Nearer to the heat

One of the few things about staying at KL - every news felt much closer, more real. The Bersih demonstration, the Hindraf protest... Back in Penang or even Ipoh, these news are as close at the newspaper. Now, gotta keep eyes and ears open ... advisory on where to go and where not to go on weekends; which roads are blocked etc. How different it felt to be near the epicenter of the heat.

Upcoming election, not sure how hot it can get ....

How KFC meals used to taste ....

I havent had a KFC meal for more than six months. The last time i had was at one of the at Carrefour outlet, and it taste really bland and not nice at all. It took a lot of effort to force that piece of drumstick down my throat. What's more the meat near the bone are not well-cooked. Not crispy, not tasty and definitely not finger licking good.

I was reminiscing with my hubby on how tasty KFC used to taste. When I was young, my parents only bring me and my siblings to KFC if we get exceptionally good exam results. The drumstick taste so so crunchy, crispy and tasty. Its really finger licking good. After every meal, I look forward to the next one. Yummy .. yummy

Now, after every KFC meal, I swear that I would never touch it for another few more months. At least not until I forgotten how bad it taste, and have no choice of other food.

I did wonder if KFC meals really deteriorated or was it my tastebuds that deteriorate ?

I wonder how much longer KFC can survive with so many other competitors like Burger King, Nandos, Kenny Rogers around the block. Nandos taste much better, at least.

Looks to die for

I have made a few friends in this metropolitan place that I am in now. Some of them are real interesting people. One of them is this born-and-bred in KL guy, call him G.

Profile of G ( like the kind they do at BAU )
- In his late 20s
- Got a fairly good job, the kind that pay quite a few k.
- Spending Habit on House : Nil. Stay with parents.
- Spending Habit on Food : Stingy. McD and KFC are consider expensive food !! Daily beverage is the - "Teh Ais" (Ice Tea) coz it cost a mere 50 cents. Teh Ais is bad for health, by the way. Will complain incessantly about a 20 cents increase for food. Not adventurous about food.
- Spending Habit on Friends : Nil. Usually will get other people to belanja him instead.
- Spending Habit on Accessories : Look good is a must - will spend without batting an eyelid. G2000 shirts. Cyma watch. Mont Blanc wallet.
- Spending Habit on car : Owns a 10-year old Nissan.

What baffles me is how extremely different spending habits on food and spending habits on accessories. I guess this would mean looks are more important than food. Looks to die for - literally. Its a normal things for girls... but for guys to go that extreme ? Wow ! I am surprise that how much he is willing to pinch and save every cent from his daily meals to readily subsidize for his expensive accesories. A guy must do that to impress girls with expensive stuff ??

Stress Test ....

Time flies... I am now entering the 4th month on my new job.

First month was uneventful.... or more accurately - boring.

Second month was quite eventful. I thought of an interesting analogy which describes the situation -- stress test. Those in engineering community would know that new products would be subjected to stress test to check the product durability. Stress test intends to filter out infant mortality units.

Stress Test 1 : Use magnifying glass in fault finding, and then openly jeered at your small little mistakes just to make you look stupid.
Objective : To test how thick is your skin

Stress Test 2 : Close door reprimanding, and making baseless accusations. Involves table banging and some level of aggresiveness
Objective : To test how one react under stress. This one was specifically designed to test the fairer sex - i was told later. Girls tend to breakdown more easily, it seems.

Stress Test 3 : Its 5.30pm. Boss come to you with a super -urgent task, and tells you to complete the task by tommorow morning. Dont you just hate that ?
Objective : To check if you can perform under limited time.

Its a little like kungfu movies where the hero has to perform some dangerous rituals to prove their worthiness. On hindsight, i find that a little amusing. But there and then, if you are the subject being tested, i assure you that it was not amusing at all.

In my opinion, it was all not necessary. If the company is not assured that they hired the right person for the job, why interview at all ?! However, boss still believe its for the best. If there happens to be "fatalities" "drop-out" "infant mortality" or whatever term he chooses to use, too bad then. To him, its no loss either.

Catching up with news... .

I was busy preparing for my brother's wedding last weekend. Being busy, i was temporarily disconnected from outside world. I had totally no inkling on how huge was the magnitude of the rally until i viewed the youtube videos today. Friends and relatives from KL complaint on the massive traffic jam it caused.

After Bersih Rally , I am beginning to believe there might be a slight tinge of hope of opposition having a huge win in the next election. Malaysians are beginning to ensure their views are being heard - in a peaceful manner. This is a good thing.

Our current UMNO leaders should really be worried. Media blackouts doesnt work much nowadays. And Anwar seemed to have set things in motion