It's not about the money, money, money...

Well, I guess most of time, it IS about the money, Jesse James. I kinda feel a bit cheesed off when people only get connected with you to ask for money. I saw it happened to my mom, to my hubby even but lately it has been happening directly at me. For instance, a friend whom I have not contacted since primary school, found me on FB, was friendly for a few weeks then ask to borrow money from me. When I said no, I never heard from him again. I guess I always wanted to be a nice person, making people assume that I would always help those in need but truth is, I am very calculative especially when I don't trust you. Very few people make it into my trustworthy list. So I advice you not to test it or you might be disappointed.

Another fact that you have to know about me is that I am a cashless person. I barely have/carry cash around. Most of the time I only have about RM10 in my wallet, enough for a day's lunch. If I have more than that, most probably I will spend it on food/parking/misc expenses. Big expenses I will just charge to my credit card where at the end of the month will be settled immediately after I receive my salary. And EVERY single month, after I paid off my credit card, I am usually left with nothing. It might not be a good cash management style for you but it works for me. I track my expenses very closely and I settled all my commitments on time so far. Alhamdulillah. I do have a little money aside for my rainy days but I assure you it's not a lot. Most nights I will rely on my mom or my hubby for my dinner so stop assuming I'm some rich young bitch with a lot of excess cash.

Just on a side note, hubby and I are eye-ing a property in Nilai for investment purpose. We have paid the booking fee and waiting for S&P to be drawn. No, it does NOT mean we have a lot of cash to be invested. We leverage on bank loans for investments i.e. we take up loan and expect rental income to pay off the monthly payment and maintenance fee. Which only means I have a LOT of debts lined up behind me. I'd rather settle all my debts first before I start giving money to anyone.

3rd and 4th check up

3rd check up was a success. It fell on my mom's birthday. Hubby and I arrived around 7.05am and managed to get number 7 from reception and was 4th in line for Dr Siti. Yeay! Had early breakfast where I had coconut water, which made me frequent the toilet like every 10 minutes. The baby was downward-facing that time and when asked whether we could know the gender already, Dr said it's too early for that =( Anyway, Dr Siti put the radio on so that we could hear the baby's heartbeat. Hehe. Hi baby. Funny thing after the check-up though, I rushed to the toilet immediately. Only after I was done was I told that my blood test came with urine test. =_= By that time, after 5 toilet trips, my bladder was, as you can guess, empty. Hubby had to go downstairs and bought mineral water for me before I could successfully filled my cup. LOL.

16 weeks

After a successful race for our 3rd check up, we were late for our 4th one. Thanks to Ahmad, hubby's friend, who managed to keep us up outside from 12-4am the night before, by telling us his tales of a broken engagement. Arrived slightly after 7.30am, got number 30+ which we thought was not too bad but only to be told that we were no 19 on queue to see Dr Siti. Sigh. Lucky none of us was in a rush so we just hang out, had breakfast, visited Cyan, who was admitted there at the time and came back for the check up just ard 12pm. Just after mummy had a short conversation with Dr Siti, she was called to the labour room pulak! Haish. Byk betul dugaan. When she came back about half an hour later, she informed us that the blood/urine test was good. Baby has a low chance of down-syndrome, which is a good news, hopefully... amin. And then the Dr asked, "Do you want to know the gender?". I immediately shouted, YES!

Mind you, both of us were very sleepy that day since we didn't have enough sleep. All this while I was so damn confident it is going to be a boy. So you can imagine when the Dr announced that "It's a girl", we were both very shocked and very HAPPY! Not that we won't be happy if it is a boy. Just a little more excited to have a girl. That's all... =p Hehe. I asked the Dr whether she was sure it's a girl or she just made that deduction since she couldn't see a boy's balls. She taught me to see the private part. In her word, "when you see 3 lines, like a hamburger, then it's a girl" So here's her picture on her 20 weeks check up. Too big to fit into one ultrasound picture already. Can't wait to meet you, sweetheart. ^_^

20 weeks

Thankful for my pregnancy

I just got back from an amazing vacation in Redang. It was just ah-ma-zing! Not only I have my girls with me, I also brought along my whole family; hubby, mummy and abang. But that's not what I wanted to write in this post. Maybe the next one if I'm in the mood for it.

Since I am done with my exam (though I did very very badly), I am now in the mood to do some light reading. Currently reading "I do, Now What" by Giuliana and Bill Rancic. Reading about how tough it is for them to conceive a baby was really moving. It was a real struggle but it is such a beautiful partnership they have together, very supportive of each other and a very loving couple.

This morning though, while I was driving to work, I turned on to FlyFM as I usually do. Today's Fix-It was a request from a wife. She has been married to her husband for 6 years. They have been trying unsuccessfully to conceive and it frustrates both of them to the core. But what is different in their story compared to G&B's is that the husband went to have a one-night stand and made THAT other woman pregnant. I can only imagine what the wife is going through right now. Although the husband "tried" to stick with the wife, when given the ultimatum between the wife and the baby, the hubby chose the baby. So sad. Sobs... He kept on repeating what he did was definitely wrong but he got a baby out of it and he didn't regret that. He didn't sound guilty a bit. Life is so sad.

Anyway, now I understand a bit more how straining the struggle to have a baby can be on a relationship. As unexpected as it was, I must be Very Very VERY thankful that Allah decided to blessed us with this pregnancy. I pray everything will go well and smoothly, insyaAllah. Amin...

The Northern Lights

One day I want to go see The Northern Lights... So beautiful

Source: Beverly and Pack / Flickr

18 days to CFA Level 2 2011

I am nervous. As usual, I am NOT prepared, NOT ready and I wished I have more time to study. At the same time, I can't wait for the exam to be OVER! I have a VERY long list of what to do once the exam is over.

1) Spend more time with family and friends: Visit Haslin and baby Daanish, lepak-ing at KL house, lepak-ing in Nilai, go see primary and secondary schoolmates.
2) Play my Wii games... (Oh how I've missed you)
3) Read story books - done with The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown and I do, Now what by Guiliana and Bill Rancic...
4) Go on vacationS - Langkawi, Terengganu, China? (if condition permits, ie still safe for me to travel despite being heavily pregnant that time)
5) Shopping baby stuff
6) Learn to cook lots and lots of new recipes ^_^
7) Copy and catch with TV series - Grey's, DH, HIMYM, maybe GG +++
8) Print pictures to decorate the stairway
9) Fix Inspira with a spoiler
10) Buy long overdue GPS for Abg Nad
11) Iron hubby's t-shirts (been putting that on hold since forever)
12) Paint bedroom wall near toilet with anti-fungal paint
13) Start porch renovation
14) Kemas rumah, throw away unwanted items
15) Find new tenant if necessary
16) Settle our bills and speeding tickets. (One left coz discount period is over.)
17) Buy new toner for my printer

and the list goes on and on...
Can't wait!

1st and 2nd check up

I've been wanting to blog about this earlier but since my colleague got seconded to CIMB Thai for a month, I've been slightly busier than usual. So let's make this short. A lot of people have been telling me how lucky I am to get an "easy" pregnancy. Alhamdulillah. =) Apart from being a little tired and bloated than before, nothing much changed. So far no sign of morning sickness yet and I am already stepping into my second trimester this week. Let's hope I could skip that altogether throughout my pregnancy.
Let's rewind the story a bit. When I found out I was pregnant, I still had some cramps at my lower abdomen area, something like period cramps. Being new to all this pregnancy thing, I was a bit worried and insisted to go see a gynae. Mom suggested me to go to a normal GP but I refused. I have no personal favourite at that moment so mummy suggested I go see her ex-classmate, Dato' Dr Siti at Sime Darby Medical Centre. Apparently she's really good and famous that even if you are a little late in the morning, your appointment could be pushed to after lunch.
I immediately took a day off from work the next week, the earliest I could afford as I was relieving someone else that time. Mom told me that gynaes don't usually see their patients until at least they are 6 weeks into their pregnancy. Tracing back to my last mentrual date, I was excited to know that I would already be 6 weeks for my first check-up, meaning I could already see the baby's heart beat.
If you could see in the pic below, the tiny dot was the baby's heart beat at 6 weeks. It was flickering when the pic was taken. And the line across it was drawn by Dr Siti to measure the amniotic bag. The baby was merely 3.1mm at the time.

6 weeks

Second check up was quite dramatic. We arrived at 7.50am and only managed to get number 60+. The counter was not even opened yet! We were number 23 in line for Dr Siti and were told to come back after lunch. Both mummy and hubby were busy with work so I insisted to go alone so that I would have a little peace of mind not having to rush here and there. Abang was very sweet to come along for this check up.
And this is the baby's pic at 10weeks. It was nearly 10times bigger than before at 29mm. My next check up would be on my mom's birthday, 28 May 2011. Stay tuned!

