Merry Christmas

MERRY CHRISTMAS


2 days have gone by..
The sound of the falling rain in Melaka have blocked the rain deers' bells from Cat's hearing. Please forgive Cat for the overlook. Cat do wish that you have enjoyed your Christmas Holiday.

'May joy and happiness snowed on you, may the bells jingled for you and may Christmas spread cheer in your lives! Merry 'belated'Christmas Wishes!'


Our Gingerbread House guarded by a smiling Gingerbread man. Hectic Christmas at the hotel.


The brick and artificial fireplace created by boss. A warm glow to the troubled heart.

Something Cute

Cat was reading a book and in one of the pages, there is this 1 title which catches the eyes : 'Conditions In Order to Be Loved'. Feeling curious on what all this is about, Cat went scrolling further into the article ( since when does loving someone comes with a guide book?)

And curiosity kills a cat.

'Do you know which elements need to be there for people to feel that you are 'cute'?
The answer is : small, powerless, warm, soft, circular, have big eyes and.. a little bit of stupidity.'

Ouch! That goes deeply straight to the heart,

These have been scientifically proven when they test the theory on pets: dog, cat, baby bear, penguins...etc.etc.. People just want to hug them because they are 'cute'.

Pets? !! Hmm..but then, being cute only meant that you only trigger the protective instinct inside people. Would caring and being protected equals to love? Would that be one of the conditions?

Funny book.. Cat would rather not continue reading it. Words sometimes just mess up the mind.
Action does speak louder than words.

Greener Grass

Today, cat was invited by a friend to join a group called "BlogMalaysia.com'. Curious cat accepted and went to see the site. Wonders of wonders! The site shows a snapshot of all the 10 000 blogs from all it's member bloggers..and this is cat's summary of it:

a) Bloggers are getting younger. There was even a blog created by a 10 year old girl. God..that does make cat feels so ancient.
b) The blogs are nicely done. From the pix to the gadjets to the articles
c) The topics were everything under the Sun. Hmm.. things that were new to cat were old stories to them. :p Ouch..that hurts the ego a bit
d) The way to attract attention nowadays are by using provocative titles and provocative attitudes. Hmm.. cat's blog must be the most boring thing compared to all of them. Hip, up to date data and new ideas.

It does make cat wonder if cat is just wasting cat's time and everyone else's by continuing to write at Cat's Memoir. Nothing provocative, nothing new, no news, no gadjets..just a gentle touch of cat's personal thoughts. It won't change the world. Like a small breeze.. you could hardly feel it. Would it be better just to stop writing now?

Then a thought came to mind. (Guess, there is something in that "Law of Attraction"..this mind of cat is now acting like a self activated motivator. It just won't let cat wallow in self pity for long. Smile)
This blog might be nothing to most people..but it would mean something to someone. It has helped cat a lot: finding old and new friends, learning new things, helping cat to tell things that cat sometimes was not able to say face to face with someone. The grass always look greener on the other side of the fence. So, cat will still write in cat's own long winded way (ouch..don't you dare laugh at cat :p).
Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Signing off n Good Night,
Cat

Lompat Tikam

It's interesting sometimes to know how a thing or a place got it's name.

It's a hot Ramadhan day and there there were dozens of stalls selling all sorts of delicacies but still I couldn't find anything that I feel like eating. Nasi Briyani..hmm.. not in the mood today, Nasi Ayam..nothing special, Ayam Percik,,too spicy.. maybe next time. Hmm, those red colored jelly do look yummy :p

Then suddenly, something colorful caught my eyes. There were some funny looking cakes that I had never seen before. Hmm.. it looks a bit like some kind of sweet and sticky glutinous rice.

'Give it a try, miss. Kuih Lompat Tikam. Lepas Lompat, Dia Tikam' the seller laughingly joked.

Do not ask me what it means. I also do not understand what's the joke is about. Hmm.. isn't the Lompat Tikam supposee to be green and white in color?



The name 'Lompat Tikam' ..if you literally translate it, means to 'Jump and Stab' ..where and what to stab or what is being stabbed, that's a big mystery. It seems that in the north area (Kelantan & Trengganu) this sweet dessert has always been cooked like a pudding and it has a variety of colors. It's best eaten cold and served with 'Gula Melaka' syrup.



