Dawg

Yakkety Yak

Yes I may be tired and I'm spent

But my love will pay.....the rent.

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It has come to my attention that my blog has had a sudden 'kitty explosion' lately, with the last 3 postings all relating to cats.

well.....can you blame me, really?

I love cats, so yeah...bite me :D

But anyhow, to appease you occasionally crazy-dog-lovers-cum-cat-haters out there (whats not to like about cats? they have claws and they're furry awesome!) I went to Kuching (ironically!) and took a bunch of dog pictures, just to you know....achieve the cat-dawg equilibrium on my blog :D

Here's Millie, the Queen of Bev's home in Kuching :)

And for the record, my cat Cookie weighs more and is considerably larger than Millie. muahah :P

mana mata dia??

And the highlight of the trip, Bev's new puppy....Anjeli! She's the offspring of a gentle stray dog that Bev's family recently took in, and she's quite a dear :)

awwwwww.....

love me! love me!

albeit, she is quite mischievous ;)


I wonder if anyone would pay me to take pictures of their pets for them? :))

I'm half crazy
And you're too sane.

-April

Wordless Wednesday

Location: Damai Puri Resort, Kuching, March 2012

-April

Burpday Cats

Yakkety Yak

Soft kitty, warm kitty. Little ball of fur.
Happy kitty, sleepy kitty. Purr, purr, purr
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Spotted at D'Rimba today...

a Siamese mix beauty,


two wide eyed ferals who wouldn't take their eyes off me...like literally.
The orange one was hobbling to the pile of biscuits I left for them, its right paw was obviously injured , I hope he makes it :(


A young one, lingering beneath a car.


A preggers cat, God Bless her kittens.


An owned cat, bearing a collar, though slightly flee ridden, judging by the patchy fur coat, and it was hungry too.

Its a pity whenever people don't take good care of their pets.

2 large animal cages.....I'm assuming its to catch the remaining strays in D'Rimba.
My fears for the past week were not unfounded...the condo management really did do a cat clean up.


I did my feeding rounds and and found only a handful of strays left, I'd reckon that the rest will be gone in only a matter of days :'(

And this little guy is resting beneath it, unsuspecting of the impending captivity.

Btw, I got pooped on by a bird while taking this photo.

And....a familiar face...look who was chillin' by the curb this morning? :)

I like this one :)

There is no snooze button on a cat who wants breakfast.
-April

Biscuits

Yakkety Yak

Happy Birthday Li Li and Yoke Kei!

For your birthdays, I fed a bunch of stray cats! :D
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So just last week...I had a productive evening of feeding the strays at D'Rimba.


They were a hungry bunch of jittery strays, which made it hard for me to get close to them. They were curious, but cautious when I approached them with my tub of cat biscuits.

curious cat......is curious :)

I walked a good 500m stretch and came across about 7 or 8 strays. With each of them I left a small mountain of cat biscuits and they thanked me with soft little meows as they hurriedly gobbled up the kitty food.


Poor little things, and for a change...its nice to feed a cat that doesn't scream at me for biscuits, moar biscuits! *ahem ahem, Cookie*

biscuits for fweeeeeeeeee? for meeeeeeeeee?

unbeliebable!

There's quite a number of strays in D'Rimba, unfortunately...I don't have the capacity to get them all neutered. Anyhow, I pop by there pretty often and feed the cats whenever I can, since I usually have a tub of kitty biscuits in the car for feeding the cats in the Bank's basement anyway :)


However, I don't think I do this for long anymore.
I heard from Noddy that the management of the condo is gonna do a major 'cat clean up' soon, gawd only knoes what that really means and whats gonna happen to the poor kats :'(

I can't do much but leave cat biscuits for them, even if this may be the last time I'll ever see this lil' guy again... :(

To err is human, to purr, feline.
-April

Every Cat Deserves a Hammock

Yakkety Yak

If you're a friend to kitties, then you're a friend of mine.

Check out catversushuman.blogspot.com for one of the smartest, cutest, depictions of kitty antics, ever drawn in comics.
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Since my adorable four legged fur brain spends an average of 16 to 18 hours a day sleeping (yeah, life is good!) and the other waking hours in a day he spends productively by barking (or meowing?) orders at me...I decided to make him a little gift....a cat hammock :)

mwar! pick up my poop!
mwar! feed me biscuits!
mwar! feed me moar biscuits! moar!

Just some of daily the chores

Because when you don't give your cat a cat hammock, this.....is what happens.

cat fur, eberywhere

Its an easy peasy project, idiot proof enough for just about anyone to do.