10 weeks

Keep it alive!

Yesterday, like any other weekend, was a day to run errands and chill. I woke hubby up ard 10.30am... did my laundry... cleaned the house A LITTLE... then woke hubby up again ard 12.30pm. I promised my mom and bro to go see them and I'm sure hubby had stuff to do too. He did wake up, walked downstairs and started to laze on the sofa, in front of the TV. When I told him I wanted to go back to KL and probably have lunch with my mom and bro, he asked me to cook instead. Fine... I cooked something really simple coz I was in a hurry. Chicken soup with potatoes and carrots, fried sausage and tempe thinly sliced. He decided that day should be spending-quality-time-together day since we barely see each other on weekdays.

Ard 5pm, we made our move to KL. Picked mom and bro up, supposedly to send him off to college in Sunway but ended up eating rojak and durian by the roadside and did grocery shopping at Jusco AU2. We got to see the AF contestants practicing in their glass house inside the building. (How to concentrate like that when everyone can watch?) Sent mom and bro back home instead of to college... had dinner... then arrived in Bangi ard 10.30pm.

Hubby suddenly asked me, "Want to check-in into a hotel?" Huh? What's wrong with our house? Then he replied, "Just for fun. If we go for karaoke, we would probably spend more or less the same amout." These things were running through my head; laundry, dishes, ironing etc etc... But hubby said that can wait. So we packed our stuff (after I rushed through the dishes) and off we went to the nearest hotel, Hotel Smart. It is so near, it is like LITERALLY 15min walking from our house!

It was actually not bad... For a night, we had air-cond and warm water in the morning. We woke up the same time, had breakfast together before we went off to work. It was kinda fun. I love my hubby for always trying to keep the relationship alive. Although we have only been married for a little over a year, we have been together for more than 8 years already. I have to say this is actually MORE FUN than when we were dating coz we can go off anytime, anywhere we want... No more limitation. ^_^

How we found out...

I have news to share. I am, or shall I say WE are, pregnant! At the point of me typing this down, I am 6 weeks along. Due to people's believe though, we can only make the official annoucement after the first trimester is over. Let's see if I can hold it that long before I hit the button "Publish Post". I want to record every single memory of this experience, this journey so this is gonna be a bit boring to some. Feel free to skip any post with this label altogether. =) So how did we find out?

My LMP (Last Menstrual Period) was on the 8th February, so the next one is due on the 7th or 8th of March... a Monday and a Tuesday respectively. All the signs signifying that it's coming were there... the moodswing, the cramp etc... But still no sign of the red flag. I took a home pregnancy test Thursday morning and it was negative. Okay.... Friday still no sign so I took another test at 10pm, just before we left for PD for our family vacation.

The result: As shown on the top right corner of the picture. Pregnant. (Very early stage). I panicked. OMG! This is really happening??? Hubby reached home about 5 mins later and I called him up. His cousin, Ayet, was left downstairs. Me: Remember I told you my period is late? Him: Yeah, but there was a time it was even later right? Me: Right but... (points towards the bathroom sink where the test result was) Him: What is that? Oh... don't tell me... What's the result? Me: Have a look yourself!

Okay. Don't panic. Let's just do another test later. So we packed and went to PD. All the way thinking that it could not be positive. It's not like we are on family planning or anything. But we've NOT been planning for so long and nothing happened so THIS came as a total surprise.

So the next day, we went to the pharmacy and got another test. This test stick is more expensive than the last one used. So hopefully more sensitive. The rest of the family at that point of time were playing volleyball downstairs. We excused ourselves to take the test. The result: VERY Positive. Okay. There's no denying it now. So what do we do? What do we do? We decided to tell his mom. Mom-in-law was cool about it and told us to wait 2 weeks before we make an appointment to see a Doctor. So okay. Time to cool our heads off...

Came back from PD. And just to be sure... I took another test, using a cheap pregnancy test, the same brand that I used the first time, the one that gave me a negative result Thursday morning. This time I could clearly see that TWO lines... so it's a definite positive. Okay. Reality setting in. Gotta go see my mom and tell her. So that night, met mom and bro at TGIF Wangsa Walk for dinner and we broke the news. Mummy took the news better than we did, I mean she wasn't so shocked. =p Haha. Went to the pharmacy immediately to buy Obimin and lotion (to avoid stretch marks). Our journey as parents begins right there.

I am normal

I noticed I have not been updating my blog for awhile and my last post has something to do with people telling me I'm fat. The other day a friend asked what's new with me. I answered "nothing much... only fatter". His reply was "you know what is the good excuse for you to get fat right? Get pregnant". So I browsed through a website my friend used when SHE was pregnant. And the result is - I AM NORMAL. Hoho. Please stop telling me I'm fat, strangers. Haha. Because when I do get pregnant, my weight is going to escalate as shown in the chart below. Yeah, it's too small to see but you get the idea.

If you are wondering what it says in the picture - Your pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) is 22.9, which is considered normal. (Okay technically a little fat.) During this pregnancy, you should gain between 25 and 35 pounds. (Around 15kgs... Whoa). Anyway, I will just start a new label so that when the time comes, I have something to refer back to.

How ironic...

Even after losing a couple of kgs since I started going to the gym regularly last Oct, some people still tell me I'm fat. When I told my mom my knees are starting to feel uncomfortable sometimes, she said probably because of obesity. Hoih. I must admit I have been putting on weight since I started working more than 3 years ago (and getting used to a bad habit of having dinner after 8pm) but I don't think I am obese! And for people to constantly tell me the same thing over and over again is just getting annoying. It's not that I don't notice it. It's not that I am not doing anything about it. And I heard you the first time so stop making the same comment when meeting me. I have been this size about a year already. Why won't people get used to it already and stop comparing me with what I was 3 years back.

Moving on, while some people just critisize, some offered good solutions. Hire personal trainer, subsribe gym membership, buy PB corset, eat supplements and the list goes on. While I am thankful that at least these people give me useful advice, mostly from their own experience, I am still trying to stick to my resolution: losing weight with no/minimal cost. It's not just about saving whatever little money I have for other purposes but I also find it a bit ironic that we have to spend so much to lose weight when people in Africa barely have enough food to eat.

With that in mind, I tell myself that I HAVE TO be determined in order to lose weight and be healthy. I will continue to work out regularly by making use of that free facility instead of paying for gym membership. Many of my friends bought the corset and really recommended it. Of course it is tempting to just spend and buy that thing. Working out help me to maintain my weight but not reduce it. But I won't give in. So from today onwards, I will TRY to cut down my rice intake for a month. (This is going to difficult for me) See how far it will get me.

Risk averse

I am finally following up with my plan to take up the interest-only-package loan, initially intended to settle hubby's PTPTN loan. Now I am just taking it to take advantage of the (dividend-interest) income. *tamak* I will stick to my new year reso to pay PTPTN consistently for the time being since the interest/admin fee is relatively low so I will just invest current ?available? excess fund credit elsewhere.

I decided not to apply this loan for hubby coz 1) I do not want him to be committed to a big monthly fixed payment at the moment hence I would have to take a smaller amount of loan, which would bring a very low return. 2) The hassle that we have to go through to apply for him: the 5% downpayment (he is not eligible to take 100% loan as he is self-employed with no payslip/tax return documents), providing all the SSM documents, a few bank statements, opening new account for standing instructions and to top them all, I would be the one doing the application and management thereafter is just a bit too stressful. So I will take it under my name. Easier.

During morning briefing today, I saw my classmate during our MT programme gave update on the FX market as he usually does. He is now an FX trader, just what he wanted to be since back then. I WANTED to be a trader but didn't have enough guts to enter the market and fight for the position. It hit me this morning: I am very Risk-Averse. Not a good trait for a trader actually. Haha. Money desk, where I am currently at now, is actually the best place for me to be. While I am loading myself with all these ASB loans, which are pretty risk less, my friends have started venturing out into stock market, mutual funds, private ventures etc... All of these are definitely riskier. High Risk, High Return. Basic right?

When will I get there, I don't know. Possibly when I have extra fund, which I cannot invest in any safe investment anymore. That is a long way to go. For now, let's just keep whatever little money I have SAFE. Hehe.

LIFE as it is...

This is actually a prelude of why I actually thought about all those things I wrote yesterday. Like I said I watched too much Grey's and DH last weekend, which led me to think about MY life so here's some season 7 spoilers you may not want to read.

