A romantic dreamer...

“Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night...” - Edgar Allan Poe

My appointment with the spa was at 3 p.m.

But received a call from Nik Hasnah requesting us to come early as there was request to swap appointment by an important client. Today Sara followed me to the spa and indulged in full slimming treatment. I resort to aromatherapy massage and free body scrubs. After the spa session Sara and I went to Sri Putramas to look at the apartment. Some tenants have already renovated their apartment and moved in. We need to look for contractor to do some renovation works before we furnish the apartment.

I’ve been dreaming to have a cozy apartment of our own, a place we’ll go for quiet private retreat and take pleasure in the tranquility and ambiance of the surroundings from our 22nd floor apartment...

All cards on the table...

“The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity...” - Dorothy Parker

The Head of section meeting ended at 12 noon. With some friends, decided to have lunch at the Di Tebing. Only a few warongs were opened and the whether was extremely hot today. By the time we get back to office we were soaked in sweat.

The Evaluation Committee for the takeover of RMM met to discuss and agreed on the criteria for the scoring sheet. A brief introduction to the four companies would be useful to the committee to use as a basis to assess their capacity and capabilities.

A meal in the sky...

“You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life...” - Winston Churchill

We had a meeting with the Integrated Human Capital Management team and had a preliminary discussion on the department’s core functions and the responsibilities of the Director and Deputy Director. We also discussed on talent supply, role profile and evaluation of job. Most probably IHCM team will be collaborating with the team from the Training Center to look at skill sets.

Today, the SEACEN participants went for the city tour, to Batu Caves and later to the Selangor Pewter. Zainal, Zaini and I were supposed to meet up with them at the KL Tower revolving restaurant for lunch. We were late but had enough time to have a hearty meal at the buffet. We said goodbye to all the participants and promised that we will keep in contact with each other by e-mail.

SEACEN Seminar...

“Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one’s definition of your life; define yourself...” - Robert Frost

Palace of the Golden Horses'

In the morning we listened to presentations from Mr. Lucky from Bank Indonesia and Mr. Somchai from Central Bank of Thailand. Malaysia being the host country, and I have the honor of presenting a paper on ‘Procurement and Supply Chain Management’. In the afternoon, we had a useful round table discussions touching on issues of mutual interests and a lot of take-aways.

Dinner was at the Shangri-La Putrajaya and tonight, our Nepalese participant was earlier warned to behave himself. Unfortunately, those sitting at the same table had to bear with his not-so-funny jokes and loud remarks. Nevertheless, we had a lot of fun.

SEACEN Seminar...

“People aren't either wicked or noble. They're like chef's salads, with good things and bad things chopped and mixed together..."

Palace of the Golden Horses'

Today I promised Mr. Myint to bring him to meet The Governor at 5.30 p.m. We went out of the class early and headed to my office. His meeting with The Governor went well with him presenting a gift from the Governor of the Central Bank of Myanmar. Later I sent him to Sungai Wang Plaza to meet up with the rest of the participants. They plan to go shopping and had dinner there. I didn’t join them but drove home in the heavy rain.

I managed to complete the slides for my presentation tomorrow at 2 a.m. Tonight I slept well after hearing hubby's voice over long-distance call from Bangladesh.

Sweet dreams…

SEACEN Seminar...

“I want to stand as close to the edge as I can without going over..."

Palace of the Golden Horses'

The conference started with speeches by the organizer and a photo session with resource persons from G&D, Securrency, DLR and the Canadian Mint. Hubby came at 6 p.m. and we had coffee at the Coffee house. He’ll be off to Bangladesh tomorrow and I will not be seeing him till Monday next week. We kissed goodbye and I know I’m going to miss him.

The BBQ dinner for participants was at the Terrace Garden. We had quite a good meal but half way through, a drunken Nepalese participant with his loud singing spoiled the party. Luckily, the organizer managed to calm him down and situation was back to normal in a jiffy.

Trivia of life...

“All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” - J.R.R. Tolkien

Today is my working Saturday and I went straight home around noon. We waited for Sara to get home and we drove to Kuantan taking the new hi-way and took us less than 2 hours to reach Kuantan. Ja was ready with his belongings and we headed to Telok Chempedak and later had seafood for dinner.

Headed back to KL and reached home before midnight. Before we sleep we discussed on Ja’s decision to move to KL to study here. He's a big boy now and we will allow him to make his own decision.

