Last day of 2011

How I spent the last day of 2011:

Woke up, had my breakfast. Figured that it's the right time to start eating healthy, so I started my day drinking a glass of warm water and ate mandarin oranges. Then I had a little bit of fried rice and a little bit of fried noodles.

Showered, got dressed and went to the tailor for my wedding dress fitting. I got 4 dresses:

1) Dress for solemnization ceremony: OK, but it's heavy with beads so putting it on and taking it off is such a hassle.

2) Dress for Reception #1: The slit at the back of the long dress is just too much! It almost goes up to my butt! I didn't realize this when I tried this on at the tailor's because I was busy focusing on other details, but I'm gonna send this dress back and tell her to stich up the slit because it's too revealing.

3) Dress for Reception #2: The most beautiful gown I've ever seen! Unfortunately, it's made of heavy duchess fabric and the tailor used a tiny zip. The zip got stuck and they had to put on a bigger, stronger zip to the dress.

4) Dress for Reception #3: This fits well, too bad it makes me look like I'm wearing a curtain.

So I only took 2 of the dresses home (for solemnization & Reception #1) and I paid for all my dresses to lessen my debt!

Next, went to Felda Villa to submit all the marriage documentation to the jurunikah.

After that, went to KLCC. Got my first full salary already, so I paid off my outstanding zakat for 2011. I was supposed to start paying zakat in May this year, but I put it aside until now, so the total that I had to pay is RM432.

After paying off the zakat, I felt better and I decided to buy a new pair of jeans at Levi's. I've always wanted the Curve ID jeans since October, but when I resigned, I didn't get my salary and last month, I didn't get full salary. The Slight Curve jeans didn't fit me, the Bold Curve fits me but doesn't look that flattering, so I bought the Demi Curve.

Then, I treated my parents for lunch at Dome. They had fish n chips, and I had this horrible grilled catch of the day. The chef can't even marinate a fish! Too salty. I think the best grilled catch of the day is still at Manhattan Fish Market.

Next, went to Swarowski. Nothing interesting there. Tiny, delicate, pricey jewellery. Not my thing.

At Parkson's accessories section, something caught my eye - Monet alphabet gold pendant. From RM248 discounted to RM173. Unfortunately the letter 'N' was not available. There was an 'L' which stands for Liyana, but I don't want to buy it because Liyana is the name my office colleagues call me.

Went to ISetan, hoping I could find the 'N' pendant. No luck.

Saw a Nine West handbag sale and there's a bag that I liked but the display was actually the last piece, so, no thanks.

Since I had no luck with shopping, I went home and tried to make full use of my day by folding clothes etc.etc.

OMG, I'm getting married in 3 weeks!

Temporary Solution for Oily Hair

I have oily, lifeless hair that lacks volume.

Some people have told me that I can't wash my hair everyday because it might fall off. True or false, I'm not sure but I'm not taking any risk so I follow the advice. Well, except if the shampoo I'm using indicates 'for daily use', then I'll wash my hair everyday.

However, right now I'm not using a daily shampoo. I skip one day before the next wash so in between washes, my hair will be oily. So I tried the Sephora Dry Shampoo.
Directions for use: Shake well before use. Hold bottle 10-12 inches from dry hair and scalp, spray evenly. Brush hair.

The Sephora Express Dry Shampoo smells really good but it does NOTHING to my oily hair. Useless product.

There's another product on my dressing table, L'Oreal Nutri-Gloss Light Conditioning Spray.

Directions for use: Shake well before use. Spray on washed damp hair, or on dry hair to refresh and tone hair. No need to rinse. Can be used everyday for daily gloss.

This one works!

Both products cost about the same (can't remember the exact prices though) but Sephora doesn't work as well as L'Oreal does. So if you have oily scalp problem like me, go buy the L'Oreal spray!

Highlights of 2011

Today is the last day of 2011. Time flies huh?

2011 has been an exciting. So many changes in my life. Among the highlights of this year are...

1) I got engaged to my boyfriend after being together for 5 years.

2) I got a new job. Who would have thought this will happen?! I only had 1 year ++ working experience, and people usually got hired for another job after about what? 3 years? This is what you call rezeki.

