Jolll & the Pussy Cats: December 2004

Thursday, December 30, 2004

Shopping Lunch

Today I had one of the longest lunch break in a long while… the reason is not because I was having some fancy 3 course gourmet lunch, but because I went shopping with my sister for a last-minute birthday present for my nephew..

The selection for the present didn’t take long at all; my nephew had already indicated that he wanted a Pokemon game cartridge for his game boy, so we decided to get him a game each.. But oh boy, are the kids so tech savvy and advanced nowadays….They want the most up-to-date toys and know what’s the latest game to hit the stores… If I remember correctly, when I was my nephew’s age (he turned 9 today), I didn’t have a clue about anything!!! Well, I could go on and on comparing the kids now and then, but I am digressing here…

Anyway, after wrapping up the pressies, my sister and I went past a toy store specializing in infant toys (think cute cuddly soft toys, Lamaze toys and cool baby gadgets), and decided to have a look. This one look ended in half an hour browsing in one tiny store… hehe.. Apparently, both of us had not outgrown toys yet…
Actually the real reason was that my sister had purchased a Spongebob Squarepants car window shield for RM 49.90 (I know how this sounds…but we r actually kinda fans of Bob here…), and we were ten cents short of getting a free voucher. So we ended up looking high and low for an additional item to buy so that we can get the free voucher.. Hahaha… that’s girls’ shopping for you…Rule No. 1: We spend more so that we can save more…!

And this was not the end of our shopping spree, next stop was a watch shop next to the toy shop, and again we decided to have a browse… As expected, this one browse turned out to be at least half an hour long… The reason?? My sister thought it would be more practical to get my nephew a watch…! So there we were trying out and picking one that we think my nephew would like.. So there you go, Shopping Rule No.2: Practical and well-liked gifts will go a long way…

After finally settling on a watch, we then proceeded to get the birthday cake and then our lunch, which were just some sandwiches from the bakery to take away back to work. By the time we reach our workplace.. it was 3 pm and it was straight back to work…Thus the last Golden Rule of Shopping : Its better to be late (back to work) than never!!

Wednesday, December 29, 2004

Killer Waves

When I last heard, the death toll from the massive tidal waves had reached a staggering 55,000. Imagine that amount of people dead…I just cannot grasp the enormity of it!

What is even more upsetting is that according to seismology experts, the number of people dead could be lower if there was a proper warning system in place in the region. The countries in the northern parts, like India and Sri Lanka, even Malaysia could have lesser deaths, if only there’s a proper warning system..

Among all the countries that have been hit, only Indonesia has had the experience of earthquakes. Yet despite the fact that she is geographically located in a earthquake ‘hotspot’ and having gone through numerous earthquakes in their country in the past few decades, they have not even a proper system in place to detect and forewarn the occurrences of quakes.

How is that conceivable?

Are the leaders and politicians too busy lining their own pockets that they have failed to realize that such is needed to prevent further loss of lives? Or are the peoples’ lives too cheap for them to invest money into a proper research and warning centre?

How about the millions and billions of dollars that the ex-president Suharto had siphoned off?? Perhaps a fraction of that amount could have been put to good use, and thousands of innocent people would not have died in vain….

Monday, December 27, 2004

Waves of Destruction

Never have I expected that something out of a movie would happen in actual life.. Yes I am referring to the series of tidal waves or Tsunamis that had occurred yesterday affecting coastal parts of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Malaysia…

And the fact that it occurred right at our doorstep makes it all the more hard to believe…
I must admit, all this while, I have been resting on my laurels, thinking that Malaysia is a relatively safe haven (albeit the snatch thefts) politically and geographically as compared to many other war torn and disaster-prone countries…

Too many times have I shrugged off reports of natural disasters with a-that’s-bad-but-I’m glad-its-not-happening-here response. I guess we are just too wrapped up with our daily lives that such issues are the last thing on our minds.

Thus when I found out about this news, it struck a chord in my heart… Phuket, Penang, Maldives…these are all plausible areas that I could be holidaying in, and disaster would have befallen on me then…(Good thing I have spent this Christmas holidays at home..)

Too close, it’s too close to home this time --- My heart goes out to the victims and families of the victims. Yet how can we avoid such a calamity from happening?? When Mother Nature decides to protest, nobody can do anything about it… That’s how vulnerable we humans are… We are, after all, just pawns to the Greater Forces at work..

The tragedy that unfolded yesterday had definitely served to remind me not to take even the smallest things for granted.

Thursday, December 23, 2004

I need my bags....!!!

When is a gal going to be able to feel safe to just carry her bag and walk down the street in a leisurely manner???

Snatch thefts have become such a common occurance, that you'll see it highlighted in the newspapers every other day... The media isn't the only source; stories of person/s witnessing a snatch theft or of someone who knew someone who just fell victim to a snatch theft; filter into our everyday life...

Just last night, my aunty had told of how her son's pouch was snatched... Naturally comments were given here and there on how my cousin could have/should have done to prevent such an incident from happening...

Conclusion: The single most effective way is to NOT carry a bag, (as agreed by the elders of the family).

Obviously I was not spared as well, I was advised to not carry a bag when i go out...

How is it possible to not carry a bag?? Where do i put my wallet, my keys, my handphone?? And i consider myself as a simple, fuss free girl already... how bout those ladies out there that never leave home without their lipstick, lip liner, mascara etc etc with them??

A bag is an absolute necessity for a girl... You can't expect us to stuff our wallets down our pockets like men do, its too ungainly... Besides, not all our pants or skirts have got pockets... The bag is also a fashion accessory, like our shoes, we women love our bags... No way are we gonna relelgate our bags to the shelves when we know we look better when we have a matching bag to an outfit...