What is the taste like? Well, I really have no idea.
As I mentioned before, I loved looking at the colors.
But to taste it, I'd rather leave it to mom. :p She's the brave one.

The dessert certainly passed the test. Mom says that it tasted sweet (but too sweet for a Southerner's tongue), as there's coconut milk and Gula Melaka syrup mixed inside. I would give it an A based on the colors and because Mom seems to like it. hehehe. For the recipe, you can try looking at this site : Halaqah which is however in Malay language or try asking Umihoney who has a good repertoire of recipes and videos of how to make delicious dishes.

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Chocolates Delight

I was reading the newspaper, when I saw.. some of the most creative objects or food items made with chocolates. ohhh.. drooling at the photos.



Chocolate is also known as the Food of Gods as it has always been considered a heavenly delight. Everyone knows the goodness of chocolate: It's stimulating and has a positive influence on the cardio-vascular system. Some say that it has an aphrodisiac effect (hmm :)): it triggers feelings of happiness and desire...
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Well this is the story of how 'chocolate' inspires 3 persons decided to trade their current professions for the love of chocolate.


Chng, an engineer and a father of three, quits his job because he found that metal is not pliable enough for creating elegant designs. Then he found chocolate.. and the love story continues. Chng has even made an 1.8m long dragon and a chocolate tiger mascot which needed 10 men to move it!



Chng also has discovered his talent in crafting delicate chocolate couverture rose bouquet (A 0.152m diameter rose bouquet can cost no less than RM 600!). Romantic chocolate notion.. His one man dream has now became a little enterprise of 6 persons. Chng sometimes spend 16 hours on his feet experimenting on his ideas.



Chin Siew Hua, 55 years old former banker, met with friends at a reunion where they decided to go with the idea of making chocolate slabs embossed with text messages and photograpic images. Six months later, her entire life savings were gone and her partners run away. Luckily her eldest son came to help her, giving his special help in accounting and taking care of the finance side.. and saved the shop. The best thing is that they became much closer and 'stick' to each other since then.. :p



Lastly, there is Koay, who previously worked as a jewellery and fashion designer, she fell in love with chocolate designing when she went visiting her sister in law in Los Angeles. There she discovered novelty chocolates in a cafe which serves colored chocolates on it's menu.



All in all, the 3 of them agreed that it needed patience and hard work working with chocolates. For example, chocolates cannot be taken out directly from the chiller and exposed to the room temperature because it will make white spots or 'milk bloom' comes out on the chocolate and mar it's appearance.





Nevertheless, while these chocolates are commercialized and made for big occasions like weddings and door gifts..it's still able to sweeten a broken heart and as a tantalizing/poetic/romantic gesture in a love affair. Chocolates.. known to uplift the spirit and send a smile to the lips as the sweet and bitter taste melt on the tongue..



And of course,do remember, everything good should be taken in moderation..even love:)

Rising Temperature

The weather today in Melaka is 33°C (91°F). Phew..it's that hot.
She is melting and so is the brain. Keep thinking of ice cream, 'cendol' and 'abc'. All things, thoughts and items that can be associated with the word 'cold'.
Hmm.. ice cream.. that would be nice..

Sorry, she needs to stop writing..(laughing)..Going to reserve it for night time when it's colder. For the meantime.. :) going and getting something cold. When the temperature rises, better watch the words and stay away from traffic. It's bound to make the blood boiling and turns friends to foes.

Keep your cool and smile..

P/S : Talking about ice cream and cool things, take a look at Teikakawashi's pix on things to do on a hot day. (see example above and below). Her photos will make just make you drool with envy! :)

*******

Bon Appetit

Let's talk about food tonight.
It's not about eating, but about the things that we and other people eat. Living in an Asian Country, people would not be surprised to hear what we in this part of the world would eat. But that is not totally correct. We eat 'almost' the same thing as everyone else in the world: McD, KFC, Pizza, etc..etc.. :p hehehe

I guess the main reason that we seems to eat 'odd' things is because of the various type of weather, landscape, culture, and habits. (See, I still remember a bit of the old Geographical lessons). Even in Malaysia, every state has it's own favorite local food that would be regarded as weird by the other states (Except Kuala Lumpur, perhaps, which is the capital of Malaysia, and where people from north, south, east and west reside there. So, there's bound to be every type of food that you can think of.)

