Don't be too nice..

I am always known as the nice girl..but sometimes I hate being the nice one. too nice that others can take advantage on me. too nice that i hardly raise my voice. too nice that i couldn't see who's being sincere, and who's not. rule that i never learn: never trust those who talk too much when you just only know them for a short time. it's not about the amount they talk, but the things that they say; they brag too much about themselves, try too hard to make them look good..something like that. i'm not saying people who talk non-stop can't be trusted, because i'm surrounded by these talkative friends whom i can trust, and i love them..

life here is getting monotonous now. i need some spice!

That's very rude Lady!

watch out for shoplot no 804 at the Ben Thanh market, where most tourists go to shop. it's just like an indoor factory outlet for local stuff. When i was trying to bargain, this young lady who was supposed to be nice to everybody..had the guts to say, "I sell for 50, and you want to have it for 10? what dyu think??" with that horrible annoying face. i've never imagined i would see that in this friendly city.

i regret that i didnt say anything..i put the crystal ring back - which i wd hv bought if only she's a little nicer...and then walked away without even looking at her face. just because your english is above average in town doesnt mean you need to be rude. good luck selling with that kind of attitude!

My very first Au dai..

I think the spelling is wrong..anyhow, it's pronounced as 'au yai', vietnamese traditional dress as baju kurung is. bought the material the first week i got here, sent it to a tailor recommended by a friend, and yeay! i got it yesterday. the material, which is vietnamese silk was sold to me at USD5 per meter and then to my surprise, we found another shop who sold it for half of the price! i was devastated, but i learnt my lesson..

lucky it only costs about RM40 to make an au yai..not that much difference with KL's price to make baju kurung, but at least this is a professional tailor. the quality is superb. and au yai is not that the only thing they can make; suits, shirts, pants, anything under the sun, can be customized just for you. i especially love the pants. so yesterday i was happy to walk out with an au yai, 2 pants, and 2 shirts. all for VND560 000 (RM122.50). the material was cheap as well..can get all kinds of them everywhere. pants and suits would cost around RM200+, depending on the material you selected. See, I'm promoting the tailor already. I shd be given some more discounts ;)

My ex-boss was angry at me!

why? because i didn't include him in the mailing list when i emailed almost everyone in my previous team about how am I doing over here, and about this blog i just created...the news just made my day!

so yeah he was 'mad'...and he told Michelle to make sure that i know that he was mad..I miss you Jim..i'm glad to be one of those who actually can pick up your subtle jokes..like I said, you are the coolest boss ever! although when it comes to college American football, he became an Aggie monster..woop!..peace ;)

anyway, i guess it's good to step out of our comfort zone once in a while..to see life from a different angle...to develop your career..to discover the options you have out there..or all of those at the same time..i made 2 big steps by accepting this assignment..one is my career, and the other one, u all know what it is...mushy2 stuff la..haha..some of you might not understand, but it's alrite, it's too complicated u might not wanna know...

i'm sleepy..maybe we'll have part II of this talk about moving out from our comfort zone thingy...nity nite all..and sweet dreams..

tak tahu nak kate ape, so let's sing!

Lea Salonga - We Could Be In Love

[Lea Salonga]

Be still my heart

Lately its mind is on its own

It would go far and wide

Just to be near you

[Brad Kane]

Even the stars

Shine a bit bright

I've noticed

When your close to me

[Lea Salonga]

Still it remains a mystery

Anyone who's seen us

Knows what's going on between us

It doesn't take a genius

To read between the lines

[both]

and its not just wishful thinking

or only me whos dreaming

i know what these are symptoms of

we could be in love(verse 2)

[Lea Salonga]

I ask myself why

I sleep like a baby through the night

Maybe it helps to know

you'll be there tomorrow

[Brad Kane]

Dont open my eyes

(oOOooO)

I'll wake from the spell

I'm under makes me wonder how

(tell me how I could live without you now)

[both]

and what about the laughter

the happy ever after

like voices of sweet angels

are calling out our names

[Brad Kane]

all my life

i have dreamed of this

but i could not see your face

[Lea Salonga]

dont ask why

to such distant start

can fall right into place

oh it doesnt take a genius

to know what these are symptoms of..

we could be (oo oh)we could be

we could be in love

could be in....

we could be in love....

Stuff I discovered...

1. there are not much options on a place to stay that is close to the office. by close I mean 5-15 minutes of walking. i think the place where i'm staying now is good enough with USD18/day with free laundry and internet. yeah internet and cab fares are so cheap here!

2. i can find a really cheap place like USD 250/month but it's in a quite dodgy location, altho the owner claims it as a safe area. the room that we saw was quite nice, but i just dont feel good abt living there. less privacy.

3. there's a public swimming pool around the office area.

4. properties and cars are so expensive here. way more than malaysia.

5. meals at restaurants cost as much as in malaysia. probably slightly more expensive. so do electronics. but food at the lorong is so cheap. but i only found one halal lorong food so far.

