No, I’m not actually in jail, but it sure feels like I am. When I was young, I always envisioned marriages to be happy and fulfilling. I always dreamed that having a family of my own would be blissful and filled with joy. I am not naive to think that it would always be happy and peaceful. I know that in marriages and family life, arguments and conflicts do happen, but I have never envisioned marriage to be like a prison. If I had known that it would be like this for me, I would have chosen to be single for the rest of my life. My single friends lives seems to be so ideal to me right now. Even my married friends with no kids seems like an ideal life for me right now. This has nothing to do with my husband. This has everything to do with my in-laws. And yes, they have striked again. I mean, my father in law and brother in law are not even really talking to me now, since I started work in MPH, and that was almost 6 months ago.

You see, I arranged for a short trip with a colleague to Melaka. I left on Friday afternoon and came back this afternoon. Two months before this, I had already told hubby that I would like to arrange a short trip with my said colleague, and he was OK with it. However, even during arranging the trip with her, I know when my in laws find out about it, they won’t be happy. But I’ll be d**ned if I live my life for them and according to “their” expectations. My hubby knew the person he married to, and if my in laws hoped to have ‘this’ daughter in law to live her life according to their “ways of thinking”, they will be sorely disappointed. My hubby was “told” to tell me that I am NEVER to go for any trip with my friends on my own ever again. I was like, “What the hell?” But I didn’t argue with him. I know it is not his fault, and I am not angry at him.

Feeling like I am in prison in this marriage is not the first time. This is not the first time my in laws tells me I can’t do this, and I can’t do that, I must do this and I must not do that….the list goes on. Even on occasions I go for a movie with a friend, I was made to feel guilty about it. They didn’t have to say it right in front of my face. I knew they are thinking, “Why go out with friends when you should be home with your son?” As if I am not home with Joshua all the time when I’m off.

Is it really so wrong for me to take a short holiday with a friend? How often have you actually seen me doing that? Wait a minute! I never did that before! They told my hubby that I was very inconsiderate, leaving Joshua alone with him to take care. Throughout the 1 year since Joshua was born, I have been home with him, I come back to him every night to be with him, I am with him during the weekends. I am never away from him at all since he was born, except for those occasional nights that he spent with my in laws and my parents. And even then, I was with him before I go home to sleep. My hubby goes to Melaka for work and usually spends a night there. When he finishes work around 5pm or 6pm, he gets to go out for dinner with his colleagues, and I know he managed to catch some movies that I missed due to taking care of Joshua when he’s away with his colleagues. That is throughout the 1 year since Joshua was born. And when I take a short holiday for 2 nights, they made such a big fuss over it. I know hubby is there for work, but hey, if they are ok with him being away due to work, I’m going to look for a job that requires me travelling! I’m not asking for much. I’m not asking to go for a holiday every month or anything. I just wanted a short trip with a friend, away from everything for a short while. IS THAT SO BLOODY MUCH TO ASK FOR????

I told my husband once that I don’t know how much longer of this I can take. I had more freedom when I was a kid. And my husband wants a second kid. I am really re-considering this. I mean, with ONE kid, they are like this. What’s more with another one. My life will really be like being in prison!! My future sister-in-law told me one night during dinner, “You better start having a second kid. Their over-protectiveness of Joshua is not healthy.” Well, I am in doubt about having a second kid now, but their over-protectiveness I can agree. They have been trying to get him to walk, and when he can walk, they said better not let him walk too much, or else his legs will become bow-legged. When he’s bitten by a mosquito, they kept on demanding us to put something for it. That was when my future sister-in-law said those words to me. She and I agreed that it was just a mosquito bite. Joshua wasn’t even bothered by it. He just continued playing and laughing away.

I might be sounding ungrateful and everything, but that’s not it. My life is defined by my in laws. I broke up with my ex-boyfriend because I know that when we do get married and when we do argue about his parents, I know he’ll be on his parents’ side, regardless if they are in the wrong or not. In the end, I married a man whose family is controlling how we live. No difference to the reason I broke up with Daniel for in the first place. The difference is, I didn’t see it coming with my husband. As much as I love my husband, I wish that sometimes he will just stand up to his family and defend me. All he told me today when I came back from my holiday was, “Do you know how much trouble you gave me by going for this trip? Mom has been nagging me everyday since you left to tell you that you are never to go for a holiday on your own again. Do you understand? How much do you understand?” That’s a direct quote from him. All I did was just take a 2 nights holiday, from 14 months since Joshua was born. And I know I’m not the only mother who do go for a holiday with friends and leaving the baby with the hubby for a while. My friend went for a week holiday with her colleagues, and everything was still fine and dandy with her. I guess there are pros and cons of having to depend on your in laws to take care of your child. People always tell me I’m very lucky to have someone in the family to take care of my child. I agree wholeheartedly, but if by doing so makes them feel that they can control how I live, I would rather find other alternatives.

