Enough is Enough !

After the previous incident, I had been scammed...

...again...

...again...

...and again...

"Am Autumn Oliver by name"??? Who the hell talks like that??? Did they Google translate Nigerian??? Can't they hire scammers with better English proficiency???

This was when I said to myself, enough! And I took down the advertisement on Mudah and decided never to post anything on it ever again. Unbelievable number of scammers! Gosh!

I have (almost) been scammed!

Yes, I have! And I survived to tell the tale...

The Baiting Stage

Like all scams, it began with greed. I posted an advertisement on Mudah to sell my used camera. The price I fixed was RM600, equivalent to USD133.75. It's amazing such a low price can attract scammers. I'm officially amazed.

Anyway, I received a WhatsApp message the next day, from a +234 number, a Nigerian country code. If you type "mudah nige" into Google search bar, these are the first things that come up.

Haven't even complete the word "nigerian", Google search bar tells it all.

The seemingly interested buyer, refer henceforth as "the Nigerian", told me he was from UK and wanted to buy the camera for his cousin in Sabah. He asked me to check the postage fee to Sabah, which I did. It was about RM16 via PosLaju.

Without much questions, the Nigerian asked for my banking details and immediately transferred RM1050 to my account. And all these, were confirmed by his bank, the First Direct Bank. The payable amount was only RM616 including postage, but he paid in excess of RM434. Now, this is the bait.

The Pre-Scamming Stage

According to the email from First Direct Bank, I needed to provide proof of postage before they would credit the money into my bank account, apparently to avoid money laundering.

First email from the bank. My bank account number is the number of times I died and reincarnated.

I was again amazed by how badly-written and unprofessional the email sounded, not the mention the grammatical errors. Can't I be impressed by a more skilled scammer? How can these scammers survive in such a challenging and harsh environment? How do they even compete with the better scammers?

So the Nigerian insisted that I post him the camera today, right away. Since I was bored, and have all the time in the world (don't ask why), so I played along.

Conversation with the Nigerian Part 1. The tracking number is a lottery number I trust will be announced this week.

He then asked for the PosLaju receipt, but of course I didn't have it. I just forged some Maybank2U online payment slip, took a picture and sent to him. It was a photo after all so I guess he couldn't tell that it was a fake. I even forged a PosLaju consignment note (don't ask how) and sent back to his First Direct Bank.

The Real Scam Stage 1

Now this was when the real thing came. He made a payment in excess of RM400! So, how? He asked me. F***ing call your bank and make changes, I suggested. But the problem was, the bank said no, apparently for security reasons. Wow, such customer service. And such high security.

Okay fine, I would refund the money after the transaction had been done successfully. Bank said no again, they needed to see the refund before they could credit my account. I repeatedly demanded reasoning behind this, as I wanted to see how clever they could get and what excuses they could come up with to get around with this. But the Nigerian guy kept saying it could not be done, I had to refund the money first etc. He just kept repeating the same thing, like a retard.

Conversation with the Nigerian Part 2. He wanted to delay my suspicion before the camera could reach him.

Conversation with the Nigerian Part 3. I made him believe that I will refund RM250 to him.

So I gave him what he wanted. I refunded the money to him. Of course I forged a Maybank2U online transfer slip again, which made me realized how easily it could be done. Something to note for future reference - be it a scam or anything at all.

The Real Scam Stage 2

So what happens when you successfully cheated someone of RM250? The answer is simple. The more the merrier!

Of course the amount RM1050 is too little to be transferred. Nobody transfer that kind of money okay. Of course you need a minimum of RM2000. What is anything below RM2000? The bank was very regret to inform me that the transaction had failed, because apparently their valued customer, the Nigerian, had never had a transfer less than MYR2000.00 with them!

Second email from the bank. Transaction had failed. 

Seriously... How can anyone fall for this? And that was not all. In order to be able to transfer the money, he had made an additional transfer of RM950 into my account, so now I had to refund him this very amount as well. It's so fun right! We love transferring money from one to another!

By that time I was bored beyond hope. These scammers, they are just not creative enough. I felt lazy to entertain the Nigerian anymore so blocked that +234 number on WhatsApp. He then sent another message from another number saying that I was trying to scam him. LOL. Nice try, Nigerian.

