Crash Boom Bang & Jam

To begin with, its just one of the many days where things dont go right but yet, ended on a right note ... god got eye after all...

of all the donkeys days, my office laptop crashed (well, actually it was already hibernating since friday but i was too much chrismassy to be even bothered) and none of my resuscitation skills worked today. darn, spent my whole donkey morning goin through my failing memory to just recall my 06 budget figures... babi.

but thank god some soul to have scheduled Body Jam 35's launch at 7pm today, somehow I have never got excited enough to wriggle my way through the sea of severe-acute-body-jam-addicts; especially in axis where the next 1-day deprived body jammer stand a hair strand away from you!! but not this launch; was very gung-ho about it but of coz, even after listening to the tracks and following a few pre-launch practises, everymove seemed so alien and suddenly it felt strange to do it myself!!! haha... since when i had to bend so much? gosh, so much so my butt hurts like mad now, wtf!

but it was really heartening to note most of my gym gang were there, so the apocalyptic embarassment coming from my much unchoreographed and misalligned moves were pretty much miniaturised, sorry though to the poor gal who stood behind me, god-knows how many times i stumbled on your lil feet eh!?!

it was really obvious everyone had a great time, the music was great and the moves were simply out of this world. I had a whale of time, never felt so good after a bodyjam class though, serious, in my one year in FF... hmm... wonder why eh? but now to sooth my butt ... bloody old man.

running running running..

no, this not Body jam 34's track but a great sum for the day. Have never experience the actual feeling being on the run, not knowing what lies ahead but totally aware of what's coming behind.

Sigh, i'm just so exhausted, funny, not that I did alot of things today but the mental stress of seeing my sister and my mum agonising thru this difficult period is just plain draining. Heck even I'm feeling like stranger in my house now ... do I need to run? Dont even dare to think whats gonna happen tomorrow, well at least until my big bro finds out bout the TOTAL story, really no-eye see then la.

well....help me out here, in case you dont see any more post from now onwards, geez .. call 911, break-into my house & grab whatever you want k?

sekian berita.

A season to forget ....

This is not what one would be looking forward to blog about, especially on Boxing Day where one would probably still be waddling back to their cars and wondering what Crazy Frog is up 2 with the millions he has just squandered. But what happened to the promise of white christmas, where everything is merry and bright? Gosh ... told you this is not a good year at all for me ...

Heck, as the weekend unfold, it already could well be the most BORING Christmas for me... well not that I bothered to plan anything but somehow I had this hunch that things were not gonna turn up right. Or maybe my mind was still way caught up with my work. How true it was, most of my close friends were not around, vehn's not around so I ended watching King Kong on Christmas eve and SPL today...ALONE; safe for some dinner and makan makan here and there, therez hardly any redeeming grace and mistletoe to shout about.

And just as I thought things have reached the bottom of the cookie crust, it just got worse and crumbles with a mega drama at home. So now not only it was BORING, it was a DISASTER as well.

so here am I at 1:55am in the morning, eyes wide open, mind spinning endlessly for the sanity drive and tummy tumbling wildly (opps... *shake fist* at DarulSalam's fish curry). No one to turn to right now to talk about things that troubles me so am not even thinking about finding a solution.

am I making sense? guess not. Whatever it is ... I might as well start packing now.

Tis the season to be silly ... far-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la

To all my Friends and foes : Season greetings and a very merry Christmas to all ..

and to some whom I never got to wish personally, take heart that our friendship is very much imbued in me. Thank you for the year that has passed and looking for to more meaningful year ahead!

So, enjoy yourself, take care and eat like therez no tomorrow!!!

Warmest Regards,
AlvinC

the beaten path ...

no no ... not referring to anything our JKR normally dishes out to us, the earnest-loyal-not-so-prompt taxes paying commeners but me talking bout being beaten right in the open fields...

its like being not being able to buy the last third-row from the screen movie tix even after you have timed your queue sequence so precisely to the last second, its like rushing madly into the LRT but still the only one standing when everyone is seated and its like seeing the last piece of a sale apparel being snapped up just as u sieve through the crowd ...

hahaha ... how coincidence sometimes than the more u plan something, the more likely it will backfire and of all people, its the very person u wanted to-do-it for who beats you to doing it!!!! aaargghhh... how freakish could it get?

alvin and the master-surprise-plan, didnt even have the chance to see a glimmer of daylight...back to drawing board. Vehn, next time shut up and let people surprise you! y?y?y? ....

yawn ....

