A Christmas Eve with Mom

Yahooo! It's Christmas eve, and I can literally smell its presence hanging in the air from the joyous people, celebration, and laughter around me.

In the afternoon, I rejected two of my friends' invitation to go out together as I thought I would've enjoyed being alone tonight since I need time and space to recharge my drained soul. But, I was so wrong. I was overwhelmed with its exuberance, which was a huge contrast to my lugubriousness.

Sullenly, I dressed myself up in my most Christmas-ty attire and drove to a nearby cafe. When I arrived at the cafe, I was shilly-shallying to get out from my car as I saw people were hanging out merrily in groups, but I was totally alone. Just when I was tormented by my own conflict, my Mom finally replied my Christmas greeting in Whatsapp and suggested me to give her a call.

I gave up to go in the cafe and drove home. And, everything that happened then would leave me with one of the most memorable Christmas eves that  I ever had.

I called my mom and we spent our Christmas eve together, sharing with each other, of jokes, gossips, our worries, and talking about life.

"Although I still go back to our old house very often, all things have changed. When I am sitting in my favourite armchair now, I miss you guys (my sisters & I) a lot. I used to be irritated when you guys bickered with each other when young. But now, it creeps me out to sit here to stare into the cold silentness of this house." My tears dropped as I listened to her faint wavering voice over the earpiece.

We talked for two hours and all my sadness had dissipated along the conversation.

I love you Mom for being always there for me. I had an enjoyable night chatting with you. May this Christmas bring you good health and less worries. =)

Merry Christmas to you. =)

Companion

*Chuckling* 

" I know I am talking nonsense, and acting strange. But, I bet you know that is completely normal."

*Smiling acknowledgingly and continuing to look at the screen*

" I hate to be serious all the time. I just wanna have fun."

*Still smiling, unperturbed and continued to watch the show*

*Rested her head on his shoulder, and watched the show together*

.....

Why different expectations happen?

Ever frustrated at why our expectation is not met sometimes? What can we do to overcome this different of expectations.

To discuss this topic, I would like you to read through the following story and imagine yourself being in the story.


*******************************************
On a rainy day while coming back from work, it was raining heavily. I took out my umbrella and rushed to my car which was parked at the open area. After getting into my car, I quickly locked the door, buckled up and drove towards home.

Half an hour later, I safely reached home and I was relieved that the rain had stopped.

I changed into a new set of cofy clothes and tossed the worn clothes inside a laundry basket.

After that, I walked into the kitchen, took out a pot from the cabinet, filled the pot with water and then started to cook a pack of instant noodle.

After having my noodle, I rested on the sofa and spent my night watching a drama before I went to sleep.

********************************************

From this story and your imagination, I have a few questions to ask you. You may mentally jot down your answers, or it is good to write them down in case you may have forgotten later.

1) What is the colour of the umbrella you used to walk through the rain towards your car?
2)  What is the color of the clothes you changed into?
3) Did you notice how your laundry basket looks like? Again, what is it's colour?
4) What is the pot that you used to cook the noodle?
5) What is the instant noodle you were having?
6) What drama is that on the TV you watched before sleeping?




Have you got your answers prepared?

Let's compare your answer to mine, shall we?
1) My umbrella was blue colour and it has plaid pattern on it. (Is your umbrella looks like mine?)
2) I changed into a white singlet and dark blue shorts. (How about you?)
3) The laundry basket is grey in color.
4) I used a dark brown porcelain pot to cook my instant noodle.
5) I had a packed of instant Asam Laksa.
6) I watched "Desperate Housewives" before I slept.




Of all the questions, how many questions you share same answer with mine?

I dare to say, not many or none at all.


Back to the topic of different expectations, now do you know how does this issue arise?

Clearly we answer our questions based on our own experience and background, and probably the things you imagined yourself using in the story are the ones you use in real life.
We have so many types of umbrella to choose from, the types of clothes we want to wear, the noodle we want to eat, the drama that we want to watch...(and so on)...
So how can we expect others to know which umbrella we are really talking about when we don't specify how the umbrella looks like?
Likewise, in many life situations, we may not communicate effectively of what we really want or expect from the others and hence creating different expectations from both parties.

