Randomness

I've recently had a conversation with my personal career coach in my firm during one of my after work hours. I feel extremely blessed for having her as my personal guider / adviser journeying through my work life here in this firm. Appreciate her patience and support especially when this job really demands a lot of a person. We did a random catch-up and had dinner at Zen's somewhere just outside the our office. During our meeting, this particular question she threw to me left a thought in my mind for a bit. She asked me this, "Are you a random person, or a logical person?"
Erm, I felt that I could be a bit of both, but maybe leaning more towards the random side. Funny that it got me pondering when was my last "I-did-it-because-I-felt-like-doing-it" moment. Honestly, I couldn't remember at all!

I've recently shared that I am in the midst of braving through some struggles. I somewhat feel so caught up with it. I desire so great to break-free. I thought that switching on my "randomness" mode during times like these would provide for a temporary cure in these times of rocky roads.

And so... I recently did this:

....woke up one morning at 7am, thought of going to TTDI park for a jog. Didn't have Pinky (my GPS) with me, took random turns not knowing how to get to the park. In the end, if this is not random enough, I ended up at another hilly park somewhere within TTDI.. hmm, I thought might as well!:PPp Had my iPod strapped on my right arm, turn on my usual "jogging playlist"(yeah, mostly upbeat songs - I named the playlist "ROcK On Jesus!!" Heh... heh..) and I was ready to go!! :P *Huff Puff HUff Puff*

Anyone got a clue where's this place? (ok, photo not that helpful. Nevermind =P)

'Twas a good sweat after such a long time of not exercising regularly due to long working hours and all. my calves are still hurting, actually. Blergh.. UNFIT. :(
Random Mir didn't quite end her morning with just exercise at the park. Teehee... Drove to 1 Utama after that with a thought of hunting down for an almost overdue birthday present. It was only 9.30am when I got there and most shops where still shut. There was Kluang Station open already for brekky. I had my bible and journal with me, so I did my QT just right there. It was a great time of unwinding having my me moments, away from the usual mundane routines of my life. Oh yeah, for the record, I left my purse in the car and I had to dash to the carpark to get it to pay for my brekky. =P Good thing the guy at the counter trusted me. *LOLOL* My day can't get any random-er than that.

HMmMM... Toasted kaya bun and hot milo... BAGUS.

Indeed, I had a good day. A good time spent reflecting on many things...I enjoyed the temporal freedom. I felt refreshed.
So yeah, if you feel that you need a break, just go out there and do something you usually don't do, or haven't done in a long time.

Yah, Just Do It. I think it does make a difference. At least it did for me any way.

So I am random after all. :D

Sesat (blur~lost)

Today....

....I forgot to bring my wallet when I went to the bank to collect my cheque book.

....I forgot to bring my office tag when I headed to the office to hand in my CPA reenrolment form.

....I replied my SMS-es almost every five hours behind time. (hur hur....)

....and I said, "May I have some French Flies to the McDonald's dude at the counter, twice.



WoW.. what a day, Miranda..what a day... *ROTFL

the stool-turned-trusty table - "Mammut"

I just suddenly had a funny memory of remembering this little IKEA stool that I used to have with me back in Brisbane. I thought it was really pretty when I first saw it sitting at the shelves during my furniture shopping days before I moved into my own unit. By the looks of it, it just gave me this warm, happy feeling and so appealing to my eyes. I will just call him (don't mind me, I just thought it should be a "he" because of it's sturdiness that serves as its masculine effect. LOL..) Mammut, just like how IKEA calls him. It was AUD9.99 for one, then. Those were the days when I only had my mattress without the bed frames since never thought there's a need for one. It has indeed served me greatly as a bedside table where I used to conveniently rest my bible/books on after a good read before I hit the sack every night. My Dell laptop used to sit on it when used to work by my bed. It also served as my "shepherding session" table when Mel used to come over and we'll both be sitting on the carpeted floor with Mammut placed between the both of us as I rest my notebook on him scribbling down notes. I spent most of my quiet-time with him too. Times when I knelt before the Lord and rested my eldows on him to pray, times when I was inspired to scribble down notes, thoughts, aspirations, hopes, dreams.... Mammut's been a great company....ahh, those were fond memories.

