Be a lil bit nicer, will you?

Lately I noticed that I could smile more often than not. I'm really happy, although I haven't gotten what I want this year, the burden that I felt these few months is gone. I'm glad, and am thankful to HIM for answering my prayers.

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Every time after I watch a movie, I will usually reflect on the values that I can extract from it, so that watching movies will not be something wasteful to do. One of the movies that I have watched a few times is Nanny McPhee (okay, I know it's not a new one.. pardon me for being outdated in commenting). Apart from being a decent story, I must say I love the way Nanny McPhee handled the naughty, very ill-mannered seven children, and how she guided the children in making decisions and actions in benefit of their family. Though to a certain extent, yeah, there were a few times when she used her magical gift to teach the little rascals (if not, it is doubtful if she could tame them), the lessons that she gave them were applicable for just any parents to teach their children manners.

Being fearful of the tapping of her walking stick, the children learnt to obey her. There were five lessons: Lesson no.1: 'To go to bed when they are told', lesson no.2: 'To get out of the bed when they are told', lesson no.3: 'To get dressed when they are told', lesson no.4: 'To listen', and lesson no.5: 'To do what they are told'. Well, lesson no.5 for me, is subject to how we perceive what is being told, and that has resulted the clever part of the movie when Simon, the eldest of the seven, purposely interpreted his stepmom-to-be's instruction 'Behave' as 'Beehive'.. and by causing a turbulent moment as if the wedding was being invaded by bees, the undesirable matrimonial ceremony that could lead the father and also the entire family into deep nightmare was ended.

Apart from the five lessons, which I think are still applicable to us four siblings even we are way past childhood (lesson no. 2 and 5 still uphold on every weekend!) I am most attracted to the another phrase in the movie: 'say please and thank you'. If every people would have said this to the person they wanna seek assistance from, I believe that person would be glad to help.

In this modern climate, it is hard for me to find anyone who would come to me and say, "Ira, would you... blah blah blah blah, please? Thanks" instead, "Ira, I want.. blah blah blah asap ok~" Well, it is not that I am scrutinizing the way every people communicate with me, but I would certainly be a lot more willing to help if there is an added 'please' being said.

Oh, the age gap? Well, being more senior doesn't validate one to treat the younger ones in a less courteous way. There was one of the national slogan "Bahasa Menunjukkan Bangsa". This phrase does not mean that if I speak Malay, I am a Malay, if I speak English, I am an English.. no. This phrase literally means that we are how and what we speak.

(I dunno if it is just me.. but I really think there is a huge difference between 'Thanks' and 'Thx', or 'Thank you' and 'TQ' and 'tq', or 'Please' and 'plez' and 'pls'. I don't at all prefer 'Thx' or 'TQ' or 'tq' or 'pls' especially if it is a request note or email. Nevertheless, I would write that to express some kind of objection in responding to the sender (because I don't wanna leave out 'that word of acknowledgment' anyhow), but yeah, different people have their own style and different opinions.. maybe mine is inapplicable to others..)

Talking about courtesy, there was this incident, when I was on my way back from the office. The train was full of people, and of course, those waiting to get into the train were pushing each other to make way for themselves. I managed to secure a standing place somewhere near the door, when a man was still trying to squeeze himself among the tiny spaces. The doors were about to close and he was still attempting to get in. Obviously it was not easy to push a number of people when you are doing it alone. He was already been trapped between the doors, and the doors opened again as always when there is something between them. Looking desperate, he shouted, "Woi, masukla sikit" in a not-so-good, grouchy tone, and pushed the few tired-looking women in front of him. He managed to get himself through finally. What came to my embarrassment was that he was wearing our company corporate shirt, which had his name on it. I glanced at him and his name a few times, until he noticed. I just did that purposely, to make him realize my 'errghh kind of look' towards him. Personally, I would likely think 'hey, this not-so-courteous guy is working under the same roof with me... euuww~~' .. okay, he might be having a bad day at work that day; perhaps his deals were not closed successfully, or it was just his 'err' day, or maybe he was rushing home due to an emergency, or for whatever reasons for his act. But, I have to say, we should watch our act everywhere we go. It is not a matter of being pretentious, but definitely we do not want to be judged by our 'sudden cloudy mood', whereas on the regular basis, we are actually nice people with contagiously-nice smile. Anyway, yeah, the subconscious mind tend to take us over when the emotions are in control. I couldn't blame him for that..

