Author: K

for the love of books

Posted on by K

When everything else fails, I turn to books. Books are like my saviors. They are the ones I turn to when I need a little pick-me-up. The feeling of getting lost in a book, ahhh only bookworms like me would understand that feeling.
I’m currently reading Half Girlfriend by Chetan Bhagat. I’m halfway into the book and it’s been an interesting read so far. For those of you who have not read his books, you SHOULD! Mr. Bhagat is an Indian author, columnist, screenwriter, television personality and motivational speaker, known for his English-language dramedy novels about young urban middle-class Indians. The movies 2 States and 3 Idiots were adopted from his novels! I find his stories relate-able for most young people because of the way he writes.
Last week, I went to the Big Bad Wolf Preview Sale because I won a preview pass from their Facebook contest. It was my second time winning! Took my fellow bookworm homie to the sale and we didn’t do so much damage to our wallets as we thought we would. I bought only 9 books. Anyhoos, I have a lot of books to read and now I have plenty of time to read them!
If you haven’t gone for the sale, boo! hahaha just go for it. The sale will be on till the 14th of December and it’s open 24 hours! Go hunt down for all the books of your dreams over the weekend!

 

JUST had to.
My zone!

 

beat the traffic, shop online!

Posted on by K

For those of you who know me well, you know that I’m an online shopping freak! Lazada’s the best! I’ve been a loyal customer for many years now and never have I had any problems with ordering or with the items I bought. (this is a totally unbiased ex-employee statement) 😛
With all the hike in prices like toll, petrol, lrt fares (OMG!) and don’t even get me started on the parking fee some malls charge, it is waaaaay easier to shop online. You’re basically saving money to shop more!

 

Good news to all online shopping lovers! Lazada Malaysia is having their online revolution sales from 10th – 12th December! Did I hear you cheer? Lot’s of discounts and amazing offers await you! Mark your calendars now! Click on the link below and have fun shopping!
Now, that’s Christmas gift headache sorted out 😛

Visit: http://www.lazada.com.my/online-revolution/

Bye! gotta do some research now… 😉

sabah

Posted on by K

During the recent Deepavali break, my family and I went on a little vacation to Sabah. Had so much fun with them! If you follow me on Instagram, you can see some pictures there. All we did was eat, go out on tours, sleep and shop. Missed them a lot and it was really good to be on a vacation with the maternal family bunch. It was really good having them around.
Felt a little down when I came back. After spending several days with 12 people, it was sucky to be downsized to 4 again. But it’s okay, will be seeing them again soon, for sure.
Tried parasailing and snorkeling for the first time. Both were great experiences but I wish parasailing was cheaper. I mean, RM160/pax for a 15 minute ride is INSANE! Amazing experience, nonetheless.
Picture time! Not in order though.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Overall, Sabah is an amazing place. Enjoyed every bit of our stay there. If you ever go to Kota Kinabalu, be sure to take a trip to Kundasang and island hopping. Manukan Island especially, water is crystal clear there.
 
Till next post, 
 
TOODLES!

grateful

Posted on by K

**totally going to pretend like I last updated my blog last week**

Hi, I’m back!

Here’s a quick update on what’s been running through my mind lately.

How do you know..
If you’re grateful or ungrateful..?
Sometimes I wanna be satisfied.
Sometimes I tell myself I can never get too comfortable.
Sometimes I want more.
Sometimes it’s enough.
Sometimes your heart wants what it wants.
Wanting more makes you ungrateful?
Getting upset because you don’t more is ungrateful?
Does settling down for something makes you grateful?
…I….DON’T KNOW…..

May

Posted on by K

It’s my favorite month of the year! It’s MAY people! Come on, wake up, let’s celebrate! May is undoubtedly my favorite month, for an obvious reason. It’s my birthday month! 

 

Photo credit: Google

 

We always reflect a little more on our birthdays, no? So cliche. every year, someone would tell you to blow the candles and “make a wish”. I used to wish for material things. Now that I’m older a grown up, I feel the need to wish more wisely and sincerely.

 

So here goes my 2015 wishes:
1) To always be respectful and in turn respected. Give respect, take respect. 
 
2) To be the bigger person. Sometimes I blame myself for things that goes wrong and regret my actions. I’ve realized, my mistakes are my responsibilities. I make them, I learn from them. NO ONE has the rights to talk about the choices I make. Because I choose to do what I think is right. 
 
3) To be a better person. I would like to give back to the society. To my family. 
 
4) To just chill and enjoy the ride. Sometimes I stress myself out in terms of my career development but it only makes me all sad and gloomy. One day I will find my way.
 
