The Kitten

Today was a slow day. When to lunch with Mastura. I needed to talk to her about the new pilot, things haven't really taken of yet, I've been busy planning for other stuff plus the other person in the equation isn't around. I'm supposed to do a presentation for a potential client but they haven't gotten back to me either. I hate shooting pilots, its like staring at a blank canvas and I don't know how to start the painting.

Anyway, we when to 1U for lunch, as we were driving up the parking ramp, I saw a kitten crouched and hiding in the drain. I told Mas what I saw and that freaked her out and asked if we should go and rescue it. I was thinking, "damn, I ain't walking back down the parking ramp just to save a kitten... it could be vicious and bite me". Okay, lame excuse... I can feel all that bad karma for my in-action building up already. It drove Mas nuts when I mentioned it again during lunch.

Reminded me of the other day when all the cars were avoiding something near the traffic light. When the light turned green and the cars started moving, a kitten crawled out from under the moving car. One of its back leg was broken, I think it got ran over by a car. Was pretty gross. I told Chui Yan about it and she wasn't happy I told her what I saw.

A few days later, I was walking in SS2 and I saw this really weak kitten sleeping on the stairs. I nudged it a little to check if it was alive and it was... barely.

Before that, I was in KLCC and as I was walking to the carpark, I saw a cat sitting there staring at the glass door. I opened the door and lightly nudged it out. Better for the cat to find its way out then to wander around KLCC. I wonder what's up with all the encounters I had with cats. Not really a cat person. I won't eat them or pet them. I just leave them alone most of the time. Maybe this is one of those M. Night Shyamalan movies where all these insignificant events add up to something in the end.

I had to buy socks in 1U today. My maid lost all my socks and underwear. She stuffed it away in my brother's and father's drawer and all I have left are 2 pairs of socks and about 5 underwears. I came back in the evening with Chui Yan later in the evening to buy my underwear. Didn't seem right buying underwear during lunch time, especially when I'm out with a colleague.

Birthday's and UMNO
It's been a busy week. Chui Yan's mother celebrated her birthday. They got her a cake, but the cake was more for Chui Yan's niece. The cake had panda bears on it. Was amusing.

Getting ready to cut the cake.
One of the panda bear's head is flat, I think too much weight was put on the top of the cake box.

Now this is where babies come from. They come from a huge pot while you're hanging your laundry. Nah, actually it's just my niece in a pot while my maid is drying my laundry. Easier to keep her in one place, otherwise she'll be crawling everywhere.

Today, I was at UMNO gathering at PWTC. It was really packed. My first stop was the control room, there was a whole bunch of broadcasters hanging around sharing gossips and smoking their lungs black. I when into the mini studio and Azizah was preparing her questions while Ally was taking a nap.

Next, I when to check out the locations at the RMK9 booth and the bazaar. The bazaar was crazy, it was really pack with humans. Was a real fire hazard. During the cross-over at the bazaar the human traffic almost came to a standstill as only one person at a time could pass through the small passage we were in.

I had lunch with Azizah. She brought me up to the JPM secretariat. One of Pak Lah's speech writer joined us for lunch. He was complaining about PWTC's chicken. Personally, I have very low standards for food. If it's edible and not a health concern... it's fine by me! The guy was complaining how the cauliflower was not a match for the chicken dish and I was thinking, "damn, I'm just glad the food's free!"

Anyway, it was interesting to hear how the dude helps write speeches for Pak Lah and what are Pak Lah's speech styles. Apparently, Pak Lah likes to repeat the important things in his speech to remind people. So the next time you hear the same thing repeated over and over again, it's something really important that he wants to emphasize. For major speeches, Pak Lah has a team to work on it and different team members work on different sections of the speech.

During the UMNO assembly, he has a team of researchers taking notes of what the delegates say. They don't type out a full text speech for it, because for important speeches like this, Pak Lah uses pointers only. This is one thing that journalist are afraid of and have a hard time following.

Anyway, I personally don't like going to the UMNO gathering. It's only suitable for Malays and some of the things the delegates say are best kept for Malay ears only. I've been listening to what the delegates say, and its a good thing it wasn't fully broadcasted live. Some of them are pretty anti non-Malays. For instance, one delegate said, "Melayu ada banyak kawan Cina, tetapi Cina tak ada kawan Melayu". Now that's one thing I can't stand, stereotypes. I personally have a lot of Malay friends and I know of many other Chinese similar to me. Bashing the Chinese just to pander to the listener is stupid. It breeds hatred and generalization... and I dare say racism.

Other than the hail-Pak-Lah speeches, I personally think it's just one huge show. Everyone has to show their 'unwaivering' loyalty in public and for the media. Some of the politicians show go for acting classes to make it look better.

Azizah interviewing Nori at the RMK9 booth at the UMNO gathering at PWTC. I had to slowly sneak in behind Nori and slowly turn her to face the camera while the interview was going on. I waited until they cut to another camera before reaching in. Good thing the studio director didn't cut back to the interview, otherwise that would have been wierd with two hands on her arms.

Azizah getting ready for the cross-over at the RMK9 exibition at the UMNO gathering at PWTC. I spend half an hour with Azizah going over the questions for Nori. In the end, Nori didn't want to answer most of it.

Wai Leng's Going Away Party

I when to Wai Leng's going away party tonight. Don't have many close friends, so Wai Leng's one of them. She's going to Canada to be a pharmacist. I met Wai Leng years ago while I was chatting online. I was studying in the US and she was studying in UK. We met up and we were friends since.

I met up with her other friends at the party. Most of them I don't see unless its some big event like Wai Leng's wedding. For example, I met up with Yuet Ling, the last time I saw her was at Wai Leng's wedding in January. She recently discovered Buddhism which is cool. Normally, I hear people saying they've discovered God through Christianity or Islam, not Buddhism.