Well that was the end of the scam and yes I had a good laugh. I had two names and a RHB account number, which I thought belong to the scammer, or at least to someone linked to him. I had thought of filing a police report but then, this amateur scammer, why had he not been caught? His skills were stupid and he gave out bank account numbers. Those who got scammed (if any) surely had reported to the police. The only reason he was still out there, either because the PDRM didn't bother, or because he was some insider with PDRM or had linkage with them. If I were to report him, and I had played him that way, would he track me down and come for revenge?

Anyway, I figured I should still provide the information here, on my blog, for the sake of all mankind. Whether or not I file a report is another story. Without further ado, let me introduce the cast:
Mr. D***head Aizad Razi (it only appeared in emails hence it could be a fake name)
Mr. F***face Mohd Afzan Afiq, owner of RHB account 15211200049444

Open Water Diving Course - How to Assemble the Equipment

Like I said, Feeder and I went for our PADI license in Lang Tengah few weeks ago. It was a four-day theory and practical lessons. Since we do not dive like once a month - in fact, hardly once a year - I thought I'd prepare some notes (before I forget) about things that I've learnt during the four-day-course. So that I can revisit those skills before my next dive. *wink*



Refer to above video from YouTube.

Step 1: Slide the BCD (buoyancy control device) into the oxygen tank from the top. Make sure the O-ring on the tank is facing the BCD.

Step 2: Use one hand to hold the BCD in place, the other tighten the belt. Make sure the O-ring is just above the level of the BCD neck area. If the position of the tank is too high, it may knock the back of your head. Try lifting and shaking the BCD to check if the tank is properly secured.

Step 3: Align the O-ring with the first stage opening. When properly positioned, tighten the yoke screw with three fingers. This is to keep you from over-tightening the screw. Check that the BCD hose and the pressure gauge is positioned on your left, the second stage and the alternate air source on your right.

Step 4: Attach the BCD hose to the BCD inflator. You should be able to hear a click when it's properly connected.

Step 5: While turning on the air valve, place the pressure gauge face down or away from you. This is to avoid injury in case the glass burst due to leakage (highly unlikely). Turn the valve slowly at first. When it is pressurized, turn it fully open, and then close it by turning it one time, using three fingers.

Step 6: Check the pressure gauge. It should read about 200 barg. Test the regulator by pressing the purge button. Inflate the BCD by pressing the red button on the low pressure inflator and then release the air.
Note: During diving, low on air is considered at 50 barg or lower.

the geographically blind - living up to my standards

So Feeder and I were at the Subang Airport, checking in our luggage for a flight to the east coast (for open water diving course).

Me : I would like to check in our luggage.

Firefly ground staff : Flying to?

Me : (mind went blank for two seconds) ...

        (looked for the destination on the printed flight itinerary) ...

        (and failed to locate it) Kelantan...

Feeder : What? No, we're flying to Kuala Terengganu.

Me : (still reading the flight itinerary) ...

        (and found it) Oh yes!

Staff : ... (proceeded with check in procedure)

Me : (to Feeder) Are you sure we are flying to Kuala Terengganu?

        What if the hotel staff pick us up in Kota Bharu airport?

Feeder : I am sure.

Me : But last time we went to Lang Tengah, we took the boat from Kelantan.

Feeder : No, we didn't! We went to Terengganu!

In the end the hotel staff picked us up in the Kuala Terengganu airport. And we got our diving license.

My Greatest Fear

There was one thing that I had done recently that made me feel proud, and I had not felt like this for the longest time. I had learnt to swim.

Last year I gathered my courage, and did something I should had done years ago - I signed up for swimming lessons. I did this partly thanks to encouragements from Feeder, and mostly because I was tired of being afraid.

Being in water had been one of my greatest fear for the past 29 years (apart from lizards, anything cold-blooded, my boss' boss and ghosts). Whenever I was in a swimming pool (which is very rarely) of a mere 100 meters depth, my hands would never leave the edge for fear that I might fall and unable to balance on my feet. I never had a drowning experience and I wished I never would.

Back when I was in my college years, in the Batu Ferringgi beach my friends and I were sitting on a banana boat. I remembered I watched in panic as the speedboat driver playfully swirled the boat in a sharp turn causing the banana boat to capsize and all of us ended up in the sea. I wailed as loud as I could for my friends to come save me, all the while having the orange-coloured life jacket on.

My high school, King George V Secondary School in Seremban, was the only school in town that had a swimming pool. Back then I took the swimming lessons, I was taught to glide with the float. But when I reached the stage where I was supposed to let go of the float, I couldn't do it. I guess I just wasn't as determined as I am now.

