Sometimes

Sometimes it gets a bit overwhelming. Sometimes, when you get up in the morning and the first thing you think about is, "Shit. It's only Monday." Then you pull yourself out of bed and you get to work and then it's lunchtime. Then you think, "Shit. 4.5 days to go." And then you get through the day and you get home. And it's still, "Sigh. It's not even Tuesday yet."

Sometimes it's, "Shit. There's officially less than 2 weeks until I leave for 5 weeks to the middle of the Borneo rainforest with no contact to the outside world."

At this stage, I still have a list of things that I could do in the next few weeks that I have to put on hold for at least 2.5 months because of Sabah and Puasa and Raya, and it just seems like forever. And for some reason I feel like I'm so scared of missing out on doing things that I may regret not doing that I have to do them. I have to.

It's 12.39 a.m., 15 July 2008, and it's officially less than 2 weeks until I leave to the Borneo rainforest.

Let it be

The reason The Beatles were so popular was probably because their lyrics made so much sense to everyone. They still do. To me, anyway.

It's all getting way too real. Less than 3 weeks from now, I'll be in the middle of a rainforest in the humid Borneo doing god knows what with no electricity, no plumbing, and barely anything on me. The handbook suggests that we bring a notebook in which to write a journal and I thought about how I've been writing in this thing and what it meant to me.

True, it's just another blog where my entries totally depend on my availability and my mood. Then again, it's a place to store my thoughts and keep track of my life to see how far I've come. It's amazing exactly how much has happened in the short span of 6 months 1 week. Come to think of it, a lot more will happen in the short span of 5 weeks.

Let's recap:

1. I found someone to care about.
2. I lost someone I cared about so much for the very stupid reason of me not realising how little I meant to him.

And really, in the light of everything else, these two things were the things that really mattered the most for the year. I'm still waiting for my answer, though.

And when the broken hearted people living in the world agree, there will be an answer, let it be. For though they may be parted there is still a chance that they will see, there will be an answer. Let it be.

No Laughing Matter

I bet my silence lately has been remarkable in view of what's been going on. I couldn't hold it in any longer. Today, I stumbled upon this lovely article: From The Star: More wheel power:

RESIDENTS of USJ and Subang Jaya took their crime prevention initiatives a step further by presenting two Kembara vehicles and four Modenas motorcycles to the police force recently.

Witnessing the handover were Deputy Internal Security Ministers Datuk Fu Ah Kiow and Datuk Mohd Johari Baharum.

USJ resident Patrick Tan raised the issue of a pay rise for the police and which the government had turned down.

“Why isn’t the police pay being reviewed in return for their services in providing higher security?” he asked.

His sentiments were echoed by Moaz Yusuf Ahmad from SS12 Subang Jaya. “We want better service from the police, yet they are not getting enough pay for it.

“Everyone, not just the police, will work harder if they receive better salaries,” said the Taylor’s College lecturer.

Mohd Johari, responding to the issue of police pay, said the salary cannot simply be raised as the country’s economy should be taken into consideration.

I wonder what they were thinking when they "simply" reduced everyone's salary without taking the country's economy into consideration.

Customer Service Review: Room Service Deliveries

Business: Delivering food from restaurants
Location: No. A-3-1, Jalan Sri Hartamas, 50480 Kuala Lumpur
Website: http://www.roomservicedeliveries.com

The Situation:

On May 1, 2008, Room Service Deliveries released a new menu with updated menus from existing and new restaurants. I began to ask them for menus before May 1, when they promised they would send me the new menu the second it came out.

Come May, nothing was in my mailbox. I called them to ask them for it when I ordered food. They told me the butler would bring it. Did he? Nope.

A while later, I tried to order from them but their website was outdated, so I got frustrated and just asked for a menu. Did it come? Nope.

On Monday, May 16, 2008, I received an SMS from Room Service Deliveries telling me that I had received a new menu with coupons. Was there anything in my mailbox? Nope. So I called them again, and a nice lady named Ati told me I'd receive it at the latest by Wednesday.

Today, Thursday, I came home thinking I could chill and order room service. Could I? Nope. Because there was no goddamn menu in my mailbox. I thusly proceeded to call Room Service Deliveries and tell the manager in no uncertain terms that I, a customer, had repeatedly asked for a menu, which their business depended on, and I had not received it.

He sent me a menu within half an hour while I was in the shower. Just one. Apparently when I said, "Send me five so that if I lose one, I'll never have to ask for one again", he thought I was kidding. I wasn't.

I forayed down to the mailroom and pilfered the two copies that my neighbor got. Two. My neighbor. Right next door. Got two. I got none after asking for like 5x.

Plus points:

• Them peeps are always polite.

Minus points:

• Them peeps are also always stupid, and 1 unit of stupid = 100 units of polite, so they lose.

The Verdict:

I wouldn't depend on Room Service Deliveries as your only source of food. You'd probably starve before they got it to you, while your neighbor gets 4 free meals.

Back to Civilisation

So here's the sitch: This technology-addicted clean-toilet-loving drive-everywhere-preferred purebred city girl has officially gone hardcore camping and survived, with these people.

What do I mean by hardcore camping? I mean sleep on the ground, no tents provided, no basic toilet facilities other than a hole in the ground and a little shovel, army rations for food, and no soap because it's non-biodegradable (said the people who lit a bonfire for decorative purposes in Malaysia).

And yes, I survived it. Now, whenever people say that I am one of those people who can do these things, I can say, "Yes, that's right. I can do these things." Now, my backup plan of becoming a divemaster and living the simple life is truly possible. At least for 3 days 2 nights, anyway.

So begins the introduction of myself to "roughing it".