It might be a surprise for a Johorean, from the south, when invited to a Northern state friend's house, to see people eating durian or mango with rice (a fresh fruit eaten with rice? Guess they have sweeter tooth than us). The opposite is also true. Our northern counterparts gets the same surprise when they visit Johor: we do cook with lots of hot and spicy chili as well as with lots of gravy on our rice. But the real winner in the 'hot' cuisine competition, would be those from 'N9'. If we were all cartoon characters, you would see smoke coming out from the ears and tears streaming from the eyes, trying to vanquish the hotness of the red chilis used.

In some states, a cow is like a coconut tree. There are thousands of uses for the coconut tree : from the leaves right down to the bark and roots. The cow is also eaten from the leg right up to the head (except for the horns, of course, which were made into deco items). I am not joking. The tongue..(err..you would not eat it if you saw it inside a live cow and you would also not want to eat it when you saw it on the cutting board), with every bit of it's tentacles like form, were boiled for hours until it's swollen and soft, then cut to small pieces and cooked in curry. I was enjoying the meal, especially the tender 'meat' in the curry. And got the biggest surprise in her life when I was shown the balance of the uncut 'tongue' in the kitchen. Luckily the toilet was only a few feet away.

I might be an adventurous person but please do not show or tell me in detail from which part of the animal it was taken from. And no visuals please.

Hmm.. I might convert myself into a dessert eater only :p hehehe if this continues. Jalil Hamid's song the title 'Makan' always make me smile. The song goes a bit like this:

Let's us talk about 'eating': While other countries lack of food, most of our people die for eating too much food.

Our people eat lots of things, be it in the morning, evening, day or night time.
Eating anything and everything: stone, steel, knife and also wood. :p

Bon appetite everyone!

Black Is the Color

******

BLACK

Black. Dark, dark black. Put you hands in front of her..nope, nothing..except darkness. Has she became blind? Has the gift of sight been taken back? Doink! Hitting a door. Grr..why is the door there?

Grin..no, she can still see. No, it's not a dream also. Today is the day that the TNB decided to change the cable supplying the electricity to the animal kingdom. The King has rented a big generator during this exercise to ensure that all the visiting royalties will not be handicapped and the forest will not be in darkness.

Somehow the Murphy's Law decided to intervene. The generator somehow refused to work. Darkness, total darkness. Not even the emergency lights were on. The lifts were working slowly. She and friends had to take the stairs. Luckily, the mouse had the good sense of opening her handphone, and Voila! like a torch, the blue dim light guided us in our slow climb up the 6 flights of stairs.

Panting..panting..now we know how out of shape most of us are.. hehehe.. Sweating from the climb.. dim light shining at the office area from nobody knows where, we silently collapsed into our chairs. Ting! oo..who is the person who touches the 'ON' button on the computer? Grr..everyone is staring at that person. The blue screen is asking her to put in her password. Ooo..in the darkness, the heartless computer still works!

'That is good!' a voice suddenly booms. 'Now everyone. Since the computer is working, there's no reason for us to loiter around. Let's start working as usual.' The poor girl was hiding under the desk. :p Ooo misery..misery. The keyboard and it's keys are in black. Of course it looks sophisticated.. but it's not easy to see what to type. Blinded by the blaring screen and squinting at the black keyboard.. Hmm.. can we get MC based on temporary blindness or insanity (must be crazy to come to work today). :)

LOA says think of the positive side.. be a positive person. Hmm.. what can she think of? Got it! :p At least she got to write this 'BLACK' posting for your entertainment. :p Yes..go ahead and laugh.. tomorrow might be your turn.

Purple

******
PURPLE

Night time is when words fade and all things in the heart and mind comes alive...
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This is cat's favorite color. There! Now you know it.
Purple, they say, is usually associated with the spirituality concept.

Flowers like lavender, orchid, lilac, violet and mimosa are often delicate and considered precious. As purple is derived from the mixing of a strong warm (red) and strong cool color (blue), it has both warm and cool properties. A purple room can boost a child's imagination or an artist's creativity, while widows in Thailand wear purple as a sign of mourning.

