Accident

I left on time today, oops, I mean yesterday (it's now 0033, Tuesday.)

I finished off a last minute request by a colleague and joined K. She let me drive. K dropped Jesse for his tuition class in Uptown. So, I went there for dinner.

We then picked up Jesse. I came out from the Uptown area passing by OCBC and 7-Eleven. Kathleen commented that OCBC was still open. I was moving to the right lane (the one before the ramp) to prepare for a U-turn towards Damansara Jaya when we heard a long and loud honk (beep) from a motorcycle. The rider beeped all the way passed me from my right and then rammed into a 4WD in front of me.

Jesse speculated he was giving me warning so I would not hit it. However, he did not look at the stalled traffic in front. I moved out and proceeded home.

I have half a hear to get down even though it was really not needed. K remarked how God protected us.

Praise God!

Blogging from LCCT

Here I am, very early in the LCCT terminal waiting for my flight. It's now about 1712 and the flight is scheduled for 1845. I booked my seat so getting ahead of the queue is not an issue. But I am always paranoid. I firmly subscribe to Murphy's law. Once I was late for a MAS flight to Singapore and we took a Singapore Airlines flight to Changi instead of landing in JB. That cost a lot of money.

As I prepare myself mentally and emotionally for my training in Bangkok, I still a burden.

I have shared in a previous blog (in Chinese) and at the moment it is not permissable for me to share more details. I'd like to say I am prepared for the worst but I am not sure if I have.

When I was sitting for my SPM. a friend of a friend whom I have grown a fond relationship with considerd not taking the Biology paper because it was too tough for her. I told her I'd help. And that she could come to my school for some last minute revision on the day itself. I told her if she didn't take the paper, I would not. Not taking  paper would have dire consequences. She didn't turn up, my friends told me she would take the paper so I did too.

Being more 'mature' (really?) and have more commitment and responsibility now, I don't make such rash decisions anymore.

I have an idea how I would like things to turn out. But that's what I want. It may not be what she (my friend in the current situation, not the one who took her Biology paper) wants.

I saw this quote in the Burger King joint in Mutiara Damansara (the three of us went there two nights in a row for supper! So much for eating healthy!) Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get. In this case, I can only pray for her to have both success and happiness.

I have lots of happiness as far as my work is concerned.

And I am using Happiness in Kingdom of Loathing. It's a gift from a clan member. It helped me tremendously.

I wish I could be as helpful as I want myself to be.

If you are going to Germany ...

I got this from the Lockergnome website. I have been reading Chris Pirillo's windows guide for many years.

http://www.lockergnome.com/nexus/windows/2007/09/20/two-places-to-stay-so-very-far-away

In this article, he compares Hilton and Westin in Frankfurt.

Two Places To Stay So Very Far Away

by Chris Pirillo on September 20, 2007 at 5:05 pm · Comments
Categorized by GnomeREPORT / More Information

Informal though these may be, I thought it was important to share my thoughts not long after staying at two separate hotels in Frankfurt, Germany.

First, the Frankfurt Westin (formerly the Arabella Sheraton):

• Our bathtub had a mold spot in it (Ponzi says it was rather large, but she’s a total mold freak).
• The shower was inside the bathtub, but there wasn’t a full shower door or curtain - only a glass partition that covered half of the tub’s length (which caused water to spray onto the bathroom floor). It was poor engineering, further exacerbated with the shower being a handheld nozzle.
• The toilet was good, but its “button” wasn’t foolproof.
• The Internet connection was ample, but definitely dogged in the evening hours when more people were online. Moreover, we couldn’t switch to a second computer as we were not given some kind of username / password.
• The laundry service messed up and requested that Ponzi help go through a few packages in question to verify that we were not given someone else’s clothes. She was mortified, apparently.
• The thermostat had one temperature: cool.
• The breakfast bar was pretty extensive, although some of the hot plates needed to be refreshed more frequently.
• The bed was overly stiff, and the pillows were without substance.
• The television had few native English channels, but this is par for the course in a foreign country. Moreover, the television cabinet doors did not fully collapse so that BOTH sides of the bed could view the screen without occlusion.
• The view was of a back alleyway - nothing to write home about.
• We had to call room service one evening after being gone most of the afternoon (so that they could make up our room).
• The location was quite convenient for shopping and walks to museums.
• It was a large-ish room with ample space.

Second, the Frankfurt Hilton:

• There’s a general snack bar open during common meal / after hours on the 11th floor, which proved to be quite convenient on our way in or out of the hotel.
• Internet access was phenomenal. Took me no time at all to upload videos to YouTube. It was also seamless to switch between my computer and Ponzi’s when necessary (as they give you access to Wi-Fi so long as you pay for a wired connection).
• Toilet and shower controls were very well engineered - and I never thought I’d ever bother to point that out.
• The view was amazing from our room.
• Every day, the housekeeper seemed to give us something new - including a nice little tin with dark chocolate coins from around the world. Nice touch.
• Room service wasn’t bad, but we had to laugh when they brought us fried mozzarella sticks when we ordered dim sum from the menu.
• It’s close to shopping and food markets.
• The bed was overly firm, and the pillows were undersized.

I’d definitely choose the Hilton over the Westin in Frankfurt.