So, tell me, what should I do? Some of you might think that I’m a very bad, ungrateful person. Well, maybe I am, but I don’t think wanting some time on my own is really that wrong. I love Joshua. I love hanging out with him, as he is supremely cute and makes me laugh. But I need my friends too. And if this keeps up, I won’t even have any friends anymore. And don’t bother coming up with, “If they are your friends, they would understand.” If I am their friend, I should at least make some time for them. Is that wrong???

We left Malaysia on the 12th September, a day after Joshua's birthday. Coincidentally, my family also decided to leave on that day. So we had booked the airline tickets way before the actual day. Since we wanted to save moolahs, we flew Air Asia, so we went to LCCT airport. And since we are saving moolahs, we have to transit at Macau. It seems further than KLIA. As usual, we were the first to arrive, my husband and I. Ahem! Hehe! And since we were early, we decided to have grab some food, hence we found ourselves in McDonalds. My brother in law gave us a lift there, so we ate while waiting for my family to arrive. In about half an hour or so, my family arrived, and they decided to have a bite of food too, and some of us went to check in our baggages. Thankfully, we managed to get tables and seats next to each other so we were not separated.

After everyone had eaten, everyone was anxious to fill up the departure card. Some of us were like, "What's the hurry? We have all the time in the plane to fill up the forms in peace!" So in the end, everyone decided to fill in the form later. After that we separated for a while. My cousin and her friend, Amy (who will be joining us for the trip), went to a duty free shop to walk around. My parents and other relatives went to the toilets. Then came the part I do not enjoy, and that is waiting to board the plane. And because Air Asia is free seating, lots of people rushed to the plane when we were allowed to board the plane. I started seeing the "kiasu-ness" of humans. Hehe!

Flight was all right. Nothing much happened except for the fact that one woman was caught smoking in the toilet on the plane. We were kinda surprised. I mean, doesn't she know that there is a sensor in the toilet to catch anyone smoking in the toilet? If it were me, I wouldn't want to endure the embarrassment of facing my fellow passengers. I am not sure how true it is, but my dad told me she was handcuffed for a while when she got down from the plane. I didn't see it. All I saw was a group of security people with her and her group of friends. We suspect they were from China.

Anyway, when my turn came for the customs to check my passport, the lady at the counter kept on looking at my passport and myself. (Oh, forgot to point out how careless I was! I found out my passport expired in March 2007 4 days before we're suppose to fly off to Hong Kong! Luckily, and thank God that we can get our passport on the same day!! I took Emergency Leave to do my passport!! Phew!!!) As I was saying, the lady kept on looking between myself and the passport until I got worried. Then she asked me if my birthday stated in my passport accurate. She thought I am younger than my age!! I was so relieved, and happy. Hehe! Who doesn't want to look younger than their age?

We met up with my relatives from Thailand once we left the departure hall.

We discussed how we were going to the port from the airport. Should we take the bus or the taxi? We heard the taxi will be very expensive so we decided to take the bus. It's no joke ok! Almost 13 of us with all our baggages hopping onto a small bus. You know, the bus that you see when u watch the Hong Kong serials. My mother and sister rushed to get the tickets for the ferry once we reached the port. It seems if you buy the tickets for certain timing, we don't have to pay the expensive tickets. Unfortunately for us, we were too late, so the tickets we bought were quite expensive. Sigh!

We reached Hong Kong at about 8.30pm. Almost everyone needed the toilet after the 1 hour ferry ride. I had the worse case of seasickness. I felt so terrible when we arrived initially. My husband went into the gents and came out with these pictures.

Little toilets for the little kids. We have it in Malaysia, but not as colourful. Aren't they cute?? We needed to few taxis to take all of us to the hotel. The taxis are exactly the same as the ones in the Hong Kong serials. It's cool!

My aunt and her husband met up with us at the hotel. They took a direct flight from Malaysia to Hong Kong. How lucky!! They gave us our room keys. That time it was almost 9pm.

We were told to go to our respective rooms, freshen up a bit, then meet up at the lobby for dinner. Yes, we haven't had dinner yet. We were starving!! My aunt and uncle who had been there earlier had walked around and they took us to this place for dinner.

Food wasn't bad. I had duck rice, which was average. I saw what my husband had and regretted not ordering the same dish.

Yum!!!! Everyone else also enjoyed their food.

After the late dinner, we discussed what were the plans for the next day. To our utmost dismay, we had to meet at the lobby the next morning at 7.30am! That means for some of us, we have to wake up really early to make it in time. After all, a hotel room only has 1 bathroom. We have to meet a tour group at 9am and we wanted to have breakfast first before starting the tour. And also have to cater for traveling time. We walked a lot for this trip and we used the MTR a lot as well.