Here's what chu need:

- An old pillowcase
- Some old shoelaces
- One hell of a lazy cat (if you don't have one, you can take mine)

a whole new definition of lazy

Cut some holes in 4 corners of an old pillowcase and tie up the ends of it with string...and there you has it, a DIY kitty hammock :)


not purrrfect, but pawesome :)

For a while, I could get by with giving Cookie a cardboard box to sleep in, which he enjoys very much. And every other month, he gets a brand new box to sleep in whenever my dad purchases gargantuous amounts of fruit from the wholesale market.


But since I have a habit of spoiling my little brat, and I was inspired to make Cookie a cat hammock after I came across pictures of some very happy kitties nestled in their very own cat hammocks. Most of them were hung from rather high places or beneath tables and chairs.

I attempted to affix Cookie's hammock on my balcony furniture, leaving it suspended in the air for just about 10cm, and no higher.

But unfortunately, Cookie's skepticism about my hammock engineering skills
kept him away from it, he was even reluctant to place one paw in!

I'm sexy and I know it

He probably figured out that the pillowcase wouldn't be able to hold his weight....and the minute he gets on it, his giant bum will come crashing down before u can say.....Biscuits!

So I had to improvise...and tied the hammock to the bottom of my Ikea lazy chair, leaving it low...Just enough, so that it sinks down and touches the floor the minute Cookie steps in and places his immense feline weight on it.

So much for a suspended hammock, but atleast the fur brain is happy........ :)

Beats slumberland yo

Life is great, cats just make it better
-April

Survival of the Pigest

Yakkety Yak

Some restaurants have a B.Y.O policy, where you can bring your own beer, wine...etc.

I have a B.Y.O.B policy, bring your own banana. currently applied on McDonald's sundae's and at places that serve waffles :D

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I've been feeling a bit cheated these days.

First, I heard that some people threatened to leave their jobs here, and instead of gracefully resigning, they were offered a promotion instead!

Dammit...when I resigned, all I got was a corny, 'is there anything i can do to make you stay?' from my boss.

Yeah like, gimme a free room in Lanai, access to youtube, unlimited rights to keep my Angry Birds green pig on my office desk and occasionally bring my cat to work.

Unfortunately, they made no such counteroffer :'(.

And in a very courteous manner I'll be exiting the Bank in about a month and a half, with only a handful of office stationary and wads of A4 paper I quietly siphoned off from the copy room.

And they didn't even grant me an invite for an exit interview!

Not that I would very much like to attend one, but I'd like the option to turn it down. Or maybe, compile a list of complaints from the many disgruntled employees around here and bitch slap it in the face of human resources.

HR and I aren't exactly friends, its been a rocky relationship from the start since they conned me into coming here (did they con u too? did they offer you free education in exchange for your soul for the next 10 years? :D). Its not what you would describe as a love-hate relationship, cos' its mostly hate, u deal with them cos you have to and you put up with them because there's no other choice. Kinda like how I patronize the cafeteria even though it doesn't serve bonafide char kuey teow thats stir-fried in lard.

Going back to the topic of feeling ripped-off. My dear friend Sheair here, never mentioned that there's a Sid's pub near where we work in Bukit Tunku.

Sid's, the place that serves kick-ass cider on tap and cooks a mean pork burger with REAL bacon.

She conveniently never told me and goes...'you mean you didn't knoe?'

Damn you Sheair. You are the reason why I've never come back from lunch breaks on Friday's reeking of alcohol and smelling like grilled pork. Its just a 10 minute drunken drive away and she never tells me.

Its a test of our friendship...cos now I feel like going all out to discover the best char siew and siew yuk in town and keep it secret from you forever, just out of pure spite :D

Pork retaliation, there you has it.

I wonder what other con jobs I've been kept in the dark over?

A piggy for a piggy.

-April

Forbidden Burgers

Yakkety Yak

Happy Burpday Naz! :D
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Just last week as I slumped comfortably in my chair in the Auditorium, conveniently hidden behind some dude wearing a large turban, and only half listening to Governor's address on the new blueprint...I was preparing for a quick nap and was just about to doze off when it suddenly dawned upon me that the Bank is where I've experienced some of the best.things.ever.

For example, the Bank is where I had the most amazing power nap. (no, its not that nap mentioned above). But I once fell asleep during a presentation some bankers were giving us. It took place in the Theatrette which is somewhat of a mini auditorium, with cozy chairs and thickly carpeted floors, rather conducive for sleeping you might agree....which is exactly what I did :D

Well, just so you know, I don't make it a habit to fall asleep during lectures. In fact I came prepared with a notepad and pen to take down notes with the intention of STAYING AWAKE and actually LEARNING SOMETHING. Which of course...never took place as I unintentionally slipped into la~la land for the next hour or so...waking up just as they were finished and we got up to leave.

