KTM And Lepak

I had to go to Mid Valley after work the other day to catch a movie with The Beau. Unfortunately, it rained heavily at around 4pm and for sure the roads would be jammed after work. Usually I would take the LRT to KL Central and then take a cab to Mid Valley from there. The rain turned into drizzle at 5pm and I quickly rushed to the LRT station.

While I was in the train, I kept thinking about whether I should take the cab or take the KTM, since according to experience, there wouldn't be many taxis waiting whenever it rains and the queue would be long. But the thought of having to take the KTM made me uncomfortable.

When I reached KL Central, I had to go and have a look at the taxi waiting area and as what I predicted, not enough taxis and a long queue. That left me with no choice but to go by the KTM since the movie would start at 6:30pm. I quickly got into the KTM station and then I realised that the train would arrive only after another half an hour, if it arrived at all.

KTM has a reputation of coming late, and it was just not so great when I was in a rush. In my mind, I was contemplating whether to wait for the KTM or the taxi. I decided to stay and hopefully the train would arrive in time. Luckily it did, and it came earlier than the expected time actually. But the amount of people were crazy, the whole train was packed.

When the train arrived at Mid Valley, there was this mother with one small kid who went out of the door and she had another daughter who was still inside the train. There were so many people that hardly anyone could move. The mother was standing right at the door where only one tiny bit of space were left for people to get down the train, blocking everybody's path, while she called the daughter to come out of the train.

Honestly I was a bit annoyed because I was rushing for time and she blocked my way completely. So I had to push them aside and let myself through. I didn't know what happened to the daughter, whether she was trapped in the sea of humans or she managed to escape. It is time for her to learn that in this world, you either fight for your way or be pushed by other people. It's a dog eat dog world out there.

When I got out of the station and walking towards Mid Valley through the connecting bridge, I saw a lot of people loitering around the place, standing there smoking, talking to friends or doing nothing. Seriously, these people could just linger aimlessly, not going into the mall, not catching the KTM, just stood there idly. I really didn't know what was going through their minds as they did that. And the girls, why would they want to date a person who just stand there and do nothing? What is the attraction of such person? Is that cool? Does that give you enlightenment? I swear sometimes I'm tempted to ask them myself.

So finally I reached Mid Valley, still in time for the movie. But yeah, I would avoid the KTM at all cost if I had a choice. But going to shopping malls after work will be much lesser after The Beau leaves for his posting. Have to get myself familiar with the new routine then.

Me? Bummed? No Way.

I am still super bummed with the fact that The Beau is going to work at a place other than KL. Not so much about the place itself, I mean, seriously, who doesn't like Miri? I love Miri, everybody from Miri loves Miri, and I really don't understand why people think it's such a bad thing to stay there. If I had to retire locally (not talking about abroad), I would definitely choose Miri. Peace and quiet, and friendly people, not to mention my favourite food in the whole world, the Sarawak Kolok Mee.

Anyway, another round of long distance relationship, which is like the 3rd time now, not to mention in the same relationship. Not that I'm worried about him hooking up with six-packed native boys, it's just that how am I going to go around places without him driving me? Okay, that's a joke. Of course distance is not so good, but if Beijing worked out fine, this is nothing at all. If anything, him not being here gives me the chance to meet new people.

Me: I'm totally so bored right now. I know! I shall meet more new people. Let me just call up this totally hot and rich guy who is still single and hang out with him. It'll be Starbucks and movie and dinner at posh restaurant and some after dinner chit chat at his mansion. That's all. Maybe a swim in the pool as well.

But no, unfortunately I don't have the qualities required to attract hot and rich guys. So I'll just stick to whatever I have right now and hopefully in the future, he would turn out to be one of those, preferably rich than hot, because when you're rich, you can look hot. Talking about hot, I heard that Ryan Reynolds is totally hot in the new movie The Proposal.

So, yeah, I really need new games to fill my time, like The Sims 3 which is totally so amazing. The only problem is my old junk probably is not a good platform to play the game. Therefore I have this idea of buying a new one so that I can play the game. iMac? Mac Book? Mac Mini? A little bit overpriced but I'm in the mood to try some fruit products. Any suggestions? But I won't be buying until the new OS Snow Leopard comes out probably in September.

Peony Pavilion

The Beau and I were in a car one night and we were back from outing, probably from a shopping mall like we usually did. The car was parked in front of the gate, to a house which looked exactly like Alex's. There was another car which was parked on the road side next to ours and there were people sitting in it.

Suddenly, a naked man appeared outside of the driver's seat. The Beau opened the door and started to get intimate with the guy. I was startled, and I noticed that the people in the other car were watching. I got anxious and a little bit embarrassed. I wanted him to stop but there wasn't any words coming out.

