy.

My MBA mates along with two other girls from financial institution teamed up and had fun through out the 2-day seminar; shooting short adverts, playing games, laughed, network and sold some marketing CDs. We didn't expect to win anything but came out as champion at the end. Our team was in shock because all we did was laugh through the activities and challenges while having fun on the notion where all of us were working adults and since the seminar is on the weekend, why further stress yourself?

I guess I will be going to Bali soon with K and most likely share the other vouchers among family members. I also can't wait to enroll for the CMPP seminar!!! Here are the 4 short commercial videos my group did for one of the challenge; Don't mind the shooting quality because we have to direct, plan, shoot and edit as much short videos as we can in 1 hour 30min.









Overall, I learned many new things about venturing to new business and wish to apply it in my new job, hopefully for my business ventures in the future as well. I will highly recommend Dr Kenneth's seminar because he helps you break down the fear and personal expectations (negatives one) in venturing into business.

For the special someone

You know it when the person really have a thing for you when you get a new shirt and tie for you new job. You know it when the person constantly strive to provide the best when you have the company of that person through out the day running around to help you with getting a new ic and passport. You know it when the person really love you when you can spend the whole day helping her to pick the perfect dress for her dinner event. You know that this person is important in your life and nothing will stop you from providing her the best.

Thank you mum! You are the best!

Fifteen

Sometimes in life, you need to brace yourself and face the cold and emptiness that awaits you,
It is something that you cannot run away from,
nevertheless hide.

Even at times when you choose to give up and decide to ignore,
denying the very presence,
it will sooner or later still get to you,
dawn upon you and in reality forces you to confront the bitterness and bluntness of life

Today the rain is cold as ice,
wind as haunting, howling desperately for compassion
the purple painted cloudless sky, smiling in agony and deceit upon me

I could no longer bare my naked hands to it, losing grip, weak
and my soul stand still, lullabying through the silence night
Speechless I am, perhaps over-reacting, perhaps just drained

As the wailing sound of a distant car faded
My mind filled a clearer and cleaner sound, vofortingice you call them
Appearing to piece the missing puzzles in my mind,
A comforting thought, light in bring
Illuminating my path, chosen one from the lost for the journey ahead

I thank my saviors, companions and strong knights
Their support graces mine,
answering my prayers, forgiving my confessions and still propel me with motivations,
the priceless guidance

Here I am today, writing with a darker ink to vent my emotions and thoughts
in one voice, my very own and one that is clear
a hope that is not wrong
I am proud of, wishing someone would notice

That is the journey of fifteen

A day with James & Hong Kee Dim Sum Taipan USJ review

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A few new trials:

Fried crabstick with sesame seeds; not the best we tasted. The texture is a bit harsh and dry.

Fried fortune dumplings. Absolutely sinful with the mayo dip, but a must try! Crunchy and yummy!

This is heavenly. I find the fillings a bit salty but the overall taste is still good. I just wish the fillings were a bit more and the skin a bit more thin.

My previous post missed the Chee Cheong Fun ... So here is the pic, not bad. Grace actually said that the skin is soft and silky, a rare find in KL.

Fried Veg dumplings. The inside is nice, simple and healthy. Most of the fillings are greens and it taste a bit like Vegetarian Gyoza

Phoenix leg – chicken leg. I don’t like it!

Thank babes for the breakfast!

---

Am sitting at Austin Chase, Pav ... basically catching up with my good ol pal James. After disappearing for two weeks - the gym bunny finally buzz me this morning for brunch. We went to a nearby Dim Sum restaurant at Taipan USJ and randomly ordered some food. I have to say, the food is not bad and the bill came up to about RM34. We also took the chance to snap some photos for keeping since it is the first time me and James had brunch and breakfast in our 7 years of friendship! Could be more ... but ya ... I try not to blow up the figures! HAHA

New tag available. Lemongrassboy's food. A brief food review on Hong Kee Dim Sum at Taipan (behind the row of shops of CIMB) at USJ, Subang.


The rice is believed to fried raw ... very nice! Love it! I do not know how to say it, but usually you will cook the rice before frying it. Not for this one. Raw kernels are fried till soft. It is served with a variety of ingredients such as eggs, lap cheong (waxed sausages), peas and spring onions.


My all time favourite ... Fried sesame lotus seed. Very crunchy and fragrant. They don't stinge on the lotus seed too.


Egg tart. Not bad, mini size and worth sharing. Small bites and crunchy crust.


Prawn Dumpling ... steamed but nothing to shout about. Normal tasting to me.


Malai Kou ... I think it is called Malay sponge cake ... Very nice too! Soft and melts in your mouth


Sinfully fattening. James said it is called something like ... bacon present or something. Of course, it is nice but not my favorite. Prefer the more "Authentic" dim sum dishes


The usuals ... I believe both is siew mai (Face dumplings) ... pork meat stuffed with prawns. The left one is the original one and the right one is believed to have more prawn meat than the pork. Dislike both as the pork meat overpowers the freshness of prawn. Least favorite but worth the try for people who loves the steamed pork aroma.