Greys

Christina Yang is one of the best Year 4 Residents there in Seattle Grace. After the shooting incident (season 6 finales) she was traumatised until she actually quit her job. Having that good a surgeon, a cardiothoracic surgeon, quit and be a waitress/housewife instead is indeed a waste but what if that is actually what she wants to do???

DH

Lynette was one successful career woman. She put her career on hold once to care for the family and let the husband support the family instead. One day her college friend came to visit her and told us that Lynette was voted "The Most Likely To Be Successful" back in college. And she commented, "Look at you now". The friend, if I'm not mistaken was voted "The Most Likely To Marry Rich", which she did. She's rich and very fashionable etc.

So that was why I suddenly had time to reflect on MY life. I am glad to know that I am happy. If I could turn back time, would I choose a different career that could probable make me more money. No, I don't think so. I'm fine where I am now. And it wasn't my intention to brag about my grades in school or the extra curricular activities. My intention was the opposite actually. This advice is not going to be good for kids but this is my take in life. Sure your grades are important but it's not the only thing that matters in life. If you don't do that well in exam, if you short a few grades to get into the best university, it's NOT the end of the world. Rezeki orang di mana2. Rezeki masing2 tak sama. Life is what you make of it. So live your life to the fullest. Different people find happiness in different things in life so just because they may not seem rich and successful to you, it doesn't mean that they are not happy. That said, have a good day, everyone! ^_^

My life as it is...

I don't have internet at home so whenever I feel like blogging or have an idea on what to blog about I would just stall it until I get into office. Last weekend was a long 4 day-weekend due to CNY holidays. I spent most of my time at home, with Saturday in my KL home when hubby went to work. Naturally I just wanted to curl up, watch TV, catch up with the never ending house work etc and TRY to do a little bit of studying in between. Somehow, maybe due to the effect of watching TOO MUCH Grey's Anatomy & Desperate Housewives series, I had time to reflect on life... My life. The question of whether I am happy now?

*The entry is a bit too long so if you are too lazy to read, just skip the whole thing and go to the last paragraph. That should summarize everything.*

I must admit I am blessed through out my life. Despite my difficult childhood, I did have it good in all other aspects. What I am about to type I think will come out a bit perasan so bear with me a little. This is all that has been playing out in my head yesterday. In my primary school days, I think my bestfriend and I are among the "famous" girls in school. Mostly because we are loud and we mixed with boys. "Famous" I say because kids in school like to tease both of us by pairing us up with all the "famous" boys. Plus it was a very small school. No, both of us didn't have any bf then. My philosophy was why would I need a bf now? Pretty useless to be in a "committed relationship" at that time, don't you think? Needless to say, I scored top grades all year round. I was always top in my class and the worst I got in my whole 6 years in primary school was top 10 for the whole standard. Pretty good, yes but I guess despite all that I lacked leadership skills (although I was a prefect, I was not the head girl or anything) and I was pretty rough for a girl, getting into fights all the time.

Then I went to a boarding school for my secondary education. Being in one of the top girls boarding schools in the country, my grades became average among the rest. I was not the best anymore and for awhile I found it difficult to adapt... no boys for me to beat up or get into a fight with. As time passed by, I studied harder to get into the best class (to be with one of my bestfriends), which I did, took up more responsibilities along the way, became quieter because of that, but again, still did not hold any top post in school. I dated... not really but went out with people... but again refused to be committed in a relationship as I felt that I was not ready although sometimes I did feel a bit lonely inside. But being committed to my studies and extra-curricular activites kept me busy and occupied. Left school with straight A1s for my SPM.

Left TKC, went to MMU for awhile before I got my JPA scholarship (where I got to know and befriended my hubby in real life instead of virtually) and later enrolled myself into KMYS for my A-Levels. Here, my grades again became average... not because I didn't do well. I still scored straight As for my A-Levels. Still managed to get an A for my maths though I did HORRIBLY for my paper 4 because I had a fight with my then bf (my hubby now) the night before. I was average because I had to struggle to score and everyone else was just very good, smart and so much better. However, to my amazement, I manage to finally hold a top post, not the college students' council but I was at least the house captain. It was something.

And as you might have guessed, it was after I left school that I was finally ready to be in a relationship. It was a whirlwind, crazy, awkward relationship. Both of us were first-timers with this relationship thingy. It was hard trying to reconcile the differences on how a guy & a girl thinks/feels, both coming for a single-sex school background. Our relationship only officially began after I went to KMYS, which means we were in a LDR for 5 years. 2 years while I was doing A-Levels and 3 years while I was doing my degree. It was the craziest, most happening phase in my life. For the first time, I was really happy, at the same time I could be REALLY sad when we got into a fight, which was all too often. But we worked things out and managed to hold the relationship together.

I came back from the UK, got my degree, work for 2 years before we finally tied the knot. I would say with all the good grades, straight As, excellent extra-curricular records, I actually now lead a pretty average life, nothing outstanding about it. I must say I should be thankful with all the blessings I have, but all those achievements before don't really matter now. True, it got my to where I am now. I am MOST thankful for that. I earn enough to make a living out of it. But what matters most to me now is that I am happily married to the love of my life, happy to be leading a boring life in the suburb with him. Happy to cuddle all day long. Happy to hug him to sleep and to wake up with him by my side. I am not outstanding in any way anymore and I am happy. It is bad actually, I think because people kept telling me that they have high hopes for me. Whatever~ If the opportunity comes along, great! It not, I would like to say I feel contented with my life now. Okay. I do hope bigger things happen to me... getting a big project/raise/promotion whatever, but for now, I am just happy. =)

Like a baby

I have always wondered why we have to continuously pat a baby for him/her to fall asleep. Wouldn't it make the baby become more aware instead of falling asleep with all that constant patting. Well, last night I got my answer... first hand. I wanted to sleep early since I have to rush to work early this morning. Hubby came home ard 10 and wanted to go out for a drink, which I obliged. Dengan penuh pandainye, I ordered Cappucino, which obviously contains caffeine so naturally for me, I couldn't fall asleep easily when we got home. I tossed and turned in front of the TV (hubby was watching it) and found it difficult to fall asleep (normally I will just turn off no matter how loud the tv is). So hubby, the sweet guy that he is, patted me to sleep... I dozed off in less than 5 mins...

Sepang - Johor - Brunei

I realised I have been MIA from the blogosphere for awhile despite so much happenings in my life this month. As I previously mentioned before, Dec'10-Jan'11 has been a busy period for us. I attended department's regional AMD at Golden Palm Tree Gold Coast, Sepang mid month (15-16 Jan 2011). I had very low expectation based on reviews my colleague read online. Turns out the place was not bad at all. The room was spacious, the environment relaxing and the view was okay. I had nothing much to complain except when I went back to my room for the first time at ard 10pm+ after dinner, I found out the room was already occupied. Lucky there was no one inside. So I had to go back to the reception and get another room.

On the 20th, it was a (Thaipusam) public holiday for most of us. Hubby and I woke up quite late with so many things to do. We had to attend a nikah ceremony in JB at 9pm and started our journey from Nilai only at approximately 6.30pm. Naturally, we had to maximise Inspira's speeding capability and I am so thankful that we made it on time! Safely! That was even after a short stop at Linggi for Hazmi to take a shower and detoured to the nearest Petronas since we ran out of Petrol + toilet break. That said I filled in RM85 worth of RON97 petrol for that journey, which was fully utilised. Filled in RM90 petrol for the journey back but we still had more than 1/4 tank when we reached Bangi the day after (average speed back was 110km/h). Shows how much petrol the car can consume when you press the pedal. Good thing I took Friday off because hubby was not feeling too well that night so we checked in at Kozi Hotel in Danga Bay.

Final trip for this month was Brunei 22-24th Jan 2011. Sabah trip got postponed/cancelled... Thank God. I cannot continue living off suitcases like this while I still have to go to work on daily basis. I nearly regretted my decision to go to Brunei as a holiday destination as most people say there was nothing there to see. Well, I am glad I did. True enough, there was not many tourist attractions there. But we got to see a lot. For once, the people there are still very friendly, like we once were. They truly respect their Sultan, which is also their ruler, unlike ours where PM is the one calling the shots. Their petrol is OH SO CHEAP at 50+sens compared to our RM2.40/litre. Their cost of living (food etc) is not as expensive as ours. Their traffic was very clear, thus less stress. The downside is that they are not as developed as KL. It looks like a small town, like Alor Setar perhaps. Not many things for locals to do. We went to 2 malls. Went to watch a movie. There was a bowling alley. And that's it. For tourist like us, we went for a boat ride around Kampung Ayer. Tasted their Nasi Katok, bought from Pasar Malam near our hotel but to me it was normal. It was like plain rice + sambal (4 variaties to choose from) and a small piece of fried chicken. It was cheap though. Only BND1.