Couldn't bring Mammut 1 & 2 (yeah, I had 2 of them.... I like extras for the things I love... hehe! ) with me when I left Brissy so I gave them away to good, trusty hands. One's with my ex-fluffy sheep. Stuck a note at the bottom of it sharing my blessings that this stool will continue to serve as a sturdy notebook-supporter during shepherding times with her future sheeps~!! The other one should be supporting.... Didi's keyboard, me thinks! Unless it went elsewhere... *LoL*. Di, Any new songs composed lately, dear? I wanna hear! :P

Kinda miss having Mammut around me.
Maybe this can stay in my Christmas wish-list for now. =)

I just wanna say...

...been looking everywhere for this:--->

How come I don't see it anywhere in Malaysia????!!
Totally regret not getting this when I used to see it hanging around everywhere in Valleygirl and Temt back in Australia....

Heh... just one of those girly stuff that I have on my wish-list.
Still looking....

Been a while.

Been a while since my last post. No doubt that I cannot stop the clock from ticking but I'd still like to believe that I am in control of time. Well, my own time, at least. Yes, I have been quite occupied. Someone once said that almost more than 70 percent of your lifetime is spent at your workplace. I very well am experiencing the underlying truth behind this statement. Been fully utilizing my weekends with activities -- random walks at the malls alone, meals with friends, jungle trekking with cell mates, Inter-Accounting Firm Games Tennis match for the past few weeks.... to add to that, PwC are the Champions this time!! Whooppiee doo hooo!! Didn't participate in any of the matches (I'm a reserve in the team) but I was a participant in the *ahem* "cheerleading team"! *LoL*... go go PwC!!

Oh, forgot to mention that Papa & Mummy came down to KL about a week ago. It was the first time seeing Mummy ever since I started my job. Mummy looks fantastic! Truly, I can see how God has covered and blessed her so greatly through and through. Parents came down to clean up our new home so that new curtains can go up. The house is almost ready already, just some final touch-ups needed. Went furniture shopping at Harvey Norman's and got all of our beds and white-goods already. I realised that I have been sleeping on hard mattresses all my life and this time, I decided to opt for a softer bed because I felt that I fancied the foamy, bouncy feeling on softer beds and I liked the feeling of snuggling in like a cocoon under my comforter..HEhh! Oh yeah, gotta say I love the new Fridge, too! Shall take a photo of it and post it up just for kicks when it arrives within a month's time. It won't be too long before I move into this new home, I hope! That will mark another chapter of new beginnings for me and the whole family when everyone's ready to move in.

On a side note, how did the last weekend go? It turned out to be one that I had more time to myself. Had the itch to get out of the house and that got me wishing that Brisbane river were still a stone's throw away so that I could just put on my sports gear, strap on my ipod and go for a joy run.... (or rather, walk.. *LoL*.). Been fed enough with horrendous news about women being raped or even losing their lives going around KL neighbourhoods unaccompanied had sorta instilled phobia in me, so I felt that it's not the wisest thing to do. I got pretty fidgety at home that I even wished that my dumbbells were lying around here so that I could do some reps to pump up the adrenaline in me a bit. Sadly, I ended up bumming on my bed snooping around Facebook photos for cheap thrills. Talk about being ultimately unproductive. =__=

Aiks, I forgot I could have rang Mal up to arrange for a meet-up.. GAhH!!... **

More exciting days to come... heh.

The Computer. Should it be a 'He' or 'She' ??? Hmm..

I was listening to an audio sermon by Peter Wagner and he shared this joke before his sermon. Just to tickle your humour a bit...

Unlike the English language, the Spanish language gives items either masculine or feminine connotations. For example, the house is female in Spanish and the pencil is male.

A puzzled student asked the Spanish teacher, what gender should the computer be?

The teacher checked the dictionary and realized that there was no such word for computer in Spanish. As such, she split the class into two, guy and girl, to discuss and decide which gender should be the computer, and give 4 reasons why.

The guys decided that the computer should be female. Based on 4 reasons:

1. Nobody but their creator understands their internal logic!

2. When two computers pass information, no one else understands what they're communicating to one another!

3. Even the smallest mistakes you make are stored in the long-term memory!

4. When you make a commitment to one, you spend half your paycheck buying accessories for it!

Now the girls decided that the computer should be male based on four reasons as well:

1. To get their attention, you gotta turn them on!

2. They've got a lot of data but they're clueless!

3. You buy them to solve your problems, but half the time, they are the problem!

4. When you make a commitment to one, you realized that you could have waited a little longer to get a better model!



The girls won.


*LoL*......
any objections??? =P

Just another day in Kuala Lumpur...