3) I did 3 different jobs in a year. Jan-Jul : Systems, Aug-Oct: Inventory (best job ever!!!), Nov-present:Pricing.

4) Mr.Y got transferred to KL after 1 year 7 months in Kluang. Another rezeki.

5) Mr.Y and I got a house. When I was working in MH, we thought of renting somewhere in Kota Damansara. Then I got the offer from QR, and we planned to rent somewhere in Wangsa Maju. If we were to buy a property, we could only afford a condo. Then unexpectedly, we got a house. A landed property. Alhamdulillah. Another rezeki for us.

Apart from these highlights, there were also plenty of sad memories but I don't think they're worth mentioning here. Better move forward and be positive!!!

2012, please be good to me! :-)

Wedding Updates...

On Saturday, my parents and I went to a relative's house in TTDI to collect the things that she helped to decorate for my wedding.

One of them is the duit ambo-ambo (not sure if I spell this correctly).

At Johore traditional weddings, an elderly person (usually the bride's mum) or even the bride herself, will throw coins at the guests. Sometimes, the duit ambo-ambo is decorated nicely. My relative decorated it using 2-tone fabrics that matches my theme colour, gold.

Duit ambo-ambo

That relative of mine also helped to decorate the wedding favours for the main table.

Pink flowers with a hint of gold

On Monday, both mine and Mr.Y's family had a meeting to discuss the last minute details of our reception. Then, we went to Empire to shop for our hantaran. Both of us got 1 last pending item to give to each other.

I already knew what I wanted...

A Coach bag!

Coach was having their clearance sale. The handbag I chose is a convertible and has many compartments. I can't remember the full name... it's Madison Op Art Sateen something. I just love the Madison collection! The handbag I chose for my engagement hantaran was also from the Madison collection.

Next, shopped for fiance's hantaran. Shopping for men is so difficult! For our wedding, I've bought him shirt & tie, belt & wallet set, perfume set, ring, watch...and the last item (other than cakes and fruits and chocolates of course), has been pending for too long because I didn't know what to buy! Some of the things we've considered before...

1)A Parker pen...but everytime we wanted to buy it, there's always nobody at the counter to assist us.

2)Coat/sweater

3)I've thought of surprising him with a painting of both of us, but I'm too chicken to go to Bintang Walk at night and approach the artists there.

4)He wanted some PS3 stuffs but I don't think it looks appropriate as a hantaran.

So in the end, I bought him...

an Olympus digital camera!

Initially, we saw a RM399 camera at Sony and he mentioned that he has never own a camera before. So I asked the salesperson if they have the camera in black/silver, but sadly, they're out of stock.

So we went to another electrical shop and found Panasonic - Lumix cameras. The lazy ass at the counter did not assist us and Mr.Y suggested that we go to the photo shop at the ground floor to see more camera brands.

Then we saw Olympus cameras and I remembered something...my mum had an Olympus camera and I like my photos if taken using that camera. Fazilah also has an Olympus camera and I love the outcomes whenever I take photos using her camera.

We asked the salesperson if they have the Olympus camera in black, and fortunately they had it, and at a special price of RM350! Mr.Y tested the camera by taking my photos and as expected with Olympus cameras, I loved my photos! So I bought the camera for him.

Now we're done with hantaran shopping!

Dare to be different?

I studied engineering in college.

I've worked in 2 different areas in my first job (1 year in Systems, and then I moved to Route Revenue).

Now in my current job, I'm doing another different thing - Pricing.

On the negative side, it might seemed like I'm the kind of person who fails to settle down and unsure about her career path.

On the positive side, I'm learning and discovering a lot of new things in the past few years and I think I've heard somewhere that successful people must be able to adapt to changes & new things and are well-versed in a lot of aspects? *trying to think positive*

Yasser's wedding card

Yesterday, the invitation cards for my fiance's reception were finally ready! He was super excited to pick up the cards and distribute them to the guests.

Front pocket

Very beautiful doa at the back of the pocket.

There's even a customized envelope ;-)

So now I'm in the midst of sending out invitation to ex-colleagues at MH, new colleagues at QR, old school friends through Facebook. It makes me happy seeing the 'attending' number growing on my Excel spreadsheet!

I really miss...