So when I signed up for the swimming lessons, I was very doubtful. I mean, if I could learn to swim I already had 16 years ago. What pushed me forward, I guess, was that I didn't want to add this to my list of regrets in life. I was, after all, going to reach 30 really soon.

My first lesson was a tough one. It started out easy, thanks to my brief experience in high school. Blowing under water, gliding, kicking - those I could manage. But then there came the hard part. I was told to kick, glide, push my arms apart and bring my head above water to breathe. Now that I talked about it, it seemed so easy but back then, for a person like me, it was harder than jumping off a roof. But what could I do when my hair was wet and half of my body from waist down was submerged in the pool. So I did tried to do as I was told. 

As I pushed my arms apart, the insecurity of having no floating support took over and the only thought in my mind was, "I'm not going to make it". Hence water was splashed and people stared as I regained my balance to stand on my feet, half of my body from waist down submerged in the water. I wiped off the water dripping from my hair and saw faces trying really hard to refrain from laughing.

Later that night I cried myself to sleep with sad thoughts that I would never learn to swim. I might as well had thrown the 300 bucks to the ocean - at least I could hear a splash. But that didn't change the fact that I had already paid. So I left work early whenever I could to practice in the freezing cold water. It took me 2 weeks to be able to perform the 3 simple steps of frog style. The first time I managed to do it, I guess that was the proudest moment of my life.

Now I could swim laps of frog style. It didn't quite come naturally to me yet. I still must count in my head "kick, glide, push, up". And water threading was still something yet to be mastered. At least, if I were placed in the middle of the ocean without any floating device, I wouldn't immediately drown. In July this year I would be going to take a diving license. Hopefully that experience would strike out another item on my list of regrets.

People say we are meant for each other

People say we are meant for each other.

I was preparing an invitation email for my wedding. Then I forgot the most important detail. But I remember I told one of my friends, so I asked her.

"Do you remember when is my wedding, Karishma? November what?"

"Oh I forgot. November 29th?"

I checked the calender and 29th November was a Saturday.

"Yes it is! Thanks!"

"You forgot your own wedding date? Check with your boyfriend!"

"He would most probably forgot also."

To prove that I was right, I gave him a test. He was playing Diablo on the computer. So I dragged a chair and sat beside him.

"When is our wedding date?"

"November 31st." Eyes on the computer screen.

"What? No!"

"November 31st! Yes!" Eyes were still on the computer screen.

"No it's not! It's November 29th!"

"Oh yeah, you're right." Eyes still had not leave the computer screen.

I moved my head close to his so that my head had blocked one-third of the screen.

"I forgot my own wedding date and my friends laughed at me."

"Hahaha..." Shifted head while eyes were still on the screen.

Well at least he didn't shout at me or slap my face.

The next day I told my friends and was told there were only 30 days in November. They had a good laugh.

That is when people say we are meant for each other.

My First Pair of Contact Lens

It felt like it was only yesterday when ShinTien persuaded me to try on contact lens.

It's the greatest invention ever, she used to tell me. But the mere thought of touching my eye balls totally freaked me out. Until one day I was unable to resist the temptation any longer, I bought my first pair of contact lense.

The shop assistant could immediately tell I was new to this - a pair of spectacles and the hesitation must had given me away. He offered to help me put them on. I tried for less than 5 minutes then I gave up, couldn't bring my fingers anywhere near my eyes.

That time I was studying in UPM and Tien and I were housemates. I brought my first pair of contact lens home and told her I couldn't do it. I could never do it.

It was easy and all I need was a little getting used to, she said.

After spending more than 1 hour standing beside the sink, parting my eye lids with my fingertips, trying hard not to blink, forcing myself to put the contact in, hypnotizing myself that there was nothing to be afraid of - I finally did it.

It was the strangest feeling. When you're short-sighted and wearing glasses, you can only see clearly through the glasses. If you look up or down or sideways outside the frame, you feel as if you're looking at a smeared painting. But in contacts, you see everything clearly even through the corner of your eyes. And most importantly, I touched my nose and there was nothing on it. You see, I started wearing glasses since I was 10 and I had already forgotten what it was like to have perfect eye-sight.

Now I take less than 5 minutes to clean and put on my contacts every morning. In fact, I couldn't live without them.

Once I had to travel as early as 4 in the morning to Kelantan. Mr. Chin said that I should just wear glasses. I told him walking on the streets without my contacts was like going shopping without panties - it was more comfortable but it just felt wrong.

