"One night there was something in my pants, like blood. My mom said, oh, hell, your period. This is where all the trouble starts. She was right." - Elizabeth Wurtzel in Prozac Nation
Sunday, January 24, 2010
I Am Not In Charge Of The Newspaper
Most people do not understand the mechanics of a newsroom, whose in control with gatekeeping and how news is actually produced.
The desk wanted me to come up with a reaction story, so I got some people to react to the earlier story.
And when readers don't understand that my news piece is NOT an opinion column but merely a straightforward report, I get shit like this in my work email.
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even requests like this
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As much as I love getting feedbacks from my readers, these are just nonsense. I think I've presented both views fairly and not all three people quoted in the story were ridiculing Dr M. One actually said "it was an encouragement for people to find out the truth". So apa masalah Mamat #1 tu pun I tak tau.
I jarang sangat bercakap about my work on my blog. Honestly. I don't update my Facebook status about work, I don't complain about workload, I just never really say anything about work. But the response I get from the story deserves to be in this entry.
On a lighter note, I covered Tali Tenang last Saturday. I love human interest assignments on Saturdays. The last assigment of this kind was Everyone Connects. It was also a bit mindboggling at Tali Tenang when people that I actually know back from school (bukan Syaza Liyana ye maaf) would be so uncomfortable talking to me when on Facebook we actually exchanged comments on statuses and whatnots. Friend of a friend yang tak pernah jumpa selama ni and baru sekali say hi pulak yang friendly dan sangat 'warm' penerimaannya.
Like my sidekick for that Saturday told me, "Biasa la these people. It's a virtual world out there."
These Streets Will Make You Feel Brand New, Big Lights Will Inspire You
I can't get this song out of my head. I love the beat, I love the lyrics. It gives you the courage to dream. And dream BIG!
Alicia is awesome.
Met up with Jade and Meikeng after work. The girls were out doing some serious CNY shopping with Jade doing the most damage to her wallet. Al-Rawsha finally 'restocked' on chicken shawarma.
Stuffed ourselves silly with chicken mandy and chicken kabsa.
Meikeng's reaction when Jade and I started talking Twilight :P
such Twilight hater this woman ish.
Sucking in my tummy real hard.
That thing that looks like a clutch is actually our bill.
DiGiman came today to explain more about Curve Gemini. Gosh the plan is so tempting. Decisions, decisions.
I am forcing myself to blog regularly this year. Blogging should be included in the resolutions. The more I read other people's blogs the more I feel like I need to document my life on blogspot.
Starting with this post, I will aim to blog more! Sapa-sapa yang rindu saya menulis hihihi saya rindu kamu juga ;)
Last night I paid a visit to Adilah's house in Taman Cempaka with best friend Kumar and Fizza. D's mom just got back from the States visiting D and I sempat order some stuff. Kumar initially wanted to get me Twilight merch from the bookstore - a set of four diaries in a tin case. I've seen those before and I know they almost reach RM90 and I hardly write in a diary nowadays (ada Blogger, Twitter dan sebagainya kan) so I came up with the awesome idea of this
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from Nordstrom. Only the coolest Team Edward top I've ever seen in all the hype of Twilight and New Moon. The price was slashed to USD$ 13.90 and after converting to ringgit, it is still cheaper than the diaries Kumar wanted to get me. So I bat my eyelashes and say pwetty please to Kummy and he said okay okay me get you the top instead and I jumped with joy with double Prosperity burgers in both hands.
Crazy Imagination.
Anyways, D said she could order the stuff for me and ask her mom to bring em back to KL - hence the visit to her house.
I also ordered this
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the cutest charm bracelet I've ever seen. I've never had charm bracelets before so this is a great first!
Found Adilah's place after a while, a bit sesat at night plus the last time all three of us were there was in 2008. Chatted with D's mom for a while and met her dad and cousin too. D's mom was kind to pack us with this mix of nuts, raisins dan M&Ms. D said those were bought in Costco and her dad carried it in his hand luggage. The lady at the airport said the luggage was too heavy and the culprit was the Trail Mix LOLS.