What Not To Wear...

I guess you should be able to relate to I'm about to post ... especially if you are in the 95% of the upper quartile with the bat-sensitive sense of fashion. Well I dont, and the funny side to this coin is that I work in one which champions such hunger and cravings from the 95% ...

the drama unfolded yesterday afternoon, on my way for store visit and Warehouse's Fashion show when I got this bee-sting remark from vehn ...
V : " you are not going to your Fashion Show with this are you?"
Me : err ... yes I am.. whats wrong with? (I replied with the pride of Simba)
V : Alvin ... wherez your socks?
Me : oh, so thats whats missing ... er, therez a pair in my boot
V : well, get it, dont you dare walk in without 'em. Got get one from your shop la.
Me : (sale on starting next week la ... somemore socks normally no discount one) ... ok ok. I will

... the following segment has been omitted to protect urs truly's image being further eroded ...

you get what i mean. anyhow, senses got the better of me and I did managed to change bit of my wardrobe before heading to Frangipani for the show (too late to salvage my store visit image) A different shoe and a much better shirt sure made a hell of difference!!! I felt great!!! and also confirms the urgency and relevance of my wish list now .. to get a cream-hued leather loafer (heck, was just contemplating bout it in Aldo a day earlier) ... oh yea, am definitely looking forward to my dressing allowance; to be deck with topman apparels, yay!!!

Life's precious moments ... time

I have always thought and believed as I journey through life's crooked highways and byways, time has become more and more an essence, the common denominator to what i really want ... so much to do, so little time.
But these few days, or rather for the past two weeks, I reckon I have seen and experience the greener side of this dillema; from the clouded priority juggles of work, family, friends and precious one ... to see a clear blue sky and a lining to it after all.

What constitutes precious moments? A time well spent, a day well lived and life well experienced? I found it to be right just before my eyes, all in the nitty gritty of my daily routine ...

1. the very opportunity to be in touch via phone and see each other
2. the very opportunity to communicate toughts and feelings
3. the little time spent deciding what to eat
4. the even little time deciding who to order what
5. the little time spent chatting at the traffic lights and bickering about making illegal u-turns
6. the little time spent boiling glutinous rice and arguing whether that constitute cooking (WTF!)
7. the little time spent commenting on weights
8. the little time spent deciding what to wear and my fashion sense (or rather the severe lack of it)
9. the little time spent teaching me how NOT to buy apparels
10. the little time spent buying the idiotic-looking, super-sweet, multi-coloured ice cream
11. the little time spent being alone so that you could have the peace of mind to study
12. the little time spent waiting patiently so that you complete your practise and gets home safely without rushing
13. the little time spent listening how not to style my hair
14. the little time spent learning the tricks to replacing a duvee
15. the little time spent away so to let you have ur space
16. the little effort spent driving to make you feel secure and for you to relax
17. the little effort spent to wait for you to complete Group X
18. the little effort spent acknowledging your friends
19. the humungous time spent thinking of you
20. the entire time dedicated for you

the way I see it, I have spent an ocean of time but nothing else I wished I could have spent it on. Coz it well-worth to have you... its not money or gold, neither fame nor fortune that i seek, but to have you and to see you scaling the peak; to be the best that you could and wanna be.

and thats how life can change

Anyone who knows me will know this lil open shout-to-the-world secret of mine; well thanks to my luck stars though that normally only those who are either kay-poh/observant/mata juling enuf will really notice and keep this in mind ...

i have a real bad hair-growth pattern trail thingie on my head ... u know its like the Suzuka circuit, where the track runs over each other that makes a merry-go-round looks like number 8. and to compound to that, i hair stands on salutation at any given time, talk about being patriotic to its maker ... so thats my hair, something which is totally unmanageable by itself. thats y till today, guess only some amoebas have seen my hair naked, all in its naturally glory ... sigh ...

