Coincidence?

I moved to Terengganu when I was 10. We stayed in Air Putih Estate for almost 3 years before we moved to Chukai town. I still remember the 1st day we arrived in Air Putih. A Chinese uncle came to visit us. He lived with his family just 2 doors away from us. Then, we learnt that the Uncle is a teacher in the school I was supposed to go to and his wife is my Mom's colleague.

Both our families got close almost immediately. They were 3 children in their house and we used to get together almost every evening to play some game or other. When we started looking for a house in Chukai town, the Uncle and Aunty decided that it was time for them to move out as well. So, we were hunting for a house together. There were even plans for us to buy a piece of land and build neighbouring houses, but we couldn't find a suitable place for that plan to work out.

One day, the Aunty told us to follow them to go see a house. Up till then, my family and I had already seen a few other houses, but then we never really liked any that we saw. This was the first house that I saw that I liked, and I remember telling my Mom, 'why don't we get this house? It looks nice'.
My Mom looked at me and said, 'We can't. Aunty is going to get this house'.
I felt a bit disappointed, but there was nothing any one of us could do.

As we were leaving the house, though, the house owner suddenly told us that the house next to the one we were seeing is also for sale. I think everyone got excited; I know I did. I have no idea what procedures they (my parents and the Aunty and Uncle) had to go through, but a few months later, we moved in into our respective houses, one day apart from one another. We were now officially next door neighbours.

Not too long after that, the Aunty quit her job in the estate and joined another company. A few months later, my Mom quit her job in the estate and joined in the same company as the Aunty. And so, both the ladies used to travel to work together everyday. Since they worked in a resort, their family members could make use of the facilities there. So, both our families used to go to the resort once a week to the swimming pool followed by ice-creams and sometimes even dinner.

Throughout the years, we became more like family. During Chinese New Year, all our meals would come from their house (and vice verca during Deepavali). We didn't even have to go to their house - food would be delivered to us through the back door. This 'food-exchange' even happened during the weekends. We had many bbqs together and even went for holidays together.

And then, we moved to Seremban. They stayed in Terengganu. Although we don't meet up that often, my Mom and the Aunty still keep each other updated on the going-ons. Facebook and Friendster also help in 'keeping in touch'.

Yesterday, the Aunty's daughter, the 2nd child in the family, left to Moscow, to start her 1st year in MMA. Life is SO full of coincidence, huh?

City Or Myvi

I am confused.

I will most probably start my induction course next month and start work in November. Since I live in Malaysia and the public transport sucks, I will need a car. The only problem is, I can't decide on what car to buy.

So far, I have narrowed down my choices to 2 cars - Honda City and Myvi. I know that both of these are completely different cars, but, hear me out. Whatever I am about to say are things I have heard from many conversations around me. I don't know how precise the facts are, but I am assuming that they are correct.

Honda cars have a very good reputation when it comes to petrol consumption. I never really liked the looks of the City, but there is no way I can afford a Civic (don't even need to mention the Accord) which is why City is one of the 2 cars I am considering. A quick survey of the price showed that if I were to get a City, I would have to pay about RM1000 per month for 7-9 years.
Then, I was told that there is a new City that is going to be launched. It has been launched in Thailand, but then it will be in Malaysia most probably at the end of this year or the beginning of next year. My brother and Dad are telling me to wait for that City (my brother prefers that one 'cos it looks better) and when you think about it, it is a good idea to wait for a newer model. Hey, I could even save up so that I would have more downpayment to put down. But then, how do I go to and fro from work till then? Do my parents have to wake up at insanely hours just to send/fetch me (assuming I am posted in Seremban) to/from work?



And then, there's the Myvi. My Mom drives a Myvi now, and she keeps telling me how great a car it is. My brother tells me that the Myvi was voted the best car for the year ...... by ........ (I can never remember these kind of facts). Besides, if I get a Myvi, I will only have to pay about RM700+ for 5 years. This means, I finish my payment faster (compared to if I get a City) AND I get to save up more money every month. But then, my Mom keeps asking me 'why do we need 2 Myvis in one house?'
The whole thing got more confusing when my ex-neighbours came for a visit last Tuesday. They bought a 2nd hand City (quite an old one) and they said that it is a very good car. I quote the Uncle 'after driving the City, none of my children want to drive the Wira (their other car) anymore'. And yesterday, Beng told me more or less the same thing.

Hmm..now that I've wrote down about my 'confusion' one thing seems quite clear - everyone (almost everyone) is telling me to get a City, but the main constraining factor is the monthly payment. Am I willing to fork out RM1k every month for a car? Should I just get a cheaper car for now and get another car later when I earn more or should I just get a more expensive (and, according to most people, longer lasting) car now itself?