I passed my long-overdue souvenir from India for Dilah to the mom so that she can bring it to D when she goes to the States again. Nak tunggu I go to US of A memang sah lama lagi la kan baru boleh pergi -_-"
Unless the Company sends me there for assignment! :D
Had dinner later with Kumar. Fizza couldn't join. Al-Rawsha ran out of chicken shawarma (again!) so I settled for grilled kebab sandwich. Meat tasted nice but texture was tough. Chet.
My fave Mohalabia
Grilled lamb sandwich. I ordered beef shawarma afterwards buruk lantak.
Red mint tea for two.
Was just catching up with Kumar, talking, talking, talking then a Chinese dude who was sitting with his friends came over to our table, ingatkan nak pinjam lighter ke apa (macam la I smoke sekarang kan) and without even acknowledging me, he just dived straight into a conversation with Kumar!
For a good SEVEN AND A HALF freaking minutes.
Oh wow hi my name is Baiti nice to meet you too please have a sit and join us for dinner.
-_-"
Gila rude ok. Kept on rambling about his job and the industry that he's in, about his gym membership and platinum card b.s like whatever so I pulled out my handphone and started cleaning my inbox. That was how long he was at our table, tak duduk pun berdiri je kat tepi meja sambil dua-dua tangan pegang meja until the food arrived and Kumar was like 'Oh ok we're going to eat dinner now.' That's the cue for him to LEAVE. The best part is, Kumar didn't even remember his name. Dowh!
Kumar said my belly is more... pronounced now. I was wearing black mind you. I actually sensed that I gained a bit in the belly department but didn't wanna acknowledge so yeah it takes my best friend to tell that to my face if you dare do what he did I WILL PUNCH YOU TILL YOUR NOSE BLEEDS.
So here's my Xmas present from Kumar. He ended up paying for both items when I specifically told him to pay only for the tank top. I will get you something, Kummy, I don't care!!
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It's 12:53am now. Need to get up early for court assignment tomorrow. Damn those Trail Mix it's addictive.
Why the fuuuuuk do I have a love-hate relationship with almost everything? ALMOST EVERYTHING OK!
Like, sometimes I am sooo fond of my job and other times I feel like it's sucking the life out of me but I can't leave it cuz I don't see myself doing a 9-5.
Like, I don't like the beat of the song Cinta Adam & Hawa but I love the poetic lyrics and I would actually have the song playing in my head.
Like, when I actually LOVE YOU but FREAKING HATE YOU at the same time.
Hmm.
Why the title? Because hari yang panas I felt like sirap ais and someone just pissed me off tersirap darah aku baca nama perempuan tu. I didn't bother replying the text. Haha. Evil me.
So it was a windy, sunshiny day. I did two rounds of laundry. Good time to hang your clothes dry. Was bloghopping and stalking a friend of a friend on her blog. She doesn't know who I am, I don't know who she is, but we have mutual friends. At least EIGHT mutual friends. Haha. She leads a totally different lifestyle but some of her woes are actually mine.
O.o
I love THIS blog but I can't seem to blog as much as I used to. I've been reading other people's blogs and thought to myself kenapa diri sendiri tidak boleh disiplin dalam mem-blog??
Like, I went to India and saw Taj Mahal. Ada aku peduli nak blog? TAK.
I went to Benkay tagging along on Jade's assignment for food review and got some nifty sushi pictures. Ada aku peduli nak blog? TAK.
Had really cute lunch in tiffin carrier at Otak-otak Place in Tropicana and played some old-school card game while waiting for food. Ada aku peduli nak blog? TAK.
Attended at least three weddings and took tons of pics with old schoolmates. Ada aku peduli nak blog? TAK.
Sebenarnya banyak lagi tapi seperti yang dikatakan.. ADA AKU PEDULI NAK BLOG?