haha but fate has it today that my dear Vehn decides to joing ranks with the ladies of leisure and checked out what actually come out of the martian-look-alike steaming machine! but OMG, was I impressed with the result, gosh ... i never knew that that lil thing could actually transform the way our hair rest and ends my 28 years of misery & hardship of finsing the perfect balance to taming my side hairs.... WTF!!!

anyway, change was also the order of the day for Azie ... for its her birthday today!!! So when 23 friends of friends gathered at Strawberry (the unofficial-enlarged FF pantry) ... you could imagine how much the richter scale was registering that moment!!!

hehe ... it was again the same old cat's-paw trick of surprising Azie but hey,it works!! or at least thats what her impression was la ... i mean in front of 10 other patrons .. kena la over sikit kan? hehe

spices of life from the scene...

and of coz the joy riders for those precious kodak moments ..

Happy Birthday Azie!!! Many happy returns and God bless .... keep on jamming!!

Tis' the season to be jolly .... far-la-la-la ...la-la-la-la (Part 1)

Its the season again ... Christmas and the year-end dining and feasting !!! gosh .. cant believe a year has pass and its the season to dish out the eggnots and roasted chestnuts!!! and I could still vividly remember my trip to Singapore last year and all those food I gluttonly walloped!!! buuurrppp...

Yesterday was the exact kinda weekend get-together of the season, 23 close friends of friends swarmed IchiBan Restaurant for a Japanese Buffet ... geez, Christmas getting pretty international nowadays eh : Chinese, Indian and Malay .. oh yea ... with even a China Chinese joining us in a Japanese restaurant that serves all Japs and local dishes ... (haha, i'll leave the cuisine spread review to Kenny)

But wait really caught my attention what what Jenny said, and I trully echoed her principles ... Dont complain bout the food ar, we are here to get-together and celebrate the birthday girls' "ngau-yat"... nothing more!! If still hungry go usj1 mamak later!

How true ... as the year ends, friends and family often organise luncheon, dinner and parties to celebrate and more often that not, we loose track of our true intentions and get lost in the midst of preparations and bling-blings of life. We tend to focus on the nice-ties rather than fellowship, on the petty matters than that which matters the most.

It was great shame I could not stay-on till the end with them, and I'm trully sorry for that guys! but as I was driving to Vehn's place, I could not help but realised how much I have taken my friends for granted .. to me, sometimes its more like a dichotomy of conflicting interest when one has friends of different interest... sigh.

So to Jenny, Andrew, Kenny, Brian, Hafiz, Chooi Yin, Yeaw, Justin : thanks for being so understanding but I owe you guys one. Andrew, thanks for knocking cow senses into my pee brain (gosh, you have always been there 4 me, did I left my brain with you ar?) .... that no matter what or how valid a reason is, I must take responsibility for my decisions and actions. I will never dump you guys again!!!

and the retribution continues

kay.. now its getting bit cheesy but I'm just at lost of what's left to do ... it just seem now I'm being whipped into the eye of the storm, coiled and chocked in a seemingly Category 5 emotional thunder storm.

how painful can a heart be, to be given just a lil window to peek, a lil funnel to savour ...

even lying down.. i could feel my muscles crumble under the weight of fear, under the pressure of ambiquity and without my piilar of strength ...how could I even walk alone...

Life ... retribution, karma & destiny

its kinda funny ... as I was driving just now along Fed Highway, my mind was just being flooded by thoughts bout life, heck that I didnt even notice I was only doing 50km/h on the middle lane.

but now ... its just blank. WTF!!!

anyhow ... i just cant think of anything but to only ponder bout life, retribution, karma and destiny. That how true it is for life to be a circle of retributions, for what goes around comes around. It's gonna be a living daylight nightmare for me from now onwards, at least until or unless destiny has it that I could startled so viciously that i had my temple replotted and wake up not knowing what day light actually is...

and if you're reading, i'm sorry and truly apologise for the things that I have done, for immature thoughts of my mind and remorseless words of my mouth.

clock will tick, sun will rise ... just wished I could turn back time.

Google Earth ...