It would have been completely embarrassing had I not awakened in time and if my department mates had just left me there snoozing away for the rest of the afternoon...and I would have woken up to an empty, cozy but creepy, dark Theatrette.

But alas, I awoke from slumber feeling completely refreshed. And since then its like no other afternoon nap has ever energized me quite in the same way.

And oh yea, I was seated on the 2nd row.....right in front of the presenters. There you have it...Best.Nap.Ever. WIN

The Bank is also where I ate the best burger ever. Back when I first started working in the Bank, when I was this sad, lonely, new executive, without friends, without Naz* and desperate enough to GET AWAY from people in my department, I would sneak out early to ta pau lunch and devour it at my desk, and during the official lunch break hour, I'd be sleeping somewhere in the Bank's library :D (yes, more power naps)

*my first awesome friend in the Bank :D

onaz!

One day, I discovered a hidden corner in the library behind some bookshelves. And since nobody ever went there, I could pretty much do whatever the hell I wanted, including sneak some dude in and get it on, on the floor, on the books, against the bookshelf, ON the bookshelf ...watever style :D

But......sadly, I did none of that (cis, boringnya!) , and instead....I sneaked in a BIG MAC and wolfed it down in the library, there you have it, Best.Burger.Ever.

Alternating between burger bites and popping french fries in my mouth and sipping Coke in an unearthed corner in the library proved to be most gratifying McDonald's ta pau experience, ever.
I derived an increasing marginal utility that would defy economic theory, as each bite of the burger was bursting with moar awesomeness than the previous mouthful.

Now, I don't exactly know if I'm actually allowed to eat in the library or not, but lets just assume that I can't, and the 'forbidden factor' thereby magnified the taste of of my McValue meal and led me to believe, that my french fries originated from potatoes harvested from heavenly fields, deep fried and sprinkled with salt by the expert hands the Oompa Loompas of McDonaldLand, nonetheless :)

As when something is forbidden, its gotta taste better kan?

Similar theory applies to eating pork in the office, the first time you eat siew yuk fan in the pantry, its great. The second time round, Awesome. Third time, it'll probably blow yer'
mind.... :D

Really, try it :D

Ok, so I've rambled on long enough about sleeping around (literally) in the Bank and eating burgers in random places. When what I'm really trying to say is, I made some of the best.friends.ever. here, and...I'll really miss you guys when I leave.



and you too, Li li :)


I've been lucky enough to come across these random, best, experiences here in the Bank, and now that I'm moving on, perhaps there will be more, and the best is yet to come :)

Forbidden fruit is the sweetest
-@p-

Jitters

Yakkety Yak

Cos' I'm an anchor, so far down the line,
Deep in the ocean that's my mind

But I think I'll be fine.
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High-school reunions are a tricky affair. Even though I'm genuinely happy to see everyone, I never quite know what to say and any conversation going beyond the boundaries and time-limits of small talk gets overwhelmed with awkwardness and somewhere faintly in the background ......the crickets start chirping.

And soon enough...the 'So, what are you doing with your life?'question pops up.
So detestable and yet, inevitable.

*chirp chirp chirp*

Its on occasions like this when I prefer to remain a wallflower, almost like in meetings where I sit at the back and hope and pray for the love of God that the boss won't ask me what I think, thereupon forcing me to come up with some impromptu brain spat.

Its almost always impossible to avoid their inquisitiveness, old teachers and school mates are a curious bunch, given that they haven't seen you for a while, its understandable that they're inclined to ask what you've been up to.

I guess my reluctance to face 'the interrogation' stems from being mentally unprepared to handle such conversations in the first place, or perhaps..I'm just not proud of my accomplishments thus far (wait, are there even any?) and I've nothing to prove my awesomeness upon :D

This year, I met up again with the old Assunta teachers and classmates for a yearly CNY visit. I'll never forget my math and accounting lessons with Miss Ho and Mrs. Teh just like how they'll never forget teaching us. Still, its amazing how much they remember about us even though its been close to 10 years since we've left school, and countless of screaming bratty kids have since passed through their hands.

iing, Ms. Ho, Mrs. Teh & Winz
Thank you teachers :)

Us, the once screaming, annoying, kiasu (me), bratty kids of 5 Arts 1 are now consultants, auditors, lawyers and even..Central Bankers (eeep!) and some of us are even about to get hitched.