Cat just love purple especially when it's lightly colored. Mystery and yet slightly romantic. :p (as per cat lah). Velvety purple the color of a witch's gown & cloak. Mysterious and always have something speculating in her mind..

Night, black cat, full moon, stars in the sky.. beware.. this cat might be a witch casting spells in the darkness of Friday night. :p hehehe.. If only cat is able to do that.. :p whoever has heard of a cat wanting to be a witch.

Life is full of mysteries..like a novel. On reading the first page, you are full of expectations, wondering what's the story is about and what will happen next. In the middle of the story, sometimes you get disappointed, angry, frustrated and sad and you wonder why did the author make things happen the way it did. At times you just wanted to either throw the book away or you just wanted to send an e-mail and ask the author why did he let all those things happen to the heroin.

But if you persevere, have patience, open your mind and go on reading till the last sentence on the last page, then the answer will suddenly pop out in front of you. Everything became clear. And you keep saying to yourself..'That's it! I should have figure it out. It does make sense'.

That is life amidst the purple haze. :) Life is like a box of chocolates according to Forrest Gump. Life is like a purple flower inside a gray colored blog.. says this cat. There's no right or wrong. Just people trying their best to define what they feel and think.

Just remember, that purple is a mixture of red and blue. Alas, if you put too much blue to make the purple, it could result in dark purple..which means moodiness. An area which even angels fear to disturb.. :p (soft smile)

There are times when it feels like you are all alone..
Goodnite all..

Red

RED



Red. The brightest and one of the most color in the series.
Red is also 1 of the 3 colors in the trilogy of 'Rouge, Blanc et Blue' movie produced by Polish film maker Kryzsztof Kiewslowski.

If someone asks you to put on paper whatever crosses your mind when someone pronounces the word 'Red', you would surely write down one the below items:
* Blood * Fire * Love * Anger * Courage
And those from Eastern Countries might add in :
* Warmth * Luck (Good of course) * Prosperity * Joy



Red represents hope, activity and being at the peak of a situation. Tuesdays are often viewed as red. After a lethargic Monday where everyone is grumbling about coming back to work (it's hard to look at the piles of files ..hehehe..when you have just enjoyed a relaxing Sunday). Tuesday is the day where the engine inside your mind is actively pumping the neurons.. a day for action.

The Chinese had good sense when they choose red as a lucky and auspicious color. Brides wore red on their wedding day and a red cheongsam on chinese new year brightens the starting of a new year. The beginning and happiness ..it does add a festivity color to the event (imagine if everyone is wearing black! Hmm ).



In romantic stories or even in thrillers, red is the color of passion..Well, the temptress, the victim, the seductress always wear RED. It certainly pulls your attention to the center of the attraction and when you were not looking, WHAM!! a dead body sprawls on the floor and left you guessing on the famous question: Who Did It? Red, Red blood everywhere.. (Hmm.. :) That would also why red is a woman's everlasting favorite color in a party).

Red also has a negative side. Red is the color of anger and war. An Example? Okay.. Remember the old cartoon where smoke comes out from the bull's nose when it sees a red cloth? Well, there's your answer. :) When you are angry, the RED blood flows abundantly to your mind passing through the eyes.. be careful! Keep the anger to the limit else you'll burst a blood vessel :p hehehe.. this is the time when you plead 'temporary insanity' in court for having killed someone. Correct, isn't it? But pleeease do not say that you got this idea from here.

And lastly, RED is for alarm or BEWARE!! Red is for power, enthusiasm, energy, vitality, confidence, lust and life

Red is a beautiful color: seeing it throughout nature: from dying stars to dying leaves and its powers evoked by men for everything from politics to sports. Red roses ..certainly brings a smile to the RED RED lips.

Time & Tide

It is not so much how busy you are, but why you are busy.
A bee is praised but a mosquito is swatted. -Mary O'Connor'
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Hmm.. have you ever felt that everyone around you sometimes seems to have lots of free time on their hands? And while you, yourself, (or maybe it's only Cat) seems to be struggling to cope with your life demands, busy trying to finish work and always on the rush to buy grocery on the way home before the shop closes? In fact, you are doing all this and at the same trying not to go nuts!