So since we have to wake up real early the next day, my husband and I decided to rest early, so we went back to our room and rested, excited to start our holiday. And that's the end of day 1.

Joshua has turned "1" on the 11th September 2007. We had a party for him that evening at Subang SS15's McDonalds. We invited all his cousins and aunties and uncles. A small place has never been so packed with people! Haha!

Friends and families slowly arrive. One of my uncle surprised me very much by coming on time. He's one of the people who are usually very late when it comes to gathering. That's why I told him the party is starts half an hour before the actual time. Who knew that he would come on the dot? Sigh! Then he started complaining that he has to wait and asked me why I told him so early. Grrr....hehe!

When we arrived, the person in charge gave Joshua a party hat. Looked huge on him.

My parents gave him a gold pendant. Very nice and very valuable. Darn scary to hold it, OK? I'm so worried that I'll lose it and then lose soooo much money! Pressure pressure!!! As you can see, he loves playing with his presents.

My manager from MPH also came for his b'day party and he brought his cute little daughter along. Whenever I see her (Kimberley), all I want to do is just pinch her cheeks!

Isn't she adorable?

My 2 colleagues from MPH.

My sister and her friend, who happens to be my colleague from MPH as well. Small world huh? There is a story behind it, but won't elaborate it here.

My aunt and her two children, Hui Yen & Hui Yee.

Unfortunately, throughout most of the time, Joshua was very cranky. I guess he is not used to so many people surrounding him, going "Hi Joshua! Happy birthday!" So we had a crying and moody birthday boy.

Joshua with his grandmother.

Joshua with daddy. Notice his tears? He was crying. Poor darling!

With daddy again.

Getting sleepy already.

It seems not only Joshua seems to be the one having "fun" during the party. My cousins were busy playing at the playground at that outlet, monitored by one of their father.

Husband's traffic marshal guys from church. L-R : Reuben, Jun Wei, hubby & Jason. Hubby is their leader, and they are his team leaders.

This is Gabriel, the son of my cell group leader, Dylan.

My twin aunts and their children.

Dylan and his wife, Flora got him a bicycle. Joshua seems to love it, and he still does. We take him on his bicycle around our neighbourhood.

Joshua with his new toy.

Dylan and son, Gabriel.

Family and friends.

When it was time for Joshua to "cut" the cake, he was getting tired and extra cranky. Thankfully when we were singing him his birthday song, he didn't cry or make a fuss.

This is where he starts crying.

Both side of the family with a crying Joshua.

A slightly happier Joshua.

Joshua and Darwin.

Joshua's really getting sleepy. So my in laws decided to take him home with them so he can sleep. We stayed back slightly longer with our remaining family and friends.

Joshua and in laws saying goodbye to family and friends.

Hwee Li & myself. A good friend from MPH 1 Utama.

My cell group members with their respective children.

The whole group!

Once that big group photo was taken, everybody started to leave already. Overall, it was a successful party. I was so busy coordinating the whole thing that I didn't really get to eat much. I just have to make sure my family and friends have enough food. And we have to go thru this again when he turns 2. Yippieee! Hehe!

I had a conversation with my mother last night. One part of the conversation was about me telling her that I will be going out with my colleagues to Putrajaya to see the finale of the fireworks competition on the night of 2nd September. What she said next really bothered me, even till now. She said, “You do know that you’re not single anymore and you’re a mother already right? You cannot do this kind of thing anymore!” I was like, “Wha-?” Does being a wife and a mother mean I have to stop seeing my friends and going out with them once in a while? I know the answer is a resounding NO, but I really can’t believe those words came out of my mother’s mouth! I wasn’t angry with her, but I was pissed off. After all, I am very grateful to both my parents for taking time to take care of Joshua when I need them to, especially on Thursdays. But the comment she made last night really bothered me a lot. Why, I do not know.

I guess it could be because of what happened with my in-laws regarding my decision to go back to work in MPH. They had their own expectations of me as a mother and a wife, which I am meeting. So now, my mother said those words to me, and I was really pissed off. I don’t know what to say, but everyone’s actions are making me wondering if being a mother is really a good thing or a bad thing. It’s not like I go out with my friends all the time. My mother was asking me if my husband is OK with me going out with my friends on the 2nd September. I told her of course. I had informed him and he said OK. What? Is leaving the baby with him for a while such a bad thing?

What people, especially my family (the people who should understand me more!), do not realize is I also need some time with my friends outside of work. I am not asking to hang out with them every week. Whenever there is a special event, like the fireworks competition, I would like to go as well. Why can’t my husband take care of the baby for a while? I would like to have a little time with my friends without having to worry about Joshua. I see Joshua every day and night. My husband gets to hang out with his colleagues when he goes to Melaka for work. I know he’s there for work, but once work is finished, he hangs out with his colleagues. They have dinner together and if circumstances permit, they go for a movie. And what am I doing while he is enjoying the time with his colleagues? I am home, taking care of Joshua. I am not complaining. I am just trying to get a point across. Is it so wrong for me to go out with friends once in a while? Does doing that make me a bad mother?