(..well, that goes for me too.. let's not regularly blame PMS season for the now-and-then straight-faced me.. (>_<) stick it inside your brain, Sharifah~!)

At the end of the day, it is us who actually shape or decide how people look at us: the 'stormy fella', or the 'oh, he is that seasonal moody head', or perhaps, the 'nice person to work with'. Tepuk dada, tanya selera :) It's in your hand on the final take.

"...kalau saya tak mahu kerja dengan awak.. fikir-fikirlah kenapa ye..~"

haha.. *wink* ;)

Lunch time @ the office

"Abah, don't you know I have a blog too.. Read la my blog, macam mak.."

"What do you write about? I don't wanna read your personal stuff"

"Well, not really personal stuff.."

"Sure tak best la tu.."


Eeuuww.. abah~~!

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Heyy.. Umno Youth to set up blogs..

Bertambah la kepicisan blog ini berbanding blog2 itu di mata ayahku.. sigh..

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Just sharing my most recent fave song. Stop and Stare by One Republic.

This town is colder now, I think it's sick of us
It's time to make our move, I'm shakin off the rust
I've got my heart set on anywhere but here
I'm staring down myself, counting up the years
Steady hands, just take the wheel...
And every glance is killing me
Time to make one last appeal... for the life I lead

Stop and stare
I think I'm moving but I go nowhere
Yeah I know that everyone gets scared
But I've become what I can't be, oh
Stop and stare
You start to wonder why you're 'here' not there
And you'd do anything to get what's fair
But fair ain't what you really need
Oh, can u see what I see

They're tryin to come back, all my senses push
Un-tie the weight bags, I never thought I could...
Steady feet, don't fail me now
I will run till you can't walk
Something pulls my focus out
And I'm standing down...

Stop and stare
I think I'm moving but I go nowhere
Yeah I know that everyone gets scared
But I've become what I can't be, oh
Stop and stare
You start to wonder why you're here not there
And you'd do anything to get what's fair
But fair ain't what you really need
Oh, you don't need

What you need, what you need...

Stop and stare
I think I'm moving but I go nowhere
Yeah I know that everyone gets scared
But I've become what I can't be
Oh, do u see what I see...

.. but in the end it doesn't matter what I see, cuz too few who care.. so all that matters is my conscience is clear.

Love perhaps?

On my laptop, my all-time fave love song: Seperti Kekasihku by the great indonesian band, Padi is playing. Great song. Makes me recall the time I had in the campus. Kinda miss those times.. sigh.

I was listening to Dewa's Risalah Cinta before that, and this line caught my hearing.. "Aku bisa membuatmu jatuh cinta kepadaku, meski kau tak cinta kepadaku, beri sedikit waktu, biar cinta datang.." yeah, it is not impossible to make someone fall for you.. and if you keep on trying, you'll never know that luck is getting on your side..

Lately, I was pulled into a few not-so-good stories of my friends' love life. I felt sorry for them.. Yeah, I couldn't imagine if I were to be in their shoes.. I may come to the extent of not being able to work either. But thank God, those rough times are gone. Hmm.. Cinta.. certainly a big influence in people's daily lives kan?