Haven't even started work yet and I'm already thinking about spending my pay..

Still confused..

Interesting Picture, Don't You Think?

(click on picture for larger view)

Am I Too Selfish?

When I first watched Grey's Anatomy, I didn't really like it. But now, due to the lack of things to do and things to watch, I have started to watch the series.

Day before yesterday, they aired an episode where there was a bomb scare in the hospital, in the operation theater, to be more specific. The bomb squad was called and everyone in that particular wing of the hospital was asked to evacuate. Most people did. However, there was a brain surgery taking place in another operation theater next to the one with the bomb and the surgeon there refused to leave, saying that if he left, his patient would die. That got me thinking, what would I do in such a situation? Would I be willing to sacrifice myself for the life of a stranger's? Would you?

I don't think I am selfless enough, at least for now. If I see people fighting, I go the opposite direction. Would I run in a burning house to save a kid? I don't think I would. Maybe I am just selfish. Obviously, I would hope that others would help me when I am in need. Why can't I do the same when others are in need?

My New Eyes

After years of 'thinking about it' and 'planning to do it', I finally did my LASIK last week. For those who have never heard about it, LASIK is a procedure which uses laser to correct ones vision. Some of my friends and a cousin sister of mine did the procedure a few years back, which was how I first heard about it. Since I am on holiday now and will not be starting work for at least another month, I thought that this would be the most suitable time for me to undergo the procedure. The whole 'process' was quite fast..

A few months ago, my cousin sister gave me the link to Optimax's website. I went through the website and decided that I am going to do the LASIK in their Taman Tun branch since they offer 24-month-installment payment there. Then, I had to decide when to go for the treatment. According to the website, after the surgery, one cannot go swimming for at least a month. So, I had to postpone my original plan of going for the surgery 'immediately after coming back from Russia' to 'after Perhentian trip'. Since I was going to be in KL for a party on the 24th, I thought that the 26th would be the most suitable date to visit Optimax.

Getting an appointment was no trouble at all. I called Optimax a few days beforehand and requested an appointment for Tuesday and they said no problem. I told them that I would like my evaluation and surgery to be on the same day and they said no problem. All they asked me to do is make sure I don't wear contact lense for at least 2 weeks beforehand and not wear any perfume or makeup on the day that I was going to go see them. I was also asked to bring a pair of sunglasses and someone to drive me home if I wanted to do the surgery. A day before the day of the appointment, they called me up to remind me about all the above and to confirm the time of my appointment.

It was the 26th of August. As luck would have it, the Penang CM declared it a public holiday in Penang and my cousin sister got a day off since the company is based in Penang. She drove me to Optimax and waited for me the whole day. I was there at about 10am, the time of the appoinment. I just gave my name at the reception and a few seconds later, someone took me to a room with 5-7 different machines. I have no idea what tests they did, but they checked my eyes from one machine to another. Then I had to do the normal eye test (to test my vision) and after that they took me to another room where they 'took a picture of my eyes'.

When all the tests were done, an optometrist then explained to me about the surgery. She had a big model of an eye with her and she explained to me, very nicely, about the choices I have. The concept of the surgery is very simple. They cut a flap on your cornea, flash the laser beam and put the flap back. There was 4 types of surgery, but I was offered only 2 of it ('cos my cornea was thick enough)- LASIK (using a blade to cut the flap) and intraLASIK (using laser to cut the flap). I chose intraLASIK.

The surgery itself was done in the afternoon, after lunch. They called in 5 of us into a room, made us remove our shoes, wear scrubs and boot covers and 'shower caps' and explained to us about how to take care of our eyes after the procedure. I was given a bag which contained a bottle of antibiotic drops which I had to use for the 1st week, 1 box of disposable artificial tears (have to throw away 24hours after opening), 1 bottle of throw-away-one-month-after-opening artificial tears, eye covers for when I sleep so I don't accidentally rub my eyes in my sleep, and painkillers in case I needed it (nope, I didn't need it). Then, the doctor himself made an appearance and explained the whole procedure to us taking time to tell us specifically how many seconds the laser would be for each of us (different power, different amount of time). I needed about 18seconds in one eye and 15 seconds (something like that) in the other.

