You're Fired

I took part in this Malaysian Today "You're Hired" competition a few weeks back in my college. It's like a search for a Malaysian Corporate Hotshot ala The Apprentice. only thing it's not reality TV la. They started out with interviews in every college, Metropolitan being the first stop, and yours truly being the first candidate to step into that room.

Even the interviewers weren't quite ready then. I was first interviewed by Patrick Wee, MD of MyPartners. Then a tad later, a representative of JobsDB.com came in. And mid way through, Farah Shamin, Head of MARCOMM Malaysian Today, steps in. So I was a bit thrown aback. But nonetheless, thankful for the many brief moments i had to think of better answers.

I personally thought i blew the interview. Because they asked me to think of myself as a brand, and describe myself in a sentence. I took aeons to reply, and even so, couldn't come up with a better one. so yea...i wasn't counting on getting through.

But a few days ago, surprise surprise, I receive an email stating that I got into the Top 50 of the competition. was all psyched and stuff. but if only i knew what was installed for me today.

Today, was the preliminary round, where all 50 (only about 40 odd showed up in the end) met at Berjaya Times Square at 8.00 am on a freakin Saturday morning. We were split into groups, and guess what? Our first task was to recruit people for JobsDB.com. The 5 teams with the most number of forms completed will move on to quarter finals.

So at 9.30 am, on a freakin public holiday no less, in Times Square, where the only souls present were the cleaners and the security guards, they sent us off to do the job i hate to do most in the entire world - recruit. Not only that, they expected us to photocopy the forms, and 7-11 being the only shop open at that ungodly hour (in the shopping/hangout in KL context), decides to charge us 20 cents per copy! Oh but we were given RM10 seed money.

We have up till 12.30 pm, but by 11 am my feet were already burning. Yeah, i wore heels. Smartest move ever. So with painful feet, and a dying spirit, I stationed myself at a corner, and asked only those who came close enough for me to speak to. I sound exactly like the person people DON'T want to hire, i know. No fighting spirit whatsoever. But yea, sales calls, recruitment, direct selling etc...not what i plan to do.

When we were all called back, and the results were tabulated, it was no surprise that my team did not make it. They had 9 teams altogether. We were probably 7th place or something. So no next round. Sure i was disappointed, but i expected it. Owell, better luck next time.

After we were "let off", i followed Shahrum, one of my team mates, to a few stops in KL. Funny how the pain in my feet seems much more bearable when it comes to shopping. haha...however, retail therapy only numbed the pain for a while. I decided to come home after visiting Pavilion, KL's latest high end shopping mall. Shahrum was nice enough to give me a lift home.

Shahrum, myself and the Bossini Flowerman. :) sights and sounds of KL....tsk tsk...

Pavilion, too expensive for my liking

yup...not going back to Times Square anytime soon. :)

who am i

who am i
but a simple girl in a plain tee
sipping on teh o ais with glee
talking about what i did today
because i never know what to say

who am i
but a girl whose sun kissed skin
tells the places where i've been
far from fine restaurants and fancy bars
but i have gazed at and slept under the stars

who am i
but a girl whose nails are slightly chipped
on which the polish are slightly stripped
a far cry from perhaps your ideal
but whose penitence is real

who am i
but someone of the past
wishing i had made it last
knowing that it'll never come true
for who am i, but not the person for you

haha yes i'm good...just a poem...no significant recipient....:)

the 53.7 km ride

i finally went cycling. as in a training ride, not a racing one. and i now know where i stand - waaaaaay at the bottom. yea...i'm a slow cyclist. i am in dire need of more training.

coming down the hill, which they made me go up painstakingly for the 2nd time just to take this shot

Anyway, on Sunday i joined Andy, Sue and Choon Yean for a ride at Hulu Langat. We started at about 8.30 am or so. The whole ride took about 2 hours 53 minutes. And we covered a distance of 53.7 km. The sun was especially hot at about 11 am. and the hills of Hulu Langat was quite treacherous. The fact that i was the slowest cyclist amongst them made me cycle alone most of the time. picture this - hot hot late morning sun. uber steep hills. alone on the highway. doesn't sound too fun aye? haha...but i had fun. i wasn't alone that much. i usually catch up with the rest pretty quickly. i think.

promote powerbar la what else...:)"so fast again? tsk tsk...sue sue..."

but the bottomline is i rode and i completed. and i'm so glad i did!ren, andy, sue at the Hulu Langat dam. the reason we cycled up and down those wicked hills

Don't Love Me

its a little old, i know, but this song had me drowning myself in self pity for the past few nights. either the lyrics are so amazingly meaningful or marc anthony is absolutely hot in the video...i now announce No Me Ames the best foreign song i've ever listened to in my life. seriously. forget French. Spanish is the new language of love now!