My Best Friend's Wedding

Not the movie by Julia Roberts. Indeed, my best friend (whom I know for 13 years) just got married last week.

 Audrey and Teck Guan on the lunch reception.

When Audrey made the announcement the first thing that crossed my mind was, so Audrey's the first one among us. It didn't occurred to me as a surprise or anything shocking. That was when I realized how grown up we are.

This was not the first time I attended a wedding of someone my age or younger. But attending as the bridesmaid and her best friend was totally a different feeling. Driving down the roads in Seremban was another nostalgic experience. And meeting Mr. Foo, our Form 6 class teacher was another bonus.

 

 If growing up means not having the rights to do anything childish, we did it anyway.

 

 At the lunch reception.

 From left: ShinYin, Xiang, ST, me, Boonlee, Ze, Snowfly.

I wondered who would be the next among us. And how old will we be by then. I don't know about the others but the very thought of getting married (and having kids) seem like a strange idea to me.

 Most of us brought boyfriends.

 The Georgians in the everlasting Murali pose.

 Mr. Foo and the Georgians.

 The bridesmaid at the church wedding.

  MUAKSSSSS!

Walking down the aisle in a church was my idea of a romantic wedding which I had always dreamed of. But when I did attended one, I thought it was more spiritual than romantic. I'm not a christian so I will never have a chance of having a church wedding of my own. I guess walking the aisle as a bridesmaid, in a way, fulfilled my childhood dream. Well, another strike-through on my list of things-to-do-before-I-die. ;)

 No, I wasn't sad.

 The bride and us.

We spent a night at ShinYin's after the church wedding ceremony on Saturday (the lunch reception was on Sunday). There were 4 of us staying over - Wee Tze Yee and Kin Chew (her boyfriend), SukTeng and me. During our stay, ShinYin's mom apologized that she didn't have time to take us out to lunch and all. I told her, it's alright, we'll make ourselves at home. And I realized that I meant it. It didn't feel like I was staying at a friend's house - it felt like I was staying at home. We felt comfortable even when ShinYin's brother came to our room to take his stuff when we were lazing in bed. That is how close ShinYin and I are. :)

Preparing the door gifts for lunch reception on the next day.

The door gifts, ready and packed in boxes.

I must admit the door gifts were really creative. And oh, I tied the ribbons on all the wedding dresses.

Team Building - The Aftermath

When I was a high school kid I used to join these school camping trips. When separating us in groups, they usually put students of the same class in different groups so as to encourage us to mix around. I didn't like it at all. I was quite anti-social (still am) and I wasn't good at talking to strangers (still am not).

I recently joined a graduate team building organized by the company that I'm working with. No matter how I detested the idea of re-living my high school life in this form in particular - I felt that I was too old for it - it was compulsory to join.

I'm not saying that I didn't enjoy it at all - in fact, at some time in some way, I actually did. Though I was often mocked of my childish behavior by my colleagues throughout the whole journey. I admit that I may have gotten a little excited sometimes but I'm actually a very matured being especially when it comes to work.

From previous experiences, I knew that my colleagues (of the same department) and I would most probably be in different groups when playing games or other team building activities. But I didn't mind it - I've grown out of it of course. I mean, I have to say that it was a good opportunity to be able to get to know my colleagues from other departments. I know that I'm the reserved type and it'd definitely take some time for me to open up to the others; and others to me. What I didn't expect was that there were still some people with the "high-school-behavior". The team builders would randomize us by asking us to form a circle and call out numbers (for example from 1 to 5) thus all the ones are in a group; twos in a group; threes in a group and so on and so forth. Two girls, I observed, they purposely stand in the positions so that there would be 4 persons in between them, thus they would be in the same group. I was amazed.

I think that since that you're already there, whether you like it or not, you should just play by the rules. Otherwise, what is the point of being there? I'm not saying that I'm doing the socializing thing really well, but at least I'm trying. I don't think that I've bonded with my colleagues and immediately become close friends with them. But at least I know their faces, I've talked to them before, I've did something with them before and hopefully I remember their names.

The Chinese-Educated Me

Disclaimer: This post is entirely Tien-inspired, thus all credit (if any) shall go to her and her amazing blog.