We also had Chee Cheong fun, but we have no picture of it. Skipped the photo. Too busy munching away. The CCF was not bad, soft skinned but lack of substance in the sauce and filling. Overall, it is not a bad place to dine in with family or not-so-fussy eating partners. I would recommend the place for casual eating as the price are quite affordable. Service is SUPER fast and the waiter is quite attentive too. Haha.

Well, it has been almost 4 hours since we left Subang and amazingly I was quite productive, a vow to my previous post. I worked and uploaded a few new pics to be sold at a new stock photo library. James too worked a little in his freelance work, updating a friend's laptop while facebooking away on his own.

I guess we are just two stranded boys working on our laptops, admiring the crowd at Pavillion. It's amazing the traffic near food republic. If I could charge 1cent for every person who walked pass where I sit, I am sure to be a millionaire by end of the month. At least a thosandaire. James said most people are here to watched the movie 2012 anyway, which is why the parking is packed with cars.

Unfortunately a brief walk around the boutique stores shows slower traffic. Hmmm ... anyhow, I can't wait to get out of Austin Chase and do something else than facing my laptop.

Ray of light ...

WOW! Its been close to 10 days since I wrote something. Trust me, I've been pretty lazy and erm just slacking, allowing time to drift by. I don't know why also until K told me today that it is because of the new job. Since I have to start working very soon in a routine job, my body and mind sort of tune itself to not work or worry so much presently. I do not know about the latter, but yes ... I kinda procrastinate in working Norton Russell, at all ...

BTW ... Norton Russell is my company ... who does creative works, branding, video and photo productions, stock photography and any "ca pa lang job" I can get. NR is what I have been doing in the past few months to survive the economy. Young lad with a brave heart enduring a nightmare in job security and finance. That's the summary! Haha

Of course I am not giving up NR. I will still try my very best to run it at the side-line, really on a part time basis since it is still paying for petrol! That said, I have been trying to get someone who I can trust and really depend on to run NR. After all, it is like a baby to me. I seriously hope that I can locate some talents within my circle of friends to manage the content part of the business. I've cut some of the core units but would like NR to remain as a company. Moreover, I've met great number of people, talented photographers, videographers and successfully network myself around them - would be silly to not keep in touch with em!

Hmm ... back to being worry. Since I agreed upon my new job and signing the offer letter ... I have been hit by this storm of worry and tension which covered, drown and send my courage, confident and working soul to somewhere dark and unforgiving. DRAMA! I know! Due to that reason, I've been going around "borrowing" courage and confident from friends these few days. Of course, I am such a lucky boy ... I've been blessed with great friends this time around. Most of em have channeled time and advise in helping me to ground my stand and lift up my chin abit higher.

Now it is only up to me to run the railroad. I hope it is not as hard as running a tobacco company but yeah, I hope all turns out well. Just a brief disclaimer, I have never run a railroad company nor the tobacco one as well, they are just representations.

Since I picked up reading Dale Carnegie's book earlier when I visited the toilet, I realise how much this writer has helped in giving me the final nudge for my conquest in defying my worry and low self esteem traits. From tomorrow, I shall be progressive and actively live my life even through my new job.

I shall begin tomorrow by cleaning my dump. My room.

Me and Mr Ng!

How do you know when a friend is soon to be stranger? Simple; you see each other less, you call each other less, you chat less when you meet, you care less when you see each other, you try to get away when you bump into each other, you empty talk nowadays replacing the quality chats, you say hi and follow by bye, and somehow you feel nothing when the friendship is about to be flushed down the drain. Why it all happened? You do not really care, you do not want to find out, you can't be bothered to find ways to better the friendship and definitely you don't mind it happening.

That is what you get when you invest emotion and care in a friendship, ending up getting nothing from it. Although I am tougher and smarter in handling this kind of situation after some painful past experiences, I am still awed by how people could just be so ignorant and cruel towards something that is mutually and equally built.

I am so glad my friendship circle balances that vicious cycle with introduction of friends, some who made the effort and walked the extra mile to be closer in person with me. One of them is Mr Ng ... Of course, in the midst of busy life and the ever enchanting world you lose more friends but I thank god I found great ones in between.

Well ... lose a great friend, get another great friend. Sound like yin and yang to me

Me love muah mum and cooking

I am home today ... being a good boy, spending quality time with mum. Mum's in a good mood too and we will be going out later. I am such a mummy's boy! I admit it ... I love being around mum. Gosh, that actually sounded gay!