OK, I know I'm supposed to move forward and be grateful that I got this new job. I know I'm not supposed to have any regrets. Well, I don't have any regrets but there are some things about my previous job which I really miss...

I MISS...

1) confirming seats.

2) rejecting requests & typing those long remarks/SSR items.

3) managing flight inventory.

4) having people begging me for seats.

5) free parking at my office. Now I have to pay for parking (RM9 per day).

6) the freedom to eat at any time during the day. I could choose to have breakfast at 10am, midafternoon snacks etc. Now I need to have breakfast before I leave home and lunch must be at 1-2pm.

7) cruising on the highway. Now I'm always stuck in the city traffic and my average speed is 20km/h.

8) salary that came in on time every month.

9) cheap food. Now lunch costs AT LEAST RM7.50.

10) having a convenient surau with wudhu' facilities at the office.

Shopping for hantaran : makeup set

Mr.Y banked in some cash into my account so today I went to Sephora KLCC to buy some makeup for hantaran!

I spent quite some time there, trying to make full use of the budget. I had a hard time deciding what to buy!

Finally, I settled for these:


L-R: Mascara & Eye Makeup Remover set, Makeup Studio set, a bottle of bubble bath.

Front: Anti-shine primer.

I went only RM10 over budget!!! Not bad, right?

Sephora has this temporary loyalty program. My last visit there, I spent about RM300 and today's visit, I have reached the RM500 requirement for a RM75 voucher! So I redeemed the Burt's Bees lip shimmer which I love so much and the Soap & Glory Trick & Treatment under eye concealer.


FYI, the Makeup Studio set looks like this:

New look for the sofa bed

There's this bed in the living room of our house.

It used to be Mr.Y's sister's bed. Mr.Y suggested that we convert this bed into a sofa bed and leave it in the living room. My idea is to put this bed in any of the room but since this is OUR house, he has a say in decorating. So OK then, leave the bed the living room, but I wanted to change the sheet so that it will look better.

This is the BEFORE picture of the sofa bed...


Last week we went to Ikea and bought a light brown fitted sheet. Today we went to Ikea again and bought a few cushions along with the cushion covers. We bought dark brown square cushion covers (managed to pursuade him to buy dark brown instead of cream!) and beige rectangular cushion covers.

So here's the AFTER photo:


Looks better right?

Only thing is that we need more cushions to fill up the gaps.

New home

Rezeki always comes when you least expect it to.

Mr.Y and I already got our home!

He told me that I should start moving my stuffs bit by bit to our new house. My mum couldn't agree more, considering the current state of my bedroom (messy and crowded). So yesterday I started moving some of my books there and also a few random things...

L-R: The graduation bear that Mr.Y gave me, flower & vase from Ikea, the giant flowers Mr.Y gave me sometime during our first couple of years as a couple, pink Ikea vase with artificial roses from Lovely Lace.

I only brought the decoration that I like or has significant meaning to me.

Now I have a new (expensive) hobby - home deco and we've just bought the first item for our home, a light brown fitted sheet for the sofa bed in the living room. I am now obssessed with Ikea and moving my things to our new house.

There is a lot of rework to be done for this house but overall, I'm happy, satisfied and grateful that we got this house. It's landed property (people within our salary range usually buy condominiums).

Things to move next weekend: my bags.

My wedding card!

Today Mr.Y and I went to the shop where I ordered my wedding invitation cards. He wanted to order the invitation cards for his reception. After he has filled in the details in the order form, the shop owner looked at the names supposed to be on the front of the card, and he said 'Yasser & Nana' sounded familiar.

I said that's because I ordered the card for MY reception from this same shop.

He said that my cards are ready, he just need to glue the paper inside with the cover. Anyway, he glued one card for me and let me take it home to show my parents.

So here it is...the front cover:


The inside of the card:



Overall, I'm happy with the card but my parents said the guy did not bold the RSVP date as per their request.

Wedding shoes

OK, my wedding progress: yesterday I went to Klinik Kesihatan Cheras for HIV test followed by appointment with the ustaz at the mosque near my house. I've got his signature for the marriage form (yeay!) so our next step is to go to JAWI to get the final letter (I'm not sure what letter though).