***

I'm going cycling tomorrow! i can't believe i am, but i am! 67 km route at somewhere around hulu langat. i hope i can keep up!

happy birthday julie

time and space has come in between
what was once there now could not be seen
a friendship so strong that bound us together
somehow loosened as we drifted from each other

but the times we spent back in the past
as two besties would forever last
and though we find it hard to go back
of the present time we have i'll keep track

maybe we'd be best friends again, maybe not
but friends we will be, nothing short
and sooner or later we'll both find
that i'll always have your back, as you'll always have mine

have a happy 21st birthday, ju. i wish you many more good grades to come, ultimate strength to endure the ldr, and everything you've always wanted to come your way...[sounds so cliched haha...]. just have a good one!

why wasabi and i do not get along...

On the other hand...

Happy 22nd Birthday Khong Khong!!*muax*

friends

i have been fortunate all this while in the sense that i never had problems with friends. as in, i have lots of them. i wasn't the ultimate prima donna of school or any of that sort, but i had a relatively large circle of friends who stood by me most of the time and juniors i know looked up to me. and lucky for me, everywhere i go, i've got friends. befriending others just comes naturally most of the time. it's a gift, perhaps. but i think that i've been cheating myself all this time.

i think that i was conceited, ignorant, and just too damn proud in the past. i think that it takes me ages to say i'm sorry, and aeons to admit i'm wrong. i have a male's ego, i admit. i think that for every new friend i make, there's bound to be someone i drift away from. and the more i think about it, the more i think that, really, i was anything but the Miss Congeniality i was proudly crowned during the senior prom.

i think that i have changed over the years since i left school. with new surroundings and new faces, i probably was able to start being me all over again. and i think that because i wasn't trying too hard to uphold a reputation or anything, more of my sincerity and true character was able to surface. and that made me see all my flaws in the past.

a night out with some of my school friends last night left me feeling a tad regretful. i regret not making some of the trips they went for (which was probably the start of how i grew apart from them). i regret distancing myself at some point because i thought that our views were just too different for us to hang out and have fun. i regret being careless, insensitive and unthoughtful.

i had fun last night. we laughed, we reminisced, we talked and updated ourselves with the latest gossips (some rather intriguing ones), we took photos, we made fun of people looking for friendship in the classifieds, we made fun of people looking for massage clients in the classifieds, and we read each other's horoscopes. sounds like a pretty good night out to me. :)
ren.ju.venneedaniel.renhanyang.kennyclassifieds

thirsty way past august...

Ok, let me attempt at some music/band review. I've never really done this, hence the new label. But I've more than 3 songs from each of these bands and rarely does that happen in my playlist. i usually like songs individually, not by band. thus, this calls for a whole band review.

Augustana...the band responsible for melting a lot of hearts, sending them on a one way journey to emoland. Dektos, being one of their victims and Boston being one of their powerful weapons. :) Ok...so i'm a victim too. I have 2 full albums - Midwest Skies and Sleepless Mondays and All The Stars and Boulevards. They're not exactly sappy, or tears inducing. Rather, they're a melancholic sort of love songs, light listening but touching nonetheless. Although, the second album had a little hint of rock in it. I'd stay away from them anytime past 2 am, if i were you. =) My favourite are Boston and Not Alone.
Thirsty Merc, the Aussie band who sang Someday Someday. Fang recommended them to me. Augustana with a little more grit and gruff, but has the same effect on listeners. I think they're the Aussie Daughtry. Or maybe thats coz the've got an amazing song called Homesick. Anyway, this you can listen to any time of the day. My favourite are The Hard Way and Homesick. :)

and that was my inaugural band review...how was that? I'm at a point whereby i'm open to all options of job employment apart from the regular admin office jobs. So give me good criticism and i might just be writing the review column in your favourite magazine...:)

that...and the fact that i am bored out of my wits....heh.

ella...ella...eh...eh...eh....

ever since camp i've been hooked to this...


taken from www.pipot.com
*shrugs*

yes boys...i know you'd like to stand under her umbrella...:)

doink!

sometimes I wonder why there are some people with whom you will jump right back to the point where you left off no matter how long apart you've been. And you'd be able to talk for hours without the slightest hint of boredom.