Decided to get out of the house today. I had a shopping list in mind and I thought I better get that "chore" done before I officially start work this coming Monday. Yepz, I braved myself to drive on the KL road all by myself today. hehe... doesn't really sound like anything to be proud of but still, it's an achievement for me. =P

Honestly, I think I am getting kinda overly paranoid about the crime rates here (Am I????). Thanks to my parents and relatives who've been consistently sending me forwarded emails about crime incidents happening in KL, especially females who drive alone along the streets of KL (no sarcasm.). So yeah, first thing when hop into the car, I lock my doors immediately, place my handbag next to the driver's door (I was told to never put my bag at the passenger seat because there were incidents where motorcyclists would smash your window if you're waiting at the traffic lights, to snatch your bag... *GAaaaSSsPPPSS*) and drove off in the quickest manner.

First stop, I took a drive to Shah Alam Club to pick up my junior membership card which was due to be ready today. I am still eligible as a junior member before I hit 25, so my dad thought I should cease the opportunity to make use of the facilities while I am here. Coming back to this country club brought plenty of memories. My parents used to take the 3 of us here every Sunday for a swim in the evening when we were still little kids. It's sorta like our routine family outing. Reminiscence of the past...... then I noticed, where are all the Chinese?? Why is the club flooded with Melayus???? HAHA.. things change.
Since I was around Shah Alam, I remembered that some friends will be coming up here for Church Camp so I drove to look out for their hotel. Hmm.. am thinking of crashing in for their camp over the weekend. We'll know soon whether that'll happen. :P

Next stop, I head on to Midvalley Megamall. The carpark was almost full and considering that it's a weekday morning, I am utterly surprised. I went many rounds in the carpark and finally I saw 2 ladies walking towards the car just next to me. I moved my car forward and filtered left while I wait. When the car drove out, the car behind me slotted in! ARGHH... that really pissed me off and that reminded me, welcome back to KL, the place where you find inconsiderate drivers!*LoL* Anyway, didn't want to get overly annoyed about that so I decided to pray for calmness and peace and also for a parking spot. God is good...I'm special. Praise God~~~ I found a slot.. just next to the mall entrance. He sure does reserve the better things for us, eh?

Midvalley -- on a weekday. Packed, packed packed. I cannot imagine the weekends. =S

Next, Shopping time!!! I like shopping alone. What's in my shopping list, you wonder? I was looking for a huge bag with zippers on (to prevent snatch thefts.. it's all about KL babeh...hehe.) to carry to work everyday. Found 2 that I thought may suit that purpose but I got very fickle-minded and kept walking back and forth to compare both bags (I had plenty of time to kill anyway.). In the end, I settled for this one I found at Jusco.

Nothing outstanding in design but it's affordable enough to serve its purpose. It's huge enough to fit a laptop. This will be called my new 'rubbish bag'. *NyekNyek*

Anyway, also looked around for a pair of sandals to put on before and after work. I don't really fancy wearing heels and getting blisters at my heels tend to be a common thing. Needed something non-thongy because of stockings. I wanted something very comfortable and long-lasting. After much thought.... I settled for the old auntie all-time favourite BATA!!!!

I don't really care about the design but it's comfort and durability that matters now!! Can't go wrong with cheap and good BATA. =P

Spent a grand total of.... *jeng jeng jeng* 6 hours in the mall!!! Haha... yep, I love being a girl. Hold up, I have a reason for staying so long. I aimed to leave during peak hour at about 7-ish in the evening to test the traffic along Federal Highway because that'll be the same road I will be travelling on back from work. How was it...?? Creepy crawly slow. Hmm, what can I say? I'll get used to it.

Oww.. my legs are aching. I better hit the sack.

That's all for now... just another one of Miranda's lame-o daily life saga.... :)

HOT HOT HOT.....

Today's weather is awfully hot!! A scorching 35 degrees! Yeouch...It's cooking me up like the ikan-bakar (barbequed fish) I was craving for last night at Goodall cafe!! A friend came over to get some help with his resume just now. I feel a wee bit bad that I don't actually have air-con in the living room. Sorry, William! :S
I just realised that I'll be stopping by the Penang Airport 3 times in total in one day. Just dropped off Ming Han and friends this morning heading back to Kota Kinabalu, picked up daddy dearest at 3.30pm returning from Kota Kinabalu (yeah, coincidence eh??) and in a few hours time, picking up my uncle and aunty arriving from Kuantan to visit Mummy. I think I can drive my way to the airport with my eyes closed already!! HEHE..

