Merepek

Some unwelcomed and unwarranted comments on Lilian's and Wingz blogs ruffled more than a few feathers. I think these has happened more often than anyone would bother to remember but it sure does not make it any more acceptable or palatable.

I don't really know what went through those commentators' minds when they posted in their comments. Did they honestly think and believe that their comments were constructive, mind-blowing, helpful, cute and funny? Well, that commentator might actually believe so and therefore treated the comments-box as a free-for-all 'Peti Cadangan'. But this does not mean that they can just hop in to someone's blog and just pee and shit everywhere and spit their vile venom. It is just like visiting someone's house uninvited and then start to complain about everything and anything and everyone and also start teaching the host how to run her home, how to groom herself, partake of the food and then spit out violently the partly-ingested morsels. Personally, I always believe that no matter how close you think you are to a particular friend or relative, it is always wise not to test the friendship or kinship and overstep the boundaries, however blur they may be. Some even go to the host's house just to quarrel with some other visitors there. How crass and lame can that be! A blog, to me, is akin to an open house and visitors are welcomed but a certain amount of decorum would be expected of them. Common sense and common courtesy should prevail but then again, as we hear so often, they are NOT so common after all.

As I have written in my earlier post, I find blogging thereupatic. I enjoy reading down-to-earth blogs that I can relate to, heartwarming and uplifting ones to motivate and inspire me and of course, my daily dose includes hilarious entries too. I get more than enough of my share of stress elsewhere already and no, thanks, I don't look for more in blogosphere.

Many months ago, I got a call from one of my clients, Mr D requesting to meet me in the evening because he wanted to hand me some outstanding documents.

So, at the appointed time, I arrived at the small cafe and found him and his wife tucking into their dinner. Thought I'd just collect the documents and go off but he casually asked if I was rushing off to another appointment. When I answered no, he insisted that I join them. OK lah, I then ordered a drink and chatted with them. Very quickly he finished his dinner and then dropped the bombshell - he and his wife 'cordially invite' me to join them for a talk to be held in 10 minutes time at an office one floor above the cafe. Aiyah, me and my big mouth - just too late to cook up an excuse to run off. I had fallen into a 'trap'.

The wife literally held my hand and led me up the narrow stairway to the small office where we found close to 20 people already crammed inside. There were a few rows of chairs and on the table in front was a projector. On two other bigger tables were displayed the products that the 'talk' was all about - water filters!

Shortly the lights dimmed and the moderator/host presented a short video clip showing how dirty the water source is and also some gwailos doing some tests and extolling the virtues of that special brand of water filter.....blah, blah, blah. Five minutes into it, and my mind was already somewhere else working on overdrive. I was all fidgety and had the urge to just walk out but as I did not want to appear rude or offensive, I sat it out for the next hour or so, miserable to the bone. Yippee, finally the lights came on again and I just jumped off my seat and quickly bade Mr D and wife goodnight. But Mr D said it was not over yet; they would do a product demonstration and then show a business plan to help make us millionaires! I had to spin a new tale before I finally managed to wriggle free. Phew!

That was the second time I was led and cornered to attend a talk where I had not been given prior notice or invitation - the first time was many, many years ago and if I remember right, it was about selling some kind of expensive mattress. Is this the normal modus operandi?

Really, I have nothing against the hosts or the business and the business model they present. There is nothing wrong in doing business, right? Maybe some of the business plans are truly brilliant and can help make you into a millionaire. It is just that I can't handle surprises too well and am not comfortable with the way they 'invite' their unsuspecting friends.

When someone chose someone to be their spouse, we can safely assume that both of them would have have fulfilled each other's criteria of an ideal if not, perfect match. The couple do not owe anybody any explanation as to their decision of choosing each other but we as bystanders very often form our own opinions as to the suitability of the match.

We are not them, so we do not know the chemistry between them. What we do know are actually quite superficial only - we see only the surface and we draw our own conclusions on why we think this particular match is made in heaven or otherwise.

We may have seen many unions which we think are physical mismatches, something like beauty and the beast or a handsome stallion and an old monkey. To us, this is 'tak padan'. What did she see in him or what hold has she got on him? Is love really that blind?