If I were to have kids (not that I'm expecting any I assure you, neither am I getting married), I wouldn't know which type of school to send them to - national school (sekolah kebangsaan) or Chinese type national school (sekolah jenis kebangsaan). Mr. Chin said he would like his kids to learn to read and write Chinese. I'd think otherwise - Chinese is not an important language, English is. I told him that those who go to Chinese school like us struggle to learn to speak English fluently. He didn't agree, with an argument that he turned out fine, and that he managed to learn along the way.

But I remember how difficult it was for me to adapt when I moved to an English-speaking medium in secondary school. My big sister was concern about my English speaking ability thus insisted that I go to King George V Secondary School. She went through a lot to get me in, as it was considered as a good school which only the best students deserved. Lacking one A in my UPSR examination, I wasn't one of the best.

I finally got in though, after a few trips to the Education Ministry and getting a recommendation letter from the Minister of Education (my sister somehow knew him briefly). All of my classmates either speak Malay or English, both languages I was uncomfortable of. I was often mocked for my in-proficiency in English. There were a few incidents that I remember vividly - annoyingly vividly.

There was a conversation when my friend had asked me to tell her something (which I forgot), but I must had refused because I said "I don't tell you". She corrected me by saying it should be "I won't tell you". I didn't know that time that "won't" is a contraction of "will not".

There was another conversation when my friend had asked me how did I know of something (which I forgot), I said, "the teacher talked to us" but I actually meant "the teach told us". I forgot to use the word "told". These were only a few of many other embarrassing moments.

You'd probably think at the rate that I was going it could take a miracle for me to have a blog of my own with over 140 posts, in English. I would say three things helped me the most - movies, books and music. And of course a lot of practice with my friends.

I'm not saying that I never benefit from learning Chinese - there are certainly its advantages. I don't regret learning it. I appreciate the Chinese literature and some novels and Japanese manga translated in Chinese. But English is after all, an international language, which I use everyday especially in my job.

I suppose that language is easier to learn at younger age. It's ashamed that we Malaysians are exposed to multiple languages but we can never truly master any one of them.

The Versatile Blogger Award

I am entrusted by one of my best-est friends, ShinTien to write this particular post. She has a blog that is awesome and inspiring which I follow closely without fail. She had passed on this Versatile Blogger Award to me and of course I accept this award! I hereby proclaim that I am, a versatile blogger (no matter how many of you disagree with that).

And I shall follow the rules of this award which are to:

• Thank the person who awarded you and link to his/her blog.
• Tell 7 random facts about yourself.
• Pass the award to 15 new found bloggers.
• Contact each blogger you want to pass the award on to, and let them know you’ve done so, and let the giver of your award know you accept it.

So, here goes. Seven random facts about myself:

 Coal Ball (top) and Miao Miao (bottom). They're good friends.

1. I am addicted to this soft toy of mine, whom I call "Coal Ball". I love him to bits. I can't sleep well without him at night. There was one night I made a last minute decision to sleep over at a friend's house, and I couldn't sleep well at all! I kept having this sense of insecurity about the room, the bed, the blanket etc. It was also partly due to the fact that I didn't get to wear comfortable pajamas, but yeah.
2. Sometimes I can't stand slowpokes. I simply can't.
3. I am wearing a green colour pajamas that my mom tailored for me. And both my nephews have the exact same piece, just different size.
4. I am the most emotional creature I've ever met. I can get excited this minute, depressed the next. And I am easily provoked, especially when it comes to driving on the road.
5. I am able to withstand hot weather more than cold weather. I would rather sleep without fan or air-conditioning the whole night, than to have a temperature of one degree lower than I am used to.
6. I love blogging, like a lot. But my blog is not exactly frequently-maintained, I would say. The most significant reason is I tend to run out of ideas on what to write. (Refer to Tien's post on how to cope with that here.) And when that happens, I just let it be. I didn't want to force something out of me because when I do, the posts usually seem rough. My blog is suppose to be my journal, somewhere I turn to in the virtual world when I have something to say (regardless of how many people will be reading them). And when I look back, I will be reminded of some feelings that I once had, some things that I did, some people that I knew (I am a very forgetful person).
7. I just came back from a vacation in Krabi, Thailand and I think Malaysia has better beaches than that.