So that was it. I shall declare a hiatus in our travelling schedule from now on so that I shall START concentrating on my studies. Looking at a longer intervals between blog posts, I suppose.

More ASB loan?

I am rather meticulous when it comes to money (rather is an understatement). I currently *manage* Setapak Indah bills, Bangi bills, telephone bills for all 4 of us (mummy, abg, hubby & myself) and my own credit cards + loan payments on monthly basis. If you have been following my blog last year, you should have known that I took quite a big chunk of ASB loan (big chunk for MY standard). Now that dividend for last year has been declared and paid, I am quite settled with that for the time being i.e. I have enough funds put aside to cover one year of installments so I don't have to worry about that for now.

So I started digging for other debt that we have to settle and found hubby's PTPTN loan. He has around 26K+ outstanding and has never REALLY bothered to consistently pay for it. I said REALLY because he kept saying he will pay it when he has extra funds but you now how expenses never really end. He does pay sometimes but it's so inconsistent that it barely covers the interest/admin fee portion. So I made new year resolution to pay that loan consistently this year. Of course, hubby argued why would I be paying for it when it is HIS loan. Whatever hubby. Your money, my money, your loan, my loan. I ask money from you whenever I'm broke anyway... (which is often =p)

Taking into account 26K+ loan with 3% interest annually and monthly payment of RM200, it's gonna take yearsss for the loan to be settled. (Where's my financial calculator?) Definitely MORE THAN 10 years. So I told myself, I need to shorten it so that we can move on to other things later. So my target now is to shorten it to 3 years within managable monthly commitment. How? I know about this ASB loan paying interest portion only for some first few years. The catch is the interest rate for this package is higher than the normal ones. If I take that loan paying the interest portion only, I can use ASB's annual dividend to settle hubby's PTPTN. In 3 years time, I would be way ahead of the PTPTN payment and will be left with insignificant amount of debt left. Oh I also plan to prematurely cancel the ASB loan, of course pay the penalty fee, before I have to start paying for the principal. So my mission now is to hunt down an RHB ASB loan sales person. Don't know whether I have enough limit left under my name. I worry if I use hubby's name, he will later want to use the dividend for other stuff than to pay his PTPTN loan. Haha. Well, not really. I just find it a hassle to manage things that are not under my name. I will always have to drag these people along whenever I need to do any transaction. Anyway, that is my mission now. Apart from chasing my car dealer to quickly clear my neo's loan, that is!

AFF Suzuki Cup Win - Goodbye 2010

Yesterday Malaysia won the AFF Suzuki Cup for the first time. Yeayyy! ^_^ Our PM declared tomorrow, Friday 31st December 2010 a public holiday. Double yeayyy! That makes today the last working day of the year. I am excited, of course, to get that extra 1 day holiday but today was and Monday will be a freaking busy day for us. Reason being today is a year end! (closing book etc) and on Monday we have to deal with 2 days of maturities (die).

Anyway, 2010 has been a good year for me. Hubby and I took a number of extra steps forward. I moved in with him mid-January 2010 after 3 months of marriage... we furnished the house and made it home together nearly a year ago. I am still adapting to living together but getting a better hang of it now. =p

In June, I finally sat for my Level 1 CFA paper again. I said finally because I was supposed to go for the December paper but I was coughing so bad that I was willing to let go the RM2K+ exam fee to not attend the exam. =( But good thing I passed Level 1 in June so I got to move forward to Level 2 this coming June.

Travelling has been crazy. Went to Melaka for Haslin's wedding 1st January, Terengganu for Norul's wedding in March, Pangkor Laut with parents-in-law, mummy and abg in June. Went to PD for Hanijoe's wedding also in June and then twice for vacation with each side of the family in July. Went to Penang in October for anniversary and an impromtu trip to Cameron Highland. And the list gets crazier.

December 16-18: Hatyai

December 24-26: Penang

January 1-2: Melaka

January 15-16: Sepang

January 22-24: Brunei

January 28-30: Sabah

That's like almost every weekend with little breaks in between. Huargh... Tiring and burning a BIG hole in our pockets but alhamdulillah for the opportunities. I believe this is rezeki of its own kind. Not to forget, both hubby and I changed our cars this year. Hubby gave back his Naza Kia to his mom and bought Mitsubishi Triton just before Hari Raya Aidilfitri. That was to facilitate his business for the annual mantai session. As all of you might have known, I just traded in my little Proton Neo for a Mitsubishi Lancer WANNABE i.e. Proton Inspira. ^_^ Loving these both babies of ours. Hehe.

Investment/Monetary wise I bought an apartment in Kajang at simply no cost at all, albeit a small, cheap one. Rental has been consistent so far, Alhamdulillah. And although I don't have a clear saving at the moment, I took up a huge debt i.e. ASB loan that is now forcing me to put aside a HUGE (for me) chunk of money monthly, for it to be available in the future... 15 years to be exact.

All I have to say now is Goodbye 2010, and Welcome 2011. Hopefully 2011 will be a better year. Although I don't normally have a clear resolution for any new year (it has always been to pass exam with flying colours... irregardless whether it is a new year or not), this year I really have something to achieve in this new book.

1) I want to get back my pre-wedding weight, with no/little financial cost involved.

2) Start studying for CFA as early as possible. (Possibly after the Sabah trip)

3) Pay hubby's PTPTN consistently. (He seldom pays attention to all these things but I am very particular about money and THIS is clearly a commitment I must honor.)

With that, have a good new year celebration everyone! See you next year. *wink wink* ;)

Hatyai Trip

Last Thursday, hubby and I followed my parents-in-law, together with Kak Ina, Abg Nad and the 2 kids to Hatyai, Thailand. FatherInLaw had a wedding to attend and all of us got to tag along. This is my first trip to Hatyai. Yeay...

We left early Thursday morning from Nilai. FIL borrowed an Estima to fit us all in. Stopped for breakfast at Rawang (Thank God. Hubby and I were late, thus didn't have time to eat.), then we stop for Lunch in Kedah at this Ikan Bakar shop, apparently family's favourite. Sedap!!!

I had my first tut-tut experience. Got my first Thai foot massage, which was, in a way, a funny experience since my tolerance for pain is very low, I made the masseuse jump a couple of times. We had teh tarik, which is not that similar to our teh tarik in Malaysia. Other than that we just went around and did some shopping. Well, I didn't shop much. So I just played games on my phone while waiting for them to shop until hubby said he wanted to go back to the hotel to sleep.

tut-tut

teh tarik

The wedding was beautiful. Generally, although the venue looks pretty much the same for a wedding reception here in Malaysia, they do not have a pelamin area. The culture is also a bit different. Instead of the celebrated bride and groom being hidden until the grand entrance, Thai newlyweds receive their guests at the entrance and have pictures taken with them first. While their guests are enjoying their meal, the bride and groom will make their grand entrance walking towards the stage. Then there was some word exhanging event on stage (I didn't understand a word since they conversed in Thai) before the cake cutting ceremony. Later, the newlyweds would go to each table to hand out the doorgifts to the guests. Wah, so tiring!

I also got a pic with CIMB Thai's atm and hubby managed to snap for me a CIMB Thai branch. He says I am obsessed. Whatever~

My new baby :)

I know I should update my blog sooner on this but I was just too busy at the moment. It is near year end now and one colleague is on long leave so I got my hands full until mid next week. Anyway, I went to Hatyai last Thursday - Saturday with hubby and the in-laws. It was a fun trip but I will update on that later. This post is solely dedicated to my new baby, Proton Inspira BLB 2690, pet name BumbLeBee. Haks haks. After signing the agreement Wednesday night (with the correct rate and after making such a huge fuss over the neo transfer), I was told that I could take the car when I came back from my trip but sadly they are not open on Sunday. All the hardship and drama forgetten once I met this new baby of mine. (Now I understand the feeling of being a mother giving birth to her child... wakakaka)
Meet my new bee:

Loan

Okay. Now is the part to sign my loan agreement. Car should be released anytime soon after it got registered, pending loan disbursement.

Just as I was about to sign the agreement, I saw the interest rate = 4.00%.

Hmm, I was told that it was revised down to 3.50%?

So when the dealer called me just now, I asked him and he confirmed again that the rate should be 3.50%, not 4% which is the old rate.

So I called the bank to ask about it and after checking, she confirmed that it should be 3.50%.

My dealer said just sign the deal, later they will revise. He needs it fast to register the car.

But after I sign the agreement, would the bank WANT to revise the rate down?

I don't want to sign an agreement I don't agree to.

Huwaa... No no no. Wait some more laa.