6. i wish they have italk or sth similar..calling rates are so expensive. i got VND 100000 in my fon last nite, and i finished it in 10minutes talking to my mom. so it was like RM2.50 per minute.

7. pc to pc call (provided that both parties are at least with that 10Mbps connection) is free but so clear. no lagging. well maybe 1 sec. that's good enough for me.

8. pc to fon call is so not working for me yet. i can hear them, but they cant hear me. even if they do, it would be like 8 secs later. *frustrated*

9. i know what to buy my lovely nieces now - that cute cheongsam with pants. banyak sangat kat saigon tax. murah2.

10. pirated cds here are so much cheaper. vnd15000 per dvd ~ RM3.50. i bought godfather 1, 2, and 3 and 2 more. thana bought cerita 300 and all those ganas movies.

11. michelle told me abt this lavender coffee which is made of cats' poops because they apparently chose the best coffee beans..and i really need to know which one are they from the locals. i dont wanna eat no poops la..hope it's not the coffee ive had. they are so good!

12. there's a theme park, wet park, like half an hour away..will give it a try!

13. i miss him dearly...

is it the ninja turtle backpack, or is it just my lucky day???

Fifth day in Saigon, fourth day at work..1st time carrying the backpack the SLB frens gave me as a farewell gift...it's so cool seriously..so today we had the HSE workshop...it didnt start very well for me tho..i missed the bus to that Song Be Golf Resort..i was only 5 minutes late and they were all gone! 2 buses..none waited for us! luckily i was with Uya and then I saw Thang with a few more late comers...haha..i was not alone..thank God!

so Thang apparently was late on purpose...he had sm stuff to take care of, so 4 of us waited for him to come back from God-knows-where and then we called a cab. so the cab arrived at the office at 8.45 am..we hopped in, but the driver was busy..seemed like looking for something under the seat...he said something, but of course la tak paham kan....dgr mcm membebel je..then Thang told me..'flat tyre'..hmm so i was like..oookay..oh well...let's go get some food then i told Uya... i was starrrrving..

i ordered a tuna sandwich, i got an egg sandwich instead..from this halal stall at the lorong..anyhow it turned out to be such a delicious sandwich..and an iced coffee..both cost me about RM3-the cheapest meal Ive had so far..others would cost me like RM10...and the coffee...so yummy! whoda, u so need to try the coffee once u got here.....

we arrived at 10 am i think. safely. with some vietnamese language lessons in the cab..kham, mot, ba, hai (0, 1, 2, 3)...haha that's all i know now..ntah betul ntah tidak..i'm so keen to learn the language, but not from sb who seems like he was trying to hit on me...well, the thing is he's not my type..being too obvious turned me off..not-so-bad looking, but i just dont feel like i wanna be nice and flirty with him..hehe..let's be strictly professional la dude..someone already did a good job being flirty but subtle with me...and i kinda like that method better.. :)

i'm getting tired...so let's make it short...so after lunch, which was a good one i think..the chef did an excellent job..ade karipap, buttered shrimps, sotong, sm chewy pandan cake dessert..we headed for the games...the 1st one was tug-of-war...i was never interested in games that need sm level of strength bcause i know how lembik i am...but i tried it anyway...and guess what...my team won the 2nd place...yeehaw! dapat hadiah tu...tak sia2 jatuh..

there were 4 options...tarik tali, fishing, swimming, and golf..so the nx one that i picked was golf. alaa dekat driving range je...main pukul2...my first try wasnt that bad..melambung tinggi la at least..and the competition was just to see who hit the furthest. i wasnt gonna join, but then what the heck..so i signed up, made 3 hits...my best shot was 60 ft...and i'm the winner in the female category...yay! i got a box of grapefruit juice (which they call blood orange), kacang2, and raisins...sth to munch at the boring office...hmmm i miss rohas' 10 types of cookies and coffee..ade nescafe, milo and teh je kat sini :(..

well there goes my day...my department - DVM (Vietnam development) won 2nd best in HSE performance. each of us get USD10...nice isn't it? i'm loving this place so far...shopping, oh i dont wanna start that topic yet..too much to tell...im having a good time so far but sm ppl already warned me on how boring this place is...but i promise myself to have fun as much as i can..as Mark was saying (quoting his grandpa),

"There are always different ways of looking at things..So look at the bright side and enjoy every moments der.. If ade problem.. take it as a challenge.. work on it n the satisfaction of solving it is sooo great..that makes life so beautiful.."

i will live by that quote ;)

Biiiiinx, i really wanna see you and the newly born baby!...but the best i can do now is to kirim the gift through uya...tak beli lagi but i hope i can find sth nice for you and the baby :)

opps...not too short, huh ;)...ok lah, time to brush my teeth, wash my face, and go to bed!!! it's been a great day. and I miss all of you who read this...friends forever!!!