Men's vs Women's brains

Lifestyle changes needed

It's the Raya/ Merdeka holidays and I've been stuffing my face silly. Yes. I know. I'm a self-confessed food junkie with an insatiable craving and fondness for all things yummy.

You'd think given the stress I have at work, coupled with this indiscriminate eating (and drinking) fixation, my blood pressure would hover at dangerously high levels.

This was taken just an hour ago.

Should I be worried? Is that normal?

I've been to see a few doctors. And all said basically the same things. You lucky thing, you.

But normal is about 120/80. And please God, let me be normal. So my Merdeka resolution is to achieve that.

To increase my blood pressure, I have been told to do ALL of these :

1. Gain weight. Eat eat eat. Especially if it's red meats and high in fat.
2. Don't ever exercise. Just lie down.
3. Take more salty food.
4. Drink more alcohol.
5. Increase my caffeine intake. Think coffee and Coca Cola.
6. Smoke cigarettes or any tobacco product.

Except for the last bit there, I think maybe, just maybe, I can be normal.

Tears of joy.

Helicopter Parents

Helicopter parents. The first time I heard this term was last week. Last week! And it's been around for what, 21 years! In my defence, I'm gong to say hey, I live in Kuching okayyy?

Wikipedia has this to say : Helicopter parent is a colloquial, early 21st-century term for a parent who pays extremely close attention to his or her child's or children's experiences and problems, particularly at educational institutions....... Helicopter parents are so named because, like helicopters, they hover closely overhead, rarely out of reach, whether their children need them or not.

A cartoon from Jim Borgman.



OK. I love love love my children. I am very concerned about my children's education.  I worry if they study enough. I worry if they do their homework. I worry if they pay enough attention in class. I worry if they should mix with the wrong crowd. I worry if they get bullied. I worry if they have enough motivation.

But how much worry is healthy and how much is downright neurotic and how much would morph me into a helicopter parent?

Questions we should ask our kids. 

Ahh, many a time, I was so tempted to march into my kids' school and demand to see the teacher. For oh, so many reasons. For pulling a child's ears. For pinching her. For asking him to stand in the sun for hours. But my kids would have none of it. Oh pul-lease. No mummy to the rescue. No frickin' way.

So I sat quietly at home and fumed.

And then a thought.

If my kids believe they can handle it, and whatever life should throw at them, why should I stand in the way? I've got to let them go.

There are all kinds of people right? Better learn that now than later, baby. Better learn how to handle different types of personalities. And now that you're in your teens, it's the best time to make mistakes. Because you will learn more from your mistakes, than from mine.

So my sweethearts. (deeeeep breath) Go ahead, live your life. I will always love you. No matter what. And if you fcuk up, I will still be here to love you.

And if you want to be a doctor, surgeon, pilot, farmer, artist, plumber, I'm OK with it.

Oh ya. Just one last piece of advice. 

NOOO drugs. NOOOOOO sex.

Selamat Hari Raya dan Selamat Hari Merdeka

Here's wishing all my Muslim friends Selamat Hari Raya.

And to all Malaysians, Happy Merdeka.

I'm going to be lazy and not say much here. But to share with you this message by DiGi, which says it so much better than I ever could.

For the love of rings

I love my rings.

No matter what the price tag, a woman gotta have her rings. I'm not very fussy or choosy. Anything that's got some bling will do just fine.

And every now and then, when I remember, bored to tears, or just want to feel beautiful, I'll bring them out and clean them. And here's some tips for the eager beavers. DO NOT clean your bling blings with toothpaste and a toothbrush. Keep those for your teeth, for goodness sake. All your gems need are warm water, maybe with a little liquid detergent, and that's it. Just let them soak for about 5 minutes and you're done. If you really need to dislodge any dirt, use a soft cosmetic brush. Think gentle. You don't want to loosen the stones.

Beauiful kan? 

Lately tho, I've developed a love for chunkier, kookier, funkier rings. Elegant rings but with more attitude. Probably not very trendy or the most in-thing right now, but I so like.

These daisy ones, are from South Korea. Beautiful and inexpensive.



Double daisy

This gorgeous multi coloured one, was from Sunway Pyramid. I think it was about RM30. Chantek. My kids' fave.


Multi coloured floral ring

And this silver dandelion, the chunkiest by far, so cool and funky, just screaming for attention. I love this too.


Silver dandelion ring



And this is the ring that got my girlfriends drooling. It's a double ring, with 3 stars. From Forever21. Lookidat. Even modelled on a chubby hand with short stumpy fingers, still gorgeous. Imagine on mine. Heheh.



Double ring wih 3 stars


I saved the best for last. My personal favourite. Also from Forever21.

Perfect for days when I wanna stickitup.

Yeah. I've got balls, baby.

Time Out

Took a break from all the recent nasties and went to KL for a shopping spree. Oh BTW, to all my friends who called or dropped me a note on that stalker thingy, mucho gracias. Intentionally or not, stalking is very much a criminal act of intimidation and harrassment. Enough said.