There, I've stated seven random facts about myself at last. It's certainly more difficult than I thought. Now I'm going to pass this award to my fellow blogger friends:

1. Modern-Day Robinson Crusoe
2. The Bimillennial Man
3. Confessions of a House Officer
4. Over the rainbow, beneath the dark clouds...
5. JC in da house

Right, I can only come up with 5 blogger friends. But who cares! Congratulations ya'll for winning! :D

Label Me

Life is always full of choices. But at times your choices are limited. I'm sure you often come across a situation where you are forced to take on a task which you don't feel like it at all. At this point it all comes down to choices.

One, you reject the responsibility and push it to somebody else with the most relevant excuse you can think of (which is always the lamest excuse one can possibly find). The consequences, you will be labeled as "lazy", "anti-social", "arrogant" etc.

Two, you take on the task anyway and decide to make it as simple as possible to minimize your work so that you can concentrate on more important things.

If you don't mess it up, all will be fine. People whom you service get what they want and if some things are not good enough or they're not satisfied with it, they give you "advices" and "suggestions" (read, complaints) to make it better next time. Some (a very small percentage) who appreciate your effort send you a thank you email.

If you somehow mess it up, hell you will be blamed like never before - it will be your whole damn fault. Even a mere two hours delay - because you need to settle some more important things first - will get you labeled as "irresponsible" and "not doing her job". Even if you say OK you're going to do this right now and you just need say, 5 minutes to prepare whatever you need and you're going to start right after 5 minutes. NO! The damage is done, what's labeled is labeled. It's like virginity - once you lose it, it's gone forever.

Whatever you do or don't do, when your name appears in the candidate list for this meaningful, important task, it's going to be a very eventful time of your life. Like I said it all comes down to choices. Do you choose "lazy", "anti-social" and "arrogant" or do you prefer receiving "advices" and "suggestions"?  If these two are still not good enough, you still have "irresponsible" and "not doing her job". It's your call ;)

Park Chul Hair Dresser

I used to go to Oh Jun Hair Salon - before they moved to the new place, before I feel the hair stylist cum owner, Oh Jun cuts and perms my hair in a rush because of the long queue, before he charges me a fortune.

I've discovered a new salon now - Park Chul Hair Dresser. It's in the old place that Oh Jun rented. It's run by a Korean lady who speak English that I can't quite catch. But thank goodness there is an Indonesian lady whom I speak Malay to, and she would translate to the Korean lady - yup, she can speak Korean. She told me she has already been in Malaysia working for almost 10 years, so are the other Korean ladies there.

It was the same experience I had during my first visit to Oh Jun's - friendly owner and employees, good and thoughtful services. I think all the Koreans like to have curly hair. Like the first time I went to Oh Jun, she also suggested that I do rebonding at the roots and curl at the bottom. I refused and told her I already tried that.

You know when you do rebonding you have to warm a pair of steel plates (to about 180 degree Celcius) and use it to clip and pull small parts of your hair repetitively, so as to make them straight and shiny. This is normally done after you've washed off the straightening chemicals and you will have to blow dry your hair before this procedure. If this procedure is performed when your hair is still moist, it might damage your hair. And when the water evaporate to form steam - especially at the area close to your scalp - at 180 degree C it could burn your scalp slightly and you will feel stinging pain for days after the perm, which is why I never want to step foot in the salon until I really have to.

In Park Chul Hair Dresser, they know better than that. When they use the hot clip on my hair the Indonesian lady would blow away the steam formed so it wouldn't hurt my scalp. For the first time having a perm, I didn't feel a thing at all. How relieved I was!

This is how I look after the cut and rebonding.

I thought she cut my fringe too short. But I changed my mind after a few days. :)

The price, was not much different from Oh Jun's - equally expensive!!! I was charged RM200. Well I guess one have to pay for the service. And I was given a card which I can claim for a hair manicure treatment after 5 times of perm or colour services, and a hair skin scaling and face massage after 7 times of cut hair services. Better than nothing.

Park Chul Hair Dresser
H/P: 016-9197249
Lot B13-2 Jalan Ampang Utama
2/2 One Ampang Avenue
Jalan Ampang
68000 Ampang
(near to Ampang Point)

I want to be in love =)

我们都是单翅膀的天使，只有拥抱才能飞翔
(We are all angels with a single wing, the only way we can fly is to hold on to each other)
~ Quoted from a song by Gary Chaw ~

I always feel incredibly bad - or rather, guilty - when single people tell me about how they long to be in a relationship, how they long to find the one. And they'd ask me how I met Mr. Chin, how did it started, what romantic things he did to me etc. I'd feel so reluctant to tell them and I'd try so hard to camouflage my happiness. I feel as if I don't deserve him.