5) To be more grateful.

May God wills it.

Traveling Tale 1.0

Posted on by K

 
**This post is SO overdue, I meant to publish this in January but it got left hanging in my Drafts. Read in retrospect!**
I’ve always wanted to start a travel blog but I do not travel as much as I wish to. But earlier this year, I made a vow to myself that I will make it a point to travel to new places at least 3 times in a year and I just (read: 4 months ago) came back from a lovely vacation. After crazy campaign period ended in December, I yearned for a getaway of sorts – anywhere with a good view cos my eyes needed to rest from all that work I did!
 
Initial plan was to go to Cambodia but ringgit value fell tremendously during that period and we did not dare to even think about spending in USD. So we brainstormed. Shortlisted a few places like Sabah and Jogja. We decided Jogja because we wanted to be in another country, DUH. It’s not too far but I think it is safe to say that we made the best New Years decision. 
 
We did not expect much, but we should have! Jogja is the most underrated place ever! When I say Indonesia, one would imagine Bali, Jakarta or Bandung. Rarely people go to Jogja for a vacation. Let me tell you one thing, YOU MUST VISIT Jogja if you ever plan for a vacation in Indonesia. 
 
I can go on and on about the great time I had in Jogja. From the temples to monuments to the hill station we visited, nothing was short of amazing. Food? Well, some food did not suit my taste bud because they use coconut oil extensively in their cooking. The driver took us to some amazing restaurants there and their famous food is Nasi Gudeg (a jackfruit based dish), which I didn’t try because I do not like jackfruit. However, we had the best buffet spread in the hotel we stayed in (highly recommendable!) and some other dishes that were superbly tasty. 
 
All in all, I would say Jogja is a must place to go if you’re into culture, history and a laid back environment. People there were so laid back and friendly. Fun fact: I saw a Christian tomb and a Muslim tomb NEXT TO EACH OTHER in the cemetery. When I asked the driver/tour guide about it, he said it is common in Jogja. Perhaps we should learn something from our neighbors….
If you ever go to Jogja, go stay at this hotel. It was more than what we paid for. The service was amazing, friendly staffs, and strategically located.
A shopping haven if you’re into batiks and hand-made souvenirs. 
Stupas at Candi Borobudur. The view was so breathtaking, I can’t explain explain how I felt when I was there. Go see for yourself!
Taman Sari. An old castle. Nothing much to see here though.
Women harvesting potatoes at Dieng. 
Dieng Plateau. View from the peak. 
The magnificent Candi Prambanan. A great place for photoshoots.
List of things to do/try in Jogja:
1) Nasi Gudeg (if you’re adventurous enough)
2) Go to Dieng Plateau (bring sweaters as it’s really cold up there)
3) Try the Nasi Ayam Goreng/Nasi Ayam Bakar at Warung Raminten
4) Get awesome cakes/brownies from Amanda Bakery, Jalan Kaliurang
5) Visit Borobudur, Candi Prambanan and Ratu Boko
6) Go cave tubing at Gua Pindul. (it rained while we were there and the whole experience was more fun. At least for me it was.)
7) Shop at Jalan Malioboro. *just don’t bargain if a batik piece costs you about IDR20,000. When you convert, it costs a mere RM5.49.*

Jogja was perfect. I didn’t want to be anywhere else. And I will definitely be back. Definitely!

time flew

Posted on by K

Last year, this time, I was done with my final exams and was just a day before my graduation. It was the day I realized I’ve finally made my parents proud of me ( I think?) This year, I’m a woman with career. Earning not so big bucks but working towards it haha. 

I’ve heard of people landing a really bad first job and they be all stressed with life and whatnot. Though it was not really a job, my short stint in Maybank taught me a lot. It also made me realize that the corporate world (especially banks) is not my cup of tea. In July this year, I got a job at Lazada. I cannot thank God enough for blessing me with the best job & boss ever! She’s no more in Lazada but I’m so thankful to have worked with her. She taught me about the field I did not know existed. She gave me the opportunities for me to come out from my shell. I actually went out all alone to a networking session and made friends with a lot of people. Something that I would not have imagined in my wildest dreams. 

It wasn’t exactly a 100% wonderful ride, but I really am thankful for where I am now despite all those rough patches I had to go through. It’s also not easy for one to make new friends at work for all the obvious reasons. I got lucky with my colleagues as well. It feels great to have met people who have the same wavelength as I do. All I can say is, whatever I had to endure at work was made bearable with my friends constantly encouraging me to do my best. 



