Saturday, March 20, 2010

Putrajaya Hot Air Balloon Fiesta - A MUST GO!


20th March 2010 - My first day of Fest

Weeee..!!
The Putrajaya Hot Air Balloon Festival was so-the-awesome!


Except for the very hot weather and the fact that only 2 hot air balloons that they exhibited this year, the rest was A-OK!

Just for information, the location of the fiesta is at Precint 2, Putrajaya. You can't miss it if you follow the Precint 2 signboard, and it's just after the beautiful bridge.

The fee for the hot air balloon ride is RM10 for a few minutes ride, and according to the Pak RELA/Pak Guard who guarded the line, people had been lining up as early as 6:00 am to get the tickets and actually for the first day, they wanted to release only 300 tickets, but due to the response, they released another 200.I did NOT get the chance to get on it! But I'll be coming back there tomorrow with another friend. So hopefully I get the tickets to go UP tomorrow!

Aside from the hot air balloon ride, you can also ride on sphere balls (on land and on water), go-kart, mini bikes and bicycles. There are also many, many stalls opened ala flea markets and there is also a section for exhibition from organisations such as the Malaysian Aviation, MERCY, etc.

You can also ride on the helicopter, but mind you, the fee is RM120 per person :)

Things to note:
1) Put on loads of SPF ok? It's DAMN HOT!
2) Sunglasses/Caps/Hats
3) Drinking water (but they are also selling lots of them there,so no worries)
4) Watch your kids. It can be a chaos there.
5) CAMERA IS A MUST!

I came with my nephews who are avid fan of photography (that's the whole point of bringing them there) and they enjoyed the day.I left the scene sweaty and smelly.Urgh, but it was well worth it :)

21st March 2010 - My second day of Fest

Geez, I've gotten dark again! Even with the sunscreen all over.Haiyoh.
Today I started off to the fest a wee bit earlier than yesterday.Reached there at around 8.30 am ('cos I wanted to buy the balloon tickets).And I was glad that I came again today because there were MORE BALLOONS TODAY! Was excited already. Since Lene was not there yet, I went straight to the counter (where the long queues are) and again to my disappointment, the tickets had already sold out for the morning session.It was just 8.30 am, man! Anyhoo,in the end, we decided not to go on the balloon anymore because we wouldn't be sure what time we would actually get on the balloon.

The extras that they had today was that they had paragliders gliding around the skies, more hot-air balloons, more food stalls and being the last day of the fest, more people! The weather was not as hot as yesterday, in fact it was most of the time breezy.Heaven~

Lene and I started the day with sandwiches from Dessert's Bar (2 thumbs up) - a healthy chicken mayo sandwich, and drinks from Kelantan Delights.Most of the other food stalls were not opened at the time. Next, we roamed around the already-packed areas watching people getting on the hot-air balloons, playing sphere balls, taking photos and strolling around the food and merchandise stalls.We bought ourselves a make-up bag each.Haha.I nearly gave myself a face painting okay? The deal was pretty good I reckon, RM5 for a pic anywhere on your body, RM10 for half-face, RM15 for whole face.However, since I wasn't going anywhere else after the event, the face paint would be useless then.

After a good half day of strolling around, we took a breather eating ice-creams (extremely HOT day, did I mention?) and went back.

I was glad I came to the event, lots of interesting things/happenings, lovely people and I think I've lost a few calories just by sweating :P Will make another comeback next year :)





Thursday, March 18, 2010

The Crippled Butterfly (excerpt from the storyteller's blog)


Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If nature allowed us to go through our life without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as what we could have been.

And we could never fly.

Certainly, we all need a helping hand at one point or another in our lives. And the strong must always be mindful of the weak.

But I believe the better way would be to lead by example and teach people how to struggle; not deprive them of it.

Monday, March 15, 2010

Dear Boss, I want a ...

The Secret to Having Happy Employees


by Jay Goltz
Thursday, March 11, 2010
provided by
The New York Times
About 10 years ago I was having my annual holiday party, and my niece had come with her newly minted M.B.A. boyfriend. As he looked around the room, he noted that my employees seemed happy. I told him that I thought they were.
Then, figuring I would take his new degree for a test drive, I asked him how he thought I did that. "I'm sure you treat them well," he replied.
"That's half of it," I said. "Do you know what the other half is?"