I know I should just ignore what my mother said and just do what I want, as long as I know my limits. From young till now, I don’t know why is it that I care so much about what people think about me. At times, I do things according to what they think I should do, instead of what I think I should do, and I am starting to realize that is wrong. I must live my life for myself. Now with a family, for them too, but I would also like some me time once in a while without having this guilt. I guess my first step was going ahead with my decision to work in MPH again against my in-laws’ disapproval.

So yeah, today while I was working, this thought just came into my mind, “I am not happy. My life is filled with other people’s expectation that I am not free to do what I want anymore, without any guilt. I seem to have many people (my family, that is) who questions everything that I do.” And unwanted thoughts started creeping in. Namely, I shouldn’t have gotten married! I shouldn’t have a child! If I didn’t get married and have a child, I would be free to do whatever I want! And I started envying my single friends, and childless married friends. I have sunk that low, OK! I love my husband and my son. But if my family keep on questioning my actions, I don’t know if I can climb back up. My mom also said I should spend more time with Joshua as he doesn’t “want” me much anymore. Well, of course not! I am the one who feeds him when Tina is not around and I am very strict with him. Whenever he doesn’t want to take his porridge, I discipline him and scold him. When I put him to bed, and he doesn’t want to sleep even though he’s obviously tired, I discipline and scold him. Daddy plays with him, tickle him, run around with him, doing all happy stuff. I’m the “bad” one in the child’s eyes. But of course after scolding him, I cuddle him up to me again, as I can’t stay angry with him long as he’s so darn cute!! I am happy to say that he does “want” me, in contrary to what my mom said. So I am not worried about him not “wanting” me. My boy knows how people treat him. He hates cutting his hair. Now when we take him to the saloon, he will cry like mad. And when he sees the woman who always cut his hair, he starts crying. He’s scared that the “aunty” will cut his hair again. I just hope that he doesn’t see me and think, “Oh no! Porridge time!” Or “Oh no! Sleeping time! I don’t wanna sleep!” :P Haha! And in case you are wondering if I only feed him and put him to bed, that’s not the case. I play with him too. He seems to like my toes. He will grab them and play with them, so now I always ensure my toes are clean. :P And he can grunt now, something my husband’s father taught him. Sigh!

Anyway, to those who knows my parents, do not tell them what I wrote in this post. It’s just a place for me to vent, in the hope that I will feel better after doing so. It’s pretty sad to realize that you are not happy. It’s not a very nice feeling, you know. Unhappiness and guilt is not a nice combination. So I really hope my family will stop questioning what I am doing, as long as what I am doing is not over the limit.

There is a situation that we are facing right now. Someone big from our company group came to our outlet last Sunday. It was the last day of our members merdeka sales, so we were very busy. 3 of our colleagues didn't turn up for work that day, so we were very busy serving lots of customers who wants to enjoy the last day of the sales. The VIP asked for a book from one of the staff who is fairly new. Half a month old. He asked for a book called "Marley & Me". My staff typed "Marley And Me" instead, and the system showed him that our outlet do not have stock, so he told the VIP that another outlet has the stock. He called the other outlet to ask them to physically locate the book and to get back to him. Now, mind that this staff did not know who this VIP was. Truth be told, when I saw the VIP, I found him very familiar, but I can't place where I had met him before. I only knew who he was when I saw the business card he gave my staff. Anyway, after some time, the VIP got impatient and asked my staff to check with the other outlet why it is taking so long for them to locate the book. He then asked my staff who he spoke to and some other questions. He then asked my staff to get our Operation Manager to give him a call the next day. So fine, he left and I thought it was the end of it.

Nope. He came back a few minutes later, holding the book that he was actually looking for. Now, I can understand that he is irritated and annoyed that time was wasted when in actual fact, we do have stock for the book that he was looking for. I, too, would have felt the same. But I would not have made such a big fuss over it. It is a pretty serious case now because of him. I would have just reprimanded or tell off the staff and I would just leave it at that. I do not need to bring it up to any other people. Not when this was the first mistake that the staff did with him. I had told the VIP that the staff is new. He still asked me to ask my manager to give him a call the next day, and then left for good. I conveyed the message to my manager. And later I found out that the situation had escalated to the higher management. Sigh! Over a simple mistake done by a new staff who is only working there for slightly more than half a month.

