Wednesday, September 14, 2005

6 degrees of separation

Wikipedia: Six Degrees of Separation is a 1993 film based on the John Guare play, starring Stockard Channing, Donald Sutherland and Will Smith which explores the premise that everyone in the world is connected to everyone else in the world by a chain of only 6 acquaintances (see six degrees of separation).

yeah...closer to recent memory would be the semi-casual lifestyle cum vacation programme hosted by Asha Gill on Travel & Living, Astro...and I'd always scoff "yeah rite...these shows are soooOOOOOoooo rigged!" Hah!

But today....I did not even need six degrees.

The random lady I plonked myself next to during the seminar knew:

  • my current boss...they were colleagues in an audit firm 9 years ago
  • ML, a close friend of mine whom I've known for the last 10 years...they are work acquaintances
  • my hubby...he had just joined this firm as a newbie a few days away from her resigning from same company

Freaky!

munsta ramblings @ 8:49 pm 1 comments

Tuesday, September 13, 2005

Neopets

If I were a Neopet... I am apparently a Peophin!

Peophins are rare magical creatures. They are very shy and don't mix with other species very often

They are rumoured to bring good fortune and happiness to those around them.		Which Neopet are you?
Courtesy of http://neopets.retrograde.org/quiz/

but, but, but......I actually feel like:

coz its my last day at the office today!!! will be attending a seminar tomorrow (which, i hope will be both interesting and useful!)...then am off for 2 weeks for my wedding ceremonies in Penang and Kuching respectively!!!! Boy it feels good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can't remember when I last had a long break as such....HURRAH!

Note: No slightest inkling as to what the above blob is but who cares!?!?

munsta ramblings @ 11:10 pm 0 comments

Sunday, September 11, 2005

Love hurts


Of course love hurts....if it doesn't, it ain't love.....

Received the following sms at the ungodly hour of 5:59 a.m. :

"My personal view on the pain of love - liking someone a lot and that person doesn't even know u like them"

Sigh....that comes from a friend of mine who is currently nursing a massive crush. Anyone pondering over such profound thoughts at 5:59a.m. on a Sunday morning...well....my advice: Do something about it!!!!!!

We're living in a century whereby its no longer a girl-must-wait-for-guy-to take-first-step era anymore. Geez....all that talk about equality of genders...surely it applies to matters close at heart too?

And if guy in question cannot accept a first step by a girl...well, then...we've sussed out one thing for certain....he probably cannnot accept a lot of other gender-related issues too....so unless you're content on surrendering your independence and right to voice your opinion, have an ambition to sacrifice a promising career to stay home to take care of the kids and nurture a female-stereotyped hobby such as knitting/ patchwork....chances are, the relationship would be doomed under normal circumstances anyway.

But what if he says "No thanks"...well, its not an entire loss either...at least you haven't wasted another six months wondering if he has been interested or not, analysing to death your conversations and actions for all its worth...all of which is very counter-productive and does not bring you any closer to your object of affection!

No risk no gain....after all, if things don't work out...time is a magnificent healer.

munsta ramblings @ 7:28 pm 6 comments

Living Skills

It was a subject I hated in school....why? coz I was never good with my hands...

In carpentry classes, I was the girl who ended up with crookedly sawn pieces of wood;
In sewing classes, I was the girl producing clumsy, mutated feather and herringbone stitches
In cooking classes, I would count myself lucky if I hadn't caused a fire....

so yes...you get the drift.

As such, I did something totally out of the blue today!! I actually managed to put together a DIY computer table all on my own!

TA DA!!!!!!!!!!!!
aiks...lousy phone camera....*grin*

What's best is that the blokes around the house had given up on the table for good, citing "cheapo Carrefoure stuff", "lousy instructions", "too damn complicated" and "probably incorrect parts"

So home alone, with nothing better to do this afternoon (OK, so I was supposed to be doing some office work I'd reluctantly brought home yesterday....but I just couldn't bring myself to open the bag), I thought...why not give it a shot!

And the looks of surprise when bro and hubby got back....definitely worth every ounce of time and effort spent!

Hahahah...living skills lessons to thank for? :)

munsta ramblings @ 6:01 pm 1 comments

Saturday, September 10, 2005

WTF!!!!

Situation 1

Revising the company's tax estimate to ensure that there will be no underestimation penalty when final tax is filed. Tax instalment payments for remainder of the year to be increased accordingly.

Gen. Mg: Why only a RM2 million buffer? That is way too risky...we need to at least safeguard ourselves with RM5 million.

duly revised estimate to incorporate Gen. Mg's comment and reverted in 3 minutes for her final approval prior to forwarding to Director for signature...

