At first I just thought I was too old for Facebook.

And then I realised what was the problem.

I do NOT freaking have the time to add people one by one.............arghhh.

That is the difference between a student and a person who is working.

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Since when did a holiday just meant that you could go to work in jeans and T-shirt ? Sigh.

ParkyBear has left now, and I hope he had a good time while he was here....Now that he will be travelling all over the world - UAE, UK, Scotland, France, Austria, Armenia, Ukraine, Russia, China and a million other small European countries, I suppose it will be a while before we meet up again. Well since everyone is putting some pictures up, I might as well. Some older pictures from paintball 2 weeks ago..

We might as well start off with my very popular line of pictures of me in bed.................

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So he managed to climb up the skybridge and did a lot more things including meet up with SJBear to visit the Eye of Malaysia...which I have not been....and then I believe there were visits to Times Square, Lot 10 and Sungeiwang, where I was that night, having a spontaneous karaoke farewell for SailorKuang with SailorJeow. Sooo sad. But we had a good crazy time singing loudly and singing crazy songs. I miss you already SailorKuang......but friends can last through many obstacles right ?!??!

On Friday, I took a day off and went up to Genting with ParkyBear and my dad, walked around and later continued on to Pahang to look at the durian farm. Many activities occurred of which I am too tired to talk about now. Saturday = meeting up with ShanBear and SJBear for BKT at Klang with ParkyBear. Then we went to Putrajaya. It IS as nice as the photos show, except that it was damn bloody hot. And probably, right now, would not go for the next 2 years.....

After Putrajaya, ParkyBear went off for dinner with ShanBear while I had seafood with some of the sailors. It was just a prelude to a great night of Cranium at SailorJap's house. It was extremely fun and I realised how competitive I can be at these board games. Very competitive....But it was super fun and filled with laughs. Nice to play with people who can challenge too, and great team mates. We played four games, and ParkyBear did join in for 2 of those games....and hehe guess who was part of the winning team every round ???

After that super late night, ShanBear and ParkyBear and myself went to Malacca. I just got back which is why I am soooo freaking tired. I never want to go there again. At least for this year. I am so sick of it. We went past/to/into 28 museums today. ARGHHHHHHHHH. These museums suck too.

Conclusion. Love Cranium. Hate Malacca.

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OMG another week just flew by like that.

Monday and Tuesday flew by as work piled up. I must say, I am learning lots. I hope I can remember what I learn though. Even though it is my second round in sales, there are so many things to learn still, and this time round, people expect me to know many things, but I do not, so I am really glad that there are so many people that I can call or ask for help from sometimes. Muaks. I love people that help me. I wuff you sooooo much.... ! :)

ParkyBear arrived on Tuesday night. He was at KL Central and I told him to go up to Hilton Lobby. When he did not show up after 15 minutes, I was slightly worried as I could not call him and he could have been eaten by sharks. I decided to take the elevator downstairs. Just as I came out, I happened to look at the guy who was in the next elevator going up and it was ParkyBear. Silly fellow was waiting downstairs all the time and wondering why the lobby was empty. Haha. Anyway, drove him around Subang and had food at Asiacafe and fell asleep.

Wednesday it was back to work but brought him along to the city with me. After breakfast where he had nasi lemak, he was set loose upon KL. I should let him tell the story but he managed to go around to the National Museum, KLCC, Masjid Jamek, Petaling Street, Merdeka Square, Tun Razak Musuem, Currency Museum and finally had dinner at Little Penang Cafe at KLCC with me and SJBear. We adjourned to SkyBar at Trader's for some drinks and more talk. Personally I like SkyBar's booths more than LunaBar's.

So today is back to work and last I saw of ParkyBear he was going to get the free tickets to go up to KLCC Skybridge. Interesting.........................

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Hmm. A post a week. I must be getting busier....

After a much-filled week of sickness and work, including half a day's worth of medical leave...I went for some relaxation at Genting.

Week : Work work work work work work work. So busy that some days I forgot to go to the toilet or drink water. Of course was really sick as well and felt like a big bag of sand, except that bags of sand do not really do as much work as I do. Finally, Friday rolled along, and was able to rest.

In reality, it was chaos and really tiring, as we went for paintball in the morning and had to arrive at the site at 8.30 am. Urgh. Really early. And that was just the beginning as I realised that paintballing with 20 stressed bankers was much more tiring (and dangerous !) than with 12 GAs.... Being more experienced now, and with the help of more accurate guns, I was able to take down a few people and only suffered a shot on the left knee. My gun got shot though, and I had fun crawling in the sand to shoot. At one point during the week, I remember dreaming about going crazy and running at people with a dustbin lid as a shield. Phwoar....