Heard bout this cool toy? Told you Google is just plain amazing ...

What this baby does it that it gives you (literally) bird's eye view of the God's lil creation ... the nearest a kampung boy could get to see earth in its full glory; zoom in and that's when the lil devils start appear though ..

for instance, how come i cant see the great wall of China from my so called capsule?










Mount Kinabalu looks like ermm...












sigh ... pretty cheap thrill huh? well... what else could get cheaper than a monday... nite guys!

The year that was ...

The year thats was ….

A good friend of mine once said : never 'expect' much everyday and life will be so much easier and free to live.

The more i think about it now, i guess the more it makes cow sense and this made me realised something about me which is the direct opposite. Guess you cant teach an old dog new tricks then. Old habits stays and this probably why people still hate Mondays so much and apparently this phenomenon has taken new heights after a survey have revealed that suicide rate is at the highest on any given Mondays!!! How about that…

Sigh … anyway cant help but realize that 49 Mondays have past and I'm heading dead straight into the end of 2005.

Looking back, 2005 has been quite a year for me … dunno why and how but I did a lot of things I never thought I would in the 28 years of my life … Of course, not all of the above are roses in England, but thorns in the garden as well … and all were often aptly amplified by superlatives …

- I hiked Mt Kinabalu (not right up to the peak though, just Laban Rata)
- Made friends with a WHOLE lot of cool guys and gals in gym
- Work out on a REGULAR basis (this is really something!!)
- Took ONE month off between jobs
- Kena Chicken Pox
- Sprained my back BIG time
- Had the SHORTEST (yet) job in my life
- Plunged into the DEEPEST monetary crisis
- Attended the MOST weddings, ate the MOST nasi lemak,

I reckon I started the year with a great bang, being able to confirm our CB gang trip to Mount Kinabalu (after almost 7 years of planning) was just the kind of motivation I needed for new year. Not wanting to be left out and behind, I signed up with Fitness First, to gear myself up to mark in terms of fitness and mental strength. It was honestly an uphill task, considering I was still stuck in Kepong Desa, barely being able to find time to work out and to work out right but I did it (more of it later).

Along the way in gym too, I met and became close friends with some of the most amazing people: Vehn, Andrew, Jeremy, Jimmy, Jenny, Justin, Anthony, Kenny, Brian, Chooi Yin, Yeaw (hmm.. kinda coincidence that some of their names start with J) .. I guess they have exemplified the wonders of friendship … and I have truly been blessed, I have learned and I have grown even more through our friendship. Thanks guys for the wonderful fellowships in mamak and FF pantry.

Of course, then there's my CB gang; people who has made me throughout my working life in KL. It's by no voodoo and charms I guess that we have been great friends; apart from Meng Hwa and Kim Soon (yes, those bugs from Teluk Intan). For some reason, it has been a down cast year for the gang; ie for the first very time; our movie Fridays have dwindled and therez coldness in the air … wonder why some might ask but I think I know .. guess this is one of those things I shoulder on for years with no "closure" ( haha… that came from Chicken Little) whatsoever.

This year also saw me changing job twice … amazing? Wait till you consider Pandi's record of 3 comp! What did I learnt? Well, something George Bush used to defend himself for not finding the WMD's Iraq. Guess that's true, to some extent, that we are only able to make the best of decision based on the information and understanding we had at that point in time. Other than that, fingers crossed and prayer offered.

The decision to join Melium was indeed a little dream came true, I mean after months of being butchered in Giant and in Kepong Desa, I had to find light at the end of the tunnel. Life was just being taken away when I was there; and to work with the one of the worst Giant store is not something I want to shout about in my resume. Of course, by that time, the outlet has turned around but then again, I do not wanna fool myself anymore and I needed change.

Melium presented a pretty impressive prospect, Brand Manager of Nike. Howz that for a resume. Of course I said yes but then thats also the last time I said yes in Melium. Barely two weeks into the job, they decided to divest Nike. Hmm … all hell break loose and for once in my life, I felt like my world is tumbling down on me! I mean, how can I be so stupid? Why didn't I see it coming? How is it possible that a brand like Nike could screw-up (oh correction says my friend) how could anyone possibly blame Nike for screwing up? Anyway, after all said and done, it soon dawn upon me that they have no clue whatsoever as to how manage such an impressive brand, and I was stupid not to be able to anything bout it. Period.

