In the car, on the way to my Mom's house.

I hate this patch...

no...what I hate more is the expectation form the people who knew I purchased the patch.

If I succeed...I will tell..

If I see you tommorow with a cigarette stuck in my mouth. Don't ask.

Can?

I have enough pressure to handle as it is already.

Sorry if I sound crabby eh?

Today I'm wearing my mom's old baju kurung to work. I love this baju kurung! She altered the skirt to my size and gave it to me in my early years of working. I don't remember when was the last time I wore it but I remember folding it neatly and kept it 'somewhere'. Mom said the baju kurung was a gift from Nek to her. The dress (upper layer) is made of kain kasa* with small flower motives. This kain is relatively pricey so normal people like us usually buy enough for the dress only. The background is soft yellow and the flowers are goldie. Not gold, GOLD ..its lighter kinda gold. I likeee. The skirt is plain yellow. It makes me feel like a ...sunshine ahahha. 

I took half day leave last Wednesday. Naim was down with fever and bad cough since the night before. I could have let my Helper keep an eye on him but you see, she's soft-hearted. When Naim refused to come out from the bathtub, she'll let him be. She solves Kakak's puzzle and let Kakak claims her praises. She wont coax Naim to eat if Naim run away at first glance of nasi. She only gave the pink syrup  (for fever) to Naim because he refused to take the black (for cough) and white (antibiotic) syrup.  

((black out!))

Resume after 10 mins, still black out. Time takde laki ni lah TNB buat hal plak. Must call Firhad (and activate the torch). My handphone is no longer reliable these days. The battery keeps running low, went dead even after I charged it for a solid 3 hours. Why ah? Managed to call Firhad, Huk eley digelakkan kiter plak! I’m afraid of the dark so what? 4 hours before he gets home. Arrgghhh!

Anyway, Naim hardly falls sick, fever to be precise. Running nose, yes occasionally but not fever which explains why I was terperanjat beruk when I saw his scrotum. Eeewwww can ah like that?

Najwa has been complaining of toothache for the past few days. Hence, she's a bit of a handful when it comes to eating.

We examined her teeth but found no visible defect, but then...both of us are no expert in dentistry..what more with one of us have mastered the art of smiling/posing for photographs without baring the chompers and the other would for sure be frequenting the pharmacy counter for a quick-fix-gingivitis remedy.

Due to the above, rotidua called a relative for a good dentist and she referred us to one in Gleneagles. So today, I brought Najwa to see her. She was pretty excited on her trip, it being her first time there. I was more flustered than her, afraid of the dentist discovering some malevolent disease or even worse, some irrepairable damage because of her parents bad habits (heck, I've told you we were no expert).

Before we went into the dreaded room, I gently told her that the good doctor would like to see her teeth and see what is causing the pain. I told her that she's a strong girl and not to be afraid. 'Okay!', she replied happily.

We were ushered into the room and the first thing that caught my eye was the instruments. I think the fear of dentist in most people was just that. You walk into the room and see the huge tray holding an array of evil looking, pointy and shiny long things that you HAVE to let inside your delicate mouth.

As the doctor was greeting me and asking what is the problem, Najwa was happily climbing the seat and promptly laid down. I warned the doctor that Najwa was a first -timer and please please be gentle with her.

Well, the doctor was really really good, she explained to Najwa what she would do and everything, even explaining the overhead light she would shine on her. Najwa was nodding away and without asking, said 'Aaah'

That reassured me that everything was okay.

And everything was. Najwa was given a perfect ten for her teeth. The doctor was even surprised that she brushed her own teeth. She could not even find one brown spot on any of her teeth.

Amidst all her murmur of approval, I was thinking on what would she say if she was examining MY teeth..hahaha...

But still the pain persist. Next up..a trip to the ear doctor I guess.

I watched a reality TV show called Boss Swap couple of weeks ago on 8TV, similar concept with Wife Swap only this time it’s the Boss so leadership style plays vital role. I was rooting for the Boss from the Real Estate company instead of the Boss from the 2nd hand car dealer shop. You’ve got to watch the show to know the reason.

The show reminds me of my former Lady Boss (LB). I feel the urge to bitch about her now so don’t you dare tell me about amanah bekerja and rezeki halal vs kerja ikhlas kinda stuff, okay?