Then went on up to Genting for the night. It was so beautiful that night. It was really foggy/misty and the temperature outside was around 13 degrees at one point I think. It was so windy as well one could have been fooled into thinking that he was at Melbourne, or Great Ocean Road. Sigh. So touched, I called a couple of people in Melbourne. Just so I know, it still exists. I think I am still in love with Melbourne. I *heart* Melbourne.

Night continued on and ended on one of those late night hotel room conversations until everyone just dies in their bed from exhaustion. Morning began with a game of Cranium and then some food and that was about it. Came home and slept like the dead for 4 hours before filing my taxes. Urg. Taxes. Urg. Taxes. I love e-filing though. But still, the thought of money going out.....is not fun. BUT at least you know you ARE getting paid, or there would not be any taxes to pay.

Another week ahead. Who knows what is going to happen this week ?

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My eyes are killing me..

Today I got Tai-Chi-ed at work. Meaning someone successfully passed on work that was not supposed to be mine to me. Urg. Watch me claim the credit !

Fortunately, I was in a alright mood as my people from India and Hong Kong came back with solutions to my big problem that was holding one of my projects back. And suddenly, my project is completed ! Watch me claim credit for that too ! Well, I DID solve the problem after everyone tried......So I deserve it..

On Saturday, I completed my bank's strengthsfinder report. Basically, it is like a personality test and tells you your top 5 strengths out of 34 other strengths. Meant to be quite true, I was shocked at the results. They were VERY true !! In case you do not believe me, go look up Clifton Strengthsfiner on the web !

My top 5 !

1. Competition - not entire expected but something I knew deep down inside

Competition is rooted in comparison. When you look at the world, you are instinctively aware of other people’s performance. Their performance is the ultimate yardstick. No matter how hard you tried, no matter how worthy your intentions, if you reached your goal but did not outperform your peers, the achievement feels hollow. Like all competitors, you need other people. You need to compare. If you can compare, you can compete, and if you can compete, you can win. And when you win, there is no feeling quite like it. You like measurement because it facilitates comparisons. You like other competitors because they invigorate you. You like contests because they must produce a winner. You particularly like contests where you know you have the inside track to be the winner. Although you are gracious to your fellow competitors and even stoic in defeat, you don’t compete for the fun of competing. You compete to win. Over time you will come to avoid contests where winning seems unlikely.

2. Learner - true in many many weird ways

You love to learn. The subject matter that interests you most will be determined by your other themes and experiences, but whatever the subject, you will always be drawn to the process of learning. The process, more than the content or the result, is especially exciting for you. You are energized by the steady and deliberate journey from ignorance to competence. The thrill of the first few facts, the early efforts to recite or practice what you have learned, the growing confidence of a skill mastered−this is the process that entices you. Your excitement leads you to engage in adult learning experiences−yoga or piano lessons or graduate classes. It enables you to thrive in dynamic work environments where you are asked to take on short project assignments and are expected to learn a lot about the new subject matter in a short period of time and then move on to the next one. This Learner theme does not necessarily mean that you seek to become the subject matter expert, or that you are striving for the respect that accompanies a professional or academic credential. The outcome of the learning is less significant than the "getting there."

3. Individualization - something that I have always believed I have and is my favourite

Your Individualization theme leads you to be intrigued by the unique qualities of each person. You are impatient with generalizations or "types" because you don’t want to obscure what is special and distinct about each person. Instead, you focus on the differences between individuals. You instinctively observe each person’s style, each person’s motivation, how each thinks, and how each builds relationships. You hear the one−of−a−kind stories in each person’s life. This theme explains why you pick your friends just the right birthday gift, why you know that one person prefers praise in public and another detests it, and why you tailor your teaching style to accommodate one person’s need to be shown and another’s desire to "figure it out as I go." Because you are such a keen observer of other people’s strengths, you can draw out the best in each person. This Individualization theme also helps you build productive teams. While some search around for the perfect team "structure" or "process," you know instinctively that the secret to great teams is casting by individual strengths so that everyone can do a lot of what they do well.