Well, when you start asking a question, there will always be other questions following it. For example:

a) Some people always managed to go everywhere (be it to school, work or meeting friends) looking so cool and compose and with a perfectly made up face. While you are always on the run, barely has time to look in the mirror and always arriving somewhere a few seconds late and out of breath?

b) How come some mothers have time to cook breakfast for her children, send them to school despite the fact that they are working? While you, yourself, barely has time for breakfast, grabbing a sandwich or a bun from a 7-Eleven and eating it on the run?

c) Why do some students can hand in their assignments a few days before they are due? While you yourself are struggling till late night trying to finish the same assignments and just managed to hand it over on the required submission date?

d) How do some people managed to read a book a week while others just managed to read one book a year?

e) How do some people managed to handle many businesses at the same time? While others are struggling just to manage a household?

f) How does some of our work colleagues always able to handle multiply tasks and meet deadlines? These so called 'deadlines' should really be really be changed to 'livelines' , don't you think so? (smile) As the 'deadlines? seems to be moving to a new date when the work cannot be finished.

So, again, why are we always so busy when some of the people around us seems to have all the time in the world on their hands? (Hmm..are they really busy? or just pretending to be busy? evil grin :D)

Cat's teacher told cat that the solution is simple and it's a no brainer. Prioritize things and make the time for them. It is about having a goal or a clear end picture. Firstly, find the clear end picture to set as your goal. Then, start planning and follow the plan while looking at the end picture from time to time. Don't spend too much time guessing, assuming..spending too much time in uncertainty. You'll get stuck in one place while others are passing you by.

Food for thoughts :) Ahh.. too much thinking, cat. Maybe cat should have been a philosopher instead of a hotelier :) (grinning). To 'bee' or not to 'bee'. buzzz..

Everyday is a Special Day

Below is an extract of Cleo's letter to Dzireena on her New Year Resolution that cat would like to share with you:

I am all for celebration. Celebrate life would be my resolution and my motto. I use my good china everyday. I don't have a closet full of stuff for special occasions. Everything has been used at least once. I wear my nice clothes and use my nice handbags and live in my own world where everyday is a special occasion.

Don't get me wrong. I did not say that there's something wrong in keeping that special stuff for that one day. But I am one of those people who would rather enjoy those things myself instead of letting my closet enjoy it. Life is too short to be outdone by your own closet.

In a way, life is too short to constantly wait for tomorrow. What if there is no tomorrow for me? Why can't I wear those shoes that i am saving for that special occasion today? How about that dress that is still hanging in the closet waiting for the right person to impress? By the time the right person comes, I might not fit into the dress anymore.

My advise id: Diamonds should be worn everyday and compliments should be given on the spot. It's never too late to pick up a phone and say hello or sorry to someone you haven't spoken to in several months or years. We should savor the moment, enjoy today and always do what we want. Seize every opportunity.

There is no room for 'What if..' and 'What could have been..'. A wasted opportunity always leave a bitter aftertaste. A lost moment leads to a lifetime of regrets. Never, ever, let anyone tell you that you can't or shouldn't do something.

And lastly, Think like a Man. Because thinking like a woman makes you think too much. So Carpe Diem and don't trample on anyone in your 4 inch shoes while you are at it.
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Points to ponder, certainly. :)

Sunny Sunday

One day at a time - this is enough.
Do not look back
and grieve over the past,
for it is gone:
and do not be troubled about the future,
for it has not yet come.
Live in the present,
and make it so beautiful
that it will be worth remembering.
(Ida Scott Taylor)
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So many things to do and so little time to do it all.
Sigh.. how Cat does wish to be Santa Clause who has so many elves at his call. Fancy that..Santa has only to delegate all the wrapping and putting ribbons on the gifts. Guess that's why he's always cheerful and laughing.

Cat would have liked to be able to do the right things always. But, guess that is not to be so. This Cat must stumble and fall to get from point A to point B. She certainly do not have a GPS incorporated inside her. But still, she'll get there even though full of bruises and scratches.

Waiting for the medicine to settle down. Painkillers are supposed to kill the pain, but not only that, they seem to dull the mind too. Hazy day..