They end by saying, "Oh how nice to have a boyfriend/girlfriend. You must be so happy." or "If I have a boyfriend/girlfriend now I wouldn't stay at home chatting on MSN." or "I wonder when will I find mine." I will then tell them to leave it to fate and love will eventually find them, while hoping what I said is true. And I feel more and more guilty simply for being in a relationship.

Some would ask me for tips to get a girl. I always help as far as I could - providing advices, introducing girls to them. Some broke my heart by being hopelessly conservative i.e. desperately wanting to get married for the sake of having children. Some disappointed me by changing their mind every 5 minutes. To date I have not successfully match make any couples.

Sometimes I have to tell them the painful truth - you don't have a sense of humour, you should lose some weight, you are not sensitive enough. Much that I hate to admit, the world is a cruel place. The first impression i.e. the look, is one major thing when it comes to opposite sex attraction.

Being 27 years old this year, the pressure is starting to build up. However desperate we are, it can't really be helped. The one who want me isn't the one I want, the one whom I want doesn't want me. Love is as complicated as it can be. It hurts me when listening to stories like this. I laugh and scold with my girlfriends when they tell me about jerks they met, those who broke their heart, those assholes and losers.

My mom always say you will never know who is your till-death-do-us-part until you're dying on your deathbed. I think it's very true. I sincerely hope all my friends will find their very own happily ever after.

P.S. Recently a friend was happily attached. Congratulations to him and his sweet girlfriend. :)

Aliens Invade Earth - Ultimate Escape Plan

1. When we get to know that the aliens are coming, I would call Mr. Chin and my mom to make sure that they're safe. I'll then leave whatever I'm doing and go back home to pack. On the way I'll drop by Giant to buy (or grab, because everyone will be running for their lives and there won't be any cashier to collect my money even if I want to pay) some supplies.
2. The whole idea is to avoid places of high population. Because if aliens were to invade Earth, they'll probably pick high-density area. So it should be the safest to go hiding in Mr. Chin's hometown, Kelantan, and even better in his house situated in Kok Lanas, somewhere I've never heard before until I know him. Mr. Chin will drive to my house to meet me and my mom. And we'll together head for the destination of hope.
3. Meanwhile I'll call my two sisters to make sure that they're safe. Big sister and her family in Kepong can come with us if they want. Second sister in Port Dickson can stay there and head for smaller towns, as Port Dickson itself is a small town already.
4. When we reach Kok Lanas we'll gather with Mr. Chin's family and head for the rural area, preferably the jungle. We can set up camps near the river and live for a few weeks avoiding the aliens. For the mean time we will be hoping that the government or whoever fighting the aliens will discover their weaknesses and defeat them and claim back Mother Earth.

I often get paranoid after watching movies about ghosts, alien invasion, serial killers, judgment day etc. I'd ask Mr. Chin, what if alien invade Earth? What would become of us? Where would we go? He would assure me those things won't happen. But I get even more scared when he said that. How can he be so sure? The above was the "perfect" escape plan that he came up with just to entertain and comfort me after we have watched Skyline.

I just watched Vacancy 2: The First Cut. I've yet to ask him, what if we were chased by a serial killer? ;)

Lately...

I can't believe it's been such a long time since I've updated. Just want to tell my followers (though I don't believe there are many) and fellow bloggers (if you're reading this) that I'm still alive, and I'm just waiting for some inspiration to blog. I don't usually force myself to blog so when I don't feel like blogging, I just don't. Sometimes I simply run out of ideas and motivation to maintain thE gEOgrAphicAlly blind. And when that happens, I lay low for a while trying to settle my mind. This is not the first time it happens. Anyway, to those who are interested to actually stop by and read the words on thE gEOgrAphicAlly blind, I thank you and ask you to patiently give me some time and space. I can't promise when but I promise I'll be back, when I'm ready. Till then.

PS: Attaching a recent photo of my Coal Ball and Mao Mao (Cat Cat) on my bed. When I'm away from blogging I play with them. =)

Downfall

I tripped and fell on my own
There was no one to be blamed but myself
I reminisced and traced my steps
And realized
I could've done something to prevent it
There was no point regretting
As the damage had been done
I was to be responsible for my lost

"What's important is the experience, not the outcome", Mr. Chin said.