Gen. Mg: Why the additional RM5 million of tax estimated? You think money grows on trees?

*****

Situation 2

Gen. Mg: What is happening to the tax refund of Co A - long outstanding liao, still no news from IRB
Me: Have followed-up with personnel-in-charge in Co A numerous times - was informed that IRB could not process refund since Co A does not currently have a bank account...have advised them that they either obtain BOD approval to open a bank account; or to request BOD approval to instruct IRB to refund the tax credits via Co B - besides e-mails and phone calls, have also written memos too but to no avail
Gen. Mg: You guys are not doing the right thing to keep things moving
Sen. Mg: Yeah...that's why I suggest we prepare the BOD circular on their behalf and wrap things up.
Gen. Mg: That's not right too!!!! We shouldn't be taking on their work....totally unacceptable

silence

Gen. Mg: Follow-up with another memo

*****

Situation 3

Gen. Mg: Tax estimate for Co C is OK, but is this particular liability on the balance sheet merely an accounting error?

am blur as am not in charge of the preparation of the accounts....only responsible for preparation of provisional tax computations based on projections forwarded by relevant personnel-in-charge....but nevermind, i figured i needed to buy time

Me: Am not sure, will check it out and get back to you on the matter
Gen. Mg: Why should you check it out?
Me: er...coz you asked?
Gen. Mg: but that's not your job!!!!
Me: er....ok......
Gen Mg: Go find out and let me know

*****

Situation 4

Gen. Mg: Compile all required information for the legal due diligence on Monday. We need to revert to the Legal & Secretarial Department by 4p.m. today

shucks!!! tedious and lengthy list of items.....deadline at 4p.m. today, and you're telling me this 3 hours prior to deadline...you think my tax agent and i are miracle workers?

Me: OK...will work on it now

at 3:45 p.m., approach Gen Mg. with documents and cover memo to Legal & Secretarial for her review and signature

Gen. Mg: OK - just leave it in my in-tray, am busy...think it can wait, its not so urgent after all

******

Morale of the above:

1) If you're senior management, make up your bloody mind before you issue instructions/ reprimand/scream at subordinates
2) If you're a subordinate - patience is a virtue, and sometimes, its just normal to be confused

and yes...i did have a bad day at work!

munsta ramblings @ 12:22 am 0 comments

Thursday, September 08, 2005

Tall, dark & ....

There's someone whom, for some reason or other, I simply cannot look in the eye.....everytime I have to speak to him, I feel uncomfortable. Oft times, I find myself shifting uneasily and answering in short, curt sentences. Sigh...i suppose it does not help that he is not only tall, dark and (some say) handsome but also has the 5 'C's as follows:

1. Comic wannabe
It is painful to watch someone try to be funny and falling flat on his face. It is even more excruciating (literally, my facial muscles ache when his stand-up comedy session drags for a prolonged period...but then, with him - any humour session is too long!) when, in the name of 'politeness', I freeze this semi-smile on my face the entire time he is telling his ultra-lame "jokes" and muster up what I hope passes off as polite laughs at deemed appropriate intervals. Sometimes I wish I could just walk away...but I don't know him well enough to be frank nor rude....so, sigh, i might as well be kind.

2. Conversation dud
And when he is not trying hard to be desperately funny....he offers a new dimension to the term "cut-and-paste". Huh??? Well...take the following scenario whereby you may be talking to just one other person. And when this person finishes making a point, he quickly steps in to summarise/ reword/ re-emphasise the same matter....sometimes even regurgitating it word-for-word, almost...and in a matter of sentences, adopts the entire idea/opinion as his own...voila...clever conversationist not! a general waste of everyone's time, i say...and down-right irritating to the max....which leads to the next point.

3. Condescending
He has one of the largest egos in the world...nevermind that most of what he says is unoriginal (refer to item (2) above), he has the cheek of imposing "his" opinion on you and refuses to even consider any alternative views. Not one with much patience, I do give up all manner of conversation sometimes - why bother and waste effort when you know it is futile and that your words/ideas bounces off your audience faster than a tennis ball hit by either of the William sisters. Of course, when talk becomes so ostentatiously lopsided, this concerned comment would inevitably crop up: "Are you OK? You're so incredibly quiet today!"

4. Creepy
Another penchant which he boldly demonstrates is that for slim fair-skinned females, 22 to 28 years of age, preferably sporting shoulder-length hair and able to converse in fluent English.

I accept the fact and do not find it the least offensive that guys do check chicks out....hey, we girls do the same too ....but all this checking out business requires tact, which means that the second sentence directed at a brand new female acquaintence (particularly if she's a friend of mine whom I've newly introduced!!! *rolls eyes up and shrivels with embarassment*) should not be any of the following:
  • So...are you attached?
  • Could I speak to you in private?
  • Can I give you a lift home?
Note: First sentence typically being "Hi, I'm Mr X!"

