Asus oh Asus

I have another new toy to unveil in this sequel to my Retail Therapy. My dear Wallet, I did forewarn you....

TA DAA!!!!

The new Asus F8. 4GB DDR2 RAM and 320 GB HDD. 14.1" WXGA Colorshine & Crystalshine LCD. Glossy white .

I'm in love.

Retail Therapy

A rather unfortunate event has clouded my otherwise beautiful blue skies in the past few weeks. After crying buckets of tears and removing all thoughts brutal and evil, I have now managed to hold my head high up again. But not without a damage to my wallet.

In one vulnerable moment in a twist of fate, I decided to swap my trusted Atom of 2 years:

with this shiny new baby:



It was very hard in letting go, especially when the remarks from my dearest ones were,

"Why a downgrade?!"

Well, here's a typical answer from a woman

"Because it looks nicer and shinier!"

But deep down, only I know the real reason - to fill in the void space in my heart. So wallet, put on your bullet-proof vest and crash helmet. More attacks are coming your way.

Happy bubbles and clear blue skies everybody!

Letting Go

I have this problem with getting too attached to my stuff. Naturally, due to this syndrome of attachment, I became a hoarder. Big time. However, in ushering the new 1430 Hijrah and year 2009, I have decided that it is time to let go. So over the long weekend, I dedicated my time and whatever that's left of my energy to clear out my stuff.



Little that I expect clearing out things will bring back SO MUCH nostalgic memories. I was reunited with my Pandora's Box - it contained among others; surat2 cinta monyet (hehehe..), pictures with long lost friends - some reacquainted through the wonders of Facebook, some lost and untraceable; mementos of friendship; touchingly sweet birthday cards and sensational high school diaries worthy of a season of Gossip Girl material. I was pretty embarassed with exposing those stuff to other people, so at times I had to tell Ning, our helper, to put it aside so I can sort it out by myself. She didn't manage to hide the mix of bemusement and curiousity from me though.



Everytime I came across something that either made me grin uncontrollably or my tearducts flow, I kept telling myself "No, this has to go (coz I don't want anybody else to find it)!"



So among the things which had been sent to the dumpster were:

1) Primary school report cards (goodbye to those infinte As and teacher's pet remarks)

2) High school textbooks (well, since KBSM is now ruled out)

3) SPM reference books (Pelangi, Sasbadi and Delta must've profited a lot from me)

4) Doraemon comics (courtesy of my siblings, REALLY!)

5) Reader's Digest (almost 50 of them)



Now THESE favourite things of mine has found new owners; my dearest cousins Kakak, Dede and Anik:

1) Enid Blyton's ( which explains why I grew up tomboy-ish and adventurous)

2) Sweet Valley High novels (which explains my sister Eliana's high drama)

3) Various fairy tale titles (I had a dream...)

4) An unused piggy bank in the shape of a pink toilet bowl (beats me too. Explains why it is unused by a tomboy. But it's a pretty porcelain piece nonetheless)



To my youngest brother Haziq, I bequeathed upon him:

1) Planet Hollywood game (unused)

2) A set of 2kg Dumbbells (unused. Duhh..)

3) Some old PS2 games (which for some strange reason was hidden behind my shelves. Probably an act of spite from some immature sibling rivalry between him and Eliana when they were younger)

All in all, my boudoir now looks more like a bedroom and less like a museum. All in the spirit of starting a New Year.

Happy New Year all!

HDR, Here I Come!

Here are my first two attempts at HDR (High Dynamic Range) photos. Tengah cuba, try, test, tengok!

Both the images were shot at dusk, at Nazri's Place, Kg. ABC, Tioman Island.

I find the tweaking and editing engrossing, so I guess this will hold up my interest for the time being! Just watch this space and my Flickr for more...

Which lane are you on?

One day, like every other day when driving to work, the jam was stressing me out of my wits. Luckily I had the new camera on me..and I started snapping away. Oh, how I wish I was driving on the opposite direction!

To all you lucky folks out there who doesn't have to go through this 5 days a week, I ENVY YOU!

Oh Bali!

Counting the days to set foot on you again....

Snakes and Ladders

In my current organisation, it has been repeatedly harped that promotion and bonuses will only be granted upon consideration of additional scope and scale of responsibilities, wider contribution to the organisation and excellence in the relevant sphere of reponsibilities. I find myself to be in a strategic position, or some people might call it as lucky, with regard to this.