My Reading List

I just received my book ordered from the BookDepository.com last Thursday - Addicted to Unhappiness by Martha and William Pieper. Actually I was supposed to receive it by the end of February. But I think the book got lost somewhere along the airmail so I emailed the helpdesk of BookDepository and they offered me two options - either to send a replacement to me or I can have my refund. I asked them to send a replacement, so there it was, wrapped in good condition. And I got a really good deal. Because the same book costs about RM70 in Kinokuniya and they still want to charge me RM8 for postage. In BookDepository they don't charge postage fees and the book itself only costs about 14 USD (equivalent to RM50++). Good deal, right?

Anyway, now that I got the book, I realized I have like so many to-read-books in my list

First there is The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga. I bought this book from Kinokuniya like, two years ago. I only read halfway though. It's not that the book is boring, no in fact it's totally interesting and intriguing. It just didn't come to me at the right time. Although I can't recall much of the story, I'm sure it will be a pleasant read if I had continued.

Then there is 鬼吹灯 (Ghost Blow Light) by 天下霸唱 (Tian Xia Ba Chang) introduced by Mr. Chin. It was written by an Internet writer and now it has got so famous that it was published into hard copy books (in four thick volumes) sold in bookshops and I heard there's a online game made based on the novel. The first two volumes were really good. It was scary, adventurous, funny, and most importantly, weird. I can only tell you about the first two volumes because I only managed to read until there. And again, it's not that the book is boring, not at all. It just didn't come to me at the right time.

Both of the above-mentioned books had been sitting on the top bunk of my bed (I sleep on the lower bunk of the double-decked bed) for God-knows-how-long. Then along came Lao Ann, who half-forcefully lend me The Five Love Languages (爱的五种语言) by Gary Chapman. It's a Chinese version, hence the translation. He said that every couple should read it, and he asked me to force Mr. Chin to read it too. I'm not very into self-help books so I laid it on top of The White Tiger.

A few weeks ago, I got hold of Lonely Planet travel books as to prepare my journey to Hangzhou, Shanghai, Tongli, and possibly Suzhou or Nanjing (it hasn't been planned in detail). I'll be going at the end of October as I've got cheap air tickets from AirAsia! Yes! RM420 nett two way! And I'll be able to go to World Expo 2010 (if we manage to get the tickets)! Yeay! Ok where was I? Right, the Lonely Planet travel books, burden-fully added to my reading list.

Around the same time my birthday was approaching. So naturally I demanded presents from my friends. And Audrey, she sent me an email attaching my birthday present from her. It was two ebooks - The Pilgrimage and Veronika Decides To Die by Paulo Coelho. Fortunately I had already read the latter a few years back. So she has only added one to the list. Though few days after that she sent another four - The Devil And Miss Prym, The Valkyries, The Manual Of The Warrior Of Light and The Witch Of Portobello, all by Paulo Coelho. I shall be thankful these won't be lying on the top bunk of my bed, but in my Yahoo inbox.

And around the same time I received Addicted to Unhappiness. And it just made me realize how long my reading list is, and made me feel that it's about time that I shorten it. Which is why I've been away from my blog for so long. Yes, I've been reading. ;)

Disappearance

It could be nice if one can disappear at will, just like that, into thin air. Just so one doesn't need to go through the trouble of selecting the best way to commit suicide, and executing it. That would definitely be of less effort.

It could also be nice if one, upon disappearing, people's memories of him would be automatically erased. Thus no one would remember him, not even his closest family and friends. Just so people would not be hurt by his non-existence (if any). Just so tears would not be shed, and people would not mourn.

She knows she will end up in hell

She knows that she will end up in hell. Eventually she will. She just knows. Her life is a living hell. She sees death in everything. She sees it when she wakes up, when she drives to work, when she eats her regular meals, when she goes to bed at night. She sees so much of death she no longer feels anything. Nothing can make her happy, and she refuses to be happy. She doesn’t allow herself that kind of luxury. Being happy, is overrated. To her, life is just a number of many days to pass by. She yearns for the day when she no longer has to go through life.

Every day she hopes for a miracle. And at the end of the day she is again and again disappointed. For some reasons she enjoys the disappointment, the sadness and hopelessness. As if that’s the only way she can feel her own existence - that she’s real. As if that’s the only way that can make her happy, in some odd ways. As if she’s addicted to it. No, she is addicted to it. She cries once in a while. She thinks that it’s a blessing that she’s still able to cry. She feels better after that, knowing that she still has emotions. The negative emotions are what remain of her. She knows she will end up in hell.