Integrity

Hmm..this one is a bit tricky...

Some people say, you must go with the flow if you want to be accepted in the group or community that you are in. They say that it's a must in today's world. If you want to be friends with a snake , you must eat, sleep, think and sxxx like a snake. You can't just wear a snake's skin and pretend that you are one.

However, if you do all that, will you be able to keep to your true self? Won't something inside you change too? Won't the habits and thinking of the snake sticks to you?

Cannot remember who says it but..there's a quote that goes like this:

You cannot play with the animal in you without becoming wholly animal.
You cannot play with falsehood without forfeiting your right to the truth.
You cannot play with cruelty without losing your sensitivity of mind.
He who wants to keep his garden tidy, doesn't reserve a plot for weeds.

Integrity..a simple word to pronounce, but a harder thing to act on it..

To do it ..or not to do it. That is the question.

Hmm....

Grey Sky

The sky was all grey yesterday.. and so was the office and the ceiling above cat's work desk. Grey, the color that represents the mood of depressed and anxious people.

Grey also was the color of Lion's aura. The darkest grey ever. Yesterday was another day of learning the great wisdom of working life and people management. 'We should all be following Prof Lawrence Kersten's ideology, that is: Treat the Staff like dirt because they certainly are.' Those great words were ringing in our ears and goes like this:
To believe that your staffs are naturally good and productive is stupid. Staffs are basically soft option seeking slackers. We should stop trying to make the staffs happy, motivated and rewarded. We will still get as much good results from them if we make them unmotivated, scared, unhappy and insecure and.. it will cost us a lot less! All those motivational classes will only make the staffs big headed and give them a sense of 'entitlement' that they thought the company owes them.

In the old days, he continued, we were afraid of our bosses. They pushed us to our maximum and we, the juniors also tried our best to get our bosses respect. Nowadays, the motivational industry is making you & them all soft.. no determination, no ideas or intelligence. They are all so filled with self importance, cannot be scolded.. and as a result they all do not have the necessary skills to do this job professionally.

Staffs are not the biggest asset for a company but a liability. They bring their personal problems to work, they get involved in petty politics, they resist changes and complaint about every minor difficulties while demanding more and more from the company. Time for all this to stop! You all must learn how to crack the whip. Learn to create a distance between management and staffs. This will keep them anxious and on their toes. We only need their contributions, the employees who make them are not!

Learn early that you must curb their ego minds. Teach them to be humble. If an ego driven staff offers an idea at a meeting, you slapped them down by cutting his idea mid way and turns to question another staff on another subject. Give also that 'egoistic' staff 'unimportant, demeaning' tasks to teach them to be humble. Create an anxiety in that staff simply by making his/her name the last one to appear in the cc list. The last trick that you all need to practice is : wipe your hands after shaking hands with a staff even by simply wiping your hands on your clothes, just to remind them that they represent a contamination. Go back and please have the time to read this book ' The Art of Demotivation' by Prof Kersten. Remember: Sometimes, the best solutions to morale problems is to fire all the unhappy people.

Lots of gaping mouths in the board room and one very very grey cat sitting there. A sense of deja vu.. the scenes in the examples were exactly what cat experienced previously.

Hmm.. and why is it that cat is still here? Why? Hmm.. cat is also bewildered about this..each time cat decided to try her luck elsewhere, fate always make cat stays. Whether because of sickness or further advancement, there are always things to stop cat on her tracks. Or maybe God just wants cat to stay here and continue being a thorn in the lion's paw. (grin) A hate-hate situation but where we do not have the choice but to be in each other's way. Come what may.. cat is just going to bear and grin it.

Grey is the color of the sky. And Grey is the weather in this animal kingdom. Sigh.. when is cat going to be as wise as the owl who has flown to another lair?

Signing off,
Cat
** P/s: Some people might have the same sense of deja vu reading this post but please note that cat is saying that it certainly has no link with any human dead or alive. It's just a fragment of the animal kingdom (smile)**

Lost In Melaka

Typically one of those days that Cat would have love to fast forward. :) Right.. dream on, Cat. It started badly with the alarm clock not functioning (or it did function but Cat was deeply engrossed in dream land.. grin). Rushing does not help at all but put you in a stress.