OH TIDAK!
That all happened last year wei.
This year, apa cerita this year? Kak Syima just gave birth to a super-cute-baby-boy-you-feel-like-you-wanna-skewer-the-child oh lord please forgive me for thinking of such inhumane act and will you not blog about the cute baby, B?
The baby has a super cool name too. ISAAC. Like Isaac in Isaac Mizrahi. Or Mister Isaaakk in Heroes.
Balik kampung panggil Sahak je kot LOLS kata ibu kepada bayi itu.
I'm on night today. Tomorrow, I see myself rubbing hands gleefully when I get my barang from the States. Special delivery. THANKS ADILAH I SAYANG YOU 100 PER CENT. Ngehehehe.
I also am deliberating on this--
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Not too bad right? It has a trackpad instead of a trackball but runs on EDGE and no 3G.
This phone is not on the Malaysian market yet, says Boss.
So here's the deal. The Management will try to push for a RM100 monthly subsidy for all smartphone users. Currently, I'm on a RM65 subsidy for my normal 3G phone.
And here's the icing on the cake: If I take this phone from DiGi, got contract for two years and pay NOTHING for device. Pay RM100 for calls and RM58 for unlimited data monthly. If subsidy goes through, I pay only RM58 for this baby. And I'm a (disgruntled) Maxis user.
BUT- it doesn't have 3G. How to make video calls bila rindu nak tengok Tijani pout??
edit// Boss kata all Berry models memang tak ada video call function so I'm keeping my old Sony for now so Tijani can make phone calls with me!
I had to work on New Year's Eve. But it wasn't so bad since I get to cover Genting!
(covered KLCC last year - definitely hate the crowd)
Each press member gets to have our own rooms at First World Hotel. Basic room with basic facilities, enough to get you through the night.
Genting's NYE celebration is done in a grandiose way - as usual. While waiting for the fireworks to start at the strike of midnight we were brought to witness the launch of Glow In The Dark Bowling.
And I bowled for the first time ever! >.<
(pardon my ass >.<)
Was forced to actually. I never bowled before because my Crazy Imagination would tell me that I would 'tersungkur' into the lane because the ball is heavier than me.
WTF, right?
It's also amazing to note that a lunar eclipse happened last night. Read about the amazing phenomenon here.
Heavy fog veiled the skyline, hence clouding the fireworks. All you could see was random colours projected on the sky without much sparks that a firework usually has accompanied with the thunderous sound.
The moon, on the other hand, was just perfectly unaffected by the fog. It was shining so bright, it permeated the night. Crazy Imagination was telling that the moon was just laughing at the fireworks, like terribly LOL-ed, "haha, susah payah je kau bom bom bom pung pang pung pang, aku jugak yang maintain!"
Just as the 10-min firework made its finale, like a REALLY LOUD bunyi-macam-nak-kiamat sound and supposedly REALLY BRIGHT fireworks, the fog finally lifted its veil over the sky.
No kidding man. I think it was a waste of thousands of ringgit for the blurry performance. Kalau Tuhan dah kata 'Kun fa ya kun!' lalu jugak kabus tu ke tempat lain kan?
(Syima from Berita Harian and I)
I've a lot that I want to achieve for 2010. Slowly making a list so that I won't forget. I realised that I've got almost ALL of my birthday wish list (except for How To Kill A Rock Star). I visualised them on my blog and I got all of them! Some not necessarily the exact same thing that I visualised (i.e. I wanted a Dell XPS but I got Toshiba Portege M800 instead) but like they say, shoot for the moon, even if you miss, you'll be among the stars.
Paulo Coelho said, "When you want something, all the Universe conspires to help you."
Coelho isn't the only one I know that says that. Deepak Chopra sells the same shit too.
So Happy 2010 everyone! May we all be well, healthy and happy this new year.