Today, me and my mum went to Felda Villa (where the solemnization ceremony will be held) with my wedding planner/neighbour Aunty L. Aunty L wanted to take a look at the venue as she will be responsible for the flower arrangement, mini pelamin, deco and stuffs.

After the visit to Felda Villa, Aunty L dropped me and my mum at Ampang Park and we shopped for my wedding shoes.

Do you have any idea how hard it is to find the perfect gold shoes??? The theme colour for my reception is gold, my dress is gold and it's hard for me to find the right pair of shoes. A few weeks ago I saw this gorgeous pair of gold shoes at Guess, they had it in my size. Perfect right??? NO! When I tried walking in it, it's like being forced to walk on those reflexology stones. Very painful! So I didn't buy the shoes.

Err...there's no Guess store at Ampang Park. Situ paling 'grand' pun brand 'Princess' but I don't mind about the brand of my wedding shoes. In fact, I would prefer it if I can minimize the cost because post-wedding, I'm not gonna wear these swanky wedding shoes that often. To me, wedding shoes is a one-time thing and I'm not a very detailed person up to the point where my shoes have to match my dress 100% and that sort of thing. So I would happily settle for those less expensive shoes at Ampang Park.

This was what I bought for the wedding reception on my side, a pair of gold T-bar heels with sequins. Actually this was my second choice because it kind of made me look as if I'm going to a party instead of my own wedding. But maybe that's because when I tried these shoes on, I was wearing my usual day clothes. When I came home, I immediately tried this shoes on with my engagement dress (though the colour clashed). Thankfully, when worn with traditional wear, these shoes are OK for wedding.


My first choice was a gold shoes with sequins and glitters (at Princess) but lucky me, they didn't have it in my size.



For Mr.Y's reception (for friends and collleages), I bought a pair of metallic white shoes for RM116. Since it's white, I hope it's safe to match it with my peach dress. It's really hard to find peach wedding shoes!

For another one of Mr.Y's reception (for close family and relatives), I bought the most perfect shoes ever! Ivory shoes with platform heels that made me look 3 inches taller! To be worn with a matching ivory dress. Perfect!

My last FOC: Trip to London - Day 3

So sad…it’s my last day in my favourite city. This trip was fun but it was too short. I wish I had more to time to go sightseeing and shopping.

Anyway, on our last day, we packed our bags early in the morning and checked out of Langham Hotel.And I noticed something on the hotel dressing table…


I love the quotation and I think it’s lovely how the hotel update the guest about the weather using this piece of card. I took this card…it will make an awesome bookmark :-)

After we checked out Langham, we posed around the hotel area.


After posing around the hotel, we walked down Oxford Street again for some last minute shopping. That’s when I went crazy. Bought a few dresses at Next, H&M and this shop which I’ve been to for the first time, it’s called Miss London.

At around 5pm, we went back to the hotel (we left our luggage there), repacked and went to the airport by tube. I felt really sad about going back and I wished I didn’t have to.

We arrived at Heathrow Terminal 4 around 6pm, and checked-in. The Malaysia Airlines counter was handled Alitalia and the check-in staff was a total idiot. For this London trip, my parents and I were booked separately (2 different PNRs). Mine got confirmed first, then later my parents. The check-in staff asked my dad, “You and your wife same PNR, your daughter different PNR. Are you two booked separately?”

DUH!

Then my dad requested that we are seated three in a row. It didn’t matter where the seats are, as long as there is a three-in-a-row seat, then we requested to be seated there. The lady looked confused. She turned her computer screen towards my dad. We noticed that there were A LOT of empty three-in-a-row seats. She said, “You and your wife sit here. Your daughter at the back.”

OMG, it’s just a matter of cancelling my old seat assignment and assigning a new seat to me! I guess she didn’t know the entry to do that. Then she did another blunder – she sent us to the standby counter even though our PNRs clearly showed that we’re CONFIRMED passengers. Gosh, she didn’t even know how to read status codes! Her supervisor got really mad at her and finally the blur lady checked us in (separated seats, of course, because she didn’t know how to assign seats).

I hope Alitalia will send her to basic reservations training.

Anyway, then we went through the security check and…more shopping at the departure hall. Hehe. My parents bought MORE chocolates and I bought the Longchamp backpack in lavender. After we’re done with shopping, we went to the Golden Lounge. I showered and ate my dinner.