Luckily Cat can now drive a car. Speeding along the big road and leaning on the speed pedal, Cat took the right lane (for those who wants to overtake or for speeding. Just when Cat thought that her luck has changed (as all the traffic lights were green colored) Cat saw 3 policemen standing and guiding the traffic. Oppss.. Cat is in the wrong lane. Cat needs to choose the middle one if Cat wants to go straight. The right lane is to move to the right.

** Just for info, this Cat was born without any GPS or any sense of direction built into her mind. It took Cat 2 weeks to memorize the way to the workplace. She remember places and events very well but if anyone asks her to bring them from point A or point B, she would just show a blank face. Complicated short cuts and lots of turns would give her a migraine :p hehehe

So, here was Cat getting panic as the policeman was telling her that there was an accident up ahead and everyone has to make a detour to the right. Err..where does the right road leads to? No signboards and no where to make a U-turn. Now what did the driving instructor told Cat the last time 'If in doubt, follow the crowd'.

Ok.. let's just follow the blue car in front. Seems to be going the same way as Cat. Cat's brain agreed on that too. It's 8.05 am.. surely the majority of the cars were going to go to work. Off we go!

Then Kat saw a signboard with arrows which says 'Turn left to downtown' or 'Go straight' if you want to go to the beach. Guess which one did Cat choose? Grin..
To the beach? Buzz..nope..wrong guess. To work then? Buzz..wrong again. Cat took the road to nowhere. :D No one told Cat that signboards are put there to alert you that 'whatever was written on it is 500 meters ahead!

Kat saw the car in blue took the path to the left turn to town and happily followed it. Oo..the path keeps getting smaller. Kat started frowning. Where's the shop houses? There's nothing but the rice field on the right and a big stream on the left. There wasn't even enough space to U turn. Hmm... maybe this is a shortcut.

Suddenly the blue car turn on his signal and turn right. At last, a light at the end of the tunnel? No such luck.. the blue car turns and parked right in front of his house! And Kat followed him straight back to his home. Talk about being red in the face! Luckily the guy was kind enough to show Cat the way out of the padi fields..miles and miles of nowhere. A Malaccan girl getting lost in her own hometown.

Oh my.. Kat would never hear the end of this if boss gets a hint of this story. :p

Hmm.. A GPS, A GPS.. my kingdom for a GPS. :p hehehe.. luckily Kat still has her sense of humor and can laugh at herself for being silly. Well dear, no one is perfect. The same case applies to a Kat :)

At The Starting Line

Kat was watching the video clip "Quotations from Secrets: Law of Attraction" this morning. One of the clips was 'Set a goal on something big, that when it happens, it will blow away your mind. You become and attract what you think".

What can be so big that it can blow away my mind? Hmm..aha!: Learning to Drive. I know that it's not such a big thing for some..but it is a big step for me. I have this HUGE phobia of driving: each time I start the engine, my hands become cold as ice. The mind goes completely blank when I hear the sound of another car 'honking' at me. Imagine..Just thinking about it, makes the stomach ache and I feel like vomiting.

Okayyy.. Today, I promise myself to give it another try. I have registered at a driving school nearby..(you should see how the hands are shaking (grin)). There's no turning back. It's done. Just to look at the schedule and arrange a time for it.
God! am I really doing this..

Taking a deep breath..
I can do it? I can do it.. I Can do it!
Focusing hard on the end result..
Today registering, Tomorrow, starting the engine again.
Steady Kat.. God bless the me and all the other drivers.

Theory

Today, cat went to the theory Driving Class.
First, the registration part. We were asked to lined up and filled up our name, address, identity card number. This is at 8:15am. After scribbling all the details, cat was given a file and a piece of paper..oo..it;s the colour blind test. In the file, there's 25 photos, you know, with colourful dots against more colourful background.

At first, it was easy..mm..number, 5, number 6, number 3, number 1. Then odd shapes appear..it looks like number 4 but put in a reverse form. Is cat eyesight's really that bad? Then, cat heard a whisper near to cat's ear : "it's a boat. You need to draw a boat in your answer sheet". Was it a voice from heaven? No. It was one of the instructor hinting the answer to cat. "Quick. Draw a sailboat" he whispered again.

