Celebrating love is never too late

You know it's the time of the year (again) when shops everywhere are starting to stock up on roses & gifts. It's the day when couples come together to celebrate love. Valentine's Day was on Monday, a working weekday which made it difficult for us to arrange dinner. Most restaurants were full & from past experience, the menu is usually limited to Valentine's Day set dinners which is extremely pricey.

WL & I decided to postpone our private dinner to Friday in order to avoid the crowd. We chose to dine at WIP, one of the restaurants cum bar at Bangsar Shopping Centre (BSC). As expected, the crowd started to build up quickly at the eateries at BSC on a Friday night. When we arrived, we were ushered to our reserved table at the corner of the restaurant. The ambient still feels warm & mellow despite the dim lights that casted dark shadows in the interior.

WIP's food menu consist of a diverse variety ranging from Western & Italian to Asian & Indian dishes. We thought it would be safer to order the usual & started of with a bowl of mushroom soup. Our favourite~ =)

Each of us ordered a main course - Chicken Corden Bleu for WL, Coastal Aglio Olio for me. And a third dish called Sake San pizza for sharing.

WL's selection was pretty unique cuz it combines both the savoury chicken ham & slightly salty cheesey flavour. Despite using chicken breast, the meat was surprisingly tender & quite juicy but lesser fat. A plus point for those avoiding oily meat. My pasta dish was uber awesome! The spaghetti was cooked al dente & the olive oil used was just nice to give its aromatic flavour. The seafood was superbly fresh & the chilli flakes really spiced up my taste buds. My only complain was it was a little too spicy for my liking. But then again, it wouldn't matter if you're a spicy lover. The pizza was wonderful too for its fresh salmon & unique taste. However, the presentation was messy & I felt this should be improved soon.

Next, we ordered some alcohol for the heck of it cuz it seemed awkward to not have one when all the tables have at least a glass or a bottle of alcohol. WL called for a glass of Classic Mojito...

...while I got myself a Lynchburg Lemonade.

Being the first time drinking a cocktail concoction, my cocktail turned out to be a tad too strong. It got me lying on the table within 30 minutes, head feeling dizzy & the urge to throw up anytime soon.

Well? I rushed to the washroom to puke anyways. :/ The night turned out to be a memorable one minus my tipsy moments. Food was amazing but pricey as expected. The ambience is not bad but it can be quite noisy at times. For me, I felt it was a little too noisy to have a private conversation cuz the fairly large crowd is busy chattering away, clinking glasses to glasses of beer, bubbly, wine, you name it.

It was a wonderful night well spent with WL. We still had to deal with the growing crowd at BSC cuz it's one of the "it" chillout location but we avoided the crazy crowd on the actual Valentine's Day. Last but not least, Happy Valentine's Day to my beloved WL! It's our 3rd time celebrating it & more to come. Love you~ *hugs & kisses*

Mass yee sang tossing

My company's CNY dinner was definitely an eye-opener. Maybe cuz back in my YHS days, we didn't have the privilege to organise extravagant dinners in conjunction with any celebration - CNY dinners, annual dinners etc. Hence, joining one of my company's usual dinners & witnessing such grandeur seemed overwhelming.

Our theme for the night was "Shanghai Night" which means everyone was expected to don a piece of traditional Chinese clothing, be it cheongsam, qipao or samfu. The dinner was held at the Grand Ballroom, Sunway Resort Hotel & Spa. Decorations just outside the ballroom was captivating with cherry blossom trees & a mini pavilion at one corner.

A Chinese orchestra was invited to perform at the cocktail area while guests arrive in a rainbow of "shanghai-ed" colours. I was surprised that the organisers recruited 4 people - 2 guys, 2 ladies - to be the model/ambassadors for the night. They were dressed in bunny themed clothings to usher the Rabbit Year. It was interesting & amusing cuz they wore bunny ears on their heads & a short tail attached to their butts. Not to mention these 4 people wore quite sexy clothings, further creating the ambience that I'm some sort of Playboy Mansion. LOL. XD

I was expecting the dinner to start off with a lion dance opening ceremony - a typical auspicious gesture for good wealth among businesses with employees & business partners of Chinese majority. Spotted is a lion dance masthead seated nicely while the troupe waited for all the VIPs to arrive.

The lion dance got into action as soon as the guests filled up the ballroom.

The dinner consist 8-course dishes served halal with a mass yee sang tossing among 53 tables of employees, agencies, suppliers & dealers alike. The variety of performances were limited to the Chinese orchestra & a special performance by one of the Miss Malaysia contestants (I think).

Overall, the dinner was okay cuz it was sorta an avenue for everyone to social around & strengthen ties. Thankfully enough, I wasn't forced to gulp a glass of beer~ =D *Phew*

First week

I've just ended my first week at my new workplace. Not surprisingly, things were going a little slow these few days cuz most people were still not back from the CNY holidays. And I supposed the first week meant getting familiarised with the operation & the key people are need to work closely in time to come. Remember names was definitely a daunting task cuz the team is just so...huge. Period.