I have come to believe that on top of these criterias, one element must also be present - being at the right place at the right time, even if you didn't expect it to be. Knowing The Gap in the management's strength can boost your career chart. I've heard people say that success depends on how many people you know in higher management and how well you kiss their a$s. To a certain extent, this is true. But what I truly, deeply believe is that if you do your job honestly, maintain a cordial and necessary PR with your superiors and show them your integrity as a decent, alert and ambitious person (and of course knowing where is The Gap) you will get noticed. Naturally.

Of course, you can't always clam down other people's friggin gobs, unfairly accusing you of brown-nosing. So be mature, and don't jump the gun by doing anything damaging to your reputation. Save that sarcastic - if not profanity-filled reply e-mail in your 'draft' for a few hours, and read it back later. By then you should be able to assess whether your reaction is more personal rather than professional. I normally take a few deep breaths (at times, in God's solace) in order to maintain my sanity and restore my judgment. At the end of the day, trust the person in you and have faith in the Powers Above. It is not easy, so don't complicate it further.

Let's try to stay on our tracks.

Family Ties

Here's a blog dedicated by Pak Lang to, for better or for worse; my dear big (and very 'kecoh' :-)) family.

Thanks Pak Lang, for starting this.

http://amiromar.wordpress.com/

Parents Give Up Youths Under Law Meant for Babies

Blame it on poor economic condition? or just parental irresponsibility?

___________________________________________________________

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/03/us/03omaha.html?_r=1&hp=&oref=slogin&pagewanted=all

"In July, Nebraska became the last state to enact a so-called safe-haven law. Such laws permit mothers to leave an infant at a facility with no fear of prosecution. Nationwide, more than 2,000 babies have been turned over since Texas enacted the first such law in 1999, according to the National Safe Haven Alliance in Virginia.

But Nebraska’s version was far broader than all others, protecting not just infants but also children up to age 19."

"The abandonments began on Sept. 1, when a mother left her 14-year-old son in a police station here.

By Sept. 23, two more boys and one girl, ages 11 to 14, had been abandoned in hospitals in Omaha and Lincoln. Then a 15-year-old boy and an 11-year-old girl were left.
The biggest shock to public officials came last week, when a single father walked into an Omaha hospital and surrendered nine of his 10 children, ages 1 to 17, saying that his wife had died and he could no longer cope with the burden of raising them.

In total last month, 15 older children in Nebraska were dropped off by a beleaguered parent or custodial aunt or grandmother who said the children were unmanageable.
Officials have called the abandonments a misuse of a new law that was mainly intended to prevent so-called Dumpster babies — the abandonment of newborns by young, terrified mothers — but instead has been used to hand off out-of-control teenagers or, in the case of the father of 10, to escape financial and personal despair."

Ingat, Jimat, Cermat, Hemat

....wise words imparted on me this Raya by my grandfather while handing out 'duit raya' to me. (I know I'm too old for that, but hey, even my parents got duit raya from him this year! We love you Atok!)

Those exact four words would be my new mantra in achieving financial independence.

Should be. Can be. Can hopefully be. :-)

Well, good luck to me!

Goodbye Ramadhan

Today is the second last day of Ramadhan 1429H. Somehow, it leaves me feeling a bit sentimental. I guess as you grow older, I mean more matured, you have an increasing awareness on time and space issues.

Ramadhan has been a month especially close to my heart since the passing of my beloved great grandmother 2 years ago. We used to have our own routine- waking up at 4 a.m. for sahur together, enjoying her one-of-a-kind teh tarik at break fast, fussing over a matching tudung for her baju raya and changing her money into small notes for the eagerly-awaited duit raya for my little cousins.

The Raya immediately after her passing, I cried inconsolably at her grave. Same goes for the Raya after that. So deep was my attachment to her. But this year, I vowed not to cry. Not because I have decided to push her back, deep inside my memories, but because I have to learn to let go.

I dream of her sometimes. Once she said she missed me. And in that dream, she showed me around her big house and made my favourite drink, her ever-so-special teh tarik.

I hope, this Syawal, I will be able to fulfill my vow and maybe, just maybe, she will come to me again. Insya Allah. Al-Fatihah.