Then it’s time to board the aircraft :-(


It makes me sad that this was my last FOC with MAS. I remember my last trip to London in 2009, I was so grumpy when we were boarding the plane back to KUL because I thought that was my last FOC ticket with MAS since after that I would probably be graduating and working so I was no longer entitled. I was determined to work with the airline so that I can still get my FOC. Well, I did and after 1 year plus of working, I resigned. So (I think) this is my FINAL FOC ticket, and after this, if I want to travel to London again, I will have to stopover at Doha ;-)

My Last FOC:Trip to London - Day 2

On the second day in London, we went to Trafalgar Square.

These people were drawing all the flags of the countries in the world using colourful chalks.

Oh, and there's a giant clock to countdown to London Olympics 2012.

Full view of the giant digital clock.

Then, we took the tube to St.James Park.

St.James Park was very near to Buckingham Palace but my shoes were killing me (despite changing from a 3-inch heels to a 1-inch pump shoes) so I had to forget about taking photos at the palace.

And I drank more Innocent smoothies…

My last FOC: Trip to London - Day 1

Those of you who have read my previous entry would know that I have already resigned from MAS. My official last day was on 3 Nov but since I had annual leave balances, my actual last day was on 24 Oct. On 27 Oct, I went to London for a 3D2N trip to utilize my annual privilege travel. Yeah, a very short trip due to budget and my dad’s leave constraints.

We took MH002 to LHR and got complimentary passes to the Golden Lounge at KLIA.

On the flight, I had fish & potatoes for supper (not that nice) and then slept until 2 hours before landing when they would serve breakfast. Haha. Had omelet for breakfast and I hate to say this but the taste of the omelet had worsened since my last trip to London.

Arrived in LHR at around 5.45am local time. To avoid the peak hour traffic on the London Underground, we hang out at the airport first. Sat in front of WH Smith and my first purchase in London:

Innocent smoothie.

I LOVE Innocent smoothies and whenever I’m in London, this is all I drink. Guess that explains why my skin looks better when I’m in London.

After wasting our time hanging out at the airport, we decided to take the tube to hotel, drop our bags, maybe freshen up a bit and then walk down Oxford Street. We stopped at Oxford Circus station and the hotel was supposed to be a 5-minute walk from the station. My mum wanted to ask for directions but my dad said it’s OK, we can find the hotel on our own. Guess what? We walked for more than 5 minutes and could not find the hotel. My heels were killing me so I told my parents to ask for directions. Turned out that we were heading towards the opposite direction and had to walk a looong way to the hotel.

Finally, we arrived at The Langham Hotel and the hotel staff allowed us to refresh ourselves at the hotel gym’s changing room while they got our room ready. So I showered, washed my face and reapplied my makeup, and then I was all set to go!

We walked down Oxford Street and here are some of my ‘interesting’ purchases:

PINK Casio scientific calculator! I’ve been wanting this since my schooldays! Of course, this is not yet available in Malaysia.

Kate ring which I bought at Claire’s.

When our room was ready, we went back to the hotel and passed out on the bed.

The very welcoming king-sized bed.

Perfumes

Went to Sunway Pyramid with Mr.Y for one of my favourite activities - shopping for hantaran! This time it's our perfumes.

I had a tough time deciding which perfume to buy. FYI, I have a weakness for perfumes in nice bottles so I was torn between Vera Wang's Lovestruck (the flower + ribbon bottle cap is just too cute!), Marc Jacobs' Lola (purple bottle with colourful flower cap...so adorable!) and Vera Wang's Flower Princess + Preppy Princess combo.

In the end I decided to take the Flower Princess + Preppy Princess set because for the other two, the sets consist of EDT and shower gel. On the other hand, the Flower Princess + Preppy Princess set consists of TWO EDTs for only about RM350! Definitely worth buying! Plus, I already have the original Princess EDT so these 2 EDTs will make a gorgeous Princess collection!