Don't get me wrong. I am not blaming my manager for telling us off. I understand his position as I was a manager myself. Whatever mistakes my subordinates make, I am the one who is in trouble with the top management. I understand that he was also under a lot of pressure from top management. I am just not happy with the way the VIP reacted. Has he forgotten the time when he was new to his job? Has he forgotten the mistakes that he made during that time? Has he forgotten the fear about the consequences of the mistakes that he made? Has he forgotten that we, as humans, are not perfect and that we make mistakes along the way? Has he forgotten that he also started somewhere? If the staff had repeatedly making the same mistakes with him, by all means, complain and take action. But hey, this is a staff who is always polite to our customers, who always go all out to help our customers (I'm serious. My other colleagues also wonder at his helpfulness.), and one who learns from his mistakes. And I was asked why didn't we train him better. We had taught him everything we know. Surely no one really expects us execs to sit right next to him all the time. When I started work in MPH, my superior just taught me the basics, like what I taught the staff. From there, I learn along the way. Trial and error. No one trained me in so detailed. And to be fair to the staff, he rarely repeats his mistakes.

Oh well, I guess this is part of life. In our lives, we will surely bump into people who think that because they hold a very high position in a particular company, they have the right to make life difficult for other people. I'm sure their justification of doing so is to make sure the other people will improve on their work, and to prevent the mistake from repeating again. Doing this to people who consistently make the same mistakes is fair. But to do that to a first-time offender, that's unfair. Although my staff was not directly reprimanded, just knowing that he had caused this situation is discouraging enough. Whatever confidence he could have built up would have been crushed. I hope not, though. But I'm sure one good thing came out of it though. He knows where he went wrong, and he can learn from it and know not to repeat the same mistake again. After all, he's still young. He has many more lessons to learn. Not to say that I have stopped learning. :P

I started attending my current church, Damansara Utama Methodhist Church (DUMC) some time in 1996. I had attended Grace Assembly for a while, but the members there are mainly adult with children. You gotta realize I was 19 at that time. I could not relate to those people at that time. A friend who attended DUMC brought me there once, and I started attending DUMC. There were many youth there, and I liked it very much. I met many interesting friends there. Heck, I met my husband there! ;)

When I first attended DUMC, it was in Taman Mayang. It was in a shoplot and the place was pretty small. It could contain the amount of members of the church at that particular time, but as time goes by, more people started to attend the church. So we moved to a building that used to be a cinema, Ruby Cinema. It is bigger, and there were more space to fit many, many cars. And now, this year, we're moving again. And this time, the church owns the building. We call the building the Dream Center. It is very much bigger than the current one. Actually, we can't even compare it with the current one. It is much bigger. Though sometimes I don't see why we need such a big one, but it's cool. The building is beautiful.

Today, my cell group went over to the Dream Center to participate in the cleaning of the place. Well, the 4 of us. Out of 11 members of my cell group, only 4 went. But fortunately, the area we were designated to clean is a small area, so it was no biggie. When I heard we have to clean up the church, I was pretty reluctant. I'm lazy that way. Haha! But I am so glad I went. It was really fun!! We joined forces with another cell group, a group we were part of once before we split up due to the growing number of members. We cleaned, and we joked and we laughed. I have never had so much fun mopping a place up. Imagine that! And the ironic thing was, the place we were designated to clean is the bookshop. Seems I can't run away from bookshops huh? Because we worked together, we completed the job in one and a half hours. But we had to wait for lunch to arrive so we hung around for a while, exploring the new place. As I said, it was cool! I can't wait for us to move there. The surroundings and environment is so different from the current one that we can't imagine how it'll be like once we move in. Oh, it's in Section 13. Can't believe I didn't say that in the beginning. Parking space will be a problem for a while, till things are settled. My husband and his traffic marshal team are busy discussing the transition. He'll be a busy bee this month. Our first service there will be on the 2nd of September. It's so exciting!!

We got home around 1pm. Joshua just went to bed when we reached home. Good timing, as I really needed to catch some sleep. Since I have a steamboat dinner to attend in the evening, I thought I had better rest for a while. Slept for about an hour, then did some reading. Joshua was busy playing in his walker, screaming away, doing his own thing. Hehe! Tried putting him to bed again before we go out, but he refused to sleep. Sigh! So my maid bathed him and fed him his porridge. I took my bath, and we left the house after that. My husband didn't go along, as he has to be in church.

The dinner was all right. It was great meeting up with some friends, though a friend couldn't make it at the last minute. Joshua was getting cranky. I have no idea why, but he's pretty choosy about who carries him now. He sees unfamiliar faces, and he will cry like crazy. I really hope it's a phase, and that he'll get pass it. My manager tried playing with him, but he ended up crying. There was another baby girl there (hostess' daughter), and he cried too. What is the matter with my little boy?? Haha! But he got chirpy while playing with the baby girl's toys. He was grinning and chuckling away. My cute boy. He got cranky again after a while so I decided to leave. And I was there for only an hour, so didn't really have much time catching up with friends. Oh well, I guess this is how things are when we have a baby.