Okay okay... yah, it's a mindless post on this lazy hot, hot, Sunday afternoon. I miss Brisbane weather!! Don't mind me....I think I'll just catch a nap now before going for a swim in the evening later.

My trusty hatchback since college days...
(Rach, it's a Swedish car, naice??? :P)

I teachiee.. Chinese..

Currently down in Kuala Lumpur, bunking at my uncle's place. I'm sharing room with my 8-year-old cousin, Debra. Been a while since I handled little girls. She was so happy when she found out that I am going to be staying with her for the whole week until Friday. Why happy?? Because she thinks I am gonna be of great help with her Chinese homework.... aghh....someone save me... she's gonna find out that I am not any better than her. HAHAHA...

That's Debra -- hard at work. Memorising Chinese characters.

I'm keeping busy with the dictionary... Hehe.

I'm kinda nervous about my assessment tomorrow. Remember to keep me in prayer. More updates to come later at the end of the week..!

I BAKED!!!

Mummy used to bake pretty often when we were still little kids but she stopped ever since most of us went away. I thought of trying more new things lately, so I tried...baking! To add a plus point to that, it was a good opportunity for Mummy and I to spend time together! We dug out Mummy's old little dusty recipe book she got waaaay back the 1970s in England when she was still studying, and....we made scones!! =D~~~~ One of my all-time Mummy's baking favourites!!!

For those who'd like to give it a try, here's the recipe:

Sultana Scones

Ingredients:
8 oz Plain Flour
4 level teaspoons Baking Powder
Pinch of salt
2 oz Margarine
2 oz sugar
3 oz sultanas (or raisins)
1 egg
approx. 6 tablespoons of milk

Method: Grease and flour a baking sheet. Sieve together plain flour, baking powder and salt. Rub in margerine then add sugar and cleaned sultanas. Pour in egg and milk to form a light elastic dough . Form the dough into ball-sized shape and place it on the baking tray (make sure the balls are not too big because the dough will expand). Brush over with a little beaten egg, bake in hot oven for about 10-15 minutes at 500F (Approx 250C).

The end result............
(No, they're not burnt, it's the egg spreads
to make it look golden brown on the top)

Not bad for an amateur baker, eh??
It's so easy and it only takes you less than 30 minutes to make them. Good for brekky and teatime!!! Can't go wrong with that!! =D

PaPaaa...I just killed a COCKROACH!!! =D

It's one of those nights again when I spent my time at the living room watching a Taiwanese drama on "Hua Hee Tai". It was commercial time and something twitched my mind and at the corner of my eye, I thought I saw a little figure crawling on the wall that's beside the dining table behind me -- "Oh, it's just a lizard. Doesn't bother me at all." Strangely as it may sound, I thought, "If it was Mr.Cockroach, how would I react, instead?? " I've got cockroach phobia..I confess. bwahaha.

Anyways, after the drama, I thought I'll just head on upstairs to my room to do some unpacking.. (yes, so I have been procrastinating.). It felt a little warm that night so I decided to switch on the air-con. To my dismay, a big black gooey creature crawled out of the air-con---jeng jeng jeng.... my nightmare of meeting Mr.Cockroach turned into reality!!! ACCKckk!!! Now I don't even have to imagine how I'd react when I come cross that.. that.. thing!! 'Live' in action! I flipped and ran all the way downstairs and yelled, "Papa....!!! There's a cockroach in my room!! Kill it for me now pleasssseeee!!" Both my parents literally burst out laughing and teased my cowardly behaviour by saying, "Aiyoh, cockroach also you scared, how are you going to face bigger obstacles of the world?? Cham liao lah! Tsk tsk!!" (Embarrassing, I know!!) So, Papa tried hitting the cockroach on the wall with my ruler (Oh...why my ruler, paa??? =S) but it fell to the floor behind the sofa bed in my room... trapped in that dark corner with some of my old boxes. He told me he couldn't get it, so as long as I leave it alone, nothing will happen.

With this phobia stuck in me ever since I could remember, I couldn't let go of that fear. It's an irrational fear, I know, but many fears are irrational, anyway. It doesn't keep them from freaking you out so badly that you scream your head off. The only thing causing me to consider going after the cockroach was an even more irrational fear that the ghastly creature, if left alive, would wait until I was sleeping tonight and then crawl up my bedpost, into my sheets, and tickle my feet or something!!! I know this sounds funny, I said a prayer to God and asked Him to protect me.. from that cockroach.. *LoL* I decided that I wanted to overcome this so-called "irrational fear"-- I braved myself and shared the same room with Mr.Cockroach that night.