Temper - Part 2

I was sooo stressed out with work last week that even when I got a call that I can already collect my Inspira, I found it hard to be all excited about it. I let hubby do all the dealing with the car dealer as I didn't want to get involved with things that did not require my immediate attention. I had a deadline to meet, which was the year end party so I didn't want any distraction.

Now that everything is done, I started to trace the progress of stuff and started asking around. To my dismay, I found something very disturbing. Hubby has been hiding the fact from me coz he's kinda scared that I might just burst. He was right at that. If you follow the last post below titled "temper", I was already so mad when I found out that I need to find my own buyer. When the manager called to tell me that I would not get my car as soon as I was promised I asked her what would happened to my current car. She checked for me and said "we will take care of it" so I shut up. Then now apparently because it is year end already, I need to top up around 3K to settle my current neo loan... because cars devalue at year end. So why was that when you wanted to make that sale, you promised me it was okay, and now suddenly cars devalue? Because I made that payment already?

WTF!!! You PROMISED to take it at breakeven. I didn't like that because I think with a little extra effort, I could make a little profit, if not much from it. After all, my loan is 7 years instead of the normal 9 years. But I agreed... Fine... At least, it won't give me a headache. At least, I don't have to top up... Not making a loss. And NOW you want to come to me and say otherwise? Are you fucking kidding me?

I said if I had to top up, just cancel my booking, refund EVERYTHING I've paid before. The car dealer just agreed to it. Then I called the manager to confirm that EVERYTHING means including the "service charge" for using my credit card. She agreed but hesitated. Then she said the car is already booked under my name. I replied, I don't care. If your side do not deliver your words, why should I deliver mine??? Just because I have paid doesn't mean that you can default on your side of the contract. She said she will look into it.

Then the dealer called me and begged for me to top up just 1K. He will cut ALL his commission from this deal. I didn't give in and only said I will think about it. Actually still thinking whether it would be possible for me to sell it at another second-hand car dealer or just stick to asking for refund. After all, I still LOVE my neo. I can live with her for another 4 years until my loan settled.

Only after about 10-20 mins or so, he texted me and said okay to take the car at break even. When can I send the car. Hmpphhh... Now you talking. Hubby can be mad at me for being so short-tempered once... when the news was still very fresh and they had not explored all the options out there. If you think you can push me there AGAIN, you are very well mistaken. Deliver on your words or no deal at all. Better yet, if you can't keep your words, get lost!

Where is the line?

We received social media guidelines a few days back. While some are pretty obvious common sense no-no, some did give me something to worry about. Today, I feel like posting "I am super tired, super stress and just want to go home" on twitter but in the end decided against it for fear of it being too similar to the no-nos printed in the guideline. (Now at home I can take a step back and properly think through of what I am actually going to post here. Lets hope these are within the acceptable area.)

Earlier today, I was haunted by my own doing of telling TMI. I did put a bit of thought in it before I hit send. Is the content okay? Is it too personal? Then I justified it to myself that it is okay to share my feelings, at least with my closest friends. But apparently it was still wrong. I have not been a very secretive person before. I seldom keep things to myself as I tend to share my feelings most of the time. I can keep someone else's secret but if it was about me, at least someone out there must have some knowledge about it.

Yes, I understand. As a wife, I am bounded by "the guideline" to keep the privacy of our relationship to ourselves. "The guideline" is there to help maintain the harmony of the marriage. We shall not tell stuff that are too personal, like your bedroom activities, things that can rock the marriage for fear of other people taking advantage of it, things that are embarrassing about your partner and the list goes on. So just now, before I hit the send button, I weighed the situation and think that there must be exception for very close friends. Because it is not something about what happened in the bedroom, it is not something that can rock my relationship. Was it embarrassing? Was it a weakness? Why was it wrong? Say my partner or myself was suddenly diagnosed with a prostate/cervical cancer, would that be okay for me to declare to the public? Would that be embarrassing? (Pray to God to protect us from all that and may we all have a good blessed passing when our time comes.)

Everything is just a bit too confusing. I know my friends meant well. They were just trying to educate me, also not trying to get entangled in sinful web I just created for myself, for not being a good wife by telling TMI. But where the hell is the line???

P/s: I will take a break from looping while I clear my head for a bit. Maybe I shall go repent.

Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Adha

Good day everyone. I am in a good mood today. Firstly, I'd like to wish everyone Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Adha. May those who is in Mekah for Hajj this year have a good and fulfilling trip.
This morning I woke up super early coz I had to send hubby back to Nilai. That's because I was sleepy to pack and go sleep in Nilai last night. (I was already asleep when hubby arrived ard 10pm =p) But this morning, not only I get to have McD for breakfast, I arrived in office before 8pm. Sooo earlyyy. Traffic was clearrr. I loved it!
End of this week would be another weighing in session for our biggest loser program among the looperz. Actually we are not racing each other on who would lose the most but more of a support system for each other so that we won't quit or give up our diet/working out regime. (Losing weight is damn difficult!) It starts on 20/10/2010 and would end this 31/12/2010. Fortnightly, we will update on our progress and this Friday would be the second weighing in session. Let me tell you this. I don't think I lost any weight from the last weighing in session, which was nearly 2 weeks ago. That's because, last week had been pretty crazy and busy that I did not get to slot in some exercise time, making my effort before useless. Now I have to start all over again. Sigh~
I am still anxious about the purchase of my new car. Although downpayment has been paid, I don't know when exactly will I get my car. If you read my last post, you would know what worries me now and I really DO hope that it won't be a problem in "disposing" my lovely little baby neo... just as promised. Hubby is going to China 19-22 November and I don't think I will get the car before that. Huhuu T_T

Temper

This morning I got all fired up when hubby called to say the car dealer was "a bit reluctant to take in my current car"? I am not too sure what hubby meant by that but I remember being told that they will take it in at break even, meaning I will not be getting anything on top of my loan amount nor do I have to pay extra to "get rid" of it. So I was happy enough to agree as I do not have to go through the hassle of finding a buyer... He said he will "take care" of it. So I started to get all worked up and mad when hubby sounds like he's worried about not having a buyer. (God knows what he is really thinking about.)

Then I continued with my rage on BBM to him, (but not at him...) when he got "pissed off" for my short temper. He said it was nothing... I should not be mad or worried so quickly. Hmmphh... Okay. At that point of time, I regretted not doing anything by myself... Go do own booking at a centre near me as it would be easier for me to go to them, deal with them, get angry AT them. Now everything I have to rely on this middle man, my hubby. But after I cooled off a bit, I think I made the right decision to let HIM handle it instead. Not because I know nothing about cars but because he has the right amount of patience.

I am generally not sooo short-tempered (I think... you people might not agree =p). But I do get all hyped-up when I don't get things my way, as I expected it should be especially when a LOT of money is being put at stake. I used to be all stressed out on the road but since I have to deal with KL traffic every single day, I figured that would only lead me having heart attact/hypertension wayyy before it's due. So I have learnt to manage that temper and keep it in check. Hubby on the other hand is still kind of a road rage. But when it comes to dealing with all these people, he could be such an angel.

This is how I operate. I go see what I want, check if price is reasonable, pay for it and expect delivery as promised. When it doesn't, I'll throw a fit almost instantly. This is how he operates. Once he decided on what he wants, he will negotiate for a better price... better deal... free gifts and what nots... haggle haggle haggle, possibly giving the sales person a headache to meet all his demands but he handles it better when things do not go as expected. Who's the best choice to go deal with all purchases? Him. Who's the better buyer from a sales person's point of view? I dunno. What I know is I need to control my anger better especially in front of him. Let not other external forces be a problem for us when we have enough at home to deal with already. Hahaha...

First Wedding Anniversary - Hard Rock Hotel, Penang

Hi all. From daily updates to a gap of two weeks. I have been a little busy lately. Wanted to tell you all about our Penang anniversary trip but had not found time to do so until now, which is a little outdated already. (Hopefully I will finally hit the "publish post" button.) So here it goes.

As at 16/10/10, we have been married for a year! Wuhoo. I already bought AirAsia flight tickets for both of us during a promotion early of the year and had a really good deal. RM37 return tickets for two + add on assigned seats (10 per person per way) = RM77. Also got a good deal from AirAsiaGo for our stay at HardRockHotel, Penang.

View from the room was fantastic. We had a good time with each other; resting, walking down the beach, parasailing!, swimming and going round and round Plaza Gurney. The only not so nice part was that we didn't have total freedom without a car to drive around and the cab cost RM30 one way from our hotel to Jalan Gurney and RM70 to the airport. Lucky Camy picked us up the morning we arrived and hubby's cousin Nadia sent us back that Monday evening.