And social mismatches - say, he is a foreign-trained highly qualified scion from a prominent family while she is just a simple village girl with only perhaps an elementary education. Or the other way round where he is a lowly office peon and she is the heiress of a conglomerate. It is not uncommon to see families torn assunder because two people decide to marry and two families decide to fight the decision: all because of different social standing, different colour, different religion and all else different you can come up with.

What about marriage between a young single man and a normal working-class widow/divorcee with an 'extra baggage' of 4 young children or between a single lady and a widower/divorcee with maybe 3 small ones too? I suppose people will not think too harshly of the young lady but for the young man and a much older woman, tongues might just go a-wagging. What morals!

All these and more, we have read in books, seen in the movies and perhaps personally know of relatives and friends in similar circumstances. So, what's new? Nothing really, I should say. But then, it never fails to arouse some sort of curiosity or maybe just a cursory enquiry when such a perceived 'mismatch' is presented.

Was at the shopping mall with my son the other day as he wanted to get a birthday present. Since he had not decided on what to buy, we were walking from floor to floor and just browsing around.

Then as we walked past an outlet exclusively selling night clothes for both sexes, I casually said, "Wuahh, the owner can rent such an expensive place to sell only baju tidur. Can you imagine how much it will cost? Must be a few hundred ringgit or more wan lah. Sei ler, go to sleep also must wear so expensive clothes. My work clothes also don't cost so much. If I wear this type of pyjamas to sleep ah, most probably I'll get nightmares ler"

My son was quick to retort, "No lah. When you wear nice clothes, you will feel good mah. So these luxurious jammies will sure give you sweet and beautiful dreams wan."

I laughed myself silly. You think my son got a future in the marketing line ah? hehehe!

Seriously, how much would you pay for a set of night clothes? As for me, my good old sarong is real comfy.

This morning, as I was walking in the car park towards the lift lobby, I bumped into an ex-colleague, Ms Kutuk. We managed to exhange some pleasantries and she let out that she was going for an interview nearby. And then she said she would like to drop by my office and then do lunch with me. "Ah erm, erm, I'm sorry, Ms Kutuk. I already got a lunch appointment today. See you some other time lah. Also wish you all the best of luck for the interview. Bye, Bye", I lied. And am I glad!

This woman carries a very beautiful name but the nickname Ms Kutuk was bestowed upon her because of her not too pleasant habits. Ms Kutuk was actually a very, very friendly lady in the old office and she was always the first to make friends with new recruits. She was like the official 'kaypo'(busybody) and she took it upon herself to show the new recruits around and would stick to them like a motherhen and during breakfast, lunch and tea, she'd be with them. But after a couple of weeks later, you'd notice that she had become a motherhen without the chicks.

You see, Ms Kutuk apparently was quite an absentminded lady. It was not uncommon for her to forget to bring her purse or she had the purse but forget to fill it up the previous day or she had only big notes and no small change. So when it came to paying for the meals it would be something like this, "Hey, Nancy ah, pay for me first, I'll settle with you later." And of course, she would conveniently forget. For those who sincerely thought that she had forgotten and would attempt to give a friendly reminder, her response would vary:-

Respond #1 When In Good Mood (in 'manja' voice and tone)
"Aiyoo, sori dahling. I forgot to bring extra today. OK, OK, I'll pay you tomorrow"
(Of course, lah, the tomorrow never comes)

Respond #2 When Mood Not Very Good (in a harrassed voice)
"Eh, I very busy now. Talk to you later."
(the 'later' also never comes lah)

Respond #3 When in Foul Mood (in loud voice)
"Hello, how many thousands I owe you ah? Chase until like that. As if I gonna run away meh. Told you already, let me break the RM100 note first lah. You got change for RM94.85 sen now ah? @*&%$..."


When faced with Respond #1 and #2, the person would normally give a weak smile and gently back-off. But when hit with the occasional Respond #3, the person's face would turn beetroot-red in shock, embarassment and anger all at once. I was one of her victims too and had seen her disgusting antics once too many. So as the colleagues smarten up to her ploy, they would stay away from her and then she would just look out for some new blood, so to speak.

I do not know whether she has changed for the better now but I'm not ready to find out. So when she offered herself for lunch today, I just had to tell a white lie. That's so sad.