So now, as the year draws to a close, I found myself working with another company, with whole new set of experience to gain, people to meet, clothes to sell and ladder to climb.

To sum it all, it has truly been a tiring year, mentally that is mainly because of how I have approached things, how I chose to react and how much I have expected from my surroundings...

Even now, I'm not even gung ho about what next year has got offer but I guess I just want to take things at a time. Do my work, love my family and friends, treat myself as and when necessary and laugh even more (and probably louder).

2006 will mark the twilight of my 20s (I shall dedicate a post to this later) and the beginning of my 30s come 1st January 2007. It will also see me moving into my very own house, staying alone.

Yesterday have passed and tomorrow is starting, God bless everyone.....

Blessed Christmas and a blessed New Year. Sayonara 05

Hugs and love.

Happy To You Cheekern & Cher Cher

Yay!!! One of my fav birthdays of the year ... a pure coincidence (what else could it be!?!) that two cousins will have their birthday back to back ... a chance for us the burned-pocket-pauper to celebrate without being smoked-out of our poverty line ...

More of it tonight ... with the evil plan

The night started with me going to KLIA to pick up Pooh-D ... flying in from JB. Off we went to Hing Ket Grill House in Kg Jawa, Klang; one of the most amazing grill house and seafood in town!!! But dont let the look deceive you ... it might be in a simple bungalow in the middle of a kampung, but heck!!! it packs enuf wallop to beat any restaurant in KLCC!

Recommended dishes :-
1. Grill Lamb
2. Baked crabs
3. BBQ Chicken
4. Deep-fried mantis prawn (hair-khor-bak)














the birthday girls ... and the gluttony at Hing Ket GrillHouse, Klang!!!





























and more at CoffeBean ... thanks chic for the free meals!!!

well, therez actually a story on the gingerbread man but for some strange reason, i could not upload the pictures... sigh. Maybe some other time.

The chair at the edge...

even as I start this page, i reckon it could well be the shortest-yet blog as I'm terribly exhausted! not physically but as a whole; maybe because I kinda gave my all today - being my first day at DNP.

wat can i say bout today ... hmm .... nothing much save for a VERY memorable moment which I'd snaped and permanently engraved into my mortal memory -

my very first experience of walking into a packed meeting room and being ushered to the chair at the end of the table ... felt pretty akward for a moment though... But (honestly!!) soon I was savouring the glorious moments so much that I thought I was floating and hardly paid attention to the briefing !!!! aahhh....

=0

p/s : not so short after all ....

lights out.

Happy Birthday Cindy!

I just and still cant believe that its Cindy's birthday today ... just seemed like yesterday that I was asking Pandi whether her birthday was on 1st or 30th November .. somehow I could not differentiate between both ... as another good friend's of mine falls on the former date (so much for being a good friend eh Alvin) ... of coz, I suffered the wrath of Queen Bee for asking her for her birthday. Very clever, you could have just asked Fai-ko, ninkampok.

Anyway, Cindy a.k.a the Queen Bee a.k.a Ah Sou has always been the magnet to our CB group; an admittedly lazy and ignorant group when it comes to a lot of things in life. Kinda weird and bizzare to know that most of them (except yours truly) hold pretty cradle-rocking position in the retail world. =) so it takes quite a metal to bind the concrete you see ...

So Ah Sou! Herez a toast to you ... thank you for organising
1. The countless GSC pligrimage we paid every friday since 1998
2. The countless cuti cuti Malaysia weekend trips we have made
3. err... any future stuffs?

ok ok ... change course ... herez a snippet of the dinner @

Mizu Shabu Shabu Restaurant in Bandar Puteri, Puchong















the business of this restaurant is pretty simply ... gather a flock of hungry migratory birds ... entice them with countless permutations ... counfuse them with mindless options and induce them into ordering everything!!!















Birthday girl and hubby ...














Fai-ko why headache? : forgot her present? ... 2nite no maggi for you!