Don't forget to keep your resolutions, if you made any ;)
p/s: I have pics to accompany this post but Blogger is yet again being the cranky child who didn't get lollipop so I would have to re-edit this post for pics laters. Till then!
I think by now you should know that I am not the type to share my stories with just about anyone.
For those of you who are close to me and know the wretched situation I'm in right now, please stand by my side. And I will thank you for the rest of eternity. May God bless you.
This blog has attracted more attention than it should. And it repulses me.
Like you want Mom and Dad to pay attention to you but at the same time you don't want them to know your dirty little secrets.
I've had this problem before - that I don't write with honesty because I'm too aware of my audience.
Or maybe I'm paranoid.
Yeah I think I'm paranoid.
But I don't have the heart to shut it down. Or should I put the privacy lid on? (masih tak sampai hati sebenarnya nak close blog to private viewing. Sheesh)
In that case, I would do what I do best.
RUN.
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(am continuing this online journal on a different page. if you have the link to my other, used-to-be-abandoned blog but not anymore, good for you!)
The language is just wonderful. At first, it was a bit long-winded for me but once the landscape of Vienna 1897 unfolded before my eyes (eerrr, in the book la), I was hooked. The twist and turns of the tale of time travel engages me to stay on the book. I stole time by reading it during my train and bus rides and during court recesses (the coroner at Teoh Beng Hock inquest is ALWAYS late).
Recently purchased four new books under the company's yearly book allowance. Here's the catch getting books from the allowance scheme.
I can't buy:
1. dictionaries
2. books on journalism
3. encyclopedias
and the worst part of all..
4. FICTION (!!!)
O.o
Here's the haul.
Ruban got me a mug with World's Best Friend slogan (it was a mock present - he wanted to piss me off cuz he knows I hate mugs as pressies) and the book P/S: I Love You as late birthday gifts. I heard it's good but I've never read it or seen the movie. It's always better to read the book before watching the movie so I'm going to do just that.
At office on night shift. The TV is playing visual for waktu imsak. In a few hours, it'll be sahur time. I don't think I'm getting any sleep tonight since I'm only going to reach home at about 2-3am. I would have to help mom set up the table for sahur at about 4ish or 5ish.
I need a cold shower.
The Little Book took 30 years in the making. Geez, such a long time for author Selden Edwards to write. The moment Wheeler Burden told Sigmund Freud that "you are dead wrong" to Freud's face, I cried a loud WOO HOO in my mind.
Without much to do tonight, I bloghop to pass the time. It's rather eerie to notice that my sister picked up a word I abuse frequently - which is awesomeness - and started to apply it in her posts.
Hopped on more blogs to ease the boredeom.
Other people's lives always look 'greener' to me :)
When I was told about this incident by Lester who experienced it first hand, I was shocked. When I saw the video and saw the situation for myself, I was appalled.
I think it was very arrogant of Rais Yatim to say such a thing and to behave condescendingly to a reporter who was just doing his job.
I hope Malaysia would filter him out before they filter our Internet.
As I scroll down to the comment section, I find most of the comment lambasting his cockiness and narrow mindedness. Which works well for me.
Until I saw one comment from a user.
tomohawkz (3 hours ago) 0 Reply
Seksual kanak2!!! Bodoh betul orang ini.. sebelum internet was introduced kat Malaysia, seksual kanak2 dikalangan org melayu dimalysia tinggi. Org2 tua,datuk2 yg mencabuli ank cucu mereka...Bodoh.. Look at Nabi Muhammad, his last wife was a kid!!! he was 50+.If this happened in the states, he will be behind bars for long long time. Please dont think the Malaysians are stupid!!!!!
I got really sad.
He was insulting the Prophet and noone said anything. Aisha bint Abu Bakar was NOT Nabi Muhammad's last wife. Yes, she was a child bride, but it was a norm at that time where the world was vastly different from our modern times. And Aisha had her experienced her first cycle before consummating her marriage. Therefore she was not a child per se. Women during that time mature at a much earlier age.