While I was driving to work this morning, there were 4 consecutive beeps from my handphone indicating incoming messages. Wah, I'm already so 'laku' sooo early in the morning, I thought. Hands very itchy already, just cannot wait to find out who the senders were but then, I could see policemen along certain parts of the road so just had to control the urge to touch the handphone. I don't want to 'kena saman' because I don't believe in and also cannot afford to contribute anymore to the gomen.

Finally, stopped at traffic lights and I quickly pressed some buttons to see who sent those messages - two of them my clients and the other two, a colleague and a friend. Did not get to read the messages at that moment because light turned green and gotta step on the gas. 'Pippip, Pippip, Pippip' the phone sounded again and 3 more messages followed. Nevermind, just wait till I reach the office first - just don't fancy driving into someone else's behind.

After I stepped into the office, I did not retrieve the messages as yet because I had to rush off for a meeting at another floor of the building. Just put the phone on 'silent/vibra' mode and shaft it into my pocket. Aisehman, the phone was like vibrating every few minutes indicating incoming messages again. This is quite out of the norm. Today is not Christmas Day, not New Year's Day and not my birthday and yet there are so many incoming messages.

So, when the meeting was over, I quickly retrieved those messages, about 20 in all. You know what they were all about? Ya, it's about the two love birds, Siti Nurhaliza & Dato' K and OMG, those messages were really crude, sick and vile jokes, I should say. A few of the texts were the same, so I guess it was like being forwarded round and round and round. Action to take - press the 'DELETE' button.

Can you believe it? People willing to spend their hard-earned money sending and forwarding loads of nonsensical sms! I just cannot understand what they get out of it other than helping to make those telcos very rich. And then they will rant that their handphone bill very high lah and how sad case it is when every other month their budget always out of balance. Jeez!

Supposed to go out for lunch with ZZ yesterday but she called at the last minute to cancel. ZZ sounded very harassed and stressed out and when I asked if anything was wrong, she literally shot back, "Can you believe it? 3 of my staff didn't turn up for work today - they called in for emergency leave! Why? I found out that they wanted to stay home and tune in to the live telecast on Siti Nurhaliza and Datuk K! So, I'm left holding the small fort lah. And summore, the office is so freaking busy today!"

Then this afternoon while I was doing some small talk with my client's secretary AA, she let out that she is very, very upset with Siti Nurhaliza. AA said she and her whole family are very loyal fans of the singer until yesterday but not anymore now. She ranted and ranted and I only gave the occasional nod of the head - not that I fully understood what she was talking about but merely to be polite and appear interested in what she had to say. (You see, secretaries are those people in an organization that you wouldn't want to offend. You know what I mean?) So, AA told me that her whole family tore up all the posters in the house, packed up all the tapes, CDs, magazines and memorabilia and had chucked them out unceremoniously at the neigbourhood dumpster.

Wah, these fans can get really, really emotional and all worked up. So much so, that some took emergency leave from work just to hear breaking news of their idol's wedding announcements and others throwing away every shred of momento they had paid good money and collected and cherished all this while. Something like a bad breakup!

P.S.
I saw some of the newspapers carry the wedding announcements as front-page news today. Soooo glamour!

Got an sms from one of my nephews updating me of his latest handphone number. Jeez! Just don't know how many times he has changed numbers - Maxis, Celcom, Digi post postpaid to prepaid and back to postpaid and to prepaid.......blah, blah. I asked him if he has nothing better to do izzit and his reply will be the same one - he thinks the latest package offered is far better and is value for money. Nevermind about the inconvenience of of having to advise all his contacts and for them to update his latest number too.

Well, he is not the only one into this changing-of-number 'project'. My other nephews and nieces, especially those that are still in school or college do that all the time too. And many of them are always into upgrading and trading-in for the latest and coolest-looking phones; some badger their indulgent parents or elder working siblings to get the desired model while a couple of them pay for it themselves from money earned from part-time work.