Isn't it better if we can communicate clearly at the very first place, to safe time and energy, and not getting frustrated  later by others when our expectations are not met?




_______________________________________________________________________________
PS: This is part of the topic being discussed in the communication skill workshop I had attended. As I find it quite interesting, I would like to relay the discussion to you in this blog.

Can you think of other reasons that may contribute to different expectations?
In what kind of scenario in life that you have encountered such issue?

You may leave your comment on the comment box below.

Enjoy reading :)

VCR Cafe @ Kuala Lumpur

Initially we were planning to go for some high tea after Sunday Celebration. Alas, the two high tea places we went to was either temporary closed for renovation or yet to open. That's how we ended up here, with no regret afterwards. =)

Cobblestones leading into the cozy cafe.

Coffee bar

Coffee bar

Array of cakes

Bar & stool facing the exterior

Trying to capture this in an artistic angle, but I guess it is a bit off angle..

The interior is kept a minimalist design, simple yet cozy.
(You may want to browse through the web for more pictures that can show exactly how the interior looks like. Or  better still, why not pay a visit there to experience by yourself?)

What went into my stomach:

A hot chocolate beverage with rich cocoa taste but slightly milkier than the one in Artisan Roast Cafe. I love both cocoa drinks serve in these two cafes though.

Lemon Poppy Seed @ RM12

I chose this cake because I wanted something less stuffing. The cake is not extremely spongy but I like how the sensation of the poppy seeds bursting between my teeth and the taste of sourness they carry.

Black Velvet @ RM12. It's difficult to go wrong with anything that is chocolate. Or is it me that is too obsessed with chocolate?

 *********************************************************************************
More interior

Staircase leading down to the less-lighted ground floor

Sunlight pouring in from the floor-to-ceiling windows of the upper floor. 

They also have a small open area serving to those who prefer sitting outside or the smokers. 

Cafe Information:
Operation Hour: 8.30a.m. - 11.00p.m.
Contact: 016-668 0135

Address/map:
2 Jalan Galloway, Bukit Bintang, 50150 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur

Boat Noodle @ Empire Damansara

In a rather hectic Friday afternoon, I didn't pay my slightest attention to this place as I was zooming distractedly to my meeting in an adjacent office building. Until after the meeting, when I was trying to find my way back to the car park, much to my surprise, I unintentionally brought myself into this picturesque place. 

I do realize there are blogs/instagram/Facebook posts circulating around the web fervently about this noodle place lately. But, this unintentional discovery had somehow brought much impromptu excitement to my rather normal boring Friday evenings. 

No queue like what you usually see on your friends' posts because I came here during odd hours (around 5pm). 

The colored wooden chair stood straight against the brick wall bearing the restaurant sign.

Same sign in the restaurant as found on the outside. 

Basically, this is their entire menu. The noodle is priced at RM1.90 each.

They say it is not a marketing strategy to serve their noodle in teeny-weeny portion. But I say don't 越描越黑了.

These was all we had in that evening as my friend and I were quite full that time. 

As I don't eat beef, I only tried the chicken noodle in soup and without soup. I am proud to have 2 bowls only as compared with other patrons. #hispter

Comment about the food: 

If you're curious what the throngs is all about, you should come here and have a try.

If you've never tried the boat noodle in Thailand, you should come and have a try. 

If you're wondering how tiny the portion is, you should really come to see it by yourself!

If you're nonchalant about food, may be strolling around to take some hipster selfies is a good idea.

There are other cafes, coffee house, burger restaurant, etc opening to serve you should you find the queue for the boat noodle is insane. Or may be it's a good idea to come at odd hours?

Boat Noodle Restaurant Info (as seen in their Facebook page)

Map

Artisan Roast Coffee

After having Lat Jiu Pan Mee with my friend, we decided to hang out in a new coffee place that we haven't been to.