Only when I returned home, I realized that the ring on the Preppy Princess bottle cap was missing :-(

Mr.Y offered to buy another EDT for me to replace the Preppy Princess. I said it's no big deal, it's just the ring cap, I can still use the perfume. But still...the set looked incomplete without the ring :-(

Anyway, I bought Mr.Y the Unforgiveable EDT set he had always wanted. When I was in London last week, I looked all around town for the Unforgiveable EDT set, hoping to get a really good price because perfumes are cheap there. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any sets (only individual perfumes) as the sets will only be available close to Christmas.

But nevermind, found the set at Parkson Sunway Pyramid. EDT + deodorant + shower gel = RM340.

I didn't expect this, but about an hour after Mr.Y sent me home, he bbm-ed me and said he had exchanged the Preppy Princess EDT for me! Now the perfume bottle comes with the ring and it looks complete! Thank you dear! :-D

My last day at Malaysia Airlines

24th October 2011 was my last day at Malaysia Airlines.

I joined the airline on 3rd May 2010 and I thought that I would stay there until I retire. Or at least until I can become Area Manager UK. But it appeared that I'm destined to work somewhere else after 1 year 5 months in MH.

Actually my official last day is 3 November 2011 but since I had to clear my annual leave, my last day became much earlier.

My farewell notes goes like this:

I want to take a moment to let you know that today is my last day at Malaysia Airlines.

I have enjoyed my tenure here and I appreciate having had the opportunity to work with everyone in this department. Thank you for the support, guidance, and encouragement all of you have provided me during my time in RMD. Even though I've only been here for about 1 year 5 months, I've had the opportunity to work in 2 different areas within Revenue Management: Operations Research & Systems and Route Revenue. I've gained valuable knowledge pertaining to the airline industry. The training provided during my tenure here has also shaped me into a better, stronger person.

Oh, and thank you very much for the lovely farewell gift. Love it! I will be wearing the necklace and charm bracelet all the time from now, in remembrance of everyone here in RMD.

I will miss all of you, but I am also looking forward to this new challenge in the new phase of my career.

Please keep in touch, I can be reached at my personal email address:

Thanks again for everything.

Part of the note is Googled, part of it was inspired from others' farewell notes and part of it came from my heart :-)

At around 5.30pm, I walked around the office to say goodbye to everyone and took photos with some of them.

Since Fazilah is going to become a Flight Analyst, I gave her one last briefing/handover. There's not much I can teach her though, because our work processes are different because I was handling ASEAN routes while she'll be handling Domestic routes. But I hope whatever knowledge I had shared with her will be beneficial when she starts her new task next week!

After we're done with the short handover, we went out for dinner at Citta Mall. Fazilah helped to carry my things to my car. We ate and talked and then we went home. Before we went back, we said goodbye (even though I refused) and it was a very emotional moment for both of us. We hugged and promised to still keep in touch. Fazilah was the last person to be with me on my last day at Malaysia Airlines.

OMG, I am SO gonna miss having the authority to confirm/reject bookings & quoting the fare classes!

David Foster & Friends Concert

I got 2 complimentary tickets from Enrich to watch the David Foster & Friends concert on 23 Oct 2011 at Stadium Putra Bukit Jalil. So I dragged my fiance along with me to the concert.

Concert started at around 8pm and we arrived there around 7.30pm. We parked on the opposite side of the road because we thought the parking would be full, judging from the long queue entering the stadium.

The walk from our parking spot to the stadium took FOREVER. We missed the shortcut to the stadium (passing through the LRT station) and ended up taking a big turn to enter the stadium. By the time we arrived at the stadium, I was sweating and felt like cursing out loud. My makeup was ruined!

At the stadium, we tried to find the entrace. There were long queues everywhere. We walked around the stadium (such a torture because by then I already got blisters on my feet) and turned out that the long queues were for people whose tickets were priced at MYR153-183. Our tickets were worth MYR483 and the 'MYR483' sign was blocked by the concert banner!

So then we finally found our entrance. Fortunately, the queue was short. There was a security check though. Outside food and drinks were not allowed (lucky we didn't buy anything at the booth outside!).

Then, finally, we're in the stadium!

View of the stage using my 3.2MP phone camera :-p

The concert began with a slideshow of David Foster's greatest hits, namely songs by Toni Braxton, Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Earth Wind & Fire, Michael Bolton, Chakra Khan, Josh Groban and Peter Cetera.