View from room

First day there, we spent the morning with Camy until we checked in. Slept until it's time for dinner and took a cab to Jalan Gurney. The cab rides both ways cost more than dinner itself. We ordered 2 char kuey teow, 1 nasi goreng with telur mata and 1 pasembor. But before we could enjoy finishing dinner in peace, rained poured down heavily so we had to take shelter under one of the stalls until it subsided. When it finally did, we went to Plaza Gurney and tried to look for the entrance to the cinema (coz the mall was closed by then) but couldn't find it (so we assumed it was close too). We were already in a cab back to the hotel when I got Camy's msg saying that the entrance is a bit tricky to find. Sigh~
Second day was a little better. I had 3 full plates for breakfast... (not wanting to spend for lunch). Went parasailing for the first time together with hubby, who hurt his feet due to wrong landing technique. Went swimming in the hotel's pool while hubby relaxed by the beach. Went back to the room and ordered in-room dining. =p That night we just had a drink each at the reception area, entertained by the live band. Then went to the Hard Rock Cafe next to the hotel for another round of drinks (which caused me to have stomach ache the whole night) and some light snacks before we called it a night.

All in all it was a good break. Though both Hazmi and I are currently broke from funding this trip but we had a great time. Need to start planning for the next one and if it is within Peninsular Malaysia, we will definitely drive the next time.

B** 3563

This is freakyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!
I was browsing through mudah.my to check out the market rate for my neo and I found this!!!
This car looks strikingly similar to mine and it's plate number is B** 3563.
WHAT ARE THE ODDS???

Proton Satria NEO 1.6 -A- loan Full- 08 -08

Price: RM37 800 39 800 Reg. year: 2008
Mileage: 45 000 - 49 999 Make: Proton
Model: Satria Neo Transmission: Auto
Engine Capacity: 1600 cc
Accessories: Solar Film, CD Player, Sport rims, Alarm, Central lock, Adjustable steering

Proton Satria NEO 1.6(A), 2008 yrs , malay lady owner. original paint black... 100% acc free, low mile. and very good condition ,well maintain by last owner, clean interiou, tyres just change.. very beautiful car... see to believe...

loan full finance

The differences are mileage - mine is going 75K and transmission - mine is manual. I don't have solar film and I haven't changed my tyres. Is this my car??? It doesn't look like my car and I never left my car for them to take its picture. Did my car dealer put this on to sell off my car or there is just another neo with a same plate number? Did they super impose the picture? Did my dealer get the wrong info? Hmm... Very mysterious.

Happy Birthday, Papa and maternity leave 3 months!

Today is a good day. Woke up to the wonderful review on Inspira by Paul Tan... ^_^ ahahaha
Today is also my papa's birthday. I sms-ed him this morning to wish him and he replied "Thanks. I am officially a senior citizen now". Definitely don't look like one. ;) (The importance of having young kids). =p
And then received email from CIMB's Group HR saying that maternity leave is now extended from 2 months to 3 months! Woohoo!
Should start trying now eih?
Ahahahahha

Manual it is!

There is nothing else I am obsessed about now apart from my new baby-to-be, Proton Inspira. Yesterday I was in a big dilemma whether to buy a manual or an auto transmission as I got excited with the tiptronic/pedal shifter thingy. Even called up my car dealer to change the order but was told pedal shifter is only available in the 2.0 liter model. Today, I look up Paul Tan's website and found his review. I would like to highlight these two paragraphs.
"Naturally the 1.8 liter manual felt like the best driver’s car of the lot. The steering somehow felt more precise and had better feedback compared to the other models. According to Proton, the entire setup was designed mainly on the 1.8L manual version so that could be why it felt sharper, and it could also be that the 1.8L manual had a lighter front end compared to the models with the presumably heavier CVT transmission and even the larger engine block for the 2.0L model.
Ride comfort is better than the Lancer GT, because of the different tyres used, and the P3-90A just had a natural stability that’s hard to unsettle even at the extremes, and that helps the driver feel so much more confident in controlling the vehicle. I didn’t feel any issues with the 5 gear ratios of the manual transmission nor the way the gears slotted into position so I suppose if I don’t feel annoyed they should be properly spread. The clutch is also light and easy to control. I think the model I like the most is the manual."
If only I found this review earlier, I wouldn't have even considered the auto transmission. Just TOO MUCH noise around asking forcing me to get the auto model. Now I am contented. hehe.

I wanna go back to KL!

I am a spoilt child. Currently crying alone at home because hubby raised his voice at me on the phone for my constant questioning of his whereabouts and when he is going to come back. I understand... he must have felt very trapped living with me, having to answer those two questions every day but I don't like feeling lonely like this.

Despite having a difficult childhood, I was blessed to constantly have people and friends around me. Though I hated boarding school for its lack of freedom, I LOVED it because I ALWAYS have a friend with me. With so many of you in a batch, you can choose to hang out with different people at different time of the day. In case one person gets bored of you, you can simply go next door and find someone else. That was what I treasure the most. I must say I didn't get that anywhere else. When I moved to college and uni, though I had these wonderful friends, our responsibilities grew bigger so we spent much of our time attending to all that. Everyone including me had lesser time to entertain people. Now married and alone, I miss those TKC days ever so badly.

Although I can actually just go back to KL or hang out with friends until hubby comes home, I feel the need to come back to Bangi because the house is in such a mess. However, when I got home, I always do not have the mood the start doing these chores especially because I am alone. I miss my mummy!!! I'm sure she misses me at home too. But having a near precise biological clock, I normally don't feel like driving past 10pm. Plus, when all I can think of is bed, Bangi feels so far away from KL.

I don't blame hubby. He works near and with his family. He gets to go home everyday, which he does and hence, do not feel the need to come home quickly. To him, Nilai is his home too. It feels to me he tries to spend as much time as he could at both houses, as well as his farm. But being a family person myself, I am happy he is that close to his family. Happy that even after we got married, he tries to make himself available to his family, which I have no problem with. I love my in-laws dearly.

But it got me thinking, have I not be a good daughter to my mother. Here hubby is with a biggg family. He still makes an effort to go home every day. My mummy only has me and my brother, who is now in college... so basically just me. But I try to go home only once a week. Sometimes I try to reason with myself, my responsibility is hubby first, then parents... but at times like this, I still feel bad that I don't go back to my mom that often.

At times like this, I feel like moving back to KL and let hubby commute instead, which he won't considering how tired he'd feel from that travelling. But I just hate living in Bangi alone. Might propose that to him tomorrow. Maybe alternate days for now?

P.s. - Hubby came back and comforted me... While hugging me, who started crying again (cry-baby~), he said "Jgn pindah KL" so I guess not now.

Booked...

As I am typing this down, hubby is at the shop putting in booking fee for my new car. =D I am SUPER excited. Even went to lunch in a real Lancer today and it is sooo spacious! Hehehe... excited mode. And to add to my excitement, hubby called to say Proton is offering both auto and manual! Yeayyy!!! Can get my manual carrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Then my lunch entourage giving me lecture why I should take an auto car.

1) "You don't know how tiring driving a manual car especially being trapped in a jam." - Erk??? Am I not driving a manual car now, every single day, through the massive KL traffic jam?

2) "Auto car has higher second-hand value." - People say that when I bought my little neo too. Did that stop me?

I appreciate the concern... the advice... and everything that comes with it but I want what I want. It's not like I didn't do my homework. And I especially hate it when the way they say it to me it's like I know nothing about cars! Some info is very useful. And I tell you I am happy to add that to my knowledge but please do not take me for some bimbo who can't talk cars. I get a little offended by that assumption. I may not know a lot but I do know a little... especially when it comes to the car I am buying, I may know more than you do so keep your tone down please.

My new baby, Proton Inspira? ^_^

I am SUPER Happy today. Ehehe. Lets start from last Friday.

I went back home ard 8pm+. Along the way, called hubby but sounded like he was not coming back so soon... Called a few more friends around Bangi but everyone else was either not around, busy or already with someone else. Hence, I was left feeling sad and lonely again, a normal feeling since I moved to Bangi. In KL, apart from having mom and bro with me, I also have Bojol, Hanipot and a lot more people to call and hang out with.. though I used to have Camy and Aizat around before they moved to Nilai and Penang respectively.

And then, before I reached home, hubby called back, probably sensing the sad tone in my voice and asked what do I feel like doing that Friday night. I said, I dunno... go for a drive to hmm... Genting perhaps? Then he replied, "pack our bags... and bring along our sports shoes". Wee, hubby came back to meeee... Initially I thought we'd be spending a night in Genting until I saw Abby's status on Cameron. Not that I care. I didn't have any major plan on Saturday apart from settling my maintenance fee and doing my laundry so whatever it was, I wanted IN, as long as hubby's with me. All those can wait. So off we went. I'll save you the boring details about the trip because I want to tell you something else.