We got home, got him changed into his pajamas, and put him to bed. Went to sleep almost immediately. So I guess he was really tired. He must be, since he hasn't slept since 1.40pm! Such a naughty boy! He's getting bigger, and cuter. He doesn't cry very often now, so it is a good thing. Guess he is growing up. :P

When I started work there, we were busy with signing up customers who wants to pre-order the book. For those who pre-ordered the book, they will be getting a limited edition mug and a goodie bag. They will have to pay a deposit of RM70, and they will also get a RM10 Book Voucher from MPH. We also had organized some events to create the hype for the book. Every details were executed, our schedules were planned out; who will come in at 6.00am to prepare everything, who will be liasing with the customers who arrived early and so on. I was one of the staff to go in at 6.00am, hence I was off the day before the release. So it was a shock when I was told that MPH has decided to boycott the book and not sell the book at all to the public except for the pre-order customers. I can't help but think, "Oh boy! This will create lots of trouble!!" Well, that's me. With the experience I had with Customer Service, I know we will have to face many unhappy and angry customers. Well, I'm not going to elaborate on that, but we did have some angry customers, but surprisingly, we also have quite a number of customers who agrees with what MPH and the other 3 bookstores are doing.

It's been almost two weeks since Harry Potter 7 (HP7) has been released. The four major bookstores are selling the HP7 now, after an agreement was reached on the 23rd July. Life goes on for us in the bookshop, and we are currently running different promotions. But what got me worked up tonight was some comments people made at a friend's blog.

I have always respected people's views and opinions as I feel everyone is free to think however they want to think. It's not only what my friend said in her blog, but also the comments her readers commented. I have read many versions of this boycott everywhere and I just don't get Malaysians. And I just don't understand why is everyone so worked up about the fact the the four major bookstores decided to boycott the book to protect the industry. There is one thing that I do agree with what some people said. "It's just a book, for crying out loud!!" Exactly!! I am a reader myself, and I get excited when my favourite author has a new book out. I don't bash the bookstores just because they do not have the stock at that the time that I want it, and I don't bash them for the price they charge. But that is probably due to the fact that I am working in a bookstore. Of course, the books that I like can't compete with Harry Potter, but come on! I can't help but think all those people who got angry that they couldn't get the book are acting like children who couldn't get the candies that they want. They stomp their feet in protest, demanding that they want that candy.

I read a comment from a blog. The commenter was trying to say that because the cost of books in our bookstores are expensive, she has opted to rent. That sounds reasonable right? I certainly think so, but did she have to ask the bookstores to go to hell? And for those people who vows never to step into the bookstores again, wanting to boycott them? I have heard people saying that, and lo and behold! I see them shopping in the bookstore a week later!

See, what the public do not realize or do not want to open their minds to is they just want things cheap and complains when they can't get it cheap. I would love that the books are cheap in Malaysia too. I would have saved lots of money if books are cheap. Because of what the two hypermarkets did, people think that the bookstores muck up the prices of the books by a lot. My friend said that the action of the four major bookstores will not bring any benefits to them. Yes, that I agree. It definitely did not benefit the bookstores to decide not to sell the book. We lost lots of sales and profits. For a short term period only. People who are in business will know that they should look at things long term. If the bookstores did not stand up for this, the book industry will fall, and the integrity of the bookstores will be compromised. People already are thinking that we muck up the price and charging the public too high for books. My friend who used to work with us also doesn't seem to understand, though I thought she would have. If the bookstores give in and decide to sell the book at RM69.90, then the bookstores would have admitted that they do overcharge the public. Which business do you know that runs at a loss? They have utility bills to pay, employees salaries to pay, their EPF, and SOCSO, rentals, licensing...and many more.

What I'm saying is just my opinion. I'm not a businesswoman. I think logically and with my own sense of right and wrong. I don't think the bookstores really minded the 2 hypermarkets selling the books. What I feel that the 2 hypermarkets did wrong was to announce that they are selling the HP7 book at RM69.90 the day before the release of the book. If the hypermarkets are serious about selling the book and providing services to the public who can't afford the book at RM109.90, they would have run their own campaign and promotions way before the release date. They should not just announce it the day before the release of the book. Other bookstores had spent thousands and thousands of ringgit to run their advertisements, pre-order campaign, their goodie bags, mugs, or whatever premium gifts they had planned for their pre-ordered customers. What the 2 hypermarkets did was just to ride onto it and grabbed the "free" publicity and promote the book, as a gimmick to get people into their place in the hope that people will also conveniently buy their products. Is that right? Before you even open your mouth to protest, sit down and think, is that right? Is that fair competition? Legally it is right. But morally? Ethically? Even if I am not working in a bookshop, I would think that it is not right.

