of that cold feeling..

I don’t know about you, but i found  that i have the tendency to fall back in time. I mean, when I see, hear or feel something that would remind me of a particular time and place, I would fall deep in that thought of surreal-ness.

Here’s an example:

I rarely long for England. But this image sort of gives me the cold sensation, of walking along that slippery path, braving the winter time with the sound of vehicles making a good splash from the puddles. That solitude, and having the space and time to really think straight. Of missing home and familiar faces. No, I don’t want to visit that place again, at least not now. I won’t be able to fathom the fact that I would only be visiting, as a tourist, not as one who lives there. I don’t favor winter, or autumn. But I’m only human, and I’m deeply missing it. That is not me by the way. Photo credit to Pinterest.

 

Thinking of Things to Write

In all seriousness, I have forgotten how this blog works. It took me quite a while to figure out, where that “add new post” tab is. This might have been the longest since I last wrote. It’s been bugging me so bad that after just a couple of years, I have lost the eloquence.

It must be the lack of reading, or too much news reading that I have lost touch on how to write as a human with a soul. Seriously, I haven’t been maximizing my brain capacity either that I’m now able to write like a genius on global issues. God, I really need to start reading again!

And I just couldn’t believe that those social media apps are now taking place in place of this poor blog. Who reads blog these days, yes?

This then, shall remain as my collection of words, for my own reference, and those who have time to.

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since working has been very demanding these days, i’ve been finding ways to sweat out the unnecessary toxins accumulated from the work-related stress..and it’s so much fun when your friends are supportive about it..i guess, more and more people are conscious about their health these days..

so there we go, making full use of the abundant landscape made available at the work place..

The last leg of the hike..what a beautiful rainbow..

 

of that impossible trip..

i read a quote in facebook last night and it sounded something like:

“if traveling is free, you’ll never see me again”

and that is absolutely what i would do if there is such a reality..i would be taking a 10 day leave in march for some (well, a lot of it) hiking, and look what i have just stumbled upon earlier this morning..

 

alright, i might not be able to get this now, given the leave taken for the upcoming trip..however, it’s tempting to know, Turkish Airlines regularly gives discounts to travel agents such as the above, around this time of the year, for travels in April/May..?

this is quite a bargain considering it’ll be flying north to the Scandinavia, and there’s also a bargain for the one with shorter transit in Istanbul..

tell me how is this not tempting..?

after that long weekend..

given the Chinese New Year celebration and the public holiday it entails, i got to enjoy the long weekend eventhough i’m not celebrating..speaking of the joy of living in a multi-ethnic country..something i won’t be complaining about..

alright, so it’s public holiday, and of course i would’t be bothered to be looking at the emails..well i had to, on saturday and sunday, as some parts of the east asia continent seemed to be getting into some hiccup, to put it in a very general terms..

other than that, i enjoyed the rest of the long weekends..

and as i entered the office today, something from the mailbox surprised me..

what on earth did i do, that i be deserving this..? my alma mater seemed to be missing me that it requested for me to apply for its university hall by mistake..

and adding salt to this, i watched its promotional video..and more videos related to it..how such a small capital was filling me with all of its contents..

dear wellington, i’ll see you, very soon..Godwillingly..

#whywellington

of reviving this space

i haven’t been writing for the longest time now..it seems like most of my time are dedicated to work, and trying to find balance between working and living..it’s overwhelming that now, living is in the means of working..

even the space here has changed dramatically..of course, i was not able to see it changes gradually..

nevermind now, it’s a long weekend, and there are some time for me to spend with the loved ones, while jack finds it comforting to sleep in while listening to the pouring rain..

i’ll be writing more, i hope..

work and the new circle of friends give me a different view towards life..i must have something worth writing from it..Godwillingly..

slowly but surely..especially about the places i’ve been to..of course, more of jack too..he’s now with me throughout all of my wandering..

Of beauty, and being a lady..

There are times when suddenly all your senses are awake and you can’t help but notice the miserable looks your overworked-colleagues are unintentionally expressing. It is not entirely their fault that they have to work hours after hours in an office with an artificial temperature of 16 degree Celcius. But unfortunately, work stress coupled with long hours in air-conditioned confined space, added with high chances of dehydration, my colleagues and myself included are prescribed with the perfect recipe for speeding up the biological clock.

You see, naturally women would have to go through menstruation and labour and these two alone could really cost us our youth. Not to mention the above daily tear. Seriously then, taking care of your health, specifically your skin, is not an option, but more of an obligation. Other than trying to consume a balanced diet, I learn several things that could help restore the condition of my skin. It’s like, alright, it’s painful seeing your colleagues’ haggard look, you better not make yourself look as bad.

