SLOW DANCING IN THE DARK - Cover by Sion Jung (Joji)

Brilliant! I'm currently obsessed with this cover by a Korean-German dude. On repeat while I'm working my butt off my MBA assignments.

CMCO resumes until 20 Dec? WFH or Work from HOTEL?!

Stressed from working from home aka your bedroom? Grab the Work-From-Hotel Deals in Ipoh! New experience and worth the money!

Other Work-From-Hotel deals in Ipoh: 1. Travelodge Ipoh - RM22 (no lunch) 2. Mu Hotel - RM25 (no lunch) 3. Symphony Suites - RM32 4. Casuarina Meru - RM35

This too, shall pass..

I came back to this sanctuary of mine with mixed feelings. I've always wanted this blog to be a cheerful & silly space, a bed of roses, a breath of fresh air, a medium of escapism, a place where anyone (or myself at least) to drop by when the days are bad. I've tried so hard to arrange my words over and over in advance, way in advance it took me weeks, months, and almost a year, yet I can't seem to narrate even a simple beautiful sentence, when my heart is so much in aching, hurting, and I'm still on a long journey to heal. But how do you really move on from a betrayal of a friend? To be Sabr (patience) and Redha (to accept whole-heartedly) is still a struggle for me. But life experiences, bad things happen, Don’t Let It Stop You From Living! I am far too precious & important for this world. And there are lots of people who needs me and values me, be it a stranger just passing by. Allah has a BIG BIG plan for me. Still a long way to go, but I'm heading there, to a peaceful and contented state of mind. I'm on my way. May Allah Ease.

Morning at Lake Wakatipu, New Zealand. 2017.

Japan Life : Sending Food to Japan by post

Hello, I'm back! Just a quick post. My colleagues are moving to Japan soon, so I've prepared this simple list for them and I'm sharing it here too. I know it's not the most comprehensive or perfect list, but I hope it can benefit any one of you who stumble of this blog as well :)

 

Sending Food to Japan by post?
When it comes to sending food items abroad via courier, the rules are relatively simple: You cannot send any food items that are classed as perishables (things that can go off or that can spoil during transit). This is the most important rule of all, and as long as you stick to this rule, you will be just fine.

 What Store Bought Food Can be shipped?
 1. Foods must be in the original manufacturers packaging.
 2. Food packaging must be sealed and not tampered with in any way.
 3. Food label must list all ingredients.
 4. Foods must have a shelf life of longer than 6 months from the date of shipping.
 5. All foods that have a shelf life of less than 6 months will be classed as perishables, and cannot be sent via courier, even if store bought.

 How to Ship Food Items
 1. Don’t send food items that must be kept in a temperature controlled environment in transit (refrigerated, frozen or chilled) as they will spoil by the time they reach their destination.
2. Don’t expect your food parcel to be kept ‘this way up’ during transit.
3. Don’t send foods that are restricted for import into the destination country.
4. Always ensure your food items have a label clearly displaying all the ingredients and the ‘use by date’ because customs authorities may check these upon import.
5. Always package your food items so that they can withstand the parcel being placed upside down during transit, and always wrap individual items separately inside your parcel for optimum protection.
6. Always check the import restrictions in the country you are shipping to, to avoid sending foods that are prohibited at the destination.

My notes (based on my past experiences)

1. Basically, ALL TYPE OF DRY food is OK to post @ courier to Japan.
2. Kicap/Sos/Jem : better choose the plastic bottle type. It’s quite risky to post those is glass bottle but if you wrap them properly with bubble sheet it should be OK.
3. Hazardous item, flammable – NOT OK
4. Some cases of posting MILO drink is NOT OK. Confiscated by Custom Japan, I'm not sure why.
5. Medicine from Malaysia – Panadol, balm, cough syrup, etc is OK for personal use. (From my personal experience, please bring some with you because Japan Hospital medicine is generally mild compared to Malaysia dosage)

6. Homemade biscuits, cakes, kerepek, etc – Pack them properly in container & seal them. If you put label it will be better too.
7. List out clearly what you put inside each boxes in the post office declaration form.

8. Different country, different rules. Check with your local post office too.
9. More useful forum website:

 https://www.japan-guide.com/forum/quedisplay.html 

How to respond to negative people? Hit em' up style!