The Beau somehow noticed my expressions and he said, "Why not?" I probably gave out a 'tsk', but I wasn't very sure. He then pulled me out of the car and into the house, with the naked man tagging along as well. Who is he? That question already hit me when he first appeared. Deep down inside, I felt a sense of uncertainty and betrayal, but it hadn't surfaced and blown out yet.

The Beau dragged me all the way, while I unwillingly shuffled behind, into the bedroom. He started to make out with the naked man, while I lay on the bed, just beside them, with my knees close to my chest, as I felt a little bit cold, and a little bit frustrated.

Suddenly, the room door opened, and The Beau's mom came in, except that the mom's face was actually the same as my classmate's mom. She had a cane in her hand. She was furious to see what was happening and she was waving the cane fiercely. She said a lot of things but I could only remember 'why do you want to do this?'. I couldn't remember if The Beau said anything, but soon the mom left.

My mind wandered for a while and when I snapped out of it, I was alone, The Beau and the naked man were gone. I felt a little bit sad. Suddenly, this thought came to me: How much can I trust a person when he said he was loyal to me? I couldn't figure out the answer. My heart sank a little, and tears started rolling when I sobbed a little. It didn't feel like devastating but rather than like an epiphany, the sudden realisation of how foolish you've been when you woke up one day and suddenly got over your ex-lover.

That was when I woke up, in the middle of the night. And strangely, that last question was still lingering in my mind and whenever I thought about it my heart would sink a little. That was a strange dream, with feelings I haven't experienced before when I was dreaming. All of the things happened were somehow reflecting my fears in real life. That's why it felt real.

It showed me my fears, but it didn't show me what should I do.

The Great Depression

I heard a very terrible rumour today from a colleague who secretly talked with another manager colleague. The company appraisal this year, it's not for bonuses and increments, but rather the opposite. The appraisal will tell how good your performance was for the pass year and then the company will decide on whether to cut your pay or not.

Yeah, that's true, times are really bad now. It is said that companies in China are working 3 days a week, some even 2 days. Before you get too excited, 3 days mean 40% pay cut and 2 days mean 60%! How is one going to survive with only 40% of what you normally earn?! Not even enough money to eat a decent meal! I'm sure they're desperately looking for other opportunities.

So, about the latest rumour, my colleague heard that the company will implement a 4-day week, which means a 10% cut! Nooooo!!... I need my money! Don't take away my money! What am I going to do without money?! But there's still hope. If the appraisal is good then I might be spared from the cut. What a scary thought! I have no idea if the appraisal would be good or not because the boss might totally be biased and not according to real performances.

All of a sudden, it seems that the industry that I'm working in is not that recession-proof. So which ones are? Medical mostly is, education, public transportation, utilities (power and water), gambling businesses and of course government services. It is at such times that people will wish that they were in these industries.

I hope the rumour is not really true. The idea of working 4 days a week is really very tempting but I would rather work than take the 10% pay cut. Times are really bad nowadays. And as Charles Dickens put it, it's the best of times, it's the worst of times. May everyone stays afloat.

Face Off

You know when people say about how couples would grow to look like each other? I'm starting to get that, not really lately, but certainly from more and more people. I don't know if that's supposed to be a compliment, but I guess it's just something people feel about, without any malicious intensions, even though I prefer them to say I look more like Daniel Wu or Chace Crawford.

It could be biased if somebody who has been seeing us told me that. But from a person who had never seen The Beau before? That's quite freaky. So, housemate's mom is here at the moment relaxing and helping us with house chores (which I totally appreciate). She was at home all by herself the other day while me and the housemate were working. Little did she know that some strangers would pay her a visit.

So she was at home, watching TV when suddenly she heard something that sounded like somebody was opening the gate. She thought she heard wrong, but soon knew she was wrong when the person outside proceeded to unlock the house door. She quickly went up to the door and opened it. Much to her surprise (I'm sure it was a big one), she saw a man with two pretty ladies standing at the door.

She asked the man immediately, "Who are you?" And probably after looking more carefully to the face of the man, she asked if he was my brother, since he happened to have the house keys. Turns out that man was The Beau with his friends, decided to relax at my place for a while after he left work super early. He totally forgot about my housemate's mom's presence as well. That's why he didn't bother to knock on the door. And he dared to answer yes to the "are you his brother" question!

As the whole thing happened to fast and confusing, housemate's mom had to let them in, not to mention that The Beau basically barged into the house before she could do anything. That evening when I got home, she asked me whether he is indeed my brother or not. I told her that he's a friend and she looked surprised. "But you two look alike!" she said, "Really!"

I don't know if we really look that alike or not, but I'm beginning to suspect it's true. I think it's because my face is turning rounder and rounder, so I need to do something to make my face thin again. When that happens, we'll see if there'll be anyone saying me and The Beau look alike again.