Hello!!! What kind of response are you expecting?!? The above easily triggers alarm bells in any girl with half a working brain! And this is even prior to Mr X demonstrating assets (1) to (3) above plus his touchy feely skills.

Eww...contrary to the chick magnet he perceives himself to be, I'd write him off as a creepy old man! yucks!

5. Clingy
Yes....you read right. The adjective is much used by harrassed blokes who lament about their chicks over mugs of beer during a lads-night-out. Never before have i ever heard this word used to describe a chap...but in this case, it cannot be more apt.

Woe betide if he spots you in a gathering....he has a tendency to corner you, and once latched onto you, it is just almost impossible to detach yourself from this super-sucker leech discreetly...even in the event when you excuse yourself to go talk to someone else across the room, he would follow suit...nevermind if he has no idea who your new conversation mates are.....he'll tag along, unless of course...he spots another chick, after which, refer to item (4) above. And if he somehow lays hands on your handphone number.....sigh...you're better off changing service providers.


Yes...tall, dark and handsome he may be....but personally, I much prefer to avoid him like plague.

munsta ramblings @ 11:46 pm 0 comments

Thursday, September 01, 2005

Narrative Strains

Decided to do something out of the blue yesterday and hubby dearest had initially suggested a visit to Aquaria@KLCC ....but the queue was loooOOOOoooOOOOooong!!!! I am sure it stretched a kilometer at least...from the entrance of the aquarium right around to the food court, winding round the exit to the underground carpark...through that, snaking right through the tunnel connecting Suria KLCC to the KLCC Convention Centre.....stopping short at the Suria KLCC shops!

Not quite keen to spend my afternoon mindlessly waiting for my turn to what I was sure would end up being a hurried look-see at the new aquarium, I suggested to hubby to lets pay a visit to Galeri Petronas instead.

And what a gem of a decision that turned out to be!!

To be honest, I haven't much immersed in arty cultural stuff since I've been back from England/ Europe....my last visit to the National Museum was about 4 years back...to visit the much-touted Ghouls and Spirits Exhibition....which turned out to be an absolute joke!

As such, I was not expecting much of the venture, but boy! was I surprised. The exhibits on display were the 3rd installment of a series of exhibitions featuring artworks from the Petronas Art Collection....and I ended up spending about 2 hours browsing and admiring the works of art of LOCALS!!! yes...you read right!!!

The masterpieces were simply inspiring and awesome...and all this right in the heart of KL...totally accessible to the masses and you do not even need to fork out a single sen to visit it!!!

Some of my favourites were:

Tan Wei Kheng - she had some really great pastel, pencil and watercolour drawings of Sarawakian tribesmen...so life-like that at a glance, you seriously would not realise you weren't actually looking at photographs

Lucy Liew - I really like her paintings from the Hornbill series....lovely colourful and cheerful motives of the hornbills' beaks...

Ismail Mat Hussin - his batik works are simply just amazing...the attention and care to details...the harmonious colours....and the planning and patience it must all have taken.....a true blooded artist who was even on hand to answer questions on the art of batik and the processes involved.... the picture of one of his masterpieces here does not do the real thing any justice at all!!!

Nadia Bamadhaj - her "anyamans" and her pencil drawings were laden with irony...i particularly liked this piece which was titled "Jakarta is rising" and another one, whose title I couldn't remember, but was cheeky in that from a certain angle, you could see the Bolshevic symbol indented against the weaving texture....you've gotta go see it for yourself before you can understand what I am rambling about

To inject humour in the exhibition were two pieces from Lat (a comic narration on a travelling Chinese operatic group) and Reggie Lee (a caricarture entitled "Masks") respectively

Some amazing ink maps from a Chinese chap (apologies, I cannot seem to recall his name to save my life) which creatively merged the streets and roads of England and Penang together

Another apology to a Malay chap whose name I also cannot remember but who drew lovely colourful and fun 2-dimensional pictures of the forests with the sea and horizon in the background...so detailed till you could pin-point out the elephants, birds, insects, monkeys....amazing

so yes....we really do not need to fly over to Amsterdam to check out Van Gogh's collection ...or the Uffizi/ London's National Art Gallery to oogle at Michelangelo's and Leonardo Da Vinci's works....coz we can begin here...right in our own backyard - there is simply lots to appreciate!

So if you have the time...I strongly encourage you to just pop over for a visit. Narrative Strains is on display till 1 Janaury 2006.

A simply enriching and humbling experience.

munsta ramblings @ 10:02 pm 2 comments