Then there's the daily morning assembly. Yeah, you got me right. Not Monday morning assembly like our schooling days but morning gatherings among the staff & management on a daily basis. What exactly do we actually do during the assembly? We sing our company song (how patriotic!), followed by reciting the 7 principles. Finally, the speaker of the day will give a short speech about any topic...usually set by HR. The assembly lasts about 10 mins long so it's not too bad. But the constant repetition of company song will no doubt make you remember it in no time. Speaking of patrioticism, eh? Hmm...

Our company is pretty strict on information sharing & documents are not allowed to be seen lying on our desks. This means ensuring the our workstations are tidied up & stuffed to the drawers, locked them before leaving the office. Plug points must be switched off after shutting down the PC & whenever we leave the department for lunch, lights need to be switched off as well. It's our continuous effort to embrace the "eco ideas" global campaign that instills eco-friendly lifestyle among individuals, at home & workplace.

One odd culture or should I say it's a privilege that we have a tea lady who not only ensures the pantry are properly stocked up & boiling water available at all times but to have her serve your preferred drinks at your cubicle. How does she do it? She pushes a trolley containing cups filled with hot beverages & pots of various drinks ie tea, coffee, Milo & yadi yada. All we have to do is tell her what we need & she'll prepare it right away. She does it twice a day - once for morning tea & 2nd round for teatime. Trust me, I've never ordered anything - not even once from her cuz...I just couldn't adapt to this. At home, I refused anyone who even attempt to make me Milo even though they're making one for themselves. I just prefer to be independent & make my own Milo Fuze.

Sad to know that my immediate superior will be leaving soon cuz I'm afraid that I couldn't cope up. There's so many things to learn yet so little time. I guess people come & go when you least expect it, right? There's bound to be obstacles ahead but here's hoping for a good start at my new company. Wish me luck! =)

Reunion

Families hardly cook nowadays during CNY. Mainly cuz most old folks are no longer capable & the younger groups being tasked on to do the deed are avoiding the hassle of cooking large servings for everyone, especially those who lack experience. None in my family cooked on the 1st day for the past 2 years or so as we've been patronising Chinese restaurants, just like everyone else.

This year - like last year - we had our 1st day dinner at Imperial Garden, PJ. Don't be surprised by the atypical CNY set menu's poor quality cuz they're mostly prepared in advance & in large quantities. Honestly, I didn't enjoy any of the dishes cuz almost all the dishes turned cold even before it was served.

Anyways, any recall of the incident when my Grandpa was admitted for cerebral haemorrhage just weeks before CNY? It was a horrifying experience & there wasn't any CNY mood in the air. Thank God the nightmare is over & he's back to usher the new year with us.

What a frail old man he has become~ =( Cuz he refuses to eat different food. Oh well...what else can we do. *sighs* Btw, we noticed this rather huge signboard at the Ipoh Interchange. I missed out a few earlier signboards as they looked even more hilarious cuz it looks like a typography art. I'm assuming many vehicles might've drove past by accident & missing the turn to Ipoh. Hence, the enormous signboard to ensure no one misses it again!

Not to forget a rather bizarre product - a drink supplement to increase male virility~ -.-" We saw this billboard at a town while on the way to our relatives' house.

My CNY weekend pretty quickly without realising it. It was a very short break before I start my new job. There're bound to be more reunion dinners & gambling sessions with ex-colleagues, friends & family alike after this. I'll be gambling but not with my own money. It would be WL's money instead. =P Happy CNY peeps & here's hoping for a prosperous year ahead!

Farewell, YHS

After serving one month notice upon resignation, today was my last day at YHS. It wasn't exactly a memorable one cuz it was CNY eve hence almost half of the company staff were out of office. I could've bid my last farewell to all of them. Oh well...*shrugs*

I spent hours spring cleaning my cubicle; disposing lots of papers which were piling high at my drawers. So much cleaner than before but still lots to be done in order to make my workstation tidy. However, there's not much I can do since lots of old files can't be disposed. In the end, my cubicle is still as messy as before.

I sat there thinking about everything that happened in the past 2 years. How time has changed everyone of us. How many ppl have come & left. How friends or foe were made. And the number of times that I've changed my workstation.

I started off from a small cubicle at one corner...

To a bigger & more spacious workstation but at the expense of a photocopier in front.

And finally, cubicle of my own with a guest chair in front of my desk.

I'll miss my humble little cubicle. The little sanctuary hidden at one corner, peaceful enough for me to stay occupied in my work. I said my last goodbye to my employee ID before surrendering it to HR. That's the end of my chapter in YHS.