Woke up the next morning, no sign of it. Very good. Didn't really give it much thought after that, thinking that perhaps God answered my prayer and it probably found its way out of my room to somewhere else. Hurrah!! =P

Went online at night and caught up with some peeps on MSN. It's nice to hear from some familiar people again. (Thanks, Sean, for saying 'something'. *wink*) Interestingly, we were talking "deep" stuff, i'd say... spiritual stuff leh...haha. Suddenly, I felt something tickled across my feet... I looked down and I saw THE cockroach scurrying about underneath my chair!! (Sean, you know the rest of the story..haha) (That's me on the left, turning blue after that tingling feeling at my feet. just kidding!)
EeWW.. I stood up, surprisingly, I didn't overreact but I told myself that I want to kill that thing with my barehands (well, maybe not literally.. with a paper, at least!!) this time. I scrambled around the room looking for an old magazine or newspaper. I picked up the my sister's Cleo Magazine (sorry jie... :P) and I chased after it and gave it a few good whacks but it escaped to the back of the sofa bed again! Taking a deep breath, I pushed the sofa bed away from the wall, the little thing scurried out of the sofa and ran towards my brother's room. Argh, I thought if smacking it to death is not gonna work, Baygon Spray's gotta come to the rescue!! Muahaha..Though I didn't like the very idea, there was no other way, though! I just bathed the cockroach with a fine spray of the poison. Alas! The poor thing eccentrically exhibited a Brownian motion of sorts before falling on its back, only to give up, unable to withstand the torturing stings of the spray. All was over in minutes. Picked up the creature with LAYERS of toilet roll, and I proudly flushed it down the toilet bowl..Nyahaha!! I just overcame one of the biggest fears of my life!I JUST KILLED A COCKROACH!!

That "cockroach drama" actually made me ponder upon the word "fear". The passage about David facing Goliath in 1 Samuel 17 crossed my mind...

David did not listen to the lies of the enemy. He saw Goliath for what he was: a perverter of truth. The lies of the enemy results in hopelessness in our hearts and accusations against God and others. The enemy’s lies are intended to impress us, to gain a foothold in our thought patterns, and to strike fear in our hearts. In 1 Samuel 17:44, Goliath said, “Come to me and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and beasts of the field.” Ain't that a lie or what?? David responded to Goliath by speaking truth to him: “You come to me with a sword and a spear and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, whom you have defied.”

Someone once said that 90 percent of the things we fear never happen. A further 9 percent we often make happen ourselves. For instance, a person who has a deep fear of failure, may get himself so anxious about failing, he will make himself fail.
Our "Goliaths" may actually be just as big as a cockroach and we could have easily defeat it with just an effortless whack but it's interesting how man can exaggerate the truth and cling on to lies of fear and defeat so easily, no?? We shouldn't be defiled by the schemes of the enemy implanting lies into our minds but we should learn from the example of David. Let's face our "little cockroach Goliaths" with great boldness, for God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline, yeah?? (2 Timothy 1:7)

“Courage isn’t the absence of fear. Courage is being afraid and still doing what you know needs to be done anyway.”

So Papa (note the pun.. hehe.. I mean both of you. *wink*) I killed a cockroach, perhaps I can face other obstacles of the world now, you think?? =P

PS: I was contemplating whether to take a photo of that dead cockroach to celebrate my victory and post it up here but I thought it'll be a little too disgusting for some of us to bear. Hmm...maybe I should put up a photo of a CAT for Amelia instead, hopefully that'll encourage her to overcome her fear for cats. hahaha.. kidding!

Just hangin'...

Spent most of my time watching Taiwanese dramas (just because my mum watches 'em. My favourite past-time with her. hehe..). I think my hokkien is improving bit by bit.

In the meantime, the job hunting saga continues!! Been keeping busy writing up cover letters to some firms in Kuala Lumpur. Hopefully something comes up really soon... before I get "disowned" for living off my dad's $$$ for so long.. wahahaha...
I'm actually quite excited about this new phase of life that I am stepping into. Fingers crossed and keep me in prayer, yeah? I'll update, so watch this blog :)

Also, my boxes have finally arrived at my doorstep today. Time to clear up those boxes...till then..

Work-in-progress...