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.