I was the 2nd out of the 5. The procedure was fast, blur and painless. They kept my eyes open with something and then did something and all I had to do was look wherever they tell me to. I did not feel a thing! I couldn't even see that well with all the drops that they kept putting in my eyes. Once the procedure was done, the doctor checked the flap to make sure it is in place, and I went back home and slept. I was told to rest my eyes, so I practically slept till the next morning, waking up only to eat dinner. The world was slightly blur for a few days due to the effect of the medicine they had to use during the surgery, but it improved day by day. I went for my one-day check up the next day and my one-week check up last Tuesday and everything was fine. In case you were wondering, I did have a little bit of discomfort in my left eyes, but it wasn't very bad, and it went off after a few days.

'mosquito-eye' eye covers

So, if you want to get rid of your glasses and contact lenses forever and ever..go for LASIK!! I am seeing the world clearly WITHOUT glasses now!

Mango

This is a mango.

This is a HUGE mango.
This HUGE mango came from Sabah.
This HUGE mango weighs/weighed 2.25kgs.


This is Amma (Mom) trying to cut the HUGE mango
(Mom had to rest halfway 'cos her hand hurt due to the weight of the mango)

This is Rajiv enjoying the mango (priceless expression!!)

This is Acca (Dad) enjoying the mango.

This is me, forced to clean up the HUGE seed of the HUGE mango.

In case you were wondering..
Yes, the mango is VERY sweet and
Yes, we were FULL by the time we finished eating the mango.

Right now I am waiting for the next time my aunty comes down from Sabah. My mouth is watering just thinking about the mango!!

5 Days in Subang

I finally registered last week. I was supposed to register together with a group of my friends, but unfortunately the decided to register on Monday and I couldn't make it because we were having my Grandma's 1st year death anniversary prayers and I needed to be at home on that day. I decided to register the day after, on Tuesday, but then had a little bit of transportation problem. My mother and I discussed so many options, each option having a problem somewhere. Thankfully, cousin Nila, upon hearing my problem offered to take leave and drive me to Putrajaya. Glad that my problem was solved, I informed a few of my friends and in the end, Puspha and Fen Fang also registered on the same day.

Since I was going to Nila's house anyway, I decided to take the chance and stay over for a few days (5 days to be exact). The only problem was, Nila has 2 huskies. To many people, 2 dogs don't matter, but I am afraid of dogs. The prospect of spending 5 days with two dogs (one of which is huge) that love to jump was not very welcoming, but then if I knew that sooner or later I would have to face the two huskies because I always stay in Nila's place. I can't just stop going there because of the two huskies, right? I've read about both the dogs a lot in her blog, www.togothedog.blogspot.com, but I knew that as adorable as they look in their pictures, real life would be totally different.

I reached Nila's house at about 4 in the afternoon (evening?), and thanfully both Togo and Tagar were sleepy and hot, and so didn't attempt to jump on me. A few licks and we were friends. Amazing, huh? I think the only reason I was not afraid of them was because they didn't bark. In fact, in the 5 days I was staying there, I've heard them bark only 2-3 times. They lick A LOT and attempt to jump once in a while, but other than that, they just demand belly rubs when their Mummy (Nila) and Daddy (Vinesh) are not around.

I would say we got around quite well, although I still don't like them jumping on me too much (especially Togo - he's HUGE!). They were so full of antics - their once a day dash all around the house, their hobby - watching the cat, their excitement with the rain (they played in the rain until their Mommy forced them to come back in), them showing their pitiful faces whenever we wanted to leave them and go out, etc. When I came back home, I found myself telling so many stories about them to my Mom. I guess I miss them, and I think they miss me too (cos Nila said that on Sunday they were waiting outside the room I slept in during my stay there).

Anyway, my stay there was not just about Togo and Tagar. Me, Nila and Devagi (soon to be family) went on a trip to IKEA. This is the first time I am going to Malaysia-IKEA and I really enjoyed seeing all the stuff there. I wish I had a huge empty house to fill up with IKEA furniture! I have always loved IKEAs children's bedroom, and this visit proved no different. The children's rooms are SO cute! How come I never had such rooms when I was growing up? My original plan was to buy 2 lights and a mirror for my room, but I ended up buying much more than that. Not only that, there were other things I wanted to buy as well, but I had to control myself because I had already spent enough. Wish I could bring my parents to IKEA, am sure they would enjoy themselves too.

To keep me occupied while she is working, Nila brought out a 2000 piece jigsaw puzzle. The picture looked something like this (the picture in the jigsaw is a little bit darker than the picture below). As you can see, it is mostly blue and brown, so you can understand why the jigsaw has never been completed before. I spent quite some time with the jigsaw, but even then, only a small part of it was done by the time I left.


All in all, I would say it was quite a fun week for me. Since I have about 2 months till I start work, I might go and spend some more time there, again. :P