Back to our KL trip. The kids were excited. As excited as I was. We even went to the airport TWO hours earlier, so that we can have our McD breakfast. I think we were the first to check in. Tsk tsk. Sia soi.

Well, KL is not home. But with mum and dad and my two sisters permanently settled there, it's the closest thing to home. I don't know if I will ever again call Alor Setar home. I don't even miss the place. The food, yes. The friends from church, yup. The friends from my convent school, oh yeah. The friends from the boy's school, hmm, yes too. I haven't been back for 4 years now. Maybe next year. But that's what I said every year..

But KL? We love KL. Love, love, love. The shopping, the food, the family. What's there not to love.

Rather than stay with my folks and having to battle traffic jams every day (yucks), we chose to stay in a hotel with a shopping mall right next to it. So we stayed at One World Hotel in PJ. OMG. Beautiful.

Check-in was pleasant, and we walked in to see this on the huge flat-screen TV:

Wah. Got my name somemore. So terror kan. We gaped at that screen for a full minute. Maklumlah, orang kampung.

I was so, so impressed. Now THAT is service.

Nice room. Nice bathroom. Nice staff. Great service. In fact, everything was delightfully satisfying. I didn't want to leave the room. The pillow and bolster? Pure heaven.

At some point, we did venture out for some durians and food and shopping. Shopping was a tad bit disappointing, tho. Didn't see anything I like. So uninspiring. So unexciting. But the food! Yums maximus. I think we had durians every single day of the four days we were there. Shopped we did, but we never stopped eating. And I think I gained 5 kilograms!! Pity didn't go to my boobs.

Can't wait for my next holiday.

Just go away

Excuse me if I find you pathetic.

Quit stalking me. What part of my silence have you not understood?

You really think you could intimidate me into responding? That you could actually be my "biggest nightmare"? What do you think I am?

Yes, you can send me threatening messages. Yes, you can even attempt to destroy me. Go ahead.

Doesn't change anything.

Ramadan Mubarak

Ooooh. I love the month of Ramadhan. Not that I fast. I don't do fasting very well. Nor do I do dieting very well.

Sigh, I remember the day I tried dieting. A colleague in KL had just completed the Cabbage Soup Diet, which is basically just a 7-day diet and throughout it all, you can consume as much soup as you want. After the diet, she lost some weight but the real catch for me was that her skin was glowing!

I wanted, coveted, her glowing skin. So gorgeous.

Only 7 days.. Of course I could do it right? The first day it was supposed to be just fruits, as much as you can take, plus the soup. On the day of reckoning, I woke up late, about 10 a.m., told my maid to cook the soup, and cut me some fruits. (Quite the tai-tai back then) And plonked myself down in front of the tv.

I have always prided myself on being a strong person. The determined sort, with nerves of steel. If I wanted to do something, nothing could stand in the way.

Hmph! Apparently not when it comes to food.

When the first waft of freshly cooked rice reached me, I swear my neighbours could hear me groan. Rice never smelled so good. And thus was the end of my cabbage soup diet. I never tried again.

So this month, I am going to haunt all those Bazaar Ramadhan stalls, set up everywhere. Love the curries, rendangs, kuih, ikan bakar, bubur lambuk, bubur pedas.

Especially the Bubur Pedas Sarawak. They only have this in the fasting month and it's such a delicious concoction. Something like the bubur lambuk in KL, but with no rice in it.

You haven't lived until you tasted this. And then you'll be like me. A slave forever.

Happy Fasting to all my Muslim friends.

Happy Feasting to me.

The SEGi Supremo

About a week ago, there was an article in The Star. And a rather well written piece it was. It's the story of our Group Managing Director, Dato Sri Clement Hii and it traced some of the defining moments in SEGi and the man himself.

Da man. Standing second from left. This is a picture taken some time back, on a company trip to Macau.

This man is the power behind SEGi. It's he that has defined what SEGi is today. I can't imagine anyone else at the helm. A brilliant busines mind, with an innate passion for this business, he is as they say, a mover and a shaker. I think his true genius is his uncanny talent and instinct for knowing exactly what works and what doesn't. He is also the kind of person that provokes strong emotions. You either love him or hate him. He speaks his mind, does what he wants and cares little if you don't like it.

I know he has ventured into other businesses before but like a well smitten lover, he never strays far from SEGi. This is where his passion really is. And although many have singled out his extraordinary mind, I think it's his heart that really is way bigger. He is generous to a fault and I remember in one meeting, he said to us, solemn eyes and all, "I am going to make some of you millionaires." Nobody really thought he was serious then. I mean, c'mon would you? But hey. We believe him now.

Millionaire I may not be. But the lessons he has taught me, those have made me what I am today.

He truly is a great man, and has inspired me much. And I'm proud simply to be a part of this company.

read The Star article here.