CNY 2010

I was never one to talk much about my job, frankly its because I'm not proud of what I do, and there is no so-called 'glamour' to working here. So when the teachers asked if I was still with the Bank, I muttered a sheepish 'yes' and changed the subject.

These reunions are like yearly progress reports, its as if there must be something great to announce every year, like a promotion, or getting certified in something, earning even bigger bucks, or getting posted somewhere prestigous.

On the contary, say if you're in between jobs, stuck in limbo, or waiting for a PR, or planning to take a break from work to discover new things and be inspired again ...its hard to say it loud, and say it proud.

I wish I didn't care what people think, and I wish I could just be proud and announce that I finally summoned enough courage to quit my job and chase after what truly makes me happy.

I made no mention about it during the reunion, mainly out of fear of igniting a full scale interogation from the teachers and old friends, who might think that I didn't think this through and that I'm probably flushing my future down the toilet.

So I kept mum and picked up the chopsticks for the lou sang ceremony.


Hopefully, next year...I'll be able to say I quit the Bank, loud and proud, and not hold anything back.

To win some or learn some
-@pril

Quit Week

Yakkety Yak

When in doubt drink 100plus
When in doubt always drive straight
When in doubt always say Yes to bagels
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Click on image to view a larger version

Okay, so that last bit ain't real, and I wasn't the genius who came up with such a perfect explanation to my own status update either...
..but you gotta admit, it is hilarious :D

So I finally got the guts to quit my job last week and I vaguely announced it on Facebook right after I handed in my 3-months notice to HR, where I had only moments before, broke the news to my bosses.

One by one, I told each of them I was leaving, and judging by their immediate response, I guess none of them saw it coming...they assumed I was going to announce that I was getting married when I said I needed to talk to them. funny.

Frankly, I was a nervous, jittery bunny that morning, who couldn't sit still and I kept popping candy and chocolate in my mouth in anticipation of the moment where I would tell my bosses that I'm quitting, and the lengthy explanation of what?where?when?how?WHY? that would ensue.

Its the moment of no turning back. I've not heard of anyone who has ever rescinded their resignation in the Bank, but I sure don't hope to come back crawling, crying, screaming and kicking for my job back. haha.

The news was taken in quite positively by the bosses, which is a good thing. There was hardly any drama and definitely no screaming of 'you ungrateful b*tch!!' (files, books, stapler flying across the desk). Ok, itu imagination.

My boss was quite concerned about me losing all of the Bank's benefits and how I wouldn't earn as much doing what I intended to do. He wasn't too convinced when I told him I was gonna take some time off work to pursue some passions, enroll in some courses and maybe learn a new thing or two.

But I don't blame him much, he is after all married, with young kids to feed and has a house to pay for, so the idea of being unemployed is probably not very acceptable for him. So he probably thinks I'm crazy, rash and immature for giving up a job that pays well. But at the end of our discussion, he uttered a classic 'is there anything I can do to make you stay? line..making him sound like some lousy, clingy boyfriend getting dumped. haha.

The deputy gave me the 'Oh no' look of disdain when I broke it to her, which oddly in my 1 and 1/2 years here in this department, its the first real facial expression I've seen from her, a depart from her usual inexpressive demeanour, aside from the occasional half smirk/semi-smile she flashes at you when you walk by her. It sends the chills, sometimes.

She's a woman of a few words, but she muttered something about 'going for your dreams', or... something dreams lah (Can't make out what she says sometimes, and the same goes with her handwriting) and I felt a hint of regret as she was saying that, almost as if...at one point in her life, she wished she could have done the same as well.

I should have prodded her further, asked her what her true dreams were..and then she would reply 'Figure Skating!' and to that her eyes would light up with the fires of a thousand Olympic torches, and all the expression that is lost on her would come back and put a proper darn smile on her face, and she'd storm out of the office inspired, screaming 'I dreamed a dream!'

Ok fine. imagination again :D

If you're wondering, no I haven't figured out how to tell my parents yet. Honk Honk!

The current strategy is, to pretend and hope that they won't notice. HAHA.
No but seriously, I'm half considering not telling them until 3-months from now when mom tries to wake me up from bed thinking I'm late for work, and thats when I'll casually say ...'oh yea that. yea I don't work there anymore'. Back to Zzzzz

My parents are from the generation where even if your job sucks, you're expected to suck it up anyhow, and that nobody enjoys their work anyway, so why are you complaining? Job satisfaction and fulfillment would probably be a lost subject on them, more so if whatever you intend to do won't guarantee you a steady income, a promotion or annual increment, medical insurance or watever. Being typical Chinese parents, they won't comprehend how suppressed I felt in the Bank, or how the life in me was fading away with each day I spent in the office, they won't understand depression and they...just won't get it.