From what we gathered, he’s lonely and not interested to continue his study in Kuantan.

Don’t hide the pain...

“I can't go back to yesterday because I was a different person then. ” - Lewis Carroll

Last night when I sms to a few friends suggesting to meet up at my office for lunch, nobody gave a positive answer. Called Adilah and she sounded very depressed. She was in need for someone to talk to. Adilah asked me to go to her office instead as she's in no mood to come over. Sms Nik Aminah to fetch me before we drove to the MARA building. Adilah's room is at the 6th floor and when we arrived she was still with the boss, busy discussing work.

We stayed in her room for while and lent her an ear. We know that she got personal problem but it’s becoming serious lately and she just doesn't know what to do. Nik Fauziah called to say that she's coming over to have lunch with us. So we went for lunch at the food court and talked.

A reason for sunshine...

“It takes ten times as long to put yourself back together as it does to fall apart.” - Suzanne Collins

Today is a public holiday. I was already up and about around the house doing the laundry and some spring-cleaning in the kitchen. Hubby looked tired and sleepy. Most probably he’d caught the flue too. Right after breakfast he rested in bed till noon. I on the other hand had to complete reviewing the country paper for the SEACEN course and strained my eyes on the computer.

Feeling bored and in need of sunshines to cheer us up, we went out to have Nasi Padang lunch and to Campbell Complex to collect my Gucci watch which we sent for repair nearly a month ago. Then later we went to Sri Petaling to survey for furniture and fittings for our new apartment. We ended up at the Bellamy Ikan Bakar restaurant at belakang istana for dinner.

Down with fever...

 "When we are afraid, we pull back from life..."

Tonight we worked out in the gym for a while and played a round of squash till 9 p.m. Later played a game of bowling. Although I was sweating profusely, my body was feeling tired and my muscle lethargic. My whole body was aching and the nose running.

I think I'm having the flue.

Vitamins & Collagen...

“Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint...” - Mark Twain

In the morning we went to the tailor to make a few baju kurung.

I have been postponing going to the tailor for so long. It was quite an embarrassment when people ask me what I have done with the materials they’ve bought for me. Have to do it, now or never. Sally was coaxing me to buy a few of her hand-painted batik. She has quite a unique collection. We went to sogo to get a birthday card for Sara. Later hubby sent me to the office to collect my car.

My appointment at the spa was at 3 p.m. When I got there, Nik M was already there together with a few others. They were introducing a new beauty treatment and I watched a doctor administering Vit C and collagen shots to some of the clients.

I wonder whether there will be side effects to this type of treatment.

Amateurish behaviour...

“I'm not upset that you lied to me, I'm upset that from now on I can't believe you...” - Friedrich Nietzsche

Today I was really pissed off by someone when he kept interrupting me with weird remarks during a discussion session. 

I understood very well when he was not pleased with some of the questions or comments made during the discussion but I expected some tact when he wants to interject with his objections. After the meeting I made known to him that I was not at all pleased with his behavior and we ended up arguing what's right and what's wrong. He admitted being rude and I made myself clear that I don't like his style. I told him that there are ways to object to ideas, in a more subtle ways. We ended up trying to patch differences between us. Hopefully each of us learns to accept and admit to our weaknesses and will not sour relationship, as we will be working and complementing each other in our daily work.

Hubby came direct from his office. Sara and Saufi came from home and we went to the club to sweat it out at the gym and the squash court. Later we played a round of bowling and had our dinner at the club.

Our Fruits orchard...

“I generally avoid temptation unless I can't resist it.” - Mae West

(My Mak's sambal tumis is still the best)

Today we decided to go back to Melaka to visit Mak and Abah. We started from home at 10 a.m. and had breakfast of Nasi Lemak bungkus at Sungai Buluh R&R. The Air Keroh area was jammed with traffic because of the ‘Sure Heboh Concert’. Mak and Abah were already waiting for us to have lunch together. The sambal tumis udang and ikan goreng makes the meal so very delicious.

After lunch we went to Sungai Rambai with Abah and Mak to have a look at our kebun. The kebun was unkempt and the chalet looked uninviting. We couldn't even get inside, as the lock was rusty. Need to ask Zul to clean up the place. The bright side was we could see some flowering durian and rambutan trees. Can’t wait to have another durian party soon.