4. Activator - it explains my impatient side and the want-to-move-on part

"When can we start?" This is a recurring question in your life. You are impatient for action. You may concede that analysis has its uses or that debate and discussion can occasionally yield some valuable insights, but deep down you know that only action is real. Only action can make things happen. Only action leads to performance. Once a decision is made, you cannot not act. Others may worry that "there are still some things we don’t know," but this doesn’t seem to slow you. If the decision has been made to go across town, you know that the fastest way to get there is to go stoplight to stoplight. You are not going to sit around waiting until all the lights have turned green. Besides, in your view, action and thinking are not opposites. In fact, guided by your Activator theme, you believe that action is the best device for learning. You make a decision, you take action, you look at the result, and you learn. This learning informs your next action and your next. How can you grow if you have nothing to react to? Well, you believe you can’t. You must put yourself out there. You must take the next step. It is the only way to keep your thinking fresh and informed. The bottom line is this: You know you will be judged not by what you say, not by what you think, but by what you get done. This does not frighten you. It pleases you.

5. Achiever - same as competition I suppose...

Your Achiever theme helps explain your drive. Achiever describes a constant need for achievement. You feel as if every day starts at zero. By the end of the day you must achieve something tangible in order to feel good about yourself. And by "every day" you mean every single day−workdays, weekends, vacations. No matter how much you may feel you deserve a day of rest, if the day passes without some form of achievement, no matter how small, you will feel dissatisfied. You have an internal fire burning inside you. It pushes you to do more, to achieve more. After each accomplishment is reached, the fire dwindles for a moment, but very soon it rekindles itself, forcing you toward the next accomplishment. Your relentless need for achievement might not be logical. It might not even be focused. But it will always be with you. As an Achiever you must learn to live with this whisper of discontent. It does have its benefits. It brings you the energy you need to work long hours without burning out. It is the jolt you can always count on to get you started on new tasks, new challenges. It is the power supply that causes you to set the pace and define the levels of productivity for your work group. It is the theme that keeps you moving.

You see ! This is not some loudy piece of personality survey. It is something that had many hours of research put in and is really quite interesting. I shall be having a meeting with my coach on Friday to discuss my strengths as well as my 'bottom' five. I am very looking forward to that meeting.

Tired. But someday, it will be worth it......

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If you were wondering why I have not written anything down for the last week, it was because I was SUPER busy...man..........Now that I have a little time, I suppose I should catch up on what I have been doing ~stressed~

After studying on Sunday and then meeting up with the Sailors for another crab dinner (I know..so much crab recently) and then on Monday I moved to my new department. It was not too bad at first but I do think they had overwhelmingly high expectations of me and then I got inundated in work. Real work, not the nonsense filing and typing stuff one would expect on the first day in a new department. Arghhh. After a working day, it ended with some drinks with the CEO at the bar next door for a colleague's farewell.

Tuesday was a bit more exciting and after a full day's worth of work and meetings as well as a trip to the gym in the morning, was at the Shangri-La hotel for about 7 hours as was helping out a mega charity dinner we were organizing. This was seriously one of those really expensive dinners where the people were rich and could afford to pay thirty thousand for an autographed shirt. Crazy. I was seriously tired but I must admit the food was good. Very good. Exhausted.

Wednesday came and went in a flash. I had so much work it was crazy. With only a couple of hours of sleep the previous night, and the IT people so freaking incompetent, I left for home at 11 that night. Only to return before 7 for gym the next morning. And then worked until 12 midnight. And then to leave my home at 6.45 am to work. And then I fell asleep while driving. But it was the first time I fell asleep GOING to work, not RETURNING from work.... This would probably explain why I dozed off in the carpark for 30 minutes and was late for work !!!! Argh. Bad, as I had a lot of work to do still. Work passed by in a blur..totally zombified. Worst of all, some work had to be redone anyway as people 'changed their minds'. Or rather worst of all, was so zombified that during lunch, I ate. And ate and ate. Must have eaten up an army's worth of calories.

Sigh. But knowing me, I will do my entire best to live up to expectations, though they may be really high.

But the best thing of the past few days has been finding all these people who were soooo helpful. Other than the sailors, it is great to know that there are so many other people willing to help, including P,CK,C,K,A,S,C2,W,M,N,AA,I,J,S2,K2,C3,Y.......... Muaks..love you all, and hope you guys continue to support me ! Haha...

I do nil studying this week. NIL. And yet I was supposed to finish the syllabus by this weekend. And bloody fantasy lead to IzyBear has shrunk back to 10. And my fantasy Afl not doing that fantastic either.

My neck aches, my eyes ache, my back aches, my head aches... whine whine whine. But of course, sometimes it is fun to whine.

Of course, seriously, there is nothing in the world that cannot be solved (at this moment anyway) by some good old Brandied Black Cherry ice-cream from Haagen-Daaz.

Mmmmmm.

Shit. It dripped on the keyboard.

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