The concert began with Charice's performance. I haven't heard of the first 2 songs she performed, but Mr.Y claimed that the songs are hits (a sign that I should be listening to the radio more often). Then she sang Unbreak My Heart (Toni Braxton) and The Power of Love (Celine Dion) and her voice was just AMAZING.

Next, Dayang Faizah came onstage and sang this 1 song...I couldn't remember the title...sorry!

After Dayang, a girl named Anne went onstage and sang Through the Fire (Chakra Khan).

At some point during the concert, David Foster would come down from the stage and asked the audience to sing. Those selected people could sing very well and I believe that it's not as spontaneous as it seemed and that everything was planned and reheased.

Next to perform was Russell Watson who had big voice, very suitable to sing opera songs. I was not familar with the songs he performed. I only knew one song that he sang, the famous Josh Groban song - You Raise Me Up?

After Russell Watson was Ashanti's turn.She sang a medley of her own hits, then sang Whitney Houston's I Will Always Love You. Her vocal was impressive. She even brought her mum on this tour and her mum loved recording videos of everything. David Foster called Ashanti's mum up onstage and she captured the audience on her videocam. While her mum was running on the stage barefoot, Ashanti told her mum to be careful. It was cute.

After that, Philip Bailey came onstage. He played percussions and performed songs by Earth, Wind & Fire. It was great. When he performed 'September', the audience all got up and danced.

Last to perform was Michael Bolton. He performed his hit songs and did a duet with Charice (I couldn't remember the song). Before the concert ended, all the singers performed Michael Jackson's Earth Song.

The audience demanded for an encore and David Foster played a medley (or more like a teaser, because he played the songs bit by bit and didn't finish them completely) of his songs on piano. Then the concert ended.

I arrived home at 12am-ish and was super tired and sleepy and went straight to bed.

Funny Out of Office messages to leave before quitting your job

Found this funny article from a website called examiner.com. Enjoy!!! :-D

10 out of office messages you can use before leaving on your last day:

1. I will be out of the office and returning in 1-?? years. Please contact my manager with any questions until then.

2. I am no longer able to check my email. The company and I came to a compromise and I am no longer able to come within 500 feet of the building. In exchange, I will not serve any time. Thanks for your understanding and I hope you find what you're looking for, but it's very likely I stole it.

3. Dear friends and foes, it is with great pleasure that I tell you I will no longer be responding to your god forsaken emails as I no longer work for this company.

4. G'Day mate. Off to a place where the beer flows like wine and the women flock like the salmon of Capistrano.

5. I am no longer working for the company. My last day was MM/DD/YYYY. The date is only provided for you to witness how long it takes IT to shut down my email address.

6. I'll be back shortly. I had to step out for a quick lunch.

7. They say the grass isn't always greener on the other side of the fence. I am currently testing that theory. Wish me luck.

8. I recently quit this job because of emails from people like you. I hope you are happy.

9. Over the past X years, I have provided you with many answers. Many of you thought I was incredibly resourceful. I may be gone, but you can still find the answers to all of your questions at the link here.

10. I left the company to pursue my dreams. If you need to reach me, I'll be sitting on my couch watching TV.

Wedding invitation cards

Today my parents and I went to the management office of Dewan Merak Kayangan (I think the company is called Felda D'Saji or something) to discuss about my wedding reception. We were discussing about all my wedding requirement (actually more like my parents' requirement as they're the ones paying for my reception) such as the food, table layout, music, emcee etc.

Then we went to Bangi to order my wedding invitation cards.

So many great designs, I was spoiled for choice!

After thinking and comparing the cards, I was left with 2 designs. The first one is a simple card design with butterfly graphic embedded on the top right corner (simple and cute, matches my butterfly-shaped wedding favours) and another one is a more formal and classy kind of card.

Since I want my card to be presentable to all VIPs and the elderly, I chose the formal+classy card. Furthermore, my fiance already selected a 'cute' design for his reception invitation card so I thought it's a good idea if I go for a more 'serious' kind of design.

So...here it is, my wedding invitation card:

Well, not yet MY card because I still have to re-confirm the aturcara majlis with the card designer so this whole card-printing thing is still in progress. But my parents have paid the deposit though. Nice isn't it? Creme metallic paper with copper wordings and floral design.