Aiyoo! Place my phone next to theirs also feel shy lah - it's actually a hand-me-down from my son. Wait, wait, don't condemn and say that I'm the typical Penang kiamsiap, ok? Actually, I've a confession to make - I think I have a kind of disability. I'm 'button-challenged'. Faced with too many buttons or too many functions on a gadget and I instantly turn moronic. So instead of buying for myself a new phone, it will be like my son takes the new phone and I use the older one with less features. No need to carry something which for half of the time I don't know how to operate.

In fact, sometimes when there is a newer 'hand-me-down' for me, I'd still insist on keeping my old unit. Feeling sentimental and attached to the old unit? Nah, it's more like I'm getting so comfortable with it and to change and learn to use the new one, oh, it's too much trouble.

And for the phone number, I am actually very loyal too - still with the same phone company that I signed up with more than 10 years ago. Cannot just simply change phone numbers lah - if my are clients unable to reach me,(nombor ini tiada dalam perkhidmatan/this number is no longer in service) they might think that I 'chow lor' (absconded) already.

Many years ago, I used to work in the same office with this guy named JJ. He was the first employee and he practically grew along with the company and was promoted to be the personal assistant to the boss. So, he has some kinda of clout, so to speak.

Each time a new colleague joined the company, it will be JJ's job to bring him/her around and introduce to all of us in the office. And whenever he sauntered to my desk, he would think it was cute and funny to introduce me as "This is Penang mari 'nutmeg-dip-in-salt' (it means a stingy poke in Hokkien) Nyonya. You know, the Penang Kedekuts; her 5 sen bigger than bullock cart wan." KAKAKAKA! - he would then laugh at his own stupid and sick jokes. Real blardy fool this one! Real insect!

"Hoi, don't simply talk, ok? Who say Penang people kiamsiap, huh?", I would retort.

"I know many friends from Penang wan. Buy RM1 item, will haggle for 20 minutes to pay 10 sen less. Give RM20 angpow but bring whole family entourage for a wedding feast. After eating, 'tapau' some more, wor. Favourite word in vocabulary - 'FREE!' Aiyoo, like this lah Penang-mari punya style", JJ would snigger.

"That one your cheapskate friends only lah. Don't use such sweeping statements, ok?" I fumed.

I believe Penangites are generally just thrifty and careful with money and abhor wasteful habits. This does not make them misers, right? That tactless and infantile JJ must have had coconut water for a brain. Know what? Last I heard, he married some gal from Penang.

It was a foursome at lunch today - my SIL, her mom, my son and I. SIL works as a nurse and we usually meet up for lunch or tea whenever she is available on her off-days.

As usual we were chatting, laughing and catching up on happenings and the conversation veered to another interesting subject - her youngest son who is in his first semester doing Hotel Management & Catering. Being the glutton that I am, I asked when can I get to test the boy's baking and cooking skills.

SIL laughed herself silly and said something like "Lei man man tang la" (You wait patiently la). So far, the son had baked a few cakes and some cookies at home but not a crumb dropped on the table. How so? Every cake and every jar of cookie had been sent over to the girlfriend's house! LOL

When SIL made noise about own family not getting to taste and enjoy his baking, the boy nonchalantly replied "You know how to bake what! Girlfriend and family do not know how to bake mah. And they also said they like my cakes very much. And before I forget, can you please stock up on the butter and cream cheese."

I cackled. SIL killed the cackling when she ventured something like, "Hello, you also got sons hor?"

Met up with F, an ex-colleague for tea yesterday. F left the office to be a domestic director(that's what she calls herself) about a year after I joined and we have since been keeping in touch, albeit infrequently.

When I decided to join another company in the sales line, I called F to let her know. I was expecting her to say something like "Congrats! Good for you! Go for it!" but I was mistaken. Instead, she gave me an earful about how foolish I was to give up a steady job with regular pay to go into something that I totally have no experience in and whether I realised how hard it is going to be for an old dog to learn new tricks and at a time where it's 'LAST IN, FIRST OUT' in the employment sector. She cannot for the life of her fathom why I risked rocking the boat.

BOOM! My confidence was so badly shaken and it just dropped to the ground. What she said hung over me like a big mass of dark clouds for the next few days and I felt really troubled and miserable. Self-doubt crept in. What if I stink in the new job and realise later that I hated it? Would I be able to get back to a desk job? Would I be able to face the competition in a tight job market? Should I just go and see my ex-employer now and ask to have my humdrum job back or should I just throw everything to the winds and look forward?