I don't think there will ever be a right time or way to tell them, because any good reason will still mean I'm pissing away a good job and good money.

I popped by to talk to some friends in the next block on the day I handed in my resignation, it felt good talking about it, and I felt free :)

Perhaps the paranoia stemming from the fact that I'll soon be jobless and living on my *cough*cough* savings will hit me later, and I might just wake up in the middle of the night and start breaking out in cold sweat..but so far, I've been fine :)

Don't wait for your ship to come to you,
swim to it!
-@p-

Come here......and smear!

Yakkety Yak

I met with a young man who has an ocean romance and he calls it the way of life.

We're all riding the same waves.
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I spent New year's eve like a 40-year old...lying in bed reading the newspapers, in jammies...and when midnight struck and 2012 came, I was none other than...fast asleep, despite all the fireworks and the commotion created by a party (is that what its called nowadays?) downstairs hosted by a bunch that I shall refer to as...'young ppl'. haha =p

I guess I'm not really that ancient (yet), after all..I did make up for the lack of 'party initiative' earlier on, having had my fun during Christmas already.

I had the great pleasure of celebrating Xmas in Krabi, Thailand this year :)



And like always, I have many many ang moh's to prove it! :D


More ang moh's than the usual, and mostly semi-naked ones, sprawled all over the place. Ang moh's seem to have this thing about taking their clothes off whenever they hit the coastal areas of Thailand.


Young, or old, they have no qualms about strutting about in their speedos, even when its to go shopping.

If he's intending to shop...where does he keep his money?

I didn't partake in much of the chui sam activity (Cantonese for take off clothes), being Asian, and a bit more reserved when it comes to my choice of beachwear, my conservative 1 piece suit stood out amongst the ang moh's and their skimpy-oh-won't-you-rub-sun-tan-lotion-on-me bikinis.

But atleast I touched the water. I'm guessing by the mass of ang moh's that were at the beach in Aonang, all the Asian's must have either been hiding under some tree or in some place with air conditioning.

In fact, there were so few Asians spotted at the beach that one could play an unchallenging game of....'I spy.....with my lil' eye....something that starts with an...A! '

*responds faster than the speed of light*

Asian! :D

Come on baby...hop on

But there's definitely alot more to Krabi than shirtless/pantsless ang moh's, for one, its the ideal place soak up on cheap booze. Only in Thailand I have the luxury of alcohol to accompany (and complete) every meal (except breakfast laa..I can't imagine pancakes and Chang beer, can you?).


And there's a magical little roadside stall selling kick-ass mojitos for 89 baht...ahhh just heavenly...

I miss Krabi. I really do.

Fail jason mraz wannabe, satu, tak hensem,
kedua, he doesn't sound good pon

I for one, cannot get over how awesome it is to wake up every morning and the buffet breakfast serves you REAL bacon, I stuff myself with it before only deciding what to do for the rest of the day, in which the itinerary mostly involves lazing by the beach, getting cheaper-than-anything-you-can-find-on-Groupon massages, drinking mojitos in the afternoon, eating panckes with bananas drizzled with condensed milk (yums!) and having fresh coconuts. slurps!


ahhh...such is a holiday :)


Also in Krabi, I got to sit on a motorbike! Albeit helmet-less and along with 2 others, (3 people on a bike hell yeah!) Now thats some holiday adventure!

virgin ride on a motorbike woo-hoo!
(identity of driver hidden for reputational purposes)

Bikes, scooters...everywhere in Krabi & easy to rent

I think Krabi is a wonderful place to spend a relaxing holiday. Frankly, I'd pick Krabi over Singapore, or Penang anytime simply because...well, I went to both places in the recent year and I can assure you that Singaporeans suck, and Penang drivers are like from another planet.

The path that leads to massages by the beach

I was so busy stuffing my face with bacon and booze there...that I forgot to take an all important jump shot..which is something I do whenever I'm on holiday, like very recently in Cameron...

Secretly, I practice my crouching tiger hidden dragon stance at a
hilltop in Boh tea plantation in Cameron Highlands
Photo credits to Noddy

...and even in Singapore, with Sentosa island in the backdrop, and moronic onlooking Singaporeans watching me prance up and down.


So, in keeping with the tradition...I had to improvise!

yee-ha!

Gong xi fa cai everyone!
-april