Are you happy?

This question keeps hanging on my mind lately. And honestly, I couldn't answer it firmly. Am I happy? Well, I used to be easily contented and happy with whatever God has given to me. I'm not that ambitious, having said that I will do my best come rain or shine and I'll work my butt off when it comes to my work. But if the end result is not on my side, I'm still contented. Of course, I'll be sad for a while, but I won't dwell too much on it. God has other plans for me, indeed :).

Lately, I found myself sulking for the smallest things. Always stressing, overthinking, and always negative. To be fair, I received unfair treatment and was taken for granted by my managers all the time. The reason is I cannot, and will not 'kipas their axx', ever. Work was hectic as hell but my motivation level is ZERO. Lately, I feel everything is against me.

Mr. Stranger pointed this over and over to me "You give people the power to control your emotion, that's why you are always emotional". "I am NOT, you Mr. Smarty axx. They are mean to me!" Of course that would be my answer to him, always. But he's starting to see as if I'm using him as a punching bag, always having to deal with my mood. Which makes me so sad because I never meant to do that. I was hoping that he would sympathize with my situation but that's just not his thing. "You are a strong independent woman, you shouldn't ask for people to make you feel better." Ouch, that hurts.

The truth is, you can't really change how people want to treat you. Especially in an organization where office politics is harsh, and people always see you as a threat to them to get that job promotion, leading projects, etc. Some people are just plain ARSHOLE, JEALOUS, and CRUEL. How the hell are you going to change that? But what you can definitely do is change how you react to their negative treatment. Personally, I would avoid conflict as much as possible, I can't deal with drama. But I guess I can't keep running away from it. I took these "10-Ways" from a website called Power of Positivity. 

The next time people are being mean, shall we try it?

1. Don’t take things personally - don't lose your cool @ and don't let them win.
2. Do not rationalize their behavior -just think that they are stupid.
3. Let them hear you - once in a while, give them a piece of your mind. They'll shut up.
4. Be compassionate - err, no thanks. They are stupid. and jealous. 
5. Separate yourself if needed - walkaway, always my 1st choice
6. Smile - how about, a nasty sarcastic smile?
7. Be mature - give an intellectual answer. make them go gaga.
8. Do not judge or assume - be neutral? hahaha..we'll see.
9. Set positive boundaries - control what you can control
10. Maintain a realistic POV - As such, in the event that a negative person is trespassing and violating your positive frame of mind, it may be necessary to end ties. Love this!

Like Mr. Stranger always said to me, be very good at your job that people cannot live without you. But they must pay an equal price for what they asked for. Know when you should 'jual mahal' and they'll learn to beg instead of commanding. Haish...I have yet to learn this skill.

To my beautiful stranger

So it's that phase again,

Where nights feels too short,

And days seems too long.

But this time it feels different,
This time is an exception,
For you are too precious,
Peculiar and bodacious.

Thank you for choosing to stick around,
Though you couldn't promise for how long,
So when it's time for our goodbye,
Let there be no regret, but only smile.
 
To my beautiful stranger;
That awakens my shielded emotion,
That captures my wounded heart,

Lets celebrate this union.
Lets celebrate us,
Before we return back this borrowed moments.

(27/03/18 - from FS to FK)            

...and before I knew it, it ended..THE END.

Let's focus on bigger things!

I saw my Facebook reminder of my wonderful trip to Jeju Island last year, distracting me from my rough day abit. Got me thinking wow, there's so many wonderful, meaningful, exciting things in my bucket list that I've yet to complete! My travel journey has been dull lately. I went to Kyoto last month 100% for work-only purpose. So I'm going to Tokyo in Nov as a revenge for all the hardships that I've faced for the Kyoto business trip (I don't know who am I avenging actually). >"< Can't believe I've been to only 6% of the entire countries in the world so far! I thought I've travelled a lot, but I guess that's because I keep travelling to the same country over and over. Hahaha..Swiss and Italy has always been in my mind, and recently Morocco and Canada caught my interest too. But those countries are so far!! Huhuhu..I wish money grows on trees. And bosses have no rights to reject our annual leave application. That'll be good too. Let's plan! Or lets' dream!