The gorgeous floral design is printed inside too. The font colour is brown and first page of the card is the doa for bride and groom.

Second page is the aturcara majlis and the contact numbers of family members.

Third page - the invitation.

Fourth page - the map.

Close-up detail of the floral design on the top left corner of the card.

Bride & groom's names with wedding date printed in copper font.

Up close detail of the floral design on the bottom right corner of the card.

I just can't wait to see the final outcome of the card!

Miss Selfridge coat

I've been lusting after this coat for quite some time. The only thing that prevented me from buying it is the price (RM349).

Anyway, 2 weeks ago, I resigned from the company (yes, that's right!). My last day will be on 3 November, but I still got 6 days of annual leave to clear and I still haven't use my FOC ticket yet. So I'm planning to go to London on 27 October!

This trip gave me a reason to buy the coat. Today I went to Miss Selfridge and lucky me, there's only ONE left and it's in my size! I got a member discount card, so the price is RM314 after discount PLUS I got a free sling/shoulder bag AND a RM25 voucher redeemable at any Topshop/Miss Selfridge/Dorothy Perkins store.

Then I went to Dorothy Perkins and I bought a pair of black thighs. The price is RM33, but using member's discount it's RM29. I used the RM25 voucher as well, so the final price is RM4 only!!!

So today, I bought an expensive coat but I got a free handbag and fashion thighs at only RM4.

I just loveee shopping!

Holiday Villa

My fiance's parents are planning 2 receptions for our wedding and one of it will be held at Holiday Villa, Subang. So yesterday, Mr.Y and I went to Holiday Villa with his parents to check out the venue and pay the deposit.

Our reception will take place at the Victorian Ballroom. The design of the ballroom and the surrounding area is exactly like during the Victorian era : statues, large chandeliers, classical paintings.
Entrace to the Victorian ballroom. Veryyy nice.

There's a garden outside the ballroom. If the reception is held at night then the hotel will offer barbeque in the garden.

The hotel manager told me that the layout may not be that impressive during the day, but at night it will be breathtaking with all the lights.

I didn't take a picture of the ballroom because:

a)they didn't switch on the AC and I was feeling hot & stuffy & uncomfortable

b)the staffs were busy walking around to set up the hall for a wedding

c)we were busy discussing about the big day with the hotel staffs

d)I don't wanna be seen as a jakun.

So for this reception at Holiday Villa, I will wear a dress and Mr.Y will wear a suit. We will have a pianist and the hotel manager reccommended that we have ballroom dancing to complete the whole package, but judging from the size of the ballroom, I don't think that's possible. Plus, I'm a terrible dancer.

Raya gathering at my office

On 15 Sep 11, my department organized a lunch to celebrate Raya and also as a farewell party for four of our colleagues (2 resigned and 2 transfered to other departments).

This year's Raya gathering theme is Batik. I wore a plain black kebaya with a pink Batik sarong, but later I had to change to baju kurung Kedah because that's my group's uniform. Oh yes, we were all divided into groups. Each group has to prepare a certain type of food, impress the judges with creative decoration and gave a short performance.

My group had to prepare laksa Johor and our performance was a simple pantun, which we Googled and then edited to potray our department's environment. My task was simple - boil 4 packets of spaghetti, a task which I delegated to my mum. Haha.

Before the gathering began, I decided to kacau Fazilah who was designing her group's banner. We practiced posing in front of the camera before the event starts.

Finally, me and my group members (only the women of course) went to the toilet to change into our baju kurung Kedah. At first I was a bit self-concious and I felt like a farmer from a rural area who got lost inside an airline's office. But then, I realized baju kurung Kedah is not so bad after all. It's comfortable!

Taa-daa! My team's laksa Johor and our deco. Fyi, I was not involve in decorating, I was busy at my desk doing my work. I'm such a great team player huh?

Lemang & rendang team's deco.

Mee Kari team.

Laksa team won 4th place for deco! Yay! We got a hamper full of Raya cookies. I only ate 2 pieces because I didn't contribute much to the team. Haha.

And guess what??? Fazilah and Fazlia won Best Dress awards!!!

*ORS = Operations Reserch & System