Money sucking cabbies!!!

I just came back from lunch with two former colleagues in Bukit Bintang.

I had problems flagging down a cab, so I thought I'd walk and hail one along the way. One eventually stopped but asked for MYR7 outside the former MAS building. I said no as it was less than 5 km away.

So I continued walking, while watching out for cabs but NONE stopped!

My legs were getting tired as you can imagine, I was walking in my heels, and my recent frequent visits to the gym aggravated my already aching legs.

I walked to Shangri-la hotel finally and decided to enlist their concierge's help to get a cab. One cab stopped, hotel staff told him where I wanted to go and he said ok. The moment I got into his cab and closed the door, he said "MYR10 ok?" with a big smiley grin.

"NO WAY!! It is very near!" I exclaimed. He refused to take me so I got down from the cab. If I didn't agree to paying MYR7 15 minutes ago, I am most certainly not going to pay MYR10 for a much nearer distance! The hotel staff were all looking puzzled when I got down from the car.

I waited for another cab at the hotel, and finally this one was willing to take me, and I only paif MYR2.60 for it!! I gave the driver a tip!

Bidding farewell to a loved one

"To my beloved grandmother, you shall forever live in our memories, and you will be sorely missed..."

My grandmother passed away at 0625, 26th October 2006 in General Hospital Ipoh wad 8B.
None of us were by her bedside as it was too early in the morning. Only the Indonesian maid which we hired to look after her was by her bedside during her last moments.

This is something which will haunt me and my eldest cousin for the rest of our lives. You see, we visited her at midnight the night before, and the nurse did tell us that from her experience patients with such symptoms will not lasts either the night or the next day. My cousin wanted to take my grandma home but decided against it later as no doctor was around to sign her letter of release. For me, I was silently rejecting the idea that we were bringing her home to await for death, and I didn't want to face the possibility that my grandmother was leaving us. But at 0630 in the morning, a loud bang on my door jerked me from my sleep, and the next 10 minutes was a daze as we rushed to get dressed and rushed to the hospital.

I was the first one to arrive at her bedside. Both sides of the curtains were drawn, and I will never forget the scene that stopped me in my track. Lying on the bed, was a body wrapped in white. My legs would not move, and my heartbeat dropped at the sight. Tears started to rush down my face as I stared helplessly at my grandma's lifeless body. I did not have the courage to unwrap the white cloth, secretly I was already hating myself for being so late. I suspect that this guilt of not being to send my grandma off will haunt me for a long long time to come..

The funeral was held 2 days later. While we slowly come to reality of my grandma's death, I have to admit that at times I was pretending that she is merely away somewhere to lessen the pain. Sudden gushes of pain and sadness engulfed us for the 2 days. I could not look at my grandma's body, lying in the coffin, without a tear in my eyes.

But, at least, she is no longer suffering. Wherever she is now, I hope she is happy, and know that we will always remember and love her. She was one strong lady, and never have I met another person whose fighting spirit matches hers.

To all my friends and colleagues who sent their condolences, I thank you for your support during this difficult time. The mere effort of reaching out to me during this difficult time meant alot and I thank you sincerely. Here, I am sharing with you all the support I received in the last few days.

"Our dear Almighty God. On this day, You've reminded us that You are in control of things that happened in our lives. We as Your humble children could only pray to You for Your strength and guidance upon our lives. I come before You this day to ask for Your shoulder of comfort to be upon my dear sister, Susan whose grandma has returned to you O Lord. I too ask for Your forgiveness upon her sins and that You'll bless her soul so that she could rest in peace for eternity. May You provide strength to Susan and auntie Monica during this difficult time as they mourn their loss of their beloved grandma and mother. I thank you for each day of our lives and humbly ask for Your love and blessings upon our lives. May Your guardian angel watch over Susan and the rest of the families as they travel on the road to bid farewell to our dearest Po Po. In Jesus name, Amen."
Andrew

"She was a strong lady."
Jassy

"Deepest condolences to you and your family. May God bless her soul and may she rest in peace."
Ben

"I am sorry to hear that your grandmother passed away. Take care."
Dominic

"Our deepest condolence on the demise of your granny. From all your friends at Boustead."
Pat

"Sorry to hear that your grandmother passed away and my deepest sympathy."
Kin Ko

"My deepest condolences to you and your family. May God grant you peace and comfort. Hugs."
Cheryl

"Sorry to hear that. Our condolences to you and family."
Yong CK

"Would like to send my deepest condolence upon hearing your grandmother passed away. My well wishes to you and may your grandmother rest in peace."
KS

"May God strengthen you and your family in this time of loss. With deepest condolences on the demise of your beloved grandma."
Jim

"My condolences on the passing of your grandmother. Take care."
GM

"My condolences to you. Be strong. We are all GOD's creation."
Fariz

"Wishing you hope in the midst of sorrow, Comfort in the midst of pain with heartfelt sympathy."
Sumitha

Thank you.

When your ex calls..

Have you ever been caught off guard by your ex?

My ex called me out of the blue today and asked if I wanted to meet up with rest of the "gang" this Friday.. (thank God I am heading for Bangkok tomorrow... so I have a perfectly good excuse.. :-p)

The only thing is, there is this constant awkward "we are trying to strike up a conversation without feeling awkward" mood when I communicate with exs.

Am just wondering, is it ever possible not to feel awkward to talk to your ex after break ups?

Wobbly legs...

I have been shamed to update my blog...

I better provide some updates...

I went to Batu Caves on Sunday morning to climb the steps there. For what you may ask... well actually I went there to get fit and to train for mountain climbing (if I ever attempt another climb... haha..). So up the stairs I went..

First 100 steps, still manageable, next 100 I can feel my legs getting tired... by the time I get to the top, my legs were ready to give way... Went down the steps in a jiffy and rested for 5 minutes before heading up a second time. The second time was worse, having to stop every now and then to catch my breath and rest my legs.. but still managed to reach the top! I am amazed at my capabilities, despite having not exercised in awhile..

Would you believe that I was crazy enough to climb a third time, my limbs were definitely complaining, and I promised myself that I'd only climb half way. In the end I managed to finish all 3 climbs! I am pretty proud of myself...

Only that.....

2 days after my climb, I am feeling the pain.. my tendons are defying my commands and wobbling whenever I walk down steps.. My small calves are painful... I just hope that the fire drill that building management was talking about does not happen today or tomorrow (*gulp.....)

High on cough syrup...?

It's almost end of a working day.. can't wait...

I caught up with the fasionable flu and cough of this season, and went to the doc during lunch time. The doctor harped on my nasal problem (which I disagree... but will not argue with her). I collected my medicine, and asked the nurse whether the cough mixture will cause drowsiness. She replied, "No, this is mild" Ok, great!

Came back to the office, took my lunch and my medicine. 1 hour later (and still am), I felt funny.. My movements are not very synchronised, and I was very sleepy. My eyelids are heavy as well... the nurse lied to me!!! Can you imagine having to withstand 3 hours of this? I am practically floating on air... just cannot wait to get home and sleep...

Would love to write more, but am not thinking straight right now... this will have to do now.. ta!