Tee Shiau Sang is one such person to me. She's flying off to Cardiff this coming Wednesday. Someone's gonna be some big shot lawyer in future. And I have no idea when I'll see her next since by the time she comes back to Malaysia I'll probably be in Auckland. I'll miss her la.


But it is friendships like these that I feel I need not worry about. 2-3 years down the road, she'd be ringing me up, calling me Doink! again and we'd be chatting for hours at a nearby mamak as if we never left the country. :)

Professor Tee...may you pave the way for the new breed of ping pong playing lawyer buruks that will be the country's hope for legal justice in future! :)

Metro Camp

I spent the weekend in Lenggeng, Negeri Sembilan. It was in this place called Excel Training Centre and i l.o.v.e.d..i.t! Everything there reminded me of OB. From the dorms (except that OB's dorms aren't air conditioned but they were still pretty darn cold), to the washing area (yup we did our own dishes) to the hills which surround us. The place was gorgeous! And the heater-less shower wasn't any less cold too!

This year's camp had a different approach to the one i went to last year not only because it was at a different place, but it was also organized by a different President. While last year's camp was so typically Ronald, what with Operasi Burung Hantu and obstacle courses and such, this year's camp saw us using our brains, which is so typically Dektos, a little bit more than our brawn. Both very different, both equally enjoyable.

One thing that stood out this time, i feel, was the fact that Anita was leaving. It was like no matter how much fun we wanted to have there was a little part of us which was reminded of Anita's farewell. I wasn't as close to her as the other students were, but i found her very caring and a huge help to every student who walks into the SAO. Anyway, the Thespians did a really touching skit for her. If i were Anita, i'd bawl my eyes out....or not. But i'd be greatly touched. :)

My observations? This new batch of UFP students are going to rock the roof of Metro. Seriously. I have so much admiration for them, that I'm envious. They are painfully shameless, in a positive manner. They are outgoing, they are attention grabbing, they are just out there with everyone as if they've been in the college for years. I love their character, their spunk, their vivacity. I want to be just like them. haha....

I had a blast at Metro Camp. My only dissatisfaction was that it was too short. 2 nights would've turned it into AWESOME. I got to know a lot of people, including myself, a lot better.

wow...i'd never thought a motivational talk would work on me. seriously.

Dear Theo

in reply to this.

I'll tell you that I'm not a Piscean
rather, a hard headed Bull of a Taurian
I'll tell you that at most times this isn't me
guard down, weak, hopeless and sappy
I'll tell you that this side of me is rare
as a reader you've front row view over there

But I'll tell you that this scene has played before
that I had once been shown the door
I'll tell you in due time my stories galore
Just wait, read on, and ask no more

:)

***

I finally ran my carefully planned out 8 km route today. it was a slow time of 47 minutes. and now my right leg is feeling a bit funky underneath the calf. go figure.

***

I'm going for Metro Camp tomorrow! Considering this is my last semester in college, the kiasu in me had taken the initiative to involve myself in just about any event in college. And thus far, I've no regrets!

mud or wheels?

both equally challenging...

both highly anticipated....

both just as fun...

both on the same freakin Sunday....

HOW NOW?!

tell me

tell me you're doing okay in life
tell me that heartache you survived
tell me a new chapter has begun
just don't tell me that i'm not the one

tell me that your job is great
although often it's got you working late
tell me you miss home and everything
just don't tell me it's not me you're missing

tell me all about your day today
tell me all that you have to say
tell me even about the little bits
just don't tell me i'm not part of it

tell me now that you need to go
and you'll say to me take care, i know
tell me don't worry, we'll talk again
just don't tell me it'll never be the same

*edit* I realised i wrote another poem entitled Tell Me not too long ago.

post convention 10km run

I was mad enough to sign up for a 10 km run the morning after my convention for 2 reasons:
1. it was the last race before the fasting month starts. there's Mizuno wave, but I wont be around for that.
2. i desperately needed to destress and unwind and nothing quite does it like a looonnnggg run.