And of course, the media did not help matters. Where were the interviews with people who agrees with the boycott? You can't say there won't be any because I have met many customers who did agree. All the media covered was the negative side of things, as per usual. Of course with their negative coverage, how can the public see the actual reason for the actions of the bookstores? All they can see is, the bookstores in Malaysia are cheating their customers by selling their books at a very high price. They don't see behind the actual scene before passing judgement, and sadly, this is Malaysia's culture. Don't get what we want, all we know what to do is complain to the press and make lots of noise. Just like a kid who is denied his sweets. Sigh!

07.07.07. That is the date many people would want to have some kind of activities on. It’s a wonder that I didn’t have any overlapping events to attend. That is the day my ex-colleague from Cosmotots got married. I had already left the company by then, so it was also a good excuse for me to meet up with my ex-colleagues. It was pretty fortunate that the management of Cosmotots couldn’t make it that night. At least we can enjoy ourselves without having to be careful of what we say or how we behave.

We brought Joshua and our maid along for this wedding, as my ex-colleagues have not met him before, and I have a few of them who love babies. I had informed Kristy that we would need a baby chair for Joshua that night and she had assured me that arrangement has been done. I had reminded her a day or two before the big day. I guess she was pretty busy that she has forgotten, coz when we went there, the baby chair wasn’t prepared. But she did tell me that if the baby chair was not there, I can inform her bridesmaid or usherers. I did, but I guess they, too, were busy. I asked for one from the waiters myself, but unfortunately, they ran out of baby chairs. In the end, my maid and hubby had to carry him the whole night. So it wasn’t that comfortable. My poor hubby had to miss some round of food. While waiting for the couple to arrive, Joshua became cranky and hungry, so I had to feed him. It’s pretty weird feeding him while there were so many people around me, and it’s bottle feeding! Not breast feeding! So I can pretty imagine how the breastfeeding mothers feel like.

After feeding him, he got sleepy. So much like us adults. After lunch hour, we will become so sleepy that we wish we have our beds with us. He slept so soundly that he slept through the drums that followed 2 lions dancing. And the drums were loud! Those who knows the chinese lion dance will know how loud the drums can be.

Anyway, it was great catching up with ex-colleagues while waiting for the bride and groom to arrive. The invitation card stated that the dinner will start at 7.00pm, but the couple only came in at 8.40pm. We were pretty much hungry, waiting. Haha! I think most of us were expecting things to start late. After all, since when do events start on time in Malaysia? I wanted to take the couple walking in, but somehow my camera took so long to snap the picture and only managed to snap Kristy, and the picture didn’t turn out that great. Sigh!

Kristy was the Operations Manager in Cosmotots USJ while I was there. She was the head of the teachers, and she was responsible for meeting up with parents for the children’s progress meets, for appraising new children to see which program is suitable for them and many other parents’ complaints. Although as the Office Manager, I usually filtered out the complaints and only hand her the complaints that are relevant to her. If not, she’ll be too busy to finish up her own work! She’s a natural with the kids. She’s a wonderful leader, professional and friendly. It was really great working with her. She has taken a lot of the management’s terrible treatment. Three years worth! Amazing girl, don’t you think? However, I think she is considering whether she should continue working there or not now that she’s married. Such a young girl (25 years old), we’re all very sure she can get a much better job out there. She said she was too busy with the wedding preparations to really think about her career. Most likely she’ll consider now that she is married. 

L-R (Standing) Janelle, Suzanne, myself, Jane, Moira, Joe Wen, Natasha and baby.

L-R (Sitting) Marilyn & Lyn

We had a Chapter Director who worked with us for a couple of months. He’s an Englishman called John Dickinson. He’s cool to work for. He was only there temporarily. He will be opening a franchise of Cosmotots at Bukit Jalil. His wife is a Malaysian Chinese, and his partner is his sister-in-law. I know things aren’t going well for them as they are having some problems with the management of Cosmotots. What else is new huh? I was thrilled to see him at the wedding. And he kissed me on the cheek as his way of saying hello. Guess I wasn’t expecting it as it’s not common practice in Malaysia to do that, so I felt a bit weird. 

L-R (Standing) John and myself

L-R (Sitting) Tracy (John’s wife), Keane (John’s nephew), & Pattrine (John’s sister-in-law & Keane’s mother)

While I was training in the Damansara branch, I worked with this wonderful woman, Florence. She taught me almost everything that I needed to know. She was patient, and she took me out for lunch everyday. It was a good thing that we got along. So it was easier to work together and to learn from her. She told me many funny things that happened in the office, so the days passed by very quickly for me.

Florence & her husband.