On our way back, late Saturday afternoon, just near the Proton City exit, we saw THIS!

The new Proton Waja-Lancer aka Inspira being test-driven on the road, 4 of them!!! What the hellllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll??? If you are trying to tempt me here, I tell you now it is definitely working! And apart from the spoiler, it looks strikingly similar to the Mistsubishi Lancer although of course not EXACTLY the same. From "I-don't-have-money-to-commit-to-this" to "I-WANT-IT-FREAKING-BAD!!!". Was in a "bad-mood" all the way back to KL and all I can think of it what colour is the nicest. Guess it works coz hubby GAVE ME GREEN LIGHT to trade in my car. Yeehaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Friday Finally~

It's 7 O'Clock now. I should make my way home already... Or go see Lin's little baby boy. But I am just too tired. Too tired to move, too tired to even lift my butt from this chair to go the toilet. Haih... What's wrong with me this week. Maybe I lack stamina so bad now that I get too tired easily. Perhaps because I am hungry too. Only after I had dinner at the 68BFR reunion the other day, I had the strength the enjoy the night and get into the conversations. After that, wanted to watch movie but there were no available movie to watch at that particular time so decided to just go back home instead. BUT HUBBY FORGOT WHERE HE PARKED THE CAR!!!
Urgh... after going on to every parking floor and went round and round the parking lot, my pace became slower and I eventually just stopped. My feet hurts, had a headache and I just felt like I didn't have enough oxygen in me. And hubby was laughing, thinking it was funny. Then suddenly he got mad because I was walking ever so slowly. Who's fault was it, you tell me? Then he said I was just acting out because I was mad at him, not because I was actually tired. Right. I tried to just keep my calm... How am I mad when I didn't even raise my voice at him. Well, technically I didn't have enough strength to even raise my voice or be mad at him. I just felt like sleeping on the parking floor that time. I was focusing hard to just stay awake. Needdddddddd strength.
While browsing through the internet with nothing specific to look for, I decided to look up my horoscope. Lets see together what it's gonna say about me today.
Quickie
Conserve your energy -- you've been going off in too many directions. Focus on one.
Overview
That big brain of yours is throbbing with info -- and you need to start broadcasting! It's a really good time for you to engage with that new hottie or some friend of a friend who seems interesting.

Hah... This IS interesting. I NEED to conserve my energy. I think I SHOULD just hibernate at home this weekend but schedule is ever so full, as usual. But contrarary to previous weeks, this weekend is full with hubby's invitations. Not mine. Then I need to go back and churn info on The Malaysian Competition Act 2010 from the course I attended yesterday and submit it to my boss. Whatever... I should go back and have a relaxing night tonight. Maybe I'll visit Haslin and Danish next week.

Proton Inspira (Waja Lancer)

I am TIRED! Now waiting for Azmir to pick me up for 68BFR reunion. Hubby is as usual... LATE. I am flustered today, I think. I am not very sure what it means but I know that is what I feel today. I am also emotional due my raging hormone following the start of my menstrual cycle. Hubby came back VERY late last night even after I called and he said he'd be arriving in 10 mins... which he didn't. Work is also a bit crazy. But to top it all, Abg Nad told me the booking for "my dream car" (for this past few weeks...) is now OPEN. The salesman said he can take in my little neo at break even cost which is 35K of loan outstanding (which is surprising given that the car is going to be 3 years in January). BUT I still need to fork out the 10% downpayment for the new car, which comes up to 8-8.5K. I have not been saving for this and to suddenly just withdraw ALL my savings for this is just irresponsible. Huhu...

So with a heavy heart, I HAD to reply to Abg Nad, I have to pass this time. I am saddd... I want this car SO BAD because 1) It is Proton. I am patriotic. And being branded Proton means the car is cheaper than any other car in the same category. 2) As patriotic as I say I am, I can't help but wanting Mitshubishi's technology in that Proton car. 3) It is LANCER's technology for God's sake. And people say that the first 200 units are CBUs meaning they are fully imported... manufactured by Mitsubishi themselves. Urgh, frustrated.

Hopefully tonight's outing can help lift me up.

Financial Stuff

When I was having dinner with friends the other day, I heard them talking about how their financial would be like when they got married. Some ppl say have joint accounts as you share the same expenses anyway, have joint accounts for expenses but separate accounts for yourself and so on. For me, after I got married, nothing changed much. Main reason, I suspect, is that before we got married, we already have joint telephone bill. I think it serves as a practice for us in terms of sharing our monthly commitments. So every month hubby will pay his portion of the bill to me. Well actually, not necessarily HIS portion, he pays a fixed amount, thus it is possibly a little more/less than his actual bill.

Then when we got married, house was taken care of by my mom. Our additional fixed costs now, on top of our telephone bills (both maxis and digi), are astro and electricity bill. I will normally take care of this as I am the self-appointed account manager of the house (all of my mom's houses actually including the ones in KL but mummy will write a cheque for me to cover her expenses). Being the one who rarely carries cash around, hubby normally has to pay for my food when we are out together. As we eat out quite often, I have to remind you that THIS portion is not small. We pay for our own car loans, maintenance, petrol, tolls but other than that, we don't keep track. Sometimes he pays. Sometimes I pay. Whoever feels like paying. Groceries, tables, clothes, shoes, whatever. So do we really need a joint account? No, I don't think so.

Okay. This is one expense I will normally absorb for hubby.

Travel & Vacation.

1) This is not a necessity, but a luxury. Most of the time, I plan it myself.

2) Hubby knows I can afford it.

Still... when we got there, who do you think will pay for my food and nitty-gritty expenses? You guess it. Him.

End of story. Haha.

ICEROOM Serves Non-Halal Chicken

Hello, ppl! Shocking news I got yesterday. ICEROOM with outlets in Nilai, PD, Bangi and few other places serves non-halal chicken. It is shocking to me coz I have been there a few times and obviously ate their chicken/meat products. I must admit my mistake here. First time I went there I was a bit doubtful. But I saw their workers (some are Muslims) and I saw some mosque goers with their families eating there so I became confident. I guess they feel that way too seeing me there. Apparently, ICEROOM didn't even have any Halal certificate so it is NOT their fault coz we just ASSUME. I got to know about it from comments on some strangers blog. I straight away asked my youngest brother-in-law who works as a cook over there. (He's a chef) And he confirms it!!! Arghhhhhhhhhhh... Now I feel a HUGE responsibility to spread the words to everyone via blog, twitter, facebook whatever so that other ppl can learn from my mistake.

I am not trying to kill their business here as the owner is a friend of my parents-in-law. Again, not putting the blame on the business as they are only trying to make money rather than being concern of other ppl's religious belief. And they serve the best SNOWICE in town. So just be careful. Spread the news to other ppl not to eat their meat products. Their snowice is still a must try.

Schleepy morning - Pic with Marion Caunter

Good day, ppl. I'm so sleepy this morning. Had to slap myself a few times while driving to work today. Not good. Not good. Since I am fasting, I cannot drink coffee, which makes it worse. Went to Naza's raya open house after work yesterday and got a pic with Marion Caunter. I was so excited. Haha.

Then went back to Bangi instead of going to see mummy in KL coz hubby said he was done already by then.

8.30-ish - 9pm: Arrived home

9pm - 10 pm: Sort out bills + paid 2 bills using BB as the modem for my computer. For a 2 min job, I think I took half an hour to complete the 2 transactions. Sigh. Bile laa hubby nak install streamyx. I am no streamyx fan but reception at my house in Bangi is quite crappy and streamyx is the ONLY cable internet provider in Malaysia. (And they say they are not a monopoly)

10 pm -12am+: Ironing... It's never ending. Sigh. Cleared like half the basket, then asked hubby to help pick up washed (dry) clothes from the line. So back to a full basket. Arghhh...

12+-12.30am: Forced hubby to start updating his financial records again. Cash in hand, pending in-coming payments, debts etc

12.30ish-1am: Took a shower, prayed, went to sleep...

Went to watch Wall Street on Monday with Irna at Alamanda. The movie was okay thanks to Shia LeBeouf and Michael Douglas but I don't quite like the ending because it was too flat... It's a happy ending but I don't feel happy or excited leaving the cinema. Quite a disappointment really. But what really funny was when Irna and I tried to sneak 2 A&W burgers+onion rings in... together with 2 bottles of mineral water when our bags clearly can't fit in all these. So I stuffed Irna's burger into my baju kurung's pocket and Irna cramped my burger and onion ring into her small bag. It was hilarious but we managed to get in. Thank God. Haha. My Mozza burger was deliciousss~~~ If any of GSC's representatives reading this, please know that we cleared up our own mess. :) So please don't be mad or become stricter next time. We love you. Haha.