Alike most things that has to be started with some kind of endeavor, love also needs it. It's no use saying 'I LOVE YOU' without showing that you really love. I always believe that the song 'More Than Words' leaves something for lovers to think about, although most of the time, if I am interested in someone, I will just act like what is sung in the lines before the chorus in Ryan Cabrera's 'True'. Haha, yeah, can say I'm a scaredy-cat, or perhaps I'm not that confident enough to confess.. or I just think that confessing is definitely not a girl's job. Hmm.. I'll take the third option. Okay2, call me conservative :P Oh well, I'm just not this expressive lover.. I can be nevertheless, but I don't want to, as yet.

There is this really cute colleague of mine, aged 32. She's still single. Well, being single in MITCO in your 30s is not seen as something weird I guess. Nevertheless, that's not an option for me anyway. I often wonder why is it that she stays single; and my take was 'perhaps to her it is uncool to settle down'. Yeah, assumptions.. it is always not suggestible to ASSUME. So last Thursday, on our way back from Kuantan, we had a chat. I asked her, what does she want when she was of my age. Surprisingly, she said 'I wanted to get married and start a nice family when I was young like you. As I grew older, and I met more people, it got tougher to choose someone good for me'. Okay, my drive to ask her more questions declined, because now I know it is not weird to think about settling down at this age. I'm normal, pheww~ =)

While a few of my close acquaintances are getting betrothed and hitched, some are still in search of their own soul mate, while some of us have a few options of suitors (whoa~ lucky!). We talked about this quite frequently when we meet. I think cuz we are not gonna stay in 'early 20s' in a year or two, and that finding someone who suits you gets harder each day.. the seeking just has to be a bit swifter and more vigorous.. even our parents are getting worried of our unmarried status, uncannily more than we ourselves do.

Right now, in the journey to become a matured adult, I guess there is no harm in making choices. Afterall, the one who is gonna live with the choices is us, why would anyone bother? Debates come in when there are different opinions in making choices and decisions. The benefactor of the decision should have the most concern and the most say when choosing an option.

What I feel about love today, is that LOVE needs constant care. The one that you love the most and loves you most is the one who smiles as easily as bleeding because of you.

My 2-cents worth.

The Cs in a Girl's World

As beautiful as the blooming petals of a rose
as graceful when she tips on her toes..
As sweet as the scent of the white lily
with smiles on her face, contagiously merry..

(hmm.. suddenly I am imagining Aurora from the animation 'Sleeping Beauty'..)

How many Cs can I associate with a girl..? Hmm.. banyak!!

Antaranya ialah:
Cash (hmm, I guess this includes how much is in the bank account too.. adeh)
Credit cards (would be better if it's gold, or even better, platinum!)
Cars (continental cars would be more lucrative~)
Club membership
Condominium

This list didn't come from me okay! I got it from a girlfriend who talked about how expensive can it be to get a girl.. and all the Cs listed above are must-haves for guys in order to get a girlfriend. Is it true? I dunno.. I just think if everything were to be measured with money and material things, then honesty, integrity, dignity and self worth can all be bought with bank notes. Well, it is up to us on what our choice is, isn't it?

For me, I'll do the math easier. What are my most-loved Cs?
Chocolates, caramel, cookies, cakes, cars (strikethrough for not having it yet), comfort, cards (always the best gift when the wordings touch the heart), cartoons.. hmm, and oh yeah, compact powder! Always does the trick.

(Err.. do I sound modest here? Hehe.. perasan~)

Hmm, I just discovered the new Cs I have to look out for. Especially in these few coming months where the 'in-thing' in my circle of friends is to get betrothed, or to get married.

They say that diamonds are girls' best friend. Well, I would agree. I can usually see the shine in my girl friends' eyes every time we look through the display glass outside a jewellery outlet. Haha.. and guys would say, 'Girls, normal lah..'

There are five Cs to be concerned about when choosing diamonds: Carat, Color, Clarity, Cut, and Cost.

I just learnt about it while browsing the Net a few hours ago.

So okay. Those add to my Cs list I guess, haha =) It's not a sin, especially with guys, is it?