"We are supposed to draw too?" Cat looked up at him with astonished eyes. "Don't look at me." he hissed, "Just draw a sailboat".

Ok, you are the boss. So, cat just draw a simple sailboat. Then, odd shapes came into the picture. You are supposed to draw circles and squares and ovals.. isn't it easier if they just gave us an objective paper with the shapes printed on it and we just have to circle the answer only? And aren't instructors not supposed to give answer to us? Hmm.. Cat stop thinking. Use your eyes to see, and your fingers to draw. Not bad for a person who has stop drawing after leaving school. :) At least my square looks like a square.


to be continued....

Constructions

2 Jan 2011:

“ I am not a philosopher who is trying to make a system of thought. I am a mystic who is trying to convey the mysteries that have become available to me. I will confuse you. ”

I am stuck in the traffic jam! 20 minutes and nothing is moving.
Isn't it infuriating when there's no option but to wait in your car, while the clock is ticking away, happily reminding you that that you are going to be late?

It's not the construction workers' fault. Roads have to be enlarged, holes must be filled up and newly tarred road would benefit all of us. But can't the higher authority informed us earlier of their schedule? All the road construction works must have been planned much earlier (of course, you do not decide at the last minute that 'Let's just go and annoy that girl. Let's do a construction work right in the middle of Cheng area!' At least, do provide us with an alternative road, Mr In Charge.

Reached the office at 8.45am.. and I am still the first one to arrive. :p Unbelievable.

Waxed Tyres

The hardest thing in life would be trying to understand people's motives.
The 2nd hardest thing for Cat would be trying to understand her car.

Or maybe.. it's not a question of understanding. Cat guesses it's more to 'pride'. And as the proverb says: 'Pride goes before a fall'.

Boss and the guys at the office were always making remarks such as 'women only know how to drive but do not know how to take care of their cars'. Lack of something better to do, and taking it as a challenge, Cat decided to give it a try. Well, Cat was thinking ..how hard is it to take care of a small car?

Actually, Cat soon finds out that it's not that easy. Wanting to do and experience everything on her own, Cat kept doing silly mistakes. Enough to be in the same group as Mr Bean. Sigh.. at least Cat will remember what to do and what's not to do for the rest of her life. :)

Looking at a colleague's car, Cat was impress and envious with the sparkling tires and rims. After a half an hour of listening to the friend's instruction, off goes Cat happily to do her mission.

First step, getting the wax. That was the easiest part. There was a lot to choose from at the supermarket and all sorts of types: spray and wax. The spray looked a bit too liquid (:p Cat is looking at the substance and not at the ingredient). Not convinced that the spray will do the trick. Instead Cat chose a wax type of tire shine polish.

The instructions seems simple: Put a small amount of wax on a piece of cloth and wipe at the surface of the tire. Ok, here goes. After 2 hours of waxing, Cat was feeling pleased with the result. For 2 days the weather was sunny and Cat was happy with the tires. Cat has certainly forgotten the old idiom: 'Pride comes before A Fall'.

Today, it rains heavily. As you know, Cat loves to drive fast. At the 1st corner going out to the big road, Cat makes a fast turn as usual but the car skidded into the other lane a bit. Weird, as this was the first time it happens. Cat must have not been paying attention.

Then at the 1st traffic light, when Cat push at the brakes, the car did not stop completely. It went a bit more forward. That certainly make Cat's eyes grew bigger. Has Cat imagined what just happened. Cat decided to test the brakes again at the 2nd traffic light. Going fast and then brake. The same thing happened: the car went about 30 cm ahead before stopping.

Then Cat remembered. It must be the wax on the tires!
A call soon confirmed what Cat suspected. But, it was not entirely Cat's fault, isn't it?
'Surface', for Cat would mean : the outer face, outside, or exterior boundary of a thing.
The instruction on the box did say: to wax the surface of the tires. How would Cat know that it means only the part of the tire that can be seen. Cat has waxed the whole exterior of the 4 tires!

Nothing much to do now..except drive slowly and wait till the wax wears off (in a few days hopefully). Maybe Cat is just not made to understand instructions. :) Sigh..