Finally, the bride and groom reached our table to have a toast with us. I took Joshua away from the crowd so as not to frighten him when the big group shouted, “Yam Seng!!” And as expected, everyone shouted real loud! Luckily Joshua wasn’t frightened. I guess for someone who slept through the drums wouldn’t be that frightened of people shouting. 

The groom is the guy in the while coat behind Kristy.

The dinner was held at the Sime Darby Convention Centre in PJ. The place is huge and spacious, but the service sucks! The waiters and waitresses do not know how to do their jobs properly. Our glasses are always empty, and they will only be filled or replace when asked. Food arrives, but they did not provide us with the plates or bowls to eat them with. I mean, isn’t this the basic task that waiters and waitresses should be trained in? And they take so slow to get the things that you asked them to bring. If anyone were to ask me if they should book that place, I would give them a resounding NO!!

Because the dinner started late, so it was late when it was time to go. We decided to leave earlier as Joshua is getting very tired. So after the toasting session, I quickly got hold of Kristy and told her we had to leave and to congratulate her. I got a picture with her and Joshua so I can keep a picture of her beautiful self that happy night.

Overall, the dinner was OK. Nothing spectacular, but then, I went to celebrate Kristy’s happy night. So it didn’t really bother me much about the service and the quality of the food. Seeing Kristy happy and enjoying her night tremendously was enough.

Kristy, hope you will have a fulfilled married life with Sherman, and I pray that the both of you will enjoy this new journey together. I pray that your lives together will be filled with love, happiness, compromises, and joy. Where there is up, there surely is down. As long as the both of you are committed to make things work, everything will be just fine. So to the both of you, I wish you joy, health and happiness.

Weddings always make me happy. It is always a good thing to see good friends settling down with their chosen life partners and making vows to be with each other through thick and thin. Last Sunday, my husband and I attended my college friend (Kevin) and primary school friend’s (Sharon) wedding in Noble Banquet, Kuala Lumpur. Though I am more than happy to attend their wedding, their chosen restaurant for the happy occasion sure was very difficult to locate. I had to call up a friend to ask for directions. Thankfully we were around the correct area, so it was easy for them to direct us. The restaurant looks quite nice. The parking lot was quite a tight area, but we managed to snagged one. Phew!

The first person we saw was the groom himself. He looked real happy, though he was busy on the phone. He hung up just in time for us to say hi before we registered ourselves. After chatting for a while, hubby and I registered ourselves, and I was thrilled that he placed us with people we know, which makes sense, doesn’t it? I told the groom when he invited me to his wedding that he better put me with a couple I know at the same table. So he put me with two couples that I know personally.

L-R : Daniel Lai, Jennifer (his wife), and myself.

Gwo Tynde and his wife ( I don’t know her personally & I have forgotten her name)

Want to know a funny and ironic thing? Gwo Tynde was sitting next to Daniel and I was sitting next ot Jennifer. Try to picture the sitting ya! Actually, you guys might not find it funny, but I did. Not the ha-ha funny, but the weird funny. OK. Gwo Tynde and Jennifer were a couple before she hooked up with Daniel. They were actually together for quite a number of years, and I actually do not know why they broke up. All of us were college mates when we were in Inti College. At the same time that Gwo Tynde and Jennifer were a couple, Daniel and I were a couple for 2 years. We broke up because I felt that the both of us are better off as friends. It’s funny in a way that I can talk to Daniel better when we are just friends. The initial part of the relationship was great! Not to say the later part was bad. Things just changed for me.

So that night at the wedding, I somehow managed to notice how things were. I don’t really know how Gwo Tynde’s and Jennifer’s break up was, but Daniel’s and mine were amiable. We remained friends and kept in contact. My husband actually commented to me that Jennifer didn’t really talk to Gwo Tynde much, so I guess their break up wasn’t as smooth. Daniel, Jennifer and I had a great time catching up. Jennifer is already 3 over months pregnant! They’re going to be parents!! Gwo Tynde and his wife are already parents with a beautiful baby daughter.

Last Saturday, we went to a relative’s dinner party at Damansara Jaya. They are not relatives that I see very often. They are my mother’s aunties and cousins. So quite a distant relatives. My mother wanted to show off Joshua to them, so we brought him along. Everyone made the appropriate “Oooo” and “Ahhh”. The food were so so. I didn’t eat much, as I didn’t have any appetite. We had a late lunch, so I only had 1 helping of pasta. It was pretty hot there, so Joshua was a bit cranky. He was also very sleepy. He didn’t want to sleep earlier in the day, so he was tired.

Daddy entertaining Joshua with the piano.

Joshua seems to like the piano. He loves hitting the keys, making lots of loud noises, which once in a while is melodious. Amazing! Hopefully when he grows up, he will love music! Haha! Isn’t he getting cuter and more adorable???