So we ended up here....Tadaaa!! (Ok, you know where it is from the title) 

What went into our stomach

It's not the best carrot cake in town. But for its price at RM5, I think it does the justice for being simple and served in a small but adequate portion. For those who will feel guilty to eat a big ass piece of cake, this definitely let you feel less guilty yet satisfied. 

As usual, I always have chocolate in coffe house. The chocolate is not sweet. In fact, you still can taste slight bitterness of the fine chocolate after taking a sip. It's a lot better than the one I had in Bangsar village which tasted much like a cup of toxic, artifical saccharine. 

Location

Address

4 Loring Rahim Kajai 14, Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Kuala Lumpur.

Contact: 03-7733 6397

The still water

Photo courtesy : Google Image

He takes a glimpse into the pool of water. At that instant, he can see images of pretty faces and laughters across the water. He holds out his hand, intending to reach for the them, but all he does is just disturbing the stillness of water and the memories it contains. The images then gone in ripples.

Maxis Phones Trade In Program

My eyes twinkled at the sight of this very exciting news while  I was lazily scrolling through the news feed of my Facebook a few days ago.

Guess what I saw....


Jeng, jeng, jeng...

Trade in Program by Maxis

I mean there's no Telco in Malaysia ever offered such kind of service to the smartphone users to trade in their phone in exchange of a new phone. It's unprecedented! Please kindly correct me if I am wrong.

Of course, I was thrilled to see my 2 year-old iPhone 4S is in the list of phones that can be traded in.
(Other phones in the list are: Samsung Galaxy Note 2, Samsung Galaxy S3 & iPhone4)

All phone plan is subject to 24 months binding contract.

As I am a current iValue1 user, I can trade in my old phone with an additional top up RM849 to get the new iPhone 5S. Isn't it a good bargain to get the latest phone with just RM849, and continuing my current phone plan for just two years?

Excitedly, I brought my old phone to The Garden Maxis center to be traded in. The friendly receptionist briefly checked through the condition of my phone before whisking me to the technician for another round of phone validation. During our conversation, I was also informed that the program is open to anyone with any telco service.

While the technician was helping me to validate my phone, he found out the faulty power button of my phone and did not allow me to trade in the phone. Although I felt let down, the technician helpfully suggest that I can try to get the part fixed and come back for the trade in program again.

From the beginning, I was already suspicious they would allow me to trade in the phone. But to be fair, I admit that my phone is not completely perfect and Maxis is doing their job to have a fair trade- in program.

As I am quite bothered to send my phone to get fix and left without a handy companion,  I convinced myself that I should just skip this phone and wait for i6.

BUT may be, just may be,  my heart was telling me that it is the phone that I bought  because of the special someone whom I used to love....

Happy 2nd Anniversary

The commonly broken part in iPhone. ISHHHH

(PS: For more details of the trade-in program, please kindly visit http://new.maxis.com.my/en/personal/devices/trade-up-offer.html)

Line Sticker: Stich Sticker

After much thought and dilly-dallying, finally I bought this sticker off the Line Sticker Shop when I was lying on the bed, alone in the hostel, frustrated by the hot summer weather in Taiwan.

I bought them because Stitch is so adorable and the stickers can accurately portray many emotions which can be simplified by cute stickers, which sometimes can't be depicted by words. 

They are altogether 40 stickers in this set. Please feel free to scroll through and decide if you wanna purchase the stickers or not.

Two of the most frequently used stickers by me.

Need a sticker that says you're showering? May be Stitch soaking in hot spring may help?

Yes, I am getting sleepy in class and I need to go back to hostel to sleep.

Lazy to caption the pictures. I believe pictures say a thousand words. You may continue from here to browse through the stickers quietly without being distracted by my random comments...

Lastly, you may also buy and send it as gift to your loved ones so that there will be a pool of people interact with you with the same type of sticker!