Act of Sabotage

Last night when we were on our way to Scott's Garden, Old Klang Road, we noticed this eating place with lots of people. So we decided to give it a try.

This eating place is called Ah Wang Bak Kut Teh, and upon tasting the Bak Kut Teh and the Assam Fish Head, we understood why there were so many people there. Yes, the food were really good and tasty.

As we were finishing our meal, suddenly we heard loud noises which sounded like fire cracker or gun shots and people were screaming away! It was a total commotion!

We ran out of the place and saw some people standing at the highway above. Those were the Rela members who chased away some saboteurs who were on the highway earlier to hurl big rocks/bricks onto the zinc restaurant's roof. We heard that this was not the first time, and that sometimes they used faeces.

So in my mind, this act of sabotage must be from a competitor or that the restaurant did not pay "protection money". Sigh...doing business really is not so easy.

Anyway in the commotion, many patrons took advantage to leave without paying. That surely incurred some losses to the restaurant.

As for us, we went back to our table, ordered a refill of bak kut teh soup and finished our meal. And yes, we paid before we left.

My paintings

I believe buying paintings really depend on "yuan fen"(缘分) which means afinity. I remember how I was walking around the art centers at Chatuchak Weekend Market Bangkok last year to get some paintings for my new house, but nothing attracted me until I saw this shop by artist Kanisorn.

The painting of a little monk with red background immediately captured my heart and I knew I had to have it. I bought 3 paintings i.e. of a little thai monk, a little chinese monk and a little western monk. They are on my dining room's wall and I love them so much. Looking at them bring me so much peace.

Recently I was looking around for some more paintings, especially one to put on my shoe cabinet that faces the main door. I wanted to get one with red background to match my 3 little monks. Anyhow it wasn't easy as "yuan fen" wasn't there.

Then one fine weekend, I received some whatsapp's messages from my colleague who has gone back to her hometown, Malacca. She knew I was looking for a painting and as she happened to be in this art shop called Titi Art Gallery, she snapped some pictures and sent me.

I was driving during that time, so I quickly scanned through the images she sent and suddenly, "yuan fen" was there. The goldfish painting on the top right hand corner of the 2nd picture above caught my eye.

I called my colleague who was still in the shop, told her that I wanted a bigger size of the goldfish painting and with 9 fish (1 fish being black). Yeah... that's for feng shui. :) Proceeded to place my order and 2 weeks later, I received it.

It is on my shoe cabinet facing my main door now to welcome all the good fortunes into my home. Hahaha... really love the cute round goldfish, and it really jive with the theme of my home.

Here's a picture of the painting with the artist, Titi Kwok. I told my colleague to specifically snap a picture of him when she went to collect the painting for me.

Apprentice Asia

The first Apprentice Asia is down to final 4 and I wonder who will get fired next.

I have watched US Apprentice before, but nothing felt closer to home than Apprentice Asia. After all, we do say that different countries/continents have different working cultures, right? ... and so I thought.

Going through the episodes of Apprentice Asia reminded me of all the previous Apprentice US that I have watched before. It is practically the same format with all these big shots looking for the same quality kind of person.... the quality of scheming & back stabbing others to get to the top.

Yes, I know this sounds pretty dumb coming from someone who has worked more than a decade, but are these really the "qualities" that qualify people to hold high positions? Perhaps that's why I am still not at that level.

In all episodes, the contestants would work together on a task. I felt that throughout their tasks, they just made sure that they are "loud"... making noise for that sake without giving any real contribution. Oh and of course to lookout for any other's mistakes as well so that they can load up their artillery for the boardroom as it is all about attack & defense there. Yes, survival... but ruthless, right? Team work my foot!

Looking back on one of the earlier episodes of Apprentice Asia, the Thai lady quit because she couldn't stand the level of bickering & back stabbing within the team. I think I would have done the same if I am in her position. I am too, someone who is not "cut out" for all these scheming & back stabbing for the quest to go to the top.

Yeah, guess I am pretty much a loser... but at least I could sleep better at night.

My Forte - Random Pic

Cursed

Don't you get so irritated sometimes when you see these people holding up traffic because they got stuck either at the Touch 'n Go or Smart Tag lanes of the toll booths?

There are many of such incidences at LDP, the highway that I use regularly to and from work. I often cursed these people and thought that they must be morons for not understanding the huge "Touch n Go Only" or "Smart Tag" signs. 

Looking back, I actually posted something about this here, and that was in 2007. From then until now, I must have cursed thousands if not millions of people.

........Today, the table turned.

I was the one who got cursed....probably for 7 generations. 

I got myself stuck at the Smart Tag lane and it was not because I couldn't read the sign. I have a smart tag with me, just that it chose not to work on this fateful day. No, no... it wasn't the battery.

I think I am going to have phobia passing through the Smart Tag lane tomorrow morning. Please do not fail me once again!!... I do not want to be cursed and called a moron again.

Kia Cerato unveiling!

The new K3 or Kia Cerato as known in Malaysia is unveiling tomorrow! This is one fine looking car, and if I was not desperate to change my ailing Inokom Matrix 2 months ago, I would have waited longer for this.

Anyhow, I did not regret at all getting my Kia Forte as it is one handsome looking car too. What more with only 1.68% as car loan interest and priced at RM97.8K for a 2.0 which is within the budget I set. With the specs of a C-segment car, Kia Forte is definitely a steal!

Heard that Kia Cerato will be priced at RM99,888 for a 1.6 and RM118,888 for a 2.0. Thank goodness I didn't wait cos it is definitely out of my budget anyway!