He didn't have the answer, and neither have the many other people that I have told this story. So what is the answer? I fired the unhappy people. People usually laugh at this point. I wish I were kidding.
I'm not. I have learned the long, hard and frustrating way that as a manager you cannot make everyone happy. You can try, you can listen, you can solve some problems, you can try some more. Good management requires training, counseling and patience, but there comes a point when you are robbing the business of precious time and energy.
Don't get me wrong. This doesn't happen a lot. There's no joy in the act of firing someone. And it's not always the employee's fault — there are many bad bosses out there. Bad management can make a good employee dysfunctional. On the other hand, good management will not always make a dysfunctional employee good. And sometimes people who would be great employees somewhere else just don't fit your company, whether it is the type of business or the company culture.

In the worst cases, the problem of a bad fit can have a bigger impact than just one employee's performance. Being in charge does not necessarily mean you are in control, and being in control does not necessarily mean being in charge. Have you ever seen a company or department paralyzed by someone who is unhappy and wants to take hostages? It is remarkable how much damage one person can do. If you haven't seen it, I suggest you watch "The Caine Mutiny." Basically, one guy takes apart the ship. He was unhappy. It only takes one.
This is only my opinion. I don't have a Ph.D., an M.B.A., or even an economics degree. What I do have is a happy company. And that makes me happy. Now I know some people argue that business is about making money, and not everyone has to be happy. That is also an opinion. Everyone has a right to his or her opinion. When you own a company, you also have the right to surround yourself with the people you choose.
I have spent the last year and a half focusing on cutting costs, figuring out how the market has changed, and worrying about the economy. Things seem to be getting better, or perhaps I am just getting used to it.
Either way, I had a good day today. Not because I got a big order, great financial reports or even an employee stopping by to tell me what an awesome boss I am. (That generally doesn't happen. You have to tell yourself. It's a boss thing.) I had a great day because I spent most of it walking around the company and appreciating the fact that even after a year and a half of soft sales and cutbacks and furloughs, I have wonderful people working for me. They care. They are committed. They understand the whole customer–staff–company triangle, where all of the legs support each other.
If you read books on great companies, they usually leave out a dirty little secret. It doesn't make for good public relations — like talking about how you "empower people" or how your "greatest assets" are your people. Both of these well–worn clichés are true. What is also true is that it's hard to build a great company with the wrong people.
When you have the right people, business is much easier. I know because I have tried it both ways.
Jay Goltz owns five small businesses in Chicago.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

You make me smile

I just had to post this video. Watched it for umpteenth time and still have not had enough. Freaking hilarious!






And also watch this from Shakira, 'Give it up to me'. Heard it on the radio this morning and it was playing in my head the whole day. I know she's hot (watch the moves.Google the live performances as well). And the message is good though :


Nothing too big or small
Anything you want you can make it yours
Anything you want in the world






And finally, a piece of Uncle Krakers 'Smile' . . .

You make me smile like the sun
Fall out of bed sing like bird
Dizzy in my head spin like a record
Crazy on a Sunday night
You make me dance like a fool
Forget how to breathe
Shine like gold buzz like a bee
Just the thought of you can drive me wild
Ohh you make me smile

WOOHOO! TGIF!

Saturday, March 6, 2010

28 years, and moving on

"We know we're getting old when the only thing we want for our birthday is not to be reminded of it." - Anonymous


I just turned 28 yesterday :) Frankly, I do not know whether to be happy or sad over the number *h
eeee*



Thanks baby brother!

Actually, we took a few takes to make this a perfect video. Here are some of the takes. Enjoy!

(sorry weirool i just had to! u're TALENTED! :) )







p.s : sorry couldn't rotate the video. should've taken it horizontally instead :P

THANK YOU LOADS AND I LOVE MY FAMILY SO SO MUCH!

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Kuching (March) : Day 1 - Requests and Souvenirs

Reached Kuching at about 1010 hrs. Lunch was Mi Ayam Satok (yums!) and after noon, I went to the Bazaar to get some things requested by my colleagues.

I got myself a woven bangle and a woven pencil case (of all things).Haha! Anticipating the days with MORE plans for this holiday.Woot!


Woven bracelet : MYR9.90 : Woven pencil case : MYR1.50 (each)