So, no regrets and I’m proud of the experiences I’ve gained and will continue learning and developing myself until I find a filthy rich husband to marry. LOL..I joke!  

This year is coming to an end and I only have one regret. I wish I traveled this year. I was just too busy with my career that I didn’t plan to travel. However, next year is going to be different. Definitely will cross some of the things off my bucket list! Also, I’m planning to keep up with blogging. Amen to that! 

So, here’s to another great year of bitter sweet memories that’s about to end. I hope to do better next year and I shall. 

Till next post! 

nenek

Posted on by K

So, it’s been exactly 19 days since I’ve started working. I take the train to work and walk from the station to my office. For the past 19 days, I walked pass an old nenek (grandma). She looks really frail, petite and old. I’ve always wanted to approach her but I was scared that she might not react positively to me. Then last week I saw another employee from Maybank talking to her. She seemed really friendly to that woman. 

Last Friday, I saw her sitting at the usual place and she smiled at me when I looked at her. I stopped to talk to her. I was super early, anyways. She was so warm and welcoming despite the condition she was in. She said “selamat pagi” (good morning) and gestured me to sit and she touched my shoulders. I felt a choke in my throat. So I had a small chat with her and she was more than happy to answer my questions. 


Me: Nenek dari mana? Saya selalu nampak nenek dekat sini.
       Where are you from? I always see you sitting here.

Nenek: Saya dari Gombak. Saya duduk sini minta sedekah. Saya dah tua, manalah boleh kerja.
            I’m from Gombak. I always come here to beg for money. I’m old. I can’t work. 

Me: Nenek takde keluarga ke?
       Don’t you have a family?  

Nenek: Ada. Anak saya seorang. Suami dia dah lari, anak dia masih kecil lagi, dia kena jaga anak kat rumah. Saya datang sini hari-hari cari duit, lepas tu pergi Chow Kit beli barang dapur. Beli beras, ikan satu, satu keluarga makan. 
           I do. I have a daughter. Her husband ran away when she was pregnant. Her baby’s still small, so she can’t leave the baby and work. I come here always to beg for some money, and then I head to Chow Kit to buy some groceries. I buy a fish and the whole family eats with it. 

Me: *trying hard to control my emotions* Ohhh..yeke…
        Oh..I see. 

Nenek: Sini selalu ada orang bagi duit. Ada yang hari hari bagi duit. Terima kasih la kamu sanggup duduk sini, cakap dengan nenek. 
            There are always people here, giving me some money. Some give me everyday. Thank you for your willingness to sit here and talk to me. 

The nenek then looked at me and saw The Sun paper I was holding and said..
Nenek: The Sun. 

Me: Nenek tau baca? Pandailah nenek.
      You know how to read? You’re smart…

Nenek: Eh, saya pergi sekolah dulu la…..
            eh, I’ve been to a school before la…

Me: baguslah nenek ni! 
       You’re good! 

She laughed. And then we continued talking and she asked where I worked and how young I was. She even said “Semoga Allah beri kamu kesihatan yang baik”. May Allah grant you good health. That was one of the nicest things a stranger has ever said to me. It was all I needed to kick start a day. 

Before I left for office, I gave her some money and she was more than happy to take it. 

Nenek: Alhamdulillah! Alhamdulillah. Terima kasih banyak banyak. (OK. Don’t over react, I’m just repeating what she said to me)
            Thank God. Thank God…Thank you so much! 

She then kissed the note I gave her and said bye to me. 

Well, I don’t earn thousands yet but I think small gestures like this may mean the world to someone. I can’t change the world and I can’t help everyone. But I try. I do what I can and it makes me sleep better at night knowing that I did a small part in making the world a better place. 

work life

Posted on by K

So, I’ve been missing for a while now. But trust me, I’ve a solid reason guys. I’m finally employed! Well, internship really. Now I hear your gasps. Why internship and not a job you may ask. (My boss calls me a Trainee Assistant, though I know it is just to make me feel better about the job.)

Well, for starters, it’s really hard to get a job these days. Everyone wants  employees with experience and how the hell am I supposed to gain those experiences when no one is ready to offer me a job? Or maybe experience  can be bought at the pharmacy these days? Am I missing out on the latest technology?

SIGH.  Moving on, I’ve been really depressed in the past few months so I’ve decided to apply for this internship. Instead of wasting time at home,  I can at least get out, earn some money and gain some experiences.

So I’m interning at Maybank right now. Working at the Strategic Procurement, Group Finance Office. What do I do exactly? Well, I act as a buyer for Maybank. I deal with suppliers to get things that Maybank needs for their offices or whatever events that they’re conducting. 