May you rest in peace, Abah.

My uncle aka Abah passed away peacefully yesterday morning. While it is understandable that his family members are grieving and crying, I am actually happy for him. Looking back, he had a good life. He did a lot of good including providing a place for a child like me to grow up. He took care a lot of others too with his wife, my aunt aka Mak. He raised 4 children and have 11 grandchildren in total. He performed Haj twice and attended religious classes regularly. At the end of his life, he practically had nothing much to look forward to.
No, I didn't cry... Not because I don't love him but I have accepted the cycle of life. I didn't cry when my own grandfather passed away either. I think very few people's passing will garner my tears. That'd be my hubby and my mom coz my life depends heavily on them. Taking them away from me would mean taking a piece of me... Changing my life completely... Putting my life at a halt. They are my pillars. Don't get me wrong. I love more people than just the two of them. My dad, my brother, my family, my in laws, my closest friends. I love all of them. I would be sad, I would be devasted, I would be frustrated but this is the cycle of life and I have no control of it. Hence, life has to go on.

Life is like playing games. You have lives... Make the most of it, complete mission, level up and stuff... Until it's game over for you. So when you achieved most of your missions, have a good game/life, be reasonably prepared for death, you should be not be terribly sad to leave this temporary world... except for the fact that you would be leaving your loved ones behind. Worry not, we will all meet again in the future... The eternal life... That being said, I do worry if my life got cut short unexpectedly (though we should always expect it everyday as we never know when our time is up). Going unprepared is a scary2 thought as you won't have a second chance in life... There in the afterlife, you would be judged by all the deeds you have done here on earth.

That being said, I hope Abah could rest in peace di alam barzakh. So far, he had it good. His passing was smooth and despite being sick since last Wednesday, he was blessed to leave the world on Friday morning and managed to catch the jemaah of Friday prayers before being buried. Al-Fatihah.

Death

I had a weird conversation with my dad today. We were talking (text-ing) about my uncle, who is currently not feeling well... putting it nicely. Fact is he is dying. Yesterday the whole family came back, neighbours came to visit and everything but God decided it's not time yet.

Papa: Pity him. Hopefully if I have to go better instant with least suffering.

Me: Yeah. Same here. But i hope i have time to repent. Hopefully not sudden death like accident or lepto (rat urine). Scary but at least fell prepared a bit. Hoho

Ish... We don't have conversation that often, and when we do, we talk about how we prefer to die instead... This is just weird.

Oh la la!

My baby neo's wheel-bearing problem is fixed! I had a 1Malaysia experience along with it yesterday. Kak Zalina picked me up from the workshop when I sent my car. Rachel sent me back to the workshop to pick it up while Viknes helped to stay back for me coz it was my turn yesterday. The sound of my baby neo is like music to my ears now. I even turned off the radio all the way back to the office.

Hubby was super sweet yesterday. I have to admit I was still sulking a little bit that time, though I was missing him terribly. Lazy to go back early and even stayed in the car a little while before he came looking for me. So walked in and just sat in front of the tv. He went to the kitchen and started cooking, FROM SCRATCH. Mind you, my hubby doesn't cook. So when he did that yesterday, it was a total surprise... A nice surprise! I Loved It. How can I continue sulking when he is that sweet to me??? Had delicious dinner and quality time together. Finally! Exactly what I was looking for the whole weekend. THIS is a true anniversary celebration. That made my day... Made my week even. I was too lazy to even do the dishes but he cleaned up everything. I got first class treatment all night long.

Walking on air, I was obviously very very happy. Just as I was about to go to sleep, I received 2 sms... from that psycho model!!! Arghhh... You are killing my mood laa, dude. Pretending to be all nonchalant, he sms-ed 1) Hello Salam 2) Bile I boleh kenal dgn Fizzy. I ignored it and when to bed with my lovely hubby. And this morning, he has the cheek to sms me: Apsal u ni sombong sgt. Hadeih... How stupid can you be mamat? And how stupid do you think I am? Pleaseeee lah.....

Dosa gaduh ngan suami =p

My life is like an open book. I basically tell my friends everything as long as it is not too personal. (okay, that's subjective =p) So when Azmir reminded me to not fight with hubby on our anniversary, I just had to laugh. I forgot how on anniversaries we usually fight. That's another thing about me. I forget quite easily. (Hubby is worse, I tell you. Haha.) Anyway, I told him when expectation is none, guess there is nothing to fight about, right?

So Friday was the anniversary day. I called him to ask what time he'd be home, he said quite late. Then with a sad voice I asked... will there be no celebration at all? He replied... "Mesti laa kene celebrate". (Expectation from none to a little bit). So we came back, had dinner, thinking what to do, which hotel to crash... and almost decided to go up Genting. But I was already sleepy, it was late already and taking a room at that hour would be a waste. On top of that, my little neo had a wheel-bearing problem but that's not a contributing factor since we could take triton up. Thinking that we are already going to be spending quite a bit for our wedding anniversary next month, which is not so far away, we settled with just spending time at home.

That night hubby couldn't sleep. He went out and came back nearly 6am in the morning. Naturally, he slept in until about 2pm that day, and we later went to my friend's wedding and open house. We even went jogging at the park that evening. But that night, he went out again so I went back to KL and fell asleep waiting for him. He didn't come back to KL. He went back to Bangi instead. I sent my car to the workshop that morning to be looked at so I didn't have my car until afternoon. That's when hubby called to say his relatives came over our house for beraye. Then my cousin called saying my uncle was at Mak's house. I was torn... wanted to go back to Bangi to see hubby but need to go see uncle. So I dropped by Mak's house real quick, met uncle and auntie and rushed back like mad... only to found out hubby's not home. Highly disappointed I called hubby to come back. I need him home like NOW!!! Hubby said he didn't have transport and asked me to pick him up. I refused and waited. One hour gone and he was still not home...

Okay. I was silly. I can just go there and pick hubby up. In fact, I can join their beraya session. But I was upset. Upset that hubby didn't come back to me that night. Upset that he didn't inform me he was going there when I actually ditched my family to come back to him. And upset that he didn't wait for me. I was being childish and I was crying and seriously not in the mood to go beraya. After waiting for an hour, I left home... Didn't want to wait for him. When he arrived home, I told him I didn't have transport to go home (planned to send car to workshop straight away and leave it there) and asked him to pick me up from KL. He said okay, he'll come later. Halfway through I changed my mind. Went back and found hubby sleeping. Grrrrr.....

Then I forced him to teman me go find a workshop that can fix my car on the spot. He groggily woke up but drove VERY2 dangerously to NILAI when there were a couple of shops open in Bangi itself. Fine... he's retaliating. His driving actually did more damage to my car then what was already there. Came back to Bangi when there was no ONE shop opened in Nilai but the shop in Bangi also could not fix the problem since spare parts shops were already closed at that hour. Came back and did own things. Mostly not talking to each other.

Went back to Nilai for dinner. When I closed the door behind me, my little finger got stucked. It was freaking painful. Since not talking to each other, I could not turn to him for comfort. So I ran inside to his mother and cried to her... Hahahahahaha. It was funny. Maybe not to other ppl. (Hubby kept singing Rihanna's song "You're so ugly when you cry" over and over again all the way back.) There were quite a number of guests around that time. But I was not done being childish that day. Lucky mom-in-law and sis-in-law were very sweet. Moral of the story is don't disobey your husband. =p But I guess our anniversary won't be complete without a fight anyway. Hahah.

HAPPY 8 YEARS ANNIVERSARY, SWEETHEART!

Check out my first ticker on the right.

We are 8 Years today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am still HAPPY and VERY MUCH IN LOVE with this very same guy!!! (He is my one and only boyfriend I have had my whole life. Hope it stays that way til the end of our lives. InsyaAllah.)

Thankful that we are still standing strong together today.

Although a bit sad this date is not also our wedding anniversary, I am accepting the fact that we now have 2 anniversaries to look forward to. That shall be exciting.

No more big plans for this anniversary this time round. (Already planned a weekend getaway for wedding anniversary next month.) Nevertheless will try to make this weekend as special as an anniversary should be. However, no matter how small the celebration will be, life is already beautiful with you in it, baby! ^_^

I LOVE YOU, FOREVER!

(What a big promise... I do hope it turns out to be true though. Haha. Provided he still feels the same way then la, of course. Haha)

~Love, love jugak. Disclaimer jgn lupa. =p