I always have a dry-lips problem. People come to me asking if I’m sick judging from the pale appearance of the lips that is actually resulted from its dry condition. What I now do, I would dab a warm damp washcloth onto my lips, softly and gently remove the flaky bits off (if there are any) and then I’ll finish off by applying a coat of Vitamin E – enriched lip balm.

As I said, air-conditioner and myself would not have a very good relationship because it has been the reason to my dry-and-NOT-glowing skin. But trust me, after shower moisturizers work wonders as they help to maximize the absorption of moisture. Also, it is a good practice to keep a handy lotion in your office for reapplication purposes.

Last but not least, puffy eyes. Eye bags. I know. Eyes. But why must everything centred around the eyes? Could it not be any more obvious? If you arrive at home around 11PM, there is no way that you would be able to drop by a grocery shop to buy a cucumber (it’s 11PM, why bother finding a grocery shop to begin with? They’re all closed!), or soak the tea bag just so you could use it for your eyes, or rub honey around your eyes. No, shower and sleep is the priority. And therefore, after shower in the morning, I become good friends with concealer, powder, eyeliner and mascara. Sleep is the only cure, and if you don’t have that kind of luxury, you could always visit our very good friend here for a good choice of best friends. You’re welcome 🙂

of the super random update..

aha..don’t be fooled..it’s not gonna be something like “thank god it’s friday!” or “weekend is here!”..naa~ nope, no oh oh..it’s been a while since i started to have classes on saturdays and therefore, my weekends start only when it’s really on the weekend..

it’s funny how i now have to crack my head for things i never imagine i would be doing..like suddenly i have to analyse the issues that klia2 is now experiencing..well of course, it’s a matter of asking the right person for the right information, and some ‘religious readings’ on some weird, foreign journals over that matter..as long as there are statistics, some sound logical and practical suggestions, i’ll be getting close to being accepted..and with some specific idea in trying to critically address the issue, bingo! i’m getting even closer to it..

however, here’s the thing..there’ll be no one at least within the vicinity of the lecture hall who is credible enough to at least say that “hey mate, that’s not really how airport works” or “yea~ but that’s not really true”..well may be a couple of them could..but that’s not the point..the point is, tomorrow, or many more days before and after this, all of us will be discussing matters that suddenly we’re an expert of..clarifications are mostly based on our logic, knowledge are discussed on the surface level with general statements and comprehensions are mostly based on personal ideas..learning is NOT anything near optimum..

the education process is there, but it is NOT entirely educating..

and because of that, people get their hands on their phones and tablets..and the rest are stories of everyone..

of our indirectness..

let’s put this blog’s idleness aside and get straight to the point..

i’m currently working on my research and since my brain is actively processing the technicalities of our language, i get extra sensitive toward the meaning and connotation that are associated with our sayings..

for example, we would say “orang berbudi kita berbahasa, orang memberi kita merasa” to imply that there needs to be some sort of appreciations when something is being given to us..like thanking them or be humbled with what has been given..some people would also define this saying as returning back the deeds but to me, the latter definition is not as favourable as the former..

this gets me into thinking..if this saying intends to highlight “repaying” as in membalas budi, why did the saying stop at ‘kita merasa’..?

i know one of the features of peribahasa includes being indirect but how indirect is ‘orang memberi kita merasa’..to me it’s plain literal – it simply means ‘we get to taste what is being given to us’..no implication of having the responsibility to repay the kindness in whichever forms possible..

you see, it’s in the genetic of our culture..receiving without wanting to contribute back..how frustrating..mana adabnya..?

of that service charge..

i went out with jack earlier to kill some time and to watch a movie..if i can correctly recall, that was our first cinema date together after getting married last december..it felt as if we were still courting when i entered the cinema just now 😛

anyway, that was not the central limelight that i wanted to share actually..

we went to one of the local cafes in the mall to have our lunch after the movie and upon finishing our lunch, we received a bill that stated some amount of money must be paid for 1) government tax and 2) service charge..government’s tax aside (as a longer argument could be made out of it which i’m too tired to discuss here) let’s talk about the service charge..

from my calculation, the service charge imposed by this cafe did not follow any specific percentage and my best guess was that it’s a flat rate applicable on all purchases..however small the purchase was, the cafe would still be profitable from that item PLUS the service charge..how selfish and manipulative that is..

you see, i used to go to cafes where the food was exceptional and the service was incomparable..my dining experience was not tarnished even by a slight bit..and most importantly, they never cheat on their customers..you’d only need to pay for service charges if you choose to dine in and they mentioned it explicitly on their menu board/book..

if i was a customer who wanted to buy food for takeaway from the cafe that i just visited earlier, i would still be paying for the service charge that i did not use..the only service i used from them is to get the food consumable which to my understanding, did not count as servicing the customer..so they had the need for customer, i had the need for what they’re selling, i gave them money for what i wanted, and they charged me for things that i didn’t use nor need..?

well, whatever..