I thought long and hard. No, I don't hate the admin job; it was quite nice actually, working for a small cosy outfit of less than 10 staff who got along well with each other, had a boss who was not overly strict and maniacal and the best part was that the office was just a street away from my home.

Then why leave? Ahaa! I felt suffocated. I felt I was not learning anything new. I felt I was going no where. Na, those were mere intellectual excuses. The real clincher - my finances was in deficit position every month. What I earned was just enough to pay for the babysitters and I was usually left with a princely sum of not more than RM200 per month to cover my other personal expenses. Die lah like that. I gotta bring in more, more, more! So, cut out the rhetorics - just jump into it. If you never try, you'll never know.

Ya, F was right. It was so hard - so much to learn and follow and oftentimes I found myself banging on walls and feeling totally lost and defeated. I wanted my old job back; I missed my little blissful corner at the office. But this new one held a lure of a potentially bigger pay cheque and yes, I needed the moolah. So I stuck out the horrible and discomforting initiation and guess what? I am still alive!

Looking back, I am really thankful I made the move. I make a little more now to be able to afford the occasional treats and most importantly, I have learnt alot and am still learning. An old dog, eventhough a bit slow, can be taught new tricks.

It has been a long, long time since I've met this type of cockroach. Let's call him 'A'.

'A' called and made some enquiries and asked that I see him at his office for further discussion this afternoon. I popped by at the appointed time and was ushered into this tiny office where sat a young 'bergaya' type. He was quick to tell me that the purchase will be a gift to a few of the company's special clients and has decided to spend not more than RM350 per client. All that he needed me to do was to go and see the client and explain/present the benefits of the gift, do the paperwork and all the subsequent follow-ups if necessary. Then he coolly dropped the bombshell - "HOW MUCH KICK-BACK CAN YOU GIVE ME?"

I was dumbfounded. But I managed to regain my composure and asked him what volume are we talking about and also how much he thinks I should give out of my RM30 gross commission. Suddenly it seemed to me that his head swelled double it's size and with a glint in his eye he answered, "Maybe 1, maybe 5, tak pasti lah. Beli, kita akan beli, tapi siapa yang dapat deal ini depends on sesiapa yang boleh give the highest to me lah."

I gently closed my file and politely tell him that I'll have to check with my HQ. Gave him a call soon afterwards and told him "Perhaps some other time"

Tsk! Tsk! Tsk! What a cockroach.

These past few days I have been hearing complaints about showroom car salesman; not so much about their salesmanship but more so regarding the way they force/insist that the buyer MUST take up the 1st year insurance with them - NO, CANNOT, TAK BOLEH use your insurer of choice.

Say, your existing car is insured with Co.A and your current NCD entitlement is 33% (into 3rd year of cover) and now you are trading-in your car and getting a new model. Salesman insists new car have to be insured with Co.B and you actually tell him to get the NCD entitlement transferred to the new car. Again he said CANNOT. He will convince you to pay full premium first and promise he will help you with the cancellation of the earlier policy and apply for the refund. After waiting for a few months and no refund in sight, you call him and he said 'WAIT LAH. IN PROCESS ADI' You wait some more and when you try to call him next, 'SORRY AH, I NO MORE CAR SALESMAN. NOW I SELL WATER FILTER. WANNA BUY AH?'

So, the next thing you do is you call up insurer Co.A to chase for the refund cheque. After listening to repeated voice recordings to 'PRESS 1 for....., PRESS 2 for...., PRESS 3 for......' you finally manage to speak to the correct humanoid officer at the correct department and it goes something like this:-

Officer : When you cancel policy ah? No records here wor.

With the patience of a saint, you asked him what to do next.

Officer : Bring original policy to my office n fill some forms lor.

YOU : I not free la. You post to me & I post back lah.

Officer : Can, but lost don't blame me OK?

YOU : @#&%*+%!!!!


So, going back to the main story - you already got an insurer you are happy with and this fella come and tell you to cancel it and promised to settle everything and 'kau thim' for you. My friend Jen, is now very, very mad.