We had tea before we headed back to KL, stopped at Mega Mall and bought me 2 pairs of boots.

Plot my destiny...

“Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know...” - Ernest Hemingway

Wake up and stare at the sun in the mornings and
Breathe the air of the dawn
You’re part of the strength of your life now
Rise up, fight, walk, be sure and you’ll win in life
Don’t ever think of ‘fate’
For fate is the excuse of failures

Tonight hubby came back from Sanya, China. Went with Sara to fetch him at the KLIA at 7 p.m. His flight was on time and I was glad to see him. I missed him so much. Had Nasi Lemak for dinner at Tanjung Puteri at Sri Hartamas before we headed for home.

What a relief...

“One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain...” - Bob Marley

Rushed through the meeting with Dato Farok and his team. His wife Datin Nik Radiah was present too and we exchanged news on school life in KB. Datin is Nik Aminah's senior at Sekolah Zainab back in the 70's. Then, I was totally out of the picture as I and the rest of Big 5 were placed in Sultan Ismail College. The first batch of girls to invade the once elite boy's school! I recalled Nik Aminah once told me that she has done a few drawings and sketches for Datin's Garden Asia Magazine. During the meeting my mind was somewhere else and it was difficult to concentrate.

By 11 a.m. I was already at the Breast Clinic at PMC but had to wait a while before I could see the specialist. Did the pap smear test with Dr. Primitha while waiting. I was examined thoroughly by Dr. Deva and he later consulted Dr. Asoka for second opinion. Together they examined the images from the ultrasound and concluded that the small lump in my breast is only a cyst and need no further test. I felt a tremendous surge of relief. When hubby called from Sanya, I could feel the relief in his voice when told about the diagnosis.

Grumbling tummy...

“Whenever I feel the need to exercise, I lie down until it goes away...” - Paul Terry

I had lunch with Garry of Polytec and Don Oliver from RBNZ. We discussed issues of common interests and exchanged ideas. Don is the expert in currency processing in RBNZ and has a vast experience in currency cycle chain.

Tonight I skipped class as my tummy was not feeling well.

I'm missing u...

“Where there is love there is life...” - Gandhi

Wouldn't want to be late like yesterday so we left the house around 6.30 a.m. 

Sent hubby off to the KL Central for him to check-in and later he took the ERL to the airport. His office mate will be meeting him at the airport. They are catching the 9 o'clock flight. It was still early for me so I stopped at the office to clear the in-tray. Then drove to Renaissance Hotel for my second day training session.

Went straight home from Renaissance Hotel. Saufi bought KFC for dinner. Felt so tired tonight and went to sleep early and missed several of hubby's sms. Woke up in the middle of the night feeling so lonely.

Missed him a lot already.

A qualified Assessor...

“The wise make proverbs and fools repeat them…” - Isaac D'Israeli

Lately I was losing some sleep, but this morning I woke up early.

I thought of going to office first before going to Renaissance Hotel for the Assessor Training Session. It was raining heavily and it took me 2 solid hours to reach the hotel. Ironically, I was the only one who was late for the session. The training session was interesting and fast paced. After the session, went back to office to do some work. Tonight I went to class alone. Hubby skipped his to go home early to pack. Tomorrow he's flying to Hainan, China for a user group conference.

Today is the first day of Sara's 3-month practical training at Selayang Hospital. Hopefully she'll benefit a lot out of the training.

Against all odds...

“We have to dare to be ourselves, however frightening or strange that self may prove to be...” - May Sarton

This morning, I was feeling down and again feel so scared. Hubby came with me to PMC to get the full result of my medical check-up. Except for the findings of the mammogram the rest of my health is excellent. My doctor wrote me a referral letter to see Dr. Devaren, the specialist. I cannot wait long, I need to find time for this...

We had coffee and shared a piece of chicken pie at the Dome before we drove home. Hubby  promised that we will go through this together. For now, there's no point in agonizing over something we are unsure off.

Beyond tomorrow...

“Wit beyond measure is a man's greatest treasure...” - J.K. Rowling

I attended a talk by Edgar Low from IBM on Banking of tomorrow.. Beyond Now.

The talk was about what technology brought to the business and realization of the way technology is moving. An interesting presentation and an eye opener.

We had dinner at Laksa Shack at 1-Utama then watched the movie White Noise with Sara and Saufi.