I can't say I'm a practicing Buddhist either, however I do believe in the Buddhist philosophy of suffering and karma. I try to do good when I can and also cut down my cravings.

Union Internationale Motonautique

I was at Putrajaya Marriott Hotel for the whole day on Friday for the Union Internationale Motonautique (UIM) dinner. UIM is the body in charge of the F1 Powerboat races. The theme of the dinner was Songket. I was there the whole day for the live cross-over and the recording at night. Was a very long day. Spend the whole night in the OB Van. Not the most pleasant place in the world, especially if you're claustrophobic.

I had a long break between the cross-over in the afternoon and the dinner in the evening. I was looking for a place to take a nap but didn't find one. There was a meeting room that they booked for the performers to do the makeup but I didn't want to take a nap there, too many kids walking in and out. Later I was talking with Mastura, the Natrah the fashion designer came over to join us. She had 2 rooms booked for her models and her stylist team. I was thinking, "hrmm, now that would be a wierd place to take a nap... models getting dressed and hairdryers blowing".

Natrah has her own label, Embun. She looks very strict, but she's quite nice actually. She was telling us she only works with the top models, as they already know what they're doing. I agree with her, it pays to work with the best. Less headache.

The theme of the dinner for the UIM at Putrajaya Marriott Hotel was Songket. They wanted to promote Malaysian culture. They had Songket displays outside for the delegates to see. Some of the Songket pieces were above RM10,000. Expensive fabric!
Stage rehersals for the UIM dinner. The Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister made last minute confirmation on their attendance. Quite a lot of changes were made last minute. Ah well, all in a day's work.


This is the Putrajaya Marriott Hotel Ballroom. I was there for the Union Internationale Motonautique (UIM)'s dinner. UIM is the body in charge of the F1 powerboat race. Nice ballroom, quite large.Here's Pak Lah leaving the function. Everyone had to wait outside to say bye to him. Even the Deputy Prime minister waited outside. The even finished quite late, 5 minutes from midnight. Was a long day for me, I was there since morning.

Selamat Hari Raya

Well, I'm glad the Raya holidays are over. Unlike most people, I had to work through the public holidays. Wasn't really heavy work, but I still had to go into the office on a holiday. I celebrate all holidays, my favorites are Saturdays and Sundays!

On the bright side, at least I got to some bigshot politicians (now is that really a bright side?). I was at the PWTC open house that Pak Lah hosted with all the cabinet ministers. I got to greet Pak Lah at the door, actually I was more like the lookout to see if he had already arrived.

The first cross over with Pak Lah in the morning was a little awkward. He flat out didn't want to say anything but after much persuasion (on live TV too!) he agreed. His assistant came to see us after that and said the feedback they got was that he didn't look very happy on air and asked if there was going to be another interview so I said, sure let's slot him in for the afternoon news. I was crouching in front of him and I reminded the guy to smile and he said, "Satu hari dah senyum, dah penat dah". Man, that cracked me up. The guy was greeting VIP's and the public the whole morning, he had facial muscle aches from smiling.

Look at Najib and Pak Lah's picture, I don't remember Najib being that short
compared to Pak Lah.

Ifa, me, Shafinaz and Azzura at PWTC on Hari Raya. We had to work. Me and
Ifa were floor managers. Ifa had to run down and catch Pak Lah for a live
cross-over on national TV.

Here's Pak Lah and the cabinet ministers greeting the VIP's on Hari Raya open house at PWTC. I was standing on the press stand when I took this. I met many politicians that day.

While waiting for the Hari Raya open house to start, I took a look at the UMNO Galery and I saw this potrait. Reminds me of Hang Tuah and his friends... now didn't one of his friends turn bad?

On the second day of Raya, me and Ifa when to visit Tun Dr. Mahathir for his open house. Was raining cats and dogs when we got there. Was quite a number of dignitaries at his house too. I met a few old colleagues there too. Besides the controversy between Tun and Pak Lah, I have all the respects for both men. Tun, I admire because he's the prime minister I grew up with and Pak Lah because he's my prime minister now.

Me, and Ifa with the man! You da Man Tun!

This is the view behind Tun Dr. Mahathir's house. I took this picture during his Hari Raya open house. You can see the Mines lake behind it. Beautiful view isn't it?

Here's a picture of me with a Porsche Cayenne Turbo. It cost roughly about RM850,000. I think this one belongs to Datuk Mokzani, Tun's son. Tun has a nicer Cayenne park in the garage that Mokzani gave to him. Mokzani owns the Porsche dealership.

I got to meet Datuk Siti Nurhaliza too. She came on the show. I was shitting in my pants because she came late, but it was all good in the end. Siti is an extremely nice person. What you see on TV is what you get in real life. She's quite shy too, the kind of girl you can take home to meet your parents... wait, she's married already! Anyway... I'm not a big fan that would shout "Sitiiiii!". I just admire her Siti franchise. She's build a legion of fans and also a good business empire to capitalize on it. Way to go Siti, fame and sucess... and still humble. You deserve a Datukship.

Me and Datuk Siti Nurhaliza! Ahhhh... Sitiiiiiiiiii! Okay, just joking. Not a major fan but I do admire the Siti 'franchise'. A legion of fans makes for good business. She was in the studio and I took a picture with her.

Me and Datuk Siti Nurhaliza. She's a really nice person in real life, very shy. First time I shook her hand, she had a very firm handshake. She gave me an autographed CD from her Cerita Cinta album.

Azean with Datuk Siti Nurhaliza after the show. She gave really 'safe' answers during the interview. A real pro at work here. However, she's really a nice person. No real dirt to dig up, because there's none.