Currently, I am sensing a sore throat and fever coming if I do not treat it. The heaty feeling also lingers around my body. Why? Cos Mum cooked curry mutton yesterday for dinner and it was superb. I had to eat some ... or rather quite an amount. I believe the sore throat really came when I topped it up with Tom Yam for supper. Sigh, I dig my own grave le ... Now I got to run to the nearest pharmacist and get some inflammatory diffuser tablets! Not that I mind cos mum hardly cooks strong tasting stuff and since she was in the mood last night, why refrain yourself from the heaven tasting "very spicy" dish!

Bad traffic

I exit pyramid today, after gym during peak hour which is a rare case, to find the horrifying traffic condition outside. It was so congested, I had to subject in using a different route ... which was also jammed packed with cars. A 5 minutes drive home soon took 25 minutes, using an alternative route much further and still a bumper-to-bumper scene really irritate me. What is wrong with our road system?

There was a broken-down car and the couple (or maybe brother and sister) stood at the road side, onlooking the heavy traffic. It was not their fault because beyond the stagnant car, it was still very jam. I could see the guy lashing out on the girl, quite a sad scene. He was pointing to the car and with his body language, I gathered it was the girls fault. She stood there, lip-bitten with a very guilty face. Even if it was her fault, I seriously think the guy should control his temper and not cause any further strain on her. If I were her, I will be so angry because how could someone inflict more stress in such a dire condition. To me, she look like a damsel in distress ... poor soul

It is happening again ,,,

A few more hours and I will be sitting for my first MBA test. I can't help but feel stress. It is not entirely from exam prep but also include other factors. After all, like James said ... who is actually calm when it comes to sitting for an exam the next day?

So I did all I could to reduce the stress rate; eating, finishing my to-do list, revising my studies, learning something fresh from a seminar, trying to talk to a special friend, staying positive and smiling through the day even when I was feeling the storm and heavy rain earlier. Somehow, I do not know why but I felt that something is missing, something is quite not right.

I feel that I should be somewhere attending to someone's need and concern. It's a weird and unspoken feeling but the feeling is very strong and it lingers around me. I certainly can't brush it off but I also know that I can't possible handle the situation because my mind is preoccupied for the exam. I have program my body to prioritize tomorrow because after the module test, I would be on my new job ... and deferring my MBA for a few months. I cannot fail tomorrow's exam. With my "tak apa lah" prep ... I am sure I need all the peace of mind to write 5 analysis within 3 hours...

Here I am, lying on my bed, pondering and worrying on things I cannot control and also something I am not sure of what ... when I could actually study. I can't anyway, my brain is stuffed. Since that's the case, I guess I better just be selfish and hope for the best. Afterall, I still do not know what is going on at the side ... too many loop holes and unanswered callings. I just do not know why I always get tested this way ... given two problems, on a same time and forced to confront them ... what is wrong?

I think I have pre-exam anxiety...

Blogging from class

Blogging from class ... half sick, half conscious, half concentrating in class presentation and half half everywhere. Anyway, I am starving but afraid to eat ... my tongue and mouth is minorly swollen with a bad tummy ache. I am food-phobic but hungry. Ironic eh?

I hope I can get well very soon so that I can get back on track with revision for the upcoming exam, reviewing the new job offer and most important finish off my pending work, including my painting, the VUMBA event planning, photoshoot and etc

I hope I can avoid the hospital ... cross fingers! I am bored!

Which Bow?

I am sick ... kinda like a twitter message. Anyway, I am down with a bad food poison illness and viral infection. Vomit, diarrhea, headache, sleepless night, joints pain ... you name it! What is worst is that I am bed ridden, home quarantined since yesterday morning and my condition only improved a bit. I had to literally skip my MBA presentation today, after a whole lots of prep work for it ... then I may have to watch my diet later tonight during my sister's open house party ... and my mind wonders between accepting or declining a job offer, which is not particularly what I am looking for but does pay the bills ...

Sigh ...

Since I am stressed and was advised by mum not to sleep so much to keep my body "running", I am in front of the computer listening to one of my favorite Madonna's song - Take a bow. I equally fancy Rihanna's version too. I wonder any other song with that title

Here is the video clip ... I remember I was only in primary school when I first watched the video. Absolutely love the "putting on clothes" part. SO GLAM!

Picture from DIY Lightbox

I felt that I hardly post pictures that I take. Anyway, for those who are still a stranger to me, I take photographs ... at times for a living! Harks *pose*

Since I DIY my own lightbox, without the lights and by just using my ready available SB600 flashlight, I tested the box by taking a few pictures. The results were not that bad ... although I failed to achieve the entirely white background I wanted, it did help distribute the lighting as a whole and not strained on flashgun by bouncing off the light from the ceiling. Here are a few pictures I've taken:










Now, I aim to get a nice sturdy tripod and hopefully very soon a multi purpose small aperture lens! Hiak *pose pose*