All I can say is, you can never take the bag away from a woman, try as you may, but The Bag is in our blood..... Thats why snatch thefts continue to rampage.... : p

Thursday, December 16, 2004

What a Day....!

What a shocker of a morning today!! Just when i thought today would be atypical day for me as i saunter into my office, i received a message from my site manager for me to return his call.

This was when the first warning bells struck..."Damn the pipes had not arrived yesterday as promised" i thought to myself...

So I called my supplier immediately to find out whats going on.. (Call No. 1 to supplier)
Supplier: " Joanne... Yes yes the pipes have arrived yesterday late afternoon..."
Me: " Sure or not?? Confirm yeah??"
Supplier: " Yes confirmed arrived around 5ish..."
Me: " ok thanks...!"

So i breathed a sign of relief and called my site manager to find out what he wanted with me..

Site Manager: "Joanne.. the pipes have not arrived yesterday...!!!"
Me: " Huh?? But I just called the supplier and he said it should have arrived yesterday...!!??"
Site Manager: "No..It didn't reach the site at all..."
Me: " Ok, let me check again..."

Call No. 2 to Supplier:

Me: "BC (Name of person in charge), i have checked with my site, the goods did not arrive..."
BC (Supplier): "Huh? Impossible, it should arrive at your site... the pipes were dispatched from my factory the day before already..."
Me: "Well my site has not received it at all!"
BC: " Maybe your site had overlooked it, because i am online with my factory now, and it says the goods have been fully dispatched..."
Me: " Hmm.. ok lemme double check again.."

Call No. 2 to Site Manager
Me: "Are u sure the pipes did not arrive?? Cos the factory insisted that it has been delivered."
Site Manager: "Confirm did not arrive.. maybe they sent it to the wrong place?? They almost did it the last time..."
Me: "Really??!! I better double check with them again...."

Call No. 3 to Supplier
Me: "BC please check where u have sent the goods too, we did not receive any delivery from you yesterday.."

Call from Supplier to me
Supplier: "You can't guess what has happened!! Its funny in a way... but the pipes that was supposed to be delivered yesterday was not meant for you, but for another company"
Me: "What??!! So when am i getting mine?? You promised on Monday that I would get mine on Wednesday (yesterday)!!"
Supplier: " And it just came to my attention that CMC (the co. that i went through the order with) has cancelled the order for 450 dia. pipes on the 29/11/04..."
Me: " What??!! Why wasn't I informed at all?"
Suppler: " I don't know what happened, i just came to know about it today... I think its better if you find out from them..."

So here i was fuming mad at the turn of events, and i confronted CMC about the memo which supposedly cancelled part of my order without my knowledge....
Me: " Whats going on? Why was there a cancellation of my order without my knowledge??"
CMC: " Joanne.. I dunno anything about me, I sure did no such thing... But lemme check with my HQ"

Then, I decided to liase directly with the factory and find out what happened to my order. And the lady in charge there did confirm that there was a memo sent down by CMC which had put a stop to my order of 450mm diamter pipes. The other sizes' orders, namely 1050 and 375, were still intact.

So after showing my displeasure to both parties, CMC and The supplier of pipes ( I am afterall paying the money here... they are supposed to provide good service to me), they finally managed to resolve this whole situation, and had refered to the "memo" as a "miscommunication" between them two parties... And i was to receieve my pipes ASAP....

Factory: "Joanne... Everything is settled now, it was a miscommunication on our side, but rest assured, we will proceed with the despatch today...and U will receive the pipes first thing on Sat morning.."
Me: "Oh good... confirm or not??"
Factory: "Confirm..."
Me: "Oh by the way.. was there any scheduled delivery for us for yesterday... for the 1050 and 375 pipes?"
Factory: " Hmmm... no... I didn't schedule any delivery for u in the last few days..."
Me: " Then why did BC promised me a delivery for yesterday when i spoke to him on Monday?"
Factory: " ????"

A couple of hours later...
Factory: " Good news Joanne... U r getting your pipes tommorrow morning (Friday)!!!"

Wednesday, December 15, 2004

Woozy woozy me...

I have had this nagging cough and occasional sore throat for about 3 weeks now, and it doesn't seem to wanna go away.. This is despite having seen the doctor 2 times, and consuming 3 bottles of cough syrup, plus anitiboitics etc etc..

In fact, after the last several days of "almost recovery", it came back with a vengence today... Coming to work today with a persistant dry cough, a croaky voice and running nose this morning wasn't easy... And this was when i decided Enough is Enough!!!

I am going to see the doctor Once More...

As a result, i had to endure a injection (which the doc said will speed up my recovery process), a numb & aching arm from the injection, and of coz more medical bills....

After taking my medicine (stronger dosage as prescribed by the doc), i now feel very woozy/ dazed/stoned/light-headed... So wanna go home now for a nap, which i think i will do right after finishing off this post... No use staying at work since i cannot focus on my work onhand anyway...

Ok thats it!! Time to pack up and go home! Enough for today!!!

Tuesday, December 14, 2004

Issy - One of the pussy cats

My very first post

A warm welcome to myself to the wonderful world of blogging...! I have never thought that I would actually do this, especially when I had always scoffed at the idea of writing a diary.. And look at what i am doing now... I am not only recording my thoughts and feelings for the very first time, but publishing it on the web for literally anyone and everyone to see!!!

Geezz... talk about being a private person...

Anyway, I hope that this blogging experience will be somewhat fulfilling, and perhaps in somewhere in the future when i look back at today's entry, i would be able to laugh at myself and say to myself..." what the heck were u thinking???"

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Jolll & the Pussy Cats