This LB is approaching 40s, still a virgin, drives a Red Iswara, a qualified accountant, an active member of a church, have a dandruff problem and suffers from a major itchy-bawah issue. Yes, she’ll garu like nobody’s business in front of everyone including the CIA.  I think she shaves her ya-know-what which hopefully explains the gatal-gatal.

She is one of the contributing factors for me to leave the Company. For the record, I put it all in writing to HR on the exit interview form. She did not ‘harm’ me directly which is sad because if she did, she’ll sure get a piece of me. Trust me. 

Most of the time, she manipulated her secretaries (oh she had series of them!) and other admin staff. These are some of horrifid things she did: 

1. Questioning the need to perform solat twice (Dzuhur and Asar) during working hours. Then later prohibit her secretary from performing Asar.
2. Demanded her Team Leaders (TL) to stay back until 9-10 p.m even did not allow them to go out for Iftar. Can you imagine?
3. Being a smart ass she said, Tarawih is sunat.
4. She summoned her secretary to go to the basement carpark (alone) and sniffed her car because she smelled something funny while driving.
5. She did not conduct fieldwork review, expects us to come back with lots and lots of findings. F.I.N.D.I.N.G.S. Old school!
6. 1st draft report for her review, right? She reviewed and commented on numbering, alignment, spacing, commas, active to passive, passive to active then passed the report to the TL for amendment. Guess what, she asked the TL to make one copy of the 1st draft for TL to make the necessary adjustments. She keeps the original. Sebab.. dia takut TL erase/delete her comments. Crazy.
7. She made her secretary stayed back to make copies of church brochures. I don’t have anything against other religion, really. But with her profile, abusing the Company’s property and resources are way too much.
8. Prohibits staff from going on leave during/before an assignment.
9. She leaves small note that says “Time in on [insert date]: 9.02am” with a late comer report to fill. Yucks!
10. On staff applying for emergency leave. “Huh? Family matters also cannot come to work?”
11. She said this about my friend who lost her baby when she was 6 months pregnant “See I told you, its too early. We chinese must save money first”.
12. She made her secretary, a muslim, hold the bible while she prays for the secretary to get well (the secretary was at early stage of pregnancy with morning sickness and all). Respect?
13. Oh yeah, she offered the bible for the secretary to recite (not just read!).
14. She is the culprit for over-payment of staff salary for a good 2-3 years and she got away. Why? Because she meets deadlines!
15. According to her, deadline is GOD. Takde quality tada apa. Report musti submit. Crappy pun tada apa.
16. She is afraid to talk to her customers i.e. auditee simply because she has no knowledge of the area. She sent us kuci pegawai to talk to SVPs. Of course, the SVPs were offended. Who to blame? We are. The lovely kuci pegawai.
17. When she talks, you need an umbrella. As a reminder, do cover your Nescafe mug. 
18. Oh she loves talking to you….eye to eye…like chemolot. Only the lucky ones could escape item 17 above.
19. She knows nuts about any of our assignments. She was never able to answer/assist us. Never even bother to read the process flow. Can you tell how much I bengang with her?
20. The no 1 in my hate list is;

Once she was having her menses, must be heavy flow one. We had every reason to believe that she bought morah, cheapo sanitary pads without wings and all because she stained her skirt and her chair. She intercom her secretary to bring ‘kain lap’. The secretary, clueless of the situation, took a cloth from the pantry. (Pantry! Kain yang buat lap cawan tuh!). When LB was handed the cloth, she said ‘its dry, pergi basahkan’. The secretary obeyed.

Using the dampened cloth, she rubbed her chair then asked the secretary “Ada lagi ka? Nampak tak?”.  Barulah the secretary realized. She quickly left.

The next morning when the secretary reached her workstation, the cloth was on her desk. Crumpled in a position as if it was thrown. She broke down, vomited couple of times and took an MC.

Most of all, I hate LB because of the way she treated her poor/rookie secretaries. She planted an ideology that those clericals that go to NUBE shall be black listed from all commercial banks. And how she manipulated the Team Leaders simply because – she is the sole signatory for our yearly performance appraisal.

To top it all, I was frustrated of the failure on the then CIA to act/investigate on high staff turnover from her section (or probably he knew but still prefers the bitch based on her performance. She meets deadlines, remember?).