So far my experience here has been good. My colleagues are helpful and friendly but the corporate world is really weird. I prepared for days to be able to fit in the world. But guess what, they’re so not formal here in terms of dressing, interacting and whatnot. As long as you do your work properly, it is fine.  

However, wearing formal attire still bothers me. It makes me feel so uptight and I realize I start walking like a snob when I’m at the office. Snobbish or confident, I can’t tell 😛

Never thought I would end up in the corporate world. I always say that I don’t like the sedentary lifestyle, but here I am doing what I’ve despised all my life. Haha…life’s really weird huh? You know what they say, don’t hate something so much, you’ll end up doing it. Well, I shouldn’t hate having sex with Channing Tatum so much! LOL…I JOKE!

Only time will tell if I’m going to stay or leave or quit halfway 😛 Hoping for the best and trying to be positive every day. 

interview experiences

Posted on by K

I’ve been to two interviews so far. Both were in totally different settings and the mood was also different for each of the interview. I just thought I’d share my first and second formal interview experiences with you guys. 

First Interview

My first interview was at The Star (national newspaper). Though I was totally nervous about it and had no sleep the day before, the whole experience was fun for me. The night before the interview, I actually did some homework for the interview session and let me tell you, it was all unnecessary! Hahaha…of course it is important for you to know about the company background, the job scope of the position you applied for etc, but I went beyond that! ahahah! I actually memorized our King’s name (which is like 3 lines long pfft!). Okay, my silliness aside, the interview went pretty well despite me being all nervous. They asked predictable questions like my background, my strengths, my weaknesses, what I like to do, my passion and stuffs like that. After the interview I even felt like I was so stupid for being nervous. The interviewer and the HR people were so friendly to me that we had an informal chat over coffee after the interview (but I  doubted that they were evaluating me) 😛 I was the only one to be interviewed that day so I did not have to worry about people who might be a better candidate for the position, which cut down my stress level that much more. Overall, the interview went so much better than I expected, I think I did pretty well too. Gotta wait for them to call me for a second interview though 😉

Second Interview
Although I went for this interview with my dad at his workplace, it was even more nerve-wrecking for me as I knew that I would be interviewed by several diplomats. It was for the Administrative Officer job at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (you can say it is one of my dream jobs). Well, I am not a Public Administration graduate and my general knowledge about the world and politics is pretty limited so I prepared for days for this interview; I read my Pengajian Am books, tried to remember as much information as I can about the ministry, ministers, diplomats, Malaysia’s bilateral and multilateral relationships etc… I’m not going to mention how well I did for the interview but the interviewers were very welcoming albeit being very intimidating. Both were diplomats; one was a representative of Malaysia to the United Nations in New York and I forgot the position of the second interviewer lol. The first few questions they asked were pretty simple and I started feeling cocky that I could answer them properly. Then came the slap in the face…

Here’s the list of questions they asked me and from this, you can judge if I’m going to get the job or not haha!

1) What do you know about the Ministry of Foreign Affairs? – kacang putih brooo..(dad gave me a lecture in the car) 😛

2) Why do you want to join the ministry? – Easy peasy!

3) Tell me about yourself (while flipping through my CV and certs) – Nailed it! 

4) What do you know about ASEAN? – Thank God I still kept my Pengajian Am book and revised before the interview…PHEW! 

5) Which country do you think is the most important to Malaysia? – GULP. 

6) Which country do you think is Malaysia’s arch enemy? – FAINTS.

7) You belong to the GEN-Y. Do you think social media is taking over people’s lives these days? – I gave my opinion. They smiled.

8) What do you think about the refugees in Malaysia? What should our government do for them? – OK.

9) Apakah pandangan anda tentang sumbangan Kementerian Luar Negeri kepada negara ini? – BRAIN DEAD. I’ve not spoken Malay in years and when they suddenly asked me a question in Malay, I died a little. Still managed to answer.  

So, do you think I’ll get the job? hahaha

The whole interview went on for about 20 minutes. Definitely felt like the longest 20 minutes of my life. The interview experience in MOFA was totally different from what I had at The Star. To begin with, there were 18 other candidates who were present for the interview for the same position. Made friends with some of them while waiting for my turn. It made me feel slightly better that none of them were from the Public Administration background and they were as nervous as I was. Overall, the interview was a totally different experience with a formal setting but it helped that my dad was texting me all the time and we even went for lunch before the interview. My biggest supporter and motivator ever. His presence totally helped me cope with the pre-interview stress. 

The only thing left is to wait…

Till next post!