My living room furniture in a pretty bad state now and for the past few months I have been looking out for a new set. I have had leathers which cracked, synthetics which peeled and fabrics which stained, so now I'd like to get some teak pieces. I have visited quite a number of teakwood furniture stores but yet to find anything that click - the pieces that I like are normally priced beyond my budget and I find those cheaper/discounted-price pieces are of poor quality and design. There are many grades of teakwood and for the better quality ones, a single seater may go for RM900 to RM1,200 per piece. My friend thinks it's crazy to pay so much for a block of wood which is hard on the bump and not comfy at all. She also has this wicked sense to ask if I thought hard furniture will deter long visits from guests. Geez!

I have visited homes with beautiful teakwood living room furniture and instead of showing signs of wear and tear over the years, these pieces actually age beautifully - smoother and glossier and has 'character' and I wouldn't mind having these type of 'pre-loved' pieces. Some single-seaters are so rock-solid and I believe it can seat someone big and heavy without fear of breaking the frame or legs. I have had those cheaper sofa sets before and the frame broke - outside looks so nice but inside is rejected wood.

So, weekend comes and I go on my jaunt. What fills your weekend then?

I have a few more instalments to go for my car so I thought would save some money if I fully settle the loan now. I gave a call to the finance company to ask for the full settlement figure to be faxed to me. Strange, the figure they gave is about RM185 more than the balance of instalments when I thought that it should be less. One more phone call and I was told that I have to pay 'early settlement' charges of RM120 plus another RM65 loan disbursement fee. The RM120 is the penalty for settling your loan early and the RM65 is for stamping of agreement, phone calls & other miscellaneous charges. Wah! Like 'buaya' only this finance company - I think stamping charges is about RM10; I have never got any phone call from them since the day I sign the papers and they are billing me RM65! The officer said these charges are standard in the industry. Checks with a few knowledgeable friends and found that it is not true. I made hell alot of noise and the officer then agreed to waive the RM120 (yippee!!!) but not the RM65. Nevermind, I will try to make some more noise when I go to the finance company before month end.

My friend Z paid a surprise visit to my office the other day and we then went for tea at a shop nearby. Due to our work schedules we seldom get to see each other, so it was really nice to sit down to have a good chat and exchange updates.

I got to know Z about 7 years ago when she was a new bride and expecting her first child. Z is one confident, sociable, attractive lady and a very brainy one too. And the husband is just the opposite - a man of few words and therefore socialising is a pain for him. Occasionally Z will complain about the husband to some of us and one fine day, she just told us that she's divorced. She never told the reason and neither did we probe. Another year or so after that, Z met T and after a whirlwind courtship, they married. We were very happy for both of them.

So when Z confided in me the other day that she is having some problems with T, I was surprised and concerned. She divulge that T has turned rather old towards her, something similar to what happened in the first marriage. She sensed that T is feeling very uncomfortable because she is climbing the corporate ladder faster than him and thus bringing in more dough. As much as T claimed that he is very proud of the wife, his actions and body language indicate otherwise. During petty disagreements, he will say something like, "Ya lah, everything also must follow what you say. I know lah, now naik pangkat oredi, now big manager, so must boss me around"

Z was hurt to the core. Her question is "Why does her man feel so threatened by a strong, capable and successful woman? Are all man like that?"

Ego, perhaps.

Found this written among my old notes; thought I'd just share it with you.

THERE ARE ONLY 2 THINGS TO WORRY ABOUT;
EITHER YOU ARE WELL OR YOU ARE SICK
IF YOU ARE WELL , THEN THERE IS NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT
IF YOU ARE SICK, THERE ARE 2 THINGS TO WORRY ABOUT;
EITHER YOU WILL GET WELL OR YOU WILL DIE
IF YOU GET WELL, THERE IS NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT
IF YOU DIE, THERE ARE 2 THINGS TO WORRY ABOUT;
EITHER YOU GO TO HEAVEN OR GO TO HELL
IF YOU GO TO HEAVEN, THERE IS NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT
BUT THEN IF YOU GO TO HELL, YOU WILL BE SO BUSY SHAKING HANDS WITH FRIENDS.......

YOU WON'T HAVE TIME TO WORRY!


Have a good day!