Correct me if I'm wrong.
Was it just me or is this person implying that the Prophet was a pedophile? And from his language and the spelling, (I assume it's a he - not being sexist here) I would say he sounded like a Malay.
But when I read the comment again, it didn't sound much like a Malay.
I try to make a birthday post every year just so I remember what I did the year before. So I went to blog archive to check out what happened last year - hah, not so good.
But this year is awesome.
Awesomeness okeh saya sangat happee!!
I appreciate presence more than presents, although I did put up a wishlist. Just so my friends would have a guide if they want to buy me anything.
On the 12th, the gang took me out for dinner at Sakae Sushi - my favourite, favourite place (can I say favouritest instead?).
And most of them met Heikal for the first time. The funny part is that I was unwell on my birthday so I kept coughing and spreading germs to everyone. I should have given out sanitisers as door gifts for the dinner party.
Lester trying to silence my super violent cough.
Look at Lester wiping his hands in disgust! I think I might have accidentally spat on him.
Zalinah, Andrew and Ruban joined later. I had to go to the washroom and totally didn't expect a cake when I got back to the table. I found my present from Lester, MK and Jade on the kaiten belt too!
Went to play pool later after dinner.
First time ever main pool. Tak reti. I had a great night with them.
On the 13th, Kumar took me out for lunch at Jake's Charbroil Steakhouse. He gave a dozen cupcakes that says Happy 24th Birthday Mrs Cullen.
And he got me this.
Note to self: DO NOT LET KUMAR GET YOU ANYTHING FOR THE NEXT THREE YEARS. Sekian.
Dinner later with Kumar, Harim and Ruban. Didn't expect my sister to join. Kumar kept saying that he needed to pick up something from his friend at KL Sentral so we waited there for the 'friend'. Then my sister appeared out of nowhere and I still thought it was a coincidence. So stupidly, I said "Hey what are you doing here? Kumar and I are waiting for his friend."
Kumar then nonchalantly said "Hi friend!" to my sister! Rupanya mereka berkomplot.
(blogspot is being a bitch right now wont allow me to post up my pix with them during dinner at Sushi Zanmai - yes I overdosed on sushi for my bday - so I'll edit this post later when blogspot behaves)
On the 14th, Mama cooked for me gulai tempoyak yang membuatkan saya tersangat happy. Gila pedas dan menjilat jari.
As I've mentioned in my previous post, I got Ayat-ayat Cinta, which I am religiously reading right now and tumbler from my sister.
Heikal got me this book. I'm gonna start on it after I finish Ayat-ayat Cinta. Such a curious little book (pun intended). It has Sigmund Freud innit (I always think of him as a crazy man instead of a psychologist).
My girlfriends made me laughed with this and cried with this. I told Nads to turn her post into an artwork, which she did, and presented to me with a book called Breathing in Colour by Clare Jay.
Julia took me out for a trip at Bukit Tinggi in Pahang with Nads. We played with rabbits too! The place wasn't too bad, not too many people as it was a weekday. But I guess I don't mind going anywhere as long as it's with them! Later that night we ate yong tau foo in Kg Pandan. That yong tau foo place is ancient (it's been there since forever) and the food is just simply delicious.
More camwhore pics on my FB and Jules'.
And Ariff got me a purple leather bound notebook from his London trip. I think I'm going to start drawing in it. Like sketches. I used to draw. Then I stopped. I should start again.
(blogspot is being really cranky i cant post up a picture of the notebook! @#$%%%)
But niamind la this post is getting super long already edit it some other time la wth.
To everyone, from the bottom of my heart, thank you.
Thank you for the wishes, thank you for the kind thoughts, thank you for the presents and thank you for your presence. It was just an awesome birthday. Like, I wish I can go up to everyone and kiss them right now... you guys are just sweethearts okay. Thanks so much for making it meaningful for me. I'm 24 now and I have everything to live for.