I know those things above sounds personal rather than professional. Judge me, if you wish. Incapable she is, a leader she is not, a good Samaritan she is definitely not. Some bosses, no matter how bad, we can still work with and learned from them. But with LB, I gained nothing except ‘use a long ruler to check the alignment’. Damnest of all, I threw all my frustration to my family.  I yelled, I screamed at my kids.

I’ve made my choice – I left.

Forgive me, if I sound like a bad-bad person (Probably I am). I don't care. I hope none of us are like LB. To LB, if you're reading this, you know who you are!

Ibu    : Kakak, tanya Bibik rumah kita bocor tak. Hujan ni.

(This is long and boring. Skip if you wish)

Previously, the whole family consumes 10kg worth of rice every month. Last month, I bought 15kg rice only to find that it was just enough for 29 days. One day short from payday. More rice could only mean that the kids been eating well, which is totally fine with me. I’m glad, to be précised. Major points to my new Helper.

What I also realised is that for the past 2 months, the usual groceries of about RM400 has now increased to RM450-RM480.

Definitely not due to the rice because it’s only about RM31.99 per 10kg and this has been set off with Naim’s diapers of about the same price. (He is now diaper-free. Yay!). I am not the type who monitors her expenses up to the last cents, I don’t have a shopping list either but I do keep an eye over big items like formula milk. 6 months ago, a can of 2.5kg formula milk costs RM37.90 or sometimes RM36.50. Then it slowly rise to RM39.90 until last month RM42.90. We did the purchase, nevertheless. Susu anak kan? Mana bley compromise. We need 2 of 2.5kg for both Najwa and Naim. 

Last night, the price remains at RM42.90 BUT its for 1.8kg only! No 2.5kg around. Even if there’s any, I can’t imagine how much would the price be. 

Last weekend, I paid an extra 10 cents per roti canai.

RM10 per bird of chicken from wet market is now RM11.50. The chicken seller, from what I was told, has never breached RM10 per bird. RM11.50 is considered cheap as compared to those in Pasar Tani.

If only we have enough soil to grow veggies then for the kids to pee on like in the case of Suhaimi Sulaiman in his September 15th post, we could very well save few ringgits. Or if only I am blessed with mental power to deny Nescafe (RM1.50) and choose Teh Tarik (RM1.20) every morning instead. *sigh*

=============

In May 2005, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was reported at 3.1%. A 3-month fixed deposit earns only 3%.  CPI however, understates the real cost of living especialy in urban areas where price is controled at the mercy of sellers/distributors. The real decline in the value of our savings and the increase in inflation rate is therefore much MUCH more.

In short, inflation is starting to eat away our savings, if there's any. 

Wong Chee Seng, Chief economist of ECM Libra says "as inflationary feed through the system, we expect the inflation rate to breach the 3% level, higher than BNM's forecast of 2.5% and MOF's of 2.5% to 3% range. The effect of rise in fuel prices have not trickled down to the system yet"

========= 

Ways to beat inflation, what i can think of now- please feel free to add:

(Wow, I'm surprised you're still reading this stuff)

1) Compare price, look for best bargain.

2) Shop less frequently. Tak yah la sebok nak singgah kat Watson 'buy additional item at RM1'.

3) Never go shopping without shopping list. (mental note is acceptable. hih)

4) New clothes, new style are usually over priced. Tak kisah la kalau pakai baju kelawar lagi.

5) Check out the classifieds and auction sites.

6) Take advantage of sales, stock clearing (like NOW!)

7) In the long run, look for other alternatives for your investments. Your investment tools must be able to give higher return/distribution than the inflation rate.

To elaborate on item 7; popular recommendation is for investors to look at equities via mutual funds. Malaysians now have the option of investing equities abroad. However, in choosing the right fund, investors must first look at the fund performance. Yes! Yes! you know who is the no 1 in mutual fund. But the fund performance is attributed by its fund managers. If you must know, the no.1's best fund managers have moved on. Best is, follow the fund managers!

And please ask if you are able to monitor your own fund performance at YOUR fingertips (online la makna tu).

If dulu, orang tua-tua cakap "It doesn't matter how much you earned, but how much you saved". Nowadays, "It doesn't matter how much you saved, but how much you earned from your savings!"

 

When I called my Mom yesterday evening, she was frantic. "Abah ko dari pukul 11 kuar tak balik-balik lagi ni!". Oh Oh..!