So on Sunday, I joined my entire family in the Shah Alam 10km run. At 6.30 am on a slightly wet cold morning, the aches and sores of sleep deprivation, mind racking days and mental fatigue really takes a toll on one's body. I had sore legs, i was yawning every 10 minutes and honestly i did not feel fit enough that morning. My remedy? Powergel Double Latte! 2x Caffeine!

But when race started, my heart burned barely 20 minutes into the race. I kept a constant pace and willed myself to go on. slowly i found my momentum and i picked up a little speed. Things looked better henceforth.

Then came the final roundabout before the finishing. I followed the crowd and made a 3 oclock turn just like any other rational runner would do because the finishing was that way. But the marshal there stopped me and made me go up 12 oclock instead. And i obediently obliged. But as i was running up, the runners returning from that 12 oclock turn told me i was going the wrong way. In the end i gave up, turned around and started walking. I told myself, if Mr Loke passes me by then i'd start running again because Mr Loke was just several steps ahead of me before the roundabout.

Keith passed by, looking strong as usual. then Mr Loke passed and i started to run again. When i crossed the Finish and surprise, surprise...i got 6th place! that proved how few people took part in this run. But i'm not complaining...6th place made me RM400 richer! seriously...cash prizes and i are getting along pretty well this time around. :)

Now that the convention's done, I should really start training for the marathon. I need to log in 40 kms of running in a week. And at least 2 times RPM since Powerman is coming up too. And I suppose once a week trail running would be very apt since Trailblazer is also coming up (on the same weekend as Powerman, nonetheless). so let's see...

Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays I shall run my upgraded training route of 8 kms.
Tuesdays and Thursdays I shall slot in an RPM session.
Saturday evenings I shall try to do a long run of no less than 10-15 kms with Isaiah hopefully *hint hint*.
Sunday mornings will be Bt Gasing trail running day with daddy dearest.

whoa...i'm exhausted just planning it. let's see how well i carry this out. =)

1st Circle K National Convention

...is finally over and done with!

On September 1st a total of 74 Circle K participants and approximately 13 Kiwanians from around the country signed up and participated in the Inaugural Circle K National Convention in KDSF. We had targeted 100 at first, but from the feedback and follow ups, we were expecting a sum of about 65. so expectations met.

The guests seemed happy, no major upset happened. I was so afraid that I'd have an arduous day, running up and down, applying extensive problem solving skills that I'd already prepared a "yes, sir...we're so sorry for the inconvenience" speech in my head. Just in case anything went topsy turvy for one reason or another.

The Kiwanians were pretty much satisfied, if not really impressed with the event. My parents met with some of them and they had good things to say about me, so that's great. :)

And my committee members and guests were all very very cooperative. I really do hope they are not frightened by this event (or by me). I did try my very best to be as diplomatic as possible in my leadership.

I think the event was a success, if i should say so myself. It was a very commendable effort. The timing could've been better i.e. longer time for me to organize and plan and catch hold of participants from the various clubs, but despite the short time period, what we came up with was great!

My friends who came to support me, Ati, Yanyee, Dektos, Grace...u guys are the best! Thanks so much! My parents who came for the dinner (albeit it being slightly messy and disorganized), thanks so much for listening to me whine and complain, and then sitting next to the Governor of Kiwanis Malaysia. My brother who contributed RM100, thanks kor!

I guess I have one little secret to share. Even though i seethe with annoyance and anger throughout the planning and controlling phases of this event, I thoroughly enjoyed organizing it. It may be self-centred for me to say this, but i did it more for me than for anyone else. It was the first convention. You can organize a lot of things, but rarely do you organize the first. It'll go down in history...I'll go down in history! And I have to admit, i enjoyed the limelight. I enjoyed the congratulatory handshakes and the pats on my back. So much so that i believe my face glowed with pride even with my puffy eye bags and weary expressions.

Natcon was a success! and Circle K of Metropolitan college made it happen! :)